Dhaka, Sept 18 (UNB) - A bill titled ‘Mental Health Bill 2018’ was placed in Parliament on Tuesday for making a time-befitting law in Bangla version scrapping the exiting Lunacy Act 1912.
 
Health Minister Mohammad Nasim placed the Bill and it was sent to the respective parliamentary standing committee for further examination. The Committee was asked to submit its report within 15 days.    
 
According to the draft bill, if any professional engaged in mental health service intentionally provides false report over mental illness, the person will be punished with a fine of maximum Tk 3 lakh or one year’s rigorous imprisonment or by both.
 
The bill also incorporated another punitive provision for guardians and doctors in case of their negligence in providing treatment to mental health patients and management of his property.
 
If any guardian or doctor neglects the treatment of mental health patients or management of his property or does not implement any order of the court, s/he will be punished with a fine of maximum Tk five lakh or three years’ rigorous imprisonment or both.
 
In the bill, the government has been entrusted with the responsibility of conducting, coordinating, regulating and improving all the activities related to mental health.
 

Chattogram, Sept 18 (UNB) – Three people were injured in a clash between two factions of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) over forming a new committee at Chattogram College here on Tuesday.

Earlier on Monday, the city unit BCL announced a 25-member committee of Chattogram College BCL making Mahmudul Karim and Subhash Mallik as the president and general secretary of the committee.

City BCL leaders Imran Hasan Imu and Dastagir Chowdhury made the announcement in the night.

A section of BCL workers expressed dissatisfaction over the issue on the social networking site Facebook in the night.

Witnesses said, a section of post-deprived BCL men staged demonstration in front of the campus and put up barricade on the road by placing bamboos around 11 am on Tuesday, disrupting traffic on the body road for two hours.

Later, a group of outsiders allegedly led by the supporters of Chawkbazar unit Jubo League leader Tinu swooped on the campus and a scuffle took place among the two groups.

At one stage, several crude bombs were blasted, creating panic in the area. Three people were injured in the incident.

A number of vehicles were vandalised during the incident.

On information, a team of police went to the spot and brought the situation under control.
 

Dhaka, Sep 18 (UNB) - Dhaka and Moscow have signed a protocol to bring amendments to an agreement signed by both sides on development of Rooppur nuclear power plant.

On sideline of the 62nd General Conference of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) being held in Vienna Bangladesh and Russia signed the protocol on September 17.

In a statement on Tuesday, Russian state atomic energy agency Rosatom said the protocol was signed to bring in some amendments in the intergovernmental agreement signed on November 2, 2010 on partnership in construction of a nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.

It also said Bangladesh can now involve Russia in developing physical protection systems for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.
 
Architect Yeafesh Osman, Minister for Science and Technology, Government of Bangladesh and Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom signed the Protocol on behalf of their respective governments.
 
The protocol provides for the possibility of involving a specialized Russian company in designing and installation of physical protection system for the main and auxiliary facilities of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.
 
The Protocol also includes the clause saying that all the safety and security measures to ensure physical protection of the nuclear power plant to be taken in accordance with the requirements and guidelines of IAEA.
 
Rooppur NPP with two VVER-1200 reactors, each of 1,200 MW capacity is being constructed by Atomstroyexport (ASE), Engineering Division of Rosatom under strict monitoring by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA).  
 
Rooppur Nuclear Power Project (RNPP) with two VVER-1200 reactors, each of 1,200 MW capacity is being constructed according to Russian design, at Ishwardi of Pabna district, 160 km from Dhaka. In accordance with the General Contract signed on December 25, 2015 Atomstroyexport (Engineering Division of Rosatom) is implementing the project as the General Contractor.
 
The Russian VVER-1200 reactors that is selected for the first NPP in Bangladesh, was successfully set up at Unit No 1 of Novovoronezh NPP-2, said the statement.
 

Dhaka, Sept 18 (UNB) - The ‘Community Clinic Health Assistance Trust Bill, 2018' was placed in Parliament on Tuesday for ensuring the participation of rural people in healthcare services and collecting donation for trust funds to run the country’s community clinics.
 
Health Minister Mohammad Nasim placed the Bill and it was sent to the respective parliamentary standing committee for further examination. The Committee was asked to submit its report within a day.
 
The goals of the Community Clinic Trust Assistance Bill is to ensure the participation of people in coordinated healthcare services to rural people, provide healthcare services by using trust funds, and collect necessary social assistance and donation from individuals and organisations for providing the health services.
 
According to the proposed law, there will be an advisory council of the trust, headed by the Prime Minister, and a 14-member board to be headed by the managing director to regulate the trust. An additional secretary-level official will be the managing director of the board.
 
The trustee board will be consisted of 15 members to be appointed for three years.
 
There will be two types of funds -- permanent and current.
 

Dhaka, Sept 18 (UNB) - The ‘Bangladesh Sangbad Sagstha (BSS) Bill 2018’ was placed in Parliament on Tuesday to properly run the organisation under a legal framework.
 
The state-run media outlet emerged as the national news agency in 1972 and being run under an ordinance promulgated in 1979.
 
Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu placed the Bill and it was sent to the respective parliamentary standing committee for further scrutiny. The committee was asked to submit its report within 15 days.
 
BSS was established on January 1, 1972 as the then Dhaka Bureau of the erstwhile Associate Press of Pakistan (APP) was turned into Bangladesh’s news agency while an ordinance for it promulgated during the military regime in 1979. 
 
The draft law suggests the national news agency to be operated by a 13-member Board of Directors with three years tenure which will include representatives from different ministries, including the home and foreign ministries, alongside senior journalists.
 
The government will appoint the chairman of the board while a person having 18 years of experience in journalism would be eligible for the post of the Managing Director and Chief Editor of the national news agency.