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How a minor traffic offender engaged an entire mob to attack police
Police filed a case with Shyampur station accusing three individuals of assaulting three policemen in the city’s Jurain on Tuesday morning.
Police Sergeant Ali Hossain filed the case accusing one Rony, his wife Nishat and her brother Yasin Arafat.
Traffic police sergeant Ali Hossain, Sub Inspector (SI) Utpal Datta and Constable Sirajul Islam came under attack in the Jurain Railgate area on Tuesday morning, by the accused. Later though, they tried to spread a fake version of events through social media that said a mob beat the police trio for harassing a motorcyclist and his wife.
But the police claimed that the traffic sergeant Ali Hossain came under attack because he stopped a motorcycle coming down the wrong side of the road.
Contacted, OC Mofizul Alam of Shyampur Police station said the incident took place around 9:30am, when Ali Hossain signalled for motorcyclist Rony, who was riding on the wrong side of the road, to stop. Rony's wife Nishat was on the motorcycle with him.
When Sergeant Ali Hossain wanted to see the documents of the motorcycle, Rony instead engaged him in an argument, the OC said.
READ: Madrasah students attack police station in Chattogram over Bhola violence
At one stage, Rony was taken to the nearby police box. Later, when the locals came forward, they (Rony and his wife) peddled lies and disinformation to frame the police. Enraged, several people in the area attacked the police with sharp weapons. Being informed, Yasir Arafat, Nishat's brother, also arrived at the spot and joined the locals and vandalized the police box. During this mob attack, all three police officers got injured.
Meanwhile, among the injured, SI Utpal Dutta was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He was given first aid at Hospital. The other two injured policemen were undergoing treatment at Rajarbagh Central Police Hospital.
The DMCH Police Outpost in-charge, Inspector Bachchu Mia, said SI Utpal had a sharp weapon wound in his hand. He was given first aid in the emergency department of the hospital.
Stung by import crises, govt to start producing edible oil
The government is working with a plan to produce 10 lakh tonnes of edible oil in the country, around 40 percent of its total demand, from the 2024-25 fiscal, Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said Tuesday.
The Agriculture Ministry has a three-year term plan to reduce the dependence on oil import in the country and as part of the plan, 40 percent of the country’s total demand will be produced in the next fiscal, which will help to save almost Tk 10,000 crore, he said.
Razzaque revealed this information while talking to reporters after a view-exchange meeting at the Secretariat.
READ: Edible oil prices likely to drop in Bangladesh in line with global market: Commerce Minister
The annual demand for edible oil in Bangladesh is 24 lakh tonnes. Of the total demand, we have to import 90 percent of the total demand and recently a crisis of edible oil arose, as it was being imported from foreign countries at high price, he said.
To reduce dependence on the import of oil, we have taken the three-year term plan without reducing the production of paddy, he added.
Farmers do not want to produce oil-based crops in the country, as it doesn't make money.
He also expressed his hope to achieve the target following fair implementation of the plan.
As part of the three-year term plan, the government has set a target to bring 23.60 lakh hectares of land under mustard, sesame, peanut, soybean and sunflower production - almost thrice the existing 8.6 lakh hectares of land in the 2024-25 fiscal, the term minister said.
They also set a target to increase the production of oil to 10 lakh tonnes from the existing 3 lakh tonnes, he added.
Child killed as branch falls off tree in Bogura
A 9-year-old boy died as a large branch of a tree fell on him in a freak accident, watching an elephant at Gabtali upazila of Bogura.
The deceased was identified as Hasan Mia, son of van driver Bhadhan Shah of the village Taranihat Purbapara in Baliadighi union of the upazila.
The incident occurred at 3.30 pm on Tuesday as the boy with other villagers went to see a circus elephant that came to the village.
According to the locals, an elephant from Sylhet was passing through Baliadighi with its owner. The elephant broke a branch of a eucalyptus tree that had already been hanging since a recent storm hit the village.
Inspector Jamirul Islam of Gabtali Police Station said that the child died when he came to see the elephant and the broken branch of a tree fell on him.
After the accident, the elephant went down into a nearby pond seeing the agitated crowd, said the locals.
As no one had any complaints, burial of the child was allowed without an autopsy, the inspector said.
Man branded as thief, beaten to death in Jhenaidah; murder case filed
A 45-year-old man has been beaten to death by a mob on suspicion of being a thief in Horinakunda upazila of Jhenaidah in the early hours of Monday.
The victim was identified as Ashan Uddin, son of Aftab Uddin of Chitle Ratanpur village in Alamdanga upazila of Chuadanga district.
Saiful Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Harinakundu Police Station, said an auto-van was stolen from Shitli village in the upazila on Monday. As Ashan has a previous record of stealing, locals grabbed him from his village and brought him to Haji Arshad Ali College area in Kampashhatia village of Harinakundu, and gave him a good beating, leaving him dead on the spot.
READ: 2 Jubo league activists hacked dead in Jhenaidah over toll collection, 3 held
Later, someone left the body at Harinakundu Upazila Health Center on Tuesday morning, added the OC.
The body has been sent to Jhenaidah General Hospital morgue for an autopsy. A murder case has been filed in this regard.
Govt urged to provide policy support to plastic toy industry for its export-earning potential
Speakers at a seminar on the plastic toy industry urged the government to provide strong policy support to the sector, as it has the potential to earn huge amounts in exports for the country's foreign exchange reserves.
“Toy exports witnessed a cumulative average growth rate of 24 percent”, said Ferdous Ara Begum, CEO of BUILD, a research organization, in a keynote paper presented at the seminar titled: "Plastic Toy Industries of Bangladesh-A Potential Sector for Export Diversification" on Tuesday.
Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) jointly with EC4J (World Bank Project), and the Ministry of Commerce organized the Seminar at the CIRDAP Auditorium in the city.
Ferdous Ara said the total plastic export of the country is $128.77 million in 202l-22 (July-April), and toy exports was $37.10 million, or about 29 percent of total plastic export.
She mentioned that the 12 months average export will be $155 million and $44 million respectively for plastic and toys, while the average growth rate is 22 percent during 2021-22.
With Mansurul Alam, Project Director (Additional Secretary) EC4J of the Ministry of Commerce in the chair, the seminar was addressed by Tapan Kanti Ghosh, senior Secretary of Ministry of Commerce, FBCCI president Md. Jashim Uddin, and BPGMEA President Mr. Shamim Ahmed.
It was informed in the seminar that there are some 5,030 plastics companies in the country, of which 98 percent are small and medium industries (SMEs) while about 1.5 million workers are involved in the sector.
READ: Speakers for replicating RMG success model to boost plastic sector
The speakers said the use of plastic and plastic products is increasing day by day. Exports increased by 15% in 2020-21. The sector's exports now stand at $1 billion.
They said the plastic toy sector could play a big role as a non-traditional export sector. Toys are used to entertain children of different ages.
The demand is increasing day by day. Bangladeshi toys have already set foot in Europe and North America, they observed.
BPGMEA President. Shamim Ahmed said the toys industry started its journey in 1998, almost 24 years ago today. In 1996, only 6 toy product patents were registered. Now the government receives huge revenues from the sector while it employs more than one and a half of manpower.
He said, at present 10 percent of toys are imported while 90 percent are made in the country. "The price of imported toys is much lower than exported ones," he added.
FBCCI President Md. Jashim Uddin said that 'toys' is a sub-sector of the plastics sector. The development of this sub-sector is accelerating. The use of toys has increased in the country. If the sector receives government support, it has huge potential to grow the export market, he said.
Tapan Kanti Ghosh said the plastic toy industry is expanding rapidly and at the same time increasing its investment in the country.
He said that all possible assistance would be provided by the government to enrich the sector as a driving force of export. He urged the plastic industry owners to modernize the industries and make them suitable for international trade.
ActionAid to celebrate Bangladeshi resilience, cultural heritage
ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB) has organised a festival to celebrate the resilience of communities of Bangladesh and the country’s glorious heritage, culture, and traditions.
The festival titled ‘Festival of Resilience: People, Planet and Possibilities’ will take place on Thursday and Friday at the Dhaka’s ‘NCC’ (Naveed’s Comedy Club) in Gulshan 2, said a press release.
Centering on the strength of Bangladesh’s people to strive and rise against all odds, the festival aims to encourage celebration and participation among communities in recognition of their stories of resilience.
For decades, people of Bangladesh have faced countless challenges, such as, climate and human-induced disasters, inequalities, economic instability, refugee crisis and pandemic. But every time, the mass bounced back with the power of resilience and survived with a renewed vigor. Very recent example would be the last two years, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the collective effort of the people of this country helped communities to stay hopeful and agile, despite all the uncertainties and despair, it said.
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Farah Kabir, Country Director of ActionAid Bangladesh said the organisation is organising such a festival because people's innate quality and resilience are worth to be celebrated, said the release.
“The knack for survival through endurance and surpassing beyond obstacles is what makes us, as a nation, unique and commendable.”
“Through this two-days long event, we are going to promote the diversity of the country’s culture, an attempt to learn the grassroots’ resilience mechanisms, explore opportunities for potential partnerships and highlight the work of ActionAid Bangladesh for building resilience to increase awareness,” She added.
There will be exciting games, live story-telling sessions and different stalls as well, where different handicraft, boutique and food items can be purchased. On-site registration will be available on both days of the festival. Exhibition (Photo, Arts, crafts, audiovisuals, etc.) and stalls of Aaurhi Trust, Barir Jeenish-Happy Home, Cox’s Bazar Rohingya Response will remain open from 03:00 to 06:00 PM on Thursday, and 03:00 to 08:00 PM on Friday.
Mobile operators must increase spectrum by December to provide better services to customers
Grameenphone would be the greatest beneficiary if call rates of all mobile operators are set uniformly.
Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar said this in Parliament on Tuesday.
Also read: Mobile operators owe Tk 13,068 cr to government, Jabbar tells JS
“Customers would be attracted to Grameenphone if call rates of all operators are set uniformly,” Jabbar said.
Replying to a question from ruling Awami League MP Nur Uddin Chowdhury, he said based on the number of subscribers, Grameenphone has a market share of 45.95 percent. Robi has 29.45 percent, Banglalink 20.85 percent and Teletalk 3.7 percent.
The minister said as Grameenphone has a large market share, setting the same call rate for all operators will encourage the customers from other operators to shift to Grameenphone services.
“As a result, its market share is likely to increase further. In this case, the market position of small operators will be hampered,” he said.
In response to a supplementary question from Syed Abu Hossain of the Jatiya Party, Mustafa Jabbar said that the problem of call drop and network on mobile phones is a big crisis all over the country.
“There is no one in the country who has not been the victim of a call drop. Besides, the mobile network is also not available in many places,” he said.
He said the number of subscribers of phone operating companies has increased a lot. Grameenphone has more than 8 crore subscribers, and Robi has more than 5 crore subscribers.
He said that the operators did not take even one-third of the required spectrum for their customer bases.
Also read: Bangladesh's mobile network coverage reached 98.5% by 2021: Jabbar
“Under pressure of the government, they increased the amount of spectrum last March. The problem will be solved if this wave is fully expanded by next December. If the companies do not fully expand the wave within this period, there is an opportunity to take action and impose fines against them,” the minister said.
Replying to another supplementary question, he expressed hope that Teletalk's network would be expanded across the country by 2023.
The minister called upon all to become subscribers of the state-owned mobile operator.
State Minister Khalid keen to push sabotage angle, finding no 'explosive item' during depot visit
State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury has said no explosives have been found at the BM Container Depot in Sitakunda, and rather raised the spectre of sabotage behind the fire.
He was making remarks at the Secretariat on Tuesday, after returning from visiting the depot and witnessing the damage and loss of life.
"It is being said there was hydrogen peroxide," Khalid said, trying to explain that the hydrogen peroxide had nothing to do with the large blast that occurred 45 minutes to an hour after an initial fire broke out, that firefighters were fighting at the time.
Also read: Legal action against depot fire culprits after probe, says IGP
This first blast, said to have been felt as far as 4 kilometres away from the epicentre, totally transformed the scale of the disaster. Among many others, perhaps the majority of the victims, 9 firefighters are apprehended to have died from the sheer force and intensity of this blast, that left an apocalyptic scene of severed limbs strewn around the depot.
In a shocking lapse that can only be blamed on the depot authorities, those first responders were not informed of hydrogen peroxide being stored at the depot.
"But hydrogen peroxide is not an explosive item," Khalid kept insisting today, even though no-one said it was. "It is an approved export item that Bangladesh has been exporting for a long time."
The junior minister believes only explosive items can cause explosions. Hydrogen peroxide is certainly not in that category. It is not even classified as a flammable or combustible item, as it will not fuel a fire on its own. Where there is already a fire though, hydrogen peroxide, or H2O2, can be very dangerous.
That is because it is an oxidizer, which means it adds oxygen or other elements that behave similarly to a situation. Despite not necessarily being combustible themselves, oxidizers are treated as a 'severe fire hazard'. Depending on the amount, they can 'greatly intensify fires and cause explosions'.
Being an approved export item or how long it has been exported has nothing to do with its chemical properties.
Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury also praised the depot for following the ISPS code (International Ship and Port Facility Security code), and being fully compliant. There was everything that an effective emergency fire fighting system requires, he observed.
Also read: Container depot fire under control after 60 hours: Army
“Even then, such a fire broke out. Whereas among all the container depots, BM Container Depot is said to be the best-managed," said the state minister.
Asked what could have caused the explosion, Khalid said oxygen itself does not burn but helps others to burn -"something like that" might have happened in this case.
If he didn't ignore the fact that hydrogen peroxide is an oxidizer, he may have acknowledged the danger posed by its presence.
Continuing the conspiracy rhetoric, Khalid referenced 'a rumour', in which the inauguration of Padma Bridge on June 25 was being tied to the Sitakunda fire. From this connection being drawn, the depot fire raises legitimate suspicions of sabotage, according to the state minister.
"From what I've seen, if you go practically, you will find the same. Everything will come out through investigation. We have expressed our concern, so those who are investigating may also take cognizance of this possibility,” he added.
As a further point in favour of his conspiracy theory, he added: “Many are jealous of the way Bangladesh’s economy is moving forward."
However, Khalid did assert that if the investigation were to find any negligence on the part of the owners, they would "definitely" be brought under the law.
"There is no doubt about it,” he concluded.
JS passes Bangladesh Tourism Corporation (Amendment) Bill
The Bangladesh Tourism Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was passed in Parliament on Tuesday aiming to make the existing law time-befitting one and boost revenue from the tourism sector.
State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali placed the Bill and it was sent passed by voice vote.
Also read:Bill seeking special retirement allowance for chief justice placed in Parliament
As per the Bill, the authorised capital of the Corporation shall be Tk 1,000 crore instead of Tk 15 crore while the paid-up capital will be Tk 400 crore instead of Tk 5 lakh.
The existing law stated that the Board shall consist of a Chairman and not less than two and not more than four the whole tenure, and Directors to be appointed by the government.
With a four-member board of directors fixed by the existing law, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) now faces difficulties in taking prompt decisions in coordination with other ministries and departments concerned.
Since the ministries and departments concerned have no representative in the BPC board of directors, the BPC does get the desired assistance from the agencies for development of the country’s tourism sector.
The proposed law said an 11-member BPC board of directors will be formed with senior secretaries, secretaries and representatives of the ministries and departments concerned.
One person to be nominated by the government for such period and terms and conditions as the government may determine, who shall also be its President.
Other members - Chairman of the Corporation, an officer each from the Tourism Ministry, NBR, Legislative and Parliamentary Division, Public security Division, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and two directors of the Corporation to be appointed by the government.
Two representatives to be nominated by the government from non-government organisations who are directly and institutionally associated with the tourism industry.
To constitute a quorum at a meeting of the Board the Chairman and at least five Directors shall be present.
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If, for any reason, the Chairman is unable to be present at a meeting of the Board, a Director authorised in writing by the Chairman shall preside over meetings.
The Head Office of the Corporation shall be in Dhaka while it may establish offices, branches or agencies at any other place or outside Bangladesh.
The function of the Corporation to promote and develop tourism, provide facilities, undertake measures and carry out all forms of activities connected with or ancillary to tourism.
Turkish citizen who arrived at Shahjalal does not have monkeypox
The Turkish citizen, who was sent to a hospital on Tuesday afternoon after presenting suspected symptoms of monkeypox, is not carrying the virus, health authorities said.
Additional Director General of Directorate General of Health Services, Ahmedul Kabir, said he was discharged on Tuesday afternoon following tests as he was not detected with the virus.
The Turkish citizen arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by a flight of Turkish Airlines on Tuesday noon. The airport health authorities detected symptoms of monkeypox in him during screening, said Dr Shahrier.
He was first taken to the Airport Health Centre and then sent to the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Mohakhali, said Dr Shahrier.
As soon as the news spread, the Health Ministry issued a press release saying no monkeypox case has been detected yet in the country and if any case is found in future, people will be informed through press release.
READ: Suspected Monkeypox patient sent to hospital from Dhaka airport
On May 22, the government instructed the authorities concerned to strengthen surveillance at land, air and sea ports for screening travelers coming to Bangladesh from countries with confirmed monekypox cases.
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) issued a notice in this regard.
According to the notice, monkeypox is not a new disease. It was found among people in West and Middle African countries in the past. Recently it has been detected among people living in European and American countries with no history of travelling in the African countries.
People who contracted the virus or came close to the infected people should be listed as suspected patients of monkeypox, it said.
The suspected patients or patients having symptoms should be taken to government hospitals or Infectious Diseases Hospital and kept in isolation and it should be reported to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).