Month: June 2023

The Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force have prepared teams of divers to respond to disasters this year. Nineteen APF teams of divers have been prepared, and one belongs to the Nepal Police.

The APF teams of divers were trained for around five weeks in the Trishuli river, the Koshi river and Phewa Lake, said Rajendra Khadka, central spokesperson for the APF. Twenty APF personnel received the training. So far, the APF has 74 trained divers.

The APF teams of divers rescued 802 people alive from 273 incidents, and retrieved 317 dead bodies so far, he said.

Source: National News Agency-Nepal

Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today expressed deep shock at the death of Chattogram-10 lawmaker and former primary and mass education minister Dr Afsarul Amin.

In a condolence message, he prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family.

Dr Afsarul Amin died while undergoing treatment at a city hospital this afternoon. He was 65.

Amin had long been suffering from cancer.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has said that all vehicles operating outside of the Kathmandu Valley should be only operated from the New Buspark at Gongabu in Kathmandu.

Issuing a notice here today, the KMC appraised all those concerned ones, especially the transport entrepreneurs, about this new provision. The new provision is applicable for vehicles operating outside the Valley that ply on short route and long route.

The provision aims to streamline the traffic management system in the bus park area where issues of haphazard parking, unsystematic uploading and unloading of passengers were rampant.

The ticket booking counter inside the bus park, however, will be kept intact, it was said.

Furthermore, the KMC has also urged the concerned sides to remove the ticket booking counter outside the bus park effective from June 16. The KMC has urged all the stakeholders for implementation of the new provision.

Also, those vehicles plying on the long route and obtaining permit up to Banepa, Sankhu and Dhulikhel are barred from stopping at stations from Kalanki to Jadibuti.

The KMC shall coordinate with the Traffic Police to bring to book those disobeying the new notice, the KMC warned.

Source: National News Agency-Nepal

Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque today said massive employment opportunities have been created in the private sector in the last 14 years due to time-befitting measures of the government to boost private sector.

"Creation of employment opportunity means creation in both government and private sectors. Massive people have been employed in private sector especially in agriculture," he said while reply to a question at a post-budget press conference held at BICC in the city.

Finance Minister Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni, Planning Minister MA Mannan, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, LGRD Minister Md Tazul Islam, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Adviser Dr Mashiur Rahman, State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam, Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain, Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder, NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, Finance Division Senior Secretary Fatima Yasmin, ERD Secretary Sharifa Khan and Planning Division Secretary Satyajit Karmakar were present at the dais of the press conference.

Razzaque said once the government had to spend a large amount for fertilizer, seeds and irrigation, but now wage of agricultural laborers is the major cost in the sector as an agricultural laborer's wage is now around Taka 700-800.

"Fifteen or sixteen years ago, agricultural laborers had to work from dawn to dusk in the country but now none has to work in field after 2pm. The Agricultural laborers had to face lack of employment during the Bengali month of Kartik. They had to starve. But now the situation has changed. So, massive employments have been created in private sector," he mentioned.

"People are getting employed and they are receiving these works as source of livelihood," he said.

Razzque said: "I went to a village of medicinal plants in Natore. I witnessed people are working at an aloe vera field. I asked the workers how much wage they get per day. They said Tk 350. I asked how long you would work. They said they would work till 2pm. I asked why they would do after 2pm. They said they would work in their own land or would pass time by gossiping at tea stalls. So, this is the situation now."

He said all should evaluate the country's economy and employment scenario considering these issues.

Replying to another question, the agriculture minister said before 2008 many people in the northern region had to starve. "Often we saw newspaper headlines that people were dying due to starving. But none died due to starving in the last 14 years," he said.

Razzaque, also Awami League (AL) presidium member, said AL government always formulates budget considering the matters of poor people.

He said the allocation in the social safety net programme has been increased a lot as the government proposed allocation of Taka 126,272 crore which was only around Tk 13,000 crore in 2009.

The minister said the government is providing daily essentials at subsidised rates to a huge number of people through state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).

He said the government will continue its efforts in the coming days as none has to suffer for food.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Lawmaker of Chittagong-10 and former primary and mass education minister Dr Afsarul Amin died at a hospital in the capital this afternoon. He was 65.

Dr Afsarul Amin, who had been suffering from cancer for the last two years, breathed his last at Square Hospital in Dhaka around 4 pm today, his personnel assistant Didar ur Rahman Tushar told BSS.

He said the body of the veteran politician will be brought to Chattogram tonight. He will be buried tomorrow, but his family is yet to decide about the time and place of the burial, Didar said.

The dedicated politician left behind his wife Dr Kamrunnesa, two sons, friends and well-wishers, and political fellows to mourn his death.

Dr Afsarul Amin is the Vice-President of Chattogram City Awami League (AL). He was the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Education. He contested for five consecutive parliamentary elections in the Chattogram-10 constituency with the boat symbol from 1996 to 2018.

Dr Afsarul Amin was the Minister for Shipping and later he became the Minister for Primary and Mass Education.

The death of the veteran political stalwart of AL in Chattogram cast a pall of gloom in political, cultural and social arenas elsewhere in the city and district.

Meanwhile, leaders of AL Chattogram city, Chattogram district's AL south and units and their front organisations condoled the death of Dr Afsarul Amin.

In their condolence messages, they paid homage to the memory of the deceased, prayed eternal peace of the departed soul and recalled his long-dedicated political in Chattogram.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha