BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday said that now there is no justice and rule of law in the country.

“When the whole nation is observing the great day, we’re being compelled to say that there’s no democracy in the country. The rights of people have been snatched and there's no rule of law and justice in the country,” he said.

He came up with the remarks while talking to reporters after paying homage to Language Martyrs at the Central Shaheed Minar in the morning marking the Language Martyrs’ Day and International Mother Language Day.

Fakhrul vowed to bring back democracy in the country and free their party chief Khaleda Zia from jail.

About the captivity of Khaleda Zia, the party secretary general said, “It’s our ill fate that the mother of democracy who fought for establishing democracy in the country has been kept in jail unjustly.”

According to the country’s constitution, she deserves bail, but she is not getting it, Fakhrul added.

Fakhrul along with senior party leaders, activists gathered at Azimpur graveyard and offered Fateha for Language Martyrs at 6am and later went to  Shaheed Minar at 8am.

BNP chairperson's advisory council members Abul Khair Bhuiyan, Abdus Salam, Habibur Rahman Habib, joint secretary Khairul Kabir Khokon, Habibun Nabi Khan Sohel, publicity secretary Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anne, central leaders Shama Obaid, Meer Newaz Ali Newaz, Shamimur Rahman Shamim, Selim Reza Habib, Jubo Dal leader Sultan Salahuddin Tuku,  Swecchasebok Dal leaders were, among others, present.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangladesh on Friday celebrated the International Mother Language Day by launching the UN Bangla font and  Bangla version of the Human Development Report 2019.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen attended the function as the chief guest.

Assistant Secretary General, Assistant Administrator & Director Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific Kanni Wignaraja was present as special guest.

Resident Representative, UNDP, Bangladesh Sudipto  Mukerjee and Deputy Resident Representative Van Nguyen also attended the event.

There is no Shaheed Minar in 90 percent educational institutions in three upazilas of the district, depriving the students of the opportunity to pay tributes to the heroes of Language Movement.

The authorities did not build any Shaheed Minar in those institutions even after 68 years of the Language Movement although it is an instruction from the government to observe the International Mother Language Day on February 21 in all educational institutions across the country.

District Education Office source said there are 168 high schools and colleges, 308 primary schools and 169 kindergartens in the district.

Of them, only 49 institutions have their own Shaheed Minar and there is no Shaheed Minar at private institutions and Kindergartens.

Talking to UNB, Omor Ali, District unit Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal(JSD) President, said “It is disgraceful that such a big number of educational institutions do not have Shaheed Minars. The present government should look into the matter.”

Fazle Rahman, District Primary Education Officer, said, “There are Shaheed Minars only in four primary schools out of 308 schools. It would be possible to construct Shaheed Minars in every school if Shaheed Minar construction is included in the building construction projects of the schools.

Aman Uddin Mondol, District Education Officer (acting), said “It is not clear why there is no Shaheed Minars in most of the educational institutions of the district. I have joined here recently. I will inform the higher authorities about the matter.”

Md Ataul Gani, Deputy Commissioner of Meherpur, said “It is very regretful that 90 percent schools lack Shaheed Minars. However, Shaheed Minars will be constructed in all the educational institutions of the district before 21st February next year.”

The air quality in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka has not been improving for days while its dwellers are living at health risk as the megacity ranked the second top among cities with worst air quality on Friday morning.

It had an AQI score of 220 at 10:55am. The air was classified as ‘very unhealthy’ and in this state of air everyone may experience serious health effects.

When the AQI value is between 201 and 300, the entire population is more likely to be affected while children are advised to limit outdoor activities in this situation.

Moreover, the situation notifies health warnings of emergency conditions.

Vietnam’s Hanoi and Nepal’s Kathmandu occupied the first and third spots in the list of cities with the worst air quality with AQI scores of 226 and 215 respectively.

The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.

In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants – Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone (O3).

The Department of Environment has also set national ambient air quality standards for these pollutants. These standards aim to protect against adverse human health impacts.

Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution. Its air quality usually improves during monsoon.

Terming malnutrition as a national problem, speakers at a discussion have emphasised taking necessary steps for its solution, saying it would not be possible to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 unless the problem is addressed.

A huge number of people in urban slums and Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT) region as well as garment workers are suffering from stunting and anaemia problems, which is hampering their health, the speakers said mentioning that SDG-3 calls for ensuring good health and well-being of people.

They made the remarks while addressing a roundtable titled ‘SDG: Advancing food and nutrition commitments’ at the Dainik Prothom Alo office at Karwan Bazar in the capital on Thursday.

The speakers also said malnutrition costs Tk 7,000 crore in lost economic productivity in Bangladesh each year and suggested nutrition-sensitive approach and investment from the private sector in food and agriculture.

They also sought political commitment to ensure nutritious foods for all.

The discussants called for multi-sectoral approach, proper coordination among different departments and ministries and diversification of food to fight malnutrition.

They highlighted the need to improve the status of nutrition and food safety in the upcoming 8th Five-Year Plan, because nutrition and healthy food is the foundation for a productive and healthy workforce, which is the key for Bangladesh to succeed as a middle-income country.

Bringing positive change to the food systems and nutrition sector will definitely have a positive impact on the health and well-being of people, they observed.

Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the Daily Prothom Alo jointly organised the event.

Mujibul Haque, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Labour and Employment, attended the programme as the chief guest.

Moderated by Dr Lawrence Haddad, executive director of GAIN, the event was addressed among others by Harry Verweij, Netherland’s Ambassador to Dhaka; Zakir Hossain Akanda, member (secretary) of Ministry of Planning; Dr Shah Newaz, director general of Bangladesh National Nutrition Council; SM Mustafizur Rahman, line director of Institute of Public Health Nutrition; Richard Ragan, country representative, WFP; and Robert Simpson, country representative of, FAO.