BANGLADESH

সপ্তাহের দ্বিতীয় দিন দেশের সবচেয়ে বড় পুঁজিবাজার ঢাকা স্টক এক্সচেঞ্জে (ডিএসই) লেনদেন শুরু হয়েছে সাধারণ সূচকে ওঠানামার মধ্য দিয়ে।

সোমবার সকাল সাড়ে ১০টায় লেনদেন শুরুর পর প্রথম ২০ মিনিট সূচক আগের দিনের চেয়ে ১৩ পয়েন্ট বাড়লেও এরপর কমতে শুরু করে। ৪৫ মিনিটের লেনদেনে সূচক আগের দিনের চেয়ে প্রায় ৩০ পয়েন্ট কমে যায়।

বেলা ১১টায় এক ঘণ্টার লেনদেন শেষে ডিএসইর সাধারণ সূচক পৌঁছায় ৪ হাজার ৩৯১ পয়েন্টে, যা আগের দিনের চেয়ে প্রায় ১৮ পয়েন্ট কম।

ওই সময় পর্যন্ত হাতবদল হয় প্রায় ৮১ কোটি টাকার শেয়ার ও মিউচুয়াল ফান্ড। এর মধ্যে দাম বাড়ে ৬৪টি শেয়ারের, কমে ১০৯টির এবং অপরিবর্তিত ছিল ২৮টির দাম।

গত কয়েক কার্যদিবস ধরেই নিম্নমুখী প্রবণতায় রয়েছে ডিএসই সূচক। রোববার সাধারণ সূচক পৌঁছায় ৪ হাজার ৪০৯ পয়েন্টে, যা আগের দিনের চেয়ে প্রায় ৭৬ পয়েন্ট কম। গত সপ্তাহের শেষ দিন ঢাকা স্টক এক্সচেঞ্জের সাধারণ সূচক কমে প্রায় ৯ পয়েন্ট।

ঈদের ছুটির পর গত সপ্তাহের তিন কার্যদিবসে ডিএসই সাধারণ সূচক কমে ১.৯৭ শতাংশ বা প্রায় ৮৯.৯৮ পয়েন্ট। দিনে গড়ে লেনদেন হয় প্রায় ৩৪২ কোটি টাকা, যা এর আগের সপ্তাহের চেয়ে প্রায় ৮.৭৩ শতাংশ কম।

এর আগের সপ্তাহে ডিএসই সাধারণ সূচকে যোগ হয় প্রায় ১১৬ পয়েন্ট। দিনে গড়ে লেনদেন হয় প্রায় ৩৭৪ কোটি টাকা, যা এর আগের সপ্তাহের চেয়ে প্রায় ২৫ শতাংশ কম।

আগামী ২০১৩ সালে দেশের সব সরকারি ও আধা সরকারি দপ্তর এবং স¦ায়ত্তশাসিত ও আধা স¦ায়ত্তশাসিত সংস্থাগুলোর জন্য বার্ষিক ছুটির পরিকল্পনা ঘোষণা করেছে সরকার।

জনপ্রশাসন মন্ত্রণালয় রোববার এ ছুটির তালিকা ঘোষণা করে। এতে ১৪ দিনের সাধারণ ছুটি রয়েছে, যার মধ্যে তিনটি পড়েছে সাপ্তাহিক ছুটির (শুক্রবার) দিনে।

সাধারণ ছুটিতে রয়েছে- চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে ঈদ-ই মিলাদুন্নবী ২৫ জানুয়ারি, শহীদ দিবস ও আন্তর্জাতিক মাতৃভাষা দিবস ২১ ফেব্রুয়ারি, বঙ্গবন্ধু শেখ মুজিবুর রহমানের জন্ম দিবস ১৭ মার্চ, স¦াধীনতা ও জাতীয় দিবস ২৬ মার্চ, মে দিবস ১ মে, চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে বুদ্ধ পূর্ণিমা ৩ মে, জুমাতুল বিদা ২ অগাস্ট, চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে ঈদুল ফিতর ৯ অগাস্ট, জাতীয় শোক দিবস ১৫ অগাস্ট, জন্মাষ্টমী ২৮ অগাস্ট, দুর্গাপূজা (বিজয়া দশমী) ১৪ অক্টোবর, চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে ঈদুল আজহা ১৬ অক্টোবর, বিজয় দিবস ১৬ ডিসে¤¦র এবং যীশু খ্রিস্টের জন্মদিন (বড়দিন) ২৫ ডিসে¤¦র।

ছুটির পরিকল্পনায় নির্বাহী আদেশে মোট আট দিনের সরকারি ছুটি ঘোষণা করা হয়েছে।

এর মধ্যে রয়েছে বাংলা নববর্ষ ১৪ এপ্রিল, চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে শবে বরাত ২৫ জুন, চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে শবে কদর ৬ অগাস্ট, চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে ঈদুল ফিতরের আগের ও পরের দিন ৮ ও ১০ অগাস্ট, চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে ঈদুল আজহার আগের ও পরের দিন ১৫ ও ১৭ অক্টোবর, চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে আশুরা ১৪ নভে¤¦র।

ঐচ্ছিক ছুটির মুসলিম পর্বে পাঁচ দিনের ছুটি ঘোষণা হয়েছে। এতে ছুটি নেয়া যাবে- চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে আখেরী চাহার সো¤¦া ৯ জানুয়ারি, চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে ফাতেহা-ই ইয়াজদাহম ২২ ফেব্রুয়ারি, চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে শবে মেরাজ ৭ জুন, চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে ঈদুল ফিতরের পরের দ্বিতীয় দিন ১১ অগাস্ট, চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে ঈদুল আজহার পরের দ্বিতীয় দিন ১৮ অক্টোবর।

হিন্দুদের জন্য ঐচ্ছিক ছুটি পর্বে আট দিনের ছুটির সুযোগ রয়েছে। এর মধ্যে সরস¦তী পূজা ১৫ ফেব্রুয়ারি, শিবরাত্রী ব্রত ১০ মার্চ, দোলযাত্রা ২৭ মার্চ, হরিচাঁদ ঠাকুরের আবির্ভাব ৮ এপ্রিল, মহালয়া ৪ অক্টোবর, দুর্গাপূজা (নবমী) ১৩ অক্টোবর, লক্ষ্মীপূজা ১৮ অক্টোবর ও শ্যামা পূজা ২ নভে¤¦র।

ঐচ্ছিক ছুটির খ্রিস্টান পর্বে আট দিনের ছুটির মধ্যে রয়েছে- ইংরেজি নববর্ষ ১ জানুয়ারি, ভস্ম ১৩ ফেব্রুয়ারি, পুণ্য ২৮ থেকে ৩০ মার্চ, ইস্টার সানডে ৩১ মার্চ এবং যীশু খ্রিস্টের জন্মোৎসব (বড় দিনের আগে ও পরের দিন) ২৪ ও ২৬ ডিসে¤¦র।

ঐচ্ছিক ছুটির বৌদ্ধ পর্বে পাঁচ দিনের ছুটির তালিকা হয়েছে। এগুলো হচ্ছে- চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে মাঘী পূর্ণিমা ২৫ ফেব্রুয়ারি, চৈত্র সংক্রান্তি ১৩ এপ্রিল, চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে আষাঢ়ী পূর্ণিমা ২১ জুলাই, চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে মধু পূর্ণিমা ১৮ সেপ্টে¤¦র, চাঁদ দেখা সাপেক্ষে প্রবারণা পূর্ণিমা ১৮ অক্টোবর।

এছাড়াও যে কোনো স¤প্রদায়ের প্রত্যেক কর্মকর্তা ও কর্মচারী নিজধর্ম অনুযায়ী বছরে মোট তিন দিন ঐচ্ছিক ছুটি নিতে পারবেন।

চট্টগ্রাম বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে ভর্তি পরীক্ষার প্রবেশপত্রে আবেদনকারীর জায়গায় ভারতীয় চলচ্চিত্র ও ক্রিকেট তারকাদের ছবি আসছে।

বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে অনলাইনে ভর্তি প্রক্রিয়ায় কারিগরি ত্রুটির সুযোগ নিয়ে ‘অন্যরাই’ এসব ছবি আপলোড করেছে। আর সংশ্লিষ্ট পরীক্ষার্থী প্রবেশ পত্রের প্রিন্ট নিতে গিয়ে দেখতে পাচ্ছেন নিজের নামের পাশে শাহরুখ খান বা ক্যাটরিনা কাইফের মতো বলিউড তারকা বা সাকিব আল হাসানের মতো ক্রিকেটারের ছবি।

নতুন করে ছবি আপলোড বা সংশোধনের সুযোগ না থাকায় বিপাকে পড়তে হচ্ছে এই শিক্ষার্থীদের। ফলে ওই ছবি সম্বলিত প্রবেশপত্রেই তাদের পরীক্ষা নেয়ার ব্যবস্থা করছে বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় কর্তৃপক্ষ। তবে পরীক্ষার্থীদের সঙ্গে করে দুই কপি পাসপোর্ট আকৃতির ছবি নিয়ে আসতে বলা হয়েছে।

বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের ওয়েবসাইটে ‘ক’ ইউনিটের ফরম পূরণ করা প্রথম শিক্ষার্থী মো. সাব্বির হোসেনের জন্য বরাদ্দ হয়েছে ০০০০১ রোল নম্বরটি। তার প্রবেশপত্রে দেখা যায় শাহরুখ খানের ছবি আপলোড করা হয়েছে। আর ই ইউনিটের মো আলী হাসানের নামের পাশে ক্যাটরিনা কাইফ এবং একই ইউনিটের নুজাত রামিশা একরামের প্রবেশপত্রে সাকিব আল হাসানের ছবি এসেছে।

বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের ৯টি ইউনিটের প্রতিটিতেই অসংখ্য শিক্ষার্থীর প্রবেশপত্রে এভাবে ভারতীয় নায়ক-নায়িকা ও খেলোয়াড়দের ছবি আপলোড করা হয়েছে।

ভর্তি বিজ্ঞপ্তিতে প্রবেশপত্র ডাউনলোডের নিয়মে বলা হয়েছে- বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের ওয়েব সাইট www.cu.ac.bd- এ প্রবেশ করে নির্দিষ্ট পেইজে গিয়ে এইচএসসির বোর্ড, রোল, পাসের সাল ও রেজিস্ট্রেশন নম্বর দিতে হবে। তথ্য সঠিক হলে গোপন নম্বর (পিন) দেয়া হবে এবং তা দিয়ে পরীক্ষার্থী ছবি আপলোড করে প্রবেশপত্র ডাউনলোড করতে পারবেন।

A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight will bring the mortal remains of Chittagong-12 (Anwara) MP and ruling Awami League Presidium Member Akhtaruzzaman Chowdhury Babu from Singapore to Dhaka on Monday.

The 71-year-old leading entrepreneur of the port city died at Mount Elizabeth Hospital around 4:30am, his Private Secretary Borhanuddin Chowdhury Murad told bdnews24.com.

The three-time MP was the head of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Textiles and Jute.

"He had long been suffering from kidney complications. He was treated in Singapore for around a month," he said.

The first namaj-e-janaza for Babu will be held at Parliament building premises. His body will be taken to Chittagong after the second namaj-e-janaza in front of the Awami League headquarters.

Three more funeral prayers will be held in Chittagong on Nov 7 – at Jamiyatul Falah National Mosque at 11am, at AJ Chowdhury ground in Patia at 12 in the noon and at Anwara High School field at 2pm. Another four namaj-e-janajas will be held at Chowdhury High School field in Hildhar in Anowara.

Babu will be buried in his family graveyard, said Murad.

The AL leader left behind his wife, three sons and three daughters.

Babu had been serving as the President of Chittagong south district unit of Awami League since 1977.

The Junior School Certificate (JSC) and Junior Dakhil Certificate (JSD) examinations began on Sunday at 2,250 centres across the country.

Senior Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Education Subodh Chandra Dhali told bdnews24.com the Bengali first paper examination began on Sunday at 10am.

A total of 1,908,365 students from 27,642 educational institutions are appearing in the exams. Of them, 1,011,503 are girls and 896,862 boys.

The Education Ministry said this year 47, 252 more students are sitting the tests than last year. A total of 1,861,113 candidates had sat the tests last year.

According to the ministry, a total of 1,553,575 candidates, 826,082 of whom are girls and 727,493 boys, are appearing for the JSC examinations.

The number is 354,790 for JDC tests, with 185,421 of them girls and 169,369 boys.

The number of irregular candidates for JSC exams is 149,392 and JDC 23,292.

JSC has 136,711 special candidates – who failed in up to three subjects last year – and JDC has 20,301 such candidates.

The examinations will also be held at seven centres abroad. A centre in Jeddah has 106 candidates, Riyadh 109, Tripoli eight, Doha 72, Abu Dhabi 39, and two centres in Dubai have 18 and 36 candidates respectively.

Ten candidates from Oman's capital Muscat will also be taking the examinations for the first time.

Question papers except for Bengali second paper, English first and second papers and mathematics will be based on creativity. Handicapped candidates will be allowed 20 minutes of extra time.

The candidates with sight disability and missing limbs will be allowed a dictation taker.

The results are supposedly to be published by December.

JSC was introduced in the country for the first time in 2010 and JDC in 2011 for eighth-graders.

The government on Sunday withdrew Cox's Bazar Superintendent of Police Selim Mohammad Jahangir and attached him to Police Headquarters, nearly a month after the communal violence at the district's Ramu upazila.

The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a circular in this regard in the afternoon. The Buddhist community leaders have been voicing their demand to withdraw Jahangir since the attack.

On Sept 29 night, religious zealots, apparently stirred by a Facebook post allegedly denigrating Islam and the Quran, attacked the Buddhist households in Ramu. They attacked, vandalised, looted and torched seven monasteries, 30 houses and shops there.

The hate attacks also spread in Cox's Bazar's Ukhia and Teknaf and Chittagong's Patia on the following day.

The locals have been accusing police of inaction since the beginning and during the attacks.

Six other police officials were also transferred across the country on Sunday. Four of them are Deputy Inspectors General (DIG) and two are SPs.

Police Headquarters Public Relations Officer Qamrul Ahsan confirmed of the transfers.

Criminal Investigation Department's (CID) Additional DIG Anwar Hossain has been promoted to police's Special Brach DIG while one of the Directors in Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Manzur Kader Khan was made DIG in the police headquarters. OSD DIG Abdullahel Baki was made Vice Principal at the Bangladesh Police Academy in Sarda while Barisal range Additional DIG Bhanulal Das was promoted to DIG in CID.

Patuakhali SP Azad Mia replaced Selim Mohammad Jahangir as Cox's Bazar district's SP while Dhaka Telecom SP Rafiqul Hasan Khan replaced Azad.

Fifty-one top level police officials were also shuffled on Thursday.

The second war crimes tribunal of Bangladesh on Sunday ordered the start of the trial against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abul Kalam Azad, better known as 'Bachchu Razakar', on eight charges of crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War in 1971.

The three-judge International Crimes Tribunal–2 led by Justice ATM Fazle Kabir framed charges against Azad and set Nov 14 for witness deposition to start.

The court also threw away a plea by Azad's counsels seeking his acquittal.

The prosecution on Sept 2 had submitted former charges linking him to crimes against humanity including genocide, murder, rape, arson, loot, abduction, deportation and persecution.

Prosecutor Shahidur Rahman had said the Pakistan Army entered Faridpur on Apr 21, 1971. On that day, Azad along with the Pakistan troops murdered eight people at Faridpur's well-known Jagatbandhu Ashram and later killed Kolaron village Zamindar (landlord) Sudhanshu Mohon Roy and his son Monimoy Roy, he added.

'Bachchu Razakar' is said to have been an accomplice of Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed in Faridpur district during the war.

He was a member of Jamaat's student wing Islami Chhatra Sangha when he was a student of Rajendra College in Faridpur in 1971.

After Mar 25, 1971, Azad formed a group of his own which committed crimes against humanity in different places in Faridpur during the war.

The ICT-2 on Sept 9 accepted charges and ordered his arrest and production by Sept 23.

The arrest warrant for him was issued in April, police failed to find him after raids on his office and residence. He is believed to have fled to Pakistan.

The tribunal on Oct 7 decided to continue trial in Azad's absentia as he did not turn up even after public notice was issued for his appearance.

Meteorological Department on Sunday said there was a possibility of low to moderate rain across Bangladesh induced by cyclone Nilam.

The Met Office in a statement released long-term forecast for November.

The statement said 17 millilitres of rain was recorded in the capital, Dhaka, until Sunday evening while the amount was 35 millilitres in Rajshahi. There was a little rain in Khulna and Barisal too.

There was a possibility that the rain could stay on for two or three more days because of Nilam.

The Met Office also expressed concern over several deep convections in the Bay of Bengal this month and said at least one of them may turn into cyclone.

An official said the winter season is likely to begin if there are at least one or two deep convections in the Bay this month.

Bangladesh Television (BTV) will go on air round-the-clock from tomorrow.

BTV's News Editor Gopal Chandra Dev in a statement said terrestrial telecast, however, will continue from 7 am to 12:30 am.

Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu will formally inaugurate the 24-hour telecast by the state-run television at 12 at BTV's Shaheed Manirul Alam auditorium.

Information Secretary Hedayetullah Al-Mamoon will be present as the special guest.

Former President Iajuddin Ahmed has been admitted to Bangkok's Bumrungrad International Hospital in critical condition.

His son Imtiaz Ahmed Babu on Sunday night told reporters by telephone from Bangkok, "My father had undergone a surgery on Oct 28. Then his condition deteriorated following complications in kidney activities."

The 81-year-old former President has been put on life-support since then, he added.

Iajuddin's wife Prof Anwara Begum is also in Bangkok.

He was hospitalised in August last year following complaints of chest pain and was taken to Thailand for better treatment.

He was flown again to Thailand as he felt sick after returning home.

In May 2006, Iajuddin had undergone a successful heart by-pass surgery at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.

A soil scientist and educationist, Iajuddin took over as President in September 2002 and served until February 2009.

He thrust himself into the charge of Chief Advisor to the caretaker government after the BNP's last tenure ended in 2006, a move which political analysts say created violent political conflict. But his caretaker administration failed to resolve the political crisis and hold elections.

Iajuddin then declared state of emergency in 2007, for which he was harshly criticised. The country was forced to go through a two-year long military rule during that time.

A former Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), Iajuddin had also received the prestigious Ekushey Padak in 1995.

Search engine giant Google Inc. on Monday appointed first-ever Country Consultant for Bangladesh.

One of the global leaders in internet-related products and services, Google has assigned Kazi Monirul Kabir, a seasoned professional in trade and brand marketing, to kick-start its operations in Bangladesh.

Kabir was the Chief Communications Officer at Grameenphone and sat on the seven-strong management committee. He also left his seat on the board of GPIT, a GP subsidiary.

He did MBA from Berlin School of Creative Leadership and has worked in game-changing positions with British American Tobacco Bangladesh Co. Ltd, Banglalink GSM, Rahimafrooz Limited, to name a few.

The appointment, however, does not imply full-fledged operations of the web giant, which is already providing locally specified services in 49 countries. The time the company takes in market feasibility studies and acclimatisation varies country to country.

Kabir, who is counted among the best professionals in public relations in Bangladesh, is about to represent a company which is known to be conservative in media correspondence.

When asked for his reaction to his new job, he was succinct. "Yes I am leaving Grameenphone. I'll be serving as Country Consultant in Bangladesh for Google this month."

"I am really excited and looking forward to it," Kabir in a short message toldbdnews24.com.

Kabir has managed sales, corporate and public affairs of big organisations and is expected to face new challenges in this latest mission. Insiders say the sales of Google enterprise solutions rely largely on the e-commerce infrastructure of the country.

Google may also receive and respond to frequent calls from state bodies like BTRC in matters similar to those that arose in the wake of 'anti-Islam' video row. The controversial video is hosted, along with other similar platforms, by Youtube, the most popular video-sharing website Google has owned since 2006.

Apart from its free productivity tools – which includes popular limited storage web mail gmail.com – Google sells corporate solutions at a competitive price, which, insiders say, may influence the way independent and small enterprises are managed.

Part of the revenue Google generates is derived from offering companies search technologies. A Google establishment in Bangladesh is also expected to promote the apps market.

In recent years, Google has taken a vertical integration strategy*, for example in mobile computing, that motivated it to own the operating system and the device along with its popular Android applications.

While experts say the world may take up to 2015 to see more mobiles log on to the net than PCs, it is already the case in Bangladesh.

*Investorwords says vertical integration is the process in which several steps in the production and/or distribution of a product or service are controlled by a single company or entity, in order to increase that company's or entity's power in the marketplace.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines' first flight carrying Hajj returnees touched down at the Shahjalal International Airport on Wednesday.

A Boeing 747 carried the 582 pilgrims back to Dhaka at 7:15pm, Director of the flag carrier's Public Relations Department Khan Mosharraf Hossain told bdnews24.com.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Mohammad Faruk Khan welcomed the Bangladeshi hajjis at the airport.

Biman will conduct 136 flights through November to return 54,179 pilgrims. According to the Biman, it will conduct the last return flight on Nov 30.

The Hajj flights were conducted from Sep 17 to Oct 20.

According to the government, a total of 110,550 Bangladeshis went to Saudi Arabia to take part in the biggest congregation of the Muslims.

Apart from Dhaka, eight Biman flights left from Chittagong and two from Sylhet for the first time.

It is using a rented Boeing 747 and two of its Boeing 777 and two DC 10s to carry the pilgrims.

The two other airlines, Saudia, the Saudi Arabian Airlines, and Saudi-approved private NAS Air started the return flights on Oct 30. NAS Air will end the flights on Nov 28 and the Saudia on Nov 30.

RAB investigators spoke to Mahir Sarowar Megh, the only son of slain journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi, for around three and a half hours on Wednesday.

Megh went to the headquarters of the elite force at Uttara with his maternal uncle Nawsher Roman around 1pm.

"We've tried to gather information by speaking with him that may help the investigation," RAB spokesperson Commander M Suhail told reporters.

He said it was not an 'interrogation' in any way. "Megh had come to the RAB headquarters earlier as well. But it was the first time we formally requested his uncle to bring him for the sake of the case."

On the Feb 11 night when his parents were killed at their house at Rajabazar, Megh was at home.

The government arrested seven suspects, most of who have already been charged with killing a doctor.

Megh's uncle Roman, who had filed the case over the murders, said the child appeared to be annoyed and initially expressed anger several times once they were in the RAB headquarters.

"Later he became normal. But the investigation officer could not ask him any question as he was always busy playing around," he said.

Journalists have been demonstrating for arrest of the killers of Sagar and Runi since the murders. The then Home Minister, Shahara Khatun, had pledged to capture the killers within 48 hours but the police failed to deliver. The case was transferred to the RAB later.

The new Home Minister, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, said on Oct 9 that eight of the killers of Sagar and Runi have been identified and seven of them have been arrested.

The journalists termed his findings vague as he did not speak about the link among the accused, who are from separate places.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Ghulam Rahman on Wednesday said their investigation into the alleged corruption in the Padma bridge project was on the right track.

"Regarding overall investigation into the Padma bridge graft, we want to say that everything is under control and things are going in the right way," he told reporters at the ACC headquarters.

Leaving no 'loophole' the inquiry is going on with maximum alertness, he added.

Some officials of the Integrity Department of the World Bank raised graft allegations in the country's largest-ever infrastructure development project in September last year.

The development partner wanted the government to send on leave all the government officials relating to the project.

As the government failed to meet the conditions, the multinational global lender cancelled its credit for the $2.9 billion project on June 29, saying it had credible evidence of a corruption conspiracy involving Bangladeshi officials, executives of Canadian engineering giant SNC-Lavalin and some private individuals.

It set several conditions to revive its pledged $1.2 billion loan.

Later, former Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain stepped down while former Bridges Division Secretary Mosharraf Hossain was sent on leave. Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Advisor Mashiur Rahman who was the Integrity Advisor to the Padma bridge project went on leave in mid-September.

The multinational lender, which decided to revive its loan commitment on Sep 21 after the Bangladesh government agreed to its terms and conditions, appointed an external panel early this month to oversee the ACC investigation.

The three-member panel in mid-October visited Dhaka and held several meetings with the top ACC officials. The World Bank's second team will arrive early in November to work out the procurement modalities of the project.

ACC Commissioner M Sahabuddin told reporters on Oct 15 that the World Bank had assured the ACC of helping in quizzing former SNC-Lavalin executives Ramesh Shah and Mohammad Ismail who are now languishing in jail after being arrested by the Canadian police.

The first World Bank team asked the ACC to provide it with necessary documents on the investigation, but the ACC sought time to provide those. The antigraft watchdog on Oct 23 sent the documents, information and data to the panel.

ACC chief Rahman on Wednesday said that they are yet to receive any feedback from the external panel.

"But we're in constant communication with them. They may send information anytime,' he added.

Bangladesh may import gas from neighbouring India through Siliguri-Rangpur route to cope with the increasing gas crisis.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran to Bangladesh discussed the possibility of gas import on Tuesday as the latter called on her at her office.

PM's Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad briefed reporters about the issues discussed at the meeting.

About 250MW power could be imported from northeastern Indian state Meghalaya through Sylhet, Azad said.

The High Commissioner conveyed to Hasina Eid greetings from the Indian President and the Prime Minister.

The meeting also discussed touched upon issues like border demarcation in line with the Indira-Mujib treaty and implementation of the US $1-billion given to Bangladesh as credit.

Ambassador-at-Large M Ziauddin was also present during the call-on.