Load-shedding in Ramadan estimated at 500-700MW

The power distribution agencies will have to go for 500MW to 700MW load-shedding in Ramadan, said power secretary Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad on Sunday.

Coming out of a meeting on the power situation in Ramadan, he told reporters that the Power Division emphasised that electricity load management should focus on consumers' comfort in the month. Energy adviser Tawfique-e-Elahi Chowdhury attended the meeting.

Azad said the power distribution agencies were also instructed not to continue load-shedding of power in an area for more than half an hour at a stretch.

In reply to a query about the present power situation of the country, he claimed it was improving, compared to the situation prevailing in the previous year, as the overall electricity generation had increased.

'But, the use of air conditioners has been rising day by day, causing a significant increase in the demand for power,' he said.

Both the adviser and the secretary urged people to use fans instead of air conditioners, particularly in the mosques, so that the demand for electricity would not increase much in Ramadan.

Tawfique said the power distribution agencies were also instructed to motivate people to refrain from excessive use of light at markets, shops, community centres, mosques, etc.

Meeting sources said 179 out of the 1,663 mosques covered by the Dhaka Power Distribution Company used ACs.

Azad said 20 to 25 ACs consumed one megawatt of power.

The meeting, however, did not take any decision about whether shops and markets should be closed at 8:00pm or not as the labour and employment ministry was the proper authority to make a decision in this regard, said a Power Division official.

Azad also told the reporters that the power generation in the country would increase by around 300MW within a day or two.

He said two new power plants under the Power Development Board would start supplying power to the national grid, besides power generation would also increase in a few old plants after completion of their renovation.

Meeting sources said high officials would be at every power distribution substation and control room to monitor the power situation in Ramadan.

After the meeting, the Power Division and the PDB signed a deal with Baraka Patenga Power Limited for setting up a 50MW power plant at Patenga in Chittagong.

According to the deal, the state-run PDB will purchase power at 9.881 cents per unit (kilowatt-hour) or Tk 7.312 per unit ($1=Tk 74) for 15 years from the furnace oil-fired power plant.

The company will have to start supplying power to the national grid from October 30, 2012, otherwise it will have to count penalty per day for the delay.

Source : New Age

Moon sighting body meets today

The National Moon Sighting Committee will meet in the capital today to ascertain the commencement of the month of Ramadan.

Anyone having sighted the moon anywhere in the country has been requested to inform over telephone, fax or in any other way. Phone numbers are: 9559493, 9559643, 9555947, 9556407, 9558337 and fax: 02-9563397.

Source : New Age

Cop killed in road mishap

A police officer, Habibul Islam Habib, died at Rangpur Medical College Hospital Saturday night after being seriously injured in a road accident at Saidpur in Nilphamari, the police said.

Source : New Age

SEC to bring market manipulators to book

The Securities and Exchange Commission is set to take legal actions against some large investors for their involvement in market manipulation in January, said officials of the capital market watchdog.

'Based on the probe report and the directive of the finance ministry, we have conducted investigation into the roles of some big market players in the stocks debacle of January,' said SEC member Helal Uddin Nizami.

He said the commission had finalised its preparations for filing cases against a number of investors including

Sayed Sirajuddoula and his wife Rasheda Akter for bulk and serial trading of shares.

For example, in the statement of fact prepared for the case to be lodged against Sirajuddoula and Rasheda Akter, the equities market regulator has accused them of making artificial active trading of Peoples Leasing shares, which caused the price of the scrip to shoot up abnormally.

According to the SEC statement, they had pushed the price of Peoples Leasing shares up by trading 2,22,700 shares of the company between themselves from June 30 to November 4, 2010. After each of the Peoples Leasing shares had been split into 10, reducing its face value from Tk 100 to Tk 10, the two accused investors sold their holdings and booked a hefty profit.

The commission, in line with a recommendation made by the probe committee, is also set to take departmental actions against an SEC member of that time.

Helal Uddin said the commission sent an investigation report to the finance ministry against former SEC member Mansur Alam. 'We have sent an enquiry report to the finance ministry for taking action against Mansur Alam.'

The commission also formed a two-member committee to investigate into the allegations against SEC executive directors Anwarul Kabir Bhuiyan and ATM Tariquzzaman, he said.

Helal Uddin said, 'The commission finalised the terms of reference of the enquiry committee, which will start working soon.' 

The probe committee formed earlier, however, failed to specify any charge of being involved in the stock market scam against Tariquzzaman. 

After the relentless fall in share prices in December to January last, the government formed a high-powered probe committee, headed by Khondoker Ibrahim Khaled, to investigate into the market crash.

The three-member committee, after conducting a three-month investigation, submitted the report to the government with a number of case studies of market manipulation. The committee also placed a 25-point recommendation including conducting further enquiries about the people suspected to be involved in market manipulation, reconstructing the SEC, and terminating some of its officials including the sitting chairman Ziaul Haque Kahondker.

Finance minister AMA Muhith, while making the report public, said the government would take the recommendations into consideration and specified some term-by-term goals to bring back stability in the capital market. 

Source : New Age

BNP, 16 other parties seek time

Out of 38 registered political parties 17 including, BNP, were unable to hand in their audited financial statements for the last calendar year to the Election Commission by Sunday, the deadline.

According to an EC handout, 21 registered political parties, including ruling Awami League and opposition Jamaat-e-Islami gave their audited financial statements.

BNP and 10 other political parties—Jatiya Party (Manju), Bangladesh Jatiya Party,  Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal, Islami Oikya Jote,Ganatantri Party, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, Bangladesh Muslim League and Islamic Front Bangladesh—sought more time for handing in their statements.

BNP and some of the parties sought two more months for handing in their statements.

The Election Commission said it was yet to take a decision whether it would extend the deadline.

In 2008, the EC introduced the requirement for the registered political parties to give their audited financial statements to ensure their financial transparency.

The parties were given seven months, beginning January, to comply with the provision.

However, neither the Election Commission nor the political parties disclosed to the media the contents of audited financial statements.

A two-member ruling Awami League team led by deputy office secretary Mrinal Kanti Das submitted party's audited financial statement to the Election Commission on Sunday.

A three-member opposition BNP team led by the party's assistant office secretary Abdul Latif Jony handed in a letter to the Election Commission seeking two more months for giving the report.

Asked why BNP sought more time for handing in its financial statement, Jony said, 'The Election Commission wrote to us at the beginning of July seeking the financial statement.'

'Obviously, we could not prepare the statement in such short time,' he said.   

Asked by waiting reporters, Mrinal Kanti declined to disclose the contents of the financial statement of the ruling party.

He said the financial statement, Awami League submitted following the Representation of People Order, 'is now the property of the Election Commission.'

 Mrinal said the commission would now decide whether it would make the report public.

The Election Commission secretary Muhammad Sadique told reporters that the EC would take a decision whether or not to extend the deadline requested by political parties.

Asked whether the commission had any mechanism to crosscheck the audited financial statements, he said the veracity of the reports would be looked into, though the commission did not have enough manpower for the task.

He said the commission would crosscheck the reports once it got the manpower.     

The parties which have submitted the reports are AL, Jatiya Party (Ershad), Jamaat, Liberal Democratic Party, Krishak Sramik Janata League, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Bangladesh National Awami Party, Zaker Party, Bangladesh Tarikat Federation, National People's Party, Jamiaate Ulama-e-Islam Bangladesh, Gana Forum, Progressive Democratic Party, Bangladesh National Awami Party-Bangladesh NAP, Bangladesh Jatiya Party, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Islami Front, Jatiya Ganatantrik Party, Revolutionary Workers' Party of Bangladesh and Khelafat Majlish.   

Seven political parties which neither submitted their financial statements nor sought time for  doing it included,  Bangladesh Samyabadi Dal, Workers' Party of Bangladesh, Bikalpadhara Bangladesh, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Inu), Gana Front, Oikyabaddha Nagarik Andolan and Bangladesh Kalyan Party.  

Section 9 (b) of the Political Party Registration Rules requires every registered political party to give financial statement for the immediate past calendar year audited by a registered chartered accounting firm to the EC by July 31.

The RPO stipulates cancellation of registration of political parties for failure to comply with the provision for three consecutive years.

On July 4, the EC wrote to the registered political parties to remind them about the deadline.

Source : New Age

BNP, 16 other parties seek time

Out of 38 registered political parties 17 including, BNP, were unable to hand in their audited financial statements for the last calendar year to the Election Commission by Sunday, the deadline.

According to an EC handout, 21 registered political parties, including ruling Awami League and opposition Jamaat-e-Islami gave their audited financial statements.

BNP and 10 other political parties—Jatiya Party (Manju), Bangladesh Jatiya Party,  Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal, Islami Oikya Jote,Ganatantri Party, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, Bangladesh Muslim League and Islamic Front Bangladesh—sought more time for handing in their statements.

BNP and some of the parties sought two more months for handing in their statements.

The Election Commission said it was yet to take a decision whether it would extend the deadline.

In 2008, the EC introduced the requirement for the registered political parties to give their audited financial statements to ensure their financial transparency.

The parties were given seven months, beginning January, to comply with the provision.

However, neither the Election Commission nor the political parties disclosed to the media the contents of audited financial statements.

A two-member ruling Awami League team led by deputy office secretary Mrinal Kanti Das submitted party's audited financial statement to the Election Commission on Sunday.

A three-member opposition BNP team led by the party's assistant office secretary Abdul Latif Jony handed in a letter to the Election Commission seeking two more months for giving the report.

Asked why BNP sought more time for handing in its financial statement, Jony said, 'The Election Commission wrote to us at the beginning of July seeking the financial statement.'

'Obviously, we could not prepare the statement in such short time,' he said.   

Asked by waiting reporters, Mrinal Kanti declined to disclose the contents of the financial statement of the ruling party.

He said the financial statement, Awami League submitted following the Representation of People Order, 'is now the property of the Election Commission.'

 Mrinal said the commission would now decide whether it would make the report public.

The Election Commission secretary Muhammad Sadique told reporters that the EC would take a decision whether or not to extend the deadline requested by political parties.

Asked whether the commission had any mechanism to crosscheck the audited financial statements, he said the veracity of the reports would be looked into, though the commission did not have enough manpower for the task.

He said the commission would crosscheck the reports once it got the manpower.     

The parties which have submitted the reports are AL, Jatiya Party (Ershad), Jamaat, Liberal Democratic Party, Krishak Sramik Janata League, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Bangladesh National Awami Party, Zaker Party, Bangladesh Tarikat Federation, National People's Party, Jamiaate Ulama-e-Islam Bangladesh, Gana Forum, Progressive Democratic Party, Bangladesh National Awami Party-Bangladesh NAP, Bangladesh Jatiya Party, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Islami Front, Jatiya Ganatantrik Party, Revolutionary Workers' Party of Bangladesh and Khelafat Majlish.   

Seven political parties which neither submitted their financial statements nor sought time for  doing it included,  Bangladesh Samyabadi Dal, Workers' Party of Bangladesh, Bikalpadhara Bangladesh, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Inu), Gana Front, Oikyabaddha Nagarik Andolan and Bangladesh Kalyan Party.  

Section 9 (b) of the Political Party Registration Rules requires every registered political party to give financial statement for the immediate past calendar year audited by a registered chartered accounting firm to the EC by July 31.

The RPO stipulates cancellation of registration of political parties for failure to comply with the provision for three consecutive years.

On July 4, the EC wrote to the registered political parties to remind them about the deadline.

Source : New Age

BNP prepares for movement against govt after Eid

The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party is making preparations for an all-out movement against the government after Eid-ul-Fitr and, in addition to finding news allies, mobilising local units and front organisations by holding programmes amid in-party feuds at many levels.

The party is now focusing on issues of public sufferings such as soaring prices and power, gas and water shortage buts is prime focus is on the restoration of the caretaker government provision aimed at holding fair elections and mobilising public opinions against the 15th amendment to the constitution.

Party policymakers said that it had decided to wage a fully-fledged movement after Eid to overthrow the government. They said that they were yet to decide the pattern of the agitation programmes.

Some members on the party's standing committee

said that continued programmes such as demonstrations, rallies and road marches might be announced after Eid.

Despite claiming that they prefer peaceful programmes, the leaders said that tough programmes such as general strikes would be announce if the situation so warrants.

The party's acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that there was no doubt that the BNP would wage a tough movement after Eid. 'You will be informed of the programmes in time.'

Standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan said that they were discussing the mode of programmes they would announce after Ramadan. He said it might be decided after the party chief's return from Saudi Arabia after performing itiqaf at Ka'ba. 

'Till then we are focusing on issues of public sufferings such as an abnormal increase in commodity prices amid declining buying capacity of the people. And there are severe shortage of power and water. As a responsible opposition party, we cannot ignore them,' he said.

Standing committee member Mahbubur Rahman said that the party's prime issue was to concentrate on the issue of the 15th amendment to the constitution. 'We are out on a movement to restore the caretaker government provision. And are welcome all democratic forces in the movement,' he said.

Mahbub said that they were communicating with some other parties about the issue. Three small parties have already sided with the BNP. He said that the unity of like-minded parties was based on issues.

'Elections are still far away. So we are not planning any electoral alliance right now,' he said.

The party is also focused on mobilising its local units and gear up activists as the local units and associate bodies were prime forces for the waging of a movement.

In June, 19 teams headed by standing committee members, vice-chairmen and chairpersons' advisers were sent to grass roots and many of them submitted reports to the acting secretary general.

After their month-long tour, the party is now monitoring the activities and performance of units in programmes announced centrally.

Despite such moves, in-party feuds continued in many local units and associate bodies.

The party's chairperson, Khaleda Zia, has formed a committee to resolve disputes in Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, which is considered the BNP's prime force in waging movement, after a dissident group had ransacked its office centring on the feuds.

A senior leader, as an example, pointed to feuds in Barisal. 'The feuding factions even cannot tolerate each other. They are holding regular programmes separately and often get involved in violence,' he said, adding that similar situation was there in some more units.

Source : New Age

Villagers rally, block road

Several thousand people of Bhatiary at Sitakunda in Chittagong rallied and blocked the Dhaka–Chittagong Highway on Sunday morning in protest at land acquisition by the Bangladesh Military Academy.

The procession and blockade, which continued for more than two hours, suspended traffic, with hundreds of vehicles being stranded on both ends of the road stretch. The highway police cleared the road in their efforts for about three hours.

The villagers in seven processions about 9:30am marched towards Bhatiary Bazar and then paraded a 3km stretch of the highway in a single procession. They later gathered near the Bijoy Smarani College gate.

Leaders of the protesters, teamed up as Chapter Area Pratirodh Committee, at a meeting before the procession talked with the people of the area.

Former Bhatiary union council chairman Mohammad Ishak at the meeting said that the government had no rights to grab people's landed property by force. He urged the government and the military academy not to grab people's

land and drop the plan for the establishment of the chapter area.

The newly elected chairman of the union council Nurul Anwar said that the people of Bhatiary would fight on to protect their homestead homes by any means.

Abdus Salam, an inhabitant of the area, said that the military academy had been trying to acquire more than four square kilometres of land around the academy on security grounds although there had been no such incidents in the area that had ever jeopardised the security of the academy.

The academy authorities want to keep people out of the area and control the movement of people by fencing off the entire place under the chapter area, he said.

People of Bhatiary will fight against such aggression and efforts for land acquisition, he added.

Earlier on Sunday, several thousand people of the area formed a human chain and held protests on Bijoy Smarani College campus. The lawmaker for the Sitakunda constituency, Abul Kashem, addressed the programme as chief guest and expressed his solidarity with the movement of the people.

Kashem said that the illogical and unnecessary acquisition of land at Bhatiary would be resisted by any means. He said that the academy already owns a huge hill area and if it would need more land, it could acquire hill areas.

There is no justification of acquiring land by evicting at least 5,000 people, he added. He urged the people to get ready for a tough movement.

The government acquired 282 acres of land at Jungle Bhatiary Mauza in 1958 and 1975 to set up the military academy.

In 1984, 1986 and 1990, the government further acquired 20 acres of land by evicting several thousand people.

In 2008, the military-backed caretaker government declared more than two square kilometres of the land as chapter area.

The people later filed a writ petition with the High Court seeking a stay order on the declaration of the military academy. The court later issued a stay on the declaration.

Source : New Age

JS body blames ministry negligence for prices

The parliamentary standing committee on commerce ministry on Sunday accused the ministry of negligence in taking proper measures to arrest soaring prices before Ramadan.

The committee members at a meeting observed that the market monitoring system of the ministry was not adequate which resulted in scopes for dishonest traders to charge higher prices for commodities, sources attending the meeting said.

'Some dishonest businessmen are involved in making the market unstable because of lack of proper monitoring system by the ministry,' the committee chair, Abul Kashem, told reporters after the meeting. He added that the negligence of the ministry in ensuring proper oversight was also responsible for the price spiral.

He said that the committee had recommended that ministry should strengthen the market monitoring system and take action against the people responsible after identifying them.

The committee also suggested that the ministry should ensure an adequate stock of commodities by making easy the process of goods import, the sources said.

The committee members further suggested that the ministry should change the traditional market monitoring system and find out new ways for market monitoring to identify people who make the market unstable.

The sources said that the ministry had told the committee that they had identified 10 businessmen involved in increasing prices by making an artificial crisis and they were keeping close watch on them.

The ministry officials also told the meeting that committees had been formed to monitor markets at upazila and district levels to check price spiral, the sources said.

'We have identified a number of businessmen involved in increasing prices of essential commodities and we are keeping watch on them,' the commerce minister, Faruk Khan, told New Age after the meeting.

He added that the ministry would take legal measures against businessmen found making an artificial crisis to make the commodity market unstable.

He also said that the ministry teams were monitoring the market to ensure sales of sugar and cooking for the prices the government set earlier.

Committee member Rumana Mahmood, a BNP lawmaker, told New Age

that although the ministry was monitoring the market, the market was still unstable before Ramadan.

'We have recommended that the monitoring system should be strengthened to keep prices stable,' Rumana told New Age, adding that they also demanded that businessmen responsible for the price increase before Ramadan should be identified.

She said that the ministry should take measures to make easy the import process to ensure an adequate stock of commodities.

The BNP lawmaker also said that the parliamentary standing committee would inspect some city markets on the first day of Ramadan for the second time to check whether goods are selling for prices set earlier.

The parliamentary standing committee earlier in April also visited some city markets at Mohammadpur, New Market and Karwan Bazar.

Source : New Age

6 get life in Sherpur bank robbery case

A court here on Wednesday sentenced six people life term imprisonment in Sadar upazila Surjadi Bazaar Sonali Bank branch robbery case.

The court also fined them Tk 20,000 each, in default, to suffer two years more in jail.

The convicts are Ziauddin, Bidyut Mia and Abdus Samad of Surjadi village, Abdul Kuddus and Mosharraf of Jangaldi village in Sadar upazila and Mukul Mia of Fakirpara village in Jamalpur district. All but Abdul Kuddus were tried in absentia.

According to the prosecution, a gang of 20/25 robbers entered the bank branch breaking open the collapsible gate on the night of July 10, 1999. They tied up two audit officers and bank guard Abdul Haque and looted cash and valuables.

Hearing the hue and cry locals rushed to the spot. At this, the robbers blasted bombs and cocktails and sprayed bullets on them leaving four people injured. Later, critically injured Dulal Mia, 37, of the area died at the district general hospital.

Guard Abdul Haque filed a case in this connection. Sub Inspector Nurul Islam of Sadar PS submitted charge sheet against seven accused on February 27 in 2001.

Source : The Daily Star

Grenade Attack on Sylhet AL MP's House: Charges pressed against Huji chief, five others

Six and a half years into the incident, the CID yesterday afternoon filed charge sheet in the case for grenade attack on the house of Sylhet district Mohila AL president Syeda Zebunnesa Haque, also lawmaker from Sylhet-Sunamganj district.

Inspector Shamim Ur-Rashid of the CID, Sylhet zone submitted the charge sheet with the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate of Sylhet Abu Syed Diljar Hossain accusing six people including the outlawed Huji chief Mufti Abdul Hannan.

Five of the six Huji leaders and operatives are now in jail in connection with other cases.

However, the Investigation Officer (IO) dropped names of seven other accused from the charge sheet.

The IO said in his charge sheet that the Huji men carried out the grenade attack with a motive to kill the Mohila AL leaders when they were at a meeting of the district committee at Mohila AL president's house in Sylhet city's Tantipara area on 24 December of 2004. The accused managed to flee the scene immediately after the attack, he said.

Eight leaders and activists, including the Sylhet City Corporation's female commissioner Shahana Begum, SCC mayor's wife Asma Kamran and others were injured.

Syeda Zebunnesa Haque's husband Enamul Haque, also a leader of the district AL, filed a case with the Sylhet Kotwali PS the same night.

The charge sheeted accused are, Mufti Abdul Hannan, his brother Mufti Mohibur Rahman alias Muhibullah, Mufti Main Uddin Sheikh alias Mufti Abu Zandal, Sharif Shahedul Alam Bipul, Delwar Hossain Ripon and Humayun Kabir Himu (absconding).

Charges were dropped against Luthfur Rahman Talukder, ZM Ilyas Kanchan, Huji's Badrul Alam Mizan (charge sheeted in Kibria killing case), Syed Nayeem Ahmed Arif (charge sheeted in Kibria killing case), Ahsan Ullah Ahsan alias Hasan, Fokhrul Islam Fahim and Sayeed.

Source : The Daily Star

Violent Jamuna erosion worries riverside villagers in Bhuapur: 500 families homeless in a week

The riverside villagers in Bhuapur upazila are living amid worries, as erosion by the Jamuna has taken a serious turn due to monsoon.

The river has already devoured homesteads of around 500 families at Kukadair, Valkutia, Khanur Bari and Baintain villages of Govindasi union in the upazila in the last 7-8 days.

Besides, people of different villages under Gabsara, Aurjuna and Nikrail unions are facing serious erosion threat due to rise of water level in the river.

The mighty Jamuna earlier from last week of April to first week of May this year devoured around 1,000 houses, fruit and vegetable orchards and vast tracts of agricultural land in the same villages.

This correspondent, while visiting different erosion affected villages in Govindasi union on Tuesday, found that scores of riverside families left their houses for safe shelters while many others passing days under the open sky.

On the other hand, a large number of panic stricken dwellers are spending sleepless nights for fear of erosion by the Jamuna anytime.

Abdur Rashid of Govindasi said he and many of his neighbours have lost dwelling houses into the Jamuna in the last few days.

"Although the people suffer for Jamuna erosion every year, the authorities concerned seem indifferent. They never take any effective measure to check the erosion," he said.

Chairman of Govindasi union parishad (UP) Aminul Islam Amin said many riverside villages have already disappeared from the map of the upazila due to the erosion by the Jamuna and many more villages will disappear within a short period.

"The river erosion is also threatening the flood control embankment in the area," the UP chairman added.

Contacted, Riazul Hasan, executive engineer of Tangail Water Development Board (WDB) yesterday said, "We do not have any fund to take steps against the river erosion. We have written to the higher authorities for providing necessary fund for the purpose. The work will start only after getting the fund," he added.

Source : The Daily Star

Khan Jahan Ali Shrine in Bagerhat: Hungry crocs turn violent as khadems eat up their food

Crocodiles in the 600-year-old dighi (a lake-like tank) beside Khan Jahan Ali shrine in Shatgambuj union under Bagerhat Sadar upazila killed a visitor and injured two others in a span of three weeks.

The marsh crocodiles, once peaceful and tame, are now turning more and more violent towards the devotees coming to have a dip in the water body as the large creatures often remain hungry allegedly due to misappropriation of their food by a section of khadems (caretakers).

Amid panic of attack by the carnivorous reptiles, the number of devotees taking the 'holy bath' sees decline, said a caretaker.

Two crocodiles attacked Mariam Begum, 40, of Nonadanga village under Bagerhat Sadar upazila when she went to the dighi to have a bath in the morning on June 26, eyewitnesses said. The crocodiles ate away flesh from her legs, leaving her dead.

Two other devotees Aasia Begum and Rezaul Islam were seriously injured in attacks by crocodiles in the morning and evening of July 18. Both of them are now undergoing treatment at Khulna Medical College Hospital.

Perhaps the hungry crocodiles cannot resist the temptation when they get anyone within easy reach, said Moazzem Hossain, officer in-charge of Bagerhat Model Police station.

"Although ferocious by nature, these crocodiles earlier did not show any hostility towards visitors as they got enough to eat. But now they are changing behaviour due to shortage of food," he said.

Visitors to the shrine from across the country bring over a hundred cocks and hens on an average daily to feed the four crocodiles in the 200-acre dighi but a section of dishonest khadems secretly sell out 70 to 80 percent of it, making the large reptiles often starve, a source linked to the shrine said.

Three of the crocodiles were brought from the Indian state of Madras on June 24 in 2005. They often turn violent towards visitors. The other crocodile generally remains calm as it is old.

Asked about the matter, Humayun Fakir, leader of a group of khadems, said, "The three marsh crocodiles brought from India are aggressive by nature. They attack not only visitors but also khadems."

He submitted a petition 'on behalf of' khadems of the shrine to Bagerhat Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Akram Hossain for shifting the three 'frightening' crocodiles.

An opponent group of khadems led by Shahadat Fakir submitted another petition to the DC, requesting him not to send the crocodiles elsewhere. The creatures are suffering from food crisis due to random misappropriation of foods brought by devotees, they alleged.

On July 14, the district administration at a meeting in presence of the representatives of the two rival groups decided that the crocodiles will remain at the dighi.

Source : The Daily Star