Awami League Parliamentary Party (ALPP) will hold a meeting at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on July 11.

The meeting will be held around 8:00pm on that day, said Md Tareque Mahmud, director of public relations.

AL President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will chair the meeting, he said.

International media widely covered yesterday's national election that saw deadly clashes and accusations of vote rigging.

In a news report, the Associated Press said it received more than 50 calls from people across Bangladesh, who identified themselves as opposition supporters.

They complained of intimidation and threats, and being forced to vote in front of ruling party men inside polling booths, it mentioned.

"Hasina's use of the state machinery to subjugate the opposition virtually ensures her electoral victory," Sasha Riser-Kositsky, a South Asia analyst for the New York-based Eurasia Group, told AP.

Minutes before the polls opened, a BBC correspondent saw filled ballot boxes at a polling centre in Chittagong city. The presiding officer declined to comment.

Only the ruling party's polling agents were present there and several other polling centres in the port city.

BBC's South Asia Regional Editor Anbarasan Ethirajan said if the opposition's claims of widespread vote rigging are proved, then it will likely to raise questions over the credibility of the election process and the legitimacy of the new government, according to a BBC report.

The Guardian in its report headlined “Bangladesh opposition reject 'farcical' election and demand new vote”, mentioned that dozens of candidates pulled out, claiming the ruling Awami League rigged the country's first contested election in a decade.

The Election Commission told Reuters that it was investigating allegations of vote rigging coming from across the country.

“Allegations are coming from across the country and those are under investigation,” SM Asaduzzaman, a spokesman for the EC, told the news agency.

The Economic Times of India reported that the voting in a tense election to choose a new government in Bangladesh ended amid allegations of manipulations by ruling party men.

The Times of India highlighted the introduction of EVMs in six parliamentary constituencies for the first time in a general election, a move which received mixed responses from the voters amid reports of glitches at some booths.

The Jatiya Sangsad has unanimously adopted obituary references on a number of distinguished personalities including Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal executive president Mayeen Uddin Khan Badal MP and former mayor of undivided Dhaka City Corporation Sadeque Hossain Khoka.

Participating in the obituary motion on the death of Badal, who was also a freedom fighter, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said his demise has created a huge vacuum in the country's politics.

"Badal always worked for the people of his constituency. He had contributions in different sectors including politics. His death has created a big vacuum in the political arena of the country," the PM said.

Paying a rich tribute to the veteran parliamentarian, Hasina said Badal had an active role in all democratic movements including the Liberation War and anti-Ayub movement.

"His knowledge and thinking process on politics was very strong. He was active when the 14-party alliance was formed," Hasina also president of the ruling Awami League, said.

"I had a scope to work with him (Badal) together in different movement on streets," Hasina said adding, "It's very unfortunate for us that we will not listen to his strong voice in parliament anymore."

Hasina, also Leader of the House prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed profound sympathy to the bereaved family.

Opposition leader in parliament Raushan Ershad, AL MPs Tofail Ahmed, Amir Hossain Amu, Mohammad Nasim, Abul Kalam Azad and Shajahan Khan, President of a faction of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal Hasanul Haq Inu, Workers Party leader Rashed Khan Menon, Jatiya Party lawmaker Anisul Islam Mahmud and opposition chief whip Mashiur Rahman Ranga, among others also participated in the obituary reference.

Earlier, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury moved the obituary references separately with brief resumes on those who died after prorogation of the fourth session of the 11th parliament on September 12.

While moving the references, the speaker said the House expresses its deep shock at the death of BNP vice chairman Sadeque Hossain Khoka, former deputy minister Humayun Kabir, among others.

After the House adopts the obituary reference unanimously, the speaker adjourned the sitting of the House to show respect at the death of a current MP Badal.

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.