A Dhaka court on Sunday placed the executive engineer of Roads and Highways Department on a five-day remand in connection with corruption in Padma bridge project.

Those counties which were liberated from colonial rule through struggle at the cost of millions of lives or those countries where people rose against oppressive and corrupt regimes are expected to be reasonably free from corruption and the people of those countries generally endeavour to establish the lofty ideals for which they fought. Perhaps, the framers of our constitution apprehended something different, otherwise why should our constitution adopt a unique provision as one of the Fundamental Principles of State Policy, at Article 20(2), which states “The State shall endeavour to create conditions in which, as a general principle, persons shall not be able to enjoy unearned incomes…”

Malaysia is waiting for a response from the government of Bangladesh over a $ 2.3 billion loan proposal to build the Padma bridge, says a Malaysian prime minister’s special envoy.

I have written and spoken a lot on the issue of the Padma bridge and my biases are well known. I continue to believe that the design, financing and implementation plan agreed by the government of Bangladesh with the international consortium of donors led by the World Bank is the first best option.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday told parliament that the government would build the Padma bridge with domestic funds keeping the present design intact.

The Panel has reviewed the FIR in accordance with the mandate received from the World Bank and agreed with the Government of Bangladesh to assess the investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission of Bangladesh (ACC) into allegations of corruption in the Padma Bridge Project and to advise the World Bank on the completeness, correctness, transparency, adequacy and fairness of the investigation.

Though the World Bank has finally agreed to revive its $1.2 billion funding for the much-hyped Padma bridge project, economists say the Padma episode has weakened Bangladesh's position and the accountability issue will apparently become more important for any foreign-aided project in the future. They, however, say it needs to be ensured so that this mega project does not face further delay due to investigation into the so-called graft.

A Romanian folklore has it that a master builder once decided to sacrifice the first woman who would bring food to the building site. All but one of his men broke their promise and tipped their wives in advance.

The World Bank has cancelled the loan for the construction work of Padma bridge on allegation of corruption in Bangladesh. The party in power led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina refuses to accept such an allegation, saying it is baseless and unfounded. Recently, China has built the world's longest bridge on sea spanning over 26 miles at a cost of 1.6 billion dollars.

Why does our government have to beg for the construction of Padma Bridge? Padma Bridge when constructed will be a prestigious project and world heritage.

On June 29, the World Bank cancelled its $1.2 billion credit in support of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project, saying that it had found evidence of high-level corruption among government public officials and others

Criticising the World Bank's cancellation of the Padma bridge loan over corruption allegations, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said her government would not take any blame for something it had not done. “I am confident that we did nothing wrong. We will not accept any calumny.

The government will build the Padma bridge with its own funds and construction work will begin in the current fiscal year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced in parliament yesterday.

It is a sad state of affairs when an entire nation has to suffer for the actions of just a few. The World Bank has claimed to have found credible evidence of a high-level corruption conspiracy among selected government officials involved in the Padma Bridge project.

We have been discussing issues surrounding the construction of Padma Bridge over the last four years. In fact, the demand for the construction of Padma Bridge grew stronger in 1990s when it became evident that construction of Jamuna Bridge was possible.

In the wake of the World Bank's (WB) cancellation of its contract with the Government of Bangladesh for $1.2 billion credit for the Padma Bridge, the government faces an acid-test which like any challenge in life can be converted into opportunity.

The World Bank has finally cancelled the assistance agreement for construction of the Padma Bridge. Our worst apprehension has come true. What has happened is really very unfortunate. It is doubly embarrassing because of the alleged reason for cancellation of the agreement. Padma Multipurpose Bridge is a key infrastructural installation which is required for an accelerated and balanced development of Bangladesh.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has termed the World Bank's cancellation of $1.2 billion credit for Padma bridge deeply regrettable, embarrassing and disappointing and urged the global lender to review its decision. It called upon the government to set up a special judicial committee with full powers, independence and technical support to investigate the allegations of corruption and ensure exemplary punishment to those found guilty, said a TIB press statement.

The World Bank's decision to cancel its loan for the Padma bridge was arbitrary, Mashiur Rahman, economic adviser to the prime minister, said yesterday. "The laws or the legal processes were not followed properly [in the cancellation]," he said in an interview with The Daily Star, hours after the WB scrapped its $1.2 billion loan on allegations of corruption in the $2.9 billion project.

The World Bank has cancelled its $1.2 billion credit for the Padma bridge project with immediate effect, saying it has proof of corruption conspiracy involving Bangladeshi officials, executives of a Canadian firm and individuals.