The authorities have temporarily suspended ferry services on the Paturia-Daulatdia river route due to dense fog.

Salam Hossain, AGM of the Commerce Department of the BIWTC Aricha office, confirmed to Barta24.com that ferry services were suspended from 6:30 am on Sunday (December 22).

He said that fog started falling in the river area from midnight on Friday. The marking lights of the ferry became dim in the dense fog in the morning. Therefore, ferries are not being launched from the Paturia Ghat area to Daulatdia Ghat to avoid accidents on the river route.

He said that ferry services will be resumed when the fog in the river area decreases.

Three more people have died of dengue in the country in the last 24 hours. This brings the death toll this year to 561.

At the same time, 141 people have been admitted to hospitals due to dengue. The number of cases so far this year has increased to 1 lakh 29.

This information was given in a notification sent by the Health Emergency Operation Center of the Directorate General of Health Services on Saturday (December 21) evening.

It said that among the newly admitted patients, 13 are in Barishal division, 12 in Chattogram division, and 22 in Dhaka division (outside the City Corporation). In addition, 35 new patients have been admitted in Dhaka North City, 35 in Dhaka South City, 11 in Khulna division, 5 in Mymensingh and 8 in Rajshahi.

According to the Directorate of Health, 170 dengue patients have recovered and been discharged from various hospitals in the country in the last 24 hours. With this, 98,269 people have returned home after recovering so far this year.

From January 1 to December 13, 2024, 1 lakh 29 people were admitted to hospitals due to dengue. During the same period, 561 dengue patients died.

Specialist physician Professor Dr. Atiqur Rahman said that dengue is no longer seasonal, it occurs throughout the year. In addition to using mosquito repellents to prevent dengue, the City Corporation should also conduct campaigns everywhere. At the same time, everyone should be aware.

Entomologist Dr. Manjur Chowdhury said that only jail and fines and raising public awareness will not work to control mosquitoes. Appropriate measures should be taken by conducting a proper survey and using skilled manpower.

It is worth noting that in 2023, the highest number of dengue patients in the country's history was 3 lakh 21 thousand 179 and 1 thousand 705 people died.

On December 9, the price of soybean oil was increased by Tk. eight per liter to keep the supply in the market normal. Then on December 16, the government exempted duty on soybean oil from import, production and trade levels to keep the price affordable. Still, retailers complain that they are not getting the product as per demand. And the common people have become hostage to it.

On a visit to various markets in the capital, including Karwan Bazar, it was seen that soybean oil is available as per demand in some places, and not in others. In some places, shopkeepers are saying that there is no oil. Again, in some places, there are complaints of this edible oil being sold at an excessive price.

A seller at Karwan Bazar's Mayer Doa General Store said, we have no problem in supplying soybean oil here. We are getting what we want. The same was said by some other sellers at Karwan Bazar's Messrs. Bandhu Store, Laxmipur Store and others.

The truth of this was also found from a buyer named Abdur Rahman. He said that he bought two liters of soybean oil without any problem.

However, the picture is different in Mirpur, Banglamotor and Nawabpur in Old Dhaka. Retailers in these areas complain that sales representatives (SRs) are not coming like before. Even though they are taking orders, they are taking limited orders. Therefore, they are forced to collect oil from the wholesale market.

Ripon Mia, owner of Ripon Store in Petrol Pump Alley on Banglamotor New Eskaton Road, said, earlier SRs used to come every week to take orders, but if they did not want to take them, they would force them to give orders. But now we have to force them. Even then, they are not taking orders as per the demand.

Mofazzal Hossain, owner of Mohsin Store, said the same thing. He said, earlier they used to come for orders every day, but now SRs are not seen at all.

A retail shopkeeper in Sheorapara, Mirpur in the capital, without disclosing his name, said, the company's people are not coming regularly to take orders. So now there is a problem in getting oil. When we get oil, we are selling it.

Rajib Bepari expressed his anger at such a mess with oil. He has just completed his master's degree and is working in a private company. He lives in a mess so most of the time he has to buy soybean oil in 1 or 2 liter bottles. But he often has to face harassment for this.

Rajib Bepari said, I have not found any soybean oil in 1 liter bottles after visiting two/three shops. Last week too, I had to face such harassment. If the government cannot control the traders and break the syndicate, then what is the difference with the previous government? The government should take effective steps quickly on these issues.

SM Nazer Hossain, Vice President of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, said that since the government has given in to the traders, it has increased the price. However, as a condition for increasing the price, the supply of soybean oil in the market should be good.

He said, the traders demanded an increase in the price; the government increased the price by Tk. 8. But the government had the responsibility to ensure availability. Now the government is playing a silent role by doing nothing.

He also said that their (traders) activities seem to create more crisis. As the trade advisor said earlier, there is enough stock in the supply line. If there is a problem in the supply line, why does it take so long to fix it?

Warning the government, SM Nazer Hossain said that the government will have to look into the supply issues.

On December 9, the government increased the price of soybean oil by Tk. 8 per liter. As a result, bottled soybean oil is now being sold at Tk. 175 per liter. Unopened soybean oil is being sold at Tk. 157 per liter. Unopened palm oil has also increased from Tk. 149 to Tk. 157 per liter. In addition, the price of five liters of bottled soybean oil is now Tk. 860.

The commission of inquiry has found India's involvement in Bangladesh enforced disappearances.

While presenting intelligence information about the prisoner exchange activities between the two countries and the possible fate of the detainees, the commission said in its report that India's involvement in the disappearances in Bangladesh has become a hot topic in the public.

The five-member commission headed by former Justice Mainul Islam Chowdhury recently handed over the report titled 'Unveiling the Truth' to the chief adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus at the state guest house Jamuna in the capital.

The commission said that there is a strong indication in this regard among the law enforcement agencies that some of the prisoners may still be in Indian jails.

The commission said, we request the ministries of foreign affairs and home affairs to make every effort to trace any Bangladeshi nationals who are still in detention in India. Investigating this matter outside the borders of Bangladesh is beyond the jurisdiction of the commission.

Two highly publicized incidents mentioned in the report provide important evidence to understand how this disappearance process was carried out.

One of the incidents is the incident of Sukharanjan Bali, who was abducted from the Bangladesh Supreme Court premises and was later found an Indian prison, and the other is the incident of BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed.

In addition to these incidents, Hummam Quader Chowdhury said that people could be heard speaking in Hindi outside his prison, asking questions such as: When was he arrested? Did he give any information? Has he been interrogated yet? etc.

The commission said that the incident of BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed exemplifies some of the workings of the Bangladesh-India prisoner exchange system.

After being arrested while hiding in Uttara in 2015, he said that he was detained in an abandoned cell with a hole in the floor that was used as a toilet. The blanket given to him had the letters ‘TFI’ written on it, which indicates ‘Task Force for Interrogation’.

They said that the only active TFI centre at that time was under the supervision of the RAB Intelligence Wing, which operated under the RAB headquarters, but it was located inside a walled compound of the RAB 1 Battalion headquarters in Uttara, Dhaka.

The commission visited the facility and confirmed that the RAB Intelligence Wing still controlled access to it and held the key to it. However, the internal infrastructure of the facility had been completely demolished a few days ago.

The commission’s report said that witness accounts helped us identify various parts of the premises, including the location of the infamous torture chamber and cells.

They said that interviews with military personnel who visited the TFI centre in the early and mid-2010s revealed that the facility once had an additional floor with several cells, which is now inaccessible.

The report noted that we are still awaiting further evidence. However, it is initially suspected that Salahuddin Ahmed was being held in one of the now demolished cells. Salahuddin said he was taken to the India-Bangladesh border where he was handed over to Indian officials.

The report further said that the formal nature of the handover process deep inside Indian territory and the presence of suspected members of the Bangladeshi security forces wearing 'jam caps' to conceal their identities at the time clearly indicated that the incident took place through high-level coordination between the governments of the two countries and the security forces concerned.

The report said that further information about the prisoner exchange process between the two countries and the possible fate of the detainees was obtained from interviews with military personnel assigned to the RAB intelligence wing.