#Title

4 more die of dengue, 306 hospitalised
Star Report
Four more patients have died of dengue, while 306 more were hospitalised in the last 24 hours till 8am yesterday.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), 30 people have died of dengue infection in the country this year. All recorded deaths have been in July and August.
Twelve people died in July, while 18 have died in August so far. Among the 306 new cases, 33 are from outside Dhaka, according to the DGHS.
The total number of dengue patients this year has reached 6,956. Of the total infected, only 386 are from outside Dhaka. Among the 6,956 infected, 4,298 were diagnosed in August.
At least 2,286 patients were hospitalised in July, 272 in June, and 43 were infected in May, according to DGHS.
Though most of the patients who were hospitalised have so far been released, 1,193 are still undergoing treatment at hospitals across Dhaka, and 83 outside the capital, the DGHS data shows.
DGHS WORRIED
Meanwhile, DGHS yesterday expressed concern over the current dengue situation, reports UNB.
“We all witnessed how hard the dengue situation hit us in 2019. We are on the brink of similar situation this year,” said DGHS spokesperson Md Nazmul Islam.
However the imminent disaster can be avoided if the concerned authorities including the city corporations speed up their anti-mosquito drives and people remain careful, he said.
If someone suffers from fever they should immediately undergo dengue test alongside Covid-19 one. Besides, this test is free at government hospitals of the country,” he added.
‘A five-layered narcotics syndicate’
Detectives bust ‘meth, yaba smuggling gang’, arrest 9 members
Staff Correspondent
From Myanmar to Dhaka, expensive crystal meth, along with pink yaba tablets, are pouring into the country through the border.
This was discovered when detectives busted an organised syndicate that smuggles crystal meth, after nine members of the group were arrested on Tuesday, claim law enforcers.
They smuggled the narcotic consignment containing the drug -- popularly known as “ice” -- to Dhaka, targeting its high-end user base, police’s Detective Branch (DB) disclosed the details yesterday.
Ice or crystal meth is a drug rich in pure methyl amphetamine and is extremely expensive, police said. It is possible to make several hundred pieces of yaba with only one gramme of crystal meth.
After primary interrogation, detectives also discovered a five-layered strategy employed by the syndicate. Detectives are calling it the “cut-out” strategy.
Within the syndicate, each layer has its own chief. Only the “layer boss” knows the identity of the previous layer’s chief, and no one in the syndicate knows all members of the whole group. It is called the “cut-out” system, as the layers are cut off from one another.
In case the consignment got seized by law enforcers, the “cut-out” strategy makes sure the ringleader remains out of touch.
The arrestees are Nazim Uddin, Abbas Uddin, Nasir Uddin, Sheuli Akter, Kohinur Begum, Sanjit Das, Hasan Ali, Rashida Begum, and Mousumi Akter.
Hospitals need to have contingency plans
Say speakers on disaster management preparedness
Staff Correspondent
Hospitals of the country need to be brought under contingency plans to face natural disasters, like earthquake, said speakers at a webinar held on Tuesday.
“Hospitals are a sensitive space as they house vulnerable people. This is why disaster management preparedness is extremely important for them,” deputy director (humanitarian) of Save the Children in Bangladesh Nazmun Nahar said at the webinar.
Titled “Paving Resilience through City Governance”, the session was hosted by The Daily Star, while Plan International Bangladesh organised it. Population Services and Training Centre (PSTC) partnered with Save the Children in Bangladesh to execute it.
Nazmun Nahar said five hospitals in Dhaka and one in Narayanganj are under contingency planning but similar plans should be in place for all hospitals, in line with the national policy.
As per the contingency plan, resource management and holding frequent mock drills are very important, she mentioned.
She spoke of the project being implemented in this regard. Titled “Strengthening institutional systems and governance mechanisms for improved earthquake preparedness and disaster response”, it is funded by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO).
Disaster risk management specialist Rezaul Karim said the hospital disaster management plan and hospital disaster guideline were prepared in 2009, while the government also prepared a contingency plan for nine medical college hospitals afterwards.
Health Coverage for Workers
Nationwide initiative a must: speakers
Staff Correspondent
Introducing a national initiative regarding health insurance coverage for readymade garment workers and wage earners of other sectors, in collaboration with government and private entities, is crucial, said Md Mujibul Huq MP, chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Labour and Employment Ministry, yesterday.
He also asked the public insurance companies to offer health insurance for low-income earners.
The lawmaker was speaking at a virtual roundtable titled, “Health Insurance for RMG Workers in Bangladesh: Designing Policy and Management Structure”.
It was organised by Health Economics Unit (HEU) of Health and Family Welfare Ministry, Institute of Health Economics (IHE) of Dhaka University, Brac, Netherland-based development organisation SNV and the Bangla daily Prothom Alo.
HEU director general Dr Md Shahadat Hossain Mahamud said the RMG sector already has a systematic and formal structure in collaboration with BGMEA, BKMEA, and Labour and Employment Ministry’s Central Fund, which enables the sector to be the initiator of institutional health insurance policy for workers’ wellbeing.
Other sectors’ workers could be brought under health insurance in phases, he added.
Brac Climate Change and Urban Development programmes director Dr Md Liakath Ali said the country should introduce health insurance for wage-earners, adding that the RMG sector is ready to introduce it, which can be scaled up in other sectors after success in RMG.
Rape, Murder of Girl in Kushtia
SC confirms death for one, 3 get life term
Staff Correspondent
The Supreme Court yesterday affirmed the death penalty of a convict, Shukur Ali, and commuted death sentences of three others to life imprisonment in a case filed for abduction, rape and killing of a 13-year-old girl in Kushtia in 2004.
The Appellate Division of the SC also asked the jail authorities to shift the three lifers -- Nuruddin Sentu, Azanur Rahman and Mamun Hossain -- to normal cell from the condemn one.
A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain delivered the verdict after hearing separate appeals filed by the convicts challenging the High Court judgement that confirmed their death sentences.
On March 25 in 2004, Sabina, daughter of Abdul Malek Jhonu from Lalnagar village under Kushtia’s Daulatpur upazila, went to a neighbour’s house to watch television at night. The convicts abducted her while she was returning home. They took her away to a tobacco field. Later, they raped and killed her there.
The following day, her father filed a case with Daulatpur Police Station.
SEE PAGE 4 Col 1
SEE PAGE 4 Col 2
SEE PAGE 4 Col 4
SEE PAGE 4 Col 4
SEE PAGE 4 Col 3