The question posed by the bureaucrat reflects not only the depth of his ignorance but also reveals the general mindset of our policymakers.
Just over a year ago, the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) adopted a new Detailed Area Plan (DAP), introducing height restrictions for buildings in a bid to enhance Dhaka’s liveability.
The Bangladesh Climate Change Trust was supposed to get back in 2016 the Tk 538 crore, plus the accumulated interest, it deposited with the then Farmers Bank. However, it has so far received just Tk 74 crore after around seven years.
A recent study has found a surge in harmful microplastics in sea salt produced over the last couple of years in the country.
The Ecnec yesterday approved a project to construct a medical college, hospital and nursing college partially on a wetland in Chandpur despite Planning Commission’s observation that the project cost may rise because of the nature of the chosen site.
Workers under supervision of the Public Works Department (PWD) officials yesterday cut down trees to make space for a housing block for parliament officials and staff near Shahid Shahabuddin Road in the capital’s Agargaon without authorisation from relevant authorities.
The new Dohazari-Cox’s Bazar railway line, which cuts through three forested areas, is likely to obstruct the free movement of the critically endangered Asian elephants that use these forests as corridors.
When rapid unplanned urbanisation has been engulfing the green coverage of Dhaka, a praiseworthy initiative has been taken to create the country’s first ever urban forest in Purbachal Residential Area of the capital.
Sexual harassment allegations have surfaced against a physician in Cox’s Bazar who, according to a complaint, coerced two nurses into travelling to Saint Martin’s Island so they could “entertain” the district’s civil surgeon.
The Department of Environment in its new Environmental Conservation Rules has exempted small coal and gas power plants from Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), raising concerns among environmentalists.
Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha still doesn’t know whether the seven-storey building in which an explosion on Tuesday claimed 22 lives was constructed as per the approved design.
"The building is old, so is its file which has been maintained manually [only files that were approved by Rajuk after May 2019 are digitised]. On top of that yesterday was a holiday. That's why it is taking time"
The Department of Environment (DoE) has failed to keep the environmental indices at a permissible level even in Agargaon, its headquarters in Dhaka.
The government’s emission standards for coal-fired power plants are far lower than those of the countries investing in such plants in Bangladesh.
Beli Ara’s (51) life had all hallmarks of tragedy. She had been acquainted with great grief from an early age -- from losing her mother, step mother’s torture and an eventual forced, early marriage with an elderly man.
The menace of plastic is everywhere, even in the most remote locations, from the depths of the ocean to Arctic ice. So you can’t expect the Sundarbans to be an exception.
A high-powered national committee, formed to tackle oil or chemical spills along the shipping routes, has failed miserably to respond to the recent oil spill in the Meghna.
Riazul Haque, manager of a wholesale rice shop in the capital’s Mirpur, usually goes to Kachukhet kitchen market with Tk 500 every Friday.