Archive for April 19th, 2008
Saturday, April 19th, 2008Over an estimated 20 lakh people in Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) area are left out of the government's safety net programmes like open market sale (OMS) and fair price shops because they live under union parishads.Officials of Directorate of Food say the programmes are meant only for the residents of municipalities and upazilas. The government has yet to introduce similar measures for those living in unions.Visiting 17 unions for the past few days, The Daily Star correspondents found that rickshaw pullers, day labourers, factory workers and small traders constitute the majority of the populace there.The unions--Sultanganj, Harirampur, Uttar Khan, Dakshin ...
(read more) Saturday, April 19th, 2008Pro-Khaleda faction of BNP plans to issue a showcause notice on Maj (retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, acting secretary general appointed by standing committee, for violating party discipline.They would proceed after getting the nod from detained Chairperson Khaleda Zia, said insiders.Leaders loyal to the now detained former prime minister at a meeting recently demanded disciplinary action against Standing Committee Member Saifur Rahman and Vice-president Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.Senior leaders however did not show support taking any action against Saifur, former finance minister and the senior most leader of the party, as they believe he was forced to join the pro-reform group ...
(read more) Saturday, April 19th, 2008After serving it with a contract termination notice last month, the Power Development Board (PDB) allegedly under pressure from an influential quarter Wednesday accepted security deposit from a power company owned by Hosaf Group for setting up Fenchuganj 50 megawatt rental power plant.On March 30, the PDB served Hosaf's company Energy Prima with a notice of default and intent to terminate the contract for a three-year rental power project in Fenchuganj for repeatedly failing to provide performance guarantee.This rental power plant was supposed to start operation late next month to ease load shedding this summer. Now, Energy Prima is ...
(read more) Saturday, April 19th, 2008Prices of battery and free-range chickens registered a sharp rise in the city in last one week as bird-flu panic dies down and supply remains poor following the culling of thousands of birds during the avian influenza outbreak.Green chilli prices, however, came down significantly in kitchen markets yesterday.Meantime, price of different varieties of coarse rice remained stable on the retail market in last four days but edible oil prices hiked further in last one week.The price of battery chickens rose by Tk 10-15 per kg on the retail market, jumping to Tk 115-125 per kg yesterday. It was sold for ...
(read more) Saturday, April 19th, 2008Racketeers using forged 'photocopy visas' sent many Bangladeshi job seekers to Iraq promising well-paid jobs and deserted them in Sulaimaniya and elsewhere in that country to live a subhuman life without jobs, an investigation found.“It is easy to forge photocopy visas. And cheats take advantage of this,” said a member of a taskforce formed in January this year to probe irregularities in recruitment system for overseas jobs.Photocopy visas are copies of visas that employers in the UAE send to Bangladesh for recruiting workers. Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) in Bangladesh issues emigration clearance against these visas but ...
(read more) Saturday, April 19th, 2008The Sylhet Divisional Special Tribunal has been without a judge for almost three months, which has greatly hampered trials of 26 sensational cases, including one for the grenade attack on the British high commissioner.Judge Dipyoman Sarker of the tribunal was transferred to Jamalpur District Court on January 27 without any replacement.The absence of a judge has caused sufferings to the litigants as days have been passing without any activity at the tribunal. Law enforcers, however, have to bring the detained accused to the court on trial dates as it is mandatory.District and Sessions Judge Md Abdul Gafur has been in ...
(read more) Saturday, April 19th, 2008The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) gunned down one Bangladeshi and two Indian cattle traders on Burimari border in Lalmonirhat's Patgram upazila early yesterday.Two more Bangladeshi cattle traders were injured in the incident.The deceased Bangladeshi national was identified as M Ainul Huq, 32, son of Kandura Mia of Muglabari village while the Indians as Sri Amal Chandra, 22, and Khokan Mohanta, 19, of Chengrabandha thana in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district.The injured cattle traders -- Mofazzal, 23, son of Hanifar Rahman, and Dulu Mia, 35, son of Aminul of the village - were admitted to hospital in critical condition.BDR sources said ...
(read more) Saturday, April 19th, 2008Two teenagers were killed and at least 17 people injured in nor'wester and thunderstorm which also destroyed hundreds of thatched houses and vast swathes of standing crops in four districts in last two days.Our Chapainawabganj correspondent reports: A 14-year-old, Rahmatullah, was crushed to death while collecting blown-down mangoes when a mango tree fell on him during a nor'wester in Shibganj upazila Thursday evening.Three people were injured during the storm. No less than two hundred thatched houses, Boro and maize crops and mango orchards were also destroyed in five upazilas of the district.In Moulvibazar, a teenager was killed and a ...
(read more) Saturday, April 19th, 2008The Army should not be called in for holding the general election, said former adviser to caretaker government M Hafizuddin Khan yesterday.“The general election in Nepal was held peacefully without engaging its armed forces in the election activities. We can also apply it in our country. A basic political agreement should be struck between the political parties in this regard,” said M Hafizuddin Khan, who led an election observer team in Nepal, while speaking at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity.The team that observed general election in Nepal, also gave suggestions to the caretaker government to identify specific ...
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