05-07-2021

MONDAY, jULY 5, 2021
6
Milk production increases
by 1 lac tonnes in Rajshahi
Begumganj Upazila Chairman Shahnaz Begum Naju inaugurated the afforestation in
Nateshwar area of Sonaimuri on Chaumuhani-Chhatarpaiya road. Photo : Manik Bhuyan
8 die of Covid-19, 992 more
infected in Rajshahi
RAJSHAHI : A total of 992 more people
have tested positive for Covid-19 in all eight
districts of the division on Saturday, taking
the caseload to 59,302.
With eight more fatalities from the disease
reported on the day, the death toll reached
937, including 419 in Bogura, 173 in Rajshahi
with 96 in its city and 114 in
Chapainawabganj, said Dr Habibul Ahsan
Talukder, divisional director of Health.
The new daily infection figure shows a
surging trend compared to the previous day's
figure of 426, the health department sources
said. Among the infected people, 41,255
have, so far, been cured from the lethal virus
with 729 new recoveries reported during the
time. A total of 6,898 infected patients are
now undergoing treatment at different
designated hospitals here.
Besides, all the positive cases for Covid-19
have, so far, been brought under necessary
treatment while 13,400 were kept in
isolation units of different hospitals for
institutional supervision. Of them, 9,228
have by now been released.
On the other hand, 754 more people have
been sent to home and institutional
quarantine afresh while 295 others were
CHATTOGRAM : NNK
Foundation, the family
charity organization of
Information and
Broadcasting Minister Dr
Hasan Mahmud, has
provided food assistance to
600 needy families of CNG
autorickshaw drivers at
Rangunia upazila on behalf
of him.
The packets were handed
over to the leaders of eight
CNG Autorickshaw Drivers'
Associations maintaining
health rules at Rangunia
Upazila Awami League (AL)
office on Saturday.
The food items were
distributed by the NNK
Foundation, the family
charity organization of the
Information Minister.
Master Abdur Rauf, an
official of the NNK
Foundation, presided over
the function while Rangunia
Municipality AL President
Master Aslam Khan, Upazila
AL Religious Affairs
Secretary Jasim Uddin
Talukder and Councilor
Jasim Uddin Shah, among
others, addressed the
function.
Emrul Karim Rashed,
personnel secretary to
Information Minister,
conducted the function.
Speaking at the
distributing function Master
Abdur Rauf said that food
items were provided to
about 50,000 families in
Rangunia through the
family charity NNK
Foundation at the personal
initiative of the Information
Minister when the outbreak
of the corona virus started
last year.
Now a total of 600 packets
released from isolation during the last 24
hours till 8 am on Sunday.
Of the total new positive cases, the highest
269 were detected in Rajshahi, including 144
in its city, followed by 194 in Bogura, 176 in
Natore, 147 in Pabna, 66 in Sirajganj, 51, in
Naogaon, 49 in Chapainawabganj and 40 in
Joypurhat districts.
With the newly detected patients, the
district-wise break-up of the total cases now
stands at 18,250 in Rajshahi, including
14,701 in its city, 4,300 in Chapainawabganj,
4,739 in Naogaon, 4,102 in Natore, 3,561 in
Joypurhat, 14,379 in Bogura, 4,769 in
Sirajganj and 5,202 in Pabna.
A total of 86,371 people have, so far, been
kept under quarantine since March 10 last
year to prevent the community transmission
of the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19).
Of them, 77,460 have, by now, been
released as they were given clearance
certificates after completing their respective
14-day quarantine period.
Meanwhile, the surge of Covid-19 cases has
been continuing in all eight districts of the
division since the very beginning of the
second wave making the division a hotspot of
the deadly virus.
600 CNG drivers of Rangunia
get food assistance
of food items have been
distributed among the
members of eight CNG
Autorickshaw Drivers'
Association under the
Upazila due to the lockdown
in the first phase.
Each packet contains 25
kg of daily commodities
including rice, pulses, oil,
salt and sugar.
Rauf said the more food
items would be distributed
in phases among the needy
people of different walks of
life in Rangunia who were in
crisis due to the lockdown.
Meanwhile, the CNG
autorickshaw drivers
expressed their gratitude to
the Information Minister for
providing food items in this
difficult time.
49 more test
positive for
COVID-19 in
C'nawabganj
CHAPAINAWABGANJ :
Some 49 more persons
tested positive for Covid-19
in last 24 hours till Sunday
morning, raising the total
number of infection to 4,267
in the district.
A total of 308 samples
were tested here during the
time showing the infection
rate 15.90 percent, Civil
Surgeon Office sources
confirmed.
Among the newly detected
patients, 20 people are from
sadar upazila, one from
Shibganj upazila, four from
Gomastapur upazila, four
from Nachole upazila and
20 from Bholahat upazila.
Of the total detected
patients of the district, 2,366
persons are from sadar
upazila, 743 from Shibganj
upazila, 555 from
Gomostapur upazila, 345
from Nachole upazila and
258 from Bholahat upazila.
A total of 762 patients are
undergoing treatment for
coronovirus. Of them, 75 are
in dedicated Covid hospital
and others at home.
TK 62,900 fined
for health rule
violations in
Gaibandha
GAIBANDHA : District
administration yesterday
conducted 18 mobile courts,
realizing fine Taka 62,900,
filing 90 cases for flouting
health related guidelines
during strict lockdown
announced by the
government to halt the
spread of Covid-19 across
the country.
The courts led by executive
magistrates during their
drives also distributed
quality masks to the people,
said SM Foyez Uddin,
executive magistrate of the
district administration.
The drives were also
operated in the district on
Thursday and Friday to
ensure strict lockdown.
RAJSHAHI : Milk production has
been enhanced by around one lakh
tonnes while dairy farm largely
expanded in the district in last four
years, delighting many people as
fortune maker.
In 2020, around 3.56 lakh tonnes of
milk was produced compared to 2.50
lakh tons in 2016, said Ismail Haque,
District Livestock Training Officer.
Dairy farming has become a
blessing for people because many of
them are doing business for attaining
economic emancipation in the region,
he said.
Rabiul Karim has become an icon in
the field of dairy farming in his
locality at Katakhali Shyamnagar
village, around nine kilometers off the
Rajshahi city, for the last few years.
He started the business with four
cows around six years back leaving
behind his high-salaried job in a
private company. He has 32 cows in
his 'Abrar Dairy Farm' on around four
bigha of land at present.
A former student of the Department
of Accounting and Information
Management in Rajshahi University,
Karim is getting 150 liters of milk
from 13 of the cows on an average
daily at present. After exploring the
existing potentialities, he has become
competent towards making butter
from the unsold milk and selling
those to the food shops and other
restaurants.
Currently, his monthly income has
now stood at around Taka one lakh,
while around Taka 15 to 18 lakh yearly
through selling milk and other milkbased
processed foods.
He has developed high-yielding
grasslands on four bigha of land to
feed the cows. He provides nutritious
food to the cows regularly.
Karim said: "I, myself, prepare the
feeds through mixing maize, wheat
and rice bran and other nutritive
grains and ingredients".
Another dairy farmer Golam Rahid
has started his business after
purchasing a cow at a cost of Taka
10,000 around a decade back. Now,
he has 25 cows producing 120 liters of
milk on an average every day.
Amidst arrangement of high
yielding and high breeding cows, milk
production has been enhanced to a
great extent. He sells the milk at his
farm in Assam Colony area in the city.
Rahid said dairy farming has now
become expensive in the wake of
price-hike of cow's feed items,
medicines and other requisite inputs.
Like Rabiul Karim and Golam
Rahid, many others have become
successful entrepreneurs in this field
contributing a lot towards ensuring
milk and other milk-based processed
foods to the society.
Artificial insemination of cows is
gaining popularity in the region
following significant achievement in
the breed up-gradation method, said
Ismail Haque, District Livestock
Training Officer.
He said the cows are giving milk ten
times more than that of the previous
record due to the cross-breeding.
In both rural and urban areas, the
poor and marginalized people
People are illegally fishing at the Ulubunia river of paikgacha, Khulna.
including women have achieved
tremendous successes in the sector
through getting various assistances
from the government.
Prof Jalal Uddin Sarder of the
Department of Veterinary and
Animal Sciences in Rajshahi
University opined that boosting milk
production and its consumption is
very effective to eradicate the
malnutrition that can stem Covid-19
spread.
Highlighting the enormous aspects
of milk to the nation-building
process, he viewed that milk
consumption is also crucial for both
physical and mental development of
the children.
Prof Sarder mentioned that largescale
promotion of the livestock
sector is very important to remove the
existing protein deficiency alongside
ensuring food security.
In addition to meeting the
nutritional deficit especially meat and
milk demand, the livestock sector has
a laudable contribution to enrich the
soil nutrient which is being declined
gradually due to indiscriminate use of
chemical fertilizers and harmful
pesticides.
He said most of the people suffer
from malnutrition, especially lack of
animal protein getting from milk,
meat and egg.
He revealed that production of huge
amounts of meat through the
indigenous beef-cattle improvement
would supply low cost meat for
people and it will ultimately protect
them from malnutrition.
Photo : TBT
In Rajasthali upazila, the people are following the strictest lockdown as directed by the army, police,
public administration and local government.
Photo : Chauching Marma
On the fourth day of the ongoing lockdown in Bochaganj upazila of Danajpur, the executive
magistrate and assistant commissioner of the mobile court Bikash Chandra Barman conducted
raid at various places of the upazila.
Photo : Sumon Chandra
PANCHAGARH : Commercial
cultivation of Dragon, a kind of
delicious and nutritious fruit, is
gaining much popularity among the
farmers in the district in recent times.
Due to its high market value on the
local and foreign markets, farmers in
Panchagarh are being driven towards
Dragon fruit cultivation, which,
unlike some crops, is commercially
viable.
According to the Department of
Agricultural Extension (DAE),
dragon fruit orchards have been
developed in different areas of the
region. There are three types of
dragon fruit crops - red, white, and
yellow - that are being cultivated in
the region.
Rashed Prodhan, a young
entrepreneur of Noyadigi village in
Commercially
dragon cultivation
gains popularity
in Panchagarh
Boda upazila of Panchagarh district,
has cultivated dragon on three bighas
of land three years back. He got
bumper production from around four
thousand dragon trees in his orchard
and financially benefited with the sale
of the nutritious fruit.
The fruit is being sold at Taka 350
to 400 per kilogram according to size
and quality at present.
After being inspired from Rashed,
Abdus Sadder, a farmer of Kaliaganj
village in Boda upazila, has developed
a dragon orchard on two bigas of
land. He got good results from his
orchard and earned Taka two lakh by
selling a dragon.
Boda Upazila Agriculture Officer
Al-Mamun or Rashid told BSS that
farmers of the district who were once
reluctant for dragon cultivation now
are tending and showing huge
interests to cultivate it.
Many farmers change their fortune
by cultivating dragons. "We are
currently harvesting and selling
dragon fruit online amid the Covid-19
pandemic," said a dragon farmer of
the district, adding that they are
delivering their harvested fruits to
different areas of the capital city
through courier services after
meeting local demands.