special
Transcending borders, through films
Over the past decade and a half, this migrant worker from Bangladesh has mesmerised the audience in South Korea with his prowess on the screen. Yet Bangladesh-born Korean superstar Mahbub Alam, also known as Mahbub Lee, holds the distinction of being unknown to many in his own land of birth.
For Mahbub, it was a long journey and rarely an easy one. When he migrated to South Korea in 1999 to fund his ailing mother's treatment in Bangladesh, little did this alumnus of Government Tolaram College in Narayanganj know what lay in store for him.
Also read: Forbes Asia's 100 Digital Stars features Bangladeshi actress pori moni.
Thanks to his elder brother who was in Korea then, he got a job in a garment factory. Seven months later, his mother passed away in Bangladesh. While his elder brother returned to his home country, Mahbub chose to stay back. And his urge to protect fellow garment factory workers from exploitation in Korea prompted him to participate in social movements.
“I first came to Korea in 1999 and I worked in a textiles and garment factory, where my job involved pressing film covering onto the fabrics. It was hard work, using a lot of industrial chemicals,” Mahbub said in an interview with AsiaRights.
"At first, I wasn’t involved in any activism, but after about three years I started to do voluntary work in the Bangladeshi migrant community, taking up issues like industrial accidents and non-payment of wages. Many migrant workers in Korea work in very small firms, and their bosses sometimes cheat them out of their wages," he said.
Also read: How a Bangladeshi woman scripted a success story in vermi venture.
"I became secretary of the Bangladesh Mutual Association, which dealt with these sorts of social problems. Then in 2002, the Migrant Workers Trade Union was established. It was organised under the umbrella of the Korean Confederation Trade Union. We started going to rallies, and I became busy in the Union, writing publicity material for them and so on.”
But Mahbub was quick to realise that stories of unjust treatment of garment workers in the South Korean apparel industry must surface in the mainstream media in order to drive a lasting change for them. So, he decided to test his luck at something new -- making documentary films on the plight of workers in the Korean garment industry.
Spending on public servants' remuneration to witness uptick from next fiscal
The allocation of money for salaries and allowances of the public sector will see an uptrend from the next fiscal after a span of four years.
The government is going to allocate some 12.2% of the total budget in the upcoming fiscal of 2021-22 for salaries and allowances to the public servants and other related pockets.
The allocation of this sector will be 12.5% in 2022-23 fiscal of the total budget, according to an official document.
Read BSMMU announces Tk 602.73cr budget for FY 2020-21
The estimated amount of money for the next two fiscals would be Tk 745.3 billion and Tk 869.8 billion respectively.
After the 2016-17 fiscal, the amount of spending in salaries and allowances for the public servants, as a proportion of the budget witnessed a downward slide.
In 2016-17 fiscal the allocation was 18.2% while it nosedived to 14.8% in 2017-18 fiscal.
The allocated amount for the 2016-17 fiscal was Tk 490.43 billion whereas the allocation reduced to Tk 478.5 billion in the following fiscal.
As per the document, the allocation in 2013-14 fiscal was Tk 263.94 billion (14%) and Tk 288.20 billion (14.8%) in 2014-15.
Also read: When govt allowances kick in at 90!
The allocation saw a sharp rise in 2015-16 and 2016-17 fiscals with 16.7% and 18.2% of the total budget allocation. The amounts during these two fiscals for the salaries and other allowances were Tk 400.50 billion and Tk 490.43 billion.
The document said that the rise in the allocation occurred due to implementation of the new pay scale for the public servants that continued for the two consecutive fiscals.
The expenditure in the sector reduced to 14.8% (Tk 478.5 billion) of the budget in 2017-18 fiscal and 13.6% (Tk 534 billion) in 2018-19 fiscal.
The trend continued in 2019-20 fiscal with 12.2% and in 2020-21 fiscal with 11.6%.
The allocation for the fiscals were Tk 607.5 billion and Tk 650 billion respectively.
Also read: All senior citizens to receive old-age allowance by 2025: Minister
The official document expected that the trend of expenditure for the salaries and allowances in the coming two fiscals would be in the normal trend with 12.2% and 12.5% allocation of the total budget.
The country is likely to get Tk 5933.14 billion budget for 2021-22 fiscal, Tk 253.14 billion higher than the running one, aiming to face the COVID-19 pandemic challenge for recovering the economy.
Amid the coronavirus crisis, the government had taken up a comprehensive plan with four main strategies.
These are: discouraging luxury expenditures, prioritising government spending that creates jobs, creating loan facilities through commercial banks at subsidised interest rate for the affected industries and businesses, and expanding the coverage of the government’s social safety net programmes.
Read Budget: Prices of tobacco products up, gold down
Meanwhile, the government has estimated to bring down its expenditure in current account while increasing the capital expenditure in the next 2021-22 and 2022-23 fiscals.
According to an official document, the current expenditure for 2021-22 and 2022-23 fiscal has been estimated at 54.4% and 54.5% of the total budget respectively.
Salaries and allowances of public servants, purchase of product and service, compensation and relocation expenses, payment of interest against foreign and domestic loans are under the segment of current expenditure. Besides, ‘food accounts’ and ‘expense for structural coordination’ are also under this expenditure.
Also read 5pc increment for non-govt edu teachers, employees announced
On the other hand, government funded annual development programme (ADP) and non-ADP capital expenditure are the main two items under the capital expenditure. Besides, loan and advance, development programmes from revenue budget, projects outside the ADP and non-ADP food for work programme and handover expenses are also under this expenditure.
Walking the extra mile for water in coastal Khulna
At the crack of dawn every day, 39-year-old Aleya Begum's struggle for water begins. A resident of Sutarkhali village in Khulna's Dakop upazila, she wakes up around 5 am daily to the family rooster's sunrise song to walk for kilometres to fetch water for her husband and children.
On a normal day, she makes two trips to the water source to bring home two pitchers of water. "After finishing the household chores by noon, I go out again in the afternoon to fetch water. This is my daily routine. Monsoon is the only season when I am spared of the toils and pains as the rains assure us of fresh water supply for 3-4 months," Aleya exclaims.
Read Khulna city dwellers in water woes during Ramadan
She is not alone. Almost all the women residents of Sutarkhali and nearby villages are forced to walk the extra mile every day to fetch water for their families. Not to mention that in villages across Bangladesh, the task of fetching water and doing other household chores falls to women.
Aleya's village Sutarkhali has been facing an acute drinking water crisis since Cyclone Aila devastated the coastal areas of Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerhat districts in 2009. Large parts of the village remained submerged for nearly five years as salt water from the tidal surge that followed the cyclone contaminated all portable drinking water sources.
Also read: Urgent response needed to tackle worsening water crisis: UN expert
A reality check by UNB has revealed that not only Sutarkhali, scores of other villages in the coastal upazilas of Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerha districts -- such as Shyamnagar, Kaliganj, Tala, Debhata, Paikgachha, Asashuni, Batiaghata, Dumuria, Rampal, Chitalmari, Morelganj, Bagerhat and Sharankhola -- are also bearing the brunt of this water crisis.
At least 50 lakh people in these upazilas are affected by the severe water scarcity, a rough estimate suggests. Sufia Begum, a resident of Kalabagi Jhulanta village in Dakop upazila, is another victim of the water crisis. "For several years now, drinking water has been brought from Sadar upazila in containers through trawlers," she said.
Also read: Water crisis hits Malibagh residents hard
Rudra Rani Biswas of Gunari village in Dakop upazila, also narrated her ordeal to UNB. "We are facing acute water scarcity. Getting water is more difficult these days than managing two square meals daily. It's high time that the authorities took stock of the situation to avert a catastrophe."
Experts attribute the water crisis to climate change and say that it is only going to get bigger with each passing year.
So, what's the way out? Experts say that one possible solution is to conserve rainwater in large tanks during the monsoon. "Harvesting rainwater for future use is a practice common in many western countries too. It's one of the simplest and oldest methods of self-supply of water for households," said an expert.
Read Also Govt working to resolve water crisis: Minister
Other ways, according to them, could be to install purifiers to make saltwater potable and digging tube wells. "Though experiments have shown that deep tube well water is relatively less saline and arsenic-free, due to siltation and presence of rocks and high salinity, it's next to impossible to install them in all coastal areas," he said.
Shadow of uncertainty hangs over domestic cricket season
The pandemic came and marched on; as it lingered for more than a year the chance of domestic cricket taking place last season withered with that.
Many cricketers, who are not part of the national team set-ups, were left helpless as they have no other source of income other than the one they get from playing in the domestic circuit.
Those cricketers found a flicker of hope when the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) decided to host the National Cricket League (NCL) last month. But the light went out as the NCL was put on hold after two rounds in the wake of a recent spike in Covid-19 deaths and cases.
At least five cricketers, who played the first round of the event, tested positive for Covid-19. So, the board has stepped forward to limit the cricketers' movements off the field.
Earlier, the BCB had decided to host the league in only two venues – Cox's Bazar and BKSP – instead of four. But the Cox's Bazar authority limited the movement of people in the area to stop the spread of the virus.
Unable to manage venues, the board decided to halt the league for one week, which created fresh concerns among many cricketers, who have started thinking that the league might not resume.
"The national team players will be able to survive for a year even if they do not get money from the board. They are established cricketers," Anamul Haque Bijoy, the opener who is out of the national team now, told the media on Saturday.
Also read; Hapless Bangladesh still searching for answers in Test cricket
"But those who are out of the national team set-ups or did not play for the national side yet will suffer a lot if there is no domestic cricket. Those are heavily reliant on cricketing activities at the lower tiers of the game – the first division, second division, third division or the academies— will suffer a lot," he added.
There are at least 20 cricketers in every NCL team, and they also have a few members in the support staff. It means, at least 200 players and support staff take part in NCL. So, it is tough to manage a bio-secure bubble for so many people.
NBR moves to speed up revenue collection
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is widening its net and realising outstanding taxes to meet the yearly revenue collection target of the Income Tax Wing.
For 2020-21 fiscal, the target of Income Tax Wing is to collect Tk 1039.45 billion. But NBR data show that after January of this year, only Tk 408.15 billion or 39.26% of the target was collected.
In January this year, the NBR has collected Tk 65.63 billion while it was Tk 61.88 billion in the same month of the previous year. The month-to-month basis growth is 6.06%.
Till January 2021, the NBR collected Tk 408.15 billion. The amount was Tk 383.27 billion in the corresponding period of last year with a 6.49% growth.
NBR sources said the Board has directed the tax commissioners to bring all eligible persons and organisations under the tax net and take initiative to remove the phobia regarding hassle in tax payment.
Also read: NBR to prioritize local industries in 2021-22 budget, says its chairman
It also asked to intensify the tax survey and activate the inactive TIN numbers as the submission of income tax returns have been made mandatory for every TIN holder from this fiscal.
The Income Tax Wing has already issued directives to field offices in these regards.
As part of the internal survey, the field-level officials are collecting possible taxpayers’ information from city corporations, Rajuk and other relevant authorities, and sub-registrar offices.
This is popularly called ‘secondary data’ which refers to the information of the individuals that are already kept with any organisation.
The NBR has also started to collect information of potential taxpayers at the upazila level through secondary data gathering, otherwise known as internal survey. For example, a file of ‘X’ company mentioned that it has 450 employees. The official concerned can ask for the names of the 450 employees and their TIN numbers.
Also read: Covid-19 impact: NBR devises ways to boost revenue collection
With such little move, the NBR can find out eligible taxpayers’ names and put them under the tax net, if they are not already under it.
“This is called internal survey,” a senior NBR official explained to UNB. The official said that at first, the NBR is taking information on the trade licences that have been issued from the city corporations and municipalities.
Later, TIN will be issued in their names to bring them under tax net and collect revenue from them.
Besides, he mentioned that NBR is collecting information of foreigners from Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), vehicles owners from the BRTA, land buying and selling information from the sub-registry offices, power distribution offices and service-oriented offices.
Information of flat and house owners are also being collected from the National Housing Authority, the NBR official said. All these efforts would help NBR identify eligible taxpayers who are still out of tax net.
"We hope that this’ll help us raise revenue collection,” he added.
Also read: NBR sets its sight on cranking up tax-GDP ratio
NBR sources said the board officials generally collect information of potential taxpayers by a door-to-door survey. This is how they find out new taxpayers.
A senior official of the NBR said that the field officials have been asked to conduct their survey maintaining health safety rules.
According to an official document, at the end of the 7th Five Year Plan, which ended on June 2020, the revenue-GDP ratio was to be 16.1% in 2019-20 fiscal after gradual improvement, but the achievement was estimated at 12.7% while it was 9.9% and 9.6% in 2018-19 and 2017-18 fiscals respectively.
The total revenue collection for the budget for 2020-21 fiscal was set at Tk 3,780 billion where the NBR will contribute Tk 3,300 billion. The revenue from non-NBR sources was estimated at Tk 150 billion, while non-tax revenue at Tk 330 billion.
Of the grand amount for the NBR, Tk 1,039.45 billion will come from income, profit and capital tax, while Tk 1,251.62 billion will be contributed by VAT.
Supplementary tax will provide Tk 578.15 billion and Tk 378.07 billion will come from import duty. Tk 0.55 billion will come from export duty while Tk 36.86 billion from excise duty and Tk 15.30 billion as other taxes.
How resorts can boost local economy in hill districts
The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord, which ended the decades-long conflict between the Bangladeshi armed forces and Shanti Bahini, was signed in December 1997.
One of the major conditions of the historic peace deal inked between the Bangladeshi government and Jana Sanghati Samiti was to develop the three hill districts -- Khagrachhari, Bandarban and Rangamati -- as tourism hubs. More than 23 years on, this condition still remains unfulfilled -- as vested interests are apparently obstructing its implementation.
Also read: Covid-19 casts gloom on tourism in Rangamati, Bandarban
In fact, as part of the move to develop the region, construction work on a proposed five-star resort, 'Marriott Hotel and Amusement Park', in Chandra Pahar — formerly the Naitong hung (hill) — in Bandarban’s Chimbuk area has started. But UNB has learnt that some groups are trying to derail the project by spreading rumours on social media.
In 2015, the Bandarban Hill District Council (BHDC) gave on lease some 20 acres of land in Chandra Pahar for the resort project, and a temporary check post was also set up that year only to ensure security in the area.
Read Best Resorts near Dhaka for Day out or Weekend Away
While the Chandra Pahar resort project has been conceptualised keeping in mind the environmental factors, few local groups -- JSS(M) and PCP (Pahari Chhatra Parishad) -- claim that around 800-1,000 acres of land will eventually be grabbed for its construction. And this could, in turn, displace over 10,000 residents of nearby villages.
From taking to social media to holding periodic protest rallies, these groups have been misleading local residents since construction of the five-star facility began in June 2020, after approval of the project's layout by the government.
Read Best Khagrachhari Tourist Spots to Explore in Your Vacation
However, a reality check by UNB has revealed that the area closest to the project site is Dholapara, some 1.3 km (aerial distance) away.
Project manager Sirajul Islam said that the distance from the resort site to Kalaipara and Erapara of Mro community is 5km, and that of Kaprupara and Dolapara is 3.5km and 2.5km, respectively. "So there will be no acquisition of land belonging to the local ethnic groups or any loss to their villages," he said.
Also read: Reopening plan raises hope for Cox's Bazar tourism
The vested groups have also spread rumours that local farmers will lose jhum cultivable land due to the project. "This is absolutely not correct. They can very well continue with jhum (or shifting) cultivation," Sirajul said. Besides, BHDC has allotted nearly three acres of land to each Mro family for cultivating mixed fruits.
Fighting the Second Wave: Govt seeks stricter implementation of PMO directives
In the wake of the alarming spike in Coronavirus cases, the government has decided it must take a tougher stance towards implementing the 18-point directive issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) earlier in the week, in an effort to contain the spread of Covid-19.
The move came after the country recorded its highest-ever daily coronavirus cases (6,469) and registered more than 5,000 cases for the fourth straight day on Thursday (Apr 1). Following the health protocols, all ministries and organisations have been instructed to use only 50 percent of their manpower in office for two straight weeks by State Minister of Public Administration Farhad Hossain.
Also read:Covid-19 Second Wave: Maleque seeks further steps against ...Strict instructions have been issued to all the ministries and associated organisations asking them to follow the directives, he said. “We already started following the instruction from Wednesday and the rest of the ministries started implementing the directive from Thursday. All ministries and departments will form a duty roster for all their staff,” he said. One half of the staff will attend office three days and two days from home in the first week and the second half will work the same way in the second week, Hossain said, adding that pregnant and officials above 55 years old will work online from home. Besides, all of the private and non-government organisations and offices were also directed to employ 50 percent workers in office and rest through online from home, the State Minister said. Pregnant employees and officials above 55 years old will work online from home, he said. “We will ensure that no one go outside after 10 pm unnecessarily and also launch a monitoring programme on the grass root level. Law enforcers will work in this regard,” Farhad Hossain said. The government will decide the next course of action after maintaining all the directives for two weeks and review the decision after April 12, he said. The Home Ministry said as the 18-point directive landed on Monday, police already prepared a work plan to implement the instructions across the country including the capital. Police check-posts have been installed at different places including Dhaka and a massive campaign is operated by cops and local administration to raise awareness among people, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told UNB. Moreover Health Minister Zahid Maleque said the administration will do everything to constant monitor the implementation of the health directives.
Also read:Don't be panicked about possible second wave of Covid-19 ... “The way number of patients is rising… if the scenario continues, no hospitals will have seats to admit patients. All must act immediately to curb the massive transmission. The pandemic might take a devastating form if we fail to follow the 18-directives issued by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” the minister said. Secretary of Health Services Division Abdul Mannan said they have already started following the health directive strictly.
Covid surge in Bangladesh: Experts for tightening the grip with nighttime curfew
As Bangladesh is experiencing record-breaking Covid cases, experts think ‘health emergency’, ‘nighttime curfew’ and area-based lockdown can be the right measures to slow down the virus transmission.
They think the 18-point directive issued by the government on Monday is not enough as the coronavirus situation is going from bad to worse with both high infection and mortality rates in the country.
The experts warned that Bangladesh may experience an ‘explosive’ Covid situation in the coming months, breaking down the already overwhelmed medical system, if unnecessary public movements and mass gatherings cannot be controlled with the strict enforcement of laws.
They also suggested ramping up contact tracing, mass testing, expanding ICU capacity and ensuring necessary treatment facilities and equipment in every hospital, including upazila health complexes, since the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has identified 31 districts as risky for the virus outbreak with a high infection rate.
Directives not matching with ground realities
Public health expert MH Chowdhury (Lenin), chairman of the medicine department at Health and Hope Hospital, the government’s directives are inconsistent with the coronavirus transmission pace.
“When it’s necessary to stop all the social and political gatherings right now, it was said to be discouraged in the directives. When a nighttime curfew should be enforced from 6pm, people are only asked not to come out of their homes unnecessarily. The shopping malls should be allowed to remain open for at best six hours on a limited scale, but the government said both sellers and buyers in shopping malls must follow the health rules,” he said.
MH Chowdhury said all types of mass gatherings should be controlled strictly, but the government asked to hold public exams maintaining health hygiene rules, which is not possible.
“People are discouraged to go to tourist and recreation spots, movie houses and theatres, and all kinds of fairs. But the Ekushey Book Fair is going on in full swing,” he pointed out.
Dr Lenin said the government has instructed all to maintain health safety rules in public transport, but people do not do that for lack of monitoring. “Strong enforcement of law is necessary to force people to abide by those rules.”
Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed, former director (disease control) of the DGHS, said, “The directives are not time-befitting and consistent with the current pandemic situation. “These instructions should have been given at least one month back when the virus cases started surging.”
Dr Be-Nazir said when elections can be held amid such a situation how the government can ask people not to arrange social programmes and mass gatherings.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh’s caseload now 529,031, fatalities 7,942
Sunflower cultivation in Khulna: Salinity no longer a barrier
Salinization of soil is a serious problem in the coastal areas of Bangladesh as it has adverse effects on crop production. Despite the challenge, farmers in Khulna’s coastal areas have shown success in cultivating sunflower in fallow saline land.
New possibilities have been created to meet the demand for high-quality sunflower oil. Farmers are also expecting bumper yields at low cost.
Research is underway on sunflower cultivation in the Robi season in the Salinity Management and Research Center of Batiaghata Upazila of Khulna under the Gopalganj-Khulna-Bagerhat-Satkhira-Pirojpur Agriculture Development Project (SRDI Organ).
Read Gaibandha women turn problem into profit
Sunflower seeds have been sown in wet soil here by the ‘dibbling method’ after harvesting Aman paddy in mid-November. Then the roots of the seedlings were tied and fertilizer was applied.
Three varieties have been used in the study- Local, Bari Suryamukhi-2, and Haisan-33. Of these, the yield of Haisan-33 variety has been good.
According to the chief scientific officer of the Center for Salinity Management and Research, sunflower is the salinity-tolerant crop. As a result, there is huge potential for sunflower cultivation in coastal areas.
Also read: Khulna farmers strike gold with sunflower
Vast tracts of land remain unused in the south, after harvesting Aman paddy. It is difficult to grow any other crop easily as there is salinity in the soil and water. By cultivating sunflower through the dibbling method, the fallow land will come under cultivation.
‘Berthing delay’ at Chattogram Port ‘irks’ steelmakers
Bangladesh’s steel manufacturers have long been experiencing serious problems as the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) is reportedly taking more time than usual in allowing them to unload their imported raw materials.
President of Bangladesh Steel Manufacturers Association (BSMA) Monwar Hossain in a letter to the CPA chairman on March 3 raised the issue expressing their grave concerns over it and demanded separate jetties for unloading their imported scraps, according to official sources.
He mentioned that the unusual delay in berthing the raw material-carrying ships made the situation horrible for their business.
“The mills are not getting adequate supply of raw materials to continue their production while the importers have to pay huge demurrage to shipping authorities for the excessive berthing delay,” he said in the letter.
“As a result, the price of raw materials for the steel-manufacturing industries is rising,” he added.
Also read: Realty sector hit as short supply pushes steel prices up
According to the BSMA, 58 vessels arrived at Chattogram port with about 1.328 million metric tons of scraps from September 2020 to February 2021 but each vessel had to face excessive delay in unloading the goods -- even up to 26 days.
Providing the statistics, the BSMA said the number of scrap-carrying ships is substantially rising, but the importers have to count huge costs due to the lack of adequate GI-berthing facilities at the port.