Dhaka: Electricity, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fauzul Kabir Khan said, ‘There is a huge fuel gas crisis in the country, so a huge amount of foreign exchange has to be spent on gas import. To overcome the gas crisis, five gas wells will be drilled in Bhola by 2025. And there is a plan to drill 14 more, making a total of 19 gas wells by 2028.’

He said this in response to questions from journalists after visiting the Ilisha-1 gas field in Bhola on Friday (November 1) afternoon.

The energy adviser said, ‘Our country is still facing a severe gas crisis. We now need 4,000 MC of gas, but we are getting only 2,000. We are currently importing gas from different countries, which is spending a huge amount of foreign exchange. LNG worth about Tk. 6,000 crore is imported annually to meet the deficit. We are trying hard to create new gas fields and become gas production-oriented.’

Fawzul Kabir Khan said, ‘From now on, no project will be taken up without open competition and we will give work to those from whom we get good proposals through tender. Advice from an expert committee will be taken in these cases. No irregularities will be allowed.’

He said, ‘We have taken up all the big projects. But we did not give importance to the needs of the people, so corruption has increased in such big projects. We want to give importance to the needs of the people.’

The adviser said, ‘At the moment, gas will be provided to homes, this is a false assurance for us. Since I will not do politics, I will not give such false assurances. However, in the future, when the gas supply increases across the country, then this issue will be considered.’

Regarding the visit to Bhola, he said, ‘The purpose of coming here is to see the possibility of getting more gas and what can be done to get more gas. The gas that has been discovered here (in Bhola) is not being fully utilized.’

During the one-day visit, the adviser inspected Elisha-1, Bhola North-1 gas well, Borhanuddin Shahbazpur gas field and two power plants in Borhanuddin.

At that time, he assured to solve the power problem of Bhola and establish gas-based industrial plants. Secretary of the Ministry of Power and Energy, Chairman of Petrobangla, Bhola Deputy Commissioner Azad Jahan and other senior officials were present.#

The 'July Shaheed Smriti Foundation' is starting work to provide financial assistance to the families of martyrs in the mass uprising of students and the public in the July Revolution. Under the new program called 'Bangladesh next to the martyrs', each martyr family will initially be given Taka five lakh. And the injured will be given Taka one lakh. From tomorrow, Saturday (November 2), the organization will provide assistance to 200 families every week.

Member Secretary Sarjis Alam gave this information at a press conference organized at the foundation's office in Shahbagh in the capital at 11 am on Friday (November 1).

Sarjis Alam said that this money will be first handed over to the families of martyrs of Dhaka division at the auditorium of the Nagar Bhaban of Dhaka South City Corporation tomorrow, Saturday. Not all martyr families of Dhaka will come tomorrow. Those who will be given financial assistance tomorrow have been contacted. Assistance will also be provided to others in phases every week.

He said, the list of freedom fighters of 1971 has been questioned in various ways. We are verifying so that there are no questions about the student-public uprising in 2024. A team of nine people is working on verification. The list of more than 800 martyrs has already been finalized. There are more than 24,000 injured and more than 1,600 martyrs. The final list will be finalized by November after verifying the information. It is hoped that assistance will reach all families by December.

The member secretary said, we will provide assistance to 200 families tomorrow. Money will be given in four installments from morning to afternoon. Financial assistance will be given to 50 families in each installment. So that no one has to come and sit until afternoon. A team of 20 people is ready for this.

He said, we are working with Dhaka division first. The number of martyrs in Dhaka is more than 200. After giving them, financial assistance will be provided to eight divisions.

The injured are being provided financial assistance of one lakh each. However, according to the medical team, 50 thousand taka is also being given to many. We are providing assistance to the injured through bKash. If the amount is more, it is being provided through bank accounts. However, if anyone needs urgent assistance, they can contact Helpline 16000 and assistance will be provided within three days, he said.

Stating that there is a plan for the rehabilitation process after this assistance, he said, "After that, we intend to work on the rehabilitation process. It is also being considered whether those who will never be able to return to work can be given any honorarium for a long time."

The government has completely lifted the duty on rice imports to control rice prices and increase stocks.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued a notification in this regard on Thursday (October 31).

It said that, by virtue of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 25 of the Customs Act, 2023 (Act No. 57 of 2023), in consultation with the National Board of Revenue, in the public interest, all customs duties and regulatory duties applicable to the import of parboiled rice and parboiled rice other than parboiled rice among the products included in the first schedule of that act have been exempted.

Stating that the notification will come into effect immediately, the NBR also said that before importing rice at a concessional rate under this notification, written approval must be obtained for each consignment from an officer of at least the rank of Joint Secretary nominated by the Ministry of Food.

Earlier, on October 20, the NBR reduced the existing import duty on rice from 25 percent to 15 percent, the existing regulatory duty from 25 percent to 5 percent, and the existing 5 percent advance tax was completely withdrawn.

However, on October 29, due to the disruption of rice production due to floods, the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission recommended the complete withdrawal of the currently applicable import duty on rice imports in order to increase the supply of rice in the local market and keep the price stable. In a report, the organization said that the report said that the widespread disruption of rice production due to natural disasters such as floods in the country has led to a negative impact on the supply of rice in the country as per the target in the upcoming production season. In addition, if the current duty on rice imports is withdrawn, local producers and farmers will not be affected.

Dhaka: The interim government is taking effective steps to develop the domestic industry. Commenting that this is increasing the confidence of businessmen, Finance and Commerce Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed said, our reserves have already started increasing. Overall, the country's economy is turning around.

The Commerce Adviser said this at a special review meeting held at the conference room of the Ministry of Commerce at the Secretariat on Thursday (October 31) afternoon. In addition to the country's top business leaders, senior officials related to the Ministry of Commerce participated in the meeting.

Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed said, it is not possible to do everything in three months. However, we are working whether today or tomorrow, a political government will come to power. We will work for the country as long as we have time.

Stating that the government is prioritizing the food, fuel, fertilizer and pesticide sectors, Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed said, the government will support the private sector in these sectors. We are trying to develop the private sector.

At the meeting, business leaders highly appreciated the steps taken by the interim government to develop domestic industries. Along with this, they called for the establishment of one-stop service centers for the overall development of the private sector, as well as reducing customs duties on imports of medicines, leather, garments and other industrial-related products, and ensuring uninterrupted gas and electricity supply.

Among others, Commerce Ministry Secretary Selim Uddin, Square Group Managing Director Tapan Chowdhury, Incepta Pharmaceutical Chairman Abdul Moktadir, Apex Group Managing Director Syed Nasim Manjur, Pran Group Director Ujama Chowdhury, among others, spoke at the event.