The nation bid farewell to the year 2019 forgetting all odds and sorrows of the past and usher in the new decade with hope for peace and prosperity and look forward for building the country into a great nation.
“We are bidding goodbye to the outgoing year 2019 forgetting all odds and sorrows of the past and welcoming 2020 with new hopes and optimism. In 2020, things will change, hopefully for the better. Not only will we enter a new year but also another decade, leaving behind an era when a lot of things happened,” Hasan Muhid, a student of Sociology Department of the Dhaka University (DU) told The New Nation on the New Year’s eve.
He said New Year also offers new challenges, including maintaining peace on campuses, ensuring better jobs to the varsity graduates and rooting out corruption and inequality from the society.
Millions of people across the world’s big cities are gearing up to celebrate the 31st night, with no exception in capital Dhaka.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has warned people not to attend the celebrations on the open spaces, urging them to stay home or attend indoor events in the city on security reasons.
Despite the warnings, jubilant people, particularly the youngsters, will join different New Year programmes when the clock strikes 12 midnight.
On the eve of the new year, people have already conveyed their best wishes to their friends and beloved ones through greeting cards and using different messaging applications and social media platforms.
Marking the 31st night, DMP has also drawn up multi- tiered security measures. Police personnel in uniform or plainclothes were deployed and members of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit, SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) and bomb disposal team will discharge duties at different city points to ensure safety.
In separate messages, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina greeted the countrymen on the eve of New Year 2020.
In separate messages, they wished happiness and welfare for all in 2020.
The day is also a moment of looking back to the outgoing year for reviewing the successes and failures and planning strategies to reach new goals for the New Year, with accomplishing the unfinished tasks those need to be done in the coming days.
The year 2019 was a significant year for Bangladesh as the country saw many successes in major areas including politics, economy, agriculture, combating terrorism and driving the IT sectors towards attaining the middle- income status. The country was totally peaceful in the political landscape in 2019.
The peaceful political situation allowed the country’s economy to grow faster.
“Each New Year offers an exciting opportunity for a fresh start and new beginnings, which is probably why we all look forward to New Year’s Eve.
He also said that the country’s economy would get momentum in the New Year creating more jobs for the unemployed youths.
“Politicians responsibility lie the goal of making Bangladesh a truly prosperous, progressive, and powerful presence among nations in the New Year,” added Redwan.
A look back on 2019 for Bangladesh
bdnews24.com
The year 2019 may have been dull on the political front but it was otherwise a quite eventful year for Bangladesh.
The nation is stepping into the new year preparing to celebrate the birth centenary of the founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman while carrying forward many other challenges it faced in 2019. Dengue, the mosquito-borne disease, was one of the biggest challenges the country confronted this year and will continue to tackle it in the coming year.
But the eye-watering crisis of onion exposed the government’s inadequacies in controlling the market to curb skyrocketed prices of the kitchen staple. The big fires in Chutihatta and FR Tower served as glaring examples of government agencies failing the public in time and again with impunity.
And one hopes the government’s war against corruption which manifested through the crackdown on illegal casino business will prove decisive in 2020.
Terrifying rumours propelled by social media posts was another issue in 2019 that made the lack of awareness in the country all the more evident. However, the ultimate question in 2020 will remain the same-when will the Rohingya repatriation begin?
1.DENGUE- A MENACE
The dengue menace wreaked havoc on the public life this year with the highest number of people it affected and the record number of deaths it caused. The symptoms of dengue fever were different this year from the years gone by and the doctors had predicted an epidemic. Both the mayors of Dhaka city corporations were criticised over their failure to control the prevalence of mosquitoes in the city. The issue was even dragged to court where the judges issued a set of rules to control mosquito breeding to tackle the disease.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to urge everyone to clean their houses and surroundings to prevent the deadly viral fever.
The Dhaka north and south city corporations sprayed insecticides and tried to destroy the breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes that carry the dengue-causing virus.
More than 101,000 patients were diagnosed with dengue this year with 300 of them dying of the disease, the media reported. But the number of deaths is 133, according to the controversial death review of the Directorate General of Health Services. The prevalence of dengue was expected to end by the end of monsoon but new cases are being reported as the disease has proliferated to the rural areas.
Two types of mosquitoes are found as the carrier of dengue virus, hence the disease will be prevalent in the coming year, says experts.
2. ILLEGAL CASINO BUSINESS
The discovery of the well-organised casino business with slot machines and roulette table was the shock that rocked the country in 2019. Leaders from the associate organisations of the ruling Awami League were found involved in running the illegal casino businesses.
The RAB raided Young Men’s Club in Fakirapool on Sept 18, and arrested Jubo League leader Khaled Mahmud Bhuiyan at his Gulshan residence for running illegal casino in the club.
The elite police unit raided Wanderers Club in Motijheel and Muktijoddha Sangsad Club in Gulistan on the same day and arrested 142 people. They also confiscated money and goods in the casinos.
Other arrested leaders of the ruling party’s affiliates included Shafiqul Alam Feroz, Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat, Enamul Haque Arman, Habibur Rahman Mizan, Tarequzzaman and Mainul Haque Manju. The RAB later arrested contractor Golam Kibria Shamim alias GK Shamim, who made a fortune from government tenders by identifying himself as a Jubo League leader.
AKM Mominul Haque Sayeed, ward councillor of Fakirapool-Motijheel, fled the country after the raid started. The local government ministry sacked him from the office of the public representative.
Some other ward councillors went into hiding after the law-enforcing agencies began the raid against illegal casinos.
Her government has zero tolerance against corruption, violence, drugs, gambling and other social crimes, said Hasina as she announced that the war against these crimes will continue.
3. ONION THE TEAR-JERKER
The price of the key kitchen ingredient shot through the roof in 2019 after rains and floods hurt the yield and the Indian government embargoed its exports. The prices went as high as an unprecedented Tk 250 per kg in the market. The price increased when on Sept 13, India doubled the export price to $850 per tonne. Later, it stopped exporting onion altogether in a move that destabilised the local market.
The government increased the import of onion from Myanmar and dragged down the price to Tk 100 per kg by the end of October. But desperate efforts to control the onion price in the market proved futile when cyclone Bulbul hit the country. The price skyrocketed to Tk 250 per kg creating a new record. Onion prices began to drop in the second week of December when it was imported from different countries. The price ranged from Tk 70 to 100 by the end of the year.
The government took punitive measures against those creating trouble in the market by increasing onion prices but it was the middlemen who were punished and the masterminds went untouched, said Selim Raihan, executive director of the South Asian Network on Economic Model.
4. ALAS SHAKIB!
Bangladesh cricketers suddenly went for a strike towards the end of the year but the issue was settled through mutual understanding between the cricketers and the Bangladesh Cricket Board. But there was more shocking news waiting for the cricket fans in the country.
Shakib Al Hasan, the face of Bangladesh cricket, was banned over the charges of hiding a proposal for match fixing. Test and T20 captain Shakib was banned for two years on Oct 29 by the ICC, with one of those years suspended as he pleaded guilty. Shakib will not be playing any cricket match until Oct 29 in 2020. He admitted his mistake and sought support from everyone in a press briefing.
5. MURDERS THAT STIRRED THE NATION
There were three murder cases in the country that left the nation dumbfounded with their motive and nature.
Nusrat murder in Feni
Nusrat Jahan Rafi, a madrasa student at Sonagazi, Feni was tricked onto the roof of the madrasa where the perpetrators set fire on her on Apr 6 for not withdrawing the sexual assault case against Siraj-Ud-Doula, principal in Islamia Senior Fazil Madrasa in Sonagazi.
Nusrat fought for her life in a Dhaka hospital but breathed her last on Apr 10. Nusrat’s brother Mahmudul Hasan Noman filed a case on the incident on Apr 8 naming eight persons with Siraj as the main accused. Around five persons were included in the case without naming them.
The entire nation protested against the murder and demanded punishment for the perpetrators. The police were blamed for their bias.
The Police Bureau of Investigation or PBI took the responsibility to investigate the murder at one point and added 8more accused to the case. They submitted the charge sheet naming 16 accused in total.
Within seven months of the incident, a Feni tribunal judging cases filed under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act sentenced 16 accused to death.
Refat murder in Barguna
On June 26, Refat Shorif was stabbed to death in broad daylight in Barguna. The video of the attack and his wife Minny trying to save her husband sent the internet into a meltdown. Minny was made the prime witness in the case Refat’s father Dulal Shorif filed against 12 people.
The situation changed when three days ago Dulal alleged the daughter-in-law Minny was involved in the murder case.
Minny concealed her marriage with the main suspect Sabbir Ahmed Nayon alias Nayon Bond when she married Refat, complained Dulal. Minny was in touch with Nayon even after her marriage with Refat, he alleged.
Minny denied all allegations raised against her saying Dulal Shorif brought ‘false allegation’ being “provoked by the conspirators.”
“Bond 007”, the criminal group of the main accused Nayon is very powerful and hence trying to change the course of the case to save themselves, she said. Minny termed her photo with Nayon that spread in the social media ‘false propaganda.’
Nayon used to harass her and they never got married, she said adding Nayon forced her to sign the kabin or marriage document.
Main accused in the case Nayon Bond was later killed in a ‘shootout’ with police. Sunam Devnath, science and technology secretary of the district wing of Awami League and son of local MP Dhirendra Devnath Shambhu is alleged to be an aide to Nayon; though he denied it.
Other two main accused Rifat Forazi and Roshan Forazi are related to district council Chairman Delwar Hossain. Hossain too, denied the allegation of patronising them. Police submitted charge sheet against 24 accused including Minny on Sept 1. The court fixed Jan 1 for the hearing of the case.
Abrar murder in BUET
A group of leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League had beaten Abrar Fahad, a sophomore year student to death at Sher-e-Bangla Hall of BUET on Oct 6.
Abrar’s father Barkat Ullah filed a case at Chawkbazar Police Station against 19 persons including BUET wing of Chhatra League General Secretary Mehedi Hasan Robin.
Police arrested 20 people over the murder case with 16 of them named in the case dossier. Also, six among them have confessed to the court. Police took seven accused into remand.
Classmates of Abrar claimed that BCL men beat him to death suspecting his involvement with Islami Chhatra Shibir.
Police arrested at least 13 student leaders of the ruling Awami League’s student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League, in this connection.
Chhatra League has found that its leaders and activists who allegedly beat Abrar to death were “drunk” when they committed the crime. The student wing of the ruling party has already expelled 11 of its members in this connection. The ill tradition of ‘ragging’ in BUET, especially by the Chhatra League members came to limelight when Abrar’s murder took place.
Students of BUET staged protest against the murder of a fellow student Abrar with an eight point demand including trial of those involved in the murder. The authority banned all types of political activities in BUET following the agitation. Police pressed formal charges against 25 suspects over the murder of Abrar. BUET authority expelled 26 students for their involvement in Abrar murder. The student protesters called off their programme and returned to class after 2 months when the authority agreed to their demands. Abrar murder case will be tried under speedy tribunal where it is mandatory to settle a case in 90 days, said Law Minister Anisul Huq.
6.CHURIHATTA INFERNO
This year was marked with fire incidents at Churihatta in Chawkbazar, multi storey building at Banani Faruk-Rupayan Tower, plastics factory at Chunkutia Keraniganj, and in a fan factory in Gazipur that claimed the lives of more than a hundred people.
The Churihatta blaze alone caused death to 69 people. It forced the government to take initiative to relocate the chemical warehouses from the residential area. On Feb 20, fire spread in the Churihatta neighbourhood following an explosion at Washed Mansion beside the Churihatta Shahi Mosque. People and vehicles kept on the street were charred. It took 15 hours for the firemen to douse the fire.
Initially, it was said a gas cylinder explosion caused the fire but later the authority found the fire initiating from Wahed Mansion that had warehouses of chemical, plastic and cosmetics. The blaze spread fast as the building housed flammable materials. On Mar 28, a fire broke out at the multi-storey building in Banani called FR Tower. The blaze took the lives of 26 persons including one Sri Lankan national and a fireman.
Flaws in approving the design of FR Tower were identified following the fire incident. Cases were filed against the building owners as well as RAJUK officials. RAJUK began a drive to check flawed building designs in the city establishments. On Dec 11, a fire at Prime Pet and Plastic Industries Limited in Chunkutia, Keraniganj caused the death of 22 people. Another blaze at Luxury Fan Factory at Gazipur on Dec 15 claimed the lives of 10 people. Both of the factories had no approval.
7. AGITATION ON CAMPUSES
One of the positive activities on campus was the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union being activated this year after three decades. However, other campuses made it to the headlines throughout the year due to agitation and protests. DUCSU and hall council election in18 halls were held on Mar 11. BCL won a majority of 23 posts out of 25 in the DUCSU elections. But in a stunning upset, quota protest leaders Nurul Haque Nur and Akhtar Hossain won the posts of vice president and social services secretary. After a few months, Chhatra League President Rezwanul Haque Chowdhury Shovon, and General Secretary Golam Rabbani lost their posts when they allegedly demanded extortion from the vice chancellor of Jahangirnagar University. Rabbani on the other hand, blamed the vice chancellor. Jahangirnagar University was closed sine die over the students’ protest against alleged corruption by the administration of VC Farzana Islam. It reopened after a month but the corruption charge for the embezzlement of money from Tk 15 billion allocated for university was never settled. On Sept 30, Khondokar Nasiruddin, vice chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology in Gopalganj, had to resign over the students’ agitation for 12 days.
8. RUMOURS
Rumour was another issue that became prominent in 2019. “Human heads will be needed for the construction of the Padma Bridge” – was the worst rumour that spread in the middle of the year creating panic of child abduction amongst the people. From July onwards, many incidents of lynching people suspected to be child abductors were reported.
At one point, the government had to issue a press note urging the people not to believe the rumours. It observed “Awareness against rumour week” at the time. A woman, Taslima Begum Renu, 42, was lynched by a mob as they suspected her to be a child abductor on July 20 in Dhaka’s Badda. Renu went to Uttar Badda Government Primary School just to make an admission enquiry for her 4-year-old daughter. She was questioned and then bludgeoned to death with a rod.
At least four people died and over 100 others were injured in clashes between police and locals in Bhola’s Borhanuddin over a Facebook post that allegedly hurt religious sentiments in October.
Another rumour that spread in 2019 was the salt price hike, a must have kitchen ingredient. It was word of mouth that spread on Oct 19 with people rushing to grocery stores to buy and store salts.
Many traders increased the price and sold salt for Tk 100 which was originally priced at Tk 35.
The government warned people of stern action if they spread rumour. Different government bodies including Directorate of National Consumers Rights Protection, police and RAB intervened and controlled the situation in two days.
9. ROHINGYA REPATRIATION
A second attempt to repatriate the Rohingya living in Bangladesh to Myanmar has fallen flat as the refugees remain reluctant to return to their homeland. More than 700,500 Rohingya refugees entered Bangladesh over the past two years. There were more than 400,000 Rohingyas already living in Bangladesh. The Rohingya population has doubled than the locals in Teknaf and Ukhia.
The people in Cox’s Bazar were applauded globally for initially providing shelter and food to the Rohingyas displaced from their homeland in Myanmar. But now the locals have an adverse feeling as the repatriation process stalled for the second time.
Bangladesh government blamed the Myanmar government for the delay in repatriation process raising different excuses. On the other hand, Myanmar blamed Bangladesh for the delay. They also blamed the international community. Bangladesh protested the move of Myanmar calling it “falsehood” twice in the last two months.
Gambia filed a case at the United Nations’ top court accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against its Rohingya Muslim minority.
In its filing, Gambia asked the court to grant so-called provisional measures to make sure Myanmar immediately “stops atrocities and genocide against its own Rohingya people”.
The panel of ICJ judges left the case for order following the hearing of both sides from Dec 10 to 12.
10. HOLEY ARTISAN CASE VERDICT
A Dhaka court issued a verdict on the case of an unprecedented terror attack in a cafe in the city three years ago. On Nov 27, an anti-terrorism tribunal sentenced seven of the eight living suspects to death for their role in the killings of 22 people, including 17 foreign diners, in the upscale eatery Holey Artisan Bakery at Dhaka’s diplomatic district on July 1, 2016.
The court acquitted another accused.
The convicts are “unworthy of mercy” because of the “despicable manifestation of militancy’s insane, cruel and brutal” side, the judge said in the verdict.
