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Ecnec clears 11 projects involving Tk 8,425 crore
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Thursday approved a total of 11 development projects including Tk 3,059-crore one to construct 674 Union Parishad complex bhabans in 322 upazilas.
The approval came from the Ecnec meeting presided over by Prime Minister and Ecnec chairperson Sheikh Hasina at the NEC conference room in the city’s Sher-e Bangla Nagar area.
Planning Minister Maj Gen (Retd) Abdus Salam briefed reporters after the meeting.
FM Hasan denounced Prof Yunus for receiving award from Israeli sculptor
The total estimated cost of 11 projects is Tk 8,425.52 crore (only additional cost of revised projects is incorporated here). Of the cost, Tk 7,939.87 crore will be drawn from the government’s fund, while Tk 485.65 crore from foreign sources.
Of the projects, seven are new while three are revised schemes. Besides, one project got the Ecnec’s nod to extend time, not cost.
According to the project factsheet, Union Parishad Complex Bhaban Construction (Phase-III) will be implemented at 674 unions of 322 upazilas in 62 districts by December, 2028.
Among the fresh projects, the rural infrastructure development in the districts of greater Rangpur region will be implemented at the cost of Tk 2,500 crore in 35 upazilas of five districts by June 2028.
The other new five projects include Bangladesh Chancellery Bhaban and Residential Bhaban Construction at Cairo in Egypt involving TK 165.97 crore, upgrading and widening Kashinathpur-Dashuria-Natore-Rajshahi-Nababganj-Kansat-Sonamajjid-Baliadighi Border (N-06) National Highways (Nababganj Part) with Tk 481.89 crore, development of Infrastructures to enhancing capacity and fish production in the existing government fish farms with Tk 371.32 crore, improvement of Fish Landing Centre of Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation in Cox’s Bazar with Tk 232.83 crore; and Establishment of Bangladesh Handloom Board Complex at Mirpur in Dhaka with Tk 115 crore.
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The three revised projects are Collection of 20 Meter Gauge Diesel Electric Locomotives and 150 Meter Gauge Passenger Carriages for Bangladesh Railways (1st revised) with additional cost of Tk 288.07 crore (now cost Tk 2,157.68 crore), Promoting Resilience for Vulnerable through Access to Infrastructure, Improved Skills and Information (Provati) (1st revised) with additional cost of Tk 166.83 crore (now cost Tk 924.51 crore); and establishment of full-fledged Cancer, Cardiac and Kidney Treatment Centres in 8 divisional cities (1st revised) with extra cost of Tk 1,044.61 crore (now cost Tk 3,433 crore).
Besides, the meeting cleared Relocation of Bangladesh Betar Shahbagh Complex to Agargaon in Dhaka, and its construction and modernization (3rd revised) project, just extending time not cost.
Met office predicts rains in Dhaka, 6 other divisions
Met office forecast rains or thundershowers in Dhaka and six other divisions of the country in 24 hours commencing 9 am on Thursday.
“Rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely at one or two places over Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions,” said a Met office bulletin.
Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country.
Day and night temperatures may remain nearly unchanged over the country.
Nor’wester damages hundreds of houses in Faridpur
Around hundreds of houses were damaged while a number of trees were uprooted during a nor’wester in Faridpur district early Thursday (March 28, 2024).
Twenty villages under Pachuria and Bana unions in Alfadanga upazila of the district were battered by the storm.
Residents of the 20 villages – Sirgram, Garania, Pakuria, Taboni, Tonapara, Sialdi Charpara, Joydebpur, Aushir haat, Kutharakandi, Majpara, Arpara in Bana union; Jugibarat, Bhatpara, Chandra, Pachuria, Deuli, Charnarandia, Dhuljuri and Charbhatpara in Pachuria union – remained in darkness as many electric wires were also snapped during the storm.
A vast track of cropslands were also damaged while trees were uprooted, halting road communications in different parts of the upazila.
Read more: Rains likely in parts of Dhaka, 7 other divisions
AKM Zahidul Hasan Zahid, chairman of Alfadanga upazila, said the storm started sweeping through the upazila around 1 am.
Many people have taken shelter under the open sky as their thatched houses were blown away during the storm.
Additional General Manager of Alfadanga Sub-zonal officer of Palli Bidyut Samity, said some electric poles were uprooted while some wires got snapped, disrupting power connection.
Work is going on to resume power supply, he said.
Quamrul Ahsan Talukdar, deputy commissioner of Faridpur, said directives have been given to provide all-out support to those affected in the storm.
Read more: Women's perspectives are vital in climate action: Environment Minister
Body of youth killed in 'BSF firing' returned in Lalmonirhat
Members of India's Border Security Force (BSF) handed over the body of a youth, who was reportedly killed in BSF firing along the Durgapur border in Hatibandha upazila of Lalmonirhat district on Tuesday, to the Bangladesh authorities on Wednesday night.
Liton Mia (19), of Hatibandha upazila, received bullet injuries as BSF personnel from Rarthar BoP camp opened fire on Tuesday when he along with others went to the border area.
Liton succumbed to his injuries under the custody of BSF, said Commanding Officer of Lalmonirhat-15 BGB, Lt Col Mofazzal Hossain Akanda.
Around 10:30 pm last night, the BSF members handed over the body of Liton through a flag meeting at Jawrani border.
Woman’s body recovered from under-construction house in Rajshahi
Police recovered the body of a woman from an under-construction house in Gogram area of Godagari upazila in Rajshahi yesterday.
On information from the locals, police recovered the body and sent it to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. Police arrested two people in this connection.
The name of the deceased is Sandhya Rani (20), daughter of Harilal Das of Sundarganj upazila of Gaibandha.
The arrested are Phulbabu Ravi Das (25), step brother of the deceased, and Adil Ahmed Palak (19), son of Awal Hossain of Lalpukur village of Godagari upazila. Phulbabu's wife Manti Das (22) is absconding. Phulbabu, his wife and Sandhya Rani worked as laborers.
Abdul Matin, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Godagari Police Station, said that Sandhya Rani had an argument with her step brother and his wife. The arrested persons confessed that Sandhya Rani was stabbed after giving her sleeping pills.
Dhaka’s air 3rd most polluted in the world today
Dhaka ranked third on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality on Thursday morning.
Its air quality continued to be in the 'unhealthy' zone with an air quality index (AQI) score of 169 at 8:55 am.
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.
India’s Delhi and Thailand’s Chiang Mai occupied the first two spots on the list, with AQI scores of 179 and 170, respectively.
Dhaka’s air quality still ‘unhealthy’, 3rd worst in the world today
An AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria 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.
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.
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As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
5 hurt in BCL infighting at Chittagong Government College
At least five students were injured in a clash between two factions of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) of Chittagong Government College (CCC) unit.
The injured were identified as Wahidul Rahman Sujon, 24, Moinul Islam, 20, Touhidul Karim Emon, 21, Md Zahid, 20, and Amin Faisal Bidyut, 21.
Campus sources said two groups of the BCL locked into the clash over establishing supremacy on the campus.
On information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control, said Chawkbazar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Wali Uddin Akbar.
The injured were admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, he added.
1 dead, 2 injured while making hand bombs in Madaripur
A man died and two other sustained injuries while making hand bombs in Kalkini upazila of Madaripur on Wednesday.
The deceased, Modasser Shikder, 50, was a resident of Barishal’s Muladi upazila.
The incident happened at Natun Chardaula Khan village of the upazila this afternoon.
The injured, Harun Dhali and Dadon Dhali, were admitted to a hospital in Barishal.
According to locals and police sources, three to four people, including Modasser, were making hand bombs at the house of a man named Yunus Sardar in the morning.
One of the bombs exploded at noon and three people were seriously injured. Later, Modasser died on the way to hospital.
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“Nothing can be said about the matter yet,” said Madaripur Additional Superintendent of Police Mohammad Kamrul Hasan.
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Police visited the spot after the incident.
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Jatri Kalyan Samitiy demands extension of Eid holidays by 2 days
Passenger welfare platform 'Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samitiy' (BJKS) on Wednesday demanded extension of the Eid holidays by two days to reduce the suffering of passengers on the roads and prevent road accidents during the upcoming Eid.
In a press conference organised at Dhaka Reporters Unity Secretary General of the BJKS Md. Mozammel Haque Chowdhury made the demand to make the Eid trip safe and hassle-free.
According to the observation of the platform, 16 million people, including one crore people from Dhaka, 40 lakh from Gazipur district, 12 lakh from Narayanganj district, and other surrounding districts will travel to different districts of the country during this Eid.
In the four days before Eid, 3 million passengers can travel by bus-minibus, 0.4 million by train, 3.5 million by private car, jeep and microbus, 1.2 million by motorcycle, 6.0 million by launch, and about 1 million by air.
Due to the inadequate public transport and the anarchy of overcharging, 1.8 lakh passengers may travel on the roofs of buses, trains and open trucks and freight transport, said the leaders of BJKS.
Also, about 4 to 5 crore passengers will travel inter-district. For this, from April 5 to April 14, there may be an additional 60 million trip passengers in different types of transport in the country due to various reasons including travel to Eid Bazar, village home.
For this reason, it is feared that if proper use of public transport is not ensured, there may be hellish situation in this year's Eid journey.
They said on April 9 and 10, 60 to 70 lakh people will leave the capital every day but public transport has the capacity to carry 22 to 25 lakh people.
In such a situation, if the holiday is not extended before Eid, the traffic situation on all the roads of the country may get worse. Therefore, if the Eid holidays are extended by 2 days on 8 and 9 April, everyone will get a chance to go home in phases from 05 April.
In the written statement, Mozammel said that there might be traffic jams in 714 spots in the country this Eid. Out of which 140 spots need close monitoring, he said.
Police and various intelligence agencies have alerted the government about 218 high-risk accident spots on 10 national and regional highways.
Dr Yunus got no UNESCO Award: Mohibul
Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury on Wednesday said the UNESCO did not confer “The Tree of Peace” award to Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus.
Mohibul, who is also the Chairman of the Bangladesh UNESCO Commission, made the statement to reporters at the Bangladesh Secretariat.
He said "Dr Yunus was conferred the 'Tree of Peace' award by an Israeli sculptor, upon invitation from the Ganjavi Foundation in Azerbaijan."
The minister said that Dr Yunus’ claim that he received the award from UNESCO is untrue.
"The information propagated by the Yunus Centre regarding the UNESCO award is inaccurate and misleading," said the minister. "It is imperative that we set the record straight and ensure that such misinformation does not tarnish the reputation of our country. An explanation will be sent to the UNESCO headquarters regarding this matter as it is humiliating for Bangladesh."
The minister also warned of legal repercussions if the Yunus Centre persisted in spreading false claims about the UNESCO award. He emphasised the need for immediate cessation of such misleading information to prevent further damage to the reputation of both Dr Yunus and Bangladesh on the international stage.
However, comments from the Yunus Centre were not immediately available.