Bangladesh
EC announces polls schedule for 3 municipalities
Election will be held in three municipalities –Panchbibi and Khetlal in Joypurhat, and Dohar in Dhaka—on July 27 with the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Also read: EC suspends Eochia UP election in Ctg
The Election Commission on Monday announced the polls schedule for the three local bodies by issuing a notification.
Also read: EC suspends Chambal UP election in Ctg
As per the schedule, the deadline for submission of nomination papers is June 28, while the date for scrutinizing nomination papers is June 30 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is July 7.
RMG workers stage demo for third consecutive day demanding pay rise
Workers from various ready-made garment (RMG) factories have blocked the roads in Dhaka’s Mirpur and Uttara area for the third consecutive day.
Agitated workers from Juki, Loadstar, Sarosh, Vision Garment, Palka, MBM Garment blocked roads in Mirpur-13, 14 Police Staff College, Mirpur-2 and 10 and Kachukhet areas on Monday morning demanding pay rise amid the sudden price hike of daily essentials.
Police baton-charged the crowd and fired tear shells to disperse the protesters.
Vehicular movement in these areas has been interrupted due to the demonstrations, creating traffic congestion that caused immense suffering to commuters.
Also read: RMG workers stage demo in city demanding wage hike
Workers claimed that their salary is not sufficient to run their families in recent times as the prices of daily necessities have gone up.
One of the protesters from Lodestar Garments said “The salary we are getting is not enough for our daily meals so we are compelled to take to the streets.”
Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Mirpur Division ASM Mahatab Uddin said that there is no blockade on any road.
In addition, workers of several garments, including Intraco Design, Intraco Fashion Limited, at Uttara have blocked the streets demanding the same.
During the protest, they targeted some buses and threw bricks. Police later fired tear gas to disperse them.
Earlier on Saturday, the protesters burnt three police motorcycles and vandalized a vehicle of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) parked in front of Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium at Mirpur-10.
Also read: RMG workers stage demonstrations for arrears in Gazipur
After that, police held some eight to ten of the protesters over the incident.
3 families from Feni mourn loss of loved ones in Ctg depot fire
The families of three victims from Feni, who were killed in the BM Container Depot fire, have been grieving since Saturday night.
Salauddin Quader Sabuj, 37, was a firefighter hailing from Sadar upazila of the district; Shahahdat Ullah Majumdar, 38, from Fulgazi upazila was shift-in-charge at BM Container Depot; and Mohammad Yeasin, 28, was a covered van driver, hailing from Sadar upazila of the district.
Yeasin remains missing after the fire incident while the two others were confirmed to have been killed during the fire.
Firefighter Sabuj was a son of Yusuf of Masimpur village and he left behind his wife, one son and one daughter.
During a visit to the house of Sabuj, the UNB correspondent learned that Sabuj visited his home during Eid and that was the last time he saw his family. Sabuj joined Sonagazi Fire Station as a firefighter in 2011.
Also read: Grief grips Noakhali village of firefighter Alauddin
Sabuj’s wife Marjina said she spoke to her husband around 9pm on Saturday, just before the fire. "When he heard the news, Sabuj rushed to the spot. I could not reach him after the explosion,” she recounts.
On Sunday, the relatives of Sabuj came to know that his body was kept at the mortuary of Chattogram Medical College and Hospital.
He was buried at his home village on Monday.
On the other hand, the family of Shahadat, son of Amin Ullah Majumdar of Fulgazi upazila, is also bemoaning the loss of the only bread earner of the family.
The parents of Shahadat have been lamenting since Saturday night after they heard the news of their son’s death.
Shahadat was talking to his parents on a video call but their connection got snapped after the explosion on the fateful night.
Also read: Ctg depot fire: DNA samples collection begins to identify deceased
Shahadat, a father of a two and half month old daughter, was on leave and joined his work on June 3.
The family members of Shahadat collected his body from the Chattogram Medical College and Hospital morgue on Sunday and brought him back to his village for burial.
Yeasin, son of Khoka Mia of Fulgazi upazila was the second issue of his parents.
After the massive inferno at Chattogram depot, the family of Yeasin has no idea about his whereabouts.He worked as a covered van driver at Spectra Company.
During a visit to Yeasin’s house, this UNB correspondent found that his mother Kokila Akter is continuously crying out the name of Yeasin.
Mohammad Nahid, a cousin of Yeasin, said: "He was at the depot when the blaze erupted and we saw the fire incident at the depot through his facebook as he went into the live stream. But suddenly an explosion occurred and he went missing."
Gender budget framework needs to be redesigned, say discussants at a pre-budget dialogue
Increased collaboration between ministries and data-based monitoring of expenditures are required for a better implementation of gender budget, said discussants at a pre-budget dialogue on Monday.
Ahead of the national budget, Plan International Bangladesh and Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) organised the dialogue titled “National Budget Addressing Gender Based Violence” at Pragati Insurance Building, Karwanbazar in Dhaka.
The discussants said, women’s development is at the core of the overall development plan of Bangladesh. In the national budget, the gender budget is allocated for a number of ministries.
Collective data on the specific expenditure of the ministries preventing child marriage and violence and proper monitoring will play an effective role in reducing gender-based violence through further planning.
Also read: Fiscal policy support needed for economy to tackle inflation: CPD
Nadia Nawrin, Programme Associate, CPD made an introductory presentation at the programme on “Budget Framework Analysis on Challenging Fear of Violence”, a recent report produced by Plan International Bangladesh and CPD.
While presenting the analysis, she said that Bangladesh has made significant progress on several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This progress is also evident in SDG 5 on gender equality and women's empowerment. Despite Bangladesh's remarkable economic progress, violence against women is still widespread and unstoppable, said the paper.
In addition, other factors remain: lack of adequacy, monitoring and reporting mechanism and lastly, the relevant budget does not address fear of violence.
The analysis recommends that in order to address and eliminate the fear of violence among girls and women, the current gender budget framework has to be redesigned.
Awami League MP Aroma Dutta said, the government prioritises gender budget. There are 36 ministries under which gender budget is allocated.
But, for monitoring its proper implementation, “we must ensure collective data on the expenditure. This will also support addressing the challenges of the existing laws and acts against gender-based violence.”
Also read: CPD, ILO bring together stake holders to develop national industrial safety framework
The MP also urged a greater campaign against gender-based violence.
Girls’ Rights Director of Plan International Bangladesh, Kashfia Feroz, said, the fear of violence exists everywhere- from home to public space.
In a recent survey of Plan International Bangladesh, we have found that, 35% of the survey participants believe sexual harassment is one main reason behind child marriage, while 25.6% believe parents marry their daughter off at a young age due to fear of violence. 62% parents shared that they fear to send their daughters to school picnic while 54.1% fathers fear sending their daughters to private tutors due to the same fear.
Executive Director of CPD, Fahmida Khatun, said, fear is an intangible thing which makes it difficult to reflect in the budget. Fear is increasing everywhere in the world. This impacts not only the individuals but the entire society and the state affecting the economy.
She also called for ensuring budget allocation to ensure strengthened implementation of existing laws and acts preventing gender-based violence.
Among others, Shima Moslem, General Joint General Secretary of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, Dr. Tania Haque. (Professor). Department of Women and Gender Studies of the University of Dhaka, Nobonita Chowdhury Director of Gender, Justice and Diversity (GJD) at BRAC, Sharmind Neelormi, Associate Professor of Economics Department of Jahangirnagar University were present as discussants.
Home Minister vows justice to the culprits of Sitakunda blaze
Home Minister Asaduzzman Kamal on Monday vowed to hold trial of those found responsible for the deadly fire and explosions at BM Container Depot at Sitakunda in Chattogram.
“A probe has been ordered and justice will be ensured according to the law,” he said, adding the government does not indemnify anyone who commits crime.
The home minister’s remarks came amid media reports that the depot had no license and permission to keep chemical containers, the suspected source of the disastrous fire. The containers full of hydrogen peroxide is suspected to have caused the inferno.
Also read: Depot Fire: UN for joint efforts in addressing “safety deficits” in workplaces
He was replying to questions from reporters after his visit to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital to see the condition of the injured people undergoing treatment there.
He also visited the depot, the scene of Saturday night’s tragedy.
Asaduzzaman said the authorities concerned are investigating how the fire occurred and if anybody’s negligence is found to be the reason that person will definitely be put on trial.
“None will be spared, no matter how powerful one may be. No one is above the law and if anyone found involved in any negligence will be brought to justice,” said the minister.
The death toll from the devastating fire reached 50 with the recovery of another body from a container of the depot in the morning, according to Fire Service authorities.
Also read: Operation to douse Ctg depot fire continues; Death toll stands at 50
The huge fire also left more than and 200 people were injured, some of them in critical condition.
The privately run container depot at Sonaichhari in Sitakunda of Chattogram is a joint venture of Bangladesh and the Netherlands.
Police constable killed being hit by bus in city
A police constable riding a motorbike was hit and killed by a bus in the city’s Sonargaon intersection Monday.
The deceased was identified as Korban Ali Hossain, 35, a constable posted at Rajarbagh Police Telecom Bhaban and used to live at Savar.
Also read: Man killed in Kurigram road accident
A bus of Welcome Paribahan hit Korban’s motorcycle around 10 am, said Al Imran, Sub-Inspector of Hatirjheel police station.
He was immediately taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) where doctors declared him dead around 11:45 am, he said.
Also read: Road accidents claim 7 lives in 3 districts
The bus was seized and efforts are on to detain the driver after identifying him from CCTV footages, said SI Al Imran.
He said the body has been sent for autopsy.
Covid-19: Bangladesh reports 43 cases, zero death
Bangladesh registered 43 new Covid cases in 24 hours till Monday morning taking the country's total caseload to 1,953,700.
The country's total fatalities remained unchanged at 29,131 as no death was reported during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The daily test positivity rate increased to 0.99 per cent from Sunday’s 0.79 percent as 4,328 samples were tested.
Also read: Global Covid cases near 536 million
The country on Saturday saw 34 cases with zero death.
The one death recorded from May 30 to June 5 was a woman who received one dose of Covid vaccine, it said.
The deceased had no comorbidity. Comorbidity means the simultaneous presence of two or more diseases or medical conditions in a patient.
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.49 percent. The recovery rate rose to 97.46 percent as 154 patients recovered during this period.
In May, the country reported only four Covid-linked deaths and 816 new cases, while 7,356 patients recovered from the disease, according to the DGHS.
Among the four deaths during the period, one was vaccinated with single dose of Covid vaccine while three were vaccinated with two doses.
The country reported its first zero Covid death in a single day on November 20 last year, along with 178 cases, since the pandemic broke out here in March 2020.
Also read: Bangladesh gets 115 million free Covid vaccines: Zahid Maleque
On January 28, Bangladesh logged its previous highest positivity rate of 33.37 per cent.
The country registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 in the same year.
Dengue in Bangladesh: 20 new cases reported in 24hrs
Bangladesh registered 20 more dengue cases in 24 hours till Monday morning.
Among the new patients, nineteen were admitted to different hospitals of Dhaka and another was hospitalized outside the capital, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Eighty dengue patients, including 76 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
This year, the DGHS has recorded 446 dengue cases and 366 recoveries so far. The directorate has not yet reported any death from the mosquito-borne viral disease.
Also read: 15 more dengue cases reported
Dengue – a leading cause of serious illness and death in some Asian and Latin American countries – was first reported in Bangladesh in 2000 and claimed 93 lives. In three years, the fatality number almost fell to zero.
However, 105 dengue patients, including 95 in Dhaka division, died in 2021.
Dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas.
About 4 billion people, almost half of the world's population, live in areas with a risk of dengue, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Each year, up to 400 million people get infected with dengue while approximately 100 million get sick from infection, and 40,000 die from severe dengue, it says.
Because there are four different dengue viruses, a person can be infected by the virus up to four times in their life. The symptoms include nausea, vomiting, aches and pains and a rash.
Also read: 17 more dengue cases reported
"There is no specific treatment for dengue or severe dengue. Early detection of disease progression associated with severe dengue, and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates of severe dengue to below 1 percent," according to the World Health Organization.
6 sentenced to death for double murder in N’ganj
A Narayanganj tribunal on Monday sentenced six people to death for killing a couple in 2009.
The condemned convicts are -Ariful Islam, 30, Jamal Hossain, 20, Sumon, 31, Md Sumon, Lokman and Shafique.
Of them, Md Sumon, Lokman and Shafique were tried in absentia.
Read: HC orders to set up information centre at SC within 60 days
According to the prosecution, Khadiza Begum, wife of Abdur Rahman of Ganganagar village in Rupganj upazila ,was found dead in a water body on August 11, 2009.
During investigation police came to know that Rahman had hired the six men at Tk 10,000 to kill his wife over family feud.
They took Khadiza to an abandoned place and violated her in turns. Later, they killed her and dumped the body in a water body.
The convicts killed Abdur Rahman too as he refused to give them the money and dumped the body there.
Read: Son gets life term for killing father in Khulna
Rupganj thana police registered a murder case after getting a complaint from Khadiza’s father.
After examining the records and 12 witnesses, Narayanganj Woman and Child Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Nazmul Haque handed down the punishment.
Private companies to be allowed to import rice: Minister
To keep the rice market stable, the government has taken a decision to allow private firms to import rice, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said on Monday.
“A summary of the meeting with resolution will be sent to the Prime Minister for final decision,” he said while talking to reporters after a meeting of Food Planning and Containment Committee at the Secretariat.
During the meeting, discussion was held on duty-free rice import after ensuring that farmers and others concerned are not affected by the decision, he said.
Also read: Rice price coming down after anti-hoarding drive: Food Minister
However, the final decision will come from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Talking about the drives against illegal hoarding of rice, Sadhan said already people have started getting the benefits of the drives and the drives against illegal ricer hoarders will continue.
Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Md Tajul Islam, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim and State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Md Enamur Rahman were present at the virtual meeting.
Also read: Rice cannot be packaged for sale after buying those from open market: Minister