Dhaka, Sept 19 (UNB) - A woman died of dengue in Khulna on Thursday night while 491 new patients were hospitals across the country in 24 hours till Thursday morning. 

In Khulna, Rozina, 35, wife of Khairul Islam of Jhikargachha upazila in Jashore, succumbed to the mosquito-borne disease at Khulna Medical College Hospital around 9:40pm, said Dr Shailendranath Biswas, resident physician of the hospital.  

Rozina was admitted to the hospital with dengue around 4am on Thursday and died while undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit.

Of the new patients, 159 were hospitalised in Dhaka and 332 outside, shows daily dengue update from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

About 2,226 patients are currently being treated at hospitals across the country, it said.

Since the beginning of this year, 83,481 people were hospitalised with dengue, most of them in Dhaka. Of them, 81,052 made full recovery.

Since January, the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) received information about 203 dengue-related deaths. It has so far reviewed 116 cases and confirmed 68 dengue deaths.
 

Dhaka, Sept 19 (UNB) - Bangladesh receives on an average 2000 mm rainfall every year and this is adequate to meet most domestic needs, said experts on Thursday.

At the 4th Rainwater Harvesting Convention held at a city hotel, they also opined that by collecting rainwater for reuse and recharging fast-depleting groundwater sources, water scarcity can be mitigated and increased resilience against climate change can be achieved- – reducing waterlogging and restoring water-related ecosystems.           

With proper design and management, Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) system can provide acceptable water quality for drinking in households and industrial areas in both rural and urban city, said Prof Dr Tanvir Ahmed of the Department of Civil Engineering, Buet. 

Rainwater harvesting is a practical, cost-effective and sustainable solution to many of the water management issues that the country is currently facing, he added.              

WaterAid in collaboration with HSBC, RAIN Forum, ESTex, BAE and ITN-Buet organised the convention.

The first phase of the daylong convention was chaired by Prof Dr M Ashraf Ali, Director of ITN-Buet, and the second phase was chaired by Dr Kazi Matin Uddin Ahmed, Professor of the Department of Geology, University of Dhaka. 

Md Shahid Ullah Khandaker, Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, was present at the convention as the chief guest.

The convention ended with a panel discussion on the need to address the country’s emerging water crisis and the role of rainwater harvesting in achieving SDG 6 by 2030. 
Shyamal Dutta, Editor of The Bhorer Kagoj; Md Shahadat Hossain, Chief Engineer of Public Works Department; Brigadier General MA Mohy, Chief Engineer of Health Engineering Department; ASM Raihanul Ferdous, Chief Engineer of Rajuk; and Engineer Mohammad Shamim Akhter, among others, took part in the discussion.

Over 100 participants at the convention discussed and debated on policies, challenges and prospects of rainwater harvesting.
 

Dhaka, Sept 19 (UNB) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday directed the leaders of Bangladesh Chattra League (BCL) to do politics with honesty and humility for gaining the trust of people and brightening their image further.

“You'll have to do politics with humility, honesty and ideology…you’ll have to build your own image and brighten that of the country as well,” she said pointing at the leaders of Bangladesh Chattra League (BCL).

The Prime Minister gave the directives when a group of BCL leaders, led by its new acting president Al-Nahean Khan Joy and new acting general secretary Lekhak Bhattacharjee, met her at her official residence Ganobhaban.

The Prime Minister said the government has now gone harsh on Jubo League after Chhatra League. “We’ve caught Jubo League after Chhatra League. All social inconsistencies will be removed,” she said.
Prime Minister’s Deputy Press Secretary Hasan Jahid Tusher briefed reporters after the meeting.

Sheikh Hasina asked the BCL leaders to try to gain the trust of people first by being humble, not demonstrating power.

Mentioning that students from different parts of the country are admitted to universities, Sheikh Hasina directed the BCL leaders to build good relations with them.

Issuing a note of warning, she said, “We’ve given the responsibility to you keeping trust and confidence in you. If you fail to keep up the dignity, we won’t need you.”

Talking about casinos, the Prime Minister said any clash and killing over casinos will not be tolerated.

Noting that foreigners are working in casinos, she questioned as to who brought them and gave them visas. “All things about casinos are being investigated,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina said the government attained many successes for the country and developed Bangladesh by working hard. “I’ll in no way allow any stigma on it (the hard-earned achievements). I won’t spare anyone. If anyone hampers it (the government’s success), he/she won’t be spared,” she said.

She directed the BCL leaders to leave the politics of showing power. “You shouldn’t move with motorcycles, protocol, and showing power.”
 

The Prime Minister said she had to face many adversities in her life. ‘’No one faced so much adversities as I faced in my life. I was given offer but I didn’t compromise.”

She asked them to strengthen the organisation to keep it on a strong foundation and take collective decisions to this end.

“I want you to lead life bearing an ideology and take the country forward…. it’s you who will take the country forward further till 2041,” Sheikh Hasina said.

Highlighting the glorious history of student organisation, she said Chhatra League played the leading role in all struggles and democratic movements in the past.

The Prime Minister said it was Chhatra League which had raised Joy Bangla slogan and national flag of Bangladesh first following the directive of Bangabandhu.

Referring to the Bangabandhu's Unfinished Memoirs, Jail Diary and Intelligent’s Secret Documents, she advised the student leaders to read the books.

They will get real teachings and lessons from there to be good politicians, the Prime Minister said.

The BCL leaders sought blessings of the Prime Minister to brighten the image of the student organisation and bring back its lost glory.

The new BCL president and general secretary greeted the Prime Minister by presenting a bouquet to her.

On September 14 last, Al-Nahean Khan Joy and Lekhak Bhattacharjee were given the charge of BCL president and general secretary respectively.

They replaced immediate past BCL president and general secretary Rejwanul Haque Choudhury Shovon.

Dhaka, Sep 19 (UNB) - The half a million Rohingya refugee children living in the camps of Bangladesh risk becoming a “lost generation” if they continue to be denied an education, Amnesty International UK said today, as it launched an exhibition featuring artwork by refugee children.
 
The “When I grow up” exhibition hosted at the Human Rights Action Centre in London on 19 September 2019 will continue until 4 October 2019. It features 13 drawings by Rohingya refugee children who were forced to flee their homes in Myanmar when the military there waged a campaign of ethnic cleansing two years ago.
 
Amnesty International UK is calling on the UK government to do more as part of the international community’s efforts to support education for all including the Rohingya in Bangladesh.
 
“For the past two years, Rohingya refugee children have had their lives put on hold. They have not seen the inside of a classroom since the Myanmar military violently forced them from their homes. At this rate, they risk becoming a lost generation. The international community must act and the UK government has a key role to play. No child should be stopped from chasing their dreams,” said Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK.
 
The exhibition includes the work of a nine-year old who dreams of becoming an engineer so that he can rebuild the homes that were destroyed in his community when the Myanmar military carried out their crimes against humanity in August 2017. In another drawing, a 12-year-old sees herself becoming a teacher so that she can educate her community. And a 10-year-old has drawn a plane, depicting his hopes of becoming a pilot so that he can visit his father in Malaysia, where he lives as a refugee.
 
In Bangladesh, the children currently have no access to formal education. They continue to languish with their families in makeshift camps – uncertain of their future. There has been no accountability for the horrific crimes against humanity committed against them.
 
Most of the Rohingya say they would like to return to their homes in Myanmar one day, but only if the conditions are right – when peace returns to the area, when the oppressive conditions of discrimination and segregation that made them so vulnerable in the first place are lifted, and when they are able to secure their rights as citizens.
 
“Receiving an education will help the Rohingya children build a future for themselves and their communities. There is only something to gain by helping them return to classrooms. By denying them this most basic of human rights, we leave them at the mercy of criminal gangs, human traffickers, armed groups and others who seek to exploit their suffering,” said Kate Allen.
 
Amnesty International UK supporters signed a letter to the Secretary of State for International Development Right Honourable Alok Sharma MP, urging UK to support Bangladesh in providing accredited primary and secondary education to all children, including the Rohingya.
 
During the exhibition, visitors, activists and supporters will also be able to send postcards to the Secretary of State showing solidarity for right to education for all in the affected community in Cox’s Bazar.
 
“The UK must support Bangladesh with assistance that promotes an atmosphere of peace and coexistence with the host community until the Rohingya refugees are able to return to Myanmar in safe, voluntary and dignified conditions,” said Kate Allen.

Dhaka, Sept 19 (UNB) – A multi-storey building caught fire in the city’s Banani area on Thursday night.

Sources at the Fire Service Central Control Room said the fire originated on the 2nd floor of Abedin Tower, opposite to FR Tower, around 9:20pm.

On information, five firefighting units rushed in and brought the fire under control around 9:40pm.

However, it was not clear what actually caused the fire.

Meanwhile, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) formed a five-member probe body to look into the fire incident.