Rashidul Hasan

A senior pilot and an operations officer of Biman Bangladesh Airlines were denied clearance by police to carry out duties regarding the flight of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her just-concluded trip to India.

Former adviser to caretaker government Akbar Ali Khan breathed his last yesterday, leaving behind the gift of his wisdom on issues ranging from economics to literature.

The office of the Comptroller and Auditor General has raised objections about Tk 193 crore spent by the Covid-19 Emergency Response and Pandemic Preparedness Project in the 2019-2020 fiscal year. 

Aggrieved by Jatiya Party chief GM Quader’s recent criticism of the government, the Awami League high-ups are allegedly backing Raushan Ershad in a renewed fight over supremacy in the JP.

Rift in Jatiya Party widened yesterday as its parliamentary party requested Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury to make Chairman GM Quader the leader of the opposition in Jatiya Sangsad.

Alleged anomalies in Biman’s recent recruitment of pilots have stirred resentment as well as concerns over flight safety among the pilots of the airline.

Amid frequent attacks on their protest programmes, the BNP leaders and activists have vowed not to leave the streets this time.

A parliamentary watchdog yesterday came down heavily on Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun for the price spiral of sugar despite ample supply of the commodity.

The current rates of VAT and other taxes are a major obstacle to developing the country’s tourism industry, a parliamentary body said yesterday.

There has been no external audit of the accounts of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation over the last 10 years, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Undertakings has found.

The Election Commission has decided to use EVMs in up to 150 parliamentary seats in the next general election though major opposition political parties still have no confidence in the voting machine.

A recommendation has been made to a parliamentary standing committee that a martial-law era provision be brought back for shielding Petrobangla officials from legal proceedings for “acting in good faith”.

Even though 18 years have passed, Mahbuba Parvin is still unable to put herself back together after the trauma she faced in the August 21 grenade attacks on a rally by the Awami League.

Two similar accidents in front of the hangar of Biman Bangladesh Airlines at the Dhaka airport have raised questions about the national flag carrier’s efficiency and the sincerity of its staff in carrying out their roles.

Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has found several “ghost equipment”-purchases, worth several crore taka, made by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).

Air passengers from Dhaka to Jashore and Barishal have dropped significantly as many southbound travellers are preferring to travel by road following the inauguration of Padma Bridge in late June.All three airlines -- Biman Bangladesh, US-Bangla and Novoair -- are facing difficulty to attract passengers on these routes.

A parliamentary body yesterday said the environment and biodiversity of Cox’s Bazar are at serious risk due to the dumping of poisonous substances from the shrimp hatcheries into the sea.

In spite of massive preparations undergoing for long, Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ much-awaited maiden commercial flight on the Dhaka-Toronto route will run today with around 138 seats empty.

At least 39 officials of the civil aviation ministry and Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) made over 50 foreign trips in fiscal 2021-22 spending around Tk 1.5 crore of taxpayers’ money despite a government restriction. 

A parliamentary body yesterday formed a three-member sub-committee to investigate alleged corruption and irregularities centring construction of the third terminal at Dhaka airport.