October 31, 2013

Kartik 16, 1420 Zilhajj 25, 1434 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 1 No 217

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

16 pages with 8-page business tabloid plus 24-page supplement Avenue-T | Price: Tk10

Investigators not taking new cases

Prologue to traffic tailback Hayat Mahmud and n Abu Tazlina Zamila Khan Thousands of commuters were caught up in traffic chaos yesterday when the city streets became gridlocked in the wake of countrywide 60-hour shutdown.

Private cars contributed the most to the never-ending traffic snarl on the city roads, unlike the other post-hartal period.

Surprisingly thin presence of private public buses, even state-owned BRTCs fearing unpredictable political violence and attacks on vehicles added to the sufferings of commuters.

Office goers, school and college-going students were the worst sufferers after practically a five-day break – two days for weekend and three days for opposition-sponsored shutdown – since last Friday.

They are unsure of war crimes trials' future during tenure of next government bomb thrown into her residence during n Udisa Islam the opposition-sponsored hartal.

Members of the investigation agency of the International Crimes Tribunal has expressed uncertainty about the current situation of the country and their security ahead of the next general elections, with most not willing to take charge of any new cases pending investigation.

Their concerns rose especially after the speech of opposition chief Khaleda Zia, who pledged on Friday to free all the political detainees if the BNP emerged at the head of the next government.

We are not doing any political work. We are involved with the tribunal as professionals.

Then why should we be bothered about our security?

Abdur Razzaque Khan, an officer of the probe team, said: “The government should arrange security of our family.”

Another officer, who did not want to be named, wants to be relieved from the task. He said: “Our life is at risk and we do not know about our future.

Nobody is giving us any hint about the future plan of the two tribunals’ activities. In case of a change in power, we are for sure not continuing here.”

Tureen Afroz, a prosecutor of the war crimes tribunal, said: “We are not doing any political work. We are involved with the tribunal as professionals. Then why should we be bothered about our security? But now we have to be,” she said, referring to the hand

EC finalises draft electoral code n Mohammad Zakaria Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad yesterday said the EC will take action as per the Representation of the People Order (RPO) against anyone including the prime minister who violates the electoral code of conduct during the upcoming parliamentary election.

“If anyone violates the codes during the election period [after the polls schedule is announced], the commission will take actions as per  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

The government formed the tribunal, the prosecution team and the probe agency on March 25, 2010 to try those who had allegedly collaborated with the Pakistani occupation forces and committed atrocities during the 1971 Liberation War. After independence, victims’ families all over the country filed cases with police stations.

Documents of those cases were sent to the tribunal, after which the probe agency began its investigation.

Abdul Hannan Khan, chief coordinator of the investigation agency, confirmed they were not taking any new cases as they already had 12 to deal with, while some of those were not serious.

Meanwhile, Hannan said he had no idea about the case against Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party for committing crimes during the war. “We are not sure about it. It is not too easy to finalise report in this case.”

He said they needed more investigators to end the probe, but the administration had not given them any. “We sent an organogram [to the authorities] for approval. We heard that it was already approved, but we are yet to get any new investigator.”

The two tribunals have so far handed down verdicts in eight cases, while the case against alleged al-Badr leaders Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman Khan is awaiting verdict.

At present, seven cases are under  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

My classes have already started but still I am standing at the bus stop

Dhaka gets back in its busy mood, as people pour out on its roads and face the crisis of public transport yesterday after the end of the 60-hour nationwide general strike enforced by BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance NASHIRUL ISLAM

People, especially city dwellers, poured into the streets to do their pending works but they had to remain stranded at different bus stops in Mirpur, Farmgate, Uttara, Banani, Mahakhali, Khilkhet, Airport Road and Banglamotor area.

Firoza Akhter, a government employee was waiting at a BRTC bus stop in Uttara for 30 minutes. “I have to go to Shahbagh area but yet to find a bus.

Why should general people suffer for shutdown?” he questioned.

Like her, many others were seen waiting for vehicles for hours to reach their destinations.

A private university student Tasmia Rahman said: “My classes have already started but still I am standing at the bus stop.”

Another passenger Sinthia Sarker said, she had been waiting for a  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Government mulls 20-member cabinet PM: Full conversation n release good for people Mohosinul Karim

The Awami League-led ruling government plans to form the polls-time cabinet with maximum 20 members in line with the formula proposed by the prime minister if the BNP and its allies do not agree to join the interim government.

The status of all ministers, who will have to be elected parliament members, will be cabinet minister. No state ministers will be in the interim cabinet.

Only a few of the present cabinet members may continue office.

Several senior ministers of the pres-

ent government, who are also policymakers of the ruling Awami League, yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune about the plans.

The prime minister recently proposed to form an interim cabinet of 10 members with the participation of lawmakers from parties representing in parliament. The BNP, however, demands a non-party government to oversee the polls. The premier on October 26 invited the opposition chief to a dialogue at Ganabhaban on the pollstime government.

The polls-time government will take charge after the Election Commission

announces the polls schedule and it will assist the EC and run routine works of the government.

Agriculture Minister and Awami League Presidium member Matia Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune: “The present government is valid until January 24 as per the constitution. The interim government which will be very small in number will take charge after the election schedule is announced.

“We will like to discuss [with other political parties] about the election and the polls-time government. We are not rigid on our stance, but solutions  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

n Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday termed the release of the full telephone conversation between herself and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia as “good”, saying the partial conversation would no longer create misconception among citizens.

“It is good for the people to know the full conversation, as a partial telephone conversation was released by BNP and misled the citizens. People have every

right to know everything,” Hasina, also the ruling Awami League president, said during her introductory speech to the party leaders from greater Dhaka district in a view-exchange meeting at her official residence Ganabhaban.

Party leaders and lawmakers from Gazipur, Narsingdi, Manikganj, and Narayanganj were present at the view-exchange meeting that was convened to make the party’s November 3 rally at Suhrawardy Udyan a success.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Dipu Moni briefs diplomats on polls n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Foreign Minister Dipu Moni yesterday hinted that some of the diplomats were not following diplomatic norms while expressing concern on different issues regarding Bangladesh.

“Activities behind the scene are a secret matter. I cannot make comments on what is happening behind the scene.

But of course, we hope that if the diplomats have any concern they will express it in line with diplomatic norms.

I will say most of the diplomats follow the diplomatic norms,” she told reporters at the ministry after briefing diplomats on current political situation.

The foreign minister said she had briefed the diplomats about the upcoming election and overall issues in the backdrop of many talking about uncertainty over the polls and crisis.

Public Administration Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister HT Imam was also present at the meeting.

About the trip of US Ambassador Dan W Mozena to India, she said he

could always go there to discuss the US policy towards the Indian Ocean region.

“If any ambassador or the diplomatic community has any concern on Bangladesh, it is a norm to discuss it with us. It is not within the norms to discuss it outside. We hope that they will follow the norms,” she said.

'We hope that if the diplomats have any concern they will express it in line with diplomatic norms' The minister said she had a talk with the US ambassador and that he gave her conformation, that his trip to China had been a rumour.

Dipu said the diplomats, in the meeting, expressed concern over violence. “As a friend, they do not want any violence. They want solutions [of the ongoing situation] through peaceful dialogues.”

Canadian High Commissioner Heather Cruden expressed concern

BNP allies for hartals, not blockade n

Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

As the partners of BNP-led 18-party alliance yesterday could not reach a consensus over political programmes on November 4-6, they left it for opposition chief Khaleda Zia to decide whether they would announce shutdowns or blockade programmes.

Talking to a number of alliance leaders, the Dhaka Tribune learnt that some of them opined for hartals instead of blockade programmes. BNP Standing Committee members on Tuesday proposed blockade programmes to compel the government to introduce non-partisan government to oversee the next general elections.

The opposition enforced 60-hour countrywide hartal that ended on Tuesday.

Some of the alliance leaders said they had suggested hartals as the Junior School Certificate (JSC) and Junior Dakhil Certificate (JDC) examinations would begin November 4. Some 400,000 students will take

Four IOJ leaders picked up n Tribune Report The Detective Branch of police picked up four leaders of Islami Oikya Jote, a component of BNP-led 18-party alliance, from the city’s Rampura area yesterday.

Chairman of IOJ Abdul Latif Nezami said they had no idea why DB police arrested them on their way from a press conference held at Baridhara madrassa.

The detainees are Ahlullah Wasel, press secretary of IOJ; Mufti Shakhawat Hossain, its organising secretary; Altaf Hossain, assistant office secretary and’a member of its Dhaka unit, Monjur Majib.

Masudur Rahman, DMP deputy commissioner, admitted the arrest of all except of Altaf Hossain. He said the IOJ leaders have been arrested in old cases. l

part in the examinations.

“To keep the examinations out of purview of the programmes, we should go for hartal because during the blockade programmes students cannot attend the examination,” an alliance leader told the Dhaka Tribune seeking anonymity.

The leader said they had urged the BNP chief to join the dialogue with ruling Awami League if the latter set agenda for the meeting and invited her afresh.

18-party to stage demo today

The main opposition BNP-led 18-party alliance will hold a protest rally today at Suhrawardy Udyan protesting what they say to be the government’s repression on the opposition leaders and activists. The party was granted permission on 11 conditions.

Anwar Hossain, DMP deputy commissioner, told Dhaka Tribune that the 18-party alliance was permitted to hold rally at Suhrawardi Udyan upon an application submitted by BNP Office Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi. l

and frustration over the recent political turmoil. She hoped that the political parties will sit in a dialogue to reach a solution, confirmed several diplomats after the meeting.

The diplomats hoped that the prime minister and the leader of the opposition would sit together, Dipu said.

“They also hoped that there will be a free, fair and credible election, and that the democratic process would prevail in Bangladesh,” she said.

The government is committed to hold a free and fair election, and it hoped that the leader of the opposition would positively respond to the offer extended by the prime minister to resolve the problems, the minister added.

The US envoy said he was encouraged by what the foreign minister had said. “The foreign minister spoke of the standing invitation for leaders to get together. I am very much encouraged by these developments.”

He said the door for dialogue had been open and hoped that the opportunity would be seized by the parties. l

trial. Of those, the cases against Jamaat chief Motiur Rahman Nizami and former Awami League leader Mobarak Hossain are nearing completion.

Hanna said: “We are now working on 13 new cases. Most of them are important to us. Though, some of them are not highly known for their crimes.”

The investigation agency is now dealing with complaints filed against Syed Md Qaisar from Habiganj, Giasuddin Quader Chowdhury from Chittagong, Sakhawat Hossain from Jessore, Amjad Mina from Khulna, Lahar Ali Shah from Rajshahi, Rustam Sikdar from Patuakhali, engineer Abdul Jabbar from Pirojpur, Sheikh Sirajul Islam from Bagerhat, Ashraf Hossain from Jamalpur, Ataur Rahman Noni from Netrokona, and Syed Md Hossain and Md Nasir from Kishoreganj.

Secretariat staff spread anti-government leaflets

GDs filed against Farhad Mazhar n Ashif Islam Shaon

n Mohosinul Karim

Police and a journalist have filed two separate complains with Tejgaon police station against columnist Farhad Mazhar for inciting attacks on newsmen from a television talk show on Monday night.

Executive Committee member of Dhaka Journalists’ Union Omio Ghatal Pulok filed a general diary last night with the police station while Sub-Inspector Anwar filed the first GD on Monday night, Officer-inCharge Apurbo Hasan told the Dhaka Tribune.

The complainants also accused Jatiya Party leader Kazi Firoz Rashid, who was also present at the late night talk show “Ekusher Raat” aired on private TV channel Ekushey Television.

Firoz supported his comment, the complainants alleged.

Mazhar said the media had given birth to terrorism in the country, and that journalists “deserved” to be bombed. He also blamed the media for the current situation of the country.

The complainants said Mazhar’s remarks might put the lives of journalists at risk. l

A section of “pro-opposition” public servants, terming themselves “patriot” employees, yesterday distributed anti-government leaflets inside the Secretariat compound raising allegations of corruption and misuse of power against several ministers, advisers and top-level civil bureaucrats.

Witnesses and intelligent agency sources said the leaflets were disseminated secretly by some officials within the Secretariat around 4pm, when most of the officials and employees were preparing to leave their offices.

The leaflets published and circulated under the name of “Deshpremik Karmocharibrindo” were found on the ground floor of building number six, the largest building inside the Secretariat – the hub of civil administration.

Learning from witnesses, members of Secretariat police and intelligent agencies immediately collected the leaflets. But many had already gone to the hands of officers and employees.

Moshiur Rahman, additional deputy commissioner of Secretariat police, de-

nied the spread of any leaflets, saying: “We are not aware about it. We will see to the issue. Tough actions will be taken after investigation.”

Intelligence sources claim that a section of pro-opposition employees recently began creating unrest among the public servants by spreading leaflets and insisting them to stand against the government. They also tried to attend the opposition’s October 25 rally at Suhrawardy Udyan, violating service rules.

The unknown platform terms the Sheikh Hasina government “autocratic.” It also claims the government is involved in corruption regarding the Padma bridge construction project, the Hall-Mark scam and share market, and in killings and disappearances.

Home Minister MK Alamgir, who was criticised for attending the “Janatar Mancha” in 2006 as a civil servant, has been branded an “enemy of independence and recruiter of razakars.”

The platform also blames the premier's advisers, ministers and several secretaries for corruption and money laundering and the prime minister's son for "looting" money though VoIP business. l

BNP finds conspiracy in RPO amendment n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla The main opposition BNP thinks that the RPO amendment was aimed at fragmenting the party so the ruling Awami League gets political mileage in the next election, but it believes the change will boomerang.

A number of senior leaders of the party say the change allowing anyone to vie in the election immediately after joining a party was a conspiracy against the BNP, but the relaxation will “hurt” the ruling party that brought the amendment.

Parliament on Monday amended the Representation of the People Order (RPO) 1972, the parent law for conducting general elections, dropping the provision of mandatory three-year party membership for getting nominated for parliamentary polls.

At a rally on October 25, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia warned the Election Commission against holding any unilateral polls and said any amendment to the RPO would not be tolerated.

MK Anwar, a member of the party’s Standing Committee, yesterday said the commission was only carrying out

Investigators  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

Thursday, October 31, 2013

the order of the government, which was hatching a conspiracy to split the BNP. “But the government’s dream will not come true as no BNP leader would ride on the government’s leaked boat,” he told the Dhaka Tribune, adding: “The government will be the worst victim of it.”

The former bureaucrat said the election would become a business because of the amendment as candidates would buy nominations and the dedicated ones would be deprived.

Joining an EC talk on December 5 last year, the Awami League had proposed introducing a legal provision to punish political parties’ rebel candidates contesting parliamentary polls independently. A proposal in this regard was also submitted to the commission.

The Awami League passed the law on October 28, but the EC said it had not proposed the law and the ministry concerned had not also consulted it in this regard.

Former election commissioner Brig Gen M Shakhawat Hossain declined to make any comments on the opposition’s hunch but said the amendment would spoil the whole electoral disci-

pline and create an anarchic situation.

“After this amendment huge nomination business will take place…the level playing field required will not be created,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Terming the EC loyal to the government, BNP Standing Committee member Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain said the commission was doing whatever the government wished to assist the government in hold the next polls unilaterally.

“The government is hatching a conspiracy to bring leaders from different political parties into the polls. That is why it is asking the Election Commission to amend the RPO to meet their own interests. We are not worried about it,” he said.

The EC has also finalised the draft of electoral code of conduct, which will be available on the commission’s website from Sunday for public opinion.

According to the draft, government beneficiaries will not receive facilities after the polls schedule is announced; top government officials, such as the prime minister, opposition leader, ministers and junior ministers, will not be entitled to protocols, but they will be allowed to keep their protection. l

Government mulls 20-member cabinet Sources in the agency said investigations in the cases were very slow.

“We have started our work. Now let us see when it ends. We need more time to complete. Our full team is not working now. After the end of a case, related officers are taking some time to get involved in another,” Hannan said.

Another senior investigation officer said they were trying their best. “In CID [Criminal Investigation Department], many cases are left pending for years but we have completed our investigation and whole proceedings in seven cases within two-and-a-half years. Is it not enough?”

Wishing anonymity, he said: “We are now tense about our lives. There is no reason to feel secure if the power changed and the BNP-Jamaat alliance assumes power.” l

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 4

must come under the constitution. No unelected person will be allowed to be a member of the interim government,” she added.

Food Minister Abdur Razzaque said the polls-time cabinet would be very small. “It will not exceed 20 in numbers. Some of the ministers and all the state ministers may be excluded from the cabinet. The new members will be included from interested political parties representing in parliament.”

On dialogue with the main opposition BNP over the polls-time government, Matia said the elections must be held by any means to keep the continuation the constitution, “either the BNP participate in dialogue or not.”

The government hopes that the BNP

would join the dialogue, which the prime minister has, to resolve the current political crisis. “We do not think that they will not join the dialogue or the election. They must participate in the election if they want democracy,” she added.

The agriculture minister claimed that the invitation was still valid. “The dialogue will be held when the opposition leader wants it to be. They will have to fix the date after talking with the persons concerned.”

She also said there was no possibility of deferring the election date after January 24, when the tenure of current parliament ends.

Regarding the dialogue, Razzaque said: “The government may not invite the opposition to join the dialogue as they are already invited.” l

PM: Full conversation release good for people

EC finalises draft electoral code

Sources in the party said Awami League was planning to gather a large number of people at the rally, in a bid to show its popularity and for gearing up party activists across the country.

Regarding Saturday evening’s telephone conversation with Khaleda Zia, the premier said: “I did not want to quarrel with her. In the greater interest of the nation, I had to hear many unwarranted things with patience. May Allah give me more patience to tolerate and I had to hear many unwarranted words from her only considering the interest of the countrymen.”

Hasina criticized Khaleda for not withdrawing the 18-party alliance’s 60hour hartal, despite repeated requests from her.

“Khaleda Zia did not pay heed to my request. Now I want to ask the opposition leader what she gained from the shutdown except the loss of 20 lives,” the prime minister said, claiming that the opposition leader had chosen the path of violence and thus BNP launched movement aiming to save war criminals.

Sheikh Hasina also urged people to remain alert so that no one could ruin the spirit of independence.

Addressing the meeting, ruling par-

[articles 73-79 that stipulate jail term and fines] of the RPO,” he told reporters after a meeting at the EC Secretariat.

The commission yesterday finalised the draft electoral code of conduct applicable for political parties and candidates during the elections.

The draft will be uploaded on the EC’s website by next Sunday, seeking opinion from all including the stakeholders. The commission will then finalise the codes.

As per section 91E of the RPO, the commission holds the authority to cancel the candidacy of anyone for violating electoral codes.

The CEC said the election-time government will not take any policymaking or long-term decision after the announcement of the polls schedule until the publishing of the results through gazette notification.

About the definition of “pre-election period,” Rakibuddin said the commission had defined it in a new way for applying the electoral codes smoothly.

Earlier, the three month-long period of caretaker government was termed “pre-election period.”

Since the elections will be held under a partisan government for the first time, the commission has put re-

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaks at a views exchanging meeting with upazila presidents, general secretaries and members of the parliament of Dhaka district at Ganabhaban yesterday BSS ty spokesperson Syed Ashraful Islam said the invitation for Khaleda Zia was still valid and she would be welcomed at the Ganabhaban any time.

“Prime minister already invited Khaleda Zia. This invitation is still valid. Just make a phone call whenever you want to come. If she [Khaleda] desires, we have no reservation to invite her again,” he said, adding that for the sake of the country, Awami League was ready to invite her a hundred times.

Regarding the party’s planned rally

at Surawardy Uddyan on November 3, Ashraf, also the LGRD minister, hinted that the party would gather the “highest number” of people at the rally to show its strength.

Among others, ruling party leaders Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta, Matia Chowdhury, Sahara Khatun, Mahabub-Ul-AlamHanif, DipuMoni, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, MA Aziz, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Asim Kumar Ukil, Mrinal Kanti Das, were present at the view-exchange meeting. l

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 4

striction on government beneficiaries including the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.

According to the draft codes, the prime minister, the leader of the opposition, the speaker, ministers, the deputy speaker, state ministers, chief whip, whips, MPs and mayors of city corporations are mentioned as important persons who enjoy government facilities.

“But they will not be able to get any government facilities for holding election campaigns and political meetings during the election time,” Rakibuddin said, adding that they could just conduct their routine works.

Moreover, as per the RPO, the pollstime government will take decision during the election period only after discussing with the EC. There has been no scope to get government facilities for holding campaigns in the by-elections. “This provision will be applicable for the next parliamentary polls too,” the CEC said.

Asked if the polls could be held after January 24, he said: “If the two parties agree over the issue, then we will hold the polls whatever way they want us to.”

The comment came amid differences between the two key political parties over the election-time government.

The first session of the ninth parlia-

Prologue to traffic tailback  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

bus with her six-year-old child for 40 minutes.

Exasperated with a long wait passengers were seen looking for an alternative option.

Staff of the ticket booths at bus stops said many of the owners took their buses off the roads fearing arson and bomb attacks by the opposition parties.

Anis, a staff of Falgun bus service in Rampura, said as the shutdown spread panic among the bus owners few buses were plying the city streets.

A ticker seller Mohiudding in Malibagh, however, said traffic jam was very usual the day after the shutdown.

“People think there are few buses but in reality it is otherwise.”

Md Rafiqul Islam Talukder, deputy general manager of BRTC, echoed Mohiuddin: “On the days of shutdown we ply less number of buses but on all other days we run 450 buses on an average in and outside of Dhaka.”

However, a staff of a BRTC ticket booth, said the lessees of BRTC buses yesterday plied few buses as they were scared of attacks by pickets during the shutdown.

While visiting different areas in the capital these correspondents found long tailbacks on the roads in Mirpur, Shyamoli, Kallayanpur, Azimpur, Farmgate, Shahbagh, Science Laboratory cross-section, Jatrabari, Sayedabad, Motijheel, Malibagh, Mouchak, Paltan, Rampura, Badda, Kakoli, Mohakhali and Saatrasta.

Thousands of vehicles, mostly private cars and public buses, were stuck in traffic congestion on different busy roads, intersections, lanes and by-lanes in the city and its surrounding areas.

Samsul Islam, an employee of a private firm said: “I am from Uttara and going to Farmgate; I had to wait for over half an hour to cross Kakoli area.”

Like Samsul, many city commuters narrated their woes caused by traffic congestion and rued their fates in this unplanned city where planning appears to be a misnomer. l

CEC Kazi Rakibuddin briefing the media ment began on January 25, 2009 and hence, its tenure will end on January 24 next year. For holding the election as per the constitution, the 90-day countdown began on October 27.

The CEC also said the commission will announce the polls schedule keeping 45-50 days on its hand. All parties will get equal time for election preparation.

The parties and candidates will be able to begin election campaign just after announcement of the polls schedule, he added. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

CPB and BSD urge BNP to leave Jamaat n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla Left parties Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) yesterday urged the main opposition BNP to cut ties with its key ally Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.

“Among some of the major dangers ahead of us, militancy and anti-liberation forces are the first danger for our country. We urged the BNP chairperson to leave anti-liberation force Jamaat-e-Islami for the interest of the country,” CPB President Mujahidul Islam Selim told journalists at a press briefing after holding a meeting with BNP chief Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan office. BNP’s acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was present.

He also alleged that the BNP and the Awami League both had used Jamaat for their own benefits. Selim said the meeting was fruitful and they discussed in a congenial atmosphere.

The two parties, working to mobilise an alternative platform of left parties beyond the AL and the BNP, met the prime minister on Tuesday and urged her to hold the next general elections under a

10-TRUCK ARMS CASE

non-party caretaker government.

Asked about BNP’s response on Jamaat issue, Selim told the Dhaka Tribune that the BNP leaders claimed they had no ideological tie with Jamaat. “[BNP says] it is temporary and merely a pre-electoral knot with Jamaat,” he said.

He also urged the two leading parties to compromise. “The election should be inclusive. Unilateral elections will deepen the crisis while another one-elevenlike situation will make it worse. So for the betterment of the country and its democracy, all should come forward leaving protocol and ego problem behind.”

Responding to a query whether his party would participate in the polls, if BNP quits, Selim said: “We want inclusive elections.”

Fakhrul in his brief speech said the CPB and the BSD delegation had expressed concern over the present political situation of the country. The meeting was attended by BNP Standing Committee members including Abdul Moyeen Khan, and CPB’s Manzurul Ahsan Khan, Abu Jafar Ahmed, Haider Akbar Khan Rono and BSD leaders Khalequzzaman and Bazlur Rashid Feroz.

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Thursday, October 31, 2013

AMIN BAZAR STUDENT MURDER CASE

Hearing deferred to November 27 n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

Thousands of private cars pour out on city roads yesterday after ending the 60-hour hartal, but there is only a few number of public transports for general people. Photo has taken from Karwan Bazar intersection MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Hartal disrupts textbooks supply

A Dhaka Court yesterday deferred the witness deposition in the Amin Bazar student murder case to November 27.

The first witness deposition was recorded partly yesterday, as the prosecution did not produce all the evidence of the case before the court.

Dhaka Additional District and Session Judge Khondoker Hasan Mohammad Firoz recorded the deposition and set the next date.

The complainant of the case Sub-Inspector Md Anowar Hossain was present before the court as the first witness.

In his deposition, Anowar said Bardeshi villagers caught some people on July 18, 2011, suspecting them to be robbers. He went to the Rupali Shoikat Housing Society and found six dead bodies and one critically injured person on the spot. He later informed the Savar police station and sent the injured victim to a Savar hospital for treatment, he said.

Forty nine of the accused were present at yesterday’s hearing, while 11 others who had been charged remained fugitives.

On July 18, 2011, a mob beat six college and school students to death at Bardeshi village in Amin Bazar. l

Ex-DGFI director claims NCTB officials, guardians, teachers worried about timely delivery of books to schoolchildren Tension prevails in false charges Kutubdia n n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Maj Gen (retd) Rezzakul Haider, a former director of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) who is accused in the sensational 10-truck arms haul cases in Chittagong, told a court in the Port City yesterday that he had been intentionally accused in the cases on false charges.

Rezzakul, who has pleaded innocence in previous hearings, told the court he was arrested on May 15, 2009 - the same day the accused NSI official Wing Commander (retd) Shahab Uddin gave a confession statement under 164 and mentioned nothing about him.

After a month, Shahab was “forced to give” another statement under 164 in which he implicated Rezzakul, saying when he was admitted at a cabin of Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in March 2004, Indian separatist group Ulfa’s leader Paresh Barua and Rezzakul met him there on March 30. Rezzakul also refuted the allegations by Shahab about a meeting among Paresh Barua, Rezzakul and some NSI and DGFI officials at a safe house in Dhaka.

Meanwhile, five more accused, including former statement minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, claimed they were innocent in the two cases in connection with the arms haul at CUFL jetty in the early hours of April 2, 2004.

The claims came when the state lawyer in the case and also the Chittagong Metropolitan public prosecutor Kamal Uddin Ahammad, as per court proceedings, read out the charges against the five separately before the Judge of Chittagong Metropolitan Special Tribunal 1 SM Mujibur Rahman.

Four out of the five accused stated that they would not produce witnesses while Babar urged the court to grant him some time regarding a petition he had moved seeking to transfer the case to the High Court.

Babar’s lawyer also moved a petition to the tribunal seeking a postponement of the ongoing examination procedure on the same grounds. The tribunal rejected both the appeals.

Former director general of National Security Intelligence Maj Gen (retd) Abdur Rahim, one of the accused, told the court that he also had something to say. The tribunal told him to submit his statement in a written form.

Editors concerned over attack on journo

n Tribune Report Editors’ Council, an organisation of editors of national dailies, has expressed deep concerns over the recent attacks on journalists and newspaper offices.

In a statement issued yesterday, the council said vehicles used by newspaper offices and journalists were outside the purview of hartals. But at least 19 journalists, four media offices and several vehicles of media offices were attacked in the last five days. Moreover, houses of two journalists were also attacked. “...We, the journalists are feeling insecure,” said the statement signed by the council’s General Secretary Mahfuz Anam.

The council urged all political parties to refrain their activists from attacking journalists and media offices. It also requested the government to provide security to journalists and media houses.

Mushfique Wadud

National Curriculum and Textbook Board officials have become worried about the timely distribution of textbooks for primary and secondary students for the 2014 academic year as hartals and the volatile political situation are disrupting printing work and transportation.

A large quantity of books could not be delivered to destinations in the last few days as the 18-party opposition alliance enforced a 60-hour strike until Tuesday evening.

The November 4-6 blockades planned by the opposition have added to their worries, since next month is the peak period for transporting books

from Dhaka to far-flung and remote regions before the year end.

Textbooks have to reach schools by December 31 in order for them to be given to students free of charge on the first day of the new academic year.

November is the key month for textbook distribution.

Textbooks have to be delivered to every remote corner of the country. If the volatile political situation continues, it will affect the distribution Printers distribute the books to the upazila level by trucks, and the upazila education officials send them on to

schools. The distribution task mainly starts from October and should be completed by December 31, but major portion of the books has to be distributed by November 30.

According to NCTB officials, 2.5 to 3 million textbooks are transported to upazila level on an average day. The disruption of two or three days in a row would mean a backlog of millions of books, which would require days to clear.

There are 19,070 secondary schools and 89,712 primary level educational institutes in the country. Of the secondary level schools, 526 are located in hilly areas, 528 in coastal areas, 714 in haor area and 1,344 in river basins.

Delivering books on time to all these destinations is a tough task for NCTB and a politically sensitive issue for the government. In the backdrop of the delay in textbook supplies in the recent past, which has mainly been due to less control over the printers’ cartel, the present government took strict measures to make sure that students receive their books in time. Distribution of the new books has become a festival for schools with the prime minister inaugurating it and ceremonially handing over books to schoolchildren on January 1.

But this time the NCTB officials are not sure about meeting the deadline.

NCTB chairman Shafiqur Rahman told Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday that hartals were affecting their distribution works.

“November is the key month for textbook distribution. Textbooks have to be delivered to every remote corner of the country. If the volatile political situation continues, it will affect the distribution,” he said.

Fake freedom fighter certificates feared in medical admission test Authorities struggle to verify authenticity of their grandchildren ministry and the DGHS, preferring to be Seeking anonymity, several senior n MoniruzzamanUzzal unnamed, said it was very tough for the officials at Directorate General of Authorities at public medical and dental colleges are facing difficulties in verifying the genuine candidates who fall under the quota reserved for freedom fighters and their dependents, especially students who applied as their grandsons or granddaughters.

Around 100 students who applied under quota have so far been selected under the merit list, reserve and district quotas for the freedom fighters.

However, there are allegations that a large number of students from the 2,600 who applied under the quota this year had faked being grandsons or granddaughters of freedoms fighters to sit for the admission exams for MBBS and BDS courses at public colleges.

Earlier, only sons and daughters of freedom fighters were allowed to apply for the quota; but the government in 2011 issued a gazette which also made grandsons and granddaughters eligible.

The fixed reserve quota for freedom fighters is 55 at medical colleges and 10 at dental colleges. Each public college can allocate 2% of its total seatsfor students under the freedom fighter quota.

Health Services (DGHS) told the Dhaka Tribune they were apprehending that a large number of candidates would produce fake Freedom Fighter Certificates (FFC), especially posing as grandsons or granddaughters.

The students had to be nominated based on supporting documents given by union parishads, the officials said, adding that the DGHS lacked enough manpower to recheck the additional documents.

There are also claims that students and their guardians were collecting FFCs for large amounts of money. The officials further informed that similar allegations could not be looked into last year, following obstructions by some influential people.

Sources at the DGHS said all the 98 selected candidates had earlier submitted photocopies of the FFCs to the DGHS office while applying. They would however be required to present the original certificates to the medical college authorities at the time of admission, along with legal documents which show proof of their relationship with the freedom fighter.

Several senior officials of the health

quota seats to be filled up during the last few years, as most offspring of freedom fighters had already crossed the age to be admitted to medical colleges.

According to government directives, the relatives of freedom fighters have to submit either a certificate issued by Muktijoddha Sangsad countersigned

by Sheikh Hasina between 1997 and 2001, or a certificate issued by the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs. The grandsons or granddaughterswill have to follow further instructions by public administration rules issued on May 9, 2011.

Asked about fake FFCs, Director (medical education) of DGHS Prof Dr ABM Abdul Hannan said: “We are very much aware in selecting the genuine freedom fighter quota candidates. We still did not get any specific complaint about producing fake certificate. We will get the clear data after the end of the November 5 admission date.”

A total of 3,344 students have so far been selected for 2013-14 academic session: 2,812 in public medical colleges and 532 at dental colleges. The admission process will continue till November 5. l

Shafiqur said he has discussed the situation with other officials and stakeholders and decided that they would work on weekends to overcome problems caused by hartals, and other such political programmes. “We are planning some special arrangements but we don’t know if they will work,” he said.

Abdul Khaleq, a teacher at Khoinpur High School in Narshingdi, told the Dhaka Tribune over phone that the school had received some textbooks for the new academic year, but that most of the books were yet to arrive. “My school is in a remote area and I am worried if we can give students textbooks on time,” he said. He urged political parties to spare textbook distribution from hartal programmes. A number of guardians also expressed concern about delay. Abdul Kuddus, a guardian in Jessore said he was worried.

“If students do not get textbooks on time, we have to buy them at a higher price from the market later,” he said.

This year, NCTB is printing nearly 300 million copies of textbooks for secondary and primary students.

Printers are also worried, saying hartals are affecting their work.

AFM Shah Alam, general secretary of Bangladesh Mudron Shilpa Samity, said that in the recent hartals, they had to pay extra on transportation.

“We use to pay Tk 12,000 as truck fare, which goes up to Tk 38,000 at times of hartal. If things continue this way, we cannot distribute textbooks on time,” he said.

During hartal, no trucker wants to run and if some drivers agree, they demand abnormal fare due to risks involved, he added. l

n Our Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar

A tense situation has been prevailing at Kutubdia in Cox’s Bazar following Tuesday’s clash between the law enforcers and BNP-Jamaat activists that left three Jamaat activists dead.

Police have handed over the three bodies to their relatives after autopsies were conducted yesterday.

Huge numbers of law enforcers, including Border Guard Bangladesh, have been deployed at Kutubdia to avert further untoward situation.

Officer-in-Charge of Kutubdia police station Kamrul Islam said the law and order situation was under control and the police members were being kept alert.

Meanwhile, Hamidur Rahman Azad, Jamaat law maker of Maheshkhali-Kutubdia constituency, said the government had unveiled its “fascist face” once again by using police to open fire on the common people. “Police acted like they were not employees of the Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh, but the Awami League,” he said.

“The shooting will not help stop the ongoing anti-government movement, rather, it will intensify it,” he warned, before urging the people to continue the agitation.

Yesterday Jamaat held a protest rally over the killing of its activists in Cox’s Bazar, while the 18-party alliance enforce a down-to-dusk hartal in the district today.

Meanwhile, Jamaat activists vandalised a car at Eid Gah bus station in Cox’s Bazar sadar during the protest program.

No one was reported injured in the incident. Police said the Jamaat activists fled the scene before police reached there. l

Green light for Bt brinjal n Abu Bakar Siddique The government has finally approved the release of genetically modified (GM) Bt brinjal in the country amid criticism from conservationists.

The agriculture ministry yesterday issued a circular to release four varieties named Bt Uttara, Bt Kajla, Bt Nayantara and Bt Isd 006 with a provision to cultivate the vegetable on a limited scale.

Bt Uttara will be released in Rajshahi region, Bt Kajla in Barisal, Bt Nayantara in Rangpur and Dhaka regions, and Bt Isd 006 in Pabna and Chittagong regions as per a production manual prepared following bio-safety guidelines, said Rafiqul Islam Mondol, director general of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI).

The new varieties were developed

by the BARI from local varieties by inserting Bt genes into them. The gene, named Crystal Protein Gene (Cry1Ac), is taken from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis popularly known as Bt, and is patented by Monsanto.

BARI claims to have developed the Bt brinjal varieties after a seven-year experiment which began in 2006 with the technical support of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) of India, in which the American seed giant Monsanto had 26% stake.

Mahyco’s brinjal varieties, developed with the financial support of the USAid, were banned in India in 2010 after their harmful effects were exposed.

Environmental activists raised serious concerns about the biological and health hazards posed by the new breed of brinjal. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, October 31, 2013

BSMMU holds virtual class n Moniruzzman Uzzal

classroom, chief guest of the event UGC member Akter Hossain said the UGC has expanded intranet programmes in six universities in Bangladesh.

The programmes have already opened at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University and the BSMMU, while the programme also exists at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka University, North South University and Jahangirnagar University.

BSMMU Vice-Chancellor Prof Pran Gopal Datta said the start of virtual class at the BSMMU was a unique event, adding that the students will be able to learn from foreign experts while sitting in the class room.

Among others, Pro-VC (education) Prof Ruhul Amin, Pro-VC (administration) Prof Dr Md Shahidullah, and Chairman of pharmacology department Prof Dr Mir Mesbahuddin were present at the programme. l

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) stepped into a new era of medical education yesterday, by holding its first ever “virtual classroom.”

More than 200 postgraduate resident students, deans, directors and teachers attended the virtual class of Australia’s renowned pharmacologist Brent McParland, who is a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney.

During the half-hour class on bronchial asthma, Dr McParland – who was displayed on a large screen at the classroom – answered several questions from the students.

Sources said the virtual class was conducted with the help of “intranet” technology, while the technical support was provided by Bangladesh Research Education Network (BdREN)

and Australia Association of Research Network (AARN).

Professor Dr Sayedur Rahman, registrar of BSMMU, told the Dhaka Tribune that the virtual classroom would allow both the students and the doctors to learn the latest education method.

The University Grant Commission (UGC) funded Tk15m to set up the virtual classroom.

At the inauguration of the virtual

2.8kg gold seized at airport, one held n Kailash Sarkar

Government did not disclose phone conversation: Inu

Students’ training to fight corruption

Customs officials seized 24 gold bars yesterday and arrested a man, hours after recovering 160 bars of smuggled gold from the toilet of a Biman flight on Tuesday night at Hajarat Shahjalal International Airport.

Customs Commissioner Zakiya Sultana said the gold, 2.8kgs and worth Tk20m, was recovered after searching the luggage of a Bangladeshi national at the canopy area around 11:30am, immediately after he arrived from Dubai.

The detainee, Sohel Ahmed, hails from Sylhet and his passport shows that he travels to Dubai frequently.

“The detained person was searched for his suspicious movement while he was crossing the canopy area,” Commissioner Sultana said. She said the gold was suspected to have been smuggled into the country from Dubai.

“We are interrogating Sohel to find out how he is linked with the smuggling network and other people involved,” she added.

At 11:30pm Tuesday night, customs officials at the airport recovered a total of 160 bars of smuggled gold bars worth Tk70m from a toilet of a Biman flight soon after it arrived from Hong Kong.

“Those bars were hidden inside a toilet in four bags,” said Sultana.

The commissioner said around 280kg smuggled gold has been deposited to the Bangladesh Bank in the last 10 months by customs authorities.

Sources said around 350kg gold and various other precious items were seized at the airport in the same period.

The remaining quantity of gold could not be deposited due to some complications in formalities.

The largest ever haul of 1,065 bars, weighing 124kg, was made on July 24.

Sources at the airport said a number of rings involved in smuggling gold, currencies, precious metals, stones and materials are active at the airport in association with a section of corrupt staff. l

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

n Tribune Report

WEATHER

Dry weather likely n UNB Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country until 6pm today.

Light fog might occur over Rajshahi, Rangpur and Dhaka divisions during late night till morning, Met Office said.

Day and night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.

The sun sets in the capital at 5:20pm today and rises at 6:05am tomorrow.

Country’s highest temperature 32.2 degree Celsius was recorded at Chandpur and Satkhira and lowest 18.2 degrees at Rajshahi yesterday.

Highest and lowest temperatures recorded in some major cities yesterday were: City

High

Low

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

31.5 29.4 30.8 26.7 32.0 31.3 30.5 31.4

22.4 23.0 18.2 20.5 23.0 22.2 19.8 22.5

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:48am 6:03am 11:42am 3:43pm 5:20pm 6:37pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

The government did not disclose the telephone conversation between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, claimed Information Minister Hasanul HaqInu yesterday.

“If it violates the information and technology act, then measures should be taken against persons responsible for divulging the conversation,” he said.

The minister however claimed to suggest the broadcast of the entire conversation, as “people were confused over the media’s telecast of some parts of the conversation.”

While answering queries of civil society members at a programme titled “Journey for Peace, Development and Democracy” at Theatre Institute of Chittagong, Inu also said, “It was not a personal conversation and it is necessary for everyone to know.”

Referring to the opposition leader, the minister said the premier’s invitation for dialogue was still valid and that the BNP chief could join a conditionfree conversation about elections.

“If you miss the train of conversation, you will miss the train of democracy and election,” he added.

Answering a question, Inu also said he had formulated the eighth wage

Cricket lovers gather in front of the ticket selling counter at Mirpur Stadium to buy tickets for enjoying today’s ODI match between Bangladesh and New Zealand DHAKA TRIBUNE

board for journalists after holding discussions with them, owners and other bodies related to the newspaper industry, while a monitoring cell was also formed.

“If any newspaper does not implement the eighth wage board, the government will stop providing all government facilities to the newspaper’s owners,” he also said.

Among others, Director General of Islamic Foundation Bangladesh Shamim Mohammad Afjal, Director General of Department of Mass Communication Tafsir Ahammad, and poet/ journalist Arun Das Gupta were present at the programme. l

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed to implement the Anti-Corruption Commission’s “School Integrity Units” initiative at a hotel in the capital on Tuesday.

The British Council and German Development Cooperation, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of the German Government, signed the MoU, said a press release.

Richard Miles, principal adviser of GIZ, said: “The training, supported by the ACC, will establish a core group of trainers who can help young people to

Steps taken to modernise BAF: PM n Tribune Desk

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said her government has taken up various programmes to enhance the capability of the Bangladesh Air Force and make it a modern organisation befitting 21st century needs.

Inclusion of 16 new state-of-the art fighter planes, three Mi 171 modern helicopters and one surface to air missile system is part of the farsighted policy to further strengthen the force, which is a continuation of the similar schemes undertaken by the previous (1996-2001) regime of Awami League, she mentioned.

During its previous tenure, the Hasina government procured Mig-29 fighter plane of the fourth Generation, C-130 cargo plane and also added hightech powerful and sophisticated radar in the air force to protect country’s airspace.

The establishment of Bangabandhu Aeronautical Centre at Kurmitola Airfield is an epoch-making step of the present government aiming to ensure proper and cost-effective maintenance of the fighter planes and other equip-

Members of Bangladesh Air Force welcome Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as she visits the force at Dhaka Cantonment yesterday BSS ments of the BAF, the prime minister mentioned, while addressing a Darber of Bangladesh Air Force at BAF Base Bashar in Dhaka Cantonment yesterday, says a UNB report.

A fully fledged air base has also been established at Cox’s Bazar to monitor the airspace of country’s exclusive eco-

nomic zone at the maritime boundary in the south and south-eastern region, she said.

Besides, Hasina, who is also in charge of defence ministry, mentioned the purchase of three Transport Trainer planes, two Maritime Search and Rescue planes and nine Jet Trainer planes,

while 24 Advanced Jet Trainer planes for the BAF are also under process of procurement. There are also plans to purchase Fighter planes, helicopters and Air Defence Radar system, the prime minister added.

Bangladesh Air Force has participated in 24 peacekeeping missions under the UN since 1993, the PM said, adding that during present tenure of her government, one BAF contingent with C-130 transport aircraft has been deployed in Congo while another contingent in Ivory Coast with three helicopters.

Over 500 BAF members are now working with the UN peacekeeping missions, she added.

Hasina hoped that the BAF members would be able to further brighten the image of the country in the international arena in future through discharging their responsibilities with wisdom, professional efficiency and dutifulness.

She asked air force members to be prepared all the time like other institutional forces to face any threat against the continuation of democratic trend and the constitution. l

refrain from corruption and evils that they are likely to encounter in the society as they grow into adults.”

Robin Davies, director of partnerships and programmes at the British Council, said: “This partnership with GIZ is a very timely and necessary initiative to engage the next generation of Bangladesh in issues related to corruption and the values of global citizenship.”

According to the press release, 52 people from ACC, Corruption Prevention Committees and NGO’s will be trained though a three-day programme.

Later, they will disseminate the teachings among children at schools to make them conscious of corruption issues. l

PM opens second safari park in Gazipur today n Abu Bakar Siddique Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will today inaugurate the country’s second safari park, named Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Safari Park in Gazipur.

Built after a safari park in Thailand, the park – some 40km from the capital – is a centre for people, especially from Dhaka city who do not have many options for recreation, said Tapan Kumar Dey, a conservator of forest (wildlife circle) of the Forest Department.

Tapan is also the director of the project, which started on around 1,493.3 hectares of land in June 2010 at an estimated cost of Tk2.2bn.

The park has different components, including a core safari on 495.7ha land, a safari kingdom on 229ha, a biodiversity park on 331.8ha and an extensive Asian safari on 311.2ha.

The country’s first safari park – Dulahazra Safari Park in Cox’s Bazar – was established in 1999.

The park covers 905.28ha land. l

Activists call for social awareness to Government pens power purchase deal curb adolescent pregnancy 66% of adolescent girls in Bangladesh are married off before they turn 18 with Lankan company n Syeda Samira Sadeque

n Aminur Rahman Rasel The Power Development Board (PDB) has signed a 15-year deal with Sri Lanka’s state-owned company Lakdhanavi Bangla Power Limited to purchase electricity from its 52.2megawatt (MW) dual-fuel power plant to be set up in Jangalia, Comilla.

The agreement was signed at the Bidyut Bhaban in the city yesterday

by PDB Secretary Azizul Islam and Ravindra Kumar Pitigalage, managing director of Lakdhanavi Bangla Power Limited.

The Prime Minister’s Energy Advisor Tawfiq-E-Elahi Chowdhury, Power Secretary Monowar Islam, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Bangladesh WA Sarath K Weragoda, and PDB chairman Md Abdul Wahab were present during the deal signing.

The Sri Lankan firm will implement the power plant under independent power project (IPP) project. The government in August 21, 2011, had approved signing Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the company,but the company deferred the deadline for signing due to lack of funds.

Meanwhile, a Petrobangla official

said PDB has signed a PPA for the power project at Jangalia without any assurance of gas supply.

The 52.2MW plant would require 12 million cubic feet (mmcf) of gas per day.

Speaking at the programme, TawfiqE-Elahi Chowdhury said Bangladesh’s power generation capacity (both public and private) has increased to about 10,000MW. The PDB has so far signed deals to generate a total of 9909MW electricity from 70 power plants during the incumbent Awami League-led government’s tenure.

Sources at Power Development Board (PDB) the country’s present power production is more than 5,500MW against a daily demand of 6,500MW. The government has undertaken plans to step up power production to 15,000MW by 2016.

As per the agreement, PDB will buy electricity from the company for the next 15 years at the rate of Tk2.45 per unit (kilowatt hour) while generating electricity from gas and Tk7.10 per unit (kilowatt hour) when using oil.

According to the deal, the plant will start commercial operations within 15 months. l

Researchers and social workers at a discussion meet yesterday called upon different sections of society to work towards ending adolescent pregnancy, which is attributed mostly to the high rate of child marriage in Bangladesh.

According to data presented by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 133 out of 1,000 Bangladeshi girls, aged 10 to 15, gave birth in 1991-2010, whereas the world average for adolescent births was 49 out of 1,000.

Even more concerning, 66% of adolescent girls in Bangladesh are married off before they turn 18, while one out of 10 gives birth before the age of 15.

“Girls do not become pregnant by themselves. The men and the rest of society have a role to play as well, and should be held responsible,” Pornchai Suchitta, officer-in-charge of UNFPA Bangladesh, said at the event launching the “State of World Population 2013” report at a city hotel.

The theme of this year’s UNFPA report is “Motherhood in Childhood: Facing the Challenges of Adolescent Pregnancy.” The UN agency defines adolescence to be between 10 to 19 years.

Although the publication examines adolescent pregnancies worldwide, yesterday’s panel discussion focussed

on pregnancies as a result of child marriages in Bangladesh.

The report reveals that about 70,000 girls aged 10 to 19 die every year around the world from complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

The report also says that 194 out of every 100,000 women, most of whom are adolescents, die during childbirth each year in Bangladesh.

While many adolescent girls survive the process of childbirth, many become extremely weak afterwards, and suffer from various ailments. In addition, the pressure of taking care of children at a young age takes its toll on the mother’s health.

Ubaidur Rob, country director of Population Council, said the risks of pregnancy on adolescent girls include maternal death, sexually transmitted diseases, unsafe abortion and disruption of education.

“In order to address this, we must address the whole family, not just the girls,” said Suchitta.

In the meantime, there has been a slight improvement regarding the age of marriage in the past few years.

The median age of marriage for girls rose to 15.8 years in 2011, from 14.2 years in 1997, according to the Population Council.

“This is a part of our social norm and

a big change will not come in a few years, it will take decades,” said Rob. The marriage age for girls varies from region to region. Sylhet has the highest average age at 17.5 years, while in Dhaka, it is 15.8 years, which is also the national average.

Rob pointed out “social insecurity”, such as fear of keeping unmarried daughters at home, was one of the reasons behind the high rate of child marriage in this country.

“Gender inequality also plays a big role in this practice,” said Dr Nargis Fatema, a gynecologist at Square Hospital.

Dr Fatema said when girls are married at an early age, they do not have any decision making power. Thus, they are vulnerable to abuse or manipulation by their husbands and in-laws.

Suchitta said ensuring education for girls up to higher secondary level would be the best way to curb early marriage.

Meanwhile, regarding the lack of data on unmarried adolescent mothers, Rob said their research focussed primarily on married adolescents.

“Due to the stigma that exists regarding premarital pregnancy, no one comes forward to talk about it,” Rob said.

“However, roughly 6% of the adolescent pregnancies are of unmarried girls, but there could be more.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

5

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Could a military operation have saved the day?

The case for an armed response that could have prevented the massacre during the BDR mutiny in February 2009 and saved many innocent lives

T

n Brig Gen Sharif Aziz, psc (retd) he memory is vivid and fresh: 2009 February 25.

As many as 57 officers were brutally murdered. This day will go down in the history of Bangladesh as one of the most infamous days. Why so many lives had to be sacrificed is the question that will always haunt us.

As an ex-military officer I feel we need to go over and over again on the macabre incident to find out the justification of not conducting a “military operation” on that day and save many valuable lives. I think as a nation we will continue to deceive ourselves if we look away and do not draw appropriate lessons from the incident.

In my opinion a military operation was the most desired option to avoid the catastrophe on that day. Some of the justifications are narrated below.

There was no formidable leadership in the rebel forces that could be traced from the immediate video footage shown by the private TV channels on the 25th morning and afternoon. The personnel were unruly, haphazard in their pronouncements and announcements.

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

This very factor should have been enough of an indication to the military leadership or planners to deduce and decide immediate offensive in the form of commando attacks in small groups of five to six persons from five/ six directions scaling the perimeter wall of BDR and generate faint/diversionary attacks. And there after one or two APCs appearing from the two gates from opposite directions could have created havoc in the minds of, by then, morally depleted BDR personnel.

Though BDR is located in a built-up area, it in itself is confined to a walledup area. The confused and panicked civil population had already begun to flee the area fearing a confrontation on the morning of February 25.

Effective announcement through microphones and megaphones would have given enough opportunity for the civil population to abandon the surrounding areas for conducting an operation. Thereby false apprehension that thousands would have lost their lives had been a misleading statement.

The “weird” theory that the army attacking BDR would culminate into civil war throughout the country could only be circulated by people with unsound minds. In hindsight, the

Almost five years have passed but sentiments and emotion are still running high in the absence of military action to quell the BDR mutiny

outpouring of sentiment and support throughout the country for the fallen soldiers seen the next day and hatred for the mutineers indeed evaporated the theory of civil-war in the country.

Therefore, the “cock and bull” story that a great confrontation would ensue and thousands would die in the area (heavily built-up) were not acceptable to a military man with even very basic knowledge of military tactics/operations.

After all, the mutineers were members of a para-military force who were weak in all respect in comparison to the regular forces. Poor in training, devoid of any knowledge of minor tactics and field craft as well as battle procedure, they could easily be beaten in no time.

They were ill-equipped, lacking tanks, APCs and weapons to confront the regular forces. Our own forces had many highly trained and skilled (commando) personnel, both officers and men, who could have stormed the BDR premise most swiftly and bring down

the rebellion.

The unlimited delay or “never-done action” made the families face unforgettable nightmares and ignominy on the night of the 25th. By the afternoon of 25th it was getting known that the so called mutineers have committed the worst of crimes in world history.

With such horrendous crimes committed these personnel could not have been at their best in vigour and gusto in pursuing their revolutionary goals.

They were psychologically completely broken. They were actually on the run and made safe haven in the face of the worthless military onlookers. We really cannot reconcile with the fact that when SOS calls were made by the officers, in peril, their wives in jeopardy and their children terrorised for 33 hours, their calls were not responded to.

So who is to be blamed for the carnage? It is not fair to blame the prime minister or the political people on the option to have been chosen to quell the BDR rebellion. The onus or the blame of not showing enough initiative to assert and convince the government must be borne by the hierarchy of the military.

If they had been logical and assertive in their spelling out of military objectives, we are sure that the prime minister would not have said no to their proposals. Neither the other ministers/politicians would have said no to any military options with definite objectives from the military experts on the subject.

The prime minister needed judicious and clear cut plan of actions from the military. Most of us believe that if the prime minister had been briefed correctly, she would have listened to any suggestions to save lives of so many bright officers in the first hour of the massacre.

If nothing else the families of the fallen officers would not have un-

Army hierarchy failed or acted so naively. Simple analysis have revealed that the Army hierarchy at that time was in a tremendous state of shock after the election and formation of the then new government. The attacks on the military was fierce from both position and the opposition, both in the media and in the parliament.

Most leaders including opposition were open and outright in their criticism of the “Triumvirate” sarcastically termed as “IMF” (Iajuddin, Moin Uddin, Fakhruddin). Bruised businessmen and highly polarised intellectuals were getting extremely vociferous in their criticism of the masterminds of 1/11. For a moment it looked like as if an impending avalanche was going to engulf the entire military hierarchy.

These attacks, in most cases sounding worthwhile must have created panic in the minds of Moin U Ahmed and his core group, who were naturally demoralised and dazed not knowing what’s coming next. With such disorganised leadership nothing better could have been expected to face the BDR debacle.

Almost five years have passed but sentiments and emotions are still running high in the absence of military action to quell the BDR mutiny. Most of the professional officers are sure that immediate and instantaneous military operation against ill-equipped and less trained BDR personnel by highly professional Army commandos would have had salutary effects, and within no time the mutiny would have fizzled out.

Most officers still talk of opening and keeping the subject alive for future scrutiny and review, so that the people responsible are made accountable and the military learns a lesson as a part of military history.

Though five years have elapsed, I feel the military must carry out a critical analysis of their actions on that

We really cannot reconcile with the fact that when SOS calls were made by the officers, in peril, their wives in jeopardy and their children terrorised for 33 hours, their calls were not responded to

dergone an unforgettable experience and indignity at the later part of the evening. Therefore, it is the military command that should be blamed for it’s inability to act on a national crisis of the magnitude on February 25, 2009.

Let us now discuss as to why the

day and they should not be complacent about their overall operational capabilities.

Their achievements in less-intense operations/conflicts like counter insurgency, UN missions, natural disasters, and of late, Hatirjheel, flyovers etc should not give them a feeling that

they are prepared for combat or real crisis situations like BDR rebellion.

How far away they are from words like “hard hitting, real tough, grimfaced, serious, and speed” applicable for professional armies must be answered by them. We paid too dearly in the BDR mutiny. The damage has been

will never get solace and we owe it to them. Hence, the judges should take heed. If exemplary punishment is awarded to the murderers, our people will think twice before daring to commit barbarous crimes in the future. l The author is a freelance contributor.

I feel the military must carry out a critical analysis of their actions on that day and they should not be complacent about their overall operational capabilities

colossal. A repetition of the like must not happen in the future.

There is yet another example I would like to cite here; when we came to know of the indecision, inaction and incapabilities of the higher military command of our army, when we failed to react with immediate counter measures after a raid that was conducted on BDR outpost by Burma’s NASAKA, a para-military border force in Naikhongchari area of Cox’s Bazar in the year 1992.

We lost all the weapons including heavy ones when NASAKA crossed international border and conducted a swift raid in the face of BDR Jawan’s abandoning the outpost altogether.

The higher command, particularly the division which is supposed to be operational all the time due to their deployment in the Hill Tracts, only marked time.

Instead of military action we took refuge to diplomatic parleys. The result: till today we never got back the weapons we lost. It was again a big military failure and revealed our inherent weakness of un-preparedness and un-professionalism in real operational matters.

In the end I would like to humbly remind the people in the authority that we were eagerly and anxiously looking forward to the end of the trial and verdict of the murderous killers.

The Holy Quran repeats in several places that when you act as judges, do just and fair trial, come what may, or else in the day of judgment Allah will never forgive you and throw you in the Hell-fire. The Holy Quran also ordains that the judge is only next to Allah on earth in so far as dispensation of fair justice is concerned.

For a nation it is not good to forego justice. If not judged sincerely, this will sow the seeds of dissatisfaction in the minds of an organisation. Moreover, if true justice in not served, the most affected minds, i.e. the families,

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Thursday, October 31, 2013

CNG-run autos yet to adjust meters Woes of commuters have no bounds as they pay triple the usual meter rate to their destination Hayat Mahmud and n Abu Probir K Sarker It is nothing new that most of the CNGrun green auto-rickshaw drivers in the capital do not charge fales according to the meter, forcing commuters to pay exorbitant rates, based on the drivers’ whims for the last three years.

The drivers, on their part, term the fare fixed by the government as “unjust” considering the rise in prices of essentials and the fact that the owners of the vehicles overcharge them. The owners admit to the overcharging and support the drivers in their demand for a revision in the fares.

The woes of the commuters do not end with finding an auto-rickshaw to ferry them to their destination at double or triple the usual meter rate. Often there are heated arguments with the drivers, sometimes even leading to scuffles. And to top it all, the passengers, on the request of the auto drivers, are forced to lie to the police officers stopping the autorickshaws.

The authorities have recently started a drive to conduct a check on whether the three-wheelers are charging the

government-set fare, easing the harassment of the passengers to some extent.

The owners’ representatives had agreed to the government decision on fare rate revision in January 2011, but the drivers had rejected it outright and had begun defying the directives within a month. The drivers’ associations had no representation in the decisionmaking process.

The government has no plans to revise the fares again anytime soon, said officials. However, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) is considering a proposal, put forward by the owners to revise the fare and the amount of daily deposit.

The government in late 2010 raised the fare from Tk7 per kilometre to Tk7.64, waiting charge from Tk1.25 per minute to Tk1.30 and kept the minimum fare unchanged at Tk25. The daily deposit was set at Tk600. The decision came into force in January 2011.

The drivers claim that the owners now charge them much higher than the fixed rate, at times as much as Tk1,000, forcing them, in turn, to demand higher fare from the passengers. In some cases, the auto drivers tamper with

their meters to earn more.

Only the auto-rickshaws labelled as “private” do not have meters as they are supposed to be owned and run by individuals for personal use. However, they carry passengers too, but charge reasonably.

Pranab Saha, employee of a private company, said: “The auto-rickshaw drivers now charge a minimum fare of Tk100 for any distance, and they often refuse to make short trips.”

“The city dwellers are hostages at the hands of the drivers, especially during the busy hours and when they need vehicles for an emergency purpose.

This harassment should stop,” he said.

Halima Khatun, a Badda resident, said: “The drivers agree to go by meter only if some extra amount is added to the reading. They put the blame for this on the fact that the owners charge them a higher amount.”

She blamed lax monitoring by the concerned authorities for the mismanagement and demanded that the owners be brought to book.

Taiz Uddin, an auto-rickshaw driver, said: “We now have to pay Tk850-900 to the owner as daily deposit. They

demanded Tk700 a year ago. The owners never follow the government-fixed rate.”

He said both the fare and the deposit money should be increased as the price of everything has increased over the last few years.

Earlier, the drivers demonstrated and enforced strikes, demanding an increase in the fare rates and punishment of the owners for charging higher than the government-fixed rate. In June 2011, they threatened an indefinite strike over their 10-point demands that included action against owners, end of police harassment in the name of checking driver’s licence and creating parking space for auto-rickshaws at different places.

Dhaka Metropolitan CNG Auto-Rickshaw Owners’ Association President Md Barkat Ullah Bhulu acknowledged the trend of overcharging the commuters. “The rate has to be adjusted now considering the rising prices of daily necessities.”

He told the Dhaka Tribune that a proposal has been submitted to the government to set the deposit money at Tk900 and also to increase the mini-

mum fare and the per kilometre charge.

“If any owner or driver does not adjust their meters after revision of the fare, punitive measures will be taken against them,” he added.

Communications Secretary MAN Siddique blamed the passengers for not cooperating with the traffic police in penalising the drivers who did not follow the meter. “When we conduct mobile courts, the passengers do not admit that they are paying extra money. It is a big obstacle to ensuring fairness.”

He told the Dhaka Tribune that they would not go for a revision in the fare and the deposit money till there is an increase in the CNG prices.

The green auto-rickshaws were introduced in the city in 2004 when the government also set the fare and the owners’ deposit. The process is managed and monitored by the communications ministry with the help of police and the BRTA. However, as early as 2006, the government mandated rates lost their relevance, when the drivers agitated against the owners and demanded that the fare be increased further. l

Housing authority hands over 3,004 flats, 2,054 plots in four years n Tribune Desk The National Housing Authority has handed over 3,004 flats and 2,054 plots to buyers under 47 projects over the last four years, officials told the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Housing and Public Works yesterday.

At the 51st meeting of the committee, the officials also informed that 3,141 more flats will be allocated under the projects in different districts very soon, reports UNB. Presided over by standing committee Chairman AMB Fazle Karim Chowdhury, the meeting was attended, among others, by State Minister for Housing and Public Works Abdul Mannan Khan, members of parliament whip Noor-e-Alam Chowdhury, M Abdus Sattar, Zahirul Haque Bhuiyan, KM Khalid, Azizul Haque Chowdhury and Safia Khatun.

At the meeting, the committee also inquired about the implementation of the already accepted recommendations of declaring the main street of the Tejgaon Industrial Area as an industrial-cum-commercial area. l

Bus fire heightens panic in Mirsharai n Our Correspondent, Mirsharai A parked bus caught fire in Mrisharai upazila of Chittagong yesterday in a suspected arson attack aimed at spreading panic in the area.

Witnesses said the driver and helper of the Choice Paribahan bus were having their lunch at a local hotel in the upazila’s Baryarhaat area, when their vehicle burst into flames.

Passers-by and locals rushed to douse the fire, but their attempts proved futile as the bus was reduced to ashes. No injuries were reported in the incident.

On-duty traffic Sergeant Delwar Hossain said it was unusual that a fire could engulf a standing bus without any obvious reason. He, however, declined to comment further without investigation.

A growing sense of panic has already been prevailing in the upazila with activists belonging to rival political parties staging showdowns amid uncertainties over the fate of general elections.

AL activist chopped to death in Narsingdi n Our Correspondent, Narsingdi Some criminals stabbed an Awami League activist to death at Joynagar village in Polash upazila of Narsingdi on Tuesday night.

The deceased Arman, 50, of Joynagar village, was an executive member of Danga union Awami League.

Family members said Kawsar and Harisul of the same village called him out of his house that night, and he has been missing since then.

Locals found the stab wound riddled body of Arman yesterday morning and informed the local UP members and the deceased’s relatives. UP members informed the Polash thana about the incident.

Later, Polash police recovered the bodyand sent it to Narsingdi Sadar Hospital morgue for an autopsy.

A case filed with the Polash police station, but no one was arrested in this connection until filing the report. l

Road accident kills one in Jessore n BSS A bicycle rider was killed and another rider was injured in a road accident in Monirampur Dhanpatti area on Jessore-Satkhira road under Monirampur upazila of the district on Tuesday evening.

The deceased was identified as Abu Taleb, 45, son of Mosharef Hossen of Khardoganra village under the upazila. Police said, Abu Taleb’s bicycle collided head on with an oil-laden Tranklory from the opposite direction in the area around 6:30 pm, leaving bicycle rider Abu Taleb dead on the spot and injuring co-rider Harun-orRashid. l

Activists of Chhatra League, Chhatra Dal and Chhatra Shibir continue have been taking out regular processions and exploding cocktails in order to demonstrate their strengths.

Cadres of rival political parties are also taking positions in their strongholds in preparation for possible encounters.

In their bid to establish dominance, Shibir activists recently launched an attack on six Chhatra League and Juba League activists at Niampur of the upazila. Some ruling party activists were stabbed and their tendons cut in the Shibir attack.

In a sequel to the incident, agitated Chhatra League and Juba League activists carried out an attack at Komoldoho Bazar, widely known as Shibir bastion, and vandalised some shops.

The administration has failed to ensure security to the commoners despite repeated assurance from the government to curb any sort of violence, locals said. l

Activists of BNP set fire to a bus in the Barayair Hat area under Mirsharai upazila in Chittagong yesterday

Two leaders of robbers’ gang killed in gunfight with Rab n Our Correspondent, Barisal Two leaders of a notorious robbery gang – Mortuja Bahini – were killed in a gunfight with Rab at the Chandpai range of Sundarbans under Mongla police station of Bagerhat district yesterday.

Some 15 firearms, including seven light guns, two double barrel, two single barrel, 1 shutter gun and cartridges were recovered from the spot The deceased were Mortuja, 31, kingpin of the gang, and its second-in-command Mosharraf, 32.

Both hailed from Joymonir Ghol village under Mongla police station of the district.

Sources at Rab said they were conducting a drive against hilsa netting during the peak season.

After the leaders of Saijjya and Amzad Bahinis were killed, Mortuja Bahini had taken control of a part of the Sundarbans coast since June 2013.

Rab-8 Commanding Officer Lt Col Faridul Alam at the unit’s headquarters in Barisal acknowledged the fact.

He said some 15 firearms including seven light guns, two double barrel, two single barrel, 1 shutter gun, one. 22-bore rifle, two 303-cut-rifles, 10 sharp weapons, 39 rounds of fresh bullets and cartridges, one pair of bin-

oculars, a modified mobile tower and antenna and Tk19,672 in cash were recovered from the spot.

Faridul Alam said acting on a tip-off, a Rab patrol team operated its drive in the area of Sundarbans while the gang opened fire sensing the presence of the elite force.

During a 35-minute gunfight from 7:50am to 8:25am, both sides exchanged over 300 rounds of ammunition, and at one stage, the armed gang later retreated leaving behind bodies, arms and ammunition.

Aminul Islam, Mongla police station in charge, said the bodies had been sent to Bagerhut hospital morgue after an unnatural death case was lodged. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Six crude bombs exploded in port city n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong At least six crude bombs were detonated by Jamaat-Shibir men at the port city’s Rahattapul area yesterday afternoon, said police.

So far, no one has been arrested in connection with the blasts.

Mohammad Mohsin, officer-in-charge (OC) of Bakalia police station, said some 15 to 20 Jamaat-Shibir activists, chanting anti-government slogans, brought out a brisk procession at the area around 1:30pm and detonated the bombs.

Later, police rushed to the spot while the Jamaat-Shibir men managed to flee, said the OC. The explosion caused panic among pedestrians and locals who ran helterskelter after the incident, added the

police official.

Earlier on Tuesday, two crude bombs were also detonated near the residence of Deputy Commissioner (DC) Abdul Mannan of Chittagong at DC Hill of the port city. The deputy commissioner was holding a meeting with two additional deputy commissioners at his house during the blast.

Following the incident, security has been intensified in the DC Hill area, said Mirza Saiem Mahmud, assistant commissioner of the Kotwali circle of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP).

None were arrested in this regard.

Meanwhile, security is being beefedup across the port city to evade untoward or subversive incidents, said Banaz Kumar Majumder, additional commissioner (crime and operation) of CMP. l

Labour unrest in Gazipur Barisal city has only 130 licensed forces 25 factories to close rickshaw van pullers n Our Correspondent, Gazipur At least 24 RMG factories were temporarily closed while one was closed for an indefinite period of time following the latest wave of labour unrest that broke out on Tuesday at Chandra Palli Biddut in Kaliakair, Gazipur, industrial police officials said.

Industrial police sources in the area said Ahsan Composite Mills was the last factory to be closed at 1pm yesterday while Interstoff Ltd was closed indefinitely.

OC of Gazipur Industrial Police Zakir Hossain said, “Workers at the Interstoff Ltd started protesting inside the factory and began abstaining from work since 8am in the morning, demanding a minimum wage of Tk8,000.”

After the news broke out, workers from other factories like Tropical Sweaters Ltd, Ahsan Composite, Equ Tex, Appex Holdings Ltd, Far East, Devine along with others joined the protests and started abstaining from work.

At one point of the protests, they vandalised a few factories around 11am in the morning.

Later, following a request by the police, workers and owners of the factories held a meeting. However, the workers did not change their position on the minimum wage.

Following the stalemate, authorities at the factories termed the situation risky and expressed their inability to carry out production. l

n Our Correspondent, Barisal Although there are 20,000 rickshaw vans along with other motorised vehicles in Barisal city, only 130 rickshaw pullers have licenses for manually driven transport.

Drivers by their own do not take license from the City Corporation as they are not aware they need to, but owners of rickshaws are doing it after coming to an agreement with the transport department of Barisal City Corporation in a bid to evade high taxes, it was alleged.

Apart from not having licenses, the drivers even do not know about driving and traffic rules, making road accidents a common phenomenon.

More than 20,000 rickshaws ply the city’s roads, said Badal Chandra

Shil, superintendent of the transport section of BCC, adding that of those, 12,000 have licenses while the remaining 8,000 are illegal.

Owners have to pay an annual fee of Tk320 for rickshaws and Tk60 for driving-licenses for each rickshaw puller.

It is fact that owners do not renew licenses of more than 50% percent of rickshaws, Badal said, adding that the excessive number of rickshaws are creating traffic jams, causing accidents in the city as they are unaware of the rules.

If BCC starts a drive against the rickshaws and their drivers the owners association and workers union put pressure on the city corporation and threaten to go on strike, as there are not a sufficient number of mechanised

public transport facilities in the city except the manually driven rickshaws, BCC Mayor Ahsan Habib Kamal told the Dhaka Tribune expressing resentment.

Abdul Karim, a rickshaw puller, said they had heard about the rickshawlicense, but never heard about the rickshaw driving-license.

Tapan Das, one of the rickshaw garage owners in the city, said owners are not interested in taking or renewing their licenses, fearing harassment by city corporation officials.

Md Manik, president of the rickshaw drivers’ union, said as most of the rickshaw pullers were illiterate, ultra-poor, and come from river eroded and storm affected areas, the system for obtaining a driving-license for a manually driven transport should be evaded. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

7

Thursday, October 31, 2013

6 get life for killing man

Bangladeshi cattle trader nabbed by BSF

n Our Correspondent, Netrakona Netrokona court yesterday sentenced six people to life-terms in prison, while 50 others were sentenced to three years for killing a man in 2005.

The six life term convicts are Mojibur Rahaman, Rotan, Saiful Islam, Shajahan, Nur Mia and Jahangir, who were also fined Tk20,000 each in default. Failure to pay the fine would result in six months more in prison.

The rest of the 50 were also fined Tk5,000 each in default, and failure to pay will result in them staying in prison for six more months.

The case described that the convicted persons killed Abul Kashem with sharp weapons on May 25 in 2005 due to previous enmity.

Later, a homicide case was filed with Mohongonj police station in this connection.

The judge after examining the witnesses and evidence found them guilty and handed down the verdict. l

n Our Correspondent, Jhenaidah

People try to rescue passengers of a bus which plunged into a roadside ditch in the Tulshighat area of Gaibandha after its driver lost control over steering

Focus Bangla

Stray incidents mark hartal in four districts Most of the shops in the distrcits remained closed throughout the day-long shutdown

n Tribune Report Opposition activists enforced a daylong hartal in four districts yesterday amidst stray of clashes, arson and detention, hard on the heels of a three-day nationwide hartal which ended just the day before.

The three districts were Chandpur, Tangail, Jhenaidah and Magura. No fatalities till yesterday evening were reported.

In Chandpur, opposition activists exploded cocktail bombs, vandalised vehicles and torched tires on the streets. Police detained four individuals in connection with the incidents.

Sources said activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), a front organisation of main opposition BNP, brought out two processions from in front of Chand-

pur Government College in the morning.

They exploded 10-15 handmade bombs on the Chandpur-Comilla highway.

Around 9am, pro-hartal activists vandalised vehicles and torched tyres to block communication on the town’s Stadium Road. Later, additional security personnel were deployed in the area to check further incidents.

Yesterday was the second day of a two-day shutdown called to protest the death of 15-year-old Arju Hossain, who JCD-Chandpur General Secretary Ibrahim Kazi Jewel claimed to be one of their leaders.

Arju died during a violent clash between local units of BNP and Awami League on Monday.

In Tangail, anti-hartal activists of Awami League vandalised the residence and office of a local BNP leader

during the dawn-dusk hartal called by the local unit of BNP. The incident occurred in the Modhupur upazila of Tangail in the morning. Police said although no case was filed in this connection till yesterday afternoon, security personnel were deployed at the spot to check any untoward incidents.

Sources said most of the shops in the town remained closed throughout the span of the hartal, with a thin presence of vehicles on the main thoroughfares.

Earlier in the morning, BNP activists brought out a procession in support of the shutdown on the Mymensingh road around 8am. At one stage, police dispersed the procession.

Around 10am, Awami League activists brought out an anti-hartal procession and vandalised several shops

261 schools in Jhenaidah lack arts and crafts teachers n Our Correspondent, Jhenaidah School students of Jhenaidah are failing to receive adequate training on the subject of arts and crafts, as there is not a single specialised teacher at the 261 non-government high schools and madrasas that are spread across the district’s six upazilas.

The crisis worsens by the fact that over 25,000 students of these schools and madrasas are set to sit their Junior School Certificate and Junior Dakhil Certificate examinations that start on November 4, without proper preparation on the subject.

Some guardians of Kanchannagar high school in Jhenaidah said their children were not provided with enough education on the subject of arts and crafts.

Teachers who taught other subjects filled in for the arts and crafts class, and the examinees may face difficulties in the upcoming tests as the subject was not properly taught to them, the concerned guardians said.

Sources at the office of the District Education Officer said the number of high schools and madrasas in Jhenaidah sadar upazila was 70 including two nationalised ones, 51 in Sailkupa, 39 in Harinakundu including a nationalised one, 41 in Kaliganj, 22 in Kotchandpur, and 40 in Moheshpur upazila.

Teachers who taught other subjects filled in for the arts and crafts class, and the examinees may face difficulties in the upcoming tests as the subject was not properly taught to them, the concerned guardians said A total of 21,274 examinees will sit for the JSC exams from the schools, while 4,084 madrasa students will sit for their JDC tests.

Nasim Uddin, headmaster of Sali-

Two held with arms in Sylhet n UNB Members of Border Guard Bangladesh arrested two suspected arm traders and recovered pipe guns and arms making materials from Lalkhan border of Joiantapur upazila early yesterday.

Being tipped off, a team of BGB conducted a drive in the area at about 3:00am and arrested the duo along with three pipe guns and huge arms making elements.

Tk1m looted from shops in Satkhira

n UNB Robbers looted a total of Tk1m from different shops in Tentulia Bazar in Tala upazila of Satkhira early yesterday.

Officer-in-charge of Tala police station Saiful Islam said about 10-12 armed robbers took hostage the guards of the bazaar at gunpoint in the early hours and looted a total of Tk10m from about 14 shops.

Police picked up five people from the area for interrogation. l

munnessa Girls School under Kaliganj upazila, admitted that students would face difficulties in getting good grades, as there are no specialised teachers for the subject of arts and crafts.

Sumon Hossain, a student of Naldanga Bhusan Pilot School, said the students were unlikely to get good marks in arts and crafts, as they were not taught the subject properly.

District Education Officer Moksedul Islam said no teacher was sanctioned for any non-government high schools in the district, while two teachers were sent for two government schools in the district headquarters.

Meanwhile, Additional Deputy Commissioner Sheikh Rafiqul Islam said the JSC examinations would be held in 25 centres, while the JDC examinations will take place at nine madrasas in the district. The local administration will take necessary measures for ensuring peaceful examinations as per the education board’s schedule, he added. l

and hurled brick chips towards the residence and office of BNP leader and former municipality councillor Osman Ali, injuring his two daughters.

President of BNP-Madhupur unit Zakir Sarker alleged that residences of several BNP activists were also vandalised.

BNP called the shutdown to demand the release of its 69 leaders and activists who were arrested on August 15 on charges of attacks on police and incineration of police vehicles.

In Jhenaidah, pickets damaged five trucks and two tempus (four-wheeled passenger vehicle) and torched tyres during the day-long hartal called by the opposition.

The incidents occurred at the Arappur area on Jhenaidah-Kushtia highway in the morning, although police denied any such incident occurred.

India’s border security force (BSF) caught a Bangladeshi national from the Benipur-Kushumpur frontier under Maheshpur upazila in Jhenaidah yesterday morning. He was identified as Potol Mia, 32.

Kushumpur camp commander of BGB, Abdul Kader, confirmed the news and said Potol had been arrested by a patrolling unit of BSF when he entered the Indian border through Kushumpur around 8am.

He went there to bring cattle heads from India but could not produce valid documents about his visit when asked to do so by BSF personnel, he added.

BGB sent a letter to BSF after the arrest, requesting that a flag meeting be held to arrange his release. However, no such meetings were reported to be held until the afternoon. l

15 homemade weapons recovered in Chandpur

n Our Correspondent, Chandpur Other than the incident, the day was mostly eventless and peaceful. Movements of vehicles on the streets were usual and commercial shops remained open.

BNP called the shutdown to protest the death of its Hariankundu upazila unit president, also incumbent chairman of Daulatpur union parishad, Abul Hossain, who was bombed and hacked to death on Monday.

Saidur Rahman, son of the deceased, filed a case with the Hariankundu police station against 24 named individuals Tuesday night. However, when contacted, Mahibul Islam, officer in charge of the station, refused to disclose the names.

In Magura, most shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed. l

Police, Rapid Action Battalion and Border Guard Bangladesh recovered one gun, eight rounds of bullets and 15 weapons during a joint drive at the Puranbazar area of Chandpur on Tuesday night.

At least 16 people were detained in the drive conducted at the Refugee colony and Purba Sriramdi areas.

Shochin Chakma, assistant superintendent of police of Chandpur Sadar head quarters said, “We conducted the drive on being informed that miscreants were terrorising the area with gunfire, and recovered a gun and eight rounds of ammunition from the house of former army official Sona Mia.” Law enforcers also recovered 15 weapons from a butcher’s house around 8pm, but the house’s owner Rafik managed to flee the scene, police said. l

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

International

Assad tells UN envoy peace talks can succeed only if aid to rebels stops n Reuters, Beirut

German intelligence denies spying from embassy in US n AFP, Berlin The head of German foreign intelligence denied Wednesday that Berlin was carrying out bugging operations from its embassy in the United States in a deepening espionage row.

“No telecommunication-intelligence is conducted from the German embassy in Washington,” Gerhard Schindler, head of the BND agency, was quoted by Zeit online news site as saying.

Reports that the US National Security Agency (NSA) has listened in on the communications of dozens of foreign leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have provoked outrage in Germany and across Europe.

On Tuesday, General Keith Alexander, the head of the NSA, and the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told lawmakers that foreign nations were also spying on US leaders.

President Bashar al-Assad told UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi on Wednesday that talks to end Syria’s civil war would only succeed if foreign powers ended support for rebels fighting to overthrow him.

Brahimi is in Damascus to met Syrian officials in an effort to shore up support for the faltering peace talks.

State television quoted Assad as telling Brahimi, “the success of any political solution is tied to stopping support for terrorist groups and pressuring their patron states.” Assad’s government calls the armed opposition terrorists.

The “Geneva 2” talks, tentatively planned for Nov 23, aim to start a political process to end the civil war in which more than 100,000 people have been killed.

Brahimi has angered the opposition by saying that Iran, Assad’s main backer during the war, should attend Geneva. The rebels and political opposition say that any negotiations should be based on Assad’s removal.

They dismissed as “completely false” allegations that American spy agencies had swept up data on millions of European phone calls.

They said European media that had made those claims – based on leaks from fugitive analyst Edward Snowden – did not understand the data they were using to make the allegations.

A delegation of German chancellery and intelligence officials is due Wednesday to meet US government representatives in Washington, according to local DPA news agency.

It said Berlin’s medium-term goal was to reach a bilateral accord under which Washington would agree, among other things, not to spy on the government, officials and diplomatic missions.

In July Snowden had told German news weekly Der Spiegel that Western states were “in bed” with the NSA in running secret spying partnerships. l

Spying tests trust between Obama, Merkel

Of course, everyone knows Iran’s efforts to help a political solution to the Syrian crisis Assad and Iran, however, have said they will only go to talks that set no preconditions. Assad said that “only the Syrian people are authorised to shape the future of Syria.”

Mohammad Riza Shebani, the Iranian ambassador to Syria, told reporters in Damascus on Wednesday that Iran was ready to attend the Geneva meeting.

“Of course, everyone knows Iran’s efforts to help a political solution to the Syrian crisis. Iran’s absence from this meeting does not benefit the meeting,” he said. The Syrian conflict began in early 2011 as a peaceful protest movement against four decades of Assad family rule, but has degenerated into a sectarian civil war and forced millions to flee. l

Thursday, October 31, 2013

n AP, Washington

United Nations Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi (2nd R) leaves a hotel while on his way to meet Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad

REUTERS

Syrians to choose their political future: Assad n AFP, Damascus Bashar al-Assad has said during talks with UN envoy Lakhdar Bahrami only Syrians can choose their future, rejecting Western and Arab demands the president step down.

“Syria will attend Geneva II based on the exclusive right of the Syrian people to choose their political future, to choose their leaders and to reject all

forms of external intervention,” Foreign Minister Walid Muallem told Brahimi.

He also said all statements about the country’s future, especially “the one from London,” were “infringements on the rights of the Syrian people” and “preconditions to the dialogue before it has even started.”

That was a reference to an October 22 meeting at which Assad’s opponents and countries that back them – includ-

ing the United States – declared he had no future role to play in Syria.

Brahimi insisted the Geneva talks would be “between the Syrian parties” and that only Syrians would decide their future, the official SANA news agency reported. The Algerian envoy added there was agreement on “the importance of ending the violence, terrorism and respecting Syrian sovereignty,” according to SANA. l

When President Barack Obama visited Berlin in June, German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a point of showing him a balcony in her office overlooking train tracks that crossed the border of her once-divided country — a symbol of her upbringing on the east side of the divide, where eavesdropping by secret police was rampant during the Cold War. The private moment between the two leaders underscores the degree to which Merkel’s personal history has influenced her outrage over revelations that the National Security Agency was monitoring her communications. The secret spying threatens to damage the close relationship between Obama and Merkel, which, until now, has been defined by candour and trust.

“We are very sensitive to the fact that she comes from the East, and that

UN warning over millions of teenage mothers

Suicide bombers hit Iraq In Iraq, Sunni attacks security as attacks kill 27 spark Shia calls to arms

n AFP, London

n AFP, Baghdad

Around 7.3 million girls under the age of 18 give birth each year in developing countries, risking death and suffering that can only be addressed by changing social attitudes, a UN report said Wednesday. Most are in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, with one in 10 girls in Bangladesh, Chad, Guinea, Mali, Mozambique and Niger reporting having a child before the age of 15, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said.

An estimated 70,000 girls aged 10 to 19 die each year from complications during pregnancy and childbirth, according to the Fund’s annual State of the World Population report.

Many more are left incontinent and in pain by giving birth before their bodies are ready, while they also face a tough future if they are pressured to leave school early. The UNFPA warned that this is a “huge global problem” that demands attention – but urged governments and civil groups to realise that the girls are not solely responsible.

Issues of poverty, poor education, a lack of contraceptive advice and the practice of child marriage – nine out of 10 adolescent births occur within a formal union – all play their part, as does sexual violence.

“Too often, society blames only the girl for getting pregnant,” said UNFPA executive director Babatunde Osotimehin ahead of the launch of the “Motherhood in Childhood” report in London.

“The reality is that adolescent pregnancy is most often not the results of a deliberate choice, but rather the absence of choices and of circumstances beyond a girl’s control.”

Health surveys suggest 19% of women aged 20 to 24 in developing countries had their first live birth before they turned 18, equating to 36.4 million women based on 2010 population figures. Of these, an estimated 17.4 million are in South Asia, 10.1 million are in sub-Saharan Africa, and 4.5 million in Latin America and the Caribbean, the UNFPA says.

From these figures, the authors calculated that 7.3 million girls each year become mothers while they are still children themselves – two million of them aged 14 and under. The equivalent of 2.9 million girls in South Asia reported having had their first child before they were 15, 1.8 million in Sub-Saharan African and 0.5 million in Latin America and the Caribbean. l

Three suicide bombings killed 14 Iraqi security force members overnight, officials said on Wednesday, the deadliest in a series of attacks that left 27 people dead in two days.

The attacks come as Iraq witnesses its worst violence since 2008, a surge in unrest that has killed more than 5,400 people this year. Since the beginning of 2013, AFP has recorded just 16 days in which there were no deaths from violence in Iraq, the most recent of which was May 24. On Wednesday, a roadside bomb exploded near a police captain’s car in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, killing a civilian and wounding the officer, police and a doctor said.

The attack followed suicide bombings

that killed 19 people, among them 14 security forces members, during the night, according to security and medical officials. In Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad, two suicide bombers attacked a house where a security meeting was taking place at about 11:30pm on Tuesday, killing 11 people and wounding at least 20.

One bomber detonated explosives at a gate leading to the house, while the second managed to enter the building itself. The dead were four soldiers, including a brigadier general, three police, among them a lieutenant colonel, and four Sahwa anti-al-Qaeda fighters.

And near the northern city of Mosul, a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle rigged with explosives near a police checkpoint, killing eight people, among them three police, and wounding 25. l

n AP, Baghdad The wave of attacks by al-Qaeda-led Sunni extremists that has killed thousands of Iraqis this year, most of them Shias, is provoking ominous calls from Shia leaders to take up arms in self-defence.

They generally insist they’ll do it legally, under the banner of the security forces. But Iraq’s young democracy is still struggling, nearly two years after US troops withdrew, and the spectre of armed Shia and Sunni camps revives memories of the sectarian fighting that took the country to the brink of civil war in the mid-2000s.

Since April, bombings and shootings have killed more than 5,500 people. Averaging at least two a week, they target outdoor markets, cafes, bus stations,

Egyptian students protest after Brotherhood leader arrested n Reuters, Cairo

The corpse of a suicide bomber lies on a beach near the resort in Tunisia

REUTERS

Suicide bomber attacks Tunisian resort n Reuters, Tunis A suicide bomber blew himself up in the Tunisian tourist resort of Sousse on Wednesday, the first such assault since 2002 in a country now battling Islamist militants empowered by chaos in neighbouring Libya.

Police foiled another attack when they arrested a would-be suicide bomber at former President Habib Bourguiba’s tomb in the seaside town of Monastir, security sources said.

No group has claimed responsibili-

ty for the attacks, but the Islamist-led government has been combating Ansar al-Sharia militants it says are tied to al-Qaeda’s North Africa affiliate.

The first bomber had initially sought to enter a hotel in Sousse with a suitcase, police said. “The bomber had tried to get into the hotel, but when he was not allowed in, he ran onto the beach and blew himself up,” a security source said. The bombing is bad news for the vital tourism industry in Tunisia, which attracted 5.8 million mostly European visitors. l

Egyptian police fired teargas at protesting students at Cairo’s al-Azhar university on Wednesday hours after authorities announced the detention of Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam El-Erian, part of a crackdown against the Islamist movement.

Students at the country’s top institution for Islamic teachings have been demonstrating for weeks in support of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, whom the army toppled in July after mass protests against his rule.

The head of al-Azhar university had called on the police to enter campus grounds to “protect souls and properties,” according to an interior ministry statement.

Demonstrations at Al-Azhar are a sensitive matter because the institution has historically toed the government line.

Erian, the deputy leader of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party, was taken into custody early on Wednesday from a residence in New Cairo where he had been in hiding.

“He’s been arrested and details will soon be released,” an Interior Ministry source told Reuters. l

mosques and pilgrimages in Shia areas.

Iraq’s Shia prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, who will meet with President Barack Obama on Friday, says he wants American help in quelling the violence.

Departing for Washington, he appealed for quicker delivery of offensive weapons such as helicopters that Baghdad says it needs.

Since late December, Iraq’s minority Sunnis have been protesting what they perceive as discrimination and tough anti-terrorism measures against them by the Shia-led government. The Sunni attacks followed a government crackdown on a Sunni protest camp in the northern town of Hawija in which 44 civilians and one member of the security forces were killed, according to UN estimates. l

brings with it a historical perspective on surveillance that is quite powerful,” said Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser. He said while the White House hopes the strength of Obama’s relationship with Merkel will allow them to weather the current controversy, “it also clearly makes it more difficult when she is surprised by these types of revelations.”

Reports based on leaks from former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden suggest the US has monitored the telephone communications of 35 foreign leaders. The fact that Merkel was among them has been particularly troubling to many in Europe and in Washington, given her status as a senior stateswoman, the leader of Europe’s strongest economy, and a key American ally on global economics, Iranian nuclear negotiations and the Afghanistan war. l

800 civilians evacuated from besieged Syrian town

n AFP, Beirut Some 800 women, children and elderly civilians trapped in the besieged town of Moadamiyet al-Sham, southwest of Damascus, have been evacuated, activists said Wednesday.

Supervised by the Red Crescent, they were escorted from the rebel-held town a day earlier in coordination with the regime. “Eight hundred civilians were evacuated yesterday,” said Wassim al-Ahmad, of the town’s local council.

Activists had earlier reported the evacuation of 500 people.

“All sides, without exception, took part, including the opposition as represented by the National Coalition, the regime... and the international community,” an opposition activist in Moadamiyet al-Sham said. l

WORLD WATCH Malaysia rebuffs Iran call to spare condemned drug mules

Malaysia insisted Wednesday two Iranian women sentenced to death for drug trafficking must face “due process” despite a warning from Tehran that their executions would harm bilateral relations. Shahrzad Mansour, 31, and Neda Mostafaei, 26, were sentenced to death in September for smuggling methamphetamine into Malaysia in December 2010. Defence lawyers are appealing the case. The two Muslim nations both use the death penalty against drug traffickers. But Iran’s foreign ministry warned last week that executing the women would have a “negative effect” on bilateral ties, and called for them to be spared. In a statement sent to AFP, Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry said that while it valued relations with Iran it could not tolerate “illegal activities, which are detrimental to Malaysia’s image and security.”

Twelve dead as Kenya train hits bus

Twelve people were killed and several others injured Wednesday when a passenger train in Kenya’s capital smashed into a bus at a crossing, police said. The train crashed into the side of the bus as it crossed the railway line during the peak hours of morning rush hour, local police commander Benjamin Nyamae said. He reported the number of dead to be 12. An AFP photographer at the scene said the bus was buckled around the front of the train engine.

Mobile phone saves Florida store clerk from robber’s bullet

A convenience store clerk in Florida can thank his mobile phone for stopping a bullet fired at his chest during an attempted robbery, police said on Tuesday. The middle-aged clerk, who police are not identifying for his safety, was shot at by a robber who ordered him and a female clerk to open the safe at a gas station and convenience store near Orlando, Florida, on Monday. The clerk’s mobile phone was in the breast pocket of his baggy shirt.

“When it first happened, he checked himself to see if he was shot. He didn’t see anything,” Lieutenant Scott Allen of the Winter Garden Police Department said.

“Sometime later after the police were on the scene, he mentioned he had a little bit of chest pain. So they started looking into it and realised his mobile phone had been shot.”

French teacher acquitted after student hangs himself A French teacher who was put on trial after her pupil accidentally hanged himself from a coat peg in a school corridor was acquitted Tuesday. Agnes Lelong, a primary school teacher, was charged with manslaughter over the death of her student Khoren Grimaldi, whom she had sent out of class in May 2011 in a school in the southern city of Arles. Three-quarters of an hour later, the 11-year-old was found hanging by his T-shirt from a coat peg, unconscious. He died four days later in hospital.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

International

Police say five arrested in Tiananmen Gate attack Suspected Uighur Muslim involvement suggests political motives

n AP, Beijing

Paramilitary policemen guard a street as people wait at a bus stop near Tiananmen Gate

AP

Chinese police say five people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in a suicide car attack near Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. A statement on the Beijing police microblog said the perpetrators of Monday’s attack were also identified, and labelled it a carefully planned terrorist attack. All three died when their vehicle exploded. Two tourists, including a Filipino woman were hit by the speeding vehicle, were also killed.

Police said knives, iron rods, gasoline and a flag imprinted with religious slogans were found in the vehicle.

The three attackers, including one woman, and the five arrested all had names identifying them as members of the Turkic Muslim Uighur ethnic group native to the restive northwestern region of Xinjiang where extremists have been battling security forces for years.l

China to step up security after NSA allegations n AP, Beijing

Women driven to fury by Beijing police road tips

China says it will take steps to protect its data better in the wake of allegations that the US National Security Agency collected millions of phone records of European citizens and spied on its allies. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying says China is concerned by the recently exposed surveillance activities and is closely monitoring the situation. She said at a daily news briefing Wednesday that China would “take necessary measures to resolutely uphold our own information security.”

Hua would not comment on whether China does the same thing as the NSA is accused of. The head of the NSA defended his organisation on Tuesday, saying that the US didn’t collect European records and that it was given data

by NATO partners as part of a program to protect military interests. l

Don’t wear high heels while driving.

Make sure you release the handbrake before setting off. And don’t panic if you suddenly realise you’re going the wrong way.

Those are some of the suggestions given by the Beijing police department to women drivers in a series of microblog postings that have sparked a backlash among Chinese Internet users who say the tips are sexually discriminatory.

“Some women drivers lack a sense of direction, and while driving a car, they often hesitate and are indecisive about which road they should take,” reads one of the suggestions, posted on the police department’s official microblog late Tuesday.

Women drivers, the posting continues, often discover that “when they’re driving by themselves, they’re not able

n AFP, Beijing

to find the way to their destination, even if they’ve been there many times.”

Another posting features a cartoon depicting a confrontation between a police officer and a woman driving a vehicle shaped like a large red highheel shoe.

It relates to a story of a woman named Liu who caused an accident and then told a police officer: “I hit the brake, but my shoe got stuck in the car!”

“Women drivers, please change into flat shoes when you’re driving,” the posting warns.

Another driving tip points out that “while the handbrake is typically used for stopping the car’s movement, quite a few new women drivers often hurriedly get on the road without releasing it.”

The posts appeared on the police department’s verified account, which has nearly six million followers. l

India bus crash inferno kills 44 n AFP, Hyderabad A speeding bus exploded in a ball of flames after crashing into the central reservation of a southern Indian highway early Wednesday, killing 45 passengers as they slept.

Only five people on the vehicle escaped the inferno, including the driver and the cleaner who broke windows and fled before the fuel tank exploded, police said.

“The total number of charred bodies found is 45, including that of a small child,” L Sarman, a senior district administrative official, told AFP. Fatalities were high even by deadly Indian standards where bus crashes, particularly on the treacherous roads of the northern Himalayas, are common.

Venkateshwarlu said the driver and cleaner had tried to flee the scene of the accident, which occurred around 5:00am between Bangalore and Hyderabad.

“The police caught them and they are now in our custody for questioning,” he said.

Relatives of the victims screamed and broke down in tears outside the of-

fice of the bus operator in Hyderabad, 140km from the crash site.

Police arrived later to question the owners of Jabbar Travels, which offer buses to cities across the south of India.

‘The total number of charred bodies found is 45, including that of a small child’ Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition. Television pictures showed flames leaping out of the vehicle, which was completely gutted by the time firefighters arrived.

The survivors were being treated in a nearby hospital in Wanaparthy, Venkateshwarlu said.

The Times of India reported that at least five of the victims were software engineers who were travelling home to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival this Sunday.

Both Hyderabad and Bangalore are centres of India’s booming IT industry, while Diwali is one of India’s biggest festivals which sees tens of millions of

n AFP, Kabul Afghan negotiators seeking peace with the Taliban will soon travel to Pakistan for their first meeting with key militant commander Mullah Baradar, officials said Wednesday.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in a statement that a deal had been reached after talks on Tuesday in London with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Baradar was freed from jail in Pakistan in September as part of efforts to kickstart Afghanistan’s peace process, but since his “release” it appears he has been kept under house arrest by the Pakistanis.

“It was agreed on that a High Peace Council delegation will visit Pakistan and meet with Mullah Baradar in the near future,” the statement from Karzai’s office said. The High Peace Council is the Afghan body charged with opening negotiations with the Taliban insurgents as USled NATO forces prepare to withdraw from the country by the end of next year.

Support from Pakistan, which backed Afghanistan’s 1996-2001 Tali-

ban regime, is seen as crucial to peace after NATO troops depart – but relations between the neighbours remain uneasy.

The Pakistani government insists Baradar, once the number two to Taliban supremo Mullah Omar, has been released and is free to meet anyone to further the peace process.

However the Taliban complain he is effectively still behind bars and Pakistani security officials last month said he was being held at a safe house in Karachi.

Afghan officials believe that Baradar could encourage Taliban leaders to seek a negotiated settlement to end the 12-year insurgency if he were fully at liberty. A Taliban office in Qatar that opened in June was meant to lead to talks, but instead it enraged Karzai after it was styled as an embassy for a government-in-exile.

Karzai and Sharif met in London with British Prime Minister David Cameron in the fourth of a series of trilateral meetings designed to foster stability in the volatile south Asia region. l

Chimoy flicks a lighter and draws a long drag until her cheeks collapse on the skinny Dunhill Mild, exhaling a column of smoke.

Her no-nonsense, tough-girl attitude projects the confidence of a woman in her 30s, yet she’s only 17. Colourful angel and butterfly tattoos cover her skin, and she wears a black T-shirt emblazoned with a huge skull.

Chimoy — by her own account and those of other girls and social workers — is a pimp.

She got into the business when she was 14. A boyfriend’s sister asked her to sell herself for sex, but she recruited a friend for the job instead. Then she established a pimping operation that grew to include a car, a house and some 30 working girls earning her up to $3,000 a month — a small fortune in a poor country.

“The money was too strong to resist,” she says. “I was really proud to make money on my own.”

Two years ago in Indonesia, there were zero reports of child pimps like Chimoy who work as the boss with no adults behind the scenes. But the

National Commission for Child Protection says 21 girls between 14 and 16 have been caught working as “mamis” so far this year, and there are likely far more.

It’s easier than ever. Kids can use text messages and social media to book clients and make transactions without ever needing to stand on a dark corner in a miniskirt and heels.

“The sickening thing is you see 11-year-olds, 12-year-olds, getting into these practices,” says Leonarda Kling, Jakarta-based regional representative for Terre des Hommes Netherlands, a non-profit working on trafficking issues. “You think: ‘The whole future of this child is just going to waste.’“ Chimoy, who has occasionally worked as a prostitute, and other teens in the sex industry interviewed for this story are identified by their nicknames.

The Associated Press does not typically identify children who have been sexually abused.

Recently, in the eastern city of Surabaya, a 15-year-old was busted after escorting three other teens to meet clients at a hotel. Police spokeswoman Maj. Suparti says the girl employed 10 prostitutes — including classmates,

Facebook friends and even her older sister — and collected up to a quarter of the $50 to $150 received for each call.

She conducted business over the popular BlackBerry Messenger service, earning up to $400 a month, says Suparti, who uses one name like many Indonesians. The girl also met potential clients in malls or restaurants first to size them up.

“She was running her pimp action like a professional,” Suparti says.

Human trafficking and sex tourism have long been big business in this vast archipelago of 240 million, thanks to rampant corruption, weak law enforcement and a lack of reporting largely due to family embarrassment or little faith in the system.

The UN International Labour Organisation estimates 40,000 to 70,000 children become victims of sexual exploitation in Indonesia annually.

Much of this abuse is driven by adults, but poverty and consumerism play a role. Indonesia’s have-nots rub up against a growing middle class obsessed with the latest gadgets and the ultra-wealthy flaunting their designer clothes and luxury cars. l

Iran says nuclear site ‘saboteurs’ were thieves n AFP, Tehran Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said on Wednesday that four people accused of sabotaging one of the country’s sensitive nuclear sites were only thieves, Mehr news agency reported.

“These four people were not saboteurs. They cut the fences and entered the area to collect scrap iron and steel and sell it on the market,” Mehr quoted Alavi as saying.

“In fact, they were thieves not nuclear saboteurs,” said Alavi, adding they were “villagers who had done this before.”

Alavi did not specify at which nuclear site the arrests were made.

Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said earlier this month that four people suspected of attempting to sabotage one of Iran’s nuclear plants were arrested.

Tehran is at loggerheads with world powers over its disputed nuclear programme, which the West and Israel suspect is aimed at making an atomic bomb despite the Islamic republic’s repeated denials.

In August last year, saboteurs blew up power lines supplying Iran’s underground uranium enrichment plant at Fardo outside the central city of Qom. In 2010, a US cyber-attack, reportedly carried out in collaboration with Israel, hit Iran’s nuclear facilities. The Stuxnet virus was tailored specifically to target uranium enrichment facilities.

In recent years, Iran has detained a number of alleged US or Israeli agents accused of spying on, or attempting to sabotage, its nuclear programme.

Several Iranian nuclear engineers have also been killed in what Tehran says were assassinations by foreign intelligence services. l

migrants head back to their families.

“The main reason why the mishap occurred was because the bus was speeding and it hit against a road divider,” district official Girija Shankar told the newspaper.

Around 140,000 people died in road accidents in India in 2012, according to the government’s National Crime Records Bureau, which works out at 16 an hour.

Bad roads, speeding vehicles and poor driving are among the contributing factors.

Commercial drivers are largely unregulated, meaning many work long hours overnight which raises the danger of them falling asleep at the wheel, campaigners say.

In May at least 33 people died when an overcrowded bus skidded off a road into a fast-flowing river in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh.

At least 30 were killed earlier this month in the northeastern state of Assam when a heavy goods truck careered onto the wrong side of the road and smashed head-on into two packed vehicles. l

Workers removing the debris the charred bus which burst into flames after its fuel tank caught fire in Mahbubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh PTI

Afghan peace team to visit Kids pimping kids out for sex in Indonesia n Taliban commander AP, Bandung, Indonesia

9

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Indonesian boys put up paper crafts they made on the wall at a temporary shelter run by Bahtera Foundation that provides non-formal education to prevent children to become victims of sexual exploitation, in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia AP

Indonesian police probing murder stumble on secret zoo

n AFP, Jakarta

Indonesian police probing the murder of a young woman at a luxury villa stumbled upon a secret collection of exotic animals, including a crossbreed of a lion and tiger, officials said Wednesday.

Officers made the discovery as they investigated the death of a 23-year-old woman, who had allegedly had her throat slit by a maintenance worker at the property south of the capital Jakarta after she refused his sexual advances.

“When police officers arrived at the scene for the body and to arrest the suspect, they discovered a mini zoo,” said Didik Purwanto, chief detective of Bogor district, where the villa is located.

Among the animals discovered was a tiger, several species of monkey, Javan peacocks, four Timorese deer, geese and dogs, he said.

But the most unusual find was the “liger,” a hybrid cross between a male lion and tigress, which typically has the facial features of a lion and faint stripes like those of a tiger.

Forestry ministry official Dedi Sunardi, who oversees the agency that seized the animals, said authorities were mulling what to do with the liger.

“The liger is a product of human intervention and as far as we know, there are no others in Indonesia, so releasing it into the wild could be problematic,” Sunardi said, adding the other animals would likely be released.

Officials did not say how many animals were seized, but local media reported there were more than a dozen.

Keeping such animals without a permit is illegal in Indonesia, home to an array of rare species, and permits are usually only given to official zoos and conservation parks, said Purwanto.

“We don’t yet know who the owner of the villa is, but it’s unlikely there would be a permit in this situation,” he said.

Purwanto added police were currently searching for the owner, who was not at home at the time of the raid.

The discovery was made on Thursday last week. The murder victim had been staying as a guest at the villa when she befriended the maintenance worker, Purwanto said. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Letters to

www.dhakatribune.com

Better late than never

the Editor

LETTER OF THE DAY

Family seeks better recognition of Kaykobad’s heroic deeds October 26

T

he government is planning to appoint more factory inspectors for the RMG and all other industries in November, who would then begin doing inspections from the end of that month. While this is a welcome move, it is also long overdue.

Factory inspections are a basic requirement in any country, and ours should not be an exception. Our government should have taken this initiative to improve the It is the duty of the safety of our factories much government to hire earlier. and train a task force It should not have had of competent factory to wait for such a large inspectors who do number of people to perish, regular check-ups on all as happened in the Tazreen fire and Rana Plaza collapse, factories and buildings before choosing to act. It to ensure they are safe should not have had to wait and sound for an outside nation to lay out an action plan, as the US has done for Bangladesh to regain GSP facilities.

It is the duty of the government to hire and train a task force of competent factory inspectors who do regular checkups on all factories and buildings to ensure they are safe and sound. And if any hazards are found, that they are dealt with immediately.

We do not need any more tragic situations like the Tazreen fire, Rana Plaza collapse, and, this month alone a garment factory fire in Gazipur, baked goods factory fire in Chittagong, and an ammonia leak at an ice factory also in Chittagong.

Consequently, the government would do well to waste no more time in guaranteeing safer workplaces and factories.

Improve domestic worker rights

T

here are estimated to be over two million domestic workers in Bangladesh. They deserve better legal protection. Since the ILO Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers was adopted in 2011, many countries have taken action ahead of the Convention coming into legal force last month.

Bangladesh lags behind and according to the International Domestic Workers Network and International Trade Union Confederation is one of only three countries that deny domestic workers the right to form trade unions.

Even the other states named as denying unions for domestic workers, Thailand and the US, have enacted laws in the past two years confirming weekly wage and holiday entitlements, Too many people turn a as have countries like blind eye to exploitation India and the UAE. in private homes and It is not good enough domestic worker to hope that domestic worker rights can be prorights are sometimes tected by other national hypocritically ignored by laws. Underpayment and people who speak up for over long hours are comworkers in other sectors monplace and instances of abuse and harassment are not unknown. Too many people turn a blind eye to exploitation in private homes and domestic worker rights are sometimes hypocritically ignored by people who speak up for workers in other sectors.

Allowing domestic workers to form unions would not only help to stamp out the worst abuses but would raise awareness of the need to ensure basic rights to minimum wages and paid holidays for domestic workers. Both employees and employers would be better served by a legal structure regulating wage rights and benefit entitlements.

Workers in other low-skilled sectors would also benefit from the government ensuring better pay and minimum standards for domestic workers, as it would set a minimum expectation of decency for all low paid workers in the nation.

CROSSWORD

This man makes me so proud! He is my mama, my Kaykobad mama, who went to every extent to help others! He deserves a place higher than any of us. May Allah bless him with Jannatul Ferdous and give him proper and worthy recognition in this world too. His family, his two lovely children deserve a life cherishing their brave and humanitarian father’s outstanding sacrifice. Hoping everyone will step forward to keep this brave hero’s memories evergreen in their hearts and in our nation’s history.

Sanjida Hossain

PM calls Khaleda, invites for talk October 26

BNP goes all in October 25

Ergo, BNP has heeded the DT editor’s opinion: “It could easily have stuck to its guns and insisted that the caretaker government system be reinstated in its entirety, a position supported by anywhere from 70-90% of the country, according to polls. With similar numbers opining that an election without BNP participation would be illegitimate, they held a powerful veto over proceedings.”

The BNP leader has decided to apply this “veto” and has called for immediate dialogue to set up a non-party interim government or else suffer lengthy hartals and tougher “kormoshuchi” in the future! On the other hand the ruling party, in no uncertain terms, has ruled out any possibility of an unelected interim government for overseeing parliamentary polls!

So where do we, the people stand? The simple answer would be, stay home and keep safe. But as conscious citizens, we ought to try and diffuse the situation by whatever little ideas we all may have. The honourable Supreme Court didn’t declare CTG as a violation to the Constitution without valid reasons!

Through experience, we know CTGs may come with an anti-incumbency mindset. With the plea of a level playing field, they start with massive transfers and postings of government officials. Good thing, because the well laid out government machinery, which would be helpful to the incumbent in the election, has got to be changed. But experience shows that the changes are so arbitrary and massive, it ends up being a seriously anti-incumbent administration. Well, then it can’t be called a level playing field!

The results were apparent. The incumbent always lost the elections with a great margin of votes in most cases. This is what the incumbent is worried about. The opposition also has not yet called for a permanent CTG system, because they hope to be in the incumbent’s shoes in the future and do not want to suffer.

So, a sound solution lies in a well-balanced all-party interim government for overseeing the election under a strong Election Commission. The sooner the stake holders, ie the political parties, move towards that solution through dialogue, the better it is for all of us! Or else, the inevitable will happen and I know you know what I mean! :-( Waliul Haque Khondker

Be Heard

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October 25

All powerful countries try to bug all other countries, including allies. Always did, always will. But, the only rule in this game is: Don’t get caught doing it. sirajul_islam_1

We have seen such drama in earlier days. This should have been stopped to save the nation.

Mohammed Farid

‘Apa, let us talk’ October 27

Thanks madam prime minister! You are a very great lady! I like your spirit.

Md Hassan Never been a fan of PM Sheik Hasina, but I must admit that in this tenure she has matured into a better statesman, but Khaleda Zia really doesn’t look good.

Mishu Ahasan

Fakhrul: Talks should focus on polls-time government October 27 A game that the PM always loses and we have seen that back in 2006/2007 and we are going to see that in 2013/2014. Had the PM carried out good governance and good politics, she could have easily won that game. But the question is why can’t they do good governance and good politics?

Isn’t it our weak constitution and the whole system? Why do we become victims of one person’s (PM’s) desires and whims?

Babul Sarwar

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

CODE-CRACKER ACROSS 1 Church council (5) 5 Large, flat-bottomed vessel (4) 8 Narcotic (6) 9 Tracking system (5) 10 Therefore (4) 11 Riverside embankment (5) 12 Strange (3) 15 Young farm animal (4) 18 Naming words (5) 21 Zodiac sign (3) 22 House covering (4) 24 Song for two (4) 25 Fertile spot (5) 28 Affording safety (6) 29 Church service (4) 30 Emits fumes (5)

German minister blasts alleged US surveillance

First Hasina has to let go of her demand for power. She thinks to act as a referee and play on the field? How is that possible?

Nayan Rahman

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS Crossword

Sudoku

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Thursday, October 31, 2013

The power of hope n A Baten

H

Bangladesh needs super-diplomats

T

H

I

BIG STOCK

R

D

E

Y

Our diplomats in foreign lands

C

n Mamun Rashid

ourtesy of some of my cadet college seniors, a few distinguished diplomats, and professional assignments abroad, I gained an above average visibility of our foreign ministry and missions abroad. Occasional visits to the foreign affairs academy and regular lectures at the National Defence College have further strengthened it.

I can’t say we had many good ministers or qualified diplomats to run the show. Unfortunately, a few other countries were also as lousy. So my expectations from our diplomats were never high. But having interacted with almost all the foreign ministers in the past, I don’t rate Dr Dipu Moni too low.

Rather, her ranking would be among the top two or three in the league table. Other than in India, China, USA, UK, Germany, possibly Singapore and lately Italy, Bangladesh was never serious about putting good guys in its missions abroad.

So-called civil servants, inefficient or at times errant armed forces seniors, political refugees, partisan university teachers, and opportunist civil society members made it into the list of Bangladeshi envoys abroad.

Often we could not make out where we should have our missions and where we should not. Many mission heads were not aware of their responsibilities and were happy to assist the visiting heads of state or ministers with their shopping or taking care of their children.

Helping Bangladeshi businesses expand abroad or assisting our diaspora or nation-branding never interested them. They were mostly happy with what it was: Giving better education to children, wining and dining with friends and families, and moving around with a Bangladeshi flag in their car.

My Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Japan and United Kingdom experiences with most of the Bangladeshi diplomats and missions in the mid or late nineties were pretty bad.

ships and so on.

Would you guess who goofed this up at the end of the summit? It was our distinguished high commissioner in England.

Otherwise, an extremely articulate person, having very good command on Tagore and Shakespeare and a great connoisseur of art and culture, His Excellency didn’t have any clue what this investment summit was all about.

The overconfident envoy of ours didn’t even care. I could see important people leaving the venue one after another, a few of them sleeping, some Bangladeshi seniors snoring too.

Many mission heads were not aware of their responsibilities and were happy to assist the visiting heads of state or ministers with their shopping or taking care of their children

Those diplomats of ours wanted to forget that they belong to a poor or emerging economy called Bangladesh.

In June, we were invited to join the first ever European investment summit on Bangladesh in London. Finance Asia, Standard Chartered, and a few other institutions sponsored this conference.

The issues were foreign direct investment, investment in energy and infrastructures, public-private partner-

The envoy and his friends should have known, as an envoy of a transition economy like Bangladesh, they need to move beyond just good English, good clothes, good food or nice cars.

In recent times we have heard of envoys of ours being withdrawn from Germany and the Philippines for gross irregularities. There were serious allegations against our

E

envoys in Oman and Indonesia too.

The Nepal one also failed badly.

The envoy in Geneva during the interim government also carried allegations of enjoying some of the facilities not meant for him, building his own things at the cost of the national exchequer, and more devastatingly, at frequent intervals remaining engaged in the decision-making process of his former organisation back home.

Foreign ministries in a developing country carry more importance than the ministries that have historically been given importance.

We need to negotiate well in the global platforms, having done our homework well.

There is nothing called “business as usual” for an envoy who is trying to attract investment or gain the best out of the negotiations with any bilateral or multilateral agency or work amidst global tensions.

In a similar way we need our envoys to speak about a new Bangladesh, represent a more commercially vibrant Bangladesh and its resilient entrepreneurship sector.

We don’t want to see our foreign ministers involved in facilitating illegal migration in every state trip he or she makes to a foreign country.

We want them to lead from the front with humility and focus. Bangladesh deserved better in the past and has every right to expect better in the future. l Mamun Rashid is a business professor and financial sector entrepreneur.

opes and dreams can take us a long way. As human beings we have to dream big and hope they turn out to be true as long as we take the necessary steps.

As a nation we should be very hopeful about our young generation.

Over 57% of our total population is under 25 years old and they have tremendous potential to take the nation far ahead beyond our imagination.

Indeed, some of them are already doing that and are more hopeful about the future of the nation than older people. I am very happy to see their emerging technical knowledge and leadership skills combined with optimism and love for our country.

Transformational leaders know how to help others to dream big by demonstrating the power of hope. It is always easy to be negative and more difficult to be positive.

In the 2008 US presidential election, Barack Obama’s famous slogan was: “Yes we can.” At that time the US economy was struggling, people were losing jobs and homes all round and most people were against the Iraq war.

It was hard to see the way out of that disastrous situation.

Against all the odds, the young senator from Illinois who had not yet finished his first term decided to run for president and won the election as the first African American president in US history.

Young entrepreneurs in Bangladesh contributed Tk2bn to our economy through IT outsourcing in 2012. These earnings can be increased

During the campaign he used the internet to get more young voters engaged and was able to raise more money than opponents Hillary Clinton and John McCain by highlighting the power of hope. His positive attitude, hopes, and dreams uplifted the nation.

Any political or business leader should have the capability to inspire others and know how to motivate people, even in difficult situations.

Here I cannot resist mentioning the young entrepreneur and motivational speaker Sabirul Islam, who visited Bangladesh in September to talk at different public and private universities to inspire the young generation to become entrepreneurs.

He is a British-Bangladeshi who started his entrepreneurial ventures at the age of 14 and has spoken at over 750 events worldwide. He is running a campaign called Inspire1Million with the goal of creating one million young entrepreneurs throughout the world.

I was fortunate enough to hear his speech. He is a good role model to our

youth, as he talked about the benefits of entrepreneurship over more traditional careers and the legacy entrepreneurs can leave after their death.

He is very hopeful about Bangladesh and advises our young generation that they do not need to go abroad for a better future as they can create their successful future here in Bangladesh.

He advised his audience not to pay attention to what the government gives them but to focus on their goals.

Entrepreneurs do this mainly not through creating jobs for themselves but by creating jobs for others.

However, most parents in Bangladesh do not value becoming an entrepreneur compared to say careers as a doctor or engineer. They do not encourage their children to start up new companies.

Fortunately this trend is heading in a more positive direction. In view of the current business environment, we should encourage our young generation not to depend on the traditional job market but to become entrepreneurs.

We should have more faith in our younger generation. The people of the Facebook era are full of ideas, very technically knowledgeable, and hard-working. Young, self-taught entrepreneurs are already taking advantage of the internet for business and networking by advertising their products, service, and skills through Youtube, Facebook and their own websites.

Young entrepreneurs in Bangladesh contributed Tk2bn to our economy through IT outsourcing in 2012. These earnings can be increased with better technical training, marketing tools, and increasing proficiency in English. Just as important, the speed, availability, and cost of internet usage needs to become more within reach for more people.

DCCI (Dhaka Chamber of Commerce), BASIS (Bangladesh Association of Software & Information Services), different public and private universities, and print media should get tax and other credits for organising different activities to encourage entrepreneurship and sharing knowledge about the success stories of our entrepreneurs to encourage others to go into business.

They should be supported for helping provide advice for entrepreneurs.

Print media, TV channels and our business leaders should also be encouraged to come up with programs, support services and training, in order to create a better climate for funding new ventures.

Such initiatives will encourage our youth to become entrepreneurs and to create jobs which bring foreign currency for the nation and help our economy positively. So like Sabirul Islam, I would also like to see a better future for Bangladesh and tremendous potential in our young generation. l A Baten is an assistant professor at ULAB.

Loyalties, latrines and Ladvai n FS Aijazuddin

S

hort of martyrdom, an extreme test of loyalty is to use the latrines on our side of the Wagah border.

They challenge one’s patriotism. Cross over to the Indian side and the ones there are clean, hygienic and welcoming to the point of propaganda.

It is almost as if someone in Indian immigration, smarting from VS Naipaul’s memorable opening line in his book “An Area of Darkness” (“Indian defecate everywhere…”), was determined that Naipaul would never have an opportunity of riling India again.

Yesterday’s brigand is today’s national hero. Not surprisingly, Gulab Singh is commemorated with an imposing statue in the grounds of the Amar Mahal Palace

Everyone along the 200km road from the border at Atari to Jammu seemed remarkably continent. That road snakes parallel to the Pakistani border, passing through Batala, Gurdaspur and Pathankot until, crossing the bridge over the river Ravi, one reaches

Lakhanpur – the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir.

Thereafter, the Shivalik Hills climb gradually, then steeply, until one enters the city of Jammu to be greeted by Mahatma Gandhi, stranded on a traffic island.

Have no expectations of Jammu city. Its mediocrity explains why the emperor Jahangir preferred Kashmir (he considered making Srinagar his summer capital), or why the wily Gulab Singh (then raja of Jammu) should have maneuvered to purchase Kashmir from a bankrupt Sikh Darbar in March 1846.

Yesterday’s brigand is today’s national hero. Not surprisingly, Gulab Singh is commemorated with an imposing statue in the grounds of the Amar Mahal Palace, a mansion designed as a French chateau and built in the 1890s.

The building is now a museum extolling almost two centuries of Dogra Raj, in particular the career of Dr Karan Singh, presently the dispossessed Maharaja of a still bitterly contested state.

The walls of its conference hall display the enchanting miniature paintings of the Nala-Damayanti legend. To view them in the sequence of the story is to savour the best in Pahari painting.

Their composition, delicacy of line, personification of femininity, and fidelity to the text are examples of an art-form that owed less to patron-

age than to the innate talent of local artists.

The upper private apartments of the Amar Mahal Palace were occupied by the late Maharani Tara Devi, the fourth wife of Maharaja Hari Singh. Unable to control her licentious husband, Tara Devi sought solace in religion.

Prominent in her modest apartments hangs a painting of her, dressed in saffron robes, by the Sikh artist Sobha Singh. Tellingly, he depicts her as Meera, the mystic poetess and devotee of Krishna.

The fabled 120kg gold throne of the Dogras is on show, protected by iron grilles. Not on display at the museum is the Treaty of 1846 by which Gulab Singh acquired Kashmir. Nor on display is the Instrument of Accession said to have been signed by Maharaja Hari Singh on October 26, 1947, conceding his state to the new Dominion of India.

The palace commands a view across the Tawi River towards the much older Bahu fort which is better seen floodlit at night. It helps disguise its modern refurbishments.

Jammu celebrated Eid on October 16. The only sound at dawn that morning was a faint azan from somewhere in the distance. It sounded almost apologetic for having disturbed the faithful.

A call to the hotel reception to ask when the Eid prayers would be held

prompted the practiced response: “Oh, between 7:30am and 10:30am, in the coffee shop.” No one seemed to know for sure, except for a general wave of the hand in the direction of Residency Road.

This was perhaps understandable, considering only 11% of Jammu city is Muslim and almost 84% Hindu.

Admitting that one was from Pakistan evoked a warmer smile, a firmer handshake, but none of the fervid outpourings such a disclosure would have released in Srinagar. Politics in Jammu, like the slow flowing Tawi river, is at a low ebb.

No one seemed to have a high opinion of Dr Karan Singh’s political acumen, blaming the decline of his political authority to an over-dependence on self-serving advisers and his preference for Delhi over Jammu.

How much could one see of Jammu in two days? And that, too, over two Eid holidays? The solution was to avoid the present and to go into its woodlands in search of history.

For 40 years, ever since I began studying Pahari painting, my wife and I had wanted to visit sites connected with an important patron, Raja Balwant Singh Jasrotia.

By some miracle, made possible

by Mr Kirpal Singh (Director, Dogra Art Gallery), we were able not only to locate the ruins of his small baradari

on the banks of Saruin lake but also talk to his descendants, now middle class professionals living in suburban modernity on the site of their ancestor’s jagir.

Balwant Singh belonged to nearby Jasrota. The palace there is now a nature preserve. It is in ruins, its leaning walls held back by tenacious vines.

How much could one see of Jammu in two days? And that, too, over two Eid holidays? The solution was to avoid the present and to go into its woodlands in search of history

Once, perhaps in this very hall which was now congested with undergrowth, Raja Balwant Singh had listened and succumbed to the dulcet tones of his favourite singer Ladvai.

We were not so lucky. Weeks earlier, Srinagar got to hear Zubin Mehta conduct the Bavarian State Orchestra in the Shalimar Gardens. At Jammu, we were assailed by pop songs broadcast by carousing male teenagers celebrating an un-Islamic Eid amongst the ruins. l FS Aijazuddin, OBE, is the author of more than a dozen books. This article was first published by Dawn.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Silence Eats Sound at the Bengal

Shakib to charge less for his next projects n Mahbub Hasan Joyti Shakib Khan’s signing money has taken a huge tumble in recent times. Rumour has it that the actor is earning Taka1.2m for a movie nowadays and in some cases, his demand has come down to Taka0.7m. At one point in his career the King Khan of Dhallywood used to charge Tk4m for a movie - considered as the peak of his profession.

However, it is now evident that “King Khan” was not aware that the film industry could be like a roller coaster ride with its unsteady momentum and pitfalls. Shakib refuses to talk about his earnings and his turn in luck.

He said that the reason behind his shift in demand is that, he wants to encour-

age the producers to make more films and that is why he renegotiated his monetary demand. At present, Shakib is occupied with the shooting and dubbing for his films “Mental,” “Salam Malaysia,” and “Love Marriage.”

Shakib has won many awards for his acting, including the National Film Award for his role in the movie “Bhalobeshe Ghor Badha Jay Na.” He is the current president of the Film Artist Association and is also involved in various socio-cultural activities.

He is also the brand ambassador of Pran Power Energy Drink and Asian Duplex Town.

In a word, he can be labeled as the nucleus of the Bangladeshi film industry. l

Nicole Kidman labels marriage to Tom Cruise as intoxicating n Entertainment Desk

Artworks of Zeevan and Majumder on display at the Bengal Art Lounge

n Shadma Malik An exhibition titled “When Silence Eats Sound,” portraying the works of two lively young artists was inaugurated yesterday at the Bengal Art Lounge.

The exhibition is a treat for art connoisseurs of the city as it offers a multidimensional view of nature, captured brilliantly on canvas.

What sets the duo apart from other artists is that, they both reside outside the city, where they are closer to nature, an aspect that is reflected quite visibly in their art pieces.

Mozai Zeevan Safori is from Jessore and Majumder is from Narail. Both the artists had completed their BA from Khulna Art College on drawing and painting.

A total of 55 artworks are on display

that showcases 21 works of Majumder and 32 artworks of Zeevan and two unique pieces that are done by both the artists together. The display portrays the diverse philosophy of both the artists and their uptake on life, nature and the rural lifestyle. All the artworks are done using varying mediums, such as oil, acrylic, and pen on canvas, pen on paper, ink brush, paper collage, wood sculpture and many more. The exhibition is on till November 13.

About the title of the exhibition and the artists, the manager of the gallery said: “The title of the show is a simplified variation on a quote by the Baul mystic and philosopher Lalon. When silence engulfs sound, this one phrase describes the absolute moment of predestined elimination, when silence

Sanjay Dutt returns to jail n Entertainment Desk Actor Sanjay Dutt, who was availing leave for past 30 days, has returned to Pune jail after his parole ended.

Sanjay Dutt was granted parole on October1, on medical grounds. He was initially granted a parole of 14 days.

However, on 14th he applied for an extension. He was granted two more weeks of leave. Today finally his leave expired and he returned to Pune Yerwada Jail where the actor is serving

remaining 42 months of his sentence.

While returning to jail, Sanjay Dutt thanked the media for respecting his privacy during the time of his stay out of the jail. His wife Maanyata Dutt had accompanied him to the gate of the jail.

Sanjay Dutt told media that his condition has improved but still he has pain in his legs. He said, “I still have a problem in my legs but it is a bit better than before. Pray for me so that I can come out soon. Happy Diwali to all.” l

TODAY IN DHAKA Exhibition

Rhythm of Xylography Group Art Exhibition Time: 11am – 7pm Gallery Cosmos-2 New DOHS Mohakhali Nishobdo Solo Exhibition

By Shabekun Nahar Time: 3pm - 9pm Alliance Francaise de Dhaka, Dhanmondi

Film

Titanic (3D) Monsters University in 3D Udhao Purno Doirgho Prem Kahini Level 8, Bashundhara City Panthapath

Festival

Urban Youth Festival II Time: 11am – 8pm Goethe Institut Bangladesh Road 9(new) House 10, Dhanmondi R/A

like a black hole consumes everything within itself. In the same way that white is composed of all the colours of the spectrum, silence comprises of all existing sound.

By interpreting the translation of the phrase we wanted to communicate the playfulness and primitive style of the works, which stands in contrast to their deeply philosophical subject matter.

Both Mozai Zeevan Safori and Samir Mojumder present contradictory sets of works, on one hand you have elaborate drawings, detailed and skillful, and on the other you have works that are childlike and naive. It is a constant back and forth between folk art and figurative art.”

The style of Zeevan’s artworks is pessimistic in nature and can be interpreted as satiric. His figurative images

have a primitive style. About his artworks, the artist states: “My works portray beauty with a twist, as it incorporates sorrow, hardship and all the other sufferings that are present in a society.”

The artist has also shown the nature of people, who likes to criticise others in a sarcastic manner, in his artworks.

Majumder is the protégée of SM Sultan. His artworks identify the rural elements of Bangladesh. About his artworks, the artist said: “I am mesmerised by the beauty of nature and everything in it. Most of my works display my understanding and view of the exquisiteness of nature. Basically, when one sees my artwork, it enables them to observe nature through my eyes.” Majumder’s paintings show that he takes pride of the tradition of Bangladesh. l

At present, Nicole Kidman has stepped off the fast lane of Tinseltown and has settled down in Nashville with her country-star hubby, Keith Urban.

The 46-yearold actress says her Hollywood marriage to Tom Cruise was fun while it lasted and likened it to a 1990s version of Brangelina.

“There is something about that sort of existence that, if you really focus on each other and you’re in that bubble, it’s very intoxicating, because it’s just the two of you,” Kidman tells December’s Vanity Fair, which also features her striking a pose that echoes her upcoming biopic on Princess Grace of Monaco. “And there is only one other person that’s going through it. So it brings you very close, and it’s deeply romantic. I’m sure Brad and Angelina have that - because there’s nobody else that understands it except that person who’s sleeping right next to you.”

Kidman, who was married to Cruise from 1990 to 2001, insisted that she’s

Farhan Akhter rocks in the role of new dad and confused husband Sid n Entertainment Desk If you have watched “Pyar Ke Side Effects” and fell deeply and madly in love, then “Shaadi Ke Side Effects” featuring the very talented Vidya Balan and Farhan Akhtar - may do it otherwise, and make you fall out of love.

Jokes apart, the first trailer of “Shaadi Ke Side Effects” looks great and is more about how to deal with the complexities that come along with marriage.

The movie is about Sid and Trisha (roles earlier played by Rahul Bose and Mallika Sherawat) - and their rocking chemistry on screen.

Farhan, who has impressed us all with his performance as Milkha Singh in “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag,” is going to steal hearts again as new dad and confused husband Sid. In one of the scenes an over protective new mom Vidya asks Farhan not to snore since it will wake up their daughter Mili, and later not to fall with a loud thud since this too could wake up their daughter.

now just another pretty face in Nashville and rarely gets recognized in public.

“Having experienced extreme fame and now getting to a place where it’s not so dominating in my life, I’m always surprised when I go somewhere and people know who I am,” she said.

Nicole Kidman will star in and produce an adaptation of “The Silent

Wife,” the summer literary breakout novel by ASA Harrison. Mazur - Kaplan partners Paula Mazur and Mitchell Kaplan has teamed with Kidman and Per Saari’s Blossom Films to option the psychological thriller and produce it. Mazur/Kaplan will fund the development of the film. l

ON TV MOVIES 11:10pmZee Studio FRIGHT NIGHT

11:30pm WB Cellular

DRAMA 9:00pm Colors Madhubala

10:00pm Star Plus

Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hain

COMEDY 1:00pm Star World

Two And A Half Men

7:30pm FX

It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Vidya Balan, who had last worked with the Balaji production in “The Dirty Picture,” plays Trisha an over protective new mom and wife.

Ram Kapoor - newest flavour of Bollywood and television - plays Sid’s close

friend who advises him about the “dos and donts” of a happy married life.

The movie, which is a sequel to the hit film “Pyaar Ke Side Effects” (2006), is directed by Saket Chaudhary and is slated to release in February next year. l

MISC 2:30pm FTV Designers

7:30pm Discovery Shark Week

Did you know?

Sachin Tendulkar was the first batsman to be dismissed (run out) by the third umpire using television replays in the second day of the Test against South Africa scoring 11 at Kingsmead, Durban in 1992

Sport

Thursday, October 31, 2013

14 Chelsea rejoice as Wenger’s Mourinho hoodoo continues

n Shishir Hoque

n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal (L) and captain Mushfiqur Rahim inspect the pitch during a practice session at SBNS yesterday prior to their second ODI match against New Zealand MUMIT M

Unsung hero of first ODI n Mazhar Uddin

With Bangladesh’s bowling taking the eye in Tuesday’s win over New Zealand, the crucial contribution of a young batsman has not been given the credit it deserves. With Bangladesh reeling at 25/3, Naeem Islam, who was making his return to the national side after almost a year, stopped the rot and put on 154 runs with captain Mushfiqur Rahim in a performance that changed the game. In all, he scored 84 – his highest score in ODI cricket – and it could not have come at a better time for his side.

Naeem only made it into the final eleven after Shakib Al Hasan was ruled out at the last minute. “I was informed the night before the game that I would play as Shakib was unable to play,” he said.

Explaining how he handled the pressure, the 26-year old said, “To be honest, my mind is always blank before going out to bat. You can’t plan from outside, I just wanted to play my own game.”

He did however, feel the heat and did not score a run from his first 16 balls. “I was getting frustrated and feeling uncomfortable in the middle.

Getting back into the side and having that happen, it was frustrating.” He credited Mushfiq for keeping him calm through that period. “Mushfiq helped me a lot when I was not getting runs.

He told me that I don’t need to worry as the runs were coming easily at the other end. He told me to wait for the bad ball which came as a relief,” he said.

Once set, Naeem cut loose and brought up his fourth fifty in 75 balls. After Mushfiq fell for a 98-ball 90, Naeem went on to add 51 with Mahmudullah. His 84 was the highest score in the match but Naeem claimed he never thought about reaching a hundred.

“I was never looking for my hundred, it was more important to score runs quickly for the team. I always try to play for my team and according to the demands of the situation,” he revealed. l

Williamson fractures thumb, out of series n Minhaz Uddin Khan New Zealand’s Kane Williamson will not take any further part on the tour of Bangladesh after x-rays revealed the middle order batsman had a fracture.

Williamson sustained in injury in the first ODI on Tuesday when he was struck on the thumb while fielding at point. He left the field immediately and did not bat later in the day. Later, x-rays showed that he had sustained a fracture.

“This kind of injury unfortunately means Kane cannot take part in the rest of the tour and he will return to New Zealand to begin his rehabilitation,” New Zealand physiotherapist Paul Close told the media yesterday.

The injury will prevent Williamson from leading the Kiwis in three ODIs and two T20s in Sri Lanka, where both Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor are set to be absent. It is doubtful whether he will be fit to play in the first Test against the West Indies on December 3 as well. l

Transfer window extended again n Raihan Mahmood Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) extended the deadline for players transfer for the Bangladesh Premier League by 15 days following a meeting of the Professional League Committee at the BFF House yesterday.

BFF president Kazi Salahuddin attended the meeting and sources said that he was angry over the clubs’ dilly-dallying over the transfer process.

It was learnt that Salahuddin at one point asked the clubs to hold the players transfers after the national election and the club representatives agreed to a 15 day extension instead.

According to the new schedule, the registration process for both local and foreign players is to be completed by November 15. Earlier, two extensions had previously been made and the process was supposed to have concluded today.

13

15 Tendulkar bids adieu to domestic cricket in style

Tigers look to top order, spinners

Mahmudullah promises same approach Bangladesh vice-captain Mahmudullah Riyad said yesterday that the Tigers camp is confident and pledged to continue playing attacking, positive cricket in the second ODI against New Zealand today.

The all-rounder stopped short of aiming for another “Banglawash” but was optimistic that the Tigers could wrap up the series by winning the game today.

“May be, they will come strongly and we are taking preparations accordingly.

Everyone is very confident. We will play positive and aggressive cricket tomorrow (Thursday). “They brought some new, quality players) like Corey Anderson.

Grant Elliott also played well yesterday.

They are very good team. We have to give our best to beat them,” said the 27-year old.

Regarding the Bangladesh side, Mahmudullah hinted that there would be no changes for today’s game, , “We are not thinking about any changes. We might play with the same combination we played in the last game.”

New Zealand’s Corey Anderson on the other hand hoped his side could bounce back today. “We came into the series knowing that Bangladesh will give us a tough challenge and after the first match, the result was obviously disappointing for us but hopefully we will bounce back in the next match.

“It’s not a mental hurdle for us as we are professional cricketers. We have a bad day losing the first match of the series but we are confident of bouncing back in the second game and hopefully win the series,” said the middle order batsman and part-time bowler.

Anderson has had a successful series so far. Reflecting on the first match, Anderson said, “We started well with the ball but the partnership with Mushfiq and Naeem was crucial, but at the end we finished well with the ball. Rubel’s hat-trick totally changed the game,” he summed up. l

15 Leaders Barca four points clear after 3-0 win at Celta

DHAKA TRIBUNE

However, the possibility of more delays was raised right after the meeting. Abdus Salam Murshedy, the chairman of the Professional League Committee tried to be realistic. “You can’t overlook the existing political

All the clubs assured us that they will abide by the deadline and the federation will also request the political parties to exempt football from their strikes scenario of the country. The clubs also have some limitations. However all the clubs agreed to complete their players’ transfers within the deadline and we are satisfied with the matter.

“All the clubs assured us that they will abide by the deadline and the fed-

eration will also request the political parties to exempt football from their strikes,” said Murshedy.

Another meeting will be held on November 16 to confirm exactly when the Federation Cup will start and the draw for that event will take place the following day. Murshedy was determined that the football season would run a full course. “The Federation Cup, the Bangladesh Premier League, The Independence Day Cup and the Super Cup are our events and we are determined to hold them all,” he said.

Mursedy also revealed that a proposal had been made at the meeting about possibly giving players advance payments – a step which might have prevented from the present situation from arising.

“The executive committee of BFF will discuss the proposal before making it a rule,” said Murshedy. l

Hosts Bangladesh will look to wrap up the series while New Zealand target their first win in the second ODI at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today.

The momentum will be with the Tigers after Tuesday’s 43 run win which featured solid performances from Rubel Hossain with the ball and Naeem Islam and Mushfiqur Rahim with the bat. The win was Bangladesh’s fifth in succession against the Kiwis.

The failure of the top order however, might still be a concern for the home side. Tamim Iqbal, Nasir Hossain and Mominul Haque will look to make up for their failures in the first match while opener Anamul Haque – who has failed to perform in the Tests as well – might even be replaced by uncapped opener Shamsur Rahman.

On the bowling front, Bangladesh will hope their slow bowlers can step up. Rubel Hossain claimed the bowling honours in the first game with six wickets but the Tigers traditional strength in spin remains the key to restricting the Kiwis.

New Zealand for their part will be extra determined as they look for their first win on the tour. They were on top at times in the first match but could not follow through.

Seamer Tim Southee took two early wickets but later strayed in direction,

allowing the Tigers to build a decent total. Another paceman, James Neesham was impressive in taking four wickets.

On the batting front, openers Anton Devcich and Hamish Rutherford fell to casual shots, but Corey Anderson and Grant Elliot played with skill, aggression and courage and the Kiwis will hope their skipper Brendon McCullum – one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world when he gets going – can find his feet today.

Probable Squads Bangladesh Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque/Shamsur Rahman, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), Naeem Islam, Nasir Hossain, Mahmudullah, Sohag Gazi, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain.

New Zealand Anton Devcich, Hamish Rutherford, Tom Latham/Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum (capt & wk), Corey Anderson, Grant Elliott, James Neesham, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan/Adam Milne/ Kyle Mills.

Rain has so far plagued the series, but the forecast for tomorrow invites hopes of a full game, scheduled to start at 1:30pm local time. The wicket is likely to not be an easy one to play shots on – as was the case in the first game according to Mushfiq – but whatever difficulties it presents should favour the home side. l

Future calls Rubel? n Mazhar Uddin

Rubel Hossain’s performance in the first ODI against New Zealand on Tuesday broke and set a number of records. Rubel bowled the fewest balls (35) in taking six wickets and became the fourth “fifth” bowler to take so many in an ODI. In 5.5 overs, Rubel picked up six wickets - including a hat-trick – while conceding 26 runs. Previous, the fewest number of balls needed by a bowler to take six wickets had been 36 by Sri Lankan Angelo Matthews against India in Colombo in 2009.

Rubel also follows West Indians Viv Richards and Dwayne Bravo as well as Sri Lankan Matthews as the fourth man to come on as a fifth bowler to take six wickets in a match. The 23-year old paceman was expected to take the new ball but captain Mushfiqur Rahim held him back till the 17th over and in the event, it proved to be an inspired decision.

The 23-year-old also became the third Bangladeshi to claim a hat-trick in ODIs. Shahadat Hossain achieved the feat

Taking 6 wickets as fifth bowler Player Overs Mdns Runs Wkts Econ Inns Opposition Ground Rubel Hossain (Ban) 5.5 0 26 6 4.45 2 NZ Dhaka DJ Bravo (WI) 10.0 1 43 6 4.30 1 Zim St George’s AD Mathews (SL) 6.0 0 20 6 3.33 2 India Colombo VA Richards (WI) 9.4 0 41 6 4.24 2 India Delhi Fewest balls for 6 wickets Player Overs Mdns Runs Wkts Econ Inns Opposition Ground Rubel Hossain (Ban) 5.5 0 26 6 4.45 2 NZ Dhaka AD Mathews (SL) 6.0 0 20 6 3.33 2 India Colombo A Kumble (India) 6.1 2 12 6 1.94 2 WI Kolkata SB Styris (NZ) 7.0 0 25 6 3.57 2 WI Port of Spain GD McGrath (Aus) 7.0 4 15 7 2.14 2 Namibia P’fstroom against Zimbabwe in 2006 and Abdur Razzaq followed suit against the same team in 2010. Furthermore, Rubel’s 6-26 equaled the best bowling figures by a Bangladeshi in the ODI’s - Mashrafe bin Mortaza having had the same return against Kenya in match in 2006.

Nonetheless, the paceman will want to do more and prove that the performance was not just a fluke. While his pace and bounce has long been considered threatening, Rubel’s figures reveal that he has not been as successful as Ban-

gladeshi fans might want. In ODIs, he has taken 55 wickets in 41 matches at an average of 31 while in Tests, he has 26 wickets in 18 matches at an average of 78.

Pace bowling has long played second fiddle for Bangladesh and with star Mashrafe bin Mortaza nearing the end of his career, the Tigers will be looking for a new star to carry the load. With pace, bounce and a new maturity, Rubel might be the man that Bangladesh looks to in the future to be the leader of the pace attack. l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Chelsea rejoice as Wenger’s Mourinho hoodoo continues n Reuters, London

Chelsea's midfielder Juan Mata (L) celebrates scoring their second goal against Arsenal during their English League Cup match at the Emirates in London on Tuesday

Qatar removes Zidane’s headbutt statue after protests n AFP, Doha Qatar has removed the Zinedine Zidane headbutt statue less than a month after it went on display following an outcry by conservatives, who slammed the art work as anti-Islam idolisation.

The five-metre (16.4-feet) sculpture which immortalises the headbutt delivered by the French football legend to Italian player Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final was put on display on Doha’s corniche on October 3.

But the statue that was sculpted by Algerian-born French artist Adel Abdessemed appears to have offended conservatives in the Muslim emirate, who saw it as a flagrant violation of religious tenets. It was removed on Monday, according to local newspapers.

Islamic jurisprudence prohibits statues of human beings and animals to avoid the possibility of idolisation. l

AFP

Jose Mourinho got the better of old adversary Arsene Wenger once again as Chelsea showed their strength-in-depth by reaching the League Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over London rivals Arsenal on Tuesday.

Both teams rang the changes but it was Chelsea’s new-look side that gelled, restricting the hosts to a few sights of goal while consistently threatening on the break and finding the net through Spaniards Cesar Azpilicueta and Juan Mata.

Manchester United will also be in the draw for the last eight after overcoming Norwich City 4-0 with two goals from Mexican Javier Hernandez, but there was an upset for Premier League Fulham who lost 4-3 at second tier Leicester City.

West Ham United beat Burnley 2-0 away in their tie with late penalties from Matt Taylor and Jack Collison, while spot kicks were needed to separate Stoke City and Birmingham City.

After the match finished 3-3 and then 4-4 after extra time, top flight Stoke came through 4-2 in the shootout.

Arsenal and Chelsea reminded everyone of the League Cup’s standing in the list of priorities by making 18 changes between them from their teams that played in the league at the weekend.

Wenger fielded a strong midfield with Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere marshalling the centre circle, but they struggled to make an impact as Chelsea sat back, soaked up the pressure and looked to hit the hosts on the counter.

Mourinho’s side got their reward after 25 minutes when a swift Chelsea break ended with Azpilicueta nipping in to intercept a poor header back by Carl Jenkinson and poking the ball past on-

Leaders Barca four points clear after 3-0 win at Celta n Reuters, Madrid Barcelona followed up Saturday’s win over Real Madrid with another victory when Alexis Sanchez set the champions on their way to a 3-0 success at Celta Vigo on Tuesday that put them four points clear at the top of La Liga.

Unbeaten Barca have 31 points from 11 matches, with second-placed Atletico Madrid on 27 ahead of their game at Granada on Thursday. Third-placed Real, who are five points behind Atletico, host Sevilla on Wednesday.

Barca coach Gerardo Martino rested several key players for the game at Cel-

ta’s Balaidos stadium, including Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Neymar, but the champions were still far too strong for the struggling Galician side.

In-form Alexis, who netted a brilliant

Results Espanyol Celta Vigo

0-0 0-3

Malaga Barcelona

Sanchez 9, Yoel 48-og, Fabregas 54

chipped effort in the 2-1 ‘Clasico’ victory against Real at the Nou Camp, grabbed the opener in the eighth minute.

Cesc Fabregas, who had a hand in all three Barca goals, stole the ball in Celta territory and when his low shot was

saved by goalkeeper Yoel Rodriguez, Alexis was on hand to clip home the rebound.

Barca were 2-0 ahead three minutes after the break when a Fabregas snapshot from outside the area cannoned off the bar on to Yoel and ricocheted back into the net.

The former Arsenal captain put the game beyond the hosts in the 54th minute when Lionel Messi sent him clear on the left of the penalty area and he finished clinically into the corner.

“Maybe again we were not effective enough up front, myself included,” Fabregas said in an interview with Spanish television broadcaster Canal Plus.

“But the important thing is to cre-

ate chances and play well and then the goals will come and I think today’s performance was pretty comprehensive,” he added.

“There are enough games that everyone will get their chance and the priority is to make sure we are champions again at the end of the season.”

Argentine World Player of the Year Messi had a relatively quiet night and failed to score for three straight La Liga matches for the first time in more than two years.

In Tuesday’s other match, eighthplaced Espanyol and struggling Malaga, who are mired down in 15th, played out a 0-0 draw at Espanyol’s CornellaEl Prat stadium in Barcelona. l

Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) and Real Madrid have responded angrily to comments from FIFA president Sepp Blatter that appeared to make fun of the Real and Portugal forward.

Blatter, who was forced by the reaction to apologise while insisting he meant no disrespect, was asked at the Oxford University Union in England on Friday for his opinion on Ronaldo and Barcelona’s World Player of the Year Lionel Messi.

The 77-year-old Swiss said they were both exceptional athletes but added that, unlike Messi, Ronaldo resembled “a commander on the field of play”.

He then rose from his chair and strutted on the stage in military fashion in apparent imitation of the Portuguese.

“One (Ronaldo) has more expenses for the hairdresser than the other but that doesn’t matter,” he added to widespread laughter. “I cannot say who is the best, there will again be a contest this year - I like both of them but I prefer Messi.”

Ronaldo, who was the last player to land the World Player award in 2008 before Argentine Messi won four in a row, posted a link to a video of Blatter’s comments and a heavily ironic response on his Facebook page on Tuesday.

“This video shows clearly the respect

and consideration that FIFA has for me, for my club and my country,” Ronaldo wrote.

“Much is explained now. I wish Mr. Blatter health and a long life, with the certainty that he will continue to witness, as he deserves, the successes of his favourite teams and players.”

FPF president Fernando Gomes described Blatter’s remarks as “unfit and inappropriate.

One (Ronaldo) has more expenses for the hairdresser than the other (Messi) but that doesn’t matter. I cannot say who is the best, there will again be a contest this year - I like both of them but I prefer Messi “It was with surprise I watched and analysed the words of Sepp Blatter about the captain of our national team,” Gomes said in a statement.

“I think the comments... show a clear lack of respect both towards Ronaldo and Portugal, a country that lives its football intensely.”

Earlier, Real coach Carlo Ancelotti said club president Florentino Perez had written to Blatter to ask for clarification of remarks the Italian said showed “a lack of respect to a very serious and very professional player”.

Real later published Perez’s letter on

their website (www.realmadrid.com), as well as Blatter’s reply.

The FIFA chief’s comments were “unfortunate and unacceptable” and had caused “enormous disappointment” to the club and their fans, Perez wrote.

Blatter’s admission that he preferred Messi over Ronaldo could also affect the voting for the World Player award, due to be announced in January, the construction magnate added.

Blatter, who also referred to Messi as “Leonard” during his appearance in Oxford, wrote in his reply to Perez that he had been surprised by the reaction.

“I want to make clear that for me Cristiano Ronaldo is at the same level as Messi and that the two are exceptional players, each in their own way,” he added.

“I regret very much that this situation arising from a university event is causing so much pain and I apologise for that. It was never my intention to annoy or show a lack of respect to Real Madrid, or one of their players or their fans.”

Ancelotti said he was “completely in agreement” with Perez.

“I haven’t spoken to Cristiano Ronaldo about it,” he told a news conference ahead of Wednesday’s La Liga home game with Sevilla. “He trained very well today, as always. He is showing every day he is a great player and that he respects everyone.” l

Results Arsenal

0-2

Birmingham

4-4

Burnley

0-2

Leicester City

4-3

Man United

4-0

Adeyemi 28, Lovenkrands 85, 90, Lee 118

Chelsea

Azpilicueta 25, Mata 66

Stoke City

Assaidi 10, Crouch 55, Arnautovic 71, Jones 94 After extra time; Stoke win 4-2 on penalties

Morgan 41, Wood 45, Miquel 53, Dyer 89

Hernandez 20-pen, 54, Jones 88, Fabio 90+5

West Ham

Taylor 76-pen, Collison 90-pen

Fulham

Rodallega 18, 54, Karagounis 87

Norwich City

from Peter Lovenkrands ensured their match against Birmingham went to extra time.

West Ham toiled against Championship (second division) leaders Burnley but took the lead in the 76th minute when Jason Shackell fouled Kevin Nolan in the area and Taylor fired home.

Keith Treacy was sent off for hosts Burnley for a stoppage-time foul on Collison who then got up to score from the resulitng spot kick and wrap up the victory. l

Inter held to Atalanta draw n AFP, Milan Inter Milan missed the chance to put pressure on the sides above them in the Serie A table when they were held to a 1-1 draw at Atalanta on Tuesday.

Ricardo Alvarez put Inter in front 16 minutes in, controlling a header down

by Rodrigo Palacio and firing low past Andrea Consigli at his near post.

Result Atalanta Denis 25

1-1

Inter Milan

Alvarez 16

However, Atalanta were defending an unbeaten record at home against Inter dating back to April 2008 and were also looking to make it four straight Serie A wins. And they were level inside 25 minutes when Maxi Moralez crossed from the right and Argentine striker German Denis got up above Walter Samuel to head home his fifth goal of the campaign.l

Brazil-born forward Costa commits to Spain

Blatter’s Ronaldo remarks prompt angry response n Reuters, Madrid

rushing goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski for the opener. Manchester United pacher Hernandez underlined his value to David Moyes’s team with a goal in each half as the Old Trafford club emphatically booked their spot in the next round.

Fulham looked to have earned a reprieve against Leicester when Giorgos Karagounis made it 3-3 in the 87th minute but Lloyd Dyer slid in to win it two minutes later.

Stoke also had a 3-1 lead cancelled out. Goals from Oussama Assaidi, Peter Crouch and Marko Arnautovic had put them in command, but a late double

n Reuters, Madrid

Barcelona's Cesc Fabregas celebrates his goal against Celta Vigo during their Spanish La Liga match at the Balaidos stadium in Vigo on Tuesday REUTERS

Beckham picks Miami for new MLS team n Reuters, Miami Retired England soccer star David Beckham has chosen Miami for a new U.S. Major League Soccer expansion team, a source familiar with the negotiations said on Tuesday.

The former England captain who retired earlier this year after stints with Manchester United, Real Madrid and the MLS club L.A. Galaxy, had been considering several locations and toured Miami this summer, meeting

with city and county leaders.

His MLS player contract included an option to create a new team for $25 million. Beckham was still putting together a team of investors, the source said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Beckham’s plans have yet to be officially announced.

His representatives are already looking at sites for a purpose-built soccer-only stadium, according to a well-placed source in Miami’s business community. l

Atletico Madrid’s Brazil-born forward Diego Costa has signed a formal letter stating his wish to play for adopted country Spain, ending a tug-of-war between the two powerhouses over the in-form 25-year-old.

“The player communicates in the letter addressed to Julio Cesar Avellada, secretary general of the Brazilian soccer federation (CBF), his wish to be available to the Spanish national team,” the Spanish federation (RFEF) said on its website (www. sefutbol.com) on Tuesday.

Top scorer in La Liga this season with 11 goals in 10 appearances, Costa told Spain coach Vicente del Bosque this month that he would be available for the world and European champions if selected.

Del Bosque’s Brazil counterpart Luiz Felipe Scolari responded last week by announcing he would call Costa up for next month’s matches against Honduras and Chile.

Costa’s commitment to Spain on Tuesday prompted an angry reaction from Scolari as he withdrew the player’s invitation to take part in the two friendlies in a statement posted on the CBF website (www.cbf.com.br).

“He is turning his back on the dream of millions, the dream of representing the five-times world champions at the World Cup in Brazil,” Scolari said. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

15

Thursday, October 31, 2013

5 Ranji Trophy facts about Tendulkar DEBUT HUNDREDS Sachin Tendulkar scored a hundred on his Ranji debut against Gujarat way back in 1988 at the age of 15 years 230 day. Although he was picked in the Mumbai side a year ago in 1987, he was handed a debut only next season when the captain Dilip Vengsarkar was impressed after seeing him in the nets.

Tendulkar grabbed the opportunity with both hands and hit an unbeaten hundred at the Wankhede stadium that made him the youngest player in history of Indian cricket to hit a hundred on Ranji debut.

Not only did he score a hundred on his Ranji debut, he went to score tons in his debut games in Deodhar and Duleep Trophies as well. He didn’t stop there. He went to score an unbeaten hundred on his Irani trophy debut against Delhi in 1989-90 season thus becoming the only Indian to achieve the feat of scoring debut hundreds in all four Indian domestic competitions.

HIGHEST BATTING AVERAGE His average of 87.43 is the highest batting average for any batsman who has played over 50 innings in the Ranji Trophy. Moreover, he stands in the second position for scoring the most 100s/innings. Tendulkar has scored 18 hundreds in the 37 Ranji matches he’s has played till now and has scored a hundred after every 3.06 innings that stands only behind Vijay Merchant who scored a hundred every 2.94 innings.

ONLY ONE DUCK IN ENTIRE RANJI CAREER Sachin Tendulkar is carried by his teammates after Mumbai beat Haryana in the Ranji match in Rohtak on Wednesday

Quick Bytes

Naveed returns to Dhaka

The technical director of the Bangladesh Hockey Federation, Pakistani Naveed Alam returned to Dhaka after a month long vacation yesterday. Naveed flew home at the end of September after submitting a report to the hockey federation about Bangladesh’s disappointing showing at the Asia Cup Hockey.

His contract with Bangladesh Hockey Federation is set to expire in November and Naveed - who started the job in July - and the federation are looking to sign an extension. The Pakistani said that he was happy with his dealings with the federation and believed that Bangladeshi hockey would continue to progress if the federation took appropriate steps. “Now I will focus upon producing the future players of Bangladesh. I always believed that Bangladesh had the potential to move ahead in the international hockey arena and I will provide my long term plans to the federation. Bangladesh needs some hard work at the grass roots level,” said the Pakistani.

– RM

DPL resumes today The Dhaka Premier League is set resume today a break for the Eid holidays. hough the tournament was supposed to start on October 27, the 60-hour nationwide strike forced the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis to push back the schedule. The first three matches of round eight will be held today. Defending champions Victoria Sporting Club will face Abahani Limited at BKSP, Gazi Tank Cricketers take on Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club at Bogra’s Shaheed Chandu Stadium and Prime Bank Cricket Club clash with Kalabagan Cricket Academy at the Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium.

Earlier, Cricket Coaching School (CCS) were disqualified from the tournament after being late for one of its matches.

With 11 sides left, the bottom placed team will join CCS in being relegated to First Division Cricket.

– MUK

Cook to miss warm-up as Clarke returns

Matt Prior will lead England in their first warm-up match before the Ashes series in Australia after regular captain Alastair Cook opted to sit out the contest due to a back niggle. Paceman Stuart Broad, also nursing a back problem, batsman Kevin Pietersen and frontline spinner Graeme Swann were also rested for the three-day match against the WA Chairman’s XI at the WACA Ground in Perth, starting on Thursday.

– Reuters

Tendulkar bids adieu to domestic cricket in style n Agencies Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell game in domestic cricket ended in a manner befitting his iconic stature, as the retiring legend single-handedly guided Mumbai to a four-wicket win over Haryana in one of the most keenly followed match in the history of Ranji Trophy on Wednesday.

Requiring 39 more runs to win with four wickets in hand on the fourth and final day, Tendulkar went on to make a calculated 175-ball unbeaten 79, building his innings in the manner that has been the hallmark of his later years.

The stay in the middle also ensured Tendulkar warmed up for next month’s Test series against the West Indies, which will culminate with the second and his landmark 200th Test in Mumbai, where he will bring the curtain down on his glorious 24-year tryst with international cricket.

After a series of shifts in momentum over the past three days, it was Mumbai

who had the last laugh, thanks largely to the relentless perseverance showed by Tendulkar.

Starting the day at 201 for six, Tendulkar, overnight on 55, guided Dhawal Kulkarni (16 not out) to the last run that came when the young pacer hit Mohit Sharma for a boundary, much to the delight of his Mumbai teammates who had planned to gift the veteran a win in his last game for the state side.

The hordes of home spectators who had trooped into the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium, didn’t mind either as it was Tendulkar who was at the forefront of this successful chase.

Living their own Tendulkar moment, the heads totting the small stands fervently cheered his every run, and got an adrenaline rush the only time the ball reached the fence today from the master’s willow.

The standing ovation as he walked out to bat was followed by another round of guard of honour, with some of the Hary-

Ticketless fans erupt in Mirpur

n Reuters, Paris

Inability to secure tickets for the second ODI between Bangladesh and New Zealand led cricket lovers to violence yesterday. Thousands of fans waited in line at the Mirpur branch of the United Commercial Bank and were enraged when informed that tickets were sold out. A group of angry fans vandalized bank property and police had to be called in to bring the situation under control. “We received 3,823 tickets to sell and were selling a ticket each per head. The tickets were running out but not the cue, which was rather getting big. At around 3pm, the situation got out of hand after they started vandalizing bank property and we informed the police,” UCBL executive officer Masud Mia told the media yesterday.

The second ODI will be held today at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, which has a capacity of 25,000. l

Richard Gasquet kept his ATP World Tour finals hopes alive when he overcame Fernando Verdasco 7-5 6-7(6) 6-3 to reach the Paris Masters third round as fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga crashed out of the race on Tuesday.

Ninth seed Gasquet, enjoying his best season since he reached the last four at Wimbledon and a career-high world number seven spot in 2007, looks set to grab one of the three remaining tickets to next week’s season-ending London event.

For a place in the last eight, Gasquet will take on Japanese Kei Nishikori, who ended local favourite Tsonga’s hopes by prevailing 1-6 7-6(4) 7-6(7) after saving two match points.

World number two Novak Djokovic started his campaign with a routine sec-

Indian batsman Virat Kohli celebrates after winning the 6th ODI against Australia in Nagpur yesterday AP

Day’s Watch Gazi TV 1:30PM Bangladesh v New Zealand 2nd ODI, LIVE Star Sports 1:45AM Italian Serie A 2013/14 Roma v Chievo Verona LA Liga 2013/14 1:00AM Villarreal CF v Getafe CF 3:00AM Real Betis v Levante ESPN LA Liga 2013/14 1:00AM Granada CF v Atletico Madrid 3:00AM Athletic Bilbao v Elche CF

ana players even saluting the champion batsman while he walked on to bat for one last time in domestic cricket.

The routine being repeated after the match seemed appropriate. Tendulkar being lifted on the shoulder of his teammates was also to be expected.

Though he hit just one boundary today, it was worth it. As Harshal Patel ran in, Tendulkar positioned himself perfectly before punching the fast bowler through backward point. All in all he struck six boundaries in the innings.

The innings was in stark contrast to the one he played against the same side some 22 years ago, in the final of the Ranji Trophy at the Wankhede Stadium where he smashed Kapil Dev and co to all corners of the ground.

Today’s knock was more about grafting. The defence was tight, the big stride forward gave the picture of a man in total control of the situation, and then there were the trademark backfoot punches through cover off fast bowlers. l

Gasquet stays on course for London as Tsonga crashes out ond-round 7-6(3) 6-3 win over French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

The Serb staved off two set points in the opening stanza then stepped up a gear and never looked back. He next faces either American John Isner or Pole Michal Przysiezny.

Gasquet has been nursing a thigh pain as the end of a long season looms.

“It hurts sometimes, but it’s not very serious. I played two hours and 45 minutes today, and I saw that I could play, although I was not at 100 percent,” the world number 10 told a news conference.

“It was tough to play a long match like this.” Gasquet, who reached the U.S. Open semi-finals in September, refuses to put pressure on himself.

“I had a good season. I’m very happy with what I did. I will not have a lot of pressure for this match. It’s sort of a gift for me to be here,” he said. l

Score Australia 350/ six in 50 overs Bailey 156, Watson 102; Ashwin 2/64 India 351/44 in 49.3 overs Kohli 115*, Dhawan 100; Johnson 2/72

Tendulkar has been dismissed for a duck only once in his entire Ranji Trophy career. He was sent back without scoring in the 2008-2009 Ranji finals by none other than the current Indian swing sensation, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

However, he has been most troubled by the former Indian left-arm spinner Venkatpathy Raju in the Ranji Trophy. Raju, who played for Hyderabad, has dismissed Tendulkar thrice in the Ranji games, the highest by any bowler.

INTERNET

n Minhaz Uddin Khan

PARTNERSHIPS Tendulkar has had terrific partnership records with Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid in international cricket. If Ganguly and Tendulkar forged a formidable opening partnership in ODIs, Dravid was his favorite partner in crime in the Test arena.

However, in the Ranji Trophy, Tendulkar’s favourite partner was Sanjay Manjrekar, the star Mumbai and India batsman. Both of them formed a prolific pair and added 915 runs in 10 innings together at an average of 101.66 with 5 century stands. Tendulkar also had 5 century stands with Vinod Kambli in Ranji Trophy.

MUMBAI NEVER LOST WHEN TENDULKAR SCORED A HUNDRED Tendulkar has been the most prolific match winner for Mumbai as well. Mumbai has never lost a game whenever Tendulkar has scored a hundred in Ranji Trophy. Tendulkar has 18 hundreds to his credit and each of those has never been in a lost cause.

Incidentally, Tendulkar also has 19 fifties in Ranji Trophy and Mumbai has lost only once (1990-91 finals vs Haryana) whenever Tendulkar has gone past 50 in the above 37 occasions.

Ponting ‘offended’ as Taylor wades into Clarke feud n AFP, Sydney

has my number,” he said.

Ponting reportedly responded that Clarke “won’t read anything in the book that he wouldn’t have known about himself or how I felt about it around the team”.

Taylor, who was captain from 1994 to 1999 and is now a Cricket Australia director, said the players’ differences should have stayed behind closed doors.

“The disappointing thing for me was that this wasn’t left in the change-room and it wasn’t sorted out in the changeroom,” he told commercial radio late Tuesday.

“Look, to me it takes two to tango -I reckon Michael Clarke probably could have done more to appease the situation, and from what I’ve seen and read and heard in recent times, there’s no doubt Ricky Ponting could have done more as well.” l

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting on Wednesday said he was “offended” after Mark Taylor blasted his feud with Michael Clarke, saying it should have stayed in the dressing room.

Current skipper Clarke was reportedly furious when he learned ex-captain Ponting’s autobiography, released last week, contained concerns about his then-deputy’s attitude.

The book also offers an unfavourable appraisal of Clarke’s ill-fated relationship with bikini model Lara Bingle, which ended in 2010 when he flew back from a tour of New Zealand to sort out his private life.

Clarke bristled at a press conference on Tuesday when asked for his reaction to Ponting’s comments.

“Ricky said that did he? Well, Ricky

Kohli, Dhawan lead India to another stunning chase n Agencies

Highest Successful Chases

India pulled off a sensational six-wicket victory over Australia in the do-ordie sixth cricket one-dayer, riding on Virat Kohli’s brutal unbeaten 115 and Shikhar Dhawan’s blistering century to level the seven-match series 2-2 here today.

Chasing a mammoth 351, the Indians gave ample display of their batting firepower on a belter of a track at the VCA Stadium at Jamtha to overhaul the target with three balls to spare in what turned out to be a thrilling floodlit contest which went down the wire.

The incredible run chase brought back memories of India’s awesome victory in Jaipur on October 16 when they overhauled a stiff target of 360, achiev-

Team

Runs

Overs

RR

Opponent

Venue

South Africa

438/9

49.5

8.78

Australia

Johannesburg

India

362/1

43.3

8.32

Australia

Jaipur

16 Oct 2013

India

351/4

49.3

7.09

Australia

Nagpur

30 Oct 2013

New Zealand

350/9

49.3

7.07

Australia

Hamilton

20 Feb 2007

New Zealand

340/5

48.4

6.98

Australia

Auckland

18 Feb 2007

ing the second highest successful run chase ever in ODI history.

Dhawan (100), Rohit Sharma (79) and Kohli - who hit the third fastest ODI hundred by an Indian from just 61 balls, were the main architects of India’s victory in the high-scoring tussle which has restored the balance of the series after the Ranchi and Cuttack ODIs were washed out.

Date 12 Mar 2006

Earlier, George Bailey (156) and Shane Watson (102) smashed scintillating centuries as Australia put the listless Indian bowling attack to the sword to post an imposing 350 for six after being in to bat.

India replied in stunning fashion with Dhawan hitting his fourth ODI ton in his 24th match while Kohli struck his 17th century in his 118th match. l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Thursday, October 31, 2013

Separate pay scale for central and state banks from Nov

EC selects firm to produce smart cards

n Asif Showkat Kallol

The Election Commission’s proposal for selecting a strategic firm to produce smart cards will be scrutinised by the cabinet committee on public purchase today.

The commission selected Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP) as the strategic communications approach firm, with the consent of the World Bank.

The government will execute a separate pay scale for the staff of Bangladesh Bank and the four state-owned commercial banks within its tenure, official sources said.

Bank and Financial Institutions Division secretary Dr Aslam Alam, however, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that the government would implement the separate pay scale of state-owned banks and the central bank after the consent of the prime minister.

He also said several verbal surveys conducted by the division at the five institutions had found that the response was “not bad at all,” but a portion of the staff had opposed the separate pay scale.

After it is signed by the secretaries of the secretary committee, the recommendation for the separate pay scale will go to the prime minister for approval, Alam said.

A government committee last week finalised the pay scale with 11 grades instead of the existing 20.

The committee, led by Cabinet Sec-

retary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, also decided that the staff would pay their income taxes and generally salaries would increase by Tk2,000 - Tk3,000 more than the finance minister’s initial recommendations.

Initially, Sonali, Agrani and Janata banks were supposed to get the new pay structure as corporate banks. Now Rupali Bank has been added to the list.

In private sector banks, the entry level salaries of an officer and a staff is Tk30,000 and Tk15,000 respectively, and the salary of a CEO and a managing director is Tk400,000-900,000.

The Banking Division recommended that the basic salary for those at the highest grade should be Tk52,000 and Tk5,000 for the lowest grade.

In the existing 20-grade scale, the highest basic salary is Tk33,500 and the lowest is Tk4,100. Both state banks and the central bank will have the same pay scale. The managing directors and deputy managing directors of the state banks who are appointed on a contractual basis will not be included in the new pay scale.

An officer of the country’s largest state commercial bank Sonali Bank, Sulaiman Hossain, told the Dhaka Tribune that after implementation of separate pay scale for bank, many employees would be in deep financial trouble since they had taken house loans from the bank.

“Repayment of loans will be difficult if we move to the provident fund under the new pay scale. We may have to sell our homes to repay the loans,” he said.

Hossain said people who had worked for over 10-15 years at the state banks would be in trouble after the new pay scale comes into effect.

“Newly recruited staff will benefit from the pay scale,” he added.

Rupali Bank Collective Bargaining Association (CBA) President Mushtak Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune the separate pay scale of four state-owned commercial banks and Bangladesh Bank had been finalised without informing the employees. “We would not be able to bring enough money home to maintain our living standards as there are provisions of giving income tax and no bonus,” he further said.

The CBA Leader said a joint statement would be issued regarding the new pay scale after consulting with the CBA leaders of Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Bangladesh Bank.

Banking division Secretary Dr Aslam Alam, however, said most of the old facilities would be included in the new pay scale.

Bangladesh Bank’s CBA Secretary Manjurul Haque told the Dhaka Tribune they did not find the banking division’s separate pay scale recommendations acceptable.

“We had protested against the move of curtailing health allowance during Ershad’s regime in 1989. But now we hear that recommendations include curtailing of health allowance,” he said.

He also said the government did not accept central bank’s recommendations regarding the separate pay scale.

Currently, nearly 90,000 employees are employed in all the state-owned commercial banks, while Bangladesh Bank has about 6,000 employees, a banking division official said. l

n Asif Showkat Kallol

The EC will build the National Identification Database System under IDEA project for distributing over 90m smart cards The EC will spend Tk143.7m for strategic communications and the firm will produce smart cards for citizens under the Identification System Project to ensure the smooth operation of future elections.

Secretary of the Election Commission Dr Muhammad Sadik told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday there was no possibility of using smart cards in the

Mozena meets Ashraf, Fakhrul

Grameen Bank bill okayed by JS committee n

Kamran Reza Chowdhury

The parliamentary watchdog tasked to scrutinise the proposed Grameen Bank Bill 2013 said yesterday the authorities could make the institution accountable to the central bank as the government originally was its major shareholder.

The parliamentary standing committee on the finance ministry, which recommended passage of the law without any major change, said the bank authorities pursued the Ershad government to reduce the government share to 25% from the original 60%.

AHM Mustafa Kamal, the chairman of the standing committee, told the Dhaka Tribune the central bank and the government had a right to know the money circulation of Grameen Bank, which was established through the Grameen Ordinance 1983.

The chairman said he had contacted the Grameen Bank authorities to get their opinion on the law before making recommendations, but the authorities declined to turn up at the watchdog meeting in the absence of Dr Muhammad Yunus, the bank’s founder.

“People do not know that the government gave 60% of the funds to set up the bank while the borrowers owned a 40% stake. But in 1986, he (Dr Yunus) did something for which the Ershad government reduced the share to 25%, making the borrowers share 75%,” said Mustafa Kamal.

“It is not wrong, if the government wants to make the Grameen Bank’s activities auditable,” he said.

The chairman said the government was keen to see a smooth operation of the bank. “Therefore, we have not recommended to change the share pattern of the bank,” he said.

A spokeswoman of the Yunus Centre in Dhaka told this paper she knew nothing about the issue, but that the bank’s acting managing director M Shahjahan may know about it. However, M Shahjahan was not available for comment.

On October 27, Finance Minister AMA Muhith tabled the Grameen Bank Bill 2013 to replace the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983.

According to the parliamentary rules, the standing committee recommendations are a must for the passage of the law, which is set to pass in the current session before its likely end date of November 7.

The draft law has proposed that two firms will audit the Grameen Bank transactions and send it to the central bank.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and the government had serious disagreements over the appointment of the managing director. Prof Yunus, removed from the post by the government in 2011, warned the Awami League-led administration against changing the Grameen Bank Ordinance to “capture” the bank of the poor.

The proposed law said the government would appoint a chairman from the three government-nominated directors to the Grameen Bank management board.

In consultation with the board of management, the chairman will form a three to five member selection committee, which will prepare a panel of three candidates for the post of the managing director of the micro-credit bank, which has 8.3 million borrowers.

The central bank is the authority for the appointment of the managing director, who must have knowledge on rural economics, economics or micro-finance.

The managing director will be a full-timer and able to serve up to 60 years of age. Section 20 of the law says the bank cannot run any business beyond its mandated area or transact with any business entities.

The government says the Grameen Bank allegedly has business links with 54 other subsidiaries such as the Grameenphone, Grameen Trust, Grameen Fund, Grameen Telecom, Grameen Cybernet, Grameen Shakti, Grameen Knitwear, Grameen Byabosa and others.

According to the sections 34 and 35 of the law, the government can formulate rules to implement the Grameen Bank law, without violating any section of the law.

The section 36 further says that the government can issue any order to resolve any inconvenience that comes to the fore for the execution of the proposed Grameen Bank law. l

Deprived BCL men rampage thru’ port city Mahmud and n Tarek FM MizanurRahaman, Chittagong The activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League who were deprived of posts in the newly-announced Chittagong city unit committee went on the rampage through the city yesterday.

They torched at least four motorbikes and vandalised 25 vehicles in the city’s GEC and Wasa intersections in the evening, said eyewitnesses and police.

They also damaged different installations beside the city roads and blasted five crude bombs at different points.

They blocked the city’s Badamtoli intersection too, said locals.

The activists mostly from the city’s Omar Gani-MES College brought out a procession from the city’s number two gate area around 7:30pm and rampaged

through the city, police added.

Azizul Haque, inspector (investigation) of Panchlaish police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that the BCL men attempted to block roads by torching tyres.

Sowmen Das and Yusuf Khan, activists of Omar Gani-MES College unit BCL, said the new committee was formed consisting of extortionists, nonstudents and terrorists and so they were protesting the new committee.

BCL central committee yesterday announced a 24-member committee of the Chittagong city unit nominating Imran Uddin Himuas president and NurulAzamRoni general secretary after 10 years.

Nazmul Alam Siddique, general secretary of BCL central committee, said: “We will form a full-fledged committee of 121 members gradually.” l

upcoming election, due by January.

“We are just distributing manual cards for the next general election.”

He said the commission’s Identification system for Enhancing Access to services (IDEA) project for introducing smart national identity cards was a continuing one.

“We are talking to officials and banks regarding the implementation of the project and the EC has selected the firm for this,” he added.

As per the EC’s proposal, the EC will build the National Identification Database System under IDEA project for distributing over 90m smart cards. Total cost of the project would be Tk1.95bn and it will run from July 2011 to June 2016. The World Bank is financing the project.

The EC started distributing manual NID cards among fresh voters in the capital on September 25. It prepared nearly 7m fresh NID cards against the same number of new voters, who were included in the electoral rolls during the countrywide updating throughout 2012.

Currently, the number of registered voters is 92,198,029. l

n Tribune report

Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam and BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir reportedly held separate meetings with US Ambassador to Dhaka Dan Mozena at the US embassy yesterday evening.

However, it was not confirmed by the US embassy or by Awami League and BNP. Sources also said the US ambassador met the two senior leaders, before leaving Dhaka today on a few days’ scheduled leave to the US. The meetings followed a series of such meetings the US envoy had with political leaders and other Dhaka-based diplomats during the last few days.

Earlier, on October 28, Mozena had a one-on-one meeting with Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad. On the same day, Mozena also met with Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka Pankaj Saran, as well as meeting with BNP Chairperson’s Adviser Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury.

Earlier, on October 23, Mozena travelled to India as part of his ongoing consultations with Indian officials and US embassy officials based in New Delhi.

Mozena also met Pankaj Saran earlier on October 22, while on October 21, the US ambassador met Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan office. l

Durga temple set afire in Lalmonirhat n Our Correspondent, Lalmonirhat

Rahima Khatun, who loses one of her eyes during the violence of 60-hour hartal imposed by 18-part alliance, is now under treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital NASHIRUL ISLAM

HARTAL VIOLENCE

Rahima loses her vision in right eye n Ashif Islam Shaon The vision in her right eye has gone forever. With all hopes to restore its sight being lost, the doctors have for now concentrated on its outward appearance.

A victim of mindless political violence, nine-year-old Rahima Akhter suffered splinter injuries following a cocktail blast on Tuesday.

Rahima reportedly had mistaken a cocktail for a plaything, and begun to unwrap its’ tape right before its explosion on that fateful day.

The girl, who is being kept heavily sedated with tranquilizers, is not yet aware that she was blinded in her right eye for life, family members said.

They don’t deem it right to tell her the bad news fearing that the shock

might adversely affect her already fragile physical condition.

“We could only tell her that her right eye is badly injured and that’s why it is bandaged,” Rahima’s father Sobhan said.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, assistant registrar of Dhaka Medical College Eye Department Al Mahmud Lemon said Rahima’s life isn’t out of danger yet as a piece of splinter managed to go near her brain piercing through her right eye.

The girl was shifted to National Institute of Eye Science and Hospital yesterday morning as her injured eye needs to be immediately taken care of.

“DMC doesn’t have equipment necessary to operate on her, which is why she was shifted. Doctors in the hospital told us that they will operate in the eye

today,” Lemon said.

“Since she suffered multiple injuries in her hands, back, abdomen and head, she is not in perfect health to be operated. Still we have to operate on her, and at the same time hope that the splinter in her head would not cause any damage to her brain.”

The doctor said Rahima would undergo another surgery so that people will not get scared by the look of her eye.

“You know, the girl will get married someday. If we don’t give the damaged eye a reasonable shape now, it will look horrible,” he noted.

Dhaka Medical College authorities have formed a three-member medical board headed by the eye department’s head Moksedul Islam to oversee her treatment. l

A gang of unidentified miscreants set fire to a temple of Durgaat Kakinain under Kaliganj upazila of Lalmonirhat early yesterday.

As locals saw the temple go up in flames they rushed to douse the fire.

The temple was burnt partially.

The Kaliganj upazila chairman, local administration and police visited the spot in the morning and assured the local Hindu community of taking stern action against the culprits.

Over a hundred Hindu families in the village are passing days in fear, hoping and praying that there are no further attacks after the incident.

The Temple Committee President Ranjit Kumar Mohonto said caretaker of the temple Mayna Rani Mohonto screamed for help after the temple was on fire.

“A local gang here in the village has been trying to grab the temple land for quite a long time and they might have set it ablaze to create panic,” he said adding the gang vandalised temple three years ago.

Temple Committee’s Decretary Milon Kumar Mohonto sought help from police administration saying that the gang was very powerful.

Kaliganj Upazila Chairman Mohammad Nuruzzaman assured that he would provide support to the Hindu community there.

“Perpetrators will be brought to justice as per the law of the country,” said Kaliganj UNO Golam Rabbi.

Kaiganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Amiruzzaman acknowledged the fact and said they were trying to arrest those involved in the arson. l

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B2 19 missions miss export target

B3 Dhaka for FTA talks with Turkey

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013

Business www.dhakatribune.com/business

State banks waive Tk87bn interest in 10 years BB executives worried over considerations on political influence n Jebun Nesa Alo The state-owned banks have waived around Tk87bn of interest against loans during the past 10 years since 2003, with more than 70% only in the last four years.

Bangladesh Bank senior executives, however, considered it as a relief for the borrowers as well as the lenders, but cautioned that such practice would not bode well in the long run for the banks.

They said the borrowers would be able to come out of loan burden while the banks could recover their respective principal amount of loans, as a result.

The central bank executives, at the same time, expressed concern that the interest waivers were considered mostly on political influences.

During the present government rule, an amount of Tk62bn in interest has been exempted during the period between 2009 and 2012, according to Bangladesh Bank data.

As the central bank has no guideline on such interest waiver, the banks did it on the basis of their relation with the clients and own policies.

The board of directors, who were appointed politically, approved the exemption.

“Generally, the interest waiver is not good, but such facility helps the entrepreneurs to come out of the loan burden and start their business again,” said SK Sur Chowdhury, Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank.

“This creates a win-win situation for both banks and clients. But we want to discourage interest waiver as the practice would affect the banking sector badly if it becomes a common phenomenon.”

When asked, SK Sur Chowdhury said he did not know if there was any political connection involved in exempting the interest.

A senior Bangladesh Bank executive said the banks have exempted the interest as per their own policy while such facility was intended to recover the fund from the defaulters.

The data revealed the 2011 interest waiver was the highest with Tk23bn.

During 2003-2006, when BNP was in power, the interest amount waived totalled Tk17bn and the figure was Tk8bn during the caretaker government regime of 2007-08.

The central bank officials said as the state-

owned banks are facing the rise of classified and bad loans, interest waiver is now the only effective option to recover the principal amounts.

All banks and financial institutions would want to recover their loans, and interest waiver could be said logical when a borrower genuinely falls in trouble, said an official of the central bank.

But according to him, in most cases, the political connections were considered.

“Interest waiver without following proper banking norms is encouraging corrupt practice within the financial sector and ultimately adversely affecting the banks’ balance sheets by creating more toxic assets,” the official feared.

During the present government, the eight state-owned banks waived Tk7.78bn of interest on loans in 2009, Tk21bn in 2010, Tk23.56bn in 2011 and around Tk10bn in 2012.

During the period, Janata Bank waived Tk25bn of interest with the highest amount of Tk7.6bn in 2011. Agrani Bank waived a total of Tk22bn as the highest waiver of interest was Tk5.28bn in 2011

State-run banks waived Tk87bn in 10 years

2003—2006 Tk17bn

2007—2008 Tk8bn

Share of waiver among state-run bank in the last decade Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank

Basic Bank

Bangladesh Development Bank

Sonali Bank

Janata Bank Rupali Bank Krishi Bank

Agrani Bank

Total waiver made in the last decade According to the Bangladesh Bank data, Sonali Bank waived Tk23bn of interest during the past 10 years while the highest amount of Tk8.6bn was waived in 2011.

During the period, Janata Bank waived Tk25bn of interest with the highest amount of Tk7.6bn in 2011. Agrani Bank waived a total of Tk22bn as the highest waiver of interest was Tk5.28bn in 2011.

Rupali Bank exempted Tk6.35bn interest with the highest amount of Tk1bn in 2011.Bangladesh Krishi Bank waived aroundTk3bn with the highest amount of Tk500m in 2009.

Bangladesh Development Bank exempted Tk5bn and the highest amount was Tk1.13bnin 2012.

Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank waived Tk1.23bn while the highest amount was Tk380m in 2008.

Basic Bank waived Tk470m interest and the highest amount was Tk170m in 2010. l

2009—2012 Tk62bn

Highest waiver made (year-wise)

Sonali Bank

Tk23bn

Tk8.6bn in 2011

Janata Bank

Tk25bn

Tk7.6bn in 2011

Agrani Bank

Tk22bn

Tk5.38bn in 2011

Rupali Bank

Tk6.35bn

Tk1bn in 2011

Krishi Bank

Tk3bn

Tk0.5bn in 2009 Tk1.13bn in 2012

Bangladesh Development Bank

Tk5bn

Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank

Tk1.23bn

Tk0.38bn in 2008

Basic Bank

Tk.47bn

Tk0.17bn in 2010

Interest waived by state-run banks in recent years Tk21bn

Tk23.56bn

Tk10bn

Tk7.78bn

2009

2010

2011

2012

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013

19 missions miss export target n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Nineteen Bangladesh missions abroad have failed to achieve their respective export targets for the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

The Q1 export earnings from the countries under the jurisdiction of total 44 missions stood at $7.46bn, which is about 98% of the total earnings of $7.63bn in 2013 14, according to Export Promotion Bureau data.

Washington contributed highest 20.53%, followed by Berlin 17.19%, London 10.35%, Paris 5.24%, Madrid 5.16%, Ottawa 3.86%, Brussels 3.80%, Tokyo 3.16%, Beijing 2%, Canberra 1.90% and New Delhi 1.20%.

The July-September export earnings were 21.24% higher than $6.4bn of the corresponding period of previous year. It is 4.77% higher than the strategic target of $7.28bn. Twenty five missions achieved their target and 19 missions failed.

Of the 19 missions, export growth of 11 missions (Washington, London, Paris, Beijing, Canberra, Hong Kong, Dubai, Moscow, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Muscat) was higher than the corresponding period of the previous year.

On the other hand, the export growth of the rest 7 missions (New Delhi, Singapore, Bangkok, Yangon, Islamabad, Katmandu and Rabat) was lower than the corresponding period of the previous year.

Onion prices may fall gradually n Tribune Report Onion prices would not increase further, but would gradually fall as the supply of onions in the market is increasing with continued imports, traders told a meeting with the commerce ministry in Dhaka yesterday. The meeting reviewed the current prices of onion and the supply situation.

Meanwhile, an investigation by the ministry found onions are being sold at Tk80 per kg in Chapainawabganj, at Tk90 in Dhaka’s wholesale markets and at Tk110 in the retail markets.

“The government has taken necessary initiatives to keep the onion prices at tolerable level,” said ATM Mortoza Reza Chowdhury, additional commerce secretary. Letter of credits (LCs) has been opened to import 150 containers of onions from Pakistan, which is set to arrive in Bangladesh, said an official. Apart from this, import from India and Myanmar would continue through different land ports, he said. As of yesterday, onions were selling at Tk100-110 per kg in the city’s retail markets. l

Mercantile Bank’s ‘MY CASH’ on Banglalink Network

n Tribune Business Desk

Exports of Banggladesh’s jute and jute goods continue to decline 16 out of 44 missions have commercial wings (except Geneva, Kolkata, and Los Angel). Of them, during July-September period of 2013-14, 6 wings achieved the export target and remaining 10 could not achieve the target set for them. Although 10 commercial wings could not achieve their export target, export growth of 8 wings (Washington, London, Paris, Beijing, Canberra, Dubai, Moscow and Kuala Lumpur) was higher than the corresponding period of previous year.

Meanwhile, the country’s export earn-

DHAKA TRIBUNE

ings rose 21% to $7.6bn in the first quarter of the current fiscal year as compared to the same period of previous fiscal year’s value of $6.29bn in the first quarter of 2012-13.

While the export earnings rose to about US$2.6bn in September, over 36% higher compared to the same month last year, riding on readymade garments sector despite labor unrest over wage hike.

The figure is 27% higher than the target of $2.04bn set for the month. In September 2012, the amount of total export stood at $1.9bn. l

BGMEA staff gets fire safety training n Tribune Report Home Minister MK Alamgir yesterday urged all to keep garment sector from all kinds of subversive activities as it contributes a lot to the national economy.

“We should keep away the readymade garment sector from any kinds of subversive activities as the sector has a great contribution to our economy,” he told a certificate awarding ceremony in Dhaka.

He said the RMG sector has contributed to reach the country’s per capita income to US$1,044 with its extra ordinary contribution.

Fire service and Civil Defense Department and the BGMEA jointly organised the programme on completion of a training session on fire safety.

A total of 35 BGMEA recruited officials were given a month long training on “fire fighting, search, rescue and first aid” by

Fire Service and Civil Defense so that they can latter train the mid-level management and workers of the garment factories in the country.

Safety in RMG industry has become the key issue in the recent times due to some untoward incidents like Rana Plaza collapse and Tazreen Fashion fire incident, said BGMEA President Atiqul Islam. “Rana Plaza collapse” is a wakeup call for us, he added.

Currently, the prime task of the RMG sector is to make the sector full-fledge compliant and to ensure fire and building safety in each factory, said Atiqul, adding that the BGMEA has taken necessary steps with the help of government, Accord, Alliance, ILO and Fire and Civil Defense.

Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar, Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed, Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defense Md Ali Ahmed Khan and BGMEA President Atiqul Islam, among others, were present.

Robi brings 3.5G in 3 cities

n Tribune Report The mobile phone operator Robi officially launched 3.5G service in some selected areas of Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet. Robi customers in those areas can enjoy ultimate online experience browsing, viewing multimedia content, playing games and file downloading while moving, said a press release yesterday. As an introductory special promo bonus pack – customers who buy an existing 2G monthly packs such as 1GB, 3GB and 5GB will get 1GB of 3G data bonus for free. l

Home Minister MK Alamgir attends a certificate giving ceremony on a fire safety course for BGMEA recruits in Dhaka yesterday REAZ AHMED SUMON

Banglalink Digital Communications Ltd and Mercantile Bank Ltd recently signed an agreement to jointly launch “MY CASH”, mobile banking service through Banglalink network.

Banglalink CEO Ziad Shatara and Mercantile Bank CEO M Ehsanul Haque signed the agreement on behalf of respective companies, said a joint press release yesterday.

The service is expected to be launched very soon, which will enable banglalink subscribers with a registered MY CASH account to access and avail of the service through their mobile phones.

The services will include Cash in, Cash out, Fund Transfer, Mobile Top-up, Bank Deposit etc.

Other high officials of the both organisations were also present on the occasion. l

Oil prices dip ahead of US stockpiles report

n AFP, Singapore

Oil prices edged lower in Asian trade Wednesday as investors bet on a further increase in US inventories, indicating weak demand in the world’s top crude consumer.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in December, was down 51 cents at $97.69 in afternoon trade, while Brent North Sea crude for December shed 23 cents to $108.78.

“Plentiful supply in the US, with expectations of a further increase in crude stockpiles, is putting pressure on prices,” Kenny Kan, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, told AFP. Dealers are expecting the US Department of Energy (DoE) weekly inventory report due out yesterday to show a rise of more than two million barrels in the week to October 25, Kan said. US oil prices hit a near four-month low last week following DoE reports indicating a bulge in stockpiles. A rise indicate weak demand in the world’s biggest economy and oil consuming nation.

Brent was weighed by profit-taking, Kan said, following recent gains over Middle East supply concerns.

Production in Libya, an OPEC member, has been disrupted for months after labour unrest forced terminals to shut, slashing output to below 100,000 barrels per day. Before the shutdowns, Libya was producing between 1.5 million and 1.6 million barrels daily.

Production has increased in recent weeks, but an uptick in protests has raised concerns about exports owing to near-daily attacks and bombings that some fear could lead to civil war. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013

Dhaka for FTA talks with Turkey n Asif Showkat Kallol Bangladesh would request Turkey to start talks on free trade agreement between the two countries.

The government took this decision at a meeting in Dhaka yesterday.

The commerce ministry decided to send a pamphlet on the proposed FTA to the government of Turkey so they could take preparation for talks, officials said after the meeting.

Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed chaired the meeting that also expected starting negotiation with Malaysia to sign FTA as the ministry has already sent a draft proposal to sign FTA. The draft includes a proposal to export workers from Bangladesh to Malaysia.

An official, who attended the meeting, said the commerce ministry would send the pamphlet to the economics ministry of Turkey through foreign ministry.

Another official said the letter contains proposals on customs procedure, trade facilities, investment opportunities, standardisation of products, and sanitation securities for trade of goods between the two countries (Bangladesh and Turkey).

The main hurdle of signing the FTA between Bangladesh and Turkey is the need for permission from the European Customs Union, he said. “We hope Bangladesh will first

3

Stocks down on profit taking from banking shares n Tribune Report Stocks fell on quick profit booking yesterday, snapping three consecutive session rally, dragging down by mainly heavyweight banks that lost more than 3%.

The benchmark index DSEX fell 43 points or 1% to close at 3,946, after crossing 4000mark in the morning.

The blue chip index DS30 was slightly down 2 points or 0.2% to 1,402. The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, lost 88 points to 7,740.

sign the FTA with Malaysia.”

Meanwhile, leading exporters said Malaysia can be a potential market for Bangladeshi readymade garments, frozen foods and leather goods as exporters are increasingly showing interest to explore market in the country.

Malaysia legalised some 267,000 Bangladeshi workers recently who had become the victims of unscrupulous manpower

agents. Currently, there are some 400,000 Bangladeshis working in Malaysia, mostly in manufacturing, construction, plantations, agriculture and services sectors. Expatriate workers in Malaysia send some $13bn every year.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited Turkey in April 2012 and had talks about signing of the FTA to boost trade and investment between the two countries. l

Grid gets 10mmcfd new gas

DSE can now hold EGM

n Aminur Rahman Rasel

n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Gas Field Company Limited (BGFCL) yesterday started supplying10 million cubic feet (mmcf) of natural gas to the national grid daily from Titas gas field’s well number 20 after eight months of drilling the well.

The new gas is equivalent to meet demand for a power plant having a capacity of 50 megawatt, but is a very small quantity as compared to the gas supply shortage of more than 500 mmcfd.

The well was estimated to supply 30 mmcfd of gas, but the authorities found it difficult to extract up to its full potential due to technical problems, officials said. “The production could be increased to 15 mmcfd,” Ahmed Hossain, director of the well-drilling project, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Russian Company Gazprom started drilling the well formally on March 2, but suspended the activities from March 26 to April 13 as the rig was stuck at a depth between 2,200 and 2,350 meters below the surface, said Ahmed Hossain. “The rig stopped drilling as it faced obstacles due to critical soil formation of the well.”

“BGFCL had a target to supply 30mmcfd gas from the well,” said former BGFCL managing director Shafiqur Rahman.

In April last year, the government signed a deal with Russian state-owned company Gazprom on drilling 10 gas wells across the country at a cost of US$193.55m.

According to the deal, the company has been assigned to drill four wells in Titas gas field of BGFCL, one in Rashidpur gas field of SGFL, two in Shahbazpur, and one each in Semutang, Begumganj and Srikail of Bapex. l

The holding of extraordinary general meeting of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has been cleared yesterday, following withdrawal of a writ petition.

Its EGM scheduled for Tuesday last was stayed due to an injunction by the High Court in response to former DSE President Ahmed Iqbal Hasan’s writ petition.

The DSE has not yet fixed the date of holding the EGM for beginning the demutualisation process in line with the Demuatulisation Act. Ahmed Iqbal in his writ petition had claimed that the way adopted by the DSE for demutualisation was contradictory to the Act. “After consulting with lawyers, fresh date to hold EGM will be announced as early as possible,” said DSE President Ahsanul Islam Titu.

The EGM is meant for adopting some regulations, including approval of a 24-member “interim board” of the prime bourse in line with the demutualisation process.

Recently, Bangladesh Securities Exchange Commission (BSEC) allowed existing

DSE board of directors to continue until the DSE’s annual general meeting.

In the EGM, the bourse is supposed to adopt new memorandum of association and articles of association in line with the demutualisation scheme, replacing the existing ones.

‘After consulting with lawyers, fresh date to hold EGM will be announced as early as possible’ Adoption of the new memorandum of association means disallowing any shareholder of the bourse to enter into the DSE office without getting permission from the proper authorities, according to a DSE circular.

The demutualisation is a way of separating the bourses’ management from ownership and to bring transparency and accountability into the market. It is going to transform the two bourses from their current non-profit, co-operative state into profit-oriented entities. l

‘Tri-session long streak broke as quarterly declarations and political vibes shook market sentiment’

After remaining on the spotlight in last three sessions due to better-than-expected earnings, the heavyweight banks fell by 3.47%, sending six scrips of this sector to the list of top ten losers.

Profit booking has been accelerated by the news, which was poured in the market during the trading hour, that some banks posted negative third quarter earnings, said a stock dealer.

“Tri-session long streak broke as quarterly declarations and political vibes shook market sentiment,” said IDLC Investment in its market analysis.

Resultantly, significant portion of investors went for profit booking, creating some selling pressure and poor quarterly declarations, especially in heavyweight banking sector, sparked disappointments and thus accelerated the downfall, it said.

Lanka Bangla Securities said after rising around 190 points in last consecutive trading sessions, in the fourth trading day of this week, market showed a small correction.

Market participation of traders remained steady following the last couple of days, where sellers outstripped the buyers throughout the day amid strong encounter between two forces keeping the market volatile.

Besides engineering, jute, textile, cement and tannery were on buying spree while stocks of bank, telecommunication and food & allied were reeling under selling pressure.

Trading activities remained subdued as the total market turnover stood at Tk3.8bn, which was 1.8% lower than the previous session.

Out of total 280 issues traded, values of 124 advanced, 125 declined and 31 remained unchanged.

Generation Next was the most traded stocks worth Tk287m changing hands, followed by Bangladesh Submarine Cable and Company Ltd, Argon Denim, United Commercial Bank, Summit Purbanchal Power Company, Malek Spinning, Envoy Textile and United Airways. l

Business Global liquidity swell to spill into 2014

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013

n Reuters, London After a bone-dry summer, world markets seem awash with cash again and it looks like spilling into 2014.

Even though the US Federal Reserve has kept its $85bn a-month of bond buying constant throughout, fevered speculation surrounding its easy money spigot has by itself dictated the massive ebb and flow of liquidity seen this year.

The rethink of Fed intentions after September 18 - when the central bank declined to cut back its asset purchases as expected has raised all financial boats in one big wave.

Since the Fed demurred six weeks ago, the S&P500 index of top Wall St stocks has jumped 3.5%. So too have 10-year US Treasury bonds. High-yield corporate “junk” bonds are also up more than 3%, as are gold and the euro. Even indices of the most esoteric and speculative ‘frontier markets’ have added more than 3%.

The global surge has been remarkable as an evaporation of this year’s U.S. dollar’s gains has removed huge pressure from emerging market currencies and, in turn, eased the strain on some $7.2tn of emerging central bank reserves. And given these reserves are largely banked in western bonds, a virtuous circle of liquidity appears to have formed.

And by pumping up the euro and Japanese yen, the retreating dollar has upped chances of further easing - quantitative or otherwise - by the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank.

The global liquidity pool - one seeded by central banks and supercharged by the markets themselves - seems to expand anew.

Major stock markets from Tokyo, London, Frankfurt and New York have now clocked up year-to-date gains of between 20 and 30% and the latter two are in uncharted territory. Property hotspots in many of the same locales are similarly motoring.

Is this the mirror of the financial bubble that blew up pre-2007, as long-term bears such as Societe Generale’s Albert Edwards insist it is?

With huge amounts of spare capacity still across developed labour markets and economies and little or no sign of rising inflation, policymakers seemed unperturbed.

But scale of money building up appears very real.

‘Most extreme ever’

JPMorgan analysts reckon investor flows be-

A Wall Street sign is pictured outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York hind the latest market surge are akin to the indiscriminate, liquidity-fueled equity and bond buying seen at the start of the year before talk of Fed tapering saw an equity bias emerge as many funds fled bonds and the economy sped up.

More “Asset Reflation” than “Great Rotation” this time around, they surmise.

To be sure, US Mutual fund data from Thomson Reuters’ Lipper showed that last week alone there were hefty net inflows to equity, bond and money funds alike - more than $11bn net to domestic equity, almost $5bn to overseas equity and more than $3bn to all taxable bond funds.

So what’s the scale of this global sea of liquidity?

JPM splits the notion of liquidity into two buckets - one looks at how the banking system absorbs and distributes new QE money from central banks and another is the broad view of money supply in the wider economy of households, firms and investors.

The former can be febrile, as we saw during the summer.

Major stock markets from Tokyo, London, Frankfurt and New York have now clocked up year-to-date gains of between 20 and 30% and the latter two are in uncharted territory. Property hotspots in many of the same locales are similarly motoring

When the central banks pump in new zero-yielding money, or excess reserves to the banking system, the banks just buy bills and bonds from other banks as the money gets passed around like a ‘hot potato’, bidding up asset prices and depressing yields.

That is until policy uncertainty lifts interest rate volatility and threatens bond prices,

REUTERS

as it did after May, and forces those ‘excess reserves’ to go to ground and hunker down in cash again until the coast is clear.

The other measure of global liquidity, however, appears positively explosive.

JPMorgan estimates its measure of “excess liquidity” in the global system is still surging into record territory, with global M2 aggregates up by $3tn, or 4.6%, so far this year - far outstripping a 2% global inflation rate.

Two thirds of that M2 expansion came from emerging markets, where domestic loan growth shows few signs of being fazed by the mid-year financial market turbulence.

Using these “excess liquidity” gauges as a guide to asset prices and assessing their power over time, the report concludes that remains a powerful upsurge.

“The current episode of excess liquidity, which began in May 2012, appears to have been the most extreme ever in terms of magnitude,” it concluded. l

India, Saudi to ink agreement on labour protection n BSS India has invited Saudi Arabia’s Labour Minister to ink an agreement aimed at protecting Indian workers from the clutches of middlemen in the Kingdom, one of the top destinations for immigrants from India.

The invitation to the minister was forwarded by Indian Embassy in Riyadh following the approval of a draft bilateral agreement

by the Indian Cabinet.

Sibi George, deputy chief of mission at the Indian Embassy, told Arab News that the government has invited the Saudi Labour Minister Adel Fakeih to New Delhi to formalise the agreement.

“We are working out a date for the minister’s visit to New Delhi, which we expect to be very soon.”

George said a joint committee would be set

up to follow up on the implementation of the agreement and that there will be no scope for middlemen to play any role once it is signed.

“The agreement will provide protection for both workers and employers in Saudi Arabia,” he said. An official source at the Labour Ministry said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had received a letter from India.

The move is bound to facilitate a quantum jump in the domestic workers’ sector, consid-

ering the size and diversity of the population in India, he said.

The 2.8 million plus strong Indian community in Saudi Arabia is the largest expatriate community in the Kingdom.

Once the agreement is formalised, workers will be governed by Saudi labour laws and they will enjoy the privileges and rights granted under the local regulations. It will also help in streamlining the labour market. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013

5

China GDP figures wrong by $610bn n AFP, Beijing China’s economy would be at least 3.7tn yuan ($610bn) bigger than Beijing thinks if the country’s local government statistics were to be believed, state media reported Wednesday.

The Economic Information Daily tallied up gross domestic product (GDP) data from 28 of mainland China’s 31 provincial-level authorities, totalling 42.4tn yuan for the first nine months of the year.

But the figure for the whole country, already announced by Beijing, is 3.7tn yuan lower.

The discrepancy - which has been in place for more than two decades - has been widening rapidly in recent years, the Economic Information Daily said.

The reliability of Chinese economic data has long been in doubt as local officials tend to massage the figures upwards in pursuit of promotion and the newspaper, which is run by the official Xinhua news agency, pointed

to the same problem.

“Some regions may have inflated the statistics due to their distorted perception of achievements given the fact that the performance assessment of local governments is often linked with GDP growth,” the report quoted an unnamed National Bureau of Statistics official as saying.

China’s Premier Li Keqiang said in 2007, when he was the governor of Liaoning province, that some Chinese data was “manmade”, according to a confidential memo

released by the WikiLeaks website in 2010.

He told US diplomats that he focused on only three figures - electricity consumption, rail cargo volume, and the amount of loans issued - to evaluate his region’s economy, the leaked document showed.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said in June that officials’ performance evaluations must not be based “simply on GDP growth rate” but take into account factors such as the environment and improving people’s wellbeing. l

Dollar steady in Asia ahead of Fed decision n AFP, Tokyo

Claude Moraes(right) European Union’s leader for the parliamentary inquiry on mass surveillance, and Germany’s Elmar Brok who chairs the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, address reporters during a press conference AFP

US-EU trade talks at risk in spying furor n AFP, Washington A senior EU official said Tuesday said it was urgent that Washington rebuilds trust with Europe, warning transatlantic trade talks were at risk after revelations Washington spied on EU leaders.

Viviane Reding, vice president of the European Commission and EU justice commissioner, said the revelations had “shaken and damaged” the relationship, and left Europeans feeling that they “are not seen as partners, but as a threat.”

“Then you understand that as Europeans we are very concerned,” she said about the furor over the US National Security Agency’s tapping of phone conversations of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders.

“Friends and partners do not spy on each other,” she said.

“For ambitious and complex negotiations to succeed there needs to be trust among the negotiating partners. It is urgent and essential that our US partners take clear action to rebuild trust.”

Reding said the NSA spying, which included tapping the phone and Internet communications of millions of Europeans, got to the

heart of a key issue in the ongoing Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks, aimed at establishing the world’s largest free-trade zone.

She said the Europeans would not budge on their stance on strong protection for personal data, while the US wants companies particularly Internet-based firms - to be able to have some access to users’ data as they do in the United States.

“Data protection is a fundamental right,” Reding told an audience at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “The revelations about the activities of American intelligence agencies in Europe and the damage this has caused have brought renewed attention to this issue. There are things that cannot be justified by the fight against terrorism,” she said. “Data protection is not red tape or a tariff. It is a fundamental right and as such it is not negotiable.”

She said Europe was moving rapidly toward an EU standard for personal data protection that was backed “overwhelmingly” in a vote in the European parliament last week.

Once a single set of rules is in place in Europe, she said, “we will expect the same from the US. Inter-operability and a system of

self-regulation is not enough.” US officials said Tuesday that the TTIP talks should continue and that it would be unfortunate if the furor over Washington’s spying disrupts them.

State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said the talks are “of vital importance” and one of a number of subjects that “it would be a mistake to not proceed on.”

“Conversations regarding NSA surveillance activities are separate from our trade negotiations,” a spokesperson for the US Trade Representative said in an email.

“It would be unfortunate to let these issues - however important - distract us from our mutual goal of negotiating a high-quality 21st century agreement that increases bilateral trade and investment, supports jobs, and increases our international competitiveness.”

TTIP talks started in July after leaders from both sides pledged a deep commitment to completing an agreement by late 2014.

A second round of talks had been scheduled for early October, but was cancelled because of the US government shutdown, the result of the budget impasse in Congress.

The talks have not been rescheduled; Psaki said they are in the process of being rescheduled. l

The dollar held steady yesterday in Asia as investors await the end of a US Federal Reserve policy meeting, looking for clues about its plans for its stimulus programme.

The greenback bought 98.14 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade against 98.17 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon, while the euro was at $1.3737 and 134.81 yen, from $1.3744 and 134.93 yen. The US central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is to wrap up a two-day meeting Wednesday, with markets widely expecting it to keep its $85bn a-month bond-buying scheme in place until the new year.

“The FOMC will almost certainly announce no change,” National Australia Bank said in a note.

The dollar will likely move in a range between 97 and 99 yen for months to come until the market becomes more confident about when the Fed would size down its bond-buying programme, said a senior dealer at a major bank in Tokyo. “The current consensus is March, but that can easily be pushed back, depending on what will happen to the US economy and its fiscal problems,” Yuji Saito, director of foreign exchange at Credit Agricole in Tokyo, told Dow Jones Newswires.

A compromise plan struck this month between Democrats and Republicans to avert a default only funds the government until mid-January and extends US borrowing authority until February. Yesterday markets were also watching for jobs data from payrolls firm ADP due later in the day to gauge the health of the US economy.

Weak figures would likely strengthen expectations for continued easing by the Fed and weaken the greenback. Investors would also be watching a Bank of Japan policy meeting Thursday with analysts expecting it to keep its aggressive easing programme intact.

The dollar was mixed against other Asia-Pacific currencies.

It weakened to 61.49 Indian rupees from 61.70 rupees the previous day while rising to Sg$1.2397 from Sg$1.2385. It also rose to Tw$29.43 from Tw$29.41, to 43.19 Philippine pesos from 43.14 pesos, and to 11,209 Indonesian rupiah from 11,100 rupiah. The dollar was a shade higher at 1,060.78 South Korean won from 1,060.72 won and at 31.07 Thai baht from 31.06 baht.

The Australian dollar fell to 94.78 US cents from 95.07 cents, while the Chinese yuan edged up to 16.08 yen from 16.03 yen. l

6

Share

DHAKA TRIBUNE

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013

DSE Broad Index: 3946.02 ⇓ 1.08%, Turnover: 3843.36 M.Tk ⇓ 1.85%, PE: 12.30 Turnover 44,201.14 MTk . ⇓ 1.27% October 30, 2013 MarketCap. 1,895.20 BTk. ⇓ 1.17% CSE All Share Index: 12205 ⇓ 1.12%, Turnover: 357.78 M Tk. ⇑ 4.98%, PE: 12.09 Combined Turnover Leader

BANK ABBANK | 2.95 | 32.60 | Vol. 302265 D: 25.10 ⇓ 5.28% | 25.37 | 26.80 / 23.70 C: 25.20 ⇓ 3.45% | 25.27 | 25.90 / 24.80 CITYBANK | 1.15 | 25.97 | Vol. 2356407 D: 18.40 ⇓ 1.08% | 19.18 | 20.30 / 17.50 C: 18.30 ⇓ 2.66% | 19.00 | 20.00 / 18.10 IFIC | 1.10 | 18.34 | Vol. 1477193 D: 26.00 ⇓ 3.70% | 26.02 | 27.50 / 24.50 C: 25.60 ⇓ 4.48% | 25.85 | 27.00 / 25.30 ISLAMIBANK | 3.78 | 27.16 | Vol. 564288 D: 36.40 ⇓ 0.82% | 36.75 | 37.50 / 34.00 C: 36.10 ⇓ 0.55% | 36.20 | 37.10 / 36.00 NBL | 1.05 | 15.76 | Vol. 5584089 D: 12.10 ⇓ 7.63% | 12.49 | 14.00 / 12.00 C: 12.30 ⇓ 7.52% | 12.59 | 13.40 / 12.00 PUBALIBANK | 1.92 | 21.18 | Vol. 114129 D: 31.10 ⇓ 0.96% | 31.29 | 32.30 / 28.00 C: 31.20 ⇓ 2.19% | 31.10 | 31.80 / 30.00 RUPALIBANK | 6.70 | 64.27 | Vol. 32400 D: 61.00 ⇓ 1.61% | 63.73 | 68.00 / 60.50 C: 63.80 ⇑ 4.59% | 63.82 | 64.90 / 63.40 UCBL | 1.90 | 21.72 | Vol. 6636965 D: 21.60 ⇓ 3.57% | 22.01 | 23.60 / 20.20 C: 21.50 ⇓ 2.27% | 21.81 | 23.00 / 21.20 UTTARABANK | 3.42 | 26.97 | Vol. 221461 D: 26.90 ⇓ 3.58% | 27.22 | 28.50 / 26.30 C: 27.00 ⇓ 1.46% | 26.97 | 27.50 / 25.00 ICBIBANK | -1.60 | -13.03 | Vol. 117500 D: 5.90 ⇑ 1.72% | 5.88 | 6.00 / 5.80 EBL | 3.91 | 28.22 | Vol. 284000 D: 26.40 ⇓ 2.94% | 26.54 | 27.00 / 26.30 C: 25.90 ⇓ 4.07% | 26.00 | 26.40 / 25.60 ALARABANK | 2.03 | 14.91 | Vol. 549305 D: 15.50 ⇓ 5.49% | 15.72 | 17.00 / 15.40 C: 15.40 ⇓ 3.75% | 15.72 | 16.20 / 15.40 PRIMEBANK | 2.89 | 22.40 | Vol. 604686 D: 22.70 ⇓ 3.81% | 22.96 | 23.70 / 21.10 SOUTHEASTB | 1.89 | 22.66 | Vol. 967590 D: 16.50 ⇓ 4.07% | 16.60 | 17.40 / 15.50 C: 16.50 ⇓ 5.17% | 16.60 | 16.90 / 16.40 DHAKABANK | 1.46 | 18.08 | Vol. 113609 D: 18.70 ⇓ 7.43% | 19.14 | 21.00 / 18.60 C: 19.20 ⇓ 4.95% | 19.23 | 20.80 / 18.60 NCCBANK | 1.90 | 15.88 | Vol. 557102 D: 12.00 ⇓ 5.51% | 12.22 | 13.50 / 11.50 C: 12.20 ⇓ 4.69% | 12.26 | 13.20 / 12.10 SIBL | 2.05 | 14.47 | Vol. 590417 D: 11.70 ⇓ 4.88% | 11.82 | 13.00 / 11.00 C: 11.90 ⇓ 3.25% | 11.91 | 12.30 / 11.70 DUTCHBANGL | 11.57 | 54.27 | Vol. 15660 D: 94.80 ⇓ 0.32% | 94.82 | 96.00 / 87.00 MTBL | 1.17 | 17.27 | Vol. 61510 D: 15.80 ⇓ 4.82% | 15.88 | 16.00 / 15.60 C: 15.30 ⇓ 4.38% | 15.30 | 15.30 / 15.30 STANDBANKL | 2.33 | 14.41 | Vol. 879000 D: 13.00 ⇓ 4.41% | 13.23 | 13.90 / 13.00 C: 13.00 ⇓ 6.47% | 13.37 | 14.00 / 12.90 ONEBANKLTD | 2.35 | 15.34 | Vol. 3916781 D: 14.50 ⇓ 9.94% | 14.88 | 17.00 / 14.50 C: 14.80 ⇓ 9.76% | 15.16 | 16.20 / 14.80 BANKASIA | 1.35 | 20.80 | Vol. 141020 D: 18.70 ⇓ 6.03% | 19.09 | 19.60 / 18.70 MERCANBANK | 2.07 | 16.59 | Vol. 1342446 D: 12.90 ⇓ 6.52% | 13.18 | 13.90 / 12.90 C: 12.90 ⇓ 3.73% | 13.18 | 13.70 / 12.90 EXIMBANK | 1.80 | 14.31 | Vol. 2782947 D: 11.40 ⇓ 10.24% | 11.62 | 12.70 / 11.40 C: 11.50 ⇓ 8.73% | 11.66 | 13.00 / 11.40 JAMUNABANK | 2.47 | 18.56 | Vol. 222093 D: 15.40 ⇓ 3.14% | 15.47 | 16.40 / 14.40 C: 15.40 ⇓ 1.91% | 15.35 | 15.50 / 15.10 BRACBANK | 1.51 | 24.87 | Vol. 315212 D: 29.70 ⇓ 3.26% | 29.75 | 30.40 / 27.60 C: 29.40 ⇓ 2.97% | 29.40 | 29.50 / 29.20 SHAHJABANK | 2.61 | 14.47 | Vol. 937509 D: 15.30 ⇓ 2.55% | 16.15 | 16.80 / 14.50 C: 15.30 ⇓ 2.55% | 15.81 | 16.60 / 15.10 PREMIERBAN | 1.18 | 13.95 | Vol. 1126433 D: 10.50 ⇓ 7.89% | 10.73 | 12.20 / 10.20 C: 10.50 ⇓ 7.89% | 10.74 | 11.20 / 10.40

TO M. Tk.

% of TTL

Avg. P 26.37

Generation Next Fashions-A

11695540

308.44

7.34

BD Submarine Cable-A

1272795

216.94

5.16

Argon Denims Limited-A

2822960

195.27

UCBL - A

6636965

UNITED AIR-A

CompanyCode | EPS | BV | Volume Traded (Share) DSE/CSE: ClosePrice ⇓/⇑ Chn % | Avg.Price | Hi / Lo

Vol.

9003819

145.98 145.08

170.44

C%

A%

CP

DSE Loser

C%

A%

CP

Renwick Jajneswar-A

9.98

3.03

139.90

-20.87

-8.27

41.70

BD Building Systems -N

Takaful Islami Insu-A

9.64

4.76

39.80

EXIM Bank-A

-10.24

-6.89

11.40

Prime Textile-A

9.54

6.28

26.40

One Bank-A

-9.94

-7.69

14.50

10.67

58.50

Fareast Finance-N

-9.15

-5.53

13.90

BD Submarine Cable-A

-7.98

-5.57

164.90

DSE Gainer

4.65

69.17

3.48

22.00

Summit Purbanchol Power-N

9.35

3.45

16.11

Fine Foods-A

8.92

TRUSTBANK | 0.50 | 18.00 | Vol. 265798 D: 17.70 ⇓ 6.35% | 18.05 | 19.30 / 17.00 C: 17.90 ⇓ 5.29% | 17.85 | 18.00 / 17.80 FIRSTSBANK | 1.85 | 13.89 | Vol. 446026 D: 12.30 ⇓ 3.91% | 12.40 | 13.20 / 11.50 C: 12.40 ⇓ 2.36% | 12.35 | 12.70 / 12.10 NON BANKING F I IDLC | 4.43 | 29.18 | Vol. 249203 D: 57.90 ⇓ 0.17% | 58.07 | 58.90 / 57.00 C: 57.60 ⇓ 0.52% | 57.62 | 59.00 / 57.50 ULC | 1.80 | 14.90 | Vol. 61594 D: 26.80 ⇓ 1.11% | 26.84 | 27.10 / 25.50 UTTARAFIN | 7.16 | 41.54 | Vol. 52469 D: 74.00 ⇓ 0.80% | 74.22 | 75.50 / 73.00 C: 73.70 ⇑ 0.27% | 73.77 | 76.00 / 72.10 MIDASFIN | 0.16 | 10.21 | Vol. 300 D: 31.50 ⇑ 0.00% | 29.00 | 29.00 / 29.00 FLEASEINT | 2.34 | 13.93 | Vol. 276350 D: 25.30 ⇓ 2.69% | 25.42 | 26.10 / 24.00 C: 25.60 ⇓ 3.40% | 25.55 | 27.30 / 25.00 PLFSL | 1.37 | 17.48 | Vol. 441485 D: 21.40 ⇓ 2.73% | 21.77 | 22.50 / 20.00 C: 21.70 ⇓ 0.91% | 21.94 | 22.30 / 21.60 PRIMEFIN | 0.87 | 17.88 | Vol. 480098 D: 23.20 ⇑ 3.11% | 23.21 | 23.90 / 21.80 C: 23.20 ⇑ 2.65% | 23.04 | 23.90 / 22.40 PREMIERLEA | 0.10 | 11.37 | Vol. 247753 D: 9.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 9.98 | 10.20 / 9.00 C: 10.00 ⇓ 2.91% | 10.08 | 10.20 / 10.00 ISLAMICFIN | 1.03 | 15.48 | Vol. 234766 D: 15.40 ⇓ 0.65% | 15.53 | 16.00 / 13.90 C: 15.20 ⇓ 3.18% | 15.24 | 15.50 / 15.10 LANKABAFIN | 1.61 | 31.07 | Vol. 296895 D: 53.00 ⇓ 1.49% | 53.39 | 54.10 / 48.50 C: 53.20 ⇓ 1.66% | 53.06 | 53.60 / 50.40 BIFC | 0.15 | 18.58 | Vol. 91778 D: 14.90 ⇓ 0.67% | 15.00 | 15.20 / 14.00 C: 14.80 ⇓ 0.67% | 14.80 | 16.30 / 14.70 IPDC | 1.23 | 19.43 | Vol. 104500 D: 16.90 ⇓ 3.98% | 17.15 | 17.60 / 16.90 C: 17.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 17.06 | 17.30 / 17.00 UNIONCAP | 0.54 | 17.85 | Vol. 17275 D: 27.10 ⇓ 0.37% | 27.12 | 27.40 / 25.50 C: 27.00 ⇑ 0.37% | 27.00 | 27.00 / 27.00 ILFSL | 0.35 | 12.19 | Vol. 399500 D: 13.60 ⇓ 2.16% | 13.90 | 14.20 / 13.60 C: 13.60 ⇓ 1.45% | 13.76 | 14.10 / 13.60 PHOENIXFIN | 2.46 | 19.39 | Vol. 140740 D: 29.40 ⇑ 0.68% | 29.45 | 30.00 / 28.20 C: 29.10 ⇓ 1.02% | 29.07 | 29.30 / 29.00 FASFIN | 0.19 | 13.56 | Vol. 424000 D: 13.30 ⇓ 2.92% | 13.33 | 13.60 / 13.20 C: 13.30 ⇓ 2.21% | 13.39 | 13.80 / 13.30 DBH | 4.47 | 21.27 | Vol. 23716 D: 52.60 ⇓ 0.57% | 52.64 | 53.00 / 50.00 C: 51.70 ⇑ 0.98% | 51.70 | 51.70 / 51.70 NHFIL | 0.57 | 12.70 | Vol. 360500 D: 28.80 ⇓ 1.71% | 29.78 | 31.40 / 28.40 C: 28.70 ⇑ 0.35% | 29.18 | 29.50 / 28.70 BAYLEASING | 0.72 | 25.55 | Vol. 225348 D: 27.30 ⇓ 2.50% | 27.58 | 29.00 / 25.50 C: 27.30 ⇓ 3.19% | 27.40 | 27.70 / 27.20 ICB | 89.23 | 607.74 | Vol. 4450 D: 1402 ⇑ 0.16% | 1403 | 1415 / 1393 C: 1400 ⇑ 0.72% | 1400 | 1400 / 1400 GSPFINANCE | 1.63 | 22.23 | Vol. 87575 D: 24.50 ⇑ 1.24% | 24.65 | 25.00 / 23.00 FAREASTFIN | 0.68 | 13.64 | Vol. 3221500 D: 13.90 ⇓ 9.15% | 14.34 | 15.50 / 13.90 C: 14.00 ⇓ 8.50% | 14.50 | 15.50 / 13.80 FAREASTFIN | 0.68 | 13.64 | Vol. 958500 C: 14.00 ⇓ 8.50% | 14.50 | 15.50 / 13.80 INVESTMENT 2NDICB | 44.10 | 253.11 | Vol. 2350 D: 213.1 ⇑ 0.42% | 213.19 | 215.0 / 210.0 3RDICB | 26.16 | 235.16 | Vol. 2000 D: 175.3 ⇓ 0.34% | 175.50 | 176.0 / 172.2 6THICB | 10.99 | 60.14 | Vol. 5600 D: 45.80 ⇑ 1.78% | 45.74 | 46.70 / 45.00 C: 45.70 ⇑ 4.10% | 45.65 | 45.80 / 45.50 8THICB | 12.47 | 70.07 | Vol. 7030 D: 49.30 ⇓ 0.80% | 49.43 | 49.50 / 49.00

2.59

AIMS1STMF | 3.02 | 15.70 | Vol. 276325 D: 36.90 ⇓ 0.54% | 37.42 | 38.00 / 35.00 C: 37.10 ⇓ 0.54% | 37.20 | 37.60 / 36.90 ICBISLAMIC | 2.21 | 26.81 | Vol. 28000 D: 16.30 ⇑ 0.62% | 16.32 | 16.40 / 16.30 GRAMEEN1 | 6.26 | 33.23 | Vol. 281500 D: 42.90 ⇓ 2.28% | 43.40 | 44.40 / 42.60 C: 43.10 ⇑ 0.94% | 43.05 | 43.20 / 43.00 ICB1STNRB | 4.06 | 35.31 | Vol. 5500 D: 22.90 ⇓ 2.14% | 22.89 | 23.00 / 22.50 C: 24.30 ⇓ 7.25% | 24.30 | 25.00 / 23.60 ICB2NDNRB | 2.49 | 16.24 | Vol. 345500 D: 9.30 ⇑ 4.49% | 9.29 | 9.50 / 9.10 C: 9.00 ⇑ 1.12% | 9.00 | 9.20 / 9.00 GRAMEENS2 | 2.17 | 16.41 | Vol. 1004500 D: 15.70 ⇑ 1.29% | 15.88 | 16.20 / 15.60 C: 15.70 ⇑ 1.29% | 15.71 | 16.00 / 15.40 1STPRIMFMF | 0.64 | 11.63 | Vol. 702000 D: 19.90 ⇓ 3.86% | 20.14 | 20.80 / 19.70 C: 20.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 20.12 | 20.60 / 19.70 EBL1STMF | 0.55 | 12.62 | Vol. 202786 D: 6.60 ⇓ 2.94% | 6.73 | 7.10 / 6.30 C: 6.70 ⇓ 1.47% | 6.70 | 7.00 / 6.60 ICBAMCL2ND | 0.60 | 12.12 | Vol. 22500 D: 5.60 ⇓ 3.45% | 5.64 | 5.80 / 5.60 ICBEPMF1S1 | 0.52 | 11.32 | Vol. 34000 D: 6.00 ⇓ 1.64% | 6.09 | 6.10 / 6.00 C: 6.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 6.00 | 6.00 / 6.00 TRUSTB1MF | 0.75 | 11.65 | Vol. 653326 D: 7.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 7.45 | 7.50 / 6.70 C: 7.20 ⇓ 1.37% | 7.34 | 7.50 / 7.20 PRIME1ICBA | 0.42 | 11.18 | Vol. 31000 D: 5.10 ⇓ 1.92% | 5.11 | 5.20 / 5.10 C: 5.10 ⇓ 1.92% | 5.10 | 5.10 / 5.10 DBH1STMF | -1.12 | 10.15 | Vol. 173500 D: 5.40 ⇓ 1.82% | 5.43 | 5.50 / 5.30 C: 5.50 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.52 | 5.60 / 5.40 IFIC1STMF | 0.83 | 11.88 | Vol. 185606 D: 6.40 ⇓ 1.54% | 6.48 | 6.70 / 5.80 C: 6.30 ⇓ 4.55% | 6.34 | 6.40 / 6.30 PF1STMF | 0.51 | 11.11 | Vol. 172000 D: 5.20 ⇓ 3.70% | 5.26 | 5.40 / 5.20 C: 5.30 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.30 | 5.30 / 5.30 ICB3RDNRB | 0.00 | 10.60 | Vol. 148000 D: 4.90 ⇓ 2.00% | 5.00 | 5.10 / 4.90 C: 5.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.00 | 5.00 / 5.00 1JANATAMF | 0.78 | 10.68 | Vol. 77000 D: 5.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.72 | 5.80 / 5.70 C: 5.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.72 | 5.80 / 5.70 GREENDELMF | -0.82 | 9.72 | Vol. 186000 D: 5.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.17 | 5.30 / 5.10 C: 5.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.14 | 5.20 / 5.10 POPULAR1MF | 0.77 | 11.38 | Vol. 572047 D: 5.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.78 | 5.90 / 5.70 C: 5.80 ⇑ 3.57% | 5.79 | 5.80 / 5.70 IFILISLMF1 | 0.00 | 10.45 | Vol. 85000 D: 5.20 ⇓ 1.89% | 5.22 | 5.30 / 5.20 C: 5.30 ⇑ 1.92% | 5.18 | 5.30 / 5.10 PHPMF1 | 0.63 | 10.92 | Vol. 866500 D: 5.20 ⇓ 1.89% | 5.30 | 5.40 / 5.20 C: 5.30 ⇑ 1.92% | 5.25 | 5.40 / 5.20 AIBL1STIMF | -0.07 | 9.25 | Vol. 16000 D: 6.40 ⇓ 3.03% | 6.44 | 6.50 / 6.40 MBL1STMF | -0.16 | 9.08 | Vol. 59000 D: 6.20 ⇓ 1.59% | 6.28 | 6.40 / 6.10 C: 6.40 ⇑ 3.23% | 6.38 | 6.40 / 6.30 SEBL1STMF | 0.94 | 11.85 | Vol. 405600 D: 7.90 ⇓ 2.47% | 7.98 | 8.10 / 7.90 C: 8.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 8.01 | 8.10 / 7.80 EBLNRBMF | 1.07 | 10.88 | Vol. 8000 D: 7.50 ⇑ 0.00% | 7.50 | 7.50 / 7.50 RELIANCE1 | 0.95 | 10.33 | Vol. 405900 D: 8.10 ⇓ 1.22% | 8.27 | 8.50 / 7.50 C: 8.00 ⇓ 2.44% | 8.00 | 8.00 / 8.00 LRGLOBMF1 | 0.50 | 10.82 | Vol. 222000 D: 7.30 ⇓ 5.19% | 7.35 | 7.70 / 7.20 C: 7.40 ⇓ 5.13% | 7.40 | 7.40 / 7.40 ABB1STMF | 0.92 | 10.63 | Vol. 91000 D: 6.70 ⇓ 1.47% | 6.71 | 6.90 / 6.70 NLI1STMF | 1.17 | 12.22 | Vol. 946650 D: 8.90 ⇓ 4.30% | 9.18 | 9.50 / 8.60 C: 9.00 ⇓ 2.17% | 8.99 | 9.00 / 8.90 NCCBLMF1 | 1.16 | 10.48 | Vol. 6500 D: 8.30 ⇓ 3.49% | 8.31 | 8.50 / 8.20

17.10

ICBSONALI1 | 0.00 | 10.39 | Vol. 333500 D: 6.60 ⇓ 1.49% | 6.71 | 6.90 / 6.60 C: 6.50 ⇓ 1.52% | 6.53 | 6.70 / 6.50 ENGINEERING AFTABAUTO | 4.29 | 52.65 | Vol. 154167 D: 97.70 ⇑ 0.72% | 98.09 | 99.90 / 95.00 C: 98.10 ⇑ 0.72% | 98.54 | 99.90 / 97.70 AZIZPIPES | 0.39 | -42.04 | Vol. 14000 D: 17.00 ⇓ 5.03% | 17.24 | 17.40 / 17.00 C: 17.00 ⇓ 3.95% | 17.00 | 17.00 / 17.00 OLYMPIC | 7.85 | 22.10 | Vol. 345942 D: 208.8 ⇑ 4.82% | 207.31 | 211.9 / 200.0 C: 211.3 ⇑ 4.50% | 209.71 | 217.0 / 205.0 BDLAMPS | -5.31 | 37.07 | Vol. 12109 D: 123.3 ⇓ 0.80% | 124.09 | 127.5 / 123.1 C: 123.1 ⇓ 0.32% | 122.68 | 123.1 / 122.0 ECABLES | 2.04 | 18.87 | Vol. 9900 D: 80.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 80.10 | 80.50 / 78.00 C: 73.60 ⇓ 6.72% | 74.15 | 74.70 / 73.60 MONNOSTAF | 5.31 | 44.78 | Vol. 1800 D: 264.5 ⇓ 0.64% | 266.11 | 280.0 / 251.0 SINGERBD | 9.99 | 45.74 | Vol. 52661 D: 187.5 ⇑ 0.81% | 187.05 | 189.0 / 175.0 C: 186.4 ⇓ 0.96% | 187.67 | 191.5 / 186.1 ATLASBANG | 11.98 | 207.70 | Vol. 4800 D: 156.5 ⇓ 0.95% | 157.08 | 158.5 / 156.1 BDAUTOCA | 0.25 | 6.23 | Vol. 36650 D: 33.20 ⇑ 0.61% | 33.10 | 34.80 / 30.20 QSMDRYCELL | 1.06 | 52.31 | Vol. 228220 D: 31.40 ⇑ 3.97% | 31.41 | 31.70 / 28.00 C: 31.40 ⇑ 4.32% | 31.34 | 31.50 / 31.00 RENWICKJA | 5.77 | -31.13 | Vol. 21550 D: 139.9 ⇑ 9.98% | 136.19 | 140.0 / 127.0 NTLTUBES | -2.52 | 312.10 | Vol. 34300 D: 63.70 ⇓ 0.31% | 63.50 | 64.30 / 62.60 BDTHAI | 0.43 | 39.35 | Vol. 187895 D: 25.50 ⇓ 0.39% | 25.77 | 27.00 / 25.20 C: 25.50 ⇓ 2.30% | 25.55 | 25.90 / 25.40 ANWARGALV | 0.51 | 8.08 | Vol. 79500 D: 22.50 ⇑ 4.65% | 22.22 | 23.00 / 20.90 C: 22.40 ⇑ 1.82% | 21.83 | 23.00 / 21.00 KAY&QUE | -3.89 | 6.03 | Vol. 7000 D: 14.40 ⇓ 4.00% | 14.43 | 14.50 / 14.40 RANFOUNDRY | 2.84 | 18.62 | Vol. 36500 D: 80.20 ⇓ 1.60% | 80.53 | 81.80 / 78.70 C: 80.00 ⇓ 9.71% | 80.00 | 80.00 / 80.00 SALAMCRST | 3.31 | 20.00 | Vol. 376100 D: 40.00 ⇑ 2.83% | 39.55 | 40.50 / 37.50 C: 40.20 ⇑ 2.81% | 40.04 | 41.20 / 38.90 GOLDENSON | 3.70 | 28.70 | Vol. 1133066 D: 45.90 ⇓ 2.13% | 46.32 | 47.00 / 42.50 C: 46.00 ⇓ 2.13% | 46.09 | 47.00 / 42.30 BSRMSTEEL | 3.06 | 19.53 | Vol. 330584 D: 67.50 ⇑ 3.21% | 66.07 | 67.90 / 59.30 C: 67.30 ⇑ 2.28% | 66.32 | 67.50 / 64.30 NAVANACNG | 4.09 | 27.04 | Vol. 99141 D: 62.10 ⇑ 1.80% | 62.09 | 63.30 / 56.00 C: 61.40 ⇑ 0.82% | 61.15 | 62.00 / 61.00 DESHBANDHU | 0.26 | 10.67 | Vol. 526153 D: 15.70 ⇓ 4.27% | 15.81 | 16.10 / 15.30 C: 15.80 ⇓ 2.47% | 15.82 | 16.00 / 15.50 GPHISPAT | 2.11 | 15.27 | Vol. 125500 D: 40.50 ⇓ 1.22% | 40.43 | 41.00 / 40.00 C: 40.20 ⇑ 0.50% | 40.21 | 41.00 / 40.10 BENGALWTL | 4.16 | 26.24 | Vol. 288400 D: 47.20 ⇓ 1.46% | 47.33 | 48.40 / 46.60 C: 47.70 ⇓ 0.21% | 47.39 | 48.00 / 46.30 BDBUILDING | 1.53 | 14.60 | Vol. 1310000 D: 39.80 ⇑ 9.64% | 38.26 | 39.90 / 36.00 C: 39.10 ⇑ 8.31% | 38.18 | 39.70 / 36.00 NPOLYMAR | 2.73 | 37.82 | Vol. 73800 D: 47.60 ⇑ 0.21% | 47.69 | 48.90 / 46.00 C: 47.10 ⇓ 1.26% | 46.63 | 48.00 / 45.40 FOOD & ALLIED APEXFOODS | 2.54 | 90.81 | Vol. 27000 D: 88.20 ⇑ 0.68% | 88.03 | 91.00 / 86.00 C: 85.00 ⇓ 1.39% | 83.50 | 85.00 / 83.20 BANGAS | 7.20 | 50.27 | Vol. 38120 D: 360.7 ⇓ 2.57% | 363.87 | 376.9 / 359.0 C: 358.6 ⇓ 3.21% | 359.98 | 368.0 / 357.5

BATBC | 65.69 | 117.22 | Vol. 800 D: 1537 ⇓ 2.06% | 1537 | 1550 / 1531 C: 1500 ⇓ 1.96% | 1500 | 1500 / 1500 NTC | 29.88 | 110.05 | Vol. 450 D: 791.9 ⇓ 1.32% | 791.11 | 802.9 / 790.0 ZEALBANGLA | -28.94 | -221.34 | Vol. 400 D: 8.00 ⇓ 3.61% | 8.00 | 8.00 / 8.00 AMCL(PRAN) | 6.85 | 57.14 | Vol. 71610 D: 180.7 ⇓ 2.85% | 176.94 | 186.9 / 172.0 C: 180.9 ⇓ 0.77% | 180.17 | 189.0 / 175.0 FUWANGFOOD | 1.03 | 13.51 | Vol. 266950 D: 22.00 ⇓ 0.90% | 22.06 | 22.40 / 21.90 C: 22.00 ⇓ 0.45% | 21.95 | 22.10 / 21.70 MEGHNAPET | -0.50 | -1.52 | Vol. 16000 D: 5.60 ⇓ 3.45% | 5.63 | 5.80 / 5.50 MEGCONMILK | -7.48 | -23.70 | Vol. 3000 D: 7.00 ⇓ 2.78% | 7.00 | 7.00 / 7.00 BEACHHATCH | 1.01 | 12.48 | Vol. 481266 D: 20.80 ⇑ 0.97% | 20.86 | 21.30 / 19.00 C: 20.80 ⇑ 0.48% | 20.84 | 21.40 / 20.60 FINEFOODS | 0.05 | 10.63 | Vol. 298875 D: 17.10 ⇑ 8.92% | 16.21 | 17.20 / 15.00 C: 17.00 ⇑ 9.68% | 16.36 | 17.00 / 15.40 RDFOOD | 0.91 | 16.84 | Vol. 539844 D: 20.90 ⇑ 0.48% | 21.02 | 21.50 / 19.00 C: 21.00 ⇑ 0.48% | 21.07 | 21.70 / 20.70 GHAIL | 2.43 | 25.58 | Vol. 547400 D: 37.40 ⇓ 0.53% | 37.93 | 39.00 / 33.90 C: 37.80 ⇑ 0.53% | 37.93 | 38.70 / 37.60 FUEL & POWER LINDEBD | 31.71 | 144.00 | Vol. 17450 D: 625.4 ⇓ 1.03% | 621.38 | 630.0 / 616.0 PADMAOIL | 16.38 | 43.67 | Vol. 118307 D: 271.4 ⇓ 1.92% | 273.40 | 280.1 / 265.0 C: 272.3 ⇓ 2.26% | 273.21 | 278.0 / 271.0 EASTRNLUB | 6.32 | 68.68 | Vol. 350 D: 300.4 ⇓ 3.50% | 300.00 | 301.0 / 300.1 BDWELDING | 0.33 | 16.82 | Vol. 326602 D: 20.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 20.26 | 22.00 / 18.50 C: 20.20 ⇑ 1.00% | 20.20 | 20.50 / 20.00 SUMITPOWER | 3.17 | 19.26 | Vol. 574310 D: 33.00 ⇓ 0.30% | 33.02 | 33.90 / 30.00 C: 32.90 ⇓ 0.60% | 32.81 | 33.60 / 32.20 DESCO | 2.69 | 35.96 | Vol. 158743 D: 70.00 ⇓ 0.71% | 70.54 | 71.00 / 65.00 C: 69.40 ⇓ 0.57% | 71.12 | 72.40 / 69.20 POWERGRID | 2.56 | 48.08 | Vol. 44742 D: 52.70 ⇑ 1.93% | 53.08 | 53.80 / 50.00 JAMUNAOIL | 22.78 | 50.24 | Vol. 80950 D: 217.3 ⇓ 1.67% | 218.15 | 223.0 / 215.0 C: 216.1 ⇓ 1.50% | 216.81 | 220.0 / 215.0 MPETROLEUM | 16.98 | 40.41 | Vol. 139400 D: 248.5 ⇑ 0.16% | 248.78 | 252.0 / 228.0 C: 247.7 ⇓ 0.32% | 246.80 | 249.7 / 245.1 TITASGAS | 9.20 | 46.26 | Vol. 437964 D: 77.20 ⇓ 0.39% | 77.36 | 78.70 / 70.00 C: 77.60 ⇓ 0.39% | 77.60 | 77.90 / 77.40 KPCL | 4.73 | 15.86 | Vol. 180931 D: 47.40 ⇓ 0.84% | 47.95 | 48.60 / 44.00 C: 47.30 ⇓ 0.84% | 47.22 | 48.00 / 47.00 BEDL | 1.48 | 19.43 | Vol. 1326054 D: 27.70 ⇑ 0.36% | 28.27 | 29.20 / 26.10 C: 27.80 ⇑ 1.09% | 28.31 | 29.00 / 27.00 MJLBD | 2.73 | 30.24 | Vol. 27959 D: 69.90 ⇓ 0.14% | 69.57 | 72.00 / 63.00 C: 69.10 ⇓ 0.29% | 69.47 | 71.00 / 69.00 GBBPOWER | 1.86 | 22.63 | Vol. 975291 D: 26.60 ⇑ 1.53% | 26.72 | 27.40 / 23.50 C: 26.80 ⇑ 1.52% | 26.58 | 27.80 / 26.00 SPPCL | 3.81 | 23.34 | Vol. 2406620 D: 58.50 ⇑ 9.35% | 58.20 | 58.80 / 48.20 C: 58.60 ⇑ 9.33% | 57.97 | 58.90 / 56.00 JUTE JUTESPINN | 2.06 | 17.42 | Vol. 6600 D: 74.10 ⇑ 1.65% | 73.18 | 75.00 / 64.30 SONALIANSH | 5.54 | 218.80 | Vol. 10950 D: 124.5 ⇓ 1.19% | 125.02 | 127.9 / 123.2 TEXTILE AL-HAJTEX | 2.22 | 16.53 | Vol. 111950 D: 86.00 ⇓ 4.44% | 86.82 | 91.00 / 84.70

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013

7

October 30, 2013 Sectotal Index: BANK: 34,579.86 ⇓ 3.32% NBFI: 19,135.91 ⇓ 0.96% INVS: 4,604.43 ⇓ 0.17% ENGG: 5,758.63 ⇑ 1.59% FOOD: 9,308.10 ⇓ 0.06% F&P: 9,725.75 ⇓ 0.15% TEXT: 3,204.06 ⇑ 1.67% PHAR: 16,796.28 ⇓ 0.61% PAPR: 934.38 ⇓ 0.27% SERV: 2,868.08 ⇑ 3.12% LEAT: 4,842.87 ⇓ 0.22% CERA: 492.15 ⇓ 0.21% CMNT: 4,143.89 ⇑ 0.42% INFO: 6,717.73 ⇑ 0.25% GINS: 8,904.92 ⇓ 0.67% LINS: 102,515.77 ⇑ 0.15% TELC: 1,245.48 ⇓ 2.57% MISC: 5,984.49 ⇓ 0.99% STYLECRAFT | 20.00 | 287.30 | Vol. 200 D: 1242 ⇑ 4.40% | 1240 | 1250 / 1235 RAHIMTEXT | 5.81 | 70.85 | Vol. 6150 D: 310.9 ⇑ 6.84% | 305.20 | 311.0 / 288.0 SAIHAMTEX | 2.75 | 29.50 | Vol. 665700 D: 28.60 ⇑ 1.78% | 28.65 | 29.50 / 27.60 C: 28.90 ⇑ 3.21% | 28.84 | 29.20 / 27.90 MODERNDYE | 0.91 | 10.37 | Vol. 2300 D: 72.40 ⇓ 3.85% | 72.61 | 73.40 / 71.00 DSHGARME | 0.88 | 12.12 | Vol. 38300 D: 49.00 ⇓ 7.55% | 49.56 | 53.50 / 48.40 DULAMIACOT | -1.90 | -29.70 | Vol. 3200 D: 7.60 ⇑ 1.33% | 7.50 | 7.70 / 7.60 TALLUSPIN | 2.01 | 18.59 | Vol. 802352 D: 35.60 ⇑ 0.28% | 35.65 | 36.50 / 34.00 C: 35.60 ⇑ 0.85% | 35.50 | 36.40 / 35.00 APEXSPINN | 2.01 | 49.32 | Vol. 6000 D: 64.70 ⇑ 3.69% | 64.67 | 65.00 / 64.00 MITHUNKNIT | 3.33 | 23.82 | Vol. 88800 D: 73.80 ⇑ 0.41% | 74.12 | 75.20 / 73.00 C: 74.70 ⇑ 0.67% | 74.38 | 76.90 / 72.60 DELTASPINN | 3.06 | 18.12 | Vol. 346000 D: 30.70 ⇑ 1.66% | 30.86 | 31.80 / 30.00 C: 31.10 ⇑ 4.01% | 31.06 | 31.50 / 30.40 SONARGAON | 0.27 | 34.50 | Vol. 170582 D: 16.90 ⇑ 1.81% | 17.06 | 17.50 / 15.10 C: 16.80 ⇑ 1.82% | 16.94 | 17.50 / 16.60 PRIMETEX | 1.01 | 63.54 | Vol. 301000 D: 26.40 ⇑ 9.54% | 26.05 | 26.50 / 24.30 C: 26.50 ⇑ 9.96% | 26.26 | 26.50 / 24.50 ALLTEX | -1.26 | 8.10 | Vol. 140500 D: 7.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 7.13 | 7.30 / 7.10 C: 7.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 7.23 | 7.50 / 7.20 ANLIMAYARN | 1.36 | 11.99 | Vol. 81500 D: 29.90 ⇓ 4.47% | 30.16 | 32.90 / 29.70 HRTEX | 2.08 | 14.92 | Vol. 147150 D: 35.70 ⇓ 0.28% | 36.26 | 37.10 / 35.00 CMCKAMAL | 1.37 | 19.31 | Vol. 1437170 D: 30.00 ⇑ 1.01% | 30.58 | 31.70 / 28.00 SAFKOSPINN | 0.95 | 21.78 | Vol. 185620 D: 22.90 ⇑ 1.33% | 23.31 | 24.20 / 22.00 C: 23.20 ⇑ 2.65% | 23.31 | 24.00 / 22.50 SQUARETEXT | 4.32 | 31.82 | Vol. 59214 D: 89.70 ⇓ 0.11% | 89.62 | 91.00 / 88.00 C: 89.40 ⇓ 0.67% | 88.87 | 89.50 / 88.50 METROSPIN | 0.62 | 19.48 | Vol. 1306801 D: 19.30 ⇑ 7.82% | 18.87 | 19.40 / 17.00 C: 19.40 ⇑ 8.99% | 18.79 | 19.50 / 17.50 MAKSONSPIN | 0.16 | 20.55 | Vol. 4663706 D: 16.60 ⇑ 5.73% | 16.41 | 16.90 / 14.00 C: 16.60 ⇑ 6.41% | 16.39 | 17.10 / 15.50 DACCADYE | 1.21 | 31.13 | Vol. 329284 D: 27.20 ⇓ 1.45% | 27.30 | 28.00 / 25.00 C: 27.40 ⇓ 0.72% | 27.26 | 27.60 / 27.00 RNSPIN | 2.80 | 16.58 | Vol. 2437184 D: 29.50 ⇑ 0.00% | 29.79 | 30.20 / 27.00 C: 29.40 ⇑ 0.68% | 29.72 | 30.20 / 29.30 BXSYNTH | 0.93 | 25.42 | Vol. 711920 D: 16.40 ⇓ 2.96% | 17.12 | 18.00 / 15.50 C: 16.50 ⇓ 0.60% | 17.06 | 17.80 / 16.40 MALEKSPIN | 2.81 | 43.48 | Vol. 4594027 D: 29.00 ⇑ 5.07% | 29.03 | 29.70 / 25.00 C: 28.90 ⇑ 5.86% | 28.90 | 29.60 / 27.90 ZAHINTEX | 1.38 | 35.73 | Vol. 423100 D: 28.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 28.85 | 29.60 / 28.00 C: 29.10 ⇑ 0.69% | 29.24 | 29.80 / 28.90 SAIHAMCOT | 1.92 | 23.62 | Vol. 1160000 D: 24.70 ⇑ 6.47% | 24.33 | 25.10 / 23.10 C: 24.80 ⇑ 7.36% | 24.34 | 25.00 / 23.40 GENNEXT | 1.68 | 15.15 | Vol. 11695540 D: 26.00 ⇑ 3.17% | 26.37 | 27.30 / 22.80 C: 26.20 ⇑ 3.15% | 26.37 | 27.30 / 25.50 ENVOYTEX | 3.26 | 39.26 | Vol. 1996100 D: 58.50 ⇓ 5.49% | 60.37 | 63.00 / 55.70 C: 58.50 ⇓ 5.34% | 62.08 | 62.50 / 58.10 ARGONDENIM | 1.89 | 38.86 | Vol. 2822960 D: 69.50 ⇓ 0.29% | 69.16 | 71.50 / 62.60 C: 69.70 ⇑ 0.72% | 69.30 | 70.60 / 67.00 FAMILYTEX | 3.72 | 14.68 | Vol. 465500 D: 41.40 ⇓ 3.50% | 43.71 | 45.00 / 40.90 C: 41.20 ⇓ 3.51% | 42.87 | 44.90 / 40.50 PHARMACEUTICAL & CHEMICAL AMBEEPHA | 3.94 | 26.15 | Vol. 6258 D: 244.5 ⇓ 0.85% | 243.74 | 246.0 / 241.0 C: 243.1 ⇑ 0.91% | 242.45 | 243.1 / 230.0

DAFODILCOM | 1.12 | 11.14 | Vol. 361000 D: 16.50 ⇓ 2.37% | 16.71 | 17.20 / 16.20 C: 16.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 16.81 | 17.30 / 16.50 AAMRATECH | 1.46 | 21.90 | Vol. 453375 D: 31.40 ⇑ 2.95% | 31.29 | 32.00 / 28.00 C: 31.20 ⇑ 2.63% | 31.05 | 31.80 / 30.10

BXPHARMA | 3.77 | 52.55 | Vol. 254373 D: 43.20 ⇓ 1.14% | 43.79 | 45.00 / 39.60 C: 43.00 ⇓ 1.83% | 43.69 | 45.30 / 43.00 GLAXOSMITH | 20.25 | 123.32 | Vol. 300 D: 930.6 ⇑ 3.40% | 930.00 | 949.0 / 920.0 ACI | -5.82 | 126.42 | Vol. 15942 D: 159.0 ⇑ 1.60% | 160.47 | 164.0 / 145.0 C: 158.8 ⇑ 1.15% | 160.23 | 163.0 / 158.7 RENATA | 33.57 | 138.83 | Vol. 6410 D: 715.0 ⇑ 0.42% | 713.88 | 725.0 / 700.0 PHARMAID | 5.06 | 26.30 | Vol. 26800 D: 157.4 ⇓ 2.60% | 158.84 | 164.0 / 156.0 IBNSINA | 3.44 | 34.02 | Vol. 33800 D: 94.30 ⇓ 0.21% | 94.69 | 96.20 / 94.00 C: 94.10 ⇓ 0.95% | 94.33 | 95.00 / 94.10 LIBRAINFU | 4.21 | 1567.59 | Vol. 200 D: 410.0 ⇑ 1.23% | 410.00 | 410.0 / 410.0 ORIONINFU | 8.72 | 1.73 | Vol. 162000 D: 42.70 ⇑ 3.14% | 42.22 | 43.40 / 41.80 C: 42.90 ⇑ 3.37% | 42.70 | 43.00 / 41.90 SQURPHARMA | 6.93 | 37.18 | Vol. 250788 D: 177.1 ⇓ 0.78% | 176.71 | 190.0 / 162.0 C: 176.1 ⇓ 0.79% | 176.18 | 178.0 / 175.5 IMAMBUTTON | -1.51 | 4.16 | Vol. 23500 D: 7.50 ⇓ 1.32% | 7.57 | 7.80 / 7.40 C: 7.20 ⇓ 8.86% | 7.20 | 7.20 / 7.20 KEYACOSMET | 1.55 | 21.54 | Vol. 1154324 D: 24.50 ⇑ 1.66% | 24.69 | 25.00 / 21.60 C: 24.70 ⇑ 2.07% | 24.74 | 25.00 / 24.40 BERGERPBL | 32.46 | 100.20 | Vol. 650 D: 796.0 ⇑ 0.37% | 796.67 | 821.9 / 791.0 C: 770.1 ⇓ 7.02% | 770.10 | 770.1 / 770.1 ACIFORMULA | 3.33 | 38.08 | Vol. 21750 D: 71.80 ⇓ 0.14% | 72.27 | 74.00 / 70.00 C: 70.00 ⇓ 3.05% | 70.93 | 72.30 / 69.00 MARICO | 27.53 | 62.47 | Vol. 5900 D: 812.3 ⇓ 1.78% | 816.21 | 845.0 / 810.0 C: 806.0 ⇓ 0.80% | 808.00 | 810.0 / 806.0 BEACONPHAR | 0.04 | 12.01 | Vol. 541000 D: 11.40 ⇓ 0.87% | 11.45 | 11.60 / 11.30 C: 11.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 11.42 | 11.70 / 11.30 ACTIVEFINE | 3.23 | 13.89 | Vol. 853997 D: 93.00 ⇑ 0.54% | 92.90 | 93.50 / 85.00 C: 92.80 ⇑ 0.54% | 92.59 | 93.00 / 92.00 SALVOCHEM | 0.68 | 10.57 | Vol. 348158 D: 19.20 ⇓ 1.03% | 19.30 | 19.70 / 18.00 C: 19.40 ⇓ 1.52% | 19.45 | 19.50 / 19.30 GHCL | 2.14 | 57.31 | Vol. 267250 D: 48.80 ⇑ 0.21% | 49.67 | 51.60 / 48.40 C: 48.90 ⇑ 0.20% | 49.58 | 51.00 / 48.50 ORIONPHARM | 5.02 | 68.68 | Vol. 637360 D: 57.40 ⇑ 0.88% | 57.62 | 60.00 / 52.00 C: 57.30 ⇑ 1.24% | 57.57 | 58.90 / 56.50 JMISMDL | 1.12 | 12.83 | Vol. 149500 D: 179.1 ⇓ 2.13% | 178.92 | 189.9 / 172.1 C: 181.7 ⇓ 1.52% | 181.92 | 190.0 / 174.5 CENTRALPHL | 1.62 | 12.24 | Vol. 636000 D: 28.60 ⇑ 6.32% | 27.75 | 28.90 / 26.90 C: 28.90 ⇑ 5.47% | 28.11 | 29.30 / 26.80 PAPER & PACKAGING HAKKANIPUL | 0.64 | 11.02 | Vol. 34500 D: 25.20 ⇓ 1.95% | 25.26 | 26.00 / 24.50 C: 25.50 ⇓ 4.85% | 26.01 | 27.70 / 24.60 SERVICE SAMORITA | 2.31 | 17.25 | Vol. 45594 D: 85.30 ⇑ 1.55% | 85.58 | 87.50 / 84.40 C: 94.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 90.00 | 94.70 / 94.70 SAPORTL | 1.23 | 38.39 | Vol. 175967 D: 26.60 ⇓ 1.12% | 27.08 | 28.00 / 25.00 C: 26.60 ⇓ 0.37% | 26.87 | 27.70 / 26.50

EHL | 2.87 | 18.48 | Vol. 291200 D: 49.80 ⇓ 3.11% | 50.12 | 51.70 / 49.50 C: 50.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 50.63 | 51.80 / 49.50 LEATHER APEXTANRY | 6.57 | 69.38 | Vol. 80000 D: 104.6 ⇓ 1.78% | 105.48 | 108.0 / 103.5 C: 104.2 ⇓ 2.62% | 104.20 | 105.9 / 104.0 BATASHOE | 49.12 | 135.53 | Vol. 8300 D: 695.9 ⇓ 1.15% | 700.96 | 715.0 / 690.1 APEXADELFT | 23.01 | 203.26 | Vol. 147200 D: 380.3 ⇑ 4.19% | 375.71 | 384.9 / 367.1 SAMATALETH | -0.07 | 12.08 | Vol. 3000 D: 12.90 ⇓ 0.77% | 13.00 | 13.00 / 12.90 LEGACYFOOT | 0.63 | 17.19 | Vol. 482000 D: 32.60 ⇑ 6.89% | 31.50 | 33.30 / 28.20 C: 31.80 ⇑ 4.61% | 31.48 | 33.40 / 28.70 CERAMIC MONNOCERA | 0.71 | 96.33 | Vol. 49912 D: 32.80 ⇑ 0.00% | 33.00 | 34.80 / 30.00 C: 32.80 ⇓ 2.96% | 33.67 | 34.00 / 32.80 STANCERAM | 1.07 | 15.97 | Vol. 1000 D: 36.50 ⇓ 1.08% | 37.00 | 36.90 / 36.10 FUWANGCER | 0.72 | 13.97 | Vol. 383500 D: 18.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 18.22 | 18.60 / 18.10 C: 18.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 18.13 | 18.40 / 18.00 SPCERAMICS | 0.62 | 30.92 | Vol. 374228 D: 16.70 ⇓ 0.60% | 17.17 | 17.80 / 16.00 C: 16.70 ⇓ 2.34% | 17.21 | 18.20 / 16.70 RAKCERAMIC | 1.98 | 16.76 | Vol. 133692 D: 50.60 ⇓ 2.13% | 50.82 | 52.00 / 46.00 C: 51.00 ⇑ 0.59% | 50.58 | 51.00 / 47.00 CEMENT HEIDELBCEM | 22.85 | 111.50 | Vol. 76100 D: 352.5 ⇑ 0.71% | 349.82 | 357.9 / 344.1 C: 343.5 ⇑ 0.15% | 359.08 | 359.9 / 343.5 CONFIDCEM | 6.23 | 90.76 | Vol. 293411 D: 124.2 ⇑ 3.76% | 123.37 | 125.5 / 117.0 C: 123.7 ⇑ 3.69% | 122.58 | 125.0 / 120.0 MEGHNACEM | 6.28 | 33.81 | Vol. 92000 D: 121.3 ⇑ 2.36% | 120.38 | 123.6 / 116.1 C: 121.2 ⇑ 4.12% | 121.21 | 123.0 / 117.6 ARAMITCEM | 3.03 | 14.65 | Vol. 54500 D: 66.20 ⇓ 0.45% | 65.60 | 67.70 / 65.10 LAFSURCEML | 1.60 | 7.22 | Vol. 710000 D: 31.10 ⇓ 0.64% | 31.30 | 31.60 / 31.10 C: 31.10 ⇓ 1.27% | 31.28 | 31.60 / 31.00 MICEMENT | 4.48 | 37.67 | Vol. 172797 D: 90.30 ⇑ 0.67% | 89.71 | 91.00 / 82.00 C: 90.20 ⇑ 0.22% | 89.70 | 92.00 / 88.60 PREMIERCEM | 5.00 | 32.60 | Vol. 141000 D: 101.8 ⇑ 3.35% | 100.47 | 106.9 / 97.10 C: 102.2 ⇑ 4.18% | 101.54 | 99.00 / 100.0 IT IINDUSTRIES ISNLTD | 0.28 | 17.31 | Vol. 137533 D: 17.20 ⇑ 1.18% | 17.23 | 18.00 / 16.80 C: 17.30 ⇑ 3.59% | 17.11 | 17.50 / 16.70 BDCOM | 1.54 | 15.85 | Vol. 163100 D: 23.80 ⇓ 2.46% | 24.01 | 24.60 / 23.50 C: 23.50 ⇓ 4.86% | 24.83 | 25.60 / 23.50 INTECH | 0.94 | 10.08 | Vol. 164030 D: 15.20 ⇑ 0.66% | 15.27 | 15.60 / 15.10 C: 15.20 ⇑ 2.01% | 15.20 | 15.50 / 15.10 AGNISYSL | 1.07 | 25.52 | Vol. 198788 D: 21.00 ⇑ 0.96% | 21.02 | 21.30 / 20.90 C: 21.10 ⇑ 0.48% | 21.34 | 21.60 / 21.00

GENERAL INSURANCE BGIC | 1.65 | 20.33 | Vol. 27500 D: 29.30 ⇓ 2.33% | 29.43 | 30.30 / 28.00 C: 29.00 ⇓ 1.69% | 29.00 | 29.50 / 29.00 GREENDELT | 4.05 | 64.44 | Vol. 65145 D: 76.70 ⇓ 6.69% | 78.19 | 82.50 / 75.90 UNITEDINS | 2.47 | 21.04 | Vol. 500 D: 43.80 ⇑ 2.58% | 44.00 | 43.90 / 43.80 PEOPLESINS | 2.05 | 20.72 | Vol. 274169 D: 33.60 ⇓ 1.18% | 33.68 | 34.90 / 30.50 C: 34.00 ⇑ 3.03% | 33.95 | 34.20 / 33.10 EASTERNINS | 2.22 | 35.88 | Vol. 30610 D: 37.70 ⇓ 2.58% | 37.74 | 38.50 / 37.00 JANATAINS | 7.84 | 170.69 | Vol. 13121 D: 241.8 ⇓ 1.73% | 242.46 | 245.3 / 241.0 C: 244.0 ⇑ 1.54% | 241.71 | 245.0 / 240.0 PHENIXINS | 2.70 | 20.96 | Vol. 15000 D: 40.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 40.13 | 40.70 / 40.00 EASTLAND | 4.06 | 23.29 | Vol. 135226 D: 47.50 ⇑ 2.59% | 47.00 | 48.50 / 45.00 C: 46.00 ⇓ 1.08% | 46.74 | 47.00 / 46.00 CENTRALINS | 1.54 | 19.04 | Vol. 12224 D: 28.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 28.93 | 29.50 / 28.10 KARNAPHULI | 1.56 | 19.42 | Vol. 43636 D: 23.10 ⇓ 1.28% | 23.28 | 24.00 / 21.00 RUPALIINS | 2.76 | 23.38 | Vol. 138924 D: 31.80 ⇑ 0.95% | 31.57 | 32.30 / 30.00 C: 31.50 ⇑ 0.32% | 31.50 | 31.50 / 31.50 FEDERALINS | 1.10 | 10.98 | Vol. 248354 D: 23.30 ⇓ 1.69% | 23.57 | 24.10 / 22.00 C: 23.40 ⇓ 1.27% | 23.81 | 25.20 / 23.20 RELIANCINS | 3.93 | 61.52 | Vol. 1000 D: 68.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 68.00 | 68.00 / 68.00 PURABIGEN | 1.05 | 18.71 | Vol. 95084 D: 21.40 ⇓ 1.38% | 21.70 | 22.30 / 20.50 PRAGATIINS | 2.01 | 50.30 | Vol. 4306 D: 54.50 ⇓ 1.62% | 54.76 | 55.10 / 51.00 C: 56.00 ⇑ 1.82% | 56.00 | 56.00 / 56.00 PRIMEINSUR | 2.14 | 14.14 | Vol. 9425 D: 32.10 ⇓ 1.23% | 32.15 | 33.00 / 30.00 PIONEERINS | 3.11 | 23.84 | Vol. 28000 D: 67.30 ⇑ 1.20% | 67.64 | 69.10 / 66.70 MERCINS | 1.53 | 14.50 | Vol. 81007 D: 27.30 ⇓ 3.19% | 27.73 | 28.00 / 25.20 AGRANINS | 1.73 | 14.39 | Vol. 29500 D: 27.30 ⇓ 1.09% | 27.39 | 28.50 / 27.00 GLOBALINS | 1.09 | 11.78 | Vol. 23977 D: 28.60 ⇓ 1.04% | 28.44 | 29.00 / 27.50 NITOLINS | 2.59 | 15.41 | Vol. 2130 D: 35.00 ⇓ 2.23% | 34.74 | 35.00 / 33.00 ASIAPACINS | 1.84 | 13.76 | Vol. 36000 D: 28.40 ⇓ 0.35% | 28.51 | 29.00 / 28.30 C: 27.50 ⇓ 5.17% | 27.50 | 27.50 / 27.50 SONARBAINS | 1.68 | 13.38 | Vol. 50000 D: 24.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 24.29 | 25.00 / 24.10 C: 24.00 ⇓ 3.23% | 23.33 | 24.00 / 23.00 PARAMOUNT | 1.26 | 13.19 | Vol. 44162 D: 23.40 ⇓ 0.85% | 23.59 | 24.40 / 22.00 CITYGENINS | 1.65 | 14.26 | Vol. 74071 D: 28.90 ⇑ 0.70% | 28.92 | 29.20 / 26.70 C: 29.10 ⇑ 2.11% | 29.08 | 29.20 / 28.90 CONTININS | 1.41 | 15.68 | Vol. 241627 D: 29.30 ⇑ 0.34% | 29.12 | 29.60 / 28.80 C: 29.50 ⇑ 1.72% | 30.26 | 30.40 / 29.00 TAKAFULINS | 2.19 | 15.17 | Vol. 2135533 D: 41.70 ⇓ 20.87% | 42.91 | 50.80 / 41.60 C: 44.00 ⇓ 8.33% | 44.42 | 48.00 / 43.30 STANDARINS | 2.58 | 13.99 | Vol. 3689 D: 40.70 ⇑ 1.75% | 40.67 | 41.60 / 39.00 C: 39.10 ⇓ 6.90% | 39.10 | 39.10 / 39.10 NORTHRNINS | 1.77 | 11.15 | Vol. 121180 D: 41.90 ⇓ 2.56% | 41.95 | 42.40 / 41.50 C: 41.70 ⇓ 1.18% | 42.89 | 45.90 / 41.00 REPUBLIC | 2.14 | 12.42 | Vol. 394324 D: 39.80 ⇓ 1.49% | 40.34 | 41.40 / 39.50 C: 40.50 ⇓ 1.70% | 40.51 | 41.90 / 40.00 ASIAINS | 1.56 | 17.34 | Vol. 54550 D: 27.30 ⇓ 0.36% | 27.07 | 28.20 / 24.90 C: 27.00 ⇓ 2.53% | 26.94 | 27.00 / 26.80

ISLAMIINS | 1.29 | 11.96 | Vol. 98 D: 33.20 ⇑ 6.41% | 30.61 | 35.00 / 30.00 PROVATIINS | 1.90 | 14.30 | Vol. 39307 D: 28.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 28.14 | 29.00 / 26.00 C: 27.80 ⇑ 1.09% | 27.80 | 27.80 / 27.80 DHAKAINS | 2.84 | 18.02 | Vol. 62375 D: 38.60 ⇓ 0.26% | 38.69 | 39.80 / 35.00 C: 38.50 ⇓ 0.52% | 38.50 | 38.50 / 38.50 LIFE INSURANCE NATLIFEINS | 12.34 | 80.99 | Vol. 2250 D: 239.3 ⇓ 2.33% | 239.56 | 240.9 / 238.0 SANDHANINS | 2.39 | 28.22 | Vol. 22935 D: 66.40 ⇓ 0.45% | 66.61 | 67.40 / 65.00 C: 65.00 ⇓ 3.99% | 66.45 | 67.90 / 65.00 POPULARLIF | 3.70 | 715.41 | Vol. 3000 D: 166.4 ⇓ 0.95% | 166.33 | 168.0 / 165.0 FAREASTLIF | 9.21 | 60.79 | Vol. 47462 D: 87.90 ⇓ 0.68% | 87.87 | 88.90 / 80.00 C: 89.70 ⇑ 2.51% | 88.89 | 89.90 / 86.40 MEGHNALIFE | 10.82 | 48.87 | Vol. 18180 D: 98.10 ⇓ 3.35% | 99.01 | 101.0 / 97.90 PROGRESLIF | 2.30 | 31.45 | Vol. 3000 D: 94.70 ⇓ 2.67% | 94.67 | 95.20 / 94.50 PRAGATILIF | 0.60 | 30.15 | Vol. 31725 D: 105.1 ⇓ 2.60% | 105.78 | 110.0 / 102.0 PRIMELIFE | 5.51 | 27.10 | Vol. 39385 D: 90.50 ⇓ 1.09% | 90.24 | 92.00 / 90.00 RUPALILIFE | 3.75 | 31.25 | Vol. 45500 D: 93.50 ⇑ 0.32% | 93.21 | 95.70 / 92.00 PADMALIFE | 1.63 | 25.76 | Vol. 91740 D: 56.70 ⇑ 2.53% | 56.47 | 58.00 / 51.00 C: 55.70 ⇑ 1.27% | 56.55 | 57.50 / 55.60 SUNLIFEINS | 0.00 | 0.00 | Vol. 137350 D: 52.40 ⇓ 1.87% | 52.67 | 54.00 / 50.00 C: 52.70 ⇓ 1.86% | 53.22 | 55.00 / 52.50 TELECOM GP | 12.96 | 26.26 | Vol. 307600 D: 185.9 ⇓ 1.01% | 186.42 | 189.9 / 185.1 C: 185.6 ⇓ 0.91% | 185.78 | 188.0 / 184.7 BSCCL | 5.82 | 26.38 | Vol. 1272795 D: 164.9 ⇓ 7.98% | 170.51 | 178.0 / 162.2 C: 165.8 ⇓ 7.79% | 169.58 | 177.5 / 162.3 TRAVEL & LEISURE UNITEDAIR | 1.10 | 12.87 | Vol. 9003819 D: 16.30 ⇑ 5.84% | 16.11 | 16.50 / 14.80 C: 16.30 ⇑ 5.84% | 16.11 | 16.60 / 15.40 UNIQUEHRL | 4.02 | 86.29 | Vol. 361215 D: 80.60 ⇑ 0.62% | 81.38 | 83.20 / 72.00 C: 80.50 ⇑ 0.63% | 81.23 | 84.00 / 80.00 MISCELLANEOUS ARAMIT | 16.07 | 99.93 | Vol. 24000 D: 253.0 ⇓ 0.39% | 249.67 | 259.0 / 243.0 BSC | 1.77 | 565.82 | Vol. 70295 D: 409.8 ⇓ 1.32% | 413.47 | 423.0 / 409.0 C: 409.0 ⇓ 1.87% | 413.03 | 422.5 / 407.5 GQBALLPEN | 6.55 | 250.45 | Vol. 22900 D: 142.4 ⇑ 1.28% | 142.18 | 143.0 / 141.2 C: 141.3 ⇑ 0.21% | 141.29 | 142.0 / 141.0 USMANIAGL | 3.80 | 29.92 | Vol. 29900 D: 115.0 ⇓ 0.86% | 115.00 | 117.0 / 113.5 C: 114.9 ⇓ 0.09% | 114.52 | 117.5 / 112.3 SAVAREFR | 0.23 | 12.32 | Vol. 50 D: 56.70 ⇓ 5.66% | 56.70 | 56.70 / 56.70 BEXIMCO | 3.24 | 86.74 | Vol. 3961343 D: 31.80 ⇑ 0.32% | 33.16 | 34.70 / 28.50 C: 31.80 ⇑ 0.00% | 33.13 | 34.60 / 31.70 SINOBANGLA | 1.75 | 21.01 | Vol. 91500 D: 20.20 ⇓ 2.42% | 20.39 | 20.80 / 20.00 C: 20.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 20.21 | 20.30 / 20.10 MIRACLEIND | 0.10 | 15.13 | Vol. 137614 D: 14.30 ⇑ 3.62% | 14.18 | 14.50 / 13.00 C: 14.30 ⇑ 3.62% | 14.12 | 14.30 / 14.00 BOND IBBLPBOND | 0.00 | 1000.00 | Vol. 45 D: 958.0 ⇑ 0.31% | 955.56 | 960.0 / 956.0 ACIZCBOND | 0.00 | 1000.00 | Vol. 12 D: 881.5 ⇑ 0.11% | 916.67 | 900.0 / 876.0 BRACSCBOND | 0.00 | 0.00 | Vol. 75 D: 1030 ⇑ 0.00% | 1030 | 1030 / 1030 C: 1050 ⇑ 0.00% | 1050 | 1050 / 1050

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013

‘First’ virtual currency ATM opens Three young entrepreneurs launched it in Canada n AFP, Vancouver Three young entrepreneurs have opened what they call the world’s first ATM able to exchange bitcoins for any official currency.

The machine inaugurated Tuesday, delivered to Vancouver in Western Canada

by Robocoin, an American manufacturer, stands against a wall of a popular coffee shop, and resembles an ordinary cash ATM. However, instead of cash transactions it swaps Canadian dollars for bitcoins, the virtual currency of the Internet invented in 2008 by an anonymous computer scientist known only by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.

Customers lined up Tuesday to use the ATM, then used their smart phones to buy coffee and muffins at the Waves coffee shop.

The ATM is the world’s first, said coowner Mitchel Demeter, a local entrepreneur who started trading in bitcoins several years ago, then earlier this year with two partners set up Bitcoiniacs, a Vancouver storefront money exchange.

He and his friends, who were high school students together, said they saw ATMs as a business opportunity. “Nobody had an ATM, everyone was buying and selling on websites,” said Demeter.

Customers use a private key - like a bank PIN number - to access their online account of bitcoins on the ATM. They withdraw cash equivalents (the conversion rate is currently about one bitcoin for $200) from their bitcoins, or deposit cash bills. The machine transfers the money on the Internet via the Canadian VirtEx exchange.

Users can then spend their bitcoins with a smartphone, in a similar way to the way interact or credit cards are used, or by transferring the money to purchase goods online.

“It’s the currency of the Internet, as real as any other,” said Demeter.

The volatile currency is as yet unregulated by any government in the world, and it has had a share of notoriety by being used in the drug trade.

Germany, however, became the first country in the world earlier this year to declare bitcoins a “private currency.”

A user scans a QR code on their smart phone, allowing bitcoins to be transferred into their digital wallet, while using the world’s first bitcoin ATM at Waves Coffee House on Tuesday in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada AFP And earlier this month investors were startled when a senior investment officer with giant hedge fund Fortress Investment Group said bitcoins could be used as a cheaper way of transferring money in countries with weak banking systems, the Financial Times reported.

In Vancouver, bitcoins are accepted by some 15 local businesses, from coffee shops to a landscaping business.

Bitcoins are also increasingly common in several hotspots around the world, especially San Francisco, Berlin, and Argentina, and

accepted by online companies such as Wordpress. David Lowy, a city businessman who used his smart phone to transfer .0101 bitcoins to the Waves barista, for a cup of dark coffee worth $2 (Canadian), said Vancouver was a likely candidate to claim the first bitcoin ATM because the wealthy city is popular with Internet entrepreneurs.

One of the ATM’s first customers was Mike Yeung, a business student at the city campus of Simon Fraser University, where he helped set up a university bitcoin club, one of a handful of such clubs in the world.

The club’s mission “is to educate people about bitcoin so they can adopt bitcoins in their everyday lives,” he said.

“I think bitcoins are the wave of the future, because they provide maximum value and efficiency,” said Yeung.

Once bitcoins are more established, Yeung predicted, they will commonly be used to send money around the world cheaply, the way the Internet allows people to talk with each other on apps such as Skype.

He gestured at the new machine in the coffee shop. “The ATM is a step forward.” l

India better placed in protecting investor interests n BSS India might have been ranked lower when it comes to overall ease of doing business, but the country is a much better place in terms of protecting investor interest and companies getting credit for their activities.

The latest ‘Ease of Doing Business’ report prepared by the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank has ranked India at 134th position among 189 economies. The country’s ranking has slipped from last year’s 131st spot.

However, India has fared better in the areas of protecting investors and companies getting credit.

When it comes to ‘protecting investors’, the country is at 34th position while it is ranked 28th in terms of ‘getting credit’.

The report titled ‘Doing Business 2014: Understanding Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises’, ranks countries on the basis of 10 factors. These are starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting

credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.

However, among other parameters, the country is ranked lower at 179th spot in terms of starting a business and at 182nd position when it comes to dealing with construction permits.

“In 2012/13, 114 economies implemented 238 regulatory reforms making it easier to do business - 18 per cent more reforms than in the previous year,” The latest report has documented 238 business regulatory reforms worldwide last

year although there are no specific details about India on this front,” the report noted.

Meanwhile, India’s distance to frontier (DTF) score improved to 62.74 percentage from 61.67 registered last year.

The DTF measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the highest performance observed on each of the topics included in Doing Business.

An economy’s distance to frontier is indicated on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 the frontier. l