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Illegal coal furnaces leave Khulna gasping for breath & answers
The family's ordeal began a couple of years ago when their son suddenly developed a nagging cough.
Over the next few months after the clock struck 11am daily, Jamila Khatun and her husband knew what was coming -- so they would close her windows and wait for the inescapable.
Soon, the family home in the Shinger Char area of Aichgati union in Khulna's Rupsha upazila would be filled with a pungent smell. And her son would start coughing.
It was only after she got in touch with a local doctor that she came to know about the source of her son's persistent cough -- exposure to smoke from several illegal coal furnaces in the area.
"My son starts coughing soon after these illegal coal furnaces start emitting smoke from their chimneys. Every month, I spend Tk 1,000 on doctor visits and medicines," Jamila told UNB.
Jamila's family is not alone. Several people in the upazila have similar tales to narrate.
READ: Matarbari coal-fired power project gets costlier
Despite regular government drives against illegal coal furnaces in the upazila, nothing concrete has materialised to date -- toxic fumes from these units continue to pollute the environment.
"Apart from breathing difficulties, many children have developed skin problems," said another parent. "Local authorities should take some concrete steps to shut these illegal furnaces once and for all."
"It's high time they took strict action against the polluters," said Anjira Khatun, another resident.
The illegal coal furnace owners, on the other hand, say they are continuing with the family business to meet their both ends meet.
"We know our business is not legal, but we are helpless. Moreover, there's a good demand for coal across Bangladesh," said Jamal Khan, one such owner.
READ: Why quitting coal is so hard
Khulna's district environment inspector Maruf Billah said that their drive against the illegal coal furnaces would continue.
When contacted, Rupsha's acting upazila nirbahi officer Sajjad Hossain, said, "Immediate legal action will be taken against these illegal coal furnace owners."
Govt aims at boosting revenue collection amid recovery from Covid shocks
The government has projected an increase in revenue collection in the coming days as the country’s economy has started recovering gradually from the shock of COVID-19 pandemic.According to an official document, the revenue collection for 2023-24 fiscal has been projected Tk 4999.7 billion while it will be Tk 4362,4 billion for the 2022-23 fiscal.In the running fiscal of 2021-22 the revenue collection has been fixed at Tk 3890 billion.The document said that on-going and the proposed reform plans undertaken by the government are expected to boost the domestic revenue reaching the target in the medium term.The government has set revenue target of Tk 3890 billion for running 2021-22 fiscal, which is 10.7 per cent higher than that of the revised target in fiscal 2020-21.The document mentioned that revenue collection needs to grow at a rate of 21.0 per cent (on average) from the actual collection in fiscal 2020-21 for achieving the revenue target in fiscal 2021-22.
Also read: NBR goes all-out to boost tax revenue for better economic growthRevenue mobilization is expected to be strengthened in the medium term when the economy would recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and the NBR reform programs are implemented fully.The total target of the revenue collection for the running 2021-22 fiscal is Tk 3890 billion. Of the total amount tax revenue will contribute Tk 3460 billion. The share for the National Board of Revenue (NBR) is Tk 3300 billion.The government projects to collect Tk 1049.5 billion from Income and profit taxes, Tk 379.1 billion from customs duties and Tk 1822.10 billion from VAT and supplementary duties in fiscal 2021-22.
Majestic Shaplapata, the Stingrays of the Bay of Bengal, being driven to extinction
The stingrays of the Bay of Bengal, locally known as Shaplapata, are vital for conserving its biodiversity and the marine ecosystem, but it is now endangered due to its lucrative value on the market for the fishing community.
For the last 30 years, Md Rustom Ali Howladar, a fisherman from Porgola village of Pirojpur upazila in Bagerhat, has seen plenty of Shaplapata being captured by fishermen during his ventures to the sea.
“Fishermen usually plant fish-hooks along the seashore to catch the large Shaplapata and smaller ones are often caught easily with fishing nets,” Rustom Ali said.
The high price it fetches at markets in the coastal districts of Bagerhat, Barguna is the reason behind their interest in catching Shaplapata.
Recently, one weighing 400kg was sold for Tk 52,000 at a wholesale fish market in Bagerhat’s KB Bazar through open auction.
Given that the retail price per kg was Tk 300, the fish was sold to consumers at a total price of Tk 1,40,000 minimum, it is said.
“As there is a great demand for Shaplapata in the market and a typical large one can go for Tk 30-40,000 at the wholesale market, they are the big catch but even small ones are sold handsomely,” said some fishermen of the Bagerhat region.
READ: Tomato cultivation: Bumper harvest and good price bring joy to farmers in Rajshahi
Sole bread earner gone, sailor's family now stares at uncertain future
Hadisur Rahman Arif's untimely death has left his family without an earning member, completely shattering their dreams.
The 47-year-old, a third engineer, was killed in a rocket attack on a Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) vessel stranded at a Ukrainian port on Wednesday.
Tarek, one of his brothers, told UNB that he had a chat with Hadisur just hours before the tragic news devastated the family.
Read:Ukraine conflict: Bangladeshi killed in rocket attack on ship
“I could overhear the sounds of multiple explosions. We had a detailed conversation on how to go about the renovation of our family home," he recounted.
UNB visited Hadisur's family house in Betagi upazil on Thursday morning and found neighbours and relatives mourning his untimely demise.
"Our parents are in a state of shock. Hadisur told me clearly that he would return home soon. We urge the government to do what's needed to bring back his body," Tarek said.
Betagi upazila chairman Maksudur Rahman Forkan said, “Hadisur was a meritorious student who graduated from Chattogram Marine Academy.”
Barguna's deputy commissioner Habibur Rahman and the local MP also visited Hadisur's house and expressed profound shock at his death. They assured the family of taking all steps to bring his body back.
Hadisur was on board bulk carrier Banglar Samriddhi when the rocket hit the vessel.
"The ship caught fire at 9.25pm (Bangladesh time, 5.25pm in Ukraine) as the rocket struck its bridge. The crew members were able to tame the flames immediately. But Hadisur lost his life," said Captain Md Anam Chowdhury, president of the Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers' Association.
Amid the worrying development in Ukraine, Banglar Samriddhi got stuck at the Port of Olvia, located in the Mykolaiv region on the left bank of the Dnipro-Bug estuary on the northern Black Sea coast. All its 29 crew members are Bangladeshis.
Banglar Samriddhi had been anchored at the port before the Russian invasion began on February 24, Omar Faruque Tuhin, a crew member of the ship, told UNB over the phone on February 27.
"All activities at the port came to a screeching halt immediately and we got stuck on the ship. Panic has gripped us. We hear the sound of explosions and gunfire in the distance. Fortunately, the port has not yet come under direct attack."
Banglar Samriddhi, now caught in the fighting in Ukraine, reached Olvia on February 22 to load ball clay, according to the BSC.
As the conflict between Ukraine and Russia escalated, the BSC cancelled the plan and asked the master of the vessel to make his way towards international waters.
Read: Ship with 29 Bangladeshis on board stranded in Ukraine port
However, the bulk carrier failed to leave the port immediately due to a delay in getting port clearance and got stranded as Ukraine closed its seaports following the Russian invasion.
Earlier, Bangladesh asked its nationals stranded in Ukraine to contact the country's diplomatic missions in the neighbouring European countries while Poland and Romania came forward to provide temporary shelters for Bangladeshis.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday issued helpline numbers for the stranded Bangladeshi nationals to help them get into Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova, all bordering Ukraine.
Around 400 Bangladeshis have safely crossed the Ukrainian border and reached Poland, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday night.
The government of Bangladesh is arranging their repatriation and is in touch with global organisations for their return home.
Sundarbans tourism to cost more as authorities move to boost revenue income
Tourism-based business in the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, are bracing for losses after the authorities moved to boost revenue by making visit to the region more expensive.
The government has recently launched steps to increase the revenue income from tourists in Sundarbans. This is being done by doubling the tour-related tariffs and taxes imposed on visitors to attractive tourist destination in the Bay of Bengal.
The higher visiting cost is driving many tourists away, according to tour operators.
The operators are trying to recover some of its losses caused by Covid-19 but the increased taxes may push the tourism business to uncertainty.
Hit hard by the Covid pandemic the fishermen, wood-collectors and honey collectors in the Sundarbans are also facing losses as the forest authorities have steeply raised the target of revenue collection from them.
BB working on alternatives to SWIFT for trade with Russia
Bangladesh's trade with Russia may face some hiccups if the country's (Russia) banks are kicked out of the SWIFT system.
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, is a Belgian cooperative society providing services related to the execution of financial transactions and payments between banks worldwide.
The Finance Ministry is considering approving a proposal of Bangladesh Bank (BB) using the 'currency swap' system with Russia to avert losses.
Experts and ministry officials said Bangladesh will not be affected widely as export trade with Russia is not so big and several alternative systems are being used in different countries.
Meanwhile, the West imposed sanctions and banned some banks of Russia from using the SWIFT system to derail Russia's trade and economic system in protest of the invasion of Ukraine. As part of this, the European Union (EU), France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States have agreed to exclude Russia from SWIFT.
If this is implemented, Russia's banking transactions with many countries in the world will be problematic. Bangladesh will not be left out from the problem, experts said.
Read: Insurance companies’ assets grew 4-fold in 12 years: Finance Minister
Because the SWIFT system is used for financial transactions from country to country, if Bangladesh can't use this network to pay Russia for traded items, it will be difficult to carry on trading. Besides, investment will be hampered, they said.
Commerce Ministry officials said trade will be affected in the short run, and if the war situation lingers, Bangladesh will have to face its impact in the long run.
However, referring to the export statistics with Russia, they said the volume of export to Russia is not very big, so it would have little effect on the overall export earnings of Bangladesh.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), in the fiscal year 2020-21, Bangladesh exported goods worth USD $ 665.3 million to Russia, the largest of which was in the readymade garments products.
Imports amounted to $ 466.7 million, most of which were food products. The payment for these products was made through the SWIFT payment system.
If this service is stopped now, trade between the two countries will be in trouble.
However, as an alternative to SWIFT, there is a proposal to settle transactions between the two countries in a 'currency swap' system, said a senior official of the Ministry of Finance.
Brazil sees more opportunities of collaboration with Bangladesh, says its top bank CEO
Impressed by Bangladesh’s growth and large-scale infrastructure development, Brazil now wants to engage broadly in agribusiness, trade, micro-finance and infrastructure, says chief executive officer (CEO) of Brazilian state-owned bank Caixa Economica Federal (CEF).
“We want to enhance the relationship between Brazil and Bangladesh. I think the relationship can be much larger and much higher,” Pedro Guimaraes told UNB in an interview.
He said like Bangladesh, Brazil is also growing and there is a huge scope of investment and to have greater engagement in agribusiness.
Read:Bangladesh to enjoy DFQF market access to Australia in post-LDC period
During his first visit to Bangladesh, the Brazilian economist and his team members visited Old Dhaka, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI), Central Bank of Bangladesh, Ministry of Finance, Microcredit Regulatory Authority, Headquarters of Grammen Bank and BRAC and had interacted with the officials apart from meetings with microcredit borrowers.
The Caixa CEO said he is highly impressed to see how the microcredit system is working in Bangladesh and his country is willing to take the lessons from Bangladesh's experience as they want to serve the relatively poor people in his country by developing such a financial scheme. “I think microfinance is growing faster here.”
He said they are going to have an agreement in agribusiness between Brazil and Bangladesh which is at the final stage. “I think that the relationship between Brazil and Bangladesh should increase.”
India to evacuate foreign nationals from Ukraine
New Delhi is sending four senior Ministers to Ukraine's neighbouring countries to help evacuate not only Indians but also foreign nationals stranded in war-torn Ukraine, in a move that could benefit distressed Bangladeshis and Pakistanis too.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi late on Monday night, the Indian External Affairs Ministry said. Already 8,000 Indian nationals, mostly students, have been evacuated from Ukraine.
"Evacuation efforts on… situation on ground continues to be complex and fluid, some of them quite concerning, but we’ve been able to accelerate our evacuation process. About 8,000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine since we issued advisories, not since the conflict began," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told the media.
In a related statement, the Foreign Ministry said, "The prime minister pointed out that the visit of four senior ministers as his Special Envoys to various nations will energise the evacuation efforts. It is reflective of the priority the government attaches to this matter."
"Guided by India's motto of the world being one family, the prime minister also stated that India will help people from neighbouring countries and developing countries who are stranded in Ukraine and may seek assistance."
Last week, Prime Minister Modi urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to immediately halt military action against Ukraine, underscoring the need for a diplomatic solution to the standoff.
This was after Ukraine's envoy in Delhi sought Modi's intervention in ending the Russian offensive. "Modi ji is one of the most powerful, respected world leaders. You have a privileged, strategic relation with Russia. If Modiji speaks to Putin we are hopeful he'll respond," Ukraine's Ambassador Igor Polikha told the local media on Thursday.
An estimated 15,000 Indians are said to be currently in Ukraine.
Bangladesh scrambles to get its nationals in Ukraine to safety
“Alhamdulillah (praise be to Almighty).” That’s the only word Sohan’s mother was repeating to her loving son over the phone after his safe arrival in Hungary from Ukraine.
Sohanur Rahman Sohan, one of the Bangladeshi students in Ukraine, had never thought that he would go through such moments full of uncertainties in his life on a foreign land far from his mother and only brother.
“It’s my mother whom I made the first call to after crossing the Ukraine-Hungary border and getting settled in Budapest. She was continuously turning to the Almighty in dua and kept offering Namaj seeking my safety,” Sohan told UNB over phone as he describes how life by its very nature is a test.
The 23-year-old young man, a medical student of Uzhhorod National University, Ukraine got into trouble when he along with his two friends went to Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine, from Uzhhorod to see off one of his Indian friends just a day before Russian forces launched attacks on Ukraine.
Also read: In and out of Ukraine: Expats' families in Bangladesh live on prayers
“The following day, I felt so helpless. I got very frustrated when cars kept refusing to take me and my friends to my city Uzhhorod due to long distance,” said Sohan, noting that he feared his dream to complete study from a leading university which has a rich history of more than six decades in the field of medical education would get shattered halfway.
After a long wait, they managed to convince a car driver at a very expensive fare while Sohan kept updating his mother about everything.
Russia-Ukraine war: What should Dhaka do to stave off economic consequences
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has the global economies worried, also prompting a question as to whether President Vladimir Putin's attempt to write history will hit hard the post-Covid growth recovery trajectory in some countries.
However, energy experts and economists in Bangladesh believe that there won't be any immediate impact of the invasion on this country's economy -- particularly in sectors like power, imports and exports -- though a long-term impact is imminent.
“I don't see any immediate impact on our energy sector although Russia is building our first nuclear power plant in Rooppur and involved in gas well drilling," eminent energy expert Dr M Tamim told UNB.
The Bangladesh government has hired Russian nuclear energy firm Rosatom for building the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) at a cost of $12.65 billion. However, Russia is supposed to provide a costly state loan to cover 90% of the project cost.
Besides, officials said, Rosatom has been paid $550 million for a feasibility study and the project design.
Read: Petrobangla close to appointing a foreign firm to revamp Model PSC for off-shore gas exploration
According to official sources, the power plant will have two units each having 1,200 MW production capacity. Of these, the first unit is nearing completion and expected to start commercial operations in 2023 while the second unit will be ready in 2024.
Similarly, another Russian state agency is engaged in the country’s gas sector.
In May last year, the Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation -- Gazprom -- obtained a contract for drilling three wells on Bhola gas field at a cost of Tk 648.39 crore (about $77.184 million).