Crows dying, poultry culled

Fear of fresh round of bird flu grips Barisal, Kishoreganj

A few of the several hundred crows that met sudden death due to unknown diseases in and around Barisal city during the last two days, right, workers of Kishoreganj district livestock office culling bird flu infected hens at Bogadia village in Sadar upazila yesterday. Photo: STARStar National Desk

Barisal city and adjoining areas saw sudden death of a large number of crows in last two or three days while authorities destroyed at least seven thousand bird flu infected hens in Kishoreganj Sadar upazila yesterday.
Hundreds of crows that died at Girzamahalla, Medical College area, Sadar Road, Bells Park and Kirtonkhola riverbank areas in Barisal city during last two or three days are rotting in the open, reports our correspondent.
The crows were seen falling from trees and dying after a while, witnesses said.
Abdul Jabbar, Barisal district livestock officer, said their staffs are collecting samples for laboratory tests in Barisal and Dhaka to detect the disease that caused the massive deaths of crows.
“The crows may have died after eating some infected items,” said Dr Md Shawkat Ali, principal officer of Regional Livestock Disease Investigation Laboratory in Barisal.
“During the last few days, similar incidents have been reported from Patuakhali and Bhola towns. After laboratory test of the samples of dead crows sent from Patuakhali, no virus of avian influenza was found. The crows died due to eating of dead chickens infected with 'ranikhet' disease, not avian influenza,” he said.
Although he advised locals to bury the dead crows, the situation has raised a fear of fresh round of bird flu among them.
Livestock officials urged people to remain watchful of the situation and inform local livestock officials if unusual deaths of crows is seen anywhere.
Our Kishoreganj correspondent adds: District livestock officials destroyed around 7,000 avian influenza (bird flu) infected hens of Bhai Bhai Farm owned by Muzammel Huq at Bogadia village in Kishoreganj Sadar upazila yesterday.
Informed that some hens of the farm died of unknown diseases during the last few days, Dr Bahadur Ali, veterinary surgeon of district livestock office, visited the spot.
After primary examination of some collected samples, he detected those as affected by bird flu.
The report was sent to Dhaka central office from where a letter confirming the case as bird flu came on Wednesday night.
District Livestock Officer Nousad Hossain in presence of administration officers and police personnel arranged destroying the hens of the farm yesterday morning.
Farm owner Muzammel said the price of the hens would be around Tk 14 lakh.

Billion dollar outsourcing beckons Bangladesh: experts

Bangladesh can build a billion dollar outsourcing business by 2015 if the regulator ensures a business friendly environment, said experts at a seminar.

“We hope outsourcing business in the voice over internet protocol (VoIP) industry will touch more than a billion dollar within next five years,” said Habibullah N Karim, chief executive officer of Technohaven company.
“But the regulator has to create a congenial environment for this.”
VoIP is not only illegal but also an unethical business in the country because of the regulator's negative stance for the last couple of years, said Karim at a seminar organised by REVE Systems during BASIS SoftExpo 2011.
The stigma involving the VoIP needs to be addressed so that the young talented entrepreneurs feel encouraged to join the outsourcing business.
Speaking at a panel discussion, Sukanta Dey, ex-president of Tata Teleservices, said Bangladesh has a huge potential for outsourcing industry because it produces quality software.

Food costs at records, no let-up in prices: FAO

Star Business Desk

World food prices hit a record in January and recent catastrophic weather around the globe could put yet more pressure on the cost of food, an issue that has already helped spark protests across the Middle East.
Up for the seventh month in a row, the closely watched Food and Agriculture Organisation Food Price Index on Thursday touched its highest since records began in 1990, and topped the peak of 224.1 in June 2008, during the food crisis of 2007/08.
“The new figures clearly show that the upward pressure on world food prices is not abating. These high prices are likely to persist in the months to come," FAO economist and grains expert Abdolreza Abbassian said in a statement.
Surging food prices have come back into the spotlight after they helped fuel the discontent that toppled Tunisia's president in January and have spilled over to Egypt and Jordan, raising expectations other countries in the region would secure grain stocks to reassure their populations.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick urged global leaders to "put food first" and wake up to the need to curb increased price volatility.
"We are going to be facing a broader trend of increasing commodity prices, including food commodity prices," he told Reuters in an interview.
A series of weather events hitting key crops is likely to keep up the pressure on food prices as a massive cyclone batters Australia, a major winter storm ravages US crop belts and flooding hits key commodity producer Malaysia.
Drought in the Black Sea last year, heavy rains in Australia, dry weather in Argentina and anticipation of a spike in demand after unrest in north Africa and the Middle East has already pushed the price of wheat to its highest in 2-1/2 years.
The FAO's Abbassian pinpointed crop conditions.
"It is the supply situation. It is not the time when we get additional supplies from anywhere," he told Reuters.
"Supply is not going to look any better than it is now until we know what is happening (with crops in major producing countries) later on in the year," he said.
A mix of high oil and fuel prices, growing use of biofuels, bad weather and soaring futures markets pushed up prices of food in 2007/08, sparking violent protests in countries including Egypt, Cameroon and Haiti.
Cameroon on Thursday said it had created a body to buy and regulate the price of basic food imports, a move to avoid a repeat of price increases which led to 2008 riots in which 100 people were killed by the African nation's security forces.
Economists in Europe picked up on the threat to economies from surging food inflation.
Janis Huebner, economist at Germany's DekaBank said inflation partly fueled by increasing food prices could in turn trigger interest rate rises in several countries this year.
"This could mean a slowing down of growth in the countries which raise their interest rates," he said. "This could involve Asian countries and other regions, this would somewhat brake growth but I do not expect a hard landing."
National Australia Bank agribusiness economist Michael Creed said food markets may take a while to regain equilibrium.
"The broadbased nature of what crops have been wiped out over the past year means that it's going to take a while to actually rebuild and get production back in line with consumption," he said.
White sugar futures hit a record high and raw sugar futures rose to their highest in more than 30 years on fears of the damage Cyclone Yasi would bring to the Australian cane crop.
The worst winter storm for decades in the United States drove wheat futures to the highest in nearly 2-1/2 years, and Malaysian palm oil prices are at 3-year highs as flooding hit crops.
Some countries, particularly where food prices loom large in household budgets, have been building up food stocks to try to contain prices -- and to limit the political and social fallout.
In the run-up to the 2007/2008 food price crisis, the World Bank estimated that some 870 million people in developing countries were hungry or malnourished. The FAO estimates that number has increased to 925 million.
"2008 should have been a wake-up call, but I'm not yet sure all the countries in the world that we need to support this have woken up to it," the World Bank's Zoellick said.
In Bangladesh, price of rice further strengthened in January reaching new record highs. At Tk 36 per kg, prices were about 33 percent higher than a year ago.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, last week bought 820,000 tonnes of rice, lifting rice prices -- although rice is one commodity that remains well below its 2008 prices. It has also suspended import duties on rice, soybeans and wheat.
Algeria last week said it had bought almost a million tonnes of wheat, bringing its bread wheat purchases to at least 1.75 million since the start of January, and ordered an urgent speeding up of grain imports, a move aimed at building stocks.
"Some of the demand story is centred around high food prices (that) then tend to lead to hoarding by a number of countries into their strategic reserves," said Wayne Gordon, a grains analyst for Rabobank in Sydney.
"So not only are they purchasing for current consumption, but they are also trying to build up strategic reserves, which basically are a bit of a double-barrelled demand event."

Panic brings down stocks

Star Business Report

Dhaka stocks fell heavily yesterday as panic-driven investors went for sell-offs fearing another collapse amid fresh liquidity crisis and two regulatory directives, said market operators.
In choppy trading, the benchmark general index of the DSE plunged 183.80 points, or 2.51 percent, to close at 7,125.33 points, as share prices of 231 issues out of the total 257 went down.
The DSE had experienced a similar trading on Wednesday but the general index of the bourse advanced 28.16 points as bank issues pulled the market for the day, although prices of 75 percent issues slid.
“All sectors retraced today,” said BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Ltd in its daily market update yesterday.

MCCI links stock fall to abrupt policy shift

Hasina calls for increasing people's purchasing power

A delegation of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, led by its president Amjad Khan Chowdhury, meets Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the premier's office in Dhaka yesterday. Photo: MCCIStar Business Report

Frequent changes of policies and non-professional handlings by the regulators have created the recent 'havoc' on the stockmarket, said a leading chamber yesterday.
Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) also said the debacle has tarnished the image of the government to some extent.
"The recent drop in the stockmarket index needs to be evaluated and analysed judiciously," said the oldest trade body in a submission at a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office.
The prime minister called upon the MCCI leaders to take initiatives to increase the purchasing capacity of the people for expanding local markets of their commodities.
"People of the country will not be able to buy commodities manufactured by the local industries if their purchasing power is not increased," Hasina said.
MCCI also demanded punishment to the responsible persons for the recent stock debacle, after a proper investigation.
The MCCI said: "Bangladesh should focus on improving governance and developing advanced market products."
The trade body's observation came at a time when the stockmarket is trying to recover from the last month's collapse, depending on the government stimulus measures.
The plunge made many small investors bankrupt.
MCCI referred to the 1996 stock crash and said this year's incident also tarnished the image of the government to some extent.
The trade body also praised some government initiatives, including construction of 33 power plants of 2,941 MW and upgrading of Dhaka Chittagong Highway into four-lane to establish regional connectivity.
"Bangladesh can become an Asian commercial hub through better land, air and sea connectivity. However, creating public opinion is needed for effective implementation of the agreements," it said.
MCCI, however, said: "The government cannot alone do this job, it needs cooperation from all other political parties and civil society."
"Once dubbed as a bottomless basket, Bangladesh is now poised to become a middle-income country by 2021," said MCCI but added that GDP would need to grow at an annual rate of at least 8 percent in the next 10 years.
The chamber urged the government to build public opinion for implementations of agreements for improved regional cooperation and connectivity, signing of Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with India, China and ASEAN, settle issues like market access with India.
The delegation, led by its newly elected President Amjad Khan Chowdhury, also wanted upgradation of capacity of standards institutions, appointment of bureaucrats in ministries with their specific field of specialisation, improvement in law and order situation, expansion of Open Market Sales points.
MCCI suggested the government avoid gas-based power plants due to their low conversion efficiency, and introduce cyclindered gas for households to reduce wastage.
The trade body urged the government to finalise the draft coal policy soon so that coal can be used to generate power.
"Relying on imported coal for our power generation will make our energy security dependent on foreign supply and the cost will be prohibitive," it said.
The MCCI praised the government initiative to build Padma Bridge but said a clear timeline for execution of different stages of this project is needed. To ensure effective utilisation of the bridge, it also suggested development of the Mongla Port.
The chamber said the public private partnership (PPP) model has a high potential to draw substantial investments.
It also called for a comprehensive PPP act.
"In our view, the complexity of the PPP mechanism demands that it be governed by a law rather than by executive guidelines," it added.

Food inflation soars

Star Business Report

Food inflation has reached its highest in three years on a point-to-point basis in December 2010 due to rising food prices on both local and international markets.
According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), food inflation increased by 1.2 percentage points to 11.01 percent in December, compared to the previous month, but non-food inflation decreased by 0.06 points to 3.27 percent.
The country's poor rural population felt the heat most, as food inflation there reached 11.76 percent in December, which was 10.53 percent in November.
Inflation increased to 8.28 percent on a point-to-point basis in December 2010, which was 7.54 percent in November.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) said rising trends of global food prices, energy and industrial commodities will be the short-term external source impacting domestic inflation in the coming months.
Food crop growers get price subsidies for fertilisers and irrigation fuel, but they are facing higher costs because of a rise in wages of agricultural labourers in recent years, BB said in its latest monetary policy statement.
Severe food inflation in India and high international prices of food commodities mean there would be no calming influence on food prices from imports by private sectors -- another reason why local rice prices are high and rising even after a good aman harvest.
The central bank said monetary policy actions will have little leverage on rising food prices in this situation. Fiscal measures like subsidised food grain sales from public-stock may need to be expanded to ease hardships of low income population, it said.
Domestic consumer prices have already contributed to wage increases in the apparels sector, declared four months in advance and will be effective from June.
An energy price revision to adjust high import prices of fuel oil and costly power from rental power plants is reportedly under process.
This will be effective in the remaining period of the current fiscal year and is expected to impart some upward spurt to non-food inflation.

An eco-resort that stands apart

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=170165
Green Tech
An eco-resort that stands apart

Left, a cottage of Mermaid Eco Resort; top right, a view of the sea from the resort, and the front view. Photo: Mermaid

Iqramul Hasan
Cox’s Bazar is no more clamouring to be listed as one of the New Seven Natural Wonders of the World, but it attracts tourists in increasing numbers from home and abroad.
Pechar Dweep, only a 15-minute ride from Kalatoli point of Cox’s Bazar toward Himchhori, is a place of natural beauty where the waves of the sea kiss the foothills.
It is rare that someone making a trip to Cox’s Bazar should be missing out on the panoramic Himchhori.
As you venture out on the long black tarred road to Himchhori and have travelled a few kilometres with the choppy sea on your right, a bright sign on a weather-washed board “Mermaid Eco Resort”. A cluster of tiny thatched cottages must attract your attention. There you are on the threshold of an eco-resort housed on five acres.
Anyone should easily understand that the resort operators must be an environment-conscious group as one glances at the nice sign of Mermaid painted on a piece of recycled wood pegged at the rather unassuming entrance.
Anisul Huque Chowdhury, managing director, explains why he says Mermaid is an eco-resort.
“Since I began the construction of this resort in 2003, one thing I kept in mind that there must not be any harm done to the natural beauty of the place,” Chowdhury said.
He said the resort would not be put in place without the sophisticated design of Ziauddin Khan, the chairman of the resort. “We invested around Tk 4 crore to develop and build the resort. The materials used in construction were mainly old blocks of wood.”
But the authorities did not allow felling a single tree within the resort area, keeping all the trees falling within the accommodation zone also intact, he said. “Also, we planted around 40,000 saplings to make the resort greener.”
Chowdhury said the first venture was Mermaid Café in Kalatoli area, where recycled materials were used in construction and fresh organic foods were served to the customers.
“The success of that café motivated us to build a resort some distance away from the town.”
The resort owner recruited 70 percent of the staff from the locality, most of whom had earlier been struggling to make a living by poaching natural resources from the nearby hill forests.
Chowdhury said a plant recycles the waste generated at the resort. “The end of the day sees us separating the food wastes, paper and bottles for recycling.”
Food wastes are recycled to generate fertiliser that again is used in the organic farming of vegetables the resort serves to the guests.
Chowdhury said Mermaid distributed the excess organic fertilisers among the village farmers.
The waste bottles are used in the decor of the resort and mixed with other materials to make mortar used in construction, he said.
Razib Ahmed, the marketing manager of Mermaid, said the resort wanted to attract mainly those tourists who are environment-conscious.
Christopher Craig, country director of a multinational company, said he felt at home being a guest at Mermaid and was happy with the standards maintained by the resort.
“To protect the natural beauty of the countryside like Cox’s Bazar, there is no alternative to building this kind of eco-resorts,” he added.
According to Craig, Cox’s Bazar is already congested and overburdened with dense concrete structures. He said, “It is not a very good thing for eco-tourism.”
“As an environment conscious traveller, I feel Mermaid makes efforts to protect the nature against contamination,” he added.
Ria Maria who visited the resort on several occasions said: “It is the best resort in the country as far as my experience goes.” Maria said the resort did not use any air conditioners; the natural air is sufficient there and so they save energy.
“The rather simple cottages and other structures were built in a way so that the natural atmosphere remains intact there,” she added. Maria said her friends who visited the resort had the same feelings.
There was a time, when eco-tourists avoided visiting Cox’s Bazar because of the widespread pollution of the local environment and the sea. Chowdhury said: “We got a lot of tourists in the last one year who really cared about the environment and enjoyed their stay at our resort.”
Tourists who come to Cox’s Bazar are mostly residents in different cities living in tall buildings, he added. “Tourists prefer a place which is in a natural setting and far from any noise.”
“We raised Mermaid using recycled wood and other materials, not exceeding the height of the existing trees.”
Mahfuz Ahmed, manger of the resort, said since inception they had received around 10,000 guests till then. Of them, more than 40 percent were foreigners and some of them revisited the resort on a number of occasions, he added. The tourism minister, diplomats, writers and many other environment lovers visited the resort.
Talking about their future plan, Chowdhury said he plans to instal solar panels of 5KW capacity soon. “We have a plan to supply power to the local households also, as Pechar Dweep does not have any other power supply.” A central effluent treatment plant is also included in his future plan.
The resort owner is building another resort, Club Mermaid, near the existing one.