January 19, 2025

বাংলা

Milestones in 2021

18 May: Senior journalist Rozina Islam was sent to jail after she was arrested on charges of ‘stealing’ government documents. She was released on bail afterwards amid condemnation from media

bdnews24.com

Published : 05 Aug 2023, 05:08 PM

Updated : 05 Aug 2023, 05:08 PM

1 Oct:
Mohib Ullah, a civil leader of the Rohingya at the refugee camps in Bangladesh, was gunned down by assailants on Sept 29, 2021. His family accused members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army of the killing. bdnews24.com

14 Oct:
Attacks on the Hindus during Durga Puja festival caused a stir across the nation. A provocative social media campaign centring the alleged dishonouring of the Quran at a Puja venue in Cumilla triggered communal violence during which Muslim fanatics carried out attacks on temples and places of worship in the city, leaving scores of people injured. Later, the violence spread to a few more districts. bdnews24.com/Mahmud Zaman Ovi

24 Dec:
Barguna-bound MV Abhijan-10 launch went up in flames deep into the night after departing Dhaka. More than 40 people lost their lives in the deadly blaze. bdnews24.com/Hasibul Islam Hasan

10 Jan:
Runners take part in the 2022 Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Dhaka Marathon to mark the Father of the Nation’s Homecoming Day – the day in 1972 when he finally set foot on Bangladeshi soil after nine months in jail. Organised by the Bangladesh Army, the race was held in the Hatirjheel area and included more than 200 competitors from Bangladesh and abroad. bdnews24.com

16 Jan:
A young woman holds a candle to protest violence against women from ethnic minorities and to support the family of Lakingme Chakma. Lakingme, a member of an ethnic minority in Bangladesh, was kidnapped from her home early in 2020. Her dead body was found near the end of the year. Her family says authorities were reluctant to register the case. After her body was found it took 26 days for law enforcers to turn it over to her family, leading to a public outcry. bdnews24.com/Mahmud Zaman Ovi

23 Jan:
As many as 66,189 families received houses under the Ashrayan-2 project, as part of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s initiative to provide homes to the homeless and landless people marking Mujib Year, the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. bdnews24.com/Muhammad Mostafigur Rahman

27 Jan:
The Chattogram City Corporation elections took place amid the pandemic. The vote was marred by clashes and incidents of violence which left one person dead. bdnews24.com/Sumon Babu

29 Jan:
A group of 1,778 Rohingya refugees from the Ukhiya camp sailed for the remote island of Bhasan Char in Noakhali. They were the third batch of refugees from Myanmar to be taken to their new accommodation on the island. bdnews24.com/Sumon Babu

2 Feb:
The Dhaka-Mawa Expressway opened to traffic in 2020, but the addition of streetlamps brought a new flair to the night-time view as the light cuts through the mist and darkness. bdnews24.com/Muhammad Mostafigur Rahman

10 Feb:
A Dhaka tribunal sentenced eight militants, including sacked army major Syed Ziaul Haque, to death for the killing of publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan, who ran Jagriti Prokashony. Jagrity Prokashony published the books of writer Avijit Roy, the first death in a wave of violence against secular writers in Bangladesh. Dipan’s wife, Razia Rahman, broke down in tears when the verdict was delivered. bdnews24.com

12 Feb:
Ron Sikder, the managing director of Sikder Group, was arrested at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport as he returned to the country after his father’s death. He secured bail from Dhaka’s Magistrate Court on the same day. Ron had dramatically left the country for Thailand by an air ambulance along with his brother on May 5, 2020, after being charged with the abduction and attempted murder of two Exim Bank officials. bdnews24.com/Mahmud Zaman Ovi

16 Feb:
A Dhaka tribunal sentenced five militants, including sacked army Major Syed Ziaul Haq who is on the run, to death and jailed extremist blogger Safiur Rahman Farabi for life over the 2015 killing of science writer-blogger Avijit Roy. Towards the end of 2021, the US State Department announced a reward of $5 million for information about the killers. bdnews24.com/Mahmud Zaman Ovi

27 Feb:
Protests demanding the repeal of the Digital Security Act rippled through Dhaka after death of writer Mushtaq Ahmed in prison. bdnews24.com/Mahmud Zaman Ovi

10 Mar:
After his release on bail in a case under the Digital Security Act, cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore appeared at the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judges’ Court to seek permission to file a case against unidentified individuals on charges of torturing him in an unspecified location before his arrest. bdnews24.com

26 Mar:
A group of madrasa students in Brahmanbaria vandalised and torched Brahmanbaria Railway Station and other parts of the city following clashes between fellow students with the police in Hathazari, amid protests over Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka to join the celebrations marking 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence. No train made a stop at the station for seven and a half months following the incident. bdnews24.com

26 Mar:
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Dhaka to join the twin celebrations of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth centenary and the golden jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence. PMO

26 Mar:
Islamist groups protested Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh outside the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque. The protests later turned violent, leaving some people, including media personnel, injured in clashes with the police. bdnews24.com/Mahmud Zaman Ovi

28 Mar:
Border Guard Bangladesh personnel gather as Hifazat-e Islam activists block the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway in Narayanganj’s Signboard area during the radical group’s strike. bdnews24.com/Asif Mahmud Ove

4 Apr:
The final span of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project is installed in Munshiganj’s Mawa. The massive 6.15 km infrastructure project, which cost Tk 301.93 billion bridge, has overcome numerous hurdles during its construction. bdnews24.com/Mahmud Zaman Ovi

18 Apr:
Mamunul Haque, joint secretary general of Hifazat-e Islam, was arrested after being caught at a resort with a woman who he claimed to be his second wife. bdnews24.com/Asif Mahmud Ove

3 May:
Bodies are laid out under tarps after a crash between a passenger speedboat and a sand-laden bulk carrier on the Padma River in Madaripur left 26 dead. bdnews24.com

4 May:
Hasina Begum, a resident of Cox’s Bazar Teknaf Upazila, was released from Chattogram Central Jail after serving 16 months in prison in a case of mistaken identity. bdnews24.com/Suman Babu

8 May:
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation decided to suspend daytime ferry services on the Shim-ulia-Banglabazar route due to COVID-19 concerns. Unable to cope with an onrush of travellers, a ferry packed to the hilt left the port. bdnews24.com/Muhammad Mostafigur Rahman

9 May:
Trees were hacked down to construct a restaurant, walkways and a parking zone as part of the project to construct Swadhinata Stambha or Independence Monument at Suhrawardy Udyan. Protesters demonstrated against the felling of trees at the park for beautification. bdnews24.com/Asif Mahmud Ove

12 May:
Former superintendent of police Babul Akter turned from plaintiff to a defendant in a case over the murder of his wife Mahmuda Akter Mitu. Colleagues of the decorated former police officer brought him to the court following his arrest. The investigation into the murder case took a sharp turn after Mitu’s family pointed the finger at Babul. bdnews24.com/Suman Babu

19 May:
A group of broadcast journalists hold a demonstration in front of the National Press Club to demand the release of Rozina Islam, a senior correspondent of the daily Prothom Alo, who was sent to jail after she was arrested on charges of ‘stealing’ government documents. She was later released on bail. bdnews24.com

26 May:
Houses in low-lying villages are flooded by the storm surge from Cyclone Yaas, which battered the Indian coast near Odisha. The breaching of dams worsened the situation, with some villagers saying the water rose to seven or eight feet above the normal level when the tide rose. bdnews24.com/Suman Babu

1 Jun:
A patient was being stretchered home after his ambulance from Dhaka Medical College Hospital was stuck on an inundated road in Rasulpur, Dhania. Waterlogging brought much suffering to residents across Dhaka. bdnews24.com/Mahmud Zaman Ovi

7 Jun:
A devastating fire raged through Saat Tola slum in Dhaka’s Mohakhali within six months of a previous blaze. Firefighters managed to tame the blaze after two and a half hours, but many homes were gutted. bdnews24.com/Mahmud Zaman Ovi

9 Jun:
Despite the rain, people are queuing with umbrellas to buy necessities from the back of a TCB truck. The economic difficulties of the pandemic and inflation have raised the demand for government-subsidised goods among people with limited income. bdnews24.com/Asif Mahmud Ove

13 Jun:
Film actress Shamsunnahar Smriti, popularly known by her screen name Pori Moni, held an impromptu media briefing during which she accused a businessman of trying to rape and murder her at Dhaka Boat Club. The businessman was later arrested. bdnews24.com/Asif Mahmud Ove

9 Jul:
A massive fire engulfed the factory of Hashem Foods Ltd in Narayanganj’s Rupganj. The fire started at night and raged on until noon, leaving 53 workers dead, most of whom were women and children. bdnews24.com/Mahmud Zaman Ovi

14 Jul:
Bangladeshi migrant workers demonstrated outside Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in Dha-ka against ‘irregularities’ in the distribution of coronavirus vaccines after a delay in getting their shots. bdnews24.com

29 Jul:
The outbreak of mosquito-borne dengue infection added to the woes of Bangladeshis amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of patients hospitalised with the disease in 2021 was several times higher than the previous year. bdnews24.com/Asif Mahmud Ove

29 Jul:
Elite police unit Rapid Action Battalion detained businesswoman Helena Jahangir, who had lost her post in an Awami League subcommittee, after a four-hour raid on her home in Dhaka’s Gulshan. bdnews24.com

10 Aug:
Readymade garment factory workers in Bangladesh risked their lives by going about their job amid the coronavirus pandemic to keep the wheels of the economy rolling. The Civil Engineers Limited, an apparel factory in Dhaka’s Tejgaon, took a distinct initiative to protect its workers from the virus. bdnews24.com/Kazi Salahuddin Razu

17 Aug:
BNP activists clash with police in Dhaka’s Chandrima Udyan after the new convening committees of the party’s Dhaka north and south units went to present flowers at the grave of party founder Ziaur Rahman. Several were injured in the clashes and vehicles were vandalised on nearby streets. bdnews24.com

19 Aug:
Junaid Babunagari, chief of radical Islamic group Hifazat-e Islam died at the CSCR hospital in Chattogram. Within his organisation, Babunagari was revered as an Islamic scholar, but his final years were marred by controversy and questionable leadership. bdnews24.com/Sumon Babu

29 Aug:
An electric metro rail train made its first official journey atop the viaducts from the Diabari depot to the Mirpur 12 transit service. bdnews24.com/Muhammad Mostafigur Rahman

31 Aug:
A Dhaka tribunal sentenced six people to death for the murder of LGBT rights activist Xulhaz Mannan and his friend Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy. One of the convicts, seemingly unrepentant following the verdict, is seen laughing inside a prison van as he is taken to jail following the verdict. bdnews24.com/Mahmud Zaman Ovi

1 Sept:
Actress Pori Moni was released from jail nearly a month after she was arrested on drug charges. Photos of Pori Moni with “Don’t Love Me Bitch” written on her palm broke the internet and elicited reactions from a wider spectrum of people. bdnews24.com

11 Sept:
Bangladesh reopened schools and colleges 543 days after they were closed at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, in what was the longest-ever break in education in the country. bdnews24.com/Asif Mahmud Ove

20 Sept:
A group of expatriate workers pose with their passports outside the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka as they prepare for their journeys abroad. Many Bangladeshis who work abroad were not able to continue their jobs during the pandemic or had to return home. bdnews24.com/Kazi Salahuddin Razu

23 Sept:
Police used batons to break up a protest by more than 1,000 disgruntled customers of Eorange, one of the scam-hit e-commerce companies that grabbed headlines. bdnews24.com/Asif Mahmud Ove

9 Oct:
Seven people died after a trawler, usually used to carry sand, sank in the Turag River in Dhaka’s Gabtali as it was ferrying passengers. Devastated family members break down in tears after the accident. bdnews24.com/Asif Mahmud Ove

17 Oct:
Classes at Dhaka University resumed after a year and a half amid the coronavirus pandemic. The return of students revitalised the campus. Many students had their exams suspended due to the pandemic and had to sit for exams as soon as they returned. bdnews24.com/Kazi Salahuddin Razu

18 Oct:
Protests erupted at Dhaka’s Shahbagh, calling for the arrest and punishment of those who perpetrated the attacks on temples, homes and businesses of the minority Hindus throughout Bangladesh. A group of Dhaka University students demanded compensation for the victims as well. bdnews24.com/Asif Mahmud Ove

27 Oct:
A Ro-Ro ferry, named Shah Amanat, carrying several vehicles sank in the Padma River near Paturia’s No. 5 terminal in Manikganj. The 40-year-old ferry was supposed to be retired a decade ago. bdnews24.com

5 Nov:
Public transport owners and workers went on strike to demand a rise in fares following a hike in fuel prices. The strike put daily commuters and travellers in misery before coming to an end with an official approval for an increase in fares. bdnews24.com/Asif Mahmud Ove

9 Nov:
The Chattogram port reopens after a strike by truck freight workers in response to a hike in fuel prices. The strike crippled the movement of containers in and out of Bangladesh’s biggest port and delayed shipments. bdnews24.com/Sumon Babu

11 Nov:
A court acquitted all five suspects, including Shafat Ahmed, the son of an Apan Jewellers co-owner, in a case over the rape of two university students at Raintree hotel. Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Begum Mosarrat Kamrunnahar came under fire over her observation in the case. Later, she was stripped of her judicial powers. bdnews24.com/Mahmud Zaman Ovi

14 Nov:
The Secondary School Certificate and equivalent exams began after a nine-month delay. As many as 2.22 million students from 29, 035 educational institutions sat the tests. bdnews24.com/Kazi Salahuddin Razu

15 Nov:
Members of a women’s organisation demanded the scrapping of the provision that allowed the character of those seeking justice in rape cases to be questioned under the Evidence Act. The movement was triggered following the acquittal of the accused in the Raintree rape case. bdnews24.com/Mahmud Zaman Ovi

21 Nov:
Students from Begum Badrunnessa Govt Girls’ College hold a demonstration to demand a 50 percent discount on bus fares for students be implemented around the country. bdnews24.com/Asif Mahmud Ove

22/24 Nov:
Students took to the streets to demand safe roads after a city corporation truck ran over and killed Notre Dame College student Naim Hasan in Dhaka. bdnews24.com/Kazi Salahuddin Razu

2 Dec:
The Higher Secondary Certificate exams began a good eight months behind schedule. As many as 1.39 million students from 9,183 educational institutions took the tests. bdnews24.com/Kazi Salahuddin Razu

8 Dec:
A Dhaka court sentenced 20 people to death and five others to life in prison for the 2019 murder of BUET student Abrar Fahad, who was beaten to death by pro-government Chhatra League activists. bdnews24.com/Mahmud Zaman Ovi

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