Dhaka
2 held with Yaba worth over Tk 1 cr in Dhaka
Police arrested two drug peddlers with 35,000 pieces of Yaba worth Tk 1.05 crore from Aftabnagar in the capital on Tuesday.The arrestees were identified as Jomirul Islam, 45, of Kulia village in Jamalpur district and Belaluddin Mridha, 55, of Basudebpur village in Natore.Acting on a tip-off, a team of DMP's Badda Thana police conducted drives in the capital's Aftabnagar area and first arrested Jomirul with 2,000 pieces of yaba, said a media statement.
Read: 3 held with 13000 yaba pills in cityLater, based on the information given by Jomirul the law enforcers conducted a drive again in Aftabnagaar's Eastern Housing area and arrested Belal with 33,000 pieces of yaba, added the release.A case was filed at Badda police station against the accused, it said.
Ground handling work of HSIA-3rd Terminal to be outsourced to international standard organization
Aiming to serve passengers using the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport as best as possible, the ground handling work of the new terminal will be outsourced to an international standard organization.The organisation can be local or any foreign company but its standard must be international, Chairman of Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB) Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Mafidur Rahman told UNB.He said the international quality organization does not mean only foreign companies. It can be domestic or foreign. “We will select the organisation according to its quality," he said.According to CAAB sources, passengers at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) have been facing problems like the mishandling of luggage due to various irregularities and mismanagement of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, which has been doing the ground handling itself for many years now. Taking into consideration the issue of passengers suffering, the ground and cargo handling activities of the new third terminal will be outsourced to an international quality organization.The chairman said that Biman Bangladesh Airlines has been asked several times to take care of every single luggage. They were even asked to treat luggage as passengers, but they did not listen which is really unfortunate."We want to provide international quality service where passengers will not have any complaints," he said. At the same time, it will help to increase the government's income, he added.State minister for civil aviation and tourism Mahbub Ali told UNB, "We are thinking of inviting an international tender for the ground handling of the third terminal. Only those who are considered eligible by following all the rules and conditions will get the work. Our aim is to provide better service to passengers, for that we will do everything possible.”“No compromise will be made over the quality of the work of this terminal. Only quality products specified in the tender will be supplied for this project, nothing else will be accepted. Anything that causes loss to the state or people will not be tolerated here,” he said. "The organizations which are doing ground handling in developed countries will be selected. We will not compromise with anyone on the quality of airport services."The junior minister said they want to provide quality and hassle-free service to every passenger as in developed countries.
Also read: Dhaka airport's 3rd terminal to open in Oct 2023: State Minister
“We want Justice, why did our brother die?”
Students of Government Science School and College today (September 12, 2022) blocked roads in Dhaka’s Farmgate area, demanding safe roads and protesting the death of a fellow student in a road accident in Tejgaon area yesterday.
A number of students of the school took to the street around 11:50 am, in front of the Farmgate Police Box, demanding road safety, according to the UNB photographer.
Read “No single nation can address evolving tech-based crimes on its own”
Dhaka’s air turns ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’
After a marked improvement, Dhaka's air quality slipped back to the 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' category on Monday.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 102 at 9 am, the metropolis ranked 16th in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.
Pakistan’s Lahore, China’s Chengdu and the UAE’s Dubai occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 176, 161 and 161, respectively.
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.
Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.
Read: Dhaka’s air quality remains ‘unhealthy’
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.
Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.
A report by the Department of Environment (DoE) and the World Bank in March 2019 pointed out that the three main sources of air pollution in Dhaka "are brick kilns, fumes from vehicles and dust from construction sites".
With the advent of winter, the city’s air quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the massive discharge of pollutant particles from construction work, rundown roads, brick kilns and other sources.
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
Hawkers protest DSCC eviction drive in Gulistan
Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) authority today (September 11, 2022) conducted a drive to evict hawkers from the city’s important roads.
On September 7, DSCC Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh said that no hawkers will be allowed on important roads – marked “red” – under DSCC from this week.
Read No hawkers on important South Dhaka roads from next week: Taposh
Schoolboy killed in Dhaka road crash
A schoolboy was killed as an unidentified vehicle hit him in the city’s Tejgaon area on Sunday morning.
The deceased was identified as Ali Hossain, 16, a resident of the area and a class X student of Government Science College.
The speeding vehicle hit Hossain in front of Bangladesh Government (BG) Press in Tejgaon industrial area around 7:30 am when he was going for his coaching classes, leaving him seriously injured, said Hossain’s father Azmir Matbor.
Read: College student killed in Narayanganj road accident
Locals rushed him to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) where doctors declared him dead, said DMCH police outpost in-charge inspector Md Bacchu Mia.
The body has been kept in the hospital morgue, he said.
Dhaka’s air quality turns ‘moderate’
Dhaka's air quality has turned ‘moderate’.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 75 at 9 am today (September 11, 2022), the densely populated metropolis ranked 29th in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.
An AQI between 50 and 100 is considered ‘moderate’ with an acceptable air quality. However, there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
Read: Dhaka’s air quality remains ‘unhealthy’
The USA’s Seattle, Pakistan’s Lahore and the USA’s Portland occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 170, 163 and 152, respectively.
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.
Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.
Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.
With the advent of winter, the city’s air quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the massive discharge of pollutant particles from construction work, rundown roads, brick kilns and other sources.
Read: Dhaka’s air quality now ‘moderate'
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
Restaurant catches fire in city
A fire broke out at a restaurant in the city’s Jatrabari area early today (September 11, 2022).
The fire broke out at ‘Urbane restaurant’ in north Jatrabari around 6am, said Anwarul Islam, warehouse inspector of (Media cell) of fire service and civil defence headquarters.
Read: Kushtia filling station fire: Death toll rises to 5
On information, ten firefighting units rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control at 8am.
The origin of the fire and the extent of damages could not be known immediately, said Anwarul.
Read: Two shops gutted in Dhaka market fire
BNP to intensify movement in Dhaka city with 16 rallies in September
As part of the party’s move to intensify its ongoing ant-government movement, BNP has drawn up a program of public rallies at 16 spots in Dhaka city till September 27, in protest against the increase in transport fares, and the prices of essentials and fuel oils.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the programme, to be organized jointly by the party’s Dhaka North and Dhaka South units, from a rally in front of the party’s Nayapaltan central office.
The rallies are also meant for registering the party’s protest against the killings of Bhola Chhatra Dal leader Noor-e-Alam, Swechchasebak Dal leader Abdur Rahim and Narayanganj Jubo Dal leader Shaon Prodhan.
Fakhrul said, “We’ve initiated a movement and it’ll continue. We would arrange protest rallies at 16 spots of the capital, including this one, until September 27.”
Once these programmes are observed, he said they will announce the next programmes of action across the country. “Join the movement,” Fakhrul urged.
As part of the programmes, a rally arranged by Dhaka south city unit’s Motijheel, Paltan and Shahjahanpur zone was arranged in front of the BNP central office today (on Saturday).
Read: Get ready for final push against AL govt: Fakhrul to BNP activist
The party’s Uttara east zone will arrange a rally on September 11 (tomorrow)while Shahbagh and Ramna on September 12 in front of Dhaka Reporters’ Unity, Uttara west zone on September 13, Pallabi zone on September 15, Sutrapur and Dholaikhal on September 16, Postagola on September 18, Gulshan on September 19, Basabo on September 20, Mirpur on September 21, Konapara on September 22, Mohammadpur on September 23, Kamrangirchar on September 24, Badda September 25, Kalabagan zone September 26 and finally Tejgaon zone on September 27.
Besides, he said Dhaka south and north city units will arrange a silent sit-in programme by holding candles on September 27.
Fakhrul said strong unity of people is now necessary for the restoration of democracy and getting rid of misrule through an effective movement.
The BNP has been organising demonstrations across the country since the government raised fuel prices and adopted the Loadshedding policy.
BNP has also been alleging that their three activists were killed while over 1,000 were injured as police and ruling party men worked together to attacked the party’s programmes in different parts of the country.
Parts of Dhaka to face 24-hour gas supply disruption Thursday
Gas supplies will remain suspended in different parts of the capital for 24 hours – from 8am to 8pm – Thursday due to an emergency shutdown of the system.
The areas that will see the 24-hour supply shutdown include Evercare Hospital, North South University and the US Embassy in the Bashundhara area, according to Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company.
The consumers in Uttara residential area may experience low pressure in their gas supplies as well, the distribution company said.
Read: Gas supply to remain suspended in B'baria for 3 days