Operation of DGF is going on secretly!



Serajul Islam Siraj, Special Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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The operation of DGF (Gas Development Fund) is going on secretly. State Minister Nasrul Hamid himself said he did not know what kind of amendments were being made.

Consumer Association of Bangladesh's (CAB) energy advisor Prof. Dr. Shamsul Alam said, if something wrong is done, there will be no way but to go to court. Many of these funds have been nine-six. Consumers are paying to form this fund. But their interests were not met. This money is people's money. Who has given the authority to lend a hand here to the Ministry or Petrobangla.

At a recent meeting, the draft policy was discussed. Several officials who attended the meeting confirmed the amendment to Barta24.com. They said the amendment raised at the meeting proposed that the fund be referred to as quotation money from gas sales. Apart from this, the interest of the loan given from this fund is being taken to Petrobangla's fund and the opportunity is being kept to use it for the purchase of LNG.

The fund was created to be used for oil and gas exploration, development and reform. On July 30, 2009, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) ordered an increase in gas prices. With the formation of GDF, consumers are charged an additional charge of 46 paisa per cubic meter which came into effect from August 2009. It was said in the public hearing that the domestic companies could not implement the project in time due to the financial crisis. Having to sit down with the project for foreign help, it delays the work a lot. And in the case of lending, donors have different conditions and orders. This often hinders the real purpose. So this fund will be interest free. Domestic companies will take up the project with the money of this fund so that the country's gas crisis can be overcome quickly, consumers will get gas at affordable prices.

However, interest was later charged at 4 per cent. It was said that in order to take the project funded by this fund, proper verification and selection has to be done and BERC prior approval has to be taken. There are allegations of using this fund later. About two and a half thousand crore rupees is to be deposited every year. During the corona period, the government also put its hand on this fund. Ministry sources said that Taka1,000 crore has been taken from this fund.

Deputy Secretary for Energy Dr. Muha. Moniruzzaman told Barta24.com regarding the mishandling of DDFthat it is coming to an end in January 2022. That is why I know that the time is being extended. And maybe there are some corrections. Asked whether the draft would be available, he said the matter was being looked into by Petrobangla's finance department and they would have to be contacted.

Petrobangla Director (Finance) Harun Aur Rashid also refused to provide the draft. He said the ministry is looking into the matter and can talk to them. In response to a question, he told Barta24.com, "As far as I know, there is no fundamental change." This policy expires on January 31, 2022, so it is being extended. Maybe there might slight amendments. When asked about the interest on the money in the Petrobangla fund, he said, "As far as I know, this is not happening." The money of the fund should be the money of interest in that fund.
However, several officials who took part in the meeting told Barta24.com that the meeting had raised objections to the draft citing the sale of gas as a fund and the draft to be included in the Profit Petrobangla fund. For that reason the subject may come to mind about avoiding.

   

Dhaka is the sixth most polluted city in the world, Seoul is on top



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com
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Today, Dhaka is sixth in the list of the most polluted cities in the world. The air quality of the capital has become 'unhealthy' with an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 172 at 6:50 am today.

South Korea's capital Seoul topped the air quality index with 343. South Korea's Incheon, Pakistan's Lahore, Vietnam's Chiang Mai and India's Delhi occupy the second, third, fourth and fifth places in the list with AQI scores of 217, 187, 179 and 177 respectively.

An AQI score between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy' for sensitive groups. An AQI score between 201 and 300 is considered 'very unhealthy'. And an AQI between 301 and 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing a serious health risk to residents.

AQI in Bangladesh is determined based on 5 parameters of pollution, namely - Particulate Matter (PM10 & PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone (O3).

Dhaka has been suffering from air pollution for a long time. Its air quality generally becomes unhealthy during winters and improves slightly during monsoons.

In March 2019, a report by the Department of Environment and the World Bank stated that the three main causes of Dhaka's air pollution are brick kilns, smoke from vehicles and dust from construction activities.

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Taka 400 crores laundered through digital Hundi, controlled by Dubai



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com
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Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested 5 people for allegedly laundering around Tk. 400 crore abroad through Digital Hundi using Mobile Banking Service (MFS).

CID Chief Additional IGP Mohammad Ali Mia informed this in a press conference at CID headquarters on Thursday (March 28) afternoon.

The arrested are - Nasim Ahmed (62), the owner of Tasmia Associates, Fazle Rabbi Sumon (32), the territory sales manager of Agent SIM, Md. Kamruzzaman (33), Zahir Uddin (37), representative of Jet Robotics Apps Bangladesh and Khairul Islam alias Pius (34).

Additional IGP Mohammad Ali Mia said, a gang has smuggled around Tk. 400 crore abroad through digital Hundi using mobile banking services. Five members of this gang were arrested during the operation.

He said that Tk. 400 crores illegally came to Bangladesh through Jet Robotics app in the last few months. Police traced the app through intelligence.

He also said that the money of this gang was transacted from the Chattogram based distribution house. Five members of the gang were arrested in separate raids in Dhaka and Chattogram on Wednesday night.

He said that Tk. 28 lakh 51 thousand cash was seized from them at the time of arrest. He said that they used to rent development agent SIMS and deliver money through them to the grassroots level.

The head of CID said that Mamun, the master of this gang lives in Dubai. He is using agent SIM here. This app used for smuggling cannot work outside 48 SIM along the specific link sent from Dubai. Only seven people can enter this app.

Referring to this as a modern form of Hundi business, he said, money is being circulated in the country through this app by blocking remittances coming to Bangladesh. Already we got 5-7 more such organizations who are working like this.

He said, in the last three months, Tk. 400 crores have been hindered from coming to Bangladesh through Jet Robotic Apps. Five people using these apps have been arrested and their devices seized.

He said, Chattogram's development distribution house Tasmia Associates company has 1000 Bkash Agent SIMs. These agent SIMs who are not performing well, the agent SIMs provide DSOs to the users of Jet Robotic Apps.

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Demand for punishment for those responsible for electrocution death in Moulvibazar



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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The death of 6 members of the same family due to electrocution in Moulvibazar is very shocking and heartbreaking. The chairman of the National Human Rights Commission Dr. Kamaluddin Ahmed said that the main responsible person and institution should be brought under accountability.

He made this comment at a discussion on 'Role of Media in Protection of Human Rights and Consumer Rights' organized by 'Business Digest' at a hotel in the capital on Thursday (March 28).

The Chairman of the Human Rights Commission said, after investigating the incident of Moulvibazar, appropriate legal action should be taken against those responsible and necessary measures should be taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. We could not do anything for one family, but we have to do for hundreds of such families.

He also said that the issue of rights is directly and indirectly the daily practice of the media. Media can question all the irregularities; make people aware of their rights and duties and play an important role in establishing rights. We can carry out reformative activities only in view of the news published in the media.

Dr. Kamal Uddin Ahmed called on the media workers to take all-out efforts to spread the necessary knowledge about the constitution, law and rights among the people.

At one stage of the discussion, he said about the recurrence of fires, we have not learned proper lessons from the big fires and explosions in Nimatli, Newmarket and Bangabazar in the past years. Had we taken effective measures, recurrence of fires could have been prevented.

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Suggestion to introduce Human Rights Wing in the Foreign Ministry



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recommended setting up a new wing on human rights to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The suggestion was made at the parliamentary committee meeting held at Jatiya Sangsad Bhavan on Thursday (March 28). After the meeting, this information was informed in a press release of the Parliament Secretariat.

The meeting recommended taking necessary steps to recognize March 25 as International Genocide Day. A proposal was made in the meeting to visit the Rohingya camps Kutupalong and Bhasanchar with the members of the Standing Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Chairman of the committee AK Abdul Momen chaired the meeting and members of the committee and Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, Shahriar Alam, Nahim Razzak, Nizam Uddin Jalil, Nurul Islam Nahid, Habibur Rahman, Saimum Sarwar, Zara Zabeen Mahbub took part in the meeting. #

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