Tuesday, August 31, 2010

President, PM greet members of Hindu community on Janmashtami

President Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today greeted members of the Hindu community on the occasion of holy Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Sri Krishna.
In separate messages on the eve of the occasion, they wished success of all programmes across the country marking the day.

They referred to the existing communal harmony in the country and hoped that harmony, amity and fraternity among the people would strengthen further in future.
In his message, President Zillur Rahman said the ideals of Sri Krishna were to forge the bond of true love and amity between man and man.
Bangladesh is a country of religious harmony and followers of all faiths have been living in harmony in the country since the old days, he said.
This communal harmony would have to be strengthened along with building Bangladesh as a happy and prosperous country, the President said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her message, said Sri Krishna throughout his life devoted to upholding human love and justice.
Sri Krishna used to adore truth and beauty through his work, lifestyle and messages, she said.
The Prime Minister hoped that the ideals and teachings of Sri Krishna would be inspiring his followers constantly.
She wished a happy and peaceful celebration of the festival.
-BSS

ADB offers $100m to power project

ADB offers $100m to power project

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will extend a $100 million equivalent loan for a cross-border electricity initiative between India and Bangladesh that will provide impetus for increased power trading in South Asia.
ADB’s board of directors on Tuesday approved the loan for the Bangladesh-India Electrical Grid Interconnection Project, said a statement.

The funds will be used to build a 40-kilometer 400-kilovolt transmission line, along with a high voltage direct current substation and connecting loop, linking the western electrical grid of Bangladesh with India’s eastern grid.
Around 500 megawatts of power are expected to flow into Bangladesh by 2012 as a result of the project, with the possibility of more in the future.
Staff from the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh will be trained to manage the new facilities, while officials of the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board will learn cross-border power trading skills.
ADB’s assistance from its concessional Asian Development Fund makes up 63 percent of the total investment cost of $156.8 million.
The loan has a 32-year term including a grace period of 8 years, with interest charged at 1.0 percent per annum during the grace period and 1.5 percent per year for the rest of the term. The balance of the investment of $58.6 million will be funded by the Bangladesh government, while interconnection facilities on the Indian side will be financed, developed and operated by India.
The Power Grid Company of Bangladesh is the executing agency for the project, which is due for completion in December 2012.
Bangladesh’s fast growing economy has seen power demand sharply outstripping supply, resulting in frequent power cuts, voltage fluctuations and losses in economic output estimated at nearly $1 billion a year.
While the economy has grown by an average of 6 percent a year since 2005, less than half the population of 156 million has access to power. Unreliable power supply has hurt industry and will hamper efforts to provide better economic opportunities and social services for the poor.
The project will signal a new era in energy cooperation in South Asia and is likely to herald further power trading agreements, resulting in more effective use of existing energy resources in the region, said Sultan Hafeez Rahman, director general of ADB’s South Asia Department.
“Connecting the two grids will demonstrate the substantial economic benefits that come from enhanced regional cooperation and help address energy gaps across the region,” Rahman said.
It will also allow Bangladesh to reduce its current reliance on stopgap power measures such as rental generation facilities, and help generate jobs and new business opportunities by providing a more reliable supply of power to industries.
-UNB

 

DSE turnover dips to 7-week low

The daily turnover on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) dropped to a 7-week low on Sunday when regulator, stock exchange authorities and merchant bankers failed to reach an understanding on margin loa
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held a meeting on Sunday with executives of Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges and Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association (BMBA) to ensure proper enforcement of margin loan criteria.

But the meeting ended only with mere understanding that they would meet again on next Sunday (September 5) to discuss the issue.
The market was greatly concerned about the meeting, which transmitted a volatile wave into the transactions and dragged the daily turnover to 7-week below.
The daily turnover dropped at Taka 1,154 crore on the week's opening day, which was lower than the nearest record low of Taka 1,169 crore on July 12 this year.
The fund flow to the market declined by Taka 531 crore in only three trading sessions after the SEC on August 25 directed the merchant bankers and brokerage houses to determine the market price of portfolios or securities for providing margin loans in accordance with the Margin Rules of 1999.
Under the rules, the brokers and merchant bankers have to evaluate the market price of a share by dividing the sum of its current price and net asset value (NAV) by two to provide margin loans to their clients.
But the brokerage houses do not have the effective technical setup to follow the new rules, which created a serious problem in providing their clients with margin loan that subsequently narrowed down the fund flow to the market.
According to asset management company, Aims of Bangladesh, the SEC's new loan criteria pulled DSE index 1.84 percent down in two days when the financial, power, engineering, food, telecom and tannery sector were mostly affected by it. The DSE index, however, gained some margin on Sunday on the hope that the meeting on margin loan would bring some positive news to the investors.
The index finished the day at 6670.16, 16.87 points or 0.25 percent higher than the last week closing.
-BSS

Eid shopping gets momentum

The shopping for Eid-ul-Fitr festival has started gaining momentum as people of different ages thronged the city's shopping malls to buy panjabis, dresses and other necessary items for their near and dear ones for celebrating the biggest occasion in the country with joy and gaiety.
Eid shopping
With the advent of the Eid-ul-Fitr, city's customers especially women in good number thronged the Mouchck market, Anarkoli market, Concrod Twin Tower, Eastern Plaza, Gulistan Maket, Pir Yemeni Market, New Market, Gausia Market, Rapa Plaza and Bashundhara Shopping mall for buying dresses for their family members to avoid last moments of rush.
The traders in different shopping malls in the city are keeping their businesses open till mid night as growing number of customers are turning up after the iftar.
Punjabi, is traditional and most common attire for men of different ages and professions is a vital item. Without a punjabi and pajama many could not think of complete pleasure on the Eid day.
The varieties of different colours and designs of punjabis are being made of adicotton, pure cotton, khadi, Rajshahi silk, reshmi cotton, jute cotton and bexicotton fabrics have been selling in the markets as those have a high demand among the customers.
The prices of punjabis with hand stitched embroidery varied on their qualities and designs. The prices of locally made punjabis were sold between Tk 500 and Tk 7,000 each at different shopping malls in the city.
Eid shopping
Many fashion houses like Anjan, Nitya Upuhar are selling exclusive designed punjabis.
However, in the makeshift shops, per punjabi is selling between Tk 150 and Tk 450 yesterday, according to traders.
"The collections of punjabis at different markets are sufficient, but those prices are too high compared with the last year's price. Finally, after visiting three markets, I managed to buy two punjabis for my family members" Ferdous Ara, a banker told the correspondent.
This year, the prices of different varieties of punjabis are a little bit high since the prices of yarn and other raw materials for producing cotton went up high compared with the previous years, traders asserted.
But despite this, the demand of punjabi this year goes high compared with the previous years. Different garment factories and fashion houses have been working relentlessly to meet the growing demand of punjabis.
This year approximately 3.5 crore punjabis are expected to be sold through out the country since locally made punjabis have a high demand to the customers, manufacturers told The New Nation yesterday.
Considering the growing demand, garment factories and different fashion houses in the country have increased their production to mitigate customers demand.
Sharif and Rupali Markets, located at Sadarghat area, are the biggest wholesale punjabi markets in the country.
The best quality locally made punjabi is between Tk 2,500 and Tk 3000 each. Shops in different shopping malls imported panjabi from neighbouring countries and sold between Tk 5,000 and Tk 7,000 each, traders said.
The wholesalers at Sadarghat said, they made punjabis by their own capacity and designers help in completing the design of punjabis.
On the other hand fashion houses like Arang, Anjans, Mantra and Probartana and others make panjabi through their appointed weavers and designers.
Different types of punjabi with embroidery, block print and manually designs were sold between Tk 1,500 and Tk 8,000 each.
On the other hand, cotton panjabis with simple design was sold between Tk 600 and Tk 1,500 each at Aesha Shopping Complex and Mouchack Market at Malibagh in the city yesterday.
Asked whether the prices would increase before the Eid, traders said, the prices of panjabi and other dresses would increase a little bit when the public and private service holders get their salaries and bonuses before the Eid.
-New Nation

Militants threaten to blow up KPIs, attack judges, lawyers and police

Militants have threatened to blow up important establishments as well as carry out simultaneous attacks on judges, lawyers and police if what they called their four ‘national leaders’ are not freed within the Eid.

 
 
Threat to attackThe unidentified militant outfit under the banner of ”M.D.M.T” sent an email containing the threat to the Law Commission on August 25.
However, the email did not mention the names of their four national leaders.
The Registrar of the International Crimes Tribunal Shahinur Islam told UNB that the Law Commission got the email when it opened it today. He said the police was informed of the matter.
Officer-in-charge of Shahbagh police station Rezaul Karim said he registered a general diary with his police station Tuesday noon.
Investigation began to trace out the e-mail senders, he said, adding security which is already in place is enough for ensuring the security of the Supreme Court compound.
-UNB

PM delivers another of her ‘warnings’, against campus violence this time

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Tuesday renewed her warning against hooliganism and violent activities on educational campuses in the name of Chhatra League, or other fronts of Awami League.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Tuesday renewed her warning against hooliganism and violent activities on educational campuses in the name of Chhatra League, or other fronts of Awami League.
She also warned Chhatra League leaders for giving sanctuary to Chhatra Dal and Chhatra Shibir activists in Chhatra League to serve their own personal interests.
The Prime Minister made the remarks at a discussion marking the August 15 tragedy at Bangabandhu International Conference Center.
Hasina urged the Chhatra League workers to work with devotion and strong morals to redeem the lost glory of the student politics.
Awami League presidium member Obaidul Qader, DU Vice-chancellor Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique, Chittagong University teacher Dr Hamida Banu and journalist Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul also spoke at the discussion. BCL president Mahmud Hasan Ripon was in the chair.
-UNB

Hasina sheds crocodile tears: Delwar

BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain has bitingly criticized the Prime Minister for her remarks on Begum Zia’s feelings towards her sons, saying the Prime Minister is shedding ‘crocodile tears’.
On Monday, Hasina at a discussion on August 15, 1975 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center questioned Khaleda’s fulfillment of her role as a mother, citing the BNP chairperson’s lack of visits to her ailing sons abroad. The PM extended this line of thought to question how Begum Zia could be expected to stand beside the people, if she could not even stand beside her ailing sons.
Responding in kind on Tuesday, Delwar cranked up the personalization of the country’s politics by questioning how many days the Prime Minister used to stay with her husband, and why her son Joy only came to Dhaka well after Dr Wazed Miah’s death.
“Questions remain about these matters. We do not want to talk about these things as we don’t feel it is good to comment on someone’s personal matters,” said the BNP secretary general at a meeting at Mohanagar Natya Mancha marking BNP’s 32nd founding anniversary tomorrow.
BNP Vice Chairman Selima Rahman presided over the meeting, which was addressed by BNP standing committee member Dr Khondkar Mosharaf Hossain, MK Anwar, Nazrul Islam Khan, Vice Chairman Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, chairperson’s adviser Shamsuzzaman Dudu, Prof MA Mannan and joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
Delwar asked the BNP men to stay united considering country’s current situation.
Dr Khondkar Mosharaf Hossain said both local and foreign conspiracies are being hatched in the country, before indicating the foreign powers were holding greater sway over matters.
-UNB