20,988 foreigners work in Bangladesh: Home minister

At present, a total of 20,988 foreigners from 115 countries work in the country with valid work-permit, said the home minister Asaduzzaman Khan.    

The home minister came up with the disclosure on Tuesday in replying to a question at the question-answer session of the parliament chaired by the speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury.   

He said the foreigners have been employed in different development projects, mills-industries, NGOs and organisations.

Of them, the largest numbers are Chinese, at 6.075, followed by Indians at 5,876 -- higher by 3,408 than Russians.   

The remaining workforces comprise 1,246 Sri Lankans, 924 South Koreans, 557 Japanese, 416 Pakistanis, 460 Filipinos, 399 Thais, 378 Belarusians, 269 Kazakhstani, 168 Americans, 123 Malaysians and 108 Indonesians.   

In response to another question, Asaduzzaman Khan said there is currently no street fire hydrant point in Dhaka city. However, some have been kept privately at high-rise buildings. The government has a plan to set up fire hydrants a kilometre apart in the capital.   

In replying another question, the home minister said the female and male ratio in police is 1:8.

Meanwhile, the planning minister MA Mannan said in the parliament that the proportion of the poor accounts for 18.7 per cent while the extreme ones at 5.6 per cent.