The Chattogram-Dhaka oil pipeline will be put into trial operation in February and commercial operation in March. The pipeline will bring relief in many ways, including preventing wastage in fuel oil transportation, said Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) Chairman Amin ul Ahsan.

He told Barta24.com that many challenges had to be faced in transporting oil from Chattogram to Dhaka. If the pipeline is launched, safe transportation of oil will be ensured. In addition, the issue of cost and wastage in bringing it in lighterage will also be eliminated.

In response to a question, he said, diesel will be brought through the pipeline. Diesel constitutes 70 percent of the fuel oil we use. That demand will be ensured. Petrol and octane will come in the same way as they were supplied earlier, sometimes in railway wagons, sometimes in tankers by river.

In response to a question, the BPC Chairman said, many problems are faced in bringing oil by rail. It is difficult to get locomotives (engines) on time. Last week, I had to talk to the Railway Secretary himself to get the locomotive.

A preliminary survey was conducted for the Dhaka-Chattogram oil pipeline in 2017. Initially, the period was until December 2020. But the work started in 2020. In the first phase, the period was set to December 2022, and in the second phase, the period was extended to December this year. BPC said that the project period has been extended by another 6 months without increasing the cost.

Initially, the cost of the project was estimated at Tk. 2,861 crore. Currently, the cost has increased to about Tk. 3,699 crore. This project of BPC is being implemented by the 24th Engineer Construction Brigade of the Bangladesh Army. It is known that after the success of the company, they are also being given the work of the pending (Narayanganj-Airport) jet fuel pipeline.

Under this project financed by BPC, a 237-kilometer Dhaka-Chattogram, 59-kilometer Cumilla-Chandpur, and 8.5-kilometer Fatullah-Godnail Depot pipeline has been installed. BPC expects that once the pipeline is operational, transportation costs of Tk. 65 crore will be saved annually. In addition to saving costs, various complications will be eliminated.

There is a huge syndicate focused on transporting oil by lighterage on the river. Godnail Depot is known as a paradise for oil theft. The reason for that theft was the waste of time in unloading oil from the lighterage. BPC believes that this issue will also be brought under control once the pipeline is completed.

The owners of the lighterages transporting oil once took to the field in public to stop the project. It is because of them that the slow pace is noticeable. Again, people from the oil theft syndicate joined hands with them. Finally, the pipeline is going to see the light of day.

The BPC Chairman said that there will be no problem with the irrigation season as preparations have been made in advance. Supply has been ensured as per the estimated demand. Conferences are being held with distributors in the northern region. That too, keeps the irrigation season in mind.

The fuel transportation system in the northern region, known as the country's grain storehouse, was very complex with many gates and hand-to-hand exchanges. Oil was taken to Baghabari by lighterage, from there to tankers; another route is to reach it by railway. Now the Bangladesh India Friendship Pipeline has brought about a change there too. The India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline construction project was undertaken in 2018 to provide uninterrupted, fast and cost-effective fuel supply to 16 districts of the northern region of the country. The construction period of the 131.50-km pipeline at a cost of Tk. 3,623 crore was till June 2023. The pipeline has been commissioned ahead of schedule. Oil is being imported through this pipeline, which extends from Numaligarh in India to Parbatipur depot in Bangladesh.

Currently, the demand for fuel oil in the country is about 73 lakh metric tons. It is estimated to be 93 lakh metric tons in 2030, of which 67.19 percent is diesel. Bangladesh does not produce fuel oil, but gasoline and about 40 percent of octane are supplied from condensate obtained from gas fields. A large amount of diesel and other products are imported. A large amount of fuel is imported by river. But due to the lack of navigability in river ports, large ships cannot dock at the ports. Therefore, they had to rely on lighterage ships.

The authorities have temporarily suspended ferry services on the Paturia-Daulatdia river route due to dense fog.

Salam Hossain, AGM of the Commerce Department of the BIWTC Aricha office, confirmed to Barta24.com that ferry services were suspended from 6:30 am on Sunday (December 22).

He said that fog started falling in the river area from midnight on Friday. The marking lights of the ferry became dim in the dense fog in the morning. Therefore, ferries are not being launched from the Paturia Ghat area to Daulatdia Ghat to avoid accidents on the river route.

He said that ferry services will be resumed when the fog in the river area decreases.

Three more people have died of dengue in the country in the last 24 hours. This brings the death toll this year to 561.

At the same time, 141 people have been admitted to hospitals due to dengue. The number of cases so far this year has increased to 1 lakh 29.

This information was given in a notification sent by the Health Emergency Operation Center of the Directorate General of Health Services on Saturday (December 21) evening.

It said that among the newly admitted patients, 13 are in Barishal division, 12 in Chattogram division, and 22 in Dhaka division (outside the City Corporation). In addition, 35 new patients have been admitted in Dhaka North City, 35 in Dhaka South City, 11 in Khulna division, 5 in Mymensingh and 8 in Rajshahi.

According to the Directorate of Health, 170 dengue patients have recovered and been discharged from various hospitals in the country in the last 24 hours. With this, 98,269 people have returned home after recovering so far this year.

From January 1 to December 13, 2024, 1 lakh 29 people were admitted to hospitals due to dengue. During the same period, 561 dengue patients died.

Specialist physician Professor Dr. Atiqur Rahman said that dengue is no longer seasonal, it occurs throughout the year. In addition to using mosquito repellents to prevent dengue, the City Corporation should also conduct campaigns everywhere. At the same time, everyone should be aware.

Entomologist Dr. Manjur Chowdhury said that only jail and fines and raising public awareness will not work to control mosquitoes. Appropriate measures should be taken by conducting a proper survey and using skilled manpower.

It is worth noting that in 2023, the highest number of dengue patients in the country's history was 3 lakh 21 thousand 179 and 1 thousand 705 people died.

The commission of inquiry has found India's involvement in Bangladesh enforced disappearances.

While presenting intelligence information about the prisoner exchange activities between the two countries and the possible fate of the detainees, the commission said in its report that India's involvement in the disappearances in Bangladesh has become a hot topic in the public.

The five-member commission headed by former Justice Mainul Islam Chowdhury recently handed over the report titled 'Unveiling the Truth' to the chief adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus at the state guest house Jamuna in the capital.

The commission said that there is a strong indication in this regard among the law enforcement agencies that some of the prisoners may still be in Indian jails.

The commission said, we request the ministries of foreign affairs and home affairs to make every effort to trace any Bangladeshi nationals who are still in detention in India. Investigating this matter outside the borders of Bangladesh is beyond the jurisdiction of the commission.

Two highly publicized incidents mentioned in the report provide important evidence to understand how this disappearance process was carried out.

One of the incidents is the incident of Sukharanjan Bali, who was abducted from the Bangladesh Supreme Court premises and was later found an Indian prison, and the other is the incident of BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed.

In addition to these incidents, Hummam Quader Chowdhury said that people could be heard speaking in Hindi outside his prison, asking questions such as: When was he arrested? Did he give any information? Has he been interrogated yet? etc.

The commission said that the incident of BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed exemplifies some of the workings of the Bangladesh-India prisoner exchange system.

After being arrested while hiding in Uttara in 2015, he said that he was detained in an abandoned cell with a hole in the floor that was used as a toilet. The blanket given to him had the letters ‘TFI’ written on it, which indicates ‘Task Force for Interrogation’.

They said that the only active TFI centre at that time was under the supervision of the RAB Intelligence Wing, which operated under the RAB headquarters, but it was located inside a walled compound of the RAB 1 Battalion headquarters in Uttara, Dhaka.

The commission visited the facility and confirmed that the RAB Intelligence Wing still controlled access to it and held the key to it. However, the internal infrastructure of the facility had been completely demolished a few days ago.

The commission’s report said that witness accounts helped us identify various parts of the premises, including the location of the infamous torture chamber and cells.

They said that interviews with military personnel who visited the TFI centre in the early and mid-2010s revealed that the facility once had an additional floor with several cells, which is now inaccessible.

The report noted that we are still awaiting further evidence. However, it is initially suspected that Salahuddin Ahmed was being held in one of the now demolished cells. Salahuddin said he was taken to the India-Bangladesh border where he was handed over to Indian officials.

The report further said that the formal nature of the handover process deep inside Indian territory and the presence of suspected members of the Bangladeshi security forces wearing 'jam caps' to conceal their identities at the time clearly indicated that the incident took place through high-level coordination between the governments of the two countries and the security forces concerned.

The report said that further information about the prisoner exchange process between the two countries and the possible fate of the detainees was obtained from interviews with military personnel assigned to the RAB intelligence wing.