31 march 2014

Chaitra 17, 1420 Jamadiul Awal 29, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 2, No 2

MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

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Jails cannot hold them back

Fifth phase upazila polls today n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

Top criminals continue their activities from cells using latest mobile phones n Mohammad Jamil Khan For some of the most notorious criminals of the capital, staying inside jail does not always guarantee that they are not doing what they have been detained for.

As detention eliminates chances of getting arrested again, these criminals, thanks to latest telecommunication technologies, continue their activities from very much inside the jail.

Top listed criminals “Sweden” Aslam; “Killer” Abbas; the duo of Amin and Shahin – associates of “Dakat” Sha-

Both Dhaka and Kashimpur jails have mobile phone frequency jammer machines heed – from Old Dhaka; Rony – associate of “Jordan;” Khorshed Alam Rashu from Mouchak area; Joseph of Mohammadpur; Imon of Dhanmondi; and Akter of Mohakhali have been conducting their usual activities such as extortion, killing, kidnapping, etc despite being inside.

Sources said they maintain contact with their associates using latest and expensive 3G enabled mobile phones and give them instructions for carrying out crimes.

“Sweden” Aslam, who has been in various jails since 1997 for murdering Jubo League leader Galib, has never

stopped doing what he used to when he was out. Police filed the charge sheet in connection with the murder in 1998, but the case is still pending with a court because there has not been enough witnesses. Sources said because Aslam had never been detached with his associates, finding witnesses for most of the 40 case against him had been hard.

Two years ago, “Killer Abbas” reportedly gave instruction for a murder in the capital’s Mirpur area. The fact that he was in jail neither barred him from instructing his associates about the murder, nor did it prevent the murder from happening.

“Dakat” (robber) Shaheed was killed in a shootout with law enforcers in 2012. His close associates Amin and Shahin are now in jail. According to Detective Branch (DB) of Police, the duo have been maintaining regular contacts using mobile phones with other notorious criminals namely “Bangal” Mamun, “Danga” Liton, “Vagne” Roni and Shahjahan. Together, they control most of the criminal activities in Old Dhaka.

Both the Dhaka Central Jail and the Kashimpur High Security Central Jail in Gazipur have mobile phone frequency jammer machines. These high-end machines, used for barring the use of mobile phones inside the jails, are supposed to remain on 24/7.

However, sources said some unscrupulous jail staffs, in exchange of bribes from these criminals, keep the jammers off most of the times.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

In a sharp reaction to Khaleda Zia’s comment that election commissioners should resign, acting chief election commissioner Abdul Mobarak yesterday said the BNP was taking part in the polls under the very Election Commission.

“Her party is now joining elections

n Reazur Rahman Rohan Ahmed Shehzad’s belligerent hundred ensured Pakistan remain on track for the last four stage as the former World Twenty20 champions eased to a 50-run win over a lowly Bangladesh yesterday.

The right-handed opener carried his bat for an unbeaten 111, the highest score by a Pakistani in T20I, which put Pakistan in a strong position at the half way mark having registered 190 on the scorecard. The scorecard was also boosted by runs from the seamers as the three Bangladesh quickies went for 122 in the nine overs they bowled.

The storyline for the home side in the batting department did not change

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

INSIDE 5 Although education indicators have improved in recent years in Bangladesh, the poorer urban areas often lag behind the rural ones.

Nation

6 Professionals yesterday expressed the need for

inclusion of local people’s knowledge to combat natural disasters.

Op-Ed

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

MUMIT M

Shehzad’s ton sweeps hosts aside

[upazila poll] under us. Is not it taking part in the poll? Let us, for granted, we are zero.

Are not they taking part in the polls under that zero?” Mobarak said.

He was speaking to reporters a day before the fifth phase upazila parishad polls at the EC media centre in the capital.

The BNP has long been demanding the

News

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal continues his run drought as he is bowled off an inside against Pakistan

EC slams Khaleda n Mohammad Zakaria

Umar Gul as the spearhead followed him, cramped him for room before the ball deflected off the pads to break the stumps. From 30 for 1, the hosts were reduced to 47 for 4 with Anamul, Shamsur Rahman and Mushfiqur Rahim back in the hut.

The Australian team sitting beside the rope was praying for an upset as it would keep them alive in the tournament, but with the asking rate climbing over 14 when Bangladesh reached 50 in the ninth over, even they knew Pakistan had the game in the purse.

Shakib al Hasan at No 3 looked to be attacking as always and made 38 off 32 balls before top edging a short ball from

The ruling Awami Leauge is going into the fifth and final phase of the upazila polls today with a clear edge over its arch rivals BNP in terms of the number of chairman posts it has secured.

So far, in the four completed phases of voting, the ruling party-backed chairman candidates have triumphed in 180 upazilas while those backed by the BNP came out on top in 148. Candidates backed by the BNP’s ally Jamaat-e-Islami have secured 33 chairman posts in total.

However, the BNP-Jamaat-backed candidates have secured more vice-chairman and vice-chairwoman posts than the ruling party-backed contenders.

At least 43 Awami League rebel candidates will be challenging their party-mates in today’s polls. For BNP, the number is 45.

A total of 73 upazilas goes to voting today in the final phase where more than 1.1 crore voters will practice their franchise.

In the closely fought first and second phases the BNP-backed chairman candidates gave the party a narrow lead over the Awami League. The lead was much wider in favour of the BNP in the battle for the other two posts in the upazila parishad panels – the vice-chairman and vice-chairwoman.

After relatively peaceful voting in the first phase, the second phase saw some stray incidents of violence with two people killed in election-related violence.

The third phase witnessed another close fight but this time the Awami League took a narrow lead in terms of the chairman posts, although the performance of the BNP-backed

11 You either hate or love that title! Agreed, it’s a bit of a stunt on my side to attract attention.

Sorry, in this age of publicity, one sometimes needs to resort to gimmicks.

as the top order misfired yet again leaving much to do for the late middle order, who seemed content in surviving the full 20 overs. The intent at the beginning was still as Tamim Iqbal and Anamul Haque tried to break the shackles with some early boundaries, but once the breakthrough arrived - the rest just curved in pressure.

Tamim skipped down the track off

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Monday, March 31, 2014

MPs for action against Khaleda, Tarique n Emran Hossain Shaikh Lawmakers from both the treasury and the opposition bench in parliament yesterday criticised BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman for claiming Ziaur Rahman the first president of Bangladesh.

They demanded that sedition charges be brought against Khaleda under section 7(A) of the constitution for deliberately distorting the history of Bangladesh.

During an unscheduled discussion with Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair, they also proposed that the House adopt a resolution and summon them for violating the constitution and parliament.

Mayeenuddin Khan Badal of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal began the discussion in presence of Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina. Senior Awami League lawmakers Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed and Matia Chowdhury; and Jatiya Party MPs Kazi Feroz Rashid and

Tajul Islam Choudhury also joined the discussion.

Tarique, the BNP’s Senior Vice-President, in London on March 25 claimed his father as the “first president” of Bangladesh. On March 27, Khaleda at a programme in Dhaka made the similar claim.

Taking the floor, Industries Minister Amu raised question about the motive of the controversy since Zia himself claimed that the nation had fought against Pakistan under the leadership of Bangabandhu.

“It is a new plot after being failed to foil the general election and the war crimes trial,” he said adding that there was scope to take action on the matter.

“She [Khaleda] is doing it intentionally. We have to think about the matter from a legal perspective and take action.”

AL lawmaker Suranjit Sengupta said a sedition case could be filed against any person for violating the constitution.

Suranjit said Zia had served the nation as an army personal under the government led by first president Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Commerce Minister Tofail said Khaleda had proved that she loved Pakistan.

Agriculture Minister Matia said the top leaders of the BNP, including Khaleda and Tarique, had gone insane.

Mayeenuddin also proposed to the House for passing a resolution to try Khaleda on charge of sedition. “Her statement is a clear violation of the constitution and the parliament. It is sedition.”

He alleged that Khaleda had been violating the constitution and law of the land time and again. “If she is not charged under the law, it will appear that parliament is not functioning properly,” he said.

Opposition Chief Whip Tajul told the House that the BNP high-ups made the statement to create anarchy and mislead the people.

“After being failed to adore the chair of the main opposition leader, Khaleda Zia has been making absurd statements,” he said proposing the House for adopting a resolution.

He also condemned Khaleda’s call to JaPa members to resign from parliament. He said they would not resign before the tenure of the current parliament expired.

JaPa’s Feroz Rashid said all the people of the country, except for Khaleda, knew that Bangabandhu had been the country’s first president.

In response to BNP’s threat to JaPa, he said: “You have issued us threats.

Why? Are we running politics under your alliance?”

Tariqat Federation lawmaker Syed Nazibul Bashar Maizbhandari said the House should adopt a condemnation motion for Khaleda’s comment.

“She has no right to live in this country,” he said adding that he would file a sedition case against Khaleda if the premier allowed him to do so. l

BNP: Polling agents are being threatened n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

Just a day before voting for the fifth phase in the upazila polls is set to kick off, the BNP has alleged that activists of candidates backed by the ruling party were threatening their (BNP) polling agents about going to polling stations on the day of voting.

“We are receiving information that in almost all the upazilas, ruling party leaders and activists have been threatening our polling agents and telling them not to go to polling stations on polling day. Like the previous four phases, they are following the same strategy to try and manipulate polls results,” BNP joint general secretary Salahuddin Ahmed said while addressing a press briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan office in Dhaka yesterday.

“I’m apprehensive that candidates backed by the ruling party might manipulate polls results by disrupting voting. They might resort to violence, occupying polling stations, illegally

‘BCIM not meant for allowing India transit’ n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

10 JS watchdogs formed n Tribune Report

The House yesterday formed nine parliamentary bodies and reformed one committee.

Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury reconstructed the Business Advisory Committee headed by the speaker (ex-officio). The other members are: Sheikh Hasina, Rawshan Ershad, HM Ershad, Fazle Rabbi Miah, ASM Feroz, Anisul Haque, Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Tofail Ahmed, Amir Hossain Amu, Sheikh

Tangail 8 by-polls result postponed n Our Correspondent, Tangail The announcement of result has been postponed for Tangail 8 constituency following violence at one polling centre.

The declaration came at press conference held yesterday at the Tangail district election office in the afternoon.

A total of 2,701 votes were cast in the Ghachua Government Primary School polling centre where voting was postponed because of violence during Tangail 8 by-polls held on Saturday, said Returning Officer Syed Md Khurshid Anwar.

Senior Assistant Secretary of Election Commission Farhad Hossain said the constituency would need re-election as the number of voters at the centre was found higher than the difference between the numbers of votes secured by the two contenders.

Former MP Shawkat Momen Shajahan’s son Anupam bagged 73,565 votes while his nearest contender, Awami League rebel Abdul Malek Mia, got 71,329 votes with the results of one polling centre out of 117 left to be announced.

Nineteen people, including the presiding officer, the assistant presiding officer and the polling officer of the district have been suspended temporarily for not performing duties duly during the polls.

Returning Officer Syed Md Khurshid Anwar said Assistant Returning Officer and district Election Officer Habiba Akhter had been pressurised to declare the results by the Awami League candidate and his supporters on Saturday.

She had filed a general diary with the Tangail Model police station at night on the same day in this regard, he said.

The Tangail 8 parliamentary seat fell vacant following the death of Awami League MP Shawkat Momen Shajahan on January 20. l

Fazlul Karim Selim, Abul Hasnat Abdullah, Mayeenuddin Khan Badal, Rashed Khan Menon and Suranjit Sengupta.

Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Miah has been elected chairman of the Library Committee while Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir is the chairman of a 15-strong Public Accounts Committee.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin has been elected chairman of the Privilege Committee, of which the premier is a member. Kazi Keramat Ali has been elected chairman of the eight-member Com-

mittee on Government Assurance.

Zillul Hakim will head the Committee on Private Members’ Bills and Resolutions whereas Tipu Munshi is to head the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Home Ministry.

Former deputy speaker Shawkat Ali will head the Public Undertaking Committee and Abdul Matin Khasru has been elected chairman of the Estimate Committee.

Former food minister Abdur Razzaq will lead the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Finance Ministry. l

Shehzad’s ton sweeps hosts aside  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

Gul for a comfortable catch at point in the 15th over. He however entertained the crowd with two consecutive sixes from the midwicket off Zulfiqar Babar along with two boundaries.

Four fours from Mashrafe bin Mortaza, 17 not out off 9 balls, in the last two overs only reduced the deficit margin as Bangladesh were restricted to 140 for seven.

Earlier, the crowd at the Sher-eBangla National Stadium on a hot and humid afternoon witnessed some scintillating shots from 22-year-old Shehzad. He paced his innings to perfection and pounced on every opportunity to unsettle the home bowlers.

He was genuinely aggressive on the fast bowlers and hit them all over the park. Pakistan were racing away to a

big total in the powerplay before Mushfiq turned to his spinners. AbdurRazzak, coming in for SohagGazi, claimed Kamran Akmal before Shakib returned Pakistan captain Hafeez cheaply.

The man in form, Umar Akmal was sent back for a second ball duck by Mahmudullah which hinted a good game in hand for the spectators with Pakistan on 70 for three in nine overs.

The rest of the show however belonged to Shehzad who crafted 10 fours and five sixes with utmost pleasure.

He reached fifty off 30 balls, his career fastest by two balls, before landing the milestone in 58 balls.

He partnered with Shoaib Malik (26) to pull Pakistan out of trouble with a 83-run fourth wicket stand before ShahidAfridi’s 12-ball 22 ended proceeding in style. l

Jails cannot hold them back  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

Notorious criminal Roni reportedly planned the killing of Awami League leader Rana in the capital’s Moghbazar area by contacting his followers over cell phone.

According to a special report submitted by DB police, Roni talked for more than 40 hours between July 30 and September 26 of 2011 inside jail.

Most of the times, he gave instructions to his associates about extortion. He also called up the officers of a number of police stations in the capital asking them to free his men.

People from virtually every profession including politicians, doctors, engineers and businessmen have been the victims of such extortions. Most of them do not talk about the threats in public, fearing retaliation.

Seeking anonymity, the owner of a gold jewelry shop in the capital’s Mouchak market told the Dhaka Trib-

une: “Would you [the reporter] give me protection if anyone attacks me or my shop after I talk to you?”

The Dhaka Tribune has learnt that although top criminal Khorshed Alam Rashu has been in jail for quite some time, his followers have still been collecting Tk10-12 lakh extortion from the Mouchak and the Anarkali market in the Malibagh area every month. Rashu too gives instruction using mobile phones from jail.

Requesting anonymity, a highranked official of police said the authorities had got a move on with restricting the use of cell phones inside jails especially after the snatching of the JMB leaders from a prison van in Mymensingh.

“We are now investigating how criminals get hold of and use cell phones inside high security jails,” Inspector General (Prisons) Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune. l

The BCIM (Bangladesh–China–India– Myanmar Forum for Regional Cooperation) initiative involves transportation of goods from a country to another rather than giving transit to India, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has said.

“This is not what we understand as giving transit to India,” he said at a joint press briefing held in the city yesterday.

Governor of China’s Yunnan Province Li Jiheng also attended the briefing but did not speak.

A six-member delegation led by Li arrived in Dhaka on Saturday for a three-day official visit and was received by the Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque at the airport.

Shahriar Alam said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Li Jiheng had discussed the BCIM initiative.

The Yunnan Province governor invited the prime minister to attend the 2nd China-South Asia Exposition, scheduled to be held in Kunming on 5-6 June this year.

“The prime minister told the Chinese delegation that she would seriously consider attending the programme if

the exposition schedule did not clash with the budget session,” Shahriar Alam said.

Bangladesh was the theme country in the first China-South Asia Exposition and this time the theme country will be Nepal.

Shahriar also expressed Bangladesh’s optimism about the BCIM economic corridor framework, hoping that business and people-to-people contact would be enhanced between Bangladesh and Yunnan Province because of it.

With regard to investment, Shahriar informed the Chinese official that Bangladesh was thinking about the possibility of allocating land for a Chinese exclusive economic zone.

Meanwhile, a press release from the Foreign Ministry said the prime minister, at the meeting, mentioned that an airline route to Kunming had already been established and there should now be steps to build a road connection.

The premier recalled a decision that was taken to establish a road connection from Kunming to Bangladesh through Myanmar, during her last visit to Kunming. She hoped the Myanmar authorities would look into it for greater economic benefits to the region as a whole. l

EC slams Khaleda  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

resignation of election commissioners, said Election Commissioner Zabed Ali who also attended the press meet.

The Election Commission is sparing nobody responsible for either negligence or for the violence and vote rigging, he said.

“Those who are responsible for irregularities and violence will be brought to justice one day, if not now. If actions are not taken today actions will be taken tomorrow or day after tomorrow,” Mobarak asserted.

When asked how the EC would compensate for vote rigging Mobarak said there was no system to compensate the voters.

He called upon all to keep patience to get justice for the irregularities and

violence in the polls.

When his attention was drawn to the fact that people’s verdict was already changed and result published by the time the EC took action he said the aggrieved person could challenge the election result in the election tribunal.

Asked if the election commissioners would resign if the fifth phase of upazila polls witnessed further violence Mobarak replied in the negative.

But another election commissioner, Shah Nawaz, sitting next to Mobarak got furious at the question saying: “No journalist can ask such question. I do not think that any newsman enjoys the right to put such question.”

Asked whether EC’s failures to contain violence and vote rigging in the upazila polls lends credence to the

Fifth phase upazila polls today  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

vice-chairwoman candidates was still impressive.

This phase also saw a marked escalation of violence in a number of upazilas around the country with BNP-backed candidates and also some of the Awami League rebels bringing allegations of rigging against the ruling party-backed candidates and their men.

At least four people were killed and scores injured in pre and election-day violence in this phase. There have also been reports of attacks on election officials at the polling centres in some upazilas and allegations of ballot box snatching and illegal stamping.

The fourth spell of voting saw the ruling party turn the table completely with a landslide lead, securing 54 chairman posts, while BNP-blessed contenders bagged only 20.

Pre and post-election violence peaked centring this phase with at least seven killed and scored injured in various upazilas.

Just like what happened before the previous three phases, the BNP-backed candidates have already raised allegations of irregularities against the ruling party-backed candidates in a number of places.

In Laxmipur Sadar Upazila, district unit BNP alleged that the joint forces of law enforcers had raided the house of chairman candidate Mahmudul Karim Dipu on Saturday night and picked up

a member of the local union parishad from there.

Harun-ur-Rashid, chief election agent of Dipu, alleged that the joint forces, being instructed by the ruling party-backed candidate, raided the house around 2pm and detained UP member Rubel. He also alleged that during the raid, law enforcers vandalised furniture.

Iqbal Hossain, OC of the sadar police station, however, denied making any comment in this regard.

In contrast, a festive mood has been prevailing in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur, with candidates from both the ma-

stamping ballot papers, and snatching ballot boxes,” he said.

Mentioning names of different upazilas, the BNP leader alleged that ruling Awami League leaders had become desperate to turn poll results in their favour, adding that law enforcers were also working as towards the same aim.

Lambasting the role of the Election Commission, the BNP joint secretary general reiterated his demand for resignation of the Election Commissioner.

“He should be held responsible for failure to ensure peaceful polls.”

Salahuddin said the AL has never tried to ensure the smooth continuation of democracy.

“Instead, they have killed democracy time and again,” he observed.

“You (AL) still have time. Dissolve the illegal parliament and hold national elections immediately. Otherwise a tougher movement will be initiated to oust the incumbent government from office,” the BNP leader added. l

ACC quizzes 4 top Petrobangla officials

n Tribune Report The Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday questioned four high officials of the state-run Petrobangla in connection with the inquiry against its Chairman Md Hossain Monsur for acquiring illegal wealth through appointment of employees.

ACC Deputy Director Syed Ahsan Ali questioned Barapukuria Coal Mine Company Ltd Managing Director Md Aminuzzaman; Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Ltd General Manager (admin) and Secretary Chowdhury Ahsan Habib and Manager (admin) Abdullah Al Mamun; and Gas Transmission Company Ltd General Manager (HR) M Osman Faruk at its headquarters at Segunbagicha, officials confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune.

Ahsan was assigned on March 9 to investigate into the allegations against Petrobangla chairman for accumulating illegal wealth through recruiting employees in 13 of its associate companies violating rules.

The allegations say the Petrobangla chairman in connivance with some of his associates had appointed a good number of employees violating the company rules. l

BNP’s claim that the EC is spineless, Election Commissioner Shah Nawaz asked counter question: “Is there any election in the past which did not witness violence?”

As he was questioned what the EC did when the assistant returning officer was held hostage by the ruling party men for several hours in Tangail during Saturday’s by-poll Mobarak said the EC was taking action.

Another query by a reporter that why the EC was delaying in taking action, he said: “Look, making a decision takes time.”

Later, the election commissioners left the media centre without responding to a volley of questions from reporters about the EC’s failure to contain violence in the upazila polls. l

jor tents expressing satisfaction over the pre-election atmosphere.

Awami League-backed chairman candidate Abdul Jalil said: “Local administration has taken a tough stance [to avert violence]. Law and order situation is good and I hope that it will remain so during voting.”

BNP-backed chairman contender Abdul Motaleb said: “The situation has been calm so far. We want to set an example by holding a peaceful and participatory election [in our upazila].”

A total of three upazilas are voting today in Cox’s Bazar district. Out of the 179 polling centres, 100 have been marked as vulnerable by the district administration. Additional security measures have been taken up in and around these centres to keep situation under control.

In a last minute development, the Election Commission yesterday withheld voting in Thakurgaon Sadar Upazila following a High Court rule.

District Returning Officer Monjur Alam Prodhan said: “As per the EC’s decision, election in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila will not be held tomorrow.”

Vice-chairman candidate Alamgir Hossain, also a Jamaat leader, earlier filed a writ petition seeking cancellation of the new polling stations set up in the area. In the January 5 national election, there were 162 polling centres in the upazila. The EC increased the number to 169 for the local body polls and relocated 21 on security concerns. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Monday, March 31, 2014

Government asked to pass law on appointment of SC judges n Kamran Reza Chowdhury A parliamentary watchdog yesterday asked the law ministry to enact a law on the appointment of Supreme Court judges in line with the constitutional provision that stipulates formulation of such law.

No governments since the birth of Bangladesh has initiated to pass a law defining qualifications [excepting the qualifications enshrined in the constitution] to become a Supreme Court judge, though article 95 (2) (c) directed parliament to frame such a law.

The article 95 only says a Bangladeshi national serving as an advocate of the supreme court for at least 10 years or holding a judicial office for at least 10 years are eligible to become Supreme Court judges.

It also stipulates that a Bangladeshi meeting the two aforesaid criteria can be appointed as a Supreme Court judge having “such qualifications as may be prescribed by law.”

But no government has ever initiated any move to define “such qualification” in the form of a law on the basis of which judges can be appointed to the apex court.

Law Minister Anisul Huq at the meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on law ministry agreed in principle on the issue, committee member Abdul Matin Khasru said after the meeting at the parliament building.

The 10-member watchdog of the 10th parliament at its maiden meeting, with its Chairman SuranjitSengupta presiding, recommended passage of the Supreme Court Judges (remuneration and privileges) Bill-2014, tabled in parliament on March 15.

“We have recommended enacting

law on the appointment of the Supreme Court judges for a better judiciary,” said MatinKhasru, a former law minister and a lawyer practicing in the apex court.

He said the chairman raised the issue while discussing the pay hike of the justice as proposed in the law.

The meeting sources said, Suranjit Sengupta said some previous appointments of the Supreme Court judges sparked controversy as there was no law in this regard. He also said the government should reform the judiciary for a vibrant democracy.

Immediate past law minister Shafique Ahmed however told the 9th parliament that the government had no plan to enact a law on the appointment of the Supreme Court judges.

Jatiya Party MP Mujibul Haque (Chunnu), now state minister for labour and employment, tabled a private-member bill detailing some qualifications of the apex court judges. He proposed formation of the supreme judicial commission headed by the chief justice.

While delivering his speech on the president’s parliamentary address Mujibul Haque Chunnu said some controversial persons were appointed as judges.

“I will urge the government to pass a law on appointment of the Supreme Court judges having better academic records,” he said.

According to the Supreme Court Judges (remuneration and privileges) Bill-2014, the government has proposed to increase50% hike in the basic salary of the apex court judges.

The committee members Tajul Islam Chowdhury, Shahara Khantun, Md Abdul Majid Khan, Talukder Md Yunus and Ziaul Haque Mridha attended the meeting. l

Security officials take ballot boxes and other polls materials on a speedboat to polling centres across the river in shoal areas of Rajshahi’s Poba upazila yesterday

Qaisar’s associate testifies, apologises for ’71 atrocities n Udisa Islam The prosecution yesterday placed as their witness a member of “Qaisar Bahini,” a local auxiliary force of the Pakistani occupation force led by war crimes accused Syed Mohammad Qaisar.

Md Tajul Islam, 83, submitted his deposition at the tribunal 2 as the prosecution’s third witness against Qaisar, a former state minister for agriculture during HM Ershad’s regime, and described the atrocities of the group during the 1971 Liberation War. The witness from Nasirnagar of Brahmanbaria said he repented for the activities he had been involved with as a member of the “Qaisar Bahini” in Habiganj and Brahmanbaria areas.

Qaisar was indicted on 16 charges of crimes against humanity he had committed. He has been on conditional bail on health grounds.

In his deposition, Tajul said as a supporter of Convention Muslim League, he had voted for party candidate Maulana Manzur Ali, an uncle of

‘Azhar and Pak army killed my mother’ n Udisa Islam

A new witness in the trial against Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam yesterday claimed that his mother had been killed by gunshot of the accused and the Pakistani Army during the 1971 Liberation War. Son of a martyr, Mokbul Hossain from Badarganj of Rangpur, placed his deposition at the tribunal 1 as the sixth prosecution witness. After his testimony, defence counsel Abdus Sobhan Tarafder started cross examining him and the tri-

bunal adjourned the trial until today.

“On April 16 of 1971, accused Azhar came with some Pakistani troops to Tekshorehaat railway station. They set fire to every house beside the road. I along with my mother Ajinor Nesa ran towards Dhappara to save life. But at one point she told me to run fast as she could not do so,” Mokbul said.

He added that while running on the rail tracks he had heard gunshots.

“When looked back, I saw Azhar and the Pakistani army killed my mother. I left the place to save my life and hid myself

in a hole beside the Khalimari River.”

The witness said he had seen Azhar killing at least 15 unarmed people from Mirza Para, Molla Para and Bondhoni Para.

Mokbul said after the day, the Pakistani Army and Azhar had gone to Jharuar Beel where they killed over 1,200 civilians and captured many others.

The witness heard it from others.

An alleged commander of al-Badr in 1971, Azhar was indicted on November 12 last year on six charges of crimes against humanity. l

Two AL men killed in intra-party Afil, Monirul gets EC clearance feud in Noakhali, Natore n n Tribune Report

An expatriate Awami League leader was shot dead by his opponents in front of his house in Noakhali while an Awami League activist beaten to death in Natore.

The deceased expatriate Awami League leader was Jahedul Islam Maruf, 36, of Char Parboti in Companiganj upazila. He was the organising secretary of China chapter Awami League.

The victim’s father said Maruf came home ahead of the upazila election and always voiced against illegal works committed by local Juba League activists.

Maruf was allegedly shot dead by local Juba League leader Md Yasin with his cohorts centring the rape of a day labourer’s wife in the locality. Later, locals set fire to Yasin’s house and his three shops at Chowdhurir hat and vandalised five others. Businessmen in the area observed a half-day hartal in protest of the killing.

Azam Pasha, president of Companiganj upazila Juba League, said Yasin was the president of Char Parboti union Juba League, but he was sacked

from the party three months ago.

Sajidur Rahaman Sajid, officer-incharge of Companiganj police station, said police tried to arrest Yasin, but he managed to flee.

On the other hand, the deceased AL activist was Abu Khan, 52, of Ramananda-Khazura union under Singra upazila in Natore, reports our correspondent.

Sub-Inspector Osman Gani, in charge of Kaliganj police camp, said Abu Khan was occupying a khash water body of around 65 bighas for a long time.

He was canvassing support for the Awami League rebel candidate Zahidul Islam contesting the recently held upazila election.

Another AL activist Rabiul was seeking vote for the AL-supported Chairman Candidate Shafiqul Islam Shafiq.

An enmity grew between them centring the election and the defeat of AL candidates in the upazila poll intensified their hostility. After the election result, Rabiul occupied the water body.

A clash ensued between the two rival groups. Rabiul and his followers beat Abu severely and left him injured.

Abu died on his way to the hospital. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Mohammad Zakaria

The Election Commission yesterday cleared the charges against two ruling party MP-elect for violating electoral code of conduct during the 10th parliamentary elections.

In a verdict, the commission cleared the charges against Jessore 1 MP-elect Sheikh Afil Uddin and Jessore 2 MPelect Monirul Islamfor their allegedly violating the electoral code of conduct as the two sought apology during hearing.

“The gazette nonfiction of the result of two MPs will be published immediately and the commission had already sent the notification to the printing press for publication,” Senior Assistant Secretary Mizanur Rahman yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune.

On January 7, the EC issued show cause notice to the two MPs-elect, asking them why their candidature would not be cancelled for violating the electoral code of conduct.

On January 3, an electoral inquiry committee formed over the issue found that the two had violated the code of conduct during the election.

On January 15, the two MPs-elect replied to the show cause notice. In the reply, the two also noted that the commission cannot cancel their candidature as per the Article 91E in the Representation of the People Order.

They further said the returning officer could use the clause before announcing the results, but there was no chance to enforce the law as they have been already declared elected.

Later, the two accused filed writ petitions with the High Court, seeking order to publish the gazette of election results. The HC, however, asked the EC to resolve the matter. l

Qaisar, and joined the Qaisar Bahini.

He said: “I signed on a black paper as member of that group.”

He further told the tribunal about the mass killings in six villages including Kargaon, Chitna and Lakshmipur.

The witness said: “On November 15, 1971, we went to these villages and set the houses on fire. Qaisar Bahini along with the Pakistani troops cordoned the village and opened fire.”

He later heard that at least 108 unarmed civilians had been killed that day. After around 15 days, Tajul heard that Qaisar had fled to London and “we fled the area as early as possible.”

After his deposition, defence counsel Abdus Sobhan Tarafder questioned him. The tribunal adjourned the trial keeping the cross-examination unfinished.

Witness Tajul said Qaisar had welcomed the Pakistani force to Shahbazpur along with his 15 associates on April 27, 1971. Then he met the commander of the Pakistan Army at Noapara and requested him to provide the

group with arms. The witness said he had been with Qaisar at that time.

The tribunal also recorded the description of formation of the “Qaisar Bahini.” On April 14, Manzur Ali called a meeting at his place where the chairman and the member of local Union Parishad were present. Qaisar joined the meeting. “I was present at that meeting and Qaisar was appointed as the chief of Peace Committee.”

In response to a question, Tajul said he had also been made a member of the Peace Committee. “And after that meeting, Qaisar created his group with at least 500 people from Itkhola, Ghatua, Belghar and Bejura villages.” Tajul then described the atrocities that took place under the leadership of Qaisar.

Tribunal asks for medical report

After hearing a bail cancellation plea by the prosecution, the tribunal yesterday asked for medical report on Qaisar. His bail may be cancelled if his health is found to be stable. BSMMU has to place the medical report within 10 days.

The tribunal granted the accused bail on August 5 last year on conditions of not making contacts with any political leaders, the media and any witnesses of war crimes, and that he has to surrender his passport, if he has any, to the tribunal’s registrar office.

But on March 10, prosecutor Rana Das Gupta drew the attention to the fact that some unknown persons called the first witness, Kazi Kabir Uddin, repeatedly and tried to influence him.

According to Rana, those who called the witness claimed that they had been instructed by the accused and his sons.

Upon the tribunal’s directives, family members of the witness filed the general diary with Mohammadpur police station the same day. The prosecution placed report on the general diary yesterday.

Meanwhile, the tribunal 1 deferred the hearing on contempt charge against Channel 24, journalist Mahfuz Ullah and Zafrullah Chowdhury until April 30 accepting a time plea submitted by Mahfuz. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Monday, March 31, 2014

Grade III, IV health worker recruitment 1,808 vacant posts, four to be selected against each n Moniruzzaman Uzzal Following the written test for the posts of grade III and IV workers of the health sector held on March 28, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has decided to select four candidates, instead of three, against each of the 1,808 vacant posts in 26 districts.

More than one lakh candidates registered for the written test, held following MCQ method, though around 20,000 were absent. The selected candidates will face a 30-mark viva voce.

A private firm, supervised by a fivemember DGHS committee headed by the additional director general (administration) has scanned the MCQ test

scripts using OMR machine.

Dr Shah Newaz, member secretary of the recruitment committee and also director (administration) of DGHS, told the Dhaka Tribune that the written test results would be published today or tomorrow.

He said the committee agreed to select four candidates instead of three against each post because of the excessive number of applicants.

“Bringing about this change will not be a problem as the rules say less than five candidates could be selected,” he said.

Meanwhile, DGHS officials have allegedly been bombarded with recommendations through phone calls and letters, though the written test results

are yet to be published. Ministers, state ministers, lawmakers, top parliament officials, political leaders, Anti-Corruption Commission officials, Health Ministry and DGHS high-ups are among those who have made recommendations.

A section of people is said to be collecting Tk3-5 lakh from the candidates, saying the money will have to be paid once they have the recruitment letter in hand.

Shah Newaz, however, termed it a rumour and urged candidates not to spend a single buck on such promises.

It has been learnt that the health minister, state minister for health and the DGHS DG have decided not to entertain any recommendation if a candi-

CTG DOUBLE MURDER

1 placed on 3-day remand n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

date is not selected in the written test.

DG Professor Din Mohammad Nurul Haque visited DGHS office three times to monitor the MCQ test script scanning process on Saturday while recruitment committee members are present there round the clock. Health Minister Mohammad Nasim was in Chennai until yesterday afternoon but he had always remained in touch with all the officials concerned.

Seeking anonymity, several DGHS high officials told the Dhaka Tribune that health officials were criticised for allegedly taking bribes from candidates during previous recruitments. Several cases were also filed with the High Court in this connection. l

A Chittagong court yesterday put Shahid, one of the accused in the gruesome Chittagong mother-daughter killing case, on a three-day remand.

Metropolitan Magistrate Nowrin Akhter Kakon passed the order when police produced 26-year-old Shahid before court and sought a 10-day remand order, said sub-inspector Md Mainuddin of Double Mooring police station.

He is also the investigation officer (IO) in the case.

On March 24, Rizia Khatun and her daughter Saima Naznin, a Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinee, were allegedly killed by Raihan and his cohort Shahid.

Saif Reza, elder brother of Saima,

Maldives to close Dhaka mission tomorrow

Law minister: Khaleda does not believe in Bangladesh n Rabiul Islam

n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman The Maldives has announced it will shut down its mission in Bangladesh from tomorrow, after operating the centre for six years.

“They informed the foreign ministry that they would close down the mission in Dhaka due to budget constraints,” an official of the foreign ministry said.

After the closure, the country will conduct its operations in Bangladesh from India as the Maldivian Ambassador in New Delhi will be concurrently accredited for Bangladesh, he said.

The Maldives opened its mission in Dhaka on July 2008, while Bangladesh mission in Male was opened in 1998.

The official said Bangladesh mission would not face any problems due to closure but the headquarters might face some problems.

“Whenever we need anything, we directly contact with the embassy in Dhaka but now we have to contact their mission in New Delhi,” he explained.

When contacted with the Maldives embassy, one official said they were busy packing their staff.

Both Bangladesh and the Maldives are Saarc members. l

Activists of Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation and Bangladesh Centre for Workers Solidarity stage a demonstration in front of the National Press Club yesterday, demanding justice for the killing of labour leader Aminul Islam DHAKA TRIBUNE

Chhatra League demands Khaleda, 2 more arrest warrants for Tarique's arrest for ‘distorting’ history Hefazat nayeb-e-ameer n BLAST IN CTG MADRASA

DU correspondent

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong A Chittagong court yesterday issued arrest warrant against Mufti Izharul Islam Chowdhury, Nayeb-e-Ameer of Hefazat-e-Islam, in two cases filed in connection with grenade blasts at his Lalkhan Bazar madrasa in which three students were killed in October last year.

Metropolitan Magistrate Nowrin Akhter Kakon yesterday passed the order in absentia of the accused in two cases filed for killing and recovery of picric acid, court sources said.

Izhar’s counsel Abdus Sattar said the accused was on bail secured from the High Court till March 27. The defence also pleaded for bail extension although the accused had not appeared before the court due to illness.

Another Chittagong court on March

blamed Raihan, a local boy, for the murder, claiming that Raihan began harassing Saima when she rejected his proposal for love affair.

Rizia’s husband Rezaul Karim lodged a case with Double Mooring police station on Tuesday, accusing Raihan and some unidentified people.

On March 26, police nabbed Raihan from the capital’s Malibagh while Shahid was arrested from Khulshi in Chittagong.

Following arrest, the two confessed to their involvement in the murder.

They said that they retaliated by killing Rizia and Saima as Saima broke up with Raihan on March 17.

Raihan confessed before a Chittagong court under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on March 27. l

27 issued arrest warrant against Mufti Izhar, also chairman of a faction of Islami Oikya Jote, in a blast case filed over the same incident.

Several locally-made grenades were blasted at the Jamiatul Ulum Al Islamia Madrasa, a Qawmi madrasa headed by Mufti Izhar, around 11am on October 7 last year leaving five students critically injured. Three of them later succumbed to injuries.

Four live grenades were recovered from the madrassa after the incident.

Law enforcers also seized 18 bottles of picric acid, used for amplifying the magnitude of explosion, from the residence of the Hefazat leader on the madrasa premises. The madrasa is known as a den of outlawed Islamist group Huji.

Police on October 10 filed three cases in connection with the blast, killing and recovery of picric acid. l

Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), student wing of the ruling Awami League, has demanded BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and her elder son Tarique Rahman be arrested as the two are continuously distorting the country’s history to mislead the people.

“Khaleda should take a lesson from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina concerning the definition of movement and democracy,” Siddiqui Nazmul Alam, BCL general secretary, said.

The BCL leader was addressing a rally in protest at the statements of Khaleda and Tarique as both claimed BNP founder Ziaur Rahman was the first president of Bangladesh. The rally was held outside the Arts Building at the University of Dhaka yesterday.

Ziaur Rahman was the first person to declare the country’s independence, Khaleda and Tarique had claimed.

The BCL general secretary said BNP standing committee member Barrister Rafiqul Islam Miah had been boycotted on the campus as he had distorted the history of Bangladesh.

'People now laugh when BNP talks about tougher movement as they never staged a movement successfully' “Those who will twist the history cannot be allowed on the campus. They will be boycotted,” Nazmul Alam added.

Earlier on March 28, BCL organised a rally outside the Jatiya Press Club and its activists issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Khaleda and Tarique, asking them to withdraw their statement and apologise to the nation.

Slamming Khaleda Zia for her re-

mark that a new Guinness record would be set by launching movement against the government, Nazmul said: “Your (Khaleda) name has already been written in the Guinness Book of World Records as the country became champion in corruption several times when your government was in office.”

“People now laugh when BNP men talks about tougher movement as they have never been able to stage a movement successfully,” he added.

Chaired by BCL’s DU unit president Mehedi Hasan, the rally was attended by several leaders, including Shamsul Kabir Rahat, Mostafizur Rahman Mostak, Hasanuzzaman Tareq, Sharmin Sultana Lily, and DU unit general secretary Omar Sharif, among others.

Earlier, BCL men brought out a procession from Madhur Canteen that marched through different thoroughfares on the campus and ended outside the Arts Building. l

ACC chair: Drive against corruption to continue n Tribune Report

Environment Minister Anwar Hossain Manju speaks at a conference titled 'Regional Symposium on Coastal Community Resilience' at the city’s Ruposhi Bangla Hotel yesterday. Story on Page 6 DHAKA TRIBUNE

Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman M Bodiuzzman yesterday urged people not to doubt the sincerity of the commission regarding the ongoing inquiries against some ruling party leaders.

“Please wait and see, do not be disappointed, have faith…We will take legal action against everyone involved with corruption,” he said while addressing a human chain marking the corruption prevention week in front of the National Press Club.

Alleging that the previous commission had not taken action against ruling party men, he said the present commission had taken many initiatives in this regard.

“This would be an ongoing process and we will not spare anyone,” he added.

ACC Commissioner M Shahabuddin said the commission would take legal measures against every suspect, regardless of their position in the present or the past government.

Following media reports on the phenomenal rise of wealth and assets of seven lawmakers, the ACC on January 22 began inquiries into the wealth rise of three former ministers, three lawmakers from the ruling Awami League and a former lawmaker from the Jatiya Party.

The accused politicians are former health minister AFM Ruhal Haq, former state minister for housing and public works Abdul Mannan Khan, former state minister for water resources Mahbubur Rahman, and lawmakers Abdur Rahman Badi of Cox’s Bazar 4, Aslamul Haque of Dhaka 14, Enamul Haque of Rajshahi 4 and former lawmaker from Satkhira 2 Abdul Jabbar. l

Law Minister Anisul Huq yesterday said BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia does not believe in Bangladesh.

Castigating her recent claim that Ziaur Rahman is the first president of Bangladesh, the minister said: “I would say her claim is void of sense.”

“If I only say she has distorted the history it would be much less than she deserves. Being the chairperson of a party she cannot speak like that,” said Anisul Huq. He was talking to reporters after a launching ceremony of the book Leading Judgments on human trafficking at Spectra Convention Centre in the city.

International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Dhaka organised the launching ceremony. Justice Naima Haider and Chief of Mission of the IOM Sarat Das, among others, attended the function.

Speaking on human trafficking, Anisul Huq said the government enacted a law on human trafficking in 2012.

He said trafficking is a serious offence as the victims of trafficking lose everything including his/her self-confidence.

“It is the government’s commitment to bring the offenders to book and if we can ensure exemplary punishment offences can be curbed,” the minister said adding that the compilation of the judgments on trafficking will work as a guide. l

BYLC elects new governing board member n Tribune Report Bangladesh Youth Leadership Centre (BYLC) on saturday elected Akhter Matin Chaudhury as its governing board member at the organisation’s fifth annual general meeting (AGM) organised in BYLC headquarters.

Akhter Matin Chaudhury is a FCA and also the chairman and managing director of Nuvista Pharma Limited.

The AGM was attended by general board members and governing board members Barrister Manzoor Hasan, Zafar Sobhan, Homayara Ahmed, Barrister Sara Hossain, and Ejaj Ahmad.

Matin, during his acceptance speech, said: “I am honoured to be a part of the country’s first leadership institute. The work BYLC is doing in Bangladesh is absolutely critical to the future of our country and I am very much looking forward to working with the board and management of BYLC to take the organisation forward.” l

Dr Shamiul gets bail, Rajshahi doctors call off strike n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi Adoctor accused of negligence in a patient’s deathreceived bail from the Rajshahi Metropolitan Magistrate Court yesterday.

Following DrShamiul Uddin Ahmed Shimul’s release on bail, the Rajshahi Private Clinic Owners Association also withdrew its non-stop strike yesterday.

DrShamiul and two other doctors of the private Dolphin Clinic were accused of wrong treatment by the wife of a businessman, who died in their care.

A Rajshahi court on Thursday had sent DrShamiul to jail that resulted in an indefinite strike call by doctors in the city. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

5

Monday, March 31, 2014

Disparity in education raising concerns Police rescue abducted n Mushfique Wadud Although education indicators have improved in recent years in Bangladesh, the poorer urban areas often lag behind the rural ones, according to a recent World Bank report.

It says indicators among the poorer section of the society are much lower than that of the non-poor.

While the rural-urban inequality always persists in the education sector, a new dimension has been created in terms of disparity within the urban areas – with the poorest parts, such as city slums, performing the worst, says the report.

The government acknowledges the scenario and says it will take time to curb the inequalities.

Findings of the report titled “Seeding Fertile Ground: Education That Works for Bangladesh” were released

earlier this month.

Taking data from 2010, the report states that nation-wide primary enrolment is 77% but it is 62% in slums. The primary enrolment has increased further in the recent years.

For secondary education, the current gross and net enrolment rates in the slums were comparable to the 1995 national rates.

Visiting some Dhaka slums, it was found that children are not getting education mainly due to lack of access to educational services.

Rubel Mia, a 12-year-old boy who works as a helper of a human haulier, left school after completing primary education.

“We do not have any government secondary school near our house and education in private secondary education is expensive. So I could not get admitted to any secondary

school,” Rubel, who lives in Kalapani slum of Mirpur 12, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said most of his friends left school after completing primary education for the same reason.

The WB report says about 58% of the slum inhabitants over the age of 12 were literate, compared to the national and urban literacy rates of 60% and 72% respectively.

The report says that the disparity is seen all over the country among the poor and the non-poor. Secondary gross enrolment among the poor is 45% while it is 76% for the non-poor.

“Disparity still remains a major concern in Bangladesh’s education sector,” said Rasheda K Choudhury, executive director of Campaign for Popular Education.

Also a former adviser to a caretaker government, Rasheda also cited the

lack of access to education as the key reason for poor performance of children from slums and among the poor.

The WB report says on average, there is one primary school for every 121 school-aged children close to a slum, whereas only one secondary school for 678 secondary students living nearby.

Rasheda said special programmes were needed immediately to bring the slum children to schools.

The low education indicators among the poor households might affect the overall education programmes.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid told the Dhaka Tribune that the government had taken some initiatives to address inequalities in education sectors and claimed that things were improving.

“It will take time to fully address the inequalities,” he added. l

madrasa student from Hizla upazila n Our Correspondent, Barisal Police yesterday rescued an abducted madrasa student and arrested his alleged kidnappers, who had demanded Tk1.5 lakh in ransom, from a village in Hizla upazila of Barisal district.

Shawkat Anwar, officer in charge of Hizla police station, said the victim, Nurunnabi, 11, a student of Baitus Sajud Hafezi Madrasa in Dhaka’s Keraniganj area, was abducted by a couple while he was returning home to his village in Mehendiganj upazila by launch last week.

Nurrunnabi boarded the MV Shariatpur 3 from the capital’s Sadar Ghat launch terminal on Thursday evening, Shawkat said. When the vessel reached Dhulkho-

20 injured in clash n Our Correspondent, Barisal

JnU students start strike to recover halls

At least 20 people were injured in a clash between locals and Bede members over love affairs at Torkir Char Bedey Palli in Gournadi of Barisal yesterday.

Witnesses and police sources said Ruma Khanam, 15, a schoolgirl and daughter of Omar Molla of the area fell in love of Bellal Sardar , 26, son of Kalam Sardar of the Bedey Palli and they fled home one year ago.

Recently they had returned the palli. Local people snatched Ruma and brought her to the house of her father.

At the incident, the Bede people locked in a clash with the locals , leaving 20 injured. On information, police went to the spot and brought the situation under control.

The injured are Omar Molla, 65, Boni Amin Sharif, 70, Somela Begum, 56, Zafar Bepari, 44, Saidul Bepari, 26, Emdadul Bepari, 31, Kader Bepari, 33, Monir Bepari, 35, Tahmina Begum, 34, Shahjahan Gharami, 36, Daliluddin Haoladar,44, Kiyamat Shikdar, 46, Kabir Haoladar, 48, from the locals, Kalam Sardar,60, Badal Sardar,44, Dalim,35, Ruhul,40, Sohag, 35, Ilyas,31, Rahima, 22, from the Bede side. l

Road blocked demanding speed breaker n Our Correspondent, Barisal Agitating locals blocked the Barisal-Jhalakathi road at Rayapur of Barisal city skirt demanding construction of speed breakers.

Students, guardians of Rayapur Government Primary School and Abdul Latif Secondary School and local people participated in the programme.

They blocked the road by putting school benches and furniture and held a rally.

Among others Abdus Sobhan, Rashid Mia, Nirmal Sarkar, Rebeka Sultana addressed the rally. l

WEATHER

PARTLY CLOUDY MONDAY, MARCH 31 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 6:14PM SUN RISES 5:512AM FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

38

25

Chittagong

33

25

Rajshahi

40

23

Rangpur

39

19

Khulna

40

23

Barisal

38

24

Sylhet

37

19

Cox’s Bazar

33

25

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

39.4ºC Khepupara

19.2ºC Sayedpur

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:38am 5:53am 12:03am 4:29pm 6:13pm 7:29pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

la in Hizla on Friday morning, a couple of fellow passengers pretended that they had reached Mehendiganj launch station, and disembarked with him there.

The couple, Sagor Gazi, 25, and Hazera Begum, 26, then held Nurunnabi hostage at a house in Mandrachar Kusria village in Hizla. Sagor later contacted the boy’s parents over mobile phone and demanded Tk1.5 lakh to release him, the police officer said.

Nurunnabi’s family members in Charlata village informed the police, who then tracked the phone call and rescued the victim yesterday afternoon.

Police also arrested the kidnappers and filed a case against the couple with Hizla police station. l

n Mohammad Jamil Khan

Students of Jagannath University demonstrate in front of the university gate yesterday, demanding recovery of the halls allocated to them

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Tougher laws stressed to bring acid attackers to book

Netherlands KNN to broadcast weekly programme ‘Kanastara’ n Abu Bakar Siddique n Tribune report The National Human Rights CommisKids News Network (KNN), a programme run by Free Press Unlimited of Netherlands, and Children’s Television Foundation of Bangladesh (CTFB), has taken the initiative to produce a weekly programme titled “Kanastara”.

A workshop in this regard was organised by CTFB at the capital’s Dhaka Art Centre in Dhanmondi from March 21 to March 29.

The programme will be based on children’s reaction to many different national and international issues and would be broadcasted on Fridays in Bangladesh Television. A satellite channel would also broadcast the programme in a different day of the week. l

sion (NHCR) will take measures so that criminals who have remained fugitive after committing acid attacks can be brought to book.

Almost all of the accused in acid violence cases manage to escape punishment for lack of tougher laws as well as the non-implementation of the existing laws, said Mizanur Rahman, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, while addressing the launching ceremony of a photography book on acid survivors at Brac centre Inn in the city yesterday.

A photography book titled “Unstoppable: The Courage Within” by Shafiqul Alam Kiron was launched at the programme.

Mizanur Rahman said the NHCR would extensively address the issue so that the government enacts tougher law to bring all acid attackers to book.

“Nobody could be spared from getting punishment after committing heinous crimes like acid attacks,” he added.

Monira Rahman, former chairman of Acid Survivors Foundation, said most acid criminals remain out of the reach of law enforcement by taking the advantage of loopholes in the incumbent law.

The accused in acid attack cases should not be granted bail and their trial should be held under speedy trial, she said, adding that at least 90% of the criminals are yet to get punishment for the offence.

Chairman of the Human Rights Commission requested Acid Survivors Foundation to inform the commission about pending lawsuits related to the acid attacks so that it could take actions against attackers.

A number of acid survivors, including Majeda, Shima and Hasina, were present at the programme.

While expressing her experience as an acid victim, Hasina said she was socially boycotted for the first two years following the incident as people considered her an ill omen, though the situation changed later.

Hasina, who became an acid victim in 2004 in Narayanganj, urged the government to bring the criminals to book so that nobody would dare to perpetrate heinous crimes like these in future. l

The students of Jagannath University yesterday observed the first day of their four-day strike demanding the recovery of their halls from land grabbers.

During the daylong shutdown, which will continue till April 2, no classes or exams were held at the university.

As part of the programme, the students held a sit-in in front of the main gate of the university around 8am and brought out a procession through different roads in Shakharibazar and Bahadurshah Park area in old part of the capital and set some tyres alight there.

Afterwards, the agitating students held a rally in front of the gate, where speakers alleged the authorities concerned could not take any concrete steps to recover the halls from the grabbers, in spite of on going protests for quite some time now.

Asoke Kumar Saha, proctor of the university, said no student could enter the campus during the strike.

Shariful Islam, president of JnU unit BCL and also convener of Hall Recovery Parishad, threatened to lay siege to the Secretariat if the Education Ministry’s committee does not submit a positive report in this regard on April 2.

The students of the university have been demonstrating for hall recovery from alleged grabbers since February 12. l

Chandpur Press Club founder chairman dies n Tribune Report Founder Chairman of Chandpur Press Club Kamruzzaman Maya died at a hospital in the district yesterday.

He was suffering from cancer for a long time.

The 75-year-old journalist left his wife, three sons and a host of relatives.

Maya was born on March 1, 1939. He has worked for the Daily Observer as a Chandpur correspondent for long.

He was the president of Shocheton Nagorik Committee and Chandpur branch of Transparency International Bangladesh. He was also the sports officer of Comilla Education Board.

His namaz-e-janaza will be held today on the Chadpur College field after Asar prayers. He will be buried at the Chandpur Corporation Graveyard. l

Blaze at Bangladesh National Museum n Mohammad Jamil Khan A fire broke out at Bangladesh National Museum in Shahbagh area of the capital yesterday morning.

Rafiqul Islam, assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence, told the Dhaka Tribune that the blaze occurred in the gallery no-44 on the third floor of the museum around 9:05 am.

It was established in 1983, which is one of the biggest museums in south Asia region On information, five fire-fighting units rushed to the spot and doused the fire after half an hour of frantic effort.

The origin of the fire would be confirmed after investigation although they suspected that electric short circuit led to the blaze, the AD added.

When asked, he, however, declined to say anything about the loss caused by the fire.

Mahbubur Rahman, director (operation) of the museum, said the fire could not cause any major damage.

According to the museum website, the gallery was allocated for the artefacts of the ancient China, Korea, Iran and Switzerland as part of the world civilisation history.

In this regard, Quamrun Nahar Khanam, director general of the national museum, said: “The fire was extinguished soon, which could not bring about much damage.”

Meanwhile, Secretary of Cultural Affairs Ministry Ranjit Kumar Biswas visited the spot, saying a probe committee would be formed in the incident in which no causality was reported.

The museum was established in 1983, which is one of the biggest museums in south Asia region. l

Students of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College dance to the official T20 World Cup 2014 theme song during a flash mob staged inside the school premises yesterday RAJIB DHAR

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Monday, March 31, 2014

Govt urged to adopt local knowledge to tackle disasters n Abu Bakar Siddique Professionals yesterday expressed the need for inclusion of local people’s knowledge and practices regarding adaptation measures to tackle the negative impacts of climate change and natural disasters including cyclone and salinity.

The views were presented at the regional symposium on coastal community resilience held at the city’s Ruposhi Bangla Hotel organised with an aim to share experiences between Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Vietnam on how to build coastal community resilience using ecosystem-based approaches.

“The bridge between science and local people’s knowledge should be ensured while taking any kind of adaptation measures to reduce negative impacts of global warming,” said Dr Atiq Rahman, executive director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS).

He cited an example of local practices where people are meeting their fresh

water demand in the saline-prone region in Bangladesh by excavating small ponds inside villages.

“The people know how they have to survive. The government can play the role of a facilitator by providing them with scientific methods and resources.”

M Mokhlesur Rahman, executive director of Centre for Natural Resources Studies (CNRS), echoed him. “Like the fresh water, the local people in the coastal region in Bangladesh have been using their indigenous knowledge in all aspects of their life including creating livelihoods.”

The coastal people also make floating vegetable gardens on the stagnant waters, he said adding that their knowledge should be patronised and promoted by the government.

The two-day symposium was jointly organised by the forest department and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable nations facing the adverse im-

pacts of climate change which includes saline water intrusion, more frequent cyclonic storm and drought in some areas, according to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The government’s initiative to build coastal green-belt through afforestation projects should be enhanced to tackle the upcoming more frequent cyclonic storms, Atiq Rahman said.

Damages from Cyclone Sidr in 2007 had been less due to the presence of the world’s single largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, in the region, he observed.

Regarding the use of local knowledge on the green belt, Mokhlesur Rahman cited an example of local practices when the local people of Moukhali village in Pirojpur usually collect the mangrove seed that comes inside the embankment with tidal water. Later they nurture the seeds for certain period which ultimately turns into a small scale homestead mangrove forest, he added. l

Students cross the shaky bamboo-bridge taking a risky walk over the Atrai River at Prasadpur Khyaghat in Manda upazila of Naogaon district yesterday FOCUS BANGLA

Orchards expecting excellent mango Five die in road accidents n output in northern districts

SSC examinee abducted for ransom n Our Correspondent, Lakshmipur n Tribune Desk A Secondary School Certificate examinee was abducted for ransom on Friday in the district.

The victim was identified as Abu Riad, 17, of Romapur village in Dighli union. He took SSC examination this year from Dighli High School and was waiting for result.

According to sources, miscreants demanded Tk5 lakh ransom through Riad’s mobile phone in the evening.

Riad’s mother, Ayesha Begum, filed a case in this regard on Saturday.

His father Abdul Kuddus is an expatriate Bangladeshi.

Iqbal Hossain, officer-in-charge in Sadar police station, said that they were trying to rescue Riad and arrest the criminal. l

The officials and experts concerned are expecting excellent mango production this season as the process of tender mango formation has already begun smoothly amid favourable climatic condition in the northern districts.

According to the officials and experts at the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Burirhat Horticulture Centre, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) and agronomists, over 90% mango trees have bloomed this season.

According to the growers and market sources, the local and indigenous variety mangoes will appear in the local markets by May. Horticulture Specialist Khondker M Mesbahul Islam of the DAE said the fruit setting stage was progressing and the

Tribune Report

mango tress started wearing eye-catching looks in orchards and homesteads amid favourable climatic condition so far, reports BSS. There are about 4.5m fruitgiving mango trees of different ages and varieties on some 35,000 hectares in the northern districts and the number continues increasing every year following expansion of commercial mango cultivation.

The farmers had been showing more interests on commercial basis farming of the sweetest mangoes like Gopalbhog, Lengra, Fazlee, Nakfazlee, Khirsapati, Mohanbhog, Chyatapori, Haribhanga and Lakhna in the northern districts in recent years, the expert said.

Principal Scientific Officer of Burirhat Agriculture Research Centre of the BARI Dr Hamim Reza said the farmers had been contacting the officials and experts and taking extensive care to

make the tender mangoes grew better.

Deputy Director of the DAE Feroz Ahmed said the officials and experts concerned had been providing necessary assistances to the farmers in taking extensive care for excellent mango production after massive budding this season.

The experts suggested the farmers to contact the field level officials of different agriculture related departments and organisations for proper nursing at this stage and controlling attacks by hoppers and other pests for better mango production.

Associate Director (Agriculture) of Brac International (South Asia & Africa) Dr MA Mazid predicted excellent mango production this season if climatic condition, fluctuation in temperature, rainfall, attacks by pests and insects remained within limit in coming weeks. l

At least four people were killed and five others injured in separate road accidents that took place in Natore, Rajshahi, Tangail and Comilla yesterday.

Police said when Montu Mia, 30, son of Azim Uddin of village Khazura under Natore Sadar upazila, had been going to his native home, a head-on collision between a shallow-engine-run vehicle commonly known as Nasimon and a CNG-run-auto rickshaw had taken place in Dighapatia area around 9am, leaving him critically injured.

Later, he died at Natore Adhunik Sadar Hospital.

Meanwhile, four people were injured in a head-on collision between a microbus and a CNG-run autorickshaw in Banbelghoria bypass area of the district around 8:30pm.

In Rajshahi, one person was killed

Re-polling demanded in 32 centres in Tangail 8 by-elections n Our Correspondent, Tangail

At least nine houses were gutted in a fire at Kuthidurgapur village of Jhenaidah Sadar upazila yesterday afternoon

37 houses gutted in Rajbari, Jhenaidah n Tribune Report A total of 37 houses were gutted in four fires across Khankhanapur, Kalukhali and Kazibadha areas of Rajbari Sadar and Kalikhali and Jhenaidah sadar upazilas yesterday.

In Rajbari, at least 28 houses were gutted in three devastating fires incurring damages of around Tk17 lakh, reports our correspondent.

Rajbari fire service and civil defense sources said the first fire incident took place around 1:30am near Barek Market area under Khankhanapur union.

The fire had originated at the residence kitchen of a local, Shamsuddin Khan, and soon engulfed 12 adjacent tin-shed houses.

The fire was brought under control around 4am after two firefighting unit went to the spot on information and doused the fire with the help of locals.

Another fire devastated 10 houses

in Goalpara village in Kalukhali upazila of the district. The fire had originated from a dairy farm of Lokman Mollah of the village around 2:30pm.

The third incident took place in Kazibadha village of the district’s sadar upazila which gutted six houses, damaging all crops and valuables of the owners of the houses.

Three separate cases were filed with respective police stations in these connection.

In Jhenaidah, at least nine houses of four families were gutted in Kuthidurgapur village of the sadar upazila in the afternoon, reports our correspondent.

Fire service sources said the reason behind the fire could not be known immediately and the loss was estimated at Tk3 lakh. A unit of fire fighters went to the spot after being informed and doused the blaze after two hours of frantic efforts. l

‘Cattle lifter’ lynched in Sylhet n Tribune Desk A suspected cattle lifter was killed in a lynch-mob attack at Luky village in Goainghat upazila on Saturday night.

The deceased was identified as Man-

taj Ali, 40. Locals said when Rajendra Biswas raised a hue and cry sensing presence of cattle lifter around 1 am Saturday local people rushed to the spot and caught Mantaj. They gave him a good beating, leaving him critically injured. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Supporters of Tangail 8 Awami League rebel candidate blocked the DhakaSakhipur road in Nalua area of Sakhipur upazila yesterday, demanding suspension of by-polls results and re-polling at 32 centres of the constituency.

Mahbubul Arifin Kamal, younger brother of Awami League rebel candidate Abdul Malek Mia, claimed that supporters of AL-backed candidate Anupam Shahjahan had put seals on ballot papers by force in several polling centres during the by-election on Saturday.

He also alleged that illegal votes were cast at the polling centres after 4pm.

Mahbubul said: “We did not receive any response from the administration though we had complained to them.”

Leaders of local unit Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League who supported the rebel candidate also took part in the blockade.

Vehicle movement from Sakhipur to Dhaka and Sakhipur to Tangail were halted for an hour from 3:30pm.

Later the blockade was withdrawn after the police came to the spot. l

55 hurt in separate clashes in Meherpur, Gopalganj n Our Correspondents At least 55 people were injured in separate clashes in Meherpur and Gopalganj yesterday.

Forty people sustained injuries as a clash took place between the residents of two villages at Gangni upazila over felling trees of a graveyard yesterday afternoon.

The clash took place between the villagers of Kochuikhali and Dighalkanti.

Abdus Samad, member of Dhankhola Union Parishad, said residents of Kochuikhali and Dighalkanti villages had been mutually using a graveyard for long.

But some residents of Dighalkanti village went to the graveyard in the morning and started falling down tress of the graveyard without prior notice.

Hearing the news of trees’ felling, people of Kochuikhali village rushed to the spot and prevented them from cutting the trees, resulting a clash.

On information, a team from Gangni police station rushed to the spot and brought the situa-

tion under control.

Masudul Alam, officer-incharge of Gangni police station, said no case had been filed in this connection.

The injured were admitted to Gangni Upazila Health Complex and Meherpur General Hospital.

Police fired rubber bullets and tear shells to bring the situation under control Later, two of the injured, Mozammel Hossen Khokon, 46, and Montu Mian, 43, of Kochuikhali village were shifted to Kushtia Medical College Hospital as their conditions deteriorated.

Of the injured, Abu Taher, 65, Mojibur Rahman, 40, Israil Hossein, 35, Ahabuddin, 45, Hasibul Islam, 28, Sufal Hossain, 40, of village Kochuikhali, Mansur Ali, 45 and Lokman Ali are undergoing treatments

while others received primary treatment.

At least 15 people, including four cops, were injured in a clash between two groups of Miapara and Ghosher Char in Gopalganj town yesterday over a trifling matter.

Locals said, on March 27, few residents of Ghoser Char beat Rezwan over a trifling matter, a resident of Miapara.

Later, two groups locked into clash and a group of Ghosher Char damaged a few shops in the town.

Over the issue, another group of Miapara had attacked the Ghosher Char group.

Police fired rubber bullets and tear shells to bring the situation under control. During the clash 15 including four police personnel were injured.

Md Selim Reza, officer-incharge of Gopalganj police station said five persons had been picked up during the clash.

Traders held a rally protesting the incident. Farid Ahmed, Nasu Sikdar, Ahsan Al Hossain and Saiful Islam Sheikh Lipon addressed the rally. l

in a road accident in Mirjapur Jamuna area under Godagari upazila. The deceased was identified as Golam Mostofa Golap, 60, of Namosankerbati Menipara village under Chapainawabganj Sadar upazila.

Locals said Mostofa was returning home by a human haulier suddenly, he fell on the road from the vehicle.

The human hauler ran over him around 1:45 pm.

He died on the spot.

In Tangail, a motorcyclist was killed and a female rider was injured at Kalihati upaizla under Tangail.

The deceased was identified as Tipu Sultan, a resident of Kaouljani village under Basail upazila of the district.

In Comilla, two people were killed when a truck hit a roadside tree at Mainamoti at about 1pm.

The deceased was identified as Jamal Uddin Babul, 38, bus drivers, and Faruk Hossain, 23, helper of the driver. l

Art competition held on Independence Day n Our Correspondent, Mymensingh An art competition with the participation of children was held at the premises of Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Sangrahashala in the town on Friday.

A total of 143 children from different educational institutions from Class I to Class X took part in the competition in four groups.

The Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Sangrahashala organised the function where Bijoy Krishna Banik inaugurated the competition.

Twelve children from four groups were selected for prizes for their excellent performance in the competition. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

Monday, March 31, 2014

7

Entitlement of the marginalised Flora and fauna of the Sundarbans revisited

A

n Farzana Begum lthough it is not clear about the origin, the name Sundarban can be translated as beautiful forest in Bengla (Sundar means beautiful and ban means forests).

According to ancient history, the name Sundarban is derived from the Sundari trees that are found in large numbers in the forest.

The history of the area can be traced back to 200–300 AD. A ruin of a city built by Chand Sadagar has been found in the Baghmara Forest block.

The legal status of the forests underwent a series of changes, including the distinction of being the first mangrove forest in the world.

The area was mapped first in Persian, by the surveyor general in 1764 following soon after proprietary rights were obtained from the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II by the British East India Company in 1757. Systematic management of this forest tract started in the 1860s after the establishment of a forest department in the Province of Bengal, in British India.

The first forest management division to have jurisdiction over the Sundarbans was established in 1869.

In 1875, a large portion of the mangrove forests was declared as reserved forests under the Forest Act, 1865 (Act VIII of 1865).

The remaining portions of the forests were declared a reserve forest the following year and the forest was placed under the control of the forest department. A forest division, which is the basic forest management and administrative unit, was created in 1879. The first management plan was written during the period 1893–98.

The forest dwellers have a culture of their own, having an isolated life from the main stream. There are some rituals and religious festivals observed in the Sundarbans. Annual fair on the Dubla island on the day of Raash Purnima is observed in the month of November.

Hindu community devotees from different parts of the country including communities from India gather on the Dubla island to bathe and make offerings against a wish. Moreover, the collectors of forest products engaged in various professions pay homage to certain gods and deities before entering the forest whom they treat to be their protectors.

Why it matters The Sundarbans provides a unique ecosystem and a rich wildlife habitat.

The ecological and socio-economic importance of the Sundarbans is associated with its rich biodiversity and the ecosystem’s valuable ecological

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Wildlife (Preservation) Order, 1973.

The Sundarbans plays an important role in the economy of the Southwestern region of Bangladesh as well as in the national economy. It is the single largest source of forest produce in the country. Constituting 51% of the total reserved forest estate of Bangladesh, it contributes about 41% of total forest revenue and accounts for about 45% of all timber and fuel wood output of the country.

Various non-timber forest products and plantations help generate considerable employment and income generation opportunities for at least half a million poor coastal population. The tidal lands of the Sundarbans produce nutrients and purifies water. Lastly, the Sunderbans provides a wonderful aesthetic attraction for local and foreign tourists.

The forest also has immense protective and productive functions. It provides natural protection to life and properties of the coastal population in the cyclone prone Bangladesh.

The area serves a vital role in a variety of ecosystem functions including trapping of sediment and land formation, protection of human lives and habitation from regular cyclones, acting as a nursery for fish and other aquatic life, oxygen production, and climate change mitigation and adaptation through carbon sequestration, storage and cycling.

Constituting 51% of the total reserved forest estate of Bangladesh, it contributes about 41% of total forest revenue and accounts for about 45% of all timber and fuel wood output of the country

services and products. It is estimated that the Sundarbans is home to 425 species of wildlife, including 300 species of birds and 42 species of mammals.

Although the fauna of Bangladesh have diminished in recent times and the Sundarbans has not been spared from this decline, the mangrove forest retains several good wildlife habitats and their associated fauna. Of these, tigers and dolphins are the target species for planning wildlife management and tourism development.

Some of the species are protected by legislation, notably, by the Bangladesh

However, these functions are increasingly at risk from the effects associated with climate change and rise of the sea level.

Mangrove eco-system is very fragile and people’s sustenance in this area depends on the maintenance and sustainable use of the eco-system.

Therefore, understanding of the system and its importance and awareness building among the people around the mangrove forest is necessary.

Educating people about the importance of conservation of mangrove ecosystem and its natural resources for bringing socio-economic develop-

ment in the region would help in the conservation of this unique ecosystem.

Protecting the forest Longterm protection of the Sundarbans cannot be ensured without involving the key stakeholders including local communities, fisheries, and forest dependent communities.

Therefore, with such aim the following two-tier institutional structure for sustainable forest management in protected areas based on the principles of co-management has been introduced here: 1. Protected Area Conservation Council: It is the first tier of the structure which takes area specific name such as, Chandpai Conservation Council, Sarankhola Conservation Council, Satkhira Conservation Council Khulna Conservation Council. The divisional forest officer or assistant conservator of forest serves as the Chairperson of the council and the total number of members is limited to 65. Protected Area Conservation Council has a broad-based structure, drawing people from different sectors of the community.

1. Protected Area Conservation Co-Management Committee: This is the second tier of the structure and takes area specific name.

Four co-management committees (CMCs) have been functioning to manage the Sundarbans comprising Chandpai and Sarankhola forest ranges in the Sundarbans East division and Khulna, and Satkhira forest ranges in the Sundarbans West division.

Each protected area conservation co-Management committee consists of 29 members, elected by the council following a structured guideline. The assistant conservator of forest serves as the chairperson to the committee. The committee has also a vice-chairperson, and a secretary.

The co-management committee performs the following tasks in order to protect the Sundarbans and to preserve its resources: (a) It undertakes awareness building and motivational campaign using different communication techniques to make people aware of the negative consequences of forest depletion and involves school children, scouts, girls’ guides to undertake specific actions.

(b) Takes appropriate actions to prevent illegal encroachment of forest land and take stern social actions against the encroachers jointly with the forest department. (c) Motivates brickfield owners and other resource user groups not to assist in illegal extraction of forest resources and generate strong public opinion against such actions so that they conform to public demand. (d) Undertakes actions to allow natural regeneration of the forest, and also undertakes plantation activities, if required, as per the advice and technical support of the forest department. (e) Undertakes activities involving community people, organised poor in particular, along the roadsides, railway tracts, khash land, and other degraded areas with the advice and support of the forest department following the benefit sharing principles of social forestry. (f) Identifies and assigns families, if possible, from amongst organised group members, to raise nurseries as part of income generating activities. Also identifies other alternative resources that could be accessed and used for generating income and employment for the poor people of the community. (g) Works wholeheartedly and collectively to make the area safe and attractive to national and international tourists and works with the forest department to ensure proper upkeep of the areas.

Working together It is quite clear that to raise awareness and motivation campaign, co-management practices, implemented through co-management organisations such as CMCs must be tailored to strengthen protection efforts against illicit tree-felling and fishing.

On February 22 of this year Bangladesh Manobadhikar O Poribesh Andolon, an NGO based on human rights and environment rights held a meeting with the Chandpai CMC. The members of CMC present at that meeting shared their views and difficulties that they are facing while performing their functions and urged the government to take some effective measures to strengthen the CMC and save the Sundarbans.

All the members said that the Sun-

darbans is a poor area and people have no employment for most part of the year. They have to survive and they do it through stealing timber from the forest and fishing. If the government could provide some sustainable opportunities for income generation for these people they would not go to the forest, risking being attacked by tigers or being shot at or getting arrested.

They also said that people living adjacent to the forest must be organised and motivated. Resource extraction from the forest serves as the primary source of income and perhaps, the

Longterm protection of the Sundarbans cannot be ensured without involving the key stakeholders including local communities, fisheries, and forest dependent communities

only livelihood option. Dependence of these poor people on the forest could be significantly reduced if alternative income generating opportunities were provided to them.

They also emphasised that the implementation of approved entry fees guidelines for sharing revenues with the CMCs is a priority for sustainable co-management systems to be effective. The members of CMC also suggested that temporary or permanent settlements of fishers should be allowed inside the three sanctuaries.

The Committee also recommended that water pollution inside the Sundarbans due to cargo vessels and engine driven boats must be minimised by taking help from the appropriate authority.

In view of the above, restoration and maintenance of essential ecological functions should be recognised by the concerned authorities immediately.

The Sundarbans, as the largest mangrove system in the world will become the internationally recognised example if the Wildlife (Preservation) Act of 1974, the Forest Policy of 1994 and the amendment of Forest Act of 2000 and the Social Forestry Rules of 2004 and 2010 could be implementedproperly. l Farzana Begum is a barrister, an advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, and the executive director of Bangladesh Manobadhikar O Poribesh Andolon.

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Monday, March 31, 2014

change to ‘complicate’ global security Israel not sure on Climate n fate of peace talks Agencies

n Agencies Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that it will be clear within “days” whether the crisis-hit peace talks would be extended beyond an April 29 deadline, local media reported.

His remarks, which were reported by several Israeli news websites yesterday, come as US officials work around the clock to prevent a collapse of the negotiations over a dispute about Palestinian prisoners.

“It could be a matter of just days,” Netanyahu reportedly told ministers from his right-wing Likud party who met just before the weekly cabinet meeting.

“Either the matter will be resolved or it will blow up. And in any case, there won’t be any deal without Israel knowing clearly what it will get in exchange,” he said.

“And if there is a deal, it will be put to the cabinet for approval.”

With the talks teetering on the brink of collapse, Washington has been fighting an uphill battle to coax the two sides into accepting a framework proposal which would extend the negotiations beyond April to the end of the year.

But the matter has become tied up with the fate of 26 veteran Palestinian prisoners whom Israel was to have freed this weekend under terms of an agreement which brought about a resumption of talks.

Israel on Friday informed the Palestinians via a US mediator that it would not release the fourth and final batch of prisoners, with the US State Depart-

ment confirming it was working “intensively” to resolve the dispute.

The Palestinians say they will not even consider extending the talks without the prisoners being freed, but Israel has refused to release them without a Palestinian commitment to continue the talks, prompting a fresh crisis of confidence between the parties.

‘Either the matter will be resolved or it will blow up. And in any case, there won’t be any deal without Israel knowing clearly what it will get in exchange’ Issa Qaraqaa, the Palestinian prisoners minister on Saturday told AFP news agency that the crisis was likely to be resolved quickly.

“There are efforts to solve the crisis and I believe that in 24 hours everything will be clearer,” he said.

Under a deal that relaunched peace talks last July, Israel agreed to release 104 prisoners held since before the 1993 Oslo peace accords in exchange for the Palestinians freezing all efforts to seek further international recognition.

So far, Israel has freed 78 of them in three batches, and the last group was to have been released on March 29. l

Climate change will complicate and worsen existing global security problems, such as civil wars, strife between nations and refugees, the world’s top scientists say. A United Nations climate panel for the first time is connecting hotter global temperatures to global conflicts, in an authoritative report to be released sometime today.

The panel is not saying it will cause violence, but will be an added factor making things even more dangerous.

Fights over resources, like water and energy, hunger and extreme weather will all go into the mix to further destabilise the world, says the report by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The summary of the report is being finalised this weekend by the panel in Yokohama. The findings are a shift from seven years ago, the last time the IPCC addressed how warming affected Earth, said report lead author Chris Field of the Carnegie Institution of Science in California.

The summary that political leaders read in early 2007 did not mention security issues will increase, he said, because of advances in research.

“There’s enough smoke there that we really need to pay attention to this,” said Ohio University security and environment professor Geoff Dabelko, one of the lead authors of the report’s chapter on security and climate change.

For the past seven years, research in social science has found more links between climate and conflict, the authors say, with the full report referencing hundreds of studies on climate change and conflict.

The US defence department earlier this month in its four-year strategic review, called climate change a “threat multiplier” to go with poverty, political instability and social tensions worldwide.

Warming will trigger new problems but also provide countries new opportunities for resources and shipping routes in places such as the melting Arctic, the Pentagon report says.

After the climate panel’s 2007 report, UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon wrote that along with other causes, the conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan “began as an ecological crisis, arising at least in part from climate change.”

“While the IPCC report this year downplays global warming’s role in that particular strife, saying other is-

sues were far more influential, the report’s drafts do add that there is “justifiable common concern” that climate change increases the risk of fighting in similar circumstances.

“Climate change will not directly cause conflict - but it will exacerbate issues of poor governance, resource inequality and social unrest,” retired US Navy Admiral David Titley said. l

Chechens offer weary welcome to new Crimean compatriots

Russia urges West to back ‘federal’ solution n Reuters, Grozny, Russia for Ukraine

n AFP, Moscow

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday called on Western powers to back a proposal for Ukraine’s Russian-speaking regions to have greater powers in a “federal” structure.

“If our Western partners are ready, then Russia, the United States and the European Union could form a support group on Ukraine and formulate shared appeals to those now in power in Kiev,” Lavrov said in an interview with Russian state television.

This would lead to talks between “all Ukrainian political forces without exception, naturally excluding armed radicals” and would end in a new constitution allowing for a “federal structure” with greater regional autonomy, he said.

The interview was broadcast as Lavrov was due to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry for hastily arranged talks in Paris later yesterday.

Russia backs the idea of greater regional autonomy because millions of Russian speakers are concentrated in Ukraine’s eastern regions as well as in Crimea.

This would “protect the rights of those who live in Ukraine, primarily of course the Russian population which is important to us,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov acknowledged that his first talks with Ukraine’s interim foreign minister Andriy Deshchytsya last week ended without any agreement on Moscow’s federalisation plan. l

Days before Crimea voted in a referendum to join Russia from Ukraine, Adam, a Chechen soldier, was ordered to go to the Black Sea peninsula to defend Russia’s interests.

He and about 200 other soldiers from his special battalion, grouping ethnic Chechens, were mobilized on March 12 and spent two weeks in the Crimean city of Yevpatoria.

The mission, which mainly involved guarding buildings, was an illustration of how far the Chechnya region in Russia’s North Caucasus is ready to go to show allegiance to Russian President Vladimir Putin, 14 years after he crushed its separatist drive.

But many Chechens feel no love for Russia and have a sardonic message for their new Crimean compatriots: welcome to Russia, we hope you like it.

“The referendum itself was one thing. It was calm, orderly. But what happens now with Crimea, that’s up to Vladimir Putin,” Adam, 36, said in a cafe in Chechnya’s main city of Grozny, speaking on condition that his last name was not used.

Chechnya fought a separatist war in 1994-96 that briefly shook off Russian rule but lost a second war in 1999-2000 in which Putin re-established control over the region and then installed militant-turned-loyalist Akhmet Kadyrov as its leader.

Russia has poured money into Chechnya since then, as it plans to do in Crimea now. A cluster of steel sky-

scrapers built with Russian cash tower over Grozny, with boutiques offering Swiss watches and Italian suits.

The regional authorities portray this as a symbol of Chechnya’s return to prosperity under Akhmet’s son Ramzan, the region’s leader since 2007.

But providing relative stability

has involved crushing dissent, many people remain in poverty and human rights groups say there is a culture of fear in which security forces act with impunity to try to wipe out any remaining traces of separatism.

Kadyrov’s spokesman Alvi Karimov declined to comment about Chechnya

sending troops abroad to Crimea and said there were no human rights abuses in Chechnya.

“There are no human rights abuses in the republic of Chechnya. We assure everyone freedom of speech and freedom of conscience,” he said.

He has previously said allegations

‘Send them our regards’

People attend a religious service in Independence Square in Kiev. Ukrainians, in accordance with Orthodox church tradition, mark the 40th day since the killings of more than 100 people in the capital during the pro-Europe ‘Euromaidan’ protests REUTERS

Berlusconi’s latest political Obama-Abdullah talks may ease friction, no deal in sight strategy: Pet adoptions n

AFP, Rome

Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi has unveiled a scheme to boost his flagging popularity: finding homes for hundreds of thousands of stray dogs and cats to win the hearts of animal lovers, media reports said yesterday.

“We need to find a daddy or mummy for thousands of abandoned dogs and cats,” the billionaire reportedly said in a telephone call to one of his fan clubs in Rome, as he scrabbles to revive support for his centre-right Forza Italia (Go Italy) party, hit hard by his political downfall last year.

An Ixe poll carried out for Rai 3 television on Saturday showed Forza Italia slip into third place behind the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and the anti-establishment Five Star movement.

Mass adoptions orchestrated by Berlusconi would mean “over 10 million Italians who have a dog or cat will only be able to look on us with fondness, which will help the moderates become a strong political force, a majority,” he said on Saturday.

The media magnate – who was ousted from the Senate after a tax fraud

conviction and is waiting to learn where he will carry out a sentence of one-year community service – also cited Mother Teresa on animal welfare, saying “if we love them as we should, we will be very close to God.” The adoptions would save 260,000 million euros ($357,000) a year on kennels, he added.

The ploy received a tepid response from animal rights groups, with the Italian Association for the Defence of Animals and the Environment (AIDAA) pointing out that Berlusconi had seriously underestimated the number of strays in Italy, which it put at 750,000.

“We need concrete measures.

Berlusconi could come and do some dog sitting for us,” it told La Stampa daily, renewing an offer to have the 77-year-old serve out his community service with the association.

It is not the first time the former prime minister has resorted to dogs to boost his image. Dudu, a white Maltese terrier brought into his household by his 28-yearold girlfriend Francesca Pascale, has his own Facebook page where he promotes Forza Italia. l

of abuse were an attempt to blacken Kadyrov’s name.

Crimea, which has a narrow ethnic Russian majority, will by no means have all of the same problems as Chechnya. But it may still have much to learn from Chechnya’s experience, said Kheda Saratova, who sits on Chechnya’s state human rights council.

“Russia is used to forcing everyone around it into submission and the worst thing is that they force us all to act as though we are happy citizens of Russia,” Saratova said. “Russians are used to doing whatever they want to small nations like ours, but it’s not just the Chechens.

Crimeans will see the same thing.”

n

Reuters, Dubai/Riyadh

Saudi Arabia’s leaders hope US President Barack Obama and their King Abdullah understand each other better after talks and can stabilise a close regional security alliance after months of rockiness over Middle East policy, diplomats said.

Friday’s two-hour exchange at Abdullah’s desert camp did not yield a shared statement or any evidence of policy changes, leading some Saudis to question whether differences over Syr-

ia’s war or Iran’s nuclear programme were closer to being resolved.

But diplomats said the mere fact Obama made the effort to visit and discuss issues “frankly” - in a US official’s words - with the king should reduce the margin for public spats and counter an impression that both sides value the alliance less.

Obama visited the world’s top oil-exporter and birthplace of Islam aiming to soothe Saudi fears that the United States was retreating from its

commitment to the security of Middle East allies and allowing Riyadh’s rival Iran more influence. Those concerns, revolving particularly around the cautious US approach to the war in Syria where Riyadh and Tehran back opposing sides, had led top Saudis to warn of a “major shift” from Washington and that they might “go it alone” in future.

“It’s too early to judge whether the meeting is successful,” said Mustafa Alani, a security analyst with close ties to the kingdom’s Interior Ministry. l

Far right poised for breakthrough in France n AFP, Paris France yesterday held a second round of voting in local elections that are set to result in a breakthrough by the far right and trigger a reshuffle of the beleaguered Socialist government.

With his party facing a drubbing in the first electoral test since his 2012 election, President Francois Hollande is expected to react by ordering a shakeup of his government. Popular

Interior Minister Manuel Valls is tipped to replace current Prime Minister JeanMarc Ayrault.

The elections will make history with an all-female contest in Paris guaranteeing that a woman will become mayor of the French capital for the first time.

It also looked set to be a landmark vote for the far-right National Front (FN), which is poised to claim a small but significant foothold in France’s local government by winning control of

as many as a dozen mid-sized towns.

The first indicative results were expected when ballots in metropolitan France close at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT).

Indications at midday were that turnout would be low by French standards, increasing the likelihood of the Socialists suffering heavy losses.

That was not good news for Anne Hidalgo, the Socialist candidate for mayor of Paris, as she battled to resist the national swing against her party. l

Last Sunday, thousands of people streamed to a Grozny soccer stadium to mark the 11th anniversary of a referendum on a new constitution that subordinated Chechnya to Moscow.

Participants, many of whom said they were forced to attend, held banners and flags supporting Crimea’s entry into Russia which they said they were given by the rally organizers.

At the gates of the stadium, elderly women gathered begging to be let out but were pushed back by police barking in Chechen that they had to stay until the rally was over.

Analysts say Kadyrov’s exaggerated displays of support for Putin - including a Soviet-style 99.5% backing for Putin’s party in a 2011 parliamentary election - belie the Chechen leader’s fear of separatism. l

Attacks kill 16 people in Iraq n AP, Baghdad A series of attacks in Iraq, including a shooting at a security checkpoint and a suicide car bomb, killed 16 people and destroyed a bridge yesterday, said officials. Police officials said the deadliest attack took place when attackers sprayed with bullets a group of troops manning a checkpoint early yesterday, near the city of Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad. Police said seven soldiers were killed in the attack.

Hours later, a suicide bomber set off his explosive-laden car on the main alHouz bridge near Ramadi city, killing five people and wounding seven. Police said parts of the bridge fell into the Euphrates river.

Fierce clashes pitting government security forces and allied Sunni tribal militias against a coalition of insurgents have been raging in Anbar province since late December.

Also, a bomb explosion at the entrance of an out-door market killed four shoppers and wounded nine others in Baghdad’s southern suburb of Youssifiyah, according to the police.

Medics confirmed the casualties for both attacks. All officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to talk to the media. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

N Korea vows not to rule out a new nuclear test

9

Monday, March 31, 2014

‘TELL US THE TRUTH’

Experts believe the country is still years away from developing a genuine inter-continental ballistic missile

n AFP, Seoul North Korea vowed not to rule out a “new form” of nuclear test yesterday after the UN Security Council condemned its latest ballistic missile launch amid simmering tensions over Seoul’s joint military drills with Washington.

Pyongyang has carried out a series of rocket and short-range missile launches in recent weeks which have prompted stern reactions from South Korea and the United States.

On Wednesday it upped the ante by test-firing two mid-range ballistic missiles capable of striking Japan, sparking condemnation from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). “(We) would not rule out a new form of a nuclear test for bolstering up (our) nuclear deterrence,” Pyongyang’s foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the North’s state-run KCNA news agency.

The UNSC said the North’s missile launch Wednesday was a violation of UN resolutions barring Pyongyang from

any nuclear or ballistic activity, agreeing to consult on an “appropriate response.”

Pyongyang slammed the UNSC criticism as “absolutely intolerable,” defending the launch as a “self-defensive” act in protest against the ongoing Seoul-Washington drills being held in South Korea.

The North has habitually lashed out at the annual Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises between the two allies – held this year from February to April – labelling them as practice for war.

“The UN Security Council, shutting its eyes to the US madcap nuclear exercises, ‘denounced’ (our) self-defensive rocket launching drills to cope with them as a ‘violation of resolutions’... It is absolutely intolerable,” said the ministry. Pyongyang also warned the US to “stop acting rashly,” saying it was ready to take “next-stage steps which the enemy can hardly imagine.”

Wednesday’s tests – believed to be the first mid-range missile launch since 2009 – coincided with a summit

Japan, N Korea hold first formal talks since 2012 n AFP, Beijing Japan and North Korea yesterday held the first formal government-level talks in more than a year following a shift in Pyongyang’s handling of past abductions of Japanese citizens.

The two-day meeting in Beijing came after diplomats held informal talks on the sidelines of a humanitarian conference in the Chinese city of Shenyang between Red Cross officials from the two countries earlier this month.

“We would like to have serious and frank discussions over a broad range of outstanding issues for both sides,” Junichi Ihara, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, told Japan’s NHK public broadcaster. “We would like to make efforts so as to make progress towards solving those issues.”

Song Il-Ho, North Korea’s ambassador for talks to normalise relations with Japan, replied: “I completely feel the same way,” Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported.

At the North Korean embassy, the venue of the first day of the meeting, Song expressed hope that relations between the two countries will start moving “in a positive direction,” Kyodo said.

Song also compared the resumption of governmental dialogue to the arrival of spring, “when icy rivers melt and water begins to flow,” Kyodo reported.

Sri Lanka ruling party wins vote test with lower margin n AFP, Colombo Sri Lanka’s ruling party won local elections, but with smaller than expected margins in a crucial mid-term test for President Mahinda Rajapakse, official results showed yesterday. The president campaigned for polls held Saturday for southern and western provincial councils, both in the ethnic majority Sinhalese heartland, which account for more than a third of the country’s electorate.

Rajapakse’s Freedom Alliance party secured 33 of the 55 seats in the southern province, down from 38 at the 2009 poll, with three opposition parties winning the rest, final results from the election office showed.

The president’s party suffered a bigger erosion of support in the western province where it won 56 of the 104 seats up for grabs, down from 68, with the smaller opposition parties making inroads.Elections for the councils, the highest level of local government, are seen as a gauge of popularity for Rajapakse – who has maintained an iron grip on power since 2009 – and his party ahead of parliamentary and presidential polls due in 2016.

According to sources, the ruling party had tried to turn Saturday’s vote into a referendum on a UN Human Rights Council’s resolution last week to set up a war crimes probe into the island. It asked voters to send a strong message to the UN that ordinary Sri Lankans were against an international probe into allegations up to 40,000 civilians were killed in the island’s war. l

The meeting comes amid recent mixed signals from Pyongyang over its willingness to re-engage in diplomacy with Tokyo.

Talks were suspended in late 2012 when Tokyo reiterated its demand that Pyongyang come clean on the abduction issue, which has long hampered efforts to improve ties in the absence of formal diplomatic relations.

The talks were officially called off in December 2012 when Pyongyang launched a long-range missile, drawing international condemnation. Formal ties with Japan could bring huge economic benefits to the impoverished state.

North Korea outraged Japan when it admitted more than a decade ago that it had kidnapped 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s to train its spies in Japanese language and customs.

Five of the abductees have been repatriated to Japan along with their families. But Pyongyang has insisted, without producing solid evidence, that the eight others are dead.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hailed the “change” in Pyongyang’s attitude, which eased off its earlier demands that any meeting should be held in North Korea. But North Korea has also stepped up military provocations in recent weeks in protest at the Seoul-Washington drills.

It said yesterday it “will not rule out” a new nuclear test as it defended its recent mid-range missile launch. l

attended by the South, the US and Japan aimed at uniting the three nations against Pyongyang’s nuclear threat.

The impoverished but nuclear-armed state has staged three atomic tests in 2006, 2009 and last year.

Pyongyang’s powerful National Defense Commission, chaired by the North’s leader Kim Jong-Un, threatened on March 15 to demonstrate its nuclear deterrence. But the country has shown no signs of launching an imminent atomic test, Seoul’s military said last week.

Meanwhile, most experts believe the North is still years away from developing a genuine inter-continental ballistic missile that could strike the continental United States.

The latest threat is aimed at warning the US and the international community against yet more sanctions, said Kim Yong-Hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Seoul’s Dongguk University. “I see this as more of an angry protest rather than a genuine, serious threat to hold another nuclear test soon,” he said. l

Chinese relatives of passengers from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 display banners and the Chinese flag (far R) at a hotel in Subang Jaya. Thirty-nine Chinese relatives of passengers on board missing flight MH370 arrived in Malaysia earlier yesterday to press for answers about the fate of their loved ones AFP

Missing jet: MI6, CIA investigating as fears of terror attack resurface n Agencies, London Malaysian authorities have revealed secret services from the UK, the US and China have been involved in the investigations into the disappearance of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, adding to speculation that the plane’s disappearance could be down to terrorism.

The MI6, the CIA and Chinese agencies have been looking into the flight simulator found in the home of the flight’s Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, though acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the FBI has found nothing sinister in the device.

He said the inspector general of police has highlighted the “four possible scenarios of what could have caused the plane to disappear, which are terrorism, hijacking, personal and psychological problems, or technical failure.

“These scenarios have been discussed at length with different intelligence agencies,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chinese relatives of the passengers on board the missing Malaysia airlines flight MH370 have flown to Kuala Lumpur in frustration to try and find answers from authorities, as an American naval officer has said the search could take years.

The relatives claim they have not been given enough new information from authorities dealing with the

search, and yesterday held a press conference in which they held up banners and the Chinese flag, chanting: “We want evidence, truth, dignity.”

The group, of which some have accused Malaysian withholding information, held up banners that read: “You must return relatives of MH370, no strings attached.”

Although Malaysia is hopeful to find survivors, a US naval officer suggested the search could take years

They have demanded an apology from authorities for its handling of the disaster, and for Prime Minister Najib Razak’s earlier statement that suggested the plane had crashed with no survivors.

Two-thirds of the 227 passengers on board the flight that went missing on 8 March were Chinese. Jiang Hui, the relatives’ designated representative, said the group felt the decision that there would be no survivors was made with-

out sufficient evidence.

Malaysia’s acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said on Saturday the search for survivors would continue, claiming “we are hoping against hope that we will find survivors.”

However, US navy Captain Mark Matthews told journalists at Stirling naval base in Perth, Australia: “Right now the search area is basically the size of the Indian Ocean, which would take an untenable amount of time to search.”

He added: “If you compare this to the Air France flight 447, we had much better positional information of where that aircraft went into the water.” The Air France flight which crashed in 2009 near Brazil was missing for two years before it was found.

Captain Matthews is in charge of the US Towed Pinger Locator (TPL), an unmanned underwater vehicle designed to locate the aircraft’s black box, which can trace pings emitted from as deep as 6,000 meters underwater. It has been loaded onto the Australian warship Ocean Shield as it sets off to the search area along with other acoustic detection equipment.

There are now 10 ships and 10 aircraft searching a massive area in the Indian Ocean to the west of Perth, in a race to find the crucial black box recorder before its batteries are expected to die in the coming days. l

Chinese authorities have seized assets worth at least $14.5bn from family members and associates of retired domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang, who is at the centre of China’s biggest corruption scandal in more than six decades, according to Reuters news agency.

More than 300 of Zhou’s relatives, political allies, proteges and staff have also been taken into custody or questioned in the past four months, sources, who have been briefed on the investigation, told Reuters.

The sheer size of the asset seizures and the scale of the investigations into the people around Zhou - both unreported until now - make the probe unprecedented in modern China and would appear to show that President Xi Jinping is tackling corruption at the highest levels.

But it may also be driven partly by political payback after Zhou angered leaders such as Xi by opposing the ouster of former high-flying politician Bo Xilai, who was jailed for life in September for corruption and abuse of power.

Zhou, 71, has been under virtual house arrest since authorities began formally investigating him late last year.

He is the most senior Chinese politician to be ensnared in a corruption investigation since the Communist Party swept to power in 1949. l

BJP expels Jaswant Singh for 6 years n Agencies

Afghan voters register for poll despite attacks n AFP, Kabul Crowds queued up outside voter registration centres in Afghanistan yesterday and presidential candidates held large campaign rallies, six days ahead of elections that have been shaken by Taliban attacks.

The vote, which will choose a successor to President Hamid Karzai, comes as US-led foreign troops withdraw after 13 years of fighting the fierce Islamist insurgency raging across the south and east of the country.

One Romanian soldier was killed yesterday by an improvised explosive device (IED) in the southern province of Zabul, taking the US-led coalition death toll to 3,429 since operations began in 2001.

On Saturday, the Kabul headquarters of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) was attacked when five Taliban militants occupied a nearby building and unleashed rockets and gunfire towards the fortified compound.

All five attackers were killed by Afghan security forces six hours after the attack began, and there were no other casualties.

“Our vote is our responsibility, people want change and we will bring that change through voting,” said Abdul Waris Sadat, a 21-year-old student waiting with several hundred people for hours outside a voter registration centre in Kabul.

Afghan residents queue to receive their voter cards at a voter registration centre in Kabul “The attacks by the Taliban have day behind IEC offices to get voter cards, for Saturday’s presidential and provincial motivated people to come to this centre, showing strength and determination that council elections. register and vote,” he said. “This is only nothing will stop us,” said interior ministry Afghan officials, the United Nations and answer that they give to the Taliban.” spokesman Sediq Sediqqi. foreign donor nations have struck a defiant Rassoul Khurami, a 60 year-old shopFormer World Bank economist Ashraf note ahead of the vote after recent attacks keeper, added: “I know my vote counts, Ghani and Karzai loyalist Zalmai Rassoul held on IEC centres, Kabul’s most prestigious and this time even if I get killed I will go and rallies in the northwestern province of Herat hotel and a guesthouse run by a US-based vote, I’m not scared of Taliban threats.” yesterday, while Abdullah Abdullah, who anti-landmine charity.

According to the latest IEC figures, nearcame second in the 2009 vote, campaigned “Thousands of people are queuing every ly 3.7 million new voters have registered

China seizes $14.5bn of exofficial’s assets n Agencies

AFP

in the southern province of Kandahar.

“We will be victorious in this election – not through fraud, but based on the votes of the people,” Abdullah told thousands of flag-waving supporters.

Eight candidates are running in the April 5 presidential election, with a second round run-off between the two leading contenders expected in late May. l

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expelled senior leader Jaswant Singh for six years late on Saturday night after he refused to did not budge from his stand to contest as an independent candidate from Barmer in Rajasthan.

The 76-year-old was busy campaigning even as the last day of withdrawal of candidature came and passed by on Saturday. According to BJP sources, the saffron party’s constitution makes it clear that any leader contesting against the official candidate was liable to be expelled, a PTI report said.

Jaswant had filed his nomination papers last Monday from Barmer after the BJP’s ticket went to ex-Congressman Sonaram Choudhary, who is believed to have the support of Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje.

“Jaswant Singh has exhausted all constitutional options available to the party by deciding not to withdraw from the contest,” a senior leader said.

Jaswant, born in Barmer’s Jasol village, had wanted to contest from his home turf.

The Rajput and Muslim communities are rallying behind Jaswant, who is the sitting parliamentarian from Darjeeling in West Bengal, and could upset the BJP’s game plan in Barmer.

Turning the heat on the saffron brigade, Jaswant had said earlier, “There are two BJPs now. One is authentic and the other is fake.”

He accused BJP president Rajnath Singh and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje of “betraying” him. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Letters to

www.dhakatribune.com

Improving the climate for FDI

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n the past week, two high profile seminars, involving Japan and India, have been discussing ways to grow foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh.

It is encouraging to see a growing amount of international interest, such as the announcement that construction has begun by a joint venture between Indian and Bangladeshi businesses for a new tyre factory to open next year in Mymensingh that will export 20% of its production.

The attractiveness of Bangladesh as a base for different types of export production for the huge markets of China and India is increasingly being noted by foreign investors. Some 80% of Japanese companies in Bangladesh report plans to expand their activities in the next two years.

Bangladesh’s location makes it imperative that we improve our access to the Indian marketplace. Any global company which decides to invest in South Asia first invests in India because it has the most consumers. Raising awareness among investors needs to be coupled with lowering barriers to our trade with India.

Clearly, improving factors which encourage FDI, such as communications and infrastructure, will be beneficial to all businesses in the country. It remains vital nonetheless to attract foreign investment to make the best use of the country’s potential, by for instance developing more international standard export processing zones.

The government must not lose sight of the need to both grow free trade and to improve infrastructure and productivity, in order to help the private sector build Bangladesh into a more attractive investment destination.

Improving factors which encourage foreign investment will be beneficial to all businesses

Extortion must not be tolerated

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n a recent incident, miscreants have demanded Tk40 lakh from two businessmen in Sherpur, threatening to murder them if they fail to comply.

This threat, which was made by sending a mobile text message, highlights the ease with which such alarming extortion activities can be conducted.

Minority groups such as Hindus are particularly vulnerable to being victimised in this regard. As are many businesses which in places have to operate in environments which tolerate bribery and other illegal activities, which in turn makes them and all citizens more susceptible to being targeted by extortionists.

The police must act pro-actively to crack down on criminals who disrupt people’s lives in this type of cruel and vindictive manner.

Rule of law requires that more be done to deter thugs from making death threats and creating panic and unrest. Whether or not the criminals in this type of case intend to carry out their threats, the simple act of attempting extortion must always be treated as a major crime.

Rising rates of mugging and extortion in big cities are fueled wherever there is a lawless atmosphere in which criminals can issue threats without fear of repercussion.

We must weed out such activities by going to the root of the problem and fixing the bureaucratic and legal weaknesses which make it harder for victims to be protected by the police.

Extortion is a serious crime, and more needs to be done to end it.

Monday, March 31, 2014

the Editor

LETTER OF THE DAY

Bangladesh cricket dissected March 26

The anatomy of Bangladesh cricket can be summarised as a “tragedy” in three acts. Instead of gaining maturity, our cricket is a “game of chance,” totally dependent on a “hit and miss” attitude in batting, nerves in bowling and “butter fingers” in fielding. The rest depends on luck, whereas skill and capability seem to be just the 12th and 13th “extra” men in the team! That is the brutal reality of our cricket!

Fed-up cricket enthusiast

Much ado about a single

DU students protest against harassment by police and army men March 27

Is this why we gathered for a world record? This is not patriotism. Shame on the law-enforcement officers.

Zebrul Hossain

March 22

Abdullah Al Shakib What Shakib did had great entertainment value! With 24 balls and 8 wickets in hand, when you need just one run, you have the right to give the crowd some riskfree entertainment. And comparing cricket scores with football scores is stupid! 100s of runs are scored in a cricket match, but even if Portugal plays with Granada, it’s highly unlikely that there would be more than 10 goals. So passing up 1 or 6 runs in that particular situation can never be compared with passing up one goal even if you have 24 minutes in hand.

Syed Towsif Ahmed Abdullah Al Shakib: You are wrong, sir. Zulqar is absolutely right in pointing out Shakib’s lack of sportsmanship. If India, for eg, did this to us, there would be a lot of hue and cry about it. We don’t have the right to “entertain” as you put it at the expense of us being brash and arrogant, especially when we’re playing against a relatively inexperienced opposition. If we did this against SL, India, S Africa or Australia, I would understand, but even then, it is unacceptable. Kudos to Zulqar for flagging up this issue.

Abdullah Al Shakib I really don’t understand how it shows a “lack of sportsmanship” in that situation when you have 24 balls and 8 wickets in hand and need only one run?

I’ll wait for the day when a similar situation will arrive with SL, India, S Africa or Australia and Shakib or any other BD player will give the same treatment.

For me, that added risk-free entertainment will show his sportsmanship to me. A game or sport is only exciting and will revive in time if it has a thrilling component in it. I’m not asking to risk the win itself to add entertainment, but in that particular situation why did it show a lack of sportsmanship to some people? I really don’t get it, sorry.

Quazi Zulquarnain Abdullah Al Shakib: Thanks for your comment. I am all for risk-free entertainment, but not when it comes at the cost of disrespecting your opponent, which in this case was exactly what Shakib did.

Personally, I cannot condone that. The mark of a true professional is not in belittling your opponent, but in beating them with respect. For me, the best measuring stick of how a certain thing looks is to always view it from the perspective of how it would seem if the shoe was on the other foot. So if it was Shane Watson or Virendar Sehwag whiling away deliveries before finishing with a six, I think there would be plenty of vitriol flowing the other way.

And it is lack of sportsmanship because you don’t take the opportunity to win when it presents itself solely for the purpose of doing so in a way that would serve no other purpose but to put your opponents in their place. I would have thought this is crystal clear. Even Shakib, I am sure, would admit to the same.

EthicalGuy Abdullah Al Shakib: You can keep waiting for that day to arrive “against SL, India etc” but you will have to wait a few hundred years for that, and still there is no guarantee that this would ever happen!

Redwan Islam Abdullah Al Shakib: I agree with Syed Towsif Ahmed. Many a times we get blinded by our love towards the cricket team. But I believe some of the players are too arrogant. Shakib’s crotch incident was not the first one, and this was quickly followed by the conducts mentioned above. Something must be done.

WaliulHaqueKhondker The author has raised a very pertinent issue!

Sportsmanship is a virtue which has been trampled, albeit brutally. Entertainment! No way. I hated to see this utter display of arrogance! I still wish it hadn’t happened the way it did.

Humility and respect for opponents must not be lost sight of in the name of this so-called “entertainment.” Cricket is historically acclaimed as a “gentleman’s game.” We ought to become gentlemen first and cricketers later. Nobody likes arrogance; even religious scriptures are full of injunctions against all forms of arrogance!

BSF kills Bangladeshi in Chaudanga March 25

How on earth are Hasina and the Bangladeshi government allowing this to happen and yet they claim that India is our friend and we owe India something? imzy

Independence Day being celebrated March 26

Sorry for whatever had happened in the past but all the best wishes for Bangladesh’s future.

We love you, Bangladesh, and we are brothers.

Lots of love from the Pakistani people. ali

Don’t miss these chances March 23

Nice analysis. Open, critical and positive at the same time. There’s a thing called cultural tolerance, and then there’s a thing called cultural infiltration and aggression. The post-Cold War era is seeing a lot of the latter as an underhanded method of influencing the public mindset.

Sadia Arman

Be Heard

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CALVIN AND HOBBES

Act pro-actively to crack down on the root of the problem

PEANUTS

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU ACROSS 1 Malignant substance (6) 4 Rope-splicing implement (3) 7 Oneness (5) 8 Whole (6) 11 Sheltered side (3) 12 Tidy (4) 13 Appear to be (4) 15 Biblical quotations (5) 16 Elevates (5) 20 Unsightly growth (4) 23 Business agreement (4) 24 Short sleep (3) 25 Take vengeance (6) 26 Perfect (5) 27 Was ahead (3) 28 Hidden (6)

DOWN 1 Colouring matter (5) 2 Break (7) 3 Fasteners (4) 4 Tool (4) 5 Article (4) 6 Stain (3) 9 Born (3) 10 Financial obligation (3) 14 Obvious (7) 17 Marsh (3) 18 Tie-on label (3) 19 Frozen shower (5) 20 Walk through water (4) 21 Copied (4) 22 Lofty (4) 24 No score (3)

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS Crossword

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

Sudoku

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

Monday, March 31, 2014

11

Not up to the mark n Khawaza Main Uddin

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matter of concern is exposed to us once our foreign friends express concern over it. “We introduce a son of our soil as admirable when she or he is internationally reputed, not when she or he is respected at home for his or her calibre and attainments,” said Professor Anisur Rahman, an economist who dumped his profession many years ago. Maybe we just cannot visualise our problems and prospects.

Many qualified boys and girls face difficulties trying to secure jobs

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Love, elopement, and an unopened prophylactic

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n Towheed Feroze

ou either hate or love that title! Agreed, it’s a bit of a stunt on my side to attract attention. Sorry, in this age of publicity, one sometimes needs to resort to gimmicks. However, the tale of love and elopement that comes now is definitely not an author’s trick to entice readers.

Lovers have eloped in the past and they still do so now, though the whole format has seen, what one may call, transformations due to the touch of technology in our lives.

An elopement twenty years ago was the ultimate sign of rebellion against social norms. “Paliye giye biye” may sound thrilling but in orthodox society, it had little or no acceptance. The couple had to endure snide remarks from elders though, while among the young, their action was deemed audacious.

French philosopher Voltaire may have said marriage is the only adventure open to the cowardly, but in the Bangladeshi context, where everyone is taught from early childhood that any form of “adventure” that went against tradition was totally unacceptable, running away became the sole method of taking a stand against society.

A few months ago, a report on an eloping couple created a furore because it had all the trappings of a melodramatic Bengali movie. One Sabina fled with her lover Ronny (names changed) and ended up in Shibganj.

Both were university students and therefore of marriageable ages.

Er … wait a bit, there is a small issue here – the social status of the boy in question.

Son of a security guard of the same university, Ronny had committed the ultimate sin – running away with the daughter of an affluent businessman.

Reminds one of the never-dying line from the Bengali movie in which the snooty rich girl finally falls in love with the driver.

What? How can you love a chauffeur when you are the daughter of the famed Chowdhury family? Yes, we have heard that line countless times.

decides: “My dear Abbahuzur, since we are all one happy family now, how about a BMW SUV?” In real life, it didn’t work out that way for Sabina and Ronny. They seldom do. After the girl disappeared, a countrywide police alert was sent out.

When the couple was found, the industrialist father flew in on a helicopter to “rescue” his daughter. Reportedly, the girl had taken jewellery from home, but a legal case was to be framed against the boy for instigating the whole shameful act.

Nope, movies are very different

Movies are very different from real life. Elopement can only work when the matter of social status of both sides is not a contentious one As a matter of fact, love breaking class barriers is always a hit – look at Downton Abbey, where one of the girls from the aristocratic family decided to marry an impoverished man employed as a driver.

In movies, the Chowdhury girl escapes a life of opulence to lead a life of struggle, gives birth to a child, and eventually, the class-obsessed father realises that his daughter had married a true gem. “Gobore poddoful” (lotuses blossom in mud), and then there is bliss.

Of course we never know, if the husband, who had upheld his firm ideals in the face of wealth, finally

from real life. Elopement can only work when the matter of social status of both sides is not a contentious one.

But then, in such cases, why run away unless the girl and the boy decide to have some fun? Or are children from a Capulet-Montague scenario from Romeo and Juliet?

In the case of Sabina and Ronny, it’s clear that eventually it’s the family of Ronny that will have to feel the pressure for this errant episode. I am curious to know if Ronny’s father still has his job as a security guard or has been expelled for his son’s desperate heart.

In real life, the parents, as well as

the son or daughter, from the economically-depressed side face the music.

Surprisingly, the opposite is being regularly portrayed in all mediums of entertainment with happy endings almost 90% of the time.

They do say, movies, dramas, and literature are supposed to be a reflection of a zeitgeist. Sorry, but a hundred years from now that “filmi union” will only be the representation of an illusion.

The nagging question – while most in society are alert about status issues in cases of marriage and romance, why is it that in movies, rich and poor both revel in tales of fantasy?

This is my explanation – firstly, playing the roles of the boy and the girl in a movie are top film actors, and so even if their cinematic status is low, subconsciously, our instincts are influenced by the glamour quotient of that actor or actress.

Hence, when Shahrukh Khan, or Sakib Khan for that matter, plays the role of a street musician, we become besotted. Again, the character of a bar dancer portrayed by either Kareena or Bobby has the same impact. The film’s roles are supported by their real-life status as top earning actors.

The moral of the story is a bit cruel – allow Cupid to make some calculations first before taking the plunge, otherwise the dream prince or princess will be taken away in a helicopter, the fantasy will be shattered, and well, the condom will remain unused (as was found in Ronny’s pocket). l Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector

Even a silent killer easily evades our eyes until or unless someone from outside points a finger at it. After the Economist Intelligence Unit had painted a grim picture of our higher education vis-à-vis employment, many of us kept attention largely away from the harsh reality that the quality of education is declining alarmingly.

However, a number of development thinkers shared their concerns in public earlier. Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud is one of them. He said that a low level of skills and technology would not help us to take our development to the next stage. We also reckon foreigners to be wrong when their observations affect our comfort zone in power politics.

Who dares to say the quality of education is poor when our education minister, Nurul Islam Nahid, has been so successful in helping textbooks reach the doorsteps of students? His government has finished its job of making books available. Let’s forget the importance of learning.

Hundreds of thousands of students are showing great results in public examinations and getting enrolled in universities. So who am I to question the product of the academic system nurtured by Mr Nahid and company?

I experienced at least one thing during an assignment to share my knowledge of journalism with some university students. I asked them to express their thoughts about the social context of journalism in their own language, without using the so-called high thoughts. In the classroom of digital laboratory, one of them used the jargon – thanks to Google. When I asked him to explain it, he could not say the meaning of the word. I asked another undergraduate to name all the five oceans. He could recollect only one – the Atlantic.

The EIU report titled “High university enrolment, low graduate employment” tended to mean that our higher education does not teach us how to think independently and meet job market requirements. And our secondary education produces a huge number of university admission seekers, mostly devoid of basic knowledge, who do not gain much knowledge from higher education. Thus almost 50% (47% to be specific) of the Bangladeshi graduates remain unemployed.

Since there is no yardstick to measure the quality of education,

nobody challenges the sub-standard education. Behind it, there is a nexus of organisers and owners, managing committees, a section of teachers and guardians, political elements, and regulators. Only the graduates face the acid test when they join the competition in the job market where they, in most cases, cannot fit in.

Of course, the opposite story is there as well. We have witnessed over the years that many qualified boys and girls face difficulties while trying to secure jobs. None but the ones in the ruling party camp, backed by bureaucracy, would claim that our public sector recruitment process is fair and transparent.

The private sector, which is yet to develop a good system of hiring people, does not “care about what education the candidate has received” so that graduates won’t need to be paid highly. The burden of the massive number of certificate-holders is the result of a faulty education system which is only doing a disservice to our meritorious youths. The trend is even worse than brain-drain – we are just destroying talent.

It seems to be a paradox that you need quality manpower while competent people face a dearth of job opportunities. We are also not focused on other purposes of education – humility, self-denial, creativity, wisdom, and so on. But it’s fair that when you do not respect the learned people, you are not be blessed with great men.

Some of the enlightened people too may have been driven by a sense of withdrawal from the society. Some others – be the ruling elite or advisers to rulers – have taken an opportunist’s stance. They are serious about quality education, but only for their children.

But we fail to realise that Nero will not have a second chance of playing his flute if the fire engulfs the entire city.

By this time, erosion has started to spill over across the society from the cities to the villages. I don’t know where a mere number – which experts call demographic dividend – would take us. I fear we may be missing many opportunities and losing out in future competitions. No bankrupt nation can prosper as quality cannot be achieved overnight with political rhetoric.

Our higher education does not teach us how to think independently A Bangladeshi diplomat cited an example of a third world country where he served as ambassador. One of the members of a developed country’s delegation there was sympathetic on seeing the intellectual bankruptcy of the leaders and officials of the host nation.

“We will propose this during the meeting to sell the project but you should reject it because it would be harmful for your country,” the diplomat quoted the team member as saying. We can only hope that outsiders will not be our lone saviours. l Khawaza Main Uddin is Executive Editor at ICE Business Times.

A minor offence n Farzana Begum

U

nder the legal framework of Bangladesh, children and adolescent offenders, are treated differently than adult offenders. For juvenile offenders the law is more flexible and there is provision of a correctional home instead of sending them to jail.

One of the reasons behind the commencement of offences by children and adolescents is poverty. In urban areas, slum and street children are engaged in theft, murder, drug-peddling, hijacking, etc. Though, under the Vagrancy Act, the police has the power to detain such children, doing so is considered the exact opposite of the right to liberty.

The Children Act 2013 is the principal law for the protection of children.

The new law provides that, for the purpose of the act and for the trial of offences thereunder, at least one court is to be established in every district headquarter and in every metropolitan area which shall be called “Children’s Court.” Section 17 of the act provides that the Children’s Court shall have the exclusive jurisdiction to try a case where a child in conflict with the law or a child in contact with the law is involved under any law.

According to section 2(4) of the act, a child in contact with the law includes a child who is a victim of or a witness to an offence under any existing law.

In Section 4 of the Children Act, a child is defined as anyone up to the age of 18 years. The act specifically provides that no child below the age of 9 years be arrested under any circumstance.

The Children’s Court has the responsibility of the assessment and determination of the age of the child and if it appears to the court that he is not a child, his age is to be determined upon enquiry and a hearing.

The Children Act, in conformity with the international instruments, introduces that it is the right of the child to participate in person at all stages of the trial. Keeping the child in safe custody during the pendency of any trial shall be considered as a last resort and for the shortest possible time. The act also says that notwithstanding anything contained in any other law or the Code of Criminal Procedure, the court may release the child on bail with or without surety, whether or not the offence alleged is bailable or non-bailable. In cases where the child is not released on bail, the Children’s Court must give its reasons for refusing bail.

When passing any order, the Children’s Court shall consider the child’s age and gender; physical and mental condition; qualification and level of education; social, cultural and ethnic background, and other ancillary factors that are expedient or are required to be taken into consideration in the best interest of the child. The new law also provides a time frame within which to conclude the trial.

The Children’s Court shall complete the trial within 360 days from the day of the child’s first appearance before the court. However, by giving practical reasons the Children’s court may extend the deadline by another 60 days.

The new act specifically provides that no child shall be sentenced to death, imprisonment for life, or imprisonment. But when a child is found to have committed an offence of serious nature and the punishment provided by this law is not sufficient, or if the court is satisfied that the child is so unruly that he cannot be sent to a certified institute, or that any other alternative methods are not suitable in the case, then the court may sentence the child to imprisonment for a period no less than three and not more than 10 years.

When a child is sentenced to imprison-

ment, he or she shall not be allowed to associate with any adults in prison.

The new law incorporates the provision for settlement of dispute where a child has committed any offence of lesser gravity. In such a case, the court may direct the probation officer to take steps in order to settle the dispute between the victim and the child who has committed the offence. According to section 38 of the act, the court may order any person found guilty of an offence committed against a child victim to pay compensation to the child on an application by the child or the child’s parents. Also, the court may suo motu order such compensation to be paid by the convict or offender.

The act provides that under any circumstances no child below the age of nine years be arrested. However, no time frame has been specified for the conclusion of investigation. Considering the best interests of the child, the Children’s Court may pass order to ensure the safety and confidentiality of the child and to maintain secrecy of all information regarding the child so that the child’s identity may not be disclosed. It is interesting to note that the court may not use the terms “offender,” “convicted,” or “sentenced,”

in relation to children while passing an order, instead, the terms “a person found guilty of an offence,” “a finding of guilt,” or “an order made upon such findings,” or such other terms as the court deems appropriate may be used.

The act provides that at least one ‘Children’s Court’ is to be established in every district headquarter and in every metropolitan area Under the new act, the government is obliged to establish and maintain a necessary number of child development centres for both male and female children for the accommodation, reformation, and development of children who are detained or are undergoing trial. The government shall also ensure the minimum standards for proper care of the children staying in the institutes. l Farzana Begum is the Executive Director of Bangladesh Manobadhikar O Poribesh Andolon, and an Advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

In conversation with ‘perfectionist’ Chanchal Chowdhury ka Chowdhury’s Sundorer Kachhe. In addition to those, I will be seen in drama series Bhodropara written by Brindabon Das and directed by Syed Shakil. I will also work on a series which is about health issues - a project of BBC and will be directed by Gias Uddin Selim.

Earthy Treasures on at Athena Gallery

Which one is your favourite?

All these plays features diversity in roles and exciting stories as I have a propensity to perform in good plays only and in good challenging roles. I have given my best possible output in these plays as I always take every role seriously and critically analyse them to portray it in a realistic manner. I prefer to be perfect in my each role to do justice with it.

What is your dream role?

I am very professional and thus give highest attention to each of my roles. So any part I choose to play is my dream role.

Will you work on any new films in the near future?

Yes, I will start working on M M kamal Raj’s next film Kanamachhi.

n Afrose Jahan Chaity Celebrated actor Chanchal Chowdhury will be seen in drama series Chokher Bali on ETV tonight at 9:30pm. The talented actor is busy with his new ventures as always. His popularity on screen and theatre has never been unstable. For the major part of his career, he has carried his popularity and strived to fulfill expectations of his fans.

After successfully playing a multitude of versatile characters, he has elevated the

Amina Sundori to be staged today n Entertainment Desk A traditional pala based experimental theatre production Amina Sundori by Theatre Art Unit will be staged this evening at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.

Written by SM Solaiman and directed by Rokeya Rafique Baby, Amina Shundari has been adopted from the 300 year old folklore of Nasar Malum and Bhelua Shundari.

Tthe play highlights how women are deceived by men in the patriarchal society.

Their love and emotion are

expectations of his audience and kept them interested. Chanchal Chowdhury is a known perfectionist working in several drama serials and single episode dramas along with his regular theatre plays. Recently, Dhaka Tribune caught up with the actor:

What are you working on at present?

I am working on several drama serials and single episode plays. I have completed the shooting for single episode dramas, Mihazur Rahman’s Ekdin Kobir Shathe and Chayani-

Are you still active on theatre?

Theatre is my passion and I still perform onstage regularly with my group Aranyak Natya Dal. As an actor, I groomed myself in theatre.

Nowadays, because of business on-screen, I do not get that much time for working in new projects. I consider my performance in Che-er Cycle as one of my best works on stage so far. I am regular in the popular productions of the troupe including Shangkranti, Rarang, Mayur Singhason, Che-er Cycle and Ora Kadom Ali. l

n Entertainment Desk Hamiduzzaman has been producing brilliant art for the aficionados of the country for almost four decades. His mastery in the field is not limited to a single dimension. He is a remarkable artists as well as a noted sculptor. His exhibition titled Earthy Treasures will end today at the Athena Gallery of fine arts. The artworks on display are the artist’s way of relating to nature. He believes that in this drastic developing and hype of urbanisation, it is important that humans are in touch with nature and appreciate that they have the power to create treasure through art. The exhibition delves into how art can occupy and reflect nature. Hamiduzzaman’s imagination aims to enhance and invigorate the environment.

The sculptures made out of brass, wood, and bronze has an exquisiteness that is found in abundance in nature. The themes and forms of the sculptures are stimulating and the medium gives an insight of an artist’s perception. Aside from his various sculptures, the exhibition further hosts his conceptual drawing with mixed media on paper.

A celebrated sculptor of Bangladesh, he has made his mark in the art arena. With his distinct style of forms, he showcased

n Entertainment Desk After playing a feisty reporter in Madras Cafe, Nargis Fakhri will now be seen as a rich, spoilt brat in Main Tera Hero. Fakhri will be seen playing Ayesha, who is a don’s daughter. “Anupam Kher is my daddy and I am his little princess, who gets everything that she wants. At the same time she’s a bit naïve and sheltered even though she’s a don’s daughter. Her daddy takes care of everything, making sure that she’s safe. At the same time she’s endearing,” says Fakhri, adding that her character falls for her co-star, Varun Dhawan.

Though the actress had a good time playing Ayesha, she says it was not easy. Firstly, she didn’t know anything about being rich and spoilt and having an indulgent daddy, making it difficult for her to visualise how a child like that behaves. “While playing Ayesha, I added a bit of Nargis, who is not really bitchy. The hardest part was wearing those ultra glam clothes. Ayesha loves her fashion, accessories and hot pants, so all my clothes had to be sexy. Even though I am a model and I wear these clothes all the time, wearing them i n front of the camera was different from walking down a runway. Also, it’s nerve wracking when so many people on the sets are staring at you,” she says. l

Emotions Have Many Faces by Hamiduzzaman Khan his artwork in public art shows, as he believes it communicates with the viewers widely. About his art the sculptor said: “A sculpture is not created from an illusion. It is a transformation of light, space and substance into distance tangible forms. These latest collections of works are born from the treasure of Mother Earth but sculpted to manifest familiar images from our daily lives. As I reflect on my early life, I draw inspiration from the time when we are all helpless, when we must depend on the kindness of our parents to nurture us. In this same regard Mother Earth is constantly nurturing her children. There is a power that is especially visible in the development of all planets. I have expressed the symbolic relationship that exists between Mother Nature and humans.” l

Diti to appear in two talk shows today

also ignored and sometimes they are exploited by their nears and dears.

After being abandoned by her husband, Amina Sundori, the protagonist in the play, becomes alone and starts counting days for his arrival from Myanmar. Meanwhile in Myanmar, Nachhar marries a local merchant’s daughter, namely Ekhin and does not seem to be bothered about Amina’s life.The play reaches its climax when Nachhar by fate comes in contact with Amina at Bhola Sawdagar’s house. Seeing her in the merchant’s house, Nachchar rather questions Amina’s chastity. l

Nargis plays a don’s daughter in Main Tera Hero

Monday, March 31, 2014

n Entertainment Desk Today is noted actor Parvin Sultana Diti’s birthday and on the occasion, Diti will be seen in two talk shows on different channels. She cut her birthday cake exactly at 12am with her daughter.

Diti will take part in Aalap, produced by Polash Mahbub at 10:20am on Boishakhi TV. She will share her birthday with her fans and talk about her recent ventures and future plans. She will receive phone calls from fans in the live

show which will telecast directly from the TV station.

From there, she will join Taroka Kothon on Channel i at 12:30pm.

The programme will be hosted by Moushumy Barua. Diti appeared as a guest on this programme many times previously.

About her birthday celebration Diti said: “Apart from these two live shows, I have not planned anything for today.

No shooting, no work, I will just enjoy the day. After that I will come back home and celebrate the day with family, friends and colleagues.” l

Ferdous appears with a new look in an upcoming film titled Leader

TODAY IN DHAKA Exhibition

Solo Sculpture Exhibition

By Hamiduzzaman Khan Time: 10am – 8pm Athena Gallery of Fine Arts, Progoti Shoroni, Uttar Badda Water | Ink | Paper- sketches of

Japan 1996

By Salauddin Ahmed Time: 3pm – 8pm Dhaka Art Center

Festival

Documentary Festival Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Main Auditorum, National Museum

Theatre

Aurangzeb

By Prangonemor Time: 7:00pm – 9:30pm National Theatre Hall, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy

Angelina Jolie in Bosnia to campaign against war rape

Documentary on Shahid Kabir premieres today

n Entertainment Desk

n Entertainment Desk

Hollywood megastar Angelina Jolie was brought to tears while talking to rape victims of the Bosnian war during a visit on Friday to promote a campaign to end sexual violence against women in war.

“There can be no peace while women in conflict or post-conflict zones are raped with impunity,” the Oscar-winner said in Sarajevo.

Jolie was accompanied

by British Foreign Secretary William Hague, with whom she will co-host a global conference in London in June on preventing rape being used a tactic in war. She said she hoped the initiative would help break down taboos about war rape. Witnesses said Jolie cried while listening to victims in the town of Srebrenica.

“Our tradition is not to talk about the rape,” said Munira Subasic, the head of the association of Srebrenica mothers. “Many women have been

through it but don’t talk about it. That is why this visit is important, to show them they don’t have to cope with it alone,” Subasic said.

The initiative was partly inspired by Jolie’s film “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” which dealt with sexual violence inflicted on a woman during Bosnia’s 1992-95 war. Jolie and Hague also laid flowers at a cemetery for Bosnian Muslim victims of the Srebrenica massacre, Europe’s worst massacre since World War Two. Bosnian Serb forces commanded by General Ratko Mladic killed around 8,000 Muslim men and boys after the UN-protected enclave fell in their hands in July 1995. Mladic is now on trial for genocide at the United Nations tribunal in The Hague.

More than 100,000 people, most of them civilians, were killed in the war between Bosnia’s Serbs, Muslim Bosniaks and Croats. It is believed that around 20,000 women were raped. l

A documentary film Shahid Kabir: Prantikotaar Rupokaar, directed by N Rashed Chowdhury will be premiered at 6pm today at Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts.

The documentary is based on the noted artist’s life and practices of his artistic endeavor. The documentary is the part of three week-long solo exhibition I Bow My Head to You in

Deep Obeisance by the artist. The exhibition will end tomorrow.

Faces of underprivileged people, beauty of struggling women, objects from the daily life of ordinary people are the subjects of Kabir who is hailed from a well-off family but never hesitated to embrace the people who go through untold sufferings to manage their basic needs. The colours he uses in most of his paintings reflect the soil and landscape of his homeland. l

Did you know?

Ahmad Shahzad has hit the first T20I century for Pakistan and the 12th overall, from 58 balls

Sport

Monday, March 31, 2014

14 Kaka hopeful for

World Cup

15 Aussies spun out

by India

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

15 Williams claims

seventh Miami title

We are not a strong T20 outfit: Mushfiq

SHEHZAD v BANGLADESH Bowlers Mashrafe Al-Amin Shakib Razzak Mahmudullah Ziaur

Runs 39 27 10 7 7 21

Balls 16 18 9 8 6 5

SR 243.75 150.00 111.11 87.50 116.66 420.00

Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad celebrates after scoring a century during the ICC World Twenty20 match against Bangladesh at The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka yesterday MUMIT M

Tamim’s poor show When the most experienced and highly rated batsman of a side scores 16, 6, 5,

SCORECARD Pakistan Ahmed Shehzad not out 111 Kamran Akmal c Ziaur b Razzak 9 Hafeez st Rahim b Razzak 8 Umar Akmal c Tamim b Mahmudullah 0 Shoaib Malik st Rahim b Shakib 26 Shahid Afridi c Ziaur b Al Amin 22 Sohaib Maqsood not out 1 Extras: (b3, w9, nb1) 13 Total (for five wickets, 20 overs) 190 Fall of wickets 1-43, 2-70, 3-71, 4-154, 5-188 Bowling Mortaza 4-0-63-0 (nb1, w5), Al Amin 4-0-37-1, Shakib 4-0-21-1 (w1), Razzak 4-0-20-2 (w3), Mahmudullah 3-0-24-1, Ziaur 1-0-22-0.

Bangladesh Tamim Iqbal b Gul 16 Anamul Haque c and b Ajmal 18 Shakib c Umar Akmal b Gul 38 Shamsur Rahman c Kamran b Afridi 4 Mushfiqur Rahim lbw b Babar 2 Nasir Hossain st Kamran b Ajmal 23 Mohammad Mahmudullah not out 17 Ziaur Rahman c Kamran b Gul 0 Mashrafe Mortaza not out 17 Extras: (lb3, w2) 5 Total (for seven wickets, 20 overs) 140 Fall of wickets 1-30, 2-36, 3-44, 4-47, 5-91, 6-112, 7-116 Bowling Hafeez 3-0-16-0, Tanvir 3-0-26-0, Gul 4-0-30-3 (w1), Ajmal 3-0-20-2, Babar 3-0-24-1 (w1), Afridi 4-0-21-1 Pakistan won by 50 runs

0, 30, 21 in his last six innings, it is quite obvious to end up on the losing side which is the case of the Bangladesh team and opening batsman Tamim Iqbal at the moment.

The attacking south paw hasn’t been able to live up to the hype recently which not only brought the worst in the 25-year-old but demoralised the team too.

Averaging over 21 in 33 T20 matches Tamim was no way near to his potential in the World T20 where he averaged 13 with a match left against Australia.

Tamim had dominated world class bowling attacks - be it India on his debut World Cup or England in their own backyard - Tamim’s reputation is highly acknowledged. So what actually happened to the Chittagong lad, when a major event is being played at home?

Probably his favorite shot is coming down the track and clobbering the seamers over the in field, but he was caught up in his own trick yesterday when Umar Gul cramped him and rattled his stumps.

When a player’s confidence level goes down to zero and his trademark strokes backfires it is probably the approach, mindset and lack of application to be blamed.

Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim even backed his teammate when he was asked if it was time to rest Tamim in the next match. Musfiq said it will take eight-nine years to drop a player like Tamim - clearly indicating what he means to the team.

It’s only for Tamim to realise what his contribution means to the team and the result and it is high time he should buckle up and do everything necessary to overcome the debacle. l

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim, after three defeats in as many matches, admitted they are not a strong side in the shortest format of the game while at the same time having four to five players off form also cost them heavily in the ongoing World Twenty20.

“It is true (that expectations are low in T20). But for it to happen like this, I would say that we are a team capable of putting up a fight, said Mushfiq after their defeat to Pakistan at SBNS yesterday.

“The four or five players that we have, if they were in peak form, maybe the games would have been different.

Maybe we would have gone close or on a good day we could have beaten a big team. But it is true that we are not a strong T20 outfit on paper. And the teams that we were playing against are much stronger. Apart from the Hong Kong game, we played well in the first round, but in this round we were disappointing. We did not expect that we would play this badly.”

Bangladesh were fighting neck-toneck with their opponents on 71 for three after 10 overs, but some big overs off the seamers took the game away, thought Mushfiq. Mashrafe produced 63 runs off his four, while overall 122 runs came from the nine overs bowled by the pacers.

“When you are losing, it will affect not only me. No one wants to go there and lose the game. It is really disap-

MOST RUNS LEAKED IN T20 Player Anderson (Eng) Jayasuriya (SL) Rubel (Ban) Mortaza (Ban)

Ov 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0

R Wk Opp Date 64 1 Aus 2007 64 0 Pak 2007 63 2 WI 2012 63 0 Pak 2014

Onyango (Kenya)

4.0

61

0

SL

2007

pointing. Against India, Pakistan or those teams, we have not been performing well in T20s.

“We don’t have powerful batsmen down there or match winners, not four or five. There are a few but not like Ajmal, Afridi, Gul or Hafeez. We are really trying our best, but some of the boys are not in their peak form, so that doesn’t help. Hopefully we have one more game to go, and if we can win the

last game that will give us something to cheer,” he said.

Things are certainly not going according to plans and Mushfiq thought replacing the off peak players won’t change the scenario as well.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Shehzad became the only Pakistani cricketer to sore a century in all three formats and he was jubilant to achieve the feat. At the same time the 22-year-old blasted the media who criticized him for not performing in the first two matches.

“To be very honest I have been hearing too many things after having not performed in the last two matches and this is the game when you don’t perform pressure comes on you,” Shehzad said.

“But this is the time when you have to show the character and come out. I just backed myself and stick to my plan and my captain and coaches supported me and like to thank them.

“I want to dedicate the century to those who critisises me and love me and for all of them who said bad things against me so this is a gift from me to all of them all over the world and for Pakistan,” said Shehzad who also became the only Pakistani opener to have a century in T20Is. l

Do-or-die match for Kiwis, Lankans Both Sri Lanka and New Zealand go into today’s match knowing a win will take the winner to the semifinal and a defeat equals elimination from the ICC T20 World Cup 2014. The end to Group 1 could not have been any better as both teams will battle it out to grab the second and final semifinal spot from the group at Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium this evening. Today’s tie has actually turned out to be a quarterfinal although it was surely not meant to be like that when the fixtures were announced for T20 World Cup. Courtesy of a superior score according to the D/L method, New Zealand actually started the tournament on a winning note in a rain-affected encounter against England. In their second game,

they failed to get over the line by a whisker against South Africa as perhaps the most aggressive final over in Twenty20 cricket from Dale Steyn denied them a win.However, the Black Caps sealed their second win against the tricky Dutch quite comfortably in their third match.

One thing which should give New Zealand a lot of optimism is their top order where the likes of Brendon McCullum, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor have made handsome contribution to the team’s cause at different times. The Kiwis also have quality all-round options in Corey Anderson and Jimmy Neesham to support their batsmen. Furthermore, the addition of Trent Boult in place of an out of sorts looking Tim Southee proved to be a master stroke against the Dutch in the last match. Therefore, Sri Lanka would have their work cut out if the Kiwis turn out to be a bird of prey.

However,all-rounder Corey Ander-

son thinks that one cannot control a Twenty20 game, rather it will be the momentum that will take a side to the victory in this very important game today.“The nature of T20 is there’s a lot of things you can’t control and if one or two players step up, then we can beat anyone and we certainly have the players to do that. We’ll be going into the game with confidence and we have personnel to win this game. We know Sri Lanka have a very good side and have been playing good cricket throughout the group stage,” said Anderson.

LasithMalinga,who will lead Sri Lanka today in place of the suspended Dinesh Chandimalsounded bullish and affirmed that his team was not worried about what New Zealand might do. “We are not thinking about the opposition.

We are thinking about our players, their skill and how to develop that during tomorrow’s game. That’s very important for us,” saidMalinga. “We are playing games in the evening and we must

know how to use those conditions.

We can’t give excuses for our skill. We know exactly what situation we have to face and preparing for that in training.

We can’t make excuses about wet balls and things like that,” said Malinga.

Today’s match is so tricky that even AB de Villiers of South Africa couldn’t actually find much to separate both the teams from each other. “It’s another quarterfinal. The clear favorite is Sri Lanka, obviously, for being used to these conditions. They’re playing really good cricket, but I’ll sit on the fence on that one,” said de Villiers. “The New Zealanders are very competitive and are playing some tough cricket. They’re hard to beat in pressure situations and are a really good fielding team, which will count in their favor on this ground with the wet ball. It’s 50-50.”

All in all, spectators can expect another cliffhanger as a do or die situation should bring out the best from both the teams. l

(From L-R) New Zealand Bowling coach Shane Bond (L) gestures while talking with Kane Williamson during a training session yesterday. Sri Lanka cricket captain Dinesh Chandimal (L) warms up with teammates at a training session yesterday AFP

The formidable Aussie duo n

Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy (R)

When one prepares to bowl from the bowling end, the other one gets ready with gloves on her hands behind the stumps at the other end. We are talking about the Aussie duo- fast bowling all-rounder Ellyse Perry and wicketkeeper-batsman Alyssa Healy who have been playing together for four years and during that time they have tasted two World Twenty20 titles with Australia.

Both Perry and Healy were born in the same year i.e. 1990 but the former one is perhaps the most talked-about person in the world women’s cricket for her dual international identity as well as for representing her country in the highest level of both cricket and football World Cup. Alyssa is engaged with cricket even in

her personal life having Australian cricket legend and former wicketkeeper Ian Healy as uncle and current national team fast bowler Mitchell Starc as life partner. Healy has always gone through cricket all her life.

After retiring from ODI in 1997, Ian Healy called it a day from Test cricket two years later when Alyssa Healy was just an eight or nine-year-old kid. “I remember him playing when I was kid. I don’t think I didn’t understand what he was doing. I just loved to watch cricket and when I started playing cricket, I came to know what he has done,” She recalled.

Healy’s father was also a cricketer who played for Queensland but never made it into the national squad. When asked who had more influence on becoming what she is today, Healy replied, “My father. He trained me with bat and ball and hit me

catches. My uncle was known worldwide.

That also had an influence on me. But my father had the biggest influence in my life to become a cricketer.”

Alyssa still gets tips from her uncle. Ian took her for dinner to give her guidance she needed during a match of the women’s Ashes series where Ian Healy was present as a commentator. Alyssa has been dating Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc since that match but she says they don’t usually talk about cricket. “It’s sort of unusual but when we get along, the talk is not lot of cricket but other things about life.”

There is a lot to talk about Ellyse Perry who became the youngest Australian ever to make international cricket debut in 2007 at the age of 16 and in that same year she also earned her first football cap for the Matildas. “I suppose I’m very lucky. I started

playing both sports when I was six years old.

I played as many competitions as I could. I guess it just came along. I really enjoyed it at the beginning but then I kept on doing it and ended up playing both,” She said.

After playing every match of the ICC World Twenty20 in 2010, Perry became the first Australian woman to represent her country at a senior World Cup in two different sports as she was selected in the Matildas squad for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany. Despite playing as a defender, Perry scored one goal against Sweden.

“They’re all different but obviously playing in a soccer world cup is special and also the cricket world cup. I guess both are special since I represented my country. This is something I will remember for the rest of my life,” she proudly added. l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Leicester closer to promotion

Sport

Monday, March 31, 2014

Sixers dodge losing record with win

Leicester moved another step closer to the Premier League as the Championship leaders eased to a 2-0 victory over promotion rivals Burnley on Saturday.

Nigel Pearson’s side were already firm favourites to reach the top flight and that lucrative prize is now within touching distance after the Foxes handed Burnley their first home league defeat for over a year. Leicester are 16 points clear of third-placed QPR and look certain to secure automatic promotion sooner rather than later.

–AFP

Holders Al Ahli out of African CL

The Philadelphia 76ers avoided a record-setting 27th straight National Basketball Association loss with a dominating 123-98 home victory over the struggling Detroit Pistons on Saturday. Thaddeus Young finished with 21 points, six rebounds and three assists for the 76ers, who came into the contest having lost 18 straight at home and 26 overall, equaling the longest losing streak in league history. “I am happy for the players and I am happy for the fans,” said Sixers coach Brett Brown. “I am real happy for the players.”

–AFP

Holders Al Ahli of Egypt were sensationally eliminated from the African Champions League after losing 3-2 at home to namesakes Al Ahli Benghazi of Libya in the final knockout round on Saturday. Al Ahli, title winners a record eight times, missed out on the group phase after being beaten 4-2 on aggregate after the second leg which was hosted in Alexandria because Ahli are prohibited from playing in Cairo by Egypt’s security officials. Al Ahli had pulled back the 1-0 deficit from last weekend’s first leg.

–Reuters

Flamini makes Man City wait for top spot Manchester City could not exploit an earlier defeat by Premier League leaders Chelsea and had to be content with a point from a 1-1 draw at Arsenal on Saturday.

The visitors looked on course for the summit after taking an 18th-minute lead through David Silva, but Mathieu Flamini earned his side a share of the spoils early in the second half.

City would have moved ahead of Chelsea, who had surprisingly lost 1-0 at Crystal Palace, and Liverpool, who are at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, had they won, but Chelsea remain at the summit for now.

Manuel Pellegini’s side stay in third place, but will have two games in hand over their rivals once the Liverpool game is concluded, so their title destiny remains in their own hands.

Arsenal’s title hopes continue to fade, however, as they find themselves still in fourth, five points behind Chelsea with only six games remaining.

Arsenal made one change from the side that drew 2-2 at home to Swansea City on Tuesday due to a late Flamini

own goal, with Lukas Podolski replacing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Unsurprisingly, City retained the same starting XI that had won 3-0 at Manchester United on the same night.

City then opened the scoring through Silva, who started and finished the counter-attack himself.

The Spain midfielder brought the ball forward before slipping Edin Dzeko in on the left.

The striker’s low shot cannoned back off goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny’s near post to Silva, who got enough of a touch to divert it into the net.

Flamini put the ball in the City net straight after with an effort that bounced over City goalkeeper Joe Hart, but the Frenchman was one of two offside attackers when the cross came in so it did not count.

The setback seemed to galvanise Arsenal, who continued to attack, and Yaya Toure was booked for tugging Rosicky to the ground, with Vincent Kompany also cautioned for a bodycheck on Mikel Arteta.

The half then drifted into a war of attrition and ended with Rosicky booked for a late challenge on Gael Clichy and Silva cautioned for catching Arteta. l

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny tries to stop Manchester City's Yaya Toure during their English Premier League match at The Emirates Stadium in London on Saturday

Atletico stay top after battling win Atletico Madrid moved a step closer to an unlikely Spanish title triumph when they battled back from a goal down to secure a 2-1 win at fourthplaced Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Saturday.

The hard-fought victory at the San Mames, only the second home defeat for Bilbao this season, maintained Atletico’s one-point lead over champions Barcelona, who won 1-0 at Espanyol in the earlier kickoff thanks to a Lionel Messi penalty.

Atletico have 76 points with seven games left, equalling their tally from last season when they finished third, while Barca, who host the Madrid club in their Champions League quarterfinal first leg on Tuesday, are on 75.

Third-placed Real Madrid avoided a third successive defeat when La Liga top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 28th goal of the campaign and Gareth Bale struck twice in a 5-0 stroll at home to city neighbours Rayo Vallecano.

Looking to bounce back after defeats at home to Barca in last weekend’s ‘Clasico’ and at Sevilla on Wednesday, Real, who host Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday,

have 73 points.

Atletico fell behind in the sixth minute when Bilbao’s Iker Muniain raced clear and sent a brilliant lobbed effort over

RESULTS

Celta Vigo

Nolito 87-P

Athletic Bilbao Muniain 6

Real Madrid

1 0

Sevilla

1 2

Atletico Madrid

5 0

Rayo Vallecano

Diego Costa 22, Koke 55

Ronaldo 15, Carvajal 55, Bale 68, 70, Morata 78

goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois into the net.

Diego Costa levelled in the 22nd, his 25th goal of the campaign, when Koke in-

Knee injury set to end Thiago’s season at Bayern

Atletico Madrid's Diego Costa celebrates after scoring against Athletic Bilbao during their Spanish La Liga match at San Mames stadium in Bilbao on Saturday REUTERS

Bayern Munich’s Spain midfielder Thiago Alcantara is expected to miss the rest of the season after a scan revealed he has partially torn the medial ligament in his right knee.

The 22-year-old attacking midfielder must wear a cast for the next 14 days and is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks after limping off in Saturday’s 3-3 draw at home to Hoffenheim.

He is definitely out of Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final, first leg at Manchester United, as well as the return leg in Munich on April 9 and the semi-finals at the end of April should Bayern progress. l

Monaco slip to rare defeat Monaco suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat away to Evian on Saturday to leave Paris Saint-Germain 13 points clear at the top of the Ligue 1 table with just seven games left.

Just three days after trouncing Lens 6-0 in the quarter-finals of the French Cup, the principality club slipped to just their fourth league loss of the campaign as Cedric Mongongu’s 86th-minute penalty made the difference.

The Congolese defender, who played for Monaco at the start of his career, sent Danijel Subasic the wrong way from the spot after Ricardo Carvalho blocked a Cedric Barbosa shot with his arm inside the area.

Earlier, Monaco had created the best of the few chances there were in open play, but James Rodriguez was guilty of

one particularly glaring miss as he failed to properly connect with Valere Germain’s low cross with the goal gaping.

Evian, who drew in Monaco in November and won 2-0 at home to PSG in

RESULTS

Sochaux Sunzu 25

AC Ajaccio Faty 4, Tallo 33

Evian TG Mongongu 86-P

Montpellier Nantes Reims Fortes 49

1 1 2 2

Marseille Nkoulou 90

Toulouse Sylla 37, Chantome 61

1 0

Monaco

0 0 0 0 1 1

Valenciennes Bordeaux Lorient Aboubakar 45-P

December, move five points clear of the relegation zone after this result while Ranieri’s men may find their advantage over third-placed Lille reduced to six

points if LOSC win against Guingamp on Sunday.

Cameroon international defender Nicolas Nkoulou scored a last-minute equaliser to earn Marseille a 1-1 draw at Sochaux, but it was a result that did little good to either side.

Toulouse missed the opportunity to leapfrog Marseille into the top six as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Ajaccio in Corsica.

Elsewhere, Odair Fortes scored to earn Reims a 1-1 draw at home to Lorient, for whom Vincent Aboubakar netted a first-half penalty, while there were goalless stalemates between Montpellier and Valenciennes and Nantes and Bordeaux.

On Friday, champions PSG took another step towards retaining their title and warmed up for next Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at home to Chelsea by winning 1-0 at Nice. l

tercepted a stray pass in midfield and sent the Brazil-born forward clear to score past Gorka Iraizoz before Koke grabbed the winner 10 minutes after halftime when he nodded in a Filipe Luis centre.

At a rain-lashed Bernabeu, Bale played Ronaldo in to open the scoring in the 15th minute against 13th-placed Rayo and the Portugal forward set up Dani Carvajal for the second 10 minutes after the break.

Bale got his first of the night with a tap-in from Angel Di Maria’s cross in the 68th, sprinted clear to score a second two minutes later and substitute Alvaro Morata curled in a superb fifth for the home side in the 78th. l

REUTERS

Sao Paulo World Cup stadium hit by third death A construction worker at Sao Paulo’s troubled World Cup stadium was killed after falling from a stand on Saturday, bringing the number of deaths at the venue to three.

The workman, named as Fabio Hamilton da Cruz, fell eight metres (26 feet) as he helped install temporary seating at the ground and was taken to hospital where his condition had been described as serious.

His employers said in a statement that he was observing all the necessary safety standards at the ground which will host

the opening game of the World Cup between hosts Brazil and Croatia on June 12. In November, two men died when a crane collapsed at the same arena.

The Sao Paulo stadium was one of six venues to miss an initial FIFA delivery deadline of December 31 and is only set to be handed over to organisers in mid-May. A total of seven workers have now been killed during work on Brazil’s 12 World Cup venues.

In a statement, sports minister Aldo Rebelo expressed his “profound regret” at the news of da Cruz’s death and added that an investigation would be immediately launched. l

Hoffenheim snap Bayern streak Hoffenheim surprisingly ended champions Bayern Munich’s 19-game Bundesliga winning streak with a 3-3 draw after taking the lead and then fighting back from two goals down on Saturday.

Borussia Dortmund’s Marco Reus scored a hat-trick to bring his team back from two goals behind as they beat relegation-threatened VfB Stuttgart 3-2 to remain in second place.

Last season’s treble winners Bayern, who are likely to be without their Spain midfielder Thiago Alcantara for both legs of the Champions League quarter-final with Manchester United after he limped off with a suspected

ligament injury, did manage to stretch their unbeaten domestic league run to 53 games.

Hoffenheim’s Anthony Modeste si-

RESULTS

Bayern Munich Pizarro 31, 40, Shaqiri 34

Leverkusen Kiessling 53-P

VfB Stuttgart Gentner 9, Harnik 19

VfL Wolfsburg Olic 69, Naldo 89

Mainz 05

3 3

Hoffenheim

1 1

Braunschweig

2 3

Dortmund

Modeste 23, Salihovic 44, Firmino 75 Reichel 47 Reus 30, 68-P, 83

2 1

Frankfurt

3 0

FC Augsburg

3 2

Nuremberg

Aigner 11

Bungart 23, Hitz 38-og, Geis 83

Freiburg

Krmas 23, Mehmedi 53-P, Klaus 65

Pogatetz 7, Drmic 45-P

Kaka hopeful for World Cup RESULTS

Bologna

0 3

Atalanta

3 0

Chievo

De Luca 22, Estigarribia 26

AC Milan

Balotelli 4, Kaka 27, 54

Brazilian forward Ricardo Kaka said he still believes in his World Cup chances but refused to rule out leaving AC Milan amid speculation he could opt to play in the United States from next season.

Kaka has appeared only sporadically for Brazil in recent years but was called into Luiz Felipe Scolari’s squad for friendlies with Italy and Russia last year.

After scoring a brace in a 3-0 win over Chievo on Saturday in his 300th game for the Rossoneri, Kaka said: “There’s still time for the World Cup. I just have to keep playing well with Milan.

“On May 7 the squad will be announced, and I believe I’m still in with a chance.”

Kaka, meanwhile, refused to rule out leaving the club at the end of what has been a torrid campaign for the Serie A giants. l

lenced the Munich crowd, whose side secured the 2013/14 title at Hertha Berlin on Tuesday, by slotting in a 23rd minute goal.

The hosts, with a largely secondstring team ahead of their first leg at United on Tuesday, then responded with three goals in an explosive nineminute spell before a Hoffenheim comeback.

Peruvian Claudio Pizarro, making a rare start in coach Pep Guardiola’s rotation, struck in the 31st and 40th minutes and Xherdan Shaqiri added another in the 34th as the Bavarians seemingly restored order.

With convicted former Bayern president Uli Hoeness back in the stands before he starts serving a 3-1/2 year jail sentence for tax evasion, Hoffenheim battled back. l

Koke can be Spain’s playmaker for next decade, Xavi says Spain and Barcelona playmaker Xavi has singled out Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke as his successor as the man at the heart of the world and European champions’ possession-based playing style.

Xavi, 34, is winding down his fabulously successful career for club and country and the 22-year-old Koke has emerged as one of the best of a rich crop of Spanish creative midfielders alongside the likes of Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcantara and Isco of Real Madrid.

“Koke is an extraordinary footballer,” Xavi said in an interview.

“He has everything: talent, physical ability, he is a footballer of the present and the future. He has been marked out as the conductor of Spain’s orchestra for the next 10 years," Xavi added.l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Aussies spun out by India

Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh plays a shot during the World Twenty20 match against Australia at The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka yesterday MUMIT M

GROUP 2 Teams India West Indies Pakistan Australia Bangladesh

Mat Won Lost Pts RR 4 4 0 8 +1.280 3 2 1 4 +1.223 3 2 1 4 +0.893 3 0 3 0 -1.549 3 0 3 0 -2.315

QUICK BYTES

East Delta win Uni-Beach Cricket East Delta University clinched the title of the Uni-Beach Cricket beating Cox’s Bazar International University by 14 runs at the Kalatoli beach, Cox’s Bazar yesterday. Batting first, East Delta University were all out for 54 in their stipulated six overs. However, their bowlers later restricted Cox’s Bazar International University to 40 only to give them a 14 run win to become the champion. Tarek Aziz, the captain of Cox’s Bazar International University was adjudged the man of the tournament. Bangladesh Islami University won the Fair Play Trophy.

–RM

Hamilton leads Mercedes to big win Britain’s Lewis Hamilton led the first Mercedes one-two in 59 years on Sunday as he stormed into the title race with a commanding victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Hamilton streaked away from pole position and was never pressured as he finished ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg with four-time defending world champion Sebastian Vettel third for Red Bull. It was the first time both Mercedes drivers have led the field since 1955, when the German marque departed the sport before returning in 2010 and now confirming themselves as the team to beat in F1’s new era.

–AFP

An all round performance from India saw them a clinch their fourth consecutive win in the World Twenty20 after they comprehensively beat Australia by 73 runs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

Already out of the contention of moving ahead, Australia came out to chase a modest 160 and were in all sorts of trouble facing the Indian spinners.

Man of the match Ravichandran Ashwin removed both the openers Aaron Finch and David Warner to kick start the batting disaster for the Aussies.

Australia never looked to threaten the opposition and instead the power house of world cricket kept losing wickets one after another and surrendered helplessly as Shane Watson, Cameron White and skipper George Bailey all returned to the dressing room with single digits.

In form Glenn Maxwell smashed a couple of sixes and was the highest scorer for Australia with 23 off 12 balls before he was cleaned up by Ashwin.

The off spinner led the bowling from the front claiming four wickets for 11 runs only while he was once again ably supported by leg spinner Amit Mishra

Bangladesh women slumped to their third consecutive defeat in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 as India registered a comfortable 79-run victory over the home side at the Sylhet International Stadium yesterday.

Opting to bat first India scored 151 for seven and later restricted Bangladesh on 72 for eight. India dug their foundation on a 107-run opening partnership with Harmanpreet Kaur’s wonderful 77-run innings showing the way. Kaur hit 12 boundaries and one towering six in her 59-ball innings before getting dismissed by JahanaraAlam. Skipper Mithali Raj contributed with 38-ball 41.

Rumana Ahmed picked up two for 33 The hosts, in reply, once again failed with the batting and could only manage to score 72/8 and their highest individual score is 19 by Salma Khatun. Shubhlakshmi Sharma and Jhulan Goswami took three wickets each for the visitors.

It was India’s first win of the tournament after England defeated Sri Lanka in the day’s other match, the victory came up with no help for India to reach the semifinals. They didn’t win a single match in the last edition of the meet in 2012 although they made it to the last four in the first two ICC World Twenty20 in 2009 and 2010.

Bangladesh, who are playing

at that stage for the first time, had never looked to reach the next stage after losing first two games and came to the field to gain some experience against India.

“They are stronger than us and they are far more experienced than us with lots of variations. They played very well,” said Bangladesh pacer Jahanara Alam after the game. “We have totally failed to click in all of our games including today’s one. Hopefully we will do better in the next game,” she added. l

BRIEF SCORE India v Bangladesh India Women

151/5 in 50 overs (H Kaur 77, M Raj 41; Rumana 2-33, Salma 1-11) Bangladesh Women 72/8 in 20 overs (Salma 19, Fargana 15; J Goswami 3-11, S Sharma 3-12) India Women won by 79 runs Sri Lanka v England Sri Lanka Women

85/9 in 20 overs (Siriwardane 38; A Shrubsole 3-9, R Grundy 2-13) England Women 86/3 in 16 overs (S Taylor 36; Siriwardane 2-15) England Women won by 7 wickets

Shihab scores hattrick for Armanitola High School Palong Tulshar Gurudas High School, Shariatpur by 6-1 goals. Durjoy Baidya scored three, Shariful Islam netted two and Iftekhar Hossain added the other for the winners. Abu Talib Shuvo scored the consolation goal for the losers. In the second match of the day Richi High School, Sylhet defeated Shahin School, Dhaka by 2-0 goals.

Moinul Islam Sony scored both the goals for the winners. In the third match of the day Jessore Municipal High School outplayed Arjat Atarjan High School by 6-1 goals. Rocky Alam scored three, Ikrmaul added two and Mustakin scored the other. The consolation of the losers was scored by Muktadir. l

It will be a dead rubber when England and Netherlands lock horns in their final Group 1 match of the World Twenty20 at Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium today.

With South Africa sitting on the top of the table with three wins and Sri Lanka and New Zealand fighting for the other slot to semis England and Netherlands would go through just formalities.

England had lost two of their three matches while Netherlands, the associate member have lost all their three matches of the group. However both the English and the Dutch side wants to end the story on a winning note.

England captain Stuart Broad looked forward to a ‘new’ England era after a

Hasan Khan Sun proved his superiority as the supreme karateka of the country once again won the gold medal in the senior men’s Kata event in the Independence Day Karate held at the National Sports Council gymnasium yesterday. Sarwar Hossain won the silver of the event and Iftekhar Hossain and Din Islam grabbed the bronze.

Sajjad Hossain, Afzal Hossain and Sarwar Hossain won the gold medal in the team event shrugging off challenges of Hasan Khan Sun, Hossain Khan Moon and Lokman Hossain.

Yu Ni Chuck emerged as the best female karateka as she won the title of senior women’s Kata event.

Nasima Akhter followed her with the silver while Humaira Akhter won the bronze.

The president of Bangladesh Karate Federation and the director general of RAB Md. Mokhlesur Rahman distributed the prizes as the chief guest. Federation secretary Sheikh Ali Ahsan Badal was also present on the occasion. l

3:30PM England v Netherlands 7:30PM Sri Lanka v New Zealand

Williams claims seventh Miami title

NBA 2013-14 5:00AM Boston v Chicago 7:30AM La Lakers v Phoenix

Star Sports HD1 La Liga 12:00AM Granada v Levante 2:00AM Real Betis v Malaga Star Sports 1 Italian Serie A 12:45AM Livorno v Inter Milan Star Sports 4 English Premier League 1:00AM Sunderland v West Ham

Fall of wickets 1-6, 2-46, 3-53, 4-66, 5-150, 6-152, 7-158 Bowling Hodge 2-0-13-1 (w2), Maxwell 4-0-20-1 (w1), Starc 4-0-36-1 (w4), Watson 4-0-36-1 (w3, nb1), Bollinger 4-0-24-1, Muirhead 2-0-24-1 Australia A. Finch c Kohli b Ashwin 6 D. Warner c R. Sharma b Ashwin 19 C. White c Jadeja b Kumar 0 S. Watson b M. Sharma 1 G. Maxwell b Ashwin 23 G. Bailey c Kohli b Jadeja 8 B. Hodge c Jadeja b Mishra 13 B. Haddin c Rahane b Mishra 6 M. Starc run out 2 J. Muirhead c Dhoni b Ashwin 3 D. Bollinger not out 1 Extras: (lb3, w1) 4 Total (all out, 16.2 overs) 86 Fall of wickets 1-13, 2-19, 3-21, 4-44, 5-55, 6-63, 7-75, 8-79, 9-83, 10-86 Bowling Kumar 3-0-7-1, M. Sharma 2-0-11-1, Ashwin 3.2-0-11-4 (w1), Raina 1-0-16-0, Jadeja 4-0-25-1, Mishra 3-0-13-2 India won by 73 runs

Proving there is no place like home, world number one Serena Williams swept past China’s Li Na 7-5 6-1 in the final of the Sony Open on Saturday, collecting a record seventh win on the Miami hardcourts.

Williams, who lives an hour’s drive from the Tennis Center at Crandon Park and considers the tournament her home event, treated the second ranked Li like an unwelcome guest, needing just two hours on a steamy centre court to collect her 59th career title, the $787,000 winner’s purse pushing her career earnings over $55 million.

In 14 appearances at the Miami event Williams has driven back to her Palm Beach Gardens home with the trophy half

miserable winter ended with exit from the World Twenty20 losing a nail biter against South Africa in their previous game. They went down by only three runs against the Proteas to be thrown out of the semi-final race after two defeats in three matches.

This will be a reason for Broad and his crew to find a win against a weaker opponent, Netherlands, to make sure they return home with a winning note before getting busy with the after math of the series of defeats which includes losing the coveted Ashes in Australia, a whitewash which turned acrimonious with the axing of key batsman Kevin Pietersen.

The side also came into the world event losing some key players – Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Luke Wright due to injury. The side’s skipper Stuart Broad things that the side might have not made into the next stage but have

bagged positives and reason to ‘hold their heads up high’.

While Netherlands, even if they lose the game against England and mission of winning at least one game against a Test nation unaccomplished, they can always plenty of encouragement from their performances from the world event.

The Dutch side made it to the Super 10s after scripting history with the fastest chase in the format against Ireland and become the only Associate team in stage, knocking out Zimbabwe in the process.

Holland started the Super 10s with a low bowled out for 39 by Sri Lanka, this time setting a record low. But they literally bounced back with a bang after falling narrowly short of beating South Africa before pushing New Zealand.

Those performances have restored confidence after a backlash to being skittled by Sri Lanka. l

Hasan wins gold of Independence Karate

BTV, Gazi TV, Maasranga TV Star Sports 1, HD1

Sony Six

who removed the tail enders and bagged two wickets in the process. The run rate pressure was creeping on before Australia were eventually bundled out for a mere 86 in 16.2 overs.

Earlier, India was tested by been asked to bat first.

Rohit Sharma was caught at gully in the very first over of the match bowled

by Brad Hodge before Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli settled down with a 40run second wicket partnership.

Kohli was dismissed after scoring 23 by young leg spinner James Muirhead followed by Ajinkya Rahane (19).

Suresh Raina also departed cheaply after adding six runs beside his name which had India in a spot of bother with 66/4 and only eight overs remaining.

However, it was Yuvraj Singh who rose on the occasion and exhibited his class. He smashed two consecutive sixes off Muirhead and looked very confident in his approach.

The 32-year-old reached his half century in style by hitting Shane Watson over deep square leg for a maximum which was followed by a boundary.

However, he was dismissed by the same bowler after scoring 60 from 43 balls with five fours and four sixes.

Skipper MS Dhoni also added a quick 24 with a six and a four, taking India to a challenging total of 159 in 20 overs. l

SCORECARD India R. Sharma c Muirhead b Hodge 5 A. Rahane c Haddin b Bollinger 19 V. Kohli c White b Muirhead 23 Y. Singh c Maxwell b Watson 60 S. Raina c Finch b Maxwell 6 M. Dhoni b Starc 24 R. Jadeja run out 3 R. Ashwin not out 2 B. Kumar not out 0 Extras: (lb6, w10, nb1) 17 Total (for seven wickets, 20 overs) 159

Eves stumbled by India England-Dutch to complete formalities

The second day of final round of the First Security Islami Bank National School saw Shihab of Armanitola High School score six goals with a hat-trick against Navy School and College, Khulna at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium yesterday.

Armanitola High School won the match by 9-0 goals. The other three goals were scored by Tuhin. In the first match of the day Chittagong Municipal High School and College thrashed

DAY’S WATCH

15

Monday, March 31, 2014

the time, her seven titles two better than the five each she has won at Australian, U.S. Open and Wimbledon grand slams.

After watching Li’s forehand return slam into the net to end the contest, a delighted Williams danced around the court, raising seven fingers in the air signaling each of her Miami titles.

“I was actually super excited at the end, because I remember sitting here last year trying to get to six, obviously I wanted seven but I don’t want to put the pressure on myself to get to seven,” said Williams, who had shared the tournament record of six titles with Andre Agassi. “I wanted to have the most titles here. l

Md Moklesur Rahman, the president of Bangladesh Karate Federation distributes the medal to Hasan Khan Sun at the NSC Gymnasium yesterday COURTESY

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Monday, March 31, 2014

Uncertainty awaits 500 private medical students Admission hangs in the balance following an order from the Appellate Division

n Moniruzzaman Uzzal Despite spending massive amounts of money to secure admission at their desired medical colleges, hundreds of students are now facing an uncertain future after the Appellate Division issued a stay order on the High Court order that earlier allowed private medical colleges to admit students with as low marks as 110.

Tania Islam, one of the students whose fate hangs in the balance, enrolled as a student at the Sirajganj Medical College in February with the admission score of 112.86. Although the health ministry had earlier set 120 as the cut-off mark for admission, Tania was able to secure admission based on a High Court order.

Tania’s father Rafiqul Islam, who is a lawyer at Sirajganj Judge’s Court, told

the Dhaka Tribune that he had enrolled his daughter at the medical college with belief in the High Court order, but later came to know that the Appellate Division had issued a stay order on the HC ruling and directed to hear the case at the full bench of the High Court.

Like Tania’s family, the parents of over 500 students with scores as low as 110, reportedly spent around Tk12 lakh to Tk30 lakh for securing their children’s admission at different private medical colleges across the country. All of them are now spending days full of uncertainty, as they are yet to know if the admissions are valid or not.

Earlier, the High Court had passed an order to stay the health ministry’s cut-off mark of 120 for six months, and directed to fix the minimum admis-

sion mark at 110. However, Appellate Division Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana issued a stay order on the High Court order earlier this month.

In a recent meeting of the health ministry, Health Minister Mohammed Nasim reportedly decided not to allow any students who had secured admission with a score lower than the ministry-stipulated 120.

Dr Moazzem Hossain, president of Bangladesh Private Medical College Association (BPMCA), told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that the BPMCA would urge the health minister, who is the “lawful guardian of the health sector,” to recognise the admission of more than 500 students who got admitted following the High Court order.

“We want to resolve the untoward

situation by discussing it with the health minister, rather than solving it at the court,” he added.

The private medical colleges were facing huge financial crisis as continuous political unrest prevented most of them from fulfilling their quota of allotted seats, Moazzem said, adding that the growth of private medical and dental colleges would be badly affected if the government did not intervene.

Professor Dr ABM Abdul Hannan, director (medical education) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), told the Dhaka Tribune that the admission process was not valid, as the health ministry had not issued any circular for admitting students with scores as low as 110, instead of the cut-off mark of 120.

The Bangladesh Medical and Dental

Council (BMDC) and different universities would not provide registration to these students, he added.

The Dhaka Tribune has learned that over 50,000 students who applied for seats at public and private medical colleges had scored 120 out of 200 marks (100 marks from SSC and HSC, and 100 from admission test), which was the prerequisite for admission into MBBS and BDS courses.

However, these 50,000 students were unable to fill up the 5,850 seats (4,800 in medical and 1,050 in dental colleges) in the country’s private medical institutes.

DGHS sources said out of the 53,430 students who secured the necessary score for admission, only 3,394 students finally enrolled. l

Hall-Mark chairman, MD face fresh case n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu Sonali Bank filed a case yesterday with Dhaka’s first ever Money-Loan Court against the Hall-Mark chairman and its managing director.

Executive Officer of Ruposhi Bangla Branch of Sonali Bank Md Abdus Salam filed the fresh case in the afternoon against Chairman Jasmine Islam and Managing Director Tanvir Mahmud to realise Tk9.92 crore.

Judge Md Rabiuzzaman ordered the accused to submit a written statement

by May 5 through their counsel.

With this one, Sonali Bank authorities have filed a total of 10 cases against Hall-Mark Group for the recovery of Tk72 crore in defaulted loans.

Abdus Salam said: “Sonali Bank will file 11 more cases against the MD, its chairman and other sister companies.”

On October 4, 2012, the ACC filed 11 cases against Hall-Mark’s owners and senior officials along with some Sonali Bank employees, in connection with the much-talked loan scam of Tk3,500 crore.

Tanvir is now in jail while Jasmine was freed on bail. l

Bangladesh abstains from UNGA Crimea resolution n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution on Crimea which Bangladesh has abstained from.

According to the United Nations’ website, by a recorded vote of 100 in favour to 11 against, with 58 abstentions including Bangladesh, the Assembly adopted a resolution on Thursday titled “Territorial integrity of Ukraine”.

“Bangladesh abstained when the resolution was taken and it did not give any explanation for that,” said an official of the foreign ministry.

The non-binding text said a part of Ukraine had been forcibly annexed by a state and urged other states, international organisations and specialised agencies not to recognise any change in the status of Crimea or the Black Sea port city of Sevastopol, and to refrain from actions or dealings that might be interpreted as such.

Meanwhile, Russian ambassador to Dhaka Alexander Nicholaev at a programme expressed satisfaction with the fact that Bangladesh abstained from the UNGA resolution.

He was speaking at a country lecture programme at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies yesterday.

He claimed that joining of Crimea with Russia was not an issue of annexation, rather a reunification issue.

The citizens of Crimea chose to be a part of Russia and the West was playing a double standard in this regard, he alleged. He also thanked China and Russia for their support.

About bilateral trade, the Russian ambassador said the existing trade between the countries was a peanut to the potential. At present, the size of Bangladesh-Russia trade is about $700m.

About reintroducing Aerofloat Dhaka-Moscow flight, he said it was not commercially viable.

When asked about the unit price of a combat fighter plane that Bangladesh was going to procure from Russia, he declined to disclose anything. l

A recently taken picture of the Karnaphuli River in Chittagong shows illegal establishments being constructed on the char area that rose on the river

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Kailashtila oil well drilling deferred again n Aminur Rahman Rasel The scheduled drilling of the seventh oil well at the Kailashtila Gas Field in Sylhet has been once again delayed by three months because the rig – to be used for the work – could not be brought from the Fenchuganj project.

“We have not managed to start drilling here [Kailashtila] because the work at the fifth well in Fenchuganj is taking longer than it is supposed to. We were supposed to use the rig that is being used in Fenchuganj, for drilling well at Kailashtila,” MA Baki, managing director of Bapex, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Bapex, a subsidiary of state oil company Petrobangla, is tasked with drilling the well and producing oil at Kailashtila.

Malaysian consultancy firm Oriax is assisting Bapex in the project because the latter does not have any experience in producing oil.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Tk220 crore project at Kailashtila in September last year. At that time, December was fixed for beginning work.

“Now we hope to start the drilling by the end of June. Hopefully, then we will be able to start production in December [2014],” said Md Tofazzal Hossain, managing director of Sylhet Gas Fields Ltd (SGFL), another Petrobangla subsidiary.

In May 2012, more than two decades after the discovery of the first two oil fields in Bangladesh, Bapex found oil reserves of nearly 137 million barrels in Kailashtilla and Haripur after conducting 3D seismic surveys at the sites.

The surveys estimated 109 million barrels of oil reserve at 4,000-metre depth in Kailashtilla and 28 million barrels at 2,600-metre in Haripur.

However, according to Petrobangla estimates, only 55 million barrels or 7.5 million tonnes can be extracted from the two fields. The Kailashtilla and Haripur gas fields are currently under the supervision of the SGFL. In 1986, Petrobangla’s exploration division discovered the Haripur oil field. It was leased to a foreign company named Scimitar, which managed to extract approximately 68,873 tonnes of oil from 1987 to 1994.

Kailashtilla, discovered in 1962, produces around 80 million cubic feet of gas every day from six wells. l

Conflicting probe reports on UNO assault intensifies tension

Tensions as Myanmar embarks on census

n Rabiul Islam

n AFP, Sittwe

Conflicting probe reports by two committees over the assault of an upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) by an assistant sub-inspector in Munshiganj have further intensified the tension between the administration and the police.

During the upazila elections on March 23, ASI Md Emdad of Louhojang police station reportedly assaulted UNO ATM Mahabubul Karim of Gajariaupazila in Munshiganj. ASI Emdad was later suspended from duty.

A three-member committee, headed

by Additional Deputy Inspector General (Dhaka Range) Golum Faruk, submitted its probe report on Friday.

“We did not find that the assistant

sub-inspector had assaulted the UNO,” Faruk told the Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday.

During a heated debate, both men exchanged abusive words and held each other by the collar, the police official said, adding that it was the result of a misunderstanding.

Meanwhile, another committee, headed by Additional District Magistrate Nazrul Islam, found the allegation of UNO to be true, officials said.

“The Police Headquarters, in a letter yesterday, informed the home ministry that the assistant sub-inspector has been suspended and a committee has been formed to investigate the incident,” said an official at the home ministry.

“Steps would be taken as per the

committee’s recommendations,” the official quoted the letter as saying.

Meanwhile, the home ministry had sent a letter to the Munshiganj police superintendent to file a case in this regard but no case has been filed till now, officials say.

A senior official at the home ministry said: “The police claim that the home ministry cannot send letters to an SP directly as it should be sent through Police Headquarters.”

However, Kamal Uddin Ahmed, additional secretary at the ministry, said the ministry had the authority to do so.

When contacted, IGP Hassan Mahmood Khandker refused to comment on the issue, saying: “Ask the Munshiganj police superintendent.” l

Tens of thousands of census-takers fanned out across Myanmar yesterday to gather data for a rare snapshot of the former junta-ruled nation that is already stoking sectarian tensions.

Groups of school teachers and local officials began the 12-day population survey - the first since 1983 - travelling from house to house in an ambitious drive aimed at counting everyone across the poverty-stricken nation.

But the census was called into question even before it started in Rakhine state, the site of deadly religious conflict.

Myanmar has announced that Muslims will be unable to register their ethnicity as “Rohingya” in a move aimed at mollifying angry Rakhine Buddhists who fear any official recognition for the stateless minority could herald a move towards political rights.

Buddhist nationalists were seen travelling through state capital Sittwe yesterday, proclaiming by loud hailer that their planned boycott of the survey had been called off after they received written assurances that the term Rohingya was “illegal”.

But Muslims in the bleak displacement camps on the outskirts of Sittwe, many made homeless in two waves of bloodshed in 2012, expressed determination to defy the edict to register as “Bengali” – a term used by the authorities, who view most Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

“I was born here and my parents were also born here. I was born a Myanmar national. For me, I will not register as ‘Bengali’, I will register as ‘Rohingya’,” HlaMyint, 58, told AFP. Foreign aid workers fled Rakhine after Buddhist mobs attacked their offices as tensions escalated in the run-up to the census.

An 11-year-old girl was killed by a stray bullet after police fired warning shots to disperse angry crowds in Sittwe.

Humanitarian workers in the region have come under increasing pressure from Buddhist nationalists who accuse them of bias in favour of local Muslims.

Tensions high in Rakhine

With tensions running high, the British Embassy in Yangon issued a statement registering its “concern” that the option on the census form for respondents “to self-identify... may not be met”.

“It is important that the government put in place the conditions to allow everyone to participate in this nationwide census in a fair manner and free from intimidation,” the statement added.

Backed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the census is aimed at plugging an information deficit in the former military dictatorship.

Critics, who have called for the exercise to be postponed, accuse the organisers of focusing on the technical aspects of the survey and neglecting political concerns. l

visit our e-paper @ Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gives a child a lollipop at the SOS Palli at Shyamoli yesterday. The PM inquired about the children there and spent some time with them BSS

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B3 Finance ministry to support defaulting raw jute exporters

Bangladesh don’t want IMF to oversee foreign credit flows n Tribune Report

Bangladesh has opposed an IMF proposal to monitor the flows of non-concessional loans by low income countries (LICs).

The International Monetary Fund wants to monitor the credit flows under a fresh proposal on debt monitoring policy.

“We opposed the proposal seriously,” Finance Minister AMA Muhith told reporters, after a meeting with visiting IMF’s South Asia Executive Director Rakesh Mohan at the Ministry of Finance in Dhaka yesterday. “This is not the jurisdiction of IMF and I do not want it by IMF.” He said the World Bank now monitoring the non-concessional loans and should continue. He, however, said there would be no serious damage if the IMF looks after the non-concessional loan.

Replying to question, the minister said the country’s repayment performance of foreign credit is comparatively better than other countries and it has become a culture of Bangladesh.

The finance ministry worked prudently for last 42 years in repayment of the foreign loan, including the works performed by the hardcore loan committee set up by me 25 years ago.

Rakesh praised the country’s macroeconomic situation and said it showed creditable progress with holding stable macroeconomic status. He said the foreign exchange reserve and positive balance of payment helped the country maintain a nice economic situation. l

B4 Asia’s hottest property market is also its most unlikely - North Korea

IMF rebukes 'artificial' cut in default loans n Jebun Nesa Alo International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed dissatisfaction over the huge rescheduling of bank loans as it criticised Bangladesh Bank for relaxing the rules, said a senior executive of the central bank.

They also refused to record the non-performing loan that claimed to have come down to 8.93% of the total outstanding loans in the last quarter of 2013 on ground that the NPL was reduced artificially from 12.79% in previous quarter, he told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

A delegation of IMF expressed the displeasure on the performance of state-owned banks at a meeting with Bangladesh Bank on Thursday last.

They are scheduled to hold another meeting with Bangladesh Bank today to discuss about the ground of relaxing the rescheduling guideline.

The delegation expressed concern that the unusual rescheduling of loans would hit the banking sector negatively in the coming years.

Bangladesh Bank relaxed the rules in December 2013 to facilitate the businessmen affected by the political unrest ahead of the national election held on January 5, and help the banks to show a reduced rate of NPL in their respective balance sheets.

As a result, the balance sheets of the banks reflected substantial fall in classified loans, which was increas-

Amu warns of cancelling idle BSCIC plots n Kayes Sohel Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu yesterday threatened cancelling allotted plots in the BSCIC industrial estates for keeping those idle for years.

He also warned of cancelling the plots at Savar leather estate if the allottees do not relocate their factories faster from Hazaribagh.

“Allotted plots in BSCIC estates will be cancelled if they are not in production,” he said, adding the allotted plots in Savar tannery perk also will be cancelled if tanners do not relocate faster.

He, however, did not give any deadline for relocation of factories.

He rang the alarm bell in response to the country’s business community’s concern over non-availability of land with adequate infrastructure facilities for industries raised at a meeting at Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI).

Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) has 74 industrial estates in 59 districts. Of the 5,747 industrial plots, some 4,278 units are now in production and 321 have either become sick or shutdown. Some 487 plots have not been allocated yet, according to BSCIC. The allotment policies were alleged-

ly flawed as many entrepreneurs refusing to set up factories in the allocated plots due to poor communication, and lack of gas and electricity, affecting investment in the industrial estates, sources in the BSCIC said.

“Many plots have been allotted under political consideration,” said an official, adding that the plots are now sitting idle, with some being used for grazing cattle or as playgrounds.”

Last month, the industries ministry had directed the related agencies, including the contractor firms, to begin work within a week on setting up the central effluent treatment plant (CETP) at the Savar leather estate.

“Nobody will be spared if dilly-dally is noticed in complying the order,” the Industries Minister told a meeting on tannery relocation.

Owing to the long delay, the tannery relocation cost now doubled to stand at Tk1,079 crore, a sharp increase from the first revised project proposal worth more than Tk550 crore taken in October 2007.

The government, which initiated the tannery relocation in 2003, deviated from its original plan and imposed the relocation expense on the owners under a loan agreement for over 15 years, after the CETP is installed. l

Tofail: China to fund garment palli, DITF venue n Tribune Report Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said China would finance establishing of Garment Palli, a permanent venue for Dhaka International Trade Fair and a display centre of local products.

Besides, the country has also assured of allowing duty-free access for all Bangladeshi products, he said.

The minister was talking to the journalists after attending a views exchange with a delegation from China’s Yunnan Province government at his office in Dhaka yesterday.

Governor Li Jiheng led the delegation which included high officials from the provincial government.

Describing China a “close friend of Bangladesh,” Tofail Ahmed said the Chinese government already granted duty-free access for some types of Bangladeshi products.

“But we urged them for making all Bangladeshi products duty-free. They

MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

assured us.”

He said China had also shown high interest to expand their business in Bangladesh.

Official data showed Bangladesh earned $458m from exporting to China against an import of $6,324m during last fiscal year.

Bangladesh suffered a trade deficit of $5,865m with the world’s second largest economy.

“As part of our efforts to reduce this trade gap, we urged China for allowing duty-free access for all products,” Tofail Ahmed said.

Stressing the need for regional connectivity to boost trade with China and the South Asian countries, the commerce minister added the government was trying to build connections with China, India and Myanmar.

Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed and Export Promotion Bureau’s vice chairman Shubhashish Bose were also present in the meeting. l

ing alarmingly till third quarter (August-September, 2013).

The country’s banking sector witnessed a substantial fall in non-performing loans (NPL) by around 4% or Tk16,137 in the last quarter (October-December) of 2013 from the previous quarter, because of the rules relaxed by the central bank.

The IMF team also expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of four state-owned banks as they could not comply with the conditions of MoU (memorandum of understanding) by the deadline of 2013 for recovering their financial health.

They criticised the weak controlling power of Bangladesh Bank and said: “You are telling same story repeatedly about the state-owned banks’ performance.”

The delegation strictly asked the central bank to take punitive action against the state-owned banks for their failure to meet the MoU conditions.

The state banks failed to achieve their loan recovery target while exceeding the loan disbursement limit in 2013, according to an observation of Bangladesh Bank under the MoU. In 2013, the four banks aimed to recover Tk5,379 crore from the default loans, but managed only Tk2,834 crore, which is 52.7% of the target.

The loan growth of BASIC Bank increased by 27.40% or Tk2,333 crore in 2003 which was supposed to increase by 20% from December 2012 in accor-

DHAKA TRIBUNE

dance with the MoU condition. At the same time the non-performing loan (NPL) of the bank increased by 81.52% or Tk576 crore.

Provision shortfall of the bank stood at Tk126 crore during the period. The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of the bank remained far below at 4.50% from the central bank requirement of 10%.

The central bank show-caused the

BASIC Bank recently as to why they will not be fined Tk10.02 crore.

Rupali Bank loan growth increased by 18.5% or Tk1,613 crore in 2013, which exceeded the MoU target of 10% from 2012, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.

The central bank asked the bank to transfer the excess loan to block account. l

BKB staff not to get new pay scale n Asif Showkat Kallol The employees of sate-owned Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) are not going to enjoy any new pay scale and have to remain satisfied with the existing one.

Banking Division Secretary M Aslam Alam told it to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday as the specialised bank proposed to bring it under a separate pay scale like Bangladesh Bank and staterun commercial banks.

“The government pays salaries to BKB staff while the state-run commercial banks make the payments from their profits and are controlled by board of directors,” said the secretary.

The BKB chairman recently sent a proposal to finance ministry to bring the specialised bank’s employees under the new pay structure approved for the four state banks.

BKB is a fully government-owned specialised bank in the country to provide loan facilities to the farmers for their agricultural products.

The bank was established under the Bangladesh Krishi Bank Order 1973 (President’s Order No 27 of 1973).

Since its inception, BKB has been providing financial service to the country’s agricultural sector. It also operates commercial banking alongside its usual activities.

After the law ministry’s clearance, Finance Minister AMA Muhith last week directed the banking division to expedite the implementation process of the new salary structures for Bangladesh Bank and state banks. l

PTA chosen for Macedonia n Asif Showkat Kallol The government has decided to sign Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Macedonia to strengthen trade between the two countries.

The commerce ministry made the decision at an inter-ministerial meeting yesterday with Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed in the chair. All stakeholders attended it.

“We have decided to sign PTA (with Macedonia),” said a commerce ministry official who was present in the meeting.

In 2012, Macedonia’s High Commission in New Delhi proposed Bangladesh to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

But Bangladesh Tariff Commission’s feasibility study on FTA with Macedonia saw no “substantial benefits.”

It rather suggested discussion on PTA with the East European country on trade in goods and services and investment.

The tariff commission said the final decision should be made after talking with appropriate stakeholders through calling inter-ministerial meeting.

“We will send a proposal to Macedonia for signing PTA,” said commerce secretary.

He said they would finalise products for trading and sectors for investment after negotiation with the Macedonian government.

Macedonia is a small economy in Europe and total annual exports amounted to $4bn in 2012 against a total import of $6.5bn.

Over the past couple of years, trades have increased between Bangladesh and Macedonia.

Official data showed Macedonia’s exports to Bangladesh increased to $3.78m in 2012 from $2.05m in 2008.

On the other hand, Bangladesh’s exports to Macedonia also reached $3.78m in 2012 from $3.31m in 2011.

Bangladesh exports knitwear, woven garments and fabrics.

On the other hand, Macedonia’s main export items are food, beverages, tobacco, textiles, iron, steel and automotive parts.

The country import machinery and equipment, automobiles, chemicals fuels and food products etc.

The European country’s gross domestic product grew at 2.84% in 2012 marking a negative trend.

In FDI inflow growth, while Bangladesh marked 33.33% increase in the January-August period of 2012, Macedonia achieved 36.36%. l

Finance Minister AMA Muhith speaks while Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu looks on at a meeting at Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) in Dhaka yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Businessmen cry for industrial zone

Muhith assures to put an end to problems hindering investment

n Tribune Report Businessmen are crying for industrial zones with speeding up process to setting up planned economic zones to attract both local and foreign investors.

To boost private investment that remained stagnant at 24%-25% for the last many years, they also put forward demands, including cutting bank interest rate, adequate energy supply, co-ordination among relevant government agencies, making transport facilities faster and political stability.

The demands were made at a meeting with three ministers – Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu and Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed – at the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) in Dhaka yesterday.

For months, business people were worried about going for further investment, citing political unrest. But, now, they have turned around seeking adequate facilities so they can invest.

Not only the local investors, Japanese as well as Indian entrepreneurs recently showed interest to invest in the country in a bigger way. In response to the demands, the ministers assured the businessmen of giving importance to put an end to the problems they are facing.

“Around 80% of the country’s economy is in the hand of private sector. So, it deserves importance,” said Muhith.

About bank interest rate, he said the government cannot lower interest rate but influence by lowering and hiking savings certificate rates.

On concern of energy crisis, Muhith said it will take time to remove energy crisis as the government is making efforts for generating coal-based

electricity to reduce dependence on expensive power generation by rental power plants over the next two years.

He said agreements on power generation are on and the power generation capacity of the country will hit 19,000 mega watt within the next few years.

He said the government is hopeful about opening five new special economic zones by the end of its tenure.

On the recent financial fraudulent in the stat-owned banks, the Finance Minister said it is a matter of great frustration state-owned banks have been mired into the scam. “But steps so far taken by the Bangladesh Bank have brought good result,” he said.

The Industries Minister said the government is giving priorities to land development for industrial purpose. The government is looking forward to setting up economic zones at district levels, he said.

The Commerce Minister said it is true that political stability is a pre-requisite for making business to grow. He said the government is also making efforts to diversify its export baskets with searching for new markets.

MCCI President Rokia Afzal Rahman said none of us would want to see a repetition of the violence and economic loss that the country had experienced in the last few months of the last year She said recent frauds at the stateowned banks have seriously damaged the investor confidence and depleted the resources of once strong banks.

“To restore heath of banking sector and capital market, regulatory watchdogs should be empowered adequacy and run professionally.”

“China and Japan are desperately seeking a suitable destination for their investments, and Bangladesh remains

in their radar as a possible destination.”

She said special economic zones and industrial lands should be developed to accommodate industries in a planned manner with minimum disruption to environment and farm land.

Apex Group chairman and former adviser to the caretaker government Sayed Manzur Elahi said industry is being established in an unplanned way, shrinking agriculture land. “Industrial zone with necessary infrastructure facilities is the key to stimulate the economy.”

He expressed grave concern over EU’s threat not to buy non-environmentally produced goods and urged the government to take the issue into account seriously. “If we fail to set up CETP this year, we might loss the country’s largest leather export market – European Union.”

FBCCI President Kazi Akram Uddin said many countries like Korea and Japan want to invest in Bangladesh.

To bring investment from them and to save agriculture land, setting up industrial zones is necessary.

International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICCB) President Mahbubur Rahman said co-ordination among related government agencies is important to make investment easy.

Former FBCCI president AK Azad said the government needs to assure political stability as foreign investors are still afraid of political unrest. He called upon the government to set up special economic zones on fast track basis to attract investment.

Envoy Group Managing Director Salam Murshedy said businessmen are not in good condition as confidence over the banking sector deteriorated. “It is clearly reflected in the huge idle money worth more than Tk100,000 crore.” l

B2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Stocks begin week in red n Tribune Report

2,777.61 57,379,556

Number of Contract

80,518

Traded Issues

294

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

101

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

192

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

1

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,227.91

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

27.00

CSE key features March 30, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

267.04

Turnover (Volume)

Daily capital market highlights DSE Broad Index :

Company

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume)

6,709,659

Number of Contract

4478.68561

(-) 0.65%

10,699

▼

Traded Issues

68 144

215

973.56979

(-) 0.82%

▼

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

DSE - 30 Index :

1593.42735

(-) 0.93%

▼

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

CSE All Share Index:

13815.6274

(-) 0.88%

▼

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

2

CSE - 30 Index :

11636.4536

(-) 1.26%

▼

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,123.03

8689.3895

(-) 0.95%

▼

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

25.73

DSE Shariah Index :

CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSERS

Dhaka Bank -A I P D C -A Apex Footwear-A Apex SpinningA Apex Foods -A HeidelbergCement -A AFC AgroBiotech-N Desh Garments -B

-14.41 -12.63 -6.59 -5.44 -5.08 -5.04 -4.81 -4.66

Average (% change) -14.75 -11.58 -6.00 -3.85 -2.61 -3.05 -3.87 -0.70

United Insur -A Asia Pasific Insu. -A

-4.37 -4.21

-5.19 -3.58

Company

Closing (% change)

CSE LOSERS

I P D C -A Dhaka Bank -A Aramit -A Apex Foods -A Prime Insur -A CVO PetroChem RL-Z Apex Footwear-A Rahima Food -Z

-12.18 -12.11 -8.49 -5.80 -5.19 -4.47 -4.44 -3.98

Average (% change) -12.53 -11.82 -8.49 -4.14 -5.19 -4.47 -4.44 -3.98

Fareast Finance-N AFC AgroBiotech-N

-3.91 -3.91

-2.64 -3.08

Company

Closing (% change)

ANALYST

Closing average

Closing

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

DSE Million Taka 233.12 105.04 45.78 417.51 237.63 202.12 21.94 271.56 257.05 6.32 177.70 64.99 19.58 175.77 20.21 56.18 113.59 106.61 35.60 206.49 2.80

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

Latest PE

19.02 17.56 463.80 100.68 125.56 423.99 54.60 130.25

19.00 17.30 455.00 99.10 121.50 414.60 53.40 126.80

21.00 18.00 488.00 105.00 129.00 439.90 56.20 136.00

19.00 16.60 453.20 98.00 120.10 412.00 52.50 124.00

23.887 1.897 45.221 3.242 11.501 19.970 17.034 14.080

3.49 1.24 23.61 1.85 3.56 29.19 1.53 1.18

5.4 14.2 19.6 54.4 35.3 14.5 35.7 110.4

41.11 27.50

41.60 27.30

43.50 28.30

41.20 27.00

0.037 0.055

2.77 2.67

14.8 10.3

Closing average

Closing

Daily high

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

Meghna Con. Milk -B BD. Autocars -Z Northern Jute -Z Sonali Ansh -A Hakkani P& Paper -B Zeal Bangla Sugar -Z Shampur Sugar -Z Modern Dyeing -Z Ambee Pharma -A Monno Stafllers -A

17.30 19.60 320.00 121.90 25.60 790.00 473.00 53.10

17.30 22.30 320.00 127.00 25.60 790.00 473.00 53.10

17.20 19.10 320.00 121.20 25.60 790.00 473.00 53.10

0.129 0.628 0.016 0.254 0.006 0.079 0.095 0.027

1.24 3.49 11.53 3.56 2.23 -4.06 23.61 -1.00

13.9 5.6 27.8 34.8 11.5 -ve 20.0 -ve

12.53 55.04

12.30 54.10

12.90 57.70

12.20 53.60

1.215 2.697

-0.97 1.53

-ve 36.0

Market still remains directionless, as investors still seem edgy even after returning from the holidays

% change 8.39 3.78 1.65 15.03 8.56 7.28 0.79 9.78 9.25 0.23 6.40 2.34 0.71 6.33 0.73 2.02 4.09 3.84 1.28 7.43 0.10

Million Taka 30.73 6.73 3.08 26.04 35.10 40.84 34.75 23.30 41.67 13.82 44.29 2.32 27.47 3.52 1.31 7.36 17.67 5.20 20.54 0.10

% change 7.96 1.75 0.80 6.75 9.10 10.58 0.00 9.01 6.04 10.80 3.58 11.48 0.60 7.12 0.91 0.34 1.91 4.58 1.35 5.32 0.03

Million Taka 263.85 111.78 48.86 443.55 272.73 242.96 21.94 306.31 280.36 47.99 191.53 109.28 21.91 203.24 23.73 57.49 120.95 124.28 40.79 227.03 2.91

Total

10.00 9.93 9.93 9.85 9.73 9.62 9.20 8.74 8.74 8.67

CSE GAINERS Company Hakkani P& Paper -B Anlima Yarn -A Anwar Galvanizing-B Ambee Pharma -A Eastern Housing -A Fine Foods A Usmania Glass -Z Beach Hatchery -A Miracle Industries -B ISN Ltd. -A

Closing (% change) 9.94 9.06 8.21 8.09 7.72 7.04 6.54 6.21 5.14 4.89

Average (% change) 7.86 7.94 9.45 6.99 8.90 8.57 7.95 8.93 7.01 8.88 Average (% change) 10.21 6.66 4.45 7.40 6.35 5.67 6.31 3.92 4.68 5.09

Closing average 10.84 29.36 99.60 166.01 37.19 11.40 9.50 94.41 312.70 382.51

Closing average 37.58 27.07 34.73 313.29 54.60 21.07 199.78 31.85 22.35 19.21

Closing 11.00 29.90 99.60 170.70 37.20 11.40 9.50 94.60 318.50 387.10

Closing 37.60 27.70 35.60 315.40 55.80 21.30 202.00 32.50 22.50 19.30

Daily high 11.00 29.90 99.60 170.90 37.20 11.40 9.50 95.70 318.50 387.30

Daily high 37.60 27.80 35.70 317.30 56.00 21.60 205.00 32.80 22.90 19.60

Daily low 10.10 27.50 99.60 157.90 36.00 11.40 9.40 91.20 295.50 365.00

Daily low 37.20 26.40 33.60 300.00 52.30 20.10 190.00 30.00 21.70 18.70

Turnover in million 0.764 2.283 0.040 21.772 6.323 0.405 0.304 0.439 10.241 4.265

Turnover in million 2.067 0.365 2.483 2.095 12.473 2.739 1.684 6.092 1.071 0.413

Latest EPS -4.58 0.04 -10.24 0.88 0.28 -25.08 -50.84 1.54 5.01 5.25

Latest EPS 0.28 0.80 0.02 5.01 1.56 -0.98 5.10 0.79 0.22 -0.36

Latest PE -ve 734.0 -ve 188.6 132.8 -ve -ve 61.3 62.4 72.9

Latest PE 134.2 33.8 1736.5 62.5 35.0 -ve 39.2 40.3 101.6 -ve

News from tradeserver APEXFOOT: The Board of Directors has recommended 55% cash dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Date of AGM: 14.05.2014, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: Dhaka Ladies Club, 36 Eskaton Garden Road, Dhaka. Record date: 16.04.2014.

The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 23.61, NAV per share of Tk. 221.88 and NOCFPS of Tk. 31.79 for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

Wrapper" for the purpose of paper cutting & sheeting. Total value of the Machine is Tk. 1.50 crore financed by Southeast Bank Limited as Short Term Loan.

JAMUNABANK: The Board of Directors has recommended 15% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Date of AGM: 08.05.2014, Time: 10:00 AM, Venue: to be notified later on. Record date: 16.04.2014. The Company has also reported consolidated net profit of Tk. 1,144.48 million, consolidated EPS of Tk. 2.55, consolidated NAV per share of Tk. 19.82 and consolidated NOCFPS of Tk. 6.66 for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

HAKKANIPUL: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has decided to import an "Auto Sheet Cutter Machine with A4 A3 Ream

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Eastern Housing -A LafargeS Cement-Z BSC-A BD Submarine Cable-A Emerald Oil Ind. -N National Tubes -A Square Pharma -A

CSE

Closing (% change)

ABBANK: Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Limited (CRAB) has announced the surveillance rating of the Company as "AA3" in the long term and "ST-2" in the short term based on audited financial statements of the Company up to 31 December 2013 and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.

SIBL: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on March 31, 2014 at 2:30 PM to consider, among others, audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

RUPALIINS: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on March 31, 2014 at

3:00 PM to consider, among others, audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

From BIASL Desk: Impact after declaration: APEXFOOT price dropped by 6.59%, close at taka 19.28 with PE 6.16. JAMUNABANK price up by 2.63%, close at taka 15.60 with PE 5.93.

Price Correction after Record Day: DHAKABANK’s price correction was 14.41% (taka 3.20) against 17% Cash & 5% stock Dividend (taka 2.81 per share approx.). After record day restated EPS is taka 3.49 and NAV per share is taka 19.57. IPDC price correction was 12.62% (taka 2.5) against 5% Cash & 10% stock Dividend (taka 2.48 per share approx.).

After record day restated EPS is taka 1.24 and NAV per share is taka 17.54.

RIGHT SHARE: ARAMITCEM: Subscription 23.03.2014 to 17.04.2014. RD for entitlement of rights share: 09.01.2014.

RUPALILIFE- Subscription 06.04.2014 to 05.05.2014. RD for entitlement of rights share: 16.01.2014. BRACBANK: Subscription 20.04.2014 to 15.05.2014.

Latest PE

17.25 19.62 320.00 124.01 25.60 790.00 473.00 53.10

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

Daily high

Monday, March 31, 2014

DSE GAINERS

DSE key features March 30, 2014

financial institutions that lost more than 1% each. Banks and power edged lower compared to other major sectors.

Food and allied was the only sector that closed in positive territory.

IDLC Investment said with the back of volatility, the bourse once again observed lacklustre trading. Alongside, cyclical thrust was prominent as more than 70 scrips posted more than 3% change in their respective prices, it said.

It said since micro cap scrips offered better return amid cyclical trading, investors went for gripping lucrative scrips amid this cap class.

“Resultantly, except micro cap that edged higher, rest of the cap classes turned negative.”

Zenith Investment said market could not sustain the pressure from sellers, and ultimately plunged down to negativity. “Market still remains directionless, as investors still seem edgy even after returning from the holidays.”

Eastern Housing was the most traded stock of the session with a turnover of Tk14 crore. It was followed by Lafarge Surma Cement, Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd, Emerald Oil Industries, National Tubes and Square Pharmaceuticals. l

Stocks started the week in red yesterday with lacklustre trading.

The market was in positive territory in the first session and later it started to decline on selling pressure mainly from tannery, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and non-banking financial institutions.

After two consecutive sessions of gains, the benchmark index DSEX fell 29 points or 0.7% to close at 4,478. Shariah Index DSES was down 8 points or 0.9% to 973. The blue-chip comprising DS30 shed 15 points or 1% to end at 1,593.

Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, closed at 8,689 with a fall of 83 points.

Participation slowed down further with average turnover of last two weeks still remaining below Tk300 crore level.

The DSE turnover stood at Tk277 crore, down over 7% compared to the previous trading day, indicating sellers’ unwillingness to sell stocks at this lower price level. Engineering sector alone contributed over 15% of the total turnover.

Tannery sector took the highest hit, eroding by more than 4%, followed by telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and non-banking

Stock

% change 8.34 3.53 1.54 14.02 8.62 7.68 0.69 9.68 8.86 1.52 6.05 3.45 0.69 6.42 0.75 1.82 3.82 3.93 1.29 7.18 0.09

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

Padma Oil Co. -A Central Pharm-A Atlas BD-A

Familytex (BD) Ltd.-N Delta Life Insu. -A Apex Footwear-A Meghna Petroleum -A BD Building Systems -A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company LafargeS Cement-Z

BD Submarine Cable-A Eastern Housing -A BSC-A Square Pharma -A Beach Hatchery -A Aftab Auto.-A Padma Oil Co. -A UNITED AIR-A Appollo Ispat CL -N BD Building Systems -A Delta Life Insu. -A S Purbanchol Power-N Grameenphone-A Legacy Footwear -A

Volume shares 2,650,186 2,712,500 184,010 372,094 1,428,000 389,156 251,257 187,103 1,255,170 250,621

861,500 195,500 97,500 163,304 577,650

Volume shares

524,500 68,537 228,465 18,070 26,073 191,250 57,832 14,420 295,791 152,600 53,300 14,550 53,700 15,400 82,000

Value in million 145.30 129.10 122.35 77.89 73.98 72.68 67.15 62.77 57.35 55.78

51.83 45.55 45.22 44.71 39.64

Value in million

24.88 14.41 12.47 11.98 6.97 6.09 4.90 4.84 4.18 4.08 3.65 3.39 3.27 3.26 3.20

% of total turnover 5.23 4.65 4.41 2.80 2.66 2.62 2.42 2.26 2.06 2.01

1.87 1.64 1.63 1.61 1.43

% of total turnover

10.06 5.83 5.05 4.85 2.82 2.46 1.98 1.96 1.69 1.65 1.48 1.37 1.32 1.32 1.29

Daily closing 55.90 48.10 656.25 206.60 50.80 188.80 266.20 337.90 45.70 218.70

60.10 231.10 455.00 273.70 67.50

Daily closing

48.30 207.40 55.80 656.50 266.50 32.50 85.40 337.50 14.10 26.60 67.90 231.40 60.80 211.60 39.00

Price change 7.29 2.34 -2.71 -2.55 -2.50 3.79 -1.95 0.93 4.10 -0.18

Daily opening 52.10 47.00 674.50 212.00 52.10 181.90 271.50 334.80 43.90 219.10

Price change

Daily opening

0.67 -3.18 -6.59 -0.33 -3.57

2.77 -2.45 7.72 -2.42 -1.70 6.21 3.77 0.51 -1.40 -2.21 -3.00 -2.73 0.00 -1.31 3.17

59.70 238.70 487.10 274.60 70.00

47.00 212.60 51.80 672.80 271.10 30.60 82.30 335.80 14.30 27.20 70.00 237.90 60.80 214.40 37.80

Daily high 56.20 48.40 679.75 215.00 53.50 190.00 271.90 355.00 46.20 231.40

Daily low 48.00 47.00 651.25 193.50 50.40 170.00 250.00 320.00 41.90 200.00

Daily average 54.83 47.59 664.93 209.32 51.81 186.75 267.26 335.46 45.69 222.58

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

61.00 238.00 488.00 275.20 71.30

48.50 214.80 56.00 679.00 271.00 32.80 85.90 339.60 14.30 27.20 70.70 236.00 61.90 213.80 39.80

59.50 230.10 453.20 255.00 65.00

46.80 206.00 52.30 652.00 265.60 30.00 80.50 333.60 12.90 26.50 67.80 230.50 60.20 210.60 38.20

60.17 232.97 463.80 273.81 68.63

47.44 210.22 54.60 663.15 267.39 31.85 84.71 335.93 14.12 26.70 68.52 232.76 60.96 211.87 38.98

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

Finance ministry to support defaulting raw jute exporters

APPAREL DATABASE

Nearly 1,500 factories not registered

n Asif Showkat Kallol The monitoring cell of the finance ministry has given an opinion in favour of the default raw jute exporters for solving their existing banking problems as they have long been pressing for putting their default amount in a block account to get rid of annual interest count.

Financial analyst of the finance ministry Dr. Narayan Chandra Singha yesterday sent a letter to the secretary of bank and financial institutions division Dr. M Aslam Alam with such an opinion, which will help the default raw jute exporters in getting relief from the interest of bad loans.

Earlier, labour and employment ministry sent a letter to the finance ministry with a request to allow the defaults exporters to put their loan in block accounts for not imposing any extra interest on their bad loans each year.

According to the letter, banking division will advise the commercial banks to block the accounts of the default loans occurred in between January 2009 to December 2013 for the raw jute exporters for three years with a fixed interest rate at 8%.

Default raw jute exporters will repay their loans in the next 10 years, reads the mentoring cell letter.

In November, last, the raw jute exporters had placed a rescue package to

n Mohosinul Karim

A farmer dries stacks of jute in Manikganj the finance division for getting fresh credit from the commercial banks.

The exporter suggested to the finance minister to keep Tk250 crore on account of outstanding bank interest charges in a blocked account for 10 years, so they could get fresh loans .

The interest charges on outstanding bank credits for some 300 exporters, had accumulated with banks over a decade. The interest and principal amount owed to different state-owned and private banks totaled about Tk1000 crore.

The Bangladesh Jute Association (BJA) in its demand said the accumu-

REUTERS

lated interests may be transferred to ‘Blocked Account’ in banks.

Jute had seen some good days in the last few years. But it now faces hard times due to political turmoil in the Middle East and the global recession.

Thousands of jute growers and employees in the jute sector have already started feeling the pinch with the fall in prices of both raw jute and jute goods.

The prices of jute goods have fallen by 20% in the international market.

Bangladesh produces around 1.26m tonnes of raw jute annually, of which 0.8m tonnes are for the local market while 0.30m tonnes are exported. l

Around 40% of the garments factories inspected by the government were not registered although the law makes it compulsory.

The information was available in the online database opened yesterday by the government for the country’s apparel sector.

State Minister for Labour and Employment Mojibul Haque Chunnu launched the site, www.dife.gov.bd, which will be administered by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments.

The department conducted the inspections in recent time to 3,497 garments factories.

“We have prepared and opened the website to fulfill the US condition for having GSP back,” said the state minister.

The database preparation received supports from International Labour Organisation (ILO), owners and workers’ leaders.

The data will be updated as necessary, said the state minister for labour while making data of inspected factories public at his office in Dhaka.

The department’s inspection teams included officials from labour and employment ministry, department of inspection for factories and establish-

ments, fire service and other stakeholders.

The names of the factories, names of top brass, registration status, BGMEA membership, factory locations, product types and numbers and gender of workers are given in the database.

But the site lacks detailed information about most of the registered factories. However, information about the unregistered factories have also been included.

“A huge number of the garment factories are not registered though it is mandatory for operation,” said Mojibul Haque Chunnu.

“Due to lack of manpower, we cannot do adequate monitoring and many factories are getting chance to run without registration.”

He said the ministry already sent letters to the garment owners to complete their registration. “The factories have been warned of tough actions if they do not follow the directive and ensure safety of workers.”

Meanwhile, the process of appointing 67 non-cadre first class inspection officials from BCS candidates is already completed.

The officials would be appointed in a week. Presiden Abdul Hamid is expected to approve the amended recruitment rules of the department on Sunday next. l

GP now in 64 district HQs with 3G

BIS: Dollar reserve role secure but set to shrink

n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

n Reuters, Berlin

Grameenphone, the market leader mobile phone operator, has brought all the 64 district headquarters and 197 thanas under the fastest mobile data service (3G).

Being the first operator of the country, Grameenphone yesterday formally came up with the disclosure that it has successfully been able to reach the target to cover all the districts across the country as per its promise.

But Grameenphone has so far covered one fourth of their total sites though they have covered the headquarters.

They covered 2,145 sites out of 8,500 sites with 3G, according to sources.

Addressing a press conference Vivek Sood, Chief executive officer (CEO) of the operator made this formal announcement as saying, “This is the fastest 3G-rollout in the history of Telenor Group, and a critical part of our ambition to provide Internet for all.”

“We are proud of the progress so far, but also humble to the fact that both coverage and awareness must increase in order to bring more people under the experience of 3G,” Sood added.

Vivek Sood informed that they are now working with devices end with their partners.

He also said: When they launched 3G in the country last October the cheapest 3G enable handsets price was US$80, currently it came down close to $57 and they are going to offer it with their partners less than $50, around Tk3,850.

Currently Grameenphone has 4 lakh 3G users and around 10,000 activation every day. Not only Smartphones Grameenphone is also going to offer feature phone for 2G internet with a cost of Tk1,700 and 3G modem Tk1,500 only.

Out of their 4.8 core active subscribers currently 40% are under the 3G network, Tanveer Mohammad, CTO of Grameenphone told the reports.

The CTO also said they had a plan to cover all the districts headquarters

by April and they made it well before a month.

“Political unrests, frequent hartals and other disturbance eaten half of our working days but we kept our promises,” Tanveer added.

Grameenphone claimed them as the largest national broadband service provider as it used to say: “Some 40% of our customers are currently under 3G coverage and approximately 85% of 3G enabled devices can access the 3G network.”

According to 3G guideline, there is a network expansion obligation to cover 64 districts headquarters by 36 months, but the leading operator took one sixth time for cover all the districts of the timeline, he also informed.

Earlier, Grameenphone has taken 10 megahertz spectrum for 3G auction on September 8 and awarded license very next week of that.

They started test run from September 18 in different places in the capital and launched 3G commercially from first week of October 8. l

NBL holds training GraphicPeople turns 10 for its bank AdPeople Worldwide (Denofficers mark) reached a major milestone of National Bank organised a three-day training course on SME, agri-financing and reporting at its training institution in the city recently. AKM Shafiqur Rahman, the bank’s MD & CEO, as chief inaugurated the training course for its 32 officers. l

turning 10-year old of its joint venture with Adcomm Ltd in Bangladesh this year. Over the past decade, this cooperation has not only borne a successful production studio, GraphicPeople, but bolstered AdPeople’s capabilities worldwide. l

The dollar’s share of central bank reserves may fall by as much as 10-15 percentage points in coming years without threatening its role as the world’s main reserve currency, a senior official from the Bank of International Settlements said on Saturday.

Peter Zoellner, head of the banking department at the central banks’ central bank, also told one of the year’s biggest gatherings of foreign exchange dealers that the role of China’s renminbi would continue to grow.

He said there were signs that moves

by Beijing to weaken the yuan and end a decade of constant appreciation were pushing some interests towards its tightly controlled onshore market and that this might develop further in coming months.

He expected trading and central bank reserves held in the yuan to continue to expand “at a sustained pace” but saw no prospect that the Chinese currency could replace the dollar as the reserve of choice over the next couple of decades.

“It could happen that the percentage will go slightly down with the reserve currency from between 65 and 70 maybe to between 50 and 60%,” he told the ACI Financial Markets Association congress in Berlin.

“But the relative dominance of the United States dollar I do not believe that this will change for the next 10, 20 years.”

Shifts in currency allocations by

A man walks past the headquarters of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel REUTERS

Shrimp and other fishes export faces hindrances, view experts n Mohosinul Karim

The export of shrimps and other frozen fishes faces hindrances as the related laws, rules, policies and codes of conducts set for the fisheries sector are not being followed properly.

The laws, rules, policies and codes of conducts should be strictly followed to immediately eliminate all the obstacles to this potential sector to earn from foreign currency, viewed the speakers while addressing a workshop held yesterday in the capital.

“The laws and policies should also be amended, if necessary, to increase the export volume of this sector.”

'The laws and policies should also be amended, if necessary, to increase the export volume of this sector' Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation (BSFF) organised the workshop titled “Review of and recommendations on existing Code of Conducts (CoCs) for Bangladesh Shrimp Industry in the light of import Rules and regulations of EU and USA”.

BSFF Executive Director Mahmudul Karim presented a keynote paper at the seminar with its president Syed Mahmudul Haq in the chair. As chief guest, Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Shelina Afroza, also delivered her speech.

Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute’s Chief Executive Officer Mozibur Rahman, FAO Representative in Bangladesh Mike Robson and Vice Chairman of Export Promotion Bureau Shubhashish Bose also discussed in the workshop.

Attending the workshop the experts opined: It is a must to implement the local and foreign laws and policies to assure expansion of fisheries and shrimp export. The entrance of the goods in the foreign market would be expanded, only if it is done.

“The people of the country are getting over 60% of animal protein and 50% of calcium from fish. Over 53% of total fish production are coming from aquaculture. Nearly 50% of the global fish production are from aquaculture origin,’’ said BSFF Executive Director Mahmudul Karim in his key note paper.

Around 80 to 85% of fisheries exported are coming from aquaculture while more than 80 per cents export comes from shrimp alone. So, aquaculture is the biggest source of future fish supply for domestic consumption, export and rural employments for men and women and poverty reduction, he said.

Considering the situation the government has prepared a code of conduct. It was prepared aiming to expand the export and production of Black tiger or Bagda shrimp and Galda shrimp and hatcheries and farms, establishing fish feed mills, shrimp collection and service centers, ice plants, fishing boats and vessels and fish carriers, Karim further added. l

central banks, many of whom decline to publish breakdowns of how much they hold in reserves in a particular currency, are closely-watched by foreign exchange markets.

BIS is the biggest repository for data on volumes, movements and trade in currencies worldwide. Its triennial survey last year showed volumes of trading had risen to an average of $5.3tn a day.

Zoellner said the expansion of yuan offshore trading was one factor behind that rise and said he expected China’s recent moves to prompt further change in how its currency regime, tightly controlled until now, operates.

“Most of the transactions over the last few years have been done in the offshore markets... but there is more and more activity in the domestic mar-

ket in renminbi, quotas have been increased and so on,” he said.

The moves by China, mainly carried out by shifting its onshore reference rate for the yuan against the dollar steadily weaker, has driven a surge in yuan trading offshore and an almost 3% fall in the value of the yuan against the dollar, putting an end to one of the currency world’s few sure bets for steady appreciation.

“The Chinese authorities are doing something to break that expectation of low volatility and one way direction.

This encouraged some of the speculative (investors) to do their short term trades in China,” Zoellner said.

“We will see how this works out, it has to be observed for the next couple of months.” l

Seven Circle gets its CMO

Citi named best bank in Asia

Asadul Haque Sufyani has recently been promoted as the chief marketing officer of Seven Circle (Bangladesh) Ltd and Shun Shing Cement Mills Ltd. Hong Kong-Based Shun Shing Group owns the two companies, the manufacturer of Seven Rings brand cement.

Sufyani has been serving as the general manager for sales, marketing and distribution prior to the promotion. l

n Tribune Report Citi was named Best Bank in Asia at the annual Triple- A 2013 regional banking awards from The Asset Magazine, says a press release yesterday.

This was the 15th year in a row Citi has won the Best Bank in Asia award from the magazine. Citi also picked up the Best Loan House in Asia award.

The awards are decided by the editorial team at The Asset Magazine.

“In a highly competitive market this independent recognition is greatly appreciated by all of us at Citi. I would also like to thank our clients who place their

Symphony smartphones to be sold at Singer outlets

Modhumoti Bank Limited has opened its 6th branch at Jhenaidah on Thursday. Humayun Kabir, the bank’s chair inaugurated the branch as chief guest

B3

Monday, March 31, 2014

Aarong, fashion and lifestyle pioneer launched an exhibition at Uttara on “Sari-the art of draping” on March 28. The exhibition will be till April 7 at Uttara and Gulshan outlets.

Tamara Hossain Abed, senior director of BRAC Enterprises and Chandra Sekhar Saha, designer and researcher launched the exhibition

Singer Bangladesh Limited has enriched its retail business by including Symphony to its portfolio in the recent time. Symphony Smartphones and Tabs are now available at 372 Singer Mega and Singer Plus shops all over Bangladesh. Initially 19 models of Symphony Smartphones and 3 models of Symphony Tabs will be available at Singer outlets. l

trust in us to meet their financial needs day in and day out and without whom this award would not be possible,” said Stephen Bird, Citi’s CEO for Asia Pacific.

“This win demonstrates Citi’s commitment to provide the best solutions to its’ clients in the Asia Pacific region.

This has been possible by focusing on our clients’ requirements and leveraging Citi’s strong network,” said Rashed Maqsood, Managing Director and Citi Country Officer for Bangladesh.

Citi raised over US$120bn for institutional clients in Asia from international capital markets in 2013 and advised on US$60bn in M&A in the region. l

RR Imperial opens regional office and outlet in Bogra An exclusive sales outlet regional office of RR Imperials has been inaugurated in Bogra town recently. The newly inaugurated office and showroom is located at MA Khan Lane of Shatmatha in Bogra. Mahbub Hossain Mirdah, director and CEO of the company was present with other directors at the ceremony. l

B4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Monday, March 31, 2014

puts Russia on review for downgrade The new ‘silk road’, Moody’s n a rail link from China’s factories to heart of Europe AFP, Washington

n AFP, Frankfurt One of the world’s longest railways - a “modern-day silk road” - covers some 11,000 kilometres (24,000 miles) en route from the Chinese megacity of Chongqing to Duisburg, a key commercial hub in western Germany.

On Saturday, as part of his landmark visit to Germany, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the last stop on the “Yuxinou” rail line, an industrial feat that promises to revolutionise transport between Europe and Asia.

'The value of this rail link, known in China as the ‘new silk road’, is more than just symbolic'

Duisburg is a steel-making town of around half a million on the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers that boasts the world’s biggest inland port and is one of Germany’s most important transport and commercial hubs.

Despite the vast distances between them, it takes just 16 days for trains to travel to Duisburg from Chongqing, a sprawling metropolitan symbol of rising China with a population of more than 30 million.

Xi, accompanied by a large delegation and German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, ceremoniously welcomed a freight train crammed with laptops and electronics after it completed its journey through Central Asia, Russia, Belarus and Poland.

Set up in 2011 by a group of rail companies, the Yuxinou is just 2,000 km short of the world’s longest rail line that links Germany to Shanghai. It has shaved more than 20 days off the sea route.

The route is particularly useful for Chongqing - home to vast car parts and IT factories - since it lies 1,500 km from China’s main seaports.

“The value of this rail link, known in China as the ‘new silk road’, is more than just symbolic,” the spokesman of the port of Duisburg, Julian Boecker, told AFP. “It has found itself a position in the market and now operates up to three weekly services,” he said.

But one of the biggest challenges will be to boost traffic in both direc-

tions to make it more profitable.

It is not uncommon for the Yuxinou trains, which can transport as many as 50 containers, to be full when they arrive in Duisburg but empty when they return to China.

“At the moment, the amount of goods travelling from China to Europe is much larger than the other way round. That’s a problem,” said Maria Leenen, director of market research group SCI Verkehr.

Alternative to sea transport

It was sea transport that gradually supplanted the historic Silk Road trade route linking Asia with Europe centuries ago.

Sea transport still accounts for more than 95% of goods trading between the two regions, said Burkhard Lemper of the logistics consultants ISL. Rail’s share of the market remains tiny, and for now, the Yuxinou link only complements existing transport systems.

But “rail is twice as fast as sea transport and twice as cheap as air freight,” said Erich Staake, head of the company that operates the Duisburg port.

For Leenen, “both sides benefit” from the link.

“Europe can meet a sudden surge in demand in industry or trade, say in textiles, while China can reach its markets more rapidly,” she said.

The link provides a welcome transport connection and gateway for Chinese provinces situated deep inside the country.

“It’s still early days yet for this mode of transport. But it could have a promising future if the conditions are right, notably in terms of safety and security, punctuality and a stable political situation,” Leenen said.

Other electronics companies, such as Foxconn of Taiwan which supplies Apple, or computer giant Acer, as well as car parts suppliers and machine-tool makers, all have factories in Chongqing.

The port of Duisburg hopes that the importance of the rail link will increase after Xi’s visit.

“We’re in negotiations with companies, such as automakers, on a possible expansion of the service,” Boecker said.

“There are people who aren’t aware that it even exists,” he said. “We hope to increase customers in both directions.”

China is Germany’s top trade partner in Asia, while Germany is China’s leading European partner. Bilateral trade exceeded $161.5bn (117bn euros) last year. l

Moody’s put Russia’s credit rating on review for a possible downgrade Friday, saying the Ukraine crisis could exacerbate its already troubled economy.

The ratings agency’s Investor Service said that if the review confirms that Russia’s economic strength is being eroded by the situation, it could lead to a one-notch cut in the country’s Baa1 rating.

The current crisis “could significantly dampen investor sentiment for several years to come by adding to existing deterrents to investment posed by Russia’s weak rule of law and high levels of corruption,” Moody’s said.

“This could further damage the country’s economic outlook given its large investment needs,” it added.

“It could also further constrain its ability to diversify the economy away from overreliance on oil and gas.”

Moody’s said it expects that the conflict could contribute to an economic contraction of around 1% in 2014, against previous expectations of 2% growth.

Moody’s added that the risk of further escalation of the conflict between Russia and the West over Ukraine was crucial to the review.

It acknowledged that Moscow’s huge reserves and low level of foreign debt could buffer any fiscal difficulties

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for the government.

“However, wider economic sanctions and potential countermeasures by Russia could, were they to materialize, erode those financial buffers,’ it said.

Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region earlier this month and

its massing of troops on the country’s eastern border this week has led to deep pressure on the economy, including sell-offs of the ruble and Russian equities, and a flight of capital from the country.

The United States and Europe have

hit the country with sanctions, on top of political and business figures.

And the European Union is moving to diversify its energy supplies away from dependence on Russian oil and gas - which are a crucial source of income for Moscow. l

Encryption companies rise as anxiety over data mounts n AFP, New York Investors are pumping millions of dollars into encryption as unease about data security drives a rising need for ways to keep unwanted eyes away from personal and corporate information.

Major data breaches at Target and other retailers that have made data security a boardroom issue at companies large and small.

And stunning revelations of widespread snooping by US intelligence agencies have also rattled companies and the public.

For venture capital, that has opened up a new area of growth in the tech business.

In February, Google Ventures led a $25.5m round of venture funding for Atlanta-based Ionic Security, a threeyear old company that works in encryption, which scrambles data before it is shipped or stored.

Other encryption companies, including Toronto-based PerspecSys and San Jose, California-based CipherCloud, have announced major fundings.

The funding rush could hearken a “golden age” of encryption, as one expert puts it. But the industry also faces barriers to a tool that until recently was not a hot commodity.

Concerns about encryption range from practical challenges, such as the difficulty users have to search their en-

coded data, to government opposition towards encryption.

“People are afraid of it because they don’t understand it,” John Kindervag, a vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research But he called the wider use of encryption “inevitable, because there’s no other way to solve the problem.”

Kindervag said the industry is between one and two years away from “some big revolutions” in the field. “It just needs to happen.”

But Venky Ganesan, a managing director with venture capital firm Menlo Ventures, believes major advances are further off.

“Encryption slows down,” Ganesan said. “Just imagine if every room in your house was locked and you had to open and close it every time you go in.

You would be frustrated.”

Another problem is “the government is sensitive,” said Ganesan.

“They don’t want encryption technology to be open so that anybody can use it, because their goal is to make sure they can always get access to the information.”

He said governments have frequently insisted that they be given a master key to decrypt files, Ganesan said.

Snowden seal of approval

The need for better encryption vaulted to the top of the tech industry’s agenda earlier this month by fugitive intel-

ligence contractor Edward Snowden, who last year exposed the massive spying capabilities of the US National Security Agency.

Snowden urged industry leaders to make a “moral commitment” to safeguard customer data by integrating encryption into devices in a user-friendly way.

The NSA and foreign intelligence services are “setting fire to the future of the Internet,” Snowden said via video from Russia. “You guys are the firefighters and we need you to help fix things.”

Recent data security scandals underscore the new vulnerabilities as organizations process unprecedented amounts of data that are analyzed, shipped, stored in “the cloud” - offsite commercial servers - and accessed remotely by mobile technology.

It’s a far cry from the days when security focused on safeguarding a stolen laptop.

“It’s on every corporation’s and every government’s mind how they protect their data and their intellectual property,” said William Bowmer, a technology stock specialist at Barclays.

Wall Street appears ready to commit more money to security companies as well. Shares of FireEye, which reportedly alerted Target to breaches in its security network even though the company did not take action, have more than tripled from the September 2013

IPO price of $20.

Industry insiders see some encryption firms as possibilities for entering the market: Voltage Security, SafeNet, Protegrity and Vormetric Data Security.

Voltage chief executive Sathvik Krishnamurthy described the market for encryption as “thriving and growing” and said the perception of government opposition to encryption is outdated.

Encryption can be integrated into policies that incorporate the lessons of the Snowden revelations with the need to protect national security, Krishnamurthy said.

Spying by authorities “has been going on forever,” he said.

“In any society where you think you’ve had privacy, you’ve been grossly mistaken. It’s just a question of the degree to which you were clueless about Big Brother actually looking at everything you were doing.”

He called the NSA’s sweep of data “really over the top.”

“Did we have to spy on Angel Merkel’s emails? No.” But the biggest problem with the NSA program was the lack of disclosure, Krishnamurthy said.

Disclosure by the government of its program “will normalize the line over which we would no longer cross,” he said. “If you have to answer for your actions, then you are more likely to be reasonable in your actions.” l

Asia’s hottest property market is also its most unlikely - North Korea n Reuters, Seoul One of the world’s fastest developing property markets is also in one of its least likely places - North Korea.

Even though the buying and selling of houses and apartments is illegal, it is becoming more widespread and sophisticated, said defectors as well as experts who study the ruined economy.

On paper, the socialist state owns all property. But the percentage of North Koreans who are buying their own home - as opposed to waiting for the government to assign one - is growing rapidly, surveys of defectors show.

Brokers can be found with lists of property for sale in private markets selling food and cheap consumer goods that are tolerated by the government in cities and towns around North Korea, the defectors and experts said.

“You can find a house you want by asking brokers,” said Kim Young-il, a defector and activist in Seoul.

Deals are done in U.S. dollars in the capital Pyongyang and in Chinese yuan along the border with China, where most of the North’s trade with the outside world takes place. The buyers and sellers then bribe housing officials to effectively approve the transaction by issuing or modifying residency documents, the defectors and experts said.

It’s another example of how the regime of leader Kim Jong Un is turning a blind eye to a black market that is offering North Koreans a chance to upgrade their living conditions, move from one location to another or to simply make some money, especially given that house prices have been rising steadily.

It is common for defectors to send money to the North so their families can

buy better homes. Activist Kim and two other defectors say they have also heard of some people buying property as an investment ahead of what they hope will be the eventual reunification of their impoverished homeland and the wealthy South. Reuters could not confirm those accounts.

Defectors send an estimated $10m each year to help their families in the North, according to the Organization for One Korea, a South Korean support group for defectors.

The money is routed through agents on China’s side of the land border.

“Money talks in North Korea. If you have money, send it to somebody you trust. You can buy a decent house in the border region with China,” said Kim, the defector, who runs a non-governmental organisation called People for Successful Corean Reunification, which uses the ancient spelling of Korea.

Kim told Reuters he had a friend who needed to raise money last winter to fund his escape to the South, so the friend sold his apartment in the North Korean border city of Hyesan for 40,000 Chinese yuan ($6,600).

He declined to identify his friend, who he said was at a re-settlement centre south of Seoul that helps defectors try to get to grips with life in South Korea.

Missiles instead of housing Under the socialist system erected by Kim Il Sung, the young leader’s grandfather, the government built and allocated housing to its citizens.

Then famine killed an estimated one million people in the mid-1990s, causing the collapse of the state food distribution system. That opened the door to private markets selling food in the late 1990s.

Trading in property soon followed, especially since the increasingly cash-starved state spent money on its 1.2-million strong

The Songdo International Business District in Incheon, west of Seoul military instead of public housing.

Under North Korean law, anyone who sells, buys or rents a house can be sentenced to hard labour.

But a survey last year of 133 defectors by the Seoul National University’s (SNU) Institute for Peace and Unification Studies found 67% of them had bought their own homes, compared to 14% who had been given accommodation. The defectors left North Korea in 2012.

A similar survey of 126 defectors who left in 2011 showed 46% bought their own home.

“With market forces spreading, North

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Koreans are becoming able to dream of moving into a better house,” said Jeong Eunmee, an SNU research professor involved in the survey.

“Homes, one of the few resources North Koreans have, are now extensively traded unofficially. The regime has no option but to tolerate this ... because officials are involved as well.”

Cigarettes or food will do In a 2013 report, the Korea Institute for National Unification, a South Korean staterun think tank, said housing officials were usually bribed with cigarettes or food to

approve a property transaction in one of the world’s most corrupt countries.

While it is impossible to independently confirm anything in North Korea, similar studies support the suggestion of growing property ownership.

Defectors are also among the best sources of information since better communications have opened the way for regular contact with their families. Defector groups in Seoul estimate 3,000 phone calls are made each day to the North, routed through Chinese mobile networks along the border.

There is no hard data, but apartment prices have risen in the last decade in Pyongyang and small cities on the Chinese border, defectors said. Housing now acts as a store of value for North Koreans looking for ways to earn money outside the poorly paid government sector, they added.

Lee Yun-keol, a biologist who came to Seoul in 2005, said he had heard that an apartment he used to own in Pyongyang was worth $100,000, nearly 15 times what he paid more than a decade ago.

Properties close to statues of Kim Il Sung or his son Kim Jong Il in the centre of Pyongyang command a higher price thanks to constant water and electricity supplies, defectors said.

They added that the property market revolved around the brokers, who keep a low profile in private markets but can be found by asking around. Once a buyer and seller agree the price, they bribe housing authorities to alter names on mandatory residence permits that give an address. North Korea only allows one house to be registered against one name, so people use the names of relatives if they want to buy more.

Private contractors Outside Pyongyang, where there is more scope for private commerce because state

scrutiny is less intense, the property market has also created a new class of businessmen who employ workers outside the broken state system and raise funds to buy building materials, defectors and experts said.

Kim Joo-sung, a North Korean scientific researcher who defected in 2008, said he had a friend in his home city who became a construction contractor as far back as 2002.

The friend worked with brokers who promoted unit sales by phone before they were even built, the researcher said, adding he paid off officials by giving them new homes.

“He became one of the richest men in my community,” said Kim, who declined to name his home city for fear of reprisals against his family in North Korea. He also declined to reveal his friend’s identity, saying he had lost contact with him when he fled North Korea.

The North Korean state has also been getting in on the property trade.

Since taking office more than two years ago, Kim Jong Un has presided over a construction boom with the aid of funds from China, the North’s major backer, and Russia, a former Cold War ally.

The state-run KCNA news agency, for example, reported in January that the government had built apartments for 1,000 families of scientists in Pyongyang.

For some newly built flats in Pyongyang, government firms sell the units, keeping the money as profit to stay viable, experts and defectors said.

“With the government’s knowledge, state agencies and institutions are selling houses they have built,” said an ex-senior intelligence official, who came to Seoul in 2008 but declined to be identified because of concerns for his safety. l