In her sculptures and watercolor paintings on display in her solo art exhibition at the Abinta Gallery of Fine Arts in Badda in the capital, artist Sigma Haque Angkan has portrayed womanhood, motherhood, and nature.

She has displayed 40 sculptures and 22 watercolour paintings in the two-week exhibition titled Glory of Women, which has been organised by Abinta Gallery of Fine Arts and curated by Sultan M Mineuddin.

The principal subject of her sculpture is womanhood.

Sigma Haque Angkan has addressed problems faced by women, bond between mother and child, women’s stories of triumph and others through sculptures and paintings.

The sculptures have been displayed under different series, namely Family, Urban Life, Bird’s Family, Freedom, Mother’s Kingdom, Responsibilities and Mask.

Among the displayed artworks, sculptures depicting womanhood and women’s role in family have been displayed under the series titled Family.

Sculptures depicting rickshaws and streets of Dhaka have been displayed under the series titled Urban Life while the series titled Freedom showcases experimental works created by the artist.

The sculpture series titled Mother’s Kingdom depicts relationship between mother and children while the series titled Mask consists of six men’s masks representing different emotions.

Besides, a number of watercolour paintings showcasing nature, landscapes, flowers and life in Old Dhaka have been displayed in the exhibition.

The exhibition, which was inaugurated on February 25, will end today.

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Dhaka Commerce College organised the prize distribution ceremony of the 31st annual cultural and sports competition 2022 at the college auditorium on Monday.

Bangladesh University of Business and Technology Trust chairman Md Shamsul Huda, also one of the founders, the first principal and member of the governing body of the college, was present as chief guest of the programme.

The daylong programme was presided over by principal Md Abu Masud. Vice-principal Md Wali Ullah welcomed the guests and participants at the event. Prizes were distributed among the category wise winners and participants in various sports by the chief guest, special guests and others.

Dhaka Commerce College was recognised as the best educational institution by the Ministry of Education in 1996 and 2002 and was selected as the best private college at the national level in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

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The 21st Dhaka International Film festival (DIFF) starts today.

The Rainbow Film Society is hosting an eight-day event at the National Museum in Shahbagh.

The festival will screen 252 films from 71 countries under 10 categories including “Asian Cinema Competition Section”, “Retrospective”, “Wide Angle”, “Tribute”, “Bangladesh Panorama”, “Cinema of the World “, “Children Films”, “Women Filmmakers”, “Short and Independent Films Section” and “Spiritual Films Section”.

Rainbow Society has been an organiser for DIFF since 1992, in collaboration with other agencies.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen will be inaugurating the ceremony at the main auditorium of the museum at 4:00pm.

State minister of Foreign Affairs, Md Shahriar Alam will preside over the inauguration ceremony. The prime minister’s private industries and investment adviser, Salman F Rahman will also be present at the event as a special guest.

Starting with film “JK 1971” under the Bangladesh Panorama Section, 81 Bangladeshi films including “Hawa”, “Paap Punyo”, “Damal”, “The Beauty Circus”, and “Deshantor” among others will be screened under different categories.

This time, the jury board includes Jon Jost, Pouran Derakhshandeh, Mostafa Kamal, Dr Arsen Arakelyan, Alexandros Kostopoulos, and Ellaheh Tahaei among others.

The event will also be staged at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Bangladesh National Museum Auditorium, Alliance Francaise de Dhaka, and Star Cineplex until January 22.

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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has formally inaugurated the country’s first metro rail this morning.

She opened a section of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-6 by unveiling a plaque at the playground of Uttara sector-

The PM’s younger sister Sheikh Rehana waved to the audience after the plaque was unveiled.

Apart from PM, Sheikh Rehana; Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Rawshan Ara Mannan, chairman of parliamentary standing committee on road transport and bridges ministry; local AL MP Mohammad Habib Hasan, Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, DMTCL Managing Director MAN Siddique; MRT Line-6 Project Director Aftab Uddin Talukder; new Japanese Ambassador to Dhaka Iwama Kiminori and JICA Chief Representative in Bangladesh Ichiguchi Tomohide took seats on the stage.

A special munajat was offered on the stage. 

ABM Amin Ullah Nuri delivered the first speech. He said the people of Dhaka suffered a lot during the construction of metro rail, and thanked the people of the city for their patience. 

MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, said that in Dhaka, vehicles can move at just six kilometres per hour, but that will improve once the MRT is launched. 

He said around five lakh people can travel on the metro rail every day, and it is environment-friendly as there will be no fossil fuel used to run it. 

There are all sorts of facilities for persons with disabilities on metro rail, he added. 

DMTCL is the implementing agency of the metro rail project. 

Ichiguchi Tomohide, chief representative in Bangladesh of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, started his speech in Bangla, saying good morning. 

“I am very pleased and honoured to be here,” he continued in Bangla, before switching to English to say, “Your dreams have come true. We will see the importance of the MRT 6 in the coming weeks and months. MRT will significantly transform the lives of the people of Dhaka. 

“MRT will contribute to making Bangladesh Smart Bangladesh.”

Iwama Kiminori, newly appointed Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh, also started in Bangla, saying good morning. He said he came to the country just 10 days ago and that the Bangladesh-Japan relationship is a long one, and he wants to make the relationship deeper.

“I will dedicate my work to bringing the relationship to a new height,” he said. 

“MRT will reduce traffic congestion and also air pollution in Dhaka. It will enable people to move quickly. It will have an impact on the behavioural change of the people. Women-only coaches will be introduced in Bangladesh. 

“I want to reiterate that Japan will continue to contribute in the development of Bangladesh,” the ambassador said.

A video was then shown consisting of aerial footage of metro rail.

At the end of the video, the theme song of the country’s first elevated metro rail, sung by famous folk singer Momtaz Begum MP, was played at the inauguration programme. 

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader spoke next.

He said it was a day that the dream of the country’s people was fulfilled, adding that through this inauguration, another feather was added to the crown of Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina.

Quader, also general secretary of the ruling Awami League, said metro rail is no more a dream, but a reality.

Talking about the infrastructure development of the country, including the Padma Bridge, metro rail and Karnaphuli tunnel, the minister said everything was possible only because of the strong leadership of Sheikh Hasina.

“We have shown the World Bank … and we can say ‘yes we can!’ We are a nation of heroes, not a nation o f thieves.”

He said one coach would be exclusively reserved for women and freedom fighters would be able to to ride metro rail free of charge.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina then took the stage and highlighted the four milestones in the country’s development that the inauguration of metro rail has brought about.

The PM said that there is a metro rail in Bangladesh is in itself an achievement. 

Another milestone is that the trains will be run by electricity, making the project an environment friendly one. 

The trains can be run remotely, and that is a milestone in the path towards a Smart Bangladesh. 

It will also mark the advent of high-speed trains in Bangladesh, she said, adding that the trains can reach a speed of 110 kilometres per hour.

She said the first phase of the metro rail has been inaugurated, and the rest will be inaugurated soon. 

Hasina, also president of the ruling Awami League, said the party had pledged to reduce traffic congestion and had taken a number of steps to achieve that by 2030. 

We gave electoral pledges that to reduce traffic congestion, we have taken a number of steps and by 2030 it will be completed.

She requested the people who would ride the metro rail to protect it and keep it clean, which is the responsibility of the users.

“Everyone must be careful when riding metro rail. Everyone needs to care of it. I request everyone to do so,” she said. 

Initially, a 12km section, from Uttara to Agargaon, of the 21.26km MRT Line-6 has been opened. The line up to Motijheel will be inaugurated a year from now.

People will be able to avail the service for four hours from 8:00am tomorrow. They will get trains every 10 minutes, but it will eventually come down to every three and a half to four minutes.

The four-hour duration will also be increased gradually depending on how passengers get used to the service, according to officials concerned.

Only 200 people will take the journey today on the train that has a capacity of 2,308.

The fare for a ride from Uttara to Agargaon is Tk 60 while the minimum fare will be Tk 20.

The PM will be on the first official journey of metro rail today when she travels from Uttara North station to Agargaon. Other than that, there will be no metro rail service today.

A fully-fledged service on this part of the line is expected from March 26 next year.

Once in full service, MRT Line-6 will carry around 4.83 lakh people every day between Uttara and Motijheel. The trip will take 38 minutes, which takes at least two hours on other modes of transport.

The MRT Line-6 project was given the go-ahead in 2012 with a June 2024 deadline and a cost of Tk 21,985 crore. But the authorities went for early commissioning of the Uttara- Agargaon section considering public convenience.

The project was revised this year to extend the line to Kamalapur from Motijheel, and to procure land for some stations. The project cost went up to Tk 33,472 crore and the new deadline was set at 2025. Japan is providing about 60 percent of the cost as soft loan.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are financers of the metro rail project.

– Input from The Daily Star was used in this article.

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Bangladesh’s commuting system entered a new era on Wednesday as prime minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the first ever metro rail service in the capital.

She inaugurated the operation of the first phase of the project, Uttara to Agargaon, from Uttara sector-15 playground.

Marking the occasion, the prime minister also unveiled a commemorative stamp and a banknote.

The event was organised by the road transport and bridges ministry at Block C playground of sector 15 in Uttara in Dhaka.

Senior government officials and people of all walks of life gathered at the venue to watch the inauguration of the first ever metro rail service in Bangladesh.

Prime minister Hasina reached the venue at about 11:10am.

Among others, road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, road transport and highways division secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited managing director MAN Siddique, Mass Rapid Transit line 6 project director Aftabuddin Talukder, Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori accompanied the PM at the stage.

With the introduction of metro rail service, the country is also going to have the first-ever electricity-powered rail system.

The PM is scheduled to travel from Uttara to Agargaon by the train as the first passenger in a reserved coach after opening the service at the Uttara North Station at 2:00pm.

Along with her, there will be 200 invited guests in other compartments of the same train.

The gathering place was seen almost full with senior government officials of different ministries.

Bangladesh Awami league activists were seen chanting slogans for the prime minister at the back side of the gathering venue.

The entirely elevated service will be open to the public on Thursday at 8:00am. Initially, the service will run for four hours daily without stopping at any station between Uttara and Agargaon.

People living along the Uttara–Agargaon route followed seven-point special measures on Wednesday, ordered by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, in order to ensure security for the prime minister on the occasion of the inaugural ceremony.

The Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited has been implementing the Mass Rapid Transit Line-6 project, popularly known as metro rail, since 2012.

The entire 21.26-kilometre-long Uttara–Kamalapur metro rail route will be inaugurated in December 2025.

Today, an air-conditioned metro train will run on the 11.73-kilometre-long Uttara–Agargaon route without touching any station on the route, taking around 17 minutes.

Road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader at a press conference held at the metro rail’s Agargaon station on Tuesday said that metro trains would run on the Uttara–Motijheel route in 2023 and start operating on the entire route up to Kamalapur by 2024.

‘Once the MRT Line-6 project is completed, its trains will be able to carry 60,000 passengers from both ends of the route per hour and five lakh passengers on the Uttara-Motijheel route daily,’ he said.

Twenty-four sets of trains would run under the service with six compartments each while plans are afoot to increase the coach number to eight in future, he continued.

According to Obaidul Quader, the passenger capacity in the four middle compartments is maximum 390 and in the two compartments at the two ends is maximum 378.

‘The passenger capacity in each train is 2,308 and the train will run at the highest speed of 100km per hour,’ he said.

From Uttara, metro trains would take 38 minutes to go to Motijheel and 17 minutes to Agargaon with stoppages and 10 minutes to Agargaon without any stoppage, he mentioned.

– Input from New Age was used in this article.

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A low to moderate cold wave – coupled with a depression – could grip the country at the end of December. As a result, mercury may dip as low as 6 Degrees Celsius in some regions of the country, Bangladesh Meteorological Department forecasted on Thursday.

Bangladesh could see less rainfall than usual as well as a few low pressures in the bay. A depression could form in the bay at the end of December, the forecast said.

The forecast signed by Kawsar Parvin, deputy director of the meteorological department, further said moderate to dense fog could prevail in the river basin from late night to morning, which could disrupt navigations of water vessels.

However, Sahinul Islam, a meteorologist at Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told The Daily Star that high temperatures might prevail throughout December despite the arrival of winter.

“Temperature will start dropping by the end of December. The intensity of winter will be felt in January,” he added.

In November, the highest temperature (35.5 Degrees Celsius) was recorded in Teknaf, while the lowest was recorded in Tetulia, which was 12.1 Degrees Celsius.

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Six organizations and five individuals were recognized with “A Better Tomorrow CSR Awards 2022” for making positive contributions to society through various projects.

The awards were presented by Planning Minister Abdul Mannan at a ceremony held at Le Meridian Dhaka in the capital, according to a press release.

The Daily Star and CSR Window Bangladesh hosted for the second time “A Better Tomorrow CSR Awards 2022” to promote further societal development and to acknowledge the outstanding projects that might serve as models for others. The event’s hospitality sponsor was the Le Meridian Dhaka.

Lafarge Holcim won the award in healthcare for its project styled “Comprehensive Health Program for Chhatak community”, bKash in education for “National Book Reading Program & Science Fairs”, HSBC in environment for “Mangrove Plantation for Climate Mitigation”,  Marico Bangladesh in financial inclusion for “Strengthening Women’s Ability for Productive New Opportunities” Epyllion Group in rapid response for “Joy of Giving”, and Coca Cola Bangladesh in community engagement for “Women Business Centres (WBCs)”.

The individual winners are Adnan Hossain who won the award for “It’s Humanity Foundation (IHF)” Dr Shekh Mohammed Moinul Islam for “Human Aid Bangladesh Foundation”, Shanjidul Alam Seban Shaan for “EcoVation Bangladesh”, Azwa Nayeem for ” Alokito Hridoy Foundation” Md Sahariar Hasan Jiisun for “Bloodman”.

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According to a news release, the 33rd annual National Tagore Music Festival will begin on Friday at the International Mother Language Institute at Segunbagicha in the nation’s capital.

KM Khalid, minister of cultural affairs, will be the festival’s chief guest on the first day of what will be a two-day celebration.

Independence award-winning freedom fighter reciter Asraful Alam and freedom fighter singer Rafiqul Alam will be honored at the occasion.

The festival is an homage to the writers, musicians, journalists, and other cultural workers who lost their lives in the Covid-19 disaster.

On Saturday, the event will come to a close.

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Bangladeshi universities and medical colleges will attend an education conference in Dubai next week to attract students from the UAE and other Middle Eastern countries, organisers said yesterday.

Education minister Dr. Dipu Moni and deputy education minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury will deliver keynote speeches at the three-day Bangladesh Education Forum conference in Dubai on November 4.

“Bangladesh will soon be an alternative higher education destination,” Chowdhoury was quoted as saying in a statement by Pan Asian Exhibition LLC, which organizes the event.

The junior minister added that thousands of foreign students are studying in Bangladeshi universities and medical colleges, “adding to the growing remittance inflow.”

Bangladesh’s education ministry, University Grants Commission, American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB), and Association of Private Universities of Bangladesh (APUB) are supporting the event, according to the statement.

By 2025, Bangladeshi universities, medical, dental, and general colleges are expected to serve 4.6 million students at an average annual cost of $1,000, according to a research report.

This means Bangladesh’s higher education market is $4.6 billion,” the report said.

Bangladesh’s higher education sector has 163 universities, 115 medical colleges, and 2,500 general and specialized colleges.

Universities and colleges are ready to attract foreign students and provide high-quality, cost-effective education to Middle East students, according to the statement.

The country’s education sector now educates more than 30 million students each year, making it one of the world’s largest

Bangladesh Education Forum 2022 is the first conference and exhibition of its kind to promote higher education in Bangladesh to foreign students. It will be attended by university owners, academics, including vice-chancellors, and education consultants, among others, the organizers said.

Bangladesh used to export students to the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, and India, but now it imports students because of its affordable quality education, it said.

Foreign students are mostly from African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian countries.

Bangladesh Education Forum will help reposition Bangladesh on the global education map and boost education tourism, Chowdhury said on the eve of the conference.

– Input from BSS was used in this article

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‘Digital World 2022,’ one of Bangladesh’s most important ICT events, will begin in December. Following in the footsteps of previous years, this event will be held on December 8-11, 2022, at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in Agargaon Shere-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka.

In light of this, the ICT Division organised an ‘Ambassador Night’ at the Sheraton Dhaka hotel in Banani, Dhaka on Wednesday evening, said a press release on Thursday.

The government wants to open new horizons for attracting foreign investment as an exporter of ICT products from Made in Bangladesh through ‘Digital World 2022’.

The event was organised as an initiative to inform foreign countries about ‘Digital World 2022’ and to invite foreign guests. Ambassadors from Saudi Arabia, the Maldives, Morocco, Brunei, Turkey, Dubai, Sweden, South Korea, the European Union, Australia, Bhutan, and other countries were present.

Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen as a chief guest said that Digital World 2022 would be a unique opportunity to showcase the capabilities of Bangladesh in the technology sector to the world.

‘We hope the event will give us an idea of our capabilities and future opportunities in the technological sector. Our people have proved how capable we are. We have a clear target to implement Digital Bangladesh with the guidance of our prime minister and the advice from the ICT adviser,’ he said.

State minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak said, ‘We have been organising the international event since 2011. We invite global leaders, researchers and investors to participate in the event. We want them to visit our market, and see our capabilities. We want to be self-sufficient in the digital sector. Also want to work in partnership with other countries in the world.’

The state minister also sought cooperation from the ambassadors.

Bangladesh Computer Council director Mohammad Enamul Kabir gave a welcome speech, while the council’s executive director Ranajit Kumar chaired the event.

Startup Bangladesh Ltd managing director Sami Ahmed highlighted different aspects of the programme, BACCO finance secretary Md Aminul Hoque, Bangladesh Computer Council president Subrata Sarkar, e-Cab president Shomi Kaiser and BASIS president Russell T Ahmed spoke.

Foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen, ICT Division senior secretary NM Zeaul Alam PAA, Australian high commissioner Jeremy Bruer, Turkey ambassador Mustafa Osman Turan, Swedish ambassador Alexandra Berg von Linde, Korean ambassador Lee Jang-keun, Saudi ambassador Essa Youssef Essa Al Duhailan and EU head of delegation Charles Whiteley also spoke, among others.

In addition to the opening and closing ceremonies, this year’s ‘Digital World 2022’ will also feature startup summits, ministerial conferences, BPO summits, e-governance expo, digital devices and innovation expo, mobile and innovation expo, software showcases, e-commerce expo and concerts.

The theme of this year’s ‘Digital World 2022’ is ‘Be Innovative and Smart’.

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