Bangladesh
Payra Bridge to be opened in Oct: Quader
The Payra Bridge over the Payra River in the Lebukhali area of Barishal district will be opened to traffic in October, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said Wednesday.
“The Payra Bridge in the Lebukhali area is like another Padma Bridge for the people of the southern region, and the bridge will be opened to traffic next month,” he said.
The Minister said this while inaugurating as many as 11 bridges in three districts virtually from the office of the additional chief engineer of Barishal Roads and Highways division.
Read: India assured Bangladesh of stopping border killing, says Quader
“75% construction work of Bekutia Bridge in Pirojpur district is complete, while the government has approved the construction work of Nalua-Baherchar Bridge in ECNEC. We should introduce a culture of completing work within stipulated time and that too after maintaining quality,” he said.
Quader iaugurated 11 bridges, involving Tk 83,23,98,000, in Barishal division.
The bridges include 28.78m-long Babuganj Bridge, 31.828m-long Khasherhat Bridge, 31.828m-long Nababer Haat Bridge, 31.828m-long Kauria Bridge and 15.74m-long Khasherhat Bridge in Barisal district.
Besides, 44.02m-long Gurudhan Bridge in Jhalakati district, 69.898m-long Kheyaghat Bridge on Kathalia-Koikhali-Banaihat Road, 44.02m-long Banglar Jar Bridge on Paran Talukdarhat-Borhanuddin-Charfashion-Charmanika regional highway in Bhola district, 44.02m-long Debichar Bridge on Debirchar-Najirpur-Lalmohon-Mangalshikdar-Tajumuddin regional highway were inaugurated.
Read: WB delays decision to fund road safety project: Obaidul Quader
Two more bridges -- 63.798m-long Hetalia Bride on Charkhali-Tushkhali-Mathbaria-Patharghata Road and 75.978m-long Madarsi Bridge on the same road in Pirojpur district -- were also inaugurated.
Additional chief engineer of roads and highways department Tarek Iqbal and supervisor engineer Mintu Ranjan Debnath were also present on the occasion.
Bangladesh’s per capita foreign debt now stands at Tk 24,890
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday said the per capita foreign debt of Bangladesh citizens is now Tk 24,890.
The minister revealed this information in parliament while replying to a tabled question from Awami League MP Didarul Alam from Chittagong-4.
The finance minister said the current foreign debt now stands at US dollar 49,458 million.
According to the Bureau of Statistics, the total population of the country is 169.31 million. And, in that context, the per capita foreign debt is now 292.11 dollars. If one dollar is equivalent to Tk 85.21, it stands at Tk 24,890, the minister said.
Replying to another query from Didarul Alam, he said the amount of loan agreements with various development partner countries and institutions as of June 30 is $ 95,908.34 million.
Of the total amount, $59,458 million have been disbursed while $46,450.34 million are under the process of disbursement, he said.
Pori Moni's remand: HC 'not satisfied' with explanation of lower court judges
The High Court on Wednesday expressed dissatisfaction over the explanation of two lower court judges, who had placed actress Pori Moni in police remand for multiple times in a drugs case.
A division bench of Justices Mustafa Zaman Islam and KM Zahid Sarwar fixed September 29 as the next date of hearing.
In its observation, the HC said, “The two lower court judges have submitted their explanation, which has undermined the High Court. The government has shown zero tolerance against drugs.
"Pori Moni was arrested with foreign liquor and psychedelic drug LSD. Earlier, a student of Dhaka University committed suicide after taking LSD. In their explanation, the two judges said if they committed any mistake they did it simply.”
“(But) the judges have violated the Supreme Court guidelines and we are not satisfied with their explanation and through their explanation, they have undermined the HC," the two-judge bench observed.
The judges also asked the investigating officer in the case to appear before them on September 29.
On September 2, the High Court asked the two lower court judges to explain why they had accepted the police prayer to remand actress Pori Moni for multiple times in the narcotics case.
The judges of Dhaka Metropolitan Court were ordered to submit their explanation to the HC in 10 days.
The court had also summoned the investigating officer to appear before the bench on September 15 along with relevant documents to explain why he repeatedly sought remand for the actress.
The virtual HC passed the order after hearing a petition filed by Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) over the matter.
The bench said it would also summon the metropolitan magistrates who had granted the prayers for taking Pori Moni in remand for second and third times, if their written explanation was not satisfactory.
Besides, the HC said there was potential for abuse of power in the remand of the actress.
ASK's lawyer ZI Khan Panna told the HC during the hearing that its guidelines and directives were all thrown out of the window in the manner by which the actress was placed on remand in three phases.
Pori Moni was arrested on August 4 following a raid by RAB in her Banani residence. A case was filed against her under the Narcotics Act the following day.
Following the High Court's intervention, a Dhaka court finally granted bail to the actress on September 1 and she walked out of jail the following day.
On August 22, Pori Moni was sent to jail after inspector of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Kazi Golam Mostafa produced her in a court on the completion of a one-day remand, her third.
Judge Emrul Kayesh set September 13 for hearing her bail petition in the case. However, the actress subsequently moved the High Court, challenging the validity of the lower court's decision.
The High Court on August 26 issued a rule, seeking explanation as to why a lower court order fixing September 13 for hearing the bail petition of Pori Moni in a case under the Narcotics Control Act should not be cancelled. It had also asked why the bail application would not be heard within two days.
Medical Degrees (Repeal) Bill goes through Parliament
Parliament on Wednesday passed the Medical Degrees (Repeal) Bill, repealing the Medical Degrees Act 1916.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque moved the Bill and it was passed by voice vote.
The proposed law will abolish the Medical Degrees Act 1916 as it became obsolete following the enactment of Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) Act 2010.
The Medical Degrees Act 1916 was actually used to determine everything regarding the medical degrees and their standards.
But all the provisions of the act were incorporated in the BMDC Act 2010.
Man held for running illegal telecom setup in Dhaka
A joint team of Rapid Action Battalion-2 (RAB) and Bangladesh telecom regulator arrested a man for allegedly running an illegal telecom setup in the capital's Lalmatia area.
The arrestee has been identified as Shafiqul Islam (40), a resident of Brahmanbaria.
Read:BTRC bonds with TKC Telecom to monitor mobile operators’ activities
Shafiqul was nabbed from a house on Zakir Hossain Road in Lalmatia on Tuesday evening, following a tip-off that he had been selling international voice calls bypassing the legal gateway for the past 18 months.
Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP) components worth Tk 30 lakh, including three sim-boxes of 512 ports, two sim-boxes of 256 ports, seven laptops, five modems, one switch and 900 Teletalk sim cards, were seized from his house.
Read: BTRC reminds users of least-promoted service: 'Do Not Disturb' for promo texts!
Shafiqul told interrogators that his four-member gang had been in the illegal telecom business for nearly one-and-a-half years.
The four would sell maximum talktime worth Tk 2.30 lakh per day, causing losses to the tune of Tk 7 crore to the state exchequer, said Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission officials.
Ex-UP chairman held for raping woman on pretext of marriage
Police have arrested a former chairman of a local union parishad in Netrakona for allegedly raping a woman on the pretext of marriage.
The arrestee has been identified as Sohrab, 62, a former chairman of Kaillati union parishad in Sadar upazila.
The woman lodged a complaint with the police on Monday night, following which the accused was arrested the next day, said sub-inspector Nazmul Huda of Netrakona Model Police Station.
Read: Minor girl ‘raped’ by teenage boy in Dhaka
According to the complaint, the woman, aged about 40, had married a man after the demise of her first husband. However, her second husband abandoned her later.
Taking advantage of her situation, Sohrab allegedly developed an illicit relationship with the woman, a mother of two children, on the pretext of marriage. However, he later refused to marry the woman.
On Monday night, the woman lodged a complaint at Netrakona Sadar Model Police Station and police arrested Sohrab early on Tuesday. He was produced in a court that sent him to judicial custody.
Bailey bridge collapse snaps road link in Barishal
Road communication between Sadar upazila and other parts of Barisal has remained suspended since Wednesday morning, following the collapse of a Bailey bridge on Banaripara Road in Babuganj upazila.
The Bailey bridge collapsed when a Barishal-bound stone-laden truck from Pirojpur was crossing it in the small hours of Wednesday, officials said.
Read:A bridge that’s going to connect the dreams of Rangamati islanders to reality
However, repair work is already underway and the local police and residents are trying to restore the road link, said Kamlesh Chandra Haldar, officer-in-charge of Airport Police Station.
Parliament passes Medical Colleges Bill replacing ordinance
The Medical Colleges (Governing Bodies) (Repeal), Bill 2021 was passed in Parliament on Wednesday.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque moved the Bill and it was passed by voice vote.
Read: Electricity Supply Act to get time extension, Bill placed
The new law will abolish the Medical Colleges (Governing Bodies) Ordinance 1961.
As per the objective of the Bill, the ordinance has no effectiveness since some other laws have been enacted for medical education in Bangladesh.
Students 12 or up to be vaccinated: Hasina
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the government has planned to gradually bring students 12 and above under the vaccination coverage.
Hasina said this while replying to a tabled question from Jatiya Party MP Dr Rustam Ali Farazi during PM’s question-answer session in Parliament.
Read: University students must complete vaccine registration by Sept 27: Dipu Moni
The Prime Minister said the government has a plan to vaccinate 80 percent of the country’s population.
To bring 50 percent of people under vaccination coverage by December 2021, the government is taking measures as per the guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO), she told the House.
To make that happen, Hasina said, the government will provide vaccine jabs for the students aged 12 or above.
Electricity Supply Act to get time extension, Bill placed
The Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act 2021 was placed in Parliament on Wednesday, aiming to extend its length of time by another five years till 2026.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Nasrul Hamid placed the Bill.
Read: Bill placed in parliament to replace Dev Board Ordinance
The tenure of the existing law is going to expire in 2021.
The cabinet on September 6 gave the final approval to the draft of Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provision) (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in order to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity and energy for the sake of making Bangladesh into a higher middle-income country by 2030 and a developed country by 2041.
Read: Leader and Dy Leader of Opposition (Remuneration and Privileges) Bill placed in JS
The tenure of the special provision, enacted in 2010, was extended on several occasions in the past.
But no change other than time extension has been made to the proposed law.