EnvironmentNatore clean-up collects 2,180 kg of single-use plastic
At a Department of Environment project event in Natore, speakers called for proper handling of chemical, farm and electronic waste as well as plastic.
Source
Samakal
Reporting from this source, summarised, rewritten or translated and published under its name · 193 stories
Environment
HealthHeart experts call for tobacco rules, less salt and primary-care funding
At a World Heart Day seminar of the National Heart Foundation, experts called for quick rules under the Tobacco Control Act 2026, budget for managing high blood pressure and diabetes in primary care, and cutting salt in food in line with WHO advice.
EnvironmentSonadia lost nearly 6,000 acres of mangrove to 50 shrimp farms in eight years
About 6,000 acres of mangrove on Sonadia island in Maheshkhali, Cox's Bazar, an ecologically critical area, have been cleared for 50 shrimp enclosures, and a High Court eviction order has yet to be carried out.
FlowersWater canna: an American aquatic flower finds a place in Bangladesh's water gardens
Thalia geniculata, a purple-and-white flowering aquatic shrub a Samakal writer proposes calling jal kalaboti, has recently entered the country's plant lists and is now seen in Ramna Park.
FisheriesSeasonal fishers ready nets and boats in Shibalaya chars before the hilsa ban
Ahead of the 8-29 October hilsa fishing ban, some 1,500 seasonal fishers on the Padma-Jamuna chars of Shibalaya, Manikganj are openly preparing boats and nets, and banned current nets are on sale in Aricha bazaar.
CookingCakes from the home kitchen: Dhaka's home bakers turn a hobby into income
Worries about food safety and inspiration from social media are driving a rise in home baking in Dhaka, where home bakers take orders from their own kitchens with little start-up capital.
CookingFour cold coffees to make at home, from iced latte to matcha
Four simple recipes from cook Mita Azhar for iced latte, cold brown coffee, cold cappuccino and matcha cold coffee, made with ingredients found in most kitchens.
HealthPCOS is not infertility: doctors call for joined-up care and a national registry
Polycystic ovary syndrome carries long-term hormonal and metabolic risks beyond fertility, so care should combine gynaecology, endocrinology, nutrition and mental health and be affordable, specialists told a Samakal round table.
OpinionOpinion: gas import dependence squeezes fertiliser plants ahead of boro
Journalist and columnist Hasan Mamun writes in Samakal that falling domestic gas output has deepened reliance on LNG and LPG imports; fertiliser factories cannot run properly for want of gas, with the input-hungry boro season approaching.
Environment
Raised homes on concrete pillars shield Kurigram char families from floods
The Center for Zakat Management has built 12 flood-resilient houses on pillars in Rajibpur's Kodalkathi and Mohonganj unions; ten families have moved in and two homes are still being built.
Opinion
Opinion: young children need patience and empathy, not harsh discipline
Drawing on years with pre-primary pupils, Sumona Karim, vice principal of Glenrich International School, writes in Samakal that patience and warmth, not scolding, humiliation or fear, keep a child's curiosity and confidence alive.
Environment
21 unlicensed resorts in the Sundarbans critical zone, ten on a dolphin sanctuary canal
Within the Sundarbans' 10-kilometre ecologically critical area, 21 resorts and cottages have gone up in seven or eight years and 10 more are being built; none has Department of Environment clearance or district registration.
Health
Free blood pressure and diabetes drugs run short at NCD corners, 1.5m patients at risk
Every one of 446 upazila health complexes is short of at least one of the five government-supplied drugs at its NCD corner; funding has stopped and a Tk 100 crore request has gone unmet for six and a half months.