Sylhet: Jaflong, lying about 60 kilometres to the north east of Sylhet, is a place of rare divine beauty not only in that region but in the whole of the country. The place is tucked in a perfect setting in the lap of Khasia Jainta hill, beside the river Mari which originates from the Himalayas in India, carrying millions of tons of stone boulders with its tide.
Full story: The Bangladesh Monitor
Sylhet is ill-prepared for earthquakes due to lack of awareness and unplanned urbanization, say experts.
“Total disregard for the national building code by the builders has left Dhaka extremely susceptible,” said earthquake expert and civil engineer Mehedi Ahmed Ansary, from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET).
A government policy to promote renewable energy has lured a large number of new entrants into the business, particularly for solar panel installations, sector people said.
In the last two years, nearly 100 firms and NGOs have appeared on the scene to sell technologies including solar home systems, water heaters, irrigation pumps, street lights and their accessories and batteries.
Privately run helicopters emerged as a means of commercial travel in the last one year with businessmen, corporate executives, foreign buyers and donors opting for chartered chopper services to visit places outside the capital to avoid huge traffic congestion and time consuming road transports.
There is hardly any week the helicopters are not being used for travelling, the operators said.
“Now we get clients almost five days a week,” said Director (operations) of Square Air Group Captain (retd) M Abu Zafar. The company has been providing service with a seven seated Bell 407 helicopter including two seats for pilots since 2010 and is expecting to add another twine engine helicopter to its fleet soon.
Subscribe
