22-04-2021

Thursday, Dhaka, april 22, 2021, Baishakh 9, 1428 BS, Ramadan 9, 1442 hijri
Rebuilding partnership key to apparel
value chain recovery: Speakers
DHAKA : Speakers at a webinar emphasised
rebuilding the partnership among
brands, suppliers, governments and international
organisations as key to recovery
of the apparel value chain, reports UNB.
The medium-term recovery of the global
apparel value chain from the disruptions
of the COVID-19 pandemic has been
set back by the prolonged demand slump.
Global imports of apparels during the
period of January-August 2020 contracted
by 23 percent compared to the same
period in 2019.
Addressing medium-term challenges
through national-level interventions alone
will be difficult.Initiatives of major
brands/buyers were limited to inventory
smoothening, reshoring, and over-concentration
of orders to a limited number of
sources.
The recovery of many supplying countries
has been slow, including that of
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Innovative
'value chain-based solutions' are required
to help all the market players cope with the
crisis, ensure rebound and smooth recovery
and ultimately make the value chain
resilient.
These observations emerged at an international
webinar titled 'Recovery of the
Apparels Sector of Bangladesh and Sri
Lanka: Is a Value-chain-based Solution
Possible?'
The webinar was jointly organised by
Flights resumed in
domestic routes
sixteen days later
Shafiqul iSlam
After 16 days, flights on domestic routes of
the country have started from Wednesday
morning. On Tuesday (April 20) Civil
Aviation Authority (Bebichak) allowed
limited range flights from yesterday
(Wednesday). After receiving permission,
Biman Bangladesh Airlines, US-Bangla
Airlines and Novo Air announced the
launch of the flights. According to Hazrat
Shahjalal International Airport sources,
US-Bangla Airlines has flown one flight
each to Sylhet, Chittagong, Barisal,
Syedpur and Jessore since this morning.
Other airlines are also scheduled to operate
flights during the day. The number of
passengers is still a bit low as it was decided
to start the flight yesterday (Tuesday)
afternoon. However, with the increase in
the number of passengers on the flights.
However, no airline has announced flights
to Cox's Bazar and Rajshahi routes.
Kamrul Islam, General Manager-Public
Relations (GM-PR) of US-Bangla Airlines,
told, we got the opportunity to operate the
flight due to uncertainty during the
Corona period. The number of passengers
on the morning flight was slightly lower.
However, many tickets for the afternoon
flights have already been sold.
Domestic flights have been suspended
since April 5 due to restrictions
announced by the government. According
to Bebichak, expatriates from different
districts of the country going to Middle
Eastern countries cannot return home by
road due to lockdown. So the flight has
been launched mainly for them.
the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and
the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka
(IPS) in partnership with Southern Voice
on Tuesday.
CPD's Chairman Professor Rehman
Sobhan said ILO could consider playing
an entrepreneurial role in bringing together
international buying countries with
supplying countries to restructure of global
demand management.
He said tripartite exercise should be carried
out, including government, employers,
and workers to produce a mutually
accommodating system of unemployment
insurance to address not just the immediate
impact of the COVID crisis but a
longer-term crisis.
In the keynote presentation, CPD's
Research Director Dr Khondaker Golam
Moazzem and Research Economist of IPS
Kithmina Hewage stated that the study
found that major sourcing countries have
either reshored or over-concentrated to
limited number of sourcing countries during
the pandemic period.
There is limited level of initiatives of
major market players to keep the suppliers
of major sourcing countries and the world
of work in uncertainty to address the
medium-term challenges.
A major shift in the distribution of
export orders by buyers during the
COVID-19 period (January-June 2020)
has deprived a number of major supplying
Quader urges BNP to stand by
countrymen amid pandemic
countries, including Bangladesh and Sri
Lanka.
Analysis shows that an additional US$2
billion worth of orders could be redistributed
to supplying countries if the pre-
COVID period's market share of export
orders is maintained in case of the largest
supplying country - China.
The study proposes that in case of a
major global crisis, a redistributive
approach should be maintained to ensure
export orders at least at the pre-crisis level,
particularly for countries that have fiscal
constraints and weak social support programmes
to support their suppliers and
workers.
Husni Salieh, Director of Strategic
Transformation at MAS Holdings in Sri
Lanka shared that the value of a value
chain is truly optimised when its stakeholders
work collaboratively particularly
during the crisis.
He also added that building resilience
within a relatively diversified but existing
value chain has the capability to face the
current and future crisis successfully.
Founder and CEO of Bangladesh
Apparel Exchange Mostafiz Uddin said
that there is a lack of responsible business
practices among the brands during the
ongoing crisis. He opined that the brands
should consider their suppliers as business
partners and act responsibly.
DHAKA : Awami League General
Secretary Obaidul Quader yesterday
urged BNP to stand by the country's
people amid the ongoing coronavirus
pandemic by stopping its "lip service".
He came up with the call while
exchanging views with the officials of
Khulna zone of the Bangladesh Road
Transport Corporation (BRTC) and
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority
(BRTA) through videoconferencing
from his official residence here.
Quader, also the road transport and
bridges minister, said the politics of
people's welfare is an urgent now as
BNP and fundamental forces affect the
country's politics, the values of
Liberation War and the advancement of
the country's democracy.
BNP and its allies have made the
every achievement of the country questionable,
he said.
The AL general secretary said BNP
continues ill-efforts to make the glorious
days of the country and society controversial
as the party is looking for a
dark path to assume power without
public support.
He said stigmatising the golden
achievements of the nation, BNP wants
to restore the trend of Pakistan's politics
in the country, which is not possible at
all and people will not allow the party to
do so.
The people-oriented politics and the
politics of development of Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina have put the socalled
political parties in trouble and
halted the ambitious path of their politics,
Quader said.
About the ongoing coronavirus situation,
he said many people become
workless due to lockdown, urging the
AL men and affluent people of the society
to stand by the poor and destitute
people amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The AL general secretary said as
financial assistance, Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina will provide Taka 2,500
each to 35 lakh low-income families hit
by COVID-19 pandemic.
Besides, he said, one lakh farmers'
families affected by natural disaster will
get Taka 5,000 each.
Mentioning that about 10 kilometres
on Jashore-Khulna Highway from
Naopara to Jashore was badly damaged,
he instructed the authorities concerned
to complete the repair work of
the damaged road as soon as possible.
"Khulna-Mongla road is very important
as a thermal power plant and
Mongla seaport are located there", he
said asking the authorities concerned to
take steps soon to upgrade the road into
four lanes.
Quader asked the engineers to
strengthen monitoring work in the
ongoing infrastructure projects and
proceed necessary works for tender
flouting in new projects so that works of
these projects could start soon after
monsoon.
more than 200 tin-shed houses were gutted in a devastating fire at mostafa member's slum in
Ranavola village of Turag in the capital on Wednesday.
Photo: PBa
DNCC Dedicated Corona hospital has been opened in mohakhali of the capital to deal with the Corona epidemic.
Patients are flocking here as iCus are not available in different hospitals.
Photo : Star mail
‘Shishu Bokta’ Rafiqul
remanded
DHAKA : A court on Wednesday placed
stunted preacher Rafiqul Islam, popularly
known as 'Shishu Bokta' for his
short stature, on four-day remand in a
case lodged for attacking and engaging
in fight with police in the capital.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Abu
Sufiyan Mohammad Noman passed the
order as police produced him before the
court virtually and pleaded to show
Rafiqul arrested in the case.
The law enforcing agency also pleaded
to place him on 10-day remand. After
hearing the plea, the court placed the
accused on four-day remand.
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on
April 8 arrested Rafiqul from his house
in Netrokona in a case lodged under
Digital Security Act.
Bangladesh Chhatra Odhikar
Parishad brought out a rally in Motijheel
area on March 25, protesting the visit of
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Rafiqul joined the rally. As police tried to
push them away from the road, they
locked in a battle with the law enforcers.
200 shanties
gutted in Uttara
slum fire
DHAKA : At least 200 shanties were gutted
in a fire at a slum in the city's
Ranavola area of Uttara sector-10 on
Wednesday, reports UNB.
Sources at the Fire Service and Civil
Defence control room said the fire originated
at the slum known as 'Mustafa
member balurmath basti' around 12:20
pm and gutted the shanties.
Five firefighting units rushed to the
spot and brought the fire under control
at around 1:35pm, said duty officer Lima
Khanom.
The fire was doused at around 2:45
pm.
DHAKA : Among various diseases, cancer has posed a big
threat to human beings across the country. The disease denotes
a horrifying sight in each and every person as most people perceive
cancer means death.
Cancer occurs in people of all ages and can affect any part of
the body while the disease is a leading cause of death for children
and adolescents worldwide.
Physicians say it is also important to know that cancer as a
disease mostly affects the senior population, higher life
expectancy means higher cancer rates.
It is afflicting that the number of cancer patients has been
increasing day by day due to food habit, bad lifestyle and negative
impact of industrialization and technology.
Such situation underscores the importance that if left
untreated, cancer generally expands, invades other parts of the
body and causes death.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), in the country,
the number of cancer patients is more than 15 lakhs where
children and teenagers are mostly affected by the deadly disease.
According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, among the
cancer affected people, about one-third is children and adolescents
in city areas. And their age is between one and nineteen
years. Of them, children aged between 15 and 19 are mostly
affected.
On the other hand, about 13 percent children are affected by
cancer before reaching the age of only four years.
Besides, one percent children are affected between 10 and 14
years and two percent between 5 and 9 years.
Legendary Bengali poet Sankha
Ghosh dies of Covid
NEW DELHI : Bangladesh-born
legendary Indian poet Sankha
Ghosh, widely known by his pen
name Kuntak, died at home in the
eastern city of Kolkata on
Wednesday morning. He was 89,
reports UNB.
Ghosh passed away around 11.30
am on Wednesday, barely a week
after contracting coronavirus, his
family said. The poet was in home
isolation since April 14 when he
tested positive for Covid-19. He was
put on life support on Monday after
his condition worsened.
In fact, the eminent poet had been
suffering from age-related ailments
for a while. In January this year, he
was briefly hospitalised.
Born at Chandpur in present-day
Bangladesh and brought up in West
Bengal, Ghosh belonged to the era
of Bengali poets after Jibanananda
Das. Dinaguli Rataguli and Nihita
Patalachaya are some of his celebrated
works that have been translated
into English.
He is also the recipient of several
coveted awards-Jnanpith and
Sahitya Akademi awards to name a
few. In 2011, Ghosh was conferred
with the Padma Bhushan, the thirdhighest
civilian award in India.
Theprolific poet, who studied in
Kolkata's prestigious Presidency
College and completed his master's
degree in Bengali from Calcutta
University in 1954, also taught at
many varsities, including Calcutta
University, Jadavpur University,
Delhi University and Visva Bharati.
India's ruling Bharatiya Janata
Party's president JP Nadda took to
social media to pay his tribute to the
poet.
"I am deeply saddened by the
death of renowned Bengali poet
Sankha Ghosh, who was honoured
with Padma Bhushan, Sahitya
Akademi Award, Rabindra Award,
Saraswati Award and Jnanpith
Award. May his soul rest in peace,"
he tweeted.
Last year, Bengal lost another legend
to Covid. Celebrated
actorSoumitraChatterjee, the
favourite of India's Oscar-winning
filmmaker Satyajit Ray, passed
away at a hospital in Kolkata on
November 15.
Last week, India became the second
worst-affected country in the
world in terms of Covid cases. On
Tuesday, India reported as many as
259,170 new cases and 1,761 fatalities
in 24 hours, the highest daily
death toll since the pandemic broke
out in 2020.
India's Covid tally and death toll
currently stand at 1,53,21,089 and
1,80,530, respectively, according to
the country's Health Ministry.
Cancer dreads all, still early diagnosis
enhances survival rate
Experts said environmental challenges in city life, chemical
reaction in foods and impact of Genealogy are the main causes
of cancer in cities.
Assistant Professor of Child Hematology and Oncology
Department of Dhaka Medical College Dr SM Rezanur
Rahman said gene is the mostly reason of cancer. If there is any
cancer patient in a clan, it would be a problem for the next generation.
Besides, he said, environmental pollution, food habit and
indiscipline lifestyle are also main reasons for cancer.
As per the survey, mostly men are affected by the cancer after
their birth while the women are affected when they become
old.
The differences of cancer affected children and teenagers
between cities and villages are also alarming. The rate of affected
children in city areas is about 27 percent more compared to
villages. And it is about six percent in villages while the cancer
patients aged between zero and four years are 3.33 percent.
And the cancer patients aged between 10 and 14 are 2.28 percent.
Head of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Department of
DMC Professor Dr AKM Amirul Morshed Khasru conducted a
research about the types of cancer of children and teenagers.
As per the research, they (children and teenagers) are mostly
affected by leukemia. Thirty-one percent cancer patients are
affected by leukemia. And 26 percent children and teenagers
are affected by brain and spinal cancers while 10 percent
patients are affected by lymph cancer.
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