Bangladesh
Bill placed in JS with provision of archiving all records
The Bangladesh National Archive Bill, 2021 was placed in Parliament on Sunday having a provision that no record can be destroyed.
The bill was brought to replace the National Archive Ordinance, 1983 in line with a High Court judgment.
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State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid placed the Bill and it was sent to the respective Parliamentary Standing Committee for further examination.
The committee was asked to submit its report within 30 days.
The provision of destroying any record has been dropped from the proposed law. So, no record stored in the archive can be destroyed.
The soft copies of classified documents will have to be stored in Kaliakoir Data Centre after a certain period of time.
There will be a 17 member advisory council for three years for the National Archives and its director general will be appointed by the government.
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As per the proposed law, National Archives will provide records to any individual upon application and providing applicable fees.
Regarding sending any file, which is above 75 years old and has historical, cultural and literature value, to abroad, it is needed to take permission from the Director General.
If the DG thinks that this will go against the country then the DG could deny to give permission.
The aggrieved person can apply to the government within 14 days of informing him officially and the decision of the government is final.
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If anyone temper or destroy or erase or hack any file of the Archive that person will be imprisoned for three years or fined Tk 20000 .
If anyone take any file from the Archive illegally, smuggle it abroad or take outside the Archive building with ill intension, that person will be imprisoned for five years or fined Tk one lakh.
Covid cases rising in Thakurgaon; 17 more detected
Seventeen more people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in Thakurgaon district in the past 24 hours till Sunday morning, showing a sharp rise in the number of Covid-19 cases.
Civil Surgeon Dr Mahfuzar Rahman said 17 people were found infected with the virus as per reports came from M Abdur Rahim Medical College, Dinajpur CDC, Sadar Hospital and upazila hospitals.
Read:Thakurgaon seals border areas to contain Covid
So far, 1,742 people have been found infected with the virus in the district. Of them, 1,575 people have recovered.
The death toll from the virus reached 38 in the district.
Deputy Commissioner of Thakurgaon Dr KM Kamruzzaman Selim said, “The district has been experiencing a rise in Covid-19 cases for the last several days and most of the Covid-19 cases have been reported from Baliadangi upazila, a frontier area.”
Read:7 cases of Indian Covid variant detected in Nawabganj: Doctor
According to sources at the Civil Surgeon office, three people were found infected with Covid-19 on May 29, seven on May 30, eight on May 31, 17 on June 2, 18 on June 3, two on June 4 and 17 on June 5.
Referring to the Indian variant of coronavirus, Dr Mahfuzar, said, “No Indian returnee has been found in the district so far.”
Talking about the health system in the district, the Civil Surgeon said a 50-bed corona unit has already been opened at Sadar Hospital while isolation wards at upazila health complexes have been prepared for treating Covid patients.
Read:Covid in Jashore: Movement of people restricted in 2 wards
Earlier, on Thursday, the border areas of Thakurgaon were sealed off in the wake of a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases in the district, officials said.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel have been asked to step up vigil along the border with India to prevent the spread of the Indian Covid-19 variant, said Lt Col Md Maksud, the commanding officer of BGB-50 Thakurgaon Battalion.
7 cases of Indian Covid variant detected in Nawabganj: Doctor
Health authorities have detected the cases of Indian variant of coronavirus in seven workers of Ashrayan Project in Nawabganj upazila, Keraniganj.
Upazila health officer Dr Mohammad Shahidul Islam said on Saturday night that 10 workers who came from Chapainawabganj district were tested for coronavirus and seven of them detected with the Indian variant.
Read: IEDCR study of 50 samples finds 40 are Delta
On May 18, the 10 workers came to join Matabpur Ashrayan Project at Nawabganj Keilile union. They all came in a truck along 63 other fellowmen.
As some of them had been suffering from cough, cold and fever, the authorities asked them on May 23 to provide their samples for Covid-19 tests but they refused to do so.
On May 25, a separate medical team was formed and it collected samples from some of the workers. After laboratory tests, the results of 10 workers came out Covid positive.
Apprehending the existence of Indian variant, the medical team sent the samples of the Covid-19 patients to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Dhaka where doctors detected seven, out of the 10, infected with Indian variant on June 3.
Read: 8 Indian variant cases identified in Jashore
Now all the infected patients are undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital (NIDCH), Dhaka.
“It’s a dangerous sign and all of them have been asked to follow the government's health safety protocols,” said Dr Shahidul.
The highly contagious Indian variant of the coronavirus was detected in Bangladesh for the first time on May 8.
Read: Covid patient infected with Indian variant held in Chandpur
Experts fear that Bangladesh may face the worst outbreak of the deadly virus by the end of June.
Bangladesh closed its border with India for any kind of movement except that of cargo on April 26 which was later extended till June 14 to control the spread of Coronavirus as the situation in the neighbouring country deteriorated.
Covid in Jashore: Movement of people restricted in 2 wards
The local administration has imposed a strict restriction on the movement of people in two wards of Jashore municipality following a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases.
Read: 8 Indian variant cases identified in Jashore
The local Corona prevention committee took the decision at an emergency meeting held on Saturday night over the overall Covid-19 situation in the district, said additional district magistrate Kazi Mohammad Sayemuzzaman, a member of the committee.
The residents of the two wards -- No 3 and 4 -- have been asked not to go outside their homes without any emergency reason. “Those who’ll violate the order will face legal action,” warned Sayemuzzaman.
According to health officials, they have recorded 33 new cases of Covid-19 from the two wards of the municipality till June 5, showing a significant rise in Covid-19 cases.
Read: Residents of Jashore village along 'Indiapara' worried about spread of new variant
Besides, the Abhaynagar upazila administration will impose the same restriction in ward No 5 and 6 of Nauapara municipality as the health authorities reported 18 and 11 cases respectively in these two wards.
Meanwhile, the authorities concerned have found 11 people with Covid-19 infections in No 4 Gadkhali union of Jhikargacha upazila.
Read: Separate quarantine centre for single women in Jashore
The committee also decided to identify the houses of those infected people and isolated them.
Global Covid-19 cases near 173 million
With new variants of Covid-19 spreading faster than ever before in several parts of the world, the global corona cases are now approaching 173 million.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total global case count reached 172,859, 512 while the death toll climbed to 3,718,408 on Sunday morning.
The US, the world's worst-hit country in terms of cases and deaths, have recorded 33,057,380 cases with 597,377 fatalities to date, as per the JHU data.
Neighbouring India’s total Covid case count is fast approaching the 29-million mark. The country’s caseload and fatalities stand at 28,694, 879 and 344,082, respectively, as of Sunday morning.
Brazil registered 1,689 more deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 472,531, the country’s health ministry said on Saturday.
READ: Global Covid deaths top 3.5 million
A total of 66,017 new infections were detected, raising the caseload to 16,907,425, the ministry said.
Brazil has the world's second highest Covid-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third largest caseload, behind the United States and India.
Situation in Bangladesh
As Coronavirus-related deaths and infections keep growing in Bangladesh, the country recorded 43 more deaths in the past 24 hours till Saturday morning.
Besides, 1,447 new cases were registered during the period, taking the country's caseload to 809,314.
With the latest death toll, the total number of fatalities rose to 12,801.
READ: Global Covid-19 cases hit 168 million
Bangladesh reported its first Covid cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.
Lockdown in districts
Due to the recent rise in Covid infections in frontier districts, district administrations have imposed lockdowns in Rajshahi, Khulna, Satkhira, Chapainawabganj, Teknaf upazila, five Rohingya camps and parts of Naogaon, Noakhali districts to curb the transmission of the virus.
The district administrations have been given the authority to enforce lockdowns in their areas if the Covid-19 situation worsens.
Vaccination drive
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses bought from India's Serum Institute.
Covid-19: Bangladesh registers 43 more deaths; positivity rate hits 11.03%
So far, four vaccines – Oxford-AstraZeneca (Covishield), Sputnik-V, Sinopharm, and Pfizer-BioNTech – have got the authorisation for emergency use in the country.
Meanwhile, seven million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine reached Bangladesh, and the governments of India and China gave 3.2 million doses and 500,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine as gifts.
However, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to vaccine shortage amid a delay in the arrival of shipments from India.
Areas in Dhaka where gas supply to be suspended Sunday
Gas supply will remain suspended for 4 hours from 1 pm to 5 pm at different areas in the city on Sunday.
According to Titas Gas Supply and Transmission Company Ltd, the areas include Kamlapur Rail Station to Titipara slum, Saydabad bus terminal, Mugda, Golapbagh, Beltala, Maniknagar, Atish Dipankar Road, RK Mission Road, Gopinagh, Uttar Jatrabari, Dhalpur.
Also read: Gas supply disrupted in Narayanganj, Munshiganj
The gas disruption will take place due to relocation works of gas pipeline from Titipara to Golapbagh to facilitate the implementation of the Padma Bridge Rail project, said Titas Gas.
It also said the consumers in the areas adjacent to those named above may experience low pressure for the relocation works.
Also read: No gas supply to several capital areas Thursday
Environmental Sustainability: Dekko ISHO joins hands with Eco Via
Dekko ISHO Group has signed a monetary and strategic capital investment agreement with Eco Via, a bioplastic initiative with its own innovation in compostable polymer, led by three young entrepreneurs from Dhaka.
The signing ceremony was held in Dekko ISHO’s corporate office and attended by Prottoy Hossain, Director of Dekko ISHO Group, and the co-founders of Eco Via: Rashik Hassan, Riasat Zaman, and Ashfaqul Azam.
“This endeavor is a step towards integrating more sustainable practices in our business operations,” said Prottoy Hossain, Director.
He said they believe Eco Via will play a big role in ensuring global environmental sustainability and they are proud to be a part of their future endeavors.
Also read: PM calls for massive tree plantation to save environment
Demand raised for formation of environment clubs
Speakers at a virtual discussion laid emphasis on the formation of environment clubs in all the educational institutions across the country to raise awareness among the new generation about the conservation of nature and biodiversity.
They also urged the young generation to strengthen the movement to protect the environment with their active participation and thus force the authorities to take effective steps in this regard.
Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba), a voluntary environmental organisation, arranged the discussion, marking World Environment Day.
Speaking at the programme as the chief guest, former Dhaka University (DU) Vice-Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique said awareness among the people of all walks of life is necessary to protect the environment. “Nature can’t be destroyed with our greed for wealth.”
Also read: PM calls for massive tree plantation to save environment
He said various harmful viruses are spreading while disasters are emerging due to attacks on nature and onslaughts on the environment. “So, the young generation should play an active role in saving the environment and biodiversity.”
Prof Arefin said environmental awareness and education among the new generation is necessary to check the pollution and protect nature.
“We’ve to try to bring nature back to its old order. It's encouraging that the young people are coming forward and getting involved in various initiatives to protect the environment,” he observed.
Poba general secretary Eng Abdus Sobhan said, “We need concerted efforts to protect the environment and nature. Active participation of people from all walks of life, especially the youth, are necessary in this regard.”
Also read: Kerry in Dhaka to convey Biden's commitment to environment
He said sustainable development without harming the environment will be possible only if the young generation can understand the extent of the damages being done to the ecosystem in the name of unplanned development.
Poba chairman Abu Naser Khan, green activist MA Waheed Russell, Poba secretaries Mesbah Sumon and Nishat Mahmud, Green Force member Farzana Yasmeen Poppy and Dhaka University Environment Parliament President Abu Sadat Sayem, among others, spoke at the programme.
Lightning strikes kill four in Dhaka amid rain
Four people, including three children, were killed by lightning strikes in Malibagh Chowdhurypara and Adabar areas in the capital during rains on Thursday.
The victims were identified as Sabina Pakhi, 10, Shoma alias Jhoma, 12, Abdul Hoque, 65, and Alu, 14.
Deputy Commissioner (Tejgaon Division) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Md Shahidullah told UNB that thunderbolts struck them between 2:00pm and 2:30 pm.
Of them, two children and a sexagenarian man were killed near Malibagh Abul Hotel under Hatirjheel police station while another girl, aged around 14, died in Adabar area, he said.
Also read: Lightning strikes to kill 3 in Chapainawabganj
Sources at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) said when Sabina Pakhi and Shoma alias Jhoma were playing in front of their tin-shed house a lightning strike hit them around 2:15 pm, leaving them unconscious, said Habib, who rescued Pakhi and took her to the DMCH.
New budget proposals inadequate in tackling poverty, say rights groups
Several rights groups on Saturday termed the revenue collection strategy in the budget proposals for 2021-22 fiscal as inadequate in tackling the poverty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The budget lacks in direction to ensure justice in the redistribution of proposed budget resources, they said at a virtual press conference of the groups and networks led by EquityBD.
EquityBD Chief Moderator Rezaul Karim Chowdhury conducted the event, while Ahsanul Karim of the same organization presented the written points.
Ahsanul said the finance minister did not mention anything about recovery approach of the poor and the middle class, even though it plans to collect Tk. 3.30 trillion in revenue and expanded tax and VAT in rural areas.
Also read: New budget unveiled with focus on protecting lives and livelihoods
This is a discriminatory approach in present situation of unemployment and redistributive justice, they said.
The activists also demanded an overall reformation of the banking sector aimed at curbing illicit money laundering from the country.
“Better the government should declare at least VAT exemption on daily essentials to ease the livelihood pressure on poor and middle classes”, he said.
He put five demands: strengthen governance mechanism and its practices in financial sector especially in bank sector; capacitate NBR with modern technologies to strengthen the income tax collection; declaration of VAT exemption for poor and middle classes on at least on ten daily essentials and declare unemployment allowance for job losers as direct financial support package.
Government must take necessary step in reducing corruption in all sector specially focusing on public procurement practices, he said.
Also read: New budget: Tracking prices going up and down
Md. Abdul Awal from SUPRO [Campaign for Good Governance], Md. Hasan Mehedi of CLEAN [Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network], Syed Aminul Hoque of EquityBd and Md. Mostafa Kamal Akand from COAST Foundation also spoke in the press conference.
Abdul Awal said that government’s development ideology and budgeting plan is somehow unable to reach the poor and marginal people.
Hasan Mehedi said that country’s debt burden is now around 40% of GDP and the proposed borrowing plan will increase the burden again indeed.
Rezaul Karim said that government has created confusion on black money whitening.
The proposed budget, he said, is silent on how to stop capital flight which could be a great source of resource mobilization. This is an injustice considering the values of the Liberation War, he added.