A recent report by a leading Bangla daily highlighted how, over the course of the last 10 years, a 22-acre lake in Mirpur has been illegally encroached at the behest, reportedly, of some members of the ruling party—at the central, thana and ward levels.

In March of last year, the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) had launched a Joint Response Plan appealing for USD 951 million as humanitarian assistance for the Rohingya refugees.

It goes without saying that law enforcement agencies are an integral part of any modern state and an indispensable element of good governance. Thus its proper functioning, unfettered by politicisation or corruption, is crucial, since that defines the condition of the state as regards the level of individual and collective security, and of freedom as enshrined in the constitution, which consequently engenders public confidence in the state apparatus.

It is after a long time that the BNP has been able to organise a political rally without much let or hindrance, and what is a natural affair in the politics of a country elsewhere, becomes a matter for complimenting the administration, that being an exception rather than the common in Bangladesh.

We would have hoped that in this digital age, the Myanmar government would have thought twice before doctoring images taken from the Bangladesh genocide in 1971 and the migration of Rwandan Hutu refugees in 1996 and passing them off as evidence of “Bengalis who had killed local ethnic populace”.

A few months back, Jatri Kalyan Samity found that at least 339 people were killed during Eid journeys between June 11 and 23. Soon after, we witnessed a massive student movement aimed at bringing reforms on the roads, sparked off by the deaths of two students.

There is manslaughter and there is murder. The circumstances of deaths in the last few days caused by dangerous and reckless driving would certainly fall under the latter category. The roads have become even more dangerous as the statistics of road crashes and casualties therefrom will show.

Bad loans in the 57 state-owned and private banks in operation, have piled up to the tune of Tk 84,054 crores.

Five hundred and forty-four is a horrendous number of people to have gone missing, reportedly, in the last eight years since 2008. Only a few of them have returned; unfortunately 300 of them remain unaccounted for. It is a very sorry state where relatives of victims of such patently criminal acts should find themselves between the devil and the deep sea.

The finding of a survey that 83 percent female garment workers have faced some form of sexual harassment in their workplace is shocking. The survey also found that many of the garment factories do not have any committee for lodging complaints of sexual harassment which is mandatory as per the direction of the High Court.

The Election Commission's plan to use Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the next general election is surprising, given the very little time at hand to handle a logistical challenge of this scale.

As we take stock of measures taken after a month since the school students came out on to the roads demanding safer roads, there is nothing to write home about.

The chilling story of Rezaul Karim, the man allegedly pushed off a minibus by the helper and then squashed to death by the driver of the minibus he was riding, sends shivers down the spine! The incident occurred in City Gate area near the port city on August 28. Witnesses on the bus have stated that Karim had had an altercation with the helper and going by what his co-passengers have said, the manner in which the man was literally shoved out of the bus and run over is tantamount to murder.

We thank the UN for exercising due diligence by issuing the strongest condemnation to date of the Myanmar military. We laud the UN fact-finding mission for holding the leadership of the Myanmar military responsible for the atrocities committed against the Rohingya population and for calling for investigation and prosecution of the security forces for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

According to American non-profit organisation, Water.org, 4 million people lack access to safe water in Bangladesh, while 85 million lack improved sanitation. The organisation's Bangladesh page points out that “overcrowded conditions and a lack of healthy ways of disposing waste in urban centers” contribute to this scenario. A report in this paper last Monday, marking World Water Week, pointed out observations from researchers which should come as a warning.

We do not understand why slow moving three-wheelers and illegally modified vehicles are still plying our highways despite several government and high court orders banning them from highways. According to our report, in the last six days, at least seven road accidents have taken place involving these vehicles, killing 40 people and injuring many others.

For the people living on a Jamuna River shoal in Sirajganj, dusk meant darkness. Things have changed since 2017 when a local company clinched finance from the Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) and set up a Tk 5.14 crore solar power mini-grid to supply the residents with electricity.

Despite the massive student protest for safe roads, followed by numerous assurances from the authorities that the government will strictly ensure road safety, the number of deaths and injuries on roads and highways during the Eid holidays indicates that nothing has, in fact, changed.

The rape of two minor girls from the Tripura community in Lama upazila, Bandarban where the crimes were committed, is a reminder of how vulnerable young girls, particularly from indigenous communities, are in the region.

We commend the work done by both the city corporations in cleaning up the wastes of sacrificial animals in the capital within the shortest possible time.