Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, a renowned economist and policy analyst, has disclosed that significant irregularities have been uncovered within Bangladesh's banking and energy sectors over the past 15 years. Debapriya made the statement during a dialogue on the ‘Current Economic Situation and Launching of Open Budget Survey 2023 Results’ held at the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) on Thursday. Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID), International Budget Partnership (IBP) and Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) jointly organised the event. The committee on the ‘White Paper on the State of Bangladesh Economy’ is set to submit its final report on the financial sector to the chief adviser on Sunday, with plans to publicly disclose it on Monday, he said. He pointed out that huge looting had taken place, particularly in the banking and energy sectors, and these issues will be highlighted in the forthcoming report. "The committee formed by the government to prepare the white paper was given three months' time. Our work has already been completed. We have received millions of data. Editing is underway. Hopefully, we will hand it over to the chief advisor next Sunday," Debapriya said. Read: Employees to face action for graft, irregularities; land ministry issues circular He went on to say, "Many initiatives have been taken to bring about changes in the economy through the change of government. If we cannot return the wealth that has been created through corruption to the people, what kind of revolution is that?" Debapriya explained that the white paper committee had prepared the report after three months of discussions, reviews, data collection, and verification, involving secretaries, businessmen, citizens and relevant individuals and institutions. The 12-member committee was formed on August 28, under the leadership of economist Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, to highlight the overall economic situation of the country. The committee has been reviewing both the sector-wise and macroeconomic conditions. Read more: Islami Bank appoints 4 audit firms to investigate irregularities post S Alam Group takeover Dr M Abu Eusuf, a Professor at the University of Dhaka; Dr MA Razzaque, the Chairman of RAPID; Shawakat Hossain Masum, the Head of Online at Prothom Alo; Anarul Kabir, a Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance; Mohammad Refayet Ullah Mirdha, the President of ERF; and Abul Kashem, the Secretary of ERF, among others, joined the event.

Although there are 41 recognised river routes between Dhaka and the south coast, at present there are commercial launches operating from Sadarghat terminal of Dhaka river port on just 25 routes.    Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) sources said that launches are not plying the remaining river channels due to the shortage of passengers. However, launch owners say that 15 waterways have apparently been abandoned due to poor navigability. They said, this crisis has been created due to lack of sufficient dredging.    They claim that even on the 25 waterways that are operational, launches ply on just 19 of those. Launch movement on the remaining 6 routes is irregular.  Also Read: CSOs demand investigations into irregularities in dredger pilotage, repair Rights activists complain that there is no transparency and accountability in excavation and dredging works. Due to this, there are irregularities and corruption in this important work.  Launch owners also have the same complaint that waterways are not being dredged properly due to lack of transparency and accountability. Badiuzzaman Badal, Senior Vice President of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport (Passenger carrier) Association, an organisation of launch owners, said, “We are a major stakeholder in the shipping sector. But we are not involved in river dredging. Our opinion is not taken on which route has more or less navigability crisis." Referring to the lack of minimum transparency and accountability in dredging, Badiuzzaman Badal said, “BIWTA is doing the job as per their wish leading to widespread irregularities and corruption. As a result, general people, including water transport owners, are not getting the benefits. As the launch cannot proceed in many waterways due to the navigability crisis, in order to reach many destinations, one has to travel much more than the prescribed distance, wasting extra time. On the one hand, the fuel cost of the owners increases, on the other hand, the passengers do not want to board the launch because of the extra time wasted.”  Also Read: NCPSRR wants transparency in river dredging, silt removal Badiuzzaman Badal said these in a press conference at the organisation's office at Sadarghat Terminal on April 8.  Aminur Rasul Babul, member secretary of Safe Waterway Implementation Movement, said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself is sincere in the development of inland shipping communication. The government is also giving adequate allocation in this sector. But due to the irregularities and corruption of BIWTA's dredging department, the desired success in rescuing the defunct waterways has not come even after 14 years.  Mihir Biswas, joint secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA), said that BIWTA's responsibility is to maintain the navigability of waterways through regular dredging under its revenue fund.   “The river dredging, including rescue of lost waterways and the expensive works of silt removal, are under its development fund. The organisation has been doing these two tasks for more than a century. For this, thousands of crores of public funds have been spent, but the expected success is not visible,” Mihir Biswas commented, also blaming irregularities, corruption and lack of accountability and transparency as responsible for this.  Read More: River Police taking measures to ensure safety on waterways during Eid

No irregularities have been reported yet at the polling stations during the Gaibandha by-election, said Election Commissioner Rashida Sultana. She said this while observing the election on CCTV cameras from the Election Commission office at Agargaon in the capital on Wednesday morning. Read more: Gaibandha-5 by-polls: Festive mood as voting underway She also said that the voter turnout was low due to cold weather. "We can see the voting in the CCTV cameras. So far, there has been no problem at the polling centers," she said. EC IDEA Project DPD (Communications) Squadron Leader Shahriar Alam told reporters that the election is being monitored directly from Dhaka through a total of 1,242 CCTV cameras. The voting is being monitored by CC cameras from 8 am at the EC control room on the fifth floor of the Election Commission building.  Read more: Gaibandha-5 by-polls: EC to take action against 133 officials Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, Election Commissioners Ahsan Habib Khan, Md. Alamgir, Rashida Sultana and Anisur Rahman are monitoring the polls. 

The High Court on Sunday issued a rule seeking explanation as to why the inaction of the authorities concerned in taking action against those involved in the irregularities of Tk 472 crore of Standard Asiatic Oil Company, a subsidiary of BPC, should not be declared illegal. The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat issued the suo moto rule after taking a report, published in an English daily, into congnisance. Read more: High court’s directive sought to ban export of Hilsa to India The HC also wanted to know what steps have been taken in connection with the embezzlement of the money from the subsidiary of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC). It also asked the Auditor General and chairman of BPC to submit a progress report before the court within November 20. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Auditor General and the BPC Chairman have been made respondent s to the rule, said ACC counsel Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan. On November 4, an English daily published a report headlined ‘A BPC concern robs state coffers of Tk 472.7cr’. Read more: High Court asks why DMP authority to ban rallies not illegal ACC lawyer Khurshid drew the attention of the court in this regard. According to the report, the government has been deprived of Tk 472.7 crore for 21 counts of irregularities by Standard Asiatic Oil Company, a subsidiary of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, found an audit. The disclosure comes after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) pored over the company's books from fiscal 2012-13 to 2019-20 and made field visits. Standard Asiatic Oil Company (SAOCL), which is a 50-50 joint venture between the BPC and the Asiatic Industries, is involved in the blending and marketing of engine oil and lubricating oil for vehicles; the marketing of diesel oil; the marketing and distribution of bitumen, liquefied petroleum gas and furnace oil; and supplying jet fuel to aircraft at Cox's Bazar International Airport, it said. The anomalies include embezzlement by top officials, high rates, overtime, missing funds, irregularities in payment of litigation fees and violation of the Income Tax Ordinance and VAT Rules, the report added.      

The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) has fined Shohoz.com, an online ticketing platform of the country, Tk 2 lakh after finding evidence of its mismanagement in selling tickets of Bangladesh Railways. The DNCRP organized a hearing on Wednesday after receiving a  complaint form Mohiuddin Rony,  a 4th year student of Dhaka University's Theatre and Performance Studies Department, over irregularities in ticket sale by Shohoz.com.  The hearing on Roni’s complaint was held around 10 am at  the meeting room of the DNCRP , said DNCRP Director General AHM Shafiquzzaman at a press briefing  on Wednesday. As per the decision of DNCRP, Roni will get 25 per cent of this penalty (Tk 50,000). Read: Lone rail protestor forced to call off program at Kamalapur Mohiuddin Rony and representatives of Shohoz.com were present during the hearing. Talking to reporters, Shohoz's lawyer Mirza Ragib Hasnat said they are not satisfied over the verdict. "We will challenge against it," he said. Rony who was conducting a one-man protest against corruption in the country's rail administration, was forced to come off his daily program at Kamalapur Station on Tuesday. Instead he submitted a memorandum containing his demands and grievances to the director general of Bangladesh Railway. He has been protesting alleged mismanagement and corruption at Bangladesh Railway since before Eid ul Azha, after falling victim to the dodgy e-ticketing system. "Kamalapur Station authority stopped me from entering the station territory yesterday, and today when I went to submit my memorandum to the director general of Bangladesh Railway (at Rail Bhaban), Ansar-police tried to block me from entering the building," Rony said. He had been showing up at the station since July 8, with a 6-point charter of demands to reform the railway system. There  is no doubt he would be viewed as an irritant, whether in Kamalapur or Rail Bhaban, especially since the fraudulent e-ticketing system had already been uncovered by the authorities, and steps were underway to completely replace it. His demands are to stop passenger harassment by e-ticketing platform Sohoz.com, to prevent the black market chain of ticket selling, to stop the online booking system altogether and facilitate an easier, more transparent way to buy any type of ticket for the masses, to increase the number of trains to meet demand, and finally to form strong monitoring cell that truly ensures quality service on behalf of BR, right down to the price of goods like water, food etc... in the train.

The Bangladesh Bank Thursday removed SM Shamsul Arefin, managing director of Uttara Finance and Investments, for his involvement in financial irregularities. The Financial Institutions and Markets Department of the Bangladesh Bank informed the Uttara Finance chairman of the decision through a letter today. Under Section 20 (3) of the Financial Institutions Act 1993, a special audit report carried out by chartered accountancy firm Rahman Rahman Haque on Uttara Finance found massive financial irregularities in the non-bank financial (NBFI) institution, the letter said. Shamsul Arefin was removed from his post of managing director and chief executive officer of Uttara Finance for his involvement in irregularities, Md Serajul Islam, executive director and spokesperson of the Bangladesh Bank, told UNB. The central bank asked Uttara Finance to take action to secure the depositors' interest. The Bangladesh Bank also asked the NBFI to take legal action against Shamsul Arefin, Serajul said.

Department of Environment (DoE) on Thursday fined three people Tk 23 lakh for not following proper method in scrapping a grounded ship off the coast of Bhatiary in Sitakunda upazila in Chattogram. Mofidul Islam, director of DoE Chattogram Zone, gave the order after a hearing in this regard. Those fined by the DoE are Giash Uddin, Mahbub, and Kamal Uddin. Mofidul Islam said, “The three who claimed ownership of the ship were fined for not following proper method while breaking the ship.” Also read: 9 fined for not wearing masks in B'baria However, no representative of Bhatiary ship breaking yard came although a notice was issued, said the DoE director. “Another notice will be issued and further steps will be taken in this regard if they don’t appear before the DoE authorities,” he added. As license of the ship breaking yard where the ship named Royal Bird was being broken was not renewed many reports were published in different local and national dailies questioning the method and safety issues. Also read: Arabian Corporation fined Tk 10 lakh for cutting hills in Chattogram On Monday, some senior officials of DoE visited the yard and found irregularities in scrapping the ship. 

After remaining confined for four hours by the teachers, students over allegations of irregularities in recruitment process Vice-Chancellor of Pabna University of Science Technology, Dr M Rostom Ali was freed on Thursday evening. He was locked in his office room at the university until around 5:30 pm when he was released with the intervention of police, Rowshan Yazdani, Inspector (investigation) of Pabna police station. Police were deployed on the campus after being informed, he said. Also raed: Show-cause notices against 3 teachers: PUST students stage demo Due to his confinement a meeting of the PUST regent board scheduled today could not be held, said D Md Abdul Alim, Associate Professor of Bangla Department.

At least six people were killed and over 100 others injured as the 2nd phase of union parishad (UP)  elections ended on Thursday afternoon amid sporadic violence and irregularities. Violence was reported from different parts of the country, including Narsingdi, Cox’s Bazar, Cumilla and Chattogram. Three people had been killed and 30 others injured at Bashgari union in Raipura upazila of Narsingdi district, hours before the voting began. The deceased were identified as Salauddin, 30, son of Hekim Mia, Jahangir, 26, son of Abdul Haque Mia and Dulala, 45, son of Hazi Siraj of Bashgari village in the upazila. The deceased were supporters of Ashraful Islam, an Awami League-backed candidate for the post of chairman in Bashgari UP. Satyajit Kumar Ghosh, assistant superintendent of police (Raipura circle), said supporters of Ashraful and Ratul Hasan Zakir, an independent candidate, attacked each other in front of Bashgari Union Parishad complex around 6 am, two hours before the beginning of the elections. The two groups fired gunshots and attacked each other with teta (a type of fish spearing), leaving three people dead and 30 others injured, he said. The injured were taken to Brahmanbaria and Narsingdi Sadar hospitals. On information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. Read: UP polls violence leaves one dead in Cumilla UNB Cox’s Bazar correspondent reports: A man was shot dead and six others were injured in a clash between the supporters of two member candidates at Khurushkul in Sadar upazila. The deceased was identified as Akteruzzaman Putu, 35, younger brother of Sheikh Kamal, a member candidate of Khurushkul No 1 ward. Commander of Crime Prevention Specialized Company (CCPS) Major Mehedi Hasan of Rab-15 said the supporters of member candidate Babul were trying to stuff ballots during voting at Khurushkul Tetoia Government Primary School centre. But the supporters of Akterruzaman obstructed them, triggering the clash. In Cumilla, a clash broke out around 12pm between the supporters of Awami League-backed chairman candidate Zakir Hossain and independent candidate Harun-ur-Rashid over establishing dominance at Amirabad Primary School centre of Manikar union in Meghna upazila, leaving 21 people injured.

Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Monday ordered the closure of all activities of Praava Health Care on allegations of various irregularities. DGHS Additional Director General (administration) Prof. Nasima Sultana, confirmed the development to UNB. She said that various allegations have been received against Praava Health Care. READ: Praava Health’s brick-and-click model: Bangladesh’s fastest-growing healthcare company raises $10.6 million “Later we investigated it and all their activities have been stopped,” she said. It was learned that DGHS also received several allegations of incorrect Covid-19 sample testing against Praava Health Care. Praava Health Care is a private organization. Along with telemedicine it provided medical services through a clinic in capital’s Banani. It shot to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic by offering a service whereby they would pick up the sample for a Covid-19 from the subject's home.  READ: Banglalink Priyojon customers to get up to 15 PC discount on Praava Health services