THE persistent culture of time and cost overruns of project is unacceptable. Despite the government鈥檚 instructions for agencies to complete projects with the original budget and by the original deadlines, most continue to undergo revisions. The cost of two, out of three, projects for the construction of mass rapid transit lines are now likely to increase by about Tk 1,600...
A REAL estate business office at Pallabi in Dhaka came to be attacked in the evening on July 11 allegedly over extortion and an employee of the office became wounded as the unnamed attackers fired gunshots. Although no case was filed in a day, the police say that the process to file a case in connection with the shooting was under way. The story has it that a person...
THE Rohingyas, more than a million of them already sheltered in Bangladesh, may face constraints as, keeping to a release of the office of the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees, there has been a fresh influx of 150,000 Rohingyas in a year and a half. This is described as the largest after the 2017 influx when three quarters of a million Rohingyas left violence...
THE brutal murder of a scrap trader near Sir Salimullah Medical College in Dhaka on July 9 is a betrayal of sacrifices of the martyrs of the July uprising, which topped the authoritarian Awami League regime in hopes for a political culture to uphold democratic values. The victim was repeatedly hit with a large chunk of concrete in daylight, with dozens watching. The police and...
WATER stagnation during the monsoon season has become a perennial problem, questioning the efforts that authorities have put in to resolve the issue. The photograph that 抖阴精品 published on July 11 shows schoolchildren making their way...
THE number of educational institutions with not a single student having passed the Secondary School Certificate and equivalent examinations under the nine general education and one madrassah education boards, as the results published on...
YET another flash flood has left thousands stranded in coastal regions, worsening the already fragile disaster-prone areas. Reports show that large swathes of Feni, Cumilla, Shariatpur, Chattogram, Barishal, Khulna and Noakhali grapple with flash floods and widespread inundation. In many areas, residents live without access to safe drinking water. The flood has also...
FIVE commissions, out of the 11 that the interim government has instituted to effect reforms in state governance, appear to have largely been sidelined whilst the government appears busy with the six commissions. The six commissions on electoral system reforms, police administrative reforms, judiciary reforms, anti-corruption reforms, public administration reforms and...
DEATH by drowning remains a public concern with little to no effective intervention on part of the government to prevent such disaster. Three students of the University of Chittagong drowned in the sea in Cox鈥檚 Bazar on July 8, with two having so far been recovered dead. In June, during Eid holidays, when about 250,000 people visited the district, at least six people died...
THE Election Commission鈥檚 decision to deny access to foreign observers who previously endorsed Bangladesh鈥檚 three latest national elections as credible is welcome. The observers played a pivotal role in legitimising the rigged, stage-managed and manipulated 10th, 11th and 12th national elections in 2014, 2018 and 2024, thus helping the Awami League to cling to power...
THE continued abuse of child household services workers speaks of a dangerous gap in law enforcement despite protective policies. Rights organisations and experts have raised alarm over the government inaction as violence has escalated. In the first half of 2025, seven workers were killed, four of them aged below 18, as monthly Bangladesh Mahila Parishad data show. In...
THE statement of the Bangladesh Bank governor that no efforts for reforms in the banking sector will be effective unless political interference is completely eliminated entails a couple of points to ponder. Although the statement is something that many experts have repeatedly made, still the statement coming from the governor once again, especially in the changed...
IT WILL soon be a year since the authoritarian Awami League regime was toppled in a mass uprising. Yet, the injured protesters still struggle to access long-term health care and rehabilitation. In attempts to violently repress the protest, the police and the Awami League鈥檚 armed goons fired bullets, sound grenades and other ammunition, which left at least...
THIS is worrying that public servants, who handle governance issues, have topped the list of people, as Anti-Corruption Commission data show, engaged in corruption such as illegal wealth, bribery, power abuse and illicit financial flows. The public servants are followed by people in private service, businesspeople, politicians and elected representatives. And, the situation keeps...
THE reported increase in rape cases raised concern about whether the government鈥檚 much-publicised reform agenda included ending male violence and patriarchy in the changed political context. Since the interim government was installed in August...