All you need to know about Pak govt’s decision to ban Imran Khan’s PTI

New Delhi: Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus - who last week took oath as head of Bangladesh's interim government - has heaped praise on students who spearheaded protests against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. "There is no doubt... because of the student-led revolution the whole government collapsed..." Mr Yunus told reporters after a Sunday night meet with the students.

"I said (to the students), 'I respect you... I admire you. What you have done is absolutely unparalleled... and because you ordered me to do this (to take charge of the interim administration) I accept...'," Mr Yunus said, recounting part of the conversation he had with the students.

Two of the student protesters - Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud - are part of a 16-member advisory council that was sworn in with Mr Yunus. The 84-year-old won the 2006 Nobel Peace prize for his work in microfinance and setting up the Grameen Bank, which works for community development.

Mr Yunus has also stressed the wave of resignations of high-ranking public officials, including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and head of Bangladesh's central bank, was "conducted legally".

They had reportedly been issued ultimatums to quit.

"They want to have a new court," he said of the students. "So they went there and asked the chief justice to resign and put their pressure to make him resign."

"I'm sure they will find the legal way to justify all of this, because legally... all the steps were followed," he said. His office only agreed to publish these quotes Monday evening.

"Finally, this moment, the monster is gone," Mr Yunus also said, referring to Ms Hasina's departure and the end of what her critics said was an autocratic rule that stifled all dissent. 

However, Mr Yunus warned the interim government that public goodwill is a limited resource and that they would face many difficult decisions ahead. "The moment you start taking decisions, some people will like your decisions, some people will not like your decisions," he said. "...that's the way it works."

The interim government was formed after Bangladesh witnessed weeks of violence and clashes - triggered by protests over a jobs quota - forced Ms Hasina, a five-time PM, to resign and flee.

Sheikh Hasina left the Prime Minister's residence in Dhaka - hours before it was overrun - and flew to India in a Bangladeshi military aircraft. The 76-year-old, seen as a key ally of New Delhi, remains in an undisclosed location amid reports she will seek political asylum, possibly in the United Kingdom.

Following Ms Hasina's departure Md Yunus - who faced multiple corruption charges under the previous government and was in Europe while Sheikh Hasina was in power - was picked by the protesting to oversee democratic reforms.

His first act after being administered an oath of office - and taking the title of 'chief advisor' - was to lead a solemn tribute to the more than 450 people who died in the protests.

It is unclear when Bangladesh will hold an election to select a new Prime Minister. Whenever that is, Mrs Hasina is likely to return to contest, her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy told The Times of India. "She will go back to Bangladesh the moment the interim government decides to hold an election," he said.

Modi's "Best Wishes"

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended his best wishes to Mr Yunus,

"We hope for an early return to normalcy, ensuring the safety and protection of Hindus and all other minority communities. India remains committed to working with Bangladesh to fulfil the shared aspirations of both our peoples for peace, security and development," he wrote on X. 

With the change of guard in neighbouring Bangladesh, the Indian government now faces a diplomatic dilemma, even as China was also swift to welcome Dhaka's new authorities, saying it "attaches importance to the development" of relations.
 

Udupi: The national highways traversing Udupi district have become increasingly perilous, with over 1,000 accidents recorded in 2023 alone, tragically resulting in the loss of 222 lives. In response to these sobering figures, the police department has pinpointed 21 high-risk areas, or "black spots," where accidents are recurrent, prompting the district administration to instruct the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to implement urgent safety measures.

The surge in accidents has been primarily attributed to two factors: the unscientific design of roads and junctions, and the reckless over-speeding by motorists. Of the identified black spots, four are within the jurisdiction of the Udupi traffic police station, while three fall under the Byndoor police station. The district administration has mandated that NHAI install warning signs, create zebra crossings, and deploy traffic police at these vulnerable locations to mitigate the risk of further accidents.

In total, the district recorded 1,284 accidents on its national highways in 2023. Alongside the 222 fatalities, 1,381 individuals sustained injuries ranging from minor to severe. Alarmingly, the police department reports that 90% of these incidents were caused by excessive speed.

Three years ago, a collaborative study conducted by students and experts from MAHE MIT, alongside NHAI and the district police, shed light on the dangers posed by the unscientific design of roads. The study revealed that road dividers and U-turns are often installed due to pressure from the owners of nearby establishments, such as wedding halls, petrol stations, hospitals, and shopping centers. Ideally, three lanes should be available before a U-turn is made, but this is frequently not the case, particularly in areas where local residents have influenced the placement of these turns. Additionally, driving on the wrong side of the road has been identified as another significant cause of accidents, according to Raghavendra Holla, an assistant lecturer of civil engineering at MIT Manipal.

Dr. K. Vidyakumari, the Deputy Commissioner of Udupi, emphasized the seriousness of the situation, stating, “Appropriate instructions have already been issued to the police department and NHAI to prevent accidents on highways. We must also implement ambulance mapping with trauma care centers on highways, and highway engineers have been advised to convene special meetings every month to address these pressing issues.”

The call for immediate action underscores the urgent need to rectify these dangerous conditions, as the community grapples with the devastating impact of these preventable tragedies.

A senior minister from Karnataka has requested the party top brass in Delhi to revamp guarantee schemes by limiting it to only the poor to reduce burden on state exchequer.

The minister, who met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Karnataka in-charge Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala here, apprised them about the ‘concern’ expressed by a large number of legislators of the lack of funds for development after implementation of the guarantee scheme, sources in the Congress said here.

If the guarantee schemes were limited to only below poverty line card holders in the state, the state exchequer would save at least Rs 25,000 crore per annum and the same amount could be spent on other developmental works, the leader is said to have suggested to Congress leaders.

Citing the Congress' poor performance in Lok Sabha polls, he said it was a clear indication that such a scheme won't help the party electorally. The state senior leader also brought to the party high command's notice about the state legislators facing wrath from the public about pending developmental works including roads and drinking water facilities.

As the launching of some of the guarantee schemes completed one year last month, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently said in the national capital that he too had noticed that some of the MLAs and other leaders were demanding the stopping of the scheme.

Ruling out the stopping of the guarantee scheme, the CM said the government would also keep welfare of the poor in mind while cutting down expenditure of the guarantee scheme.

Earlier this year, Siddaramaiah, who also holds the finance portfolio, while presenting state budget announced Rs.1,20,373 crore for welfare programmes, of which a whopping 43 per cent (Rs.52,000 crore) has been set aside for the five guarantee schemes– Shakti, Gruhajyoti, Gruha Lakshmi, Yuvanidhi and Anna Bhagya.