A new cleanliness drive -- 'Porichchonnotar Juddho' (battle for cleanliness) -- was launched in the capital on Friday. Housing and Public Works Minister SM Rezaul Karim inaugurated the campaign arranged by 'Dettol Harpic Porichchonno Bangladesh' and RTV in front of the Parliament. KM Khalid, State Minister of Cultural Affairs, and Atiqul Islam, Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation, and 200 scout members were present during the campaign launching program.   “It’s our responsibility to keep this country beautiful and clean,” Karim said, adding that those who take bribes and engage in corruption will also have to clean up their act. “Such impurity should be eradicated from the society,” he said.  State Minister Khalid said such cleanliness campaigns will help a lot in building the country.  DNCC Mayor Islam said the people have to keep the country clean. Freedom fighter Bir Protik Md Habibul Alam, Vice President, Bangladesh scouts; freedom fighter Md Golam Rosul Bhuiyan; Dettol Harpic Porichchonno Bangladesh’s Ambassador Riaz and Chief Coordinator Salauddin Ahmed Tarek; Syed Ashiq Rahman, CEO of RTV; celebrity Shampa Reza, singer Fakir Alamgir, along with scout members were present at the inauguration ceremony. Source: UNB AH

The surrounding areas of the Secretariat have been declared ‘No Horn Zone’ and the decision will become effective from December 17 aiming to prevent sound pollution. No vehicle will be allowed to play horn at Zero Point, Paltan intersection and secretariat link road areas. The decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change at the secretariat on Sunday. The meeting stressed the need for creating public awareness to stop honking of horns in the surrounding areas of the secretariat and sought cooperation of all including media workers in this regard. According to Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995, if anyone violates this ban, the offender will be sentenced to maximum one month imprisonment or fined maximum of Tk 5,000 or awarded both fine and jail term. Earlier, on November 25, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin said the surrounding areas of the secretariat will be declared as ‘No Horn Zone’ from December 17. Source: UNB AH

An incident of Hydrochloric Acid (HCl) blast took place at the chemistry laboratory of computer department of Naogaon Polytechnic Institute and six students were injured in the accident. The accident occurred on Sunday afternoon when practical examination of third year computer department students was going on. The injured are- Niamul Islam (18), Md. Safi (18), Towhid Chowdhury (19), Rakib Hasan (20), Shahriar Jasim (19) and Sarwar (20). All of them are the students of computer department. According to Naogaon Polytechnic Institute sources, in the afternoon the practical examination of third year second shift students was going on in the chemistry lab. During the test at around 5 pm six students were injured in the Hydrochloric Acid blast. Later the injured students were rushed to the Naogaon sadar general hospital. Three seriously injured students were shifted to Rajshahi medical college hospital as there was no burn unit in the Naogaon sadar general hospital. Three students are Niamul, Md. Shafi and Towhid Chowdhury. The rest are being treated at the Naogaon hospital. AH     

Bangladesh’s capital city was ranked the worst in Air Quality Index (AQI) on Monday morning. Dhaka had a score of 242 at 8am, which means the air quality was ‘very unhealthy’. India’s Delhi, Pakistan’s Lahore and Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar occupied the next three slots with scores of 211, 198 and 198 respectively. When the AQI value is between 201 and 300, every city dweller may begin to experience health effects. Children, adults, and people with respiratory diseases are advised to avoid outdoor activities while everyone else is suggested to limit outdoor exertion in this situation. The air quality is categorized as good when the AQI score remains below 50. The air is classified as moderate when the score is 51-100. But when the number is between 101 and 150, the air is classified as unhealthy for sensitive groups. The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, tells people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them. Bangladesh’s overcrowded capital has been grappling with air pollution for a long time. The quality usually improves during monsoon. Source: UNB AH

‘Time has gone for the middlemen to supply paddy in the government godowns. The government will buy paddy directly from the farmers through online. For this purpose use of an app named Krishoker App has begun. The program has been taken as experimental basis in 16 upazilas for the first time. It will be allowed to spread throughout the country by phases.’ Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said these at a program of fertilizer and seed distribution among the farmers at Sapahar in Naogaon on Saturday. The minister said, the farmers can supply paddy to the government godowns without any hassle after applying through online. I would request you not sell the slips to the middlemen which will be given for supplying paddy. Seeds of crops and fertilizer were distributed among the farmers at the program. Local administration officers and others were present at that time. AH