DHAKA stands at a precipice, with its rapid urbanisation and unchecked growth threatening to render it uninhabitable. A report presented at the dialogue, 鈥楥omplexities of the Detailed Area Plan: towards sustainable urbanisation鈥�, highlights the pressing need for both...
IN THE context of an unstable onion market, the government has recently started importing onions. The increased supply has, however, failed to contain the price. After months of suspension, about 2,280 tonnes of onions have entered Bangladesh through the land port of...
THE Indian authorities allegedly allowing activities of the Awami League, fallen in Bangladesh in the July uprising, on Indian soil poses a serious threat to the already strained bilateral relations. Reports published by Bangladeshi and Indian media outlets suggest that leaders and activists of the Awami League are carrying out anti-Bangladesh political activities from India...
THIS is unfortunate that the Bangladesh Bank needs to show Tk 1,631.5 billion that is, in fact, defaulted loans, as of June, as regular loans and classify 1,086 borrowers, averagely owing Tk 1.5 billion, from being defaulters because of court orders. A central bank report says that such a high number of borrowers have filed writ petitions with the court to secure protection...
THE deplorable condition of Banani Lake, as a front-page photograph that 抖阴精品 published on August 20 shows, is reflective of the sorry state of the water bodies in and around the capital. Moss and accumulated waste have turned the water of the lake black, emitting a foul odour and making it a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. The state of other water bodies...
THE Bangladesh Expatriates鈥� Rights Council鈥檚 demand for the recognition of the contribution of the expatriates to the 2024 July uprising, which toppled the authoritarian regime of the Awami League for a decade and a half on August 5, 2024, and their political inclusion in the July national charter 2025 merits justification. The council, a platform of expatriate Bangladeshis...
THE plunder of stones in Sylhet is now replicated at the Rangpani tourist spot in Jaintapur and the River Lobha in Kanaighat, where politically influential quarters are blamed for lifting boulders under the cover of expired auction permits. People allege that large stones are hauled away unhindered while sporadic drives are under way. The allegations come even as a major...
THE government鈥檚 going ahead with a new law on road safety whilst the Road Transport Act 2018 is in force has created the scope for doubt, especially regarding its enforcement. The Road Transport Act 2018, made on September 19 that year, after a countrywide road safety movement in July 2018 was set into force on November 1, 2019. But the road transport minister...
IT IS reassuring that the government has taken steps to investigate the police action against a rickshaw puller, who was arrested on August 15 after being physically assaulted by a 鈥榤ob鈥� for trying to place flowers and pay his respects to the founding president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibar Rahman, at Dhanmondi 32 in Dhaka. The beaten and injured rickshaw puller was taken...
WHILE food inflation has put a large number of poor, low- and fixed-income people into difficulty, the persistent increase in rice prices appears to be pushing many into food insecurity. The increase in rice prices, moreover, remains the major contributor to food inflation. Fine rice inflation has stayed in double digits over the past twelve months, while the medium and coarse...
THE decision to cancel the studentship of a gender minority student of a private university raises concern about the exclusionary academic environment and the integrity of the administration. More than a hundred citizens in a statement on August 16 expressed concern and termed the expulsion of Sahara Chowdhury, a transwoman in the Metropolitan University...
THE national consensus commission on August 16 sent the final draft of the July national charter 2025 to political parties, with a prologue that says that the document has been 鈥榰nanimously鈥� worked out after a series of dialogues that the commission held with more than 30 political parties and alliances between March 20 and July 31. But what remains problematic...
THE interim government鈥檚 efforts to keep the kitchen market stable have not been successful, as prices of essentials continue to rise. The prices of almost all essential food items, including onions, eggs, broiler chickens and vegetables, remained high on August 15 in the capital鈥檚 kitchen markets. Broiler chickens are sold at Tk 170-180 per kilogram at retail markets, which was...
IT IS disappointing that the government has made no progress in implementing the recommendations that the Anti-Corruption Reform Commission made to strengthen the Anti-Corruption Commission and free it from political and bureaucratic influences. The Anti-Corruption Reform Commission, formed by the interim government, submitted its report to the chief adviser on...
THE death of three workers at an abandoned building in Netrakona is yet another reminder that the government needs to take urgent steps to protect labour rights in the informal sector. The deceased were involved in the demolition work of the Agricultural Development Corporation鈥檚 irrigation office. They died as the roof fell on them. As it has always been the case, the...