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Bridge turns into death trap in Khulna
A concrete bridge over the Kuchia River , the only means for several thousand villagers in Paikgachha upazila of Khulna district, has become a death trap as it has been lying unrepaired for a long time.
As there is no alternative, the villagers are being forced to use the shaky bridge every day risking their lives.
According to locals, the bridge was built about 35 years ago by then UP Chairman Abdul Majed Sana to facilitate the movement of the residents of some remote areas including Tengramari, North Kainmukhi, South Kainmukhi and Digha on the banks of Kuchia River in Soladana union of the upazila.
Cracks have developed on the poles of the bridge and its railing broke down earlier, posing serious risk to commuters and causing sufferings to local residents.
Many of the local residents fear that the bridge might collapse any time.
Kishore Mondol, a resident of North Kainmukhi village, said, “Soladana union is surrounded by many small rivers and canals. There is water around us as far as we can see. The bridge is their only means for transportation.”
READ: Diplomats on way to Tungipara, see Bangladesh’s dream project Padma Bridge
Digha's Kallol Mandal said that the dilapidated bridge in the only mode to reach schools, colleges and the upazila headquarters, he added.
Bijan Mandal of South Kainmukhi said that they have to pay extra charge for carrying goods as the movement of goods-laden vehicles on the bridge is very risky.
SM Enamul Haque, former chairman of Soladana union parishad said when he was chairman he sent a proposal for constructing a new bridge in place of the old one and sent it to the office of the Upazila Executive Engineer which has not been approved yet.
Abdul Mannan Gazi, incumbent chairman of the union said thousands of people of four villages use the bridge every day.
“The risky bridge should be announced abandoned and a new one should be built. I will raise the issue in the next upazila monthly development meeting,” he added.
Paikgachha Upazila LGED Engineer Hafizur Rahman said that although former chairman SM Enamul Haque raised the issue in the upazila coordination meeting several times it was not possible to renovate the bridge or construct a new one due to sufficient fundse.
A new bridge will be constructed soon on priority basis considering the current condition of the bridge, he said.
Succulent watermelons sweeten lives of Khulna farmers
For years, Latifur Rahman farmed just shrimps on his small plot of land in Khulna’s Paikgachha upazila to earn two square meals a day -- because nothing would grow due to coastal salinity.
"Salinity in soil in the coastal areas of the district near the Sundarbans hampered agricultural production in the upazila for many years till we finally found solace in watermelon cultivation in 2019-20," he says.
This year, watermelon is being cultivated across 1,400 hectares of land, about 300 hectares more than that of last year. And farmers and the local agriculture officials are both expecting a bumper output, in turn, a windfall profit for the former.
Rajshahi streets get a colourful facelift
Known for its clean and green environs, Rajshahi city has now been beautified with aesthetic street lights.
Pedestrians are enjoying the eye-catching street lights of various designs on different roads.
The city shines with those lights as soon as the sun sets in the West.
Rajshahi City Corporation has already upgraded the important roads of the city to four lanes. Different colorful and aesthetic street lights are being installed in phases to enhance the beauty of the roads.
These lights are being installed from the city's Kalpana Cinema Hall to Talaimari at a cost of Tk 127.49 crore as part of the road development and widening project, said Mahafuz Mishu, public relations officer of the city corporation.
A total of 130 modern eye-catching poles are being installed on the road island. Each pole has 13 lights. Besides, there are 180 garden lights on the south side of the road, Mishu added.
Govt braces for increased interest payment on local and external borrowings: official document
The government’s payment on interest for loans will increase in the coming days despite reducing the rate of interest on borrowings, according to an official document.
The government has to pay some Tk 775.5 billion for interest payment in the coming 2022-23 fiscal which is 11.8 per cent of the total budget, says the document obtained by UNB.
The overall interest rate will be 5.1 per cent for the next fiscal, down from 5.3 per cent in the running FY2021-22.
The document says that some Tk 698 billion will be given as interest for the loans taken from the domestic sources while Tk 77.6 per cent for the external sources.
The amount of interest payment has been projected at Tk 881.6 billion for the FY2023-24, which is 11.8 per cent of the total budget with 5 per cent interest rate.
Also read: Govt aims to reduce budget deficit to 5.7% in upcoming financial year, says official document
The document mentions that some Tk 794.3 billion will be paid as interest for the loans taken from the domestic sources while Tk 87.3 per cent for the external sources.
For the running FY2021-22 the government has earmarked Tk 685.9 crore as interest payment, which is 11.4 per cent of the total budget and the overall interest rate is 5.3 per cent.
Brick kilns threaten environment & cause health hazards in south-western Bangladesh
The environment and the biodiversity in the south-western region of the country face damage and pollution due to illegal brick kilns built on the locality as well as along the river banks.
In addition, people in the region are at serious health risk from the smoke, gas and dust emitted from these brick kilns, according to experts.
Besides, the Rupsha River is shrinking; its direction is changing. Although these brick kilns are operated freely, the higher authorities are silent.
Read: HC asks govt to pull down 130 illegal brick kilns in CHT
However, these illegal kilns were not demolished even though fines were imposed through mobile courts from time to time.
According to the locals, they are suffering from variouscdiseases such as cold, cough and respiratory problem due to the toxic smoke of the brick kiln near their house. The yields from the trees and lands are also declining.
According to the list of the Department of Environment (DoE), there are 63 legal brickfields in Rupsha, 20 in Dumuria, five in Batiaghata, nine in Terkhada and three in Dighalia. There are allegations that the brick kilns are enlisted by the DoE even after being built in a densely populated area within 200 meters from the educational institutions.
Besides, UNB correspondent came to know that more than 50 brick kilns have been illegally built in Paikgacha, Fultala and Koira including those five upazilas. There are allegations that the local administration is not playing a significant role in demolishing those even after they have been removed from the list of the DoE.
Bricks are being burnt in 14 kilns including ARB Bricks, Jamuna Bricks, SKB Bricks at Paikgacha upazila. None of these are listed on the DoE list and are being operated in the densely populated areas and on agricultural lands. But, the upazila administration said seven kilns have licenses in this upazila. Meanwhile, six brick kiln owners in this upazila were fined Tk 2,40,000 this year.
There are several kilns including Fultala Super Bricks, JB Bricks, United Bricks, Prince Bricks, Ekota Bricks, Khanjahan Ali Bricks. Most of the brick kilns at Rupsha, Dumuria and Terkhada have been built on the bank of the river.
The ABM brick kiln is built in 500 meters of the densely populated area that includes Koira Upazila Health Complex and educational institutions.
On the other hand, according to Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) sources, 50 brick kilns have been built by occupying the two banks of Bhadra, Hari, Shailmari, Atai and Atharobeki rivers of Khulna. Of these, 18 kilns are in Rupsha upazila, 18 in Dumuria, 11 in Terkhada and three in Dighalia.
Locals alleged the kiln owners took possession of the river bank as well as the surrounding lands of the government. Bricks are being made at those kilns by cutting the soil of the sandbars of the area, forcing the river to change its direction.
Although the list of these illegal kilns has been compiled, the eviction process has come to a halt. Meanwhile, the High Court ordered the eviction of 14 brick kilns built on the bank of the Bhadra and Hari rivers in Dumuria upazila in 60 days.
Read: Raze all illegal brick kilns in Dhaka & adjoining districts in 15 days: HC
On December 14, a HC bench of Justice Justice Justice Md. Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Md. Kamrul Hossain Mollah passed the order following a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).
Regarding the implementation of the court order, Dumuria Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Abdul Wadud said, "We have demarcated the governmental land of the river with red flags."
The kiln owners were also asked not to operate brick kilns within that area. Besides, a fine of Tk 3.5 lakh has been imposed on those four kilns this year.
Md. Maruf Billah, inspector of the DoE, said that the list of legal brick kilns has been published on the website. The work of conducting mobile courts is going on to demolish the illegal ones.
In this regard, Advocate Babul Hawlader, Coordinator of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) Khulna, said that the residents, especially the children and the elderly people, here are suffering from respiratory and heart problems due to harmful smokes from the illegal brick kilns. Crops and plants are being destroyed due to the smoke.
The fish in the river are being destroyed. "Above all, air pollution has a negative impact on the entire ecosystem, including humans," he added.
Ashraful Alam, executive engineer of the BWDB in Khulna, said a list of illegal occupants had already been compiled and sent to the deputy commissioner's office. If they do not demolish the kilns themselves, eviction activities will be conducted with the help of the district administration.
"Action will be taken against all illegal occupants in phases. And, work will be done to evict the BIW occupants," the official warned.
Mongla Port buzzes with business amid development work
Once a sleepy seaport Mongla has turned into a busy hub of export and import business over the past 13 years thanks to a number of development projects taken by the government.
According to the port authorities, 15 projects have been implemented for the development of Mongla port from 2009 to 2020 at a cost of Tk1372.8 crore.
Nine more development projects are underway ahead of Vision-2041, sources added.
Among these projects, The Vessel Traffic Management and Information System (VTMIS) was inaugurated on March 16 to monitor the movement and safety of domestic and foreign ships arriving at the port and to improve the quality of service provided by ship handling.
READ: More Dhaka Metro coaches arrive at Mongla port
Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, state minister for shipping, inaugurated the project.
Besides, work on construction of surface water treatment plants to meet the demand for safe potable water in ocean-going vessels, port offices and residential areas, is in the final phase, port officials said.
Arrangements are being made to bring ships of 9 and a half meters in the 130 km naval channel from Bay of Bengal to Mongla port. Tk 6,000 crore project has already been taken for the upgrading the port.
With the opening of the Padma Bridge and the railway line, the activities of the port will be further increased.
Zahirul Haque, head of planning at Mongla Port, said the port would have a direct link with capital Dhaka after the launch of the Padma Bridge along with other port-centric infrastructure. As a result, the activities of the port will increase manifold, he added.
“The government is doing everything possible to make Mongla Port more dynamic to meet future challenges,” he said.
READ: Mongla Port Authority Bill proposes tougher punishment for polluting environment
The construction and modernization work is underway for increasing the capacity and efficiency of handling capacity of 3,000 ships, 30,000 vehicles, 8 lakh TUZ containers and 40 million MT cargo at Mongla port by 2025-30.
Because of these initiatives the port, the country’s largest after Chittagong Port, is on way to make profit in its operation, said the officials wishing anonymity.
Govt aims to reduce budget deficit to 5.7% in upcoming financial year, says official document
The government has projected to reduce the budget deficit to 5.7 per cent of the GDP in the next FY2022-23 from existing 6.2 per cent, according to an official document.
The budget deficit for the FY2023-24 has been projected at 5.5 per cent.
In the FY2020-21 budget the deficit was revised at 6.1 per cent from original projection of 6 per cent. The deficit for the FY2019-20 was 5.3 per cent.
The official document says government has been seeking additional funds from the multilateral/ bilateral development partners to implement its declared fiscal stimulus package of TK1.28 trillion - 4.2 per cent of the Nominal GDP in FY21) since the pandemic hit the economy in March 2020.
Read:Budget deficit: Savings certificates, non-bank sources to be tapped for one-third of domestic financing
The government's financing requirement has been projected at Tk. 2.1 trillion (6.2 per cent of GDP) in FY2021-22.
Government's request for budgetary / BOP support has received favourable response from the major development partners, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AlB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and EDCF (of Korea), says the document.
It says that government has already received US$ 1.7 billion in FY2019-20 and is expected to receive US$ 6.2 billion in total by FY2022-23 out of which US$ 1.5 billion would be used for vaccination programme and the rest would be used for budget/BOP support.
With this external support, the government will avoid crowding out the domestic economy as the government's domestic financing requirement will reduce by 8.5 per cent of GDP in running FY2021-22 from the previous fiscal year.
For the FY2022-23 some Tk 990 billion will come from external sources as loan, Tk 40 billion as grants while Tk 105.50 billion will be used for amortisation.
Among the domestic sources, the banking sector would provide the major share as the government has been phasing out its dependence on expensive nonbank borrowing gradually.
As per the official document, in FY2022-23, Tk 1020.10 billion will come from banking sector, Tk 330 billion will be from non-banking sector, Tk 280 billion from National Savings Certificate while Tk 50 billion from other sources.
For FY2023-24 some Tk 1010 billion will come from external sources as loan, Tk 42 billion as grants while Tk 152.5 billion will be used for amortisation.
In FY2022-23 an amount of Tk 1210.30 billion will come from banking sector, Tk 310 billion will be from non-banking sector, Tk 260 billion from National Savings Certificate while Tk 50 billion from other sources.
The document reads that the government projects to reduce its financing requirement with narrowing of the fiscal deficit in the medium term as the economy is expected to recover from the COVID-19 fallout with the implementation of mass vaccination programme and the fiscal stimulus package.
Medium term financing projection shows that government financing requirement would gradually come down to 5.5 per cent of GDP in FY2023-24 from the peak of 6.2 per cent of GDP in the running FY2021-22.
Read: Govt staring at ‘burgeoning budget deficit’ in aftermath of pandemic
Domestic financing that remains the major source of government finance in the medium term is projected to come down to 3.5 per cent of GDP (bank and non-bank ratio 3.9) while external financing to 2.1 per cent of GDP by FY2023-24.
In the absence of a vibrant domestic bond market, the government projects to keep the share of expensive nonbank borrowing (e.g. NSCs) low while the share of bank financing to rise, the document adds.
BPDB set to retire about 4000 MW power by 2025: Official document
The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has lined up a total of 51 power plants, having total generation capacity of about 3990 MW, for retirement by 2025.
According to an official document of the BPDB, the state-owned principal organization in the power sector, the retirement schedule includes 15 plants from the public sector and 36 from the private sector.
Read: Merchant Bankers seek Tk 10,000 crore to sustain capital markets
The document—Annual Report 2021 of BPDB—reveals that of the 51 power plants, some 12 plants with total capacity of 1154 MW will be put on retirement in 2021-22, 14 power plants having total capacity of 890 MW in 2022-23, 22 power plants of total 1,770 MW capacity in 2023-24, and 3 plants, having 167 MW capacity, are going to be retired in 2024-25 fiscal year.
Experts eye record mango production in Rajshahi this year
A record production of mango is likely in Rajshahi district due to favourable weather condition.
This year Rajshahi district might break all its previous records of mango production, said Abdullah Hil Kafi, Additional Deputy Director of the Agricultural Extension Department.
As additional 572 hectares of land was brought under mango cultivation this year, Fruit Research Centre in Rajshahi under the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) is expecting a record-breaking output.
Read: Mango wonder: 200 varieties in a single tree in Chapainawabganj
Mango trees are in full bloom making Rajshahi farmers also hopeful of bumper yield this year.
In the 2020-21 season, there were mango orchards on 17,943 hectares of land in the district that yielded about 2.17 lakh MTs of mangoes and Tk 86.85 crore mangoes were sold.
In the 2019-20 season, 17686 hectares of land mangos orchards yielded about 1.80 lakh MTs of mangoes and Tk 71.81 crore mangoes were sold.
According to the Agricultural Extension Department, in the current (2021-22) season, mangoes have been cultivated on 18,515 hectares of land.
“This year mango production target was set at 15.85 MTs per hectare. We are expecting a record breaking yield of mangoes in Rajshahi district because of the increased cultivation,” said Dr Abdul Alim, Chief Scientific Officer of Fruit Research Station in Rajshahi.
He said, “The weather so far this season is favorable for mango cultivation as soil retained enough water due to sufficient rain in the last monsoon. The trees got enough nutrition as many farmers cultivated mangoes beside vegetable farming lands.”
Read: Rajshahi 'to own' Fazli mangoes
“Though the mango buds are less than the previous year, we are expecting a record breaking yield because of the increased cultivation,” he added.
Abul Hossain, a mango farmer from the Charghat area having a total of 2.68 hectares of mango orchard said, “Last year, the mango production was good but due to Covid-19 induced lockdown the farmers did not get good profit. But this year ripe mangoes will reach the market immediately after Eid-ul-Fitr which might bring a good profit for us,” he said.
Proliferation of beach bikes threatens well-being of Cox’s Bazar
Beach bike rides, a common tourist attraction at Cox’s Bazar sea beach, is becoming a death trap for crab, snail, turtle, oysters of the government announced Ecologically Critical Area (ECA).
On a recent visit the UNB reporter saw numbers of battery-operated bikes, jeep, cars and other vehicles moving at Pechar Dwip beach in Ramu upazila, and at Kakra Beach in Himchari Para area. It is the zone where marine invertebrates and turtles habitat, breed and wander.
Most of those unpermitted vehicles were seen operating without any care as crabs, snails and oyster got crushed under them.
The beach area starting from Reju canal estuary to Kakra beach is the egg-laying zone of marine turtles.
READ: Guliakhali Sea Beach declared as reserved tourism zone
According to locals, they did not spot any sea turtles coming to lay eggs in this area this year like regular. The number was on the decline anyway as mother turtles while laying eggs and newborn turtles on their way to sea often got crushed under those deadly wheels of beach bikes.
The ueven surface, sound pollution and an overly lit beach was making the zone unsuitable for turtles to lay eggs, and that is very concerning for the biodiversity and ecology according to the experts.
“Adam Tamiji Haque and his other family members, proprietor for Haque Company, are operating beach bike service at Pechardwip area while Cox’s Bazar Beach Bike Owners Cooperative Association is at Himchari Para area”, said Shamir Ranjan Shaha, Range Officer of Himchari National Park.
He said the concerned individuals and organizations involved with the business have been verbally warned about the laws but they continue to operate vehicles on the beach showing complete disregard to it.