Bangladesh
Dhaka, New Delhi reiterate resolve to bring down border killings to zero level
The 5-day director general (DG) level border conference between Border Guard Bangladesh (BSF) and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) ended here at BGB headquarters renewing the consensus in bringing down the border killings to zero level.
The conference, which began on July 17, ended today (Thursday) with signing a Joint Record of Discussion (JRD).
DG BGB Major General Shakil Ahmed was leading 20-member Bangladesh delegation, while his counterpart DG BSF Shri Pankaj Kumar Singh led a 9-member Indian delegation at the talks.
Both sides agreed to bring down the killing, injuring and beating unarmed nationals of both countries to zero by adopting extra precautionary measures along the border, such as, increasing Coordinated Patrols specially during the latter part of Night until morning.
Also read: BGB-BSF DG-level border conference begins in Dhaka
Both sides also agreed to undertake joint efforts to bring down the number of incidents of assault and border crime by intensifying various initiatives like public awareness programmes, undertaking appropriate socio-economic developmental programmes in vulnerable areas, educating border population about the sanctity of IB (international Border) and also agreed to preventing criminals and inhabitants from crossing the IB.
Briefing reporters at the BGB headquarters after signing the JRD, BGB DG Maj Gen Shakil Ahmed said that they have both agreed to bring down the border killings to zero with the joint initiatives of the two countries.
The BGB chief also said that the issue of border killings was discussed in the meeting very seriously and "we agreed that both sides not only will reduce border killings, but reduce the incidents to zero level."
He said the two sides openly discussed all issues related to the border including killings at the border. "We have agreed on everything," he said.
Also read: BGB, BGP to work together to step up border security
When asked why casualties are not stopped despite agreement reached every year BSF chief Pankaj Kumar Singh said, "we hear the same question every year. Our relationship with Bangladesh is very different and different from western countries. We are constantly discussing the border issue at various levels."
Criminals are in both countries. Both countries have good and bad people. The improvement in border killing situation was good last year. This year is getting better. There are good and bad people in every society of the two countries, the DG BSF added.
Claiming that relationship between the two border forces are better than before, he also said that the BSF have started using non-lethal weapons to reduce border killings.
Meanwhile, the conference highlighted the importance of Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP) in curbing the menace of smuggling contrabands, such as, various narcotics (especially Yaba), fire arms, FICN, gold etc and both sides agreed to remain cautious and steadfast to stop smuggling through sharing of real time information and also agreed to active anti-smuggling efforts through optimum involvement and pursuance.
To enhance mutual understanding and bi-lateral relation between the two friendly forces both sides agreed to resume all activities under the framework of CBMP (Coordinated Border Management Plan) as the COVID situation improves gradually.
Finally, both sides agreed to reflect the commitment and decision of the conference at the ground level in true spirit to maintain the peace and tranquility at the border.
No kitchen markets to be allowed at undesignated places in capital :Tazul
LGRD Minister Tazul Islam has said wholesale and retail kitchen markets should be set up at places designated by the government to reduce traffic jam and public hassles.
“Action will be taken against those who will set up shops occupying roads that hampers people’s movement,” he said.
He said this on Thursday after visiting Gabtoli kitchen market aiming to relocate Karwan Bazar there.
Also read: LGRD Minister directs WASA to fix water price in capital rationally
“Karwan Bazar was established long ago and goods from this market are distributed in retail markets of the city. Traders coming from different parts of the country struggle to reach here while distribution also becomes a struggle due to traffic jam. So we have started working on how Karwan Bazar can be shifted to a different suitable point of Dhaka,” he said.
He said wholesale and retail kitchen markets should not set up at the same place in densely populated areas and it is better if wholesale kitchen markets can be shifted outside the city.
“The mayors and councilors will decide how many markets are needed in an area instead of establishing wholesale and retail kitchen markets everywhere. If new markets are needed it will be done identifying the suitable spots,” the minister said.
Also read: Re-excavated canals: LGRD Minister predicts less waterlogging in Dhaka
“It’s not logical to establish a three-storied building for kitchen market but at Gabtoli it is being made to sell other products like electronics goods in the upper floors. Our main aim is to build a planned and beautiful Dhaka,”he added.
A roadmap needed for debt repayment of 20 mega projects: Debapriya
Economist Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya on Thursday called for a roadmap for debt repayment of the top mega projects which will be started between 2024 and 2026.
“A major shock is coming to the economy between 2024 and 2026 in terms of debt repayments for mega projects that cause concern for the economy. A plan is needed to deal with this situation,” he suggested.
Dr Debapriya, a special fellow of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a private think tank, spoke to reporters about 20 mega projects in the country in a virtual conversation on Thursday.
Also read: Mega projects won’t affect the economy: PM
He also said currently the ratio of foreign debt to gross domestic product (GDP) is 1.1 per cent which may be doubled by 2026.
In response to the question of whether Bangladesh will be in trouble or not, he said, it will actually depend on how the country's reserve situation is at that time, and how well the economy remains.
Debapriya also said that Russia, China, and Japan will have to pay more for big projects. Among them, China's debt repayment period is quite short.
Also read: Huge amount of money being siphoned abroad from mega projects: BNP
He analyzed 20 mega projects, including Padma Bridge, Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, tunnel under Karnaphuli River, Matarbari coal-based power plant, metro rail, rail connection of Padma Bridge and others.
About Tk5.57 lakh crore is being spent on these projects. About 62 per cent of this is foreign debt.
Debapriya also said that since 2009 there is a kind of national consensus on taking up big projects. Politicians show interest in it as visible development can be seen if big projects are implemented, he said.
Even though 20 projects are scheduled to be completed by 2028, Debapriya said that it will not be possible to complete all of them in the current decade.
He also pointed out that there is a lack of transparency and accountability in project implementation.
Jabbar urges mobile opeators to boost service quality
Post and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar on Thursday said that the telecom operators’ profit will fall if they can’t maintain their quality of services.
Jabbar said this at a roundtable meeting organized by Telecom and Technology Reporters’ Network Bangladesh (TRNB) at the Brac Center.
Jabbar added that a successful spectrum auction has happened this year.
“Increasing the quality of services is impossible without increasing the spectrum. That’s why telecom operators need enough spectrum in their stock,” Jabbar said.
Also read: Mobile operators must increase spectrum by December to provide better services to customers
He said that connectivity is becoming a basic need of the country’s people day by day.
“People want speedy net connections nowadays. The telecom operators have to dedicate themselves in providing speedy internet services,” Jabbar added.
The minister stressed the need of taking tower sharing to 100 per cent, which is only 17 per cent at present.
“We’re trying to formulate active sharing regulations as soon as possible. We’re also trying to ensure that the four telecom companies can use the towers altogether,” Jabbar said.
Although Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) tried to sign a tripartite agreement (Mobile Operator-Tower Company-Mobile Operator) in May, 2021 and some telecom companies tried to share the towers of other network companies in the previous years, no tower sharing happened in the last four years.
Also read: BTRC receives Tk 2.78 crore fines from three mobile operators
Among the network operators, tower sharing by Robi, Grameenphone and Banglalink is at 30 per cent, 18 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively. Among the 24.425 towers of the telecom operators, only 17 per cent is being currently shared.
The meeting was presided over by TRNB President Rashed Mehedi. TRNB General Secretary SM Masuduzzaman Robin provided the introductory speech, while the main essay was read out by TIM Nurul Kabir.
Woman killed in collision between 2 rickshaws in city
A 24-year-old woman was killed following a collision between two rickshaws, including a battery-run one, in the city’s Chawkbazar area early Thursday, said police.
The deceased was identified as Umme Salma, 24, of Bhola district. She completed her post-graduation from Eden College recently.
Salma’s cousin Md Hasan said she came to Dhaka this morning after Eid vacation and was going to her hostel at Azimpur from Sadarghat in a battery-run rickshaw with Hasan.
The accident occurred around 4am when a wheel of their rickshaw got stuck in a hole in Islambag area and it overturned after being hit by another speeding rickshaw, leaving Salma seriously injured.
Read: Four killed in Barishal road accident
She was rushed to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) where doctors declared her dead on arrival, said Inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of the DMCH Police Outpost.
The body was kept at the hospital morgue for autopsy, he added.
Bangladesh’s Covid caseload cross 2 mln with 884 new cases; 6 more die
Bangladesh’s overall Covid caseload crossed two million registering 884 new cases in 24 hours till Thursday morning.
Besides, six more Covid-linked deaths were recorded during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With the latest figures, the country's total fatalities reached 29,256 while the caseload at 2,000,279.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh logs one death, 1,104 new cases
Of the deceased, four were men while two were women.
Of them, two each were from Dhaka and Barishal divisions while one each was from Khulna and Mymensing division.
The daily case positivity rate increased to 12.20 per cent from Tuesday's 9.66 per cent as 9,010 samples were tested.
The mortality rate dropped to 9.81 from Wednesday’s 1.46 per cent. The recovery rate rose to 96,56 from Wednesday’s 96.52 per as 1,602 patients recovered during this period.
In June, the country reported 18 Covid-linked deaths and 20,201 new cases, according to the DGHS.
Bangladesh reported its first zero Covid death on November 20 last year since the pandemic broke out here in March 2020.
Also read: Covid-19 special vaccination campaign sees lukewarm response: DGHS DG
The country registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 in the same year.
69 more Dengue patients hospitalised in 24 hrs
Sixty-nine more dengue patients were hospitalised in 24 hours till Thursday morning, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Among them, 52 patients were hospitalised in Dhaka while the remaining 17 in other places, it said.
As many as 264 dengue patients, including 203 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
On Tuesday, this year’s death toll from the mosquito-borne viral disease rose to five with two more deaths reported from Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar.
On June 21, the DGHS reported the first death of the season from the viral disease.
Read: Dengue: 24 new patients hospitalised
This year, the DGHS has recorded 1,979 dengue cases and 1,710 recoveries so far.
Although dengue – a leading cause of serious illness and death in some Asian and Latin American countries – was first reported in Bangladesh in 1964, the first epidemic occurred in 2000, claiming 93 lives that year. It has since become endemic in the country, with outbreaks recorded every year since. Although for a three-year period at one point, the number of deaths from the virus fell almost near zero, its most fatal year yet was in 2019, when 179 died experiencing the severe form of the disease.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, it seemed to take a backseat, as only three deaths were reported from dengue that year.
However, 105 dengue patients, including 95 in Dhaka division, died in 2021.
Dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas.
Read: Dengue: 35 new patients hospitalised
About 4 billion people, almost half of the world's population, live in areas with a risk of dengue, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Each year, up to 400 million people get infected with dengue while approximately 100 million get sick from infection, and 40,000 die from severe dengue, it says.
"There is no specific treatment for dengue or severe dengue. Early detection of disease progression associated with severe dengue, and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates of severe dengue to below 1 per cent," according to the World Health Organization.
Floods damage 1600 km roads, bridges in Sylhet: Govt estimate
Two rounds of flood have caused extensive damages to roads and bridges in Sylhet division, disrupting road communication and causing sufferings to people.
Some areas in Sylhet division are still under floodwater. Vehicles are plying on these roads with risk as flooding has created potholes on almost every road, said locals.
According to a joint estimate by the Roads and Highways department (RHD), the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and Sylhet City Corporation (SCC), a total of 1,600 kilometers of roads and have been damaged in this year’s flooding in the Sylhet region, which is worth Tk 2,100 crore.
The two rounds of flooding battered the region in May and June. Almost all the roads of Sylhet were submerged which severed Sylhet’s road link with the rest of the country. Although floodwater has receded from most of the areas, road communication is yet to return to its usual state.
According to the LGED, SCC and RHD, around 1600 km roads and 2.5km bridges in the four districts of Sylhet division need repairing, which will cost approximately Tk 2,100 crore.
Read: Flood situation worsens in Sylhet; low-lying areas in city inundated
According to the SCC, 186.53km roads in Sylhet metropolitan area have been damaged. Besides, 96.72km drains, one km retaining wall, 60km footpaths and 82km water lines have been affected by floodwater.
“Tk 328 crore is needed to repair these. We’ve already requested the ministry concerned for allocation,” said Nur Azizur Rahman, Chief Engineer of SCC.
Mostafizur Rahman, Executive Engineer of Sylhet RHD, said roads under RHD worth Tk 550 crore were destroyed by the flood.
“We’ve conducted departmental repairing works as temporary solution. Permanent repairs won’t be possible if we don’t get the required funds,” Mostafizur said.
Flooding has ruined rural roads built by LGED the most. The length of these roads is at least 1,200km and the amount of losses is around Tk 1,000 crore.
Read: Floods in the northeast throw over 4.55 lakh students in Sylhet div into uncertainty
“We’ve been able to mitigate the losses to some extent by using sandbags during the flooding. We’ve kept the roads useable through using bricks and sandbags in places where holes have emerged,” said Enamul Kabir, Executive Engineer of Sylhet LGED.
Roads turning more perilous: 10 people killed in Barishal in 24 hours
Within 24 hours of a tragic road accident that left six people dead in Barishal on Wednesday, four people have lost their lives in the same district in a collision between two vehicles.
Four people were killed and 12 others injured in a collision between a bus and a microbus on Dhaka-Barishal highway in Ujirpur upazila of Barishal on Thursday.
The deceased were identified as Ruhul Amin, Abdur Rahman, Md Hasan and Nurul Amin of Gazipur district.
All the deceased were passengers of the microbus.
Also read: Bangladesh sees 7 years’ highest 398 deaths on roads during Eid journey
Ali Arshad, officer-in-charge of Ujirpur Police Station, said the accident occurred at noon when the Dhaka-bound ‘Molla Paribahan bus’ from Patuakhali rammed the Barishal-bound microbus from Dhaka at Shikarpur, leaving a man dead on the spot and 15 other people injured.
Of the injured, three died on the way to Upazila Health Complex.
Police seized the vehicles but no one was arrested in this connection.
Besides, six people were killed in another road accident occurred on the busy Dhaka-Kuakata highway Wednesday noon.
Alauddin Milon, officer-in-charge of Bakerganj Police Station, said the accident occurred when the Barishal-bound bus hit a three-wheeler in the upazila, leaving four of its passengers dead on the spot and three others injured.
The three injured of the same family were sent to SBMCH where Sathi Akther succumbed to her injuries Thursday morning and her child Farhana died in the afternoon.
Road accidents in Bangladesh
As many as 524 people including 73 children were killed and 821 others injured in 467 road accidents across the country in June.
Of these, 204 people died in motorbike accidents alone during this period, which is 38.93% of the total fatalities, the Road Safety Foundation said in its latest report released on July 4.
Besides, 107 pedestrians, 86 drivers and their assistants were killed in the accidents .
Meanwhile, Bangladesh witnessed 398 deaths on roads in 319 accidents in just 15 days during journeys before and after Eid-ul-Azha this year.
Also read: Barishal road crash: Death toll climbs to 6
The accidents and deaths recorded on Bangladesh roads during Eid-ul-Azha were highest in the last 7 years, according to a report prepared by Jatri Kalyan Samiti, a passenger welfare organization.
Hanging body of KMP’s ADC, bullet-hit body of constable found in Magura
Police on Thursday recovered the bodies of an additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of Khulna Metropolitan Police and a constable from separate places in Magura.
The deceased were identified as additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of KMP Laboni Akhter, 30, and Constable Mahmudul Hasan, 23.
KMP’s Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) SM Fazlul Haque said Laboni Akhter was found hanging from the ceiling with a scarf at her grandparent's house in Sarangodia village in Sreepur upazila in the morning.
Fazlul Haque said Laboni was on leave. “It cannot be said right now whether it is suicide or not.”
Read:Magura court orders PBI probe into transport worker’s death, FIR against 5 cops
Mahmudul Hasan’s body was recovered from the roof of Magura Police Lines Barrack in the morning.
He shot himself in the head with a firearm issued in his name around 7:30 am, said Magura Additional Superintendent of Police Kamrul Hasan.
Hailing from Kushtia, Mahmudul was posted in Magura one and a half months ago, said Additional SP Kamrul Hasan.
The bodies were sent to Magura Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy, he added.