Thursday, January 23, 2025

Bhawaiya on verge of extinction

Eminent singer Ferdousi Rahman observes that bhawaiya, one of the most melodious music genres of the country, is under threat of extinction due to lack of patronisation and practice. In an interview with New Age Ferdausi Rahman, one of most popular bhawaiya singers the country has ever produced, revealed the present condition of the rich ... Read more

HC orders injunction on BUET protests

The High Court on Tuesday ordered an injunction on the current movement of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology teachers, students and employees demanding removal of the vice-chancellor and the pro-vice-chancellor. The bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar

Garment makers move to right labour wrongs

Share their steps with The Daily Star following international outcry Against the background of growing concern over labour rights violation in Bangladesh, garment makers yesterday said they had taken the issue seriously and started to improve work environment and maintain compliance in factories. They said garment makers have already engaged the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) “Better ... Read more

TIB slates legalisation

Illegal Housing TIB slates legalisation Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) yesterday condemned the government’s decision to legalise some illegal housing schemes defying a High Court directive and ignoring environmental impacts. Expressing deep concern over the decision by an inter-ministerial body to “provisionally’ approve the projects, the anti-graft watchdog urged the government to cancel the decision

The unfamiliar that is all too familiar

Couple of days post Humayun Ahmed’s demise, BTV aired one of his plays. The play, “Nimphool”, was first aired in 1997. Set in a typical Bangladeshi village, the story begins with a mob approaching the home of the headman, ably played by Abul Hayat. A notorious bandit has been caught. The smart-mouthed outlaw, deftly played ... Read more

Six-day theatre fest begins tomorrow

Theatre troupe Swapnodal will pay tribute to Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore, dramatist Selim Al Deen and Indian director Badal Sircar by organising a six-day theatre festival beginning tomorrow, informed the organisers at a press conference held on Monday at the seminar room of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. The festival will mark

Eid Delights: Innovative “Ittyadi”

A wholesome family-oriented TV show, “Ittyadi”, with innovative ideas, conveys social messages and generates awareness among the masses all with a dash of entertainment. Special episodes of “Ittyadi” during Eid bring up interesting choreography which adds to the extravaganza. The audience is usually treated to a variation in the dance presentation. In the upcoming Eid ... Read more

Govt making those legal

Illegal Housing Projects Govt making those legal The government has legalised two illegal private housing schemes and is going to okay at least four others to the destruction of natural wetlands and rural homesteads on the capital’s north-eastern fringe. An inter-ministerial body led by the housing minister conditionally approved BDDL Natundhara and United City (Neptune ... Read more

DCC official draws flak from locals

Jatrabari Road DCC official draws flak from locals The Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) administrator was severely rebuked by transport workers and local people at Jatrabari in the capital yesterday while he was accompanying the communications minister to check the condition of roads. Such a situation ensued after a Chittagong-bound luxury bus of Saudia Paribahan

Comedy at city kitchen market

Guided and controlled by business and shop owners’ associations, a parliamentary body yesterday expressed “deep satisfaction” over price of essentials following visits to two major kitchen markets in the capital. Consumers and even sellers at these wholesale markets termed the Jatiya Sangsad body’s visit “farcical”. They said such visits in motorcade accompanied by police force, market

Fresh edn ministry meeting fails to end BUET stalemate

Another meeting of the education ministry, held on Monday on the crisis bedevilling the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, ended without making any major headway to end the stalemate. The BUET teachers, agitating for removal of vice-chancellor Professor SM Nazrul Islam and pro-vice-chancellor Habibur Rahman, decided to continue their sit-in programmes until their

Shopping malls, markets abuzz with Eid shoppers

Shoppers have started thronging shopping malls and markets in the capital, with the biggest religious festival for the Muslims, Eid-ul-Fitr, still more than three weeks away. All the major markets in the city are now experiencing huge rush of customers and salespersons are passing very busy time coping with the rush of customers. ‘Shoppers are ... Read more

FBCCI wants fish export ban

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Sunday requested the government to ban export of fishes till the end of Ramadan. The apex trade body in a press release said that its monitoring cell had observed that prices of all kind of fishes had increased and gone beyond the purchasing capacity of ... Read more

Most troupes are inactive

Secretary general of Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation (BGTF) Jhuna Chowdhury tells New Age that most of the theatre troupes are inactive across the country. According to Jhuna Chowdhury just over 100 out of over 300 members of the federation are active at present. ‘Just imagine about a hundred troupes are completely inactive and another 100 more

Then and now

Afzal Hossain on the evolution of TV drama Afzal Hossain is the emblem of our country’s golden age of TV drama. Often regarded as the most successful actor on Bangladeshi TV, Afzal began acting as a member of Dhaka Theatre, when he was a student of the Institute of Fine Arts. He was a regular ... Read more

VoIP licences set to fetch Tk 1,200cr

The government is expected to earn at least Tk. 1,200 crore revenue, each year, with the issuance of legal licences for voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) services, an official of Bangladesh Telecommuni-cation Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said. To stop illegal use of VoIP, the telecom regulator has already invited applications for VoIP service provider (VSP)