Country's land administration at present lacks a transparent system that caused Taka 83 billion bribe in 2006 for land registration, mutation, and other land-related irregularities.

Schedule of First round of consultations on SPDB

Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) Muhammad Zamir yesterday stressed the need for complying with principles of disclosure of public information that will promote people's right to information, said a press release.

The CIC was addressing the inaugural ceremony of a two-day training for Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) officials on Right to Information (RTI) act at a local hotel.

Bangladesh Railway (BR) plans to introduce electronic ticketing in additional eight stations by early September to meet growing demand of passengers ahead of Eid, a senior official said Saturday.

Quazi Asadullah, BR's additional director general, said that Rajshai, Khulna, Jessore, Syadpur, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Comilla and Brahmanbaria would be brought under this network developed by CNS, a local networking firm.

“e-governance would not only set up a bridge between different ministries by sharing information and data among themselves but also ensure transparency in government activities,” he said.

Jessore comes first under the quick-service system, allowing people to get all government services at district level and certified copy of land records using internet from the first of September under a pilot scheme.

Once this service is open, citizens will be able to submit application for any service and file complaints from home using internet, as the project gives more emphasis on digitization, that is, email-oriented service, instead of the antiquated paperwork widely reputed as ‘red tape’.

Dear Viewers,

Digital Bangladesh Blog (www.digitalbangladesh.gov.bd) is more improved and secured now. During the upgradation, you might have faced trouble to enter the site on 17th August, 2010 (Tuesday) from 10:00 am to 3:00pm.

Sorry for the temporary inconveniences and thanks for your continuous support.

The telecoms regulator has moved to ensure free customer care calls for mobile phone customers.

The regulator has also issued a number of specific directives regarding basic services to mobile phone customers.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has directed mobile operators to switch to a common toll free number 121 for customer care services by October and also asked not to charge for calls or text messages to that number.

I attended the consultation meeting on Community Radio Strategy organized by UNICEF at PIB on 14 July. Ms. Gebriela, a consultant of UNICEF, presented her 1st draft of National Strategy for Implementation of Community Radio Policy in Bangladesh.

Though it was a consultation with civil society, very few members of the Civil Society were present in the meeting. Among those, former BTRC Chairman Syed Margub Murshed and Dr. Tofail sir of UNDP were mentionable. DG Bangladesh Betar and DG PIB also spoke. Main audience was the owners of the Community Radio.

In her presentation,

The government would soon conduct a survey on beggars in Dhaka city to prepare a database with photographs of people who live on alms.