Says Tk 5.5 crore spent was people’s money; seeks fresh probe, demands accountability

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman yesterday said the people of the nation will resist any attempt to obstruct the implementation of the government’s election pledges.

The unity behind the July uprising is eroding as repression returns to public universities in new forms, leaving campuses divided and dimming the dream of a fear-free learning environment, the University Teachers’ Network said yesterday.

A case was filed yesterday over the attack on the historic Hazrat Shah Ali shrine in Mirpur and devotees by a mob.

Speakers at a discussion yesterday called for urgent measures to prevent further deaths from the ongoing measles outbreak, which has already claimed more than 450 lives.

Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has said that Chattogram’s chronic waterlogging crisis will have “a major, visible solution” by the end of this year.

A woman died at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barishal as her oxygen supply was removed to help another patient whose family had paid Tk 200 to a trolley man, alleges the family.

Students of Kadamtala Government Primary School in Kurigram Sadar upazila formed a human chain yesterday, demanding prompt and sustainable measures to save their school, homes and croplands in Kadamtala from erosion by the Dharla river.

Speakers yesterday called for increasing prices and taxes of tobacco products in the next budget, saying tobacco-related health and environmental damage costs Bangladesh around Tk 87,000 crore annually, far exceeding the government’s revenue from the sector.

Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan) secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar yesterday called for enacting two separate laws on lawmakers’ code of conduct and special privileges.

Female students at Jahangirnagar University yesterday staged an overnight sit-in in front of the vice-chancellor’s residence, demanding the resignation of Proctor Prof AKM Rashidul Alam after the suspect in an attempted rape and murder of a female student could not be arrested even after 48 hours.

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman yesterday said the party’s movement would continue both in parliament and on the streets against what he termed “the government’s deception and betrayal”.

Mizanur Rahman Sinha, a former state minister for health, passed away in Singapore early yesterday. He was 82.

The government is considering sweeping financial and administrative reforms linked to three World Bank loan programmes worth $1.7 billion, including removal of a controversial clause from the Bank Resolution Act.

Business leaders and economists yesterday called for a fear-free, transparent tax environment, urging the government to broaden the tax base rather than repeatedly burden compliant taxpayers.

Twenty-six garment exporters based in Narayanganj have alleged that Premier Bank officials created fake sales contracts and fraudulent LCs in the companies’ names at the local branch, burdening them with Tk 3,081 crore in “illegal” loans.

LGRD Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday said the prospect of maintaining good relations with India largely depends on the renewal of the Ganges water-sharing agreement, also known as the Farakka Treaty.

Persistent inflation is eroding consumer spending power and affecting businesses across the board, according to a study by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).

Family claims four-year-old was killed; police investigating

Devotee alleges assault, vandalism and theft during night prayers