Bangladesh TV station taken off air for election day
Dhaka, Dec 30 : A leading Bangladeshi news channel has been taken off the air, officials said Sunday as the country votes for a new government amid allegations of a media crackdown.
The private Jamuna TV said the action was taken late Saturday. "Cable operators took Jamuna TV off air without giving us any explanation," Fahim Ahmed, the station's chief news editor, told AFP.
"We are still transmitting. But no one in Bangladesh can see our channel due to the blackout," he said.
The channel's output can still be seen online.
The broadcaster, which is owned by Jamuna Group -- one of Bangladesh's biggest conglomerates, which also runs a newspaper -- is known for its independent coverage.
Salma Islam, a member of the family that owns the group, stood in Sunday's election as an independent candidate against an influential ruling party businessman.
A top cable operator in Dhaka said Jamuna broadcasts stopped for technical rather than political reasons.
"We are not getting their signal," said S M Ali Chanchal, owner of cable operator UCS.
Jamuna rejected the explanation and insisted their signals were being broadcast as normal.
Authorities have also ordered the country's mobile operators to shut down 3G and 4G services until midnight on Sunday "to prevent the spread of rumours" that could trigger unrest.
There have been mounting accusations that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government has been stifling dissent and curbing freedom of the press ahead of Sunday's election.
Internationally renowned photographer Shahidul Alam was detained for nearly four months after he was accused of making false and provocative statements against Hasina on Facebook.
Two pro-opposition editors have been detained for months over what they say are trumped-up charges while the editors of two influential dailies were accused of sedition and scores of other defamation cases.
In recent months Hasina's government has also strengthened a digital security law, which rights groups and journalists have said makes investigative journalism almost impossible.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
