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US delegation likely to visit Bangladesh this month
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03 Sep 2024, 15:01
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A high-level US delegation is likely to visit Bangladesh this month. They discuss ways with the interim government to take forward the relations between the two countries in a changed political scenario.
The two countries are in discussion to finalize things regarding the visit, said a diplomatic source on Tuesday (September 03).
This is going to be the first visit from the US since the formation of the interim government led by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on August 8.
Once finalized, the delegation is likely to be in Dhaka before Prof Yunus's departure for New York to attend the 79th UN General Assembly, sources said.
US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu is likely to be part of the delegation.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for South and Southeast Asia Lindsey W. Ford will also be part of the US delegation, said a diplomatic source.
In this role, she serves as the principal advisor to senior leadership within the Department of Defence for all policy matters on the development and implementation of defense strategies and plans for the region.
Her area of responsibility includes bilateral security relations with India and all other South Asian countries, except Afghanistan; and with the nations of Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, US Deputy Under Secretary/Assistant Secretary for International Finance Brent Neiman may join the US delegation.
There might be a representative from the USAID.
The delegation will meet Chief Adviser Professor Yunus, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, and Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed apart from their other engagements.
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DMTCL Announces Closure of MRT Pass Registration
Metrorail gaining popularity as a fast and safe public transport in the congested capital. However, the managing company Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) has announced a temporary closure of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) pass registration for travel on Metrorail. At the same time, it has been announced that the renewal of damaged cards will also be stopped.
This information was reported on the verified Facebook page of DMTCL at around 6:30 pm on Friday (November 1).
Due to unavoidable circumstances, the card registration and re-issuance facility will be closed till November 7. DMTCL sincerely apologizes for the temporary inconvenience.
Currently, Metrorail operates from 7:10 am to 9:40 pm, 6 days a week from Saturday to Thursday. Friday is running from 3:30 pm to 9:40 pm.
Gold Price Drops in World Market, May Impact Bangladesh As Well
On October 30, the price of gold per ounce exceeded 2,777 dollars for the first time in the world market, breaking all previous records and creating history. The gold price has decreased in the world market at this time.
On Sunday (November 3) at 11 o'clock in the spot market, the price of gold per ounce was 2,736.41 dollars.
Gold prices are said to have eased slightly as the impact of the US election and tensions in the Middle East eased somewhat.
Bangladesh Jewelers Association (BAJUS) determines the price of gold in the country's market. Those associated with the organization said that the price of gold has fallen in the world market, which may reduce the price of gold per ounce at any time. If the price falls in the global market, it affects the local market as well. Therefore, the price can be adjusted in the country's market at any time.
According to BAJUS, the last price on October 30, gold of 22 carats was fixed at Tk1,43,526 per bhori, which is the highest in the history of the country. Apart from this, 1,37,005 taka for 21-carat gold, Tk1,17,433 for 18-carat, and Tk96,520 for traditional method gold has been fixed.
Bishwa Ijtema to be Held in Two Phases From Jan 31
In 2025, the 'Bishwa Ijtema' will be held in two phases like the last few years.
Home Affairs Advisor Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury revealed this information after the meeting with the two factions of Tabligh on Monday (November 04).
He said that the 1st phase of Bishwa Ijtema will be held from January 31 to February 2 next year and the 2nd phase from February 7 to 9 on the Turag riverbank in Tongi.
He also said that although the date of Ijtema had been announced, it had yet to be decided which faction would hold its event first.
They had discussed topics such as the handover and preparation of the Ijtema ground, security, visas for foreign attendees, uninterrupted power supply, construction of floating bridges, emergency disaster arrangements, hygienic food, and traffic management for the final prayer day, Jahangir added.
It is to be noted that Bishwa Ijtema has been held since 1967 on the Turag riverbank in Tongi, Gazipur. Many Muslims from different parts of the world participated in this gathering of Tabligh Jamaat.
The two-phase Ijtema is led by Maulana Saad Kandhalvi of India and the other by Maulana Zubair of Bangladesh.
Although followers of Maulana Saad Kandhalvi participated in the meeting, representatives of Maulana Zubair were absent.
Working to Mitigate Losses of Karnaphuli Tunnel: Fouzul Kabir
Road Transport and Bridges Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan has termed the Karnaphuli Tunnel project an instance of 'political showmanship and said they are working to mitigate the huge losses from this 'unrealistic' project.
"This tunnel is an unrealistic project. It was essentially a politically motivated project, a display for earning public attention. Other countries have tunnels underwater, why shouldn't we have one? But current realities reveal that it was grandstanding," adviser Fouzul said in an exclusive interview with UNB recently.
The tunnel, built at a cost of around Tk 10,700 crore, cannot simply be shut down or dismantled, he said, adding, "We are reviewing the reasons behind the losses and are working on ways to mitigate that."
Strategies will be worked out in coordination with relevant departments to reduce losses, he said.
The adviser added that authorities are exploring options to increase traffic flow through the tunnel but any investment would be based on concrete data, not inflated projections. "We have to repay our foreign loans, so there will be no speculative studies," the adviser said.
He said the tunnel under the Karnaphuli River in Chattogram—Bangladesh's first underwater tunnel—failed to see its projected benefits, resulting in substantial daily losses.
Criticizing the previous Awami League government, he added, "They took up projects for the sake of having projects without considering national interests. This attitude has caused significant losses to the country."
He said the tunnel expenses have exceeded income significantly and vehicle flow estimates made before the tunnel’s construction have proven inaccurate, he added.
There were also flaws in the tunnel design as it was constructed with a shorter headroom of 4.9 meters which restricts the movement of heavy vehicles and fuel-carrying transport movement is prohibited due to safety concerns, thereby reducing potential traffic volume, said the Adviser.
Besides, projects planned for Chattogram's southern region and Cox's Bazar over the project were not implemented, limiting the tunnel's usage.
Karnaphuli Tunnel was built at a cost of Tk 10,700 crore. The tunnel project was implemented with joint funding of the governments of Bangladesh and China (G2G).
The Exim Bank of China provided a loan of Tk 5,913 crore while the Bangladesh government funded the rest.
The Karnaphuli River divides Chattogram into two parts. The tunnel being built – following the "One City, Two Towns" model like Shanghai in China – aiming to connect the port city on the north with Anwara upazila on the south.
Bridge Authority's statistics
According to the reports of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, since the tunnel’s opening on October 28 last year, revenue has consistently fallen short of operational costs.
In its first operational month, November, 166,312 vehicles used the tunnel, a daily average of 5,544, earning Tk 3.94 crore. However, by April this year, traffic dropped to an average of 3,855 vehicles per day. For the first 21 days of September, the average daily vehicle count further dropped to 3,073, showing a downtrend.
Currently, an average of Tk 11.80 lakh is being earned daily as a toll from the tunnel. However, since the tunnel is constructed underground, a substantial amount of money has to be spent each day to provide artificial oxygen and lighting, along with general and emergency security measures.
On average, around Tk 37.47 lakh is being spent every day to cover these operational costs. As a result, the daily loss amount reaches over Tk 25 lakh.
The Bridge Authority statistics reveal that over the past year, the tunnel saw about 14.11 lakh vehicles, 76% of which were light vehicles, with only 10% buses and 12% trucks.
Revenue from this vehicle flow has amounted to Tk 37.44 crore, far below projections.
Construction firm estimates from 2017 anticipated that, if opened by 2020, the tunnel would handle around 20,719 vehicles daily, growing by 6.4% annually to 28,305 vehicles per day by 2025, and nearly 38,000 by 2030. However, current figures fall drastically short of these projections, with a daily average of just 4,613 vehicles as of August this year, most of which are tourist transports.
Source: UNB
LPG Cylinder Price to be Fixed Today
The new consumer price of private liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for November will be fixed on Tuesday (November 5). Today it will be known whether the price of LPG is increasing or decreasing.
This information is based on a circular issued by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) on Monday (November 4).
It is said that according to the Saudi CP announced by Saudi Aramco for November (2024), the instructions of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission regarding the price adjustment of private LPG at the consumer level for this month will be announced on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
Earlier, the price of a 12 kg cylinder was increased by Tk44 to Tk1,421 for the month of September and by Tk35 to Tk1,456 for the month of October.
In 2023, the prices of LPG and Autogas decreased 5 times and increased 7 times. The prices of LPG and Autogas decreased in January, March, April, June, and July last year. Prices increased in February, May, August, September, October, November and December.
12Kg LPG Cylinder Price Slashed by Tk1
After four times of consecutive price hikes, the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has finally been reduced at the consumer level.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) Chairman Jalal Ahmed announced the new price of LPG in a press conference on Tuesday (November 5) afternoon.
According to the new announcement, the price of each 12 kg LPG cylinder has been reduced by Tk1 to Tk 1,455 from Tk1456.
Earlier, the price of a 12 kg cylinder was increased by Tk44 to Tk1,421 for the month of September and by Tk35 to Tk1,456 for the month of October.
Want to Build A Beautiful Country With All Religions: Army Chief
Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has expressed the hope of building a beautiful country with people of all religions.
He stated this on Friday (November 8) afternoon at the capital's International Buddhist Monastery of Merul Badda on the occasion of 'Kothin Chibor Dan and Buddhist Great Convention.'
Army Chief said, " We want to build a country of harmony. This is the main motto of Buddhism. We want to build a beautiful country with people of all religions.
He also said, "Many people have come here from the hilly areas. We want the day to be celebrated like this every year. We will provide all kinds of assistance for this."
Waker-Uz-Zaman said, "The hill region is a great asset of our country. So I will do whatever is necessary for the peace of the hill region."
It should be noted that according to Buddhist scriptures, this religious ritual was introduced during the lifetime of Lord Gautam Buddha about two and a half thousand years ago. It is termed 'Kothin Chibor Dan' as it is done within 24 hours from spinning the thread to weaving, sewing, and dyeing the cloth and giving it to the Buddhist monks.
