Archive for June 3rd, 2007
Sunday, June 3rd, 2007The state of the art frigate of the Bangladesh Navy, purchased in 2001 for Tk 500 crore, has remained idle for more than five years now because of sheer 'political meanness' of the immediate past BNP-led alliance government.Equipped for underwater, surface and air operations, the high-tech frigate, 'Bangabandhu', was decommissioned on February 13, 2002 and removed from the naval fleet, competent defence sources said.The decommissioning was done on the pretext of corruption in purchasing the frigate. "If there was corruption, let there be legal actions against that. But what is the justification of decommissioning a world class frigate of ...
(read more) Sunday, June 3rd, 2007The government yesterday approved a Tk 26,500-crore outlay, 23 percent higher than the current one, for the next fiscal year's Annual Development Programme (ADP).With focus on the countrywide electricity crisis, it has come up with 31 percent more allocation for the development of power sector. The revised allocation for power in the ongoing fiscal is Tk 2,779 crore, which is 6 percent less year on year.The power sector receives the highest allocation as a single sector in the FY 2007-08.Tk 3,633 crore has been allocated for setting up 14 new power plants with an electricity-generating capacity of 2,505 megawatts ...
(read more) Sunday, June 3rd, 2007The detained high profile political and business leaders continue to divulge startling information to the Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) about their corruption. According to their confessions political party high-ups and government ministers were submerged in rampant nomination trade during elections, shared among them regular monetary contributions from businessmen and foreign companies in exchange for government business contracts, and extorted money from suspected criminals in exchange for saving them from the law.Detained former FBCCI president Abdul Awal Mintoo might be made a state witness in the case against Awami League (AL) president Sheikh Hasina in connection with a high-tech frigate ...
(read more) Sunday, June 3rd, 2007The spiralling price hike of essentials is currently the biggest pressure on the economy. The government should look into the matter immediately and maintain a generous import policy, particularly in food grain import for keeping the price under control.Debapriya Bhattacharya, executive director of independent think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) observed this while presenting a study on the state of Bangladesh economy in fiscal 2007 and an outlook of the same for fiscal 2008 at a press briefing held at Cirdap auditorium yesterday.CPD Research Director Mustafizur Rahman responding to a question said the deployment of paramilitary, BDR, to ...
(read more) Sunday, June 3rd, 2007The World Bank (WB) has committed emergency budgetary support for the power sector development as it believes the interim government needs to be on a war footing to cut down the massive power shortage plaguing the country."Yes, we are certainly going to provide the support. We are looking at it as a big crisis and we are going to give it on an emergency basis," Praful C Patel, WB vice-president for South Asia, told The Daily Star yesterday, before leaving Dhaka after a three-day visit.He said the power sector is a priority area and the government should go about the ...
(read more) Sunday, June 3rd, 2007World Bank (WB) Vice President for South Asia Praful C Patel yesterday said the government will have to show some 'teeth' in quickly prosecuting the arrested 'big fish' to ensure its credibility.Rising inflation and having only ten advisers are the two significant downsides of this government, he observed.Speaking at a press conference in a city hotel, Patel said it has not been proven that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has any teeth, but "now that they have some big fish in jail, over the coming period they will have to make sure they have teeth".They will lose out otherwise, he said.The ...
(read more) Sunday, June 3rd, 2007As most of the property of arrested chief conservator of forests Osman Gani is entrusted to his relatives and faithful employees, the law enforcers investigating his corruption are yet to determine the total wealth of the forest boss.More stunning information about the forest boss continue to surface as sources in Khulna yesterday alleged that Gani received Tk 57 lakh as bribe in last January from Sundarbans forest officials and took Tk 60 lakh from 60 officers assuring them of promotion.So far, about Tk 4 crore in cash, gold ornaments and bank deposits, has been recovered from Gani's possession, an ...
(read more) Sunday, June 3rd, 2007Following Indian newspaper reports of sudden outbreak of smallpox in Bangladesh and Myanmar border areas, World Health Organisation (WHO) has generated feverish activity among the health workers in the country although not a single patient has been found in last three days' search. The West Bengal government has even issued a smallpox alert throughout the border, a report says.On information from regional WHO officials in New Delhi, the WHO country office in Bangladesh is searching with the help of the health workers of Expanded Immunisation Programme (EIP) in the remote areas of the country."So far we can say ...
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