United News of Bangladesh

A fire that razed a sock manufacturing factory in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur on Saturday afternoon is still not under firefighters' control till evening. No casualties have been reported, however, as of filing this report at 6:30 pm. Md Abdullah Al-Arefin, deputy assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) in Gazipur said the fire began in one of the floors of the building around 4pm and spread to two and three floors of ‘Glove Gloves (Bangladesh) MFG.CO.LTD.’ Responding to the call, seven firefighting units from Kapasia, Rajendrapur and Joydebpur fire stations rushed to the spot and are still trying to bring the flame under control, he said. He, however, could not fix the time frame regarding the douse of the blaze. Though the reason behind the fire is yet to be known, it was feared that the blaze might cause massive damage.

A medical camp will be held on Sunday to provide treatment and medicine at free of cost to nearly 1000 distress rural people marking the first death anniversary of Md Anwar Hossain, former managing director of Khulna Newsprint Mills.  More than twenty specialist physicians from Dhaka will contribute the medical camp to be held at Purba Darillah village under Nandail Upazila in Mymensigh from 10am to 4 pm, said a press release on Saturday. Doctors from the discipline of medicine, cardiology, nephrology, ENT, orthopedics, gynecology, surgery, dermatology, ophthalmology and pediatrics will volunteer the medical camp, said Assistant professor of Dhaka Medical Collage and Hospital (DMCH) Dr ASM Tanim Anwar, the younger son of late Hossain.  A milad Mahfil will also be held after the Asr Prayer at late Hossain’s ancestors’ residence at the village.    The elder son of late Hossain, Md Tanzim Anwar, Special Correspondent of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), hoped that the free medical camp would support the cold-hit distress rural people, especially the elderly and children. Anwar Hossain, who also served as managing director of Pakshi Paper Mills, Khulna Hardboard Mills and Karnaphuli Rayon and Chemicals Limited, passed away at Dhanmondi Popular Hospital at the age of 78 on February 4 last year.

Bangladesh reported 25 more COVID-19 cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning. With the new numbers, the country's total COVID-19 caseload rose to 2,047,258, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,482 as no new fatalities were reported during this period. The daily case test positivity rate stood at 7.35 per cent as 340 samples were tested, said the DGHS. The recovery and death rates remained unchanged at 98.4 per cent and 1.44 per cent, respectively.

Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) detained a man along with 3.498 kgs of gold from Shahjalal International Airport on Friday night. The detainee was identified as M Masud Imam. Farhana Begum, assistant director of Customs Intelligence and Investigation circle, said a flight of Emirates Airlines landed at the airport from Dubai around 10:46 pm. Physician among 2 arrested with 4 gold bars at Ctg airport Tipped off, a team of CIID challenged Imam and seized 28 gold bars and gold coins weighing 3.498 kgs worth TK 3.14 crore from his two money bags. 2 gold bars recovered passenger’s rectum in Benapole  

Dhaka, the overcrowded capital of Bangladesh, has once again topped the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality with an AQI score of 274 at 9:06 am on Saturday. Dhaka’s air was classified as 'very unhealthy', according to the air quality and pollution city ranking. An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy' while 201-300 is 'very unhealthy', and 301-400 is considered 'hazardous', posing severe health risks to residents. Dhaka’s air quality again world's worst this morning China’s Shenyang, Myanmar’s Yangon and Pakistan’s Karachi occupied the second, third and fourth spots in the list, with AQI scores of 181, 177 and 172, respectively. The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is and what associated health effects might be a concern for them. The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five 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. Dhaka’s air quality world's worst this morning As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.  

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Atiqul Islam said on Friday that measures are being taken to revive the Mirpur's Paris Canal, which has turned into a dumping ground for garbage. "We have commenced the cleaning of the Paris Canal as previously announced. Initially, our focus is on ensuring the water flow in the Paris Canal, which has unfortunately become a repository for waste," he said while participating in the cleanliness campaign. The DNCC has initiated the cleaning process of the Mirpur Paris Road canal as per the earlier declaration made by Mayor Atiqul Islam. Around 1,200 volunteers from BD Clean have joined hands to support this effort.   The cleanup initiative commenced at the Canal on Friday morning. The mayor mentioned that the measurement of the land on the canal has already started. "The buildings within the canal will be demolished. There are some establishments in the canal. The residents have been given one month to vacate.  If I wanted, I could have bulldozed everything today, but I did not and gave them time. If not done in time, eviction campaign will be carried out," he said. During his visit to the Mirpur Paris Canal on Wednesday, the DNCC mayor declared the commencement of cleanliness operations and the removal of illegal structures.    "Mirpur's Paris Canal will be restored to its original condition by eliminating dirt and encroachments," he said. The mayor said that the fact that what was once a navigable canal has now become a dumping ground. "Volunteers spontaneously came forward to clean the canal on their day off. These young people could have spent their time playing or resting at home today. However, they chose to participate in cleaning the canal instead of indulging in leisure activities. I encourage local residents to learn from this and refrain from dumping garbage into the canal," he said. "After reclaiming 40 feet of space in the canal, we will construct a walkway there. Subsequently, if space permits on both sides, we aim to establish a beautiful park," he added.    

The government has again extended the hajj registration deadline for 2024 until February 6 in a bid to avoid last time hassle. The Religious Affairs Ministry issued a notice in this regard on Friday. According to the notice, those who want to perform Hajj, have to deposit Tk 2.05 lakh for primary registration and the rest need to be deposited by February 29, 2024 for final registration. Hajj-2024 will be held on 9th day of Zilhaj (June 16) depending on moon sighting. HAAB announces private hajj package for 2024; minimum cost set at Tk 5.89 lakh Like this year, a total of 127,198 devotees can perform hajj next year and of them, 10,198 can perform hajj under government management while the rest under private management. The government on November 2 announced the Hajj packages for 2024, reducing the cost by Tk 92,450. Hajj registration deadline extended again till Jan 18 Intending pilgrims have to pay Tk 5,78,840 under general package, and Tk 9,36,320 under special package. The hajj registration process began on November 15.    

A police officer was killed and his colleague was injured in a road accident on the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway while on their way to Biswa Ijtema, the congregation of the Tableeghi Jamaat, from Manikganj to perform duty early Friday. The deceased Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Hasan was posted at Manikganj district court while injured Sub-Inspector Amir Hamza is posted at the police control room of the police lines. Police said the duo was headed for the Ijtema grounds in Tongi, having been assigned to perform duty from the district. Read: Ex-mayor killed in Ctg road crash; 7 injured A passenger bus of ‘Balaka Paribahan’ struck the bike from behind in the Millgate area under Tongi East police station in the early morning, leaving both the SI and ASI critically injured. They were first rushed to Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital in Tongi and later referred to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), in capital Dhaka, where ASI Hasan succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment. Tongi East police station’s Officer-in-Charge Mostafizur Rahman confirmed the matter, adding that SI Hamza remains under treatment at the NITOR. Read: 3 stabbed in Sirajganj for obstructing road construction work on their land The OC said they were trying to identify the bus, and to expect further legal actions in this connection.

Mufti Amanul Haque, spokesperson for the top leaders of Ijtema's first phase, has urged the media to refer to them as 'Alem e Shura', instead of 'followers of Maulana Jubayer'. He made this request in a press briefing on Friday afternoon. Amanul Haque said, "We have been conducting Ijtema separately due to disagreements on various issues of Sharia with the Saad scholars. Saad Kandhlawi took a unilateral decision without consulting the Shura members." Read: Six men die on Biswa Ijtema ground "And we make decisions according to the opinions of Shura members, not Jubayer," he added. Gazipur District Commissioner Abul Fateh Mohammad Shafiqul Islam said that the government and the local administration are working relentlessly to complete the two phases of Ijtema successfully. Read: First phase of Biswa Ijtema begins However, the government wants the two groups to unite and organise Ijtema together, he added. Mezbah Uddin, Dr Azgar Hossain, Hasan Ashraf, Zakir Khan, Haji Md Rezaul Karim, and Media Coordinator Habibullah Raihan were present at that time.

No fresh death due to dengue was reported in Bangladesh in the 24 hours till Friday morning, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). However, 11 more patients were hospitalised with the viral fever during this period, according to the DGHS. Of them, five were admitted in Dhaka hospitals, while the rest were outside the capital. A total of 102 dengue patients, including 44 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country. So far, 1083 dengue cases have been reported since January 1, 2024. Last year, a total of 1,705 people lost their lives due to dengue, making it the deadliest year on record. The DGHS recorded 321,179 dengue cases and 3,18,749 recoveries last year. Last year’s September was the deadliest month for the dengue outbreak, with 396 fatalities and 79,598 cases, according to DGHS data