Category: General

LGRD Minister Tajul Islam on Wednesday said the authorities will soon take up the issue of reported faulty designs in infrastructure built to solve the waterlogging problem in the port city of Chattagram.

“Issues regarding waterlogging in Chattogram will be taken care of soon in coordination with the concerned agencies including Ministry of Water Resources, Chattogram Development Authority, Port Authority and City Corporation,” the minister said.

He said this while addressing an inter-ministerial meeting titled ‘Flood Control, Waterlogging Reduction and Drainage Development in Chattogram Metropolitan City’ at the Water Resources Ministry meeting room on Wednesday.

“The Ministry of Water Resources is implementing a project in flood control, waterlogging and drainage in Chittagong metropolis. Besides, a similar project is also underway at the initiative of CDA. It has been directed to reconsider a few designs of these projects at the meeting,” the minister said.

“The construction of infrastructures for the waterlogging project should be realistic and sustainable so that the people of Chattogram can enjoy the long-term benefits of the project. No negligence will be tolerated in this regard,” Tajul added.

Responding to a question from reporters on the dengue situation in the country, the minister said, “We are making a concerted effort to stop the spread of dengue. Concerned ministries, city corporation mayors, councillors and volunteers are working tirelessly.”

He said there is no substitute for awareness to prevent dengue.

“We have taken all kinds of initiatives to make the people aware. Extensive publicity is being carried out everywhere on television and in newspapers. But if people remain callous then dengue will be difficult

to deal with,” the minister said.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

A special team of Lalmonirhat district police with the help of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of DMP arrested an alleged member of banned militant outfit Neo JMB from Khilgaon area in Dhaka on Tuesday night.

The arrestee was identified as Nazmus Sakib, 26, a resident of Hatibandha area of Lalmonirhat.

He has already been taken to Lalmonirhat following his arrest,Officer-In- Charge of Hatibandha Police Station Ershadul Alam told UNB.

“ Sakib is an active member of Neo JMB. There are arrest warrants against him on charges of attacking police officers and for involvement in anti- state activities,” the OC added.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller has congratulated 76 latest graduates of the U.S. State Department-funded English Access Microscholarship Programme.

He praised their hard work in completing the programme during the pandemic.

A total of 38 young women and 38 young men from local madrasas and public schools in Rajshahi and Chattogram joined the programme.

“Since its inception, the Access program continues to provide students around the world with a life changing opportunity to achieve their dreams. I believe this is only the beginning of the many accomplishments you will continue to achieve throughout your lives,” said the Ambassador in a virtual programme held on Tuesday evening.

More importantly, Miller said he believes in young people and so their teachers, classmates, and loved ones who have supported the participants throughout this remarkable journey.

“You are the talented and bright leaders who will shape the course of Bangladesh’s future. You are the next generation of changemakers who will help us continue to make progress in solving our world’s most pressing challenges. You are extraordinary beyond measure.” he said.

The English Access Microscholarship Programme is a rigorous, two-year interactive program building a foundation in English language, American culture, critical thinking, and leadership skills for 13-17-year-olds from economically-disadvantaged backgrounds, and helps them become more competitive for higher education and employment opportunities.

Currently, 200 students are virtually participating in Access programs in Dhaka, Sylhet, and Chattogram.

Since it began in 2004, 1,336 Bangladeshi students have successfully completed the program.

Tuesday’s graduating class joined 95,000 other Access programme alumni in more than 85 countries around the world.

The Access programme is one of U.S. Embassy Dhaka’s many initiatives to strengthen and expand people-to-people ties and educational linkages between the United States and Bangladesh, enhance the quality of education locally, and empower Bangladeshi youth through innovative learning opportunities.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been named the ICC Player of the Month for July, ICC announced on Wednesday afternoon.

On the same day, Shakib topped the list of the ICC T20 all-rounder ranking after three years for his outstanding display in the shortest format of international cricket.

Earlier, former Bangladesh captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim won the ICC Player of the Month for May.

Shakib’s contributions to all three formats of the game helped Bangladesh win the series against Zimbabwe last month. He scored 96 unbeaten runs as Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe by three wickets in the second ODI at the Harare Sports Club.

In the T20Is with the ball, Hasan took three wickets at an economy rate of seven leading his country to a series win against Zimbabwe. He is also the top Men’s all-rounder in the MRF ICC Men’s T20 Rankings announced earlier today.

“It is very humbling to be voted ICC Men’s Player of the Month for July 2021. There have been many outstanding performances during the month and that is why this is special for me,” Shakib was quoted in the ICC media release.

“I find most pleasure and satisfaction when I contribute to wins and therefore, I am very happy to have helped in Bangladesh’s successes over the last few weeks,” Shakib added.

In the recently-concluded five-match T20 series against Australia, Shakib won the player of the match award. In this series, Shakib scored more than 100 runs and bagged seven wickets.

Bangladesh will play another five-match T20I series in early September against New Zealand. The Blackcaps have already announced the squad for this series. They will arrive in Bangladesh on August 24.

The Tigers were scheduled to take on England later this year as well, but both Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and England and Wales Cricket Board (BCB) decided to reschedule this series in March 2023.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Vivo introduced the V21e on April 21, which is about a few months after it introduced Vivo 21. The phone’s shape is quite similar to some other recent releases. But, Vivo V21e is quite lighter than the other Vivo phones. If you want to buy this phone, you need to know the details specs, features, pros, and cons. Thus, here’s a detailed Vivo V21e review that you must read.

Full Review of Vivo V21e

Look and Feel

In respect of the design, the Vivo V21e is quite elegant. The front is gorilla glass with around 83.5% screen-to-body ratio. It means the screen property is huge. The bezels and chins are small as the phone feels marvelously light-weighting, just 171g. The phone keeps a dimension of 161.2 x 74.4 x 7.4 mm, which is absolutely slim. Users won’t find any inconvenience in handling the phone.

The build quality of the Vivo V21e is premium. The back has a giant triple camera housing. The matte-finished back is fingerprintaholic. It means, to protect it from the stain of the fingers, users have to use a back cover. The optical fingerprint sensor is located at the bottom of the phone, and the sensor is highly responsive. The dual-SIM slot also has room for a micro-SD card.

Big Screen

The Vivo V21e comes with a 6.44-inch full-HD AMOLED panel. It maintains a display resolution of 2400 × 1080p and an aspect ratio of 20:9. The overall configuration and screen performance is good. The pictures and videos look vibrant, clear, and colorful. However, Vivo enthusiasts may find it a little less than the one that came with Vivo Y73.

The V21e’s display has HDR10 support that brings an extra level of quality to the pictures displayed. Vivo has given a 60Hz refresh capacity in the Vivo V21e. It might sound a bit low, but it still makes the phone considerably touch responsive. The device also has a capacitive multitouch function. With 430 nits of brightness and 408ppi density, the phone shows up great even in broad daylight. The display will be an average yet decent experience for the users.

Primary Lenses

The rear camera panel houses a three-lens setup which includes a 64MP wide-angle lens, 8MP ultrawide angle lens, and a 2MP macro lens. The 64MP Ultra HD camera delivers explicit photos. It can take great photos in bright light and also in the nighttime. The low light captures are better than that of other same-budget phones. It’s because the camera setup has installed a night mode that lessens the noise amount and helps lenses to add more details to the pictures.

The 8MP ultrawide lens does its job quite well when it comes to detailing and sharpening the long-range shots. The framing and focusing can be handled comfortably while taking shots from a considerable distance.

Users will also get satisfactory close captures. Thanks to the 2MP macro lens that subtly depicts pixel to pixel details. They won’t face it even after zooming in multiple times.

Front Camera

As marketed, the Vivo V21e has given a special focus on the selfie camera to provide users the experience they long for. The 44MP ultra HD lens employs autofocus technology to capture every moment with vivid clarity and near-real quality.

The autofocus selfie camera has a zooming range from around 15cm to literally unlimited. It promises to deliver high-quality pictures regardless of the distance. The eye-tracking autofocus is to offers sharp pictures while capturing moving or static objects. The front camera also has an upgraded super night capture option with multi-frame optimization and several layers of exposure to confirm better quality pictures taken in a low-light environment.

Performance, Software & UI

The power given by the robust Qualcomm SM7125 Snapdragon 720G that comes with the Vivo V21e is relatably great. The processor has 8 cores that provide up to a 51% performance boost compared to the previous Snapdragon versions. Along with the powerful GPU Adreno 618, the processor gives a super-speed experience.

Vivo has implemented a RAM enhancement technology that lets users extend 3GB of RAM capacity. Added to the default 8GB RAM, extended RAM technology offers a completely lag-free performance. Mobile gamers will find the feature extremely handy. Games, regardless of the configuration and resolution, run smoothly.

In terms of software, Vivo has used the latest version of Android. It keeps the overall maneuvering process sleek for the users. In the sensor categories, fingerprint, accelerometer, compass, and proximity will be found. A USB Type-C and 3.5mm audio jack have also been given.

Battery and Charging

A lithium polymer non-removable 4000mAh battery has been presented with the phone. The battery is of the same capacity as the non-variant. It is considered quite decent in the present Android sphere, especially at a similar price tag. In any situation, the battery of the phone plays out great as users can spend a full day on a single charge.

Apparently, Vivo V21e arrives with a 33W fast charging capable of reviving the battery from 0 to 72% in just half an hour.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Commuters had a harrowing time on Wednesday morning as rush-hour traffic crawled on the Natore-Pabna highway clogged with a long tailback stretching over 20km.

Police attributed the snarls on the high-speed corridor to the huge pressure of vehicles on the roads in the wake of the government easing the Covid-19 lockdown curbs. Also, repair work on the railway tracks passing through the area added to the woes of the motorists.

Mozaffar Hossain, officer-in-charge of the Banpara Highway police station, said that the railway authorities shut the Muladuli level crossing on Tuesday morning to carry out the repair work, forcing people to take a detour via the highway.

Traffic on the highway, however, normalised around noon after the railway authorities opened the level crossing following the repair work, said the OC.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

A probe committee has been formed to look into the disappearance of 7,000 fishplates worth Tk 1 crore from the Permanent Way Inspector (PWI) store of Bonarpara Railway Junction in Gaibandha.

Officer-in-Charge of Bonarpara railway police station Taposh Pundit said disappearance of fishplates weighing 60 tons from a store at the east corner of the well secured Railway Engineering Department is a mysterious incident.

Bonarpara rail station manager Khalilur Rahman claimed former senior assistant engineer Akbar Ali had sold many things from the store of the engineering department secretly before his recent transfer.

Immediately after his transfer assistant store keeper Dipak Kumar Singha and senior deputy assistant engineer Abdul Mazed came as additional in-charge who only used to come to Bonarpara for clearing salary bills, said Khalilur Rahman.

Tuesday morning, after coming from Bogura, Abdul Mazed opened the store and suspecting shortage of stock he started counting fishplates and discovered the disappearance, he said.

Abdul Mazed said he is only additional in-charge of the store. The fishplates may have been removed from the store during the tenure of former in-charge, he said.

Assistant store keeper Dipak Kumar Singha will file a case with the Bonarpara police station in this regard on Wednesday, he said.

Divisional chief engineer of the railways department, Anwar Hossain said a probe body has been formed led by the Bogura divisional engineer Md Saidur Rahman to investigate the matter.

Actions will be taken against the guilty found in the investigation, he said.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Tuesday marks the 97th birth anniversary of renowned artist SM Sultan.

He was born at Machimdia village in Narail sadar upazila on this day in 1924.

Celebrating the birth of the eminent art genius, the Narail district administration and SM Sultan Foundation are jointly observing the day with a handful of events.

Due to the ongoing pandemic situation of Covid-19, the birth anniversary of this great artist is being celebrated on a limited scale with due dignity through various programs initiated by the district administration and SM Sultan Foundation, Narail, according to the media cell of the Narail district administration.

The programmes included recitation from the holy Qur’an, placing floral wreaths at the grave of the artist, a prayer session and a discussion on the life of the artist, organized at the SM Sultan Complex on Tuesday morning.

Mohammad Habibur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of Narail, laid a floral wreath at the legendary artist’s grave, on behalf of district administration and Artist SM Sultan Foundation, Narail. Tributes were also paid by various governmental and non-governmental social and cultural organizations including District Police, Narail Press Club, District Shilpakala Academy, Sammilita Sangskritik Jote and more.

SM Sultan’s 97th birth anniversary today

Widely revered as one of the pioneer artists in South Asia, SM Sultan received many prestigious awards including Ekushey Padak, Bangladesh’s highest civilian award for contribution in the field of arts, in 1982, Bangladesh Charu Shilpi Sangsad Award in 1986 and Independence Award in 1993, to name a few.

Born as Sheikh Mohammed Sultan, he began drawing and painting during his childhood. He received five years of primary education at Victoria Collegiate School in Narail but was unable to continue school due to poverty and began working for his father, who was a mason.

He then went to study art at the Government College of Art in Kolkata in 1938 after Dhirendra Nath Roy, the then art-enthusiast zamindar of the Machimdia village, became his patron.

He met poet and art critic Hasan Shahid Suhrawardy, the brother of former Prime Minister of Bengal (1946-1947) and Pakistan (1956-1957) Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, who restyled him SM Sultan and offered him accommodation in his home and the use of his library. Sultan did not meet the admissions requirements of the Government School of Arts, however, managed to get in with the help of Suhrawardy in 1941.

However, academic life failed to attract him and he finally decided to leave the college in 1943, halfway through the six-year course. He then travelled around India and earned his living by drawing portraits. His first exhibition was a solo one in Shimla, India, in 1946.

He then went on travelling to the United States, England and Pakistan, participated in several art exhibitions and taught as an art teacher in Karachi. After living for a while in Kashmir, he returned to his native Narail in 1953.

He settled down in an abandoned building overlooking the Chitra River, where he lived with an eclectic collection of pets and far from the outside art world for the next 23 years, developing a lasting reputation as a bohemian.

Sultan is widely considered as one of the four pioneers of Bangladeshi modernism, along with art maestro Zainul Abedin, Safiuddin Ahmed, and Quamrul Hassan. According to the art critics, Sultan’s drawings, such as his self-portrait, are characterized by their economy and compactness.

Many of his paintings are themed on nature and the rural landscape, and he is well known for his canvases populated with robust male and female peasants. His watercolour paintings, predominantly landscapes, are bright and lively, with vivid descriptions of Bengali rural culture and lifestyle. His paintings never included urban elements or anything produced by modern technology, according to art historians.

SM Sultan’s 97th birth anniversary today

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) organized Sultan’s first solo exhibition in 1976, which was his first major exhibition in Dhaka. He established the Kurigram Fine Arts Institute at Narail in 1969 and another art school, now named Charupeeth, in Jessore in 1973.

In 1989, late filmmaker Tareque Masud directed a 54-minute documentary film on Sultan’s life, titled ‘Adam Surat’ (The Inner Strength). Masud started filming it in 1982 with the help of the painter and travelled with him all around Bangladesh.

Renowned photographer Nasir Ali Mamun published a book titled ‘Guru’ in 2005, with 68 photographs of Sultan. These were selected from thousands of photographs taken by Mamun in the period from 1978, when he first met with Sultan, until his death.

SM Sultan passed away at the Combined Military Hospital in Jashore on October 10, 1994. He was then buried at the yard of his own house in Narail.

In honour of the great artist, BSA introduced the ‘SM Sultan Gold Medal’ after his death, an award for honouring excellence in art and painting.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has revoked its previous order that hiked passenger fare by 60 per with effect from April 1 after passenger vessels were required to operate with half the capacity due to Covid restrictions.

The BIWTA issued a circular in this regard on Tuesday, said Jahangir Alam Khan, senior information officer.

According to the order, the passenger vessels will follow from Wednesday the previous fare chart issued on April 23, 2013.

The government has decided to ease the lockdown from Wednesday allowing public transport, shops and shopping malls to reopen.

As the Delta variant has sharply been fuelling case surges, Bangladesh saw a record high 264 deaths again as health authorities came up with their 24-hour report on Tuesday.

Besides, 11,164 more people tested positive during the period out of 47,424 samples, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Source: United News of Bangladesh

The government banned movement of ferries with heavy vehicles under the Padma Bridge until strong current of the river is brought under control, said State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury on Tuesday.

However, ferries with light vehicles can move only on the Shimulia-Banglabazar route, said the minister while talking to reporters at the Secretariat.

“It is difficult to move ferries with heavy vehicles during strong current on Shimulia-Banglabazar route. So only light vehicles and ambulance carrying ferries can cross the river till further notice,” he said.

People have been asked to use Paturia-Daulatdia ghat and Harina ghat in Chandpur for vehicles and the number of ferries will be increased on those routes, he added.

“It is so unfortunate that a number of collisions occurred with pillars of the under-construction Padma Bridge which is so embarrassing,” said the state minister.

The government has taken the decision after the collision of a ferry with a pillar of under-construction Padma Bridge.

Earlier in the day Bangladesh Inland and Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) suspended the master and the Sukani of Ro Ro Birsreshtha Jahangir over the incident of the ferry hitting the pillar Padma Bridge.

The suspended were identified as Master Inland Master officer Mohammad Delwarul Islam and Wheel Sukani Mohamamd Abul Kalam Azad.

Besides, a five-member probe body led by joint secretary Rashedul Islam, Director (technical) of BIWTC, was formed to look into the incident.

The committee has been asked to submit its report with recommendation within three working days.

Two other incidents of ferry colliding with the bridge’s pillar occurred in July and August.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

A Chattogram court on Tuesday rejected the bail petition of Chattogram’s former police superintendent Babul Akter in connection with his wife Mahmuda Khanam Mitu’s murder case.

Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate Shafi Uddin virtually passed the order.

Babul Akter has been in Feni District jail since May 17.

On May 12, Babul was taken under 5-day remand by PBI for interrogation after being arrested in a 5-year old case filed over his wife’s murder by his father-in-law.

On June 5, 2016, unidentified assailants gunned down Babul’s wife Mitu at the port city’s GEC intersection while she was going to drop her son Mahir Akhter, 7, for a bus of Chittagong Cantonment Public School and College.

Soon after the crime, Babul had filed a murder case with Panchlaish Police Station against three unidentified men.

On June 24, 2016 night, he was interrogated for 15 hours at intelligence office in Dhaka and on September 6, he willfully resigned from the police service.

On May 13, this year, court placed Saidul Islam Shikder Shaku, seventh accused of the murder case on a 4-day remand.

Eight people including Babul were accused in the case filed by Mitu’s father, Mosharraf Hossain. The other accused are Kamrul Islam Shikder alias Musa, Ehteshamul Haque Bhola, Motaleb Mia alias Wasim, Anwar Hossain, Khairul Islam alias Kalu, and Shahjahan Mia.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

With over 150 million startups in the world, the space for standing out in a specific market is becoming more and more saturated every day. About 137,000 startups are being found daily in the world today. This begs the question of whether it really is a smooth sail all around for startups? Do all of them go on to become multi-million-dollar ventures? Surely not. In reality, a startup faces several challenges that can become daunting to overcome. In this article, we will talk about such common challenges faced by startups.

What is a startup

According to Investopedia, a startup is a company in its first stage of development or operations. These companies are founded by entrepreneurs who want to introduce a product or service in the market based on its demand.

The initial phase of the product or service requires several trials and errors associated with R&D, marketing, business model, and cost of operation. As a result, these companies work as a high-cost- limited revenue venture in their initial stage. To compensate for the high cost, there are different stages of fundraising to ensure smooth business operations.

Top 7 common business challenges faced by the startup founders

High competition

The high number of startup competition across the globe means there are lesser and lesser opportunities for emerging startups. Most markets are already saturated. In addition to competing with existing startups, there is also competition from multi-industry conglomerates.

Whether it’s a B2B or B2C, every startup faces high competition in every phase including seed fundraising and market cap generation. As a result, they are forced to be more aggressive in the market and their strategies.

Lack of Consistency

Every business venture bears a strategic goal with expectations and startups are no different. A positive growth curve shouldn’t give a false sense of expectations. It’s important to set realistic goals in the initial phase of any startup.

The initial growth won’t be consistent if there is no sustainability. And this is where most startups fail. They fail to maintain consistency in their effort to ensure sustainability. There is no room for complacency and consistent effort is the only deciding factor.

Lack of Planning

A startup needs to have a business plan which would outline the expectable and inputs. While most startups have a business plan they often don’t include all the key areas. Many first-time entrepreneurs think that they will plan things as the business progresses but that’s a wrong move.

Key details like R&D, skilled staff, sales, funding should all get equal priority while planning. While faced with an issue, the target shouldn’t be damage control, rather there should be an appropriate plan of action to tackle every issue.

The players

A startup needs manpower. You need to have a working team to run your business top to bottom. Whether it’s your employees or investors, you need to be careful about who you hire and who you get as your investor. Communication, team playing, and skills are important factors to be considered when it comes to hiring candidates. Hiring the right people can be a tricky task considering the sheer number of eligible candidates out there.

What you can do however is thoroughly assess their skillset and mentality. Cross-check whether these are the exact skills you are looking for and whether this can be a long-term partnership. Having an industry-related investor can be a huge advantage in this regard. They might be better qualified in assisting with the hiring process.

Financial Factors

Startups are high-cost low revenue ventures in their initial days. Needless to say, the adjustment in this disparity comes from the investors. If you compare seed funding with venture funds, the amount might be small but it still tends to be a large sum. So naturally, there arises the need for financial management.

A startup constantly requires the investment of money until it reaches the growth and scaling phase. Many startups fail to make it to this stage because of a lack of management and cash burnout. In addition to having a business plan, it’s important to have a strong financial model as well. Considering the limited resources and fierce competition, financial management is a crucial make-or-break aspect.

Scaling up

Suppose your startup has done everything right up until the growth phase. You can expect the customer base to increase rapidly with increased demand for the product or service. This naturally calls for scaling up. However, scaling up isn’t just about adding a few more employees.

You need to consider a lot of factors as you scale up. You need to formulate a strong HRD, look after your supply chain and product sourcing. In addition to that, there is the aspect of widening the distribution channel and revenue management.

Without proper handling, all of these might become too much to keep track of and the business would crumble even before taking off properly.

Time management

A startup isn’t a one-man thing. As a business grows, there will be a lot of decision-making needs that are honestly impossible for a single person to micromanage. However, many entrepreneurs think that micromanaging is the only way to ensure organizational growth. A micromanager often overlooks key decisions while focusing on lesser important ones. As a result, business growth is hampered.

As startups build teams, it’s important to delegate tasks to the team. This not only enables a business to be more proficient, but the time utilization will help a business edge out its growth.

Source: United News of Bangladesh