News from Bangladesh-Updates and Discussion

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

No construction near Lalbagh fort
HC asks cops to take action

No construction near Lalbagh fort

Structures stand next to the boundary wall of Lalbagh Kella, spoiling the view of the historic fort. The photo was taken recently. Photo: Anisur RahmanStaff Correspondent

The High Court yesterday directed the Lalbagh police to take steps within 24 hours to stop the construction work going on near the boundary of historical Lalbagh Kella (fort) in Old Dhaka.

An HC bench, comprised of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik and Justice Sheikh Md Zakir Hossain also ordered the officer-in-charge (OC) of Lalbagh Police Station to submit a report to it within a week on compliance of its order.

The court also issued a rule upon the government and locals Md Shahid Hossain, Mohammad Haque and Lenin, who are erecting structures there, to explain within three weeks why they should not be directed to implement the relevant law and rules for protecting the natural beauty and existence of the fort.

Secretaries to the ministries of cultural affairs and home affairs, mayor of Dhaka City Corporation, chairman of Rajuk, director general of Archaeological Directorate, commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, OC of Lalbagh Police Station and the three locals, have been made respondents to the rule.

The bench came up with the order and rule hours after Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) filed a writ petition yesterday seeking directions on the respondents to implement Antiquities Act 1968 and Building Construction Rules 2008 for protecting and preserving the fort.

The petition was filed following a newspaper report in October saying that some landlords are constructing structures near the boundary of Mughal-built Lalbagh Fort, defying law and rules.

Advocate Manzill Murshid appeared for the petitioner, while Deputy Attorney General ABM Altaf Hossain stood for the government.

Earlier on October 10, the HC directed the government to take necessary steps to protect and preserve the historical edifice.

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

50,000 apartments within 5 years
Targets Rajuk for housing of middle income group
Staff Correspondent

50,000 apartments within 5 years

The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) is going to build more than 50,000 apartments in three different housing projects for middle and lower-middle income groups in the capital in next three to five years.

As many as 22,500 apartments will be ready for handover in Uttara model town (third phase) within three years, Rajuk Chairman Md Nurul Huda told reporters at his office yesterday.

The project is now at the Planning Commission for approval.

Two similar housing schemes of building 20,000 apartments in Purbachal project and 10,000 in Jheelmil project are being examined at the housing and public works ministry, he added.

In line with the Strategic Transport Plan (STP), Rajuk will also build a five-kilometre flyover stretching from Scout Bhaban to Babu Bazar and Victoria Park via Golap Shah Mazar to ease traffic congestion and reap the benefits of the proposed Padma Bridge, he said.

Rajuk has also undertaken two road projects including one stretching from the Sonargaon Hotel to Mohakhali and an eight-kilometre link road from Madani Avenue (Baridhara) to the Balu river on the eastern fringe of Dhaka city.

The projects are awaiting approval of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec).

The Kuril interchange flyover, now under construction, is expected to be completed in next two years, said Huda.

Meanwhile, Rajuk authorities have placed a proposal to the ministry to double its existing manpower and create four more zone offices in addition to existing four to reduce sufferings of the service seekers.

The proposal to reorganise Rajuk with a 2,742-strong workforce increasing the number from existing 1,087 is presently lying with the public works ministry and a summary of it will soon be placed before the prime minister.

The increased manpower will include planners, architects and graduate and diploma engineers.

Four new zone offices will be set up in Savar, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Keraniganj with a magistrate, authorised officer and law officer in each of them.

Rajuk will fund the housing scheme while the ministry will fund the road and flyover projects with government money.

 

[monitor]

Govt plans to double power
price by 2013
Manjurul Ahsan

The government is planning to double the price of electricity in six phases, once every six months, by 2013.
Power Development Board general manager Abduhu Ruhulullah told New Age that the PDB had been planning to raise the bulk rate of electricity to Tk 4.68 from Tk 2.12 for each unit in six phases by 2013 to achieve the break-even.
The plan envisages raising the rate at which PDB would sell electricity to the distribution companies which in turn would increase the price the consumers have to pay.
The phased price hike reflects the policy, the government set out in the annual budget it adopted in June.
The government’s objective is to bridge the gap between the cost of production by state owned PDB and the price at which it sells electricity.
The World Bank has been putting pressure on successive governments to raise the power tariff to do away with the need to subsidise the PDB.
On November 4, the PDB sought the permission of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission for raising electricity price in the first phase.
BERC expects to finalise the recommendation relating to the first increase by early January, and place it for a public hearing before taking the final decision.
Though PDB is by far the country’s biggest power producer, it also buys electricity.
Taking into consideration both its own production cost and the price at which it buys electricity from the private sector, to break even PDB would need to sell each unit to the distribution companies at an average rate of Tk 2.72.
But PDB sells electricity to the distribution companies at an average price of Tk 2.12 a unit.
This results in a loss of about Tk 1,000 crore, requiring the government to subsidise it from the public exchequer.
According to senior PDB officials, unless the price was increased the overall gap would grow three fold to Tk 3,000 crore by the end of the next year when the more expensive oil and diesel fired power plants would come into production. In the first phase, PDB wants to raise the price at which it sells electricity to distribution companies by 12 per cent.
It would require the distribution companies to raise the price for the consumers by 9 to 10 per cent.
PDB also sought permission to reduce the low rate power tariff slab for the poor from 100 units to 50 units.
If allowed, the poor would get less of electricity at concessional rate.
A PDB official, speaking on condition of anonymity told New Age that if allowed, PDB would be able to start selling electricity to the distribution companies at Tk 2.65 per unit, up from Tk2.10, early next year.
In five subsequent phases, PDB wants to increase the price to Tk 4.68 by 2013.
The distribution companies would have to adjust the retail prices for the consumers accordingly, the PDB official said.
As a result of the decision it took to buy electricity from private rental power plant owners soon after coming to power, the Awami League led government has been under pressure to increase the price of electricity.
The government awarded contracts to private companies to install four diesel fired power plants to produce 350 MW of electricity and 11 furnace oil fired power plants to generate another 1,055 MW.
The average production cost would be Tk 14 per unit for the diesel fired power plants and Tk eight for the furnace fired power units.
The increasing electricity costs left the government with no option but to go for raising the price of electricity, said university professor and economist Anu Mohammad.
He, however, criticised the government’s policy for solving the country’s power criis.
The power sector, he said, must be under government ownership to provide electricity to the consumers at cheaper rates.
He said that by following the prescriptions of the World Bank and the Asian development Bank, successive governments in Bangladesh allowed the private sector an increasing role in electricity generation resulting in increased production cost.
Frequent increases in electricity price, said Anu Mohammad, would raise the cost of living, create instability in the market and at the same time reduce people’s access to electricity.
Ijaz Hossain, who teaches in BUET, told New Age that that the government had no choice but to depend on the private sector for furnace oil and diesel fired power generation as a stop gap arrangement.
This arrangement should not continue for more than three years, otherwise, he said, electricity would be unaffordable for the government as well as the consumers.
Yusuf Hossain, the chairman of BERC, told New Age that the regulatory commission was working on the proposal sent by PDB.
But he would not share what could be the increased price of electricity for the consumers.
He said that for taking a decision the commission was considering the affordability of the consumer, efficiency of electricity generation, ransmission and distribution, real production cost and some other factors.
He said that the opinions of stake holders would be sought at a public hearing.
The government increased the price of electricity for the distribution companies thrice over the last seven years.
It increased the retail price for the consumers in 2008 and again in March, 2010.

 

[monitor]

BNP demands deployment of army in municipal polls
UNB, Dhaka

Opposition BNP on Monday demanded army deployment in the upcoming municipal polls to ensure free and fair voting scheduled in January next.
BNP standing committee member MK Anwar informed the journalists of his party's proposal after a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Dr ATM Shamsul Huda at his office.
Anwar who led a BNP delegation had an almost 90-minuite meeting with the CEC and two other Commissioners discussing various issues related to the municipal polls.
BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan, senior joint secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, joint secretary general Salahuddin Ahmed and office secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi were on the delegation.
MK Anwar alleged that the government has been dillydallying on holding elections to Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), the tenure of which had already expired. He said the DCC election is being delayed as the government is not sure of its victory in the election.
The BNP leader wondered that although the EC had earlier stated twice that the DCC polls will be held in May and December this year, but the election could not be held. He alleged that the EC is working in favor of the government and it keeps mum on holding the DCC polls after a meeting with a minister.
"The election commission will have to explain it. It's an ominous signal for democracy," Anwar said.
About the ruling party's participation in the municipal polls under the banner of grand-alliance, he said: "It's totally against law."
Anwar expressed concern over the neutrality of the administrative officials as the administration has been given responsibility for acting as returning officers.

 

[monitor]

Pirates steering Bangladeshi- flagged ship towards Somalia
UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh flag carrier private vessel MV Jahan Moni, captured by Somalian pirates Sunday afternoon from the Arabian Sea, seems to be sailing towards the African coast, Shipping Minister Shajhahan Khan said in Dhaka on Monday.
Talking to reporters in the Shipping Ministry, he said the government is monitoring round the clock the movement of the ship and has opened various channels seeking its rescue.
The ship with 25 Bangladeshi mariners and the spouse of a mariner on board at the time of piracy in the Arabian Sea, 170 nautical miles from Lakkha Island of India and about 300 nautical miles from the Kochin port.
The ship carrying 43,150 tons of nickel ore was scheduled to arrive in Greece from Indonesia through the Suez Canal.
Shahjahan Khan said different international agencies including Dubai- based anti-pirates agency UKMTO and Singapore-based ReCAAP were informed about the incident and the Indian coast guards are keeping watch on it.
He said it will take four days for the pirated ship to reach the African coast. After anchoring, the pirates may open negotiation to meet their demands.
Replying to a question, the Shipping Minister said the pirates did not make any contact or place forward any demands yet.
After being attacked by the pirates, the Master of the ship fought with the pirates for nearly two hours to prevent them from climbing on board the ship. The ship is owned by the Brave Royal Ship Management Ltd.
Meanwhile, AFP report says, A vessel hijacked by pirates in the Arabian Sea off the coast of India was heading towards the Somali coast on Monday, the head of Bangladesh's shipping department said.
Rear Admiral Bazlur Rahman said the M.V. Jahan Moni, which has 25 Bangladeshi crew on board, was captured on Sunday while sailing to Greece carrying 43,000 tonnes of nickel ore from Indonesia.
"The ship is now moving towards the Somali coast, so we suspect Somali pirates have captured it," Rahman told AFP, adding that they were tracking the vessel which will take at least four days to reach Somalia. "We are concerned because all the crew are from Bangladesh. One of them is also travelling with his wife," he said.
Indian coast guard aircraft would launch an aerial search for the 45,000 tonne-capacity vessel, which is owned by Bangladeshi shipping company Brave Royal.
The US and other navies have deployed dozens of warships to patrol off east Africa but have failed to stem piracy, one of the few thriving businesses in Somalia, a country devastated by war and poverty.

 

[monitor]

Chevron to start drilling in block-7 for hydrocarbon
UNB, Dhaka

The US-based international oil company Chevron is set to start drilling in Block-7 for exploration of gas in the southern region.
"Chevron has informed us they would start drilling well sometime in the second half of this month (December) as per job schedule. They have already mobilized necessary equipments to start the work," Imaduddin, Director (PSC) of Petrobangla told UNB on Tuesday.
The Chevron earlier conducted a two-dimensional (2D) seismic survey and sensed a structure that potentially could contain hydrocarbon reserves in block-7 that covers parts of Barisal, Patuakhali, Barguna and Bhola districts.
The survey covered a total of 465 km seismic-line on both offshore in the Bay that include shallow marine and transition zones and onshore in parts of four districts. Petrobangla officials, who have been closely working with the Chevron, are expecting a good reserves of hydrocarbon when the country suffering from its severe shortage.
"There might be a potential reserve of 1 trillion cubic feet gas in the structure of Block -7," a Petrobangla official said preferring anonymity.
Petrobangla Chairman Prof Hossain Mansur, however, said it would not be wise to make any comment on the potential reserves.
They have been extending its full support to the Chevron for gas exploration as the country extremely needs huge gas.
Officials said IOC will move ahead for appraisal drilling on the basis of results of the initial one. And then they will go for production drilling.
The whole operation might take three to four years before starting production of gas, if it is finally found.
The Chevron Bangladesh Block Seven Ltd, a sister concern of the Chevron Bangladesh outfit, signed an addendum in June 2008 to the production-sharing contract (PSC) for block 7.
According to the contract, Chevron has 45 per cent stakes as the operator, GS Caltex 45 percent and the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (BAPEX)
remaining 10 per cent in the block.

---------- Post added at 08:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:53 AM ----------

Government to give transit facility, not corridor: Muhith
The engine of growth has to be wage employment, he says

UNB, Dhaka

Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Tuesday said that the government is going to provide transit facility, not 'corridor' to any other country.
"On regional connectivity, ideas need to be clarified. Government is not going to give a corridor. It is a political idea, but transit is a different thing and different idea. On transit, goods come in and go out, nothing else," he said while addressing the Plenary Session of the day-long conference on 'Bangladesh 2030: Strategy for Growth' at a city hotel.
Organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI), International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh (ICCB) president Mahbubur Rahman moderated the session. Former caretaker government adviser Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman made the key-note presentation while Prof Dr. Gustav Papanek, president for the Boston Institute for Developing Economics (BIDE), USA addressed the occasion as special guest.
Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Executive Director Dr. Mustafizur Rahman and World Bank Country Director Ellen Goldstein addressed were panel discussants. Mentioning that land is one of the scarce elements in Bangladesh, Muhith underscored the need for giving utmost importance to land use planning. Admitting the importance of urban strategy, the Finance Minister said that if the government could not be devolved to the local level, it would be very difficult to tackle the push of people to the urban areas, as around 28 per cent of the population now resides in urban areas.
On different ways of promoting investment, Muhith said that the government is trying to implement Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects as it worked in India, Malaysia and the UK in a big way. Giving emphasis to export diversification, World Bank Country Director Ellen Goldstein said that the export of RMG of Bangladesh has been resilient, but the other exports are yet to increase their share in the export basket. She also said that climate variability increases the risks for accelerating growth in Bangladesh.
CPD executive director Prof Mustafizur Rahman said that the country has the opportunity to emerge if it could capitalize on regional connectivity.
Earlier in his presentation, Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman showed the goal for Bangladesh to become the 30th largest economy in the world by 2030. To upscale the middle income ambition goal, a required growth rate of 8 per cent is also required in the next 20 years.
He also identified high growth rate, employment focus, increased productivity, economic diversification and environmental sustainability as the agenda for inclusive growth.
Dr Zillur Rahman said that three sectors - shipbuilding, jute and jute made goods and frozen fish - are on the horizon to hit exports of 3 billion dollars and there is a need to facilitate their progress towards that.

 

[monitor]

Mega projects in huge mess
Staff Correspondent

Most projects the Awami League government has taken up to improve the traffic situation in Dhaka failed to meet deadlines due to lack of coordination between different ministries and agencies.

Although construction of the Jatrabari-Gulistan and cantonment flyovers has begun recently, the projects of the elevated expressway, metro rail, a few underpasses and overpasses are facing delays.

An inter-ministry meeting was held at the communications ministry yesterday where a committee was formed to coordinate the quick implementation of the projects.

A Dhaka Transport Coordination Board (DTCB) official will lead the committee, which will also have representatives from the communications, public works and planning ministries, Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and the army.

Construction of first metro rail from Uttara Third Phase to Sayedabad, chalked out in the Strategic Transport Plan (STP), is still in the primary stage and the government requires at least a year to complete all the procedures.

In the first stage of the construction, the metro rail will be built between Pallabi and Hotel Sonargaon intersection between 2013 and 2015.

In the second stage, it will be constructed between Sonargaon intersection and Sayedabad and from Pallabi to Uttara in the third.

"Construction of the 22km metro rail may be delayed, as there are many more things to finalise," said an official of the DTCB.

Japan expressed interest in financing 80 percent of the cost ($1.7 billion) to construct the 22km metro rail from Uttara Third Phase to Sayedabad via Pallabi. The government will pay the remaining 20 percent of the cost.

It will mostly be an elevated system and will be built mainly over government land and existing roads.

Meanwhile, the DCC has chalked out a project to construct four underpasses between Shahbagh and Farmgate with a target to complete them by end of 2011.

The Tk 170 crore project was earlier scheduled to start this month but it will now be delayed by about a year.

The four-lane underpasses will enable uninterrupted vehicular movement through Bangla Motor and Sonargaon intersections on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue.

Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain said construction of the elevated expressway might start next month but officials in the ministry said it might take more time to finalise everything.

A seven-member expert committee headed by Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury is set to select a firm next week for the construction of the expressway from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Narayanganj.

The projects to construct Moghbazar-Malibagh flyover, circular trains service around Dhaka city, and overpasses at level crossings are also in the primary stages. Two overpass projects, Banani and Jurain, were, however, finalised and are expected to start soon.

Yesterday's meeting was convened to discuss various limitations of different projects.

"We must have proper coordination so that one project does not conflict with the other delaying the implementation," said Abul Hossain.

Construction of the Hatirjheel project, a tunnel from Jahangirgate to Bangabandhu International Conference Centre and the under-construction Kuril flyover were also discussed in the meeting.

Communications Secretary Mozammel Haque Khan, Maj Gen Hamid Al Hasan of army headquarters, Brig Gen Shahidur Rahman, Prime Minister's Military Secretary Brig Gen Md Salahuddin Miaji, additional executive director of DTCB SM Salehuddin, member of Rajuk M Mahbubul Alam, and project directors and designers of different projects were present at the meeting.

 

[Skies]

Bangladesh Minister: 'We Are Struggling With The Impacts Of Climate Change'

Cross-posted from the Wonk Room.

At the beginning of the Cancun climate talks, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and other Republican senators questioned the threat to the developing world from climate change, telling President Obama to kill the global climate impacts fund he helped establish last year. Inhofe's letter argued that the scientific findings about "eventual impacts of climate change in developing countries were found to be exaggerated or simply not true." In an exclusive interview, Dr. Hasan Mahmud, Bangladesh's State Minister for Environment and Forests and a Ph.D. environmental scientist, told the Wonk Room that the Republican view of the world was dangerously false:

According to our findings, and according to the reality -- what we are observing, we are encountering, we are facing -- ... we are struggling with the negative impacts of climate change in Bangladesh. There is salinity intrusion, increased natural calamities, there is symptom of desertification in the northern part of Bangladesh, frequent more devastating flood, and erratic rainfall. So all these are negative impacts of climate change. So in Bangladesh, this is very much visible, we are encountering and and we are facing the problem. I don’t know about the United States ... in Bangladesh, this is the reality.

The crowded, poor, and low-lying nation of Bangladesh has long been recognized as one of the most vulnerable nations on the planet to global warming pollution. Independent consultancy Maplecroft rates Bangladesh as "the country most at risk due to extreme levels of poverty and a high dependency on agriculture, whilst its government has the lowest capacity of all countries to adapt to predicted changes in the climate." Dara International's Climate Vulnerability Monitor finds that Bangladesh is acutely vulnerable [PDF] to the health impact, economic stress, habitat loss, and weather disasters caused by global warming pollution. The most vulnerable nations are already suffering and trying desperately to adapt to a more dangerous reality, no matter what Inhofe believes. But their fate does rest, at least in part, in his hands.

Bangladesh minister responds to climate zombies | Grist

 

[Skies]

Dredging Bill in Bangladesh 09/12/2010

The Sand Quarry and Soil Management Bill-2010 was passed at the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) Tuesday, reports BSS, Bangladesh. For extracting sand, the bill also suggested provisions for dredging rivers those might suffer erosion of their banks at least one kilometre from bridges, culverts, dams, barrages, embankments, roads, highways, forests, railways and important public and private establishments and residential areas as per Environment Protection Act. It also suggested provision for banning extraction of sand or soil in some cases.

The bill also proposed the provision of exporting soil and sand provided having approval of concerned authorities and following the rules of export policy.


Land Minister Rezaul Karim Hira proposed for the passage of the bill.

Earlier on October 4, the minister introduced the bill with a proposal for reducing complicacies in leasing sand quarries, extracting sands in planned way and their marketing, checking crimes and abolishing the rule of appointing single authority for sand management.

 

[Skies]

$10mn Kuwaiti grant for farmers in Bangladesh

Gulf Times ? Qatar?s top-selling English daily newspaper - SriLanka/Bangladesh

Kuwait will provide $10mn in grant to Bangladesh for helping its cash-starved marginal farmers in the rural areas, officials said in Dhaka yesterday.
Bangladesh’s aid mobilising agency – External Resources Division, state-owned micro-finance provider Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) and Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development signed a grant agreement in this regard.
ERD officials said PKSF would provide micro-credit to the poor farmers from Kuwait’s $10mn grant.
The Kuwait government is providing the grant from its Emir’s special fund, the officials said.
The PKSF will provide the money forming a ‘trust fund’. After recovery of the loan from the farmers, a ‘revolving fund’ would be established so that the farmers could be benefited further in the future, a senior ERD official said.
Micro-finance organisations under PKSF would provide the credit to the farmers to produce, process and market their crops easily.
Most of the Bangladeshi farmers are marginal, who usually fail to produce the agricultural crops using modern equipment due to fund shortage.
........................................................................................................




Dhaka-Istanbul flight from this month-end

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topi...=403768&version=1&template_id=44&parent_id=24

Air link between Bangladesh capital Dhaka and largest Turkish city Istanbul will be established in the last week of this month.
“Initially the Turkish Airlines will operate Dhaka-Istanbul flights four days a week from this month,” Civil Aviation and Tourism secretary shafique Alam Mehdi said yesterday.
The flight operations between Bangladesh and Turkey was finalised as a memorandum of understanding was signed between civil aviation authorities of Bangladesh and Turkish government at a bilateral meeting, held in Turkish capital Ankara on November 24.
Europe especially London-bound passengers can travel in a very competitive airfare taking Istanbul as a transit, he said.
“The flights via Istanbul route to London will reduce the air fare and also reduce the airtime journey of the country’s passengers,” he said.

 

[monitor]

Rehabilitation centre for
prisoners planned
FM Masum

The prison authorities have decided to set up a rehabilitation centre in the city to train prisoners in different vocational skills and motivate them to return to normal life after they serve out their prison sentence.
‘We have decided to set up the centre with two goals in mind. One is to reduce the pressure of inmates on the overcrowded jails and the other to decrease criminal activities,’ inspector general of prisons brigadier general Ashraful Islam Khan told New Age.
He said the centre would be established under the ‘correction and rehabilitation project’ being implemented by the prisons department in cooperation with some non-governmental organisations.
The prisons department has already held meetings with three NGOs – BRAC, Padakkhep and GTZ – about the proposed centre and the response of the NGOs was positive, Ashraful said.
‘It’s very unfortunate that most of the prisoners, after their release from jail, get engaged in criminal activities again and return to jail. The rehabilitation centre will provide them with vocational skills and motivation to ensure that they lead a normal life after serving out their sentence,’ he added.
The number of prisoners has become three times the capacity of the prisons, the IGP said, adding that thousands of people would get training, particularly in skills demanded by the apparel sector, at the centre.
The jail authorities have taken an initiative to set up training centres at 40 of the country’s 67 jails to train prisoners in garment manufacturing, he added.
He said they trained around 30 prisoners successfully in sweater manufacturing on a trial basis at the Pabna central jail.
‘On completion of the training course, we provided the trainees with certificates and all of them have secured jobs at different readymade garment factories after their release,’ Ashraful told New Age.
Prisoners have also been receiving training in assembling electronic goods and beautification at 38 jails, including 12 central jails, under the correction and rehabilitation project launched three and a half years ago.
The jail authorities so far have trained around 3,000 prisoners, including 150 women. Of them, 1,000 have been released and are now working at different firms.
The first training centre was set up at the Dhaka Central Jail where prisoners were trained in garment manufacturing. The centre can train 300 people a year.
Ashraful expressed the hope that the training centres would help mainstream hundreds of prison inmates.

 

[eastwatch]

Dhaka-Istanbul flight from this month-end

Gulf Times ? Qatar?s top-selling English daily newspaper - SriLanka/Bangladesh

Air link between Bangladesh capital Dhaka and largest Turkish city Istanbul will be established in the last week of this month.
“Initially the Turkish Airlines will operate Dhaka-Istanbul flights four days a week from this month,” Civil Aviation and Tourism secretary shafique Alam Mehdi said yesterday.

The flight operations between Bangladesh and Turkey was finalised as a memorandum of understanding was signed between civil aviation authorities of Bangladesh and Turkish government at a bilateral meeting, held in Turkish capital Ankara on November 24.

Europe especially London-bound passengers can travel in a very competitive airfare taking Istanbul as a transit, he said.
“The flights via Istanbul route to London will reduce the air fare and also reduce the airtime journey of the country’s passengers,” he said.

Can someone inform us about the flight routes of British Airways, Biman and any other airlines that presently operate from Dhaka to European Capitals? Some of these airlines go via Dubai, Athence etc.-this is what I have heard about.

It seems that the present routes are long and time consuming comparing to the proposed Dhaka-Istambul-europe route. However, Bangladesh Airlines may keep on using the Dubai route, because many of the passengers are bound for middle-east. On the contrary, europe-bound passengers may prefer the Istambul route.

 

[Skies]

Has Bangladesh Befallen Captive
Professor Mahfuz R. Chowdhury
December 16, 2010

American Chronicle | Has Bangladesh Befallen Captive

The rule of Bangladesh, a country of 150 million people, has pretty much turned into family affairs. The center of power now clearly revolves around two prominent families – one is of former civilian authoritarian ruler and the other is of former military autocrat. Both families currently lead the country´s two dominant parties and pursue the same goal – grabbing state power by any means and using that power to promote their interests. They exercise similar autocratic rule in their parties and government, when in power, as their respective predecessors once did. They have been alternating state power since 1991. But when one family gains state powers the other consistently opposes everything that it does and takes up deadly agitation to bring down the government. The great irony is that they are doing all this in the name of democracy, and the country seems utterly paralyzed to change course.

Bangladesh began its liberation movement to separate from Pakistan through a democratic process. After independence in 1971, the country flirted with democracy for a while but quickly abandoned the democratic process by imposing one party rule. One party rule was supplanted by military rule after the assassination in 1975 of the authoritarian ruler, who also played a pivotal role in the country´s independence struggle. The military ruler himself was a popular freedom fighter and gave his government a democratic label by luring the disgruntled politicians to establish his political party. But his autocratic government also fell like a house of cards following his own assassination in 1981. Then, another military ruler took over and perpetrated his autocratic rule for nine years and quit only when the nation´s democratic forces mobilized an all out movement.

Many have come to believe that, following the election of 1990, the country has re-established democracy. Although the democratic process is in place, the reality may be somewhat different. Having gone through various changes and alignments over the years, the country´s politics is firmly under control of two political parties - Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party. These were the parties of the two most celebrated leaders; one who led the nation to freedom fight and the other who led the fight itself. When they were slain, for lack of intra-party democracy, no leader could emerge from within the party as the popular choice of rank-and-file party members to replace them. As a compromise, one party then inducted the daughter and the other the wife of their supreme leaders to take the party leaderships, though both were thought to be inept.

These ladies, by taking full advantage of popular sentiments for their slain predecessors and by also getting the needed support from unscrupulous politicians, assumed total dictatorial power within their parties. They determine their parties´ electoral nominations and are brutal in their approach. Earlier, they sacked their parties´ well admired Secretary Generals, deprived the independent minded party stalwarts from holding any party or government posts, and in one extreme case, even compelled the President of the country to leave the office in disgrace shortly after inaugural because he tried to rise above party politics. Obviously, they find themselves invincible and others treat them as permanent political fixtures as well. So the election is mainly to decide which lady to rule. There are also ominous signs that their young sons are being groomed to replace them
in due course.

Bangladesh is facing serious crises in crucial areas such as, severe gas and electricity shortage (which continues to threaten daily life and investment), rising inflation, unemployment, rampant corruption, political murder, campus riot, law and order deterioration, and climate change effect. Instead of collaborating or working to address these critical issues, the ladies of the land persist on grappling for things like establishing or reestablishing whose predecessor were more relevant, gaining or regaining their personal property and legal protection rights, naming or renaming the national airport, writing or rewriting history books, and most importantly harassing each other by inciting riots or by using state machineries to confirm one´s superiority. All of these heinous acts have come at a tremendous cost in terms of property and human lives, and there is no end in sight for such tit for tat actions. Whereas, economists believe that with better governance, Bangladesh economy could grow at a respectable rate of 7 percent or even more per year, which would indeed go a long way in reducing its poverty level.

The world is quite aware how these ladies´ power capturing maneuvers had brought the country to the brink of anarchy in early 2007. Then, a military backed care-taker government tried to deport both of them, failing which it held them under house arrest. The same government also initiated badly needed reforms in structuring political parties, administering election, enacting power decentralization, and making the judiciary independent. Although its actions received immediate praise, it soon had to give in under tremendous pressures from both inside and outside.

In the end, by arranging an election the care-taker government was obliged to hand over power to the lady who won the election. Yet, hopes were raised that after the election the long awaited reforms that were initiated would somehow take hold. But apparently nothing has changed and no true reform has materialized. Both ladies are back to their old politics again, and continue to fight to preserve their personal interests. Bangladesh has thus became captive to the two politically dynastic families, and the impact of their family feud is being felt almost everywhere. Some observers believe that the situation cannot go on like this, so the country would inevitably face another upheaval. But if that were to happen its outcome remains very much uncertain.

 

[akash57]

Bangladesh to set up cultural centre in UAE

Dhaka also plans to allow more than 8m non-resident Bangladeshis to vote in country's general elections

Dubai: Bangladesh will set up a cultural centre in Dubai to strengthen bilateral relations with the UAE and the Arab world, a top official said on Thursday.

Dhaka is also planning to extend the voting infrastructure to allow more than eight million non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) spread across five continents to vote in general elections. Nearly half of them live in the Middle East.

"We are planning to set up a number of cultural centres in key cities as Dubai, New York, London, and New Delhi," Abul Kalam Azad, Bangladesh Minister for Information and Culture told Gulf News.

"We are also developing our archaeological, historic and religious sites for the promotion of tourism and cultural understanding that will portray our rich cultural heritage. The centre will help develop that understanding among the Arab citizens with whom we share Islamic culture."

He is leading a 20-member cultural delegation to the UAE as part of the Bangladesh community's celebration of the 40th Victory and National Day that spans across three days in the country.

Vision 2021

Paying rich tribute to the UAE leadership, the Minister said, "The new centre will help us to promote more cultural exchanges between the two countries. Both countries share rich Islamic heritage and we would like to strengthen that.

"This is part of our overall development strategy under the Vision 2021 launched by Prime Minister Shaikh Hasina to develop the country to the next stage."

The UAE is home to nearly a million non-resident Bangladeshis who remitted $1.89 billion (Dh6.6 billion) in last fiscal year ending June 30, 2010. The UAE is Bangladesh's second biggest source of wage earners' remittances, after Saudi Arabia.

Bangladesh, which was born 14 days after the UAE in December 16, 1971, began diplomatic relations in 1974 with a historic visit by Bangabandhu Shaikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's founder. In a statement to Bangladeshi expatriates, Dr Dipu Moni, Foreign Minister said, "I am particularly mindful of the valuable contributions of Bengali expatriates. They are our goodwill ambassadors abroad and I urge them also to remain committed to Vision 2021."

In Abu Dhabi, Bangladesh Ambassador Mohammad Nazmul Quanine called on his countrymen to work to develop the country.

He said as Bangladesh moves towards its visions of becoming ‘digital' by 2021, celebrations that mark national achievements are especially important because they remind Bangladeshis on foreign soil of the country's goals.

"More than 700,000 Bangladeshis work in the UAE, and this is a day which reminds them of the country's development goals," he said.

The ambassador was speaking at embassy celebrations on the occasion of Victory Day, which commemorates the country's independence from Pakistan following a nine-month war which took place 39 years ago.

Consulate building

Adnan Saffarini has been assigned to design the new consulate building in Bur Dubai, Consul General Mohammad Abu Zafar said.

"If things progress well, the new building should be ready by mid-2012," he said.

The project will house a multi-purpose hall with seating capacity of 400 people that will help the members of the large community to host fuctions.

Zafar said, the construction of the new consulate building will fulfil a long-standing desire of the community — one of the largest in the UAE."

gulfnews : Bangladesh to set up cultural centre in UAE

 

[Skies]

Where Are Jobs Going Now? Peru, Bulgaria, Bangladesh. . .
By DANNY KING
Posted 2:45 PM 12/21/10 Technology, Economy, Careers

Take heart, America. Yours isn't the only country to lose jobs to developing nations.

Australia, Canada and Israel, among others, have dropped off the list of best places for information-technology and business-processing services, according to a report that research firm Gartner released Monday.

As more developing countries have created workforces that can handle those tasks at lower cost, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore and Spain are also no longer on Gartner's list of the 30 best countries for outsourcing, which considers both costs and skill sets.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Colombia, Peru and Mauritius have all joined the list for the first time, while Panama, Sri Lanka and Turkey reappeared after an absence during previous years. Those nations join South American countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia, as well as the Asian powerhouses of China and India.

Competition for Outsourcing Grows

The changes reflect the growing trend of cost-cutting via outsourcing, which started with U.S. companies and spread to other parts of the world.

Countries such as Mexico, Chile and Costa Rica have created government programs that boost education and upgrade the domestic labor pool. China and Malaysia, among others, have improved their infrastructure to make them attractive to tech companies. And Brazil's relatively stable government status keeps the country attractive to many different types of companies.

"In this increasingly dynamic global environment, multinational providers will continue to extend their footprint in different geographies, carrying with them their expertise and maturity, while local providers will strive to become offshore providers, searching for opportunities and niches they can explore," Ian Marriott, research vice president at Gartner, said in a statement. "Even though some countries are rated poorly for some categories, clients may find individual providers -- global and local -- whose capabilities mitigate some of the risks."


Where Are the Jobs Going?

Increased outsourcing has hindered the U.S.'s economic recovery and may pose similar problems to other countries that have been bumped off the list.

In November, the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.8% from 9.6% in October, with the U.S. private sector adding just 50,000 jobs -- about a third of what analysts had forecast. Additionally, the underemployment rate, which includes both the unemployed and those working part time who are seeking full-time jobs, remained flat at a staggering 17%, while the number of people out of work for at least six months increased to 6.3 million.


The threat of a similar "jobless recovery" means more could be at stake for countries, such as Canada and Israel, that have fallen off the list.

"In the past four decades, American-born workers have faced greater and greater competition from robots, far-away foreigners, recent immigrants and microprocessors," wrote Edward Leamer, director of UCLA'S Anderson Forecast, in a presentation earlier this month. "Technology and international trade have fundamentally altered the demand for skills and have changed the business cycle dynamics."

........................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................

China, Bangladesh to strengthen relations
(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-16 07:38

Dhaka - Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping met with Khaleda Zia, chairperson of Bangladesh's main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the capital, Dhaka on Tuesday.

Xi lauded Zia's efforts to stregthen relations between China and Bangladesh.

"China and Bangladesh are good neighbors. This year is the 35th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relationship between the two countries," Zia said.

"No matter how domestic and international circumstances change, the relationship between China and Bangladesh is always healthy," Xi said.

Xi arrived in Dhaka on Monday for a two-day official visit, the first leg of his four-nation tour from June 14 to June 24.

"We would like to promote the relationship with the BNP and other parties in Bangladesh based on equality, mutual trust, non-interference and make efforts to deepen the relationship between the two countries and two parties," he said.

Zia, who was twice prime minister, welcomed Xi to visit Bangladesh on behalf of all the party members and supporters of BNP.

On Monday, Xi offered a proposal to bolster bilateral relations during a meeting with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed.

That proposal included maintaining frequent high-level exchanges, expanding economic cooperation, exploring additional areas of cooperation and strengthening cultural exchanges.

He also said the Chinese government will continue to provide Bangladesh with adequate assistance, encouraging more Chinese enterprises to invest in Bangladesh.

"We will continue to encourage and support the involvement of large Chinese companies in important development projects in Bangladesh and try to finance bilateral cooperative projects," he said.

"We believe with the joint efforts of both sides, the closer comprehensive partnership of cooperation from a strategic perspective and on the basis of the principles of longstanding friendship, equality and mutual benefit, will generate new progress and benefit both peoples," he added.

On international and regional issues, Xi said China is willing to cooperate with Bangladesh on regional cooperation, climate change, energy security and safeguarding the key interests of developing countries.

Hasina extended her appreciation for China's assistance in boosting social and economic development in Bangladesh, adding that Dhaka attaches great importance to bilateral relations.

Xi said China greatly appreciates the strong support Bangladesh has given to Chinese core interests like the issues of Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang.

Xi also met with representatives of the Bangladesh-China People's Friendship Association (BCPFA) and other friendship organizations on Monday.

" We will expand exchanges between the two countries in the fields of culture, education, sports and tourism, and will support all friendship activities including the China-Bangladesh Friendship and Brightness Trip to consolidate the friendship between the two countries," Xi added.

Xinhua


(China Daily 06/16/2010 page6)

.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
Bangladesh approves Santos' $200 mln investment plan
Tue Dec 21, 2010 10:23am GMT


DHAKA Dec 21 (Reuters) - Bangladesh approved on Tuesday a $200 million investment plan by Australia's Santos International to drill three wells in the Bay of Bengal, a government minister said.

The approval came a month after the British oil and gas firm Cairn Energy decided to divest its minority interest in the Sangu gas field off the Bangladesh coast to Australian partner Santos.

Muhammad Enamul Huq, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, told Reuters that the Australian company would complete drilling in the three gas structures by April 2012.

Last year, Santos and Cairn conducted the three-dimension (3D) seismic surveys, at a cost of $18 million, in and around the Sangu and on the prospective Magnama exploration site in the sea.

The gas structures where Santos would drill are located over 8,621 square kilometres in the Bay of Bengal.

Cairn earlier said it had discovered gas in all the structures, where drilling has been planned, but did not declare the size of reserve.

"We will be able to confirm the size of gas reserves there once we conduct drilling," said Laila Rahman, external affairs manager of Santos in Dhaka.

Santos will be the first foreign company allowed to sell gas to private users at market price from all the three gas structures.

Prior to Santos' acquisition, Cairn also obtained Bangladesh government's approval of right to sell gas from new structures to private buyers. (Reporting by Serajul Islam Quadir; Editing by Anis Ahmed and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Tue Dec 21, 2010 10:23am GMT