As part of the process of launching Starlink satellite services in Bangladesh, various Bangladeshi companies have signed deals with US telecom giant Starlink.

This information was given through a notification from the press wing of the chief adviser on Saturday (March 8).

Several Bangladeshi companies have signed deals with Star link to assist in setting up ground earth stations in Bangladesh (space allocation, construction assistance and infrastructure maintenance).

Starlink is also considering setting up a high-tech park in Bangladesh, it was reported.

Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor, Faiz Ahmed Tayyab, said that discussions are underway on the location and implementation details. We hope that Starlink will ensure reliable and high-speed internet in Bangladesh's cities and remote areas, the northern region or the coast, free from the hassle of load shedding or natural disasters.

He added, "It will ensure uninterrupted and high-quality services." As the coverage of telecom-grade fiber networks in Bangladesh is limited and load shedding is still a problem in remote areas, Starlink will accelerate the daily activities and digital economic initiatives of our entrepreneurs, freelancers, NGOs and SME businessmen.’

Notably, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus invited Elon Musk to visit Bangladesh on February 19 and launch Starlink satellite services in the country.

The Chief Adviser also directed his top Representative Dr. Khalilur Rahman to coordinate closely with his SpaceX team to complete the necessary work to prepare Starlink for launch in Bangladesh within the next ninety working days.

Dhaka University protests at midnight demanding resignation of Home Affairs Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury due to failure in numerous rapes and abuses of women, including an 8-year-old girl.

On Sunday (March 9), students in various halls of Dhaka University started chanting slogans demanding the resignation of the Home Affairs Adviser at around 1:30 am. Earlier, around 12 am, students in the university's Sufia Kamal Hall brought out a protest march demanding justice for the rapists.

On the ground, it was seen that students had taken up a sit-in on the street at the foot of the Raju sculpture at around 1:45 am. Later, students from all the halls of the university joined the protest one by one, declaring solidarity with them. They kept chanting various slogans demanding punishment for the rapists.

At that time, the students said, "One, two, three, four, Jahangir, leave the bed." 'One by one, demand the resignation of Jahangir', 'We want justice, we want justice', 'In my golden Bengal, there is no place for rapists', 'Who are you, who am I, come and come', your sister is my sister, come and come', 'The death penalty for rapists must be executed', 'Catch the rapists one by one, hold them and bury them', 'The black hands of the rapists, break them and crush them' - etc. They kept raising slogans.

The students alleged that the Home Adviser could not ensure the safety of women in the country. He could not even execute the punishment for the rapists. 

Students of Jahangirnagar University (JU) blocked the Dhaka-Aricha Highway at midnight demanding justice for the rape cases that have been happening in different parts of the country, including the rape of an 8-year-old child.

On Sunday (March 9), students from various halls gathered at the university's Battala at 1:45 am and took out a procession from there to circumambulate various important roads of the university. The students blocked the Dhaka-Aricha Highway at 2:45 am and held a sit-in.

During this time, students were seen raising slogans such as 'Light the beds of rapists together', 'Who are you, who am I, Asia-Asia', 'Justice, Justice, We Want Justice', 'Tell everybody, bury the rapists', 'There is no place for rapists in 24th century Bengal'.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Ali Chishti, a student of the 53rd batch of the English department, said, "Although brutal incidents like rape have been happening in different parts of the country in the past few days, the government's silent role is troubling us. Yesterday, we received the raped body of an innocent 7-year-old Asia. Due to the lack of justice, an 8-year-old child was raped in Gazipur today. If exemplary punishment is not ensured for these rapists within 48 hours, we will launch a strict program demanding the resignation of the Home Affairs Adviser and block the Dhaka-Aricha highway."

One of the protesting students, Nazmul Islam, a student of the Anthropology department, said that even an eight-year-old child was not saved from the hands of a rapist in Magura the day before yesterday. On Saturday, a young man addicted to Yaba raped a third-grade girl in Gazipur and recorded the scene on his smartphone. Due to the lack of visible justice in these incidents, crimes like rape are gradually increasing. The same situation prevails today as crimes were committed one after another in the country during the time of the fallen dictator Sheikh Hasina. Such incidents cannot be accepted in Bangladesh after the mass uprising.

He also said that the interim government must take responsibility for the deterioration of the law and order situation. The rapists must be immediately brought to justice. Otherwise, all students and the public will once again form a movement for the safety of our mothers and sisters. 

Petrobangla wants to bring forward 7 wells from the 100 well drilling project and drill them in 2025 itself. Petrobangla Chairman Rezanur Rahman said that the project is being brought forward as part of strengthening the oil and gas exploration and development program.

He told Barta24.com that many initiatives have been taken to increase domestic gas production, including a decision to bring forward 7 wells from the 100 well project scheduled for 2026-2028. A policy decision has been made to drill the 7 most promising wells this year. In addition, workovers of several wells are being done. We hope that this will further increase domestic gas production.

The 100 well drilling project for 2024 was taken. Of these, 69 are exploration and development wells and 31 are workovers of old wells. In that project, state-owned oil and gas exploration and development company Bapex is to carry out 52 exploration and development, 31 well workovers, Bangladesh Gas Field Company is to carry out 9 exploration and development, 12 well workovers and Sylhet Gas Field Company is to carry out 8 exploration and development and 3 well workovers.

Petrobangla has estimated the cost of the project at Tk. 19,500 crore. The Gas Development Fund (GDF) and the company's own financing is Tk. 5,722 crore and Tk. 13,328 crore has been estimated from government funds. The target was set to start in 2026 and be completed by 2028. The interim government has finalized the plan to bring forward 7 wells from there.

An official of the Fuel and Mineral Resources Division told Barta24.com on condition of anonymity that many changes are being made to the 100 well project. A priority list is being made out of the 100 wells. The list includes wells with the highest potential, where gas can be quickly put into the pipeline if found.

It is known that there are 9 wells of BAPEX and 5 wells of SGFCL and BGFCL in that list. 3 separate DPPs are being done for 9 wells of BAPEX. The DPP of Begumganj-5 and 6, Sunetra-2 project is at the forefront. The DPP of the project is awaiting approval from ECNEC. The feasibility of Begumganj-7, Charlaksha-1 and Semutang-1 is ongoing, while Subarnachar-1, Noakhali-1 and Sundalpur-5 are at almost the same stage.

An official of Petrobangla told Barta24.com on condition of anonymity that almost half of the 69 wells are dependent wells. If gas is found in such exploration wells, development wells will be drilled there. Therefore, there is no real opportunity to drill more than 35 wells at the moment. Once the first phase is completed, the next ones will have to be dug. For example, if Zakiganj-2 is successful, Zakiganj-3 wells will be dug.

Currently, a project called the 48-well drilling project is underway. However, the number of wells was later increased to 50. In that project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2025, Bapex had 17 wells, and later one well was increased to 18. Of these wells, 10 have been dug. Work is underway on the Jamalpur well, and Srikail-5, Sundalpur-4 and Sundalpur South-1 will begin soon. Open tenders have been invited for the Bhola North-3 and 4, Shahbazpur-5 and 7, and Shahbazpur North East-1 drilling projects. Zakiganj-1 and 2 are the most backward in the 50-well drilling project. Bapex has not yet finalized the DPP for Zakiganj. It is said that the delay is due to the 3-D report.

Energy experts have been blaming the stagnation of exploration for the gas crisis in the country. Energy experts were criticized for Petrobangla's decades of laxity. In Bangladesh, about 99 exploration wells have been drilled in 112 years. And Petrobangla wants to drill 69 wells in 3 years. Many people consider this ambitious, but they have commented that it is very urgent.

Professor of Geology Department at Dhaka University Dr. Badrul Imam said that if gas is not found in a well, it is not good to start a fuss. If 8 out of 10 are dry, then it is not possible to dump it. Unocal drilled 13 wells in Rajasthan in a row and found them dry. After that, the company's headquarters told them not to drill any more wells, but the geologist took a lot of risk and discovered the largest mine in India by drilling well number 14.

At a seminar on Petrobangla's 100 well drilling project, Professor of Geology Department at Dhaka University Dr. Anwar Hossain Bhuiyan said, "If you drill 25 wells and fail, if gas is found in well number 26, the cost will be much higher. It will cost several times more."