Archive for October 8th, 2009
Thursday, October 8th, 2009Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday told parliament the government is working out plans for an extensive and coordinated communications network to ease traffic congestions in the capital.“We are now drawing routes for the elevated expressway in the capital. We also have plans to construct underground railway and monorail to cut tailbacks,” she said during the question-answer hour.The prime minister said the communications plans being mapped out for the city will incorporate the adjacent districts--Gazipur, Narayanganj, Munshiganj and Manikganj.She said the construction of a four-lane Dhaka-Chittagong highway may begin in December and end by December 2012.The tenders submitted for the work ...
(read more) Thursday, October 8th, 2009Formation of an expert committee to assess the possible impact of the proposed Tipaimukh Dam on Bangladesh is under consideration, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said yesterday in parliament.In its report to the parliament yesterday, the parliamentary delegation, which visited the controversial Tipaimukh Dam site, suggested the formation of the expert team to conduct a survey and assess the advantages and the overall impact of the dam on Bangladesh.However, the prime minister said the expert team would be formed after examining the information and data already available on Tipaimukh Dam and those to be available in future.During the question-answer hour in ...
(read more) Thursday, October 8th, 2009A witness of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman assassination case has said in his statement that convicts Bazlul Huda and Noor Chowdhury shot Bangabandhu with Sten guns on August 15, 1975.Barrister Abdullah-al Mamun, counsel for convicts Bazlul Huda and AKM Mohiuddin, yesterday placed the statement of witness Abdul Quddus before the Supreme Court while delivering his submission on the third day's hearing on appeals of five convicts who challenged their death sentences in the case.In 1975, Abdul Quddus was a guard at the official residence of Bangabandhu on Road-32 in Dhanmondi.In his statement, Quddus said on the day of the incident, ...
(read more) Thursday, October 8th, 2009The High Court directives and government's tough warnings against encroachment on the Turag go unheeded as land grabbers continue filling the river with earth.A petition was filed yesterday with the HC, seeking a directive on the government to take actions against Turag encroachers and stop illegal earth filling there.Advocate Manzill Murshid filed the petition on behalf of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, a human rights organisation.He told The Daily Star that the HC in a verdict on June 24 this year directed the authorities concerned to protect Turag, Balu, Shitalakkhya and Buriganga rivers around the capital from encroachment and ...
(read more) Thursday, October 8th, 2009An Awami League lawmaker's son yesterday allegedly grabbed land of four ship-breaking yards along the coast of Sitakunda upazila.SM Al Mamun, son of ruling AL lawmaker ABM Abul Kashem Master of Chittagong-3, encroached on the land and attached it to his under-construction ship-breaking yard.Hired goons of Mamun also assaulted journalists, who were there to cover the land grabbing in the afternoon.They beat up Prothom Alo reporter Pranab Baul, Samakal reporter Sekander Hossain and snatched away the camera of Prothom Alo photographer Rashed Mahmud.Sources say about 200 men led by Mahmudul Hossain Manna appeared on the 10 acres of land owned ...
(read more) Thursday, October 8th, 2009Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian High Commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty discussed the much-talked-about transit issue during a meeting when the envoy paid a courtesy call on her at her office yesterday.The PM told the high commissioner, "Bangladesh wants transit facilities with India, Nepal and Bhutan for boosting bilateral and regional trade and business."She said during every talk with Indian authorities, Bangladesh always requested India to give Bangladesh transit facilities with Nepal and Bhutan.Hasina also called for creating Regional Food Security System in South Asia for future welfare of the people of the region.PM's Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad briefed ...
(read more) Thursday, October 8th, 2009Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) has said the past two years of emergency rule had a "drastic" impact on Sheikh Hasina.The international fortnightly lauded her attitude as she said the experience made her more desperate and determined to work for people."She is not bitter about how she was treated (in the past two years). On the contrary . . . the experience made her more focused on serving her country," the journal said in an article titled 'From Prisoner to Prime Minister' in its latest issue.The interview based article by FEER Deputy Editor Colum Murphy said the Bangladesh premier conceded ...
(read more) Thursday, October 8th, 2009The project to upgrade the narrow but crucial Dhaka-Chittagong highway to a dual carriageway has finally got momentum as the officials concerned expect to complete all procedures by December.A seven-member evaluation committee is now scrutinising 111 tender documents submitted by 18 local and international firms for the Tk 2,404 crore project.“Evaluation of the documents will be completed in a week and a report with the names of successful bidders will be sent to the communications ministry for approval,” said Project Director Md Sabbir Hossain Khan, who is an executive engineer of Roads and Highways.A notification of award is likely to ...
(read more) Thursday, October 8th, 2009A number of human rights organisations will soon petition the High Court to compel the government to initiate proper investigation into incidents of extra-judicial killings in the names of "crossfire", "encounter" and "gunfight".Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) and these organisations have already prepared the petition, in which they say some 1,070 incidents of extra-judicial killings have taken place in the country so far. But the government has not yet moved to investigate those.The government has not even replied to an HC rule that asked it on June 29 to explain within four weeks why extra-judicial killings in "crossfire" and "encounters" ...
(read more) Thursday, October 8th, 2009Three criminals were killed in separate incidents of 'shootouts' between their cohorts and law enforcers in the capital, Kushtia and Pabna yesterday.The deceased were identified as Hedayet Ullah alias Julhas, 30, a listed criminal of Hazaribagh, Sunnot Ali, 36, a top cadre of outlawed Gono Bahini and Moktar Hossain, 30, a regional commander of Sarbahara Party.Julhas was killed in a 'gunfight' between his associates and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab)-2 in Kalunagar Dam area at Hazaribagh around 1:30am, Abdur Razzak, officer-in-charge of Hazaribagh police station, said.Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Talebur Rahman of Rab-2 told The Daily Star, acting on a ...
(read more) 
