Panchagarh
District - Industry and Resources
Banglabandha
land port is located in about 10 acres (40,000 m2) of acquired land at the north-western
tip of Bangladesh in Tetulia under Panchagarh district on the Bangladesh-India
highway.The port is situated 60 km away from Panchagarh Town. The place is of
international character and used for Nepal transit traffic passing through a
small corridor of India. It is about 22 meter away from the Bangladesh-Indian
borderline.
The growing
tea sector in Panchagarh has ushered in a new hope for further enhancing
the standard of socio-economic life and women empowerment, they said. The
female workers are yet to get their just wages from the garden-owners as the
growing tea-farming sector in the region has been facing manifold problems
including present unfair prices of the tea leaves for the tea farmers.
Presently, over 7,000 skilled and unskilled workers, mostly women, have been
working in 246 tea gardens, including 18 big estates, 13 medium-size and 215
small-scale gardens set up on more than 1,815 acres (7.35 km2) of land in
Tetulia and its surrounding areas, they said. Of them nearly 2,300 workers,
mostly women, are working alone at the giant Kazi and Kazi Tea Estate (KKTE) at
Tetulia which has earned reputation in both national and international markets
by producing, processing and marketing the famous and most popular Kazi &
Kazi Organic Tea and earning foreign exchange.
Industry for
manufacturing SPC electric poles, established a plant (Gemcon Ltd.) over a land
of 35 Acres in Panchagarh District,
here all the products in the plant are manufactured by using indigenous raw
materials. The factory has created direct or indirect job opportunity for more
than 1500 people and helping the nation in poverty alleviation.
Gem Jute
Limited was established in Panchagarh in 2003, with the corporate vision is to
improve the livelihood of the local population by providing employment and
advancement opportunities, stimulate the local economy through direct and
indirect economic activities. Gem Jute promotes sustainable development and
support the environment by providing high-quality, organic, biodegradable
products to the world market.Over 5000 people are working at Gem Jute Limited.
Under
Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC), Panchagarh Sugar
Mills Ltd. is the oldest industry of the district. Panchagarh Sugar Mills
was set up by the Government in 1965-69 at a cost of Tk.55.55 million. It is
near the district Head Quarter of Panchagarh and is the northern most sugar
mill in Bangladesh. Machinery and equipment of the
sugar mill were supplied by M/S. Stork Werkspoor of Holland. The sugar mill
started its trial production in 1969-70. Since independence of Bangladesh
(until 2005), the sugar mill has produced 8,536 m. tons of Sugar per annum on
average at an average sugar recovery rate of 8.10% from sugarcane.
Read more
about this topic: Panchagarh District
Sale of warm
clothes and blankets has started to increase in Thakurgoan, Panchagarh and
Lalmonirhat districts as winter is about to set in.
A good
number of buyers, especially belonging to low-income group, were seen at the
makeshift shops, the main source of buying warm clothes in Panchagarh and
Thakurgaon towns in the last couple of days, reports our Thakurgaon
Correspondent.
All types of
second hand woolen sweaters, jackets, cardigans, trousers, mufflers and woolen
gloves and kids' wear were being sold at the temporary markets, also by
roadside vendors.
Taking the
advantage of good demand of winter clothes, shop owners and roadside vendors
are trying to make unusual profits.
The price of
a single blanket (made of cut pieces of garment factories) varies from Tk 150
to 300 according to its size and quality. The price of a second hand sweater is
between Tk 100 and 300 according to its quality while the price of a jacket
varies from Tk. 300 to Tk. 1200.
Usually the
winter comes at the end of November or early December in the northern districts
and it become severe from end of December.
With the
experience of previous year's severe cold, people belonging to low and fixed
income groups are crowding the makeshift shops in these districts to buy warm
clothes to protect themselves from the biting cold, several buyers and shop
owners said.
Porimal
Chandra of Collegepara in Thakurgaon Municipality area said, “We suffered a lot
last year due to severe cold. I think the cold weather will sweep with more
severity in the region this year also as cold wind has already started to blow
from mid-November.”
Anwar
Pervez, a student of Abdur Rashid Degree College said, “I have come to the
market to buy warm clothes for me. But the sellers are demanding high price
compared to new ones.
Replying to
a query over higher price, shop-keeper Dulal Miah said that the price of a bale
of secondhand clothes this year much higher than last year's. This season we
had to buy a sweater bale at Tk. 30,000-40,000 and a bale of muffler at Tk.
35,000-Tk. 45,000 while these were only Tk. 25,000 and 30,000 respectively.
Our
Lalmonirhat correspondent adds: Sellers of warm clothes are doing brisk
business in the district town and other areas as people crowded roadside
makeshift shops and different markets to protect themselves from severe cold in
the region.
People,
particularly those from low and fixed income groups, are buying sweaters,
jackets, cardigans, woolen caps and mufflers.
'I have sold
a number of second-hand warm clothes. Demand for used warm clothes is much
higher than the new ones,' said Bhuttu Miah, owner of a roadside shop near
Mogholhat railway gate in the town.
He said low
and fixed income-group people including day-labourers, rickshaw-pullers and
employees of different government and private organisations were crowding his
shop.
Aftab
Hossain, a rickshaw puller, who lives at a hut on the embankment of the Teesta
River at Kalmati village of Lalmonirhat Sadar, said they had been suffering
extremely for severe cold for the last few days.
"But
prices of the clothes are much higher compared to the last year's,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment