Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh on Wednesday said the construction work of Dhaka City Inter-District Bus Terminal in Narayanganj’s Kanchpur will be completed by the middle of next year. “Fifty percent of the project, including landfilling, has already been completed. The rest of the work will be completed within the stipulated time,” said the DSCC mayor while talking to reporters after visiting the construction work of the terminal in the morning. No one will be allowed to do business without trade licence in Dhaka South: Mayor Taposh Mayor Taposh also said the construction of other infrastructures including the boundary wall and bus parking depot around the terminal will be done in phases.  “Once the terminal is opened, buses of 16 districts in Chattogram and Sylhet divisions will operate their rom this terminal,” he added. Zia directly involved in Bangabandhu assassination: Mayor Taposh The DSCC mayor hoped that the opening of the terminal would improve the quality of passenger services while reducing traffic congestion in the capital and its surrounding areas. Meanwhile, the existing bus terminal at Sayedabad will be renovated and modernised and transformed into an inter-city bus terminal, said Taposh.  National Eidgah ready to hold Eid Jammat even in case of heavy rain: Taposh He also talked to the officials of the concerned department including the Road Transport and Highways Division to learn about the progress of the terminal’s construction work. 

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh on Wednesday said that a ward will be marked ‘red’ if more than 10 dengue patients are detected in a week. Then a daylong special combing operation will be conducted in the 'red marked' ward, he said. Read: DSCC opens control room to check dengue  The DSCC mayor said this while inspecting a special cleanliness and destruction of Aedes mosquitoes’ breeding grounds  programme in Dhaka University Library adjacent area.   The mayor said, "From next Saturday, we are taking another special drive which is ward-based. We are going to declare those wards red-marked where more than 10 patients in a week will be detected.” Read: Dengue outbreak: DSCC distributes leaflets in mosques to raise awareness At that time, he urged the residents and the owners of  buildings and establishments of those wards (red-marked) to keep their surroundings clean.  Announcing the special drive in wards 5, 22, 53 and 60 next Saturday, Taposh said, "We have found more than 10 patients in these four wards in the last one week. We will conduct the special drive in these four wards on Saturday.” “We think we can control the Aedes mosquito completely this way. For this, locals have to be fully involved. Then our programme will be more successful," the mayor added. Read: 3 DSCC hospitals offer free dengue test from Thursday Du Teachers' Association General Secretary Professor Zinat Huda, Proctor Prof Dr Maksudur Rahman, Faculty of Arts Dean Professor Dr Abdul Basir, Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall Provost Prof Dr Md Abdur Rahim, among others, were present on the occasion.

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has fined 9 establishments a total of Tk 1.03 lakh for finding larvae of Aedes mosquitoes, the dengue vector, on Sunday. Also read : 3 DSCC hospitals offer free dengue test from Thursday DSCC conducted seven mobile courts to eliminate breeding grounds of Aedes mosquitoes in Central Road, Naba Roy Basak Lane, Tati Bazar, Wari, Rankin Street, Pear Ali Gali, Kadam Ali Road, Manda, Signboard, Demra, Sontek, Sheikhdi, South Kajla, Rayerbagh and Kadamtali areas of the corporation. Also read : Anti-Aedes drive: DSCC fines 13 offenders Tk 1.4 lakh During the drive, people associated with nine houses and under-construction buildings were fined Tk 1.03 lakh as the larvae of Aedes mosquitoes were found. A total of 355 houses and establishments were inspected in today's drive.   Also read : Dengue outbreak: DSCC distributes leaflets in mosques to raise awareness Bangladesh has recorded 466 dengue deaths this year, the highest on record. At the same time, the country has seen over 90,000 dengue cases since the beginning of the year.  The UN World Health Organization (WHO) urged swift action as dengue cases surge in Bangladesh. “The higher incidence of dengue is taking place in the context of an unusual episodic amount of rainfall, combined with high temperatures and high humidity, which have resulted in an increased mosquito population throughout Bangladesh,” WHO said.

The Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) on Sunday found Aedes mosquito larvae at 5 buildings including an under-construction building of Partex Group on the first day of its combing operation launched to keep the dengue situation under control. After visiting 30 houses and under-construction buildings, the DSCC mobile court fined Tk 28,000 in five cases after finding a favourable environment for Aedes mosquito breeding at five of them. Led by DSCC's  Executive Magistrate Jahangir Alam, the drive was conducted in the capital's Dhalpur and Maniknagar areas. Also Read: Aedes mosquito: DSCC to run mobile courts from June 18 Among others, Ward No. 49 Councilor Badal Sardar, Region-5 Assistant Health Officer Dr. Shihab Uddin and others were present during the drive. Earlier, Md Mizanur Rahman, chief executive officer of DSCC, directed its officials concerned on various issues and told them to start operating mobile courts at the field level. Also Read: Legal steps if larvae of Aedes mosquitoes found in buildings: DNCC Mayor He said that it is a proven method to destroy the breeding sources of Aedes mosquitoes to control the dengue outbreak. Besides, public awareness is also very important to destroy the breeding sources of Aedes mosquitoes. Also Read: DSCC launches control room to monitor Aedes mosquito eradication campaign "We hope that through this initiative we will be able to control the dengue disease in the area under the Dhaka South City Corporation," he added.  

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh has sent a legal notice to The Daily Star, seeking Tk 100 crore, for publishing a “defamatory” article about cutting down trees in the Dhanmondi area of the capital. The mayor’s lawyer Barrister Mejbahur Rahman briefed reporters on Wednesday (June 7, 2023). The legal notice was sent to The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam, Executive Editor Syed Ashfaqul Haque, and writer Naziba Basher on June 5. Also read: DSCC mayor Taposh sued for remark on ex-chief justice   They have been asked to remove the relevant content online within 24 hours of receiving the notice and take necessary action within seven days. Lawyer Mejbahur Rahman said that a “column” titled “Cutting trees to make way for air” was published in The Daily Star newspaper on May 13. “In the column, the name of Dhaka South City Corporation was distorted to make Dhoka South Town Corporation,” he said while speaking to reporters at the Supreme Court premises. Also read: June 14 set for hearing on contempt of court case against DSCC Mayor Taposh Besides, the name of Mayor Taposh has also been distorted, he said. Lawyer Mejbahur Rahman said the DSCC Mayor has directed him to take legal action after seeing the report.  “In the notice, we asked for two things – one is to remove the text in the online version and they must apologise unconditionally and will have to pay Tk 100 crore as compensation,” he said. “Seven days have been given to them. If they do not take any action by this time, the next decision will be taken at the behest of Mayor Taposh.” Also read: Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman gets bail in DSA case In the legal notice, The Daily Star was asked to pay the money within seven days of the date of receipt of the legal notice served “for creating and publishing defamatory imputation in your national daily, in online publication and on social media and network with criminal intention to insult, humiliate and persecute our client, thus intentionally harming hard earned reputation of my client, his family and his institution.” In a statement, published on The Daily Star’s website, the editor and publisher wrote: “We want to state that we have indeed received the said legal notice dated June 5, 2023, from the Lex Counsel late in the afternoon of June 6, 2023, and it allows us only 2 days to respond. We will publish our response within that time.” Also read: Prothom Alo reporter Shams gets bail in another DSA case “We, however, want to point out that our piece was termed a ‘report’ or a ‘column’ at the press briefing. This is factually incorrect. It was a satirical piece, which is a globally accepted and common practice in journalism, on an issue of urgent public concern, and that too was published in our designated weekly satirical page titled ‘Satireday,’' the statement added.

Police on Sunday foiled an attempt of some demonstrators to lay siege to Nagar Bhaban, the Dhaka South City Corporation’s headquarters, protesting its decision to cut down trees in Dhanmondi’s Saat Masjid Road in the capital. Around 200 people took part in a possession under the banner of Saat Masjid Gaach Rakkha Andolan (Movement to protect trees on Dhanmondi’s Saat Masjid Road) in the morning, said our correspondent from the spot. The progamme was announced from a press conference on Saturday by Saat Masjid Gaach Rakkha Andolan to protest felling of trees by DSCC in Dhanmondi’s Saat Masjid Road in the name of development. As part of the programme, the protesters gathered at Shahbag’s Doyel Chattar on Sunday morning. Various cultural and environmental organizations including Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association (BELA) and people from different walks of life joined the possession. The protesters left Doyel Chattar in Shahbagh at 11:30am to lay a siege to Nagar Bhaban to press home their 4-point demand. However, when they reached Bangabazar intersection in Dhaka’s Gulistan area, police obstructed them from moving forward, Alamgir Kabir, the general secretary of Poribesh Bachao Andolan (PoBa) told UNB.

Petrobangla has initiated a move to bring an end to the existing monopoly of a particular foreign company in its pre-paid gas metering system. “We’ve already received the government’s policy approval to allow battery-run pre-paid gas meter,” Petrobangla Chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker told UNB recently. According to official sources, a Japanese company has been providing all the pre-paid gas meters which are synchronized with Titas and other distribution companies’ data accumulation system while others’ systems are not synchronised due to a monopoly in the system. They said the government took a decision more than three years ago to allow consumers to install pre-paid gas meters besides the ongoing process of installing meters by the gas distribution companies. Also read: Business disputes stall govt move to open pre-paid gas meters market to consumers Under the decision, any vendor can sell pre-paid gas meters, like pre-paid electricity meters, in the open market and any consumer can buy it to install at his/her own cost. Such a decision was taken in order to expedite the process of installing pre-paid meters for consumers’ benefit. Because, if a gas meter is installed, it will check misuse of gas as well as cut the overall cost of consumers. In the existing system, a pre-paid gas consumer pays almost one-third of the bill normally paid by a non-metered consumer. But so far, no public or private company has shown any interest in getting involved in the pre-paid meter business because of the monopoly of a certain company in the data acquisition system of Titas Gas and other distribution companies. Read More: Govt planning to invite int’l bidding for offshore blocks with more attractive PSC Some industry insiders alleged that the data accumulation system of Titas Gas remained monopolised by a particular meter-manufacturing company where meters from other companies are not synchronized. This has jeopardised implementation of the government’s plan to introduce pre-paid gas meters for all, industry insiders observed. Petrobangla chairman said that they are contacting multilateral agencies like ADB, World Bank and JBIC to get funds to install more pre-paid gas meters across the country. Petrobangla Director (Operation and Mines) Md. Kamruzzaman Khan said that a technical committee has been formed. “Now it has been working to eliminate the monopoly by introducing a unique language in the system so that any company complying with certain standards can have access to the data accumulation system of the distribution entities,” he said. Read More: Petrobangla wants to set up 3 more LNG terminals to meet growing gas demand “We hope 10-12 companies will make a demonstration on the issue in the current month,” he added. According to a study conducted by Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), there are about 4.15 million consumers in the domestic category in the country. The number break-up: Titas Gas has 2.78 million consumers, Bakhrabad Gas 0.491 million, Jalalabad Gas 0.417 million, Poschimanchol Gas 0.128 million, Karnaphuli Gas 0.65 million, and Sundarban Gas has 0.0035 million consumers. The latest figure released by Titas Gas, however, shows it has more than 2.8 million household consumers. The latest study by Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) shows that a pre-paid metered consumer uses 40-50 cubic meter of gas and pays around Tk 500-630 a month while a non-metered consumer for a single burner has to pay almost double, at Tk 990, for the same quantity of consumption. Read More: Risky way of supplying gas in cylinders: Petrobangla body for strong safety rules So far only 400,000 pre-paid gas meters have been installed in different areas in Dhaka city including Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur, Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara, Uttara, Mohammadpur, Badda, Tejgaon, Cantonment, Kafrul, Khilkhet, and Mirpur under a JICA-funded project. Another 120,000 metres are now being installed in different areas in central Dhaka, including Paltan, Ramna, New Market, Khilgaon and Segunbagicha under Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC). Most consumers of Titas Gas and other distribution companies remain unmetered.

The restoration work of old Buriganga channel near Kamrangirchar has not seen any significant progress in the last eight months. The Dhaka South City Corporation began the project in June, 2022 but the initial works are yet to be completed. The project includes demarcation activities, eviction drives, re-excavation and waste disposal. The old channel, which has lost its glory to pollution and encroachment, is located in the middle of Shahidnagar-Hazari bagh embankment (from the main Buriganga River) of Old Dhaka and Kamrangirchar. Various structures were built occupying the two sides of the area of about 7 kilometers.However, to give the old Buriganga back its glory, the DSCC took an initiative to reclaim the channel from encroachers in June last year. Almost a year has elapsed but the authorities are still working on the initial phase. Also read: Re-excavation of Buriganga old channel to start in February, says Taposh Talking to UNB, some DSCC officials said they are committed to recover the channel from illegal occupiers. The DSCC authorities have taken a project to restore the old channel of the Buriganga, also known as the capital’s lifeline, in three phases, costing almost Tk 22 crore, they said. They said the recovery of the channel will free Dhaka’s Hazaribagh, Lalbagh, Dhanmondi, and Kamrangirchar from waterlogging. The seven-kilometer-long channel will also make it easier for Dhaka residents to commute from Buriganga to the Turag River and the transportation of goods will be easy due to the reduction in cost. Read More: Sand lifting poses threats of river erosion in Faridpur According to the DSCC, walkways and separate cycle lanes will be built on both sides of the channel. During an election rally at Kamrangirchar on December 24, 2018, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina pledged to take steps to recover the old Buriganga channel from encroachers. She also instructed the mayor to take necessary measures to make it happen. After detailed planning, the DSCC took the project to free the channel from encroachers.According to the plan, a 14-km walkway and a cycle lane will be constructed on both sides of the channel. Bridges will be built to attract tourists in addition to the residents of the capital. As part of the first phase, which is already underway, the authorities are working to clear the channel of silt, debris, and garbage from the sluice gate at the end of the old Buriganga to Islambag. The excavation cost of 1200 meters has been estimated at Tk 6.41. Read More: 250 illegal structures evicted from Bakkhali River in Cox’s Bazar General Secretary of the Poribesh Bachao Andolan, Engineer Abdus Sobhan said,“The commitment (to restore the channel) is not enough. The old Buriganga channel should be excavated according to Cadastral Survey (CS) records.” He also called on the authorities to stop the supply of electricity, water, and gas to the factories and houses built by occupying and filling the old channel and take effective steps to stop encroachment and pollution. “We demand the establishment of permanent pillars by demarcating the boundaries of the old channel of Buriganga according to CS records,” he told UNB.Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh said the old Buriganga channel recovery project is ongoing despite the various obstacles posed by the encroachers. “There were many obstacles. Many cases have also been filed. Many case are pending with the High Court and are currently going ahead with the project.” He also said the authorities are committed to recovering the old Buriganga channel as per the project. Read More: Power generation at Kaptai plant drops severely as rivers dry Terming the restoration process expensive and difficult, the DSCC mayor said, “The old Buriganga channel has been narrowed down by encroachers and polluters from all sides over the past 50 years, and this is the first time we have undertaken any project to recover the old Buriganga. “And we have already been able to increase its width almost ten times, and our activities are ongoing,” he added. He said the plan to introduce modern facilities such as walkways, cycle lanes and bridge will attract tourists. “We are working to create a healthy and aesthetic environment here so that tourists can come and enjoy their time here,” Taposh said. According to the DSCC, the initial phase of the project was started with its own financing. The authorities have also hired consultants to support the project. Read More: Political parties must have river, water issues in manifestos: IFC Md Md. Rasel Sabrin, DSCC chief estate officer, told UNB that buildings and institutions that have been illegally constructed occupying the old Buriganga channel have already been identified by DhakaSouth City Corporation, Rajuk, National River Conservation Commission, the Public Works Department, BIWTA, the District Administration, and the Land Record and Survey Department. “The mayor has directed us to demolish the illegal extended part of those buildings identified,” he added.

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has terminated three of its officials on charges of corruption and irregularities. The sacked officials are Md Rabiul Karim Khan, Customs, Excise and VAT officer of Zone-1 , Ruhul Alam, store keeper of Dhaka Metropolitan Shishu Hospital and Mohammad Ramzan Ali, rent assistant of Zone-4. The city corporation, in an official order signed by its secretary Akramuzzaman, suspended three officials on Monday. The action was taken against the officials following investigations that found evidence of their involvement with the corruption. Recently the DSCC mayor has declared a "zero-tolerance policy" against all forms of corruption to ensure proper public services. Read more: Gymnasium to be built in every ward: DSCC Mayor Taposh 

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh on Wednesday said the width of the Buriganga old channel has increased ten times since the beginning of demarcation activities, eviction drives, re-excavation and waste disposal initiatives. He made the remarks while talking to reporters after visiting the ongoing cleaning and re-excavation activities in Buriganga old channel. “We’ve taken initiative to restore the Buriganga old channel for the first time. It was challenging and expensive,” he said.  Read: Gymnasium to be built in every ward: DSCC Mayor Taposh The width of the canal narrowed down due to the encroachment but it has been possible to increase the width almost ten times, he said adding, the project is still ongoing.  “We had to face many challenges.  A lot of cases have also been filed. We have taken the matter to the High Court and we are proceeding", Taposh went on.  DSCC started the project initially through self -financing, Taposh said, “In the meantime, we have hired consultants. Our main goal is to recover the channel properly”.   Read: DSCC evicts 188 illegal shops in Nilkhet Chief Executive Officer of DSCC Mizanur Rahman, Chief Engineer Saleh Ahmed, Secretary Akramuzzaman were present among others, said a press release.