26 May 2014

Joishthya 12, 1421 Rajab 26, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 2, No 56

MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

7 | THE MOST PERSECUTED MINORITY

9 | THOUSANDS DEFY THAI JUNTA

20 pages | Price: Tk10

11 | VALUES TO WALK THE GALLOWS

14 | ANCELOTTI HAPPY WITH FIFTH TITLE

‘Mastermind’ of 46% food products in market adulterated n FOOD ADULTERATION Ekram murder arrested Moniruzzaman Uzzal

13 others placed on remand; one of them JCD member, two others are related to BNP leaders n Mohammad Jamil Khan from Feni Feni police have arrested Jihad Chowdhury, the alleged mastermind behind the killing of Fulgazi chairman Ekramul Haque, from the district’s Baraipur area.

“Based on information that Jihad was fleeing away on a CNG-run auto-rickshaw, police arrested him from Baraipur of Sayednagar area of Feni around 6:15pm,” Paritosh Ghosh, superintendent of police in Feni, told the Dhaka Tribune.

The arrest came a day after RAB forces arrested eight suspects from the capital’s Bashundhara area. During primary interrogation, one of the arrestees, Abdiul Islam Abid, son of district Mohila Awami League secretary Layla Jesmin Boromoni, claimed that Jihad had masterminded the murder and provided the arms and money to realise the plan.

Locals, however, claimed that Jihad – the joint general secretary of Fulgazi

unit of Awami League – had been out in public in recent days, while he also reportedly enjoyed snacks at a restaurant in front of the Feni Model police station yesterday.

Asked about the delay in arresting Jihad, Golam Morshed, officer-incharge of Feni Model police Station, told the Dhaka Tribune that police had kept eyes on Jihad and only arrested him after verifying his involvement with the murder.

Asked about who funded the killing, a senior official of Feni police said although Jihad and Shiblu were being marked as masterminds, investigation has shown that the two men were professional goons. Seeking anonymity, the official added that Jihad and Shiblu had been committing crime since 1996 as members of the party steering committee led by former MP Joynal Hazari.

Abul Kalam Azad, investigation officer of the case, said the police have so far collected some sensational  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Findings from laboratory tests have shown that over 46% of the food items that are available in the market are adulterated, and all the samples of some of the most popular items were found to be contaminated with harmful chemicals.

The tests, which were carried out over the last two years at the Public Health Laboratory (PHL) in the Institute of Public Health (IPH), show that 100% of the samples of food products like chocolate, cake, Chhana, yogurt, pickles, dried fish, fruit syrup, sesame oil and vegetable oil (dalda) were adulterated.

Taking bribes, sanitary inspectors send only a limited number of samples for testing Around 80-99% of other popular items in the market including ghee, juice, honey, Roshogollah, Chomchom, Sandesh, candy, soybean oil and powder milk were also found to be adulterated.

IPH Deputy Director Dr Md Shafiqul Alam, also the head of the PHL of National Food Safety Laboratory, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had tested 10,289 samples of 92 different food items over the past two years, and had found that more than 46% of the samples were adulterated.

The food samples were sent to the laboratory by district and upazila sanitary inspectors, Shafiqul said, adding

that the findings were passed onto civil surgeons’ offices.

The Dhaka Tribune has acquired a copy of the food testing results from 2012 and 2013 that were carried out by the PHL. A total of 5,322 and 4,967 food samples were tested in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Of the samples tested, 2,588 and 2,137 samples were found to be adulterated in the consecutive years.

Large percentages of samples from other popular food items that were found to be adulterated include mustard oil, biscuit, powdered chilli, powdered turmeric, salt, palm oil, milk, powder milk, and jelly.

On the other hand, the samples from different products including anchor pulse, green gram (mung pulse), fenugreek (methi) and black pepper (gol morich) did not contain any trace of adulteration.

There are allegations that sanitary inspectors send only a limited number of samples for testing as they get bribes from food manufacturers.

When asked about what actions had been taken against the perpetrators, IPH Director Subimal Sinha Choudhury told the Dhaka Tribune that the institute has no legal power to take actions against the manufacturers of adulterated food. Its only duty is to submit the laboratory test results before the civil surgeon concerned, he added.

When also questioned about the same issue, Abul Kalam Azad, additional director general (planning) and director of management information system of the Health Directorate, said they did not have any record of

46% food products were found adulterated out of over 10,000 samples tested in 2012-13

100% samples of food products like chocolate, cake, chhana, yogurt, pickles, dried fish, fruit syrup, sesame oil and vegetable oil (dalda) found adulterated

Around 80-99% of ghee, juice, honey, roshogolla, chomchom, sandesh, candy, soybean oil and powdered milk found adulterated Source: Institute of Public Health (IPH) A H MAMUN/DTINFOGRAPHIC

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Traders’ poisonous mix in fish busted n Ashif Islam Shaon

PRO-BNP LAWYERS BOYCOTT COURT

A few HC judges skip benches until lunch n Julfikar Ali Manik

Even after attending offices, a few High Court judges yesterday refrained from conducting their benches during the first half of working hours when an organisation of pro-BNP lawyers boycotted courtrooms at the Supreme Court.

These judges, who spent the time in their chambers, were appointed during the rule of the BNP, said some sources in the apex court.

The sources also said Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain later called a few of the judges to his office and asked them to explain their act.

A few Supreme Court lawyers said on condition of anonymity – because the matter was related to High Court judges – that judges usually did not come to court on days of political hartals or blockade programmes for security reasons.

But it had never happened that a

BASIC Bank MD removed n Tribune Report BASIC Bank Managing Director Kazi Faqurul Islam has been removed from his position on charges of irregularities.

Bangladesh Bank made the decision yesterday after reviewing the allegations of irregularities and involvement in loan forgery against Faqurul.

Bangladesh Bank Executive Director M Mahfuzur Rahman said Faqurul has been removed for two years from all activities in the banking sector.

After two years he will cross the age limit for working as an MD. The job duration for the BASIC  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

group of judges refrained from attending benches at the Supreme Court or the High Court because of a court-boycotting programme of a lawyers’ organisation, one of the lawyers told the Dhaka Tribune.

The Supreme Court registrar could not say exactly how many judges from which benches had skipped courtrooms until lunch and why.

The pro-BNP lawyers’ organisation – Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum – had earlier announced its programme for yesterday from 10:30am to 1pm.

A few court officials said Justice Md Rezaul Haque had not attended his bench before lunch and spent the time in his chamber although another member of the bench, Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore, had wanted to conduct the bench. Justice Gobinda had to spend the time at Justice Rezaul’s chamber.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

An executive magistrate and police officials check fish for formalin at Mohammadpur Town Hall kitchen market in the capital yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Kamran Reza Chowdhury

Police fear there might be labour unrest in Savar and Ashulia belt as a few garment factory owners have allegedly resorted to retrenchment of workers while investing to improve the safety standard for workers.

Syed Ahmed, inspector general of factory and establishment, told the parliamentary standing committee on the Labour Ministry yesterday that he had information, subject to verification, that retrenchment had been reported in some factories.

He told the first meeting of the parliamentary body that around 11,000 workers of 16 factories lost their jobs as

his wing had closed down those factories for poor safety standard.

State Minister Mujibul Haque said he took the matter seriously and convened on June 4 a meeting of the Crisis Management Committee dedicated to settle the unrest in RMG industry.

Abdus Salam, the deputy inspector general of the industrial police, told the meeting that many factories, including one of a leading businessman and ruling party leader, had cut jobs.

If the retrenched workers failed to get jobs ahead of Ramadan and Eid-ulFitr, there could be unrest in RMG units in Savar and Ashulia, he said.

The DIG warned the businessman that the industrial police would not

News

4 Regular occurrences of load shedding continue to cause anguish in people in both urban and rural areas, despite recent assurances from power authorities that the arrival of rain will reduce load shedding.

B1 The government has been forewarned of a volatile edible oil market during the month of Ramadan.

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Police fear unrest over RMG job cuts Leaked question paper n matches the original come to his rescue unless he stopped sacking workers without following the proper rule.

“We have taken the information provided by the DIG [into consideration] and decided to hold a meeting of the Crisis Management Committee on June 4,” Mujibul Haque told the Dhaka Tribune after yesterday’s meeting.

He said he also had information on job cut at some factories.

The meeting, with chairman Monnujan Sufian in the chair, recommended that the owners must not go for job cuts.

Syed Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune that he could not figure out the actual number of workers who had lost their  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

n Mushfique Wadud The mathematics question paper for the Higher Secondary Certificate Examination (HSC) matched the leaked questions circulated on Saturday night on a social networking media site.

The Dhaka Tribune looked into the original question and found that 95% of the questions were strikingly similar to that of the leaked question paper.

The questions 1, 2 (or), 4, 5, 6 (or), 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 (or), 12, 13, 14, 15 (or), 16, 16B (or), 17, and 18 (or) of the original ques-

INSIDE

Business

Textile colour, formalin and juice of okra can make fishes look fresher for longer. People see the sticky body of fish, its reddish gill and confuse them to be fresh.

The traders at Mohammadpur Town Hall Kitchen Market were polishing fishes with okra juice, putting red textile colours in the fish gills and formalin on the body. But the secret formula was revealed when a mobile court of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police raided the market yesterday.

Previously, using alarming rate of health hazardous formalin in fishes had raised concern among the city dwellers, and now it seems that the new formula could be the most dangerous invention by the dishonest traders.

The mobile court, amazed by the new formula, dumped four mounds of fishes in the dustbin after pouring kerosene on those so that those could not be sold later.

The sellers, however, fled the

5 After the failed to implement Uttara Apartment Project, Rajuk says it has planned to go forward with the project on a G2G basis with the Malaysian government.

World

Nation

6 Tree plunderers have long been cutting down valuable wood-oil trees, locally known as Garjan, from different reserve forests of the district.

8 Long lines snaked around polling stations in Kiev yesterday for Ukraine’s critical presidential election, a stark contrast to the troubled east where heavily armed pro-Russian rebels intimidated voters by smashing ballot boxes and blocking access to voting centers.

9 In a historic feat for Indian mountaineering, 13-year-old Malavath Purna yesterday became the youngest female climber to scale the Mount Everest.

Sport

13 Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff hit back on Saturday at criticism voiced by former soccer star Ronaldo over mishandled preparations for the World Cup.

tion paper of the Dhaka Board exactly matched the leaked one.

Rumours were rife on Saturday night that the mathematics question paper had been leaked. Some social media groups posted the leaked question paper.

The Dhaka Tribune downloaded some of the question papers.

On Sunday, after the Mathematics examination was held, the Dhaka Tribune collected the original question paper.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Monday, May 26, 2014

Arrested ex-army official sent to jail

NARAYANGANJ SEVEN MURDERS

Rana on 8-day remand n

Our Correspondent, Narayanganj

A Narayanganj court yesterday put Lt Commander MM Rana, former incharge of the Special Crime Prevention Company of RAB 11, on an eight-day remand in the second phase in connection with the seven gruesome murders in Narayanganj.

Following seven days of remand under Section 54, Rana was shown arrested in two cases filed in connection with the seven killings and was sent to court yesterday afternoon where police sought a 10-day remand order. Following hearing, Narayanganj Senior Judicial Magistrate KM Mahiuddin remanded him for eight days in the case filed

by Selina Yasmin Beauty, wife of slain panel mayor Nazrul Islam.

The court also ruled that remand hearing in the lawsuit registered by Dr Bijoy Kumar Pal, son-in-law of slain Advocate Chandan Sarker, would be held when the second-phase remand hearing would end.

At the hearing, Advocate Sakhawat Hossain, president of Narayanganj District Lawyers’ Association, said Rana should be put on remand and interro-

gated to know whether any outside terrorist worked with RAB officials as accomplice in the seven-murder incident.

“It is impossible for three RAB personnel to pick up seven people and kill them. There were many others who collaborated with the RAB officers. In addition, a video clip of the seven abductions has been found during the investigation. Rana should also be interrogated concerning that,” he said.

The association’s General Secretary Jakir Hossain and Additional Public Prosecutor Fazlur Rahman also took part in the hearing. “I have nothing to say. I will accept any decision taken by the court,” Rana said.

Police arrested Rana, who was sent to retirement in connection with the seven murders, from Dhaka Cantonment in the late hours on May 18. He was then shown arrested under Section 54 and was put on a seven-day remand.

Earlier, RAB 11 former commanding officer Lt Col Tarek Sayeed Mohammad and RAB 11 Major Arif Hossain were remanded for eight days in the second phase after showing them arrested in connection with the seven murders. l

Ex-MP Akram to vie Narayanganj 5 by-poll n Our Correspondent, Narayanganj

Former MP and past Narayanganj district Awami League convenor SM Akram is going to contest the Narayanganj 5 by-polls slated for June 26.

Akram, adviser of Nagorik Oikya, yesterday declared his candidature in the constituency (Shahar-Bandar) at a press conference held in Narayanganj Press Club at noon.

“I have decided to run the by-polls at the request from my followers. The Narayanganj people also want to see me as MP. I am hopeful of winning the race,”said Akram.

In 2011, the former AL leader quit his post centring on disagreements with the party high-ups during the Narayan-

Charge framing hearing against Khoka deferred

n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday deferred until June 25 the hearing on charge framing against BNP Vice-Chairman Sadeque Hossain Khoka and three others in an money embezzlement case.

Judge Md Jalil Uddin of Special Judge Court 3 granted the defence’s time petition and fixed the date.

The case was filed againstKhoka and others in 2012 for misappropriating Tk26 lakh from public fund and causing losses of another Tk11 lakh. l

ganj City Corporation elections.

Meanwhile on Saturday night, Krishak Sramik Janata League (KSJL) President Abdul Kader Siddiqui at a party programme held in Tanbazar area of the district town declared his candidature in the by-polls. Local activists of KSJL yesterday bought nomination papers in favour of its three leaders, including Kader Siddiqui.

In line with BNP, Kader Siddiqui had also boycotted the January 5 elections.

On Wednesday, Santrash Nirmul Toki Mancha convener Rafiur Rabbi also collected nomination papers to vie for the polls.

On April 30, the parliamentary seat fell vacant following the death of Jatiya Party MP Nasim Osman at a hospital in India. l

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Bank MD was supposed to expire on June 6 this year, according to the source.

Faqurul had admitted of his involvement in loan forgery of Tk4,500 crore that was carried out between December 2009 and November 2012, Mahfuzur said.

Earlier on May 24, Bangladesh Bank formed a standing committee to review the allegations raised against Faqurul.

On May 19, Faqurul faced the standing committee – headed by Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Nazneen Sultana – but failed to prove his innocence.

The committee’s recommendation

information on the murder and we hope that the financier behind the murder would be apprehended shortly.

According to sources, Ekram’s enmity with Jihad began in 2011, when the slain leader backed an expatriate named Harun-ur-Rashid who beat Jihad in the election for Anandapur union. Later, Jihad extended his support for his cousin and BNP-backed candidate Mahtab Udin Chowdhury Minar in the recent upazila parishad poll.

Ekram – who eventually won the election – later suspended Jihad from the local AL committee following the polls. However, the suspension was withdrawn after local lawmaker Nizam Uddin Hazari reportedly intervened.

At the time, Jihad reportedly declared in public that he would retaliate to his suspension from the party by “suspending Ekram from his life,” sources said.

When contacted, Nizam Uddin Hazari, MP of Feni 2 constituency, said the identities of the financiers behind the killing would come out soon through investigation.

The perpetrators must be punished irrespective of their political allegiance, the ruling party lawmaker said, adding that investigators would be welcome to arrest him if they could find his connection with the crime.

Meanwhile, a district court yesterday granted eight days’ remand against

each of the nine arrestees, including the eight who were arrested in Dhaka.

Senior Magistrate Mohammad Khairul Amin placed the men in remand after Abul Kalam Azad, investigation officer of the case and inspector of Feni Model police station, sought a 10day remand. The criminals, however, pleaded innocent during hearing of the remand plea.

The nine arrestees are Ward Councillor Abdullahil Mahmud Shiblu, Abid, Jahidul Islam Saikat, Chowdhury Mohammad Nafiz Uddin alias Anik, Sajedul Islam Alias Sifat, Kazi Sahman Mahmud, Shah Jalal Uddin Shipan, Jahid Hossain, and Helaluddin.

The court also placed four other arrestees on five days’ remand. Anowar, Iqbal, Alauddin and Shakhawat were arrested by district police soon after the crime.

According to district BNP and AL leaders, three of those arrested from Dhaka are reportedly linked with BNP’s politics. Saikat, the son of Parshuram upazila woman Vice-Chairperson and Mohila Dal President Nasima Kamrul, is involved with Chhatra Dal; Nafiz is the son of BNP’s Fulgazi upazila unit former secretary Didar Chowdhury; while Sajedul was also involved with Chhatra Dal. On Tuesday, 47-year-old Ekramul Haque, a two-time elected chairman of Fulgazi upazila, was shot and burnt alive by unidentified criminals in the Academy area of Feni district town. l

said the committee tried to ask them everything. “The probe is proceeding and we will also question whoever we need to,” he said.

The probe body chief continued that their task is in the final stage and they will try to submit the report to the High Court within June 4 as per its direction if possible. “Otherwise, we will request the HC to extend the submission time,” he explained.

The committee will interrogate all the then officer-in-charges and intelligence agency members of Narayanganj, today.

Nur Hossain, prime accused in the murder case, went into hiding after the abductions and killings of the seven people last month.

Narayanganj City Corporation panel mayor Nazrul Islam, lawyer Chandan Sarkar and five others were abducted on April 27 and then killed. Their bodies were later recovered from the Shitalakkhya River. l

A Chittagong court sent a former major of Bangladesh Army to jail yesterday for his alleged attempt to abduct a businessman, by impersonating RAB personnel, from Chittagong city’s Chowmuhoni area on May 18.

Police sources said the accused, Major (retd) Arif Ahmed, 44, has been undergoing treatment in Chittagong Medical College Hospital since May 19. Arif was arrested from the scene after he was caught red-handed by the locals, the sources added.

Metropolitan Magistrate Farid Alam passed the order, rejecting the request for bail by the defence, after Arif was produced before the court, six days after his arrest due to his mental illness, said Md Rezaul Masud, additional deputy commissioner of prosecution in CMP. Advocate Iftekhar Saimul Chowdhury, counsel for the plaintiff, said the defence had claimed that the accused was mentally challenged but his physician could not show any evidence before the court.

He said: “We pleaded before that court to reject his bail prayer saying that it will be risky for other people if a mentally challenged person was to be released.”

Arif, along with five to six other accomplices, attempted to abduct Golam Rabbani Moon, 32, a government authorised chemical supplier, from in front of Hotel Eastern View on May 18 around 8:30pm, identifying themselves as RAB men.

The locals, however, came forward and caught Arif after the victim cried for help but the others managed to flee the scene. Police said Arif seemed to be a mentally challenged person and so he was taken to CMCH. Moon lodged a case with Double Mooring police station accusing Arif and Nowsad, 40, along with four to five unidentified persons in this connection on the afternoon of May 19.

Arif was an official of the education corps of Bangladesh Army. He faced forceful retirement as the army medical board found him physically unfit in 2009. l

Police fear unrest

A few HC judges

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Members of National Garment Workers Federation rally with red flags in front of the National Press Club yesterday, protesting abduction of workers' leader Moniruzzaman in Bhaluka of Mymensingh and vandalisim at his house RAJIB DHAR

Shamim Osman to be questioned if required n Mohosinul Karim Shahjahan Ali Mollah, head of the high-powered government probe body formed for the sensational Narayanganj seven-murder case, said yesterday that they might interrogate ruling party lawmaker Shamim Osman and others if it is required to unearth the facts.

In another query whether MP Shamim would be interrogated over the leaked conversation with Nur Hossain, Shahjahan Ali said: “Our investigation is going on. If it is required to quiz him, we will obviously do it. Everyone relating to the incident will be questioned.”

The probe body head made the remarks when he was leaving the Secretariat after grilling former Deputy Commissioner Monaj Kanti Boral and Narayanganj Superintendent of Police Syed Nurul Islam.

Requesting anonymity, a probe committee member told the Dhaka Tribune that Shamim Osman is likely

to be interrogated by the committee next week.

On Friday, a private television channel aired a phone conversation between Shamim Osman and Nur Hossain, prime accused in the seven-murder case. Later, at a press conference, the lawmaker admitted to having had such a conversation.

The committee quizzed the SP from 10:30am till 1:30pm while the DC was questioned from 2:45pm till 4:35pm.

All of the members of the committee were present during the interrogation.

However, neither the committee members nor the officials talked to the media except Shahjahan Mollah.

After the interrogation, Shahjahan said they recorded their (DC and SP) statements and quizzed them about the incident.

When asked whether the committee inquired about relations between Nur Hossain and the two former Narayanganj administration chiefs, Shahjahan

BASIC Bank MD removed

‘Mastermind’ of Ekram murder  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

to the central bank governor for removing Faqurul was approved yesterday, sources said.

Investigations by Bangladesh Bank last year revealed that the Basic Bank had approved loans of Tk4,500 crore, mostly without proper documentation or scrutiny.

Most of the irregularities took place in BASIC Bank’s four branches — Motijheel, Shantinagar, Dilkusha and Gulshan — that granted loans of Tk4,424.93 crore between December 2009 and November 2012 on poor documents and inflated mortgages. The bank gave loans to nonexistent companies and promptly approved loans to

clients after they had opened accounts.

In September last year, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Bangladesh Bank and BASIC Bank to rein in the financial irregularities, rampant in the state-run scheduled bank for the past few years. But the central bank’s latest investigations still found irregularities at BASIC Bank, even as recently as January, which prompted Bangladesh Bank to slap a notice to Faqurul asking why he should not be removed from his position.

Government also decided to shut down the Gulshan branch of the BASIC Bank in Dhaka because of its massive irregularities. l

jobs. The owners had been renovating those factories for better working conditions following the Rana Plaza collapse April 24 last year.

“But I have information that some retrenchment has been on. We will discuss the issue at the June 4 meeting,” he said.

Garment worker Mohammad Alam, 25, is one who lost job two months ago and now runs a battery-run rickshaw in Mirpur area.

“I have gone from factory to factory, but the owners are not willing to recruit any worker…They will rather cut jobs,” Alam told this correspondent. “The owners now want 10 workers to do the job of 30 as they have been renovating their factories.” l

Traders’ poisonous mix in fish busted  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

market sensing presence of the law enforcers, Nur A Alam, an assistant commissioner of the DMP, said.

Police officials who took part in the morning drive said the sellers first cut the okras in small pieces and extract juice. Using the juice makes the fishes to glitter. Moreover, they put red textile colours in the gill. The formalin is put on the body in an old style.

Under the bright bulbs, the fishes on display look fresher.

Executive Magistrate Abul Kalam Azad, who led the drive, said the new formula had been applied normally on ruhi, katla and boal. “The buyers usually prefer sticky surface and reddish

gill of a fish to consider buying it as a fresh one.”

The court found that a boal fish contained 0.53 formalin while ruhi and katla had 0.35. Some small fishes contained 0.65 formalin.

If a fish contains presence of formalin at 0.01, it becomes harmful for health.

He said the court used formalin identification kit to examine its presence.

On May 22, the fish traders swooped on a mobile court during a raid. They also locked in clashes with the police team accompanying the mobile court.

The kitchen market was declared formalin-free by the administration

last year.

High extent formalin in fruits During yesterday’s drive, over 100 fruit sellers fled the market leaving their products. Later the mobile court found presence high degree of formalin in litchi, mango, watermelon and apple.

The litchis, which were sold at Tk5 each had 9.2 while mango had 7.93 formalin. The court detained a fruit seller named Abdus Sattar red-handed and fined him Tk1,000.

Sattar, however, claimed that he had not mixed formalin with the fruits himself. He bought the fruits from the wholesale market in the capital’s Badamtali. l

Leaked question paper matches the original  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

However, Intermediate and Secondary Education Board Chairman Taslima Begum denied that the leaked questions matched the original one.

“We have collected the leaked questions from Facebook and matched them with the original questions and found they were not the same,” she said.

When asked, how and from where the Facebook groups were collecting the leaked questions, she stated: “Only Allah knows where they were getting those questions from.”

Earlier, the Dhaka Education Board had to postpone the English Second Paper examination after allegations were

made regarding question paper leakage.

The Education Ministry also formed a committee to investigate the incident and the committee is now working.

A Facebook page “Porikher Ager Rater Proshno Nin” (Get the question paper the night before the examination), posted a question paper on Saturday night. The examination was scheduled to be held the next day (Sunday).

Another group “Bangladesh HSC Board 2014 Suggestion and Question Help Line/Center” posted on Saturday night: “Send me message if you want to get 100% real mathematics questions.”

Another group “HSC Exam 2014” posted a question and put up a status:

“Tell me which board’s question you want.”

Comments of many students were found beneath the leaked questions saying “almost 95% of the questions were common.”

A group “Paro Tomar Provur Name” (Read in the name of your God) posted at 6pm on Sunday: “The Mathematics question paper we provided yesterday matched 95% of the original one and this is tomorrow’s Mathematics Second Paper question. We hope that you will find 95% common in this paper too.”

Another group “Shapno Shoha Pakhi” also posted a question on Saturday night. l

When contacted, Supreme Court Registrar AKM Shamsul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune over phone that he had been out of office to attend some businesses and so had not much information in this regard.

“I have heard that two to four benches did not conduct judicial work and a few judges left the courtrooms after attending for a short time,” he said.

“But I do not know the reason behind the incident.”

A number of lawyers said there was the possibility of the incident having link with the Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum’s court-boycotting programme.

“It was not even a programme called by the Supreme Court Bar Association; it was a programme of merely an organisation of a political party. Judges have never refrained from attending benches during the protest programme of a partisan lawyers’ group,” said one of them.

When contacted, former SCBA secretary Rezaul Karim said: “There was no other apparent reason for the benches for not operating during the period of the court-boycotting programme called by the Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum.”

Although some sources confirmed that the Chief Justice had asked explanation from a few of those judges, the Supreme Court registrar said he did not know anything in this regard. l

46% food products  PAGE 1 COLUMN 4

punitive actions that had been taken against those involved in food adulteration.

Health sector sources said the government had passed the food act and once the rules are finalised they will go for drastic punitive actions against those involved with the adulterated food business.

Health specialists say millions of Bangladeshis are being affected by food poisoning every year, and yet people are unaware of it. Although there has been no nationwide research on food adulteration and its affect on health, food adulteration is a leading cause behind the increase in non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cancer, stroke, hypertension, and heart and kidney-related ailments, they added. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Monday, May 26, 2014

TIB: Graft, political clout barrier to local government development n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla Corruption and political influence are the main barriers to the development of the local government administration, said a study of the Transparency International Bangladesh yesterday.

The study, however, gave credit to the government for some achievements in the administration of the local government.

But it said the achievement could have been greater if there had been no corruption and political influence. The TIB suggested a withdrawal of lawmakers’ involvement in the local administration to ensure good governance.

The TIB organised a roundtable discussion at Brac Inn Center where the research report said widespread irregularities and corruption took place in different tiers of the local government.

Discussants at the roundtable, however, criticised the report saying that it did not mention any specific proposal for the way out.

TIB officials Rabiul Islam and Farhana Rahman presented the research findings while local government expert Zarina Rahman Khan, Salahuddin M Aminuzzaman and senior Awami League leader Tofail Ahmed discussed the paper.

TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman moderated the roundtable dis-

HC splits on Khaleda’s petitions n Nazmus Sakib A High Court bench yesterday passed dissenting orders on two writ pleas lodged by BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia questioning the legality of the appointment of Dhaka’s Special Judge Basudev Roy. Justice Farah Mahbub stayed the trial proceedings for three months in two corruption cases while Justice Kazi Ejarul Haque Akondo, the other judge, summarily rejected the petitions.

After issuing the orders, the bench said they would send the petitions along with the orders to Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain so that he fixes a single judge’s bench to hear the pleas. Then the view of the majority would be final.

After yesterday’s orders, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam hoped that the petitions would be disposed of by June 19, fixed for the recording of depositions of prosecution witnesses by the lower court. The testimonies had been deferred twice due to the petitions filed

by Khaleda challenging the indictment orders and the judge’s appointment.

The petitions were filed by lawyer Asaduzzaman on May 12 on behalf of Khaleda in the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust corruption cases.

Khaleda’s lawyer AJ Mohammad Ali contended that the appointment of Basudev Roy had been illegal as no gazette notification was published. On the other hand, the attorney general argued that publishing a gazette notification was not obligatory. l

TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman speaks at a roundtable on local government in the capital yesterday cussion. State Minister for Rural Development and Cooperatives Mashiur Rahman Ranga was present at the discussion as the chief guest.

The TIB put forward an 18-point recommendation to free the local government bodies from irregularities and corruption.

M Hafizuddin Khan, member of the Trustee Board of the TIB, said there were criticisms about the local government as the negative issues always come to the forefront in discussions.

“But it does not mean that there is nothing positive. Our main concern is to identify how much the political leaders are willing to do to end the corruption,” he said.

The research reveals that a maximum of 10% bribe is given to the local government department to get projects and special allocations and about 10% to 20% is given to the ruling political party leaders and activists to get work orders.

The research report also said the contractors have to pay bribes to the local

The eighth prosecution witness in the trial of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Maulana Abdus Subhan yesterday said he had witnessed the abduction and torture of his father and Jayen Uddin Alias Jhoru Kha during the 1971 Liberation War. Ashraf Uddin Mia, 57, son of Alauddin Mia – an Ansar commander, hails from Arunkhola in Ishwardi of Pabna.

The witness said he had been a student of class V during the war.

“On a day in the middle of Baishakh [first month of Bangla calendar], Subhan with his cohorts came to our place

government officials for their work, to get work orders, working bills and so on.

The paper suggested 18 recommendations to make the local government more effective.

The recommendations include ending the interference of MPs, proper balance in the power and responsibility between administration and local government, rewarding honest and good officials and punishing the corrupt officials, the introduction of e-procurement and digitised taxation. l

A new prosecution witness in the case against Syed Mohammad Qaisar claimed yesterday that the accused and his cohorts, with the help of Pakistani occupation forces, had burnt at least 25 Hindu villages and killed around 100 people in a day during the 1971 Liberation War. Abdul Matin alias Jalal, 63, testified at the International Crimes Tribunal 2 and described the atrocities that took

n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman US Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan Mozena stressed the need for good relations between Bangladesh and India at a programme yesterday.

Mozena was delivering a speech on US-Bangladesh partnership at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies in the city.

The ambassador said Chinese engagement with Bangladesh is a good thing. “We see Chinese engagement here is very constructive,” he stated.

“Of course, Bangladesh is going to have good relations with India; it has no option but to do that,” Mozena said.

He visited many districts in the bordering areas and found potentials for trade with the seven sisters.

“It’s not really happening now. It should be huge. They don’t have any apparel industry. They should get all apparels from here,” he said.

“I am hopeful that America will be able to provide a second [naval ship] cutter though no decision has been made yet to this end,” he said.

Washington has already provided a cutter to the Bangladesh Navy. The 378 feet cutter Somudra Joy is the largest vessel in the Bangladesh Navy. It visited the Philippines to provide disaster relief and also joined the international search for the missing Malaysian Air Flight.

The ambassador said the US believes those who commit crimes against humanity should be held accountable.

n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday ordered 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for the outlawed JMB’s explosives expert Jahidul Islam Mizan alias Boma Mizan, who has been a fugitive since February, in a case filed for possessing explosives.

Dhaka’s Fourth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan also sentenced Mizan’s wife Halima Begum alias Sharmin to a five year imprisonment in the same case filed for possessing grenades and explosives.

In the other case lodged under Arms Act over the same incident, the couple was sentenced to 37 years of imprisonment on June 3, 2012.

RAB arrested Mizan and his wife from Mirpur on May 15, 2009 and recovered arms and a huge amount of explosives from their house in East Monipuri Para of Mirpur.

During the order yesterday afternoon, Halima was present at the court.

Mizan and two of his fellows were snatched from a prison van in Mymensingh on February 23.

Hailing from Shekhervita village under Jamalpur sadar upazila, Mizan is accused in 19 cases filed with different police stations. He was given 30 years of jail time in the Mymensingh cinema hall explosions case, 20 years for illegal possession of explosives and lifetime

rigorous imprisonment in another case.

According to the case, elite force RAB arrested Mizan, an explosives expert of the outlawed Islamist group, and his wife at a house in North Pirerbagh in the city’s Mirpur area. After searching another house at East Monipuri Para, RAB sized a huge amount of gun powder and explosives.

Mizan is accused in 19 cases. He was given 30 years of jail time in the Mymensingh cinema hall explosions case, 20 years for illegal possession of explosives and lifetime rigorous imprisonment in another case The following day, RAB’s Deputy Assistant Director Md Abdur Rahim filed two cases with Mirpur police station – one under the Explosives Act and the other for possessing arms illegally.

The investigation officer of the case, Md Moshiur Rahman, pressed charges on June 15, 2009 accusing the duo while the court indicted them on January 28, 2010. l

and enquired about my father. Some Bihari and members of the Pakistani Army were with him.” The witness said Subhan had ordered to loot the house when they failed to capture Alauddin. They also looted the house of Jhoru Kha. “On the first day of Jaishthya [second month of Bangla calendar], Subhan along with the Pakistani Army men came to Arunkhola and surrounded a tea stall of the market place. They captured my father and Jhoru Kha from there and took them to Ishwardi Rest House, which was used as a concentration camp then,” Ashraf said.

His family members later contacted

one Khoda Box for the release of Alauddin. “Khoda Box told us to go to Subhan as he was their leader.” Alauddin and Jhoru Kha were both freed by the razakars following the order of Subhan, but they were seriously wounded.

After several days, Alauddin told Ashraf about the confinement. The witness said Subhan had ordered Khoda Box to torture on them. He was tortured in presence of the accused.

At the end of deposition, the witness demanded justice saying that though his family arranged proper treatment, his father had died because of his weak health following torture. l

place at Chitna, Gutma, Dawra, Bhurunga and Nishchintapur of Habiganj.

The witness was the chairman of Guniauk Union Parishad in 1988. He knew Qaisar, a state minister in Ershad’s tenure, since he was a political person.

He had taken part in the 1970 election campaign for the Awami League as a student of Chittagong City College.

Jalal said: “In November, our informer Kutub Raja told us that hundreds of army men, along with the Qaisar Bahini,

planned to attack Nasir Nagar. Following this, we divided in many small groups, and as per the plan, I went to Chitna, taking five fellow members with me.

“On November 15, the anti-liberation forces gathered at one Monjur Ali’s place and were planning to attack the nearby villages. Then we went to a secure place near the cremation ground and witnessed the atrocities in Chitna, Gutma and Dawra,” he said, adding that Qaisar had left the place around noon.

“They should be held accountable by processes fully consistent with domestic laws and fully consistent with international obligations,” he said.

Human rights situation is an area where Bangladesh and the US differ. “If you read our human rights report, you can see our concern about respect for human rights, concerns about extrajudicial killings, abductions, disappearances – it’s all documented in our annual human rights report. That is one area of divergence,” he said.

The ambassador said he was posted to Bangladesh as he had simply demanded to be here.

Earlier, the government asked the United States for military aircrafts under the Excess Defence Article system.

“We made the request during the US-Bangladesh Security Dialogue held here last month,” said a senior official of the foreign ministry.

After the security dialogue in April, US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Tom Kelly said Bangladesh sought more military equipment from the United States. “Bangladesh did express its interest in receiving more equipment from the US. There are various ways for Bangladesh to obtain military equipment from the United States,” he said.

In 1997, Bangladesh procured four C130B cargo aircrafts from the US under the Excess Defence Article. Dhaka received $2.5 million in assistance under the US foreign military financing programme in 2012. l

JaPa undecided over Narayanganj by-polls candidate n Manik Miazee

City dwellers suffer at a Farmgate footbridge after rainwater became stagnant on it. The photo was taken yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Jatiya Party, main opposition in the Parliament, is yet to decide over selecting a candidate to vie in the Narayanganj 5 by-elections.

According to a high official of the party, JaPa Chairman HM Ershad wants his brother GM Quader to fight for the seat.

On the contrary, Opposition Leader Rawshan Ershad wants to nominate Golam Mochi, her political secretary, while local leaders favour Parvin Osman, wife of late Nasim Osman.

Interestingly, Ershad on Saturday declared the candidature of Parvin at a meeting arranged on the memory of Nasim Osman, but later he made a U-turn.

There is rumour that Arfin Osman, daughter of Nasim Osman, may also contest in the constituency (Shahar-Bandar).

As sequel to the deadlock, JaPa postponed its Parliamentary Board meeting, set for yesterday.

Secretary General Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu said the board would decide on the candidature and disclose the name before May 29.

When contacted, Mochi told the Dhaka Tribune that he wanted to take part in the by-elections.

Meanwhile, Awami League Parliamentary Board at a meeting chaired by party President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declined to give any candidate for the seat and extended its support to the JaPa candidate. l

Order on contempt of HRW July 15 n Udisa Islam The war crimes tribunal will pass order whether to draw contempt proceedings against New York-based Human Rights Watch on July 15.

Prosecutors Zead-al-Malum, Tureen Afroz and Tapas Kanti Baul took part in the hearing at the International Crimes Tribunal 1 yesterday and pleaded for the initiating of contempt proceedings.

They said while the appeals case was pending before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, the HRW ran a “scandalising” report with bias and malafide intention.

On September 2 last year, the tribunal issued a notice upon the rights body and two of its officials, asking as to why

Witness: Qaisar killed 100 people, burnt 25 villages n Udisa Islam

Mozena: Dhaka to have good relations with India

Notorious Boma Mizan gets 20 years in jail

Witness in Subhan case describes father’s abduction in Pabna n Udisa Islam

NASHIRUL ISLAM

3

The witness said they had gone to the place again the following day and found that at least 30 people had been killed during the atrocities. When they went to Rajab Ali’s house in Lazmipur village, “the locals told us that Qaisar and his cohorts had gone there and burnt houses after looting goods and killed at least 100 Hindu people.”

The tribunal adjourned the trial until today, keeping the cross-examination incomplete. l

proceedings should not be drawn against them for contempt of court. The prosecution filed a petition against the organisation for making “biased, baseless, utterly false, fabricated and ill-motivated” allegations in its report – published on August 16 last year – regarding the trial of convicted Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam.

Md Asaduzzaman, counsel for the defendants, apologised for his clients, stating, “As the defendants are citizens of foreign countries, they do not have any knowledge of the contempt law and proceedings of this country.”

The tribunal then said: “It seems your client has much knowledge on various things, but only lacks information about the contempt law.”

Though Asad apologised, the de-

fendants did not mention it in their replies. The tribunal said: “Your reply and submissions are also contradictory.” The counsel claimed that the HRW had never supported the role of Jamaat during the Liberation War and that it never published any one-sided report.

Prosecutor Tureen, however, argued that the article put on their website “can and will be held for contempt of court in any country.” She said: “Offence can take place anywhere but when it is on the internet then it has impact everywhere and can be recognised and considered under territorial jurisdiction.”

Referring to international human rights laws, Tureen said the international laws also did not allow them to comment on any subjudice matter. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Monday, May 26, 2014

Rain fails to bring respite to load shedding woes n Aminur Rahman Rasel Regular occurrences of load shedding continue to cause anguish in people in both urban and rural areas, despite recent assurances from power authorities that the arrival of rain will reduce load shedding.

Although different areas in the country experienced rain over the past two days, people are facing several daily rounds of load shedding, including midnight power outages, as the gap between demand and production continues to exist.

‘Although it has been raining for the last two days, the extreme heat wave continues. So load shedding is not reducing’ Although the electricity generation capacity has increased to 10,341MW, the Power Development Board (PDB) was still unable to produce to its full capacity because of the incapability of the distribution side, claimed PDB officials.

PDB sources also said inadequate gas supply for generating power is resulting in load shedding across the country.

Compared to a countrywide demand of 7,500MW, power authorities are producing an average of around 6,800MW every day.

Currently, the production of 1,800MW of power is reportedly suspended because of mechanical

faults, along with a further suspension of around 900MW of power production because of gas and oil shortages.

“As we are unable to generate additional electricity because of gas shortages, we have to manage the gap with load management, which will be implemented through load shedding,” PDB Chairman Md Abduhu Ruhulla told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Although it has been raining for the last two days, the extreme heat wave continues. So load shedding is not reducing,” he claimed.

Dhaka residents are reportedly experiencing daily load shedding of up to six hours, while the situation is worse outside the capital, where consumers claim to be experiencing nine hours of load shedding every day.

Shahadat Hossain, a resident in Dhaka’s Azimpur, said they are experiencing midnight load shedding.

“I have suffered four to six hours load shedding during day and night time.

We are still suffering from the problem with a little improvement in the situation,” he claimed.

Md Mofazzal Hoque, a school teacher and resident of the city’s Mohammadpur area, said: “We had experienced load shedding for two to three hours a few days back.”

Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited’s Managing Director Nazrul Hasan admitted limitations of his area’s distributions system, saying some areas suffer outages because of localised bottlenecks in the system.

On the other hand, Md Mahbub Alam, a villager of Paikgacha in Khulna who is also the manager of a private bank, told the Dhaka Tribune that farmers, examinees and children are suffering because of frequent load shedding during the ongoing heat wave. l

Rains on two consecutive days have begun to reduce the heat. Two children are enjoying the rain on Bijoy Sarani yesterday

TK3,500 CRORE MISAPPROPRIATION ALLEGATION

Wealth info of 2 ex-BASIC Bank staff, families sought n Tribune Report

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday asked two former officials of state-owned Bangladesh Small Industries and Commerce Bank Limited and their family members to submit their wealth statements within the next seven days.

The notices were served in connection with an enquiry into alleged accumulation of illegal wealth. Both the officials were suspended over the

Court gives RAB more time to submit report n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

NGOs unresponsive over special schools for autistic children n Kamran Reza Chowdhury The government has not received expected response from potential partners for setting up special schools for autistic children in the country.

The dismal disclosure came out at the meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on the Social Welfare Ministry a couple of days after the UN had adopted the Bangladesh resolution on autism.

Discussing the progress of work on starting special schools at district headquarters, ministry officials told the committee that it had failed to find partner schools to finance the scheme.

The district administrations have been able to select only 20 NGOs in 20 districts to run these schools, Monoranjan Shil Gopal, a committee member, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s daughter Saima Hossain Putul is the pioneer in advancing the cause of autistic children, who have very little scope of education in the country.

Officials said the ministry had been pushing the DCs to speed up the process to set up more schools. l

allegations.

ACC Deputy Director Syed Iqbal Hossain served the notices to BASIC Bank former deputy managing director A Monayem Khan, his wife Shahana Parvin, former general manager Mohammad Ali, his wife Kismat Ara and son Abdul Momen Chowdhury.

They were asked to submit statements on all movable and immovable properties under their ownership before the commission secretary, an ACC official told reporters.

During primary enquiry, ACC investigators found that the wealth of Monayem and Ali were inconsistent with their known sources of income, prompting officials to serve notices not only to the two but also to their family members.

The two were suspended last month over their alleged involvement in financial scam.

Back in 2012, the ACC launched an enquiry into alleged misappropriation of Tk3,500 crore from the bank by a

section of its officials. No visible progress has been made so far as the enquiry is still underway.

The money was allegedly embezzled from different branches of the bank by sanctioning loans to some fake companies through letters of credit, inland bill purchases and counterfeit documents.

Irregularities mostly occurred in Dilkusha, Shantinagar and Gulshan branches when Mohammad Ali was the in-charge of Shantinagar branch. l

Obaidul: No decision yet on hiring manpower for Padma bridge project

SAGAR-RUNI MURDER

A Dhaka court yesterday fixed June 29 for the submission before it of the probe report of the journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi murder case.

Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Erfanullah fixed the date as the investigation officer had failed to submit the report yesterday.

Sagar, news editor of private TV station Maasranga, and his wife Runi, a senior reporter of ATN Bangla, were killed in the small hours on February 11, 2012 at their rented apartment in the capital’s West Rajabazar.

Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police started investigations into the case.

Later the case was shifted to the DB police. However, the High Court ordered the case to be shifted to elite force RAB for investigation as the former had expressed its inability to resolve the case. l

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Floral tributes pour in for national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam at his graveyard on his birth anniversary yesterday NASHIRUL ISLAM

Communication Minister Obaidul Quader said yesterday that the government has yet to take any decision on recruiting workers for the Padma bridge project.

In reply to queries from journalists about alleged corruption in hiring manpower for the project, Obaidul said the departments concerned, including the Bridges Division and the Bangladesh Army, had not placed any advertisements for recruitment.

EQUITY BEFORE EQUALITY

Indigenous people demand special budget n Tazlina Zamila Khan Speakers at a dialogue held in the capital yesterday demanded special allocation for the country’s indigenous population in the upcoming budget.

The programme, titled “We Want an Indigenous Friendly Budget,” was organised by ActionAid and took place in Kawranbazar area.

Shaktipod Tripura, organising secretary of Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples’ Forum, said: “Indigenous people are poorer than the poor people in Bangladesh because they are losing their land to grabbers.

“The government, in its election manifesto, promised to give special benefits to the community, but in reality nothing has happened.”

In FY2013-14, the government allotted Tk755 crore for the Chittagong Hill

Tracts community and Tk16 crore for plain land indigenous people, when the allocation should have been at least Tk4,000 crore, he added.

Sanjeeb Drong, general secretary of the forum, said around 65% of the population in the CHT region and 80% in the plain land were poor due to land grabbing. He placed five demands to ensure separate budget and arrangements to maintain that budget for the development of the indigenous community in all aspects.

Rabindranath Shoren, president of Bangladesh Adibashi Parishad, said: “Only budget allocation is not enough. The CHT Land Commission Amendment Act has not been implemented properly, which gave the grabbers leeway to steal these people’s land. If the nation and the government become more accepting towards the indigenous population, it will

be easier to save these communities.”

Prof Dalem Chandra Barman, vice-chancellor of ASA University, said: “The state is not playing its role properly, and it is affecting the indigenous community.”

Fazle Hossain Badsha MP, convener of the parliamentary caucus of indigenous peoples, claimed a vested group were plotting against the indigenous community.

“The community in Barendra region suffer from lack of water, which should have been brought to the government’s attention,” he said.

“Those who have lost their land should be rehabilitated,” he added.

Among others, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon and member of parliamentary caucus on indigenous peoples Ushaton Talukdar MP were also present at the event. l

Five Jamaat, two Shibir men held n Tribune Report

Police yesterday night held five Jamaat-e-Islami workers as they were preparing to commit sabotage in Chatak upazila of Sunamganj.

They were Abdul Matin, 45, Gauchauddin, 45, Ataur Rahman, 40, Imam Uddin, 30, and Dulal Mia, 27. All of them hailed from Ballabhpur village in Charmahallah union.

The five were detained from Tetiarchar Bazar in the union around 8:30pm.

They gathered to commit sabotage,

said officer-in-charge of Chatak police station Shahjalal Munsi.

Steps are underway to file case against them, he added.

Two Shibir men held in Rajshahi

Police held a Chhatra Shibir man with five crude bombs from Dharampur area of Matihar thana in Rajshahi around 10:30pm yesterday.

He was identified as Afzal Hossain alias Faisal. Three policemen were also injured in a blast while arresting him.

Matihar police station Officer-in-Charge Alamgir Hossain said

Afzal had 18 cases filed against him.

“The blast also hurt Afzal who was later sent to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital,” said Alamgir, adding that the three injured policemen were given first aid.

Meanwhile, Shahiduzzaman was detained from Kajla area around 8:15pm on Saturday, according to a press release signed by Rajshahi University Shibir Publicity Secretary Labib and issued at 10:30am yesterday.

Police, however, refused to comment on the detention till yesterday afternoon. l

A ring of frauds, using fake authorisation letters of the army and the Bridges Division, have reportedly been swindling poor people out of large sums of money by promising them “jobs” in the bridge project.

Obaidul also warned the public against exchanging any money for government jobs, saying such a practice was fraudulent.

The minister spoke to the media after inaugurating two newly-built bridges, Baro Awlia Bridge and Dhamarkhali Khal Bridge, on the Dhaka-Chittagong

highway in Sitakunda upazila.

“We hope to conclude the construction of the four-lane Dhaka-Chittagong highway by December this year,” he said, adding, “The construction work of 18 bridges, out of 23, and 232 culverts on this highway have already been completed.”

Earlier, the minister inspected different sites of the highway project.

Project Director Ibne Alam Hasan, Additional Project Director Arun Alo Chakma and Project Manager Masud Karim accompanied him. l

‘Stop damaging shrimp farming’ n Abu Bakar Siddique Speakers at a discussion yesterday urged the government to control unplanned and illegal shrimp farming, which is rendering barren the arable land and ruining sources of fresh water in the tropical cyclone-hit coastal belt.

According to the World Fish Centre, 160,000 hectares of land are being used for shrimp farming of which 130,000 hectares is in Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerhat The discussion, titled Revisiting Aila: Cry for Safe WaSh, was organised by NGO Forum and Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies at the auditorium of the Department of Public Health and Engineering in the city.

Influential people, who run unplanned and illegal shrimp related operations here, farm shrimps by leaking water through the embankment, which is meant for resisting saline water, into their shrimp enclosures, they said.

The saline water, brought into the areas of fresh water sources for shrimp cultivation, affects agriculture, making the fertile land barren. This is causing huge suffering for the people here, they added.

“People’s sufferings will continue unless the illegal and unplanned shrimp farming is stopped,” said Joyonti Rani Sarker, an inhabitant of Dakope

upazila of Khulna.

On May 25, 2009, tropical cyclone Aila hit Bangladesh’s coastal districts, particularly Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerhat and damaged the coastal embankment with a massive tidal surge, rendering saline the fresh water sources there.

Apart from Aila, unplanned shrimp farming is one of the major reasons behind increasing salinity in the coastal belt, said Dr Abdullah Harun Chowdhury, professor of Environmental Science at Khulna University.

The current trend of increasing salinity in the coastal belt is high, compared to the time before cyclone Aila hit the coastal belt, he said.

Justifying his statement, he said, for instance, the water salinity level was .6 to 23.8 ppm (Parts per million) in 2012 while it was 4 to 22 ppm in 2009.

In addition to the scarcity of fresh drinking water, the illegal shrimp farming is rendering barren the arable land in the coastal belt where shrimps are farmed, he said.

Nurul Islam Sikder, an inhabitant of Shaymnagar upazila of Satkhira said they could not cultivate cereal crops, including paddy, because the coastal land has lost its fertility due to its increasing salinity.

When the concerns were taken up with Dr Sultan Ahmed, director (Natural Resource Management) of the Department of Environment, he said, “We have finalised the draft of the National Environment Policy 2013. It will be sent to the cabinet for approval soon.”

According to the World Fish Centre, around 160,000 hectares of land are being used for shrimp farming in Bangladesh, of which 130,000 hectares is in Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerhat. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

UTTARA APARTMENT PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

Rajuk goes for G2G deal with Malaysia as housing firms fail n

Abu Hayat Mahmud

After the ruling party lawmaker Enamul Haque’s ENA Properties Ltd and two other Korean firms failed to implement Uttara Apartment Project, Rajuk (Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha) says it has planned to go forward with the project on a G2G basis with the Malaysian government.

Sources say the Housing and Public Works Ministry and Rajuk are jointly dealing with the Malaysian authorities to implement the project that includes building apartments for low- and middle-income people at Sector 18 of Uttara Residential Model Town in the third phase. The two previous phases have already been completed.

Rajuk member (development) Naim Ahmed Khan told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have decided that no new contract would be signed with any home company. He claimed the government of both Bangladesh and Malaysia would work on a government-to-goverment basis on the unfinished project.”

In February 2012, Rajuk inked a deal with ENA Properties Ltd, a real estate firm owned by Awami League lawmaker of Rajshahi 4 constituency

Enamul Haque, for constructing the apartments. In June the same year, a joint venture agreement was also signed with ENA Properties and two South Korean construction companies, namely Dung Ah and DDJ. For Type A flats measuring 1250sqft each in 49 16-storey buildings, Rajuk signed the agreement with ENA, Dung Ah and DDJ for 75% of the total construction work. For the remaining 25%, there was another joint venture deal involving Hamid Construction Ltd, owned by Awami League lawmaker Nasrul Hamid Bipu, and Building for Future Limited.

Although Hamid Construction and its associate firms are continuing the construction, ENA and the two Korean companies are yet to meet conditions of the agreement with Rajuk.

Sources say ENA and the other two Korean firms took more than Tk25 crore by submitting construction bill but no progress was made in around the last two years. According to the agreement, 54% of the construction was supposed to be completed by now but the companies have done only 4%.

Because of the dilly-dallying of ENA, Rajuk had repeatedly sent it warning letters but no step was tak-

en on the part of the company. This prompted Rajuk to terminate the ENADung Ah and ENA-DDJ agreements in December last year.

The companies have just begun piling work of a few buildings, though construction began in 2012.

ENA is yet to leave the project area despite Rajuk terminating the deal with it. It has even contacted another home company Samin Real Estate to appoint another sub-contractor for the project.

ENA-DDJ filed a writ petition with the High Court against officials concerned of Rajuk, the Ministry of Housing and Public Works and IFIC bank.

After submission of the writ petition, the High Court issued a stay order asking the manager of the branch concerned to deny Rajuk permission to withdraw Tk72,641,573 deposited by ENA-DDJ for enchasing performance guarantee money. The stay order was also issued on a letter sent by Rajuk to ENA-DDJ on December 12 last year mentioning termination of the deal.

Besides, ENA also sent a legal notice to Rajuk asking them to mention reasons for termination of the agreement.

Project Director Prafulla Chandra Bhowmik told the Dhaka Tribune that

5

Monday, May 26, 2014

Rajuk’s legal section is dealing with it.

“The agreement was terminated due to the delay in construction and all the decisions were taken by Rajuk high-ups,” he added.

Prafulla claimed he had no personal link with ENA or Samin Real Estate officials.

Meanwhile, the Public Works Department (PWD) has also been tasked with constructing 30 buildings under the project. PWD has signed an agreement with ENA for the project but progress has been slow like the previous time. This is why PWD is also considering terminating its contract with ENA. Enamul Haque could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts.

In light of this situation, the flat owners have expressed concern over whether they would be handed over the flats on time. Although Rajuk is supposed to hand over the flats in 2016, it is unlikely that it would be able to meet the deadline.

Already more than 500 flat owners have withdrawn their installment money. Rajuk officials, however, said if ENA did not get rid of the legal complications, they would begin constructing Type A apartments in the land allocated for Type B apartments. l

1.6 kg gold, currencies worth Tk32 lakh seized, 10 held at Dhaka airport n Kailash Sarkar About 1.6kg of gold and foreign currencies equivalent to Tk32 lakh were seized and at least 10 people were arrested in separate hauls at Dhaka airport on Saturday night, officials said.

Members of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) at Shahjalal International Airport detained eight passengers who had arrived on two different flights from Singapore and found gold bars, weighing 1.6kg in total, after searching their bodies.

Meanwhile, acting on a tip-off, Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) personnel off-loaded two passengers from a Kuala Lumpur-bound Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight and confiscated 151,500 Saudi riyals (about Tk31lakh) and 1,000 US dollars (Tk77,650) in cash from them.

Alamgir Hossain Shimul, a senior assistant superintendent of APBn, said eight Bangladeshi migrants were arrested with the gold, worth about Tk80 lakh, as they attempted to leave the airport without paying due taxes.

The detained were: Alauddin Bepari, Md Liton, Jasim Uddin, Sazed Ali, Nahid Al Mamun, Saiful Islam, Mohammad Jasim and Oli Ullah.

“Among them, Liton was a passenger of Singapore Airlines and the others arrived by Tiger Airlines,” the officer said.

CIID Director General Moinul Khan told the Dhaka Tribune that US$1,000 and 91,500 Saudi riyals were seized from Himel Khan, 30, and 60,000 riyals from Jahangir Alam, 31, as they were trying to go to Malaysia without declaring the currencies.

“They hid the currencies in their shoes and inside the rods of their luggage,” Moinul Khan said.

The DG added that both Himel, from Shariatpur, and Jahangir, from Dhaka, were suspected members of a gold smuggling gang and they were probably trying to take the money to Kuala Lumpur to purchase gold.

In recent years, international airports in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet have turned into smuggling hubs for foreign currencies, gold and other precious metals and stones.

According to law enforcement sources, around 60 gangs are involved in smuggling gold, diamonds, currencies and other valuable items through the airports in collusion with a section of unscrupulous employees and officials. l

BCL activist beaten by rivals in CU n CU Correspondent

Girl rescued after 51 days of abduction n Our Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar

A Bangladesh Chhatra League activist at Chittagong University was beaten up by his rivals in the city’s Sholoshahar Railway Station area on Saturday night.

The student, Istiak Ahmed Tanvir, a second-year student of the Psychology Department in the university, was taken to a local hospital for primary treatment.

Protesting the attack, a faction of the student party brought out a procession on the campus yesterday morning.

Habibur Rahman Robin, secretary of publicity affairs in Chhatra League’s CU unit, said a group of Chhatra League activists led by Joint Secretary Sumon Mamun and Vice-President Amit Kumar Basu attacked Tanvir at the railway station when he was waiting for the campus-bound shuttle train around 8:30am, leaving him injured.

Earlier, another Chhatra League activist Rasheduzzaman Shuvo, was attacked by his rivals in Shaheed Minar area of the campus on Saturday afternoon.

Sources said Shuvo, a third-year student of the English Department and secretary of debate affairs in Chhatra League’s CU unit, is a follower of Amit Kumar Basu.

Shuvo said members of VX Group, a faction of the student party, had attacked him with iron rods and sticks when he came out from an exam hall.

Later, he went to the university’s medical centre for primary treatment.

Shuvo filed a case with the CU proctor and Hathazari Model police station. l

A 16-year-old girl, abducted from Chakaria of the district 51 days back, was found in critical condition from a launch terminal in Khulna yesterday.

She is now undergoing treatment at Shyamnagar Health Complex in Satkhira. The teenager was an SSC examinee from Malumghat Memorial Christian High School in Chakaria. The victim was rescued in an unconscious state from a launch at Munshiganj Ghat on Gurigoalini River in Khulna’s Sundarbans area.

Chakaria police Officer-in-Charge Prabhash Chandra Dhar said the girl had been picked up from Malumghat Station on Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar highway by some unidentified criminals riding on a microbus around 2:30pm on April 4.

After 10 days, her father lodged a case accusing three persons. Police also filed a complaint with the district police superintendent accusing seven, including those named by the victim’s father.

The law enforcers later arrested Jhantu Mallick, an uncle of prime accused Dilip Mallick. But as he did not give any information about the abduction during interrogation, police showed him arrested in the case and sent to jail through court. l

WEATHER

MONDAY, MAY 26 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 6:39PM SUN RISES 5:12AM FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

35

27

Chittagong

33

26

Rajshahi

34

26

Rangpur

33

25

Khulna

33

25

Barisal

33

26

Sylhet

36

24

Cox’s Bazar

33

27

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

23.8ºC Rangamati

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

Garment workers stage demo for arrears n Our Correspondent, Gazipur

HEAVY RAINFALL

37.2ºC Tangail

The photo taken yesterday afternoon from Kazi Nazrul Avenue shows that a huge tailback is created on both sides of the road after a heavy shower

3:47am 5:12am 11:56am 3:17pm 6:39pm 8:05pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

Hundreds of workers of a ready-made garments factory, Arcadia Dress, staged a demonstration protesting the non-payment of their wages in Savar on outskirts of the capital yesterday.

The garment workers put up barricades on the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway yesterday demanding that the authority take immediate measures to pay their arrears.

The agigating workers said the factory authority has been making excuses and delaying the workers’ payment for the last few months.

Earlier, the factory authority had promised the workers that they would pay all of their arrears on May 25.

Following the pledge, workers went to the factory in the morning, but found that the authority had closed the factory without prior notice.

They became furious and took to the streets in the afternoon, causing huge tailbacks on the both sides of the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway, increasing the sufferings of commuters.

Upon receiving information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. l

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Admission controversies continue at SUST n Our Correspondent, Sylhet Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) has got embroiled in another controversy after a combined admission test.

Earlier the university’s 2013-14 admission test, scheduled to be held on Nov 30 last year, had to be halted a few times only to be held on March 21, eventually scrapping its controversial plan to hold it with Jessore University of Science and Technology.

The fresh controversy was provoked by the admission of seven students to the university on the basis of the newly-introduced dependant quota system, which was cleared by the SUST syndicate on May 12.

The Anti-Dependant Quota Movement, a platform for those who oppose such a quota system, has called for cancelling this quota immediately.

“We have submitted a memorandum to the finance minister and education minister and vice chancellor about it,” chief coordinator of the platform, Shamsher Rasel, told a press conference at Sylhet Press Club yesterday.

“The education minister has asked us to wait until Sunday. By then if we do not get any positive response we will immediately call a tougher movement,” he said.

According to the newly introduced dependant quota system, any SUST teacher, officer and employee can have his two children admitted into the university through this system.

A dependant with GPA-5 in both SSC and HSC (Both GPA-5 here equal to 30 marks) can be admitted into the university only if he or she gets 10 marks, out of 70, in the enrolment test but if they have less than GPA-5 and get a total of 40% marks, including those of the written test, it will be enough for them to get admission.

On the other hand, a non-dependant cannot get admitted into the university even though he or she has GPA-5 in SSC and HSC and gets 45 to 45, out of 70, in the entry test.

Proctor Professor Dr Himadri Shekhor Roy said: “Anybody can notify the university administration about their disagreement and suggestion over this. The administration can consider their disagreement and suggestion over it, he said. l

Indefinite transport strike underway in Rajshahi n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi The bus-truck owners and workers in the Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions began an indefinite transport strike yesterday morning, demanding an end to extortions and asking that unauthorised vehicles be banned on highways.

Commuters in 16 districts of the region suffered throughout the day as they could not find any buses operating on the road.

Kamal Hossain Robi, president of the Rajshahi Bus Workers Association, said they had been pressing their sixpoint demands for a long time.

“We were forced into this strike as the administration was not paying

heed to our demands,” Robi said, adding that their strike will continue until the demands are met.

The demands include an end to police harassment, and bans against the running of three-wheelers, tractors and auto-rickshaws on highways.

Robi added that they had initially called the transport strike for eight districts in Rajshahi and another body of transport workers-owners in Rangpur later joined them.

Meanwhile, Rajshahi Deputy Commissioner Mezbah Uddin Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune over the phone that he will call a meeting with bus owners and workers as soon as possible to ease the sufferings of commuters. l

A transport worker beats a man in Kashiadang area of Rajshahi city yesterday as he drives his truck during yesterday’s strike DHAKA TRIBUNE

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Monday, May 26, 2014

Timbre traders continue cutting Garjan trees in reserve forests

Dentist, teen girl rescued alive after abduction

n Our Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar

n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi

Tree plunderers have long been cutting down valuable wood-oil trees, locally known as Garjan, from different reserve forests of the district.

The concerned forest department has not been paying proper heed to prevent the misdeed. Consequently, the century-old trees, worth hundreds of crores, are facing extinction.

Interestingly, Cox’s Bazar forest department also has no census on Garjan trees, which makes it difficult to figure out the seriousness of the pillage.

Earlier, the Garjan forests situated in Dariar Dighi and Purba Desuar of Ramu upazila have already disappeared because of the actions of the miscreants.

Sources at Cox’s Bazar forest department said there are more than 2lakh Garjan trees in different areas of the district. Even Chakaria upazila has one lakh trees.

In 1931 and 1935, Khutakhali and Medakaschapia Garjan forests, located on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway,

Murder over ‘land dispute’ n Our Correspondent, Gopalganj Criminals killed a 24-year old youth in Gopalganj Sadar upazila yesterday.

Mejbah Chowdhury, son of Zafar Chowdhury of Amuria village, might have been killed over a land dispute, said police, quoting locals.

His mother Taslima Begum said he had not returned home since he went out on Friday. He was eventually found on the land of Fakir Khan of Amuria village yesterday morning, she said. l

were declared reserve forests by the then British government. Later, the Bangladesh government declared the area as a national park, prohibiting all types of tree-felling there.

It was alleged that the tree plunders have been looting the trees at nights with the help of some corrupt forest officials as it is considered very good material to make boats and it has high demand from boat owners.

Shahed-e Alam, divisional forest official of Cox’s Bazar (North) Forest Department, said they have been taking action against some unscrupulous people who are carrying out such misdeeds.

“This is quite impossible for us to check the tree-felling unless locals as well as police come forward to help us.”

Denying the allegation, Abdul Awal Sarker, divisional forest official of Cox’s Bazar (South) Forest Department, said: “We have no census on Garjan, but I can assume that over one lakh such trees may be under Cox’s Bazar south forest department.” l

The photo taken in a mobile phone shows that labourers take away huge logs of Garjan from Shilkhali reserve forest in Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Wildcat strike in Sunamganj puts commuters in misery n Our Correspondent, Sunamganj Thousands of people suffered as transport owners and workers observed a 24-hour wildcat strike in Sunamganj yesterday, demanding fulfillment of their five-point charter, including tracing out a missing driver.

During the strike, vehicular movement on five routes remained suspended from 6am to 6pm.

No buses left central bus terminals of the district town and came to the district as transport workers kept tough watchfulness on transport movements that left thousands of people in misery.

Local people said transport scarcity caused untold sufferings to the passengers who did not know about the strike.

In a visit to bus terminal, this correspondent found that hundreds of people were waiting to go to their destina-

tions while many people returned back to their work places as well as homes after finding no modes of transport.

Abul Kashem, a resident of Netrakona, went to the district to visit one of his relatives’ resident, and could not return as he found no transport.

He said, “I was not aware of the situation. Had I known, I would not come here.”

Jhorna Begum, a housemaid, told the

Two fake army men arrested n Our Correspondent, Jamalpur Local people caught two persons posing as army personnel at a village under the sadar upazila on Saturday night, police said.

Al Amin, 28, and Irfan, 21, were later handed over to the police.

SI Alamgir Hossain, in-charge of Narandi investigation centre in Jamalpur, said the duo had been held by the locals at Banshchara village for stealing mobile phones. They had then identified themselves as army personnel in an attempt to get away. l

Two people, one in Rajshahi and the other in Natore, were abducted on Saturday and both were rescued on the same day from Baneshwar of the Puthia upazila in Rajshahi.

Milon Kumar Sarker, 32, the son of Mihir Kumar Sarker of Puthia and a dentist at the Puthia Upazila Health Complex, was kidnapped from a microbus while on his way to Rajshahi city at around 12pm on Saturday. He was later released at around 9:30pm after his family paid Tk2 lakh in ransom.

Milon’s brother-in-law Liton Kumar Sarker filed a general diary with the Boalia Model police station in this regard. He, however, alleged that he did not receive much support from the law enforcers.

Officer-in-charge of the Boalia Model police station Abdus Sobhan said since they did not have any speedy mobile tracking system, the general diary was sent to RAB. Deputy Commander of Rajshahi

The photo taken yesterday afternoon shows that people wait for transport at Sunamganj bus terminal

NEWS IN BRIEF One electrocuted A man was electrocuted in Austagram upazila of the district yesterday. According to police sources, Anayatullah, 40, of Deoghar village, came in contact with a live electric wire when he was getting on the roof of his house. Later, he was sent to the local upazila health complex in critical condition where the on-duty doctor declared him dead. Chowdhury Mizanuzzaman, officer-in-charge of Austagram police station, confirmed the incident.

– Our Correspondent

Imam dies in attack An Imam of a mosque died on Sunday. He was attacked on Saturday by his rivals over a land dispute at Delduar upazila in the district. Chan Miah, officer-in-charge of Delduar police station said Maznu Miah, Abdul Latif and Ismail, the sons of Montaz, beat up Abdur Rahman, 42, Imam of Madarkol Mosque, and his family members over a land dispute, leaving them critically injured. Local people rescued them and admitted them to Tangail General Hospital. Doctors referred Rahman to Dhaka Medical College Hospital at night when his condition deteriorated. He succumbed to his injuries there in the morning.

– Our Correspondent

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Clash leaves six hurt in Gazipur Correspondent, n Our Gazipur At least six people, including a woman, were injured in a five-hour clash over a piece of land in Gazipur’s Sripur upazila on Saturday.

In this connection, police have arrested three persons who were who were allegedly hired from Mymensingh to take possession of the land.

Quoting locals, Inspector (investigation) at Sripur

police station Abul Kashem said the dispute had been going on between Shamsuddin Morol and Midul Ahmed for quite a number of days, Both sides went to take possession of the land along with hired men at 11am on Saturday and they were locked in the clash, leaving six persons injured, he said.

During the clash, they used locally-made weapons, including sharp machetes and harpoons, said Inspec-

tor Kashem. On information, police rushed in and both sides went at the law enforcers forcing them to fire blank shots in self-defense, he said.

Shamsuddin Morol filed a case with Sripur police station against over 100 persons. l

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Two found dead A youth and a child were found dead in the district yesterday.

SI Razib Sheikh of Joydebpur police station said locals had found the body of an unidentified youth near the DhakaMymensingh road in the morning and informed police. The police recovered the body and sent it to a hospital morgue. SI Mohammad Ali Zinnah of Kaliakoir police station said the body of a child was found hanging from the ceiling in Purba Chandra area in the upazila. Ridoy, 10, was the son of Abdul Malek, a day labourer, and used to live with his father in a rented house owned by Jamila, who was from Dinajpur. Upon receiving information, police recovered the body and sent it to a hospital morgue. A case was filed in this regard.

– Our Correspondent

Abductors shoot trader for not getting ransom n Our Correspondent, Lakshmipur A businessman and his father were shot and beaten up by their abductors, before being left on the side of the road in Lakshmipur yesterday.

Armed criminals – who allegedly belonged to the local “Nasir Bahini” gang – kidnapped Md Raju and his father Joshim Uddin on Saturday night near their home in Deopara village in the district sadar upazila’s Chandraganj union.

The victims’ family members and locals said Nasir and his cohorts abducted Raju – a local cement trader – and his father, and demanded a Tk3 lakh ransom. As they were not paid the money, the criminals shot Raju on the leg and beat up his father, before leaving them on the side of the road in Deopara.

The locals found the severely wounded father and son in the morning and admitted them to a local hospital for medical attention.

Md Iqbal Hossain, officer-in-charge of Lakshmipur sadar police station, said assisted by the locals, police forces rescued the two men from Chandraganj and had admitted them at a hospital. l

Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Office of the Chief Engineer/East Bangladesh Railway CRB, Chittagong.

Invitation for Tender 1

Ministry/Division

Ministry of Railways.

2

Agency

Bangladesh Railway.

3

Procuring Entity Name

Chief Engineer/East, Bangladesh, Railway.

4

Procuring Entity District

Chittagong.

5

Invitation for

AT CRB: Thorough repairs to pension office including C.I. sheet roofing at CRB.

6

Invitation Ref. No.

CE/E/Rev-193/2013-2014/W(1)

7

Date

18-05-2014

KEY INFORMATION 8

Procurement Method

Open Tendering Method (OTM)

FUNDING INFORMATION 9

Budget and Source of Funds

GoB (Revenue)

PARTICULAR INFORMATION 10

Tender Publication Date

25-05-2014

11

Tender Last Selling Date

09-06-2014

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Tender Closing Date & Time

Date: 10-06-2014

Time: 12.00 Hrs.

13

Tender Opening Date & Time

Date: 10-06-2014

Time: 12.30 Hrs.

14

Tender Validity Period.

120 (One hundred twenty) days.

15

Name & Address of the office(s)

Address.

-Selling Tender Document (Principal)

Office of the Chief Engineer/East, Bangladesh Railway, CRB, Chittagong.

-Selling Tender Document (Others)

(i)

-Receiving Tender Document

Chamber of the Executive Engineer/P&D/East, Office of the Chief Engineer/East, Bangladesh Railway, CRB, Chittagong.

-Opening Tender Document

Chamber of the Executive Engineer/P&D/East, Office of the Chief Engineer/East, Bangladesh Railway, CRB, Chittagong.

Schoolboy killed in road crash A schoolboy was killed in a road accident in Gazipur municipality area yesterday. According to sources, a speeding motorcycle hit Shariful Islam, 13, while he was crossing the road at 9am, leaving him dead on the spot. Shariful was the son of Abdus Salam and a Class VIII student of Rafiqul Islam Academy.

– Our Correspondent

Dhaka Tribune yesterday afternoon that she had been waiting for transport at the bus terminal for the last five to six hours.

“God knows when I will get a bus,” she lamented.

Fulbanu, a Dawlatpur village resident under Sadar upazila of the district, said she had come to the district to visit a doctor, but she could not return back home for lack of vehicles.

Mohammad Abdul Hamid, a carpenter, said he could not go to his workplace at Jagganathpur of the district for non-availability of transport.

General Secretary of District Workers’ Union Md Nurul Hoque said: “All type of vehicular movement have been suspended from district sadar to five upazilas, including Jamalganj and Dowarabazar.”

“The vehicular movement in Sunamganj-Sylhet road is also suspended,” he added.

The workers’ leader also threatened to declare tougher programmes if Rezaul was not traced soon.

Earlier, private car driver Rezaul Hoque Sohel went missing while going to Sylhet on May 4.

After the incident, transport leaders and workers submitted memorandum to district administration demanding measures to trace Rezaul.

Their other demands include renovation of central bus terminal. l

RAB 5 Colony Camp Major Shafiqul Islam said they sought permission for using mobile tracking systems from the Home Ministry as the general diary did not have any clue as to the identity of the kidnappers.

Meanwhile, Sweety Khatun, 17, an HSC examinee from Natore City College, was abducted from the Belgharia Bypass intersection on Saturday at noon as she was returning home from college by auto-rickshaw.

The abductors demanded a ransom of Tk1 lakh from her father and also threatened that the girl would be killed if the money was not paid.

Her maternal uncle Jahurul Islam filed a case with Natore Sadar police station in this regard. Officer-in-charge of the police station Abdus Sattar said police carried out a drive after the case had been registered and rescued Sweety from Baneshwar.

“The abductors left her in Baneshwar at around 11pm. She then called her family and police went to rescue her,” Sattar said. l

(ii)

Office of the Divisional Engineer/3, Bangladesh Railway, Kamalapur, Dhaka.

Office of the Divisional Engineer/2, Bangladesh Railway, Pahartali, Chittagong.

INFORMATION FOR TENDERER 16

Eligibility of Tenderer

As stated in the Tender Document.

17

Brief Description of Works

AT CRB: Thorough repairs to pension office including C.I. sheet roofing at CRB.

18

Price of Tender Document

Tk. 1000/- (One thousand) only, Non refundable.

19

Tender Security

Tk. 35,000/- (Thirty five thousand) only

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Time for Completion of the works

60 (Sixty) days from the date of start of the work.

In the form of Pay order/ Bank draft with MICR shall be submitted in favour of FA&CAO/East, Bangladesh, Railway, Chittagong.

PROCURING ENTITY DETAILS 21

Name of Official Inviting Tender

A.K.M. Mahbubul Alam

22

Designation of Official Inviting Tender

Chief Engineer (East), Bangladesh Railway.

23

Address of Official Inviting Tender Central Railway Building (CRB), Chittagong.

24

Contact details of Official Inviting Tender.

25

The Procuring Entity reserves the right to reject all the Tenders or annul the Tender proceedings.

S-(14) (252), Date: 22/05/2014 GC-64/14 (8×3)

Tel. No: 031-2863162

e-mail: cee@railway.gov.bd

A.K.M. Mahbubul Alam Chief Engineer (East) Bangladesh, Railway CRB, Chittagong.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

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Monday, May 26, 2014

In this June 13, 2012 photo, a Rohingya Muslim man who fled Myanmar to Bangladesh to escape religious violence, cries as he pleads from a boat after he and others were intercepted by Bangladeshi border authorities in Teknaf AP

The most persecuted minority in the world

T

What can we do to n Ziauddin Choudhury he Burmese (Myanmar) prevent an even government’s latest salvo against the hapless Rohinggreater influx of yas, by denying them voting rights, may have created Rohingyas should another episode in the endless saga of the Myanmar this community’s distressed existence.

But for Bangladesh, the news of disauthorities continue enfranchising the community on the ground that it does not belong to one down the path of about 135 ethnic groups of Myanmar (former Burma), does not augur well. that they have We have had our share of their misfortune for the last four decades, followed in the past and continue to do so mainly due to repressive policy of the Myanmar toward this hapless the government, and due to the politics the Rohingyas have been thrust into in community? the past decades. In 1978, Bangladesh saw the first big exodus of Rohingyas into the country.

Although most of the refugees departed for their home after mutual agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh in less than two years, a new influx of refugees of Rohingyas would haunt Bangladesh 12 years later.

The latest development in Myanmar is naturally ominous for Bangladesh.

What can we do to prevent an even greater influx of Rohingyas should the Myanmar authorities continue down the path that they have followed in the past toward this hapless community?

It is not entirely clear whether the repressive policy led the Rohingyas to internationalise their struggle and plight, or whether the slightly militant response from them to establish their rights - including an audacious demand for a separate homeland once upon a time - led to this unfortunate

outcome. But the fact remains that there is a huge chunk of population in Myanmar’s Arakan province that remains in a state of limbo in their own country.

By unofficial count, this chunk is close to two million, of which a significant portion left as refugees to other countries including Bangladesh.

The group has lived in Arakan region for several centuries, but had never blended in with the Rakhine majority, mainly because of their ethnic difference from the local majority, but also due to the fact that their religion

co-existence for the Rohingyas with Rakhines or Moghs in local parlance in Arakan. Historically, Muslim settlement in Arakan in an ostensible way began in the nineteenth century during the British period; although the Rohingyas claim that the settlement began at the same time as Bengal with Arab merchants’ visits to the area.

However, Muslim settlement in a major way began for economic reasons with demand for seasonal agricultural labour in Arakan. The major ethnic community, the Moghs, was agriculture averse and preferred fishing more

Unfortunately, 12 years later, conflict between the Rakhines and Rohingyas would recur and another 300,000 Rohingyas would flee to Bangladesh. In this round, negotiations between the countries were more difficult and much slower is Islam. They claimed and remained a community with an affinity to Islam as a religion, and Bangali as their ethnicity. Both identities seem to be an anathema for the larger community in the region the Rohingyas belong to. The majority ethnic group, the Rakhines, look upon them as intruders, and the Burmese authorities seem to concur with this.

Curiously, for a long period, neither ethnicity, which is Bangali, nor religion had posed any great problem of

In this photo taken on Sept 8, 2012, Muslims gather during a visit by a delegation of American diplomats at a refugee camp in Sittwe, Rakhine State, western Myanmar AP

as a livelihood. To mitigate labour crisis during sowing and harvesting season, the land owning Moghs depended heavily on agricultural skills of the Muslim migrants.

With the need for labour growing in Arakan, slowly a labour market developed where the needy Muslims from neighbouring Chittagong district of the then East Bengal, and later East Pakistan found good seasonal employment.

The peaceful co-existence between the two ethnic communities started to show cracks when the seasonal labour turned their transient and migratory life to more permanent status. This happened through a mix of factors such as migrant’s marriage with Arakan Muslims of the area, and the initial lack of any opposition from the local majority to their continuation in the region ad infinitum.

It probably would have remained that way had it not been due to the Burmese government strife against various regional ethnic groups to stifle their demands for sovereignty, and gradual politicisation of the Rohingyas themselves. Although not as fierce as Karens, Shans, or Chins who fight the Burmese government even today for independence of their respective regions, the Arakanese also had formed their parties such as Arakan Liberation Party, Rakhine Liberation Party, and even had a militia called Arakan Liberation Army.

In trying to subdue the Arakanese demand for sovereignty, the Burmese government found the Rohingyas to be another group that was trying to establish their own separate identity. The Rohingyas had no problem as long as they worked as serfs. But the trouble began when they tried to

assert their rights as citizens and a good number of them found that they were not so. The Burmese army found the majority Rakhines were equally unfriendly and even hostile to the Rohingyas.

The first onslaught on the Rohingyas came in 1978, when the Burmese government began Operation Dragon King to drive out people who did not possess citizen registration card under the Citizens Registration Act. Since a majority of the Arakan Muslims did not have the certificate (because they were not deemed to be legal citizens) they became targets of arrest and deportation.

The majority Rakhines who began to consider the Rohingyas as threats and illegal immigrants, took part in the attacks on the Rohingyas. The push of 1978 led to over 200,000 Rohingyas migrating to Chittagong. The refugees were confined to Cox’s Bazar region in 13 camps, where they were sheltered and fed with support from UNHCR, and some other international relief agencies.

The Bangladesh government at that time solved the problem diplomatically with patient dialogue with the Burmese government, and almost all of the refugees were repatriated. Unfortunately, 12 years later, conflict between the Rakhines and Rohingyas would recur and another 300,000 Rohingyas would flee to Bangladesh. In this round, negotiations between the countries were more difficult and much slower.

Some of the refugees were repatriated, but a substantial number still remains. The prospects of all these refugees leaving for Myanmar are not good, and the policies that Myanmar has adopted do not indicate that they are welcome in Arakan.

Commissioner, I had met many older refugees who eulogised Pakistan and considered it to be their real friend.

In fact, it was widely believed that support for the armed Rohingya Liberation Front came from that country’s intelligence branch.

Saudi Arabia helped the community financially through its charitable wing, Rabeta-e-Al Islami. I had met many of the leaders of the community, living in Arakan, who identified themselves primarily as Muslims. But a more disturbing thought for me was the potential of the group to be a proselytiser for radicalism.

The Rohingya conflict poses both a moral and political dilemma for Bangladesh. Morally, Bangladesh cannot condone denial of human rights to the Rohingyas and their oppression by their own government. Politically, however, any strong vocal support to their cause is fraught with both the danger of allowing more influx in our territory and incurring displeasure of a close neighbour.

Bangladesh cannot and should not internationalise this issue but find ways to work with the Myanmar government to prevent further exodus to Bangladesh. The issue of whether the Rohingyas are a distinct ethnic community among many in Myanmar and whether they should be given voting rights is for the Myanmar government to decide. But we can urge Myanmar authorities to take steps to prevent their migration to Bangladesh. Our objectives in this should be mutually supportive. l Ziauddin Choudhury has worked in the higher civil service of Bangladesh early in his career, and later for the World Bank in the USA.

The peaceful co-existence between the two ethnic communities started to show cracks when the seasonal labour turned their transient and migratory life to more permanent status

The Rohingya situation has been made more complex by politics. They have claimed to be a separate and distinct ethnic group in Arakan, which the Myanmar government denies. They have tried to enlist support of other Muslim countries to their cause, notably Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. In fact, Pakistani support to the Rohingyas dates back to the fifties and sixties. Pakistan established a consular office in Arakan mainly to liaise with the Muslims of Arakan.

In 1978 while handling the first Rohingya influx in Chittagong as Deputy

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Ukraine holds vote seen as key for restoring order Long lines snaked around polling stations in Kiev yesterday for Ukraine’s critical presidential election, a stark contrast to the troubled east where heavily armed pro-Russian rebels intimidated voters by smashing ballot boxes and blocking access to voting centers.

The election came three months after the ouster of the country’s pro-Russia leader, who was chased from power by months of protests over corruption and his decision to reject a pact with the European Union and forge closer ties with Moscow.

There were no immediate signs of clashes yesterday after weeks of intense battles in a deadly insurgency.

But it also appeared little voting was taking place in the east: The regional administration in Donetsk said that only 426 of 2,430 polling stations in the region were open, and none in the city of Donetsk, which has 1 million people.

There was no voting in Luhansk, the center of the neighboring province, but some stations appeared to be open across the region, according to local officials.

Polls have shown 48-year old billionaire candy-maker Petro Poroshenko far ahead of the other 20 candidates, but short of the absolute majority needed to win in the first round, so a runoff is expected on June 15.

“I am convinced that this election must finally bring peace to Ukraine, stop lawlessness, stop chaos, stop bandit terror in the east,” Poroshenko said after casting his ballot in central Kiev, where many people wore the traditional embroidered shirts that have become a symbol of patriotism.

“People with weapons must be removed from Ukrainian streets, Ukrainian villages and cities,” Poroshenko said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Friday to “respect the choice of the Ukrainian people” and said he would work with the winner, in an apparent bid to ease the worst crisis in

Ukraine’s presidential election Rival pro-western candidates Petro Poroshenko Billionaire, former cabinet minister, has changed sides several times Yulia Tymoshenko Ex-prime minister, former heroine of the Orange Revolution

Vote under high security

82,000 17,500 1,200 over 150

police officers volunteers observers killed in uprising in the East, inc.

Italian journalist

relations with the West since the Cold War and to avoid a new round of Western sanctions.

Many voters appreciate Poroshenko’s pragmatism and his apparent knack for compromise, making him stand out in the nation’s political environment long dominated by intransigent figures. Poroshenko strongly backs closer ties with the EU, but also speaks about the need to normalize ties with Russia.

Poroshenko’s nearest challenger is Yulia Tymoshenko, the charismatic and divisive former prime minister.

The 53-year-old blond-braided heroine of the 2004 Orange Revolution, who spent 2 1/2 years in prison on abuse of office charges denounced as political by the West, is still admired by many for her energy and will, but detested by others over her role in political infight-

Under Russia’s influence Majority Russian-speaking

KIEV

RUSSIA

Lugansk 200 km

Two-day Egyptian election begins today Sisi poised to stroll to presidency deployed heavily to secure polling stan AFP, Cairo tions across the country, which saw a

Ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, lauded for ousting the Islamist president but feared as a potential autocrat, is poised to sweep Egypt’s election on the back of a yearning for stability.

The election on Monday and Tuesday caps three years of political turmoil that has seen two presidents ousted following mass protests, thousands killed in clashes and militant attacks, and an economy left in tatters.

Donetsk

BLACK SEA

RUSSIA

n AP, Kiev

Monday, May 26, 2014

Crimea

Annexed

by Russia in March.

No voting reported

Separatists have declared independence.

Only 9 of a total 34 constituencies are voting

ing that weakened the country.

Tymoshenko said after casting her ballot that Ukraine must join the European Union and Nato.

“I am convinced that Ukraine can be strong, happy and prosperous if it becomes a member of the European Union,” she said. “It is time to conduct a referendum on Nato membership in order to bring peace back to the country.”

Ukrainian election officials said they have received as little as 26 percent of the election registers for the Donetsk region and 16 percent for the Luhansk region. Ukraine’s deputy interior minister, Serhiy Yarovyi, said Saturday that police are ready to ensure order and security at polling stations in just nine of the 34 electoral districts in the east.

In the center of Donetsk, a team of insurgents was seen visiting polling stations to make sure they were closed. l

The election on Monday and Tuesday caps three years of political turmoil that has seen two presidents ousted following mass protests The now retired field marshal is expected to trounce his only rival, leftist leader Hamdeen Sabbahi, amid widespread calls for a strong leader who can restore stability in the Arab world’s most populous country.

But true democracy, the ideal millions rallied and fought for in a 2011 uprising that overthrew strongman Hosni Mubarak, will have to wait, perhaps for a couple of decades, Sisi has said.

Sisi has called for a high turnout in the election, billed by the military-installed authorities and the West as a milestone toward elected rule in the country of 86 million people.

“You need to go down now more than any other time in (the country’s) history.

Go down, show to the entire world that there are 40, 45 (million) or even more” voters casting their ballots, Sisi said as campaigning closed on Friday.

The military and police are being

surge in militant attacks after Morsi’s overthrow.

On Sunday, the jihadi group responsible for the deadliest attacks on soldiers and police denied a top commander had been killed in an ambush, as reported by security officials.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis said Shadi al-Menei was still alive, and it published a picture on Islamist Internet forums of the militant reading a report about his “death” on a laptop. The picture could not be immediately authenticated.

With the economy in shambles, sporadic bloodshed on the streets and in militant attacks, Sisi has said voters will have to prioritise stability over democratic reforms.

New autocrat?

Sisi’s sole election rival Sabbahi, a veteran dissident, has vowed to defend the democratic aspirations of the 2011 revolt. “We swear to God that symbols of corruption and despotism (from the Mubarak era) will not return,” he said in a Cairo speech on Friday.

Sisi, indicating he will not tolerate protests, has raised fears that Egypt could see more repression than under Mubarak’s regime.

“What tourist would come to a country where we have demonstrations like this?” he asked Egyptian newspaper editors. “You write in the newspapers: ‘No voice is louder than freedom of speech!’ What is that?”

Since Morsi’s overthrow, police has cracked down on his Muslim Brotherhood, which had swept all elections since the fall of Mubarak.

Sisi pledges that the Brotherhood, now blacklisted as a terrorist group, would cease to exist under his presidency. The crackdown has cost at least 1,400 lives over the past 11 months, including hundreds of pro-Morsi protesters killed on a single day last August. l

Top Nigerian Islamic cleric calls for unity against Boko Haram n AFP, Abuja The leader of Nigeria’s Muslims yesterday called for followers of the faith to unite against Boko Haram extremists, pledging the government full support to ensure their defeat.

But the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, also said the government should address issues of inequality towards Muslims, which have been seen as factors in fuelling the five-year insurgency.

“Terrorism has no place in Islam,” he told a congregation, including Nigeria’s Vice-President Namadi Sambo, clerics and traditional rulers, at the National Mosque in the capital, Abuja.

“We must rise up, as always, with one voice to condemn all acts of terrorism, condemn those terrorists wherever they are and try our possible best as Muslims to ensure peace reigns in our community.”

The Sultan, who is president of Nigeria’s Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, has come under pressure to speak out against Boko Haram, who have killed thousands in their quest for an Islamic state in the north.

In his first public comments since the militants kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls from the remote northeastern town of Chibok last month, he said Muslims were disturbed by the bloodshed.

“We are committed to helping the government at all levels to bring peace in Nigeria. Whatever we can do, as long as it is not against Islam, we are ready to do it 100 percent,” he added.

“We have to make it very clear... that the situation in the country is very serious. You are fighting enemies with no boundary. Terrorists are everywhere.

They are among us but we don’t know them.”

Abubakar said the situation was worse than during Nigeria’s brutal civil war from 1967 to 1970 because of the shadowy nature of Boko Haram’s fighters and their guerrilla campaign. l

Obama to outline case for Israeli, Palestinian leaders accept Vatican invite n a limited foreign policy AP, Bethlehem

n AP, Washington Confronting critics of his foreign policy, President Barack Obama will soon outline a strategy for his final years in office that aims to avoid overreach as the second of the two wars he inherited comes to a close.

The president will make the case for that seemingly more limited approach during a commencement address Wednesday at the US Military Academy at West Point. The speech will come amid growing frustration in the White House with Republicans and other critics who contend that Obama has weakened America’s standing around the world and faltered on problems across the Middle East and in Russia, China and elsewhere.

That criticism has only mounted over the past year following Obama’s decision to pull back a military strike in Syria and his inability to stop Russia from annexing territory from Ukraine.

A White House official said Obama would specifically address both situations, as well as the status of ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran.

The president is also expected to

discuss how he views shifts in the counterterrorism threat from al-Qaida and other groups, according to the official, who insisted on anonymity to preview the president’s speech.

Obama came into office vowing to end the lengthy American-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and seeking to keep a war-weary nation out of unnecessary conflicts. The war in Iraq ended in the closing days of 2011 and the Afghan conflict will formally conclude later this year, though the White House is seeking to keep a smaller contingent of US troops behind to train Afghan forces and conduct counterterrorism missions.

While Obama has followed through on his pledge to end America’s wars, some foreign policy analysts argue that he has over-corrected and his aversion to military action makes it harder for the US to levy credible threats that force international foes to change their behavior.

“He’s far too risk adverse a president,” said Aaron David Miller, a Middle East adviser to Republican and Democratic administrations. “And in a world where no one will lead except America, he has abdicated and surrendered much of the leadership.” l

Pope Francis plunged yesterday into Mideast politics during his Holy Land pilgrimage, calling the current stalemate in peace efforts “unacceptable” and winning the acceptance from the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to pay a symbolic visit to the Vatican next month to pray for peace.

Francis issued the surprise, joint invitation after landing in Bethlehem, the cradle of Christianity, in a symbolic nod to Palestinian aspirations for their own state. In another unscripted moment, he prayed at the Israeli separation barrier surrounding the biblical West Bank town and briefly donned the checkered black and white headscarf that is a symbol of the Palestinian cause.

Jubilant Palestinians cheered Francis as he arrived in Bethlehem’s Manger Square, shouting “Viva al-Baba!” or “Long live the pope!” Giant Palestinian flags in red, white, green and black and the Vatican’s yellow-and-white flags decorated the square, which is home to the Church of the Nativity, built over Jesus’ traditional birth grotto.

At the end of Mass in the square, Francis invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres to pray with him for peace,

Palestinians spray graffitis on an Israeli army watch tower which makes up a section of the controversial Israeli constructed separation barrier in the West Bank Biblical town of Bethlehem, where Pope Francis celebrated a Sunday mass yesterday AFP saying: “I offer my home in the Vatican as a place for this encounter of prayer.”

The offices of the Israeli and Palestinian presidents quickly confirmed

that they had accepted the invitation, with the Palestinians saying the meeting would take place in June.

The invitation — and the acceptances

Mass shooting in California: Another disturbed young man? n Agencies Like so many other recent mass shootings, Friday night’s deadly mayhem near a University of California campus in Santa Barbara seems sure to provoke another debate about guns and the disturbed individuals who use them to wreak havoc, The Christian Science Monitor said.

Authorities have yet to identify the shooter who killed six people and wounded seven more, firing a semi-automatic handgun as he drove a black BMW through the Isla Vista beach neighborhood.

But the attorney for Peter Rodger, an assistant director on “The Hunger Games,” issued a statement saying the family believes the shooter to have been Mr. Rodger’s son Elliot Rodger. In addition to those killed in the rampage, the shooter was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head.

The picture that’s emerging is of a disturbed, lonely young man who had vowed revenge on humanity, especially college sorority girls who refused his attention.

Mr. Shifman said the family had called police several weeks ago after being A memorial for shooting victim Christopher Michael-Martinez is seen outside the IV Deli alarmed by YouTube videos “regarding Mart where he was killed near the University of California, Santa Barbara campus AFP

suicide and the killing of people.”

Police interviewed Elliot Rodger and found him to be a “perfectly polite, kind and wonderful human,” Shifman added. Police did not find a history of guns, but did say Rodger “didn’t have a lot of friends,” had trouble making friends and didn’t have any girlfriends.

Describing the shootings as “premeditated mass murder,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said authorities were analyzing a disturbing YouTube video posted that shows a young man describing plans to shoot women that appears to be connected to the attack. “It’s obviously the work of a madman.”

In recent years, Americans have watched as a series of mass shootings have involved young, mentally and emotionally disturbed young men with apparent easy access to firearms.

They include: 32 killed at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, in 2007; 27 killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012; 13 killed at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, in 1999; 12 killed and 58 wounded in a shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater in 2012; eight killed at a mall in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2007; six killed and

then-Rep. Gabby Giffords badly injured in Tucson, Ariz. in 2011; six killed and 21 wounded at a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University in 2008.

Gun control advocates continue to push – unsuccessfully – for stiffer regulations on gun ownership and limits on the size of ammunition magazines. The National Rifle Association and other gun rights advocates continue to fight those efforts, insisting that the principal issue is mental health.

In response to Friday night’s shooting in Santa Barbara, the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence’s Executive Director Robyn Thomas released the following statement: “We are incredibly saddened to learn of the news of another mass shooting in our country. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of all those affected by this senseless tragedy. While the specific details of this massacre are still unfolding, we know that this incident is yet another example of the epidemic of gun violence that plagues our country. We don’t have to live in a society where so many lives are lost to gunfire.

As a country, we must come together to enact commonsense, smart laws that will reduce death and injury from firearms.” l

— were unexpected given Francis’ insistence that his three-day visit was “strictly religious” pilgrimage to commemorate a Catholic-Orthodox anniversary. l

9 killed as Yemen army, ‘Qaeda’ clash near capital n AFP, Sanaa Yemen’s military and Al-Qaeda suspects who fled an army offensive in the south clashed in a district near the capital yesterday, killing six troops and three jihadists, security and tribal sources said.

And two overnight drone strikes targeted Al-Qaeda suspects in Wasl, a village in Arhab, 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Sanaa, tribal sources in the area said.

The United States is the only country operating drones over Yemen, but US officials rarely acknowledge the covert programme.

Militants fled the drone strikes to a village in the same area, Ozer, where Yemeni troops launched a ground attack, according to the sources.

A security official said Yemeni anti-terrorism forces killed three Al-Qaeda militants and arrested four others.

The tribal sources told AFP that six members of Yemen’s special forces also died in the fighting. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

9

Monday, May 26, 2014

Thousands defy Thai junta warning against protests n AFP, Bangkok

Public anger at the Thai military’s coup grew yesterday as more than one thousand protesters shouting “Get Out!” marched across the capital Bangkok in defiance of an army warning against protests.

Demonstrators began marching in the Chidlom district and made their way across the city to the Victory Monument cheered by onlookers, an AFP reporter at the scene said, after a tense standoff with armed soldiers in the city’s retail heart.

It was the largest expression of dissent since the army seized power on Thursday after months of political turmoil.

There was no sign of soldiers or police on the streets during the march, which went ahead despite a junta statement calling on people not to protest and a martial law ban on gatherings of more than five people.

“I am not afraid of them because the more we are afraid of them, the more they will stamp on us,” protester Kongjit Paennoy, 50, told AFP. “We want an election – to choose our own boss.”

The military has detained former premier Yingluck Shinawatra and scores of other ousted government leaders and political figures since the coup, which brought sharp international criticism.

“I ask for people’s understanding on the current situation and that they refrain from anti-coup rallies, because democracy cannot proceed normally at the moment,” said junta spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree Sunday morning, adding a warning against using social media to “incite” unrest.

Before the main march, minor scuffles broke out as dozens of protesters, some waving signs reading “Junta Out” and “Fuck Coup,” staged a boisterous demonstration, jeering angrily and pushing at lines of armed soldiers outside a Bangkok shopping mall.

At least two protesters were taken away by the troops, one bleeding, according to AFP journalists.

Bangkok has seen several smaller outbreaks of protest against the junta since army chief General Prayut Chan-O-Cha launched his takeover on Thursday.

Witnesses also reported demonstrations overnight in parts of the Shinawatra family’s northern power base, with rallies in the city of Khon Kaen and a heavy military presence in Thailand’s second largest city Chiang Mai. The junta on Saturday announced it had disbanded the Senate and placed all law-making authority in Prayut’s hands.

The protest was the largest expression of dissent since the army seized power on Thursday after months of political turmoil Civil liberties have been curbed, media restrictions imposed and most of the constitution abrogated.

Political figures detained

Thai journalist Pravit Rojanaphruk was the first reporter to be summoned by the junta. He reported to a Bangkok army conference centre on Sunday with black tape across his mouth in protest, according to witnesses.

Analysts have said the developments were an ominous signal that the army is digging its heels in and may be unwilling to hand over power to a civilian government in the near term.

Winthai said those detained by the military were being held without restraints and had not been “tortured or

13-year-old Indian becomes youngest woman to scale Everest

beaten” and reiterated that they would be released within seven days.

Those being held include politicians and leaders from both sides of the country’s warring protest movements, while the army has summoned academics seen as critical of the coup.

Thailand has been rocked by persistent and sometimes violent political turmoil for nearly a decade, with bitter divisions intensifying in the years following the 2006 ousting of Yingluck’s brother, then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, by pro-royalist generals.

Racked by protests

In the past seven months the country has been racked by protests against the government led by his sister that have left 28 people dead and hundreds wounded.

She was ousted by a court ruling before the coup, but her government remained in place till last week.

Thaksin – in exile since 2008 – and his allies have won every election this century, thanks to their strong support base among the working class and communities in the north and northeast.

But he is reviled by parts of the elite, the Bangkok middle class and southerners – an alliance with wide influence in the establishment and army but little electoral success.

Washington, long a key ally, has led international condemnation of the coup.

It has suspended $3.5 million in military assistance, cancelled official visits and army exercises and said its remaining Thai aid budget was under question.

“We are increasingly concerned about actions the military has taken,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said Saturday, pointing to the dissolution of the Senate, arrests and media restrictions.

The military said Saturday that Prayut had sent a letter about his takeover to the country’s revered but ailing king, Bhumibol Adulyadej. l

Clockwise from top left: Thousands of anti-coup protesters take part in a gathering at the Victory Monument in Bangkok on May 25. A Thai soldier keeps a watch ahead of a gathering in Bangkok. Anti-coup protesters scuffle with Thai soldiers ahead of a gathering AFP

Pakistan frees 151 Indian fishermen ahead of Nawaz’s Delhi visit n Agencies In a goodwill gesture, Pakistan yesterday freed 151 Indian fishermen, a day ahead of the visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to India to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi, the Press Trust of India reported.

Authorities released 59 Indian fishermen from the Malir jail in Karachi and another 92 from Nara jail in Hyderabad in Sindh province.

Syed Nazir Hussain, the superintendent of the Malir jail in Karachi, told PTI that the Indian prisoners were released on written directives of the interior and foreign ministries.

“Most of these prisoners are poor Indian fishermen who were arrested and brought here for trespassing into Pakistani territorial waters,” he said.

The freed prisoners were taken in an air-conditioned bus from Karachi to Wagah border in Lahore from where they will be handed over to Indian authorities.

Some of the freed prisoners told Geo News channel that they were delighted to be going back to their families.

“We were treated well and not as serious criminals but everyone wants to go home to their families,” one prisoner said.

Last year in August, Pakistan had

released around 337 Indian prisoners from jails. Later on Diwali also, 15 Indian fishermen were released as a goodwill gesture.

Pakistan maritime security forces frequently arrest Indian fishermen and seize their boats for fishing in its territorial waters.

According to Indian activists, at present around 229 Indian fishermen and about 780 Indian boats are in the custody of Pakistan.

In addition to this, 23 boats of Indian fishermen had been confiscated just during the ongoing fishing season.

Similarly, around 200 Pakistani fishermen with 150 boats were with India, according to compiled figures. l

Jayalalithaa to boycott Modi’s swearing-in ceremony n Agencies In a historic feat for Indian mountaineering, 13-year-old Malavath Purna yesterday became the youngest female climber to scale the Mount Everest, the Press Trust of India reported. Purna was accompanied

by Sadhanapalli Anand Kumar (16), a Class IX student from the Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh.

“They climbed Everest at 6am today (Sunday) after a 52-day long expedition,” an official said. “Purna created a record by becoming by the youngest girl to climb the Everest.”

The duo were selected among about 150 children who were initially chosen for adventure sports as part of an initiative to promote excellence in the students of the society, he said. l

n Agencies Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa will not attend the swearing-in ceremony of India’s Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi, according to TV reports.

Jayalalithaa may not even send any representative for the ceremony, reports quoting sources say.

The Tamill Nadu chief minister had earlier expressed dismay over Modi’s

invite to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his swearing-in to be occurred today.

While the sentiments of Tamils living in India and elsewhere towards the Sri Lankan Tamils were known, a change of regime at the Centre “in no way alters the already existing strained relations between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka,” she had said in a statement.

The AIADMK supremo, a strident

critic of the Rajapaksa administration, had said Modi could have avoided the ‘ill-advised’ move of inviting the head of the island republic, especially with regard to the Centre-state relations.

The MDMK and DMK also opposed the invitation to Rajapaksa.

MDMK general secretary Vaiko on Saturday said his party would stage a black flag demonstration May 26 in New Delhi to protest Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to India for the ceremony. l

Gunmen kill eight policemen in SW Pakistan n AFP, Quetta Gunmen killed at least eight tribal police in an attack on a local checkpoint yesterday in Pakistan’s restive southwest, officials said. The incident occurred in the Waadh area of Khuzdar district, some 350 kilometres (217 miles) southwest of Quetta, the capital of oil- and gas-rich Baluchistan province which borders Iran and Afghanistan.

“Gunmen attacked the checkpost early in the morning and shot dead eight tribal police officials, known as Levies,” provincial home secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani told AFP. He said one other officer was wounded in the attack but survived, adding police will question him over how the fighting occurred and who the gunmen were once his condition stabilises. A local intelligence official also confirmed the attack and casualties. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Baluchistan, Pakistan’s largest but least developed and most sparsely populated province, is racked by a separatist insurgency as well as sectarian violence, Islamist militants and banditry.

The separatist conflict was revived in 2004, with nationalists seeking to stop what they see as the exploitation of the region’s natural resources and alleged rights abuses.

The idea of giving greater autonomy to the province is highly sensitive in a country still scarred by the war with its eastern portion in 1971, which saw that region break away to form an independent Bangladesh. l

China, Japan exchange barbs over action by warplanes in East China Sea n Reuters, Tokyo

Japan and China yesterday accused each other’s air forces of dangerous behavior over the East China Sea, with Japan saying Chinese aircraft had come within a few dozen meters of its warplanes.

Japan’s defense minister accused Beijing of going “over the top” in its approach to disputed territory. China’s defense ministry said Japanese planes had carried out “dangerous” actions during its joint maritime exercises with Russia.

Tensions have been running high between China and its neighbors over Beijing’s assertive stance on claiming land and sea territory.

Japan’s defense ministry said Chinese SU-27 fighters came as close as 50 meters (170 feet) to a Japanese OP-3C surveillance plane near disputed islets on Saturday and within 30 meters of a YS-11EB electronic intelligence aircraft.

“Closing in while flying normally over the high seas is impossible,” Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters in comments broadcast on TV Asahi. “This is a close encounter that is outright over the top.”

Onodera said Japan conveyed its concerns to the Chinese side through diplomatic channels. He also said the Chinese planes were carrying missiles.

A ministry official said it was the closest Chinese warplanes had come to aircraft of Japan’s Self-Defense Force.

China’s defense ministry said jets were scrambled in the East China Sea on Saturday after Japanese aircraft entered its air defense zone during maritime exercises with Russia.

The ministry said the Japanese aircraft had entered the zone despite “no fly” notices being issued ahead of the exercises. China declared its air defense zone last year despite protests by

Japan and the United States.

“Japanese military planes intruded on the exercise’s airspace without permission and carried out dangerous actions, in a serious violation of international laws and standards, which could have easily caused a misunderstanding and even led to a mid-air accident,” the statement said.

China had proposed urgent talks, it said, and demanded that Japan “respect the lawful rights of China’s and Russia’s navies ... and stop all reconnaissance and interference activities.

Otherwise Japan will bear any and all consequences from this.”

Chinese claims

A Chinese SU-27 fighter flies over the East China Sea, in this handout photo taken May 24, and released by the Defense Ministry of Japan yesterday REUTERS

China lays claim to Japanese-administered islets in the East China Sea, known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. It is also pressing its claim to almost all the South China Sea,

brushing aside claims by several southeast Asian states.

China’s proclamation last November of an air defense zone covering disputed islands and areas in the South China Sea has raised concerns that a minor incident could quickly escalate.

Sino-Japanese ties have long been strained by allegations in China that Japan has not properly atoned for its wartime aggression and by the spat over the uninhabited islands.

Japan scrambled fighter jets against Chinese planes 415 times in the year ended in March, up 36 percent on the year, while in waters near the disputed islands, patrol ships from both countries have been playing cat-and-mouse, raising fears of an accidental clash.

Japanese land, sea and air forces joined last week to simulate the recapture of a remote island, underscoring Tokyo’s concerns about the security of the islets. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Monday, May 26, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Looking forward, not back

B

NP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is wrong to claim that the government does not have the right to set a budget for the next fiscal year.

The BNP made its own decision to boycott the January 5 election.

It is neither accurate nor constructive for it to be questioning the legitimacy of the government. The one-sided election was deemed necessary to ensure a government which was constitutionally legal.

By the same token, the election should not be considered a popular mandate to serve out a five-year term. The public expects the AL to negotiate with the BNP and hold a fresh election in which both parties participate, and every voter has the opportunity to vote.

We are concerned that neither of the parties appears ready to resume dialogue about the country’s political future.

The government has demonstrated an unseemly willingness to deny political space to the BNP by interfering with or obstructing its programs. The BNP meanwhile has drawn attention away from its critiques of current policies by ill-advisedly disputing the legitimacy of the government.

An opinion poll conducted for the Dhaka Tribune in February made clear that a clear majority of voters, regardless of voting preference, want the current government to hold new, inclusive elections well before the end of its term.

The poll also made clear that the public abhors the confrontation and violence of last year’s hartals and blockades. Talks must be held soon to overcome the political divide to remove the possibility of any reoccurrence.

Talks must be held soon to overcome the political divide

ACC needs more authority

T

he Anti-Corruption Commission’s 2013 annual report says the ACC could be more effective in its work, if its powers were independently set out under the constitution.

Unlike similar bodies in other countries, and unlike the Election Commission, there is no provision in the Bangladesh constitution delineating the power of the ACC. In view of the obstacles which the ACC faces in fulfilling its role, there is merit in its observation that a clearer constitutional framework would help it in securing co-operation and information from government agencies and organisations.

Transparency International Bangladesh has supported this view, making the case that a constitutional framework would help keep the ACC free from influence and make it truly independent.

An independent budgetary allocation for the ACC in the national budget could help minimise political pressure.

Unfortunately, political pressures on the commission were increased by the change made last year, making it mandatory for the ACC to obtain government approval for filing cases against judges, magistrates and public servants.

This requirement greatly hinders the independence of the ACC. It needs to be removed to give the country the effective anti-graft body which it needs, and which the government has said it supports in its pledges to show zero tolerance for corruption.

This would not require any constitutional change, but would increase public confidence by sending a strong signal that corruption will not be tolerated.

Acting quickly to empower the ACC in this way would help its work, while allowing time to consider its proposal for constitutional independence.

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email letters.dt@dhakatribune.com Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

Day against homophobia May 20

Zero-Agenda I still cannot wrap my head around why everyone still makes such a big deal about homosexuality these days. The fact that there are people who prefer partners of the same sex is an almost homogenised concept these days. It’s not progressive or transgressive to “support” the LGBT community anymore.

I think it’s best if LGBT folk in Bangladesh just pretend there’s no bigotry or any law prohibiting them from being who they are and, well, be who they are. Save the rabble babble for when something truly eventful against the community arises.

Anonymous LGBTQ+ Responder Zero-Agenda: As wonderful as it would be to just feel that way, the harsh reality on the ground is that there is rampant homophobia in the country. You want to know why something “truly eventful” has not arisen against the community? It is because the current illegality of homosexual interaction, the social stigma, and the threats of disinheritance, violence, and abuse are much too high.

I am speaking as someone who came out to a small circle of family members, who promptly tried to have me violently exorcised by the local mosque. And, because of current laws, I could not pursue any legal recourse. I apologise for the anonymity of this post and I truly appreciate your wonderful and open-minded sentiment, believe me, but I am saddened to say that that type of acceptance is still a long way away.

Traveller_23 Anonymous LGBTQ+ Responder: I wonder what’s truly eventful enough for Zero-Agenda. Do we need to be killed en masse or something so that people can feel bad for us and support us?

Osmania A good article, making a simple logical case.

Discrimination makes no sense as well as being unjust. There’s no justification for the bigotry of the status quo.

VK Not much about the severe discrimination of the LGBT communities in Bangadesh, and what the government will do about it, is it not?

May 19

Sheikh Jinat Mahmid We all know about the disaster. Lets talk about disaster management. How can we reduce it!

Shondhaya Tara What can we do? The world is getting overloaded, the weather is getting hotter. For comfort, we use the AC more frequently, and the atmosphere is getting more polluted day by day. We pollute the water, then boil that polluted water to purify it and make it drinkable. We cut trees and burn them to boil water! So every chain is broken!

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kmak As I have argued numerous times before, the recognition of LGBT “rights” in Western countries is a bottom-up phenomenon, preceded by a social transformation which saw people becoming more secular, sexually liberal, and morally individualistic.

Bangladeshi society is not individualistic and the vast majority of people are not secular. There is no depiction of kissing or nudity in our films, much less homosexuality. Premarital sex and adultery are still considered to be condemnable acts. Let’s see a gay parade openly taking place on the streets of Dhaka. I think we all know what the reaction will be.

Homosexuality cannot thrive in a nation as conservative as ours.

Osmania kmak: Homosexuality is part of nature which exists everywhere. It has nothing to do with debates about values. Human rights are universal, period.

I don’t know if you’re right that most people are not secular, but I do think you underestimate the common sense and tolerance of ordinary people. Of course some groups might protest a gay parade in Dhaka, but you know what, I think they’d be a minority.

Everyone knows that banning natural sexual behaviour does not make it go away and they can just as readily appreciate that decriminialising homsexuality won’t make it compulsory.

Or are you one of these people who would like to see the state criminalise premarital sex and adultery?

SUDOKU How to solve: 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.

kmak Osmania: My argument is that Bangladesh is not ready to accommodate homosexual rights because the conditions aren’t right. To refute me, you will have to convincingly argue that sexually liberal and individualistic attitudes as well as declining religiosity have no bearing on a society’s acceptance of homosexuality.

Ridwando kmak: The concept of basic human rights is universal and goes way beyond the issue of cultural relativism. Denying LGBT rights is objectively wrong, and cannot be justified by taking refuge to cultural values.

A clearer constitutional framework would help the ACC

Do you know Antarctic ice losses doubled?

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 4 represents P so fill P every time the figure 4 appears.

You have one letter in the control grid to start you off. Enter it in appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

Captains, master found negligent May 18

Javeed All it takes is to make use of life jackets compulsory on water transports. But we are too lazy to do even that much!

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Arachnid (6) 5 Discharge a debt (3) 7 Speech sound (5) 8 Lessens (6) 10 Thickness (3) 12 Departed (4) 13 Printers’ measures (3) 14 Close and open eye (4) 16 Meditate (4) 17 Container (3) 18 Amused look (4) 20 Mild explosion (3) 23 Fixed allowance (6) 24 Fundamental (5) 25 Young goat (3) 26 Held principles (6)

DOWN 1 Main actor (4) 2 Likenesses (6) 3 Makes level (5) 4 Flower (4) 5 Vigour (3) 6 Everyone (3) 9 Large volume (4) 11 Tibetan ox (3) 14 Rest in expectation (4) 15 Light (6) 16 Cleaning implement (3) 17 Clamp (5) 18 Firmness of character (4) 19 Insects (4) 21 Kimono sash (3) 22 Cushion (3)

Sonia, Rahul offer to resign, party refuses May 20

Ruhel End of dynastic politics in India. Now, it is time to end it in Bangladesh.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

Hundreds wait to get baby Hilsa confiscated at Chowdhuryghat

CROSSWORD

May 19

PEANUTS

Sanchay Kumar The poor want to buy many things. But they cannot because they don’t have money.

They live from hand to mouth. Where will they go? What can they do?

Dr Kamal issues rejoinder to PM May 19

Humaira Chowdhury This man is a brilliant lawyer. But of late, for the last few decades, it appears he has not been the same man whom Bangabandhu trusted and took under his wings.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Monday, May 26, 2014

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Values to walk the gallows

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n Towheed Feroze he alleged killers of the Fulhgazi upazila chairman do not look like killers. Lined up by RAB and wearing colourful t-shirts, these young boys are no different than those standing near the tea shop at the street corner gossiping about the upcoming World Cup. These are young teenagers who possibly spend sleepless nights watching Spanish League matches, but behind those youthful dimensions lurk the profit-driven cruel minds, exploited by the godfathers of society. These teenagers – the arrested are possibly hardly above twenty – bear testament to an insidious social culture where all ethics are summarily sidelined for money and power. It’s not certain if the arrested ones killed Ekramul Haq, the UP chairman, but it’s safe to assume that unless there was adequate evidence, they would not be arrested.

the mastermind of the whole episode is the major criminal who, in most cases, remains outside the legal dragnet, astutely manipulating the political chessboard.

It’s alleged that feud over authority resulted in the latest killing where both AL and BNP men were involved. We are not surprised by the supposition that leadership tussle superseded political allegiance. The unsavoury truth of this society is that when money is involved, party loyalty and political ideology become disposable. It’s money, power, and control that dominate. Party label is merely the support, the safe refuge during tense times.

Ethics and morality are certainly not part of this equation. They are rhetoric used to cleverly coat the vicious game of profit-making. These youngsters also took up arms for money and a quick rise to infamy. Shoot a prominent leader down, develop the killer instinct. and finally, get rid of other competitors to rise to the posi-

Lining them in front of the camera and pressing charges is hardly a solution. The problem lies in the systematic pollution of general social credo

Several reconstructions of the killing have showed that the whole operation was not a spur of the moment act, but something that was planned meticulously beforehand. One group created a diversion by inciting panic while the other, taking advantage of public fear, carried out the deed. Did the youngsters plan the whole event or were they provided the blueprint by someone else? While the ones that pulled the trigger need to be caught,

tion of power. In this game, there is no time for remorse and little patience for outdated morality.

The arrest of the eight young delinquents can be seen as a prompt response from law enforcers. However, the core issue of the crimnilisation of the young mind with perturbing ramifications may go unaddressed. Just lining them in front of the camera and then pressing charges against them is hardly a solution. Like I said in an op-

ed a few weeks earlier – the problem lies in the systematic pollution of general social credo.

When a father or a working mother’s sudden abnormal surge in income is not questioned by children or family members and is instead deemed as good luck, we cannot expect any values to survive. Similarly, when hypocrisy of the highest order sees once-corrupt people delivering platitudes about honest living with the prefix “Haji” placed strategically before their names, how can youngsters grow up with any moral compass?

Crime will always be part of society since no community is perfect. However, when juveniles are seen to be working as hired killers, a profound social flaw is detected. To go back to the history of crime in the city, even ten years ago, hired killers were mostly young. Those who pulled the trigger a decade ago are dead due to internal struggle for supremacy while those who live now work as the masterminds or much sought-after crime strategists.

It goes without saying that these elements would not have thrived unless they received political blessings. In a time when getting rich or powerful at any cost overtakes all other factors, it’s foolhardy to expect the young to be the champions of moral correctness.

Sorry to say, we have corrupt family atmospheres where venality of all forms is given impunity through the forceful legitimisation of the belief that this is how the world works, if you cling to ideals, you end up a loser.

Add to this the pervasive culture of cronyism that has established the firm understanding that unless one has the right connections, reaching a certain level is impossible.

Can anyone show me an example where an AL or a BNP government ever spiritedly backed someone from the opposing side because that person held the right credentials or possessed a relatively clean image? Suitable or

Is it their fault or ours? not, educated or a total rustic, the preference has always been the party man. These happen right before us – the blatant safeguarding of political dogs – so is it any shock that teenagers have done away with all scruples?

Just to give a small example of the erosion of once strictly followed social cultures, not too long ago, it was a norm in Bangladesh for youngsters to always honour seniors and, as courtesy, not smoke in front of them. Personally, I don’t believe that smoking is disrespectful but that is how society has interpreted deference for ages. It’s

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similar to addressing a senior as “bhai” or “apa” as opposed to calling them by their names.

This culture is no longer present because parents do not emphasise on these small behaviour-related matters anymore. How can they when they are the biggest advocates of crass philosophies?

I do not know what will come of these youngsters who were caught, but this much is sure, some of them, due to their connections or the blind affection of parents willing to do anything (read pay whatever amount

Neighbours with benefits

Press for freedom

n Sourajit Aiyer

n Syed Ishtiaque Reza

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lot has been said in the past about what India’s new prime minister might bode for its neighbours. In Narendra Modi’s context, there seems to have been some skepticism in Bangladesh and Pakistan for obvious reasons, despite his stress on economic development and growth as the singular agenda for his candidature. Irrespective of those, it is now encouraging to note the news of the Saarc region being featured as being Modi’s first active engagement overseas, even ahead of the usual USA, China, Japan, or Europe.

This start is extremely forward-looking, given that the immediate neighbourhood has a major bearing for any country. Constructive engagement with neighbours has been a drawback of India in recent years, given the tussle between a weak federal coalition and strong regional parties who share borders with neighbours. Modi had stressed on economic co-operation and the aim to work for mutual benefit during his campaigns, as far as neighbours were concerned. It is positive to see that he has taken the first steps to convert that promise into action, by engaging with Bangladesh. Following Dhaka, one hopes that his next engagement would be with Islamabad and Colombo. He has already interacted with Pakistan’s prime minister, while the Sri Lankan president might come for the swear-

ing-in ceremony next week.

These four countries offer the maximum scope for mutually beneficial opportunities within the Saarc universe, simply because of the scale of each one’s existing industries and labour pool. Indian products can act as input products for industries in these countries, and similarly, they have products that can be competitive input products for Indian industries.

This is the textbook format of utilising backward and forward linkages as part of the overall value chain of a particular product. This form of economic co-operation in the production process of a product means that all the intermediate products that go into it are naturally produced in the lowest-cost region, whichever country it is.

This is in line with competitive advantages and means the best price for consumers. Of course, it means that the same industry in the other country would suffer, whichever it is.

But that is where its ability to compete and yet emerge as a feasible supplier would test its own management skills and reforms. Protectionist-first policies always appeal to politics due to emotions related to the vote bank. But it handicaps local industries by resulting in inefficient management, low-quality products, and unnecessarily higher prices for consumers. Economics-first policies actually help sustain a country’s industrial development in the long run. It creates productive job

Will Modi’s Saarc-first approach be a win-win for all involved?

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opportunities instead of just disguised unemployment. Competition compels businesses to produce the best quality at the most competitive prices, which is beneficial for consumers.

It eventually helps boost the overall output for both economies concerned.

Opportunity for mutual co-operation between India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are not just restricted to industrial products. It includes supply of resources to fuel industries, sharing technologies on agriculture or industrial processes, skill-sharing on manufacturing and services sector activities, usage of a country’s soil to transport consignment between two other countries over land, processes on empowering people economically to take them out of poverty, accessibility to healthcare, opportunity to learn for the other’s local small-scale industries to develop similar establishments in one’s own country, availability of raw materials and intermediate goods at competitive prices, etc.

However, it is also important to maintain the mutual-benefit stance during all this engagement. Otherwise there might be chances of someone ending up disgruntled. But this should not be at the cost of holding future engagements at ransom.

Ironically, trust deficits in the past between Saarc countries often led to them engaging with other countries, some of whom are actually low-cost manufacturing giants, much larger than any of the Saarc countries. Influx of their cheap products actually spelt a doom for the local industries as the output of the local industries were not used anywhere in the production process. This is something which the mutual co-operation approach within the Saarc countries might achieve.

Modi’s start with a Saarc-first approach seems constructive. It is now imperative for his administration to continue the engagement. Statistics shows that even the neighbouring countries are far from reaching their own economic potential. Hence, committing to mutually beneficial and constructive engagement processes would be a win-win for all countries, and might result in the 21st century becoming the century of South Asia. l Sourajit Aiyer is a finance professional based in India.

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recently found one of my friends working in a television channel very upset. When asked, he said he was forced to withdraw a news item (although it was very factual) upon pressure from the owner of the channel. The reason is that the news confronts other business interests of the channel’s owners.

News bosses in private channels have to face this kind of content control by the management almost regularly. Journalists struggle relentlessly in the face of business and political interests.

The same week that we were discussing this issue, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina went to visit the Ministry of Information where she addressed some high officials. While giving them directions to highlight the government’s success stories in national media, the prime minister also talked about the situation of the media in general.

“We don’t want to control the press.

We expect that the press will be an auxiliary force of the society and the country. The press must have liberty, but along with that, good sense should prevail on everybody for the sake of society while disseminating news,” she said. Hasina was speaking in particular about the electronic media and announced that she wants a policy for electronic media – television and radio – so that no one can broadcast anything dirty and harmful to society.

In fact, the media landscape in Bangladesh has changed a lot over the past twelve years. Licenses for setting up television and radio stations are given completely on political influence, and it was the same case during the BNP-Jamaat years.

If the prime minister seemed a little unhappy with national news coverage, it must be said that her government approved most of these channels and radio stations to operate and surely the owners were chosen politically.

Despite this, it seems that there is dissatisfaction among the policymakers over the news and program content of the media houses.

When the draft of the much talked about broadcast policy was released early 2009, journalists, leaders, and civil society watchdogs strongly protested saying that it was aimed at gag-

ging media freedom. At a number of seminars and roundtables, the media practitioners and civil society members said that freedom of expression in the media should be protected. So, a move is now underway to formulate a broadcast policy involving journalists and other stakeholders.

The policy is expected to be announced soon. While we have no idea about the contents of the policy, we hope that broadcasting regulation is left transparent and independent, and the media is operated by professionals.

A democratic country’s media landscape, including new media, should be diverse, independent, and sustainable.

Media professionals must deal with the increasing complexities of politics, violence, poverty, and other social issues. There are allegations of sensationalism, yellow journalism, and political bias against many journalists and media houses. We cannot really ignore these allegations. But it is also true that many newsmen try to carry out their professional responsibilities ethically. The question is – who controls the content, the journalists or the owners?

necessary), will eventually be set free.

The question is, will they change?

I doubt it. It seems we are heading for an age when it will be normal for a proud parent to boast: “My beloved son, feared godfather, is extremely wealthy and owns a lot of property and is ‘the’ right-hand man of the local MP!” In response, the one may think: “Oh! What a suitable person for my marriageable daughter, studying political science!” l Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

on the streets and the political stalwarts, they also have to fight within their workplace to be allowed to do their jobs.

However there are some encouraging aspects also. Bangladesh’s citizens have become much more aware of the role of media in shaping society. There are efforts in different areas of society to allow journalists and media houses to do their jobs professionally. The media has become more pluralistic, with news and issues important to ordinary people being given more airtime. Online media and citizen journalism have contributed to a more diverse media landscape in the country.

It is time to think about the kind of regulations Bangladesh’s media needs.

Should they be self or state-regulated?

Self-regulation seems more important in order to ensure ethical standards.

Without it, we cannot seek to refrain from the types of media immoderation that we have been witnessing over the years. These include identifying rape victims, showing or publishing dead bodies, asking intrusive questions to the relatives of accident or trauma victims, etc.

The country needs a robust media to support its democracy, and a strong democracy must ensure a free media

During the early 60s, proprietors were more aware that media ownership was actually a business to earn public trust. These days, huge investments in the media by private enterprises have opened the door to better salaries and facilities for many newsmen. But the new media barons are not ready to focus on the ethical side of journalism; rather they seek to use their media outlets for increasing their power, influence, and wealth. Many of them do so by structuring newsrooms and programming operations in a way that they personally dictate what goes on air, and even in print.

Journalists in Bangladesh not only face the muscle-swinging hoodlums

In many ways, our media today is the last resort of liberals in the society. The rules of the game they play are defined by fierce political rivalry between two major parties, rise of an orthodox fundamentalist force, a fragile democratic system, and a dominant muscle culture. Liberal voices prefer to silence themselves rather than fight.

But the country needs a robust media to support its democracy, and a strong democracy must ensure a free media.

The struggle of the media practitioners is to keep their role as storytellers alive. l Syed Ishtiaque Reza is director of news, Ekattor Television.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Turkish film wins Cannes’ top honour n Entertainment Desk Chekhovian drama “Winter Sleep” was awarded the much awaited Palme d’Or at the final ceremony of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, and remained one of the frontrunners right into the final straight.

Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan accepted the award, handed out by Quentin Tarantino and Uma Thurman at the French Riviera festival. Ceylan expressed surprise at the decision, but said he was very pleased to win, especially in the year which marks the 100th anniversary of Turkish cinema. In his speech, Ceylan alluded to anti-government protests in Istanbul that began a year ago and have raged following a recent mining disaster that killed hundreds.

“I want to dedicate the prize to the young people in Turkey and those who lost their lives last year,” said Ceylan.

The film beat out Xavier Dolan’s hyped-about “Mommy,” which settled for the Jury Prize, along with Jeal-Luc Godard’s “Goodbye to Language.”

The runner-up Grand Prix award went to Alice Rohrwacher’s Italian-language film “The Wonders.”

Julianne Moore won best actress for her performance in David Cronenberg’s dark Hollywood satire “Maps to the Stars.” Screenwriter Bruce Wagner accepted the award for Moore and cheered the town he savagely parodies in the film: “Vive Los Angeles.

Vive David Cronenberg. Vive Julianne Moore. And vive la France,” he said.

One anticipated call was the naming of Timothy Spall as best actor in Mike Leigh’s biopic of the artist JMW Turner. He spoke emotionally about a long, humble career that has often gone without such notice.

Bengal Foundation’s new cultural centre titled “Daily Star - Bengal Arts Precinct” commenced its journey at

Maqsood O' Dhaka brings album after 15 years n Shadma Malik Maqsood O' Dhaka is about to release their third album after a hiatus of fifteen years. A total of ten tracks will be available in the album. About the upcoming release, vocalist Maqsood said: “We are on full-fledged flow recording the songs. The band members are jamming and practicing songs every day. Our genre remains jazz-rock fusions with interesting musical motifs and we are aggressively working on it.

The title of the album has not been fixed yet.” Most of the lyrics and tune are composed by Maqsood himself

“I’ve spent a lot of time being a bridesmaid,” said the veteran character actor, whose phone rang as he t ried to read his speech from it. “This is the first time I’ve ever been a bride.”

Spall’s performance has been much celebrated for its emotional depth, despite Turner’s vocabulary in the film often consisting of grunts, snorts and spitting saliva onto the canvas.

Bennett Miller (“Capote,” “Moneyball”) won best director for his wresting drama “Foxcatcher,” the American film that made the biggest impact at Cannes. Miller dedicated his award to his stars Channing Tatum, Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo, as well as producer Megan Ellison.

Poradrishti presents SM Sultan’s work

n Entertainment Desk

Monday, May 26, 2014

The Daily Star Centre in Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue with an exhibition titled ‘Poradrishti’ featuring work by master artist SM Sultan on Friday evening.

The collection of SM Sultan’s works has been accumulated from the personal collection of Abul Khair, chairman of Bengal Foundation. The exhibition “Poradrishti” contains 18 paintings and 15 drawings by the legendary artist. The exhibition will remain open for all from May 23 to July 13.

Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder and chairperson of BRAC, and Professor Emeritus Anisuzzman jointly inaugurated both the centre and the exhibition. Besides, the inauguration session also featured speech delivered

by Abul Khair and Mahfuz Anam, editor of Daily Star.

Daily Star- Bengal Arts Precinct the Foundation’s fourth arts venue in Dhaka. At this site, Bengal Foundation looks forward to broadening and deepening the scope of its cultural endeavours. l

Mega serial ‘Lota Kombol,’ based on a novel with the same title by famous Indian writer Sanjeeb Chattopadhyay, will be aired on GTV at 8:45pm. The story revolves around the hiccups in human relations, crises in daily life and moral inconsistency in our society.

Abul Hayat, Ahmed Rubel, Tamalika Karmakar, Nova and many others form the cast of the series directed by Golam Muktadir

Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Leviathan” secured the best screenplay award. Based on the Book of Job, “Leviathan” tells the story of a man battling endemic corruption across the church and state and modern-day Russia.

Eighteen features battled it out in the competition strand of the 67th Cannes film festival. The winners in the sidebars were announced on Friday, with canine horror “White God” taking the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section, while Annie Silverstein’s “Skunk” took top honours in the Cinefoundation. “The Tribe” triumphed in Critics’ Week, while “Love at First Fight” won the top gong at the Directors’ Fortnight. l

The Oscar nominee is headed to the final frontier, and one very lucky, very rich, person will make the voyage with him.

Actress Sharon Stone presided over the auction for the Aids charity, which included one prize lot of a trip into space with Leonardo DiCaprio.

At this year's star-studded “amfAR's 21st Cinema Against

Members of Maqsood O’ Dhaka

Chhayanaut’s tribute to the rebel poet

ROUMMY SIDDIQUIE

TODAY IN DHAKA Exhibition Bornil Pandulipi Time: 12pm – 8pm Gallery Shilpangon Second Sight Time: 12pm – 8pm The Daily Star Centre, 64-65 Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue Mukh O Mukhosh 5 Time: 11am – 8pm Galleri Kaya, House no. 20 Road no. 16, Sector no. 4, Uttara

Students of Chhayanaut perform on the first day of Nazrul Utsab 1421 on Saturday

n Afrose Jahan Chaity Teachers and students of Chhayanaut performed a number of Nazrul’s timeless compositions observing the National Poet’s 115th birth anniversary on Saturday at 6:30pm in the auditorium of Chhayanaut Sangskritik Bhaban.

Chhayanaut’s tribute to the rebel poet was a two-day commemorative programme titled “Nazrul Utsob-1421” which concluded yesterday. Highlighting the poet’s inspirational work, the leading artistes celebrated the revolutionary spirit of Nazrul to overcome the demeaning social and political norms. The event featured discussions, musical performances, dance recitals and recitation. A total of 60 artistes took part in the festival.

“Nazrul Utsab 1421” opened with a choral rendition “Hey Partho Sharothi Bajao Bajao Ponchojonyo Shonkho” by the students and teachers of the organisation. Chhayanaut dance department presented a vibrant dance performance synchronised with the patriotic song of Nazrul “E Ki Oporup Rupe Maa Tomar.”

Noted singer and secretary general of Chhayanaut, Khairul Anam Shakil gave a speech on the legacy of the literary titan and the impact of his work on our daily life while Vice-president of the organisation Dr Sarwar Ali expressed his gratitude towards the littérateur. Professor Seraj Salekin delivered a speech on the poet’s inspirational work and his secularist and revolutionary spirit on the opening day.

Leonardo DiCaprio auctions off space voyage! n Entertainment Desk

while some folk fusions are borrowed from the national heritage. Maqsood O' Dhaka has already released two albums with their debut “Prapto Boyoshker Nishiddho” (Banned for Adults) in 1997, and “Ogo Bhalobasha” (O Love) in 1999.

The current album will be released digitally worldwide on all existing platform like iTunes, amazon, Google and others as singles, with one song releasing every month. Listeners in Bangladesh will be able to download them through bkash and surjomukhi payment gateways. More details about the album will be available soon. l

AIDS Gala,” held at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in France, the 39-year-old “Wolf of Wall Street” star auctioned off a chance to take an outer space trip with him in 2015. The chance to see the stars with a star sold for around $1.5m (700,000 Euros).

One star, who admitted she would not be bidding, was actress Jessica Chastain, who was put off last year by the spiraling auction prices. l

SADIA MARIUM

The soulful presentation of Nazrul’s songs performed by promising and prominent singers mesmerised a houseful audience. Students of Chhayanaut rendered “Nobin Asha Jaglo Je Re Aaj”and “Chondromollica Chondromollica” in chorus after the discussion. An array of solo performances also enriched the programme.

Nazrul exponent Khairul Anam Shakil rendered a solo titled “Pashane Bhangale Ghum.” Anindita Chowdhury presented “More Deke Low Sei Deshe,” Roksana Hossain Munni performed “Prothom Prodip Jalo,” Didaru Karim presented “Pordeshi Bodhua”and Layeka Bashir rendered a romantic piece “Ekhono Otheni Chand” among others. The rainy day was further amplified by romantic solos of the legendary poet and Mahidul Islam recited one of Nazrul’s famous poems.

The lively performance of other choral numbers including “Ei Amader Bangladesh,” and “Mora Jhonjhar Moto Uddam” by Nazrul Institute artistes captured the hearts of the audience.

The programme featured performances of prominent singers like Shahin Samad, Ferdous Ara, Yeakub Ali Khan, Kalpana Anam, Lina Tapashi Khan, Mahmudul Hasan, Shukla Pal Setu, Rezwanul Haque, Nahian Durdana Suchi and many others. A soulful rendition of the number “Rum Jhum Jhum Nupur” was worthy of the audience’s admiration which matched the perfect ambiance of the rainy day. The two-day festival wrapped up with the choral rendition of the National Anthem. l

Super model Naila Nayem who will debut on the silver screen as an “item girl” signed up as the brand ambassador of Nokia Lumia. She confirmed the news through her Facebook status: “With immense pleasure, I'm glad to inform you all that, I have started to work as a brand ambassador of Nokia Lumia. Soon, the commercials will be launched. I anticipate that u all will love my work”

Prosenjit’s look inspired by Brad Pitt n Entertainment Desk Tollywood actor Prosenjit turns cop for his next film. Director of the flick loved Brad Pitt’s haircut in “Mr & Mrs Smith” and his next project — Raja Chanda’s “Force” — has given “Tollywood Badshah” Prosenjit Chatterjee the chance to go for the crew cut.

He is playing a hard cop, an encounter specialist, in the film. And then again, the haircut also means respite from the Kolkata heat. “After ‘Baishe Srabon and Bikram Singha: The Lion Is Back,’ I will be playing a cop again, but I make sure that my looks keep changing. I love to experiment with the way I’m seen on screen and after conceiving my look

for ‘Force,’ I told Raja that I would be sporting this Ghajini look, as it went with the character. And hence, this Brad Pitt haircut,” said Prosenjit.

Arpita will be playing Prosenjit’s love interest in the film. “On the sets, I am like a senior actor to Arpita and she maintains that very well. We hardly talk while at work.

And as it is, ahead of a film and on the sets, I am into the character. A few days ago, I was a football coach, but now, my whole body language is similar to that of a cop’s. I am forever doing my homework. Arpita plays a schoolteacher, who has a mature relationship with me in the film,” said the Tollywood heartthrob. l

Did you know?

Carlo Ancelotti is only the 2nd manager to win three European Cup/Champions League titles after Liverpool’s Bob Paisley

Sport

Monday, May 26, 2014

14 Ancelotti happy and lucky with fifth title

14 Seven Champions League final truths

DHAKA TRIBUNE

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15 Rosberg wins Monaco Grand Prix

BFF’s concert on June 21 Bangladesh Football Federation is all set to host its fund raising concert on June 21 under the theme “Celebrating the World Cup 2014” at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

The Development Committee of BFF initially instigated the thought of organising the concert for raising funds that will be used in a countrywide development programme. Though BFF is yet to get the official nod from the National Sports Council, the organising committee has finalised the date and began correspondence with the ruling body of the country’s sports.

Zero Degree, an entertainment event management firm, who will be assisting the event, has already started the proceedings by getting in touch with global artists. Apart from noted Bangladeshi artists it was learnt Armando Christian Pérez, better known by his stage name Pitbull, the renowned American rapper and Latin Grammy winning artist is on the top of the targeted list.

Among the Indian artists Arijit Singh, ‘Lungi Dance’ famed Honey

Bangladesh U-19 under pressure after day one Bangladesh Under-19 posted 217 runs on the board losing nine wickets against Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) at stumps on day one in the solitary three-day game which began at BKSP yesterday. Only 57.5 overs were possible in the day before the game was interrupted by rain.

The Bangladesh batters failed to resist the MPCA attack and none could stretch his innings to a solid one. Mohammed Saifuddin top scored with 37 runs on the day while top-order batsman Zakir Hasan and opener Joyraj Sheikh Emon scored 36 and 31 runs respectively. Bangladesh U-19 skipper Mehedi Hasan Miraz was unlucky to be run out for nought after facing just four deliveries.

Sajib Saha and Rifat Pradhan were at the crease on seven and one respectively when rain triggered a premature end to the opening day’s play.

Among MPCS bowlers, Gaurav Patel and Kuldeep Singh caused most of the damage as the duo shared seven wickets between themselves. Gaurav picked up four wickets from 14 overs conceding 59 runs while Kuldeep bagged three giving away 48 runs from 12 overs. l

Singh, Sunidhi Chouhan and Pakistani Atif Aslam have also been contacted.

The event management firm is also poised to add extra flavour with a number of Indian cinestars.

Abu Nayeem Shohag, the general secretary of the BFF, said they hope to host a decent concert with true international flavour. “We are hopeful of combining the country’s culture and the international flavour amid the spirit of the World Cup. We will officially put our application to NSC as early as possible,” said Shohag.

The gallery tickets will not be very expensive and will cost a person from Tk3000-4000 only. However, the stage side seats will be costly and ranges from Tk50,000-100,000.

The search of the title sponsors, TV right-holders and other associate sponsors are under processing.

However, BFF may face some trouble as Bangladesh Athletics Federation has categorically stated that they are against the concert and its general secretary Ibrahim Changish has said he may go for a hunger strike to protest against the concert. l

Shinji Kagawa (C) and other Japanese national football team players acknowledge the cheering supporters in the pre-event for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, in Tokyo yesterday

Tigers begin training Brazil’s Rousseff hits back at camp from today Ronaldo World Cup criticism Bangladesh cricket team’s training camp for next month’s three match ODI series against India begins today at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced a 23 member preliminary squad last Friday and the squad will be under the supervision of new assistant coach Sarwar Imran.

Tigers’ new coach Chandika Hathurusingha is scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh on June 10 although it is not yet confirmed. Mushfiqur Rahim and his boys will start the strength and conditioning camp from today and the skill training from early next month.

However, Five players from the 23 member preliminary squad will not be able to join the training camp today as Imrul Kayes, Nasir Hossain, Mominul Haque, Naeem Islam and Shamsur Rahman are now touring West Indies with the Bangladesh “A” team while Shakib al Hasan is playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Kolkata Knight Riders.

This India series is deemed as a new beginning for the Tigers under a whole

new set-up after the resignation of Shane Jurgensen along with some other coaching staffs. So it will be a challenge for both the cricketers and new head coach Hathurusingha to adapt quickly with the new set up as early as possible.

Tigers’ new coach Chandika Hathurusingha is scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh on June 10 although it is not yet confirmed On the other hand, it will be a great platform for some of the cricketers currently touring West Indies with the “A” side to cement their place by performing well in West Indies.

Iftekharul Islam, who was earlier the trainer of the women’s team, will conduct the fitness camp in absence of Vibhav Singh who will later join the Tigers before the India series. l

Dhaka Div Gold Cup from May 30 The Dhaka Divisional Gold Cup football tournament comprising all the 17 districts of Dhaka division will get underway from May 30 at 14 venues across the division.

The champions of the meet will be receiving a purse of Tk100,000 while the runners-up side are set to be richer by Tk50,000. Moreover, each of the district teams will pocket a purse of Tk40,000 as appearance money.

Zillar Rahman, divisional commissioner of Dhaka, presented the meet to the media in a presser held at the

Zillar Rahman, the Divisional Commissioner of Dhaka speaks at the press conference of the DC Gold Cup Football at the conference room of the BNS yesterday COURTESY

AP

conference room of the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. “We have made sure that seven players in the playing eleven must hail from their respective districts. The other four players can be outsiders or even foreigners.

We took the step to add some extra value in the meet,” said Zillar.

“We also decided to the host the meet outside the capital and in the districts so that people can enjoy the game as well as support their respective districts,” added Zillar.

Dhaka Divisional Sports Association general secretary Kutubuddin Aksir, tournament committee chairman Ani-

sur Rahman, member secretary Abdus Salam and co-ordinator Ali Hossain were also present on the occasion.

The teams have been split into four groups with only the group champions moving into the semifinals. The fixture and venue of the semis are yet to be declared. Madaripur, Shariatpur, Faridpur, Narayanganj and Gopalganj have been pitted in Group A, Tangail, Manikganj, Rajbari and Munshiganj make up Group B, Group C contains Netrokona, Gazipur, Narsingdi and Kishorganj while Group D comprises Mymensingh, Dhaka, Jamalpur and Sherpur. l

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff hit back on Saturday at criticism voiced by former soccer star Ronaldo over mishandled preparations for the World Cup. “I am sure that our country will put on the Cup of Cups,” Rousseff said in a speech in Brasilia, without naming Ronaldo directly. “I am proud of our accomplishments. We have no reason to be ashamed and we don’t have an inferiority complex.”

In an exclusive interview with Reuters on Friday, Ronaldo lamented that many infrastructure projects promised

by Brazil’s government for the tournament were significantly delayed, scaled-down, or canceled altogether, while some stadiums remain unfinished just over two weeks from kick-off.

“It’s a shame. I am embarrassed, this is my country and I love it and we shouldn’t be transmitting this image abroad,” Ronaldo said, who as a member of the Local Organizing Committee is one of the most visible backers of soccer’s world governing body FIFA and the Brazilian government.

Ronaldo’s comments were re-pub-

Narinda secure promotion to 3rd division Rubel Ahmed and Harunur Rashid netted a brace apiece as Narinda Junior Lions Club reached the final of the Dhaka City Corporation (North & South) Pioneer Football League outplaying Kallal Sangha 4-2 in the first semifinal at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Narinda Lions also confirmed their promotion to the 3rd division football league with the victory. Rubel put Narinda ahead after just two minutes in the match before Harunur Rashid doubled the lead seven minutes later.

Rubel netted his second in the 37 minute and Harunur doubled his tally in the 72nd minute. Md Sohel and Md Arif scored one each for Kallal Sangha in the 51st and 87th minute respectively. Harun was adjudged the player of the match.

Araf Sporting Club will take on Tangail Football Academy in the second semifinal at the Kamalapur Stadium today at 4pm. Top three clubs from the pioneer league will get promotion to the 3rd division. l

lished on the front page of Brazil’s major newspapers on Saturday and received heavy media play, prompting the government to fire back.

Earlier in the day Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo said Ronaldo’s comments were tantamount to a “shot against one’s own goal,” considering the soccer star was heavily involved in the Cup preparations himself.

The government’s response comes amid efforts to protect both the nation’s image and that of Rousseff her-

self as she comes up for re-election in October.

While Ronaldo agreed in the interview that criticism levied by FIFA over the Cup preparations were fair, he noted that the event did bring about some improvements in Brazilian cities such as Cuiaba, one of the 12 cities that will host the games.

“I saw cities with many construction projects...who knows how many would have been done in Cuiaba if it weren’t for the World Cup?” he said. l

A demonstrator holds a sign during a protest against the 2014 World Cup in Sao Paulo on Saturday REUTERS

Punjab maul Delhi by seven wickets Delhi Daredevils’ final IPL outing was as woeful as their opening one, with table-toppers Kings XI Punjab inflicting a seven-wicket defeat on the tournament’s wooden spooners in Chandigarh on Sunday.

Batting first, Delhi Daredevils’ batting flopped once again as they were shot out for 115 in 18.1 overs with Kevin Pietersen’s half-century being the only saving grace.

In reply, Kings XI Punjab knocked off the runs with as many as 37 balls to spare. David Miller (47 no) and Manan Vohra (47) smashed 96 runs in 10 overs to seal the issue.

It turned out to be contrasting campaigns for both the sides. On one hand, Daredevils lost 12 of their 14 matches, including nine in a row, Kings XI Punjab won 11 of their 14 encounters to end with 22 points - four clear of second and third placed KKR and CSK respectively.

Virender Sehwag (9) and Glenn Maxwell (0) were out cheaply but Mannan and Miller smashed the Daredevils bowlers into submission. Manan hit

four fours and two sixes in 38 balls while Miller hit as many fours and sixes in 34 balls. He lofted Imran Tahir for a six to end the match in style.

Earlier, Kevin Pietersen (58) finally got a half-century, which had nine boundaries with a few bearing testimony of the vintage ‘KP’ but his teammates again showed that most of them didn’t have the application nor zeal to finish with their heads held high.

BRIEF SCORE Delhi 115 (18.1ov) Pietersen 58, Karthik, Awana2/25 Punjab 119/3 (13.5ov) Vohra 47, Miller 47, Unadkat 1/3 Punjab won by 7 wickets In the end, they were all out with as many as 11 balls to spare. Parvinder Awana, Mitchell Johnson, Akshar Patel and Karanveer Singh got two wickets each.

Save their skipper, none of the Delhi batsmen scored more than 15 runs.

Mayank Agarwal (2) once again played an irresponsible shot as has been the case with him in this edition and was caught by Virender Sehwag off Johnson. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

I deserved to be going: Donovan All-time US scoring leader Landon Donovan answered questions Saturday for the first time about his snub from the World Cup squad, saying he “absolutely deserved” to be going to Brazil. US coach Jurgen Klinsmann announced his 23-man roster for next month’s global football showdown and said Donovan, 32, was a step behind the other strikers in training camp. “I respect the decision, but I just feel in my heart that I deserve to be there and that’s the pill that’s hardest to swallow,” Donovan said.

–AFP

Sport

Colombia to make late call on Falcao

Gerrard hints England exit after WC

Colombia will wait until the last minute to decide whether to pick recuperating striker Radamel Falcao in their final World Cup squad, coach Jose Pekerman said on Saturday. “I’ll wait until the last day, until the last hour, the last minute, to give out my list of 23,” Pekerman said when he arrived in Buenos Aires with his squad. “We’ve had lots of problems, from Falcao’s injury, (Camilo) Zuniga’s, and some players who haven’t had minutes with their (club) teams. We have to evaluate all that,” he told reporters. –Reuters

England captain Steven Gerrard has hinted he could retire from the international stage after the forthcoming World Cup in Brazil. Gerrard will lead Roy Hodgson’s side to south America in June. The Liverpool midfielder, who turns 34 next week, acknowledges this could be his last taste of the international scene. “I’m not going to leave anyone hanging, Don’t worry, as soon as the World Cup is over I’ll sit down with the manager at the right time and I’ll make the decision. Gerrard was quoted on Sunday.

–AFP

Serene Ancelotti happy and lucky with fifth title Victorious Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, his jacket dripping with champagne, said he felt like a very lucky man after his side beat cross town rivals Atletico Madrid 4-1 in the Champions League final on Saturday.

The urbane 54-year-old Italian was seconds away from losing the crown until Sergio Ramos headed home deep into five minutes of added time to equalise Diego Godin’s 37th-minute strike.

After explaining to reporters that his greatest joy in winning was the happiness it gave others, he was mobbed by a group of players who gate-crashed his press conference, singing and spraying him with champagne.

“I am lucky not just for this game,”

Ancelotti said after the dancing group returned to the changing rooms to continue their celebration. “I’ve felt a lot of trust given to me by the club.”

Ancelotti added that he did not feel five minutes of time added on was too much because there were many stoppages at the start of the second half.

“You can say I was a lucky man but you can also say we never gave up and tried to do everything till the last second of the game,” he said.

In contrast to his flamboyant, constantly gesticulating Argentine counterpart Diego Simeone, Ancelotti cut a serene figure on the touch line.

Coming into the Lisbon final he already had wealth of experience of the competition, with four Champions League victories under his belt, two as a player and two as a coach with AC Milan.

Monday, May 26, 2014

With his hands thrust deep in the pockets of his elegantly tailored suit, only the vigour of his gum-chewing gave away the tension as his side assaulted the Atletico goal in search of the equaliser as the minutes ticked away.

He said had told his players at halftime to up the tempo.

The Italian added he had congratulated Simeone on the domestic title before Saturday’s game and felt sympathy for their Champions League defeat.

“You have to respect the team that doesn’t win but fights all the way,” said Ancelotti, only the second coach to win the European Cup three times along with Liverpool’s former great manager Bob Paisley. “They deserved to be in the final but in the end we deserved to win I think.” l

This will live with me forever: Bale A jubilant Gareth Bale said that his crucial extra-time goal, which helped steer Real Madrid to a 4-1 Champions League triumph, will live with him forever.

Welsh star Bale, the world’s most expensive player, had missed three regulation time chances before he headed home to make it 2-1 in extra-time as Real won the European title for the 10th time.

“The price tag means nothing to me,” said Bale who moved to Real last year from Tottenham in a world record deal.

“I would have come here for a penny if it meant I could play in the big tournaments and win the big titles.

“It’s unbelievable to lift this trophy -- it will be a memory which will live with me forever.”

Bale said he never gave up hope that Real would win the match despite needing an injury-time header from Sergio Ramos to take the final into extra-time. l

7 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL TRUTHS Ronaldo finally had his say

It took until the very last vestiges of added time, but on his home turf, perhaps it was fitting that Cristiano Ronaldo had the final say. His was a disappointing performance in the whole, lacking the menace he usually possesses, but no one has contributed more to Madrid’s success this season in Europe than Ronaldo, who has now scored a record 17 times in the Champions League. Overall he finishes the campaign with 55 goals in 45 games for Real Madrid, as well as clutching the Ballon d’Or under his arm. Truly this has been his season, and he enjoyed the moment when tearing off his shirt to celebrate with the Madrid fans after converting his late penalty.

1

Doing La Decima “There is a thin line between an obsession and a dream,” said Carlo Ancelotti in his pre-match press conference, and though the Real Madrid coach insisted the club had not strayed into obsessive territory since their previous Champions League win in 2002, it did feel as though their hunt for a 10th European Cup had taken on rather stalkerish dimensions. Now the long wait is over. Repeated disappointments at the quarter-finals and semi-finals over the past decade can dissipate into the ether: Real Madrid have a 10th European Cup, the round number they have been lusting after for 12 years, and defeating their local rivals in the final in Lisbon will only have made the feeling taste sweeter than a pastel de nata.

2

Bale has joined an exclusive club, as has Ancelotti The notoriously insular nature of football on these isles means British winners of the European Cup with foreign teams are few and far between. However, Bale is now one of them, joining Paul Lambert (Borussia Dortmund, 1997), Steve McManaman (Real Madrid, 2000) and Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich, 2001) in this unusual honour. Even the great John Charles never conquered Europe with Juventus. Bale’s feat is a rare one indeed. The most expensive player in the world has more than justified his decision to leave Tottenham last summer by collecting the greatest club prize of all in his debut season in Madrid, and he scored to boot. Furthermore, on a night that was all about Real Madrid securing their record 10th European Cup, it should not be forgotten that their manager was enjoying a milestone of his own. In leading Real to victory in Lisbon, Ancelotti became only the second man after Bob Paisley (Liverpool, 1977, 1978, 1981) to win the competition on three separate occasions. The fact he did so with two different clubs, having won his first two with Milan, and also managed to win it twice as a player with the Rossoneri, makes his record all the more special. Does anyone have as deep an affinity with the European Cup as the mild-mannered Italian who proves time and again that nice guys can finish first?

3

The kiss After Sergio Ramos planted a header inside Atleti post from a corner in injury time, Iker Casillas raced half the length of the pitch to embrace his long-time team-mate and plant a kiss right on his cheek. It was a moment of pure relief, of gratitude, as Ramos’ late, late intervention meant Casillas would not be held responsible for losing the Champions League final for his beloved Real Madrid, having made such a horrible error of judgement for Diego Godin’s opening goal. It was a touching vignette from a horribly tense and progressively more nasty affair in Lisbon.

4

Real Madrid players on board the team bus celebrate their Uefa Champions League final win with fans at Cibeles Square in Madrid on Saturday after the match against Atletico Madrid held at the Luz stadium in Lisbon, Portugal. Real Madrid won 4-1 AFP

Simeone sheds no tears for heartbroken Atletico Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone insisted his side must raise themselves from the disappointment of being minutes away from winning the Champions League and come back even stronger next season.

The recently crowned La Liga champions look set to beat local rivals Real Madrid as they led 1-0 in Lisbon deep into stoppage time until Sergio Ramos’ header forced the game into extra time.

And in the second period of extra time, Real ran rampant as goals from

Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo handed them a 4-1 win to seal their 10h European crown.

“This match doesn’t deserve a single tear,” said the Argentine.

“When you give everything you cannot ask for more. There is another team and other players out there and that is football.

“Now we have to rest, relax and prepare ourselves to compete and bother the big teams again next season.

“It is part of the game. You can win, or you can lose and today it is our turn to lose but at least knowing that we

have given it everything.

“This will make us better. It gives us the chance to keep improving and now the rest of the world knows that Atletico can compete.”

Simeone ended the game enraged, though, as he marched onto the field to confront Real defender Raphael Varane after the Frenchman appeared to kick the ball towards the Atletico bench.

“He booted the ball towards me and I got annoyed. That is why, he is young.

I didn’t think it was a good reaction and mine probably wasn’t either.

“He is great player and with experi-

Spain waits on Real, Atletico stars to name squad

A Japanese McDonald’s employee displays the new menu item “Brazil burger beef BBQ”, one of Fifa World Cup official burgers with a football shaped bun, at a press preview at a restaurant in Tokyo yesterday AFP

Spain manager Vicente del Bosque on Sunday put off until at least May 31 naming his full World Cup squad to monitor the fitness of key Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid players.

Del Bosque announced a list of 19 players for the World Cup holders’ friendly against Bolivia on May 30 and said he would name the final World Cup squad of 23 the day after that. He has until June 2 to finalise the list.

Barcelona winger Gerard Deulofeu won a call-up for the Bolivia match despite not being on the 30-strong long-list already announced for next month’s World Cup in Brazil.

Sunday’s list left out for the time being players from the two Spanish teams

in Saturday night’s Champions League final in which Real Madrid beat their city rivals Atletico 4-1 in extra time.

They include Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas and defender Sergio Ramos, a hero of the Lisbon final. Midfielder Xabi Alonso and defender Dani Carvajal are the two other Real players concerned.

Del Bosque omitted from his list of 19 the Manchester City striker Alvaro Negredo and Juventus’s Fernando Llorente, raising hope for Chelsea’s Fernando Torres who made it into the squad to face Bolivia.

Manchester United’s Juan Mata and Negredo’s City teammate David Silva also made Sunday’s list, but a third Manchester City player, forward Jesus Navas, must wait until after the Bolivia match. l

ence he will learn because he has a big future ahead of him.”

Simeone said he would meet with the club’s hierarchy on Monday, before going on holiday, to discuss the possible comings and goings at the club over the close season. And Simeone accepted responsibility for having to replace the Brazilian-born striker early in the game for the second time in as many weeks after rushing him back from injury.

“The responsibility is mine. It was my error. Obviously he wasn’t in the conditions we thought he was in training yesterday. l

Van Persie looking forward to Van Gaal’s arrival Robin Van Persie said he was relishing the prospect of linking up with Netherlands coach Louis Van Gaal when the Dutchman takes over as Manchester United manager after the World Cup. Van Gaal signed a three-year deal at Old Trafford earlier to replace David Moyes, who was sacked last month after United finished seventh in the Premier League and failed to qualify for Europe.

“It is a different sort of approach to what I was used to with previous coaches but I like it,” Van Persie told The Sun on Sunday.

“It is a very Dutch way of doing things - very direct but intended to make us better players.” l

We saw what happened when the irresistible force meets the immovable object Real Madrid were the Champions League top scorers heading into the final, with their 37 goals in 12 games averaging out at 3.1 per match – making them the only team in Champions League history to average over three goals a game. Meanwhile, Atleti boasted the competition’s meanest defence having conceded only six times in 12 games. They held out for all of 92 minutes, but then came Madrid’s resurgence. They could not be halted, and hit four more to make it 41 in the competition this season.

5

Simeone was so close to arguably the greatest managerial feat of all time How to put into context Atletico Madrid’s near-victory here in Lisbon? How can you adequately describe their ridiculous season as a whole? Perhaps words, in this instance, are not sufficient. Maybe the enormity of Atleti’s achievement can truly be glimpsed in the fact that at the start of the season they were 6,560-1 to win both La Liga and the Champions League. That they ultimately fell short should not diminish the pride they should feel. Simeone’s ability to win a two-horse race as the third horse was amazing as they took the Liga title on the final day of the season and he was within one minute of trumping that feat in Lisbon. No wonder Tiago said the players revere him as a “God”. But today he was one miracle short.

6

Costa gamble could have repercussions When Diego Costa limped off against Barcelona last weekend clutching his hamstring, some said his World Cup was in doubt. Remarkably, thanks to an infamous dose of horse placenta, he returned to the starting line-up to widespread bafflement, but only for nine minutes. Having said Costa and Arda Turan, who did not even make the bench, were “only names” in his pre-match press conference, Simeone still allowed himself to take a big risk with his top scorer and it proved a ridiculous decision when he was forced off after only nine minutes. The Spain international probably needed unicorn placenta if he was to be ready for this match. If his World Cup aspirations are also to be placed in jeopardy, Simeone’s decision will be even more unfathomable.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

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Monday, May 26, 2014

QUICK BYTES

SCORECARD Sri Lanka T Dilshan b Jordan 88 L Thirimanne c Tredwell b Anderson 10 K Sangakkara c Buttler b Tredwell 40 M Jayawardene run out (Ballance) 2 A Mathews c Bopara b Gurney 30 A Priyanjan c Morgan b Anderson 43 D Chandimal c Bopara b Gurney 14 N Kulasekara c Root b Gurney 0 S Senanayake not out 2 D Prasad not out 7 Extras (lb5, w15) 20 Total (8 wkts, 50 overs) 256

Bangla Club win big Bangla Club and Prime Sporting Club registered victories in the Cute Premier Division Handball League beating Old Ideals and Surjodoy Krira Chakra respectively at the Handball Stadium yesterday. Bangla Club previously won against Bhatritta Samaj Kalyan Sangha by 35-13 goals with Titon scoring six goals while Billal of Old Ideals netted five goals. Bangla Club led the first half 14-4. Prime Sporting posted a 33-14 goal victory with Imran grabbing 12 and Zia adding six. The winners led the first half by 14-8 goals.

–RM

Bowling Anderson 10-1-38-2; Gurney 10-0-59-3; Jordan 10-0-56-1; Bopara 10-0-57-1; Tredwell 10-0-57-1; Root 1-0-1-0 England Carberry c Sangakkara b Kulasekara 6 IR Bell c Sangakkara b Kulasekara 12 GS Ballance lbw b Kulasekara 5 JE Root b Malinga 0 EJG Morgan c Chandimal b Prasad 40 RS Bopara b Senanayake 7 JC Buttler† c Senanayake b Mathews 4 CJ Jordan lbw b Senanayake 1 Tredwell c Kulasekara b Senanayake 4 JM Anderson b Senanayake 7 HF Gurney not out 4 Extras (lb 3, w 5, nb 1) 9 Total (all out; 26.1 overs) 99

Zia, Saiful draw in Elite Group Chess Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman drew with Raghunandan Kaumandun Srihari of India in the opening round of the Elite Group 6th KIIT International Chess Festival which got underway in Bhubaneswar, Odisha in India on Saturday.

Saiful Islam Chowdhury also drew with Russian Grandmaster Papin Vasily. A total of 147 players from 19 countries including 22 GMs, 2 women GMs and 21 International Masters participated in the tournament.

–Tribune Desk

Afghan players injured in Maldives bus accident

Afghan team captain Haroon Fakhruddin Amiri and coach Yousuf Kargar were among five players and two officials injured in a bus accident in the Maldives on Saturday, according to a media report. After drawing their Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup match against Laos, the footballers were returning to the hotel when the bus carrying them hit a motorcycle that had cut in front of the motorcade, the Minivan News reported. The hospital said nobody was seriously hurt. “Accidents happen. We took all the precautions, security was in place. Police are investigating how a motorcade with sirens met with such an accident,” assistant secretary general of the Football Association of the Maldives Mohamed Nasir said. A female protocol officer suffered head injuries while a police officer broke an arm in the accident.

–Reuters

Fans warned over WC ticket touts FIFA’s enforcement arm on Sunday warned fans heading to the World Cup not to buy match tickets from touts, whether virtual or physical, saying they could end up out of pocket and unable to see the matches they want. MATCH Enforcement, the division of Zurich-based firm MATCH Hospitality that monitors such fraud for FIFA, said it had even seen black market tickets on offer for almost $40,000, as the June 12 kick-off looms for the tournament.

“Ticket mark-ups are one of the main risks that fans face when purchasing from illegitimate, unauthorised or illegal sources, in that they will be paying highly inflated prices for tickets which are very likely to be invalid or counterfeit,” a MATCH spokesman told AFP. “We have repeatedly seen fans reporting to us as having paid two to three times the face value on the ticket prices published by FIFA,” he said.

–AFP

Redknapp relieved after QPR promotion Harry Redknapp admitted he was a relieved man after Bobby Zamora’s lastgasp strike fired QPR back into the Premier League and eased the club’s precarious financial situation. Redknapp’s side hit the jackpot at Wembley on Saturday as they rode their luck to steal a 1-0 victory against Derby in the Championship play-off final. Zamora’s fine finish in stoppage-time was QPR’s first and only shot on target and came completely against the run of play after Derby had dominated following the 60th minute dismissal of Hoops midfielder Gary O’Neil. The frenzied celebrations by QPR’s Malaysian owner Tony Fernandes, who was drenched in champagne by the time he left the on-pitch party after the final whistle, made it clear how important promotion was for the west London club, who would have been in danger of sinking into financial chaos if they had been condemned to another season in the second tier following their relegation in 2013. Fernandes has funded a £70 million wage bill reportedly higher than Spanish champions Atletico Madrid.

–AFP

DAY’S WATCH Sony Six 6:30AM Nba Play Off 2013-14: Conf Final Oklahoma City v San Antonio

Sri Lanka’s Sachithra Senanayake (2L) celebrates after dismissing England’s Chris Jordan during the second ODI at the Riverside ground in Chester-le-Street yesterday

Sri Lanka hammer clueless England to level series Sri Lanka’s bowlers ripped through a fragile England batting line-up to win the second one day international at Chester-le Street by 157 runs to tie the five match series 1-1.

Tillakaratne Dilshan top-scored with 88 as Sri Lanka posed a respectable total of 256-8 from their 50 overs.

The total looked achievable for an England side who easily won the first ODI but they collapsed to 99 all out with Nuwan Kulasekara and Sachithra Senanayake taking seven wickets between them.

After winning the toss and electing to bowl first, England were frustrated

by Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara who piled on the runs to take the visitors to 129-1.

Sangakkara, who signed a shortterm deal with Durham earlier in the season in preparation for the tour, fell for 40.

England’s fielding, an issue of late, was again sloppy with both Harry Gurney and Ravi Bopara dropping relatively routine catches as Dilshan continued his expertly controlled innings but he was eventually bowled by Chris Jordan

just 12 runs short of an 18th ODI century.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Matthews and Ashan Priyanjan shared a 66-run partnership for the fifth wicket as the visitors passed the 200 run mark.

England took four wickets towards the end of Sri Lanka’s innings for just 23 runs, including the impressive Priyanjan (43) who became James Anderson’s 250th ODI wicket.

England’s reply got off to a steady yet unspectacular start before Michael Carberry, replacing injured captain Alastair Cook, was caught behind off the bowling of Kulasekara with En-

REUTERS

gland 19-1.

Kulasekara claimed a wicket in each of his next two overs with the dismissal of Ian Bell and Gary Ballance sandwiching Joe Root being clean bowled for a duck by Lasith Malinga as England crumbled to 29-4.

Bopara then became the first of Senanayake’s four victims as he also accounted for Jordan, James Tredwell and Anderson.

Eoin Morgan top-scored for England with 40 before becoming the ninth victim as England finished with just two batsmen in double figures. l

Bowling: Kulasekara 6-3-15-3, Malinga 4-1-17-1, Prasad 6-0-36-1, Senanayake 7.1-1-13-4, Mathews 2-0-9-1, Dilshan 1-0-6-0 Sri Lanka won by 157 runs

Records ignite World Relays Two blistering world records in front of a raucous crowd seemingly ambivalent to the Champions League: the IAAF’s inaugural World Relays could hardly have had a better launching pad than in a sultry Nassau on Saturday.

The almost sell-out crowd at the floodlit 15,000-seat Thomas A. Robinson stadium, buoyed by a military brass band and high-stepping carnival dancers, lent massively to an amazing atmosphere so often found lacking at major meets but one which the athletes seemed to lap up.

There might have been no Usain Bolt, nursing an injury and not due back in action until mid-June, but training partner Yohan Blake stepped into his shoes with aplomb.l

Federer, Raonic breeze Rosberg regains championship lead through in Paris Roger Federer kicked off his 16th consecutive French Open with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko on Sunday, his first victory since becoming a father of twins for the second time.

The 32-year-old Swiss, who won his only Paris title in 2009, was watched by wife Mirka and older twins Myla and Charlene but not three-week old Lenny and Leo. Sunday’s triumph was also his 59th at Roland Garros, tying eight-time champion Rafael Nadal as the tournament’s win specialist.

Federer was never troubled by Lacko, the world number 88 who has not won a claycourt match for three years.

Breaks in the fifth and seventh games of the opening set followed by another in the third game of the

second put the 17-time major winner in total control.

Federer broke again in the first and fifth games of the third set against the hapless Lacko to seal victory in just 84 minutes, a performance highlighted by 40 winners.

Federer goes on to face either Portugal’s Gastao Elias or Diego Sebastian Schwartzman of Argentina for a place in the last 32.

“It was important for me to attack and stay aggressive,” said Federer. “I also served well.”

Federer was joined in the second round by big-serving Canadian eighth seed Milos Raonic who unleashed 27 aces in his 6-3, 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 win over teenage Australian wildcard Nick Kyrgios.

Raonic, a semi-finalist in Rome and who made the last eight in Madrid, goes on to face either Lukas Rosol or Jiri Vesely, Czech Davis Cup teammates, in the next round.

Russian 15th seed Mikhail Youzhny needed five sets to see off Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta, 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-0. l

Nico Rosberg turned his controversial pole position into faultless victory for Mercedes on Sunday when he regained the lead in the drivers’ world championship by winning the Monaco Grand Prix.

The 28-year-old German came home 9.2 seconds clear of nearest rival and team-mate Lewis Hamilton who coped with loss of vision in one eye as he held off Australian Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull in the closing laps.

It was Rosberg’s second consecutive victory in his home event, his second win of the 2014 season and the fifth win of his career.

Fernando Alonso finished fourth for Ferrari ahead of Nico Hulkenberg of Force India and Jenson Button who finished sixth for McLaren.

Felipe Massa came home seventh for Williams, Jules Bianchi was eighth for Marussia ahead of fellow-Frenchman Romain Grosjean of Lotus and Kevin Magnussen finished 10th in the second McLaren.

Rosberg’s win carried him to 122 points in the title race ahead of Hamilton, who was only half a second ahead of Ricciardo as they crossed the line, on 118.

Creinse Ltd to showcase 2014 Fifa World Cup album Creinse Limited attained the exclusive marketing and distribution rights of the 2014 Fifa World Cup official album in Bangladesh. The album titled “One Love, One Rhythm” was produced by Sony Music Entertainment and features songs from eminent artists like Carlos Santana, Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull, Shakira, Avicii, Wyclef, David Correy and Ricky Martin.

The album was launched throughout the world on May 14 and comprises 14 songs including “We Are One (Ole Ole)” by Pitbull featuring Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Lette along with the official anthem of the 2014 Fifa World Cup “Dar Um Jeito (We Will Find A Way)” featuring legendary guitarist Carlos Santana, Avicii, Wyclef and Alexandre Pires. Limited editions of the album will be available online and at selected outlets. l

(From L) Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg pose on the podium of the Monaco street circuit after the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix in Monte Carlo yesterday AFP “It’s another special day for me, for sure,” said Rosberg.

“Lewis drove well and pushed me massively hard. The pressure was on but I kept it cool and pulled a bit of a gap at the end because of the refreshed tyres. Thanks to the team for all their

great work.”

On an overcast afternoon in the Mediterranean principality, with an air temperature of 20 degrees Celsius and a track temperature of 28, there was palpable tension in the air before the start. l

Ajmal hits back at Broad over bowling action jibe Saeed Ajmal hit back at England star Stuart Broad on Sunday in a furious war of words over the Pakistan off-spinner’s bowling action.

Ajmal was angered by a Twitter exchange between England pace bowler Broad and former England captain Michael Vaughan which contained barbs after the Pakistani’s style of delivery.

Broad was responding to Vaughan’s tweet, which attached a freeze-frame picture of Ajmal bowling and read: “You are allowed 15 degrees of flex in your delivery swing ...”

Broad replied: “This has to be a fake photo?!”

He then added: “Bowlers can bowl very differently in a lab while being tested compared to needing wickets in the middle.”

Ajmal, who took a career-best seven

for 19 for Worcestershire against Essex last week, was irked by the insults and told Pakpassion.net: “Broad’s dig hurt me the most.

“Former players will sit in the commentary box or wherever else and say some things for attention, but you don’t expect such things from a fellow professional cricketer who is still playing cricket.

“It was disappointing to read Broad’s comments, but we are dealing with it and we hope to get an explanation from the ECB about Broad’s comments.”

It is not the first time Ajmal, whose action has previously been cleared by the International Cricket Council, has found himself under fire for his bowling style.

Two years ago former England captain Bob Willis queried Ajmal’s action on television during Pakistan’s Test series victory over England in the United Arab Emirates. l

16

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Monday, May 26, 2014

NHRC boss warns RAB, bats for its reform

Having name, mobile number How the killers managed to flee the country if they were under government surveillance questioned of passenger on tickets suggested Sara Hossain, honorary director of Talking on the abduction and killing forms. The force also should work with means saving the killers, showing negn Ashif Islam Shaon the NHRC and pay heed to its recom- ligence in bringing the culprits to book of nine persons including Narayanganj Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust, n Kamran Reza Chowdhury or just allowing the culprits to flee the city panel mayor Nazrul Islam, the criticised the culture of impunity saying National Human Rights Commission mendations to save face.

Chairman Mizanur Rahman yesterday warned RAB against violation of human rights, and asked the elite force to be cautious and respectful to the country’s laws.

“Be careful, RAB. You have to obey the law. Everybody must obey and respect laws,” the NHRC boss said at a discussion titled “Strengthening Police Accountability in Bangladesh: Challenge and Strategies” at the Cirdap auditorium in the capital.

Saying that the goodwill of Rapid Action Battalion had already been destroyed entirely, he suggested its re-

“But if they avoid the social criticism, rather than bringing positive change within the force, the crisis will be intensified,” he warned.

However, Mizanur admitted that the NHRC did not hold enough power to bring dramatic changes. “We are not paper tiger either.”

He claimed that had the RAB listened to the recommendations given by the NHRC in the past, the elite force would not have to face such image crisis.

“The law enforcement agencies often say they just follow the high-up’s orders. But if following the orders

country, that will be of great concerns,” he said.

The law professor also said: “If the NHRC is given the authority for further investigation [into incidents] upon High Court order someday, it will not spare the offenders, not even the highups who give the orders.”

The day-long programme was arranged by the NHRC and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiatives of India.

Mizanur expressed discontent since there had been no RAB official at the event. However, police high officials attended the programme.

NHRC chief questioned how the killers had managed to flee the country if they were under the surveillance by the government.

Director of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiatives Maja Daruwala said accountability of a law enforcement agency did not mean that the agency to be made accused. Accountably rather enhances power of the force.

She said: “It’s not fair that everyone in power will use the law enforcers or the cops will do whatever the government wishes. Rule of law should be maintained first.”

that it had been practiced since the independence. “Even the first elected government of the country practiced this.”

She claimed that the Supreme Court was also facing trouble to work independently. “We saw many honourable citizens have to appear before the court as they spoke the truth. There are many such examples I cannot talk about [now].”

Because of lengthy procedure, she said: “Sometimes people do not get help from the court in the incidents of abduction, torture or other crimes committed by the law enforcers.” l

‘N’ganj murder money transacted through financial institutions’ n Tribune Report The Tk6 crore, said to have been used to fund the sensational seven murders in Narayanganj, might have been channelled through financial institutions rather than banks, a finance ministry high official has said.

This view was expressed at the conference of the chief anti-money laundering compliance officers (CAMLCO) of commercial banks at a city hotel yesterday.

Finance Secretary M Aslam Alam said: “The source of the money [Tk6 crore] might have been a financial institution from where it could have been withdrawn. After changing hands, it might have been deposited to another similar institution.”

He also said: “Money laundering nowadays takes place mainly through the capital market and the insurance companies instead of the banks. This is because the banks are now much more equipped to prevent laundering.”

After the murders in the port city, Shahidul Islam, father-in-law of slain panel mayor Nazrul Islam, alleged that the killers carried out the murder for a payment of Tk6 crore.

Shirin set to meet Modi tomorrow

n Kamran Reza Chowdhury Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury is set to meet Narendra Modi on May 27, a day after he takes oath as Indian prime minister, in New Delhi. She will also meet Indian President Pranab Mukherjee the same day.

“The bilateral issues will come up for discussion,” the speaker told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday evening over phone from the Indian capital.

She said her meeting with Modi might take place between 12:30pm and 1pm while the meeting with the Indian president would be around 5pm.

The speaker left Dhaka for Delhi in the morning, leading a Bangladesh delegation that will attend the inauguration of prime minister-elect Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sent Shirin Sharmin to represent her at the function as the PM has been on a bilateral tour in Japan. l

Following the allegation, a Bangladesh Bank probe team started looking into the accounts of the accused including the three ex-RAB officials to trace any unusual transactions before and after the crime.

Mahfuzur Rahman, an executive director of the central bank, said: “We are still investigating...We have found some transactions in the accounts of the said persons, but we have not yet found anything abnormal.”

Also present at the conference, M Shefaq Ahmed, chairman of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IRDA), said: “The main asset of insurance companies is customers’ confidence. If a company is found involved with money laundering activities, it will lose clients’ confidence and business.”

Central bank Governor Atiur Rahman urged the managing directors of the insurance companies to comply with the Bangladesh Bank circulars to prevent money laundering.

The Financial Intelligence Unit of Bangladesh Bank and the IDRA jointly organised the conference in which MDs of all insurance companies and the CAMLCOs of banks took part. l

Three street children sit on a mosquito canopy that they found abandoned near the capital’s High Court yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Abed suggests tasking NGOs with pre-primary education

Lawyers using PILs for career advancement

n Mushfique Wadud

Public interest litigations (PILs) are conducted to serve the people. But there is a rising tendency for some lawyers to use it as a tool for personal gains.

A lawyer named Azam Khan, who got permission in 2010 to practise at the High Court, recently filed a public interest writ litigation along with three other lawyers, representing an organisation – Legal Action Bangladesh Foundation – to ensure adulterationfree food.

Azam said: “I want to be a heavyweight lawyer. So, I want to use the PIL as a technique to pursue my career. If we get ruling and an interim order, we will get many cases from the respondents to conduct. We will run the writ plea for two years. In future, we have planned to conduct 100 more PILs.” He said: “We might obtain a ruling and an interim order as the petition has strong grounds. In that case, we will hold a press conference. We have been told by many electronic media that if we get a ruling, we can have coverage.”

“There is no dishonesty in conducting PILs for the sake of a career. I have done nothing wrong. As a member of the lawyer community, I know who uses the PIL as an instrument for personal gains,” he added.

The Supreme Court has delivered many landmark judgements on PILs to

Fazle Hasan Abed, founder and chairperson of Brac, has suggested that the government should leave pre-primary education affairs to NGOs. He made the proposition in light of the report styled “State of Pre-primary Education in Bangladesh” which said pre-primary section in the government primary schools lack facilities and a good number of students are still out of pre-primary education. The report was yesterday unveiled by Campaign for Popular Education which releases reports every year under the title “Education Watch Report”.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Abed said the government can leave pre-primary education to NGO-operated schools and “those who are ready to work” as a considerable number of children are still being deprived of pre-primary education.

Funding education for these children is a big issue for the government, he said.

Describing government schools, Abed said some 60 to 70 students attend classes in a single classroom in those institutions which contradicts the philosophy of pre-primary education. He said pre-primary learners require support and should be taught with fun.

Abed said pre-primary education is important for early development and it helps reduce drop-out rates in the primary education sector.

The report said nearly 15% and 41.3% of the government and non-government primary schools (with MPO status) respectively had no separate classroom for pre-primary students. These schools offered pre-primary education along with grade I students in the same classroom and often at the same time.

Brac has 22,618 primary schools where 670,815 students study This was not the case in kindergartens, NGO-operated as well as mosquebased schools, the report said, adding that 1.5 million students aged five are still out of school.

The report described kindergartens as the top pre-primary education providers with a 27.9 % enrolment rate.

According to the report, in 10.8% of the cases, pre-primary classes are held in school verandas, head teachers’ offices, roofs of school buildings or open spaces.

Nearly three-quarters of the classrooms in the government schools are not tidy, the report said.

Speaking at the programme, Kazi Rafiqul Alam, president of Dhaka Ahsania Mission, supported Abed’s proposition, saying the government should take initiatives so that NGOs, under the leadership of the government, can work in pre-primary section.

In 2008 when the army-backed caretaker government was in power, a government move to give Brac the task to supervise and improve quality of education in all primary schools in 20 upazilas was halted in the wake of a countrywide protest staged by primary teachers. Campaign for Popular Education Executive Director Rasheda K Choudhury was an adviser to the then government.

Commenting on Abed’s suggestion, Primary and Mass Education Minister Mostafizur Rahman said: “The ministry will have a discussion on the idea”.

The government will take ideas from everyone but it will take the ultimate decision on its own and the ministry will move forward with the plan, he added.

Brac is a major stakeholder in the primary and pre-primary education in Bangladesh. It has 22,618 primary schools where 670,815 students study and the number of teachers is 22,699.

The organisation also has 15,164 pre-primary schools with 433,658 students and 15,164 teachers. l

Mozena: Regaining GSP must for free market access n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Bangladesh will not get duty- and quota-free market access to the USA unless it regains the generalised system of preferences facilities.

“If ever there were duty-free, quota-free regime in America, it would be implemented most likely through GSP. So, [if] Bangladesh does not have the GSP

Bangladesh Railway always tries to shrug off allegations of ticket scalping, but the chairman of the parliamentary watchdog on Railways Ministry yesterday said he had his own experience of not getting tickets as a passenger because of touts.

ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on Railways Ministry, said the smuggling of train tickets by a group of railway officials had become “excessive.”

At the second meeting of the watchdog, he said he had personally investigated the allegations and detected touts buying hundreds of tickets at a time while actual passengers were refused at the counters as there were no more tickets.

The 10-member watchdog suggested introducing a system with the provision of writing the name, mobile number and the national ID number of a passenger on the ticket sold to him.

The railways minister and the director general of the Bangladesh Railway promised to implement the suggestion after examining its operational modalities.

“They [the touts] sell a ticket costing Tk600 for Tk1,000 at Reazuddin Bazar [in Chittagong]. Smuggling of tickets has turned excessive. We have to stop it,” Fazle Karim told the Dhaka Tribune after the meeting.

He said the railway authorities sold tickets 10 days in advance of journeys and this gave touts an opportunity to swindle the system with the help of a section of the staff.

“So, we have also suggested reducing the lead time for tickets to five days,” he said.

He said smugglers would not be able to provide the names and mobile or national ID numbers of so many passengers at a time. The authorities, in case of necessity, can check the authenticity of the passengers’ identity.

“Besides, we have asked the authoritiesto install closed circuit cameras to detect whether the same group of people have been standing in queues to collect tickets,” said Fazle Karim.

Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, Ali Azghar, Mizanur Rahman, Sirajul Islam Mollah, Mohammad Noman and Yeasin Ali attended the meeting. l

privileges, then it would be hard to implement [the] duty-free quota-free [market access],” US ambassador to Bangladesh Dan Mozena said.

He was speaking at a country lecture programme at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Startegic Studies in the city yesterday.

“So, the first step is to get the GSP back; and then Bangladesh will need to

strategise how best to make its case to the Congress,” Mozena said.

Last year, US scrapped the facility for Bangladesh on grounds that labour conditions here were poor.

The US ambassador said reinstatement of GSP facility was now not the issue in his views.

“I believe the issue is when will Bangladesh have taken the steps need-

ed to ensure that the country never again experiences another Rana Plaza, that it never again experiences another Tazreen Fashions fire,” he said.

He also said Bangladesh might well be on the road to transforming the apparel sector and bringing it to international standards in terms of fire safety, soundness of factory structure and respect for workers’ rights. l

n Nazmus Sakib

serve the interests of the people. But it is not possible for the court to know the ulterior motive behind every PIL. Azam said the petition was on the list of the High Court bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain for possible hearing today.

At first, he had said the report could be published because he was not doing anything dishonest. Later, however, Azam requested this correspondent not to report the story behind his writ plea because he had not realised that it could ruin his career.

“How can I build my career if the Bangladesh Bar Council cancels my licence to practise because of the report?” he said.

The petition filed on May 21 seeks a ruling as to why the government should not be directed to establish the Bangladesh Safe Food Authority as required by the Safe Food Act 2013.

The plea seeks a directive on constituting an independent inquiry committee to find out reasons behind non-enforcement the act.

It also seeks a directive for the home secretary, a director concerned of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution, the IGP, the RAB director general and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner on operating mobile courts in different cities immediately to check food adulteration in the wake of growing health hazards. l

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Market syndicates active An intelligence report alerts the government ahead of Ramadan

n Asif Showkat Kallol The government has been forewarned of a volatile edible oil market during the month of Ramadan.

An intelligence agency report issued the warning just weeks before the holy month begins.

The report predicted a section of unscrupulous traders might increase the prices of edible oil along with other essential products through market manipulation ahead of the holy month of fasting.

Manipulators, to be acting as a syndicate, will slow down production and import process, the report added.

But a commerce ministry official ruled out the possibility of the price hike of essentials as there are sufficient stock of the products.

“We have ensured sound supply and stock of all those items. Although opening of letters of credit for importing the edible oil in last three months is not sufficient enough during Ramadan,’’ he said.

But the commerce ministry largely depends on the report of the intelligence agencies to learn about the market due to lack of different market as-

sessment mechanism, according to him.

“There are monitoring teams for essential commodity market but they are not enough,” he said.

The report said the low import of the edible oil could push sudden price hike of the essential ahead of Ramadan.

Intelligence report was submitted to the commerce secretary last week, which recommended taking necessary measures to prevent the hike.

According to the intelligence agency’s report, the businessmen of the Khatunganj of Chittagong want to make up the losses which they had incurred in chickpea business last year.

Plastic goods export to US rises by 4% sans GSP n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Bangladesh’s plastic goods export to the United States rose by 4% to US$3.82m in the first 10 months of the current financial year compared to $2.75m for the same period of 2012-13, despite suspension of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP).

After the suspension of the trade preference, the experts had feared that the export earnings from the plastic goods might see a downtrend as Ban-

gladesh plastic goods used to get access to the US market under the GSP trade benefits.

Export earnings from the plastic sector would be much more, if we could have enjoyed the GSP facilities in the US markets, Md Jashim Uddin, president of Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA), told the Dhaka Tribune.

“American buyers are very keen to buy Bangladeshi plastic products but  B3 COLUMN 1

Remittance from Middle East falls by 12% n Jebun Nesa Alo Remittance inflows from the Middle Eastern countries dropped by 12% in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year due to the fall in manpower export and the political unrest over January 5 polls.

The country received US$6.92bn in July-April period in fiscal year 2013-14 compared to $7.87bn in the same period of the last fiscal year.

However, remittance inflow from the Western countries increased by 8% to $4.80bn during the 10 months from $4.43bn in the same period of the previous fiscal year, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.

The downward trends both in the labour migration and remittance continued since 2013 due to a gradual shrinking of recruitment of the migrant workers, said a senior executive of Bangladesh Bank.

The major recipient countries of Bangladeshi workers in the Middle East are now interested to recruit ‘only skilled female workers’ instead of the male workers, he said.

Overseas employment decreased by 10.73% in January-March period, according to he statistic of the Bangladesh Manpower Export and Training (BMET).

A total of 96,068 workers went abroad with job offer from January to March of the current year while some 1,07,626 had gone abroad with jobs during the same period in 2013, showing a decline of 11,567 overseas em-

ployment in three months.

BMET also recorded that about four lakh workers including male and female got overseas jobs from January to December in 2013 against over six lakh workers in 2012.

Of the Middle Eastern countries, remittance inflow from Kingdom of Saudi Arab decreased to $2.58bn in July to April period of the current fiscal year compared to $3.35bn in the same period of the last fiscal year followed by from UAE $2.21bn compared to $2.41bn, Qatar $210m compared to $247m and from Oman $564m compared to $511m.

Of the Western countries, remittance inflow from USA increased by 24% to $1.91bn in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year compared to $1.54bn in the same period of the last fiscal year while country received $757.80m remittance from the United Kingdom (UK) in the same period, which is 12% down from $851.26m.

The country received $862m remittance from Malaysia in July-April period of the current fiscal year compared to $831m in the same period of the last fiscal year.

Of the total $11.72bn remittance that country received in the 10 months of the current fiscal year, $1.32bn came through Argani Bank, $1.08bn through Janata Bank, $1.21bn through Sonali Bank and $130m through Rupali Bank compared to $1.35bn, $1.14bn, $1.33bn and $107m respectively in the same period of the last fiscal year, according to the Bangladesh Bank data. l

Regarding possible price hike of the edible oil, the report noted that the Chittagong-based company S Alam Group has opened less number of letters of credit this year compared to demand.

The Group maintained a good supply of edible oil last year, which might result in the shortage of the edible oil during Ramadan.

Edible oil might face another crisis in the local market as the country’s largest edible refinery Shah Amanat refinery still remains idle for long time.

The intelligence agency report also identified 15 unscrupulous onion traders and shoppers across the country, who allegedly smuggled currency through under-invoicing in the name of import of onion from India.

The 15 onion traders are Bogra Banjo Bhandar, Kashi enterprise of Satkhira, Mamoni enterprise, Satkhira, Khan traders, Dinapur, M/S Rosni International, Chapainawabganj, Ful Mahammad, Rajshahi, Priyo enterprise Rajshahi, Miss Firoza enterprise, Satkhira, Miss Nizara Trading, Satkhira, Ms Ghosh enterprise, Raju Thakur, Satkhria, Haque and Sons en-

terprise, Satkhria, M/S Khan Traders Dinapur, M/S Babu Enterprise Dinapur, and M/S Dhrubo Faria Traders, Joypurhat.

The intelligence agency suggested eleven-point recommendations including encouraging commercial banks to continue loan facilities to the essential commodity importers.

The commerce ministry will warn the unscrupulous businessmen in Khatunganj to control essential items before Ramadan.

Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will sell imported essential items with small amount of profit as it has planned to import essentials throughout the year, the report said.

The report suggested that the demand order or sale order of edible oil will be completed within 15 days and the government will take legal initiative against the people who are involved in the extortion in transports.

“There is no possibility of the price hike of edible oil during Ramadan as supply is adequate. We have discussed it in two meetings,” Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune. l

Online property market getting popular n Kayes Sohel

and Milton, nowadays, are using online marketplaces to avoid middlemen, according to the industry people.

The online marketplaces have empowered property buyers to analyse the documents of property as well as giving them the opportunity to have transparent and direct negotiation with the property sellers, they said.

In January this year, the total number of property advertisements for sale was 20,500. In April 2014, the number of advertisements went up by about 10% to 22,500, according to a study of Bikroy.com.

It said there were about 11,000 advertisements of apartments in Dhaka city posted in April 2014. The most popular areas are Uttara and Mirpur where the number of advertisements is 2,000 and 1,500 respectively.

“Online marketplaces have started working as a bridge among the sellers and buyers,” said Eshita Sharmin, marketing manager at Bikroy.com.

“To buy and sell property, online marketplace has become a trusted name as we take extra caution to ensure the quality of advertisements. We are manually checking all advertisements before it goes live to the website.” l

Kamrul Hossain, an employee of a textile buying-house, has always dreamed of owning a house in Dhaka.

He had a plan to buy a plot. After searching for a long time, he finally decided to buy a plot in Bashundhara area. He checked all the documents by a lawyer and made the first installment payment.

Eventually, he came to know that the government is the actual owner of the plot. He had to go through a lot of hassles to recover the money he paid in advance.

Later, he came across Bikroy. com, a leading online marketplace in Bangladesh, and bought a plot in the same area.

Another property buyer, Md Milton decided to buy a flat, but failed finding a suitable one. In March this year, he purchased an apartment through an online marketplace.

Milton said: “The advertisements at online market place are very informative and credible. I found a good deal and made the primary contact over phone. I am very happy that I bought the flat without any problem.”

Many property buyers like Hossain

WiMAX on the wane n Muhammad Zahidul Islam After peaking with over 5 lakh subscribers in June last year, the wireless communication service WiMAX started witnessing gradual decline in its business.

Bangladesh’s telecom regulator’s April data shows the number has now shrunk to 2.96 lakh, marking more than 40% decline compared to one year earlier.

There was a sharp fall in August 2013 as the number drastically dropped to 3.15 lakh from 5.05 lakh in July. Then the figure would not rise further except for a slight increase to 3.16 lakh in December only. In April 2014 it dropped to 2.96 lakh.

'3G is a new service in Bangladesh and most of the users are young, who would adopt it to have a taste' The WiMAX service operators said the fall was due to the launch of third generation mobile broadband although the drop began weeks before the official launch of the fastest data service.

Data showed the shrinking of WiMAX users began in August last year two months prior to the official launch of 3G in October by private mobile phone operators.

In a recent talk with the Dhaka Tribune, WiMAX operator Ollo’s chief technical officer Md Mizanur Rahaman described the fall as a shifting to a new technology by the users.

“3G is a new service in Bangladesh and most of the users are young, who would adopt it to have a taste. A shifting is taking place in the market,” he said.

The market insiders think the limited coverage of WiMAX network is another reason behind the “shifting” as the service is mostly available in only city areas.

“Limited network coverage is a shortfall of the WiMAX service which fails to satisfy the customers’ need in a wide scale, prompting the users choose other options,” according to another WiMAX operator executive asking not be named.

Meanwhile, the number of Internet users is on the rise and presently stands at 3.72 crore. l

Allocate funds to develop tourism infrastruture, say analysts n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Bangladesh tourism sector is said to remain mired in infrastructural bottlenecks despite having potentials of growth.

A demand has, therefore, been raised for an allocation in the upcoming budget for implementing infrastructural development works such as improving road communication system.

Policy analysts said such funding will help the sector expand and contribute better to the country’s gross domestic product.

They said the country’s tourism sector can be developed to a well-performing industry through removing the bottlenecks. Sufficient fund is required to establish special tourist zones, analysts added.

“Improved communication to the tourist spots is a must and the government should allocate sufficient funds in the next fiscal year’s budget,” said Mojib Uddin Ahamed,

chairman of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management in Dhaka University.

Mojib Uddin Ahamed also laid emphasis on developing exclusive tourist zones in the country since the government recently announced the tourism sector as an industry.

Earlier, the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) placed its budget demands seeking duty-free import of tourist vessels, withdrawal of 10% advance income tax, cash incentives and easy-term loans for its members.

The people involved with the sector say they have been suffering from fund shortage and pay high bank interest. Toufiq Rahman, director of TOAB, is optimistic about the support from the government.

“Though we have not received any clear message from the authorities concerned, we are optimistic as the government has declared the tourism sector as an industry,” he said.

Mojib Uddin Ahamed suggested introducing a tourism banking like SME banking in efforts to ensure necessary financial supports for the sector.

In this regard, Bangladesh Bank can direct banks to provide funds to the tourism sector at a certain rate, he added.

The persistent political unrest has badly damaged the image of the country in abroad, which might deter the arrival of foreign tourists.

Analysts said branding Bangladesh in abroad is necessary to attract foreign tourists.

“To attract foreign tourists, the government and the tour operators should concentrate on image building of Bangladesh,” said former adviser to last caretaker government Mirza Azizul Islam.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon said: “We have received a set of budget demands from TOAB and will discuss them with finance minister for consideration.” l

WTTC: Tourism contribution to GDP to grow 8% this year n Tribune Business Desk

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has forecasted that total contribution of travel and tourism sector to Bangladesh GDP will rise by 7.9% in the 2014.

“The total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP was Tk460.3bn (4.4% of GDP) in 2013 and is forecast to rise by 7.9% in 2014 and to rise by

6.5% annually to Tk935.5 billion (4.7% of GDP) in 2024,” WTTC said in its recently published Bangladesh Economic Impact Report 2014, reports BSS. In 2013, the report said, Bangladesh travel and tourism sector directly supported 13,28,500 jobs that is 1.8% of total employment and it is expected to rise by 4% in 2014.

In Bangladesh, travel and tourism

investment in 2013 was Tk40.5bn that is 1.5% of total investment, it said, adding that the investment should rise by 3.4% in 2014.

The report said expenditure by foreign visitors are expected to grow by 7% in 2014 to Tk8.9bn and rise by 5.7% per annum to Tk15.5bn in 2024.

The Leisure travel spending by both foreign and domestic tourists generated 73% of direct travel and

tourism GDP in 2013 in amount Tk276.9bn that is 26.9% more compared with business travel spending of Tk102bn in the same period. Leisure travel spending is expected to grow by 6.5% in 2014, it added.

The report said business travel spending is expected to grow by 8.6% in 2014 to Tk110.7bn and rise by 5.5% per year to Tk188.4bn in 2024. l

B2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

45,543,873 50,601

Traded Issues

291

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

75

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

210

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,237.11

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

27.12

CSE key features May 25, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

150.76

Turnover (Volume)

Daily capital market highlights DSE Broad Index :

1,828.18

Number of Contract

continued its ongoing trend,” commented IDLC Investments, in its regular market analysis.

Consequently, activity declined, making turnover came down to Tk182 crore, lowest in last seven months, said the merchant bank.

“Participants remained passive and ‘watchful’ throughout the session. These factors trapped overall market compartment, putting investors in a state of indecisiveness,” the merchant bank added.

“Market remains volatile in early trade with the DSEX hovering around 4,400 level as investors are cautious about stifled market participation ahead of announcement of budget for the FY2014-15,” said LankaBangla Securities, in its daily market analysis.

Market has factored weaker than expected quarterly earnings and selling pressure of banks to reduce the capital market exposure over last few weeks, said the stock broker.

“Amid increased volatility and fading sell order, investors are looking forward for a new equilibrium in the market,” the stock broker added.

Out of 291 issues traded, 128 declined, 120 advanced and 43 closed unchanged on the DSE. l

Stocks ended flat into the red yesterday amid choppy trading with turnover remained sluggish as investors were remained cautious ahead of the national budget to be placed in parliament on June 5.

DSEX, the prime index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) went down by 5.81 points or 0.13% to close at 4,378 points.

The DS30, comprising blue chips, lost 2.23 points or 0.14% to close at 1,587 points. However, the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) managed to close positive with gaining 0.71 points or 0.07% to close at 973.63 points.

The port city bourse Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) closed positive with its Selective Categories Index CSCX gaining 3.16 points to close at 8,438.

Total turnover at DSE was 29.4% lower than that of the previous session, dipping below Tk200 croremark and amounting to Tk182 crore. It was the lowest turnover recorded at DSE in the last seven months since recording Tk167 crore on October 21, 2013.

“With shaky sentiment and apparent lack of direction, market

Company

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume)

4,156,142

Number of Contract

6,246

4378.25005

(-) 0.13%

▼

Traded Issues

187

973.63094

(+) 0.07%

▲

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

45

1587.37172

(-) 0.14%

▼

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

135

CSE All Share Index:

13556.87080

(+) 0.02%

▲

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

CSE - 30 Index :

11122.77030

(+) 0.01%

▲

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,151.58

8438.40530

(+) 0.04%

▲

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

26.08

DSE Shariah Index : DSE - 30 Index :

CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSERS

4th ICB M F-A DBH 1st MF-A Kohinoor Chem -A MJL BD Ltd.-A Beximco Pharma -A Jute SpinnersA MBL 1st M. F.-A Reckitt Benckiser -A

-8.01 -4.69 -3.90 -3.47 -3.36 -3.33 -3.17 -3.15

Average (% change) -8.11 -1.11 4.74 -4.15 -2.40 -3.98 -2.37 -3.20

1st ICB M F -A Anwar Galvanizing-B

-3.13 -2.97

-3.40 -2.73

Company

Closing (% change)

CSE LOSERS Company

Closing (% change)

Rahima Food -Z MJL BD Ltd.-A The Ibn SinaA Power Grid Co. -A Golden Son -A Dutch Ban. Bnk- A Orion Infusions -A MBL 1st M. F.-A

-4.56 -3.71 -3.65 -3.51 -3.38 -3.36 -3.20 -3.13

Average (% change) -2.83 -3.46 -3.63 -3.42 -3.36 -3.42 -3.52 -3.13

Sun Life Insurance-N Shinepukur Cera-Z

-2.76 -2.75

-2.19 -2.94

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 205.25 57.51 28.41 230.81 107.77 155.15 0.75 354.72 245.17 0.30 33.60 20.71 6.21 136.77 9.44 34.83 46.54 82.61 34.56 36.58 0.51

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

Latest PE

201.00 6.25 363.45 77.82 40.75 61.00 6.18 1030.91

201.00 6.10 365.00 77.80 40.30 61.00 6.10 1031.30

201.00 6.40 370.00 80.00 41.90 61.00 6.30 1032.10

201.00 6.10 350.00 72.60 39.00 61.00 6.10 1031.00

0.020 1.472 0.264 16.810 3.260 0.003 3.762 0.567

23.11 0.81 9.37 4.72 3.60 -43.81 1.44 41.12

8.7 7.7 38.8 16.5 11.3 -ve 4.3 25.1

946.67 26.40

949.30 26.10

955.00 26.80

942.00 26.10

0.142 2.231

38.55 0.27

24.6 97.8

Closing average

Closing

Daily high

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

7th ICB M F-A Aziz PipesZ BSRM Steels-A Progressive Life-A Shampur Sugar -Z Mercantile Bank -A National Tea -A GPH Ispat Ltd-A Al-Haj Textile -A Rangpur Foundry -A

52.30 77.80 100.20 44.00 42.90 83.30 48.40 6.20

54.80 78.40 101.00 44.00 44.70 83.50 49.10 6.30

52.00 77.40 100.10 44.00 42.60 83.00 47.00 6.10

0.160 0.532 0.241 0.110 1.966 0.167 0.262 0.170

-1.01 4.72 3.12 2.13 4.08 6.72 4.81 1.44

-ve 16.4 32.1 20.7 10.6 12.4 10.1 4.3

56.65 10.56

56.30 10.60

63.60 10.60

56.30 10.50

0.030 0.038

0.00 0.64

16.5

With shaky sentiment and apparent lack of direction, market continued its ongoing trend

% change 11.23 3.15 1.55 12.63 5.89 8.49 0.04 19.40 13.41 0.02 1.84 1.13 0.34 7.48 0.52 1.91 2.55 4.52 1.89 2.00 0.03

Million Taka 25.62 4.63 1.75 21.96 6.16 13.18 21.85 19.14 6.91 1.30 7.39 0.21 16.60 0.95 0.58 1.89 10.15 6.10 4.34 0.00

% change 15.01 2.71 1.03 12.86 3.61 7.72 0.00 12.80 11.21 4.05 0.76 4.33 0.12 9.73 0.56 0.34 1.11 5.94 3.57 2.54 0.00

Million Taka 230.87 62.13 30.16 252.77 113.93 168.33 0.75 376.57 264.30 7.20 34.90 28.10 6.42 153.37 10.40 35.41 48.43 92.76 40.66 40.91 0.51

Total

8.25 7.38 5.53 4.98 4.29 3.53 3.31 3.19 3.05 2.96

CSE GAINERS Company PragatiLife Insu. -A Bay Leasing.-A BSRM Steels-A Marico BD Ltd-A Reliance1 M.F.-A Mercantile Bank -A AMCL (Pran) -A Federal Insu.-A NLI 1st M F-A Sinobangla Indu.-A

Closing (% change) 6.67 5.75 4.79 4.46 4.40 3.55 3.43 3.29 3.26 3.03

Average (% change) 8.25 4.85 1.99 4.93 0.41 1.64 3.20 (0.12) 2.43 2.82 Average (% change) 6.71 3.33 2.52 3.54 3.94 2.13 3.93 2.40 4.15 3.64

Closing average 105.00 16.00 72.88 120.20 7.30 17.40 835.94 48.05 117.83 100.76

Closing average 171.00 26.97 72.96 1160.00 9.50 17.28 238.60 21.73 9.53 23.90

Closing 105.00 16.00 74.40 120.20 7.30 17.60 836.80 48.50 118.20 100.90

Closing 171.00 27.60 74.40 1160.00 9.50 17.50 238.20 22.00 9.50 23.80

Daily high 105.00 16.00 74.70 120.20 7.30 17.80 840.00 49.30 119.90 102.50

Daily high 171.00 27.70 75.00 1160.00 9.50 17.60 240.00 22.10 9.80 24.00

Daily low 105.00 16.00 65.00 120.20 7.30 15.50 820.00 46.00 105.90 99.50

Daily low 171.00 26.40 70.00 1160.00 9.50 15.30 237.00 20.00 9.50 23.80

Turnover in million 0.053 0.001 84.568 0.180 0.008 54.389 0.577 15.052 16.854 1.864

Turnover in million 0.086 0.121 6.458 0.058 0.086 3.772 1.193 0.365 0.105 0.048

Latest EPS 12.01 0.68 4.72 2.30 -61.36 1.16 -71.72 2.42 2.00 3.08

Latest EPS 2.38 1.44 4.72 43.99 1.86 1.16 5.85 1.36 1.36 0.80

Latest PE 8.7 23.5 15.4 52.3 -ve 15.0 -ve 19.9 58.9 32.7

Latest PE 71.8 18.7 15.5 26.4 5.1 14.9 40.8 16.0 7.0 29.9

News from trade server ARGONDENIM: The Company has informed that it has credited the Bonus shares for the year ended on December 31, 2013 to the respective shareholders' BO Accounts. Cash Dividend for the year 2013 has been credited through BEFTN. FAMILYTEX: The Company has informed that it has credited the Bonus shares for the year ended on December 31, 2013 to the respective shareholders' BO Accounts.

Thus will be placed in ''A'' category from existing ''Z'' category with effect from 26 May 2014 BIFC: The Company has informed that it has credited the Bonus shares for the year ended on December 31, 2013 to the respective shareholders' BO Accounts on May 22, 2014.

GLOBALINS: The Company has informed that Ar. Mubasshar Hussain has been elected as the Chairman of the Company with immediate effect.

RIGHT SHARE: DELTASPINN: Subscription 05.08.2014 to 31.08.2014. RD for entitlement of rights share: 28.04.2014.

IPO Subscription: Tung Hai Knitting & Dyeing Limited subscription date 18-22

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company CMC Kamal Tex. -A BSRM Steels-A LafargeS Cement-Z Square Pharma -A Mercantile Bank -A Grameenphone-A Hwa Well Textiles-N

CSE

Closing (% change)

May 2014, NRB upto 31 May 2014. @ taka 10, face value taka 10 and market lot 500. Far East Knitting & Dyeing Industries Limited subscription date 15-19 June 2014, NRB upto 28 June 2014. @ taka 22, face value taka 10 and market lot 200. Shurwid Industries Limited subscription date 08-12 June 2014, NRB upto 21 June 2014. @ taka 10, face value taka 10 and market lot 500.

Saif Powertec Limited subscription date 06-10 July 2014, NRB upto 19 July 2014. @ taka 10, face value taka 30 and market lot 200.

Dividend/AGM AMBEEPHA: 15% cash and 20% stock, AGM: 16.06.2014, Record Date: 28.05.2014.

MBL1STMF: 3% cash, Record date: 02.06.2014.

AIBL1STIMF: 5.5% cash, Record date: 02.06.2014.

ORIONPHARM: 15% cash, AGM: 22.06.2014, Record Date: 21.05.2014.

PURABIGEN: 15% stock, AGM: 29.06.2014, Record date: 21.05.2014.

SALVOCHEM: 10% stock, AGM: 27.08.2014, Record date: 25.06.2014.

ISNLTD: No dividend, AGM: 17.06.2014, RD May 20, 2014.

GOLDENSON: 25% stock, EGM and AGM: 21.06.2014, Record Date: 15.05.2014.

MERCINS: 10% cash, dividend for the Public Shareholders (B-Group) only, AGM: 16.06.2014, Record Date: 15.05.2014.

CMCKAMAL: 12.50% stock, AGM: 30.06.2014. Record Date: 29.05.2014.

RUPALIBANK: 15% stock, AGM: 31.05.2014, Record date: 14.05.2014.

LEGACYFOOT: 5% stock, AGM: 21.06.2014, Record Date: 12.05.2014.

BDTHAI: 5% stock, AGM: 21.06.2014, Record Date: 25.05.2014.

MEGHNACEM: 15% cash, AGM: 29.05.2014, Record Date: 14.05.2014.

MONNOSTAF: 10% cash, AGM: 26.06.2014, Record Date: 19.05.2014.

INTECH: 10% stock, AGM: 23.06.2014, Record Date: 15.05.2014.

ISLAMIINS: 15% stock, AGM: 09.07.2014, RD: 12.05.2014.

BXPHARMA: 10% cash & 5% stock, AGM: 21.06.2014, RD: 18.05.2014.

STANDARINS: 15% stock, AGM: 18.06.2014, RD: 15.05.2014.

Latest PE

53.28 77.61 100.22 44.00 43.20 83.25 48.50 6.19

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

Daily high

Monday, May 26, 2014

DSE GAINERS

DSE key features May 25, 2014

Stocks end flat amid poor turnover n Tribune Report

Stock

% change 11.55 3.11 1.51 12.65 5.70 8.42 0.04 18.84 13.22 0.36 1.75 1.41 0.32 7.67 0.52 1.77 2.42 4.64 2.03 2.05 0.03

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

Meghna Petroleum -A Mithun Knitting -A Delta Life Insu. -A

Matin Spinning-N HeidelbergCement -A Padma Oil Co. -A BD Submarine Cable-A Olympic Ind. -A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company HeidelbergCement -A

Square Pharma -A BSRM Steels-A Rupali Bank - A Appollo Ispat CL -N Grameenphone-A Hwa Well Textiles-N BD Submarine Cable-A Meghna Petroleum -A Mercantile Bank -A UNITED AIR-A LafargeS Cement-Z Matin Spinning-N BEXIMCO Ltd. -A UCBL - A

Volume shares 4,111,493 1,160,399 1,113,850 286,288 3,125,098 198,346 1,142,500 167,780 415,515 193,300

783,600 68,050 102,605 178,365 128,918

Volume shares

20,350 26,980 88,510 100,600 206,800 20,800 123,500 26,900 14,819 218,300 319,034 51,000 67,600 125,794 111,543

Value in million 95.00 84.57 76.91 74.12 54.39 50.69 48.43 47.02 40.30 36.25

35.12 34.92 33.39 31.92 29.20

Value in million

10.35 7.01 6.46 6.04 5.62 5.33 5.23 4.82 4.15 3.77 3.69 3.51 3.03 2.96 2.92

% of total turnover 5.20 4.63 4.21 4.05 2.98 2.77 2.65 2.57 2.20 1.98

1.92 1.91 1.83 1.75 1.60

% of total turnover

7.02 4.75 4.38 4.10 3.81 3.62 3.55 3.27 2.82 2.56 2.50 2.38 2.06 2.01 1.98

Daily closing 23.30 74.40 69.10 259.80 17.60 257.40 42.60 279.80 97.20 186.20

44.70 513.60 323.90 177.60 225.50

Daily closing

513.70 261.30 74.40 60.10 27.20 257.00 42.50 177.90 280.20 17.50 11.60 69.00 44.60 23.40 26.30

Price change 1.30 5.53 -0.29 1.88 3.53 0.82 0.71 -0.89 2.32 -1.27

Daily opening 23.00 70.50 69.30 255.00 17.00 255.30 42.30 282.30 95.00 188.60

Price change

Daily opening

-1.11 0.04 -1.07 -1.44 -1.66

0.25 1.87 4.79 -0.17 0.37 0.51 0.71 -1.22 -0.71 3.55 0.87 0.00 -1.55 -1.27 -0.38

45.20 513.40 327.40 180.20 229.30

512.40 256.50 71.00 60.20 27.10 255.70 42.20 180.10 282.20 16.90 11.50 69.00 45.30 23.70 26.40

Daily high 23.70 74.70 70.00 261.90 17.80 258.60 43.00 282.30 99.00 190.90

45.30 519.70 340.00 195.00 230.00

Daily low 21.00 65.00 63.30 250.00 15.50 250.00 41.70 260.00 93.50 183.90

44.40 508.00 310.00 170.00 220.00

Daily average 23.11 72.88 69.05 258.88 17.40 255.55 42.39 280.23 97.00 187.55

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

519.00 262.50 75.00 60.10 27.60 259.80 42.80 180.70 281.50 17.60 11.70 69.40 45.80 23.90 26.40

507.00 255.00 70.00 60.00 26.80 252.00 41.80 177.10 279.70 15.30 11.50 68.00 44.30 21.40 26.00

44.82 513.17 325.41 178.98 226.54

508.40 259.80 72.96 60.05 27.19 256.33 42.33 179.00 280.38 17.28 11.56 68.86 44.88 23.52 26.16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

Some elephant hunting tips for Warren Buffett n Reuters Far be it from us to offer tips to Warren Buffett, the most celebrated stock picker of his age, but here goes: The Oracle of Omaha has suggested he will hunt for his next “elephant” his favourite word for big acquisitions - among energy companies. That could dovetail with the bet he made in 2009 when he bought Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad, which has turned into an indirect play on the U.S. oil production renaissance: BNSF moves about a third of oil-by-rail, a surging segment of freight rail.

So, we have some ideas. Reuters screened for US and Canadian companies with relatively low debt and market capitalizations above $5bn, among other criteria.

First, because Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has about $49bn to spend, he’s said he’s looking at capital intensive companies, which offer plenty of chances to put that money to work.

He might like a hot niche like oilfield services or pipelines: good candidates could be Baker Hughes in drilling services or Williams Partners in oil and gas distribution, which would also expand the scope of his recently rebranded Berkshire Hathaway Energy unit.

Alternatively, he could opt for a safer play by scooping up another regulated utility to add to previous purchases such as NV Energy in Nevada and MidAmerican Energy, which serves customers in eleven states and added about $1.47bn to Berkshire’s profits in 2013. While not spectacular earners, regulated utilities tend to be steady, reliable cash generators, a feature Buffett likes. One candidate could be Pinnacle West Capital, though it may be a little smaller than what he’s looking for.

None of Baker Hughes, Williams Partners and Pinnacle West responded to requests for comment.

“Electric generation, electric trans-

tations on a 7% increase in North American revenue, with better North American margins even as well count dropped.

The company also has significant presence overseas, including the Middle East, Latin America and Asia, offering a chance to broaden Berkshire’s geographic reach.

One risk may be that Baker Hughes will be too closely tied to oil prices and the capital expenditure cycle for major petroleum producers for Buffett’s taste.

Williams

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett throws a newspaper during a competition at a trade show, at the company's annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska REUTERS mission and long-haul pipelines - they’re being about as blunt as they can be that they’re going to grow” in that area, said Kevin Birzer, a senior managing director at Tortoise Capital Advisors, which specializes in energy investments.

Pinnacle

Check out Pinnacle West, owner of the Arizona Public Service Company, which provides electricity to about 1.1 million customers and trades at a discount to peers by several measures, including price-to-cash flow and priceto-earnings. Between the company’s $6.1bn market cap and its $3.6bn in net debt, for an enterprise value of $9.7bn, the company may be smaller than Buf-

Plastic goods export to US rises by 4% sans GSP  B1 COLUMN 2

we’ve lost our competitiveness because of the imposed import duty on our products soon after we had lost the GSP facilities,” said Jashim.

If the government can restore GSP through fulfillment of the conditions set by the US government, it would help us to grab the markets, he added.

Meanwhile, political unrest had cast negative impact on the export earnings as the buyers were unwilling to place their orders fearing delayed shipments from the country.

“Since the political turmoil caused financial losses, we have urged the government to offer us cash incentives along with reduction of advance income tax to 0.30% as like as the RMG sector,” said Jashim.

To reduce dependency on certain markets, the sectoral people are now focusing on Asian countries, especially, on China and India because of its huge population.

In the current fiscal, Bangladesh plastic products stepped into the 22 new markets including Angola, Azer-

baijan, Switzerland, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Denmark, Ethiopia, Finland, Hungary, Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar, Mongolia, Nigeria, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Yemen with its high quality products at a reasonable price.

The country’s total export earnings from the plastic sector marked a 3.18% fall to $68m in July-April period of 2013-14 due to slow down in the economy of the European Countries. In July-April of 2012-13, Bangladesh had earned $70m from plastic sector.

Jashim, also vice chairman of Bengal Group, a leading plastic manufacturer said: Total export value of the sector declined due to slowdown in the economy of European Union country as they are also the major buyers of Bangladeshi plastic products.

Among plastic products, PVC bag registered 16.6% rise to $31m, while plastic waste earnings declined by 29.6% to $23m and other products rose by 30% to $13m. l

fett wants.

Still, analysts from TheStreet Ratings noted Pinnacle West’s reasonable debt and good cash flow from operations in calling the company a buy earlier this month.

“We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had subpar growth in net income,” they wrote in a report dated May 18.

Baker hughes

If Buffett wants a company more closely tied to oil production, he could opt for Baker Hughes.

With a market cap of about $30bn and net debt of about $3.9bn, Baker Hughes’ enterprise value of $33.9bn

comes in at the high end of what Buffett could spend while leaving himself the $20bn cash cushion he’s said he wants.

Even so, that large a deal might require him to team up with an outside partner as when he bought HJ Heinz, an option Buffett has said he may pursue again.

Baker Hughes, which supplies oilfield services such as drill bits and fuel additives and has annual revenue above $22bn, is trading at a discount to peers on several key metrics, including ratios measuring its enterprise value against both sales and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, according to Reuters data.

Its first-quarter earnings beat expec-

In that case, Williams Partners could appeal.

Williams, which focuses in part on natural gas and oil transportation, has a market cap of about $22.8bn, but with $8.3bn of debt, its enterprise value is not all that much lower than Baker Hughes, about $31.1bn.

Also like Baker Hughes, Williams, with total revenue of about $6.7bn last year, scores well on a number of relative valuation markers, trading at discounts to peers on price-to-earnings and price-to-cash flow.

The company keeps generating cash thanks to “the combination of a core interstate gas transmission system and a liquids-leveraged midstream business,” according to Morningstar.

That’s an important attribute given its debt-to-equity ratio of 0.8, which is a bit above the industry norm.

Negotiating a deal with Williams could be complicated, given its status as a limited partnership 70% owned by Williams Cos. But the company has another advantage Buffett likes - a wide moat, or competitive advantage, thanks to its ownership of the Transco gas mainline, which runs from Texas to New York.

“We think of the Transco pipeline system as a classic wide-moat asset, one that presents a highly attractive set of organic growth opportunities,” the Morningstar analysts wrote. l

Thai coup leader sets out economic priorities: Rice and budget n Reuters, Bangkok Thailand’s ruling military laid out its economic priorities on Sunday, telling financial officials from the public and private sectors that it wanted to quickly pay farmers money owed under a failed subsidy scheme and work out a budget for 2015.

The army has consolidated its power since ousting the government on Thursday, detaining scores of politicians and activists whose rivalry has bedeviled the country for years, and trying to stamp out criticism with censorship and a ban on protests that an increasing number of people have defied.

On Sunday, the focus was on fixing an economy that even before the coup was stumbling into recession.

“The economy needs to recover.

If there is something wrong, we have to find quick solutions,” Thawatchai Yongkittikul, secretary general of the Thai Bankers’ Association, told reporters, citing coup leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who summoned up to 60

B3

Monday, May 26, 2014

officials to the meeting.

“The burning issues that need to be solved are the rice buying scheme and the budget plan for the 2015 fiscal year,” Thawatchai said.

Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy shrank 2.1% in the first quarter of the year and there is little prospect of a quick improvement.

People are not spending, government investment has stalled and consumer sentiment fell to a 12-year low in the months before the coup.

Many countries have issued travel warnings for Thailand, which was already expecting the lowest number of foreign visitors in five years in 2014.

Tourism accounts for about 10% of the economy.

On top of that, a huge problem for the last government of Yingluck Shinawatra was a failed rice-subsidy scheme, a major policy in a populist electoral platform that brought her to power in 2011.

The scheme was meant to cement rural support for Yingluck and her self-

exiled brother, deposed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

But the scheme was criticized by opponents in the Bangkok middle class and royalist establishment who said it was riddled with corruption and was a cynical bid by the Shinawatras to lock in electoral success.

SELLING RICE Farmers are owed more than $2.5bn under the scheme and paying them would be a big public relations victory for the military.

Somchart Soithong, director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s Internal Trade Department, said the military was eying 90bn baht ($3bn) for the farmers.

“We have about 40bn baht from the BAAC (Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives) and the Finance Ministry will seek loans of another 50bn baht,” he said.

A military spokesman said it was hoped farmers would begin to get paid in one or two days and every farmer would be paid in a month. l

Business aviation picks up, but jet surplus persists n Reuters, Seattle Business aircraft are taking to the skies again as many economies around the world improve, but a surplus of jets delivered just before the recession means the equivalent of 2,750 jets remain parked in hangars.

An excess of jets is depressing prices for planes, particularly older ones, and clouding the outlook for manufacturers of new jets, such as Bombardier Inc, Gulfstream and Cessna.

Some companies are cutting back on corporate jet travel and reducing executives’ use of corporate jets for personal trips.

With so many jets not being flown, businesses are finding it more difficult to justify new purchases, said Rolland Vincent, president of Rolland Vincent Associates, a jet consulting firm that works with Utica, New York-based JetNet. “It’s like having a lot of cars in your driveway,” Vincent said. “If you don’t use them that much, you’re not going to be out shopping for another one.”

The recovery in business flying is uneven around the world, and prone to setbacks. A global survey of private aircraft, including helicopters and charters, showed a 2% decline in the hours flown in the first quarter, from a year ago.

Flight hours in Asia, Europe and the Middle East rose in the past year through March, but declined in the United States and Latin America, according to the survey by Jet Support Services Inc (JSSI), a Chicago-based company that supplies service and support for aircraft.

The harsh US winter played a big role in depressing demand for flying, while political issues in Eastern Europe and slower economic growth in Asia affected flying in those regions, JSSI said.

But demand should “bounce back” in the spring, said Neil Book, chief executive of JSSI. “As the overall economy ramps up, we expect to see overall flight hours increase more quickly,” he said.

Indeed, the longer term trend in operations tracked by the Federal Aviation Administration shows US flying steadily picking up.

In the United States, which is by far the largest business-aircraft market, business jet flights rose about 3.4% in the 12 months through March, according to the FAA’s tracking of takeoffs and landings. That’s a sharp upswing from the prior 12-month period, when flights rose only about 0.3%.

But because the industry was cranking out jets at a high rate from 2005 to 2009, the amount of flight time per plane remains well below the peak of 2007, just before the financial crisis.

Some companies are throttling back on personal plane use, or shifting to less expensive options than owning, including new “club membership” plans that don’t involve capital outlays that can cost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars annually.

Several S&P 500 companies said in recent filings that they have set limits on executive use of corporate jets.

Many already require executives to reimburse the company for personal use of the plane beyond a set limit of hours or dollars. l

Asian millionaires turn to independent wealth advisers n AFP, Singapore

bKash Limited has recently signed an agreement with Dnet to disburse monthly commission to the latter’s health agents who are assigned to register expectant and new mother for its mobile phone health service known as Aponjon service. Rezaul Hossain, chief commercial officer of bKash Limited and Sk Masudur Rahman, chief programme coordinator of Dnet, Muhammad Tariqul Islam Khan were present at the signing ceremony among others

Runner Automobiles recently signed an agreement to enjoy loan facility from EBL with lower processing fee and quicker turnaround period. The photo shows Hassan O Rashid, the bank’s deputy managing director and Brig Gen Shafiquzzaman (retd), managing director of Runner Automobiles Ltd exchanging documents after signing the agreement

First Security Islami Bank Limited’s Pahartoli Chowmuhoni Branch has recently received an award in silver category of Western Union Ambassador Competition 2013 at an award giving ceremony held at a hotel in Dhaka. Md Matiur Rahaman, business development manager of Western Union Singapore Pvt Ltd handed over the award to Mohiuddin, branch manager at Pahartoli Chowmuhoni Branch, Raozan

NRB Commercial Bank Limited inaugurated its 16th branch at Dargha Gate, Sylhet yesterday. The bank’s vice char and chair of its executive committee, Dr Toufique Rahman Chowdhury was present at the opening ceremony along with the mayor of Sylhet City Corporation, Ariful Haque Choudhury

When the value of his $20m portfolio plunged in the 2008 global financial crisis, luxury car enthusiast Gerard Tan followed a growing trend among Asia’s elite investors by turning to an independent adviser for help.

His bank had put most of his cash in volatile emerging market bonds, which were hammered by the financial turmoil.

Tan, who asked that his real name not be used, kept his money in the bank, but engaged the services of an adviser unrelated to the institution in order to staunch the losses.

Six years after the crisis, a growing number of Asia’s millionaires are turning to independent wealth advisers,

who offer professional advice for a fee much like doctors and lawyers do.

Without pushing clients to buy financial assets, they offer an alternative to wealth managers working for private banks, which traditionally generate revenues on commission.

Banks put the focus on selling and this can sometimes lead to risks being overlooked in favour of revenue, according to analysts.

“My positions were restructured and portfolio risks were managed,” said Tan, a publicity-shy father of two who owns a range of high-end cars.

“I feel a lot more comfortable now about my market exposure,” added the self-made businessman whose assets are now more than $40m. l

Trust Bank Limited recently held its 15th annual general meeting at Army Golf Club in Dhaka Cantonment. The bank’s vice chair, Major General Ashraf Abdullah Yussuf presided over the meeting where the shareholders approved 12% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013

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Monday, May 26, 2014

World Cup: money making no-brainer or costly folly? n AFP, Rio De Janeiro The World Cup will cost Brazil more than $11bn, a sum that sparked outraged protests and sent economists dashing for new data on an old question: is hosting global sports events worth it?

The protesters who have taken to the streets, sometimes violently, say Brazil would be better off spending on education, health and transport - areas where the gaping divide between rich and poor is most conspicuous in this sprawling country of 200 million people.

But Brazil’s leaders say hosting the tournament is about more than building stadiums and throwing a party.

“The Cup is not an economic panacea but a catalyst for Brazilian development,” tourism minister Vinicius Lages told AFP. “It was a key factor behind Brazil finally overhauling its infrastructure.”

He predicted the event would add about $13.6bn this year to the Brazilian economy - the world’s seventh-largest at $2.25tn - thanks to a tidal wave of foreign and domestic tourists.

Then there is the long term impact.

According to a 2012 report by consulting firm Ernst & Young and the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a Brazilian economics institute, the cup “will produce a surprising cascading effect on investments.”

The report estimated the Cup and 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will between them create 3.6 million jobs and add four percentage points a year to economic growth through 2019.

But it also warned that Brazil must ensure the benefits accrue to the entire population.

Ernst & Young said Brazil would be judged on its ability to “capitalize on the Cup’s legacies, turning them into permanent assets” thereby “reaching another socioeconomic and structural level.”

Brazilian way

‘Logical politics, absurd economics’

The experts are not unanimous.

In March, a report by ratings agency Moody’s forecast the World Cup would have a negligible effect on the economy, given Brazil’s sluggish growth since 2011.

Senior analyst Barbara Mattos said the tournament “will provide shortlived sales increases that are unlikely to materially affect earnings.”

Meanwhile, she warned, “disruptions associated with traffic, crowding and lost work days will take a toll on business.”

Studies show little long-term financial gain from sports extravaganzas, said Wolfgang Maennig, an economics professor at Hamburg University in Germany.

“There have been many investigations into the benefits derived from World Cups and Olympics, mostly showing that any benefit is just temporary,” said Maennig.

“For Germany (in 2006) there were high hopes but in the end people said, ‘Great event, great fun but did we gain financially? No.’” Maennig, an Olympic rowing champion in 1988, said Brazil’s decision to

Youngsters play football next to a mural with the portraits of famous football players at Tavares Bastos shantytown (favela) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil AFP build some of its shiny new stadiums in far-flung host cities with no discernible footballing tradition was “politically understandable -- but absurd in terms of pure economics.”

Then there are the intangibles that are impossible to calculate accurately.

Maennig said a repeat of mass protests like those that marred last year’s Confederations Cup, a World Cup

warm-up tournament, could nullify any financial gains by damaging Brazil’s brand.

“If there is violence, that will be a huge negative for Brazil’s image. But if Brazil can show it is a friendly country, then that would be a huge plus,” he said.

Brazil expects 600,000 foreigners and 3.1 million domestic tourists to at-

tend the tournament, spending an estimated $2,500 each.

If things go well, there is plenty of room for long-term tourism growth.

Despite world-famous attractions ranging from its rainforests to its beaches to its Carnival, the country received just six million tourists last year.

The Eiffel Tower alone received two million more.

Professor Rafael Alcadipani, a World Cup specialist and the Getulio Vargas Foundation, pointed out that the economy was struggling compared to when Brazil was awarded the Cup seven years ago.

“Then, it seemed Brazil was finally getting its act together. But people underestimated the costs, the public cash thrown at stadiums of doubtful longterm value,” he told AFP. “I think a more modest and concentrated event would give a better result.”

President Dilma Rousseff, who is up for reelection in October, says Brazilians should welcome the legacy of Cuprelated investment.

“Nobody coming here will put the airports, ports, urban mobility schemes, stadiums in their suitcase when they leave. This is our legacy,” she insisted.

But her chief of staff Gilberto Carvalho admits in the wake of ongoing protests that the government has been “incompetent in having a dialogue with Brazilian society regarding the World Cup.” Lages called for patience on all sides.

“We must not over-inflate expectations. This is about long-term planning,” said the tourism minister.

Sergio Bampi, a computer science professor and logistics expert at Rio Gande do Sul federal university in the southern host city of Porto Alegre, meanwhile urged realism.

“The thing many people don’t realize is that Brazil does things in its own fashion. This is not Europe,” he told AFP. l

Sony, still a Walkman in an iPad age, say analysts n AFP, Tokyo

Russian President Vladimir Putin (centre) applauds as Rosneft President Igor Sechin (right) shakes hands with Pirelli's CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera during an agreement signing ceremony at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2014 (SPIEF 2014) in St Petersburg on May 24. The Saint Petersburg Economic Forum is touted as Russia's answer to Davos, an annual meeting of global business leaders which President Vladimir Putin has attended every year since 2005 and often uses to sign major deals and rub shoulders with state leaders AFP

Forget apps, old-school mobiles ring in a comeback n AFP, Paris They fit in a pocket, have batteries that last all week and are almost indestructible: old-school Nokias, Ericssons and Motorolas are making a comeback as consumers tired of fragile and overlywired smartphones go retro.

Forget apps, video calls and smiley faces, handsets like the Nokia 3310 or the Motorola StarTec 130 allows just basic text messaging and phone calls.

But demand for them is growing and some of these second-hand models are fetching prices as high as 1,000 euros a piece.

“Some people don’t blink at the prices, we have models at more than 1,000 euros. The high prices are due to the difficulty in finding those models, which were limited editions in their time,” said Djassem Haddad, who started the site vintagemobile.fr in 2009.

Haddad had been eyeing a niche market, but since last year, sales have taken off, he said. Over the past two to three years, he has sold some 10,000 handsets, “with a real acceleration from the beginning of 2013”.

“The ageing population is looking for simpler phones, while other consumers want a second cheap phone,” he said.

Among the top-sellers on the website is the Nokia 8210, with a tiny monochrome screen and plastic buttons, at 59.99 euros.

Ironically, the trend is just starting as the telecommunications industry consigns such handsets to the recycling bins, hailing smartphones as the way ahead.

Finnish giant Nokia, which was undisputedly the biggest mobile phone company before the advent of Apple’s iPhone or Samsung’s Galaxy, offloaded its handset division to Microsoft this year after failing to catch the smartphone wave.

But it was probably also the supposedly irreversible switch towards smartphone that has given the old school phone an unexpected boost.

‘Back to basics’

For Damien Douani, an expert on new technologies at FaDa agency, it is simply trendy now to be using the retro phone.

There is “a great sensation of finding an object that we knew during another era - a little like paying for vintage sneakers that we couldn’t afford when we were teenagers,” Douani told AFP. There is also “a logic of counter-culture in reaction to the over-connectedness of today’s society, with disconnection being the current trend.”

“That includes the need to return to what is essential and a basic telephone that is used only for making phone calls and sending SMSes,” he added. It is also about “being different.

Today, everyone has a smartphone that looks just like another, while ten years ago, brands were much more creative”.

It is a mostly high-end clientele that is shopping at French online shop Lekki, which sells “a range of vintage, revamped mobile phones”.

“Too many online social networks and an excess of email and applications, have made us slaves to technology in our everyday life. But Lekki provides a solution, allowing a return to basic features and entertainments,” it said on its website.

A Motorola StarTac 130 - a model launched in 1998 - and repainted bright orange was recently offered for 180 euros, while an Ericsson A2628 with gold coloured keys for 80 euros.

“We have two types of profiles: the 25 to 35 year-olds attracted by the retro and offbeat side of a telephone that is a little different, and those who are nostalgic for the phone that they used when they were younger,” said Maxime Chanson, who founded Lekki in 2010.

“Some use it to complement their smartphone, but others are going for the vintage, tired of the technology race between the phone makers.” l

Sony’s latest bid to halt years of losses and resuscitate its brand has provoked snorts of derision among analysts who say it falls a long way short.

The criticism came after Sony president Kazuo Hirai on Thursday pledged to drag the electronics giant out of a painful restructuring in the current fiscal year and pointed to ultra-high-definition technology as a possible saviour for its money-losing TV unit.

Hirai, appointed in 2012 to revive a company mired in losses, has centred his attention on shaking up a troubled consumer electronics business, including the television unit, which alone has lost about 790bn yen ($7.8bn) over the past decade.

A week ago, Sony shocked investors with a $1.26bn annual loss - after several earnings downgrades - and warned it would be in the red again in the year to March 2015. Sony lost money in five of the last six years and Moody’s downgraded its credit rating on the firm to junk in January.

Hirai said the company was aiming for a 400bn yen operating profit in the next fiscal year, but that did little to impress analysts. Sony has long relied on profits it generated from a lesserknown insurance business, as well as movies and music operations to fill some of the yawning deficit in its higher-profile electronics segment.

“Our impression is quite negative.

We believe the firm needs to engage in a radical restructuring,” said Deutsche Bank analyst Yasuo Nakane.

He added that Thursday’s session “revealed absolutely no new information, ideas or strategies such as to change our view on the company”.

There is a real risk of earnings deterioration in hardware, making it unlikely that Sony will be re-rated as a premier content/network company ‘Earnings deterioration’

Hirai’s efforts to drag the TV business into the black have so far failed, but he has repeatedly shrugged off pleas to abandon a division that he insists remains central to Sony’s core business.

The firm also rejected a call from a US hedge fund billionaire to spin off part of its profitable entertainment arm, which includes a Hollywood studio that produced the latest instalment of “The Amazing Spider-Man” series.

Much of the losses last year stemmed

from costs tied to Sony’s exit from the personal computer business, part of its wider shakeup which has seen layoffs and asset sales -- including its Manhattan headquarters for more than $1bn.

Making money in consumer electronics has been a tough ask for Japanese manufacturers in recent years as razor-thin margins and tough competition from South Korea and Taiwanese competitors dented their finances.

Sony rivals Panasonic and Sharp have also suffered massive losses, although both recently reported annual profits for the first time in years after major restructurings.

Japanese firms have also trailed in the global smartphone business where Apple and Samsung dominate, while digital camera sales have been decimated as consumers turn to picturetaking phones and tablets.

Hirai argued that a plan to split up Sony’s TV business, exiting personal computers, driving into the medical equipment business and slashing costs would turn around Sony’s fortunes.

He also pointed to stronger sales of 4K ultra high-resolution TVs, which tend to have better profit margins than lower-end models, as the firm shrinks losses in the beleaguered business.

Sony is a leader in the next-generation technology which is currently found on large televisions from 50 inches and above, although a high price tag has so far been a barrier to big sales.

‘Run out of steam’

Record sales of Sony’s new PlayStation 4 games console are a potential bright spot, but the expensive launch of the system kept its games division in the red last year.

“We think it is premature to assume that Sony will be able to make the structural changes needed to stem losses given smartphone and digital camera market trends and commoditisation,” Goldman Sachs said in an analysis.

“Absent any news of a potential sale of the TV business after it is split out, risk of further earnings deterioration will remain.

“There is a real risk of earnings deterioration in hardware, making it unlikely that Sony will be re-rated as a premier content/network company,” it added.

A Japanese analyst who covers the company said Sony’s goal of a 400-billion operating profit was “too ambitious”. He also pointed to the costs tied to abandoning its PC division.

He added that the firm - once a byword for cool which revolutionised the way people listened to music with its Walkman portable cassette player needed more hit products.

“Mr. Hirai may have run out of steam” said the analyst, who asked not to be named.

“In the absence of appealing products to drive overall earnings ... we question whether the restructuring will be adequate to the scale of the challenges facing this company.” l

Output of Ambassadors halted, iconic car of official India n Reuters, Mumbai The maker of the iconic Ambassador has halted production of the car that was long the choice of Indian officialdom, citing weak demand and a lack of funds, casting doubt on the future of a vehicle that has looked essentially the same for more than five decades.

Hindustan Motors Ltd said in a statement that it had suspended work at its Uttarpara plant, outside Kolkata, until further notice.

Modelled after the British Morris Oxford, the Ambassador was the first car to be made in India and was once a status symbol, but began losing its dominance in the mid-1980s when Maruti Suzuki introduced its low-priced 800 hatchback.

It lost further cachet and market share when global automakers began setting up shop in India in the mid1990s, offering models with contemporary designs and technology.

The Ambassador has remained the choice of a dwindling share of bureaucrats and politicians, usually in white with a red beacon on top and a chauffeur at the wheel. It is also still in use as a taxi in some Indian cities.

In a statement on Saturday, Hindustan Motors cited “worsening conditions at its Uttarpara plant which include very low productivity, growing indiscipline, critical shortage of funds, lack of demand for its core product the Ambassador and large accumulation of liabilities.”

The company sold about 2,200 Am-

bassadors in the fiscal year ended in March 2014, a tiny share of the 1.8 million passenger cars sold during the year in India, according to industry data.

A new Ambassador in Kolkata starts at 515,000 rupees ($8,800), according to a dealer in the city.

“The suspension of work will enable the company in restricting mounting liabilities and restructure its organisation and finances and bring in a situation conducive to reopening of the plant,” the company said in its statement.

Some industry watchers said it would be difficult for the “grand old lady” of the Indian car market to make a comeback.

“In the present shape I don’t think the Ambassador has got any chances of revival,” said Deepesh Rathore at research firm Emerging Markets Automotive Advisors.

“It doesn’t make any business sense,” he said.

Abdul Majeed, a partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers India, said that to revive demand, Hindustan Motors would need to invest in shrinking the Ambassador and making it more fuel efficient, with success hardly assured.

Despite its dwindling sales, the distinctive car with its bulbous design and roomy interior has many admirers and was last year named the world’s best taxi by the BBC’s popular Top Gear television show.

In Kolkata, there were some 33,000 Ambassador taxis at the end of 2013.

“There are newer cabs in Kolkata of different companies now, but we still drive an Ambassador and cannot think of the city without it,” said Ashok Kumar Singh, 32, who has driven a yellow Ambassador taxi in Kolkata for a decade.

DILBERT

“She is my livelihood,” he said.

Struggling with falling sales, Hindustan Motors accumulated losses exceeding its net worth at the end of its financial year ended Sept. 30, 2013, and the company has been looking for investors. l