25-04-2021

SundAy

DhAkA : April 25 , 2021; Baishakh 12, 1428 BS; Ramadan 12,1442 hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.19; N o. 19; 8 Pages~Tk.8.00

InternAtIonAl

French isolation

study ending after

40 days

>Page 3

AChIevement

NASA succeeds in

sendinghelicopter to

Mars

>Page 5

Art & Culture

heme in two upcoming

Eid dramas

>Page 6

Covid-19 in

Bangladesh:

Death toll

nears 11000

DHAKA : Bangladesh recorded

83 more Covid-19 deaths in 24

hours until Saturday morning

pushing up the total fatalities to

10,952.

Bangladesh's coronavirus

fatalities crossed 10,000 on

April 15.

With the latest figure, the

mortality rate rose to 1.48 percent

from Friday's 1.47 percent,

the Directorate General of

Health Services said in a handout.

Besides, 2,697 new cases were

detected during the period after

examining 20,571 samples.

The daily infection rate fell to

13.11 percent from Friday's 14

percent.

Bangladesh reported its first

coronavirus cases on March 8

last year and the first death on

the 18th of that month.

With the news cases the total

caseload reached 742,400 while

the total number of recoveries is

653,151, including 5477 in the

last 24 hours.

A rise in infection prompted

the government to go for a lockdown

from early April but it

turned out to be lax. From April

11, the government imposed a

'strict lockdown' and later

extended it to April 28.

On Friday, the government

allowed shopping malls to open

from April 25.

Zohr

04:11 AM

12:00 PM

04:31 PM

06:27 PM

07:46 PM

5:28 6:25

RAMADAn

Ramadan Date Sehri Iftar

12 April 25 04:05 AM 06:28 PM

13 April 26 04:04 AM 06:29 PM

14 April 27 04:03 AM 06:29 PM

indian hospitals say their patients are dying because of a shortage of oxygen as Covid case numbers and

deaths set new records for a third day running.

Photo : Reuters

India Covid surge

Hospitals send SOS as

record deaths registered

Indian hospitals say their patients are dying

because of a shortage of oxygen as Covid case

numbers and deaths set new records for a third

day running.

India has recorded nearly a million infections

in three days, with 346,786 new cases

overnight into Saturday.

At the Jaipur Golden Hospital in Delhi, 20

people died overnight because of a lack of oxygen,

an official said.

The government says it is deploying trains

and the air force to transport supplies to hardhit

areas. The number of deaths across India

rose by 2,624 in the 24 hours to Saturday, up

from 2,263 on Friday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said

the situation in India was a "devastating

reminder" of what the coronavirus could do.

Earlier this year, the Indian government

believed it had beaten the virus. New cases fell

to 11,000 by mid-February, vaccines were

being exported, and in March the health minister

said India was "in the endgame" of the pandemic.

However, since then, a new surge has erupted,

driven by the emergence of new variants, as

well as mass gatherings, such as the Kumbh

Mela festival, where millions of pilgrims gathered

earlier this month.

Hospitals in Delhi have warned they are at

breaking point. At the Holy Family Hospital,

CAAB issues circular on quarantine

procedure of spl flight passengers

DHAKA :The Civil Aviation Authority of

Bangladesh (CAAB) on Saturday issued a

circular on the quarantine procedure of the

passengers of the flights operating under

special consideration.

The order will remain in force until 12

pm on April 28..

All incoming or outgoing passengers

shall mandatorily posses PCR based

Covid-19 negative certificate. The PCR test

shall be done within 72 hours of the flight

departure time, according to the circular.

Arriving passengers who have received

two doses of Covid-19 vaccine and possess

PCR based Covid-19 negative certificate

along with the proof of vaccination shall

have to complete a 14-day home quarantine,

reports UNB.

The local administration will ensure

their home quarantine.

Arriving passengers carrying PCR based

Covid-19 negative certificate and either

received 1stdose of vaccine or not yet vaccinated

shall have to complete a mandatory

intensive care units are full and there is no

room for any more beds.

"Almost every hospital is on the edge. If oxygen

runs out, there is no leeway for many

patients," Dr Sumit Ray told the BBC.

"Within minutes, they will die. You can see

these patients: they're on ventilators, they

require high-flow oxygen. If the oxygen stops,

most of them will die,"

Another hospital had put out an SOS message

for oxygen, saying it was down to 30 minutes'

supply. The Moolchand Hospital, which

has 135 Covid patients on life support, said all

the hospitals in the area were in a similar situation.

"We have retained all our night staff to make

sure we save as many lives as we can,"

Moolchand's medical director Madhu Handa

told the NDTV news network.

"We hope the supply comes in time but we're

keeping our fingers crossed, and this is a neverending

thing: it happens every day."

The hospital had stopped admitting patients

until the situation was resolved, she said.

At the Jaipur Golden Hospital, a doctor told

the BBC the government had allocated 3.6

tonnes of oxygen, to be delivered by 17:00 on

Friday.

However, the supply - a fraction of what was

promised - only arrived at midnight, he told the

BBC.

three- day institutional quarantine at government

nominated facilities or at hotels

on passengers own expenses.

Upon completion of 3- day institutional

quarantine, sample will be collected for

Covid-19 PCR test. The passengers will be

released to complete a total of 11 days of

home quarantine if the PCR based Covid-

19 test result is cound negative.

The local administration will ensure

their home quarantine.

In case of positive result of PCR based

Covid-19 test, the passenger shall have to

go for isolation at government nominated

facilities at own expenses, it added.

The Airlines concerned shall issue

boarding passes to the passengers only

after getting confirmed about the vaccination.

Airlines must ensure that seats are available

for the passengers at the government

institutional quarantine facilities or the

passengers have the proof of hotel reservation

for institutional quarantine.

Govt. should close

boarder with India

to prevent corona

infection: Fakhrul

Shafiqul iSlam

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul

Islam Alamgir has demanded the closure

of the country's land border with

neighboring India due to a sharp rise in

coronavirus infections. He also

demanded the cancellation of the government's

new decision to 'three-day

quarantine' of passengers arriving by

air. The BNP secretary general made

these demands at a virtual press conference

on Saturday afternoon. He said

the infection was mostly prevalent in

West Bengal of India. That is why we

think that the land border with India

needs to be closed. Now it is said that

those who come from outside by air

have to be quarantined for only three

days. Which I didn't listen anywhere in

the world. All of these decisions have

made our situation terribly fragile.

He said that the variant of corona

that has come to Bangladesh has

spread in Bangladesh terribly. There is

not a single family where this infection

has not gone away. Even children are

not excluded this time. Yet we want to

tell the government that these issues

need to be taken seriously and a

planned, coordinated decision needs to

be taken.

Govt mulls resuming public

transport services

Indonesia's Navy changed the status of

its missing submarine from "sub miss"

to "sub sank" on Saturday, as a naval

chief presented debris believed to be

from the vessel at a news conference,

reports CNN.

Authorities now expect to carry out

an evacuation process to recover the

KRI Nanggala-402 submarine and its

crew when they pinpoint its exact location,

Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff

Yudo Margono said.

The latest update came as hopes

faded for the 53 crew members, who

were expected to have run out of oxygen

early on Saturday. So far, no sign of

them has been found, Yudo said.

Some warships deployed to the Bali

Sea, where the submarine was last contacted

Wednesday, will be used to help

find the vessel by detecting metal or

magnetic objects in the sea, Yudo said.

Yudo said an explosion was not

believed to have occurred on the submarine

but that heavy pressure on the

vessel likely created a crack through

which some items escaped.

Six pieces of debris believed to be

from the submarine were presented to

journalists at the news conference. The

items were found about two miles from

DHAKA : The government is working

on a plan to allow the public transport

to resume operations once the current

lockdown is over, said Road Transport

and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader

on Saturday, reports UNB.

The minister said this at a viewsexchange

meeting with the officials of

Barishal Road Zone, Bangladesh Road

Transport Corporation (BRTC) and

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority

(BRTA). Quader joined the meeting

virtually from his official residence.

Bus owners and workers will face

toughest action if any bus carries passengers

more than 50 percent of its

capacity or charges additional fare, the

minister warned.

On May 31, the government raised

the fares of all buses, including interdistrict

ones, by 60% as the vehicles

are allowed to carry only half passengers

of the total seats to ensure social

distancing amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Turning to a false campaign over the

Digital Security Act, the Awami League

general secretary said: "A particular

political party is providing money and

helping a vested quarter spread false

propaganda both at home and abroad

using the social media."

Alleging that the opposition criticised

the action taken by the government

against those who violated the

Cyber Crime Rules or Digital Security

Act by spreading rumours, the minister

said: "There's no reason to think

that you'll be out of government

action."

The government is committed to

providing digital security to people, he

said adding that rumours and propaganda

seriously disrupt security.

Debris of missing Indonesian

submarine found, Navy

the spot where the submarine started to

dive before it went missing, Yudo said,

and included a bottle of grease, part of a

torpedo launcher, part of a metal tube,

prayer mats and fuel.

The debris was found floating at a

location where the sea is 850 meters

(930 yards) deep, he said, which would

make a possible evacuation very "difficult."

Authorities said earlier the submarine

could not survive at depths

beyond 500 meters.

People who were on a previous mission

on the KRI Nanggala-402 submarine

confirmed that some of the debris

belonged to the submarine, the navy

chief of staff said. The bottle of grease

matches what the crew would use to

lubricate the submarine's periscope.

The father of one of the missing submariners,

48-year-old Sunaryo, said he

and his wife were shocked and saddened

by the news that debris had been

found but still hoped the navy could find

their son, Gunadi Fajar Rahmanto, 28,

safe and well. "I still believe that they can

find my son. No matter what, the evacuation

process should keep carry on, until

my son and other crew can be found,"

Sunaryo, from a small village in the

Yogyakarta area, told CNN.

a member of indonesian navy stands guard at Tanjung Wangi port in Banyuwangi, East Java, indonesia,

Saturday, april 24, 2021. indonesia's navy scoured the waters off Bali on friday, bolstered by the arrival of a

sonar-equipped australian warship with a helicopter, in an increasingly frantic search for a missing submarine

with only hours left in its oxygen supply for its 53 crewmembers.

Photo : aP

SunDAy, APRiL 25, 2021

2

Invitation for Tender

†kL nvwmbvi g~jbxwZ

MÖvg kn‡ii DbœwZ

Christof Hässig, Chairman, Lafarge Holcim Bangladesh Limited, presided over the 23rd Annual

General Meeting (AGM) of the company on 22April, 2021 held through digital platform. Rajesh K

Surana, CEO & Director along with other members of the Board of Directors' of the company were

present during the AGM. The shareholders of the company approved all the items of the agenda

including 10 percent cash dividend for the year 2020 at the AGM.

Photo : Courtesy

Sweet potato

cultivation regaining

its glory in Manikganj

MANIKGANJ : The

cultivation of sweet potato is

regaining its lost glory in

Manikganj

which

disappeared from the district.

Department of Agriculture

Extension (DAE) said a total

of 135 hectares of land was

brought under the sweet

potato cultivation in all seven

upazilas of the district during

the current season exceeding

its fixed target.

Earlier, the DAE has set a

target to cultivate sweet

potato on 120 hectares of land

with a production target of

2,240 tonnes during the

current season.

The harvesting of sweet

potato has already been

completed and the cultivators

are happy to get its high price

in the markets.

DAE sources said once

Manikganj district was

famous for sweet potato

cultivation. Sometimes sweet

potatoes were cultivated on

about five thousand hectares

of land in the district.

363 women get 32.67 tonnes

of VGD rice in Rangpur

RANGPUR : Some 363 distressed women

of Haridebpur union in Sadar upazila of the

district received 32.67 tonnes of rice with

90 kilograms (kgs) each under the

vulnerable group development (VGD)

programme during the past couple of days

The government allocated 90-kg of rice for

each of the card-holder women in the

month of January, February and March

during the current 2020-2021 VGD cycle

under the massive social safety-net

programme to cut their poverty and

improve livelihoods.

Each of the beneficiary poor and

distressed elderly women gets 30-kg rice or

wheat in every month of a two-year cycle,

reports BSS.

Haridebpur union Chairman Md Iqbal

Hossain distributed the rice among the

beneficiary women in two separate

functions arranged on the Union Parishad

(UP) premises maintaining the health

directives in the wake of the COVID-19

pandemic.

All nine members elected from nine

general wards and three female members

elected from three reserved wards, local

elite and media workers attended the

distribution programme during the past

two days.

After getting 90-kg of VGD rice for three

months at a time amid the pandemic

situation, distressed woman Rehana

Khatun of Rotirampur village in ward no-4

of the union expressed her boundless

happiness and deep gratitude to the

government.

"This rice will be enough for me to tackle

the pandemic situation during the next

three months," said a happier Rehana, and

thanked the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

for allocating the rice at this crisis period.

Similarly, beneficiaries Marjina Begum

and Sheuly Khatun of the same village

thanked the Premier after getting 90-kg of

rice each and prayed for her long life, sound

health and continuous success in serving

the nation.

Addressing the functions, Haridebpur

union Chairman Iqbal said the VGD

programme has been cutting poverty of the

distressed women effectively to improve

their livelihood, especially during the

current COVID-19 pandemic.

"Each of the 363 beneficiary distressed

women would be highly benefited to lead a

better life as they got 90-kg of rice at a time

for three months during the current 2020-

2021 cycle under the VGD programme," he

added.

GD-720/21 (9 x 4)

SUnDAY, APrIl 25, 2021

3

Ever wonder what it would feel like to unplug from a hyperconnected world and hide away in a

cave for a few weeks?

Photo : Internet

French isolation study ending

after 40 days

LOMBRIVES CAVE : Ever wonder

what it would feel like to unplug from a

hyperconnected world and hide away

in a cave for a few weeks? Fifteen

people in France found out.

After 40 days in voluntary isolation in

a dark, damp and vast cave, eight

men and seven women who took

part in a scientific experiment are

expected to emerge Saturday from

their self-segregation in the

Pyrenees, reports UNB.

The group lived in the depths of the

Lombrives cave without a sense of time.

There were no clocks and no sunlight

inside the cave, where the temperature

was 10 degrees Celsius (50 F) and the

relative humidity stood at 100%. The

cave dwellers had no contact with the

outside world, no updates on the

pandemic or any communication with

friends and family above ground.

For 40 days and 40 nights, they had

each other and the grand echoing cave

to explore. Now creatures of

darkness, the cave dwellers will have

to wear special glasses to protect their

eyes when they come out into the

light of day.

Scientists at the Human Adaption

Institute leading the 1.2 million-euro

$1.5 million) "Deep Time" project say

the experiment will help them better

understand how people adapt to drastic

changes in living conditions and

environments, something much of the

world can relate to because of

coronavirus pandemic.

In partnership with labs in France and

Switzerland, scientists monitored the

15-member group's sleep patterns,

social interactions and behavioral

reactions via sensors. One of the

sensors was a tiny thermometer inside

a capsule that participants swallowed

like a pill. The capsules measure body

temperature and transmit data to a

portable computer until they are

expelled naturally.

The team members followed their

biological clocks to know when to wake

up, go to sleep and eat. They counted

their days not in hours but in sleep

cycles.

On Friday, scientists monitoring the

participants entered the cave for the

first time since the experiment

started. They said many of the people

in the research group miscalculated

how long they had been in the cave

and thought they had another week

to 10 days to go.

"It's really interesting to observe how

this group synchronizes themselves,"

project director Christian Clot said in

a recording done from inside the

cave. Working together on projects

and organizing tasks without being

able to set a time to meet was

especially challenging, he said.

Although the participants looked

visibly tired, two-thirds of them

expressed a desire to remain

underground a bit longer in order to

finish group projects started during

the expedition, Benoit Mauvieux, a

chronobiologist involved in the

research, told The Associated Press.

US plane joins hunt for Indonesian

sub after air runs out

BANYUWANGI : Indonesia pressed

ahead with a search for a navy submarine

off Bali on Saturday, hours after the

oxygen supply for 53 crew members

aboard is believed to have been

exhausted, with a U.S. reconnaissance

plane and other nations' vessels set to

join the hunt, reports UNB.

There's concern the KRI Nanggala 402

may have sunk too deep to reach or

recover in time. It lost contact after its last

reported dive Wednesday off the resort

island, and the navy chief has said it was

expected to run out of oxygen early

Saturday morning.

"We keep doing the search until we

find it and whatever the result,"

Indonesia military spokesperson

Djawara Whimbo said.

An American reconnaissance plane, P-

8 Poseidon, landed early Saturday and is

set to join the search, along with 20

Indonesian ships, a sonar-equipped

Australian warship and four Indonesian

aircraft.

Singaporean rescue ships are also

expected later Saturday, while Malaysian

rescue vessels were due to arrive Sunday,

bolstering the underwater hunt, Whimbo

said.

He said Indonesia's hydrographic

vessel was still unable to detect an

unidentified object exhibiting high

magnetism that was earlier detected

located at a depth of 50 to 100 meters

(165 to 330 feet).

"The object is floating in the water, so

maybe it is moving," he said.

Indonesian military, navy and police

chiefs are due to hold a news conference

later Saturday.

There have been no signs of life from

the submarine, but family members have

held out hope that the massive search

effort would find the vessel in time. "The

family is in a good condition and keeps

praying," said Ratih Wardhani, the sister

of 49-year-old crewman Wisnu

Subiyantoro. "We are optimistic that the

Nanggala can be rescued with all the

crew." Indonesian President Joko

Widodo has ordered all-out efforts to

locate the submarine and asked

Indonesians to pray for the crew's safe

return.

The search focused on an area near the

starting position of its last dive where an

oil slick was found but there is no

conclusive evidence so far the oil slick

was from the sub.

Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Yudo

Margono has said oil could have spilled

from a crack in the submarine's fuel tank

or the crew could have released fuel and

fluids to reduce the vessel's weight so it

could surface.

The navy however, believes the

submarine sank to a depth of 600-700

meters (2,000-2,300 feet), much deeper

than its collapse depth of 200 meters

(655 feet), at which water pressure would

be greater than the hull could withstand.

The cause of the disappearance is still

uncertain. The navy has said an electrical

failure could have left the submarine

unable to execute emergency procedures

to resurface. The German-built dieselpowered

KRI Nanggala 402 has been in

service in Indonesia since 1981 and was

carrying 49 crew members and three

gunners as well as its commander.

Indonesia pressed ahead with a search for a navy submarine off Bali on Saturday, hours after the

oxygen supply for 53 crew members aboard is believed to have been exhausted, with a U.S. reconnaissance

plane and other nations' vessels set to join the hunt.

Photo : Internet

ASEAN leaders

meet Myanmar

coup leader

amid killings

JAKARTA : Southeast Asian

leaders met Myanmar's top

general and coup leader in an

emergency summit in

Indonesia Saturday, and are

expected to press calls for an

end to violence by security

forces that has left hundreds of

protesters dead as well as the

release of Aung San Suu Kyi

and other political detainees,

reports UNB.

There is little hope for an

immediate breakthrough in

the two-hour gathering in

Jakarta between Senior Gen.

Min Aung Hlaing and the six

heads of state and three

foreign ministers representing

the Association of Southeast

Asian Nations. But his

decision to face them offers a

rare chance for the 10-nation

bloc to directly deal with the

general who ousted one of its

leaders in a Feb. 1 coup.

"The unfolding tragedy has

serious consequences for

Myanmar, ASEAN and the

region," Singapore's Foreign

Minister Vivian Balakrishnan

said on the eve of the summit.

One proposal, which has

been discussed in preliminary

meetings, is for Brunei Prime

Minister Hassanal Bolkiah,

the current ASEAN chair, to

travel to Myanmar to meet the

military leadership and Suu

Kyi's camp to encourage

dialogue. He would be

accompanied by ASEAN

Secretary General Lim Jock

Hoi - also from Brunei - if the

junta agreed, a Southeast

Asian diplomat told The

Associated Press on condition

of anonymity because he is not

authorized to speak to the

media.

Another diplomat said

humanitarian aid could be

offered to Myanmar if

conditions improved. The

diplomat also spoke to AP on

condition of anonymity for

lack of authority to discuss

such plans publicly.

Foreign Minister Retno

Marsudi of Indonesia

expressed hopes that "we can

reach an agreement on the

next steps that can help the

Chinese official in

Xinjiang slams UK

genocide declaration

URUMQI : A spokesperson for the Xinjiang

region called accusations of genocide

"counter to the facts" as China came under

more pressure this week over its treatment

of the Uyghur ethnic group in the remote

border area, reports UNB.

The British Parliament approved a

nonbinding motion Thursday that said

China's policies amounted to genocide and

crimes against humanity. Human Right

Watch appealed to the U.N. earlier in the

week to investigate the allegations of crimes

against humanity.

"The motion adopted by the British side

was totally groundless," Xu Guixiang, the

deputy director-general of the Communist

Party's publicity department in Xinjiang,

said Friday. "The decision was made on the

basis of remarks by some politicians, some

so-called academic institutes, some socalled

experts and scholars and some socalled

witnesses."

In recent years, an estimated 1 million

people or more have been confined in camps

in Xinjiang, according to foreign

governments and researchers. Most are

Uyghurs, a largely Muslim ethnic group,

Authorities have been accused of imposing

forced labor, systematic forced birth control

and torture. The Chinese government has

flatly rejected the allegations. It has

characterized the camps, which it says are

now closed, as vocational training centers to

teach Chinese language, job skills and the law

to support economic development and

combat extremism. China saw a wave of

Xinjiang-related terrorist attacks through

2016. Xu said that hotels in Kashgar, a

historic Silk Road city in Xinjiang, were

empty a few years ago and entrepreneurs

unwilling to invest as tourism fell off because

of terrorism fears. He said the government's

policies have restored a hard-won stability.

The Foreign Ministry labeled the

genocide allegations "a monstrous lie

concocted by international anti-China

forces." "The U.K. already faces a number of

problems at home. Those British lawmakers

should mind their own business and do

something tangible for their own

constituency," ministry spokesperson Zhao

Lijian said at a daily briefing Friday.

Britain was the latest Western country

to make a genocide declaration. The U.S.

government and the parliaments of

Belgium, the Netherlands and Canada

have also accused Beijing of genocide,

although Canadian Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau has been reluctant to use

the term. Human Rights Watch, in a report

that recommended a U.N. commission of

inquiry to investigate the allegations and

identify the perpetrators, said it had not

documented genocidal intent. m However, "if

such evidence were to emerge, the acts being

committed against Turkic Muslims in

Xinjiang ... could also support a finding of

genocide," the report said.

A spokesperson for the Xinjiang region called accusations of genocide "counter

to the facts" as China came under more pressure this week over its treatment of

the Uyghur ethnic group in the remote border area.

Photo : Internet

White House offers

new tax credit to help

spur vaccinations

WASHINGTON : President Joe Biden on

Wednesday announced new employer tax

credits and other steps to encourage people

reluctant to be inoculated to get the COVID-

19 vaccine as his administration tries to

overcome diminishing demand for the shots.

The moves came as Biden celebrated

reaching his latest goal of administering 200

million coronavirus doses in his first 100

days in office, reports UNB.

With more than 50% of adults at least

partially vaccinated and roughly 28 million

vaccine doses being delivered each week,

demand has eclipsed supply as the

constraining factor to vaccinations in much

of the country. In a White House speech on

Wednesday, Biden acknowledged entering a

"new phase" in the federal vaccination effort

that relies on increased outreach to

Americans to get their shots, both to protect

them and their communities.

"Vaccines can save your own life, but they

can also save your grandmother's life, your

co-worker's life, the grocery store clerk or the

delivery person helping you and your

neighbors get through the crisis," Biden said.

"That's why you should get vaccinated."

Over the past week, the pace of inoculation

in the U.S. has slowed slightly. That is partly

a reflection of disruptions from the "pause"

in administration of the Johnson and

Johnson shot for a safety review, but also of

softening interest for vaccines in many

places even as eligibility has been opened to

all those older than 16. As the vaccination

program progresses, the administration

believes it will only get more difficult to

sustain the current pace of about 3 million

shots per day. Roughly 130 million

Americans have yet to receive one dose.

Surveys have shown that vaccine hesitancy

has declined since the rollout of the shots,

but administration officials believe they have

to make getting vaccinated easier and more

appealing, particularly for younger

Americans who are less at risk from the virus

and do not feel the same urgency to get a

shot. That means providing incentives and

encouragement to get vaccinated, as well as

reducing the friction surrounding the

vaccination process.

Biden announced a tax credit for small

businesses to provide paid leave for those

getting vaccinated or potentially needing to

take time off to recover from side effects.

Paid for through the $1.9 trillion virus relief

package passed last month, the tax change

would provide a credit of up to $511 per day,

per employee for businesses with fewer than

500 workers to ensure that those workers or

businesses don't suffer a penalty by getting

vaccinated.

The White House is urging larger

employers, which have more resources, to

provide the same benefits to their workers,

and educate them about the shots and

encourage them to get vaccinated.

"We're calling on every employer, large

and small, in every state, give employees the

time off they need with pay to get

vaccinated," Biden said. According to the

White House, just 43% of working adults

have received at least one shot.

As Biden celebrated the vaccine milestone,

there is a different reality in the states.

In Iowa, nearly half of the counties are not

accepting new doses of the COVID-19

vaccine from the state's allotment because

demand has fallen off. In Florida, Palm

Beach County plans to close mass

vaccination clinics at the end of May with

thousands of available vaccine slots

unclaimed. In rural West Virginia, a vaccine

clinic at a casino/race track parking garage is

opening shots to out-of-state residents to

address lagging demand. The hope is that

people from Washington, D.C., make the

hour's drive to get vaccinated. In Arizona, a

plan collapsed that would have opened a

federally run vaccine site in Tucson; demand

is slipping and county officials preferred

more targeted, mobile locations.

Asked about the dip in vaccinations,

Health and Human Services Secretary

Xavier Becerra said "fluctuation is not

uncommon" and that "what we want to do is

continue to encourage Americans to

continue to get vaccinated."

China names Mars

rover for

traditional fire god

BEIJING : China's first Mars

rover will be named

Zhurong after a traditional

fire god, the government

announced Saturday,

reports UNB.

The rover is aboard the

Tianwen-1 probe that

arrived in Mars orbit on Feb.

24 and is due to land in May

to look for evidence of life.

It is part of Chinese space

plans that include launching

a crewed orbital station and

landing a human on the

moon. China in 2019

became the first country to

land a space probe on the

little-explored far side of the

moon and in December

returned lunar rocks to

Earth for the first time since

the 1970s.

The rover's title fits with

the Chinese name for Mars -

"Huo Xing," or fire star, the

China National Space

Administration said.

Pakistan reports

highest daily

death toll

ISLAMABAD : Pakistan on

Saturday reported its highest

COVID-19 death toll in a

single day.

Authorities reported 157

deaths, bringing the overall

fatalities to 16,999. A total of

5,908 additional cases pushed

the toll to 790,016, as

authorities complain of routine

violations of social distancing

and mask-wearing rules,

reports UNB. Prime Minister

Imran Khan on Friday

announced that military troops

will be called to help police

enforce the restrictions in

public places. Authorities also

decided to keep educational

institutions closed until the

situation improved.

sUNDay, aPrIl 25, 2021

4

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Sunday, April 25, 2021

Corona spike : Someone

should account for it all

About a month ago, the corona virus related

conditions in Bangladesh seemed

reasonable and manageable But now, the

perspective has completely changed. The country

faces a complete lockdown from tomorrow. The

lockdown will be in all its parts and covering all

sectors except a few. The present second wave of

the corona threat is feared as a lot more dangerous

and unmanageable than the first one last year.

Currently, the daily new infection cases are six

thousands plus and the mortality rate has also

multiplied at least ten times and this is not the end.

Experts are expertly fearing that the infection rate

and deaths in Bangladesh seem headed to match

the worst affected countries like Brazil, USA and

India.

Our government has no doubt very recently

declared a slew of measures to contain the soaring

number of corona cases. But compliance with

these measures is uncertain given the carefree

attitude of our people in general and reluctance of

law enforces to ensure that people really obey

them. At any rate, these measures should have

come at least four weeks ago and tried for sincere

implementation so that the same could have an

useful impact by now.

It appears that the main culprit for the second

wave in Bangladesh is the so called London variant

of the disease. It was known to our authorities that

a very dangerously mutated form of Corona was

detected in England which was 70 per cent more

dangerous than the earlier forms both in terms of

causing infections and more worryingly, deaths.

All concerned countries in the world wasted not a

moment in suspending flights to and from UK

after knowing this. But Bangladesh was the only

notable exception in this regard. It continued with

these dangerous flights bringing in regularly

hundreds of little educated and over confident

people of mainly Sylheti origin to Bangladesh.

Reportedly and reliably these people hardly

bothered to practice quarantine on reaching home.

More interestingly, there were no follow ups to

make sure that they observe proper quarantine on

going to their homes. Reportedly, some of them

did not even go their homes but simply melted

away in the crowd after disembarking from

aircraft. Shocking but a reality that such things

could happen before the very nose of our police,

customs and immigration officials.

Also it seemed in these cases as if our authorities

allegedly turned a blind eye to the needs on contact

tracing, checks through local police and

administration officials that these returnees were

in the least observing quarantine rules. No

wonder, therefore, that the London variant of

Corona could flourish so easily and rapidly in

Bangladesh.

It is laughable that our authorities have recently

stopped flights to countries such as Brazil and

South Africa on consideration that new variants of

Corona were found there. But we all know that

travels between countries like Brazil and South

Africa with Bangladesh are a trickle compared to

the one between UK and Bangladesh. Thus, one

utterly failed to see the logic of suspending flights

to South Africa and Brazil when new variants from

these countries did not pose so much of a threat of

spreading infection and deaths while leaving the

main and most deadly source of contagion from

UK undisturbed. Indeed, such a disposition is

laughable as well as it is criminal in the mass public

interest. It appears that the British who are a very

civilized country felt pricks in their conscience and

on their own ultimately disallowed flights to and

from Bangladesh. In other words, they did a

service to our people in this way when our own

authorities seemed not to care.

We demand an immediate high level

investigation into these developments. We want to

know in whose or what interest sections of our

authorities colluded to continue with the lethal

flights that have now flooded Bangladesh with the

London variant. As Bangladesh is forced to go for

its second unwanted lockdown that could extend

and grievously damage its economy and when our

economy was showing the promise of a positive

turnaround, we demand that the public should

know who are the persons in our administration

whose very callous attitude or criminality has

invited such a devasting fate on our country. We

demand these people are obliged to pay a price for

their sins in the public view.

Character: The end goal of education

The overriding prominence of any

education system invigorates

learners to become more

independent, curious, open-minded, and

think outside the box. The Educational

Institutions should seek to create and

maintain a community of learners,

qualified for the rigorous academic,

professional, and civic demands of the

programme and rich in experience and

diversity. Educators and Institutions

should ensure that the learning

environment is conducive to independent

thought and is a place where learners are

actively encouraged to question,

formulate ideas and express themselves

confidently. We should not forget that the

end of education is the character of

learners.

We always talk about the excellence in

education, quality of education, standard

teaching & learning practices, top-ranking

institutions, high-performance learners,

academically sound learners, but never

talk about the individual's character they

develop at the end of their educational

journey. The discussion about the core

purpose of education does almost not

exist in the current educational policy

debate; if we talk either, it is very lofty or

ambiguous. Every nation spends a

considerable share of its GDP on

education, especially academic research,

training & development, assessment

instruments, management accountability,

curriculum development and other

academic-related activities. But did we

raise the questions about the effectiveness

of the current education system? Did we

evaluate whether this education system is

robust enough in building the character of

learners?

The critical questions society should be

addressing is this: What is the end goal of

education? What specific goals and ethos

should guide the educational institutions

and educators to develop educational

instruments in developing learners'

characters. The end goals of education

should gear towards developing multiple

characters, namely intellectual character,

moral character, civic character and

performance characters. By creating these

characters, an individual will feel better

competent, more engaged, high morale

and effective, open-minded with a high

degree of critical thinking & curiosity.

Don't we think this is what we all are

looking for from an education system in

which individual can grow with

confidence? It is vital that as an

educational institution, policymaker or

educator, we focus on the learner's

character rather than the learning

content. The focus should be on

sustainable learning for the longer term

and easily transferable into a specific

situation to solve real-life problems. The

world of reality is sometimes different

Dr P. r. DaTTa

India's Covid crisis is mostly Modi's fault

It is difficult to overstate the grip Covid-

19 has on India. WhatsApp bristles

with messages about this or that friend

or family member with the virus, while

there are angry posts about how the

central government has utterly failed its

citizenry.

This hospital is running out of beds and

that hospital has no more oxygen, while

there is evasion from Prime Minister

Narendra Modi and his cabinet.

Thirteen months after the World Health

Organization (WHO) announced that the

world was in the midst of a pandemic, the

Indian government looks into the

headlights like a transfixed animal, unable

to move.

While other countries are well advanced

on their vaccination programs, the Indian

government sits back and watches a

second wave or a third wave land heavily

on the Indian people.

On Wednesday, April 21, the country

registered 315,000 cases in a 24-hour

period. This is an extraordinarily high

number. Bear in mind that in China,

where the virus was first detected in late

2019, the total number of detected cases

stands at fewer than 100,000.

This spike in India has raised questions:

Is this a new variant, or is this a result of

failure to manage social interactions

(including the 3 million pilgrims who

gathered at this year's Kumbh Mela

festival) and to vaccinate enough people?

At the core is the total failure of the

Indian government, led by Prime Minister

Modi, to take this pandemic seriously. A

glance around the world shows that those

governments that disregarded the WHO

warnings suffered the worst ravages of

Covid-19.

In January 2020, the WHO asked

governments to insist on basic hygiene

rules - washing hands, physical distance,

mask wearing - and then later suggested

testing for Covid-19, contact tracing and

social isolation.

The first set of recommendations did

not require immense resources. Vietnam's

from what we learned from educational

institutions. The bookish knowledge or

what we have learned from our past

education often easily forget or unable to

apply to the actual situation. However, the

positive attitudes, habits, our experiences,

past interactions, positive thinking

patterns, and various engagements

moods carry forward. We quickly can

transfer these & apply them in a new

situation.

I am not suggesting that learning

contents are not necessary. There is a

direct correlation between appropriate

learning contents and developing a

learner's character. However, one of them

should be given priority as the core of the

process. In which case, building learners

character is the key and central focus of

educational ethos. This philosophy of this

disposition should guide the development

of learning contents, curriculum

development and teaching approaches.

Suppose learning content such as

knowledge transmission, teaching and

assessment, high academic performance,

better ranking, high grades become the

valid reason to learn. In that case,

education becomes opaque, leading to

superficial and isolated knowledge.

Developing intellectual character is

essential for the learners to become a

more curious, self-reflective, openminded,

truth-seeking, sceptical and

critical thinker. The intellectual character

will assist learners in developing a solid

habit of minds, patterns of thoughts.

Regrettably, all of us, including parents,

educators, Institutions, and policymakers,

always think and focus on learners and

institutions' academic performance,

learner's subject-specific expertise, and

grading in the final exams. We always

believe that Learners are brighter and

more genius if their academic

performances are great in grading terms.

Therefore, our teaching and learning

modes are mainly academic progressoriented;

memorising specific details &

procedures means bookish knowledge. I

am not at odds with the academic

progress; instead, and I am suggesting

focussing more on developing the

intellectual character of learners as the

government, for instance, took those

recommendations very seriously and

slowed the spread of the disease

immediately.

India's government moved slowly

despite evidence of the dangerousness of

the disease. By March 10, 2020, before the

WHO declared a pandemic, the Indian

government had reported about 50 Covid-

19 cases in the country, with infections

doubling in 14 days. The first major act

from India's prime minister was a 14-hour

Janata curfew, which was dramatic but

not in line with the WHO

recommendations.

This ruthless lockdown, with four hours'

notice, sent hundreds of thousands of

migrant workers on the road to their

homes, penniless, some dying by the

wayside, many carrying the virus to their

towns and villages. Modi executed this

lockdown without checking with his own

government officials, whose advice might

have warned him against such a

precipitous and unnecessary act.

Modi took the entire pandemic lightly.

He urged people to light candles and bang

pots, to make noise to scare away the

virus. The lockdown kept getting

extended, but there was nothing

systematic, no national policy that one

could find anywhere on the government's

websites.

In May and June of 2020, the lockdown

kept getting extended, although this was

meaningless to the millions of workingclass

Indians who had to go to work to

fundamental purpose of education than

accumulating specific knowledge with

ambiguity. Such disposition will help

learners to develop a cross-domain

broader knowledge and understanding.

Knowledge disposition for truth-seeking,

curious and open-minded learners can be

applied adequately and appropriately in

different contexts-A classroom experience

to solving a real-life problem. Textbook's

knowledge is very narrow & specific while

developing intellectual character will

broaden learner understanding and

thinking boundaries to solve new

problems. Therefore, it is paramount that

learning content should be taught in a

more inductive & exploratory manner

rather than implicitly to develop

intellectual character. We should

remember that such intellectual, moral

character can be acquired through the

appropriate designing of learning content.

Another aspect of the character is to

provide moral education to all learners.

An exacting and righteous education

Don't we think this is what we all are looking for

from an education system in which individual can

grow with confidence? It is vital that as an educational

institution, policymaker or educator, we focus on the

learner's character rather than the learning content.

The focus should be on sustainable learning for the

longer term and easily transferable into a specific

situation to solve real-life problems.

system will help develop citizens who will

be value-orientated and more attuned as

ethical citizens, including factoring in

social responsibility. Moral character

focuses on identifying right and wrong.

The core philosophy of education is to

help young people become competent,

ethical, virtuous and caring. An honest

citizen will give priority to the right things

over wrong. Moral education should start

from the early stages of an education

system. Respects, integrity,

trustworthiness, honesty, and dignity are

essential features for being a virtuous

citizen of society, and the modern

education system should recognise such

elements.

We all are witnessing a homogeneous

trend throughout the world that is the loss

of noble values such as relationships,

family bonds, honesty & integrity,

politeness, respect to others, selflessness,

togetherness. Are there any ways we can

bring these values back to the character?

Yes, only an education system that focuses

on character education. Such education is

imperative to the revival of national

importance. More than 2500. years back,

Confucius uttered that humans have the

VIJay PrasHaD

survive on their daily wages.

A year into the pandemic, there are now

16 million people in India with detected

infections, with 185,000 people

confirmed dead from the pandemic. One

has to write words like "detected" and

"confirmed" because mortality data from

India during this pandemic has been

totally unreliable.

The consequences of turning over

health care to the private sector and

underfunding public health have been

diabolical. For years now, advocates such

as the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan have called

for more government spending on public

health and less reliance upon profitdriven

health care. These calls fell on deaf

ears.

India's government moved slowly despite evidence of the

dangerousness of the disease. By March 10, 2020, before the

WHO declared a pandemic, the Indian government had reported

about 50 Covid-19 cases in the country, with infections

doubling in 14 days. The first major act from India's prime

minister was a 14-hour Janata curfew, which was dramatic but

not in line with the WHO recommendations.

India's governments have spent very

low amounts on health - 3.5% of GDP in

2018, a figure that has remained the same

for decades. India's current health

expenditure per capita, by purchasing

power parity, was US$275.13 in 2018,

around the same as Kiribati, Myanmar

and Sierra Leone. This is a very low

number for a country with the kind of

industrial capacity and wealth of India.

Late last year, the Indian government

admitted that it has 0.8 medical doctor for

every 1,000 Indians, and it has 1.7 nurses

for every 1,000 Indians. No country of

India's size and wealth has such a small

medical staff.

It gets worse. India has only 5.3 beds for

every 10,000 people, while China, for

example, has 43.1 beds for the same

potential love of virtue. Yet, if it is not

guided by character education, the same

human can turn into worse animals and

most vicious. Character education should

be offered systematically and start from a

basic level of education. The education

should help the learners knowing the

good, loving the good and doing the good.

The world has progressed & developed

by science & technology over the past

century. We all have witnessed this

unprecedented development from

understanding the universe & cosmic

system to the Mars Exploration Rover

Mission, understanding the human

Genome system to the dangerous virus,

Voyager-1 spacecraft to bring

supercomputers to robotics mechanic and

many more. Countries are in a race to

compete with each other, investing a

substantial share of national GDP in

science, technology and defence, fighting

each other, and bringing the world into

chaos. Over the past several decades, we

have witnessed several economic turmoil,

political degradation, human rights

violations, religious & race segregation,

persecution of religious minorities, ethnic

cleansings, hatred dividing our land into

pieces, people's offence & agitation has

grown beyond limits. Science, technology,

wealth creation, persona & national

achievements, fulfilling self-interest, and

achieving the top become important,

ignoring morality and ethics. The current

Education system may make someone

very clever, more intelligent, and a top

performer, but does it always instil virtue?

Education without character, scientific

progress and development without

human values, liberal politics without

integrity & truth, businesses & enterprises

without ethics, friendship & love without

sincerity, a bond without trust are the

fundamental causes for the erosion of

virtue. Rabindranath Tagore also

criticised the current education system in

his article "Siksar herpher" in 1892 and

called the schools in his time 'prisons'. He

believed that education that neglects the

learners and their needs rather heavily

focus on the textbooks and the school

authorities destroy individuality and

authentic learning. According to Plato,

both individual and social justice can be

achieved through good education and

moral education. This social justice is

obtained when an individual develops his

or her ability to the fullest. For Plato, such

justice referred to as excellence which

means virtue. For Socrates, virtue is

knowledge; when the education system

becomes the engines of societal progress

in economic terms, such societies will face

social severe injustices and challenges.

Executive Chair, Centre for

Business & Retail Management

Research, UK

number. India has only 2.3 critical-care

beds per 100,000 people (compared with

3.6 in China) and it has only 48,000

ventilators (China had 70,000 ventilators

in Wuhan province alone).

This weakness of medical infrastructure

is wholly due to privatization, whereby

private-sector hospitals run their system

on the principle of maximum capacity and

have no ability to handle peak loads.

The theory of optimization does not

permit the system to tackle surges, since

in normal times it would mean that the

hospitals would have surplus capacity. No

private enterprise is going to develop any

surplus beds or surplus ventilators

voluntarily. It is this that inevitably causes

crisis in a pandemic.

Low health spending means low

expenditure on medical infrastructure

and low wages for medical workers. This

is a poor way to run a modern society.

Shortages are a normal problem in any

society. But the shortages of basic medical

goods in India during the pandemic have

been scandalous.

India has long been known as the

"pharmacy of the world," since its

pharmaceutical industry has been skillful

at reverse-engineering a range of generic

drugs. It is the third-largest largest

pharmaceutical manufacturer.

India accounts for 60% of global vaccine

production, including 90% of the WHO

use of measles vaccine, and India has

become the largest producer of pills for

the US market. But none of this helped

during the Covid-19 crisis.

Vaccines for Covid-19 are not available

for Indians at the pace necessary.

Vaccinations for Indians will not be

complete before November 2022. The

government's new policy will allow

vaccine makers to increase prices, but not

to produce fast enough to cover needs

(India's public-sector vaccine factories are

sitting idle).

Source : Asia Times

SUNdAY, APRIl 25, 2021

5

How tobecome a queen in ant colony

The Mars Ingenuity helicopter captured this image with its black-and-white navigation camera

during its second flight.

Photo: NASA

NASA succeeds in sendinghelicopter to Mars

Kenneth Chang

NASA's engineers already made history

on Monday with the 39.1-second flight

of Ingenuity, a small helicopter, in the

thin atmosphere on Mars. On

Thursday, they added to their success

when the experimental vehicle flew

higher, longer and riskier.

At 5:33 a.m. Eastern time - it was

12:33 p.m. in Jezero crater on Mars -

Ingenuity autonomously lifted again off

the red surface of Mars, kicking up a

cloud of dust as it ascended. It reached

a height of 16 feet, tilted itself by 5

degrees to move seven feet sideways,

hovered and turned to point its color

camera in multiple directions, then

returned to its starting point to land.

This flight lasted 59.1 seconds."It

sounds simple, but there are many

unknowns regarding how to fly a

helicopter on Mars," Håvard Grip,

Ingenuity's chief pilot, said in a NASA

news release. "That's why we're here -

to make these unknowns known."

The Ingenuity helicopter is a

demonstration of a new aerial

capability that NASA could use in

future years, and it was added to

Perseverance, a rover that cost billions

of dollars to send to Mars to search for

signs of extinct microbial life. Although

the small rotorcraft cost a fraction of

the mission that carried it - $85 million

- it packs sophisticated computer

hardware and software. And the project

required engineers at NASA to devise

solutions to major engineering

problems.

Most difficult among them was how

to make a helicopter fly in 1/100th the

air that's found at Earth's surface,

without which it is difficult to fly. The

team at NASA's Jet Propulsion

Laboratory that built Ingenuity

overcame these problems with

ultralight materials that could spin at

roughly 2,400 rotations per minute.

In its first flight on Monday,

Ingenuity rose to a height of 10 feet

before pivoting 90 degrees and landing

almost exactly where it started. But the

short hop was the first powered flight

like an airplane or a helicopter on

another world, and extended NASA's

list of distinctions on Mars.

It also reinforced how the solar

system's mysteries can be unlocked

with modes of transportation beyond

robotic surface rovers and orbiting

satellites. Engineers on Earth may be

more inspired to explore the potential

of other unconventional spacecraft like

a robotic blimp to study the clouds of

Venus or a submarine drone to dive

into the oceans of icy moons like

Europa. There are no current plans to

put a second helicopter on Mars. But

Bob Balaram, the project's chief

engineer, said on Monday he and

colleagues had begun sketching out

designs for a larger Mars helicopter

capable of carrying some 10 pounds of

science equipment.

The Ingenuity team has little time to

spare to complete its test program.

NASA allocated only 30 Martian days -

about 31 Earth days - for up to five test

flights. Then the rover, its link to Earth,

will head off to start its main mission of

searching for signs of past life in a

dried-up river delta along the rim of the

crater. The engineers lost a week

diagnosing a problem that stopped the

Ingenuity's computer from switching

into "flight mode." Adjusting the

commands sent from Earth to Mars

appears to have solved the problem.

The remaining flights are to further

stretch Ingenuity to its limits. MiMi

Aung, the project's manager, said on

Monday she hoped the last one may

travel as far as some 2,300 feet from its

starting point.

Other activities on Perseverance are

also gearing up. NASA reported on

Wednesday the success of an

experiment on the rover called MOXIE

in generating oxygen. The device broke

apart carbon dioxide molecules in the

Martian air.

Annie Roth

The Indian jumping ant, Harpegnathos

saltator, has many talents. This inchlong

arthropod, found in flood plains

across India, has a four-inch vertical

leap and the ability to take down prey

nearly twice its size. If that wasn't

enough, these amazing ants can also

adjust the size of their own brains.

In a study, published Wednesday in

the journal Proceedings of the Royal

Society B, scientists found that Indian

jumping ants can shrink their brains by

nearly 20 percent and unshrink them

in a matter of weeks. Although other

insects, including honeybees, have

been known to possess the ability to

increase their brain size, the Indian

jumping ant is the first insect known to

be capable of both increases and

decreases in brain size. The researchers

behind the study say that females of the

ant species use this ability to prepare

their bodies for reproduction.

Like most ant colonies, those of

Indian jumping ants consist of a queen,

males for reproduction and an allfemale

worker class. The queen holds

the most coveted position in the colony.

Not only do queens get waited on hand

and foot by worker ants, but they also

live more than five times longer. And in

a typical colony, the queen is the only

female that is allowed to have offspring.

For most species of ant, queens are

born, not made. However, Indian

jumping ants are a species that allow

worker ants to compete for a chance to

become royalty.As soon as the

tournament begins, hormones drive

the competitors to undergo an intense

physiological transformation that turns

them into reproductive queenlike ants,

called gamergates. Although worker

ants and gamergates are similar in size,

their internal anatomy is vastly

different.

"If you look inside their bodies, you

can see the huge transformations that

they undergo," said Clint Penick,

assistant professor of biology at

Kennesaw State University in Georgia

and lead author of the new study.

Dr. Penick and his colleagues

compared the internal anatomy of

workers and gamergates and found

that becoming a gamergate not only

caused worker ants' ovaries to balloon

to five times their normal size, but it

also caused their brains to shrink by

roughly 20 percent.

The researchers then used laserassisted

imaging technology to study

the brains of gamergates and found

that, during their transformations,

their optical lobes experienced the

greatest degree of shrinkage. Dr. Penick

attributes this to the fact that

gamergates don't need good eyesight in

their underground nests.

"They live in complete darkness, so

there's no reason for them to maintain

the ability to process visual signals," Dr.

Penick said.Workers that transformed

into gamergates also experienced

significant shrinkage of their central

brain. Dr. Penick believes this is

because the gamergates don't have to

perform cognitively difficult tasks, such

as finding food and defending the nest

from predators.

"Worker ants need a large brain to

deal with these cognitive tasks, but

gamergates don't need to think that

much," he said. "Once they win the

tournament, they become little more

than egg-laying machines."

The researchers believe that these

ants shrink their brains to conserve

energy, a behavior also observed in

Etruscan shrews, a tiny mammal that

sheds brain size in winter to keep other

parts of its body warm. It then regrows

its noodle in the spring."The brain is a

costly organ to operate," said James

Traniello, a professor of biology at

Boston University who was not

involved with the study. "It demands a

lot of energy."

Dr. Traniello, who studies brain

evolution in other ant species, believes

that when female Indian jumping ants

transform into gamergates, most of the

energy that was once spent on the brain

gets diverted to parts of the body that

are responsible for reproduction.

To see if this reallocation of resources

was reversible, Dr. Penick and his

colleagues collected several newly

transformed gamergates and isolated

them from their colonies."I thought

they would probably just die, but within

a couple of days they completely

switched back," Dr. Penick said. "It was

pretty amazing to see that they were

able to completely re-expand their

brains to the exact same size that they

were before."

The researchers suspect that the

ability to switch between worker and

gamergate likely evolved as a means of

ensuring that those that fail in their

bids to be queen can go back to their

previous role of maintaining the

colony. "This species shows an

incredible amount of plasticity, both at

Indian jumping ants can leap high, take out prey and economize

the size of their brains.

Photo: Clint Penick

the larval stage and the adult stage," Dr.

Penick said. "And for that reason, they

can be a model for understanding

things like epigenetics and the control

of plasticity in organisms, even scaling

up to humans."

What ice do to sore muscles?

Stray dogs in Varanasi, India.

Photo: Jason Bazzano

Understanding nature through

our passion for pets

Henry Mance

It was the carefree summer of 2019,

and I was on a beach in San Francisco -

surrounded by a thousand corgis. Sand

is not the natural environment for dogs

whose legs are only as long as ice lollies.

But this was Corgi Con, possibly the

world's largest gathering of corgis. It

was weird. It was glorious.

There were corgis in baby harnesses

and corgis under parasols. There were

corgis dressed as a shark, a lifeguard, a

snowman, a piñata and Chewbacca

from Star Wars (the latter two were

overweight). There were stalls selling

sunglasses and socks for dogs. I

overheard two people considering

whether to buy a corgi-emblazoned

cushion, but decide against it on the

basis that they already had one.

If a Martian wanted to understand

the depth of humans' obsession with

their pets - the commoditisation of

animals and the merging of our social

lives with theirs - Corgi Con would have

been an ideal first stop.

In California, such pet-wackiness is

not unusual. San Francisco's newest

doggy day care was charging up to

$25,500 (£18,500) a year, more than

the state minimum wage. Google

declared dogs "an integral facet of our

corporate culture". Marc Benioff,

founder of software firm Salesforce,

had appointed his golden retriever as

the company's "chief love officer". But

pet worship is worldwide: the

archbishop of Canterbury says that pets

can go to heaven, while Japanese

architects have designed a ramp to help

dachshunds sunbathe alongside their

owners. Our love for them is easily

dismissed as frivolous or private. But in

a way, it's revolutionary. Our pets

represent our closest ties to another

species. If they can sensitise us, and

make us care for other sentient beings,

they could change the course of history.

For the last two years, I have

investigated how we treat other

animals - including working in an

abattoir and a pig farm, and visiting fish

markets and zoos. Pets are truly the

exception. We push slaughterhouses to

the back of our minds. We delay

turning to the destruction of forests and

coral reefs on which wild animals

depend. Compare that with domestic

dogs and cats, for which we're always

on emotional speed-dial. Pets are

animals whose lives we value, whose

emotions we appreciate and whose

flesh we wouldn't dream of eating.

Lockdown has seen a pet boom.

Deprived of the company of other

humans, we looked for the company of

animals instead. Britain's dog

population exploded, rising by an

estimated 2 million. There were

complications. Soaring prices fuelled

unscrupulous breeding and thefts. New

owners found themselves unable to

socialise their puppies in a time of

social distancing. They struggled on,

hoping that their pets would help their

mental health, although therapy

sessions might have been cheaper.

Gretchen Reynolds

After a particularly vigorous workout or

sports injury, many of us rely on ice

packs to reduce soreness and swelling

in our twanging muscles. But a

cautionary new animal study finds that

icing alters the molecular environment

inside injured muscles in detrimental

ways, slowing healing. The study

involved mice, not people, but adds to

mounting evidence that icing muscles

after strenuous exercise is not just

ineffective; it could be

counterproductive.

Check inside the freezers or coolers at

most gyms, locker rooms or athletes'

kitchens and you will find ice packs.

Nearly as common as water bottles,

they are routinely strapped onto aching

limbs after grueling exercise or possible

injuries. The rationale for the chilling is

obvious. Ice numbs the affected area,

dulling pain, and keeps swelling and

inflammation at bay, which many

athletes believe helps their aching

muscles heal more rapidly.

But, in recent years, exercise

scientists have started throwing cold

water on the supposed benefits of icing.

In a 2011 study, for example, people

who iced a torn calf muscle felt just as

much leg pain later as those who left

their sore leg alone, and they were

unable to return to work or other

activities any sooner. Similarly, a 2012

scientific review concluded that

athletes who iced sore muscles after

strenuous exercise - or, for the

masochistically minded, immersed

themselves in ice baths - regained

muscular strength and power more

slowly than their unchilled teammates.

And a sobering 2015 study of weight

training found that men who regularly

applied ice packs after workouts

developed less muscular strength, size

and endurance than those who

recovered without ice.

Icing muscles after strenuous exercise is not just ineffective, it

could be counterproductive.

Photo: Melody Melamed

But little has been known about how

icing really affects sore, damaged

muscles at a microscopic level. What

happens deep within those tissues

when we ice them, and how do any

molecular changes there affect and

possibly impede the muscles' recovery?

So, for the new study, which was

published in March in the Journal of

Applied Physiology, researchers at

Kobe University in Japan and other

institutions, who long had been

interested in muscle physiology,

gathered 40 young, healthy, male mice.

Then, using electrical stimulation of the

animals' lower legs to contract their calf

muscles repeatedly, they simulated, in

effect, a prolonged, exhausting and

ultimately muscle-ripping leg day at the

gym

Rodents' muscles, like ours, are made

up of fibers that stretch and contract

with any movement. Overload those

fibers during unfamiliar or

exceptionally strenuous activities and

you damage them. After healing, the

affected muscles and their fibers should

grow stronger and better able to

withstand those same forces the next

time you work out.

But it was the healing process itself

that interested the researchers now,

and whether icing would change it. So

they gathered muscle samples from

some animals immediately after their

simulated exertions and then

strapped tiny ice packs onto the legs

of about half of the mice, while

leaving the rest unchilled. The

scientists continued to collect muscle

samples from members of both

groups of mice every few hours and

then days after their pseudo-workout,

for the next two weeks.

Then they microscopically

scrutinized all of the tissues, with a

particular focus on what might be going

on with inflammatory cells. As most of

us know, inflammation is the body's

first response to any infection or injury,

with pro-inflammatory immune cells

rushing to the afflicted area, where they

fight off invading germs or mop up

damaged bits of tissue and cellular

debris. Anti-inflammatory cells then

move in, quieting the inflammatory

ruction, and encouraging healthy new

tissue to form. But inflammation is

often accompanied by pain and

swelling, which many people

understandably dislike and use ice to

dampen.

sUNDAY, ApRIL 25, 2021

6

Heme in two upcoming Eid dramas

TBT RepoRT

Jannatul Sumaiya Heme, the popular actress of

present generation has finished shooting of several

dramas on the occasion of coming Eid-ul-Fitr

before the beginning of ongoing lockdown. 'Chupi

Chupi Prem' is one of them.

Mithu Roy gave direction of the drama. Under

same director's direction, Heme also acted in

another drama titled 'Tomai Dekhle Maya Bare'.

Heme informed that these two dramas will be

telecasted in two separate TV channels during

coming Eid.

Regarding dramas Heme said, "Stories of these

two dramas are really nice. Arosh is my co-actor in

these two dramas. Everybody including Arosh and

I worked cordially while taking part in shooting of

the drama. I strongly believe after telecasting,

viewers will enjoy these two dramas in Eid."

Meanwhile, on the occasion of coming Eid, Heme

also acted in Sohag Kazi's seven-episode serial titled

'Chorer Upor Batpari'. Therefore, she also acted

against Mosharraf Karim in drama 'Biggapon',

directed by Sohel Rana Emon.

Heme also said she has already performed as

model in TVC of Dettol Handwash under Shaon's

direction. Besides acting in faction dramas,

Heme is regularly acting in three ongoing drama

serials are, Shamim Zaman's 'Priyojon', Murad

Parvez's 'Smritir Alpona Anki' and Sohel Rana

Emon's 'Gobindopurer Golpo', Heme

mentioned.

Jannatul Sumaiya Heme came to the limelight

after winning the title of champions in a reality

show in 2014. Her first TV drama was 'Char Konnar

Golpo'. She made her silver screen debut with an

India-Bangladesh joint-venture production titled

'Hothat Dekha' in 2017.

The actress has garnered applause from the

audience within a very short period.

Nusrat

Faria in TV

Ad again

TBT RepoRT

Nusrat Faria, a Bangladeshi film

actress, model, television

presenter and radio jockey has

again worked in a TV Ad made

with Corona awareness. The Ad

was directed by Miyaji Papon of

the Ministry of Health and

Family Welfare. Apart from

Faria, actor Ferdous will also be

seen in the Ad. Recently, it has

been seen in Banani, Uttara and

surrounding areas.

Nusrat Faria said, I have

performed many times together

with Ferdous . This is the first

time in advertising. Visitors will

find us in a new way. The issue of

adherence to hygiene rules so that

people stay at home has come up

in advertisements.

Regarding the advertisement

the producer said that it was aired

on several private channels. In

addition to the new Ad, Ferdous

and Nusrat Faria recently took

part in a special Eid episode of the

culinary show 'Sera Randhuni'.

Where their job is to taste and

comment. It is presented by the

actress Purnima. It will be

broadcast on Maasranga

Television.

Amin Khan embarrassed

with fake FB IDs

TBT RepoRT

Amin Khan is a Bangladeshi

actor. Khan has appeared in

about 200 films as well as

television shows. Recently

some fake Facebook accounts

were opened in the name this

actor. Amin Khan has become

a matter of embarrassment as

objectionable statuses are

being posted using those fake

IDs.

Amin Khan has been using

Facebook for several years. But

recently some fake accounts

After winning hearts with her

glamorous photoshoot pictures

and her adorable videos, Bigg

Boss 13 fame Shehnaaz Gill is

grabbing attention with her

dance videos. She recently

shared a video of herself

have been opened under his

name by unknown persons, in

which those persons are posting

offensive statuses.

Among those fake

Facebook IDs, one is similar

to Amin Khan's original

account. As his nearest

people and fans do not know

that it is a fake ID, they are

adding it to their friend list.

Amin said, I have many pages

and IDs, all of which are fake.

Some fake IDs have already

been blocked. I have already

complained to the cyber security

dancing to Selena Gomez's song

"Look At Her Now".

In the video, Shehnaaz is

dressed in a casual crop top with

blue denim. The actor-singer

has completed her look with

earrings that read, "Boss". While

team. Uttara West police station

has filed a general diary, the

matter has been reported as

cybercrime, he added.

Amin Khan made his film

debut in 1990. Mr Khan has

gifted many favorite movies. His

in her other videos, the Bigg

Boss 13 runner up puts up a cute

face, here she has flaunted her

hot dance moves. As soon as she

uploaded the video, her fans

showered her with praise. One

Instagram user commented,

"Fabulous ??". Another user

wrote, "Omfg ?? is it Shehnaaz

Gill or some Hollywood star?….

You totally nailed it ??????."

Earlier, we have seen

Shehnaaz grooving to Selena

Gomez's "Baila Conmigo" and

pop star Justin Bieber's viral

song "Peaches". Though her

fans are getting to watch her

Chloe Zhao 'excited' for Oscars as

'Nomadland' wins at Spirit Awards

Chloe Zhao, who won best

director at the Film

Independent Spirit Awards, is

favourite to become the secondever

female directing winner at

the Oscars

Chloe Zhao voiced her

excitement about the looming

Oscars as her road movie

"Nomadland" topped the Film

Independent Spirit Awards on

Thursday, winning best feature

and showing no signs of slowing

down its relentless award

season charge.

The US feature film-which has

accrued dozens of Hollywood

prizes and is tipped to win big at

Sunday's Academy Awards-also

won best director, editing and

cinematography honors at the

ceremony dedicated to films

with smaller budgets.

The Spirit Awards, taking

place online this year due to

Covid-19, are the penultimate

stop on Hollywood's award

circuit before the grand finale of

the Oscars, which will be held

in-person in Los Angeles in

three days' time.

"We have a lot of friends

nominated this year, and we're

really excited to see them... and

we have some surprise guests!"

said Zhao, who is favorite to

become the second-ever female

directing winner at the Oscars.

When a moderator suggested

those mystery guests might be

the real-life nomads who play

versions of themselves in Zhao's

film, she added: "I can't wait to

latest movie called 'Abotar' has

been released. There is also a

movie called 'Direct Attack'

awaiting release. Popular

actress Popy has acted opposite

to Amin Khan in it directed by

Sadeq Siddiqui.

Shehnaaz looks like a

'boss' as she grooves on

Selena Gomez's song

just hug them. I need to hug

somebody!"

The film follows a community

of older Americans who roam

the West in vans after losing

everything in the wake of the

global financial crisis.

Collecting her director prize

Zhao-who made her name with

tiny indie films set in the US

heartland-thanked the

"independent film community,"

dance moves on English

numbers now, she has earlier

proved her dancing skills in her

music videos, including the hit

Punjabi number "Hauli Hauli".

On the work front, Shehnaaz

Gill is set to make her film debut

with Diljit Dosanjh-starrer

Honsla Rakh later this year. The

film, which marks Diljit's debut

as a producer, also features

Sonam Bajwa. The team

wrapped up the film's shoot last

month.

Source: Indian Express

adding: "We wouldn't be here

without you."

Zhao's next film is "Eternals,"

part of the mega-grossing

Marvel superhero blockbuster

series. Asked by AFP in a virtual

Q&A if she would like to return

to indie filmmaking later, she

replied: "Definitely-I would love

to be able to do both if possible."

"The difference? There's a lot

more visual effects shots," she

added, referring to the Marvel

films' lavish, computerenhanced

action sequences.

Obamas win again

While "Nomadland" topped

the Spirit Awards with four wins

from five nominations, its star

Frances McDormand missed

out to Carey Mulligan of

"Promising Young Woman," a

potential dark horse for the

Oscars.

The #MeToo revenge thriller

also won for screenplay.

Another Oscar best picture

nominee that added some

momentum on Thursday was

"Sound of Metal," in which Riz

Ahmed stars as a rock drummer

who loses his hearing.

Ahmed won best actor,

supporting star Paul Raci was

also honored, and the film took

best first feature for debut

director Darius Marder.

Source: AP

H o R o s c o p e

ARIes

(March 21 - April 20) : There's an

emotional intensity inside you today that's

squirming to find a way out, Aries. Sudden

outbursts are likely, so take care to hold

your temper in check. Surround yourself with good

friends who can support your erratic feelings. Don't be

clingy. Seek friends who are thoughtful listeners, not

permanent crutches. They may be feeling the same strong

tension and don't need an extra burden.

TAURUs

(April 21 - May 21) : Today may have

some crazy emotional ups and downs,

Taurus. There seems to be an intense

cloud seeping into every part of your day.

Don't try to fool people. They will see right through

you. Bursts of positive energy will pop out of nowhere

to remind you of your more important purpose. Try

not to get so bogged down in the heaviness of the day

that you fail to spot opportunities that arise.

GeMINI

(May 22 - June 21) : This day will be filled

with many exciting surprises for you, Gemini.

Approach it with gratitude and you will be

amazed at the number of things that just

naturally seem to flow your way. Your generous heart will be

rewarded in unexpected ways. Old friends are likely to show

up. Open yourself up to conversations. Act spontaneously

and with a great deal of passion.

cANceR

(June 22 - July 23) : There's a larger

trend operating in your life, Cancer. It's

asking you to break the rules and enter a

new realm - a new mindset or way of

living. Today that trend comes into focus, as emotional

outbursts call attention to the changes. Your heart may

want to go one way while your brain wants to go

another. Take deep breaths and infuse a wave of calm

into the situation before you proceed.

Leo

(July 24 - Aug. 23): Pour yourself a

comforting cup of tea today, Leo. Take

a hot shower or a long bath. In short,

pamper yourself. You may be picking

up on the extra tension of the people around you.

Be conscious of this and make a mental note to

strip away the garbage that others dump on you.

You're a sensitive individual. Pat yourself on the

back and look out for sudden moves from others.

VIRGo

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): It may be that people

are a bit upset by some of your recent actions or

words, Virgo. The offhand remark you made a

couple weeks ago is catching up to you. What

you may consider friendly, lighthearted sparring may actual do

a bit of damage to someone's sensitive emotions, especially

today. Think before you speak. Others might not have as tough

a skin as they seem to have.

LIBRA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): This is an exciting

day for you, Libra. You can accomplish

quite a bit. Your intuition is especially

acute and your sensitivity is strong.

Computers might irritate you today. It's possible to

get all worked up if your laptop crashes. Save your

work often. Keep in mind that it's just a machine.

Don't let it get the better of you.

scoRpIo

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) : You might be a bit

jittery, even without caffeine,

Scorpio. Sudden actions may cause

people to freak out, since people will

be on edge in general today anyway. Save the

surprises for another time. If you need to tell your

boss that you're going on vacation for a little

while, now isn't the time. There's a rough edge to

the astral energy. Relax to soothe your soul.

sAGITTARIUs

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): Things may be

coming at you from all angles today,

Sagittarius. Sooner or later you will be

forced to take action. It may seem like

the walls of the room are slowly caving in. The

pressure is building and the air is getting stagnant.

Go out for a run. Exercise will help you release some

of that pressure you feel.

cApRIcoRN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): You may be excited

about an idea today, Capricorn, but

unfortunately no one else may be. You

spring up with enthusiasm only to

smack into a brick wall. One side of you may be

communicative and witty while the other is

confused. The two sides aren't really connecting well,

so perhaps you should just lay low. Hold on to your

ideas, and save their presentation for a later day.

AQUARIUs

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : Much of today will

be a continuation of yesterday, but

with perhaps a bit more intensity for

you, Aquarius. There's an added buzz

in the air, like static on a radio. This background

noise may not provide the best environment to

work in, but you should be able to navigate with no

problem. Tune out the chatter and move on.

pIsces

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : Today is one of those

days when you might feel like four people

have a hold of each of your limbs, Pisces. The

people are tugging and you're getting

stretched in every direction. Someone wants you to go there,

someone wants you to come here. Take some time out for

yourself and clearly state your needs to others. Make it known

what the best situation for you would be.

SuNDAy, APRIl 25, 2021

7

Apart from imposing tax on tobacco products, its proper implementation and raising awareness

among the people is also important, said the lawmakers and eminent persons. The comments made

by Professor. Dr. Md. Habibe Millat, MP, Professor. Dr. Md. Abdul Aziz, MP, former chairman of the

National Board of Revenue Dr. Muhammad Abdul Mazid and the National Professional Officer of the

World Health Organization Syed Mahfuzul Huq in the 23rd episode of 'Corona Songlap' organized

by the Health Sector of Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM). The live discussion titled 'National Budget

2021-2022 Tax on Tobacco Products: Our Thoughts' was held on Saturday under the moderation of

Iqbal Masud, Director, Health and Wash Sector, Dhaka Ahsania Mission. Photo : Courtesy

Coronavirus: 17,672 infected,

16,292 cured in Rangpur division

RANGPUR : A total of 17,672 people have

been infected with coronavirus (COVID-19),

and of them, 16,292 already cured in all

eight districts of Rangpur division.

Health officials said the number of

COVID-19 cases quickly rose to 17,672 as 59

more patients were reported after testing

376 samples at the infection rate of 15.69

percent on Friday in the division.

"The coronavirus infection rate continues

rising hastily amid a declining recovery rate

and rising casualty rate during the last one

month in the division," said Focal Person of

COVID-19 and Assistant Director (Health)

for Rangpur division Dr. ZA Siddiqui.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, a total

of 1,23,261 collected samples of all eight districts

in the division were tested till Friday,

and of them, 17,672 people were found

COVID-19 positive with an average infection

rate of 14.34 percent.

"The district-wise break up of total 17,672

patients stands at 4,581 in Rangpur, 824 in

Panchagarh, 1,511 in Nilphamari, 1,036 in

Lalmonirhat, 1,122 in Kurigram, 1,623 in

Thakurgaon, 5,292 in Dinajpur and 1,683 in

Gaibandha of the division," he said.

Meanwhile, the number of total recovered

COVID-19 patients rose to 16,292 with the

healing of 16 more infected people on Friday

in the division.

The average recovery rate currently stands

at 92.19 percent in the division where the

recovery rate crossed the 97 percent mark

some one month ago.

Talking to BSS, Divisional Director

(Health) Dr. Md. Ahad Ali said the number

of fatalities rose to 341 with three more

deaths reported from Nilphamari,

Lalmonirhat and Dinajpur in the division on

Friday.

The district-wise break up of the 341 fatalities

stands at 78 in Rangpur, 122 in

Dinajpur, 36 in Thakurgaon, 34 in

Nilphamari, 17 in Kurigram, 20 in

Panchagarh, 21 in Gaibandha and 13 in

Lalmonirhat districts of the division.

"The average casualty rate currently

stands at 1.93 percent in the division," he

said.

Among the total 17,672 infected patients,

92 are undergoing treatments at isolation

units, including 19 critically sick patients at

ICU beds, after recovery of 16,292 patients

and 341 deaths while 977 remaining in home

isolations across the division.

Since the beginning, a total of 1,02,473

people of the division were put in institutional

isolation or home quarantines, and of

them, 97,438 released till Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, the number of citizens who got

the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine rose to

5,94,905, including 3,56,285 male and

2,38,620 female, till Thursday in the division.

"At the same time, the number of second

dose recipient citizens rose to 1,81,327,

including 1,20,624 male and 60,703 female,

in the division," Dr Ali added.

Chief of Divisional Coronavirus Service

and Prevention Task Force and Principal of

Rangpur Medical College Professor Dr. AKM

Nurunnobi Lyzu urged people to strictly

abide by the health directives for containing

further spread of the deadly virus.

Tk500 off

on Akash

connection

The country's only legal

Direct-To-Home service

provider AKASH has

launched its Eid campaign.

Under the campaign, the

customers will get a Tk500

discount on each connection

purchase. The discount will

be applicable for purchasing

from touch points, a press

release said.

The Eid campaign will

remain valid from April 22

to May 14. As a result, the

price of Akash Basic will be

at Tk3499 and Akash

Regular will be at Tk3999.

Moreover, alongside

Tk500 discount, the customers

will also get a Tk200

cash back in recharge-if

they make an online purchase

during this pandemic.

However, the customers

have to purchase the connection

from Akash website.

Then, they can also

enjoy the TK200 cash back

offer.

Muhammad Abul Khair

Chowdhury, Head of

Marketing and business

development of AKASH of

Beximco Communications

said, "Akash has become

popular among the people

of all strata as it provides an

excellent television watching

experience. Currently,

people are spending time at

home more because of the

pandemic. So, they are

watching television more

than before. Thereby, they

can enjoy television from

any part of the country with

a bright and clear image."

Bangladesh Ambassador presents

credential to Uzbek President

AvB Gm wc Avi/ †mbv/249

24/04/21

GD-715/21 (6x4)

DHAKA : Bangladesh Ambassador to

Uzbekistan Md Zahangir Alam has presented

his credentials to Uzbekistan

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The envoy called on Uzbek President at

President Palace on Friday and presented

his credentials, said a press release here.

Due to Covid-19 situation, the meeting

was held on a limited scale.

During the conversation with the

Ambassador, Uzbek President conveyed

his personal greetings to the President and

Prime Minister of Bangladesh and sought

the assistance of Bangladesh envoy in

expanding bilateral relations between the

two countries. Alam assured him of taking

appropriate steps in this regard and

briefed the President on Bangladesh's success

in RMG, textile, pharmaceuticals, jute

and jute products as well as leather sectors.

He requested the Uzbek President to

establish an embassy of his country in

Dhaka and resume the direct passenger

flights on Dhaka-Tashkent-Dhaka route to

enhance bilateral communication in

tourism, education, sports and culture

between the two friendly countries.

He also sought President's assistance to

make the first Foreign Office Consultation

(FOC) meeting to be held on 27 May 2021

fruitful. In this regard, the President of

Uzbekistan requested his Foreign Minister

Abdulaziz Kamilov, to open a Consulate in

Dhaka initially and to make the first FOC

meeting successful.

20 more test positive for

COVID-19 in Bhola

BHOLA : A total of 20 people were tested

positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours

after testing 58 samples at Bhola 250-bed

General Hospital COVID-19 laboratory.

Of the total 20 positive cases are in Sadar

upazila of the district.

Meanwhile, one person died from COVID-

19 at Sadar Hospital, on-duty doctor of told

BSS.

The total number of infected people in the

district stood at 1,634 while the number of

recovery cases at 1,130, civil surgeon of the

district Dr Syed Rezaul Islam said yesterday

afternoon. A total of 19 persons have so far

died of COVID-19 in the district, Dr Syed

Rezaul Islam told BSS.

The health experts of the district urged all

to follow the health rules strictly and use

masks to prevent the spread of the lethal

virus. Dr Syed Rezaul Islam said 29 infected

persons are now undergoing treatment at

Bhola 250-bed General Hospital, rest of the

infected persons are now undergoing treatment

at home under the supervision of doctors

from their respective upazila health

complexes.

59 13

25

09

11

11

EPB officials take

capacity building

training of BIE

DHAKA : The Bureau

International des Expositions

(BIE) has delivered a capacity

building training session to

the Bangladesh Export

Promotion Bureau (EPB),

reports BSS.

The two-day training programme

was delivered

remotely and it ended on

Monday, said a press release.

The session was organised

in partnership with the

Embassy of Bangladesh in

France and the Bangladesh

Export Promotion Bureau

(EPB).

Dimitri S Kerkentzes, the

Secretary General of the BIE,

delivered opening remarks,

alongside AHM Ahsan, the

Vice Chairman of EPB.

Over 30 participants from

EPB's Dhaka and Chittagong

offices took part in the training

session, which featured

nine dedicated sessions delivered

by BIE officials.

The topics covered by the

nine sessions included an

introduction to the BIE, the

process of organising an

expo, and the communication

and technical aspects of

participating in Expos. The

opportunities and benefits of

hosting expos and participating

in these global events

were also addressed.

GD-719/21 (3x3)

GD-716/21 (4x3)

GD-717/21 (6x5)

sunday, dhaka, april 25, 2021, baishakh 12, 1428 bs, Ramadan 12, 1442 hijri

Dhaka's air quality improved in

lockdown, a blessing in disguise!

DHAKA : The air quality of Dhaka city

has made a marked improvement by

some 45pc on average a day during

the first seven days of the Covid-19

lockdown due to the low level of emissions.

According to a survey conducted by

Center for Atmospheric Pollution

Studies (CAPS) of Stamford

University Bangladesh, four reasons

effectively worked behind the strange

improvement in the air quality,

reports UNB.

It said low traffic flow, suspension of

road renovation and construction

works and lack of activities to burn

wastes led to the improvement in the

air quality though it is said to be a

short-lived gain.

Even the air pollution declined by

70pc in some areas in the city during

the April 14-21 period, the survey says.

The survey was carried out under a

project titled "Promoting Democratic

Governance and Collective Advocacy

for Environmental Protection in

Dhaka City" with financial support

from USAID and UKAid.

As part of the survey, the air quality

Is MMCH using expired testing

kits and reagents?

md. ali ahsaN RaJu

It has been alleged that various private

labs in the Mymensingh city,

including Mymensingh Medical

College Hospital (MMCH), are

using approved and outdated testing

kits and reagents. The matter

came to light after 9 people were

arrested in a RAB operation in the

capital Dhaka. Unethical allegations

of using these expired and unapproved

testing kits and reagents

have been found in the city's wellknown

expensive labs, including the

private labs set up around

Mymensingh Medical. Local government

intelligence officials also

have the news.

According to local sources,

Coronary Care Unit-CCU Lab,

including inter-department, outpatient

and one-stop services of

Mymensingh Medical College

Hospital, is using Biolab

International's fake reagents and

adulterated medical testing kits.

These reagents and kits are being

used in various pathological tests

including jaundice, diabetes, coronavirus

and pneumonia, AIDS and

cancer.

Biolab Internal is one of the 3

organizations that where expired

reagents and testing kits were recovered

and seized during the RAB

B'baria mayhem:

7 more Hefazat

men held

BRAHMANBARIA : Seven more

people have been arrested in the past

24 hours in connection with last

month's mayhem by Hefazat-e-Islam

supporters in Brahmanbaria, police

said Saturday, reports UNB.

The arrests were made from different

parts of the district after identifying

the accused from video footage

and images taken during the violence,

the special branch of the district

police said.

So far, 55 cases have been filed and

353 people arrested over the rampage,

the police said.

On March 27, at least five people

were killed and around 50 others,

including 25 cops, injured in clashes

between members of law enforcement

agencies and locals during

Hefazat's demonstrations at

Nandanpur in Sadar upazila.They

had staged the protests against

Indian Prime Minister Narendra

Modi's visit to Bangladesh.

was measured using automatic equipment

for eight hours a day in 10 areas

of the capital.

The measurement showed that the

air quality has improved on average

45pc a day from April 14 to 21 last.

The average AQI score was 117.8 on

April 14-21 during the full lockdown,

which is 45pc less than the average

score of 214.5 recorded on April 5-8

during the partial lockdown.

A significant improvement in the

city's air quality was also noticed in the

beginning of the partial lockdown

enforced on March 29 as the average

AQI score was 168.3 from April 1 to 4

last. The air quality then worsened

again as the restrictions on traffic and

public activities were largely defied.

However, Dhaka's air quality with a

score of 117.8 was still 'unhealthy' for

sensitive groups like children, pregnant

women, elderly and people with

heart and lung diseases as it falls into

the AQI score 100-150 category, said

CAPS founder director Prof Dr

Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder.

During the April 5-8 last, the air

quality with 214.5 was 'very

operation in the capital Dhaka on

April 16. Hitech Health Care and X

Technology and Services, partners

of Biolab International, were also

named in the RAB operation.

During the operation, Shamim

Mollah, the owner of Biolab

International and Shahidul Alam,

the manager were arrested. After

the matter came to light, information

about the use of Biolab

International's reagents and testing

kits in different labs of Mymensingh

Medical College Hospital came out.

Hospital authorities acknowledged

the use of Biolab Internal's reagents

and testing kits, but claimed they

were not expired.

There are allegations that these

reagents and testing kits have been

purchased locally even though they

were supposed to be taken from

CMSD. After the operation in the

capital Dhaka, the RAB said that the

unhealthy', he said, adding that the

score 200-300 is considered as 'very

unhealthy'.

The air quality with AQI score 300+

is considered as 'hazardous' and the

score 150-200 as 'unhealthy', said Prof

Majumder, also the chairman of the

Department of Environment Science

of the university.

According to the study findings, suspension

of digging, renovation and

construction works of roads; nonmovement

of motorised vehicles; lack

of pollution from waste burning; and

the presence of less airborne dust contributed

to the air quality improvement.

It says unsafe digging, renovation

and construction works of roads

are the source of 20pc-25pc of air pollution

in Dhaka city. The capital has

been in thick construction and reconstruction

activities for decades affecting

its air quality badly.

Black smoke emitted from some 5.6

lakh unfit vehicles is responsible for

15pc-20pc of air pollution in Dhaka.

But movement of some 95pc unfit

vehicles remained suspended during

the lockdown (April 14-21).

import of these reagents and testing

kits was not approved. In addition,

the companies were collecting

expired and out-of-date testing kits

and reagents from domestic and

foreign importers and suppliers at

nominal prices and selling them in

the market by tampering with special

printing presses. Many people

have raised questions about the use

of these reagents and testing kits in

Mymensingh Medical College

Hospital even after the matter was

made known. There are also questions

about how accurate the diagnosis

is using these reagents and

testing kits. There is also a question

as to why these reagents and testing

kits are being used in Mymensingh

Medical after the RAB operation in

the capital Dhaka.

Attention is drawn to the Deputy

Director of Mymensingh Medical

College Hospital Waizuddin Faraji

and he said a four-member inquiry

committee headed by the deputy

director of the hospital had been

formed on April 19 to look into the

matter. The committee has been

asked to report within 10 working

days. Several local sources also

claimed that these reagents and testing

kits are being used in various labs

around Mymensingh Medical

College and Hospital.

laborers in kurigram are happy as they have got the opportunity to cut irri-boro padday at haor

areas of the country.

Photo : star mail

a fire broke out at 12 noon on saturday in front of baghmara Camp and lauachhara student dormitory

No. 3 of lauachhara National Park in kamalganj upazila of moulvibazar.

Photo: Pba

Lawachhara forest

fire under control

MYMENSINGH : A fierce fire that broke

out at Lawachhara reserve forest on

Saturday afternoon has been brought

under control .

It was brought under control by a unit of

Fire Service at 2:30 pm after over two

hours of hectic efforts.

According to locals, some workers who

were working in the student dormitory

area of Lawachhara saw a fire in the forest

at around 12:15 pm , reports UNB.

Upon receiving the news, a unit of

Kamalganj Fire Service came to the spot,

but faced a huge challenge to enter into the

forest as there were no roads.

Lack of water in the area made the work

much difficult for the fire service unit.

However, the fire was doused after more

than two hours.

Rezaul Karim, a divisional forest official,

said the source of the fire could not be

known immediately.

JnUTA rejects UGC's

teacher recruitment policy

Nakibul ahsaN Nishad; JNu

Jagannath University Teachers'

Association (JnUTA) has rejected

the University Grants Commission's

uniform policy on recruitment and

promotion of teachers in public universities

of the country.

On Saturday, JnUTA issued a

press release in this regard, saying

that the new UGC policy is unacceptable

and they rejected it.

"Besides,the policy framed by the

UGC was inconsistent with the rules

of autonomous universities,"the

release reads.

The release, signed by the JnUTA

president Professor Dr. Nure Alam

Abdullah and its general secretary

Professor Dr. Shamima Begum, also

said that JnUTA requests UGC to

take necessary measures for

expending research facilities for students

and teachers with adequate

scholarships.

No strictness at the

police check posts

in capital

shafiqul islam

The government announced countrywide

a weeklong restrictions to prevent

the highly infection of corona virus. The

government has increased the duration

of restrictions from April 21-28 to control

corona infections. After the first

phase lockdown, the second phase lockdown

has started from 22nd April. In

the first phase, the law enforcement

forces had a strict role in enforcing the

lockdown on the people of the capital.

However, in the second phase, it was not

seen so much stricter than before. As

seen on Saturday morning at various

important corners of the capital, most of

the people have gone out without urgent

need. Again, many have left without a

movement pass. The role of the police

was very strict at the check post in the

first week of strict lockdown at Farmgate

corner of the capital. Not a single vehicle

could get out of the check post without a

police check. But in the second phase of

the lockdown, the strictures of the police

are far away, they were not seen standing

at the check post.

A police sergeant from Tejgaon Zone,

who did not want to be named, told that

we had just arrived from the check post.

Like last week people came out without

movement pass but today it is not seen.

90% of the people have come out with

movement pass. The police check post

was not seen at the corner of the busiest

Hefajat mayhem

BNP’s active link

admitted : Hasan

DHAKA : Awami League Joint General

Secretary and Information and

Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan

Mahmud on Saturday said the arrested

Hefajat leaders admitted BNP-Jamaat's

active involvement and financing in the

mayhem carried out on March 26-28

last.

"Arrested Hefajat leaders started disclosing

the truth. They have already

admitted where and when the meetings

were held and who funded," he said

while replying to reporters at his Minto

Road residence here.

Earlier, the minister virtually inaugurated

food aid distribution for 2000 low

income group families at his home constituency

of Rangunia in Chattogram

under his personal initiative.

Hasan said Indian newspaper the

Economic Times and some Bangladeshi

newspapers reported that BNP-Jamaat

actively took part and financed in the

countrywide mayhem carried out under

the banner of Hefajat on March 26-28 in

collaboration with Pakistani intelligence

agency. He said attacks were carried out

on houses and properties of innocent

people, vehicles were torched, arson

attack was carried out in land office,

deeds and papers of general people were

Karwan Bazar in the capital. Two or

three policemen stood by to signal the

vehicle, but no vehicle was seen to be

checked.

The same picture can be seen on the

ground in the capital's New market,

Science Lab, Asadgate, Dhanmondi,

Banglamator, Shahbag and Kakrail.

However, strictness has been observed

in some check posts of the capital.

Among them, there are checkposts at

Mirpur, Gabtali, Dhaka College junction,

Paltan junction, Motijheel and

Gulistan.

Motijheel zone traffic sergeant in

charge of the platoon Arefin Akand told

that although more people are coming

out this week than last week, most are

coming out with movement passes. If

the movement passes of 20 vehicles are

checked, passes are available in only 19

vehicles. People have become more

aware than before. At least they wearing

mask and coming out later and keeping

the movement pass with.

As the second wave of coronaviruses

took a deadly turn, the government first

imposed restrictions on various areas,

including public transport, for seven

days from April 5 to control the infection.

Later it was extended for two more

days. As the situation was not under

control, an all-out lockdown started

from April 14 to 21 with strict restrictions.

The second round of lockdown

starts from Thursday till 28 April.

burnt, houses were set on fire, fire service

office and railway station and police

station came under attack.

Ruination of heritages and antiques

and even attacks on temples of other

religions are not merely stray incidents,

he said.

The minister said as part of a big conspiracy,

the anarchy was created in the

country targeting to oust the government

and BNP-Jamaat completely

extended support and funded in the

incident while Pakistani spy agency also

financed.

So, those who were involved with the

anarchy and who extended support will

not be spared by any means, he said.

Earlier, in his address during the inauguration

of food aid distribution, Hasan

called upon the leaders and workers of

his party and associate bodies in his constituency

to come forward to stand by

the day-laborers, boatmen, rickshaw

and van pullers, working class and low

income group people during the coronavirus

crisis.

He also asked the party men to continue

their support to farmers in cutting

paddy following the directives of Prime

Minister and Awami League President

Sheikh Hasina.

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam, Executive Editor : Sheikh Efaz Ahmed, Managing Editor: Tapash Ray Sarker, News Editor : Saiful Islam, printed at Sonali Printing Press, 2/1/A, Arambagh 167, Inner Circular Road, Eden Complex, Motijheel, Dhaka.

Editorial and News Office: Bangladesh Timber Building (3rd Floor) 270/B, Tejgaon I/A Dhaka-1208. Tel : +8802-8878026, Cell : 01736786915; Fax: + 880244611604, Email: Editor : editor@thebangladeshtoday.com, Advertisement: ads@thebangladeshtoday.com, News: newsbangla@thebangladeshtoday.com, contact@thebangladeshtoday.com, website: www.thebangladeshtoday.com

25-04-2021

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?