The Jatiya Sangsad today constituted four more parliamentary standing committees on Education, Environment, Liberation War Affairs, and Shipping ministries.

Chief Whip Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury placed the four separate proposals over the formation of the four committees in the House.

The proposals were passed by voice vote when Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury moved the proposals for endorsement.

Awami League MP Md Afsarul Amin (Chattogram-10) is the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education Ministry, while AL MP Saber Hossain Chowdhury (Dhaka-9) is the head of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry.

Besides, AL MP Shajahan Khan (Madaripur-2) is the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Liberation War Affairs Ministry and AL MP Maj (retd) Rafiqul Islam is the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Shipping Ministry.

Earlier on Monday, Parliament constituted five parliamentary committees, including the House Committee.

The four other committees are on the Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry, the Planning Ministry, the Defence Ministry and the Land Ministry.

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said BNP has failed to plunge the December 30 national election into controversy even after knocking at the doors of its foreign friends.

“They (BNP) wrote letters to different countries to make the election questionable but their motive has gone in vain,” Quader, also the minister for Road Transport and Bridges, told reporters after visiting construction site of the second Kanchpur Bridge on Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Sylhet highways in Narayanganj’s Sonargaon upazila.

BNP also completely failed to ensure momentum of their anti-government movement as people did not take to the streets by responding their call, the Awami League leader said.

Replying to a query about BNP’s decision to refrain from participating in the upcoming upazila elections, the minister said no political parity can sustain without taking part in election.

He said the heads of different countries including UK and Switzerland welcomed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following the formation of government under her leadership for the fourth time.

Claiming that people would not throng the streets responding to the BNP’s call, Quader said BNP is engaged in negative politics and thus it will lose its foreign friends as well as the trust of the countrymen.

A parliamentary body today asked the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) to set up necessary number of water hydrants in the capital city to fight fire accident.

The parliamentary standing committee on disaster management and relief affairs ministry came up with the recommendations at a meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

“Wasa officials who were present at the meeting assured the committee that they will take immediate measures to establish water hydrants in Dhaka,” ruling Awami League MP Panchanam Biswas, a member of the parliamentary watchdog, told The Daily Star.

He also said setting up of necessary number of water hydrants will help fire fighters to fight in case of any major fire accident as Dhaka has almost no water bodies.

Asked Professor Nazrul Islam, chairman of Centre for Urban Studies (CUS), said the Jatiya Sangsad committee’s recommendation is a positive initiative. “But it has to be established in a coordinated manner.”

He also said Rajuk and Fire Service and Civil Defense will have to be included in the process to determine the number of water hydrants and where it should be constructed.

Prof Nazrul also said the nature of water hydrant will have to be determined on the basis of the types of houses and buildings of any particular place.

There is no pond or any other water bodies in the city. Fire fighters often use water reservoir of different buildings to control fire.

“That’s why setting up of water hydrant in a planned manner will be useful for fire service staffs to tackle fire incident,” he said. 

Iqbal Habib, joint secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon said water hydrant would not yield any good result if it is set up in an unplanned manner like dustbins in Dhaka.

Amid widespread outcry over safe water, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Estimate today recommended to split the Dhaka Wasa into two parts to ensure supply of safe and drinkable water for the city dwellers.

Their recommendation came in a meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat in Dhaka this afternoon.

The committee in its recommendation, called upon the respective ministry to divide the Dhaka Wasa into two parts --Dhaka north and south Wasa—like that of the Dhaka north and south city corporations.

The committee also expressed dissatisfaction as Managing Director of Dhaka Wasa Taqsem A Khan as he did not attend the meeting though he was supposed to present at the meeting.

The similar resentment was also expressed during the meeting as the committee did not find any progress of the development projects undertaken by the public health and engineering department and the Dhaka Wasa.

The public health and engineering department has been asked to inform the committee by the next two months about the progress of the projects undertaken by the department.