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Transport strike enters 3rd day, badly affects normal life
The nationwide transport strike rolled into the 3rd day on Sunday, intensifying the sufferings of commuters and inter-district passengers.
Transporters went on an indefinite strike from Friday morning in protest against the recent fuel price hike in Bangladesh.
The common people who depend on public transport for commuting and long-haul journeys are the worst sufferers.
People, especially the office-goers, have been suffering a lot as they have to wait for a long time on roads to catch a vehicle to reach their destinations.
Small vehicles like private vehicles, ride-sharing motorbikes and rickshaws are ruling the roads in Dhaka city, creating traffic congestions at different points.
Rickshaws and auto-rickshaws are charging extra fares taking the advantage of the situation.
Besides, the suspension of launch service by owners on Saturday morning added to the woes of passengers.
The launch owners suspended their services on Saturday, demanding that the fares be doubled.
On Saturday, a section of leaders of transport workers and owners met Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal but the meeting concluded inconclusively.
Also read: Strike to continue as transporters’ meeting with minister ends ‘inconclusively’
Global cases near 250 million
The overall number of Covid cases is fast approaching 250 million amid the global race to vaccinate masses against the infectious disease.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 249, 502,872 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,043,945 as of Sunday morning.
The US has recorded 46,461,564 cases to date and more than 754,278 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, have registered 21,874,324 cases so far, while its Covid death toll rose to 609,388.
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 34,344,683 on Saturday, as 10,929 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, the federal health ministry's latest data showed.
Besides, as many as 392 deaths due to the pandemic have been reported since Friday morning, taking the total death toll to 460,265.
Also read: FDA paves way for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations in young kids
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged just a single Covid-related death in 24 hours till Saturday morning, the lowest in nearly 18 months.
During the period, the country also registered 154 fresh cases, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Bangladesh reported its first death from Covid-19 on March 18, 2020.
The person who died during the period was a man.
The fresh numbers took the total fatality to 27,891 while the country’s caseload mounted to 1,570,835.
Meanwhile, the daily-case positivity rate slightly increased to 1.18 per cent from Friday’s 1.12 per cent.
However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.78 per cent.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 13, 072 samples, said the DGHS.
Also read: Dual disaster management during COVID-19 pandemic underscored
Also, the recovery rate remained unchanged at 97.70 per cent with the recovery of 157 more patients during the period.
So far, 30,521, 391people have fully been vaccinated in the country while 43,356,273 received the first dose as of Friday, according to the DGHS.
Meanwhile, the campaign to vaccinate the school students of the 12-17 age group began in Dhaka on Monday.
The vaccination campaign will be conducted at eight centres in the capital although it was scheduled to begin at 12 centres in the city. Other centres did not get approval due to lack of adequate facilities.
Man ‘kills self’ after killing wife, daughter in Savar
A man allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling of his house after killing his wife and six-year-old daughter at Jamgara in Ashulia of Savar on Saturday night.
The deceased are Sabur Mia, 30, a rickshaw puller, his wife Rozina Begum, 25 and their daughter Sumaiya .
Kamruzzaman, officer-in-charge of Ashulia Police Station, said Sabur, hailing from Dinajpur, used to live in a rented house at Jamgara Rupayan field.
Sabur Mia’s rickshaw was stolen few days ago that made him anxious.
On Saturday night, Sabur picked up a quarrel with his wife Rozina over the issue and at one stage, he strangled his wife and daughter to death.
Also read: Four bodies recovered in Savar, Ashulia
Later, he killed himself by hanging from the ceiling in his room.
Also read: Rural practitioner beaten dead by ‘son’ in Savar
On information, police recovered the bodies and sent those to Shaheed Suhrawardi Medical College Hospital morgue.
Launch services suspended: Thousands left stranded in Barishal
Thousands of passengers were left stranded as launch services on all routes were suspended from Barishal, in protest against the diesel price hike.
Many disgruntled passengers were seen returning from Barishal river port Saturday evening, having waited all day for a break.
Although six launches were supposed to leave Barishal for Dhaka, none did.
Three long-distance launches were removed from the wharf; the other vessels remained anchored.
However, some passengers at the port boarded the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority's passenger ship MV Madhumati, Pubali 7 from Tuskhali and Farhan from Jhalokathi, hoping to reach Dhaka.
Nizam Uddin, managing director of Nizam Shipping, said the hike in diesel price by Tk15 per litre has increased the cost of operating launches on the Barishal-Dhaka route from Tk60,000 to Tk1.5 lakh per trip. "So it is impossible to run the vessels without increasing fare."
"The increase in the price of fuel oil has led to an increase in the cost of fuel by Tk1 lakh per launch. Under special considerations, passengers were transported with the existing fare for one day. However, this is no longer feasible for us," said Saidur Rahman Rintu, vice-president of the Bangladesh Launch Owners Association.
Amid the ongoing nationwide transport strike against fuel price hike, launch owners in Bangladesh suspended all their services Saturday, demanding that the launch fares be doubled.
On Friday, Bangladesh Launch Owners Association held a meeting and sent a letter to the government for doubling fares over existing ones.
The government set the fares for launch passengers at Tk1.70 per kilometre in 2014, the letter said. "In the last few years, the prices of steel and fuels have increased several times, but the launch fares remained the same. The association has long been demanding that the fares be raised."
The hike in the diesel price has forced the association to demand doubling the launch fare, fixing it at Tk3.40 per kilometre, the letter said.
In a shock move that no one saw coming, the government raised the prices of diesel and kerosene to Tk80 from Tk65 at the retail level, which has forced the association to demand the government double the launch fare and fix it at Tk3.40 per kilometre, it added.
From Glasgow, Hamid tries to justify fuel price hike in Facebook status
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has put forth some reasons for last week’s dramatic hike in fuel prices, that saw the prices of diesel and kerosene hiked by a whopping 23.1 percent in one go.
Posting on Facebook from Glasgow, the junior minister also urged the owners of transport businesses to convert their vehicles to run on electricity, and take advantage of efficiency gains.
“We are facing a tough reality,” Nasrul Hamid wrote, in a Facebook status posted around 11pm BdST. “Globally the fuel prices have gone up abnormally in the post-Covid-19 situation. This abnormal rise in oil, gas and coal prices has even put many wealthy nations in difficulty.”
Coming to the reasons behind Bangladesh’s hike, he reiterated the reasons he stated earlier in the day in a views-exchange meeting on the sidelines of COP26.
“We had to adjust the fuel price for its abnormal hike in the global market and also apprehending a rise in smuggling of fuel to neighbouring countries, as the price is higher there,” the state minister wrote, using his verified Facebook account.
Once again, Nasrul tried to pacify those angered by the move back home by calling it ‘a temporary step,’ saying the price will be adjusted back down again. Naturally a statement such as this invites the question ‘When?’
That’s where the caveat comes in: ‘as soon as prices fall in the international market,’ the state minister wrote.
Hamid concludes with an enticement to businesses in the transport sector. He believes if all the vehicles used in the public transport sector can be converted to run on electricity, it would reduce the demand pressure on fuel oil, besides being greener i.e. better for the environment.
“Those who run transport sector businesses can think about it seriously. All kinds of support will be provided (for converting) by the government. It’s possible to increase efficiency gains four-fold, by using an electric vehicle instead of fossil fuel burning vehicles. Besides reducing environmental pollution, it would also increase our consumption of electricity. We will also consider lowering the electricity tariff if electric vehicles recharge from midnight onwards.”
Explosion at Bashundhara LPG factory in Mongla; 6 suffer burns
At least six people were injured following an explosion occurred in the boiler of Bashundhara LPG gas factory in Mongla’s Digraj.The explosion occurred Saturday evening, causing a ball of fire that burnt the victims.The injured are Mohammad Saiful, 30, Mohammad Tariqul Islam, 28, Nur Alam, 26, Azim, 31, Imran, 29 and Hasan Sikder, 28.The injured have been admitted to Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH). Among them, Nur Alam and Hasan Sikder were referred to facilities in Dhaka for advanced treatment as their conditions deteriorated. No one from the factory management agreed to speak to the UNB correspondent in this regard.It was learned that neither the police nor the fire service were informed of the accident.Mongla Police officer-in-charge (OC) Monirul Islam said, "We have heard of an accident but we were not informed by the factory.” Police have been sent to Digraj area for details, he said.Md. Golam Sarwar, Deputy Assistant Director of Bagerhat Fire Service and Civil Defense said, "I have heard about the accident at a gas factory in Digraj area through various channels but they did not inform any of our units.”Khalid Anjum, a doctor on duty at KMCH’s surgery department, said that the condition of two victims was serious. They have suffered 60 percent burns, and so they have been sent to Dhaka for advanced treatment.
IBBL inaugurates Fulbari branch in Dinajpur
Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) recently inaugurated its 379th branch in Dinajpur's Fulbari.
Md Mostafizur Rahman, member of parliament from Dinajpur-5 constituency, inaugurated the branch as chief guest.
Muhammad Qaisar Ali, additional managing director of IBBL, presided over the programme.
Md Mahboob Alam, head of development wing, Md Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan, executive vice-president of the bank, and Muhammad Mahmud Alam, mayor of Fulbari Municipality, spoke at the event as special guests.
Md Asaduzzaman, additional superintendent of police of Fulbari Circle, and Md Riaz Uddin, upazila nirbahi officer of Fulbari, were also present at the programme.
Amar Chand Gupta, president of Fulbari Press Club, and Kamruzzaman Kamrul, president of Fulbari Bonik Samity, spoke on behalf of the clients, according to a media statement.
Hamid says fuel prices to fall in line with global market
Fuel prices in Bangladesh will fall in line with prices in the international market, State Minister for Energy, Power and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said Saturday, in the aftermath of the shock move to hike the prices of diesel and kerosene by Tk15 - over 23 percent - in one go.
The state minister could not say however, when that might happen, since price movements in the international market are dictated by market forces.
The IMF in its official blog does not expect the current surge in energy prices to ease until next year.
READ: PM monitoring situation over fuel price hike: Quader
"Our expectation is that these prices will revert to more normal levels early next year when heating demand ebbs and supplies adjust," said the blog post authored by Andrea Pescatori, Chief of the Commodities Unit in the IMF Research Department.
Hamid, speaking from Glasgow, tried to justify the hike by pointing out the government has also cut fuel prices in the past, in line with falling prices internationally at the time. “Fuel prices were cut in 2016. Now fuel prices have been readjusted with the hike in global prices and to prevent smuggling,” he said in a views-exchange meeting with reporters in Glasgow, where he is part of the Bangladesh contingent at COP26. The State Minister said the government refixed the prices of diesel and kerosene on November 4 in the greater national interest, and pointed out the diesel price is still lower than in some neighbouring countries, according to a PID handout. “Today (Nov 6) diesel price in India’s Kolkata is Rs 89.79, equal to Tk 104 per liter. The number of trucks entering the country everyday through the 26 land ports is also a matter of consideration. There is a possibility of fuel smuggling.” “We have to go for electric vehicles. If public transports could be made to run on electricity, it will be environment-friendly. These will reduce spending on importing fuel,” he added. The government raised the prices of diesel and kerosene to Tk 80 from Tk 65 at the retail level last Wednesday - a rise of more than 23 percent in one go.
An exceptionally rapid global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic-induced recession has seen global gas, coal and electricity prices rise in recent weeks to their highest levels in decades.
Natural gas prices have seen the biggest increase, according to the International Energy Agency, with European and Asian benchmark prices hitting an all-time record last week – around ten times their level a year ago at the height of the pandemic.
READ: Govt’s logic behind fuel price hike ‘unacceptable': Fakhrul In a statement, the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources said, "Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has been incurring a loss of Tk 20 crore per day as it is selling each liter of diesel at Tk 13.01 lower than the import price, and each liter of furnace oil at Tk 6.21 lower than the import price." As such, it said the retail prices were being adjusted in line with the surging energy prices on the international market. The association of bus, truck and van owners went on an indefinite strike from Friday in protest against fuel price hike.
Be humane in building livable society for differently-abled people: FM
The government is committed to addressing the needs of the people who are differently-abled by integrating them into society, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said Friday.
He urged all to be more humane in building a livable society for the people with special needs. "Autism is not a disease. It is a special situation that requires much care."
'Inside Out’: Day-long painting, printmaking and origami workshop for children at Gallery Cosmos
Emblazoning the innate artistic spirit of child artists in the city, Gallery Cosmos and Cosmos Atelier71 arranged a daylong watercolour painting, printmaking and origami workshop titled ‘Inside Out’ at the Cosmos Centre, Malibagh, in the capital.
From 11 am to 4 pm, more than 25 children from different parts of the world joined the event with their parents at the Cosmos Atelier71, showcasing their creative artworks in the workshop. The participating artists were from Bangladesh, Canada, India, Ireland, USA, Portugal and other countries, currently residing in Bangladesh.
"It's a very unique and refreshing approach and a joyful experience for us and our children. They are the main attraction here today, and we thank the organizers for this remarkable initiative where our kids are showcasing their artistic freedom," said Mr Roman, who brought his daughter to the workshop.
READ: Kalidas Karmakar’s 2nd death anniversary: Gallery Cosmos pays tribute with daylong event
Regarding the initiative, Bangladeshi artist and lecturer at the Yunnan Arts University, China, Mong Mong Sho told UNB that this kind of workshops are really necessary to thrive and celebrate the artistic passion of the children.