Bangladesh Railway yesterday struck a deal with Japan’s Marubeni Corporation to procure 11 metre-gauge locomotives costing Tk 439 crore. Of the total cost, Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) will provide Tk 307 crore, while the rest will be borne by the public exchequer
bangladesh
Mobile operators evading SIM tax
The officials from the National Board of Revenue (NBR) have alleged that the mobile phone operators in Bangladesh evade SIM tax, by hiding the number of their actual subscriber base. The NBR officials said that some investigations of the board had revealed that lots of mobile numbers, from different operators, were found “active”, while as ... Read more
GP, Jaago to launch pilot ‘online classroom’
Grameenphone (GP) in partnership with Jaago Foundation is going to initiate a venture named “Online Classroom” with the aim to ensure high quality education in both sub-urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. A signing ceremony between Grameenphone and Jaago Foundation took place in this regard recently. Tore Johnsen, chief executive officer, GP and Korvi Rakshand, ... Read more
Our own laptop
Telephone Shilpa Sangstha (TSS), Bangladesh, where analogue phone sets were manufactured long before the digital dominance, will now be the hub for assembling Doel netbooks and laptops. Named after the national bird, Doel is the first ever laptop brand to be assembled in Bangladesh, which is believed to revolutionise the high tech industry of the ... 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
‘Low vision leads to 60 deaths per 10,000 accidents’
Speakers at a free eye care camp yesterday said 60 people die in every 10,000 road accidents in Bangladesh which is mainly caused by, among others, low vision and refractive errors. Dhaka Urban Comprehensive Eye Care Project (DUCECP) organised the camp for transport vehicle drivers, supervisors and helpers in the city’s Mohakhali Bus Terminal marking
Stalker stabs teacher to death
Accused held A pregnant school teacher was stabbed to death for resisting unwanted amorous advances by a Jubo League activist in Agoiljhara upazila of Barisal yesterday. Police arrested Sirajul Islam alias Abul Gomosta, 35 in this connection. According to locals, he is known as an errant figure with a position in the upazila unit youth ... Read more
Happy on clean Ctg streets
Omar Faruk, an A-level student of Sunshine Grammar School and College, looked very pleased yesterday as he along with a hundred mates just finished a clean-up campaign on different streets that surround their school compound in the port city. “I am satisfied as I have performed my duty as a citizen of the country,” he ... Read more
PM unveils locally assembled laptop
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday unveiled a locally assembled low-cost laptop — Doel — in a major step towards spreading the uses of ICT across the country as part of her election promise to make the country a “Digital Bangladesh”. The much-talked Doel laptop will be available in four different models at Tk 10,000, Tk
A huge digital step forward
Tk 10,000 Bangladeshi laptop hits market in week The first Bangladesh-assembled laptop “Doel” will take a week to hit the market though Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launched its marketing yesterday. Telephone Shilpa Sangstha (TSS), a public company assigned to manufacture the laptop, has so far made 6,000 laptops and netbooks for
Metro to follow revised route
PM sees no damage to JS complex Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the modified metro rail route would not ruin the main architectural design of the parliament complex. Hasina told the weekly cabinet meeting that the modified route would not cut through the preserved area of the structural masterpiece designed by Louis I Kahn ... Read more
Myanmar to stop road construction
Bandarban Border Myanmar to stop road construction Assures it will remove barbed wire fencing from zero line Myanmar yesterday assured Bangladesh of postponing the construction of a road close to the zero line of Tambru frontier under Ghumdhum union of Naikkhongchhari upazila in Bandarban. The neighbouring country has also pledged to relocate the barbed wire ... Read more
Light not thrown on graft allegations yet
Muhith admits World Bank halts Padma Bridge funding; bins propaganda against Yunus The World Bank has “temporarily halted” funding the Padma Bridge project and is waiting for the government’s response to its allegations of corruption in the tender process for the project. The government has not yet made it clear what the graft allegations are, ... Read more
Bangladesh 5th most vulnerable country
Climate, Hunger Bangladesh 5th most vulnerable country Bangladesh among 28 developing countries ranked fifth most vulnerable to climate change and hunger, said a new report. The Action Aid research report styled ‘On the Brink: Who’s Best Prepared for a Climate Change and Hunger Crisis?” reveals that Bangladesh is more vulnerable than its neighbours India, Pakistan ... Read more
Ctg commuters suffer for strike
Bus services resume on CMP assurance Thousands of commuters in the port city suffered major disruption yesterday as a section of transport owners enforced a strike after some passengers vandalised two city buses over charging extra fares. They however called off the two-day halt yesterday evening. All modes of public transport stayed off the streets ... Read more
Meghna Bridge under threat
Riverbed scouring makes several piers vulnerable; overloaded trucks damage deck, expansion joints; experts suggest immediate repairs The Meghna Bridge is under threat as riverbed scouring has left several piers vulnerable while high traffic volume and overloaded trucks are damaging the deck. Experts who surveyed the bridge called for immediate repairs. The Meghna Bridge is crucial ... Read more
Tale of a torchbearer
Visually-impaired ex-cotton mill worker runs free education centre for children in Tangail Rafiqul Bari indeed knows what it means to see nothing. He was born with normal organs, but a slight stomach problem at the age of two changed his life forever. Wrong treatment by a quack made him blind. So to ease a little ... Read more
New scrap shipyards near Sundarbans
Govt eyes Baleshwar river bank in Barguna; environmentalists decry Although the Sitakunda ship breaking yards in Chittagong continue to wreak havoc on the environment, the government nonetheless plans to allow new yards on the bank of the Baleshwar river in Patharghata upazila of Barguna district. A team of top officials from different departments, led by ... Read more
Traders defy hilsa ban
Traders driven by greed have been forcing poor fishermen to catch hilsa during its breeding zone in the Bay of Bengal even as the authorities struggle to enforce an 11-day ban. The Oct. 6-16 ban is aimed at protecting the egg-carrying hilsa during the peak spawning season. Defying the ban, traders, most of whom are ... Read more
‘University colleges’ in shambles
Colleges offering bachelor (honours) course and master’s courses, popularly known as university colleges affiliated to the National University, are struggling to provide students with quality education for lack of quality teachers and inadequate infrastructure. Many of such colleges offering bachelor’s course are now in shambles for lack of proper