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17-year-old dies falling from building in Dhaka’s Kamalapur
A 17-year-old boy died this evening after falling from the 12th floor of a multi-storey building in the capital’s Kamalapur.The deceased was identified as Shafayet Ahmed. He was taken to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital where the on-duty doctor declared him dead at 7:30 pm, confirmed DMCH Police outpost In-charge Inspector Bachchu Miah.Shafayet’s father Shah Alam said he was suffering from mental problems. Shafayet lived with his family on the 12th floor of the 17-storey building.While running to enter the lift, Shafayet slipped and fell from the balcony, said Alam.Shafayet was an HSC examinee at Sher-e-Bangla Railway School and College. He was the eldest of two brothers.
Govt urged to create enabling environment for investment in renewables
Speakers at a seminar have urged the government to create an enabling environment for increased private investment in the renewable energy sector in the country.
They said the investors have to calculate a risk premium in making investments in the sector, which ultimately pushes up their overall costs to more than double. As a result, renewable energy loses competitiveness.
The message was delivered at the seminar titled: “Dhaka Renewable Energy Finance Talk & Expo (DREFTE) 2023” at Bangabandhu Military Museum in Dhaka, organized by Change Initiative.
Professor Mushtaq Khan, Executive Director of the ACE Program at SOAS, gave the example that if any investment in the renewable energy sector is calculated at Tk 10, the investor has to calculate the overall project cost by adding an additional Tk 2 as risk premium.
As a result the investment fails to provide adequate returns, he noted, referring to his own research findings. So the government has to create an environment where the investors would not be burdened by any risk factor, he added.
Different sessions of the seminar were addressed by former principal secretary to the prime minister, Abul Kalam Azad, economist Ahsan H Mansur, Power Cell director general Mohammad Hossain, Director General, Economic Affairs Wing Ministry of Foreign Affairs Faiyaz Murshid Kazi, and President of Bangladesh Solar & Renewable Energy Association (BSREA) Engr. Nurul Akter, while it was moderated by Chief Executive of Change Initiative M Zakir Hossain Khan.
Abul Kalam Azad said that there should be a mandatory provision for all the government buildings to have solar systems. He also urged the government to set a time-bound target to generate electricity from renewable sources.
Ahsan H Mansur said both the rural and urban areas should be equally brought under solar power plant projects. He also suggested the government introduce a mandatory provision for all the conventional power generation companies to generate a certain percentage of electricity from renewable sources.
Ahsan Mansur also urged the government to provide subsidies to promote solar power generation.
Bangladesh logs 4 more Covid cases: DGHS
Bangladesh reported four more Covid-19 cases in 24 hours till Tuesday morning.
With the new number, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,978, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,445 as no new fatalities were reported.
The daily case test positivity rate has risen to 0.29 percent from Sunday’s 0.24 percent against the tests of 1398 samples.
The recovery and death rates remained unchanged at 98.47 percent and 1.44 percent, respectively.
Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and highest number of fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.
PM Hasina to declare 211 upazilas with complete housing for all with land Wednesday
A total of 211 upazilas across nine districts of the country have gained the status of having houses for all with land thanks to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Ashrayan project.
The premier will announce the the achievement on Wednesday through a video conference from her official residence Ganobhban.
She will also distribute 30,365 homes along with the ownership of land in the fourth phase of the Ashrayan Project-2.
Principal Secretary of the Prime Minister Md. Tofazzel Hossain Mia told press conference at Prime Minister Office that 2,37,831 houses have been allocated for the purpose of rehabilitating landless and homeless families across the country from 2020 to March this year on the occasion of Mujib Borsha.
As a result, the number of beneficiaries across the country has reached about 13 lakhs.
According to the data of the government, the number of landless and homeless families is 2,59,237.
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Among them, 63,999 were given houses on 23 January 2021 in the first phase, 53,330 on 20 June 2021 in the second phase, 32,904 in the first phase of the third phase on 26 April 2022, while 26,229 in the second part of the third phase on July 21, 2022 and 39, 365 in the fourth phase on Wednesday.
Out of the identified 2,59,237 homesless families, 2,15,827 families are being given houses.
Out of the remaining 43,410 families, 22,010 families have been identified and allotted single houses with two percent of land through the shelter scheme.
By identifying the remaining 21,404 families and rehabilitating them, the PM's pledge 'no person in the country will remain landless and homeless' will be implemented.
The principal secretary said that under the leadership of PM Hasina, a total of 7, 71, 301 families have been rehabilitated since 1997.
The number of beneficiaries in this programme is 38,56,505, the count based on 5 members per family.
Among them, 5,54,597 families were directly rehabilitated by the Prime Minister's Office's shelter project.
The remaining 2,16,704 families have been rehabilitated under the similar programs of the Ministry of Land, Disaster Management and Relief Ministry.
Meanwhile, Talking to reporters at Banaripara in Barishal local MP Md Shah-E-Alam said that the prime minister is providing homes and addresses to the homeless and address less people of the country following the footsteps of father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“It is her pledge and initiative to give homes to everyone,” he said.
He mentioned that on Wednesday the prime minister will distributed some 142 houses and other 163 houses will be distributed in the coming days.
He said that PM Hasina loves the people and always thinks about the people and their welfare.
Md Shah-E-Alam mentioned that the steps of the government under the leadership of the prime minister to provide homes to the homeless people is unique.
Responding to a question, he said that within next six months Banaripara upazila will be declared having no family homeless.
UNO Fatima Azrin Tonwy said that the administration was very much strict and vigil to find out the real homeless people.
BNP expels its vice chairman Shaukat Mahmood
BNP has expelled its vice-president Shaukat Mahmood from the party for his involvement in anti-party activities.
Shaukat, also a senior journalist and former president of the Jatiya Press Club, has been ousted from all party posts, including primary membership, said a press release on Tuesday.
It said the action against Shaukat was taken as per a decision of the BNP National Standing Committee on the basis of specific allegations of indulging in activities that go against party discipline.
Shaukat, who was served with a show-cause notice in April last year on a similar charge, came to spot light once again as he along with writer and poet Farhad Mazhar on Thursday hosted a dinner in honour of some citizens and some leaders of anti-government political parties at a city hotel under the banner of the National Committee for Civil Rights or Jatiya Insaf Kayem Committee.
Shaukat, the Member Secretary of the platform that was launched 10 years ago, presented its objectives and goals and advocated for the formation of an interim national government by ousting the current government through a mass uprising.
However, no BNP leaders were present at the meeting, and the party doubts an evil intention behind the sudden revival of such a platform.
BNP standing committee members at their virtual meeting on Monday elaborately discussed the issue and described the platform's activities as suspicious, party insiders said.
A BNP standing committee member, on condition of anonymity, said Shaukat and Mazhar came up with the move at a time when their party along with over 50 other ones are waging a simultaneous movement to realise their 10-point demand, including holding the next general election under a non-party caretaker government.
“We think there’s an ill motive behind the sudden revival of this dubious organisation,” he said.
The BNP leader said they decided to expel Shaukat as he became the member secretary of such a suspicious organisation despite being a vice chairman of BNP.He said the standing committee members expressed their strong resentment as Shaukat involved in such platform without party permission, though he was earlier warned.
The BNP policymaker said they will keep a sharp eye on the activities of the National Committee for Civil Rights so that they cannot mislead people.
On April 7 last year, BNP served a show-cause notice on Shaukat on charges of indulging in anti-party activities by holding a rally in the capital without a consent of the party.
As he gave a written explanation, the party did not take any action against him at that time.
On March 27 last year, a rally was held in front of the National Press Club under the banner of "Professionals’ Society", demanding that the government check the surge in prices of essential items, restore democracy and release BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
In 2019 and 2020, two anti-government rallies were held in Dhaka. BNP warned Shaukat by serving notice as he was reportedly behind arranging the programmes.
BNP senior leaders believe that there is a conspiracy of the ruling party behind such a move in the name of movement to topple the government.
Journalist Shaukat was a two-term president and general secretary of the Jatiya Press Club. Besides, he served as the president of the BNP-supported Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists and acting president of Samilita Peshajebi Parishad.
He was formally involved with BNP politics from 2009. After joining BNP, he became a member of the Chairperson's Advisory Council.
In 2016, Shaukat was elected as the vice chairman of BNP in its sixth national council.
He was arrested in 2015 and spent over a year in jail. There are more than 60 cases filed against him.
The National Committee for Civil Rights was formed in 2013 by Farhad Mazhar and Shaukat with an aim “to uphold human rights” and it became dysfunctional later.
Abdul Malek made chief information commissioner
The government has appointed Abdul Malek, a former information secretary, as Chief Information Commissioner (CIC).
President Abdul Hamid made the appointment as per Article 15 (1) of the Right to Information Act-2009, said an official release of the Ministry of Information.
A gazette notification in this regard was issued on Tuesday.
Abdul Malek replaced Martuza Ahmed as the CIC.
Blast in Science Lab area: Another victim dies, death toll rises to 6
The death toll from the explosion in a building in Science Lab area in the capital rose to six as another victim died on Tuesday.
Nur Nabi, 23, an Islamic Studies department student of Dhaka University, and also resident of Sargent Zahurul Haque Hall, breathed his last around 3:00pm while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), Md Bachhu Miah, in-charge of the DMCH police outpost, said.
Also Read: Blast in Science Lab area: Another person dies raising death toll to 5
Earlier five people and 10 others were injured when the building partially collapsed following an explosion there.
‘Gram Adalat’ (village court), 8 other projects get Ecnec nod
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday cleared nine projects including a Tk 426-crore one to activate ‘Gram Adalat’ (village court) in a bid to enhancing the access of the rural poor and disadvantaged people to the justice system.
The approval came from the Ecnec meeting presided over by Ecnec chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the NEC Conference Room in the city’s Sher-e Bangla Nargar area.
“Today the meeting approved nine projects with an overall estimated cost of Tk 1,730.38 crore (only additional costs of revised projects were counted here),” said Planning Minister MA Mannan while briefing reporters after the meeting.
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Of the total cost, Tk 6,33.52 crore will be drawn from the national exchequer, while Tk 1.44 crore will come from the owned fund of the organisations concerned and the rest Tk 1,095.42 crore from the foreign sources.
Among the approved projects, five are revised projects and four are fresh ones.
The project titled ‘Activating Gram Adalat in Bangladesh (Phase-III)’ will be implemented by the Local Government Division at a cost of Tk 426.35 crore by June 30, 2027. Of the fund, the EU and the UNDP will provide some Tk 268.84 crore as project assistance.
The project will be executed in 4,457 unions of 465 upazilas under 61 districts. Of them, the maintenance activities of the already set up village courts in 1,416 unions under the first two phases will be run and the fresh court operation will be started in 3,041 other unions.
Three other fresh projects are Construction of 112 flats at Agargaon in Dhaka for government officials of Bangladesh Parliament Secretariat with an estimated cost of Tk 98.22 crore; Feasibility Study for Construction of Important Bridges on Rural Roads (Phase-II) project with Tk 80 crore; and the project for the Improvement of Equipment for Technical Education with Tk 98.01 crore.
The five revised projects include Sustainable Coastal and Marine Fisheries (1st revised) Project with additional cost of Tk 588.67 crore (now cost Tk 2,457.54 crore); Capacity Enhancement of Dhaka Metropolitan Police to Tackle Terrorism and Ensure Public Safety (1st revised) Project with additional cost of Tk 229.82 crore (now cost is Tk 309.48 crore); Countrywide Mobile Library (2nd revised) Project with additional cost of Tk 37.47 crore (now cost Tk 111.16 crore); and Installation of Prepaid Gas Meter for TGTDCL (3rd revised) Project with additional cost of Tk 174.39 crore (now cost Tk 928.23 crore).
Besides, the meeting cleared the Establishment of Dhaka Technical Teachers Training Institute (3 rd revised) Project with a cut of Tk 2.55 crore in the cost (Now cost is Tk 96.13 crore).
Former bureaucrat Md Nurul Amin made new BERC chairman
Former senior secretary Md Nurul Amin has been appointed as the chairman of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC).
Prior to the new position, the former bureaucrat, who hailed from Chandpur district, served as chairman of state-owned Karmasangshan Bank.
Nurul Amin last served the Planning Ministry as its senior secretary and retired from the job in April 2022.
A gazette notification, issued by the Energy and Mineral Resources division today(Tuesday), said Nurul Amin will serve the BERC for next three years from the date of his joining under a contractual agreement.
Earlier, the government had appointed three new members to the BERC. They are - Dr Md Helal Uddin, Abul Khayer Md Aminur Rahman and Dr Muhammad Yamin Chowdhury.
All of three appointees are retired bureaucrats.
The Chairman post of the regulatory authority as the post remained vacant since January 30 this year after completion of the tenure of BERC Chairman Md. Abdul Jalil.
BERC member Md. Kamruzzaman was serving as acting chairman of the regulatory body following retirement of Abdul Jalil.
Covid-19 survivors are at high risk of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases: Study
Individuals hospitalised with COVID-19 are at higher risk of diabetes, respiratory, and cardiovascular complications in following weeks, a study finds.
icddr,b and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) jointly organized a dissemination seminar titled “Long-Term Sequelae of COVID-19: A Longitudinal Follow-Up Study in Dhaka, Bangladesh” on Tuesday.
The seminar also presented a guideline titled “Long COVID Clinical Management Guideline for Physicians”.
The study was conducted at two COVID-19-designated hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh, between 15 December 2020 and 30 October 2021.
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The findings, based on the first five months of participant follow-ups, were recently published in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia.
The study was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Alliance for Combating TB (ACTB) in Bangladesh activity.
The first of its kind in Asia, the study revealed that COVID-19 survivors carry a high burden of long-term effects of COVID-19 infection, often described as post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS) or long COVID.
Professor Dr Shohael Mahmud Arafat, Chairman, Department of Internal Medicine, BSMMU; Professor Dr Chowdhury Meshkat Ahmed, Department of Cardiology, BSMMU, and Dr Farzana Afroze, Associate Scientist, Nutrition and Clinical Service Division, icddr,b and the principal investigator of the study presented key findings at the event.
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The researchers recruited clinically recovered individuals older than 18 years with RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 who sought care from the study hospitals with or without hospitalisation.
The 362 enrolled participants were given comprehensive in-person follow-ups at one, three and five-month post-recovery intervals to evaluate the presence or trajectories of PCS symptoms which include neurological, cardiac, respiratory outcomes, and mental health. The study participants will be followed up for 24 months.
The study revealed that COVID-19 survivors over the age of 60 are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular (hypertension, high pulse rate, edema), and neurological (peripheral neuropathy or numbness, tingling sensation, and pain in the hands and feet, taste, and smell abnormalities) complications when compared to the age group younger than 40 years.
The long-term effects of the disease also seem to differ by gender - the prevalence of developing post-COVID complications was found to be 1.5 to 4 times higher in females than in males.
Long-term complications in hospitalised patients and those needing intensive care were 2-3 times more likely than in non-hospitalized patients.
Hospitalised survivors with pre-existing diabetes had a 9 to 11 times higher possibility of having uncontrolled blood sugar with regular medication and hence required the administration of insulin therapy more often compared to those who did not require hospitalisation.
The new occurrence of diabetes was 10 cases per 1,000 person - among hospitalised patients, compared to none in the non-hospitalised group. Similarly, the new occurrence of renal impairment (high creatinine and proteinuria) and the increased liver enzyme were considerably high among COVID-19 survivors.
Most complications decreased over time in both groups, however, shortness of breath, fast pulse rate, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression did not decline significantly in the non-hospitalised group, even five months after recovery.
The results highlight the need for continuous follow-up and care of COVID-19 survivors. Older and hospitalised patients should be routinely monitored for cardiovascular complications, given their increased risk.
Professor Dr Shohael Mahmud Arafat presented the clinical management guideline for Long-COVID for physicians, which was developed jointly by BSSMU and icddr,b.
Professor Dr Md. Sharfuddin Ahmed, Vice-Chancellor of BSMMU, attended the seminar as special guest and appreciated the collaborative effort by scientists of icddr,b and BSMMU to understand and find solutions to long COVID complications.
Physicians from different medical colleges, representatives from BSMMU, icddr,b and media also attended the seminar.
The full findings of the study have been published in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia in a paper titled “Features and risk factors of post-COVID-19 syndrome: Findings from a longitudinal study in Bangladesh”.