They have requested a review of total 1,037,717 answer scripts across different subjects. According to the earlier announcement, today, 7 November, was the deadline for submitting applications for re-scrutiny and re-evaluation.

However, the president of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee and chairman of the Dhaka Education Board told Prothom Alo Saturday night that the deadline has been extended. Applications can now be submitted until 12:00 pm tomorrow, Sunday.

This year’s HSC and equivalent examination results have seen a significant decline. The results were published on 31 October. Of the 1,240,798 candidates who sat the examinations under 11 education boards, only 646,685 passed.

The average pass rate was 52.12 per cent. A total of 40,084 candidates secured GPA-5. Nearly half of all candidates failed this year.

A large number of candidates have applied for re-scrutiny and re-evaluation. Officials concerned said the authorities were taking a positive view of the re-evaluation process. This was why the deadline has been extended, so that no interested student would miss the opportunity to apply.

Earlier this year, the results of a large number of candidates in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations changed following re-scrutiny and re-evaluation.

Another 3,079 students secured GPA-5, while 4,085 who had failed passed after the review. Grades changed for 27,836 candidates, and marks changed for 56,259.

A total of 1,829,485 candidates sat this year’s SSC and equivalent examinations under 11 education boards. Of them, 402,052 applied for re-scrutiny and re-evaluation.

But on Friday, there was no response from him. Arafat died after contracting measles, dengue and pneumonia.

Yesterday evening, after laying his son in grave, Mohammad Kabir rushed back to the hospital. He has hardly had time to grieve for Arafat. His other son, just 10 months old, is on life support at the hospital. He too has been diagnosed with the same three illnesses.

Having buried one son, Kabir is now waiting to see whether he can save the other. He spends his time beside the bed of his younger son, Mohammad Abu Bakkar, also known as Arab, at Chattogram Maa-O-Shishu Hospital.

Physicians have told him that the child’s chances of survival are very slim. Yet the father cannot bring himself to give up hope.

Having buried one son, Kabir is now waiting to see whether he can save the other. He spends his time beside the bed of his younger son at Chattogram Maa-O-Shishu Hospital. Physicians have told him that the child’s chances of survival are very slim.

Mohammad Kabir spoke to Prothom Alo on Saturday afternoon. He repeatedly faltered as he spoke. At times, he could not recall when his elder son had died; at others, he became confused about how many days they have spent in hospital.

At one point, he said, “I honestly can’t remember. I’m not in my right mind. My life is finished.”

For the 31-year-old father, life has now become an unrelenting series of calamities. His wife, Amena Begum, has been left mentally shattered by the death of their elder son. At home, she keeps looking for the child.

Meanwhile, Kabir is rushing between hospital departments with their younger son. His elderly mother is by his side. On top of all this, they are facing huge medical expenses and the burden of debt.

Last conversation with son

Arafat was a Class Three student at Hillview Public School in Chattogram city. He was a brilliant student. He was the elder of two brothers. His younger brother, Abu Bakkar, was just 10 months old. Kabir and his wife, Amena Begum, had built their life around their two sons.

Kabir said Arafat had developed a fever, vomiting and a cough around 15–20 days earlier. As his condition worsened, he was first taken to Southern Hospital in Chattogram, where he received treatment for two days. He was then transferred to the private Imperial Hospital. When his condition deteriorated, he had to be admitted to its intensive care unit (ICU).

Arafat’s condition did not improve despite several days of treatment at Imperial Hospital. Instead, his breathing difficulties grew worse.

Unable to bear the huge cost of treatment, Kabir eventually took his son to Chattogram Maa-O-Shishu Hospital. He was admitted to the ICU there. According to his father, Arafat, who had measles, dengue and pneumonia, had developed complications in his liver as well as his lungs.

Kabir last spoke to his son on Thursday night. Arafat was still in the ICU. He responded when his father called out to him, saying only that he was doing well. However, visitors were not allowed to stay in the ICU for long. So Kabir could not speak to his son for very long.

On Friday morning, Kabir went to buy medicine for his son. By the time he returned, it was all over. The physicians asked him to come to the hospital immediately.

Kabir said, “The physician told me, ‘Brother, please come quickly. Come and see him one last time. His condition is not good.’ Then it was over, all over. My precious boy never came back.”

The boy who had responded to his father’s call on Thursday night had to be laid to rest by Kabir on Friday evening. Arafat was buried at a graveyard beside the Momenbagh residential area in the city. Yet Kabir could not even return home to comfort his wife. Their other child was still fighting for his life in hospital.

Younger son on life support

Before he could come to terms with the grief of losing his elder son, Kabir found himself facing grave uncertainty over the fate of his younger child. He said 10-month-old Abu Bakkar had also contracted measles, dengue and pneumonia.

The child is currently on life support in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Chattogram Maa-O-Shishu Hospital. He was admitted there four days ago.

Kabir said his younger son weighed seven and a half kilograms when he was admitted to hospital. The child has been receiving treatment for several days, but his condition has not improved.

When asked what the physicians had told him, Kabir said, “The physicians are saying that his chances of survival are very slim. They have put him on life support.”

Even after hearing this from the physicians, Kabir cannot bring himself to leave his son’s bedside. All his hopes are now pinned on his younger child. Meanwhile, he is also deeply worried about his wife, Amena Begum. She has been mentally shattered by the death of their elder son.

Kabir said he had not brought his wife to the hospital today. She is at home but is not behaving normally. She keeps looking for their elder son and cannot even properly recognise the younger child. She has been repeatedly losing consciousness.

With both children falling ill at the same time, the family’s finances have been thrown into disarray. The cost of treating his elder son, Arafat, alone exceeded Tk 250,000 at the hospitals.

Struggling with medical expenses

Mohammad Kabir’s home is in Mymensingh. His family lives in a rented house on Road 1 in the Hillview area of Chattogram city. He works for a private company.

Kabir said his total monthly income was Tk 20,000. Of this, Tk 6,000 went towards house rent. He used the remaining money to support his wife and two sons.

With both children falling ill at the same time, the family’s finances have been thrown into disarray. The cost of treating his elder son, Arafat, alone exceeded Tk 250,000 at the hospitals.

Kabir said, “I had some savings. Then my colleagues gave me some money. People in the neighbourhood also helped me out. That is how I managed to pay for it. I have also taken on some debt.”

He also had to borrow money from relatives. However, Kabir still has not calculated how much he owes in total. He is worried about how much more money he will need in the days ahead.

Driver Faruk Mia told Prothom Alo on Saturday, "While we were at the signal, a large crane approached from the back and came over the motorcycle through the middle of the road. Part of the crane fell on the body of the motorcycle passenger, Arif."

Faruk Mia further mentioned that he somehow survived. Arif was seriously injured. The flesh from his hips to his legs was torn off. The part below the knee of his right leg was crushed.

Ahsanullah Arif, who was an engineer by profession, died after receiving treatment for five days at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The accident occurred on 18 October at the FDC intersection in the capital. The crane was being used for construction work on the Dhaka Elevated Expressway in the area adjacent to Hatirjheel and Panthakunja Park.

The accident did not receive much attention. Ahsanullah Arif's family members say that his family has been devastated by his loss.

Among the infrastructure projects in the country that have faced delays, one is the Dhaka Elevated Expressway. The project for this approximately 20-kilometer-long elevated road from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Kutubkhali in Jatrabari was undertaken in 2009. Formal construction work began on 1 January 2020.

On 2 September 2023, the 11.5 km section from the airport to Tejgaon was inaugurated. The construction of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway is being carried out by China's Shandong Hi-Speed Group and Sinohydro Corporation.

The incident of engineer Ahsanullah Arif's death due to the crane has been described to Prothom Alo by motorcycle driver Faruk Mia and Arif's elder brother ABM Yasin Ullah. They mentioned that after the accident, the people present detained the crane driver and handed him over to the police.

Yasin Ullah told Prothom Alo that on the day of the incident, Arif was going to see his elderly mother, who was admitted at Universal Medical Hospital in Mohakhali. The mother recovered and returned home after the accident, but Arif could not.

Yasin Ullah mentioned that Arif was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital about two hours after the accident, where doctors amputated his right leg during surgery. Most of the flesh of the left leg had been torn off. Doctors were trying to save the leg. He was kept in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) from the day of the accident. Arif died on 23 October, suffering from severe pneumonia.

Arif’s family stated that he is survived by his father, mother, wife, and one child. Elder brother Yasin Ullah said that their mother still cannot speak properly. Arif's wife is devastated. With lamentation, he said, "My vibrant brother is gone. It still doesn’t feel real. The whole family has been shattered."

Yasin Ullah mentioned that he is an officer in the BCS Health Cadre, and Arif was an engineer.

Arif’s family has filed a case at Hatirjheel Police Station over his death. However, they are uncertain about the future of the case investigation and judicial process.

The investigating officer of the case, Sub-Inspector (SI) Suman Mia of Hatirjheel Police Station, told Prothom Alo that the investigation is ongoing.

A motorcycle and a crane have been seized from the accident site. Discussions are ongoing about the ownership of the crane and the associated company.

However, the police officer mentioned that there are limitations in confirming what exactly happened during the accident. He said no functioning CCTV cameras were in the area. The investigation is proceeding based on the information received from eyewitnesses. An indictment will be filed in court after reviewing everything. Detailed comments are currently not possible.

The construction work on the Dhaka Elevated Expressway is being carried out by China's Shandong Hi-Speed Group and Sinohydro Corporation.

Efforts were made to contact the officials of these companies over the phone for their comments regarding the accident, but they did not answer their phones. No comments were received from them despite sending text messages.

Dhaka Elevated Expressway's project director, Golam Mortuza, told Prothom Alo, "We have recently been informed about the incident. An investigation report has been requested from the investor company on this matter."

Regarding the allegation by the victim's family that the crane lifted the motorcycle from behind while it was stationary, the project director said, "We have not spoken to the family. However, we have learned that a passenger fell off during a competition between a motorcycle and a CNG autorickshaw from the Moghbazar signal and went under the crane."

There have been other examples of accidents in the construction work on the Dhaka Elevated Expressway. In 2023, a 12-year-old child died in Mohakhali when an iron rod fell. In 2024, Shamim Mia died when a crane container for the elevated expressway work fell in Tejkunipara.

Arif's brother, Yasin Ullah, said they want a thorough investigation of the incident and justice for those responsible. He also wishes that no one else loses their life in such accidents.

Tarique Rahman made the remarks in a brief speech in front of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)'s central office in Naya Paltan, Dhaka, at around 3:00 pm on Saturday, marking the historic 7 November, National Revolution and Solidarity Day.

The prime minister said, “As in 1971, 1990, and on 7 November 1975, we want to deliver another crushing response. Let today's sovereignty procession on 7 November be a day to fulfil that aspiration. Let this procession be a day to protect Bangladesh's independence and sovereignty.”

He said the day should also be an occasion to protect the democracy that the people of Bangladesh established through their sacrifices on 5 August 2024.

Seeking the support of thousands of leaders and activists gathered in Naya Paltan, the prime minister asked, “Are you with us?” Party leaders, activists and supporters responded with applause.

Tarique Rahman said, “The students and people of Bangladesh did not just restore the country's independence and sovereignty; they also drove autocrats and conspirators out of the country. Just as those evil forces were defeated on 7 November 1975, they were defeated again on 5 August 2024 through the participation and movement of the people.”

Referring to what he described as renewed attempts at conspiracy, Tarique Rahman said, “As in the past, a section of people is once again engaged in conspiracies. They want to undermine Bangladesh's sovereignty again and reintroduce sham elections. They will not be given that opportunity.”

The prime minister said, “The people of a country that fought the Liberation War in 1971, witnessed the Sepoy-People's Revolution on 7 November 1975 and brought about the student-people's mass uprising in 2024 cannot be suppressed through conspiracies.”

Calling on people to pledge resistance against the conspirators, Tarique Rahman said, “Let us pledge today, on National Revolution and Solidarity Day, that we will protect our country's sovereignty and the democratic rights of the people of Bangladesh at any cost. Let this be our pledge on National Revolution and Solidarity Day.”

'Those who were defeated are trying to stage a comeback'

After the procession reached Manik Mia Avenue in the capital at around 4:30 pm, Tarique Rahman climbed onto a truck and briefly addressed party leaders and activists.

He said, “Since independence, a certain group in Bangladesh has been conspiring against the country's independence, sovereignty, people's rights, voting rights and freedom of expression. The people have defeated them. They are once again trying to re-emerge through conspiracies.”

The head of government said, “Dear brothers and sisters, as long as an independent and sovereign Bangladesh exists, this procession marking the revolution will continue.”

Calling on people to pledge resistance against the conspirators, Tarique Rahman said, “Let us pledge today, on National Revolution and Solidarity Day, that we will protect our country's sovereignty and the democratic rights of the people of Bangladesh at any cost. Let this be our pledge on National Revolution and Solidarity Day.”

Earlier, party leaders and activists began gathering in Naya Paltan in small processions from noon to mark the day. The BNP procession started at around 3:00 pm in front of the party's central office in the capital. Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman joined the procession alongside party leaders and activists.

The prime minister walked with the participants as the procession moved forward. Along the route, party activists and members of the public standing on the roadside greeted him. Tarique Rahman waved back to them throughout the procession.

The procession passed through Kakrail, Hare Road, the InterContinental intersection, Banglamotor, Karwan Bazar, Farmgate and Bijoy Sarani before ending at Manik Mia Avenue.

Law enforcement agencies maintained tight security throughout the procession. Personnel from the police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), President Guard Regiment (PGR), Special Security Force (SSF) and various intelligence agencies were deployed along the route.

Besides the prime minister, BNP Standing Committee member and Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Social Welfare Minister AZM Zahid Hossain, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and other senior party leaders also took part in the procession.