05 July 2014

Ashar 21, 1421 Ramadan 6, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 2, No 95

SATURDAY, JULY 5, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

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WEEKEND | SCHOOL POLITICS

LIFESTYLE ADJUSTMENT DURING RAMADAN

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16 pages plus 24-page supplement Avenue-T and 24-page weekend supplement | Price: Tk12

A SECRET KINGDOM AVENUE-T | A SHOPPER’S SHUTTLE

Rupali Bank to pay dividends

Mystery behind Ramzan killing starts unfolding n Mohammad Jamil Khan and Tazlina Zamila Khan

Central bank allegedly flouts rules to allow Rupali to do this without profit n Jebun Nesa Alo The central bank has reportedly flouted rules to allow state-owned Rupali Bank to declare a dividend although the company has not made any eligible profit last year.

When other state-owned banks such as the Sonali, Janata and BASIC banks are struggling with loan scams, frauds

A bank cannot disburse dividends if it runs with capital shortfall and capital shortfalls, the Bangladesh Bank had done so only to save Rupali Bank’s face in the share market, said a highly placed source.

Documents show that the 15% dividend that Rupali announced during its last month’s annual general meeting (AGM), comprised of full bonus shares and not a penny of cash incentive.

The source, who is a senior executive at the central bank, said the fact that the bank had been allowed to share profit without actually making any, would only misguide shareholders, who would lose out if they made

more investments in Rupali shares.

Existing rules suggest that banks require to compare their actual provisions with expected losses such as bad debts and asset depreciations. Any provisional shortfall would have to deducted from the capital base.

Despite suffering a massive provision shortfall of Tk552 crore, Rupali Bank showed a Tk40 crore profit for the year ended December 2013.

As of the same date, Rupali had a capital surplus of about Tk20 crore, which again is clearly not enough to cover for the huge provision shortfall, giving rise to a capital shortfall.

A bank cannot disburse dividends if it runs with capital shortfall, says the Bank Company Act. Considering that Rupali is a listed company, Bangladesh Bank allowed it to show the paper profit without maintaining the shortfall amount, said the central bank senior executive.

As of Thursday June 26, 2014, the bank’s shares were traded for Tk61.8.

The BB senior executive said this price was absolutely overvalued considering the financial condition of the bank.

Of the state-owned banks, only Rupali Bank is listed with the share  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Germany’s Mats Hummels, left, runs for celebration after scoring the only goal against France during their 2014 World Cup quarter-finals at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro yesterday REUTERS

Hummels heads Germany into semis n AFP, Rio de Janeiro

Mats Hummels headed Germany into the World Cup’s last four as his firsthalf goal sealed a 1-0 win over France in yesterday’s quarter-final at Brazil 2014.

The centre-back’s powerful 12th-minute header at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium means Germany now face either Brazil or Colombia in Tuesday’s semi-final at Belo Horizonte.

Germany produced a polished, improved display on their extra-time win

50% pharmacies unregistered n

Moniruzzaman Uzzal

Be careful where you buy your medicine from, since nearly half of the country’s pharmacies are unregistered and run by untrained professionals who sell a variety of drugs without being aware of the side effects.

According to the Directorate Gen-

eral of Drug Administration (DGDA), the country has 107,357 pharmacies with valid licences (as of April 2014), including 8,329 pharmacies that were handed licences in 2013.

A senior official at the DGDA, however, said the DGDA had run a survey in 2013 and found that the country had a further 100,000 pharmacies that were unregistered.

The number of pharmacies has reportedly grown tenfold since 1990, when the number of registered pharmacies was only 22,000.

When asked about the actual number of unregistered pharmacies, SM Sabrina Yesmin, a drug superintendent of the DGDA, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had not added  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

over Algeria in the last 16, to constantly frustrate France’s potent attack spearheaded by Karim Benzema.

2nd Round

Details on page-15

Seven of the German squad had suffered with mild flu in the build-up as Hummels retured to take Per Mertesacker’s place at centre-back.

Despite the Germans strangle-

hold on early possession, the first real chance feel to Benzema, who fired wide after seven minutes.

The Germans took the lead when Hummels, back in the side after missing Monday’s win over Algeria with flu, rose highest to head Toni Kroos’ free-kick.

His bullet header smashed in off the crossbar to claim his second goal of Brazil 2014 having also scored with a similar header in the 4-0 opening win over Portugal.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1 SEHRI & IFTAR TIME

Day Sehri Iftar Ramadan 6/July 5 – 6.54pm Ramadan 7/July 6 3.44am 6.54pm

A female name has widely surfaced in connection with the killing of two alleged muggers in a gunfight with the lawmen in the capital’s Motijheel area early Sunday.

The woman, Rupa, reportedly ran the show by calling on the deceased, Ramzan, a Sramik League leader, with whom she had an alleged extramarital affair, and thereby ensnaring him, culminating in his death.

Rupa, the sister of Khokon, another leader of Sramik League, was manipulated by her own brother, said Ramzan’s elder brother Shahjahan.

He said Ramzan had a long dispute with Khokon and other leaders over the collection of toll money realised from the bus owners for parking their vehicles at Sayedabad-Homna bus terminal in the capital.

Shahjahan said the killer’s name would be found if Ramzan’s mobile phone’s call list was checked.

The Dhaka Tribune contacted Rupa who confirmed that she had called on Ramzan after Asr prayers on the day before his murder.

“I called him for a personal reason,” said Rupa.

When asked what the personal reason was, she said: “The matter is so personal that I cannot share it with anybody.”

Rupa also described Ramzan as her elder brother’s friend and denied having any kind of illicit relation with him.

When queried further, she disconnected the call and switched off the phone.

Shahjahan said Rupa was completely aware of the whole murder plan.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

ANNOUNCEMENT Due to some unavoidable circumstances our readers at many places in the capital did not get Friday’s issue of the Dhaka Tribune. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience.

Today’s issue contains the Weekend Tribune along with the AvenueT.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Evacuating Bangladeshis from Iraq not necessary

Bodies of two Bangladeshi siblings arrive from Libya n Rabiul Islam Although Bangladeshis have been facing troubles in war-torn Iraq for a while, there is no need to evacuate them at this moment, said Expatriates’ Welfare Secretary Khandaker Showkat Hossain.

“There will be problems and we have to fight them,” he told the Dhaka Tribune over the phone yesterday, adding: “We are observing the situation in Iraq and our migrants have not run into insurmountable problems.”

Minister for Overseas Employment and Expatriates’ Welfare Khandker Mosharraf Hossain said earlier that the

government would evacuate Bangladeshis if necessary. According to the ministry, some 25,000 Bangladeshis are working in Iraq.

Meanwhile, the bodies of two Bangladeshi siblings Md Milon and Md Swapan, who were killed in a missile attack at their residential camp in Benghazi, Libya on June 21, arrived home early yesterday. They were the sons of Abdul Kuddus, a resident of Shariatpur.

A Turkish Airlines flight carrying the bodies landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 5:30am, said Anwar Jahid, assistant director of the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board under the

Ministry of Overseas Employment and Expatriates’ Welfare.

Md Mohsin Chowdhury, director of the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board, received the bodies at the airport and handed them over to their families.

The family was given Tk35,000 for each of the victims for burial, said Jahid.

An official of the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board said the situation in Libya was not good.

More Bangladeshis were killed there in the past, he added.

Khandaker Showkat, however, described the killing of the two siblings as an accident. l

Abdul Kuddus Sayal receives the bodies of his two sons –Swapan Sayal and Milon Sayal – at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday. The two siblings were killed in a missile attack in trouble-torn Libya on June 21 DHAKA TRIBUNE

12 bid for resuming Security guard killed trying to save college girl Dhaka-NY Biman flights from abduction in Uttara n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

Twelve international carriers have submitted bids for the CMI (crew, maintenance and insurance) management of Biman’s long-suspended Dhaka-New York flights, with the government reportedly planning to reopen the route by next summer.

This is the second time Biman has invited tender to appoint CMI partners for reopening the flights, which last operated in 2006.

According to Biman, the previous tender failed to receive satisfactory proposals under the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements.

As per FAA rules, it is mandatory for any flight on the route to have CMI management with category 1 air operator’s certificate. As Biman is a category 2 operator on the FAA list, it needs to hire a category 1 operator for managing its flights.

The Biman board of directors has already met once and is scheduled to meet again soon to discuss the bids.

“We have a plan to reopen the route before the next summer as the peak time for the route starts that time,” AM Mosaddique Ahmed, acting managing director of Biman, told the Dhaka Tribune last week.

Sources said only four of the 12 interested parties were based in the US and were likely to be selected as operators outside the US can get permission for seven months while US operators can get permission for a couple of years.

3 injured in cylinder blast at Uttara n BSS At least three persons suffered injuries, one of whom with burns, in a cylinder blast at Uttara in the city yesterday.

Sources said the accident occurred when the microbus was taking gas at RSR CNG Station at Abdullahpur Bus Stand around 2:15pm. They said a CNG station employee, Md Eklasuddin, suffered burn injuries, while microbus owner Harunur Rashid and his associate Sheikh Abdullah Babul suffered minor injuries as they were getting down from the vehicle. l

Hummels heads  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

The goal rocked the French defence as the Germans started exerting pressure.

Klose’s run into the box was held back by a tug on his shirt from rightback Mathieu Debuchy, while a Thomas Mueller half-chance was quickly snubbed out.

France’s best chance came on 33 minutes when Mathieu Valbuena’s shot was saved by Manuel Neuer and Benzema failed to control the follow-up, firing over the bar.

The French came close to being awarded a penalty just before the break when Benzema’s header hit Hummels in the stomach, missing his hands by inches.

Sami Khedira earned a deserved booking for fouling Griezmann on 54 minutes as France enjoyed a good spell of pressure as centre-back Raphael Varane’s header went straight to Neuer’s grateful hands.

Deschamps threw on forward Loic Remy and defender Laurent Koscielny for the final 20 minutes in a final throw of the dice.

But Germany’s replacement Andre Schuerrle should have made it 2-0 when he fired at French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris’ feet, then had a late shot blocked. l

The sources also said they had received two types of offers: one for a per block hour basis and another for a yearly contract.

The US-based Ryan International Airline has asked $2,900 for per block hour for a two-year contract while Atlas Air has asked $25.01m for one year and $49.99m for two years.

Omni Air International, another operator from the US, has asked $5,625 for per block hour; while US operator Southern Air asked $4,100 for per block hour for the first year and, if contract is extended, it will be $3,629 for per block hour.

A senior executive from Biman’s planning wing said they had some better offers in terms of cost-effectiveness; but Biman might face problems if seven-month FAA permissions were not extended after expiration.

Sources said Eagle Express from Malaysia made the cheapest bid, asking for only $2,817 per block hour, but it also faces the seven-month barrier.

“Now the decision will go to the board and they will have to choose from these offers if they want to reopen the Dhaka-New York flights by next summer,” a senior executive of Biman said.

Biman will also need to de-register two of its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft it wants to use for the route under the name of the hired operator.

In May, Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon said resuming the Dhaka-New York flights was a top priority of his ministry. l

Jamil Khan and n Mohammad Abid Azad

Unidentified miscreants set a 19-yearold college girl free at Uttara Sector 4 in the capital in the early hours of yesterday, about one hour after her abduction from the area.

The miscreants also shot dead a security guard and injured one of the friends of the girl as they came to her rescue.

Police rescued the girl one hour after the incident and arrested four persons for their alleged involvement with the abduction of the girl and killing of the security guard, Sahed Ferdous Rana, assistant commissioner of police of Uttara division, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He, however, refused to disclose the identity of the arrestees, saying that the investigation was underway.

Police sources said the detainees

include alleged mastermind Rummon, his father, a brother and one of his associates.

According to police and locals, Fatema Akhter, intermediate student of Cambrian School and College, along with her mother Nurun Nahar Saiful and friend Mahfuzul Haque was returning home on foot. When they reached near Helvetia fast food shop at Uttara Sector-4 about 11:15pm, a group of unidentified people picked Fatema in a white private car.

At that time, Mahfuzul, also the fiancé of Fatema, tried to resist the abductors, but they stabbed him badly.

Hearing the screams, security guard Liakat Hossain Liton, 38, came to her rescue, but abductors shot him in the abdomen and left the spot, Mohammad Saifuddin, investigation officer of the case and sub-inspector of Uttara east

Another woman, Kaniz, claimed to be Ramzan’s wife.

She told the Dhaka Tribune that they had gotten married two years ago and they had a little boy.

She, however, refused to make any comment about the murder.

On the other hand, Ramzan’s wife Nusrat Jahan Jhorna was completely unaware of both Rupa and Kaniz.

She told the Dhaka Tribune that she was hearing their names for the first time in her life.

Ramzan used to work as a lessee before joining the Sayedabad-Homna route bus terminal Sramik Leauge committee as a general secretary.

The committee was formed one month ago with Ramzan as the general secretary and Khayer as the president.

Ramzan’s wife Jhorna said Khayer used to appropriate the collection, depriving Ramzan of his due share.

n BSS Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday hosted an iftar party for her family members and relatives at Ganabhaban.

The PM went round different tables, exchanged pleasantries with them and inquired after their well-being. Her daughter Saima Hossain Putul was present at the event.

Before the iftar, a special munajat

was offered, seeking peace, progress and prosperity of the nation; eternal peace of the departed souls of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib and other martyrs of the August 15 massacre; martyrs of the Liberation War and the heroes of all democratic movements.

Baitul Mukarram Khatib Maulana M Salauddin Ahmed conducted the munajat. l

Around 400-500 vehicles had been parked at the terminal and each was charged Tk400 for daily parking, but Khayer never mentioned the actual number of vehicles parked at the terminal, she said, adding that the other leaders of the committee, Khokon, Zakir and Kamal, were also involved in the misappropriation.

Jhorna went on to say that her husband had warned the leaders not to cheat him of his due share of the toll money, but to no avail.

She said Khokon also threatened her husband with action.

“My husband used to say if anything happens to me in future, Khokon, Khayer, Zakir and Kamal will be responsible for that,” she said.

The widow alleged that some of her husband’s associates had told her that Khayer had manipulated the Detective Branch of police into killing her hus-

n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman The United Nations has decided to increase the pay scale of its peace-keepers under a staggered four-year plan.

Sources at the Foreign Ministry yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that the plan would be approved in the next general assembly.

A peace-keeper, who now draws a monthly salary of $1,028, will earn $1,322

band and paid the lawmen a bribe of Tk10,00,000.

The Dhaka Tribune managed to talk to Khairul Islam Khayer, the president of Sayedabad-Homna bus Sramik League at Gulistan-Gozaria bus terminal in the capital’s Gozaria.

Khayer branded Ramzan a top mugger and extortionist, saying there were a number of cases filed against him with different police stations in the capital.

He said Ramzan was killed in a gunfight with lawmen while he was trying to commit robbery in Motijheel.

The Dhaka Tribune also contacted Mostofa Kamal, former joint secretary of the bus terminal Sramik League.

He said there had been an old feud between Khayer and Ramzan, and Khayer had slapped Ramzan in one incident just two months ago.

“Now we hear that Khayer spent money to kill Ramzan to run his busi-

ness in the terminal unopposed,” Jhorna said.

She claimed that it was a planned killing in which Khokhon and Khayer were the masterminds.

Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner of DMP, said Ramzan had around 93 cases against him filed with different police stations, but his wife completely refuted the allegations.

When asked about the four leaders of Sramik League, he said yesterday that they were on the run and police were trying to arrest them.

The same happened to another deceased, Akmal, who was also the leader of the Sramik League committee.

Akmal’s wife told the Dhaka Tribune that her husband was involved in politics and locals respected him very much.

She said her husband also had disputes over the toll money with the other leaders of the committee. l

In 2012, the ICDDRB conducted a cross-sectional study of 100 randomly selected pharmacies in the capital, only to find that during 600 consultations, pharmacists had dispensed drugs in 76% of the cases.

Although the National Drug Policy prohibits pharmacists from dispensing any antibiotic without a physician’s prescription, the ICDDRB study found that 37% of patients received antibiotics and 39% received other drugs from pharmacies without prescription.

ABM Faruque, professor of the pharmacy department at Dhaka University, said medicine was not an everyday commodity like rice or potato, and the person in charge of a pharmacy must have a valid certificate from the pharmacy council and have enough knowledge about the safe and rational use of drugs.

The common antibiotic drugs were now unable to treat most patients as the indiscriminate use of the medicines has made people drug-resistant, he added.

Faruque said the DU pharmacy department ran a sample survey in 20112012 on 187 pharmacies (representative samples from metropolitans, districts, upazilas and villages), and estimated that the country had around 221,000 pharmacies – both registered and unregistered.

At the time, DGDA figures put the number of licensed pharmacies at 82,000.

Monir Hossain, assistant secretary general of Bangladesh Chemist and Druggist Somittee, admitted that the number of unregistered and illegal pharmacies has been increasing and most of them were running without trained pharmacists.

He alleged that the DGDA authority was issuing several pharmacy licences against a single registration number.

Sources within the drug administration also told the Dhaka Tribune that an unscrupulous quarter has been producing fake pharmacy council slips, which are being used to issue thousands of pharmacy licences. l

50% pharmacies unregistered  PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

up the huge list of unregistered pharmacies at different districts and upazilas sent by the drug superintendents concerned. However, snubbing out allegations that there were over 100,000 illegal pharmacies in the country, DGDA Director Selim Barami claimed that the number of unregistered pharmacies would not exceed 10,000.

According to the existing drug act, no pharmacy can be given a licence and allowed to run its business if it did not have a registered trained pharmacist.

Md Ruhul Amin, a director and spokesman of the DGDA, told the Dhaka Tribune that they were trying to get all the pharmacies to procure licences and to ensure the appointment of trained pharmacists.

From January to December last year, 169 mobile court drives were conducted in 646 pharmacies; with a total Tk41,972,000 fines imposed and 163 people sent to jail, he added.

Nurun Nahar, mother of the victim, told the Dhaka Tribune that two of her daughter’s college teachers Biplob and Adri often used to tease her daughter and used to make love proposal. “My daughter has told me that she was rejecting the proposal. I think they might have involvement in the incident.”

Nurun Nahar, wife of Saiful Islam Mollah, a resident of Gazipur, filed a case with the Uttara east police station in this regard.

Nisharul Arif, deputy commissioner of police of Uttara division, told the Dhaka Tribune that soon after the incident, police started their drive and rescued the girl within one hour after the abduction.

Police also detained several persons for interrogation, he said, adding that they were trying to hunt down the mastermind. l

PM hosts iftar for relatives UN peace-keepers get pay hike

Mystery behind Ramzan killing starts unfolding  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

police station, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Liton was admitted to Al-Ashraf Hospital and later shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where the doctors declared him dead around 1.30am, he said, adding that injured Mahfuzul, son of Fazlul Haque, was undergoing treatment at Central Hospital at Uttara.

Fazlul Haque, father of Mahfuzul, refused to make any comment on the issue and said they had no relation with the Fatema family.

Police took the girl to one stop crisis centre at DMCH for check-up as abductors confined her for an hour. Lubna Akther, assistant commissioner of Uttara division, told the Dhaka Tribune that they admitted the girl for medical check-up and collected samples to check whether the abductors caused any harm to her.

“In 2013, at least 673 cases were lodged against pharmacies for a number of reasons including operating without registration and selling unregistered, substandard drugs,” Ruhul Amin said.

According to the Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh, it had issued valid registrations to only 81,117 people as “C” category pharmacists.

On the other hand, the DGDA has reportedly given more than 26,000 drug licences without cross-checking if the pharmacists had valid registration.

Seeking anonymity, several senior DGDA officials claimed that it was near-impossible for only a limited number of drug administration officials to monitor over 200,000 pharmacies, as they also had to oversee a vast array of tasks including inspecting pharmacies, and regulating import, export, sales and pricing of all medicines.

The DGDA currently has less than 60 officials who are tasked with monitoring and supervising the entire drug sector.

in the first year under the new plan.

The pay would ultimately stand at $1,410 in the fourth year, said an official of the Foreign Ministry.

The new pay scale was reached through a hectic negotiation between the UN and the donors as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had proposed a hike to $1,762 and the donors saying they were ready to pay $1,250. l

Rupali Bank  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

market. Although the government has always wanted to bring the other banks into the market, it could not because of the huge losses they had been making.

Against this backdrop, the government did not want to give out a negative message to the general investors about Rupali Bank shares, the central banker said.

He alleged that the central bank was pressured by the Finance Ministry to violate its own rules despite the governor’s reluctance.

“Allowing Rupali Bank to show profit without maintaining the provision shortfall is not a logical decision because the bank will never be able to meet the shortfall,” said Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, former governor of Bangladesh Bank.

“Shareholders are being cheated in many ways. It will be unfortunate if they are cheated by the bank too,” he said.

Rupali Bank fell into crisis after signing a memorandum of understanding with the central bank as it could not disburse loan beyond a certain limit. As a result, the bank’s income suffered.

Moreover, the bank has been recently punished for exceeding the loan growth ceiling in December 2013.

The central bank instructed Rupali Bank to deposit Tk284 crore in a blocked account as penalty for failure to retain its high loan growth at 10%.

The amount of classified loan of Rupali Bank increased rapidly last year because of a sluggish business environment. As a result, the provision shortfall rose, said Rupali Bank Managing Director Farid Uddin.

“Profit will be negative if the provision shortfall amount is maintained.

We have already got time from Bangladesh Bank to maintain it by September [2014],” he said.

“But we hope that we will be able to cover the shortfall amount within the stipulated time as our parties are good,” he said. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Extortionists reemerge ahead of Eid They demand money claiming to be top criminals, use fake SIM cards to make threatening calls n Mohammad Jamil Khan Seasonal extortionists are allegedly back in business ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, as businessmen and traders in the capital are receiving phone calls where the callers demand extortion, claiming to be top criminals.

A group of muggers, allegedly backed by some notorious criminals who went into hiding during the massive crackdown by law enforcers, are said to be behind such acts.

The names the callers mention while demanding extortion include Shahid Shahadat, Jishan, Subrata and Bikash, said intelligence sources.

Police have recently received written complaints about such threatening calls made to a number of businesspeople in Gendaria, demanding money from them and a probe into this is currently underway.

The detective branch of police has learnt that the calls to the Gendaria businessmen were made from fake SIM cards with no valid addresses. The callers are even using different phones to make the calls so that police are unable to trace the IMEI numbers.

Jahangir Hossain Matubbor, deputy commissioner (East) of DB police, told the Dhaka Tribune they had found the numbers unreachable.

“In such cases, we are asking the operators to suspend the connections of the SIM cards,” he said.

Jahangir said they had already arrested several extortionists and no one committing any crime would be spared.

On Sunday, a tailor shop owner received an anonymous call and the caller identified himself as the accomplice of Dakat Shahid. He demanded Tk1,000,000 as Eid bonus.

Sources say in most cases, victims do not lodge complaints with police as they fear the criminals will somehow find out about it. Fearing for their lives, they send the money through bKash and other mobile banking services.

Requesting anonymity, a businessman in Mirpur said he received a call a couple of weeks earlier and the caller demanded Tk200,000.

“My wife was scared and sent the money through bKash,” he said.

Besides using the names of criminals, ruling party men, including Chhatra League and Jubo League activists, have been said to be involved in demanding extortion from people.

On June 27, miscreants shot a person named Alam near Banasree police outpost for not giving the money they demanded from him.

Alam’s cousin Sahed said his brother worked as a caretaker of a half-built

3

Saturday, July 5, 2014

building and was shot because he did not pay the money miscreants had asked for.

“They also threatened my brother, saying that he would lose his life if the money was not paid soon,” Sahed added.

Alamgir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Rampura police station, told the Dhaka Tribune some ruling party men were likely involved in the act but nothing can be said for certain without completing the probe.

Allegations of extortion were raised against criminals and law enforcers alike. Salman Shikdar Biki and Masudur Rahman, both traders by profession, claimed that Jessore police had shot them when they refused to pay the Tk1,000,000 demanded from them.

According to sources, Muktar and Mohosin, identifying themselves as

Shahadat’s abettors, demand extortion in Old Dhaka. In Mohammadpur, Emon, Mamun and Arif demand extortion. Faruk, Niamat, Mashua and Aynal do it in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Shibu and Labu in Keraniganj, Kawsar, Shahadat and Masud in Shyampur, and Solaiman and Uzzal in Basabo and Mugda.

ATM Habibur Rahman, director of media and legal wing of RAB, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Demanding extortion is not a new phenomenon but rather an old practice of criminals. They just try to change their strategy to commit the crime.”

“Many criminals use fake photographs and wrong addresses while registering SIM cards. They use the numbers to perpetrate crimes,” he said.

“Intelligence officials and law enforcers, including RAB, are trying to nab the criminals as always,” added Habibur. l

3 Hijb ut-Tahrir men arrested n Kailash Sarkar

Three active members of the banned Islamist outfit Hijb ut-Tahrir were arrested in the capital’s Badda area yesterday after Jumma prayers.

Azizur Rahman Nayan, 29, Andalib Rahman Rajon, 25, and Nazmul Huda were distributing leaflets along with other members near Hajipara Jame Mosque when police detained them, said Inspector MA Jalil, officer-in-charge of Badda police station.

Of them, Nayan works in a bank and the others are students, said the inspector.

The Bangladesh wing of Hizb utTahrir was banned on October 22, 2010 for its subversive, anti-state activities.

Since the ban of the organisation, around 1,000 of its members have been arrested, but most of them are now out on bail.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international Islamist political party founded in Jerusalem in 1953. It commenced its activities in Bangladesh in 2000. l

MUGGING IN DHAKA

Muggers turn arrogant, police perform poorly n Kailash Sarkar Money or other valuables lost in mugging, robbery and theft are hardly recovered, demonstrating the poor performance of the law enforcing agencies and leaving people frustrated.

As a consequence, criminals are becoming arrogant and the number of such incidents, especially mugging, is increasing in the capital.

At least 18 incidents of mugging have been reported since June 5, when around Tk1 crore was looted in separate events by gangs of muggers, leaving at least 25 people shot and stabbed.

None of that money has been recovered yet, nor have any of the culprits been arrested.

Most of the recent mugging victims were distributors or agents of the mobile banking system, bkash.

On June 22, Tk11 lakh was forcibly taken from two employees of bKash distributors in the capital’s Uttara area in separate incidents. Both were shot as well.

Badruddin Mamun, a bkash distributor, lost Tk30.92 lakh in a mugging incident on June 19 in Hazaribagh, where muggers shot two of his employees and stabbed another one.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Mamun said: “Such incidents are taking place every day, but police are taking no action to recover the money or to arrest the criminals.”

On June 6, muggers shot and snatched Tk3.14 lakh from an employee of a bKash agent in Rampur. On June 5,

Tk4 lakh was looted from a bKash employee Kazi Ramjan, 36, in Rampura.

To tackle these situations, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police authorities have initiated monitoring of the monetary transactions by the bKash centres. For this purpose, all the police stations under the DMP were given directives on June 24 to prepare lists of all the bkash centres in their respective jurisdictions.

Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner of the DMP, said: “All the police stations have been issued letters with instructions to prepare lists of all the bKash centres in their concerned areas.

All the owners and employees of the bKash centres have also been requested to take police escorts while carrying or transferring large amounts of money.”

He said if the owners or the employees of the bKash centres had taken police escorts, such incidents might have not taken place.

When asked about the failure in recovering the looted money and to arrest the criminals, he claimed that police had solved at least two such cases so far – one in Rampura and another in Mirpur.

“We are trying to solve all the incidents, recover the looted money and arrest the criminals,” he said.

Wing Commander ATM Habibur Rahman, director of the Legal and Media Wing of Rapid Action Battalion, said the elite force is always busy arresting the criminals and drives to arrest such criminals are always on. l

2 killed, 6 injured as bus crashes onto footpath n Tribune Report Two persons were killed and six others injured as a recklessly-driven bus got onto the footpath in front of the Purabi Cinema Hall at Mirpur 11 in the capital yesterday afternoon.

One of the victim Chan Mia, 35, was a tea stall vendor in the area and another Shahnaz Akhter, 45, was a finishing helper at Klemon Garment of Mirpur 7.

Shahnaz was on her way home to attend iftar with her family members when

the incident took place, the police said.

Police said the killer bus of “Bihongo Poribohon” had been seized and the driver of the bus, Billal, 40, was lynched by the passers-by but was handed over to the police later.

The incident took place around 5pm when the driver lost control of the bus and got onto the footpath, leaving one dead on the spot and another injured.

Later the injured was pronounced dead at the DMCH. Six injured were also admitted to the hospital, said the sources. l

This bridge in the picture was built eight years back on the Shib River at Tanore in Rajshahi. The bridge was planned to connect Tanore with Mohanpur Upazila but it was constructed at a cost of TkTk3 crore and 35 lakh before the approach roads were built. As a result the bridge has remained useless. Local people say the construction of the road during the monsoon will again cause a loss of large amount of money from the government coffer as with the water level rising the newly-built mud-road is slowly going under water AZAHAR UDDIN

EC files case against HM Ershad n Tribune Report

The Election Commission has filed a case against Jatiya Party chairman HM Ershad for failing to submit his Lalmonirhat-1 constituency poll expenditure return on time for the 10th parliamentary elections held on January 5.

The sadar police station recorded the case on Thursday although the returning officer, Habibur Rahman, who is also the Lalmonirhat deputy commissioner, had applied to have the case against Ershad accepted some weeks before.

On May 18, the Election Commission asked the returning officer to file a case against Ershad and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal candidate Sadequl Islam for failing to submit their poll expenditure returns on time.

Habibur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that he had filed two cases- one against against Ershad and another against Sadekul.

Asked why the police took so long to record the case, the police station officer-in-charge AHM Mahfuzur Rahman said there was a delay because the police had to investigate the matter after receiving the complaints.

“We are investigating these cases.

The investigation report will be submitted soon,” he said.

Lalmonirhat police chief Mohajidul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that the cases were now under investigation.

“We will submit the investigation report to the court. Action will be taken after investigating the matter,” he said.

HM Ershad, who is now the Prime Minister’s special envoy, lost the Lalmonirhat-1 elections.

Ershad also submitted nominations for the Rangpur-3 and Dhaka-17 parliamentary constituencies. Before the polls, Ershad applied to withdraw his nomination from all three constituencies. The commission accepted his application to withdraw his nomination for the Dhaka-17 constituency. He submitted his poll expenditure return for the Rangpur-3 seat on time.

According to the Representation of the People Order (RPO), candidates or their agents must submit the poll expenditure return to their respective returning officers within the stipulated time. The law states that any violation of the order was subject to a punishment of 2-7 years imprisonment, the payment of a fine, or both.

A total of 543 candidates contested

the 10th parliamentary elections held on January 5.

Meanwhile, Ershad urged the government not to criticise the government, claiming that the Awami League would not come to power if his party had not taken part in the January 5 election.

At an Iftar party organised by the Jatiya Party’s associate body Jatiya Sromik Party at Diploma Engineering institute, Ershad said, “Please do not criticise Jatiya Party. If Jatiya Party had not taken part in the elections, you [Awami League] would not have come to power. And the democratic process would have been hampered. So, be careful when talking about Jatiya Party.”

He also claimed that he did not have any way but to take power in 1982 because there was pressure on him. The then president Abdus Sattar had also backed him at that time.

“Now we feel embarrassed when we see bank robbers milling around you.”

The former military strongman blamed unemployment behind the rise in crime rate in the country. “There are 28 lakh people unemployed in the country, for this reason, crimes are going up day by day.” l

ICDDRB researchers get Shepard Award n Moniruzzaman Uzzal Researchers at the ICDDRB have received the prestigious Shepard Award 2013 for a paper on the vaccine for Haemophilus influenzae type B (HiB).

Every year, the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) selects a scientific paper for the Shepard Award, which recognises scientific excellence and originality. For 2013, the award went to ICDDRB researchers for their article titled, “Impact of Introduction of the Haemophilus Influenzae Type B Conjugate Vaccine into Childhood Immunisation on Meningitis in Bangladesh Infants,” which was published in The Journal of Paediatrics in July 2013.

Nasmeen Ahmed, senior manager (communications) of the ICDDRB, confirmed that they had received a letter in this regard at the end of June.

The paper reported an assessment of the impact and coverage of introducing the HiB conjugate vaccine into the Bangladesh government’s Expanded Programme on Immunization on purulent and laboratory confirmed H influenzae meningitis. l

Jubo Dal activist dies in custody n Our Correspondent, Jessore

With Eid still about a month away, shoppers spill onto the streets near Gausia and New Market in the capital yesterday

MEHEDI HASAN

Allegedly tortured by Kotwali police, Samiuzzaman Uzzal, 32, an activist of Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal in Jessore town, died at Jessore Central Jail yesterday.

Sources in the victims family as well as in BNP said Uzzal, who was also former joint secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal’s Jessore unit, died after being tortured by the police and due to the negligence of the jail authority. However, police and the jail authority claim that he was sent to jail, in safe custody, for drug addiction.

Moniruzzaman, the victim’s father, said the Kotwali police arrested Uzzal from their residence on June 20 without any allegation. He was tortured by police as they were not given the money they demanded from the family.

Syed Saberul Haque Sabu, general secretary of BNP’s Jessore district unit, told the Dhaka Tribune that the victim was not treated properly by the jail authority.

“We will give the details at a press conference tomorrow (Saturday),” he added.

Shahidul Islam, officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station, said the victim was in safe custody for drug addiction.

However, he denied the allegation of torture. “His father sent him to safe custody,” he said.

Shahjahan Mia, superintendent of

Jessore Central Jail, said Uzzal was taken to Jessore Medical College Hospital after he fell ill in prison around 10am. He was pronounced dead on arrival by the on-duty doctors.

Shafiullah Sabuj, medical officer at Jessore Medical College Hospital, said the victim died before arriving at the hospital. l

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News

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Power Division to place proposal on Bibiyana south plant construction n Aminur Rahman Rasel The Power Division will place a proposal for the approval of the construction of the 400MW gas-based combined cycle Bibiyana south power plant in Habiganj at the cabinet committee meeting on public purchase tomorrow.

For the first time, the government will be using the Energy Development and Maintenance Fund, which was created by introducing an additional amount with the price of electricity to finance this project, to build the plant in place of the cancelled Bibiyana 1 project with Summit Group.

“The gas-based power plant project was planned considering the availability of gas. We forwarded the proposal last week for the approval of the cabinet committee on purchase,” Power Secretary Monowar Islam told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“The plant is expected to help improve access to electricity, reliability and ensure quality supply to the consumers,” he added.

The government has already selected Isolux Ingenieria SA of Spain and Samsung C&T Corporation of South Korea, which were the lowest bidders out of six in the tender call, to build the

plant as an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors.

Isolux and Samsung were selected as the as the lowest bidders at $288 million.

The Power Development Board (PDB), under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, will implement the project.

“We hope we will be able to sign the companies as EPC contractors by September this year,” Power Development Board Chairman Md Abduhu Ruhulla told the Dhaka Tribune.

“After signing of the EPC contract, the PDB requires owner’s engineer for the implementation of this project.

Construction period for this project is 900 days, including a simple cycle completion time of 720 days,” he said.

Around Tk1,800 crore will be used from the consumers’ bill fund created by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission, the Energy Development and Maintenance Fund, for constructing the power plant.

The PDB has already invited the expression of interest (EOI) from reputed international engineering consulting firms for providing consultancy services as owner’s engineer for the construction of the plant. The last date for EOI submission is July 16. l

University student arrested for campus violence n Our Correspondent, Barisal Police have arrested a student at Barisal University on charges of ransacking the registrar office and injuring four officials, including the assistant registrar.

Saidul Islam, a third-year student of economics, was arrested yesterday.

He was one of the accused in the case lodged in connection with the incident that happened on June 5.

Shakhawat Hossain, officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station, said the student was arrested in Bibir Pukur Par area around 5pm and he would be produced before the court.

Apart from Saidul, Aqib Zaved Khan and Al-Mamun (marketing), Reza Sharif and Enamul Huq Moni of (management studies), and Mithun Dey (political science) were named accused,

along with 50 unnamed others, in the case lodged by Saiduzzaman, estate officer of the university, on June 7 with the Kotwali police station.

The university authorities held a meeting at their Dhaka office on June 30 and decided to expel the six students till issuance of further order on charges of breaking academic discipline.

A six-member probe committee headed by syndicate member Professor Md Hanif was also formed and it was asked to submit a report within 28 working days from July 2.

“The university would remain closed for Ramadan and eid vacation from July 13 but the date was supposed to be July 22 earlier. As July 11 and 12 would be weekly government holidays, the university will actually be closed from July 10,” said acting registrar Manirul Islam. l

Rickshaw pullers maneuver their rickshaws through lane dividers in violation of traffic rules. Such crossing of one lane over to the other also creates tailback and very often causes serious accidents. The photo was taken yesterday from Topkhana Road in the capital MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

BGB fence a fright for Baghaichhari school students Azad, back from n Abid Khagrachari Sujata Chakma (not her real name), who is a fifth grader at Baghaichhari Government Primary School 2, was scared to see armed military officials and vehicles on her way to school.

Her parents said the way to school, situated in Dighinala upazila of Khagrachhari, was entirely blocked by fence.

Most of the students are scared to come to school and attend classes seeing members of 51 Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) battalion and the fence on the way, said headmaster of the school Achintya Bikash Chakma.

“The school has 105 students and three teachers. 41 students receive government stipend,” he said.

Established in 1967, the school is one of the oldest schools in the upazila and was nationalised in 1973 and reformed in 2009-2010, Achintya said.

“The area is surrounded by fence.

Sometimes only two to three students show up but there are times when not even a single student attends classes.

There are only two ways to reach the school. One is taken by BGB vehicles while the other is always inaccessible to students because of the presence of BGB men. The students thus find it scary to take either of the roads,” he added.

Recalling the June 10 clash, the headmaster said: “It erupted between law enforcers and indigenous people but had a haunting impact on students.

They were, and still are, scared which is why attendance has dropped.”

“We are now displaced from our land and took shelter at Babuchhara High School as we have no place to live.

How can our children attend classes as we could not even bring our belongings with us?” said Mrinal Kanti Chakma, father of a student at Baghaichhari Government Primary School 2.

“I could not bring my books, clothes and other necessary stuff. I do not know when I can get back to school,” said a female student of the school.

Mrinal said: “14 students, along with their families, of Baghaichhari school have taken shelter at Babuchhara school as they have been displaced

WHO targets TB elimination in over 30 countries n Moniruzzaman Uzzal The World Health Organisation (WHO), together with the European Respiratory Society (ERS), has presented a new framework to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) in countries with low levels of the disease.

Under the framework, around 33 countries and territories will be targeted where there are fewer than 100 TB cases per million people.

The framework outlines an initial “pre-elimination” phase, aiming to have fewer than 10 new TB cases per million people per year by 2035 in these countries.

The goal is to then achieve full elimination of TB by 2050, defined as less than 1 case per million

people per year.

The WHO and the ERS have issued a joint press release regarding the decision on July 3.

The proposed framework builds on approaches that are already proving successful. It was developed with experts from low-burden countries and adapted from the new WHO global TB strategy, 2016-35, approved by the World Health Assembly in May 2014.

“Low TB-burden countries already have the means to drive down TB cases dramatically by 2035,” said Dr Hiroki Nakatani, WHO assistant director-general.

“Universal health coverage, which ensures everyone has access to the health services they need without suffering financial hard-

ship as a result, is the bedrock. The key is to target smart TB interventions toward the people who need them the most,” Nakatani said.

The new WHO framework highlights the effectiveness of eight key interventions in a coherent package for impact in the target countries: ensure funding and stewardship for planning and high quality services, address most vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups, address special needs of migrants; cross-border issues, undertake screening for active TB and latent TB infection in high-risk groups and provide appropriate treatment; manage outbreaks, optimise MDR-TB prevention and care, ensure continued surveillance and programme

monitoring and evaluation, invest in research and new tools and support global TB control.

The countries and territories to be targeted are Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Puerto Rico, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Although TB is preventable and curable, in these 33 settings, 155,000 people still fall ill each year and 10,000 die. Millions are infected and are at risk of falling ill. l

Barisal prisoner dies in custody n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Football has now become rather popular in every nook and corner of the country as the World Cup 2014 fever has gripped the whole nation. Be it a play field or a very little space in between autumn kans grass (kashful) fields, buoyant youths make the best use of it. The photo was taken yesterday from Srirampur in Rajshahi DHAKA TRIBUNE

A prisoner on trial for murder died yesterday afternoon while in custody in Barisal.

Barisal Central Jail Jailer Shamim Iqbal said Shakhawat Hossain Badsha, 55, from Jhalakathi district was accused in different cases of murder and terrorism.

He was detained as an under-trial prisoner in Jhalakathi district jail and was sent to Barisal central jail for treatment on June 24. He died at Sher E Bangla Medical College Hospital.

Dr Abdul Mannan of SBMCH said Shakhawat died from heart disease at about 4pm after being admitted at 5am on the same day.

His dead body will be handed over to family members after an autopsy is performed, Barisal central jail senior jail superintendent Subrata Kumar said. l

from their land.”

The government allocated 29.81 acres of land to BGB on May 15, but Baghaichhari school is situated on two acres within that land, according to Khagrachhari district administration officials. The BGB battalion acquired the land on June 10 and built fence around the entire area.

Khagrachhari Deputy Commissioner Masud Karim told the Dhaka Tribune: “Actually, I do not think it is a big problem. If students can attend Bir Shreshtha Noor Mohammad Public College situated inside BGB headquarters in Dhaka then why should that be a problem here?”

“It is, however, unacceptable that a school area will be surrounded by fence. We had a meeting with BGB officials and instructed them to remove the fence,” he said.

Deputy Commander of 51 BGB battalion Major Kamal Uddin, however, said their presence was not an obstacle to going to school for any student, adding: “The school is open for all and students can attend classes. We do not create any hindrance.” l

Abducted businessman rescued in Savar n Our Correspondent, Savar Police yesterday rescued a kidnapped businessman from the capital’s Savar yesterday and arrested four suspects, including women, in this connection.

The victim, Aminul Islam, hails from village Kaligram under Singair upazila in Manikganj district. The arrested were Shahin, 32, Jesmin Akter, 28, Sathi Akter, 25, and Yasin Monir, 42.

Police said Aminul was called on his cell phone by Jesmin Akter on Thursday and asked to go to Savar Bazar. The abductors then confined him at a flat owned by Nur Nabi of Shahibag Mahalla in Savar municipality and demanded Tk5 lakh as ransom from his family.

The abductors allegedly tortured the victim when his family denied to pay the ransom. Later, Singair police used mobile tracking technology to rescue the victim from the apartment and arrested the two women and other members of the kidnapping ring yesterday.

Officer-in-Charge of Savar Model police station Mostafa Kamal confirmed the news. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

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Saturday, July 5, 2014

Iftar shops create havoc on city roads DMP fails to free city’s walkways, streets from hawkers and illegal car parking

n Abu Hayat Mahmud Pedestrians, commuters and vehicular movement continue to suffer greatly in the capital since illegal roadside iftar shops and haphazardly parked cars occupy most of the city’s walkways.

As authorities concerned continue to turn a blind eye to the public’s suffering, iftar sellers, fruit traders, hawkers and vendors have been taking advantage of the situation, ever since the start of Ramadan, by setting up shops on roads and footpaths and causing traffic deadlocks in most of the capital’s thoroughfares.

'If we find any makeshift iftar shops on footpaths or streets, we will remove the shops and take legal actions against them' At the same time, as people gear up for Eid-ul-Fitr, illegal parking in front of different shopping malls has increased and private cars and rickshaws are seen blocking major portions of busy roads and alleys.

Such illegal activities have been continuing in capital even when the Dhaka Metropolitan Police had earlier warned that they would not allow any makeshift shops to do business on the city’s footpaths and streets during Ramadan.

BCC demolishes foreign and mixed language signboards n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Barisal City Corporation (BCC) conducted drives yesterday to evict signboards, billboards, poly-signs, banners, festoons written in foreign or mixed languages.

Jahangir Molla, sanitary inspector of BCC, said Imtiaj Ahmed Jewel, BCC executive magistrate, led the drives, as per the direction of the High Court, to remove signboards written in foreign or mixed languages.

BCC evicted more than 35 signboards from different areas of the city including Sadar Road and other areas during a two-day drive in July.

A total of 14 drives were conducted from June till July 3, 5 cases were lodged and Tk5,500 fines were taken from seven persons in such drives, the BCC official added. l

WEATHER

LIGHT RAIN

SATURDAY, JULY 5 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 5:06PM SUN RISES 6:50AM FORECAST FOR TODAY 32

Dhaka

28

Chittagong

31

26

Rajshahi

30

26

Rangpur

30

26

Khulna

32

26

Barisal

32

26

Sylhet

31

25

Cox’s Bazar

30

26

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

34.9ºC Sylhet

25.5ºC Chittagong

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zahr Asr Magrib Esha

3:49am 5:15am 12:03am 4:45pm 6:50pm 8:17pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

Before Ramadan began, DMP Commissioner Benazir Ahmed said: “Temporary shops selling iftar obstruct vehicular movement during Ramadan every year. Such types of makeshift shops will be allowed to do business on footpaths this year.”

“There will be a huge number of law enforcers engaged in controlling such illegal activities alongside drives against the adulteration of food during Ramadan,” he added.

However, yesterday this correspondent found that hundreds of temporary iftar and fruit shops were engaged in brisk business, occupying public walkways, streets and even portions of different busy roads at prime spots of the capital, such as Farmgate, Gulistan, Motijheel, New Market, Mirpur, Mogbazar, Malibagh, Mouchak, Badda, Uttara, Gabtoli, Jatrabari, among others.

“We cannot walk on any side of the road or on the footpaths from Motijheel to Purana Paltan and even vehicles cannot move freely on the road as these illegal iftar shops and fruit vendors now occupy most of the walkways,” Hamidur Rahman, an employee of a private organisation in Motijheel, told the Dhaka Tribune when returning home from office.

He also said before every Ramadan, the law enforcers promise that they will take measures to stop such nuisances and end public harassment, but every time they fail to make any difference.

When contacted, DMP Deputy Commissioner for Media and Publication Masudur Rahman could not be reached over the phone despite repeat-

A iftar shop is set up on the road at Shahbagh in the capital, which hampers movement of pedestrians as well vehicles ed attempts.

He, however, told the media earlier: “If we find any makeshift iftar shops on footpaths or streets, we will remove the shops and take legal actions

against them.”

However, Kamal, the owner of a roadside iftar shop in Motijheel, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have been doing business here since the begin-

Ctg JCD leader goes from rags to riches

ning of Ramadan, like many other iftar sellers in the area. We have been doing this every year and the police never give us any trouble.”

At the same time, many busy roads

brought against him for embezzling money from flat buyers.

According to local sources, Morshed comes of an insolvent family at Azadi Bazar village under Fatikchhari upazila in Chittagong.

As his father was a day labourer, Morshed was engaged as a house tutor for bearing his educational expenses.

When he was a student of political science department at Chittagong University, he resided at a rented tin-shed room in the port city.

According to Chittagong University sources, Morshed first joined Islami Chharta Shibir as the university’s student politics was dominated by the organisation, but he joined JCD later.

He along with some of his friends set up the real estate company and started collecting money deceiving people, DB sources said.

After becoming millionaire from a house tutor, Morshed also started donating his illegal money to militant activities while his name was at the top of the intelligence report.

Quoting an intelligence report, Sub-Inspector Mohammad Sharif of Hathazari police station said Morshed provided money to the militants.

Abul Hossain, Hefzatur Rahman, Mahmudur Rahman, Mohsin Haider Sikdar, Md Shahnewaj, Abdul Jabbar and Jesmin Akhter filed cases against him.

DB Inspector Liakat Ali said 24 cases had been filed against him so far, but most of the victims had not lodged any

Jamal Hossain, former director of GTC Properties and Term Builders said, “Morshed Billah has not only deceived the stakeholders, but also us.”

Morshed along with his family members is now in Dubai, Jamal said, adding that he has started up garage business there with the money he took from stakeholders.

“He was scheduled to arrive in the port city on June 1, but he had not come back.”

According to local sources, he had not returned home as law enforcement agencies were still looking for him.

“He donates money in every function in the locality and welfare of the society,” said a next-door-neighbour seeking anonymity.

Another resident Abdul Ohab said Morshed helps the local people if they get into any trouble. “He gave me Tk50,000 for my daughter’s wedding and also helped me build my residence,” Ohab said.

The BNP and its associate organisations now do not own Morshed due to his recent past activities.

Sarwar Uddin, president of Chittagong district (north) unit of JCD said, “We feel embarrassed at his activities, but we can do nothing until the central committee takes action against him.”

Gazi Mohammad Siraz Ullah, president of JCD city unit said, “It is business related issue. But we do not expect this type of activity from a party leader.” l

have been dug by different utility service providers of the capital’s two city corporations, adding to the woes of pedestrians and commuters during the monsoon. l

DU students vandalise shops at Nilkhet

He fled to Dubai after embezzling Tk200 crore n DU Correspondent case as “they still hope that they will Hossain said they were hunting for n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong get their flats one day”. him (Morshed) as allegations had been Resident students of Dhaka UniversiMorshed Billah, joint convener of Chittagong district (north) unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, along with some like-minded associates set up a real estate company named GTC Properties and Term Builders about seven years ago.

Being influenced by his political identity and so-called social reputation, one Firoz Alam invested Tk65 lakh to purchase a flat of the company’s Nimtola project in Chittagong city.

Firoz got the money after he went on retirement.

His friend Hefzatur Rahman also invested about Tk16 lakh in the same project. Both the friends died, but their family members are yet to get flats or get back the invested money.

Not only the duo but also many stakeholders, who invested money in different projects of the company, lost their huge savings maybe forever as company owner Morshed Billah had fled to Dubai with their money amounting to Tk200 crore.

Babul Akhter, additional deputy commissioner of Detective Branch of Chittagong Metropolitan Police said,“Morshed Billah is accused in 24 cases lodged with different police stations in the port city. An arrest warrant had also been issued against him.”

“He took about Tk200 crore from several thousand stakeholders who invested their entire life’s deposits in his so-called projects,” Babul added.

DB Assistant Commissioner Anwar

MEHEDI HASAN

ty’s F Rahman Hall vandalised shops in Nilkhet market yesterday, following an alleged altercation between a student and a BKash agent.

Shaheb Ali, sub-inspector of Nilkhet police out post, said: “Omar Faruk, a resident student of F Rahman Hall and vice-president of the hall unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League, went to cash in money from a BKash outlet in Gousul Azam market. He collected Tk500 from the trader but failed to pay the Tk10 for the cash-in charge. That is

why the trader misbehaved with Faruk and they got into an argument.”

Following the incident, other traders joined and started beating Faruk up.

Upon receiving information, students from the hall went to the scene and vandalised some shops in the market. The traders fled the scene after closing down their shops.

Yasir Arafat, officer-in-charge of Nilkhet police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that the situation was now under control. “No one has been reported as injured or had been arrested in this connection,” he said. l

Chhatra League men beat up Badhon activists n RU Correspondent Some Chhatra League leaders and activists beat up three activists of Badhon, a campus-based voluntary blood donour organisation, at Rajshahi University on Thursday night.

Witnesses said Badon activists went to collect money from Chhatra League men for an Iftar party at Madar Bux Hall around 11:30pm, when Swapan, Saddam and Mosharraf of them were taken to the roof of the hall and they were abused and beaten up there.

They said Rajshahi University unit Vice President Delwar Hossain alias Dills led the attack while members Anik

and Tariqul were his key accomplices.

A resident student of the hall said Badhon activists hold an Iftar party at the hall by collecting money every year and so he did not understand why such an incident had happened this year.

Chhatra League leader Delwar denied the allegation.

He however said he had ordered not to collect any money for Iftar from the hall. Yet, they were collecting this and so they were taken to the hall roof to discuss it.

Rajshahi University Chhatra League president Mizanur Rahman Rana said he was not aware of this incident and would look into the matter if such a thing had happened. l

RU set to celebrate its 61st founding anniversary n RU Correspondent Rajshahi University is set to celebrate its 61st founding anniversary tomorrow, amid much fanfare and festivity.

The university authorities have chalked out several programmes including a colorful procession, planting of trees, discussions and cultural events, to mark the day.

The administrative building, senate building, Kazi Nazrul Islam auditorium and the main entrance of the university have been decorated with colorful lights and chandeliers. The main streets of the campus have also been painted for the occasion. The state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam, MP will inaugurate the daylong programmes around 10am, as the chief guest, by releasing balloons and pigeons in front of the senate building on the campus.

Lawmaker of Rajshai 2 constituency Fazle Hossain Badsha, lawmaker in reserved seats Begum Akhter Jahan and Rajshahi City Corporation Mayor Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul will be present at the programme as special guests.

RU Vice-Chancellor Prof Muhammad Mizanuddin will preside over the function.

Following the inaugural session, teachers, students and employees of the university will be bring out a colorful procession on the campus.

The daylong programmes will end with a cultural function at Kazi Nazrul Islam auditorium in the evening.

The university started its journey on July 6, 1953 with only 161 students and 68 teachers with six departments under three faculties and with Prof Itrat Hossain Zubeeri as the founding vice chancellor. l

Garment Sramik Front holds a rally in front of the National Press Club yesterday to press home their several points demands MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Saturday, July 5, 2014

All out to grab temple land in Madaripur n Our Correspondent, Madaripur An influential quarter has gone all out to grab some land, which belongs to a temple, at Sadar upazila in Madaripur.

They have set up a two-roomed pucca shop encroaching on the land of the Shirkhara Bazar Kali Temple. They are also sharing the temple land amongst themselves at will.

Temple authorities who protested the issue and took it up with the court are now being threatened with dire consequences – beatings and death.

Earlier, six people, including the temple’s president Bhanu Lal Sarlar, had filed a petition with the revenue deputy collector (RDC), asking him to protect the land from the clutches of land grabbers.

RDC Jahid Iqbal ordered the assistant commissioner (land) to demarcate the temple boundary.

Besides this, he ordered locally in-

fluential people Kabir Khandker and Khandker Hafez Ali to stop erecting any structures till the temple land demarcation was completed.

Kabir and Hafez, however, set up the shop defying the assistant land commissioner’s order.

Temple authorities, who protested the issue, are now being threatened with dire consequences There are 21 decimals of land under the “temple’s jurisdiction.” Located next to Shirkhara Bazar, the temple land has become quite valuable nowadays, drawing the attention of greedy people.

Earlier, the temple committee had

gone to Shirkhara Union Parishad office to deposit the land tax, but they returned saying that the temple land was recorded as khas (state-owned), not as an endowed property.

Locals alleged that somebody might have intentionally recorded the land as khas.

Later, on February 6, the committee filed a case with Senior Assistant Judge’s Court showing the deputy commissioner, upazila nirbahi officer and assistant commissioner (land) as plaintiffs.

The court ordered that no structure be erected on the temple land unless the case was settled. Despite that, Kabir and Hafiz continued with the erecting of the shop.

Deputy Commissioner GSM Jafarullah said, “No temple or khas land can be illegally possessed. The RDC has been notified of this. He will do whatever is needed.” l

Parbattya Bangalee Chhatra Parishad observes a sit-in in Khagrachhari district town yesterday, urging the government to take measures to protect 129 kilometre-long ‘unprotected’ border between Bangladesh and India DHAKA TRIBUNE

Protesting killing locals block road in Tangail

Cultivation of Bombai Morich turns profitable in southern region

n Our Correspondent, Tangail

n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Agitated people blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Doklahati area of Mirzpur upazila under Tangail yesterday, demanding the immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of the killers of rickshaw puller Rubel.

The agitators formed a human chain at Baniara Bazaar, where they staged a demonstration in the morning.

Later, they blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Doklahati area, creating traffic congestion on both sides of the highway.

Later, police reached the spot and brought the situation under control by dispersing the protesters.

Rubel, 24, the son of Abdur Rahim in Doklahati village of the upazila, was killed on Thursday morning by some unidentified miscreants.

Renu Begum, the deceased’s wife, said a gang of 10 to 12 assailants stabbed Rubel because of a previous enmity, leaving him dead on the spot.

She filed a murder case with Mirzapur police station on the same day, accusing nine people. But police have yet to arrest any of the attackers.

Golam Mostofa, officer-in-charge of Mirzapur police station, said, “we are conducting drives to arrest the attackers.” l

The cultivation of “Bombai Morich,” a type of hybrid chili, has turned out to be a real boon for the farmers in the southern districts of Pirojpur and Jhalakathi.

Farmers in the region earn around Tk1-Tk1.5 lakh per acre within 3-4 months when cultivating this variety of chili.

The “Ghritakumari,” variety of the specially scented “Bombai Morich,” has become very popular among the cultivators.

A chili farmer Abdur Rahman said the chilis were exported to other countries after meeting the local demand.

But the cultivators say the interference of middlemen is hampering their making good profits.

The “Ghritakumari Bombai Morich” is sold at Tk0.20-Tk0.30 per piece in the wholesale market in the area and is sold at between Tk1 and Tk3 per piece elsewhere in the country, enabling the brokers to make a profit, said Ashraf Ali, a cultivator from Mirakathi under Jhalakathi Sadar upazila.

Sources in the local agriculture department said more than 5,000 farmers from about 30 villages

under Sadar upazila of Jhalakathi and 3,000 farmers from 28 villages under Swarupkathi upazila of Pirojpur district are cultivating different types of “Bombai Morich” commercially to become financially solvent.

The farmers use their land for a variety of cultivation all year round. In the months of August and September, they are able to prepare whatever amount of land they own to cultivate different crops including “Bombai Morich” followed by “peyara,” (Guava) “amra,” “lebu” and sugarcane, and do not need extra land for their cultivation purposes.

The variety of chili brings profits of around Tk1-Tk1.5 lakh from per acre within a short period of about 3-4 months and is quite enough to maintain family expenses, said Abdul Motaleb from Mirkathi, Jhalakathi.

The price of the chili ranges between Tk400 and Tk500 per thousand pieces in the wholesale market, said another farmer Rashid Bepari from Vimruli area.

“We cannot earn this amount of money from the cultivation of other crops. So many farmers here are cultivating “Bombai Morich”

commercially, in the hope of getting satisfactory profits,” said Humaun Mia from Swarupkathi.

Sukharanjan Mistri, 65, of Shakhardi village under Nabagram union of Jhalakathi Sadar, said he had been maintaining his 10-member family by cultivating different varieties of fruits and vegetables including chili.

Soleman Mia, 44, a wholesaler of “Bombai Morich” from Baukathi Pajiputhipara Haat, told the Dhaka Tribune that he collected this variety of chili from different local markets in the area and sent them to Dhaka and other parts of the country after grading them according to their sizes and tastes.

Pran Foods Ltd’s dealer also collects this chili from them on weekly Haat (Bazaar) days, he added.

Md Shahidullah of the Department of Agriculture Extension at Pirojpur and Chinmoy Roy, Jhalakathi Sadar upazila agriculture officer, said “Bombai Morich” was being cultivated commercially in this region as the farmers were reaping large benefits within a short time period without using extra land. l

Two young men killed in Jessore Correspondent, n Our Jessore

Two young men were killed in two separate incidents in Jessore.

Chaugachha police station Officer-in-Charge Akram Hossain said Shahidul Islam, 28, was hacked and beat-

Two UPDF members held in Khagrachhari n Our Correspondent, Khagrachhari

Two members of the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) were captured yesterday at Dighinala upazila in Khagrachhari.

Shanti Mohan Chakma, 20, the son of Nighira Mohan Chakma of Merung village and Sunil Chakma, 18, the son of Devo Jyoti Chakma of Masterpara under the same upazila in the district were the two who were caught.

Dighinala police station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Shahdat Hossain Titu said the two UPDF members had been handed over to them.

Earlier, a mobile team of Dighinala Zone Army led

by Md Alawal Islam, raided the upazila’s Boradom area on a tip-off and recovered Tk56,000 and some subscription books from their possession.

The army claimed that the duo had been arrested because of their involvement in extortion. l

en to death on Thursday evening by opponents regarding a feud over a piece of land at Dighri village under Chaugachha upazila.

He was taken to the local upazila health complex, where he was immediately declared dead.

Sharsha police station

Officer-in-Charge (investigation) M Mohiuddin said Mahidul Islam, 25, of Shikarpur village under Sharsha upazila, was found strangled at an abandoned house in Narikenbaria village where drug addicts gather every night.

He might have been strangled by the addicts. l

Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Memo No- LGED/EE/B-240/2014-15/1225

Local Government Engineering Department Office of the Executive Engineer Jamalpur.

Invitation for Tender (works)

Date:- 03/07/2014

Tender Notice Number. 01/2014-2015 Sealed tenders are hereby invited from the enlisted tenderers (enlisted for FY 2014-2015 of Mymensingh Region, LGED only) as defined in the documents for the under mentioned works as per terms and conditions stated below.

S.L Tender security Time for completion Price of tender Package No Name of Scheme No (Tk.) (days) documents (Tk.) 1 Jam/TB/M -66 Construction of Muktijuddho Memorial at Upazilla: 25,000.00 120 750.00 Maderganj Dist.: Jamalpur.

Limited Tendering Method (LTM) GOB 10 July 2014, 11.00 am and Office of the undersigned 11 August 2014, during office house. a. Office of the undersigned. b. The Project Director, Construction of Muktijuddho Memorial Project, LGED, LGED Bhabon (Level-8), Agargaon, Sheer-E-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka- 1207. c. The Deputy Commissioner, Jamalpur. d. The Superintendent of Police, Jamalpur. e. The Executive Engineer, LGED, Sherpur. f. The Upazilla Engineer, Maderganj, Jamalpur.

5. Last date, time and places of receiving : 12 August 2014, 1.00 pm and tender a. Office of the undersigned. b. The Deputy Commissioner, Jamalpur. c. The Superintendent of Police, Jamalpur. d. The Executive Engineer, LGED, Sherpur. e. The Upazilla Engineer, Maderganj, Jamalpur.

6. Date, time and place opening of tender : 12 August 2014, 3.00 pm and Office of the undersigned.

7. Tender shall be valid for a Period of 90 days after tender opening and must be accompanied by the tender security specified above. Interested Tenderers may obtain further information from the office of the undersigned and purchase the tender documents in the form of chalan (Code No: 1-3731-0000-2366) from the places mentioned above. The tenderer or their authorized representatives are allowed to attend the opening of tenders. The authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all the tenders without assigning any reason whatsoever.

This invitation for tender is available of the website www.lged.gov.bd 1.

2.

3.

4.

Procurement Method Source of funds Date, time and place of pre-tender meeting Last date, time and places of selling tender documents

: : : :

(Md. Anisul Wahab Khan) Executive Engineer Local Govt. Engineering Department, Jamalpur.

Tel. No: 0981-63698, Fax No: 0981-62569 E-mail: xen.jamalpur@lged.gov.bd

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Iraq army retakes Saddam Hussein’s home village

46 Indian nurses freed, will return from Iraq tomorrow morning n Agencies

Shi’ite volunteers secure the area from predominantly Sunni militants from the Islamic State, previously called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in the desert region between Kerbala and Najaf, south of Baghdad, July 3 REUTERS

n Reuters, Baghdad The Iraqi army drove Sunni insurgents out of late dictator Saddam Hussein’s home village, state media and police said, part of a campaign to retake wide areas of northern and western Iraq overrun by the rebels.

The al Qaeda splinter group leading the insurgency has declared a medieval-style Islamic caliphate erasing the borders of Iraq and Syria, and threatened to march on the Iraqi capital Baghdad to topple the Shi’ite-led central government.

Pursuing a counter-offensive, government forces along with Shi’ite Muslim volunteers backed by helicopter gunships recaptured the village of Awja

on Thursday night, according to state media, police and local inhabitants.

They said three insurgents were killed in an hour-long battle, and the main body of militant forces had fled south along the eastern bank of the Tigris River across from Awja.

State television quoted the prime minister’s military spokesman, Qassim Atta, as saying that Awja had been “totally cleansed” and 30 militants had been killed. No casualty figures could be independently verified.

The army said it now held the 50 km (30-mile) stretch of main highway running north from the city of Samarra - which is 100 km (60 miles) north of Baghdad - to Awja.

But the mainly Sunni communities along this corridor remained hostile towards government forces and their convoys were coming under guerrilla attack, while the city of Tikrit a few km north of Awja remained in the grip of insurgents.

Tikrit fell early in the lightning offensive last month that gave jihadi militants led by the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), control of most majority Sunni regions north of Baghdad.

During his decades-long rule until his fall to a US-led invasion in 2003, Saddam Hussein surrounded himself with relatives from Awja and Tikrit, creating a praetorian circle of aides from the Sunni Arab Albu Nasir tribe. l

Gaza calm as Palestinian youth’s funeral imminent n Reuters, Gaza Shelling across the Gaza Strip’s border tapered off on Friday while Israel braced for violent protests by Palestinians in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank at the funeral of a youth they believe was killed by far-right Jews.

Hostility that had simmered since three Israeli teenagers were abducted on June 12, triggering army sweeps of the West Bank, boiled over this week upon the discovery of their bodies and the Palestinian’s slaying after they were laid to rest.

Shutdown in Kashmir greets India PM Modi on first visit n Reuters, Srinagar India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was greeted by near-empty streets lined by security personnel on his first official visit to Kashmir on Friday, as separatists enforced a strike to demand political dialogue about the future of the divided region.

Kashmir is split between rivals India and Pakistan. Demonstrators on the Pakistan-controlled side burnt an effigy of Modi and India’s tricolour flag on Friday to protest the prime minister’s visit.

Schools and shops were shuttered and normally busy roads were free of traffic in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian controlled Kashmir, when Modi arrived to meet army commanders in one of the most world’s most militarised regions.

“It is our earnest wish that Mr. Modi and the newly elected NDA government understand the ardent political message we seek to convey through this act,” said separatist leader Mirwaiz Omar Farooq.

Police erected barricades to stop and search vehicles entering Srinagar ahead of Modi’s arrival, and soldiers flanked main roads throughout the Himalayan region that has been racked by insurgency for decades.

Modi has long been associated with a Hindu nationalist organisation that wants to end the semi-autonomous status that Muslim-majority Kashmir nominally enjoys. His government has promised to renew the debate on the sensitive issue.

Modi was later due to inaugurate a hydroelectric dam in the mountains, barely a mile from the Line of Control, the de facto border dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

The nuclear-armed neighbours have been quarrelling over the region they both claim in full since freedom from British colonial rule in 1947. l

Surging short-range rocket salvoes from Gaza had drawn Israeli air strikes as well as a mobilisation of ground forces which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday threatened to use unless the enclave’s dominant Hamas Islamists held fire.

Israel said three rockets were launched at it on Friday, one of which was intercepted by its Iron Dome interceptor. The other two caused no damage.

There were no Israeli counter-attacks.

Hamas, whose armed cadres Israel accuses of carrying out some of the rocket strikes this week, said it was in

contact with Egyptian mediators trying to prevent further flare-ups.

“Hamas stressed that it was not interested in a confrontation and the occupation (Israel) was responsible for the escalation against our people and they have to stop it,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.

Israeli police deployed extra forces in Jerusalem ahead of the funeral on Friday afternoon of Mohammed Abu Khudair, the slain 16-year-old Palestinian.

Israel also barred men under the age of 50 from al Aqsa mosque complex, the most important Muslim site in the city. l

Turkey turns inwards as war spreads from Syria to Iraq n Reuters, Ankara As al Qaeda-inspired Sunni militants spread right along Turkey’s southeastern border last month from Syria through Iraq, seizing Turkish hostages as they went, the normally loquacious Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan had little to say.

Turkey’s outspoken opposition to the crackdown in Syria gained it global headlines as it opened its border and poured aid across to help refugees and rebels alike. But three years later the situation has morphed into a security and humanitarian nightmare on Ankara’s doorstep, that has now spread to Iraq.

The Sunni militant advance and hostage crisis there is overshadowing Erdogan’s campaign to become Turkey’s first elected president in a vote due next month.

His response has been muted, shorn of the bombastic rhetoric or global calls to action employed in previous regional crises, a sign of a newly tentative regional policy which could have wide repercussions.

Stopping short of calling the militants terrorists, he said only that air strikes against them should be avoided.

“Turkey now has security concerns it didn’t have two years ago, therefore its own security is the number one foreign policy aim, rather than transforming the region,” said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli of the German Marshall Fund.

Recent pronouncements on Syria, where Erdogan previously led calls for military intervention when it cracked down on Sunni protesters in 2011, have been similarly muted, as has his once-scathing criticism of the military. l

Kremlin: Russia’s Putin tells Obama he wants better ties n Reuters, Moscow Russian President Vladimir Putin called for better relations with the United States on Friday in a congratulatory message to President Barack Obama marking US Independence Day. Relations are at their lowest ebb in years, soured by disagreements over the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria and by differences on human rights and democracy. Both are veto-weilding members of the United Nations Security Council.

“The head of the Russian state expressed hope that ... ties between the two countries will develop successfully on the basis of pragmatism and equality despite difficulties and disagreements,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

“Vladimir Putin also highlighted

that Russia and the United States, as countries carrying exceptional responsibility for safeguarding international stability and security, should cooperate not only in the interests of their own nations but also the whole world,” it said.

The United States has curbed its cooperation with Russia and imposed sanctions on some Russian firms and individuals over Moscow’s role in Ukraine following Russia’s annexation of the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine.

Washington has also threatened to impose more sanctions on Russia over what it regards as Moscow’s support for a separatist rebellion in east Ukraine.

Moscow denies orchestrating the uprising and accuses Washington of trying to contain its former Cold War enemy to try to continue what Moscow regards as US hegemony. l

7

Saturday, July 5, 2014

All 46 Indian nurses abducted from Tikrit in strife-torn Iraq were released

by ISIS militants on Friday. The development came as a rare piece of positive news amid a bloody war raged by the Sunni insurgents.

The nurses will fly back to Kerala on Saturday morning, IANS quoted chief minister Oommen Chandy as saying.

Chandy told the news agency over telephone from New Delhi that an Air India flight will depart from the Indian capital on Friday evening to Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan region, to evacuate the nurses.

“There will be one official each from the Kerala and central governments on the plane. The nurses will board the flight at Erbil and the plane will reach Kochi at 7am tomorrow (Saturday).”

The nurses, all from Kerala, were on Thursday taken from Tikrit to Mosul

by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) militants. They reached Mosul unharmed on Thursday night, their relatives told HT. The nurses worked at a hospital in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown.

A glimmer of hope appeared for their relatives on Friday morning after

NEWS BITES

GM suspends South Africa production as striking union rejects offer

Johannesburg/Cape n Reuters, Town

one of the nurses sent a text message to her family members in Kerala.

“We got an SMS saying they (the nurses) are on their way to Erbil airport, which is 70kms away from Mosul. If everything goes well, they will be back in the country late tonight,” a relative told HT. However, Chandy later said the anxious family members will have to wait a bit more.

AFP quoted Tincy Thomas, an abducted nurse, as saying, “Some here ... they are saying ... we will go to Erbil.”

An Indian diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the news agency that the group was expected to reach Erbil, which is a short drive from Mosul but has been insulated from the unrest.

According to the relatives, militants did not misbehave with the hostages, whose ordeal began on June 11.

Early on Friday, Shobha Sasikumar, mother of abducted nurse Shruti, said, “My daughter called me last night saying they reached Mosul around 11pm (Indian time). They are in an old building that is without electricity. So far, the abductors were friendly towards them.”

The abduction of the nurses, all of them women and from Kerala, had spelt a fresh trouble for India. l

General Motors suspended production at its main South African plant after a strike hit parts supplies, the US automaker said on Friday, making it the latest victim of relentless labour unrest in Africa’s most advanced economy.

Violence erupted on some picket lines on Thursday, as the wage strike by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) dealt a further blow to an economy damaged by a fivemonth walkout in the platinum industry that only ended last week.

It will also further unnerve investors, who are increasingly frustrated by the unremitting labour strife and perceptions that Pretoria is unable, or unwilling, to rein in militant unions.

GM’s suspension of output at its plant in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth showed the escalating impact of the walkout, after the union rejected an increased wage offer from the Steel and Engineering Industry Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) late on Thursday. l

Hurricane arthur scythes through outer banks of North Carolina

UK PM’s ex-media chief Coulson jailed for Murdoch tabloid hacking n Reuters, London British Prime Minister David Cameron’s former media chief Andy Coulson was jailed for 18 months on Friday for being complicit in industrial scale phone-hacking by journalists at the Rupert Murdoch tabloid he edited.

Coulson, editor of the now defunct News of the World newspaper from 2003-2007, was convicted last week of conspiracy to illegally intercept voicemails on mobile phones following a high-profile eight-month trial at London’s Old Bailey court.

The maximum sentence the 46-yearold could have faced was two years.

“Mr Coulson on the jury’s verdict has to take the major blame for the phone hacking at the News of the

n Reuters, Nags Head NC The first hurricane of the Atlantic season has hit the North Carolina coast, a wet and windy spoiler of the July Fourth holiday for thousands of Americans as authorities ordered them to evacuate exposed areas.

Hurricane Arthur crossed the coast near Cape Lookout at the southern end of North Carolina’s Outer Banks at 11:15 pm EDT on Thursday (0315 GMT Friday), with maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour (160 kph). This earned it Category 2 status on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity, the US National Hurricane Center said.

Arthur is the first hurricane to hit the United States since Superstorm Sandy devastated parts of New York and New Jersey in October 2012 and caused $70bn in estimated damage.

As of early on Friday morning, Arthur was moving at about 23 mph (37 kph) as it headed oceanward about 20 miles east of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, said National Hurricane Center meteorologist Chris Landsea. l

World,” judge John Saunders said. “He knew about it and encouraged it when he should have stopped it.” Three other senior journalists from the paper Greg Miskiw, Neville Thurlbeck and James Weatherup, were also sentenced on Friday. Miskiw and Thurlbeck were sentenced to six months in jail while Weatherup was given a 4 month suspended sentence.

Glenn Mulcaire, the former private investigator who conducted much of the hacking, was given a six month suspended sentence. Coulson’s one time lover Rebekah Brooks, another former News of the World editor who later ran News Corp.’s British newspaper arm, was found not guilty of phone-hacking and other allegations last week by the jury. l

US grounds entire F-35 Joint Strike Fighter F-35 fleet pending Three models sharing 80% of their technology, set to replace engine inspections most of the US combat fleet of aircraft by the end of the decade Contractor: Lockheed Martin n Reuters, Washington The US military said it had grounded the entire fleet of 97 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets until completion of additional inspections of the warplane’s single engine built

by Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp.

The Pentagon’s F-35 program office, Air Force and Navy issued directives on Thursday ordering the suspension of all F-35 flights after a June 23 fire on an Air Force F-35A jet at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

The Pentagon said US and industry officials had not pinpointed the cause of the fire, which occurred as a pilot was preparing for takeoff. The pilot was not injured.

The incident is the latest to hit the Pentagon’s costliest weapons program, the $398.6bn F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

It followed an in-flight oil leak that triggered mandatory fleetwide inspections of the jets last month.

“Additional inspections of F-35 engines have been ordered, and return to flight will be determined based on inspection results and analysis of engineering data,” the Defense Department said in a brief statement issued late on Thursday.

Pratt & Whitney said it was working closely with Air Force officials who are investigating the fire and are inspecting all engines in the fleet. Spokesman Jay DeFrank said it would be inappropriate to comment further since the incident was the subject of an investigation.

The Pentagon’s F-35 program office has made determining the cause of the fire its highest priority and it is assessing the impact on flight tests, training and operations of the radar-evading warplane.

A person familiar with the situation said it was premature to rule in or out any quality problem or manufacturing defect. l

International partners: United States Australia Britain Canada Denmark Italy Netherlands Norway Turkey

A

Expressed an interest: Israel Japan South Korea Singapore

B

C

15.7 m

10.7 m

15.6 m

15.7 m

10.7 m

13.1 m

Air Force

Marine Corps

Navy

Conventional takeoff and landing

Short takeoff vertical landing

Aircraft carrier variant

Replaces F-16 F-18 A-10

Harrier Jump Jet

F/A-18

Delays Project is seven years behind schedule Not expected to enter service before 2016, ten years after the first flight With 24 million lines of code in the plane’s software, the aircraft is yet to achieve expected performance and reliability

Costliest weapons program in Pentagon history Pentagon plans to spend $391.2 billion on 2,443 aircraft $160 million per plane $167 billion over budget Source: defense.aol.com

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Prescription

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Lifestyle adjustment during Ramadan Ramadan changes the regular timing of meals, as well as peoples’ lifestyles. These changes cause discomfort for many, and quite a few find if difficult to adapt to the change. But these changes are not that difficult in reality.

Constipation

Constipation can cause piles (haemorroids), fissures (painful cracks in anal canal), and indigestion.

Causes: Too much refined foods, too little water, and not enough fibre in diet.

Remedy: Avoid excessive refined foods, increase water intake, and use bran in baking, brown flour when making roti.

Indigestion and wind

Causes: Over-eating. Too much fried and fatty foods, spicy foods, and foods that produce wind ie eggs, cabbage, lentils, carbonated drinks like Cola also produce gas.

BIGSTOCK

During Ramadan, the change of food timing can be considered a big change. The change is HEALTH FLASH not only in the timing but also in food items.

And because of these foods, many people experience discomfort. Some people experience discomfort from overeating.

Moreover, new food items with dehydration sometimes cause constipation, abdominal bloating and heartburn. There are a few people who feel weak and lethargic during Ramadan. Some experience headache in the morning, muscle cramps during evening. Many problems like these are present during Ramadan, but these can be managed quite easily.

Drink sufficient water between Iftar and dinner to avoid dehydration. Consume sufficient vegetables at meals to maintain minerals and prevent constipation. Eat fruits at the end of the meal for better digestion and for getting micronutrients and vitamins. Avoid intake of high sugar (table sugar, sucrose) foods through sweets or other forms. Sugar will make you lazy. It is better to take 2/3dates in iftar which will give you prompt energy.

Avoid spicy foods to get rid off from heartburn.

Remedy: Do not over-eat; drink fruit juices or better still drink water. Avoid fried foods.

Lethargy (due to low blood pressure)

Excessive sweating, weakness, tiredness, lack of energy, dizziness, especially on getting up from sitting position, pale appearance, and feeling like fainting are symptoms associated with “low blood pressure.” This tends to occur towards the afternoon.

Causes: Too little fluid intake, decreased salt intake.

Remedy: Keep cool, increase fluid and salt intake. Caution: Low blood pressure should be confirmed by taking a blood pressure reading when symptoms are present. Persons with high blood pressure may need their medication adjusted during Ramadan. They should consult their doctor.

Headache

Causes: Caffeine and tobacco-withdrawal, doing too much in one day, lack of sleep, hunger usually occur as the day goes by and worsens at the end of the day.

When associated with “low blood pressure,” the headache can be quite severe and can also cause nausea before Iftar.

Remedy: Cut down caffeine and tobacco slowly starting a week or two before Ramadan. Herbal and caffeine-free teas may be substituted. Reorganise your schedule during the Ramadan so as to have adequate sleep.

FOOD THERAPY IN RAMADAN

Choose slow digesting foods in Sehri During the holy month of Ramadan, our diet should not differ very much from our normal diet, and should be as simple as possible. The diet should be such that we maintain our normal weight, neither losing nor gaining.

However, if one is over-weight, Ramadan is an ideal time to normalise one’s weight.

BIGSTOCK In view of the long hours of fasting, we should consume slow digesting foods including fibre containing-foods rather than fast-digesting foods in sehri. Slow digesting foods last up to 8 hours, while fast-digesting foods last for only 3 to 4 hours.

Slow-digesting foods are foods that contain grains and seeds like barley, wheat, oats, millet, semolina, beans, lentils, wholemeal flour, unpolished rice, etc. (called complex carbohydrates).

Fibre-containing foods are bran-containing foods, whole wheat, grains and seeds, vegetables like green beans, peas, sem (papry), marrow, mealies, spinach, and other herbs like methie, the leaves of beetroot (iron-rich), fruit with skin, dried fruit especially dried apricots, figs and prunes, almonds, etc.

Take fast burning food in Iftar Fast-burning foods are foods that contain sugar, white flour, etc. (called refined carbohydrates).

Fast burning food digest easily and supply an immediate boost to the energy levels. Fresh juice, sweets and pastry are good examples.

The foods eaten should be well-balanced, containing foods from each food group, i.e. fruits, BIGSTOCK vegetables, meat/chicken/fish, bread/cereals and dairy products. Fried foods are unhealthy and should be limited. They cause indigestion, heart-burn, and weight problems.

Avoid these kinds of foods

Always try to avoid fried and fatty foods in an empty stomach. It will hurt your stomach and may cause heartburn. Foods containing too much sugar are not recommended for good health. Over-eating especially at sehri and Iftar BIGSTOCK can make you sick and lazy.

Too much tea at sehri and iftar may cause dehydration. Tea makes you pass more urine, taking with it valuable mineral salts that your body would need during the day.

Eat these kinds of foods

Take complex carbohydrates at sehri so that the food lasts longer making you less hungry. Haleem is an excellent source of protein and is a slowburning food. Dates are excellent source of sugar, fibre, carbohydrates, potassium and magnesium.

Almonds are rich in protein and fibre with less fat.

Bananas are a good source of potassium, magnesium and carbohydrates. Drink as much water or fruit juices as possible between iftar and bedtime so that your body may adjust fluid levels in time.

BIGSTOCK

Low Blood Sugar

Weakness, dizziness, tiredness, poor concentration, perspiring easily, feeling shaky (tremor), unable to perform physical activities, headache, palpitations are symptoms of low blood sugar.

Causes: in non-diabetics Having too much sugar ie refined carbohydrates specially at suhur (sehri). The body produces too much insulin causing the blood glucose to drop.

Remedy: Eat something at sehri and limit sugar-containing foods and drinks.

Caution: Diabetics may need to adjust their medication in Ramadan, consult your doctor.

Muscle Cramps

Causes: Inadequate intake of calcium, magnesium and potassium.

Kidney Stones

Peptic Ulcers, Heart Burn, Gastritis

Causes: During Ramadan, when extra salah are performed, the pressure on the knee joints increases. In the elderly and those with arthritis this may result in pain, stiffness, swelling and discomfort.

Remedy: Lose weight so that the knees do not have to carry any extra load. Exercise the lower limbs before Ramadan so that they can be prepared for the additional strain. Being physically fit allows greater fulfillment, thus enabling one to be able to perform salah with ease. l

Increased acid levels in the empty stomach in Ramadan aggravate the above conditions. It presents as a burning feeling in the stomach area under the ribs and can extend upto the throat.

Spicy foods, coffee, and Cola drinks worsen these conditions. Medications are available to control acid levels in the stomach.

People with proven peptic ulcers and hiatus hernia should consult their doctor well before Ramadan.

Kidney stones may occur in people who have less liquids to drink. Therefore, it is essential to drink extra liquids so as to prevent stone formation.

Joint Pains

Do not worry much about nausea during pregnancy n Dr Meherun Nessa Nausea and vomiting during the first trimester of pregnancy, also called morning sickness, can be WOMEN’S signs of a healthy HEALTH pregnancy.

A study of more than 2,400 pregnant women associated nausea and vomiting during the first trimester with a reduced risk of early pregnancy loss – particularly for women age 30 and older.

Shortly after a fertilised egg attaches to your uterine lining, your body begins to produce a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). While the cause of nausea during pregnancy isn’t clear, nausea typically begins when production of HCG BIGSTOCK begins. As a result, nausea during pregnancy might indicate that you’re during pregnancy might: experiencing the normal climb in preg- v Reduce fetal exposure to potentially dangerous substances in your nancy hormones needed for a healthy diet pregnancy.

Other theories suggest that nausea v Encourage you to eat foods that

contain certain nutrients, such as those rich in carbohydrates v Prompt you to adjust your activity level to favor maternal and fetal tissue growth v A lack of nausea during pregnancy, however, isn’t necessarily a cause for concern. v Some women don’t seem to experience common symptoms of early pregnancy despite the generous production of pregnancy hormones.

Nausea can sometimes signal a problem too. For instance, severe nausea and vomiting can indicate a molar pregnancy – when the placenta develops into an abnormal mass of cysts rather than becoming a viable pregnancy – or hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition that causes you to lose weight and body fluids and might require treatment with intravenous fluids and medications.

If you’re concerned about morning sickness or wonder whether your morning sickness is normal, consult your Gynaecologist.

Avoid caffeine drinks such as coke, coffee or tea. Caffeine is a diuretic. Three days to five days before Ramadan

gradually reduce the intake of these drinks. A sudden decrease in caffeine prompts headaches, mood swings, and irritability. Smoking is a health risk factor. Avoid smoking cigarettes. If you cannot give up smoking, cut down gradually starting a few weeks before Ramadan. Smoking negatively affects utilisation of various vitamins, metabolites and enzyme systems in the body. It is recommended that everyone engage in some kind of light exercise, such as stretching or walking. It’s important to follow good time management practices for Ibada (prayer and other religious activities), sleep, studies, job, and physical activities or exercise.

Clean your mouth Do not forget to brush or Miswak (tender neem tree branch, Azhardicta indi-

ca or other appropriate plant in a country, about 1/4-1/2 inch diameter and 6-8 inches length, tip partially chewed and made brush like). Brush your teeth before sleep and after suhur. Brush more than two times or as many times as practical. In summary, intake of a balanced diet is critical to maintain good health, sustain an active lifestyle and attain the full benefits of Ramadan.

| Compiled by: Shirsho Saaeadat

Natural remedies for bad breath the throat is called post-nasal drip, and is another cause of bad breath.

Post-nasal drip is often the result of infected or inflamed sinuses. Treat the sinuses, treat the drip and get rid of bad breath. A saline nasal rinse is good for reducing mucus build-up in nasal passages and sinuses.

Q: My boyfriend has bad breath. It is really affecting our relationship. Can you help?

Sharmin, Mohhamdpur, Dhaka A: Bad breath or halitosis is not only embarrassing socially; it is a sign that your body is not running well, health wise. A DID YOU little attentive work KNOW? is required to find the cause and treatment.

Digestion problem

Look at the diet

Certain foods are best avoided before important meetings, a stel date, or when working closely with others.

Foods high on creamy cheeses, garlic, deli meats, and coffee should be halted. Some foods act as short-term remedies by freshening breath - he should try chewing on dried seeds or, if he likes spice, he could nibble on a dried clove.

Oral hygiene Gingivitis BIGSTOCK

Remedy: Eat foods rich in the above minerals e.g. vegetables, fruit, dairy products, meat and dates.

Caution: Those on high blood pressure medication and with kidney stone problems should consult their doctor.

Avoid smoking, caffeine and engage in light exercise

BIGSTOCK

Dr Sajol Ashfaq

Guidance about food

BIGSTOCK

n

QUICK TIPS IN RAMADAN

(gum

disease)

is

a

common cause of bad breath.

The bacteria behind the gingivitis release odiferous gases.

A tooth abscess can smell even worse.

Both conditions need to be treated by a dentist and/or a periodontist. Keep

flossing, brush regularly and avoid sugar. Additionally, vitamin C helps to strengthen gum tissue.

Sinus condition

Mucus dripping down the back of

Poor digestion and constipation can also be culprits. If you bloat after eating, chew more thoroughly and take a digestive enzyme with each meal.

Avoid taking water during meal.

Drink water after 15 minutes of the completion meal. If constipation is a problem, drink sufficient fluids, eat plenty of fibre-rich foods and exercise regularly. Another digestive cause of bad breath may be dysbiosis, where the microflora population is in disarray. Probiotics like yougurt may help.

Along with natural remedies, he has to consult with Dentist, ENT specialist and Gastroenterologist.

This answer is provided by Prescription Desk

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Heritage

9

Saturday, July 5, 2013

A secret kingdom

Twilight on the pristine Cox’s Bazar beach while the fisherman casts his net

K

n Tim Steel

ings and Emperors once ruled these colourful lands. And some kings still lead fascinating peoples of tribal origin, who have lived, in their traditional ways, hereabouts, for millennia.

Hidden in the soaring hills and forests beside what is described as, the world’s longest, natural, continuous sea beach,” of what the bureaucrats refer to as Cox’s Bazar District, there lie traces of ancient secrets. And they are secrets that reach far, also, into what those same bureaucrats refer to as the, prosaic sounding, Hill Tracts.

To any tourist, the wonderful coastline must appear something of a Riviera, comparable to so many of the sunshine coasts of Europe. The famous British royal photographer, Cecil Beaton, described it in his India Journal of 1945 in glowing terms, ‘we drove in a jeep ... to a place near

And the third century Roman historian, Dionysius Periegetes, described it, thus, “land here projects into the deep whirling ocean in steep precipices, over which the fowls of heaven in swift flight can hardly wing their way.”

Even to the ancients it must have appeared something of a Riviera, comparable to so many of the most ancient and beautiful coasts of Europe.

With its colourful fishing fleets, fascinating villages, even traditional boatbuilding, this “longest beach,” itself, together with the aptly named Marine Drive, are the stuff of which the great European Riviera make their names and fortunes. And such idiosyncracies as the road in the middle of which iron wood trees grow, and beaches where swarm, literally, of the famous Red Crabs;” such might meet, between surf riding and swims, the needs and visions of any national tourism industry.

And, to most visitors, the Hill Tracts, known as the Bandarban, or,

To any tourist, the wonderful coastline must appear something of a Riviera, comparable to so many of the sunshine coasts of Europe

Cox’s Bazaar called Elephant Point, situated on a long, winding strip of sand between the Indian Ocean and the jungle. Here, at tremendous speed, we raced across the hard sand under the burning sun. The sea was brilliant blue and silver. Here was health, sun, ozone ... little wonder I felt so well’.

colourfully, translated as, “the dam of monkeys,” might be better referred to as “The Lake District.” There, amongst the hills and forests, the gushing streams and waterfalls, placid lakes and ancient and colourful markets, lie both the kingdoms of such peoples as the Marma and Chakma, and more of

PHOTOES: SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

that secret, heritage kingdom that still embraces the entire area.

These are, in fact, lands rich in a colourful history, much of which can still be explored, not exactly unchanged, but still colourful, today. Not least, colourful, because of the great tradition of weaving, including, much like the world famous clans of Scotland, individual patterns that mark the distinctiveness of every family.

Few of the hundreds of thousands of visitors who pour, annually, into Cox’s Bazar, take a sea bath, watch the sunset, and go home again, with, perhaps, a side trip to Inani’s rocky shore, and Himchari’s crumbling awfulness, have any notion of the treasures of that history, culture and environment, that lies, readily accessible, beyond the “Uttara by the sea,” concrete inanity of the burgeoning “hotel, motel, belt of Kolatoli, and the chugging, choking ATVs, murderous PWCs and speedboats who offer, daily, noisy and life threatening thrills on Laboni Beach.

This is, in fact, an ancient place, a peaceful place; a still secret kingdom that has experienced many kings and invaders.

Kings of Tripura, Arakan, Burma; and Emperors from ancient India and Britain, to name but some of the most recent. But these have also been lands of more ancient realms, some of which still survive, and count themselves amongst the earliest peoples to adopt Buddhism’ at least 2, 400 years ago.

Perhaps, even, from the time of the Buddha himself.

He is said to have visited the lands just south of today’s Naf river. And, indeed, at ancient Ramu, the monastery of Ramkot, rightly or wrongly, lays claim to a foundation by the great Mauryan Emperor, Ashoka, one of the greatest of the early converts to Buddhism. His conversion, in the fourth

century BCE, came after his victory in the Kalinga War, when, surveying the death and misery, and the red waters of the Daya RIver, of one of his famous victories, he cried, “if this is the price of victory, I will fight no more.”

The river Naf, short, but wide, borders Bangladesh, today, on its southernmost side, and it offers stunning views across its mountain reflecting, apparently, pellucid, waters.

The secret history is, perhaps, best revealed in that Buddhist heritage of Ramu, which stands on the banks of the beautiful Bakkhali River beneath whose waters may still lay the mortal remains of the man who left his name at Cox’s Bazar, Captain Hiram Cox. Whatever the media suggested, most of Ramu’s 18th and 19th century wooden temple masterpieces, remain unburned, even if slowly rotting away, unconserved.

The, presumably, mud ramparts of this ancient town, that resisted siege

by Mughal, Tripuran and Burmese armies, no doubt amongst others, in its over 2,000 years of history, are untraceable. However, such wooden roof lines that we might travel, instead, elsewhere in Asia to admire, are of amazing beauty. Above the town, topping what the local children know as, “Golden Hill,” stands a thousand year old Stupa, pointing to the heavens, that, at night, sparkle with stars in its largely brick dust free skies.

The Hill tracts, themselves, betray much of their history in more human form, the various tribal peoples, with origins as far afield as, even, it is believed, Mongolia, and certainly from Tibet and Burma, with colourful cultures, especially in the garb of older women, and traditional wooden homes. Customs and lifestyle deserve exploration by the interested visitor, but there is no need to travel far into the hills for such cultural treasures.

In the forests around Teknaf, 200

years ago, a Chakma family received permission from whichever king claimed sovereignty at the time, to settle in the forest, which is still, seasonally, home to wild elephants, amongst others of its teeming life.

In the depths of “Periegetes,” “steep precipices,” there lie such natural treasures as secret, undisturbed lakes, and deep caves, the homes of great pythons, amongst others, and, of course, the immense trees of the forest itself, protected as a wildlife Park.

And, speaking of treasures, the offshore islands all have the stories to tell of pirate treasure, especially from the

found them. Recognising a distinctively Mughal style of gem cutting, the visitor took a risk, and bought, what might be well cut glass, or possibly immense and valuable gems.

At home, a jeweller could readily identify the rubies, sapphires and diamonds, valuing the horde at millions of dollars.

Just another of the stories that abound, and should not be lightly dismissed, in these lands where there is more, much more, history and heritage than meets even the most searching eyes.

Lands, rich, indeed, in heritage and

It may, even, still be hidden in the deep valleys, caves and crevices of these lands, is that of the Mughal gems

time of the Arakanese and Portuguese, displaced, as first the Mughals, then the British, took control.

The story I love most, beyond that of the suspicion that Shah Suja, himself, in 1660, fleeing his fratricidal brother, took with him, setting out from Chittagong, by land, to seek refuge in Arakan, vast Mughal treasure, that disappeared in his flight back to Tripura. It may, even, still be hidden in the deep valleys, caves and crevices of these lands, is that of the Mughal gems.

A visitor tells the story of being offered immense coloured stones that were unwrapped from a dirty cloth, by an elderly man, and told he had

history, not to mention countless cultural treasures, and still, large swathes of, at least, less spoilt, natural environment than it is easy to fine elsewhere in Bangladesh. l Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant.

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Saturday, July 5, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Modernise the Qawmi madrasa curriculum

I

n the verdict on the Ramna bombing case, a judge has commented that the Qawmi madrasa system is teaching a curriculum that renders Qawmi madras students both unemployable, and also alienated from Bengali culture. We agree with this assessment.

The Qawmi madrasa system should not be allowed to continue in its current form.

It would serve its students better by making them more employable. The Alia madrasa system already teaches a government-approved curriculum. Qawmi madrasas should be persuaded to adopt a government-approved curriculum.

We urge the government to negotiate with the Qawmi madrasa boards to update their curricula. As has been seen from previous attempts to integrate the Qawmi system into the mainstream, this will not be easy. Last year, Hefazat chief Shah Ahmad Shafi threatened civil war if the government passed a law enabling the state to take control of the Qawmi madrasas.

Nevertheless, there have been others within the Qawmi system who were willing to work with the government to reform the curriculum. The prudent course of action would be for the government to state clearly that it will only recognise the certificates issued by Qawmi madrasa boards which agree to adopt a government-approved curriculum.

Madrasas do have the right to exist, but it is important to bring them under a common standard.

Qawmi madrasas should be persuaded to adopt a governmentapproved curriculum

Time to stop road tragedies

I

t was distressing to see recently that on a single day, the country saw 18 deaths and 34 injuries caused in separate road accident incidents.

Steps should be taken immediately to stop this unnecessary and avoidable loss of life.

Bangladesh has one of the worst road-related death rates in the world. Thousands of people die every year in traffic accidents.

Along with the human cost, our nation also incurs large financial costs in the form of medical expenses and lost family income.

This is particularly tragic when young and productive lives are cut short. Road safety is, therefore, not just an issue of valuing human life, but a vital matter concerning the economic development of the country.

Better road safety can be ensured by proper implementation of traffic rules and laws. Roads and highways need to be widened and improved, but infrastructural development alone cannot make the roads safer. Drivers and owners of vehicles must be held accountable for accidents. The authorities should be more cautious about license checks to stop underage drivers, cases of license frauds, and bad drivers from recklessly endangering the lives of others as well as themselves.

We express our condolences for those who have lost their dear and near ones in senseless road accidents, and with those who were left disabled or paralysed for life. Nothing can repair the lives that have been shattered, but we can at least repair our roads and road laws enough to significantly lower our appalling road casualty statistics.

Road safety is not just an issue of valuing life, but a vital matter concerning economic development

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

Is it a sin to hate my own city?

July 1

Ashif Islam Shaon Wow. Nice read, brother. Carry on.

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 5 represents L so fill L every time the figure 5 appears.

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the 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.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

salvation in the Hereafter, the question is absurd.

goodbro123 Would the author believe that he couldn’t taste a full civic life as he was born and bred in Dhaka? I spent my entire life abroad and saw how municipality works, and councils take care of each and every residence and street in a city. Yes, he is right. The whole city looks like the gutter, but who cares? When foreigners visit Dhaka, they have a feeling that if the capital’s condition is what they see (the worst), what about the rest of the country?

Kmak Is it a sin to hate Dhaka? Considering that loving or hating a city or a country has nothing to do with

Zia Dhaka is an urban jungle, but things have slightly improved with a few flyovers. I am happy that at least some changes are taking place, but by no means can we rest on our laurels, especially when there is none. Dhaka is definitely behind schedule and it is everyone’s responsibility to save and support the city. The government must take the primary role. The reason it is getting congested is because we are failing to build infrastructure elsewhere, and hence people continue to flood into Dhaka and turn it into an unsustainable urban mess. The author is in a dilemma and so am I. However, let us believe that we shall see a better Dhaka in the coming years and unite together in bringing forth the change.

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.

‘Anti-rape’ jeans to combat abuse in India

A bang and a whimper

June 29 Mahmudul Islam I doubt its effectiveness. These jeans won’t change a rapist’s mind.

Syeda Zereen Quite wonderful!! I appreciate their initiative.

They fulfilled my dream, which I thought up a couple of years ago. Hope their initiative becomes successful!

The hottest piece of meat in town

June 30 Aumi Hasan Other than Hotbox, all other cart burgers are overrated. Hotbox burgers are fresh, unlike some who serve pre-cooked patties that taste blunt and dry.

BSF killings not helping

June 30

Naffy Sah Start a campaign!!

Dhaka University Day being celebrated July 1

Epshia Congratulations DU. I love this university. :-)

CALVIN AND HOBBES

July 1 Shadman Once again, a thoughtful piece on an oft-ignored topic. Keep up the excellent work.

Fahad The point about assassinations cannot be stressed enough. In the first few decades of our existence, we saw nothing but killings as an attempt to fix political crises, something seen in neighbouring India and Pakistan and even Nepal. Gavrilo Princip might not have been the world’s first assassin, but his was arguably the first major international murder. Thank you for bringing this to people’s attention.

Madiha It is refreshing to read a piece on World War I that is not from a European perspective, both because perspective is extremely narrowing and also because people here tend to assume that such events do not have any impact on the so-called “Third World.” The lasting influence of Gavrilo Princip is often overlooked, and it is important to consider what his actions have spawned.

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Building division (4) 6 Annoy (3) 7 Long detailed story (4) 9 Billiard rods (4) 10 Civic leader (5) 11 Artificial silk (5) 12 Strange (3) 14 Tantalise (5) 17 Henhouse (5) 20 Lair (3) 21 Lukewarm (5) 23 Fashion (5) 25 Trick (4) 26 Country (4) 27 Fabled monstrous bird (3) 28 At hand (4)

DOWN 1 Clergyman (6) 2 Carry too far (6) 3 Table-shaped hill (4) 4 Narrow beam (3) 5 Spoil (3) 7 Of sound mind (4) 8 Spiny shrub (5) 10 Pithy saying (3) 13 Giver (5) 15 Cite as pertinent (6) 16 Make beloved (6) 18 Stupefy (4) 19 Golf mound (3) 22 Metal (4) 23 By way of (3) 24 Joke (3)

vhs Excellent piece! Refreshingly different from most other op-ed piece.

Amit Sobering piece that takes a serious and non-glorified approach to World War I. Excellent work.

Don’t tread on our dreams, please!

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

PEANUTS

July 1 Sammy Wait for the PM and her apologists to come out and term these organisations as “pro-Pakistan” and the authors to be “razakars.” Par for the course for the Baksal regime.

Dismayed Deafening silence from the apologists of AL.

Be kind to football and the world July 1 jagman Ann Coulter on Fox is simply not worth listening to. Don’t waste your time on her.

She has gone on record as saying she drinks whisky for “the taste” while marijuana smokers use dope to “get high” – that’s the logic she is operating on.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Train them better n A Baten

T

Sometimes our fun gets a bit dangerous

L

A

R

G

E

R

MUMIT M

T

H

A

N

L

I

F

E

As crazy as we get

B

n Ekram Kabir

angladesh’s FIFA World Cup party experienced a different celebration when a day labourer was killed and five others were wounded in a clash between supporters of the Argentina and Brazil football teams at a village in northern Lalmonirhat district. The police said a clash brewed among Argentina and Brazil fans, and they started throwing stones at each other that got this man fatally wounded. Then, a 22-year-old youth in Dhaka’s Jatrabari was electrocuted when he went to hoist the Argentine flag on his rooftop.

These are just a few examples of how our emotions rise when such international events come up. We go to an extent of craziness regarding these events. We get divided and get into feuds for reason irrelevant to us as a nation.

This attitude of supporters sometimes appals us. Sometimes, things go out of our hands when unfortunate things take place. I wasn’t very surprised when everybody came out on the streets and played with paint after Bangladesh won the ICC championship trophy in 1997. The people celebrated the win with immense craziness, but no one was at all annoyed about anything. It was our cause, and

we were celebrating.

However, getting killed for a cause that remotely relates to us is a matter that evokes quite a lot of annoyance.

The Brazilians or the Argentine people would perhaps never know that a Bangladeshi fan has passed away in a clash over their teams. Even if they do, it won’t perhaps mean anything – their lives will go on. The poor Bangladeshi fan will be lost in the womb of time.

On the other hand, the lives of Bangladeshis are too morbid. Most Bangladeshis don’t have any fun in their lives. As our state never created a friendly living atmosphere, we’re compelled to remain bogged down in our daily obstacles so much that we forget to ever laugh and smile. If one looks at the long faces that remain stuck in traffic for hours, he or she would realise how sombre our minds are, how we

The Brazilians or the Argentine people would perhaps never know that a Bangladeshi fan has passed away in a clash over their teams

Why do we, Bangladeshis, do it? Why do we want to uphold an Argentine win or a Brazilian win when our own team hasn’t ever played in such a tournament? Why do we fight over something that seems irrelevant to us? The reason behind this may be that psychologically, we deeply feel the absence of our own team, and try holding on to someone in order to celebrate during the World Cup. We don’t have anything or anybody to uphold.

always remain depressed.

I believe that is the reason why we sometimes get over-energised and cross the limit whenever we get any shred of cause to have fun, no matter whose cause it is. Since our childhood, we never knew what to do during our weekends. We just chat with friends and watch TV – that’s it.

When it comes to New Year’s celebrations, we all want to celebrate and rejoice. But most of the time, things

get out of our hands, we become so crazy while celebrating the new year that the government has to put a lid on our celebrations. We recall an incident on the Dhaka University campus when a group of boys stripped a lady at TSC intersection.

I’m tempted to mention a news report from Brazil. A 28-year-old Bangladeshi man was killed in a feud over choosing a girlfriend. The thought of this makes me sick that a Bangladeshi had to die in the World Cup nation over a sex feud.

If this is what we are, I’m ashamed of myself. Maybe we are not habituated to have all this fun, while the rest of the world can take them easily and with a great amount of maturity.

I remember meeting a Bangladeshi colleague in London who was drinking so much that we had to prevent him from overdoing it. His argument was he wouldn’t get any drink when he returned to Dhaka, and that was why he was drinking as much as he could during his stay in the UK. What a stupid logic.

We all know that we have little choice regarding fun and celebrations.

But that doesn’t mean that we have to cross all limits whenever we get an opportunity. Pity on us. l Ekram Kabir, a journalist, is a Dhaka Tribune columnist.

raining is an investment, not an expense for an organisation.

Trained employees should yield higher productivity, and the organisation, along with the nation, will accrue lower production costs, higher profits, and will have more foreign currency to improve our infrastructure for the long run. Training increases employees’ self-esteem, motivation, loyalty, and also productivity.

Our labour is cheap, so some organisations hire them and put them to work without any proper training, for which they fail to perform well and we don’t even bother finding out why.

Many retail stores are overstaffed but their customer service is very poor, including the upscale ones. On the other hand, most of the employees lack soft skills and are not courteous enough. Trained workers are efficient and much more productive. They can get things done within half the time and effort that an untrained, inefficient worker will need. In this day and age we have to be competitive, and to survive we need trained and skilled workers.

Most new employees manage to get into the RMG sector without any training, equipped with professional backgrounds as farmers, fishermen, or homemakers. But they decide to come to the city and work for the garment industry since it pays better than their previous occupation, never taking into account the importance of formal training in such a field. On the other hand, we do lack sufficient training institutions to train the workforce for our RMG sector. They have very little formal education to learn the supervising skills to begin with.

Training benefits employees in many ways: It increases their sense of ownership in the workplace, they become more productive, organised, flexible, and it makes them better in meeting the needs of external and internal customers. It also helps build new skills and abilities in many areas such as decision-making, to make them more efficient.

Organisations should have longterm, flexible, and structured training and development programs. They should focus on individual employee’s needs. This allows individuals to be identified as having the potential and desire to play a better role in taking part in training, and to develop their managerial skills and leadership capability. Each and every garments factory in Bangladesh should offer employees both on-the-job and off-the-job training, and it should be an ongoing process.

In the last seven years, Bangladeshi women’s participation doubled in our economic activity. The World Trade Organisation announced that Bangladesh is the second largest exporter in the RMG sector, and 80% of the labour in this industry is made up of women. RMG is the largest employer for women. It has created employment opportunities for women from rural areas, who never had any opportunity to be a part of a formal workforce.

These women usually have very little formal training in their first job;

they acquired it mostly through training. If they had formal training at least once a year they would have contributed more to our economy. The same is true for our labourers overseas. They also have very little formal training.

In the RMG sector there are currently two million workers employed. The skill-distribution survey in this area was 20% unskilled (helpers) and 30% semi-skilled. This is an implication of an urgent need to train at least one million currently employed workers.

In addition, each year, 400,000 additional workers are needed due to the combined factors of industry growth and employee turnover, so the current annual output of roughly 6,000 skilled labours is inadequate. On the other hand, the gap between supply and demand for mid-level managers, such as line supervisors, is significant.

The estimated demand in 2009 for mid-level managers was 25,000, while supply was virtually nothing.

Every garments factory in Bangladesh should offer employees both on-the-job and off-thejob training

A major factor in the RMG sector is the shortage of qualified workers and midlevel managers. Because of this issue, the industry is unable to shift from simpler to more sophisticated and high-volume products. Bangladesh has come a long way in the RMG sector. It started exporting garments through subcontracting in 1978 with only nine small factories, employing a few thousand people.

In over three decades, this sector has achieved tremendous growth because of policy support from the government, private sector entrepreneurs, and the extremely hard-working labourers.

Currently, approximately 80% of the total export earnings come from the RMG sector, and the number of RMG factories is about 5,000. Earnings from RMG export have exceeded $19bn with 145 countries using “made in Bangladesh” products. Experts are saying the RMG export numbers in Bangladesh can be made more than double by 2020, which will increase our foreign reserve, improve our economy, and create more jobs.

The government and private sectors has a significant role to play in training our workforce. Without proper training, Bangladesh won’t be able to compete with other countries in the RMG sector and in manpower exporting in different countries. Trained labourers are happier and more productive, and can increase our foreign currency reserve and make us number one in the RMG sector in the world. I urge the policymakers to think seriously about this and take measurable steps regarding this issue. l A Baten is Assistant Professor at ULAB.

Leaders of tomorrow, today n Silvia Zaman

S

ustainable development is the delicate balance of continuously meeting the needs of society and nations without compromising the capabilities of future generations, while maintaining cognisance of the environment. The expression of “needs” is not simply the elaboration of an individual’s demands and wishes, rather it is the canvas of socioeconomic, political, and environmental perspectives. If development gaps can be controlled properly, conditions conducive for a more stable world can be created.

The fundamental component and major investment of society that remains underutilised is young people. It is the youth who are the foundation for effective and progressive development. Half of the world’s human population is young.

They hold enormous stake in the present and future state of the earth and its environment. If young people commit themselves to improving structural developmental challenges and utilise their resources of energy, time, and knowledge in a positive way, then long-term sustainable societal development is conceivable.

If society and the government

empower youth through training, workshops, case competitions, and employment, then there will be less possibility for misdirection toward violence, terrorism, drug addiction, and the risk of destabilising civilisation.

If the youth can achieve the social position and power to negotiate in the broader framework of society they can and will participate in all aspects of sustainable development.

In Bangladesh, different organisations and youth centres are working to develop youth programs Structured education systems, political support, skills and knowledge-sharing, and motivation can manipulate one young boy or girl to promote a transition to sustainability.

The dynamics of adolescence and youth are conducive toward progressive thought, unrestricted creativity, inspirited action, and ardent activ-

ism. If these traits can be harnessed through societal support, acceptance, empowerment, and access to rights, the youth can ensure sustainable human development.

Donour agencies play a vital role in boosting young people’s capabilities by allocating resources, enhancing the capacities and interests of both local and national governments to address youth-related issues, and promoting youth in society. World Program of Action for Youth (WPAY) provides a policy framework and practical guidelines as a model for national and international engagement in improving the situation and status of young people.

In Bangladesh, different organisations and youth centres are working to develop youth programs so that young people can learn more and share their opinions to bring sustainable development in societies.

For young people to enjoy all of their rights, governments must take effective actions against violation of those rights and must promote equality and nondiscrimination. Numerous actions and recommendations have been proposed to ensure and secure healthy futures with acceptable quality of life, and a standard of education for the youth. “Sustainable development through youth engage-

ment” should be considered as a viable and substantive potential for future development. If recognised, two critical fundamentals need to be realised: The need for sustainable development solutions, and the need to improve and empower the young population.

The youth of any country should be emboldened and included in such a way that they can actively participate in relevant fields of decision making processes, regarding implications for future outcomes. In this context, each country in consultation with its youth communities can achieve sustainability in every social development sector, in poverty reduction, and in sustainable practice. Young people are in the critical and uninhibited process of learning and inventing, therefore, if they are given incarnate responsibility they will accept the challenge and will be successful in bringing positive changes. Moreover, through empowerment and promotion, young people can and will enhance their cohesion with families and communities.

A bridge has to be built between effective policy and practical action when utilising the potential of the youths. Sustainable development and youth empowerment are not just catchy concepts or the fashionable discourse. Youth-inclusion and

engagement are paramount areas that societies and nations must embrace in every form – social, political, and economic.

Youth are not just future leaders.

Youth are the current leaders, and can play active roles in the sustainable

Ready to lead

development of society now. Therefore, participation of young people is mandatory in achieving sustainable development. l Silvia Zaman works at Eminence Associates for Social Development.

BIGSTOCK

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Ananta Jalil decides Deepika to cast others Padukone n voted sexiest woman in the world Entertainment Desk

n Entertainment Desk

Actor Deepika Padukone has been voted the sexiest woman in the world in a poll conducted by the FHM magazine.

Deepika will feature in the new edition of the magazine, which she unveiled the edition featuring her and the other girls in the top 100 list of sexiest women.

However, Deepika believes that her physical appearance has got nothing to do with this poll and it is only her work that led her to this.

“I think something like this is really the result of the work that I do. I don’t think it ha s got anything to do with me physically. I also think that the brand endorsements are also the result of the films that you do,” the statuesque actor said.

“I have been very fortunate that the roles I have done in the last 2-3 years have been very different from each other. So I guess this and the endorsements are a result of that and, of course, the success of that and the reliability of the characters,” Deepika added.

Deepika was last seen in the Tamil film “Kochadaiiyaan.”

Her look in “Finding Fanny” is also out. The film has been directed

by Homi Adajania and also stars Arjun Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah and Dimple Kapadia. l

Ananta Jalil has decided on casting new talents in movies produced by Moonsoon Films, his own production house. S M Ali Zaker Sojib, the PR agent of Ananta Jalil, confirmed the news to the Dhaka Tribune saying: “A plan is underway just as the news suggests but we are not completely ready to announce the upcoming projects officially. I hope that after the release of ‘Most Welcome 2,’ Ananta Jalil’s fans will get to know about his future ventures.”

Moonsoon Films will not survive if it produces a single movie in a year and that is the main reason behind casting newcomers in his films.

Ananta Jalil will also direct the films along with producing them. Earlier, many critiques of Jalil’s films suggested that casting other talented actors would give his films an apt look.

Recent rumours suggest that Ananta Jalil and Barsha are going to drop their film career after “Most Welcome 2.” But a latest flick from Anata’s own production house reveals that the

dynamic duo will be appearing together once again in an upcoming film titled “The Spy.” l

An official poster of Ananta Jalil’s upcoming film Most Welcome 2 is out in the social media.

Starring Barsha opposite the super star, the film is claimed to have the biggest budget in the history of Bangladeshi filmdom. In the action packed love story, the fans will see him as a police officer who overcomes every obstacle to uphold justice

Nisho and Shokh desperate to marry n Entertainment Desk

The good looking duo Nisho and Shokh are seen to act in TV plays which are based on marital issues. They have acted together in a telefilm “Bhalobashar Kachche Phera” which portrays emotional turmoil like extramarital affairs, allegations and later realising their mistakes and resettling the marriage. The duo is now gearing up to give a treat to the audience by showcasing how a couple becomes desperate to tie the knot.

The plot revolves around a young couple whose wedding gets postponed repeatedly for one reason or the other. The drama portrays the issues among couples nowadays.

About the play, Nisho said: “The story is unusual and amazing. Sometimes it is difficult to act on such scripts. Shokh and I share a good rapport, so we are comfortable with each other and had a great time working on the fun-

filled script.”

“Nisho is a great co-actor. I have learned a lot while working with him. We have enjoyed working on the script,” said Shokh.

Directed by Milon Bhattacharya and written by Hamed Hasan Noman, the drama will be aired during Eid on RTV. l

TODAY IN DHAKA

FROM AKHRA TO FUSION: TRANSFORMATION OF BAUL MUSIC (PART-4)

Film

The informal Akhra Curriculum – Gaan and Gyan

X-Men: Days of Future Past 3D NonStop(2D) Walking with Dinosaurs Transformers: Age of Extinction3D Time: 10am – 10pm Star Cineplex, Bashundhara City

n Maqsoodul Haque Baul music is simply not gaan or music, but also a convergence of gyaan or knowledge. This is 18th century “rural info-taintment” if we may that has survived until today.

During the times of Fakir Lalon Shah an informal Akhra curriculum was advanced which had as its basis 4 specific “stations” termed Chotur desh, or phases which seekers on the Baul path will encounter. They are – i) Sthulo desh – novice, mundane, ordinary, common phases ii) Proborto desh - transitory, apprentice phases iii) Shadhok desh - perfected seekers, recognised, practitioner, and the penultimate iv) Shiddhi desh - one who has reached the height of self realisation.

Within this broad classification of phases, further subdivision was necessitated for a variety of reasons; a.) there were 14 different subgroups within each of the original 4 stations, meaning theoretically the works of Lalon could be interpreted into 56 different sub-categories b) Lalon like other Sages of Bengal preceding him was influenced by enumerationist Samkhya philosophy of Sage Kapila (5th to 2nd Century BCE), who advanced 25 Tottyo or discourse principals and c.) Lalon was conversant with the four Sufi Maqaam or stations i.e. i) Shariyat – origins, base, the path to the well, ii.) Haqiqat - Supreme Truth, reality check, iii.) Tariqat - differing ways and orders and iv.)

Ma’arifat - Gnosis, God realisation, the state of extelligence i.e. beyond intelligence. So as to make it simpler and accommodate major Vaishnavite, Sufi, Sahajiya Buddhist philosophies, eight easily identifiable sub-groups or categories were also included into the 4 stations regime.

They are the Tri Tottyobaad which covered Sufi aspects of i) Noor Tottyo - discourses on light, enlightenment ii) Nabi Tottyo - discourses on the Messengers iii) Rasul Tottyo - discourses on Prophets.

Vaishnavite and Sahajiya Buddhist philosophies were grouped under Pancha Leela or five Pandeist course of willful acceptance i.e. i) Krishna Leela - Lord Krishna’s life story ii) Goishto Leela - cowherd’s music signifying Krishna’s boyhood tryst with Gopis, moral lessons, iii) Nimai Leela – discourses on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, reincarnation of Krishna iv) Gour Leela – Gaudiya Vaishnavism, discourses on Gouranga, another name for Krishna in Puranic scriptures, v) Nitai Leela –discourses on the omnipotent, “timeless supreme,” one who has no birth or death.

Historical records also suggest, there were

Noah 3D Tarkaata Godzilla 3D Ami Shudhu Cheyechi Tomay Mr Peabody & Sherman 3D Jamuna Future Park, Blockbuster Cinemas Ka- 244, Pragati Avenue Kuril

A scene from Bhalobasar Ebela Obela

Mosharraf anxious about the return of Sumaiya’s fiance n Entertainment Desk A single episode drama titled “Bhalobasar Ebela Obela” will be aired today on NTV at 12:20pm.

Written by Matia Banu Shuku, the drama is directed by Jubayer Ibne Bakr. The drama features Mosharraf Karim, Sumaiya Shimu, Mishu Sabbir, Monira Mithu and others.

The story of the drama revolves around Shamsu Kazi who started his profession as a marriage register. One morning, a girl named Rina comes to his office from Rajshahi to elope

A Shadhu at the Shrine of Fakir Lalon Shah MAQSOODUL HAQUE

several significant seats of learning called khadis or ashon for transmission of Baul music and philosophy with their own resident Gurus in geographically defined locales. They were: i) Pachu Shah in Gholdhari, Chuadanga ii) Mochai Shai in Abdalpur, Kushtia, iii) Gorib Shah in Sabdalpur, Jessore iv) Choudhor Shah in Kodaliya, Meherpur v) Shukur Shah in Alamdanga, Chuadanga, vi) Kanai Shah and Bholai Shah in Chotropara, Jhenaidah, vii) Ujal Shah in Jhaudia, Jessore viii) Iman Shah in Moheshganj, Meherpur ix) Shaker Shah in Choraigram, Kushtia x) Tinkori Shah in Bittipara, Kushtia and xi) Nengta Shah in Nischintapur.

The all inclusive, yet intense curriculums as well as the existence of transmission centers indicate the high musical and stringent spiritual standards practiced by Bauls since Lalon’s time as until today. Clearly Baul is just not a music form, but an organic sophisticated lifestyle statement which is scientific, and forward looking. The art form survives until present times due to the seriousness its practitioners emphasise on the esoteric messages of Fakir Lalon Shah for humanity, that has reverberated all across Bengal for centuries and as is evident now, reached a global audience. l Maqsoodul Haque is a jazz-rock fusion musician and cultural researcher who is writing a series on the transformation of Baul music.

while her lover Monir, who is suppose to come from Gazipur. But to the surprise of Rina and Shamsu, Monir fails to turn up for the ceremony. Rina cannot return to her home in this situation and she does not have any place to go.

Shamsu arranges for Rina to live in his sister’s home for a while. After four months, Shamsu’s sister convinced Rina to marry Shamsu. The thought of Rina’s ex-fiance turning up any day haunts Shamsu even after five happy years of marriage and he is devastated with fear when Monir tunrs up for real. l

Exhibition

Second Sight Time: 12pm – 8pm The Daily Star Centre 64-65, Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue

Theatre

Hamlet Dhaka University Theatre Department, Time: 7:30pm Natmandal, DU

Katy Perry slapped with plagiarism charges n Entertainment Desk Katy Perry is no stranger to controversy, but she has managed to stay away from legal copyright disputes so far. Well, not anymore.

The singer is being sued over her catchy single “Dark Horse,” which the plaintiffs claim replicated their 2006 song “Joyful Noise.”

But that’s not even the strangest part of this story.

The four musicians suing Perry are a Christian rock band and claim that the pop

songstress not only used their original tune, but that she also sullied it with “witchcraft, paganism, black magic and Illuminati imagery.” This case isn’t Perry’s first brush with plagiarism accusations – last year, she came under fire for the apparent similarities between her single “Roar” and Sara Bareilles’ “Brave.”

Interestingly, Perry has been accused of practising occult hobbies before. When she debuted the song at the 2014 Grammy Awards, plenty of keyboard warriors rode in

to fight against the death of decency and accused Perry of working for the forces of evil.

Pretty standard stuff. This might be the first time where that accusation has been used in a copyright dispute, however. The complaint was filed on July 1, in St Louis according to Billboard. Rappers Marcus Gray, Emanuel Lambert, Lecrae Moore and producer Chike Ojukwu are seeking damages from Katy Perry, Juicy J, Lukasz Gottwald, Sarah Theresa Hudson, Max Martin, Henry Russell Walter and Capitol Records. l

Sp rt DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, July 5, 2014

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#MCCvRoW

To commemorate the bicentenary of Lord’s Cricket Ground, a host of star-studded names have come together to take part in a celebration game between Marylebone Cricket Club XI and Rest of the World XI, slated to be held today at the famous cricket ground dubbed the “Mecca of Cricket”. MCC XI will be captained by retired Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar and will feature renowned cricketers like Rahul Dravid, Saeed Ajmal and Brett Lee. The Rest of the World XI will be skippered by retired Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne with Kevin Pietersen, Muttiah Muralidaran and Shahid Afridi making up the side

Shakib at it again!

Different controversies seem to be following Bangladesh all rounder Shakib al Hasan for quite some time now but the latest one is likely to prove costly as the 27-year old is said to have breached the code of conduct after flying to the West Indies to take part in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 without the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

And this time it was learned that the board is looking to take some serious action against Shakib as he was asked to join the ongoing training camp immediately, informed acting BCB CEO on Thursday.

Shakib, part of the Tigers squad that began their camp on July 1 for the upcoming tour of the West Indies next

month, left the country on the morning of July 2. It was learned that Shakib will return to Dhaka from London today and join the camp. Shakib was expected to play the entire CPL T20 which is scheduled to come to an end through the final on August 16 and join the Bangladesh team, who will begin their tour with the ODI series starting from August 20.

However the new head coach of the national side, Chandika Hathurusingha, wanted Shakib to join the national team on July 31 which the all rounder agreed upon after talking with Hathurusingha over phone.

But the sudden decision taken by the board asking Shakib to join the camp immediately raised some questions after the recent round of controversies. Last month, Shakib was alleged to have left the dressing room

Out-of-sorts Robinho having a good time While Brazil were struggling in their pursuit of a second scorer other than Neymar, an out of favour Robinho kept the scoreline ticking with his admirable runs and touches not in a competitive circuit but in the beach of Santos with his friends.

Robinho is currently enjoying a vacation as his club AC Milan have permitted their players a holiday. After arriving at his home, the 30-year old forward alongside his family members went to the beach. On Thursday he arranged a football match with the available players, including some trainees of Santos’s young school. Taking four plastic stools from a shop he set up a field with two goals at each end and played football with the boys.

In between, he stopped to take pictures with fans but soon turned his attention to the game. All the while, the former Manchester City striker was in good form as his opponents struggled to contain him. The boys on the other hand were excited having

gotten the opportunity to play with their Santos idol.

Brazil head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is already under fire for his decision to select Fred ahead of Robinho. The other forwards in the squad, Hulk and Jo, are yet to produce a match-winning performance. Leaving out experienced duo Ronaldinho and Kaka might not have caused a stir as their best days are behind them but the exclusion of Robinho added to the disappointment of the Brazilian fans. Furthermore, the omissions of Miranda and Felipe Luis, both from Atletico Madrid, were also surprising. The fans are also complaining about the exclusions of Liverpool pair Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Leiva, who both had a great club season.

Moreover, Lucas Moura, a talented attacking midfielder and winger at French champions Paris Saint Germain, was also inexplicably left home.

Robinho however declined to comment over his exclusion and remained tight-lipped. If Brazil fail to spark against Colombia in the quarterfinals, Team Selacao will face a barrage of criticism over the non-selection of several talented players. l

and was said to have beaten up a spectator during the first ODI against India at Mirpur on June 15.

Meanwhile the issue of Shakib’s NOC and leaving the dressing room during an international game without prior permission is expected to be discussed in the upcoming board meeting on July 7 while it was learned that the premier Bangladeshi all rounder may face a fine of Tk200,000 for his latter offence. Moreover, shockingly for Shakib, he may not get approval to play in the second edition of the CPL. It was also learned that Shakib had an argument with the new Sri Lankan coach over the aforementioned issues which might be one of the reasons behind the board asking Shakib to join the camp instead of letting him play in the West Indies. l

Siam, Fahad share lead in National Junior Chess

Djokovic downs Dimitrov to reach third final

Reigning national junior chess champion Ikramul Haque Siam and FIDE Master Mohammad Fahad Rahman jointly shared the lead along with four other players following the conclusion of the fourth round of the Union Insurance 34th National Junior (Under-20) Chess Championship yesterday.

Fahad, youngest FIDE Master of the country, defeated Saikat while Siam beat Zisha in their respective fourth round games at the Bangladesh Chess Federation hall-room. The other players who are jointly at the top of the points table are former junior champions Abdullah Al Saif, Avik Sarkar, Akib Jawad, Kawshik Chowdhury and Abu Bakar Jibon. Saif beat Muhit, Avik defeated Kowshik while Akib overcame Munia.l

Novak Djokovic moved a step closer to his second Wimbledon title as the top seed booked his third appearance in the final with a gritty 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (9/7) victory over Grigor Dimitrov on Friday.

Djokovic, who won the Wimbledon title in 2011, rarely hit peak form in a patchy semi-final on Centre Court, but showed all his battling qualities to overcome the Bulgarian 11th seed in a three hour and two minute war of attrition.

The 27-year-old, a six-time Grand Slam winner, will face seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer or Canadian eighth seed Milos Raonic

in his 14th Grand Slam final as he looks to avenge last year’s final defeat against Andy Murray.

World number two Djokovic will reclaim top spot in the rankings from Rafael Nadal for the first time since September 2013 if he lifts the trophy in his third Wimbledon final in four years on Sunday.

“I thought I started well, but once again I allowed my opponent to get back into it,” Djokovic said.

“The fourth set could have gone either way but overall I’m happy to be in another Wimbledon final.

Djokovic has been beaten in five of his last six Grand Slam finals, with his last major triumph coming at the 2013 Australian Open, and he admitted he is desperate to end that frustrating run this weekend. l

A win for BJMC, finally Team BJMC registered their first victory after a winless run of five matches when they came from behind to defeat Uttar Baridhara 2-1 in the Nitol-Tata Bangladesh Premier Football League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Kenyan striker Collins Tiago put Uttar Baridhara ahead in the 20th minute before Nigerian midfielder Samson Illiasu restored parity for BJMC two minutes into the second half. Guinean striker Ismael Bangoura scored the winner three minutes later to salvage all three points for BJMC. The defeat increased Baridhara’s chances of getting relegated from the top flight in their debut season. They remained at the bottom of the points table with only 12 points from 22 matches while BJMC remained at seventh with 24 points having played the same number of games.

In the day’s other game, Chittagong Abahani continued their magnificent run in the league by crushing 10-man Feni Soccer Club 3-0 at the same venue.

It was Chittagong outfits’ fourth consecutive victory that has almost guaranteed their place in the top flight. l

Team BJMC’s Guinean forward Ismael Bangoura (No. 10) controls the ball against Uttar Baridhara in the Nitol-Tata Bangladesh Premier Football League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MUMIT M

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Sp rt DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, July 5, 2014

Messi-based Argentina face Belgium test Argentina will once again turn to Lionel Messi for inspiration when they tackle star-studded Belgium in Brasilia on Saturday in a World Cup quarter-final haunted by ghosts of yesteryear.

Victory would take Argentina into the last four – where either Holland or Costa Rica will await – for only the second time since they last won the tournament in 1986, beating Belgium in the semi-finals en route.

But despite results living up to expectations – Argentina have won all four of their games to date – performances have not, and the team’s dependence on Messi has been cited as the key factor.

With four goals in three matches, the Barcelona megastar was his side’s saviour in the group phase, while in the 1-0 extra-time victory over Switzerland in the last 16 he seemed the only player capable of making a difference.

Diego Maradona was scathing of the team’s performance, warning coach Alejandro Sabella that he is destined for “catastrophe” if he cannot alleviate some of the burden on the team’s outstanding player.

Argentina’s assault on the World Cup was supposed to be spearheaded by their ‘Fantastic Four’ attackers, but Messi is the only one who has lived up to his billing so far.

Sergio Aguero is a serious doubt for the Belgium game due to a muscle injury, Gonzalo Higuain is still waiting for his first goal, and despite scoring the winner against the Swiss, Angel Di Maria has delighted and exasperated in equal measure.

Facing accusations that his side are

Five reasons why there’s hope for Messi Four-time world footballer of the year Lionel Messi has not scored in the last seven games against Belgian’s Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Here AFP Sports gives the 27-year-old Argentine captain and Barcelona star encouragement by listing five cases of similar droughts ended in spectacular fashion.

Tony McCoy - Grand National

overly reliant on their number 10, Sabella said that “Argentina have always had a dependence on Messi”.

It is likely to be no different against Belgium and Messi’s task will be rendered doubly difficult by the fact that the opposition goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois of Atletico Madrid, has kept him at bay for seven games in succession.

The Messi-Courtois duel is one of many subplots in a game that carries strong echoes of the last World Cup encounter between the teams in Mexico City, which Argentina won 2-0 thanks to a glorious Maradona brace.

QUARTER-FINAL

V ARGENTINA

Belgium BELGIUM

Estadio Nacional,Brasilia 05 JUL 2014 - 13:00 Local (10:00PM BST) Then, as now, Argentina were dependent on the brilliance of one prodigiously gifted player, whereas Belgium’s success was built upon the emergence of an exceptionally talented generation of players.

While the Belgian side of 1986 boasted the razor-sharp creative instincts of Enzo Scifo, the current team can call upon Eden Hazard, but the 23-year-old is yet to fully catch fire in Brazil.

Although he came up with crucial and timely assists in the group-phase wins over Algeria and Russia, the Chelsea winger is yet to score.

However, coach Marc Wilmots is adamant that Belgium do not have dependency issues of their own. l

Argentina forward Lionel Messi (C), midfielders Fernando Gago (R) and Javier Mascherano take rest during training at Cidade do Galo, in Vespasiano on Wednesday ahead of their 2014 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal against Belgium today AFP

Maradona’s other great World Cup goal Misfiring Higuain a Argentina’s World Cup quarter-final against Belgium on Saturday will rekindle memories of a brilliant goal scored

by Diego Maradona that is one of the finest to have graced the tournament.

It is for his brace against England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup that Maradona is best remembered: the notorious ‘Hand of God’, followed by the 70-yard dribble dubbed ‘The Goal of the Century’.

But in the semi-final against Belgium, which also took place at Mexico

City’s 110,000-seater Estadio Azteca, he scored a goal almost as dazzling as the one that had broken England’s hearts three days before.

There are 62 minutes on the clock when the 25-year old, who had given Argentina the lead earlier in the second half, collects a pass from Jose Luis Cuciuffo 35 yards from goal in the Belgian half.

Turning towards goal, he feints to go left, drawing defenders Stephane Demol and Patrick Vervoot towards him, before sharply slipping the ball to the right with his left foot, throwing the pair off balance.

The record-breaking 19-time champion jockey looked as if he would never win the Grand National after 14 failed attempts at the world’s greatest steeplechase. Aged 35, time was against him.

Then, in 2010, he ended that drought in style, winning by five lengths.

Greg Norman - majors Gifted and flamboyant golfer the ‘Great White’ somehow lost his bite when it came to the business end of the majors.

However, he put the pain behind him when claiming the 1993 British Open to win his second and what was to be his last major title.

Vitas Gerulaitis v Jimmy Connors Gerulaitis was the epitome of cool on the tennis court. Thus it was when in 1980 he finally beat Jimmy Connors after 16 straight defeats he strode into the press room and declared to the press: “And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row.”

Ireland v France – 2000 Six Nations The Irish rugby team had travelled to Paris to play France not having won there in 28 years and without any sort of victory over them since 1983. However, a hat-trick of tries by 21-year-old centre Brian O’Driscoll saw the Irish record an astonishing 27-25 victory in a sunlight Stade de France.

Ngeny v El Guerrouj – 2000 Olympics The 1500 metres Olympic final in Sydney was meant to be the moment when the outstanding Moroccan made up for his disappointment of falling in the final four years before. He came to the Olympics having won two 1500m world titles in the intervening years. Ngeny wasn’t seen as a threat, and had never come close to beating El Guerrouj. However, it all went terribly off script as Ngeny ran the race of his life to pass El Guerrouj in the finishing straight to take the title.

Belgium unveil Messi plan with a Hazard of their own Belgium pointed to Eden Hazard as a potential match winner as they laid out a strategy to combat Lionel Messi and Argentina when they meet in their World Cup quarter-final in Brasilia on Saturday.

“Hey, we’ve got Eden,” teammate Kevin Mirallas said on Thursday as reporters sought answers to the question of dealing with the threat of Argentina’s multiple World Footballer of the Year award winner.

“You can’t compare him with Messi or (Cristiano) Ronaldo, but he is still something special.”

Seeing off Argentina’s talismanic threat will be a communal effort, added defender Jan Vertonghen.

“We have to stand together as team.

If Messi gets past one of us, then there must be a second and third player ready to stop him.”

But he added it was Argentina who had more to fret over as they prepared a game plan against the Belgians, who have four wins under their belt in Brazil already.

“We are a team that is difficult for an opponent to prepare against and to play against,” Vertonghen insisted.

“We can play different systems and we have a lot of good players on the bench. It is exceptional to have so many different qualities in a squad. We are certainly not scared about Saturday.”

Midfielder Axel Witsel said the game in the Brazilian capital might even prove easier than their previous matches at tournament.

You can’t compare him (Hazard) with Messi or Ronaldo, but he is still something special “It is understandable that in the group phase we played against cagey teams and found it difficult against them.

“Against the Americans (in the last 16) there was much more room and I expect Argentina to look to dictate the play. Hopefully that gives us room to infiltrate and our players can profit from the gaps they offer. We have a lot of players with with pace.

“The Argentines haven’t played well to date,” added Witsel. l

A burst of acceleration takes him into the penalty area and after surging to his left, burning off a befuddled Eric Gerets, he thunders the ball past goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff.

The follow-through from the shot almost carries Maradona off his feet, but with exaggerated effort he manages to remain upright before racing down the touchline with his right arm aloft in celebration.

For former Belgium defender Georges Grun, a helpless bystander at the Azteca who now works as a television consultant, it is a goal that springs to mind every time he watches Argentina’s current number 10, Lionel Messi.

“In 1986, Maradona was simply unstoppable. Not only in that match, but during the whole tournament,” Grun told the website of Belgian television channel RTL. “Like Maradona at that time, Messi is the one who has to be watched. With their little steps, they’re players who always maintain contact with the ball, so it’s difficult to take it from them without committing a foul.”l

concern for Argentina Gonzalo Higuain’s failure to score at the World Cup has become a source of concern for Argentina ahead of their quarter-final showdown with Belgium in Brasilia on Saturday.

Up to now, Argentina have advanced without convincing thanks to Lionel Messi, who has contributed four goals and two assists, but even the Barcelona superstar will struggle to overcome Belgium singlehanded.

With Argentina’s other star forward, Sergio Aguero, struggling with an injury and likely to miss the Belgium game, coach Alejandro Sabella needs Higuain to rediscover his form quickly.

His relative height (6’0”, 1.84m) and physical bulk (82kg) would appear to make him the ideal foil for an Argentine attack where feet and inches are in short supply, but the reality has proven quite different.

Thus far, the Argentine supporters

who have travelled to Brazil in their thousands have seen Higuain perform well below his best.

Although his entrance as a substitute in Argentina’s opening 2-1 win over Bosnia-Hercegovina changed the game and earned him a starting place, his displays against Iran, Nigeria and Switzerland were disappointing.

The legacy, perhaps, of the weeks he spent on the sidelines after injuring his ankle in early May, Higuain was slow in his movements and inaccurate in his passes.

Not only he did not score, but he contributed precious little to his side’s attacking play, particularly in the last16 tie against the Swiss.

Criticised during his time at Real Madrid, but adored at Napoli, the man known as ‘Pipita’ is not, however, deterred by the big events.

At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, he scored three goals in the group phase against South Korea and another against Mexico in the last 16.l

KEY STATS Argentina forward Lionel Messi has been man of the match in all four of his nation’s outings at the finals, netting four goals and setting up Angel Di Maria to score the winner against Switzerland in the last 16.

Saturday’s match will be Messi’s 91st international, equalling Argentina great Diego Maradona in joint sixth on the nation’s all-time list.

Argentina have survived six of the seven times they have had to play extra time or a shootout at the World Cup - their only defeat was on penalties to Germany in the 2006 quarter-finals.

Belgium’s victory against the United States in the last 16 meant they equalled their record of seven straight wins in all competitions from 1979-80.

Previous meetings

Argentina and Belgium have played each other four times, with the South Americans winning three and the Europeans one, a shock success at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

Last meeting

They last met when Argentina beat Belgium 2-0 in the 1986 semi-finals, Maradona scoring both goals.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, July 5, 2014

Costa Rica fairytale faces Dutch reckoning QUARTER-FINAL The irresistible fairytale of Costa Rica faces a day of reckoning against Louis van Gaal’s hard, calculating Dutch side on Saturday in the Brazil World Cup’s most unlikely quarter-final.

Few believed that Costa Rica, a small Central American country with an undistinguished footballing record, would still be standing, especially after a group including Italy, England and Uruguay.

Yet “Los Ticos” shocked Uruguay and Italy to top a group bracketing three World Cup winners, before battling past Greece on penalties after playing an hour with only 10 men.

Despite the talents of Joel Campbell and Bryan Ruiz in attack, it has been more a case of grit and organisation than Latin flair with Jorge Luis Pinto’s side conceding only two goals so far and scoring five.

Costa Rica have already outdone their best World Cup performance, reaching the last 16 in 1990, much to the jubilation of fans back home whose celebrations have stretched long into the night.

Whether the parties continue depends on the Netherlands, whose hardnosed approach and late comebacks have already dashed the dreams of millions of fans in Chile and Mexico.

The 2010 finalists began the World Cup with a heady 5-1 rout of reigning champions Spain, and then came from behind to beat Australia 3-2.

Objections surfaced over their counter-attacking style after the 2-0 win against Chile, which was achieved with two late goals and with veteran forward Dirk Kuyt playing left-back.

And much sympathy for the Oranje evaporated when Arjen Robben, after earning the injury-time penalty that sank Mexico 2-1, admitted diving during the last-16 tie.

After a furore over those comments Robben will not expect any favours from Uzbek referee Ravshan Irmatov, who is yet to give a penalty in his eightgame World Cup career.

But the Bayern Munich flyer’s

V NETHERLANDS

FACT BOX Probable teams

Netherlands 1-Jasper Cillessen; 7-Daryl Janmaat, 3-Stefan de Vrij, 2-Ron Vlaar, 4-Bruno Martins Indi, 15-Dirk Kuyt; 5-Daley Blind; 8-Jonathan de Guzman, 10-Wesley Sneijder; 9-Robin van Persie, 11-Arjen Robben.

Costa Rica

1-Keylor Navas; 16-Cristian Gamboa, 4-Michael Umana, 3-Giancarlo Gonzalez, 2-Johnny Acosta, 15-Junior Diaz; 7-Christian Bolanos, 17-Yeltsin Tejeda, 5-Celso Borges; 10-Bryan Ruiz; 9-Joel Campbell.

Key stats

This is the first match between the two teams.

Costa Rica have reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time.

Costa Rica are unbeaten in their three matches against European teams at the 2014 World Cup. Costa Rica could become the first CONCACAF team to reach the World Cup semi-finals since the United States did so in the first ever tournament in 1930. duel against Keylor Navas, one of the World Cup’s goalkeeping heroes whose one-handed penalty stop denied Greece, will be closely watched.

Navas, who is expected to recover from a shoulder injury, can also expect a work-out from Robin van Persie with emerging PSV Eindhoven star Memphis Depay likely to figure later on.

In a blow to the Dutch, midfield en-

forcer Nigel de Jong is out with a groin injury, meaning a reshuffle for the Manchester United-bound Van Gaal.

But the coach has shown cool tactical nous and opportunism, first by redeploying Kuyt and also using the World Cup’s first cooling break to switch tactics against Mexico.

Costa Rica have problems in defence with centre-back Oscar Duarte -- who

Robben a defender’s nightmare: Pinto Dutch forward Arjen Robben is at the height of his game and would be a nightmare for any team at the World Cup, Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto said on Thursday ahead of his side’s quarter-final against the Netherlands.

“He’s a model winger for anyone who wants to learn how to play soccer,” Pinto told Reuters at Costa Rica’s training camp. “He’s at the peak of his career, he’s a nightmare for any team.”

The 30-year-old has been one of the players of the tournament in Brazil, scoring three goals and terrorising defences with his quick, weaving runs and close control. He was instrumental in the Netherlands’ last-gasp

win against Mexico in the last round, helping them back from the brink of elimination by winning a controversial stoppage-time penalty, converted by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

“Of course the Dutch team helps him, but if you see the way he attacks and the goals he’s scored you can say without any doubt that he’s one of the three or four players in the World Cup,” Pinto said.

“I feel that Mexico sat back a lot,” he said. “Chile were more aggressive (in their 2-0 first round loss to the Netherlands) but they left a lot of space, and the Dutch when they have space are very dangerous.”

Costa Rica have standing on the brink of the first World Cup semi-final in their history.l

scored a brilliant header against Uruguay -- suspended and the left-sided Roy Miller an injury concern.

Up front, expect another starring role from Campbell, 22, whose eye-catching tournament could prompt Arsenal to recall him after loan spells at Lorient, Real Betis and Olympiakos.

Playing behind Campbell will be the assured Ruiz, 28, completing an attack-

DAY’S WATCH

police said they had identified the first name of the alleged Fifa official from telephone calls.

The suspected official, said Fábio Barucke, a Rio police investigator in charge of the case, enjoys clearance for Fifa offices, stadiums and other administrative areas where he would have access to game tickets.

The official, Barucke added, is not Brazilian and is in the country only be-

cause of the World Cup. Fifa said in a statement late on Thursday it planned to analyse the resold tickets that had been seized by police and would assist Brazilian authorities in identifying their source.

Lamine Fofana, a French-Algerian national police have said they suspect to be the head of the scalping ring, was never accredited for the Fifa World Cup nor had any access to any official car

At least one person died on Thursday when an unfinished overpass collapsed in World Cup host city Belo Horizonte, overshadowing the buildup to the first quarter-finals in which France face Germany and Brazil take on Colombia.

Nineteen people were also injured in the accident about two miles (3 km) from the Mineirao Stadium where World Cup games are being played and a semi-final is due to be held on Tuesday.

The cause of the collapse, which underlined Brazil’s struggle to deliver infrastructure projects safely and on time, was unclear. The overpass was part of a network of bus lanes that Brazil planned to have ready for the World Cup, but was not finished on time. Groups of people gathered around the scene of the

pool, the statement said.

A spokeswoman for Fifa said earlier on Thursday that the organization, soccer’s governing body, had yet to receive any information from police identifying the Fifa official who allegedly helped the ring.

Given the number of third-parties that operate in and around the World Cup, she added, the person may not even be employed by Fifa. l

WORLD CUP IN BANGLADESH PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST

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BTV, Gazi TV, Maasranga TV Fifa World Cup 2014 Quarter-finals 10:00PM Argentina v Belgium 2:00AM Netherlands v Costa Rica Star Sports 3, 4, HD1 3:30PM Lord’s Bicentenary Match MCC v Rest of World Star Sports 2 6:00PM British Grand Prix Qualifying Star Sports 1 6:30PM Wimbledon Championship

Dhanmondi, Dhaka

ing duo which has yielded three of Costa Rica’s goals so far.

The Fulham forward said Costa Rica were capable of shocking the Dutch -a seismic upset for the World Cup, but one which would find favour with neutrals and romantics.

“Saturday’s game is like a final for us, but we don’t want to stop there,” said Ruiz. l

The Netherlands have come from behind to win three times at the 2014 World Cup, equal to West Germany in 1970. No team has achieved this four times at a World Cup. Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder have scored six World Cup goals. They both need one more goal to equal Dutch record holder Johnny Rep.

Overpass collapses in Brazil

Fifa official connected to ticket tout ring: Police Police in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday said they identified a Fifa official they allege helped a group of suspected scalpers in efforts to illegally resell World Cup tickets, including some originally allocated to players.

During an investigation that earlier this week led to the arrest of a ring of 11 suspected ticket touts,

COSTA RICA

Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador 05 JUL 2014 - 17:00 Local (2:00AM BST)

For more info visit our FB event page ‘World Cup in Bangladesh’ Photography Contest

accident, some shouting furiously.

“Because of the World Cup they sped everything up to finish faster,” said Leandro Brito, 23, a bank worker. “That’s why this tragedy has happened. They are not making things properly. Everyone is very angry.”

Delays in construction projects and $11 billion in public spending to stage the world’s largest sporting event spurred violent protests across Brazil over the last year, but they have fizzled out as the tournament has progressed.

In fact, with the World Cup generally running smoothly and people transfixed by scintillating soccer, a poll published late on Wednesday showed President Dilma Rousseff ’s popularity had increased as she prepares to seek re-election in October.

Support for the leftist president has

risen to 38 percent from 34 percent a month ago, the survey of eligible voters

by Brazilian polling firm Datafolha said.

It also showed that people in Brazil were more positive about the economy and many more now favoured hosting the World Cup, although whether that optimism continues should Brazil fail to win the trophy remains to be seen.

The host nation play Colombia in Fortaleza in Friday’s afternoon kickoff and, with the weight of expectation upon them, there are concerns about whether a team that have failed to sparkle so far can cope with the pressure.

Those fears grew this week when news surfaced that a psychologist went to visit the squad at their training ground, but coach Luiz Felipe Scolari responded angrily to questions about Brazil’s emotional fragility.l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, July 5, 2014 DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, June 16, 2014

13 #MCCvRest of the World

14 Argentina face Belgium test

Sport

15 Robben a defender’s nightmare: Pinto

Donovan slams Klinsmann’s tactics after exit Landon Donovan, the United States’ record scorer who was left out of the World Cup squad, has criticised coach Juergen Klinsmann’s tactics during their campaign which ended with a 2-1 second round extra-time defeat by Belgium.

Klinsmann’s decision not to include 32-year-old Donovan in his 23-man squad surprised many fans and pundits and increased speculation that the pair did not see eye-to-eye.

While Donovan has been careful with his words in his television appearances during the tournament, the team’s exit prompted a pointed critique of the German coach’s approach.

“I think the most disappointing is we didn’t seem like we gave it a real effort, from a tactical standpoint,” he was quoted as saying on the Major League Soccer official website (www.mlssoccer.com).

“I thought the guys did everything they could, they did everything that was asked of them, but I don’t think (tactically) we were set up to succeed... and that was tough to watch.”

Donovan said Klinsmann had turned away from the positive approach he had adopted since taking over the U.S. team in 2011.

“They were set up in a way that was opposite from what they’ve been the past couple of years, which is opening up, passing, attacking - trying to do that. And the team has been successful that way.

“Why they decided to switch that in the World Cup, none of us will know.

From a playing standpoint, I think the guys will probably be disappointed in the way things went,” he said.

“My feeling as a player, if I’m in that locker room before that game - before the Germany game, before the Belgium game - and the coach walked in and said we’re playing a 4-5-1 and Clint is up top by himself, I would have been disappointed. Because I would have said let’s go for it. I want a chance to go for it and try to win the game,” he said.

L.A. Galaxy winger Donovan also criticised the decision to play Michael Bradley in a more advanced role in midfield. l

Former football players Argentina’s Claudio Caniggia (L) and Brazil’s Dunga attend a news conference concerning the 2014 World Cup, in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday

REUTERS

Carsughi, living witness of the Maracanazo It’s only a game! World

Claudio Carsughi is probably the only man alive who witnessed Maracanazo, the disaster of hosts Brazil going down to a shattering 2-1 defeat at the hands of Uruguay in the final of the 1950 World Cup on July 16, held at the Maracana.

As an 18-year old journalist working for Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, he covered the infamous match.

Born at Arezzo in Italy in 1932, the 82year old journalist, sports commentator and engineer shared his unforgettable memories of that eventful game at the Radio Jovem Pan in Sao Paulo where he has been working since 1957.

Besides his radio work, Carsughi is also employed at Portuguese television channel Sport TV. Carsughi, still looking fresh and not

showing any reflection of his age apart from being a little slow in his steps, laughed while taking a trip down memory lane. “I came to Brazil in 1946 with my family and I remember it was my first assignment. I was thrilled. As an 18year old lad (in 1950) I was with my family. The atmosphere was unbelievable with nearly 200,000 people at the stadium. The whole country was behind the Brazilian team. I remember there were mass prayers on Saturday and Sunday (the day of the final),” said Carsughi.

He recalled the moment. “People were standing beside the sidelines.

They were confident that Brazil would win the title. Brazil were in tremendous form going to the World Cup as the South American champions and with a record of beating Uruguay 5-1 in the Copa America in 1949. Brazil, playing in their first World Cup final and with players like Zizinho, Ademir and Jair, looked invincible,” added the veteran journalist.

He was thrilled while stating that about 30 journalists, among them five from Brazil, covered the World Cup. “In that time coming to Brazil was costly and also time consuming. I remember the Italians coming by plane while some of them arrived by ship,” said Carsughi.

Then he started to describe the game. “Brazil were playing well. They dominated the first half. Uruguay did not threaten Brazil. I remember Zizinho and Jair played very well. Ademir’s powerful header from a Chico cross was superbly saved by Uruguayan

keeper Roque Maspoli who tipped over in spectacular style. I felt Brazil’s victory was just a matter of time,” he said.

Brazil scored first through Friaca before Uruguay equalised and notched the winning goal courtesy Juan Alberto Schiaffino and Alcides Ghiggia.

“After the goal of Friaca the crowd exploded but it was silent when Schiaffino equalised and it was pin-drop silence when Ghiggia scored the winner,” added Carsughi. I went on to ask him if Moacir Barbosa Nascimento was to be blamed for conceding the winning goal. “No, he is not to blame. He was double-minded I think. He was thinking about whether to rush on or not but Ghiggia curved the ball past him. I remember he did not attend any public programme for the next ten years. The government had to provide protection for him,” said the legendary journalist.

Carsughi said Ghiggia is still alive and has arrived in Brazil for the World Cup. When queried about the aftermath, Carsughi added, “There were two sections. One was sitting stunned and other was vandalising everything.

The security did not think about such consequences and they were also shellshocked. A number of people died and there were some suicides also in Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian people never forgot the heartbreak,” said Carsughi.

“I was in a mixed situation. I was ordered to sent the report emphasising upon the aftermath as early as possible.

I was thrilled to complete the job and maybe because of it I absorbed the shock

Cup keeps fans laughing

Claudio Carsughi early,” added the witness of Maracanazo.

The veteran journalist said he is not liking the over-reliance on Neymar and Lionel Messi. “Now they are ahead of the compatriots. Others are not in their mark. In our time there were a lot of quality players who were neckand-neck. Nowadays the players fail to continue their star status for a long time. Their star status are short-lived,” opined the Italian journalist who is now in his sixth decade covering sports.

Carsughi said he believes Brazil will win the World Cup. “Apart from relying on Neymar Brazil will show the teamwork and I think it should be enough.

The penalty shootout win against Chile showed Brazil are having the lady luck’s favour. I hope Brazil will win it,” concluded the legendary journalist with a wry smile. l

Shakira to headline at World Cup final

Don’t go Selecao J Lo might sing again

I submit my article before game time each day. The game is over by the time my three readers (editors) see it in the papers.

This is a problem on days that Brazil or Argentina play, since on the day after a match featuring either of these two nations, all people care about is what happened on the pitch and around the television the night before. There is little I can write that will be remotely interesting or relevant to them.

I have decided to tackle the problem

head on. Since I am neither God nor octopus, I have no idea about what Brazil will do tonight except that Fred will probably suck. So I will give you ten reasons WHY Brazil SHOULD NOT lose.

1. Brazil is home to over 4 million species of wildlife including pumas. There will be many heartbroken Pumas if Brazil loses. I have never seen a sad puma but I am quite sure that it’s a tragic sight. No one wants to see a puma cry.

2. Brazil is the largest Portuguese speaking country in the world. Jose Mourinho speaks Portuguese. If Brazil loses, he will surely be asked to comment beyond his Yahoo gig. The world gets enough of the “special one” on a regular

3.

4.

basis. No one needs an extra dose.

Brazil is the largest coffee-producing nation in the world. If Brazil loses global coffee production will suffer. If production suffers, coffee will become scarce in Bangladesh in October, which is when Liverpool will start playing the late midweek games. I will become very cranky if I have to stay up without coffee.

Pele has predicted that Brazil will win the World Cup. Ever since I have been old enough to follow the sport, Pele has never predicted anything correctly.

He even picked England to top their group this year. History does not want Pele to be remembered as the guy who got everything wrong.

What’s the difference between a teabag and the England football team? The tea-bag stays in a cup longer!

Heard what Spain’s coach Vicente Del Bosque said to his charges after two shock losses? “Don’t worry, we still have options: aisle or window seats.”

With the World Cup entering its final stages, the jokes are flying as fast as goals, helping relieve tension and - for fans of the 24 teams already out - the abject misery of elimination.

Be it on, off or thousands of miles away from the pitch it has been another tournament packed with hilarity.

The inglorious early exit of supposed European heavyweights England, Spain, Italy and Portugal brought heartache in those nations at first, then a wave of self-deprecating humour.

One photo doing the rounds shows their four planes lined up in blue sky with the caption: “Permission to land?”

England fans showed a fine ability to laugh at themselves, chanting during their final match the self-parodying song from a Monty Python film: ‘Always Look On The Bright Side of Life’.

One fan, who flew to Brazil after England had been knocked out to see a dire 0-0 draw with Costa Rica, held up a banner mimicking a well-known credit card ad - “Flights to Rio: 1,200 pounds.

Enjoying the ambiance: 2,000 pounds.

Accommodation: 2,000 pounds. Arriv-

ing after elimination: priceless.”

Naturally, the tournament’s main talking point - Uruguay striker Luis Suarez’s ban for biting - has spawned a vast array of doctored images depicting him variously wearing a dog-cone round his neck, a Dracula outfit, or a Hannibal Lecter mask.

A modified version of the Panini sticker of Suarez’s victim, Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini, has been circulating with a chunk missing.

Yet the Uruguayan, who has apologised for the incident which earned him a four-month ban, is by no means the World Cup’s only pantomime villain.

Netherlands forward Arjen Robben, though a hero to Dutch fans for his goals and tricks, has become a target for many due to perceptions of diving and feigning fouls.

The fall that gave the Netherlands a penalty earning them a last-gasp 2-1 win over Mexico has earned particular notoriety.

One company in England, where he comes under constant fire from media over his management of FIFA, launched a new online game in which the player hurls gold, money and riches into the mouth of a guffawing Blatter-like persona crying “Give me more!”

Reporters at FIFA’s briefings have been asking whether Blatter’s low profile here in Brazil is to avoid being booed in public. It’s an “editorial” policy, officials say. l

5.

6.

7.

8.

If Brazil lose then millions of poor people and Muslims will be sad, which will make Ann Coulter happy, which is never a good thing.

An early Brazil exit will leave Argentina unrivalled in Bangladesh. We all know what happens when one side plays uncontested in our bipolar environment.

No one wants a repeat of January 5th 2014.

Brazil’s loss might motivate J Lo and Pittbull to sing a sad song. The only thing that can possibly be worse than them singing a happy song is them singing a sad one. The world is not ready for a return of the vuvuzela times ten.

Julio Cesar was a wreck when Brazil

won. While I have no problems seeing a grown man cry, I am not sure that Cesar is fitted with the right emotional response mechanism. I fear that if Brazil lose, he will strip, laugh maniacally, and kill scores with a coffee grinder.

There is no guarantee that his victims will all be Manchester United fans, so it is likely to be a gruesome tragedy.

9. The Brazilian flag is an eyesore. Dull green and yellow has made my country a visual nightmare during its most photogenic season, Monsoon. We have not suffered so for a team that cannot make it past the quarters.

10. Scolari is old but not very old. If Brazil crashes out then he might be motivated to stick around for one last hurrah. We want the beautiful game to return, which means we want Big Phil to happily ride into the sunset as soon as possibly, preferably with Jose and Louis Van on either side. l

Pop star Shakira will perform before the World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro on July 13, headlining a closing ceremony that includes guitar virtuoso Carlos Santana and rapper Wyclef Jean.

Shakira, who is making her third straight World Cup appearance, will sing “La la la (Brazil 2014)” with Brazilian star Carlinhos Brown, FIFA said in a statement on Wednesday.

Pires will also perform a medley of local music with Brazilian star Ivete Sangalo.

“I’m thrilled to be performing my song ‘La la la (Brazil 2014)’ at the 2014 FIFA World Cup closing ceremony,” said Shakira, who had a son last year with Spain defender Gerard Pique.

“I have an intricate relationship with football for obvious reasons, and I truly understand what the World Cup means to so many people, myself included.” l

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