Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury said that due to air pollution, people are suffering financially as well as physically, so every citizen should work to control pollution from their own place. To address this issue, regional cooperation and coordination is needed at the South Asian level.

The Environment Minister said these things at a seminar titled 'Save Your Breath: Policy Dialogue on Clean Air Imperatives' organized at an elite hotel in the capital on Monday (June 3).

Saber Hossain Chowdhury said that air pollution is not a problem of any one country - it is a regional and international problem. Therefore, regional cooperation and coordination between India, Pakistan and Bangladesh at the South Asian level is necessary to deal with this problem because the air pollution of one country is affecting other countries. In addition, concerted action by all parties is necessary along with increasing the use of technology to curb air pollution.

Professor of Chemistry Department of Dhaka University Dr. Abdus Salam presented the key-note paper on air pollution in Dhaka. Bangladesh Climate Parliament Convener and Member of Parliament Nahim Razzak, UNDP Bangladesh Resident Representative Stefan Liler, Bangladesh Institute of Planners President Adil Mohammad Khan, USAID Asia Bureau Deputy Assistant Administrator Anjali Kaur and Shakti Foundation Deputy Executive Director Imran Ahmed spoke.

320 million US dollars of foreign airlines is stuck in Bangladesh. This money is stuck for 40 months. 87 percent of the revenue of foreign airlines is stuck in 8 countries including Bangladesh and Pakistan.

This information has emerged in a recent report of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The trade association of the world's airlines is IATA, which is an organization of 300 airlines.

Among these countries, 411 million dollars is stuck in Pakistan, 286 million dollars in Algeria, 151 million dollars in the XAF zone (6 Central African countries), 149 million dollars in Ethiopia, 129 million dollars in Lebanon, 116 million dollars in Eritrea and 69 million dollars in Zimbabwe. Earnings of airlines in these countries are stuck for 37 to 116 months which is about two billion US dollars.

Bangladesh and Pakistan are at the top of the list of countries where international airlines are stuck with the most money. Of this, 411 million US dollars are stuck in Pakistan alone and 320 million in Bangladesh.

Earlier, the highest revenue of foreign airlines (US 850 million dollars) was stuck in Nigeria. They paid 98 percent of it by last April.

IATA Director General Willie Walsh said, Bangladesh and Pakistan must release these funds immediately, so that the airlines transporting passengers to these countries can continue the necessary air connections.

IATA mentioned that the solution to the problem in Bangladesh is in the hands of the country's central bank (Bangladesh Bank). IATA says access to foreign currency airspace should be prioritized in line with international treaty obligations.

In the case of Pakistan, it is said that alternatives to audit and tax exemption certificates should be found, as these factors are prolonging the process. Major airlines from Bangladesh and Pakistan include; Emirates, Qatar, Air Arabia, Saudia, Fly Dubai.

An official of a foreign airline, on condition of anonymity, said that flight from Bangladesh may be disrupted if the money payment situation does not improve.

Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) Secretary General Afsia Jannat Saleh earlier told Barta24.com that we have also informed the Ministry of Aviation and Tourism to address the matter. If the problem is prolonged then the businessmen associated with this sector will be at risk and the country will also be deprived of revenue.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has expressed deep concern over the emerging picture of former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed's illegal acquisition of huge amount of money and wealth and abuse of government power to achieve it.

The agency says rampant abuse of power by high-ranking individuals is creating Frankenstein (monsters) like Benazir, which calls into question the accountability of the structure of the state system. At the same time, the TIB called for the prosecution of accomplices and security providers involved in the abuse of these powers, as well as fair compensation to victims of forced land grabbing.

New information about the former police chief's huge amount of money and land ownership is constantly coming to the fore. It is known from media sources that in almost all cases, he has taken possession by intimidation or forced the real owner to sell the land as a hostage. In many cases the owners of these lands were minorities. And in this work he used his own forces as well as the members of other related state organizations arbitrarily. The executive director of TIB Dr. Iftekharuzzaman called such instances of abuse of power from the top positions of the law and order forces as disgraceful.

He said that all the allegations of the law enforcement and other related agencies of the government in the name of ex-police chief and his family members to buy land by intimidation and use of force and to do so are really terrible. The victims of this injustice have also been forcibly denied the opportunity to get justice. In such a situation, there is no alternative to ensuring exemplary justice to the main culprits and accomplices as well as ensuring fair compensation to the victims who were forced to sell their land out of fear or hostage.

When the allegations against the former police chief of acquiring huge wealth through corruption are under investigation and new sources of wealth are being found constantly, then how is it possible for the family of the former police chief to leave the country? Zaman said that according to media reports, the former police chief accused of corruption had left the country and had withdrawn a huge amount of money from his bank accounts before leaving the country. In such a reality, it is really surprising that a known person like him left the country without everyone's knowledge. It is not unreasonable to raise the question whether the incident of his going abroad was done through collusion, whether there was collusion of the concerned bank officials in withdrawing money from the bank and smuggling it abroad, or whether the investigation against him was actually just a show-off or not.

In this case it is clear that a certain part of the power structure has been and still is protecting him. As a result, not only should the former police chief be prosecuted for corruption, but all those who provided protection or assistance to him should face due process.

The executive director of TIB said, "There is no opportunity to accept the claim that, as a former police chief, he has become the owner of huge wealth by corrupting the law for so long, but the matter has not come to the attention of the government." In that case, it is natural to question whether a section of the ruling elite has not only protected, but also co-operated and even encouraged him in perpetuating such crimes, which is playing an unprecedented role in creating a Frankenstein within the political arena in the administration.

According to the claims of Road Transport and Bridges Minister and Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, the government has the information of all those who committed corruption. The government has to answer for the sake of the accuracy of such recognition of reality, although it is rare - then how is it possible to create such a huge precedent of corruption by a top police officer? Similarly, in that case, by publishing the list, everyone concerned should be held accountable and prove the accuracy of the government's zero tolerance pledge against corruption, otherwise the public opinion that such a pledge will turn into a farce will be proven, he said. 

Zainal Abedin, the main accused among the two accused arrested for gang rape of a housewife in Char Rajibpur upazila of Kurigram in the name of collecting due money, gave a confessional statement under section 164 in the court.

On Sunday (June 2), when the accused were taken to the Kurigram Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court (Rajibpur Amli), the main accused Zainal gave a confessional statement.

General Registration Officer (GRO) of the court Humayun Kabir confirmed this information.

According to court sources, Zainal Abedin gave a confessional statement when the two arrested accused were taken to Rajibpur cognizance Court on Sunday.

Judicial Magistrate Abu Taleb Mia recorded the statement of the accused.

Later, the court ordered the accused Zainal Abedin and Alam Miah to be sent to jail.

GRO Humayun said the accused have been sent to Kurigram Jail.

Earlier, a housewife was gang-raped day after day in Char Rajibpur upazila in the name of collecting due money. In this incident, they went to file a case with their husbands, but they returned without being able to enter the police station.

The couple drank poison with anger and pride without even seeking justice from the local leaders. Later the housewife died. When the report about this was published in the media, the police station was shaken.

7 days after the poisoning, the victim's uncle became a plaintiff and filed a case naming four people on charges of gang rape and incitement to suicide under the Prevention of Women and Child Repression Act.

In this incident, the main accused Zainal Kasai and one of his accomplices Alam Kasai have been arrested by the police. However, the other two accused named Shukkur Ali and Solaiman are still absconding. All the accused are known to be butchers by profession.