POLYTHENE is not biodegradable and is largely to blame for the filling up of canals and drainage systems in the city. Although Bangladesh banned its use nearly a decade ago, its widespread use continues in the absence of both recycling and a viable alternative to polythene as packing material. We generate around 1,700 tonnes of plastic waste daily and the import of plastic raw materials costs us Tk 2,000 crore annually.

We applaud the government for undertaking the “Secondary Education Development Programme”—the country's largest-ever education-related project—under the budget of next fiscal year. A mammoth sum of Tk 137,666 crore is to be allocated for the project and its core objective is to enhance quality of secondary education and boost skills development of students to arm them with the skill sets needed for the job market.

It has been eight years since 124 lives perished in a horrific fire in Nimtoli, Old Dhaka. The fire originated from a stove in a building, which had in its ground floor a store full of combustible chemicals. When the fire came into contact with the chemicals it spread all over eight residential buildings and 20 shops, burning people alive.

In a meeting this week between the BRTA and the road transport and bridges minister to stop the operation of unfit vehicles during the Eid rush, private bus operators made the illogical demand of increasing bus fares during this period by Tk 50.

Myanmar has expressed its willingness to take back all the 700,000 Rohingya refugees that are sheltered in Bangladesh since August 2017, at a dialogue forum in Singapore. In fact, Myanmar is bound by international law to take back its own people who have fled persecution in their own homeland.

The amount of red-tape standing in the way of starting a business in our country is seriously hurting the economy as it continues to detract much-needed foreign and domestic investment. As this newspaper reported yesterday, an investor needs up to a year to get approvals from 42 desks of different government offices to start a business.

It is an all too familiar scene: people literally waiting all night at Kamlapur station in the hope of buying a ticket for their trip home during Eid.

We appreciate the road transport and bridges minister's recent criticism of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and police authorities for their failure to reduce the number of unfit vehicles on the streets.

Bangladesh has ranked 73rd out of 100 countries in a newly published global cybersecurity index, according to a report by The Daily Star. The index gave Bangladesh a score of 25.97, a frustrating performance given the importance of cybersecurity in a world fast shifting toward digitalisation.

Save the Children released an index recently on progress made to ensure a favourable environment for children to grow.

The announcement by the Election Commission about mayoral polls in three city corporations on July 30 is hardly exciting. If the

The High Court (HC) has opined that the ACC is following a “pick and choose” policy in arresting people in corruption cases.

According to two leading NGOs, at least 4,000 women workers returned home last year having endured physical and sexual abuse by their employers in KSA.

Officials from the ministry of finance have indicated that the government intends to raise the tax-free income from the current Tk 250,000 annually to Tk 270,000.

With Eid approaching and hundreds of thousands of Dhaka city-dwellers preparing to leave for the holidays, the possibility of severe traffic gridlocks at many key junctions remains a major concern.

The finance minister has stated at a roundtable discussion recently that the rate of budget implementation has come down which sends an ominous signal for the country's development.

The rising rate of C-sections in the country, particularly in private hospitals, is extremely concerning.

In response to a writ petition filed by rights organisations over the rape of a Garo woman in 2015 and the police's delay in recording her complaint, the High Court has come up with a set of 18 guidelines for ensuring protection and justice for victims of sexual assault and rape, which include some issues in need of critical attention.

A survey carried out by Jatri Kalyan Samity on 310 buses in different parts of the city in the first week of Ramadan has found that 8 out of 10 passengers are unhappy with the random manner in which fares are being charged in the name of “seating service”. Despite so-called seating service offered by buses, nearly a third of bus passengers stand on their trips despite paying extra for seating.

A group of students from Barisal University and Govt BM College took the initiative to establish a school that is providing underprivileged children education for free.