special
Bangladesh aims to attain 8 per cent GDP growth in 3 years: official document
Bangladesh hopes to raise its annual GDP growth to 8 per cent in next three years based on assumptions that the domestic and global economy will bounce back from Covid-19 shocks and losses, according to an official document.
It also hoped that investment in social infrastructure and private sector industry will increase because of ongoing reform initiatives and various stimulus programmes.
According to an official document, the estimation of GDP for the running 2021-22 fiscal and the projection for 2022-23 fiscal are 7.2 percent and 7.6 percent respectively.
But, it said that to achieve the 8 per cent GDP in the 2023-24 fiscal would be a tough one with the ongoing public and private investment.
In 2019-20 fiscal total investment stood at 31.8 percent of the GDP where public sector contributed 23.6 per cent while private sector contributed 8.1 per cent.
School closure impact: over 3,000 girls married off in Bagerhat
As the schools in Bangladesh reopened after long Covid-induced shutdown last month, many girls in this coastal district were missing from classrooms with a majority of them lost to early marriages.
For the mostly poor families, hit hard by the pandemic, the 18-month shutdown has proved too long and unbearable to take care of their young girls.
In Bagerhat, around 3,178 girls, mostly school goers, were married off between March 2020 till September 20221, according to district Education Officer Md Kamruzzaman.Nilanjana (not her real name) was in class eight in March 2020 when the surging pandemic closed her Basabati Rahmania Secondary school in Bagerhat, along with education shutdown across the country.
Also read: Child marriage was an epidemic within the pandemic in Bangladesh
Price hike in Bangladesh: Unseen sufferings of shy middle class
The recent price hike of essentials in Bangladesh, particularly in the capital, has dealt a double blow to the poor and the middle-income group of people already hit hard by unemployment and salary cuts due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The sufferings, caused by the unusual price hike, are even more for the middle-class people like us as we can’t share that we’ve little or no food at home,” said Hasan Jamil (not his real name) in his mid-50s.
The prices of almost all essential commodities have gone up, making it difficult for the common people to meet their daily needs.
Read Unusual yarn price hike in local market to be checked: Manufacturers
The soaring prices of essentials like rice, pulse, onion and vegetable, are forcing many to rush to TCB OMS trucks to buy their commodities at lower prices.
Alauddin, a private bank employee, told UNB, “I don’t know how to cope with the rising prices with my limited income. Even if the monthly expenses are reduced, I’ve to spend an extra amount of Tk 2000 per month to buy essential items.”
“No one will understand the agonies of people like us. Prices are skyrocketing although our salaries do not increase every year,” he said.
Read BNP worries over ‘sudden’ onion price hike
Alauddin went on saying, “So, I’m here in the queue to buy goods from this TCB truck. And I don't think I'll be able to buy anything today as the queue is so long here. Yesterday I waited for an hour in a queue behind a TCB truck at Malibagh and returned home empty handed.”
There is nothing unique in Alauddin’s story. Many low- and middle-income consumers are feeling the pinch of price hike across the country.
Crowding around the trucks run by the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) is growing day by day making it hard for the TCB dealers to cope with the situation as the prices of rice, pulse, onion, sugar and other essential items keep soaring.
Also read: Soaring veggie prices sour festive spirit for city residents
Bagerhat gears up for Durga Puja
Imbued with the spirit of love and bonding, Durga Puja is not just a festival for the Bengali Hindus -- it's about their identity, wherever they are.
In Bagerhat district, for instance, Durga Puja is in the air. Hectic preparations are on for the five-day festival, slated to begin Monday (October 11) with the slaying of the buffalo demon Mahishasura by Goddess Durga.
The largest festival of the Hindus will culminate with the immersion of idols on October 15.
As many as 633 'pandals' are being set up across the nine upazilas of the district -- Bagerhat Sadar, Kachua, Morelganj,Mongla, Sharankhola, Rampal, Fakirhat, Mollahat and Chitalmari.
UNB on Wednesday visited some pandals in the district and found artisans busy giving final touches to the idols of Goddess Durga, her children and Mahishasura.
Two such artisans, Tapan Pal and Tapas Pal of Kotalipara in Gopalganj district, told UNB that their profits have shrunk considerably this year due to the rise in prices of raw materials used for making idols of deities.
"Moreover, the organisers have also reduced their puja budget this year. The second wave of the pandemic and the consequent nationwide lockdown are to be blamed. We are struggling to meet our both ends meet," the duo said.
Read Durga Puja ends with immersion of goddess on Bijoya Dashami
Deal over UN's operational engagement in Bhasan Char likely on Saturday
Bangladesh and the United Nations are likely to sign a formal document on Saturday to find ways for UN engagement in Bhasan Char demonstrating support to the government’s massive investment there to ensure better living for Rohingyas, officials said.
“We’re expecting that the MoU will be signed on Saturday morning if there’s no last-minute change,” a senior official told UNB, mentioning that things are finalised.
However, he did not elaborate further what will be the nature of UN engagement in Bhasan Char and the specific areas of cooperation.
The numerous challenges associated with the temporary hosting of persecuted Rohingyas from Myanmar have compelled the government of Bangladesh to plan the relocation of 100,000 Rohingyas to Bhashan Char, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
So far, nearly 20,000 Rohingyas have moved to Bhasan Char since December last year in a number of groups.
Some 1642 Rohingyas were relocated to Bhashan Char on December 4, 2020, while the second batch, comprising 1,804 Rohingyas, had been transferred from Cox’s Bazar to Bhashan Char on December 29 last year.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said the operational engagement of the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, in Bhasan Char will begin soon. “Everything is final. It has been done as agreed.”
Read: Bhasan Char: an excellent example for a safe, sustainable, and resilient place for Rohingya relocation
Recognizing Bangladesh’s massive investment in Bhasan Char, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo said there has been, rather, a lot of negative coverage about Bhasan Char and it is important that they have somehow managed to move away from that.
She said they want to be partners in trying to create something so that everybody can live and the conversation that they are having now is important.
Regarding the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to engage in Bhasan Char, Mia said there are protections and humanitarian imperatives and they are obviously looking to support the massive efforts of the government in Bhasan Char.
Progress at snail’s pace 2 years after govt opens smart prepaid gas metres to private competition
Two years after the government opened the prepaid gas metre market to the private competition, none has been able to enter the fray due to lack of enough preparation.
The government’s policy, announced in 2019, initially got enthusiastic response.
Many local and foreign companies came forward to enter the lucrative market with import, development, manufacturing, marketing and supply of smart prepaid gas metre for consumers.
Read:Erratic gas supply hits hard residents at Demra, neighbouring areas
None of these companies has so far succeeded in their ventures.
Officials at the state-owned Petrobangla, responsible for setting the standard and technical specifications for the metres, said they are still hopeful about the arrival of the private sector.
“Already a good number of companies made demonstrations of their metres and those were enthusiastic. We hope they will be able to meet our standard and technical specifications and finally come to the market”, said Habib Uddin Ahmed, general manager (engineering), and head of the technical committee of the Petrobangla.
Read HC rules on govt decision to not provide new household gas connections
He, however, said it takes some time to meet our compliances as the things are new and such ventures involve huge investment.
Many of the companies are studying the market first and then they will either move for importing metres or setting up plants to manufacture locally. So they need time for their preparation, he added.
Sources said local Beximco and Bangladesh Smart Electrical Company Ltd., a joint venture of West Zone Power Distribution company and Chinese firm Hexing Electrical Co. Ltd, are among those showing interest in the business.
Read No cash or gas to run from Ida: ‘We can’t afford to leave’
They said the Energy and Mineral Resources Division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources took up the move for opening smart prepaid metre market for private sector in 2019.
After a long discussion with the stakeholders, it published a gazette notification on December 4 in 2019 setting a detailed standard, technical specifications and compliances for the smart pre-paid metres.
It also invited private companies to come to the market with their own devices by taking approval from the Petrobangla.
Read:Titas Gas seeks foreign funding for installing 1.25 million prepaid metres in Dhaka city
Sundarbans tourism: Now focus on automation to improve services
The government will launch a pilot project in December next, aiming to bring tourism management in the Sundarbans under automation with a smart app.
Using the app, ‘Sundarbans’, one can get all the travel formalities done sitting at home. This will not only save the time of travellers but also ensure hassle-free booking process and make things easier for the forest department to provide better services to tourists.
According to the Forest Department, this automation programme on Sundarbans travel management is being implemented under the Skill Development Project of Mobile Games and Applications by the Department of Information and Communication Technology.
Read: Sundarbans set to reopen for tourists on Sep 1 -
Mihir Kumar Dey, the forest conservator of Khulna region, said, “The Sundarbans tourism management is being automated as part of building a Digital Bangladesh. It’s being implemented under the A2I programme of the Prime Minister's Office.”
In Shoulmari, lives tangle in barbed-wire fence
A barbed wire strung up by a private solar power company around the only road leading to Shoulmari char in Lalmonirhat has proved to be the bane of the residents of the riverine island.
The residents of the char on the Teesta river say the man-made obstacle has made their lives miserable. Their repeated requests to the authorities for getting the barbed wire removed have only fallen on deaf ears.
Read: Bangladeshi men stray into India, thrashed
And for the school-goers and their teachers, it's a daily struggle. They are forced to cross under the barbed-wire fence to walk to their schools -- Shoulmari and Kalikapur primary schools are the nearest.
"Walking to school is virtually a daily battle for both teachers and students," says Eti Moni, an assistant teacher at Shoulmari Government Primary School.
"The private solar power company has closed the road by putting up the barbed-wire fence, ignoring the fact that it's the only stretch connecting our char on the Teesta with other parts of the upazila," she adds.
The residents of the char say they have to bend down to cross the barbed-wire fence and often their clothes get stuck to it.
Saniur Rahman Suny, another teacher, says that they have no option but to use the road as it's kind of a short cut to the school. "Else we would have to take a 1.5km detour. Life is literally a challenge for us."
Other residents of the char narrate a similar tale of woes and they now urge Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to put an end to their plight.
"The only road leading to the char is closed. We've written letters to multiple authorities and different ministries in Dhaka but got no response. We now want PM Sheikh Hasina's intervention," says Sekandar Ali.
Child marriage was an epidemic within the pandemic in Bangladesh
The period covered by the pandemic has witnessed another epidemic, child marriage, returning to some areas of Bangladesh as educational institutes were closed to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Poor families in the country's hinterland, who once were convinced to send their children to school by the school meals program eased the burden on them to feed.
However, the covid-19 is contained or not during this period, the education of the girl students has been stopped due to child marriage.
Especially in Kurigram, the rate of child marriage is increasing rapidly, cannot be contained in any way. The girl students of this area are now living in their husband's houses at an early age.
Read: Child marriage rates soar in Cox's Bazar in the shadow of pandemic
More than 500 schoolgirls belonging to 43 educational institutions of Fulbari Upazila were married off during this pandemic, confirmed Upazila Secondary Education Officer Md Abdul Hai.
The highest number of child marriages were reported of students in the Borovita Girls' High School and Borovita High School in Borovita union of the upazila.
Around 87 girls in Borovita Girls' High School and 55 girls including three SSC examinees in Borovita High School have been the victim of child marriage, said the headmasters of the schools.
Read Initiative launched to end child marriage in Bangladesh
Md Matiur Rahman Khandaker, the headmaster of Borovita Girls' High School said, "Based on preliminary information, we have received data of marriages of 87 students of 6th to 10th grade and SSC candidates."
Of course, it was not possible to go to every house and get information about the marriage. In many cases, the news has been confirmed by classmates and neighbours.
"However, the actual number may increase further," said the headmaster.
Read Patuakhali child marriage: case filed against UP chairman and five others
He also said the Upazila Secondary Education Officer has been informed through a detailed letter containing names and other information.
Bangladesh needs a separate ministry to unlock full potentials of blue economy: Experts
Bangladesh should urgently create a new ministry to lead and oversee coordinated efforts in unlocking the full potentials of the blue economy ranging from sustainable development of marine fisheries to sea and coastal tourism, experts working on this field said.
They suggested formation of a separate ministry on blue economy noting that the existing Blue Economy Cell under the Energy and Mineral Resources Division has failed to make any breakthrough to exploit the potentials in the Bay of Bengal.
In interviews with UNB over the past week, the experts observed that the government has taken various measures aimed at exploiting the vast marine resources since settling the maritime boundary disputes with neighbouring India and Myanmar nearly a decade ago
Read: Bangladesh's Blue Economy Cell falters; no progress in 4 yrs
But these have mostly been related to fishing, establishing disciplines in different universities, marine institutes and academes and formulating different laws in this field, according to experts from different universities.
There is still no adequate allocation for research, no attention to develop the value chain and market of seaweed, no visible initiative to assess the stocks of non-living marine resources including mineral resources, they said.
Dr Md Kawser Ahmed, Professor of Oceanography Department in Dhaka University, said a number of ministries and government agencies are currently related to the blue economy, but they are working in scattered ways.
Read Speakers for tapping potential for FDI in agro processing, light engineering, blue economy, education sectors
“A coordinated initiative is needed to tap the full potentials of blue economy. So, it is essential to form a separate ministry like Ministry of Ocean Affairs,” he suggested.
“We can add 3-4 per cent to our existing GDP growth, if we are able to ensure the optimum exploitation of blue economy,” he estimates.