Monday, December 23, 2024

Private yet up for hiring

Unscrupulous operators of CNG three-wheelers find a way as govt not registering commercial ones since 2004; bribery keeps lawmen’s eyes shut A large number of private CNG-run three-wheelers ply the city streets as vehicles for hire, flouting their registration rules. With the word “private” inscribed on their bodies, the grey vehicles wait at bus stops ... Read more

Buriganga in peril

Faulty demarcation flouting HC order creates scope for grabbing the river’s foreshore The government itself now seems poised to make the Buriganga a leaner stream by squeezing its shorelines in violation of a High Court order. Earlier, in April last year, the Turag river suffered a similar fate as Gazipur district administration demarcated it by ... Read more

Public woes compounded

Wasa embarks on rainy season as work goes on at snail’s pace The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) has embarked on digging up 26 kilometre of road of the capital to lay utility pipelines but the work is progressing at a pathetic pace catching up the rainy season. In addition to the misery, ... Read more

Neighbours concerned

No Indian move yet to discuss water diversion from common rivers A Supreme Court order in India asking the government to link more than 30 rivers and divert waters to parched areas has sparked concerns in neighbouring countries. Bangladesh says it would be hardest hit because it is a downstream country to two major rivers ... Read more

DMP moves to stop illegal parking

Starts using wheel clamps Dhaka Metropolitan Police has started using wheel clamps to lock illegally parked vehicles and ensure that they are towed away. “We have procured 100 wheel clamps, which four divisions of traffic will use to tow away more illegally parked vehicles from a certain area,” said DMP traffic Chief Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman. ... Read more

Rivers losing navigability

The country’s rivers have lost half of their navigability since independence, creating serious socio-economic and environmental impacts. According to the latest statistics, the length of navigable waterways, which was about 14,000 km way back in 1964, now shrinks to 6,000 km during the rainy season and to 3,800 km in winter. Besides almost 80 per ... Read more

No bike riding on footpaths

HC asks govt to ensure walkways only for walkers The government has to stop straying of vehicles, particularly motorcycles, on to footpaths and walkways in the capital, the High Court said yesterday. The order came along with other directives, including removal of all billboards that darken foot bridges. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner and Dhaka ... Read more

Mosquitoes free to bite

Citizens complain of the menace, 2 DCCs’ adulticide dearth Though the Dhaka City Corporation was bifurcated with a view to improving public service, city dwellers are hardly getting any respite from mosquito menace. Life indoors and outdoors in the capital has become so uncomfortable due to this seasonal boom of mosquitoes. The homeless and security ... Read more

Buriganga second channel at stake

Unabated encroachment, waste dumping leave it in a near-death condition The second channel of the Buriganga, which flows through the southwestern part of the capital, is almost dead due to wholesale encroachment by public and private organisations and also dumping of waste. Also known as Buriganga Morarkhari, the channel was originally around six kilometres long. ... Read more

Tolls being gobbled up

Probe finds vehicles crossing Bangabandhu Bridge without records; heavy vehicles turn light ones; role of toll collection company comes under question A probe has found that employees of a joint venture company collecting tolls at Bangabandhu Bridge have been misappropriating huge sums by showing a lesser number of vehicles crossing the bridge or by showing ... Read more

Fresh grabbing narrows Turag

Wrongly Set-up Pillars Fresh grabbing narrows Turag Land grabbers have occupied a large portion of the Turag river after the Gazipur district administration “wrongly” put up boundary pillars along the dry-season waterline, excluding much of the river land. Since the pillars were set up nine months ago, river grabbers in their dozens have been filling ... Read more

Cracks come under fixing

The repair of cracks on Bangabandhu Bridge is now going on in full swing with a target to be completed by June next year. Traffic on the bridge has got slower as vehicles instructed by various signs are diverted at two points for the repair work that began last month. On an average, 15,000 vehicles ... Read more

Fog cripples waterway, road links

Ferry services suspended A blanket of dense fog shrouded different regions of the country crippling traffic on the highways and inland waterways from Friday night to Saturday morning. Low visibility forced the suspension of ferry services between Paturia and Daulatdia as well as Mawa and Kawrakandi, linking key highways, for more than 11 hours beginning ... Read more

Garos dance away harvest festival

Dancing and singing, hundreds of jubilant Garos yesterday celebrated the conclusion of their two-day long Wanna (harvest) festival at Askipara of frontier Haluaghat upazila of Mymensingh. Wanna, one of the greatest Garo festivals, marks the beginning of the harvesting season. This festival is the ninth of its kind. On Thursday evening, William Hanna, ambassador, Head ... Read more