Jatiya Party
GM Quader demands probe into vaccine, Covid test costs
Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Saturday demanded an investigation into the allegation of ‘unusual expenditures’ in coronavirus vaccine procurement, inoculation, and the Covid testing processes.
“An allegation of huge irregularities in the purchase of corona vaccines, their administration and the cost of corona tests has been raised. The experts are saying the health ministry's expenditures are unusual,” he said.
Read: Much of health sector allocation being looted: GM Quader
In a statement, the Jatiya Party chief said, “So, it’s urgent to find out whether there’s any corruption in buying and administrating the vaccines and spending money for conducting corona tests.”
Referring to media reports, he said a single dose of vaccine was procured at Tk 500 while Tk 2,500 is being spent on its administration. “In total, Tk 3,000 is being spent on the application of each dose of the vaccines, which the experts are saying is unacceptable.”
GM Quader, also the deputy opposition leader in parliament, said a study conducted by the health ministry in May last found that the government was spending on average Tk 1.28 lakh on treatment for each of the corona patients.
Read: Lack of vaccines making Covid situation worse: GM Quader
“But the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in an advertisement, published in different media on July 9, said the government has spent Tk 2 lakh per patient. With such information, experts smell corruption (in the treatment process),” he observed.
The Jatiya Party chief said the health ministry is not talking about the inconsistencies in the expenditures of the patients’ treatment.
Quader also said the DGHS in a press release on July 9 said a total of 656,871 people underwent Covid tests as of July 8 and the government has spent Tk 1,952 crore in this regard.
On the other hand, GM Quader said the DGHS in its regular press statement said 50,49,203 corona tests have been conducted till July 9 under the government management.
“So, there’s a clear inconsistency of around 15 lakh tests. But the health ministry is not responding to media reports and experts' opinions on the matter. Therefore, we demand the government look into the matter and find out whether there’s any corruption in the purchase and application of corona vaccines and in the expenses of corona tests.”
Lack of accountability behind recurring factory fires: GM Quader
Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Sunday alleged that there is no let-up in factory fires and deaths of workers in the country for lack of monitoring and accountability of the authorities concerned.
“Even in the 50 years of independence, the lives of the factory workers are not safe in this country. Every year many workers die in factory fires,” he said in a statement.
Read: Rupganj factory fire: Claimants found for 40 bodies out of 48, after 56 families submit DNA samples
The Jatiya Party chief said many buildings are not constructed in accordance with the building code while the factories are not built maintaining the specific policies.
“The factories don’t have the necessary equipment to prevent fires. There’s no monitoring and minimum accountability of those responsible. So, the workers can’t save their lives when any factory catches fire,” he observed.
GM Quader, also the deputy opposition leader in parliament, said an investigation committee is formed after each fire incident and the report also contains some recommendations.
Read: PM monitoring developments after factory fire in Rupganj: Quader
“Sometimes people know about it (report), sometimes it remains a secret. The recommendations are hardly implemented. In most cases, those responsible (for the fire incidents) get out through the loopholes of the law. So, the fire incidents and the processions of death are not stopping,” he alleged.
Referring to the data of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, the Jatiya Party chairman said 2,317 people were killed and 12,374 others injured in fire incidents across the country in the last 15 years. “A large part of them are working-class people.”
He recalled that 117 garment workers at the Tazreen Fashion garment factory at Ashulia were burnt to death and more than 200 others injured in the deadliest fire in the country’s history on November 24, 2012.
Read:Rupganj fire: Sajeeb Group chairman, sons among 8 put on remand
“The deaths of bread-earners in each fire incident causes a humanitarian catastrophe in their poverty-stricken families,” Quader bemoaned.
He said the government must take strong steps right now to reduce fire incidents and save the lives of workers.
Hasina greets Raushan, GM Quader ahead of Eid
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday greeted opposition leader in parliament Raushan Ershad and Jatiya Party chairman and deputy leader of the opposition GM Quader on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.
GM Quader received his card from PM's protocol officer-2 M Abu Jafar Raju at his Uttara residence, according to a media release issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
Read:Sheikh Hasina gifts 2,600kg mangoes to PM Modi, Mamata Banerjee
Raju handed over the card for Raushan to her private secretary AKM Abdur Rahim Bhuiyan at Raushan’s Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban office, the release added.
Covid situation taking a terrible turn: GM Quader
Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Monday said the demand for ICU beds is growing fast as Covid cases have surged alarmingly, signalling that a more worrying time lies ahead.
“But there’s still no ICU beds in 35 districts. Though the Prime Minister asked to set up ICU beds in all districts a year back, the health ministry has failed to do that,” he said.
Read: Corruption in health sector widespread: GM Quader
In a statement, the Jatiya Party chief said, “The Corona situation is heading towards an appalling point due to the failure of the health ministry. So, effective steps should be taken to install ICUs and ensure adequate oxygen support in all districts as soon as possible.”
GM Quader, also the deputy opposition leader in parliament, said 76 percent of the country’s total ICU beds are in Dhaka division while 73 percent alone in the capital.
Read:Lockdown can’t be fruitful keeping people hungry: GM Quader
Referring to an IEDCR report, he said 78 percent of Covid patients in June last were infected with Delta or Indian variant, mounting the demand for the ICU beds.
GM Quader bemoaned that the relatives are rushing from one district to another with Covid patients as there are no ICUs at the district level.
Read:Not possible to tackle Covid with gifted vaccines: GM Quader
Stating that almost all of the ICUs at government hospitals in the capital are not empty, he said the CUs of private hospitals are also filling up quickly with critical patients.
"The health directorate yesterday (Sunday) said the oxygen supply will become a challenge, if the number of patients continues to surge. So, there’s be an outcry for ICUs if the situation worsens further, leading to the alarming rise in mortality rate,” the Jatiya Party chief warned.
Opposition MPs call Health Minister “shameless” over health sector “failures”
Terming Health Minister Zahid Maleque a "shameless man" for his “failure, widespread corruption in the health sector and mismanagement in coronavirus treatment, opposition MPs of Jatiya Party and BNP on Saturday demanded his immediate resignation.
They sharply criticized the health minister in Parliament for his failure to ensure oxygen in different hospitals for Covid-19 patients as many died in Satkhira and Bogura districts.
The health minister was not there in the House but Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was present at the time.
BNP MP Gulam Mohammad Siraj from Bogura-6 first launched the blistering attack on the health minister while speaking on a point of order.
He alleged that around 24 Covid-19 patients died in the last two days in Bogura for lack of oxygen.
The BP MP said Mohammad Ali Hospital in Bogra is a dedicated hospital to Covid-19 treatment but there are only eight ICU beds there and only two high-flow nasal cannula oxygen facilities. “As a result, the rest of the ICU beds are useless.”
Also read: Corruption in health sector widespread: GM Quader
He also said 450 beds in 3 hospitals in Bogra are overwhelmed with Covid-19 patients leaving no scope for the hospitalization of new patients.
Gulam Mohammad demanded immediate supply of 20 high-flow oxygen to every hospital.
Jatiya Party Chairman and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in parliament GM Quader, in his winding-up speech, pointed out widespread mismanagement in the health sector, including the health ministry.
He said the health ministry is still there where it was a year ago. “There has been no improvement.”
Lockdown can’t be fruitful keeping people hungry: GM Quader
Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Saturday warned that the nationwide lockdown, set to be enforced on Monday, will not be successful without ensuring food security for the crores of hardcore poor people of the country.
“Hungry people can never be forced to stay indoors. Hunger and lockdown can’t go together,” he said in a statement.
Quader, also the deputy leader of the opposition in parliament, said there is no alternative to lockdown if the Covid pandemic spreads alarmingly.
READ: GM Quader fears dire social consequences of drug abuse
“But there’re crores of hardworking people in the country who don’t have food in their stocks at homes as they manage their food based on their daily income,” he observed.
The Jatiya Party chief also said the poor and the day-labourers have to buy medicines along with food and in some cases baby food. “They also have to pay house rent.”
He said the families of crores of day labourers will suffer badly if they can’t work due to the lockdown. "It'll create a humanitarian catastrophe across the country."
He also fears that the law-and-order situation in the country may collapse if people suffer from the scarcity of food and other necessary things.
GM Quader said the government must ensure food security for the extremely poor and working people on humanitarian ground during the lockdown.
Besides, the authorities concerned will have to take tough measures so that the government’s aid for the poor and destitute is not stolen.
On Friday night, the government announced to enforce a fresh nationwide "strict lockdown" from Monday, as the country grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases and fatalities with the highly infectious Delta variant playing havoc.
The restrictions will remain in place for seven days when the government and private offices, barring those of emergency services, will remain shut.
READ: Not possible to tackle Covid with gifted vaccines: GM Quader
The National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 pandemic on Thursday recommended imposing a "nationwide shutdown" for two weeks to contain the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country.
204 UP elections: 148 AL chairman candidates win
Awami League-nominated chairman candidates, including 28 unopposed contenders won in 148 Union Parishads (UP) out of 204 that went to election on Monday.
Besides, 49 independent chairman contenders, 3 chairman contesters each from Jatiya Party (Ershad) and Jatiya Party-JP (Manju) and one from Islami Andolan Bangladesh were elected in the remaining UPs, according to the factsheet of the Election Commission.
READ: By-election to Laxmipur-2, polls to 204 UPs, 2 municipalities underway
Another major political party BNP didn’t participate in the election.
The average turnout of the voters was 64.73 percent in the first phase election to 204 UPs. The highest voter turnout of 82.75 percent was in Chandradwip UP of Bauphal upazila under Patuakhali district, while the lowest voter turnout of 49.57 percent was in Binaykathi UP of Jhalokathi Sadar Upazila.
READ: Bhola UP election violence leaves one dead
Though the EC announced the election schedule for 204 UPs, AL’s chairman candidates were earlier elected unopposed in 28 UPs, finding no rival candidate against their respective posts.
So, polls to the chairman posts were held in the remaining 176 UPs.
Most of the independent chairman contenders who got elected are known as AL’s rebel candidates.
GM Quader fears dire social consequences of drug abuse
Voicing deep concerns over the growing abuse of drugs by the young generation, Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Sunday urged the government to form a special unit to deal with it.
“The consequences of the growing drug abuse will be as dire as militancy. If the spread is not controlled, the next generation will be destroyed,” he said in a statement.
Read:People lost faith in govt assurance about vaccination: GM Quader
Referring to media reports, the Jatiya Party chief said people know that the young generation has got addicted to deadly drugs like LSD, Ice and Khat.
“Besides, Yaba, Phensedyl, liquor and hemp are now near at hand. Nothing can be more shocking than this for the nation,” he observed.
Read: GM Quader slams govt. for vaccine uncertainty
GM Quader, also the deputy opposition leader in parliament, said the future generation will become unusable, violent and uncivilised if they cannot be saved from the horrific curse of drugs. “The immense potential of youth will be damaged.”
He also warned that the law-and-order situation will collapse if the spread of narcotic drugs cannot be controlled.
Read: Indian variant of Covid may wreak havoc on Bangladesh: GM Quader
GM Quader said several hundred incidents of extrajudicial killings had taken place in the past three years in the name of anti-drug drives, but there has been no achievement.
Under the circumstances, he said, the government must take effective initiatives right now to eliminate drug abuse and protect the young generation.
GM Quader slams govt. for vaccine uncertainty
Deputy Opposition Leader Ghulam Muhammed Quader said in parliament on Monday that there is uncertainly and a lack of clarity over the government’s plan to procure Covid-19 vaccine.
“But we still don’t know for sure when and where we will get vaccines…. We're just hearing the words of hope over vaccines ,” he said while participating in the discussion over the supplementary budget of 2020-21 fiscal in the House.
Read: Indian variant of Covid may wreak havoc on Bangladesh: GM Quader
GM Quader, also the chairman of Jatiya Party, said the finance minister in his budget speech mentioned that the government took measures to bring some 80 per cent of population in Bangladesh under the vaccination coverage and some 25 lakh shots will be given a month.
“If so, three crore doses of vaccines can be given in a year. And then it would take 5 years in case of giving one-dose vaccine and 10 years in case of two doses to each person for bringing 80 per cent of the population under the inoculation coverage,” he said.
The JP leader sought an answer from the finance minister over what would be the condition of the country’s economy, lives and livelihood, if it takes 5-10 years to complete the vaccination programme to ensure herd immunity in the country.
He said many developed countries are bringing the most of their population under the vaccination coverage and many non-developed countries also made good progress in it.
“But we live in uncertainty over the corona vaccines. The finance minister should make a statement in Parliament where vaccines will come from,” he said.
Talking about the proposed national budget, he said there is no plan to generate employment for the lower-class and middle-class people, rather there is a proposal to reduce corporate tax to satisfy the rich and make them richer.
Read: Budget imaginary, unrealistic: GM Quader
He said some experts remarked that it is budget of the businessmen, by the businessmen and for the businessmen.
“We definitely want a business and industry-friendly budget. But we simultaneously require specific economic plans for development of the economic condition of the people from the low and middle classes, which remain missing in this budget,” said GM Quader.
About the health sector, the JP Chairman said some TK 32,731 crore has been kept in the proposed budget for the health sector, which is only 0.83 percent of GDP. But the WHO suggested the allocation should be 4-5 per cent of GDP, he said.
“We should have allocated at least 2 per cent of GDP for the health sector during this corona pandemic,” said the deputy opposition leader, adding that the country’s economy would be vibrant again, if the corona can be checked.
Even the fund allocated for the health sector is being misused due to corruption. But none get punished for irregularities, he said.
Referring to journalist Rozina Islam’s recent arrest GM Quader said a journalist was harassed and tortured few days ago and a case was filed against her. Now rumour also spreads that a sedition charge would be brought against her.
Read:No support from ministry for local Covid vaccine: GM Quader
He said the journalists should be allowed to carry out their responsibility, which will help curb corruption.
Turning to education, the JP Chairman said around 4 crore students can’t go to their schools and colleges for a long time. If the Covid pandemic lasts for five more years, Bangladesh will head towards having an illiterate generation, he said.
Indian variant of Covid may wreak havoc on Bangladesh: GM Quader
Voicing deep concern over the outbreak of Indian Covid variant in bordering areas, Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Sunday warned that the nation will have pay a heavy price for lack of measures to stop it.
“The way Indian (Delta) variant of the Coronavirus has been spreading in frontier districts is extremely alarming,” he said in a statement.
The Jatiya Party chief said though the infection and fatality rates of the deadly virus are increasing day by day, many people are still entering Bangladesh from India every night dodging the border guards. “So, the frontier districts must be put under a stricter lockdown.”
Also read: No support from ministry for local Covid vaccine: GM Quader
GM Quader, also the deputy opposition leader in parliament, said the members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) can be deployed in those districts to implement the lockdown. “We’ve to pay a heavy price if any lenient attitude is shown towards the Indian variant.”
He said the government must ensure adequate food support to the bordering districts alongside imposing the lockdown.
“Hungry people can never be kept confined to their homes without ensuring food for them,” the Jatiya Party chairman observed.
Besides, he said, healthcare services need to be improved rapidly at the district level.
GM Quader said all the district hospitals, including the bordering ones, must be equipped with adequate oxygen support, necessary medicines and other equipment to deal with the growing number of Covid patients.
Also read: Take mega projects to improve healthcare system: GM Quader
The highly contagious Indian variant of the coronavirus was detected in Bangladesh for the first time on May 8 and it is spreading in different parts of the country, including Dhaka.
Experts fear that Bangladesh may face the worst outbreak of the deadly virus by the end of June.
Bangladesh closed its border with India for any kind of movement except that of cargo on April 26 which was later extended till June 14 to control the spread of coronavirus as the situation in the neighbouring country has deteriorated.