Live Tv
Rtv Plus
Border Killing: Bangladeshi Shot, Body Taken by BSF
Rtv News
26 Oct 2024, 11:24
Photo: File Picture
A Bangladeshi named Rezaul Karim (26) was killed in firing by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) at Dhobaura border in Mymensingh. Deceased body was taken across the border by BSF personnel, according to a report.
The incident took place near 1139/9 S Pillar in Munshipara BGB camp, Digalbag border area of South Maizpara Union at around 9 pm on Thursday (October 24). The deceased Rezaul Karim is the son of Abdus Sattar of Narayanpur village of Sherpur district.
Nayek Subedar Hazrat Ali of Munsapara BGB Camp confirmed the matter on Friday (October 25) night.
Talking to some locals, it is known that Rezaul Karim was a drug dealer. Go to India to get medicines at low cost. Locals heard loud gunshots on the border at 9 pm on Thursday. Later that night, Rezaul Karim did not return.
Subedar Hazrat Ali said that Rezaul Karim entered India illegally. He died there. We have received a letter from BSF. However, the letter did not mention the cause of death or why he entered India.
He further said, we will send a letter on Saturday. However, we are not allowed to bring dead bodies through our camp area. Senior officers will decide on this.
Comments
Massive Anti-Drug Sweep in Tongi: 40 Arrested
In a joint anti-drug operation in Tongi, Gazipur, 40 individuals have been detained.
The operation, based on confidential information, was conducted around 3:30 AM on Sunday, November 3, at the Keranitek slum in Tongi.
During the raid, law enforcement recovered large quantities of drugs, including marijuana, Phensedyl, yaba tablets, along with local weapons and cash amounting to 2,281,300 BDT. Forty people involved in drug trafficking were detained by the joint forces.
The operation included around 500 members from the Army, RAB, BGB, and police. The Army has reported that the process of filing cases against the detainees is underway.
Former Additional Secretary Amjad and His Son Detained
Former Additional Secretary Mohammad Amjad Hossain and his son have been detained. They were arrested late Sunday night, November 3, in a raid on House 33, Sector 11 in Uttara.
Acting on confidential information, a joint force began the operation at 10 PM on Sunday at their residence. After nearly four hours, Amjad and his son were detained.
The raid led to the seizure of large amounts of cash, both local and foreign, and valuable items from their home. This included 10.95 million BDT in cash, various foreign currencies, 11 iPhones, and luxury brand watches.
Police have stated that the process of filing a case against the detainees is underway.
It is worth noting that Amjad Hossain Khan retired in 2020 as an Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development and Cooperatives.
Fish Drying Begins in Sundarbans
Over 10,000 fishermen started drying fish in the Sundarbans today as they do every year in the dry season in this area.
The fishermen dry huge quantities of fishes here after catching those from the Bay of Bengal and adjacent rivers of Sundarbans.
Around 85 species of fishes including Rupchada, Laitya, Chhuri, Khalisa, and different kinds of shrimp are dried and processed in the Sundarbans.
The areas in the Sundarbans for dying fish are Dublarchar, Chapra Khalias, Alorkol, Meher Ali, Majhir Killa, Shewlar Char, Kokilmoni, Kaborkhali, Narkel Baria, Bara Amberia, Manik Khali and Chhoto Amberia.
"Before sunrise, we go out to netting the fishes, which are processed for drying in the sun," said Mohammad Ali, a fisherman of Dublar Char.
"Thousands of fishermen from different areas of the southern region, including Satkhira, Khulna, Pirojpur, Barguna, and Bagerhat make makeshift houses here for drying and processing fishes," said another fisherman Ruhul Amin.
He said, "We will net and dry sea fishes till March 31 here. We found more fish during the new moon and full moon. These dried fishes will be sent to fish traders in different areas including Kuakata, Cox's Bazar, and Chattogram."
Talking to BSS, the President of the fishermen group of Dublarchar Kamal Ahmed said fishermen couldn't get opportunities during the last few months for drying fishes here. They also became jobless as Govt imposed a ban on Hilsa fishing. But they (fishermen) got VGF rice during the period.
He informed that the Department of Forest has permitted to set up at least 985 houses, 57 depots,s and 93 shops this year.
Md Khalilur Rahman, the assistant conservator of the forest of Sharankhola Range under East Sundarbans, said, "There are 13 centers for fish collection, processing and marketing in Dublar Char fish village, about 120 kilometers from Mongla by boat. Fishermen and fish depot owners go there for drying fish for preservation and sale," he added.
Working to Mitigate Losses of Karnaphuli Tunnel: Fouzul Kabir
Road Transport and Bridges Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan has termed the Karnaphuli Tunnel project an instance of 'political showmanship and said they are working to mitigate the huge losses from this 'unrealistic' project.
"This tunnel is an unrealistic project. It was essentially a politically motivated project, a display for earning public attention. Other countries have tunnels underwater, why shouldn't we have one? But current realities reveal that it was grandstanding," adviser Fouzul said in an exclusive interview with UNB recently.
The tunnel, built at a cost of around Tk 10,700 crore, cannot simply be shut down or dismantled, he said, adding, "We are reviewing the reasons behind the losses and are working on ways to mitigate that."
Strategies will be worked out in coordination with relevant departments to reduce losses, he said.
The adviser added that authorities are exploring options to increase traffic flow through the tunnel but any investment would be based on concrete data, not inflated projections. "We have to repay our foreign loans, so there will be no speculative studies," the adviser said.
He said the tunnel under the Karnaphuli River in Chattogram—Bangladesh's first underwater tunnel—failed to see its projected benefits, resulting in substantial daily losses.
Criticizing the previous Awami League government, he added, "They took up projects for the sake of having projects without considering national interests. This attitude has caused significant losses to the country."
He said the tunnel expenses have exceeded income significantly and vehicle flow estimates made before the tunnel’s construction have proven inaccurate, he added.
There were also flaws in the tunnel design as it was constructed with a shorter headroom of 4.9 meters which restricts the movement of heavy vehicles and fuel-carrying transport movement is prohibited due to safety concerns, thereby reducing potential traffic volume, said the Adviser.
Besides, projects planned for Chattogram's southern region and Cox's Bazar over the project were not implemented, limiting the tunnel's usage.
Karnaphuli Tunnel was built at a cost of Tk 10,700 crore. The tunnel project was implemented with joint funding of the governments of Bangladesh and China (G2G).
The Exim Bank of China provided a loan of Tk 5,913 crore while the Bangladesh government funded the rest.
The Karnaphuli River divides Chattogram into two parts. The tunnel being built – following the "One City, Two Towns" model like Shanghai in China – aiming to connect the port city on the north with Anwara upazila on the south.
Bridge Authority's statistics
According to the reports of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, since the tunnel’s opening on October 28 last year, revenue has consistently fallen short of operational costs.
In its first operational month, November, 166,312 vehicles used the tunnel, a daily average of 5,544, earning Tk 3.94 crore. However, by April this year, traffic dropped to an average of 3,855 vehicles per day. For the first 21 days of September, the average daily vehicle count further dropped to 3,073, showing a downtrend.
Currently, an average of Tk 11.80 lakh is being earned daily as a toll from the tunnel. However, since the tunnel is constructed underground, a substantial amount of money has to be spent each day to provide artificial oxygen and lighting, along with general and emergency security measures.
On average, around Tk 37.47 lakh is being spent every day to cover these operational costs. As a result, the daily loss amount reaches over Tk 25 lakh.
The Bridge Authority statistics reveal that over the past year, the tunnel saw about 14.11 lakh vehicles, 76% of which were light vehicles, with only 10% buses and 12% trucks.
Revenue from this vehicle flow has amounted to Tk 37.44 crore, far below projections.
Construction firm estimates from 2017 anticipated that, if opened by 2020, the tunnel would handle around 20,719 vehicles daily, growing by 6.4% annually to 28,305 vehicles per day by 2025, and nearly 38,000 by 2030. However, current figures fall drastically short of these projections, with a daily average of just 4,613 vehicles as of August this year, most of which are tourist transports.
Source: UNB
City Dwellers Suffer Amidst Capital's Heavy Traffic Jams
Heavy traffic congestion has been reported in Dhaka city, especially around the University of Dhaka, as thousands of people across the country gathered at Suhrawardy Udyan to attend a rally organized by Olama Mashayekh Bangladesh.
Tabligh and Qawmi scholars flocked to the Islamic rally at the capital's Suhrawardy Udyan.
Many passengers reported being stuck in traffic for hours.
The rally started at 9 am on Tuesday (November 5) and ended around 1 pm. But as soon as the day dawned, the rally was filled with the presence of Ulema-Mashaikhs.
Meanwhile, the rally was supposed to be held at Suhrawardy Udyan, but the conference went beyond the boundaries of Ramna Park, Dhaka University Campus, National Press Club, and Shahbagh.
As a result, vehicles are not able to ply on the road from Shahbagh to Matsya Bhavan, Kakrail, Press Club, and Shikkha Bhaban area. Because of this, severe traffic jams were seen in Science Lab, Mirpur Road, Chankharpool, Paltan, Naya Paltan, Moghbazar, Tejgaon, Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Panthapath, Bijoy Sarani areas.
Due to road congestion, the pressure of people on metro rail was more than ever before. Among them, thousands of madrasa students and teachers going to the Islamic rally were seen traveling from one station to another station on the metro rail. Among them, the passenger pressure is higher from Dhaka University Station to Motijheel and Uttara. The regular commuters of the metro rail have suffered due to this.
Kamrul Islam, a law student of Dhaka University, went to TSC station from Farmgate Metrorail station. He said that due to the grand convention in Suhrawardy Udyan, heavy traffic jam was created on the road. So many people have left the bus and bought metro rail tickets.
12 Law Enforcement Officers Injured Amid Tensions Over Facebook Post
Twelve members of law enforcement were injured in an attack by assailants in the Hazari Goli area under Kotwali Police Station in Chittagong, triggered by a Facebook post. The injured are currently receiving medical treatment.
The incident occurred at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 5, when law enforcement officers were conducting a rescue operation in the area.
According to reports, a Facebook user recently shared a photo card allegedly containing "obscene" comments about ISKCON. The post was later reshared by the owner of a shop in Mia Shopping Center, located in Hazari Goli. This post angered a section of the local Hindu community, who vandalized the shop and attempted to attack the shopkeeper on Tuesday afternoon.
Police and army personnel arrived in the evening to control the situation, but protesters turned on them, throwing acid, bricks, and stones. Six police officers and six army personnel were injured in the attack.
Fazlur Kader Chowdhury, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kotwali Police Station in Chittagong, confirmed the incident.
He stated that when law enforcement attempted to disperse the protesters, they attacked the police, and later, the joint forces as well.
Law enforcement operations are ongoing to identify the attackers. A detailed briefing will be provided in a press conference on Wednesday, November 7.
Want to Build A Beautiful Country With All Religions: Army Chief
Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has expressed the hope of building a beautiful country with people of all religions.
He stated this on Friday (November 8) afternoon at the capital's International Buddhist Monastery of Merul Badda on the occasion of 'Kothin Chibor Dan and Buddhist Great Convention.'
Army Chief said, " We want to build a country of harmony. This is the main motto of Buddhism. We want to build a beautiful country with people of all religions.
He also said, "Many people have come here from the hilly areas. We want the day to be celebrated like this every year. We will provide all kinds of assistance for this."
Waker-Uz-Zaman said, "The hill region is a great asset of our country. So I will do whatever is necessary for the peace of the hill region."
It should be noted that according to Buddhist scriptures, this religious ritual was introduced during the lifetime of Lord Gautam Buddha about two and a half thousand years ago. It is termed 'Kothin Chibor Dan' as it is done within 24 hours from spinning the thread to weaving, sewing, and dyeing the cloth and giving it to the Buddhist monks.
