bangladesh
Jamaat men to be brought to justice for attacking police: DMP Commissioner
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Khandker Golam Faruq said on Saturday that the activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, involved with the attack on police on Friday at the capital's Malibagh will be brought to justice and no one offender will be spared.
"As they took out a procession without permission and attacked the police, DMP has taken the incident very seriously," he said at a press briefing held at the DMP media centre in the city.
Read: 4 arrested over murder of trader, assistant in Dhaka
Many policemen, including senior officers, got seriously injured and they are hospitalised, he added.
When asked about the failure of intelligence surveillance behind the attack, DMP Commissioner said, "This is not the case actually. We got the information that they will march from the front of Baitul Mukarram Mosque. But when they tried to march from the front of Rampura Abul Hotel, they were stopped by the police and came to Mouchak-Malibagh for holding the procession."
Farida reelected JPC president, Shyamal elected general secretary
Farida Yasmin of the Daily Ittefaq has been reelected president of the Jatiya Press Club (JPC) and Shyamal Dutta of the Daily Bhorer Kagoj elected general secretary of the organisation on Saturday for the next two years.
Farida Yasmin bagged 567 votes while her rival candidate Kamal Uddin Sabuj got 401.
Shyamal Dutta got 496 votes while his nearest candidate Elias Khan secured 474 for the general secretary post of the JPC management committee for 2023-24.
Poet Hasan Hafiz was elected senior vice-president (559) and Rezwanul Haque Raza (583) vice-president.
The other office bearers of the 17-member JPC executive committee are joint secretaries Ayub Bhuiyan, (540) and M Ashraf Ali (491), and treasurer Shahed Chowdhury (576).
The 10 members are UNB Editor Farid Hossain (495), Quazi Rownaq Hossain (422), Shahnaj Siddiqui Shoma, (390), Kalyan Saha (382), Shahnaz Begum Poly (360), Syed Abdal Ahmed (347), UNB Chief of Correspondent Julhas Alam(345), Bakhtiar Rana (330), Mohammad Momin Hossain (330) and Simanta Khokon (289).
Earlier, voting of the Jatiya Press Club election was held from 9am to 5pm without any break where 985 voters out of 1,102 exercised their franchise.
After the vote count, chief election commissioner Mosafa-E-Jamil announced the results around 8pm.
More than 5000 Jamaat activists sued over Friday’s clash with police in capital
Police on Saturday filed five separate cases against more than 5000 leaders and activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami in connection with clashes in the capital's Malibagh, Mouchak , Shahjahanpur and Rampura areas after Jumma prayers on Friday afternoon.
Among the cases, one each was registered with Ramna, Shahjahanpur and Rampura police station, while another two cases were filed with Khilgaon Police Station.
Sources at the DMP headquarters said Sub Inspector (SI) Subir Kumar registered a case with Ramna Police station against mentioning names of 91 leaders and activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and unidentified names of several others.
SI Md Hayat Ali Khan filed a case with Shahjahanpur police station accusing 73 leaders and activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami I and 800-900 unnamed others.
Names of around 63 leaders and activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami were mentioned alongside 3500-4000 others unnamed people of the organization in a case filed by SI Maruf Hossain with Rampura police station.
SI Rezaul Karim filed two separate cases with Khilgaon Police station. He mentioned names of total 148 leaders and activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and several other unidentified people.
Various charges, including obstruction of government duty, assault on police and carried out explosions etc were brought against the accused of the five cases.
Clashes broke out between the law enforcers and activists and leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Chhatra Shibir in the capital's Malibagh, Mouchak, Shahjahanpur and Rampura areas as they tried to bring out a procession after Juma prayers on Friday, police said.
Dozens of people, including 10 cops and Jamaat- Shibir men sustained injuries during the clash.
The law enforcers detained several Jamaat-Shibir men over the incident.
50 percent edible oil to be produced in country by next 3 years: Agri Minister
Minister for Agriculture Dr Md Abdur Razzaque said on Saturday that the government has a plan to produce 50 percent of the annual demand for edible oil in the country in the next three years.
He said this while talking to journalists after inaugurating a workshop on annual research assessment at the auditorium of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute in Gazipur.
The minister said the mustard farmers are getting benefited financially by cultivating such hybrid varieties of mustard redesigned by the country’s agriculturalists.
The Agricultural Ministry has taken a massive initiative to boost up the mustard production as the produced crops can’t impact on the market, Razzaque, also the presidium member of the ruling Awami League, said.
Read more: Kurigram mustard growers expect bumper yield
“We have taken an initiative to produce 40 to 50 percent of the demand for edible oil in the country by the next three years,” he said.
Underscoring the need for research to produce paddy, he said the amount of agricultural land has decreased in relation to the population.
There is no alternative to producing more paddies to cope with the increasing demand of rice, he said, adding that the redesigned varieties of paddies will be extended rapidly.
He said several varieties of vegetables like pumpkin were planted on yards earlier but not being planted on lands resulting in decreasing the number of agricultural lands.
An unbiased research is needed to find out the reason behind the price hike of rice despite bumper production of paddy, he observed.
Read more: Mustard, a ‘yellow gold’ for Benapole farmers
With research institute Directorate General Dr Md Shahjahan Kabir in the chair, State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam, Agriculture Secretary Wahida Akter and Department of Agricultural Extension Director General Md Benazir Alam among others were present at the programme.
Covid-19: Bangladesh registers another death, 23 cases
Bangladesh registered another Covid-linked death with 23 more cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning.
With the new numbers, the fatalities rose to 29,440 and the caseload to 2,037,125, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The daily case test positivity increased to 1.27 from Friday's 0.58 percent as 1,811 samples were tested during the period.
Read: 47 more dengue patients hospitalised in 24 hours till Saturday morning
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.45 percent while the recovery rate slightly increased, added DGHS.
In November, the country reported 10 Covid-linked deaths and 1,345 cases.
Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.
47 more dengue patients hospitalised in 24 hours till Saturday morning
Forty-seven more people were hospitalised with dengue in 24 hours till Saturday morning.
The official death toll from the mosquito-borne disease remained unchanged at 281 as no death was recorded during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Of the new patients, 26 were admitted to the hospitals of Dhaka and 21 outside it, said DGHS.
Read more: Two more dengue patients die, new cases 462
A total of 338 dengue patients, including 161 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
The DGHS has recorded 62,382 dengue cases and 61,763 recoveries so far this year.
Students of four classes to receive new curriculum books on trial basis: Dipu Moni
Minister for Education Dr Dipu Moni has disclosed that students belonging to classes 1, 2, 6, and 7 will be provided books as per the new curriculum on trial basis in the coming year.
She said this while addressing a Meet the Press-style program organised by Chandpur Press Club at its auditorium, where she was the chief guest on Friday evening.
The education minister said amendments will be made if any mistakes are found in the books printed for distribution.
Urging all to cooperate to make the initiative a success, she informed that books with new editions for four more classes -3, 4, 8 and 9 - will be available in 2024. The remaining two classes i.e. 5 and 10, are expected to receive their new editions in 2025.
Also Read: Dipu Moni urges Dhaka University to adopt an academic master plan
Replying to a question from the journalists, the minister said that above all, academic qualifications, merit and capability are taken into consideration, when recruiting newly enlisted MPO teachers as trainers.
There are many experienced teachers who don’t have the capability of training others, she said.
The aim, she said, is to transform education in the country through highly skilled, trained teachers.
Urging people of her constituency to vote for her, Dipu Moni said Banaganbandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s daughter Sheikh Hasina is working relentlessly on her new vision to turn Digital Bangladesh into Smart Bangladesh.
3 crushed under wheels of train in Natore
Three people were crushed under the wheels of a train while crossing the rail tracks at Narayanpur near Gopalpur rail station in Lalpur upazila of Natore district on Saturday.
The deceased were identified as Montaz Master, 62, son of Jashim Uddin of Keshabpur village, Jamir Uddin, 60, son of Bachchu Sheikh and Sathi, wife of Manjur Rahman of the upazila.
Also read; Autorickshaw driver crushed under wheels of train in Sylhet
Monoaruzzaman, officer-in-charge of Lalpur Police Station, said the accident took place around 1:15 pm when the Rajshahi-bound ‘Tungipara Express’ from Gopalganj hit three people while they were crossing the rail tracks, leaving them dead on the spot.
On information, police recovered the bodies and sent those to a local hospital morgue.
Chitra erosion threatens mass grave of 1971 in Magura
A mass grave where eight freedom fighters were buried in 1971 at Hajrahati village in Magura’s Shalikha upazila is currently under threat of erosion by the Chitra river.
On December 7, 1971, eight freedom fighters who had returned home after receiving training in India were apprehended by Razakars, who collaborated with the Pakistani occupation forces during the War of Liberation in 1971 and killed mercilessly on the bank of the Chitra river. Later, locals buried the bodies of the freedom fighters at the place of their murder.
The eight freedom fighters were Jodunath Guha, Panchanan Pal, Haripad Das, Nityandon Vadra, Monoranjan Dutta, Narugopal Ray, Suresh Kar and an unidentified man.
After entering Bangladesh crossing the Indian border in Kaliganj upazila of Jhenidah district, these freedom fighters fought bravely against the Pakistani military. They were caught and killed during the final stage of the Liberation War while.
“I still search for my brother Jodunath on the bank of the Chitra river. I go to the mass grave with his picture and cry out for my brother,” said Chobi Rani Adhikari, sister of one of the slain freedom fighters.
Chobi added that although it has been 51 years since the country became independent, the mass grave beside the Chitra river hasn’t been maintained properly.
Also Read: Independent candidate lands in jail ahead of Magura Zilla Parishad polls
“During monsoon, water from the river enters the grave. The grave will be washed away by the river someday if no measures are taken,” Chobi added.
Ratan Kumar Das, a local who was 13 during the Liberation War, said some seven to eight freedom fighters were going to Faridpur via Hajrahati during the final days of the war when they were apprehended and killed by Razakars of the area.
“Although we’ve requested the upazila administration time and again, no step has been taken by them to preserve the mass grave. Some officials of the administration have visited the grave multiple times and that’s all,” Ratan said.
SM Abdur Rahman, Joint Convener of Muktijoddha Sangsad’s district unit and a Deputy Commander during the Liberation War, said that family members of the slain freedom fighters gather at the grave every year and arrange events to commemorate their sacrifice.
“Bangladesh has been liberated through the sacrifice of the freedom fighters. It’s our duty to respect them. That’s why immediate steps are necessary to protect Hajrahati Mass Grave from ruin,” said Rahman.
No outdoor celebrations on 31st night: DMP Commissioner
No open air events, fireworks and crackers will be allowed on the eve of New Year, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Khandker Golam Faruque on Saturday.
“No one will be allowed to hold outdoor programmes, use of crackers, fireworks or sky lanterns (fanush) will also remain prohibited on 31st night,” he said.
The DMP boss came up with the information at a press briefing held at the DMP media centre in the city.
Adequate police including plainclothes ones will be deployed to ensure security on the 31st night and check-posts will be set up in different parts of the city and people will have to undergo police checking so that no militants can carry out sabotage activities centering the night, he said.
The Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team of DMP, dog squad and bomb disposal units will kept ready to tackle any situation, said Faruque.
No DJ parties will be allowed and bars will remain closed from Saturday till 6 pm on Sunday, he said.
No one will be allowed to carry firearms at residential hotels till 10 am on Sunday, he added.
Also Read: Revellers gather in Cox's Bazar to usher in New Year
Besides, the entry of outsiders will remain restricted from 8 pm in Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara areas today but the Amtoli crossing and Kakoli crossing will be opened for allowing entry of residents of those areas, said the DMP commissioner.
Meanwhile, no outsiders will be allowed in Dhaka University area after 6 pm and no vehicles will be allowed there during this period. People can enter the university area through Nilkjhet and Shahbagh areas after showing their identity cards.
Firefighting units and ambulances will be keep ready in different important points of the city and no vehicles will be allowed in Hatirjheel area after sun set.
Also Read: 5 New Year Resolutions that are actually achievable
When asked about any possible militant threat, the DMP commissioner said there is no specific threat centering the 31st night.