United News of Bangladesh

Commerce  Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir on Friday said the government has adequate stocks of essential commodities to keep market prices stable during the holy month of Ramadan. “The main responsibility of the Ministry of Commerce is to ensure price stability of essential food items. This responsibility becomes even more important during Ramadan,” he told reporters in Sylhet.  The minister said when the current government assumed office, there was little scope to take special measures ahead of Ramadan.  “However, the positive aspect is that the amount of food stock we currently have is sufficient to maintain price stability in the market,” he added. Minister Muktadir speaking to journalists at Sylhet Osmani International Airport after exchanging greetings with officials of different government departments and party leaders. Responding to a question on development plans for Sylhet, the minister said he had highlighted these issues throughout his election campaign and manifesto.  “We want to implement initiatives that are directly linked to improving the quality of life of the people of Sylhet,” he said, adding that priority would be given to employment generation, expansion of IT-related professions and the establishment of an AI centre. The minister also said the government would work sincerely over the next five years, utilising every single day to move Bangladesh forward in the global arena. 'Not all collections in the road transport sector is extortion': Roads, Railways and Shipping Minister Replying to a question about job creation at the Sylhet IT Park, he said investment is essential to generate employment.  “To attract investment, we need to improve communication systems, reduce red tape and ensure a supportive environment, including political stability,” Muktadir said. He added that special policy support is needed for expatriate and local investors in Sylhet. “We are working on these issues and their implementation will be visible very soon." Among others present were Sylhet MP MA Malik, Divisional Commissioner Khan Md Reza-un-Nabi, Range DIG Md Mushfekur Rahman, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Abdul Quddus Chowdhury, Deputy Commissioner Md Sarwar Alam, Sylhet Metropolitan BNP Acting President Rezaul Hasan Koyes Lodi and Sylhet District BNP President Abdul Qaiyum Chowdhury, along with leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its associate bodies.

Power supply will be temporarily suspended in several key areas of Sylhet city on Tuesday due to transformer repair, renovation, and transmission line development work. A press release on Monday, signed by the Executive Engineer of Sales and Distribution Division-3 of the Bangladesh Power Development Board, Sylhet, said that electricity will be cut off in areas under the Lalabazar feeder, including Telibazar, Badikona, Bhalki, Bhorout, Lalabazar Nijgaon, Tengra, Betsandhi, Munshirgaon, Munshibazar, Farhadpur, Kararpar, Gangapar, Monokupa, Alamnagar, Chhomipur, and surrounding localities, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on Tuesday. Mild earthquake jolts Sylhet; epicentre in Gowainghat upazila The release added that the power line will be considered operational during the shutdown, and if the work is completed earlier than scheduled, electricity supply will be restored immediately. Authorities apologised to customers in the affected areas for the temporary inconvenience and sought their cooperation.

Three presiding officers have been withdrawn in Faridpur and Jhenaidah districts over allegations of irregularities while a presiding officer was physically assaulted at a polling centre in Sylhet. In Faridpur, two presiding officers were withdrawn from separate constituencies over allegations of allowing unauthorised persons to enter polling centres. The withdrawn officials are Md Al Amin of Hitaishi High School centre in Faridpur-3 (Sadar) and Zahidul Islam of Ashapur Madrasha centre in Faridpur-1 (Alfadanga-Boalmari-Madhukhali). Faridpur Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer Mohammad Kamrul Hasan Molla said new presiding officers have been appointed in their place. In Jhenaidah, Jesmin Ara, presiding officer of Salimunnessa Girls’ School centre under Jhenaidah-4 constituency, was removed after 23 pre-signed result sheets were recovered on Wednesday night. Jhenaidah Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer Abdullah Al Masud said such irresponsible conduct would not be tolerated in the interest of holding a free and fair election. A new presiding officer, Shamsuzzaman Khan, a senior lecturer at Kaliganj Shaheed Nur Ali College, has been appointed. Jesmin Ara later claimed she had signed the result sheets unintentionally and tore them up after realising her mistake. In Sylhet, a presiding officer of Sylhet-3 constituency was assaulted following a dispute over the entry of a candidate’s agent at Mahishashi polling centre in Balaganj upazila around 11:30pm on Wednesday. Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) Saiful Islam said three people attempted to enter Shahjalal Jamiya Islamia School and College polling centre in Sylhet city, posing as election observers. Local residents later detained them and handed them over to police. Law enforcers also recovered several bamboo sticks from Chowkidekhi petrol pump area in the city late at night. Sylhet Returning Officer and Deputy Commissioner Sarwar Alam said no one is permitted to enter polling centres at night.

A mild tremor shook Sylhet and its adjacent areas on Tuesday. According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), the tremor was recorded at 5:32 pm with a magnitude of 4.0 on the Richter scale. The epicentre of the earthquake was Gowainghat upazila of Sylhet division, 214 km North-East from BMD Seismic Centre, Agargaon, Dhaka, according to BMD. Another earthquake jolts Bangladesh

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr. Shafiqul Rahman will attend an election rally in Sylhet on Saturday. The rally, organized by Sylhet district Jamaat-e-Islami, will be held at the historic Sylhet Government Alia Madrasa ground at 3:00 pm, where Dr. Rahman will deliver his keynote speech. Leaders of the 11-party alliance will also address the gathering. Extensive arrangements have been made by Jamaat and the 11-party alliance to welcome the Ameer. Ahead of the event, senior officials of the Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP) and Sylhet City Corporation inspected the venue to ensure security and traffic management. Jamaat leaders also conducted multiple inspections of the rally ground. On Friday, SMP Commissioner Abdul Kuddus Chowdhury led a team of senior police officials to review the site and briefed on security arrangements. Earlier in the day, city corporation and administration officials also visited the venue. Jamaat Ameer to address major rally in Sylhet on Saturday Among the Jamaat leaders present during the inspection were central working committee member and Sylhet metropolitan Ameer Muhammad Fakhrul Islam, Sylhet-1 constituency candidate Maulana Habibur Rahman, district Naib Ameer Professor Abdul Hannan, election director Hafiz Abdul Hai Harun, assistant election director Dr. Nurul Islam Babul, and other senior party officials. Muhammad Fakhrul Islam said the rally, starting at 3:00 pm and concluding by 4:30 pm, will introduce Jamaat and 11-party candidates from six Sylhet constituencies and four constituencies from Sunamganj. Dr. Shafiqul Rahman will arrive at Sylhet district stadium by helicopter after attending rallies in Habiganj and Moulvibazar. Special arrangements have been made for women participants.  

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman will arrive in Sylhet by helicopter on Saturday to address a major election rally, with organisers expecting a gathering of more than one lakh people. The rally will be held at the Sylhet Alia Madrasa ground, organised by the district and city units of Jamaat-e-Islami. It will begin at 2:00 pm and continue until 4:30 pm. Dr Shafiqur Rahman will speak as the chief guest. Top leaders of the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance are also scheduled to address the gathering. The information was shared at a press briefing on Thursday noon. The briefing took place at the main election office of Jamaat candidate for Sylhet-1 constituency, Maulana Habibur Rahman, at Dhopadighirpar in the city. Sylhet city Jamaat Ameer Muhammad Fakhrul Islam delivered the main speech at the briefing. The event was conducted by city Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Dr Nurul Islam Babul. Maulana Habibur Rahman also spoke and leaders of the Jamaat-led alliance from the district and city were present. Organisers said Dr Shafiqur Rahman will reach Habiganj by helicopter at 10:00 am on Saturday and address a rally there. He will then go to Kulaura in Moulvibazar at 11:30 am to join another rally. He is expected to arrive in Sylhet around 2:00 pm. Muhammad Fakhrul Islam said journalists’ cooperation is being sought to ensure the success of the Sylhet rally. He added that Jamaat leaders have met the district returning officer and the Sylhet Metropolitan Police commissioner to discuss security. Tarique urges women to respond to Jamaat Ameer’s derogatory remarks through ballot He further said that the administration has assured full cooperation and necessary security for the programme. During the rally, candidates of Jamaat-e-Islami and the 11-party alliance from Sylhet division are also expected to be introduced.

At least 10 people including police personnel were injured in a clash among residents of four villages in Sylhet city over a seating dispute at a street meeting early Thursday. Witnesses and police said the clash broke out at Temukhi Point where residents of Kumargaon, Sahebergaon, Nazirgaon, and Charugao got involved . The clash continued for nearly one and a half hours, spreading tension to nearby areas before army and police personnel arrived to bring the situation under control. According to police and local sources, the dispute initially started between two groups from Kumargaon and Sahebergaon over seating arrangements for teenagers at a street meeting. The matter was temporarily settled by bystanders but about an hour later both sides resumed arguments and raised voices. Read More: 20 injured in clashes between law enforcers and technical students in Sylhet Tensions escalated when residents of Nazirgaon sided with the Kumargaon group and several people from Charugao joined Sahebergaon residents, leading to a full-scale clash. During the confrontation, both sides chased each other and hurled bricksbats at one another. Jalalabad Police Station Officer-in-Charge Shamsul Habib said the clash among residents of four villages was triggered over dominance late at night and police and army personnel later controlled the situation. The clash disrupted traffic on Sylhet–Sunamganj road. Army and police have been deployed in the area.

A chase and counter-chase took place between law enforcement agencies and protesting technical education students in Sylhet on Tuesday as demonstrations continued over quota reform demands. The students are demanding reforms to a proposed 33 percent quota and the cancellation of what they describe as a discriminatory inter-ministerial committee. The incident occurred around noon, according to witnesses. Protesters claimed that at least 20 people, including students and teachers, were injured during the clashes. Some of the injured received first aid at Sylhet Polytechnic Institute, while others were admitted to nearby hospitals, they said. Read More: Motorcycle rider killed in truck accident in Sylhet According to eyewitnesses, Diploma Engineering students began their protest by blocking roads in the Chowhatta area of Sylhet city around 12pm. After demonstrating for more than half an hour, most of the protesters moved to the nearby Shaheed Minar, though some remained on the road. Later, an army team arrived at the scene and asked the students to clear the road. Tensions rose as arguments broke out, after which police and army personnel jointly removed the protesters from the area. Several rounds of chase and counter-chase followed between police and demonstrators. Students alleged that several protesters were injured during the operation. However, police denied any injuries. Sylhet Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mainul Zakir said the situation is now calm. “We persuaded the students to disperse peacefully. No one was injured,” he said. Read More: Truck crushes motorcyclist in Sylhet’s Golapganj The protesters said they are opposing a proposed 33 percent quota for BCS engineers in posts of sub-assistant engineers and equivalent positions. They claimed the move is discriminatory against diploma engineers, who they say have long been deprived of fair job opportunities and promotions. They demanded the immediate withdrawal of the proposed quota and related decisions, warning that their movement would continue until their demands are met.

Power supply will be temporarily suspended in several important areas of Sylhet on Monday (Feb 2) due to transformer renovation and maintenance work as well as transmission line development activities. A press release on Sunday, signed by Abdur Razzak, Executive Engineer of the Sales and Distribution Division‑2 of the Sylhet Power Development Board, said electricity supply will remain off from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon in areas under the 11 kV feeders of the Power Development and Distribution Division‑2. Motorcycle rider killed in truck accident in Sylhet The affected areas are Anantapur, Badeali, Masukbazar, Tajpur Suklampur, Chhunpara, Medenimahal Basantergaon, Munsirgaon, Dighirpar, Paschim Darsha, Bashirpur Mirergaon and Sujatpur and surrounding localities. The release also said that the power line will be considered operational during the shutdown period and supply will be restored immediately if the work is completed before the scheduled time. Abdur Razzak apologised to customers for the temporary inconvenience and sought cooperation from all for the essential renovation and maintenance work.

A young motorcyclist was killed after being run over by a truck in Golapganj, Sylhet on Friday afternoon. The accident occurred around 3:30 pm in front of the Government MC Academy. The deceased was identified as Shanaj Ahmed, 25, son of Makhon Mia from Sripur Rampasha village in Bishwanath upazila. He worked as a vehicle driver for a poultry farm in Sylhet city. According to police and witnesses, Shanaj went to Fulbari Purbo Para in Golapganj to attend a event with colleagues. After the event, he rode another person’s motorcycle back towards Golapganj town. Reaching in front of the MC Academy, he lost control of the motorcycle, hit a road divider, and fell off. Dhaka’s rail links with Sylhet, Ctg suspended as train derails A truck coming from the opposite direction ran over him, killing him instantly. Golapganj Model Police and Fire Service personnel reached the site and after initial procedures, took the body to Golapganj Model Police Station. Anupam, sub-inspector of Golapganj Model Police Station, confirmed the incident, saying, “The body was brought to the police station.”