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CHITTAGONG, Mar 14: The Chittagong City Corporation finally came to its senses after the prime minister expressed dissatisfaction over the dilapidated condition of Chittagong International Airport Road during her visit on Sunday. Chittagong City Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin held a meeting with engineers concerned, contractors and representatives of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at his office on Monday. In the meeting, the mayor instructed engineers concerned and contractors to complete the construction work of three bridges on Airport Road by June 20, 2017. The contractors were employed through tender in October 2015 to construct three bridges at a cost of Tk 90 million funded by JICA and was scheduled to be completed by September 2016. As the work was delayed abnormally, later the project tenure was extended up to August 2017. The construction of the three bridges at Cement Crossing, Meghna jetty area and jetty No 15 of the Chittagong Port Authority on Chittagong Shah Amanat International Airport was delayed abnormally due to lack of coordination between the Chittagong City Corporation and the Local Government Ministry. Chief Engineer of CCC Lt Col Mohiuddin Ahmed said the design was prepared by Local Government Engineering Department, but it was faulty as it had no diversion road for traffic on the busy road during bridge construction. But Project Director of LG City governance project Md Shahjahan Mollah said the local government ministry does not implement any project itself. The project has been handed over to the CCC for implementation after getting JICA funds. Accordingly, the CCC floated tender and appointed contractors to do the job, he said. Mayor Nasir Uddin said now they will complete the work at any cost within next three months. "I started working on Sunday soon after the prime minister left Chittagong after commissioning the two submarines procured for Bangladesh Navy and inauguration of Sheikh Hasina Water Treatment Plant of Chittagong WASA (Water and Sewerage Authority)." He added: "I called a meeting of the contractors, engineers, project director and JICA representatives to know about the cause of delay in the bridge construction and gave them a timeline to complete the work at any cost by June 20 this year." The mayor further said he had instructed officials concerned to complete the repair work of Airport Road alongside the bridge construction within a stipulated time because air passengers are suffering a lot as the airport road is in a bad state. A CCC engineer said the mayor also advised the contractors concerned to prepare their daily work list by today (Wednesday) for ensuring smooth traffic on Airport Road. CCC engineers will monitor the work as per routine every weekend. The engineer further said they would oversee the work of the contractors. "If the work is not found satisfactory, the CCC will cancel the contract and do the work by its own engineers. In that case, the CCC will also compensate the contractor for its failure." Lt Col Mohiuddin Ahmed said they held a joint meeting with all concerned and prepared a plan of action. Additional chief engineer of Local Government Engineering Department Mir Ilyas Morshed and project director Md Shahjahan Molla, among others, were present in the meeting. Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina came hard on the dilapidated condition of Airport Road and its three bridges approaching the airport while she was addressing the inaugural ceremony on Water Treatment Plant of Chittagong WASA at Chittagong Boat Club on Sunday after commissioning two submarines of the Bangladesh Navy.     pankajdastider@gmail.com....

Published at: 2017-03-15 00:00:04

CHITTAGONG, Mar 14: A female teacher was severely injured here Tuesday when a desperate youth attacked her in front of her pupils and colleagues with a cooking tool entering the school premises in Dengapara village under Patiya upazila of the district. The unruly youth, Ahsan Ullah Tutul (30), entered the classroom and started chopping Misfah Sultana (25), an assistant teacher of East Dengapara Government Primary School, all in a sudden with the tool in hand around 9:30am when the latter was taking her scheduled class, locals said. Sultana is unmarried and the only daughter of freedom fighter Nur Mohammed who is a former commander of the Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad, Patiya Upazila Command. The wailing father said Tutul entered the classroom in the morning and chopped her in front of her students. "As she ran out of the class and entered the room of the headmistress in her frantic bid to save herself, Tutul chased her, entered the teacher's room forcefully and beat her up severely in front of the teachers," he lamented. The police said Sultana received severe injuries in different parts of her body including on the left leg and neck. She was taken to the Patiya Upazila Health Complex and later transferred to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, they informed. The Patiya police afterwards raided East Dengapara village under South Bhurshi union and arrested the youth. He was identified as the son of one Anwar Hossain of the village, the police said.     pankajdastider@gmail.com....

Published at: 2017-03-15 00:00:04

Implementation rate of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the first eight months (July-February) of fiscal year 2016-17 was 37 per cent with an expenditure of Tk 455.32 billion (45,532 crore), reports BSS. The implementation rate for the period was 3.0 per cent higher from 34 per cent of the same period of the last fiscal FY16, said planning minister AHM Mustafa Kamal while briefing journalists after ECNEC meeting at NEC conference room here today. The expenditure was Tk 346.75 billion in the same period of the fiscal FY16, he said. The size of the ADP for the FY17 is Tk 1.23 trillion (1,23,346 crore).....

Published at: 2017-03-15 00:00:04

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) suggested on Tuesday that the government can utilize the country's foreign exchange reserve for various infrastructure development works. A delegation of DCCI board of directors, led by its president Abul Kasem Khan, gave the suggestion at a meeting with Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Fazle Kabir at the central bank. The DCCI president said in line with the economic vision for 2030, the private investment and GDP ratio needs to be increased to 35 per cent. On an average US$20-22 billion annual investment is needed for infrastructure investment, whereas the current investment volume is only around $6.32 billion or 2.87 per cent of GDP, he also said. "Huge infrastructure investment deficit is hindering the accelerated growth potentials of Bangladesh." Overall Non Performing Loan (NPL) is at alarming state, and stood at Tk 621.72 billion as on December 2016. In order to reduce interest burden on SMEs and good borrowers as well as to ensure a healthy financial system, the NPL needs to be well managed, Mr Khan opined. Considering the country's export diversity and expansion, Export Development Fund (EDF) beneficiary network can be extended, he also suggested. DCCI's other recommendations included creation of a low-cost industry investment fund and SDG implementation fund, changing BB's foreign exchange regulation, and opening up private investment opportunities for Bangladeshi businessmen in foreign countries. The DCCI chief further said weighted average deposit rate of the scheduled banks dropped to 5.22 per cent in December 2016. But the lending rate for SMEs is around 12-14 per cent, whereas weighted average lending rate is around 9.93 per cent. He proposed for reducing this interest rate gap. Mr Khan also proposed 7.0 per cent interest rate at borrowers' end of the BB refinancing fund, created for development of the dairy sector. The BB governor said the government borrowing is lower now, which is an opportunity for the private sector to get more access to finance. He also said foreign remittance inflow is more than 16 per cent lower than the same period of the previous year, which is a matter of concern. "Bangladesh Bank is working hard to encourage NRBs to send remittance through proper banking channel." Mr Fazle Kabir stressed on encouraging young generations to come up with innovative entrepreneurship ideas, mostly in manufacturing sector, rather than trading. He also underscored the importance of bringing all the banks under automation and trusted cyber security system. BB is closely monitoring the banks' automation and cyber security measures on a regular basis, he further said.   BB deputy governor S K Sur Chowdhury said interest rate on lending is relatively low now, and it is even lower for the good borrowers, as the banks are giving special incentives to them. Terming NPL a serious concern, he said, "We have to minimize NPL, which will help to slash lending rate further." Trade associations like DCCI should facilitate entrepreneurship in the country's remote and rural areas, and they should get access to finance, he added. DCCI senior vice president Kamrul Islam proposed BB to create a separate fund, only for the light-engineering sector, with access to single-digit easy loan facility. The DCCI's other suggestions to BB included simplifying policy for SMEs, online e-payment system for e-commerce, and lower interest rate on private sector lending.     munni_fe@yahoo.com....

Published at: 2017-03-15 00:00:04

Prices of beef and mutton still remain exorbitant in the city markets as elsewhere in the country, badly affecting consumers of the fixed income group. Soaring prices of meat have also pushed up retail prices of other substitutes prompting the limited income people to cut their protein in take, experts said. The prices of meat started increasing from February last following a week-long strike called by meat retailers following a row with lease holders of the Gabtoli cattle market in the city. Though the retailers halted their strike, the prices of meat have remained high and this is also reflected in other markets across the country, according to sources. However, traders said lesser import, supply shortage of local cattle and lower prices of skins were some major reasons behind the hike in prices of meat. They said higher taxes on animal trading, extortions during transportation and anomalies in providing licences to retailers are also responsible for the surge. Beef prices jumped by around 22 per cent to Tk 500 in major cities in last one month. Mutton prices too surged by 18 per cent to Tk 800 a kg, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the government's trading arm. Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM) data showed the hike at 16 to 28.6 per cent at the village level. Beef is selling at Tk 450-Tk 480 a kg in Rangpur region now as against Tk 350-Tk 380 earlier. However, higher prices of beef and mutton raised prices of chicken and fish, TCB and DAM data showed. Prices of farm chicken, the cheapest source of protein, increased by 15 per cent and different kinds of fish by 16 to 25 per cent in last one and a half months. Farm chicken is now selling at Tk 155-Tk 160 (broiler) a kg and Tk 180-Tk 190 (layer) a kg, according to TCB. Consumers' Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Secretary Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan said poor people in the country bear the brunt of high inflationary pressure. Prices of most essentials including rice, meat and fish increased significantly in last six months, he said. The sky-rocketing prices of beef, mutton and chicken have led to protein deficiency of low-income group further, he said. Dr Sharmin Rumi Alim at the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science under Dhaka University said the country's per head daily intake of protein is only 26 gram with a deficiency of 42 gram. She said increase in prices of meat and fish might hit the fixed income group while women and children suffer the most.    However, import of cattle has witnessed a record low in the current calendar year causing surge in prices, said traders. Md Mujibur Rahman, a leading cattle trader (Bepari) in Gabtoli told the FE that supply of imported animals has declined nearly by 70 per cent in 2017 than that of 2016. He said traders sell above 3,000 cows a day at Gabtoli of which Indian animals are 1,200-1,400. The number declined to 250-300. He said import cost of an ox, weighing 90-100 kilogram is now Tk 50,000-Tk 52,000 which was Tk 40,000-Tk 42,000 even during last Eid-ul-Azha when demand surged by 20 times. Custom Superintendent in Lalmonirhat Md Alaluddin told the FE that cattle import remains halted through the Burimari land port for the last two years amid strong barriers put up by the Indian authorities against export.      Officials in different land ports in the country, however, said import through informal channels also decreased significantly amid killings of Bangladeshi traders by the Indian border security force. Md Anwar Hossain, another trader at Gabtoli said supply of local cattle has also been reduced by 25-30 per cent as farm owners are stocking animals eyeing windfall profits in the upcoming Ramadan and Eid. He said extortion is also causing hike in animal prices as a trader has to pay additional Tk 8,000-Tk 10,000 per animal. Bangladesh Meat Merchants Association (BMMA) President Golam Martuza Montu pointed out that most of the traders in the city are forced to pay Tk 2,500-Tk 3,500 taxes per cow against government- fixed Tk 50. According to the Department of Livestock Service (DLS), the country needs more than 6.5 million cows annually for consumption when domestic supply is 5.6 to 5.8 million.         tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com....

Published at: 2017-03-15 00:00:04