Khulna District Of Bangladesh Research Articles

Severity of Associated Weeds in Rabi Crops and their Control Measures Perceived by Farmers

Purpose: The study was conducted to identify the associated weeds of Rabi (winter) crops and their control measures used by the farmers at Dumuria and Batiaghata upazila in Khulna district of Bangladesh. Research Method: Data were collected from purposively selected 73 respondents using structured interview conducted from 4 January to 20 April, 2019. Findings: In the study area, Echinochloa crussgalli and Cynodon dactylon were found as dominant within rice fields with the highest severity index of 25.34% and 20.54% respectively. In sesame fields, Cucumis melo var. agrestis and Cynodon dactylon were found with 16.78% and 12.33% severity index respectively. The severity index of Cynodon dactylon was the highest in majority of the vegetable crops. The weeding of rice, potato, bitter gourd, spinach, country bean was done within the critical weeding regime but in the rest of the crops weeding was not done during the critical weeding regime. Originality/value: Farmers spend about 40% of the total production cost on weed control and the critical weeding regime has a major impact on effectiveness of weed control, overall economic benefit and net income.

Distribution and diversity of aquatic macrophytes and the assessment of physico-chemical parameters of Dakatia beel in Khulna district, Bangladesh

The physico-chemical characteristics of water and aquatic macrophytes from Dakatia Beel under Khulna district in Bangladesh were studied within January, 2020 to February, 2021. Twenty three species of aquatic macrophytes belonging to 15 families have been recorded. The aquatic macrophytes in Dakatia Beel collected from several sites belonging to 23 genera and 15 families (Lemnaceae, Pontederiaceae, Araceae, Convolvulaceae, Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Polygonaceae, Ceratophyllaceae, Onagraceae, Parkeriaceae, Cyperaceae, Poaceae, Euphorbiacee, Nymphaceae). We also observed the different plant groups which comprises 6 species of floating, 10 species of emergent and only 2 species of submerged aquatic macrophytes. Dissolved oxygen ranged between 1.78 to 2.2 mg/L with a mean value 1.95 mg/L. The study area showed maximum total dissolved solid 588 ppm and the minimum in 482 ppm with a mean value of 534 ppm. Maximum value of phosphate was noted in 1029 μg/L and minimum 988 μg/L with a mean value of 1005 μg/L. Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. 2021, 7 (2), 118-125

Determinants of Early Marriage among the Women: A Study on Khulna District

Early marriage is one of the major social problems in Bangladesh. Poverty has been the major factor leading to early marriage in Bangladesh. However, this study was an attempt to investigate the determinants affecting the early marriage. The study is explanatory in nature as it tries to explain the determinants that affect early marriage in the Khulna district of Bangladesh. The study was carried out in two areas, i.e, Paikgacha Village under Paikgacha Upzilla and 23 No. ward of Khulna city. The study adopted a survey research design. The population targeted by the study included only female respondents of 18 ages or above age group. 287 respondents were selected through a simple random sampling procedure using an interview schedule as survey research for data assortment. The major finding of the revision was that most of the respondents (64.5%) were married and got at an early age. Results revealed that the majority of the respondents were affected by socio-economic factors as for their early marriages. The study, however, identified the association of premature marriage of the respondents with socio-cultural factors (p<.001), economic factors (p<.005), areas of residence (p<.001) at a strong significant level. So the study concluded that early marriage is affected by different socio-demographic factors such as parental education and income, parental early marriage, husband education, and income, area of residence.

Ecological risk of heavy metal in agricultural soil and transfer to rice grains

Higher accumulation of heavy metals in food grains is one of the leading problems for carcinogenic effects in the body. That’s why; scientists have taken this problem as a potential indicator for ensuring safe food. The present study was carried out to assess the ecological risk of heavy metals such as nickel, copper, arsenic, lead, and manganese in agricultural soil and transfer status to rice grain. Soil samples were collected from four agricultural fields at different times in the Dumuria Upazila under Khulna district in Bangladesh. Heavy metal concentration in soil extracts, irrigation water samples, and grain samples was determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. Average metal concentrations in soil were calculated and compared with the reference value in soil. In most cases, heavy metals in agricultural soil (Ni: 61.73–94.52 mg/kg; Cu: 23.33–37.5 mg/kg; As: 7.53–19.63 mg/kg; Pb: 15.17–29.19 mg/kg; Mn: 322.98–478.45 mg/kg) were greater than the reference soil (Ni: 13.08–24.55 mg/kg; Cu: 10.35–13.28 mg/kg; As: 1.87–4.61 mg/kg; Pb: 4.88–8.27 mg/kg; Mn: 52.17–74.3 mg/kg). Overall risk index stated that the examined soils were at moderate risk of contamination. Transfer Factor of arsenic (0.018–0.032 mg/kg) and manganese (0.059–0.155 mg/kg) was higher from soil to rice grain. On the other hand, transfer factor of lead was found negligible that is a good sign of improvement. The findings of the study will be good documentation for planning, risk assessment, and decision-making by environmental managers in this region.

Drinking Water Quality and Options for the Primary Schools of a Salinity Affected Coastal Area of Bangladesh

Salinity intrusion caused a serious crisis for safe drinking water in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. The situation is even worse for children especially at school. However, information on water services in coastal schools are limited. Here we assess the quality of drinking water and supply infrastructures in the primary schools of a severely saline affected coastal area of Bangladesh. To fulfill the objective, thirty-eight schools were purposively selected and investigated in Dacope Upazila of Khulna district in Bangladesh. Findings revealed that, harvested rainwater (63%), pond (21%) and tube wells (16%) are the only drinking water sources. DO, pH, NO3, SO4 and PO4 concentration of the drinking water satisfied the quality standard. In contrast, total coliform counts exceeded the national standard. Harvested rainwater and pond showed more susceptibility to microbial contaminations as compared that of tube wells which have high salt content. Although 29% schools have installed portable water filtration unit, those are grossly inaccessible for the students. Therefore, students are reportedly consuming unsafe drinking water, and thus are vulnerable to water-borne diseases. The lack of resources and poorly designed infrastructure are the principal challenges of safe drinking water supply at primary schools of coastal Bangladesh.

Climate change impacts and adaptations on health of Internally Displaced People (IDP): An exploratory study on coastal areas of Bangladesh

Every year thousands of people are being displaced in coastal areas of Bangladesh due to natural calamities associated with climate change, known as Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs). Climate change adaptation measures play a significant role in coping with the alteration of climatic components, while various forms of barriers hinder the sustainability of adaptation. This research was conducted to understand the perception of IDPs on climate change impact on health in the coastal areas of Bangladesh, including the adaptation practices and barriers to the coping strategies. To fulfill the objective, 420 individual surveys were conducted randomly in two Sub-districts of Khulna district in Bangladesh. The findings reveal that the riverbank erosion and cyclones were the primary reasons for displacement, and the social relationships were hampered in the new places of living. Also, the temperature in summer and winter, and the rainfall intensity increased, whereas rainfall slightly decreased over the last ten years. Differences of opinion were identified about the effects of the changing climatic variables on the respondents' health between the previous and present locations. Despite practicing different adaptive strategies, the weak financial condition and a lack of access to health care information are mostly hindering the sustainability of adaptation. This research may help policymakers in taking proper initiatives to ensure sustainable adaptation practices in the coastal areas.

Factors Influencing Family Size: A Critical Study on Khulna District of Bangladesh

Family size in any particular society depends on different socioeconomic and cultural factors. This study makes an attempt to examine the determinants of family size in the Khulna district of Bangladesh. The study was carried out in Paikgacha villages under Paikgacha Upazila and. Ward no. 31 of Khulna city under Khulna district. The study opted for survey research design and the unit of analyses was the head of households from the study area. Samples of 296 respondents were selected through simple random sampling and were interviewed with a semi-structured interview schedule. The bivariate studies were executed using chi-square to explore the probable association between family size and certain covariates. To know the marginal effects of independent variables, the OLS (Ordinary Least Square) model was measured. Results show that half of the households (54.1% to be exact) were small (had four or less than that members) in size. Besides, age, family income, educational status, number of surviving children, number of desired children, sex preferences, contraceptive use, family planning, and residence were linked with the size of the family (p<.005) as potential socioeconomic and cultural factors.

Shrimp production and its effects on family income inequality in some selected areas of Khulna district

This study attempted to find out the determinants of shrimp production and to assess the effects of income from shrimp production on family income inequality in Khulna district of Bangladesh. Forty-five farmers were selected from the Bhanderkote union of Batiaghata Upazila under Khulna District. Among them 15 were small farmers, 22 were medium farmers and 8 were large farmers. Data were collected from May to July 2014 through face to face interview. Ordinary Least Square had been used to find out the determinants of shrimp production. Gini coefficient was measured to see the effects of family income inequality. Expenditure on shrimp fingerling, feed, lime, education, and hired labor were the important determinants and had significant effects on shrimp production. Shrimp farm incomes were equal among all categories of farmers (small, medium and large) and all farmers bear the value of Gini0.31, 0.24, 0.12 and 0.36 respectively. In the case of nonfarm incomes small, large and all farmers were relatively equal (G=0.49, G=0.42, and G=0.44 respectively) where the medium farmers (G=0.55) were relatively unequal.
 Res. Agric., Livest. Fish.7(1): 153-163, April 2020

Assessment on Climate Change Adaptation: A Study on Coastal Area of Khulna District in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is likely to be one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change due to geographical location and geo-morphological conditions. Bangladesh experiences extremely disastrous situations like a cyclone, flood, saline water intrusion, water logging, heavy rainfall, river erosion, storm surge, etc. that occur frequently in the coastal part of Bangladesh. This results in a huge loss of lives, damages properties and degrades the integrity of the environmental components. This study was conducted on 2 villages (Chotta Chalna and Shivnagar) of Dacope Upazila of Khulna district with the purpose of assessing existing climate change adaptation scenarios and techniques for mitigating climate change-related risks. Necessary data were collected from various sources namely direct household survey, focus group discussion, and key informants interview and from various journals, related thesis papers. About 46% of the respondents cited cyclone is the most terrific type hazard and 17.33% of respondents cited salinity intrusion is the second devastating type hazard that they faced. The results show that the study area climate change risks are very high and existing climate change adaptation techniques are not effective enough to mitigate the risks. Sustainable climate change adaptation strategies are much needed to mitigate the climate change risks of the study area.

Communication exposure of sub-assistant agriculture officers (SAAOs) towards e-agriculture in Khulna district of Bangladesh

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of communication exposure of the Sub-Assistant Agriculture Officers towards e-agriculture in Khulna district of Bangladesh. Study was conducted in the five selected upazilas of Khulna city viz., Rupsa, Dighalia, Phultala, Dumuria and Batiaghata which consist of 108 agricultural blocks. A sample of 100 Sub-Assistant Agriculture Officers (SAAOs) was selected from these blocks. Data were collected following a structured pretested interview schedule. Findings revealed that most 60% of the SAAOs had low communication exposures to e-agriculture. Correlation analysis indicates that age, income and service experience had negative significant relationship with communication exposures of SAAOs to e-Agriculture. Training exposure and knowledge on e-agriculture had positive significant relationship with their communication exposures towards e-agriculture. The enter method of regression analysis revealed that knowledge on e-agriculture, training exposure and monthly income described 77.5 percent variation in the communication exposure of SAAOs. The estimates indicated that knowledge on e-Agriculture had strongest (β=0.479) contribution to the variance of communication exposure to e-Agriculture. On the other hand, monthly income had contributed to the variance of communication exposure of SAAOs towards e-Agriculture in negative direction (β=-0.156). Mobile phone was the highest preferred device in using e-Agricultural media by the SAAOs. “Unfamiliarity of extension workers with e-agriculture application” was the main personal constraint and “lack of training on e-agriculture” was the main organizational constraint which might have led to low communication exposure of SAAOs towards e-agriculture.

Agronomic Performance of Modern Rice Varieties in South-west Bangladesh

An experiment was carried out in Boro season during November 2018 to April 2019 at two farmer’s fields of Batiaghata and Dumuria sub-district under Khulna district of Bangladesh with the objective of testing agronomic status and adaptability of four modern rice varieties in comparison with the popular mega variety BRRI dhan28. The varieties were BRRI dhan67, BRRI dhan81, BRRI dhan84 and BRRI dhan86. BRRI dhan28 was chosen as a control due to its wide acceptability among the farmers. The soil of the studied area was moderately alkaline and medium to moderately saline. In Batiaghata and Dumuria field, initial soil EC was 3.19 and 3.29 dS/m, respectively and it was 4.7 and 4.8 dS/m, accordingly at maturity stage. It was observed that germination rate, plant height, effective tiller number were significantly higher in BRRI dhan67 than the other varieties but insignificant with BRRI dhan28 (p?0.05) for both fields. All the yield components spikelets per panicle, filled grain and 1000-grain weight were also significantly higher in BRRI dhan67 in compared to the other varieties but insignificant with BRRI dhan28 (p?0.05) for both fields as well. The highest grain yield was observed in BRRI dhan67 in both plots (7.89 and 7.29 t/ha) and showed significant differences among all other varieties (p?0.05). Harvest Index of BRRI dhan67 (51.02±4.2, 57.84±8.6)% indicated that this variety is the best yielder among the varieties. Considering overall performances and facts, BRRI dhan67 showed better agronomic performance and adaptation than the other modern varieties in compare with popular mega BRRI dhan28.

Impacts on Environmental Components of the Proposed Liquefied Petroleum Gas Bottling and Distribution Plant at Dacope Khulna in Bangladesh

Impact identification is the first step in an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, contributing to prediction, evaluation and mitigation of significant environmental impacts. It connects the project characteristics to baseline environmental information with the aim of ensuring that all significant impacts are taken into consideration. The study location was at Dacope Upazila of Khulna District in Bangladesh. A Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) bottling and distribution plant is going to set up by Energypac Power Generation Limited. The objective of the study was to identify the impacts on the major environmental components of the study area. The field observation, interviews of project proponent and community people, public consultation, laboratory analysis were the main activities of the study along with others. This study has done an appropriate analysis of baseline condition of the major environmental components of the study area, identified the impacts of the project on major environmental components and developed an environmental management plan for the LPG bottling and distribution plant.
 J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 11(1-2): 171-181 2018

An Economic Study on Shrimp Production and Value Chain System in Khulna District of Bangladesh

Shrimp farming and related activities contribute significantly to the national economy of Bangladesh. Per hectare half yearly average yield of shrimp was 350 kg and its money value was Tk. 1, 07,900. Variable cost is 61.29% and fixed cost is 38.71% of the total cost (Tk. 92,190). Among the various variable cost items of shrimp production, maximum cost Tk. 20,000 was found on human labor which was about 35.40% and Tk. 14,770 was found on feed which was about 26.14% of the total variable cost. Again among the various fixed cost items of shrimp production, maximum cost (Tk. 24,375) was found on human labor which was about 68.30% of the total fixed cost. Net returns were estimated at Tk. 1, 49,710 and benefit-cost ratio of shrimp farming was 2.62 which indicates that shrimp production is profitable business for the shrimp farmers. The value chain system continues by the active involvement of farmer, faria, aratdar, bepari, retailer, consumers.

Farmers’ awareness regarding deforestation at Jalma union of Batiaghata upazila under Khulna district of Bangladesh

Deforestation causes environmental degradation. Awareness of the people might have influence on reduction of deforestation. The main purposes of the study were to determine the farmers’ awareness regarding deforestation and to explore relationship between the selected characteristics of the farmers and their awareness. The study was conducted to only one village namely Raingamari (The project village of Khulna University) of Jalma union under Batiaghata upazila of Khulna district. Data were collected from 53 family heads of the village on their 10 selected characteristics such as age, educational qualification, farming experience, family size, farm size, family income, organizational participation, cosmopoliteness, extension media contact, training exposure. Data were also collected on farmers’ awareness regarding deforestation. Data were collected from the respondents during April to July 2017 through personal interview using a pretested interview schedule. Most of the respondents were highly aware of deforestation. The respondents showed highest level of awareness regarding “deforestation causes greenhouse effect which consequently increase the average temperature of the earth” while they were less aware regarding “deforestation threatens the livelihoods and cultural integrity of people that depend on forest”. Among the 10 selected characteristics of the respondents, educational qualification, organizational participation, extension media contact showed positive significant relationships with their awareness regarding deforestation while only the annual income had the negative significant relationship with their awareness regarding deforestation.
 Res. Agric., Livest. Fish.6(2): 193-202, August 2019

Irrigation water quality of surface and ground water used for Boro rice cultivation in Khulna district in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a land of mighty rivers and innumerable tributaries, heavy rainfall and recurring floods. Nearly 75 percent of the country’s population depends either directly or indirectly on agriculture. This study deals with the quality of surface and ground water used in rice cultivation of Khulna district, which is located in the south-western part of Bangladesh. This study was carried out to characterize the surface and ground water in terms of different dissolved elements in relation to the suitability of the water for irrigation purposes in Khulna. To analyze the water quality for irrigation of Boro rice, the water samples both surface and ground water were collected from different Upazillas. A reconnaissance survey was conducted in different areas of sampling sites. Collected samples were immediately analyzed for finding important chemical parameters such as pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC),Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Magnesium Adsorption Ratio (MAR), Soluble Sodium Percentage (SSP),Sodium to Calcium Activity Ratio (SCAR), Sodium Ratio (SR), Residual Sodium Bi-carbonate (RSBC), Kelly’s Ratio (KR), Permeability Index (PI) and Total Hardness (HT). From the analysis, it was observed the ionic concentration and other chemical parameters varied in different water sources of the area. SAR, SSP, SCAR and KR are high in all sources where surface water contained most but SR, MAR, HT and Permeability were in favorable concentration in both sources in Khulna District. Therefore, the sodicity and alkalinity hazards risk have been found to both of the water sources to use in irrigation purposes.
 Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res.54(3), 263-274, 2019

Quantification of the Contribution of Rural Women in Socioeconomic Development

In Bangladesh, rural women contribute in social development and they are good partners to economic development too. However, their contribution to the socioeconomic development by spending time in various ways has not been quantified yet. The study aimed to quantify the extent of contribution of rural women in socioeconomic development at two villages named Sachibunia and Islamnagar of Batiaghata upazila under Khulna District of Bangladesh. Data were collected from purposively selected 120 respondents using a structured interview schedule on 14 selected characteristics of the respondents which were treated as independent variables. The extent of contribution to socioeconomic development was the dependent variable. Spearman’s rank order correlation co-efficient (ρ) was computed to ascertain the relationships between the selected characteristics and dependent variable. Rural women’s performed different daily activities and spent time for those activities were converted into money. Through this way, the obtained quantified contribution to family income of the unemployed respondent was 26% and of employed respondent was 50%. Quantified contribution to family income by educated paid respondent was 48% and by highly educated paid respondent was 60%. Quantified contribution to family income by low educated unpaid respondent was 29% and by highly educated unpaid respondent was 23%. The average quantified contribution to family income made by rural women was 53.32% which had been ultimately used for better standards of living. Negative significant relationship was found between the faced problems and their contributions in socioeconomic development. Family is the smallest constituting unit of the society and the country as well. Thus, it could be concluded that the contribution made by women in socioeconomic development is more than its men counterpart at rural level. It might be recommended that, adequate support should be provided to rural women to nurture this contribution by ensuring due acknowledgement and honor for them.

Participation of Rural Women in Organic Farming

The study assessed the participation of rural women in organic farming and explored the relationship between selected characteristics of the rural women and their extent of participation in organic farming. This investigation was a survey type of research involving descriptive and diagnostic type of research design. The study was conducted at seven unions of Batiaghata Upazila under Khulna district of Bangladesh namely Amirpur, Gangarampur, Jalma, Batiaghata, Baliadanga, Bhanderkote and Surkhali. Data were collected from randomly selected 140 respondents during the period of 20th January to 15th February, 2019. Correlation(s) test was used to ascertain the relationships between the concerned independent variables and the dependent variable and simple linear regression was done to determine the effect of the selected five independent variables (agricultural training, knowledge, attitude, practice and problem) on participation. Majority (52.1%) of the women had medium participation followed by high (44.3%) and low (3.6%) participation. Considering broadly selected 7-aspects of organic farming, the rural women’s participation was highest in land management while it was lowest in marketing the product. Among 24 issues women were found to be greatly involved in collection of organic product from their own residence while it was least in case of collection of organic product from farm. Agricultural training, knowledge, attitude and practice showed positive significant relationship out of fifteen selected characteristics of rural women and only problem showed negative significant relationship with their participation in organic farming. In case of simple linear regression 7%, 14.44%, 18.85%, 18.96% and 8.69% of the participation can be explained by the variables as agricultural training, knowledge, attitude, practice and problem respectively. It can be concluded that women participation was confined only in small scale crop production and there is a need for further enhancement of the extent of participation of rural women in organic farming.

Farmers’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) Regarding Nitrogen Fortified Organic Manure in Crop Production

The study was carried out mainly to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of farmers regarding nitrogen fortified organic manure. Data were collected from purposive-randomly selected 120 farmers from Kharnia, Atalia, Maguraghona unions of Dumuria upazila under Khulna district of Bangladesh through personal interview using an interview schedule during January to February, 2019. There were eleven personal socioeconomic characteristics of farmers selected for the study which were age, educational qualification, family size, farming experience, organic farming experience, annual income, farm size, organizational participation, agricultural training, cosmopolitanism, extension contact regarding nitrogen fortified organic manure, were treated as independent variables, whereas knowledge, attitude, practice (KAP) and faced problems were considered as dependent variables. Majority (65%) of the respondents had high knowledge, most of the respondents (85.8%) had medium favorable attitude and majority of the respondents (65.8%) had medium practice, respectively, regarding nitrogen fortified organic manure. 65% of the respondents encountered medium problem while preparing and applying nitrogen fortified organic manures in the crop field. Although farmers usually use inorganic nitrogen fertilizer but they have favorable attitude regarding nitrogen fortified organic manure. On the basis of the response provided by the respondents’ positive statements ranked first and negative statements ranked second in gross considerations. The 1st position was ranked by the individual statement “N fortified organic manure is good” on the basis of obtained highest score (532), which was followed by “soil health is maintained” (2nd, score 530) and “great source of income” (3rd, score 488). Among the selected characteristics of farmers, annual income showed negative significant relationship with attitude while farm size, agricultural training showed positive significant relationship; and family size showed negative significant relationship with knowledge of farmers regarding nitrogen fortified organic manure. Cosmopolitanism and extension contact showed positive significant relationship with practice; while agricultural training showed negative significant relationship with problem of farmers regarding nitrogen fortified organic manure. Thus, the high knowledge, medium favorable attitude and medium practice should be utilized to design appropriate extension strategies for production and application of the nitrogen fortified organic manures by the farmers in their agricultural fields for crop production. The encountered problems also should be addressed properly to ensure timely mitigation. Proper measures should also be undertaken to make nitrogen fortified organic manure popular day by day.

Potential ecological risk of metal pollution in lead smelter-contaminated agricultural soils in Khulna, Bangladesh.

Lead smelters are important source of metal pollution. This study assessed ecological risks of three heavy metals (Pb, As, and Zn) in agricultural soils surrounding five Pb smelters from Khulna district in Bangladesh. A total of 81 surface soil samples collected within 500-m radius of the smelters were analyzed using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Concentrations of Pb, As, and Zn ranged within 6-3902, 1.8-9.6, and 45.4-563mg/kg, respectively. About half of the Pb samples (~ 51%) exceeded soil quality standard target value (85mg/kg), and the concentrations gradually decreased with horizontal distance from the smelter. The value of pollution index (PI) measured for Pb, As, and Zn varied respectively in the range of 0-195, 0.6-3.2, and 0.67-8.28, with mean values of 11.7, 1.9, and 3.92. The value of integrated pollution index (IPI) calculated for these metals remained between 0.58 and 66.2 with a mean of 5.7, and that designates ~ 96% of the sampled soils as moderately or highly contaminated. Potential ecological risk (PER) calculated for the metals indicate that all the samples were within low to moderate risk, and the descending order of PER of the metals was Pb > As > Zn.

Priority practices for addressing non-economic loss and damages caused by cyclones in Bangladesh

PurposeThis paper aims to identify and prioritize key non-economic loss and damages (NELDs) caused by the 2009 Cyclone Aila in Khulna District of Bangladesh and to identify appropriate practices to address the NELDs.Design/methodology/approachThe analytic hierarchy process was applied to prioritize key criteria, NELD indicators and practices that should be integrated into disaster risk reduction decisions at the local level.FindingsThe results showed the need for prioritizing NELDs at the local level, and especially for integrating into DRR policy and planning for addressing NELDs. The results indicated that the national disaster management plan could be enhanced to address issues related to inaccessible sanitation, waterborne diseases and mental disorders, and the school discontinuation.Research limitations/implicationsThe results are specific to Bangladesh. Readers may find them applicable to other similar country situations.Practical implicationsThe suggested risk reduction practices for addressing NELDs are effective for policymakers to prepare for the future extreme cyclone disasters.Social implicationsThe study identifies “compliance with societal value” as an important criterion for decision-making in the affected communities. Societal value can be a basis to determine effective practices to address the NELDs.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is the first ever effort to identify and prioritize NELDs of cyclones in the coastal areas of Bangladesh and therefore might have a greater implication for DRR policy of Bangladesh.