Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the government wants to bring the country's irrigation system completely under solar power.

She said, I want to make the irrigation system completely dependent on solar power. This may require some investment initially, but will reduce costs in the long run.

The Prime Minister said this at the inauguration of the tree plantation program organized by the Bangladesh Krishak League at Ganabhaban on Saturday (June 15) and the prize distribution ceremony.

Stating that the government is subsidizing the power sector, the Prime Minister said that an excellent system has been invented. An umbrella equipped with solar panels will be placed over a well where rainwater will be stored. Irrigation will be done with solar energy.

She mentioned that a huge amount of land will not be wasted for introducing this system. She further said that currently solar panels are being manufactured and we can install solar panels in nearby villages for irrigation.

Sheikh Hasina said that the government will take the country towards industrialization by developing an agriculture-based economy. The Prime Minister called upon the leaders and workers of his party to play an important role in making Bangladesh green.

She called for planting saplings along river embankments, coastal areas, roadsides, rooftops and houses to strengthen the green movement.

Krishak League President Sameer Chand and Acting General Secretary Biswanath Sarkar also spoke on the occasion. Shamima Shahriar, joint general secretary of Krishak League, moderated the program.

Thick frame glasses. Junayed Khan Afsar with a bunch of beard on the face, a 25-year-old young man with a calm face, is highly educated. I was surprised to find out more details because Afsar came from Canada, a country across seven seas and thirteen rivers. This young man who took a higher degree abroad was discovered in the animal market as a cow seller! Yes, Afsar is selling cows at the animal market in Noor Nagar Housing Society grounds of Chattogram city.

In his childhood, if a cow had been bought at home before Eid –ul-Azha, Afsar would take care of it himself for a few days. Since then, Afsar fell in love with the innocent creature. That's when he made a promise - one day he will give a cow farm, he will take care of the animal with love and compassion. Finally, in June 2023, Afsar reflected the desire that had been kept in her mind for many years.

That story was heard from the mouth of Afsar. While selling cows, Afsar told Barta24.com that after completing ‘A’ level in the country, he moved to Canada for higher education. He also started working there while studying. By working as a credit card marketer in a financial institution, he saved a large sum of money while meeting his own expenses. Returning to the country, he thought of using the earned money. That thought took him back to that childhood love. He started two farms in June 2023 from that love for cows. Among them, he built a farm named 'Junayed Javed Agro' in Gazipur.

He started fattening 30 cows in the farm ahead of this year's Eid- ul- Azha. Afsar brought the cows raised in that farm to this market located in a one kilometer area of Chattogram. Another farm of Afsar is at Savar. But it is all dairy farms. Milk is collected from 20 cows and sold in the market. Although Afsar's home is in Chattogram, he spends most of his time in Dhaka. So giving a farm near Dhaka.

As soon as you enter the animal market in the grounds of Noor Nagar Housing Society, you will see several banners of Junaid Javed Agro on the right hand side. 30 cows are standing side by side under that banner. In the beginning, the Australian Friesian breed was a large sized bull. Afsar lovingly named the bull 'Chairman'. Right next to the chairman is a white colored 'Member'. Afsar's black and white striped chairman is priced at Tk. five lakh. And the price of the ‘Member’ is Tk. three and a half lakh.

Afsar laughed at the question of what is the reason for naming cows as Chairman and Member. He stopped laughing and said, 'This name is given by seeing the behavior of the cows. The black and white colored cow is as red as the Chairman. So I call him Chairman. And I have given the name of some of his small sized cows as Members. Because the Member is a little smaller than the chairman!

Afsar's other 28 cows are also quite large. Their weight is between 350 to 700 kg. The price of these cows has increased from Tk. two and a quarter lakh to Tk. three and a half lakh.

Afsar is a son of a solvent family. They also have a family business. The father asked the son to return to Canada after his studies to join the business. But Afsar's dream was different. I wanted to become an entrepreneur, build a cow farm. That irresistible desire takes Afsar not to the air-conditioned room, but to the suffocating environment of the farm itself.

Reminding that once again, Afsar said, 'I have spent about Tk. 80 lakh to build this farm. Of this, the father gave about 30 percent. The remaining 70 percent is the money saved from my job. Many people do many things, but I went back to my childhood love. On the one hand, I can raise the cows with love and compassion. I can also make a good income by selling them.

Afsar returned to the cows as soon as he finished speaking. With great compassion, he wipes the sand off the cows and feeds them husks and water. When someone else goes to where the 'Chairman-Member' comes, if you find Afsar near, it is as if the cows are calm and steady. The people who came to the market were also amazed to see the animal-love of the highly educated youth.

Mirpur is one of the most important areas of the capital. There are several canals and reservoirs throughout Mirpur. Joynagar, Baishteki and Baunia canals flow through Mirpur-13 and 14. Boats used to ply through these canals but now it is only a memory. Every year the canals are cleaned by the city corporation, but due to the local people throwing garbage, at the end of the day, they again turn into garbage dump.

The residents have expressed their anger saying that the city corporation is negligent in cleaning the canal. During the rainy season, the residents of Jayanagar, Baishteki and Baunia canals have to suffer due to the accumulation of water.

According to city planners, the city corporation must take proper planning in cleaning and saving canals. They say that the garbage lifted from the canal is polluted, it should be kept in a temporary place instead of being kept on the banks of the canal and in the locality. People should be encouraged and held accountable for not throwing garbage in canals and everything should be brought under monitoring.

Jayanagar canal starts from the culvert area of Mirpur-14 and joins with Baishteki and Baunia canals of Mirpur-13. On the other hand, Baishteki canal is connected with Baunia canal through Paris Road of Mirpur-13 and Palashnagar. And Baunia canal starts from Matikata Road and joins Baishteki and Jayanagar canals.

Once upon a time ferry boats used to ply through Jayanagar, Baishteki and Baunia canals. But, over time, the canal has been occupied by buildings. As a result, the width of the canal has started to decrease slowly. Later people started dumping garbage in the canals. The canals have turned into garbage heaps. Even a little rain causes water to rise on the roads and there is no drainage system due to garbage in the canals.

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) announced the rescue and cleans the canal. After the announcement, Baishteki, Jayanagar canals were cleared of garbage but Baunia canal was not. Water flow has been activated in Baishteki and Jayanagar canals due to the cleaning of canals by the City Corporation. Within a few months of the cleanup, parts of the canals have once again turned into heaps of garbage and garbage. However, Dhaka North City Corporation has already started the work of rescuing and cleaning various canals.

It was found that while some parts of Baishteki, Jayanagar and Baunia canals of Mirpur-13 and 14 were clean, most of them were filled with rubbish. The canals are not wide enough at different places. A huge building has been built along the banks of the canal. The smell of dirty canal water is wafting.

Mostafizur Rahman, a local resident of Mirpur-13 Bhasantek area, told Barta24.com that in 2018, Joynagar, Baishteki and Baunia canals were cleaned well. There was no flooding in the area then. Later, the canals were filled with garbage due to careless neglect. As a result, even a little rain causes flooding in the area. During the monsoon season, there is waist-deep water in the area.

He also said that the city corporation had cleaned the canals a few months ago. But, they left the garbage lifted from the canal in the canal. Due to this, the garbage fell into the canal again. We do not want such nominal canal cleaning by the City Corporation; We want to save the canal directly.

Another resident named Mahfuz said that once ferry boats used to travel through these canals. Now the boat movement is a distant thing; not even water. During the rainy season, water actually rises in our house. We have to live very hard. We cannot live in the stench of dirty canal water. We want a permanent solution by saving this canal.

The president of Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) and city planner Dr. Adil Muhammad Khan told Barta24.com that the city corporation is doing various canal rescue activities. However, even if the corporation rescues or cleans the canal, the waste returns to the canal again. The main reason for this is that the City Corporation leaves the garbage on the bank of the canal. The city corporation should hold those responsible for littering.

He said that the city corporation should encourage people and form communities so that people do not throw garbage. But, this activity of City Corporation is completely absent. Since such initiatives are very limited, those who are responsible for keeping the canals clean do not play much role. Until and unless the ward councilor is held responsible for motivating people and building community, the corporation will not get any good results even if it cleans up again and again. The City Corporation should bring everything under control.

He also said that these canals must be rescued. The City Corporation has to recover all the illegally encroached areas of the canal. If the rescue operation involves the community, it will be sustainable.

DNCC Chief Executive Officer Mir Khairul Alam told Barta24.com that Baishteki, Jayanagar and Baunia canals are under our control. Residents around the canal are regularly throwing garbage in the canal after the City Corporation cleans it. We are urging the residents not to throw garbage in the canal.

In reply to the question that due to the reduction in the width of the canal, the flow of water is being disturbed and what is the way out of it, he said, with the help of the army, we are working to mark the boundary of the canal and delineate the boundary. After recovering we will conduct an evacuation operation. The canals will be developed after the evacuation operation. We are continuing these in phases.

200 sacks of sugar were recovered while being smuggled under rocks in a truck on the Sylhet-Tamabil highway. Shahparan Thana police of SMP arrested two people.

This shipment of sugar was seized from the Surma Gate area of the Sylhet-Tamabil highway on Friday (June 14) afternoon.

Those arrested in this incident are – truck driver Md. Salauddin son of Durul Huda of Rajshahi's Belpukur police station (28) and helper Mohasin (24) son of deceased Afaz Uddin of Baharampur village in the same district.

The matter has been confirmed by - Mohammad Harunur Rashid Chowdhury, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Sylhet Metropolitan Police Shahparan Police Station.

According to the police, on the basis of secret information that Indian sugar is coming towards Sylhet city under the cover of stone blocks from Haripur, the police station conducted a check post at the Surma Gate bypass area of Shahpura police station. At around 12.30 pm, when a truck was signaled to stop, it disobeyed the signal and tried to flee at high speed. During the chase, the truck was seized and 2 people were arrested.

After searching the vehicle 200 sacks of sugar under the stone were recovered. The estimated value of which is Tk. 11 lakh 76 thousand.

In this regard, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Sylhet Metropolitan Police's Shahparan Police Station Mohammad Harunur Rashid Chowdhury said that the matter of filing a case in the Police Station is under process.