bangladesh
Stabilise prices ahead of Ramadan: Home Minister
Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan, MP, on Sunday called upon businesses to stabilise the prices of essential commodities during the holy month of Ramadan as people's incomes have been hit hard by Covid-19 in the country.
“The prices of daily essentials come down in all Muslim countries in the world during the month of Ramadan but the prices go up in Bangladesh in this time. So, we need assistance from businesses,” the minister said in a webinar of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) on “Law and order situation and keeping prices of essentials stable in the upcoming Ramadan.”
The minister said Bangladesh will go for a hard lockdown to save lives from April 14. “We will take necessary steps for the sake of the countrymen. The extortion is under control now. We could not control it hundred percent but we are tough against it,” he added.
He urged all to maintain health advisories and instructions from the government. “We want the help of businessmen to keep the prices stable not only in the month of Ramadan but also all the year round. Law enforcement agencies are now largely capable and expert so you are requested to take their help any time,” he also added.
Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh said, “We have to be united and work together to stabilise the market. DSCC has already formed a committee comprising nine councillors for market monitoring. We regularly conduct mobile courts. DSCC is a business friendly service organization. We will work for the greater interest of city dwellers.”
The mayor stressed on awareness for Covid-19. “We sometimes see negligence in terms of obeying health advisories. Coordinated efforts will help us to come out of this pandemic. Extortions are now very low and our fight against extortionists will continue,” he added.
DCCI President Rizwan Rahman said when the economy was in the way of recovery, at that moment the second wave of Covid 19 comes back. The worldwide supply chain and production are hampered and are responsible for inflation.
“Price hike in the international market and volatility in supply chain have an impact on price hike in Bangladesh. Besides, the issue of international market, creating artificial crisis by hoarding, lack of market monitoring, extortion in the transportation sector, increased transportation cost are some of the reasons of price spiral especially in the month of Ramadan,” he added.
Mentioning SANEM survey, he said poverty rate rose to 42% due to pandemic which was 20.5% a year ago. In this scenario, if prices of essential commodities increased people will suffer a lot in the month of Ramadan.
To keep prices under control Rizwan suggested releasing essential goods from the port considering it as a priority. “Law enforcement agencies should take stern action against the extortionists in the transportation sector. We have adequate laws, but we need to execute the rules and laws.”
The Vice President of Consumer Association of Bangladesh S M Nazer Hossain said the essential market is unstable every year due to lack of market monitoring. There is also blame game between large and small businessmen.
He urged for a coordinated market monitoring system and also called upon the businessmen to accept lower profit margin in the pandemic crisis.
Govt urged to keep factories open to 'avoid grave consequences'
South Korea based global conglomerate Youngone Corporation Chairman and CEO Kihak Sung has made an urgent call to the Bangladesh government not to shut the factories down to "avoid grave consequences."
If the factories are kept open, workers will remain in a disciplined environment and can be better supported against infections, he said.
The Youngone chairman also said the country's readymade garment (RMG) sector, the major foreign currency earner, has not yet recovered from the damaging effects of the first wave of Covid-19 and it now has to cope with the second wave.
Sung said the apparel factories had to operate with lots of difficulties and suffer huge financial losses last year.
The unplanned closure of the factories extending up to nine weeks made things worse. It hurt the country's image and undermined the confidence of some of the major buyers, he continued.
While the factories were in operations, they strictly followed proper health care measures and were successful in ensuring that their workers were well protected, the Youngone chairman said.
"And this was certainly true of all the Youngone factories. Compared to the situation outside, we only had to deal with a few Covid-19, thanks to the precautionary measures taken."
The Youngone chairman also said the situation was normal in the factories and Covid-19 positive cases were minimal.
Even affected workers, being relatively young, could come back to work in good health after two-three weeks of quarantine and healing, he added.
"This normalcy may be maintained if we can avoid closure of factories and long holiday. It may be mentioned that after every long holiday and extended closures, there has been an upswing in the number of Covid-19 cases."
He said if the factories are closed, workers will have to go back to their villages with every likelihood of either spreading the virus or getting infected by it.
Such a situation will add to the difficulties of the workers, the factory owners, the government and the country, Sung, also the chairman of the Korean Federation of Textile Industries, said.
When the RMG factories are trying their best to recover and survive in a highly competitive global market, any further closure of the factories will be extremely damaging to the economy, whereas, appropriate measures will help avoid the impending disaster, he said.
In Vietnam, where Youngone has a large number of factories, at no stage did the authorities order the closure of factories.
Ever since the Covid-19 outbreak, Vietnam restricted the movement of its citizens and meticulously enforced health safety measures instead of shutting down factories. This enabled the country to control the pandemic and minimise the damage to the export economy, Sung continued.
"The example of South Korea may also be taken into consideration. Public places like restaurants and shopping malls were opened for shorter hours but all factories and business organisations were functioning as usual, which is continuing till now," the Youngone chairman said.
He also requested the Bangladesh government to take appropriate measures which will be beneficial to the country and save the RMG sector from suffering another blow at a time when it is still reeling from the impact of extended factory closures last year.
Sanskrit learning App "Little Guru" to be launched Monday
Keeping pace with changing technology in both access as well as teaching methods, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has tied up with Gamapp Sportswizz Tech. Pvt. Ltd. to launch "Little Guru," a specialized app for learning Sanskrit.
In Bangladesh, Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre, High Commission of India, Dhaka will launch the same on Monday (Apri 12, 2021) in the Facebook handle of IGCC- www.facebook.com/IndiraGandhiCulturalCentre/
Little Guru will be a gamified app based on an interactive platform which will make Sanskrit learning easy, entertaining and fun, said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.
ICCR is launching a campaign to promote Sanskrit language among students, religious scholars, Indologists, historians across the world.
As a part of its mandate to promote the vibrant cultural heritage of India, ICCR promotes Sanskrit through providing books and material to Sanskrit institutes all over the world.
ICCR deputes teachers and professors to universities and institutes teaching Sanskrit.
This app will help people who are already learning Sanskrit or those who are desirous to learn Sanskrit to do so in an easy manner based on games, competition, rewards, peer to peer interactions, etc.
This unique App combines education with entertainment thereby helping keep attention of the learner as well as encourage him/her to advance further.
ICCR is confident that the launch of this App 'Little Guru' will go a long way in popularizing Sanskrit. Sanskrit continues to be a living language, being used by scholars accessing literary texts.
This App would help create awareness not only about language but also open the doors for people to access the rich cultural heritage of India.
Covid-19: Bangladesh records highest single-day deaths
Bangladesh has reported its highest single-day coronavirus fatalities on Sunday, surpassing Saturday’s figure.
The health authorities confirmed 78 deaths during the last 24 hours till morning. A day earlier, the country recorded 77 fatalities, the highest since coronavirus cases were first reported in March last year.
Fatalities from Covid-19 rose to 9,739 as the mortality rate remained static at 1.42 percent for the third consecutive day.
Also read: Worsening Covid crisis: Bangladesh resorting to full lockdown
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus death on March 18 last year. The virus claimed 568 lives in January this year, 281 in February and 638 in March.
Meanwhile, 5,819 new cases were reported, pushing the local tally to 684,756, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The infection rate slipped to 19.81 percent from 20.49 percent of Saturday’s. So far, 5,002,865 samples, including 29,376 in the last 24 hours, have been tested.
After reporting over 7,000 cases between April 4 and April 9, the daily case count fell significantly in the last 48 hours.
Also read: Ongoing lockdown extended upto Apr 13: Quader
During the 24-hour period, 4,212 patients recovered, raising the number of recoveries to 576,590, the DGHS said.
Hefazat leader Mamunul’s ‘2nd wife’ goes missing; GD filed
A general diary has been lodged with Paltan Police Station over the reported missing of the ‘second wife’ of Hefazat-e-Islam’s Joint Secretary General Mamunul Haque.
Abdur Rahman, son of Mamunul’s ‘2nd wife’ Jharna, lodged the GD with Paltan Police Station on Saturday night, said officer-in-charge of the police station AB Siddique.
According to the GD, Abdur went to his mother’s Dhanmondi house on Saturday and did not find her.
Also read: Sonargaon resort furore: Mamunul among 600 sued in 3 cases
When he inquired about his mother, someone told him that she went out of the house on April 3 and since then she did not return home.
However, he found three diaries of his mother and he deposited those to the police station.
Hefazat-e-Islam’s Joint Secretary General Mamunul Haque, who has been the loudest voice in the organisation in a number of recent controversies, was detained with a woman he claims as his second wife from a resort in Sonargaon on April 3.
Also read: Journalist assaulted, house ransacked ‘for not apologising to Mamunul’
Mahanagar Hefazat’s secretary said Mamunul went to the resort with his second wife where the locals confined and harassed him, before calling in the police.
The woman detained with him was his second wife as claimed by Mamunul Haque.
Also read: Hefazat's Mamunul detained with woman from resort
Bullet wounded Indian youth admitted to Kurigram hospital
An Indian young man who enteted Bangladesh after sustaining bullet wound during the election violence in Cooch Bihar state of India was admitted to Kurigram General Hospital.
The Indian youth was identified as Milon Mia, son of Jagu Alam of Shahidal Kuthi village of Sahebganj in Cooch Behar.
Also read:Flood, erosion leave 500 families homeless in Kurigram
Border Guard Bangladesh Battalion captain Lieutenant Colonel Towhidul Alam said Milon was shot as he went out during a curfew enforced by the Indian government.
He has been admitted to Kurigram General Hospital, said Officer-in-Charge of Nageshwari Police Station Rowshan Kabir.
Dr Pulok Kumar Sarkar, Residential Medical Officer, said the boy sustained bullet injury on the right side of his chest.
Also read:Turbulent Teesta wreaking havoc in Kurigram, Gaibndha
“He was brought to the emergency unit at 4 am, now his condition is stable," thw phusician said.
2 ‘robbers’ killed in Habiganj lynch-mob attack
Two suspected robbers were killed in a lynch-mob attack at Gunipur in Lakhai upazila of Habiganj district early Sunday.
The deceased were identified as Abdul Hamid, 42, of Dharmandal village of Brahmanbaria district and Humayun Mia, 40 of Madhabpur upazila in the district.
Mohiuddin Sumon, officer-in-charge of Lakhai Police Station, said a group of robbers numbering 9/10 swooped on the house of one Jalal Mia around 1:30 am and kept the house inmates hostages at gunpoint.
Also read: Mob beats alleged cattle thief to death in Bogura
Sensing presence of the robbers, Jalal informed the matter to his neighbours over phone.
Later, local people encircled the house and managed to catch two robbers while the others managed to flee the scene.
Also read: Mob beats man to death in Khulna
The angry mob then gave the robbers a good thrashing, leaving them dead on the spot.
Police recovered the bodies.
Khaleda Zia infected with Covid-19
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been infected with coronavirus, says the Ministry of Health.
Talking to UNB, senior information officer of the ministry Maidul Islam Prodhan said the BNP chief underwent Covid test on Saturday evening and the results came out to be positive.
He said her samples were collected for Covid-19 test by icddr,b.
BNP leaders, however, said they do not have any such information.
Also read: Khaleda’s conditional release extended by six months
A source close to Khaleda’s one of the relatives who met her last week later tested positive for the Coronavirus. “That’s why Madam’s (Khaleda’s) family took initiatives for her Covid test, though she has no major symptoms.”
Also read: Khaleda’s sentences could be suspended for another six months: Law Ministry
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government freed Khaleda Zia from jail for six months through an executive order suspending her sentences on March 25 last year.
She was released from the prison cell of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) the same day, and she has been staying at her Gulshan house since then.
On August 27 last year, the government extended her release for six more months and it was extended again for six months on March 15 last.
Also read: Are some Covid-19 vaccines more effective than others?
On February 8, 2018, Khaleda was sent to the Old Dhaka Central Jail after a lower court sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case. The High Court later doubled her jail term.
Khaleda was found guilty in another corruption case the same year. Her party claims both the cases are politically motivated.
Ongoing lockdown extended upto Apr 13: Quader
The ongoing lockdown will remain in force until April 13 (Tuesday) to stem the spread of Coronavirus, said Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Sunday.
“The first phase of the 7-day lockdown, which was enforced on April 5, has been extended by two days,” said Quader at a regular briefing.
Besides, the government will go for an all-out lockdown from April 14 which will be tougher than the previous ones, he said.
On Friday, State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain said the government is planning to impose an extremely severe lockdown from April 14 to 20 to curb the transmission of Covid-19.
The government imposed an apparently nationwide lockdown for one week from April 5 as part of its tougher move to contain the spike in both coronavirus infections and fatalities.
Also read:Govt allows public transport to operate during lockdown
But the government allowed the resumption of public transport in city corporation areas from April 7 as well as reopening shops and shopping malls for five days from April 9 in the face of protests against the lockdown.
Also read:Govt to announce 7-day lockdown as covid cases surge: Quader
Meanwhile, Bangladesh is experiencing the second wave of Covid-19 as people continued to defy health protocols despite warnings both from the government and experts.
On Saturday, the country registered 77 more deaths in 24 hours until Saturday morning, shattering all of its previous records.
CAAB likely to suspend international flights from Apr 14
The authorities of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) on Sunday said they are planning to suspend all international flights as the government is going to impose a strict lockdown from April 14 to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Read CAAB to suspend international flights from Apr 14
“However, no final decision has been taken yet. Decision on international flights will be taken after a meeting in the afternoon,” said Air-Vice Marshal M Mofidur Rahman, chairman of CAAB.
“The operation of flights will depend on the directives of the government and if the lockdown starts from Wednesday then CAAB will take decision on international flights as per the government’s lockdown directives,” he said.
Besides, no restriction will be imposed on the movement of chartered flights, cargo flights and special flights carrying high commissioners of different countries and foreign nationals.
Also read: Govt to enforce 7-day lockdown from Monday: Quader
The flight operations on domestic routes remained suspended since the enforcement of the seven-day lockdown in the country from April 5.
Besides, on April1 , the civil aviation regulator suspended the entry of passengers from all European countries , except the UK, and 12 other countries to Bangladesh from April 3.
As the spread of Coronavirus has sparked alarm across the country, the government is set to issue a notification on Sunday over enforcing a fresh nationwide lockdown from April 14 in its desperate bid to stop the spread of the deadly virus.
Also read: No domestic flight operations during lockdown: CAAB
Bangladesh, a densely populated country, is facing the wraths of the Covid-19 pandemic as people continued to defy health protocols despite warnings both from the government and experts.
On Saturday, the country registered 77 more deaths in 24 hours until Saturday morning, shattering all of its previous records.
The number of new coronavirus cases dropped slightly to 5,343 said a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
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