New Airport proposed by the Civil Aviation Ministry.

A proposal concerning the issue has already been sent to prime minister Sheikh Hasina, civil aviation secretary Shafique Alam Mehedi told on Monday. "The cell will be formed as soon as the prime minister approves the proposal," he said. Airport Planning & Management

The civil aviation ministry has proposed formation of a cell to speed up the construction of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib International Airport. Ministry officials preferring not to be named said that the civil aviation authorities were thinking of building the new airport close to Dhaka. It will be built on about 6,000 acres according to the sources. The civil aviation has initially selected three sites — two in Madhupur, Tangail and one in Mymensingh's Trishal. The airport will start operations with two runways at the beginning but there will be sufficient space to make a third one.

The budget for this airport, including expenses for constructing an elevated expressway between Dhaka and the airport and a monorail, has been estimated at about Tk 50 billion. If implemented, it will be the biggest project in the country. Mehedi said, "The airport will be constructed on a BOT (Build Operate Transfer) basis. The government will only provide the land." The construction is expected to be completed by 2013, he added.

In his budget speech, finance minister AMA Muhith had said that this new airport would have all the facilities to become the heart of all international fights. Hazrat Shahjalal Airport, launched in 1980 in Kumitola, is a one-runway airport on 1737 acres, but according to a master plan, it was supposed to have two runways. The World's Top 500 Airports

Many unapproved houses have been built around the airport standing in the way of building another runway. There is also considerable risk of running airport operations because of installations around the airport. The government knocked down 12 structures in 2005. Officials close to the authorities also said that hundreds of buildings of Uttara and Nikunja will be enlisted as 'risky' if authorities initiate building the second runway at Shahjalal airport. 

 

There are now three international and five domestic airports in the country. In addition, there are seven short take-off and landing ports.

BTRC reduce the ISD call rates.

 According to the website of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the costs of telephone calls to most overseas destinations will be reduced from Sunday.

These lower prices are part of the decision by the BTRC to bring all calls under a single platform - with callers from now on having to dial 00 to make international calls. Callers will no longer be able to make calls using 012 prefix.

The BTRC website shows the revised tariff for calls to India using both land lines and mobile phones will be Tk 12 per minute, reduced from Tk 15-18 per minute.

There will be a tariff of Tk 6 per minute for calling the following countries: Canada, the US, Argentina, the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China and Hong Kong.

 

Calls made to land lines telephones of the following destinations would be charged at Tk 8 per minute: The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Austria , Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey ,Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, and South Korea.

Tariffs for making calls to the Middle Eastern states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar and Syria will range from Tk 12 to Tk 18.

Bangla New Year - Brief History & Present Activities.

The Bengali year was introduced during the regime of Emperor Akbar to facilitate revenue collection in the 16th century. Ameer Fateh Ullah Sirajee, member of Akbar's Nabaratna initiated the "crop year" by mixing the solar year with lunar year. It was Sirajee who began counting Bengali Nababarsha from Baishakh after combining Hizri with Bengali year. The name Baishakh was derived from a heavenly body named 'Bishakha.'
Prospects of material folk culture studies and folklife museums in Bangladesh

However, in Bangladesh, the celebration was first shifted in 1988, following a coordinating committee recommendation. It suggested to observe the day on Apr 14, saying that it would be scientific, instead of following 'panjika'. The committee was formed under the supervision of the Bangla Academy in 1963. Veteran academician Dr Muhammad Shahidullah and Dr Meghnad Saha were among the top members.

But, the West Bengal government did not accept that. The citizens there, most of whom are Bengali speakers, still follow the 'panjika'.

The Bengalis await the first day of the 'Nababarsha' with new hopes and aspirations. The students of the Bangla Department at Dhaka University also hosted Chaitra Sankranti in the evening on the university's Arts Faculty premises. The whole nation is set to welcome the New Year and different programmes are chalked out to celebrate the day.Who's who in Bangla literature

The central attraction of Pahela Baishakh is the 40-year old regular programme of Chhayanaut at Ramna Batamul. Chhayanaut has finished all arrangements for its programme. Like every year, the musical programme is furnished with devotional and patriotic songs.

The Fine Art Institute of Dhaka University has finished its last minute preparations to bring out a Mangal procession. The arts students make tireless efforts for days to prepare different masks and figures of birds and animals.

Assailant Ashraf Ali Has been Arrested.

On March 27 morning, Ashraf stabbed his girlfriend Barsha, and her parents at their Kalabagan residence. He had stayed there overnight. Kalabagan police station's sub-inspector, Tariqul Islam, had said, "Barsha and Ashraf appeared to have become involved at university."The Stabbing in the Stables (Fethering Mystery)

Hey...Stop Stabbing Me!

Ashraf had demanded Tk 20 lakh from Barsha's father and upon being refused became violent. Police has arrested Ashraf Ali from Kaliganj, three days after he stabbed his girlfriend and her parents in an altercation over money.

River Surma needs Dredging.

Bangladesh will talk with India on dredging of the Surma River at the Joint Rivers Commission meeting starting Thursday in New Delhi. A 16-strong Bangladesh delegation, headed by water resources minister Ramesh Chandra Sen, reached New Delhi on Wednesday to attend the 37th ministerial-level meeting of the Joint Rivers Commission.Peace Like a River

Water Development Board officials say water flows in the Surma river comes down to almost nothing in the dry season after 1990s as a big shoal has emerged in the no-man's land in Amalshid where Indian Barak Iiver enters Bangladesh into two rivers—Surma and Kushiara.Surma Bengali News Weekly

They say removal of the shoal by dredging has not got the importance it deserved. "We will discuss the Teesta's water sharing. Also, we will raise this issue of Surma's dredging at the JRC meeting," water resources secretary Shaikh Wahid-uz-Zaaman, one of the delegation members.Where the River Ends

Water Development Board's superintendent engineer (in Sylhet) Syed Afsan Ali told on Monday that if the shoal was removed, more water in the Surma will be available.The RiverRiver Songs of Bangladesh

"It should be dredged," he said. The board officials said they could not go for the dredging as the shoal is in the no-man's land. "It is up to the JRC to settle this," a top official of the board told preferring anonymity. "Without the JRC's approval, we cannot go for dredging in the border," he said.RiverRiver Songs of Bangladesh

The Water Development Board records say water availability in the Surma river comes down drastically in the dry season: from November to March. Officials say the river's highest flow in July-August reaches about 1,500 cumec per second, but it falls to about five to six cumec per second in March or April every year.Tales From The River Brahmaputra [Tibet * India * Bangladesh]

In 2008, the Surma's highest and lowest flow figures for the dry season were recorded in March. The lowest flow was 6.05 cumec per second while the highest was just 15 cumec per second. The highest flow in the rainy season the same year was 1456 cumec per second on July 21.Politics of Himalayan River Waters: An Analysis of the River Water Issues of Nepal, India and Bangladesh (Nirala Series 32)