10 March, 2015

SECOND EDITION

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

|

Falgun 26, 1421, Jamadiul Awal 18, 1436

BANGLADESHI TAKEN HOSTAGE BY ISIS PAGE 2

|

Regd No DA 6238, Vol 2, No 334

HARTAL RELAXED FOR TODAY PAGE 3

|

www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

KAMARUZZAMAN REVIEW HEARING APRIL 1 PAGE 4

PHOTO: AFP

Tigers roar into quarter-finals

PAGE 3 Bangladesh oust England in Adelaide thriller

PAGE 27 All in the family

PAGE 28 Unbridled joy at TSC, DU

PAGE 29 President, PM congratulate Tigers

DT

2 NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

DB to get Avijit murder evidence tested in FBI lab n Tribune Report Bangladeshi detectives have decided to get the evidence – collected in connection with the Avijit killing – tested in the FBI’s laboratory. They have also decided to seek permission from the court in this regard.

Monirul Islam, chief of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), disclosed these to reporters at their Media Centre yesterday. He however did not say when they are going to make the move.

The evidence include a severed finger of Avijit’s wife Bonna, two machetes and a bag – all collected from near the TSC roundabout on the Dhaka University campus.

In the bag, there were some papers – believed to have been used for wrapping the machetes, a jeans pant and some pills.

A US citizen and bio-engineer by profession, Avijit Roy was hacked to death and his

wife Rafida Ahmed Bonna critically injured by miscreants still to be identified near the TSC roundabout on February 26. Bonna was flown to the USA last week for better treatment.

A team from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, better known as the FBI, arrived in Dhaka on March 4 to assist DB – the local investigators.

The FBI agents visited the crime scene on March 6 and retraced Avijit’s footsteps on the day of his murder.

On Sunday, the FBI team went to the office of the police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Dhaka and talked to the forensic team who collected the evidence. The agents also inquired about the facilities at CID’s laboratory.

Meanwhile, the DB said they had been following some social media users who had threatened Avijit for his write-ups.

They have already arrested Shafiur Rahman Farabi, a fanatic hate campaigner on

social media and an activist of the banned Islamic militant outfit Hizb-ut Tahrir.

“Detectives are working to find out those who had posted comments on Farabi’s Facebook page supporting Avijit’s murder,” DB chief Monirul said.

“They take Farabi as their leader. We are trying to find out if the murder was carried out by his followers or Farabi himself. Primary investigation suggests that they are mostly students,” he said.

Police have made a list of 10 more suspects in connection with the killing and will arrest them soon, he said.

Farabi was nabbed by RAB on March 3 and was later shown arrested by the DB as one of the prime suspects in the Avijit murder.

Fundamentalist blogger Farabi got arrested once before for inciting lethal attacks on another progressive blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider during the Shahbagh movement in 2013. l

Bangladeshi taken hostage by ISIS in Libya n Tribune Report A Bangladeshi national along with eight other foreign nationals were taken hostage by the Islamic militant outfit (ISIS) from Al-Ghani oil field, the south of the city Sirte of Libya on March 6.

The Bangladesh Embassy in Tripoli has confirmed the abduction of Helal Uddin (PP No. B0156553, District: Jamalpur, Bangladesh), said a foreign ministry press release yesterday.

The incident took place when gunmen invaded the Al-Ghani oil field, killing 11 guards, beheading a number of them before local forces fought back to retake control.

The Embassy is trying to find out whereabouts of the kidnapped Bangladeshi.

“The embassy is also in close contact with National Oil Company (NOC) of Libya and the concerned company VAOS where the incident took place,” said the release. l

14-party march drums up support against blockade n Tribune Report The Awami League-led 14-party alliance yesterday organised a road march to mobilise public support against the ongoing non-stop blockade and frequent hartals called by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.

Split into four groups, the 14-party central leaders joined the march in four areas on the first day of a three-day programme.

They argued against the ongoing movement terming it “valueless” and said they are not worried about the movement as the people repudiated the blockade and hartal.

Marchers led by Health Minister and Awami League Presidium member Mohammad Nasim joined the road march in Sirajganj. It will join the march in Bogra today and Gaibandha tomorrow.

“People have denied blockade and hartal,” Nasim said, showing movement of a huge number of vehicles plying local roads and highways. “People are actively working at their work places denying hartal and blockade.”

He expected the BNP-led alliance’s movement would be stopped by this month.

The ruling alliance has already organised political programmes, including public rallies, to counter the ongoing indefinite transport blockade and intermittent shutdown enforced by the BNP-led combine since January 6.

Headed by Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, another team held a road march in Gazipur. It is scheduled to hold similar march in Manikganj today and in Munshiganj tomorrow. Bridges and Road Transport Minister Obaidul Quader led another team in Chittagong yesterday. The team will visit Noakhali today and Feni tomorrow.

Team four, led by Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbub-ul Alam Hanif, participated in the road march in Kushtia yesterday. They are scheduled to hold similar programmes in Jhenaidah today and in Jessore tomorrow. l

The latest spell of hartal have hardly made a dent in the heavy traffic movement in Dhaka. The tailback was as usual on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, near Banglamotor area, yesterday RAJIB DHAR

All districts to be brought under rail network n BSS All districts of the country would soon be brought under rail network with a view to further developing the country’s communication system, Railways Minister Mujibul Haque told the House yesterday.

Responding to a query from Awami League lawmaker Sukumar Ranjan Ghosh from Munshiganj 1, the minister said as per the directives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a plan was being taken to that end.

Mujibul said currently 44 of the 64 districts were covered by the railway network and projects to bring eight more districts soon were

under implementation.

He said the eight districts are Bagerhat, Cox’s Bazar, Satkhira, Meherpur, Munshiganj, Madaripur, Shariatpur and Narail. “The remaining districts would be brought under the railway network in phases,” he said.

Replying to another question raised by ruling party lawmaker Nurunnabi Chowdhury, the railways minister said the transportation capacity of Bangladesh Railway had been raised to a greater extent thanks to various development programmes of the present government.

Mujibul said about 65 million passengers travelled by trains in 2013-14, while the number in 2012-13 was about 62.6 million.

The minister said the development activities that the present government has undertaken for the uplift of the railway sector include repair of old rail lines, introduction of new rail lines, purchasing of locomotives and passenger coaches and recruitment of necessary manpower.

The minister said new rail line from Tarakandi to Bangabandhu Bridge East Side has been already introduced, while the operation of the closed Kalukhali-Bhatiapara and Pachuria-Faridpur rail lines have been resumed.

Besides, he said, 96 new trains have been introduced and 26 train routes expanded to provide desired services to the passengers. l

DT

NEWS 3

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

Bangladesh oust England in Adelaide thriller n Mazhar Uddin from Adelaide The high octane Pool A encounter between Bangladesh and England kept swaying like a pendulum right until the moment when fast bowler Rubel Hossain came on to bowl the 49th over at Adelaide Oval yesterday. Tension among the spectators, the 22 players, and even the Bangladeshi journalists at the press box, was palpable.

England required 16 runs from 12 balls while Bangladesh needed two wickets for victory. A calm and composed Rubel (4/53) held his nerve and took just three deliveries to clean bowl Stuart Broad 9 and James Anderson 0 as the Tigers recorded a memorable 15-run triumph to progress to the quarterfinals of the 2015 ICC World Cup. A demoralised England, on the other hand, exited at the first hurdle, just like 1999 and 2003.

The last hour of the game was a nervy one, to say the least, for the Bangladesh cricketers with England going ever so close to their destination, courtesy of a crucial 75-run stand for the eighth wicket between Jos Buttler (65 off 52 balls) and Chris Woakes (42 off 40 balls). All of a sudden, Bangladesh’s tally of 275/7 was looking 15-20 runs short. At one point, it seemed like England might just sneak through.

However, things started to look bright for Bangladesh after Buttler’s departure. A disappointed Buttler, who edged Taskin (2/59) to wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim, slowly trudged back to the dressing room, handing Bangladesh the initiative.

The match had one final twist though.

When England were still 20 runs stranded from their target, Tamim Iqbal dropped a set Woakes off the bowling of Taskin at the longon region. Were it not for Rubel’s heroics, Tamim might just have experienced the worst day of his life, having been dismissed for two earlier in the day.

When Rubel came running in to bowl the first ball of the 49th over, there was pin-drop silence at the Adelaide Oval. Broad in the meantime was bracing himself to face the fire.

The left-hander was, however, helpless in the

Hartal relaxed for 12 hours n Tribune Report To celebrate the Bangladesh cricket team’s victory against England in the Cricket World Cup, the BNP-led 20-party alliance has relaxed its on-going 72-hour nationwide hartal for 12 hours from today morning.

“The 20-party alliance will bring out a victory march on Tuesday across the country, congratulating the Bangladesh cricket team on stepping into the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time,” BNP Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan said in a press release yesterday.

“For this reason, the announced hartal has been relaxed from tomorrow [Tuesday] 6am to 6pm, but the blockade will continue,” he said.

However, he also said when the hartal starts again from Tuesday 6pm, it would be extended until Friday 6am.

Nazrul added that BNP chief Khaleda Zia had congratulated the Bangladesh cricket team for their victory and expressed hopes that more victories would follow in the future. l

Bangladesh paceman Rubel Hossain, left, celebrates the dismissal of England’s batsman Ian Bell, centre, during the 2015 Cricket World Cup Pool A match between Bangladesh and England at the Adelaide Oval yesterday AFP face of some fiery bowling by Rubel, who at times clocked 146km/h and was described by former English captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain as the day’s fastest bowler.

Rubel was coolness personified, dismissing Broad in the first ball before accounting for the wicket of Anderson off the third delivery to spark wild celebrations in the stadium. And as for the man himself, Rubel’s joy knew no bounds as he ran the whole length of the field, splaying his arms in delight.

Earlier, the Tigers, asked to bat first, once again experienced a jittery start as they lost

Tamim and Imrul Kayes 2 in quick succession.

Mahmudullah (103 off 138 balls) and Soumya Sarkar (40 off 52 balls) started the recovery act, putting on 86 runs for the third wicket. Soumya departed soon after, bringing Shakib al Hasan 2 at the crease. And when Shakib went for an early shower, Bangladesh were struggling at 99/4.

The fifth-wicket pair of Mahmudullah and Mushfiq (89 off 77 balls) added 141 runs to enable Bangladesh to reach a competitive total. Bangladesh’s 275/7 is their highest score against England in ODIs.

Joy: BNP planned to kill me n Abu Hayat Mahmud

Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has alleged that the BNP had earlier planned to kidnap and kill him in the United States.

Joy, also the premier’s ICT adviser, made the allegation in a post on his official Facebook page yesterday.

His comments came after a US court sentenced two persons including a BNP leader’s son on March 4, for their involvement in a bribery scheme to obtain confidential information from a former special agent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in New York.

In his Facebook post, Joy said he provided a victim’s statement to the US court before sentencing of Rizve Ahmed Caesar, son of BNP’s cultural wing JaSaS Vice-President Mohammad Ullah Mamun.

“When someone tries to kill me I take it very personally. No matter how high up they may be in the BNP. I will bring them to justice,” Joy said in the Facebook post.

According to a statement from the US Jus-

tice Department, Rizve had sought confidential information about a Bangladeshi political figure who was affiliated with a political party opposing Caesar’s views.

Joy claimed that Caesar was promised $40,000 per month and had been given the first payment of $30,000 in cash directly from very senior BNP leaders in Bangladesh. “I cannot disclose their names because the investigation is ongoing.”

On March 7, addressing an Awami League rally in Suhrawardy Udyan, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had also criticised the BNP’s conspiracy to kidnap Joy in the US. Meanwhile, Joy also criticised civil society members for remaining silent on the issue. “The BNP can kill and kidnap, yet they [civil society] will never blame the BNP directly. They always blame both parties. So what justification can they offer for the BNP trying to kill me here?”

Earlier at different programmes and also on his Facebook page, Joy criticised several civil society members for their present stance on urging the government to hold a dialogue with the BNP. l

Mahmudullah smashed seven fours and two sixes on his way to becoming the first Bangladesh cricketer to score a hundred in the World Cup. Mushfiq, from the other end, was playing the role of the aggressor and hammered eight fours and one six.

With seven points from five matches, Bangladesh ensured their progress to the quarterfinals with their match against New Zealand still to be played. A depleted England, on the other hand, bowed out of the flagship event with their tails firmly between their legs. l

Gold-smuggling diplomat leaves n Tribune Report The North Korean diplomat caught trying to smuggle in 27kg gold has left the country.

The government would have eventually asked the North Korean authorities to withdraw Song Yong Nam within 72 hours, said Ambassador in Dhaka Ri Song Hyon. He was summoned by the Director General of the Foreign Ministry Md Jashim Uddin yesterday and the envoy informed him that his junior colleague had left Dhaka on Sunday.

The ministry expressed its dissatisfaction with the actions unbecoming of a diplomat, said a Foreign Ministry official. Ri was asked to contact his government to inform them that Dhaka wants to bring the diplomat to justice under domestic laws, the official said.

Song cannot be tried under local laws unless his government agrees to withdraw his diplomatic immunity.

The ambassador apologised for the incident and assured that he would convey Bangladesh’s position to Pyongyang. l

DT

4 NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

Kamaruzzaman Lawmaker Serajul Akbar dies n review petition hearing April 1 BSS

n Tribune Report The Supreme Court yesterday fixed April 1 for hearing a petition filed by Jamaat-e-Islami leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman seeking review of the top court’s verdict that upheld his death sentence given by a war crimes tribunal.

A four-member bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha fixed the date allowing an adjournment petition submitted by the defence.

A defence lawyer filed the time petition on Sunday seeking four weeks’ time on behalf of Khandker Mahbub Hossain, senior counsel for the convicted war criminals, mentioning that Mahbub would not be able to take part in the hearing for personal reasons.

BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s Adviser Mahbub is also the president of Supreme Court Bar Association, which last month announced to boycott court hearings during the BNP-led 20-party alliance’s blockade and hartal programmes.

When contacted, Mahbub yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that they relaxed the boycott since the SCBA had not adopted a resolution on the matter.

Kamaruzzaman’s lawyers filed the review petition on March 5.

The International Crimes Tribunal 2 sentenced the Jamaat leader to death on May 9, 2013. The war criminal appealed against the judgement after a month.

On November 3 last year, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence. The full text of the judgement was released on February 18 and the tribunal issued a warrant to execute the death sentence of Kamaruzzaman the following day.

“If the apex court dismisses the review petition, Kamaruzzaman can seek presidential mercy to save his neck,” Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said earlier.

War criminal and Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla was executed on December 12, 2013 after completion of all legal procedures. He did not seek presidential mercy. l

DB: Abu Taher murder solved n Tribune Report Detectives have claimed that retired tax commissioner Abu Taher was killed during a robbery at his Rampura flat on March 2 by his sacked driver as a revenge.

The Detective Branch of police yesterday arrested driver Md Nasir, 29, and his associate Md Rasel Talukder, 22.

Addressing a press briefing, Monirul Islam, the DB joint commissioner, said: “We have got a clear picture of the incident interrogating Nasir and Rasel.”

Nasir and seven other members of a robbery gang took part in the killing in the flat where Abu Taher, 73, his wife Rokeya, 60, and a housemaid used to live.

The robbers entered the flat around 3am by cutting a window grill. They held Taher’s wife hostage and looted valuables, cash worth Tk45,000 and three mobile phones. When Taher tried to stop the robbers, they hacked him with sharp weapons leaving him critically injured. The robbers also cut the tendons of Taher’s hands and legs. Later neighbours rushed him to the hospital where Taher succumbed to his injuries.

Monirul said Nasir had been working as driver of Taher’s car for the last nine months. Some days ago, Taher sacked him for denying to work during blockade and hartal. After the dismissal, Taher paid his due salary in a check but Nasir wanted the money in cash.

“We suspect that Nasir wanted to take revenge. So he got acquainted with the members of a local robbery gang – Amir Hossain, Sohel, Rustom, Masum and others,” he said adding that the detectives were looking for the other robbers. l

Dr Muhammad Serajul Akbar, member of parliament for Magura 1 constituency, died of cardiac arrest at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease in Dhaka last night. He was 74.

Abu Reza Nantu, private secretary to the lawmaker, said Dr Akbar, also

the Chairman of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, fell sick at Savar while returning to Dhaka from Magura.

He was admitted to the institute where the attending doctors declared him dead around 8pm.

He leaves behind his wife, two daughters, relatives and well-wishers to mourn his death.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed profound shock at the death of the four-time MP. In a message of condolence yesterday, Hasina said the Bangladesh Awami League had lost a dedicated veteran leader. She also said the people of Magura would forever recall the contributions of this eminent leader with deep respect. l

DT

NEWS 5

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

forgery: 11 arrestees sent to jail Youth Welfare FDR n Fund Bill given thumbs up Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

n UNB

The government yesterday approved the draft of the Youth Welfare Fund Bill, 2015 to make the existing ordinance of 1985 more time befitting.

A regular weekly meeting of the Cabinet gave its final nod to the bill at Bangladesh Secretariat, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

The existing ordinance, promulgated during the martial law period, was later cancelled following the annulment of the fifth and the seventh amendments of the constitution by the higher court, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told a press briefing following the meeting.

He said the law was placed before the cabinet with necessary updates and drafting it in Bangla as per earlier cabinet directives.

Under the existing ordinance, he said the Youth Welfare Fund was created with a seed fund of Tk15 crore and since its inception, about Tk12 crore was donated to around some 10,000 voluntary youth organisations.

The money is being used for implementation of various youth development activities including the development of education, science, arts and culture, and sports.

In the day’s meeting, a total of 35 Annual Performance Agreements (APAs), as part of the ongoing Government Performance Management System (GPMS), were signed between the cabinet secretary and the senior secretaries and secretaries of the 35 concerned ministries and divisions, in a bid to improve the performance and accountability of the government servants.

With the day’s signing, the overall number of signed APAs totaled 45 as of February 23.

The cabinet secretary said that rest of the three APAs with the Ministry of Finance, Religious Affairs Ministry and Statistics and Informatics Division would be signed later on informally.

After the signing of the APAs, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed the hope that the Secretaries and officials of the concerned Ministries and Divisions would be more careful and sincere in achieving their respective performance targets.

She said that preparing and signing of the APAs in such a short time reflects good coordination and teamwork within the Ministries and Divisions.

Hasina also hoped that through these APAs, the concerned Ministries and Divisions would be able to move far ahead with their activities with efficiency.

The Cabinet Secretary said these APAs would bring about qualitative change in the overall management of the government and would enhance efficiency, accountability and performance of the concerned Ministries and Divisions.

The Cabinet Secretary signed the APAs as the representative of the Prime Minister and the President of the national committee on GPMS while the Secretaries as the representatives of the concerned Ministries and Divisions.

With the implementation of the Performance Management System, it is expected that the efficiency and accountability of the government offices would enhance while the pace of implementation of the government announced policies and programmes through intense monitoring would be expedited.

The Annual Performance Agreement (APA) is in place in various countries in different names including in Australia, Bhutan, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, India, New Zealand, USA and UK. The Cabinet meeting was also apprised about the visits of Bangladesh delegation headed by Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister to Saudi Arabia on January 18-23, 2015 and Bangladesh delegation headed by Deputy Minister for Environment and Forests at the COP 10 of the ‘Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of Ozone Layer’ and MOP 26 of the ‘Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer’ held on November 1721, 2014 in Paris.

Ministers and state ministers attended the meeting while concerned Secretaries were present. l

A Dhaka court sent 11 people, who were arrested at a private bank on Sunday, to jail yesterday, rejecting their bail petitions in a forgery case filed with Gulshan police station in the capital.

Metropolitan Magistrate SM Masud Zaman passed the order when Sub-In-

spector Abdul Barik, the investigation officer of the case, produced them before the court and sought an order to send them to jail.

The forgers – Hasibul Hasan, Mirazul Islam, Sabbir Rahman, Md Nazrul Haque, Shahabur Rahman Babul, Khorshed Alam, Delwar Hossain, Selim Ahmed, Shahajahan, Kazi Shahadat

Hossain and Mahbubur Rahman Kajol – were arrested at the Gulshan 1 branch of Brac Bank when they attempted to withdraw Tk90 crore from a Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) using fake documents.

However, the police did not seek remand as the case will be investigated by the ACC, said Gopal Chandra, general recording officer at the court. l

Graduate Admission SUMMER 2015

NORTH SOUTH UNIVERSITY The First Private University in Bangladesh

The only university in Bangladesh where all faculty members have foreign Masters or Doctorate degrees primarily from USA, Canada, UK and Australia

PROGRAMS Master of Business Administration (MBA) Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) Master of Public Health (MPH) Executive Master of Public Health (EMPH) MS in Economics Master’s in Development Studies (MDS) MPharm in Pharmacology & Clinical Pharmacy (MPharm PCP) MPharm in Pharmaceutical Technology & Biopharmaceutics (MPharm PTB) MS in Biotechnology MS in Environmental Science & Management MS in Computer Science & Engineering MS in Electronics & Telecommunications Engineering MS in Electrical & Electronic Engineering MA in English Master’s in Public Policy & Governance (MPPG)

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS Four-year Bachelor’s degree or equivalent with at least Second Class or GPA 2.75 on a scale of 4.0 Three-year Bachelor’s degree with honors.

Students with inadequate course work background may be advised to take additional pre-requisite courses.

Admission Test is waived for candidates with adequate score in GMAT or GRE and TOEFL score of 500 (Paper Based) or equilavent

NSU HIGHLIGHTS Most majors offer broad-based American curriculum Credit transferable to USA, UK, Canada, Australia and other universities Fully automated library facility with students’ access to ~50,000 books Whole campus is covered by CCTV camera & WiFi access Well-equipped 63 state-of-the-art laboratories More than 100 classrooms with built-in multi-media Opportunities for extra and co-curricular activities through 22 student clubs Career counseling facility for students All students have access to online library materials (75,000 journals) from home through MyAthens Weekend and evening class facilities available

DISTINCT FEATURES NSU’s graduate study programs offer higher education and research for enhancing professional and research capability required in specialized fields for increasingly globalized job market. Graduate students have access to NSU’s financial support system as well as opportunity to work for faculty research projects.

Application Deadline Application forms can be downloaded NSU website and submitted with a pay order of Tk.1,000 from any Bank in favor of North South University.

Forms are also available for Tk.1,000 from Southeast Bank, UCBL, DBBL, Bank Asia, One Bank, NCCBL, IFIC Bank, Bashundhara Branch Dhaka.

For more details: NSU Admission & Information Office Level-1, Bashundhara, Dhaka -1229 Tel: 880 2 55668200, Ext. 5000, 5002, 5004, 1174 E-mail: registrar@northsouth.edu Web: www.northsouth.edu

25 March, 2015 5:00 pm Admission Test

27 March, 2015 Friday, 10:00 am at NSU Campus

DT

6 NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

Ctg Jamaat ameer on 3-day remand, Shibir calls strike n Tribune Report A court in Chittagong yesterday put Jamaat-e-Islami acting ameer of Chittagong city unit Ahsan Ullah on a three-day remand in a case filed in connection with a firebomb attack on a bus.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Masiur Rahman passed the order after police produced Ahsan before his court with a 10-day remand petition, said Chittagong Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner Kazi Muttakin Minan.

Detectives detained Ahsan from a flat at Halishahar early on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Jamaat’s student wing Chhatra Shibir on Sunday evening called a 48hour general strike in greater Chittagong for tomorrow and

the day after tomorrow in protest at what it described as the illegal detention of Ahsan.

The strike was announced in a press release issued by several top leaders of Shibir’s Chittagong city (north) unit and sent by Publicity Secretary Kanak Hasan.

The Shibir leaders claimed in the press release that many Jamaat and Shibir leaders were being arrested in false cases as the government was fearful about the ongoing movement.

We demand that Ahsan and other detained leaders be released immediately as we would go for tougher movement otherwise, they warned.

In addition to the strike, Shibir also announced to hold a protest rally across greater Chittagong tomorrow to highlight its demand. l

Concert to be held for DMCH burn patients n Syeda Samira Sadeque As a tribute to the burn victims currently being treated at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, a “Concert for the Burned” will be held on March 14 at the National Library Auditorium from 11am.

The event, with the motto, “stand beside the burn people of DMCH Burn Unit,” has been organised by Offstage, an event management firm, to raise money for the burnt patients and their families.

Most of the victims were killed or injured in arson and/ or petrol bomb attacks.

Offstage CEO Joseph Ovi told the Dhaka Tribune, there are needs for medicine for the patients and other forms of support for the families.

Bands such as Arbovirus, Powersurge, Dr Doctor, Owned, Poraho, Shohojia, Candle Carmine, Samudra, Embrace of Death, Quanta, Page 31 and Silent Time will perform.

The concept refreshingly mirrors George Harrison’s 1971 “Concert for Bangladesh,”

which he had organised to contribute to the war victims in Bangladesh.

While our country now reels from similar violence, the people of our country have come forward to use their talents to contribute to a good cause.

“We’ve done charity shows like this before but stopped in the middle because either the causes were not strong or there was not enough evidence. That is not the case this time,” said Jamshed, whose band Powersurge has been performing for eight years.

While the money raised from tickets will go directly to DMCH, there will be room for extra donations as well as donations of medicine, food, bandages and other medical equipment.

Guests at the event will include Dr Samanta Lal Sen of DMCH, singer and writer Fakir Alamgir, and singer and lead vocal of “Maksood O Dhaka” Maksood ul Haq. Entry fee is Tk250. Tickets will be available at the venue. l

DT

NEWS 7

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

Industrial waste, dyeing chemical slowly killing Shitalakhya n Our Correspondent, Narsingdi The Shitalakhya River, also known as Lakhya Nodi, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, flowing through the district has nearly become dead due to industrial waste and chemical.

Sources at Deputy Commissioner’s Office said hundreds of factories situated near the river are dumping garment factory waste, dyeing chemicals, polythene, printing, fertilisers, cement factory waste violating industrial and environmental laws.

Thousands of farmers in Sadar, Polash upazila and Shibpur upazilas are affected as a large numbers of industries are continuously spewing toxic industrial wastes into agriculture lands violating rules.

They said that the toxic water that goes down the drains from those factories finally end up in the river. The toxic wastes include chemical dyeing, detergents, ammonia, lime, sulphate, sulhuric acid, soda, bleaching powder and many other harmful materials.

Samir Chandra, now turned into boatman from fisherman, said around a decade ago people used to catch fish from the river and water bodies around it.

“But the scenario has now changed and no fish can be found in the polluted water,” he said.

Sources said most of the factories are not following rules and regulations of the Depart-

ment of Environment (DE) although the department has directed all the entrepreneurs to set up Effluent Treatment Plant(ETP) to check pollution.

During a visit to Shilmandi, Madhabdi and Panchdona in Narsingdi Sadar, Danga, Ghorashal in Polash upaizla, Kararchar, Bhareterkandi Sherpur in Shibpur upazila, it was found most of the dyeing, printing and textiles industries and other factories releasing toxic chemical into the river and another water bodies nearby it.

A physician at Narsingdi Sadar Hospital said these toxic substances mixed in river water affect the health of the people and many are suffering many diseases including skin infections and diarrhoea. Even domestic animals are affected due to toxic substances in river water, but no effective measures have been taken to improve the situation.

Many houses near the river are forced to use the dirty water for their household needs including bathing and washing. They must use the toxic water because they have no alternatives.

Masud Khan, teacher of Govt Birinda Primary School said his two children and other family members were suffering from skin diseases as they used water of the river.

“Water of the river has taken a dark hue and become poisonous due to continuous dumping of factory waste and chemical mixed

11 die in road accidents n Tribune Report At least 11 people died in separate road accidents that took place in Chittagong, Gopalganj, Sherpur, Jessore, Barisal and Bagerhat.

Two people were killed in separate road accidents in Akbar Shah area under Fatikchari upazila in Chittagong yesterday.

The deceased are Onimesh Chowdhury, 45 and Kazi Md Alauddin, 32.

In-Charge of Najirhat Highway police outpost Sub-Inspector Mahbub Alam said motorcyclist Alauddin was spotted lying on the road around 10pm on Sunday. Police suspected that he might have been killed in a road accident. Later, police recovered the body.

Meanwhile, Sub-Inspector of Akbar Shah police station Md Akhtaruzzaman said Onimesh was ran over by a recklessly driven-truck at Akbar Shah intersection while he was crossing the road around 10:30pm. He said Onimesh died on the spot.

In Gopalgaj, a teenage boy died and 40 people were injured as a bus plunged into the Madhumati River on Tekerhat-Gopalganj road at Padmavila in sadar upazila.

The deceased was identified as Ibrahim Khalil, 13, hailed from Maksurdpur upazila.

Police sources said when driver of a bus lost control over the steering and the vehicle plunged into the river, leaving the boy dead on the spot and 40 other passengers injured.

In Sherpur, two people were killed and 10 others injured when a human hauler plunged into a ditch at Gajani Abakash Kendra in Jhenaigati upazila.

The deceased were identified as Dulal, 35, son of Sekendar Ali and Fakir Mia, 28 of Sribardi upazila.

Officer-in-Charge of Jhenaigati police station Fasihur Rahman said the human hauler carrying 12 people plunged into the ditch from a hillock inside the tourist spot, leaving Dulal dead on the spot and 11 others injured.

Our Jessore correspondent adds: Three motorcyclists were killed in Harikhali area in the afternoon.

But identity of the deceased could not be known immediately. In Barisal, two passengers killed and eight others injured after a bus hit a microbus at Kasemabad under Gournadi upazila. In Bagerhat, a woman was killed. l

coloured water of textile industries,” he said.

Farmer Habij Uddin of Kajuir village in Danga Union under Polash upazila, said: “The water cannot be used for growing crops as it is adversely polluted.”

Many farmers like Habij Uddin, Riaj Uddin and Ismail have expressed their deep frustration as the cultivation of crops are being hampered seriously in their areas.

Ashadozzaman Khokan, the secretary of Narsingdi district unit of Sujon, a citizens’ right body, said they would go for tough programmes if the authorities did not take necessary steps against the industries responsible for polluting the environment.

Deputy Director of Department of Environment in Narsingdi Mohammad Ataur Rahman said they were monitoring the activities of the factories that were polluting lands, rivers, canals and water bodies and environment.

The department also carried out drives through mobile courts against factories that are violating the law, he said.

Ataur Rahman said that around 65 factories had installed ETPs and the rest were working to set it within a short time. The deputy commissioner served notices to the factory owners a number of times.

Owners also assured the DC that they would set up ETPs in their factories, more than 50% of factories did not keep promises. l

WEATHER

DRY WEATHER LIKELY TUESDAY, MARCH 10 TODAY SUN SETS 6:05PM

DHAKA

TOMORROW SUN RISES 6:13AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY 33 33 34 33 34 34 34 33

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

21 21 20 17 19 21 16 23

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

32.8ºC Sitakunda

11.5ºC Srimangal

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:58am 6:13am 12:09am 4:26pm 6:05pm 7:20pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

DT

8 NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

Women find self-reliance through embroidery n Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj Around a thousand impoverished women in five villages of Kishoreganj district have found a way out of poverty and towards self-reliance – the craft of embroidery.

In Daliarchar and Nodar villages of Sadar upazila and Gangatia, Lakuhati and Gabindapur villages in Hossainpur upazila, women have been dependent on sewing and embroidery work for their livelihoods for several years.

Finishing up their household chores, these women spend the remainder of their free time creating meticulous designs on different types of fabric using beads and sequins, making saris, salwar-kameezes and dupattas. Young girls who cannot continue their studies due to financial constraints join in too.

Visiting the villages, this correspondent found thousands of women working on their latest products. All of them had their own stories of how they found that a seemingly ordinary skill could turn their lives around.

Nadira Akhtar, from Lakuhati, dropped out of college because her father could not bear her educational expenses.

“We were going through financial crisis when we learned about one of our neighbours earning money by making embroidered saris,” Nadira told the Dhaka Tribune. “It took little to convince me and my mother Rahima Khatun to take up the job.”

Their first sari took four days to complete and earned them Tk500. They have not looked back since.

“If I had not taken up this work then, I would not be able to go back to college and help my family,” Nadira, who has resumed her studies, said.

There are many other girls in the village who have similar stories.

Nasima Akhtar of Nodar said businessmen from Dhaka visit their villages on a regular basis and take their finished products to sell at renowned shops and malls in the city.

“We are busy all year round, but it gets quite hectic before big festivals, such as Eid,” she added.

Haresha Khatun, from Daliarchar, said: “It usually costs me around Tk500-700 to make an embroidered sari, but the finished saris are sold at around Tk5,000-15,000 apiece in Dhaka.”

Abdus Sattar Tushar, a Kishoreganj-based social worker, said: “These women have found a great opportunity in embroidery industry to change their lives for the better. The government should provide support, such as training, in order to help this industry grow further. l

NEWS IN BRIEF Section 144 imposed in Sunamganj

Local administration yesterday imposed section 144 in Chhatak upazila of Sunamganj as two London expatriates called meeting at the same venue on same time. The ban has been imposed from 6am on Monday and will continue till further notice, said UNO Md Mujibur Rahman.

Jauya Bazar police investigation centre In-Charge Sub-Inspector Shafiqul Islam said the ban was imposed to avoid untoward situations.

– Our Correspondent, Sunamganj

200kg venison seized in Narayanganj Members of Coast Guard in a drive seized 200 kg venison and 77 slaughtered migratory birds from a trawler in the Dhaleshwari River on yesterday. Tipped off, a team of Coast Guard members led by Yunus Hossain, senior chief petty officer, conducted a drive in the river and seized the venison and the slaughtered birds from trawler ‘Rajhangsha-8’ in an abandoned condition, said Pagla Coast Guard Station Commander Sub Lieutenant Hasanur Rahman. The seized venison and slaughtered birds were handed over to forest officials. – UNB

Fire in Chittagong furniture market n Tribune Report

23 furniture shops of a furniture market and four houses were gutted in two separate fire incidents in Baluchara and Bakalia areas in Chittagong city early yesterday.

However, a person, Md Azad, 21 was injured while extinguishing the fire in

Bakalia area, said fire service and civil defence sources.

Jasim Uddin, deputy assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters in Agrabad, said a fire had broken out from an electric short circuit at a thatched furniture market in Baluchara area of Baizid in the city.

Being informed, fire fighters with

two units from Agrabad and Baizid fire station rushed to the spot and put out the fire after five hours hectic efforts around 9am, said the DAD. A total of 22 thatched shops and a semi-pucca shops were gutted in the fire while the extant of losses caused by the fire would be Tk25 lakh, said the fire service official. l

DT

NEWS 9

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

Syndicates sell off rations belonging to cluster villages Ruling party leaders’ involvement found amid lack of monitoring in Comilla Tila and Shalbon gucchagram have gram Cooperative Society in 2012. n Our Correspondent, Khagrachhari “I will go to the court if anyone is appointbeen lying vacant for six month now hamperLack of proper monitoring, political interference and tyranny of various syndicates have infested the ration project in the cluster villages of the hilly district of Khagrachhari.

About 26,000 residents of 84 cluster villages, commonly known as gucchagram, have been facing hardship as they are deprived of the ration allocation.

The poverty-stricken villagers of these guchhagram heavily rely on the ration programme for their daily need of rice, wheat and other necessities.

Locals said since there was no one to look after the programme, the rice and wheat have been misappropriated by activists and various political party leaders who sell those in the open market.

Many residents just sign the papers but do not get any ration. Even if they do, the amount is always less than the allocation.

The posts of the chairman of the projects

ing the distribution of ration.

It has been alleged that a syndicate has been trying to make a business out of the appointment of the chairman in the empty posts. Without following the due procedure, they have been trying to appoint their own men.

After the term of the previous chairman ended, Md Islam Uddin, councillor of ward 6 of Khagrachhari municipality applied for the post.

However, his file has been not been processed yet for some unknown reason.

Md Islam Uddin said: “According to the gucchagram regulation, I have the priority as the people’s representative. But my application has not been forwarded to the deputy commissioner yet.”

He alleged that the local MP recommended to appoint Anwar Hossain, who had been accused of swindling Tk6 lakh of the Guccha-

ed by illegals means,” he added.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Khagrachhari Sadar Mir Shawkat Hossain said the recommendation from the local MP would get priority.

Meanwhile, Mayor of Khagrachhari Municipality Rafiqul Alam said: “It is a violation of the rule not to appoint a people’s representative. The administration has been playing with the fate of gucchagram residents.”

Contacted, deputy commissioner of Khagrachhari Md Wahiduzzaman assured to appoint the chairman according to the regulation.

“Since I came here, I have not appointed any chairman for the project. A decision about the those two guchhagram will be taken after scrutinising the applications and through a committee,” he said adding that what the previous deputy commissioners did with the ration project was not his concern. l

Three women jailed for life for murder n Our Correspondent, Meherpur A Meherpur court yesteday gave sentenced three women to life term imprisonment for killing a man in 2007.

The court also fined them TK 20,000 each, in default, to suffer, six months more rigorous imprisonment.

The convicts are Khodeza Khatun, wife of Korban Ali of Darbeshpur village, her daughter Kajoli Khatun and their neighbour Joty, wife of Tengra.

District and sessions judge Rabiul Hasan gave the verdict after cross-checking 14 witnesses and examining documents.

According to the prosecution, Tayab Ali was strangulated to death by the three women at Darbeshpur village in sadar upazila on August 6, 2007 when he wanted back the money he had lent to Khodeza.

Ferdousi, wife of the deceased, filed a case against the trio in this connection.

Sub-Inspector of Meherpur Sadar police station submitted charge sheet against the convicts after investigation.

After a long hearing, District and Sessions Judge Rabiul Hasan handed down the verdict. l

DT

10 WORLD

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

Putin describes secret operation to seize Crimea n AFP, Moscow President Vladimir Putin has revealed the moment he says he gave the secret order for Russia’s annexation of Crimea and described how Russian troops were ready to fight to rescue Ukraine’s deposed, pro-Moscow president.

In a trailer shown Sunday for an upcoming documentary on state-run Rossiya-1 television called “Homeward bound,” Putin openly discusses Moscow’s controversial grabbing of Crimea a year ago.

Putin recounts an all-night meeting with security services chiefs to discuss how to extricate deposed president Viktor Yanukovych, who had fled a pro-Western street revolt in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

“We ended at about seven in the morning,” Putin says. “When we were parting, I said to my colleagues: we must start working on returning Crimea to Russia.”

Four days after that February 2014 meeting, unidentified soldiers took over the local parliament in Crimea and deputies hurriedly voted in a new government. The Ukrainian province was then formally annexed by Moscow on March 18, triggering international condemnation.

The military operation was initially kept secret and despite the increasingly obvious actions of unmarked Russian forces on the ground, Moscow insisted that only locals were involved

Merkel sees difficult path ahead on Greece

n Reuters, Tokyo

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on a visit to Japan yesterday that Europe faced a formidable challenge in reaching a financial aid agreement with Greece that would keep it in the euro zone.

Asked at a news conference in Tokyo about whether she would rule out a so-called “Grexit,” as European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker appeared to do in an interview over the weekend, Merkel struck a more cautious tone.

“I have said time and time again, and I can say it again here, our political goal is to keep Greece in the euro zone. We have been working on this for many years,” she said. l

Mother killed in Australia while on phone to husband

n AFP

An Indian mother was fatally stabbed in a Sydney park during a brutal attack as she was on the phone to her distraught husband back home, police said yesterday.

Prabha Arun Kumar, a 41-year-old IT professional, was taking a shortcut through Parramatta Park in the city’s west at around 9.30pm (1030 GMT) on Saturday when she was killed. Family members told Indian media that the woman was speaking with her husband, G. Arun Kumar, at the time and he heard her scream for help.

“She was walking while talking to Arun on the phone when she said that a suspicious-looking man was following her,” brother-in-law Thrijesh Jayachandra told Indian newspaper The Hindu. l

People paint pancakes in colors of Russian national flag during Maslenitsa celebrations in the village of Perevalnoye, near the Crimean city of Simferopol February 22 REUTERS in the upheaval. Later, the Kremlin conceded that it had been behind the power grab.

In the trailer for the documentary, Putin also claims that Russia’s military was ready to fight its way into the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk to get Yanukovych, a heavily corrupted but loyal figure who favoured keeping Ukraine in Russia’s sphere of influence.

“He would have been killed,” Putin said.

“We got ready to get him right out of Donetsk by land, by sea or by air,” he said. “Heavy ma-

chineguns were mounted there to avoid talking too much.”

Yanukovych later resurfaced in the southern Russian city of Rostov and has not been back to Ukraine.

More than 6,000 people have since been killed in fighting between Ukraine’s government forces and heavily armed separatist militias based in Donetsk and backed – according to Western governments – by Russia, although Moscow denies this. l

Fukushima residents torn over nuclear waste storage plan n Reuters, Okuma, Japan Norio Kimura lost his wife, father and 7-yearold daughter Yuna in the March 2011 tsunami.

Now, he fears he may lose his land, too, as Japan’s government wants to build a sprawling radioactive waste storage site in the shadow of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant.

Like many here, Kimura is angry the government is set to park 30 million tons of radioactive debris raked up after the nuclear accident on his former doorstep. Few believe Tokyo’s assurances that the site will be cleaned up and shut down after 30 years.

“I can’t believe they’re going to dump their trash here after all we’ve been put through,” said Kimura, 49, standing near the weathered planks on a shrub-covered hill that represent all that’s left of his home.

Kimura was forced to abandon searching for his family in the frantic hours after the tsunami and ordered to evacuate after explosions rocked the Fukushima complex, just 3 kms (less than 2 miles) from his home.

Months later, he found the bodies of his wife and father. But all he has left of Yuna are her mud-soaked pink skirts, a pair of striped leggings and a blackened soft toy he found tangled in a heap of debris.

Four years after the earthquake and tsunami disaster, Kimura still returns to his hometown and combs the deserted beach for Yuna’s body - in 5-hour stints, the maximum allowed under radiation health guidelines.

The March 11, 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami tore through coastal towns in northern Japan and set off meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima Daiichi plant, which sits partly in Okuma.

Japan has since allocated more than $15 billion to an unprecedented project to lower radiation in towns around the plant, such as Okuma. Every day across Fukushima prefecture, teams of workers blast roads with water, scrub down houses, cut branches and scrape contaminated soil off farmland.

That irradiated trash now sits in blue and black plastic sacks across Fukushima, piled up in abandoned rice paddies, parking lots and even residents’ backyards.

Japan plans to build a more permanent storage facility over the coming years in Okuma and Futaba, another now-abandoned town close to the Fukushima nuclear plant over the opposition of some local residents.

“This land has our blood and sweat running through it and I can’t just let go of it like that,” said Koji Monma, 60, an Okuma resident who heads a local landowners’ group.

Fukushima’s governor agreed to take the waste facility after Tokyo said it would provide $2.5bn in subsidies, and promised to take the waste out of the prefecture after 30 years. Mayors of Futaba and Okuma have since agreed to host the 16 square km (6.2 square mile) facility - about five times the size of New York’s Central Park - which will wrap around the Fukushima plant and house multiple incinerators. l

Nemtsov ally says Islamist motive in murder ‘absurd’

n AFP, Moscow

A friend of slain Russian opposition activist Boris Nemtsov yesterday dismissed theories that radical Islamists were responsible for gunning him down as “absurd” and politically motivated.

Investigators have said they were looking into the possibility that the former deputy prime minister was killed over his support for French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo which published images of the Prophet Mohammed.

The theory appeared to gain ground after a suspect from Russia’s Muslim North Caucasus region of Chechnya – which held a massive rally against the publication in January – confessed to his involvement in the assassination.

“The official version of the inquiry is more than absurd. In my opinion it is the result of a political order from the Kremlin,” Ilya Yashin, who co-founded the opposition movement Solidarnost with Nemtsov, told AFP. He said Nemtsov had “never spoken negatively about Islam” and had merely criticised the Islamists who gunned down 12 people at Charlie Hebdo’s offices in a series of attacks in Paris in January.

Zaur Dadayev, a former deputy commander in a special Chechen police unit, was charged with murder on Sunday alongside Anzor Gubashev who worked for a private security company in Moscow. They, along with three other suspects, were remanded into custody. l

Saudis block Swedish minister’s speech at Arab League

n Reuters, Stockholm Saudi Arabia has blocked a plan for Sweden’s foreign minister to address the League of Arab States in Cairo yesterday in a protest over criticism of its human rights record, a Swedish foreign ministry spokesman said.

Sweden’s Social Democrat-led government wants to raise its international profile by emphasizing human rights and a feminist approach to foreign policy.

It also decided to recognize a Palestinian state, without formally consulting its allies, immediately after taking office in October last year.

“Last night, we were told that Saudi Arabia had blocked Margot’s participation,” the foreign minister’s press spokesman Erik Boman said.

“The only explanation we’ve got is that this is because of the statements the Swedish government has made regarding human rights in Saudi Arabia.”

Margot Wallstrom had been invited to give a speech to a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers and the trip was aimed at building cooperation to promote democracy, human rights and economic integration.

Wallstrom tweeted criticism in January of Saudi Arabia’s flogging of blogger raif Badawi, calling it a “cruel attempt to silence modern forms of expression.”

Comment from the Saudi Arabian government was not immediately available.

Sweden is currently reviewing whether to renew a five-year deal to supply military material and training to Saudi Arabia. l

DT

WORLD 11

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

Situation under control in Dimapur, 43 arrests made

n Agencies

The situation in Dimapur town of Nagaland, where a mob lynched a rape accused, was yesterday returning to normalcy with curfew being relaxed and markets reopening after three days even as more arrests were made in connection with the incident.

Curfew has been relaxed from 6am to 12 noon and the situation is “under control,” DIG (Range, NAP) Liremo Lotha, who is officiating as Dimapur SP in the wake of the suspension of the SP after the lynching incident, said.

The situation will be reviewed at noon and if necessary, curfew might be reimposed, he said.

Prohibitory orders under Sec 144 CrPc will be in force after noon, he said.

The total number of persons taken under custody has risen to 43, the DIG said.

Meanwhile, business activities were returning to normal with markets opening after three days. l

Release of Kashmiri separatist leader creates hurdles for Modi n Reuters, Srinagar A ruckus over the release from prison of a man who led one of the biggest revolts against the Indian military in Kashmir is adding to mounting problems for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he tries to push economic reform through parliament.

The lower house of parliament was temporarily adjourned yesterday after opposition parties demanded to know why separatist leader Masarat Alam Bhat was released at the weekend by Kashmir’s state government, which Modi’s nationalist party supports.

“I am angered and condemn the release, just like other lawmakers,” Modi said in parliament.” Modi swept to office ten months ago promising rapid economic transformation

but disparate opposition parties have united to block his agenda, forcing the government to rely on executive orders called ordinances to pass unpopular policies.

With two weeks remaining of the current

session of parliament before a recess, the government needs to win support for ordinances, including those raising the foreign direct investment limit in the insurance sector, or they will expire. l

DT

12 EDITORIAL

TUSDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

A victory for teamwork

Be heard

W

e are thrilled by Bangladesh’s victory over England at the Adelaide Oval in the cricket World Cup. Qualifying for the quarter-finals with one match to spare is a noteworthy achievement for the Tigers in such a competitive and prestigious tournament.

It is heartening to witness the exhilaration of fans and see spirits uplifted at a time when the country is clouded by a political crisis.

To bowl out a major team in the process and see the first-ever century for a Bangladeshi in an ODI World Cup match provides a welcome bonus for a win which had to be hard-earned in the closing overs.

Congratulations are due first and foremost to the players for co-ordinating an effective bowling and fielding performance to secure the day.

The combination of solid teamwork and an increasing number of strong individual performances, exemplified by Mahmudullah’s century in this match, has been vital in securing this well-earned berth for the next stage.

It also sets the stage for a crowd-pleasing final group stage match by the Tigers against co-hosts New Zealand.

We hope the camaraderie and success achieved will inspire the team on to at least two more good performances and new heights of success.

The Tigers have provided a great lesson to all Bangladeshis, that we are capable of great things if we all work hard together.

Congratulations to the Tigers for showing the value of teamwork

Create opportunities for nation’s shipbuilders

T

he Coast Guard is to spend Tk963cr on buying four ships from Italy.

At a time when German shipping companies have expressed interest in buying more vessels from Bangladeshi shipyards, and the EU Ambassador in Dhaka has said that the European Union is looking to invest in the Bangladeshi shipbuilding industry, it is disappointing that this order could not have been procured by tender locally.

The government needs to show more vision and ambition in helping remove constraints on local shipbuilders.

Bangladeshi entrepreneurs have invested in improving facilities and developing skills to enhance the nation’s capacity to build modern ships.

The country needs such emerging manufacturing sectors to grow in order to help diversify and expand the economy.

The government must make more use of the levers it has available to encourage the nation’s shipbuilding industry.

Supporting efforts to grow the land and anchorage area available for shipyards needs to part of this to help the sector make the most of its potential.

The government’s moves to support the Blue Economy also offers new opportunities to help the sector.

Even more important, as a nation with thousands of ageing and unsafe river vessels plying both passenger and cargo routes, the government can do a lot to stimulate investment simply by properly enforcing safety rules to require transport owners modernising their fleets.

Helping shipbuilders compete better can help the whole economy by growing export markets and supporting new, higher value jobs.

Show more vision to help emerging sector grow new jobs

Writeto toDhaka DhakaTribune Tribune Write Tower,8/C 8/CPanthapath, Panthapath, Sukrabad, Shukrabad,Dhaka-1207 Dhaka-1207 FRFRTower, Email letters.dt@dhakatribune.com Email letters.dt@dhakatribune.com Sendususyour yourOp-Ed Op-Edarticles: articles: Send opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

No offense, really February 22

Karl Hungus Draconia indeed. Coupled with government-sanctioned attempts at curtailing free speech (ICT Act 2006), there is little meaning to that term in this nation nowadays ... sattar Curtailing free speech is just a step towards curtailing other things. The press must remain free!

Kmak “It is worth noting that the allegedly offensive book was a translation of quite an old foreign book, the author of which was an Iranian madrasa-educated theological scholar who died 33 years ago. That didn’t matter.

Hefazat’s threats were enough – Rodela had to shut down their stall at the book fair.”

The author was Ali Dashti. He was not a theological scholar but a journalist, although he did receive a Madrassah education in his youth. He left Islam later in his life, becoming a rationalist. His book is basically an attempt to undermine Muhammad (saw)’s claim to prophecy. In other words, it is an anti-Islamic polemical work. vhs Kmak: Ever heard vague terms like “a young scholar,” etc? What do you think “scholar” means exactly, in terms of credentials?

Someone who holds some official position at a university? The author of the book studied theology deeply, took an interest in it, and wrote a book on it, though by profession he was a journalist. Many with no formal credentials whatsoever get called “Islamic scholar.” There is no dishonesty here, and the piece isn’t meant as a comprehensive biography of Ali Dashti.

Son Zoo Kmak: You seem to constantly latch onto a minute detail/fact and debase the entire article or its author based on that. Are you running out of arguments?

Banu Kmak: Thanks for your clarification.

Son Zoo Banu: What exactly did he clarify?

sundar Hello, bhaijan have you ever watched TV talk shows in private channels? Particularly where Mahfujulla, Asif Najrul, Sadek khan, Nurul Kabir express their views in full throated voices? If not, try and listen to them. Religious sentiment is a different kettle of fish. It is some thing omnipotent and non-negotiable. The Daily Star’s poster publication case is an exception which hardly falsify the rule.

Mahfuz Anam’s problem is he thinks himself the big brother of the media and the intellectual world, which naturally irritates many.

He must get rid of his super intellectual ego to be agreeable to all. vhs sundar: Not sure why Mahfuz Anam should try to be “agreeable to all.” Whether he has a big ego or not isn’t relevant in this argument. The point raised here was, should the Daily Star be harassed legally over this publication?

As for “religious sentiment,” it is perfectly possible for most educated-but-religious people to tolerate books they don’t agree with. Not sure what you mean when you say it is “non negotiable.” Sounds to me like a license to persecute any dissenting voice. sundar vhs: Look at what happened to Humayun Azad, Taslima Nasrin, so and so forth, as direct outburst of religious sentiment. The helpless minority communities’ temples, homes, and huts were burnt down in the fires of religious sentiment. Does the government not hold responsibility towards these potential victims of religious sentiment?

Who are these “most educated but religious people” who are ready to tolerate opinions having slightest chance to ignite highly inflammable religious sentiment, can you cite one example? I have heard Asif Najrul, Mahfujullah pontificate on religious sentiments in various TV talk shows day in and day out, and by implication to justify the persecution. Are they not sufficiently educated and tolerant persons?

Door-Swinger Spot-on commentary from DT’s best looking opinionator!

DT

OPINION 13

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

Which way now? n Moazzem Hossain

F

BIGSTOCK

Tuition in blood? n Zubier Abdullah

A

lot has been said over the past few days. The protest at North South University yesterday has created divides, with some believing that the behaviour exemplifies the spoiled, rich brat attitude that many think some students possess.

Those who are working and are travelling through the chaotic streets of Dhaka every day for their jobs are not complaining. So, who are we to complain?

Aren’t we all just a bunch of spineless children, without an ounce of work ethic or integrity? Aren’t we all cavorting throughout the city -- going to shopping malls, watching movies, and even sneaking off for romantic tete-a-tetes with our significant others?

So, how dare we possess the right to protest about going to classes? How dare we devalue the importance of an education by choosing not to attend classes? Since a lot of other universities have taken the same step. Students don’t want to risk their lives to attend university.

That does not mean they do not want to attend classes. That does not mean they do not want to learn.

What it means is that they do not wish to learn while risking their lives. They do not wish to pay their tuition in blood. The NSU authorities, along with numerous others, had planned to start resuming classes from this week.

To them, there was no alternative. Contrary to popular opinion, the average university student, especially at North South, does not want to stay home. They want to attend classes, as unrealistic as that may seem.

The real issue, then, is not that we don’t want to attend classes. Rather, it is that we do not want to attend with the risks involved. A majority of students in the university do not live in Bashundhara. For them, travelling to and from university entails a mix of CNGs, rickshaws, and buses. Some cycle but they are not the majority.

As we have no doubt seen, in lurid detail, most of the violence in the past weeks have been aimed at buses. Open the front pages of any newspaper and you are greeted with images of charred, smouldering wrecks of buses.

Even if the risk of being injured is low, slightly or otherwise (say 0.01%), is that risk justified?

There are 15,000 students in NSU. Let us say that a third of them do not travel by car and do not live nearby. That is 10,000 people putting themselves at risk every day. There are five days of class/hartal per week.

Crunching the numbers, that gives us five incidents per week. Is that a justifiable number? This does not take into account the numerous other public and private universities out there. That number becomes a lot higher if you factor those in.

None of us want a tragedy. We are all sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and none of us want to see or hear about one of our own getting injured. The cost of losing an arm or a leg is not worth it when we have not tried out other alternatives.

We are willing to work with the authorities of our university to find an amicable solution to this problem.

We have already offered suggestions to host classes online, to post materials on websites and through Facebook groups, following the example of ULAB, who have done so.

Already, three people have been injured, and if you turn on the news now, you may catch glimpses of the cocktails which had exploded outside Brac University last month.

You may, of course, say that countless scores of people are risking life and limb every day. Why are we so special? Don’t we know how much we will suffer when we have to join the work life? Doesn’t this show to the world how spoiled and uncommitted we are?

Firstly, I applaud your bravery: Working hard to feed your family and advance your career, amidst such a chaotic time should be lauded and is a supreme example of commitment.

However, organising a peaceful protest of 5,000 people to stand up for what we believe in -- that education should not be paid in blood also shows commitment.

Many people have made inaccurate and negative comments about NSU. Like everything, it has its fair share of problems, but unity is not one of them.

We will work towards a solution to this problem and, since many believe we cannot, we will succeed. l Zubier Abdullah is a freelance contributor.

ebruary 2015 has passed, and the nation has entered the historic month of March. While the month of February in 1952 was the beginning of spilling blood on the streets of Dhaka to bring home Bangalees’ political emancipation via the language movement, the final ultimatum was given to Pakistan by Bangabandhu on March 7, 1971.

The ultimatum to realise political emancipation had materialised in declaring independence on March 26 after a bloodbath in Dhaka was unleashed by the Pakistan Army in the wee hours of March 25.

The 71 generation indeed is fortunate enough to celebrate the 44th anniversary of independence in a couple of weeks. Out of the last 257 years, this part of Bharat Barsha was under three rules: British Raj for 190 years (entire Bharat for 90 years), Pakistani rule for 24 years, and 43 years of our own.

We have seen so much blood being shed over the last 43 years, it is now clear that we are indeed not capable of governing ourselves without blood on our hands.

From March 26, 1971, the nation lost 3 million lives during the nine months of the war of liberation. The bloodletting has not stopped till the present. The nation hardly enjoyed even five years of continuous peace over the last 43 years.

The government and the opposition have reached a point of no return.

Both the alliances have drawn a clear line

Why? Of course, this is a million dollar question. One can see a parallel with the partition of Bharat Barsha in 1947. Greater India was divided into two parts based on religion.

When former East Pakistan was liberated and became Bangladesh after waging a bloody war against West Pakistan in 1971, the war created divisions within politicians: More than 90% joined the liberation forces and the rest remained anti-liberation or pro-Pakistan.

The anti-Bangladesh mob was mainly constituted by the Muslim League, Jamaate-Islam, and other minor religion-based political parties. This divide became too fierce within three years of liberation.

Since the government of Indira Gandhi was sympathetic towards our liberation movement, in the immediate post-liberation era, the anti-liberation forces and some opposition parties (JSD, NAP, Bhashani for example) of the newly independent Bangladesh in 1973 had started destabilising the government of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and finally, some stooges of anti-liberation seized the opportunity to kill the Father of the Nation along with members of his family on August 15, 1975.

The opposition, particularly JSD, and anti-Bangladesh forces were restless to grab

power from Bangabandhu. The bloodbath was not ended there. Until today, the forces of anti-liberation have been fighting the incumbent and in the process, they made the general public pay the price.

The anti- liberation forces are not alone this time, and have been supported by the enemies of Bangladesh from home and abroad.

Under the present circumstance, the 14-party alliance government and the opposition forces of the 20-party alliance have reached a point of no return. Both alliances have drawn a clear line and the nation is divided into two camps: The incumbent on one side and the opposition on the other.

Under this circumstance, no credible solution of the present conflict is possible involving both the alliances since possibilities of any meaningful dialog between them has been lost.

In view of the above, since no credible option is left in hand to end this carnage from within, our foreign friends and the UN seem to be making a move to bring back sanity in the life blood of this nation. Would foreign intervention work? I do not think so.

The solution has to come from home. In my view, if history was right, meaningful dialog will not take place. (Remember Sir Ninian’s attempt in 1996?)

We need someone who has the trust of both leaders and the alliances. No dialog led by the civil society will work. The approach should include a business like negotiation process between the political alliances with a team of facilitators.

This team may be called, The Commission, and needs to be created by the incumbent via lawful process for the legitimacy. The Commission would comprise of no politicians, but of three or more eminent persons with the consent of the two major alliances: The 14-party and 20-party (remember, like it or not, the two alliances constitute more than two-thirds of the electorate).

There must not be any face-to-face meeting of both the leaders (since all attempts by the PM has failed in the past) until the time when the commission realises that the ice has been broken.

The negotiations should begin with written submissions by invitation only from all major political alliances. The subject matter of the submission should include, how to nurture meaningful democratic governance in the short to medium term.

The negotiation process may need a few phases with a time limit such as submission of proposal, negotiation, implementation of the outcome, and so on.

In order to proceed further with such a device, the first precondition is finding people with integrity and a clean image from home.

Like the introduction of CTG approach in 1996 to satisfy the then opposition demand, the outcome of The Commission needs to be adopted by the parliament before implementing it with a time limit.

I am sure this will not be the last proposal for solving the crisis, however, one hopes this may act as food for thought for cultivating further innovative approaches. Negotiation over dialog sounds appropriate after so much water has flown under the bridge. l Moazzem Hossain is a freelance contributor. He writes from Brisbane, Australia.

DT

14 OPINION

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

BIGSTOCK

Kindle the common light

T

n Namrata Anirudh and Rainer Ebert he great Sufi poet and philosopher Rumi once wrote about the religions of the world: “The lamps are different, but the Light is the same.” He calls on us to focus our attention on the commonalities between different religions, which are profound and important, rather than the differences.

Rumi’s call is as timely now as it was in the thirteenth century when he penned it. Too many wars and conflicts, much misery and pain, and a great deal of personal tragedy have resulted from disagreements about religion.

If you need an example, just open today’s newspaper, or yesterday’s, or that of the day before … immersed in petty quarrels about details, we often lose sight of the things all great religious traditions have in common.

Their inner truth and essence, if there is any, is love for all of creation, and that is a value all people of good will, whether they identify with any particular religion or not, can equally subscribe to.

Unconditional love precludes discrimination on the basis of race, colour, gender, religion, or national origin, and demands that we transcend ourselves and show genuine concern for the suffering or misfortune of others, regardless of who they are.

That is the moral imperative at the core of all religion, and hence constitutes a universal ideal, which has the historically proven

power to transform not only individual lives but whole societies.

If we listen, our personal experience too tells us that the good (or God, if you will), as well as the ugly, can be found in Christians and Muslims, just as it can be found in Hindus and Buddhists, and people without religious belief.

We inherently know that each one of us is only a very small part of a larger scheme of things, yet our bursting egos refuse to embrace or accept that fact.

We fear insignificance, and we try to get over that fear by tying ourselves to something bigger. It is this quest for meaning and belonging that partly explains the prominence of religion in human life. Religion responds to the very basic need for significance and acceptance that all humans share, and gives us direction and purpose.

All too often, however, people cling to rigid and uncharitable interpretations of their traditions, and the direction and purpose offered by religion is perceived as narrow and exclusive. We get absorbed in small-minded debates about sexuality, marriage, drinking, or clothing, and act and speak, as if our belonging depended on whether we hold the truth on these issues, and must be defended against others who subscribe to different belief systems.

In doing so, we often miss the bigger picture. Likely, no religious or philosophical tradition has all the answers. Nobody has

a monopoly on truth. We can be confident, however, that a good Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist, or simply a good person for that matter, is first and foremost one who is respectful of others, and is also kind, compassionate, honest, and fair.

While different religions, which originated at different times and places, unsurprisingly have moral codes that differ in their specifics and at times conflict with each other, that should not distract us from the crucial fact that these codes are all based on the same fundamental values, which also have a central place in the worldview of an overwhelming majority of non-theists.

It is easy to identify faults in others and condemn their ways and practices, and we have proven time and again that we are good at it. Defining ourselves not in contrast to others, but in terms of what unites us, is hard and takes courage. What we often fail to realise as people of a particular religion or worldview is that we have one thing in common -- belief, which helps us through our lives, and guides our actions.

Our paths might be different, just as each one of us is different physically, emotionally, and mentally, but we are here together, and must learn not only to coexist, but to cooperate, and to understand our diversity as a strength rather than a deficiency. There is so much we can learn from each other, if we are humble and open, from each other’s scriptures and intellectual traditions, and so

much good we can achieve if we are willing to join hands, across superficial religious and ideological lines.

It is okay to disagree, but we should also be able to put our disagreements aside, and translate what we agree on into action, make sure, together, that every child in this world gets a decent education, everybody has enough to eat and a warm and safe place to sleep, nobody is wrongly discriminated against, the earth remains habitable for future generations, and no animal suffers because of human greed.

Sadly, and much to the shame of humanity, we are far from meeting any of these goals, and anybody willing to change that is one who belongs.

The true heretics are not those who do not believe in the existence of God, brahman, or nirvana. Heresy is being callously indifferent to the suffering of billions of animals in factory farms, setting fire to buses filled with innocent people, killing authors and journalists because one disagrees with their writings, treating domestic workers and beggars as less-than-human, and sitting idle while others are dying from poverty. l Namrata Anirudh is an animal behaviourist, and currently working in slow loris conservation in Indonesia. Rainer Ebert is a graduate student of philosophy at Rice University in Texas, and an Associate Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. He blogs at rainerebert.com.

Primark to give Tk30cr more to Rana Plaza victims n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi British retailer Primark will contribute Tk30 crore more as compensation to the victims of Bangladesh’s deadliest Rana Plaza factory accident, officials said.

The fund will go to families of 581 victims who were working at a Primark’s sourcing company housed in the building.

The brand earlier gave Tk83 crore to the families.

On March 8, the Primark in a letter sought approval from the Bangladesh government for a total of Tk113.43 crore (including the previous Tk83 crore) compensation fund.

Labour and Employment Secretary Mikail Shipar admitted the receipt of the letter.

“Primark sought approval for Tk113.43 crore compensation fund for the victims who worked in the brand’s supplier company. Of the amount, it has already disbursed Tk83 crore,” he said.

Primark, however, earlier committed over US$14m (Tk108 crore) in aid and financial support to the victims’ families.

It also gave an additional $1m to the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund, chaired by the International Labour Organisation.

The Trust Fund, constituted by IndustriALL, UNI Global Union and the Clean Clothes Campaign, estimated the needed compensation for Rana Plaza victims at $40m. The figure was later revised down to $30m with the Fund having collected nearly $21m.

“Forty percent of the Fund has already been spent while another 30% will be distributed soon,” Ramesh Chandra Roy, secretary general of IndustriAll Bangladesh Council, told the Dhaka Tribune. He said the other 30% disbursement is however dependent on the availability of fund.

“But we will continue to put pressure on the retailers and the concerned stakeholders to contribute to the funds so we can ensure a full-fledged compensation for the victims,” he pointed out.

Primark’s sourcing company at the Rana Plaza was New Wave Bottoms which was housed on the second floor of the building. On April 24 last year, Rana Plaza, which housed five garment factories, a shopping complex and a branch of Brac Bank, collapsed.

The death toll from the deadliest building collapse stood at 1,135 while 2,438 people were rescued alive from under the rubble.

The Rana Plaza collapse is regarded as the deadliest garment-factory accident in history. It is also the deadliest industrial accident in history of Bangladesh The building housed garment factories, a bank, apartments, and several other shops. The shops and the bank on the lower floors immediately closed after cracks were discovered in the building. l

16

BB: Banks were stable in 2014

17

Goldman: US crude prices to drop to $40 a barrel as inventories rise

19

DT

Business

15

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

Stocks end flat in choppy trading

Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman speaks at a seminar attended by the IMF Mission at the central bank headquarters in Dhaka yesterday

IMF team convinces Muhith to stick to single VAT rate n Tribune Report The government will introduce a single rate of value added tax (VAT) from July 2016, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said yesterday.

He expressed the determination by ignoring recent objections from the business community against the move being made under a proposed amendment to the VAT Act 2012.

The VAT turnover ceiling would be raised above Tk30 lakh from the existing Tk24 lakh to allow small and cottage industries to grow, the minister added.

He made the remarks after meeting a visiting six-member team of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme, led by IMF Deputy Division Chief for the Asia and Pacific department Rodrigo Cubero, at the Finance Ministry.

Claiming that he earlier preferred the multiple VAT rate system, Muhith said he was now convinced by the IMF team to choose otherwise.

Muhith said the new single VAT rate would be disclosed during the budget announcement for the next fiscal year. Decision on whether to keep the existing 15% retail-level VAT would also be announced then, the minister added.

Muhith also said the VAT Act 2012 will be amended after the budget announcement.

The release of the final two tranches of the ECF programme, worth around $280m, is

now pending upon the decision to amend the existing VAT Act. Talking to reporters, Muhith further claimed that the business community had no objection against introducing a single VAT rate.

However, on Sunday, at a meeting with the finance minister, leaders of apex trade body FBCCI had voiced their arguments against a single VAT rate.

At the meeting, FBCCI President Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed also proposed to introduce multiple VAT system instead of a flat 15%, in order to help small businesses.

The FBCCI also argued that the multiple VAT system was being practised in many developed and developing countries such as France, China, Malaysia and other EU countries.

In January, a nine-member panel of the National Board of Revenue recommended the authorities concerned to impose multiple VAT rates, instead of the universal 15% in all areas.

It also recommended raising the ceiling of turnover VAT to Tk36 lakh from Tk24 lakh to facilitate growth of small and cottage industries, especially in the rural area.

Meanwhile, the IMF Mission participated in a seminar

BB

organised by Chief Economist’s Unit of Bangladesh Bank at the central bank headquarters in Dhaka yesterday.

The mission members presented several research papers on lending rates, trade elasticity, inflation and economic activities in Bangladesh.

BB Governor Dr Atiur Rahman, Deputy Governors Md Abul Quasem and SK Sur Chowdhury were also present.

Souvik Gupta and Mr. Sohrab Rafiq of the IMF mission presented the papers.

The papers analysed export and import elasticities, trends in core inflation vis-a-vis headline inflation, tracking economic activities via coincident indicators, and interest rate spread behavior in Bangladesh in the global context. l

DT

16 BUSINESS

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

makes effort BB: Banks were stable in 2014 CSE to find strategic Bankers disagree with central bank’s claim n Tribune Report The country’s banking sector has gained strong base in the year 2014, overcoming the adverse impact of the global economic recession and the domestic political unrest of the previous year.

Mainly because of Bangladesh Bank’s timely measures and government’s support, the sector has gained the capacity to cope up shock arises from internal and external sectors, said a central bank statement issued yesterday.

It said Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), which indicates the risk absorbing capacity of banks, improved to 11.35% in December from 10.57% in September last year.

The ratio went up as the provisioning requirement of the bank reduced during the quarter due to the regularisation of huge default loans through taking advantages of relaxed policy of the loan rescheduling, said a senior executive of the central bank.

The provision shortfall of the banking sector came down to Tk796 crore during the last quarter of 2014 from the shortfall of Tk2,400 crore in the previous quarter.

The four state-owned Sonali, Janata, Agrani, Rupali banks rescheduled default loans of around Tk8,000 crore from the year 2013 till September last year.

Bangladesh Bank also said that corporate governance has been established in the banking sector as several measures were introduced, defining the formation and responsibilities of the boards of the commercial banks.

The boards of state-owned banks, howev-

er, have allegedly been found guilty in a series of anomalies committed from January to June last year.

According to a report of the central bank, the boards of five state-run banks – Sonali, Rupali, Janata, Agrani and Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) – did not maintain any formality in terms of ensuring single borrower exposures, renewal of loans, taking compromise amounts at the time of new loan facilities, loan rescheduling and loan classifying.

The boards appeared to have centralised their loans to a number of similar groups, individuals and companies, violating the single borrower exposure limits and putting the banks into a vulnerable conditions.

According to the report, the board of directors of the state-run banks provided loans and extended limits repeatedly to the same groups simply violating their respective single borrower exposure limits.

They also rescheduled loans to the groups that had already committed fraud with the respective banks and did not have the capability of paying installments of the rescheduled loans.

“It is not true that the banking sector has idle money of Tk90,000 crore,” said the statement.

Bangladesh Bank, however, claimed that only Tk3,364 crore remained idle, which is not abnormal considering the number of 56 banks.

It observed that the credit flow improved to 13.99% at the end of the year 2014 despite unfavorable political environment.

The bankers, however, do not agree with

the Bangladesh Bank’s claim, saying that the banks had to cut the lending rate due to lack of credit demand.

“Banks have increased their investment in government bills as they are badly suffering from lower credit demand in the market,” said a senior executive of a private bank.

As a result, they are loosing profits because of minimum return from their investment compared to the earnings that they might get through lending, he added.

Under the circumstance, banks cut the lending rate to boost credit demand so they can get comparatively better return from lending instead of government bills, he said.

The lending rate in the banking sector came down to 12.32% in January 2015, hitting a four-year low, from 11.34% in 2010.

The rate was 12.46% in December last year, according to the central bank data.

The interest rate spread – the gap between advance and deposit rates – came down to a 10-month low in January, due to the lending rate cut by the banks.

The spread stood at 5.06% in January, which went up to 5.21%, hitting a five-month’s high, in December last year, according to Bangladesh Bank data.

Earlier, the gap was 5.06% in February last year with highest 13.40% lending rate of the year.

The private sector credit growth still remained slow amid political unrest. The credit growth to private sector stood at 13.50% in December last year, which was below from the ceiling of 14% that was set in the first half monetary policy of 2015. l

Japan economy returns to growth n AFP, Tokyo

Japan’s economy grew less than initially thought in the final quarter of 2014, revised government data showed yesterday, revealing an even weaker emergence from recession than previously believed.

The poor data could put the Bank of Japan under pressure to launch more stimulus, economists said, as the world’s third largest economy struggles to rid itself of two decades of lassitude. The Cabinet Office said the economy expanded just 0.4% in the October-December period from the previous quarter, down from an initial estimate of 0.6% growth, with corporate capital investment shrinking.

Despite the downgrade, the data still confirmed the Japanese economy had crawled out of recession at the end of 2014, after two consecutive quarters in which gross domestic product (GDP) contracted.

“The result showed that Japan’s economy bottomed out from a ‘technical recession’ following the April VAT hike in October-December quarter, while the pace of recovery was still limited,” Credit Suisse economists said in a note.

Japan’s economy stuttered last year after an April sales tax rise cut off the flow of consumer spending, which had shown healthy growth until then. Monday’s figures, if annualised, show GDP growth revised down to 1.5% from the previous figure of 2.2%.

That places Japan well behind the United

Japan economy stuttered last year after an April sales tax rise cut off the flow of consumer spending States, where revised data showed the economy growing an annualised 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Over the full calendar year the Japanese economy logged zero growth, a significant slowdown from an expansion of 1.6% in 2013.

Capital Economics said the revised GDP data support the case for more easy cash from the central bank.

“We still think that the Bank of Japan will announce more stimulus next month” to achieve its inflation target of 2%, said Marcel Thieliant,

AFP

Japan economist at Capital Economics.

Sustained inflation is a key measure of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pro-spending growth blueprint, dubbed Abenomics, which was set in motion in late 2012, sending the yen plunging and boosting stock prices.

The central bank expanded its already massive asset-purchasing programme in October.

But Japan’s inflation rate has now dropped to its lowest level since just after Abenomics was unleashed. l

partner n Tribune Report

The demutualised Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) is making efforts to look for strategic partners both from home and abroad.

“We are searching for strategic partners in line with the demutualisation rules,” said Wali-ul Maroof Matin, CSE managing director, at a press briefing to mark the one year completion of demutualised exchange at its Dhaka office yesterday.

As per demutualisation law, the CSE had formed its first demutualised board on February 15 last year.

The 13-member board consists of seven independent directors, four shareholder directors, managing director and one strategic partner.

“As per law we have still time to induct strategic partner in the board,” Matin said, adding that one year has passed for streamlining the CSE and some initiatives have taken to protect investors’ interest.

According to the demutualisation law, brokerage houses holds 40% shares of the demutualised stock exchange. The rest 60% has been kept for trading rights entitlement certificate (TREC) holders, strategic investors and individuals.

Strategic investors will not be allowed to hold more than 25% shares of a stock exchange while no individual will hold more than 5%.

The CSE managing director said the CSE has first given priority of protecting investors’ interest instead of its own business for the first two years of completing the demutualisation process.

In the same breath the CSE Chairman Muhammad Abdul Mazid said a qualitative change has been brought in the board of the demutualised exchange.

“It is clearly visible in the activities of demutualised board comprising businesses, professionals and experts in their respective fields,” he said.

Matin said the CSE will make information dissemination easier and available for the investors so that they can take decision before putting bet on any stock.

“Official pages in social media like facebook will be opened by this month to receive the complaints and suggestions of the market intermediaries and investors.”

In the last one year since demutualisation of the stock exchange, the CSE has received 1,024 complaints from the investors, which is much higher.

“All-out efforts will be made to reduce the complaints to nil by June this year so that investors have no complaints in future,” said the CSE managing director.

He said if we can protect the investors’ interest, confidence will be built up further towards the market and subsequently TREC holders will be benefitted in the long run.

He said now 51 companies are being traded in the OTC (over-the-counter) market and several of them have no existence.

“The companies having no existence will be delisted from the OTC market and the ones interested to come back to the main market and have good track record will be helped to get out of woods.” l

DT

BUSINESS 17

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

Goldman: US crude prices to drop to $40 a barrel as inventories rise n Reuters, Singapore Oil prices will reverse their recent gains as global crude inventories begin to increase again, with US crude likely to drop as far as $40 a barrel in the near-term, Goldman Sachs said.

Oil prices rose by almost a third between January and February on the back of Middle East supply disruptions, strong winter demand and high refinery margins. That followed a rout that had seen price falls of around 60 percent between June 2014 and January this year.

But Goldman said that “the activity pull is sequentially weakening” and that global crude inventories would therefore rise, pushing West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 to $40 a barrel, levels last seen at the peak of the global financial crisis in late 2008, early 2009. It stood at around $49.40 yesterday.

“While we continue to forecast a strong demand recovery in 2015, we believe that sequentially weaker activity, the end of winter and the end of potential restocking demand, will lead to a sequential deceleration in demand-growth as we enter the spring,” the bank said.

Goldman said that Brent prices LCOc1 would also come under renewed pressure.

“As a result and absent further unexpected OPEC disruptions, we expect Brent oil prices and timespreads to reverse their recent strength, although the lack of a meaningful build in the past few months leaves risk to our forecast for (WTI) oil prices remaining at $40/ barrel for two quarters skewed to the upside,” the bank said in a note dated March 8.

The bank said that it expected “OECD Asia demand to decline in 2015 as stronger industrial production is offset by the continued switch to LNG (liquefied natural gas) for pow-

German trade surplus contracts on falling exports n AFP, Frankfurt A drop in German exports caused the country’s trade surplus to contract in January, official data showed yesterday.

Exports declined by 2.1% in January, driving down the trade surplus, the balance between imports and exports, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement.

In seasonally adjusted terms, Germany exported goods worth a total of 96.3bn euros ($104bn) in January, down from 98.4bn euros in December, Destatis said.

Imports, on the other hand, slipped by just 0.3% to 76.6bn euros.

That meant the seasonally adjusted trade surplus declined to 19.7bn euros in January from 21bn euros in December.

In unadjusted terms, the trade surplus contracted to 15.9bn euros in January from 17.9bn euros in December, Destatis said. l

An oil field is seen at sunrise near Bakersfield, California er generation and the impending start-up of the two Sendai nuclear reactors in Japan”.

A two-thirds drop in Asian LNG prices is making the fuel cost competitive against oil in the industrial power sector.

In Japan, the regulator has given approval

for several reactors to be restarted this year.

All its 48 reactors were taken offline after the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant following an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

In the United States, Goldman said that “the build in US inventories has surprised to

REUTERS

the upside, especially in Cushing”.

The bank said that its WTI price prices forecast of $65 a barrel for 2016 was “skewed to the downside” as currently idled assets could quickly be redeployed, especially as operating costs were falling. l

Cash may be king, but smartphones seek to rule at the register n AFP, Barcelona Using your smartphone to make payments in shops or public transport should become more widespread this year, but its supremacy will depend on how successful retailers are in enticing people to keep their cards or cash in their pockets.

The stakes are high for phone manufacturers and operators, not to mention banks, as the success of contactless systems where consumers sweep their smartphone over a reader could shake up the lucrative retail payments market.

But the chief executive of Ingenico, a leading manufacturer of payment card terminals as well as new contactless systems, doesn’t see people as ready to give up their debit cards just yet.

“Smartphones will be a small part of the market but the main payment mechanism will re-

main the traditional (card) terminal which will continue to see growth,” said Philippe Lazare, whose company manufactures more than one in three payment terminals in use worldwide.

That view didn’t stop Ingenico from announcing this past week at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona a contactless payments system compatible with Apple Pay.

Apple of retailer’s eye?

Apple’s adoption last year of NFC, or the near field communication standard, was a major step towards this becoming the dominant technology.

Google has had a similar service, Google Wallet, available for a couple years.

NFC allows smartphones or other devices to communicate with one another within a distance of several centimetres (inches).

This means consumers can quickly sweep

their phones over readers rather than having to pull out a card, insert it into a terminal and wait to punch in a code.

“It was a decisive step towards the creation of an ecosystem but that may not be sufficient as several solutions are available,” said Anne Bouverot, head of the GSMA trade association for mobile operators that organises the Barcelona event.

She said that it is also important to get people accustomed to using their phones for making payments by using them elsewhere, such as with public transportation systems that have adopted contactless technology like in London or Paris.

In launching Apple Pay, the US tech giant was again demonstrating its longstanding role as a trendsetter, rather than responding to consumer demand. It has yet to be rolled out anywhere except in the United States. l

DT

18 BUSINESS

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

News, analysis and recent disclosures RELIANCINS: The Board of Directors has recommended 15% cash dividend and 15% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2014. Date of AGM: 30.04.2015, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: La-Vita Hall, Lake Shore Hotel, House No. 46, Road No. 41, Gulshan-2, Dhaka-1212.

Record date: 19.03.2015. The Company has also reported net profit after tax of Tk. 298.18 million, EPS of Tk. 4.99, NAV per share of Tk. 65.47 and NOCFPS of Tk. 5.29 for the year ended on December 31, 2014.

DBH: The Company has informed that it has completed the process for signing of purchasing a floor space measuring 3,200 sft. at the 7th floor of DR Tower, 65/2/2 Purana Paltan, Box Culvert Road, Dhaka-1000 at a total cost of Tk. 4,82,28,800.00 (excluding registration expenses).

IPO Subscription: Tosrifa Industries Limited Subscription March 24, 2015 to March 31, 2015; NRB UPTO April 09, 2015.

Offer Price per share Tk. 26.00, Market Lot (Shares) 200.

Dividend/AGM UNITEDFIN: 5% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 23.04.2015, Record date: 18.03.2015.

LAFSURCEML: 5% final cash dividend (i.e. total 10% cash dividend for the year 2014 inclusive of 5% interim cash dividend which has already been paid), AGM: 11.06.2015, Record Date: 07.04.2015.

UNIONCAP: 10% stock, AGM: 31.03.2015, Record date: 16.03.2015.

TRUSTBANK: 5% cash and

10% stock, AGM: 30.03.2015, Record date: 15.03.2015.

DUTCHBANGL: 40% cash, AGM: 30.03.2015, Record date: 15.03.2015.

SOUTHEASTB: 15% cash, AGM: 29.03.2015, Record date: 15.03.2015.

ALARABANK: 14% cash, AGM: 31.03.2015, Record Date: 15.03.2015.

PRIMEBANK: 15% cash, AGM: 30.03.2015, Record Date: 10.03.2015.

PUBALIBANK: 10% cash, AGM: 31.03.2015, Record Date: 10.03.2015.

SIBL: 18% cash, AGM: 30.03.2015, Record Date: 10.03.2015.

HEIDELBCEM: 380% cash, AGM: 15.04.2015, Record Date: 12.03.2015.

SINOBANGLA: 10% cash, AGM: 21.05.2015, Record Date: 19.03.2015.

BANKASIA: 5% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 31.03.2015, Record Date: 10.03.2015.

SINGERBD: 35% Cash & 25% Stock (Total 220% including Interim 160% paid), AGM 28.04.2015. Record Date 15 .03 2015.

LINDEBD: 110% final Cash (i.e. total 310% cash dividend for the year 2014 inclusive of 200% interim cash dividend which has already been paid), AGM 30.04.2015, Record Date 10.03.2015.

EBL: 20% cash dividend, AGM: 31.03.2015, Record Date: 11.03.2015.

IDLC: 10% cash and 25% stock dividend, AGM: 30.03.2015, Record Date: 09.03.2015.

Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

Company Anwar Galvanizing-B Reliance Insur -A Dacca Dyeing-A Ratanpur Steel -N Alltex Industries -Z 7th ICB M F-A Desh Garments -A Safko Spinning-A Hakkani P& Paper -B Pubali Bank - A

Closing (% Change) 7.97 5.36 5.15 4.83 4.82 4.68 4.65 4.65 4.20 4.05

CSE GAINER Company Prime Islami Life -A Anwar Galvanizing-B AMCL (Pran) -A Peoples Insur -A Bangladesh Lamps -A National Life I -A Alltex Industries -Z Tallu Spinning -Z Ratanpur Steel -N Dhaka Bank -A

Closing (% Change) 8.06 7.63 7.00 6.82 5.81 5.34 4.37 4.23 4.19 3.87

DSE LOSER Company MutualTrust Bank-A Progressive Life-A Shahjibazar Power-N Kay & Que (BD) -Z PrimeFin. 1st MF-A Prime Insur -A Intl. Leasing-B Sinobangla Indu.-A City Bank - A Eastland Insur -A

Closing (% Change) -19.37 -7.84 -5.72 -4.35 -4.26 -3.85 -3.70 -3.65 -3.40 -3.33

CSE LOSER Company MutualTrust Bank-A PrimeFin. 1st MF-A CVO PetroChem RL-A ISN Ltd. -Z Phoenix Insur -A MBL 1st M. F.-A Reliance1 M.F.-A Trust Bank 1st MF-A Intl. Leasing-B Sinobangla Indu.-A

Closing (% Change) -22.45 -6.94 -5.90 -5.51 -4.67 -4.65 -4.29 -4.00 -3.65 -3.58

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

DSE key features March-9, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka)

DSE GAINER

Sector

2,797.46 70,204,311 87,984

Traded Issues

303

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

165

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

132

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,519.63

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.54

Bank NBFI Investment Engineering Food & Allied Fuel & Power Jute Textile Pharma & Chemical Paper & Packaging Service Leather Ceramic Cement Information Technology General Insurance Life Insurance Telecom Travel & Leisure Miscellaneous Debenture

DSE Million Taka 361.57 54.21 22.60 504.37 104.45 378.67 1.82 426.81 262.47 12.33 156.96 12.86 10.94 87.73 65.44 15.13 39.05 175.74 15.60 88.56 0.16

% change 12.92 1.94 0.81 18.03 3.73 13.54 0.07 15.26 9.38 0.44 5.61 0.46 0.39 3.14 2.34 0.54 1.40 6.28 0.56 3.17 0.01

Million Taka 20.48 5.01 1.32 67.95 3.90 28.05 51.77 16.84 1.20 8.60 0.11 1.34 7.66 3.99 0.45 3.39 14.65 3.81 20.72 0.02

Average (% Change) 7.32 8.27 4.35 4.61 4.45 3.70 4.02 3.85 3.65 3.39

Average (% Change) 7.15 8.37 7.00 6.99 5.89 5.39 4.32 3.87 4.77 3.47

Average (% Change) -21.31 -6.27 0.48 3.55 -4.84 -2.56 -4.66 -1.81 -2.62 -3.38

Average (% Change) -24.21 -6.76 -0.02 -4.15 -4.67 -2.35 -4.29 -1.81 -4.20 -1.33

CSE

ClosingAvg. 38.70 55.52 14.15 51.76 23.93 85.00 87.23 22.37 24.68 25.34

ClosingAvg. 62.47 39.50 214.00 18.83 114.73 234.93 23.93 14.78 51.82 18.76

ClosingAvg. 15.18 68.73 238.88 14.29 13.57 15.20 13.08 26.64 20.06 29.13

ClosingAvg.

% change 7.84 1.92 0.51 26.01 1.49 10.74 0.00 19.81 6.45 0.46 3.29 0.04 0.51 2.93 1.53 0.17 1.30 5.61 1.46 7.93 0.01

14.96 13.38 463.75 12.00 28.60 4.15 6.70 4.89 13.45 26.79

Closing

DHIGH

39.30 55.00 14.30 52.10 23.90 85.00 87.70 22.50 24.80 25.70

Closing 63.00 39.50 214.00 18.80 114.70 234.80 23.90 14.80 52.20 18.80

Closing 15.40 68.20 230.80 13.20 13.50 15.00 13.00 26.40 19.90 29.00

Closing 15.20 13.40 229.60 12.00 28.60 4.10 6.70 4.80 13.20 26.90

Million Taka 382.05 59.22 23.92 572.32 108.35 406.72 1.82 478.57 279.32 13.53 165.57 12.97 12.28 95.39 69.43 15.58 42.43 190.38 19.41 109.28 0.19

DLOW

39.80 58.70 14.50 52.80 24.50 85.00 89.30 22.60 25.00 26.00

DHIGH

37.00 53.60 13.70 50.20 23.00 85.00 84.80 21.50 24.00 24.30

DLOW

63.00 40.10 214.00 19.00 117.90 235.00 24.20 14.80 52.80 18.80

DHIGH

60.00 38.80 214.00 18.80 112.00 234.80 23.10 14.50 50.40 18.70

DLOW

15.40 74.00 250.00 13.30 14.00 16.00 13.90 27.30 20.60 30.00

DHIGH

14.50 66.60 224.00 13.10 13.40 15.00 13.00 26.20 19.70 28.90

DLOW

16.00 14.00 253.00 12.00 28.60 4.20 6.70 4.90 14.20 27.20

Total

14.70 13.30 225.00 12.00 28.60 4.10 6.70 4.80 13.00 26.50

% change 12.49 1.94 0.78 18.71 3.54 13.30 0.06 15.65 9.13 0.44 5.41 0.42 0.40 3.12 2.27 0.51 1.39 6.22 0.63 3.57 0.01

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

Turnover in Million

Latest EPS

15.504 0.615 4.857 43.485 19.446 0.026 12.784 5.492 0.476 60.686

Turnover in Million

0.64 4.99 1.04 4.16 2.02 12.76 1.82 1.24 0.42 3.54

Latest EPS

0.037 0.654 0.000 0.035 0.012 0.036 2.877 0.080 2.648 0.001

Turnover in Million

60.5 11.1 13.6 12.4 11.8 6.7 47.9 18.0 58.8 7.2

Latest PE

4.95 0.64 6.50 2.25 1.13 12.46 2.02 -0.50 4.16 1.36

Latest EPS

2.725 0.149 166.923 0.001 2.855 1.199 10.889 9.236 7.086 3.011

Turnover in Million

Latest PE

12.6 61.7 32.9 8.4 101.5 18.9 11.8 -ve 12.5 13.8

Latest PE

2.60 2.30 8.68 -1.41 1.13 2.41 -0.09 1.27 2.08 3.33

Latest EPS

0.024 0.094 1.258 0.001 0.000 0.054 0.004 0.103 1.473 0.201

5.8 29.9 27.5 -ve 12.0 6.3 -ve 21.0 9.6 8.7

Latest PE

2.60 1.13 8.56 0.13 3.88 0.12 0.62 0.74 -0.09 1.27

5.8 11.8 54.2 92.3 7.4 34.6 10.8 6.6 -ve 21.1

CSE key features March-9, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

261.26 7,110,126 13,889

Traded Issues

225

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

130

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

89

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,388.94

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

28.96

DT

BUSINESS 19

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

Stocks end flat in choppy trading n Tribune Report

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Shahjibazar Power-N Shasha Denims -N Social Islami. B-A Grameenphone-A Ifad Autos -N SAIF Powertec-N SummitAlliancePort.-A Square Pharma -A BD Building Systems -A LafargeS Cement-Z

Pubali Bank - A WesternMarine -N Ratanpur Steel -N Tung Hai Knitting -N BEXIMCO Ltd. -A

VolumeShares 698,770 3,992,691 9,461,657 414,660 2,214,572 1,204,362 1,087,743 248,597 1,356,168 541,948

2,394,399 1,187,647 840,172 2,110,469 1,258,164

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Shasha Denims -N GPH Ispat Ltd-A Shahjibazar Power-N BD Submarine Cable-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Ifad Autos -N WesternMarine -N National Feed-N Singer BD -A SAIF Powertec-N

SummitAlliancePort.-A LafargeS Cement-Z MJL BD Ltd.-A ACI Limited- A Social Islami. B-A

VolumeShares

809,896 563,050 72,155 98,834 358,360 179,127 196,094 236,531 24,605 69,018

57,969 32,590 28,813 8,135 224,018

Value in Million 166.92 154.01 142.98 136.22 136.18 81.70 71.03 64.44 61.68 61.21

60.69 53.84 43.49 43.13 40.56

Value in Million

31.08 23.79 17.29 13.08 11.52 10.93 8.86 6.49 5.34 4.67

3.78 3.66 3.51 3.42 3.42

% of TotalTurnover 5.97 5.51 5.11 4.87 4.87 2.92 2.54 2.30 2.20 2.19

2.17 1.92 1.55 1.54 1.45

% of TotalTurnover

11.90 9.11 6.62 5.01 4.41 4.18 3.39 2.48 2.05 1.79

1.45 1.40 1.34 1.31 1.31

ClosingP 230.80 38.40 15.00 326.80 61.40 67.50 64.70 259.20 45.70 113.00

25.70 44.50 52.10 20.50 32.00

ClosingP

Change % -5.72 3.23 -3.23 -0.67 2.33 0.90 0.00 -0.04 3.16 2.45

4.05 -0.67 4.83 3.02 1.27

Change %

38.30 43.60 234.60 131.70 32.00 60.70 44.60 27.10 216.90 67.60

64.70 112.20 121.10 418.80 15.00

2.96 0.46 0.04 0.92 1.27 1.34 0.00 -1.81 -0.46 1.65

-0.31 2.37 -1.30 0.84 -3.23

ClosingY 244.80 37.20 15.50 329.00 60.00 66.90 64.70 259.30 44.30 110.30

24.70 44.80 49.70 19.90 31.60

ClosingY

37.20 43.40 234.50 130.50 31.60 59.90 44.60 27.60 217.90 66.50

64.90 109.60 122.70 415.30 15.50

DHIGH 250.00 39.60 15.60 332.20 64.10 69.00 65.90 260.00 46.10 114.80

26.00 46.30 52.80 20.80 32.50

DHIGH

39.30 44.90 253.00 134.20 32.50 63.90 45.90 28.00 218.50 68.60

65.80 114.80 123.00 422.90 15.50

DLOW 224.00 37.30 14.90 326.10 59.00 66.60 64.40 258.50 44.90 110.00

24.30 44.20 50.20 19.30 31.70

DLOW

37.20 42.10 225.00 131.00 31.60 58.90 44.30 27.00 216.00 66.00

64.50 110.60 120.90 418.20 14.90

AvgPrice 238.88 38.57 15.11 328.51 61.49 67.84 65.30 259.22 45.48 112.95

25.34 45.33 51.76 20.43 32.24

4626.22514

(+) 0.03%

1714.66220

(+) 0.14%

14148.30640

(+) 0.05%

11731.03020

(+) 0.09%

8618.72500

(-) 0.06%

ANALYST

AvgPrice

38.38 42.26 239.67 132.33 32.15 61.03 45.16 27.43 217.20 67.60

65.22 112.36 121.77 420.39 15.25

Weekly capital market highlights DSE Broad Index : DSE - 30 Index : CSE All Share Index: CSE - 30 Index : CSE Selected Index :

Stock market closed flat amid choppy trading yesterday, breaking six days of losing streak in a row.

Unlike previous sessions, market opened higher and remained firm almost throughout the session but selling pressure in the wee hour cut all the gains, as concerns over the political deadlock finally beat optimists, analysts say.

After rising more than 25 points, the benchmark DSEX index inched only over 1 points up to settle at 4,626.

The Shariah index DSES was marginally up 2 points or 0.3% to 1,105. The comprising blue chips DS30 closed at 1,714, edging 2 points or 0.2% higher.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, rose 1 point to 8,618.

After hovering around Tk200 crore-mark for the last six sessions, total turnover stood at Tk280 crore, up more than 12% over the previous session. Engineering accounted for 18% of the total turnover, followed by textile 15%.

Food and Allied roared back as it registered the highest gain of more than 2% after heavy losses in the

previous session. The sector was driven by BATBC that rallied 2.8%.

Cement sector also recovered by soaring 1.8%, followed by pharmaceuticals and non-banking financial institutions that closed marginally higher.

Banks, telecommunications, life insurance and power closed in the negative territory.

IDLC Investments said early hour enthusiasm got evaporated for lack of support, as majority of investors fear continued downtrend in coming days.

It said with unrest wounding the economy major equity market repelled investors to take residual interest to the economy.

Lanka Bangla Securities said stocks moved indolently at this level and trying to consolidate above the support level of 4,600.

IDLC Investments said depression eclipsed the market as solution to political uncertainty seems farfetched, in the near term.

“With terror in the back of the mind, investors stood on their toe to sell off their holdings at signs of worsening. As a result, market faced persistent gradual downtrend with occasional shakeout in specific sessions.” l

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▼

Early hour enthusiasm got evaporated for lack of support, as majority of investors fear continued downtrend in coming days

It may feel a bit dated, but it also has traditional Mitsubishi virtues of rugged simplicity and a proper value for money

INSIDE

DT

Mitsubishi Outlander

T-JUNCTION

2015

21

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

How to do it right:

Stealing everyone’s thunder:

22

Find out what you need to check off your list before lowering your car. Adjusting the ride height, paying attention to the road surface and investing in the right kind of shock absorbers, we’ve got pointers on how to do it right.

The all new HTC One M9 and Samsung Galaxy S6 have been the talk of the town.

With UltraPixel selfie camera, 20-megapixel cam at the back and BoomSound speakers, M9 is competing head to head with S6, that’s equipped with 64-bit octa-core chip and an AMOLED display of 2560x1440 pixels.

23

tires

An outlandish face

auto correct

What’s the correct way to lower your car?

(Part II)

24 gadgets

Ring the alarms apps

A monumental success

DT

22 T-JUNCTION

Wheels

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

tires

An outlandish face The one thing that the Outlander most definitely has going for it is its styling; the smooth exterior lines, circuit board-inspired grille, and cuttingedge lighting design make the Mitsubishi standout

n Tahsin Momin With the 2015 Outlander, Mitsubishi has lurched towards families in a manner that it has never done before. With a complete disregard towards its bold designs and performance character, that we have come to expect from Mitsubishi over the last two decades or so, its history is replaced by comfort, efficiency, and subtlety.

Exterior

Take a glance at the 2015 model and then compare it to the previous generation, and its rather disappointing. Gone are all the cool notions of bold styling with the aggressive shark-nose front end, performance themed interior and the maniac personality; replaced with something that is rather a bit restrained for the sake of practicality.

So, what is left of it is not necessarily what you would call sporty but it does give off a very elegant appeal. It makes you want to

believe that simplicity is the key to modesty and tastefulness.

Interior

On the inside, the Outlander is well above par in almost every respect in comparison to other compact crossovers. With three rows of seat on offer, the Outlander can fit up to seven and includes a good driving position with the aid of tilt/telescopic steering. There is also good headroom and legroom for adults in the second row. It’s also one of the most compact SUV to come with three-rows of seating and hence the third row only comes as a backup plan for carpool duty. That being said though, the seats can be folded flat, the cargo floor is rather low, and the second row can be adjusted to fine-tune legroom. Nevertheless, in a time when almost every model tries to emulate luxury models, the Outlander cabin isn’t doing much to speak for itself and doesn’t do much in terms of design or materials, but it does feel rather welcoming.

T-JUNCTION 23

DT

Wheels

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

autocorrect Performance

Mitsubishi’s 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine in the Outlander makes 166HP and is more refined and stronger in the low and mid range revs. And with 100kg shredding of weight over the previous generation, the Outlander is now well suited to everyday commuting conditions. Although there is no turbocharger, it still has the MiVEC (continuously variable valve timing with lift), adjusting the intake valve timing. The upshot is that it makes 162lb.ft of torque, and since it comes only with a continuously variable automatic transmission it has a superb fuel efficiency.

Safety

For the first time, Mitsubishi Outlander includes adaptive cruise control, a forward collision mitigation that will, at lower speeds, first signal that there is an obstacle or any other vehicle ahead and then apply the brakes to fully stop the vehicle, and lane departure warning. The Outlander is shaping up to be one of the top-rated vehicles in its class for safety, having achieved a five-star rating in the Euro NCAP test.

Verdict

There is no denying the fact that the Outlander feels old, but it does have some of old Mitsubishi virtues like its ruggedness, reliability, and value. This is where the new Outlander makes a strong point for itself; its combination of ruggedness and value is truly unbeatable. The only problem is that there are other options that are similar and they also offer great driving dynamics and excellent all-wheel drive. In a world, where such strong contenders exist, it is rather hard for the Outlander to fit in. l

Available at: Mitsubishi Motors Bangladesh Rangs Limited 215, Bir Uttam Mir Shawkat Sarak Tejgaon, 1208 Dhaka, Bangladesh

What’s the correct way to lower your car?

(Part II)

This week we bring to you the second part of the four part sequence, where we look into the conventions related to lowering the ride height of your automobilia

n Tahsin Momin Last week we looked at the advantages of lowering the ride height of your vehicle. This week we go a step further and look at the dark side of the saga: Increased bottoming out One of the most commonly faced problems with a lowered suspension is that the vehicle can easily hit the road when it hits a bump. Going over speed bumps can also be quite troublesome. Any contact with the road surface can cause the underside of the car to be seriously damaged. Especially, the oil pan and exhaust system are particularly vulnerable to this.

Uneven tire wear In most cases, a lower suspension can cause tires to wear unevenly, or cause extreme wear patterns if the suspension is not set up properly. Drivers should keep an eye out for this when altering their suspension in any fashion.

Potential conflict with other parts The most dangerous aspect of lowering the suspension is that it might come into contact with other vehicle systems.

Low suspensions can get tangled up with the anti-lock brake mechanism, sway bars, or even hit the tire sidewall.

An incorrectly set up suspension can result in the tire getting chewed up, causing some serious potential risks.

Lifting and towing problems For those who like to hoist up the car using a jack routine maintenance might find it quite difficult to get this simple job done. Think twice about your accessing necessities before you get the vehicle’s frame lower toward the ground.

All these are important considerations that the vehicle owner has to look into before messing around with the suspension system that came direct from the factory. We recommend that you pay extra for quality shock absorbers and other parts, and strictly avoid cheap aftermarket parts that can cause catastrophic failures on the road. l

If you want to know about any car parts in particular, message us on our facebook page, www.facebook.com/ pages/T-Junction/851271244920316

DT

24 T-JUNCTION

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

Tech

gadgets

Ring the alarms The new versions of the flagships are in, brace yourself

n Mahmood Hossain S6

You’d think a new Audi was creeping out of the garage. Samsung’s new Galaxy S6 has plenty of heads turning. Sorry, actually both the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge have been on the same page. Yes, they blindsided us with two very attractive models, the latter being the most enticing. The obvious characteristic is the new design. It actually doesn’t look or feel cheep. Gone are the days of plastic, and in comes the premium quality it deserves.

All metal and glass, no compromising with materials this time around. We can finally commend Samsung for putting design as its first priority. However, this could also be a

problem. They happened to completely strip the features found in its predecessor, the S5.

Although, it might irk plenty of Apple fans because it seems as if old habits die hard.

There are blatant, almost identical, copied characteristics of the iPhone 6.

As if their past lawsuits never mattered.

Aside from the copying accusations, both models are the best looking Samsung phones they have ever created. They have significantly updated their AMOLED display to 2560x1440 pixels - a density of 577ppi. This is currently the best you’ll find in the market.

They also introduced their own chipset, choosing Exynos over their partnership with Qualcomm. A 64-bit octa-core chip and 3GB of RAM are all sealed in with the irremovable battery. With design priorities, comes a few sacrifices. There is no microSD card slot either, not to mention it is no longer waterproof. But don’t fret, Galaxy fans. The company has given the new flagship wireless charging, and boy is it quick. Well, at least that’s what Samsung is claiming. 30 percent charge in 30 minutes.

We’ll be taking a look into more specifics once both models are out and rolling available in the market.

The M9 Don’t get your knickers in a twist, fellas, this isn’t about the Beretta. However, HTC is making it sound like some super high-

apps

tech, government secret. Well, the new HTC One M9 has spilled all its secrets. It may not seem too much at first glance, mimicking the same exact design as its predecessor, the M9 possesses some significant changes. The BoomSound speakers may look the same but the brand has added Dolby surround to it. And that fuss about much UltraPixel rear camera is now 20-megapixels. Although, the UltraPixel is now located in the front of the phone, which might just make it the best selfie taking camera around.

Design wise may be a talking point among smartphone enthusiasts, but no major changes have been made. This can actually be a very good thing. The M8 really had no

A monumental success

One of the most beautiful games in the world of mobile

n Mahmood Hossain Hit shows have a tendency to endorse some pretty fancy products. Then there are things that are not only popular in mainstream but hailed as magnificent by critics. Monument Valley has gained even more popularity after being featured in the recent season of the hit show House of Cards. If the leader of the nation is intrigued enough by this app, it makes for a darn good game. And when we say good, it’s actually great. You’ll see nothing but legitimate four to five star ratings for this app.

You have to keep in mind how gorgeous this game is. It’ll take a really special game or app to top Monument Valley. The game itself is mind boggling, a puzzle that can lure you

into its beautiful madness. This is definitely an app for all the thinkers out there. Brain exercises don’t come better than this. Well, maybe not as fun as this one. You get to lead princess Ida through mazes of optical illusions and what seems to be impossible objects.

In isometric view, Ida journeys through sacred geometry, in order to be forgiven for something. We’ll keep that a secret. Even the level selection screen will have you tranced in twilight. The entire game is a work of art. The beauty in simplicity is personified.

Ultimately, it’s not the design that sets this app apart from the rest. It’s the meditative process that the user goes through while bouncing from one level to another. The meditation is delivered in a very pleasing manner, both for your eyes and the mind. When all is said and done, there’s possibly one drawback to this app. It’ll cost you. It’s $3.76 on Android and $3.99 in the App Store for all you iOS users. In addition, there is an expansion pack to this game called Forgotten Shores, which adds eight more levels after the first 10. l

negative marks apart from the somewhat slippery back, which made it difficult for some to grip. The design is gorgeous, so why fix what isn’t broke, right? Many might agree what will make or break the new M9 is its camera features. 20-megapixels is no joke, and with the UltraPixel front camera, things are looking brighter.

Unfortunately, wait for it, the camera isn’t as impressive as we would have expected.

Truth be told, it’s simply a machine upgrade at the end. The thunder might have been slightly stolen by their collaboration with Valve in creating a new virtual reality device.

Whether this might hurt the sales of HTC phones, we’ll have to wait and see. l

DT

Sport 27

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

All in the family n Mazhar Uddin from Adelaide Over the past two years Mahmudullah had faced immense criticism regarding his place in the side when his brother-in-law Mushfiqur Rahim was the captain of the Bangladesh team. Mushfiq’s strong stance for the allrounder made many wonder whether it was the family relation that saw Mahmudllah still playing for the national side.

However, one cannot also overlook the duo’s contribution and especially after yesterday when they rescued Bangladesh from a disastrous position to eventually land a winning total.

Mushfiq joined Mahmudullah when the Tigers were reeling at 99 for 4 in the 22nd over and the combination went on to register the record fifth wicket partnership for Bangladesh in World Cups. Mahmudullah along the way became the first centurion for the Tigers in the big stage.

Both Mahmudullah and Mushfiq played an array of majestic strokes and maintained a decent run-rate by rotating the strikes.

Mahmudullah’s transformation to a solid middle order batsman was paying dividend as his elegant cover drives and the pulls kept

the English captain Eoin Morgan thinking all the time.

Even after reaching their fifties, Mahmudullah and Mushfiq never looked to throw their wickets until taking Bangladesh to a safe position.

The 29-year-old was finally dismissed after scoring 103 off 137 balls with seven fours and two sixes while Mushfiq fell short of the magical three-figure by 11 runs, but by then Bangladesh were in a commanding position. l

WORLD CUP 2015 LEADING RUN-MAKERS Kumar Sangakkara (SRI)

372

AB de Villiers (RSA)

318

Brendan Taylor (ZIM)

295

Hashim Amla (RSA)

295

Tillakaratne Dilshan (SRI)

291

LEADING WICKET-TAKERS Trent Boult (NZL)

13

Tim Southee (NZL)

13

Mitchell Starc (AUS)

12

Daniel Vettori (NZL)

12

DT

30 DOWNTIME

TUSDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Appear indistinctly (4) 6 By way of (3) 7 Tube (4) 9 Prophet (4) 10 Burrowing animals (5) 11 Of the kidneys (5) 12 Strange (3) 14 Bird (5) 17 Small recesses (5) 20 Beverage (3) 21 Black bird (5) 23 Not hollow (5) 25 Disencumbers (4) 26 Part of the eye (4) 27 Long-leaved lettuce (3) 28 Avoid (4)

DOWN 1 Injury (6) 2 Carry too far (6) 3 Deep mud (4) 4 No score (3) 5 Acceptance (3) 7 Sport (4) 8 Danger (5) 10 Spoil (3) 13 Giver (5) 15 Condemn to exile (6) 16 Naval hero (6) 18 Malay dagger (4) 19 Sorrowful (3) 22 Love god (4) 23 Wrongdoing (3) 24 Falsehood (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 19 represents H so fill H every time the figure 19 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.

A B C D E FG H I J K L M N O P Q RST UVWXYZ

SUDOKU

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

DT

SHOWTIME 31

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

Tisha, Syed Babu and Niloy set for their new telefilm

Rise of an empire n Mahmood Hossain Empire is a grittier, TV appropriate, version of a musical. It’s the inner world and workings of a hip hop empire led by Lucious Lyon, played by the Oscar winner Terrence Howard. With his ex-wife and business partner Cookie Lyon (Taraji P Henson), along with his three sons, Lucious wants to leave a legacy that will go unchallenged in the music world.

Apart from the wonderful cast, the music nearly outshines the performances of the lead roles. Timbaland, as the show’s executive music producer, has been in the music industry for decades. It’s a pleasant surprise to see him dabble the lucrative small screen business. The music is brilliantly performed by each character that takes part in the show, both actors and real life musicians. Not only is the show doing well on air, the music is making the Billboard charts. But that is only half of the success.

The story is intriguing, and so are the one on one battles between the characters. The show may be music driven, yet it shows the more realistic and scandalous side of the music industry.

This show’s audience has been growing every week, significantly. For several weeks, Empire’s viewers keep growing and the ratings average is at an all-time high. It’s clear to see Empire is on its way to the top as the number one drama. We’re staying tuned, and so should you. l

n Showtime Desk Tisha, Syed Babu and Niloy, three of the busiest actors on the small screen teamed up for a telefilm titled Ei Boishakhe, which is set to air on the first day of the Bangla New Year. Written

by Naznin Hasan Chumki and directed

by Shanta Rahman, the telefilm recently completed its last round of shooting.

Talking about working in the TV production Tisha said: “As I have previously worked with the director, we have shared decent working chemistry. I can easily understand what she wants from me and I make sure I deliver according to her needs.”

“It’s the script which convinced me to work with the team. I hope the audience will appreciate our effort,” she added.

Niloy said: “When it comes to working for TV productions, from the early stages of my career, I have been quite choosy.

This time the story and the people behind the camera convinced me to call myself into the team.”

Tisha has been busy with working on a film with Shakib Khan for the last couple of months but she took a break from shooting to make an appearance on the small screen again.

The director confirmed that Ei Boishakhe will be aired on Boishakh 1 on ATN Bangla. l

Suzena and Kazi Asif paired for Game

CELEBS ON SOCIAL JIMMY FALLON @jimmyfallon My hometown is stuck in a mad deep freeze / When I get down to Florida I’m like, “Yeah, beach please!” #SpringBreakRaps

SHABANA AZMI @AzmiShabana To make the world better Women need 2 transform the very notion of power itself so it becomes about sharing not powerful dominating the weak

TOM HIDDLESTON @twhiddleston My goodness.

My brother from another mother.

Ladies and gentlemen: @chrishemsworth.

WHAT TO WATCH TELEVISION THE GREAT GATSBY HBO 6:45pm Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton Story of a young and mysterious millionaire and his obsession over the beautiful debutante SPIDER-MAN 3 Star Movies 9:30pm Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Topher Grace Peter Parker gets induced by a strange black entity which brings out the worst in him.

COMEDY NIGHTS WITH KAPIL Colors TV 5:00pm Cast: Kapil Sharma, Sumona Chakravarti, Upasna Singh An Indian comedy sketch hosted by Kapil Sharma and performed by various comedians.

n Showtime Desk Suzena Zafar and Kazi Asif paired up for the first time in a TV drama titled Game. Written and directed by Tanim Rahman Angshu, the mystery drama also includes model-actor Tanjia Zaman Methela in the cast.

Suzena will be seen in the drama in a self-titled role while Kazi Asif has finalised to play the role of Akash.

Talking about the play Kazi Asif said: “The story of the drama revolves around just the three characters, played by Suzena, Methela and me. I believe the au-

TV TUESDAYS dience will appreciate my first work with Suzena in this well-structured mystery TV play.”

Shot in different locations of Uttara in the capital, the shooting for Game is expected to be completed by the following week, and will be airing shortly on a private TV channel. l

Tuesdays on Showtime are all about television. From local TV dramas to be aired, to chit chat with our small screen stars, to reviews of the best of British and American shows, we’re on top of it. You bring the cha-samosa, we’ll take care of entertainment.

DT

32 BACK PAGE

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015

IMF TEAM CONVINCES MUHITH TO STICK TO SINGLE VAT RATE PAGE 15

RISE OF THE TIGERS PAGE 25

M

A

R

C

SUZENA AND KAZI ASIF PAIRED FOR GAME PAGE 31

H

1

9

7

1

Too little too late

D

I

A

R

Y

This piece is the second in a series that will run until March 25, in which we reproduce Rehman Sobhan’s contemporaneous account of the events of that momentous month in Bangladeshi history, originally written for Forum magazine. This piece was first published in Forum on March 6, 1971.

n Rehman Sobhan Mahmudullah sends kisses to his wife and son after completing his debut century

‘I was missing my mother a lot’ n Mazhar Uddin from Adelaide Mahmudullah broke down when Bangladesh’s national anthem was played before the start of the match.

The reason was he missed his mother for some days now while the lovely celebration that followed his century in Adelaide yesterday was directed to his wife Mishty and son Mahrusullah.

“I was missing my mother when the national anthem was playing before the start of the match. The last line of the anthem [If sad-

RECENT PERFORMANCE Bat & Bowl

Opposition

103

v England

0/29, 62

v Scotland

0/49, 28

v Sri Lanka

23, 1/31

v Afghanistan

-

v Ireland

83, 1/17

v Pakistan

36, 1/14

v Aust XI

42, 0/10

v Aust XI

AFP

ness O mother casts a gloom on your face, my eyes are filled with tears] that reminded me of my mother a lot. I have not seen her for a long time, so Alhamdulillah I am very happy for everything,” said an emotional Mahmudullah.

“The flying kiss [after the hundred] was for my wife and my son as they were in hotel and were not able to come to the ground,” said the 29-year-old, apparently happy.

This innings will surely be at the top of his scoring list for the rest of his life while the lad from Mymensingh also said he never thought of becoming the first centurion for the Tigers at the World Cup although he had dreamed of scoring a hundred at the mega event.

“As long as I play cricket and Allah keeps me healthy, this innings will remain as one of the special innings of my life, especially as it is my first hundred.

“Even I was thinking about the hundred against Scotland but unfortunately I could not make it; but I never thought that I would score a hundred today,” said Mahmudullah.

He also revealed that he was nervous in his nineties but a boundary off James Anderson when he was on 92 relaxed his nerves.

Normally, a very soft spoken person, Mahmudullah desires to be a hero for the Tigers in the remaining matches. l

Today the people of Bangla Desh have been challenged. In the eyes of their rulers their struggle to realise their rights is merely the act of a handful of people out to instigate murder and loot. This crass reaction to the struggle and sacrifice of 70 million Bengalis would put even our ex-imperial rulers to shame.

In this context even the calling of the National Assembly is being overtaken by events. Mr. Bhutto’s acceptance, buttressed by reassurances of the LFO, is a mockery of the dead who gave their lives merely to make the chairman change his mind. Now their memory demands much more than a mere debate for this has already been overshadowed by a dialogue of death in the streets. How far anything will come out of this session is uncertain, but the crisis will merely be postponed.

For the moment, the people of Bangla Desh have been reminded in no uncertain terms that power comes from the barrel of the gun. They have been reminded that sticks and rods are puny weapons when compared with the power of a mechanised force which sees itself as the sole guardian of the nation’s future. They have been told that if their expectations extend beyond the

National Assembly they will have to face the consequences. In throwing down this gauntlet the authors have banked on the fact that this was an essentially middle-class dominated movement which in the moment of confrontation will act true to its salt and stand silent before the language of weapons.

But they are mistaken. This is a people’s struggle. Today the emotions and interests of 70 million people are involved. Even the cautious civil servant has cast in his lot with the struggle. The extent of non-cooperation is almost unique. Today the loyalty of no one in Bangla Desh to the regime of the oppressor is certain. It matters not if the weak waiver because the workers, students, and eventually the peasants are aware and ready to throw themselves into the final phase of the struggle.

Their lack of military preparedness may make this a long drawn-out struggle where much blood will have to fertilise the soil of Bangla Desh. The struggle has merely confirmed what had been proved in 1969 -- that the people are no longer afraid of the gun.

But this is only a first step. The outcome is however never in doubt, only the time and cost in blood. Leaders may come and go but the people will carry the banner of freedom forward. The National Assembly may therefore meet and go through the motions of debate. But it is now clear that unless this ratifies the elemental urge of the people of Bangla Desh for self-rule, it will merely be a staging post in the ongoing struggle of the people. l

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com