Festivals of three religions observed simultaneously in Bangladesh



News Desk, Barta24.com
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Dhaka: In Bangladesh, the holy Eid Miladunnabi (SM) of the Muslims, Kojagari Lakshmi Puja of the Hindus and Prabarana Purnima of the Buddhists have been celebrated simultaneously.

Thousands of Muslims have vowed to maintain inter-religious unity at a rally on the occasion of Eid-e-Miladunnabi on Wednesday.

Participants in a religious rally organized by Maizbhandari Durbar Sharif raised their hands and said, "We will not accept religious extremism, militancy and sectarianism."

The gathering was attended by scholars and Sufis as well as ministers, politicians, foreign diplomats and dignitaries. The current leader of Durbar Sharif, Syed Saifuddin Ahmed, administered the oath at the rally.

He said that this year Miladunnabi has brought a great opportunity to maintain inter-religious unity in line with the guidance of the Qur'an and the teachings of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Among the political leaders, the information minister and the joint secretary general of the Awami League Hasan Mahmud, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, Kalyan Party President Major General (Rtd.) Syed Mohammad Ibrahim addressed the meeting. Representatives from Indonesia and South Korea also attended the rally.

State Minister for Religion Mohammad Faridul Haque Khan gave a virtual address from Pirganj.

The gathering from the premises of the Institute of Engineers brought out a colorful procession on the highway. Participants carried placards with the Prophet's message of universal peace and unity.

Saifuddin Ahmed said that Muslims who follow the Qur'an and the Prophet (peace be upon him) are obliged to maintain communal harmony. It is haraam for Muslims to attack the shrines of other religions.

He called on all to refrain from making any comments that could lead to renewed communal tensions and to bring the perpetrators of the recent violence to justice.

Muslims across the country traditionally celebrate Eid Miladunnabi (peace be upon him) by discussing the biography of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his spiritual teachings.

The Hindus celebrated the annual Kojagari Lakshmi Puja. The puja is performed in their own homes as a daily prayer. The Buddhists celebrated the annual Pravarana Purnima by discussing the Buddha's message of non-violent teaching.

Kajal Debnath, a leader of the Hindu community, said it was a coincidence that religious festivals of three religions were celebrated at the same place on the same day. But I see this as an indication of interfaith unity because we are all created by the same Creator. He is the Lord of us all.

"We want to be inspired by this coincidence in the spirit of peaceful co-existence," he added.

On this day in 570 AD, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was born in Makkha, Saudi Arabia with the message of peace for mankind. Miladunnabi is celebrated on this occasion.

Lakshmi Puja is celebrated every year after Durga Puja, the main religious festival of Hindus. According to Hindu scriptures, Vishnu's wife Lakshmi is the goddess of beauty and wealth.

Prabarana Purnima of the Buddhist community is also celebrated in a festive atmosphere. Through this festival, the Buddhist monks ended their three-month solitude.

   

Dhaka is the sixth most polluted city in the world, Seoul is on top



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com
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Today, Dhaka is sixth in the list of the most polluted cities in the world. The air quality of the capital has become 'unhealthy' with an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 172 at 6:50 am today.

South Korea's capital Seoul topped the air quality index with 343. South Korea's Incheon, Pakistan's Lahore, Vietnam's Chiang Mai and India's Delhi occupy the second, third, fourth and fifth places in the list with AQI scores of 217, 187, 179 and 177 respectively.

An AQI score between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy' for sensitive groups. An AQI score between 201 and 300 is considered 'very unhealthy'. And an AQI between 301 and 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing a serious health risk to residents.

AQI in Bangladesh is determined based on 5 parameters of pollution, namely - Particulate Matter (PM10 & PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone (O3).

Dhaka has been suffering from air pollution for a long time. Its air quality generally becomes unhealthy during winters and improves slightly during monsoons.

In March 2019, a report by the Department of Environment and the World Bank stated that the three main causes of Dhaka's air pollution are brick kilns, smoke from vehicles and dust from construction activities.

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Taka 400 crores laundered through digital Hundi, controlled by Dubai



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com
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Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested 5 people for allegedly laundering around Tk. 400 crore abroad through Digital Hundi using Mobile Banking Service (MFS).

CID Chief Additional IGP Mohammad Ali Mia informed this in a press conference at CID headquarters on Thursday (March 28) afternoon.

The arrested are - Nasim Ahmed (62), the owner of Tasmia Associates, Fazle Rabbi Sumon (32), the territory sales manager of Agent SIM, Md. Kamruzzaman (33), Zahir Uddin (37), representative of Jet Robotics Apps Bangladesh and Khairul Islam alias Pius (34).

Additional IGP Mohammad Ali Mia said, a gang has smuggled around Tk. 400 crore abroad through digital Hundi using mobile banking services. Five members of this gang were arrested during the operation.

He said that Tk. 400 crores illegally came to Bangladesh through Jet Robotics app in the last few months. Police traced the app through intelligence.

He also said that the money of this gang was transacted from the Chattogram based distribution house. Five members of the gang were arrested in separate raids in Dhaka and Chattogram on Wednesday night.

He said that Tk. 28 lakh 51 thousand cash was seized from them at the time of arrest. He said that they used to rent development agent SIMS and deliver money through them to the grassroots level.

The head of CID said that Mamun, the master of this gang lives in Dubai. He is using agent SIM here. This app used for smuggling cannot work outside 48 SIM along the specific link sent from Dubai. Only seven people can enter this app.

Referring to this as a modern form of Hundi business, he said, money is being circulated in the country through this app by blocking remittances coming to Bangladesh. Already we got 5-7 more such organizations who are working like this.

He said, in the last three months, Tk. 400 crores have been hindered from coming to Bangladesh through Jet Robotic Apps. Five people using these apps have been arrested and their devices seized.

He said, Chattogram's development distribution house Tasmia Associates company has 1000 Bkash Agent SIMs. These agent SIMs who are not performing well, the agent SIMs provide DSOs to the users of Jet Robotic Apps.

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Demand for punishment for those responsible for electrocution death in Moulvibazar



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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The death of 6 members of the same family due to electrocution in Moulvibazar is very shocking and heartbreaking. The chairman of the National Human Rights Commission Dr. Kamaluddin Ahmed said that the main responsible person and institution should be brought under accountability.

He made this comment at a discussion on 'Role of Media in Protection of Human Rights and Consumer Rights' organized by 'Business Digest' at a hotel in the capital on Thursday (March 28).

The Chairman of the Human Rights Commission said, after investigating the incident of Moulvibazar, appropriate legal action should be taken against those responsible and necessary measures should be taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. We could not do anything for one family, but we have to do for hundreds of such families.

He also said that the issue of rights is directly and indirectly the daily practice of the media. Media can question all the irregularities; make people aware of their rights and duties and play an important role in establishing rights. We can carry out reformative activities only in view of the news published in the media.

Dr. Kamal Uddin Ahmed called on the media workers to take all-out efforts to spread the necessary knowledge about the constitution, law and rights among the people.

At one stage of the discussion, he said about the recurrence of fires, we have not learned proper lessons from the big fires and explosions in Nimatli, Newmarket and Bangabazar in the past years. Had we taken effective measures, recurrence of fires could have been prevented.

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Suggestion to introduce Human Rights Wing in the Foreign Ministry



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recommended setting up a new wing on human rights to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The suggestion was made at the parliamentary committee meeting held at Jatiya Sangsad Bhavan on Thursday (March 28). After the meeting, this information was informed in a press release of the Parliament Secretariat.

The meeting recommended taking necessary steps to recognize March 25 as International Genocide Day. A proposal was made in the meeting to visit the Rohingya camps Kutupalong and Bhasanchar with the members of the Standing Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Chairman of the committee AK Abdul Momen chaired the meeting and members of the committee and Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, Shahriar Alam, Nahim Razzak, Nizam Uddin Jalil, Nurul Islam Nahid, Habibur Rahman, Saimum Sarwar, Zara Zabeen Mahbub took part in the meeting. #

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