Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser to the Health Ministry Dr. Sayedur Rahman who has been given executive responsibility, said that unique ID cards will be given along with rehabilitation to those injured in the July-August mass uprising.

He said this after a meeting of 6 advisers with students and the public injured in the July-August mass uprising at the conference room of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at the Secretariat on Thursday (November 14) evening.

Stating that these processes will be completed by December, Dr. Sayedur Rahman said that a written outline will be given within the next five days. They will be implemented according to the timeline given in the outline.

He said that the injured will have a unique ID card. After it is prepared, all benefits will be ensured. In terms of treatment, they will receive free treatment from all government institutions for life. The government will also pay full or partial expenses in private hospitals with which the government has an agreement.

He also said that all the expenses incurred personally so far will be refunded if proper information is provided. Those who have lost their eyesight will be properly trained and supported, along with their educational qualifications and abilities. Those who have been paralyzed will be given the best possible treatment.

He said that after November 17, there will be a support center. All kinds of solutions will be tried from there. All government hospitals will have dedicated beds for the treatment of the injured. All hospitals in Dhaka will be brought under a network. All processes will be completed by December. Negligence in this regard will not be tolerated in any way. If necessary, advanced treatment will be arranged abroad.

Information and Broadcasting Adviser Nahid Islam said that short-term measures will be taken for the treatment and rehabilitation of those injured in the uprising by December. Later, long-term steps will be taken step by step.

He said that the state has to face many crises. However, the martyrs and injured in the uprising are the government's top priority. There was a misunderstanding on Wednesday. It was resolved at night. They have been met before. They are being contacted at various times, formally and informally.

The information adviser said, "All martyrs and injured are related to the state and the nation. It is also the duty of political parties to work with the martyrs and injured. Let us all not neglect such duties. This government will be able to ensure maximum facilities to the injured and martyred families. They also have this belief." 

On November 15, 2007, Cyclone Sidr hit Patuakhali. In a single day, about 466 people lost their lives in the district and 211 are still missing. About Tk. 3,200 crore was lost, and more than 1,00,000 people in the district were displaced. Although reconstruction efforts have begun after Sidr, the terrible memories of Sidr still create fear in the minds of local residents.

Sidr caused extensive damage in Patuakhali. Houses, roads, schools, colleges, and the fisheries sector were almost completely destroyed. The fisheries sector in particular suffered major damage, which had a long-term impact on the district's economy. Moreover, the cyclone caused embankments to erode, causing water logging in vast areas. The district administration and various NGOs jointly started reconstruction efforts, but the damage caused by Sidr could not be completely overcome. Local residents are still in fear, remembering the terrible memories of Sidr.

A local resident of Patuakhali, Md. Selim (45), said, 'I can't forget the day of Sidr. I lost a lot that day. Even when now the weather is bad, I still feel like Sidr will come again.'

A 61-year-old woman, Jahanara Begum, still gets shocked when she remembers the terrible devastation of Sidr. She said, 'Everything in my house was destroyed. I still feel scared when I remember the times of Sidr.'

Another resident, Anwar Hossain (52), said, 'After losing everything, when we were slowly getting up, it felt like nothing would happen. Even though the situation is much better now, the fear of Sidr remains in our minds.'

Rahima Begum (60), a mother who lost her son, said, 'My son went missing on the night of Sidr. I searched a lot, but I couldn't find him anywhere. When I remember that night, I still burst into tears. I never found my child, but I still hope that he will return.'

After Sidr, disaster management in Patuakhali has improved a lot. Currently, the number of cyclone shelters in the coastal areas has increased and various programs are being taken to increase awareness among people during disasters. The local administration is working on constructing cyclone shelters and repairing embankments. The people of this region are now more prepared for disasters like Sidr.

However, Sidr in 2007 was a terrible chapter for Patuakhali district, the damage and memories of which remain in the minds of people even today.

Police have arrested 7 leaders and activists of Awami League and its affiliates, including former Feni pourashava councilor Amir Hossain Bahar, women's UP chairman Umme Runa, in a case related to the killings during the anti-discrimination student-public movement in Feni.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Feni Model Police Station Marm Singha Tripura confirmed this information on Thursday (November 14) night.

According to police sources, police arrested Amir Hossain Bahar in a raid conducted from a house in the capital on Thursday (November 14) afternoon. Bahar is the Sports and Cultural Secretary of the District Awami League. He was also the General Secretary of the District Sports Association and a former General Secretary of the Bangladesh Badminton Federation.

Police said that Bahar is an accused in a case filed at Feni Model Police Station in connection with the killings and attacks during the student-public movement in Feni on August 4. He was arrested from Dhaka on Thursday based on secret information. He was brought to Feni Model Police Station later in the evening.

In addition, the UP chairman and six other leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliated organizations were arrested in a police raid. Later, they were arrested in various cases related to casualties in the student-public movement against discrimination.

Earlier, on Wednesday (November 13) night and Thursday (November 14) afternoon, Sonagazi Sadar Union Parishad Chairman and Upazila Women's Awami League Women's Affairs Secretary Umme Runa (42) and six other leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliated organizations were arrested in a raid in different places in the district.

The others arrested are Ekhlas Uddin Khandaker Bablu (33), younger brother of District Jubo Dal General Secretary Nasir Uddin Khandaker and former member of the District Chhatra League, Daganbhuiyan Upazila Awami League Senior Joint Convener Hedayet Ullah Sohel (52), Fazilpur Union Social Welfare Secretary Fazlul Haque Sumon (26), Kazirbag Union Awami League Vice-President Md. Faiz Ahmed (60) and Motbi Union Ward No. 8 Jubo League President Md. Saddam Hossain (32).

Feni Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Marm Singha Tripura said, Amir Hossain Bahar has been arrested from Dhaka. He will be sent to jail through the court on Friday (November 15). The others who were arrested have been shown as arrested in the case filed in connection with the casualties in the movement and have been sent to jail through the court.

Dhaka: The capital Dhaka. At least 2 crore people live in this city of 1,463 square kilometers. Against this large population, the road network is 3,000 kilometers. As a result, it is normal for the city to be beyond its capacity. However, even amidst normality, some unusual processes are constantly suffering a large number of these people. Road anarchy has bent the spine of the capital. Along with this, crores of people are also deprived of safe transportation.

About 3,500 buses belonging to at least 50 different owners ply in the city of Dhaka, which is beyond its capacity. Far from any rules, these vehicles have no problem even obeying the laws of the road. In a word, the effective image of the proverb 'those who have the power are the ones who have the power' is the movement of buses on the roads of the capital. Although these vehicles, which have fulfilled the proverb by driving buses as they wish on the roads of Dhaka, have suffered for years, the zigzag pattern of movement on the roads has not changed year after year. Due to the existence of multiple companies and ownership of buses, despite various initiatives, the chaos on the roads has not been restored to order in the past two decades.

Researchers say that there is a huge weakness in the authorities behind such chaos on the roads. Similarly, bus routes have been given in various ways based on political considerations without any planning. As a result, along with the loss of road capacity, Bangladesh is not even close to the minimum science-based road planning.

BUET University professor and communications expert Dr. Hadiuzzaman explains the matter more clearly. According to him, there is no formal public transport in megacities like Dhaka. Although the city buses plying in Dhaka are called public transport, these buses do not fall within the definition of public transport.

Dr. Hadiuzzaman told Barta24.com, to be public transport, it must have a schedule. It must come at a frequency. Every five minutes or every 10 minutes. However, these buses in Dhaka do not fall within the definition of public transport. The approvals for buses that have been given for the past few decades have been given by the Regional Transport Committee or RTC. They had a huge weakness here. They don't just have to give approval. Buses need infrastructure. Bus stops, ticket counters are needed. At the end of the day, the buses will go to the depot. However, without considering these, bus route permits have been given solely for political considerations. Using political power, the same routes have been moved back and forth, given another route name, and more buses have been added there. As a result, numerous buses are plying on the same route. In this, we are nowhere near the planning that is supposed to be done as a service sector. We have gone a long way from science.

Now the question is where is the solution to this situation to speed up Dhaka's roads?

Experts say that the company will turn the streets into a listed bus service in the capital. It is possible to bring a more ideal transport system than the metro rail without making a big investment of Tk. 6,000 crore. This will reduce 70 percent of the traffic congestion in the capital. The 350,000 private cars plying in the capital will also come under control. This will restore order on the roads, on the other hand, double capacity service will also be ensured.

In this regard, Dr. Hadiuzzaman said, I think that now that we are talking about a change, an opportunity has come. In fact, we should take the buses under the control of a government-listed company. If the buses continue to operate sporadically under private ownership, it will not be possible to bring them under control or remove the buses that are unfit, without route permits, and that are in disrepair. The government has no control here. As a result, if the buses are brought under the control of the company, the buses whose economic life has ended will have to be removed from these routes. Then gradually the government and the shareholders will invest. Gradually new buses will come. Then it will be seen that the quality of the buses will also be good.

He also said, if necessary, we can make a wonderful operational plan.

Public transport is actually the backbone of the city. We can bring the buses to separate lanes. We can give them priority by going to the signal. Then the passengers of private cars will sit and watch as public transport passes by me. It is possible to bring good quality buses here with time saving. There will be air conditioning. There will be low floors. There will be double doors; it is possible to bring buses like London here. Then the users of private cars will be interested in buses. Without doing all this, the medicine to reduce private cars will not work.

This researcher also said that if 6 thousand crore taka is invested, it is possible to create excellent public transport in the entire city of Dhaka. By 2027, 3 metrorails will be built. About Tk. 2.5 lakh crore will be invested there. However, we have done research and found that if Tk. 6 thousand crore is invested, then it is possible to transport eight times more passengers by bus than by metrorail.

Meanwhile, even after a long time, the initiative of company-listed buses has been taken to restore order on the roads. The City Corporation and the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority intend to complete the outline of which in the next 3 months.

In this regard, Neelima Akhtar, Executive Director of the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority, said, we are thinking of operating company-based buses. And we will mainly emphasize on the route on which the buses are operating so that they can do so.

Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator Md. Nazrul Islam said, the representatives of the bus owners' association and workers will cooperate with us. They have assured us. We have also agreed that we will restore order in the transport system through mutual cooperation. Applications have been invited to come under the ambit of public transport. We will take the applications till November 30. The route will be fixed through the company. We will operate the vehicles under the company. Although it is called Nagar Paribarhan, here the company will be in ownership.