Archive for December 7th, 2007
Friday, December 7th, 2007Public service oriented institutions in government and private sectors will be the prime target of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) at the beginning of its new dimensional drive against institutional graft set to start this month.The commission will not only investigate alleged corruption and irregularities of the organisations but also recommend that the government take remedial measures to check institutional corruption.ACC sources say they are working to prepare a list of organisations providing public service as well as having allegations of gross corruption and misdeeds against them.The anti-graft watchdog is not going to reveal names of these organisations now, but will ...
(read more) Friday, December 7th, 2007Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka in his wealth statement submitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday declared that he owns movable and immovable property worth Tk 9 crore.The statement showed immovable property worth about Tk 8 crore and movable property worth Tk 1.22 crore in the names of Khoka, his wife Ismat Ara, son Israk Hossain and daughter Sarika Sadeque.A number of sources, including his salary as a minister, lawmaker and the DCC mayor, and profits from his business were shown as the sources of his income.According to the wealth statement, immovable property worth Tk 2.92 ...
(read more) Friday, December 7th, 2007Shifting from its earlier estimate, the government yesterday came up with a fresh calculation, saying import of 14.20 lakh tonnes of rice, and not 31 lakh tonnes, is needed to meet the domestic deficit due to crop damage in floods and cyclone.On Saturday, the agriculture ministry at a press conference in presence of the adviser said 31 lakh tonnes of rice have to be imported from the international market in the current fiscal year.But within five days, the agriculture and food advisers at a joint press briefing yesterday reduced the import requirement to 14.20 lakh tonnes.Agriculture Adviser CS ...
(read more) Friday, December 7th, 2007Despite a court order, Tejgaon police yesterday refused to register a sedition case against two top Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and a former Islami Bank chairman for their anti-liberation activities, saying they did not have necessary government sanction."Sanction of the government is required prior to register a sedition case. But it [Tejgaon Police Station] did not get the sanction yet," the officer-in-charge (OC) of the police station told a metropolitan magistrate's court.The OC sent back the case to the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate seeking directives about the next course of action in such a situation.Chief Metropolitan Magistrate AKM Enamul Haque forwarded ...
(read more) Friday, December 7th, 2007The Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) will begin from December 11 scrutinising around 70,000 allegations that have so far been submitted to the commission and initiate investigation according to the importance of the complaints.ACC Director General (Admin) Col Hanif Iqbal disclosed this during a regular press briefing at the ACC headquarters yesterday.The ACC yesterday sued former post and telecommunication minister barrister Aminul Haque and one of his aides on charge of misusing Tk 16.15 lakh government money for personal purposes.The ACC also filed a case against former BNP lawmaker MAH Salim and three of his family members in connection with amassing wealth ...
(read more) Friday, December 7th, 2007The government has finalised 'Private Security Service Rules' that will make it mandatory for private security service companies to have licence.The rules provide that all such companies must have licence by December 31, and operating any such company without licence is a punishable offence.The move followed alleged involvement of security personnel of many of these companies in crimes.Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Naim Ahmed at a press briefing yesterday said the government decided to go for the rules in the wake of allegations that a number of private security service men were involved in robberies in the capital, ...
(read more) Friday, December 7th, 2007A group of Dhaka University (DU) teachers yesterday staged a silent demonstration, protesting against the imprisonment of four Rajshahi University (RU) teachers in connection with the August campus violence.Over 40 teachers stood in front of the Aparajeyo Bangla for half an hour, displaying placards demanding immediate release of all the convicted and detained teachers and students of the two universities.Prof MM Akash of economics department had announced the programme on Wednesday. He and a few teachers came to the spot at 11:30am yesterday and others joined them later one by one. Most participants were senior teachers of the university.Hundreds of ...
(read more) Friday, December 7th, 2007The destruction Sidr inflicted on much of southern Bangladesh is not so apparent in the tourist resort of Kuakata, nevertheless the cyclone has left this community in total disarray.All structures outside the embankment have been wiped out. Hotels, restaurants, dry fish traders, roadside shops and other beachside businesses have all been severely affected.The possibility of quick rebuilding also seems thin as the affected, who badly need financial assistance, are yet to get any such assurance from the local administration.Following the cyclone, relief poured in from all corners with locals receiving food, cash and materials to reconstruct their houses. However, during ...
(read more) Friday, December 7th, 2007Brac has decided to write off micro-finance loans amounting to Tk 100 crore in the areas devastated by cyclone Sidr.The decision was taken yesterday based on the NGO's initial assessment in the Sidr-affected areas, says a press release.Brac had decided earlier not to collect micro-finance instalments from its borrowers in the cyclone-battered southern region until March.Moreover, it will continue disbursing loans to the affected borrowers with a view to generate economic activities.Brac has employed about 2,500 staff for distributing relief materials in the affected areas and undertaken rehabilitation programme in different sectors including agriculture, fisheries and livestock. It ...
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