Bangladesh on Sunday approved plans for a new international airport near Dhaka to be completed by 2013, officials said.

The USD 7.2 billion Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib International Airport , named after the Bangladesh independence leader, will have two runways with provision for a third and will be connected to the capital by an elevated expressway and a monorail.

The exact location of Bangaldesh’s third international airport will be chosen from three possible sites within 50 km (31 miles) of Dhaka, following a feasibility study, civil aviation officials said.

Construction of the airport will be funded under a public private partnership project.

“The project, proposed by the Finance Minister, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith in the parliament last year was approved at a meeting of the cabinet on Sunday,” a senior government official told reporters.

Dhaka’s existing Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, opened in 1980, has only one runway and could not be expanded due the a lack of land.

This is the first project approved after the PPP guideline was finalised last month.

The meeting of the committee was held yesterday at the Cabinet Division with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair.

The estimated cost of building the airport named Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib International Airport is Tk 50,000 crore, according to a pre-feasibility study by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.

Alongside the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, the government has decided in principle to build the second international airport near Dhaka.

A nine-member pre-feasibility study committee has been formed headed by a member of the Civil Aviation Authority. After visiting seven sites in Gazipur, Tangail and Mymensingh, the committee selected three among those.

A high official of the cabinet division said the final selection will be made after consulting with the private investors.

The cabinet committee also okayed four projects of Bangladesh Railway involving Tk 900 crore to reinstate two rail routes and develop a third one to ensure smooth supply of fuel for the upcoming rental power plants.

Of the total amount, Tk 280 crore will be funded available Indian credit under a deal signed recently.

The communications ministry also sought permission of the cabinet committee on economic affairs for 10 percent advance payment for the contractors.

Re-establishing rail link on Panchuria-Faridpur-Pukuria route and setting up of rail track on Pukuria-Bhanga route will cost Tk 267 crore.

Under another project, renovation of Sholoshahar-Dohazari and Fatehabad-Nazirhat rail routes will be implemented at a cost of Tk 203 crore.

These routes will be used for supplying fuel to Dohazari, Hathazari and Faridpur power plants.

Under another project the ministry will procure 10 broad gauge (BG) diesel electric locomotives costing Tk 217 crore. The ministry will also spend another Tk 183 crore for collecting 180 BG bogey oil tank wagon and six brake vans.

The government is going to import one lakh tonnes of rice from Vietnam through government-to-government negotiation without floating any tender.

The cabinet committee has exempted the food ministry from following the rules of PPA
Facts :
Not only has air traffic increased dramatically in Bangladesh, but cargo transportation has also escalated, and none of the airports in the country are presently equipped to handle the massive flow of trade and passengers. Over the last few years, external trade in Bangladesh has grown from $1 billion to $35 billion, and airports such as Shahjalal International Airport are taking strain due to their lack of facilities and space to accommodate cargo. It has therefore been decided that a new airport should be built, which is able to service the cargo industry, as well as passengers

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The Harry Potter actress travelled to the rural towns of Dhaka and Bajshahi last month (Jul10) and visited workers at Swallows, the Fair Trade firm producing the range she is releasing with fashion label People Tree.

>And Watson jumped at the chance to get involved – she waded barefoot into a river to help dye natural yarns and fabric and attempted to operate several textile machines.

The kind-hearted star also made a stop at a local school, where she taught a math class to young students and handed out gifts.
In between filming and her university degree, it’s refreshing to see that a star like Emma Watson still finds the time to devote to a good cause.
The Harry Potter star, whose campaign for People Tree is the last featuring her long locks, decided modelling for the ethical brand just wasn’t enough.

Emma also flew to Bangladesh to visit the slum homes of garment factory workers – where the collection she endorses is made.
Down-to-earth Emma, 20, who is currently studying at Brown University, even got stuck in at the factory, helping workers with the sewing.
She said: ‘I’ve been given a lot in my life and I have had so many fantastic opportunities. It’s really important to me that I try and give something back.’
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE EMMA IN BANGLADESH…

‘Following my summer collection for People Tree I wanted to visit Bangladesh to see the difference Fair Trade makes.

‘The contrast between the slums in Dhaka where the people who work in the garment factories live and Swallows (the Fair Trade community supported by People Tree) was all too apparent. ‘

‘I still find it hard to convey what Fair Trade means to those producing our fashion — it’s just so impressive to see how the women have used Fair Trade clothing to escape poverty and empower themselves and their children. I was moved and inspired.’
Although Emma is not directly involved in the design, she selected the Fair Trade textiles used including cable knits and the first Fair Trade hand-woven brushed check.
The collection is comprised of tulip skits, dresses and shirts and is available to buy today.
Emma, who shot to fame when she was cast as Hermione in Harry Potter And The Philospher’s Stone, has come known for her effortless sty

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India has agreed to loan Bangladesh 1 billion dollars, the largest amount India has ever loaned another country, officials said Saturday.

“This one-billion-dollar line of credit is the largest ever given by India to any country,” Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on arriving in Dhaka on Saturday for a four-hour official trip.

He added that he was there to witness the signing ceremony of the agreement, the outcome of a decision reached between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina Wazed in January.

The money is to be used to finance infrastructure projects, mainly to upgrade communications between India and Bangladesh, including improvement of railway networks, construction of roads and bridges and building power plants.

The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party of former prime minister Khaleda Zia had asked the government to refrain from signing the loan deal, charging that it would only benefit Indian interests.

But Mukherjee said Saturday that the terms of the loan were extremely favourable to Bangladesh.

“India stands committed to the development and prosperity of Bangladesh and its friendly people,” he added.

The Indian minister is scheduled to meet Sheikh Hasina, Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith and Foreign Minister Dipu Moni.

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Garment workers in Bangladesh have returned to work after protests and street battles which followed a proposed pay rise.

The European Union and the United states are the biggest markets for the country’s garments, with exports worth about $12bn in 2009.

Companies such as Walmart, Tesco, Marks & Spencer and H&M have been attracted by the low cost base.

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Sources :After just four and a half weeks in Bangladesh, I have already fallen ill several times. I’m here on a Department of State scholarship to learn the language, but I am sick again and have been incapable of staying awake for more than three hours at a time. Daily, I sleep between 15 and 18 hours. A trip to the local international doctor leaves me contemplating how I contracted typhoid fever.

I do know that I was inoculated for the disease before my arrival, and now I am quite disappointed in my vaccine and my plight. However, these are challenges constantly facing the residents of Dhaka, who do not have the necessary vaccines to prevent such a disease, or the opportunity to miss work to rest and heal.

Unhealthy citizens bring disaster upon metropolitan economies. Instead of working at a job to produce resources for others to utilize, such as working on an assembly line to make shoes or sewing garments that may be bought and worn, an unwell resident lying in bed consumes resources. He does not add anything to the economy. Cities, burdened by sick people, find themselves stepping backward rather than progressing forward.

Granted, my neighborhood is somewhat posh ? a gate separates me from the rest of Dhaka ? and my viewpoint is biased, but often I forget that I am in a Third World country. Restaurants and shops full of western products dot the streets that I walk each day. Load-shedding and rolling blackouts cut the power up to 12 times daily, but generators turn on and keep life moving.
Obviously, this is not the United States, but there are modern amenities and buildings and a rapid pace of industrialization to keep up with the unfathomable millions of people in Dhaka. However, cleanliness is lacking, and some necessities ? like safe drinking water ? are not always available.

Each morning I wake up in my apartment encased in a bright green moshari, or mosquito net, and get my first reminder of where I am: Dhaka, one of the most densely populated cities on the planet. With such population density comes innate infrastructure problems, especially in sanitation.

Oddly, recent riots have shown that political strife and wage levels are “priority one” for much of the city. Organized protests like the June 27 hartal, a large, demonstrative rally, call for citywide strikes and may show off political might, but the corruption in the government prevents any real change from occurring.

Political demonstrations can help, but if people cannot stay healthy, the country cannot do much beyond survive. Higher wages bring no relief to someone who is not fit to work, or to someone with a life expectancy vastly shortened by disease.

After arriving in Bangladesh and falling ill, I can see now the level of health that I have come to expect and take for granted in America; I not only have clean food and water supplies, but also I am educated enough to keep myself well and prevent my own illnesses.

Health and education are the first steps to a new Bangladesh. Although it is a Third World country, providing adequate, arsenic-free water to the city and education to the millions of illiterate in Dhaka would do much to change the fortunes of this megalopolis.

Priorities must change if any progress is to be made. If people would spend the same amount of energy on fixing the water supply as they do on politically charged strikes, I believe the city, and the country, could improve quickly.

Rapidly, the city expands, and improvements are struggling to keep pace. People emigrate from around Bangladesh in search of opportunity, but find only that others have already crowded it out.

Dhaka has overwhelming potential ? in human labor and national resources ? and change can’t come fast enough.

E-mail submissions of 600 words or fewer to newvoices@orlandosentinel.com. Include a high-resolution JPEG image of yourself.

Nate Stein, 22, of Deltona wrote this while in Bangladesh. He recently returne home. He graduated with a degree in economics from the University of Florida and will begin law school at New York University next year

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The government would soon conduct a survey on beggars in Dhaka city to prepare a database with photographs of people who live on alms.
The ministry of social welfare has meanwhile formulated a guideline for the survey?the first of its kind?to be conducted by some ten NGOs under the guidance of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, a senior official told media.
The beggars?? photographs would be taken to avoid duplicity and ensure proper rehabilitation of the down-and-out people in different parts of country, said Gazi Mohammad Nurul Kabir, Director general of the National Foundation for Development of the Disabled Persons.
He said most of the disabled beggars would be relocated at government supported rehabilitation centre while able-bodied one would be provided with opportunities for self-employment, preferably in their own district of origin.

The authorities would divide Dhaka into ten zones and carry out the survey on a single day to prepare the database to ascertain the exact number of beggars and their origins and reasons for begging.

The database is essential for rehabilitation of the beggars whose number is growing at a fast rate throughout the country, specially in capital Dhaka, the NFDDP chief said.
Finance ministry officials said Tk 12.47crore has already been allocated for the project titled ??Beggars Rehabilitation Programme??. Half of the project fund would be spent on survey while rest on rehabilitation.

Although there is no specific data on number of beggars in the capital and others major cities, different government agencies estimate it would be one million countrywide.
The number of beggars in the capital would be around 600,000 who are always found seeking alms at bus stands, railway stations, markets and at traffic signals.

The survey on beggars in Dhaka city would be followed by similar surveys different divisional headquarters, said officials.

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Bangladesh, the nation that is in the danger of extinction from global warming and sea-level rising, has put up a new initiative to curb its pollution.

Reuters reports that with this initiative, any citizen will be allowed to file a case against polluters, and the Prime Minister’s press secretary said that offenders can be punished with jail time of up to five years and fine of half million taka (equivalent to $7,000). But because this is mostly directed towards the owners of major industries and businesses, the price that they have to pay may not affect them much.

Called the Environment Court Act 2010, if effective it could not only change practices that lead to climate change in Bangladesh, but may help save the Buriganga river found in the heartland of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. This river has been endangered through pollution as it’s effectively been used as Dhaka’s sewer dump and 80% of the toxic waste poured into it is untreated.

A World Bank report claimed that Bangladesh receives 1.5 million cubic meters of waste water every day from 7,000 industrial units, and 0.5 million cubic meters a day from other sources. Putting controls on this waste may help combat the premature deaths that occur among Bangladeshi children because of pollution.

“The Cabinet gave the final approval to the draft law to help take stringent measures against the polluters of environment. Many persons took lease of vast lands in the name of rubber cultivation, but made cottage for their luxuries. Prime Minister directed concerned authorities to stop such practices,” Abul Kalam Azad, Press Secretary to the Prime Minister told journalists at a press briefing.

The mobile courts throughout the country would be in charge by the hierarchy held in Dhaka, so that anyone who has seen any misuse of land through pollution can report to the government at any time.

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The results of Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC), HSC Business Management, Alim and Diploma in Business Studies (DIBS) examinations-2010 were published Thursday On an average 74.28 per cent of students passed the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and 29,004 of them got GPA-5.

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Both the pass percentage and the number of GPA-5 scorers have increased this year compared to that of the last year. The pass rate increased by 1.44 per cent and the number of GPA-5 scorers by 8,682. Last year 72.87 per cent students passed the HSC and equivalent examinations and 20,322 of them obtained GPA-5.

A total of 5, 36,439 examinees, out of 7, 21,941, have passed the examinations this year. Of the successful students, 2, 90,889 are boys and 2, 45,550 girls.

Some 4, 20,057 candidates, out of 5, 84,480 have passed the HSC examination under the eight general education boards with a pass percentage of 71.87 against 70.43 per cent in 2009.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid Thursday disclosed the results before journalists at a press briefing in his secretariat office where chairmen of the ten education boards were present.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid formally handed over the results to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina around 9:30am.

About the increase in pass rate, Nahid said that hard studies by the students, relentless efforts by the college teachers and guardians, effective initiatives by the education boards and proper monitoring by the education ministry had contributed to the results.

Of the eight general education boards, Sylhet Board has topped the list in terms of pass-rate with 76.12 per cent students passing. Rajshahi Board is in second position with 75.43 per cent students coming out successful and Barisal Board in third position with 74.34 per cent students figuring well.

Comilla Board has become fourth with 73.13 per cent students passing while Chittagong Board is in fifth position with 72.65 per cent, Dhaka Board in sixth position with 72.10 per cent, Jessore Board in seventh position with 67.73 per cent and Dinajpur Board in eighth position with 67.54 per cent students passing.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board has topped the list of all other boards in terms of pass percentage with 86.55 per cent students passing against 84.60 per cent last year. A total of 63,864 students out of 73,790 have passed the Alim examination.

A total of 63,671 students appeared at the examination under the Technical Education Board. Of them, 52,518 examinees have come out successful making the pass-rate 82.48 against 80.74 per cent of the last year.

Some 3,070 examinees, out of 3,857, have passed the DIBS examination-2010, held under the Dhaka Board, showing 79.60 per cent pass percentage.

A total of 25,512 examinees have obtained GPA-5 under the eight general education boards this year against 18,222 of the last year. Of them, 11,020 are under Dhaka Board, 5,602 under Rajshahi Board, 2,236 under Jessore Board, 1,814 under Dinajpur Board, 1,618 under Chittagong Board, 1,457 under Barisal Board, 1168 under Comilla Board and 597 under Sylhet Board.

A total of 2,957 students have secured GPA-5 under the Madrasah Board against 1,894 of the last year, while 202 under the Technical Education Board against 22 of the last year and 333 in the DIBS examination this year.

Some 145 students appeared at the HSC examination from five overseas centres. Of them, 120 examinees have come out successful .

At least 714 educational institutions have achieved hundred per cent success in the examinations this year. On the other hand, not a single examinee from 25 educational institutions has passed the examinations. The number of institutions securing zero pass-rate was 41 in 2009.

A total of 608 examinees were expelled from the HSC, HSC Business Management, Alim and DIBS examinations-2010, held from April 1 to May 18. The number of expelled students was 664 during the previous year.

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Bangladesh’s elite security forces said Monday they had made a major breakthrough in the fight against extortion with a raid on town where nearly every resident was involved in racketeering.
Cracking down on rampant cell phone crimes, Bangladesh’s elite security forces have zeroed in on a village, most of whose residents were found to be involved in racketeering using mobiles, officials said.

The elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) officials said they discovered a village in southwestern Rajoir sub-district to which a bulk of such crimes all over the country are traced.

“Astonishingly, most male residents of different ages ranging from 14 to 60 of the Lundhi village appeared to be involved in extortion using mobile phones… our officers during investigations in recent months found most of the extortion suspects hailed from the single village,” Lieutenant Colonel Mamun Mahmud said.

A series of raids on Lundhi, 90 kilometres (60 miles) south of the capital Dhaka and home to 2,000 people, led to 11 arrests, including two ringleaders of gangs using mobile phones to extort money.

“We believe 80 percent of extortion-related threats made over mobile phones in Bangladesh originate from this village,” Rapid Action Battalion officer Colonel Mamum Mahmud told Media.

He said officers were “awestruck” to discover nearly everyone — from students aged 14 to elderly school janitors — was involved in mobile phone extortion.

“During calls, they identify themselves as some notorious criminal and then demand their victim send them money or face the consequences — they’ve conned a huge number of people,” Mamum said.

“It’s a very lucrative business. We have identified at least 20 groups who are involved. They have agents in the capital to collect the extorted money and gather personal information about potential targets,” he said.

Extortion using mobile phone has been a huge problem in Bangladesh since around 2001, when phone companies entered a price war and flooded the market with cheap cell phones, which were given out without proper registration.

Last year, scores of people were arrested for mobile phone extortion but successful prosecutions are rare, police say.

Approached for comments, Awami League lawmaker and Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan, who represents a constituency where the village is located, said he too had heard of the village, the home of an estimated 2,000 people.

“Being the MP from the area I too heard about it… but not all the people there, as you said, are involved in the crime,” he said jokingly, but declined to comment further.
A number of suspects having their origin in Lundhi were arrested in the past several weeks from Dhaka as well as the village under a series of raids, he said.

Extortion using mobile phone has been a huge problem in Bangladesh since around 2001, when phone companies entered a price war and flooded the market with cheap cell phones, which were given out without proper registration.

Home Minister Sahara Khatun last week said the government planned to formulate a policy to check the rising incidents of cellphone crimes including extortion and ban its sale to youths under 18.

“We are framing a policy to be enforced in next two months to curb the crimes and misuse of cell phones,” Khatun told reporters after an inter-ministerial meeting also joined by mobile phone operators.

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Politics with the back of Islamic emotions was alleged by various platfrom against Jamaat-e-Islami.Bangladeshi police Tuesday arrested three of the top leaders of Bangladesh’s largest Islamic party on the rarely-used charge of “offending religious sentiment” in the Muslim-majority nation.

Motiur Rahman Nizami, the head of Jamaat-e-Islami party, his deputy Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and top preacher Delwar Hossain Saydee were arrested in the capital Dhaka, city police chief A.K.M. Shahidul Haque said.

“They were detained after the court issued arrest warrants against them for hurting the religious sentiment of the people,” Haque told Media.

The Jamaat leaders have been charged after they claimed Nizami’s alleged persecution at the hands of the ruling Awami League was akin to the suffering of the Prophet Mohammed, Bangladesh, an Islamic Republic, has an overwhelming Muslim majority population.

Syed Rejaul Haque Chandpuri, secretary general of the Bangladesh Tarikat Federation, filed the case on March 21 with a metropolitan magistrate’s court in Dhaka against five Jamaat leaders.

The case stated that Dhaka City Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Rafiqul Islam Khan at a discussion in Dhaka on March 17 compared Nizami to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), which hurt the Muslims

The three leaders had been summoned to appear at a Dhaka court on Tuesday but ignored the order, which lead to an arrest warrant being issued, he said.

Jamaat-e-Islami has been the country’s largest Islamic party since it was allowed to operate and contest in elections in late 1970s. It was a part of the Islamist-allied government led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in 2001-6.

Since winning a landslide in December 2008, the government has cracked down on Islamist groups, with the head of banned Islamic outfit Hizb-ut Tahrir being arrested April on charges of instigating militancy and running a banned group.

Police say Hizb-ut Tahrir is still actively trying to destabilise the government and plot attacks.

Jamaat’s top leaders have also been accused of war crimes by private groups investigating Bangladesh’s liberation war of 1971, including the killing of dozens of intellectuals during the nine-month war against Pakistan.

Jamaat leaders deny the allegations.

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