World Resources Institute (WRI), on Friday, launched its flagship geospatial platform-Energy Access Explorer (EAE) for the state of Nagaland in Kohima. This makes Nagaland the third state in India to have access to the platform. EAE is a geo-spatial platform that provides data on electricity, health, education and livelihood indicators in the regions. It aims to assist policymakers, entrepreneurs and governments to decide the least cost and most sustainable energy access solutions for unserved and underserved communities to accelerate development. Chairman of Investment and Development Authority of Nagaland (IDAN) and Advisor to Chief Minister, Abu Metha who graced the occasion observed that data collection in a state like Nagaland can be challenging due to connectivity and accessibility issues. He appreciated the WRI for taking the initiative to cover Nagaland, as the Northeast region is often a forgotten part of India. Metha also informed that an expert committee has been set up under IDAN to work on a roadmap for economic progress for the state. The committee, which consists of experts and policymakers, will present its findings to the Chief Minister, who will then notify the Prime Minister. In this regard, Metha emphasized the need for energy roadmaps in Nagaland. He said that the state is pressing for the need to have sustainable energy, and that energy roadmaps would help to guide the state towards this goal. “EAE is going to play a vital role in the development of the state and will bring a new narrative for the state of Nagaland. When we talk about progress and development, one of the backbones is energy. Without energy, no progress is possible. We look forward to strengthening our partnership with WRI India so that we can collectively share knowledge and move towards our collective aspirations,” he added. The WRI India submitted a Letter of Intent for future collaborations to the IDAN chairman. According to WRI India, about a third of Nagaland’s 434 sub-health centers and 12% of 2074 public schools do not have access to electricity. As several of them are in remote regions, WRI suggested that deploying innovative solutions to meet such demands of social infrastructure is key for the state’s equitable development. Director of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Chekroshüyi Tetseo, the state have 12 district hospitals, 33 Community Health Centres (CHCs), 144 Primary Health Centres (PHCs), and 538 Sub centres (SC) out of which 301 have been upgraded as Health and wellness centres (HWC). He informed that the state government is making efforts to upgrade all sub centres to HWCs. All of these health care facilities, he said, is equipped with refrigerators for storing essential medicines and vaccines and require 24X7 power supply. The district hospitals, he added, have sophisticated equipment like ventilators, cardiac monitor, oxygen plant and so on which require adequate and regular power supply. “Most of these equipment are sensitive and  prone to damages if  the quality of power supply is not good. So mapping of energy requirement for our hospitals health centers going to be vital to run our equipment smoothly and I am glad to know that the EAE the tool to do that,” he said. As the healthcare facilities cannot solely rely on electricity, Dr Tetseo observed that there is need to explore the potential of generating renewable source of energy like solar and wind. He informed that solar panels has been put at district hospitals, including some CHC’s through the NHP(World bank), however, as the state mulls to cover PHCs, HWCs, and sub centres, he requested IDAN to intervene and see the possibilities of identifying potential investors  for renewable source of energy for health sectors. Manager, Energy Program, WRI India, Akansha Saklani told the gathering that EAE platform can be layered with different data sets to visualize the state of play of each sector. “For instance, if we overlay the Global Horizontal Irradiation data onto the existing demand information, we could potentially estimate how best to solarize these underserved communities,” she added. Beyond providing energy access related solutions, she shared that EAE could aid in decarbonizing the health and education sectors by deploying Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE) systems, thus supporting India in its efforts to meet half its energy needs from renewable by 2030 and attain Net Zero emissions by 2070. Aside from Jharkhand, Assam and Nagaland in India, EAE has been implemented in six sub-Saharan countries in Africa. They are Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zambia and Nigeria. Source: www.eastmojo.com

The Padma Multipurpose Bridge Authority has said the country's biggest bridge is likely to be opened for traffic in June this year as they by now completed 92 percent of its construction works.  "Our target is to open the 6.15 kilometre long Bridge within June this year," Padma Multipurpose Bridge Authority's Project Director Md Shafiqul Islam told BSS today.  He said 97 percent of the construction of the main structure of the bridge was completed while in terms of total construction and related works, 92 percent was finished by now.  "We have been working relentlessly to complete the rest eight percent within the stipulated time in line with the directives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina," the project chief said.  Officials including morphologists familiar with the development said completion of the river training remained to be the major task while they calculated the progress of the segment to be 90.5 percent.    The structure is aimed to link by road the entire southwestern region with Dhaka and other parts of the country drastically shortening the journey time benefitting trade and millions of people in person.  Economists said the Padma Bridge would increase the country's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) by 1.5 to 2 percent and change particularly the economic landscape of Bangladesh's southwestern part promoting tourism, industry alongside the routine trades.  The premier along with Bangabandhu's younger daughter Sheikh Rehana visited the site on December 31 last year to witness herself the work progress when they walked on the bridge for two kilometers from pillar no 7 to 18 in the morning on that day.  "We have been eagerly waiting for the grand opening of the bridge in June," a Shariatpur bound passenger of the route Md Shariful Islam said.  Sheikh Hasina earlier announced her government would construct the bridge with Bangladesh's own fund, discarding dependence on foreign donors like the World Bank which questioned the accountability and transparency of fund management of the project even before the project was launched.  The subsequent developments suggested the allegation to be baseless or unfounded but the government kept on its promise not to accept foreign lending to construct the bridge.  Political analysts said the implementation of Padma Bridge project, one of the major election pledges of Awami League, would benefit the incumbent government during the 2023 elections.  Bangladesh Bridges Authority (BBA) officials said some 22 meters wide concrete deck slab with 4-lane road on upper deck would feature the structure, while a single-track dual gauge railway track would be installed on lower deck.  They said the bridge will also have a 760 mm dia gas transmission line, 150 mm dia Fiber optical & telephone duct, high voltage electric line, platform in River over pile foundation at two km downstream of the main bridge.  China's Major Bridge Engineering Company (MBEC) is constructing the main bridge and its Sino Hydro Corporation was assigned with the task of river management.  The official data showed Sheikh Hasina opened the construction work on December 12, 2015 and the first span of the bridge was installed at the Jajira point of Shariatpur on October 7, 2017.  Along with Bangladeshis, many foreign nationals have been working round the clock for the project. Source: BSS AH

On Thursday, as local media reported,  Pakistan's Senate Standing Committee seek the equal representation of all the provinces in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) authority and expressed concerns that there was a sense of "deprivation" among the provinces about the CPEC projects. A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Planning and Development, chaired by Saleem Mandviwala of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), expressed its concerns on Wednesday while discussing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Express Tribune reported. PPP Senator Sherry Rehman deplored the sense of "deprivation" among the provinces about the projects related to CPEC. Rehman stressed that coordination with the provinces on CPEC projects was crucial, the Pakistani newspaper reported. It further reported that Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on CPEC Khalid Mansoor, while sharing details of the CPEC deals made with the Chinese companies, said that provinces were involved in Joint Working Groups (JWGs). Mansoor further said that the provinces were being provided equal facilities under the current framework. Mandviwala stressed that the representatives of the provinces should also be included in the CPEC authority. "Why do you object to the due representation of provinces in the CPEC Authority?" he asked, according to The Express Tribune. In 2015, China announced an economic project in Pakistan worth USD 46 billion. With the CPEC, Beijing aims to expand its influence in Pakistan and across Central and South Asia in order to counter the influence of the United States and India. The CPEC project would link Pakistan's southern Gwadar port in Balochistan on the Arabian Sea to China's western Xinjiang region. Source: ANI

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Thursday barred TV channels and all other media outlets from covering any activity of the proscribed outfit Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), local media reported. Citing an official notification issued by the PEMRA, Geo News reported that the restriction has been imposed under the Electronic Media (Programmers and Advertisements) Code of Conduct, 2015, which prohibits covering proscribed organizations. "Ministry of Interior had declared the TLP as a proscribed organization for being engaged in act of terrorism [...] on April 15, 2021," read the statement. According to the statement, all satellite TV channels, FM radio stations and distribution services networks (cable TV operators and Internet Protocol television) have been directed to stop disseminating information about the proscribed outfit. Earlier in the day, the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) Cyber Crime Wing announced that it has launched an operation against the proscribed outlet's social media accounts, Geo News reported. According to the Pakistani publication, a statement issued by the FIA said that 12 people were arrested during the crackdown in Lahore, Faisalabad, Nankana Sahab, Islamabad, and other cities of Punjab. The statement said that "arrested individuals were involved in uploading hate-inciting material and doctored images on the internet through the proscribed organization’s social media handles." On Wednesday, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad had directed the authorities concerned to launch a crackdown on the social media accounts of the proscribed outfit, Geo News reported. Source: ANI BM

The 11th International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum (IIICF), collaboratively hosted by the China International Contractor Association and Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute has been kicked off in Macao. More than 400 entities and 1000 political, business and academic leaders have been invited to discuss infrastructure issues such as opportunities and challenges faced by international infrastructure cooperation, the trends of the international infrastructure market in the post-pandemic era and how the international industry can surmount the difficulties and promote the sustainable development of global infrastructure through strengthened cooperation. On Thursday, Sultana Afroz, Secretary of the government of Bangladesh and Chief Executive Officer of Public Private Partnership (PPP) Authority delivered her speech in the forum virtually as the representative of Bangladesh. In her speech at the 11th IIICF she mentioned that Bangladesh has evolved into an investment destination under the supreme and able leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Bangladesh has the most liberal investment policy in South Asia. Highlighting the unprecedented investment opportunities in the infrastructure industry in Bangladesh she said, PPP Authority is supporting 79 PPP projects covering health, transport, IT, civil accommodation, shipping, social infrastructure, food and tourism sector. The authority has also signed a MoU for jointly implementing PPP projects through government to government partnership with Japan, Singapore, UAE and Korea. In the forum Sultana Afroz also proposed some interventions for implementing infrastructure projects in Bangladesh. She said that the Chinese contractors can cover the designing, manufacturing and shipping parts of the process while the implementation can be taken by the country’s local subcontractors under Chinese supervisors’ guidance. Mentioning the Covid-19 pandemic has cemented the new way for carrying out operations, she said that online communication and operational platforms have proven to be a solution and we should take full advantage of such technology. AH          

Chairman of Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) Mahfuzul Haque has been exempted from the contempt of court charge after he apologized to the court for his role. The HC bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil on Sunday passed the order after he appeared before the court and begged  apology for not complying with the summon order issued by the High Court on May 23. Reports UNB. On May 23, the High Court (HC) summoned him to appear before it on June 16 as the 52 products that failed the quality tests of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) were not removed from the market. Besides, the HC asked the National Consumers’ Right Protection Department to launch hotline for hearing the complaints of the consumers within two months. The HC said according to the information by the Consumers’ Right Protection Department, people can lodge complaint by dialing 01777753668 and they will be able to lodge complaint to 999 and 333.The court asked the department to keep these numbers and hotline open round the clock. It also asked the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institutions (BSTI) to conduct mobile court drives throughout the year. The High Court on May 12 asked the authorities concerned to remove immediately from the market 52 food items of different local brands that failed the quality tests of the BSTI. The court also directed the BFSA and Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection to comply with the order and submit their reports within 10 days. It also ordered stopping production and marketing of those products until their quality is improved. According to media reports published on May 3-4, the BSTI tested 406 food samples of 27 types. They published the results of 313 products. Of those, samples from 52 manufacturers were found to be substandard and adulterated. Advocate Shihab Uddin Khan stood for the petitioner while Faridul Islam and Barrister MR Hasan stood for BFSA and BSTI respectively and deputy attorney general Mokhlesur Rahman represented the state. AH  

The prison authority said that BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia has refused to go to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) for treatment despite their preparations to shift her. Prison sources said, Khaleda Zia informed that she would not go to BSMMU but she did not mention the reason. Jailor of Dhaka Central Jail Mahbub Alam said, preparations are taken to shift her to BSMMU. But it is not sure whether she would go there or not. He said, according to the rules BSMMU hospital was prepared for Khaleda Zia. We also had preparations. But when she was informed about the decision she expressed her unwillingness to go to the hospital. Earlier BSMMU Director Brigadier General Abdullah Al Harun said, the prison authority has informed that the BNP chief is being brought to the hospital. She may be admitted to the BSMMU cabin block. Meanwhile the cabin number 621 and 622 of BSMMU were cleaned from Sunday morning. Huge number of police members took their position in front of the cabin block. BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia is in captivity in the abandoned prison of Nazimuddin Road from February 2018 after being awarded 17 years imprisonment in connection with Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust corruption cases. AH       

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has said, I have never said that we will block the Facebook operation during SSC examination. I have not that kind of authority. The minister was speaking in the parliament on Sunday. Education Minister said, SSC examinations continue for one and half months while HSC examinations continue for two and half months. We have said that earlier question paper was leaked from BG press. But after taking measures this is not happening at the moment. It’s hard for us to keep guarding question papers for long period. Nahid said, when we send question papers in schools then some of the teachers transferred those to different persons using Facebook or other social media and modern mobile phone sets before distribution among the examinees. For this reason we have said that this way should be stopped. We have taken different steps. We also said that we will consult with BTRC so that they could help us or take initiative to stop this for a certain period. He said, we have consultation and they (BTRC) said that they will appoint extra manpower to check this. If any incident occurs then they will inform and police will take action. We cannot say that we will stop that because we have not the authority. The Minister said, we applied and they answered that they would cooperate. They could do it in another method by not stopping. They were asked to do as the criminals use the media. We have not said about hampering peoples’ affairs. We have said for refraining criminals from these activities. SSC and equivalent examinations will begin from February 1. AH