‘There should be a central coordinator to oversee flood management’
Mohammad Abdul Qayyum, former National Project Director of the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) and adjunct faculty at Dhaka University, talks to Naznin Tithi of The Daily Star about the weaknesses of our flood management efforts this year as well as the importance of stronger coordination and better flood forecasting.
5d ago
‘Reforms are crucial to strengthen the Election Commission’
Nothing can make the electoral system foolproof because it does not depend fully on the EC
1m ago
'Any vice-chancellor or teacher is expected to stand by students'
Professor Gitiara Nasreen talks about ways to end the current stalemate in our public universities and the reforms needed to ensure a better educational environment with The Daily Star.
1m ago
'No political decision should be taken without students’ input'
Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolon, talks with The Daily Star about the current political situation of the country.
2m ago
‘Violence against women is a violation of human rights’
Our society still considers violence against women to be a women's issue and holds the view that only women should talk about it or protest it.
10m ago
Road crash victims deserve a better compensation scheme
Questions have been raised by road safety activists as to whether a human life can be valued at only Tk 5 lakh.
12m ago
Will I ever be able to breathe fresh air in Dhaka?
As soon as we got onto Mirpur Road, I felt suddenly unable to breathe properly
1y ago
Air pollution is not for only one authority to tackle
Md Ziaul Haque, the director of Air Quality Management at the Department of Environment, talks with Naznin Tithi of The Daily Star about the factors behind severe air pollution in the country and why concerted efforts are needed from all ministries and government agencies concerned to fight it.
1y ago
November 25, 2019
‘Chaos in transport sector cannot be solved by enforcing the law alone’
The new transport law has been watered down quite a bit because of opposition from the transport owners and workers. Even so, the workers called a strike recently demanding amendments to the law. How would you evaluate the new law and the workers’ demands...
November 14, 2019
Where has all the green gone?
As I pass the planning commission office in Agargaon on a rickshaw, on a jam-packed road in the evening, I cannot help noticing the big advertisements
October 31, 2019
When search for a livelihood ends in abuse and death
On October 24, Abiron Begum’s family members received her dead body in a coffin from the Shahjalal International Airport.
October 23, 2019
Violence-Free Campus: Universities must get back control of their halls
In the aftermath of Abrar Fahad’s murder in a BCL “torture cell” at the Sher-e-Bangla Hall of Buet, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed all the educational institutions to look into their student dormitories to find out if there are similar torture cells there as well.
October 22, 2019
‘Transport sector has become a big hub for extortion’
After last year’s countrywide road safety movement, we hoped that there would be some significant changes in our transport sector because of the big promises made by the government. But unfortunately, the government could not keep its promises, and so no substantive changes have been made.
October 13, 2019
Forewarning can minimise the devastation of river erosion
We have been witnessing increasing incidents of river erosion this year, which has already devoured vast areas of croplands and homesteads of people across the country. Do you think river erosion has been causing more damage this year compared to previous years?
October 1, 2019
‘Bilateral approach without powerful underwriting will not solve the Rohingya crisis’
A sustainable solution to the crisis is contingent upon the voluntary repatriation of the Rohingya people to their homeland in Rakhine state in Myanmar, with their safety, security and dignity ensured. After two failed attempts to set the repatriation process on its due
September 23, 2019
What’s stopping students with disabilities from pursuing education?
Many of us are probably not aware of the condition known in medical science as cerebral palsy, which affects a child’s muscle tone, movement, and motor skills.
September 13, 2019
Achieving universal literacy status: How far have we progressed?
Right after the country’s independence, when the literacy rate in the country was 16.8 percent (according to UNICEF), a group of young people in Kochubari-Krishtopur, a village of Thakurgaon, started a movement to make all the villagers literate.
July 25, 2019
City corporations’ inaction and people’s woes
With more than three and a half lakh people already having been infected with dengue fever, as per a report by the daily Prothom Alo on July 23, the dengue situation in the country has gone totally out of control. However, data from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) shows that a total of 7,766 people have been infected till July 23 this year. This is because the DGHS only keeps track of data of some particular hospitals and clinics, and those who were infected but did not go to a hospital were excluded from government estimates.
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