Dhaka – Bangladesh is willing to invest US$ 1 billion in the 1125-MW Dorjilung hydropower project under trilateral cooperation with India and Bhutan, said Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali on Tuesday, UNB news agency reported.
Category: Natural
Delhi schools closed for 3 days as smog pollution worsens
Delhi’s chief minister has shut all schools in the Indian capital for three days as its citizens struggle with choking smog. After an emergency cabinet meeting, Arvind Kejriwal promised a raft of measures to combat the extreme air pollution. All…
2 billion children breathe toxic air worldwide, UNICEF says
New Delhi (AP/UNB) — A new report from UNICEF says most of the 2 billion children in the world who are breathing toxic air live in northern India and neighboring countries, risking serious health effects including damage to their lungs,…
Nepal drains dangerous Everest lake
Dhaka – Nepal’s army says it has finished draining a dangerous glacial lake near Mount Everest to a safe level, reports BBC. The Imja glacial lake, at nearly 5,000m (16,400ft) high, was in danger of flooding downstream settlements, trekking trails…
Dead beached whale found to have skull fractures
San Francisco (AP/UNB) — A blue whale that washed ashore near San Francisco had multiple skull fractures that were consistent with a collision with a ship.
Giant air cleaner unveiled in Amsterdam by Envinity Group
Dutch inventors have unveiled a large outside air vacuum cleaner they say is capable of filtering large quantities of toxic particles from the atmosphere.The purifier can clean about 800,000 cubic metres of air per hour, tech start-up Envinity Group said.”A…
Proverbial mermaids making a splash in Dutch pools
ZEIST, Netherlands (BSS/AFP) – A majestic turquoise-and-gold tail splashes the surface of a public pool. Strange, beautiful creatures frolic in the water, occasionally peeking out from their masks and snorkels. Half-woman, half-fish. Since Disney’s Princess Ariel first hit the big…
Dredger capsize: 2 bodies recovered in Shitalakkhya River
Dhaka – The bodies of two workers, who went missing after a dredger sank in the Shitalakkhya River at Boroni in Shreepur upazila of Gazipur on Tuesday, were recovered from the river on Thursday, UNB news agency reported.
2 schoolboys missing after boat capsize in the Padma
Dhaka – Two schoolboys went missing as a boat capsized in the Padma River in Par-Ghorapakhiya area of Shibganj upazila of Chapainawabganj on Thursday, UNB news agency reported.
Water ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’
Richard Pearshouse and Amanda Klasing This week, Brisbane hosts the world’s first conference on water scarcity and drought. Of course, access to drinking water varies considerably around the world due to natural differences in geography and climate. But there is…
Plan to dredge, train Bangladesh’s 24 major rivers
Dhaka – The government has planned to dredge 2100 kilometers of 24 major rivers alongside 690 kilometers river training across country over the next 15 years, aiming to increase and maintain their navigability, reports Golam Moin Uddin, UNB Staff Writer.…
Dhaka slums to have legal water supply by 2017
Dhaka: Local Government and Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain on Wednesday said the government has set a target to provide legal water supply to the slum dwellers of Dhaka by next year. UNB News Agency Reported.
Kamal for proper plans to utilise marine resources
Dhaka: Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday stressed the need for taking appropriate plans and their implementation to properly utilise the country’s vast marine resources. “Blue economy has created an important area in our economy. Making suitable plans and…
Foreign farms increase the risk of water conflicts in Africa
Dhaka – For the first time, researchers point to areas in Africa where foreign agricultural companies’ choice of crops and management of fresh water are partly responsible for the increased water shortages and greater competition for water. This in turn…
Over 90pc of world breathing polluted air: WHO
Nine out of 10 people globally are breathing poor quality air, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, calling for dramatic action against pollution that is blamed for more than six million deaths a year.New data in a report from the…
‘World River Day’ observed at JU
Securing the slogan ‘Shusto Nodi, Shusto Nogor’ World Rivers day at Jahangirnagar University (JU) observed with fanfare and festivity here at the campus yesterday.
World Rivers Day Sunday
25th September is the World Rivers Day. This was initiated by a river loving environmentalist of Canada in the 90’s decade and eventually it was endorsed by the UNO and Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) took it up 4 years back.…
Pathogenic river pollution on rise in Asia, Africa, Latin America
More than half of the rivers in Asia, Africa and Latin America have become more dangerous due to steep rises in organic and pathogen pollution over the last 20 years.According to a recent UN study, more than 300 million people…
PM for equitable sharing of transboundary rivers
New York – Underscoring the need for ensuring equitable sharing of transboundary water bodies, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said water should be considered as an integral part of the new development architecture and strongly advocated for creating a global…
Spotlight on Tanguar Haor: 2-day festival on Sept 16-17
Aiming to focus public attention on the exquisite natural beauty of the country’s second largest wetland and the immense tourism potential it holds, the local administration is going to organise a two-day ‘Haor Festival’ at Tanguar Haor in Tahirpur upazila…
Farrakka has wreaked environmental disaster in Bangladesh: IFC
Dhaka, 02 September – Leaders of the International Farakka Committee (IFC), an environmental and water rights watch group, have extended their support to the recent demand made by Mr. Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, India, to decommission the…
Air pollution’s true costs
Simon Upton Paris – Air pollution takes years off people’s lives. It causes substantial pain and suffering, among adults and children alike. And it damages food production, at a time when we need to feed more people than ever. This…
Contamination Threatens One of the World’s Biggest Freshwater Supplies
Three-quarters of a billion people across four South Asian nations rely on one vast water basin for much of their irrigation and drinking water. Called the Indo-Gangetic Basin, it stretches east to west over 618 million acres, sitting like a…
Unilateral intervention on common river flow unfair: Inu
Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu today called as unfair unilateral intervention on the flow of common rivers amid reports of damage caused in Bangladesh with the opening of Farakka Barrage gates in the upstream Indian region.“It is not a correct…
Padma may cross danger level as all Farakka gates opened
The river Padma in Bangladesh is rising dangerously after India opened all gates to the Farakka Barrage to stop one of its states from flooding. The water level may cross danger level in the next 24 to 28 hours, Bangladesh…
Farakka Barrage water leaves 60,000 in Kushtia marooned
Kushtia: Floods triggered by the rise in water level of the Padma River after India opened the floodgates of the Farakka Barrage to ease Bihar flood situation left some 60,000 people in 30 villages of Daulatpur upazila marooned. According to…
Project to reduce dependence on groundwater okayed
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday approved a project for water preservation and safe water supply’ with an estimated cost of Tk 374.51 crore, aiming to reduce dependence on groundwater for safe water supply.The approval…
‘Farakka Dam’ responsible for spate in river Ganga: Bihar CM
Patna – Amid apprehensions of flood waters entering into Patna town, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Sunday said silt deposited in Ganga after the construction of Farraka Dam was responsible for spate in the river and asked the Centre to…
Tk 9,568b mega dredging plan keep rivers navigable
Dhaka – The government has taken a mega plan to conduct 2001 kilometers of river dredging and 690 kilometers of river training at a cost of Tk 956, 834 crore over the next 15 years, UNB news agency reported.
Georgia has highest mortality rate caused by air pollution
The FINANCIAL — Georgia leads the countries with the highest mortality rate caused by air pollution according to the study by The International Energy Agency (IEA). This is due to a sharp rise in the number of old, dirty diesel…