bangladesh
Drives against illegal rice hoarders begin
The government launched drives across the country against illegal rice hoarders from Tuesday, said the Food Ministry.
Eight teams of the ministry started the drives to detect those who are involved in creating artificial crisis by hoarding rice illegally and they will take legal steps against them, according to an official release.
Also read: Cabinet orders prompt action against rice hoarders
The decision was taken at a meeting with Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder in the chair, held at the Secretariat.
The meeting also decided to send letters to the deputy commissioners, upazila nirbahi officers, National Security Intelligence, Rapid Action Battalion and Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection to tackle the crisis created by illegal hoarding of rice.
The Food Ministry also opened a control room and people have been requested to inform them about illegal rice hoarding by making phone call on +88022233802113, 01790499942 and 01713003506.
The Cabinet on Monday directed the relevant authorities to find out why the rice price is so high during the peak harvest season.
Also read:Strict action if anyone tries to destabilise rice market: Food Minister
The directive came from the Cabinet meeting held with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at her office.
The meeting decided to conduct drives against illegal rice hoarders like the recent drives carried out against the edible oil hoarders in the country, said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam.
Kurigram: 5 Indians freed after jail term for illegal entry
Kurigram district jail authorities on Tuesday released five Indian nationals who had been jailed for illegally entering Bangladesh with drugs.
The five Indians are Alam Mia, son of Dudu Mia from Bengal's Cooch Behar district, Md Nuruzzaman, son of Surut Mia from Dhubri district in Assam, Selim Mia, son of Nur Islam from Mainkarchar, Jahangir Alam, son of Amirul Islam, and Maha Alam Sheikh, son of Sanowar Hossain, Md Ismail Hossain, Superintendent of Kurigram jail.
Also read: Bangladeshi man shot dead by Indian Khashias; BSF hands over body
However, two others -- Akbar Ali and Golzar Ali from Dhubri district -- will have to remain in prison as they didn't receive clearance from the Indian government though their jail term expired on February 1, 2022, he said.
“At 7am, the five Indians were released from the jail and taken to the Burimari land port. There they will be handed to Border Security Force,” said Kurigram jail superintendent Ismail Hossain.
The seven Indian citizens were arrested on charges of possession of drugs and illegal entry, he said.
Also read:Illegal Indian products worth Tk 30cr seized in 10 months at Benapole border
“Those who were released had to spend an extra six months in jail after serving their sentences, which is a serious violation of human rights," said advocate SM Ibrahim Lincoln, convener of Border Victim Rescue Legal Assistance Forum.
"There are many like them in jails of both the countries. The Indian and Bangladeshi governments should take initiatives to return the inmates immediately after the end of their jail terms,” he added.
Kishoreganj ferry tragedy: Woman drowns, child goes missing
A 50-year-old woman drowned while a child went missing after a ferry capsized in the Dhanu river of the district's Itna upazila Tuesday morning.
The deceased was identified as Mahal Begum, wife of late Salek Miah of Charpara area of Mithamoin upazila. The missing child has been identified as Rahmotullah, 3, from Itna Sadar upazila.
Read: Maritime ports told to warn vessels of deep convection in North Bay
Kamrul Islam Mollah, officer-in-charge of Itna Police Station, said the ferry carrying 40-50 passengers sank in the river at 9am while crossing the Elongjuri Bazarghat area.
Except the two, all the passengers of the ferry, coming from Mithamoin, managed to swim ashore, he said. "Divers of the fire services have been pressed into action."
Read: Bangladesh bans fishing in Sundarbans for 3 months
US stands by Bangladesh as a steadfast dev partner: Ambassador Haas
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas on Tuesday said his country will remain a “steadfast partner” of Bangladesh in its journey towards further development.
"The United States should remain the same steadfast partner to Bangladesh for the next fifty years as it has been over the past fifty years," he said, mentioning three things that he plans to report when he gets to Washington.
Ambassador Haas has been here in Bangladesh for about three months, and he is about to go on his first trip to Washington since he arrived here.
Read: Bangladesh, US celebrate cooperation in livestock
"While I am there, I plan to meet with a number of U.S. government officials, congressional staffers, NGOs, and businesspeople to discuss my experiences and observations in this country so far," said the US envoy.
Haas mentioned that he will say in Washington that in the last 50 years, Bangladesh had had no better friend than the United States. “And that it will have no better friend over the next 50 years.”
He said both the successes of Bangladesh and the challenges it faces are real.
Ambassador Haas was delivering his speech at "DCAB Talk" hosted by Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at Jatiya Press Club.
DCAB President Rezaul Karim Lotus moderated the programme while its General Secretary AKM Moinuddin delivered welcome remarks.
Haas said Bangladesh will soon graduate from Least Developed Country status, and it is steadily progressing towards becoming a middle-income country. “These accomplishments are real, tangible, and truly extraordinary.”
The envoy said Bangladesh’s geography on a low-lying river delta, with a long coastline and large floodplains, makes it extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
He said when it comes to democracy and human rights, the United States raised their concerns publicly and privately.
He reiterated they are concerned about press freedom, especially the Digital Security Act, and several draft laws and regulations that could inhibit press freedom.
Read: Rohingya repatriation should be UNHCR's priority: Momen
“We are concerned about human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances,” Ambassador Haas said.
On December 10, 2021, Human Rights Day, the United States imposed sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion and some of its officials based on what he said “credible evidence” of serious human rights abuse.
He said they are also concerned about insufficient labor rights and poor working conditions in Bangladesh.
These concerns, unfortunately, cost Bangladesh access to the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences trade benefit, or GSP, in 2013, he mentioned, adding that they are also causing Bangladesh to miss out on the US Development Finance Corporation, a massive source of investment capital from the United States.
He said they are ready to continue to work with Bangladesh and build on the progress they have made together in food security, health, and reducing poverty – while identifying new and innovative approaches to address issues like climate change, promoting democratic principles, and sustaining Bangladesh’s impressive economic growth.
PM offers Fateha at the mazar of Bangabandhu in Tungipara
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday offered prayers at the mazar of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Tungipara of Gopalganj.Accompanied by her sister and Bangabandhu’s younger daughter Sheikh Rehana, she offered Fateha and joined a munajat seeking eternal peace of departed souls of the Father of the Nation and other martyrs of August 15, 1975 massacre.Prayers were also offered seeking divine blessings for good health and long life of Hasina and Rehana and their family members as well as continued peace, progress and prosperity of the country.
Also read: PM: Padma Bridge brightens Bangladesh’s image as a bold nationThe prime minister also offered prayers at the graves of her grandfather and Bangabandhu's father Sheikh Lutfar Rahman and grandmother Sheikh Sahera Khatun in Tungipara.
22-yr-old biker killed in B'baria road crash
A young man was killed after his bike veered off the road and plunged into a roadside ditch in Nasirnagar upazila of Brahmanbaria on Monday night, police said.
The deceased was identified as Billal Khandakar, 22, son of Yusuf Miah of Sadar upazila. His friend, Tamal, 30, president of Nasirnagar Government College Chhatra League, has been hospitalised.
Read: 6 kids drown in 3 districts
The accident occurred at 11.30pm Monday when Billal lost control of his speeding bike, police said. The crash left both Billal and his friend severely injured.
Locals rushed them to Upazila Health Complex. Later, they were transferred to Zila Sadar hospital, where Billal succumbed to his injuries around 12.45am.
Read: Khulna bus operators' stir from Wednesday
Tamal is battling for his life at a hospital in Dhaka, where he has been shifted.
The body has been kept in the hospital morgue for an autopsy, said ASM Atiqur Rahman, an inspector at Nasirnagar police station.
Trader stabbed to death in Narail
A 55-year-old trader was stabbed to death allegedly by his rivals in Telkara village of the district's Lohagara upazila on Monday night.
The deceased was identified as Nizam Sheikh, son of Peta Sheikh of the village. He was a vegetable vendor in Baradia Bazar.
Police suspect the murder was a fallout of an old rivalry between two groups of villagers over establishing supremacy.
Also read: Trader stabbed dead in Faridpur
Around 9pm on Monday, a group of assailants attacked Nizam and stabbed him indiscriminately, leaving him dead on spot, said Sheikh Abu Hena Milon, officer-in-charge of Lohagara police station.
The body has been kept at the morgue of the local government hospital for an autopsy. “Efforts are on to nab the culprits,” said the officer.
Also read: College student stabbed dead in Ctg
Maritime ports told to warn vessels of deep convection in North Bay
The maritime ports of Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla and Payra have been advised to hoist at the mast local cautionary signal three to alert vessels of a deep convection in the Bay of Bengal.
Squally weather is likely to affect the maritime ports, the North Bay, and the adjoining coastal areas of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department in a bulletin on Tuesday.
Read: Bangladesh bans fishing in Sundarbans for 3 months
"All fishing boats and trawlers in the North Bay and the deep sea have been advised to come closer to the coast and proceed with caution until further notice," it added.
Deep convection refers to the thermally driven turbulent mixing that moves air parcels from the lower to the upper atmosphere.
Bangladesh bans fishing in Sundarbans for 3 months
The forest department has announced a three-month ban on tourism and fishing in the Sundarbans from June 1.
"These three months are the breeding season for most of the species of fish and hence the imposition of the ban in accordance with the Integrated Resources Management Plan (IRMP)," said Md Belayet Hossain, divisional forest officer (DFO-east) of the Sundarbans.
“The forest department has already stopped issuing entry permits to implement the ban, and vigil in the mangrove forest will also be increased,” he said.
Also read: Six held for illegally netting fish in Sundarbans
Usually the ban remains in force from July 1 to August 31. "But this year we are imposing the ban a month before in coordination with the Ministry of Fisheries,” the DFO said.
"This ban will help in the breeding and preservation of fish," he added.
ln the 6,017 sq km Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans, there are 210 species of white fish, 24 species of shrimp, 14 species of crabs, 43 species of Mollusca and one species of lobster.
Also read: 7 fishermen held for illegally catching fish in Sundarbans
Khulna bus operators' stir from Wednesday
Private bus operators in Khulna have announced an indefinite strike from June 1, in demand for a crackdown on vehicles, particularly three-wheelers, not authorised to ply on roads and highways.
The strike call was given by the operators under the aegis of the Khulna District Bus-Minibus Coach Owners Association and the Bus-Minibus Coach Owners-Workers Unity Council on Monday.
Read: 59-year-old woman 'ends life' in Rajshahi
The decision was taken at a meeting of a joint committee of the two associations, said Anwar Hossain Sona, joint secretary of the Khulna District Bus-Minibus Coach Owners Association.
"Not only are accidents rising on Khulna roads and highways, but also bus operators are suffering losses due to the movement of these unauthorised vehicles," he said.
Read: Bus strike hits commuters hard across country
Earlier, the administration was given time till Monday (May 30) to stop the movement of illegal vehicles on the roads and highways.
"As no initiative was taken to meet our demand, buses in Khulna will stay off the roads indefinitely from Wednesday as per our previously announced programme,” Anwar said.