Archive for March 20th, 2008
Thursday, March 20th, 2008The government over the years has allowed industrialists to pollute the rivers, canals and wetlands in and around the city to such an extent that surface water turned pitch black in several spots.Pollution has set in on the Buriganga, Shitalakhya and Balu rivers and made it almost impossible to treat the water. The Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa), is supplying stinky water by purifying it with chlorine and ammonia sulfate.The military-backed caretaker government had earlier directed industrialists to install 'effluent treatment plants' (ETP) at their respective industries by October 31 last year.But most of the industrialists have defied the directive ...
(read more) Thursday, March 20th, 2008British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has underlined the importance of smooth transition of power to an elected government promptly following elections in Bangladesh.Brown made the remark during a meeting with Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed at 10 Downing Street Tuesday afternoon.A joint statement released after the meeting said the prime minister and the chief adviser agreed that credible elections that can sustain democracy in the longer term are essential for Bangladesh.The chief adviser categorically reaffirmed his government's firm resolve to hold free, fair and credible parliamentary elections in Bangladesh by December 2008.He informed the British prime minister that the ...
(read more) Thursday, March 20th, 2008Detained former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar allegedly hired Sanjidul Islam Emon to have his reported business partner Madan Municipality Chairman Shafiqul Islam Liton killed since he joined hands with Babar's rival former Awami League MP Haji Selim.As Liton betrayed, Babar opposed his candidature in the municipality chairman election in 2002, sources said, quoting Emon's confession made before Criminal Investigation Department (CID) interrogators during his remand period.Sources claimed Babar, abusing power, paved the way for Liton to fish in Netrakona haor areas depriving others. But, Liton joined hands with Selim to trade fish at the Karwan Bazar wholesale market ...
(read more) Thursday, March 20th, 2008Instances of exemption from disclosure of information should be specified in the proposed Right to Information (RTI) ordinance to prevent its misuse, said visiting Indian Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah yesterday.He put emphasis on computerising all government records and connecting them to a network for easy access and said the success of the law depends a lot on it.Habibullah, who has been leading Indian Central Information Commission since October 26, 2005, was sharing experiences of implementation of the Indian RTI Act at a roundtable meeting in Dhaka.He described the draft RTI ordinance as stronger than the Indian act in terms ...
(read more) Thursday, March 20th, 2008Detained former lawmaker and Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) leader Mufti Shahidul Islam was sentenced to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment for amassing illegal wealth yesterday.The Special Court-7 also fined the IOJ leader, who has been behind bars since February 7 last year, Tk 10 lakh, defaulting on which will carry one more year in jail.Judge Sirajul Islam ordered the confiscation of Shahidul's ill-gotten money, worth about Tk 29.8 lakh. The court said the sentence would be effective from the date of his arrest.The IOJ leader, who fought in Afghanistan and is accused of having militant connections, was elected to parliament ...
(read more) Thursday, March 20th, 2008The Election Commission (EC) will soon announce a specific timeframe for holding the much debated upazila elections.Currently controversies over holding the upazila elections are raging, as the caretaker government wants the upazila polls prior to holding of the stalled ninth parliamentary election while most of the political parties want the general election first.In its electoral roadmap announced on July 15 last year, the EC tentatively scheduled November and December of this year as the timeframe for holding the long over due upazila elections while parliamentary poll is scheduled to be held by the year end.Chief Election Commissioner ...
(read more) Thursday, March 20th, 2008Visiting World Bank (WB) Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala yesterday said Bangladesh should adapt to a long-term reality of high food and oil prices by setting up better safety nets, which the lending agency is helping to design.She said the global price hikes of food and energy, which are hitting the poor hardest, are unlikely to recede anytime soon while driving up the bills for fuel and fertilizer subsidies."The challenge is to adjust to the reality of higher prices by securing the basis for a strong macroeconomic performance while protecting efficiently the most vulnerable," said Ngozi, rounding up a ...
(read more) Thursday, March 20th, 2008The Supreme Court yesterday stayed operation of the High Court judgment that declared illegal the tax-evasion case against jailed former state minister for power Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku, clearing the way for his trial.The case is now pending with the special court trying high- profile corruption suspects.The Appellate Division passed the order while granting leave to appeal petition filed by the government and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) against the December 5, 2007 High Court judgment.In the case filed by the NBR, he has been accused of evading over Tk 3.80 crore in income tax.Tuku, who was arrested ...
(read more) Thursday, March 20th, 2008Life in the capital became miserable yesterday with the mercury rising and the effects worsened by frequent power cuts.About 3,800 megawatts (MW) of power was generated in the country yesterday against the demand of 4,300MW, causing an official shortfall of 500MW. However, sources say that the shortfall was 1,000MW yesterday.Problems in gas supply to power stations also contributed to the power outages.The power plants running on natural gas have a demand of around 800 million cubic feet of gas a day, but they are currently receiving around 642 million cubic feet of gas a day.Gas companies under Petrobangla are ...
(read more) Thursday, March 20th, 2008The treatment of the ears and eyes of detained Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina finally started at the city's Square Hospitals where she has been undergoing treatment since March 11.Echo test was performed on Hasina's ears yesterday as a primary step and several other tests would be carried out today, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Prisons Major Shamsul Haider Siddiqui told reporters at the hospital.He went to visit Hasina at the hospital at about 5:00pm and stayed there for about an hour and enquired about Hasina's health.Hasina, a former prime minister and the eldest daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, ...
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