Savar, Mar 21 (UNB) – An 18-year-old girl of Bhakurta here has filed a case accusing a young man of repeatedly raping her on the promise of marriage whereby she became pregnant.

Police arrested the accused, Amit Sarker, 20, son of Bholanath Sarker of the area, on Thursday over the case filed on Wednesday night.

According to the case statement, the victim was in love with Amit. However, the youth developed a physical relation with her against her will on the promise of marrying her and raped her several times. Following the physical relation, she became pregnant.

As the victim approached Amit asking him to marry him, he refused it which forced her to go to Savar Model Police Station and file the case, according to the case statement.

Later, a team of police arrested Amit from his house in the early hours of Thursday, said officer-in-charge of the police station FM Sayed.

He said they sent the victim to the one-stop crisis centre of Dhaka Medical College Hospital for examination.
 

Dhaka, Mar 21 (UNB) – Mentioning that the climate change does harm to the agriculture sector most, Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque on Thursday said Bangladesh will be at stake if the sector is affected.

“Bangladesh will be at risk if the agriculture sector is affected due to climate change. We’re giving priority to the climate change issue,” he said while exchanging views with the Bangladesh Climate Change Journalist Forum (BCJF).

The minister said the wheat cultivation faces a great risk in Bangladesh due to climate change impacts. “The production of wheat has come down from 17-18 lakh tonnes to 11-12 lakh tonnes annually due to the rise in temperature whereas the demand is on the rise in the country day by day,” he said, adding that a total of 59 lakh tonnes of wheat were imported last year.

The government is taking initiatives to produce heat-tolerant varieties of wheat to boost its production, he said.

Razzaque said although Bangladesh is not responsible for climate change, it is the most affected country. “The climate change is a global problem. As the affected country, we should continue discussions internationally to realise our demands,” he said.

Dhaka, Mar 21 (UNB) – The government has extended the appointment of Shamim Ahmad as Minister (Press) in its Washington mission for another year.

The Public Administration Ministry on Thursday issued a gazette notifying the extension of his contractual appointment.

The government appointed Shamim as Minister (Press) of Bangladesh Embassy to the USA in October, 2014 for two years and got two years’ extension later.

Dhaka, Mar 21 (UNB)— Swadhinata Parishad, a panel contesting the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), promised to strengthen the organisation if voted to power.

“We’ll create a positive image of the garments sector at home and abroad,” the Parishad’s manifesto for the 2019-21 election released Thursday said.

Md Zahangir Alam, who heads the panel, announced their 12-point electoral pledges that include working both for the welfare of the owners and workers.

“The apparel industry will further flourish,” he told a views exchange meeting at Dhaka Club. “If we are elected, we will request the government for a 10 percent incentive for the industry.”

The last election to BGMEA was held on September 22, 2015. The next one is scheduled for April 6.

Apart from the Swadhinata Parishad, the Sammilita Parishad and Forum is contesting the election. Rubana Huq, wife of former Dhaka mayor Annisul Huq, is heading the Forum.

Swadhinata Parishad’s leaders said they expect the polls to be fair although they were attacked during submission of nomination papers.

Twenty-six directors will be elected through the election. Nine others have already been elected. These directors will choose a president for the next two years.

Eighteen people submitted nominations from the Swadhinata Parishad while 26 candidates are contesting from the Sammilita Parishad and Forum.

Cox’s Bazar, March 21 (UNB) - icddr,b here on Thursday organised a dissemination seminar to share its emergency healthcare response and pre-emptive oral cholera vaccination measures among the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals. 

icddr,b and UNICEF jointly conducted a field assessment in Cox’s Bazar in September 2017, and identified the potential risks of a diarrhoeal disease outbreak and  related mitigation initiatives required, said a press release. 

Accordingly, icddr,b partnered with UNICEF to strengthen healthcare services for diarrhoeal disease and malnutrition in the Rohingya community. 

As described in the seminar, ‘they came with nothing, they had nothing and needed infrastructure, sanitation, shelter, food, non-food items and health care. 

UNICEF supported the study to evaluate the effectiveness of oral cholera vaccine administered among Rohingyas. 

The resulting work, which prevented a cholera outbreak has been described as ‘the most successful pre-emptive campaign.’

Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, Senior Director, Nutrition and Clinical Services (NCSD) at icddr,b  briefed about the icddr,b-UNICEF partnership to strengthen acute watery diarrhoea treatment and preparedness initiatives.

In the seminar, Dr Azharul Islam Khan, Head of Hospitals at icddr,b highlighted the implementation process and experiences in community engagement and the vital role connecting with all elements of the community plays in successful dissemination and implementation. 

Dr ASG Faruque, Senior Scientist, NCSD at icddr,b presented on the DTC based diarrhoeal disease surveillance activities, which included the recognition that Cox Bazar was a cholera hotspot and sanitation facilities in the camp created an environment ripe for cholera outbreaks. 

He reported that a total of 820 health care professionals were trained by icddr,b on management of diarrhoeal disease, and the diarrhoeal treatment centres have provided care to 6,156 patients comprised Rohingya and host communities. Some 781 stool specimens were also tested for cholera and found to be negative. 

This icddr,b-UNICEF collaboration will continue through 2019 with limited scope, however one DTC will remain operational while others will be closed temporarily, only to be opened if there is a surge of patients.

During October 2017 to December 2018, there were 4 rounds vaccination campaign took places administering 2.2 million doses of oral cholera vaccine among Rohingyas and host community. 

Dr Ashraful Islam Khan told the audience that the pre-emptive vaccination campaign has prevented an epidemic of cholera in Cox’s Bazar, which was highly anticipated by the global public health community. Historically, cholera outbreaks are common phenomena in humanitarian crisis and have caused thousands of deaths.

Dr Mohammed Abdul Matin, Civil Surgeon, Cox’s Bazar; Brig. General (Retd.)DrBalwinder Sing, Health Sector Coordinator; Prof. Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed, National Consultant at UNICEF also spoke on the occasion. Representatives from the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and other stakeholders attended the seminar.