At least 200 families have been left waterlogged in Patiya, Chattogram, after a drainage route was blocked, preventing monsoon water from receding. The flooding has affected Kazipara in Ward No. 7 of Haidgaon Union and broad areas across four or five nearby villages, according to the report published on August 19, 2026.

Residents said water from five villages previously passed through the Mongoler Tek area near a three-way road, then flowed via Mora Khal into Chandkhali Khal. They alleged that influential groups recently sealed the water route with cement. Farmland and ponds have been submerged, causing losses for cultivators and fish farmers, while prolonged standing water has disrupted movement for residents and students.

Kazipara Government Primary School management committee president Kazi Arif Ullah said excess rainwater had drained from surrounding areas but remained in Kazipara because the route was closed. He called for the attention of Patiya’s member of parliament Enamul Haque Enam and Upazila Nirbahi Officer Farhanur Rahman. Acting Haidgaon Union Parishad chairman Helal Uddin said necessary action would be taken if a written complaint is submitted.

Road conditions in several parts of Bangladesh have deteriorated because of prolonged lack of repairs, causing travel hardship and raising accident risks, according to local reports published on August 19, 2026. In Saghatta, Gaibandha, the Westbati road has reportedly not been repaired in 18 years because it lacks a road identification number. Sections have collapsed, asphalt has peeled away, and parts of the roadbed have disappeared.

Residents said repeated requests to correct the road ID and repair the route have not produced results. LGED sources said the road had no ID when it was paved, while Upazila Engineer Nayan Ray said a proposal had been sent. The Bhanga Bridge-Durgapur road in Bonarpara Union was also found badly damaged, affecting commuters and transport of farm products.

Similar problems were reported on the Giaspur Barishab road in Kapasia, Gazipur, where potholes worsen after rain. In Titas, Cumilla, about two kilometres of the Alinagar-Daskandi earthen road become muddy and impassable during rain. Residents sought paving and widening, while Titas Upazila Engineer Saiful Islam said a paving proposal would be sent in a future allocation.

Residents of Dakop, a Sundarbans-adjacent coastal area in Khulna, have alleged that patients are being charged for services that should be available free at the government health complex. The allegations target Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Sudip Kumar Bala, who joined the Dakop Thana Health Centre on November 17, 2022. Residents say they have held multiple human chains and protests over the matter.

According to complaints cited in the report, patients are sent to private diagnostic centres despite available pathology services and an ultrasound machine at the facility. They say ultrasound tests that cost Tk200 to Tk250 at the centre are obtained outside for Tk700 to Tk800. Caesarean operations allegedly cost Tk5,500 to Tk7,000, while the ambulance fare to Khulna Medical College Hospital allegedly rose from the government-set Tk800 to Tk1,200.

Dr Bala said outside doctors must be brought in for caesarean operations because the complex lacks gynaecology and anaesthesia physicians, and claimed he does not take the money. He denied allegations over diagnostic referrals and outside-clinic operations. Civil Surgeon Mosammat Mahfuza Khatun said her office has no documents on the claimed resolution and would verify any written complaint before taking action.

Charfassion Government T. Barrett Secondary School in Charfassion upazila of Bhola is operating with nine teachers for about 1,200 students, according to a report published on August 19, 2026. Of its 17 approved teaching posts, eight are vacant, while the head teacher position is also unfilled. Assistant head teacher Taslima Begum is serving as acting head teacher.

The school reportedly has no office assistants despite having two such approved posts. Its nine teachers must manage regular classes, examinations, script marking, result preparation, attendance monitoring and student discipline. Workloads rise further around half-yearly and annual examinations, the Class Eight scholarship examination, Class Nine test examination and SSC-related academic activities.

Parents at a recent school gathering complained that the staffing shortage makes adequate supervision in classrooms and on campus difficult. Guardian and educator Ilias Hossain called for part-time appointments. Taslima Begum said she would inform the school president, the upazila executive officer and relevant authorities. School president and Charfassion Upazila Executive Officer Romana Afroz said authorities would be notified and the issue of appointing part-time teachers would be resolved with the institution head.

Five people, including an event-management cameraman, were shot by unidentified assailants while travelling to film a wedding turmeric ceremony in Gazitola, Moushakpur village of Alaiyapur union, Begumganj, Noakhali. The shooting occurred around 11:30pm on Monday. One injured person was sent to Dhaka for advanced treatment after being admitted with the others to the 250-bed Noakhali General Hospital.

The injured were identified as Nazrul Islam Shanto, Maruf Ahmed, Jasim Uddin, Sakib Hossain and Bablu. Shanto said their group, including women, was travelling on three motorcycles and two CNG-run auto-rickshaws when gunfire was directed at their motorcycles from behind. He said five people suffered gunshot wounds to the head, hands and back after falling onto the road.

Shanto claimed he recognised local men Harun and Picchi Riad among the attackers, and alleged that Riad threatened to shoot him. Local sources said the incident stemmed from a prior dispute between Harun and Raihan, with the group reportedly mistaken for Raihan’s associates. Police said three motorcycle riders suffered pellet-gun injuries and that officers would investigate and take legal action.

The Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board has launched an inquiry into allegations that Narsingdi Sadar’s Nasima Kadir Molla High School and Homes used irregular methods behind its 100% GPA-5 result in the 2026 SSC examinations. In an order signed by school inspector Professor Dr Md Masud Rana Khan, the board asked the institution to explain the allegations within seven working days.

The inquiry followed media reports and complaints from guardians that the school selectively allowed students to sit for the final SSC examination to preserve its record. Several mothers of students said their children had studied there since first grade, but were told before the SSC examination that they could not take part. The school’s head teacher, Md Iman Hossain, said 483 students took the selection test and 101 failed, leaving 382 approved for the SSC examination.

According to sources cited in the report, 601 students were registered in class nine in 2024, while 382 were allowed to participate in the 2026 SSC examination, a difference of 219 students. The board has sought data on admissions, class-nine registrations, selection-test participants and SSC form-fillers, along with relevant approvals for teaching, departments and additional class sections.

National Citizen Party member secretary and lawmaker Akhtar Hossain said the government has not kept its promise to introduce stronger laws on preventing enforced disappearances. Speaking at a Tuesday roundtable at the Dhaka Reporters Unity in Segunbagicha, he alleged that draft laws restrict the National Human Rights Commission’s independent investigative authority and assign disappearance investigations to forces that may face such allegations.

Hossain said a proposed five-year punishment for families filing false disappearance complaints could intimidate victims’ relatives. He urged the government to redraft the laws with public input rather than relying only on officials and security forces. He warned that passing the drafts could reverse progress in protecting human rights and revive a culture of impunity.

Other participants also called for independent and accountable institutions. Political analyst Dilara Chowdhury questioned police responsibility for disappearance investigations, while Shahidul Alam urged retention of the commission’s independent power to investigate security-force allegations. Nabila Idris said recent legal changes weaken independent investigations and proposed special safeguards for officials instead of removing investigative powers.

Kakoroch Janata Party (CJP) said it has raised four demands for the family of Sheikh Mohammed Mafi, who it alleges was killed in Indas, Bankura. At a press conference outside Kolkata Press Club on Tuesday, party spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said the demands include security for family members, the swift arrest of those accused in the killing, necessary assistance for the family, and fundraising in Abdul’s name.

The party said Mafi was killed after his son, Sheikh Abdul Hafiz, posted photographs of a local primary school on social media as part of CJP’s “Fix the School” campaign. Ranka appealed to students and members of the public for financial assistance for the family. The report presents these allegations and demands as claims made by the party.

Ranka also alleged that a planned CJP meet-up at Bharat Sabha Hall in north Kolkata was cancelled at the last moment under pressure from the BJP. He said about six other Kolkata auditoriums had declined bookings. Ranka said the party would soon organize a larger meet-up and would continue as a pressure group rather than enter electoral politics or contest student-union elections.

Newly appointed Barishal Range DIG Md Zulfikar Ali Haider said police have not met the expectations people hold for the force and that work is under way to improve officers’ behaviour and service quality. He made the remarks at a media exchange meeting organized by the Barishal Range DIG office at the Police Lines on Tuesday afternoon. He said allegations of harassment in accepting cases and general diaries at police stations would be treated seriously.

The DIG said initiatives would be taken to establish media wings at the Barishal Range DIG office and in each of the division’s six districts. A spokesperson would also be assigned in each area to provide journalists with necessary information promptly. He called on journalists to publish responsible and objective reports, saying stronger mutual cooperation between police and the media is needed to maintain normal law and order.

Haider also said school-based community policing would be introduced to raise students’ awareness of digital crime and help create a safer digital environment. Police will place special surveillance on robbery and banditry in the division’s six districts, he said. A special cell will be formed to prevent such crimes, with measures to be decided after analysing crime patterns and trends.

Fifty-seven political and social leaders in Bangladesh have called for the presidential election not to become a test of party loyalty in the post-uprising period. In a joint statement sent to the media on Tuesday, they issued four demands, including an end to what they described as misinterpretation of Article 70 of the constitution in relation to the presidential vote.

The signatories said Article 70 should be reformed so that its application is limited to money bills and no-confidence votes. They also opposed any attempt to expand its current scope and apply it to the presidential election in a manner they said conflicts with commitments in the July National Charter and the 31-point programme.

They urged the Election Commission to immediately provide a clear, neutral and constitutional interpretation on whether Article 70 applies to the presidential election, and to make that explanation public. The statement also called on all members of the 13th parliament to vote according to constitutional conscience, independent judgment and responsibility to the republic, free from party pressure, fear and loyalty.

Barishal City Corporation (BCC) has ordered construction to stop at a high-rise building under development in the Jordan Road area of Barishal city. The directive was issued on Tuesday afternoon in an order signed by BCC Chief Executive Officer Rezaul Bari, according to the report published on August 19, 2026.

The action followed a report published by Amar Desh on Monday alleging that the developer, Green City, was constructing the multi-storey building in a protected area without approval. BCC instructed the company to submit its corporation-approved plan within the next three working days.

The BCC administrator said the matter was treated seriously after the newspaper report. He said construction was halted immediately after officials learned that Green City was building in the protected Jordan Road area without any plan. The administrator also said he has been working to keep the corporation free of corruption and that necessary action will be taken if any BCC officer or employee is found involved in irregularities.

A local Jamaat-e-Islami leader, Inamul Molla, 26, was temporarily relieved of his party post in Boalmari, Faridpur, after allegations of an improper relationship with the wife of an expatriate Bangladeshi. The action was taken on Tuesday afternoon, according to party sources, and an internal investigation has begun. Molla had served as ameer of Jamaat’s Ward No. 9 unit in Boalmari municipality.

Local and party sources said Molla had long maintained close contact with a woman from the Kutipara area of Kushadanga village, whose husband is currently abroad. The alleged relationship recently became known to both families and local residents, prompting discussion and criticism in the area. Molla also works as a receptionist at Molla Doctor K Halim Hospital in Boalmari market.

Molla could not be reached for comment because his phone was switched off, and he was not present at his workplace. Municipal Jamaat ameer Syed Niamul Hasan said the allegation was being investigated and further decisions would follow after consultation if it is found true. Party sources said the allegation remains an allegation until the investigation is completed.

Four newly appointed members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s national standing committee met Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at his office in the Secretariat on Tuesday evening, August 18. The participants were Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed, Md Amanullah Aman, Farhad Halim (Donor), and Md Ismail Zabiullah. Standing committee member and Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed was also present, according to the prime minister’s deputy press secretary Zahidur Islam Roni.

Earlier in the day, the four leaders paid tribute by laying wreaths at the graves of martyred president Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman appointed them to the party’s national standing committee on August 15.

BNP said the appointments were made under party decisions to increase organizational dynamism. It said the four leaders would contribute advice and help the party’s highest policymaking forum take important decisions for the party and the people. With their addition, the 19-member standing committee now has 17 members. Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, nominated as the party’s presidential candidate, is expected to resign from his party post after the August 20 presidential election.

A group of assailants attacked Professor Dr Md Asadur Rahman of Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s ear, nose and throat department over treatment-related issues. The incident occurred on Tuesday outside Popular Diagnostic Centre in Shantinagar, Dhaka. Medical organisations condemned the attack and called for exemplary punishment for those involved.

Doctors Association of Bangladesh president Professor Dr Harun Al Rashid and secretary general Dr Md Zahirul Islam Shakil denounced the incident. National Doctors Forum president Professor Dr Md Nazrul Islam and general secretary Professor Dr Mahmud Hossain also issued condemnation. In separate statements, the organisations said the attack had deeply hurt the medical community.

The leaders said doctors work continuously, often at personal risk, to provide patients with the best possible care, and that assaulting or physically humiliating them is a condemnable offence. They warned that threats to doctors’ safety could disrupt quality and uninterrupted treatment for patients. They urged authorities to quickly identify the attackers, bring them under the law, ensure exemplary punishment, and establish effective security for doctors and health workers at hospitals and healthcare facilities.

A Seeratunnabi (PBUH) gathering was held on Tuesday afternoon at the Shaheed Shafiur Rahman Hall of the Supreme Court Bar Association, organised by the Seeratunnabi Mahfil Celebration Committee, Supreme Court branch. Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General Maulana Abul Hasnat Md Abdul Halim attended as chief guest, while Islamic thinker Mufti Ali Hasan Usama was the chief discussant.

Speaking at the event, Abdul Halim said human rights and justice are important matters for lawyers and urged the legal community to help ensure both by following the ideals of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He said lawyers could play an important role in establishing human rights and justice based on those ideals.

Mufti Ali Hasan Usama cited Quranic verses and called on lawyers not to fight cases for traitors or strengthen falsehood. He said livelihood should not be used as a reason to compromise with injustice, urging lawyers to stand for justice and assist oppressed people. The programme was chaired by Supreme Court advocate Md Mosiul Alam and conducted by advocate Saifur Rahman, with several lawyers and senior advocates attending.