Archive for October 6th, 2009
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009The case of abduction and rape of a class VII schoolgirl in Kalapara on September 25 'ended' two days later at an arbitration conducted by local Awami League (AL) leaders with police looking on, according to an investigation.Following the abduction and rape of the minor girl that created sensation in this remote town, the local AL leaders decided to settle the matter through what they claimed "tough arbitration".Ironically, local MP and State Minister for Water Resources Mahbubur Rahman Talukder was present in Kalapara at that time.Locals including a number of AL activists told The Daily Star correspondents the Kalapara police ...
(read more) Tuesday, October 6th, 2009Parliament yesterday passed the local government (city corporations) bill rejecting a House body's recommendation for making MPs advisers to the city corporations from where they were elected.The House also did not accept recommendation of the parliamentary body for creating posts of two deputy mayors in each city corporation.The parliamentary standing committee on LGRD and cooperatives ministry in its scrutiny report on the bill made the recommendations.Earlier on September 14, parliament passed the local government (municipality) bill rejecting the same House body's recommendation for making MPs advisers to the municipalities in their constituencies.The government also mulls bringing amendment to the upazila ...
(read more) Tuesday, October 6th, 2009The government has taken an eight-year-long mega plan to bring back navigability in 53 important waterways by carrying out massive dredging with a cost of around Tk 11,474 crore, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan informed the House yesterday."The shipping ministry has sent a primary project proposal to the economic relations division on August 4. The planning commission has already approved the proposal in principle," the minister said.Replying to a query of Awami League lawmaker Israfil Alam, the shipping minister also said the government has planned to dredge 3276 lakh cubic meters in 53 waterways.In response to a query of AL lawmaker ...
(read more) Tuesday, October 6th, 2009Bangladesh has moved two positions up to 146th place among 182 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) ranking but still holds the last position among South Asian nations, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report said yesterday.Human Development Report 2009, released worldwide yesterday, showed Bangladesh has been making progress in the category since 1980.The report titled "Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development" was revealed at a press conference at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel in the capital yesterday.This year Bangladesh has got 0.543 HDI value to secure 146th place. Norway has topped the list with 0.971 HDI value while Niger sits ...
(read more) Tuesday, October 6th, 2009Seven shops are illegally being built in front of the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) grabbing its land by the top leaders of its class IV employees' association.DMCH sources said under direct supervision of the association leaders, the construction work started on Friday night. President of the association MA Hannan and another leader Abdul Khaleq are monitoring the work.DMCH Director Brig Gen Bazle Quader said he has not given any formal permission to the leaders to build the shops. He, however, yesterday afternoon directed the leaders of the association to stop the construction work."I told them ...
(read more) Tuesday, October 6th, 2009All future housing projects must have playgrounds and water reservoirs to get approval of the government, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday.She directed Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha not to approve projects of any housing company under any circumstances lacking these two provisions.Hundreds of housing projects mushroomed in the Dhaka city over the years and almost all of them have no space, playgrounds or reservoirs, made mandatory in the Private Housing Land Development Rules, 2004.The directive came at the cabinet meeting, chaired by Hasina, held at the Cabinet Division of Bangladesh Secretariat."Any company seeking permission to set up housing projects must have ...
(read more) Tuesday, October 6th, 2009The Supreme Court yesterday started hearing the appeals of the five convicts, who challenged their death sentences in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman assassination case.A five-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Justice Md Tafazzal Islam concluded the first day's hearing on the appeals yesterday and adjourned the proceedings till 9:30am today.The five convicts -- dismissed army personnel Syed Farooq-ur Rahman, Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Mohiuddin Ahmed, AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, and Bazlul Huda -- who are in jail now, filed the appeals with the SC in October, 2007.The hearing began at 9:45am at the jam-packed courtroom.Barrister Abdullah-al Mamun, counsel for ...
(read more) Tuesday, October 6th, 2009Two alleged criminals were killed in separate 'shootouts' with the members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in the capital's Jatrabari and Mirpur while another died in a gunfight with police in Sutrapur yesterday.Listed criminal Sayezuddin alias Sazu, 30, of Sutrapur died on the spot in a half an hour-long gun battle with Rab-10 members at Namapara slum near a CNG filling station under Jatrabari police station.Rab sources said Sazu was a hired killer and engaged in drug peddling, was accused in at least a dozen criminal cases and also was charge sheeted in the Sutrapur double murder case in 2005."On ...
(read more) Tuesday, October 6th, 2009The death of rare animals at Dhaka Zoo seems never ending due to poor management of the zoo.Another giraffe died yesterday morning reducing the total number of giraffes at the zoo to two. This was the third consecutive death of giraffe after two others died on September 8 and 30 after suffering from "dehydration".The zoo authorities formed several probe committees and transferred and sacked zoo officials following the death incidents but nothing could stop unnatural deaths of precious animals.The giraffe had been suffering from illness since September 23 but the reason behind the death seemed a riddle to zoo officials."All ...
(read more) Tuesday, October 6th, 2009Criminal Investigation Department (CID) took two members of Lashkar-e-Taiba of India on a three-day remand in connection with the blast at a rally of Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) in 2001.Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Golam Rabbani yesterday passed the remand order after CID produced Mufti Obaidullah and Mansur Ali before the court seeking ten days' remand.Earlier, they were shown arrested in the case as the CID found their involvement in the incident.In the forwarding report, CID Inspector Mrinal Kanti Saha, also the investigation officer (IO) of the case, said he gathered information from Harkatul Jihad (Huji) chief Mufti Abdul Hannan ...
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