Bangladesh
No respite from 'unhealthy' air in Dhaka
Dhaka’s air quality continued to be in the 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' zone on Thursday (November 10, 2022).
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 108 at 8:37 am, Dhaka ranked 31st in the list of cities around the world with the worst air quality.
India’s Delhi, Uzbekistan’s Tashkent and Pakistan’s Karachi occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 237, 187 and 182, respectively.
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.
Also read: Dhaka's air quality turns 'moderate'
Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.
Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.
Also read: Dhaka’s air quality improves
With the advent of winter, Dhaka’s air quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the massive discharge of pollutant particles from construction work, rundown roads, brick kilns, and other sources.
University student’s body found at home in Natore
A student of Bangladesh Army University of Engineering and Technology (BAUET) was found dead at home in Natore’s Bagatipara on Wednesday night.
The deceased was identified as Mezbaul Zarif, an LLB student and son of Mezbaul Jafer of Chapainawabganj district.
Sirajul Islam, officer-in-charge of Bagatipara Police Station, said Zarif used to live in a rented house at Bagatipara, adjacent to the university.
Also read: Unidentified man found lying unconscious on Motijheel street dies at DMCH
Neighbours found Zarif’s body hanging from the ceiling ant his home around 8:45 pm and informed police, who recovered the body.
Police suspected that Zarif might have died by suicide.
Zero tolerance for chaos in the name of rally: Home Minister
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said on Wednesday stern action will be taken if any damage and chaos is carried out in the name of a rally by blocking the roads.
Law enforcers will defend the bid to damage the people’s life and property in the name of holding rallies, he added.
The minister was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the five-day free treatment and operation of cleft lip and palate patients under the initiative of Asmat Ali Khan Foundation in Madaripur.
Read more: Arrest, harassment continue to foil anti-government rally in Faridpur, says BNP
BNP will hold a rally with millions of people in the capital Dhaka, claiming to form the government there, the minister added.
He said the whole country is getting ready for the national elections.
“The people of the country will vote for the boat symbol and bring Sheikh Hasina to power again,” he said, adding that there is no substitute for Sheikh Hasina.
Read more: AL, not BNP, mastermind of ‘arson terrorism’: Fakhrul
BGMEA Cup 2022 final on November 11
The final of the 7th BGMEA Cup Inter-Garments Football will be held Friday at the Bangladesh Army Stadium in Dhaka.
At 4pm, Bando Design will lock horns with Snowtex, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan told the media in Dhaka on Wednesday.
BGMEA Director Md. Imranur Rahman was also present.
BGMEA Cup 2022 began on September 29 where mid- and upper-level management officials of 16 garment factories competed in the football tournament.
BGMEA Cup is supported by Turag Active, Sheltech, the BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology, Fariha Group, Club11, Twelve Clothing, SARA Lifestyle, Porcelanosa Bangladesh, Sparrow, Nipa Group, and Antrix Solutions.
T-Sports is the broadcast partner of the tournament.
Read more: Epyllion clinch BGMEA Cup
No government-funded overseas tours for public sector employees
The government on Wednesday imposed a bar on foreign travels of all officers and employees of state-owned organisations under its operational and development budget amid dwindling foreign exchange reserves and the current global context.
The bar on foreign tours will apply to all government officials, working at different ministries, divisions, directorates, departments, offices, public sector corporations, state-owned, autonomous and semi-autonomous companies until further notice, the Finance Division said in a notification.
However, taking permission from the government, the officials will be able to go abroad for education, training and workshop if expenses are covered by development partners and other countries, it added.
Earlier, they were previously barred from travelling abroad due to the ongoing global crisis and post-Covid economic recovery.
Read more: $4.5 billion loan: IMF reaches preliminary agreement with Bangladesh
In May, the finance ministry, in an order, asked all government, semi-government, and autonomous organisations, together with government banks and financial institutions, to restrict their employees' foreign tours.
Read more: BB halts foreign trips of its officials, employees
Unidentified man found lying unconscious on Motijheel street dies at DMCH
An unidentified man found lying unconscious on the street of the capital's prime commercial area Motijheel died hours after being taken to hospital Wednesday, police said.
"Pedestrians found the 48-year-old on the street opposite the Railway Officer's Quarters. They took him to Islami Bank Hospital at 3:30pm. The man was later shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) as his condition worsened. He was declared dead at 7:15pm there," Sub-Inspector Aminul Islam of Motijheel Police Station said.
"The body was sent to the hospital morgue for a postmortem examination," Inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of DMCH police outpost said.
Read more: Two unidentified bodies recovered from Dhaka streets
Chhatra League lifts suspension of Eden College committee
The Bangladesh Chhatra League has lifted its suspension of the Eden College committee.
The organisation announced this in a notice signed by its central committee President Al Nahiyan Khan Joy and General Secretary Lekhak Bhattacharjee Wednesday.
Following fights between two factions of the organisation, the ruling party's student wing halted the activities of its Eden College committee on September 26.
Chhatra League also expelled 16 leaders and activists, including its college unit general secretary from the organisation for breaking the rules.
The organisation formed a probe body, too, to investigate the incident that left several injured on the campus.
Read more: Eden College: Probe finds no evidence of forcing students into immoral activities
Prevent further encroachments on Cox’s Bazar beach: High Court
The High Court (HC) on Wednesday ordered the authorities concerned to take necessary measures to prevent further encroachments on the Cox’s Bazar sea beach.
The HC bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil passed the order exempting deputy commissioner of Cox's Bazar district Mamunur Rashid from contempt of court charge for failing to remove encroachments from the beach.
Cox's Bazar district Mamunur Rashid today submitted a report to the court, stating that 260 illegal establishments in Baliari and 417 in Sugandha Point of Cox's Bazar Beach have been evicted.
Following the report, the court disposed of the contempt of court charge.
Senior lawyer Momtaz Uddin Fakir appeared for the Deputy Commissioner in the court while senior advocate Manzil Morshed for the writ petitioner.
On August 25, HC summoned the deputy commissioner on contempt charge for failing to remove encroachments from the beach.
On June 7 in 2011, HC ordered the authorities concerned to remove all illegal establishments from Cox’s Bazar beach within 24 hours and halt further construction, following a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), an NGO.
On February 7 this year, HRPB president Manzil Morshed, a lawyer by profession, issued a contempt of court notice. As no action was taken even after the notice, a contempt plea was filed in the HC.
Read more: JS body suggests stern action to prevent illegal sand extraction in Cox's Bazar
It takes an architect to make a difference in cityscape: Momen
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said no matter what the size of their project are, it is the architects who could make a difference, among its users as well as in its surroundings.
He urged the architects to be mindful of their enormous responsibility and deliver "innovative solutions" to some of the socio-economic problems that affect people today.
"I know that every building is also a commercial endeavour, but please, do not leave its success to the balance sheet alone. Your cumulative efforts could be epoch-making both in our cityscape and for its habitats," he said.
Momen was speaking as the chief guest at the Construction Fair 2022 commemorating the golden jubilee of the Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB) at Bangabandhu International Convention Centre in Agargaon Wednesday.
"We have a shortage of land, yet we should be more mindful of landscaping in our architectural design," he said while speaking at a function marking the Golden Jubilee programme of IAB on Wednesday evening.
He said architects in Bangladesh need to be involved with key socio-political themes of society – population density, climate change, water management, and migration – themes that are at the same time global in nature.
"I hope that architecture in Bangladesh will deliver innovative solutions to some of the socio-economic problems that affect us today," Momen said.
In Bangladesh, a lot of people are moving to cities for river erosion, flood or other climate disorders.
"Could we address these challenges with architecture? Could we manage the stream of daily newcomers in our cityscape with architecture? Architects need to ask these questions and put their energy and wisdom into solving these issues," Momen said.
In the city of Dhaka, each year, people lose millions of working hours, burn billions worth of additional energy, and exhaust uncalled carbon-emission due to bumper-to-bumper traffic jams.
"It may be time for our architects and engineers to come up with innovative ways of reducing this traffic congestion," the foreign minister said.
Read more: 'Architecture is truly global, can also be deeply local'
Narayanganj: Drivers of two four-wheelers killed in vehicle collision
Drivers of a covered van and a human hauler, locally known as Laguna, were killed in a fatal head-on collision between their vehicles on Araihazar-Madanpur road in Narayanganj's Araihazar Wednesday.
The deceased were identified as Ratan, 42, of Krishnapur village of Araihazar and Din Islam, 45, of Laskkardi village of the same upazila.
The accident occurred around noon when the speeding covered van crashed into the human hauler with a lot of force in the Lengurdi area, Azizul Haque Hawlader, officer-in-charge of Araihazar Police Station, said.
Laguna driver Ratan died instantly from the impact of the crash; covered van driver Din Islam was sent to a local hospital with serious injuries.
Din Islam succumbed to his injuries while being rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
At the request of the relatives of the deceased, the bodies were handed over to them without autopsies, Azizul said, adding that legal action will be taken in connection with the accident.
Read more: 2 killed in bus-auto rickshaw collision in Kishoreganj