United News of Bangladesh

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Administrator Abdus Salam on Monday announced that the first Saturday of every month will be observed as ‘Cleaning Day’ across DSCC areas to prevent Aedes mosquito-borne diseases including dengue and to ensure a cleaner city environment. The first official ‘Cleaning Day’ will be observed on May 9 across DSCC areas. The decision was announced at a view-exchange meeting held at Nagar Bhaban conference room. As per the meeting decisions, all government offices, residential quarters, educational institutions (schools, colleges, madrashas), areas under RAJUK and REHAB, as well as privately owned premises within DSCC jurisdiction, will conduct cleanliness drives and eliminate mosquito breeding grounds on their own initiatives. Besides, directives have been issued to ensure the highest level of professionalism in mosquito control activities, including maintaining the quality of insecticides, proper application methods, monitoring, and training of field workers. The DSCC Administrator said, “Public awareness and cleanliness are our main tools in preventing dengue and chikungunya. If both public and private institutions along with citizens keep their surroundings clean, it will be possible to eliminate mosquito-borne diseases. No negligence in mosquito control activities by DSCC will be tolerated.” He also urged media representatives to broadcast awareness messages on dengue and chikungunya prevention alongside commercial programmes in the greater public interest. Representatives from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Dhaka Medical College (DMC), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Islamic Foundation, RAJUK, Bangladesh Railway, REHAB, Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, and Jagannath University, among others, were present at the meeting. DSCC Chief Executive Officer Md. Zahurul Islam and other senior officials were also present.

Bangladesh's stockbrokers have called on the capital market regulator to immediately withdraw floor prices from the country's equity market, warning that the artificial price mechanism is choking trading activity and eroding investor confidence. The DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh (DBA) made the demand on Monday in a formal letter addressed to Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Chairman Khondoker Rashed Maqsood, urging the regulator to lift the price floor without further delay to restore normal market operations. Signed by DBA President Saiful Islam, the letter highlighted that floor price restrictions have left listed conglomerate Beximco Limited virtually untradeable for an extended period. It also noted that shares of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC and other floor-priced stocks were trading at their floor levels on May 3, effectively blocking sellers from executing normal transactions. The association further flagged that prolonged trading restrictions tied to floor prices are heightening the risk of negative equity for margin loan borrowers, a development it described as a growing threat to overall market stability. DBA also cautioned that such artificial price controls are projecting a negative image of Bangladesh's capital market to international investors, potentially undermining foreign participation at a time when the market needs fresh inflows. It called on BSEC to promptly lift the floor price on all affected securities and allow the market to function freely, emphasising that a return to price discovery-driven trading is essential for restoring investor confidence and market dynamism. A floor price is a regulatory mechanism that sets a minimum trading level for a stock, preventing its price from declining further. BSEC has previously imposed such controls during periods of sharp market downturns.

A housewife has allegedly been gang raped by a group of people in Chandina upazila of Cumilla district. Police rescued the victim early Monday and arrested four suspects over the incident, which took place at Madarpur village in the upazila, said Atiqur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Chandina Police Station. He said a group of people waylaid the housewife and her husband while they were passing through the village around 11:00pm on Sunday. Later, they took the housewife to an abandoned place and violated her in turns throughout the night after confining her husband. As the victim’s husband prayed for his wife’s release, the offenders demanded Tk 1 lakh for it. At one stage, the man managed to call the national emergency number 999, seeking help. Following the phone call, police conducted a drive around 5:00am and rescued the woman from a maize field in the area.  They also arrested four people in connection with the incident.    

A woman was killed after being struck by a motorbike at Boro Bhangha Mahakash Bypass road in Dhaka’s Demra area on Monday. The deceased was identified as Dolimun Nessa,78, of Nalitabari upazila of Sherpur district. Victim’s son Mohammad Sorhab said his mother was crossing the road when the motorbike hit her from behind, leaving her seriously injured. She was rescued her in critical condition and taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared her dead. Inspector Md Faruk, in-charge of the DMCH police camp, said the body was handed over to the family without an autopsy as no complaint was lodged.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Monday directed the authorities concerned to simplify the project approval process to attract both local and foreign investment. He also assured necessary support for investors willing to invest in long-closed state-owned factories, said a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s press wing. The directives came at a two-hour-long meeting beginning at 10:30am at the Prime Minister’s Office in the Bangladesh Secretariat, where the current condition of closed factories in the textiles and jute sector and the next steps were discussed. The Prime Minister said the government is committed to creating an investment-friendly environment and stressed the need to remove existing complexities in the investment process. PM holds meeting on reopening closed factories According to an official present at the meeting, it often takes a long time to get final approval for projects, which discourages both local and foreign investors. The need to obtain clearances from multiple agencies also acts as a major obstacle. In this context, the Prime Minister instructed that the approval process be made simpler and more time-efficient. “Approvals from ministries or agencies that are not essential should be removed from the process,” he said. He also emphasised easing access to loans to encourage private investment in closed state-owned factories and asked the ministers concerned to take prompt and effective steps in this regard. Commerce, Industries, Textiles and Jute Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir Chowdhury, the Prime Minister’s Political and Industry Affairs Adviser Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Economic and Planning Adviser Dr Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, State Minister for Textiles and Jute Shariful Alam, Principal Secretary ABM Abdus Sattar, Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority Ashik Chowdhury, Chairman of Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation Brig Gen SM Zahid Hasan, and Chairman of Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation Kabir Uddin Sikder, among others, were present at the meeting. Officials from the relevant ministries and agencies also attended the meeting.    

Police arrested a Union Parishad Chairman from Debidwar upazila of Cumilla district in connection with the killing of an auto-rickshaw driver during the July uprising on Monday. The arrestee is Mokbul Hossain Mukul, chairman of Gunaighar Uttar Union Parishad and president of Gunaighar union unit Awami League. Acting on secret information, a team of Debidwar Police Station conducted a drive at the Union Parishad office and arrested Mukul around 10 am, said Md Maniruzzaman, officer-in-charge of Debidwar Police Station. Aminul Islam Sabbir, an auto-rickshaw driver, received bullet injuries on his head when he along with other local people went to Debidwar Police Station to besiege it after the fall of the Sheikha Hasina-led regime on August 5, 2024. Later, he was taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Nazmul Hasan, maternal uncle of Sabbir filed a case against 99 people including former MP Abul Kalam Azad. Chairman Mukul was the ezhar-listed criminal in the case.

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) on Monday distributed around 2,500 raincoats among its cleanliness workers to ensure uninterrupted sanitation services during the monsoon. The raincoats were handed over at a programme held at Gulshan Nagar Bhaban in the morning. DNCC Administrator Md Shafiqul Islam Khan attended the programme as the chief guest. Shafiqul said the programme was dedicated to those who work tirelessly from early morning to keep the city clean, enabling residents to enjoy a hygienic environment. He noted that during the last Eid, the Prime Minister arranged a special bonus for cleanliness workers in recognition of their contribution. “We have a responsibility towards you and remain committed to your welfare. You will continue your work with dedication and we will provide all necessary support. We will consider ourselves successful only when city dwellers are satisfied with your work,” he added. Earlier, winter clothing, masks and gumboots were distributed and the raincoats are part of that ongoing initiative. Speakers at the programme emphasised the need to ensure safety for sanitation workers alongside raising awareness among city residents, noting that a clean and livable Dhaka requires collective effort.

A writ petition was filed with the High Court challenging the legality of the reciprocal trade agreement between Bangladesh and the US, describing it as unreasonable, structurally imbalanced and contrary to the national interests of Bangladesh. Advocate Mohammad Maidul Islam Palak filed the writ petition with the HC bench concerned. The HC bench of Justice Razik-Al-Jalil and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury is expected to hear the petition. The secretaries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finance Ministry and Commerce Ministry were made respondents to the writ petition. According to the writ petition, the trade agreement has failed to safeguard the country’s economic sovereignty and public welfare and was signed without following the procedures mandated by the Constitution. The petitioner also expressed concern over an ‘unequal tariff structure’ imposed on Bangladesh, curtailment of policy-making independence and potential adverse impacts on local industries, agriculture and the environment. The Agreement on Reciprocal Tariff between Bangladesh and the United States was signed on February 9 by the Prof Yunus-led interim government. Negotiations on the agreement spanned over nine months since April last year.

Four people were killed and two others injured as a sand-laden truck crashed into a CNG-run autorickshaw at Montalat Samitighar in Muktagachha upazila of Mymensingh district on Monday. The identities of the deceased and injured could not be confirmed immediately. All of the victims were passengers of the CNG auto-rickshaw, said Muktagachha Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Kamrul Hasan. According to police and locals, the speeding sand-laden truck coming from the opposite rammed the autorickshaw around 12 pm, leaving thee female passengers dead on the spot and three others seriously injured. The CNG-run autorickshaw was severely mangled while the truck overturned on the road. The injured were rescued and taken to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital where another victim succumbed to injuries. Police later reached the scene and recovered the bodies. Such accidents are often caused by overspeeding and reckless overtaking, said the OC.

Two people were killed and two others injured in a collision between a truck and a pickup van in Ravna bypass area on Dhaka-Tangail highway on Monday. The identities of the deceased could not be known immediately. Elenga Highway Police Outpost Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Sharif said the  truck heading towards Jamuna Bridge collided with the pickup van on Ravna flyover, leaving two people dead on the spot. The bodies of the deceased were sent to Tangail General Hospital morgue and the injured were admitted to the hospital. The bodies will be handed over to the families after the legal process is completed, said the OC.