Bishakha Devnath

Hospitals breach disposal rules

Many healthcare facilities across the capital have been breaching their legal obligations on safe disposal of medical waste, but a decade-old system is failing to hold them accountable.

How liquid waste causes health risk

A 250-bed hospital in Dhanmondi produces about 4,000 litres of liquid waste a day. The liquid is treated to ensure that it doesn’t spread infection when disposed of.

Safety takes a back seat

A worker hacks away at a pipe-like object at a small scrap shop in Old Dhaka’s Islambagh. The sound of his hammer crashing against the pipe is instantly followed by bits of plastic flying off in all directions. Flecks of yellow and red tint the air.

The shady ‘recycle-man’

He is an apparent big shot in the black market of medical recyclables. Probably in his late thirties, the man keeps close supervision over his business and is careful to leave no footprints behind.

Medical Waste: 2 treatment devices stay idle for 4yrs

At a time when safe disposal of medical waste is a nationwide concern, two waste treatment devices have been sitting idle since 2015.

Communal Attacks Over FB Posts: Instigators still on the loose

It is always the same story – a Facebook image, post, or message hurting religious sentiments, an outpouring of rage both on social media and on the streets, ending in attacks on minority communities.

Testing Fish Feed: Importers cash in on legal loopholes

A battle between the Chattogram customs and fish feed importers over the jurisdiction of the port authority to check hazardous substances in imported consignments has laid bare loopholes in the import policy.

Checking eyes from miles away

Samira Begum’s eyes were itchy and watery for a few days when she finally decided to get a check-up at the Puthia Upazila Health Complex of Rajshahi on September 17.

June 25, 2019
June 25, 2019

Want to beat bone loss? Change your lifestyle!

When frequent painkillers stopped bringing much relief, Radhika Saha went to see a doctor for severe back pain. That was when she found out her bones were weakening, and that if they were not taken care of, the symptoms might lead to fracture.

June 23, 2019
June 23, 2019

Children with Cancer: In silence, they perish

Mohammad Kabir Hossain, 43, had dreamt of building a house for his family using the money he saved from an overseas job. That dream, however, took a backseat when his third child was diagnosed with cancer. Kabir used up all his savings, sold whatever land he had, along with his grocery store, for his child’s treatment.

June 22, 2019
June 22, 2019

Two get life term under human trafficking act

In a rare precedence, two people of an organised ring involved in stealing infants have been found guilty in court and handed down the highest punishment -- life imprisonment -- under the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act, 2012.

June 14, 2019
June 14, 2019

Needle for middle class

Afsana Rahman’s maternity leave is about to end, and so baby formula milk will soon have to substitute breast milk for her second child. As she and her husband are both job holders with fixed income, she now has to adjust her monthly expenditures to make ends

May 13, 2019
May 13, 2019

Viewers turning away from local TV channels

It is one of those intense moments when you immerse yourself in the television and follow every move of the actor; his grimace makes you frown and speculate what would happen next. Right then, the broadcaster fills half of the screen with an ad of what to use to be fair, if not fairer.

May 12, 2019
May 12, 2019

Mother’s Day: Teach your sons to respect women

Mothers, who have overcome all challenges to become successful professionals and be role models to their sons and daughters, say that teaching sons to share their familial and social space equally with girls is the first step for removing the double standards that have been instilled in generations.

April 27, 2019
April 27, 2019

From streets of Dhaka to London

Running between ministries, passport office and court is over. Fifteen-year-old Jesmin Akter and seven other children are now excitedly ready -- with all their documents -- to fly to the UK tomorrow to play cricket.

April 25, 2019
April 25, 2019

Beggars’ Rehabilitation: Govt failure writ large

Feroz, 13, leaves Habib from time to time in his makeshift wheelchair outside the High Court Mazar gate and disappears into the distance. The young boy was hired seven days ago to wheel around Habib -- who earns his living by begging.

April 10, 2019
April 10, 2019

Street kids continue to be exploited

Rabeya boarded a launch for the first time when she was eight. As she arrived in Dhaka from Barishal, her grandmother abandoned her. Thus began Rabeya's life as a victim of sex exploitation.

March 11, 2019
March 11, 2019

Care services need to be recognised, valued: ILO survey

Globally, 45 percent women are employed, far less than their male counterparts -- 71 percent. This gender gap can be reduced by

push notification