Visa Services Restarted by Bangladesh, India Yet to Decide
India’s tourist visa services for Bangladeshis have remained suspended for the past 18 months due to strained relations during the interim government period. Other visa categories are being issued on a limited scale from only five Indian Visa Application Centers (IVACs) Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Sylhet, and Khulna out of 16 across the country. Medical, double-entry, and business visas are currently available in limited numbers.
Massive Cost Overrun: Tk 79,834 Crore Added to 65 Projects
During the one-and-a-half-year tenure of the interim government, the cost of 65 development projects was increased by Tk 79,834 crore, which many economists consider the result of “wasteful” and questionable re-evaluations. The initial combined cost of these projects was Tk 2,24,000 crore; after revision, the expenditure increased by 35.67 percent to Tk 3,04,000 crore.
Death Toll Rises to 5 in Chattogram Gas Explosion
Another member of the family injured in the devastating gas explosion in Halishahar, Chattogram, has died. The head of the household, Sakhawat Hossain, died on Wednesday morning while undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka. One hundred percent of his body had been burned. With his death, the number of fatalities from the same family has risen to five.
Order Issued to Re-Arrest Awami League Leaders After Bail
Rajshahi Range DIG Mohammad Shahjahan has instructed that if any leaders and activists of organizations whose activities have been banned are granted bail by the court, they must be shown arrested again in other cases. In a letter signed by the DIG on Tuesday (24 February), police superintendents of eight districts under the range were directed to implement this instruction.
35 Eminent Citizens Call for Reassignment of CHT Affairs State Minister
Thirty-five distinguished citizens of the Chittagong Hill Tracts have issued a joint statement protesting the appointment of Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin as State Minister of the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs and demanding that he be reassigned to another ministry.
Allowing Loan Defaulters and Dual Citizens to Contest a Major Election Failure
Citizens for Good Governance (Shujan) has identified the opportunity given to accused loan defaulters and dual citizens to contest as the most notable failure of the Thirteenth National Parliamentary Election.
DUJ Human Chain at National Press Club Demanding Return of Office
At the premises of the National Press Club in the capital, a faction of the Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) formed a human chain demanding that their office be reopened. At the program held on Saturday (February 21) morning, the organization’s President Sajjadul Alam Khan Topu, General Secretary Akhtar Hossain, former President Abu Zafar Surya, and Amjad Hossain, among other leaders, spoke.
Hundreds of Crores of Taka Collected Daily in Extortion from 3,000 Spots Across the Country
Across the capital and the entire country, nearly three thousand collection points are reportedly extracting hundreds of crores of taka in extortion every day.
Awami League Working Committee Meets as Sheikh Hasina Outlines Next Strategy
On Tuesday morning, Sheikh Hasina held a meeting of the Awami League Working Committee to discuss the post-election situation in Bangladesh and the party’s future programs. She joined virtually from Delhi. Members of the Working Committee gathered at the residence of a Presidium Member of the Awami League.
Minority Disabled Woman Gang-Raped While Returning from Kirtan in Bhola
A 26-year-old minority and mentally disabled woman was gang-raped while returning from a kirtan event in Tajumuddin Upazila, Bhola. The incident occurred late on Sunday night (February 22) in Daspara area of Shashiganj village, under Chandpur Union. She is currently undergoing treatment in critical condition at Bhola 250-Bed General Hospital.