More 239 people die, 15271 get covid & 14336 recovered



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com
Photo: Collected

Photo: Collected

  • Font increase
  • Font Decrease

Two hundred thirty nine more people died from deadly virus corona while 15271 people got infected by the virus in the last 24 hours across the country.

This information was sent to the media on Thursday (July 29) by DGHS through a press release.

According to the press release, the latest deaths and cases of infection have brought the toll to 20255 and 1226253 respectively.

The release said that during the time 52282 samples were tested at 613 authorized laboratories across the country making the total test of 7664870 samples. 14336 people have recovered bringing the recovery figure to 1050220 so far.

It may be mentioned here that the first case of corona infection was detected in Bangladesh on last March 8 (2020) while the first death occurred on March 18.

   

Vijay Express accident: Rail bending in summer or something else?



Ariful Islam Mithu, Senior Correspondent, Barta24.com
Picture: Collected

Picture: Collected

  • Font increase
  • Font Decrease

The derailment of nine coaches of the Vijay Express is yet another indication of the dilapidated condition of the railways across the country. Nine coaches of the Vijay Express train derailed at Nangalkot in Cumilla on Sunday (March 17). About 30 passengers of the train were injured in the accident.

Hasanpur Railway Station Master Mangu Marma immediately said that the accident occurred due to the bending of the railway line in summer. However, immediately after the accident, the railway authorities formed two separate committees to investigate the actual cause of the accident.

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Civil Engineering Department Professor Hadiuzzaman said that he does not think that the accident happened due to the bending of the railway line in summer.

Prof. Hadiuzzaman said, when the accident happened, I was observing the situation and saw that the temperature in Cumilla was around 30-32 degree Celsius. I don't think the accident was caused by the bending of the railway line.

He said, if the ambient temperature is 32 degrees Celsius, then the temperature of the railway line can be at most 10 degrees Celsius higher because the railway line absorbs heat. If the rail bends with this amount of heat, then it is a concern because, summer has not yet started and it will get hotter in the coming months. In that case, the railway authorities may have to stop the train.

He also said that the reason behind the accident could be the breakage of the hook, with which the rest of the coaches are attached to the locomotive because if the railway line is bent due to heat, the engine of the train is also supposed to derail. The engine of the train was not derailed. It is reported that people nearby heard loud noises. Maybe the sound is from the collision of the engines with the bogies.

Professor Hadiuzzaman also said that about 500 meters of railway line was uprooted in the accident. As a result, it is now very difficult to tell whether the railway line is bent or not.

Wavy lines and derailments

He said that 70 percent of the railway accidents are due to derailment. According to the data book of Bangladesh Railway, accidents have decreased in the last 10 years. In 2008-2009, there were 7 collisions, 408 derailments and 34 disruptions of trains.

On the other hand, in 2019-20, the number of clashes was one. The number of derailments was 72 and stalled trains stood at 7. A total of 80 accidents occurred in that year.

Moreover, according to Bangladesh Railway's own feasibility study, 63 percent of the nearly 3,000 kilometers of old railway lines across the country are at risk.

Prof. Hadiuzzaman said the railways are very keen on taking up new projects but they seem to be neglecting the old ones, which require maintenance.

Not only in Bangladesh, are railway lines in hot regions all over the world prone to buckling in hot weather. Buckling is also seen in railway lines in developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. Buckling occurs on railway lines in neighboring India. But these countries take various measures to reduce the problem.

To reduce the heat of the railway line, the railway line is painted white. Adding white color to the railway line reduces the heat a lot. In India, sometimes they also use wet blankets on railway lines to reduce the heat.

Prof. Hadiuzzaman said, Bangladesh Railway should find and monitor heat-prone areas. It can place thermal sensors along rail lines. Many countries around the world use thermal sensors, which will alert officials about the temperature of railway lines. After that, the railway officials will take measures accordingly to reduce the temperature of the railway line.

Prof. Hadiuzzaman said, the maintenance of the old railway lines must be done, otherwise the number of derailments will increase in the coming years. He thinks that railways may need to invest about Tk. 10 thousand crore to fix the old railway lines. It is not much money compared to the projects that are in railways.

Several officials of the railways, who did not want to reveal their names, agreed with the words of Prof. Hadiuzzaman. They feel that the accident of Vijay Express is not the temperature and buckling of the railway line. Because something else.

Now that the summer heat has not built up enough to bend the railway line, I think some other reason for the accident, said a railway employee who is often on duty in rescue trains after accidents.

;

JU Proctor Firoz-ul-Hasan resigned in the face of the agitation



JU Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
Photo: Collected

Photo: Collected

  • Font increase
  • Font Decrease

Jahangirnagar University proctor ASM Feroze-ul-Hasan has resigned in the face of teachers and students' agitation. He is an Associate Professor in the University's Department of Government and Politics.

This information was informed in an office order signed by Registrar Abu Hasan on Monday (March 18).

It is said in the office order, the proctor of Jahangirnagar University A. S. M. Feroze-ul-Hasan's resignation was accepted in pursuance of his written request.

Earlier, Associate Professor Feroze was accused of forcing the victim woman to write a letter of acquittal to save Mahmudur Rahman Jani, a newly expelled teacher of the University and recently neglecting responsibility in the rape of a housewife in the campus, covering up a criminal incident in the campus.

Meanwhile, the teachers-students protesting under the banner of anti-oppression platform have expressed their satisfaction with the resignation of the former proctor for a long time demanding the resignation of the proctor.

Alif Mahmood, a student of the 47th batch of English department among the protestors, said that the resignation of the proctor proved that there is no place for the rapist's helper in Jahangirnagar University. The removal of Feroze ul Hasan, the mastermind behind making the university into a crime zone, will help the University to run its activities normally. We demand that he be investigated and punished. So that in the future no one in any administrative position would have the slightest courage to do such a misadventure.

;

High Court's incompetence to hear Juthi's bail plea



Special Correspondent, Barta24.com
Photo: Collected

Photo: Collected

  • Font increase
  • Font Decrease

A High Court bench has ruled out hearing the anticipatory bail plea of independent secretary candidate Advocate Nahid Sultana Juthi in the case of fighting during the counting of votes in the Supreme Court Bar Association elections. Juthi is the wife of Jubo League chairman Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash.

On Monday (March 18) a High Court bench consisting of Justice Md. Selim and Justice Shahed Noor Uddin expressed disqualification. Accused in the same case Advocate Shakila Raushan, Barrister Chowdhury Moushumi Fatema (Kabita) also applied for bail.

On March 14, independent secretary candidate Advocate Nahid Sultana Juthi and defendant Advocate Shakila Raushan and Barrister Chowdhury Moushumi Fatema (poetry) applied for anticipatory bail in the relevant bench of the High Court.

In the case of beating and vandalism in Supreme Court Lawyers Association elections, 20 lawyers including independent secretary candidate Nahid Sultana Juthi and BNP supported secretary candidate Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kajal were accused in this case at Shahbag police station.

On the evening of March 9, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police arrested Kajol from his chamber at Topkhana Road, Paltan in the capital. He has been in jail since then.

In the statement of the case, it is said that the accused, under the direction and direct leadership of the accused No. 1, opened the door of the lower floor Shaheed Shafiur Rahman auditorium of the Supreme Court Bar Association and forcibly entered with weapons and abused other members of the election sub-committee including the plaintiff. When the iron rod held by defendant No. 5 hit the plaintiff in the middle of the head with the intention of killing him, the plaintiff was injured while resisting. The other accused assaulted and kicked the plaintiff with wooden sticks, wooden and plastic chairs and injured various parts of the plaintiff's body and tore the clothes he was wearing.

It is mentioned in the case that the entire incident is recorded in the CCTV footage of the Supreme Court Bar Association. This incident took place under her leadership on the illegal demand to declare the accused number 1 elected as the secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association without allowing the defendants to complete the work of counting the votes and announcing the results of the elections held.

;

Extortion going on in the name of raids on restaurants: Owners association



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
Photo: Collected

Photo: Collected

  • Font increase
  • Font Decrease

The Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association has alleged that the government agencies are extorting money in the name of raids after the fire at Kacchi Bhai restaurant in the capital's Bailey Road.

On Monday (March 18) at 11:00 pm, Secretary General of the organization Imran Hasan made this complaint in Nasrul Hamid Auditorium of Dhaka Reporters Unity.

Imran Hasan said that restaurants are being vandalized and sealed in a terrorist manner. But why action is not being taken against the government agencies which have been negligent.

Stating that restaurant closure is not a solution, Imran Hasan said that a high-level task force can be formed for a permanent solution. Protect investment and employment in the nation's restaurant sector. Advise on providing safe food. Extend a helping hand. Stop locking play during Ramadan. Businessmen are not responsible for the negligence of all government agencies in fulfilling their respective responsibilities.

He said there are about 12 organizations monitoring the restaurant industry. The Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association applied to the government to bring all the restaurant services in the country under one organization and give them licenses. License facilitation means that licensing requires documents that are impractical or impossible to provide. Complicating the process of obtaining a license is forcing it to be managed in an unscrupulous manner.

He said that if the building owners, restaurant owners and government agencies work together, it is possible to manage this sector properly through specific compliance. This industry is a highly neglected sector.

;