PRESS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT GOVERNMENT OF BANGLADESH DHAKA MOST URGENT FROM: PIO, PID, DHAKA FOR: BANGLADOOT, ALL MISSIONS Fax: 9540553/9540026 MSG: 152/2016 E-mail: [email protected] Date: Tuesday, 09 August 2016 [email protected] Web: www.pressinform.portal.gov.bd News brief Highlighting various untold stories of the life of Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the great lady who went along her husband like a shadow, had opened the door of the nation's independence denying the then senior Awami League leaders to free Bangabandhu in parole on negotiation with General Ayub Khan. The PM was addressing a discussion marking the 86th birthday of Bangamata at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka yesterday. She said her advice also guided Bangabandhu to deliver the momentous speech on March 7, 1971. A documentary on the life and works of Bangamata was played on the occasion. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came down heavily on BNP for inducting war criminals and their children into its newly-formed committee, saying that through this, BNP extremely cheated the nation. The premier made the remarks while unveiling the cover of a book named 'Sradya and Bhalobasai Smaraniya Bangamata Fazilatunnesa Mujib' at Gono Bhaban yesterday. The Cabinet approved the draft of 'The Power Act, 2016', keeping a provision of the maximum 10 years’ imprisonment and the highest Tk10 crore fine or both for carrying out any act of sabotage in any power establishment. It draft law also kept a provision for introducing ‘Independent System Operator (ISO)’ to operate the country’s power system in a coordinated manner. The approval was given yesterday at the Cabinet meeting held at the Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. Bangladesh Railway (BR) signed the biggest contract in its history with a Chinese company to construct a 215-kilometre rail route from Dhaka to Jessore through the Padma Bridge. According to the agreement, the company will complete the construction of 169-kilometre railway routes by June 30, 2022. Of the contract value of Tk 27,652.57 crore, Tk 24,749.05 crore will come from Chinese government's G2G funding, while the remaining Tk 2,903.52 crore from the fund of the Bangladesh government. The first span of the superstructure of Padma Bridge reached Mawa site from China yesterday, said an official at Road Transport and Bridges Ministry. Bangladesh looks forward to intensifying its overall connectivity with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a dialogue partner. Institutionalisation of this relationship will not only make a bridge between the two historical regions, but also foster investment, trade flow and cultural exchanges, and there also exists a commonality of security interests between Bangladesh and ASEAN member countries. Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali made these remarks yesterday while addressing the 3rd ASEAN Flag Raising Ceremony organised by Asean Dhaka Committee at the Indonesian embassy in Dhaka. Ambassors of Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, and Singapore were also present at the event. Almost one third of Bangladeshis now have access to mobile banking as the number of users has climbed 150 per cent in the last three years, says a new survey. The survey, conducted by Helix Institute of Digital Finance, noted that Bangladesh has seen a substantial increase in the number of digital financial service providers as well as agents. A Bangladesh-Singapore joint venture signed a number of agreements with different parties to set up a 414- megawatt power plant in Sirajganj at a cost of $412 million. This will be the first public-private partnership project with a foreign investor in the power sector in Bangladesh. The venture signed four agreements at a programme held in Dhaka yesterday. Officials at the Bangladesh embassy in Riyadh yesterday said that more than 1,500 Bangladeshi migrants, who are working for Saudi Oger, a leading construction company, will get their arrears anytime soon. However, two groups of the embassy yesterday started preparing database of the Bangladeshi workers and knowing their problems after visiting the labour camps. Labour counsellor at the embassy Sarwar Alam assured the media that there was no food shortage for the Bangladeshis. Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the total Indo-Bangla trade volume now stands at $6.34 billion. The bilateral trade is on the up and up due to duty-free access of Bangladeshi products to Indian market, he added. Shringla made the observations while addressing ‘Third Quarterly Luncheon Meeting 2016’ of MCCI in the capital yesterday. He urged the Bangladesh government to make the processes of getting visas and no-objection certification from police simpler for Indian nationals. Rapid Action Battalion members arrested nine foreigners and a Bangladeshi national along with huge counterfeit notes and currency-making materials in the capital on Sunday. Of the arrestees, seven are Cameroon citizens. At the end of the yesterday's session, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, settled at 4,569.13, advancing 0.70 point or 0.02 per cent. Mohammad Ishtaque Hossain For Principal Information Officer Ph: 9545096 .