বন্যা-পাহাড় ধসে কক্সবাজারে নিহতের সংখ্যা বেড়ে ১৫
কক্সবাজার জেলার ভয়াবহ বন্যা পরিস্থিতি এখনো অপরিবর্তিত রয়েছে। বন্যা ও পাহাড় ধসে জেলায় এ পর্যন্ত ১৫ জনের মৃত্যুর খবর পাওয়া গেছে।
গত কয়েক দিনের বন্যায় জেলার প্রায় ৩ লাখ মানুষ বানের পানিতে নানাভাবে ক্ষতিগ্রস্ত হয়েছে। নারী শিশুসহ বানভাসী এসব মানুষ চরম দুর্ভোগের শিকার হয়েছে। স্থানীয় প্রশাসনের পক্ষ থেকে ক্ষতিগ্রস্তদের মাঝে ত্রাণসামগ্রী বিতরণ শুরু হয়েছে।
রামু ও চকরিয়া থেকে আজ আরো চারজনের মৃতদেহ উদ্ধার করা হয়েছে। নিহতদের মধ্যে রামুর নিখোঁজ দুজনও রয়েছে। এ নিয়ে জেলায় বন্যা ও পাহাড় ধরে ১৫ জনের মৃত্যু হয়েছে।
স্থানীয় প্রশাসন সূত্রে জানা গেছে, জেলায় ৩ শতাধিক গ্রাম প্লাবিত হয়ে ৩ লক্ষাধিক মানুষ পানিবন্দী হয়ে পড়েছে। ক্ষতিগ্রস্ত হয়েছে ত্রিশ হাজারেরও বেশি ঘর-বাড়ি। ভেসে গেছে ২ শতাধিক চিংড়ি ঘের। পানিতে তলিয়ে গেছে ৫০ হাজার হেক্টর ফসলী জমি।
কক্সবাজার-টেকনাফ মেরিন ড্রাইভ সড়কসহ জেলার বেশ কয়েকটি সড়ক যোগাযোগ বিচ্ছিন্ন রয়েছে। সড়কের ওপর দিয়ে মাতামহুরী নদীর বাঁধ ভেঙে আসা পানি প্রবল বেগে বইছে।
চকরিয়ায় নদীর স্রোতের টানে ভেসে গিয়ে আরো দুজনের মৃত্যু হয়েছে। শনিবার সকালে তাদের মৃতদেহ উদ্ধার করা হয়েছে। এরা হলেন- লক্ষ্যারচর ইউনিয়নের রুস্তম আলী চৌধুরীপাড়ার মৃত আমির আলীর ছেলে মো. আনোয়ার হোসেন প্রকাশ ওরফে আনর আলী (৫৫) ও কাকারা ইউনিয়নের প্রপার কাকারার ফরহাদ রেজার স্কুলপড়ুয়া পুত্র কাউসাইন রহিম (১৩)।
রামু উপজেলায় ভয়াবহ বন্যায় লণ্ডভণ্ড হয়ে গেছে ১১ ইউনিয়নের যোগাযোগ ব্যবস্থা। রামুতে বন্যায় নৌকাডুবির ঘটনায় নিখোঁজ দুজনের মৃতদেহ শনিবার সকালে উদ্ধার হয়েছে।
নিহতরা হলেন, গর্জনিয়া ইউনিয়নের ক্যাজল বিল এলাকার বশির আহমদের মেয়ে কামরুনাহার (২২) ও এরশাদ উল্লাহর মেয়ে তরিকা হাসনাত (৪)। নিরাপদ আশ্রয়ে যাওয়ার সময় নৌকা ডুবিতে এই দুজন নিখোঁজ ছিলেন।
ভারি বর্ষণে টেকনাফের বাহারছড়া ইউনিয়নের শামলাপুর এলাকায় খাদের নিচে গড়ে তোলা বসতবাড়ির উপর পাহাড় ধসে মাটিচাপায় মা-মেয়ের মৃত্যু হয়। এরা হলেন- শামলাপুর এলাকার আবুল মঞ্জুরের স্ত্রী ছমুদা খাতুন (৪৫) ও মেয়ে শাহেনা আক্তার (১৫)।
শনিবার ভোররাতে পেকুয়া উপজেলার সদর ইউনিয়নের নতুন পাড়া এলাকা থেকে আশ্রয় কেন্দ্রে যাওয়ার সময় মায়ের কোল থেকে পড়ে পানিতে ভেসে গিয়ে আড়াই বছর বয়সী এক শিশুর মৃত্যুর হয়।
কক্সবাজারের ভারপ্রাপ্ত জেলা প্রশাসক অনুপম সাহা জানান, শনিবার জেলার টেকনাফ, রামু, চকরিয়া ও পেকুয়া উপজেলায় সাতজনের মৃত্যু হয়েছে।
News source : rtnn
“Yunus uses his relationship with Hillary”
Embroiled Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus is using his relations with US Foreign Secretary Hillary Clinton in his “personal interest”, observed critics in Dhaka in the wake of a flurry over his removal from the post of Grameen Bank MD.
The relationship between the Obama administration and that of Sheikh Hasina, however, is not Yunus-centric, viewed government high-ups and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The US State Department has already been informed about all relevant facts with Dr. Yunus’ removal from his position as managing director of the Grameen Bank, the ministry sources said.
Foreign affairs’ policymakers also brushed aside the idea that the decision on removing Yunus from the micro-credit outfit would impact on the Bangladesh-USA relationship.
Over the situation, banglanews talked to several high-profile diplomats and policymakers. They said Hillary Clinton is the Secretary of State of the Obama administration and she might have some expectations and desires, but it has no scope to cast any impact on the relationship between Bangladesh and the United States.
This stand and belief of Bangladesh have already been communicated to the Obama administration, said more than one officer of the foreign office.
An influential leader of the ruling Awami League told banglanews, “Here, there is a tendency to cover the issues related with Hillary Clinton in an exaggerated manner. Maybe, Dr. Yunus is bagging that benefit.”
Asked whether the notion of Yunus using the relations with Hillary has been communicated to the US State Department, the ruling-party leader said, “Not everything is open in diplomacy, we have meant it and we believe they will understand.”
A foreign affairs’ high-up said, “We respect the relationship between Hillary and Dr. Yunus, but we must say the economist never put any contribution to the causes of bilateral relationship in any of the regimes--neither of BNP nor Awami League.”
Dr. Yunus was given all facilities and that is why no government raises the issue of his staying with GB for the last 10 years, he said.
Government position regarding Dr. Yunus and Grameen Bank was communicated to the US state department on Thursday, a competent source in the ministry said.
“A trend of using Dr. Yunus against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in and outside the country is evident. An effort to give the issue political colours is also there. And I believe Dr Yunus does all this with a view to keeping his position unaffected,” another top-ranking government official said.
It should never be that the Bangladesh-US relations be influenced by the Dr Yunus issue. There are many other issues related to this relationship, he observed.
- Bangla News
24,913 workers await return
Some 24,913 Bangladeshis, who fled trouble-torn Libya to Greece, Tunisia, Egypt and temporary camps at borders, are in the process of returning home.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni yesterday said this at a press briefing, adding that some 11,000 Bangladeshi workers reached Tunisia since the North African country opened its border to the torrent of refugees Thursday night.
About 2,104 Bangladeshis will land in Greece with the assistance from their employing companies of Chinese, Russian, Korean, Turkish and Italian origins.
Foreign ministry sources said a total of 2,969 Bangladeshis, who were employed in Libya, have returned home until yesterday evening.
International Organization for Migration (IOM) is arranging evacuation of most of them and the government will repatriate at least 42. Employing companies are helping the rest.
“If situation demands the government will go for a full-scale evacuation,” said Dipu Moni.
“We are ready for any evolving situation as our prime concern is to ensure safety of our people in Libya,” Dipu Moni told a press briefing at the ministry yesterday.
Replying to a question, she said the government has no exact figure of Bangladeshis in Libya; it could be 50 to 60 thousand.
Meanwhile, with the help of the international community, aid agencies have been able to ease congestion at the Tunisian side of the frontier.
"Thanks to a rapid response from the international community, significant progress has been made with the evacuation of Egyptians and other nationalities from Tunisia," said Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Nevertheless, another 12,500 people still needed evacuation, said the spokeswoman.
Over 10,000 of them are Bangladeshis, and the UNHCR said two flights were planned for them yesterday, reports AFP.
Dipu Moni at meetings in Geneva on Tuesday requested IOM director general and ICRC president for steps to repatriate the Bangladeshi workers.
The government will share with the IOM a certain portion of the expenses of charter plane or ship in the evacuation operation. “We have our financial and manpower constraints to deal with the situation,” she said.
Replying to a question, Dipu Moni said some places within Libya were insecure while some were relatively safe where Bangladeshi workers can stay.
Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes, Expatriates' Welfare Secretary Zafar Ahmed Khan, Additional Foreign Secretary Mustafa Kamal and other high officials of both the ministries were present at the briefing.
Nazmul Islam, an official helping repatriate the Bangladeshis stuck at Tunisia border, told The Daily Star over the phone yesterday afternoon that around 3,000 Bangladeshis were living under the open sky while the rest are in the camps.
They would be soon shifted to the camps set up by the IOM and ICRC, he said, adding the international agencies are struggling to assist so large number of migrants.
There was no food crisis yet, he said, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was providing medicines to the sick.
As they travelled distances and were not bathing for days, they are desperate to fly home. "We are asking IOM for quick repatriation of our citizens. They are trying," the Bangladeshi official said, adding but the IOM has its limitation too.
Nazmul said only two officials of Bangladesh are managing travel documents for its refugees without passports. Engaging more officials could help accelerate the process, he noted.
He, however, said the influx of troubled Bangladeshis towards the border is now thin.
As per the information from the Egyptian side, around 5,000 Bangladeshis were staying on the no-man's land along Libya-Egypt border, he noted.
Shahjalal International Airport every day remains crowded with relatives inquiring about the arrival of the stranded Bangladeshis.
Abu Bakar of Sabujbagh, Dhaka said his younger brother Saju called him two days back, asking him to tell the government to bring him back soon.
"He is at the border for the last three days,” Bakar told The Daily Star at the airport yesterday. “If the government does not repatriate him soon, he said, he would die."
News Source:
The Daily Star‘Yunus’ removal won’t strain relations’
Removal of Nobel Laureate Prof Yunus from the Grameen Bank would not strain bilateral relations between Dhaka and Washington, foreign minister Dipu Moni said this on Friday brushing aside concerns on the issue at home and abroad.
“Our relations are so extensive and comprehensive starting from trade to investment and not only bilaterally, we have common stance on many international issues. So, we don’t think this decision of the government can affect our relations,” she said while addressing a crowded press conference at the Foreign Ministry.
Dipu Moni came up with her remarks responding to a question about US Ambassador James F. Moriarty’s Thursday’s remarks that the US government is “deeply troubled” by the process of removing Prof Muhammad Yunus from the office of the Managing Director of the Grameen Bank.
The Foreign Minister said the government has taken a step as per the law of the land and it has not violated any international agreement with any country. An independent and sovereign country has the right to take its own decision.
She said Prof Yunus has international credentials and has got various awards of the US government. So, any such decision may cause concern and negative opinion.
On Prof Yunus’ scheduled meeting with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in Washington on March 8 to discuss the US concern, the Foreign Minister said Prof Yunus and Clinton are long time friends and “they may discuss many things. It is their affair.”
She said “we don’t know about the agenda of the scheduled meeting.” She said she had no comment on the matter.
News Source:
The Daily StarDipu Moni is wrong
It appears that our foreign minister did not quite grasp the diplomatic fallout it would cause with the United States by the unceremonious sacking of Nobel winner Muhammad Yunus from the Grameen Bank.
“It’s not logical to affect the Dhaka-Washington ties over the issue of Prof Yunus”, Dipu Moni said at a press conference on March 4, while commenting on the visible discontent of the United States ambassador James F Moriarty, who expressed “deep concern” at the manner Yunus was ousted.
Diplomats normally work under very tight brief and they are well known for their reticence in making statements about the country they serve in.
So it was quite obvious the depth of anger the American administration felt when Moriarty told reporters about his government’s reaction over the sustained campaign spearheaded in recent days and his subsequent sacking by the government of Sheikh Hasina.
Moriarty’s public comment clearly indicates it would definitely have an impact on US-Bangladesh relations. Dipu Moni is right on one count though; the American reaction would not be swift and virulent. For instance, it is unlikely Washington would recall its ambassador or severe diplomatic ties with Dhaka. Nor is it going to put a travel ban on senior Bangladesh officials including prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
So how is the United States going to punish the Hasina government? My sources in Washington say the first impact would be felt by the Bangladesh diplomats serving in Washington who are most likely to face the music in their encounters with American officials.
Second, many bilateral issues including the most pressing one on getting duty-free access of Bangladeshi exports to the US market would simply languish and won’t make any headway in the near future.
Third, the positive image that Bangladesh is desperately trying to project as a country at the forefront of fighting poverty and women empowerment would come under serious scrutiny.
One might argue that the United States is too big a country to waste its precious time and energy on an insignificant country like Bangladesh, especially at a time when it’s deeply preoccupied with many immediate foreign policy concerns, particularly in the Middle East.
In a way that’s a valid argument. But the Grameen issue is far more serious, if not a national issue for the United States but because some very powerful people have taken a personal interest in the matter.
And the most important of them is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She’s just not another member of the Obama cabinet. She’s a real heavy weight and as president Obama remarked at the state dinner for Chinese president Hu Jintao at the White House recently, “Hillary is the most outstanding secretary of state in the history of the United States”.
So it is quite extraordinary for someone of that stature and influence in the US administration to make a personal phone call to prime minister Hasina expressing her concern about Yunus, who she said on many occasions is a long time family friend of the Clintons. And she did so despite the fact that she could squeeze some time out of her extremely busy schedule to make the phone call.
Moreover, Yunus is not just a close family friend of the Clintons; he is also a highly respected figure in America recognised by the fact that he was recently awarded the country’s highest civilian award.
What has especially endeared Yunus to Americans in particular and the rest of the world in general is his modest lifestyle and incorruptible reputation, especially in a country known to be one of the most corrupt in the world. Unlike many chief executives of microfinance institutions and nongovernmental organisation, Yunus never wears a suit and tie even when he’s meeting presidents, prime ministers and kings.
In one of my many interviews with him, I once asked why he doesn’t put on a suit, especially when meeting foreign dignitaries. “It would be hypocritical. I should project myself the way I live in my own country”, he told me. “I work with poor people and I should not wear anything that would make them feel I’m not one of them”.
When I first met him years ago, I was struck to see his modest office with ordinary furniture with no sofa and air conditioners, something highly unusual in a country known for sweltering summer heat. Yunus still lives in a modest apartment inside the Grameen Bank headquarter in Mirpur and moves about in a microbus.
All these qualities, besides his pioneering work in poverty alleviation have also made him a darling of the international media. The outpouring of sympathy generated by his ouster in the foreign media is simply extraordinary.
Here in the United States, The New York Times and The Washington Post — two most influential papers — have made quite a splash. So has the venerable British weekly magazine The Economist.
What’s most damaging for the Bangladesh government is the not so subtle message the international media has conveyed: That the whole campaign against Yunus has been the result of personal vendetta of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
In its current issue The Economist bluntly put the blame on her.
Fourteen years ago, in Sheikh Hasina’s first term of office the situation could not have been more different. In February 1997, as co-chair of the Microcredit Summit Council of Heads of State and Government, she declared that “We in Bangladesh are proud of the outstanding work done by Professor Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank he founded.”
He has demonstrated to the world that the poor have the capacity to productively use even a small credit and change their fate [sic]. The success of the Grameen Bank has created optimism about the viability of banks engaged in extending microcredit to the poor.
So one might have expected her to be pleased when, nine years later, Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel peace prize for those very achievements. But as Economist reports, Sheikh Hasina had long before come to think that she herself was due the prize: not for microcredit-anything but for signing the Chittagong Hill Tracts treaty, also in 1997, which brought an end to almost two decades of fighting. Egged on by sycophants, she sent senior civil servants around the world to lobby for her nomination, unsuccessfully.
Instead, suddenly, Mr Yunus had become by far the most famous Bangladeshi in the world, usurping even the prime minister’s late father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led the country to Independence in 1971. According to those who know her personally, this was a bitter pill for Sheikh Hasina to swallow.
Given the reputation and credibility The Economist enjoys, Bangladesh government should be deeply concerned about its standing, especially in an interconnected world.
I’m not in a position to make a judgment whether Sheikh Hasina was personally responsible, but her public comment about Yunus as a “blood sucker of the poor” definitely conveyed her personal grudge against the Nobel winner.
It’s a pity that our leaders still do not get over the obsession with personal likes and dislikes and put the country’s interest above everything else.
I wonder why men like the finance minister AMA Muhith and her economic adviser Mashiur Rahman could not restrain her from making such derogatory comments and wait until the outcome of the ongoing investigation against the Grameen Bank was over.
But then what do you expect out of these bureaucrats-turned politicians, who have done nothing except parroting—Yes Sir (read madam) in their entire career.
Last but not least, I’m not suggesting Yunus is indispensable and he’s above the law. But there should have been a more dignified way to deal with the issue.
Moreover, I’ll fault Yunus for not stepping down on his own even before the controversy began and for not grooming a successor to replace him.
'Save Lalbagh Fort, Mohasthangarh
Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba) at a human chain yesterday demanded protection of the Lalbagh Fort in Dhaka and Mohasthangarh in Bogra.
Speakers said illegal high rises were constructed at the southwest side of the fort, which makes the heritage site unable to see.
Moreover different kinds of programmes including concert are being held inside the fort despite the High Court's directive to stop permitting those programmes there, they said.
The speakers alleged that the authorities concerned did not take any move to evict the illegal structures despite the HC order.
They also said the construction work at Mohasthangarh is going on destroying the 2,300-year-old artifacts of the site violating the HC order.
The artifacts being found during excavation at Mohasthangarh are destroyed, they told the human chain organised by Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Save Environment Movement) in front of the National Museum in the city yesterday.
Former dean of Buet, Saheda Rahman; convener of Oitijya Shongrakkhan Parishad of the SEM, Prof Samsul Wares; Prof Dr Sayed Ahmed of Asia Pacific University; Prof Lala Rukh Selim of Dhaka University; president of Jatiya Puja Udjapon Samity, Kajol Debnath; Prof AKM Shahnewaj of Jahangirnagar University; Prof Mohammad Ali Noki of Stamford University; and SEM chairman Abu Narser Khan also spoke at the event.
News Source:
The Daily StarGovt stake comes down to 3.5pc
A debate over the ownership of the Grameen Bank is brewing, as the finance and foreign ministers have repeatedly claimed Grameen is a government institution.
A question about the government's stake in the bank came to the fore after the "removal" of Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus from the post of its managing director.
Grameen Bank website shows the bank's borrowers own 95 percent of the bank's total equity. The remaining five percent belongs to the government, which can obtain up to 25 percent stake in Grameen as per the law.
However, Grameen in a statement yesterday said the government's share in the bank has come down to 3.5 percent.
The question arises whether the government can claim the bank to be one of its organisations.
The present government, which holds only three seats in the 12-member Grameen board, now behaves as if Grameen is a state-controlled bank, not owned by its eight million borrowers.
Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, who headed Bangladesh Bank for four years until May 2009, sees no reason why the government should claim the Grameen Bank as one of its institutions.
“You cannot call it a government institution. It was set up by the government under a special act,” said Ahmed.
He said the bank is a legal entity, not a government institution.
A look into the Grameen's capital base and the government stake in it can clarify the matter.
When the bank was established in 1983 with a paid up capital (equity) of Tk 3 crore, the government's share in it was Tk 1.8 crore or 60 percent. Borrowers of the bank owned the remaining 40 percent, half of which belonged to female borrowers, according to the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983.
The government in an amendment in 1986 raised the paid up capital to Tk 7.2 crore without subscribing proportionately to its ownership, reducing its stake to 25 percent. The rest belonged to the borrowers of the bank.
Over the years, the bank has increased its paid up capital that went up to over Tk 52 crore at the end of 2009 from Tk 35.8 crore the previous year.
The bank's paid up capital was Tk 31.8 crore in 2007 and Tk 26.95 crore in 2000.
“Grameen Bank has increased its paid up capital almost every year. But the government did not subscribe. So its shares have come down gradually and now stands around 5 percent,” said a senior central bank official.
Government high-ups quite often mention that the Grameen Bank was established by a 1983 ordinance, a special law.
“As per the law, the government has some sort of role in the bank. But it cannot control or claim the bank's ownership,” said the former governor of Bangladesh Bank.
The central bank on Wednesday issued a letter on Yunus' removal from the post of managing director of Grameen Bank for violating one of the statutes.
Wishing anonymity, a top Bangladesh Bank official said they could do nothing as the government wanted Yunus to quit the Grameen Bank he founded in 1976.
Both Grameen and Yunus have expanded well beyond banking. Yunus founded nearly 25 companies in many sectors -- energy, telecom, education, fisheries, dairy, software, internet, knitwear and fashion -- all of which aim at improving the living condition of the poor.
In 2006, Yunus and Grameen Bank received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts at economic and social development.
News Source:
The Daily StarDon't hit Grameen Bank: Yunus
Muhammad Yunus has said it is not a big deal who is the managing director of Grameen Bank, but it should not suffer in any way.
"There should not be any hit on Grameen Bank, an institution, which is connected with one third of the country's families," he said on Thursday.
Yunus was speaking to reporters after the hearing on the writ petition he filed challenging the legality of his removal as Grameen Bank managing director.
"I had wanted to quit, but I stayed on because of the decision of its Board of Directors," Yunus said.
"Grameen Bank has 8.3 million beneficiaries. It runs on its own capital, not donations. Any loss of trust will shake up the institution."
During the hearing, attorney general Mahbubey Alam reiterated that Bangladesh Bank's statement that Grameen Bank flouted regulations by renewing Mohammad Yunus' appointment without the central bank's nod.
He said, "Bangladesh Bank on Aug 25, 1990 had approved under condition the appointment of Mohammad Yunus as the managing director of Grameen Bank."
"The condition was that in case of any change in the terms of appointment, it would require a new approval from the central bank."
According to the Grameen Bank Ordinance, the age of retirement is 60, he said.
Though Grameen had renewed Yunus' appointment on July 20, 1999, it did not seek permission from Bangladesh Bank, Mahbubey Alam added.
News Source:
BDNews24Leave Professor Yunus alone
There was a time, not so long ago, when Bangladesh's name was synonymous with disasters. The calamities were either natural (cyclones or floods), or manmade (political assassinations or coup de tats)
.
Former American Secretary of State, Dr. Henry Kissinger, labelled Bangladesh as "an international basket case" in 1974. Although Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman retorted, "Bangladesh is not an empty basket," the label somehow stuck.
Bangladesh's image, however, began to slowly improve in the 1980s when two of its illustrious and innovative sons decided to do something about Bangladesh's abject poverty -- Professor Muhammad Yunus through microcredit and Grameen Bank, and Mr. Fazle Hasan Abed through Brac.
The whole world now celebrates Yunus and Abed. Grameen and Brac are being emulated all over the world. Professor Muhammad Yunus won the ultimate honour the world bestows its citizens, the Nobel Prize, in 2006, and Fazle Hasan Abed won the inaugural Clinton Global Citizen Award in 2007 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010.
Professor Yunus and Sir Fazle have won incredible number of most prestigious awards from foreign countries all over the world for their incredible achievements. What astonishes the writer is that neither of them has won any award from the government of Bangladesh! On the contrary, based on its recent actions, it appears that the government is going after possibly one of the few honest public figures remaining in Bangladesh, Professor Muhammad Yunus!
Charged with defamation by a politician, Professor Yunus had to appear before a court in a Mymensingh recently for uttering in 2007 the perceived truth about Bangladeshi politicians: they are corrupt and after money. Wouldn't every non-politician Bangladeshi agree with that statement? Yet Professor Yunus was dragged before a court to assuage the hurt feelings of an aggrieved politician! How ridiculous! How silly!
- Fakhruddin Ahmed
Remittance may face serious setback due to Libyan crisis
Country's remittance earning that witnessed a balanced trend in recent months might face serious setback in the coming days due to uprising in Libya, which forced many Bangladeshi workers to return home, reports UNB.
The present crisis is likely to have further adverse impact on Bangladesh's overseas labour market and balance of payments.
According to the leaders of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), over 80,000 Bangladeshis work in Libya.
"Definitely, remittance inflow will drop significantly following crisis in Libya. It might have impact on the overall economy of Bangladesh," BAIRA president Abul Bashar told the news agency over phone.
He said over 80,000 Bangladeshis, mostly technical and skilled, had been working in Libya. The workers from strife-torn Libya have started returning home and if this continues Bangladesh will be deprived of a substantial amount of remittance.
Replying to a question, the BAIRA chief said they talked to the officials of some companies in Libya, who assured them that they would take back their Bangladeshi workers once normalcy is restored in the West African country.
Former BAIRA president Ghulam Mustafa said overall remittance inflow to the country would come down drastically if the present crisis in Libya and some other Middle-Eastern countries continues for long.
He said it will have serious impact on the country's overall economy, including balance of payment situation and foreign exchange reserve.
He suggested forming a national committee with representatives of Foreign and Labour ministries as well as other stakeholders to cope with the situation and explore new labour markets.
Replying to a query, Mustafa said the government should take immediate steps to arrange sending the returnee Bangladeshis from Libya to other friendly countries.
He said that Kuwait has not been recruiting workers from Bangladesh for nearly eleven years while Saudi Arabia did not recruit Bangladeshis in the last seven years.
According to the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) analysis, the first half of the current fiscal has posed formidable challenges for the country in terms of the number of workers going abroad and remittance flow. Number of migrant workers has decreased by almost half compared to average figure for comparable periods of fiscals 2006-07 and 2007-08.
It said there has been a significant deceleration in the growth of remittance inflow to Bangladesh during the first five months (July-November) of current fiscal. Total remittance inflow declined by 1.7 per cent during the period compared to the same period of previous fiscal (2009-10).
Our Staff Correspondent adds: The flow of inward remittances increased slightly last month over that of the previous month despite less working days, officials said.
Bangladeshi nationals working abroad sent US$974.46 million in 18 working days of February last, up by $3.92 million from the previous month. In January 2011, the remittance was $970.54 million, according to the central bank statistics released Thursday.
"The inflow of remittance is still in a stable position. But we are very much cautious about the Middle East situation," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE.
He also said the central bank is observing the latest developments in the Middle East countries closely.
The country received $7.495 billion during the July-February period of fiscal 2010-11, registering a 2.49 per cent growth over the same period of the previous fiscal, the BB's data showed.
The central bank of Bangladesh earlier took a series of measures to encourage expatriate Bangladeshis to send their hard earned money through formal banking channel instead of the illegal "hundi" system to boost the country's foreign exchange reserves.
Currently, some private commercial banks along with the state-owned commercial banks are trying to increase the flow of inward remittances from the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Italy and the United States.
"We're establishing new contacts with overseas exchange houses so that our migrant workers could find it easy to send money back home," a senior official of a leading commercial bank told the FE, adding that some banks were trying to set up their own exchange houses in different parts of the world.
The country's foreign exchange reserve stood at $11.23 billion Thursday, despite nominal growth of remittance from Bangladeshis working abroad, the BB officials added.Middle-Eastern countries continues for long.
He said it will have serious impact on the country's overall economy, including balance of payment situation and foreign exchange reserve.
He suggested forming a national committee with representatives of Foreign and Labour ministries as well as other stakeholders to cope with the situation and explore new labour markets.
Replying to a query, Mustafa said the government should take immediate steps to arrange sending the returnee Bangladeshis from Libya to other friendly countries.
He said that Kuwait has not been recruiting workers from Bangladesh for nearly eleven years while Saudi Arabia did not recruit Bangladeshis in the last seven years.
According to the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) analysis, the first half of the current fiscal has posed formidable challenges for the country in terms of the number of workers going abroad and remittance flow. Number of migrant workers has decreased by almost half compared to average figure for comparable periods of fiscals 2006-07 and 2007-08.
It said there has been a significant deceleration in the growth of remittance inflow to Bangladesh during the first five months (July-November) of current fiscal. Total remittance inflow declined by 1.7 per cent during the period compared to the same period of previous fiscal (2009-10).
Our Staff Correspondent adds: The flow of inward remittances increased slightly last month over that of the previous month despite less working days, officials said.
Bangladeshi nationals working abroad sent US$974.46 million in 18 working days of February last, up by $3.92 million from the previous month. In January 2011, the remittance was $970.54 million, according to the central bank statistics released Thursday.
"The inflow of remittance is still in a stable position. But we are very much cautious about the Middle East situation," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE.
He also said the central bank is observing the latest developments in the Middle East countries closely.
The country received $7.495 billion during the July-February period of fiscal 2010-11, registering a 2.49 per cent growth over the same period of the previous fiscal, the BB's data showed.
The central bank of Bangladesh earlier took a series of measures to encourage expatriate Bangladeshis to send their hard earned money through formal banking channel instead of the illegal "hundi" system to boost the country's foreign exchange reserves.
Currently, some private commercial banks along with the state-owned commercial banks are trying to increase the flow of inward remittances from the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Italy and the United States.
"We're establishing new contacts with overseas exchange houses so that our migrant workers could find it easy to send money back home," a senior official of a leading commercial bank told the FE, adding that some banks were trying to set up their own exchange houses in different parts of the world.
The country's foreign exchange reserve stood at $11.23 billion Thursday, despite nominal growth of remittance from Bangladeshis working abroad, the BB officials added.
News Source:
The Financial Express
