Five people were killed in a head-on collision between two buses in Mallikpur area of Kanaipur Union of Faridpur Sadar Upazila on the Dhaka-Khulna highway. Besides, 9 people were injured in this incident. The injured are being treated at Faridpur Medical College Hospital.

The accident took place on Tuesday (October 15) at around 4:00 AM in the head-on collision between two buses, Jhenaidah Paribahan and Jhenaidah bound Green Express. The names of those killed were not immediately known.

Confirming the truth of the incident, Karimpur Highway Police Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Salauddin Chowdhury said that efforts are underway to identify the names and identities of all the victims. The two buses involved in the accident were recovered and brought to the Karimpur Highway Police Station. 

The scene of two brides fighting with one husband is seen in the movie. Something that sometimes happens in reality. But this is the first time that the two organizations are struggling with a ghat! Kumira-Guptachara Ghat is the main seaway connecting Sandwip upazila, an isolated island in the heart of the Bay of Bengal, with mainland Sitakunda. Two government organizations, Zilla Parishad and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), are involved in a dispute over the ownership of that ghat.

From the beginning, the Zilla Parishad was managing this ghat as the owner. But a decade ago, BIWTA suddenly claimed the ownership of this ghat. The issue of conflict between the two parties is even brought up to the court. The BIWTA authorities became 'silent' when the court ruled in favor of the Zilla Parishad. But after breaking the silence in 2023, BIWTA once again took possession of the ghat. Now along with the Zilla Parishad they are also claiming the ownership of the ghat and giving lease.

Although Zilla Parishad and BIWTA are busy 'honey extracting' through leases, the two organizations are not doing anything visible for the development of the ghat. As a result, anger fell on the service. Harassment of Sandwip residents is also extreme. The two lessees are in trouble even though there is no conflict between them as they have been working together. Because the two companies are taking the revenue, there is pressure on the lessees. And that pressure has also affected the passengers.

BIWTA's 'illegal' intervention!:

Zila Parishad: Kumira-Guptachara Ghat was managed by the organization for ages. But BIWTA authority Ghat in 2012. A dispute started when a man named Abul Kasem Raja was leased. A writ number 11517/2013 was filed in the High Court Division regarding the matter where the judgment was given in favor of the Chattogram Zilla Parishad. Not only BIWTA, but also Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) demanded control of the ghat at one point. Similarly, Civil Petition Nos. 2723/2012 and 2722/2012 were filed in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, the service also gave final judgment in favor of Chattogram Zilla Parishad. There is no opportunity for BIWTA or BIWTC to interfere with the said ghat due to the judgment of the Supreme Court in favor of the Chattogram Zilla Parishad regarding the ownership and management of the ghat. After the verdict, BIWTC withdrew from ownership of the wharf, but BIWTA-claimed ownership and issued a lease notice.

The fresh conflict between Zilla Parishad and BIWTA started mainly in 2021. In 2013, when a conflict arose between the BIWTA and the Zilla Parishad over the lease of the Kumira-Guptachara Ghat, on March 9, 2014, at the initiative of the then Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, a meeting was held in the presence of two local MPs (Chattogram 3 and Chattogram 4), representatives of the BIWTA and the Zilla Parishad-Chattogram. The meeting took place. According to the decision of that meeting, on December 2, 2014, a 6-year agreement was reached with BIWTA and Zilla Parishad on the management of Kumira-Guptachara Ferry Ghat. According to the agreement, the entire lease management of this ghat will be managed by the Zilla Parishad.

After the expiry of the agreement period, Zila Parishad did not want to enter into a new compromise agreement and BIWTA sat down. The argument of the organization was that in 2020, the government declared the entire area from Feni to Patenga as a naval port through a notification. Besides, BIWTA is also given the responsibility of managing the seaports. BIWTA wants to operate the wharf under that Act. Although the court's verdict was in favor of the Zilla Parishad, which has been running for ages.

Zilla Parishad Chief Executive Officer Shabbir Iqbal alleged that BIWTA is interfering illegally despite the court order. He said, 'BIWTA and BIWTC are obstructing the Zilla Parishad in the proper management of the ghat due to the conspiracy of some interested parties. There is a judgment of the full bench of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court that the ghat belongs to Chattogram Zilla Parishad. Such a judgment of the Appellate Division is not open to anyone else to claim ownership. Unwanted interference by BIWTA, BIWTC or any other party during the management of the ghat by the Zilla Parishad with the consent of all parties is not only a violation of the law, but also an unwanted obstacle to the improvement of the environment and passenger service of the ghat. Shabbir Iqbal seeks the cooperation of all parties in managing the ghat properly.

However, Deputy Director of BIWTA-Chattogram Division. Kamruzzaman said, "The government has identified the area as a naval port. Because of this, no one else has the opportunity to dominate this ghat. That's why we have been managing since the financial year 2023-24.

Presently the lessee of Zilla Parishad is M/s Adil Enterprises. The owner of this company is Azmain Adil Chowdhury. The Zilla Parishad has to pay Rs 93,500 per day including VAT as lease to the institution. On the other hand BIWTA has M/s RK Enterprise as its lessee. The owner of the company. BIWTA has to pay approximately Tk 82 lakh including VAT as lease to Jaglul Hossain Nayan.

Suffering Islanders:

The islanders are suffering the most from the tug of war between two organizations over a ghat. A ghat is leased by two parties for a large amount of money, but no one is working to develop the ghat. As a result, the sea route from Sandwip to Chittagong is waiting for the passengers to suffer. To get rid of this suffering, the government constructed two jetties at a cost of 25 crores. Neither of these two jetties constructed through BIWTA have brought the expected benefits to the people of Sandwip. A part of the jetty built in the Guptachara part of Sandwip collapsed five months after its inauguration    in the head And Chittagong's Kumira broke into pieces in May 2022. In just 10 years, the sufferings of the two jetties have increased. Although there is a jetty, passengers have to wade through waist-deep water and mud to reach the shore during low tide. The passengers who came on the ship were also brought down in waist-deep water by 'red boat'. Children, elderly, women and sick patients are fluctuating with extreme risk. Not only that, if the weather changes, the life of the people of the island will come to a standstill. The people of Sandwip hope that the dispute between the two organizations will be resolved soon. Then as the suffering in their journey will be reduced, the suffering will also be removed.

Co-chairman and former mayor of Rangpur City Corporation, Mustafizar Rahman Mostafa, coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement, Sarjis Alam and Hasnat Abdullah, were declared unwanted in Rangpur in the joint meeting of Jatiya Party's district and metropolis.

He made this announcement among the leaders and activists present at the joint meeting of district and metropolis at Rangpur Central Road Jatiya Party office on Monday (October 14).

In his speech, Jatiya Party co-chairman and former mayor Mostafizar Rahman Mostafa said that Sarjis Alam and Hasnat Abdullah announced on Facebook not to invite Jatiya Party to political dialogue - they will not be able to come to Rangpur. He will sit in this Rangpur party office with whatever he has. We want to show the strength of Jatiya Party in Rangpur. If we can't popularize this movement, we will leave the Jatiya Party.

He told everyone the writings mentioned by Sarjis Alam and Hasnat, written by Sarjis Alam, how does the chief adviser of spineless fascist brokers like Jatiya Party call for discussion?

Hasnat wrote, "If the Jatiya Party, a friend of dictatorship, is invited to dialogue, we will strongly protest and strongly oppose that suicidal decision."

Expressing his anger over the writings of Sarjis and Hasnat, he said that no program of Sarjis Alam and Hasnat Abdullah will be allowed on the ground of Rangpur. The activists supported him with slogans in this decision.

In his speech, he also said, through this speech, Deputy Commissioner, Superintendent of Police, DIG, Commissioner of Police - I want to inform you that there is no discussion except Jatiya Party. If the Jatiya Party is not called or given respect in any political dialogue in Rangpur, then the Jatiya Party itself will claim its rights. You will be ready for this.

It should be noted that the chief advisor of the interim government Dr. Mohammad Yunus recently is having dialogues with the political parties of the country on various issues including elections. Among them, Sarjis Alam and Hasnat Abdullah, one of the coordinators of the anti-discrimination student movement, expressed their anger regarding the dialogue of the Chief adviser with the Jatiya Party. They expressed their anger by posting about this on their respective Facebook pages at midnight on October 7.

Dhaka: Dhaka is the heart of Bangladesh. Dhaka is called the city of 52 markets and 53 streets. In a city with a population of more than two crores, various crimes are constantly happening. The police force, which keeps a sharp watch across the capital, has been largely inactive since the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government on August 5. In the meantime, the country's largest police unit, DMP, has undergone massive transfers.

Many police officers have already lost their jobs and been arrested for carrying out massacres for the Awami League in the July-August coup. Many senior officers are also in hiding to avoid arrest. And all those who have joined the work are being transferred to different ranges and units outside the DMP which has an impact on field-policing. And on this occasion, the violence of criminals increased across the capital. Incidents like robbery are happening along with theft.

The officials concerned said that it was not right to transfer all those working in DMP together for a long time. Those police officers and members who are accused of direct firing or assault in the anti-discrimination movement of the Awami League government could be replaced by those who are neutral and professional and kept posted in the DMP. Because District Police and DMP policing are not the same, the crimes are different. Rather, many officials coming to DMP from different districts and ranges are not able to understand their work. They are also in trouble in providing quick service and catching the accused. One of the reasons for which is not knowing the roads and preconceived notions about the responsible area.

According to DMP sources, more than 16 thousand policemen and officers working in different units of DMP including 50 police stations have been transferred. Most of whom have already joined the new workplace.

Talking to several sub-inspectors (SIs) who have worked in different districts and remote police station areas of the country for a long time and came to DMP after transfer, it is known that there is a difference in the type of crime in remote police station and DMP police station area. DMP has to do 12 hours duty along with other routine work. As a result, in the beginning, the SIs and inspectors working in the field are losing a little under the pressure of work. Information technology as well as field sources are strength in identifying those involved in crimes occurring in DMP. But suddenly most of the SIs coming to DMP are not locally sourced. They are not able to move forward while investigating any incident. Forced to seek help from known batch mates and colleagues who have worked in DMP in the past.

Several SIs spoke to this reporter about their work experience in DMP. One of them has been transferred to DMP for the first time in his almost 12 years of service. Previously worked in a particular district for about 8 years. On the condition of anonymity, he said, "I will not work in DMP for a long time." I have posted so I came. There is a lot of work pressure. In addition to suddenly being alone away from my family, I was panting in just one month due to the pressure of day and night work. We are not used to so much work. 12 hours patrolling the car to investigate the case again. Earlier, even if I worked all day, it didn't feel like a job. And now the responsibility seems to be burdened.

This police officer said about the experience of field work, in the district where I worked, if a crime happened, it did not take time to catch the accused. And now I don't even know the road. How to arrest the accused. The defendant no longer lives on Main Street. All alleys in Dhaka city seem the same to me. I don't know anyone here. How to identify the crime? The people of the city are not afraid of the police anymore. On the contrary, we are afraid of who complains and when.

At least 22 police stations in the capital were attacked and looted on August 5. Many weapons were lost along with important documents of the police station. Statistics from the September raids at the DMP headquarters showed that 35 weapons of various models were recovered last October after the government's deadline. Most of which were recovered by the joint forces. More than 2,000 bullets were recovered at the same time. Grenades and weapon magazines were also recovered.

284 cases have been registered against policemen in Dhaka. Among them are the names of more than 100 current and former policemen. It is alleged that hundreds of policemen worked as the masterminds of shooting dead bodies in the movement. Many have been detained.

Among the policemen, the highest number of cases was against DMP's former Additional Commissioner of Police Mohammad Haroon Or Rashid, with 38. The next position is former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. There are 36 cases against him. There are 33 cases against former DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman, 27 against DMP Joint Police Commissioner Biplab Kumar Sarkar, 11 against Special Branch Chief Monirul Islam. Most of the cases are murder cases. Additional commissioners of police, assistant commissioners of police, OCs of several police stations, inspectors, SIs and constables are also named in the case. Jatrabari police station had the highest number of cases of 91.

After August 5, 2 thousand 37 cases have been filed in 50 police stations of DMP. Out of which, 286 murder cases have been filed including cases of students being killed in the anti-discrimination movement. However, information about how many people have been arrested in these cases is not available.

Associate Professor of Social Welfare and Research Institute of Dhaka University and social and crime expert Dr. Touhidul Haque regarding the mass transfer of DMP police and new field level police officers in Dhaka said that after the July revolution, there is a pressure on the police from the expectations of the common people to restore law and order. Police transfer is nothing new. But like other big cities, Dhaka is a forest of crime. As a result, the administration has to coordinate the mix of old and new. It will take a long time for everyone to come to terms with reality. Crime control has to be coordinated. It cannot be done by any officer alone. Instead of bringing in newcomers from outside Dhaka, those against whom there are no major complaints; those who maintain morals should be kept to work. If not, the criminals will rise up from the old ones.

Regarding the service expectations of the common people on the police and what should be done to make them qualified for the work of DMP, this crime expert said, to meet the service expectations of the people, the psychological courage of the new members should be increased internally, the problems of the field officers should be heard, counseling, and what measures should be taken to speed up the work should be discussed. There is no habit of discussion within the police of our country.

When asked what to do about the current situation of the largest unit of the police, former commissioner of DMP and former additional IGP Khandkar Golam Farooq told Barta24.com that after such a big mass revolution, there is a problem in all sectors for a few days. It will take time to fix. Those who were earlier in DMP were also new. Those who are coming now will soon overcome the problem of knowing the roads.

When asked if there is any opportunity to take any action regarding the extra duty causing them mental stress, the 35th Commissioner of DMP said, those currently running the DMP can arrange for psychological counseling if they feel necessary.