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Seaweed farming can transform Bangladesh’s blue economy: Experts
Seaweed farming holds enormous prospect for Bangladesh to expand its blue economy as the marine plants and algae have multipurpose applications in industries like food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and fertilizer in local and global markets, according to experts in this field.
To promote seaweed farming commercially, the country needs to develop its market value chain which is missing yet, they said.
This world’s fast-growing sector still remains almost unexplored in Bangladesh despite having a large sea area in the Bay of Bengal following the disposal of maritime disputes with two neighbouring countries –Myanmar and India, said the experts.
Read Be the flag-bearer of Bangladesh's blue economy, President tells Navy
“Bangladesh can produce seaweed commercially alongside the fisheries and other marine resources in a bid to unlock the full potential of the blue economy,” said Dr Md Kawser Ahmed, Professor of Oceanography Department at Dhaka University.
He said the contribution of seaweed is enormous not only to the economy but also to the environment and ecology.
Read: Bangladesh's Blue Economy Cell falters; no progress in 4 yrs
‘Sky is the limit’, says new EU envoy eyeing dynamic relations with Bangladesh
The European Union wants to bring greater dynamism in its relations with Bangladesh engaging deeply in every way stating that “sky is the limit” when it comes to cooperation in boosting trade and investment.
“Sky is the limit when we cooperate with…the world is changing very quickly. The European Union is changing. Bangladesh is changing. We’ve to make sure that our relationship reflects that change,” Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the EU to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley told UNB in an interview.
The Ambassador, who came back to Bangladesh after 12 years of his first posting here, said he wants to see the growing relationship between Bangladesh and the EU “deepened politically” engaging all segments of Bangladesh society, civil society and with robust trading ties.
He said the relationship needs to be characterized in terms of new challenges and exploring opportunities in the digital sphere.
Also read: Additional €12 mn to be provided for Rohingyas, host community: EU
“Bangladesh has such a big batch of young people who are educated and tech savvy. That’s a huge resource for Bangladesh. We want to be with Bangladesh on that journey,” said the envoy.
Wave of Investment
The EU diplomat said they want to see a “wave of investment” in Bangladesh from Europe with a level-playing field in place after addressing the challenges. “We’ll be working together as partners.”
RU may turn to UGC to improve food options for students
As universities have opened their doors again following the long closure caused by the pandemic, and healthy lifestyles foremost in people's minds, residential and non-residential students of Rajshahi University have raised concerns over the eating options available to them at one of the largest public universities in the country.
Even the chief medical officer at the university's own medical centre has admitted meals served at the university's dining centres fall short of providing the daily nutritious intake recommended for a person to lead a healthy life.
Students meanwhile allege they are being served food cooked in unhygienic conditions and even stale meals at the cafeterias and hall dinings.
Most of the residential students take their regular meals from their respective hall dinings. Sometimes they allege insects and other unhealthy items are found in the meals of hall dinings.
Earlier on the day of the admission test at the university, many students allegedly suffered from food poisoning after having food from the cafeteria.
Abdus Sabur Lotus, a 2nd-year student of Mass Communication and Journalism department of the university, told UNB that he suffered from food poisoning after having lunch at the central cafeteria.
Read: Prof Golam Sabbir Sattar appointed as VC of Rajshahi University
Cox’s Bazar gears up to become world-class tourist destination
With the easing of restrictions at home and abroad, Bangladesh’s tourism sector looks forward to a quick recovery from the huge losses it has suffered due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Both the government and private operators are banking more on Cox’s Bazar that boasts of the world’s longest unbroken sandy beach along the Bay of Bengal.
For attracting both globetrotters and local holidaymakers Bangladesh government has taken up a master plan centring the most frequented tourist spot in the country, Cox’s Bazar. The multiphase plan aims to redesign the region into an exclusive and international tour magnet.
After the setback caused by the pandemic, this plan appeared as an effort to regain the momentum of Bangladesh tourism which will become visible within two years.
Detailed master plan
Chairman of Cox’s Bazar Development Authority Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Forkan Ahmed told UNB the preparation to implement the master plan has started from a small part of the district at first and it will be implemented in phases.
The administrative nod to the Development Project Plan sent for this master plan covering 690.67 acre square kilometres of the district has already been provided, said Forkan.
A year has been invested in the planning phase just to collect opinions and suggestions of the locals for turning Cox’s Bazar into the planned, modern and dream tourism capital of Bangladesh, he said.
Forkan said the master plan includes details of the locations of hotels, resorts, rest houses, hospitals and houses to be built and where restrictions will be imposed for movements.
“The whole plan will also be implemented considering the conservation of biodiversity of the region,” he added.
Poor hospital hygiene in Bangladesh: Patients concerned about appalling neglect
There is a growing tendency among middle-class patients in Bangladesh to avoid knocking on hospital doors, even in the case of any critical condition. The reasons they describe are not pleasant at all.
Poor hygiene management in hospitals and care facilities, the horrible conditions of toilets, dirty floors, bad smell in the air, overcrowding, noise, ‘unfriendly behaviour by nurses and doctors’ and surging medical bills are among the reasons why people try to avoid going to hospitals in Bangladesh.
“Maintaining hygiene in hospitals and clinics is extremely important, and then comes the compassionate approach by hospital staff, including nurses and doctors. That’s great amiss in Bangladesh’s medical service ‘industry’. And this is one of the reasons why many people go abroad for medical treatment,” said Shamsur Rahman (not his real name), in his mid-50s.
Also read: Medical equipment lying packed at 16 hospitals; HC orders probe
“In May 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic was surging at an alarming rate in Bangladesh, I was admitted to a city hospital and had to spend over three weeks there. For the first time in my life, I saw things, I mean hospital management, from inside,” he said.
Waste-to-energy: Bangladesh’s two dream projects face speed bumps
As city authorities are struggling to catch up with the growing waste management problem, the government is trying to handle it shifting its focus on waste-to-energy projects, but the projects taken so far failed to make any breakthrough.
Two much-sought waste-to-energy projects – one in Dhaka and another in Narayanganj – could not start the ground work even after getting the approval from the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase a year ago.
Dhaka, the national capital that generates some 6,000 tons of garbage every day, is expected to see a sea change in garbage disposal once the proposed waste-to-energy plant at Aminbazar could be implemented.
Also read: Cabinet purchase body nods 42.5MW waste to energy power project
The 42.5MW Aminbazar project, aimed at using the garbage of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), got the clearance from the committee on November 12, 2020 while the 6MW plant received its nod on September 16, 2020 to be set up at Jalkuri, Narayanganj.
Kindergartens in Chandpur struggle to recover from Covid-19 shocks, many stay closed
Kindergarten schools in Chandpur district reopened amid enthusiasm on September 12 after a long Covid-induced lockdown. Yet, 41 of them located in seven upazilas of the district have remained closed because of shortage of teachers and staff.
According to the Bangladesh Kindergarten Association five Kindergarten schools in Chandpur Sadar, ten in Faridganj, six each in Matlab Uttar, Hajiganj and Shahrasti, four each in Matlab Dakshin and Kochua Upazilas have remained closed even after mass reopening. Locals said these KG schools are about to shut down completely.
READ: Coronavirus: Primary schools, kindergartens to remain shut until May 29
Being hit by financial crisis during Covid lockdown, many of the teachers and staff of these Kindergarten schools shifted their jobs elsewhere for survival. Meanwhile, the students of these schools are now attending local government primary schools while many are attending local madrasas.
Bangladesh Kindergarten Association’s District President Omar Faruque and General Secretary Sabuj Bhodro said there were a total of 897 Kindergarten schools in this district. About 12 thousand teachers and 13 hundred staff were working in these schools.
However, many are unlikely to come back to these KG schools to reopen.
In addition, in most closed schools, furniture and other instruments used for teaching were sold out to pay rents to the landlords.
Meanwhile, those KG schools that opened have only a few students. About 40-45 per cent of students are absent from these schools.
Principal of Modern KG School on Bank Colony Road in the town Omar Faruque, who is also Bangladesh Kindergarten Association’s District President, said they are visiting the houses of the absentees to bring them back to the schools.
The authority of Modern KG School also asked its students to pay half the tuition fees but most of the guardians are unable to pay the amount.
READ: Govt plans to raise number of classes in schools, colleges: Dipu Moni
“That’s why we cannot pay our teachers and staff members who are leading lives in hardship as they didn’t get any assistance from the government during the lockdown. Only about 400 teachers received Tk 1,000 each as financial assistance from DC’s relief fund,” said Omar Faruque.
When contacted, District Primary Education Officer Md Shahabuddin said, “We are not aware of how many Kg schools remain closed in this district but we can say about 80 per cent students of government primary schools are attending classes in the district.”
Dollar price in kerb market crosses Tk 90
The exchange rate for the US dollar in the open or kerb market has crossed Tk 90 for the first time ever, worrying Bangladeshis looking to travel abroad and pushing up the prices of some imported goods.
The businesses expressed concern as the dollar price is fluctuating and it also influences the jump in the US dollar price in the banking channel also.
According to Bangladesh Bank (BB), the interbank dollar exchange rate on Sunday was Tk 85.70, whereas it was Tk85.60 on Thursday.
Read:China goods, services trade surplus tops 60b US dollars
On the other hand, different money exchange houses were selling the greenback at Tk 90.10 on Sunday, which is the highest ever.
Business leaders said the dollar price fluctuation is creating uncertainty among the businesses as they cannot be sure what the price of goods they are looking to import would be in 5-10 days.
A former governor of BB, wishing anonymity, told UNB that the dollar price has jumped recently due to two reasons: firstly, increased travel abroad for different needs including study, health and entertainment following the COVID-19 restrictions being eased, or lifted around the world.
Secondly, increased capital flight from Bangladesh.
Giving an example, the former governor said that some recent incidents of banking- and e-commerce-related scams hint at the increased capital flight from Bangladesh.
Economists said that Bangladesh’s economy remains on the right track and there is no reason to be worried as such fluctuations in the exchange rate happen sometimes.
Former adviser to a caretaker government Dr. Mirza ABM Azizul Islam said that import demand has increased in the post-lockdown time as the industrial production shows a rising trend.
The price increase of LNG and petroleum products in the global market is also another cause to raise the dollar demand as Bangladesh uses USD to meet all kinds of import payments, he said.
Read: E-commerce has a billion-dollar market: Tipu Munshi
Bridge amid crop field in Thakurgaon now a ‘selfie zone’
A bridge built over a canal amid a paddy field at Boro Palashbari Gariyali village in Baliadangi upazila of Thakurgaon district has been lying unused since its construction four years back for lack of connecting roads.
However, fascinated by the beauty of the bridge amid the green filed, many people have started hanging out there taking selfies with it. Some people have even named it Selfie Bridge.
Read: 10 thousand people in Brahmanbaria dependent on a tottering bridge
The bridge was constructed in 2016-17 under the bridge and culvert construction project of the Disaster Management Department at a cost of Tk 40 lakh.
All illegal occupants over city canals to be evicted: Minister
All the illegal occupants over each canal in the capital city will be evicted within the tenure of this government to save people from waterlogging.
“Necessary action will be taken as per the law, no matter how powerful the occupiers are…projects will be taken to save the canals,” Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Muhammad Tajul Islam told UNB.
READ:13 illegally occupied canals to be recovered: DNCC Mayor
The minister believes if the canals are freed up, it would be possible to build multiple Hatirjheel-like large canal projects in the city. Walkways could be built on both sides of the canals.
Large establishments have been built over the canals by the occupiers making fake documents and papers. Both the north and the south city corporations have taken over the control of the canals from WASA and renovation works have already begun, he said.
The minister added that 170 acres of canal areas, out of 173 acres, in Kalyanpur have been encroached. All the establishments in the canal areas, including that of Kalyanpur, will be evicted soon.
According to the Dhaka Deputy Commissioner’s record, there are 50 canals, locally called Khal, in the Dhaka metropolitan areas.
The large canals include Baishteki in North Senpara; Sanbadik khal in North Senpara Parbata; Digun khal in Goran Chatbari of Mirpur; Gabtali Khal that flows to the Turag River; Rupnagar Khal in Arambagh; Kalyanpur Khal, Kalyanpur main and Kalyanpur partial in Kalyanpur area; Bawnia Khal and Diabari Khal in Uttara.
Besides there are small canals like Abdullahpur Khal in Bailjuli Ranavola mouza; Ramchandra Khal in Ramchandrapur mouza; Katasur khal in Katasur mouza; Rajabazar Khal in Rajabazar mouza; Begunbari Khal in Boro Maghbazar mouza; Mohakhali Khal in Tejgaon industrial mouza; Meradia-Gazaria Khal in Ulun Meradia mouza; Gullar Khal in Baddar North Meradia mouza; Gulshan lake in Gulshan residential area mouza; Bhatara Khal and Sutivhola Khal of Bhatara mouza; Dumni Khal of Dumni mouza; Talna Khal of Talna mouza; Baothat Khal in Baothat mouza; Amaiya Khal in Gobindpur mouza; Nirnichak Khal in Nirnichak mouza; Bhaturia Khal in Bhaturia mouza; Small Palasia Khal in the small Palasia mouza; Palashia canal in Palasia mouza, and Chamurkhan Khal in Chamurkhan mouza.