e_Paper, Tuesday, August 29, 2017

6
TUESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2017
DT
News
India, China agree to end
Doklam border standoff
• Reuters, New Delhi/Beijing
WORLD
India and China have agreed to an “expeditious
disengagement” of troops
in a disputed border area where their
soldiers have been locked in a standoff
for more than two months, India’s
foreign ministry said on Monday.
The decision comes ahead of a summit
of the BRICS nations - a grouping
that also includes Brazil, Russia and
South Africa - in China next month,
which Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi is expected to attend.
Indian and Chinese troops have
been confronting each other at the
Doklam plateau near the borders of
India, its ally Bhutan and China, in the
most serious and prolonged standoff
in decades along their disputed Himalayan
border.
The Indian ministry said the two
sides had agreed to defuse the crisis
following diplomatic talks.
“In recent weeks, India and China
have maintained diplomatic communication
in respect of the incident at
Doklam,” the ministry said.
“On this basis, expeditious disengagement
of border personnel at
the face-off site at Doklam has been
agreed to and is on-going,” it said in a
statement.
China said Indian troops had withdrawn
from the remote area in the
eastern Himalayas. Chinese foreign
ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying
said Chinese troops would continue to
patrol the Doklam region.
“China will continue to exercise sovereignty
rights to protect territorial sovereignty
in accordance with the rules of
the historical boundary,” she said.
India and China have been unable
to settle their 3,500km frontier and
large parts of territory are claimed by
both sides.
The trouble started in June when
India sent troops to stop China building
a road in the Doklam area, which is
remote, uninhabited territory claimed
by both China and Bhutan. •
Biman flies 64,873
pilgrims to KSA
• Ishtiaq Husain
CURRENT AFFAIRS
Pre-Hajj flight of Biman Bangladesh
Airlines ended yesterday
after the national flag carrier
transported a total of 64,873
pilgrims from Dhaka to Jeddah.
Meanwhile, around 400
pilgrims couldn’t reach Saudi
Arabia for performing Hajj this
year due to issues relating to
visa and ticket.
Civil Aviation and Tourism
Minister Rashed Khan Menon
came up with the disclosure
at a press briefing held at the
secretariat yesterday.
“A total of 1,27,500 pilgrims
were supposed to go Saudi
Arabia to perform Hajj. Of
them, 1,27,103 managed to go
there while 397 failed to make
it,” said Menon.
According to Hajj flight
schedule, Biman was supposed
to carry 63,599 pilgrims,
but it transported
64,873 pilgrims.
The national carrier operated
a total of 187 Hajj flights to
carry the pilgrims.
Meanwhile, Biman was
forced to cancel 24 dedicated
Hajj flights due to passenger
shortage.
Biman’s last flight left Dhaka
yesterday morning which
carried 418 pilgrims.
The return flight with hajjis
would start on September 6
and it will continue till October
5. •
BSMMU packed with
Chikungunya patients
• Jakia Ahmed
HEALTH
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib
Medical University’s (BSM-
MU) Department of Rheumatology
has introduced an
arthritis clinic for Chikungunya
patients who are suffering
from joint and muscle pain, an
after effect of the virus.
After the clinic was introduced
on August 13, the ward
has become overcrowded
with patients and the doctors
of the clinic are being forced to
work overtime.
Chikungunya is a viral
disease transmitted to humans
by infected mosquitoes.
Around 85% of all Chikungunya
patients suffer from pain
after recovering from fever,
headache, muscle pain, nausea,
fatigue and rashes.
An on-duty doctor at the
clinic, Sigma Hossain, said:
“We have so many patients that
sometimes we struggle with
space for their data keeping.”
At least 10 doctors are
on duty from Saturday to
Thursday, she said.
“We faced less pressure before
as many of the patients
did not know about the service.
But now we have to work
overtime almost every day as
the patients keep coming even
after the regular hours,” she
added.
Fatema Rahman, 55, Selina
Begum, 45, Samia Khatun, 34,
and Sharifa Begum Kona, 45,
are some of the patients who
came to BSMMU on Sunday
to receive treatment for their
joint pain after contracting
Chikungunya.
Fatema said: “I suffered
from high fever and joint pain
after Eid-ul-Fitr. After five
days, the fever fell but the
pain is still here.”
“I was admitted to a private
clinic for this pain but I did not
feel any better,” she added.
Selina Begum of West Jurain
said she suffered from
fever thrice in one week. Each
time the fever left her with unbearable
suffering that makes
it hard for her to carry out her
everyday activities.
When this reporter entered
the room where the arthritis
clinic is situated, he noted
two teams of doctors providing
treatment to the patients.
There was barely any space, as
too many patients had gathered
exceeding the room capacity.
Dean of the Department
of Medicine at BSMMU Professor
Dr ABM Abdullah said:
“If an arthritis patient wants
medication, he/she must consult
a doctor. If the pain is too
extreme, the patient should
have a cold press. They should
drink a lot of water as well.”
According to Dr Lelin
Chowdhury, a preventive
medicine specialist at BSM-
MU, patients should never decide
their treatment by themselves.
The wrong treatment
may prove to be dangerous for
them. •
This article was first published
on banglatribune.com