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The High Court (HC) ordered the authorities concerned on Sunday to take steps to resolve the complexities relating to sending Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia within 48 hours, reports UNB. An HC bench comprising Justice Syed Muhammad Dastagir Husain and Justice Md Ataur Rahman Khan passed the order. The court also ordered sending those intending pilgrims, who are yet to reach Saudi Arabia for performing Hajj, by hiring private aircraft, if needed. HC issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain as to why a probe commission would not be formed to identify the people behind the Hajj mismanagement. Besides, the court issued another rule to explain why the government's inaction in Hajj management would not be declared illegal and unlawful. HC also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain why legal actions would not be taken against the people behind the mismanagement. Five government officials, including the secretaries of Ministry of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, have been asked to respond to the rule within four weeks. HC lawyer Advocate Manzill Murshid filed the public interest litigation writ petition, seeking its order to form a probe-body to find out the reasons behind the mismanagement of Hajj flights operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines. So far, around 5,000 pilgrims have failed to fly to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj this year following cancellations of 21 Hajj flights of Bangladesh Biman due to shortage of passengers triggered by visa complexities. Meanwhile, Biman has suspended operation of some of its international flights to overcome the prevailing deadlock over carrying hajj pilgrims, making changes in its schedule for the regular flights until August 26, according to a FE Report. Still Biman suffers a capacity shortage of 4,000 passengers, said Biman officials. Although Ministry of Religious Affairs asked the Hajj agencies to submit all the passports for visa processing at Ashkona Hajj Camp by Sunday, the agencies failed to submit 20,000 passports until the deadline. The last date of submitting passports to Saudi Embassy in Dhaka is Thursday, which might create uncertainty in receiving visa for these pilgrims. Biman and Saudi Airlines were bound either to cancel or delay 27 flights from July 24 to August 13.   Biman general manager (public relations) Shakil Meraj said BG9029, which was supposed to depart at 2:05 pm on Sunday was delayed for 48 hours. A total of two flights of the new 14 slots were delayed since Saturday. On Saturday, BG9027 was delayed. "We have cancelled five flights on Dhaka-Doha route until next August 26, and reduced one weekly flights from four to three on Dhaka-London route until October 04 to increase availability of aircrafts to carry the Hajj pilgrims," he said. Besides, Biman has decided to withdraw all its high-capacity Boeing 777 aircrafts and use comparatively low-capacity Boeing 737 aircrafts on Dhaka-Muscat, Dhaka-Dubai and Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur routes. These will be used as dedicated Hajj flights, he added. Mr Shakil also said Biman has applied for eight new slots to Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation. The authority has given the responsibility of slot application processing to an Australian company. "Sunday is weekend in Australia. We expect to receive response from the Australian company by Monday or Tuesday." He further said Biman has been facing challenges in carrying Hajj pilgrims, as the agencies failed to provide visa for them and rent houses timely. The cancellation or schedule rearrangement of Biman flights has been causing sufferings to the regular passengers. Another 67,000 pilgrims will have to be carried within next 14 days, of which Biman will carry 35,000. Of the total 1,27,198 Hajj pilgrims from Bangladesh, 59,122 have reached Saudi Arabia till Sunday. Over 47,000 pilgrims are waiting at the Hajj camp, having passport with visa.   Ashkona Hajj Camp director Saiful Islam said the agencies have not yet submitted 20,000 visas. Hopefully there will be no problem with visas, as everyday agencies are submitting passports. As many as 16 agencies have been asked to remain present at the Hajj camp, as they have failed to submit passports on Sunday, he added.      However, Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) officials opined that despite taking various steps carrying the remaining Hajj pilgrims is still a big challenge.    HAAB secretary general M Shahadat Hossain Taslim told the FE on Sunday that the agencies are not responsible for the chaotic situation. Rather Biman should be blamed for the uncertainty of flights. He said Biman did not discuss about slots of its flights with HAAB members. "It is Biman's responsibility to carry the rest of the pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for performing Hajj." He further said the complexities regarding the pilgrims' house rent have already been settled. msshova@gmail.com, talhabinhabib@yahoo.com....

Published at: 2017-08-14 05:00:03

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina again said on Sunday the government is importing foodgrains to face the ongoing flood across the country, report agencies. "We've already procured foodgrains from various countries and more are coming to face the challenge," she said. The Prime Minister was speaking at the first meeting of Bangladesh National Nutrition Council (BNNC) held at the Prime Minister's Office. The Prime Minister noted that flooding caused significant damage to food production this year. "We believe there may be another flood. We may face a food problem if the flooding is severe," Hasina said. "The government is preparing to import and store food so that this problem does not arise and sufficient food can be provided to meet the needs of people." She underscored the need for ensuring adequate nutrition along with ensuring food security to attain the government vision of healthy and productive lives for people. The Prime Minister laid emphasis on ensuring adequate nutrition for all alongside safeguarding their access to food. "Access to adequate nutrition is a basic right of people." Sheikh Hasina also directed the authorities concerned to launch a massive campaign, especially among rural people, about taking balanced and nutritious food. She said it is not important for people to always eat fish, meat, egg or other costly food, nutrition is available in low price food, and suggested taking adequate quantity of vegetables along with rice every day. Hasina said adoption of policy for nutrition is not enough; rather people should be made aware about the nutrition values of various foods, including vegetables, meat and fish. The Prime Minister said Bangladesh has vast areas of marshy lands for fish production, and it is now the fourth in terms of sweet-water fish production. She said low-income people can also afford fish and meat after buying necessary quantity of rice as their daily income increased by manifolds in the last few years.Mentioning that her government for the first time attained food security in the country, the Prime Minister said now the aim of her government is to ensure nutrition for all. She said her government took steadfast steps to improve the nutrition and food security of the country, including the formulation of Second National Plan of Action for Nutrition, which identifies the priority strategic actions that are directed to address the various form of malnutrition affecting its population.....

Published at: 2017-08-14 05:00:03

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has started conducting a study on possible impact of the offshore banking unit (OBU) operations if such functions are brought under the Banking Companies Act (BAC), officials said. Under a latest move, the central bank has already completed an impact study on the single borrower exposure limit of the foreign commercial banks (FCBs) operating in Bangladesh. It found the limit, particularly for the funded facilities under the OBU operations of the FCBs, now remains below 15 per cent against the permissible limit of 25 per cent. "We'll conduct such possible impact study on the other banks immediately," a senior official at the BB told the FE Sunday. The central bank believes that the banks would not face extra pressure for complying with the single borrower exposure limit rule if the OBU operations come under the BAC, he added. "We'll also look into the possible impact on CRR (cash reserve requirement), SLR (statutory liquidity ratio) and capital requirements under Basel-III framework after brining the OBU operations into the normal banking framework," he said. Currently, 35 commercial banks out of 57 are running their OBUs across the country as per a directive issued by the Banking Control Department of BB on December 17, 1985. Under the directive, the OBUs have been exempted from the purview of certain provisions of the Banking Companies Ordinance 1962 as per the government notification. Besides, the OBUs will also be considered for exemption from Article 36(1) of the Bangladesh Bank Order 1972 on such terms and for such period as may be deemed fit by the government. It means the OBUs are exempted for maintaining CRR and SLR with the central bank of Bangladesh against their liabilities.    The OBUs are free to accept deposits from outside Bangladesh and borrow from abroad. They are also free to make advances/investments abroad and make permissible transactions with industries in the export processing zones (EPZs). The OBUs are allowed to provide foreign currency loans to their customers. It also allowed carrying out transactions in specified foreign currencies. The suggested currencies are the US dollar, Great Britain pound, Canadian dollar, Deutsche mark, Japanese yen, Swiss franc, the Netherlands guilder, French franc, Swedish kroner and the Singaporean dollar. Total outstanding loans with OBU of the banks reached Tk 419.72 billion as on March 31 from Tk 393.30 billion in the final quarter of the last calendar year. It was Tk 311.77 billion as on September 30, 2016. "We're not empowered fully to monitor and supervise the OBU operations closely due to legal constraint," another BB official said. As part of persuasion, the central bank now asks the banks having OBU operations to keep provision on such loans and collect information on assets and liabilities of each OBU on weekly basis for assessing their financial risks, if any, especially with transactions in terms of foreign currencies.   "We'll issue a fresh directive aiming to mitigate the risks of OBU operations in Bangladesh through strengthening monitoring and supervision after completing the study," the BB official said, replying to a question. He said the central bank might set timeframes for the banks concerned to comply with the CRR, SLR and capital requirements so that they do not face any extra pressure to this effect. The demand for foreign-currency loans from OBUs has been on a gradual increase after the opening up of private-sector credits, allowing the entrepreneurs to borrow from the overseas sources, according to bankers. "The OBUs are now playing a significant role in the credit market following the higher demand for foreign loans, mainly due to lower interest rates on such lending," a senior executive of a leading private commercial bank said. The BB should issue a guideline in this connection immediately and conduct audit to each OBU to assess their actual financial position, the private banker suggested.     siddique.islam@gmail.com....

Published at: 2017-08-14 05:00:03

Eight people were dead and five others went missing on Sunday as the overall flood situation has worsened in the country's northwestern and northeastern regions. However, according to a TV channel, the death toll rose to 13, report agencies. The flood bypass road on the Teesta Barrage broke down in Lalmonirhat on Sunday under the impact of gushing floodwater with more than 200,000 (two lakh) people of 30 unions in the district's five upazilas remaining marooned as both the Teesta and Dharla were flowing above the danger level, At least 34 villages were flooded following the breach of the flood bypass road. Due to opening of 54 gates of the Gajoldoba Barrage in India and onrush of water coupled with heavy rain over the last five days, the flood bypass road breached, said Mustafizer Rahman, executive engineer of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), Dalia Division. Local BWDB office on Sunday morning issued a red alert in the Teesta Barrage area, asking the people living in 63 chars or reclaimed land in the Teesta and Dharala to keep abreast with the latest flood situation, said Mustafizer Rahman. The floodwater also prompted disruption of bus and rail communications of Lalmonirhat with other parts of the country. Local officials of BWDB said Dharala River was flowing 108 centimetres above the danger level and Teesta 65 centimetres above its early Sunday. Meanwhile, 18 villages went under water as Itpota dam, Shiberkhuti and Khatamari dams in Moghalhat area in Sadar upazila broke down due to the strong current in the river. The Patgram town protection embankment also collapsed. The worst-affected areas are Dahagram of Patgram upazila, Dauabari, Patikapara, Sindurna, Saniajan of Hatibandha upazila, Bhotmari, Tushbhander of Kaliganj upazila, Mohishkhocha, Durgapur of Aditmari upazila, Rajpur, Gokunda Khuniagach, Borobari, Kulaghat and Mogolhat under Sadar upazila. Houses, roads and educational institutions have been eroded by the strong current of the Teesta and Dharla rivers. Regarding measures taken to prevent erosion, BWDB Lalmonirhat Deputy Assistant Engineer Kamrul Islam said, "We have started dumping GO bags (sandbags) to prevent erosion at the vulnerable points of the barrage." District Education Officer Nobez Uddin said a total of 168 educational institutions in the district were declared closed. Several thousand farmers have to face heavy losses as more than 300 ponds were washed away by flash floods, said Rezaul Karim, district fisheries officer. Lalmonirhat deputy commissioner Shafiul Arif said the overall flood situation in the district turned serious, leaving more than 200,000 people marooned. Bus and train services have been suspended due to the floods. On last Sunday, about 1,600 packets of dry foods were distributed among the flood-affected people, he added. The flood situation deteriorated in Rangpur following heavy rain coupled with onrush of water from upstream areas in 24 hours till 9:00 am on Sunday marooning about 500,000 people in the Brahmaputra basin. The Brahmaputra, Jamuna, Dharla, Ghaghot, Jamuneswari, Punorvoba, Upper Atrai and Tangon rivers were flowing above their respective danger marks at 13 points in Kurigram, Rangpur, Gaibandha, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Bogra and Sirajganj. According to the Water Development Board (WDB) sources, deterioration of flooding might continue further during the next 72 hours as onrush of upstream water still continued.  "We have started dumping sand- and geo-textile bags at four vulnerable points of the flood control embankments under four unions of Gangachara upazila," said BWDB's Executive Engineer for Rangpur Mahbubur Rahman. Rail communications from Burimari Land Port under Patgram upazila to Hatibandha upazila in Lalmonirhat and other parts of the country remained snapped as floodwater started flowing over the rail lines in the morning. District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer of Rangpur Faridul Haque said 22,526 families of 92 villages under 21 unions of Gangachara, Pirgachha, Kawnia and Badarganj upazilas were marooned in the district.  The Department of Agriculture Extension sources said Aman seedbeds on 705 hectares, Transplanted T-Aman on 129,000 hectares and vegetables on 2,996 hectares of land were already submerged in all five districts under Rangpur Agriculture Zone alone. In Netrakona, the water of the Someshwari River has been flowing 150 centimetres above the danger mark due to the incessant rain for the last couple of days leaving more than 30 villages in Durgapur upazila inundated.....

Published at: 2017-08-14 05:00:03

US President Donald Trump's order to his top trade adviser to investigate supposedly unfair Chinese trade practices will "poison" relations between the two countries, a Chinese state-run newspaper said on Monday. Trump will later on Monday issue the order to determine whether to investigate Chinese trade practices that force US firms operating in China to turn over intellectual property, senior administration officials said on Saturday. The move, which could eventually lead to steep tariffs on Chinese goods, comes at a time when Trump has asked China to do more to crack down on North Korea's nuclear missile program as he threatens possible military action against Pyongyang. Trump has said he would be more amenable to going easy on Beijing if it were more aggressive in reining in North Korea. In an editorial, the official China Daily said it was critical the Trump administration doesn't make a rash decision it will regret. "Given Trump's transactional approach to foreign affairs, it is impossible to look at the matter without taking into account his increasing disappointment at what he deems as China's failure to bring into line the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," the English-language paper said. "But instead of advancing the United States' interests, politicising trade will only acerbate the country's economic woes, and poison the overall China-US relationship." An administration official has insisted diplomacy over North Korea and the potential trade probe were "totally unrelated", saying the trade action was not a pressure tactic. The China Daily said it was unfair for Trump to put the burden on China for dissuading Pyongyang from its actions. "By trying to incriminate Beijing as an accomplice in the DPRK's nuclear adventure and blame it for a failure that is essentially a failure of all stakeholders, Trump risks making the serious mistake of splitting up the international coalition that is the means to resolve the issue peacefully," it said. "Hopefully Trump will find another path. Things will become even more difficult if Beijing and Washington are pitted against each other."  ....

Published at: 2017-08-14 05:00:03