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School reopening in Bangladesh: Children at greater risk in Delta-hit areas
As millions of children returned to classrooms amid the growing concern of the possible third wave of Covid-19, experts fear that any laxity in maintaining health protocols and guardian’s lack of awareness can put the kids at risk of infections.
They said children in the areas where the virus infection rate is still over 15 percent are highly vulnerable to the deadly virus.
The experts ring the alarm bell as the extremely transmissible Delta variant has been taking its toll on children in different countries, including the USA, where children went back to schools in person.
Read: School Closure: 50,000 students may have dropped out in Kurigram
They said though the performances of most of the school authorities still look good when it comes to maintaining health safety rules, the guardians seem unaware of the looming danger of pandemic since they are seen crowding outside of different schools, even many of them without masks, risking their own health and that of their children.
The analysts said the authorities have to ensure that health guidelines are consistently followed without any laxity.
Besides, they said, the school authorities should motivate the guardians to maintain social distancing and health safety rules when they gather outside of the gates.
Read Fresh Covid surge may lead to school closure again: Dipu Moni
Kaptai Lake’s beauty and navigability clogged by water hyacinth
A journey by boat on the country’s largest Kaptai Lake is no longer a fun.
Boats carrying tourists on a joy ride get stuck up in the middle of the lake, surrounded by hills. Locals commuting by boats complain of wasting productive hours as the journey gets terribly slow.
For all their sufferings they blame an unusual culprit: water hyacinths.
The ambience of the man-made lake is under threat as it has been covered with the prolific weeds.
Read Landslide warning: People urged to evacuate foothills in Rangamati
The unabated growth of the invasive aquatic plants is not only hampering operation of water transports (such as launches, speed boats and engine boats) but also threatening fish and marine resources and polluting its water.
According to experts and locals the water of Kaptai Lake has been severely polluted with water hyacinths. Local residents are getting infected with various diseases by using the water of the lake, they said.
Visiting the area this week UNB correspondent found a large swathe of the beautiful lake clogged by water hyacinths.
School Closure: 50,000 students may have dropped out in Kurigram
As students across the country are back to classrooms after one of the world's longest Covid closure, many of them missed their peers with officials concerned in Kurigram fearing that at least 50,000 kids may have dropped out due to early marriage and poverty in the district.
Teachers and concerned officials gave this observation to UNB as school reopened on Sunday after nearly 18 months amid a festive atmosphere and calls for maintaining Covid health guidelines.
District Secondary Education Officer Shamsul Alam said, “We inspected 5 schools in Kurigram Sadar on Sunday. Around 13 % of students have dropped out from these institutions during school closure. As many as 63 girls were victims of child marriage.”
Read: Reopening: Flooding robs of Kurigram students’ enthusiasm
According to “our assumptions, the total number of school dropouts in the district would be around 50,000,” he said adding “We have directed the concerned individuals to present an exact figure as soon as possible.”
After a reality check at the schools in different upazilas of the district including Ulipur and Kurigram, the UNB correspondent reported that the number of absentees was 20-25 % on average in all the institutions.
The correspondent added that most of the students dropped out due to economic reasons and a significant amount due to early marriage.
Read No tiffin, masks at a premium, & may close again: Students return to school tomorrow
Researchers find way to save Kakila fish from extinction: BFRI
Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute is currently on a roll and writing one success story after another in its quest for artificial insemination of endangered indigenous species of fish and the latest one has come in regards to Kakila.
The institute, which has won the Ekushey Padak in native fish conservation research, hopes that these achievements will have a huge impact in the conservation of endangered indigenous fish as well as contribute to higher production of native fish in the country.
While talking to UNB, the researchers of BFRI said that at one time indigenous species of fish could be found in abundance in inland waters, but many of these have either disappeared or on verge of being extinct due to damage to habitats and breeding grounds triggered by climate change, natural disasters and other man-made causes.
Read: How Jashore's fisheries output grew in the midst of a pandemic
But scientists working in the Jashore centre of BFRI have recently made huge progress in inventing artificial breeding techniques for such species of fish. They have achieved this after three years of intensive research.
The chief scientific officer of BFRI Jessore substation Dr Md Rabiul Awal Hossain, senior scientific officer Shariful Islam and scientific officer Shishir Kumar Dey conducted the study.
Consider Kakila, once found in plenty in inland fresh water bodies including rivers, ponds and haors’ (a wetland ecosystem in the north eastern part of Bangladesh).
Read Hilsa Ilisha: The National Fish and Silver Pride of Bangladesh
The onion meals made out of Kakila are like nectar to the foodies.
It is not only a tongue pleaser, but this fish is also rich in beneficial nutrients for the human body.
Researchers told UNB that per 100 grams of edible kakila fish contains 16.1 per cent protein, 2.23 per cent lipid, 2.14 per cent phosphorus and 0.94 per cent calcium which is much higher than other small fish.
According to the scientists, Kakila, (Xenentodon cancila, Scientific name) is recognised as Freshwater garfish in English. It belongs to the Belonidae family of fish.
Read: Khulna shrimp farmers fighting to regain business amid pandemic
Apart from Bangladesh, the fish is found in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Malaysia and Thailand. However, there are some differences in colour and size.
Reopening: Flooding robs of Kurigram students’ enthusiasm
Although school and college students across the country returned to their classes on Sunday after a long closure for Covid, the students of many primary, secondary schools and madrasas in Kurigram district are missing out the joy as they are bearing brunt of flooding.
Some 200 schools and madrasas have been damaged by the recent floods in the district while seven schools that were washed away in Roumari, Nageshwari and Ulipur upazilas could not be reconstructed yet, officials said.
They said the furniture of many schools were damaged due to prolonged closure and flooding while the roads connecting many schools are in very bad shape.
Read: Flood in Kurigram getting worse -
During a recent visit to Sardob Government Primary School along the Dharla River in Sadar upazila, the UNB correspondent found its ground fully under floodwater.
Still, two students came to their school to submit their assignments wading through waist-deep water.
Expressing his fear over the poor presence of students, Atul Chandra Roy, headmaster of Sardob Government Primary School, said, “Water is everywhere around the school. The roads connecting the school got damaged.”
Matiar Rahman, a guardian of the school, said, “The road became unfit for movement as a number of big holes have developed on it, and it is just impossible for students to use this road.”
Read: Flood, erosion leave 500 families homeless in Kurigram
More worrying is that seven schools have recently gone into the gorge of the river due to its bank erosion.
Bandula Kura Government Primary School in Ulipur upazila, Akbar Ali primary government school in Nageshwari upazila, Gatiasham Bagurapra Government Primary School in Razarhat upazila are among those.
Meanwhile, Faluarchar Char Government Primary School and Ghughumari Government Primary School in Roumari upazila had been shifted last year due to erosion by the river.
Now the furniture and valuables of the schools are getting damaged for lack of maintenance as those have been kept under the open sky.
Read Fight the Flood: Safety measures to take before, during, after floods in Bangladesh
Abdul Gafur, headmaster of Choto Kalua Government Primary School in Sadar upazila, said, “His school building stands threatened by erosion. Although the school reopened on Sunday, the presence of students was very thin.”
Fazlur Rahman, headmaster of Sardob Ideal High School, said, “Many poor students, from class VII to X, went to different districts of the country in search of work due to the pandemic while many girl students have become victims of child marriage. So, the presence of students is now very low.”
Shahidul Islam, Kurigram District Education Officer, said steps have been taken to ensure the continuation of smooth educational activities in the flood-hit schools.
On Sunday, the students of schools and colleges in Bangladesh returned to their classrooms with much enthusiasm after an 18-month closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read Loom industry badly damaged by flood in Sirajganj
How Jashore’s fisheries output grew in the midst of a pandemic
In the midst of the most significant economic slowdown in decades, the fisheries sector in coastal district Jashore proved a mainstay for the economy in the 2020-21 fiscal, that helped Bangladesh avoid recession or even contraction.
Bangladesh’s GDP growth fell from 8.2% in the 2019-20 fiscal to just 3.8% in 2020-21 – theslowest annual growth in the country’s GDP in 30 years. That represents a slump in economic activity that would have been unacceptable in normal times.
But in a year blighted by the virus where we saw most countries experience contraction in their economies (negative growth), Bangladesh’s 3.8% was the fifth-highest GDP growth rate in the world.
Read Hilsa Ilisha: The National Fish and Silver Pride of Bangladesh
The economic downturn brought on by the pandemic affected almost every sector in the country. The impact was pervasive yet uneven. This was the general picture reflected in most economies around the world.
For the record, the world economy did fall into recession in 2020, with the IMF's final assessment estimating it shrank 3.3%.
The fisheries sector emerged as one of the major pillars holding up the economy and helping Bangladesh to avoid a recession. Technically, a country’s economy enters recession once it experiences two successive quarters of negative growth, or contraction. To get out of a recession then requires two successive quarters of growth back.
Read: Hilsa prices rise as catch from the Padma dries up
Economy faces challeges of revenue shortfall and defaulting bank loans: Document
Revenue deficit defaulting bank loans and worsening poverty situation due to COVID-19 are causing some problems in the country’s economy.
According to a budgetary document, revenue deficit and increasing unrealised loans in banking sector are hurtimg the economy.
It also stated that poverty situation is also a matter of future concern .
The target of revenue collection for the running fiscal has been set at Tk 330,078 crore.
Read Govt to provide seamless automated services to taxpayers to boost revenue, says official document
VAT wing will contribute the lion share with Tk 127,745 crore and target for Income Tax and Tax on Profit has been set at Tk 104, 952 crore.
The revenue collection from import duty will be Tk 37, 907 crore, Tk 54,465 crore from from Supplementary Duty, Tk 56 crore from export duty, Tk 3825 crore from Excise Duty while Tk 1050 crore from other taxes and duties.
In the last fiscal (2020-21) the revised revenue target was Tk 301,000 crore while it was set Tk 330,000 in the main budget.
Also read: ‘Bangladesh economy shows signs of positive growth’ despite global recession
But the NBR could not attain the revised target mainly due to the ongoing pandemic that forced the government to impose various types of lockdown that hampered the economy a lot.
According to the available data the revenue collection in 2020-21 fiscal was Tk 41,000 crore less than the revised target while Tk 70,000 from the original target.
The collection was Tk 259,900 crore although the growth was 19 percent.
According to data, the tax to GDP ratio of the country has been 9.9 percent on an average since 2015-2019, while it is 19.8 percent for India, 23.9 percent for Nepal, 14.7 percent for Pakistan, 13.5 percent for Sri Lanka.
Read NBR directs big push to reach the revenue target for current fiscal
The ratio is 25.6% for developing countries and 35.9% for developed countries, according to the data.
The tax-to-GDP ratio is a ratio of a nation's tax revenue relative to its gross domestic product, the value of goods and services produced in a country during a certain period. The ratio is also a marker of how well the government controls a country's economic resources.
The document mentioned that due to increasing revenue deficit it is becoming tougher day by day for very necessary public expenditure financing in various sectors like infrastructure, health, education, water resources and social safety net.
It also said that in the banking sector especially in the public banks high rate of unrealised loans is creating pressure on eonomical situation of damaged banks and causing hurdles to collect deposit.
Read BUILD frets over budget deficit amid revenue collection struggles
On January 25, 2021 Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in Parliament said that there are more that 300,000 loan defaulters in various banks and financial institutions across Bangladesh.
As of October 2020, there were 334,982 loan defaulters across the country.
However, the amount of non-performing loans (NPLs) has gone down by Tk 17,737 crore.
As of September 2020, the amount outstanding loans stand at Tk 94,440.47 crore, per Bangladesh Bank data, the minister mentioned.
Also read: Coronavirus: Experts for prudent economic recovery plan for Bangladesh
Much-loved train journeys to Cox’s Bazar likely in 2 years
The government wants to connect Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar through a railway network to facilitate the movement of tourists but the crucial project taken in this regard has got stuck in limbo due to the Covid-19 pandemic, officials say.
They hope that a direct railway connection with Cox’s Bazar may change fortunes in the beach town as tourists always want to reach their destinations without hazards for their perfect vacationing.
Once completed, the officials said, the 102-km new dual gauge single railway line from Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar will provide “pleasurable and relaxing” journeys for travelers, and this in turn will boost the economy along the railway alignment.
READ: Flood-affected people in Cox’s Bazar cry for food and drinking water
The Tk 18,035-crore project, designated by the government as one of the top 10 priority projects in Bangladesh, is being implemented in two lots.
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) is implementing the Lot-2 (Chakaria to Cox’s Bazar) of the project together with Bangladesh joint venture partner MAX Infrastructure Limited, while China Railway Group Ltd (CREC) and Toma Construction JV are implementing Lot-1 (from Dohazari to Chakaria).
Covid-19 in Bangladesh: Experts urge caution as third wave looms
Although the Covid infection rate continues to fall signalling the control of the second wave in Bangladesh, experts think there is no room for complacency as they fear the third wave of the virus may hit the country anytime.
They said the ongoing cluster transmission in different areas, lowering of guard by the government, public apathy to wear masks and health safety rules, low pace in vaccination and the reopening of educational institutions can be the main reasons behind the possible third wave of the coronavirus.
As India may also witness the third wave of the pandemic in October, the analysts say it may have an impact on Bangladesh as a close neighbourning country.
Also read: FM reiterates call for removing Bangladesh from UK's Covid red list
They, however, said Bangladesh can avoid the Covid third wave by intensifying virus control measures, especially in the areas where the infection rate is still high, encouraging people to maintain health safety rules, and wear masks and strengthening the vaccination drive.
Govt to provide seamless automated services to taxpayers to boost revenue, says official document
The government has taken several measures to provide seamless services to the taxpayers through automation and digitalisation of Income Tax, VAT and Customs Departments under the National Board Revenue (NBR), according to an official document.
The government believes that internal sources will be the main field of revenue collection for uninterrupted economic progress amid global economic stagnation due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.
According to the document E-payment services have been initiated through establishment of necessary interfaces with the Bangladesh Bank for online payment of taxes.
Read: NBR directs big push to reach the revenue target for current fiscal
Now, the taxpayers can pay their returns from home at their convenience through their own bank accounts without physical presence at the premises of Bangladesh Bank or the state-run Sonali Bank.
As in every year, the major portion of the total budget expenditure will be mobilised from internal resources that will be collected by the NBR.
The target revenue collection for the running fiscal has been set Tk 330,078 crore.
Read Experts frustrated at NBR's role as calls for specific taxes on tobacco go unheeded
VAT wing will contribute the lion share with Tk 127,745 crore and target for Income Tax and Tax on Profit has been set at Tk 104, 952 crore.
The revenue collection from import duty will be Tk 37, 907 crore, Tk 54,465 crore from from supplementary duty, Tk 56 crore from export duty, Tk 3825 crore from excise duty while Tk 1050 crore from other taxes and other duties.
The target of internal revenue is set based on budget size. There are mainly two sources of revenues: NBR revenue, non-NBR revenue.
Read NBR faces uphill task in achieving VAT collection target
Almost 85 per cent of the total revenues is collected by the NBR. Although the main purpose of the NBR is to collect revenue, various types of tax exemption, reduction in rate or tax benefits have been given with respect to income tax, VAT and customs duty for the sake of industrialisation, employment generation, increase of business scope, protection of domestic industries, attraction of foreign investment and establishment of a just and equitable society.
The document stated that In spite of the fact that tax-GDP ratio is comparatively low, the revenue income has sustained growth every year.
However, it said that the apprehension remains that the economy will not return to normalcy in the coming financial year.
Read NBR moves to speed up revenue collection
The government has formulated our fiscal policy taking the COVID-19 pandemic, recession and instability of world trade and commerce into account.
“In consideration of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in business, in this budget the government put emphasis on protection of public health, employment creation and speeding up the pace of our economy along with revenue collection.”
Terming internal sources will be the main field of revenue collection for uninterrupted economic progress amid global economic stagnation, the document mentioned that Keeping the prevailing circumstances in mind, the government wants to bring the taxpayers under the tax net through reforms in tax systems, expansion of tax scope and motivating the taxpayers and all e-TIN holders to submit their annual tax returns voluntarily.
Read NBR to prioritize local industries in 2021-22 budget, says its chairman
The Income Tax Departments have already taken steps for return submission of non-filer companies.