Archive for February 7th, 2007
Wednesday, February 7th, 2007The country's biggest gas field Titas may face the threat of a blowout that can wreak havoc in Brahmanbaria sadar upazila and the country's energy system, according to geological experts, locals and sources in Bangladesh Gas Field Company Ltd (BGFCL).They point out that due to some undetermined fault in the gas field's geological structure, natural gas is gushing out of various cracks and hundreds of holes spread over an area of about 1,000 acres of land in location number three of Titas Gas Field.Indicating symptoms of a serious disaster, about half a dozen hand tube-wells in the area are ...
(read more) Wednesday, February 7th, 2007The caretaker government is preparing tough laws to make registration of political parties with the Election Commission (EC) mandatory in a bid to ensure financial transparency and accountability of the major parties.Besides, the government will issue an ordinance to bar civil servants from participating in the parliamentary election within at least three to four years of their retirement, said Law Adviser Mainul Hosein yesterday.Major political parties, including BNP and Awami League (AL), have been ignoring the registration law for the last six years since it is an optional provision.Adviser Tapan Chowdhury meanwhile said yesterday the caretaker government will make a ...
(read more) Wednesday, February 7th, 2007The joint forces yesterday detained former state minister for communications Salahuddin Ahmed and ex-BNP lawmaker Ali Asgar Lobi from their Gulshan houses in the capital, adding to the long list of high profile arrestees.Meanwhile, already arrested BNP leader and former minister Tariqul Islam, and ex-lawmaker from the same party Mosaddak Ali Falu were sent to detentions for 30 days yesterday.Yesterday's arrests were part of the interim government's ongoing crackdown on corruption, which has already resulted in netting of 17 high profile politicians including former ministers and lawmakers, with an objective of ridding the country of corruption and holding a ...
(read more) Wednesday, February 7th, 2007The chief and two commissioners of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) have decided to resign following a request from President Iajuddin Ahmed yesterday. ACC Chairman Justice Sultan Hossain Khan will tender his resignation today and Commissioner Prof Maniruzzaman Miah in a day or two. But the other one, Maniruddin Ahmed, declined to say when he would submit his resignation.The decision followed their meeting the president at the Bangabhaban yesterday.The three have been with the ACC since its inception in November 2004. They had promised a crusade against corruption, but will be leaving with no success under their belt.Though processed through a ...
(read more) Wednesday, February 7th, 2007The joint forces seized over six lakh sacks of spurious and date-expired fertiliser and adulterated pesticides and sealed off two factories and 14 warehouses during separate raids across the country yesterday. Besides, the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab-11) seized a huge amount of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and telecommunication equipments in Munshiganj.In Pabna, the joint forces seized a huge haul of spurious and date-expired fertilisers during a raid at Nagarbari fertiliser market, the largest market in the northern part of the country, reports our correspondent from Pabna. Some six lakh sacks of sub-standard fertiliser were seized, which would have fetched ...
(read more) Wednesday, February 7th, 2007A group of muggers yesterday snatched Tk 10 lakh from the staffs of a garment factory at the city's Dhanmondi area injuring one.The snatchers came by three motorbikes and stopped the car of MNS Garments on Dhanmondi Road No 8 at around 2:00 pm and fired on the windshield leaving car driver Abdul Alim, 32, hurt.Alim received bullet in his hand and was given treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.Alim told The Daily Star that the muggers attacked them while they were returning to the head office at Kalabagan after drawing cash from Uttara Bank's Satmasjid road branch.After taking the ...
(read more) Wednesday, February 7th, 2007Former chief adviser to the caretaker government Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman yesterday said the workings of a state could collapse if transparency and free flow of information are absent."If there is free flow of information, there will be no corruption," Habibur said while speaking as the chief guest of a consultation meeting in Cirdap auditorium in the city."People's access to information is very important," he said demanding registration of all political parties in order to ensure their accountability.South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) Bangladesh chapter organised the national consultation meeting titled "Right to Transparent Governance: Bangladesh Perspective" at the auditorium ...
(read more) Wednesday, February 7th, 2007Election candidates already spent Tk 15.2 lakh on average for campaigns before the closing of withdrawal of nominations for the now cancelled January 22 election, says a Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) survey.One BNP candidate spent over Tk 1.94 crore while one from Awami League (AL) spent Tk 1.67 crore for campaigns before January 3, the last date for withdrawing nominations. The current electoral laws set a ceiling of Tk 5 lakh on election expenses for a contestant.The study covering 38 constituencies across 32 districts in all six divisions found that 122 candidates expended over Tk 18.5 crore.The findings were ...
(read more) Wednesday, February 7th, 2007Indian industrial giant Tata Group may revive its package proposal for investing $3 billion in Bangladesh. The indication came as Tata Group's Resident Director S Manzer Hussain called on Power and Energy Adviser Tapan Chwdhury at his Secretariat office yesterday.After the meeting, Tapan Chowdhury told reporters that Tata has an investment proposal for a long-term project and the country will be benefited if such investment proposal is entertained.But, he said the caretaker government is presently thinking of dealing with short-term projects. "If the caretaker government thinks about Tata's investment, there should be a prompt decision from the government."About ...
(read more) Wednesday, February 7th, 2007Law Adviser Mainul Hosein yesterday said the politicians who patronised militants will also be arrested as part of the caretaker government's drive to restore law and order in the country."There were political hands in the rise of militancy in the country," Mainul told reporters at his office, adding that the militants dared to exercise their strength because of party politics of the country.The government is mulling an anti-militant act while it is probing the nature of the politicians' involvement in the rise of militancy, he said.Those who patronised the rise of militants in the country are on the list of ...
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