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Inflation slightly falls in July amid pandemic
The inflation rate slightly declined by 0.28 percent on a point-point basis as it came down at 5.36 percentage point in July 2021.
“The general point-to-point inflation rate came down to 5.36 percentage points at the end of July from 5.64 percentage points in June,” said Planning Minister MA Mannan on Tuesday.
The minister disclosed it while briefing reporters after the weekly Ecnec meeting.
Also read: CPD finds 5.3 per cent inflation rate unrealistic as living cost goes up
This time both the food and non-food inflation rates came down simultaneously. “The food inflation rate declined by 0.37 percent, while the non-food inflation rate decreased by 0.14 percent,” he said.
The food inflation rate stood at 5.08 percent in July 2021, coming down from 5.45 percent in the previous month, while the non-food inflation rate was 5.80 percent last month, falling from 5.94 percent in June 2021, according to the BBS data provided to the journalists.
Also read: Inflation declines to 5.26 in May
In rural areas, the general inflation rate declined to 5.53 percent in July from 5.84 percent of the previous month.
But the inflation rate was 5.06 percent in urban areas last month, coming down from 5.29 percent in June 2021.
Covid-19: Vaccination campaign begins at Rohingya camps
Vaccination against Covid-19 began at Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar district on Tuesday.
As part of its involvement in the vaccination programme of the government, Humanitarian Crisis Management Programme (HCMP) of BRAC organized the campaign titled ‘Covid-19 Vaccination Campaign for Rohingya Community’.
Trained nurses of BRAC gave vaccines to the Rohingyas at camps 1-East, 8-East and No. 13 in Ukhiya upazila of Cox’s Bazar.
Also read: Mega Covid inoculation drive begins in Bangladesh
The inoculation drive will take place from 9:30am to 2:30pm till August 18.
Ferry with heavy vehicles banned from plying under Padma bridge: Khalid
The government banned movement of ferries with heavy vehicles under the Padma Bridge until strong current of the river is brought under control, said State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury on Tuesday.
However, ferries with light vehicles can move only on the Shimulia-Banglabazar route, said the minister while talking to reporters at the Secretariat.
“It is difficult to move ferries with heavy vehicles during strong current on Shimulia-Banglabazar route. So only light vehicles and ambulance carrying ferries can cross the river till further notice,” he said.
Also read: Ferry hits Padma Bridge pillar: BIWTC forms probe committee
People have been asked to use Paturia-Daulatdia ghat and Harina ghat in Chandpur for vehicles and the number of ferries will be increased on those routes, he added.
“It is so unfortunate that a number of collisions occurred with pillars of the under-construction Padma Bridge which is so embarrassing,” said the state minister.
The government has taken the decision after the collision of a ferry with a pillar of under-construction Padma Bridge.
Earlier in the day Bangladesh Inland and Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) suspended the master and the Sukani of Ro Ro Birsreshtha Jahangir over the incident of the ferry hitting the pillar Padma Bridge.
Also read: 20 hurt as ferry hits Padma bridge pillar
The suspended were identified as Master Inland Master officer Mohammad Delwarul Islam and Wheel Sukani Mohamamd Abul Kalam Azad.
Besides, a five-member probe body led by joint secretary Rashedul Islam, Director (technical) of BIWTC, was formed to look into the incident.
The committee has been asked to submit its report with recommendation within three working days.
Two other incidents of ferry colliding with the bridge’s pillar occurred in July and August.
Bangladesh again hits record high 264 Covid deaths
As the Delta variant has sharply been fueling case surges, Bangladesh saw a record high 264 deaths again as health authorities came up with their 24-hour report on Tuesday.
On August 5, the country reported 264 deaths shattering its previous single-day record of 258 Covid-related deaths on July 27.
Besides, 11,164 more people came out positive during the period after testing 47,424 samples, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The fresh numbers pushed Bangladesh’s total fatality to 23,161 and total cases to 1,376,322.
The case positivity rate during the 24-hour period fell slightly to 23.58% from Monday’s 24.28%, while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate.
The recovery rate, however, rose to 89.71%, with the recovery of 14,903 people during the period, said the DGHS.
However, the case fatality remained unchanged at 1.68% during the period.
Of the recent deceased, the highest 92 died in Dhaka division, followed by 60 in Chattogram, 27 in Khulna, 25 in Rajshahi, 18 in Mymensingh, 17 in Sylhet, 14 in Rangpur, and 11 in Barishal.
Of them, 154 were men and 110 were women.
As per their age breakdown, one was below 10 years of age, six between 21-30, 16 between 31-40, 25 between 41-50, 66 between 51-60, 85 between 61-70, 48 between 71-80, 12 between 81-90 and five were between 91-100 years of age.
Also read: Shattered by Covid, Bangladesh now awaits a dengue blow
Linde Bangladesh raises awareness on oxygen conservation
Linde Bangladesh Limited, medical oxygen supplier in Bangladesh, has launched “Save Oxygen. Save Lives.”, a new public service campaign to help raise awareness on personal best practices in conserving and using Medical Oxygen properly.
The ongoing COVID-19 cases in the country has brought an unprecedented amount of attention on the role of medical oxygen in emergency treatments and saving lives.
The situation also revealed knowledge gaps on proper handling of medical oxygen equipment which could lead to health risks and wastage, especially with personal supplies of medical oxygen.
Also read: Linde Bangladesh to continue medical oxygen import from India
“As we continue our battle against ongoing COVID-19, we also need to ensure that whatever we’ve learned from this crisis translates into greater preparedness for the future, “said Sujeet Kumar Pai, Managing Director Linde Bangladesh Limited.
Quader calls for national unity against politics of killing and conspiracy
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Tuesday called for building national unity to stop the politics of killing and conspiracy in Bangladesh forever.
He said this in a webinar on "Mourning August - Black Chapter of History" organized by Uttaran magazine published by Awami League.
Read:Govt may impose tough lockdown if situation deteriorates: Quader
Quader said that democracy, values and ideology are being attacked one by one. So the politics of conspiracy must be eradicated forever.
The AL leader said those who staged the bloody Aug. 15 in this country and those who benefitted from the tragedy had met natural justice.
Quader said the Aug. 15 tragedy was staged not only against Bangabandhu and his family, but it was also the most brutal attack on the hard-won independence.
He said the Aug. 15 massacre, the killings of four national leaders in jail and the 2004 grenade attack on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had the same objective to create a leadership vacuum in the country.
Read:Begum Mujib was a co-fighter of Bangabandhu, says Quader
"The masterminds of the August massacre are still active, adding that the killers had faced trial, the death sentence had been carried out but there were still some fugitives abroad and all-out diplomatic efforts are being made to bring them back,” he said.
Quader said that the conspirators of the killings need to be found out and exposed to the next generation.
Editor of Uttaran of Dr. Nuh-ul-Alam Lenin presided over the discussion. It was addressed by President of Bangla Academy National Professor Rafiqul Islam , former judge of Supreme Court Shamsuddin Manik, Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation Barrister Sheikh Fazle Nur Tapsad also Awami League Organizing Secretary Advocate Afzal Hossain, Office Secretary Barrister Biplob Barua.
Read: History has forgotten those who tried to erase Bangabandhu, says Quader
Later, Quader virtually joined as the chief guest at the National Mourning Day discussion organized by Bangamata Fazilatunnesa Mujib University of Science and Technology.
There he said those who wanted to erase Bangabandhu Mujib from history are being erased from the pages of history today.
Rural Bangladesh awaits 4G phone revolution as Teletalk project gets nod
The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday approved a Tk 2204-crore project to expand and modernise Teletalk so that it can provide 4G services even in rural areas at a cheaper rate.
The approval came from the weekly Ecnec meeting chaired by its chairperson Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The PM joined the virtual meeting from her official residence, while other Ecnec members attended it from the NEC conference room.
Read:Govt to spend Tk 4,167cr on 10 projects, Ecnec gives nod
“Today’s meeting approved a total of 10 projects with an overall estimated cost of Tk 7,985.51 crore (only additional cost of a revised project counted here). Of these, nine are new and the remaining one is a revised project,” said Planning Minister MA Mannan while briefing reporters after the meeting.
Of the total cost, Tk 6,660.29 crore will be borne from the national exchequer, while Tk 173.09 crore from the own funds of the organisations concerned and the remaining Tk 1,188.13 crore will come as foreign loans, he said.
Read Fortify action-oriented approach to attain green growth: PM tells P4G Summit
SM Sultan’s 97th birth anniversary today
Tuesday marks the 97th birth anniversary of renowned artist SM Sultan.
He was born at Machimdia village in Narail sadar upazila on this day in 1924.
Celebrating the birth of the eminent art genius, the Narail district administration and SM Sultan Foundation are jointly observing the day with a handful of events.
Read: 26th death anniversary of SM Sultan today
Due to the ongoing pandemic situation of Covid-19, the birth anniversary of this great artist is being celebrated on a limited scale with due dignity through various programs initiated by the district administration and SM Sultan Foundation, Narail, according to the media cell of the Narail district administration.
The programmes included recitation from the holy Qur’an, placing floral wreaths at the grave of the artist, a prayer session and a discussion on the life of the artist, organized at the SM Sultan Complex on Tuesday morning.
Mohammad Habibur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of Narail, laid a floral wreath at the legendary artist’s grave, on behalf of district administration and Artist SM Sultan Foundation, Narail. Tributes were also paid by various governmental and non-governmental social and cultural organizations including District Police, Narail Press Club, District Shilpakala Academy, Sammilita Sangskritik Jote and more.
21 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital
Twenty-one more people have died of Covid-19 and related complications at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) in the past 24 hours, health officials said on Tuesday.
Five of them died of Covid-19, while 14 had symptoms of the virus and the remaining two succumbed to post-corona complications, said hospital director Brigadier General Shamim Yazdani.
Read: 15 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital
Of the deceased, 10 were from Rajshahi district, four each from Naogaon and Pabna, two from Chapainawabganj, and one from Natore district.
Besides, 43 people have been admitted to the corona unit of the hospital in the past 24 hours. On the other hand, some 44 people were discharged from the hospital after recovery during the period.
Read: Rajshahi hospital logs 14 Covid deaths in 24 hours
Currently, 380 patients are undergoing treatment at the hospital which has 513 beds. Of them, 20 are being treated in the ICU, said the hospital director.
Of the admitted patients, 197 have tested positive for Covid-19, while 115 are with symptoms and 68 have post-Covid health complications.
10 SC lawyers seek probe into leaked phone conversations
As many as 10 Supreme Court lawyers on Tuesday filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking an immediate probe into leaked telephonic conversations.
A writ petition can be filled directly in a higher court in case of violation of fundamental rights enshrined under the Constitution.
Read: HC to rule on write over Viqarunnisa principal Tuesday
Posts and Telecommunications department Secretary, Information and Communications department Secretary, Telecommunications and Information Technology Secretary, and Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission chairman have been made respondents to the petition.
Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir submitted the petition in the High Court on behalf of the 10 apex court lawyers this morning. A division bench of Justices M Enayetur Rahim and Mustafizur Rahman will hear the petition as per the court's schedule.
UNB has learnt that the petitioners have cited 20 high-profile instances of leaked telephonic conversations between 2013 and 2021 in their petition.
Read: Writ petition filed against tree cutting at Suhrawardy Udyan
Conversations between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and then Opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia, between General Secretary of Awami League Obaidul Quader and BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, between late senior lawyer Barrister Moudud Ahmed and Assistant Commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police Nazmul Hasan were some of the notable instances cited by the petitioners.
Privacy of personal communications has been guaranteed under Article 43 of the Bangladeshi Constitution and it is a fundamental right of the citizens, according to the Supreme Court lawyers.
Besides, Section 30 (f) of the Telecommunications Regulation Act, 2001, ensures privacy of phone conversations, they have pointed out. And according to Section 71 of the same act, "phone tapping is a punishable offence".
A person convicted of this crime can be sentenced to a maximum of two years in jail or fined Tk 5 crore.
The lawyers said it’s baffling how not a single case has been filed by the victims or the telecom regulators in this regard to date.