United News of Bangladesh

The Shipping Ministry suspended launch services on all routes from 10pm on Sunday as the deep depression over east-central Bay and adjoining west-central Bay intensified into Cyclone Remal. All launches of inland waterways from Dhaka River Ports will remain suspended until further notice, said Md. Jahangir Alam Khan, senior information officer of the ministry. Depression intensifies into cyclone:  Remal now on its way Earlier, the Met Office asked the Payra and Mongla maritime ports to hoist danger Signal 7 and danger Signal 6 for Cox's Bazar and Chattogram seaports. Besides, the deep depression over east-central Bay and adjoining west-central Bay moved northwards, and intensified into a cyclonic storm "Remal" over northwest Bay and adjoining area on Saturday evening, according to Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD). State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Mohibur Rahman on Saturday said cyclonic storm 'Remal' is projected to make landfall in the coastal regions of Satkhira in Khulna and Cox’s Bazar in Chattogram by Sunday evening. Cyclone Remal: Chittagong Port Authority issues alert 3 Almost 4,000 shelter centres have been prepared in the coastal districts, equipped with adequate dry food, he said while speaking at a press briefing held at the Secretariat.

Dhaka city dwellers have faced immense suffering due to the suspension of metro rail service on Saturday evening. The operation came to a halt at 6:45pm due to the electric glitch, DMTCL Secretary Mohammad Abdur Rauf told the media. 'Underage’ driver behind the wheel: Bus hits Metro Rail pillar in Dhaka's Agargaon "Considering the safety of the passengers the metro rail movement was suspended" he said. However, we managed to resume the service at 8:20pm, he added.

The deep depression over east-central Bay adjoining west-central Bay moved northwards, and intensified into cyclonic storm "Remal" over northwest Bay and adjoining area on Saturday evening, according to Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).   It was centred at 6pm on Saturday about 455 kms southwest of Chattogram port, 400 kms southwest of Cox's Bazar port, 405 kms south of Mongla port and 365 kms south of Payra port. It is likely to intensify further and move northwards, said a special bulletin of the BMD signed by Dr. Muhammad Abdul Kalam Mallik, a meteorologist of the organization. Fire Service ready to take on Cyclone Remal Maximum sustained wind speed within 54 kms of the cyclone centre is about 62 kph rising to 88 kph-in gusts or squalls. Sea will remain very rough near the cyclone centre. Maritime ports of Payra and Mongla have been advised to lower local cautionary signal number three but instead of hoist danger signal, no. Seven (R) seven, it reads. Maritime ports of Cox's Bazar and Chattogram have been advised to lower local cautionary signal no. three but instead of hoist danger signal no. Six (r) six. Cyclonic storm ‘Remal’ likely to hit coastal areas by Sunday evening: State Minister Under the peripheral effect of the cyclonic storm, heavy (44-88 mm) to very heavy (289mm) rainfall with gusty or squally wind persists over north Bay, their offshore islands, chars and coastal areas of Bangladesh, according to it. Under the peripheral effect of the cyclone and steep pressure gradient, the low lying areas of the coastal districts of Satkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Jhalokhati, Barguna, Bhola, Patuakhali, Barishal, Noakhali, Lakshmipur, Feni, Cumilla, Chattogram, Cox's bazar, and their offshore islands and chars are likely to be inundated by wind driven surge of 3-5 feet height above normal astronomical tide. Under the influence of the cyclone Rajshahi, Rangpur, Mymensingh, Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions are likely to get heavy (34-88 mm) to very heavy rainfall (289 mm) with gusty or squally wind all fishing boats and trawlers over north Bay and deep sea have been advised to remain in shelter till further notice, it added.

The Fire Service and Civil Defence is fully prepared to deal with Cyclone Remal which is likely to make landfall in the coastal regions of Satkhira in Khulna and Cox’s Bazar in Chattogram by Sunday evening. Director General of the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence Brig Gen Md Moin Uddin has canceled the leave of all the officers and employees of the coastal areas and instructed everyone to remain alert, said Shahjahan Sikder, deputy assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) headquarters media cell. Besides, firefighting teams, search and rescue teams, first aid teams and water rescue teams have been kept ready at each fire station to deal with the emergency situation in the coastal disaster-prone areas, he added. Adequate firefighting and rescue apparatus, including ambulances, chains, hands, rotary rescue kits, spreaders, megaphones, ram jacks or air lifting bags, and first aid boxes have also been kept ready along with the required number of firefighting and rescue equipment.

Gas production started from the well No-14 of the Titas Gas Field on Saturday. According to Energy and Mineral Resources Division, the gas supply from the well to the national grid began following the completion of the workover by the Bangladesh Gas Field Company Limited (BGFCL). Energy Secretary Md Nurul Alam formally inaugurated the supply gas from the well of the Titas field. Initially, the well will supply 12 million cubic feet gas per day (MMCFD). Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX) started the workover on 19 March this year using their Bijoy-11 rig and completed it successfully on 21 May 2024. The well is expected to produce a total of 40 billion cubic feet of gas. The well can produce gas over a period of 10-12 years at a rate of 10-12 MMCFD which current market value is Tk. 2,590 crore while it cost Tk 75 crore to complete the workover of the well. BGFCL is a subsidiary of the state-owned Petrobangla which now produces a total of 560 MMCFD gas from its six gas fields including Titas, Habiganj, Bakhrabad, Narsingdi, Meghna and Kamta. Petrobangla chairman Zanendra Nath Sarkar, Additional Secretary of Energy and Mineral Resources Division Md. Humayun Kabir and Dr. Md Rafiqul Islam, Bapex Managing Director Md Shoaib, Sylhet Gas Fields Limited’s Managing Director Md Mizanur Rahman and Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Limited’s Managing Director Engineer Md Fazlul Haque were present on the occasion.

Three Bangladeshi girls, who intruded into India through the border, returned home on Saturday through Jashore’s Benapole checkpost after serving 18 months of imprisonment there. They are Tamanna Aktar, 21, Mahmud Akter, 22, and Mousumi Das, 24, hailing from Mymensingh, Dhaka and Khulna districts respectively. Azharul Islam, Officer-in-Charge of Benapole Checkpost Police Immigration, said Indian police detained them while working in Hyderabad as housemaids after entering the neighbouring country illegally. Later, they were sent to jail through a local court, he said. An Indian NGO sheltered them when they walked out of the jail after expiring jail periods, the OC said, adding that Indian Patropole Police Immigration handed them over on Saturday evening. Bangladeshi NGO ‘Justice and Care’ took the returnees under their shelter from Benapole police to hand over them to their families, he added.

Two sisters drowned in a river while bathing in Golapganj upazila of Sylhet on Saturday afternoon. The deceased were identified as Suheda Begum, 10, and Majeda Begum, 5, daughters of Joynal Ahmed of Fatehpur Paschimpara village of the upazila. Locals said that Suheda and Majeda went to bathe in the Kushiyara River near the house in the scorching heat. While swimming, they drowned in the river. Locals immediately came to the rescue. Later, their bodies were recovered by a net at around 3 pm. Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Golapganj Model Police Station Masudul Amin confirmed the matter.

Bangladesh Sangbadpatra Shilpa Parishad, an organization of newspaper owners, placed a 14-point demand including the payment of all outstanding advertisement bills owed to newspapers by government agencies, including Department of Films and Publications (DFP), by next June. If not, the leaders of this organisation and publishers warned of waging a systematic movement to realise their demands from next July. The demands were read out during a regular meeting addressing the ongoing problems of the newspaper industry and its solutions at the Daily Industry newspaper office in Dhaka on Saturday with the organization’s president Dr. Enayet Karim in the chair. General Secretary of the organization Yunus Sohag put forward the demands during the meeting. The other demands included the formulation of policies for the equitable distribution of government advertisements including at least four Bengali and two English newspapers, ending price discrimination of government advertisements in English and Bengali newspapers, introducing government advertisement prices on online portals of registered newspapers, and increasing the rate of government advertisements based on market inflation. The demands also included the provision of low-interest loans for the newspaper industry, accommodation for journalists-employees, a special allocation of Tk 5,000 crore, the introduction of a special pension scheme for journalists and media workers, repeal of all black laws including the Digital Security Act, and providing VIP status to all editors. The leaders expressed their concern, stating that without timely payment of outstanding advertising bills, it would be challenging to sustain publications and pay journalists' salaries. The publishers sought government intervention and cooperation, particularly from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the state minister for information and broadcasting, to sustain the newspaper industry. The meeting highlighted that more than 700 listed newspapers in the country are owed approximately Tk 2500 crore in advertising bills from the government agencies. Tk 5,000 crores are required to clear these outstanding bills and cover bills for the next financial year to sustain the newspaper industry. Dr. Enayet Karim, also editor of the Daily Industry, informed the meeting that previously, newspaper advertisement bills were settled every three months. However, as this trend has ceased, the arrears have now reached Tk 2,500 crore. The meeting was attended by, among others, Freedom Fighter Md Faruk Alam Talukder, Chairman of Dainik Alor Jagat; KM Belayet Hosain, Editor and Publisher of Daily Bhorer Dak, Md Fojlur Rahman Zulfiker, Editor of Dainik Diner Alo; Md Abdul Awal, Editor and Publisher of Dainik Sangbad Protikkhon; Ayon Ahmed, Editor of Protidiner Chitra; Md Habibur Rahman, Chief Editor of Dainik Bhorer Somoy; Asaduzzaman Swadin, Executive Editor of Dainik Alor Jagat; and Muha Nurul Aziz Chowdhury, Editor and Publisher of Daily Amader Jagoran, Md. Rajaul Karim, Editor & Publisher of Daily Matribhumir Khabor, Nejamul Haque, Editor of Daily Ajker Provat, Md. Moniruzzaman, Editor of Daily Bank Bima and Adv Md. Rashed Uddin, Publisher of Daily Biswa Manchitra.

Nineteen more people were hospitalised with dengue in 24 hours till Saturday morning. Of the new patients, nine were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka city and the rest outside it, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Currently, 134 patients are receiving treatment at several hospitals across the country. So far, 2,745 dengue cases have been reported since January 1, 2024, said DGHS. 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.

Election Commissioner Rashida Sultana said on Saturday that they want to leave a clean electoral environment for the future based on the experience gained during the election. The election commissioner addressed the meeting with the presiding officers of 3 upazilas of Dinajpur (Sadar, Chirirbandar and Khansama). “Strict actions will be taken if any presiding officer is involved in irregularities during voting,” she warned. She also urged them to perform the duty in a neutral and correct manner. The meeting was held in the auditorium of Dinajpur District School on Saturday afternoon. Deputy Commissioner Shakeel Ahmed, Superintendent of Police Shah Iftar Ahmed, and District Election Officer Kamrul Islam were also present.