Chaitra 19, 1420 Jamadiul Sani 1, 1435 Regd. No.

DA 6238 Vol 2, No 4

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

www.dhakatribune.com

SECOND EDITION

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8 | RUSSIA ENDS UKRAINE GAS DISCOUNT

11 | IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?

14 | CHELSEA READY FOR PSG BATTLE

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS GOLD

AL, BNP and JaPa lose strongholds

Upazila polls throw up a few surprises
n
Mohammad Al-Masum Molla
The ruling Awami League and the BNP have apparently lost their strongholds in the recently completed five phase of upazila parishad elections. The Awami league-backed contenders have demonstrated their organisational strength in the five divisions while the BNP and its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami retained their strength in the northern region of the country in the recently concluded upazila parishad elections. A poor picture was projected by HM Ershads Jatiya Party as it failed to secure a single chairman post in Ershads hometown Rangpur district, popularly known as stronghold of the JaPa. The party, the main opposition in the parliament, secured only three chairman posts. Interestingly, the Awami leaguebacked contenders failed to establish its supremacy in the party strongholds in Gopalganj, Habiganj, Sunamganj and some other districts and the BNP Jamaat failed to maintain their strongholds in Lakhmipur, Satkhira, Feni, Noakhali, Chapainawabganj and some other districts where violence and irregularities marked the elections. The Jamaat-e-Islami led by convicted war criminals failed to secure a single chairman post in Dhaka division and bagged only one in Barisal division. Feni district is popularly known as the stronghold of the BNP and hometown of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. But in the upazila elections, BNPbacked chairman candidates failed to secure a single chairman post in the six upazilas. Gopalganj, the home district of Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina, Awami League-backed chairman contenders failed to secure two chairman posts in Moksedpur and Tungipara, the hometown of Hasina.
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Smuggled gold accounts for 86% of all contraband n Syed Samiul Basher Anik,
Mohammad Jamil Khan and Rabiul Islam
Eighty-six percent of the total smuggled consignments that are entering the country have been identified by the customs authorities to be gold. According to information available with the Customs Intelligence, they seized a total of 240 consignments of illegal goods from July to December last year, of which 207 were gold, officials at the National Board of Revenue said quoting statistics.

P16

PMO FOR ACTION

In terms of value, gold was 95% of the total smuggled items, according to information received from the Dhaka Customs House, the Chittagong Customs House and the Customs Intelligence. During the last six months of 2013, customs had seized different smuggled goods worth Tk263.38 crore, of which Tk251.41 crore was from gold smuggling, reads the statistics.
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Who gained what?

n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla
Three more times in the last three decades the country has seen upazila parishad elections, but the local body polls have never been so important. Both the ruling Awami League and the BNP Jamaat-led alliance had their own reasons for taking these elections very seriously. After having boycotted the January 5 national elections demanding non-partisan arrangements, BNP took these elections as an opportunity to put up a display of its have been enough to quash BNPs claims for non-partisan polls-time government. This backdrop made the upazila elections, which are essentially non-partisan in nature as parties are not allowed to contest them organisationally, a fully partisan affair with the major parties spending a lot of energy. The poor performance of the independent and the so called rebel candidates in the five phases of the local polls is also strong enough reason to reinforce the stream of thought that no election in Bangladesh can be non-partisan. Just like last years city polls, the ruling party and the EC could have once again cashed in on these local polls to remind people that they were good enough to stage fair polls under partisan government. But the party wasted that opportunity as its leaders and activists were largely blamed for the violence, the subsequent loss of lives and vote rigging that media portrayed vividly. Things went south for the ruling party after the first two phases of the polls when the upazila chairman candidates backed by BNP Jamaat performed better than those blessed by the ruling party.
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EC blames field level officers for failure in containing polls violence

Karim and n Mohosinul Mohammad Zakaria
The Election Commission and the top brass of the civil administration have made conflicting statements over the allegations of negligence of field level officers in containing violence, irregularities and vote rigging during just-concluded upazila polls. Election Commissioner Md Shah Newaz held the field level officers responsible for irregularities in the upazila polls. Field level officers did not work properly during the upazila polls. It was a chain of works as the administration and law enforcement agencies worked in the polls. It cannot be said that the commission is satisfied with holding some elections in a free and fair manner, he told reporters yesterday. ECs Senior Assistant Secretary Farhad Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune that the commission gave the authority to the returning officers and the local administration to take immediate action against any type of irregularities. But they did not take any measures from the first phase of the polls, he added. We did not get any allegation or information from the returning officers about the violation of electoral code of conduct and irregularities in the fivegation from Gazaria upazila in Munshiganj that Awami League rebel candidate vandalised the union parishad and torched election mikes of Awami League-backed candidate Refayet Ullah Khan. As per the probe report, the commission asked the returning officer to take action, but the returning officer did not take any steps against such allegation, EC sources said. The commissioner thinks it would be better if election officials and law enforcers are not from the local administration. But the commission does not have its own officials to conduct the polls. If any irregularity took place, it was not presented to the commission on right time. So, the EC cannot take immediate action against irregularities, he said, adding that the commission asked the returning officers to take action against the allegations placed to the EC. But we did not get any report on irregularities from the field level officers, he said.
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Jamaat in second place ahead of BNP n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

At the end of Mondays fifth round of upazila polls, Jamaat-backed vice-chairman contenders stand clear of those backed by its ally BNP, although the latter stood second in the tally of chairman posts. Out of the 459 vice-chairman posts up for grabbing, Jamaat-backed candidates bagged 115, followed by BNP with 107, both behind Awami Leaguebacked ones, who secured 172. The right wing Islamist party often associated with committing war crimes as an organisation in 1971 has steadily maintained its success with regards to the vice-chairman posts since the first phase of the elections. In the first phase, contenders backed by Jamaat secured 23 vice-chairman posts, 32 in the second, 23 in the third, 22 in the fourth and 15 in the fifth. Interestingly, in the first two rounds of voting, BNP not only led the chairman tally, but also those of the vice-chairmen and vice-chairwomen. But as violence and allegations of rigging started mounting from the third phase, Awami League bounced back with more chairman posts. Simultaneously, Jamaat chipped in with more vice-chairman posts that its 18-party alliance partner. In the first phase, Awami League backed contenders bagged 29
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VICE CHAIRMAN POSTS

NEWS ANALYSIS
nationwide popularity. So, for the BNP and its allies, the upazila polls were an opportunity to redeem some sort of institutional representation in the countrys governance structure. For the ruling party on the other hand, upazila parishad polls were an opening on their own to prove that fair elections were possible under partisan arrangements. The good work that the Election Commission (EC) and the Awami League-led administration did by staging fair elections in the five city corporations last year could

Cabinet secretary says officers carried out duties properly

phase upazila polls. The commission has asked them to take action against the allegations submitted by the candidates to the EC secretariat, he said. Sources said the commission asked its officials to investigate some allegations which were proved later. The commission had given directives to the returning officers and the administration to take action immediately, but they did not follow the directives of the commission, they said. The commission received an alle-

Dhaka seeks WB budget assistance for next FY

n Asif Showkat Kallol
The government has sought budget support from the World Bank for the next fiscal year, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said yesterday. Following a meeting with visiting World Bank Vice-President Phillippe Le Houerou at his secretariat office, the minister said although assistance has been sought, it was difficult to get budget support from the bank. The request was made to the bank at a time when the government was preparing its budget plan for the next year. The World Bank yesterday also promised a total of $2.8bn in loans to Bangladesh for the current fiscal year, the highest ever amount in a single fiscal year. I have asked the World Bank vice-president to evaluate the performance of Bangladeshs budget implementation over the last five years to give budget assistance to Bangladesh,
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INSIDE
News
Panna Ghosh is pumped up after taking a wicket, Bangladesh Women v Sri Lanka Women, Womens World T20, Group B, Sylhet
ICC

Bangladesh women bag maiden win

n Shishir Hoque from Sylhet
Bangladesh women clinched their first ever victory in an ICC global event and ended their maiden World Twenty20 appearance on a high note by beating Sri Lanka by 3 runs in their exciting last Group B match at the Sylhet International Stadium yesterday. When the mens team ended their campaign without a single victory yesterday, the womens team, who just After winning the toss for the first time in the tournament, the home side also made it past the triple figure for the first time to put up a decent total of 115 for 9 thanks to Rumana Ahmeds career best 41. Bangladesh made count of the strong bowling unit at their disposal as Sri Lanka was restricted to 112 for 9. The victory, however, did not change Bangladeshs position in the
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4 The Directorate of Primary Education is working to reform the system of Primary Terminal Examination as the competency level of primary schoolchildren still remains low despite a high pass rate, officials concerned said.

Long Form

7 Haor areas of the northeastern part of Bangladesh face flash floods caused by sudden and early downstream water from the surrounding upstreams from late March to May.

Nation

Entertainment

set their feet in the international cricket arena, gave the nation a reason to cheer up with their maiden win over in the mega event.

6 The adverse effects of Farakka barrage, climatic change and decrease in mean annual rainfall have put four rivers in Chapainawabganj in a vulnerable condition.

12 A new Michael Jackson album is set for release on May 13, Epic Records announced Monday. The posthumous album called Xscape will feature eight previously recorded but unreleased songs by the King of Pop.

2
n Tribune Report
Parliament yesterday completed formation of all the standing committees headed by the Awami League MPs, not giving any post of chairman to the opposition parties as done in the ninth parliament. According to separate proposals of Chief Whip ASM Feroz, the House formed 26 standing committees yesterday. During the 2009-13 period, two standing committee chairmen were from then main opposition BNP, two from the Jatiya Party, one from the Workers Party, one from the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and one from the Liberal Democratic Party.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

All 50 JS watchdogs formed

Five former ministers and state ministers have been made chairmen of the watchdogs on same ministries they served. They are former foreign minister Dipu Moni, former environment minister Hasan Mahmud, former state minister for labour and employment Begum Mannujan Sufian, former land minister Rezaul Karim Hira and former state minister for primary and mass education Motahar Hossain. Meanwhile, former cultural affairs minister Abul Kalam Azad has been elected chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Planning Ministry. On Monday, 10 watchdog bodies were formed when four former minister were made chairmen of the standing committees concerned. The prime ministers cousin Abul Hasnat Abdullah has been elected chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on LGRD and Cooperatives Ministry. HN Ashequr Rahman will head the watchdog on Public Administration Ministry. Former primary and mass education minister Afsarul Amin has been elected chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education Ministry. The prime ministers cousin Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, who was the health minister during Awami Leagues 19962001 tenure, has been elected chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health Ministry. Home minister during the Awami Leagues previous term Maj (retd) Rafiqul Islam has been elected chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Shipping Ministry while Ekabbar Hossain to head the watchdog on Communications Ministry. Tajul Islam has been elected chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy, Power and Mineral Resources Ministry. The House elected Rebecca Momin as the chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Women and Children Affairs Ministry, Mir Shawkat Ali Badsha for the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry, Abdul Wadud for food, Saber Hossain Chowdhury for textile and jute, Maj Gen (retd) Shubid Ali Bhuiyan for defence and Md Mokbul Hossain for Agriculture Ministry. Mozammel Hossain has been made chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Welfare Ministry, Dabirul Islam for housing and public works, Zahid Ahsan Rasel for youth and sports, Simin Hossain Rimi for cultural affairs, and former health minister AFM Ruhal Haque for the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology Ministry. ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury has been elected chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railway Ministry. l

CHCPs to get 19,000 computers n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) is going introduce more digital tools at the grass root level health institutes across the country today. The DGHS will distribute around 19,000 laptops and android-based tablet computers among the health workers of Community Health Care Providers (CHCP) and union level healthcare sub-centres across the country. Professor Dr Abul Kalam Azad, additional director general of the DGHS told the Dhaka Tribune that more than 12,500 community clinics and 1,275 union level healthcare sub-centres had been providing health care services to the grass root people. According to the DGHS annual Publication Health Bulletin 2013, since April 2009 to December 2012 a total of 147.9 million patients had received treatment from the community clinics and around 3 million patients had been referred to different hospitals during these period. The professor said last year more than 3,465 laptops and 3,500 tablet computers were distributed among the CHCPs and health assistants. After distributing these digital tools, training would be provided to the health workers so that they could operate it smoothly, he added. Sources said the health service providers would have to enrol everyday with their photographs and mention the date and time of their entry and exit from the community clinics through the laptop. Health Minister Mohammed Nasim will inaugurate the distribution programme and hand over few computers at the Management Information Services auditorium of the DGHS today. l

Muhith: Ministers should maintain some manners

n Tribune Report
Ministers should show some manners while speaking in public, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said yesterday in reaction to some derogatory comments made recently by Planning Minister AHM Mostafa Kamal. The two have been at loggerheads lately over the outlay of the revised annual development programme (ADP). Challenging Muhiths ability to serve as a finance minister, Mostafa Kamal recently criticised his opposition to increasing the size of the revised ADP citing fund constraints. Refuting Kamal's allegation, Muhith said he did not get any pension from the World Bank. I do not get any pension from anyone in the world, except the government of Bangladesh, Muhith told reporters yesterday. He was the first alternate executive director from Bangladesh in the World Bank. About suing the World Bank for disregarding Bangladesh over allegations of corruption in the tendering process of the Padma bridge project, Muhith said: I told the media that I would file a case against the World Bank when I leave the cabinet and become a private citizen. Muhith also said Kamal did not understand public-private partnership (PPP) initiative, which is an internationally known concept, and I did not create the model in Bangladesh. Kamal had earlier said: The finance minister has developed the PPP, but I do not know if it is a cow or a goat? I hope the people know what it is! l

PM Sheikh Hasina presents a copy of Bangabandhu's autobiography to World Bank Vice-President Phillippe le Houerou yesterday PMO

61% voter turnout in fifth phase n Mohammad Zakaria

With around 60.83% voter turnout in fifth phase polls in 73 upazilas, the overall average turnout in this years upazila polls stood at 61.35%. A total of 8,459,509 voters out of 13,891,992 cast their votes in the fifth phase, while 317,112 votes have been cancelled in this phase. l

EC blames field level officers for failure in containing polls violence

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Dhaka seeks WB budget assistance for next FY

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Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters yesterday that the cabinet division is yet to get any allegation [from the Election Commission] against any field level officer who ignored the responsibilities during the upazila polls. We will take necessary steps against those officials if we found them guilty

or got any allegation against anybody. But, none complained against anybody as they did not follow the directives of the election commission. None would be spared for their irresponsibility and misconduct, he said. He also claimed that all the officers, involved with the upazila polls, had carried out their duties properly. l

Jamaat in second place ahead of BNP

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Bangladesh women bag maiden

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vice-chairman posts, 32 in the second, 28 in the third, 39 in the fourth and the highest 44 in Mondays fifth round. On the other hand, for the BNP, it has been a steady journey downwards. In the first round 32 BNP-backed vice-chairman contenders won, 36 won in the second, 18 in the third, 17 in the fourth and the worst of only four in the fifth round. However, although the BNP fell behind both the Awami League and Jamaat in terms of the vice-chairman posts, the female candidates it had backed had more vice-chairwoman posts than the other two parties. At the end of the fifth round, BNP-backed contenders backed 189 vice-chairwoman posts, followed by the Awami League with 180 and Jamaat with 33. l

group as they still finished bottom behind Sri Lanka and India. Despite having equal two points, the net runrate put the home side behind their sub-continent opponents, thus ending all hopes for the Bangladesh women to qualify for the next edition of World Twenty20 scheduled to be held in India in 2016. They will now fight for the 9th place in the event against Ireland in a play-off tomorrow. After a series of poor totals against West Indies (79), India (58) and Pakistan (72), the hosts batswomen finally geared up and sang in rhythm to register their highest total in the shortest version of cricket. The previous best was 113 which they made twice against India and Pakistan. The start however wasnt the best as Ayasha Rahman returned in the very first over before skipper Salma Khatun tormented the bowlers to give Bangladesh their best start in the tournament reaching fifty in nine overs.

After the dismissal of Salma (22) and Sharmin Akhter (18), Rumana Ahmed guided the side past 100 and stayed in the middle till the last over depending mostly on singles and doubles. The right-handed batter slammed a 34-ball 41 that included only three boundaries. Birthday girl, Jahanara Alam gave Bangladesh the perfect start by dismissing Hasini Perera in her first delivery. Sri Lanka however was cruising with Yasoda Mendis (33) putting on two partnerships of 37 and 28 with Chamari Atapattu and Shashikala Siriwardene respectively. Medium fast bowler Panna Ghosh brought Bangladesh back on track by picking up two quick wickets before dismissing Sri Lanka captain Siriwardene (31) to take control of the game despite several drops from the home fielders. Panna bagged three wickets for just 18 runs. Apart from the batting contribution Rumana also claimed a wicket which brought her the player of the match award. l

Muhith said. Receiving budget support from the World Bank was not unprecedented, the minister said, adding that the bank provided budget assistance through reform programs. Although the government had not received budget support from the World Bank in recent times, the Asian Development Bank had provided financial assistance to Bangladesh following the global recession, Muhith said. He added that the government had previously received about $300m as budget support from the International Development Association of the World Bank. Reforms would be made in the banking sector, social safety net and food distribution programmes, Muhith said, adding that budget support would be given in line with the execution of reforms in various sectors, which will

be discussed later with World Bank officials. Muhith said the World Bank has called for decentralising the authorities for the utilisation of the government fund. As part of the decentralisation efforts, the government will enhance the project implementation capacities of ministries, divisions and PPP projects, which currently amounts at only Tk50 crore, Tk25 crore and Tk7 crore respectively. Replying to a query by Le Houerou on the Padma Bridge, Muhith said the main tender for construction of the bridge would be floated by July. The ongoing tender processes for training and hiring a consultant would be completed within this year, while the main consultant would be appointed during the July-August period, he added. The global lender was becoming

more involved in projects dealing with primary, secondary and higher education, while the country will not get any more funding for the power sector as the bank would not invest in coal-based power plants on principle, Muhith added. On the other hand, World Bank Vice-President Phillippe Le Houerou said the World Banks previous investment for the Padma Bridge would now be invested in other sectors. The World Banks assistance to Bangladesh since the countrys independence has so far amounted to $18bn, the banks vice-president said. The World Bank was supporting the governments initiative to achieve middle-income status for the country by 2021, but to that end the government needed to put emphasis on the improvement of infrastructure and the power sector, Le Houerou added. l

Who gained what?

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That alarmed the Awami League, who was looking to strengthen and reward its grassroots by doing well in these polls. Soon after, the third phase saw a marked escalation in violence for which the ruling party men were largely blamed. Simultaneously, the Awami League-backed contenders started performing well too. That trend remained unchanged in the next two phases as well, the last of which was held on Monday.

The Awami League might have in the end soared high above its arch rivals in terms of the number of seats bagged by the candidates it had backed 254 for the ruling party, 164 for the BNP and 36 for Jamaat. But eventually, the violence and rigging only gave momentum to the BNPs claim that fair elections were not possible under partisan governments. Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, who won a lot of acclaim for staging fair city polls only last year,

mysteriously went to the USA on a vacation in the middle of the upazila polls. That not only gave rise to extensive criticism, but also induced similar speculation about the governments role and interference with the ECs work. Unfortunately, the chaos that the country has witnessed surrounding the upazila polls was surely going to hurt the credibility of the ECs independence for a long time to come and it would not be easy by any stretch of the imagination to gain it back. l

Smuggled gold accounts for 86% of all contraband AL, BNP and JaPa lose strongholds
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The worst scenario was seen in December when all 36 smuggled consignments seized by customs were gold. Officials blamed the duty hike in gold import in neighbouring India for the rise in gold smuggling in Bangladesh. Customs chief Moinul Khan told the Dhaka Tribune that the Indian government had increased the tax rate to 10% from existing 6% which had resulted in reduction of 95% of gold imports. The smugglers have an excellent opportunity to make some quick money, he said adding that the smugglers bring gold from the Middle East to Bangladesh, and then take it to India using different routes. To hide them from law enforcement agencies, smugglers carry the gold inside hard drives, multimedia projectors and television, and even inside soap, food sacks and luggage. Syndicates, comprising of international smugglers, are involved with gold smuggling. However, in most cases, only the actual smugglers are caught by the intelligence wing while the ring leaders remain out of reach, a customs official observed. The official says the actual number of smuggled consignments would probably be much higher since only

1-2% of the total number of illegal consignments is held by the law enforcement agencies. Gold is being smuggled mostly through the inside of an aircraft, which is impossible for any person without the help of the aircraft officials, the official told the Dhaka Tribune seeking anonymity. Customs officials say they are beefing up monitoring to nab leaders of the smuggling ring. In this regard, the NBR has also taken up a plan to increase monitoring activities at different ports including the airports for combating the sudden rise in gold smuggling, as those places are used as transit points to smuggle goods from one country to the other. An NBR official said Tk1 crore had already been allocated for the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate to tap the routes through intense monitoring. The NBR plans to prioritise the customs activities in Dhaka, Chittagong and Pangaon customs houses, the bond commissionerates of Dhaka and Chittagong, the Customs Intelligence, and the Investigation Directorate. Under the plan, the customs officials will check the vehicles and people at the airports. If any smuggled products

are found and the actual owner cannot be traced, they will question all the passengers of the plane. Senior Assistant Superintended of Armed Police Battalion (APBn) Nur-eAlam Siddique told the Dhaka Tribune that besides performing their regular duties, the force had also taken all necessary steps to make its intelligence wing strong. He said the monitoring team was modified with the support of latest technology. About punishment of the gold smugglers, Additional Commissioner of Dhaka Customs AKM Ohidul Alam told the Dhaka Tribune: The customs department does not have its own prosecution department. It merely detains the criminals and files cases against them, after it hands them over to the police. We do not have any idea how criminals are getting bail in such special cases, he said adding that the customs did not have information about such cases since those were handled by the police. He also urged the authorities concerned to empower the customs to better deal with smuggling. Officer-in-Charge of Airport police station Shaheduzzaman refuted the allegations against police saying that they only place a criminal at the court after completing investigation properly. l

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In Moksedpur, independent candidate won the chairman post and in Tungipara rival candidates of Awami League won the chairman post. In Lakhmipur district, there are five upazilas that are also known as strongholds of the BNP, the party-backed chairman candidates secured only one chairman post. In seven upazilas of Satkhira, known as a stronghold of the Jamaat, the right wing political party-backed candidate secured only one chairman posts out of seven and the rests were secured by Awami League-backed chairman candidates. In Noakhali elections were held in nine upazilas while in one upazila it was postponed. Among the nine upazilas, five chairman posts were secured by Awami League-backed contenders while BNP-backed aspirants secured only three. Sunamganj district is popularly known as stronghold of Awami League but in the upazila polls, the Awami League lost its stronghold as the BNPbacked chairman candidates won seven chairman posts out of the 10. Political strength of Awami League in Habiganj is well known but in the local body elections the party bagged five

chairman posts while the BNP secured two and the other one by an independent candidate. The BNP showed its strength in the northern region as it bagged 26 chairman posts in Rangpur division and 26 in Rajshahi while the Awami League-supported candidates secured 21 and 18 chairmen posts respectively. The Awami League-backed contenders took lead in Dhaka, Sylhet, Chittagong, Khulna and Barisal divisions. In Dhaka, the Awami League-backed candidates secured 57 chairman posts while those backed by the BNP won in 41 seats. Ershads JaPa got only one chairman post in Tarail of Kishorganj but the Jamaat got no seats in the division. The candidates supported by the Awami League and the BNP came out neck and neck in Sylhet division where the ruling party-backed candidates bagged 18 and the BNP 15 chairman posts. The Jamaat got two seats. In Barisal division, the Awami League-backed contenders got absolute majority as they bagged 21 chairman posts while the BNP-backed candidates got just four. Jamaat-backed contender bagged one chairman post in Zianagar of Pirojpur and another was bagged by the JP (Monju) in Bhandaria of Pirojpur.

In this division, at least in 20 upazilas, the BNP-backed candidates boycotted the elections alleging vote rigging and illegal stamping by the ruling party men. There were incidents of stray violence in the first phase of polls but it increased in the second phase. In the third phase, violence took a serious turn as three people were killed and clashes took place at a number of places. In Chittagong division, Awami League-backed contenders also took the lead as they bagged 40 chairman posts while the BNP-backed contenders ensured 30 and Jamaat only 5. In Khulna, Awami League-backed contenders bagged just the double chairman posts than the BNP-backed contenders as the ruling party bagged 36 chairman posts and the BNP-backed aspirants 18 and Jamaat-backed 5. Interestingly, Jamaat also performed well in Bogra, the hometown of BNP founder Gen Ziaur Rahman, as it bagged five chairman posts while seven were grabbed by the BNP-backed candidates. Regional political parties like the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) and the United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF)-backed candidates bagged 13 chairman posts. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

3
Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers off to Mali
n BSS
A 112-member contingent of Bangladesh Army left Dhaka yesterday to join the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces in Mali for the first time. The contingent, led by Colonel M Jahangir Harun, left Shahjalal International Airport in the afternoon for the land-locked African country. A total of 1,446 members of the Army and the Navy, including an infantry unit, two signal units, an engineer unit, a navy unit and a riverine unit are also expected to be deployed in the African state. The remaining peacekeepers will leave for Mali in phases. l

No progress in SQC verdict leak case

Islam and Mohammad n Udisa Jamil Khan
The Detective Branch (DB) of Police has failed to make any progress in investigating the draft verdict leak for Salauddin Quader Chowdhurys war crimes case, and is still busy analysing the clues, nearly six months after the incident. tribunal commented that the family of the convict had made huge investments to leak it beforehand. On October 2 last year, the International Crimes Tribunal filed a general diary with Shahbagh police station over the leak. Tribunal Registrar AKM Nasiruddin Mahmud made the announcement at a press briefing that day. After just five days of being arrested, tribunal staff Nayan Ali on October 10 admitted his involvement in the incident. Metropolitan Magistrate Tareq Mainul Islam Bhuiyan recorded his statement where he said he had accessed the Tribunal 1 chairmans computer and gave Mehedi the data on a pen drive several times. He also claimed that Salauddin Quaders counsel Fakhrul Islam Chowdhury and one of his managers were involved in the matter. Nayan, a cleaner, and Md Faruque, a stenographer of the tribunal registrar office, were remanded after their arrest on October 5. The DB arrested Fakhrul in connection with the leak around two months after the incident. DB official then said they had arrested him after verifying information extracted from the two detained tribunal staff. In this regard, Arunabha Chakrabarty, deputy registrar of the tribunal, told the Dhaka Tribune: We hope that the case will be solved as early as possible. We need to know the truth for the sake of our security. If the court gives an observation, we will be aware about the loopholes, if any. He added that they could not pressurise the investigators since their staff were suspected in the case and the investigation was underway. l

After pronouncing the verdict, the tribunal commented that the family of the convict had made huge investments to leak it beforehand
Investigators claim that they were waiting for the prime suspect, fugitive Mehedi Hasan, who is a junior counsel for SQ Chowdhury. The tribunal office has also refrained from taking any initiative in this regard as two of its staff are involved and were arrested. Krishna Pada Roy, the DB deputy commissioner (south), told the Dhaka Tribune that they had been investigating the case as a special priority since it was a sensational one. Asked about the slow progress, he said they needed to analyse all data and clues before making a move. At present, we are analysing the statements of the arrestees while our officials are in search of the other suspected accused who are on the run, he said. He, however, refused to name the suspects. After pronouncing the verdict, the

Members of the Armed Forces depart the Shahjalal International Airport in the capital yesterday to join UN Peacekeeping Forces in Mali
DHAKA TRIBUNE

Prosecution declares its witness in Azhar case hostile

n Udisa Islam
The prosecution, in the case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam yesterday, declared their seventh witness hostile and appealed to the tribunal to send him to safe custody. The tribunal 1 disposed of the petition as the witness, Aminul Islam, 56, of Uttar Maksudpur under Badarganj upazila in Rangpur, said he needed no security. Aminul was declared hostile as he said the Pakistani occupation army and their anonymous collaborators had killed Kaltimai during the 1971 Liberation War. He did not use the name of the accused during the proceedings. Conducting prosecutor AKM Saiful Islam requested safe custody for the witness as he might influence other prosecution witnesses in the case. Following his request, the tribunal asked the witnesses whether he wanted to go into safe custody. Aminul replied in the negative. The tribunal then directed the law enforcement agencies to keep him under observation so that he could not influence other prosecution witnesses. It also said if the witness was found doing so, the lawmen might take legal steps. Tajul Islam, counsel for the accused, termed the prosecutions stance unjust saying that a witness could not be forced to testify. The appeal for sending the witness to safe custody might frighten other witnesses, he said. The same tribunal yesterday recorded the last part of the deposition by Investigation Officer Satya Ranjan Roy in the trial of Zahid Hossain Khokon, alias Khokon Razakar. He was the 24th and final prosecution witness in the case. Later state defence counsel Abdus Shukkur stared cross examining him. Meanwhile, the tribunal 2 set Sunday for placing a new prosecution witness against Mir Kashem Ali, as the defence ended cross-examination of the 20th witness, Lutfar Rahman Faruk. l

Give your sons or Tk20, 000

n Our Correspondent, Tangail
Gopalpur upazila yesterday saw a fierce backlash against opposition supporters from the ruling Awami League men following the March 31 polls. Sexagenarian Sokhina probably faced the most terrifying moment in her life when the ruling party supporters pinned a gun to her head. Give us your sons, they howled. Sokhina was granted with an option payment of Tk20, 000 within 10 minutes or face the inevitable, said locals and witnesses. Sokhina was granted mercy after she pleaded for forgiveness but others known to be affiliated with the BNP in the area were not so fortunate. The post-poll violence in the upazila witnessed vandalism, arson and looting allegedly by ruling party supporters. Most of the BNP supporters fled the upazila fearing backlash. Armed ruling party men swooped on Sokhina in Hemnagar area on Monday night looking for her sons Humayun Kabir Liton, Nur Nabi and Lokman. Unable to locate the trio, they vandalised the house and demanded money from Sokhina, said locals It was the same night when they vandalised establishments of BNP leaders Liton Mia, Harun-R Rashin, Abdul Barek, Anisur Rahman, Lal Mia and Rezaul Karim in Hemnagar Bazar. Even the poultry firm of BNP supporter Shafiqul Islam was not spared. His shop was vandalised and chickens looted. Meanwhile, several villages in Jawail union were also attacked the same night. The pharmacy of BNP activist Dr Hamid was vandalized too. Another activist Badiuzzaman was assaulted in Mouza Dakuri. l

PSC: Proposal to simplify quota system ignored

n Emran Hossain Shaikh
Although five years have passed since the Bangladesh Public Service Commission recommended simplifying the existing quota system, the incumbent government has yet to respond to it positively. State Minister for Public Administration Ismat Ara Sadique yesterday placed the annual report for 2013 to the Jatiya Sangsad, making the observation. According to the report, the rules and regulations of the existing quota system are very complicated and time-consuming. It is almost impossible to choose qualified candidates by applying the method. The report stated that using the district quota to select cadres has also turned the system into very much sophisticated. Considering the matter, the commission placed the recommendation to the government on March 19, 2009. The report showed a gradual increase of female candidates in the cadre service. In 31st BCS, the ratio of male and female candidates was 70.42:29.58, while 44.90:55.10 in 32nd special BCS and 61.78:38.22 in 33rd BCS. The report added that the PSC has so far recommended 186 candidates for non-cadre posts in the 31st and 32nd BCS examinations. l

PMs no to aid that has harmful conditions

n UNB
Bangladesh does not want any assistance from anyone that tags conditions harmful for the country, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said yesterday. She made the remark when visiting World Bank Regional Vice-President for South Asia Philippe Le Heuerou met her at the PMO. The premiers Special Assistant Mahbubul Hoque Shakil briefed reporters after the meeting. The prime minister said Bangladesh always welcomed assistance from other countries or organisations, and each and every country of the world had its own philosophy of development. This philosophy includes culture, nature, environment, psychology and the geographical characteristics of that particular country, she said. According to Shakil, the WB envoy highly appreciated the unprecedented achievements of the government in women empowerment in terms of economy, attaining over 6% GDP growth in the last couple of years, education and health sectors. Heuerou, who is on his maiden visit to Bangladesh, said Hasina had successfully been leading the country in its march forward. He also praised the government for taking steps for developing the social safety net, and expressed the WBs interest to assist Bangladesh in its infrastructural development. The official said the WB had pledged to provide $2.8bn in the current fiscal where it already signed aid agreement with the Bangladesh government for $1.73bn in February last. Heuerou emphasised the enhancement of regional connectivity and said the WB would like to take part in this sector. In this connection, the prime minister said the regional connectivity was increasing day by day. She also mentioned about two hydro-power projects Bangladesh-Bhutan-India and Bangladesh-Nepal-India. Hasina also referred to declining trend in trafficking of women and children in the region due to concerted efforts of all. Describing various government activities taken for development of education, health and power sectors, the premier said Bangladesh had managed to attain more than 6% GDP growth at a time when the entire world was under economic stress. It was possible due to the pragmatic and time befitting steps of her government. Ambassador at-large M Ziauddin, PMs Media Adviser Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury and Principal Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder were present on the occasion. l

UK thanks Dhaka for abstaining from voting on Crimea issue

n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Lawmakers to draw allowance from January 9

n Kamran Reza Chowdhury
The lawmakers of the 10th parliament will draw their allowances from January 9. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, the speaker, yesterday instructed the parliament secretary, who in January sent the file to her for decision, to pay the 10th parliament MPs their monthly allowance as soon as possible. Earlier, the speaker had a meeting with Law Minister Anisul Huq and his predecessor Shafique Ahmed to seek opinion on deciding the current parliaments starting date without which the allowances of the MPs could not be decided. They suggested the speaker, according to the rule, that the MPs should get allowances from the date they take oath. The 10th parliament MPs will get allowances from January 9; I have given my decision in this regard, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury told the Dhaka Tribune. She said questions could be raised, but this parliament case was different from previous instances. According to the constitution, a parliament tenure is of five years from the first day of the first sitting. The 9th parliament had its first sitting on January 25, 2009. This time general elections took place keeping the ninth parliament alive. There is no such previous precedence, said the speaker who said she was constitutionally bound to administer oath to the MPs in 72 hours from the publication of gazette on the election results. The Election Commission published the gazette notification of the January 5 election on January 8. The next day, the speaker administered oath that dissolved the 9th parliament and started the 10th parliament. The article 123 of the constitution says that the MPs of the previous parliament must not assume office until the completion of the five-year tenure and the article 148 of the constitution says the MPs will assume office from the time they take oath.

Professor Anisuzzaman receives the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in India, from Indian President Pranab Mukherjee at New Delhi yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Prosecution seeks arrest of Tarail razakar leader Hasan Ali

n Udisa Islam
The prosecution yesterday submitted a petition to the International Crimes Tribunal 1 seeking arrest of Syed Hasan Ali, an alleged razakar commander of Tarail in Kishoreganj during the 1971 Liberation War, as the investigation against him was near end. The petition sayied Hasan is now staying in Brahmanbarias border areas and he may flee the country anytime. So he needs to be arrested to ensure smooth investigation. The investigation report may be completed within a month, officials said. Prosecutor Abul Kalam Azad submitted the petition to the tribunals registrar office. A hearing on the petition may be held today at the three-member tribunal 1 led by Justice M Enayetur Rahim. Azad said the suspect had been the razakar commander of Tarail upazila and involved in all kinds of crimes against humanity and genocide. We got evidence of direct involvement of Hasan in the incidents. Mosleh Uddin, father of the suspect, was the chairman of Peace Committees Kishoreganj district unit. Hasans brother had also been a member of the razakar force and the whole family committed atrocities in 1971. Investigator Hari Devnath began the probe against Hasan on June 6 last year under the supervision of prosecutor Azad. This will be the first case where he will work as conducting prosecutor. Hari said: Hasan was involved in the killings of at least 50 Hindu people, looting of houses, and arson. We have at least five witnesses for each charge against him. Sources said the suspect might be charged for the murders of Tofazzal Hossain Bhuiyan, Abdur Rashid and Hasan Ahmed, and the Shimulhati killing. The investigation agency is now dealing with at least eight cases. The probe against another war crimes suspect Lahar Ali Shah from Rajshahi is advancing fast. Investigation Officer Ataur Rahman started the probe on October 1, 2012 under the supervision of prosecutor Jahid Imam. They are also working on the allegations against suspected war criminal Abdul Jabbar from Pirojpur. This time the junior prosecutors will conduct some of the cases and they already started to coordinate with investigation agency. Prosecutor Rezia Sultana Begum, Sabina Yeasmin and Syed Sayedul Huq will conduct the cases against Maulana Shakhawat Hossain from Jessore, Ataur Noni from Netrokona and Sirajul Islam from Bagerhat. Though prosecutors Sabina and Rezia assisted seniors earlier in other cases, it would be the first case for Sayedul at the tribunal. l

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said British High Commissioner in Dhaka Robert Gibson thanked Bangladesh for abstaining from voting on Crimea issue in the United Nations General Assembly. Thank you for abstaining from voting, he quoted Robert Gibson as saying. Robert Gibson and British State Minister for International Development Alan Duncan met Shahriar Alam at the foreign ministry yesterday. The UNGA on Thursday adopted a non-binding resolution on Crimea where Bangladesh abstained from voting without explaining the reason. He [Gibson] actually expressed his satisfaction and we also said there are friends who are not so happy, but they [British] actually said they are happy that we remained abstained, Shahriar said. Earlier, the state minister at a media briefing said Bangladesh was observing the situation in Ukraine. Bangladesh being a member of nonaligned countries and G-77, we do not support any party in any internal matter of a country. We did not deviate from that policy and we abstained due to that policy, he said. When asked why Bangladesh abstained without giving an explanation, he said it is Bangladeshs right. Meanwhile, the United States had regretted that Bangladesh did not support Ukraine on Crimea issue. US ambassador in Dhaka Dan Mozena on Monday said: I regret that Bangladesh was not able to join the majority. According to UN website, by a record vote of 100 in favour and 11 against with 58 abstentions, including Bangladesh, the UNGA adopted the resolution titled Territorial integrity of Ukraine. Russian ambassador in Dhaka Alexander Nicholaev at a programme on Sunday also expressed his satisfaction that Bangladesh abstained from voting when the resolution was adopted. l

Parliament session to stretch

The tenure of the current session of parliament will stretch up to April 10 instead of the previous decision to run the House up to April 3. We have to run the session up to April 10 as many of the MPs elected from the womens reserved seats will deliver their speech on the presidents parliamentary address, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury told the Dhaka Tribune. The Business Advisory Committee, headed by the speaker, authorised to stretch or shrink the session tenure in case of necessity. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Reform of primary exam system on the cards

n Mushque Wadud
The Directorate of Primary Education is working to reform the system of Primary Terminal Examination as the competency level of primary schoolchildren still remains low despite a high pass rate, officials concerned said. We are working to make the examination competency-based so that students are evaluated properly, Md Emran, director (monitoring and evaluation division) at the Directorate of Primary Education, told the Dhaka Tribune. He said students answered competency-based questions in the Primary Terminal Examination 2013, adding that all the questions will be competency-based by 2016. The DPE is working on the examination reform as its own report shows that most of the fifth grade students are not competent in Bangla and mathematics. Nearly 75% of fifth graders do not have adequate competence in Bangla while 67% lack competence in mathematics, said a World Bank report released recently. petence, said the report titled Bangladesh: Education Sector Review. The learning level, according to the report, is low at the beginning of primary education with 50% of third graders failing to meet the competency target for mathematics and 33% failed to do so in Bangla. However, 98.58% students passed the Primary Terminal examination in 2013 while a total of 240,961 students secured GPA-5. The pass rate was 92.34% in 2010, 97.26% in 2011, 97.35% in 2012 and 98.58% in 2013. Educationists often question the evaluation system as the learning level of the students remains low. Md Emran, however, defended the examination, saying that the aptitude test is of international standards and unfamiliar to students. Once we will reform the examination system, things will change, he said. l

We are working to make the examination competency-based so that students are evaluated properly
Although these students are at the end of the primary education cycle, they are still performing at a level lower than what is typical of fifth grade com-

Roberto Bissio, coordinator of Social Watch, a global civil society alliance, addresses a panel discussion titled Post 2015 Development Agenda: Future Global Development Partnership, at the Dhaka Reporters Unity yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Sayedee appeal case adjourned until April 8 n Tribune Report

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday deferred the war crimes appeals case of death row convict Delawar Hossain Sayedee till April 8. The five-member apex court bench led by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain passed the order following a plea of Attorney General Mahbubey Alam. The top law officer of the country told the court, on the charge of Bisabali killing, Sayedee got death penalty. Mahbubey said Sayedee, whose main name was Delawar Shikdar, turned into a notorious Razakar in 1971. The war criminal went into hiding when Bangladesh achieved bloody victory in the Liberation War, he said. Later, the hearing was adjourned. Earlier, the top court deferred the case till April 1 after Attorney General sought time. Assistant Attorney General Bashir Ahmed assisted the AG while SM Shahjahan represented Sayedee. l

6 companies bid for Bibiyana South power plant

n Aminur Rahman Rasel
Six international companies submitted bidding documents yesterday for the construction of the Bibiyana South, a 400MW gas-based combined cycle power plant project in Habiganj, which will become the first power plant to be constructed with funds collected from a portion of consumers electricity bills. Around Tk1,800 crore will be used from the consumers bill fund set up by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission named Energy Development and Maintenance Fund for the construction of the plant. A power plant of this capacity requires at least Tk4,000crore to be constructed, while every year nearly Tk700crore are deposited to the fund. The Power Development Board (PDB) decided to construct the power plant project with its own fund as a private company apparently failed to build a power plant named Bibiyana 1 at the site because of fund crunch. Six companies submitted tender. The consortium did not submit bid security that excluded the company from the process. The other five companies will go through technical and financial evaluation. Then we will select a company for the work, PDB Chairman Md Abduhu Ruhulla told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. He added: The whole process will be completed within three months and it will be sent to the cabinet committee on government purchase. Then a contract will be signed with the eligible bidder. The land for construction of the power plant was acquired earlier and the private enterprise, Summit Group, failed to work on the project. So, we will construct another plant on the land, the PDB chairman said. In May 2011, the government had signed agreements with the Summit Power under the independent power producer guideline to install three power plants the gas-fired Bibiyana 1 and the 341MW Bibiyana 2 in Habiganj, and the 337MW dual-fuel Meghnaghat in Narayanganj with a combined production capacity of 1,019MW. The simple cycle of the plants was scheduled to start in August last year while the combined cycle production next August. Meanwhile, the Summit Group has claimed $45m in compensation from the government and asked it to return $3m the company deposited as security, after the PDB cancelled the agreement for the 341MW Bibiyana 1 power plant. The compensation issue is to be settled by the High Court. On the last date for submission, the companies that submitted documents are Consortium of China National Electric Engineer Co Ltd and Shenzhen Shennan Gas Turbine Engineering Technology Co Ltd from China, Isolux Ingenieria SA of Spain and Samsung C&T Corporation of South Korea, Consortium of Hyundai Engineering Co Ltd and Daewoo International Corporation, Consortium of China National Technical Import and Export Corporation and China National Corporation and Overseas Economic Corporation, joint venture of Harbin Electric International Co Ltd (HEI CCCE) and CCC Engineering and Tecnicas Reunidas SA of Spain. l

Supreme Court stays Rana Plaza owners bail

n Nazmus Sakib
The Supreme Courts Appellate Division yesterday stayed a bail order in favour of Sohel Rana, owner of the collapsed garment factory building, Rana Plaza at Savar near Dhaka. Chamber Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order following an appeal by the prosecution which challenged the High Court order that granted bail to Rana for six months in a case lodged by Rajuk for constructing the building flouting building construction laws. Rana is in jail after the eight-storey Rana Plaza collapsed on April 24 last year, claiming at least 1,135 lives and injuring nearly 2,500 people. l

World Autism Awareness Day today

n Moniruzzaman Uzzal
World Autism Awareness Day will be observed across the world including Bangladesh today to raise awareness about autism. Different ministries have chalked out elaborate programmes to mark the day. The social welfare ministry will organise a discussion and cultural programme participated by children with autism at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be present as the chief guest. Important buildings of different ministries, divisions, departments in the capital and districts will be lighted up blue on the occasion. Autism is a complex neuro-behavioral disorder that affects a persons brain function. Autism affects girls and boys of all races and in all geographic regions and has a large impact on children, their families, communities and societies. The prevalence of the disease is currently rising in many countries around the world. As many as 10 public medical college hospitals including Shishu Bikash Kendra (SSK) of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) are providing treatment to children with autism and other neuro-development problems. Humaira Muslima, child health physician of SSK of the Dhaka Shishu Hospital said neuro-development of a child mostly develop within two to three years of age. If parents can realise that their child has development disorder they should bring them within this time and those autistic children can become self-dependent. The annual bulletin of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in 2013 said that the social welfare department of Bangladesh estimated that around 2, 80,000 were suffering from autism related health problems in the country.

HC: Deactivate all unregistered SIMs n UNB

The High Court on yesterday ordered the countrys mobile phone operators to deactivate all the unregistered SIM cards as soon as possible. It also directed the mobile operators to provide details of SIM card users who demand toll over phone. An HC bench comprising Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Mohammad Khurshid Alam Sarker passed the order following a writ petition filed in the form of public interest litigation. Supreme Court lawyer JR Khan Robin filed the writ following a report titled, 70 lakh unregistered SIMs involved in various crimes, including demanding extortion, published in a national daily on March 6. The court also issued a rule asking authorities concerned to explain as to why they should not be directed to deactivate the unregistered SIM cards and as to why law enforcers not be directed to take action against the SIM card users who demand extortion over phone under the criminal law. l

British State Minister for International Development Alan Duncan and British High Commissioner Robert W Gibson meet State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam at the Secretariat in the capital yesterday NASHIRUL ISLAM

UK delegation surprised at Tariques first president comment

n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said a British delegation had expressed surprise over a recent comment by BNP leader Tarique Zia contending that his father, Ziaur Rahman, was the first president of Bangladesh. I raised the issue and asked them where Tarique Zia, who is now living in England, got such information after 43 years and what they thought about it, Shahriar Alam said after meeting with a delegation led by Alan Duncan, UK minister for international development, at the foreign ministry in Dhaka yesterday. They told me that they were surprised to hear that. They were smiling when they said so. They did not have any explanation as to why a political party gave such distorted information. They were very surprised, Shahriar said. About bringing Tarique back to Bangladesh, the state minister said there was a procedure to do that. Shahriar said the foreign ministry could only act when there was a warrant, but no warrant was issued against Tarique yet. When a warrant is issued, the foreign ministry will act upon request from the home ministry, he said. The British minister, however, did not make any comments after the meeting. Duncan arrived in the city on a three-day trip on Monday. He is scheduled to visit the Rana Plaza disaster site at Savar today, and will address a press conference later. Tarique, son of former president Ziaur Rahman and former three-time prime minister Khaleda Zia, at a seminar marking Bangladeshs Independence Day in London last month, remarked that Zia, a sector commander in 1971, was the countrys first president. Khaleda Zia later endorsed his view, publicly saying her late husband was indeed Bangladeshs first president. l

As many as 10 public medical college hospitals were providing treatment to children with autism
Professor Dr Abul Kalam Azad, the additional director general (planning), told the Dhaka Tribune that the national health programme had identified autism as a priority. The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University is going to set up a specialised centre for treating children with neuro-development problems. He said Saima Wazed, daughter of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, had placed an agenda at the 133 executive board of the WHO and the board had approved it and it would soon be placed before the World Health Assembly for approval. l

Hall-Mark bosses sued again n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

Sonali Bank yesterday filed a fresh case against Hall-Mark Chairman Jasmine Islam and Managing Director Tanvir Mahmud for realising more than Tk30 crore from Boby Denim composite Ltd, one of the units of the beleaguered company. Abdus Salam, executive officer of the banks Ruposhi Bangla Hotel branch, filed the case with Artha Rin Adalat 1 (money loan court) in Dhaka. Judge Md Rabiuzzaman took the case into cognizance and ordered the defendants to submit a written statement before the court by April 16. With the case, authorities of the state-run commercial have filed 11 cases against Hallmark Group for realising more than Tk100 crore. On March 30, Sonali Bank filed a case against Hallmark for realising more than Tk9 crore from Boby Denim Ltd. On March 27, Sonali Bank filed three cases with the court for realizing over Tk21.71 crore from three sister concerns of the notorious group. l

Policeman suspended for 60 injured in post-poll violence n torturing businessman

Tribune Report

n Kailash Sarkar
A police officer was suspended yesterday for allegedly assaulting a businessman for refusing to pay protection money in the capitals Sayedabad area. Mustaq Ahmmed, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Polices Wari division, confirmed the suspension of assistant sub-inspector Saiful Islam of Jatrabari police station. Apart from the suspension of the ASI, a committee, led by an additional deputy commissioner, has also been formed to probe the incident, Mustaq told the Dhaka Tribune.

According to witnesses and sources, a team of police, led by Saiful, severely beat up a local steel trader on Monday night for refusing to pay the policemen on opening a new shop. The victim, Nazmul Sheikh, 26, is undergoing treatment at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital. Nazmul, owner of SK Steel Mills in Sayedabad, claimed that the policemen had assaulted him. The ASI enquired whether policemen were paid at the opening of the new shop, and at one stage, they swooped on me, Nazmul added. The injured businessman was later rushed to the DMCH by some locals. l

More than 60 activists of rival political parties were injured in post-poll violence in three districts during the hartal called in protest of alleged vote rigging in the fifth phase of the upazila polls yesterday. The BNP-led alliance have been accusing the ruling Awami League of taking over the polling stations and ballot boxes, and driving polling agents out of their stations in rival camps, while the Election Commission and the local administrations were mere spectators. In Sirajganjs Belkuchi, Awami League activists beat up 10 voters from Vaturia village of Rajapur union around 10pm because they did not vote for the candidate from Awami League. They

also vandalised a weaving factory and a stationary shop. However, when contacted, Belkuchi police station OC Abdul Hai claimed it was normal that some violence would take place after the polls. The injured received primary treatment. In Sunamganjs Bishambharpur upazila, at least 20 people were injured in a fight between Awami League and BNP activists in the afternoon. Two groups led by local Awami League leader Rafique and BNP leader Harun clashed following an altercation over the polls, according to the police. Officer InCharge Nurul Abser Khan said the injured were admitted to different hospitals. In Moulvibazars Rajanagar, followers of two Awami League chairman

candidates got into a fight, injuring at least 30 people. The incident took place around 11pm on Monday at Parchakra village of Mansur Nagar union. The injured were admitted to local hospitals. Local sources said Awami Leaguebacked chairman candidate Askir Khan was pronounced winner unofficially, which was followed by his rival Misbahudduja Velai Mias followers clashing with his supporters. Police rushed there and brought the situation under control. Meanwhile, in Satkhira and Barguna, the hartal called by the BNP-led alliance was observed peacefully. No Jamaat activists were seen picketing in Satkhira. On the other hand, the district office of BNP was closed in Barguna the entire day. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Parking, hawkers clog roads around Jatrabari intersection

n Abu Hayat Mahmud
With authorities turning a blind eye, illegal vehicle parking and street vendors continue to occupy and clog different sections of roads and footpaths near Jatrabari intersection, one of the citys busiest intersections and a prime entrance into the capital. Due to such rising illegal practices, vehicles and pedestrians in the area now find it difficult to travel through the narrow roads. Most of these roads have also become unfit for vehicular movement as construction materials for the Mayor Mohammad Hanif Jatrabari-Gulistan Flyover were being kept on the roadsides. During a recent visit, this correspondent found that a large number of vehicles, mainly buses, trucks, human haulers, auto-rickshaws and rickshaws were unlawfully parked on roads around the Jatrabari intersection, such as the Mawa road, Chittagong road, Sylhet road, Narayanganj road and Demra road. Besides, many roadside shop owners had also taken over a portion of the public space to display their products while many makeshift shops, such as tea stalls, utensil and fruit sellers, were also seen on the footpaths. Earlier, illegal parking only took place at certain points under the Mayor Hanif Flyover, but now vehicles are being parked on both sides of Jatrabari-Sayedabad road, said Saiful, a local resident. To avoid the congestion at the intersection, a large number of vehicles now avoid Jatrabari-Sayedabad road and use the Shamibagh-Dayaganj road as an alternative route, he added. He also said that not only footpaths, street vendors have also started to occupy a portion of the roads to put their goods on display. Salma Akter, a resident of Shamibagh alleged: Unauthorised kitchen markets on walkways and roads adjoining Jatrabari intersection are very common, but city corporation officials and the police are silent over the issue. Imran Sikder, assistant sub inspector of Jatrabari Traffic Police Box told the Dhaka Tribune: There is no traffic jam in the area (Jatrabari intersection). We are always trying to reduce jam at the area. He further claimed traffic congestion in the area had lessened than before and would reduce further once the construction of flyover was complete. However, the correspondent found drivers have parked their buses and trucks on the road in front of the police box, while the other side of the road was occupied by street vendors. When asked, Dhaka South City Corporation Chief Estate Officer Khalid Ahmed said: I am aware of the situation, action would be taken immediately. He also said the city corporation would conduct eviction drives against the encroachers within a few days. Residents of Jatrabari and its adjoining areas, daily commuters to the capital from nearby districts, mainly Narayanganj, Narsingdi and Munshiganj, have been hard-hit by these illegal practices as several sections of these roads were already in a dilapidated state due to negligence and the lack of maintenance from concerned authorities. Meanwhile, the much-anticipated Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover, which was built with an aim to ease the traffic congestion on the eastern side of the capital, had failed to attract vehicles as the flyover operators charge high toll from its users. A large number of commuters, who travel through the route daily, avoid using the flyover and prefer the road below to save travelling costs instead of time. l

Illegal parking and street vendors have occupied a road near Jatrabari intersection, hampering vehicular movement and creating traffic congestion

ABU HAYAT MAHMUD

DAP review committee reformed

n Mohosinul Karim
The cabinet committee to review and finalise the Detailed Area Plan of the capital was reconstituted yesterday, with Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain as its convener. LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, convener of the present cabinet committee formed in February, as well as the previous one, was dropped from the committee. As a result, the number of committee members has now come down to six from seven. Mosharraf was joint convener of the committee previously. According to a Cabinet Division order issued on Tuesday, the committee members are: Communication Minister Obaidul Quader, Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud, Environment and Forest Minister Anwar Hossain Manju, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan and Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sharif. The secretaries of the Water Resources Ministry, Environment and Forest Ministry, Housing and Public Works Ministry and Shipping Ministry, the Roads Division, Bridges Division, Railway Division and Local Government Division will work with the committee as supporting officials. The Housing and Public Works Ministry will provide secretarial support to the committee. from land grabbers. The cabinet committee was formed on June 27, 2010 for the first time, after the Housing and Public Works Ministry had announced the DAP on June 22. The existing DAPs tenure will end next year, and a new DAP will be announced for the next 20 years. A total area of 590sq-km has been covered in the DAP, including the northern part of Gazipur municipal area, Dhaleswari River in the south, Bongshi and Dhaleswari rivers in the west, and Shitalakkhya and Meghna rivers and a part of Sonargaon upazila in the east. Narayanganj, Kadam Rasul, Sidhwirganj, Tarabo, Savar, Tongi and Gazipur municipals, Savar EPZ, Keraniganj, Jinjira and parts of Rupganj and Kaliganj have also been added to the DAP, as well as the two city corporations in the capital. The area has been divided into 17 zones. The previous DAP review committee received several applications from people as well as housing companies, of which some were accepted, some rejected and the rest still pending. l

BCL man killed by rivals

n Our Correspondent, Mymensingh
A Bangladesh Chhatra League leader was killed in an attack allegedly by a rival group on Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) campus yesterday morning. University sources said Saad Ibne Momtaz, 21, a fourth-year student at the Faculty of Fisheries, and organising secretary of the Ashraful Haque Hall Chhatra League unit, was killed over the election of class representative. The sources said Momtaz, who was the incumbent class representative, had been involved in a feud with some of his party men over the election for the past few days. The election of class representative was scheduled to be held yesterday. Following the dispute, a group of Chhatra League activists loyal to the present president of the university unit, Morsheduzzaman Khan Babu, allegedly attacked Momtaz around 9pm on Monday, injuring him critically. Momtaz was left at the hall untreated until yesterday morning, alleged Shamsuddin Al Azad, former Chhatra League president at the university. But Babu claimed that the Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League, was not involved with the incident, and miscreants might have attacked Momtaz to put the blame on the party. When contacted, BAU Proctor Professor Dr Md Shahidur Rahman Khan said: Hall Provost Professor Rafiqul Islam informed me about the incident around 9:30am today, and I rushed to the spot and sent the victim to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries around noon. The victims body was sent to the morgue for post mortem examination. Meanwhile, BAU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Md Rafiqul Hoque held a meeting with the registrar, the proctorial body and the students affair adviser around 12:30pm to discuss the situation. A probe body would be formed to investigate the matter to identify the real killers, the proctor said. Police had visited the spot, and additional police had been deployed on the campus, sources said. l

BCL activists beat up student n JU Correspondent

A student was beaten up by leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League at Jahangirnagar University. Rezaul Amin Barshan, a final year student of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, received injuries on the head and in the hands. He was admitted to a private hospital in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka. Mass Education Affairs Deputy Secretary Didarul Islam of the university Chhatra League unit along with his followers went to Barshans room at Maulana Bhashani Hall at around 2am and beat him up with rods, said the witnesses. Among other attackers were SM Firozur Rahman of Bangla department, Roman of Institute of Information Technology, Arif of geography and environment, Tareq of public health, Selim of law, Shakil of anthropology and Imran of law. Chhatra League leader Didar said they beat up Barshan because he was an activist of the university unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal. l

The previous DAP review committee received several applications from people as well as housing companies
The order stated that the committee would finalise the plan analysing the existing DAP, consulting with the public representatives and looking over public opinions received through its website or directly. The government announced and decided to implement the DAP to resolve problems related to housing, water-logging and traffic congestion in Dhaka, as well as to protect the wetlands, water reservoirs, canals and low-lying areas

WEATHER

PARTLY CLOUDY TUESDAY, APRIL 1

TODAY SUN SETS 6:14PM
Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Coxs Bazar

Hospital closed after doctors, staff resign en masse n Our correspondent, Barisal
The authorities of Holling Bery Syed Moazzem Red Crescent Hospital in Barisal yesterday closed the hospital and released all patients after doctors and other staff resigned en masse following non-payment of their salaries. Sources said the doctors and staff had resigned and left the hospital, locking the main gate. Enayet Karim, acting superintendent-in-charge of the hospital, said 57 personnel, including five doctors, 12 nurses and 40 staff, of the hospital received their last salaries in November last year and since then no fund had been disbursed by the authority despite repeated requests. Four of the doctors left the hospital submitting their resignation on Monday and advising the release of 20 indoor patients and closing all outdoor activities. Other staff members also sent their resignation letters via fax to the authority. Enayet said the hospital would remain closed until further notice. When contacted, Iqbal Hossain Forkan, president of the hospital management committee and acting president of Red Crescent Barisal unit, said the construction of a four-storey building for the hospital, installation of modern equipment and deployment of ninety officials and staff members need huge funds. He expressed hope that the donors would provide the fund and the hospital would resume its services soon. l

DHAKA

Post 2015 dev agenda: Human rights should be main concern n UNB
Ensuring human rights and addressing inequalities worldwide should be the main concern in fixing the post-2015 development agenda, said the development activists at a discussion in the city yesterday. The World Bank sets the poverty threshold of earning US$ 1.25 a day. Even if the things go on business as usual, it would be achieved in any way. So, it cant be the goal to press the governments to accelerate the poverty eradication efforts, said Roberto Bissio, coordinator of Social Watch, a global civil society alliance working in more than 100 countries. Criticising the World Banks definition of poverty at the discussion, he said it is a mere income approach of defining poverty. The panel discussion, titled Post 2015 Development Agenda: Future Global Development Partnership, organised jointly by EquityBD, Social Watch Bangladesh and Unnayan Samunnay at the Dhaka Reporters Unity . Rezaul Karim Chowdhury of EquityBD, Ahmed Swapan of VOICE, Aminur Rasul of Unnayan Dhara Trust, Prodip K Roy of Online Knowledge Society, Dr Sohel Iqbal and Badrul Alam of Bangladesh Krishak Federation (BKF), and Barkat Ullah Maruf of EquityBD, among others, spoke at the discussion. l

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:49AM

25 23 20 20 23 23 19 23

FORECAST FOR TODAY

38 33 40 38 38 36 35 32

37.2C Tangail

YESTERDAYS HIGH AND LOW

Source: Accuweather/UNB

17.7C Sayedpur

People decorate potteries with traditional designs at Bashantapara in Rajshahi yesterday ahead of Pahela Baishakh

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Labourer killed during hill cutting

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong
A labourer was killed and another injured as they accidentally fell off a hill while cutting it in Paharika area under Khulshi police station in the port city early yesterday. Police, however, nabbed a truck driver Fazlu, 30, and his helper Abdul Ailm, 25, from the spot. But other workers fled, sensing the presence of the law enforcers, said Mainul Islam Bhuiyan, officer-in-charge of Khulshi police station. The deceased, Md Yunus, 60, and injured Md Jafarullah, 40, hailed from Lalmohon upazila in Bhola, said the OC. He said Yunus and Jafarullah fell off from the hill to the boundary wall around 12:30am when they, along with their fellow workers, were illegally cutting the hill. They were injured critically as they fell into an iron-made fence on the boundary wall, added the OC. Later, they were rushed to Chittagong Medical College Hospital where the on-duty doctor pronounced Yunus dead. The truck was waiting on the spot to carry the hill earth while police nabbed the driver and the helper, the OC added. A case was lodged with Khulshi police station in this connection. l

PRAYER TIMES
Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha 4:38am 5:53am 12:03am 4:29pm 6:13pm 7:29pm
Source: IslamicFinder.org

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Low-level water in four rivers hits irrigation hard

Locals in Chapainawabganj are also suffering from acute crisis of drinking water
Correspondent, n Our Chapainawabganj
The adverse effects of Farakka barrage, climatic change and decrease in mean annual rainfall have put four rivers in Chapainawabganj in a vulnerable condition. Locals have been suffering immensely because of an acute crisis of irrigation and drinking water facilities. Residents of at least five upazilas of the district do not get water from the tube wells during the summer season. Moreover, farmers are not getting water for irrigation from the rivers in summer as large char areas developed in the rivers because of Indian authorities watersharing policy centring the Farakka barrage in the last three decades. The four rivers in the district Padma, Mahananda, Pagla and Punorbhoba have already lost navigability because of the Farakka barrage. Lack of water in the Mahananda has put at least 15 irrigation projects in around 10,000 hectare cultivable lands under threat. As a result of the adverse effects, the rubber-dam project in the river, assured by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has also become uncertain. Assistant Engineer of the Water Development Board Abdul Hamid said recruitment of advisors for the rubber-dam project was under process. Meanwhile, the underground water level in the district has also gone down. Executive Engineer Bahar Uddin Mridha said Chapainawabganj had been facing around 80-85 feet degradation of underground water level every year, adding that the rate was alarming in the Barind Tract, especially at Gomostapur, Nachol and Chapainawabganj sadar upazilas. Different authorities concerned have taken many initiatives to minimise the suffering of the people of the district. Barind Multipurpose Development Authoritys Executive Engineer Akbar Ali said farmers were being encouraged to cultivate crops like wheat, mustard and pulse instead of Irri-Boro to reduce pressure on underground water level. Moreover, projects digging canals and ponds were also being undertaken, he added. On the other hand, river water species of different local fish are on the verge of eviction because of unnatural degradation of water level in the rivers. Biological equilibrium is also hampered in the district. Sufferers hope that the government will take initiatives to increase the water level of rivers, fish production and irrigation facilities as well. The locals observed that the government should take every possible step to properly realise the river water distribution agreement with neighbouring India. l

Temples set ablaze, 7 idols burnt in Barisal

n Our Correspondent, Barisal
Seven idols belonging to the Hindu community were burnt after unidentified arsonists set fire to the Durga Kali temple at Senerhut in Adhuna village, Gournadi early yesterday. Satindranath Chakrabarty, president of the Senerhut Durga-Kali Mandir management committee, said priests and worshippers left the brick-walled, tin-roofed temple about 10:30pm on Monday after completing the evening service. When they entered the next morning to worship, they found the idols of Durga, Sarswati, Laxmi, Kartik, Ganesh, Ashur and Kali entirely burnt and the tin roof of the temple partially burnt after having petrol poured on it, Mr Chakrabarty added. They immediately informed the police and the representatives of local government about the incident, he told. Abul Kalam, Gournadi police station officer-in-charge, said a case was lodged by the president of the temple committee without any named accused. Police were trying to find the perpetrators. K M Ehsan Ullah, district police superintendent and Masud Hasan Patwari, upazila nirbahi officer, visited the spot, the OC said. Kaliya Daman Guha, upazila president of Hindu-Buddha-Christian Oikya Parishad, Dulal Roy Dulu and Manik Lal Acharya, president and secretary of upazila Hindu-BuddhaChristian Kalyan Parishad respectively, condemned the incident in separate statements. They also demanded immediate arrest of the culprits and sought assurances from authorities regarding the safety and security of the members of the minority community, as well as their houses and religious places. l

Locals in Zianagar suffer as road remains incomplete

n Our Correspondent, Pirojpur
People in Pathashi area under Zianagar upazila of the district are suffering as construction work of the road has been lying undone for long. According to upazila engineering department sources, Murad Enterprize Ltd started the construction work of the 32 feet long and 8 feet wide road from Khejurtala to Bagolerhat in 2013 with Tk73,16,000. Assistant Engineer Muniruzzaman said the work was supposed to be completed on 25 December 2013. Till date, the work is far from complete. Baby Akter, a passerby, said they had to suffer as they are compelled to cross the muddy road. A van driver in the area said: We cannot run businesses for want of a pucca road. Bipul Dhali, student of Pattashi Jonokallyan School and College said: We cannot go to school regularly as there is no pucca road. We have informed the matter to the local UP member, he said. Bashir Uddin Khan, a social worker in the area, said: Students of several institutions in the area have to suffer for sorry state of the road. He blamed Murad Enterprise Ltd for the incident. Muniruzzaman said that he had ordered Murad Enterprise to complete the work. When contacted, Badsha Howlader, proprietor of the enterprise, said due to shortage of money, the construction work could not be completed. l

Eight jailed for life for killing n Tribune Desk

A Sylhet court sentenced eight people to life term imprisonment for killing an auto-rickshaw driver back in 2003. The lifers are Tarek Ahmad, Hanif Ahmad and Saber Ahmad, sons of Rahim Uddin; Nabab Miah alias Akter and his sons Abid Hossain Apu and Akmal Hossain-- all residents of Kushighat Palpur village in Dakkhin Surma upazila-- Rubel Ahmad, son of Rahim Uddin, a resident of Tukerbazar Chargaon in Sadar upazila, and Alaluddin, son of late Ahad Ali, a resident of Hetimganj Uttar Maijbhag village in Golapganj upazila of Sylhet district. The court also fined them Tk500 each, in default, to suffer one month more in jail. According to the prosecution, local people of the village had been cheated by Rahim Uddin as a pir (spiritual leader) while auto-rickshaw driver Mansur Alam, son of late Nurul Haque of the same village, protested his (pirs) misdeeds, reports UNB. As a sequel to the matter, Rahim and his men attacked Mansur and beat him mercilessly at the village on November 11, 2003, leaving him critically injured. He died on way to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital. Later, Mansurs uncle Abdul Haque filed a case with Dakkhin Surma police station in connection with the killing. l

A van puller, with his goods-laden van, crosses the earthen road in Zianagar upazila in Pirojpur yesterday

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Army man rescued from clutches of kidnappers

n Our Correspondent, Khagrachari
An Army sepoy was rescued from Taichalapara area in Bandarban on Monday night, a day after his abduction from Ramgar upazila in Khagrachhari. Police also arrested three Jubo League leaders, the youth front of the ruling Awami League, in this connection. The victim Md Nantu Ali, 30, is posted at NC Academy of Bogra Cantonment as a sepoy. Besides, the arrestees are Md Faruk Hossain, the organisational secretary of Ramgar upazila unit Jubo League, Shamim Mahmud, secretary of municipality unit and Shipon, president of ward 5 Jubo League. The victim told reporters that he had got introduced with Faruk over cell phone three months back. Faruk invited him to visit Ramgar. Nantu has been staying at his native village taking two-month leave. Nantu said, On Sunday morning I reached Ramgar to meet him. Then Faruk and Farid took me to a house near Ramgar Cinema Hall. Later three youthsRubel, Milon and an unnamed person-- joined them. They actually confined me to the house and forced me to call my relatives and ask for money. They also talked with my relatives and threatened to kill me if they did not give me Tk3 lakh, he said. The alleged abductors gave four BKash numbers to his relatives so that they could send the money. Nantu said during confinement, they had tortured him indiscriminately and took him to a place on a CNG-run auto-rickshaw after tying him up and blindfolding him. The law enforcers rescued him from there on Monday night from an orchard. Family members said they had informed the authorities of NC Academy after the abductors demanded money. Later, a team of Rab 7 and police conducted the raid and found the victim tied up in the Taichalapara area. Following Nantus statement, police arrested the trio from different places of the district. Hearing the news of arrest, local Awami League and Jubo League leaders rushed to the police station. President of upazila unit Jubo League Abdul Kader alleged that they were victims of political conspiracy. When contacted, NC Cantonment authority did not want to make any comment over the arrest. l

Road for school students

n Our Correspondent, Bandarban
Students of Bandarban Collector School are pleased that they will no longer have to suffer while commuting in future because the district administration is going to construct a road for them. Previously, around 500 students of Bandarban Collector School used a narrow and risky road that goes beside the residence of the deputy commissioner and through the Shilpakala Academy premises. Construction materials, including rods and bricks, are being kept on the premises of Shilpakala Academy and students have been injured several times while going to school. Bandarban municipality has started constructing the road, which will cost Tk26 lakhs, out of consideration for the students. The 12 feet wide 180 feet long road with a drainage system would be completed soon, municipality sources said. Executive Engineer of Bandarban Municipality Mong Sui Khoy Marma said the constriction work would be finished shortly. Locals said the road would not just help the students but everyone else as well. l

ELEPHANT IN POLICE CUSTODY

Jubo League leader chopped in Jhenaidah

Correspondent, n Our Jhenaidah
A Jubo League leader has been chopped in Jhenaidah town yesterday morning. The Injured was identified as Kazi Enamul Haque Milon, Jubo League secretary for spots and youth affairs. Jhenaidah police station Officer-in-Charge Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury said: A gang of miscreants numbering five to six entered Milons business centre on the Hossain Shahid Sahrawardi and chopped him around 8:30am. Later, the locals sent Milon to Jhenaidah General Hospital. He said miscreants attacked Milon over previous enmity. District Awami League Secretary Advocate Azizur Rahman said: Previous enmity was the main reason behind the attack. Condemning the attack, Azizur demanded punishment of the attackers. l

Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh

Local Government Engineering Department Ofce of the Upazila Engineer Upazila: Rajbari Sadar, District: Rajbari.

Memo No. LGED/UE/Raj/Sadar/2013-14/207

Date: 30.03.2014

CORRIGENDUM
This is to notify that due to unavoidable circumstances some corrections have been necessary & made for the following Tender Notice No 06/2013-14 vide memo number stated as bellow:
Tender Notice Number, memo number & Date Tender Notice No. 06/2013-2014, Memo No. LGED/UE/Raj/ Sadar/2013-2014/142 Date: 02.03.2014 Instead of to be read

Protest against robbers bail

n Sunamganj Correspondent
Police detained an elephant in Hasanganj area under Sadullapur upazila in Gaibandha while it was allegedly being stolen by two people yesterday. Later, it has been kept in police custody when law enforcers came to know that the duo were taking away the animal as its owners did not provide them money which he was supposed to give according to a deal signed between the two parties DHAKA TRIBUNE
Several hundred locals yesterday blocked the Sylhet-Sunamganj highway in Jauabazar area of Chhatak upazila here in protest of some notorious robbers receiving bail. Chatak police station OC Shahjalal Munshi said a few local notorious robbers secured bail some days ago and then some incidents of robbery also occurred there. Infuriated by the happenings, about 250-300 residents blockaded the highway around 2pm demanding cancellation of the bail and re-arrest of the robbers. l

Last date of selling: 30/03/2014 Tender closing date: 31/03/2014 Tender opening Date: 31/03/2014 Estimated Amount Tk. 97,20,473.00 Tender Security Tk. 2,91,700.00

Last date, of selling: 08/04/2014 Tender closing Date: 09/04/2014 Tender opening Date: 09/04/2014 Estimated Amount Tk. 97,44,263.00 Tender Security Tk. 2,50,000.00

All other terms & conditions in this Tender Notice will remain Unchanged. (Md. Jalal Uddin Sheikh) Upazila Engineer Rajbari Sadar, Rajbari, Tel No. 0641-65570 Date: 30.03.2014

Momo No. LGED/UE/Raj/Sadar/2013-14/207/ 1 (50) GC-37/14 (53)

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

At the brim of harvest

Managing the risk of flash floods before they can cause irredeemable loss

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

n Farid Hasan Ahmed

aor areas of the northeastern part of Bangladesh face flash floods caused by sudden and early downstream water from the surrounding upstreams during the period from late March to May. A haor is a very low lying river basin area that is covered by water for almost half the year starting from monsoon. It is a variety of wetland habitats including rivers, streams, and canals large areas of seasonally inundated cultivable land. Flash floods take place more frequently and less predictably. These floods cause quick damage to crops and property, and are followed by relatively rapid recession. Haors are important sources of agricultural production for a large number of vulnerable people living in that locality. During winter, cultivated lands of the area produce paddy with minimum effort; during monsoon the same morphs into a breeding ground for

under water during monsoon while the harvest is protected. Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has the key responsibility for present flood protection structures in haor areas. Over the last few decades, nearly 4,500km of low-lying embankments along the small rivers, haors, and canals have been made and repaired. Cases of successful and unsuccessful embankments are being observed across the country. Earthen embankments face problems like erosion and breaching every year. Low-height submersible embankments obstruct the flash flood water for several days, so that farmers get time for harvesting and yielding before the land is completely inundated. The country had experienced amplified occurrences of flash floods in the recent years of 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2010 in the Haor areas these occurrances damaged the main crops of the region. Peoples observation and experiences divulge that boro is damaged due to flash flood in the haor region once every three years. According to the people of the haor areas, flash floods might severely affect those areas in the coming months of 2014.

dilemma might cause damages to crops, and the people will suffer due to early flash floods. Appropriate allocation, rapid flow of funds, effective monitoring, and supervision of urgent protection activities should be ensured by authorities responsible at different levels. Role of local governments and communities at the different stages of the work and during flash flood situations needs to be emphasised upon, supported and ensured by authorities.

According to the people of the haor areas, flash floods might severely affect those areas in the coming months of 2014

Long-term Steps
It is felt that submersible embankments are economically smart interventions that help the people of the haor. However, limitations such as outfitted difficulties of physical workings, weak management setup for operations, maintenance and protection, environmental consequences, and lack of engagement of people of the interventions need to be addressed effectively involving all key actors. Impact minimising strategies such as the use of cropping patterns, which minimise revelation to loss, and the setting up of non-agricultural income-generating activities, need to be promoted. Crop type and pattern should be selected according to the susceptibility to flooding. If possible, efforts should be given by concerned agencies to find new variety of species that have flash flood resistance. Crops insurance schemes could be encouraged and piloted by relevant organisations with proper governance set up as a long-term risk-reducing initiative. Any livelihood initiative in the haor areas has to take flood aspects into

consideration so that the initiative does not give in, but yield some amount of benefit to the target people. Involvement of the community, and enlisting their inputs in any kinds of programme design and relevant issues affecting their lives and livelihood will make the intervention process easier and impact-bearing. Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in existing development works and future initiatives of different government departments and NGOs working in the area is a must. Concerned authorities should develop a disaster database, which is very important to carry out detailed study and planning. GOs and NGOs need to redesign their development programmes with the active participation of the most vulnerable communities to ensure that they maximise flood mitigation potential, and incorporate traditional community coping practices which are fit technically, environmentally, socially, and economically. The respective authorities at different levels should strengthen capacity building initiatives of local government. A well-organised and coordinated effort is needed to further strengthen local level planning, decision making, allocation of resource to local governments, and implementing processes for flash flood proofing programmes in the vulnerable locations. Authorities and policy makers should ensure adequate resource disbursement from central government and other top-level stakeholders, and oversee the effective utilisation of these resources at the lower level. Suitable steps, particularly structural measures in haor areas, could be taken considering existing study

Actions to be undertaken

Flood, especially at the brim of harvest, makes the farmers frustrated; they face irredeemable losses right before the harvest is supposed to yield

The Ministry of Water Resource, Bangladesh Water Development Board BWDB and wings should consider the following short-term and long-term steps to support the boro farmers of the haor areas:

recommendations on flood and flash flood management with proper cross validation. Facilitating new study and action research for more durable solution in protecting boro crops, properties, and assets of haor areas might be a worthy step. To increase the water holding capacity of the drainage systems and to increase the water flow capacity, far-reaching river dredging programmes to remove the sediments from the river-beds deposited during flood should to be taken. The abandoned channels also need to be re-excavated to reduce water-logging. The dredge sediment could be used to raise the level of land and infrastructures with proper planning that considered input from the brave people of haor areas. In forecasting monsoon river floods Bangladesh is in good form, but in forecasting flash floods a lot of gaps and limitations are observed. At this point, improvement of present forecasting system is very much necessary. Joint steps with neighboring countries could be explored by political and technical authorities in this regard. Strong coordination and cooperation, along with efficient management practices among relevant ministries, departments, and actors from top to bottom across the year is required for managing flash flood risk and ensuring good harvest of boro in the haor areas. The success of actions taken by responsible authorities to reduce upcoming flash flood risk would be treated as a smart step forward to ensure food security and poverty reduction of a large number of people in haor areas. Farid Hasan Ahmed works in the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC, Switzerland Embassy, Dhaka.

Short-term steps
Prompt and coordinated actions are needed by respective authorities and duty bearers to make new protective earthen embankments in vulnerable spots of the haor regions in conjunction with community and local governments as soon as possible, and complete ongoing repairs. Any sorts of irregularity or

open water fishery, and hosts a wide range of freshwater biodiversity. Haors are important areas for Boro rice cultivation (a rice variety cultivated from December to May) as well. Boro is a mainstay for the local economy a largely mono-cropping agricultural system. Early flash floods often wash away standing crops, and people lose their harvest. Flood, especially at the brim of harvest, makes the farmers frustrated; they face irredeemable losses right before the harvest is supposed to yield.

Flood affected areas of selected years

% of area flooded 80 60 40 20 0 Year 1954 1955 1970 1971 1987 1988 1998 2000 2004 2007 % of area affected

Conventional protection practices

According to conventional practice, low-height earthen embankments along the periphery of the haor, with structuring and drainage channels at intersections, have been built to protect the boro from flash floods. The embankments inundate and remain

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World
n Reuters, Brussels

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Ten ways the Ukraine crisis may change the world

As Moscow and the West dig in for a prolonged stand-off over Russias annexation of Crimea, risking spillover to other former Soviet republics and beyond, here are 10 ways in which the Ukraine crisis could change attitudes and policy around the world. u u Russiadiminished: Russias role in international affairs is diminished, at least temporarily. Moscow has been de facto excluded from the Group of Eight industrialized powers. Its bids to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Energy Agency are frozen. Western summits with Moscow are canceled until further notice. u u NATO revived: Just when it looked to be losing relevance as its mission inAfghanistan limps to a close, the U.S.-led military alliance is back in business. An increase in allied air patrols and wargamesshowing the flag in Poland and the Baltic states is on the agenda, and Warsaw wants faster deployment of U.S. missile defense systems in central Europe. u u Energy diversification: The energy map of Europe is being redrawn with accelerated action to reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas. EU states are set to build more liquefied natural gas terminals, upgrade pipeline networks and grids and expand a southern gas supplies through Georgia and Turkey to southern and central Europe. u u China factor: The diplomatic alliance between Russia and China, which often vote together in the U.N. Security Council, could change in one of two directions either rapprochement through a stronger energy partnership, with new pipelines being built to pump Russian oil and gas spurned by Europe to Beijing; or a cooling if China sees less benefit in closer ties with an economically weakened and relatively isolated Moscow. u u U.S. leadership: Washingtons global leadership role, weakened by the rise of emerging powers and by retrenchment under President Barack Obama, has been partially restored. Despite his disengagement from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and strategic pivot towards Asia, events have pushed Obama back into the old-fashioned role of Leader of the Free World in an East-West crisis in Europe. German leadership: The Ukraine affair has cemented Berlins leadership role in Europe. Germany is already the dominant economic power, calling the shots in the euro zone crisis, and Chancellor Angela Merkel has become Europes main interlocutor with Putin. EU united: The European Union has been reunited, at least for now, by the return of a common external threat. This may have helped EU leaders overcome some long-running disputes. Contest for Central Asia: both Putin and the West are wooing central Asian autocrats in energy-rich Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, drawing a discreet veil over their human rights records. If Russia weakens economically, they will want at least a foot in the Western camp. U.S.-Russian cooperation: some cooperation on global security issues will continue because Moscow has an interest in keeping it on track to avoid greater isolation. But tensions are possible over Syria, Iran, Afghanistan or North Korea, and Moscow has levers it could activate such as contracts to supply S300 air defense missiles to Damascus or Tehran. Putins future: Russias leader is near the peak of his popularity, riding a wave of nationalist pride over Crimea. However, instability may grow if he comes under pressure from magnates angry at losing value on their businesses, forfeiting foreign investment in Russia and facing travel restrictions and asset freezes in the West. l

Report: CIAmisled US on torture of prisoners n AFP, Washington

TheCIAmisled the US government and the public about parts of its interrogation program for years, the Washington Post said yesterday, quoting a report by the Senate Intelligence Committee. Specifically, the US agency hid details about the severity of its methods, overstated the significance of plots and prisoners and took credit for critical pieces of intelligence that detainees had in fact provided before they were subjected to harsh techniques, the Post said, quoting officials who have seen the 6,300-page report. It was constructed with detailed chronologies of dozens ofCIAdetainees. The paper said the report describes a long-standing pattern of unsubstantiated claims theCIAsought permission to use - and later tried to defend - excruciating interrogation methods that yielded little to no significant intelligence, according to US officials who have reviewed the document. The CIA described (its program) repeatedly both to the Department of Justice and eventually to Congress as getting unique, otherwise unobtainable intelligence that helped disrupt terrorist plots and save thousands of lives, said one US official briefed on the report. Was that actually true? The answer is no. Current and former US officials describing the report spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue and because the document remains classified. The report includes what officials described as damning new disclosures about a sprawling network of secret detention facilities, or black sites, that was dismantled by President Barack Obama in 2009. The report describes previously undisclosed cases of abuse including the alleged repeated dunking of a terror suspect in tanks of iced water in Afghanistan. This method bore similarities to waterboarding but never showed up on any list of techniques approved by the Justice Department, the Post said. l

u u

u u

A picture taken on April 1, 2014, shows a view of Chersonesos, an ancient Greek city and UNESCO heritage site, in the Crimean city of Sevastopol. Russia yesterday announced it was ending a gas discount enjoyed by Kiev in a major blow for the Ukrainian economy AFP

Russia ends Ukraine gas discount ahead of NATO meeting

n AFP, Moscow
Russian gas giant Gazprom yesterday announced it was ending a gas discount enjoyed by Kiev in a major blow for the Ukrainian economy, as NATO foreign ministers prepared to forge a response to Russias intervention in Crimea. Ukraine on Monday reported a partial withdrawal of Russian troops from its eastern border amid growing signs that the Kremlin is ready to defuse the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War. But tensions still remained high and Russia appeared to resort to the familiar tactic of using Gazprom to put pressure on the troubled Ukrainian economy. The crisis is at a critical juncture as Ukrainian politicians jockey for position ahead of May 25 presidential elections and tentative diplomacy gets under way between Moscow and the West to find common ground after the fall of president Viktor Yanukovych. Ukraine will now pay $385.5 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres of gas from the previous cut rate of $268.5, Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller said. The discount will no longer apply, he said in a statement. This is due to the inability of the Ukrainian side to pay for debts from 2013 and realise full payments for current deliveries. The discount had been agreed between Yanukovych and President Vladimir Putin in December 2013 as a form of financial aid to the former regime. The price hike -- although widely expected -- is a new blow to the Ukrainian economy which needs an international rescue to stave off the risk of default.

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Pullback a small sign

Ukraine and the United States have accused Russia of massing thousands of troops near the border and have expressed concern that Moscow intends to seize southeastern parts of Ukraine with large populations of ethnic Russians following the Crimea takeover.

But German Chancellor Angela Merkels office said Putin had personally informed her of the troop pullback in a telephone conversation on Monday, while her Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the move a small sign that the situation is becoming less tense. The apparent easing of Moscows position was offset by an unannounced visit to Crimea by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev -- the most senior Russian official to visit the Black Sea peninsula since it voted on March 16 to come under Kremlin rule. Ukraine denounced Medvedevs visit as a grave violation of international law. It said the start of the Russian drawdown appeared to coincide with a phone call that Putin had unexpectedly placed to US President Barack Obama on Friday evening. Russias defence ministry confirmed on Monday it had relocated one battalion that had been stationed near Ukraine back to its permanent base. l

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Jailed Israeli spy could be key to peace talks

n AFP, Jerusalem
Jonathan Pollard, the US-born Israeli who is serving life for spying on America, has been raised as a possible key to breaking a logjam in the crisis-hit peace talks. A source close to the talks said yesterday that there was a proposal which could see Pollard freed before the Jewish holiday of Passover, which begins mid-April. The emerging deal... contains the following elements: the release of Jonathan Pollard before the Passover holiday and the extension of the negotiations with the Palestinians into 2015, the source told AFP. US officials have not confirmed the reports. Pollard was arrested in Washington in 1985 and condemned to life imprisonment for spying on the UnitedStatesfor Israel. He was last month taken to hospital after he reportedly collapsed in his North Carolina prison cell. His wife, Esther, told the English-language Jerusalem Post he had undergone surgery for multiple serious complications in his digestive system. In exchange for Pollards release, Israel would honour its commitment to release 26 Arab prisoners -- including some who are Israeli citizens -- whose continued imprisonment is holding up talks. In addition, a further 400 prisoners who had not shed Israeli blood and who were within months of completing their sentences would be set free. The proposal came up on Monday as US Secretary of State John Kerry made an unscheduled stop in Israel where he met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu twice in 12 hours and also held talks with Palestinian negotiators. He was, according to a Palestinian source, to return on Wednesday for talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in a bid to resolve the prisoner standoff. Successive Israeli governments have lobbied unsuccessfully for Pollards release and in 1998 it was reported that he was to be freed in a prisoner swap with the Palestinians. l

NGO: More than 150,000 killed in Syria conflict n AFP, Beirut

More than 150,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011, a monitoring group said in a new toll released on Tuesday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had documented the deaths of 150,344 people, 51,212 of them civilians, including nearly 7,985 children. The group said 37,781 members of the armed opposition had been killed in the fighting, including jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front. A total of 58,480 regime forces, including more than 35,000 soldiers had also been killed. Among those killed fighting on the government side were 364 members of Lebanons Shiite Hezbollah movement, the Observatory added. Another 2,871 people were recorded as having died but their identities remained unknown, the group said. The conflict in Syria began in March 2011 with peaceful anti-government demonstrations, inspired by similar movements elsewhere in the region. l

A photo shows a protester holding a sign during a women demonstration against the Bashar al-Assad regime crackdown on prodemocracy protests, outside the Syrian embassy in central London. According to a monitoring group, more than 150,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 AFP

April McFool! British papers poke fun at Scottish vote

n AFP, London
An independent Scotland would drive on the right, replace the queens head on coins and bring in UN peacekeepers with purple berets -- if Britains newspapers were to believe on April Fools Day. The Scottish independence referendum on September 18 provided the subject matter for most of the traditional spoofs in Britains largely London-based tabloids and broadsheets on April 1. The Guardian carried a detailed report on supposedly secret plans by the Scottish government to show it is part of Europe by switching driving on the left of the road to the right and changing the M for motorway on signs to S for Scotland. In a video using Lego cars, it showed how huge spiral interchanges would be built to help motorists from south of the border in Britain change direction and avoid accidents. The Times said that an elderly German aristocrat, Ferdinand, Duke of Saxony, hoped to use Scottish independence as a chance to reclaim the throne of Scotland from Queen Elizabeth II. The giveaway was in the academic quoted in the piece -- Amadan Giblean, a Gaelic translation of April Fool, according to the BBC. The thrones of Scotland and England have been united since king James I in 1601, while Scotland and England have been in political union for more than 300 years. In another royal shocker, the Telegraph reported that the head of Scotlands pro-independence First Minister Alex Salmond would replace that of the queen on Scottish pound coins -- from April 1, 2015, according to journalist Flora Poli (April Fool). The Daily Mail said it had a photo of a government aide accidentally revealing plans for a new Union Jack flag without any of the blue from the Scottish flag of St Andrew. The Independent meanwhile said the United Nations was drawing up plans for a peacekeeping mission to prevent cross-border tensions in case of independence, including pre-arranged face-offs modelled on the Hollywood film Braveheart. l

Britain orders probe into Muslim Brotherhood n AFP, London

British Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered an investigation into the Muslim Brotherhood over concerns that the group is planning radical activities from a base in London, his Downing Street office said yesterday. The intelligence agencies MI5 and MI6 have been tasked to gather information on the philosophy and activities of the group after several leaders fled to London following the toppling of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi last year. The probe would include an assessment of claims that the Islamist group was behind a suicide bus bombing that killed three South Korean tourists in Egypts south Sinai in February and several other attacks, The Times newspaper reported. The probe could reportedly lead to a ban on the Muslim Brotherhood in Britain, which is already outlawed in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The Muslim Brotherhood did not immediately respond to a request for comment by AFP. l

n AFP, Ankara

Turkey opposition claims poll rigging

Thief Tayyip! the protesters chanted, while others yelled, Ankara, dont sleep. Stand up for your vote! Turkeys two biggest cities were the top prizes in Sundays elections, in which Erdogans Justice and Development Party (AKP) declared sweeping wins despite graft claims and earlier mass street protests. The municipal polls were seen as a referendum on the 11-year-rule of Erdogan, who is popular for driving strong economic growth but has been accused of an increasingly authoritarian ruling style. The race was symbolic in Ankara, the inland capital built by the secular founding father of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who established the Republican Peoples Party (CHP), now the main opposition party. In the tight Ankara race, Melih Gokcek, the AKP mayor for 20 years, scored 44.79 percent against 43.77 percent for CHP candidate Mansur Yavas, according to the provisional results. That amounts to a margin of 32,000 votes in the city of about five million people. l

Turkeys secular opposition yesterday rejected the results of Ankara and Istanbul mayoral elections claimed as victories by the Islamic-rooted party of Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, citing irregularities. More than 1,000 people demonstrated outside the elections authority in the capital Ankara, where the incumbent mayor of Erdogans ruling party has declared victory with a wafer-thin margin of about one percent.

UN to help evacuate Muslims in C Africa

n AFP, Geneva
The UNs refugee agency said yesterday it was prepared to help evacuate some 19,000 Muslims at risk of attack from mainly Christian militias in the conflict-torn Central African Republic. What we dont want is to stand by and watch people being slaughtered, UNHCR spokeswoman Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba told reporters in Geneva. She pointed out that so-called anti-balaka militias controlled major routes to and from Bangui as well as a number of towns and villages in the southwestern part of the country. They posed a particular threat to Muslims in the PK12 neighbourhood of the capital, in Boda, Carnot and Berberati to the west and Bossangoa further north, she said, lamenting that we fear for the lives of 19,000 Muslims in those locations. The chronically unstable Central African Republic sank into chaos after the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels who had helped topple president Francois Bozize a year ago refused to lay down their arms and went rogue. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Malaysia changes last words from missing plane

n Reuters, Kuala Lumpur/Perth
The last words from the cockpit of a missing Malaysian jet were a standard Good night Malaysian three seven zero, Malaysian authorities said, changing their account of the critical last communication from a more casual All right, good night. The correction more than three weeks after Flight MH370 vanished with 239 people on board was made as Malaysian authorities face heavy criticism, particularly fromChina, for mismanaging the search and holding back information. Painstaking analysis of radar data and limited satellite information has focused the search on a vast, inhospitable swath of the southern Indian Ocean west of the Australian city of Perth, but has so far failed to spot any sign of the jetliner. Search coordinators warned the hunt could drag on for some time yet. In this case, the last known position was a long, long way from where the aircraft appears to have gone, retired Air Chief MarshalAngus Houston, the head of the Australian agency coordinating the operation, told reporters inPerth. TheBoeing 777disappeared from civilian radar in the early hours of March 8 as it flew fromKuala LumpurtoBeijing. Minutes later its communications were cut off and it turned back across Malaysia and headed towards the Indian Ocean. Malaysia says the plane was likely diverted deliberately, probably by a skilled aviator, leading to speculation of involvement by one or more of the pilots. l

Aid groups see dire crisis for Rohingya in Myanmar

n AFP, Yangon
International relief organizations forced to flee western Myanmar after being targeted by Buddhist mobs say it will be almost impossible to return without strong diplomatic pressure on the government to depoliticize the distribution of aid: Until then, they say, the lives of more than 140,000 Rohingya Muslims in overcrowded, dirty camps will be at even greater risk. In the next two weeks food stocks will run out and at least 20,000 people will be without clean water, according to humanitarian aid workers who gathered with colleagues in the countrys main city of Yangon on Monday to discuss the spiraling crisis. The heath situation is even direr, they said, with almost no life-saving services such as emergency hospital referrals. Its not that we dont want to go back, we cant, said one of the aid workers, who like others at the small, informal meeting asked not to be identified because he was worried about the safety of the local staff who stayed in Rakhine state. Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist nation of 60 million people, only recently emerged from a half-century of brutal military rule. Nascent democratic reforms under a nominally civilian government have generated optimism and brought billions of dollars from international donors - but a violent strain of religious extremism is threatening the progress. In the past two years, Buddhist mobs torched and pillaged Muslim neighborhoods, killing up to 280 people and forcing another 140,000 from their homes, most of them Rohingya on the outskirts of Rakhines state capital, Sittwe. The delivery of food, water and medical care to camps since then has been highly politicized. Buddhist extremists see humanitarian aid groups, and those who assist them, as a lifeline for the long-persecuted religious minority. They have threatened staff, including posting names and addresses on social networking sites, and staged frequent protests. As pressure on aid groups mounted, the government in February expelled Doctors Without Borders from Rakhine, where it was by far the biggest health care provider, in part because it hired Rohingya. Then last week, hundreds of Buddhists spent two days attacking the offices and residences of U.N. agencies, OXFAM, Save the Children, Solidarities International and others in Sittwe, forcing aid groups to evacuate almost 700 staff statewide. It was the biggest disruption of aid in two years. The Ministry of Health has deployed 17 of its own doctors and health assistants to try to fill the gap, said Dr. Liviu Vedrasco, a technical officer for the World Health Organization in Myanmar, but with such tiny numbers there is only so much they can do. Theyve started conducting their own mobile clinics, he said, but had to cancel plans Sunday and Monday to visit Muslim camps because they did not feel safe. Humanitarian agencies, Vedrasco said, have to find a way back in. Even if the government works to depoliticize the situation, it will take time to change feelings and attitudes at the community level, he said. There needs to be some interim solution. Johannes Kaltenbach, country director of the German medical program Malteser International, who was not among those present at Mondays meeting, acknowledged that even if the government ensures protection of aid workers and their premises in the future, it will be difficult to get back to work. Its hard to find staff, he said. House owners will be reluctant to rent office space, especially after their property was destroyed. The cars we rent, the people that work for us, all of them are afraid, they feel threatened. The United Nations, meanwhile, sent a high-level delegation to Sittwe on Tuesday to meet with senior officials from the central and state government to work on a short-term solution, including delivering water to Pauk Taw camp, reachable only by boat, and the remaining rations from the World Food Program warehouse. l

No first lady forIndiaas bachelors battle for PM job

n AFP, New Delhi
In marriage-obsessed India where people are expected to wed young and produce progeny soon after, two single men are battling it out on the election trail for the prime ministers job. On one side is fiery frontrunner Narendra Modi, 63, a white-bearded Hindu nationalist who likes to be seen as a modern-day monk with a mission, according to biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay. On the other is Rahul Gandhi, 43, the scion of the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty who tops eligible bachelor lists and is known as the reluctant prince for his diffidence about assuming his family inheritance as leader of the ruling Congress party. Modi, the hawkish conservative candidate for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, tipped to oust the scandal-tainted Congress in the polls starting April 7, reportedly walked away from a marriage arranged when he was a child. He has never commented on the relationship, but the woman, 62-year-old retired school teacher Jashodaben, said recently that she didnt feel bad that she has never been acknowledged. I know he is doing so due to destiny, she told the Indian Express in February. Reports say the marriage was never consummated and Modi went on to rise through the ranks of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) Hindu group which frowns on marriage for its senior cadres. Modi, a strict vegetarian who says he actually enjoys loneliness, has made a virtue of his de facto single status, saying it will help him clean upIndias rampant corruption. Ive no familial ties. Who would I ever try to benefit through corruption? he told a rally, claiming only those free of filial ties can end what opponents charge are years of corrupt rule by the Congress party. And he wouldnt be the first single man as Indian PM. Atal Behari Vajpayee, another BJP leader who served as premier from 1998 to 2004, said he never wed because he did not get time. Both Modi and Gandhi keep their private lives strictly under wraps -- so much so that according to a Google trends report, some of the most frequently searched questions are Who is Modis wife? and Who is Gandhis girlfriend? Gandhi last year declared he did not want to wed, saying he feared he would become status-quoist and want my children to take my place and perpetuate his familys dominant political role. But in words that revived hopes of ambitious mothers across India last month, he said he would wed when I find the right girl. In the past, he has been linked to several foreign girlfriends. But being single is no disadvantage in Indian politics, according to Subhash Agrawal who runs the think-tankIndiaFocus. In the Hindu tradition, being an ascetic and renunciation (of worldly things) has always been respected, Agarwal told AFP. Also from a voter viewpoint, not having a family means the politicians no family to enrich. l

Changes at US embassy in Delhi offer chance to rebuild ties

n AFP, New Delhi
The sudden resignation of the US ambassador to India less than two years into her troubled term opens an opportunity for both sides to reboot strained ties ahead of an expected change in government, analysts say. Nancy Powell, US ambassador since 2012, had a torrid time at the helm of one of Washingtons most important diplomatic missions as it became embroiled in one of the most serious downturns in relations in decades. New Delhi was incensed in late December when an Indian diplomat in New York was arrested, strip-searched and then pursued in court over allegations she violated visa rules by underpaying a domestic servant. Powell, who has spent 37 years in the US foreign service, had to manage the firestorm, contending with furious Indian officials and even facing personal difficulties over threats to withdraw her travel privileges. A host of retaliatory measures taken by India over the arrest included the withdrawal of additional security measures at the US embassy and threats to close an embassy-run social club. The Indian government took a hard stand after the arrest of (Deputy Consul General Devyani) Khobragade, said Neelam Deo, director of Gateway House, a foreign policy think tank in Mumbai.While managing this, Powell was also central to a sharp some say belated change in US policy over opposition leader Narendra Modi who is tipped to emerge as prime minister after upcoming national elections. The US decided to end a decade-long boycott of Modi, who was chief minister of western Gujarat state in 2002 when bloody anti-Muslim riots broke out. l

This file handout photo taken on January 5, 2014 shows crew members walking amongst blood, allegedly from four minke whales, after they were cut up on the deck of the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru inside a Southern Ocean sanctuary, according to anti-whaling activists Sea Shepherd. The United Nations Hague-based International Court of Justice on March 31, 2014 ruled that Japans whaling programme was a commercial activity disguised as science and said it must revoke existing whaling licences AFP

FearsJapanmay sidestep whaling ban

n AFP, Sydney
Australia and New Zealand yesterday hailed a landmark court decision that Japan must halt an annual Antarctic whale hunt despite fears it may try to sidestep the order. The United Nations Hague-based International Court of Justice on Monday ruled that Japans whaling programme was a commercial activity disguised as science and said it must revoke existing whaling licences. Tokyo said it would honour the ruling but did not exclude the possibility of future whaling programmes, with New Zealand expressing concerns Japanmay try to circumvent the order. The ICJ decision sinks a giant harpoon into the legality ofJapans whaling programme, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said. It still does leave Japan with a decision to make after theyve digested this which is to look at whether they try to devise a new programme that is scientifically based that they could embark upon whaling in the Southern Ocean again. Our task is to make sure that we carry out a diplomatic conversation that dissuades them from embarking on that course. Australia, backed by New Zealand, hauledJapanbefore the ICJ in 2010 in a bid to end the annual Southern Ocean hunt with Tokyo accused of exploiting a legal loophole in the 1986 ban on commercial whaling that allowed the practice to collect scientific data. While Australian Attorney General George Brandis was subdued in his response to the decision, with Tony Abbott due to make his first trip ToJapanas prime minister in a week, former environment minister Peter Garrett said he felt vindicated. Im absolutely over the moon, for all those people who wanted to see the charade of scientific whaling cease once and for all, said Garrett, who helped launch the legal action -- the first time any country had used an international court to try to stop whaling. I think (this) means without any shadow of a doubt that we wont see the taking of whales in the Southern Ocean in the name of science. Japan had argued that its JARPA II research programme was aimed at studying the viability of whale hunting, but the ICJ found that it had failed to examine ways of doing the research without killing whales, or at least while killing fewer whales. The decision came less than a week before Abbott heads to Tokyo in a bid to finalise a free trade agreement with Australias second-largest trading partner. l

Japanlifts own blanket arms export ban n AFP

Japan yesterday lifted a self-imposed ban on weapons exports, introducing new rules covering the arms trade in a move supporters say will boost Tokyos global role, but which unnerved China. The cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved a new plan that replaces the 1967 blanket ban, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. Under the policy, arms sales are banned to conflict-plagued countries or nations that could undermine international peace and security, the sales must contribute to international peace and boost officially pacifist Japans security. Under the new principles, we have made the procedure for transfer of defence equipment more transparent. That will contribute to peace and international cooperation from the standpoint of proactive pacifism, Suga said. And we will participate in joint development and production of defence equipment, he said. Japans post-World War II constitution, imposed by the US-led occupiers, banned the country from waging war. That pacifism was embraced by the population at large and two decades later a weapons export ban was introduced. l

Nepal accused of succumbing to China pressure on Tibetans

n AFP, Kathmandu
Tibetans in Nepal face heightened risks of being detained, beaten and even forcibly returned to China, as Kathmandu bows to growing diplomatic pressure from Beijing, Human Rights Watch said yesterday. The allegations, detailed in a new report based on the testimony of Tibetan refugees, monks, activists and senior Nepalese officials, highlight the intensified restrictions slapped on Tibetans in the Himalayan nation since 2008. Nepal, home to around 20,000 Tibetans, is under huge pressure from its giant neighbour China over the exiles, and has repeatedly said it will not tolerate what it calls anti-China activities. Nepal is succumbing to Chinese pressure to limit the flow of Tibetans across the border and imposing restrictions on Tibetans in violation of its legal obligations, said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Tibetans face a de facto ban on protests, increased surveillance and even reported attempts to force escapees back to China, the report said. In one instance, a former home ministry official told the rights group that local border police sent back Tibetans found in the border regions if they believed they were not legitimate refugees. l

China slams Manilas arbitration attempt

n AFP, BEIJING
China yesterday accused the Philippines of violating morality and international law by seeking United Nations arbitration in the South China Sea territorial dispute between the two countries. Manila at the weekend asked a UN tribunal to rule on Beijings claims over most of the strategically significant South China Sea, submitting nearly 4,000 pages of evidence to back its case. It argues that the Chinese stance is illegal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and interferes with the Philippines sovereign rights to its continental shelf. Both countries are signatories to UNCLOS, but Beijing argues that its provisions do not apply to the row. In a commentary the Peoples Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party, denounced Manilas move. The act of the Philippine side is against the international law and the historical truth as well as against morality and basic rules of international relations, it said. Manila had provoked China by going to so-called international arbitration, a move that is both illegal and unreasonable and an act lacking credibility, it said. The commentary was reported in English by the official news agency Xinhua, often an indication that authorities want it to reach a wider audience. China which is vastly more powerful than any of the several countries it has disputes with in the strategically significant waters prefers to negotiate with them individually, rather than in international forums. The Philippines attempted to solicit international sympathy through disguising itself as a small and weak country, the commentary said, adding Manila was attempting to legalise its invasion of Chinese islands through the arbitration. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial
LETTER OF THE DAY

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Letters to

the Editor

AL chooses unwisely

Stars, planets, and black holes

March 27 Politics, it has been argued, has always been a form of performance. No matter what the ideology is, the dramatic element is essential for its dissemination and consumption. And when the ideologues are getting thinner to the extent of being non-existent, and its consumption as a cheap form of public amusement is becoming ever so salient, the theatricality has to but be all that is. The situation is not so different in Bangladesh. Politics has lost its soul and degenerated into a form of entertainment. Sheikh Hasina is in power (with about 10% of the electoral support) mainly because she is a better performer on the political stage than her political rival Khaleda Zia. Khalifa Malik

s the last round of upazila polls comes to a close, two more people have died in election-related violence and there are well-substantiated accusations of widespread rigging involving all parties. The government has not helped its reputation by taking a permissive attitude towards a win at any cost policy a policy that has been carried out by some in its grassroots with increasing vigour as the five phases of the local polls have progressed. This has all led to a large loss of faith in the credibility of the EC. The AL has built a strategy on the governments ability to hold free and fair elections in the absence of a caretaker administration. If the ALs stance that elections should and can be fairly held under elected governments is to stand up to scrutiny, then the steady deterioration of the conduct of these upazila polls has not done them any favours. The AL will now have a much harder time defending the claim that a political party in power can be a fair complement to the EC in the next national, or truly any kind of, polls. Seats lost today could be won again, but the blemished record of irregularities cannot be erased. An all-party government could still be a workable concept for the next national polls, but the AL will now have to bargain for its shape and details from a weaker moral position, and by accepting a real balance of power among the players.

Khaleda: Zia was 1st president of Bangladesh

March 27 Vikram Khan Pathetic. What Khaleda and her son do not understand is the principle of democracy; ministers and presidents are elected by the people, only despots declare themselves emperors. One Passionate, and honest, as always. Timely recap of some essential truths by the BNP chairperson. Much appreciated! Kudos to the chairperson.

A meaningful independence
March 26 Mohammad Munshi We cannot have meaningful independence as long as we are under the tutelage, control, and domination of any other nation. We seem to have, over the last 10 years, gradually given away our independence and sovereignty to India, so what do we have to be so proud about? nds Mohammad Munshi: How does India debar our government from establishing the rule of law, making the judiciary effective, improving the behaviour pattern of our bureaucrats, improving our utility service delivery system, etc? The picture of tremendous development in various fields that has been portrayed by the author has very little to do with the liberation of the country or with the spirit of liberation. Under British colonial rule, spectacular development took place in this subcontinent. Railways, telephones, telegraphs, roads and highways, modern and scientific education, womens education, governance, local governments, medical facilities. The development in these fields was unprecedented by the standards that prevailed before the British came to rule this subcontinent. But none will say that was enough to satisfy the dream and expectation of our people. The first thing that people, and I mean the common people, not a few VIPs, of a free nation desire is to have their self-respect and dignity, and rule of law. Does it exist at all in this country? To test this, I suggest the author keeps his journalist identity undisclosed when going to his local thana, any government, semi-government or even non-government office, the utility service providers, or even his local government office, and see what treatment he gets from the minor officials there. The violence, including the burning of hundreds of innocent common people, that we witnessed during the last pre-poll political agitation was not even found during the colonial period. If you go to the judiciary for redress of any type of injustice caused to you, you might as well wait till the date of your funeral rites. Is this a contribution to freedom? In this mega-city, more than a lakh destitute sleep on the pavements under the open sky. Is this a benefit they enjoy from all of the spectacular development that has captured your imagination? I doubt it.

Seats lost today could be won again, but the blemished record of irregularities cannot be erased

Nazmul slams Mushfiq

March 27 I want to say more, but for now Ill just say that, for once, Mr Nazmul Hasan is correct, on all counts. Mushfiq seems to be afflicted with a scapegoat syndrome, ie always looking for excuses behind his own, and his teams failures. someone

Be Heard
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More transparency to protect consumers

angladeshi consumers have always had to be careful about forged products ranging from basic food staples to medicines and other goods. The phenomenon of fraud has lately gone several steps further to include many professional services. It is a welcome move then that the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) will soon be publishing online comprehensive details for 60,000 registered doctors and dentists, along with their qualifications. Patients are frequently being deceived into thinking they are consulting specialists who turn out to have lesser qualifications or worse be wholly fraudulent. This scheme provides a simple tool which may be instrumental in identifying and rooting out non-qualified doctors all over the country. The type of initiative should not be limited to medical professionals but extended across all type of professional service. it is essential that the sale of counterfeit goods and services in every corner of the country be discontinued. Improving access to accurate, timely information via more transparency is a cost effective way to help citizens and consumers, in all aspects of life. The public has the right to expect quality products and services in exchange for their hard-earned money. Concerned authorities have to fight fraud and uphold consumer right far more actively to ensure people are not cheated. There is a long way to go before we can completely rid the country of counterfeit goods and services. Efforts such as this move to improve transparency must be welcomed and emulated.

Ex-Pakistan cricketers criticise Bangladesh flag ban

March 27 Ronnie These former Pakistani players are being immature. It really is none of their business, to put it mildly. Im a longstanding fan of Pakistani cricket teams myself. But like I stated in one of my recent posts on this site, regardless of the fervent support that many local fans feel for the team, waving Pakistani flags at our stadiums is in execrable taste. And it has happened for years in the past. I guess slapping outright bans is unnecessary, but surely our cricket-mad public can be firmly persuaded to quit this outrageously offensive habit. khan I am a Pakistani fan and support Pakistan with everything I have. I support BD if it plays with India and support India if it plays with Australia or England. However I will clap and say wonderful if any other teams player hits high or low in the boundary.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

Authorities have to fight fraud and uphold consumer right far more actively

PEANUTS

CROSSWORD
ACROSS 1 Gathering of witches (5) 4 Stop (4) 7 Metal-bearing rock (3) 8 School of whales (3) 9 Scope (5) 12 Probability (4) 13 Went in (7) 15 Sailor (3) 16 Secret agent (3) 18 Precious stone (3) 19 Turf (3) 21 Begins again (7) 24 Malarial fever (4) 26 Make into a decree (5) 27 Dry, of champagne (3) 28 Sheltered side (3) 29 Affair of honour (4) 30 Search (5) DOWN 1 Innermost part (4) 2 Fruit (6) 3 Outlet (4) 4 Head and neck covering (4) 5 Say further (3) 6 Savoury (5) 10 Obtain (3) 11 Efface (5) 14 Uneven as if gnawed away (5) 17 Portions (6) 18 Splendid (5) 20 Mouse-coloured (3) 21 Stagger (4) 22 Masculine (4) 23 To let stand! (4) 25 Employ (3)

SUDOKU

YESTERDAYS SOLUTIONS
Crossword

How to solve Sudoku: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no numberrepeating.

Sudoku

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

11

The way leaders speak

W
n MAB Siddique
hat the political leaders say while addressing rallies is mostly rhetoric and aimed to rouse the activists of that party. While rallies are a mere formality, much of our politics still consist of killings, torture, and other unethical activities. But by virtue of the media, enhanced processes of pursuing the peoples expectations are happening in a greater extent than before. We have learned to consider what they say in public as being important, and the importance has further increased because of social media. However, a video clip recently went viral on Facebook, in which a senior politician is seen scolding his fellow activists in front of a rally using indecent words. He was trying to organise a religious-style prayer in the rally to put their grievances against the government towards the Almighty, for the alleged irregularities in the election. The contents of the video are so vulgar that it led Facebook users to flood the website, marking it with strong words of criticism. Naturally many termed it a shameful and an unexpected move from a veteran politician. His identity was not known immediately, however, but an online news agency later came up with some details into who the man was, when the footage was filmed, and how it managed to go viral. The news report revealed the man to have been a former state minister in 1991, during the BNP-led government. This man, a Munshiganj district BNP president, was trying desperately to conduct the mass prayer. However that is not the issue here. His very attitude drew our attention to actions that constitute our politics. Let us set aside what implications that kind of language bore in relation to gender perspective and marginality. This aged man exposed a feudal aspect of the prevailing politics, besides the hypocrisy of using religion and religious rituals. This man probably never had it in mind that he might get recorded, and possibly go viral. the rights that a modern state endows an individual with: The right to uphold individual prestige. And we see the people who are affiliated with any political party just carry out their given responsibilities to please the man at the top, so that he can get a nicer position in the party and can claim a certain form of respect from the senior partymen. They have to abide by the words of the top individuals in any committee, to question them is taboo.

A dignified profession?

BIGSTOCK

What the political leaders say while addressing rallies is mostly rhetoric

Is there a doctor in the house?

n Syed Ishtiaque Reza

he recent actions of the doctors in Rajshahi tell us once again to think about the medical profession in a different way. It is really naive to think the medical profession is still a service and not a business. In fact, in Bangladesh, it is more than just business. Medical services at the government and privately-run hospitals and clinics in the city came to a complete halt as doctors went on an indefinite strike on the morning of March 28, to protest the court order that sent a doctor, also the owner of a clinic, to jail.Seven organisations, including Bangladesh Medical association of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH), BMA, and Swadhinata Chikitshak Parishad, announced the strike earlier on Thursday during a press briefing, demanding the release of Dr Samiul Haque Shimul, owner of Dolphin Clinic. On Thursday Rajshahis chief metropolitan magistrate sent Dr Samiul Haque Shimul to jail after rejecting his bail petition in a case filed in connection with the death of a patient in his clinic. During the press briefing, doctors threatened that medical services at all the public and private hospitals and clinics in the city would remain suspended, and that doctors would abstain from their duties until Dr Shimul was released; and they did just so.The sudden strike threw thousands of patients into incalculable suffering. The medical profession long ago turned into a profit-minded venture for most healthcare providers in Bangladesh. But the Rajshahi incident ex-

posed another face of the people who take an oath to serve humanity. The medical profession is seen as a noble one because it helps in preserving life. When a patient approaches a doctor he/she expects medical treatment with all the knowledge and skill that the doctor possesses to bring relief to any medical problems he/she has. A doctor owes certain duties to the patient and a breach of any of these duties gives a cause of action for negligence against the doctor.

(c) duty of care in the administration of that treatment. A breach of any of the above may give cause of action to be taken for negligence. If we explore the Rajshahi incident, we see that Dr Shimul failed in all three of the areas. But the strike called by the doctors to free Dr Shimul, depriving patients of the right to treatment, was a serious offence on their part. We understand that the doctors sacrificed all the values that the noble profession

A doctors first duty is to look out for the patient, not for the community or individual interests. But what did the doctors in Rajshahi do?

A doctor may not be in a position to save his patients life at all times, but he is expected to use his special knowledge, skill, and positive manner in the most appropriate ways, keeping in mind that the patient has entrusted his life to him. Receiving medical attention from doctors and hospitals is essentially a right for the patient. The relationship takes the shape of a contract to some extent because of informed consent, payment of fees, and performance of surgery/providing treatment, etc. A doctor or a clinic usually works in three areas for a patient, which are: (a) Duty of care in deciding whether to undertake the case; (b) duty of care in deciding what treatment to give; and

possesses. If Dr Shimul is charged for active negligence, his doctor colleagues, who went for total strike to have him released, can be charged for a number of other types of negligence, such as collateral negligence, comparative negligence, concurrent negligence, continued negligence, criminal negligence, gross negligence, and hazardous negligence. Every doctor takes on a duty to act with a reasonable degree of honesty, care, and skill. This is what is known as implied undertaking by a member of the medical profession that he would use a fair, reasonable and competent degree of skill. This is a sort of promise that in any situation, a doctors first duty is to look out for

the patient, not for the community or individual interests. But what did the doctors in Rajshahi do? Perhaps they deliberately want to forget the basic philosophy of this profession. This is one of the oldest professions in the world, and definitely the most humanitarian one. Do they really understand that there is no better service than to serve the suffering, the wounded, and the sick? Surprisingly, top leaders of the medical community remained silent when Rajshahi patients were suffering grievously. For every profession there is a code of conduct, containing the basic ethics that underline the moral values to govern the professional practice. Code of ethics is aimed at upholding its dignity. Medical ethics underlines the values at the heart of the relationship between a doctor and the patient. But the politicisation of the profession has made the professional too ruthless and cruel these days. The doctors in Rajshahi have proven that the community has developed a tendency to forget that self-regulation, which is at the heart of their profession, is a privilege and not a right. They are promise-bound to provide a good, competent, and accountable service to the public, not to act like militant trade union activists. They need to change their attitudes if they want genuine respect from the people. Doctors themselves have to build that trust in the publics mind. If they continue to ignore their own professions uniqueness, this dignified profession will lose its true value. l Syed Ishtiaque Reza is Director of News, Ekattor Television.

Harsh and hateful exchange of words and speeches targeting opposing political bodies are too common

We know there lives a great proportion of economically unprivileged people in rural Bangladesh, who dont get to enjoy

The higher the position of a leader in a party, the more powerful he is. So this man, Mr Hye, who exposed his indecency to an unimaginable degree, is in fact an extremely powerful individual in the party of Munshiganj. His attitude clearly denotes the lack of democracy within the party. In a culture of political confrontation, where deadly clashes are abundant, and violent political attacks or harsh and hateful exchange of words and speeches targeting opposing political bodies are too common, within the party, the patronclient relationship forms a humiliating reciprocity, and conditions between the leaders and activists that was again revealed in the way the BNP leader talked. It worries us not only about our political culture, but also for how easily people get trapped in an obligatory relationship. In a democratic world, it is a pyramid where the bottom will determine who gets to be at the top, whereas in this part of the world it is the top who determine who would be included in the bottom. Political leaders choose who will form the party, it is not activists who should be selecting their leaders. This incident exemplifies how the political formation ultimately gives rise to despots. Our politics is nothing but a fight among influential individuals, each of who has their own henchmen, who the influential can control in the way they like. Bangladesh is striving to improve its political culture. We need to question the culture, practice, and power relations rigorously, otherwise our democracy will not have any meaning to it. l MAB Siddique is a staff writer at the Dhaka Tribune.

Souls of darkness
W
n Mohammad Ali Sattar
e choose to commit blunders deliberately as though we do not have enough. Or, things have come to a tolerable point where we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Actually, there has been no happy radiance; no indication of a transformation or visible attitude of diversification from the negatives. We are rather bent on playing shoddier games, day in day out. As if we are yet to reach the pages of the Guinness Book for breaking world records a million times by careful preservation of stinking political perversion. During the just concluded local government polls, there have been distasteful remarks made by the acting CEC when he claimed the voting was peaceful all over and loss of human lives were but natural. To him, polls were more important than human lives and human rights. He rebuked the BNP chief by remarking that she rubs her nose in the dirt. He was referring to her comments that the Election Commission was no good, and it was not worth it to conduct fair polls. As if the acting CEC doesnt like to be right behind the politicians in trading salvos. With almost all the senior BNP leaders behind bars (many are reported to be ill), the suffocated party finds itself in real hardship. They have realised by now that the party will have to be tough, wise, and cool to survive. Things wont be easy anymore. As mentioned many times in this column, BNP just cannot capitalise on issues that could put the government in awkward situations. It somehow misses out on these options. This is another sign of political poverty. such empty contest. I will not jump on the bandwagon of intellectuals to waste time over discussing and re-discussing the events of March 1971. I am not ready to be taken for a ride. All of us, especially the political players, are fully aware of our national character. We dont think much before we ink. We feel one can go scotfree by saying anything that comes to mind or slips through the lips. After a little while, the heat subsides, and people like to forget things and take up another issue. This cycle of issues keeps rotating and keeps us busy day in day out. We have people fighting it out in the streets and dark alleys of the political edifices on trifle matters, and we have the media trying to make out the truth, sometimes faltering. We have the civil society, who most of the time gives out their verdicts on issues that did not even show up clearly, and we have the agile politicians who put anything and everything dreadful on the opposition right away. Since dwelling on the past and making it more controversial is our best pastime, how do we expect to move forward? Are we really a forward-looking nation? Not by the look of our acts at least. Why do we dwell on the past? Simply because we dont have visions for the future. Our minds are severely blocked and fail to fathom the shallowest stream. We have a ruthlessly disabled mind. Distorting history is not new. History is always drafted in favour of the victor. History is full of accounts as thought right by the author of the time. There are always two or more schools of opposing thoughts on issues that history discusses. So there can never be a straight line in history. The wars that were fought around the world from the very beginning have either ended with signing a treaty or on verbal agreements dictated by the conqueror. The vanquished never had any say. Favours were only doled out to them. When Awami League took control of things after liberation, they said and wrote what they felt right. Later, many of their claims were challenged by their own men and the then opposition. One thing was settled that it was Ziaur Rahman who read out the declaration of independence over the radio in Kalurghat on March 27. According to records, Ziaur Rahman had made a few announcements, one following the other. There have been some changes in the draft when he read out the declaration for the second time. It was Zia who was first heard. There should be no debate over this. On the same breath, it should be known to all that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the first president of the republic, declared by the Mujibnagar government. Syed Nazrul Islam was the acting president.

Since dwelling on the past and making it more controversial is our best pastime, how do we expect to move forward?

We have buried Mujib and Zia, both should now be spared

When the Upazila Council polls are just about over and half the country is busy with cricket, there comes the claim from BNP that the first president of the country was Ziaur Rahman, and not Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. I am not ready to take this seriously. I am not one of those who gives in to

I deem that the BNP leadership is also aware of the fact. They came up with the new argument just because of the intolerance and insults meted out to Ziaur Rahman by the AL and its allies. We have buried Mujib and Zia, both should now be spared. Alas, both of them and other national leaders wont be allowed the benefits of admiration because we live in the dim dungeons of ancient times. We have turned into souls of darkness. l Mohammad Ali Sattar is a journalist and DT columnist.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

New Michael Jackson Album coming this May

n Entertainment Desk
A new Michael Jackson album is set for release on May 13, Epic Records announced Monday. The posthumous album called Xscape will feature eight previously recorded but unreleased songs by the King of Pop. Xscape is be available for preorder on iTunes from yesterday. Epic Records previously showcased material from Jackson following his death in 2009, including the documentary This Is It with six unreleased songs. Michael Jacksons Twitter account also announced the news and release date. Epic Records CEO LA Reid was given unlimited access to four decades of Jacksons material, which the iconic singer had completed vocals on, according to a statement from the label and the Estate of Michael Jackson. Reid curated a final list of recordings and employed producers such as Timbaland, Stargatem Jerome Harmon and Rodney Jerkins to retool the music. They have promised to retain Jacksons essence and integrity in the new songs. Modern music and artistry would look and sound completely different if not for the groundbreaking contributions Michael Jackson gifted to the world, Reid said. Michael left behind some musical performances that we take great pride in presenting through the vision of music producers that he either worked directly with or expressed strong desire to work with. We are extremely proud and honored to present this music to the world. l

Swarup Shondhan will premiere today n Afrose Jahan Chaity

On the occasion of National Film Day, an interesting documentary titled Swarup Shondhan - Quest for Self will be premiered today at the auditorium of National Art Gallery, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy at 4pm. To promote and protect the legacy of Bangladeshi films, the documentary is made by Mohammad Shazzad Hossain and Arafatul Kabir Rizve. It focuses on the history of film in Bangladesh, the rich cultural heritage, evolution of language and the social change process. About the documentary director Mohammad Shazzad Hossain said: To find out the history of Bangladeshi films and to protect its legacy, we have made this documentary. Its a textual study of films and different genres introduced in different phases of time. It will help mass people to understand about Bangladeshi films and its history, especially those who are researching on films. Future film makers will also able to take help from this documentary. This is an information bank of our cine-industry, he added. The documentary features exclusive discussions and interviews of renowned Bangladeshi film makers about film history and contextual study. Subhash Dutta, Amzad Hossain, Chashi Nazrul Islam, Nasir Uddin Yusuf, Tanvir Mokammel , Morshedul islam, Nargis Akter, Kazi Hayat and many more film personalities interviewed for the documentary. The documentary is featuring eight songs. The songs Raifel Jokhon Camera, Obiram Srome R Foshole, Koto Gunijon Cinema Banalo, Kotha Theke Jay and three more are written and composed by Arafatul Kabir and Bhagirath Malo. The music directors of Shorup Shondhan are Didarul Karim and Robins Chowdhury, while Bhagirath Malo lends his voice in all of the songs. Directors of the documentary are very hopeful about the project as they are considering the well researched documentary to be a reference for aspiring filmmakers and researchers. l

Tisha and Banya Mirza in a scene of an upcoming TV play Malyodan. Directed by Sumon Anwar the play is specially made to mark the 153rd birthday of literary titan Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore which falls on May 8.

Embracing the culture of Japan with Salauddin Ahmeds works

n Entertainment Desk
An exhibition of a sketchbook Water | Ink | Paper, sketches of Japan 1996 by Architect Salauddin Ahmed is displayed at the Dhaka Art Centre. The exposition will continue till April 3. The architects book and display of paper sketches of Japan unfolds his cultural experience which embraces his inspiration of architectural designs. Keeping an open mind, the architect draws places, peoples, magnificent temples and gardens, and close observations of food and cuisine which has been compiled by his notes. The much-discussed sketch portrays his traveling experience during his three years tenure in Japan. In his book, it is noticeable that apart from drawing buildings, he also draws trifle subject including a shoes of young girls in his sketch books. The act of drawing is a way of seeing. Architects have always sketched so that they may see and bring attention to the unfolding of the world. If drawings have such expressive potency in the journey of an architect, then we can perhaps help others to understand the way in which each of us experiences the world around us. The compilation of sketches, collages and writings in the book Water | Ink | Paper reflects such an attempt on my part. It is also my hope that the viewers can empathize with my journey as they turn each page of this sketchbook, stated Salauddin Ahmed. The week-long exhibition is being followed by a panel discussion Travelling l A Creative Journey by noted artists and architects on the concluding day. l

Cover art of the upcoming album

Exhibition

TODAY IN DHAKA
By Mahbubul Haque Time: 8:00am 11:59pm Bronia Cafe & Gallery Gulshan Ave Aakash Koto Dure Thor: The Dark World 3D The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in 3D , Frozen in 3D, Agnee Time: 10am - 10pm Star Cineplex, Bashundhara City

Water | Ink | Paper- sketches of Japan 1996 By Salauddin Ahmed Time: 3pm 8pm, Dhaka Art Center Neel Megher Kabbo

Film

Enders Game, Avatar 3D

Shraddha and Sidharth look promising in The Villain

n Entertainment Desk
Bollywood newbees Shraddha Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra are now steaming up the big screen for their upcoming film The Villian. While there seems less experimentation with Shraddha Kapoors looks, Student of the Year actor Sidharth Malhotra is seen sporting tattoos and a stubble. The actor had said, For Villain, I had to experiment with my look. I have a slightly different hairstyle. I sport a beard as well as tattoos, and had to even bulk up a little. As my character is aggressive and intense, hopefully, the audience will see me in a different light. The character has a lot of emotional baggage. Youll see the difference between the sweet lover boy Ive played earlier, and this aggressive man. Talking about the film, Sidharth had said that The Villain is a love story but with a slight twist. Sidharth Malhotra states, Essentially, its about how everyone has a little villainous side in their personality. Shraddha (Kapoor) and I are playing these interesting characters, which people will relate to. It also has a middle-class backdrop. The first look loosely reminds you of the passionate poster of Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Ram-Leela featuring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone. The film, which is directed by Aashiqui 2 director Mohit Suri, also stars Riteish Deshmukh, Amrita Puri and Kamaal Rashid Khan. The film is all set to release on June 27. l

Tareen goes de-glam for new TV play Bewarish

n Entertainment Desk
A television drama titled Bewarishs shooting is completed recently which casts popular actor Tareen in a lead role while influential actor of small screen Azad Abul Kalam portraying another vital character. The play is directed by Tariqul Islam. Tareen plays the role of a rural woman named Sokhina and Azad Abul Kalam plays Mannan, Sokhinas husband. About the play Tareen said: If the story and character is not good then I do not usually act in any drama or telefilm. This time, the story of the drama is skillfully written by Pantho Shahriar and almost all the characters have a key role to play in the story. I tried my best to portray the character of Sokhina and hope that the audience will accept the drama positively. Azad Abul Kalam said: The story of the play is obviously good. I worked in dramas by Tariqul Islam previously, he takes his job seriously and in doing so, he usually comes up with outstanding works. I hope this drama will be appreciated by the audience. The duo last appeared in a drama titled Shobuj Velvet, written by Mohammad Jafar Iqbal and directed by Abu Raihan Jewel. Tarin received honorary award for her acting in the drama. The director planned to release the drama on a private television channel for Eid. l

Johnny Depp confirms engagement n Entertainment Desk

Hollywood megastar Johnny Depp showed off a gleaming diamond ring while promoting his upcoming film Transcendence in Beijing, and confirmed that hes not just wearing it for fashion reasons. The fact that Im wearing a chicks ring on my finger is probably a dead giveaway, Depp said when asked by The Associated Press to confirm his engagement. Depp is engaged to actress Amber Heard, who started sporting her own engagement ring some months back. The two starred together in the 2011 film The Rum Diary, based on the Hunter S Thompson novel. I think that I would be better at making womens shoes than I would be at wedding planning, Us Weekly quoted him as saying at the China event. I cant plan anything. Depp and French actress Vanessa Paradis broke up in 2012 after a 14-year relationship that produced son Jack and daughter Lily-Rose. l

Sanya Sabrins second solo Shotti Kore released

n Entertainment Desk
The second solo album of talented singer Sanya Sabrin titled Shotti Kore has hit the market recently. Label Agnibeena brought the album to the market while Tofy Renar composed the music. Nine songs of the album are written by the singer herself and Tofy Renar. The list includes Bondhur Bari, Shotti Kore, Darling, Ektu Chhuye, Uru Uru, Elomelo, Buker Majhey , Ashe Na Ghum and Sukhe Achi Ki Dukhe Achi. Singer Sanya said about the album: Singing is to me like worshipping. Only my devotion to music keeps me inspiring. I hope the audience will love the songs. l

Did you know?

Lionel Messi scores a goal every 213 minutes when it is raining, compared to every 108 minutes when its dry

Sport

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

14 Chelsea ready for

PSG battle in CL quarterfinals

14 Carroll piles on

relegation misery for Sunderland

15 WI crash

Pakistans party to reach semis

SCORECARD, BD v AUS
Bangladesh Tamim c Bollinger b Coulter-Nile 5 Anamul c Watson b Coulter-Nile 0 Shakib c Maxwell b Bollinger 66 Mushfiqur c Maxwell b Watson 47 Mohammad Mahmudullah not out 6 Nasir Hossain b Starc 14 Extras: (b2, lb4, w7, nb2) 15 Total (for five wickets, 20 overs) 153 FoW: 1 4, 2 12, 3 124, 4 133, 5 153 Bowling Starc 4 0 25 1 (w2), Coulter-Nile 3 017 2 (w2), Bollinger 4 0 31 1, Watson 4 0 25 1 (w3, nb1), Maxwell 3 0 32 0 (nb1), Christian 2 0 17 0. Australia A. Finch c Nasir b Al Amin 71 D. Warner b Al Amin 48 C. White not out 18 G. Maxwell b Taskin 5 G. Bailey not out 11 Extras: (lb3, w2) 5 Total (for three wickets, 17.3 overs) 158 FoW: 1 98, 2 135, 3 147 Bowling Gazi 4 0 35 0, Al Amin 3.3 0 30 2 (w1), Shakib 3 0 36 0, Taskin 4 0 24 1 (w1), Razzak 2 0 16 0, Mominul 1 0 14 0 Australia won by seven wickets

Aussies cruise past Bangladesh

Throughout the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladeshs key word was could not finish it well and they failed to get out of the loop and conceded a sevenwicket defeat to Australia to end their journey at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. Opting to bat first Bangladeshs 153 for five was not enough to stop Australia who notched up their consolation win by scoring 158 for three with 15 balls to spare. After losing to India, Pakistan and West Indies, Australia was left containing the sigh of distress and ruing the lost opportunities. The power packed Aussie opening duo - Aaron Finch and David Warner blasted 98 for the 1st wicket laying the foundation for an easy win. Warner on 48 was fortunate to survive a caught behind call in the 11th over bowled by Sohag Gazi as umpire Kumar Dharmasena failed to pick the snick. However, the left-handed was not able add any more run and was bowled by Al Aminin the following over. Man of the match Finch continued to dominate and took his side closer to victory with his second fifty of the tournament. He made 71 off 45 balls with seven fours and four sixes. Debutant Taskin Ahmed added some anxiety in the Aussie tent by sending Glenn Maxwell back for 5 but it was too late. Cameron White was not out on 18 when skipper George Bailey (11) lofted Al Amin over long off for a six and land the win in style. Earlier, Shakib al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahims 112-run third wicket partnership, the 3rd highest for Bangladesh in the T20I circuit, helped the home side to put up their highest total in the tournament. The left-right combination duly exploited the Aussie attack that relied on the quickies in a batting favoured pitch. With part-timer Glenn Maxwell the only spinner in the side, Shakib and Mushfiq held their grounds to execute their array of shots. It should be mentioned that Shakib and Mushfiq began their journey on a disastrous note with Bangladesh struggling on12 for two after the two openers Anamul Haque and Tamim Iqbal departed playing trademark overambitious and reckless shots. Not been able to get off the mark in five balls, Anamul lost his nerve and ran down the wicket attempting to hit Nathan Coulter-Nile out of the park only managing an edged to Shane Watson at first slip. Tamim just succeeded to hole out to Doug Bollinger at mid-on giving Coulter-Nile his second wicket in the game. Shakib announced his arrival with a superb six off Bollinger pulled over the long-on and the ace all-rounder exhibited his versatility to deal with the short deliveries as well as the attempted yorkers. Mushfiq also rose on the occasion and continued to frustrate the Aussie bowlers by keeping his head down and supporting Shakib. Mushfiq mixed his strokes with power and subtle touches, but missed out on a fifty as his slogsweep landed safely at the hands of Maxwell at deep midwicket off Watson. The captains 47 from 36 balls was decorated by five fours and one six. Shakib was soon to follow his skipper after completing his 4th T20 fifty. His superb innings however ended with a terrific effort from Maxwell who dived forward at midwicket to pouch on to a dying ball. The south paw made 66 runs off 52 balls with five fours and three maximums. The Aussie bowlers imposed the brakes on the runs as the lack of set batsmen in the middle cost the hosts in the eventual overs. Mahmudullah (six) and Nasir (14) added 20 runs off the remaining 15 balls before the latter was cleaned up in the final delivery of their 20 overs. l

Mushfiq, Finch express disappointment

It was frustration and disappointment all the way as Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim and Australian opener Aaron Finch expressed unhappiness during the post match conference at the Sher-eBangla National Stadium yesterday. Mushfiq was left soul searching and said, It is really disappointing. We played seven games but we couldnt play well in all the matches round. In the first round we started well apart from the Hong Kong game. Unfortunately the momentum was lost when we lost against Hong Kong. It was a real shock for us. There were a couple of guys who played well I thought Anamul batted really well, and Shakib had a good series with the bat and the ball, Al Amin also had a couple of good spells in a couple of games. But I think in a tournament like this when you want to beat some of the big boys you have to have at least four or five guys playing well and as a team. That did not happen, said Mushfiq. Musfiq said he failed to realise where the problem lied. If we could identify the problem then we would have played better. We ourselves cannot understand where the problem lies because we are practising properly, doing the little things properly, we are trying to apply ourselves properly and everyone is serious. Maybe we are not realising the problem, maybe outsiders will be able to understand. Now that the tournament is over we will try to get feedback from them and hope that we can solve the problem as soon as possible hopeful. If Tamim, Shakib, myself, Riyad bhai, Gazi, Nasir, Mashrafe, if all of us could play to our potential then I think the results would have been different, he said. Mushfiq termed Tamims lack of form was a cause behind the failures, but dropping him was not the solution as Anamul was consistent. The problem will be solved once Tamim returns to form while and the issue of the vice captaincy did not have any affect over the team, informed the captain. Meanwhile, Aaron Finch was also a frustrated man to see his team take the exit door of the World T20 from the group stage. Its been very disappointing and not going through to the semifinals is disappointing from teams point of view. I think what let us down areall the three departments and you know this is such a short format that it haunts back to you. When you have games back to back, momentum is crucial and we probably

A dejected Bangladesh team members leave the field after losing to Australia in their last World T20 match at SBNS yesterday MUMIT M

slipped in the West Indies game, lost against India and we are out of the tournament. We came here with the hopes of winning the competition but we are going back with nothing. Winning only one game out of four was always been very disappointing, said Finch. The Aussie opener did not acknowledge the idea his team lacked the spinners bite and said, Our both spinners are aggressive and I think picking fast bowlers was the right decision today and to restrict Bangladesh on 150 on a batting wicket was impressive. Finch also praised debutant pacer Taskin, He took us by surprise a little bit, he was quite fast and bowled accurately and skidded on the wicket little faster than expected, no doubt after facing six overs of spin consistently and to get back into 140s is a bit of challenge, he was very impressive in the game tonight. l

BRIEF SCORE
Bangladesh Women 115/9 in 20 overs (Rumana 41, Salma 22; Gunaratne 2 15, Prabodhani 2 18) Sri Lanka Women 112/9 in 20 overs (Mendis 33, Siriwardane 31; Panna Ghosh 3 18, Salma 1 14) Bangladesh Women won by 3 runs

Blaming your own wont improve matters

Cricket is the only thing which unites the whole country despite its political unrest and all other negativities. The whole nation has been weaving the dream of becoming the champion of world cricket ever since the Bangladesh cricket team overcame Kenya in the ICC trophy final in 1997. The nations joy knew no bounds when our Tigers beat Pakistan for the first time in a World Cup match in England in 1999. Bangladesh cricket have come a long way after those heroic triumphs which culminated in them being awarded the Test status in 2000. No wonder fans expectations went up as well because of those gradual achievements on and off the field. In fact, fans can hardly be blamed if we take the performance of our Tigers into account at home in the recent past when they reached the final of the Asia Cup in 2012, whitewashed the Kiwis two times in ODIs, won against the West Indies and gave all oppositions a tough time more often than not. Therefore, the genesis of fans expectations is surely borne out of the Tigers progress. However, there have been some occasional blips too against the minnows like Ireland, Canada, Afghanistan and Hong Kong, the most recent one. But the standard of Bangladesh cricket has certainly gone up significantly as evidenced by the emergence of someworld class players like Shakib al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim who have been showcasing their skills quite consistently at international stage since they broke into the team and became the heroes of the nation. So is it utterly unjustified if fans expect a replication of their heroics which they are more than capable of? The answer should predominantly be an emphatic No. But the players post-match comments after continuous defeats in this World T20 have been nothing short of ordinary as they kept saying, It can happen in cricket and its part of cricket and asked the fans not to expect too much. So it is disappointing, to put it lightly, if cricketers take the fans demand for a win as a pressure even after pitting their wits against the worlds best for fourteen years since getting the Test status. It is not that the fans firmly believed, realistically speaking, the Tigers could progress further from such a tough group which included three former T20 champions and Australia who is always a threat. The fans just wanted a lot more committed display of competitive cricket from the players. The majority of the fans have always kept faith with the team during even worse situations than the current one. They have always supported our cricketers through thick and thin. But to implicitly accuse the fans expectations as a determining factor behind defeats in all the four matches of the Super 10 stage against India, Pakistan, West Indies and Australia is not worthy of appreciation surely as former captain Shakib blamed their food habits and life style also behind their poor performance. Hosting as big an event as the World Cup itself is a history for Bangladesh. Therefore, participating in the tournament as a host nation will always warrant expectations from fans which the cricketers must realise. This expectation will stay and they have to play keeping that in mind and do what they are supposed to do which is to play good cricket to give themselves the best chance to win. Defeat against an ICC associate member like Hong Kong or defeats in all the Super 10 matches by playing poor cricket is something the nation never expected. So the cricketers should start working on their mistakes immediately rather than criticising the limitations of their own country and the fans will play their role too with their unwavering support as always through thick and thin. l

Special birthday gift for Jahanara

Jahanara Alam could not have expected a better present on her 21st birthday given the tough time the Bangladesh vice-captain had to face in the last two post-match conferences after defeats. Yesterday she looked relieved and as always smiling following the Bangladesh womens first ever victory in ICC World Twenty20 against Sri Lanka. The Bangladesh pacer termed the win as the best moment of her life and pledged to keep the momentum up in future. Definitely this is the best moment of my life, and for our team as well as for our country, she said. It was amazing. We havent celebrated yet. Hopefully it will be a grand one once we get back to the hotel. Jahanara started her spell in the best possible way she could. In her first delivery, Bangladeshs second over, the lady from Khulna bowled Sri Lankan opener Hasini Perera to take her 15th wicket in her 21st T20 match for the country. In fact my very first ball was itself a celebration for me. Im very happy that we won such a good match on my birthday. I cant explain in words. We always knew we have a good bowling and fielding side. We knew if we can keep things tight, we would win. Salma, Panna bowled very well. Even though there were a few dropped chances, it didnt matter in the end, she added. Bangladesh will face Ireland in the 9th place decider tomorrow and this victory against Sri Lanka has boosted the hosts confidence. We go to the field thinking we can win. I cant say whether we will be able to beat Ireland but we will definitely go there for a win, Jahanara said. l

SYLHET WINS HEARTS

For some people, it is just a place to hang around, take pictures and pass a leisure evening with friends and family; few came just to watch Bangladesh womens team play in the World Twenty20 while the rest just came to enjoy a spectacular view from the countrys only green gallery at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. The venue has been a get-together place for all class of people and since the beginning of the ICC Womens World Twenty20, the stands remained rarely empty on a match day. The interesting part of the story is most of the spectators dont have any idea of the countries playing on the day and they just come in and support both the sides in a match, except for the time when Bangladesh are playing. On Monday, Mignon du Preez experienced something very unusual. The crowd cheered the South Africa captain on reaching her half-century before the same bunch applauded equally on her dismissal in the next over. Mohammad Piash, a local CNG driver, has little interest in cricket yet he was at the field because of his family members. Piash had to take a break from his driving job and accompany his family to the ground. The excitement among the Sylhet people can be justified as they will not be able to witness any more international action this year after the end of the World Twenty20 phase at the city tomorrow. The stadium is yet to have an underground drainage system and while a whole new pitch is also to be laid and the process will take around eight months to be completed. l

England vice-captain Sarah Taylor

The crowds have been really brilliant and phenomenal. We are just loving it here. Obviously its totally different back in England. Its been nothing but brilliant in terms of the hotels we have had. People are so friendly here. Food is brilliant too so yeah, loving it.

West Indies captain Merissa Aguilleira

Im really impressed with the pitches, they have been extremely good for batting. Compliments to the ground staff, its really good to see a lot of runs scored in the competition, giving the competition a lot of spice.

Ireland wicketkeeper-batsman Mary Waldron

I think the intensity is more in cricket. Especially in Bangladesh, the passion of the crowd makes it a great experience

Australia skipper Meg Lanning

The crowd has been fantastic

New Zealand captain Suzie Bates

Its great to play in front of that amazing crowd

14
Nordqvist wins LPGA Kia Classic
Swedens Anna Nordqvist captured her second US LPGA title of 2014 on Sunday, firing a final-round 67 to win the Kia Classic by one shot. Nordqvist, whose poor form in 2013 had her contemplating giving up the game, now goes into the first major of the year, the Kraft Nabisco Championship at Rancho Mirage, California, next week, brimming with confidence. Her five-under effort gave her a 13-under par total 275 at Aviara Golf Club, and a one-shot victory over American Lizette Salas. AFP

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Murrays luxury hotel opens doors

Andy Murrays luxury hotel opened Tuesday, a business the tennis star hopes will boost his Scottish hometown Dunblane. The Wimbledon champion bought Cromlix House, a Victorian mansion dating from 1874, in February last year and has transformed it into a 15-bedroom, five-star retreat. The property, set in woodlands three miles (five kilometres) outside Dunblane in central Scotland, has undergone extensive refurbishment and tourism officials hope it will prove a big draw for visitors to Scotland. AFP

Spurs win club record 18th straight

Tony Parker scored 22 points as San Antonio won their franchise record 18th consecutive game by routing the struggling Indiana Pacers 103 77 on Monday night. Kawhi Leonard tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Boris Diaw came off the bench to score 14 points for the Spurs who used a 12 4 fourth quarter surge to help seal the victory and keep their streak alive. We dont think about it. We just want to play well, said Parker of the streak. Hopefully we are not peaking too soon. We just want to win each game. AFP

Bale targeting Real revenge against Dortmund

Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale believes his side have recovered from two successive league defeats as they look to exact revenge on Borussia Dortmund for their Champions League semi-final defeat last season. Bale scored a double as Real responded from losing to Barcelona and Sevilla last week to beat Rayo Vallecano 5-0 on Saturday to remain in third place in La Liga, three points adrift of leaders Atletico Madrid. However, it is a Champions League quarter-final clash against the Germans that has whetted the Welshmans appetite as he admitted these are the type of games for which he left Tottenham Hotspur for Real last summer. I think it was important we responded well and got everything back on track, he told Real Madrid TV. Were massively looking forward to the Dortmund game. That is why you want to be playing football is to play in the big games. We are fully focussed on Wednesday night and hopefully we can do a good job. Bale will once again join Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in a fearsome Madrid frontline with Ronaldo looking to equal Lionel Messis record of 14 goals in a Champions League season.
AFP

In-form PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the main threat for Chelsea while Blues will be looking for a solid defence led by skipper John Terry

Real boss Carlo Ancelotti will make three changes from the side that started against Rayo with Iker Casillas, Marcelo and Luka Modric set to replace Diego Lopez, Fabio Coentrao and Asier Illarramendi. Dortmund had the upper hand against Madrid as the sides met four times in last seasons competition. Jurgen Klopps men took four points from a possible six in the group stage before eliminating the nine-time European champions 4-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals. However, Klopp will have a more testing time in selecting his side this time round as the Germans have been ravaged by injuries. Nevan Subotic, Marcel Schmelzer, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Ilkay Gundogan and Sven Bender are all injured, whilst top scorer Robert Lewandowski -- who scored all four of his sides goals in the 4-1 semi-final, first leg win over Real last season -- is suspended. However, despite his selection problems, Klopp says his side have not regressed from last season. We are second in the German league, in the semi-finals of the Cup and the quarter-finals of the Champions League. That is to say, exactly the same as last season. Klopp is expected to use Marco Reus, who scored a hat-trick in Saturdays 3-2 win at lowly Stuttgart, or Gabonese international Pierre-Emerick Aubemayang in an unusual role as the lone striker to compensate for the loss of Lewandowski. l

Chelsea ready for PSG battle

Jose Mourinho has ruled his Chelsea side out of the Premier League title race, but he believes they will bounce back from domestic disappointment against Paris SaintGermain in the Champions League on Wednesday. The Chelsea manager questioned his players mentality after a surprise 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace led to them being knocked off top spot in the Premier League by Liverpool. Mourinho loves to play mind games, but with Manchester City poised to leapfrog the Blues by winning their games in hand, it may be true that Chelseas best chance of silverware now lies with the Champions League. And the Portuguese insists that his team will rise to the occasion as they face the Ligue 1 champions-elect at the Parc des Princes in the first leg of their quarter-final tie. Despite that, he says that the tie is finely poised, with PSG having emerged as a leading continental force in the last two years, spending astronomical sums to attract the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Brazil captain Thiago Silva to France. While Mourinho is driven by the desire to become the first coach to win the European Cup with three different clubs following previous triumphs with Porto in 2004 and Inter in 2010, Ibrahimovic is still aiming to win the greatest prize in club football for the first time. But, at the age of 32, the Swede seems to have belatedly reached his prime, with his tally of 40 goals in all competitions this season breaking the PSG club record. If the consensus in England seems to be that Ibrahimovic always disappoints at the highest level, Mourinho, who coached the maverick striker at Inter in 2008/09, thinks rather differently. PSG have not lost in 28 home European games and are currently on a club record-breaking run of nine straight wins in all competitions. They are running away with the Ligue 1 title and come into April 13 points clear of nearest challengers Monaco. They were some way short of their best in Fridays 1-0 win at Nice, but coach Laurent Blanc admits that thoughts were already on Chelsea. Blanc will hope that his side are able to raise their game against the London club as PSG seek to live up to the skyhigh expectations surrounding them inside France, where there is a growing belief that they can go all the way and lift the trophy in Lisbon in May. Just as Chelsea were transformed after being taken over by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich a decade ago, the arrival of Qatar Sports Investments has made PSG capable of competing with Europes very best, and the squad stand to earn a bonus of 1 million euros (826,000, $1.38m) per man if they win the trophy. l

Ferguson job offer lost in translation

Pep Guardiola has joked that he could have been offered the chance to succeed Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager, but would not have understood due to the Scots accent. Pep Guardiola has already led Bayern to a successful German title defence He invited me to a super restaurant, Guardiola said during Mondays pre-match press conference. "We spent a very good time. My English is not so good and when Sir Alex speaks quickly, I had sometimes problems to understand. Thats why maybe I didnt understand if i received an offer or not! l

Southamptons trio battling each other for World Cup berth

Southamptons freescoring trio of Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez and Rickie Lambert have played themselves into the England frame this season but at least one of them is likely to be out of picture when Roy Hodgson unveils his World Cup squad. Their scintillating form, along with that of fullback Luke Shaw, earned them their England debuts this season and strengthened their chances of making the 23-man squad when it is announced on June 2. But with stiff competition and Hodgson seemingly committed to selecting the core of his squad from the countrys major clubs, there could be some awkward moments when the Saints club mates discover what plans they need to make for the summer. The attacking trio have built an almost telepathic understanding and unselfishly share the goals amongst them, as demonstrated when they each scored during their sides 4-0 home demolition of Newcastle United on Saturday. Experienced British soccer writer Patrick Barclay told the Reuters Global Sports Forum on Monday that he thinks it is only midfielder Lallana that is certain to swap Southampton for Brazil this summer . Everton midfielder Barkley has drawn comparisons with a young Steven Gerrard with displays full of direct running, positional awareness and some spectacular goals, but Lallanas ability to also play wide could lead to both winning a place in Hodgsons squad. Strikers Lambert and Rodriguez have linked with Lallana to great effect this season, with 34 league goals from the three propelling Southampton to eighth, but the partnership is unlikely to continue to Brazil. l

West Ham United striker Andy Carroll (R) scores the opening goal during their English Premier League match against Sunderland at The Stadium of Light in Sunderland, northeast England, on Monday AFP

Brazil halts work on World Cup stadium

The Brazilian government halted work on two temporary tribunes for Sao Paulos World Cup stadium after the death of another construction worker, media reports said. A new inspection of the Corinthians club stadium to be used for the World Cup opening match between Brazil and Croatia on June 12 was to be carried out Tuesday. The worker died Saturday after an eight metre (26 feet) fall. According to press reports, the man who died Saturday may not have been wearing safety equipment. His employers have denied this. l

Guarin error costs Inter points

Inter Milan let three points slip from their grasp in their quest for European competition next season on Monday as they allowed relegationthreatened Livorno to come from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in their Serie A clash. Colombian Fredy Guarins terrible backpass five minutes from time let in Livornos Swiss-Nigerian Innocent Emeghara to level at 2-2 which leaves Livorno still in the relegation places but only a point off fourth from bottom Bologna. Inter remain in fifth place but only three points ahead of Atalanta, who are in seventh which is not good enough for competing in Europe next term. Inter had taken a firm hold on the match by the time half-time came as Brazilian Hernanes scored his first goal Livorno

RESULTS

Paulinho 54, Emeghara 85

2 2 1 0

Inter Milan
Hernanes 37, Palacio 45+1

Udinese
Di Natale 68

Catania

for them since he joined from Lazio while their freescoring Argentinian Rodrigo Palacio netted his 14th of the campaign in time added on of the first-half. Livorno reduced the deficit nine

minutes into the second-half as Brazilian Paulinho outfoxed the Inter defence to score from a corner. Inter, though, looked to be easing to the three points until Guarins terrible error. Inter coach Walter Mazzarri -- who was born near Livorno and guided them into Serie A in 2004 -- was fairly relaxed about the mistake afterwards. It was a dreadful mistake but football is like that, one makes errors, he said. Bad luck can happen, we have to support him. From time to time you have a bad day, but one like today... the result bears no relation with the teams performance, it is enough to watch the match to see that is the truth. l

Carroll piles on relegation misery for Sunderland

England international Andy Carroll scored one goal and laid on another as West Ham United piled on the relegation woes for Sunderland with a 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The former Newcastle United striker enjoyed his return to his native North East after grabbing a trademark goal in the ninth minute, rising high at the far post to head in powerfully from a leftwing corner. Hosts Sunderland were unlucky not to be given a first-half penalty when Kevin Nolan brushed the ball away with his elbow on the edge of the area. Carroll then set up West Hams second goal five minutes after halftime when he chested the ball down for Mohamed Diame and his deflected shot from 18 metres beat goalkeeper Vito Mannone. West Ham, though, held on for a victory that left them 11th in the Premier League with 37 points and effectively banished all fears of relegation for Sam Allardyces men. Sunderland remained second from bottom on 25 points, four points from safety with eight matches left to play this season. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

15
West Indies D. Smith c Kamran b Tanvir C. Gayle st Kamran b Hafeez L. Simmons run out M. Samuels b Afridi D. Bravo run out D. Ramdin c Umar b Babar D. Sammy not out A. Russell not out Extras: (lb4, w5) Total: (for six wkts; 20 overs)

WI crash Pakistan's party to reach semis

Defending champions West Indies breezed into the semifinals of the World Twenty20 - after India, South Africa and Sri Lanka after they thrashed Pakistan by 84 runs in their do-or-die encounter at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. Its not a common scene of Chris Gayle running all over the field and throwing himself to save a run and this dedication from him yesterday staged exactly how important the match was for the Caribbeans. Medium fast bowler Krishmar Santokie trapped Pakistans last match centurion Ahmed Shehzad LBW in the very first ball of their innings as they never recovered from the early blow. It was then left to the two West Indian spinners - Samuel Badree and the No 1 T20 bowler Sunil Narine - who spun the Pakistani batters in their whirlpool. Skipper Mohammad Hafeezs 19 was the highest for Pakistan as the rest surrendered cheaply to leg spinner Badree, who took three for 10, and Narine who bagged three for 16. Pakistan, who reached at least the last four stage in all previous occasion of the event, were bundled out for only 82 runs in 17.5 overs. Earlier, the West Indies side was also in a spot of bother early in their innings having lost both Gayle and Dwayne Smith inside 22 runs. However, Lendl Simmons (31) and Marlon Samuels (20) reconstructed the innings adding 39 runs for the third wicket before the late surge from Dwayne Bravo and captain Darren Sammy took them past 150, which at one point looked a distant dream. Bravo and Sammy joined in the middle with their side reeling at 81 for 5 in 14 overs, but the duo exhibited an array of power hitting to bring 71 runs in just 32 balls. The dominant of the two, Bravo smashed two sixes and a four in the 18th over by Umar Gul and followed it with a 24-run over off Saeed Ajmal where he launched three huge sixes. Man of the match Bravo was eventually run out in the last over making 46 off just 26 balls while Sammy remained unbeaten on 42 off 20 balls with five fours and two sixes taking West Indies to a challenging 166/6. l

SCORECARD

8 5 31 20 46 5 42 0 9 166

0 1 4 8
GROUP 2
Teams Mat Won Lost Pts India (Q) 4 4 0 8 West Indies (Q) 4 3 1 6 Pakistan 4 2 2 4 Australia 4 1 3 2 Bangladesh 4 0 4 0 RR +1.280 +1.971 -0.384 -0.857 -2.072

No. of fours Pakistan hit during the powerplay, the 5th such instance in T20Is No. of runs Chris Gayle has scored off six deliveries from Mohammad Hafeez. He has been dismissed three times No. of stumpings in this match, by both wicketkeepers together, equals the most in a T20I This was only the eighth time both openers from a team have been dismissed for ducks, in 794 T20 international innings Runs scored off the Powerplay by Pakistan, equals the lowest by a Full Member in T20Is Runs scored off Saeed Ajmals fourth over - his most expensive in T20Is That is Darren Sammys strike rate in

Fall of wickets 1 10 (Gayle), 2 22 (Smith), 3 61 (Simmons), 4 67 (Samuels), 5 81 (Ramdin), 6 152 (Bravo). Bowling Hafeez 2 0 15 1, Tanvir 4 0 27 1 (1w), Babar 4 0 27 1 (2w), Afridi 4 0 23 1, Gul 2 0 29 0 (1w), Ajmal 4 0 41 0 (1w) Pakistan Ahmed Shehzad lbw b Santokie 0 Kamran Akmal c Bravo b Badree 0 Mohammad Hafeez c Gayle b Russell 19 Umar Akmal st Ramdin b Badree 1 Shoaib Malik st Ramdin b Badree 2 Sohaib Maqsood st Ramdin b Narine 18 Shahid Afridi st Ramdin b Narine 18 Sohail Tanvir c Sammy b Narine 14 Umar Gul c Simmons b Santokie 4 Saeed Ajmal b Russell 1 Zulfiqar Babar not out 3 Extras: (w2) 2 Total: (all out; 17.5 overs) 82 Fall of wickets 1 0 (Shehzad), 2 1 (Kamran), 3 9 (Umar), 4 13 (Malik), 5 37 (Hafeez), 6 42 (Maqsood), 7 74 (Tanvir), 8 75 (Afridi), 9 78 (Ajmal). Bowling Santokie 2.5 0 9 2 (2w), Badree 4 010 3, Samuels 3 0 21 0, Russell 3 0 152, Narine 4 0 16 3, Smith 1 0 11 0 West Indies won by 84 runs

13 24
West Indies spinner Samuel Badree celebrates a Pakistan wicket with teammates during their World Twenty20 clash at SBNS yesterday MUMIT M

tournament. He has 101 runs in four 224 this innings and has been out only once

QUICK BYTES Nadal hopes to fine tune form ahead of clay swing
Rafael Nadal says he still has work to do on his game as he gets set to launch his claycourt season which the Spaniard hopes culminates with his ninth French Open title. World number one Nadal lost in straight sets in the final of the Miami Masters tournament on Sunday to second seed Novak Djokovic. Djokovic cruised to a 6 3, 6 3 win as he easily dismantled Nadal who has been hampered by a back injury which wrecked his Australian Open bid earlier this year. Thirteen-time Grand Slam winner Nadal said despite the loss, which dropped him to 0 4 in Miami finals, he feels good about having made it to the final in Miami. AFP

Cook still unable to lift lid on Pietersen axe

England captain Alastair Cook said Tuesday he was frustrated at his inability to reveal the reasons behind Kevin Pietersens international exile, although he promised all would become clear soon. Despite being Englands leading run scorer across all formats, South Africaborn Pietersen was axed by the England and Wales Cricket Board in February following the teams 5-0 Ashes thrashing in Australia. But exactly why he was sent into international exile, with seemingly no hope of return, remains a mystery and Cook was unable to shed any fresh light on Tuesday. I cant actually answer that question, totally, at this precise moment in time which is incredibly frustrating for me, Cook told Sky Sports News at county side Essexs media day. Everyone will say Im sitting on the fence, but there are a number of reasons which will become clearer soon. You have to respect the decision and the position I am in at this precise moment in time, the left-handed opening batsman added. Englands recent struggles, culminating with the humiliation of Mondays 45-run defeat by minnows the Netherlands in the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, where a team without Pietersen and Cook, who does not play in T20 internationals, were dismissed for just 88, have only led to fresh questions. Cook accepted the Pietersen issue would not go away until England addressed it full on, but insisted he couldnt do so at this moment in time. Everyone is going to keep asking that question until we give the answers, but at the moment we just cant, said the 29-year-old. However, Cook added: If anyone thinks the decision was taken lightly and without a lot of consideration and a lot of thought a lot of things went into the decision, he said. It was a tough decision. But having seen Giles guide England to the final of last years 50-over Champions Trophy final, Cook said it would be wrong to judge him on the national sides most recent results. Gilo has had a tough winter - weve all had a tough winter. Hes a very, very good coach. Hes a fantastic coach and a very good man as well, said Cook. Other reported candidates for the post include former England coach Peter Moores, now with Lancashire, Nottinghamshires Mick Newell and Australian Trevor Bayliss, who has coached Sri Lanka. l

Al Amin fined for abusive language

Bangladesh fast bowler Al Amin Hossain was been fined 15 per cent of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during their last Super 10 match against Australia in the World Twenty20 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium yesterday. Al Amin was found guilty using offensive language after he dismissed Australia opener David Warner in the 12th over. After the match, Al-Amin pleaded guilty to the charge and accepted the sanction proposed by the match referee Ranjan Madugalle of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees. Meanwhile Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan was been fined 20 per cent of his match fee for breaching the players code of conduct during their game against New Zealand in Chittagong on Monday. Dilshan was found to have shown dissent at an umpires decision during his teams 59-run win over New Zealand in the Group one match which lifted Sri Lanka into the semi-finals. The incident happened in the fourth over, when Dilshan rubbed his elbow after the ball deflected off his gloves to the wicketkeeper to indicate that the ball had not touched his gloves, an ICC release said. l

Brothers move to last four

Brothers Union cruised through to the semi-finals in the Modhumoti Bank Independence Cup Football with a 2-1 win over Team BJMC in the first quarter-final at the Bangabandhu National yesterday. Team BJMC started in an attacking mode and had the chance to take the leadin the very first minute, but their forward Aminur Rahman Shojib squandered the opportunity as his header went straight to Brothers goalkeeper Sabuj Das Roghu. Brothers however did not let their chance go begging and went up 1-0 through midfielder Jewel Rana in the 9th minute. Winger Rubel Miahs cracking drive from 20 yards out rocked the BJMC crosspiece before the rebound fell on the feet of unmarkedRanawho headed home with ease. After the change of ends, Brothers took control of the match and doubled the lead through their Nigerian forward Simon in the 53rd minute. The Nigerian hit man promptly unleashed an angular shot from 20 yards that left BJMC goalkeeper Ariful Islam hapless in the far post. Team BJMC pulled one back in the 66th minute with their Nigerian forward Uche Felix heading on free kick of defender Khan Tara from the left. l

Bahrain opposition calls F1 Grand Prix protests

Bahrains influential Shiite opposition bloc Al-Wefaq and a more radical group have called separate rallies for Friday to protest the weekend staging of the Formula One Grand Prix in Manama. Demonstrations have been held during the annual three-day Grand Prix event every year since 2011 by opponents of the ruling Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty in an attempt to highlight pro-reform demands. The protests, which first erupted in the wake of a Shiite-led uprising in February 2011, have at times been marred by violence but the race has never been affected. They are mainly staged in Shiite villages surrounding Manama and away from the Sakhir F1 circuit in the capitals south. AFP

Talha treble fires Jubilee School

Jubilee School of Patuakhali beat Madaripur Public Institute 4-0 in the First Security Islami Bank National School Hockey at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium yesterday. Abu Talha slammed a hat-trick for the winners while the other goal was scored by Istiaque. Zinjira PM Pilot High School rode on the strikes of Emon, Arnab, Shakil, Nabil and Johnny to rout Dinajpur District High School 5-0. Nabab Habibullah High School, Dhaka outplayed Shahin School and College 3-0 with Rizvi scoring a brace and Sobuj netting the other for the victorious. In the last match of the day, Khanjanpur High School of Joypurhat ousted Rafikuddin Memeorial High School of Comilla 4-3 in the shootout as the match ended 1-1 after the stipulated time. l

No Qatar re-vote says Fifa official

Michel DHooghe, FIFAs medical officer, has insisted there will be no revote on the controversial decision to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup finals. There will be absolutely no re-vote, DHooghe told the London Evening Standard on Tuesday, a day after Japan said it was ready to step in if FIFA stripped Qatar of staging the 2022 World Cup. Some in the English press want that (a re-vote). But its not the English press that decide. DHooghe was one of the FIFA executive committee members who in 2010 awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 edition to Qatar. l

DAYS WATCH
Sony Six NBA 2013 14 6:00AM Brooklyn v Houston 8:30AM LA Lakers Vs Portland- Live 2:30PM Yonex Sunrise India Open 2014 Star Sports 4 4:00PM AFC Champions League 2014 Hyundai Motors v Guangzhou Evergrande 10:30PM Italian Serie A Roma v Parma Star Sports 2 AFC Champions League 2014 5:00PM Buriram United v Cerezo Osaka UEFA Champions League, QF Leg 1 Ten Sports 12:45AM Paris Saint-Germain v Chelsea Ten Action 12:45AM Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund

Djokovic holds the winners trophy on the beach after defeating Nadal at the Men's Final on day 14 of the Sony Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center in Florida on Sunday AFP

McCullum looks for improvement

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum Monday stressed his team must look for a turnaround soon if they want to win a major tournament following their unceremonious exit from the World Twenty20. The Black Caps were dealt a telling blow by Sri Lanka, who beat them by 59 runs in a low-scoring game in Chittagong. With Sri Lanka dismissed for a paltry 119, the match was within New Zealands reach but left-arm spinner Rangana Herath demolished them with figures of five for three runs in 3.3 overs. That bowled New Zealand out for their lowest Twenty20 total of 60 -- overall third lowest in the shortest format. New Zealand have only once reached the semi-final, way back in the inaugural edition -- a trend McCullum wants to end. Somethings going to have to change at some stage, said McCullum after the match. Otherwise well keep turning up at tournaments, winning a couple, losing a couple and never claiming any silverware and thats not what we play for and somethings going to have to change if New Zealands going to start winning major tournaments. Weve got one at home in a years time which better be it. New Zealand and Australia co-host the 2015 World Cup (50 overs) in February-March. Regarded as the perennial underachievers in world cricket, New Zealand have only won the 2000 Champions Trophy in their history. l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Many new private med schools unfit to start operation

n Moniruzzaman Uzzal
Only three or four of the private medical and dental colleges that got approval last year, are likely to be granted conditional permission to continue operations, sources said quoting a probe report. Four probe committees, who looked into the progresses made by 14 recently approved private med schools, submitted reports before Health Minister Mohammed Nasim and other high officials of the health ministry during a meeting yesterday. However, sources said the meeting was adjourned without any decision made on the reports. Several high officials, who were present at the meeting, told the Dhaka Tribune that although all the reports had not been fully read out, primarily it was learnt that some of the medical colleges had made significant progress after getting permission to admit students. However, some colleges were still being run in rented buildings and most of them did not have own hospitals, the official said. Prof Dr ABM Abdul Hannan told the Dhaka Tribune that each of the reports would be reviewed thoroughly in the next meeting of the ministry before deciding on which of these med school would get final permission. Although many of these colleges failed to meet the pre-conditions, all of them would eventually be given conditional permission as influential people, who had direct or indirect involvement with the colleges, had been trying to sway the decision in their favour, ministry officials said. Refusing to reveal details as the investigations were sensitive and confidential, members of the probe committees said the influential people were urging authorities to keep the colleges open for protecting the interest of the students who had already secured admission. On January 30, four probe teams were formed to inspect the 14 medical colleges given primary and administrative approval in the last academic year (2013-2014), amid allegations that the colleges were approved illegally by former health minister AFM Ruhal Hoque just before the end of his tenure. Each of the probe committee consisted senior officials of the health ministry, health directorate, medical universities, Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) and the law ministry. As part of their probe, the four probe committees checked whether the 14 medical colleges were operating in accordance with the Private Medical College Establishment and Administration Policy of 2009 and 2011. The probe teams also verified several factors including infrastructural facilities at the medical colleges, floor space, ratio of students and patients in emergency departments, waste disposal chains, academic approval of the BMDC, approval of universities, organogram, teacher- student ratio,accommodation facilities etc. Professor Dr Abu Shafi Ahmed Amin, president of Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC), told the Dhaka Tribune that the formation of a central accreditation body was a must to provide permission to open a new medical college. The BMDC would soon submit a proposal for forming such an accreditation body, he added. On previous occasions, several new medical colleges allegedly promised to fulfil necessary requirements in order to secure conditional approvals, but failed to carry through their promises afterwards. The private medical and dental colleges that were probed are: Kasiruddin Memorial Medical College, US Dental College, Abdul Hamid Medical College, Addin-Akij Medical College, Khulna City Medical College, Shah Makdum Medical College, US Bangla Medical College, United Medical College, Care Medical College, Universal Medical College, Brahmanbaria Medical College, Marine City Medical College, IIMCH Medical College and Parkview Medical College. l

Students of Dhaka University vandalise a passenger bus in front of the National Press Club yesterday, protesting the assault of a fellow student by transport staff

DHAKA TRIBUNE

BCL extortion halts UGC internet project

n DU Correspondent
A high-speed internet connectivity project of the University Grants Commission (UGC) at Dhaka University has been stalled in face of an extortion demand from the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the students wing of the ruling Awami League. The project, initiated under the UGCs Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project, would carry out the survey, installation, testing and commissioning of a point-to-point fibre optic data connectivity to provide high speed internet to different public universities across the country. Sources said the projects implementation at Dhaka University came to a halt when Mehedi Hasan, the expelled president of the universitys Salimullah Muslim Hall unit Chhatra League, and his supporters demanded a large sum as extortion from Hamida Traders, the private company selected by UGC to run the project at DU. The BCL activists reportedly forced the company to stop the project when they were refused the extortion money. Although Hamida Traders had later resumed their digging works for installing the cables, they were forced to stop the works after Mehedi and his men assaulted some of the companys staff, including its chief engineer, and some of the labourers. Some engineers of the project, requesting anonymity, said the BCL men also threatened to kill them if the extortion money was not paid. However, we tried to contact the DU Proctor Amzad Ali to discuss the matter and to ensure their security to continue the project works but, the proctor did not meet us, they alleged. When contacted, Proctor Ali said the Hamida Group had begun the installation works after submitting an application to the Dhaka University authority but he was not aware of the extortion issue. If we receive a written extortion allegation from anyone, we will investigate the matter, he added. BCL DU General Secretary Omar Sharif said Mehedi was long involved in such rogue activities and was thus expelled from the organisation. Therefore, we have nothing to do in this regard. But, law enforcers or the university authority can take punitive action against him [Mehedi] if he was really involved, he added. Earlier in February, four activists of Chhatra League, including Mehedi, were expelled after instigating a clash with the staff of Peacock Bar and Restaurant at the capitals Shahbagh area on New Years Eve. Sources also added although Mehedi had been expelled from the organisation, he remains active in politics and finds support from some top-level leaders of Chhatra League. l

Tk30m gold seized at Dhaka airport

n Kailash Sarkar
Customs intelligence officials yesterday seized 62 gold bars weighing 7.5 kilograms at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka city and arrested two passengers from Dubai in this connection. Ayesha Akter, assistant commissioner of Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation, said they had arrested Dulal Hossain, 32, and Saidul Islam, 35, both from Comilla, around 11:15am upon their arrival from Dubai. She said they detained the duo and frisked their bodies and discovered the gold bars worth around Tk30m strapped to their bodies. She suspected that Dulal and Saidul belonged to a smugglers ring. Bangladesh has seen a spate of gold seizures, particularly at Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet airports over the past 15 months. Over 30 caches of gold were seized at the three airports in the last three months alone.

3 police officers held for misappropriating smuggled gold bars

n Mohammad Jamil Khan

Detectives yesterday recovered 149 smuggled gold bars from the custody of Rampura police and arrested four persons, including three police officials, for not handing over the recovery to the government treasury. The arrestees were Rampura police Sub-Inspector Manjurul Islam, Constable Wahid and Constable Akash Chowdhury, and an informant named Rony. The arrests were made after the Detective Branch of the police received vital information while interrogating detainees of a gold smuggling case. According to the case, SI Manjurul and his patrol team, who were on duty at Banasrees Balurmath area on March 13, chased a microbus on suspicion and later found the vehicle abandoned. They brought the vehicle to the police station and filed a general diary for an abandoned car. On March 16, two individuals named Samir Bishwash and Jahid Hossain came to the police station to claim the vehicle but could not provide any documents to prove their right. Later, police detained them and found out that they were professional gold smugglers and were transporting 235 gold bars using the microbus. However, police officials could only recover 70 gold bars from the abandoned vehicle. On March 18, a case was filed in this regard with Rampura police station and was handed over to the Detective Branch on March 20. Upon further interrogation by the DB members, the detainees confirmed that there were 235 gold bars in the vehicle when they abandoned it. The detectives then interrogated SI Manjurul and his petrol team where they confessed they had misappropriated the recovery. Later, detectives recovered 149 of the missing gold bars from different parts of the capital after the detained policemen disclosed the places when they had kept it hidden. However, 16 gold bars from the cache still remain missing. l

Bangladesh plans to import additional 630MW from India

n Aminur Rahman Rasel
A proposal is set to be placed at the joint steering committee meeting of Bangladesh-India power sector cooperation to import an additional 630MW of electricity from the neighbouring country, a power division official has said. A high-level Indian delegation led by Indian Power Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha will visit Dhaka to attend a meeting of the Joint Steering Committee on the power sector from April 2-3, Power Secretary Monowar Islam, who will lead the Bangladesh side, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. Official sources said a joint working committee meeting led by joint power secretaries of both countries would take place today, followed by a joint steering committee meeting led by power secretaries to be held tomorrow. Both meetings will discuss the possibility of exploring power exchanges between Bangladesh and India through the eastern side of Bangladesh and Indias Tripura. The meetings will also discuss the possibility of importing electricity from northeastern Indian states and the development of joint venture hydro-power projects in those areas. Discussions will also be held on the prospects of importing electricity from Nepal and Bhutan. Both teams are also scheduled to visit the1,320MW Moitree Super Thermal Power Project at Rampal today. We will place a proposal to import 30MW of electricity from Indias public or private sector through the Bheramara sub-station, said a top official of Power Division, seeking anonymity. We will seek a further 600MW power from Indias Tripura state. he said. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently made a request to her Indian counterpart about this matter. Dhaka is keen to import electricity from India in order to reduce its dependence on more costly power from rental and quick rental power plants, of which production cost is average Tk17 per unit; each unit of electricity from India costs an average of Tk6. At present, Dhaka imports 500MW of electricity from India, 50% from the public sector and the rest from the private sector. Another official of the Power Division said the meeting would also review the progress of Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company Limited (BIFPC) in developing the 1,320MW Rampal project in Bagerhat. Sources also said the board meeting of the newly formed BIFPC will be held tomorrow. l

Customs officials display gold bars seized from two passengers at Dhaka airport yesterday Gold traders, officials of the Civil Aviation Authorities of Bangladesh, customs, Biman Bangladesh Airlines and police were found involved in the smuggling. In September last year, an investigation committee found at least 18 Biman officials involved with smuggling two hauls of gold, including the biggest seizure of 124kg gold in July last year. Around 1,100 officials and employees of various government and non-government organisations working at the airports were detained for their suspected link to the smuggling. l

PMO for action against Ctg airport officials

n Rabiul Islam
The Prime Ministers Office has directed the civil aviation and the home ministries to take action against a dozen of officials of Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong for their alleged involvement in gold smuggling. In a report last month, the PMO also ordered to identify the godfathers and bring them to book besides the carriers. The report says a section of unscrupulous airport officers and staff are involved in the gold smuggling process at the Chittagong airport. Even though a handsome amount of smuggled gold was seized at the airport recently, the lions share crosses the airport unnoticed with the help of the security officials, airport staff and cabin crews. Recently a personal aide of a high-ranking official helped gold-carrying passengers to leave the airport through an illegal route to avoid scanning of their luggage. During the process, a platoon commander of Ansar assisted him. Later, the personal assistant was transferred to Barisal airport while the Ansar member to another place. On February 6, a total of 49kg gold was recovered in an aircraft coming from Dubai. On December 11 last year, as much as 17kg gold was seized from a toilet of national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines, also coming from Dubai. Bangladesh is used as a transit route of smuggled gold, most of which goes to India. A number of security guards also take the bags of gold from the smugglers and carry those outside the airport. While cleaning aircraft, some sweepers carry gold in waste baskets or bags left by the smugglers and hand over the gold to a mechanic of the engineering section of Bangladesh Biman. A number of helpers of the Biman are also involved in gold smuggling. When a flight of an international airliner including Bangladesh Biman lands in Chittagong airport, the gold-carrying passenger gets down and another member of the syndicate takes a domestic flight to Dhaka. The first carrier then leaves the bag beside or under the seat of the second carrier, or inside the flights toilet. The cabin crews or stewards help the passengers during the process. The passengers often cross the checking area giving reference to officers and staff of different agencies on duty at the airport or claiming themselves as their relatives. Because of maintaining prior contact, these people exchange the bags of gold while getting down the boarding bridge. Sometimes the passengers themselves carry the gold and get out of the airport with the help of some dishonest officers and staff of the Customs, Biman and the civil aviation. The PMO has asked the ministries to ensure exemplary punishment to these dishonest officers and staff. It is not true that gold smuggling has increased, but we have increased our surveillance. As a result, gold is being seized very often, Civil Aviation Secretary Khurshed Alam Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday. The home secretary was not available on phone for comments. l

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BOI PC merger in the offing

n Asif Showkat kallol
The government is going to merge Board of Investment and Privatisation Commission to reduce state expenditure, Prime Ministers Office (PMO) sources said. These two state agencies have become known for their ineffectiveness over the years. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina already directed the authority concerned to start the process. PMO sent a letter to the Cabinet Division Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan yesterday in this regard. The secretary however said yesterday that he got verbal directive but was yet to receive any letter from the PMO. We will act after receiving letter from the PMO. The letter said merger of two agencies would be good for the development of the countrys investment and business sectors and asked the cabinet division to take necessary steps. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is the ex-officio chairman of the two bodies. The BOI and PC were supposed to play the pivotal role to attract foreign and local investments in the country but displayed complete failure in last two years, official sources said, adding that officials of these two government agencies were now sitting idle. But PC officials said the ministries and divisions didnt listen to the suggestions of the two bodies, and thats why the bodies could not work to attract investment. They said PC and BOI had to wait for Prime Ministers intervention in most of the cases. There have differences for long between ministries and PC regarding privatisation of state-owned enterprises under the ministries. PC has always alleged that the ministries had never taken any initiative to make the loss-making firms profitable. Finance Ministry officials said the ministry took several attempts to close the Privatisation Commission as per the directive of PMO. However it later changed the decision. In 1993, the government constituted Privatisation Board, which was changed to Privatisation Commission in 2000. At present, a total of 70 officials and staffs are working at the Privatisation Commission and the government spent Tk17 crore during last four years, and no state firms were privatised during the period. BOI was established in 1989 to increase local and foreign investments in the country. The Board started with 495 staff and of them, 359 posts are now vacant. According to a World Bank study, the private sector investment declined by 1.2% in 2013. Achievement of 7.2% growth as per the government target in the current fiscal is at risk. According to BoI, the investment situation improved a little in last January but went down by Tk30bn in February. l

ADB cuts GDP growth forecast further to 5.6%

n Tribune Report
Asian Development Bank has further cut its growth forecast for Bangladesh due to slowed down exports and remittances, and political unrest before national election in early January this year. In its Asian Development Outlook 2014 released yesterday simultaneously throughout the Asia region, it said GDP is projected to grow by 5.6%, which is lower than its earlier projection of 5.8% for fiscal year (2013-14) ending in June. The projection is also lower than the governments revised target of 6.5%, Bangladesh Banks revised projection of around 6%, the World Banks 5.7% and International Monetary Funds 6% and Bloombergs 6.3%. GDP of Bangladesh is expected to slow, said Oleg Tonkonojenkov, ADB deputy country director for Bangladesh while releasing the outlook in Dhaka. It reflected apprehended slower expansion in exports, falling worker remittances, and political unrest before parliamentary elections affecting consumer and investors confidence, he said. However, he expected the GDP growth to improve in FY15, but a major boost will come only with higher investment in infrastructure. Lauding positive achievements in some areas, Tonkonojenkov said Bangladesh performed well in terms of economic and social developments over the past several decades. Macroeconomic management has been sound, and economic growth was largely inclusive and broad-based, with notable progress in poverty reduction. Bangladesh is on track to achieve most of the millennium development goals, he said. He said Bangladesh needs to pay much more attention to boosting its infrastructure skills, if the country

GDP GROWTH ON DOWN TREND

ADB LOWERS ITS GDP GROWTH FORECAST FOR BANGLADESH Due to:
l l l l
Initially set 7.2% Revised 6.5% Bloombergs 6.3%

Slowdown in exports Falling remittances Political unrest before national election Weaker domestic demand depressing production
2009

6.82% IMF 6% World Banks 5 6.48% ADBs 5.6% AD 5.82% 5.14%

7.2% 6.18% Initially set 7.2% Revised 6.5% Bloomberg 6.3% IMF 6% World Bank 5.7% ADB 5.6% *Base year 2005-06

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

TO-DO LIST
l l

Restoring political stability Boosting infrastructure, skills and necessary investment Gearing up public resource mobilization Ensuring better contribution of PPP FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14

l l

A H MAMUN/DT INFOGRAPHIC

has to move to a higher growth path. Major reforms in tax policies and strengthening tax administration will be a priority to gear up public resource mobilisation, he said. In addition to mobilising resources, public sector capacity for implementing projects will need to be significantly strengthened. As has been the case with other rapidly growing developing countries, the private sector will also need to be engaged in financing infrastructure projects under public private partnerships (PPP). In response to a question, ADBs Principal Country Economist Mohammad Zahid Hossain said Bangladesh has great prospects to grow at more than 7%, but needs investment in a bigger way, developing infrastructure

and restoring political stability. In his presentation on economic prospects for Bangladesh, he said growth is expected to rebound to 6.2% in FY2015, aided by higher remittance and export growth, as well as by prospects for continued economic recovery in the US and the euro area. A likely rise in consumer and investors confidence as the political situation stabilises is also expected to stimulate demand and strengthen growth momentum. Industry growth expected to slow to 8% in FY14 because of the output lost to political unrest in the first half of the year, and as weaker domestic demand depresses production. Production by the RMG may also be affected if foreign buyers postpone or-

ders in response to delays in implanting agreed fire and building safety standards to prevent further industrial accidents. Industry growth is expected to grow to 9% in FY2015 with a pickup in domestic and external demand, better safety standards and compliance in garment factories and gains in power generation. Agriculture is projected to rebound to 3% in FY2014, aided by favorable weather conditions in the early months of the year and reflecting the previous years low base. Inflation is expected to rise to an average of 7.5% in this fiscal year because of the effects of supply disruptions, rising wages in both the public and the private sector, and expected increases in electricity and fuel prices. l

ADRC on cards to deal RMG disputes

n Mohosinul Karim

Furniture makers for cash incentive, low import duty

The sector has all the potentials to become globally competitive

n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

The furniture manufacturers and exporters have demanded cash incentives and lowering of import duty on raw materials in the next fiscal budget to make the sector globally competitive. Due to high import duty, we fail to compete with other countries in the international furniture market, KM Akhtaruzzaman, president of Bangladesh Furniture Exporters Association (BFEA), told the Dhaka Tribune explaining the cause for their demands. He said they were being beaten in the global market as the costly import of raw materials increased the production cost. The sector sought 20 25% cash incentives to achieve 100% growth in exports. According to the Association, the government had not kept their words given several times to provide cash incentives to the furniture sector. We are yet to get any cash incentive. But the commerce ministers recent assurance raised our hopes, said BFEA president. Industry people say around 60% of raw goods including timber, wood coating materials, hardware and accessories and fabrics are imported from different countries. High duty is a burden on us. Easing of it will be a boon for the sectors boom, said

Selim H Rahman, chairman of Bangladesh Furniture Industry Owners Association. He said Bangladesh is a nascent supplier to global furniture market, so it needs incentive to produce quality goods in large volumes. Selim H Rahman, also managing director of Hatil Furniture, identified shortage of skilled manpower as another problem Bangladeshs furniture sector is facing. It has transformed from a cottage to a technology-based industry. The sector now requires skilled labour force and for this, institutional educations in technical schools and universities are needed, he said. Selim Rahman sees the sector can fight well in the global market as it is a labour-intensive industry and Bangladesh has cheap labour. BFEA said the local manufacturers can now meet 90% of domestic demand, reducing the countrys dependency on imports. Once we had to meet 50% of local demand by imported furniture, which cost us huge foreign currencies, said BFEA president Akhtaruzzaman. Bangladeshs furniture market size is over Tk14,000 crore and the local makers supply a variety of international standard furniture made from wood, processed wood, melamine board, particleboard and steel etch.

Currently, the country has 41,560 enterprises producing furniture, where about 15 lakh skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers are employed. Industry insiders said foreign buyers were increasingly showing interest in the Bangladeshi furniture and some of them already sought briefing about the products. They said foreign buyers were being attracted by the cheap rates and good-looking designs of the Bangladeshi furniture. The local manufacturers want proper policy support from the government to use the prospects. Bangladesh earned over $25m in the July-February period of the current fiscal year from furniture exports, registering 32% growth over the same period a year ago, showed data of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). The figure was $19.20m in the same period last year when the total annual furniture export stood at $31.41m. Furniture export target has been set at around $38m for the current fiscal year with 20% rise from last year. At present, the country exports office furniture, metal furniture, seats with metal frames, bedroom furniture, wooden, plastic-made, spare parts, mattress supports, sleeping bags, lamps and light fittings to various destinations of the world. l

The government has decided to introduce an Alternative Dispute Resolution Council (ADRC) for the countrys readymade garments sector to deal with labour complains as well as to comply with the conditions in regaining the suspended generalised system of preferences (GSP) in the US market. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed made the disclosure yesterday, after a meeting with US Ambassador in Dhaka Dan W Mozena at his secretariat office in the city. We have decided to form an Alternative Dispute Resolution Council (ADRC) in the RMG sector to resolve the complaints relating to labour abuse or harassment, he said categorically, pointing out a condition set by the US administration to get back the GSP facilities. As there has been no unique au-

thority to deal with the complaints, they have to run from door to door just to lodge their complaints. He said the workers will be free to lodge their complaints after establishing the ADRC, which will hear both the complainants and the accused. Though it will not act as a court, the council will resolve the disputes after hearing both parties. It will help reduce the crisis in the garments sector and the RMG workers would get proper justice. The minister, however, said the decision has just been taken as the name and formation process of the council has not been finalized yet. It is expected to take a shape after the ministers returning home scheduled on April 11 from a visit to Geneva and UAE. Tofail and Senior Secretary of Commerce Mahbub Ahmed are expected to attend a meeting with the Secretary General of the United Nations Confer-

ence on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and also to attend a meeting as a panel discussant in Geneva. Later, they will go to UAE for joining a regional ministerial meeting of the commerce ministers from April 7 to 10. Regarding the appointment of Class-I and Class-II officials for Department of Factories and Establishment, Tofail said: Weve already appointed 25 factory inspectors and rest of the recruitments are still under process. He said the government is also trying to publish a gazette notification for Class-II non-cadre recruitment rules, which would be finalised within a month. The recruiting process for appointing 222 Class-II officers will be accomplished immediately after the gazette is published. Lauding the initiatives taken by the government so far, the US Ambassador
B3 COLUMN 5

IndustriAll wants Tk57.60 lakh for each died in Rana Plaza disaster
n Tribune Report
IndustriAll Bangladesh Council (IBC) has demanded Tk57.60 lakh as compensation for each of the workers who died in the Rana Plaza building collapse. The IBC has set Tk57.60 lakh as compensation based on the loss of future earnings and pain and sufferings in line with the article 121 of ILO convention, said Roy Ramesh Chandra, general secretary of IBC, while addressing a press conference yesterday in the city. The Press conference was organised also to announce a month-long programme on the occasion of first anniversary of Rana Plaza Building collapse. The amount of the compensation would be count based on the age of workers when he or she died, said Roy. The compensation amount has been fixed calculating Tk50,000 for pain and sufferings, Tk6,000 for monthly wage on an average, Tk12,000 for two festive bonus and plus 5% for yearly inflation, he added. The buyers, factory owners, brands, the BGMEA and the government have to pay the compensation comprehensively, said Roy adding the BGMEA, ILO and the government are bound to compensate the victims as per the ILO convention. The organisation has chalked out a month-long programme, which include holding of multi-stakeholder meetings, forming human chain in front of the National Press Club and gathering in front of the Rana Plaza on April, 16, 18 and 23 respectively. Replying to a query, Nazrul Islam Khan, chairman of IBC, said they could not count the proper numberof the worksas the factory owners did not provide any appointment letters to the workers. This compensation package will set a standard for the compensation of workers working in the countrys in several sectors, he hoped. Nazrul Islam, also a standing committee member of BNP, alleged that the labour law was not implementing in a proper way for ensuring RMG workers right for forming trade union and associations. The leaders of the organisation also demanded compensation for the victims of Tazreen Fashion and Aswad Composite in light with Compensation Trust Fund. They also urged the government and relevant stake holders to set a permanent solution and standard to compensate all the workers, who were either dead or injured in any factory disaster. The organisation has identified 3,639 workers for compensation while 116 workers have been identified as missing. Currently, the Trust Fund has US$8m while British retailer Primark would give $1m to the fund. About $40m is needed to pay 3,000 workers or the families of those killed in the collapse on April 24 last year. At least 1,133 workers were killed and over 2,500 injured in the incident. The Trust Fund, backed by the International Labour Organisation, includes IndustriALL, UNI Global Union and the Clean Clothes Campaign. The ILO is the trustee of the fund. l

Photo shows a view of a furniture stall at DITF 2014

TAHMIDUR RAHMAN

B2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Stock
DSE GAINERS Company

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Stocks rally for second day

n Tribune Report
Stocks rallied for 2nd consecutive session yesterday, driven by mainly heavyweight companies that continued to shine. The benchmark index DSEX gained 35 points or 0.8% to close at 4,527. Shariah Index DSES was up over 11 points or 1% to 987.The blue-chip comprising DS30 rose 15 points or 1% to end at 1,618. Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, closed at 8,753 with a rise of 50 points. The total turnover at DSE crossed Tk300 crore after three consecutive sluggish sessions and hit 7-session high value of Tk315 crore. It was 9.8% higher compared to the previous sessions turnover. Food and allied gained most with a rally of more than 4%, led by heavyweight scrips like BATBC that rallied almost 1%. Cement sector came second with a rise of 3.7%, backed by Lafarge Surma Cement that rose more than 5%. Among other sectors, pharmaceuticals, power, telecommunications and non-baking financial institutions also closed green. But life insurance and bank edged lower. Large caps dominated the movements of bourse, said IDLC Investments in its daily market analysis. Meanwhile, it said, other cap classes demonstrated strong volatility, investors seemed to adjust their positions across stocks and sectors. Since the market spiked up after a long lacklustre trading, participants remained largely watchful. Lanka Bangla Securities said the market has moved sharply higher in early trading, adding to the modest gains posted in the previous session. It said large cap stocks have climbed firmly into positive territory, with the benchmark index reaching its best intraday level in almost a month. The early strength of DSE is partly due to optimism that securities regulator has decided to give provision of six more months to merchant bank and broker to restructure clients margin account to recover the losses on investment. On the money market front, treasury bonds yield has come down. The yield on the benchmark ten-year bond is declining steadily in line with ample liquidity support from 12.3% in September 2013 to 11.75% in March 2014, down by 47 basis points. This would boost the capital gain on bond holdings of financial stocks, said Lanka Bangla. After pulling back in recent sessions, textile sector has shown a strong move back to the upside with market capitalisation up by more than 1% and volume up by 31%. l

DSE key features April 1, 2014

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract Traded Issues Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis) Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis) Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis) Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.) Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)
3,152.94 60,024,906 74,160 292 145 138 9 2,261.65 27.41

Closing (% change) 9.68 8.46 7.76 6.96 6.84 6.53 5.58 5.35 5.28 5.03

Northern Jute -Z Monno Stafllers -A Prime Textile -A Apex Footwear-A Desh Garments -B Eastern Lubricants -A Eastern Housing -A Emerald Oil Ind. -N Renata Ltd. -A LafargeS Cement-Z CSE GAINERS Company Prime Textile -A 6th ICB M F A Rupali Life Insur.-A H.R. Textile -A Kay & Que (BD) -Z Marico BD Ltd-A The Ibn SinaA Familytex (BD) Ltd.-N LafargeS Cement-Z Apex Foods -A

Average (% change) 9.68 1.14 5.60 4.81 2.58 0.80 0.65 1.47 3.99 4.38 Average (% change) 6.40 6.49 6.08 4.13 5.52 5.30 4.20 6.35 4.04 2.88

Closing average 120.10 388.30 25.85 465.93 124.70 567.37 55.42 50.53 984.32 51.46

Closing 120.10 404.00 26.40 470.10 126.50 598.90 56.80 51.20 997.40 52.20

Daily high 120.10 405.00 26.60 474.90 128.00 604.00 57.50 51.70 999.00 52.80

Daily low 120.10 363.10 24.60 434.00 121.00 537.40 49.00 48.90 940.00 49.90

Turnover in million 0.120 5.611 16.700 25.487 6.771 9.702 79.019 45.355 28.048 345.645

Latest EPS -10.24 5.25 1.12 23.61 1.18 6.02 1.56 1.40 41.39 2.19

Latest PE -ve 74.0 23.1 19.7 105.7 94.2 35.5 36.1 23.8 23.5

Closing (% change) 8.13 6.49 6.13 5.57 5.52 5.30 4.86 4.83 4.81 4.78

Closing average 26.11 64.00 124.56 35.78 19.10 1168.81 122.92 64.44 51.49 122.67

Closing 26.60 64.00 124.60 36.00 19.10 1168.80 123.10 63.00 52.30 122.70

Daily high 27.00 64.00 124.70 36.50 19.10 1179.00 123.80 71.50 52.90 123.30

Daily low 25.00 64.00 122.00 34.90 19.10 1163.00 106.00 61.00 50.00 121.10

Turnover in million 1.567 0.064 3.426 0.465 0.010 0.643 0.374 33.736 23.376 0.135

Latest EPS 1.12 6.54 5.33 1.56 -0.89 46.53 3.12 7.26 2.19 3.56

Latest PE 23.3 9.8 23.4 22.9 -ve 25.1 39.4 8.9 23.5 34.5

CSE key features April 1, 2014

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract
280.51 6,539,575 10,510 223 99 117 6 2,146.21 26.01

News, analysis and recent disclosers

From TradeServers:
FAMILYTEX: The Board of Directors has recommended 100% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Date of AGM: 15.05.2014, Time: 11:30 AM, Venue: CBC Confident Cement Convention Center, Chittagong Boat Club, Gate # 14, Near Old Airport, Potenga, Chittagong. Record Date: 22.04.2014. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 7.26, NAV per share of Tk. 21.72 and NOCFPS of Tk. 3.45 for the year ended on December 31, 2013. SIBL: The Board of Directors has recommended 12% cash dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Date of AGM: 31.05.2014, Time and Venue: to be notified later on. Record Date: 24.04.2014. The Company has also reported consolidated EPS of Tk. 1.78, consolidated NAV per share of Tk. 15.78 and consolidated NOCFPS of Tk. (2.56) for the year ended on December 31, 2013. RUPALIINS: The Board of Directors has recommended 10% cash dividend and 10% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Date of AGM: 28.04.2014, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: Officers' Club, 26 Baily Road, Ramna, Dhaka. Record Date: 10.04.2014. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 1.98, NAV per share of Tk. 24.63 and NOCFPS of Tk. 1.26 for the year ended on December 31, 2013. NORTHERN: DSE NEWS: The management of DSE has formed an enquiry team to investigate the unusual price movement of shares of Northern Jute Manufacturing Co. Ltd. during the period from March 23, 2014 to March 31, 2014. BOARD MEETING: BDLAMPS on April 03, 2014 at 3:00 PM. RECKITTBEN on April 07, 2014 at 4:15 PM. ARGONDENIM on April 02, 2014 at 3:00 PM. tion was 5.75% (taka 2.3) against 12.50% stock Dividend (taka 5.0 per share approx.). After record day restated EPS is taka 2.45 and NAV per share is taka 12.43. PIONEERINS price correction was 18.25% (taka 13) against 10% Cash & 20% stock Dividend (taka 2.48 per share approx.). After record day restated EPS is taka 2.52 and NAV per share is taka 22.55. RIGHT SHARE: ARAMITCEM: Subscription 23.03.2014 to 17.04.2014. RD for entitlement of rights share: 09.01.2014. RUPALILIFE- Subscription 06.04.2014 to 05.05.2014. RD for entitlement of rights share: 16.01.2014. BRACBANK: Subscription 20.04.2014 to 15.05.2014. RD for entitlement of rights share: 10.02.2014. GENNEXT: Subscription 18.03.2014 to 09.04.2014, RD: 25.02.2014. IPO Subscription: The Peninsula Chittagong Limited subscription date 30 March-03 April 2014, NRB upto 12 April 2014. @ taka 30, face value taka 10 and market lot 200. Shahjibazar Power Co. Limited subscription date 06 04 April 2014, NRB upto 19 April 2014. @ taka 25, face value taka 10 and market lot 200.

Daily capital market highlights

DSE Broad Index : DSE Shariah Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index :
DSE LOSERS Company Pioneer Insur -A Samata LeatheR -Z SummitAlliancePort.-A 2nd ICB M F -A Republic Insu.-A United Insur -A First Lease- A Eastern Cables-Z Closing (% change) -18.26 -7.73 -6.32 -5.89 -5.75 -5.17 -5.11 -4.92

4526.94479 987.59061 1618.50374 13944.9143 11726.7518 8753.9274

(+) 0.78% (+) 1.19% (+) 0.93% (+) 0.71% (+) 0.56% (+) 0.57%

Traded Issues Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis) Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis) Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis) Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.) Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

From BIASL Desk:

Average (% change) -18.59 -7.44 -6.24 -5.89 -9.16 -4.40 -6.70 -4.25

Closing average 57.85 34.73 23.76 263.50 37.11 38.69 22.01 156.39

Closing 58.20 34.60 23.70 263.50 37.70 38.50 22.30 154.70

Daily high 59.00 36.00 24.50 263.50 38.80 40.10 22.40 165.00

Daily low 57.30 34.10 23.50 263.50 32.00 38.10 20.00 153.00

Turnover in million 3.153 0.191 4.783 0.026 3.446 0.030 7.329 11.682

Latest EPS 2.52 -0.04 0.88 35.42 2.45 2.77 1.20 1.40

Latest PE 23.0 -ve 27.0 7.4 15.1 14.0 18.3 111.7

Impact after declaration: FAMILYTEX price up 3.84%, close at taka 62.10 with PE 8.55. SIBL price up by 4.44%, close at taka 14.10 with PE 7.92. RUPALIINS price up by 3.42%, close at taka 33.20 with PE 16.77. Price Correction after Record Day: FLEASEINTs price correction was 5.10% (taka 1.20) against 10% stock Dividend (taka 2.35 per share approx.). After record day restated EPS is taka 1.20 and NAV per share is taka 12.97. REPUBLIC price correc-

BD. Autocars -Z Popular Life Insu. -A

CSE LOSERS Company Continental Insur. -A Standard Insurance-A SummitAlliancePort.-A Republic Insu.-A NCCBL Mutual Fund-1 A First Lease- A ICB -A Imam Button -Z

-4.55 -3.39

-7.38 -3.34

29.99 242.85

29.40 242.10

31.00 247.10

28.20 235.00

0.318 12.679

0.04 17.00

749.8 14.3

Closing (% change) -10.00 -9.84 -7.48 -6.88 -4.82 -4.72 -4.64 -4.55

Average (% change) -9.90 -10.57 -6.66 -6.79 -4.82 -6.21 -4.65 -5.44

Closing average 24.30 33.00 23.68 37.90 7.90 22.06 1,730.67 8.34

Closing 24.30 33.00 23.50 37.90 7.90 22.20 1,730.75 8.40

Daily high 24.30 33.00 24.00 37.90 7.90 22.20 1,746.00 8.50

Daily low 24.30 33.00 23.40 37.90 7.90 21.60 1,723.00 8.20

Turnover in million 0.012 0.017 0.978 0.190 0.004 0.684 0.260 0.026

Latest EPS 1.55 2.96 0.88 2.45 1.03 1.20 40.46 -2.58

Latest PE 15.7 11.1 26.9 15.5 7.7 18.4 42.8 -ve

Aziz PipesZ Eastern Cables-Z

-4.39 -4.35

-4.24 -4.38

19.63 151.55

19.60 151.60

20.00 152.00

19.00 151.10

0.006 0.030

0.59 1.40

33.3 108.3

ANALYST
SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY
Sector Bank NBFI Investment Engineering Food & Allied Fuel & Power Jute Textile Pharma & Chemical Paper & Packaging Service Leather Ceramic Cement Information Technology General Insurance Life Insurance Telecom Travel & Leisure Miscellaneous Debenture

Since the market spiked up after a long lacklustre trading, participants remained largely watchful

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company LafargeS Cement-Z Familytex (BD) Ltd.-N Padma Oil Co. -A Grameenphone-A Square Pharma -A BSC A
Eastern Housing -A

DSE Million Taka 261.86 121.84 37.38 307.83 175.34 394.28 8.61 487.75 270.37 2.98 95.39 48.45 18.81 414.92 15.37 71.14 71.34 189.56 27.23 132.07 0.43

% change 8.31 3.86 1.19 9.76 5.56 12.51 0.27 15.47 8.58 0.09 3.03 1.54 0.60 13.16 0.49 2.26 2.26 6.01 0.86 4.19 0.01

Million Taka 29.85 10.42 3.38 15.15 22.41 41.17 69.32 17.86 28.29 7.33 29.74 2.02 28.62 2.52 4.28 4.86 22.50 4.10 20.05 0.08

CSE

% change 8.20 2.86 0.93 4.16 6.16 11.31 0.00 19.05 4.91 7.77 2.01 8.17 0.55 7.86 0.69 1.18 1.33 6.18 1.13 5.51 0.02

Million Taka 291.71 132.26 40.75 322.99 197.75 435.45 8.61 557.07 288.22 31.27 102.72 78.19 20.83 443.54 17.89 75.42 76.20 212.06 31.34 152.12 0.51

Total

% change 8.29 3.76 1.16 9.18 5.62 12.38 0.24 15.84 8.20 0.89 2.92 2.22 0.59 12.61 0.51 2.14 2.17 6.03 0.89 4.33 0.01

Emerald Oil Ind. -N Olympic Ind. -A LankaBangla Fin. -A HeidelbergCement -A Jamuna Oil -A
CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Familytex (BD) Ltd.-N

Meghna Petroleum -A National Tubes -A BD Submarine Cable-A

Volume shares 6,716,500 4,033,500 555,083 639,429 379,011 144,390 1,425,931 263,268 416,846 250,490

897,500 208,552 664,415 84,060 152,629

Value in million 345.65 256.18 192.64 138.11 102.32 92.97 79.02 73.52 73.12 51.46

45.36 43.57 40.44 36.23 34.79

% of total turnover 10.96 8.13 6.11 4.38 3.25 2.95 2.51 2.33 2.32 1.63

1.44 1.38 1.28 1.15 1.10

Daily closing 52.20 62.10 345.10 215.70 270.30 639.50 56.80 277.40 177.30 204.70

51.20 209.50 61.30 441.00 227.40

Price change 5.03 3.85 0.70 0.89 1.24 -1.08 5.58 0.36 2.72 0.74

5.35 1.60 3.90 4.53 1.07

Daily opening 49.70 59.80 342.70 213.80 267.00 646.50 53.80 276.40 172.60 203.20

48.60 206.20 59.00 421.90 225.00

51.70 210.00 62.00 443.90 232.00

Daily high

Daily high 52.80 74.80 350.50 217.60 271.00 657.75 57.50 281.80 182.00 207.80

48.90 205.00 55.00 415.00 207.00

Daily low

Daily low 49.90 60.10 315.00 208.00 244.00 637.75 49.00 253.00 160.00 200.00

Daily average 51.46 63.51 347.05 215.98 269.97 643.87 55.42 279.26 175.42 205.42

50.53 208.93 60.86 430.94 227.94

Volume shares

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

LafargeS Cement-Z BSC A Padma Oil Co. -A Grameenphone-A BD Submarine Cable-A Eastern Housing -A Square Pharma -A UCBL - A LankaBangla Fin. -A Appollo Ispat CL -N Generation Next-A Rupali Life Insur.-A One Bank -A UNITED AIR A

523,500 454,000 25,185 44,746 60,000 46,345 113,518 22,556 250,235 72,600 162,400 168,700 27,500 200,226 237,881

Value in million

33.74 23.38 16.26 15.54 12.96 9.54 6.30 6.09 5.74 4.39 4.31 3.49 3.43 3.37 3.30

% of total turnover

12.65 8.77 6.10 5.83 4.86 3.58 2.36 2.28 2.15 1.65 1.62 1.31 1.28 1.26 1.24

Daily closing

63.00 52.30 639.25 344.50 215.40 205.10 56.70 270.50 22.80 61.10 26.60 20.70 124.60 16.90 13.90

Price change

4.83 4.81 -1.20 0.41 1.03 0.94 5.00 1.39 -0.87 3.38 0.38 1.47 6.13 1.81 -0.71

Daily opening

60.10 49.90 647.00 343.10 213.20 203.20 54.00 266.80 23.00 59.10 26.50 20.40 117.40 16.60 14.00

71.50 52.90 657.00 350.90 217.80 208.00 57.30 271.50 23.30 61.60 26.90 20.90 124.70 18.20 14.20

61.00 50.00 638.00 320.00 213.00 200.00 49.90 260.00 21.00 55.00 26.40 18.50 122.00 16.00 12.80

Daily average

64.44 51.49 645.61 347.28 216.07 205.81 55.48 269.83 22.92 60.51 26.56 20.70 124.56 16.82 13.89

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

B3

Symposium: Women integral for meaningful development

n Abu Bakar Siddique
No country can achieve a meaningful development in national life if it fails to ensure participation of its womenfolk in all fields of economy, said speakers at a symposium in Dhaka yesterday. They were speaking at the South Asia Womens Entrepreneurship Symposium at a city hotel. US Ambassador Dan W Mozena, State Minister for Women Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki and President of Bangladesh Federation of Women Entrepreneurs (BFWE) Rokia Rahman, among others, addressed the function. Development and progress are driven by women. No country can go ahead if it leaves half its people behind, said Dan Mozena while speaking as chief guest. He cited a case of a woman named Malick and told the audience how she became an entrepreneur from a needy village housewife of Jessore. Mozena said he had met the woman few years ago. The US envoy stressed that the women would need to come forward like Mallick to see meaningful development of the South Asian countries. The three-day log symposium titled Strengthening womens entrepreneurship in south Asia was the third in a series of three exposure visits designed to create a platform for catalysing activities to advance womens entrepreneurship in South Asia. The previous visits were held in Sri Lanka and India. The Dhaka Exposure visit brings women entrepreneurs together from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and serves as a mechanism for women entrepreneurs to create crossborder linkages among themselves. This is a great opportunity for women entrepreneurs to share their ideas, and experiences what they had in their own countries, said Rokia Rahman at the function organised by The Asia Foundation. She said Sri Lanka was doing well in the tourism sector while India in Small and Medium Enterprises and Bangladesh in micro-financing. BFWE president said the women entrepreneurs from these three countries could share their experiences in these sectors with others to help them apply in their home countries. State Minister Meher Afroz Chumki said the government would soon make a law on womens development. We formulated National Women Development Policy in 2011. We also make a law for womens development soon, she said, also mentioning that the government has taken several initiatives to encourage women into venturing own business. l

US Ambassador Dan W Mozena in conversation with State Minister for Women Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki while Women Federation President Rokia Rahman looks on at a South Asia women symposium in Dhaka yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

BSEC okays new IPO, rights offer n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) yesterday approved an initial public offering (IPO) and a rights offer. Shurwid Industries Ltd will raise Tk14 crore through IPO to expand factory building, purchase machineries, bank term loan payment and meeting expenses of IPO process, according to its statement.

Indian firm to conduct Canadian envoy talks with telecom mining work in Myanmar secretary about Blackberry decision
n BSS
An Indian company is offering to conduct mining work in two townships of Falam and Tunzang in Myanmars Chin State, official media reported today. The Karam Chang Thapar (KCT) company is likely to carry out such mineral exploration work as on gold, chromites, nickel and limestone, said the New Light of Myanmar. There are nine townships in Chin except one that can produce chromite, nickel, iron, copper, aluminum, limestone, coal, oil and marble. A number of other private companies have also sought permission to do such mining work in the state, the report added. Myanmar has been encouraging local and foreign investment in mineral exploration. Foreign firms having being engaged in mineral exploration in Myanmar include those from Australia, China, France, Japan Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Russia. Official statistics show that existing foreign contracted investment in Myanmars mining sector amounted to 2.337bn US dollars in 11 projects as of the end of January 2014 since the country opened to such investment in late 1988, accounting for 6.6% of the total foreign investment and standing as the third largest sectorally after electric power and oil and gas. l

n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

Canadas High Commissioner Heather Cruden yesterday met with Telecom Secretary Abubakar Siddique in regards to embargo decision on Blackberry service in Bangladesh. She earlier talked with the chief of telecom regulator Sunil Kanti Bose and requested him to go slow with the decision. In February, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) decided to close the service of Canadian smartphone Blackberry as the brand failed to comply with the regulators rules regarding national security. Mobile phone operators Grameenphone and Airtel are providing Black-

The companys earnings per share is Tk1.09 and net asset value Tk 14.11, according to its financial statement ended on June 30, 2013
It will issue 1.4 crore ordinary shares with offer value of Tk10 a share. The company is a manufacturer of high barrier PVC blister film for sensitive drugs, food packing industries, blister pack for tooth brushes, garments accessories, toys, electronics and all kind of packing industries. The companys earnings per share is Tk1.09 and net asset value Tk 14.11, according to its financial statement ended on June 30, 2013.

berry service in Bangladesh and they want one year time to shift their subscribers to another service. They wrote about it to the BTRC recently. Before that, the telecom asked the both operators to take necessary measures to offer alternative service to the Blackberry users. Grameenphone has 4,664 Blackberry users while Airtel has 1,500. The telecom watchdog had earlier asked the Blackberry authorities to introduce a special network monitoring centre of switch room in Dhaka for the Bangladeshi customers. As they failed to introduce it and take steps to allow the government to intercept Blackberry network lawfully, the regulator chose to halt the service,

said BTRC officials. One Grameenphone official said Blackberry might hesitate to open server centre in Bangladesh as they could think it would not be financially viable in such a small market. The brand faced similar problems in countries like India, Saudi Arabia and China. In 2010, the government of Saudi Arabia served a notice to the company, saying that if it would fail to provide the government with access to its network, the service would be closed, prompting the company to set up a server there. Blackberry handsets, manufactured by Research In Motion (RIM), got popularity among international elites and policymakers including the US President Barack Obama. l

Dollar steady in Asia ahead of jobs data Asias manufacturing n powers stutter, stir talk of policy support
AFP, Tokyo
The dollar held steady in Asia yesterday as investors await the release of US jobs data later in the week, while they largely ignored a Bank of Japan survey that showed business confidence at a more than six-year high. In afternoon Tokyo trade, the dollar crept up to 103.26 yen from 103.22 yen in New York on Monday. The euro bought $1.3776 and 142.25 yen, compared with $1.3772 and 142.15 yen. The BoJ Tankan survey for JanuaryMarch hit its highest level since December 2007, pointing to a pick-up in confidence in corporate Japan along with the economy. However, it pointed to tepid investment among major firms and slumping sentiment for the April-June quarter, suggesting fears about the impact of a sales tax rise that came into effect yesterday. Firms are cautious about the future course of the economy as the impact of the tax hike remains uncertain, said Hideki Matsumura, an analyst at Tokyos Japan Research Institute. There are fears the tax rise will hit consumer spending and derail Japans recovery. Yosuke Hosokawa, head of forex sales at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, said: The Tankan results were within our market expectations and did not affect forex exchange trading. The focus has already moved to US unemployment figures to be released (Friday). In the long-run, dollar-buying sentiment is likely to be supported as US interest rates are on course to rise. US Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen indicated last month the bank may raise its ultra-low interest rates early next year after winding up its assetpurchase stimulus. But on Monday she sought to soothe worries about a hike in borrowing costs too soon by saying unemployment was still a big challenge for the economy and the Fed will continue with extraordinary monetary easing measures until the jobless rate falls significantly. The European Central Bank will meet on Thursday for its next policy meeting, days after data showed eurozone inflation fell to 0.5% in March, the lowest rate since October 2009 at the height of the financial crisis. The blocs inflation rate has trended steadily lower in recent months, coming in well below the ECBs target rate of just under 2%, fuelling concerns of deflation. The dollar was mostly lower against other Asia-Pacific currencies. It slipped to 11,276.50 Indonesian rupiah from 11,361.30 rupiah on Monday, to 32.38 Thai baht from 32.46 baht, to 1,059.35 South Korean won from 1,066.55 won, to 44.77 Philippine pesos from 44.84 pesos and to Sg$1.2587 from Sg$1.2619. It was flat at 59.89 Indian rupees. The Australian dollar edged up to 92.64 US cents from 92.23 cents. The Chinese yuan fetched 16.61 yen against 16.52 yen. l

Rights offer

n Reuters, Beijing
Asias major economies finished the first quarter on a weak note with manufacturing surveys in China and Japan fuelling expectations that policymakers will be forced to act in coming months to prop up faltering growth. In China, the final Markit/HSBC Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) gauge of factory activity, fell to an eight-month low of 48 in March. It has remained below the 50 level, which indicates contraction, since January. The official survey geared towards bigger, state-owned firms, showed a marginal increase to 50.3 from 50.2, but economists warned that given sea-

The securities regulator also okayed rights offer of Delta Spinners Ltd. It will issue one rights share for existing every two shares to raise more than Tk91 crore for balancing, modernization, rehabilitation and expansion of existing spinning mills, expansion through product diversification, partial repayment of long term loans.

Regulatory actions

The regulator fined Sylhet Metro City Securities Tk10 lakh and Eastern Shares and Securities Ltd Tk2 lakh for violating securities rules. Both brokerage firms are the members of Chittagong Stock Exchange. l

sonal patterns this was a sign of further weakness rather than improvement in the worlds second-biggest economy. In Japan, the closely watched central bank tankan survey showed business sentiment barely improved in the three months to March and was set to sour this quarter following an increase in sales tax that took effect on Tuesday. The final reading of the HSBC China Manufacturing PMI in March confirmed the weakness of domestic demand conditions, said Hongbin Qu, HSBCs chief China economist, in a statement accompanying the survey. We expect Beijing to fine-tune policy sooner rather than later to stabilize growth. l

ADRC in the offing to deal RMG

B1 COLUMN 6

First Security Islami Bank Limited signed a corporate agreement with Airtel Bangladesh Limited regarding mobile financial services for Airtel subscribers on March 31. Syed Waseque Md Ali, the banks deputy managing director is seen exchanging corporate agreement with Rubaba Dowla, chief service officer and head of mCommerce at Airtel Bangladesh Limited

Dan Mozena said Bangladesh has made progress in the fields of factory inspection, preventing labour abuse, reforming labour act and implementing the laws for the EPZs areas. Weve discussed about the transformation being happened in Bangladeshs readymade garments sector. This sector has been transformed itself and come to an international standard in terms of fire safety, factory structural soundness, workers safety and also workers rights for freely forming associations and organisations, said the US envoy.

He said they held talks about the progress Bangladesh is making in line with the roadmap that is laid out in the GSP action plan and also sustainability conducts. We are keenly observing the progress, he said, giving an example that some factory inspectors have already been hired and more are being hired. These are very positive steps. He informed that the both sides had also discussed about the upcoming Ticfa meeting scheduled to be held in Dhaka on April 28. Issues to be discussed at the high-level meeting would include increasing investment and trade between the two countries, he added. l

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has recently signed an agreement with UAE Exchange of Malaysia for providing safe and rapid remittance services to Expatriate Bangladeshis through banking channel in presence of Mohammad Abdul Mannan, the banks managing director and Bazlur Rahman Khan, director of UAE Exchange

Dhaka Bank Training Institute and Business Operations Division recently conducted a training workshop on e-tendering where the banks 44 officials participated. Niaz Habib, the banks managing director (currently in-charge), inaugurated the programme

Social Islami Bank Limited held its 308th board meeting at its corporate office on March 31. The banks Major (retd) Dr Md Rezaul Haque presided over the meeting

Standard Bank Ltd has signed MoU with Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) recently. Under the MoU the bank will receive Hajj deposits through its 87 branches located countrywide including ballotee and non-ballotee pilgrims during the on-going year. Md Nazmus Salehin, the banks managing director and Mohammad Ibrahim Bahar, president of HAAB signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

ADB: Asia growth risks being dampened by China slowdown

GDP of developing Asia, covering forty-five nations is predicted to grow at 6.2% this year
n AFP, Hong Kong
The Asian Development Bank yesterday said growth in developing Asia will edge higher over the next two years, but faces being constrained by Chinas campaign to cool its economy. The Manila-based lender said in a forecast that adjustments in China, the worlds second-largest economy and a key growth driver, could offset improving demand as growth picks up in advanced economies such as the United States, Europe and Japan. The ADB estimated that gross domestic product (GDP) for developing Asia, which covers 45 nations, will grow 6.2% this year before edging up to 6.4% in 2015. Last year the region expanded by 6.1%. At this rate developing Asia will remain the fastest-growing region in the world and the largest contributor to global growth, ADB deputy chief economist Zhuang Juzhong told a press conference in Hong Kong. However East Asia will see its growth trend flatten as growth moderates in the Peoples Republic of China, the lender said in its Asian Development Outlook 2014 statement, citing Chinese authorities efforts to control credit growth. The regional growth outlook depends on continued recovery in the major industrial economies and on the Peoples Republic of China managing to contain internal credit growth smoothly. The ADB expects Chinas economic growth to slow to 7.5% this year, and a further drop to 7.4% in 2015, from 7.7% last year. The government continues to shift priority towards quality of growth, this may slow Chinas growth in the short term but will make growth more sustainable in the longer term, Zhuang said. At a separate briefing in Beijing, ADB economists said Chinas efforts to rebalance its economy are bearing fruit. Chinas service sector grew more strongly last year than did industry and now accounts for a larger share of GDP, said Jurgen Conrad, who heads the ADBs economics unit in Chinas capital. He described that as a major achievement from the point of view of domestic rebalancing, though added the economy was still mainly driven by investment growth even as consumption showed strength. Chinas leadership says it wants to transform the countrys growth model away from an over-reliance on often wasteful investment, and instead make private demand the driver for more sustainable future development. The ADB forecast the South Asia region to grow by 5.3% this year, relying on continuing reform in India which is operating below its potential with a forecast 5.5% expansion in 2014. Southeast Asia suffered a blow last year with softened export and economic slowdowns in various countries, as gross domestic product decelerated to 5% last year. The ADB said similar expansion is expected in 2014. It also warned that US tapering could bring fluctuations in financial markets although the risks would be manageable. Developing Asia now is in a much better position to weather shocks like that, Zhuang said, adding that many countries in the region have surpluses and stronger banking systems. Founded in 1966, the ADB aims to reduce poverty in Asia by helping its 67 member countries evolve into modern economies through investment in infrastructure, financial and public administration, and health services. l

Japanese Consumer Affairs Minister Masako Mori poses with a hat as she inspects the Itoyokado supermarket in Tokyo yesterday. Prices rose across Japan on April 1 as a controversial sales tax rise came into effect, with everything from beer to washing machines costing more, sparking fears a drop in consumer spending will derail a nascent economic recovery AFP

Big firms using web to outsource customer support

n Reuters, Zurich
Mila, a Swiss peer-to-peer online marketplace for services ranging from IT support to furniture assembly, expects big European firms to turn to such platforms as a cheap way to improve their customer care. Austere times and cheap mobile technology have helped kickstart the so-called sharing economy, in which individuals rent out their time and expertise - from lending power tools to making their cars available for hire. The idea has spawned a slew of fast-growing startups, including online home rental market place Airbnb and peer-to-peer online platforms Mila and TaskRabit, which vet and match those who are offering services with those who need them. It is also beginning to pique the interest of big business. Mila has, for example, struck a partnership with Swisscom to help the telecom providers customers hire a local geek next door to solve IT problems rather than calling on the services of a Swisscom technician. Since the pilot launched in Zurich in November, hundreds of members of the public have signed up to become Swisscom Friends ranging from tech-savvy students and the unemployed to IT professionals who want to make extra cash. Swisscom vets these freelance tech workers, but does not pay them. They are paid by the customers who hire them with Mila taking a commission, of course. Many firms are having to reduce costs but at the same time have more complexity in support or service areas, Mila Chief Executive Manuel Grenacher told Reuters in an interview. With a sharing approach, they can offer a nationwide service. Swisscom, which would need a far larger workforce if it was to provide a local, out-of-hours service, said there had been 450 customer requests to use the Friends service since November. Lukas Peter, the companys innovation manager, said Swisscoms primary motivation was to improve its customer service, but he acknowledged the service may help it cut costs. like Swisscom, helps build trust among consumers who at first may be reluctant to let a stranger into their home, he said. As large companies lay off workers due to margin pressures, Grenacher sees peer-to-peer service platforms picking up some of the slack by allowing out-of-work individuals to advertise their skills available for hire. By supporting this sharing economy concept, big companies are bringing work back into the market place, he said. Peer-to-peer rental of goods is already a $26 billion industry, according to estimates by Rachel Botsman, author of Whats Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption. Last year, car hire firm Avis bought car sharing firm Zipcar, while General Motors has teamed up with RelayRides. In Europe, German carmaker BMW owns a stake in British firm parkatmyhouse.com, a platform that helps homeowners make money from unused parking spaces. l

Geek next door

When a customer rings us up and wants to know how to record something on the TV it can sometimes take a long time to just explain where the right button is on the remote control, he said. We want to be able to offer our customers a geek next door that can come round. Grenacher said Mila, a Zurich-based startup founded in 2013, would also launch two large pilot projects to provide peer-to-peer customer support in Germany this year, one with a big furniture store and the other with an insurance company. He said he was not yet authorised to name the firms. Partnering with a well-known brand,

Yellen: Slack US labour market still needs Fed support n AFP, Mumbai Indias central bank kept key interest rates steady yesterday in a widely ann AFP, Washington ticipated move less than a week before
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Monday that the US economy still needs the Feds extraordinary support measures, noting that the falling jobless rate masks weaknesses in the jobs market. In a speech in Chicago highlighting slack in the labour market, Yellen said the economy remains still considerably short of the Feds goals of maximum sustainable employment and stable inflation. the start of national elections. After a meeting in the financial capital Mumbai, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the benchmark repo rate, at which it lends to commercial banks, would remain at 8%. At the current juncture, it is appropriate to hold the policy rate, while allowing the rate increases undertaken during September 2013-January 2014 to work their way through the economy, RBI governor Raghuram Rajan wrote in his statement. The RBI last raised rates on January 28, the third hike since September last year as part of its battle against high inflation. Most economists had predicted Tuesdays decision as Indias most widely watched inflation measure - the Wholesale Price Index - fell to a ninemonth low of 4.68% in February from 5.05% a month earlier. Rajan remained concerned by retail inflation, however, due to the possibility of a weaker-than-normal monsoon and adjustments to state-controlled prices of agricultural commodities. Economists had underlined that Indias parliamentary elections, set to begin next Monday, would make the RBI cautious about making any changes to its policy. RBI is facing a lot of uncertainties. The question of whether we will get a stable government or not is yet to be answered, Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, told AFP. Opinion polls point to the main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by conservative hawk Narendra Modi, winning the elections which end in May. Foreign investors have driven up the Indian stock market in recent months, expecting a more business-friendly government to take over from the scandal-tainted Congress party. Congress has become deeply unpopular after a decade in power over

India keeps rates on hold ahead of poll China factories struggle, adds
to expectations for stimulus
n Reuters
Persistent weakness in Chinas manufacturing sector reinforced fears of a sharper-than-expected slowdown at the start of 2014, and some government economists think authorities have already started boosting spending to put a floor under growth. On Tuesday two surveys showed that manufacturing struggled in March, with activity at smaller, private firms contracting for a third month, adding to a run of disappointing data that has sparked speculation of imminent government-led stimulus. The official purchasing managing index (PMI) edged up to 50.3 in March from 50.2 in February, pointing to slight expansion, but some economists said even that suggested weakness given activity typically picks up more after the Lunar New Year holidays in February. The Markit/HSBC Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which focuses more on the private sector, fell to an eightmonth low of 48.0 in March. The index has been below the 50 level since January, indicating a contraction this year. Were still in a subdued part of the cycle, said Louis Kuijs, chief China economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland. I still dont think the downward pressures are tremendous, but they are large enough for the government to really start to talk about the need to support growth. In March, sources told Reuters the central bank was prepared to loosen monetary policy in order to keep the worlds second-biggest economy growing at the governments target rate of 7.5%. Premier Li Keqiang said last week the necessary policies were in place and the government would push ahead with infrastructure investment, seen by analysts as a signal of official concern about a slowing economy. Economists at top government think-tanks believe some of this spending is already under way, as Li had outlined policy reserves in a report to parliament last month. The top priority is stabilizing growth. Policy measures have been prepared and its just a matter of implementation, said Wang Jun, senior economist at China Centre for International Economic Exchanges. The pace of investment and fiscal spending is quickening. With the economy cooling, weaker and more indebted firms are beginning to feel the squeeze and a Chinese newspaper reported on Tuesday a second case of a domestic bond default in less than a month. As long as the sums involved and affected companies are relatively small, authorities appear content to let cases like that serve as an incentive for banks and investors to better assess risks. Beijings concern is, however, that with a deeper prolonged slump, financial stress could spread undermining confidence in the entire financial system. l

The recovery still feels like a recession to many Americans, and it also looks that way in some economic statistics
While the official unemployment rate has fallen quickly over the past two years to 6.7%, she said that level remains deceptive. She especially pointed to the high level of people unemployed for a long term, despite the economys rebound from the Great Recession. While there has been steady progress, there is also no doubt that the economy and the job market are not back to normal health, she said. The recovery still feels like a recession to many Americans, and it also looks that way in some economic statistics. In some ways, the job market is tougher now than in any recession. The numbers of people who have been trying to find work for more than six months or more than a year are much higher today than they ever were since records began decades ago. Yellen emphasized that even though the Fed has begun ratcheting down its huge bond purchase program, that the economy still needs its support, in the way of ultra-low interest rates and Fed program for low-income communities. l

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan attends a joint news conference in New Delhi REUTERS a string of corruption scandals and the slowing economy, which is expanding at its slowest rate in a decade. Despite the economic slowdown, economists do not forsee rate cuts. We are staring at a long pause (on rates). Uncertainty on inflation will keep RBI on its toes and prevent rate cut even in if industrial slowdown sharpens, Barodas Nitsure said. Some believe the rate cycle in India has not yet peaked. I am not sure 100% that we are in a pause, said senior economist Arun Singh from US business information group Dun & Bradstreet. Upside risks to inflation are clearly visible. The RBI is focused on controlling inflation and it has already said price rise needs to be controlled for sustainable growth. So, further tightening cannot be ruled out. Indias economy is likely to grow at between 5-6% in 2014-15 but faces downside risks, the central bank said. Indias equity markets reacted little to the RBI decision with the benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange continuing to hover 0.21% or 47.97 points lower at 22,340.45 points. Indias currency and bond markets were closed for a holiday. l

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