20-05-2019

NEWS
MonDAY,
MAY 20, 2019
2
Law-enforcers rescue 84 Rohingyas from Pekua of Cox's Bazar and Teknaf upazila on Saturday.
Photo: Star Mail
Stocks piling up in Khulna mills
part of industry's 'chain of crises'
KHULNA : Stocks of finished goods in
all nine state-owned jute mills of Khulna
are piling up in the face of depressed
sales in global jute market, part of a
chain of crises afflicting the industry
including the ongoing labour unrest in
the region.
According to Bangladesh Jute Mills
Corporation (BJMC) sources, stock of
jute products worth Tk 284 crore
remain unsold, triggering a financial
crisis for the jute mills. Moreover, the
production rate has decreased to just a
third of the target, around 34 percent.
Sources said outdated machinery,
poor timing of raw jute purchase, and
decreasing demand for jute products in
the global markets are responsible for
the situation, resulting in the mills
failing to pay labourers' wages on time,
prompting the recent unrest.
It is to note that, nine jute mills -
Crescent, Platinum, Khalishpur,
Doulatpur, Star, Alim and Eastern - in
Khulna and JJI and Carpeting jute mills
in Jashore were established between
1952 and 1968. At least 5,115 looms were
installed at the time in the nine mills.
In 50 to 60 years, almost nothing in
the mills was upgraded. The spinning,
softener, breaker, finisher and drawing
machines of the mills are decaying faster
now for lack of proper renovation of
equipment.
According to sources within jute mills,
they produced 228 metric tonnes (MT)
per day against a target of 372 MT in
2017. In 2018, target and production
both reduced from 272 to 183 MTs on
daily basis. Moreover, only 1,854 looms
are working properly among 3,650
looms, reports UNB.
On the other hand, only 13,271
labourers have been working out of
33,047 permanent and daily wage based
labourers in the state-owned jute mills.
The mills authorities are purchasing
raw jute at high price as they couldn't
purchase it in the peak season for
financial crisis. They bought 179,922
quintals of raw jute by February 26 this
year, less than a quarter of the purchase
target.
Md Sohrab Hossain, general secretary
of Crescent Jute Mills' Collective
Bargaining Agents (CBA), said "Mills
authorities are spending extra Tk 2,000
per maund of raw jute now as they
couldn't purchase it in time. They are
imposing that loss on labourers now by
paying delayed wages which has
advanced the labourers' agitation."
Gazi Shahadat Hossain, Crescent Jute
Mills' project director, said, "The
demand of jute products is on a
downward trend in the international
markets. Iran, Syria, Sudan aren't
buying jute products from us. So we are
unable to sell the ready products and
cannot buy raw jute in time."
The only slightly profitable lines are
those producing lamination bags using
the new PLP machines, Shahadat said.
BJMC liaison officer Rahmatullah
said, "We get all updates from the mills.
We've been trying to sell ready products
as soon as possible. In the first phase,
we've plans to modernise and repair the
machineries of Crescent and Platinum
jute mills. This'll be implemented in
seven other mills subsequently."
Singer
'commits
suicide'
in Khulna
KHULNA : A singer
allegedly committed suicide
by hanging herself in
Kashimnagar area in the
district town on Sunday,
reports UNB.
Police said Farhana
Yasmin,36, a divorcee, had
been living with one of her
female friends in a rented
house in the area.
Her friend found Farhana
hanging from the ceiling fan
in her room and informed
police.
Police went to the spot and
recovered the body around 2
pm after breaking open the
door.
The body was sent to
Sadar Hospital for autopsy,
said Officer-in-charge of
Sadar Police Station
Humayun Kabir.
Farhana was a regular
Rabindra Sangeet singer of
Bangladesh Betar and
Bangladesh Television. She
was also an assistant teacher
of Dumuria Model
Government Primary
School.
Mother, son
killed by
lightning strike
in Khagrachhari
KHAGRACHHARI : A
woman and her son were
killed after being struck by a
lightning at Masterpara in
Bornal union of Matiranga
upazila early Sunday,
reports UNB.
The deceased was
identified as Ayesha Khatun,
55 and her son Mohammad
Momin, 22. Her daughter
and grandson were also
injured.
Shamsuddin Bhuiyan,
officer-in-charge of
Matiranga Police Station,
said that a thunderbolt hit
them while they were
preparing for sehri, killing
Ayesha and Momin on the
spot.
Aleya Khatun and her son
Arafat Hossain were also
injured.
FBCCI chief Fahim vows
to work together
DHAKA : Newly elected President of the Federation of
Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI)
Sheikh Fazle Fahim on Sunday vowed to work together with
the business community for greater good, reports UNB.
While taking over the charge officially, the apex trade body
chief said the FBCCI would continue to play its due role
taking part in the country's economic development process.
Fahim noted the country's growing economy and said the
FBCCI would continue its activities in line with Bangladesh's
journey towards further development.
The Board of Directors of the country's apex trade body,
elected for 2019-2021 tenure, took over the charge at a
function held at the FBCCI Bhaban.
Senior vice president Md Muntakim Ashraf, six vice
presidents and directors, elected for the next two years, were
present.
Former FBCCI President M Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin
spoke briefly before handing over charge to the new FBCCI
leadership.
He hoped that the newly elected Board of Directors would
turn out to be the most successful one through joint efforts
demonstrating its competence, capability and
determination.
Earlier on April 29, Md Ali Ashraf, chairman of the election
board of the FBCCI, announced the results of the FBCCI
election.
Former FBCCI leaders were also present.
Tax holiday is essential
for trade, commerce
development: BIDA chief
In Iran, economic
struggles trump fears
of US confrontation
Across Iran's capital, the talk always seems to
come back to how things may get worse,
reports UNB.
Battered by U.S. sanctions and its
depreciating rial currency, Iran's 80 million
people struggle to buy meat, medicine and
other staples of daily life. Now they wonder
aloud about America's intentions as it rushes
an aircraft carrier and other forces to the
region over a still-unexplained threat it
perceives from Iran.
The Associated Press spoke to a variety of
people on Tehran's streets recently, ranging
from young and old, women wearing the allencompassing
black chador to those loosely
covering their hair.
Most say they believe a war will not come
to the region, though they remain willing to
defend their country. They think Iran should
try to talk to the U.S. to help its anemic
economy, even as they see President Donald
Trump as an erratic and untrustworthy
adversary.
"Trump is not predictable at all and one
doesn't know how to react to him and what is
the right thing to do against him," said Afra
Hamedzadeh, a 20-year-old civil servant and
university student. "Since he controls the
global economy we are somehow left with
few options."
DHAKA : The field-level collection of data for
the Agriculture Census-2019 will begin in the
country on June 9 and it will continue till
June 20. During this time, the enumerators
will collect data on food grains, fisheries and
livestock, size of the agriculture households,
land use, size of the cultivated land, number
of cattle and poultry, agricultural
machineries, food security, fisheries and
forests in the urban and rural areas across the
country.
To make this Census a success, the
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) is
holding a three-day special training
programme for the census coordinators at
division and district levels.
Planning Minister MA Mannan
inaugurated the training programme
yesterday as the chief guest held at the BBS
Building in the city.
Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Md
Raisul Alam Mondol and Agriculture
Secretary M Nasiruzzaman spoke on the
occasion as special guests.
DHAKA : Bangladesh Investment Development Authority
(BIDA) Executive Chairman Kazi M Aminul Islam yesterday
said the government is providing tax holiday facility in
different fields as it is essential for the development of trade
and commerce.
"The government is providing the tax holiday facility in
different industries, especially industries under the
Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA), Bangladesh
Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA) and Bangladesh
Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA)," he said.
The BIDA chief said this while presiding over a discussion
on "Revisiting Tax Holiday Policy of Bangladesh for
Promoting Investment and Export" at BIDA headquarters in
the city, said a press release.
National Board of Revenue (NBR) Member (Income Tax
Policy) Kanon Kumar Roy, among others, attended the
discussion. BIDA and Business Initiative Leading
Development (BUILD) jointly organised the discussion.
Aminul Islam said the government is always alert about
the growth of trade and investment. "The government as well we`ÿ r/Rb-1339(2)/19/5/19
as related ministries and organizations are taking timely
GD-870/19 (9 x 3) GD-868/19 (9 x 3)
decisions considering all aspects," he added.
But opinions vary across Iran's capital,
Tehran, depending on whether you speak to
someone coming out of Friday prayers, in
the back of a shared taxi cab, or exiting the
coffee shops popular with young people.
"If America could do anything, it would
have done many things by now," said the
chador-wearing Zoherh Sadeghi, a 51-yearold
housewife coming out of prayers. "It can't
do anything. It can't do a damn thing."
That's an opinion shared by 35-year-old
office worker Massumeh Izadpanah.
"When someone keeps trying to scare you
it means that they think they are not yet
ready for war. When someone really wants
war it starts the war right away. Like when
Iraq attacked us, all of a sudden bombs were
dropped," she said. "But right now America
just says, 'I'm coming,' to scare Iran."
A young nation, many across Iran were
alive for its bloody 1980s war with Iraq, a
conflict that began when dictator Saddam
Hussein invaded and dragged on for eight
years. That war, in which Saddam used
chemical weapons and Iran launched human
wave attacks, killed 1 million people.
Since Trump withdrew the U.S. from Iran's
nuclear deal with world powers last year,
state television increasingly has focused
attention on that war's wounded.
Agriculture Census begins
from June 9 at field-level
Statistics and Informatics Division
Secretary Saurendra Nath Chakrabhartty also
spoke while BBS Director General Dr Krishna
Gain was present.
Speaking on the occasion, Planning
Minister said a modern training institute
would be set up on statistics and suggested
the Statistics Division to submit a
Development Project Proposal (DPP) to the
Planning Commission in this regard.
He said the information gap between the
BBS and agriculture ministry and other
ministries should have to be reduced.
Mannan said teamwork is needed to
properly conduct the agriculture census
adding, "You'll take training and then work
for the country."
According to the BBS, the first zonal
operations took place from December 1-20
last year while the second zonal operations
took place from February 9-20 this year.
Earlier, such Agriculture Census was
carried out in the country in 1960, 1977, 1983-
84, 1996 and 2008.