The year 2022, two years after the pandemic, was the year of challenges for Bangladesh, which the country successfully faced and also this year was the year of several national achievements of Bangladesh.
Padma bridge of pride has been implemented this year. Metrorail has started running in Dhaka. The girls of Bengal have added a new feather of success to the crown of the country. This year, from remote mountains to isolated islands, electricity has reached hundreds of places. However, apart from these, the fire of BM depot in Sitakunda and the boat sinking in Panchagarh have made the countrymen cry.
Apart from this, the increase in the price of fuel oil, the increase in commodity prices, the dollar crisis and the rumors about the banking sector have troubled the people.
The biggest event in the year 2022 was the much awaited Padma Bridge. Which opened its doors on June 25 this year. Through this, a new horizon of road communication has been opened in the country. This bridge directly connects a total of 21 districts of the South-Western region by road. A bridge of social and economic communication between the two sides of the Padma River has also been constructed in concrete and steel structures.
However, this bridge is not just a big infrastructure, it is a 'mega' project of Bangladesh implemented for the first time without foreign funding. Through the construction of this bridge, Bangladesh has shown its ability to build large infrastructure with full domestic financing.
At the very end of the year, a new door of communication was opened for the people of Dhaka through the launch of Metrorail Line-6. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated it on December 28 with a grand ceremony. After the launch of a large infrastructure like Padma Bridge, another mega project of the communication sector, Metrorail Line-6, was a great achievement for the Bengali nation. The much awaited metro rail will give some relief to the city dwellers from traffic congestion.
In 2022, the women's football team of Bangladesh managed to win the first big title by Sabina Khatun, Sanjida Islam, Rupana Chakma on the stage of SAFF women's championship; Which is the biggest success story for women and contemporary Bangladeshi football.
On September 19, the Bangladeshi girls brought joy to the country by defeating the hosts Nepal 3-1 at the Dashrath Stadium in Nepal. For the first time, bus parade was arranged like many other countries in the world to celebrate the success of Bangladesh.
At the beginning of this year, the country's largest Payra thermal coal-based power plant came into production on March 21. On this day, in March of this year, the government announced to ensure 100 per cent electrification by delivering services to remote and remote areas of the country. Bangladesh is the first country in South Asia to declare 100 per cent electrification.
One of the highlights of 2022, though, was a year-end disaster in the national grid that saw half the country go into prolonged blackout.
The labor market of Bangladesh, which was disrupted due to the Corona situation, has returned to a different speed in 2022. Manpower exports to Malaysia have resumed this year after many years of hiatus. This year has broken the record of sending 1 million workers in a year. With some countries the opportunity to export manpower has been created, the opportunity for some countries has been increased.
The position of the financial sector was quite strong at the beginning of 2022 after overcoming the negative impact of Corona for two consecutive years.
However, the Russia-Ukraine war in February made the country's economy in turmoil like the rest of the world. With the increase in the price of daily commodities in the world market, the cost of import is increasing. There is a severe pressure on the country's foreign exchange reserves. In the middle of the year, the remittances sent by expatriates started to decrease.
Central bank reserves fell from 46 billion to 33 billion dollars at the end of the year. Due to the strain on the reserves, the extreme dollar crisis was created. A dollar of 85 taka rose to 120 taka. The central bank was forced to impose strict measures on imports. Inability to open LC for import of goods has an impact on commodity market. The price of almost every commodity rises unbridled.
Many customers withdraw money from the bank listening to rumours; Which creates a new crisis. But at the end of the year, this trend decreases.
Covid brought people's lives to a standstill in 2020 and 2021, could not show its strength as it weakened in 2022. Normalcy has returned to the world this year. In keeping with the rest of the world, everything in Bangladesh has been opened up. Education, tourism or business are all normal.
However, even though the covid has subsided, diarrhea and dengue have shown their strength this year.
A terrible explosion occurred at the BM Container Depot in Chittagong's Sitakunda on June 4. The explosion shook an area of at least 4 square kilometers around the incident site. The windows of the neighboring houses were broken. The fire was still burning after the explosion. The fire service came forward to put out the fire. In that incident, 49 people were killed and more than 70 people were reported injured.
Fire service said that there was a large amount of chemical called 'Hydrogen Peroxide' in the BM Container Depot. Then on September 25, 50 people died in the incident of boat capsizing in Karatoa river in Boda upazila of Panchagarh. About 30 people are missing. The engine boat with more than hundred passengers was heading towards Badeshwari Temple in Barashashi Union.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India is seen as a significant diplomatic event of the year. Sheikh Hasina visited India in September this year as a return visit after almost three years. Seven MoUs were signed during the visit. However, despite the announcement, the postponement of the Prime Minister's visit to Japan has sparked criticism.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah of Brunei Darussalam, one of the richest island nation in the world, visited Dhaka for the first time this year. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi came to Dhaka on a two-day visit.
One of the topics discussed this year was the repeated violation of the code of conduct by foreign diplomats serving in Dhaka. The statements of several ambassadors about the last election and the upcoming election have caused a stir in the diplomatic arena. In the meantime, noise was created with the visit of the US ambassador to a house in Shaheen Bagh. World superpowers USA and Russia have counter statements about Bangladesh.
Another major event in the outgoing year was the continuous shelling along the Myanmar border and the casualties caused by shelling inside Bangladesh.
Towards the end of the year, the political situation heated up. Especially BNP which is out of power gives special message through rally for almost three months. Politics became heated over the December 10 rally discussed in the capital. Six of their MPs resigned. On the contrary, the ruling Awami League did politics by occupying the streets.
At the end of the year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was elected as the president for the tenth time in the national conference of Awami League and Obaidul Quader remained as the general secretary for the third consecutive term.
For the first time in the country's history, the Election Commission stopped the by-election of a seat of the National Parliament in the outgoing year 2022 due to irregularities. During the by-election of Gaibandha-5 seat on October 12, the EC made this decision by monitoring the CCTV cameras from Dhaka.
This year, for the first time since independence, the National Assembly passed the Election Commission Act. The current election commission was formed on February 26 in that law.
@The report was published on print and online versions of The Bangladesh Pratidin on December 31 and rewritten in English by Tanvir Raihan.
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