JS team goes to Tipaimukh on July 29 without BNP

UNB, Dhaka

The government eventually decided to send an 11-member parliamentary team for a spot visit to India's Tipaimukh Dam site on July 29, apparently keeping uncertain the main opposition BNP's participation in the tour of inspection.
An official announcement Sunday said the decision came from the sixth meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources Ministry held at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban earlier in the day. Committee chairman and former Water Resources Minister Md Abdur Razzaque presided over the meeting. Committee-members Water Resources Minister Romesh Chandra Sen, ABM Ruhul Amin Hawladar, Md Abdur Rahman, AKM Fazlul Haque, Abdullah Al Jacob, ABM Anwarul Haque and Mohammad Fazlul Azim joined the meeting.
Earlier, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and ex-PM Khaleda Zia had sent a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina seeking cooperation in sending a separate delegation to the proposed Tipaimukh dam site.
The letter contained names of six nominated members of the delegation. They include two former BNP ministers-MK Anwar and Maj (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed-former water resources secretary Mohammad Asafuddoula, former vice-chancellor of Dhaka University Prof Maniruzzaman Miah, former director of Water Development Board Sharif Rafiqul Islam and water-expert Prof M Abdur Rab.
A three-member BNP delegation led by party joint secretary Nazrul Islam Khan handed the letter to prime minister's Assignment Officer Manoj Kanti Boral and Protocol Officer Proloy Kumar Joardar at Prime Minister's Office.
The BNP chairperson sent the letter following the Prime Minister's call on June 24 to the opposition to send a separate team for the dam-site visit, as they declined to join the parliamentary delegation unless water experts were included.
Khaleda in her letter to Hasina wrote that 'in the interest of the nation BNP has agreed to send a separate delegation, incorporating water experts, to visit the Tipaimukh-dam site'.

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Govt pledge-bound to establish justice in society: PM

UNB, Dhaka

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said her government is "pledge-bound to establish justice in society through uprooting corruption and curbing terrorism". He said this at a meeting with the outgoing Dutch Ambassador in Bangladesh Bea Ten Tusscher on Sunday.
The Netherlands offered assistance to Bangladesh in facing the challenges stemming from the global climate change, as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mentioned government plans in this regard.
Dutch Ambassador in Bangladesh Bea Ten Tusscher gave the assurance when she paid a farewell call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Sunday.
Tusscher said if Bangladesh
government wants, the Dutch
government would provide training for the Bangladeshi engineers to make them more capable of working out ways of tackling the adverse impacts of the climate change caused by global warming.
The Dutch envoy recalled that in 1973 Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had planned to reclaim lands through constructing embankments in the coastal areas and major rivers. She described Bangabandhu as the "most visionary leader" of Bangladesh.
The Prime Minister said the
government has already planned to launch capital and maintenance dredging in the country's major rivers as a step to tackle the calamitous climatic conditions.
During the meeting, the outgoing envoy congratulated Sheikh Hasina on their timely and smoothly holding Awami League Council and on her reelection as the party's president.
The Ambassador observed that the timely AL council would play a vital role in strengthening not only
the party democracy but also strengthening the democratic
foundations of the country.
Sheikh Hasina recalled with
gratitude the all-out support and cooperation of the development
partners, including the Netherlands, in holding the December 29 polls in a free, fair, neutral and acceptable manner and thus restoring
democracy in the country.
She, however, said cooperation of all is indispensable to this end as it is not possible for the government alone to carry out the huge tasks.

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