A total of 21 arson incidents were reported across Bangladesh from 4:00 am on Sunday (November 05, 2023) to 6:00 pm on Monday, (November 06, 2023), according to the Fire Service and Civil Defence. Of these, 12 arson attacks were reported in Dhaka City Corporation areas, said Talha Bin Jasim, station officer of Fire Service and Civil Defense media cell on Monday. Read: Fire Service records 12 arson incidents across country in 11 hrs till Sunday morning The fire official said a total of 16 incidents of arson were reported in Dhaka division, and four in Chattogram division. A total of 16 buses, two trucks, one private car, one CNG-run autorickshaw, and one human hauler were torched during this period. Read: 3-day blockade: 16 arson attacks till this morning, says Fire Service  Forty-one units from the Fire Service and Civil Defence, along with 242 firefighters, were engaged to extinguish the blazes, added the fire officer.

The High Court on Tuesday asked the two city corporations in Dhaka to form a 7-member committee for each ward to examine the sewerage and gas pipelines to ensure safety of the residents. The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Ahmed Sohel passed the order after hearing a writ petition. Chairman of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (Rajuk),  Managing Director of Titas Gas, Managing Director of Dhaka Wasa, Chief Executive Officer of Dhaka North and South City Corporations have been asked to form the seven-member monitoring committees involving experts from the departments concerned. The HC also asked the authorities concerned to take necessary measures for repairing if the committees find any fault in the sewerage and gas pipe lines and submit reports after every eight months. On March 12, a writ petition was filed with the High Court seeking necessary directives in connection with the explosions in Science Laboratory area and Siddique Bazar of Gulishtan that claimed lives of 28  people. Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, a human rights organization, filed the writ petition. Senior Advocate Manzill Murshid stood for the petitioner while assistant attorney general Toufique Sazawar represented the state. Also read: Blast in Science Lab area: Death toll rises to 4 The HC also issued a rule asking the government to explain why the inaction of the respondents in taking effective measures to ensure the safety of Dhaka residents and monitoring the establishments on regular basis, should not be declared illegal. Secretaries to the Housing and Public Works Ministry, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Local Government and Rural Development Ministry, Chairman of Rajuk, Managing Directors of Titas Gas and Dhaka Wasa, Chief Executive Officers of Dhaka North and South city corporations have been made respondents to the rule. Advocate Manzill Murshid, said “Authorities’ negligence was the main reason behind the explosions in Science Lab and Siddique Bazar areas. The authorities concerned do not check the sewerage and gas pipe lines of hundreds of establishments in Dhaka.”

Residents of the capital have been struggling with overhead cables for decades which is gradually increasing with time.

The newly-elected mayors and councillors of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) are going to take oath on Thursday.

BNP Wednesday demanded reelections to Dhaka south and north city corporations cancelling Saturday’s voting as the party said people’s opinion was not reflected in the polls.

Though the party joined the elections to the two Dhaka city corporations as part of its ‘movement’, BNP has failed to take its supporters and polling agents to polling stations during the voting on Saturday, exposing its political bankruptcy and weak leadership once again, say political analysts.

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday alleged the results of the elections to two Dhaka city corporations were announced as per the “government’s desire through a media coup”.

Rejecting the results of the elections to the two Dhaka city corporations, BNP has called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Dhaka for Sunday protesting ‘massive vote frauds.’

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday expressed displeasure against foreign diplomats for what he said interference in Bangladesh’s domestic affairs saying they should follow the code of conduct and apply their sense of responsibility.   

BNP senior leader Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Saturday said people are eagerly waiting for casting their votes for the ‘Sheaf of Paddy’ in the elections to Dhaka north and south city corporations.