Month: May 2022

Four people were killed and 15 others injured in a clash between two rival groups of Awami League over establishing dominance in Astha Nagar village of Kushtia’s Jhaudia union.

The deceased were identified as Kashem, 50, Laltu, 30, Rahim, 50 and Matiar, 40, of the same village.

Followers of Keramat Ali Biswas, president and former chairman of Jhaudia Union Awami League, clashed with the followers of Fazlu Mandal minutes before Iftar on Monday.

The four were reportedly killed by local weapons during the clash, police said.

Kushtia superintendent of police Md Khairul Alam said, four were killed and at least 15 people from both groups were injured in the clash.

“Of the injured, eight people in critical condition have been admitted to Kushtia General Hospital,” Khairul Alam added.

Tensions are running high in the area and additional police have been deployed, the SI added.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

President Abdul Hamid on Monday expressed his profound shock at the death of Kishoreganj district Awami League president freedom fighter Advocate Kamrul Ahsan Shahjahan.

In a condolence message, the President said Kamrul Ahsan, as the former upazila chairman of Mithamain, played an important role to ensure local development in Kishoreganj.His heroic contribution in local development and Great Liberation War in 1971 will be remembered by the people with respect.

Hamid added that the loss to the death of Advocate Shahjahan is really irreparable in the politics of Kishoreganj which will never be filled.

Hamid prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul of the deceased and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family.

Advocate Shahjahan breathed his last at 4.20 am today at the age of 80.

He is survived by his wife, son and numerous admirers and relatives.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

A fire that broke out at a hawker’s market at Laldighirpar in Sylhet city early Monday, has been doused, officials said.

The fire started around 3:30am at the market. On information, several firefighting units have brought the fire under control after three hours of frantic effort.

No casualties were reported immediately.

Mamun Parvez, duty officer of Sylhet Fire Service Control Room, said 17 firefighting units doused the fire around 6:30am.

The reason behind the fire and the details about damages could not be known immediately, he added.

The tin-shed hawkers’ market has around 3,000 shops of cloths. Businessmen feared that their clothes worth Tk crores were gutted by the fire.

Abdus Sobhan, secretary of the market managing committee, claimed that the fire originated from the Bismillah cloth store and gutted around 15-20 shops in the market.

People also looted clothes and valuables during the fire, he claimed. This could not be independently verified.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

A four-tier security system has been mounted in Chattogram to ensure the safety of the devotees at Eid congregations on Tuesday.

The main and first Eid Jamaat will be held in the port city at Jamiatul Falah Mosque at 8am. The second Eid Jamaat will be held at the same place at 9am.

Besides, Eid congregations will be held at various mosques and Eidgah maidans in the Chattogram city including at the Anderkilla Shahi Jame Mosque with religious fervour and solemnity.

Chattogram Metropolitan Police have taken tight security measures around the Eid Jamaat.

CMP commissioner Saleh Mohammad Tanvir said they have taken all kinds of security measures for a smooth Eid celebration in the port city.

Members of the counter-terrorism and SWAT will be deployed besides plain cloth police and detectives. Apart from CCTV cameras will be deployed to keep an eagle eye on the Eid grounds, said Monzur Morshed, deputy commissioner (Special Branch) of CMP.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the ICT Division of the government of Bangladesh have signed an agreement to launch a cyberecurity campaign for the youth and children in select LDCs.

Sudipto Mukerjee, Resident Representative of UNDP Bangladesh and Bikarna Kumar Ghosh, Managing Director of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations on Sunday.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Sudipto said the first-ever government cost-sharing agreement will further strengthen UNDP’s partnership with the Bangladesh government.

“This partnership will prepare, aware, and activate the children and youth of the LDC countries to combat the future and ongoing challenges on the cyber security front,” he said.

Bikarna Kumar said that under this partnership UNDP-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Award on Cyber Security Awareness would be announced to encourage and inspire the youth to combat cyber security challenges.

The ICT Division will provide US$ 5 million to implement the cyberecurity campaign for the youth and children in select LDC countries in 5 years.

Money will be raised from the “Golden Jubilee Bangladesh Concert” that will take place on May 6, 2022, at the Madison Square Garden in New York, where history was made in 1971.

The popular German Rock band Scorpions is set to perform at the same venue, just over 50 years after George Harrison organised a two-show Concert for Bangladesh.

Chirkutt, one of Bangladesh’s most popular band is also expected to perform.

Senior officials from UNDP and ICT Division were present during the signing ceremony.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Dhaka, May 2 (UNB) –In line with Saudi Arabia, many villagers in Chandpur, Lalmonirhat, Dinajpur, Satkhira, Kurigram and Barishal held Eid-ul-Fitr congregations on Monday, a day earlier than nationwide celebration.

Saudi Arabia and a number of countries across the world are celebrating the festival on Monday. But, Bangladesh is scheduled to celebrate Eid on Tuesday.

In Chandpur, nearly a thousand devotees of 40 villages of the district are celebrating Eid amid festivity.

The largest congregation was held at Munshirhat Bazar Jame Mosque premises in Faridpur upazila at 9am. Moulana ASM Salamatulla conducted the Eid Jamaat.

In Lalmonirhat, more than five hundred Muslims of three unions in the district are celebrating Eid today.

Golam Rosul, officer-in-charge of Kaliganj police station said, the people of three unions of the district celebrate Eid in line with Saudi Arabia.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer Abdul Mannan said as every year Muslims here are celebrating Eid keeping pace with Saudi Arabia.

Security measures have been taken for the devotees, he added.

In Dinajpur, prayers for the holy Eid-ul-Fitr have been held at many places in the district.

The main Eid jamaat was held at the party centre in Dinajpur town at 8am.

More than 300 people took part in the prayer led by Maulana Mokhlesur Rahman

A section of Muslims in the district have continued saying Eid prayers in line with Saudi Arabia since 2007.

In Satkhira, hundreds of Muslims of Satkhira sadar, Tala and Kalaroa upazila are celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr on Monday following Arabia and some other Arab countries.

In Kurigram, two villagers of Bhuruingamari upazila under the district are celebrating holy Eid in line with Arab countries.

Around one and a half hundred families participated in the Eid congregation in the morning. Ahl-i Hadith, an organization of the district also performed Eid Jamaat on Monday.

In Barishal, around five thousand families of various upazilas of the district are celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr in line with Saudi Arabia. They all are the followers of Jaigaria Shahsufi Mamtajia Darbar Sharif in Chandanaish of Chattogram.

The Eid jamaats were held at around 50 mosques in the district at 9am.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

BNP on Monday alleged the country is facing an ‘artificial’ shortage of soybean oil for lack of market intervention and the government’s lack of accountability.

“Had there been a government accountable to people, it would have intervened in the market and arrested the syndicates involved in market manipulation. But that is not happening, resulting in the soybean oil crisis,” said BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

He came up with the remarks while talking to reporters at the graveyard of BNP founder and late President Ziaur Rahman in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the city.

Rizvi along with leaders and activists of Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal paid homage to Zia by placing a wreath at his grave, marking the 43rd founding anniversary of BNP’s labour wing.

The BNP leader said the common and low-income people are struggling to cope with the unbridled price hike in daily essentials, including soybean oil, rice, pulses and flour.

“One of the reasons for this is severe inflation caused by siphoning off money abroad in the name of development. Due to this horrible inflation, the income of the low-income people and the workers has not increased at all,” he observed.

Rizvi said many people are going to celebrate the Eid-ul-Fitr with great difficulty as they are already hit hard by the soaring prices of essential commodities.

Rizvi said their party has been carrying out various programmes in protest against the growing price hike in essential items.

He alleged that many homebound passengers, mainly workers, went through sufferings on their way to homes in different districts from the capital on the occasion of Eid.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Fire broke out at two separate spinning mills in Narayanganj and Narsingdhi on Monday, the fire department said.

No casualties were immediately reported. Details, however, are still sketchy.

In Narayanganj the fire was reported in the morning at Mita Spinning Mills in Bhulta area of Gawsia.

On information, five firefighting units rushed to the spot around 8:30am and are working to douse the blaze.

No casualties were reported and the cause of the fire and losses from it could not be identified immediately.

In Narsingdhi the fire broke out at Joj Mia Group Spinning Mills at Baganbari of Madhabdi in Narsingdhi Monday morning.

Five firefighting units rushed to the spot at 9:15am and extinguished the fire around 11:45am.

No casualties were immediately reported.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

President Abdul Hamid on Tuesday will offer the Eid prayers at Durbar Hall of the Bangabhaban.

“The Eid jamaat (congregation) at the Bangabhaban will be held in the morning (9:30 am),” President’s press secretary Md Joynal Abedin told UNB.

President Hamid will say the prayers of Eid-ul-Fitr, the greatest religious festival of the Muslims, maintaining health rules and social distancing.

The President attends the traditional Eid prayers in capital’s National Eidgah Maidan but like the last two years, the programme has been scrapped due the rise of the pandemic COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak in some countries across the world.

After the prayers, the President will convey his Eid greetings to the nation through media at the Credential Hall of the Bangabhaban.

Later he is scheduled to spend his time with his family members at Bangabhaban.

Bangabhaban said no ceremonial greetings with serving delicious food items, in presence of country’s distinguished personalities and foreign diplomats or guests will take place.

His family members and some officials will also take part in the Eid jamaat.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Veteran diplomat Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Sunday assumed charge as India’s new Foreign Secretary.

A career diplomat with over 32 years of experience, Kwatra succeeded Harsh Vardhan Shringla who retired from service on Saturday. He was previously the Indian Ambassador to Nepal.

“Shri Vinay Kwatra assumed charge as Foreign Secretary today morning. #TeamMEA wishes Foreign Secretary Kwatra a productive and successful tenure ahead,” Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

Kwatra joined the country’s coveted Indian Foreign Service way back in 1988. Before his Nepal assignment, he served as India’s ambassador to France from August 2017 to February 2020.

The 59-year-old also worked in India’s diplomatic missions in the US and China, and also served in the Prime Minister’s Office, touted as a prestigious posting.

Shringla was appointed the Indian Foreign Secretary in January 2020. He had earlier served as India’s envoy to the US and Bangladesh.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam has asked the devotees to bring only prayer mats and umbrellas when they join the main Eid-ul-Fitr congregation at National Eidgah.

The DMP commissioner said on Sunday “This is for security as a four tier measure has been ensured at the National Eidgah for the congregation.”

He was briefing the press about the security arrangements in the area for Eid-ul-Fitr.

While replying to a question the DMP chief said “There is no threat of militant attack at the main Eid congregation.”

“This year DMP will ensure safety in1,468 Eid jamaats to be held across Dhaka in small and large mosques, eidgahs” he added.

He said “Bomb disposal unit will sweep the whole area before the beginning of Eid jamaat at National Eidgah and it will remain under CCTV camera surveillance.”

The DMP commissioner requested the worshipers to come to the congregation at the Eidgah before the scheduled time as it will take time to go through the checking.

He said similar security measures would be taken if the main congregation of Eid is held at Baitul Mukarram in case of inclement weather.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

The RMG industry of Bangladesh is committed to continue its strides in the area of environmental sustainability in order to retain its fame as sustainable sourcing destination in the world, said BGMEA president Faruque Hassan.

“We are now entering into such a regime where only economic value of a product will be not enough, the non-economic intrinsic value of product will also play a vital role,” he said.

“Our industry is going green in aligned with the changing business landscape not only to remain competitive but also to contribute to minimizing the adverse impacts of production on the environment we live in,” he added.

He was speaking at an Iftar Mahfil organized by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) at Hotel Amari in Dhaka on Saturday.

Around 75 LEED projects, which got certified after May 2019, were accorded appreciation while a special acknowledgment provided to around 30 LEED Platinum-certified projects in the event.

BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Directors Inamul Haq Khan (Bablu), Md. Imranur Rahman and Neela Hosna Ara were present at the event.

Santanu Dutta Gupta, USGBC Faculty, Regional Head – Market Development GBCI – Eastern India, Bangladesh & Vietnam Markets attended the program.

LEEED consultants, LEED faculties, Green architects, and other stakeholders of USGBC were present also present.

Faruque Hassan said Bangladesh is proud to have the highest number of green garment factories in the world with 160 LEED certified by USGBC, of which 48 are platinum, 98 are gold. The number of green garment factories in Bangladesh is on the rise.

Being green makes it easier for the factories to comply many the strategic priorities of brands which mainly aim to reduce negative impacts of manufacturing on the environment, he said.

Besides a green factory provides a good working environment with desired thermal comfort for workers, hygiene, mental peace, and well-being, he remarked.

“We believe that sustainability is a continuous stride and we have to continue the marathon to take the industry to the level of excellence,” the BGMEA President said.

Source: United News of Bangladesh