Bangladesh
Country pushes against heat wave setting new record in power generation on consecutive days
The country set a new record by generating 16,233 MW of electricity at 9pm on Monday, said the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.
Right at this moment, an external heatwave is prevailing in the country, said the ministry, adding the Power Division has been working sincerely to produce uninterrupted power in order to give a relief to the public.
The previous record in power generation was 15,666 MW, just a day earlier on Sunday.
Enrolling in universal pension scheme can relieve old age worries: Agriculture Minister
Agriculture Minister Md Abdus Shahid on Monday said if anyone joins the universal pension scheme, they don’t need to worry about life after retirement.
“This pension system will ensure financial security during retirement,” he said, adding that Sheikh Hasina introduced the pension scheme for the welfare of all the people.
The minister made these remarks while addressing a motivational meeting on the universal pension scheme and pension fair in Moulvibazar Shilpakala Academy auditorium, said a PID handout.
He said family members do not take proper care of the elderly persons in some cases and even leave the elderly members in old age homes.
“In this case, the pension scheme is very important. So, if anyone joins the pension scheme, the person doesn’t need to worry (about financial security) during old age,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner Urmi Binte Salam presided over the meeting while local Member of Parliament (MP) Mohammad Zillur Rahman and Superintendent of Police Monzur Rahman, among others, spoke on the occasion.
People from all classes including chairmen and members from 67 Union Parishads of seven upazilas participated in the meeting.
4 including 2 children dead after bus ran them over in Cumilla
Four members of a family, including two children, died after a speedy bus ran them over in Cumilla.
The deceased were identified as Shahinur Akhter, 25, her daughters Saima, 7, Raima, 2, and her mother-in-law Bilbunnesa, 55.
They were hit by a Dhaka-bound bus while crossing the road in Daudkandi upazila's Raypur area. They were on their way home from the doctor's chamber.
Locals rushed them to the Upazila Health Complex, where the duty doctor declared three of them dead. One of the children died on the way to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).
The bus fled the scene, said Cumilla Additional Superintendent of Police Shamsul Alam.
An operation is underway to nab the killer bus and its driver.
65-year-old prisoner of Dhaka Central Jail dies at DMCH
A 65-year-old prisoner of Dhaka Central Jail died at Dhaka Medical College (DMCH) Hospital on Monday.
Prisoner Azhar Ali died around 6 pm.
He was admitted to DMCH on April 12.
DMCH Police Outpost Assistant Sub-inspector (ASI) Md Masud Mia, said the body has been kept in the hospital morgue for an autopsy.
It could not be known immediately what case he was arrested for.
Rescued sailors in sound health of mind, body
The 23 seafarers who arrived in Sharjah of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday, are mentally and physically sound.
Though health check-ups of the sailors and other security issues will be evaluated thoroughly within short possible time, according to a message received from Dubai.
MV Abdullah, a commercial vessel owned by KSRM group of Bangladesh, was freed from Somali pirates on April 14 after remaining captivated for 31 days.
The MV Abdullah arrived at Al Hamrya port Sharjah of UAE on April 22.
After processing some port regulations, the ship will discharge coal that it was bringing from South Africa, in Al Hamrya port and will set for next assignment.
This release process was successfully done without any damage to the ship or any casualties by the effective communication of concerned authorities of Bangladesh Government, KSRM, embassy of Bangladesh in the UAE, the message reads.
Loadshedding hits 1000MW amid soaring demand spurred by heat
The country experienced about 1000 MW of load shedding in electricity supply on Monday against soaring demand. According to the National Load Dispatch Centre (NLDC) at the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB), the country’s demand was recorded at 15,220 MW at 3pm on Monday, when the load shedding was 996 MW.
On the other hand, the demand forecast for Monday evening was 15,666 MW and supply forecast was 16,200 MW.
According to official sources, maximum burden of the loadshedding was diverted to rural areas, as part of a policy to avert power outages in capital Dhaka and other large cities. Reports from different areas said the extent of loadshedding is aggravating the plight of the rural people amid the sweltering heat this summer.
Meanwhile, state-owned Petrobangla’s official data shows that the country’s gas production was 3,046 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) against a demand for 3,760 MW.
It shows that a good number of power plants, specifically those using gas as their primary fuel, remained off generation due to gas shortage.
The power plants received a supply of 1349.9 MMCFD gas against their demand for 2316.9 MMCFD, the data shows.
1 killed, 7 hurt as bus crashes into tree in Sirajganj
A 24-year-old youth was killed and seven others sustained injuries as a bus crashed into a tree at Tetiarkandi in Shahjadpur Upazila of Sirajganj on the Bogra-Nagarbari highway on Sunday.
The deceased was identified as Al Shamim, son of Rashedul Islam Abu of Madhupur village of Sujanagar upazila of Pabna district.
The identities of the injured could not be known immediately.
Two CUET students on motorcycle killed by speeding bus in Chattogram
Md Monirul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Hatikumrul Highway Police Station, said a bus of C-Line Paribahan was heading towards Dhaka from Pabna.
The driver lost control over the steering when it reached Tetiarkandi area and hit a tree, leaving eight people wounded.
At that time, the entire roof of the bus fell off.
BSF shoots another Bangladeshi dead along border, this time in Kasba
On information, police rescued the injured from the spot and admitted them to Shahjadpur Upazila Health Complex, where Al Shamim succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment.
The injured are receiving treatment at various hospitals including the health complex.
Of the injured, 4 people are in critical condition, added the OC.
A case was filed at the police station in this regard, he said.
130 joint secretaries promoted to additional secy
The government has promoted 130 joint secretaries to additional secretaries, raising the number of additional secretaries to 415.
The Public Administration Ministry issued a notification in this regard on Monday.
According to the ministry sources, there are 212 permanent posts of additional secretary and with this the total number of additional secretaries reached to 415.
Among the promoted secretaries, three are in lien, or deputisation at outside bodies.
Two CUET students on motorcycle killed by speeding bus in Chattogram
Two students of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) were killed after a speeding bus knocked down their motorcycle on Kaptai road in Chattogram on Monday.
The victims were Shanta Saha (ID-2001100), a student of the 20th batch of Civil Engineering Department and Toufiq Hossain (ID-2101006), of the same department of '21 batch.
BSF shoots another Bangladeshi dead along border, this time in Kasba
Shanto Saha was the son of Kajal Saha of Narsingdi and Taufiq Hossain was the son of Mohammad Delwar of New College Road of Noakhali's Sudharam.
The crash occurred around 3:30pm in the area adjacent to Selina Quader Chowdhury College on Chattogram Kaptai Road on Monday (April 22).
Bishwanath village in shock as minor cousins drown in pond
Fazlur Rahman, Deputy Director (Public Relations) CUET, said Shanto Saha's body was kept at Chittagong Medical College Hospital while Taufiq's body was in Evercare Hospital.
The bodies would be handed over to their families after due procedures, he added.
No bar on unionisation in any factory: Law Minister tells USTR delegation
Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq has said workers of any factory can form a labor union from now on.
He said this while talking to reporters after a meeting with the US trade delegation in his office at the Secretariat on Monday (April 22).
“They mainly discussed the labor laws of Bangladesh, workers' rights and what we are doing. Their important question was - what is the current situation of the amendment of the Bangladesh Labor Act, what is being done? They wanted to know about eleven issues and how much progress has been made in this regard,” the minister said.
The delegation’s first question was about the threshold (percentage of workers required to form a trade union).
The minister also said, they informed the delegation about the new decision of keeping no threshold for forming a trade union.
“First, around 2016, it was 30 percent. When we went to the International Labor Organization (ILO) conference in 2017, it was decided to bring this threshold to 20 percent,” he said.
“During the last amendment, the first proposal was to bring it down from 20 percent to 15 percent. But there was a caveat, it would be applicable only for factories employing 3,000 or more workers,” said Anisul Huq.
But that limit has also been lifted, said the law minister, adding “We have informed the US representatives that too.”
The minister said that after hearing about the labor laws and rights, the US representative expressed satisfaction. “After this discussion, the US representatives told me that they were satisfied,” he said.