Government extends general holiday till May 5



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com
photo: Collected

photo: Collected

  • Font increase
  • Font Decrease

Dhaka: In order to contain the outbreak of coronavirus, for the fifth time the nationwide shutdown has been extended till May 5 including the general holidays and weekly holidays. However, 18 important ministries and divisions including the Prime Minister's Office will remain open during this time.

According to reliable sources, some important ministries, including the Prime Minister's Office, will be kept open to keep the government functioning properly. Overall, it was decided to open 18 ministries and divisions. The Ministry of Public Administration will publish the notification of the holiday on Thursday(April 23).

Confirming the decision to keep the ministries open, State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain told Barta24.com that the holiday has been extended till May 5 due to the corona virus. As a result, the office will open on May 6. However, some ministries will remain open during this holiday for urgent needs. However, some ministries including health, disaster and relief are still open. There are also various levels of emergency offices open.

According to the sources, the Prime Minister's Office, Cabinet Division, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Public Administration, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Information, two divisions of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Food and Disaster Management, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock will remain open during the shutdown period. The normal activities of these ministries will continue. As a result, the officers and employees have to attend the office.

In the first phase the general holiday period from March 26 to April 4 due to coronavirus. After that the shutdown extended to 11 April. The holiday was extended for the third time till April 14. In the fourth phase, the leave was extended till April 25.
On April 10 (Friday) the Deputy Secretary (Rule-4) of the Ministry of Public Administration Kazi Mohammad Saiful Islam signed a circular extending the fourth leave till April 25. The circular gave some instructions to ensure social distance in dealing with corona.

One of the instructions was that none can go out after 6 pm evening all over the country. If it is violated legal action will be taken against the violators. Noting that this holiday will not be considered as a general holiday, the notification said that they should be strictly adhered to with certain conditions.

   

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



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com
Photo: Collected

Photo: Collected

  • Font increase
  • Font Decrease

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.

;

Taka 400 crores laundered through digital Hundi, controlled by Dubai



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com
Photo: Collected

Photo: Collected

  • Font increase
  • Font Decrease

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.

;

Demand for punishment for those responsible for electrocution death in Moulvibazar



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
Photo: barta24.com

Photo: barta24.com

  • Font increase
  • Font Decrease

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.

;

Suggestion to introduce Human Rights Wing in the Foreign Ministry



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
Photo: Collected

Photo: Collected

  • Font increase
  • Font Decrease

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. #

;