Staff Correspondent: (22 June 2017) Bangladesh Railway (BR), Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) and Bangladesh Inland-Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) will start running
special eid services from today to June 25 to carry homebound passengers on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.
‘The special train service will start from today which will play on different routes and expected to carry 80 thousand more passengers than regular service,” said Railway Minister Mujibul Haque. He was speaking at a meeting regarding the train service on the occasion of Eid.
He said, “To serve more passengers, 171 more coaches have been increased with regular 1,161 coaches…Total 1,332 coaches would be run with 229 engines in different routes.”
Railway Director General Amzad Hossain said for the advantage train service of Rajshahi and Parbatipur would starts from June 22 instead of June 23.
According to BR, the Dewanganj special will ply on Dhaka-Dewanganj-Dhaka, Chandpur special-one and two will ply on Chittagong-Chandpur-Chittagong, Rajshahi special will ply on Rajshahi-Dhaka-Rajshahi, Khulna special on Khulna-Dhaka-Khulna and Parbatipur special on Parbatipur-Dhaka-Parbatipur routes from June 22-25 and June 28-July 3. Besides, two pairs of Solakia special train will ply on Bhoirab-Kishoreganj-Bhoirab and Mymensingh-Kishoreganj-Mymensingh routes on the Eid day.
Like the previous years, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) will run its Eid special bus service from today to 29 June for smooth and hassle-free journey of homebound people during Eid-ul-Fitr.
Sales of advance tickets from BRTC at Motijheel, Jores Shahara, Kalyanpur, Gabtali, Mohammadpur, Mirpur Dital Bus Depot, Gazipur and Narayanganj Bus Depots (Phulbariya CBS-2) have already started from yesterday to this end, an official release said yesterday.
Likewise, Bangladesh Inland-Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) will run special passenger services in Dhaka-Barisal rout. Tickets will be available in the Babubazar ghat of the corporation.
The private launce operators will also arranged number of special services on the occasion of eid-ul-fitr from Dhaka to different southern districts.

Staff Correspondent: (18 June 2017)The disaster management and relief ministry has called a meeting next week and informed other ministries about it on Thursday, Disaster Management and Relief Secretary Md Shah Kamal.
He said a high-level committee of 21 members was formed to assess the damage in the disaster and set the next course of action. The committee has been given 30 days to make a report.
156 killed in rain-triggered landslides as rescuers wrap up in Rangamati Top officials and experts say possible natural and manmade reasons behind landslides should be identified in the mega-plan.
They say it should also prioritise issues like ensuring protection in hills, removing people from the hillsides, and technological intervention. Read the rest of this entry »

Staff Correspondent: (18 June 2017) Lanka`s estimated national debt is $64.9 billion, of which $8 billion is owed to China. China is arm-twisting Bangladesh to convert soft loans it offered -during President Xi Jinping`s visit to Dhaka last year -to commercial credit (incurring higher interest rates) with apparently no headway into projects for which the amount was earmarked.
Bangladesh, however, has resisted the move to change pattern of loans for the projects which are part of grandiose OBOR project connecting China with rest of Asia, Africa and Europe. Higher interest on Chinese loans could push Bangladesh into a debt trap like Sri Lanka. Read the rest of this entry »

Staff Correspondent: (18 June 2017) The implementation of budget in Bangladesh hits snags due to lack of participation of stakeholders in its making, says former bureaucrat Akbar Ali Khan.
Khan, who served as a finance adviser to caretaker government, says that even finance ministry officials are not consulted on formulating the budget proposals, let alone ministers or lawmakers.
His remarks came yesterday while speaking at a discussion on the new budget, organised by research organisation Centre for Policy Dialogue or CPD at Dhaka’s Lakeshore Hotel.
The discussion styled ‘CPD Budget Dialogue 2017’ was also joined by Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, State Minister for Finance MA Mannan and former commerce minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury. On June 1, Finance Minister AMA Muhith unveiled a Tk 4 trillion budget for fiscal 2017-18 in parliament, which he claimed to be the ‘best’ among the 11 he had proposed.
“The MP and ministers have no roles in formulating the budget, not even the parliamentary standing committees,” said Khan, who retired as the cabinet secretary.
A new tax proposal is not even discussed at the finance ministry, said the former finance secretary.
“The finance minister prepares the budget according to the prime minister’s instruction. Since there’s no participation of lawmakers it’s tough to implement it.”

649 policemen killed in 9 years

Staff Correspondent: (16 June 2017) The government in its previous and present tenure has created 75,306 posts for police and non-police aimed at further modernizing and strengthening of the force.
“We have undertaken various initiatives and programmes for police department as part of its further modernization and strengthening,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said this, while replying to a stared tabled question from opposition bench member Begum Salma Islam of Dhaka-1 in the Jatiya Sangsad yesterd.
He said the government has created 33,102 posts in police department during its previous regime, while 42,204 posts during the present tenure along with improving infrastructure of its different units. The government has formed Tourist Police, Naval Police, Special Security and Protection Battalion (SPBn), Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), two RAB Battalion, Rangpur and Mymensingh Ranges along with RRF Rangpur formation, Khan added.
He informed the House that the government also established 33 new police stations, 89 new investigation centers and one police camp across the country for smooth activities of the police department.
Besides, the government procured 371 motor vehicles including 49 jeeps, 87 pickups, 204 motorbikes, five microbuses, five prison vans, one dog van, three petrol boats, three portable folding boats, five speed boats and one water bike during the 2015-16 financial year, the minister said.