e_Paper, Thursday, September 7, 2017

News 11
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2017
First return Hajj flight of Biman lands after two-hour delay
DT
• Ishtiaq Husain
CURRENT AFFAIRS
The first return Hajj flight of Biman
Bangladesh Airlines landed at Hazrat
Shahjalal International Airport
at 8:20pm yesterday.
The flight, which carried 419
hajjis on its first return journey,
was scheduled to land at 6:10pm,
but was delayed for two hours.
Biman attributed the delay to a
huge pressure of returnees at the
Jeddah airport in Saudi Arabia.
In a press briefing yesterday
after the flight landed, Biman
Managing Director and CEO
Mosaddek Ahmed said it was due
to traffic jam in the Saudi cities
that prevented Hajis from reaching
the airport on time, plus their
check-ins, as everyone was rushing
towards the airport to catch
their flights.
“Therefore, falling behind on
the flight schedule is natural, but
we are trying our best to minimise
the delay.”
Talking to the Hajis at the airport
yesterday, this correspondent
learnt that widespread mismanagement
caused heavy sufferings
to those that went to perform Hajj
under the Government Hajj
Scheme.
Most of them blamed the authorities
for not providing them
with sufficient food, and they had
to spend a lot of money on food.
Aminul Islam, one of the Hajj
pilgrims, said he went through a
rough patch in Mina as he had to
live on only rice and lentil for five
days in a stretch.
The national flag carrier operated
a total of 187 flights for Hajj
this year. Due to passenger shortage,
it was forced to cancel 24
dedicated flights, which incurred
a loss of Tk44 crore in revenue
this year.
The problem arose as a lot of
devotees failed to get their visas on
time. •
A girl wades through a water-logged area on her way to school after
heavy rains at Sri Lanka Basti on the outskirts of Agartala, India on
September 5, 2017
REUTERS
Thousands hit by malaria,
dengue as South Asia’s
worst floods in a decade
recede
• Reuters, New Delhi
WORLD
Thousands of people are suffering
from an outbreak of diarrhea,
malaria and dengue in
Bangladesh and Nepal as the
waters from the worst floods
in a decade recede, officials
and aid agencies said on
Wednesday.
More than 1,400 people
have died in the floods that
have swept South Asia over
the past two months and tens
of thousands are living in
tents, schools and even just
under tarpaulins.
“These people need our
help, and we are doing all we
can to meet their needs,” said
Martin Faller, deputy director
of the International Federation
of the Red Cross in the
Asia-Pacific region.
About 13,000 people are ill
with diarrhea and respiratory
infections in densely populated
Bangladesh after floods
in its north, where the Brahmaputra
and Jamuna rivers
broke their banks.
“Diseases such as diarrhea,
malaria and dengue are
on the rise in some areas and
we need support to prevent
further death and suffering,”
said Mozharul Huq, secretary
general of the Bangladesh
Red Crescent Society.
In the Himalayan nation of
Nepal, 26,944 cases of illness
have been reported by district
health facilities, while
39,712 people had been treated
in health camps by Aug.
30, the health ministry said.
But no epidemic has yet
been reported, although
health officials were monitoring
conditions in flood-affected
areas to spot possible
outbreaks, the ministry said
in a status report.
Save the Children said some
communities had been entirely
wiped out in India’s eastern
state of Bihar, just over the border
from Nepal, with not a single
building left undamaged.
The agency estimated 17
million children needed help
with protection, health care
and basic nutrition in India
alone. •