29 nov, 2014

Agrahayan 15, 1421 Safar 5, 1436 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 235

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

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8 | PRESCRIPTION

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MAKING ROOM FOR TWO

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Killer of minor girl yet to be identified 20 injured in clash between demonstrators and police at Notun Bazar in capital

n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

n Ashif Islam Shaon Police were yet to identify the rapists and killers of a nine-year-old girl whose body was found inside a sack floating in a small pond in Sujantek area of Bhatara in the capital on Tuesday.

An angry gathering of demonstrators yesterday locked in a clash with the police at Notun Bazar when the law enforcers prevented them from blocking the road while demonstrating for immediate arrest of the killers of Farzana Akhter Liza.

Some 20 people, including six policemen from Gulshan and Bhatara police stations, were injured during the hour-long clash. The police fired teargas shells and used water cannon to disperse the demonstrators.

Liza, daughter of car driver Faruk Hossain and a student of a local school, went missing on Monday afternoon after she had gone to a store near her residence to buy a pencil.

Her uncle Hasibul told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that they had made public announcements on loudspeakers in the area on Monday evening about the incident. The family had also filed a general diary (GD) with the Bhatara police station.

The next morning locals of Sujantek saw a sack floating in a small pond and recovered the body of the girl.

Hasibul said the hands of his niece were tied and there were numerous marks of injury on the body.

A case was filed with the police station although the family did not mention any names.

Hundreds of locals under the banners of three protest platforms took to the street around 11am yesterday,

Police members disperse a demonstration by locals of Bhatari in Badda area yesterday afternoon as the people took to the streets to protest the rape and killing of a nine-year-old girl in the area. More photos on Page 3 MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU burnt tyres, blocked roads, halting traffic movement. Students of several educational institutions in the area also joined the demonstration.

Sarwar Hossain, officer-in-charge of Bhatara police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that the locals had wanted to hold a human chain and started gathering at Notun Bazar around 10am. But as they were causing hindrance to the

traffic movement, the police convinced them to leave the place.

However, the demonstrators gathered again after a while and set fire to tyres, blocking the road near the Bhatara police station. The law enforcers then charged batons to disperse the crowd, said the OC. In the meantime, forces from the Gulshan police station also arrived at the scene.

n Minhaz Uddin Khan

n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

A roaring Bangladesh side continued to reign supreme over Zimbabwe as the hosts registered a 21-run win over the visitors yesterday to go 4-0 up in the five-ODI series in Mirpur. The Tigers will get the rare chance to post only their second ever whitewash in a fiveODI series when the two teams face each other in the fifth match this Monday at the same venue. This is Bangladesh’s 13th five-ODI series.

Bangladesh, 256/8 [50 overs] Zimbabwe, 235/8 [50 overs] Bangladesh won by 21 runs

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

Hassan Sourav, 19, in connection with the murder on Thursday. Sourav had been produced before a Dhaka court was taken for remand for three days upon the court’s order.

The police said Sourav was known as a spoilt youth in the locality. A number of demonstrators said Sourav, son of a contractor named Rezaul, was the culprit. l

Sinking public laptop project to face lawsuit

Clinical Tigers go 4-0 up

Having already secured the series in the third ODI last Wednesday in a convincing manner, the Tigers availed the opportunity of experimenting with their squad. Left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny, who took 10 wickets in the first three ODIs, made way for 19-year old debutant Jubair Hossain, Imrul Kayes came in place of Mominul Haque while Abul Hasan replaced the injured Shafiul Islam.

Batting first, Bangladesh scored 256 for the loss of eight wickets in their 50 overs, thanks to a 134-run match-saving stand for the fifth wicket between Mahmudullah (82*) and Mushfiqur Rahim (77 off 78 balls). In reply,

Rounds of chase and counter-chase ensued and at one point the angry mob started to approach the police station around noon.

It was then that the police used water cannon to disperse the demonstrators, said OC Sarwar.

Sub-Inspector Abu Al Bashar, who is investigating the case, said they had arrested a local youth named Mahbub

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan appeals successfully for a leg-before decision during their fourth ODI against Zimbabwe in Mirpur yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

A much-hyped laptop project unveiled by the prime minister in 2011, that turned out to be a lemon, is now at risk of being sued by its foreign partner over unpaid dues.

DOEL laptop plant’s foreign partner, TFT Display Sdn Bhd (TFT), will file a case against the government and several of the project’s then senior officials for unpaid bills, TFT Chief Executive Officer Michael Wong said.

“All those who cheated the Bangladesh government will face corruption charges. They cannot save themselves,” Wong told the Dhaka Tribune over Whats App. “I am suing TSS. All the corruption will come to the surface,” he said.

The DOEL laptop project is a concern of state-owned Telephone Shilpa Sanghta Ltd (TSS). TSS has a 25% stake in the DOEL laptop venture while TFT owns 75% together with local partner 2M. TFT’s total receivable amount is around $225,000, according to a report prepared by TSS for the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

But DOEL’s troubles are more complex than just trying to recover unpaid dues.

TSS and TFT are trading allegations

Election to be held in due time, Biswal told

of corruption with one side claiming to be over charged and the other claiming that public servants had required the over invoicing of the merchandise.

Sources said Wong and TFT were searching for a local lawyer to file the case and had already contacted two senior lawyers in Dhaka.

Wong hinted that a case may be filed against then telecommunications minister, Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju, together with some of his closest bureaucratic aides who were linked to the project.

Assembly of the made-in-Bangladesh device has ground to a halt and sales have plummeted to zero, sources said.

According to the report submitted to the PMO, TSS opened a Letter of Credit at Mercantile Bank in April 2011 for $1,005,540 of which $781,540 was meant for importing machinery from Malaysia.

Eighty per cent of the amount – $625,232 – was paid out to TFT. Some $156,308 was not released to TFT, according to the report, due to TSS’ allegation of corruption by TFT. The TSS report claimed that $381,308 worth of machinery and equipment had not been received.

The TSS report said that TFT had overcharged TSS or delivered goods less than the amount charged.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Leader of the Opposition in parliament, Rawshan Ershad yesterday told visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal that the next election would be held in due course.

Rawshan’s comment came as Biswal asked her when and how the next election would be held.

After her meeting with Rawshan, Biswal met BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. Biswal told Khaleda that her country wants to see a strong democracy in the south to maintain socio-economic progress in the region.

Earlier in the morning, visiting US official Biswal visited Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training (BIPSOT) in Gazipur where she praised the Bangladesh Army for its role in the peacekeeping.

Biswal arrived in Dhaka on Thursday on a three-day visit. She is scheduled to hold a series of meetings with the prime minister, government officials, business community leaders, opposition parties and labour leaders.

In November 2013, she visited Bangladesh and stressed dialogues between the political parties to resolve the political deadlock to hold an inclusive, free, fair and acceptable election.

Nisha-Khaleda meeting

Visiting US official Biswal told BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia that a strong democracy is necessary in the region so that the economic cooperation and democracy can go together side by side.

“She reiterated what she said at the Saarc summit that the democratic process has to be consolidated further in  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

INSIDE 15 | Entertainment

Kushal Das was born in Kolkata into a family of musicians, and plays the sitar and surbahar. Kushal will be performing at Bengal Classical Music Festival at the Army Stadium today.

7 | World

France said it was working with partners on a ‘final’ diplomatic push to overcome the impasse between Israelis and Palestinians, including by setting a two-year timeframe to end the conflict.

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Saturday, November 29, 2014

PM: Khaleda living like a fugitive

She ordered to reinvigorate leaders, who have been inactive in the party, through the ongoing party councils n Emran Hossain Shaikh BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is living like a fugitive in fear of seeing corruption charges against her proved in court, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

“She [Khaleda] terms others corrupt but she herself is living like a fugitive.

She is not attending court hearings in the case filed on charges of misappropriation of funds meant for orphans,” Hasina said addressing the meeting of the Awami League Working Committee at Gonobhaban yesterday.

The prime minister said the BNP, the caretaker government and even the World Bank failed to spot any act of corruption that the Awami League (AL) had been involved in.

“There have been many efforts to link Awami League to acts of corruption. World Bank officials got tired as they investigated Padma bridge corruption allegations but still found nothing,” she said.

Hasina said party councils were being held at wards, unions and districts, and some of the councils had already been completed.

“Councils of Awami League’s associate bodies are also being held. We are receiving enthusiastic response from the people. They are taking interest in joining Awami League as the party’s activities resulted in rapid developments in the country in the last five years,” she said.

The prime minister ordered the working committee to reinvigorate leaders, who have been inactive in the party, through the councils. She also asked for appointing dedicated and competent leaders in the posts they deserve, and cautioned lawmakers not to pressure for appointment of leaders in key posts who are loyal to them.

Hasina ordered to form grassroots committees by including both junior and senior leaders.

Presidium member and Health Minister Mohammed Nasim proposed to announce a month-long programme for December, also the month of victory. But the prime minister turned down the proposal, saying this would heighten people’s sufferings.

Hasina claimed employment in the past five years had reached an unprecedented level. Around 10 million got jobs during this period. She said people were also provided with a range of

training for self-employment.

The AL chief said the government built 5,275 digital centres and turned 400 post offices into digital centres.

She said the country has 8,000 post offices and all of them would be turned into digital centres gradually.

Hasina claimed the poverty rate had gone down to 24.4% during the current term of the Awami League, adding that the government would be able to bring down the rate to below 10% before the tenure ended.

She said the country’s inflation rate fell remarkably as a result of the economic programmes taken by the government.

“The inflation rate was over 13% in 2009 but it now stands at 6.04%. It is benefitting the common people, those from the low-income group. About 30 types of medicines are provided free of cost to patients at community clinics while poor mothers of newborn babies and also lactating mothers are given allowances,” she said.

“People are getting so much because the Awami League is in power. Those who were in power in the past could give nothing except corruption, terrorism and militancy. How can they give something to the people if they embezzle funds of orphans?” said the prime minister.

Hasina said many are proposing various development theories but the government believes in none of theme.

She said the government’s theory is to help people eat to their hearts’ content and to raise their standard of living.

“Those who are suggesting theories now proposed the caretaker government theory earlier. But the theory is now gone,” said the premier.

Hasina termed the 18th Saarc Summit in Nepal fruitful and said Saarc leaders had highly appreciated Bangladesh’s progress in various sectors.

She said the heads of state had a favourable atmosphere to discuss issues at the summit.

“It was possible as all member states of the Saarc now have elected governments in power. We inked a deal and also made an announcement stressing the socio-economic development of this region,” she said.

“The progress we made was recognised as a model that can be followed

by South Asia and other developing countries around the world,” added Hasina. l

British PM seeks EU support for new migration curbs n BBC David Cameron has passionately urged other EU leaders to support his “reasonable” proposals for far-reaching curbs on welfare benefits for migrants.

Britain’s prime minister said lower EU migration would be a priority in future negotiations on the UK’s membership and said he would “rule nothing out” if he did not get the changes he wanted.

Under his plans, migrants would have to wait four years for certain benefits.

Britain’s Labour party leader, Ed Miliband, said the PM had “no credibility” on immigration.

In a long-awaited speech in a factory in the West Midlands, Cameron said he was confident that he could change the basis of EU migration into the UK and therefore campaign for the UK to stay in the EU in a future referendum planned for 2017.

But he warned that if the UK’s demands fall on “deaf ears” he will “rule nothing out” – the strongest hint to date he could countenance the UK leaving the EU. The main proposals in the speech are dependent on Cameron remaining in power after May’s general election.

The Conservative prime minister proposes to stop EU migrants from claiming in-work benefits, such as tax credits, and getting access to social housing for four years.

He wants to bar migrants from claiming child benefit and tax credits for children living outside the UK while also restricting the right of migrants to bring family members into the UK.

He favours removing migrants from the UK after six months if they have not found work.

Cameron seeks to stop EU job seekers from claiming Universal Credit.

He favours speeding up the deportation of convicted criminals, imposing longer re-entry bans for beggars and fraudsters removed from the UK and stopping citizens from new countries joining the EU from working in the UK until “their economies have converged more closely” with existing members.

Cameron said migration had benefited the UK, saying he was proud of the “multiracial” nature of modern Britain.

But he said immigration levels in recent years, which he said were the largest in peacetime, had put unsustainable pressure on public services.

He said the UK public’s concerns about levels of EU immigration over the past decade are “not outlandish or unreasonable” and the changes will create the “toughest welfare system” for migration in Europe.

“We deserve to be heard and we must be heard,” he said. “Here is an issue which matters to the British people and to our future in the European Union.

“The British people will not understand – frankly, I will not understand - if a sensible way through cannot be found, which will help settle this country’s place in the EU once and for all.”

Cameron said he wanted the package to be adopted across the EU, acknowledging that it would need changes to existing treaties, but that if it was not, he would seek a new arrangement applying only to the UK. l

Members of the country’s Buddhist community form a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday to protest propaganda against Buddhist monk

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Capt Moin elected Sinking public laptop project to face lawsuit IMSO DG  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

n Tribune Report Bangladesh candidate Captain Moin Uddin Ahmed has been elected as the director general of the International Mobile Satellite Organisation (IMSO).

He was elected in the 23rd session of the IMSO Assembly in London on Friday.

This is the first time in the 35 years history of the IMSO that a candidate from a developing country was elected in the position.

According to IMSO rules, the election had to go in four rounds.

Moin maintained lead in all four rounds of elections against candidates from France, Germany, Italy and Romania. He finally defeated the Romanian candidate by 49-37 votes, said a Foreign Ministry press release on Friday. l

Wong did not deny the charge.

He told the Dhaka Tribune that he had been asked to over invoice the delivery by the then TSS officials, which he did.

Wong also said he was asked to pay an undisclosed sum of money into two international bank accounts, based on verbal agreements with then TSS officials.

The TSS recently placed a report on the status of the venture before Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Cabinet decided to set up a plant to assemble laptops in Bangladesh on November 8, 2011.

The Awami League government put the TSS back to work after the 2007-08 caretaker government had revived the nearly defunct organisation.

The AL government considered as-

sembling mobile telephones but those plans failed to pan out.

The DOEL project drew national attention when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina unveiled the laptops on October 11, 2011.

“Running a laptop assembly project requires more than Tk100cr, but our total revenue in the last four years from laptop sales was a mere Tk115cr,” Md Husnul Mahmud Khan, acting managing director of TSS told the Dhaka Tribune.

Husnul, also a joint secretary of the Ministry of Post, Telecommunications and Information Technology, said: “TSS needs a full-fledged managing director. Acting managers can not run it smoothly.”

Husnul refused to comment on reports of TFT’s legal challenges.

Sources said TSS imported 42,525 lap-

tops casings and assembled 41,389 laptop units of different models. Thirty-six thousand units were sold, sources said.

“We have already stopped assembling the primary model priced at Tk10,000 because there was little demand for it. We sold it at Tk5,0006,000,” Husnul said.

Public sector agencies made up DOEL’s primary client list. The Education Ministry bought 20,500 units, the Bangladesh Army bought 3,500, the Post Office bought 700 and the Air Force bought 100 units, Husnul said.

He said: “Currently our first priority is to sell out the remaining laptops in our stock. Importing spare parts and assembling new laptops are our second priority.”

The DOEL project employs about 100 people. All of the foreign experts have left the project. l

the chief architects behind the early inroads were Mire (3/49) and Neville Madziva (3/60).

Then came Mahmudullah and Mushfiq’s face-saving association for the fifth wicket. Their 134-run partnership is the highest stand for the fifth wicket in Mirpur.

With Bangladesh on 32/4, it appeared that they would struggle to cross the 200-run mark. However, once the fifth-wicket duo were done with their rescue work the Tigers were well and truly on their way to 250.

Mahmudullah struck half a dozen boundaries while Mushfiq carted seven fours. Mahmudullah’s unbeaten knock is his highest score in ODIs and his 10th fifty. Mushfiq on the other hand raced to his 18th ODI fifty.

A fit-Mashrafe will be vital if Bangladesh are to fare well in the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia-New Zealand.

The Narail Express proved it once

again as he is not only the spearhead of the Tigers’ bowling department but also a reliable hitter down the order in the latter stages of a game. Mashrafe’s whirlwind 39 off 25 balls, featuring four boundaries and two sixes, ensured Bangladesh would reach the 250-mark.

In the midst of all the celebrations and jubilations surrounding the fourth ODI victory, the Tigers did not forget to spare a thought for departed Australian cricketer Phillip Joel Hughes.

Following the end of the game, Mahmudullah, on behalf of Bangladesh, dedicated the win to Hughes at a time when the whole world is mourning the passing away of the talented Australian opener. Hughes passed away last Thursday at St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney after getting hit on the neck by a bouncer in a first-class match last Tuesday. The 25-year old left behind his father, mother, brother, sister, friends and millions of well-wishers. l

Clinical Tigers go 4-0 up  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

Zimbabwe were restricted to 235/8 in 50 overs with Shakib al Hasan (2/28), Jubair (2/42) and Rubel Hossain (2/48) sharing six wickets between them.

Although ODI skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza picked up one wicket, he conceded just 34 runs from his quota of 10 overs. Even though the visitors fell short by 21 runs, this was a much improved display as it was their first 200+ score in the ongoing ODI series.

The Zimbabwean openers – Hamilton Masakadza (28) and Vusi Sibanda (17) – gave their side a solid start putting on 48 runs. Shakib, however, provided some much-needed breakthroughs dismissing both the opening batsmen.

This bilateral series has been a memorable one for Shakib to say the least.

The majestic all-rounder has broken all sorts of records and yesterday was no

exception. Shakib is now the highest run-getter (1825) and best wicket-taker (78) in Mirpur. The left-armer’s two wickets also enabled him to 60 ODI wickets against Zimbabwe, the highest for any bowler against the Southern African nation.

Following the Zimbabwean openers’ departure, Timycen Maruma (six) went back to the hut cheaply. Brendan Taylor (63 off 69 balls) and Solomon Mire (52 off 54 balls) then arrived at the crease and added 106 runs for the fourth wicket to resurrect Zimbabwe’s chase.

However, once the duo departed Zimbabwe were on the backfoot, their reply eventually petering out to 235.

The Tigers though would not have envisaged such a victory after earlier reeling at 32/4. Tamim Iqbal (16), Anamul Haque (five), Imrul (five) and Shakib (one) all made their way to the dressing room for an early shower. And

Election to be held in due time, Biswal told  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

the South Asia to maintain socio-economic assistance and advancement in the region,” Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, vice-chairman of the party, told journalists after the meeting.

When asked whether Biswal said anything about the democratic process in Bangladesh, he did not say anything.

Meeting sources said the BNP leaders talked about January 5 election, killing, abduction and government repression on the opposition leaders and activists including government’s misdeeds and misrules.

They also briefed Biswal on why they boycotted the January 5 election but Biswal refrained from making any comment on the issue.

A senior leader seeking anonymity told the Dhaka Tribune: “The meeting was held for more than one hour.

So you understand, if the meeting was not successful, it would end within 30 minutes.”

He, however, refused to say anything about the meeting agenda and what Biswal told BNP about the next election.

Biswal held one hour and a ten-min-

ute-long meeting with Khaleda at her Gulshan residence.

Out-going US Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan Mozena, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Vice-Chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, advisers to the BNP Chairperson Reaz Rahman and Sabihuddin Ahmed were present at the meeting.

Biswal-Rawshan meeting

Rawshan Ershad-led JaPa leaders at their meeting with Biswal told her that BNP’s January 5 election boycott was a mistake.

If the BNP had participated in the election the situation would have been different, said Japa leader and Opposition Chief Whip Tajul Islam Chowdhury quoting what they told Biswal.

Tajul said Biswal asked the leader of the opposition how and when the election would be held.

Tajul said quoting Rawshan: “The next election will be held after talks with all political parties and in due course following a due procedure.”

Biswal did not ask any more questions about the election, Tajul added.

“We described the situation that

compelled the JaPa to take part in the election. If we too had boycotted the election, country’s political situation would have headed towards an uncertainty,” Tajul said.

Japa leaders ABM Ruhul Amin Hawladar, Fakhrul Imam, Selim Uddin and Rawshan’s Political Secretary Golam Masih and Dan Mozena were present in the 30-minute-long meeting that started at 5:10pm.

Meeting with civil society members

In the afternoon, Nisha held meeting with civil society members at the residence of US Ambassador Dan Mozena.

Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of Sujan, Adilur Rahman, secretary of Odhikar, journalist Mahfuzullah and Advocate Elina Khan and some others attended the meeting.

Meeting sources said the civil society members opined that the government which was formed through January 5 elections had failed to get people’s mandate, that’s why a free, fair and neutral election is needed in the country.

“National consensus is necessary among the political parties,” Majum-

der told reporters after emerging from the meeting.

Nisha’s BIPSOT visit

Visiting the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training (BIPSOT) in Gazipur, Biswal said the United States and the international community are profoundly grateful to the people of Bangladesh for their contributions to international peacekeeping efforts.

“Bangladesh is the single largest contributor to international peacekeeping efforts, with over 8,700 individuals deployed around the world.

These patriots from Bangladesh’s military and police have contributed greatly to global peace and security,” she said.

The US official also said US assistance to Bangladesh regarding participation of UNI peacekeeping mission and training will be continued.

At the outset Nisha Desai Biswal called on Commandant, BIPSOT Major General Mohammad Maksudur Rahman, PSC. The visiting team exchanged views on various peacekeeping affairs with the commandant of BIPSOT. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Saturday, November 29, 2014

3

A protester addresses a large group of angry locals gathered yesterday in front of the residence of Sumon, 20, who raped and killed Farzana, 9, a class-III student at Bhatari in Badda area. Meanwhile, students from the victim’s school also staged a demonstration demanding capital punishment to the culprit who killed their fellow schoolmate MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

RMG labour leaders seek US interference n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Readymade garment labour leaders sought interference of America in meeting their demands for labour rights, formation of trade unions and implementation of labour laws to ensure safe and sound workplaces.

They made the call at a meeting with United States Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal at the US Embassy in Dhaka yesterday. Biswal arrived in Dhaka on Thursday on a three-day official visit.

Several RMG trade union leaders including Kalpana Akter, a leader of the Bangladesh Centre for Workers’ Solidarity, Najma Akter, president of Garment-Worker Federation, Amirul Haque Amin, president of National Garment Workers Federation, Babul Akhter, president of Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federa-

tion, International Labour Organisation (ILO) Country Director Srinivas B Reddy and a representative from Accord and Alliance attended the meeting.

Labour leaders especially talked on the challenges of forming trade unions and difficulties in the implementation of amended Labour Act 2013 and enactment of rules, meeting sources told the Dhaka Tribune. RMG trade union leaders also urged the meeting to ease the process of forming trade unions as, they said, it is very tough for any organisation to garner support from 30% workers needed to form a trade union.

We informed Biswal the challenges the labour organisations in Bangladesh are facing so that she can raise the issue during her meeting with the government officials, said a leader.

“We have presented the progress of the country’s apparel industry in the last one year,” said M Rabin, managing

Moudud finally breaks silence n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla Breaking an over three-month silence, BNP Standing Committee member Moudud Ahmed finally made a public appearance in the capital yesterday.

Moudud, who usually talks to the media every Friday, had remained silent since mid-September when his book titled Bangladesh Emergency and the Aftermath (2007-2008) hit the market drawing a huge flak from within the party.

In the much-talked-about book he wrote about the army-backed caretaker government rule and the then political situation of the country.

He wrote that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was more concerned about her two sons than the party.

He also claimed that many BNP leaders were involved in corruption in the 2001-06 tenure of the BNP-led four-party alliance government.

After the book was published, party high-ups, and rank and file expressed grievances, saying they smelt conspiracy.

Since then he has kept himself aloof from not only the media but also from the party forum. However, he first attended the Standing Committee meeting of the party on November 13.

Moudud yesterday at a programme said his party would cancel the broadcast policy whenever it assumed office.

About his silence for quite a long time Moudud said: “I have not felt encouraged to say anything over the last

few months because there has been no democracy. Today I came here to see the discussion agenda but as the topic is all about autocracy I could not help but break the silence.”

“I was involved in an autocratic government of 1990. Autocrats are always scared of people and that’s why they gag people’s voices.”

“Incumbent autocracy is a continuation of the past,” he said at a discussion at National Press Club.

Addressing the discussion organised

by Bangladesh Federal Journalist Union (a BFUJ faction) and Dhaka Journalists Union (a DUJ faction), the BNP leader alleged that the government was trying to gag the media in the guise of democracy.

Moudud, who was a close aide of autocratic ruler HM Ershad, said anti-Ershad movement was successful as journalists were united. “Journalists have to be united again.”

The BNP leader, who has worked with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Ziaur Rahman, Ershad and now with Khaleda Zia, said if BNP assumes the office no television channel will be closed.

“Even journalists would not be sent to jail” he added.

When BNP-led four-party alliance government assumed the office in 2001, country’s private television channel Ekushey TV was shut down.

“Begum Khaleda Zia is the only leader who can lead the movement,” he said. l

director of the Alliance. “She wanted to know the progress and to keep abreast of the present situation of the industry.”

Amirul Haque Amin, president of National Garment Workers Federation, at the meeting raised the issue of allowing a trade union at the Export Processing Zones arguing that there could not be dual rule in a country. Responding to the question, Biswal said the issue is in progress and the policy is being drafted, the source said.

When contacted over phone, Amirul reacted angrily and asked the correspondent how he was informed about his participation in the meeting. He refused to comment on the meeting and hung up.

Meanwhile, ILO Country Director Srinivas B Reddy also asked the Dhaka Tribune to contact American Embassy for details about the meeting denying making comment on the issue.

The labour leaders told Biswal that

the government was not playing a neutral role. They also said the workers did not get termination benefits and are being sacked on allegation of trade union formation in the factory.

Earlier, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed alleged that a vested quarter is engaged in a negative campaign against the Bangladesh apparel industry and is secretly providing information to the US, which was not true. The issue of workers’ safety came under the spotlight last year following the collapse of Rana Plaza that killed over 1,135 workers and the Tazreen Fashions fire.

Since the catastrophes, Accord and Alliance was committed to improving safety standards, including fire, electrical and structural safety, in the apparel sector.

It has completed inspection of factories and found less than 2% of them risky. l

TIB urges Saarc nations to have courage to control graft n UNB Transparency International Bangladesh yesterdaywelcomed the Kathmandu Declaration adopted at the 18th Saarc Summit for reiterating the commitment to promote good governance.

A pledge to promote good governance was made by Saarc heads of states and governments by their Kathmandu Declaration issued at the end of their 18th Saarc Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal, on November 26-27.

In a statement issued yesterday, TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said: “We welcome the Saarc Declaration to ensure good governance for sustainable development by promoting accountability, transparency, the rule of law and people’s participation at all levels of governance.”

12 villagers injured in clash over 2 BGB men’s death n Our Correspondent, Dinajpur

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) went on a rampage after two of their members were killed in a road accident yesterday in Bhimolpur area of Fulbari in Dinajpur.

At least 12 people were injured when BGB members started vandalising shops and vehicles in the area and locked themselves in a clash with the villagers.

Eight seriously injured, including four bullet-hit, were admitted to various hospitals and clinics for further treatment.

Protesting the attack, villagers blocked the Dinajpur-Gobindaganj regional highway by felling trees and setting fire for eight hours. This caused a huge tailback on both sides of the road.

Locals said, two BGB men – Al Amin

and Rubel Hossain of 29 battalion – were killed when their motorcycle collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction near the Shanta-Kanta flour factory around 2pm yesterday. Hearing the news, a large number of BGB jawans came out of their barracks and started vandalising shops and vehicles indiscriminately. When local people protested, BGB men first charged batons and then opened fire. Witnesses said at least 20 rounds of bullets were fired. BGB men were also seen patrolling the area with lethal weapons. At that time a magazine full of bullets fell on the ground and was picked up by a woman, who ran away instantly. Police arrested three people during a search for the magazine.

Acknowledging the incident, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Dinajpur Shamim

Al Rajhi and Police Super Ruhul Amin said a large number of police, including an executive magistrate, had been appointed to keep the situation under control.

Meanwhile, 29 battalion Commander Lt Col Jahidur Rashid claimed that the two BGB went on an operation at Rajarampur area and seized Indian saris worth Tk50 lakh right before the accident. “When they were returning to the barracks, a truck hit their motorcycle from the front. Previously, miscreants tried to snatch the seized material.”

The commander suspected that they could have been killed as a repercussion of the operation. Separate cases will be lodged in this regard, said Jahidur Rashid.

However, witnesses said the BGB

The government has decided to extend the time-frame for converting conventional environmental hazardous brickmaking technology to energyefficient ones.

The government decision came only for those whose environment clearance certificates are still valid.

The Environment Department said the factories that have validity of their existing environment clearance certificates can continue their business with old technology until the expiry date.

“Those who obtained environment clearance certificate and still have validity can continue their business,” said Solaiman Haider, deputy director of the department.

He also said they were not

issuing any new environment clearance certificates to those still having old technology.

On July 17, the Department of Environment published a public circular stating that the Brick-Making and Brick Field Establishment (Control) Act 2013 effective from July 01 this year clearly prohibited conventional technologies in brick-making industry.

However, most of the factories are yet to take initiatives to change their technologies. Currently, there are more than 6356 brick kilns in the country.

Earlier, in September 2010, the government gave brick kiln owners two years to adopt the energy-efficient and relatively cleaner technologies like Zigzag, Hybrid Hoffman Kiln (HHK) and Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK).

Later, the deadline was extended three times to end June 2014.

members had been trying to overtake a truck when they were hit by an oncoming truck. They died on the spot after the head-on collision. While police took the truck into custody, the driver escaped the scene right after the accident.

After the day-long tension in the area, the villagers withdrew the road blockade following a meeting with the BGB officials at around 10pm.

Upazila Chairman Khurshid Alam Moti said they decided to go back to their houses as BGB assured to investigate the matter and take action against those responsible for the anarchy. As demanded by the villagers, BGB said they would also look into the treatment of the injured and financially support those who had been affected by the vandalism. l

Man sacrifices 3-month-old daughter for treasure n Our Correspondent, Natore

A man killed his three-month-old daughter and tore up a copy of Qur’an while performing a ritual in order to get “treasures” at Baraigram upazila in Natore early yesterday.

The deceased, Nusrat Rukaiya, was drowned in a pond as per the instruction of a fake spiritual leader.

Monjuwara, Nusrat’s mother, said her husband, Nazmul Islam, was a

carpenter by profession. Recently, he started following a fake spiritual leader, who instigated him to sacrifice their daughter for hidden treasure.

“Nazmul drowned Nusrat in a pond nearby in the morning. Later, he tore up the pages of a copy of Qur’an as a part of the rituals required to get the so-called hidden treasures,” she said.

Asked about the identity of the “fake spiritual leader,” she said: “I do not know anyone. Nazmul never mentioned his

name. Some people, who often visited him, might be members of the group.”

Liton Khandakar, the family’s neighbour, said Nazmul often told the neighbours that he would get hidden treasure if he sacrificed his daughter in the name of the Almighty Allah.

Locals said they had caught Nazmul in the act – when he was drowning his daughter – and held him to hand him over to police. But his uncle took him away saying he was taking Nazmul to hospital,

Brick kilns based on old technology to stay put n Abu Bakar Siddique

“However, since we have already heard and read many such commitments, we urge upon the Saarc governments, particularly our own again, to follow up with specific actions so as to up to the letter and spirit of such pledges,” he said.

He also urged the Bangladesh government to set examples that such pledges are no longer paper tigers.

“People of South Asia in general and Bangladesh in particular are desperate to see that the direct and indirect beneficiaries of deficits in governance, transparency, accountability and rule of law can no longer constitute the power-base of the government,” he added.

The TIB chief called upon South Asian governments to have the courage and capacity to control corruption and criminalise corrupt practices without fear or favour. l

However, Asadur Rahman, vice-president of Bangladesh Brick-Makers Owners Association said most of the brick fields are yet to be converted due to shortage of funds as the improved technologies require huge investment.

For setting up a brick field in forests – private or public – sanctuaries and wetlands, the punishment would be one year’s imprisonment or Tk100,000 in fines Moreover, lack of skilled manpower is one of the major obstacles in using new technologies and the

brick makers would need at least one more year to train adequate manpower for the improved technology, he added.

The new law – Brick Making and Brick field Establishment (Control) Act 2013 – also prohibits establishment of brick fields in residential, protected, commercial and agricultural areas, and also in forests, sanctuaries, wetlands and Ecological Critical Areas (ECAs).

Any establishment in the prohibited areas would be treated as a “criminal offence,” the law says, with varying degrees of punishment for the offenders to be determined by the nature of the area(s) involved.

Setting up a brick field in residential, protected or commercial locations, would lead to maximum punishment of five years in prison or Tk5m in fines, or both.

For setting up a brick field

in forests – private or public – sanctuaries and wetlands, the punishment would be one year’s imprisonment or Tk100,000 in fines.

However, a recent visit to the capital’s periphery showed that most of the brick factories are still continuing their business in the same place though the new act does not permit them to do their business there as they areas are established as wetland.

The brick-making industry is one of the fastest-growing in Bangladesh earning a yearly revenue of around Tk8.66b.

It is also one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emission estimated to produce 6m tonnes of CO2 annually.

Some estimates say about 33% of the fuel used in brick kilns comes from wood fuel which is strictly prohibited by law. l

and Nazmul has been absconding since.

Monirul Islam, officer-in-charge of Baraigram police station, said police visited the spot and recovered the child’s body. “The investigation is underway. We are trying to identify the members of the fake spiritual gang.

Nazmul managed to escape.

“We are trying to capture him. People responsible for the killing will be held soon after the arrest of Nazmul,” the OC said. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Saturday, November 29, 2014

‘Friend’ kills youth over drug business issues n Tribune Report Rapid Action Battalion members on Thursday arrested three youths from Sathiya of Pabna in connection with the killing of a private university student on November 19.

The arrestees were Shahanur Sheikh, 22, Raja Pramanik, 38, and Biplob Mollah, 28.

Golam Rabbi, a BBA student and a resident of the capital’s Kallyanpur, was strangulated to death after he was abducted allegedly by his friend Salam and taken to Sathiya.

Rabbi was a student of a private university; the abductors had demanded Tk10 lakh as ransom from his family On September 19, Rabbi met a youth named Md Salam at a tea stall near his house and the two soon became friends. However, within a few days of their friendship, Rabbi was dragged to the world of drugs and became an addict with Salam’s influence. Within two months of the friendship, the new friend killed Rabbi with the help of three others.

This conclusion was brought by RAB after investigating into the killing of Rabbi. The elite force disclosed the findings at a press conference yesterday at RAB 4 office.

RAB at the press briefing said they were yet to arrest Rabbi’s friend Salam.

They said the victim was a student of a private university in the capital and the abductors had demanded Tk10 lakh as ransom from his family.

Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan, director at Legal and Media Wing of RAB, said on November 19, Salam called Rabbi out of his home in Kallyanpur and asked him to pick up a consignment of yaba from the Gabtoli bus stand in the capital. At some point, Salam and his cohorts took Rabbi to Sathiya of Pabna that night, strangled him to death, and hid the body under a hyacinth, he added.

On November 25, Sathiya police recovered the body.

In the meantime, Rabbi’s father Anwar Hossain filed a complaint with RAB 4 saying that abductors had asked him Tk10 lakh as ransom for his son’s life, the RAB commander said.

He said: “When the victim’s father went to Sathiya and identified his son’s body, criminals phoned him asking for the money which they had demanded.

They threatened to kill other members of his family if he did not pay the ransom.”

According to the RAB official, Rabbi was intoxicated and then killed.

After the briefing, Biplob told reporters: “Rabbi was creating trouble and so we decided to kill him. Shahanur and I first hit him and after he fell down, we sat on his chest and strangulated him.

Raja held his legs.” l

Razia Sultana, mother of actor Nayar Sultana Lopa, who played the role of Tuni in popular 80s TV series ‘Eishob Din Ratri,’ speaks at a press conference organised by the late actor’s family at the auditorium of Bangladesh Crime Reporters’ Association yesterday. The family arranged the press conference in protest of the untimely death of Nayar, who was allegedly tortured and killed by her husband DHAKA TRIBUNE

Bangla Academy book fair begins Correspondent, n Our Barisal A nine-day Bangla Acedemy book fair, aiming to create more readership, began at Barisal city’s Aswhini Kumar Hall yesterday.

The books will be sold at 25-70% discount at the fair, Bangla Academy officials said.

Dr Abu Naser Kamal Chowdhury, senior secretary of public administration ministry, inaugurated the fair.

Shamsuzzaman Khan, director general Bangla Academy, Md Gaus, divisional commissioner, and Shoibal Kanti Chowdhury, commissioner of Barisal Metropolitan Police were also present. Deputy Commissioner Shohidul Alam presided over the ceremony. l

Three arrested with firearm, yaba Mizanur Rahaman, n FM Chittagong Police yesterday arrested three persons along with a light gun and 600 yaba tablets in Chittagong’s Sitakunda upazila.

The three were named as Nurul Alam, 29, Tarek Hossen, 18, and Md Alam, 30 Of them, Nurul and Tarek were arrested as they possessed a light gun while 600 yaba tablets were seized from Alam’s possession, said Sub-Inspector Mizanur Rahman of Sitakunda police station.

Nurul and Tarek primarily confessed to be involved in the arms business, the SI said Two separate cases were lodged with the Sitakunda police station. l

World’s largest human rights campaign Dec 3 n Tribune Report

Residents of Kotalipara upazila in Gopalganj form a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday, demanding immediate arrest of Milu Sheikh, 58, who sexually assaulted a class-II student in upazila’s Dumuria village MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Quamrul: Next polls under none but Hasina n Tribune Report In a speech directed at the BNP, Food Minister Quamrul Islam yesterday made it clear that the next parliamentary election would be held under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led poll-time administration.

The last election-time government was constitutionally formed with Sheikh Hasina in the lead. However, the BNP did not take part in the election, claiming that the government would play a biased role in it.

Quamrul, also joint secretary of the Dhaka city Awami League unit, brushed aside any talks with the BNP over the next election supervision.

The minister said: “Since the BNP has no representation in the parliament, they will not be included in the poll-time government in order to oversee the next elections to be held by June, 2019.

“And so it is out of the question to hold any talks with them [over the next elections].”

He was speaking as chief guest at a discussion, organised by Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote, at Shilpakala Academy auditorium, marking the 8th death anniversary of first Dhaka city mayor

Mohammad Hanif.

The Dhaka city Awami League joint secretary alleged that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia had been conspiring to kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Justifying his allegation, he said: “A few days back BNP chief Begum Zia remarked that Sheikh Hasina would not get a chance to say ‘La Ilaha Illallah’ at the time of her departure.”

Labelling BNP senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman as the father of militancy, he said: “There was Tarique Rahman’s patronisation in August 21 grenade attack [in 2004], in the emergence of militant kingpin ‘Bangla Bhai’ and the other murders, including those of judges.”

“Staying abroad, he has still been patronising militancy. So, everyone in the society should stand united to build resistance against this evil force,” he added.

Former Dhaka City Awami League Quamrul Islam urged everybody to follow the ideals of late Mayor Hanif, saying he had a sacrificial mind.

“Mayor Hanif risked his life to save our party president Sheikh Hasina from certain death. So, everybody should follow the ideals of Bangabandhu and Sheikh Hasina like him,” he said.

Hanif’s 8th death anniversary observed

Leaders and workers of the ruling Awami League and other social, cultural and professional bodies yesterday paid tributes to Mohammad Hanif, marking his 8th death anniversary.

On this day in 2006, Hanif died after he suffered serious splinter injuries in the August 21 grenade attack on Awami League rally in front of the party office at Bangabandhu Avenue in the city in 2004. Sheikh Hasina was also injured in the attack.

In the early hours of yesterday, the Dhaka City Awami League paid tributes to Mohammad Hanif, placing wreaths on his grave at Azimpur graveyard in the capital.

Dhaka city Awami League’s acting president MA Aziz, Joint Secretary and Food Minister Quamrul Islam, organising Secretary Shahe Alam Murad and Mohammad Hanif’s son Sayeed Khokon, among many others, were then present.

To pray for eternal peace of the departed soul of the late mayor, the Dhaka city Awami League also organised a milad and doa mahfil at its office at Bangabandhu Avenue in the afternoon. l

Millions of Amnesty International supporters from around the globe are set to take part in the world’s largest annual human rights campaign launching on December 3.

Write for Rights, a two-week-long campaign, is calling on activists to take action on behalf of 10 activists and two communities suffering brutal human rights abuses including arbitrary detention and torture.

Activist from all corners of the world will be signing petitions, writing letters, organising events and posting tweets calling for, amongst others, the release of Chelsea Manning, the US whistler-blower who is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence for leaking classified government material to the website Wikileaks.

Proper compensation and medical assistance for the victims of Bhopal who still await justice after the 1984 gas leak disaster which killed more than 22,000 and left half a million injured.

The release of Raif Badawi, who was imprisoned in Saudi Arabia in 2012 for posting pro-democracy messages on the internet.

Amnesty International’s Secretary General Salil Shetty said “Write for Rights epitomises what Amnesty International is all about – individuals helping other individuals, wherever they might be. It is a unique and extraordinary event that brings together millions of people in a bid to secure justice for men, women and children around the world”.

“The campaign is a great demonstration of the power of peaceful protest. A single voice may be stifled, but thousands of voices coming together can ensure they are heard,” he said.

Write for Rights was first launched in 2001. Since then, a number of activists featured in the campaign have been released from prison while others saw their conditions improved. Investigations have also been initiated into dozens of cases of arbitrary and unfair imprisonment, torture and other human rights abuses.

After last year’s campaign, three activists were released in Cambodia and Russia after authorities received tens of thousands of letters and petitions from activists participating in Write for Rights.

One of them was Cambodian housing rights activist Yorm Bopha. She had been imprisoned in 2012 after protesting against forced evictions in her community.

Russian activists Vladimir Akimenkov and Mikhail Kosenko were also freed from prison in 2013 and 2014 respectively after pressure from Amnesty International activists. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

5

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Anti-jaywalking drive apparently fruitful Mobile courts did not operate yesterday, but most of the pedestrians took footbridges to cross roads n Abu Hayat Mahmud The ongoing drive against jaywalking appears to have yielded a positive result as the majority of pedestrians complied with rules while crossing roads at three points in the capital city yesterday despite the absence of mobile courts.

The movement of pedestrians at Banglamotor, Karwan Bazar and Farmgate was disciplined and no one had to pay fines, except a few jaywalkers who were detained at adjacent police boxes for 5-10 minutes.

Mobile courts did not operate yesterday, and will not today either, because of the weekend, but most of the pedestrians still took footbridges to cross roads.

The courts, as part of the week-long

One dies, 26 go missing as trawler capsizes in Bay n Tribune Report A person has died and at least 26 people have gone missing as a fishing trawler capsized in the Bay of Bengal early yesterday. The deceased was identified as Lavlu.

Mohammad Nasir Uddin, an official of Bengal Fisheries Ltd said a fishing boat named ‘FB Bandhan’ of Bengal Fisheries Limited with some 29 crew members capsized in the Bay as another trawler hit it around 5am.

On information, Navy patrol ship ‘Samudra Joy’ rushed in and rescued two people and recovered the body of another while the others went missing, UNB reported.

The two rescued persons are Sajib Hossain, a junior officer of the trawler, and Nasir, a crew member.

Navy and Coast Guard members were conducting operation to trace out the missing people. l

Fire guts two houses in Chittagong n CU Correspondent A fire gutted valuables worth about 5 lakh in two thatched houses in Sulokbahar area of Chittagong city Thursday night.

Agrabad Fire Service and Civil Defense Assistant Director Md Yahiya said the fire broke out from a leakage of a gas cylinder in the kitchen of one of the houses around 10:00pm.

Two units of fire fighters from Chandanpura and Nandan Kanun Fire Stations doused the flame after one and half hour efforts, he said. l

WEATHER

DRY WEATHER LIKELY SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 5:10PM SUN RISES 6:23AM FORECAST FOR TODAY 27 27 27 28 28 28 27 28

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

17 18 13 15 13 15 15 18

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

29.8ºC Cox’s Bazar

10.8ºC Chuadanga

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

5:03am 6:21am 11:46am 3:34pm 5:10pm 6:30 pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

As the ongoing anti-jaywalking drive took a break yesterday, pedestrians were seen both upholding and breaking the law in the capital. In the presence of a traffic official, pedestrians used the zebra crossing to traverse the streets. However, when there was no traffic official in sight, jaywalkers happily ignored a roadside signboard saying “Jaywalking is punishable by law” and crossed the road without using the designated route RAJIB DHAR/ SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

drive of Dhaka Metropolitan Police against jaywalking which started on Tuesday, will resume operations tomorrow, DMP Joint Commissioner (traffic) Mosleh Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune.

Two mobile courts led by Execu-

tive Magistrates Md Sarwoer Alam and Abdul Kuddus fined jaywalkers on the first three days of the drive. More than 700 jaywalkers were fined around Tk46,000. Around 12 at noon yesterday, Sub-Inspector Md Abul Kalam

ARMS RECOVERY FROM STUDENTS' DORMS

Four cases lodged against Shibir men n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong Chittagong police lodged four cases against Shibir men after raiding and arresting members from two hostels of Chittagong Government College.

The cases were lodged with the Chawkbazar police station late Thursday night after the police recovered huge amounts of explosives and locally-made arms from the two hostels of Chittagong Government College. The cases accuses 60 people, 19 of whom are named.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner (Kotwali circle) Shah Mohammad Abdur Rouf said the hostels’ Shibir leaders and activists were sued in the cases.

No teacher have been sued yet, but action will be taken if they are found guilty.

Suhrawardy Hostel and Sher-e-Bangla Hostel, both accommodation facilities of Chittagong Government college, were raided after four students were assaulted, allegedly by Shibir men.

During the four-hour-long raid, police seized materials that could be used for clashes like 16 crude and patrol bombs, three kilogrammes of explosive powder for making crude bombs, 26 machetes, five kilogrammes of brick chips, number of pots used for crude bombs, several pairs of gloves, rods, and sticks among other materials.

The law enforcers also nabbed Mohiuddin Masud, 22.

Azad detained a man named Shafiq for crossing road at Banglamotor without taking the footbridge, but the jaywalker said he was unaware of the ongoing drive. The policeman took Shafiq back to other side of the road and made him

cross it again by using the footbridge.

Another jaywalker named Rizia Begum, 52, made the same argument but police let her go considering her age.

Several others were allowed by police to breach rules while crossing

Six Sylhet inter-city trains failing to provide satisfactory services n Our Correspondent, Sylhet Six inter-city trains taking passengers to Dhaka and Chittagong from Sylhet are gradually failing to deliver satisfactory services because of bad management, lack of supervision and prevalence of ticket scalping.

The trains - Upobon, Joyontica, Parabot, Kalni, Udoyon and Paharika – are operated by Bangladesh Railway.

Initially, the trains succeeded in attracting a large number of passengers because schedules were maintained and services were fine.

But services have turned worse now and passengers are barely interested in boarding the trains.

Joyontica and Upobon now have 11 carriages each, Parabot has 12, Kalni has 5, and both Paharika and Udoyon have 8.

Upobon, Paharika, Kalni and Udoyon had air-conditioned carriages but have now been removed from the last two. It has also been alleged that air-conditioners in Upobon and Paharika do not work properly.

Seeking anonymity, a railway official said the reason to remove the air-conditioned carriages was unknown, adding that locals should protest against it.

Manager of Sylhet Railway Station Abdur Razzak admitted that passengers suffered due to removal of air-conditioned and first-class carriages.

“We have already asked the higher authorities to add carriages considering the demand. At present, all six trains have a total of 55 carriages whereas the demand is 73,” he said.

Acute ticket crisis is another reason why the trains are losing passengers.

Missing girl rescued after one month n Our Correspondent, Barisal An 11-year old schoolgirl who has been remained missing for one month was rescued from Barisal.

Members of the Bangladesh Women Lawyers’ Association (BNWLA) rescued the girl from LGED office in the city on Wednesday. They handed over the girl to her family members with the help of Victims Support Centre of Barisal Metropolitan Police yesterday afternoon.

Masuk Kamal, area coordinator of Rural-Urban Child Migration Project of the BNWLA, said Mim was a class V student of Khayerhut Government Primary School under Daulatkha upazila of Bhola and daughter of Amena Begum and Kuwait expatriate Md Hossain.

Amena Begum, mother of the girl, said Mim had fled home one month back after she rebuked her for negligence in study. But she could not say the exact date. Union Parishad Member of Daulatkha Zakir Hossain said after being informed by police, he contacted with family members of Mim and informed them about her recovery.

Mahbubur Rahman Majnu, secretary of Barisal Sadar upazila Swechchhasebok League, said more than 15 days ago he found Mim roaming near LGED office. Then, he took her to his house. Since then, she had been working as domestic worker there. But, Mim went missing on Wednesday.

But Mim did not tell police where she was before staying at Majnu’s house. Police said she was reluctant to say anything. l

Ctg trader gets 19yrs in prison for evading import duty

n UNB

A court on Thursday sentenced a businessman to 19 year’s imprisonment on charge of evading duty to the tune Tk 7 lakh while importing fabrics.

The convict is Bikash Gosh, owner of ‘Messrs Sraboni Traders’. He was present in the dock while the verdict was announced. l

roads for their illness and disability.

Besides, on the second day of the drive, the court led by Sarwoer sentenced a female jaywalker to a month in prison for biting a police official, who stopped her from jaywalking. l

Ticket touts, who charge several times more than the actual price of the ticket, also add to the misery of passengers Twenty percent of the tickets are sold online by mobile phone operators but collecting tickets this way has also become very difficult.

Sources said both counter tickets and online tickets are collected by scalpers in large numbers, resulting in the crisis.

Yasin khan, who works for a private firm, said he had to travel to Dhaka on November 19 but could not find any ticket at the counter.

“At 7:30pm on November 18, I found four first-class tickets of Upobon Express online but after a while, those were gone. The situation is the result of mismanagement and a lack of supervision,” he added. l

Job fair at RU n RU Correspondent

A family of four, two children included, travels on a motorcycle in the capital’s Karwan Bazar area yesterday, The father, who was not wearing a helmet, had one child sitting on the fuel tank in front of him, while the mother held on to the other, sleeping, child RAJIB DHAR

Nasim: All district hospitals to have cancer units soon n Tribune Desk All district hospitals in the country will have a cancer unit soon, Health and Family Welfare Minister Md Nasim told a conference.

“If money was available then every hospital would have a linear accelerator cobalt machine,” he said. The minister was speaking as chief guest at an international conference on head and neck oncology.

He said that cancer was on the rise, globally and we have to fight it with greater urgency than before. He referred to the tobacco consumption and drug use as possible reasons for the spread of the disease, reports BSS. “Tobacco consumption has come

down but we have to reduce it even further. But drug use among the young was on the rise. These issues need to be addressed if we are to cut down the incidence of cancer,” he said.

He also appealed to the private sector to come forward in this sector. “No country in the world has solved its health problems by government initiative alone. The private sector has to come forward, too, “he said.

He also called upon the businessmen to keep health costs low so that it could be accessed by the poor.

Referring to the government’s efforts in this sector, he said the government had established community clinics for every 6,000 people. So far, 27 crore people have

taken service from them.

A member of the Awami League presidium, Md Nasim, said that the health sector should remain above politics, as all politicians want the betterment of people.

The conference was attended by representatives from 10 countries including India, Germany, United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Canada.

It is being organized by the Head and Neck Oncology Grou. Others who were present at the conference included Dr Deen Mohammad Nurul Huq, director-general, health directorate and Dr Pran Gopal Dutt, vice-chancellor, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU). l

A two-day job fair started today on Rajshahi University campus.

Rajshahi University Carrier Club (RUCC) and City Bank are jointly organising the fair titled ‘2nd City BankRUCC Job Fair 2014’.

The RUCC President Imrul Kabir Khan said about 20 companies would participate in the fair where the companies would offer spot job after taking curriculum vitae from students and interviewing them on the spot.

RU Vice-Chancellor Professor Muhammad Mizanuddin will inaugurate the fair at old folklore chattar on the campus as the chief guest around 9:30am while RU Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan, students’ adviser Professor Sadekul Arefin Matin, Proctor Professor Tarikul Hasan, Dean of business studies faculty Professor Amzad Hossain and RUCC advisor Muhammad Mazedul Islam will present as special guests.

About 15 carrier-based seminar will be held on the two days’ fair while some 15 reputed corporate personalities of different multinational companies will attend there as resource persons, he said.

The seminars will be held at Kazi Nazrul Islam auditorium and Dean’s complex conference room on the both days from morning to evening.

The fair will remain open for the students from 9:00am to 5:00pm every day. l

Hindu temple vandalised n Our Correspondent, Kurigram Unidentified miscreants vandalised a Hindu temple, destroying two idols in Mogolbasa union of Kurigram Sadar upazila on Thursday night.

Police could not arrest anyone in this connection till yesterday.

Devotees found the idols of God Shiva and Goddess Kali destroyed when they went to the Sanyasi Path Kali Temple located on the banks of the Dhorola river to observe religious rituals on Friday morning, locals said.

A general diary (GD) was filed with the Kurigram Sadar Police Station in this connection. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Coal crisis hampering brick production Grameenphone agents robbed of Tk28 lakh

Kiln owners say every year about 900 tonnes of coal are needed for more than hundred brick fields in Chandpur n Our Correspondent, Gopalganj Hannan Mia of Munshirhat Brick The demand of coal is usually met ed coal per tonne was Tk9,000 last n Our Correspondent, Chandpur trict. by importing coal from India. But since year, local coal was even cheaper. “But Field said: “If the coal crisis is not re- A gang of masked robbers looted Tk28 More than hundred brick kilns are struggling in Chandpur district because of acute coal supply shortage. Brick field owners are counting losses everyday as coal production is suspended for an indefinite period.

Kiln owners said every year about 900 metric tonnes of coal is needed for more than hundred brick fields of Faridganj, Shahrasti, Matlab, Hajiganj, Kachua and Haimchar upazila of the dis-

India suspended the coal export, kiln owners have been facing an acute crisis.

Owner of Sukodi Bricks Field of Faridganj upazila told the Dhaka Tribune that he has been waiting for several months for coal. “All the preparation has been done and I have been paying 600 employees. If I could get coal, I could have started producing bricks long back.”

He further said the price for import-

nowadays coal is almost unavailable.

Though there is a small amount of local coal up for sale, it is sold at Tk13,000 to Tk16,000 for a tonne. It is not possible to run a brick field by buying coal at such a high price.”

Director of SP Brick Field Anisur Rahman said they were already facing loss because of the unsold bricks from last year. So the on going coal shortage is a double burden for them.

solved by importing coal from India in an emergency basis, many of the fields will face closure, ultimately affecting the construction industry of the country.”

Coal is mainly imported through Tamabil, Bholaganj, Sutarkandi, Barchara, Charagoan and Bogla borders of Sylhet. But following a law suit filed by Meghalayan environmentalists group, coal import from India was stopped on May 16, 2014. l

As harvest of Aman paddy has ended a few days ago, rice mills in Rajshahi have become functional again. The photo taken yesterday from a chatal in Taherpur area, Baghmara upazila shows that two women are involved in post-harvest activities. Farmers are now taking prepartion to celebrate ‘Nabanna Utsab,’ the festival of new paddy harvest, throughout the region AZAHAR UDDIN

Abducted youth rescued in Jessore n Our Correspondent, Jessore Three days after the abduction, a young man was rescued by the law enforcers from a den of a local leader of Jubo League, an associate body of ruling Awami League, in Jessore early yesterday.

The victim, Nantu, a son of Dr Abdur Razzak of Kazirpur area in Jessore, was abducted by some miscreants around 10:00pm on Wednesday, family members said.

Nantu’s brother, GM Mamun Hasan filed a case with Jessore Kotwali Police Station agon Thursday, they said.

Chanchra Police Outpost Sub-Inspector Jamal Uddin said the incident of the abduction took place over money related issues.

A joint team of police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab-6) conducted a drive in Kazipara area around 12:00am, after locating the position of the abductors by tracking their phone calls.

The police also arrested Firoz Alam, finance secretary of Jessore district unit of Jubo League, and two of his associates. They are Plaban and Orange.

On basis of the information provided by the arrestees, the law enforcers also arrested one Sona Babu, who was the main planer behind the abduction.

Jessore Rab-5 Camp In-Charge Major Ashraf said both victim and the arrestees were handed over to the police station. l

Three get life term for murder in Netrakona n Tribune Desk A court on Thursday convicted three people and sentenced them to life term rigorous imprisonment for killing a man in 2005.

The convicts were identified as Abdur Rashid,42, son of Kadar Ali alias Kalar Bap, Alhaj Uddin alias Alkas Uddin 40, son of Kadar Ali, and Hormuj Ali 37, son of Wazed Ali of Adhpur village in Sadar upazila.

The court also fined them Tk50,000 each, in default, to suffer five years more of rigorous imprisonment.

According to the prosecution, Abul Kalam, a rickshaw-puller of Adhpur village, was killed by the convicts over a previous enmity and they dumped the body in the Mogra River on October 9, 2005.

Bedena Akter, wife of the deceased, filed a case with Sadar police station on October 15. Police submitted chargesheet on June 23, 2006. l

Bhola facing healthcare crisis n Our Correspondent, Bhola Bhola is facing healthcare crisis as a shortage of doctors has hit its main hospital.

Six hundred patients come to the Sadar hospital, the main healthcare centre in the district, every day on average.

Many of them return home upset with doctors telling them to go to Barisal Medical College & Hospital and elsewhere in the country.

Private hospitals are taking advantage of this crisis. Their ambulances are always seen parking there.

Seeking anonymity, a doctor said they had to refer patients elsewhere because this hospital is not equipped with necessary doctors.

He also said this hospital had been upgraded to 100-bed alone but its number of doctors has remained almost the same as before.

The work of elevating this hospital to the 250-bed one is in progress as former health minister AFM Ruhal Haque inaugurated it in May last year.

The 100-bed hospital is supposed to have 21 senior and junior consultants while it has only three. Moreover, it has only three assistant surgeons and medical officers against 17 posts.

The post of the residential doctor has also remained vacant.

The small number of doctors who have been posted there as assistant surgeons and medical officers is struggling

to see patients at the hospital’s outdoors section, let alone provide other healthcare at the inpatients.

Patients often vent anger and frustration to the media persons about the hospital healthcare whenever they catch up with them.

The hospital had been upgraded to 100-bed alone but its number of doctors has remained almost the same as before Senior Consultant Dr Sami Ahmed said they were failing to operate on patients because there is no anaesthetist here.

Besides, many patients had to return home upset since there is no medicine consultant and cardiologist here.

Civil Surgeon Farid Ahmed admitted the healthcare crisis and said they had conveyed this crisis message to the higher authorities a long time ago but it did not bring any fruitful result yet though they had promised to fill up the vacant posts here soon.

Deputy Commissioner Md Selim Reza said: I am well aware of this and have contacted the health secretary about this several times. He promised to solve this crisis but it is yet to be kept.” l

Yaba peddlers jailed in Chittagong n Tribune Report A mobile court yesterday sentenced different terms to three persons on charge of Yaba tablet peddling in Chittagong city.

The court sentenced one year jail for one Iqbal, 25, and Jahangir, 35, for carrying the contraband item while another Selim, 26, was awarded one and half year imprisonment for the same charge, said Bakalia police station Officer-inCharge (OC) Mohammad Mohsin.

Police seized 51 pieces of yaba tablets from their possession during the drive, he said.

Assistant Commissioner and Executive Magistrate Asraful Alam of Chittagong district administration led the mobile court passed the order after conducting drives at different areas under Bakalia police station in the city. l

NEWS IN BRIEF Old man burnt to death in Narayanganj

A septuagenarian man was burnt to death in a fire that broke out at his house in Mazdair of Fotullah in Sadar upazila yesterday. The deceased was identified as Abed Ali, 70. His wife Rahima Begum, 62, also sustained severe burn injuries in the incident.

She is now undergoing treatment at the DMCH burn unit. Family members of the deceased said Rahima caught fire on her body while cooking on the gas stove around 5.00 am on Thursday. The fire spread into the gas cylinder in the room and the entire house caught fire. Abed Ali and Rahima Begum were both burnt severely. They were rescued and rushed to the DMCH burn unit where Abed Ali died around 9am. – UNB

Bicycles distributed among girl students in Barisal Bicycles were distributed among girl students in Barisal yesterday.

The bicycle were distributed from

Prime Minister’s Education Assistance Trust Fund. The distribution ceremony was held after a workshop over the development of education at Barisal circuit house. Dr Kamal Abdul Naser, senior secretary of public administration ministry as the chief guest of the programme, handed over 35-bicycles among the girl students. Md Gaus, divisional commissioner of Barisal, presided over the workshop. Speakers at the programme said government would do every thing to develop standard of education and prevent corruptions in education related offices, institutions and procedures. – Our Correspondent, Barisal

Construction worker commits suicide A construction worker who took poison two days ago died at Moulvibazar Sadar Hospital yesterday.

The deceased was identified as Humayun Kabir, 30, son of Samru Miah of Hasanpur village of Chandnighat union of Sadar upazila. According to police, Humayun took poison

on Wednesday night and family member immediately rushed him to Moulvibazar 250-bed hospital. The cause of his taking poison could not be known immediately. On information, police has taken the body and sent it to the same hospital morgue for postmortem examination. Nasma Begum, assistant sub-inspector, and also the duty officer of Moulvibazar police station, said they were looking into the matter. – Our Correspondent, Moulvibazar

Woman held with firearms in Faridpur Police arrested a woman with a pistol two rounds of bullet and gun powder from Khabaspur area in Faridpur yesterday. The arrested was identified as Shahida Begum.

Officer-in-Charge of Faridpur Kotwali police station conducted a drive at the house of one Kamal Hossain. But sensing the presence of police Kamal fled away. Later, police recovered the firearms which were kept in a showcase and arrested Shahida. – Our Correspondent, Faridpur

lakh after shooting two agents of Grameenphone in Swarnapatti area of Gopalganj town on Thursday evening.

Grameenphone’s sales executive Korban Ali Kazi, 28, and MLSS Ferdaus Kazi received bullet injuries in the incident.

The gang of four to five robbers attacked Korban and Ferdaus when they were going to deposit the money in a branch of Pubali Bank in Kaparpatti area

of the town around 7:00pm, and took away the money after shooting at them.

With a bag containing the money, the victims were traveling by a rickshaw from an office of Grameenphone on College Road to the bank.

Locals rushed the victims to Gopalganj General Hospital. Later, Ferdaus was shifted to Khulna Medical College Hospital as his condition deteriorated.

Gopalganj Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge M Jakir Hossain Mollah said they were trying to arreste the culprits. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

7

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Fierce fighting rages in Iraq’s Anbar n Agencies The Iraqi army says it has held off a fierce assault by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on the city of Ramadi yestrday.

The claim comes amid an announcement by the Iraqi government that it will triple its defence budget in an effort to defeat the group.

Ramadi is one of the last major urban areas in the crucial Anbar province under Baghdad’s control. ISIL holds thousands of kilometres of territory across Iraq, posing a threat to Kirkuk, Diyala and Salahuddin besides Anbar.

Iraqi security forces, backed by tribesmen, managed to defend a government complex in the city on Thursday, in the latest in a series of drives which have seen the return of some territory lost to ISIL, army officials said.

“We were able to stop the militants from advancing in the government complex,” army Colonel Haytham al-Daraji told AFP news agency.

Daraji said more than 10 air strikes were carried out against ISIL positions in Al-Hoz, an area from which security forces had previously withdrawn, which allowed ISIL to advance to within striking distance of the key government buildings.

Four members of the security force were killed and 21 wounded, medical officials said, as the government deployed reinforcements to the city.

The fight for Kirkuk is typical of ISIL’s tactics seen previously. “When they get pushed out of an area, they take refuge on a countryside, and that’s proving problematic for the

Iraqi forces, because the fight is for the towns,” reported al Jazeera, But he added that the Iraqi army still has the upper hand because they control much of the area, with the help of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

Ramadi has been in danger of falling to ISIL several times this year, and is a key city for ISIL as it seeks to consolidate its grip over all of Anbar.

“If we lose Anbar, that means we will lose Iraq,” Ahmed al-Dulaimi, Anbar’s governor, told Al Anbar television from Germany, where he is recovering after being wounded by a mortar round in September.

Parts of Anbar, which borders Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and the Baghdad governorate, have been out of government control since January.

The progress came as the Iraqi army reportedly captured the Jurf al-Sakhr area south of Baghdad, an area frequented by millions of Shia pilgrims while visiting the shrine city of Karbala The Iraqi army also made important gains in the Baiji, Jalawla and Saadiyah areas north of the capital.

However, ISIL still holds large areas of the country, including the key cities of Mosul, Tikrit and Fallujah.

Meanwhile, Hoshiyar Zebari, Iraq’s finance minister, is asking for nearly a quarter of next year’s budget to be devoted to defence.

“Definitely we will recommend strongly that there should be some serious deep-rooted reforms in the military security establishment to fight corruption, mismanagement, to make sure that they get the right weapons, they get the right salaries, they get the right support,” Zebari told Reuters. l

A Palestinian boy runs with his bicycle through a flooded road following heavy rain in Gaza City on Thursday. The United Nations has declared a state of emergency in the Gaza Strip after two days of heavy rains and flooding in the war-battered enclave REUTERS

France to recognise Palestine if peace efforts fail n Reuters, Paris France said yesterday it was working with partners on a “final” diplomatic push to overcome the impasse between Israelis and Palestinians, including by setting a two-year timeframe to end the conflict through a UN-backed resolution.

India woos neighbours as rifts open door to China n Agencies India pledged a slew of regional investments at a South Asian summit this week, seeking to counter China’s growing economic inroads into its backyard as it remains embroiled in bitter rivalry with Pakistan.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said South Asia’s largest economy would fund regional infrastructure, health facilities and even a communications satellite, and promised to free up its markets to exporters in smaller countries in the region.

Modi, who won a landslide election victory in May, has made clear that boosting India’s influence in its immediate neighbourhood is a key strategic priority for his government.

Critics say the previous Congress party government began to take relationships for granted, allowing economic giant China — which shares a border with four of India’s neighbours — to step into the breach.

But the failure of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) to make any significant progress during a two-day meeting underscored the scale of the challenge New Delhi faces.

Cross-border trade among the eight Saarc nations — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — still accounts for less than five percent of

Soldier killed as Egypt braces for protests n Agencies Egyptian government officials say a senior army officer has been killed while security forces have arrested more than 100 people in advance of planned anti-government demonstrations.

The cabinet operations room said the officer was killed yesterday when unidentified assailants opened fire from a vehicle. Two army conscripts were also injured in the attack.

The Associated Press news agency quoted Hani Abdel-Latif, Interior Ministry spokesperson, as saying that seven bombs were dismantled around the country.

The death occurred as Egypt braced for potential violence during Friday’s planned protests by Salafists, with security forces pledging to confront any unrest with “lethal force.”

The protest call comes from the Salafist Front, a faction in the Salafist movement concentrated in parts of the Nile Delta. l

total commerce in the region.

“Indians want to keep South Asia as their exclusive sphere of influence,” said Sreeram Chaulia, dean of the Jindal School of International Affairs in Delhi.

“To do that ... we need to play the economic game and we need to play the connectivity game better. We have been protectionist, and that is not good,” he said, welcoming Modi’s pledge to help smaller nations reduce their trade deficits with India.

Deeper pockets

Leaders signed just one agreement, on energy cooperation, at a summit that was overshadowed by the rivalries between India and Pakistan, leading host country Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala to say that Saarc had fallen short of expectations.

Nepal, long under the political influence of New Delhi, has benefited hugely from China’s bounty over the last decade, getting much-needed new roads and other infrastructure. Even the venue where the leaders met was built with Chinese money.

It is among several Saarc nations including Pakistan and Sri Lanka that reportedly support full membership for China, which currently enjoys observer status in the regional grouping.

India has resisted promoting its regional rival to full membership status, which comes with the power to veto agreements.

Frustrated by the slow pace of progress towards regional cooperation, it has also sought to woo its neighbours outside the Saarc framework.

Modi held separate meetings with all the Saarc leaders except Pakistan’s on the summit’s sidelines, and agreed a deal to invest in a major hydropower plant in Nepal shortly after arriving.

But China has deeper pockets than India, which also suffers from a reputation for unwanted interference in the domestic affairs of some of its neighbours.

Nepalese newspapers criticised Modi for urging the country’s leaders to complete a constitution-drafting process that has dragged on for years shortly after he landed.

“While his advice is correct, the place and context were wrong,” the Republica daily said in an editorial, accusing the Indian leader of violating “diplomatic decorum.”

Analyst Tanvi Madan of the Washington-based Brookings Institution said it was natural for the smaller Saarc states to cozy up to China.

“Indian policymakers and analysts objecting loudly to these links is futile and, arguably, counterproductive,” she wrote in a briefing paper ahead of the summit.

“An effective Indian approach requires presenting a viable alternative.

It means convincing Saarc countries that it wants to take them along on the path to economic prosperity.” l

“If this final effort to reach a negotiated solution fails, then France will have to do what it takes by recognising without delay the Palestinian state,” Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told parliament.

Lawmakers are set to hold a symbolic parliamentary vote on Dec. 2 on wheth-

er the French government should recognise Palestine as a state, a move that Israeli Prime Minister has called a “grave mistake.” The vote has raised domestic political pressure for the government to be more active on the issue.

Fabius told deputies that, were they to adopt the motion, it would not change

Pakistan violates ceasefire along India border hours before Modi reaches Jammu n Agencies Pakistani rangers yesterday violated ceasefire by resorting to brief firing along the international border in Arnia sub-sector, just hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival in Jammu for an election rally.

“There was a few rounds of firing from Pakistani side on our positions in Pital border outpost area in Arnia sub-sector today,” a senior BSF officer said.

BSF troops, however, observed calm and did not retaliate, he said, adding, there were no reports of any casualty.

There was also a fresh gunbattle on Friday morning between security forces and terrorists in the Arnia sector in which a fourth militant, who was holed up in a bunker, was shot dead.

The firing ensued when security forces launched a cordon and search operation to track down a militant hiding in a bunker and retrieve bodies of civilians killed in Thursday’s gunbattle.

Arnia is about 110 km from Udhampur where PM Modi addressed a poll rally. He will later address a rally at Poonch, about 230 km from Jammu.

It is worst affected by consistent cross LoC firing.

On Thursday, terrorists in military fatigues gunned down three army jawans and an equal number of civilians in a gunbattle in Arnia sector, 3km

from the International Border (IB).

Four of the gunmen were also shot dead.

According to police and intelligence agencies, the men — numbering at least five to six — crossed over early in the morning under cover fire provided

by Pakistan Rangers and reached Pindi village, 2 km from the IB. Suspicious locals alerted the police and the group, moving on foot, was apprehended at a Territorial Army checkpoint. But the men didn’t stop, running into an abandoned army bunker nearby where they fired at civilians, killing two and injuring several. A third villager died later.

Arnia, which goes to polls on December 20, witnessed cross-border violence in October too with five people killed in the firing.

Last September, terrorists had snuck in across the border and killed 12 people, 10 of them security personnel, in Hiranagar, just 40 km from Arnia.

That attack, too, had come a day after then PM Manmohan Singh’s meeting with Sharif in the US. The state — witness this year to the worst cross-border shelling in a decade — was already on alert against terror attacks due to the polls.

Intelligence was received as recently as November 21, a day before PM Modi’s rally in Kishtwar, about possible strikes and this was communicated to all security officials. l

China rebukes Turkey for offer to shelter Uighur n Reuters

China yesterday lashed out at Turkey for offering shelter to roughly 200 Uighurs from the western Chinese region of Xinjiang who were rescued from a human-smuggling camp in Thailand.

Thai police found the group in

March and Chinese officials identified “dozens” of them as Uighurs, a Muslim people from Xinjiang who speak a Turkic language. Many Uighurs chafe at government curbs on their culture and religion.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency on Wednesday reported a request by Turkish Foreign Minister

Mevlut Cavusoglu for Thailand to send the Uighurs there, a move that angered China, which views their move to Thailand as “illegal immigration.”

Asked for a response on Turkey’s offer, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the case was a matter for China and Thailand and “the relevant country”

should stop interfering.

“We urge the relevant country to immediately stop meddling in placement work for the relevant case, be cautious with words and actions and not send out mistaken signals that connive in, and even support, illegal immigration activities,” Hua said in a faxed statement to Reuters. l

‘Power Africa’ gets off to a dim start n Reuters Barack Obama last year told a cheering crowd in Cape Town that a $7bn plan to “Power Africa” would double electricity output on the world’s poorest continent and bring “light where currently there is darkness.”

A year later, the US president’s flagship project for Africa has already achieved 25% of its goal to deliver 10,000 megawatts of electricity and bring light to 20 million households and businesses, according to its annual report.

But the five-year plan has not yet delivered the power.

Power Africa has not measured its progress by counting actual megawatts added to the grid but promises of additional power made in deals it says it helped negotiate, according to sources inside the project and documents seen

by Reuters.

Some projects facilitated by Power Africa – a program operated by the US aid agency USAID – were under way years before the scheme’s inception, others are still in the planning stage.

It is unclear how much of the $7bn

Obama pledged has actually been spent or if a further $20bn in private sector investment commitments will materialise.

“Saying you’ve met targets on projects that might never happen or taking the credit for projects that have been worked on for years makes me uncomfortable,” a source working on Power Africa told Reuters.

“It’s misleading.”

Obama’s pledge to double power generation in Africa within five years looked highly ambitious from the start. Per capita electrici-

ty output in Sub-Saharan Africa has been flat for three decades because most promised power plants never get built.

“We’re dealing with megawatts on paper, rather than on the grid,” a second source working on the project said.

“Is that really what Obama promised?”

The first African-American US president, the son of a Kenyan father, Obama has often been criticised for a lukewarm engagement in Africa, consisting more of words than deeds. l

Paris’ immediate diplomatic stance.

But Fabius said France was working at the United Nations to get a resolution adopted that would set a two year timeframe to reach a negotiated solution. He also proposed an international conference in parallel to pressure the two sides. l

Nato unconcerned by Russian warships in English Channel

n Reuters

A squadron of Russian warships entered the English Channel yesterday but a Nato official dismissed a Russian media report that they were there to conduct military exercises.

Russian news agency RIA quoted the Northern Fleet as saying its vessels, led by anti-submarine ship Severomorsk, had passed through the Strait of Dover and were now in international waters in the Seine Bay to wait for a storm to pass.

“While it is anchored the crew are undertaking a series of exercises on how to tackle infiltrating submarine forces and are training on survival techniques in the case of flooding or fire,” RIA quoted the Northern Fleet as saying in a statement.

The Russian navy could not be reached for comment and the Defense Ministry declined to comment on the report.

France’s navy confirmed the location of the ships and said it was not unusual to have Russian warships in the Channel. l

Did Korea encourage sex work at US bases? n BBC More than 120 former prostitutes who worked near a US military base in South Korea are going to court to seek compensation from the Korean government. They say the authorities actively facilitated their work - and that the system has left them in poverty now that they are old.

For as long as armies have gathered in garrisons, ramshackle “camp-towns” have grown up around them. In South Korea, they reach right up to the walls of US bases - by night, they throb with music and neon, by day, they seem to recover from the night before.

They are now the scene of an intriguing legal dispute. More than 120 former prostitutes, who are ageing and poor, are suing not the American authorities but their own government, demanding compensation of $10,000 (£6,360) each. Their argument is that the South Korean government facilitated their work in order to keep American forces happy.

In a community centre next to the US base at Uijeongbu City in South Korea, a group of them gather to explain their case.

Their argument is not that South Korea compelled them to work as prostitutes - this is not a case of sexual slavery - but that by instituting a system of official and compulsory check-ups on their sexual health, it was complicit, and facilitated a system which now leaves them in poverty. It also, they say, gave them English lessons and courses in “Western etiquette.” l

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Prescription

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Reading signs your body sends The human body is amazing. It comprises 206 bones; trillions of cells and a variety of complex systems that make everything work in harmony. Sometimes, however, it appears to have a mind of its own, especially when quirky things happen, seemingly out of the blue

When something cold touches nerves in the roof of your mouth, it triggers blood vessels in the front of your head to constrict, causing a surge of pain. When the pain subsides, the blood vessels are relaxing back to their normal state. Normally an “ice headache” will ease in a matter of seconds, but there is a way to speed things up.

Pushing your tongue against the roof of your mouth when the headache starts will cause increased blood flow, and cause the blood vessels to relax again.

HEALTH FLASH

What causes eye twitching?

ization of middle ear pressure with the ambient atmospheric pressure. This equalization occurs through the Eustachian tube in the ear and is usually initiated by swallowing.

The pop is the opening of the tube connecting the middle ear to the back of the throat, which lets air flow through.

Ways to force a pop including yawning, sucking on a sweet, pinching your nostrils closed and holding your breath.

What are hiccups?

Hiccups occur when the diaphragm becomes irritated and spasms, forcing air

According to scientist, these spasms happen when you are awake and disappear when you sleep

The technical term for this is blepharospasm, or BEB. It’s a common condition that can occur in the same eye, and in the same area of the eyelid, frequently. According to scientists, these spasms happen when you are awake and disappear when you sleep.

Causes of BEB aren’t known, but stress, eye strain, and fatigue are thought to be the culprits. These spasms are generally harmless; however they can also be caused by a neurological disorder, and in some cases become chronic. The best way to avoid them is to relax and get enough sleep.

up and out so that it bounces against the vocal chords. They can occur because of eating too quickly, drinking too much alcohol, or too many carbonated drinks or swallowing too much air.

Hiccups eventually go away, but remedies that can help include holding your breath, drinking water or breathing into a paper bag to change the level of carbon dioxide in your blood. Hiccups that last more than 48 hours may be due to nerve damage and should be checked by a doctor.

Why do your ears pop?

What is a stitch?

This can happen when you are flying, travelling at elevation, riding in a lift or swimming or if you have a head cold.

The usual cause is the natural equal-

Exercise-related transient abdominal pain, also known as a stitch, is pain felt just below the ribs and can range from sharp or stabbing, to aching or pulling.

FOOD THERAPY Cooked tomatoes are ideal. People often think they have to eat raw food but there’s a really powerful antioxidant in tomatoes called lycopene that’s more concentrated in cooked tomatoes than it is in fresh. Other foods that reduce heart disease include guava, watermelon, green leafy vegetables (lettuce, spinach, Swiss BIGSTOCK chard, mustard greens), cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, bok choy, kale), and citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit).

Colour for cancer protection

Research shows that just adding one extra serve of fruit and veg each day can reduce your risk of head, neck and lung cancer, while red (lycopene-rich) foods prevent prostate cancer. And the more colour, the wider the range of cancerfighting antioxidants. Try non-starchy vegetables like lettuce and other leafy greens, broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, onions, cauliflower and blue and purple foods like blueberries and eggplant.

And go for garlic, chilli, apples and anything with vitamins A, C and E like orange fruit and veg, citrus, berries, kiwi, and red capsicum if it’s raw.

Vision and age-related eye diseases Fill your shopping basket with lots of dark green, leafy vegies. They contain carotenoids, which protect against agerelated eye disease (one study showed that eating spinach and collard greens five times a week noticeably reduced the risk of macular degeneration). Also choose carrots for vitamin A and other bright foods like corn, squash, kiwi fruit and grapes.

Weight reducing veggies

BIGSTOCK

BIGSTOCK

In most cases, when you stop exercising, the stitch disappears.

According to specialist, the exact cause of a stitch is unknown, although for a long time they were thought to be caused by a reduction of blood to the diaphragm.

To prevent a stitch, the specialist recommends not eating just before exercising and not drinking highly concentrated fluids, such as soft drinks or fruit juice, before or after.

If you do get a stitch, you can alleviate the pain by pushing on the site, bending forward and breathing deeply.

What are pins and needles?

Pins and needles is a temporary sensation that can occur in a limb if you are sitting in an awkward position, like sit-

ting with your legs crossed, or hanging an arm off the back of a chair.

Pins and needles are the recovery from a condition called paresthesia, which is a loss of sensation. When your arm goes to sleep temporarily, it is caused by a compressed nerve. As the paresthesia is resolving, blood flow starts to return in patchy areas and, as the recovery isn’t even, this causes the prickly sensation.

But constant pins and needles can indicate a more serious problem. If it is persistent or recurrent, or isn’t happening because of something obvious such as sitting on your legs, see a doctor.

Why do joints crack?

If you move and hear a loud pop in your

knee or hip, don’t worry, you haven’t broken anything. A normal joint comprises bone covered with cartilage, which is protected by a capsule lined with synovial fluid.

This fluid contains various gases, including oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. When healthy joints crack, it is thought to be the result of the capsule being rapidly stretched, causing the formation and release of gas bubbles. The release of gas can cause the popping sound you feel and sometimes hear.

Once the gas is released, the joint is usually a bit more flexible. And if you’ve noticed you can’t immediately crack the same joint again, that’s because the gases released in a pop take a little while to be reabsorbed into the fluid. l

Stress affects young women’s hearts more

Fruit for healthy heart

BIGSTOCK

BIGSTOCK

Why do you get a headache when you eat or drink something really cold?

Oily hair, dandruff, and acne care

A recent study at Boston University found what many health experts believe: a diet high in fruit and veg can help to prevent weight gain. Half your plate should be leafy greens, carrots, nonstarchy vegies and things like mushrooms, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower and salad. Opt for healthy, filling snacks like bananas, raw vegies and apples, and limit foods with healthy fats such as avocadoes.

Legumes to cure depression and stress We often reach for comfort food when our mood slumps, but it needn’t be fatty. If you want something that’s fulfilling and sustaining, go for legumes, like a minestrone or veg and lentil soup where you’re getting heaps of antioxidants and vitamins. High-folate and deeply coloured foods like spinach and berries, and high-fibre pears, apples and bussel sprouts may reduce irritability and mood swings.

n Prescription Desk Young women with heart disease may take a harder hit from mental stress compared with their male counterparts, a new RESEARCH study suggests. The researchers said the effects of psychological stress, which don’t show up on heart patients’ regular medical tests, may partly explain why women with heart disease are more likely to die from heart attacks than are men with heart disease.

There’s a very interesting paradox concerning young women and chronic heart disease, said study researcher Dr. Viola Vaccarino, chairwoman of cardiovascular research and epidemiology at Emory University’s School of Public Health in Atlanta, Georgia.

They have higher mortality and complication rates after heart attacks compared with men of the same age, despite having fewer risk factors for heart disease, she said.

The researchers looked at patients’ hearts to measure any reduction in blood flow to the heart muscle itself, which is a common problem in

BIGSTOCK

people with heart disease, and which can lead to heart attacks.

The Heart scans showed “dramatic differences” between men and women during the mental stress test, particularly in younger people, Vaccarino said.

When under mental stress, women ages 55 and younger showed a

| Compiled by Dr Kazi Mahbuba Akhtar

Acne across your face: Acne on your face means internal toxin build-up.

You can fix it by Detox. Herbs that help detoxify include St Mary’s thistle, chamomile and dandelion root.

Drinking a glass of lemon juice in warm water every morning will also help to detoxify the liver.

Make sure your bowels move daily, so eat lots of lentils, red kidney beans, fruit and whole grains, and drink two litres of water per day.

If you aren’t having at least one daily bowel movement, the toxins will recirculate back into the bloodstream.

When you have acne on your cheeks and forehead, it’s also important to cleanse the blood. Drinking three cups of herbal (Green) tea daily can also help clear up your complexion.

Visit your healthcare professional before detoxing if you’re taking medication or have any health issues.

Dandruff: Yeast overgrowth and/or essential fatty acids, vitamin B6 and selenium deficiencies are the main cause of dandruff.

Drink two dessert spoons of flaxseed oil per day and cut back on sugary or high-enzyme foods. Wash your hair with chamomile or tea tree shampoos. After washing, rinse with one cup of apple cider vinegar and 10 drops of peppermint oil.

If you aren’t pregnant, take anti-fungal medicine after consulting your dermatologist. l

| Compiled by: Shirsho Saaeadat

Seven days, seven ways to live longer n Prescription Desk

DID YOU KNOW?

Wednesday

Follow a healthy diet. Have two serves of fruit and five of veg and legumes a day, lean meat and poultry, fish a few times a week and wholegrain breads, pastas and cereals. Limit foods that are high in saturated and trans fat, salt and sugar, and hydrate with water.

A cardiologist says a healthy diet is one of the most important things you can do to turn your health around.

It is important live healthy. When we get older, our body’s different systems and organs also get weak.

So to live healthy you should keep some time, take few healthy steps for the betterment of the organs of your body. Add some extra years to your life by making these lifestyle changes.

Saturday

BIGSTOCK

Manage your diabetes. It’s our fastest-growing chronic disease, increasing the risk of high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and stroke. Researchers said, up to 60% of type 2 diabetes cases are preventable and lifestyle is key.

can take two years off your life and raise your risk of heart disease or stroke. Cardiologists advises, walking for at least 30 minutes a day to halve your heart disease risk. Being fit at any weight will improve your health outlook.

Sunday

Tuesday

Quit smoking. It’s responsible for more cancer deaths than any other single factor. As soon as you quit, your risk of heart disease and stroke begins to lower.

BIGSTOCK

reduction in blood flow to the heart that was three times that of men of the same age, according to the study.

Women who develop heart disease at a younger age make up a special, high-risk group because they are disproportionally vulnerable to emotional stress.

People in their late 30s, 40s and early 50s generally face considerable levels of stress in daily life as they manage working, raising children and sometimes caring for their parents. They are also vulnerable to the effects of depression on the heart’s health.

Physicians should be aware of the importance of psychological stress in young and middle-age women with heart disease, and ask the questions about psychological stress that often don’t get asked.

Women with high levels of stress could benefit from counseling, stress reduction techniques and getting more exercise. Probably the most useful measure is to encourage patients to exercise regularly, because that’s a measure that has been shown clearly to improve mental health and at the same time also physical health, Vaccarino said. l

Oily hair: Oily hair stet caused by Excess sebum – the hair’s natural “conditioner” – in hair follicles is caused by poor circulation, poor diet or vitamin deficiencies.

To fix it, add antioxidants – vitamins A and C, and dark green leafy vegetables – to your diet, as they’re essential for healthy sebum production. Try to switch from high to low-grade shampoos, which strip the hair of natural oils and cause sebum imbalances, to nourishing natural ones. Also, rinse your hair with apple cider vinegar and water (use half a tablespoon to each cup of water) after shampooing. This regulates the skin’s pH levels, removes grimy build-up, promotes blood circulation at the scalp and leaves hair soft and shiny.

BIGSTOCK

n Prescription Desk

QUICK TIPS

Monday

Get moving. Sitting for more than three hours a day

Know your numbers. High levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol contribute to the build up of plaque in your arteries – another enemy to heart health – so get tested. Cardiologists said to reduce your LDL cholesterol by eating a healthy diet low in saturated fat and taking any prescribed medications.

Thursday

Aim for your healthy weight. Statistics says more than 62% of adults are overweight or obese. This can raise your risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis and some cancers.

Cancer specialists said, certain cancers are linked to being overweight and obese, such as bowel, kidney, endometrium, oesophagus and post-menopausal breast cancer.

Friday

Reduce your blood pressure. Keeping it under control can cut your stroke risk by up to 40 per cent and heart attack risk by up to 25 per cent. get regular exercise and cut down on salt to keep a healthy weight. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Heritage

Saturday, November 29, 2014

9

Portuguese pirates

The shadow cast by Vasco da Gama, and the Portuguese, over these lands that are now Bangladesh is, it seems, a long one, including, perhaps, the tradition of piracy?

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n Tim Steel n English born Briton describing the Portuguese in the lands that are now Bangladesh as pirates may well sound like a strong representation of “the pot calling the kettle black.” But, after all, since history is written by the victors, and there is little alternative way to describe the activities of Portuguese sailors once the English had established supremacy in the lands, it is a description that would probably withstand any reasonable challenge.

The Portuguese of course were the first nation to venture back to south and east Asia by sea since, perhaps, the collapse of the Roman empire.

Those Roman merchants, like those of the Greeks, Phoenicians and Egyptian, we have good reason to believe, were regular visitors to these lands, perhaps from the early centuries of the last millennium Before the Common Era. Their famous Admiral, Vasco da Gama, rounded the Cape to sail eastwards in 1497/8, laying the foundations for the first European eastern colonial empire.

It was not, however, until 1518 that the Portuguese established themselves in the ancient port of Chittagong.

Nearly twenty years later, having evidently earned the trust of the local rulers, they were also permitted to establish themselves near Sonargaon.

The late 16th century visitor Ralph Fitch, the English merchant, wrote in his journal of their thriving trading and ship-building centre at Sreepur.

However, it seems that the main focus of Portuguese interest may well have been the transhipping of spices, although there is little doubt that fabrics will have played a part in such trade.

Rumours of pirate treasure, and hiding places, are abound in the area, and indeed piracy persists on the coastal waters Portugal itself, however, was a somewhat troubled nation. Its early history of voyages of exploration and discovery under, especially, its early 15th century prince, Henry the Navigator, had proved it the most adventurous of Europeans. But, from its developments in the subcontinent it is not hard to tell that it lacked resources; a small, and not especially warlike nation. Although set to become

notorious when da Gama himself blackened their reputation in his acts, such as in 1502, capturing a ship with 450 passengers, sailing from Calicut to Arabia for Haj, looting it, then burning all aboard alive.

Its close neighbour Spain began to attempt to emulate such international achievements sponsoring famously Columbus’ 1492 adventure to the West Indies, when he is credited with “discovering America.”

In 1494, the Pope sought to mediate in the growing rivalry between Spain and Portugal, and encouraged the Treaty of Tordesillas, dividing the world, east and west, between the two nations.

However, in 1580, the King of Spain, Phillip, fell heir to the Portuguese throne, a joint monarchy which lasted until 1660, by which time Portuguese achievements in Africa and Asia had been much neglected in favour of the Spanish in the Americas.

By the early 17th century it is clear that Phillip, at least, has become aware of North East India as the source of one of the most vital elements of contemporary warfare. Whilst both England and Netherlands began to turn interested eyes towards the subcontinent, probably not only with spices and fabrics in mind, in the first decade of that century, Phillip requested a supply of saltpetre, the main ingredient of gunpowder, from his representative in Portuguese Goa. At about the same time, the Zaminder of Jessore, submitting at last to the invading Mughals, amongst other items of his resistance, surrendered 45 tons of gunpowder. All Phillip’s agent could supply him was 10 barrels of saltpetre!

It took the British time to develop their own interests in the area; clearly, the Portuguese remained under the control of an apparently unaware and uninterested Spain, and as the Dutch interest in the east developed, it was more focused on the Spice Islands further east.

It may be a speculation, but, under the circumstances, perhaps not an unreasonable one, that of all those with a growing interest in these lands, England, or as it had been since 1603, England and Scotland, may well have been the only one who appreciated the potential of the saltpetre.

Certainly, their dash, with 12 ships, armed with 200 cannon, and carrying 200 more with which to placate and arm the local people, to seize Chittagong in 1683, under the influence of Sir Josiah Child, the new Governor of East India Company, who was himself an experienced supplier to the British Navy, which supplies surely included gunpowder, would suggest just that.

It failed, and could well have precipitated the exclusion of Britain from the sub continent, but representatives of Crown and the Honourable East

India Company were ready to humble themselves, and pay handsomely for their failure to keep their stake in the subcontinent in play.

The weakness of the Portuguese in their commitment to their bases in north east subcontinent left the field

which, with Bengal, held those huge saltpetre deposits in their demand for the collection of Diwani rights in those provinces, together with Orissa, and push Portuguese activities, despite over 400 years of friendly relations, towards the margins.

The lands, and islands, from Sandwip south, were infamous as a haunt of displaced Portuguese, as well as Arakanese, for whom piracy became a natural way of life

open, especially to two increasingly warlike mutually hostile nations, France and Britain. Both, it seems reasonable to suppose, had an interest in the saltpetre deposits.

Following the British victory at Plassey, facilitated by at least one Armenian whose fortune was based on the saltpetre export, and confirmed at Buxar, the East India Company was quick to include, especially Bihar,

Deprived of their main bases of operations in Chittagong, and even Sreepur, the Portuguese, many of whom had settled in the lands, taking local wives, found the largely ignored territories south of Chittagong, including Sandwip island, about all that was left to them.

In fact, as early as the late sixteenth century it is clear that there were Portuguese working as mercenaries, sol-

diers and sailors, in local conflicts. The Zaminder of Jessore certainly included many in his resistance army and navy.

The Portuguese had certainly shared in building up the fleet of warships he surrendered, and manning them.

It is very easy to make the mistake of assuming it was the European Portuguese who led the use of gunpowder in the subcontinent, since there is a modern prejudice that attributes all major technological innovation to Europe. But, in fact gunpowder had been used in warfare in India since at least the 11th century.

For the first thirty years of its “occupation” of Chittagong, and the lands south to the Naf river, British knowledge and interests seem to have terminated at Ramu, which appears on European maps, together with Chakoria, of the late 16th, early 17th century. And, certainly, the 1776 Map of EIC territories shows nothing south of Bakkhali River.

We do know, however, that these lands, and islands, from Sandwip south, were infamous as a haunt of displaced Portuguese, as well as Arakanese, for whom piracy became a natural way of life.

It would, indeed, appear that Portuguese renegades were active in acts of piracy from as early as the 16th

century. The evidence of the close association between Portuguese and Arakanese refugees from the turbulent Kingdom, and especially following the mid 17th century annexation of Arakan by the Burmese, is compelling.

Even today, the local population of the area south of Chittagong, through Cox’s Bazar district, commonly manifests a visual characteristic of green, grey and blue eyes, completely foreign to the dark eyes normally found in South Asian peoples, and referred to by locals as “Portuguese Eyes.”

Rumours of pirate treasure, and hiding places, are abound in the area, and indeed piracy persists on the coastal waters. Perhaps not all such criminal behaviour, in which lives are still lost, can be attributed to the Portuguese any more than the people smuggling that persists. However, it is certainly arguable that in early days they influenced developments, and perhaps even lent a degree of respectability to it!

The shadow cast by Vasco da Gama, and the Portuguese, over these lands that are now Bangladesh is, it seems, a long one. Including, perhaps, the tradition of piracy? l Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Saturday, November 29, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Build new towns to reduce slums

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ccording a new report, Bangladesh has the highest proportion of slum dwellers in the entire South Asian region.

The proportion of people living in substandard or unofficial housing in urban areas stands at 60% in Bangladesh, which is much higher than that of India (29%) and Pakistan (47%).

Growing urbanisation and poor planning put huge stresses on our cities. As a result, the quality of our transportation system, sanitation, water, waste management, all suffer.

This affects not just slum dwellers, but everyone.

The woeful state of our cities undermines not only our quality of life, but also our ability to attract investment and improve living standards.

We urgently need more effective policies to reduce the slum-dwelling populations of our cities.

Improved urban planning, and decentralisation projects, including the development of new towns and cities, could control some of the migration-related problems, if they help spread opportunities away from a handful of urban cores.

It is important to develop infrastructure and job opportunities across all districts to lessen the pull of major cities for people seeking a better life. Improving communications and services to allow better planned developments on cheaper land will be the best way to reduce the growth of slums in the future.

Within Dhaka, city planners can and should do far more to improve the poor conditions endured by the millions of working poor in the capital.

Their residents are the engine behind our economic growth and deserve better recognition of their need for affordable, decent housing.

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

The other martyrs November 14

We need effective policies to deliver affordable, decent housing for all

maintaining that such intolerance is in the name of “liberalism” and “progress.” This article was different, sublime, and a reflection of a brave woman whose toil, treasure, and tears ought not be pitied, but emulated and honoured.

I appreciate the author sharing this portrait of his mother whose sacrifice, as he well points out, is as important as that of his legendary father.

Sammy I generally find the author’s essays to be rather predictable, though well-articulated, calls for shutting down/hunting down/running down those who disagree with his political leaders in the one-party regime while assiduously

PM: Bangladesh is leading democratic world

Shakhawat Khan How funny. How could she say that Bangladesh is leading the democratic world?? If we are now in a democracy, then why are these ugly things happening in our nation?

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angladeshi mariners are reportedly finding it more difficult to find jobs aboard international shipping vessels.

A shrinking number of local vessels in recent years has led to a number of instances of counterfeit certificates being used by mariners seeking work on foreign vessels.

This has led to the International Maritime Organisation withdrawing visa waiver permit facilities from Bangladeshis, creating delays, which make it harder for Bangladeshi mariners to compete for international jobs.

It is right that action is taken to root out fraud, and we hope the government and naval training academies can promptly work together to rectify the situation.

However, we should also be looking to improve opportunities for trained mariners locally.

Lack of forward investment by Bangladeshi boat owners and shipping companies means that more vessels are being taken out of service than are being replaced. There is no economic justification for this, as there is growing demand for modern vessels both for global trade and to ferry goods and people among our many navigable rivers and waterways.

The failure by successive governments to enforce maintenance and safety regulations is a major factor behind the high number of deaths we see in avoidable ferry accidents. If higher standards are enforced, there would be greater incentive for investment in new vessels.

In turn, this would create new jobs to support some mariners. It would also help boost our national shipbuilding industry.

The synergies offered by investing in new vessels and shipbuilding will pay multiple dividends by creating jobs, facilitating trade, and improving safety.

Investing in new vessels will pay multiple economic dividends and improve safety

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

RS “I think it is time to honour war widows as freedom fighters too.”

I think we should sincerely respect such audacious women who struggled so much in life in order to bring up their children. They are freedom fighters, truly.

SUDOKU

November 16

Update our ships

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

No Ebola patient in Bangladesh November 24

Zebrul Hossain Good news after many days.

Infrastructure continues to be the biggest headache

Punished unto death?

November 13

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.

Abellard the Greek-Lover “The head teacher, Alfaj, told Panir’s father that he should come to him for an explanation only if his son died from the punishment.”

Corporal punishment is an awful awful thing.

Not only does it not benefit students in any way whatsoever, it’s doubtful if it’s of any good to anyone.

Dreampie Abellard the Greek-Lover: You need to look at it from the educators’ perspectives; who’s to say they aren’t feeling some satisfaction from beating up these children? Not that it’s a good thing.

The ugly is back November 14

November 16

CROSSWORD

Humaira Chowdhury It is good to have constructive criticism rather than blame games. Good that these things are happening.

Khaleda asks party men to resist oppression with swords and shields November 13

Seira Resist with swords and shields? Are we living in the Middle Ages?

Imam promises BCS jobs to BCL November 13

Hovercraft This is only encouraging student organisations to be extortionists and get whatever they want by force and politics.

Buriganga land finally given to RAB

November 13

Mohammed Sobhan Some land-grabber will surely be unhappy, including some top-ranked land developers who have already grabbed some land. Some of them are from the ruling AL party, as well as BNP. How will the government recover these lands from these powerful people? It’s impossible. But let us wait and see if this ever comes to be.

SM “This madness needs to end. If this is the quality of students, then the future of this country seems terribly grim.”

The author is absolutely correct in every aspect; indeed, he may be a bit too kind to the organised thugs that rule the public universities and control the impotent vice chancellors and provosts.

The incident he mentions could have ended in a bloodbath at the Shaheed Minar, and that gory end was only avoided because the daughter of the PM’s foreign affairs advisor was amongst those holding vigil, and was able to talk some sense of decency into the helplessly on-looking police.

Imagine that: If the author of the Constitution (Dr Kamal Hossain) and the daughter of a cabinet member are treated with such hooliganism, what hope is left for us ordinary folks? We are fast approaching the Bangladeshi version of Zimbabwe’s Mugabe regime’s orchestrated mob violence. That is “chetona” for you.

ACROSS 1 Crustacean (4) 6 Drinking vessel (3) 7 Stubborn animal (4) 9 Gloomily sullen (4) 10 Custom (5) 11 Mar (5) 12 First woman (3) 14 Entice (5) 17 Savoury (5) 20 Burnt remains (3) 21 Kingly (5) 23 Buffalo (5) 25 Tree (4) 26 Mine entrance (4) 27 Dry, of champagne (3) 28 Dexterous (4)

DOWN 1 Young swan (6) 2 Entertains (6) 3 Collide with (4) 4 Apply friction to (3) 5 Meshed fabric (3) 7 Masculine (4) 8 Proceeds lamely (5) 10 Success (3) 13 Well-founded (5) 15 Evil intent (6) 16 Menace (6) 18 Easy pace (4) 19 Japanese monetary unit (3) 22 Copied (4) 23 Prohibit (3) 24 Wrongdoing (3)

nds They have already hijacked the country itself, so is it not obvious that they should hijack everything that contains it?

Slice of paradise

CALVIN AND HOBBES

November 15

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER RO “We say that our country is beautiful, but have we tried to match its beauty with global standards?”

We should make every effort to keep our country as clean as possible. We are the ones who need to turn it into a really beautiful country, and the authorities should also look into this matter.

PEANUTS

CROSSWORD

Abellard the Greek-Lover Indeed. We have a lot of ground to cover if we want to improve Bangladesh’s tourism sector.

One bus can replace 30 cars November 14

Momoaswan So true. Every time I see a typical Dhaka jam, it’s mainly private cars hogging the road.

SE “Congestion costs Dhaka’s economy over Tk200bn every year. We cannot afford to neglect public transport.” Yes, action should be taken in order to eliminate this horrendous traffic congestion and the ensuing losses.

SUDOKU

Op-Ed

DHAKA TRIBUNE

11

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Don’t make excuses for a genocidal criminal n Sabbir Khan

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In favour of bad students

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n Ekram Kabir worrying story from a school-going teenage boy has been bothering me lately. He is in the eighth grade in a reputed English-medium school, and not a very studious student. He never was.

And therefore, very often, his marks were very low. This was the reason why most of his teachers didn’t like him, and developed a negative attitude towards him. They always misbehaved with him, and mistreated him in many ways.

Among the teachers, one was always after this boy, trying to vilify and disgrace him in front of everyone.

He has been picking on him for several years. Interestingly, this teacher behaved the same way with many students of that school. One day, a few seniors (tenth grade-type) of that school found this teacher of theirs at an empty corner of a road near the school. They beat their teacher up severely.

Exactly at that moment, this teenaged chap happened to be there with his cell-phone in hand. He shot the entire incident. He went home and uploaded it on Youtube. He also wrote the reasons for releasing the video on the net. He sort of tried to seek his revenge by releasing the video. The video went viral, and his teacher watched it too. Then, finally, the teacher realised how wrong he was in treating this boy. He came up to him

and apologised.

This is one of very few incidents when a teacher realises his or her mistakes, and makes them right. But, the overall picture of how teachers treat their students is, to my mind, a gloomy one. I also have a first-hand experience of being mistreated by a few of my schoolteachers of the boarding school where I went at the age of 12.

I was being held responsible for the faults that I never committed. I tried my best to overcome my state. But unfortunately, the teachers’ wrath was so intense that I had to spend the rest of my time there as a “bad” boy with no motivation left inside me.

When I realised that I would never succeed to be a “good” boy, I caved in as a “bad” boy. I was psychologically shattered and devastated, with no

These so-called “bad” students seek love, not hate from their teachers

I was also not a “good” student, because of some things that used to occupy my mind. Being away from my parents had troubled me more than it troubled other students of the school.

I grew restless and wasn’t studying as I should have. I started getting low scores in my exams.

Most of my teachers started thinking I was a “bad” boy, and some teachers started victimising me in everything. I never got pass-marks in descriptive subjects such as Bangla and English in the entire time I spent in that school.

hope for the future. Most of my friends pitied me, thinking that I was set to be doomed in the future.

Now, when I look back, I feel sad and dejected. I’d be a much better achiever now if my teachers were a little bit considerate and caring. After all, they were there to replace our parents in that school in their absence.

They could have become my real parents at that tender age, and turned me into a sound man with love, as they loved their own children. But that wasn’t the case at all.

This is, in fact, the story of millions

of schoolchildren in Bangladesh.

They start their school lives with high enthusiasm, but with the unexpected fury from their teachers, they lose all motivation to go forward, ending up as “bad” students.

The would-be talents turn out to be inefficient citizens; they aren’t nurtured with love and care. Children value their teachers more than they value their own parents.

But, when the best motivator acts like a villain, the world ends for the tender minds. They turn out to be “bad” elements in an unfriendly educational atmosphere.

When they become “bad,” they lose all chances to prove themselves. A few of their teachers block avenues for them. But, there continues to be the expectation that each student would be valued by the teachers.

They crave to feel safe to express their feelings, and learn to respect and listen to others. They expect their teachers should be able to create an environment for all, not just for the good students. They expect their teachers to lead skillfully, which would be very different from administrative officers. They hope their teachers would act like the change agents, improvement agents.

These so-called “bad” students seek love, not hate from their teachers.

Let’s create an atmosphere of love for them, shall we? l

hulam Azam, a war criminal, died in a Bangladeshi prison on October 23 while serving a 90-year sentence. During the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, the Pakistani army committed one of the largest genocides of the 20th century.

Ghulam’s party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and militias formed by Ghulam, actively aided the Pakistani military to kill, loot, rape, torture, as well as commit arson and other crimes.

A piece was published in the Huffington Post UK on Oct 27 by Yasmin Khatun wrongly depicting Ghulam as a saint. This is a highly irresponsible attempt at historical revisionism, particularly given that most of the Western world sided with the perpetrators of the genocide at the time.

In the offending article, Yasmin Khatun consistently refers to Ghulam as a “professor.” Ghulam was hardly a professor, he taught for barely four years in a small town high school. He never taught at the university level, and never came close to meeting any requirements for a professorship. The fact that his supporters insist on referring to him as a professor is dangerously misleading.

Many Bangladeshis found a measure of redemption knowing that Ghulam finally died a prisoner, although even that is a tiny justice indeed, compared to the enormity of his crimes.

As Bangladesh continues the battle against religious and political extremism, and forges ahead with the aims of progress and a sustainable secular democracy, it must never be forgotten that the future of Bangladesh was once in peril, and threatened by the jihadist agenda of Ghulam and Jamaat.

It should be disturbing for everyone to have a major Western media outlet suddenly praising a convicted criminal

Ekram Kabir is head of program, ABC Radio 89.2, and a Dhaka Tribune columnist.

of genocide. Even in the name of “free speech” one would never allow such denialism to pass if it pertained to the Nazi Holocaust. Why should the hundreds of thousands (some say millions) of victims of genocide in Bangladesh deserve less respect?

Anything that lionises convicted war criminals is an insult to the countless victims

Ghulam was accused of five different types of crimes, forming a total of 61 points of complaints, including planning, provocation, involvement, conspiracy, and murder. Ghulam had formed militia groups, such as al-Badr and al-Shams, and actively helped Pakistani troops to kill Bangladeshi freedom fighters and helpless civilians.

Ghulam’s active role in the genocide has been made clear since 1971, as he frequently made statements in the Daily Sangram, the mouthpiece of his party.

Reports to the contrary are a travesty of journalism, and any historical revisionism in the media is a danger to our future. To print anything that lionises convicted war criminals of Bangladesh is an insult to the countless victims, and shows disrespect to the country of Bangladesh, whose freedom was earned at the highest of costs. l Sabbir Khan is a political analyst, columnist, and journalist. The article was previously published in The Huffington Post.

NASHIRUL ISLAM

Born free, living in chains W

e, as a nation, must feel proud and privileged to have had a written constitution right from the beginning of our liberation war. A constitution is a hilt to protect and safeguard the rights of the citizen. The word “citizen” includes all males, females, children, as well as the third gender.

In fact, the population is a wellbalanced combination of both males and females, and when half of the population (women) is being deprived of the right to protection of law, right to protection of life and personal liberty, protection of forced labour, and freedom of movement, then we still feel insecure about our rights and existence.

All the mentioned rights are the fundamental rights (Article 31, Article 32, and Article 36) enclosed in the constitution. The rights of women are mostly violated by woman and girl trafficking inside and outside of Bangladesh to India, Thailand, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, and other Middle Eastern countries for domestic work, forced prostitution, sexual exploitation, bondage servitude, and so on.

Women and children are the target-

ed groups for trafficking in India for commercial and sexual exploitation.

In Bangladesh, the factors which ease this crime are poverty, lack of awareness of rights, gender discrimination, and social values and norms. Some parents sell their

daughters for failure to support them.

Some women get trapped under the grip of brokers or “dalals,” with fraudulent expectation of a better life in cities and sometimes abroad.

Some teenage girls are abducted, then transported from the border, mostly

BIGSTOCK

n Eshita Tasnim

from the Jessore border with India.

The act enforced on February 20, 2012 – “Manab pachar prothirodh ain, 2012” – has been specifically enacted to deal with human trafficking. Section 6 of this act states that any person to commit this crime shall be punished with life imprisonment and a fine of Tk50,000.

In spite of having a statute enacted in full pace, women and children make up 75% of trafficking globally. More than 20 million people are falling victim to trafficking globally every year.

Now, Article 27 of the constitution states that every citizen shall come under the equal protection of the law, and shall be treated equally. “The protection of law” shall be provided by the concerned authority, and there must be some supervision to ensure whether women are receiving legal protection or not.

Article 28 states, “Women shall have equal rights with men in all spheres of the state and public life,” and when these women come out from the four boundaries for want of bread and butter, they are being deceived, and exploited abroad under the name of “housemaid,” but with the actual purpose of sexual exploitation.

Article 36 says every citizen has a right to move throughout the state, and reside in a place according to

their choice. In reality, many women are being kidnapped, abducted, and then sold out to brothels. Article 18(2) states, “The state shall adopt effective measures to prevent prostitution …”

However, big brothels in Tangail, Narayanganj, and other districts are running successfully by giving a commission of their total income to the members of the leading political parties or the police.

It should be our priority to save our women and children from human trafficking

NGO workers estimate the total number of listed prostitutes to be as many as 100,000. Children who get abducted and kidnapped, later on engage in child labour. Some of them become factory or domestic workers by force, and undoubtedly they are subjected to rape, sexual exploitation, and mental as well as physical stigma, whereas

Article 34 of the constitution prohibits all forms of forced labour, and it is a punishable offence if committed.

So, we are deliberately and willingly breaking these constitutional provisions. The term “we” has been used to indicate the people who are committing these crimes belong to our community, our society, our country.

NGOs have been working hard to help the victims, and to ensure their rehabilitation into normal life, which is very difficult indeed. But, it is imperative to focus on the prevention of this crime, which is not possible without strict interference of the government, as concerted efforts from all the segments of society are needed to deal with this issue. Our society cannot be hesitant on this matter, as it is our collective responsibility to save one portion of the whole population.

We, all together, have to find out the way to redress this most alarming crime in our society. The government, along with enacting many laws and regulations, also needs to act as a watchful authority to implement them in the right manner. At this stage, it should be our priority to save our women and children from the heinous crime of human trafficking. l Eshita Tasmin is an advocate.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, November 29, 2014

13 McCullum mauls

Pakistan after Craig’s best

14 Touching

Hughes tribute goes viral

14 Galatasaray

sack coach Prandelli

Sport

Did you know?

Shakib Al Hasan (60 wkts in 41 innings) has passed Muttiah Muralitharan (59 in 30) as the leading ODI wicket-taker v Zimbabwe

BANGLADESH PAYS TRIBUTE TO PHILLIP JOEL HUGHES

BANvZIM, 4TH ODI Bangladesh Tamim Iqbal c Masakadza b Mire 16 Anamul Haque lbw b Madziva 5 Imrul Kayes c Taylor b Madziva 5 Mahmudullah not out 82 Shakib Al Hasan c Madziva b Mire 1 Mushfiqur c Chigumbura b Kamungozi 77 Sabbir c Chakabva b Kamungozi 4 Abul Hasan c Chigumbura b Mire 1 Mashrafe c Moor b Madziva 39 Rubel Hossain not out 7 Extras: (1b, 4lb, 13w, 1nb) 19 Total: (for 8 wickets, 50 overs) 256 Fall of wickets 1-14, 2-31, 3-31, 4-32, 5-166, 6-175, 7-177, 8-242 Bowling Chatara 10-2-39-0, Madziva 10-0-60-3, Mire 10-0-49-3, Sibanda 1-0-7-0, Kamungozi 10-0-36-2, Chigumbura 3-0-19-0, Masakadza 5-0-30-0, Maruma 1-0-11-0 Zimbabwe Masakadza b Shakib 28 Sibanda lbw b Shakib 17 Maruma b JHossain 6 Taylor c Rahim b RHossain 63 Mire c Mahmudullah b JHossan 52 Chakabva c JHossain b RHossain 26 Chigumbura c Hasan b Mortaza 4 Moor run out 13 Madziva not out 3 Chatara not out 16 Extras: (4lb, 2w, 1nb) 7 Total: (for 8 wickets, 50 overs) 235 Fall of wickets 1-48, 2-51, 3-60, 4-166, 5-172, 6-183, 7-211, 8-217 Bowling Mashrafe 10-0-34-1, Abul 10-0-48-0, Shakib 10-1-28-2, Rubel 10-1-48-2, Jubair 6-0-42-2, Mahmudullah 4-0-31-0 Bangladesh won by 21 runs

Tigers dedicate win to Hughes I really wanted to score my first hundred, says Mahmudullah n Minhaz Uddin Khan Mahmudullah’s anchor role along with the two partnerships he was involved in saved Bangladesh from a major batting disaster that eventually kept the home side in hunt for another “Banglawash” to Zimbabwe.

The right-handed remained unbeaten on 82 and along the way pulled Bangladesh out of trouble with a 134-run partnership with Mushfiqur Rahim before adding another 65 with skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza for the eighth wicket. Of his 10 ODI fifties, this was the ninth time Mahmudullah remained unbeaten.

The 28-year-old, however, appeared down to earth when his heroics was mentioned in the post-match conference yesterday and turned down the tag of a ‘hero’.

Mahmudullah also passed a message on behalf of the Bangladesh team, “We dedicate the win to Australian batsman Phillip Hughes who passed away on Thursday.”

“I am not the hero and I don’t wish to be a hero,” he said. “I try to contribute to the team, and it feels great when I contribute to a win. I really wanted us to win today (yesterday), and take the 4-0 lead. I hope we can finish it 5-0,” added the man of the match.

When asked how frustrating it was for not being able to get the hundred – which could have been his first in the format – despite the hard work

Mahmudullah said he badly wanted to reach it.

“To be honest, I wanted to score the hundred. When we started the fifth wicket partnership, Mushfiqur was the aggressor and I was playing the anchor role. I didn’t take many risks. Then Sabbir and Raju got out so I wanted to be there till the end. I was planning to hit in the last 2-3 overs. I hope to do it next time.”

The question-answer session took an interesting turn when Mahmudullah was thrown a question reagrding what the Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan had said after their third win on Thursday. The BCB chief claimed Bangladesh’s success in the ongoing bilateral is due to the board’s initiative to break the ‘grouping’ among the players and pointed the senior members in the national team and alleged them of building a culture of not allowing new faces in the dressing room, which has now been eliminated by the board.

Mahmudullah informed he was unaware of Nazmul’s comments, but disagreed to the allegations put on the players.

“I never felt this happened.

We appreciate the junior players, because they come to the team having performed quite well. We try to help them so that we can have the standard in the field. We share how to behave on and off the field,” explained Mahmudullah.l

Pilot backs ‘luckless’ Nasir, Shamsur n Reazur Rahman Rohan

Bangladesh ODI vice-captain Shakib al Hasan (3L) presents debutant Jubair Hossain his cap prior to the fourth ODI against Zimbabwe at SBNS yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Mahmudullah (L) and Mushfiqur Rahim take a run during Bangladesh’s fourth ODI against ZImbabwe at the Sher-e-Bangla Nation Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

The extraordinary batting form that the national side has displayed in the first four one-dayers against Zimbabwe made the selectors stick to the same unit for the remainder of the fivematch series which meant no place for Nasir Hossain and Shamsur Rahman and former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mashud Pilot believes this period will help the batsmen to rectify their mistakes and come back strongly.

Ever since an impressive 63 on his one-day international debut against Zimbabwe in 2011, Nasir has not looked back since. He went on to blossom with the passage of time and soon became an integral member of the Tigers’ set-up. Since his debut, Nasir has featured in all the 41 one-day internationals games Bangladesh have played, until August 2014.

Many officials linked the 22-year

old’s lifestyle away from cricket to be the major reason behind the downfall in his performance, but Mashud is of the opinion that it is only a matter of time before Nasir returns to his usual run-scoring spree. Mashud reckons people will always have an opinion, but it will not always paint the truest picture.

Nasir’s batting form dipped drastically this year in both formats of the game. Compared to a creditable average of 48.375 in Tests in 2013, he averaged 14.14 this year while he only managed 225 runs at an average of 20.45 this year compared to his 321 runs at 64.2 in ODIs last year.

This experience is a new one for Nasir. He has faced the axe for the very first time and is finding it tough to get back in the national fold as his replacement, 23-year old Sabbir Rahman, has done a fair job on his part.

With the 2015 ICC World Cup knocking at the door, it will be a real letdown for Nasir if he does not find his name on the flight-list to Australia. And the way things stand, Nasir should be worried.

53 is the highest score, and the only notable innings, he has made in six Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League matches in the last couple of weeks and apart from his 61 in a warm-up game against Zimbabwe, he has not given any reason to the selectors to restore their faith in him.

Mashud, under whom Nasir played for Rajshahi in the National Cricket League, thinks, “It is a good time for him (Nasir) to rectify his mistakes and correct them through the Dhaka league.

“He should watch the (Bangladesh) matches on TV and feel the urge to do better and make a return to the national side,” Mashud told Dhaka Tribune.

Demoralised Chigumbura simply looking forward n Mazhar Uddin Zimbabwe possibly tried everything in their possession to register their first win in their month long tour, but the result remained far fetched as the visiting skipper believes the partnership between Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim denied them the feat in the fourth ODI of the five-match series yesterday.

The visitors started off in the right track by reducing Bangladesh to 32 for four before the two experienced middle-order batsmen added 134 runs to eventually see Zimbabwe lose the match by 24 runs and open up possibilities for another “Banglawash”.

“Our fifth bowler did not manage to break the partnership. We didn’t manage to continue what we started with the first ten overs. They had a big partnership. I thought if we could break the stand with another guy, it could have been a different story chasing a lower target,” said Chugumbura.

Zimbabwe enjoyed their own purple patch in the run-chase as Brendan Taylor and rookie batsman Solomon Mire added 106 runs for the fourth wicket to raise a hope of a better finish while the bowlers, apart from the big partnership, did well to restrict the home side batsmen from big hitting.

The 28-year-old, however, is hopeful of putting up a much better show in the fifth and final match of the series as wants to end their long tour with at least one win. l

“When Nasir played good no one said anything (regarding his lifestyle) and suddenly when he is going through a difficult period, people from all corners, some of whom does not even understand the game, are talking about all sorts of negative things.

“A cricketer’s job is on the field and people should not really speak about one’s personal life, he is not playing good and he got his result, his lifestyle should not be brought up here.”

Meanwhile, since losing his place from the Tigers’ fold, Shamsur has struck four consecutive half-centuries in the Dhaka league. But with Anamul Haque and Tamim Iqbal also in prime form, Mashud termed the right-handed opener unlucky but also said this batting form should give Shamsur confidence aplenty. Mashud thinks that he has every possibility of making it to the World Cup squad. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

QUICK BYTES

Siddikur struggles to 110th, misses cut Ever since returning from a back injury, Bangladesh golfer Siddikur Rahman has been struggling to impose his authority in the Asian Tour circuit. The 30-year old golfer’s travails continued as he missed the cut following the second round of the King’s Cup at Singha Park Khon Kaen Golf Club in Thailand yesterday. After hitting two-over-par 74 in the opening round last Thursday, Siddikur struck one-over-par 73 yesterday to end a disappointing campaign on joint 110th, tied with six other golfers. The golfer from Madaripur had an overall score of three-over-par 147, 15 shots behind table leader Anirban Lahiri in the $500,000 tournament. On the opening day, Siddikur smashed two bogeys while yesterday he carded two birdies against three bogeys.

–Tribune Desk

Rodriguez, Di Maria on World XI short-list A short-list of 15 midfielders from whom three will be selected for a World XI was released by soccer’s World governing body FIFA on Friday. The World XI team, which is voted for by tens of thousands of players worldwide, is to be presented at the FIFA Ballon d’Or award ceremony on January 12th. All of those on the list were stars of the 2014 World Cup including top scorer James Rodriguez of Colombia, plus Angel Di Maria of beaten finalists and Bastian Schweinsteiger of the champions Germany.

Midfielders short-list:

Xabi Alonso (Esp/Bayern), Angel Di Maria (Arg/Man United), Cesc (Esp/Chelsea), Eden Hazard (Bel/Chelsea), Xavi (Esp/Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Esp/ Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Ger/Real), Luka Modric (Cro/Real), Mesut Ozil (Ger/Arsenal), Andrea Pirlo (Ita/Juventus), Paul Pogba (Fra/Juventus), James Rodriguez (Col/Real), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Ger/ Bayern), Yaya Toure (ICoast/Man City), Arturo Vidal (Chi/Juventus) –AFP

Pele in intensive care, condition improving Retired Brazilian soccer great Pele is in the intensive care unit in a Sao Paulo hospital where he is being treated for a urinary tract infection, but his condition is improving, the hospital said on Thursday. The Albert Einstein Hospital said Pele, 74, was receiving renal support treatment after he had an operation to remove kidney stones earlier this month. One read: “Want to let you know I am doing fine.” Pele’s manager, Paul Kemsley, said in a statement: “He is expected to make a quick and full recovery from a minor infection caused by his recent successful surgery.”

–Reuters

DAY’S WATCH Ten Cricket 12:00PM Pakistan v New Zealand 3rd Test, Day 3

Star Sports 2 7:30PM Indian Super League Pune v Kolkata Spanish La Liga 11:00PM Espanyol v Levante 1:00AM Malaga v Real Madrid

Sport

McCullum mauls Pakistan after Craig’s best n AFP, Sharjah Opener Brendon McCullum smashed the fastest century by a New Zealand batsman to give his team an upper hand in the third and final Test against Pakistan in Sharjah on Friday.

The Kiwi skipper completed his tenth hundred off 78 balls and went on to reach 145-ball 153 when bad light ended play seven overs earlier with New Zealand 249-1, a strong position with just 102 runs away from Pakistan’s first innings total of 351.

Kane Williamson matched his skipper’s aggression and was unbeaten on 76, putting an impressive 198 for the unfinished second wicket stand which gave New Zealand a strong position to level the series which they trail 1-0.

Pakistan won the first Test while the second ended in a draw.

But McCullum’s rapidfire knock was overshadowed by the gloomy atmosphere as Pakistan and New Zealand observed a minute’s silence before the start and wore black armbands to join in the mourning for young Australian batsman Phillip Hughes who died Thursday from serious head injuries after being hit by a bouncer.

The New Zealand team also did not celebrate any dismissal.

The teams abandoned Thursday’s second day’s play as a mark of respect for the talented Australian.

New Zealand’s coach Mike Hesson admitted the day was gloomy despite his team’s dominance.

“It wasn’t about cricket today,” said Hesson. “It was about supporting a fellow player and the key for us to stay calm as some players were struggling more than the others.

“Craig showed a lot of character and his drift and variety got him rewards,” said Hesson.

McCullum stole the show, hitting eight sixes -- four off left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar -- and 17 boundaries as New Zealand rattled the total in just 45 overs.

In the penultimate over before tea he hit four boundaries in one paceman

197 12 39 5 38 11 15 25 0 0 0 9 351

Fall of wickets 1-44 (Masood), 2-131 (Ali), 3-160 (Younis), 4-285 (Misbah), 5-311 (Hafeez), 6-313 (Shafiq), 7-336 (Sarfraz), 8-336 (Talha), 9-346 (Rahat) Bowling Boult 21-6-54-0 (1w), Southee 24-4-54-1, Vettori 19-5-41-1, Anderson 12-4-28-0 (1nb, 3w), Craig 27.4-5-94-7, Sodhi 22-3-76-1 New Zealand 1st innings T Latham c Ahmed b Rahat 13 B McCullum not out 153 K Williamson not out 76 Extras: (lb2, nb3, w2) 7 Total: (for one wkt; 45 over) 249 Fall of wicket 1-51 (Latham) Bowling Talha 7-0-62-0, Rahat 8-0-24-1 (1w), Babar 10-1-71-0, Shah 10-0-59-0, Hafeez 10-2-31-0

Easy wins for traditional outfits Mohammedan, Abahani and Victoria Islam (51 not out). Old DOHS’ Abu Jayed 193 with eight overs remaining and six BRIEF SCORES n Mazhar Uddin (3/52) and Saleh Ahmed Shawon (3/46) wickets intact. Abahani’s unbroken Newly-promoted Old DOHS succumbed to their sixth defeat in a row in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League after suffering a 49-run defeat against Mohammedan at BKSP 3 yesterday.

In the other two matches of the sixth round yesterday, a five-wicket haul from Mostafizur Rahman guided Abahani to a six-wicket win over Kalabagan Krira Chakra in Fatullah while Victoria registered a comfortable seven-wicket victory against Partex at BKSP 4.

Mohammedan v Old DOHS, BKSP 3

Asked to bat first, Mohammedan posted a challenging 250/8 in their stipulated 50 overs riding on half-centuries from wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammed Mithun (54) and skipper Naeem

shared six wickets between them.

In reply, Old DOHS never looked like overhauling the target and eventually ended their chase at 201/8 in 50 overs.

Opener Shanaj Ahmed was the highest scorer with 55 while Ahasanul Haque chipped in with 48 for the losing side.

Ariful Haque picked up three wickets while left-arm spinner Murad Khan bagged two wickets to propel Mohammedan to their third victory of this campaign.

Abahani v Kalabagan KC, Fatullah

Batting first, Kalabagan KC scored 189/9 in their allotted 50 overs in the face of some inspired bowling by Mostafizur.

He took five wickets conceding 32 runs.

In pursuit of a modest target, Abahani barely broke sweat reaching

fifth-wicket pair of Nasir Hossain (53 not out) and Chamara Silva (59 not out) put on 119 runs to give the Sky Blues their fourth win.

Victoria v Partex, BKSP 4

Opting to take first strike, Partex were bundled out for just 183 in 47.4 overs with Victoria’s Abu Haider (4/28) causing the most damage.

National discard Mehrab Hossain Jr was the highest scorer for Partex with 65 from 114 balls.

Chasing 184, Victoria reached their destination in 45.4 overs with seven wickets in hand. Wicketkeeper Dhiman Ghosh top scored with an undefeated 116-ball 87 while skipper Nadif Chowdhury was unbeaten on 43. This is Victoria’s third win in six matches. l

Mohammedan v Old DOHS

Mohammedan: 250/8 in 50 overs Mithun 54, Naeem 51*; Shawon 3/46 Old DOHS: 201/8 in 50 overs Shanaj 55; Ariful 3/22 Mohammedan won by 49 runs

Abahani v Kalabagan KC Kalabagan: 189/9 in 50 overs Tasamul 40; Mostafizur 5/32 Abahani: 193/4 in 42 overs Chamara 59*, Nasir 53* Abahani won by six wickets

Victoria v Partex Partex: 183 allout in 47.4 overs Mehrab Jr 65; Haider 4/28 Victoria: 186/3 in 45.4 overs Dhiman 87*, Nadif 43* Victoria won by seven wickets

British trio through to Europa knockout stage

English Premier League 6:35PM West Brom v Arsenal

n AFP, Paris

9:00PM Man United v Hull City 11:30PM Sunderland v Chelsea 1:45AM Italian Serie a Chievo v Lazio

Star Sports 1 9:00PM English Premier League Liverpool v Stoke City

Neo Prime German Bundesliga 8:30PM Hertha Berlin v FC Bayern Munchen 11:30PM 1899 Hoffenheim v Hannover 96

Sony Six 2:15AM Mls Playoff Conference Final New England v NY Red Bulls

Ten Action

French Ligue 1 Stade Rennais v AS Monaco

New Zealand’s Kane Williamson (R) and Brendon McCullum leave the field at the end of day two of the third Test against Pakistan at Sharjah Stadium yesterday AGENCIES

Old DOHS lose six in succession

Star Sports 4

1:00AM

n Shishir Hoque

PAKvNZ, DAY 2

3:00AM Celta Vigo v Eibar

10:15AM England Tour of Sri Lanka 2nd ODI

Sheikh Jamal up against holders Manang in King’s Cup semi

Mohammad Talha over before two quick singles completed his hundred.

This was the fastest hundred ever by a New Zealand batsman, beating the 81ball hundred Ross Taylor made against Australia at Hamilton in 2010.

Williamson, who had a dismal series before this match, hit seven fours and a six off 96 balls.

Their stand is New Zealand’s best for second wicket against Pakistan, beating the 195 between John Wright and Geoff Howarth in Napier in 1997.l

Pakistan 1st innings (overnight 281-3) Mohammad Hafeez c Boult b Sodhi Shan Masood b Craig Azhar Ali c Taylor b Craig Younis Khan lbw b Vettori Misbah-ul Haq c Watling b Southee Asad Shafiq c Sodhi b Craig Sarfraz Ahmed c Watling b Craig Yasir Shah c Taylor b Craig Mohammad Talha c Latham b Craig Rahat Ali c Taylor b Craig Zulfiqar Babar not out Extras: (lb4, nb1, w4) Total: (all out; 125.4 overs)

A pitch invader stops to take a selfie with Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Erik Lamela during their Europa League Group C match against Partizan Belgrade at White Hart Lane on Thursday AFP

13

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Premier League duo Everton and Tottenham Hotspur both won to clinch qualification for the knockout phase of the Europa League on Thursday, while Celtic also progressed despite losing at home to Salzburg.

The Toffees secured their place in the last 32 as winners of Group H with an impressive 2-0 victory away to Bundesliga high-fliers VfL Wolfsburg in Germany.

Tottenham advanced from Group C thanks to a 1-0 win at home to Serbian league leaders Partizan Belgrade and a 3-1 loss to Salzburg in Glasgow could not prevent Celtic from going through with a game to spare.

Everton knew halfway through their own game that they were through to the last 32 as news filtered in that the other match in Group H between FC Krasnodar and Lille in Russia had ended in a 1-1 draw.

Goals from Belgian duo Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas secured a handsome victory for the Blues as they extended their unbeaten run to eight matches and guaranteed top spot in the section.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side secured European football in the new year thanks to a solitary goal by French mid-

fielder Benjamin Stambouli four minutes into the second half.

In a disastrous start, Celtic fell 2-0 behind inside just 13 minutes against already-qualified Salzburg as Brazilian forward Alan netted a brace.

Nevertheless, Astra Giurgiu’s 1-0 win against Dinamo Zagreb means that Celtic qualify from Group D regardless and renders their game in Croatia in two weeks meaningless.

Elsewhere, Dinamo Moscow beat Panathinaikos 2-1 to secure qualification for the last 32 as winners of Group E. In the same group, Estoril’s game at home to PSV Eindhoven will be completed on Friday after being abandoned at half-time due to torrential rain with the Portuguese side leading 3-2.

Inter clinched first place in Group F by coming from behind to beat Dnipro 2-1 at the San Siro and fellow Italian side Napoli are also through to the knockout stage after a 0-0 draw away to Sparta Prague in Group I. Feyenoord beat holders Sevilla 2-0 in Rotterdam to progress from Group G while Dynamo Kiev’s 2-0 win at home to Rio Ave secured their qualification from Group J and Trabzonspor are through in Group L after beating Metalist Kharkiv 3-1 in Turkey. l

Bangladesh Premier Football League champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club will take on Nepal A-Division League champions Manang Marshyangdi Club in the first semifinal of the King’s Cup at Changlimithang Stadium today. The match will kick off at 4pm.

This is the first time Sheikh Jamal are taking part in the King’s Cup and they have made it through to the last four after remaining unbeaten in their group stage matches. The Bangladesh top-flight champions have exhibited impressive football, especially in their last group match against Mohun Bagan where they outplayed the Kolkata giants 5-3.

The victory against the Indian side enabled Sheikh Jamal to top Group A and subsequently avoid I-League club Pune FC in the last four. Pune are the only side so far with a hundred percent record.

In Manang, Sheikh Jamal will be up against one of the most successful clubs in Nepal’s top-flight. Not only have they won seven national league titles, Manang are also the defending champions of the King’s Cup. Sheikh Jamal will miss the services of their Haitian forward Wedson Anselme who received his marching orders in their last group stage match against Mohun Bagan. In the absence of Wedson, Landing Darboe’s set pieces will be vital to Sheikh Jamal’s cause.

Landing grabbed a brace against Mohun Bagan.

In the second semifinal, two I-League clubs - Pune and Mohun Bagan - will encounter each other for a berth in the final.

Meanwhile, the other Bangladesh representative, four-time professional league champions Abahani Limited, crashed out in the group stages.

The Dhaka giants returned home yesterday.l

EUROPA RESULTS

Villarreal

2-2

M’gladbach

Vietto 26, Cheryshev 63

FC Zurich

Raffael 55, Xhaka 67

3-1

Apollon Limassol

Djimsiti 32, Chikhaoui 39-P, 59-P

Farley 23

Torino

0-0

Club Brugge

HJK Helsinki

2-1

FC Copenhagen

Baah 29, Kandji 90+3

Tottenham

Nilsson 90

1-0

Partizan Belgrade

2-2

Besiktas

Stambouli 49

Asteras Tripolis Barrales 72, Parra 83

Celtic

Ba 15, Gokhan Tore 61-P

1-3

Salzburg

Johansen 30

Astra Giurgiu

Alan 8, 13, Keita 90+2

1-0

Dinamo Zagreb

3-2

PSV Eindhoven

Bukari 50

Estoril

Toze 12, Kuca 30, Depay 6, Diogo Amado 39 Narsingh 14 Game abandoned at half-time due to torrential rain. Match to be completed yesterday.

Dinamo Moscow

2-1

Panathinaikos

Triantafyllopoulos 55-og, Ionov 61

Inter

Berg 14

2-1

Dnipro

Kuzmanovic 30, Osvaldo 50

Saint-Etienne

Rotan 16

1-1

Qarabag

Van Wolfswinkel 21

Rijeka

Nadirov 15

2-0

Standard Liege

Moises 26, Kramaric 34-P

Feyenoord

2-0

Sevilla

Toornstra 56, El Ahmadi 83

FC Krasnodar

1-1

Lille

Ari 35

VfL Wolfsburg

Roux 79

0-2

Everton

Lukaku 43, Mirallas 75

Slovan Bratislava

1-3

Soumah 11

Young Boys Hoarau 9-P, Kubo 18, 63

Sparta Prague

0-0

Napoli

Aalborg

1-0

Steaua Bucharest

2-0

Rio Ave

Enevoldsen 72

Dynamo Kiev

Lens 53, Miguel Veloso 78

Dinamo Minsk

0-2

PAOK Athanasiadis 82, 88

Guingamp

1-2

Beauvue 45-P

Trabzonspor

3-1

Belkalem 36, M Ekici 87, Sefa Yilmaz 90+5

Lokeren Vanaken 7

Fiorentina Marin 6, Boubacar 13

1-0

Metalist Kharkiv Homenyuk 68

Legia Warsaw

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Saturday, November 29, 2014

#PutOutYourBats

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1 Pakistani cricketers walk past bats and caps placed outside their dressing room in Sharjah 2 New Zealand cricketer Daniel Vettori (L) walks past bats and caps placed outside their dressing room 3 At the ICC headquarters in Dubai, 105 bats from the 105 ICC member nations pay tribute to Phillip Hughes 4 A tribute to Hughes on the WACA scoreboard, Perth 5 Bats placed outside the Melbourne Stars’ office 6 A woman pays tribute to Hughes at the SCG 7 A man pays tribute to Hughes at the Adelaide Oval 8 A tribute to Phillip Hughes in Macksville, his hometown 9 The England team pay tribute to Hughes in Colombo CRICINFO

Hughes brings old foes closer n Reuters, Mumbai India and Australia might be sworn enemies on the cricket field but the two nations have been united in mourning the shocking death of Phillip Hughes.

The 25-year-old Australian batsman was struck on the head by a bouncer during a domestic match on Tuesday and passed away after two days in a Sydney hospital from the injury which caused massive bleeding to his brain.

The heart-rending news made the front page of every leading newspaper in India, while some also carried stories in editorial pages debating safety gear and the use of the short ball in cricket.

Hughes was also part of the Mumbai team in the Indian Premier League and the country’s top cricketers, including former batting great Sachin Tendulkar, took to Twitter to express their solidarity with the family and friends of the deceased.

The national side, currently touring

Australia, joined the mourning by forgoing their last practice match before next week’s first test in Brisbane.

In the past, the two teams have been involved in a number of on-field controversies, including the infamous ‘monkeygate’ scandal, when India spinner Harbhajan Singh was accused of racially abusing Australia’s Andrew

Hughes to be honoured with state memorial

n Reuters, Sydney The Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes, who died on Thursday after being hit in the head by a ball, will be honoured with a state memorial service.

The service will take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground next week, the same stadium where he suffered the horrific injury on Tuesday. State

Arsenal and Liverpool seek to halt drift n

AFP, London

Arsenal and Liverpool will each attempt to arrest damaging sequences of results when they return to Premier League action this weekend following mid-week exertions in the Champions League.

The two teams have fallen out of title contention over recent weeks, with Arsenal now 15 points behind leaders Chelsea following consecutive losses and Liverpool three points further back after three straight defeats.

Arsenal’s poor form has seen manager Arsene Wenger’s 18-year stewardship called into question as rarely before, amid concerns that a climate of tolerated under-achievement has infiltrated the club.

Jack Wilshere has been ruled out for three months after undergoing ankle surgery, but goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny should return from the hip injury he sustained in last Saturday’s 2-1 loss at home to Manchester United.

Liverpool host Stoke City on Saturday having slumped to 12th place in the table after successive defeats by Newcastle United, Chelsea and Crystal Palace.

They also received a setback in the Champions League, conceding an 88th-minute equaliser to draw 2-2 at Ludogorets Razgrad, but can still secure a place in the knockout phase by beating Basel at home next month.

Second-place Southampton’s 1-1 draw

Symonds during a Sydney test on the side’s 2007-08 tour.

A large slice of the Indian media hold Australia’s cricketers responsible for the start of bad blood during that series but there was hardly a murmur on how the cancelled practice match will hurt the preparations of the notoriously poor travellers this time around.

at Aston Villa last Monday means that Chelsea’s advantage at the summit has swelled to six points ahead of their visit to 14th-place Sunderland on Saturday.

Jose Mourinho’s side cruised into the Champions League last 16 with a breezy 5-0 win at Schalke on Tuesday and in-form midfielder Cesc Fabregas says their football is as enjoyable to create as it is to watch.

PREMIER LEAGUE Burnley Liverpool Man United QPR Sunderland Swansea City West Ham West Brom

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Aston Villa Stoke City Hull City Leicester City Chelsea Crystal Palace Newcastle Arsenal

Third-place City arrive at St Mary’s on Sunday, buoyed by a stunning 3-2 victory over Bayern Munich on Tuesday that breathed fresh life into their Champions League campaign.

United, meanwhile, have crept into fourth place, five points behind City, after their smash-and-grab victory at Arsenal last weekend.

Newcastle, who trail United on goal difference, visit West Ham United, who are a point further back in sixth place after losing 2-1 at Everton last weekend.l

memorials are normally reserved for political figures but the New South Wales Premier Mike Baird announced on Friday that Hughes,.

“This service has been arranged in consultation with Phillip’s family, and it will be an opportunity for the entire community to pay their respects to a much-loved Australian and New South Welshman,” Baird said in a statement.l

While the fate of the first match in the four-test series remains uncertain with Cricket Australia yet to make a decision due to the unique circumstances surrounding the contest, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) has offered full support.

“I am in constant touch with my Cricket Australia counterparts. We want them to first get over the trauma,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel told Reuters on Friday.

“After that we can decide on the fate of the first test.”

Incidentally, the same BCCI, the most powerful body in world cricket, was ruthless in dealing with their Caribbean counterparts when the West Indies abruptly pulled out of a series in India over a payment dispute.

The West Indies Cricket Board stares at financial ruin after the BCCI demanded nearly $42 million in compensation for the pull-out and suspended all planned tours of the Caribbean. l

Touching #putoutyourbats Hughes tribute goes viral n AFP, Sydney Cricket bats were pictured leaning against front doors, stadiums and statues on Friday as the spontaneous #putoutyourbats tribute to fallen batsman Phillip Hughes went viral.

Pictures of bats posted with the hashtag flooded Twitter as ordinary fans and star players alike joined in the touching memorial, a day after the 25-year-old’s death.

Previously anonymous Sydney cricket fan Paul D. Taylor, who started the campaign, tweeted that he was “amazed and humbled” by the response.

He politely said “thank you, but no thank you” to media outlets requesting interviews, explaining: “#putoutyourbats isn’t about me.

“It’s just a way for all cricketers to show their respects to Phillip Hughes,”

‘Real not distracted by record’ n Reuters, Madrid

Real Madrid are focused on preparing for Saturday’s La Liga game at Malaga and are not distracted by the chance of setting a club record for consecutive victories, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Friday.

Real have won their last 15 matches in all competitions since a 2-1 La Liga defeat at home to champions Atletico Madrid in September, matching the club’s record winning streak set in the 1960-61 and 2011-12 campaigns.

“We don’t talk about it because we

have to prepare each game focusing on the opponent,” Ancelotti told a news conference.

LA LIGA Getafe Espanyol Malaga Celta Vigo

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Athletic Bilbao Levante Real Madrid Eibar

“We are getting ready for this match in exactly the same way as always because we know it’s going to be a tough one and we will have to play well,” add-

ed the Italian.

After 12 matches, Real are two points clear of Barcelona, who play at fourthplaced Valencia on Sunday. Malaga are sixth after a 3-1 loss at Atletico last weekend.

Ancelotti said Real’s Germany midfielder Sami Khedira will miss Saturday’s game as he has yet to recover from a minor back problem.

Croatia midfielder Luka Modric is also out, with a longer-term injury, but Ancelotti said the club were not planning to bolster the squad in the January transfer window.l

Galatasaray sack coach Prandelli n Reuters, Istanbul Galatasaray have dismissed former Italy World Cup coach Cesare Prandelli after a string of poor results culminating in their exit from European competition, the Dogan news agency reported on Thursday.

Anderlecht beat Galatasaray 2-0 in their penultimate Champions League Group D game on Wednesday, guaranteeing that the Turkish club would finish fourth and miss out on a place in the Europa League.

Prandelli resigned as Italy manager after they failed to get past the group stage at this year’s World Cup in Brazil.l

Taylor wrote, under his handle @ Squizabilly.

“We’ve all played cricket in one way or other. Backyard or beach cricket, no matter what level we’ve all grown up with a bat and ball. This is our way to connect and show our sadness.”l

Bayern aim to learn from City lesson n AFP, Berlin Pep Guardiola wants Bayern Munich to learn from their mid-week Champions League defeat at Manchester City to help strengthen their iron grip on the Bundesliga at Hertha Berlin on Saturday.

Bayern have a seven-point lead at the top of the table, but are licking the wounds from their first defeat in 22 games on Tuesday although they had already made the last 16 in Europe as group winners.

“It’s good that it’s happened and maybe there’s a lesson in it for us,” said Guardiola.

“If it happens in the Round of 16 or the quarter-finals, you’re out, so we have to learn from this.”

Defender Jerome Boateng has insisted Bayern will bounce back in his home city of Berlin. Mid-table Hertha have shown little to cast doubt on that having only won four of their last 10 games.

Bayern have good memories of the Olympic Stadium as their 3-1 win there in March saw them claim last season’s title with a record seven games to spare.l

BUNDESLIGA

(L-R) Barcelona players Iniesta, Luis Suarez, Thomas Varmaelen and Javier Mascherano joke during a commercial event at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on Thursday REUTERS

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

B E N G A L C L A S S I C A L M U S I C F E S T I VA L 2 0 1 4

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Performing today Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, santoor

Abir Hossain on the sarod and Ustad Akram Khan on the tabla performed on the second day of Bengal Classical Music Festival 2014 KHAN HASAN MD RAFI

ASIT ROY: Dhrupad expresses the beauty of Raga n Shadma Malik

since 2001 and currently chairs the department.

Set to perform today at the Bengal Classical Music Festival, the singer spoke to the Dhaka Tribune.

Why do you prefer Dhrupad?

Drupad is one of the ancient styles of the Indian classical music. Without musical ornaments, Dhrupad expresses the natural beauty of Raga. And I prefer that in vocal performance. Dhrupad flourished elaborately in the court of Mughal emperor Akbar. At that time, it was mainstream classical music. It was this style that made the legendary artiste Miah Tansen famous.

Tell us about the current state/future of Indian classical music in Bangladesh,

Dr Asit Roy, specialised in Dhrupad – a vocal genre of Hindustani classical music – has been teaching at the department of theatre and music in Rajshahi University

The popularity of classical music in Bangladesh is growing now. People are going to music festivals and enjoying the soulful music. Audience has been increasing at the Bengal Classical Music Festival every year. So, we can say there is an admiration of classical music in this country.

Who are the audience of classical music?

Tracing back the history, classical music was highly practised in Bangladesh until the Partition. Mostly the zamindars used to patronise court musicians in their royal palace. During the British rule, when the zamindar custom was abolished, most classical musicians migrated to India, and started to practise there. Since independence, the government has been giving scholarships to study classical music in India. And now people are getting institutional training from universities. So, now it is not confined only to elites, it has reached common people.

You teaching classical music in Rajshahi University. Do you think people have a preference for classical music?

As I mentioned before, classical music is now for the mass. If a person has a sense of music, it is a gift from God. A musician who does not belong from a musical family, but has an ability to perceive music, can adapt to classical music. To practise classical music does not require connection with a royal family, or living in the capital city. l

From top left, Vidushi Malavika Sarukkai performed Bharatanatyam item and Indian vocalist Ruchira Kedar presented Bageshri Raga at the Bengal Classical Music Festival 2014. Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty concluded with a Bangla song on the first day of the early yesterday morning KHAN HASAN MD RAFI

Exhibition

Life is Here

By Kanak Chanpa Chakma Time: 12pm – 8pm Bengal Art Lounge

Love Story

By Alamin Hasan Time: 3pm – 9pm Galerie Zoom, Alliance Francaise de Dhaka, 26 Mirpur Road

Dealing With Spaces Time: 3pm – 8pm Dhaka Art Center (DAC) House-60 Road-7A Dhanmondi

Realms of Perception Time: 12pm – 8pm Gallery Twenty One, House 21, Road 4, Dhanmond

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Born in Jammu Kashmir, Shivkumar’s name is synonymous with the santoor.

He is credited for bringing the santoor from the realm of Kashmiri folk music into the mainstream Indian classical platform facing resistance from most conservative quarters. His persistence, repeated experiments and reconfigurations of the instrument gave it new life and eventually paved the way for a new genre of music with tremendous success.

Considered a living legend and an embodiment of Indian ethos and values, Shivkumar has received numerous awards including the Padma Shri and the Padma Vibhushan.

Pandit Kushal Das, sitar

Kushal Das was born in Kolkata into a family of musicians, and plays the sitar and surbahar. He began his lessons at the age of four with his father Sailen Das and then with his uncle Santanu Das. In order to understand the ragas better, he undertook a serious study of vocals. Kushal has played in most of the major music festivals in India and toured several countries, where his performances were highly appreciated by critics and music connoisseurs alike.

Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, vocalist

Born in 1955 into a family of musicians. His father ND Kashalkar, a musician in his own right, introduced him to vocal music.

Ulhas, a Padma Shri recipient, has been a guru at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy for nearly twenty years.

Manjusha Patil-Kulkarni, vocalist

Manjusha specialises in the Khayal genre. She was born into a family of music lovers in 1971 in Maharashtra, India.

Her lessons started at age 12, and she underwent extensive training under the Agra and Gwalior gharanas. She has performed at prestigious music festivals like the Sawai Gandharva Festival, and has received several awards. Manjusha has a MA in music and is a disciple of Ulhas Kashalkar.

Other artists performing today:

Vidushi Aruna Sairam, vocalist l Nishit Dey, sitar l Classical chorus: Abhipriyo Chakraborty, Sanjiban Sanyal, Golden Mondol, Latifun Julio, Sarathi Mallick, Bitu Kumar Shil, Jahidul Islam, Bihag Jamil Khan, Farabee Islam, Priyanka Das, Barsha Majumdar, Sharmila Majumdar, Susmita Debnath, Sonia Hossain and Debjani Das. l

Ragas: Beauty in form n Gopa Biswas

Indian classical music is always based on a raga or raag, which employs a series of five or more musical notes to construct a melody. Non-classical music such as Bollywood songs and ghazals sometimes use ragas in their compositions.

A Hindustani classical music performance can go on for well over an hour and is spontaneously improvised for the most part by the pandits and ustads of different Gharanas or schools of music. But there is always one pre-composed refrain, which provides a structural framework for the performance as a whole.

The way the notes are approached and rendered in musical phrases and the mood they convey are more important in defining a raga than the notes themselves.

The number of existing ragas is unknown though an estimate says the number can be 300-500. Ragas die out if people stop singing them, and new ragas are born all the time.

Students of classical music learn the basics of most of the key ragas, and then spend many years mastering a few ragas of their choice. But the most interesting thing about ragas is the importance of the time of rewaj (practice) or performance.

Each raga has a specific time and season in which it is ideally performed. The dusk, evening, night, midnight and morning ragas are likely to dominate the performances at the Bengal Classical Music Festival, which is scheduled for 6pm-5am.

One of the very well known ragas, Raag Bhairavi is a heptatonic morning raga and is usually performed as the concluding piece in concerts. Other morning ragas are Asavari and Alhaiya Bilawal.

Hexatonic Raag Marva and mystic Raag Purvi are performed during sunset.

Raag Kafi is sung in the very first hour of the night and so is Raag Kalyan. Both of these ragas are considered to be very grand. Khamaj, though shares the same time, is more modest. Raag Bhupali is another one to be sung when the night is still young.

And as the night grows, Raag Malkaush is sung. It one of the oldest ragas, and is said to create a soothing and intoxicating aura – an accurate description of the vibe at the Army Stadium during the music festival. l

Game of Thrones launches mysterious season 5 website, teaser video n Entertainment Desk

Korean films will be screened at the Nat’l Museum today

n Entertainment Desk Two popular Korean films will be screened today as a part of the two-day Korean Film Festival 2014. Organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Dhaka, the screening will take place at the main auditorium of Bangladesh National Museum in the capitals Shahbagh area.

The two films are “Mama” and “Secretly, Greatly.” “Mama,” a 2011 South

Korean title, follows three different families, all dealing with different issues affecting their mothers. It will be screened at 3:30pm.

“Secretly, Greatly,” a 2013 film, follows three undercover spies from North Korea who live happily in South Korea while waiting for their order. It will be screened at 6pm.

Both the films will be screened with Bangla subtitles. The exhibition is free for all. l

SONAM KAPOOR turns punk bride for Dolly Ki Doli n Entertainment Desk

In Sonam Kapoor’s first look from the upcoming film, “Dolly Ki Doli,” the actress looks every bit the cool, sporty bride. The poster features Sonam dressed in a gorgeous Anita Dongre lehenga, finishing off her bridal look with a black leather jacket, sneakers and shades.

The teaser of the Arbaaz Khan production was released on Thursday. Though it didn’t feature the fashionista, it revealed three suitors for the

punk bride with “Dolly” tattoos on their arms.

Directed by debutante Abhishek Dogra, “Dolly Ki Doli” has “Fukrey” actor Pulki Samrat, Rajkummar Rao from “CityLights” and Varun Sharma, also from “Fukrey,” playing the three men vying to marry the diva.

The film will also feature a special appearance

by Saif Ali Khan and a dance number by Malaika Arora Khan.

“Dolly Ki Doli” is slated hit cinemas on February 6. l

The first teaser for “Game of Thrones” has arrived in the most mysterious and sneaky of ways.

On Tuesday, the official “Game of Thrones” Facebook page posted a video advertising a new Season 5 website and social media campaign in which the “three eyed raven” will give fans “visions” of the new season. When fans go to the site they are invited to sign up with a cell phone number or Twitter account to receive “the power of the Sight.” The Hollywood Reporter predicts that this is how HBO will reveal the first full Season 5 trailer, and the fans wouldn’t be surprised. The video itself is a 10-second teaser for the new season, although it’s unclear if all of the footage is new.

There is an emphasis on Arya in the brief teaser. It features what seems to be an old audio clip of Melisandre saying, “I see a darkness in you” with shots of Arya holding Needle, the iron coin Jaqen H’ghar gave her, and one possible major reveal: the door at the end.

The link to the teaser is: www.ThreeEyedRaven.com l

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Saturday, November 29, 2014

Story of a man with unending determination Stakeholder talks on When he was four his father brought him to the capital for better treatment Abu Bakar n Mohammad Siddique Jibon Willam Gomes is a sparkling example of how determination, will and optimism can overcome the biggest of obstacles that one may have.

He was born in a dispensary in Bonpara of Natore district. While still an infant, he fell on a concrete ground and suffered cerebral palsy.

His parents were always worried about the future of the eldest of their two children, and tried everything they could despite financial limitations.

When Willam was four, his father brought him to Dhaka for better treatment.

But a year and a half later, they had to go back to their village in the middle of treatment because they were broke.

He remembers how he gradually became aware of being different from other children around him. He felt pain in his heart whenever he tried to run around and play with his three-year-old sister Kushum.

He asked his mother why he could not walk or do the things that the other kids do. The only answer she could ever give her special child was tears.

Despite all odds, his mother wanted his son to get a master’s degree. When he was six, his mother brought him textbooks.

With help from his parents, friends, relatives and teachers, he gradually passed through the stages of kindergarten, primary and high school in Bonpara. In 1992, he passed SSC with a first division.

He then got admitted to Notre Dame College in Dhaka. But soon after, he was struck by the next big tragedy in his life – his father got married for the second time and their family fell apart. Inevitably, he failed in the HSC examination in 1994.

But Jibon was not the kind of a person to give up. Greatly inspired by Bhabesh Roy’s book and some of his college mates, he rebuilt his determination and passed the HSC examination next year.

During the vacation after the examination, he received free computer training from the Social Assistance and Rehabilitation for Physically Vulnerable (SARPV).

In 1997, he got a BSc degree from the Tejgaon College in the capital.

A year later, he joined the SARPV as a Computer Instructor-Operator. Simultaneously, he opened a computer-training centre at home. He continued with his studies and completed his MSC in Psychology in

7th Five-Year Plan in mid-2015 n Asif Showkat Kallol

Jibon Willam Gomes 2002 from the Dhaka College, considering that the discipline would help him work with people with mental disabilities.

In April 2003, SARPV promoted him to the post of a programme officer and gave him the opportunity to work more widely with people with disabilities.

In 2001, he received the Archbishop Ganguly Literacy Award 2001 for a story published in the special Christmas issue of the weekly Pratibeshi.

He worked with the France-based organisation Faith and Light as a coordinator of one of the four communities in Bangladesh from 1996 to 2002 and as a secretary of the Committee for Pilgrimage of the People with Disabilities from 2001 to 2004.

In April 2004, he joined the Action on Disability and Development (ADD), a

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

UK-based international organisation, as a Human Rights Promoter. He was stationed in his hometown Natore and then in the neighbouring Bogra district to work directly at the grassroots level.

In July 2005, he joined Caritas Bangladesh as a program officer of a project titled Development Initiatives for the People with Disabilities (DIPD).

Exactly two years later, he joined the Handicap International, a France-based international organisation working 59 countries, as a project manager of the Cooperation Programme with Abilis Foundation in Finland. He has since been working as an Abilis facilitator in Bangladesh.

In April 2012, he launched a new organisation titled Turning Point Foundation, which envisions an inclusive society where every

person with and without disabilities will enjoy equal rights. Now they are running several projects with this goal in Kaliganj of Gazipur.

He obtained yet another master degree in Development Studies from the Brac University in Dhaka.

He is married to Rani Olivia Rodrigues, who also works on people with disability at Caritas Bangladesh’s Dhaka regional office.

They have a baby boy named Newton Irenaeus Francis Gomes.

William said: “I would like to inspire all, both people with and without disabilities to go on, with as much patience as possible, and work for a better future, away from the darkness, frustrations and hopelessness.”Currently, he is working for setting up a specialised centre for the most unattended people with deep disabilities. l

After a five-year break, the Bangladesh Development Forum is expected to meet to discuss the proposed Seventh Five-Year Plan at a meeting likely to be held in April or May, Economic Relation Division sources said.

The forum, last held in February 2010, had been held up in the intervening years because of differences between key development partners, particularly the World Bank, and the government, over the Padma Bridge project and the January 2014 national elections.

General Economic Division member, Shamsul Alam, yesterday sent a letter to Finance Secretary Mahbub Ahmed concerning the finalisation of the Seventh Five-Year Plan covering FY2016-20.

Economic Relation Division officials confirmed that the government plans to hold the Bangladesh Development Forum meeting in April or May, subject to confirmation by participants.

At the forum, development partners and the government will negotiate the amount of financial and technical support required to hit the targets of the five-year plan, officials said.

The General Economic Department is the government agency in charge of drafting five-year plans, while the Finance Ministry prepares the mid-term budgetary framework that covers a three-year period.

One important task ahead of finalising the five-year plan is to ensure that the data in the mid-term framework and the plan conform with one another.

Shamsul’s letter said: “I, as member of GED, have requested the finance secretary to prepare a new mid-term budgetary framework or to bring the existing mid-term budgetary framework in line with the 7th Five-Year Plan. As result, there will be no inconsistency between the economic and social goals of the 7th Five-Year Plan and the midterm budgetary framework.”

The five-year plan will contain a prioritisation of plans, sector-wise aims and objectives, and strategies and policies to meet the plan’s goals.

The ‘Lucy’ fossil Tareque-Mishuk memorial at DU opens today rewrote the story Ashif Islam Shaon and n Ahmed Zayeef of humanity The wrecked microbus, which was n BBC turned into an artwork and installed Forty years ago, on a Sunday morning in late November 1974, a team of scientists digging in the Afar region of Ethiopia made a ground-breaking finding.

Paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson spotted a small part of an elbow bone. He immediately recognised it as coming from a human ancestor. “As I looked up the slopes to my left I saw bits of the skull, a chunk of jaw, a couple of vertebrae,” Johanson said.

“I realised this was part of a skeleton that was older than three million years,” Johanson said.

It was the most ancient early human – or hominin – ever found. Later it became apparent that it was also the most complete: fully 40% of the skeleton had been preserved.

At the group’s camp site that night, Johanson played a Beatles cassette that he had brought with him, and the song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” came on. By this time Johanson thought the skeleton was female, because it was small. So someone said to him: “Why don’t you call it Lucy?” The name stuck immediately.

But at the camp site the morning after the discovery, the discussion was dominated by questions. Forty years later, we are starting to have answers to some of these questions.

Though she was a new species, Lucy was not the first Australopithecus found.

That was the Taung Child, the fossilised skull of a young child who lived about 2.8 million years ago in Taung, South Africa, who was discovered in 1924 and studied by anatomist Raymond Dart. He called it Australopithecus africanus.

Dart wrote: “I knew at a glance that what lay in my hands was no ordinary anthropoidal brain. Here in lime-consolidated sand was the replica of a brain three times as large as that of a baboon and considerably bigger than that of an adult chimpanzee…”

Over the next 25 years, more evidence emerged and showed that Dart had been right all along. l

on the Dhaka University campus as a memorial to noted personalities Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier, will be opened to public today.

Vice-Chancellor of the university Professor Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique will unveil the memorial.

Dhali Al Mamoon, an accomplished artist who survived the crash that killed Tareque and Mishuk, made the artwork with the objective that it would encourage people to play a role in preventing road accidents.

Apart from Tareque, a famed filmmaker, and Mishuk, a media personality, the 2011 crash in Manikganj killed three others while putting Mamoon in a near-death experience. The accident took place when a bus coming from the opposite direction rammed into the microbus.

Painted white, the wrecked vehicle is placed under the shades of trees near Shamsunnahar Hall.

In the aftermath of the tragic accident, friends and family members of the deceased decided to preserve the wreckage of the vehicle, thinking that they might use it for building a memorial.

“The microbus was in the garage for long but we decided to turn it into an artwork. It was our decision to install the memorial on Dhaka University campus for two reasons - both Tareque and Mishuk were students here and the university is one of the biggest institutions where youths come to learn,” said Catherine Masud, Tareque’s wife and chairperson of Tareque Masud Memorial Trust which initiated the project.

Catherine said the idea behind the memorial was to use the sad event, symbolised by the wrecked vehicle, as a means of raising public awareness of road safety issues. She hoped the memorial would become a part of a greater movement for reforms at the legal, infrastructural and policy level to bring down the rate of road accidents in the country.

“The memorial was installed near

The wrecked microbus in which filmmaker Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier were killed in a road accident, along with three others, has been turned into a memorial to symbolise the tragic loss, and installed on the Dhaka University campus RAJIB DHAR the road. People will come here, watch it and think about road accidents. It will create a feeling in the mind of every visitor that there is something he can do on his part to prevent road accidents,” said Catherine.

After deciding to turn the wrecked vehicle into an artwork, Mamoon began working on it while a landscape design for where it would be placed was drawn architect Salauddin Ahmed.

In June this year, construction at the site began in full swing in order to complete the memorial before the third anniversary of the accident.

“It was difficult for me to come out of the memory of the crash while working on it. I was often devastated with grief,” Mamoon, who conceived the idea and installed the memorial, said.

“It is our hope that just the way we turned the tragedy into art, the object will raise public consciousness about

road crashes for many years to come,” he said.

“We have used the wrecked car to build the memorial. This is because people will understand the artwork easily and the vehicle will raise a question in their mind - why this is here and how it became wrecked,” added the artist.

Dhaka University will preserve the site of the memorial while Bengal Foundation, Berger Paints Ltd, cultural figure Nasiruddin Yousuff and noted activist Khushi Kabir extended their support for the project.

Road crash, the scourge of Bangladesh

According to government statistics, eight people die every day in road crashes on an average but the World Bank put the number at 30 and the World Health Organisation at 48.

The country has witnessed many tragic road accidents in recent years

and the majority of those happened because of reckless driving.

On July 11, 2011, 41 schoolchildren and two college students were killed in an accident at Mirsharai in Chittagong.

On February 15 this year, seven schoolchildren drowned when a bus carrying them and plunged into a pond in Chaugachha upazila of Jessore.

A total of 49,847 road accidents took place in the country in the last 15 years, killing 42,526 people and injuring around 39,000, says a report of the Accident Research Institute at Buet.

The report was prepared on the basis of police records and the actual numbers are believed to be much higher as many accidents go unreported.

The highest punishment for reckless driving was three years’ imprisonment since October 10, 1985 but on 20 November this year, the High Court raised it to seven years’ imprisonment. l

The proposed plan will carry forward the development programmes of the current government by ensuring the economic stability of the country, officials said.

It will include the total growth projection for the next five years and an estimate of local and foreign resources required to execute the plan, according to the letter.

Bangladesh needs financial support from donors to achieve double-digit growth and to cut the poverty rate down to 10% by 2021, according to the proposed plan.

The government aims to reduce the proportion of the ultra-poor to 13% by 2021 The National Social Protection Strategy will include social safety net programmes, different social insurance programmes, labour market policies and self-employment programmes, according to the proposed plan.

The 7th Five-Year Plan is based on the goals of the AL election manifesto and its Vision 2021 strategy.

The five-year plan highlights the AL government’s long-term economic goals.

The government aims to reduce the proportion of the ultra-poor in the population to 13%, ensure a minimum daily per capita intake of 2,122 kilo-calories of nutritious food for at least 85% of the people by 2021.

The government wants to raise industry’s contribution to national growth to 40%, from its current level of 25%.

It hopes to increase power production to 24,000MW by 2021, up from 10,000MW currently generated.

The size of the annual budget, currently 18.7% of GDP, is slated to rise to 25% of GDP by 2021. Revenue income, currently 14.1% of GDP, is expected to hit 20% of GDP by 2021, according to the proposed plan. l

Ebola test offering 15-minute results on trial in Guinea n BBC A 15-minute blood and saliva test for Ebola is to be trialled in Guinea, it has been announced.

The solar-powered, portable laboratory should deliver results six times faster than tests currently used in West Africa.

The researchers involved said faster diagnosis would increase the chances of survival and reduce transmission of the virus.

The trial will take place at an Ebola treatment centre in Conakry, Guinea.

But it requires dedicated laboratories that can keep the components of the test at very low temperatures.

Patients in Conakry will still have the proven test, but the new faster method will be trialled at the same time so the results can be compared.

The project, led by the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal, uses a “mobile suitcase laboratory.”

The project is being funded by the Wellcome Trust medical charity and the UK’s Department for International Development.

Dr Val Snewin, the international activities manager at the Wellcome Trust, said: “A reliable, 15-minute test that can confirm cases of Ebola would be a key tool for effective management of the Ebola outbreak.

“It not only gives patients a better chance of survival, but it prevents transmission of the virus to other people.

“This pilot study is particularly promising because researchers have considered how to make the test suitable for use in remote field hospitals, where resources – such as electricity and cold storage – are often in short supply.”

The UK’s International Development Secretary Justine Greening said: “The UK is doing everything possible to help the government of Sierra Leone tackle and ultimately defeat Ebola.

“Funding this ground-breaking research will develop new ways of diagnosing suspected cases even more quickly and stop more people suffering from this deadly virus.” l

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