THE MISUNDERSTOOD MONITOR … A golden monitor seemingly smiling right at the camera when spotted in Khulna’s Dumuria upazila recently. Native to countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, this lizard generally prefers wet areas, on the edge of forests or near human settlements and agricultural land. Almost all species of monitor lizards are scavengers and important for biomass decomposition and recycling. Golden monitors even have a playful side as they’ve been observed alternating between swimming and floating. Despite playing a significant role in the balance of the ecosystem and being quite harmless, the golden or yellow monitor lizard is now endangered because of human activities – direct killing as they are considered “terrifying pests” due to a lack of awareness, deforestation, destruction of habitats, and animal skin trade. PHOTO: HABIBUR RAHMAN
A train reaches Akhaura’s Shibnagar border area from Gangasagar Railway Station in Brahmanbaria during a trial run yesterday. The new Akhaura-Agartala dual-gauge rail line is ready to be inaugurated jointly by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. Traders hope that trains between the two countries will help boost business.
Photo: Mashuk Hridoy
