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BSMMC ICU in Faridpur suffer from shortage of doctors
Authorities of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College (BSMMC) hospital in Faridpur have been struggling with the increasing number of patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
The number of doctors assigned for the unit is far from enough and no new recruitment has been made since the ICU was established in 2016, hospital authorities said.
Visiting the hospital, the UNB correspondent found all the first-class posts for the 16-bed advanced ICU to be vacant.
Also read: ICU at Faridpur BSMMCH hamstrung by lack of staff, equipment
The ICU unit should have had one assistant professor, two junior consultants, two assistant registrars and two medical officers as per the rules but only Ananta Kumar Biswas, Assistant Professor of Anesthesia department, was made in-charge of the ICU as an additional responsibility.
Mushfiqur misses out for BCB pandering to Australia
Right after arriving in Bangladesh, the Australian cricket team went into a three-day quarantine in a hotel in the capital from Thursday. This is dictated by Bangladesh government's Covid-19 protocol, and the Bangladesh cricket team, which arrived back from Zimbabwe the same day, is also now going through the mandatory quarantine of three days.
That should be straightforward enough, but what is proving a far bigger ask is maintaining the strict bio-secure bubble, or biobubble, according to Australia's requirements, and Mushfiqur's exclusion from it.
The experienced wicketkeeper-batsman sought to enter the bubble on July 22, two days after it came into effect.
As per the agreement between the two cricket boards, both the squads have to maintain a ten-day bio-secured bubble ahead of the series. Since both Bangladesh and Australia were touring Zimbabwe and West Indies respectively, it was not possible for them to maintain a ten-day quarantine period in Dhaka ahead of the five-match T20I series-opening game on August 3.
So both the boards came to an agreement to include their respective bio-bubbles in Zimbabwe and the West Indies as part of the pre-series ten-day quarantine in Dhaka which is mandatory.
“It’s really unfortunate for Mushfiqur. He had to come back from Zimbabwe as both of his parents were sick, and while staying with them, he missed the quarantine deadline. He was so eager to take part in this series. In that sense, it’s very unfortunate and unfair for him,” Faruque Ahmed, former Bangladesh captain and former chief of the national selector panel, told UNB.
Read: BAN vs. AUS 2021: How Bangladesh Team Shapes Up Without Tamim, Mushfiqur?
“We know that before a series, all the involving boards came to an agreement. I’m sure it took place ahead of this series as well. Since we have been living in a pandemic for more than one and a half years, Australia came up with some conditions to ensure their safety, and BCB agreed to that as Australia are visiting Bangladesh after a long time,” he added.
Mushfiqur had earlier decided to skip the T20Is against Zimbabwe to be fit and available for the Australia series. However, he had to come back from Zimbabwe early for his parents’ sickness.
Bangladesh team members also believe that it was unfair that Mushfiqur was not allowed to enter the bio-secure bubble. Some of them pointed to the absurdity of not allowing Mushfiqur to enter the bubble following appropriate testing, when the entire team had gone through four airports - Harare, Johannesburg, Delhi and Dhaka - on their return trip from Zimbabwe, and that didn't violate the bubble apparently.
“We came in a commercial flight passing through three airports so I don't know if it makes much sense to keep Mushfiqur out of the series. He went back home from the middle of a tour for a family problem. So to not allow him to enter the quarantine after just two or three days, is not right,” a Bangladesh team member was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Read: Mushfiqur to miss T20 series against Australia over isolation norms
Bangladesh are going to miss the services of Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das as well. Mustafizur Rahman is also doubtful for the first couple of matches as the pacer has been suffering from an ankle injury sustained during a tour match in Zimbabwe. There are worries over Shakib Al Hasan’s fitness as well.
Indeed to fulfil Australia’s demand, Bangladesh had to manage quarantine for match officials, ground staff, and technicians who operate DRS. Bangladesh also managed a direct path for the Australian team to get to their team hotel from the airport tarmac, bypassing immigration.
The five-match series will be packed into a week, with the first match on Monday, August 3. Then again on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and the final fixture on Sunday, August 9. All the matches will be hosted at the single venue— Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Covid-19: What life is like when hospitals refuse admission!
Even if you have the money, there is no guarantee that you will be able to get admitted to a hospital for Covid-19 treatment right away as hospitals are overwhelmed and extremely unequipped, says Rafiqul Islam, a resident of Dakkhin Surma upazila of Sylhet.
“My father tested positive five days back and is struggling for breath. He needs an ICU bed but all beds are occupied everywhere. We had been to Osmani Medical College Hospital and then to two private hospitals but there was no ICU bed to get him admitted," Rafiqul, a working man in his late 40s, told the UNB correspondent in front of North East Medical College Hospital.
“Even the wait at every hospital and every desk was frustrating. We were frequently advised to have patience as they were having a very difficult time. Our medical system has collapsed!” says Rafique.
There is nothing unique in Rafiqul Islam’s case. It is now a common scenario in Sylhet as the number of cases has skyrocketed here in recent weeks as elsewhere in the country.
Relatives of Covid-infected patients are running from one hospital to another to have an ICU bed for them.
READ: Sylhet division reports highest single-day Covid cases of 802
Every day the relatives are having the names of patients listed with the hospitals here in an effort to get an ICU bed once it becomes available.
Wooden bridge over River Chawai, the only resort for 10,000 people, breaks down
Heavy monsoon rainfall brought relief from the searing summer heat across the country, but immense sufferings for the 10,000 people of Satmera and Amarkhana unions in Panchagarh Sadar Upazila.
The wooden bridge over River Chawai, the only means of connection between these two unions during the season, broke down several weeks ago amid a heavy downpour. Now people of the eight adjacent villages have to walk an extra 10 kilometres to run their daily errands.
According to locals, amid heavy rains hyacinths and other waste stuck in the iron poles of the bridge caused a blockade and due to strong current of the river the bridge tilted to one side.
Locals and thousands of students from Khoi Para, Danga Para, Fakir Para, Sarkar Para, Pakhilaga and other villages are now somehow crossing the river over the risky tilted bridge as it was their only resort.
“The bridge was our only means of going to schools and colleges. A proper bridge over the river can save our education,” said Sabina Akter, a student from Pakhilaga village.
“Everyday taking 10 kilometres extra for carrying goods is not an easy job. We only got assurances of having it fixed whenever we contacted the local MP’s and LGED engineers in this regard,” said Basirul Alam, from Danga Para village in Satmera union.
Also read: A bridge that serves no purpose
Govt fails to take power from Payra plant, counts huge losses in capacity payment
The government is counting a monthly loss of Tk 130 crore due to delay in laying a high-priority transmission line that would take electricity from the Payra power plant to Dhaka across the River Padma.
According to official sources, the amount is being paid as “capacity payment” to 1320 MW Payra power plant, a Bangladesh-China joint venture project, which is now ready to supply electricity to the national grid for distribution in Dhaka adjoining areas.
In this case the capacity payment means the government’s commitment to purchase power generated at the plant at an agreed-upon rate. The government still has to pay the plant for its generation (capacity) even if it is unable to buy the electricity from it.
The government is not ready to purchase electricity from the plant as it has failed to complete work on the 164.6 km 400 kV double-circuit transmission line that would supply power from Mongla to Dhaka’s Aminbazar via Maowa connected by the national grid.
The project has hit some hurdles in crossing the mighty river, where a multipurpose bridge is being built to connect Dhaka with the country’s south-western region.
The official document of Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB), the implementing agency, shows the project was scheduled to be implemented by December 2020. After repeated extensions, the schedule has now been set for December 2021.
Also read: Finally, Payra power plant ready to operate at full blast
Officials, however, apprehend the project might not be completed even by the latest deadline due to a major constraint in the work on crossing Padma River.
Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, acknowledged the loss government is incurring and the hurdles the project is facing.
“We are trying to resolve the issue,” he told UNB adding “We have nothing else to do but to wait.”
Power Division officials blamed the excessive delay on Padma Bridge construction authority which was tasked to lay foundations for the construction of towers within the river area.
Read Also: Payra power plant starts commercial operation of its first unit
Bangladesh against any idea leading to Rohingya integration: FM
The government has taken a very strong stance against the idea floated by the World Bank that apparently suggests the integration of Rohingyas into Bangladesh as Bangladesh’s priority remains repatriation of Rohingyas to their homeland.
“We took a very strong stance. We didn’t like it and we opposed it strongly. We conveyed it,” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told UNB.
The World Bank came up with a programme as part of its Refugee Policy Review Framework globally for refugee host countries through the Economic Relations Division (ERD).
“Rohingyas are not refugees here. They’re taking shelter temporarily,” Dr Momen said, adding that Bangladesh wants the repatriation of Rohingyas to their place of origin in Myanmar.
Asked about the WB’s proposed programme, the Foreign Minister said the WB is saying effective steps to be taken to identify, prevent and mitigate social tensions and risk of violence among the displaced people and host communities, building good relations among themselves, and to employ them in local works.
Read: Poor host communities fume as Rohingyas start grabbing local labour market
He said they (WB) are saying Rohingyas should have the right to work and free mobility; and birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates should be issued for the Rohingyas like Bangladesh citizens. “Naturally, we don’t accept those ideas. They (WB) are willing to give money for these if we do integrate them.”
As per the WB ideas shared with the ERD, the Rohingyas should have access to local labour market, including business opportunities, the same way Bangladesh nationals have with the same payment facilities.
Muted response to e-commerce SOP reflects recent troubles in the industry
The Commerce Ministry has recently completed its task of formulating a set of Standard Operating Procedures for the e-commerce industry.
Yet the muted response to the SOPs reflect the significantly deeper concerns surrounding the industry, that have come to light recently in the form of troubling revelations about some of its biggest players, most notably Evaly, that have come straight from investigations carried out by an authority as important as Bangladesh Bank.
Given the seriousness of some of these concerns and allegations, a set of guidelines rooted in global best practices, that would essentially allow the rapidly growing industry to regulate itself.
Firms would be responsible for implementing the SOPs within their own organisations, while a failure to do so would not carry the threat of incurring a legal penalty. None of the SOPs in that sense would be legally binding.
Also read: Potential of e-commerce hemmed in by bottlenecks
Although this kind of light-touch approach can be entertained in a situation where the assumption is that one is dealing with good faith-actors, the recent revelations regarding Evaly, that include possible money laundering, have effectively blown the credibility of such a working assumption out of the water.
It suggests the more prudent route forward for harnessing the sector's potential may well be regulatory oversight by a competent authority.
Poor host communities fume as Rohingyas start grabbing local labour market
An anger is growing among poor hosts as the Rohingyas, living in Bangladesh’s tourism hub of Cox’s Bazar, are increasingly joining the local labour market, leaving many locals out of their jobs and small businesses.
The host communities claimed that Rohingyas can easily come out from their camps and get engaged in work at the local labour market with their increased presence.
“You need to pay a local labourer Tk 600 a day and you can do the same job engaging a Rohingya with only Tk 200-300. Naturally, the Rohingyas get a preference when someone hires a day-labourer,” one of the locals told UNB, wishing not to be named.
Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district and Bhasan Char.
The UN is likely to begin its operational activities in Bhasan Char in September if the current negotiation ends with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in August.
Palangkhali UP chairman in Ukhiya upazila M Gafur Uddin Chowdhury said locals are no longer getting desired jobs as Rohingyas are preferred for lower wages. “Even, no one is stopping it… even the Rohingyas are getting involved in small businesses.”
Hamidul Haque Chowdhury who works to protect the interests of locals said the Rohingyas are even working in various NGOs.
Read: Floods, landslides hit Rohingya camps hard: UNHCR
“They also work in various shops and doing household works. I myself saw them doing all this,” he told UNB, adding that Rohingya workers and employees are outnumbering the locals.
Mohammad Shamsu Douza, Additional Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, said they have no such information that the Rohingyas are working in various NGOs.
Dhaka’s first-ever metro rail set to start by December 2022, says project chief
Bangladesh’s long wait for its first-ever metro rail is going to be over by December 2022 as work on the project has gained momentum despite disruptions by coronavirus pandemic, said MAN Siddique, managing director at Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd.
Four train sets _ each comprising six air-conditioned coaches _ have already reached Bangladesh from Japan and five more sets are scheduled to arrive by next September, Siddique told UNB.
There will be a total of 144 coaches for the 24 train sets that will run on 21km-route from Uttara to Kamalapur railway station via Agargaon, Farmgate, Dhaka University campus and Motijheel. There will be a total of 17 stations, according to project documents.
“Work on the project is now moving on at a fast pace despite the Covid-19 situation in the country,” Siddique said exuding confidence.
The overall average progress of the construction of the metro rail is about 68%.
Also read: Metrol rail project sees 63.2 pc progress: Quader
As per the initial construction plan, 87.8% of the third phase of the Uttara to Agargaon part is done.
The first train set arrived in Bangladesh on 23 April. After that 19 types of tests were conducted on it at the DMTCL depot in Uttara. A test run of 500 meters was also successfully completed with it inside the depot on May 14. The 2nd train set also went through similar procedures after reaching Dhaka on 1 June.
“Five more train sets for the Metrorail will reach Bangladesh by next September. By 2022, all trains will be running and Metrorail will be officially launched in December 2022,” the managing director said,
Three universities in Bangladesh to have innovation hubs, says official document
The government has planned to set up innovative hubs at three universities of the country to encourage researchers to be innovative in business models, commercially viable products and their marketing, according to an official document.
To be named as “University Innovation Hubs”, the project is still at an early stage and the sites of the hubs are yet to be selected. It aims to develop digital entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems.
“This will be the government’s preliminary step towards embracing the upcoming 4th industrial revolution which will be digital centric,” says the document.
Read: Bangladesh perfect example of innovation-driven development: Sajeeb Wazed
According to official sources, the universities that can provide spaces of 3,000 sq ft to 5,000 sq ft will be eligible for the innovation hub.
After the initial process, the eligible students will get funds from different projects.The innovation hubs will be expanded to both public and private universities in phases.
The project is part of the government’s policy to inspire the young entrepreneurs to be more creative and innovative in new business models that will create more jobs.
Read UCB to organize free workshop on digital skills with Monash College Australia
As part of this process, the government formed Start-up Bangladesh in March 2020 with an allocated capital of Tk 500 crore to help new entrepreneurs innovate faster, create new jobs, develop technical skills and realise the vision of Digital Bangladesh, according to the document.