bangladesh
Ctg boy killed after abduction for ransom; 2 arrested
Police early Thursday recovered the body of a minor boy from an under-construction building in Paschim Mohora area in the port city of Chattogram five days after he was abducted for ransom.
Md Shafiul Islam, 11, was son of Selim Uddin of the same area and a Grade-V student of Paschim Mohora Government Primary School.
However, police have already arrested two suspects—Md Azam Khan, 30 and his cohort Mujibur Doula Hrido, 28.
Of them, Azam is from Kaptai Raster Matha area under Chandgaon police station in the city while Hridoy from Bibirhat area under Panchlaish police station.
Khairul Islam, officer-in-charge of Chandgaon police station, said the duo abducted the boy while playing at a field near his house in the afternoon on April 29.
The abductors demanded Tk 50,000 as ransom from his family via Whatsapp on the day of abduction and asked not to share the matter with anybody, but he informed police and lodged a general diary, according to the OC.
As the father didn’t pay the ransom, the abductors killed him and buried him in the under-construction building nearby a shrine gate in the same area, the police officer said.
Later, with the help of technology Azam and Hridoy were arrested from Halishahar and Bakolia areas respectively on Wednesday, he said.
During the primary interrogation, the duo confessed to killing the boy for ransom as part of their previous plan, the OC said.
The arrestees were produced before a Chattogram court with a plea for remand, he added.
Ctg hospitals overwhelmed with diarrhoea outbreak
Chattogram is seeing an outbreak of diarrhoea as at least 264 patients have reportedly been hospitalised in 15 upazila health complexes over the last 24 hours.
Among them, 50 people are affected in Boalkhali, 33 people in Chandanish, 32 people in Patia and 29 people in Anwara.
These upazilas experience more patients compared to other upazilas.
According to various hospital sources, hundreds of patients were admitted to the hospitals with diarrhea in the last two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Civil Surgeon Office formed a three-member committee to find the cause of the diarrhoea outbreak.
It also ordered to reconstitute and prepare one medical team in each union and five in each upazila health complex.
Besides, a control room (phone number 02333354843) has been opened by the Civil Surgeon and health education programmes have been strengthened to increase public awareness about diarrhoea.
Due to shortage of beds in government hospitals, many patients are being treated on the floor.
Civil Surgeon Dr Mohammad Elias Chowdhury said necessary medical supplies are also kept in stock.
“We are fully prepared to treat the patients,” he said.
In addition to public and private hospitals in Chattogram, many people are receiving treatment at their homes, he added.
Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID) Hospital Associate Professor Dr. Mamunur Rashid said that due to excessive heat, people are suffering from this disease as they are consuming juice, water and various foods.
Nuruzzaman, a resident of Boalkhali area, said he admitted his mother with diarrhoea at Boalkhali Upazila Health complex with severe condition a few days ago, but now his mother's condition is improving and he is going back home with his mother.
Brigadier General Shamim Ahsan, director of Chatrogram Medical College and Hospital, said that the number of patients suffering from diarrhoea has increased in the hospital due to excessive heat waves.
"This situation has been prevailing for some days. But there is nothing to fear as we have all kinds of preparations to treat the patients," the CMCH director added.
Madrasha student found dead in Thakurgaon
The body of a madrasha student, who went missing on Wednesday afternoon, was recovered from a maize field in Sadar upazila of Thakurgaon on Thursday morning.
Md Murad Hossain, 11, was son of Darul Islam of Gilabari village under Mohammadpur union of the upazila and a residential student of a local Matherganj Hafezia Madrasha.
Police said Murad went missing after offering the Asr prayer at the madrasha on Wednesday.
Local farmers found the body lying in the maize field nearby local Matherganj MB High School when they went there to work on Thursday morning.
Md Kamal Hossain, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station, said on information they recovered the body and sent it to Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy. The blood-stained clothes of the victim were also recovered from a bamboo bush beside the maize field.
Primarily it seemed that he was murdered but the exact reason for the death will be known after getting the autopsy report, he said, adding that an investigation is underway in this regard.
N'ganj fire leaves 1 dead, 6 injured
One man was killed and at least six others were injured in a fire that broke out at a re-rolling mill of Bhulta Gauchia area of Rupganj upazila in Narayanganj.
The deceased was identified as Shankar, a worker of the mill.
Rescue team member Ashiq Hasan said the accident occurred when sevem workers of a re-rolling mill were burnt from hot molten iron.
Later, they were rushed to Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn & Plastic Surgery where Shankar was declared dead.
Inspector Md Bachchu Mia, in-charge of DMCH Police Outpost, confirmed the matter.
LGRD Minister warns of action if rules are violated in infrastructures construction
Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Md Tajul Islam on Thursday warned that If rules including those related to fire safety are violated at the time of construction of any kind of infrastructure, then the responsible people will be brought to book.
“In that case, the engineer, architect or owner of the building whose negligence will be found behind fire incidents must be brought under punishment, “Taijul Islam said.
The minister made these remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a dialogue titled "Causes of repeated fire accidents: steps to prevent" organized by Nagar Unnayan Sangbadik Forum at the Jatiya Press Club.
He said that there is no alternative to follow all the rules and regulations properly at the time of building infrastructures to prevent fire accidents.
For this, an area should have enough roads, reservoirs and open space, he said.
"People's awareness is also important to prevent fire accidents alongside proper coordination among government agencies. If everyone performs their duties, we will be able to prevent fire accidents," he said.
The population of the city and the facilities for them should be determined to build a livable Dhaka, the minister said. "Due to excessive population pressure and inadequate civic facilities, Dhaka city is falling in terms of livability."
The minister stressed on regular drills and training to prevent fire accidents.
He also emphasized on increasing citizens’ awareness to prevent fire accidents from cigarette fire.
He called for building a social movement from the beginning to prevent fire accidents rather than regretting for the loss of lives and property in the fire.Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Chief Executive Officer Md Mizanur Rahman, Dhaka Wasa Chief Engineer Kamrul Hasan, Fire Service and Civil Defence Director Lt Gen (retd) Md Abul Kalam Azad were,among others, present as sat the programme.
Lightning strikes claim 340 lives in 13 months: SSTF
A total of 340 people were killed by lightning strikes in the country from April 2022 to May 3, 2023.
Among them, 274 people including 239 men and 35 women died due to lightning strikes during the period of April to December last year.
Save the Society and Thunderstorm Awareness Forum (SSTF) published the death toll during an awareness program involving 300 farmers on Thursday.
The SSTF has been monitoring casualties from thunderstorms since 2019.
Dr Kabirul Bashar, president of the organization and General Secretary Rashim Mollah demanded steps from the government to reduce the number of deaths from lightning.
They presented the government with two points of demand that include raising awareness among people regarding thunderstorms by incorporating the topic in textbooks and building lightning-resistant towers and planting high and fast-growing trees in open fields.
According to SSTF statistics, the first death due to lightning in 2023 was reported on March 15.
From March to May 3, 66 people died by lightning. Of them, 63 are men and three are women.
Eight people were injured during this period. 51 people died while working in the field alone, it said.
Meanwhile, eleven people died while on boats or while fishing.
The figures of lightning casualties were collected from national dailies, local daily newspapers, online news portals and television channels.
This year, the highest number of casualties from thunderstorms occurred in Sunamganj of Sylhet division. Seven people have died in the district. and five people died in Sylhet district.
Bangladesh reports 9 more dengue cases
Nine more people were hospitalised with dengue in 24 hours till Thursday morning.
Of the new patients, Seven were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka and the rest outside it, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Seventy-two dengue patients, including 56 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
So far, the DGHS has recorded 1062 dengue cases, 979 recoveries, and eleven deaths this year.
The country logged 281 dengue deaths in 2022 – the highest on record after 179 deaths recorded in 2019. Also, it recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries last year.
APBn arrests two men with gold at Dhaka airport
Armed Police Battalion (APBn) arrested two men with gold bars -- weighing around 1.4 kg in separate operations at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).
The arrestees are as Md. Firuz Miah, 40 and Billal, 53. They were arrested by the members of APBn as part of ongoing operations to prevent smuggling.
Firuz Miah was arrested from the area adjacent to the car parking area in front of the airport's arrival canopy-1, according to SM Mizanur Rahman, Additional Superintendent of Police of the APBn.“At around 19:30 am on Wednesday, accused Md. Firuz Miah was seen roaming in front of the car parking area in front of the airport's arrival canopy-1.
When he was challenged by APBn members, he continued to give irrelevant answers. Later he was detained and brought to the APBn's office at the airport,” he said.
Six gold bars -- weighing 696 grams -- were recovered from Firuz Miah.
Meanwhile, Billal was arrested at around 12:30 am on Thursday after members of APBn spotted him roaming around the car parking area of airport’s arrival canopy-2.
He was also carrying 6 gold bars -- weighing 696 gram-- in his pocket, according to APBn officials.
Two cases were filed with the Airport police station under the “Special Powers Act, 1974”.
SM Mizanur Rahman, Additional Superintendent of Police of the APBn, said special operations are underway to prevent and foil smuggling attempts by miscreants.
New framework arrangement signed in South Korea for provision of $3 billion from EDCF to Bangladesh
Bangladesh and South Korea on Thursday signed a new framework arrangement concerning USD 3 billion of concessional loans from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) for the year 2023 through 2027.
The signing ceremony took place in Incheon, South Korea on the occasion of 56th Annual General Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Development Bank (ADB). Kisun Bang, South Korean First Vice Minister for Economy and Finance, and Sharifa Khan, Secretary of Economic Relations Division (ERD) of Bangladesh, signed the arrangement on behalf of respective sides.
On this occasion, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the cooperation for Dhaka MRT Line 4 and EDCF Loan Agreement (L/A) for two projects, procurement of CNG-run buses and modernization of railway signalling system, have also been signed by concerned representatives from both sides.
The signed arrangement will serve as a legal foundation for the South Korean government’s provision of up to 3 billion US dollars in concessional loans to the Government of Bangladesh for the next five years.
According to the arrangement, the repayment period of the EDCF loans will be 40 years, including 15 year grace period, with the annual interest rate between 0.01%-0.05%.
According to the arrangement, candidate projects will be identified in the future in close consultation between the two governments.
With the signing of the new framework arrangement, Bangladesh has become the second largest recipient of South Korea’s Official Development Aid (ODA) across the globe.
The amount authorized by the newly signed arrangement has more than quadrupled compared to that of previous EDCF Framework Arrangement which stipulated provision of up to 700 million US dollars for the year 2021 through 2025.
So far, the Korean government has supported 30 development projects with aggregate amount of 1.7 billion US dollars through the EDCF.
The government of the Republic of Korea has made a bold decision to increase assistance considerably in view of amicable relations with Bangladesh and of the bright future of the country.
South Korean Ambassador Lee Jang-kuen said it is particularly meaningful to sign a new EDCF Framework Arrangement in the year of 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
"With the substantial increase of the concessional loan to Bangladesh, it is expected that Korea will be able to support mega projects in Bangladesh, thus contributing to continuous socio-economic development of Bangladesh," said the South Korean Ambassador.
He hoped this 3 billion US dollars support serves as a catalyst for improving daily lives of Bangladeshis, such as in the areas of transportation, health and education, and for enhancing friendship between the people of Bangladesh and South Korea.
Airlines operating in Bangladesh must determine airfare in taka instead of dollar from July 1
The Bangladesh government has decided to use the local currency, taka, instead of US dollar to determine airfare for carrying passengers and transporting goods from home to abroad — effective from July 1 this year.
The decision was announced in a circular signed by the deputy secretary of the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry recently.
Following the directive, all local and foreign airlines operating in the country will have to determine airfare in taka instead of dollars.
Read more: Reduce airfare on Middle East routes: Baira
Bangladeshi airlines outside the country have been setting airfare in the currencies of those countries, so airfare in Bangladesh should be in taka too, according to the circular.
With the Finance Ministry’s consent, the move was taken on the basis of approvals from the authorities concerned later.