WB: No internet access for 90% Bangladeshis n
Ishtiaq Husain
Despite the government's efforts in making a digital Bangladesh, a new study has found that around 90% Bangladeshis still do not have any internet access. As many as 148 million of Bangladesh's 159 million people do not have access to the internet, according to the World Bank's “World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends.” Bangladesh is fifth among nations where the web remains largely unavailable to the vast majority of people, read the report. Deepak Mishra, co-director of the report, presented it at a programme in Dhaka yesterday in the presence of Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT, and Qimiao
Fan, World Bank country director for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. In the report, India topped the list of citizens without internet with 1.11 billion people still offline, trailed by China with 755 million. In Pakistan, some 165 million people are without internet connections. According to telecoms regulator BTRC, Bangladesh had more than 61 million internet subscribers as of March this year. Although the number of internet users worldwide has more than tripled since 2005, nearly four billion people still did not have access to the internet, the World Bank found. According to the report, digital technologies were spreading rapidly in Bangladesh with around 130 million mobile phone subscribers.
“Bangladesh can accelerate growth, create more jobs and deliver better public services by enhancing access to digital technologies,” it read. World Bank's Qimiao Fan said: “The World Bank Group is supporting the government’s vision of ‘Digital Bangladesh’ through various complementary investments for the country to fully benefit from the digital dividends.” The report's co-director Deepak Mishra said: “There is little doubt about the transformative potential of digital technologies.” Bangladesh should focus on closing the digital divides by making the internet universal, affordable, open, and safe; but digital development strategies need to be much broader than ICT strategies. l
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TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2016
NIZAMI EXECUTION
Erdogan criticises Europe’s silence n Tribune Desk Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s slammed European Union to keep silent over war criminal Motiur Rahman Nizami’s execution. Erdogan, who earlier this year defended Saudi Arabia’s medieval-style executions as domestic issues, apparently had decided to maintain his own double standard on the issue by blasting European leaders for remaining silent over Nizami’s execution, reports AFP. The controversial Turkish leader, who is at loggerhead with the EU for ongoing military campaign against the Kurds and controversial anti-terrorism law which kept death penalty as punishment, accused the West of “double standards” for keeping mum over Nizami. “If you are against political exe-
cutions, why did you remain silent to the execution of Nizami who was martyred a couple of days ago,” Erdogan said in a televised speech in Istanbul. “Have you heard anything from Europe? ... No. Isn’t it called double standards?” Erdogan said. Turkey, an important Nato member and an important EU ally in dealing with largest exodus of refugees to Europe after the World War II, had been fighting a long bloody war against the Kurdish separatists. Allegations of crimes against humanity in the ongoing campaign had surfaced on numerous occasions against the Turkish army, of which Erdogan is the commander-in-chief. Nizami, the top leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami, was hanged at Dhaka Central Jail late Tuesday for war crimes during the 1971 Independence War with Pakistan. l
Polycarbonate driving licenses from November Showkat Kallol and n Asif Shohel Mamun Bangladesh government will provide new polycarbonate motor driving licences to 15 lakh licence holders from November 4 this year in a bid to avoid duplication and forgery. New polycarbonate motor driving licences are likely to be costly for motor car owners as the projected cost of manufacturing new licences is 50% higher compared to the cost of the existing digital smart licence project.
The government has already provided 11.5 lakh digital smart licences to motor vehicle drivers in the country Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD) recently sent a proposal to the cabinet committee on public purchase to appoint a firm to make new biometric licences for 15 lakh license holders. The proposal will be placed before the committee tomorrow. However, RTHD Secretary MAN Siddique assured that increased cost of the new polycarbonate driving licence project does not mean that the licencing fees will increase. The distribution of new polycarbonate motor driving licenses will
start from the first week of November, he also said. The proposal paper said polycarbonate licences cannot be duplicated and their authenticity can easily verified by the authorities. Local firm Tiger IT Bangladesh Limited has secured first position in the bidding and another firm, Madras Security Printers Private Limited, also participated in the tender process. Tiger IT will manufacture a total of 15 lakh personalised Dual Interface polycarbonate motor driving licences, according to the proposal. The total cost of producing the new licences will be Tk74.98 crore, the proposal said. The proposal said the per unit cost of existing smart card driving licences was Tk328.50 while the per unit cost of polycarbonate motor driving licences would be Tk499.90. According to the proposal, the government has already provided 11.5 lakh digital smart licences to motor vehicle drivers in the country. That project was also carried out by Tiger IT Bangladesh Limited, which provided the technical facilities for manufacturing the digital smart licences with a cost of Tk37.77 crore. The project has been extended to November 3 this year from April 5 this year. The manufacturing of digital smart licences was launched on April 6, 2011, according to the proposal. The validity period for professional licences are five years while the period for non-professional licences are 10 years. l
Bangladesh Buddhist Federation form a human chain in front of National Press Club in Dhaka yesterday protesting the murder of Buddhist monk Maung Shue U in Naikhongchhari, Bandarban and demanding immediate arrest of his killers MEHEDI HASAN
Khaleda shocked at country's present state n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday questioned the country's present state, asking why Bangladesh had turned into a safe haven for militants. “Why are the clergy being killed? How many days people have to live in a dreadful atmosphere? The government has lost its ability to reply to these questions because it is busy cashing in on political benefits instead of carrying out its actual duties,” she said in a
press statement. The former premier said it seemed to her that the ruling party had surrendered to evil forces. She said foreigners and religious people were being killed and it was happening due to the government's poor attention to such incidents. The BNP chief said the Awami League was blaming the opposition for all the heinous acts as an act of political vengeance. “It seems the government's key objective is not to arrest the criminals involved in killings but to use
such barbaric incidents for political purposes. That is why the opposition parties, including the BNP, have been blamed for the incidents, and also that is why militant outfits are encouraged to carry on with such murders,” she said. Khaleda said contradictory statements of a minister over the existence of militancy in the country had raised questions in peoples' minds. She condemned Saturday's killing of Buddhist monk Maung Shue U and demanded that the perpetrators be brought to book soon. l