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AL hails EC decision to use EVMs in 150 JS seats in next polls
Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Wednesday welcomed the Election Commission's decision to use Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) in up to 150 of the 300 parliamentary seats in the next general election.
Quader was speaking at an event to mark the 18th death anniversary of Awami League women's affairs secretary Ivy Rahman, who was killed in a grenade attack on August 21 in 2004.
He said the during its dialogue with the EC, Awami league demanded that EVMs are used in all 300 seats.
“The Election Commission has agreed to use EVMs in half of the total parliamentary seats. We welcome the decision of the Election Commission,” he said.
Quader said “We have said that it is good and safe to use modern technology. We do not want a repeat of rigged and fraudulent elections.There is no problem with EVM."
He questioned whether the opponents of EVMs want elections to be rigged.
Read: Stern action if anyone creates anarchy: Tajul warns
Paying tributes to Ivy Rahman, the AL leader said she sacrificed her life for the welfare of the country and restoration of democracy.
She will be remembered for her humility and love for the people, he said.
Ivy Rahman, wife of late president Zillur Rahman, was among 24 people killed in the grenade attack on the Awami League's anti-terrorism rally at Bangabandhu Avenue.
New office schedule is temporary: State Minister
State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain on Wednesday said the new office timings for the government and autonomous offices is not permanent.
“This schedule will remain in force until further notice,” said the state minister at the Secretariat in a deal signing ceremony between Sunlife Insurance Company and Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum (BSRF).
He said the day time is very long now. “We want to use the daylight.”
Farhad said this schedule will be readjusted later.
The new timings (8am-3pm), effective from Wednesday, meant the offices will start early by an hour. The officers and employees have welcomed this initiative spontaneously joining work as per the new schedule, he said.
Read:Office timing rescheduled for 8:00am to 3:00pm to save electricity
Regarding the conflict between the timings of offices and schools, Farhad said private offices and financial institutions are operating from 9 am. “But the situation we have observed today is tolerable and the government’s decision is correct.”
In the new timings, the workflow at the offices will be increased, he said. There will be no pending work and no disruption in services, hoped the state minister.
BSRF general secretary Masudul Hoque presided over the event along with the organisation’s president Tapan Biswas.
On Monday, the government rearranged the office timings from 8:00am to 3:00pm for all the government and autonomous offices and from 9:00am to 4:00pm for all banks in a bid to save electricity amid short supply.
Besides, there would be two weekly holidays in the educational institutions, Cabinet Secretariat Khandker Anwarul Islam said after a Cabinet meeting.
In the meeting, the Cabinet asked the power, energy and mineral resources ministry to ensure the uninterrupted electricity supply in the rural areas from midnight to dawn for the next 10-15 days so that the irrigation is not hampered.
Dengue: 165 more patients hospitalised in 24 hrs
Another 165 dengue patients were hospitalised across the country in 24 hours till Wednesday morning, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Among them, 125 patients were hospitalised in Dhaka while 40 in other places, it said.
As many as 521 dengue patients, including 437 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
On Sunday, this year's death toll from the mosquito-borne viral disease rose to 19 with one more death reported from Dhaka.
Read: Dengue: 153 more patients hospitalised in 24 hrs
Among the total deaths, 10 were reported from Cox’s Bazar while nine from Dhaka.
On June 21, the DGHS reported the first death of the season from the viral disease.
This year, the DGHS has recorded 4,937 dengue cases and 4,397 recoveries so far.
Bangladesh reports 3 Covid deaths, 167 cases in 24 hrs
The country reported three new Covid-linked deaths and 167 cases in 24 hours till Wednesday morning, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With the new numbers, the country's total fatalities rose to 29,319 while the caseload to 2,010,490, it added.
The daily case test positivity rate rose to 3.89 per cent from Tuesday’s 3.85 per cent as 4,293 samples were tested.
Read: US donates additional 10mn Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses to Bangladesh
Among the deceased, two were women and another was a man from Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions.
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.46 percent. The recovery rate remained static at 97.22 percent.
In July, the country reported 142 Covid-linked deaths and 31,422 cases, the highest monthly death toll and caseload since March this year.
Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.
Schoolgirl killed in city road crash
A seven-year-old schoolgirl was killed and another injured when an auto-rickshaw knocked them down at Kadamtoli in the city on Wednesday, police said.
The deceased was identified as Maria Akter, a student of Ashraf Ali Mastar School and daughter of Md Zulfiker of Juraine.
Read: Father-son duo killed in Sherpur road crash
Mahbubul Haque, sub-inspector of Kadamtoli Police Station, said the auto-rickshaw hit Maria and Faiza, 7, a student of Ayesha Siddiqua Mohila Madrasha, leaving them injured.
Later, they were taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared Maria dead, said Inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of the hospital’s police camp.
Soon after the accident, agitated local people set fire to the auto-rickshaw, halting traffic movement in the area for half an hour.
Police arrested the auto-rickshaw driver.
Rains likely to quell heat in Bangladesh
Expect some respite from the scorching heat and frustrating humidity, as the weather department has predicted monsoon showers across the country in 24 hours.
“Light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty winds is likely to occur at a few places over Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places over Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dhaka & Mymensingh divisions with moderately heavy falls at places over the country", the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said in its forecast on Wednesday.
The Met office recorded the highest 64mm of rainfall in Dinajpur district in 24 hours till 6am on Wednesday.
Read: Dhaka’s air quality remains 'moderate'
The mercury reached 35.4 degrees Celsius – the highest – in Sylhet, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 24 degrees in Rangamati.
Meanwhile, the axis of monsoon trough runs through the centre of the well-marked low, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gangetic West Bengal to Assam across central parts of Bangladesh.
Monsoon is fairly active over Bangladesh and moderate elsewhere over the North Bay, as per the bulletin.
Prof Yunus seeks stay on labour court case trial
Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus moved the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, seeking a stay on proceedings in a case filed against him in the Dhaka Labour Court.
Lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun filed the appeal on behalf of the Nobel laureate and former chairman of Grameen Communications Ltd.
On August 17, a High Court bench of justices SM Kuddus Zaman and Fahmida Quader rejected Dr Yunus' petition paving the way for trial in the case.
On June 13, the Appellate Division stayed the trial proceedings of the case for two months.
The SC also ordered the HC bench, led by Justice SM Kuddus Zaman, to dispose of the rule seeking explanation as to why the case against Prof Yunus should not be cancelled.
On June 7, the Appellate Division ordered the disposal of the rule within two months.
On September 9 last year, labour inspector Arifuzzaman of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, filed the case in Dhaka Labour Court (Third).
Other accused in the case are Ashraful Hasan, Managing Director of Grameen Telecom, and its directors Nurzahan Begum and Shahjahan.
Read: Case against Prof Yunus: Final hearing on scrapping case on Aug 11
According to the case, during a visit to Grameen Telecom office, inspectors of the department found that 101 workers who were supposed to be permanent were working as temporary staff.
No participation fund and welfare fund was formed for them and five percent of the company’s profit was not provided to the workers as per law.
Upon a complaint, a criminal case was filed under sections 4, 7, 8, 117, 234 of the Labour Act.
On October 12, the labour court granted bail to the all four accused.
Later on December 7, Prof Yunus filed a petition in the High Court seeking scrapping of the case.
On December 12, the HC stayed the procedure of the case for six months.
The court also issued a rule asking the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments as to why the case will not be set aside.
The court had asked secretaries of the Ministry of Law, Ministry of Labour and Employment and others involved to respond to the rule.
In Dhaka, govt employees join duty at 8am
Employees of all government and autonomous offices in the capital reported for duty at 8am Wednesday as per the new timings.
The government has changed the timings of all government, semi-government, autonomous and semi-autonomous offices -- from 9am-5pm to 8am-3pm daily -- to ration electricity in view of the energy crisis in the country.
Talking to reporters, Local Government and Rural Development Minister Md Tajul Islam said the new timings will have no impact on the services "the government provides to people".
“I came to know that all the employees reported for duty as per the new timings," he said.
Asking about any directives to private organisations, Tajul said, “Though no specific order has been given, I think they will also minimise their working hours in line with government offices and banks.”
Read: Govt likely to reduce office hour or introduce virtual office: State Minister
Earlier on August 22, the government rearranged the office timings. The decision came from a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
City crawls as snarls choke Dhaka roads
Commuters, particularly officegoers, had a harrowing time on the city's roads on Wednesday, the very first day of the new office schedule, as they remained stuck in traffic snarls for hours in the morning.
The snarls began around 7.30am, with the Bangladesh government deciding to change the timings of all government, semi-government, autonomous and semi-autonomous offices -- from 9am-5pm to 8am-3pm daily -- to ration electricity.
Mohakhali to Banani, Dhanmondi, Bijoy Sarani and Mogbazar were some of the worst-hit stretches where traffic literally came to a standstill for over an hour in the morning rush hours.
Read: Dhaka’s air quality remains 'moderate'
“It seems that there is no end to people’s sufferings. Traffic jams not only kill time but also ruin our energy,” said Istiaqe Nasir, a resident of the city's Uttara area. "It took me two hours to reach my office in Tejgaon from Uttara," he added.
Students of primary and secondary schools also had to bear the brunt of the morning rush hour jams.
A senior traffic officer with Dhaka Metropolitan Police, preferring anonymity, said a large number of vehicles, including buses, were seen parked along the roads, triggering the traffic jam.
"What began as a daily traffic congestion soon turned into a chaotic situation, forcing many people to walk to their respective destinations," he said.
Dhaka’s air quality remains 'moderate'
Dhaka's air quality continued to be in the 'moderate' zone on Wednesday morning.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 80 at 9.15am, the metropolis ranked 17th in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.
Chile's Santiago, Indonesia's Jakarta and Peru's Lima occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 169, 160 and 149, respectively.
An AQI between 50 and 100 is considered ‘moderate’ with acceptable air quality. However, there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
On the other hand, an AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.
Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
Read: Global Covid cases top 602 million
AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.
Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy during winter and improves during monsoon.
With the advent of winter, the city’s air quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the massive discharge of pollutant particles from construction works, rundown roads, brick kilns and other sources.
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.