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Shariatpur poultry farmers' dreams now stretch beyond Padma Bridge
For the poultry farmers of Shariatpur, the Padma Bridge that opened on June 25 is a dream bigger than 6.15km.
They will no longer be divided and ruled by a course-shifting and often treacherous river.
Even though the district is not too far from Dhaka, the Padma River has been a major geographical divide for its poultry farmers.
The Padma Bride has opened up markets of Dhaka and other parts of the country to farmers and producers of Shariatpur, bound by Munshiganj on the north, Barishal on the south, Chandpur on the east, and Madaripur on the west.
As the bridge is expected to bring regional agriculture and small businesses to the mainstream supply chain, Shariatpur's traders of perishable goods and products such as vegetables, fish and poultry are hoping to benefit from the shorter travel time and better prices.
Shariatpur poultry farmer Hossain Ali will no longer have to worry if his truckloads catch up with the ferry and cross the Padma on time to reach Dhaka and other parts of the country. Halima Banu of the district will also get fair prices for her products.
"In Shariatpur, 32,400 metric tonnes of chicken meat and 11.5 crore eggs are annually produced in 1,478 poultry farms. Around 6,000 people are involved in the profession," according to the district livestock office.
Poultry traders of Shariatpur say they send truckloads of products to Dhaka and other major cities.
They load their chickens and eggs on trucks in the evening. The trucks often could not reach Dhaka the next morning due to tailbacks at the ferry terminal. This would affect the quality of chickens and eggs. So, the Shariatpur poultry traders were reluctant to send chickens and eggs to Dhaka.
The traders now hope that the new bridge would enable them to transport chicken and egg to the Dhaka market quickly, adding that fresh products would fetch them more profit.
Poultry farmer Abul Kalam Azad of Shariatpur's Naria said: "We faced difficulties in transporting poultry products to Dhaka. Many live poultry and Sonali chickens died at ferry ghat due to traffic congestion."
"The opening of the Padma Bridge will bring us closer to the Dhaka-based markets. Low-cost transport and lucrative rates in Dhaka markets mean more profit to us."
Read: Grass-route level poultry farmers seeks government’s interference to stop commercial sale of ready broilers, layers by hatchery owners
Price spiral overshadows Eid festival of struggling middle-and-low income people
Soaring inflation and higher price of commodities are forcing many middle- and lower-income people to cut their expenses during the Eid-ul-Azha festival.
According to market observers, a good number of middle-class families are unlikely to buy sacrificial animals for qurbani this year as they can't afford the cost.
Talking to UNB, Harun-Ur-Rashid, who works at a private company and lives in Dhaka's Modhubag, said he can't join qurbani with others as his monthly income fails to keep pace with rising expenses.
Harun's monthly salary is Tk64,000. After paying for house rent, children's education, medicines and treatment of ailing parents, he falls short of Tk10,000 to 15,000 every month. The deficit, which he meets with loans from relatives and friends, has been occurring for the last six months. He blames his woes on the runaway inflation that has pushed up his cost of living.
Sheuly Begum, who earns Tk30,000 a month as a school teacher in the capital, finds it difficult to survive after paying for the daily necessities, her son's university tuition fee, treatment and medicines for her mother-in-law. Money earned from a fixed deposit she had opened with her late husband's pension fund comes to her rescue even though the interest rate has been declining in recent years.
"It has been tough to run the family decently," she said.
Harun and Sheuly both said their income has not increased, though the cost of living has jumped, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read: Budget FY23: Prices to go up and down
Dr AM Mirza Azizul Islam, former caretaker government's economic advisor, told UNB that growing inflation leading to price hikes has hit the middle class hard. But it is happening globally, not only in Bangladesh.
He suggested the government goes for a stable exchange rate of the US dollar which is usually required for import payments. The rising cost of the dollar is pushing the import bill up and thus causing a price hike.
Mirza Aziz suggested increasing the production of different essentials at home so the prices remain affordable for the common people.
He also warned that the situation may worsen if the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war is prolonged.
SM Nazer Hossain, vice-president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (ACB), said the government should provide subsidies on some commodities so that people with limited income can buy those products.
He said because of a lack of market monitoring by the relevant authorities, the businesses are making hefty profits on some products, passing the burden on the common people.
He said consumers did not get the benefits even when the prices of edible oil, wheat, rice, onion and other spices started declining, and the National Board of Revenue withdrew VAT and import duty on some essential goods, Nazer said.
The annual inflation rate in Bangladesh edged higher to 6.22 per cent in March this year from 6.17 per cent in the previous month. It was the highest inflation rate since October of 2020, driven by prices of food items (6.34 per cent vs 6.22 per cent in February).
The inflation rate jumped to 7.42 per cent in May this year which was 5.26 per cent in the same month in 2021.
Dr Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said "The average cost of living on a 'regular' diet for one household of four people living in an apartment with one bedroom outside the city centre in Dhaka in May 2022 would be approximately Tk42,548."
"The average cost of living on a compromised diet for one household of four people living in an apartment with one bedroom outside of the city centre in Dhaka in May 2022 would be approximately Tk29,206."
For families living in the city centre with a one-bedroom apartment on a regular diet, the cost of living per month is Tk47,182, Fahmida added.
Skyrocketing fodder prices leave cattle farmers fretting ahead of Eid
With barely three-four days left for Eid-ul-Azha, cattle farmer Azizul Haque is a bit worried. The reason -- he has not been able to fatten naturally the four bulls he has been rearing since last October.
Like him, many small-time farmers in Bangladesh have been struggling to feed their cattle properly since March 2022 as retail inflation has taken a toll on fodder. And most of them are yet to fix a good asking price for the sacrificial animals.
These farmers say that the prices of staple cattle feeds such as wheat bran, rice bran, oil cake, maize, Indian peas and molasses have all increased two to three-fold of late.
Read: Huge crowd at Chuadanga cattle markets; Sales still low
"I may not be able to cash on the growing demand for meat this Eid. This is because I could not spend much on fodder to naturally fatten my bulls ahead of Eid. Retail inflation is really pinching," says Azizul.
Take for instance, maize. Its price has doubled in the past one year -- from Tk 17-18 per kg in 2021 to Tk 33-34 per kg this year. Similarly, wheat bran now costs Tk 60 a kg, up by 100% from last year's price.
Khail (oil cake) was available for Tk 32 a kg and Indian peas for Tk 34-36 per kg in 2021. This year, Khail is being sold at Tk 50 per kg and Indian pea at Tk 55-60 per kg.
Govt banking on increased consumption and investment as drivers of growth in 2022-23
The government is banking on the strong domestic and external demand for the country's medium-term growth overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war's impact on the economy.
"Strong domestic and external demand will be the main driving force of growth in the medium term," according to a budget document.It mentioned that consumption and investment to increase the domestic demand and exports to increase the external demand will be areas focused on by the government.As per the document, the goal of the government will be to build improved communications, necessary infrastructure and ensure power and energy security through increased public, private and foreign investment."The focus will also be on increasing the productivity of labor to increase export competitiveness," it stated.On the supply side, the goal of the government is to accelerate the growth of the industrial and service sectors to achieve high GDP growth and employment.Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, while delivering his budget speech on June 9, said that he was hopeful that this goal will be achieved through the speedy implementation of the establishment of economic zones.
Read: No hustle-bustle: Soul goes missing from Khulna Railway Station"In order to create skilled manpower, vocational and technical education will be expanded," he said in his budget speech for the 2022-23 fiscal, which got underway on July 1.The budget document said that the government will give emphasis to continuing to build skilled manpower and exploring new labor markets to increase remittance income.In the medium term, the policies and strategies are consistent with the country’s 8th five-year plan and the perspective plan.For this purpose, this year’s budget focused on poverty alleviation and inclusive growth to ensure equity and fairness in society.Highest emphasis has been given to containing inflation. Emphasis is also given to inclusive growth, poverty reduction and job creation."Therefore, labour-intensive and export-oriented production will be encouraged," the document mentioned.It said that credit and other facilities will continue to be provided to the cottage, micro, small and medium industries. In addition, agricultural diversification and ICT- dependent initiatives will be given priority. Besides, the process of creating skilled manpower for foreign employment will continue.With these initiatives, the government hopes that it will be able to further generate employment elasticity of GDP, which will ultimately contribute to the reduction of income inequality.As per the document, the country's economic growth was hampered due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2019-2020 fiscal. Although a record 7.88 percent growth was achieved in the 2018-2019 fiscal, it decreased to 3.45 percent due to the pandemic in 2019-20.
Read: Padma Bridge: Hawkers at Daulatdia Ghat in the same boat as ferry servicesHowever, the country was able to begin the process of economic recovery very quickly. As a result, 6.94 percent growth was achieved in FY2020-2021 despite the continued impact of COVID-19.It appears from the economic variables that indicate that the second wave of COVID-19 continued in the first quarter of the just concluded financial year (2021-22) but did not have a significant negative impact on the economy.Considering overall perspective, the 2021-22 fiscal’s GDP growth is forecast at 7.25 percent.At the same time, a growth rate of 7.5 percent has been targeted for the running 2022-2023 fiscal.
"The growth rate has considered the lagged effects of the COVID-19 and the protracted crisis arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict," the document said.
Residents of 13 villages in Sunamganj long for a concrete bridge
Several thousand people of thirteen villages in Doarabazar upazila in Sunamganj district have been going through unspeakable sufferings for years for want of a concrete bridge over the Chelai River at Hasnabahar Bhanga in the upazila.
Every year the residents of the thirteen villages make a makeshift bamboo bridge at their own cost to reach their destinations.
People from all walks of life including farmers, traders and students have to cross the bamboo bridge with goods putting their lives at risk.
Local people claimed that they have informed the matter to the public representatives several times but no visible steps were taken yet as they got only assurances.
Read: 2,000km of roads damaged in Sunamganj, with losses over Tk 1500-cr
People of Sultanpur, Noapara, Hazrat Shahjalal Dakhil Madrasha Rasrai, Freedom Fighter Captain Helal Khasru High School under Surma union, Laxmipur union clinic, Erokhai, Banglabazar, Hasnabahar, Boithakhai, Shah Arefin Bazar, Boithakhai Madrasha, Alipur, Muhibur Rahman Manik High School, Sonapur, Nurpur Bazar area have to use the bamboo bridge to reach the district and upazila headquarters.
The residents of these areas remained neglected for 51 years as the local administration did not pay any attention to the sufferings of the people.
Quamrul Islam, a resident of the upazila, said “Heavy rains have occurred in the upazila for the six months of the year and the roads in the area are in dilapidated condition."
Suffering is common for the residents of the thirteen villages as this is the only way to go to the upazila headquarters, he said.
On many occasions, a number of patients have died before being taken to the hospital due to a lack of better transport and communication system, said Quamrul.
Besides, people from other upazilas of the district feared establishing a relationship with the residents of the upazila for marriage purposes due to the poor condition of communication, he said.
Read: No hustle-bustle: Soul goes missing from Khulna Railway Station
Abdul Malek, general secretary of Boithakhai Shaharfinbazar committee, said residents of three unions—Surma, Laxmipur and Mannargaon---can easily go to the Sadar upazila headquarters and district town if a concrete bridge is built at Hasanbahar Bhanga point of Chelai River.
The farmers of Surma union are the worst sufferers as they have to cross the bamboo bridge risking their lives as the makeshift bridge is on the verge of collapse.
Abdul Kadir, a college student of Alipur village, said they cross the bamboo bridge on their bicycle. "Many students fell into the river with their bicycle," he said.
Rahmat Ali, a trader of Sultanpur village, said it is too difficult to cross the long bamboo bridge with goods.
Abdul Halim, chairman of Surma Union Parishad, said: "We will discuss the matter at our monthly meeting as the people of the union are suffering a lot for want of a concrete bridge at Hasanbahar Bhanga point."
Rashedur Rahman, Doarabazar LGED officer, assured that he will investigate it.
Dewan Al Tanvir Ashrafi, Doarabazar Upazila chairman said steps will be taken soon to mitigate the sufferings of the people.
2,000km of roads damaged in Sunamganj, with losses over Tk 1500-cr
At least 2,000km of the road networks in 12 upazilas of Sunamganj district have been badly damaged due to the recent flooding.
Most of the roads under the jurisdiction of Roads and Highways Department (RHD) and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) have suffered damage. Walking on the roads has become difficult, let alone riding on motorcycles and three-wheelers.
According to Joynal Mia, a CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver, the Sunamganj-Doara-Chatok road is so submerged in floodwater that it looks like a canal. The only way to go through this road now is by boat.
Read:Water level falls in Surma & Kushiyara in Sylhet, Sunamganj
Besides, bitumen and stones used in Daukakhali-Brahmangaon-Ambari road have been washed away by floodwater. No one can tell there used to be a road in this area by looking at it now.
Makeshift cattle markets gaining momentum in Khulna
A festive mood looks across Khulna city centring the Eid-ul-Azha, the second largest religious festivals of the Muslim community which is expected to be held on July 10, as cattle farmers started to display their animals at markets.
Sources said the concerned authorities have already begun to set up makeshift markets for displaying animals in different areas of Khulna. However, sale of cattle at makeshift markets Jhoragate and Fulbarigate Balurmath, two largest makeshift markets, will begin from July 03.
On the other hand, sale and buy at some outside areas of Khulna namely Satkhira, Tala, Atharomile, Chuknagar, Shahpur, Jiyala, Anduli have already started.
Talking to buyers and sellers, this correspondent found that demand by customers for local cows in small and medium size is so high.
Customers are reluctant to buy large cows, bringing allegations against the farmers that they have been farming foreign-species cows by feeding medicine for bagging much profit within a short time; he said referring to the customers.
Contacted, several cattle farmers of Andulia Shahapur of Dumuria zone, they said the demand for local sacrificial animals increased several times in the last few years due to the halt in import of Indian animals through borders.
Besides, the government has taken several initiatives and given opportunities to the cattle farmers in a bid to increase production of animals at root-level, they said.
The farmers informed that many people are getting involved in cattle farming especially for sacrificial animals due to high demand for local cattle.
READ: Over 4,400 Eid cattle markets will be set up across the country:Home Minister
Farmer Rabiul Islam told the UNB that buyers from different parts of Khulna started visiting his farm ahead of the eid every day.
He, however, observed that the buyers are levelling a lower price compared to the market value. The price of cattle-feed is so high compared to any previous time.
Seller Abdur Rahim hailing from Andulia area said that he brought three cows in medium size while buyers were pricing low compared to the market.
He said they invested a good amount of money for rearing cattle as price of cattle-feed including hay and others.
“Our labour will go in vain if we don’t get a reasonable price by selling the cattle”, he said.
On the other hand, buyer Hafizul Islam said that it will be tough for him to buy a cow alone as the market value of the sacrificial animals is so high compared to the last year.
He claimed that a seller is asking Tk 140,000 for a cow of the size that was sold at Tk 1 lakh last year.
Traders charge high price compared to the market as they display cattle as middleman after buying from villages, he alleged.
No hustle-bustle: Soul goes missing from Khulna Railway Station
At Khulna Railway Station, the usual hustle and bustle of passengers is missing these days.
Only a handful of people now come here to board Dhaka-bound trains, with most commuters preferring to take buses to their destination to save time -- all thanks to the country's most coveted Padma Bridge.
Ashrafi Chumki, a resident of Mistripara in Khulna city, said, “Now we can reach Dhaka in a short period of time by bus and we can also enjoy the scenic beauty of the Padma Bridge. Earlier it was a hassle as we needed to book train tickets in advance."
Railway sources say that the number of train passengers has declined to half over the past week, post-opening of the bridge.
Moreover, the plying of only two trains -- Sundarban Express and Chitra Express -- on the Dhaka-Khulna route contributed to the unusual rush at the station earlier.
READ: Khulna Railway staff quarters turn too risky
“After the opening of the Padma Bridge on June 26, I prefer travelling by bus to Dhaka from Khulna as the journey takes barely four hours," said Motahar Rahman Babu, a resident of the Tutpara area in Khulna city.
"Moreover, train services on the Dhaka-Khulna route are only available at night and early morning and it takes eight hours," he added.
Railway officials attributed the low footfall in the otherwise overcrowded station to the opening of the Padma Bridge.
Traffic inspector at Khulna Railway Station, Shamimur Rahman, said, "Due to the bridge, road communication between Khulna and Dhaka is now booming, which is why the trains are running with only 50% capacity."
Floods wash away crops and hopes in Kurigram
Farmers in Kurigram have been hugely hit, with the recent floods wrecking havoc on their crops.
Agriculture is one of the mainstays of Bangladesh's booming economy, but the devastation to crops in the northern district has put the livelihoods of many farmers on the brink.
In fact, the losses in the agriculture sector caused by the floods in Kurigram has been estimated at a whopping Tk 127.54 crore, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).
According to the DAE, a total of 80,035 cultivators have been affected by the floods, with 15,851 hectares of cropland in the district being partially or fully destroyed in the natural calamity.
This season, the farmers of the district cultivated 34,310 hectares of agricultural land. But due to the flash floods and heavy downpour, around 15,851 hectares have been inundated. Of these, 7,351 hectares have been damaged fully during the fortnight-long floods.
Read Also: Thousands still marooned by floods in Savar
Apart from this, around 8,427 hectares of cropland have been damaged partially by the floodwaters. As a result, the production of a total of 35,055 metric tonnes of crops has been affected, which is 25.57% of the total crops.
The Aush paddy and jute have been affected the most, followed by vegetables.
Floodwaters have damaged 9,521 hectares of cultivated jute land of a total of 16,577 hectares, 3,580 hectares of Aush paddy of a total of 8,480 hectares, and 1,161 hectares of vegetables of 4,034 hectares of cultivated land in Kurigram.
Read Also: Food, work shortage hits Kurigram flood victims hard
The damaged crops in the district include Aman seedbed, jute, Aush paddy, sesame, vegetables, peanuts, banana, corn, chili, ginger, turmeric, onion, sugarcane and lentil.
Shamsul Alam, a vegetable grower of Chararpar village under Kurigram sadar upazila, said, “I invested Tk 50,000 from my own pocket and borrowed Tk 30,000 from an NGO. Also, I borrowed Tk 20,000 from a local lender at a high rate of interest. I have suffered huge losses."
Another farmer, Jabbar Ali of the same village, said, “We hoped to make big bucks this year. But the flash floods washed away our dreams.”
Contacted, Md Abdur Rashid, deputy director of Kurigram DEA, said, “We have informed the higher authorities after estimating the losses. The affected farmers will be brought under incentive packages."
"We have already received an allocation to bring 7,000 farmers under incentives which will help them recover some amount of losses," he added.
18 new wards under DNCC struggle to obtain civic services
Although five years have passed, tens of thousands of residents of 18 wards that were incorporated under the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) cannot yet avail the civic services they are entitled to.
This is despite paying holding tax since 2016, leading to disappointment among them.
Residents alleged they have been asked to keep paying holding tax through letters despite not getting civic services from the city corporation.
Read: DNCC holds street march to aware people against mosquitoes
Many dwellers said they have been included in the city corporation only in name. They did not get a single service in the last five years.
In a recent visit to some wards under DNCC, the UNB correspondent found that most of the roads in the new wards remain made of earth. There are no streetlights. Footpaths have been turned into dustbins and many illegal establishments have been constructed on both sides of the road. Waterlogging is a common scenario in these wards during rainfall. Local dwellers have been suffering a lot due to a lack of development work.
Md Wahid, an ex-UP member of No.40 ward, said, “We were included in the city corporation five years ago. But the city corporation didn’t do any development work in our ward. Now DNCC has sent letters to the dwellers to pay holding tax which created discontent among the locals. Why will we keep paying holding tax when we did not get civic services from the city corporation? We have been paying it in 2016. This is unfair.”
Another resident of No. 42 ward Mohammad Kiron said, “All roads in our ward get inundated by the rainwater. Our roads need to be repaired to reduce the suffering of the people."
He also protested the holding tax demanded by the DNCC.
On June 28, 2016, Dhaka North City Corporation had included 18 wards by dissolving 114 square kilometres of Harirampur, Uttar Khan, Dakshin Khan, Badda, Satarkul, and Vatara union parishads adjoining the capital. Five regions were carved out of these wards.
According to DNCC, in July 2020, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved Tk 4,025 crore for the first phase of development works in the new 18 wards. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the development works project in March this year. However, Dhaka North City Corporation didn’t start the development works due to a lack of funds. The government has a plan to run development works in these new wards worth Tk 22,000 crore in the second phase.
Contacted, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Atiqul Islam told UNB that Bangladesh Army has been given the contract for the development works in the 18 new wards under the city corporation.
“We have received some amount of allocated money from the state exchequer out of a total of Tk 4,025 crore. The army has already started development works in these areas with this little amount of money,” he added.
Read: Remove haphazard overhead cables by June 30: DNCC mayor
Urban expert and Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) general secretary Dr Adil Mohammed said, “An ideal city corporation ward will have widened roads, drainage system, sewerage system, waste management system, health centres, library, community centre, educational institution, museum, theatre, playground, park, slaughterhouse, public toilet, and bus terminal to ensure service to the dwellers. Such facilities are not available in these new wards.”
He said a maximum part of the government lands in these new wards is occupied by the local musclemen. Occupiers have constructed high-rise buildings at various places and recorded land ownership in the name of persons and organisations.
The authorities concerned should conduct development works in the wards after freeing the occupied lands, and it needs to deal with the matter with an iron hand, added Adil Mohammed.
Selim Reza, additional secretary and DNCC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) told UNB that in accordance with the master plan, Bangladesh Army has started development works at No. 44 and 46 wards with a fund of Tk 300 crore, that is part of the Tk 4,025 crore approved by the government for the first phase of development work. Work in the rest of the wards will start very soon after getting money from the government.
About paying holding tax to the city corporation from 2016, Selim Reza said according to the city corporation law, residents must pay holding tax after the publication of the gazette notification.