Bangladesh: Second phase of govt-sponsored scheme yet to start in 6 months

Dhaka, July 6, 2014 (New Age): The government has failed to start the 2nd phase of its safety inspection to the readymade garment factories even after six months of the completion of the first phase of the assessment due to some technical and procedural complexities. Even the remediation programme at the factories where the government teams found safety risk during the 1st phase of the inspection has not started as the factory owners are yet to get the assessment reports. In the aim of ensuring fire and building safety in the RMG sector, the government in association with the International Labour Organisation on November 22 last year started formal inspection to the factories which are not on the inspection lists published by EU Accord and North American Alliance. In the first phase of the inspection, experts of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology inspected fire, electrical and structural safety in 200 factories by January. After the completion of the 1st phase of the inspection, it took 3-4 months the process of preparing reports as per the requirement of the ILO. Although the BUET prepared the reports on 200 inspected units by January, an ILO-appointed consultancy agency asked the BUET to review the reports further and wanted colour mark grading depending on the risk factors. The BUET submitted the reports to the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments at the end of May. The garment manufacturers said that the government is yet to provide the reports to the factories concerned and owners could not start remediation programme. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association on June 26 wrote a letter to the DIFE requesting it to send inspection reports to the factories concerned so that owners could start necessary correction work. Syed Ahmed, inspector general of the DIFE, told New Age that they had started sending reports to the factory owners from July 1 and all of the reports would be sent to the respective factories within a week. Some technical and procedural complexities over the inspection standard, structure of inspection report and approval of the ILO programme had arise during the inspection that caused delay in the starting of the 2nd phase of the inspection, people involved with the process told New Age. A labour ministry high official said that the complexities had been removed and the work for the next phase would start within a short period of time. A BUET expert, however, said that they were committed to carry out the safety inspection but the ILO was yet to sign any agreement for the 2nd phase. The government-sponsored inspection programme is being implemented under a three-and-a-half-year ILO initiative ‘improving working conditions in the readymade garment sector’ to ensure fire, electrical and building safety and to ensure fundamental rights of workers in the apparel industry in Bangladesh. A government official said that the project had to wait for long time for getting approval from the Economic Relations Division and it was one of the reasons for the delay in starting the 2nd phase. He said that the disagreement over the standard of concrete strength between the BUET and foreign experts and non-completion of previous reports in time were also lingering the process. ‘The complexities have almost been removed. The ERD approved the project and experts resolved the technical issues and we are hopeful that the 2nd phase of the inspection will start within short time,’ labour secretary Mikail Shipar told New Age. Srinivas B Reddy, country director of the ILO, said that the process of launching the 2nd phase of the inspection was well under way and was expected to start very soon. ‘There is no issue with the fund disbursement for the assessment carried out by the BUET. Adequate fund is available for the payment of assessments. The 2nd phase of the inspection for which the term of reference is at the final stage, will begin as soon as contractual arrangements are completed,’ he said. Reddy informed that the issue of PSI was being discussed and all three initiatives (BUET, Accord and Alliance) had agreed on PSI for brick and stone aggregate. After the Rana Plaza building collapse on April 24, 2013 that killed more than 1,100 people, the retailers and apparel brands from the EU and North America separately formed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and Alliance for Bangladesh Workers Safety Initiative. Both the initiatives started their inspection to the RMG factories in Bangladesh from February this year. Accord published a list of around 1,600 factories while Alliance a list of around 620 apparel units for inspection. At the same time the government of Bangladesh and the ILO started a three-and-a-half year initiative aimed at improving working conditions in the readymade garment industry. This $24.21-million programme is funded by Canada, Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Bangladesh: BTRC goes slow on Banglalink anomalies

Dhaka, July 6, 2014 (New Age): The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission is dillydallying in taking action against Banglalink despite having found several irregularities done by the mobile phone operator during 2010-12. The BTRC found at least four Banglalink service and packages — 7 taka 70 minute, home zone, icon and flat tariff — were run without the regulator’s approval and in violation of other relevant laws between 2010-12 but it is yet to penalise the company for the wrongdoings, said officials. BTRC officials said because of inactive role of some high official of the commission the regulator was yet to take any meaningful action against Banglalink. ‘It is surprising that for so many irregularities for the three years the company is not facing any action,’ a BTRC official told New Age on Monday. He said the BTRC only issued show-cause notice to the company time to time. ‘The commission should investigate whether or not the BTRC officials are taking any advantage out of it,’ he said. BTRC officials said Banglalink earned Tk 19.46 lakh from its unapproved 7 taka 70 minute package which the company lunched in its seventh anniversary on February 11 in 2012. A BTRC investigation report showed that Banglalink launched and campaigned for the service without official approval from the commission and it also violated the minimum tariff rule of the commission. It said after the BTRC came to know the matter it asked the company to immediately stop the service but Banglalink did not stop it despite the regulator’s order. BTRC officials said some high-ups of the commission were aware of the service launch as the company informed them through email. In case of icon package, which was launched on November 25 in 2010 for its VIP subscribers, Banglalink paired up with Qatar Airways for providing complementary air ticket for the icon subscribers. BTRC report said the operators launched the offer without permission and violated BTRC tariff directive which bars gifts like air ticket. Banglalink earned Tk 8.76 crore from the icon package. In daily flat tariff package, Banglalink put a system of collecting Tk 4 daily from the balance of the subscribers registered with the package in 2011, violating section 48 of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Act 2001. The officials said that the commission on August 2 in 2011 had asked Banglalink to stop the service but the operator continued to run it. The BTRC’s August 23, 2012 notice said due to a late implementation of the commission’s directive the subscribers of Banglalink lost Tk 92.33 crore. Later in June 2013, Banglalink admitted to the BTRC that it took Tk 9 crore extra from the subscribers under flat tariff package but, the company is yet to refund the money to the subscribers. In home zone package, Banglalink again violated the interim tariff directive which bars mobile operators to offer a package based on geographic consideration. BTRC officials said the home zone service, launched in 2011, offered lower call rates at Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University, Rajshahi University, Khulna University, and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology and their surrounding areas. They said the service was also available in some district headquarters. But the duration of the service could not be confirmed. The BTRC has repeatedly asked Banglalink to submit the financial details of the home zone package but the company failed to provide the particulars. The BTRC legal department in a suggestion to the commission recently said that BTRC could fine Banglalink Tk 100 crore as the company ran two packages even after issuing injunction letters. ‘The BTRC can fine Banglalink Tk 100 crore as the company clearly violated rule 64,’ it said. Asked about the lethargic approach to resolving the Banglalink issue, BTRC system and service department director M Zulfikar said the process was ongoing. ‘The process of resolving Banglalink issues is still going on. We are about to form a committee as the company has requested for a hearing on the issues,’ he told New Age. ‘It is true that the issues are hanging for long. I guess because of the pressure of the regular work it has just got little delayed,’ he said. BTRC chairman Sunil Kanti Bose June last year told New Age that considering the greater interest of the subscribers the BTRC would solve the matter soon. Asked about the issue, Banglalink, however, denied making any comment on the matter.

Bangladesh: Pollutant, listed cos not to get tax rebate

Dhaka, July 6, 2014 (New Age): The industrial units which will pollute environment will not get income tax rebate facility the government has offered in the budget for this fiscal year for newly-established industrial units and the industries to be relocated from overcrowded city corporation areas, officials of the National Board of Revenue said. They said the companies listed with the country’s stock exchanges would not also get the benefit. The income tax wing of the NBR on July 1 issued a statutory regulatory order, setting some conditions for getting tax rebate facility. In the budget for the fiscal year 2014-2015, the government offered 20 per cent tax rebate benefit for newly-established industries and for industries to be relocated outside of the city corporations between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2019. The industries will get the benefit for 10 years from the date of its commercial operations while the industries which have already started its commercial activities will get the tax rebate at the rate of 10 per cent for the next 5 years. The facility is offered to encourage industrialisation in the country as well as relocation of the existing industries from the overcrowded cities like Dhaka, Chittagong, Gazipur and Narayanganj. According to the SRO, the industries which get tax holiday, income tax exemption and pay income tax at reduced rate will not be allowed to enjoy the benefit during the period they enjoy the facilities. Tax rebate offer came into effect from July 1. Officials of the revenue board said that the companies listed with the country’s two stock markets had already got special tax benefit as they pay income tax at the rate of 27.5 per cent whereas other companies pay income tax at the rate of 35 per cent. So, the listed companies are kept out of the benefit, they said. On the other hand, the government has decided to encourage environment-friendly industries to protect environment from pollution.

Bangladesh not to take any fee for food transport to Tripura

Dhaka, July 6, 2014 (New Age): The Bangladesh government has waived the transhipment charge from Food Corporation of India, to facilitate transportation of 10,000 tonnes of rice for Tripura by 700 Bangladeshi goods carriers via Ashuganj river port, reports Times of India. ‘We have been informed that the Bangladesh government will not charge anything for transhipment and transportation of rice through its port and roads for Tripura as a goodwill gesture,’ said a senior official of the state administration. The official added that the Bangladesh government had already cleared transhipping of rice from Haldia port in West Bengal to Ashuganj. Bangladesh foreign ministry has also intimated its Indian counterparts to allow tax-free transportation of rice from the port to the Akhaura land custom station. They also decided to renovate 58-km roads from the port to the land custom station at its own cost. The renovation will help a smooth and speedy movement of trucks, officials said. Earlier, Zee News reported that the food grain would be ferried by small ships from Kakinada port in Andhra Pradesh to Ashuganj and then by road to Tripura in Bangladeshi trucks. Ashuganj is 31 kilometres from Tripura capital Agartala. ‘The FCI had earlier floated tenders to select Bangladeshi transporters. After a series of diplomatic and administrative parleys involving various Bangladeshi ministries and India’s food, finance, shipping and external affairs ministries, the long-pending matter was settled recently,’ Tripura’s principal secretary (food, civil supplies and consumer affairs) BK Roy told the IANS. Earlier, in 2012, Bangladesh had allowed India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation to ferry heavy machinery, turbines and cargo through Ashuganj for the 726 MW Palatana mega power project in southern Tripura. The Indian government had spent several millions of rupees to develop the port and related infrastructure. ‘After Tripura, food grains would be ferried through Bangladesh for other north-eastern states, including Mizoram, Manipur and southern Assam, to save time and costs, besides ensuring certainty,’ an FCI official said. ‘Due to shortage of rail wagons, inadequate storage facilities and various other bottlenecks, the north-eastern states have been suffering from poor supply of food grains for most part of the year, especially during the monsoon (June to September),’ Tripura’s food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister Bhanulal Saha told the IANS. ‘In view of conversion of railway lines from metre gauge to broad gauge, the Northeast Frontier Railway would stop train services in Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram and southern Assam from October. In view of this, transportation of food grains and other essentials from different parts of the country to northeast India via Bangladesh is very vital,’ the minister added. The eight north-eastern states, including Sikkim, are largely dependent on the bigger states of India for food grain and essential commodities. Surface connectivity is a key factor as the mountainous region is surrounded by Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and China, and the only land route to these states from within India is through Assam and West Bengal. During the monsoon season, road transport becomes very difficult due to floods and landslides. For ferrying essentials, goods and heavy machinery from abroad and other parts of the country, India has for long been asking Bangladesh land, sea and rail access to the northeast. Agartala via Guwahati, for instance, is 1,650 km from Kolkata and 2,637 km from New Delhi. The distance between the Tripura capital and Kolkata via Bangladesh is just about 350 km. The FCI would carry the food grain via Bangladesh in association with the Inland Waterways Authority of India. Indian and Bangladeshi waterways connect West Bengal and Assam. The IWAI and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority are operating vessels on these routes. The two neighbours share 2,979 km of land border and 1,116 km of riverine boundary and also share 54 rivers, including eight rivers flowing from Tripura.

Bangladesh: Dhaka stocks gain for 2nd week on budget review

Dhaka, July 6, 2014 (New Age): Dhaka stocks advanced last week, two week in a row, after the government had reviewed capital market-related budget proposals. The key index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, gained 0.61 per cent, or 26.78 points, in the week to close at 4,436.21 points on Thursday, last trading day of the week. The market remained closed on Tuesday due to half-yearly bank closing. The DSEX advanced sharply by 1.76 per cent or 77.64 points on Sunday after the government on Saturday had approved the finance bill 2014, scrapping the proposal of imposing 3-5 per cent gain tax on individual investors. The finance bill for the next fiscal year also scrapped some other capital market-related proposals that had dejected investors. The approved finance bill also restored 10 per cent tax rebate for the listed companies, increasing the dividend payment limit by 10 per cent to 30 per cent. Except Sunday, the market fell all other three trading sessions of the week due to the half yearly closing share sell-offs by the institutional investors to realise some profit, operators said. On the other hand, profit taking sell-offs by the retail investors and reduced participation by the institutional investors after the half yearly closing on June 30 was also observed, they said. The Finance Bill 2014 and the national budget for FY 2014-15 were duly passed last week, leaving a bundle of opportunities for the capital market and especially for investors, IDLC Investments said in its weekly market commentary. ‘Especially, removal of proposed capital gain tax and prolonging of 10 per cent tax exemption on increased (from 20 per cent to 30 per cent) dividend payment by companies influenced investors much favourably,’ it said. ‘Going ahead, the later part of the week continuously faced hit from profit booking and portfolio re-balancing due to cashing out mania,’ said IDLC. DS30, the blue-chip index of the bourse, finished at 1,621.89 points, adding 0.33 per cent or 5.29 points. The Shariah index of DSE, DSES, however, fell by 0.33 per cent, or 3.31 points, to finish at 1,002.92 points. Of the 305 shares and mutual funds traded, 137 advanced, 140 declined and 28 remained unchanged. Daily average turnover of the bourse increased to Tk 321.76 crore from Tk 287.34 crore in the previous week. BEXIMCO led the turnover leaders in the week with its shares worth Tk 99.93 crore changing hands. Grameenphone, Lafarge Surma Cement, Appollo Ispat Complex, United Airways (BD), Square Pharma, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, Meghna Petroleum, BSRM Steels and Padma Oil were among the other turnover leaders. Fine Foods topped the gainers’ list with a 21.99-per cent increase in its share price, while Meghna Life Insurance was the worst loser with a 13.67-per cent decline in its share price.

Bangladesh: Imports rise by 14.93pc in 11 months

Dhaka, July 6, 2014 (New Age): The country’s imports increased by 14.93 per cent in the first 11 months of the current financial year 2013-14 compared with that of a negative growth of 9.09 per cent in the corresponding period of the FY13 due mainly to rise in imports of food products. According to the latest Bangladesh Bank data, settlement of letters of credit, or generally known as actual imports, stood at $33.88 billion in July-May of the FY14 against that of $29.48 billion in the same period of the FY13. BB officials said mainly higher import of food grains ahead of Ramadan pushed up the overall imports in the first 11 months of the FY14. Ramadan, fasting month for the Muslims, began on Tuesday. LC opening, or generally known as import orders, in the first 11 months of the FY14 also posted a growth of 13.30 per cent compared with that of a negative growth of 1.53 per cent in the same period of the FY13. LCs worth $37.52 billion were opened in July-May of the FY14 against LCs worth $33.11 billion opened in the same period of the FY13. The BB data showed that import of rice and wheat registered 125.84 per cent growth in July-May of the FY14 compared with that of a negative growth of 30.49 per cent in the same period of the FY13. Settlement of LCs in the first 11 months of the current financial year for rice and wheat was worth $1.31 billion against $580.40 million during the same period of the FY13. A BB official told New Age on Thursday that fall in food product prices including rice and wheat prices on the global market was one of the key reasons for the jump in the country’s import of the two products in the period. The rise in the rice prices on the local market also encouraged the importers, he said. He said that appreciation of the local currency against the US dollar also prompted the importers to import the essential items more to meet the growing demand. The BB official said the import of industrial raw materials and capital machinery also increased in the first 11 months of the FY14 as the businesspeople were now importing the products due to an eased situation on the political front. The political unrest slightly relaxed in the last few months that encouraged the businesspeople to import the two products although political uncertainty is still persisting in the country, the central banker said. The imports of industrial raw materials and capital machinery increased by 12.53 per cent and 16.96 per cent to $13.50 billion and $2.28 billion respectively in July-May of the FY14 from $12.00 billion and $1.95 billion in the same period of the FY13, the BB data showed. The BB data showed that import of petroleum products also registered a 3.64-per cent growth in July-May of the FY14 compared with that of a negative growth of 9.06 per cent in the same period of the FY13. Settlement of LCs in the first 11 months of the current financial year for petroleum products was worth $4.07 billion against $3.93 billion during the same period of the FY13.

Bangladesh: Beximco Pharma gets GMP nod from Taiwan drug admin

Dhaka, July 6, 2014 (New Age): Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited has recently announced that it has received GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) accreditation from Taiwan Food and Drug Administration as the first Bangladeshi company, said a news release. The company has received the recognition for its oral solid, inhaler and sterile eye drop facilities, it said. ‘We are very pleased to reach such an important milestone with the Taiwan FDA approval,’ said Nazmul Hassan, managing director of Beximco Pharma, on the occasion.

Bangladesh: Pvt hospitals go on strike after KU students assault intern

Dhaka, July 6, 2014 (New Age): All private clinics and hospitals, laboratories and private chambers of physicians have gone on a 48-hour strike starting Saturday in protest of the attack on Gazi Medical College Hospital and the abduction and assault of an intern by a group of students of Khuilna University last Wednesday. Khulna units of Bangladesh Medical Association and Bangladesh Private Clinic and Diagnostic Owners’ Association called the strike. The incident was sparked off centering the death of Khulna University student Amit Roy in a road accident Wednesday morning after he was allegedly refused treatment on a head injury by the intern Tanvir Ahmed Bappa. Roy succumbed to his injuries while on way to Dhaka for better treatment. The angry students beat up Tanvir on campus after abducting him from the emergency ward of privately-owned Gazi Medical College Hospital Thursday midnight. Tanvir was rescued by police from a room of the university early morning Friday. Khulna unit of BMA and Diagnostic Owners’ Association called the strike in protest of the attack and demanded the culprits be arrested. All private clinics and hospitals, laboratories and private chambers of physicians will remain closed till Sunday. Leaders of BMA and DOA said they will go on an indefinite strike from Monday if the students involved are not arrested by Sunday. Banga Kamol Basu, superintendent of Gazi Medical College Hospital filed a complainant with Sonadanga police station Friday evening naming 15 students of Khulna University and 200 unnamed others for being involved in the attack. We are trying to arrest the accused, said Sonadanga station officer-in-charge Maruf Ahmed.

Bangladesh: Khaleda hosts iftar party for diplomats

Dhaka, July 6, 2014 (New Age): The Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, on Saturday hosted an iftar party for the foreign diplomats in Dhaka. Khaleda, also former prime minister, exchanged pleasantries with the invited guests at the iftar party at Hotel Westin. It was followed by dinner. During iftar, the BNP chief was flanked by the dean of diplomatic corps, Shaher Mohammad, also the ambassador of State of Palestine in Dhaka, Saudi Arabian ambassador Abdullah Bin Naser Al Busaire, US ambassador Dan W Mozena, British high commissioner Robert Gibson, European Union ambassador to William Hanna, his wife Paola Fornari Hanna, Egypt ambassador Mahmoud Ezzat, Nepal ambassador Hari Kumar Shrestha and BNP vice-chairman M Mosrshed Khan, also former foreign minister. Ambassadors, high commissioners, mission chiefs and other envoys from different countries including India, Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Iran, Oman, Norway, Turkey, Qatar and Indonesia, also attended the party. Senior BNP leaders, including acting BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, standing committee members RA Gani, Moudud Ahmed, Jamiruddin Sircar, Tariqul Islam, Sarwari Rahman, ASM Hannan Shah, Rafiqul Islam Mia, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Mirza Abbas, and BNP vice-chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, chairperson’s advisers Reaz Rahman, Sabihuddin Ahmed, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Mir Nasir Uddin and Inam Ahmed, attended the iftar party.

Bangladesh: BRUR VC released after 36 hours

Dhaka, July 6, 2014 (New Age): Vice chancellor of Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur, AKM Nurunnabi, who had been beseiged by employees of the university since Thursday noon, was released Friday night after around 36 hours. A group of employees of the university detained the vice chancellor  demanding their jobs be regularised and all due salaries be paid. One of the leaders of the   employee’s union, section officer Atiquzaman Suman   said,   ‘we gave the VC fifteen days to meet our demands. If he fails within that timeframe, we will launch a larger movement.’ The VC went back to his residence Friday night around 9.00pm. According to University sources, some 679 teachers and employees have been working in the university against 428 approved posts. Of them, some 132 are working as teacher against 112 approved posts by the UGC. Some 668 teachers and employees were appointed during the term of the previous vice chancellor Abdul Jalil Miah against UGC-approved 260 posts.

Bangladeshis in Iraq safe, says envoy

Dhaka, July 6, 2014 (New Age): Bangladeshi nationals living in trouble-hit Iraq are so far safe and no Bangladeshi nurse has been held hostage in Tikrit, a strategically important city of Iraq, said the Bangladesh Ambassador in Baghdad on Saturday. A number of local media quoting Indian media claimed that 10 Bangladeshi nurses, employed in a Hospital in Tikrit city, have been in the captivity of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham supporters. ‘There was no Bangladeshi nurse (in that hospital). Indian nurses were there,’ ambassador Major General Rezanur Rahman Khan said over phone. The envoy, however, said some 31 Bangladeshi male workers, mostly cleaners, used to work in the hospital and they had been taken to a safe zone. ‘We are in touch with them and they are fine,’ he said. Responding to a question, the envoy said, ‘Nothing is favorable here, but the good news is that there is no report of casualty (of Bangladesh nationals).’ Meanwhile, India brought back 46 nurses on Saturday by a special Air India flight who were freed by militants in war-torn Iraq on Friday evening, reports NDTV. An official in Dhaka, preferring anonymity, said that most of the Bangladeshis were unwilling to come back home from the war-hit Iraq saying they were yet to recover the money invested to go to Iraq. Earlier, the government suspended sending workers to Iraq till confirmation of safe and secure environment there. It was estimated that over 14,000 Bangladesh nationals were working in Iraq, mostly in the construction sector, according to the foreign ministry in Dhaka. 

Bangladesh: Advance bus tickets for Eid from 15th of Ramadan

Dhaka, July 6, 2014 (New Age): Long route bus operators are likely to start selling advance tickets from the 15th Ramdan for the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr, said transport operators. Launch owners said they would start selling tickets 10 days ahead of Eid. Intercity transport operators at the capital’s Gabtoli and Sayedabad bus terminals said every year they usually start selling advance tickets from the mid-Ramadan. Some transport operators may, however, delay the service by one or two days, they added. Bangladesh Bus-Truck Owners’ Association leader Ramesh Chandra Ghosh told New Age that they were likely to make schedule of the buses between July 12 and July 15. Buses for the country’s northern and southern areas and Chittagong, Sylhet Rangamat and Cox’s Bazar operate from these two terminals. There is no advance ticket system at Mahakhali bus terminal which is used by buses for Tangail, Bogra, Mymensingh and Sirajganj. Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation operation department deputy general manager Rafiqul Islam Talukder told New Age that they would fix date for selling advance tickets within this week. Mohammad Shahabuddin Milion of Bangladesh Inland Waterways Passengers’ Carriers said they were likely to start selling advance tickets for different routes 10 days ahead of the biggest Muslim festival. Meanwhile Bangladesh Railway is likely to start selling train tickets on July 20. 

Bangladesh: CPB, SPB protest at price rise

Dhaka, July 6, 2014 (New Age): Leaders of the Communist Party of Bangladesh and Socialist Party of Bangladesh at a rally in the city on Saturday urged the government to take measures to control price hike of essentials during Ramadan. CPB and SPB organised the rally in front of the National Press Club to press for controlling price hike, controlling traffic and paying wages and festival allowances of workers before 20th Ramadan. The SPB general secretary Khalequzzaman, who chaired the rally, said commerce minister Tofail Ahmed had said before Ramadan that prices of essentials would not increase but failed to keep his commitment as prices shot up on the eve of Ramadan. Hoarders are responsible for the price rise but the government has failed to control them, the left leader said. Syed Abu Zafar Ahmed, general secretary of CPB, said workers are generally deprived as they get low wages. They will not be able to enjoy Eid if their wages and festival allowances are not given before 20th Ramadan, Zafar said. He called on the government to activate the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh to check market manipulation by hoarders. CPB central leaders Ahsan Habib Labu, Sajedul Haque Rubel and the SPB central leader Bazlur Rashid Firoz spoke at the rally. The rally was followed by a procession that paraded through different city roads.