Headlines

The nation would celebrate the 43rd Victory Day on Monday to pay homage to the sons of the soil whose supreme sacrifice brought Independence on this day in 1971. The day is a public holiday. The day will be celebrated across the country and Bangladesh’s missions abroad will pay glowing tributes to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur ... Read more

Dhaka-mawa Highway Developers now own most of wetlands Poor farmers forced to sell lands as law not enforced Land developers are illegally filling up vast areas of wetland and converting huge areas of seasonal cropland to launch housing projects along the Dhaka-Mawa Highway. All the laws and policies formulated over the years to protect the ... Read more

Bangladesh knocked off a target of over 300 runs to romp to a four-wicket win in the third one-day international, inflicting a 3-0 defeat on New Zealand in the three-match series at Fatullah on Sunday. The clean sweep victory, which came against the backdrop of a 4-0 win in the previous series between the sides, ... Read more

Large vessels using channel thru’ the forest creating disturbance; regular waterway silted up for long A temporary water transport channel through the Sundarbans has turned into a regular route over the last two years as the authorities concerned have yet to restore the navigability of the original route. Subsequently, the ecosystem and wildlife of the ... Read more

The much-awaited 10-kilometre-long Jatrabari flyover in the capital opens to the public today over three years after its construction work began. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to open the flyover at Shanir Akhra point near Dhaka-Chittagong highway at 3:00pm. She will later address an inaugural ceremony of the flyover opening at Osmani Memorial Hall, ... Read more

Run by battery, they are more prone to accidents; they gain access by bribing cops Battery-run rickshaws are plying many Dhaka streets flouting a government ban as the law enforcers turn a blind eye to it, allegedly taking bribes from the rickshaw owners. Officials at Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) said controlling rickshaws in city ... Read more

Cash-strapped BJMC virtually stays out of purchase; poor sale of golden fibre Jute farmers walk a tightrope this season. So does Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation. The BJMC, the biggest purchaser of raw jute in public sector, is running out of cash and is struggling to buy jute from the farmers and traders during the peak ... Read more

No hope of improvement before mid-Oct Surging illegal consumption together with spiralling demand on the one hand and a slight drop in production on the other has created an unusual gas crisis in the capital in recent weeks. When production is expected to increase keeping pace with a 10 percent annual growth in demand, the ... Read more

To invest $1 billion to procure 22 aircraft by next year, hoping to expand business The aviation industry is likely to see an unprecedented boom as both the public and private airlines are expected to invest around $1 billion in the sector by next year. Biman Bangladesh Airlines and four other local airlines will either ... Read more

Rampal Power Plant Coal dust a big concern Transportation of 3.2m tonnes of coal a year thru’ Passur river may threaten Sundarbans Even if emissions from the massive coal-fired Rampal Power Plant do not harm the Sundarbans that much, transport of imported coal through the Passur river may, experts say. The Akram Point of the ... Read more

50,000 hectares of forest lost in a decade to encroachment Encroachers have deforested nearly 50,000 hectares of the Sundarbans in the last decade, a study has found. This means the world’s largest mangrove forest spreading over 6.01 lakh hectares area has lost 8.3 percent of its northern front between 2000 and 2010. The study, done ... Read more

Vitamin-enriched Rice Field test delayed  Scientists wait for approval from regulators Regulators’ foot-dragging has failed scientists in field-testing Vitamin A-enriched rice, better known as “Golden Rice”. A year passed by since the researchers sought approval for a “confined field trial” on Golden Rice but they are still to get a response. As a result, the ... Read more

4 Dhaka rivers lose 2,500 acres of land thru’ dubious demarcation River-saving efforts of the government are backfiring to some extent as around 2,500 acres of foreshores and existing waterways in four rivers in greater Dhaka has been given to “land owners” in the process. According to related laws, no-one can ‘own’ foreshores or waterways ... Read more

Bangladesh set to release the world’s first zinc-enriched variety Bangladesh is all set to release the world’s first zinc-enriched rice variety, capable of fighting diarrhoea and pneumonia-induced childhood deaths and stunting. The hi-zinc rice will also be the most early-mature variety to be grown in Aman season in the country. The National Seed Board (NSB), ... Read more

House rent in Dhaka going up by about 15pc every year; owners arbitrary for lack of proper law, specific authority Capital Dhaka is home to some 150 million people. One study shows nearly 80 percent of them live in rented houses, and they do so, as it looks, at the mercy of the house owners. ... Read more

Thousands suffer as tailbacks delay Dhaka bound trips by hours A 70-kilometre tailback on Dhaka-Tangail highway that lasted for about 17 hours took a serious toll on the Eid holidaymakers returning to the capital yesterday. The congestion, from Chandra of Gazipur to Bangabandhu bridge in Tangail, began when a bus broke down on a bridge ... Read more

Purbachal Housing Project Hundreds of acres of forest, crop land, water bodies destroyed The authorities destroyed nearly 1,600 acres of crop land, forests, orchards and water bodies in Kaliganj under Gazipur district for creating Purbachal New Town, a government housing project, about 16 km from the capital. Flanked by the rivers, Balu and Sitalakhya, the ... Read more

Jamuna Eco Park Good initiative, gross negligence The Bangabandhu Jamuna Eco-Park in Sirajganj, which could become a lucrative spot pulling in local and foreign tourists, has been in a sorry state for years. The park, about 125 kilometres north-west of Dhaka, has over 50 varieties of timber, fruit and medicinal trees and a zoo, but ... Read more

The English Road Park of the capital, which was made for children’s recreation, is now used for dumping garbage as well as a truck garage. It is impossible for anyone who never visited the spot to imagine that once it was a children park as no amenities and park installments are left there. One part ... Read more

Upturned Oil Wagons Karnaphuli at stake The furnace oil, spilled from three wagons of a freight train derailed at Boalkhali in Chittagong on Tuesday, poses a serious threat to the aquatic creatures living in the river Karnaphuli, and its surrounding biodiversity. The three oil tankers contained around 1,00,000 litres of furnace oil, around 33,000 litres ... Read more