Archive for June 22nd, 2008
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008Bangladesh can produce seven crore tonnes of rice a year, more than double the present production, by ensuring proper irrigation and use of fertiliser, and bringing cultivable fallow lands under irrigation.Excessive irrigation for Boro cultivation and lack of it for Aman now drastically reduce the yield of both.This is revealed in a study conducted by Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC).The country now produces around three crore tonnes of rice a year with Boro output 3.66 tonnes per hectare and that of Aman a little above two tonnes. But Boro yield can be raised to six tonnes and Aman output to ...
(read more) Sunday, June 22nd, 2008Banks are not disbursing loans to industrialists to set up new plants as they are facing a liquidity crisis, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President Annisul Huq said yesterday, differing with Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam about the availability of bank loans."It needs a syndication of a few banks to disburse even Tk 50 crore loan," he said.He made the remarks at a discussion between industrialists and Finance Adviser Mirza Aziz at the Jatiya Press Club yesterday where the finance adviser said there is no liquidity crisis in the banking sector.Annisul Huq said the banking sector ...
(read more) Sunday, June 22nd, 2008A confusion has arisen regarding the recent relaxation of the Emergency Powers Rules (EPR) in four city corporations and nine municipalities where local government polls will be held on August 4, since the home ministry notification did not specify the timeframe for the relaxation.The Election Commission (EC), in its proposal sent to the government last week, had sought relaxation of EPR from the day the poll schedule was announced till publication of the election results in official gazettes, sources in the commission said.But since there is no specified timeframe for the relaxation in the home ministry notification, some ministry ...
(read more) Sunday, June 22nd, 2008BNP appears divided over the issue of forthcoming polls to city corporations and municipalities with some led by Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain calling for a boycott and others favouring participation in the vote.Delwar on Thursday announced that the BNP-led four-party alliance would resist the local elections since holding those before the parliamentary election is 'unconstitutional'.Besides, he said, the Election Commission (EC) and the government are out to implement an 'evil plot' when most of the political parties want the parliamentary election to precede other polls.A group of pro-Khaleda leaders, on the other hand, believe that the elections slated ...
(read more) Sunday, June 22nd, 2008Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) loses around Tk 35 crore a year because of 35 percent systems loss caused mainly by illegal connections, cracks in supply lines and underhand dealings of unscrupulous officials.The 2,534km-long Wasa supply network in the capital and Narayanganj has over 1 lakh illegal connections, which causes the most systems loss. The Wasa is deprived of Tk 1 crore a year for 1 percent systems loss, said an official of the organisation.Wasa Managing Director Raihanul Abedin said the number of illegal connections from Wasa supply lines is huge because the Wasa covers areas beyond the ...
(read more) Sunday, June 22nd, 2008At least 2,842 hectares of cultivable land on the banks of the Jamuna and the Padma along with 31 educational institutions will disappear due to river erosion this year, United Nations Development Project (UNDP) and Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) predict.About 3,970 hectares of land and 40 educational institutions along with five government offices were wiped out last year.A survey report of UNDP, based on satellite images prepared by Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services, revealed this in April this year.SK Abdul Momin, superintendent engineer BWDB (Bogra O&M circle), said the department has taken additional precautionary measures ...
(read more) Sunday, June 22nd, 2008Change in tariff structure in the proposed budget for fiscal 2008-2009 will cut down duty on 3,540 imported commodities but raise it on 45 items, according to an analysis by the National Board of Revenue (NBR).The duty slash on items mostly industrial raw materials, intermediate goods, capital machinery and consumer goods will bring down cost of local production and make export trade more competitive, NBR officials noted.But prices of refined sugar, finished diamond, gold, mandarin, grapefruit, lemon, table and kitchenware, silk fabrics and finished marble tiles will go up due to the raise of import duty.The government has replaced ...
(read more) Sunday, June 22nd, 2008Evidence lying buried in the Mirpur Jalladkhana water tank is enough to prove the crimes of war criminals.“This evidence will help enormously when the trial process begins," Akku Chowdhury, trustee of the Liberation War Museum, told The Daily Star yesterday as the museum marked the first anniversary of the opening of the of Jalladkhana Killing Field Memorial Park.Visitors, who thronged the memorial park in Mirpur yesterday to mark the anniversary, kept asking themselves why the war criminals are yet to be brought to trial when such essential evidence of their crimes lies at hand."This is very emotional for ...
(read more) Sunday, June 22nd, 2008Change in tariff structure in the proposed budget for fiscal 2008-2009 will cut down duty on 3,540 imported commodities but raise it on 45 items, according to an analysis by the National Board of Revenue (NBR).The duty slash on items mostly industrial raw materials, intermediate goods, capital machinery and consumer goods will bring down cost of local production and make export trade more competitive, NBR officials noted.But prices of refined sugar, finished diamond, gold, mandarin, grapefruit, lemon, table and kitchenware, silk fabrics and finished marble tiles will go up due to the raise of import duty.The government has replaced ...
(read more) Sunday, June 22nd, 2008Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Adviser Anwarul Iqbal said yesterday that the government would hold the Upazila Parishad elections before the parliamentary polls.The adviser, talking to journalists, said that the law required to hold the upazila elections is at its final stage. The Election Commission (EC) would declare a schedule for the polls as soon as the President approves that law.Anwarul was attending the publication ceremony of a 'Policy Paper and Guideline on the Role of Local Governments in Early Childhood Care, Development and Education' as the chief guest.He said, “the Upazila Parishad elections would definitely be held ...
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