Pahela Baishakh celebrations take place today across Bangladesh, West Bengal and other areas that are home to Bengali-speaking people to usher in the Bangla year 1419. Such celebrations are taking place in other metropolitan cities and district towns with people, in colourful dresses, visiting fairs, attending folk performances and wishing each other
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Hilsa goes out of reach in city kitchen market
Market Review Hilsa goes out of reach in city kitchen market Price of Hilsa went out of reach for the middle class and low income people on Friday in the city’s kitchen markets just a day before the biggest Bangali festival –Pahela Baishakh. A one-kg Hilsa was sold for Tk 2000-2500 at Palassey and New ... Read more
Earthquake contingency plans remain on paper
Contingency plans for earthquake preparedness have not been implemented yet, despite predictions that a major earthquake can hit the country anytime. Citing a recent series of earthquakes in Bangladesh, experts have warned that a major earthquake in crowded cities like Dhaka can cause terrible human tragedy. Although two years back the government had chalked out ... Read more
Tsunami watch lifted after hours of panic
2 Strong Quakes Hit Indonesia Tsunami watch lifted after hours of panic A tsunami watch declared after two major earthquakes off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province has been cancelled, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PWTC) said yesterday. Two hours after the quakes — one with a magnitude of 8.6, the other measuring 8.3 — ... Read more
Relief after scare
Bangladesh Jolted Relief after scare Two major earthquakes and a series of strong aftershocks near Indonesia’s Sumatra Island yesterday jolted various parts of the country, triggering widespread panic among people. Immediately after the first quake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) and Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued tsunami alert for at least 20 coastal countries ... Read more
Hotels mushroom in Chittagong
Target business, corporate visitors New hotels and guesthouses are coming up in the country’s premier port city Chittagong to tap the rising demands for comfortable accommodation and better hospitality services for businesses including foreign buyers. A rise in industrial activities and overseas trade has recently pulled in investments for establishing hotels in Chittagong, the major business ... Read more
Let’s ride on two giants
Odommo Chattagram Let’s ride on two giants Prof Yunus spurs country to cash in on ever-growing China, India Bangladesh’s future depends on a world-class seaport and a technology savvy young generation who would drive the country into a new global order in less than two decades, said Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus yesterday. Bangladesh must be ... Read more
MoU with KL for building Padma bridge
Bangladesh and Malaysia have signed a MoU to build the country’s longest bridge over the river Padma at a cost of US $2.9 billion (TK 23.4 thousand crore). The Padma Multipurpose Bridge will be built as a government-to-government cooperation project. Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak witnessed the signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur ... Read more
Polls to divided Dhaka city on May 24
The much-awaited elections to the Dhaka North and South city corporations will be held on May 24, the Election Commission announced on Monday. The last elections to the undivided Dhaka city corporation was held in April of 2002 in which Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Sadeque Hossain Khoka was elected mayor and held the
3 heatwaves to follow
At least one severe heatwave will hit northern and central parts of the country, including the capital, while two medium to minor heatwaves the other areas this month, according to the weather forecast. This seems quite hard to anticipate when people are in relief from the scorching sun as the current spell of rain has ... Read more
Population 14.8cr: BIDS
After verifying the fifth census data, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) has said the country’s population primarily stands at 14.8 crore. During the verification BIDS found that 3.97 percent people had been left out in the Population and Housing Census, 2011. This means that around 57 lakh people did not come under the enumeration process ... Read more
Nod to 6 more new banks
Central bank rules out political consideration The Bangladesh Bank yesterday gave the go-ahead for six new private banks, all linked with either lawmakers of ruling Awami League and Jatiya Party or influential persons. BB Deputy Governor Sitangshu Kumar Sur Chowdhury told reporters that the new banks were approved after “proper evaluation” and without any political
Training aircraft crashes
Injured pilot dies at hospital A pilot officer died and a squadron leader was injured when a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed in Madhupur upazila of Tangail yesterday. Pilot Officer Shariful Haque succumbed to his injuries at Combined Military Hospital in Ghatail, reports our correspondent in Tangail. Squadron Leader Muhammad Mamunur Rashid is receiving treatment ... Read more
Destiny challenges central bank report
Files petition with HC; sues 4 newspapers for Tk 5,000cr compensation Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd yesterday filed a writ petition with the High Court, challenging the Bangladesh Bank report that said the company had been doing illegal banking. Md Rafiqul Amin, chairman of the cooperative and also Destiny Group, lodged the petition, seeking a ... Read more
3 NRB banks get approval
Central bank unhappy with ranking of local aspirants, sits again Sunday The central bank yesterday approved three new banks sponsored by non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) on condition that they will double their earlier proposed capital. The meeting of the Bangladesh Bank Board of Directors that took the decision was adjourned till Sunday. When it resumes, proposals ... Read more
Grabbers occupy 90pc public land
Influential land grabbers occupy nearly ninety percent of the country’s khas (public) land as identified so far, said Abul Barkat, a Dhaka University professor, at a workshop in the capital yesterday. Total amount of khas land identified so far all over the country is five million acres, of which agricultural land and water bodies constitute ... Read more
Mugged businessman remains a mystery
Narsingdi ‘Shootout’ Mugged businessman remains a mystery Rab reveals his name, cell number; mobile found to be switched off; rights chief plans to probe death of six Law enforcers remain clueless about the whereabouts of the businessman who tipped off Rab about the six alleged muggers who were killed in a “shootout” with the elite ... Read more
False declaration alert at Ctg port
Customs finds alarming rise of corruption in import Customs authorities have detected an alarming number of false declarations about import consignments at Chittagong Seaport recently. Irregularities were detected in the declarations for 367 consignments in the first seven months of this fiscal year, while only 58 such consignments had been detected during the same period ... Read more
Questions over sister concerns
Destiny Under Scanner Questions over sister concerns NBR asks banks to turn in accounts, transaction details The controversial multilevel marketing (MLM) company Destiny hoodwinks people by adding to its group portfolio some companies that exist only on paper. For instance, among its 37 sister concerns listed on the website is Destiny Life Insurance Company. Although ... Read more
MLM: is it a scam?
Multilevel marketing or MLM has become a serious source of debate. Although MLMs are intrinsically unstable and only guaranteed by design to oversaturate the market, thousands of people are running after it. Most of the times, the only money to be made is not from the product or service but from the