Central Bank issues letter to Grameen Bank; Grameen terms it a legal issue, insists the Nobel hero still holds office Dr Muhammad Yunus, the man who brought a Nobel Prize for Bangladesh, and the most celebrated living Bangladeshi around the globe, was unceremoniously relieved of his duties at Grameen Bank yesterday through a Bangladesh Bank ... Read more
Headlines
Tk 21cr goes down rivers
Buriganga-Turag Cleaning Project Tk 21cr goes down rivers Contamination remains as grave as ever due to failure in plugging pollution sources Pinaki Roy Though the government has already spent over Tk 21 crore on its much-hyped Buriganga-Turag River Cleaning Project, the rivers remain contaminated with toxic wastes, as the pollution sources could not be plugged. ... Read more
Cricket gala begins
The 10th Cricket World Cup, a 49-match six-week sporting marathon was formally launched by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina amidst thunderous cheers here this evening in the renovated Bangabandhu National Stadium in a blaze of colour and pageantry. “ It gives me great pleasure to declare the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup open,” said Sheikh ... Read more
Metro rail in 4 years possible
Study finds a ride from Uttara to Jatrabari will take only 45 minutes, Tk 50 A commute by metro from Uttara to Jatrabari will take about 45 minutes and cost Tk 50, according to studies conducted as part of the government plans for improved public transport in the capital. The planned electric railway will carry ... Read more
Result close to ZERO
Court Directives, Govt Warnings, Public Outcry Result close to ZERO Pinaki Roy Encroachment and pollution of the Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Turag and Balu rivers in and around the capital continue despite the government’s pledges to put an end to those. In response to a campaign by the media, the government in June 2009 pledged to restore ... Read more
Lakhs join Akheri Munajat
The first phase of the Biswa Ijtema at Tongi near the capital ended yesterday with the offering of Akheri Munajat (concluding prayers) joined by lakhs of Muslims from home and abroad. The devotees sought forgiveness and blessings from Allah for Muslims around the world. Eminent Islamic scholar Moulana Jobayerul Hasan from Delhi led the 20-minute ... Read more
Roadside car parking worsens tailback
Lack of adequate parking spaces, ignorance and violation of traffic rules and a growing number of vehicles hitting the roads are worsening the traffic congestion in Dhaka city’s roads. Due to insufficient space to park vehicles, people quite often park their cars on the roadside, choking narrow roads and creating difficulties for traffic to move ... Read more
Land-grabbers active as no walkways yet
Gulshan lake Land-grabbers active as no walkways yet Long delays in the construction of walkways on the banks of the Gulshan-Banani Lake have allowed land-grabbers to continue encroaching on the lake. In May, following a writ petition filed by Omar Sadat, a resident of the area, the High Court ruled that the relevant authorities should ... Read more
Artificial crisis of bamboo cuts production
Karnaphuli Paper Mills Artificial crisis of bamboo cuts production Two units of Karnaphuli Paper Mills are shut down due to an ‘artificial crisis’ of raw material, bamboo, allegedly created by a vested quarter. Incurring a loss of about Tk 3-4 lakh a day, the factory is now producing 30-40 tonnes of newsprint using just one ... Read more
Cricket earns maiden Asian Games gold
The flashing blades of Sabbir Rahman and Naeem Islam took the country’s sports to a new height yesterday as their rescue act in Bangladesh’s five-wicket win over Afghanistan in the cricket final clinched the long cherished Asian Games gold medal for the first time. Despite the Twenty20 competition’s second-string nature with a majority of smaller ... Read more
DU students on rampage over road accident
Several hundred Dhaka University students rampaged through the campus by damaging vehicles and setting two of the on fire in protest at reckless driving after a car had hit one of their fellows on Thursday. Residents of halls of residence brought out a procession and marched down the campus roads in protest at the accident, ... Read more
Trees dying in Dhaka
Experts clueless about reasons The green canopy is shrinking in parts of the capital. More than 550 trees have died while many have fallen into decay in several areas in the last four years. Nearly 500 trees died in the Bashundhara residential area, 20 around the Baridhara Lake, 25 near the Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University and ... Read more
Sundarban faces new threat from charcoal business
Saving the endangered Sundarban is facing a new challenge from poachers who chop down and burn its trees to sell charcoal to brickfields dodging the police dragnet. Local people said that poachers have been doing it for three years until the Coast Guard found out what they were doing. The Coast Guard with support from ... Read more
Close shave for tenants
Building on Jheel Close shave for tenants Mizanur Rahman has just finished constructing his three-storey building in a jheel (a long pool of water) at Norda in the capital’s Dakkhinkhan area. He had rented it out to tenants who were supposed to move in from Monday next. The building toppled on a tin-shed house at ... Read more
Hawkers rule roads, footpaths : City traffic system lacks direction
Traffic jam in the capital Dhaka is mounting gradually in an endemic form, causing untold sufferings to hundreds of commuters from morning till late night in almost every working days. According to traffic police, hawkers, indiscriminate parking and illegal establishments have occupied vast areas of roads, resulting in increasing traffic congestion day by day. Preferring ... Read more
Kiwis whitewashed 4-0 Bravo Bangladesh!
Bangladesh had a clean sweep against the touring New Zealand in the five-match Micromax Cup when the Tigers registered a nail-biting three-run win against the Kiwis in the fifth and last One Day International (ODI) Watch at the jam-packed Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday. Bangladesh won the ODI series by 4-0. Electing ... Read more
A death trap over Turag
Experts see absence of crash barriers, raised walkways on Salehpur bridge as reasons for Sunday’s bus plunge Absence of crash barriers on the approach to Salehpur bridge in Amin Bazar caused Sunday’s bus plunge in the Turag river, killing at least 13 people. The same engineering flaw of the bridge was responsible for another serious ... Read more
Sakib inspires Tigers to historic series win
Sakib al Hasan again proved to be the nemesis of New Zealand as the Bangladesh skipper produced yet another brilliant all-round performance to lead the hosts to a historic series win with a nine-run victory in the fourth one-day international on Thursday. Sakib smashed 106 off 113 balls under pressure to help Bangladesh post a ... Read more
Bus plunge death toll at 11, 40 still missing
Bus pulled out of Turag 55 hours inside accident The death toll from Sunday’s bus accident at Savar reached 11 with about 40 still missing till Tuesday evening when rescuers pulled out the 52-seat bus from the River Turag, more than 55 hours inside the accident. Seven bodies could be found several kilometres downstream and ... Read more
Train torched after it kills 5
An angry mob in Sirajganj torched an intercity train at Bangabandhu Bridge West station on Monday after it ran into a crowd of people standing on the track beside Khaleda Zia’s rally venue near Mulibari level crossing leaving five people killed and several others injured. About 80 people, including the driver (loco master) and guard ... Read more