Month: June 2024

The Beshisahar-Chame roadway has been blocked after the landslip since last night. Incessant rainfall triggered a landslip which deposited on the road at Kharkhare of Beshisahar municipality-6, according to the District Police Office. Information officer at the Office, Thaneshwor Chapai, informed that even a boulder fell on the road, blocking the traffic movement. Similarly, the Octopus Falls along the roadway witnessed a rise on water level in the wake of incessant rainfall. It also disrupted the roadway. Kharkharebhir is one of the risky spots along the roadway. Every year, the disturbance on traffic movement is witnessed here. Although the federal government had allocated Rs 164 million for landslide control in this area, it is yet to be realized. Source: National News Agency Nepal

Lawmakers today said the proposed budget has focused on the livelihood development of the people as the budget has been increased by more than eleven folds in the last fifteen years. Taking part in the general discussion on the national budget for 2024-25 fiscal at the Jatiya Sangsad here, the lawmakers said the proposed budget would help to maintain country's previous development and prosperity and also make easier the livelihood of the common people. Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali on June 6 unveiled a Taka 7,97,000 crore national budget for 2024-25 fiscal setting the GDP growth target at 6.8 percent amid an economic meltdown across the world due to ongoing Ukraine-Russia war and Hamas-Israel-Palestine conflict. 'The national budget has been proposed to make country's previous development and prosperity uninterrupted and making the livelihood easier of the common people', said Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Faruk Khan. The size of proposed budget has been increased by eleven and half folds in the last fifteen years, said the minister, saying, 'Our per capita income was US$543 in 2005 and now it raised to US$2784 by increasing it five folds'. The allocation for the peoples welfare has already been increased in the proposed budget by twelve folds in the last sixteen years since 2008, said Social Welfare Minister Dr Dipu Moni. The allocation under the safety net programmes was only Taka 1,013 crore in 2008 while it has now been raised to over Taka 12,000 crore, she added. "The proposed 53rd budget titled "March Towards Smart Bangladesh Following the Path of Sustainable Development" which is only 4.6 percent bigger than that of the current fiscal year, would help to build a smart Bangladesh while the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war and Hamas-Israel-Palestine conflict have created an emerging challenge for the economy", said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan in his address in the general budget discussion. Terming the proposed as land mark, land minister Narayan Chandra Chanda said, ' The proposed budge t is very much important for our micro-economy as the budget has preferred on containing inflation, employment generation and development of blue economy.' Participating in the discussion, Sayeed Khokon MP of Dhaka-6 said the proposed budget will help to get relief in the income of the middle class people due to tax free provision incorporated in the proposed budget. Treasury bench members, State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Abdul Aziz of Sirajganj-3, AKM Enamul Huq Shamim of Shariatpur-2, Pankaj Nath of Barishal-4, AK Abdul Momen of Sylhet-1, Shahida Tareque Dipti of Women seat- 127, Zillur Rahman of Moulvi Bazar-3, Sajjadul Hasan of Netrokona-4, Tahmina Begum of Madaripur -3, Rafiqul Islam of ???????-5, Shajahan Khan of Madaripur -2, Abu Zafar Mohammad Shafi Uddin of Comilla-8 , Kohale Quddus of Reserved Womens seat -4, Abdullah-Al-Kaisar of Narayanganj-3 Tanvir Shakil Joy of Sirajganj-1 and Shafiul Alam Chowdhury of Moulvibazar-2 took part in the d iscussion. Earlier, they paid their cordial tributes to the memory of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, four national leaders, martyred Freedom Fighters and also those who made their utmost sacrifices during the War of Liberation and all subsequent democratic movements in the country. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Kathmandu: Minister for Land Management, Cooperative and Poverty Alleviation Balaram Adhikari has said that the formation of an Authority is on the cards to regulate and monitor the cooperative institutions of all three layers of government, so as to ensure a sustainable solution of the problems seen in the sector. Responding to the queries of the lawmakers in the House of Representatives (HoR) meeting on Thursday, Minister Adhikari said that the decision made to form the Authority has been sent to the Ministry of Finance for the latter's nod. "For the setup of such mechanisms, the budget has been allocated in the upcoming fiscal year's budget," according to the Minister. He shared that the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperative and Poverty Alleviation was serious for the sustainable solution of the existing problems of the cooperative sector. Likewise, he said that 20 cooperative organizations were declared troubled and the management of those cooperatives is being done by the "Troubled Cooperative Mana gement Committees" and the claims from the depositors have been made through online system and so far 59,587 claimants have lodged their applications. Furthermore, Minister Adhikari said that the government has initiated a process to form a Commission by involving the experts adding that the National Land Commission failed to get the expected achievements to resolve the issues of landless, squatters and unmanaged settlements. Source: National News Agency Nepal

Donors from the international community including the USA, UK, Japan, Australia and European Union today reiterated their commitment on their ongoing efforts in finding a durable solution of the Rohingya crisis. 'We will continue to pursue regional coordination and collective efforts towards sustainable solutions for Rohingya refugees, partnering with the Government of Bangladesh,' they said in a joint media release marking the world refugee day. Donor countries said they remain committed to ensure a better and more dignified life for the Rohingyas while they remain in Bangladesh. They also expressed deeply concerned by the worsening situation in Rakhine State and the cross-border implications. 'Today we reiterate the importance of protecting all civilians,' they said. However, they observed that the escalating conflict and deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Myanmar mean that this is unlikely in the near future. 'This is important to overcome cycles of poverty and marginalization for future genera tions. The hope remains that safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable repatriation will be possible for Rohingya refugees in the long-term,' they said. At the Global Refugee Forum in December 2023, donor countries made a collective pledge to share global responsibility and enhance partnerships to address the complexities of forced displacement. 'On World Refugee Day Donors Call for Renewed Impetus to Resolve Rohingya Crisis Today, on World Refugee Day, we stand in solidarity with the more than 120 million people, that is 1 in 69, worldwide who are forcibly displaced due to conflict, violence, and persecution,' they said in the joint statement. 'Among these individuals are over 1 million Rohingyas, who fled from their homes in Myanmar and sought refuge in Bangladesh,' the statement read. The donor countries appreciated Bangladesh government for continuing to host the Rohingyas in their time of need. 'We also continue to honour the incredible resilience and strength of spirit of the Rohingya people in ad versity,' they said. The donor countries said that all of them continue to make dedicated efforts to provide essential services for Rohingya refugees, and Bangladesh's host communities. 'We continue to advocate for global attention for this protracted crisis, amid emerging new crises and growing global humanitarian need,' donors said. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Kathmandu: Finance Minister Barshaman Pun has instructed the subordinate agencies to motivate the tax payers. With the aim of increasing revenue collection in the last month of the current fiscal year, he invited the senior employees related to tax and revenue administration to the ministry today and gave them instructions. "Let's not put undue pressure on taxpayers but encourage them to pay taxes properly", he said, "The state is also the guardian of taxpayers," he said. He also instructed them to listen to the legitimate complaints of tax payers, who work with good intentions and address them as provided in the law. Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini and Revenue Secretary Dr Ram Prasad Ghimire also instructed to speed up the collection of arrears in the last month of the current fiscal year. They stressed that maximum efforts should be made to meet the final target of revenue collection for the current fiscal year. Source: National News Agency Nepal

Boro harvesting is going to be ended soon with a bumper production exceeding its fixed target in all seven upazilas of the district. A target was set to produce 2, 56,304 tonnes of clean rice from 48,775 hectares of land in the district during the current season, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said. But finally the farmers cultivate Boro crops on 48,995 hectares of land. DAE office sources said local varieties of Boro on the river beds of the Padma, Jamuna, Dhaleshwari, Kaliganga and other small rivers of the district fixedr 500 hectares of land, but cultivation of the local variety of Boro exceeded its fixt target. Abu Mohammad Enayet Ullah, Deputy Director of the DAE, said the farmers are expecting a good production as the favourable weather was prevailing all over the district. To make the cultivation a grand success, necessary measures were taken to supply quality seeds, fertilizers, insecticides and other Agri inputs to the farmers timely at fair prices side by side with ensuri ng power supply by the Power Development Board (PDB) and Rural Electrification Board (REB), said an official of the DAE. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Kathmandu: Dr Sohan Shah has been appointed as the Vice-chairman of the Madhesh Province Policy and Planning Commission. Chief Minister Satish Kumar Singh appointed Dr to the serve as the Vice-chair of PPC. Shah took oath of office and secrecy today itself. A permanent resident of Janakpurdham Sub-Metropolitan City-1, Dr Shah has been involved in the field of education and research for more than a decade. He holds a doctorate degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. Prior to this, he was a member of the Policy and Planning Commission. Source: National News Agency Nepal

Bangladesh Awami League will hold a colorful rally tomorrow in the capital on the occasion of the party's 75th founding anniversary (Platinum Jubilee). The rally will start at 2:30 pm from the Shikha Chirantan in capital's historic Suhrawardy Udyan and end at Bangabandhu Bhavan, Dhanmondi-32. The Awami League, largest political party of the country, was formed on June 23, 1949, steered the nation under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to liberate the country from the clutch of subjugation in 1971. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Kathmandu: Provincial Assembly member Fanindra Devkota has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court challenging the action taken against him by CPN (Maoist Center) parliamentary party in Gandaki province. Devkota, who is a Minister in Gandaki Province cabinet, filed a writ petition today stating that the action taken against him was illegal, while calling for an order to annul the decision. In the petition, Speaker of Gandaki Province Krishna Prasad Dhital, the Provincial Assembly Secretariat, CPN (Maoist Centre) Central Office, Provincial Office, Provincial Committee, Parliamentary Party Leader Hari Bahadur Chuman and the Election Commission have been made the defendants. Elected from Gorkha 2 (1) in the 2079 elections carrying the election symbol of Maoist center, Devkota was penalized by the CPN (MC) Parliamentary Party after he gave a vote of confidence to Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey. Source: National News Agency Nepal

State Minister for Water Resources Ministry Zaheed Farooque, MP, has said the government will take steps to dredge the Surma River in order to protect Sylhet city from early floods. "The construction work of nine dredging stations across the country is underway, and steps will be taken for dredging the Surma River soon," he said while visiting the Shaadi Canal in the Tukerbazar area of Sylhet city today. The state minister also said that the flood water coming from the neighboring country India flows into the Bay of Bengal through numerous rivers in Bangladesh. Consequently, floods occur in Sylhet region every year. Water coming from upstream brings silt, which obstructs the normal flow of the rivers, said the minister, adding, "We have talked to the engineers to start dredging in the Surma River soon." All necessary steps will be taken to deal with the flood situation, he said. Sylhet City Corporation Mayor Md Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury, officials of Sylhet Water Development Board, and local administration were present there. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Kathmandu: Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma has said that early warning about disasters will be aired through Radio Nepal and telecommunications service providers, aimed at reducing the damages from disasters. The telecommunications service providers shall provide information through SMS service. At a meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) on Thursday, Minister Sharma said the private and community radios, televisions and internet service providers will be mobilized to disseminate early warning messages. Minister Sharma was speaking at the HoR meeting while responding to the lawmakers' concerns on the topics of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in the Appropriation Bill, 2081. On a separate context, Minister Sharma said the Gorkhapatra Corporation, Radio Nepal and Nepal Television would run the programmes and disseminate news by maintaining quality. She said that the media houses should submit the payroll of their working journalists to the Department of Information to enjoy the services given by the Department and added that the move was aimed at implementing the minimum wages of working journalists. Furthermore, Minister Sharma said a directive has been issued to promote the decent use of social networking sites and formulation of the bill is in the final stage for its further systematic usage. On the occasion, Minister Sharma added that the government shall not hold any prejudice against the social sites that are operated following the existing laws and don't disturb social harmony. Likewise, she said that the Press Council Nepal was working on record keeping, enlisting and monitoring the Youtube channels. According to Minister Sharma, the quality of internet service would be upgraded by planting optical fibre in the Mid-Hill Highway and other highways adding that expansion of broadband internet service would be advanced in Gandaki and Lumbini provinces too. Source: National News Agency Nepal

The country may experience moderate rainfall as monsoon is active over Bangladesh and moderate to strong elsewhere over North Bay, said Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) today. "Light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at most places over Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions with moderately heavy to very heavy falls at places over the country," said the BMD. Day and night temperature may rise slightly over Chattogram division and it may fall slightly elsewhere over the country. Tetulia experienced the highest 153 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours while the highest temperature was 36.4 degrees Celsius in Chuadanga and the lowest was 22 degrees Celsius in Bandarban. The sun will rise at 5.12am tomorrow in Dhaka. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha