Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday (April 21, 2024) inaugurated newly constructed 'Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Battery Complex' at Halishahar cantonment in Chittagong. She inaugurated this complex at the Artillery Center and School in Chittagong's Halishahar Cantonment. After the inauguration, the Prime Minister visited the Artillery Museum established at the newly constructed 'Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Battery Complex'. Read more: PM Hasina rues lackings in extraction of sea resources despite potentials She also witnessed sculpture of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman installed at the museum. She also saw the historic 3.7 inch howitzer that fired the first shot of Mujib Battery in the War of Liberation, the ammunition used in the artillery regiment and replicas of all the cannons and the glorious history of the remarkable operations of the artillery forces in the great Liberation War. Later, the Prime Minister attended Darbar there. Read more: PM Hasina urges farmers to form cooperatives to boost agri production

India will have to pay a fee (transhipment fee, security and administrative charge) of Tk 220 per tonne for the transportation of goods to the north-eastern states through the use of Mongla and Chittagong ports. Apart from this, document processing fee of Tk 30 per consignment, container scanning fee of Tk 254 and escort charge of Tk 85 per kilometre have to be paid. Goods during transit cannot be transported on other routes beyond the specified route as per the agreement, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) said in a notification on Monday. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued a standing order regarding transit-transhipment of Indian goods under the agreement on the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports for the movement of goods to and from India. The transit fee-route has been fixed by Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). According to the standing order, C&F agents have to apply to Mongla and Chittagong Customs for registration as transit operators. After the application verification, if the results are satisfactory, the eligible C&F agents will have to submit a Tk 10,000 (non-refundable) treasury challan, an unconditional bank guarantee of Tk 10 lakh and a risk bond of Tk 50 lakh. If the transit-transhipment goods fail to cross the geographical border of Bangladesh within seven days, the operator will have to pay the duty-tax penalty for the goods. If the goods fail to reach the destination due to natural causes or the vehicle breaks down, a letter should be sent to the concerned VAT Commissionerate office giving details, the NBR notification said. Read more: NBR counting losses for rampant tax evasion The order further states that scanning of every transit-transhipment challan will be done. Then the electronic seal lock will be installed. A manual inspection of the goods will be carried out if discrepancies are found in the scanning. In July 2020, the first trial run under the agreement was carried out with four containers loaded with iron rods and pulses transported from Haldia port in Kolkata to the Chittagong seaport. The fourth and final trial run to connect Chittagong and Mongla ports to the north-eastern states via India-Bangladesh Protocol Route concluded on 7 November, 2022. Bangladesh State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury recently told reporters that Indi wants to use Mongla and Chittagong ports as an alternative to Singapore and Colombo ports. The neighbouring country is keen for regular transit as its vehicles need to travel over 1,650 kilometres for transporting goods from Kolkata to Agartala through Guwahati. It is expected that the move will help increase trade volume to the northeast on inland waterways via the India-Bangladesh Protocol route and help reduce the cost of freight. Until now, India used to take a lot of time to transport goods to the eastern states. Transporting through these two ports of Bangladesh will reduce both time and cost for India. Read more: NBR supports Made in Bangladesh brand: Chairman

A court here on Monday sent three surveyors of the Chittagong Land Acquisition (LA) department to jail in a case filed over embezzling Tk 1.3 crore. Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge Dr Begum Jebunnesa passed the order turning down their bail pleas, said Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) PP Advocate Mahmudul Haque Mahmud. The accused are - Md. Mojibur Rahman, 40, Md. Amanatul Mawla, 36, and Surveyor Ashish Chowdhury, 50, of Rangunia Land Office. According to court sources, the Chittagong Development Authority acquired the land through the district administration for the implementation of the Outer Ring Road project. Of this, the authority acquired a total of 0.23 percent of land in the North Patenga area. The accused used their positions to embezzle Tk 1.13 crore for the acquisition of land. Later, Assistant Director of Chittagong Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Zafar Ahmad, filed a case in this regard. Read more: Industrialist sent to jail over embezzling Tk 18 crore from Sonali Bank in Khulna

A large container vessel having a draught of 10 metres and length of 200 metres will anchor at the Chittagong Port for the first time on trial basis on Sunday, according to Chattogram port officials. Enhancement of the port’s berthing capabilities will increase its container handling capacity, reduce transport costs and turnaround times- the time required for loading and unloading of goods at the port, they said. The port authorities have completed all kinds of preparations including increasing the depth of the Karnaphuli River estuary and skills development training of the operators. According to the port authorities, vessels having only 9.5 metres draught and 195 metres length have been anchored at the port jetty since 2015. However, after receiving a positive response from the survey of UK-based consultancy firm 'HR Wallingford', the port took the initiative to handle larger vessels. The 10-metre draught ships will be able to carry 3,500 TEUs containers to the port and bring down the overall cargo handling costs. Chief Hydrographer of Chittagong port authority Commander Arifur Rahman, said in view of the report provided by the research institute, the large vessels' berthing trial run will begin on Sunday. "If it becomes successful in this trial operation, the port will soon notify local and global shipping companies to operate bigger vessels on this route. Later, we will allow berthing when big ships arrive, added the commander" Also Read: Freight operation from Ctg suspended as lighter vessel workers on strike With the development, Chattogram port will notify shipping companies for allowing ships with bigger draught on this route, said Khairul Alam Suzan, vice-president of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association. Bigger ships will reduce the cost of import-export significantly and huge money will be saved annually, he said. Having the capacity to handle larger vessels  is essential for expanding trade, he said adding people involved sector and export-import trade have long been demanding an increase in the berthing capacity of the Chattogram port but the port authorities did not do it without a proper survey, he added.    

A fire broke out on the premises of the Eastern Refinery at Patenga in Chattogram on Saturday, but the main refinery was not impacted, officials said. Abdul Hamid, deputy assistant director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence in Chattogram, told UNB that no major damage was reported, and the fire came under control before it could spread at the country’s lone state-owned refinery. He said several units of the fire department responded quickly after the fire broke out near the metering area of the refinery around 10:30 am. Read Fire breaks out at Old Dhaka plastic factory He said several units of the fire department responded quickly after the fire broke out near the metering area of the refinery around 10:30 am. He said the blaze came under control. The cause of the fire could not be determined immediately, he said. In Dhaka, an official at the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) told UNB that the main refinery was safe from the fire, and personnel from the Bangladesh Navy and the Air Force joined the firefighters to douse the fire. The refinery is a subsidiary of the BPC.   “The drainage system has been impacted, not the main refinery,” the BPC official said on condition of anonymity. Read Depot Fire: UN for joint efforts in addressing “safety deficits” in safety deficits in workplaces

AHZ Associates Bangladesh is going to organize a UK Education Expo 2022 on Saturday at The Peninsula Chittagong in Chattogram. The program will remain open from 11 am till 5 pm for the aspirants who are seeking opportunities to pursue their higher education in the United Kingdom, according to a press release. At the event, representatives from numerous British universities will be present, and potential students will have the opportunity to submit their applications for the upcoming intake (2023) with scholarships. Also read: Online transfer system of govt primary teachers resumes Prospective students can register for the IELTS and receive a 100% IELTS registration fee refund from AHZ Associates. The press release also mentions that banks will also assist the intended students with opening their student file. AHZ Associates will provide 100% free service and they will also guide them to choosing the right university with the right course and get a quick offer letter. Also read: Applications invited for Chevening scholarships

  Manpower recruitment notification has been published in Private Prime Bank Limited. A Relationship Manager will be hired at the bank's Dhaka and Chittagong offices. Interested candidates need to apply online.  Position Name: Relationship Manager  Number of posts: Indefinite Eligibility: At least a bachelor's degree from a recognized university and three years of work experience in a related field. Read:Bank Job Circular: Manpower recruitment in Southeast Bank Limited Work place: Dhaka and Chittagong Salary: As per bank policy Application Procedure:  Interested candidates should apply online through this link https://career.primebank.com.bd/career/joblist.html. Last date of application: November 23, 2021  

A madrasa teacher accused of torturing an 8-year-old residential student after a video of the incident went viral was arrested from Chittagong‘s Hathazari on Wednesday.

Security forces arrested four members of UPDF, the Chittagong Hill Tracts-based political party, along with firearms, ammunition and Tk 6 lakh cash from Vitorbanchoora area under Dighinala upazila on Tuesday.

A Chittagong court has sentenced a driver and supervisor of Shyamoli Paribahan to 10 years and the helper to five years in prison respectively for transporting yaba in Chittagong. In the same verdict, each of them was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment for non-payment of a fine of Tk 5,000.