The New Nation - Internet Edition

A.T.M.Nurun Nabi

The real wage of the people belonging to the lower-income group has fallen by 41 percent in terms of rice-price though the money wage remains unaffected. A year ago, the coarse rice used to sell at taka 17 per kilo, which is now taka 24 in Dhaka, Comilla and Pabna towns. The real wage is determined by the earner's ability to purchase food items from markets. However, as the real wage decreases, the cost of living in terms of the rice-price has conversely increased by the identical percentage much the government claims that the purchasing power of people has amplified. Not only the rice-price has increased, that of coarse flour and edible oil has increased from taka 19 to 37 and taka 48 to 90, thereby, added extra miseries to the fixed earners.

At Comilla town, the miniket variety sells at taka 30 to 32, in the capital city taka 32 to 34 and at Pabna town taka 27 to 28 only per kilo. In Dhaka, the nazirsail variety still sells at taka 32 to 35, showing a slight improvement upon the price of the last week in view of the arrival of the newly harvested aman rice, said a retailer to this correspondent.

Prices of some of other food items follow as under:

Potato taka 26, brinjal taka 24, bean taka 24 to 30, chili taka 60, coarse flour taka 37 and lentil taka 76 only. An government employee from Comilla town informed over phone on Monday night that the fish-price is still high despite abundance of supply. The river shad (Hilsha) has again become dear after two months' rest. The hilsha, which was taka 200 per kilo a week ago, now selling at taka 350. As regards the reason of sudden abnormal rise, an economists said, the fishermen of the coastal areas who lost everything including the fishing equipments in the 11/15 hurricane are not going to sea. As a result, production has decreased. The situation will not improve if they are not disbursed interest-free loan or on easy terms. Not only the fishermen need loan for survival, the marginal farmers and the sharecroppers and the small entrepreneurs of the hurricane battered districts too are badly in need of loan on easy terms.

In the capital city, the price of some of the food items is as under: Newly harvested potato taka 35 (old ones vanished from markets), brinjal taka 26, bean taka 20-24, tomato taka 40, chili taka 50, palk taka 16, balsam taka 28, radish taka 12, onion taka 25 (imported) and 55 (local) and sugar taka 32.

As to the fish-price, climbing fish taka 200, scorpion (lancer) taka 350 to 400, carp fish taka 120, salmon taka 130, shrimp taka 200, lobster taka 350, carpet fish taka 120, fry fish taka 120, telapia taka 80, medium size ruhit taka 80 to 100, trout fish taka 100, lata fish taka 180 and walking fish taka 250 only.

M/s. FCI (BO) Co. Ltd. is going for expansion of their project in Dhaka Export Processing Zone.

100% foreign owned company will enhance their production space with additional investment of US$ 2.5 million, including this, the total investment will stand at US$ 7.5 million. This company will also create new job opportunity for additional 300 Bangladeshi nationals, meanwhile 2530 Bangladeshi including 05 foreign nationals are already working in this unit.

An agreement to this effect was signed between the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority and M/s. FCI (BO) Co. Ltd. in BEPZA Complex, Dhaka. Prasanta Bhushan Barua, Member (Investment Promotion) of BEPZA and Md. Akhtaruzzaman, Chief Operating Officer of M/s. FCI (Bangladesh) Ltd. have signed the lease agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.

Among others Member (Engineering) Md. Farhad Uddin, General Manager (Investment Promotion) AZM Azizur Rahman, Manager (Industrial Relations) Md. Abdus Sobhan and Assistant Manager (Public Relations) Khadiza Parvin of BEPZA were also present in the signing ceremony.

UNB, Dhaka

The George Harrison Fund for UNICEF has announced a donation of US$ 450,000 for relief and recovery efforts for the victims of cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh.

A release from Washington Monday said the cyclone affected about 8.5 million people in Bangladesh in 30 districts and about half of the affected people are children. An estimated 600,000 of them are under five years of age. The contribution-evenly split between immediate relief and long-term recovery interventions-will go towards meeting the immediate funding needs of UNICEF, currently estimated at almost US$ 30 million.

George Harrison had a long association with Bangladesh and UNICEF. "Children are at their most vulnerable during natural disasters and it is incumbent upon all of us to act fast to save as many lives as possible," said Olivia Harrison, wife of late George Harrison whose great contribution to Bangladesh's liberation war is still remembered with gratitude. President and CEO of the US Fund for UNICEF said "with such a large number of children affected in Bangladesh, UNICEF is playing a key role in ensuring their survival in the coming weeks and months."

He said, "This contribution keeps alive George Harrison's longstanding tradition of goodwill towards Bangladesh, but shows that children need our assistance, regardless of the borders they are born between."

In 2005, Olivia Harrison launched the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF in her late husband's name with an initial donation of $1 million.

It specifically targets UNICEF programs in Bangladesh but also provides lifesaving assistance to children suffering from civil conflict, natural disasters and poverty elsewhere. The launch of the fund coincided with the release of a DVD and CD of 'The Concert for Bangladesh' which generates further income for the fund.

The release said with cold weather on the way, children and women in Bangladesh require urgent life-saving assistance such as medical supplies, food, clothing and shelter to be able to survive. Other critical priorities include ensuring access to a safe water supply and sanitation facilities to mitigate the threat of waterborne diseases such as cholera and dysentery, to which children are particularly susceptible.

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has come forward with it's limited resources to help the distressed people of the south-east regions of the country ruined by the recent terrible cyclone 'Sidr'. Own relief teams of the Bank rushed to the affected areas with a view to assisting the helpless people. Dedicated employees of the bank are conducting relief distribution effort in every nook and corner of the affected areas overcoming hundred adversities.

IBBL has taken a wide range of agenda for rehabilitating in the affected areas. The bank has planed to provide adequate help for reviving houses and other infrastructures. The bank will take necessary measures for reconstructing religious institutions including mosques and temples. The bank authority is making a list of the downtrodden and helpless orphans and they will be rehabilitated in the established orphanages of the country under the supervision of the bank. Besides, the bank has taken initiatives to build an ideal orphanage where the affected orphans will be reared with proper care.

IBBL began their distribution campaign worth Taka 30 million immediately after the invasion of the super cyclone in the south-west region of the country. To supervise the relief activites, a high level committee was formed led by Prof. Abu Nasser Muhammad Abduz Zaher, Chairman, Board of Directors of the bank. Islami Bank Foundation donated Taka 20 lakh and under the distribution activities, the foundation is distributing food, medicines, materials for constructing houses, agricultural tools and cash money. The bank donated Tk.50 lakh to the Chief Adviser's fund and Tk.30 lakh to the fund of the Chief of Army Staff.

All levels of employees of the bank donated their one day's salary for the helpless people. Islamic Development Bank allocated 2 lakh dollar for distributing food, constructing houses and proving medical services. This donation will be disbursed by IBBL.

IBBL distributed rice, dal, salt, suger, oil, potato, medicines, corrugated iron and other necessary items among the thousands of affected individuals and families in Barisal, Pirojpur Sadar Upazila, Zianagar, Vandaria, Mathbaria, Bhola Sadar Upazila, Mongla, Morelganj and Sharankhola, Jhalokathi, Patuakhali Sadar Upazilla, Barguna and Torki. Besides, the Bank is conducting relief distribution activities in Patharghata, Paikgatchha of Pirojpur and Kaliganj of Satkhira.

BRAC has completed the closing of a new USD 55 million equivalent taka loan facility from a group of International lenders.

This is the first time that a 7 year international unsecured syndicated term loan facility has been structured and subscribed by international lenders for a micro finance institution in Bangladesh.

The facility was structured by Standard Chartered Bank and RSA Capital as joint co-lead arrangers and subscribed and arranged by FMO of Netherlands, Norfund of Norway and KfW Bankengruppe of Germany. The financing arrangement is aimed at supporting the microfinance activities of BRAC across the rural Bangladesh.

Standard Chartered Bank and RSA Capital are the mandated co-lead arrangers to the facilities. FMO and Norfund are lending USD 25 million in equivalent BOT and USD 10 million in equivalent BDT respectively. SCB is lending USD 20 million in equivalent BDT under guarantee from KfW. SCB will also act as the Account Bank for the facilities.

This first of its kind internationally syndicated unsecured local currency financing arrangement, in Bangladesh, demonstrates the confidence of international investors in BRAC and Bangladesh. This facility will assist BRAC to further expand its microfinance activities in the rural areas providing much needed impetus to the progress of the SME, agriculture during the post flood & Cyclone reconstruction period.

AQUASSIST ANCEDEGREMENT - SUEZ ENVIRONMENT (FRANCE), a part of the French Multinational Conglomerate Suez Group, with the assistance of their representative DELCOT ENTERPRISES LTD., have extended their support to Bangladesh and have already emergency water treatment facilities and technical support valued at over BDT 10,000,000.00 (one crore) for the assistance of the victims of the devastating cyclone SIDR. The availability of safe drinking water is one of the major issues facing the affected regions, with the risk of water borne disease and dehydration becoming an urgent concern.

The Aquassis ance Programme of SUEZ Group provides emergency humanitarian relief, and the equipment will be capable of immediately producing 48,000 liters per day of clean drinking water from available surface water sources.

The specialist technicians who have come from France have also voluntarily donated their time and expertise to train local authorities in the proper use and maintenance of the equipment. The installation of said machinery started in Pathorghata, Patuakhali & Sharonkhola, Bagerhat from 29.11.2007.