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Opposition lawmaker wants all recruiting agencies to send workers to Malaysia
An opposition MP on Sunday demanded that all recruiting agencies of the country – instead of a syndicate of a few - are allowed to send workers to Malaysia.Jatiya Party lawmaker from Pirojpur Rustum Ali Faraji made the demand in the parliament taking the floor on a point of order.Drawing the attention of the expatriate welfare and overseas employment minister, the JP MP said that the minister had repeatedly visited Malaysia to send workers to Malaysia."Malaysia is ready for hiring workers from Bangladesh. But no decision is being taken because of the syndicate. Giving opportunities to special groups by syndicating will increase the cost of workers going abroad," he said.The lawmaker observed that under the syndication it will cost Tk 3 to 4 lakh instead of one and a half lakh.
Also read: Malaysia to start taking workers from Bangladesh this month: Minister‘You [minister] make the right decision without any excuse. You should allow all the recruiting agencies to send workers,’ he added.On June 2, Malaysia has agreed to hire 500,000 Bangladeshi workers over the next five years through the syndicate system, with the first batch of documented workers from Bangladesh since 2018 due to leave later this month.Four years ago, similar efforts were suspended over allegations of malpractice in the recruitment process for Bangladeshi migrants, many of whom were hired for low wages in menial but strenuous jobs on plantations, construction sites and other sectors of Malaysia’s economy.This time around, the Malaysian government will select the recruiting agencies from Bangladesh, which will be involved in the process, said Imran Ahmed, minister of expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment.Late last year, Malaysia signed a memorandum of understanding with Bangladesh to recruit workers to overcome a nationwide labour shortage.On December 10, 2021, the Malaysian cabinet decided to reopen the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers in several sectors including plantations, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, construction and domestic service, among others.
Also read: PM: Bangladesh to maintain protocols in manpower export to MalaysiaIn 2018, Malaysia had suspended the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers over allegations that a syndicate was using it as a human trafficking scheme to exploit Bangladeshi labourers, leading to high fees incurred by immigrant workers to get jobs.
Capacity payment to private sector power plants goes up to Tk 26,505 crore in FY2022: CPD
The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) at seminar on power and energy sector budget has said that the capacity payment to private sector power plants, including rental and quick rental plants, has gone up to Tk 26,505 crore in FY2022 from Tk 5,600 crore in FY2018.
“This capacity payment obligation has forced the government to move for increasing power tariff”, said CPD research director Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, while making his keynote presentation titled: “Energy and Power Sector in the National Budget for 2022-23” at a hotel in the city on Sunday.
According to the CPD, the amount of capacity payment could reach Tk 31,600 crore in FY2023.
Also read: Proposed budget’s social safety allocation not enough, speakers say at CPD dialogue
With CPD executive director Dr Famida Khatun in the chair, the function was also addressed by Power Cell director general Mohammad Hossain, eminent energy experts Dr M Tamim, Dr Badrul Imam, advisor of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Dr M Shamsul Alam, president of the Bangladesh Independent Power Producers Association (BIPPA) Imran Kabir, former chairman of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission Shafiqul Islam, Prof Dr Kader and social worker Khushi Kabir.
Moazzem said that the country’s surplus electricity which was termed as the over generation capacity of electricity has increased to 10,764 MW in 2021-2022 from 8231 MW in 2020-21 with a jump to 42.12 per cent from 37.37 per cent. The current total electricity generation is 25,556 MW.
He observed that the government’s access to electricity target has been achieved, but people are not getting the full benefit because of the lack of transmission and distribution facilities.
He said the budgetary allocation for the FY2022-23 also shows that the two segments of electricity are not receiving the due attention from the government as the generation segment is dominating in the allocation.
Mohammad Hossain disagreed with figures about the over generation capacity and said that it is not logical to show the capacity payment separately as such cost is calculated as production cost.
Dr Tamim said the country aggressively needs to pay attention to the development of the primary energy sector.
Also read: Budget offers no good news for lower, middle income groups: CPD
“But there is no such initiative from Petrobangla to move for local gas exploration”, he said, blaming a leadership crisis in the organisation.
He said it is not clear why Petrobagla failed to prevent the fall in production at its existing gas fields while the foreign company Chevron successfully kept its production at higher level at its Bibiyana field.
“This might be that the government is emphasising on meeting the gas crisis through import”, he said.
He also observed that the Titas Gas’s system loss is 7 per cent which means 150 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of gas is being stolen everyday while the country has to import a huge amount of gas from abroad.
Dr Imam said the government has no success story in the energy sector although energy is the primary supplier of fuel to the power sector.
He said the gas production is decreasing day by day and it will be fully depleted in the next few years.
“But no initiative is visible from the government to drill for gas exploration”, he said in the last 26 years only 26 wells were drilled while there are huge prospects for gas and oil in the country as it is the biggest delta in the world.
Most of the oil and gas reserves were discovered in the deltas in the world, he added, saying the US Geological Survey study shows the country has a prospect of 42 trillion cubic feet gas reserves.
He said the government has to annually spend Tk 44,000 crore to import gas from abroad to meet the local demand.
Dr Shamsul Alam said the government is giving huge benefits to the private sector power producers through “predatory cost” which plays a major role in increasing power tariff.
He alleged that the government is paying Tk 92 per litre of furnace oil for power generation at private plants while the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) is costing this furnace oil at Tk 72 per its own plant.
He said 95 percent of furnace oil based power plants are being operated by the private sector and for this way the government is paying Tk 8,100 crore to the private power plant operators.
He said the power sector has been a good ground for looting of state wealth. Without preventing this theft, the crisis in the power and energy sector will not be resolved.
Imran Karim said the country’s actual power generation capacity is 16,000 MW while the daily production is 13,500 MW as many plants are not being operated due to the gas crisis.
Defending the private sector’s role in power generation, he said electricity generation cost will be lesser if furnace oil is used for power generation instead of imported LNG as the price of furnace oil has decreased in recent days.
Dengue: 32 new patients hospitalised
Another 32 dengue patients were hospitalised in 24 hours until Sunday morning.
Among them, 29 patients were admitted to different hospitals in Dhaka during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
As many as 118 dengue patients, including 109 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
Also read: Dengue: 35 new patients hospitalised
On June 21, the DGHS reported the first death of the season from the mosquito-borne viral disease.
This year, it has recorded 952 dengue cases and 833 recoveries so far.
Dengue – a leading cause of serious illness and death in some Asian and Latin American countries – was first reported in Bangladesh in 2000 and claimed 93 lives. In three years, the fatality number almost fell to zero.
However, 105 dengue patients, including 95 in Dhaka division, died in 2021.Dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas.
About 4 billion people, almost half of the world's population, live in areas with a risk of dengue, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Also read: Dengue: 21 new patients hospitalised
Each year, up to 400 million people get infected with dengue while approximately 100 million get sick from infection, and 40,000 die from severe dengue, it says.
"There is no specific treatment for dengue or severe dengue. Early detection of disease progression associated with severe dengue, and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates of severe dengue to below 1 percent," according to the World Health Organization.
Steps taken for making rivers around Dhaka fit for navigation: Tajul
LGRD Minister Md Tajul Islam on Sunday said the government has taken steps to develop the rivers around Dhaka so more passener boats can operate to ease traffic in the capital city.
“The bridges over rivers around Dhaka are not high enough to allow vessel movement. Already the authorities concerned have identified some bridges and directives have been given to demolish those and make the rivers suitable for navigation,” he said.
Tajul was speaking at a function marking the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Water Development Board and South City Corporation in the city.
Also read: DSCC preparing integrated master plan to turn Dhaka into smart city, Tajul tells JS
He said the waterlogging problem in the city has eased this year due to the re-excavation of canals and eviction of illegal occupants
Tajul said most of the buildings in the city have no septic tanks. They have been warned, but response has been unsatisfactory, he said.
Also read: Decision on legal steps against GCC mayor to be known soon: Tajul
He also urged the authorities concerned to take strict action including shutting down the sewerage lines of those owners who refused to follow the government decision.
Bangladesh sees steady rise in Covid cases: 2 more die
Bangladesh reported two more Covid-linked deaths with 1,680 new infections in 24 hours till Sunday morning.
The new figures took the country’s total death toll to 29,140 while caseload to 19,65,173, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Read: COVID vaccines saved 20M lives in 1st year, scientists say
The daily-case positivity rate jumped to 15.66 per cent from Saturday’s 15.07 per cent as 10,778 samples were tested during the period, said the DGHS.
The deceased included a woman and a man, both from Dhaka division.
On Saturday, the country recorded 1,280 cases with three deaths from Covid-19.
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.48 per cent. The recovery rate declined to 97.02 per cent from Saturday’s 97.10 per cent as 169 patients recovered during this period.
In May, the country reported only four Covid-linked deaths and 816 new cases, while 7,356 patients recovered from the disease, according to the DGHS.
Among the four deaths during the period, one was vaccinated with a single dose of Covid vaccine while three were vaccinated with two doses.
Read: Covid-19: Bangladesh reports 1,685 more cases, positivity declines to 12.18 pc
The country reported its first zero Covid death in a single day on November 20 last year, along with 178 cases, since the pandemic broke out here in March 2020.
On January 28, Bangladesh logged its previous highest positivity rate of 33.37 per cent.
The country registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 in the same year.
Flood: 2 more deaths pushes up toll to 84
Flood claimed two more lives in Sherpur and Habiganj districts in 24 hours till Sunday morning, raising the total fatalities to 84.
Each of them died by drowning in floodwater, according to the Directorate general of Health services (DGHS).
Read: Soaring prices of dry food another blow to flood-hit Beanibazar residents
The total deaths were recorded from May 17 to June 25.
Among a total of 70 flood-affected upazilas, 33 upazilas are in Sylhet division, 16 in Rangpur division, 20 in Mymensingh division and one in Chattogram division.
Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrokona and Kurigram are the worst-hit districts where 13, 11, 10 and 9 upazilas were affected by flood respectively.
Read: Govt allocates rice, cash, food for flood-hit 3 districts
A total of 1,944 flood shelters have been opened, while 2,051 medical teams are working to provide various health services to the flood-affected people.
Law soon to make dope test mandatory before university admission: Home Minister
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Sunday said dope test will be made mandatory for the students before university admission by amending the relevant law.
He said laws are being amended and students will be brought under dope test according to the law. “Medical tests including the dope test will be done at the time of their admission.”
Read: Dope test for drivers to be made compulsory: Home Minister
The minister informed this at a press conference on the occasion of 'International Day against Drug Abuse and Illegal Trafficking, 2022' at the secretariat.
Replying to a question, the Home Minister said, "We have already started dope test of police members when the Prime Minister announced zero tolerance against drug abuse."
They also sent a proposal to the Prime Minister to introduce dope test for government officials and employees before their recruitment.
Read:DU mulling over ways to implement its dope test
“To do this infrastructure needs to be developed and efforts are already on,” he added.
Heavy rainfall likely in northern region at end of June or 1st week of July
The flood situation in the northern region and low-lying areas of the central region may remain unchanged due to heavy rainfall at the end of June or first week of July, according to Bangladesh Weather Observatory Team (BWOT).
Moderate rain is likely in north and north-eastern region of the country from Sunday night, said BWOT, an independent weather research group.
Besides, more rains are likely to drench Bangladesh in the next 24 hours, with monsoon being fairly active over the country and moderate over the North Bay, the weather department said Sunday.
READ: Heavy to very heavy rainfall likely in 3 divisions
“Light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at a few places over Rangpur, Mymensingh, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places over Rajshahi and Dhaka divisions with moderately heavy falls at isolated places over the country,” the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said in its forecast.
Day temperature may rise slightly and night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.
Keep pace with modern era to build a prosperous Bangladesh, PM tells young talents
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday asked the students to keep pace with the modern era through acquiring knowledge of ever evolving technology and science to take the country towards development and prosperity.
"You have to go with the modern era. We have to step forward keeping pace with the flourishing of technology and science," she told the winners of countrywide “Bangabandhu Innovative Talent Hunt 2022” competition, at a function held at the International Mother Language Institute.
The premier joined the programme virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban.
She mentioned that the government has given immense importance to research on science, health, livestocks, agriculture and other subjects.
"Actually research can show us the path," she said.
Hasina hoped that the talents of the youths and new generation will advance the country with their innovative thinking and creativity.
She asked the new generation to devote themselves to building the country as developed and prosperous Golden Bengal.
"Through the practices of science and obtaining modern technological know-how we will be able to move the country ahead and the new generation will be able to do that," she said.
PM Hasina called for finding out the talented youths of the country to use their talents and creativity in the development of the country.
"We have to use their talents and creativity for tomorrow's developed Bangladesh," she said.
READ: PM Hasina seeks more investment from Kuwait
PM Hasina seeks more investment from Kuwait
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday urged the Kuwait government to invest in Special Economic Zones of Bangladesh.
She also urged the Middle Eastern country for recruiting more skilled and semi-skilled manpower from Bangladesh.
The Prime Minister made the request when outgoing Ambassador of Kuwait to Bangladesh Adel Mohammed AH Hayat paid a courtesy call on her at her official residence Ganobhaban.
Sheikh Hasina told the Ambassador that her government is trying hard to meet the basic needs of the people of Bangladesh including providing jobs, land and houses, according to an official release.
The Prime Minister thanked the Ambassador for his sincere efforts for strengthening relations between Bangladesh and Kuwait.
Also read: Bangladesh, China can further fortify ties through exploring new areas of cooperation: PM
The Ambassador congratulates the Prime Minister for successful completion of the Padma Bridge.
He lauded the leadership of the Prime Minister in becoming Bangladesh a developing country.
He thanked the Prime Minister for her government’s support to Kuwait in bilateral and multilateral arena.