United News of Bangladesh

Two staff members of Roads and Highways Department were injured in an attack by some miscreants during an eviction drive on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur district on Tuesday. The injured were identified as Rabiul Hossain, a surveyor and section officer Saidur Rahman. Executive Engineer of Roads and Highways Department, Gazipur, Shariful Islam, said an eviction drive, led by Ashfaqul Haque Chowdhury, executive engineer of the department along with police, was conducted at C&B Bazar in Sreepur upazila, stretching from Gargaria Masterbari to Mawna Chowrasta to evict the structures occupied illegally on Tuesday. During the drive, 70 illegal establishments were evicted till Tuesday afternoon. At one stage, a group of miscreants beat two staff of the department and assaulted them physically, forcing them to leave the place. Contacted, Executive Magistrate Ashfaqul Haque Chowdhury, said a notice was served from the government on August 28 to remove illegal structures from the 4-km area on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway. As part of the notice, the Roads and Highway Department conducted the eviction drive on Tuesday. Legal steps will be taken against those involved in the attack, he said.      

Two children drowned in a pond at Krishnapur village in Thakurgaon sadar upazila on Monday afternoon. The deceased were identified as Ayesha Akter, 6, daughter of Ahsan, and Jannatun, 3, daughter of Zahid Hasan — both residents of Krishnapur village. Thakurgaon Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Sarowar Alam Khan said the two children when they were playing in the yard around noon. Later locals spotted the two bodies in the pond and rescued them. They were rushed to Thakurgaon 250-bed General Hospital where doctors declared them dead. As the families did not lodge any complaint the bodies were handed over to them, the OC said. An unnatural death case was filed in this connection.

A worker was killed in a clash between workers of Uttara Export Processing Zone (EPZ) and joint forces in Nilphamari sadar upazila on Tuesday. Police said workers of Evergreen factory, a wig-making factory, had been demonstrating for the last few days demanding their dues. Tensions flared in the morning when the workers found a closure notice on the gate. As police and army tried to disperse them a clash began around 8:30 am, leaving several workers injured. One of them died on way to a hospital, said ACP AFM Tarique Hossain Khan. Officer-in-Charge of sadar police station Md Sayed said they are not confirmed yet over the number of causalities.  

Two children drowned in a pond while playing near their homes in Binodpur village of Mohadevpur upazila, Naogaon on Monday afternoon. The deceased were identified as Arafat Hossain, 6, son of Azizur Rahman, and Naim Islam, 4, son of Sirajul Islam. Locals said that they started searching for the two children as they went missing while playing in the morning. Man gets life term for raping madrasa student in Naogaon Later, villagers found their bodies floating in the pond and recovered them. Shahin Reza , Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Mohadevpur Police Station, confirmed the incident and said that the bodies were handed over to their families after legal formalities.

Police recovered two bodies in separate incidents in Srinagar upazila of Munshiganj on Monday morning. One unidentified middle-aged woman’s body was found near the underpass by the railway line at Shologhor along the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway. Police suspect she was run over by a train. In another incident, the body of Mamun Kazi, 70, was recovered from behind a house in Brammanpaiksa village of Sreenagar upazila, where locals found his body leaning against a tree. 3 workers die after inhaling ‘toxic gas’ in Munshiganj septic tank Police detained a woman from a nearby house for questioning. Additional Police Superintendent of Srinagar Circle Md Anichur Rahman said both bodies were sent to Munshiganj General Hospital morgue for autopsy, and legal steps are underway.

United News of Bangladesh(UNB) correspondent and former president of Jhenaidah Press Club Aminur Rahman Tuku passed away at a private hospital in Dhaka on Monday morning. He was 77. Tuku, who was admitted to Al-Manar Hospital after suffering a stroke on August 24, breathed his last around 9:30am at the hospital, said his family. He is survived by wife, four sons and a host of relatives. His namaz-e-janaza will be held Monday night at Uzir Ali High School field in Jhenaidah. Jhenaidah Press Club President Asif Kajal, General Secretary Aminul Islam Liton, former presidents M Raihan and Saiful Mabud, among others, expressed deep shock at his death. In a condolence message, journalist leaders said Aminur Rahman Tuku was a guardian figure for journalists in the district and Jhenaidah has lost a true son of the soil with his passing. Jhenaidah district BNP President Advocate MA Majid, General Secretary Zahiduzzaman Mona, Jamaat-e-Islami district Ameer Abu Bakar Md Shahjahan, Secretary Abdul Awal, Anti-Discrimination Student Movement leader Abu Huraira, NCP central leader Tariq Rahman and Jhenaidah Forum President Mahabbat Hossain Tipu also expressed deep shock at his death.

The Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and a UNESCO World Heritage site, reopened on Monday to fishermen and tourists after a three-month closure. Entry into the forest was restricted from June 1 to August 31 to protect fish and wildlife during the breeding season. With the ban lifted, local fishermen, forest dwellers and domestic and foreign tourists will now be allowed to enter the forest with prior permission. After months of silence, the Sundarbans is expected to bustle again with the arrival of tourists and local people who depend on the forest for their livelihood. Fishermen at Sharankhola in Shyamnagar upazila were been busy repairing boats and trawlers ahead of their return to the forest. Tour operators also refurbished their vessels in anticipation of renewed tourist activity. Fishermen alleged that they were forced into hardship during the closure as alternative sources of income were not available. Many of them said the three-month restriction period is too long and demanded it be shortened to two months in the future.   Life becomes extremely difficult during the ban and without alternative employment, fishing families will continue to struggle in poverty, said some fishermen from Koyra, Paikgachha, Dacope and Sharankhola upazilas. Md Khalilur Rahman, Station Officer of Sharankhola Range (East Sundarbans), said fishermen and tourists are now permitted to enter the forest. “Ahead of the reopening, we organised an awareness meeting on August 27 with local fishermen and forest-dependent communities to provide them with necessary guidelines,” he added.

For 62 years, KN Road Government Primary School has stood in the heart of Gaibandha town with its classrooms and teachers in place, but without students. Most children show up just to eat the free ‘khichuri’ before heading home, leaving behind rows of deserted benches and a school struggling to serve its purpose. The school, located on V-Aid Road at the heart of the town, was established in 1963 and was nationalised in 1973. Since its inception, the school has had no shortage of teachers, thanks to MP and ministerial recommendations, but has consistently lacked students. From the outside, the school appears to be a vibrant educational institution with a pleasant environment, yet the reality is starkly different. Records show that in some years, there were no students at all from class one to five. In other years, class sizes ranged between 10 and 20 students at most, with some classes having as few as three or four pupils. In many cases, two classes are conducted in the same room, raising concerns among parents about how such lessons are managed. Locals allege that the school has failed to produce good results in its entire history. Despite this, teachers reportedly continue their jobs by filing fabricated reports to higher authorities with the help of influential contacts. “Since its foundation 62 years ago, this school has not been able to deliver quality results. Teachers have managed to hold their posts by submitting false monthly reports,” a resident alleged. Another local, Kachchu Miah, said, “There is no environment for proper education here, only negligence. Education officials know everything but remain silent while filling their pockets and submitting positive reports.” Recently, six new female teachers and an office assistant were appointed in an effort to improve the school’s condition. The teachers even went door-to-door seeking students, but their efforts largely went in vain. At present, the school has managed to retain only around 60 students across six classes, including three pupils in class three and four in class four. “We have tried hard to increase the number of students. We personally requested parents to send their children, but the outcome was not satisfactory. Around the school there are better government and non-government schools, as well as coaching centres, which attract children away from us,” said headteacher Wahida Shirin. Other teachers added that they have been using their own salaries to provide khichuri to students at lunch in a bid to keep them at school. “But even then, they eat and leave,” one teacher said. Dulal Miah, a former student and resident living in front of the school, said, “There are good schools around this area, so naturally children go there. That is why the number of students at KN Road Government Primary School has kept falling.” Local residents said the situation has been widely discussed, but education officials have avoided providing any guidance and rarely visit the school. Acknowledging the issue, Gaibandha District Education Officer Lakshan Kumar Das said, “The school’s poor condition has been discussed several times at district-level meetings. We are trying to increase the number of students there.”

Police recovered the body of a journalist from the base of pillar no. 2 of the Rupsha Bridge in Khulna on Sunday evening. Journalist Wahed-uz-Zaman Bulu, was a resident of Sonadanga upazila of Khulna District. Bellah Hossain, sub-inspector (SI) of the Rupsha River Police outpost, said the body was recovered around 8 pm. He said the deceased was wearing blue gabardine trousers and a light blue T-shirt, and had visible injuries on his right hand and face. Eyewitnesses said that Bulu jumped from the bridge on his own. His identity was later confirmed by Major Maruf, deputy commander of RAB-6. SI Rahim, in-charge of the Salt Chara police outpost, said he responded to the scene after being informed by locals and then notified the naval police, as the location of the body was within the river area. Teams from the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have visited the site and are working to determine the exact cause of death. Senior police officials also visited the spot following the recovery. Wahed-uz-Zaman Bulu had worked with the Daily Ajker Kagoj and the news agency United News of Bangladesh (UNB).

A septuagenarian woman and her daughter were found dead at a house at Ramnagar in Cumilla city on Sunday. The deceased were identified as Lutfa Begum, wife of Abu Taher and her daughter Shilpi Akter, 40. Police detained Shahin, son of Lutfa, and his wife Lucky Akter for interrogation. Quoting local people, Inspector Saiful Islam of EPZ Police Station, said Shilpi, a divorcee had an enmity with her sister-in-law Lucky over a family feud. On Saturday, both Shilpi and Lucky had a brawl over the issue. Local people recovered the bodies of Shilpi and her mother Lutfa from their house on Sunday afternoon. However, police said there were no injury marks on the bodies of the deceased. Police are investigating to unearth the reason behind the death of two female members of the house. The bodies were sent to Cumilla Medical College and Hospital.