$320m ADB loan to raise quality of pry edn

The Asian Development Bank has approved a $320 million loan that will help Bangladesh continue its push to improve the quality of the primary education system.

ADB's board of directors approved the funds on Tuesday for the Third Primary Education Development Project.

It builds on earlier reforms that have helped Bangladesh, which has one of the world's largest primary school systems, increase net enrolments to almost 96 per cent in 2010 and to achieve gender parity.

Eight other development partners, including the World Bank, EU, the UK's Department for International Development, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Canadian International Development Agency, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and Australian Agency for International Development, and the United Nations Children' s Fund are also providing assistance.

The full project cost is $8.3 billion with the government contributing $7.3 billion equivalent.

The nine development partners including the ADB will provide $1.05 billion.

ADB's loan from its concessional Asian Development Fund has a 32-year tenor, including a grace period of 8 years, with an interest charge of 1 per cent, rising to 1.5 per cent for the balance of the term.

The ministry of primary and mass education will execute the project which is expected to be completed by end June 2016.

'Despite the progress made to date, primary schools still suffer from high student dropout rates, as well as low completion levels and this project will help address these issues,' said Sultan H Rahman, ADB director general at the South Asia Department.

It will support textbook and curriculum improvements, a teacher development plan and a class assessment system that will result in a more effective, relevant and child-friendly learning environment.

To reduce current access and participation gaps, targeted assistance will be given to disadvantaged groups such as tribal children, ethnic minorities and children living with disabilities.

The project will expand support for early learning by providing funds for one year of pre-primary education and for non-formal and second chance primary schooling.

Source : New Age

Primary, ebtedaye final exams in Nov

The final examinations for primary schools and ebtedaye madrassahs for 2011 will begin on November 16.

The examinations will continue till November 23.

This was disclosed at a meeting of national steering committee held at Primary and Mass Education Ministry with its minister Afsarul Amin in the chair on Tuesday.

The meeting was informed that duration of examinations of each subject would be two hours, but the candidates with disabilities would get 15 minutes more.

There will be no referred system in the final examinations and limitation of age of examinees has been removed for ensuring education for all.

Source : New Age

JU gets 4 new buses

The government handed over four new buses to the Jahangirnagar University authorities on Monday.

JU vice-chancellor Shariff Enamul Kabir disclosed this to the media on Tuesday.

He said that the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, handed over the keys to the university authorities at a programme on Monday.

Communications minister Syed Abul Hossain was present, among others, at the handover ceremony, he added.

The acting director of the university transport department, Shahedur Rashid, expressed his hope that the new buses would ease the transport crisis of the teachers and students.

At present, the JU transport has only 12 buses for about 12,000 students and teachers and frequently hires buses to ease the crisis temporarily.

Source : New Age

ASK concerned over police attack on oil-gas body men

Rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra on Tuesday expressed grave concern over the police atrocities on the leaders and activists of the national committee for protection of oil, gas, mineral resources, power and ports.

The organisation in a press release said the committee called a half-day general strike for July 3 demanding cancellation of the deals signed with the ConocoPhillips for the exploration and extraction of gas in two offshore gas fields.

According to the media report, the police injured the leaders and activists of the committee and arrested many students, the release said.

The organisation said it was unacceptable that anybody would vandalise vehicles and it was likewise unacceptable that the police would attack a peaceful demonstration.

Ain O Salish Kendra

said the committee was carrying out its movement to save the country's resources. 

It hoped that in future the government would take necessary step to change the behaviour of the police forces during any strike.

Source : New Age

BGMEA fears export fall due to hartal

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association has apprehended that the textile exports might face a setback due to continuous hartal called by opposition political parties.

In a statement on the eve of a 48-hour hartal that begins this morning, the BGMEA said the hartal of July 6 and 7 as well as July 10 and 11 would hamper positive trend of economic progress, although the garment industries had been kept out of the purview of hartal.

'Buyers may switch over to other countries due to political unrest, while 'lead time' for exports will go up as the garment sector will face disruption in production,' said the statement signed by BGMEA secretary Mohammad Mustafizur Rahman.

It said the hartal had been called at a time when the workers were supposed to get their monthly wages. So it would be difficult for employers to pay salaries to workers and it might lead to labour unrest in the readymade garment industry, the biggest export earner.

It said differences of opinion in a democratic society were a must, but those could be removed through dialogues and consultations. The RMG sector, it said, has reached its present level because of patronisation from all political parties and successive governments in Bangladesh.

Based on the economic reality, the BGMEA said the opposition should withdraw hartal and pave the ways for uninterrupted industrial production in the country.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its three allies have called a 48-hour continuous hartal on Wednesday and Thursday, while an alliance of 12 parties led by Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish announced another 30-hour hartal covering Sunday and the first half of Monday.

The country is likely to face a virtual shutdown of nearly six days as Friday and Saturday are weekly holidays.

An opinion poll conducted over 3,000 people in 2003 by the UN Development Fund found that the vast majority (95 per cent) thought that hartals had very negative or somewhat negative impact on the economy.

Disruption to mobility, business activities, and daily activities sets negative impacts on the society as a whole. Day-labourers and middle and lower socioeconomic groups were perceived to be the worst affected by hartals.

The estimated average cost of hartals to the economy during the 1990s was 3 to 4 per cent of gross domestic product. The cost is anticipated to be much higher now.

Source : New Age

Country not ready yet to adopt secularism: minister

The country is not ready yet to adopt secularism due to the historical baggage of   splitting the sub-continent, social welfare minister, Enamul Haque Mostafa Shaheed, said on Tuesday. 

He said that it was not easy to overcome the 'religious culture' that led to the creation of India and Pakistan by splitting the subcontinent.

The subcontinent was divided on the basis of religion, he said, responding to what an academician had told a seminar in the city on 'village based defence of human rights and the emergence of MDG villages, hosted by Brotee, an NGO.

He said that a government of the day had no option but to be tactful in dealing with the religious parties and other related issues in a country where 90 per cent citizens are Muslims.

He described the role of the civil society as 'regrettable' with regard to the recent Constitution amendment to retain the provision of state religion and non recognition of the national minorities as 'indigenous people.'

He also called the civil society's views on issues relating to oil, gas and natural resources as equally 'regrettable.'

He said that if today's seminar was on indigenous people or on oil and gas, the auditorium would be packed with civil society people.

He said that the civil

society was good only at finding faults.

He said that the civil society, which knows the flaws, should be able to provide the solutions as well.

Speaking before him, academician Hamida Hossian had said the spirit of the War of Independence taught Bangladesh to be a secular, democratic and progressive country that respects different views and faiths.

Brotee chairperson Selina Hossain said that the people in the civil society also love the country. 

She said that the government and the civil society should be able to work together for betterment of the country.

Manusher Jonno Foundation executive director Shaheen Aman, Brotee chief executive Sharmeen Murshid also spoke.

Source : New Age

FIRs and charge-sheets faulty, says counsel of accused

Twenty-four soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles, now renamed Border Guards Bangladesh, who are facing charges of murder and other criminal offences committed during the February 2009 rebellion at the paramilitary headquarters in Dhaka, on Tuesday demanded reinvestigation into the case on the plea that the First Information Reports and the charge-sheets were faulty.

They made the plea during the hearing of the framing of charges in the case in the makeshift courtroom of the Dhaka metropolitan sessions judge, set up in Aliya Madrassah at Bakshi Bazaar in the capital.

Their counsel Faruk Ahmed told the court that 2,307 mutiny suspects were arrested for alleged involvement in the carnage and 1,504 of them lost their jobs.

Their arrest, without presenting adequate evidence against them and sacking them before trial, were illegal, he contended.

Faruk argued that 62 spots were mentioned in the charge-sheet, but it was not mentioned who committed crimes at which spot and what kind of crimes were committed.

A charge-sheet needs to specify the type of offences, the offenders and the places of the commission of the offences, he contended.

He also argued that the First Information Report did not mention that a delegation of the soldiers held a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had announced a general amnesty for the rebels.

The Dhaka metropolitan sessions judge, Mohammad Zahurul Haque, began the hearing amidst tight security at about 9:45am and continued till 3:25pm with a 30-minute break.

The court adjourned the proceedings till July 13.

Till Tuesday, 395 accused soldiers have argued through their lawyers against the framing of charges against them since May 23.

The Criminal Investigation Department of the police filed two cases — one under the Penal Code for murder, arson, robbery and other crimes, and the other under the Explosive Substances Act for illegally taking up arms — against 850 BDR personnel and civilians.

Three of the accused have died in the meanwhile and released from the charge.

Of the accused, 828 including former BNP lawmaker Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu and Awami League leader Torab Ali, a retired Subedar, were present in the courtroom on Tuesday.

Twenty-one have been absconding till date.

Source : New Age

Millions will die if India stops AIDS drugs: UN

Millions of people dependent on life-saving generic drugs to treat HIV/AIDS will die if India stops producing cheap drugs for the disease due to its trade deal with the European Union, the head of UNAIDS warned on Tuesday.

The EU and India are currently negotiating a free-trade agreement, which campaigners say will restrict India's ability to produce anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs, preventing the world's poor from accessing cheap drugs for their treatment.

'India should resist removing any flexibility because any trade agreement which could lead to India not being able to produce will be terrible for the rest of the world,' said Michel Sidibe, executive director for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

'Millions of people will die if India cannot produce and Africa will be the most affected. For me, it is an issue of life or death,' he told Reuters in an interview, adding that about 86 percent of people on treatment were taking drugs made in India.

The EU-India trade deal includes measures that could delay or restrict competition from generic medicines by extending patent terms, requiring data exclusivity and tightening border enforcement rules.

Such moves could drive up prices for India's anti-retroviral treatments, limit dosage options and delay access to newer and better drugs, said a U.N. report in September last year.

Thirty years after the HIV/AIDS virus was first discovered, experts say while substantial progress has been made by the global community in stemming it, only a fraction of those living with the illness are on medication.

At a high level UN meeting last month, nations agreed on a set of ambitious targets to rid the world of disease, including scaling up the provision of generics to reach 15 million patients from six million by 2015.

The trade deal, Sidibe said, would reverse many of the gains made in improving the lives of the world's poor.

'We have been fighting for so long to make sure that poor people could have access to treatment,' he said. 'For me, it will be the beginning of reversing all the gains we made on social justice and redistribution of opportunity.'

Source : New Age

Mobile courts to check anarchy: Sahara

Mobile courts would protect public life and property during the 48-hour hartal called by the opposition, home minister Sahara Khatun told reporters at her secretariat office Tuesday.

She said that besides the police, mobile courts would operate just as they did during last month's hartal called by the main opposition BNP and its allies.

'None would be allowed create anarchy in the name of hartal,' she said.

She said the police would remain on the vigil to check vandalism and violence during the 48-hour countrywide shutdown beginning Wednesday.

Mobile courts set up by the Awami League-led government on June 11 on the eve of a 36-hour hartal, called by the opposition, had on the first day sentenced at least 52 leaders and activists of BNP and its allies to various terms on the spot.

The mobile courts, which remained active throughout the 36-hour countrywide hartal which ended on June 13, sentenced over 100 opposition leaders and workers.

The government drew sharp criticism from human rights groups and lawyers for setting up the mobile courts which gave the on the spot sentences refusing the opposition leaders and workers the right to self-defence, in gross violation of the Constitution.

BNP and its allies on Sunday called the nationwide hartal in protest against the abolition of the

election time caretaker government system to ensure Awami Leagues return to power by holding rigged elections. 

The opposition called the hartal also to press a host of other demands.

On Monday, prime minister Sheikh Hasina while chairing a cabinet meeting ordered the law enforcement agencies to deal with hartal protesters sternly 'to protect public life and property.'

Shara told reporters, that the mobile courts would operate under the Mobile Court Act 2009 to 'check vandalism in the name of hartal.' 

Asked whether or not the BNP and Jamaat would be allowed to take out processions in favour of hartal, the home minister said police would go tough if the pro-hartal activists block the streets to vehicular traffic.

She said that there was no reason for the opposition to call the hartal.

She called upon the opposition to withdraw its hartal.

Source : New Age

Some cooperatives flourish despite neglect

Groups of people have made notable success by improving their living standards with their collective efforts overcoming negligence to and lack of policy supports for the cooperative sector.

Some cooperative societies, formed in the capital with small subscriptions of members, are now viably running small and big businesses ranging from tailoring and grocery shops and transport and real estate firms.

A small number of cooperatives have also started establishing light and small industrial units.

Apart from raising incomes of the members, the cooperatives are creating jobs for hundreds of others in society.

 'We were 100 poor women students of adult literacy centres at Nurerchala (near Baridhara in Dhaka). In 1990, we started cooperative activities by depositing Tk 50 in monthly saving. Now we have more than 25,000 members and shareholders who collectively own Tk 700

million cash and assets,' Golap Banu, the president of the Baridhara Mahila Samabai Samity, told New Age.

The organisation was registered with the Department of Cooperatives in 1996.

About Tk 600 million, out of the total capital Tk 700, has been given to the members of the organisation in loan for investing in various income-generating and resource-building activities — opening tailoring and grocery shops, running commercial transports and light engineering industries, etc, Banu, a housewife, said. The rate of recovery of loan is about 96 per cent.

About 3,000 members of the organisation have now become self-reliant, she said.

The organisation also bought about five acres of land in Gazipur for a housing project for its members.

She said that the organisation was running in a rented office. 'But we have started constructing the head office on four kathas of land at Nurerchala.'

Nitya Adhikari, manager of the society, said that the organisation had 64 staff members who receive monthly salaries from Tk 4,000 to Tk 64,000.

Seven like-minded people formed the Kingshuk Multipurpose Cooperative Society at Mirpur in Dhaka in 1987 with each member contributing Tk 50 every month to its fund, according to M Golam Faruq, former chairman of Kingshuk.

It is now an organisation of 82 members and more than 50,000 shareholders who collectively own Tk 2,000 million in assets, Azaher Ali Molla, the current chairman of the organisation, told New Age.

The organisation has investments in businesses such as agricultural marketing, security services, health club, filling station and several housing, commercial and tourism complexes.

With technical support from a South Korean company, Kingshuk has set up a factory to manufacture energy-saving lamps in 2010 at a cost of about Tk 7 crore, he said.

It has 850 full-time paid staff members and at least 2,500 temporary employees, Molla, also an associate professor at the Institute of Health Economics in Dhaka University, said.

Asked about making policies for the organisation, he said that the general assembly consisting members of the organisation makes policies and elects a governing body by secret ballots to run the organisation for three years.

About the benefit of the shareholders, who do not have voting rights, Faruq said that the organisation had given 12 to 16 per cent of dividend so far on the investments of individual shareholders.

Asked about the secret of success of the organisation when most of the cooperatives are either sick or non-functional, Molla said that there was no magic wand to make a cooperative successful.

Faruq said that democratising the decision making process and implementing the decision collectively can make a cooperative successful.

Kingshuk now gives advocacy support for other cooperative organisations to help them survive and flourish.

Source : New Age

Minibuses, buses not following govt fare chart

The city's buses and minibuses are reportedly charging more from passengers than the prescribed minimum fare of Tk 7 and Tk 5 respectively set by the government after the price-hike of compressed natural gas in May.

The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, which is carrying out regular drives against bus companies charging extra fare, have filed 702 cases, sent 11 offenders to jail, realised Tk 8,17,100 in fines, seized 83 buses and minibuses and 16 route permits from May 15 to June 30.

Jasmine Akhtar, who rode on a bus of the Taranga Plus Transport Ltd from Shankar to Dhaka City College on Tuesday, said she had to pay Tk 10 as minimum fare.

Other bus companies like Nisharga Transport, Megacity Passenger Service Ltd, Malancha Transport, Midway Transport Ltd and Maitree Transport also charge Tk 10 for the minimum distance.

The employees at the counters of the bus services said their company would run at a loss if they took only Tk 7 as minimum fare.

They also said every bus hangs the fare chart fixed by the BRTA only to show them to officers of the mobile courts.

Super, Maitree and Malancha transport companies were also charging Tk 10 from Press Club to Shahbagh.

Hafiz, a passenger who rode a bus of the Silk City Service, said that the conductor took Tk 10 from him when he wanted to go to Kazipara from Mirpur-10.

It was also seen that the bus conductors demanded Tk 13 for Mirpur-10 to Farm Gate and Tk 22 from the same place to Karwan Bazaar.

The bus conductor said that Tk 22 was also the fare to Motijheel and there was no separate ticket for every bus stop.

At Mirpur-10 square, Safety Enterprises demanded Tk 10 as minimum fare while other bus companies like Shikar Transport and Mirpur United Service Ltd refused to accept any passenger for the minimum distance.

'The BRTA has only two executive magistrates, which is not enough for a big city like Dhaka,' said executive magistrate Mohammad Tofael Islam.

He said that five executive magistrates of the Dhaka district also help them in the drives but they had been busy with the Union Parishad elections.

Islam suggested that the traffic police can also help to enforce the fare chart, and the amount of fine prescribed by the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1983 should be increased.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police's joint commissioner (traffic), Mahbubur Rahman, told New Age that they were also carrying out drives against buses and minibuses that are charging extra fare.

'We have a plainclothes team,' he said, and said that measures would be taken against any transport company for exceeding the fare chart if someone provides specific information against them.

The government on May 16, after the price-hike of CNG, increased the bus fare by Tk 0.35 a kilometre in Dhaka and Chittagong cities, and set the minimum fare at Tk 7 for buses and Tk 5 for minibuses in the capital.

Communications minister Syed Abul Hossain on May 28 said the government would cancel the route permits of the bus companies that charge extra fares.

The High Court on May 30 issued a six-point directive, including one for putting up the fare chart, set by the communications ministry, on display at ticket counters after bus operators started charging fares at their sweet will.

Source : New Age

9 vehicles burnt, processions foiled

Eight vehicles were burnt in pre-strike violence in the afternoon and at night in the capital on Tuesday while the police foiled processions and arrested people drumming up support for the 48-hour general strike the BNP and its allies are enforcing from today.

The police arrested supporters of the strike and a mobile court jailed for a year a supporter of strike on charges of burning a bus at Bangshal in Dhaka. Seven others were jailed for a month by mobile courts at Motijheel and Paltan.

At least six buses and two cars were burnt in the

capital. A covered van also went up in flames at Kakrail which the police said was burnt by the protesters while others said that the van had caught fire because of a technical fault.

At least seven crude bombs were also exploded in the capital — in front of the BNP's central office at Naya Paltan, on the Dhaka University campus, in the Science Laboratory crossing, near the Supreme Court crossing and at Gulshan.

The authorities said a mobile court had jailed Motaleb, 24, for a year on the eve of the strike on charges of burning a bus at Chankharpool. Mobile courts also jailed seven others for a month at Motijheel and Paltan.

A bus was burnt near the Rajarbagh Police

Lines about 9:25pm. Two cars were burnt at Mohakhali about 8:30pm and about 9:30pm, fire fighters said.

Four buses were burnt fire at Maniknagar about 3:15pm, at Kazipara about 5:00pm, at Rampura about 6:30pm and at Chankharpool at 7:00pm. Another bus that was parked was burnt near the AGB Colony at Motijheel about 1:45pm.

The police arrested Motaleb in connection with the burning of the bus at Chankharpool. A mobile court jailed him for a year.

The Sutrapur police arrested three people in possession of five crude bombs and a dagger.

The police said that the covered van, at Kakrail, was burnt by the supporters of the strike about 1:45pm while the fire fighters said that the vehicle had caught fire from its battery because of a technical fault. Nobody was, however, reported injured in the fire, fire fighters said.

While the police suspect that the vehicles had been burnt by the supporters of the strike, the BNP brushed aside the allegations.

The BNP's acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged the government had employed its goods to burn the vehicles.

Law enforcers arrested about 100 supporters of the strike in the capital. The police foiled an attempt of BNP leaders to distribute leaflet in the city.

The BNP's allies Jamaat-e-Islami and Bangladesh Jatiya Party (Naziur) and like-minded Jatiya Ganatantrik Party also brought out processions.

The police foiled BNP rallies at places across the country. At least 50 people were wounded in clashes between police and supporters of the strike at places across the country. Twenty of them were injured in Chittagong and 10 in Rajshahi. At least 10 buses were vandalised in Chittagong.

The BNP, however, alleged that more than 200 activists had been arrested and 250 had been wounded in attacks carried out by 'the police and goons hired by the ruling party.'

The BNP and its allies are enforcing the strike in protest at the scrapping of the caretaker government provision from the constitution and in demand for some other issues.

Twelve Islamist parties have, meanwhile, called general strike for 30 hours beginning Sunday morning.

Source : New Age

BNP, allies begin 48hr strike today

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies begin a general strike for 48 hours this morning in protest at the scrapping of the caretaker government provision from the constitution and in demand for some other issues.

The BNP and its four allies — Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (Naziur), Islami Oikya Jote and Khelafat Majlish, which split from the Islami Oikya Jote after the Islamic party combine had joined the BNP-led alliance — are enforcing the general strike simultaneously.

Some other small political parties, including Jatiya Ganatantrik Party, National People's Party, Bangladesh National Awami Party, Muslim League, Labour Party and National Democratic Party also called the countrywide general strike, the longest stretch at a time since the Awami League-led alliance took office in 2009, for today

The Liberal Democratic Party of Oli Ahmed, a former BNP leader, also extended its support for the general strike.   

Twelve Islamist political parties have, meanwhile, announced to enforce countrywide general strike for 30 beginning Sunday morning in protest at the removal of the phrase 'Absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah' from the constitution. The Jamaat-e-Islami extended its support for the 30-hour strike.

This is going to be the first general strike called simultaneously by all the partners of the BNP-led alliance and like-minded political parties.

This is the seventh general strike called by the BNP after the 2008 general elections.

The BNP and its allies but the Islami Oikya Jote earlier enforced general strike for 36 hours beginning June 12 in protest at the government's move to scrap the caretaker government provision.

The other issues centring on which the BNP and its allies are enforcing the strike include protest at the 'hurting of religious sentiment of Muslims, price spiral, slide in law and order and shortage of power, gas and fuel and share market scam.'

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, meanwhile on Monday, ordered the law enforcement agencies to deal with protesters sternly 'to protect public life and property' during strike hours.

She gave the directive at the weekly cabinet meeting before the 48-hour general strike.

The BNP's acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at a press conference at the party's central on Tuesday said that the party along with the people would retaliate by enforcing tougher action programme if the government would try foil the strike.

He alleged that the government was pushing the country towards a confrontations and chaos.

Fakhrul warned the government against any move to foil the strike. 'The government will be responsible and face dire consequences if any untoward incident happens during strike hours.'

The home affairs minister, Sahara Khatun, on Tuesday announced not to allow the holding of any rallies and processions on the roads by obstructing traffic.

The BNP and its allies including Jamaat-e-Islami, BJP and NAP brought out processions and distributed leaflets to people in the capital and elsewhere to drum up support for the strike. The police also arrested some pickets who were drumming up support for the strike.

The police also foiled an attempt of BNP leaders, including Fakhrul islam, standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan and joint secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, of distributing leaflets at Naya Paltan.

The police also foiled processions at different parts of the country, according to reports reaching from districts.

A huge contingent of policemen stood guard in front of the BNP's central office at Naya Paltan early in the day and arrested at least 15 BNP activists at the place.

The police also arrested Sultan Salahuddin Tuku, president of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the BNP-backed student organisation, early Tuesday. The police, the BNP said, arrested more than 200 BNP activists at places across the country.

The BNP alleged that the police started raiding the houses of its leaders and activists and were harassing the families of BNP activists after they were failing to pick up BNP men.

Unnamed people, said to be pickets, burnt four buses and a covered van in the capital on the eve of today's general strike.

Addressing the press conference, Mirza Fakhrul brushed aside the allegation of being involved in arson in the capital.

Fakhrul called on the people to make the general strike successful to resist the 'ill motive' of the 'fascist' AL-led government of clinging to power by snatching away the people's voting rights.

On June 30, the national assembly passed the Constitution (15th Amendment) Bill 2011 by dropping the caretaker government provision.

Source : New Age