Rezwan12

12:00 AM, March 08, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 01:32 AM, March 08, 2020 Govt to boost disaster management capacity Says state minister Enamur Rahman Unb, Dhaka State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Md Enamur Rahman yesterday said the government will purchase equipment worth Tk 17 crore to boost the country's capacity to fight disasters. He said this while speaking as the chief guest at Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital premises in the capital, on the occasion of National Disaster Preparedness Day. The equipment, including helicopter and hover craft, will add a new dimension to disaster management, he said. Enamur Rahman said there is no alternative to safety drills for reducing losses and risks of disaster. This can also play an important role to create awareness among the public, he added. The minister said they have decided to visit risky hospitals, markets and buildings across the country so that people can be aware of disasters like fire and earthquake. Md Shah Kamal, senior secretary to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief; Brig Gen Morshed Rashid, director of Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital; and Prof Uttam Kumar Paul, were present, among others. https://www.thedailystar.net/city/news/govt-boost-disaster-management-capacity-1877860

Three sailors kept in ‘isolation’ in Mongla for coronavirus screening Bagerhat Correspondent and Senior Correspondent bdnews24.com Published: 05 Mar 2020 04:53 PM BdST Updated: 05 Mar 2020 05:00 PM BdST Three sailors of a ship that reached the Mongla port have been taken into the isolation ward for having body temperature more than the normal range amid the global outbreak of the coronavirus. The authorities have stopped the offloading of goods from the Serenitas N, a bulk carrier sailing under the flag of the Marshal Islands, said Mongla Port’s harbour master Fakharuddin Ahmed. The Serenitas N sailed from the Lianyungang port in China to the Mongla port via Chattogram port carrying 24,000 tonnes of coal on Wednesday. A five-member medical team of the port entered the ship for medical check-ups of the sailors, said Samir Asif, a physician in the port hospital. Of the 20 sailors, three Filipinos were found with body temperature crossing the normal range. They were taken into the isolation ward for further medical screening. Though the sailors have high body temperature, they did not show other symptoms common to coronavirus patients, Asif told bdnews24.com. The port authority banned the other sailors from getting off the ship, said Fakharuddin. In Bangladesh, the infection cases can be tested only in the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research or IEDCR. “We have been contacting the authority since last night. But the ship is docked quite far away from the port. It is hard to reach there. That’s why it is taking some time. We’ll disseminate the information the moment we receive it,” IEDCR Director Meerjady Sabrina Flora said on Thursday. The Mongla port took precautionary measures following the global outbreak of the coronavirus. The virus has killed at least 3,283 people worldwide, mostly in China, where the epidemic originated in December. https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2020/03/05/three-sailors-kept-in-isolation-in-mongla-for-coronavirus-screening

Bapex announces discovery of new gas field in B’baria United News of Bangladesh . Brahmanbaria | Published: 12:24, Mar 05,2020 Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited has announced the discovery of a new gas field in Nabinagar upazila of Brahmanbaria, a day after finding another gas reserve in Cumilla. Engineer Syed Mohammad Kabir, a project director, said the primary digging work of the gas field under Srikail East-1 gas field was completed on Wednesday evening. Thirteen million cubic feet gas can be produced from the gas field per day which will be added to the national grid, he said. Primary experimental work began on Tuesday and the authorities concerned said gas can be lifted from 3,054 to 3,082 metres below the surface. Digging work of two gas fields — Salda North-1 and Srikail East-1 — has started under the government’s Rupkolpo-1 project, and the expenditure of Tk 162 crore will be provided from the gas development fund, said Kabir. The authorities concerned of the project did not lift gas from Salda North-1 field as it is found non-profitable, he said. Officials of the project said the experimental work of the gas field on 203 acres of land was done. Gas will be provided to the national grid through process plant after installing a 10km pipeline. The drilling work under the surface was done in vertical process and the logging work of the gas field was also done. Earlier, Bapex announced discovery of a new gas field in Srikail of Cumilla’s Muradnagar upazila on Tuesday. https://www.newagebd.net/article/101329/bapex-announces-discovery-of-new-gas-field-in-bbaria

BGB shot dead villagers, witnesses tell probe body Staff Correspondent | Published: 01:23, Mar 05,2020 Villagers at Gazinagar of Matiranga in Khagrachari on Wednesday told an inquiry committee that the members of Border Guard Bangladesh opened fire on the villagers during an altercation over seizure of logs at their locality that left five people including a BGB soldier killed. Hearing their versions, the government formed three-member inquiry committee chief additional district magistrate Khandker Muhammad Rizaul Karim asked the villagers to submit their written statements as evidences. He said the BGB claimed that the villagers snatch away their arms and opened fired indiscriminately that led to the fatalities. Rizaul Karim said they would collect the version of the BGB today and then would collect evidences from the physicians as part of their inquiry. Home minister Assaduzzaman Khan, however, refrained from commenting over the shooting incident or whether home ministry would form additional committee over the killings. After 32 hours of the incident, Khagrachari superintendent of police Mohammad Abul Aziz could not be certain whether the BGB’s claim of snatching away their weapons by the villagers and opening indiscriminate fire was true. He on Wednesday night said that any case was to be filed. If none files any complaint, the police would file a case to identify the perpetrators, he said. On Wednesday, hundreds of people joined funeral of the shooting victims and demanded justice. Of the five killed, BGB headquarters officials named their soldier Shaon while local people identified the four others as Musa Miah, his sons Ahammad Ali and Ali Akbar, Ahammad’s father-in-law Mafiz Miah of Gazinagar in Matiranga. In the statement, signed by BGB public relations officer M Shariful Islam, the border force said that local ‘civilians’ cordoned off a BGB team when they were trying to prevent smuggling of logs some 100 yards south of Gazinagar Bazar at about 11:45am. Tension ensued between the patrol team and ‘civilians’ when the BGB fired one blank shot, and then a scuffle started between the two sides and some ‘civilians’ snatched away weapons of BGB personnel and opened fire indiscriminately, said the statement. The bullets hit BGB sepoy Shaon and five others causing the deaths of five. The National Human Rights Commission in a statement expressed concerns and said that the BGB could not avoid the responsibility of the shooting incident. It called on identifying the perpetrators. BGB headquarters director operation and spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Syed Ashiqur Rahman on Wednesday said that their committee was working. Asked why they were trying to seize the logs which were not from any reserve forest, the BGB headquarters official said they were on the spot as the whole Chittagong Hill Tracts was under their special jurisdiction. https://www.newagebd.net/article/101300/bgb-shot-dead-villagers-witnesses-tell-probe-body

12:00 AM, March 05, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 08:33 AM, March 05, 2020 Metro rail to get special police unit Mohammad Jamil Khan The government is planning to form a separate police unit to ensure security at metro rail stations which are currently under construction. A proposal for a 809-member unit, "Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Police Force" was approved by the home ministry in March last year. According to the proposal, submitted by Police Headquarters, a total of 104 police outposts will be set up in each stoppage of metro rail. The home ministry sent the proposal to public administration ministry for its approval of the unit with the mentioned manpower, according to officials. "The proposal is now pending with public administration ministry," SM Aktaruzzaman, additional DIG (O&M) of Police Headquarters (PHQ), told The Daily Star recently. Asked about the necessity of setting up police outposts in each stoppage, he said there will be ATM booths, equipment, and small stores in each station. The new unit will ensure that the establishment remains safe alongside the people passing through, added the police official. Police Headquarters' initial proposal to the home ministry demanded a manpower of 1,039 officials for the MRT police force. Following the proposal, the ministry held a meeting on July 16 last year. Presided over by Additional Secretary (Police & NTMC) of Public Security Division, the meeting approved a manpower of 809 people, and decided that a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) rank officer will be appointed chief of the unit, said ministry sources. Afterwards a forwarding letter was sent to the public administration ministry on November 12 last year and now it's pending for approval. Construction work of six metro rail lines is underway at the capital with the government aiming to complete it by 2030. The six lines will create a 128.74km metro rail network, which will have 104 stations -- 53 underground and 51 elevated, according to Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited. Additional DIG Aktaruzzaman said initially they had submitted a proposal to the ministry in 2018 demanding an increase in manpower of the existing railway police force. "But Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project's director wanted a separate police unit for its maintenance. They pursued the higher authorities in this regard," said Aktaruzzaman. Besides that, the secretary of ministry of the road transport and bridges also sent a letter to the secretary of home ministry requesting formation of a separate MRT police unit on December 19, 2018. As metro rail is a novel concept in the country and a high profile transit project, a special unit is necessary to maintain order, said police officials. "The prime minister was also interested in the formation of a special MRT police unit and we are hopeful we'll get the approval soon," said Aktaruzzaman. But it will still take some time to get the unit functioning, as a new unit also needs a law and curriculum, he added. The MRT police unit proposal also includes setting up sub-headquarters in each of the metro rail depot and sub-office at interchange spots. Among the manpower, the unit will have one additional DIG, three superintendent of police, four additional SP, three assistant superintendent of police, 14 inspectors, 21 sub-inspectors, 74 assistant sub-inspectors, 25 nayek and 639 constables, reads the proposal. The unit also proposed for approval of 96 different types of vehicles. The annual expenditure of the unit will be around 39.72 crore Tk, the proposal added. MRT line-6, which connects Uttara with Motijheel, is expected to be completed by December 2021. MRT line-1 will connect Kamalapur with Shahjalal International Airport. This will be the first underground metro rail system, expected to be completed by 2026. Line-5's northern route will run from Hemayetpur of Savar to Bhatara via Gabtoli, Mirpur and Gulshan, consisting underground and elevated sections. This is expected to be completed in 2028. The southern route will connect Gabtoli with Purba Dasherkandi consisting underground and elevated sections. The expected deadline is 2030. MRT line-2, which will be both elevated and underground, will link Gabtoli to Chattogram Road via Kamalapur. Kamalapur will be connected with Narayanganj by the underground MRT line-4. https://www.thedailystar.net/city/news/metro-rail-get-special-police-unit-1876645

12:00 AM, March 05, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:58 AM, March 05, 2020 New gas field discovered in Cumilla Unb, Cumilla Photo: UNB Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (Bapex) on Tuesday announced the discovery of a new gas field at Srikail in Cumilla's Muradnagar upazila. Drilling began at Srikail East-1 gas field, the country's 28th gas field, on October 28 last year. "After four months, Bapex found a gas layer on Tuesday night," said Mohsinur Rahman, in-charge of the gas field. Bapex is considering the discovery as a ray of hope amid news that the country's gas reserve is depleting fast, he said. Bapex, the state-owned gas and oil exploration entity, says it expects to produce 20 million cubic feet per day from the gas field located 3,065 metres below the surface. An analysis is being conducted to estimate the gas reserve and the pressure of water and gas in the field, Mohsinur said. The production work will start after a five-day experiment. Currently, the gas pressure is 2,000 PSI, which is comparatively higher than other gas fields, he added. https://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/news/new-gas-field-discovered-cumilla-1876429

Bell-212 (BH-169) deputed to BGB Aviation wing.

12:00 AM, March 04, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 05:27 AM, March 04, 2020 20 shots fired a day after the ‘gunfight’ Our Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar Criminals fired about 20 blank shots at a hill near the refugee camps in the district's Teknaf upazila yesterday, a day after seven suspected Rohingya robbers were killed in a "gunfight" with Rab there. Locals suspected that members of a notorious robbery gang, led by Zokir Ahmed, fired the shots near Jadimura-Nayapara Rohingya refugee camps- 26, 27 to make their existence known. They said a group of armed Rohingya men gathered at the hill around noon. The criminals went to the "shootout" spot and fired shots. The incident caused panic among the Rohingya refugees, who rushed to their rooms fearing attacks from criminals. Locals suspect that some refugees work as sources of the robbery gang. Mostafa of refugee camp-27 said, "Suddenly we heard some gunshots. Being panicked, were tried to take shelter in safe places. Following the incident, refugees have restricted their movement." Lt Mirza Shahed Mahatab, company commander of the Rab's Teknaf camp, said they sent a Rab team to the spot on information that criminals opened fire. However, criminals managed to flee before the arrival of law enforcers. The Rab official said they continued drives to arrest the criminals.Pradip Kumar Das, OC of Teknaf Police Station, said a police team visited the spot. Necessary measures were taken to keep law and order under control, he added. https://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/news/20-shots-fired-day-after-gunfight-1875976

12:00 AM, March 04, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 03:53 AM, March 04, 2020 Bangabandhu Railway Bridge Project: Cost revised, goes up by 72pc Project okayed with Tk 7,047cr increased cost Rejaul Karim Byron and Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary The cost of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge Construction Project has gone up to Tk 16,781 crore from Tk 9,734 crore. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) revised the project at a meeting yesterday. The meeting was held at the planning ministry with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. The railway bridge will be built a few hundred yards north of the existing Bangabandhu Multipurpose Bridge over the Jamuna. The duration of the project was extended by two years, meaning the work would be completed by December 2025. The work of the project is yet to begin while the Ecnec approved it in 2016 without any detailed design. According to the project document, cost of two main work packages saw a huge rise after the detailed design was made in September 2018. Besides, costs of land acquisition, land lease and building a museum were also included in the project, causing a jump in the total cost. Increased VAT and customs duties are also responsible for the cost escalation, documents obtained by The Daily Star show. The new 4.8km-long bridge will be built some 300 meters upstream of the Bangabandhu Bridge. Once built, the dual-gauge double-track bridge would be the largest dedicated rail bridge in the country. The bridge would improve capacity of Bangladesh Railway in operating more trains between the capital and western part of the country. It would also help reduce the train delays, which have become a common phenomenon. March 14 was fixed as the tentative date for the inauguration of the project by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said Mofazzel Hossain, senior secretary at the railway ministry. "If the prime minister gives consent, the inaugural ceremony would be held within this month," he told The Daily Star yesterday. As per the project documents, the construction work of the bridge would commence next month. The main bridge would be constructed under two packages. Japan will fund the lion's share (72%) of the cost as soft loans. A joint venture of the Obayashi Corporation, TOA Corporation and JFE would construct the eastern part of the bridge at a cost of Tk 6,801 crore while another joint venture of the IHI and SMCC will work on the western part which will cost Tk 6,148 crore, officials said. All the companies are from Japan. REASON BEHIND THE RISE In early January, when the project was placed before the cabinet committee on government purchase, it gave a "conditional approval" which means it would require an approval from the Ecnec. About the cost escalation, Planning Minister MA Mannan, after the Ecnec meeting yesterday, said the Jica carried out a supplementary study that recommended some changes in the project and added some new elements. Mofazzel said the Development Project Plan (DPP) was approved for starting the project soon but it was mentioned in the DPP that it would be revised after the detailed design was prepared. While the cost of the main two packages of the bridge was Tk 7,911.2 crore in the original DPP, it shot up to Tk 12,950 crore in the new DPP. The Jica's supplementary survey, on which the initial DPP cost was based, recommended 41 piers with a span size of 120 metres. But in the detailed design, the span size was changed to 100 metres to keep the span arrangement similar to that of Bangabandhu Bridge. It would ensure better horizontal navigability and streamline the flow of the river. As a result, number of piers rose to 50, which would also increase the construction cost. Moreover, the rates of income tax and VAT were 5 percent and 5.5 percent respectively when the original DPP was made. But now both the rates are 7.5 percent, causing a further increase of about Tk 826 crore in project cost, documents show. In addition, no fund was allocated for land acquisition in the original DPP as Bangladesh Bridge Authority, owner of required land, was supposed to hand over the land for free. But as per the decision of an inter-ministerial meeting, Bangladesh Railway will pay Tk 334.80 crore for buying 170 acres of land and Tk 11.86 crore for renting 263 acres as project sites. A museum would be built at the bridge site for Tk 69.71 crore "to keep alive the history of the massive construction operations and to establish a symbol of friendship between Japan and Bangladesh," the documents read. The project authority has cited several other reasons for the cost escalation. WHY A NEW BRIDGE? The delay in schedules of trains that travel between the capital and north-western and southern regions mainly occurs due to the restrictions on load and speed on the existing bridge. With the highest permitted speed of 20 kmph, it takes about half an hour for a train to travel from the station on the east side of the bridge to the one on the west, officials said. Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan on several occasions said the problems could not be solved until the rail bridge and the dual-gauge double lines between Joydebpur and Ishwardi were constructed. There is a single line from Joydebpur to Ishwardi. The railway operates 42 trains on this 174-km stretch that connects Dhaka with the western region via Bangabandhu bridge. Officials said a maximum of 22 trains could travel smoothly on this route. Besides, the opportunity of freight transport with the neighbouring countries cannot be availed due to this constraint, so a dedicated rail bridge is required to meet the national and sub-regional demands, they added. Considering all these factors, Bangladesh Railway has taken the projects of constructing the rail bridge and a dual-gauge double line from Joydebpur to Ishwardi, the officials added. https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/bangabandhu-railway-bridge-project-cost-revised-goes-72pc-1876018

02:22 PM, March 03, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 02:39 PM, March 03, 2020 2 including BGB man killed in Khagrachhari clash: police Star Online Report Two people including a member of Border Guard Bangladesh were killed in a clash between the para-military force and timber traders in Matiranga upazila of Khagrachhari this afternoon, police said. The clash took place when BGB members wanted to stop a timber-laden truck and were resisted by the traders, our Bandarban correspondent reports quoting Khagrachhari Additional Superintendent of Police MN Salauddin. The bodies were sent to Matiranga Upazila Health Complex. Details about the incident could not be known immediately. https://www.thedailystar.net/country/news/2-including-bgb-man-killed-khagrachhari-clash-police-1875817

Not unexpected from the Indians! However, why did the Bangladesh Government allow or gave consent in the first place? Should have never allowed fencing with in 150 yards of the International border, as per International rules & regulations. The Indian government has already erected barbed-wire fences within 150 yards in at least 50 places along the border in last 10 years!

India plans meshed steel fence along border Shahidul Islam Chowdhury | Published: 00:19, Mar 03,2020 India has expressed its intent to install meshed steel fence in at least 58 more places, within 150 yards of the zero line, along the border with Bangladesh. The matter was last raised in a meeting in Dhaka on Monday between the foreign secretaries of the two countries—Masud Bin Momen of Bangladesh and Harsh Vardhan Shringla of India. Shringla at a seminar on the Bangladesh-India relations in the day emphasised completing the fencing of a 165-kilometre stretch of the border with ‘modern cut-proof fence’ for a border security. Shringla also raised the issue in a meeting with the Bangladesh side headed by the Bangladesh foreign secretary at the foreign ministry, according to Masud. India had brought up the matter earlier at least twice apparently for a wholesale use of the consent from the Bangladesh authorities applicable only for special cases, government officials said. The earlier two meetings were held at the home minister level in August 2019 and at the level of border security force chiefs in December the same year. The Indian central government has already started raising meshed steel fence on a pilot basis beyond 150 yards along the borders in Assam and Mizoram states with Bangladesh. Meshed steel fences cannot be climbed and are effective against conventional hand-cutting tools. They also prevent objects being passed through small gaps. The Indian government has already erected barbed-wire fences within 150 yards in at least 50 places along the border in last 10 years, the government officials pointed out. But now they ‘have sought concurrence’ from Bangladesh to install meshed steel fences in 58 more places on the plea of ‘overhauling the security system’, the officials said. Security analyst M Sakhawat Hossain said that the government should strongly protest against the construction of meshed steel fences within 150 yards of the zero line along the border. The Indian government has already constructed double-layer barbed wire fences in most parts of the border for close surveillance, mentioned Sakhawat, a retired brigadier general of Bangladesh Army, told New Age over phone on February 6. He added that now the desire for setting up meshed steel fences ‘gives an indication of changes in their attitude,’ India erects this sort of fence along its western border as they consider Pakistan as a hostile country, he said, adding that India’s relations with Bangladesh and Pakistan could not be compared as ‘we are not a hostile country’. Sakhawat observed that in recent times there was a drastic change in the attitude of the Indian central government in order ‘to undermine Bangladesh’. India’s Border Security Force has also been showing an aggressive attitude, he further observed, saying ‘but it is not clear from where they get instructions.’ The changes in the attitude of the Indian government have surfaced after the conduct of the National Register of Citizenship and the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act as they are in trouble with these issues, he offered. The Bangladesh government has agreed, in 2009, to allow border fencing within 150 yards from the zero line between the two countries provided it is necessitated by humanitarian concerns and geographical realities. India has now launched attempts for the blanket use of this ‘consent’ from Bangladesh, officials said. India has already erected barbed-wire fences along more than 3,000 kilometres of its 4,096.7-km-long border with Bangladesh. Indian authorities are also considering now replacing the old barbed-wire fencing with meshed steel fences in phases, officials added. India’s proposal on the meshed steel fencing is part of its plan to replace the barbed-wire fences, in phases, along the Bangladesh and Pakistan borders, according to Indian newspapers. India’s union home minister Amit Shah reviewed its preparedness, in a meeting on December 14, for bringing in technological solutions to the vulnerable stretches of the eastern and western borders. The Indian authorities asked the Border Security Force to ensure that meshed fence is installed along the borders with Bangladesh and Pakistan in a time-bound manner, according to Indian media reports. http://www.newagebd.net/article/101110/india-plans-meshed-steel-fence-along-border

India for robust military-to-military engagements with Bangladesh Dhaka expresses concern over Delhi violence Shahidul Islam Chowdhury | Published: 00:30, Mar 03,2020 | Updated: 00:41, Mar 03,2020 India is eyeing to develop a robust military-to-military engagement with Bangladesh which would include selling defence hardware manufactured in the country, Indian foreign secretary Harsha Vardhan Shringla said on Monday in Dhaka. ‘Our on-going efforts to develop a robust partnership between our militaries emphasise trust of a higher order,’ Shringla said, adding that especially since we are willing to share with you any and all military hardware manufactured in India. India is also open to facilitating training opportunities for officers at all levels in premier military intuitions in both the countries, he said while speaking at a seminar on Bangladesh-India relations on the first day of his two-day official visit to Bangladesh. He claimed that the process of National Register of Citizens in Assam and introduction of Citizenship Amendment Act were internal matters of India, and ‘therefore there will be no implications for the government and people of Bangladesh.’ On signing of instruments on sharing of waters of seven common rivers, including River Teesta, Shringla said the two sides were updating data on water flows and agreements were expected to be signed by this year. The issue on signing an agreement on Teesta ‘is very much on the table,’ he said and added, ‘The water secretaries of the two countries would meet soon.’ On Rohingya issues, he stressed the need for ‘diverse stakeholders to lower the rhetoric and find practical and pragmatic solutions’ to offer a conducive environment to encourage displaced persons to return to their homes in Rakhine State of Myanmar at the earliest in a safe, secure and sustainable manner. Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, second from right, prime minister’s adviser Gowher Rizvi, centre, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das, extreme left, BIISS chairman M Fazlul Karim, second from left, and BIISS acting director general Colonel Sheikh Masun Ahmed, extreme right, attend a seminar on Bangladesh and India: A Promising Future at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka on Monday. — New Age photo While replying to another question on using non-lethal weapon on the borders between the two countries, which was committed by successive Indian prime ministers, Shringla defended the use of lethal weapons, claiming that criminal activities take place on both sides of the borders and border security forces require to defend the border as well as contain the criminal activities. He also claimed, without any specific statistics, that the ratio of killing of Bangladesh and Indian nationals along the border was fifty-fifty. Twelve Indian nationals were killed and 83 members of Border Security Force were injured in 2019, he claimed. Prime minister’s international affairs adviser Gowher Rizvi was chief guest at the seminar jointly organised by Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies and Indian high commission in Dhaka. Indian foreign secretary Harsha Vardhan Shringla separately called on prime minister Sheikh Hasina, foreign minister AK Abdul Momen and roads and bridges minister Obidul Quader. Foreign minister Momen told reporters, barring any details, that during the meeting with Shringla, Bangladesh’s concern over the on-going violence in New Delhi was raised. The Indian foreign secretary also held a one-on-one meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Masud Bin Momen before a delegation-level meeting at the foreign ministry. They discussed preparations of visit of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh on March 17 while touching on other bilateral issues. Several bilateral instruments, including one on creating an elephant-passage between the two countries, are expected to be signed during the Indian prime minister visit, Momen told journalists after the meeting. On the recent communal violence in New Delhi, the Bangladesh side stressed the need that the communal violence issues should be properly addressed. Shringla said the Indian authorities were investigating the matter. The Indian foreign secretary is scheduled to leave Dhaka on Tuesday. http://www.newagebd.net/article/101112/india-for-robust-military-to-military-engagements-with-bangladesh

BGB sends back 66 Indian trespassers in February Staff Correspondent | Published: 00:39, Mar 02,2020 The Border Guard Bangladesh handed over 66 Indians, who had been captured for illegally entering Bangladesh, to the Indian authorities in February. The BGB in operations during the month detained 73 Indians and 54 Bangladeshis for entering the country without proper documents or approval in February, said a press release issued by the border security force on Sunday. Among the Indians seven were handed over to police and the rest were sent back, said the release signed by BGB public relations officer Shariful Islam. Both Bangladesh and India said that they enjoyed warm relations but at least 10 Bangladeshis were killed in January. At least 43 Bangladeshi citizens were killed by the Indian Border Security Force in 2019, a threefold increase from 14 in the previous year, according to data compiled by rights watchdog Ain O Salish Kendra. The death toll was 24 in 2017, 31 in 2016, and 46 in 2015, according to ASK. The BGB in the press release also said that 303 people were arrested in connection with crossborder smuggling. The BGB seized 6.14 kilogram of gold, 101.75 kilogram of silver, 5,89,533 pieces of Yaba tablets and 40,494 bottles of Phensedyl during the month. Eleven trucks, 4 pickup vans, 30 autorickshaws and 76 motorcycles were also seized during the period. The border force also seized two pistols, a rifle, four guns and six cartridges. https://www.newagebd.net/article/101031/bgb-sends-back-66-indian-trespassers-in-february

12:00 AM, March 01, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:55 PM, March 01, 2020 Walton sets up Bangladesh’s first lift manufacturing plant Muhammad Zahidul Islam Local electronics giant Walton is set to flag off the country's first lift manufacturing plant, in a display of Bangladesh's growing industrial prowess. The plant established at a cost of Tk 50 crore at the Walton Hi-Tech Industries (WHIL) at Chandra, Gazipur has begun test production. "We are expecting to cater 50 per cent of the market share by a year by beating the importers both in terms of quality and price," said Sohel Rana, chief executive officer of Walton Elevator. Every year, Bangladesh needs more than 5,000 units of lifts and most of them are imported from China. The market size is not less than Tk 1,200 crore and it is growing at about 20 per cent per year, helped by widening urbanisation. Walton is manufacturing all three kinds of lifts -- passenger, cargo and capsule lifts -- that are popular in Bangladesh. Its passenger lift can carry a load of 300 kilogram to 3,000kg, meaning four people to 40 people at a time, while cargo elevators, which are mostly used in firms and factories, can move 800kg to 4,500kg in weight. "We are quite happy with our own production quality," Rana said. So confident is Walton that it will offer five-year installment facility to customers from the beginning. "It's not a joke. Five years is a quite long time and we are taking that much risk as we are very confident about our products." Rana expects the overall lift price will go down once the factory begins full-fledged operation. "Importers are making huge margins and definitely this market will be corrected when our product comes." Currently, a passenger lift costs Tk 20 lakh but it will be slashed by a few lakhs within a year because of Walton's production, he said. Cargo lifts are much more expensive. In 2014, Walton took the initiative to set up the plant with the view to assembling heavy technology products. About 150 local and a good number of foreign engineers are working in the plant, which has a capacity to manufacture 1,000 units a year. The company aims to expand the capacity based on the market response. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal is due to inaugurate the plant at a programme today in presence of Posts and Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar and State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak. Rana also sought policy reforms from the government so that a local lift assembling industry develops. Currently, local producers have to pay 10 per cent customs duty for equipment and raw materials needed to manufacture lifts, whereas finished products carry only 1 per cent duty. "This needs to be revised to help the industry to grow," Rana said. In line with the fast-growing economy, lift consumption in Bangladesh is increasing steadily. "New players will join the race to manufacture lifts locally in the near future." With the plant, Walton added another feather in its cap. It manufactures refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, LED/LCD televisions, motorcycles, smart phones and home appliances. Walton is the biggest exporter in the field of electronics, with presence in more than 20 countries, according to the company's website. https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/yet-another-trailblazing-act-walton-1874806

রাশিয়া থেকে নৌপথে যন্ত্রপাতি আসছে রূপপুর বিদ্যুৎকেন্দ্রের শামীম খান, স্পেশাল করেসপন্ডেন্ট | বাংলানিউজটোয়েন্টিফোর.কম আপডেট: ২০২০-০২-২৫ ১১:৩০:০৭ এএম ঢাকা: রূপপুরে নির্মাণাধীন দেশের প্রথম পারমাণবিক বিদ্যুৎকেন্দ্রের যন্ত্রাপাতি রাশিয়া থেকে আসা শুরু হয়েছে। ইতোমধ্যেই বেশকিছু যন্ত্রাংশ রূপপুরে এসে পৌঁছেছে। তবে আগামী সেপ্টেম্বরে আসবে মূল যন্ত্র রিয়্যাক্টর পেসার ভ্যাসেল। বিশাল প্রকল্পটির রিয়্যাক্টর থেকে শুরু করে সব যন্ত্রপাতি তৈরি হচ্ছে রাশিয়াতে। এসব সমুদ্র পথে রাশিয়া থেকে মোংলা বন্দরে আনা হচ্ছে। এরপর মোংলা থেকে নদীপথে রূপপুরে প্রকল্পস্থলে যাচ্ছে। আর যন্ত্রপাতিগুলো রেল বা সড়ক পথের চেয়ে নৌপথে পরিবহন করাই সুবিধাজনক ও নির্ভরযোগ্য মনে করছেন সংশ্লিষ্টরা। শুধু রূপপুর পারমাণবিক বিদ্যুৎকেন্দ্রের যন্ত্রপাতি আনার জন্য প্রকল্প সংলগ্ন পদ্মানদীতে একটি জেটি (বন্দরের আদলে) নির্মাণ করা হয়েছে। নৌপথে যন্ত্রপাতিগুলো এ জেটিতে নিয়ে আসা হচ্ছে। এছাড়া নদীতে পানির প্রবাহ বাড়লে অর্থাৎ আগামী বর্ষা মৌসুমে ভারী যন্ত্রপাতিগুলো জেটিতে আসতে শুরু করবে। এ বিষয়ে বিজ্ঞান ও প্রযুক্তি মন্ত্রী স্থপতি ইয়াফেস ওসমান বাংলানিউজকে বলেন, রূপপুর পারমাণবিক বিদ্যুৎকেন্দ্রের নির্মাণ কাজ যথাযথভাবে এগিয়ে চলছে। যন্ত্রপাতিগুলো নিয়ে আসা শুরু করেছি। এরইমধ্যে প্রথম ইউনিটের ইমারজেন্সি কোর কুলিং সিস্টেমের মূল যন্ত্রাংশের অর্ধেক এসে গেছে। নদীপথে পানি প্রবাহ বাড়লে ভারী যন্ত্রপাতিগুলো আসতে শুরু করবে। যথা সময়ে নির্মাণ কাজ যাতে শেষ করা যায়, সে অনুযায়ীই আমরা এগিয়ে যাচ্ছি। বিজ্ঞান ও প্রযুক্তি মন্ত্রণালয় এবং রূপপুর পারমাণবিক বিদ্যুৎ প্রকল্পের সংশ্লিদের সঙ্গে কথা বলে জানা গেছে, প্রকল্পের বেশকিছু গুরুত্বপূর্ণ যন্ত্রাংশ ইতোমধ্যেই রূপপুরে এসে পৌছেছে। গতবছর স্থাপন করা হয়েছে বাড়তি নিরাপত্তার জন্য বিশেষ ডিভাইস কোর ক্যাচার। ইতোমধ্যে প্রথম ইউনিটের ইমারজেন্সি কোর কুলিং সিস্টেমের জন্য মূল যন্ত্রাংশের চারটি অর্থাৎ অর্ধেক চলে এসেছে। কোর কুলিং সিস্টেমের যন্ত্রাংশ মোট আটটি। বাকি চারটিও দ্রুত চলে আসবে। চলতি বছর পর্যায়ক্রমে অন্য যন্ত্রপাতিও আসবে। এছাড়া প্রকল্পের মূল যন্ত্র রিয়্যাক্টর প্রেসার ভ্যাসেল আগামী সেপ্টেম্বরে আনা হবে। যা অক্টোবর বা নভেম্বরে প্রকল্পে স্থাপন করা হবে। আর এই রিয়্যাক্টর প্রেসার ভ্যাসেলকে পারমাণবিক বিদ্যুৎকেন্দ্রের হার্ট বলা হয়। এ বিষয়ে রূপপুর পারমাণবিক বিদ্যুৎকেন্দ্রের প্রকল্প পরিচালক ড. শৌকত আকবর বাংলানিউজকে বলেন, কাজ দ্রুত এগিয়ে যাচ্ছে। পর্যায়ক্রমে এর যন্ত্রপাতি আনা হচ্ছে রাশিয়া থেকে। রাশিয়ার সর্বাধুনিক প্রযুক্তি এবং আর্থিক ও কারিগরি সহযোগিতায় পাবনার ঈশ্বরদীতে রূপপুর পারমাণবিক বিদ্যুৎকেন্দ্র নির্মাণ করা হচ্ছে। দুই ইউনিট বিশিষ্ট এই বিদ্যুৎকেন্দ্রের প্রথম ইউনিটের কাজ শেষ হবে ২০২৩ সালে। দ্বিতীয় ইউনিটের শেষ হবে ২০২৪ সালে। প্রকল্পটির কাজের যথাযথ মান দেখার জন্য দেশি ও আন্তর্জাতিক সংস্থাগুলো নিয়মিত পর্যবেক্ষণে করছে। আন্তর্জাতিক পরমাণু শক্তি সংস্থা (আইএইএ), রাশিয়ার পরমাণু শক্তি রেগুলেটরি বডি, বাংলাদেশ পরমাণু শক্তি নিয়ন্ত্রণ কর্তৃপক্ষ এবং ভারতের বিশেষজ্ঞরা এর নির্মাণ কাজ নিয়মিত পর্যবেক্ষণ করছেন। সর্বশেষ গত দুই ফেব্রুয়ারি আইএইএ’র ডেপুটি ডিরেক্টর জেনারেল প্রকল্প পরিদর্শন করে যান। এছাড়া প্রযুক্তিমন্ত্রী স্থপতি ইয়াফেস ওসমান প্রতি মাসে একাধিক বার প্রকল্পটি পরিদর্শন করছেন। এদিকে, বিদ্যুৎকেন্দ্রের যন্ত্রপাতিগুলো তৈরি হচ্ছে রুশ রাষ্ট্রীয় পরমাণু শক্তি করপোরেশন রোসাটমের মেশিন প্রস্তুতকারী ডিভিশন এটমএনার্গোমাসের চারটি কারখানায়। সেখানে কাজের অগ্রগতি দেখতে রোববার (২৩ ফেব্রুয়ারি) রাশিয়া গেছেন প্রযুক্তিমন্ত্রী স্থপতি ইয়াফেস ওসমান। আগামী ১ মার্চ তার দেশে ফেরার কথা রয়েছে। এই সময়ে মন্ত্রী কারখানাগুলো ঘুরে যন্ত্রপাতি তৈরির কাজ দেখবেন। এছাড়া গতবছরও তিনি যন্ত্রপাতি তৈরির কাজ দেখতে সেখানে গিয়েছিলেন। এ বিষয়ে প্রযুক্তিমন্ত্রী স্থপতি ইয়াফেস ওসমান বাংলানিউজকে বলেন, সব নীতিমালা অনুসরণ করে এই প্রকল্প বাস্তবায়ন হচ্ছে। আইএইএ, রাশিয়ার পরমাণু রেগুলেটরি বডি ও ভারতের বিশেষজ্ঞরা প্রতিনিয়ত কাজ পর্যবেক্ষণ করছেন। আমরাও প্রতিনিয়ত পর্যবেক্ষণের মধ্যে রেখেছি। বাংলাদেশ সময়: ১১২৬ ঘণ্টা, ফেব্রুয়ারি ২৫, ২০২০ https://www.banglanews24.com/power-fuel/news/bd/773557.details

12:00 AM, February 25, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 01:57 AM, February 25, 2020 Japanese firms to invest $6.4b Six infra projects will be implemented under the PPP model Rejaul Karim Byron Major Japanese large firms are to invest about $6.4 billion to implement six infrastructure projects in Bangladesh under the public-private partnership model. The implementation timeline for the projects to be implemented by groups such as Kajima, Sojitz and Marubeni will be set at the fourth Bangladesh-Japan Joint PPP Platform meeting in Dhaka next month. The feasibility study, the construction period and other issues will also be fixed at the meeting, said officials of the Prime Minister's Office and the planning ministry. The government had submitted a list of 18 projects to the Japanese government in December 2017. But Shinzo Abe's administration picked the six projects from the list that it deemed suitable for investment through Japanese private investors. The ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism (MLIT) of Japan has selected a consortium of private investors for each project to be led by a major company. The consortium is known as the sub working group (SWG). The Japanese companies, which have set up their offices in Dhaka to start the construction of the projects, will invest under the government-to-government system without participating in any bidding. At the meeting, Dhaka will seek investment for four more projects, which include the Bhola-Barishal bridge and the deep water container terminal at the Payra port. SECOND METRO RAIL The proposed route of the MRT Line-2 is Gabtoli-Mohammadpur-Jigatola-Science Lab-New Market-Azimpur-Palashi-Shaheed Minar-Police Headquarters-Motijheel-Kamalapur-Demra-Chattogram Road covering around 40 kilometres. The cabinet committee on economic affairs has already approved the project. The metro rail is expected to go on commercial operation in 2030. "Japan SWG will make best efforts to secure MLIT's fund from next fiscal year's budget starting from April 2020 for the basic study of the project," said an official of the PMO. The lead company of the project is Marubeni Corporation. The other participating companies are: Oriental Consultants Global, Katahira & Engineers International, Sojitz and Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Corporation. OUTER RING ROAD The approximate length of the proposed revised alignment is 130km, of which 46km is new alignment and 84km will follow existing alignment that needs to be improved. The lead company is Marubeni Corporation. Other participating companies include IHI Corporation, Obayashi Corporation, Shimizu Corporation and Taisei Corporation. The route of the Outer Ring Road will be Hemayetpur-Kalakandi-3rd Shitalakhya Bridge-Madanpur-Bhulta-Gazipur-Bypail-Hemayetpur. MULTIMODAL HUBS Two multimodal hubs will be built at Kamalapur Railway Station and Dhaka Biman Bandar Railway Station each. The hubs will have road and rail connectivity as well as flyovers for facilitating easy movement of commuters. The lead company of Kamalapur hub project is Kajima, while Sojitz will lead the group of companies that will implement the hub at the airport railway station. DEPOT NEAR DHIRASRAM The government has decided to establish a full-fledged inland container depot near Dhirasram Railway station attached to the Dhaka eastern by-pass road with constant access to container handling and transportation. This will ease the pressure on the Kamalapur ICD. The capacity of Kamalapur ICD is not adequate to serve the increasing share of container handling diverted towards Bangladesh Railway, according to the PPP Office under the PMO. Further expansion of Kamalapur ICD is difficult due to heavy built up of the surrounding area. Apart from capacity constraints, daytime prohibition on movement of commercial vehicles is also very difficult in Kamalapur ICD, according to the PPP Office. The handling capacity of the proposed ICD is 354,000 twenty-foot equivalent units. The lead company is Sojitz. CTG-COX'S BAZAR HIGHWAY The two-lane highway will be turned into a four-lane one under the project. The lead group is Marubeni. https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/japanese-firms-invest-64b-1872655

পায়রাবন্দর কর্তৃপক্ষের 02 টি পাইলট ভেসেল এর হস্তান্তর অনুষ্ঠানে প্রধান অতিথি জনাব খালিদ মাহমুদ চৌধুরী, (এম.পি) মাননীয় প্রতিমন্ত্রী, নৌপরিবহন মন্ত্রণালয়। (C) Khulna Shipyard Limited Launching of the Pilot Vessels on 21/10/2019

Khulna Shipyard hands over two pilot vessels to Payra Port UNB News Dhaka Publish- February 23, 2020, 08:30 PM Khulna Shipyard Limited on Sunday handed over two pilot vessels -- Tentulia-1 and Tentulia-2 -- to Payra Port Authority (PPA). State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury attended the handover ceremony as the chief guest on the shipyard premises. Commander of Khulna naval area of Bangladesh Navy Rear Admiral Mohammad Musa, Chairman of Mongla Port Authority Rear Admiral SM Abul Kalam Azad, PPA Chairman Commodore M Zahangir Alam and Managing Director of Khulna Shipyard Ltd Captain M Sazedul Karim were, among others, present, said a PID handout. Speaking on the occasion, the state minister said under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh will emerge as a powerful country in South Asia in near future. There were huge criticisms when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handed over Khulna Shipyard to Navy in 1999, he said. “However, Prime Minister’s decision has been proved right in today’s reality. The shipyard is bringing glory from across the globe transcending the national boundaries.” The government is giving priority to sea and river-centric economy, the state minister said. “The government is constructing new sea ports like Payra and Matarbari to boost the economy.” http://unb.com.bd/category/Bangladesh/khulna-shipyard-hands-over-two-pilot-vessels-to-payra-port/45112

12:00 AM, February 23, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:41 AM, February 23, 2020 New armed police to start working in Cox’s Bazar Mohammad Jamil Khan A new police battalion is going to start its operation in coastal district Cox's Bazar from February 28. The Armed Police Battalion (APBn)-16 is the second such special battalion to maintain law and order of the district and ensure security of Rohingyas. "We will begin our operational activities in Cox's Bazar from February 28," Hemayetul Islam, commanding officer (CO) of newly formed APBn-16, told The Daily Star on Thursday. "We are now finalising appointment of our staff members and official procedures from Dhaka," he added. On November 12 last year, the home ministry approved formation of the battalion with 588 manpower. A superintendent of police will be its CO. Its prime task will be to maintain law and order of the coastal district, according to a ministry order. Upon the order, official activities of the battalion have begun from January 1, said the APBn-16 commanding officer. Asked about the delay in recruiting manpower, SM Aktaruzzaman, additional deputy inspector general (O&M) of Police Headquarters (PHQ), said it took some time to start operation of the battalion as they had to appoint officials from different police units. On December 3, 2018,the home ministry approved establishment of another special battalion named Armed Police Battalion (APBn)-14, which has also 588 manpower, including a SP as its CO. The battalion started working in the district on December 27 that year. Earlier in 2018, the PHQ proposed formation of the two battalions. Around 1,176 officials of APBn-14 and APBn-16 will start working jointly from February 28. Besides, some 225 police personnel from Cox's Bazar police will be working with the battalions, said officials. In May last year, Cox's Bazar police, in a report to the PHQ, also recommended establishment of the second battalion to deal with the rising number of crimes. Contacted, ABM Masud Hossain, superintendent of Cox's Bazar police, told this newspaper on Thursday that they were hopeful that the new battalion would make their task of maintaining law and order easier. Regarding Rohingyas' involvement in crimes, Masud said a large number of the refugees was passing their days idle. So, it is a general tendency that many of them would get involved in crimes. "But the situation is still under our control," he added. The district police has also suggested installing barbed wire fences surrounding the refugee camps. In this regard, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the fences were being erected around the Rohingya camps as per the instructions of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. "Bangladesh Army has started erecting barbed wire fences around the Rohingya camps. The main objective of installing the fences is that Rohingyas remain limited to their camps," the minister said on February 15. Presently, Bangladesh hosts some 11 lakh Rohingyas, of whom 743,000 came during the latest influx following the brutal military crackdown in Rakhine State beginning on August 25, 2017. Beside Rohingyas, Cox's Bazar district is also known as the gateway of smuggling yaba tablets into Bangladesh from Myanmar. Around 1,250 yaba dealers have been enlisted by law enforcers in eight upazilas of Cox's Bazar, showed a database of the district police. Of them, 912 are from Teknaf. Sources claimed that the yaba dealers are now using the Rohingyas for smuggling the pills into Bangladesh. Law enforcers arrested some 98 yaba peddlers in December last year, including 45 Rohingyas. Since May 4, 2018, law enforcers started a war against narcotics and 209 people were killed in "gunfights" with law enforcers in the district alone till December last year. Of them, 56 were Rohingyas, shows the district police database. https://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/news/new-armed-police-start-working-coxs-bazar-1871677

12:00 AM, February 22, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 03:39 AM, February 22, 2020 Bhashan Char for Rohingyas: Relocation plan may be shelved Porimol Palma Photo: AFP/Mukta Dinwiddie MacLaren Architects The government is considering shelving its plan to shift one lakh Rohingyas to remote Bhashan Char following persistent objections from international aid agencies to the relocation. "We are seriously thinking of shelving the relocation plan because the international organisations have not agreed to it," Md Enamur Rahman, state minister for disaster management and relief, told The Daily Star on Wednesday. Without cooperation from those organisations, the government would face difficulties in arranging food, healthcare and other necessary items for one lakh people on Bhashan Char, he said. UN and aid agencies say the island is isolated, flood-prone and would be hazardous for the Rohingyas because of cyclones and tidal surges. The government has already built 120 cluster villages on the 40sqkm island under a Tk 2,312 crore housing project for accommodating one lakh of the nearly 1 million Rohingyas sheltered in cramped camps in Cox's Bazar. Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Enamur and officials concerned visited the project site on the island, in Noakhali's Hatiya upazila, around 37 miles off the coast of Bay of Bengal, on February 13. Meanwhile, Momen on Sunday said if the Rohingyas were shifted to Bhashan Char, they might not agree to leave the place in future. "We want the Rohingyas to go back to Rakhine. We want to repatriate them. That's our priority," he told reporters at his ministry office. The housing project, funded with public money, was taken after some 750,000 Rohingyas fled a brutal military campaign in Myanmar's Rakhine and took shelter in Cox's Bazar since August 2017. They joined some 300,000 other Rohingyas, who had fled previous waves of violence in Rakhine. Disaster management ministry officials said destruction of forest and hills and risk of landslides in Cox's Bazar prompted the authorities to choose the temporary housing site on Bhashan Char. They said the project implemented by Bangladesh Navy has 120 cluster villages that are capable of accommodating one lakh Rohingyas. The houses have been built four feet above the ground with concrete blocks. The entire housing site is protected by a 13-km-long flood embankment. There are also 120 cyclone shelters, which are planned to be used as schools, medical centres and community centres. The officials also said there are large swathes of land that could be used for livestock and fish farming if the Rohingyas were relocated there. The refugees in the Cox's Bazar camps have a very little work to do now. UN and several international aid agencies have been opposing the relocation plan from the beginning. Human Rights Watch too said the island is not sustainable for human habitation and could be seriously affected by rising sea levels and storm surges. In October last year, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Mahbub Alam Talukder said some 6,000 to 7,000 refugees had expressed their willingness to be relocated to Bhashan Char. UN agencies then decided to send a technical mission to the island. They intended to look at the risks of natural disasters, water supply, access to basic services, including health and education, and the freedom of movement within Bhashan Char and to and from the mainland, a UN official said. Later, the government set a condition that there should be terms of reference for the UN technical mission. Since then, there has been no visible progress on the matter. Now, ministers and officials concerned say they are considering not to relocate the Rohingyas to Bhashan Char and that they are thinking of an alternative plan. Requesting anonymity, an official said different relevant ministries reached an informal agreement on shelving the plan to relocate the Rohingyas to the remote island, but the final decision would be taken by the Prime Minister's Office. "Bangladesh earned so much praises for sheltering the Rohingyas. It should not have a bad reputation now by executing the relocation plan, going against the will of the Rohingyas and the international aid agencies," the official said. Asked about the future of the housing project if the government changes the relocation plan, Foreign Minister Momen said they were yet to decide on it. He, however, thinks homeless people from other parts of the country could be accommodated on the island. The government maintains the island is safe for human habitation. Bhashan Char is only 25 kilometres from Sandwip, another island in Chattogram, he said, adding, "With the fast siltation rate, Sandwip and Bhashan Char can get connected in the near future. Eventually, we will have a huge landmass. We can do a lot of things." https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/bhashan-char-rohingyas-relocation-plan-may-be-shelved-1871308

12:00 AM, February 22, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 07:42 AM, February 22, 2020 Separated, yet not Zyma Islam traverses three border points -- Banglabandha, Sonamasjid, and Burimari -- in the northwest to get a glimpse of life along the blurring borderline that Bangladesh-India shares Zyma Islam A Bangladeshi sharecropper tilling the soil in the Indian territory beside Namochakpara in Chapainawabganj’s Shibganj upazila. The owner of the land employs Bangladeshi workers as Milik Sultanpur, the nearest Indian village, is farther away from the plot. Photo: Zyma Islam Imagine the land border between India and Bangladesh. What do you think it is like? A fence that runs for miles? A craggy, clearly demarcated line like the one seen on maps? To most of us, crossing the border requires much ceremony. Plans need to be made in advance. Communities living along the border will tell you otherwise. To many of them, the border is an invisible line anyone can step over without a visa. At the Chapainawabganj-Malda border, one finds Bangladeshi nationals tilling Indian land, and vice-versa. They cross over each day to work on these lands -- but perhaps "cross over" is too presumptuous a term. They simply walk over to these lands, the border of no consequence. At the border of Namochakpara, a bone-thin septuagenarian named Habibur Rahman swung his hoe into the earth, cracking the surface. He is an Indian. Beside him worked two sharecroppers, Mamun and his brother, who are both Bangladeshis. The soil they till, is Indian land, belonging to a village called Milik Sultanpur. The border here runs diagonally through a strip of fields, separating Bangladesh and India. "India starts from here," said Habibur, pointing to a small pyramid-shaped boundary marker nestled beneath a grove of banana trees. To reach his field one has to walk past it, into Indian territory. "My house is in Milik Sultanpur. This land is my ancestral property. I got two sharecroppers from Namochakpara because the land is closer to Bangladesh than to my village in India," he said. While Mamun and his brother had been working with Habibur for only two years, he has always chosen Bangladeshi workers because they were just geographically closer. "Every day, I submit my Adhaar card to a BSF (Border Security Force) camp before coming to the land. I have to return to collect the card before the camp closes at four in the afternoon," describes Habibur. "They frisk me twice a day, on my way to my land and back." Meanwhile, Mamun and his brother have no such restrictions, even though they are the ones crossing political borders. "We are the ones who actually take care of the land. We guard it at night so that the crops do not get stolen," said Mamun. At Tarapur of Chapainawabganj, the river known to us as Padma, and to the Indians as the Ganges, acts as a border between the two countries. For a river that people should not be able to cross, it had far too many large sampans that were clearly not meant for carrying passengers -- Tarapur's residents are all flourishing cattle-rearers... and smugglers. Bismillah Hotel straddles the border between Bangladesh and India. The hotel serves its guests on Bangladeshi soil, but its kitchen is in the Indian territory. The photos were taken recently. Photo: Zyma Islam But a smuggler named Shaikat (name changed for protection) does not see this as smuggling. "They do not need cows, but we need cows. Our forefathers have always brought cows through this route. We have a lot of open land here under the mango orchards for the cows to graze in, so rearing cows here is cheaper. Everyone has always done this," he explains. For him, international laws of trade and taxation are a far removed concept -- in his perception, what he was doing is as simple as bringing cattle across a river so narrow, you can see the other side. A man stood in front of the river to show his sister-in-law's house on the other side in India. "See that tower there? That is where she lives. They put up a fence 10 years ago. Before that, we used to cross the river to visit her routinely. Since the fences were erected we have to make a very long detour through the immigration office, so we barely see her anymore." This is true -- my grandfather, a former Indian national, crossed the river the same way multiple times before fences were put up. He crossed the Padma at the Godagari-Lalgola border where the river is at its narrowest, to marry my grandmother, a young eligible woman hailing from Sirajganj. As border control tightened, and passports, visas and land ports became mandatory, my bedridden, dying grandmother had lamented to me, "Seems like I won't be able to see my shoshurbari one last time before I die." She didn't. Fast forward to the next generation, and my uncle did the same. He traversed the river to marry a girl from India, and on their way back to Bangladesh, while walking across the treeless char under the blazing summer sun, my newly-wed aunt fainted. A few years later, in 1990, my mother crossed the river to go there and back -- not to get married this time, but rather to shop for her wedding benarasi. Just like a river could not keep my mother away from her coveted sari, immigration rules cannot keep the grooms and brides of Sonamasjid away from the wedding couture of Malda. If one can get someone to shop for their trousseau in Malda, there exists a group of people armed with visas and willing to make a day-trip to Malda to bring the goods back. Outside the Sonamasjid land port, Bairul paced anxiously. "My nephew is getting married. We got our relatives in Malda to finish shopping for the bride and groom. Today, I sent a person to cross over and get the things from them. He should be back within the hour," he said. Why did he choose Malda, instead of the divisional city of Rajshahi? "For the people of Chapai, Malda is closer and the goods are better. Especially the cosmetics, which are essential for brides." At the Burimari-Changrabandha border, a bamboo enclosure exists at the zero point for people of Bangladesh and India to meet. The bamboo enclosure is unique -- two fences set a few feet apart run in parallel through the middle of the enclosure. People from either side of the border gather around the fences under the watchful eyes of the border patrols to yell pleasantries at each other. The idea is you can see but you can't touch. Arif Hossain yelled at his uncle in Hindi, "And is everything else going good?" His uncle yelled back in the affirmative. The conversation died down and they gazed blankly at each other, both at a loss of words, both unable to share anything more than a longing look. I asked Arif whether his uncle visits them in Bangladesh. "No. He left the country many years ago, but has not yet gotten a passport because of lack of documentation. Maybe he can get one soon," replied Arif. What was unsaid but implied is that his uncle is an undocumented migrant in India. Beside Arif, Babul handed Tk 1,000 to a red-shirted porter and asked him to give it to a woman in a bright orange sari. The porters, who help people carry their bags over the border, are the only ones who can cross over and come back without a visa. "That is my cousin. I need her to send some medicines from India, and there is no other way to send money from Bangladesh," explained Babul, sheepish at having been caught in the illegal act. Back at Chapainawabganj, near the Sonamasjid-Mahdipur border, the political boundary is as odd as it gets. The border skirts the Kashinathpur-Rajshahi highway for a good few hundred yards before one encounters the immigration office. They are so close, that say if a vehicle skidded off the highway, it would fall into a ditch on the Indian side. A derelict, abandoned Border Guard Bangladesh checkpoint, which locals have resourcefully co-opted as a dustbin, attempts to let people know that they are now on Indian land -- in vain. Bangladeshi traders and passengers alike took advantage of the shade provided by the large mango-trees on Indian land. It is at this spot where Bismillah bhaater hotel begins off in Bangladesh, and ends in India. The modest outfit offers an expansive buffet of the local cuisine for tired travelers, all of which is cooked in its kitchen on Indian land. "Our kitchen is in India," laughs Azizur, one of the cooks, as he kneaded dough for puri, adding cheekily "and so is our toilet!" And it is here that we found a mentally disabled man, straddling the border. He spends his days sitting under the shade of Indian trees, and then crosses over to Bismillah hotel in Bangladesh for scraps of food. He neither tells anyone his name, nor whether he is Bangladeshi or Indian. All that anybody can say about him is that one day two years ago, he turned up here. The resemblance to the protagonist of Sadaat Hossain Manto's famous short story Toba Tek Singh is uncanny. The story, set in the Partition-era, revolves around the exchange of inmates of India and Pakistan's insane asylums. The Hindu and Sikh inmates were being sent to India, and the Muslims to Pakistan. The story follows one Sikh inmate who cared only about whether his homeland, a village called Toba Tek Singh, was in India or in Pakistan. In defiance, he fell dead on no-man's-land, and the story ends thus: "There, behind barbed wire, was Hindustan. Here, behind the same kind of barbed wire, was Pakistan. In between, on that piece of ground that had no name, lay Toba Tek Singh." And just like that, this man, with no name, no citizenship and possibly no cognisance of concepts like nation-states, lives right on the Bangladesh-India border. All he understands -- and needs to understand -- is that Bangladesh gives him food, and India gives him shelter. So, he survives. https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/separated-yet-not-1871299

Glad to be back in the forum. Believe the old timers should have missed this platform immensely! I am an international trader by profession representing the textile industry or the backbone of our economy and a defense enthusiast since childhood. Hope the veterans like Masum, Shabab, Imash, Bengali Topgun and others have already joined, though I cannot recognize from the usernames. @BDM1A1: Brother, you are well aware that Facebook was not the platform, where I could engage Good Luck with the Forum.