Boatmen struggle to drag an empty boat across the Surma River, as sandbars, silt, and waste have choked the flow and blocked passage. Traders once reliant on the river for low‑cost transport can no longer move goods by boat. Households are forced to fetch water from afar. A river that once sustained the city now looks to its people for survival. The photo was taken yesterday in Sylhet city’s Kazirbazar. Photo: Sheikh Nasir