The Yonex-Sunrise Bangladesh International (Badminton) Challenge' 2022, begins on Wednesday (December 7) at the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Indoor Stadium, adjacent to Bangabandhu National Stadium here. Minister for Textile and Jute Golam Dastagir Gazi MP will inaugurate the meet Wednesday morning, organised by Bangladesh Badminton Federation, under the supervision of Badminton World Federation and Badminton Asia.  Secretary to the Ministry of Youth and Sports Mesbahuddin will also present as special guest. Former parliament member and Managing Director of China-Bangla Ceremic Industries Sirajul Islam Mollah will also present at the function to be chaired by BBF president and Information Commissioner Dr Abdul Malek. Read more: Yonex-Sunrise Bangladesh International Challenge Badminton begins Tuesday Some 251 shutters, including 108 women from 17 countries will compete in the meet, a regular International Badminton competition of Bangladesh. Participating countries are: India, Thailand, Turkiye, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia. Canada, Mongolia. Indonesia, Bahrain, Japan, Maldives, Iran, Germany, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and hosts Bangladesh will compete in the meet.    Read more: Yonex Int’l Badminton: Bangladeshi men shuttlers make good start

The Ministry of Textiles and Jute is setting up ‘Sheikh Hasina Tant palli’ in Shibchar Upazila of Madaripur district at the Jajira end of the Padma Bridge to create opportunities for self-employment in the south-western region. Textile and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi said this while visiting the project on 120 acres of land in the upazila on Thursday. Under this project, weavers will be provided with all kinds of facilities including residential buildings, handloom shed, dormitories, rest house, cyber cafes and power substations. Also read: Production in BJMC’s 2 leased out jute mills begins There are plans to set up a ‘Tant Haat’ two days a week at Tantpalli where all kinds of raw materials including yarn will be sold and displayed. “Everything from weaving cloth to making and selling garments will be arranged here,” said the minister. Also read: Multiple Earning Streams: Finding Additional Online Income Source Beside a Job The minister also hoped that this project will revive the tradition of handloom industry. He also visited the construction work of ‘Sheikh Hasina Textile Engineering College’ under Textiles Department in the upazila.

Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi has said effective steps are being taken to reopen the state-owned jute mills that were closed down last year soon. The mills would be reopened under private management on lease basis. The minister also added that international tenders have already been called in this regard. He came up with these remarks while speaking to the press after joining the monthly coordination meeting of the ministry online on Wednesday afternoon. The minister claimed that  jute farmers are currently  getting a fair price for raw jute as the value and demand of jute has increased across the world. The average price of raw jute in the current jute season is up to Tk 3,000, which is about 50 percent higher than last year, he added. He also said that Bangladesh earned $953.56 million by exporting jute and jute-made products in  the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year 2020-21, which  is 22.94 percent more than the same period last year. The growth is also around 10.64 percent higher than the target, the minister said. He hoped that not only would the old workers be rehabilitated, but also new employment opportunities will be created once these privately run mills become operational. On July 1 last year, 25 jute mills under the control of Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) were declared closed with the aim of creating a competitive environment in the jute sector.

Regaining of Muslin is a great achievement in Mujib Barsha. It is immensely important to contain the heritage of Bengali, said textile and jute minister Golam Dastagir Gazi.

The minister confirmed it at a press conference at the secretariat over paying the dues of the retired workers and others who lost their jobs. “To pay the arrears of workers of eight jute mills, we’ve got Tk 1,790.52 crore from t