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Crowds growing around TCB trucks, women lack the access
Braving the scorching heat, Lucky Akther, wife of a rickshaw-puller, waited in a long queue for several hours to buy oil, onion and lentil at subsidised prices from a truck selling the goods of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) at Boubazar of Hajipara in the capital.
But she was not lucky enough to buy essentials on Wednesday as all stock of goods in the truck ran out fast because of the huge crowd of buyers.
“The prices of oil, onion and pulse have gone up so high in the market that it has become difficult for the poor like me to buy. So, I came here with the hope to purchase these items at relatively cheaper prices. But I only wasted around three hours here standing in the line as everything had run out before I reached the sellers,” an utterly frustrated Lucky told UNB.
Shompa Begum, a single mother of three kids who works as domestic help, had much more bitter experiences than Lucy’s.
READ: TCB to start selling for 10 million families from Mar 20: Minister
“I waited for several hours yesterday (Tuesday) to buy some TCB goods, but returned home empty-handed. I also failed to buy the essential items today (Wednesday) as those had run out fast before I could reach the frontline despite two hours of wait,” she said with a deep breath in the city’s Malibagh Bazar area.
Shompa said it is now difficult for her to buy these items from the market at exorbitant prices. “Believe me, I couldn’t cook any curry for the last two days for lack of oil and onion. We took rice with boiled mashed potato and green chili and dried food. How’ll we survive if the prices of essentials don’t come down?”
She alleged that many men forcibly occupy the frontlines and buy items managing the sellers.
Shompa said women should be allowed to stand in separate queues or a rule needs to be there that one woman can buy the goods from the truck after a man to ease the hassles of female buyers.
Like Lucky and Shompa, many poor people are failing to buy essential items at the subsidised rates due to inadequate supply by TCB against the growing demand.
The skyrocketing prices of essentials such as rice, oil, lentil and onion, have dealt a double blow to the poor and the middle-income groups who have been already hit hard by the fallout of the Covid pandemic, forcing them to rush to the open market sale (OMS) run by TCB Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) truck to purchase these goods at subsidised prices.
Ruhul Amin, a nightguard of Rampura area, said he could buy oil, rice, lentil, onion and sugar from a truck selling the TCB goods after waiting for several hours near Rampura Bridge. “TCB’s goods have now become a golden deer due to the soaring prices of the essential items in the regular market.”
He alleged that half of the amount of onion he bought from a TCB’s truck was rotten. “This an unfair treatment to us. Rotten goods can’t be sold by the government.”
Private service-holder Delwar Hossain said he is in a fix to run his five-member family with his limited income as the prices of all the necessary items have increased alarmingly. “No one can understand the suffering we’re going through now. It’s difficult for us to cope with the overheated market of commodities. We’re now being forced to stand in lines to buy goods from the TCB trucks.”
Delwar is not alone as many low and middle-income people are feeling the pinch of unusual price hikes of essentials across the country. The retailers are raising the prices of daily essential commodities, including rice, pulses, oil and sugar regularly showing an excuse of short supply.
In such a situation, the demand for commodities supplied by TCB has increased sharply. As the goods are less than the demand, the sale ends by noon.
TCB dealers said they are being supplied with very inadequate goods to meet the demands of huge buyers.
Visiting different spots in the city, it was seen that thousands of people were waiting for hours to purchase the goods from TCB dealers to ease the shock of ongoing price hikes. The queues get bigger within minutes after the arrival of trucks.
Talking to UNB, TCB dealer Jahangir said usually low-income people, including day-labourers, rickshaw-pullers, drivers or housemaids came to buy goods from them earlier. “But now the middle-class people are also gathering to buy goods from us. It’s difficult for us to handle such pressure from such a huge number of buyers. Some people become violent when our stocks run out.”
Akkas Uddin, a TCB goods seller in Tejgaon area, said they get 1580 kg of different types of goods every day that are sold out within two hours. “The supply of goods needs to be increased to meet the huge demand.”
READ: Now restaurants may have to run after TCB trucks!
Contacted, TCB Chairman Md Ariful Hassan said they are selling goods at lower prices in different points in Dhaka city in 150 trucks, which is only enough for 40,000 families.
“Each truck gets TCB goods like sugar, pulse, and onion and soybean oil for 250 to 300 families. We’ll try to cover all the needy people. We need cooperation from the city corporation councilors’ so that our goods reach the real poor and needy people,” Ariful said.
He said police stations have been asked to ensure discipline at the TCB’s selling points in their respective areas.
Barguna: Poorly planned bridges render re-excavated canal unnavigable
Although Barguna’s Varani canal has finally been re-excavated after a long struggle, residents of the area fear that it cannot be resuscitated due to several poorly planned bridges built over the canal.
Varani, the canal that connects Payra and Khakdon rivers, has been dead for decades due to illegal occupation.
This canal originated from Khakdon river and went on 9 km though the city to connect to the Payra river.
Eleven bridges have been built along these 9 km. In monsoon no vessel can pass under these bridges. Due to these unplanned, or poorly planned bridges, the once vital means of naval communication turned into an impassable dead canal.
Also read: 30,000 villagers’ long wait for concrete bridge in Feni yet to end
The canal was a reliable means of trade and commerce in Barguna Sadar upazila. But over time it became a dead artery due to pollution and illegal occupation. The condition of seven more tributary canals connected with the Varani canal are the same.
Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) launched a re-excavate operation which is now almost complete. They have also vacated the banks. However, the 11 bridges are still untouched.
Made-in-Bangladesh locomotive parts in the offing to save money, create jobs
Bangladesh is going ahead with a plan to manufacture at least 50 per cent of the railway parts in the country to save a chunk of foreign currency and create jobs.
A draft policy prepared with this objective is likely to be finalized this month, sources at state-run Bangladesh Railway told UNB this week.
Apart from saving the railway TK 75 to 150 crore annually the implementation of the plan will greatly reduce its dependence on imported parts.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said currently about 25,000 different types of parts are required for locomotives . Of specialized parts, only 5 per cent are locally made now. The remaining 95 per cent of the parts are purchased from foreign manufacturers.
An official of Bangladesh railway told UNB that around 61 per cent of its 283 locomotives, have reached prescribed 20-year lifespan.
Engine parts worth around Tk 150-200 crore are imported every year to keep those expired engines running. In this context railway has taken initiative to manufacture various parts in the country.
Read: New-look Upukul Express flagged off by Railways Minster
Since most of the engine parts have to be imported, in most of the cases it is not possible to repair the engine properly due to non-availability of spare parts within the stipulated time, explained the official.
If these are made in the country, it will save time besides saving foreign currency. This, in turn, will create employments, the official said requesting anonymity.
The draft policy includes entrepreneurs in the production process. Bangladesh Railway's own workshops will be used for manufacturing work.
Once the policy is implemented, the parts will be available easily and cheaply and it will also contribute to the development of the local industry, he said.
Other sources at the Bangladesh Railway said, the proposed policy aims at the production and rapid availability of locomotive parts in the country.
It says that a large number of spare parts are required regularly to repair and maintain the engine in the fleet. These parts are specialized materials. Diesel engine parts are identified on the basis of part number and description as there are no drawings and specifications.
30,000 villagers’ long wait for concrete bridge in Feni yet to end
Communication problem for want of a concrete bridge in different villages in Sadar and Dagonbhuiyan upazilas of Feni district has made the lives of local residents miserable but no initiative has been taken yet to end the problem.
Over 30,000 people in the two upazilas have been facing trouble every day while crossing the Feni River for different purposes. Small boats are the only mode of transport for local residents.
Residents of Panchgachia union and Razapur union under the two upazilas have been demanding a concrete bridge over the river for a long time but it has fallen on deaf ears.
READ: Thakurgaon people wait for bridge for years amid mounting sufferings
Even there is no makeshift or bamboo bridge over the river, forcing people to use small boats for crossing the river.
The students of local schools and madrasahs of the two upazilas especially the people of Purboghona village in Sadar upazila are the worst sufferers as they often fail to reach their educational institutions in time as only one boat is available for a large number of people.
Most of the time, the residents of Purboghona village fall prey to mishaps while crossing the river and during the monsoon it becomes more risky.
Kazi Nazrul Islam, president of Biroli Ideal High School and Government Primary School Managing Committee, said, “The local administration has not taken any initiative to end the untold sufferings of people. The reluctant attitude of the authorities concerned has frustrated us.”
People of the two upazilas have to depend on boats to go to any place of the district and over 500 students of different schools and madrasahs have to use it.
Mizanur Rahman, the headmaster of Biroli Ideal High School, said, “There are 1,000 students in the school and most of them are residents of Razapurghona village. Many students do not come to school during monsoon fearing boat capsizes amid storms.”
Monwar Hossain Shimul, a member of Biroli Darul Ulum Islamia Madrasha Managing Committee, said no boatman is available at night and so they fail to take any patient to any hospital immediately in case of emergency.
Sirajul Islam, a resident of Purboghona village said they have to use an alternative road to go to Sadar upazila which is time-consuming and difficult for them.
READ: Built over 3 years ago a bridge in Kurigram remains unused for lack of approach roads
Mahbubul Haque Liton, newly-elected chairman of Panchgachia union, said only a concrete bridge over the Feni River can bring an end to the sufferings of people and necessary steps will be taken soon after consultation with authorities concerned including the local MP.
Deputy Commissioner Abu Selim Mahmud-Ul-Hasan, said “Communication is the most important part of development. The demand of local people is logical and I will take necessary steps in this regard after scrutiny.”
Kurigram witnesses significant decline in child marriage
One of the two categories of child marriage has declined significantly in Kurigram, one of the country's poorest districts, over the last five years. The other has also decreased, but not to the desired extent.
In 2017, the rate of child marriage for under-15s was 17 percent, and for under-18s was 65 percent in the northern district. It means the number of girls under the age of 15 getting married was 17 percent, and the number of girls under 18 getting married was 65 percent.
Now the rate has come down to 6 percent for under-15s, and 51 percent for under-18s, said Mohammad Rezaul Karim, Deputy Commissioner of Kurigram district on Saturday at Sheikh Russel Auditorium in Kurigram.
The findings were disclosed at the district level exit workshop organized by the Building Better Future for Girls (BBFG). The Deputy Commissioner of Kurigram presided over the workshop.
District action plan to prevent child and early forced marriage can be a powerful tool to make Bangladesh free of child marriage by 2041, he added.
Kurigram can be a role model for other districts in bringing down child marriage rate but a long- term action plan and more coordinated efforts are required to achieve the goal, said discussants during the project's closing workshop.
READ: Growing per capita income contributed to reduce child marriage: Planning Minister
Deputy Director of the Local Government department, Zilufa Sultana, Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Rajarhat Upazila Nura Tasnim, Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Fulbari Upazila Sumon Das, Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Kurigram Sadar Upazila Rasedul Hasan, Additional Superintendent of Police Sushant Chandra Roy, Director - Girls Rights Hub of Plan International Bangladesh Kashfia Firoz, and Nazrul Ghani, Head of Administration and General Service were present as special guests.
The Deputy Commissioner said that everyone in Kurigram now knows that child marriage is a crime. But they have to be more conscious and monitor the situation from their own place. “We must say No to child marriage”.
The BBFG project has been supporting the Kurigram district administration in implementing the district action plan to reduce the rate of child marriage under 15 years to zero, and to reduce the rate of child marriage under 18 years to one-third of what it was.
Under the leadership of Kurigram district administration, child marriage prevention committee, local government, Kazi, Matchmaker, Imam and Priests are working together. As a result, the district’s rate of child marriage has been reduced, he added.
Kashfia Feroz, director of Girls Rights Hub of Plan International Bangladesh said: "Despite the pandemic, the rate of child marriage in Kurigram under the age of 15 has come down to 6 percent from 17 percent. This is a great achievement for us. I urge everyone to hold on to the BBFG project’s success so that we can declare Kurigram a child marriage free district.”
As per the government's declaration, and following the guidelines of the Governance Innovation Unit (GIU) at the Prime Minister’s Office, 3 upazilas, 73 union parishads and 3 municipalities of Kurigram district have already been primarily declared as "child marriage-free" through the BBFG project.
The Building Better Future for Girls (BBFG) project, funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Bangladesh, has been implemented across the Kurigram district since 2017 with the support of Plan International Bangladesh and local partner RDRS Bangladesh. The project will end by March 31, 2022.
READ: Kurigram sets an example in reducing child marriage: Speakers
The BBFG project has taken various initiatives to stop child marriage including formation of youth forum in all unions of Kurigram, selection of champion fathers, strengthening and formation of child marriage prevention committee and developing action plan to stop child marriage at district, upazila and union and ward levels, and providing training to over 6000 kazis, imams, matchmakers and priests involved in the process to execute marriage.
BPC incurs Tk 63 crore loss a day in petroleum sale, but experts suggest cut on import duty
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is now incurring a loss of Tk 63 crore per day as the state-run company sells its imported products at rates lower than import cost.
According to fuel marketing agency, it has to incur a loss of Tk 37 per litre in the sale of diesel, Tk 10 in octane, Tk 15 in furnace oil and Tk 7 in jet-fuel.
“We’ve really been facing a tough situation. Everyday we’re communicating the situation to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division”, ABM Azad, chairman of the BPC told UNB.
He, however, declined to give any indication on any possible increase of the petroleum price in the country to offset the loss.
He said BPC has been considering different options and sending those to the top policy making level.
Also read: BPDB’s extra purchase order of petroleum puts BPC in trouble
“The government is the ultimate authority to make the final decision on any issue in regard to the petroleum fuel”, said the BPC chairman.
Responding to a question on any cut in taxes on the import of petroleum, Azad said, he did not make any such suggestion as it is beyond his capacity.
But he noted that in last two fiscal years, the BPC had to pay Tk 19,000 crore in VAT and taxes.
The BPC chairman’s remarks came amid the growing petroleum price hike on the international market due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The crude oil price already crossed $113 per barrel on Thursday which was below $100 before the start of the war.
Capsicum cultivation makes Jashore farmers happy
Once considered as an unfamiliar foreign vegetable, capsicum is fast gaining popularity in Bangladesh.
The rising demand of capsicum, locally known as sweet pepper, is pushing up its farming in parts of Bangladesh. Farmers are getting good price too.
Consider Manjurul Alam, a 42-year-old farmer of Jhikorgachha upazila in Jashore district, who scripted a success story by cultivating capsicum commercially in this farmland.
Thanks to the favourable weather his harvest is satisfactory.
His success has spread across the area bringing in more farmers like him in capsicum farming.
Manjurul was a florist and for the last three years, he got involved in capsicum cultivation.
He has learnt the technique of capsicum cultivation from agricultural experts.
He knows well how to prepare the field, control the temperature and use Polyshade fogger machines to grow the profitable vegetable.
The foreign vegetable has huge demand in the country too like European and American countries which transform Manjurul’s life in a few years.
People from different parts of the district flock to his land and buy the saplings to bring their land under capsicum cultivation too.
Earlier, traders used to import it from India due to its popularity in the country but now many farmers like Majurul grow it in Jashore.
Many farmers in Jhikargacha, Manirampur and Chowgacha upazila have brought their land under capsicum cultivation.
“I was a florist, but I suffered huge loss in flower business during the pandemic. Then I decided to cultivate capsicum and Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) helped me in doing this,” said Manjurul.
First he built a modern poly shed on one bigha of land to cultivate capsicum and installed irrigation system, electric fans, fogger machines and other equipment, he said.
At the very beginning, one kg of capsicum was being sold at Tk 200 and now he sells a kilo of the healthy vegetable at Tk 400 to 500, said Manjurul.
READ: Tomato cultivation: Bumper harvest and good price bring joy to farmers in Rajshahi
Omicron helped Bangladesh rapidly reach herd immunity: Experts
Covid-19 may no longer be a serious health threat to Bangladesh as the country has already achieved herd immunity against the virus with the widespread infections of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, say experts.
Though there is no credible study and serosurvilnce report here to know about the immunity developed among people across Bangladesh, the medical analysts think the virulent Omicron acted like a natural vaccine infecting most population in the country, helping build the herd immunity.
Talking to UNB, leading public health experts Dr Bijon Kumar Sil, Prof Muzaherul Huq and Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed said any new variant of the virus can still infect people having the immunity gained through the Omicron infections, but it may not cause severe illness.
They, however, warned that any type of Covid variant can be dangerous for only the immunocompromised people and those who have comorbidities.
Herd immunity is a concept based on the body's immune resistance to the spread of a deadly disease (bacterial or viral infection) and it can be obtained in two ways -- naturally through infections of the majority of the population and artificially through vaccinating around 80 percent of the population of a country.
High-quality immunity
Dr Bijon Kumar Sil, head of the microbiology department at Gono University, said the way Omicron has spread across Bangladesh, leaving behind a high-quality natural immunity among people in the country. “So, I think Covid may not cause serious problems in the country in the days to come.”
He believes Bangladesh has already attained herd immunity like many other countries in the world.
Read: Dhaka, Abu Dhabi discuss bilateral issues
“It’s very good quality herd immunity. Natural herd immunity is much better than vaccine-induced immunity. The American CDC is also now recognising the natural immunity gained through Omicron infection is as good as double or triple vaccinations,” the expert said.
He said not only Bangladesh but also many countries in the world are going to attain natural herd immunity because of massive exposure to the Omicron variant. “As Omicron has spread rapidly all over the world, hardly anyone will remain without a natural antibody with the ebbing of its wave.”
Dr Bijon thinks over 80 percent of people in Bangladesh have already been infected by Omicron, while over 70 percent have already received the first dose of vaccines. “So, the new variant in the future is unlikely to cause any big problem in terms of severity of the illness.”
Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed, former director (disease control) of DGHS, said Omicron worked as a natural vaccine as most people of the country were infected by it. “So, we’ve already gained the herd immunity against the Covid virus.”
He said the new normal life will not be affected and people may not suffer much from the Covid if any new variant does not come that can dodge the existing immunity of people.
Going to be like flu
Dr Bijon is hopeful that Covid-19 will become like a flu in the near future, but it will not be eliminated from the world. “If a new variant emerges in the coming days, it may infect people with symptoms like many other remaining flues.”
He, however, said new variants are likely to be a matter of concern for the people who are immunocompromised.
Women’s entry into banks and NBFIs declines amid 10% quota withdrawal
Though the employment of women has marked a rise in different sectors in recent years, the average ratio of women employees in banks and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) saw a decline by 2.87 per cent in January-June 2021.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) gender equality report January-June 2021 shows that the number of women employees stood at 29,513 or 15.8 per cent out of total 186,784 employees in banks and NBFIs.
During the same period in 2020, the number of women employees was 28,078 or 18.67 percent of the total 178,510 employees in the banks and NBFIs.
The BB statistics show that the average ratio of women’s employees decreased by 2.87 per cent to 15.80 per cent in January-June of 2021, though the total number of women employees grew up to 29513 in the first half of 2021 from 28078 in January-June 2020.
The opportunities in the workplace for women have widened in Bangladesh as awareness grows in both public and private sectors to achieve gender equality as part of sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Read: Fmr minister Mosharraf’s brother arrested in Tk 2,000cr money laundering case
Bangladesh is placed 65th among 156 countries in the latest ‘Global Gender Gap Report, prepared by World Economic Forum. Such progress has been possible for creation of opportunities for women's participation in the workplace and increase in the economic benefits level.
Laila Bilkis Ara, secretary Institute of Bankers, Bangladesh (IBB) and former executive director of BB told UNB that the number of women employees in banking is decreasing after withdrawal of 10 per cent quota for women in the recruitment.
She said in the perspective of Bangladesh, a girl cannot get enough time for job preparation after graduation as most guardians prefer to marry their daughter after finishing higher degree.
On eve of SA tour, clouds gather again over Shakib; now 'mental health'
Once again at the doorstep of an important away series for the Bangladesh cricket team, uncertainty reigns over the participation of its most accomplished player, and days are spent in limbo rather than the planning that can prepare the team to execute better once the competitive cricket resumes.
Bangladesh are all set to fly to South Africa on March 11 to play a three-match ODI and a two-match Test series. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has already announced the both ODI and Test squad for this tour, and Shakib is included in both squads. But Shakib has now said he doesn’t know if he is going to play in South Africa.
A similar uncertainty about Shakib’s participation ahead of an away series took place prior to Bangladesh’s last New Zealand tour when BCB included Shakib in the squad, and the all-rounder eventually pulled out of the team after that.
Before flying to the UAE due to a personal commitment, of which there are increasingly more these days, on Sunday Shakib intimated that he is not in a good mental and physical state to take part in the South Africa tour.
Also read: Shakib faces row over Covid protocol breach
He also said if he skips the ODIs, he might get his interest back and subsequently participate in the Tests. It was a shocking
It’s not clear what exactly happened to the all-rounder that has damaged his interest to play cricket. But it’s clear that his recent performances don’t meet the standard he set over the years.
In the home series against Afghanistan, Shakib scored 74 runs in five matches and bagged seven wickets, though he played better in the last edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) representing Fortune Barishal.
Although to be fair, the depleted BPL stage can hardly hold a candle to international cricket these days.
“I didn't enjoy playing ODIs or T2oIs in the Afghanistan series,” Shakib said on Sunday before leaving for the UAE. “I felt like a passenger in the recent series which was not expected. I don’t think I can play a lot of international cricket in this mental state.
Continuing to beat on himself over his subpar performances, Shakib broached the mental health card, that has been used by a number of leading international players recently to take sudden, indefinite breaks from the game.
"I want to meet the expectation when I play. It shouldn't be my way of playing in this mental situation. I don’t want to waste time, I don’t want to waste someone’s spot. It will be betraying my country and team-mates if I play like a passenger,” Shakib added.
During the Afghanistan series, Nazmul Hasan, the president of BCB, hinted that Shakib would tour South Africa. So the president is surprised that Shakib said he is not mentaly ready to take part in this series.
The 34-year-old all-rounder made it clear that he likes to focus on white-ball cricket more than red-ball one.
He said: “I want to stay out of Test cricket till late November this year, and I have said it to the board. As we have to play two World Cups in the next two years, I want to concentrate more on white-ball cricket. But I also want to make it clear that I’m not leaving Test cricket entirely.”
Also reda: Mustafizur goes to Delhi Capital, Shakib remains unsold
The leading all-rounder across all three formats of his era doesn't seem to realise that is not an entirely straightforward position he has taken. Shakib turns 35 later this month. Is he really in a position to propose a two-year sabbatical from a format, with a view to return written into it?
And what has given him the idea that everything in Bangladesh cricket must be staked in these two 'white ball World Cups' in the next two years?
This is the second South Africa tour where Shakib is going to skip the Tests. Earlier in 2017, Shakib missed the Tests in South Africa tour when he was on a six-month break from the format. Along with that, he also missed the last two New Zealand tours for personal reasons.
And he also missed a series against Sri Lanka to take part in the Indian Premier League’s last edition saying that would help him to do well in the T20 World Cup that took place in 2021 in Oman and UAE. However, Shakib judged it wrong as he failed to do well both in IPL and the T20 World Cup.