Seventy-five-year-old Hosne Ara, a former government employee, was talking to one of her close relatives in a video call, sitting on a chair at Probin Nibash, an old-age home. A box full of chickpeas was kept next to her as the time for iftar approached.
It was a warm Wednesday evening, and the clock struck 5:15pm at the Sir Salimullah Muslim Orphanage located in Dhaka’s Azimpur. A small group of orphaned children gathered in a room of the Haji Rafique Bhaban, preparing to break their day-long fast with a mixture of iftar items called Muri Makha.
For Muslims, Ramadan is about restraint, austerity and fostering social cohesion and brotherhood among all, irrespective of wealth.
Kaspia, a sixty-year-old woman, sat under a tree on a bench next to the platform at Kamalapur Railway Station in Dhaka, waiting for her son to return with iftar items. She had never broken her fast in a railway station before, but keeping the traffic situation in mind, she had no choice but to come early as she had to catch a return train from Dhaka shortly after iftar.
It appears the evacuation notice handed out to 41 risky buildings by the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) on March 13 was not well-thought-out.
Rabin Bhuiyan, a 27-year-old resident of Narayanganj, arrived at the Chawkbazar iftar market around 11:00am to purchase traditional iftar items. However, the shops of the makeshift market were not set up at that time. He performed juma prayers at the ancient Chawkbazar Shahi Jame Masjid next to the bazaar with his younger brother Miraz Hossain before making their purchases.
The building that was damaged by an explosion in the capital’s Siddikbazar should not be used before it is retrofitted, as the structure is currently unsafe, suggested a probe committee of Rajuk.
Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) is planning to conduct research from April to May to make anti-mosquito drives more effective. DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam took the decision after a recent visit to the US.
The Rajdhani Unnyan Katripakkha (Rajuk) will take steps to demolish 42 buildings in Dhaka, Gazipur, and Narayanganj within a short time, as these structures are in precarious conditions and are at risk of collapsing and causing casualties.
Building owners who put their basements up for commercial use, violating the approved plans, not only contribute to reduced parking spaces but also severe risks of accident.
A lack of maintenance of septic tanks and buildings, coupled with blocked ventilation ways are putting the capital’s buildings at huge risk of explosion. This newspaper yesterday reached out to multiple urban planning experts following the Gulistan explosion, who all echoed the same.
It was a Tuesday afternoon. Namima Binte Salma and Afraaz Zuhain Khan, two preschool children, were playing in a park at Lalmatia block-D. They appeared cheerful as they finally had the opportunity to take a breather out in the open, after a long time.
The government is yet to form an authority dedicated to enforce the revised Bangladesh National Building Code, the gazette of which was issued two years ago.
The lack of designated parking spaces for commercial buildings, markets, and city buses has led to vehicles being parked on the roads, causing severe gridlocks and huge loss of productivity
It’s a 10-minute walk from Farmgate’s Ananda Cinema Hall to the Panthapath intersection through Green Road. However, it takes 20 minutes to cross this 700-metre road, thanks to illegal occupants of the footpath
“We have many problems. We live with waterlogging and a lack of pure drinking water. But we never complain. This place to live is all we have. Where will we go if we are evicted?” asked Meghla, a 30-year-old cleaner from the Telegu community who lives in Outfall Colony-14 of Jatrabari’s Dhalpur.
"It is very important to construct earthquake-resilient buildings and for this, all buildings of Dhaka city will have to be tracked."
In a shocking development, Dhaka South City Corporation has allowed a private entity to construct a food court at the historic Bahadur Shah Park -- much to the dismay of locals and eminent citizens.
Dhaka dwellers and commuters suffered immensely yesterday as traffic came to a standstill on the Airport Road. Thousands were stuck for hours on end and many missed appointments, meetings and even flights.
After spending Tk 119 crore over 15 years on traffic lights that came to nought, Dhaka South City Corporation has moved to install an artificial intelligence-driven signalling system which experts fear is destined to fail.
The High Court yesterday asked the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha to explain the disappearances of around 30,000 documents from Rajuk servers.
At least 281 people succumbed to dengue last year, while 62,382 patients were hospitalised, the highest deaths and second-highest cases ever recorded in the country.
Mohammad Sohel, an employee at a firm, did not get metro tickets after waiting in a long queue for around three hours at Agargaon Station yesterday.
Dhaka South City Corporation has recently imposed an annual tax of Tk 500 per pet dog and Tk 1,000 for horses and deer -- drawing huge flak from animal rights activists and pet owners.
Allaying public fears of violence, the BNP yesterday held its Dhaka rally peacefully and unveiled a 10-point demand to “restore democracy”.
As the number of dengue cases has started to reduce since mid-November, experts urged the city corporations to take comprehensive plans to control Aedes mosquitoes throughout the year.
The number of dengue patients hospitalised across the country this year is almost 50,000, the second time this has happened in Bangladesh.
At least five dengue patients died while 820 others were admitted to different hospitals across the country in 24 hours until yesterday morning.
The authorities' failure to take proper measures early this year has led to the deadly dengue outbreak and the hot and humid weather only made matters worse, experts say.
The dengue situation in the country is alarming as the mosquito-borne virus has already spread to 60 districts.
October has become the deadliest month in terms of dengue fatalities. Of the 148 dengue related deaths this year, 86 were recorded in last month alone.
The surge in dengue cases in the country could continue longer than expected because of the rain.
Dengue has still not loosened its grip on the country, as infections keep piling up. Cases this year reached 28,698 yesterday, the second highest since 2000, when the country witnessed the first-ever outbreak.
At least 10,846 dengue patients were admitted to hospitals across the country in only 17 days this month, up from 9,911 in the entire month of September.
With the number of dengue cases soaring every day across the country, hospitals especially those in the capital are struggling to deal with the patients, health officials say while experts suggest immediate steps to control Aedes mosquitoes.
An independent commission is essential to protect all heritage sites, as authorities concerned are not working properly, said Taimur Islam, chief executive of the conservation organisation Urban Study Group.
Eight dengue patients died, while 765 were admitted to hospitals across the country yesterday.
The government has approved a project to revive four canals of Dhaka to reduce the capital’s waterlogging woes.
Surrounded by greenery on all sides, Bahadur Shah Park stands proud with its rich history and enriched architectural features at Old Dhaka’s Laxmibazar.
Life was never easy for 40-year-old Hosne Ara. Amid constant struggles, the 40-year-old car showroom cleaner worked hard and supported her family to the best of her ability.
Just the first three days of October, till Monday, saw six people die from dengue and 1,728 being hospitalised across the country. In September alone, 34 died and 9,911 were admitted to hospitals.
For decades, the residents of Mirpur-11 have made themselves well-acquainted with the only open space they have, the one located on Paris Road. Many grew up playing there every day after school, and many made lifelong friends and memories after spending hours on end in the field.
Twenty-four dengue patients have died so far in the country, of whom, 21 died in the last eight months.
Shahida Quader, a resident of Khilgaon area, is waiting for an operation on her ankle, as it didn’t heal after two months of treatment.
Earlier this year, this newspaper ran a report on how Dhaka city’s two ancient structures -- Boro Katra and Chhoto Katra -- were at the verge of extinction due to rampant encroachment in absence of government measures to preserve them.
The recently approved Detailed Area Plan (DAP) promises a better Dhaka by solving perennial problems of the capital, but it has legalised some residential areas developed in conservable flood-flow zones over the years, experts say.
The latest Detailed Area Plan for the capital has many new components like density mapping, school zoning and transport-oriented development, but its outcome will depend on proper implementation.
After repeatedly failing to prevent hawkers from taking over the capital’s roads, Dhaka South City Corporation is set to introduce a new system, in a bid to reduce traffic congestion.
In the new Detailed Area Plan (DAP), the government has proposed a concept that may very well usher in a liveable and sustainable Dhaka city, one free of traffic jams: “school districts”.
August witnessed 3,551 dengue cases, more than double the number recorded in July. This indicates that the dengue situation is further deteriorating.
Dhaka residents may witness a bigger wave of dengue in the coming days, as the population of Aedes mosquitoes in monsoon is over double that of the previous season.
Dhaka is the capital that is ever-growing within its confines, with its colours, chaos and hustle. It has always been a bit difficult to trace the origin of this madness of a city, and the exact time it came to be.
The waterbodies of Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara and Hatirjheel are set for a transformation.
Three years have passed since the country witnessed over one lakh dengue patients in a year.
Seized vehicles that are used for different crimes or have no valid documents mostly end up in auctions as scrap.
Three years ago, Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Dhaka Wasa) inaugurated the Padma-Jashaldia water-treatment plant to bring treated water of Padma to Dhaka.
It seems like Dhaka is on its way to remove all traces of its glorious past as another heritage building is on the brink of destruction, ready to be lost like many other historical structures of the city.
What many would call the end to an era, the 67-year-old Sufia Kamal National Public Library has been demolished as part of a modernisation project.