NO TANGIBLE progress in the murder case of journalist couple Sagar Sarwar and Meherun Runi, found dead in their rented flat at Pashchim Rajabazar in the capital on February 11, 2012, is worrying given that the government task force has sought more time to complete the investigation. In September 2024, the High Court, considering the failure of the Rapid Action Battalion...
THE evasion of Tk 2,262.36 billion in taxes in 2023, as a study by the Centre for Policy Dialogue finds, calls the tax administration into question. What is further worrying is that the government lost half the amount, or Tk 1131.18 billion...
THE recommendation of the labour reforms commission for a permanent wage commission to set a national minimum wage across all sectors is a welcome move. The commission, formed on November 18, 2024, submitted its report to the...
REFORM in land, agricultural and environmental relations has been a long-standing demand and aptly reiterated by civic groups on April 20 from a roundtable discussion in Dhaka that asked the government to form a separate commission. A large portion of farmers in Bangladesh remain landless, with many abandoning the profession due to inadequate government...
SLOW progress in the arrest and trial of accused Awami League leaders and officers of different law enforcement and security agencies involved in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings is disconcerting. What is more disconcerting is that the authorities are yet to trace the whereabouts and status of nearly 200 victims of enforced disappearance incidents. Families of...
THIS is unacceptable that the authorities have so far not attended to grievances of the polytechnic students taking to the street to push for their six-point demand. The students have rallied for the past few days and the protests appear to be intensifying. The polytechnic students on April 20 threatened a long march to Dhaka from outlying areas if the government fails to...
THE recommendations that the women鈥檚 affairs reforms commission, set up on November 18, 2024, put forth on April 19 for the government to effect appear assuring in that they are mostly meant to do away with the discrimination that exists in society against women. The commission has made 15 specific recommendations, which include the provision for equal rights...
THE government鈥檚 stance on banning three-wheelers, considered technically flawed and, therefore, more prone to accidents, from national and regional highways appears confusing. There have so far been a number of government and court orders that have banned CNG-run auto-rickshaws, battery-run rickshaws and vans, 鈥榚asy bikes鈥� and improvised motorised and...
THIS is unfortunate that the capacity charge 鈥� the money that the Power Development Board pays power-sector investors even when the plants do not produce electricity, with an aim to cover the loans that the plants receive, along with interests, salaries of the employees and returns on the equity 鈥� continues even after the political changeover of August 5, 2024, with the...
THE safety of women and girls appears to be in a frail state as one harrowing incident after another continues to take place. Women鈥檚 rights activists and legal experts have for long cautioned that a culture of impunity takes root if such crimes are not...
THE government鈥檚 initiative to effect some important recommendations of the judicial reforms commission meant to modernise the judiciary, expedite the disposal of civil cases and stop procedural abuse is welcome. The initiative, which...
Yet another death of a Bangladeshi at the hands of India鈥檚 Border Security Force shows a continued disregard of Indian guards for laws and border protocols. It also shows the nullity of the pledges that Indian authorities, including the Border Security Force, have made to end border killing and to never use lethal weapons in border management. On April 16, the Bangladeshi...
A REPORT that Dhaka鈥檚 north city authorities and the city police have prepared says that about 61 per cent of all fatal victims of road accidents that took place in the areas under the north city authority jurisdiction in 2023 were pedestrians. The report was made public at a meeting on road safety that the Road Transport and Highways Division and the Bloomberg...
NO DECISIVE progress in the unresolved murder case of journalist couple Sagar Sarwar and Meherun Runi, found dead in their rented flat at Pashchim Rajabazar in Dhaka on February 11, 2012, is worrying given that the interim government promised a credible investigation. Contrary to the promise, Dhaka magistrates court on January 27 extended the deadline for the...
THE attack on a police constable inside the courtroom of the Pabna district and sessions judges court on April 15 by leaders and activists of local units of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is yet another worrying sign of the arrogance of power. The police constable was beaten allegedly for stopping the BNP activists from recording a video and taking photographs inside the...