Farmers in pain as cartels gain
If you were a farmer and went to buy locally produced TSP and DAP, you can't buy it at the government-fixed retail price. You have to pay at least 50 percent more.
It is because two syndicates have been in control of the distribution of these two important fertilisers for around two decades, thanks to a flawed distribution system.
27 January 2017, 18:00 PM
Even a ship full of fertiliser vanishes
Mongla Port is no Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle in the Atlantic Ocean, where several ships and also aircraft are said to have mysteriously vanished.
But when it comes to ships full of fertiliser, they can disappear under equally mysterious circumstances from this port in southern Bangladesh, about 14,000km east of Bermuda Triangle.
26 January 2017, 18:00 PM
Fertiliser riddle - 1: Exists on paper, lost in reality
Sometimes, a simple phrase can make you richer by hundreds of crores of taka. Consider the magical term “in transit,” which is making a syndicate of fertiliser traders unimaginably rich.
This syndicate along with some officials of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) has made off with urea worth hundreds of crores of taka over the last eight years with impunity, The Daily Star has found.
24 January 2017, 18:00 PM
Irregularities aplenty
Forty-five months have gone by but the 14 months' project to restart the Chittagong Chemical Complex (CCC) is yet to be finished and it is costing the state dearly.
For the last seven months, the lone state-owned chemical factory in Sitakunda has been incurring Tk 16 lakh in production loss every day, all because a Chinese firm failed to get the factory going again.
21 January 2017, 18:00 PM
MP Liton Killing: PM asks lawmakers to stay alert
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the killing of Awami League lawmaker Manzurul Islam Liton was a planned murder, and asked all the ministers and lawmakers to stay alert.
2 January 2017, 18:00 PM
Defeat of AL Chairman Aspirants: Some MPs' role, money mattered
Ruling party lawmakers contributed significantly to the win of rebels against the party-backed candidates in at least five districts in Wednesday's Zila Parishad election.
29 December 2016, 18:00 PM
Flyover Puzzle for Bangladesh: Costliest in South Asia
It costs more and takes longer to implement a flyover project in Bangladesh than in any other South Asian country, despite labour and construction materials being comparatively cheap here.
24 December 2016, 18:00 PM
Updated drug policy okayed by cabinet
The cabinet yesterday approved the draft of revised and integrated drug policy, first of its kind in Bangladesh, to make sure
19 December 2016, 18:00 PM
Job tenure of 3 services chiefs fixed at 4 yrs
The cabinet yesterday approved in principle a draft law proposing the service tenure of the chiefs of the army, the navy and the air force to be four years.
12 December 2016, 18:00 PM
Top tiers of admin get heavier
Only six months after promoting more than 200 officials, the government has gone for another large-scale promotion in the already top-heavy civil administration, making its upper tiers further imbalanced.
27 November 2016, 18:00 PM
Girls' Age for Marriage: 18 years, with exceptions
The cabinet yesterday okayed a draft law for preventing child marriage fixing 18 years as the minimum age for girls to get married but kept a provision for special circumstances under which girls below the age could tie the knot.
24 November 2016, 18:00 PM
AL Ticket for NCC Mayor: Ivy wants Hasina to intervene
Narayanganj City Corporation Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy will seek Awami League President Sheikh Hasina's intervention in getting party ticket for the upcoming mayoral polls, as the city AL has excluded her from the list of prospective candidates.
16 November 2016, 18:00 PM
Minister's initiative alleviates three students' woes
Thanks to steps taken by State Minister for Labour and Employment Md Mujibul Haque, three students from financially insolvent families are now free of worries plaguing them just a week ago over paying admission fees and expenses at public medical colleges.
31 October 2016, 18:00 PM
Minister’s generosity overcomes uncertainty of 3 students
An initiative taken by State Minister Md Mujibul Haque Chunnu helps to overcome financial difficulties of three students whose admission in government medical colleges were uncertain.
31 October 2016, 13:39 PM
AL’s 20th council: 67-yr walk to Suhrawardy Udyan
It has been a walk of 67 years for Awami League through ups and downs since its inception in 1949 when a faction broke out from then Muslim League and formed the idea of Awami Muslim League at Rose Garden.
22 October 2016, 01:56 AM
AL to promote leaders close to grassroots
The ruling Awami League plans to strengthen the party base through the council by giving prominent positions to leaders who
20 October 2016, 18:00 PM
AL Council: Leaders to ask Joy to be future leader
The ruling Awami League will focus on electing the party's future leadership and the next parliamentary elections in its national council next week.
18 October 2016, 18:00 PM
Underweight urea sacks sent to dealers
The Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) has started sending dealers fertiliser sacks weighing a lot less than the usual 50kg, instead of storing them in state-owned warehouses.
13 October 2016, 18:00 PM
5 more routes by 2018
As part of efforts to boost trade and improve rail communication, five rail routes will be launched between Bangladesh and India in
19 August 2016, 18:00 PM
Create awareness to resist terror
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday asked her cabinet colleagues to take measures to create social awareness for resisting terrorism in the country.
11 July 2016, 18:00 PM