Archive for April 20th, 2008
Sunday, April 20th, 2008In yet another fatal road accident, 18 persons were killed and 55 injured when a passenger bus skidded off the road and fell on the railway on Jamuna Bridge Approach Road in Kalihati upazila of Tangail early yesterday.Injured bus passengers alleged that the driver of the Dhaka-bound bus from Bhurungamari upazila of Kurigram was drowsy and was driving the overcrowded bus at a very high speed.The accident happened only three days after a passenger bus had been rammed by an intercity train on a level crossing, just 5km away from yesterday's accident spot, killing 17 persons and injuring 25, ...
(read more) Sunday, April 20th, 2008The Election Commission (EC) may wrap up electoral reform talks with political parties without holding formal talks with BNP if the party fails to unite within the timeframe given to it to join the reform dialogue.The EC is considering this option to overcome the crisis centring the nagging issue of talks with BNP so that it can proceed with the proposals for electoral reforms, EC sources said.Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda wants to remain rigid on the EC's plan to send the reform proposals to the caretaker government at the end of this month no matter ...
(read more) Sunday, April 20th, 2008Detained Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina was again admitted to city's Square Hospital yesterday. A convoy carrying the former prime minister, suffering from various medical conditions, reached the private hospital on Panthapath at around 8:30am.The jail authorities had to take her to the hospital several times in the last few days as her ear and eye problems worsened, said hospital sources.Talking to The Daily Star last night, Deputy Inspector General (Prisons) Major Shamsul Haider Siddique said, “We took her there for routine checkups, but we had her admitted on suggestions from the doctors.”Asked if she would be taken to ...
(read more) Sunday, April 20th, 2008The ulema committee's recommendations to curb the rights of women are totally unconstitutional since the constitution of Bangladesh guarantees equal rights for women, speakers said at a roundtable in the city yesterday.They also pointed out that a radical Islamist group, patronised by anti-liberation war elements and war criminals in the country, are creating a noise against the women's development policy to distract people from the issue of trial of war criminals.The speakers were addressing a roundtable discussion on the 'National Women Development Policy' organised by the Left Democratic Front at Mukti Bhaban at city's Purana Paltan.Moderated by Ruhin Hossein ...
(read more) Sunday, April 20th, 2008With official death toll of nearly 4,000 a year, road accidents cause the largest casualties in Bangladesh as neither existing laws nor law enforcement agencies are stringent enough to punish culprit drivers or transport owners.The Accident Research Centre of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) however claims the real number of casualties is three times the official figure.Moreover, the accidents inflict a severe damage -- no less than Tk 5,000 crore annually or about 2 percent of the GDP -- if calculated in financial terms.Researchers and even Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) say drivers care little for traffic rules ...
(read more) Sunday, April 20th, 2008Bangladesh today formally proposes to India introduction of on-board visa checking and setting up of a common station for joint customs checking of the passengers of Dhaka-Kolkata train Maitree Express.The proposal comes in the wake of passengers' sufferings due to too much time taken in customs and immigration formalities during the train's maiden trip.The communications ministry is also going to propose adjusting the timetable of the Maitree Express to cut the 13-hour journey and checking time by one hour within this month.Bangladesh rail officials will submit their recommendations to their counterparts today while the communications ministry will send its ...
(read more) Sunday, April 20th, 2008Khandaker Delwar Hossain, the BNP secretary general appointed by party chief Khaleda Zia, yesterday hinted at launching a vigorous movement to free the party chief and said the party will not participate in any dialogue or election without Khaleda and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina.Demanding election without any further delay, the BNP leader also said the people will not accept any 'stage-managed election' intended to satisfy any particular quarter or to legitimise the deeds of the present administration."There would be no dialogue, no election without Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina," he told visiting members of a forum named "Jatiyatabadi ...
(read more) Sunday, April 20th, 2008The government will deploy army at pumps of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) in a day or two to help ensure uninterrupted supply of water during the summer."Like previous years, they will help us operate the pumps as well as distribute water throughout the dry season smoothly," Raihanul Abedin, managing director of Dhaka Wasa, told The Daily Star yesterday."We have already talked with high officials of the army," he said, adding that they want army deployment to avert chaos or untoward incidents centring inadequate supply in April-June.Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) will send a letter to ...
(read more) Sunday, April 20th, 2008The government will press for an urgent commitment from the donors to fund projects on climate change mitigation and adaptation at the next month's high-level meeting between Bangladesh and United Kingdom (UK) in Dhaka and the climate change meet in London.Government high-ups, representatives of NGOs, and climate change experts held a meeting yesterday to review and propose additions to the draft agenda for the second half of the high-level Bangladesh-UK meeting on “Climate Change: Bangladesh Facing the Challenge.”The first half of the meeting was held in Dhaka last month.Environment Secretary Rezaul Kabir presented Bangladesh's draft agenda, where he said the ...
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