BCC announces Tk 253.95cr budget

The Barisal City Corporation on Thursday announced a 'less ambitious' budget of Tk 253,95,92,418 for the 2011-12 fiscal year while the revised budget stood at Tk 105,56,18,806 for 2010-11 fiscal.

The corporation has not imposed any fresh taxes on the city dwellers.

Implementation of about 75 per cent of the announced budget for the current fiscal depends on the availability of the government and non-government grants.

Barisal mayor Shawkat Hossain Hiron, after getting approval of the councillors in the morning, announced the 9th budget for the city on Thursday noon in the 'Nagar Bhaban' conference room in presence of the councillors, BCC and government officials and journalists.

The mayor pledged to make the city a drug addiction-free and child-friendly city providing healthy entertainment and amusement facilities and upgrading the corporation with the help of necessary manpower, funds and master plan.

The budget showed equal income and expenditure of Tk 253,95,92,418.

Tk 63.50 corer would be spent from BCC's own income and the rest of Tk 190.45 corer from the government and non-government allocations for development projects.

Income from own resources would be gained through rent and holding taxes, including their outstanding bills, advance money and fares, government's block allocation, trade license fees, permanent asset transfer fees, building construction tax, tax on leasing corporation's assets and selling of tender schedules.

The significant heads for expenditures are: Tk 57.33 crore establishment costs, Tk 190.45 crore for annual development programmes — expansion of city streets, garbage management and renovation of drainage system, water treatment plant and water supply, entertainment and beautification projects — Tk 14.75 crore for health, sanitation, environment and infrastructural development of the city.

Mayor Hiron, however, termed the size of the budget insufficient for providing the city dwellers with all necessary facilities and urged them to cooperate by paying taxes regularly so that the corporation could implement the announced budget smoothly.

Source : New Age

12 RU students receive Prof Bosak award, scholarship

Rajshahi University on Thursday gave its 12 students Professor Arun Kumar Bosak award and scholarship for academic excellence.

Four students received the award while eight students from physics department received the scholarship.

The Peninsula Welfare Trust introduced the award and scholarship after RU Professor Emeritus Arun Kumar Bosak at the physics department of the university and held the ceremony for the first time.

The programme was held at the RU Senate Building at about 11:00am with vice-chancellor Abdus Sobhan as the chief guest.

The VC distributed the cheques and crests while physics department chair Mushfikur Rahman distributed certificates among the students at the programme.

Saiful Islam of physics and Muhammad Abdur Razzak of applied mathematics received the award for 2007 while physics student Muhammad Rasheduz-zaman and mathematics student Sujan Ahmed won the award for 2008.

All of them stood first class first in their bachelor's and master's degree examinations.

Tareque Al Nasir of first year, Shahinur Islam of second, Absus Sattar of third and Mozammel Hossain of fourth year from physics department got the scholarship for 2007 while Abu Sayed of first year, Saiful Islam of second, Atikur Rahman of third and Al-Helal of fourth year from the same department received it for 2008.

Source : New Age

Change in temperature unlikely

Light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely at many places over the Khulna, Barisal and Chittagong divisions and at a few places over the Dhaka, Rajshahi and Sylhet divisions till 6:00pm today.

Moderately heavy falls are also likely at places over the Khulna, Barisal and Chittagong divisions.

Day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country, the Meteorology Office said in a forecast on Thursday.

The sun sets in Dhaka today at 6:49pm and rises tomorrow at 5:20am.

The country's highest temperature, 34.2 degrees Celsius, was recorded on Thursday in Rangpur and the lowest, 23.8 degrees Celsius, in Rangamati.

Source : New Age

Carrier fair ends at JU

A two-day carrier fair ended at Jahangirnagar University on Thursday.

Job website bdjobs.com organised the fair at the Zahir Raihan Auditorium, in which 10 corporate groups participated with job offers to the JU students, who had just completed or would soon complete their studies.

The companies collected curriculum vitae from the job-seekers and conducted on-the-spot interviews of them.

JU pro-vice-chancellor Muniruzzaman inaugurated the fair on Wednesday.

Source : New Age

3-day Thai fair begins in capital

The civil aviation and tourism minister, Ghulam Mohammad Quader, on Thursday said the government was working to build a poverty-free Bangladesh through the flourishing tourism industry.

He was speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the three-day Destination Thailand Fair in Bangladesh 2011 organised by the Thai Embassy and Thai Trade Centre on the premises of Thai Embassy at Baridhara in the capital.

Thai ambassador Tasanawadee Miancharoen also spoke on the occasion.

The minister said Thailand had progressed much through the tourism industry.

Like Thailand, it was also possible for Bangladesh to earn millions of dollars from the tourism sector, he added.

He stressed the need for campaigns to build a positive image of Bangladesh abroad.

There are 58 stalls in six categories in the fair that will remain open for all from 10:00am to 8:00pm every day till July 16.

Source : New Age

2 killed in clash over land dispute

Two brothers died in an intra-family clash over land disputes at Adunagar Dakkhin Harina in Lohagara upazila Thursday morning.

The deceased were Hossain, 70 and Mohshin, 55 of the village.

Lahagara thana OC SM Ataur Rahman said there had been long-standing conflict between the two brothers over the ownership of the land.

Hossain and Mohshin Thursday morning picked up quarrel over the land. At one stage, both equipped with sticks attacked each other, leaving Hossain dead on the spot.

Critically injured Mohshin was admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital where he died at 10:30am.

Source : New Age

ERD meetings with dev partners next month

The Economic Relations Division will hold separate meetings with the development partners next month involving the implementing agencies concerned as part of its initiative to monitor the progress of foreign-aided projects.

The initiative has been taken from the beginning of the current fiscal to ensure expected implementation of the projects as well as timely disbursement of funds by the donors, an official told the news agency.

He said they had taken the initiative to avoid rush in implementing the projects at the fag end of the financial year. 'Rush of expenditure on development projects also raised question about the quality of work.'

He informed that the foreign aid disbursement in the last fiscal was unlikely to reach the government target, which would also be discussed with the development partners.

The schedule of meetings with the donors will be finalised within this month.

According to ERD, disbursement of foreign aid declined by about half a billion US dollars in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year to $1.43 billion from $1.86 billion in the corresponding period of previous year. The aid inflow target for the last fiscal was $ 2.34 billion.

It is assumed that weak projection was mainly responsible for sharp decline in availability of external aid.

The last fiscal witnessed a steady uptrend on aid commitments though disbursements faltered seriously resulting in accumulation of aid in the pipeline.

Bangladesh signed aid agreements for an aggregate amount of $4.87 billion under various deals for different projects between July 2010 and May 2011 with bilateral and multilateral donors including the World Bank, the Asian Develop-ment Bank and Japan.

The major chunk of the committed aid during the year is related to the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project.

Source : New Age

Najah Zayaan’s death anniv today

The 3rd anniversary of death of Najah Zayaan will be observed today.

Najah, daughter of talk-show presenter Zillur Rahman, died on this day in 2008 at the age of four months, said a release.

Her family and relatives will hold prayer sessions at the Azimpur Graveyard, where she was buried, and at her home while food will be distributed among the poor.

Source : New Age

2 killed in clash over land dispute

Two brothers died in an intra-family clash over land disputes at Adunagar Dakkhin Harina in Lohagara upazila Thursday morning.

The deceased were Hossain, 70 and Mohshin, 55 of the village.

Lahagara thana OC SM Ataur Rahman said there had been long-standing conflict between the two brothers over the ownership of the land.

Hossain and Mohshin Thursday morning picked up quarrel over the land. At one stage, both equipped with sticks attacked each other, leaving Hossain dead on the spot.

Critically injured Mohshin was admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital where he died at 10:30am.

Source : New Age

Gono Bishwabidyalay observes founding anniv

Gono Bishwabidyalay celebrated its 13th founding anniversary with enthusiasm, festivity and fanfare on its Savar campus in Dhaka on Thursday.

Several hundred students and teachers brought out a procession which started marching from the university new campus and ended at PHA building to celebrate University Day 2011.

Tahrunnesa Abdullah, chairman of the Gonoshasthya Kendra Trustee Board, led the procession. Later, she planted a tree on the campus.

A discussion was held in observance of the day at the PHA convention centre. Tahrunnesa Abdullah addressed the programme as chief guest while Professor Meshbah Uddin Ahmad, vice-chancellor of the university, was in the chair.

The registrar, Delower Hosain, presented the glorious history of the university in his speech. He also claimed that the university was a secular university of the country.

Professor Mahmud Shah Quoreishi, dean of the basic and social sciences faculty, Mohammad Shahidullah, dean of health sciences faculty, Saiful Islam Shishir, executive director of Gonoshasthya Kendro, Mir Mortuza Ali Babu, deputy-registrar of Gono Bishwabidyalay, also participated in the discussion.

The guests distributed prizes among the winners of different cultural competitions which were co-ordinated by Enayet Maola Zinnah.

Source : New Age

Buddhists celebrate Ashari Purnima

Buddhists on Wednesday celebrated one of their major festivals Ashari Purnima in the city as elsewhere in the district with traditional enthusiasm and solemn devotion.

Members of the Buddhist community celebrated the festival in commemoration of renunciation of the earthly life of Prince Siddharto Goutom and preaching of his first sermon among five disciples after attaining enlightenment.

The festival bears special significance to the monks who will go to three months long seclusion inside their monasteries for atonement of defilement.

The purnima was celebrated in all monasteries and other religious organisations through a day-long programme.

The day's programme was heralded with hoisting of the national and religious flags atop all monasteries, chanting of the sacred verses from the Tripitaka.

Breaking of fasting by the monks, discussion meetings, blood donation and illumination are other highlights of the programmes.

In Chittagong, main religious congregations were held at Nandankanon Buddhist Temple, Katalganj Navapandit Vihar, Purnachar International Buddhist Monastery at Devpahar, Chandgaon Saikkymuni Vihar and Agrabad Biswamoitri Vihar.

Source : New Age

Khaleda should apologise for contemning Constitution: Hanif

The Awami League's joint general secretary, Mahbubul Alam Hanif, on Thursday said that opposition leader Khaleda Zia should apologise to the nation for having shown such open contempt for the country's Constitution during a hunger strike in Dhaka on Wednesday, which was held in protest against police brutality and the 15th Amendment to the Constitution.

Referring to Khaleda Zia's comment — 'The BNP, if voted to power, will just throw away the new Constitution passed by the Awami League government' — Hanif said, 'Khaleda Zia should apologise for her comment.'

Hanif also strongly condemned her speech at the BNP's hunger strike in protest against the police assault on the opposition chief whip, Zainul Abdin Farroque, in which she claimed that her party's activists had been 'tortured' during the hartal on July 6-7.

The BNP chairperson said the recent amendments to the Constitution were part of Awami League's own agenda.

Hanif made the above comment at the extended meeting of the AL with its Dhaka City unit, associate and friendly bodies, at the party's headquarters on Bangabandhu Avenue.

The meeting was organised to chalk up elaborate programmes to observe National Mourning Day on August 15 to mark the 36th death anniversary of the country's founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and also to observe the seventh anniversary of the grenade attack on its rally on 21 August, 2004 in which 24 people, including the party's women's affairs secretary, Ivy Rahman, were killed.

The Awami League has also declared August to be the Month of Mourning.

As part of its month-long activities, the ruling party has drafted programmes for August 14, 15 and 16.

The programme on August 14 includes placing of wreaths at the tomb of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Tungipara by members of AL's central working committee, advisory council and of the Cabinet. A delegation of the AL will stay at Tungipara to observe the mourning day there on August 15.

On August 15, the national flags and party flags will be hoisted at half-mast along with black flags at Bangabandhu Bhaban, the AL's central office and all other offices of the party across the country at sunrise. Wreaths will be placed before the portrait of Bangabandhu in Bangabandhu Bhaban at 7am, and mourning processions will be taken out.

Wreaths will also be placed and Fateha and milad mahfil held at the Banani Graveyard at 7:30 am. Iftar will be served in wards, unions, upazilas and districts, and special prayers will be offered at temples, pagodas and churches after Asar prayer.

The Bangladesh Mahila Awami League will hold a milad mahfil in Bangabandhu Bhaban at the same time.

On August 16, the AL will hold a discussion meeting in the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre at 3pm. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the party's chief, will attend the meeting as the chief guest.

On August 21, to mark the grenade attack, the party will hold a discussion programme on Bangabandu Avenue, which will be attended by Sheikh Hasina as the chief guest.

Hasina will also hold an iftar mahfil at Ganabhaban with family members of the persons killed and maimed on August 21.

All district committees and associate organisations will chalk out programmes in conformity with the AL's programmes.

Source : New Age

UPDF enforces student strike in CHT

The Pahari Chhatra Parishad backed by United People's Democratic Front on Thursday enforced a student strike at educational institutions in Chittagong Hill Tracts in protest against 'imposition' of Bengali nationality on the ethnic minorities and demanding cancellation of the provision from the 15th amendment to the constitution.

All schools and colleges in the areas dominated by the UPDF remained closed the strike was observed partially in other areas of CHT.

New Age correspondent in Khagachari said the strike was observed at most of the schools and colleges in the district although a few Bengali students attended classes at Natun Kudi school and Cantonment School and College in the district headquarters.

The correspondent in Rangamati said the strike was observed in Naniyarchar, Rajasthali, Baghaichhari and Kawkhali upazilas and at Kudukchari near Rangamati town. But classes were held at Rangamati College and Rangamati Mahila College. No untoward incidents were reported.

The PCP president Aongya Marma in a statesment thanked the students, teachers and guardians for observing the strike and called on them to be prepared for further movement to realise the demands of the hill people.   

He said Bangladesh was not the country of a single nationality rather it was a multi-national, multi-lingual and multi-cultural state. 'The government is plotting to erase the identities of all national minorities by imposing Bengali nationality on them. The national minorities will never accept it,' he said.

He said the government also retained the provision of 'Islam as the state religion' making the people of other faiths 'second-class citizens' which could not be imagined in a civilised and democratic society.

The organisation also demanded recognition of all national minorities, declaring Chittagong Hill Tracts as a special autonomous zone, recognition of their traditional land rights, withdrawal of military and removal of the Bengali settlers from the hills.

The UPDF has also announced a 'blockade' of roads and waterways in the three hill districts for July 20 and 21 to press for the demands.

Source : New Age

Buddhists celebrate Ashari Purnima

Buddhists on Wednesday celebrated one of their major festivals Ashari Purnima in the city as elsewhere in the district with traditional enthusiasm and solemn devotion.

Members of the Buddhist community celebrated the festival in commemoration of renunciation of the earthly life of Prince Siddharto Goutom and preaching of his first sermon among five disciples after attaining enlightenment.

The festival bears special significance to the monks who will go to three months long seclusion inside their monasteries for atonement of defilement.

The purnima was celebrated in all monasteries and other religious organisations through a day-long programme.

The day's programme was heralded with hoisting of the national and religious flags atop all monasteries, chanting of the sacred verses from the Tripitaka.

Breaking of fasting by the monks, discussion meetings, blood donation and illumination are other highlights of the programmes.

In Chittagong, main religious congregations were held at Nandankanon Buddhist Temple, Katalganj Navapandit Vihar, Purnachar International Buddhist Monastery at Devpahar, Chandgaon Saikkymuni Vihar and Agrabad Biswamoitri Vihar.

Source : New Age

Khaleda should apologise for contemning Constitution: Hanif

The Awami League's joint general secretary, Mahbubul Alam Hanif, on Thursday said that opposition leader Khaleda Zia should apologise to the nation for having shown such open contempt for the country's Constitution during a hunger strike in Dhaka on Wednesday, which was held in protest against police brutality and the 15th Amendment to the Constitution.

Referring to Khaleda Zia's comment — 'The BNP, if voted to power, will just throw away the new Constitution passed by the Awami League government' — Hanif said, 'Khaleda Zia should apologise for her comment.'

Hanif also strongly condemned her speech at the BNP's hunger strike in protest against the police assault on the opposition chief whip, Zainul Abdin Farroque, in which she claimed that her party's activists had been 'tortured' during the hartal on July 6-7.

The BNP chairperson said the recent amendments to the Constitution were part of Awami League's own agenda.

Hanif made the above comment at the extended meeting of the AL with its Dhaka City unit, associate and friendly bodies, at the party's headquarters on Bangabandhu Avenue.

The meeting was organised to chalk up elaborate programmes to observe National Mourning Day on August 15 to mark the 36th death anniversary of the country's founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and also to observe the seventh anniversary of the grenade attack on its rally on 21 August, 2004 in which 24 people, including the party's women's affairs secretary, Ivy Rahman, were killed.

The Awami League has also declared August to be the Month of Mourning.

As part of its month-long activities, the ruling party has drafted programmes for August 14, 15 and 16.

The programme on August 14 includes placing of wreaths at the tomb of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Tungipara by members of AL's central working committee, advisory council and of the Cabinet. A delegation of the AL will stay at Tungipara to observe the mourning day there on August 15.

On August 15, the national flags and party flags will be hoisted at half-mast along with black flags at Bangabandhu Bhaban, the AL's central office and all other offices of the party across the country at sunrise. Wreaths will be placed before the portrait of Bangabandhu in Bangabandhu Bhaban at 7am, and mourning processions will be taken out.

Wreaths will also be placed and Fateha and milad mahfil held at the Banani Graveyard at 7:30 am. Iftar will be served in wards, unions, upazilas and districts, and special prayers will be offered at temples, pagodas and churches after Asar prayer.

The Bangladesh Mahila Awami League will hold a milad mahfil in Bangabandhu Bhaban at the same time.

On August 16, the AL will hold a discussion meeting in the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre at 3pm. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the party's chief, will attend the meeting as the chief guest.

On August 21, to mark the grenade attack, the party will hold a discussion programme on Bangabandu Avenue, which will be attended by Sheikh Hasina as the chief guest.

Hasina will also hold an iftar mahfil at Ganabhaban with family members of the persons killed and maimed on August 21.

All district committees and associate organisations will chalk out programmes in conformity with the AL's programmes.

Source : New Age

Home ministry prefers Dhaka schools closed in Ramadan

The home ministry has decided to request the education ministry to keep educational institutions in Dhaka city closed in Ramadan in order to ease traffic congestion in the month of fasting.

The minister for home, Sahara Khatun, after a meeting on law and order at the secretariat, informed newsmen about the decision.

'Traffic turns more chaotic in Ramadan. So we decided to request the education ministry to keep the schools and colleges closed during Ramadan. It will help ease the situation,' she said.

The ministry will also request the ministries concerned to ensure uninterrupted power supply during sehri and iftar and asked the shopping malls to save power by avoiding additional lights to attract shoppers.

The meeting also pointed to labour unrests at apparel factories ahead of Eid and decided to consult the ministries concerned, factory owners and labour groups to take necessary steps to pay wages, festival allowance and grant leaves before Eid. 'We will instruct factory owners through the ministry concerned to pay the workers all wages and allowances before Eid,' the home minister said.

Sahara also said the number of mobile courts would be increased to check sale of contaminated food items, especially iftar items.

The meeting also called for repairing the damaged parts of different highways, restricting weekly markets on highways and disciplining flow of traffic. It also decided to restrict carrying passenger on goods trucks to avoid mishaps.

It should be ensured that launches and other transports do not carry passengers beyond capacity ahead of Eid, the meeting said.

Sahara warned that legal actions would be taken if vessels carry additional passengers.

The minister also said closed circuit television cameras would be installed at shopping malls to check extortion and snatching. She said the 15 lawmakers in Dhaka had been asked to monitor law and order.

The secretary for home affairs, Abdus Sobhan Sikder, and senior officials of the police and intelligence agencies were present at the meeting.

Source : New Age

ICT takes cognisance of war crimes charges against Sayedee

The International Crimes Tribunal on Thursday took cognisance of the first-ever charges of war crimes, pressed against the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami's detained nayeb-e-amir, Delwar Hossain Sayedee.

Sayedee is the first man who is now set to face charges of war crimes committed during the War of Independence in 1971.

The tribunal, better known as the war crimes tribunal, posted for August 10 the hearing of the framing of charges in the case, recorded as ICT Case-1/2011 against Sayedee.

The tribunal of Justice Nizamul Huq, Justice ATM Fazle Kabir and Judge AKM Zahir Ahmed asked Sayedee's defence counsels to receive the copy of the formal charges submitted against him, along with other documents of the case, from its registrar by July 19.

It also asked the prosecution to submit the copy of the formal charges and documents to the registrar in accordance with Rule 18(4) of the International Crimes Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2010 by July 17.

The rule reads, 'The chief prosecutor shall file extra copies of the formal charge and copies of other documents for supplying the same to the accused which the prosecution intends to rely upon in support of such

charges so that the accused can prepare his defence.'

In its order, the tribunal said that the materials of offences under Section 3(2) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 against Sayedee are available in the formal charges and other documents, papers and evidence submitted by the prosecution in three DVDs.

'We also found the disclosure of the prima facie case against Sayedee,' said the tribunal chair.

The tribunal also rejected once again a petition filed by Sayedee seeking bail.

Moving the petition, defence counsel Tanveer Ahmed Al-Amin argued that Sayedee could be granted bail since he had no scope for intimidating the witnesses, as the tribunal has already taken cognisance of the charges and has amended its rules to make provisions for the protection of the victims and witnesses.

The tribunal also rejected the defence's plea for getting a copy of its order rejecting the bail prayer.

As the defence counsel argued that they should be given the copy to enable them to seek a review of the order, the tribunal's chair said they could file such a petition in accordance with the procedures followed by the lawyers in seeking review of the orders of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

While rejecting the bail prayer, the tribunal observed that the accused should not be granted bail at this stage of the proceedings as it had taken cognisance of the charges and fixed a date for the framing of charges which are grievous ones.

The grounds of age, health, ailments and treatment of Sayedee have also been considered by the tribunal while rejecting the earlier petitions seeking his bail, the tribunal observed.

The formal trial will commence with the framing of charges against Sayedee, said the tribunal's chair, Justice Nizamul Huq, during Thursday's hearing.

After submission of the formal charges on July 14, chief prosecutor Golam Arif Tipu told reporters that charges were pressed against Sayedee for committing offences under Section 3(2) of the Act.

The Section defines the crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, genocide and war crimes.

Tipu said that the investigators found no evidence that Sayedee had committed any 'crimes against peace' and accordingly no charge was pressed against him for that crime.

Charges have been pressed against Sayedee for all the other offences stipulated in the Section, mentioned Tipu.

The 4,074-page investigation report in 15 volumes — the 77-page investigation report in one volume that proposes formal charges and the 3,997-page case diary in 14 volumes — was submitted to the prosecution by the investigation agency on May 31.

Sayedee was arrested on 29 June, 2010 in a case filed against him for 'hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims'.

On 2 August, 2010, the tribunal ordered Sayedee's detention for his alleged involvement in war crimes in Pirojpur, his home district, where some 30,000 people were reportedly killed, and their bodies dumped into 12 mass graves.

Sayedee was directly involved in killing at least 50 people, robbing 35 houses and setting 146 houses on fire, according to the investigators.

The investigators visited Pirojpur and found evidence of murder, rape and genocide 'committed by Sayedee' in Pirojpur Sadar and Zia Nagar upazila in 1971, they said.

The investigators also found that Sayedee and another alleged war criminal had forced at least 150 Hindu businessmen and locals of Parerhat to convert to Islam with the help of the members of Parerhat's Shanti Committee (peace committee) and the Pakistani army.

Sayedee was also interrogated by the investigators in the safe house on May 12.

Apart from Sayedee, Jamaat's amir Motiur Rahman Nizami, secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and assistant secretaries general Mohammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Molla, and Bangladesh Nationalist Party's standing committee member Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, also a lawmaker, have been detained on charge of committing war crimes, along with others.

All of them have been interrogated in the government's 'safe house' in Dhanmondi for a day each.

The tribunal on July 12 ordered the prosecution to submit the report of the investigation against Nizami, Mojaheed, Kamruzzaman and Quader Molla by August 1.

The tribunal, however, on March 31 granted bail to former BNP lawmaker and minister Abdul Alim on certain conditions.

Source : New Age

Manju Ara acting principal

The government on Thursday appointed Manju Ara Begum the acting principal of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College after a week-long protest by

students demanding removal of the principal Husne Ara Begum.

Students of the school and their guardians had rallied against Husne Ara for the week demanding her removal as principal as she was defending and was late in taking action against Parimal Jayadhar, a teacher of the institution's Bashundhara after he had been arrested on charge of raping a girl of the school.

The chairman of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka, Fahima Khatun and Dhaka's deputy commissioner Mohibul Haque, who heads the ad hoc managing committee set up on Wednesday to run the school, told New Age that the decision was made on Thursday evening. A release also issued from the board in this regard later. 

Manju is an assistant professor of history of the college. She will be acting as the principal in current charge.

Fahima and Mohibul both told New Age that Husne Ara Begum had applied for a three months' leave and the government approved the leave.

The government also named three other members on the ad hoc committee They are deputy secretary of the agriculture ministry Mosharraf Hossain, assistant professor of mathematics of the college Nasrin Akhter and the acting principal Manju Ara Begum. The ad hoc committee will run the institution for six months from the date it was set up.

Asked whether Manju Ara would be acting as principal till the appointment of a new principal, Fahima and Mohibul did not give any direct answer but said that Husne Ara would be on leave and Monju Ara would be holding the current charge during this time.

The acting principal told journalists that she had taken over the responsibility of the principal in an abnormal situation.

She sought help from all to make the situation in the school normal. She added that classes would be held regularly from Sunday.

Protests by students had, meanwhile, entered a new dimension on Thursday as several hundred students took position inside the campus but boycotted classes.

Students who had rallied demanding removal of Husne Ara as principal and punishment of Parimal welcomed the decision and said they would attend the class from Saturday.

'We did not want Husne Ara Begum to remain principal. Now we are happy. There will be no indiscipline from Saturday and students will attend classes,' said Samia Sarmin, member secretary of the Viqarunnisa Noon School Students' Forum, an organisation set up during students' movement.

The education minister, Nurul Islam Nahid, on the day told journalists that Husne Ara was still the principal of the school in keeping with the law. He also said that a vested interest quarter was instigating chaos in the school. He said that the government had formed a committee to investigate the over all situation.

In the morning, a four-member student delegation also gave a memorandum to prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.

The students said that they had handed over the memorandum to the director (administration) at the Prime Minister's Office.

In the memorandum, students urged the prime minister to intervene in the Viqarunnisa incidents. They demanded exemplary punishment of Parimal.

The government on Wednesday dissolved the managing committee of the school after some committee members, in the absence of the committee chair, Rashed Khan Menon, had removed Husne Ara Begum as the principal and appointed senior teacher Ambia Khatun to the position.

The government also formed an ad hoc committee, headed by Dhaka's deputy commissioner, to run the functions of the managing committee.

The decision was in the wake of weeklong protests by students and their guardians that demanded punishment of Parimal and removal of Husne Ara as the principal for defending the accused.

Parimal abused a girl of the school and videoed it with his mobile. He admitted to doing so in his statement given in court on Monday.

There were allegations against Husne Ara Begum that she was defending Parimal even after the girl had lodged a complaint in writing.

From the morning, several hundred students of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College brought out rally inside the school campus fearing that Husne Ara Begum would come back to the college as the principal.

There were rumours that Husne Ara would take the position of principal again. Students boycotted classes and stayed in the playground and on the campus of the school.

They shouted slogans — 'We only want Husne Ara removed.' The students held banners many of which read: 'We want Husne Ara to be expelled,' 'We want exemplary punishment of Parimal,' and 'We want solution from the government.'

Source : New Age

Pest attack worries jute farmers

Pest attack at the time of crop maturity is worrying jute farmers in different parts of the country, reports reaching Dhaka said.

The attack of jute hair-cutter worms has been experienced in many districts just about two weeks before harvesting, Moshleh Uddin Faruque, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (cash crop wing), said.

The DAE official said that the pest starts eating from the leaves and finally gets into the stems, affecting the plant and its fibres.

Farmers and agriculture department officials blamed bad weather, incessant rainfall in recent days, inadequate sunshine and water stagnancy in jute fields as the reasons of the pest attack.

The attack this year would not affect much as the plants were quite grown up and the farmers with the help of the DAE field level officials had taken necessary measures to control the attack.

DAE has already published leaflets about controlling the pest and distributed those among the farmers to make them aware of how to fight the pest attack.

Farmers, however, said the 'golden' fibre's quality would be affected to a great extent due to the worm attack at this stage of harvesting. The production cost would, on the other hand, increase as they would need pesticide and more manpower to control the pests.

'I never saw such kind of pest attack earlier on my fields. Pests are eating the leaves and affecting the plants' growth and becoming yellowish,' farmer Sheikh Omor Ali of village Kabirpur in Faridpur Sadar upazila told New Age.

He said that nearly 50 percent of standing jute in his area was affected by the pest attack.

Another farmer, Isa Khan of Nabasiddinpara under Goalando upazila in Rajbari district said that they were encouraged to cultivate jute as last year they got better price and had high demand.  But the pest attack, he feared, would reduce the production to almost half this year. He cultivated jute on 3.3 acres of land this year.

Farmers from different parts of the country said they were advised to collect pests and kill them by using solution of one liter water and 50 milliliter kerosene.

If anyone wants to use pesticides, they were advised to use Diazinon 60 EC, Emamactin Benzoate 5 percent SG, Lmba Cylothrin 2.5 EC and Carbaryl 85 WP, DAE officials said.

Jute cultivation has nearly doubled this year from that of 2010, said DAE officials in Dhaka, adding that around 8.33 lakh hectares of land were brought under jute cultivation this year.

DAE estimates this year's total yield of raw jute at 88.30 lakh bales, based on an assumed average production of 10.6 bales per hectare.

The jute sector in fiscal 2009-10 logged 76 per cent higher export earnings year-on-year at $736 million, equivalent to Tk 5,225 crore approximately, and in the first 11 months of 2010-11 fiscal year, the country has earned $1030.57 million from export of jute and jute goods, posting a 42.04 per cent year-on-year rise.

Source : New Age

Khaleda to stand by families of victims

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, on Thursday visited the families of the schoolboys killed in a traffic accident at Mirsarai in Chittagong and said that the death of the children was a national loss.

'I am here to share your pain. It is not only you who are grief-stricken but the entire nation is also mourning the death,' Khaleda said as he addressed a condolence rally in the Abu Torab High School ground in the afternoon.

'My two sons are now out of the country being ill. As a mother, I can feel how tragic it is to lose a son. And I am here to share your pain,' she said.

Khaleda said that the country would never forget the 44 boys and her party would take the responsibility for the rehabilitation of the families of the victims when opportunity would come.

'We are not in the govern-ment. Still we have the intention to do something for the families of the victims. We are always beside you,' she added.

'The bright students were supposed to take the responsibilities of their families. I understand how heavy it weighed for fathers to carry coffins of their sons,' she said.

She also requested the parents of the students who survived the accident to take extra care for the children so that they could grow up properly overcoming the trauma.

Khaleda, also the leader of the opposition in the parliament, instructed the local BNP leaders to stand beside the families of the victims so that they could overcome the shock.

She consoled the mothers of the deceased embracing them on the podium and after the rally and distributed Tk 25,000 to each of the families in token assistance.

BNP standing committee members Khandakar Mosherraf Hossain and Gayeshshar Roy, vice-chairmen M Morshed Khan and Abdullah Al Noman, Chittagong mayor M Manjur Alam, city unit BNP president Amir Khashru Mahmud Chowdhury, Chittagong district (south) unit president Giashuddin Quader Chowdhury and central executive committee member ADM Kamaluddin Chowdhury, among others, addressed the rally presided over by Nurul Amin.

Before attending the meeting, Khaleda visited houses of the deceased madrassah student Saidul Islam, near the spot of the accident, on Abu Torab-Bartakia Road and consoled the bereaved family.

Teachers and students of Abu Torab High School, meanwhile, broke down into tears during a rally in remembrance of the deceased students.

'We were supposed to remain in class right now. But we are holding a commemoration rally just because of the irresponsibility of a driver. We demand stringent measures so that we do not need to hold any such rally in the future,' said the head teacher of the school, Zafar Sadek, as he presided over the programme.

Schoolteachers Mominul Hoque, Jahangir Kabir, Rabiul Hossain Nizamee and Samiran Barua, and students Saurav Hossain, Saidur Rahman, Tanveer Hossain, Nurjahan Setu and Jesmin Aktar addressed the rally.

The communications minister, Sayed Abul Hossain, as he visited the spot, said that the committee set up to investigate the accident had submitted a preliminary report to him which blamed the irresponsibility of the truck driver for the accident.

'We have finalised a draft to amend the motor vehicles act after the accident and it will be placed at the next cabinet meeting,' he said adding that the draft provisions for stringent punishment for the irresponsibility of drivers in such cases.

The minister also announced to provide Tk 25,000 for each of the families of the deceased and Tk 10,000 for each of the families of the injured from his own fund.

He also announced to provide education up to master's degree for the students of the bereaved families free with residential facilities in educational institutions set up by him.

The National Bank also disbursed cheques for Tk 20,000 among each of the families of the victims.

The accident, which took place on Abu Torab–Bartakia Road about 1:00pm on Monday, killed 44 students, including 35 of Abu Torab High School, 2 of Abu Torab Fazil Madrassah, 3 of Abu Torab Primary School and 2 of Professor Kamal Uddin College.

Source : New Age

Joint enclave census delayed by a day

The authorities have made all-out preparations to launch the much-awaited joint headcounts in enclaves along the Bangladesh-India border today.

Aimed at exchanging the land-locked areas between the two neighbours, the first-ever census after the end of the British rule in 1947 was scheduled to begin on Thursday.

'But the work is delayed by a day as the Indian side took time to complete their preparations. We have made all-out preparations to carry out the task,' a senior home ministry official said.

The official told New Age on Thursday that 125 teams, each composed of two enumerators — one from Bangladesh and the other from India — were kept ready to conduct the headcounts smoothly in the enclaves — 111 in the Bangladesh territory belonging to India and 51 in the Indian territory belonging to Bangladesh.

The Indian teams would come to Bangladesh on Friday morning and join a joint training session just before the headcounts would begin, officials at Lalmonirhat said.

Residents in the Indian enclaves located inside Bangladesh are not aware when the headcounts would begin exactly as the local administration is trying to keep the move confidential 'so that it does not panic the enclave people.'

A deputy commissioner concerned said that local administration was asked not to disclose anything about the headcount before it ends successfully.

'We have come to know that the census would be conducted for the exchange of enclaves between Bangladesh and India but we do not know when it will begin,' said Anwar Ali, 65, an inhabitant of Indian enclave Bhitarkuthi near Kulaghat in Lalmonirhat.

He said that most eligible voters of the land-locked area had managed to get national identity cards and they had constructed houses in Bangladesh's mainland.

The Lalmonirhat upazila nirbahi officer, Shamim Alam, said that all the

enumerators were given training as the headcount would begin today simultaneously in Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Kurigram and Panchagarh in Bangladesh and in Cooch Behar in India. The headcounts will continue till Saturday.

The home minister, Sahara Khatun, on Tuesday directed the local administrations concerned to take precautions so that nothing untoward could take place centring on the first-ever census in the enclaves.

She gave the directives at a coordination meeting on matters relating to enclaves, adversely possessed lands and undemarcated land boundary, with local administrators that included Rangpur divisional commissioner and all the deputy commissioners of four districts — Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Kurigram and Panchagarh.

Neither India nor Bangladesh has any clear information on their citizens living in the land-locked areas under their respective jurisdiction.

Enclave inhabitants are confined to small pieces of land on which neither India nor Bangladesh has any administrative control as the areas of one country are separated by the land of the other.

The headcounts will be conducted under the supervision of a joint boundary working group set up by the two neighbours as part of an initiative to resolve the decade-old issues relating to the adversely possessed land, enclaves and 6.5 kilometres of undemarcated land boundary with India, the officials said.

A major decision was expected on the matters during the visit of India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, to Dhaka in September, according to officials at the foreign affairs and the home ministries.

The enumerators would fill in a simple form with basic information on the enclave people such as name, father's name, age and profession so that the move does not panic them, an official concerned said.

Both the governments have agreed in principle to sign a deal on the exchange of the enclaves in keeping with the Mujib-Indira land boundary agreement signed between the two countries in 1974.

Most people in Indian enclaves surrounded by the Bangladesh territory identify themselves as Bangladesh citizens and many of them have already managed to get national identity cards taking the advantage of lax local administration.

There are 111 Indian enclaves in Lalmonirhat, Kurigram and Nilphamari, whereas 51 Bangladeshi enclaves are in Cooch Behar, the home affairs ministry's records show. Fifty-one Indian enclaves are in Lalmonirhat alone.

Source : New Age