Strategic changes need to deal corona pandemic



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Experts and researchers believe that strategic changes are needed to deal with the Corona situation. According to them, the situation could be dire if action is not taken now.

They made the remarks at a webinar organized by the Health System Development Forum on Saturday (August 29).

Participatants in the webinar was Dr. Shahaduzzaman, Reader of the Department of Medical Anthropology and Global Health at the University of Sussex, Public Health Specialist and Public Health, Bangladesh Executive Director Tawfiq Joarder and Associate Professor at the National Institute of Mental Health Helal Uddin Ahmed.

Conducted by the World Bank's Health, Nutrition and Population Affairs Officer Ziauddin Haider the Health System Development Forum regularly hosts weekly webinars.

Dr. Shahaduzzaman said there are some differences between general treatment and corona pandemic. The issue of this pandemic is purely a public health issue. The first step in dealing with corona is to stop the transmission. The opportunity to know that the human race can be benefited so much by washing hands from home has not come in so many years of civilization. The thinking of our people is curative oriented. They want to hear from the doctor. A doctor who has seen a patient in a hospital or in a chamber all his life is not supposed to know a thing completely outside the hospital. Although they have played a major role in corona coping.

From the beginning, our framing was wrong, he said. Corona was seen as a medical problem, but corona is a public health problem and communication is a big part of public health. And the pandemic needs social collective initiatives, where people need to be involved. The main thing to involve the people is communication. Corona is basically a communication problem. We have seen some of his issues. What we call Fear of Unknown. The pandemic created panic. There is a lot of difference in Covid-19. In the beginning, due to some propaganda, we acted recklessly.

The persecution of the expatriates started after the corona patient was identified. At first they were killed by a quarantine seal — a different man. Then a red flag was hoisted at their house in the village — it was the house of an expatriate. It is formal stigmatization. Although the infection started through expatriates, later spoiled identity was seen. Then what happened - expatriate means the source of panic. Then informal stigmatization was observed. When the administration said that they were a source of fear, banners were seen in various places starting from tea shops banning the entry of expatriates. Expatriates were also beaten up.

When one first died, he was not an expatriate. Then a kind of real fear was created. Then came the lockdown and created another fear. The garment workers were brought back after being given leave. Then Fear of Life was added to Fear of Livelihood. Physicians did not have PPE, they were afraid to see patients. Again in an incident in Brahmanbaria we saw that a large part of the people had no fear. The time was at middle stage of the lockdown. This fearlessness has caused some more people to fear. Fear then went into panic. The patient is fleeing the hospital; attacks were carried on at the patient's house. In such situations people wanted to know the real situation. The responsibility of the administration is to inform the people about the real situation. There is still a need to change the strategy. Corona needs to be public health oriented. Moreover, there will be no way to handle the second wave, said Dr. Shahaduzzaman.

Dr. Helal Uddin Ahmed said, we have seen during dengue, the general public did not have confidence in those who gave warning messages. The same situation we saw again. In our country, politicians are ignoring the opinion of experts, which is why ordinary people are being cornered. Recently, the opinion of experts on Eid-ul-Azha has been ignored. Physicians have a responsibility in some cases to create distrust. Some people have said that they have got the medicine, but it has left the people in distrust. A study from North South University found that not only marginalized people but also educated people lack health literacy.

Dr. Tawfiq Joardar said that it is unthinkable that there are no patients in the hospitals of Bangladesh apart from the pandemic. If someone claims that there are no patients in the hospitals, it means that people do not have the courage to go to the hospital or they do not think that they will get the right treatment by going to the hospital. This is a very dangerous situation. We have conducted a study which found that the public has less confidence in the overall health system; the public has less trust in doctors and less trust in the health system. Suddenly we saw some people being changed. But unless the system is changed, individual change will not play a big role.

   

'KNF forced to drive at gunpoint' driver's statement in court



District Correspondent, Barta24.com
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Chand’s  car driver Kofil Uddin Sagar of Thanchi gave a confessional statement that KNF members forced him to drive hostage at gunpoint during the Sonali and Krishi bank robberies, attack on mosques, robbery of money and weapons and abduction of bank manager in Ruma and Thanchi in Bandarban.

On Wednesday (April 24) afternoon,  Chand's car driver of Thanchi Kofil Uddin Sagar said this in his confessional statement under Section 164 before Judge Nurul Haque of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court.

On the other hand, the court sent Kofil Uddin Sagar and six other members of the car arrested on suspicion of being members of Kuki-Chin National Front in the case of bank robbery in Ruma-Thanchi of Bandarban after two days of remand.

When they were produced in the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court at 3.30 pm on Wednesday, Judge ASM Emran ordered them to be sent to jail.

Bishwajit Singh, GRO of Bandarban Court, said that today they were sent to jail after 2 days of remand when they were presented in court.

So far a total of 78 people including 77 KNF members and a Chand’s car driver have been sent to jail. 23 of them are women



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6 workers killed, 8 injured when a truck fell into a ditch in Rangamati



District Correspondent, Barta24.com, Rangamati
ছবি: বার্তা২৪.কম

ছবি: বার্তা২৪.কম

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6 laborers were killed when a drum truck lost control and fell into a ditch on Udaipur border road in Sajek of Rangamati. 8 more workers were injured in this incident.

The accident took place in the 90 degree area of Udaipur border road on Wednesday (April 24) afternoon.

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All four bay-terminals will be foreign-invested: Port Chairman



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Chattogram
Photo: Barta24.com

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Chairman of Port Authority Rear Admiral Mohammad Sohail said that all four Bay- Terminals in Chattogram port will be foreign investment.

He said, Bay-Terminal is the biggest mega project of our country. Planning is underway. We got land. The master plan is done. The deepest channel will be here. Channels of 12-14 m draft. All designs are finalized. The good news is that there were supposed to be three terminals here. Now there will be four terminals.

The Chairman of Chattogram Port Authority said these things during an exchange of views with journalists on the occasion of the 137th Port Day on Wednesday (April 24).

The Port Chairman said that the multipurpose terminal will be managed by the Chattogram Port Authority. Terminal 1 will be managed by Singapore Port Authority and Terminal 2 will be managed by Dubai-based Company DP. They will build and operate two terminals with an investment of one and a half billion to three billion dollars. A liquid bulk terminal will be built by a domestic company. Half a billion dollars are being invested there.

A total of 9 to 10 billion dollars will be invested in the bay-terminal. Foreigners will invest one billion dollars in the port's multipurpose terminal. We will also make that agreement. In other words, the Bay-Terminal will be entirely foreign investment. In all, 9 to 10 billion dollars will be invested here. It is the biggest investment in the history of Bangladesh, he said.

The Port Chairman said that the Covid pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war, recent tensions in the Middle East have slowed down the expected pace of the global economy, but have not had much impact on container handling at the Chattogram port. After completing the unloading of the ship in maximum 2 days, I will release it to the next destination. Container handling in the first 9 months of FY 2023-24 increased by 8.2 percent over the same period of the previous fiscal. If the growth continues, this time there will be 3.2 million TEUs of container handling.

Last year was successful. We have been able to hire foreign operators in the PCT. This will benefit the port as well as the state. Foreign income will increase. 100% recruitment has been given. All the equipment will come in one and a half years. We have started operating the port in the landlord system out of the traditional system, he said.

Rear Admiral Mohammad Sohail said that we have kept the waters safe with the cooperation of Bangladesh Navy, Coast Guard and others. Chattogram port is safe. Employment opportunities are increasing when foreign investment comes to the port. Information technology, use of modern equipment will increase.

In response to a question, he said, we want competition. And the buyer wants the order to be delivered properly. If there is logistics support in the country, the orders of garment factories will increase. 250,000 container handling fee per year in PCT to be paid to the foreign operator who gets the work order. Everyone has an account of the needs of Bangladesh. If the Bay-Terminal and deep sea port are opened, the existing port jetties will be able to accommodate lighter vessels and passenger ships.

Chairman of Chattogram Port Authority said that in the first 9 months of the financial year, general cargo handling was 9 crore 16 lakh 49 thousand tons. At this time, 3 thousand 1 ships were handled. 43 thousand square meter container yard has been constructed in the last year. As a result, there is an opportunity to keep 7 thousand containers of 20 feet. A chemical shed of 4 thousand 275 square meters has been constructed. 2 thousand 850 meters revetment work has been completed on both banks to protect the navigability of Karnaphuli river.

He also said that Matarbari seaport will start operations in its own terminal in three-four years. Efforts to procure support vessels continue so that the terminal is not closed even for a day. Survey work for acquisition of 700 acres of land in second phase in Matarbari is going on.

Regarding Karnaphuli occupation pollution, he said, Karnaphuli is the heart of Chattogram port. This river is like our mother. River digging, waste removal is being done regularly. The operation is being conducted by its own magistrate. Nets will be placed at the mouth of the canal by the port to prevent waste. But it is not possible for anyone to protect the river alone. Ports have many challenges. The port is running on the tariff fixed in 1986. Now the price of fuel has increased. Our tariffs are low compared to neighboring countries. We have made recommendations. It is important.

Commenting on the safe release of MV Abdullah, the image of the country has been brightened, the Chairman of Chattogram Port Authority said that the image of the country has been brightened as the ship MV Abdullah was safely freed from the pirates of Somalia. This has been made possible by the sincerity of the government including the Prime Minister, diplomatic activities of Bangladesh. It is a positive aspect.

Chattogram Port Board Member (Engineering) Captain Mahbubur Rahman, Member (Administration and Planning) Habibur Rahman, Member (Finance) Shahidul Alam and Secretary Omar Farooq were also present. 

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Rana Plaza Tragedy: Even after 11 years, the relatives could not forget grief



Raju Ahmed, Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Rahena Khatun of Jhikargacha area of Jashore district. Her daughter Mukta Akhtar took a job in 2010 at the 8th floor garments in Rana Plaza to support her parents' poor family. After joining the service, she took care of all the expenses of her mother's family. The family found some relief from the life of misery in the income of Mukta. But that happiness did not last. Mukta was killed in the Rana Plaza tragedy in 2013. Mukta's mother Rahena Khatun became destitute.

Even after 11 years of losing her daughter, this helpless mother did not mourn. Sixty-six-year-old Rahena Khatun came to Savar with a heart-filled cry. She was crying because of the pain of losing her daughter.

Mukta's mother Rahena Khatun was speaking on Wednesday (April 24) morning. Recalling the memory of her daughter, she said that she will take hold in the world of poverty. So came to Dhaka. Mukta was 18 years old. She used to send money to me. She used to send money by bKash or by any transport. When I wanted, she would pay Tk. 500, Tk. 800. That girl doesn't call me. She does not call the owner is killing my daughter by force. I can't open the girl's picture. The chest bursts. I come hoping to find a girl, but every year I don't get a girl.


Meanwhile, Khursida Begum of Shimal Tali area of Jamalpur Mesta Union lost her eldest son in a tragedy. After his father's death, Khurshad's eldest son Al Amin, unable to bear his mother's grief came to Dhaka for quiet work. Unable to find a job anywhere, Al Amin took a job at Rana Plaza Garments. However, the fortune of his son's income changed Khurshida's life. Affectionate son of mother has disappeared from the world when he came to erase his mother's pain.

Khursida Begum said, my son still floats in my eyes. Ponce walks in wearing sandals. Mom calls mom. My son used to call me and tell me to eat. I won't eat if you don't eat. You are my mother. You take care of yourself mom. Now my son does not call.

Khursida also said that my crazy son wanted to repay his mother's debt. He came to Dhaka to take good care of his mother. I also wanted to eat my son's earnings. He left on his own to do his duty to me.

1175 families have tragic stories like those of Khursida and Rahena Khatun who lost their children and loved ones in the Rana Plaza tragedy. On April 24, 2013, the multi-storied building called Rana Plaza, built next to Savar bus stand, collapsed. At that time, the building had a market on its own floor and a garment factory up to the 8th floor. About 5 thousand workers were working in the garment factory. Among them 1175 were killed. More than 2,000 people are still alive with fear after being injured in that terrible accident.


The complaints of the relatives of the deceased and the injured have not been fulfilled even after all these years of the Rana Plaza tragedy. Despite assurances, 11 years have passed but the culprits in the Rana Plaza tragedy have not been punished. In this world's third largest industrial accident, the fair demands of the workers were not met. As a result, the families are going through the pain of losing a relative for years with frustration and anger.

Meanwhile, the labor leaders said that due to the lack of goodwill of the government, the workers have not yet received their fair dues where the world is witness. There, the trial of the guilty is being carried out under the pretext of accepting the testimony of the workers. As a result, they demand to take quick initiatives to compensate the victims and reduce their suffering.

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