The High Court directed telephone operator Robi Axiata Limited to pay Tk 138 crore in dues to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). Robi Axiata Limited has been ordered to pay the money in five equal installments in five months to the BTRC. The High Court bench of Justice Mamnoon Rahman and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order during hearing an appeal filed by Robi seeking an injunction on BTRC on realising Tk 867.23 crore.

BTRC's lawyer Barrister Khandaker Reza-E-Raquib said that the High Court passed the order in line with the Supreme Court directives that have asked GrameenPhone to pay Tk 2000 crore out of Tk 12580 crore. Barrister Tanjibul Alam and Barrister Kazi Ershadul Alam appeared for Robi Axiata. Robi had filed an appeal with a lower court in Dhaka seeking an injunction on realisation of the money by the BTRC but the court turned down the petition.

The price of liquefied petroleum gas increased by 20 percent at retail stores in the country, days after the prices rose in the international market amid a looming supply shortage. Users have been paying an additional Tk 200 per 12kg cylinder. A 12kg cylinder of the Bashundhara LP Gas, widely used in households, was sold for Tk 1,200 in Dhaka and Tk 1,100 elsewhere. The company raised the price by Tk 150.

LPG prices went up in the international market on January 1. According to market players, the number of LPG users reached 20 million in the country last year. In the international market, the price of each tonne rose on January 1 to $589 from $440, said Fazlur Rahman, managing director of the state-run LP Gas Limited.

The High Court Division directed the government to ban in one year the use of throwaway plastic containers by hotels, motels and restaurants in the coastal belt. A bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Khandaker Diliruzzaman also directed the government to strictly enforce the ban imposed by the environment and forest ministry on April 8, 2002 on marketing and use of polythene or plastic bags.

The court also directed the government to regularly monitor the situation and shut down factories manufacturing polythene bags and plastic containers across the country and seize their machinery. The government was also directed to submit a compliance report by January 15, 2021. The court in a ruling asked the government to explain in four weeks why it would not be directed to adopt a time-bound action plan to substitute hazardous polythene and phase out throwaway plastic containers by December 31, 2022.

The Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (Sreda) has finalised a draft policy guideline for purchasing idle electricity from solar power plants now being used for running irrigation pumps. Sreda officials said the organisation, responsible for preparing policy matters related to renewable energy, recently finalised the guidelines accommodating opinions and experiences of different stakeholders. It is now preparing to place the guideline to the Power Division for approval.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to place our final draft before the Power Division within a week," said an assistant director of Sreda. He said Sreda has already implemented a pilot project in Kushtia to find out how it functions and see if there is any technical or financial problem in applying the guideline.