Day: May 7, 2024

JAMALPUR, Farmers in the district have started jute cultivation with the production target 3,42,899 bales jute this year. According to Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) office sources said farmers already sowed jute seed on about 11,120 hectares of land till today. According to DAE office sources Jute cultivation target was fixed on 29,120 hectares of land in the district this year. The office said farmers will cultivate four varieties of jute this year. The varieties are local, Tosha, Mesta and Kenaf. The office said Tosha variety of jute will be cultivated on 26,500 hectares of land with a production target 3,18,000 bales while local variety on 2,100 hectares with a production target 20,013 bales, kenaf variety on 450 hectares with a production target 4,276 bales and Mesta variety jute on 70 hectares with a production target 610 bales. The office said the cultivation target of jute was fixed on 9,360 hectares in Islampur upazila, 5,515 hectares in Dewanganj, 4,385 hectares in Sarishab ari, 3,330 hectares in Jamalpur Sadar upazila, 2,480 hectares in Madarganj, 2,415 hectares in Bakshiganj and 1635 hectares in Melandah. Additional Deputy Director, DAE, Muhammad Harun-Or-Rashid said 13,600 small and marginal farmers in all the seven upazilas of the district got incentive on Jute cultivation. He said under the incentive programme each of the farmers got one kilogram of jute seed for one Bigha land cultivation. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

CHATTOGRAM, Turkish Navy ship 'TCG Kinaliada' has arrived in Bangladesh on a three-day goodwill visit. Commander Chattogram Naval Region Chief Staff Officer Captain M Asaduzzaman welcomed the ship when it arrived at Chattogram port jetty today. During this time, the well-equipped navy band played the band in traditional style. Navy officers and sailors, along with representatives of the Turkish High Commission in Bangladesh, were present to welcome the ship. The ship is traveling to Bangladesh with its 152 members, including officers and sailors. During the visit, the captain of the ship and the representatives of the Turkish High Commission in Bangladesh will pay a courtesy call on Commander Chattogram Naval Region, Commander BN Fleet, Chairman of Chattogram Port and other senior military and civilian officials. Apart from this, the officers and sailors of the ships visiting the Chattogram Naval Region during their stay will visit the naval base and installations located in Chattogram and other places o f interest. The ship will leave Bangladesh on May 9. It is expected that the visit of the Turkish Navy ship to Chattogram will further strengthen the existing cordial relations between Turkey and Bangladesh. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

DHAKA, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal today sought cooperation of all concerned to hold the upazila parishad polls in a free, fair and neutral manner saying that the Election Commission has already taken all-out measurers so that voters can exercise their right of franchise freely. 'There are utmost efforts to thwart exertion of influence in voting process . . . all concerned have already been given instructions to prevent irregularities,' he said while briefing journalists at EC Bhaban here ahead of first phase of upazila parishad polls begins tomorrow. In the first phase, polling will take place tomorrow in 139 upazilas out of the total 495 across the country. According to EC sources, voting will start at 8 am and continue till 4 pm. A total of 1,635 candidates are contesting in this phase and among them 570 are vying for the post of chairman, 625 for vice-chairman and 440 for the post of female vice-chairman. 'The EC will remain watchful and it will monitor the voting centrally…action wi ll be taken instantly if any irregularity is found in any polling centre,' the CEC told the reporters. He said steps have already been taken so that the ministers and MPs cannot exert their influences. Necessary instructions have also been given to authorities concerned so that none can enter the polling booths to carry out irregularities, he added. 'If people concerned carry out their responsibilities properly, the election will be trouble-free,' he observed. He said the EC received complaints from field-level and took steps accordingly to solve those. Even the EC cancelled candidature of some candidates based on its investigation, he said, adding that the government has also made its position clear regarding holding free and fair polls. EC secretary Md Jahangir Alam, additional secretaries Ashok Kumar Devnath and Farhad Ahmed Khan and director (PR) Shariful Alam were present at the briefing, among other. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

GAIBANDHA, Agri officers at a function here urged the enthusiastic farmers to farm high yield Bangabandhu Dhan 100 on their land at large scale in coming seasons to get desired output against the variety. "It is a high-yielding Ufshi variety of rice. This variety is not affected by any disease. Farmers earn economic benefit by cultivating this paddy, as the yield is quite good and satisfactory," they also said. The agri officers made the remarks while they were addressing a field day of Bangabandhu Dhan 100 cutting in a land owned by farmer Abdur Rashid at Kunja-Nakai village under Patoa block of Gobindaganj upazila in the district this afternoon. Upazila agriculture office arranged the function to motivate the farmers so that they could farm the variety on their land in next seasons. Sub assistant agriculture officers (SAAO) Ziaul Haque Rintu and SAAO Zahangir Hossain attended the function and addressed it as the resource persons. Farmer Abdur Rashid also spoke at the event and exchanged his views over the farming of the variety elaborately. Earlier, the SAAOs elaborately described the farming method of the variety and urged the farmers to cultivate the variety instead of BRRI Dhan 28 to get desired production against the variety to earn economic profit and ensure sustainable food security of the country. The presence of zinc is high in the variety that is why it is helpful for the children to prevent child disease, they added. The farmer is happy to get 25 maund of paddy from a bigha of land. Seeing the production, the other farmers expressed their interest to farm the variety in next seasons. The SAAOs also discouraged the farmers present at the programe not to cultivate BRRI Dhan 28 anymore because the variety is easily affected by diseases. A number of demonstration plots were also set up in the upazila to draw attention of the farmers. Farmers, public representatives and journalists attended the function. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

DHAKA, Mohammedan Sporting Club stormed into the final of the ABG Bashundhara Federation Cup football as they came from behind and beat Bangladesh Police Football Club by 2-1 goals in the first semifinal held at Bir Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj on Tuesday. Mohammedan regained the Federation Cup football title after fourteen years by defeating their arch-rival Abahani Limited in a memorable final held last season and now the black and white outfit will be needed to cross hurdle to maintain superiority in the final match. Mohammedan fell behind two minutes after the second half, but despite falling back they once again wrote the story of return. Nigerian forward Sunday Emmanuel brought Mohammedan into the match with a great goal while midfielder Shahriar Emon scored the winning goal for the winning team. After the barren first half, Uzbek defender Uktamov Akhrorbek finally broke the deadlock scoring the first goal for Police in the 47th minute with a header from the danger zone afte r utilizing a free kick taken by Venezuelan forward Edward Morillo. Nigerian forward Sunday restored the parity for Mohammedan in the 68th minute with a placing shot after receiving a pass from Muzaffar. Shahriar Emon sealed the victory scoring the second goal for Mohammedan in the 79th minute with a brilliant header, taking his team to the desired final. Mohammedan reached the final for the second time in this season after they lost to Bashundhara Kings in the Independence Cup final match. The defending champions Mohammedan earlier confirmed their spot of last four as they beat Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra by 2-1 goals in the first quarterfinal held at Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani Stadium in Gopalganj. Meanwhile, the second semifinal match between Bashundhara Kings and Abahani Limited will be held on May 14 at Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani Stadium in Gopalganj. The final of the tournament is slated for May 21 at Rafiq Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

DHAKA, The fire in the Sundarbans has been completely extinguished as rain started at that place from 5:30 pm on Monday, said Khulna Circle Forest Conservator Mihir Kumar Doe. He said the members of the forest department carried out drone monitoring in every hour since on Tuesday morning but no sign of fire was found anywhere in the forest, according to a press release of the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry. Besides, several teams visited the spot on foot inside the forest but found no sign of fire anywhere. Inspection revealed that the fire site was substantially soaked with water as a result of rainfall. Water has accumulated somewhere. In review of the overall situation, it has been confirmed that the fire in the forest area under the Amarbunia camp of Sundarbans has been extinguished. On the other hand, the chairman of the committee formed to assess the loss of biodiversity in the wake of the Sundarbans fire said that the work of assessing the loss of forest resources and biodiversit y in the wake of the fire and preparing recommendations about the next steps will be started soon. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

DHAKA, President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today paid rich tributes to Biswakabi Rabindranath Tagore in separate messages on the eve of 163rd birth anniversary of the great poet. President Mohammed Shahabuddin, in his message, said: "On the 163rd birth anniversary of the world poet Rabindranath Tagore, I pay my deepest respect to his memory." Rabindranath Tagore, the bright star of Bengali literature, is a wonderful talent in the literary arena, he said, adding that he brought Bengali literature to the world with its glory. Rabindranath, who was simultaneously a poet, novelist, storywriter, lyricist and essayist, has no branch of literature in which he did not roam, the head of the state added. Through literature, Tagore sang the victory of humanity, he said, adding that the development of humanity, human liberation and human love were the main paths of his sense of life. Togore's songs, literatures and work-ethic have constantly inspired the people of Bangladesh, Shahabuddin said. "Rabindra literature was our main resort against Pakistani culture. His songs were the driving force of the struggle in the Great Liberation War. Rabindranath in his late life essay titled 'Sabhyatar Sangkat' anticipated the arrival of a great man from the East, who would be the helmsman of all crises," he mentioned. "He is none other than Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman himself,' Shahabuddin added. Rabindranath's thought was integrated with the great ideology that made Bangladesh independent, he said. "That is why Bangabandhu chose Rabindranath's song as the national anthem. He will be our inspiration in the development of the national culture of Bangladesh and in the overall liberation consciousness as a nation," the President said. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her message, said Rabindranath Tagore is a wonderful talent in Bengali literature. Tagore is a poet, essayist, dramatist, musician, painter, educationist, philosopher and social reformer, she said, adding that Bengali poetry, songs, short stories, novels, essays, dramas, Giti nattyo and Nrittyo Nattyo have found completeness in his magical hands. With these creations, Bengali literature has taken place in the world assembly, she said, adding that Tagore was the first Bengali poet, also the first Asian, who won the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature. Being inspired by Tagore's 'Sonar Bangla' spirit, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took the pledge to make Sonar Bangla independent and subsequently, presented Bengali people an independent and sovereign Bangladesh, she said. Rabindranath was an essential part of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib's stream of consciousness throughout the Pakistan period and even later, in the thinking and consciousness of nation-building, Sheikh Hasina mentioned. Noting that Rabindranath's poets and songs became special sources of inspiration during the Great War of Liberation in 1971, she said that all the feelings including the sufferings, joys and pains of the people of universal Bangla have truly come out in his literature. Both the President and the Prime Minister wished all the programmes taken on the occasion of the 163rd birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore a success. The 163rd birth anniversary of great poet Rabindranath Tagore, the writer of national anthem of the country, is tomorrow. On the 25th of Baishakh in 1268 Bengali year, Rabindranath Tagore, the fountainhead of Bengali wisdom, was born at Jorashako in Kolkata. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

DHAKA, Banglalink is set to elevate connectivity in Bangladesh by phasing out 3G services and enhancing 4G quality and speed through the reallocation of network resources. A Banglalink media release today said on May 5 Banglalink became the first mobile network operator in the country to phase out 3G services nationwide. This move underscores the company's dedication to ensuring 4G for all and reinforces digitalization across the country, it added. Erik Aas, CEO of Banglalink, said, "As a Digital Operator, our goal is to deliver seamless connectivity and innovative services to our customers." "By reallocating more resources to 4G, we will take the customer experience to new heights," he added. The Banglalink CEO said, "We look forward to enhancing our customers' 4G experiences and accelerating our journey towards the 'Smart Bangladesh Vision 2041,' supported by modernized infrastructure and state-of-the-art digital services with high-quality speed." The comprehensive transition to advanced 4G technolog y holds the promise of delivering heightened speed, enhanced reliability, and increased accessibility for Banglalink customers. As a customer-centric operator, Banglalink has consistently prioritized maximizing its investment by embracing advanced 4G services and phasing out 3G since 2021. This strategic decision is backed by its parent company, VEON, and informed by insights from other global markets where VEON operates. Recently, Banglalink has doubled its network capacity to ensure superior speed and coverage across the country. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha