Government should prioritise road maintenance work

We are quite surprised to learn that the government has allocated only Tk 2,550 crore for the repair and maintenance of all roads and bridges across the country,
1 July 2019, 18:00 PM

The woes of female migrant workers

Despite the immense contribution of our migrant workers to the economy in the form of remittance, among other things, we have not done enough to ensure their welfare—more so when it comes to our female migrant workers.
1 July 2019, 18:00 PM

Main accused of Rifat’s murder yet to be arrested

In a previous editorial, we wrote that the criminals who viciously murdered Rifat Sharif in broad daylight and in front of his wife would not have done so, had they not believed for some reason that they could get away with it.
30 June 2019, 18:00 PM

Three years after Holey Artisan attack

It is three years to the day that the country suffered the worst terrorist attack since August 21, 2004. It was a tsunami of sorts that
30 June 2019, 18:00 PM

City roads clogged up by illegal parking

EXPERTS have suggested that relevant authorities need to coordinate their efforts to tackle the chaotic manner in which cars are parked on major and minor throughways in the city—causing unimaginable gridlock and hassle to pedestrians. Both urban and transport experts
29 June 2019, 18:00 PM

Is the NHRC fulfilling its mandate?

We are surprised to learn from a report in this daily that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has not been able to quite live up to its mandate, which is to protect the human rights of the people. Legal experts and rights activists believe that the Commission has
29 June 2019, 18:00 PM

Rickshaw pullers’ woes

They come handy to 60 percent of city dwellers of the capital by providing a relatively cheap mode of transport. Admittedly, they are the main cause of traffic gridlock in Dhaka and there is a huge gap in the official number of licensed rickshaws, a hundred thousand, and the actual estimated figure
28 June 2019, 18:00 PM

The grim underbelly of labour migration

REMITTANCE inflow is a major contributor to our economy, yet the plight of those whose backbreaking labour keeps the money
28 June 2019, 18:00 PM

How do authorities plan to reduce road accidents?

The report submitted by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to the High Court (HC) recently states that there are some 458,000 unfit vehicles on the road nationwide.
27 June 2019, 18:00 PM

Murder in broad daylight

We are horrified by the gruesome murder of Rifat Sharif, a 25-year-old man, in broad daylight in Barguna,
27 June 2019, 18:00 PM

Eliminating child labour still remains a big challenge

Eliminating child labour still remains a big challenge for Bangladesh as the country currently has 17 lakh children engaged in different forms of work, many of which are extremely hazardous. And without making implementable workplans, enforcing the relevant laws, revising the existing national policies as well as re-evaluating the list of hazardous work, ending child labour by 2025, which is an SDG goal, will not be possible. A recent roundtable by Prothom Alo has come up with these suggestions.
26 June 2019, 18:00 PM

Contradictory findings on milk products

A recent study conducted by researchers at Dhaka University has revealed some shocking findings: detergent and antibiotics for humans in packaged milk. The DU study also detected a long list of health hazards, including textile colourant in turmeric powder.
26 June 2019, 18:00 PM

Accord railway the importance it deserves

The accident in Moulvibazar’s Kulaura upazila on June 23, in which four people lost their lives and over a hundred others were injured, points incontrovertibly to the abject lack of maintenance and oversight of the railway tracks and rolling stock across the country.
25 June 2019, 18:00 PM

Resurgence of dengue

It’s ludicrous that those in charge of making sure this country remains liveable need to be nudged into action for the most routine affairs, such as ensuring cleanliness and protecting residents from public health hazards.
25 June 2019, 18:00 PM

BSTI cannot avoid its responsibility

The High Court’s comments on Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution’s (BSTI) statement about unlicensed dairy farms and companies seem very logical, given that the organisation has been trying to shirk its responsibilities.
24 June 2019, 18:00 PM

Gaping inequality

Among the myriad challenges lying ahead of the Bangladesh government, tackling rising inequality in society is one of them.
24 June 2019, 18:00 PM

Paediatric cancer treatment in a shambles

A report in this daily gives us startling revelations of the state of paediatric treatment in this country. Although childhood cancer is on the rise, the facilities available to treat it are very scarce and often too expensive for most people.
23 June 2019, 18:00 PM

Monopolising loan defaults

The finance minister’s revelation in parliament that half of all the defaulted bank loans in Bangladesh was held by 0.17 percent of borrowers, is simply astonishing. Total bad loans now stand at a whopping Tk 1 lakh crore and the number of total defaulters at 1.7 lakh.
23 June 2019, 18:00 PM

Unsafe school buildings in Chattogram

We have time and again cautioned against the perennial danger of unsafe classrooms for schoolchildren—a blight on the face of Bangladesh’s much-vaunted primary education system. The latest proof that the authorities are not taking heed of this danger surfaced
22 June 2019, 18:00 PM

Facta, non verba

The public has been so accustomed to hearing empty assurances from government servants and political leaders that the common man feels easily disposed to dismiss any new pledge out of hand, because as sure as not, in most cases such words in the past had
22 June 2019, 18:00 PM