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
Headlines
Rab to get 2 copters
The government has procured two copters for Rapid Action Battalion so the force can perform better in fighting crime and militancy. This is the first time a Bangladeshi law enforcement agency is getting choppers of its own. Commander M Sohail, director of Rab’s legal and media wing, said the police authorities signed a contract with ... 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
43 Dhaka canals grabbed
Task force hopes to reclaim only 13 canals Encroachers have gobbled up 43 of the 54 canals that once crisscrossed through Dhaka city interconnecting the four rivers surrounding it, resulting in the destruction of almost the entire natural sewage system of the city. Most of the land of the 43 canals has been registered as ... Read more
All eyes on rich nations
Climate-hit countries count on their promises as Durban meet gets underway As the stories emerging from Africa to Americas, Asia to Australia tell the same grave situation of ever increasing drought, floods, storms and hot spells, a Climate Change Conference began here yesterday with hopes that the rich nations will keep their commitments to extend ... Read more
Beautification goes on silently
The government has taken up a massive scheme to beautify the 98-acre area of Dhanmondi Lake in the capital. The Tk 24-crore Dhanmondi Lake Restoration Project got rolling this week, with the work order being issued before the Eid-ul-Azha holidays. Neither the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) nor any other authority, however, made a formal announcement ... Read more
Green desert in the hills
Inam Ahmed All around us is a green desert. What was supposed to be reserved and forest is now just denuded hills. Welcome to Kasalong Reserve Forest. As our Chander Gari — a Second World War Willy’s Jeep fitted with a Mitsubishi engine — rolls on the topsy-turvy narrow herringbone road, tossing madly from one ... Read more
Dreadful land development
Inhabitants of city suburb living in fear of being evicted; developer fined Tk 50 lakh by mobile court Many inhabitants of Holan and Ashkona in the capital’s suburbs have been living there for decades, others for generations. But they are now living in fear of eviction, as land in their Dakkhinkhan neighbourhood has become a ... Read more
Date with disasters
Struck by cyclone Aila after Sidr, country braces for the next Amid increasing threats of climate change, Bangladesh today observes the fourth anniversary of cyclone Sidr, one of the worst natural calamities the country has experienced since its birth in 1971. This year the day is being commemorated with special significance. The Climate Vulnerable Forum ... Read more
4 lakh pumps run dry
Steep fall of groundwater table blamed About four lakh irrigation pumps out of over 16 lakh across the country go out of operation during the peak dry spell of March-April every year failing to draw the required quantity of water due to a sharp fall of groundwater level. “Owing to a steep fall in ground ... Read more
Sculpture mocks sculptor
It was supposed to be a symbol of our pride, the Bengal Tiger. But what is it on the southern side of the Sonargaon intersection? Is it a buffalo? Or a bear in yellow and black stripes perhaps? The cub next to it lying on the ground can never be a tiger cub. What is ... Read more
Century-old trees go
Netrakona admin, forest dept defy HC order, keep plundering Birishiri greens Defying a High Court order, the Netrakona Zila Parishad and the forest department continued chopping down century-old trees yesterday beside a road near the Baptist church in Birishiri. The High Court on Tuesday directed the government to maintain status quo for 10 days on ... Read more
Captain clinches a cliffhanger
One can dream many things, no matter how big it is, but it’s not always that the dream comes true in real life. But it happens sometimes when someone like Mushfiqur Rahim appears bigger than his stature. When the Bogra-lad hit a length ball over the deep mid-wicket boundary, a memorable chapter was in Bangladesh ... Read more
No rules for CNG-driven vehicles yet
CNG yet to be recognised as power source Strange it may sound, but the existing Motor Vehicle Ordinance (MVO),1983, has yet to recognise Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a power source for vehicles! No matter what the authorities think, for the past eight years, about 65 per cent of the country’s vehicles have been running ... Read more
Medicare goes haywire
6-hr Power Outage at BSMMU Hospital Medicare goes haywire A six-hour blackout paralysed the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) yesterday, causing immense suffering to patients and doctors. Except for a few emergency services using generator, all pathological tests, scheduled operations and outdoor services remained snapped from 6:00am to 12:15pm when power supply resumed, hospital ... Read more
Biodiversity issue glossed over
Dhaka, Delhi signed 2 deals on Sundarbans, tiger; refrained from addressing rising salinity in Bangladesh rivers None of the two agreements signed between Bangladesh and India on conservation of the Sundarbans and Royal Bengal Tigers addresses the issue of increasing salinity that continues to affect the biodiversity of the mangrove forest on Bangladesh side. Salinity ... Read more
Exams first, then patients
In-patients forced out of their beds as medical students sit for exams At least 85 in-patients were forced out of their beds at two government hospitals in Chittagong and Barisal to make room for practical examinations of medical students yesterday. In Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH), 35 patients of the cardiology ward had to stay ... Read more
Padma Bridge in a quagmire
WB freezes on short-listed questionable companies; govt seeks to know the names, move on without those The construction of Padma Bridge will face a long delay if the World Bank does not accept the government’s proposal to start the work soon without involving the firms accused of corruption. The proposal was made when WB Vice-President ... Read more
Metro rail stops at air force red signal
Bijoy Sarani link seen as risky for security; financier Jica upset; meeting adjourned for today Construction of the much anticipated metro rail looks uncertain as the government might bring another modification in its alignment in the face of the air force’s objection to the current alignment running across Bijoy Sarani. Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), ... Read more