Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina distributed 18,566 more houses  among the homeless and landless families across the country under Ashrayan-2 project on Tuesday (June 11, 2024), five days before the Eid-ul Azha. She opened the distribution of the houses alongwith ownership documents through a videoconference from her official residence Ganabhaban, connecting to Kaliganj upazila of Lalmonirhat, Eidgaon upazila of Cox’s Bazar, and Char Fashion upazila of Bhola. Besides, the PM declared 70 more upazilas, including all upazilas of 26 districts, free from landlessness and homelessness people. With this declaration, the total number of landless and homeless-free districts has reached 58 and the number of landless and homeless-free Upazilas has gone up to 464 across the country. The houses were constructed under the government’s flagship housing programme, Ashrayan-2 Project, aiming to ensure housing for all. PM Hasina's Ashrayan project to set another milestone Tuesday On Tuesday, the prime minister distributed 1,282 houses in Lalmonirhat, 261 in Cox’s Bazar, and 1,234 in Bhola districts. Earlier, the prime minister distributed 63,999 houses in the first phase, 53,330 in the second phase, 59,133 in the third phase, and 39,365 in the fourth phase of the Ashrayan-2 Project across the country. Under the project, each landless and homeless family is provided with a semi-pucca house on two decimals of land, with ownership jointly granted to both husband and wife. Each house consists of two bedrooms, a kitchen, a toilet, and a veranda. The rehabilitation programme for homeless people was initially introduced by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1972. Following that PM Hasina initiated the Ashrayan project in 1997 to provide ownership of houses and lands to homeless and landless people. Since its inception, the Ashrayan project has rehabilitated a total of 771,301 families, benefiting an estimated 3,856,505 individuals. Across all programmes, 4,340,000 people from 867,904 families have been rehabilitated, including 2,910,265 people from 582,053 families under the Ashrayan Project. Read more: Ashrayan project: PM Hasina to provide free houses, lands to 18,566 families

At least 10 people including women and children were injured as a Dhaka-bound launch from Bhola, the Karnafuli-3, caught fire in the middle of the Meghna river in Majherchar area in Chandpur's Haimchar on Saturday (April 20, 2024). Md Shahadat Hossain, deputy director of Chandpur BIWTA, said the fire broke out around 11:30am due to a technical glitch. At the time, 10 people were injured in the launch fire incident as they panicked and jumped into the river, he added. The stranded passengers of Karnaphuli-3 were being taken to Dhaka through Karnaphuli-4 launch. Read more: Banani slum fire under control On information, our investigation team along with the fire service rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control, he added. However, the reason behind the fire could not be known immediately. The injured were treated locally. Meanwhile, senior police officers of Naval Police Chandpur region visited the spot soon after the incident, added the officer. Read more: TK Group’s super board manufacturing factory catches fire in Munshiganj

Considering the location of Bhola, it can be the second biggest port in Bangladesh after Chittagong, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said on Friday. "Since there is gas in Bhola, our main aim is to create entrepreneurship and employment there by utilizing that resources," the minister said at the inauguration ceremony of the construction of a gas connection line in the BSCIC Industrial area of Bhola Sadar. 9 more wells to be drilled in Bhola to expedite local gas production: Nasrul Hamid He also said that the small cottage industry is playing a vital role in our rural economy. “Specially during the Covid pandemic, we have seen that small entrepreneurs saved the lifeline of the rural economy. They kept running markets providing their products.” The industries minister also said that Bhola's BSIC is currently running in small scale and its areas can be expanded  in future, he mentioned. Rare olive ridley turtle rescued in Bhola Nurul Majid said Bhola is rich in gas, big companies have already started coming here. “Big companies like Celltech are producing ceramics here. Others are also showing interest in the industry. All in all, Bhola is a very promising place to invest, “the minister added. Presided over by Deputy Commissioner Arifuzzaman, Senior Secretary Zakia Sultana, BCIC director Akhil Chandra Poddar, District Parishad Chairman Abdul Momin Tulu, Additional Superintendent of Police Asaduzzaman, District Awami League General Secretary Mainul Hossain Biplab, Bhola BCIC also spoke. 12th national election: Awami League bags all four seats in Bhola

Ruling Awami League (AL) secured a victory in all four constituencies in island district of Bhola in the 12th parliamentary national election that concluded on Sunday. AL veteran leader Tofail Ahmed won from the Bhola-1 constituency by bagging 1, 86, 799 votes while his nearest opponent from Jatiya Party (JaPa) Md Shahjahan Miah with plough symbol got 5, 980 votes in the election held at 114 polling stations. Feni-3: Five-member probe committee formed over assault on presiding officer AL candidate from Bhoal-2 Ali Azam Mukul also secured his victory by gaining 1, 59, 326 votes while his opponent candidate from Jatiya Party (JP) Md Gauznabi with bicycle symbol got only 3, 191 votes. Nurunnabi Chowdhury Shawon also from the AL clinched the victory from Bhola-3 seat with a margin of 154, 266 votes with his nearest candidate from JaPa-backed Major (retd) Jasim Uddin who got 17, 815 votes.  BNP salutes voters for making its boycott call a success Abdullah Al-Islam Jacob won from Bhola-4 seat with boat symbol by securing 2, 04, 436 votes and his nearest opponent Md Mizanur Rahman got 5, 918 votes with the plough symbol. Hasina wins Gopalganj-3

Ilisha-1 in Bhola district was announced to be the 29th gas field of Bangladesh where substantial gas was found recently. “We believe, Ilisha-1 has a reserve of 200 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas. The entire Bhola area, including this one, has a reserve of 3 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas,” State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told reporters today (May 22, 2023) during a briefing at his Dhaka residence while formally announcing the discovery of the gas field. He said this is great news for the people of the country. Also Read: 3 strikes for Ilisha-1: another drill test finds gas Ilisha-1 is located in an union in Bhola district, about 182 km from the capital city Dhaka. On March 8 this year, Ilisha-1 excavation started in the Maler Hat area of Ilisha union under Bhola Sadar upazila and the drilling was completed successfully on April 24 through the Drill Stem Test in three levels at a depth of 3,475 metres. The state minister said earlier that gas was found in different wells under Bhola north and Bhola south structures. He said a plan is being prepared to bring gas from the Bhola area to Dhaka through a pipeline where many industries are facing a nagging gas shortage. Read more: Chevron inks deals to dig more wells at expanded Bibiyana gas field A pre-feasibility was conducted and now work is in progress for conducting a feasibility study on the issue, he noted. Nasrul Hamid said it will take about 3 years to bring the gas from Bhola to Dhaka through a pipeline. Initially, he said, a private company has signed a contract to bring a total of 25 mmcfd gas from Bhola through a big trailer. Primarily, it will start with 5 mmcfd. He informed that the government has a plan to create a ring-fence of pipeline covering Bhola, Barishal and Dhaka to use the gas for this region while another ring-fence will be created covering the districts in Dhaka, Sylhet and others. Read more: 2nd phase of directional drilling at Srikail North Gas field starts He said the commercial value of the gas in Bhola will be Tk 6500 crore if calculated in local value and Tk 26000 crore in the value of gas being imported. Nasrul Hamid said the Ilisha-1 gas field’s discovery was announced after completion of necessary drilling and other works. Currently, about 2300 mmcfd gas is being produced from 22 gas fields in the country, while about 700 mmcfd gas is being imported to meet the demand of about 4000 mmcfd, leaving a deficit of about 1000 mmcfd. Apart from Ilisha-1, two Bhola gas fields have around 200 mmcf production capacity, while the production hovers between 80-85 mmcf. Read more: China’s Sinopec to drill for gas at Well No-10 of Sylhet Gas Field Therefore, around 120 mmcf surplus capacity remains unused in the eight wells of the Shahbazpur and Bhola gas fields. Due to the lack of pipeline and transmission facilities, the government of Bangladesh was unable to supply the surplus gas from the Bhola field to energy-hungry industrial zones in Dhaka and elsewhere.

More reserves of gas have been found in Bangladesh's Bhola North-2 gas field. The Bangladesh Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources in a press release said that new gas was found from an appraisal well. It mentioned that the drilling works started at the Bhola North -2 Gas Filed on December 5 last year and ended on January 17 this year after reaching 3,428 metre depth to the underground ground. “Today (Monday, January 23, 2023) the discovery was made after completion of the Drill-Stem Testing (DST).” Read More: Bill placed in JS to pave a way for govt to adjust gas, electricity without public hearing The DST in exploration wells is the last step of oil and gas exploration. “The actual amount of gas production will be determined after completion of the final production testing. But Bapex is hopeful that the field would produce 20 MMCF per day,” said the release. 

The salvage operation of the MV-Sagar Nandini-2 vessel that sank carrying 11 lakh metric tonnes of furnace oil in the Meghna River, was launched on Thursday four days after its sinking. A team comprising members of river police, coast guard, divers and Bangladesh Water Transport Inland Authority (BIWTA) started the operation with the help of two barges---Jahura and Humaira this morning. Md Shahjahan, director of river protection and management division of BIWTA, said the furnace oil from the sunken vessel will be first extracted while the dredging work was going on to retrieve it. He said it is not certain how many days it will take to salvage the vessel as the operation depends on tide. The salvage operation will hopefully be completed within next Sunday, he said, adding that they were working carefully due to having explosive substances inside the vessel. On the other hand, fishermen were informed that they spotted fishes floating in the river and might have died due to oil spilled into the river. Read more: Ferry gets stuck in Meghna shoal, passengers rescued The fishers, however, said oil was seen in the river for the first two days since its sinking, though the water is now clear. The vessel named ‘Sagar Nandini-2’ from Chattogram port sank in Meghna as another vessel hit it at Tulatuli Majher Char while heading towards Chandpur Padma Depot around 4am on Sunday. The accident took place due to poor visibility caused by the dense fog. All the fuel spilled into the river. Local people later collected the fuel in containers. Fortunately, all 13 crew members of the vessel were rescued by another vessel passing through the area. The authorities concerned formed two separate investigation committees to unveil the reason behind the sinking. Meanwhile, a large area in the Meghna river has been polluted by furnace oil spill since the vessel with 11 lakh litres of oil sank in the river — posing threat to biodiversity and environment. Read more: Oil spill in Meghna river threatening environment, vessel still not recovered after 36 hours

The MV-Sagar Nandini-2 vessel carrying 11 lakh metric tonnes of furnace oil, which sank in the Meghna River on Sunday, could not be salvaged till Tuesday. Already three vessels have reached in the Meghna River to salvage the vessel. Besides, local administration has formed a nine -member probe body, headed by Additional District Magistrate Ripon Kumar Saha, to look into the incident. The committee has been asked to submit its report within seven working days. Read more: Oil spill in Meghna river threatening environment, vessel still not recovered after 36 hours Md Shahjahan, director of river protection and management division of Bangladesh Inland and Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) visited the spot in the morning and said they are trying to recover the furnace oil from the river. To salvage a sunken vessel from the river is a time consuming matter as there are some explosive substances inside the vessel, he said. The main aim is to recover oil from the river, he added. If there is any negligence on the part of master found during investigation then action will be taken against him, said Shahjahan. Three vessels of SHR Navigation Company Limited—Sagar Badhu-3, Sagar Badhu-4 and Sagar Nandini-3---are trying to salvage the sunken vessel as per the decision of the owners as the BIWTA expressed incapability of salvaging the vessel, he said. He also expected to finish their salvage operation by Wednesday. Read more: Vessel with 11 lakh litre fuel sinks in Meghna river Vessel with 11 lakh litre fuel sinks in Meghna river Staff officer of Coast Guard South Zone, Lieutenant M Hasan Mehedi, said the coast guard members have been providing security to the sunken vessel round the clock since Sunday and already a barge named ‘Humaira’ from Chandpur is on the way to salvage the vessel. The oil chambers inside the vessel have been sealed by the divers and there is no scope to spill out oil, he said. Meanwhile, a large area in the Meghna river has been polluted by furnace oil spill since the vessel with 11 lakh litres of oil sank in the river — posing threat to biodiversity and environment. Jamal Hossain, senior fisheries officer of Bhola Fisheries Department, said fish in the river will be in danger due to the oil spill. A lighter vessel with 11 lakh litres of fuel sank after being hit by another vessel in Meghna river due to dense fog in sadar upazila of Bhola district early Sunday. KM Shafiul Kinjal, media officer of Coast Guard South Zone, said the vessel named ‘Sagar Nandini-2’ from Chattogram port sank in Meghna as another vessel hit it at Tulatuli Majher Char while heading towards Chandpur Padma Depot around 4am on Sunday. The accident took place due to poor visibility caused by the dense fog. All the fuel spilled into the river. Local people later collected the fuel in containers. Fortunately, all 13 crew members of the vessel have been rescued by another vessel passing through the area.

A 21-year-old football fan was killed and seven others were injured in a clash between Argentine fans in Bhola Sadar upazila on Tuesday night. The deceased was identified as Md Hridoy from Dhania union of the upazila. The injured identified as Md Nayon, 17, Abdullah, 24, Mohiuddin, 23, Liton, 22, Sahabuddin, 20, Md Ashiq, 20, and Talha, 20, are now undergoing treatment at Bhola Sadar Hospital. A fight between some supporters of Argentina took place in the Dhaniya union over a food party surrounding Argentina's match against Australia Sunday, locals said. Supporters of the Latin American team again got into a brawl over the issue around 11pm on Tuesday, leaving eight people injured. Of them, Hridoy was rushed to the hospital in a critical condition. He succumbed to his injuries early Wednesday. Md Shaheen Fakir, officer-in-charge of Bhola Police Station, said they arrested two people over the incident Wednesday and efforts are on to arrest others. Earlier, a case was filed following the incident, he added. Bangladesh is known as a cricket-loving nation, but a passion for the Argentina and Brazil football teams sweeps the country ahead of and during the World Cup. The flags of Argentina and Brazil fly everywhere. The World Cup is now taking a small break after non-stop football for the past two weeks. There will be two days of rest before the quarterfinals start in Qatar on December 9. Argentina beat Australia to get into the last eight. Brazil, which had Neymar back in the lineup after an ankle injury, is there as well, after a 4-1 win over South Korea. Read more: Argentina fan electrocuted while hoisting flag in Gaibandha

November 12 is a day that people of Bhola try to forget. On this day in 1970, a powerful cyclone took away the lives of at least 150,000 people while thousands went missing. Although 52 years have passed since then, natural disasters haven’t stopped from hitting the island district. The lives of people from Bhola continue to be in great danger as the island lacks adequate cyclone shelters. Matlab Munshi, an eyewitness of the devastating cyclone, described how the impact of that brutal cyclone was. “It was raining mildly with stormy wind since that morning. The storm started to turn into a cyclone in the evening and hit the island at night. We didn’t receive any forecast about the cyclone as communication system was weak at that time,” said Munshi. Munshi added that the cyclone had hit a total of 18 coastal districts of the country including Bhola during the pre-independence era. “During the cyclone, 8-10 feet tidal surge from the rivers and the Bay of Bengal submerged everything. When the storm subsided and we went out the next morning, we saw corpses dangling in tree branches and lying scattered everywhere. Many people never found their loved ones again as their bodies were washed away. What’s more painful is that we had to remain without food for 10 days straight, which exacerbated our suffering,” Munshi added. Read: 1,000 more cyclone shelters to be set up: Enamul Kalu Majhi,75,  is a resident of Shibpur union under Bhola’s Sadar upazila who had lost 30 people, including seven from his immediate family, to the Cyclone of ’70. While talking to UNB, Kalu described how his family members went missing on that night. “Both my house and my family members were washed away. I along with a brother of mine survived by holding onto a tree. In the morning, I saw dead bodies littering everywhere. After going to the place where my house used to be, I came to learn that all of my family members were taken away by the storm. The situation was so tragic that we had to dig big holes and bury 90-100 bodies together,” Kalu said. People living in other parts of the country and the world came to know about the impact of the cyclone when photos of the disaster were published in Daily Purbodesh newspaper four days later. “After taking the photos of the corpses strewn across the island, I sent them to the newspaper’s office in Dhaka by fishing trawlers. Besides, I sent the news using the wireless system of police. The photo story was published under the heading ‘Cry Bangalees Cry: Corpses Are Dangling in Trees in Bhola’,” said M Habibur Rahman, a Journalist of the newspaper at the time and currently the President of Bhola Press Club. Read: Paikgacha bears the maximum brunt of cyclone Sitrang Fifty-two years have passed since then, but people of Bhola still have to fight with natural disasters on a regular basis. Their lives are still endangered due to a dearth of cyclone shelters in the various chars of the island district. Kabir Patwari, a resident of Char Patila under Bhola’s Charfashon upazila, said that as their Char is separated from the main island, it becomes tough for them to go to cyclone shelters during cyclones. “There are a total of 746 cyclone shelters in Bhola, which are inadequate to accommodate all the needy people of the district. That’s why we need more shelters here,” said Md Abdur Rashid, Deputy Director of Bhola’s Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP). During his visit to Bhola’s Monpura island after cyclone Sitrang, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Enamur Rahman had said that the government has taken up a project to build 1,000 cyclone shelters in the coastal districts of the country. “As of yet, we’ve built a total of 220 new cyclone centers, while construction works of 423 more centers are currently going on,” Enamur said. Read: Cyclone Sitrang aftermath: 10,000 houses in 419 unions damaged, says state minister