17 April, 2015

SECOND EDITION

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

| Boishakh 4, 1422, Jamadius Sani 27, 1436 |

TABITH, MAHI, KAFEE PLACE MANIFESTOS PAGE 3

Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 6

AL MEN VERBALLY ABUSE RU VC PAGE 5

| www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages plus 24-page Weekend | Price: Tk10

TEARY REUNION AT THAKURGAON BORDER

No successful repatriation yet despite Interpol notices n Mohammad Jamil Khan Red Notices have been issued against 83 Bangladeshis by the International Criminal Police Organisation – better known as Interpol – but not a single one of them has ever been brought back to face the music.

They have been issued against some of the country’s top criminals. Although most of them are believed to be living in neighbouring India, with whom an extradition treaty exists, none have been brought back.

Nur Hossain, an accused in the Narayanganj seven murder case, has had an Interpol Red Notice issued against him. He was arrested in June last year by Indian police for illegal trespassing.

But even though Bangladesh sought his extradition in writing, and India gave assur-

ances that he would be handed over, he still has not been repatriated.

War crimes convict Abdul Jabbar and Bangladesh Nationalist Party Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman have joined the infamous list of Bangladeshis for whom Red Notices have been issued that includes politicians, top criminals and war crimes convicts.

A Red Notice was issued last week against Jabbar to locate the fugitive war criminal, said Mahbubur Rahman, chief of Bangladesh’s Interpol National Central Bureau and assistant inspector general (AIG) of police headquarters.

The Interpol press office confirmed this in an email to the Dhaka Tribune.

Even after Interpol Red Notices are issued, Bangladeshi authorities must still utilise diplomatic channels to repatriate them – a diffi-

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

PAGE 3 Over 80% Chittagong polling centres risky

Interpol issues Red Notice against war criminal Jabbar n Tribune Report

cult task, particularly when many countries do not have extradition agreements with Bangladesh.

Accused or convicted men being hunted across the globe to face Bangladeshi courts are leading happy lives as citizens of other countries.

Several accused in the Bangabandhu murder case, August 21 grenade attack case and the 10-truck arms haul case number among them.

Among the six murderers of Bangabandhu, Interpol issued Red Notices against AM Rashed Chowdhury, who is now in the United States, Nur Chowdhury who is in Canada and Abdul Mazed and Risaldar Mosleh Uddin who are in India, according to sources in the Home Ministry.

The Interpol has issued a “red notice” for the arrest of war crimes convict Abdul Jabbar.

On February 24, the former Jatiya Party lawmaker, now fugitive, was sentenced to imprisonment unto death for murders, loot, arson and deportation as crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War. While delivering the verdict against Jabbar, the International Crimes Tribunal ordered the inspector general of police to arrest Jabbar with the help of International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol).

Of the eight types of notices of Interpol, the red notice seeks the location and arrest of a person wanted by a judicial jurisdiction or an international tribunal with a view to his/her extradition. Red notice is the “closest instrument to an international arrest warrant in use today.”

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Probe sexual assaults, court asks police, DU VC n Ashif Islam Shaon A High Court bench on its own volition issued a ruling upon the authorities concerned yesterday to investigate the incidents of sexual assault on women during the Pohela Boishakh celebrations on Dhaka University campus Tuesday evening.

The bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman also fixed May 17 for passing further orders on the matter.

The court asked the inspector general of police and the DU vice-chancellor to conduct investigations and submit separate reports to the court by May 17. The respondents were also asked to mention what steps they had taken against the culprits by that time.

Deputy Attorney General Tapash Kumar Biswas said the court also asked the government and the DU authorities to explain in four weeks why they should not be directed to take appropriate legal steps against the culprits.

The Home Ministry secretary, the IGP, DU VC, commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, deputy commissioner of police’s Ramna division and officer-in-charge of Shahbagh

PAGE 32

Confident Tigers ready to land first blow n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Bangladesh Captain Mashrafe Mortaza and Pakistan Captain Azhar Ali unveil 2015 Dan Cake Cricket trophy at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in the capital yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

PAGE 4 Two Bangladeshis tortured to death by BSF

PAGE 9 Truck-human haulier collision takes lives of six

Deep down, Bangladesh know that the occasion is a rare one for them. They are in the “best possible shape” on the eve of a one-day international against Pakistan and following several disappointments and near misses, the hosts will be desperate to register their second limited-over win over their nemesis.

For the very first time against Pakistan, Bangladesh could pose a serious threat, particularly in an ODI series, as the two sides prepare to lock horns against each other in the first of the three ODIs today at Sher-eBangla National Stadium. The first ball will be bowled at 2:30pm and the BTV and GTV will telecast the game live.

The Tigers will be led by ODI vice-captain Shakib al Hasan as regular skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza will serve his one-match suspension incurred during the recently concluded 2015 ICC World Cup due to slow over-rate.

That Bangladesh are the slight favourites is no surprise given their run of form in the last couple of months. The Tigers registered a series sweep over Zimbabwe at home in both Tests and ODIs before embarking on their World Cup journey. There, the Bangladesh cricketers rose to the occasion in style,  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

PAGE 10 Children killed in shelling of Damascus suburbs

DT

2 NEWS

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

Two killed in Chhatra Mujibnagar day to be observed today Councillor candidate League factional clash held in city the absence of Bangabandhu, who was arrested BSS n after March 25 and kept in a jail in the then West n Our Correspondent, Dinajpur n UNB The nation will observe the Mujibnagar Day Pakistan, Syed Nazrul Islam was chosen as the acting president of the provisional government.

Colonel (later General) MAG Osmani was mOn the eve of the historic day, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have sent separate messages.

Different political parties, socio-cultural-professional bodies and government and non-government organisations have chalked out elaborate programmes to observe the day.

Bangladesh missions abroad will also organise programmes to mark the day. l

Two students were killed and more than 50 were injured in a clash between two Chhatra League groups at Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University in Dinajpur yesterday evening.

At least eight of the injured suffered critical injuries.

Witnesses said the clash, which started around 7pm and lasted over three hours, saw crude bomb explosions, gun firing, vandalism and chase-counter chases between the groups.

After 10pm, police took control of the situation by firing several rounds of shots.

Later police, during a raid at the campus, recovered the body of a second-semester business student named Zakaria from the rooftop of Noor Hussain Hall.

Meanwhile, Mahmudul Hasan Milton, a master’s student of agriculture faculty, died at Dinajpur Medical College Hospital after he was admitted in a critical condition.

According to witnesses, an expelled faction of Chhatra League arrived in four microbuses and turned off the electricity when the university’s VC was addressing a freshers’ reception and cultural programme in the auditorium around 7pm. Then they started to hurl crude bombs and shooting at the programme.

Around 9pm, activists of other faction came to the scene and engaged in counter shooting.

The two groups chased each other several times; at one point, activists of both the factions vandalised several rooms in the campus.

Dinajpur Police Superintendent Ruhul Amin said after the attackers left the campus, police recovered lethal weapons from the halls.

No case was filed until midnight yesterday, the police official told the Dhaka Tribune. l

today in a befitting manner commemorating the formation of the provisional government of independent Bangladesh in exile during the War of Liberation in 1971.

On this day in 1971, the provisional Bangladesh government in exile named Mujibnagar Government was constituted at Meherpur’s Baidyanathtala, later renamed as Mujibnagar, with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the president, Syed Nazul Islam as vice-president and Tajuddin Ahmed as prime minister. In

Housewife found dead n Kamrul Hasan

Probe sexual assaults, court asks police, DU VC

Law enforcers recovered the body of a housewife from the capital’s Kallyanpur area yesterday evening.

Police suspected that Umme Rukaiya Begum, 30, wife of Rakibul Ahsan Khan, was strangled to death.

Md Rakibul Hasan, duty officer of Mirpur model police, said they had recovered the body from the couple’s house around 6:30pm.

The victim’s mouth was wrapped with tape while her throat also bore a mark, the duty officer said.

Quoting house help Marium, police said a previously known man came to the house in the morning. The man engaged in talks with Rukaiya. Later, two more men came to the house. The three strangled the woman to death. l

Hajj flights begin Aug 16

n Tribune Report Hajj flights for carrying Bangladeshi pilgrims to Saudi Arabia will begin on August 16 and will continue to operate until September 18.

Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon disclosed the dates to reporters after an inter-ministerial meeting on Hajj preparations held at the Secretariat yesterday. “The return flights will start from September 27 and continue till October 28,” the minister added. l

Police arrested a BNP-backed councillor candidate in the capital’s Kalyanpur area yesterday.

The arrested was identified as Kawsar Ahmed, contesting in Ward 11 of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC).

Mirpur police station OC Salauddin confirmed the incident saying police arrested Kawsar at his residence in Kalyanpur.

Kawsar is accused in several cases, including some that have been charge-sheeted. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Red Notice against Jabbar The Interpol list of wanted persons carried Jabbar’s picture with details about the war crimes convict.

After the independence, he went into hiding and remained fugitive until the political

changeover of August 15, 1975.

Resuming politics, Jabbar was elected lawmaker from Mathbaria in 1986 and 1988 with Jatiya Party ticket. He has been on the run since 2009 after the investigation against him

Confident Tigers ready to land first blow reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in history.

The batting department will be spearheaded by Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, the chief protagonists of the Tigers’ World Cup campaign, while the likes of Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman add some much-needed firepower.

Sabbir, in particular, is very much enjoying the limelight following his blazing century in the lone warm-up match against the visitors last Wednesday in Fatullah.

The same cannot be said of opener Tamim Iqbal, who has been experiencing tough times

police have been made respondents to the ruling.

The bench came up with the order after two female lawyers brought the matter, published in four national dailies, to the attention of the court.

Several gangs of rowdy youths sexually assaulted at least 20 women at the Suhrawardy Udyan gate near the TSC and elsewhere of the DU campus from Tuesday afternoon until evening.

The incidents tainted the joyous celebration of the Bangali’s biggest festival Pohela Boishakh sparking widespread public outrage on the streets and social media platforms.

lately. The southpaw will be yearning to come back to form alongside the uncapped Rony Talukdar. Rony was rewarded for his tremendous form in the domestic circuit and the team management will be hoping for him to hit the ground running.

One factor which is in favour of Bangladesh is experience. While Pakistan boast Mohammad Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal, two cricketers with more than 100 ODI caps to their names, the home side have five players – Mashrafe, Shakib, Tamim, Mushfiq and Mahmudullah – with more than 100 ODI appearances.

Ajmal’s return to the side after an eight-

They mostly blamed the police for inaction and the DU authorities for mismanagement during the programmes.

Although the law enforcers were stationed only some 18 metres from the spot, they did nothing to rescue the women or arrest those who launched the sexual assaults, witnesses said. Three students of the university were hurt while trying to save the victims.

After a series of protests and outrage in social media since Tuesday, police now say following CCTV footages, they have noticed one incident near the TSC roundabout and are investigating the matter.

on war crimes charges was launched.

The former chairman of the local unit of Peace Committee had played a key role in forming razakar force and led collaborators in committing crimes in Mathbaria during the war. l

month hiatus, however, will boost the visitors’ chances. Pakistan ODI captain Azhar Ali, himself coming to the side after more than two years in the sidelines, will depend heavily on Ajmal and Hafeez while newcomers like Sami Aslam, Saad Nasim and Mohammad Rizwan will look to announce their arrivals in a grand style.

Pakistan’s strong forte is, however, their fast bowling department. Facing Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Ehsan Adil and Rahat Ali, the Tigers batsmen will need to be on their toes against one of the world’s most potent fast-bowling attack. l

In some incidents, the attackers were honking vuvuzelas during the assaults to suppress the victims’ screams, witnesses said, adding that they also filmed the incidents.

The assaults took place within less than two months after three-four women were sexually harassed in public near the entrance of Suhrawardy Udyan at the TSC intersection during the Amar Ekushey Book Fair.

The Dhaka Tribune published two photos of the youths harassing a girl on February 21 but the authorities concerned could not identify the men and brought them to book as of now. l

No successful repatriation yet despite Interpol notices Red Notices have also been issued against war crimes convicts Abul Kalam Azad and Abdul Jabbar.

AIG Mahbub told the Dhaka Tribune that Interpol help is usually sought to bring back wanted persons outside of Bangladesh jurisdiction.

“The organisation receives our request, issues a notice to trace the location of the wanted person and once they get information of his or her whereabouts, inform us,” he said.

After that, repatriating the accused or convict relies entirely on diplomatic channels.

“Interpol has nothing to do with it.”

Mahbub explained that Interpol does not have the right to make arrests – that authority lies in the law of the place where the wanted person is located and can only be exercised by

their police.

Interpol’s press office said the General Secretariat does not send officers to arrest individuals who are the subject of a Red Notice.

Many of Interpol’s member countries, however, consider a Red Notice a valid request for provisional arrest, especially if they are linked to the requesting country via a bilateral extradition treaty.

In cases where arrests are made based on a Red Notice, these are made by national police officials in Interpol member countries.

Red Notices serve to seek the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition or similar lawful action, according to the Interpol website.

Neither Foreign Minister AH Mahmood

Ali nor Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque were available for comment as they are both currently abroad.

A ministry official tasked with monitoring the issue, who asked not to be named, told the Dhaka Tribune that there were many legal complications involved in bringing somebody back to face the courts, especially if they had sought political asylum abroad.

Once somebody takes shelter in a foreign country, their fate is determined by the laws and courts under whose jurisdiction they reside, he said.

Another source, asking not to be named, alleged that if the government truly wished it, it would be possible to repatriate wanted persons. l

DT

NEWS 3

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

Mayoral aspirants for Dhaka North City Corporation (from left) Tabith M Awal, Mahi B Chowdhury and Abdullah Al Kafee announce their manifestos in the capital yesterday

RAJIB DHAR / SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Tabith’s bus promises Mahi, Kafee place polls manifestos ride to clean, green n Dhaka North Nure Alam Durjoy

n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla BNP-backed mayoral candidate Tabith M Awal promised to free Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) of corruption if elected and promised to improve governance in the capital.

Tabith, son of businessman-turned-politician Abdul Awal Mintoo, stressed nine points in his pledge to transform DNCC into a modern, liveable city.

The 36-year-old said he wanted to work for the city with the help of the experience of his elders and the energy of the youth.

“Everything will be digitised. So there will be no corruption,” Tabith told journalists in reply to a query, adding: “Previous mayors have tried to introduce the city government concept but failed. I too will try to introduce the system if I am elected.”

Tabith made the comments while unveiling a 12-point election manifesto at a press conference at his election campaign office in the capital yesterday.

BNP Standing Committee Member Moudud Ahmed, Adorsho Dhaka Andolon Convener Emajuddin Ahamed and Member Secretary Sawkat Mahmud also spoke at the programme.

On how he would get things done with his party out of parliament, he said: “I have been given support by a political party but on April 28, the people will cast their votes. If elected, I will be the people’s choice. So there will not be a problem.”

On his relative newness in politics, Tabith said: “If I am new in politics then why was I arrested in 2013? If I am elected, I will work with the consultation of all the people.”

Tabith’s manifesto starts with the city’s food supply. He promises to set up night markets and farmers markets at strategic points throughout the city. He favours support for urban agriculture. He wants to set up food courts at specific points to replace scattered food vendors.

In the housing sector, Tabith said taxes would be collected via mobile phones or the internet to stop harassment and corruption. Controlling pollution at its

source would be prioritised.

The 36-year-old said health check-up booths would be set up in public parks. He pledged free medical and mobile health services for middle-income people. At community hospitals he vows to initiate free treatment for pregnant women and children up to the age of five.

In the education sector, Tabith plans to introduce school buses, said he would take steps to establish a public university in DNCC and vows to set up scholarships to encourage students. The mayoral hopeful pledged to build at least one daycare centre in every ward.

To deal with traffic, Tabith said more flyovers, underpasses or overpasses would be constructed.

He vowed to get tough on illegal parking and said more bus bays would be set up. He also said high quality taxi cabs for tourists and a skywalk would be introduced to get more people moving more comfortably.

He promised congestion-free streets and sufficient and clean footpaths.

He said he would take steps to introduce commuter train services between Tongi and Kamalapur railway stations.

To clean up the waste management crisis, Tabith pledged to introduce the “3R” policy – Reduce, Refuse and Reuse.

The political freshman said a one-stop service would be introduced for citizen services, night-time shelters would be established for those without shelter, a “Know Your Rights” programme would be held each year and digital electronic displays of share market transactions would be set up in heavily frequented spaces.

To ensure security, Tabith said he plans to establish, in phases, CCTVs on every street and to offer night-time bus services.

Calling him a promising young politician, Moudud Ahmed said Tabith was a young, educated and honest politician who could transform the city.

Tabith’s mother Nasrin Awal, brother Tafsir Awal, wife Sawsan Eskander and other BNP leaders were present at the programme. l

Mayoral hopeful for Dhaka North City Corporation Mahi B Chowdhury promised a pollution-free capital city.

He said this as he unveiled his election manifesto yesterday afternoon in the capital’s Lake Shore Hotel.

He also pledged to set up a disaster management department and a separate department to prevent air, sound, water and soil pollution.

Mahi said if he was elected as a mayor he would install CCTVs everywhere, establish more medical college hospitals to ensure at least minimum health services to mothers, children and elderly citizens.

He in his manifesto expressed his desire to introduce a one-way traffic control system with the super modern engineering and technology.

He also focused on garbage and waste management.

Mahi would launch a massive campaign against drug addiction and set up a rehabilitation center for the addicts and shelters for homeless people.

Another DNCC candidate Abdullah Al Kafee backed by Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) too placed his manifesto yesterday.

“The city that is safe for women is safe for all,” Kafee said in his manifesto placed at the capital’s National Press Club in the morning.

Kafee’s manifesto includes enough rehabilitation and free bus service for working women and special allowances for pregnant women.

He focused on generating job opportunities for unemployed youths and setting up of community centre and library in every ward.

According to Kafee’s manifesto a city government will coordinate the ministries and institutions concerned.

The manifesto further stressed the need for e-services.

Kafee who is contesting in the election with the symbol Elephant said every ward councillor’s office will be made citizen’s service centre.

CPB President Mujahidul Islam Selim, BSD General Secretary Khalequzzaman and Dhaka University professor MM Akash were present, among others, at the press conference. l

Over 80% Ctg centres risky n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong More than 80% polling centres in Chittagong have been identified as risky by the port city police ahead of the April 28 city polls, a high-ranking official in the CMP has told the Dhaka Tribune.

Out of a total 719 voting centres, 595 were deemed as risky after analysing previous incidents of violence or ballot snatching, measuring the distance between separate voting centres and determining the local candidate’s dominance over a polling centre, the source in the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) said.

Seeking anonymity, the source said the most risky polling areas were under Kotwali, Bayezid, Chawkbazar and Akbar Shah police stations; every single one of the 196 polling places in these areas were considered to be vulnerable to poll violence.

Following the assessment, the police are planning to strengthen their security measures in Kotwali, Akbar Shah and Bayezid areas, places where two heavyweight mayoral

candidates – Awami League-backed AJM Nasir Uddin and BNP-backed M Manjur Alam – have strong influence among the locals. Meanwhile, the Chawkbazar area was also considered to be volatile as it had a strong Jamaat presence.

Outside the CMP jurisdiction, four out of 12 polling places in Hathazari are also being treated as risky by the district police.

Commenting on the issue, CMP Commissioner Abdul Jalil Mandal said: “We are treating 595 voting centres as important or risky; but risky does not mean that every time there is possibility of violence.

“However, we will deploy additional forces, while personnel of Rapid Action Battalion, Border Guard Bangladesh and Bangladesh Ansar will be in standby position,” he said.

Describing their security plans, the CMP chief said every voting centre would have a four-tier security shield, while the risky centres would get an additional 10 police and armed Ansar forces personnel. He added that 6,000 additional police forces have been assigned for election duty. l

DT

4 NEWS

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

2 Bangladeshis tortured Annisul, Khokon promise sport-friendly Dhaka to death by BSF n n Our Correspondent, Chapainawabganj

Two Bangladeshi men have been tortured to death by India’s Border Security Force at Shibganj border, claims the Border Guard Bangladesh.

They were Sharif Uddin, 25, son of Golap Hossain of Kharial village in Manakasha union, and Abdul Hakim, 38, son of late Saheb Ali of Tarapur Thuthapara village of the same union.

BGB Chapainawabganj 9 battalion Commander Abu Zafar Sheikh Mohammad Bazlul Haque said BSF members fired empty shots when Sharif, Hakim and seven to eight others were returning from India with cattle through Fatehpur border early on Wednesday.

“BSF soldiers detained the Bangladeshis and tortured them. They then left Sharif and Hakim in Fatehpur border area. Locals recov-

ered Hakim’s body and took Sharif to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital where he died on Wednesday evening.”

But Sharif’s father refused to talk to the press about his son’s death.

An autopsy was performed on Hakim’s body at Chapainawabganj Sadar Hospital morgue.

Officer-in-Charge of Shibganj police station MM Moynul Islam said there were marks of injuries on Hakim’s nose, head, eyes and feet.

An hour-long flag meeting between the BGB and the BSF was held at Fatehpur yesterday, but the BSF officials denied that Hakim and Sharif had been tortured to death.

At the meeting, Major Minnat Ali, an official of BGB 9 battalion, headed the BGB delegation while Pradip Kumar, assistant commissioner of 20 BSF Chandni Chawk BOP, represented the BSF. l

Abu Hayat Mahmud and Nure Alam Durjoy

Awami League-backed mayoral candidates Annisul Huq and Sayeed Khokon yesterday said they would turn Dhaka into a green and sport-friendly city if they won the upcoming city corporation elections.

They said most of the playgrounds, children’s parks and other open spaces in Dhaka had been grabbed, adding that all those places would be recovered once they became mayors.

Annisul, former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) who is a mayoral candidate of Dhaka North City Corporation, and Dhaka South City Corporation mayoral candidate Khokon, who is the son of Dhaka’s first mayor Mohammad Hanif, were speaking at a view-exchange programme organised by

Jatiya Krira Parishad at its auditorium in the capital.

Khokon said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is always interested in sports and she also had directed the authorities concerned to recover the illegally-occupied playgrounds in the capital.

“Because playgrounds have been occupied, children are forced to play on streets.

My first priority will be to recover these places from occupiers,” he said.

Annisul said he had always voiced the demands of the business community while serving as the FBCCI president. “I will try my best to ensure that city dwellers are getting the services they deserve if I am elected the mayor.”

Apart from recovering playgrounds from the clutches of occupiers, Annisul said he would renovate the parks and would implement tree plantation projects as part of beautification of the city. l

Afroza demands CCTVs at polling centres

n Adil Sakhawat Afroza Abbas, wife of BNP-backed mayoral aspirant for Dhaka South City Corporation Mirza Abbas, demanded CCTVs be installed at polling centres.

Afroza placed the demand yesterday while conducting campaign for city polls on behalf of her husband Mirza Abbas in the capital’s Sayedabad and Jatrabari area.

“The EC should install CCTVs at all polling centres to ensure a free and fair election,” she said.

Afroza said the election manifesto of Mirza Abbas would be announced in two or three days.

She also demanded the army deployment on the election day to ensure security of voters.

The EC earlier said after meetings with law enforcement agencies on April 19 decision would be taken if the army deployment was a necessity.

On Wednesday another mayoral candidate Sayeed Khokon asked Afroza Abbas to go to EC if she had any complaint of electoral code violation against him.

Khokon addressed Afroza as aunt.

Afroza in reply to Khokon’s statement said: “You are like my child. Do your work and let me carry out my campaign.” l

Sewerage pipes brought for installation in Dhaka’s Modhubazar area have been lying on the alley for the last 15 days causing inconvenience for residents in the area MEHEDI HASAN

EC asks candidates to lodge complaints in writing n Munir Momtaj Election Commissioner Shah Newaz has asked candidates to lodge their complaints in writing to the Election Commission.

“If someone has any specific complaint about violation of electoral code against a candidate he or she has to put forward it in writing to the EC, he told reporters.

He said this at the Agargaon Election Commission (EC) office yesterday.

He said the Election commission will not

pay heed to verbal complaint of any person.

After getting written complaint returning officers will take action.

Earlier, several candidates of Dhaka North and South city corporations voiced their allegations against electoral code violation by opponent candidates.

Afroza Abbas, wife of Mirza Abbas, alleged that Sayeed Khokon violated the electoral code of conduct.

Bikalpadhara-backed Mahi B Chowdhury and CPB-BSD-backed Abdulla Al Kafi – may-

oral candidates for Dhaka North City Corporation – brought the allegation of violation of electoral code by their opponent Annisul Haque.

Many BNP leaders and activists blamed the EC and government for not ensuring level-playing field in the election campaign and brought allegation of electoral code violation against Awami League-backed candidates.

Shah Newaz said with the election day approaching the number of magistrate will increase.

They are taking steps in this regard. They have already fined candidates Tk30,0000 for violation of electoral rules.

Many reserved women candidates have complained against their symbols to EC in a view-exchange meeting of candidates organised by EC at Agargaon Krishibid Institute.

They said the EC gave them gender-bias symbols that reflects the lower status of women in a patriarchal society.

The bifurcated DCC and CCC polls are set to be held on April 28. l

DT

NEWS 5

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

RU VC verbally assaulted by AL men n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi

Muggers shoot businessman, snatch Tk16 lakh in Old Dhaka n Tribune Report

Only a day after being threatened by a local MP, the Rajshahi University VC was again verbally assaulted by a group of Awami League leaders at his office yesterday.

Around 15 men, led by the ruling party’s Rajshahi city unit General Secretary Dablu Sarkar and Vice-President Shahadat Hossain, barged into the office of RU VC Prof Muhammad Mizanuddin around 1pm, witnesses said.

The men were reportedly demanding that their preferred candidates be recruited as employees and officers in different university posts.

However, when the VC said the recruitment process would take place as per the university rules, the ruling party men started hurling abusive words at the VC. During the incident, the leaders also physically assaulted science faculty Dean Prof Habibur Rahman and RU Student Adviser Prof Sadequl Arefin Matin after the teachers requested the men to calm down, witnesses said.

RU Pro-VC Prof Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan and RU Teacher’s Association President Prof Ananda Kumar Saha – who were both present during the incident – condemned the unruly behaviour by the ruling party men.

When contacted, Dablu admitted that a “tense situation” had occurred when he went to voice some demands to the VC, but denied claims of any verbal or physical abuse.

“A bit of a tense situation was formed when a teacher caught the arm of Shahadat while we were leaving the VC’s office and also after we had gone out of the office,” he also said.

A source in the RU administration said the ruling party and its student wing were pressuring the university to fill up vacant posts with their preferred candidates.

A group of muggers shot a businessman and snatched away Tk16 lakh in broad daylight from the crowded market area of Islampur in the capital yesterday.

Victim Badal Munshi, 32, proprietor of fruit business Deepa Enterprise, was shot in his right thigh and is now under treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Badal told the Dhaka Tribune that he and his two staff members were going to the Islampur branch of the National Bank from his workplace in Badamtoli area to make a deposit. He said the money was for their client in Chittagong who was waiting for it to send a shipment of fruits.

He added: “As soon as we reached the pond area of Nababbari around 2pm, six to eight youths – all aged between 18 to 22 – surrounded us and tried to take the money from us.

When my staff and I protested, they shot me and then fired some warning shots. The people nearby started taking shelter and shops closed their shutters; the muggers then exploded two crude bombs and fled the scene.”

Badal is one of the three partners of Deepa Enterprise. The two other partners are Ranjit and Nazim.

Contacted, Ahaduzzaman Mia, Assistant Commissioner of Police of Kotwali division, confirmed the incident and said “On information, we went to the spot and are now questioning Badal and the two staff members. We are trying to trace the muggers.”

He added that many businessmen of old Dhaka frequently travel with large sums of cash and they do not always inform the police, for which reason, such incidents recur.

Till filing of this report, yesterday evening, no one was arrested and no case was filed in this regard. l

Science faculty dean, student adviser also physically attacked

Chhatra League men bring out a procession against the RU VC on the campus after some Awami League leaders verbally abused the vice-chancellor at his office yesterday AZAHAR UDDIN “Just for grabbing a huge amount of money from job aspirants, local Awami League leaders and university unit Chhatra League have long been adamant, and now the issue has become public,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, soon after yesterday’s incident, Chhatra League brought out a procession accusing the university authority of favouring Jamaat-Shibir in the university.

Also at a small gathering, Chhatra League’s RU unit President Mizanur Rahman Rana demanded Mizanuddin’s resignation,

RAMPURA HOUSE COLLAPSE

Rescue to continue today n Kamrul Hasan The rescue operation in Rampura where a tinshed two-storey house collapsed will continue for the third consecutive day today, said Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Abul Fazal Mir yesterday afternoon.

“The rescue team will work even on Friday to remove the collapsed structure,” he said.

Meanwhile, a case was lodged with Rampura police station accusing the alleged owner of the collapsed house Munir Chowdhury, Jubo League president of Ward 23.

Assistant Commissioner (Motijheel Zone) of Dhaka Metropolitan police Nurul Alam confirmed the filing of the case.

Anwar Hossain, acting deputy police commissioner of Motijheel Division, said the owner of the house, Moniruzzaman, had gone into hiding soon after the incident.

But locals claimed Monir and his brother were present during the rescue operation on Wednesday night. They, however, could not confirm if he was present yesterday.

When contacted, Additional District Magistrate Shahidul Islam said they did not con-

firm who the owner of the house was as some of the land are owned by the government authorities while the others belong to some individuals.

ADC Abul Fazal Mir said the land is owned by individuals. Earlier, he said the land of the area was owned by some individuals and some pieces of land were under the Ministry of Public Works.

Mujibor Rahman Chowdhury, elder brother of the accused and also Ward 23 coulcillor aspirant, said the land was registered in the name of Monir’s son Anay Chowdhury.

In the meantime, Chairman of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) GM Jainal Abedin Bhuiya said the house was constructed illegally.

At least twelve people including four of a family died when the two-storey house made of corrugated iron sheets collapsed into a water body in the capital’s Rampura on Wednesday.

Locals said the number of fatalities might climb up as they feared that several residents might still be trapped underwater inside the collapsed structure. l

blaming the VC for not working for Chhatra League.

On the other hand, RU Progressive Student Alliance, RUTA and other students organisations condemned both the incidents from yesterday and Wednesday, and demanded punishment for those responsible.

On Wednesday, Rajshahi 1 lawmaker Omar Faruk Chowdhury allegedly threatened to depose VC Mizanuddin over the university’s fine of Tk25 lakh to Shah Makhdum Medical College for alleged irregularities in admission process. l

DT

6 NEWS

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

Buet teacher sued for criticising Kamaruzzaman’s execution n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A sedition case was filed yesterday against Buet teacher Jahangir Alam for making “provocative” comments regarding the execution of war criminal Muhammad Kamaruzzaman on Facebook.

Siyam Hossain, a student of Dr MM Rashid Hall, filed the case with Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court against Jahangir, an associate professor of civil engineering department of Bangladesh University of Engi-

neering and Technology (Buet).

After recording statements of the complainant, Metropolitan Magistrate Shariar Mahmud Adnan directed the Shahbagh police to register the case as an FIR after taking government approval.

According to the case statement, the teacher reportedly criticised the execution of Kamruzzaman, a senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader, on a Facebook page on Saturday.

After the hanging, a Buet student named Dipu Sarkar posted the status “Kamaruzzam-

an’s hanging conducted” on a page of Buet student’s alumni group named “Aari Pete Shona.”

In his comment, the accused teacher termed the verdict against Kamaruzzaman and the subsequent execution “injustice.”

Jahangir said: “This will never happen. Wait and see. Day by day you all will turn into even worse than what the Razakars were. Injustice never leads to something good.” When some students protested his comments, Jahangir further commented: “Joy India! Joy muscle power! Joy nasty politics! Joy injustice!” l

Report submission in Khaleda’s arson case deferred

Zubaida Rahman’s case to be heard on April 22

A Dhaka court yesterday again deferred until May 17 the submission of probe report in a case filed against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and three others for killing 42 people in violence during 20-party’s hartal-blockade programmes.

Metropolitan Magistrate Maruf Hossain fixed the date as Gulshan police OC prayed for time.

The other accused are BNP Standing Committee member Rafiqul Islam Miah and Khaleda’s two advisers Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury and Prof Emajuddin Ahmed.

On February 2, AB Siddique, president of Bangladesh Jananetri Parishad filed the case with Dhaka’s CMM Court. After recording the complainant’s statement, the court directed the Gulshan OC to investigate the case and submit a probe report before the court by March 1. l

n Ashif Islam Shaon

n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

The High Court yesterday fixed April 22 for holding final hearing on a petition challenging the legality of a corruption case filed against Zubaida Rahman, wife of Bangladesh Nationalist Party Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman.

The bench of Justice Md Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice JBM Hassan set the date after Anti-Corruption Commission lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan prayed to the court for disposal of the petition filed seven years ago.

The Anti-Corruption Commission lodged the case with Kafrul police on September 26, 2007 accusing Tarique, Zubaida and her

mother Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu of giving false information and concealing wealth worth Tk4.23 crore and earning properties worth Tk4.82 crore illegally.

The charge sheet was submitted on March 31, 2008 accusing Zubaida Rahman of aiding Tarique to illegally amassing wealth and allowing him to open two fixed deposit accounts, each valued Tk35 crore.

Upon a plea filed by Zubaida on April 8 the same year, the High Court stalled proceedings in the case for two months.

The High Court on April 2 this year allowed the commission to become a party in the rule. Now, the Anti-Corruption Commission lawyers can place their arguments during hearing on the petition. l

Fakhrul granted temporary bail n Ashif Islam Shaon The High Court yesterday granted ad interim bail to BNP Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in an arson case filed with Paltan police station.

The bench of Justice Md Nuruzzaman and Justice Zafar Ahmed granted the bail yesterday afternoon.

The court also issued four separate rulings, asking the government to explain within three weeks why the BNP leader should not be granted a regular bail in three other cases along with this one.

The three cases against Fakhrul were filed with Paltan and Motijheel police stations.

Mirza Fakhrul was arrested on January 6 immediately after he had stepped out of the National Press Club. Fakhrul had been at the press club since he attended a programme organised by a pro-BNP professionals’ organisation on January 5. l

Qulkhwani for Shahidul Islam today n Tribune Desk The qulkhwani for recently deceased Shahidul Islam will be held at his Dhanmondi residence today, after the Asr prayers.

Family members, relatives and friends are requested to attend the qulkhwani. The address of his house is: House 26, Road 14 A, Dhanmondi, Dhaka.

Shahidul was a deputy inspector general of Bangladesh police. He fell ill while serving for the United Nations in Italy. He died on April 4 at a hospital in Germany.

He was buried at the family graveyard after janazas in Dhaka and Godagari, Rajshahi.l

DT

NEWS 7

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

Mayoral candidates want to change Dhaka n Tribune Desk Mayor aspirants said they wanted to change the capital for the good and fix the negative image of the city.

“You will not see such a picture anymore if I win the election,” said Kazi Mohammad Shahidullah, mayor candidate of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), at the inaugural function of a photo exhibition at Drik Gallery in Dhaka yesterday evening.

The exhibition “Oprottashito Dhaka” displayed photos depicting sound pollution, unhygienic Dhaka, unsafe roads, traffic congestion, unplanned and untimed digging, unawareness about traffic rules, illegal vehicle parking on roads, and a photo series of a minor boy’s life in Dhaka titled “Life of Jibon.”

Almost all the mayoral and councilor candidates pledged to address such issues in their respective manifestos so far declared.

“Change is possible,” said Zonayed Saki, one of the mayoral candidates of DNCC.” Mayoral candidate of south (DSCC) Moshiur Rahman said: “I have a mega plan to reduce traffic congestion in Dhaka city.”

The exhibition was organised by Volunteer for Bangladesh, the youth wing of JAAGO Foundation in association with Dhaka Tribune and The Daily Ittefaq. l

WEATHER A photo exhibition titled ‘Oprottashito Dhaka’ held at Dhaka’s Drik Gallery yesterday grabbed attention with a photo portraying a schoolgirl puts hands on her ears to get rid of noise pollution. Mayor candidate for Dhaka North City Corporations Zonayed Saki and SHUJAN Secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar visit the exhibition organised by Jaago Foundation

DRY WEATHER FRIDAY, APRIL 17 DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 6:21PM

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:35AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

34

26

Chittagong

32

26

Rajshahi

35

24

Rangpur

35

22

Khulna

33

23

Barisal

32

24

Sylhet

31

22

Cox’s Bazar

32

24

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

36.6ºC Mongla

23.0ºC Mymensingh/Tangail Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr

4:17am

Sunrise

5:35am

Jumma

11:58am

Asr

4:31pm

Magrib

6:21pm

Esha

7:39pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

SUST deadlock continues n Our Correspondent, Sylhet

A deadlock situation is prevailing on the campus of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology over resignation of two departments’ heads.

Teacher of Chemistry department Dr Sayeed Samsul Alam yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that at least 43 teachers would resign, if Vice-Chancellor of the university Professor Aminul Haque Bhuiyan did not resign by Sunday.

Prof Dr Syed Badiuzzaman Faruque, head of physics department, and Prof Dr Sharif Md Sharafuddin, head of geography and environment science department, resigned on Monday following a heated discussion with Prof Aminul over a dispute on space allocation between the departments.

Following their resignation, the departments’ students put the gate of the VC’s office building under lock and key and took position in front of it. Then, the VC assured them that he would meet the demands of them within 36 hours.

Since then, teachers and students of the university have been observing difference types of agitations, including sit-in and work abstention, demanding removal of the VC. On Wednesday, students of physics and geography and environment science departments observed a sit-in programme in front of VC office. Dr Sayeed Samsul Alam said: “The VC misbehaved with at least 19 teachers, so it is impossible to work with him.”

Assistant Professor Faruk Uddin, member of university syndicate and general secretary of Shikkhak Samity, said: “Activists of Chhatra League beat Assistant Provost Mirajul Islam in November last year, but the VC did not take any single step against it.”

Vice-Chancellor Dr Aminul Haque Bhuiyan told the Dhaka Tribune that he had great respect for teachers as he himself was a teacher.

It was just a misunderstanding, nothing else.

Teachers had some responsibilities towards the society, so they should not create a situation which was unexpected. l

3 held with 10,000 Yaba

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong Police arrested two Myanmar nationals and a Bangladeshi from a house in the port city’s Firingibazar area in the early hours of yesterday and seized 10,000 pieces of Yaba from the possession of the arrestees.

The arrestees – Myanmas Hamid Ullah, 40, and Naimul Haq, 23, and Bangladeshi Abu Taher, 49 – were sued under the Kotwali Police Station of Chittagong, police said.

After being tipped off, police raided a building on Bongshal Road of the area at around 1:00 am and nabbed the three, said Chittagong Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner (Kotwali circle) Shah Mohammad Abdur Rouf.

The seized items value at Tk 20 lakh, said Kotwali Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Jasim Uddin. The Bangladeshi, Taher, comes from Myanmar as well; he came to Chittagong few years back, and availed a national ID card hiding his information, he added. l

DT

8 NEWS

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

Sand lifting a threat to infrastructure on Meghna bank n Our Correspondent, Brahmanbaria Despite a High Court ban, illegal sand lifting is going on unabated in Shohagpur area of Ashuganj in Brahmanbaria district.

Some major structures, especially the road and rail bridges on the river Meghna, Ashuganj river port and the Ashuganj Thermal Power Plant are feared to suffer if the river bank collapses due to erosion caused by the indiscriminate sand lifting.

A local construction company named Elegance has been extracting sand for its own commercial gain and that too without giving any tax to the government.

A recent visit to Sohagpur found a powerful dredger employed to lift sand, which was then loaded to a large boat.

Local people said the embankment on the Meghna River was in grave danger due to such illegal sand lifting. Syed Nazrul Islam bridge, Shahid Abdul Halim rail bridge, Ashuganj river port and the Ashuganj power plant were also under risk of erosion.

Since the Ashuganj river port was declared

an international one, there has been rapid growth of infrastructure in the area. This has also led to increased demand in construction materials including sand.

The thermal power plant, which is a Key Point Installation (KPI) establishment, is expected to generate about 2,000 MW of electricity this year. But the plant may be at risk if the sand lifting is not checked.

Abu Asif Ahmed, chairman of Ashuganj upazila, said: “Almost all the units of the power plant is situated on the river bank. So if erosion occurs, they would be hit hard.”

He demanded administrative measures against the illegal sand traders.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Ashuganj Sandeep Kumar Singh said there was a High Court ban on lifting sand from Meghna. So he would take legal actions if anyone was found defying the ban.

Proprietor of the company Elegance, Javed Iqbal defended his act by saying that the sand lifting had approval of the authorities.

He also claimed that the bridges and the KPI establishments were not under any risk. l

Students take classes under open sky in Faridpur n Our Correspondent, Faridpur

The students of a government primary school in Charajsurdi union of Nagarkandi upazila here have long been taking part in their classes under open sky in absence of an academic establishment.

Besides, unavailability of playing field, toilets, library and necessary number of bench have worsen the suffering of the students as well as the teachers of Rakhalgachhi Government Primary School.

It was learnt that there are 175 pupils in the school and a tin-shed tiny establishment had been built for it in 1995. In course of time, the establishment have turned into dilapidated.

The school’s education materials such as bench, tables and black boards lie under open sky and sometimes miscreants steal those due to the current condition.

Many students often fall sick because of stay-

ing under scorching sun during the class hours while sudden rain also damage their books.

When asked, Rakhalgachhi Government Primary School Headmaster Parvin Sultana acknowledged the bad situation the school.

Admitting the sorry state, the school’s managing committee President Hafizur Rahman Talukder said: “The situation has already crossed the limitations and that is why the authorities concerned should erect a building urgently on a priority basis considering suffering of the students.”

Earlier, they had informed the local education officer on the matter, Hafizur went on.

Nagarkanda Upazila Education Officer Rafiqul Islam said: “It’s urgent to build an academic establishment for Rakhalgachhi Government Primary School. In this regard, we have already urged upon the higher authorities to take necessary steps and we hope of getting a prompt response.” l

Man held for making derogatory comment on PM n Our Correspondent, Bagerhat A man was arrested yesterday for posting derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on a social media networking site.

The youth identified as Sarowar Hossain,30, a shopekeepr had posted offensive statements

against the Prime Minister and Bangabndhu on his Facebook page, police said.

Sheikh Samsher Ali, officer-in-charge of Kachua police station said on a tip-off, the police arrested Sarowar from Gazaria Bazar as he posted caricature and made derogatory remarks on Facebook post.

Local Awami League leader Kaosar Ali filed a case against Sarowar in this connection. l

Activists of the Progotishil Chhatra Jote, a platform of leftist student bodies at Rajshahi University, bring out a procession yesterday on the campus, protesting sexual assault on women on the Dhaka University campus on Tuesday during Pohela Boishakh celebrations AZHAR UDDIN

DT

NEWS 9

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

Mob beating claims youth’s life n Our Correspondent, Jessore A young man was killed in a brutal beating by some unruly villagers in Sujalpur area in the district town early yesterday.

The victim is Akbar Ali, 22, son of Faruk, from Arabpur area of the town.

When asked, Kotwali police station OC Sikder Akkas Ali acknowledged the fateful incident, telling that Akbar along with his two accomplices had been snatching a motorcycle in Sujalpur at dead hours of night.

Sensing the matter, the locals chased the trio and finally managed to catch only Akbar.

At one stage, the infuriated villagers beat up him mercilessly, leaving him critically injured.

Later, he was admitted to Jessore Medical College Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries around 1:30am. l

Power crisis puts residents of Nilphamari in trouble n Our Correspondent, Nilphamari

Firefighters with the help of locals remove the wreckage of the damaged human haulier locally known as Mahendra which collided head-on with a truck in Goriarpar area in Barisal yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Truck-human haulier collision takes lives of six n Our Correspondent, Barisal

“Vehicular movement became normal after the damaged vehicles were removed from the spot with the help of firefighters,” he said.

The truck was seized, but the driver and helpers of it managed to flee from the spot, he added.

The injured passengers – Mamtaz Mousumi Begum, Russel Hawladar, Fulbanu Begum, Mukta Aktar, Amirunnesa, Mosammat Jannat Begum and Md Sazzad Hossain – were admitted to Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital (SBMCH) in critical conditions.

The bodies were taken to SBMCH morgue for autopsy. A case was filed in this connection. l

A total of 45,000 consumers have been suffering badly because of frequent power failure in Nilphamari district for the last one week.

A number of residents complained that load-shedding occurs from 7am to 10am and 6pm to 8pm everyday.

Such disruption in the flow of electricity have resulted into extreme losses to the farmers as their irrigation pumps are going out of order due to low voltage and the frequent power failures.

Mosharrof Hossain, a farmer of Shahipara village under Nilphamari sadar upazila told the Dhaka Tribune: “We are suffering a lot because of the repetitive load-shedding during the ongoing irrigation season. The rate of power outage is increasing day by day in the rural area.”

Residents are losing their valuable electric appliances like refrigerator, television, electric fan, and rich cooker due to recurring blackouts and flux in the flow of electricity.

Sources in Palli Bidyut Samity office in Nilphamari said the overall demand for electricity in six upazilas currently stands at 23 megawatts (MW).

When contacted, Rezaul Karim, executive engineer of Nilphamari Palli Bidyut Samity office, said: “The line through which we receive the electricity from Syedpur is quite old and requires repairing.” l

At least six people were killed and seven others injured in a head-on collision between a truck and a human haulier on the Dhaka-Barisal Highway in Kashipur area, Barisal yesterday morning.

Passengers of the human haulier locally known as Mahendra told the Dhaka Tribune that the vehicle carrying 10 passengers was going to Barisal town from Rahmatpur, Babuganj upazila.

Md Sazzad Hossain, who was injured in the accident, said: “To avoid a collision with

a motorcycle the Mahendar overtook a bus, then it fell in front of the watermelon-laden truck and a head-on collision took place between them around 9am.”

Six people – Swapan Das, driver of the Mahendra, and five passengers of the human haulier – Lovlu Begum, Mamunur Rashid Ridoy, Maleka Begum, Sohrab Hossain Hawladar and Altaf Hossain – died on the spot, he said.

Sub-Inspector of Airport police station Prodip Chandra said following the accident road communication on the highway was disrupted for about an-hour.

Worker beaten to death in Habiganj n Our Correspondent, Habiganj

2,000 tonnes of urea turn unusable for lack of storage facilities

An electrical worker was hacked to death by miscreants yesterday morning in Madhabpur of Habiganj. The dead was Johir Uddin, 60, hailing from the upazila’s Baghasura village.

Police said Johir was on his way to work when the miscreants intercepted him near Shahjibazar area and hacked him indiscriminately. He was later taken to Habiganj Sadar Hospital where he died in the afternoon while undergoing treatment, police added.

Officer-in-Charge of Madhabpur police station Mola Monir Hossain said they were trying to apprehend the culprits. l

n Our Correspondent, Kurigram At least 2,000 tonnes of urea fertiliser of Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation in Kurigram could turn unusable for lack of proper storage facilities.

The fertiliser has been left in the ground, only covered with tarpaulin, because of a shortage of storehouse.

There is a buffer depository in the district which has a capacity of 2,000 tonnes but it is very old.

Besides, almost 6,000 tonnes of fertiliser has been stocked in the district in the current season and Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation officials are in trouble over finding a way to properly preserve it.

Dulal Hossain, a local fertiliser trader, said urea gradually solidifies if not stored inside and farmers are unwilling to buy the fertiliser in that form.

General Secretary of Bangladesh Fertiliser Dealers Association’s Kurigram office, Golam Mostafa, said it will be a big trouble for trad-

ers as farmers will be reluctant to buy solid fertiliser.

“We have been facing this problem for long and constructing a new depository in the district is an urgent issue that the authorities should pay attention to,” he said.

Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension’s Kurigram office, Md Shawkat Ali Sarker, admitted that failure to preserve fertiliser in a storehouse would lead to loss of quality and efficiency, but did not comment on whether a new storage facility would be built. l

DT

10 WORLD

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

Children killed in shelling of Damascus suburbs

Russia blames US for security crises, turmoil in Ukraine

n Reuters

Top Russian officials accused the United States yesterday of seeking political and military dominance in the world and sought to put blame on the West for international security crises, including the conflict in east Ukraine.

Evoking Cold War-style rhetoric, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said a drive by the United States and its allies to bring Kiev closer to the West was a threat to Moscow and had forced it to react.

“The United States and its allies have crossed all possible lines in their drive to bring Kiev into their orbit. That could not have failed to trigger our reaction,” he told an annual security conference in Moscow. l

n Tribune Desk At least 10 people have been killed according to a monitoring network after Syrian government forces shelled the southeastern suburbs of Damascus, an area that has come under intensive assault by regime jets and artillery in recent days.

A main roundabout in the town of Zabdean was shelled yesterday, in which at least 10 people, including five children, were killed and nearby homes destroyed, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

In another suburb of the Syrian capital - Eastern Ghouta - clashes have intensified between government forces and opposition fighters, leaving several people injured.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the Syrian Observatory’s reports.

Eastern Ghouta has been shelled intensively for the past 10 days, with reports of at least 36 surface-to-surface missiles and dozens of other mortars being used.

Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Jamjoom, reporting from Beirut in neighbouring Lebanon, said there has been an uptick in violence over the past several weeks, especially in Idlib province.

“The city of Idlib became the second provincial capital to fall to the rebels. This was a group coalition which was led by al-Nusra

Netanyahu likens Iran to Nazis during Holocaust remembrance

n AFP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seized on Israel’s annual remembrance of the Holocaust Wednesday to compare arch-foe Iran to Hitler’s Germany.

“As the Nazis sought to stamp out civilisation and to set the master race to rule across the earth... while wiping out the Jewish people, so does Iran seek to control the region, spread outwards and destroy the Jewish state,” he said.

Speaking at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, as Israel began marking the liberation of the Nazi death camps 70 years ago, he used the occasion to keep us his constant pressure against the emerging nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers.

World powers agreed with Iran this month on the framework of a deal to rein in its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.

Israel and many Western governments suspect Iran’s civilian nuclear programme is a front for efforts to build a military capability, a charge Tehran denies.

Warning against appeasing “tyrannical regimes,” he questioned whether the lessons of World War II had been fully absorbed.

“Has the world really learned from the incomprehensible universal and Jewish tragedy of the previous century,” he asked.

“The bad agreement being drafted with Iran teaches us that the historic lesson has not been internalised.”

“The powers turn a deaf ear to the crowds in Iran shouting ‘Death to America; death to Israel,’” Netanyahu said. l

Another ally of Ukraine ex-president Yanukovych found dead

n AFP A migrant from Syria holds her child upon arrival in Greece at the port of Lesbos island yesterday Front. The city fell in the last part of March.

“In the intervening time, there has really been an upswing in the ongoing aerial bombardment by Syrian forces. It is getting bloodier and bloodier by the hour,” he said.

AFP

Meanwhile, in Yarmouk, south of Damascus, clashes have escalated between government forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, while government forces shelled the neighbourhoods of the area. l

US Iran bill makes nuclear deal harder, but not impossible n Reuters, Washington A compromise allowing the US Congress to vote on a nuclear deal with Tehran may prompt Iranian negotiators to drive a harder bargain, but does not drastically weaken President Barack Obama’s ability to deliver on a final agreement.

For months Obama resisted attempts led by Republicans and some Democrats to open an agreement with Iran to congressional approval. On Tuesday he backed down in the face of mounting bipartisan support for the bill, which gives Congress at least 30 days to review a final deal during which time Obama would be unable to waive or suspend many US sanctions.

Negotiators for Iran and six major powers

are trying to ensure Iran does not acquire an atomic bomb by securing an agreement by June 30 under which Iran would curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions.

“If I were an Iranian negotiator, I would walk into that room and say ‘you told us all along you were going to stop legislation,’” said Richard Nephew, a former US negotiator with Iran now at Columbia University. “‘How can you guarantee us that we’re not going to have this problem when we bring the deal forth?’”

“Will it be fatal? No,” he added. “It’s going to make things a lot harder, a lot more complicated, a lot more difficult for the (US) negotiating side.” l

UN Yemen envoy quits as Saudiled air war enters fourth week n AFP The UN envoy to Yemen has resigned after failing to avert large-scale violence, dealing a blow to hopes of a diplomatic solution to the conflict between rebels and Saudi-backed government forces.

The announcement from the United Nations came as a Saudi-led coalition pressed its air war against the Iran-backed rebels into a fourth week, promising “no half measures” in its campaign to restore President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

As UN envoy, Jamal Benomar had tried desperately to avert all-out conflict as the Shiite Huthi rebels seized the capital last September and then placed Hadi under effective house arrest in January.

But Hadi’s escape to second city Aden the following month to rally opposition to the rebels effectively brought negotiations to an end and Benomar’s efforts to revive them came to nothing as the rebels advanced on the president’s last refuge, triggering his flight to Saudi Arabia. l

A former Ukraine deputy was shot dead in Kiev Wednesday, the fourth ally of ousted pro-Moscow ex-president Viktor Yanukovych to die in suspicious circumstances in the past two months.

The body of Oleg Kalashnikov was found at his home on Wednesday evening, the interior ministry said in a statement.

“Death was caused by gunshot,” the statement added. A police inquiry has been opened.

Kalashnikov had taken part in protests in support of the pro-Moscow leader Yanukovych who was ousted in 2014 after three months of mass demonstrations calling for his removal ended in a bloodbath.

Yanukovych fled to Russia, triggering Ukraine’s descent into conflict which has seen the annexation of the Crimea region by Russia and ongoing fighting in the east with pro-Moscow rebels, despite a February ceasefire. l

EU parliament calls for Turkey to recognise ‘genocide’

n Agencies

The European Parliament has called on Turkey to recognise the “Armenian genocide,” sparking condemnation from Ankara, which says the move is “inconsistent with international law.”

“Armenia and Turkey should use the centenary of the Armenian genocide to renew diplomatic relations, open the border and pave the way for economic integration,” a statement by the EU legislature said on Wednesday after it adopted a non-binding resolution on the issue.

The Members of the European Parliament (MEP) also called on Turkey to open its archives and “come to terms with its past.”

The EU institution praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials for “offering condolences and recognising atrocities against the Ottoman Armenians.”

Ankara agrees that many Armenians died in ethnic fighting and the deportation process between 1915 and 1917, during World War I, putting its estimate at 300,000 causalities. l

DT

WORLD 11

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

South Koreans remember victims of ferry disaster

Report: 16 Myanmar soldiers die in offensive near China border

n AFP

n Agencies Grief, anger and political tension are marking the first anniversary of South Korea’s Sewol ferry disaster.

Relatives mourning the 304 dead, mostly schoolchildren, are accusing top officials of indifference to the tragedy.

Bowing to a key demand of the victims’ families, President Park Geun-Hye used the anniversary yesterday to announce that the 6,825-tonne vessel would be brought to the surface at “the earliest possible date.”

Park made the statement during a visit to the southern island of Jindo, the closest landfall to the site where the Sewol sank on April 16.

Family members, still angry over the official response to the disaster, declined to meet her, and there was no immediate response from the relatives to the announcement that the ferry would be raised.

The focus of yesterday’s anniversary was on Ansan city, south of Seoul, where a single high school lost 250 students when the ferry went down.

Flags flew at half mast and yellow ribbons fluttered from trees and lamp posts as sirens blared across the city at 10am local time (01:00 GMT) and residents bowed their heads for a minute’s silence and prayer. l

Search area for Flight MH370 to double if plane not found

n Reuters

Government ministers from Australia, China and Malaysia yesterday said they would double the search area for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 if wreckage is not found in the current target area.

No trace has been found of the Boeing 777 aircraft, which disappeared in March last year carrying 239 passengers and crew in what has become one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history. Most of the passengers were Chinese.

The extended search for the jetliner, which is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean off Australia’s west coast, could take up to a year, officials said at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss and Chinese Transport Minister Yang Chuantang pledged to double the current search area if necessary.

“Should the aircraft not be found within the current search area, ministers agreed to extend the search by an additional 60,000 square kilometers to bring the search area to 120,000 square kilometers and thereby cover the entire highest probability area identified by expert analysis,” they said in a joint statement.

The second phase of the search would cost an estimated A$50 million ($38.74 million) which would be borne by Malaysia and Australia, Liow said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur. l

Sixteen Myanmar soldiers died in a major offensive to flush rebels from a strategic hill-top in the northeastern region bordering China, state media said yesterday, as fighting with ethnic insurgents nears its tenth week.

Scores of soldiers and ethnic Kokang rebels have died since conflict erupted in the remote region of Shan state on February 9, while tens of thousands of people have fled across the frontier into China.

Myanmar air strikes have since drifted into Chinese territory, killing several civilians and prompting a rebuke from Beijing which scrambled its fighter jets.

The conflict has also overshadowed a wider bid to secure a nationwide ceasefire with a host of other rebel groups – excluding the Kokang – as the country edges towards breakthrough elections after decades of junta rule.

“Sixteen soldiers and officers from the Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) gave their lives for the country and another 110 soldiers and officers were wounded,” a report yesterday in state-run Burmese-language newspaper The Mirror said. l

Pakistan halts executions given by military courts

n Agencies South Korea’s President Park Geun-Hye, center, makes a speech as she visits Paengmok port on the island of Jindo, near the site of the wreck of the Sewol ferry, on the anniversary of the disaster yesteray AFP

Chinese president to visit Pakistan, hammer out $46-billion deal n Reuters Chinese President Xi Jinping will launch energy and infrastructure projects worth $46 billion on a visit to Pakistan next week as China cements links with its old ally and generates opportunities for firms hit by slack growth at home.

Also being finalised is a long-discussed plan to sell Pakistan eight Chinese submarines. The deal, worth between $4 billion and $5 billion, according to media reports, may be among those signed on the trip.

Xi will visit next Monday and Tuesday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.

Commercial and defense ties are drawing together the two countries, which share a remote border and long-standing mistrust of their increasingly powerful neighbor, India, and many Western nations.

“China treats us as a friend, an ally, a partner and above all an equal - not how the Americans and others do,” said Mushahid Hussain Sayed, chairman of the Pakistan parliament’s defense committee.

Pakistan and China often boast of being “iron brothers” and two-way trade grew to $10 billion last year from $4 billion in 2007, Pakistani data shows.

Xi’s trip is expected to focus on a Pakistan-China Economic Corridor, a planned

Pakistan’s Supreme Court has suspended death sentences handed down by the country’s new military courts, set up in the wake of a Taliban massacre at a school in December last year.

Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk suspended the executions yesterday after lawyers challenged the constitutional amendment that created the military courts, the AFP news agency reported.

The move came after legislators approved a change to the country’s constitution in January to establish military courts to deal with terrorism cases, prompting concern from lawyers and rights activists.

The amendment was part of government efforts to crack down on armed groups following the school killings in December by members of the Pakistani Taliban, which left more than 150 people dead, Pakistan’s bloodiest ever attack. l

Nothing wrong in people waving Pak flags, separatist leader Masarat Alam says

n Agencies

Chinese President Xi Jinping

REUTERS

$46-billion network of roads, railways and energy projects linking Pakistan’s deepwater Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea with China’s far-western Xinjiang region.

It would shorten the route for China’s energy imports, bypassing the Straits of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia, a bottleneck at risk of blockade in wartime.

If the submarine deal is signed, China may also offer Pakistan concessions on building a refueling and mechanical station in Gwadar, a defense analyst said. l

Indian Separatist leader Masarat Alam yesterday said he did not find anything wrong in people waving Pakistani flags, even as the Delhi asked the J&K government to take strict action against all those who took part in an anti-India rally in Srinagar.

“I didn’t personally wave any flags (Pak flag), people did, but I don’t find anything wrong in it,” Masarat Alam said.

The separatist leader, who was freed from detention by Mufti Sayeed government last month, claimed there was nothing new in Pak flags being waived by people.

“It has been happening since 1947,” he said.

Masrat Alam was part of a procession that gathered in uptown Hyderpora locality of Srinagar city to welcome hardline senior separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani. l

DT

12 EDITORIAL

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

Innovation the way to climb the value chain

W

e applaud the pro-active approach being shown by Bangladesh’s denim producers in taking their part of the RMG industry forward.

The sector’s hosting of a two day Bangladesh Denim Expo next month to attract global buyers provides a valubale chance for it to showcase maufacturers’ growing involvement in design and innovation.

More Bangladeshi denim manufacturers are successfully investing more in the design and development of new products. This is helping them move away from a position where designs were solely dictated by buyers to one where they can attract new orders by offering more of their own new designs of denim.

The value added by such enterprise and innovation not ony helps the producers compete better globally, but benefits retailers as well by reducing their research and development costs.

Presently, denim accounts for around $6bn of the country’s $25bn RMG exports.

With world demand in the $60bn denim sector expected to grow at over 8%, and domestic demand multiplying even faster, there are sound prospects for denim producers to achieve their goal of doubling sales to over $13bn in the next five years.

Ten new denim factories are expected to come into operation soon to add to the 27 existing specialist denim manufacturers.

It is important to keep investing in design and innovation to take the sector up the value chain. There is much potential to mark more premium denim products globally by investing more resources into better fabric and techniques.

Manufacturers investing in design cuts attract new orders and helps buyers as well

Time to tax fossil fuels

W

e welcome the call by the head of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, for governments to scrap fossil fuel subsidies and bring in taxes on carbon emissions.

The IPCC estimates that in order to keep global temperature rises within manageable limits, greenhouse gas emissions have to be cut by between 40% and 70% within the next 35 years.

Globally, nearly $1tn is spent each year subsidising fossil fuels. The World Bank estimates that in low and middle-income countries, the richest fifth of the population uses up six times as much of these subsides as the poorest 20%.

Most of the nearly $4bn our government spends annually on energy subsidies falls into this category. These are not just harmful to the environment by encouraging greenhouse gas emissions, they encourage wasteful use, speed up the consumption of finch resources and are an unjust and illogical way to spend taxpayer funds.

As a nation with one of the largest groups of people threatened by the negative impacts of climate change, we need to be more pro-active in ensuring addressing climate change is integrated into all aspects of policy.

Bangladesh made positive strides in developing solar home power systems through IDCOL. The government needs to join up policy to help meet the twin aims of raising living standards by providing more people with reliable electricity in order to increase people’s resilience to adapting to climate change.

It should heed the world bank call by cutting subsidies and taxing carbon to stimulate investment in efficiency and renewable energy.

We need to be more pro-active in ensuring addressing climate change is integrated into all aspects of policy

Be heard

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

UN concerned over attacks on journalists, intellectuals

March 31 universe is awarding both very aptly.

Hasan Zaman Nobody’s freedom allows them to hurt Bazbanani somebody else’s freedom of expression. I Hasanuzzaman: Therein lies the problem, definitely don’t support mollahs/Jamaat, rational people saying irrational murderers nor do I support bloggers or so-called free can be justified “by the universe” because thinkers whose main goal is ending up to you think religious sentiments should be “think in the name of freedom, and act respected. It’s a slippery slope because without giving a damn.” They are only the “sentiment” is a flexible term -- the censors “I” of intellectuals because they are failing define the sentiment and are never satisfied to show even the slightest bit of care for or placated. others. So what is the difference between And in the UK, you can say anything bloggers and terrorist groups? One attacks blasphemous or offensive about Christianity sitting at the computer (almost like a lazy -- laws are strictly limited to outlawing inbut poisonous snake in the grass) and the citement and discrimination, not protecting other does it in broad daylight. religions from criticism or offence.

Ahmed S Ullah Fugstar Hasan Zaman: What is the difference Mission accomplished, prime minister. between bloggers and terrorists? Is that a joke, or can you really not see murder is Rashed worse than someone saying something you Fugstar: Don’t care what the UN thinks, but disagree with? when did it become suspect for a body or politician to express concern about people Hasanuzzaman being killed and targeted for their views.

Ahmed S Ullah: We are not talking about a debate on whether the world is round. ReliFugstar gious sentiments should be respected in any Rashed: It is a desired effect of the governland and you cannot go to UK or any counment, or whoever is organising these murtry, let’s say in a Christian/Hindu majority ders, to connect to that War on Terror era one, and expect to say anything about Jesus of prejudice in the world. Let us ask which Christ or Ram and not get a back-hand slap. hackings, killings, and disapearings merit It is a joke because bloggers and terrorists discussion, and which are buried in fear of are “freely” choosing their weapons and the recrimination.

DT Police find no flaws of onduty police

March 31 deep purple blue The cops are not for saving free-thinking people. They are not for providing security to the ordinary people. They can only guard VVIPs properly.

Ask them to hound an opposition activist or to conduct a forced disappearance and they will do it efficiently. Photos appeared in the media of cops standing close to the murder spot as silent onlookers.

The Gopalganj-dominated security forces have completely lost the confidence of the ordinary people.

MAS Molla So, you can look for “flaws” with your commanding officers who didn’t let you try to save Avijit!

The circus is coming to town March 31

Sreyaa The prevalence of this kind of political snobbery is becoming symptomatic -- if it indeed ever was not -- of the entire world. The system as it stands is a mess and we need more empowerment. Then again, just saying that does no good either. What a mess. sundar So long as the non-elites continue stupidly, like the rats running behind the pied piper of Hamelin, to play to the tunes of the elites, the epitome of vulgarity, this circus will go on. No use satirising the elites. The root of all evil in this country, to my mind, is the so-called common people. Being cheated not once but a thousand times by these elites is why they stupidly dance to their tunes. How long will they defend themselves in the name of innocence and pristine goodwill?

DT

OPINION 13

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

Learn to respect women n SM Shahrukh

T

he untoward occurrence at/near the Teacher-Student Center (TSC) on the Bengali New Year’s day (Pohela Boishakh) has now gone viral on social media as well as regular media. This type of incident is nothing new.

Women have long been sexually harassed and assaulted, if not raped, at public gatherings, whether it is a festive occasion or a solemn one. Sometimes, like the recent one at TSC on Pohela Boishakh, the attacks are overt and shamefully flagrant; sometimes they are surreptitious, like the ones faced by women all over the country -- all over the Indian subcontinent in fact -- in buses, trains, public walkways, parks, recreational venues etc.

Throw back to about 15 years ago to the dawn of the new millennium. There was an even more crass violation of a woman’s virtue at the same locale during a “31st night” fun-and-frolic. The woman, many may remember, was called Badhon. Her clothes were ripped off by some hooligans (for want of a better word, maybe “perverts” suit the bill).

Some men were indicted, clearly identified as the accused. But there was no worth-

while action taken against the perpetrators and the young woman felt so stigmatised that she left the country for a foreign clime. The “mischief” of a few has forever ruined the celebrations of that year-ending night of the Gregorian calendar.

There is a general tendency to blame the women for indecent exposure, deeming their outfits provocative. I say, what a load of balderdash or, as our honorable finance minister would say, “RUBBISH!” For once, at least, it is actually rubbish. Women who are sexually harassed are almost never lewd; it is the mindset of the sexually perverse menfolk that allows perpetration of such uncouth, nay, barbaric, acts.

Let us now delve into why men react the way they do in the presence of women. It has a lot to do with the concept of shame that is drilled into both of them from early childhood.

What drives a man to rape a woman?

In the context of Bangladesh, even South Asia, it may stem from a context of shame, a shame that is deeply embedded in society as a whole. This shame is about the human body, its sex organs, the act of sex, and the cause that effects in reproduction.

From early childhood, boys are kept away from the knowledge of sex, the inevitable

love-making, the “mysteries” of the birth of new life. Girls are always reminded of the allure they possess, the allure their bodies possess and how that can be construed as evil.

Little girls are taught about the menstrual cycle that will come in their teen years and as you may already be aware, they are told that it is shameful. This causes a drop in self-confidence and self-esteem among girls who have just reached puberty. The newly pubescent girl is constantly kept aware of her recently gained status as a possible child bearer and she is forced to be in a demure state as if this new status is a matter of shame.

They are urged, often forced, to totally subdue, partially or totally, their changing bodies from prying eyes. This makes a teenager self-conscious to such a degree that she more often than not gives a signal of vulnerability which may spell doom for her.

Boys, on the other hand, are never properly told or taught about sex. Whatever they learn, they learn surreptitiously. A woman’s body is a mystery to them, and where there is so much mystery there is curiosity.

And it takes very little time for this curiosity to turn towards perversion. They are censured for “self-curiosity,” a very natural instinct, and this shame attached to it gives

a boy the feeling of guilt. Boys are also told, surreptitiously again, that babies are born after a man marries a woman with the facts of lovemaking kept under wraps.

Kids, boys, and girls, should be made aware of the human body and after a certain age, they should be made aware of sex. The stigma of shame should be totally removed.

They should know that they were born when their parents had sex and no storks were ever involved. In a patriarchal society like ours, it is the boys who should come under the main focus, as they are the aggressors in incidents of rape.

The elimination of shame will go a long way in allowing boys to grow into men with a healthy respect that a woman’s virtue deserves.

Milan Kundera, in his book Immortality, pens the words we should consider and act upon: “The basis of shame is not some personal mistake of ours, but the ignominy, the humiliation we feel that we must be what we are without any choice in the matter, and that this humiliation is seen by everyone.”

We must now rectify this problem and stop feeling ashamed of the human body, the naked human body, with which we are born. l SM Shahrukh is a freelance contributor.

Finding the north n Saad Z Hossain

S

ay one thing about Bengali people, they are resilient. They can get used to the most obnoxious things. Leaded smog is Cuban cigars to us, fish doesn’t taste right without formalin, we are impervious to fire, falling bricks, and sinking boats.

Politicians do their worst, re-enacting the same story over and over again, and the city just carries on, plodding forward towards some kind of middle-income utopia, dragging along it’s coterie of parasites, criminals, and looters. Nothing changes, until it does.

All of a sudden, in one strange mayoral election, held amidst blockades and executions, we find a complete departure from the past, a sweeping aside of the old guard, the promise of something new. Independent candidates of many hues have run before, but never before have any of the two major parties discarded their stalwarts and offered something new!

Now, all of a sudden, in Dhaka North City Corporation, we have a genuine youth candidate, Tabith Awal, born in 1979, without the baggage of our past, unfettered by age-old loyalties, able to see the city for more than his own personal piggy bank. Their candidate is a very nice gentleman, I’m sure, and the ruling party have gone with a conservative choice, but where is the promise here, where is the will to change?

Is there any hope for us if the same people keep coming back, a faceless merry-go-round of politicians mouthing agendas written years ago?

I’m not extolling Tabith Awal’s personal virtues, which I easily could, but rather, the idea that, finally, a major political party has

BIGSTOCK

broken ranks and nominated someone out of the traditional power structure. Elections are about representation, first and foremost.

Denying people candidates of their choice is the same as denying them the right to vote altogether.

Part of the apathy of elections comes from us looking at the ballot paper and seeing candidates who are mirror images of one another, men who could switch sides of the ballot and still be the same. What is the point of voting, then, if you’re young, and worldly, and know that the game is rigged?

Now, at this moment, we have a real choice, youth to represent the youth, someone who might do something different, who might change the ossified bureaucracy, who might step out of his air conditioned bubble and try to make the city bearable for the rest of us, who might recall what it was like going to your first job interview, of trying to find a place to live on a budget, of trying to find a dead end street to play football during the world cup, of trying to breathe.

Whatever your political affiliations, here is someone who will represent the youth,

because he is the youth. Tabith Awal will change the city because he is the change, his very existence on a BNP ballot represents change within the party, a change in philosophy, a throw of the dice into the unknown.

And here finally is the sliver of hope that we are evolving, moving beyond the old guard, beyond the old way of doing things, that there is something better for us, and surely it’s worth reaching for, worth taking a chance on, because how else will we ever find out? l Saad Z Hossain is a businessman and fiction writer.

DT

14 OPINION

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

BIGSTOCK

Meet Dhaka n Zafar Sobhan

I

t has been a long time since the people of Dhaka have had the chance to vote for their mayor.

The last mayoral election was in 2002, and even then, the AL decided to boycott and not support a candidate, which means that the last time (and the first time, as it happens) we really had a fully competitive mayoral race in the capital was in 1994.

That was over 20 years ago, so the vote for mayor in 11 days time is long overdue, and it is heartening to see that the public is fully engaged and enthused about casting their vote.

Unlike a national election, mayoral elections allow the press and the public to focus their attention on the few constituencies where the races are taking place (three on April 28), which in turn serves to concentrate both the excitement and the scrutiny.

At the national level too much of the voting takes place simply across partisan party lines, with no one paying any attention to the candidates or their manifestos. Typically, the only consideration is the party identity of the candidate, and people cast their vote based on this one criterion.

A mayoral election provides us with a chance to really cast our vote based on the merits of the individual candidate and on what policies he or she might advance if elected to office. To be sure, there will be plenty of voters who will not look beyond the party affiliation (or, to be precise, support, as the election is meant to be a non-party affair) of each candidate, and vote based on that.

But the two Dhaka mayoral races also give us an opportunity to look at the merits, and see who we think would make the best

mayor, regardless of party affiliation. It is an opportunity to listen objectively to what each candidate has to say and to make a judgement based on that.

It is for this reason that we at the Dhaka Tribune have teamed up with ATN News and the Institute of Infomatics and Development (IID) to bring the people of Dhaka two televised mayoral candidate debates, one for Dhaka South and one for Dhaka North.

the candidates, that is broadcast on television to the voting public.

We have seen in other countries (the presidential debates in the US come to mind) that the election debates are a crucial component of the election landscape, and that it is unthinkable to hold an election without the candidates braving both one another as well as the television audience, so that the voters can take a long, hard look at them and de-

Not only will these debates play a crucial role in determining who our next mayor will be, they can also provide a template for how campaigns are run and our leaders are chosen in the future

In the upcoming elections nothing is more important that ensuring that the candidates get a chance to make their voices heard and that the voters get a chance to interact with the candidates and size them up for themselves.

The key to a good election is informed participation. Even a fully participatory election is of no use unless the voters have the opportunity to inform themselves about the candidates seeking their vote and are able to make a considered and informed choice.

There is no better forum for communicating this information than a debate between

termine for themselves how the candidates stack up against one another.

With this debate, we hope that we not only will provide a needed service for the voters in the upcoming Dhaka city corporation elections, but that we can kickstart a culture of televised debates in which future candidates will have no option but to face off against one another and will have to make their case to the public in order to be elected.

Regular pre-election debates would transform the political landscape of the country by ensuring that candidates seeking our votes

have to come into the spotlight and would be forced to justify to the voters why they deserve our vote.

With hundreds of thousands if not millions of voters tuning in, there is nowhere to hide. Nothing will expose a weak candidate or a showcase the merits of a strong one better than an hour and a half in open debate in front of a closely watching electorate.

It is under the glare of the studio spotlight that we will learn who has the right stuff and who is fit to lead this city. At the end of ninety minutes even the most adept politician is stripped bare of pretence and posturing and left clothed in nothing more than his or her fitness for office.

We hope you will all join us for our historic Meet Dhaka debates, which will be broadcast on ATN News from 9-11pm, on April 21 for Dhaka South and April 23 for Dhaka North.

It will remain your best chance to learn what each candidate stands for and what each candidate is made of. We shouldn’t assume that we already know who will make the best mayor until and unless we see what they have to say for themselves and how they cope with the pressure of facing the voters without intermediaries.

It promises to be must-see television and I can think of no better way to spend two hours in the run-up to the elections. Not only will these debates play a crucial role in determining who our next mayor will be, they can also provide a template for how campaigns are run and our leaders are chosen in the future.

Don’t miss it. You’ll want to be there the night that Bangladeshi politics comes of age.

Zafar Sobhan is the Editor, Dhaka Tribune.

16

ECB committed to full QE programme, sees stronger recovery

17

WTO cuts world trade growth forecasts for 2015 and 2016

19

DSE turnover crosses Tk500cr

20

DT

Business

15

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

‘Mobile phone users of five private operators top up Tk60cr daily’

Spectrum auction deferred for second time n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

Key sub-indicators contributing to low-business confidence include transportation cost and political situation

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Survey: Business confidence may grow in Jan-July period n Tribune Report The country’s overall business confidence index declined by 0.39 in July-December 2014 compared to January-June of the same year, according to a survey report revealed yesterday.

The decline is attributed to poor perception on input and infrastructure, business environment, international business access to finance and business regulation.

“The overall business confidence index for July-December of 2014 came down to 9.35, which was 9.74 in January-June period of the same year,” said the Business Confidence survey conducted by the Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) and Associates for Development Services Limited (ADSL).

Syful Haque, research coordinator of ADSL, presented the survey report at Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry conference room yesterday.

Business confidence index for January-June period of 2015 is, however, expected to rise to 9.37 in the second half of this fiscal year.

The decline in business confidence is due to decline in confidence in input and infra-

structure, business environment, access to finance, legal environment and business regulation, said the report.

The key sub-indicators contributing to low-business confidence include political situation, transportation cost and situation, electricity price, petroleum oil price, unofficial payment and bank interest rate, it added.

The survey covers a board range of business environment including access to finance, corruption, infrastructure, crime, competition and performance with a view to understanding the pulse of businesses and investment, said BUILD Chairman Asif Ibrahim.

According to the survey, increased business opportunity, profit margin, demand for firms’ products, growing market demand for products and availability of internal funds have driven investment in July-December 2014.

In response to the survey, businesses expressed hopes that labour relations, employment scenario, trade facilitation, telecommunication, electricity supply, internet connections and availability of skilled labour indicators will improve in January-June 2015.

They also expressed deep concern over political situation, electricity prices, transportation cost and situation, corruption, interest

rates, petroleum prices and profit tax rates.

The continued efforts on business climate reforms are critical to boost up confidence and sustain the growth momentum and investment decisions can be significantly influenced by changes to business confidence, the report said.

An uncertainty about the future can reduce confidence, meaning that firms may postpone their investment decisions until confidence returns, it said.

The report added that understanding business confidence is important for a country that requires large-scale investment to grow.

The third Bangladesh Business Confidence Survey (BCS) was conducted between February 6 and March 6 of 2015, covering 400 businesses in Dhaka and Chittagong.

The survey has been conducted on 400 manufacturing and service enterprises including food, textiles, garments, leather, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and electronics and light engineering. l

Spectrum auction has been deferred for a second time now and the new date is fixed for May 27 as the country’s mobile phone operators want SIM replacement tax issue be resolved first.

The regulator, however, has not mentioned any reason behind the deferment. But according to industry insiders, four out of five private mobile phone operators are unwilling to take part in the auction before fixing the long-pending issue.

As per the new schedule, the operators can submit auction applications till May 5, said Md Sarwar Alam, secretary of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

Last week, the operators attended a meeting with Finance Minister AMA Muhith to discuss the SIM replacement tax issue. But the meeting ended without any solution to the issue which involves payment of more than Tk2,000 crore tax by the operators.

The operators welcomed the rescheduling of the auction, but doubted if 20 days time was enough to solve the matter.

“We should request the relevant authorities including the BTRC to utilise the time expediting the process,” said a senior executive of a mobile phone operator.

He is, however, hopeful that the government will take the issue seriously to get the mobile phone operators as important partners in building “digital Bangladesh.”

Through this auction the telecom watchdog also plans to allocate 10.6MHz spectrum on 1,800 band and 15MHz on 2,100 band.

The government will be able to earn at least $650m if all spectrum blocks are sold.

BTRC has already made public its rescheduled notification through its website.

The notification says the commission has decided to change the timetable of the said auction to perform the overall proceedings of 1,800MHz and 2,100MHz band spectrum auctions efficiently under the revealing circumstances. l

DT

16 BUSINESS

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

US CEO cuts salary to boost employee pay to $70,000 n AFP, New York

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi (C) speaks at a news conference in Frankfurt

REUTERS

ECB committed to full QE programme, sees stronger recovery n Reuters, Frankfurt The European Central Bank has no plans to curb or curtail its money-printing programme although it expects euro zone economic recovery to broaden and strengthen.

Last month the ECB embarked on an asset-buying programme with 60bn euros a month of news money, which it has said will last until at least September 2016.

“Our focus will be on the full implementation of our monetary policy measures,” ECB President Mario Draghi said on Wednesday.

“Purchases are intended to run until the end of September 2016 and, in any case, until we see a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation that is consistent with our aim of achieving inflation rates below, but close to, 2% over the medium term.”

At the last count, euro zone inflation was running at -0.1%.

Draghi said he was surprised at speculation about exiting the programme early since it was only a month old.

His news conference was disrupted when a woman in a black T-shirt jumped on the podium, shouting: “End the ECB dictatorship.”

Earlier, the ECB left interest rates at record lows as its bond-buying scheme shows early signs of perking up the region’s economy.

The main refinancing rate, which determines the cost of credit, is now just 0.05%, while the ECB’s deposit rate, which means banks pay to park funds at the central bank and has the most influence on market rates, is -0.2%.

Greek help

draghi said help for cash-strapped Greece was firmly in the hands of the Greek government, which has yet to produce a programme of economic reforms that is acceptable to its creditors.

Through these measures we will contribute to a further improvement in the economic outlook, a reduction in economic slack and a recovery in money and credit growth

ECB policymakers sanctioned further Emergency Lending Assistance for Greece’s banks up to 74 billion euros, a banking source said on Tuesday, a reminder of the dire financial straits that the country is in.

“We approved ELA and we’ll continue to do so, extend the liquidity to the Greek banks while they are solvent and they have adequate collateral,” Draghi said, adding that there was no end date for emergency assistance.

Time is running out for Athens to improve a package of reforms required for the release

of loans that it requires to stay afloat.

Were Greece, first bailed out in 2010 and again two years later, ultimately to tumble out of the euro, it would deal a blow to the credibility of the currency union.

For now though, the 1tn euro plus money printing scheme to buy chiefly government bonds is underpinning confidence.

“Through these measures we will contribute to a further improvement in the economic outlook, a reduction in economic slack and a recovery in money and credit growth,” Draghi said.

“We expect the economic recovery to broaden and strengthen gradually.”

The QE programme has already prompted a rise in the value of bonds and investors are questioning whether it could become too costly for the ECB to buy sufficient quantities in top-rated countries such as Germany.

Draghi said there were plenty of bonds to buy. “We don’t see any problems,” he said.

“Our programme is flexible enough in any event to be adjusted if circumstances were to change.”

He said the ECB would not lower its -0.2% deposit rate although it will not buy any bonds which yield less than that.

The ECB meeting was held a day early to allow Draghi to join finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 top economies at the International Monetary Fund’s Spring meeting in Washington.

In its World Economic Outlook on Tuesday, the IMF raised growth expectations for all the major economies in the bloc. l

One startup founder is making his own effort to respond to the issue of income inequality cutting his own pay while seriously boosting that of his employees.

Dan Price, founder and chief executive of payment processing startup Gravity Payments, has cut his own salary by 90% to set a $70,000 annual minimum wage at the firm.

The news from Price, 30, became viral after the announcement made in a YouTube video this week was picked up by CNN, The New York Times and other news organizations.

“We’re going to have a minimum of $70,000 for everyone who works here,” Price said.

The pay boost will be phased in over the next three years, with the lowest-paid employees getting at least $50,000 by the end of this year and the $70,000 pay level reached by December 2017.

Price added that his own pay package of $1m annually is “really high” and that he had decided to reduce his own pay to the same as other employees “until our profits go back up.”

The announcement drew wild applause from employees at the Seattle-based firm that employs more than 100 people. The news comes amid an ongoing debate about wealth, wage, and income inequality in the United States.

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has denounced the low tax rates for investments which allows some on Wall Street to avoid part of the tax burdens of middle-class working families.

Wall Street executives meanwhile have been getting unprecedented pay, led by Blackstone chief Stephen Schwarzman’s $690m. l

OECD warns Japan of QQE risks n Reuters, Tokyo Japan must be mindful of the risks of its massive monetary stimulus and speed up much-needed structural reforms to revive the economy, the OECD said on Wednesday, warning of delays in their implementation.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s policies to revive the economy have been dubbed ‘Abenomics’, and the OECD report pointed to the mixed results of a strategy dependent on “three arrows” - massive monetary expansion, fiscal stimulus and structual reform.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said that while the Bank of Japan’s stimulus - dubbed “quantitative and qualititative easing” (QQE) - cut borrowing costs and helped boost the economy, there were limits to what monetary policy can do.

“The first arrow is working, but there are limits,” Gurria told reporters after issuing a report on recommendations for Japan, suggesting that no additional monetary easing was necessary for the time being.

“Structural reforms are not in the hands of central banks.”

The OECD also urged Japan to boost labour productivity and remove trade barriers, stressing that the structual reforms that make up the “third arrow” of Abenomics have lagged the first two arrows of monetary and fiscal stimulus. l

DT

BUSINESS 17

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

IEA: Oil supply boost may defer market tightening n Reuters, London

Piles of steel pipes to be exported are seen in front of cranes at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province

REUTERS

WTO cuts world trade growth forecasts for 2015 and 2016 n Reuters, Geneva Global goods trade will grow by 3.3% this year and by 4% in 2016, less than previously forecast, mainly due to sluggish economic growth, the World Trade Organization said on Tuesday.

“We expect trade to continue its slow recovery but with economic growth still fragile and continued geopolitical tensions, this trend could easily be undermined,” WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said.

The WTO figures are based on economic growth estimates from organisations including the International Monetary Fund, which will update its forecasts later on Tuesday.

WTO chief economist Robert Koopman said he had seen the new IMF figures and they would be “in the same ballpark” and not affect the WTO’s forecast.

Although the forecasts do suggest some modest growth in world goods trade, they follow repeated downward revisions of trade forecasts as the economic outlook worsened.

‘We expect trade to continue its slow recovery but with economic growth still fragile and continued geopolitical tensions, this trend could easily be undermined’ Trade grew by 2.8% in 2014, far less than an original forecast of 4.7% and also below the revised forecast of 3.1% that the WTO predicted last September.

The new expectation of 3.3% growth this

year - already revised down twice, from 5.3 percent and then 4%, is a small acceleration but far below the long term trend.

Growth averaged 2.4% over each of the last three years, compared with an annual average of 6% between 1990 and the global financial crisis that began in 2007-2008.

“There has only been one other period since the Second World War in which trade growth has been so weak, and that was from 1980 to 1984. However, that period included two outright contractions in trade due to the oil shock and the global recession of 19801981,” Azevedo said.

By contrast, the current trade slump has come during a period of continued but modest economic growth, he said.

The long-standing trend of trade growing about twice as fast as GDP appears to have broken, making forecasting particularly difficult, the WTO said. l

World oil markets may take longer to tighten than expected due to a surge in OPEC supply and a potential rise in Iranian exports, even as demand shows signs of strength, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday.

The agency raised its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2015 for a second consecutive month, citing strong pockets of consumption in Europe, India and the United States.

Oil prices have halved from above $115 a barrel last June due to ample supply, in a decline that deepened after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries chose to defend market share rather than cut output.

Global oil demand is rising faster than projected, but so is supply, and the IEA, which advises industrialised countries on energy policy, rolled back its prediction of when the market would tighten.

“Recent developments thus may call into question past expectations that supply and demand responses would tighten the market from mid-year on,” the IEA said in its monthly report.

OPEC production surged to 31.02 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, almost a twoyear high, led by Saudi Arabia.

Saudi oil output rose by 390,000 bpd in March to 10.1 million bpd, its highest since September 2013, confirming industry reports of a surge in production as the kingdom meets domestic demand and bolsters its global market share.

Saudi output is likely to keep rising, analysts say, reducing global spare production capacity. London-based consultancy Energy Aspects said this week Saudi crude production could reach a record 11 million bpd this summer.

Iranian oil production could rise sharply if economic sanctions are removed from the Islamic Republic.

“Advances in talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme not only call into question past working assumptions on future Iranian output, but may already have encouraged other producers to hike supply and stake out market share ahead of Iran’s potential return,” the IEA said.

In previous reports, the IEA predicted the oil market would rebalance in the second half of 2015, as North American supply growth slows and lower prices help boost demand.

Demand growth forecast raised

The IEA raised its forecast for growth in world oil use this year by 90,000 bpd to 1.08 million bpd, bringing demand in 2015 to an average of 93.60 million bpd. l

India favours full rupee convertibility to become top economy n Reuters, New Delhi India needs to move towards full capital account convertibility to become a leading global economy, junior finance minister Jayant Sinha said on Wednesday.

Sinha’s comments came a day after the International Monetary Fund predicted Asia’s third-largest economy would become the fastest growing major economy in the world, outpacing China.

The rupee has been convertible on the current account since 1994, meaning it can be changed freely into foreign currency for purposes like trade-related expenses. But it cannot be converted freely for activities such as acquiring overseas assets.

Fuller convertibility is expected to facilitate rapid growth through higher investment and improve efficiency in the financial sector through greater competition.

“If we have to be among the top three-four

economies in the world, we have to make it possible for our capital markets to be broader and deeper, and for that to happen capital account convertibility also becomes important,” Sinha said, without specifying any time frame.

Last week, Reserve Bank of India chief Raghuram Rajan expressed hope that the rupee would become fully convertible in a “short number of years”.

Analysts say India’s inflation, interest

rates, and trade and financial system would have to be globally competitive before it allows free movement of capital in and out of the local currency.

In mid-2013, the central bank was forced to resort to capital controls to stabilise a fast sliding rupee after foreign funds started pulling out of the country in the wake of speculation over when the US Federal Reserve would taper its massive bond buying programme. l

DT

18 BUSINESS

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

News, analysis and recent disclosures LINDEBD: The Company has further informed that the AGM of the Company will be held on April 30, 2015 at 10:30 AM at Officers Club, 26 Baily Road, Ramna, Dhaka-1000. Other information of the AGM as announced earlier.

SAPORTL: The Company has informed that Cash dividend warrants of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2014 have been dispatched to the Shareholders through Courier Service.

HEIDELBCEM: (Q1 Un-audited): Profit from Jan15 to Mar15 was Tk. 492.20 million with EPS of Tk. 8.71 as against Tk. 404.53 million and Tk. 7.16 respectively for the same period of the previous year.

ZAHINTEX: (Q3 Un-audited): Net Profit after tax from (Jan15 to March15) was Tk. 43.93 million with EPS of Tk. 0.70 as against Tk. 18.45 million and Tk. 0.29 respectively for the same period of the previous year. Whereas net profit after tax from July14 to March15 was Tk. 64.31 million with EPS of Tk. 1.03 as against Tk. 40.24 million and Tk. 0.64 respectively for the same period of the previous year.

IPO Subscription: Olympic Accessories Limited Subscription 19.04.2015 TO 23.04.2015, NRB UPTO 02.05.2015. Offer Price per share Tk. 10.00, Market Lot (Shares) 500.

Dividend/AGM ABBANK: 12.50% stock, EGM and AGM: 17.05.2015, Record date for EGM and AGM: 23.04.2015.

IFIC: 15% Stock dividend, AGM: 17.06.2015, Record Date:

20.05.2015.

MERCINS: 10% cash dividend, AGM: 09.06.2015, Record Date: 22.04.2015.

NORTHRNINS: 10% stock dividend, AGM: 13.06.2015, Record Date: 22.04.2015.

CITYGENINS: 10% stock dividend, AGM: 15.06.2015, Record Date: 22.04.2015.

SHASHADNIM: 20% cash and 15% stock dividend, AGM: 21.05.2015, Record date: 23.04.2015.

POPULARLIF: 40% Stock dividend, AGM: 11.06.2015, Record Date: 23.04.2015.

BGIC: 12% cash dividend, AGM: 11.06.2015, Record date: 23.04.2015.

DHAKABANK: 14% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 13.05.2015, Record date: 21.04.2015.

NITOLINS: 15% stock, AGM: 09.06.2015, Record Date: 26.04.2015.

SQUARETEXT: 20% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 16.06.2015, Record Date: 20.05.2015.

ILFSL: 5% cash, AGM: 07.05.2015, Record Date: 20.04.2015.

BDLAMPS: 20% cash, AGM: 05.05.2015, Record Date: 16.04.2015.

STANDBANKL: 15% stock, AGM: 14.05.2015, Record Date: 16.04.2015.

ARGONDENIM: 20% stock, AGM: 30.04.2015, Record date: 15.04.2015.

NHFIL: 15% cash, AGM: 12.05.2015, Record Date: 15.04.2015.

JAMUNABANK: 19% stock, AGM: 04.05.2015, Record date: 15.04.2015.

Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

Company Zahintex Ind.-N RAK Ceramics-A Fareast Islami Life -A People`s Leasing-A Islamic Finance-A ISN Ltd. -Z United Power-N AB Bank - A Northern Jute -Z Shasha Denims -N

Closing (% Change) 9.84 9.80 9.66 9.52 9.38 9.09 8.85 8.78 8.76 7.97

CSE GAINER Company RAK Ceramics-A H.R. Textile -A Zahintex Ind.-N FAS Fin. & Inv. Ltd-B Prime Islami Life -A Fareast Islami Life -A People`s Leasing-A AB Bank - A Asia Pasific Insu. -A ISN Ltd. -Z

Closing (% Change) 10.00 9.94 9.76 9.73 9.66 9.46 9.46 9.45 9.38 9.35

DSE LOSER Company Jamuna Bank -A Popular Life 1st M.F.-A Argon Denims Limited-A Samata LeatheR -Z Meghna Con. Milk -B Shampur Sugar -Z 4th ICB M F-A National Tea -A Rupali InsurA Phoenix Fin. 1st MF-A

Closing (% Change) -18.11 -8.70 -8.53 -8.38 -6.76 -6.06 -5.68 -4.84 -4.76 -4.65

CSE LOSER Company Jamuna Bank -A Argon Denims Limited-A National Housing Fin.-B SonarBangla Insu. -A Phoenix Insur -A Wata Chemicals -A Anwar Galvanizing-B Anlima Yarn -A GBB Power Ltd-A Janata Insur -A

Closing (% Change) -18.11 -8.33 -8.26 -7.59 -6.80 -6.42 -5.56 -4.60 -4.59 -4.20

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

DSE key features April 16, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka)

DSE GAINER

Sector

5,385.23 115,281,877 128,010

Traded Issues

311

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

196

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

111

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,502.87

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.34

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 183.73 238.77 21.98 668.59 609.54 1232.78 36.87 760.09 540.03 15.95 237.52 32.66 75.13 133.49 99.97 20.55 58.24 134.13 109.72 175.49 0.01

% change 3.41 4.43 0.41 12.42 11.32 22.89 0.68 14.11 10.03 0.30 4.41 0.61 1.40 2.48 1.86 0.38 1.08 2.49 2.04 3.26 0.00

Million Taka 15.95 14.77 1.35 51.55 8.11 105.35 55.67 33.26 7.55 17.58 1.25 9.50 8.11 5.64 0.26 3.04 15.47 14.77 26.25 0.00

Average (% Change) 11.58 9.32 8.79 11.20 11.23 7.09 6.41 11.24 (7.45) 4.95

Average (% Change) 10.46 9.94 10.02 9.35 8.41 9.49 11.47 8.47 9.38 9.76

Average (% Change) -18.24 -6.25 -8.96 -10.26 -5.28 -6.82 -5.73 -4.75 2.02 -2.85

Average (% Change) -17.59 -12.41 -8.04 -7.59 -6.80 -5.19 -5.08 -4.43 -2.84 -4.19

CSE

ClosingAvg. 13.39 54.66 68.78 15.98 13.87 11.78 198.69 21.88 183.61 43.43

ClosingAvg. 55.13 18.80 13.50 12.40 47.17 68.30 16.04 21.39 14.00 11.70

ClosingAvg. 10.40 4.20 26.72 17.14 7.00 6.15 181.00 702.50 16.18 4.09

ClosingAvg. 10.40 26.40 21.15 13.40 23.30 204.02 35.85 16.63 18.81 11.44

% change 4.03 3.74 0.34 13.04 2.05 26.64 0.00 14.08 8.41 1.91 4.45 0.32 2.40 2.05 1.43 0.07 0.77 3.91 3.74 6.64 0.00

Closing 13.40 56.00 70.40 16.10 14.00 12.00 207.80 22.30 216.00 44.70

Closing

DHIGH 13.40 56.10 70.50 16.10 14.00 12.10 208.40 22.50 216.10 45.00

DHIGH

56.10 18.80 13.50 12.40 47.70 68.30 16.20 22.00 14.00 11.70

Closing 10.40 4.20 26.80 17.50 6.90 6.20 181.00 702.50 16.00 4.10

Closing 10.40 26.40 21.10 13.40 23.30 204.00 35.70 16.60 18.70 11.40

Million Taka 199.68 253.54 23.34 720.14 617.65 1338.13 36.87 815.76 573.29 23.50 255.10 33.91 84.63 141.60 105.61 20.81 61.28 149.59 124.49 201.74 0.01

DLOW 12.90 51.50 62.10 15.00 12.80 10.70 186.10 20.70 181.10 41.70

DLOW

56.10 18.80 13.50 12.40 47.70 68.60 16.20 22.10 14.00 11.70

DHIGH

51.80 18.80 13.40 12.40 45.60 67.90 15.10 21.00 14.00 11.70

DLOW

10.90 4.30 26.80 17.60 7.40 6.40 181.00 702.50 17.00 4.20

DHIGH

10.00 4.20 25.00 17.50 6.80 6.10 181.00 702.50 15.70 4.10

DLOW

10.50 26.40 21.90 13.40 23.30 205.00 36.50 16.80 19.20 12.00

Total

10.20 26.10 21.10 13.40 23.30 204.00 35.70 16.60 18.50 11.10

% change 3.45 4.39 0.40 12.46 10.68 23.15 0.64 14.11 9.92 0.41 4.41 0.59 1.46 2.45 1.83 0.36 1.06 2.59 2.15 3.49 0.00

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

0.920 71.584 4.958 53.818 10.849 0.301 526.536 22.436 35.619 358.076

Turnover in Million

1.03 1.67 4.60 0.97 1.60 0.13 7.11 2.81 0.96 3.64

Latest EPS

8.824 0.060 0.168 0.000 0.016 0.044 5.136 2.264 0.006 0.013

Turnover in Million

13.0 32.7 15.0 16.5 8.7 90.6 27.9 7.8 191.3 11.9

Latest PE

1.67 1.36 1.03 1.27 4.95 4.60 0.97 2.81 2.32 0.13

Latest EPS

2.482 1.982 9.722 0.012 0.208 0.078 0.091 0.007 0.727 0.045

Turnover in Million

Latest PE

33.0 13.8 13.1 9.8 9.5 14.8 16.5 7.6 6.0 90.0

Latest PE

2.20 0.56 2.89 -0.46 -4.42 -52.72 32.50 -6.49 1.79 0.66

Latest EPS

0.377 0.258 0.097 0.001 0.002 0.112 0.039 0.181 2.412 0.015

4.7 7.5 9.2 -ve -ve -ve 5.6 -ve 9.0 6.2

Latest PE

2.20 2.89 1.97 1.77 3.88 5.37 0.64 0.74 1.47 0.37

4.7 9.1 10.7 7.6 6.0 38.0 56.0 22.5 12.8 30.9

CSE key features April 16, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

395.42 10,980,580 20,414

Traded Issues

242

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

149

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

87

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,407.46

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

29.18

DT

BUSINESS 19

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

DSE turnover crosses Tk500 crore United Power posts unusual price hike

n Tribune Report

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company United Power-N BATBCL -A Shasha Denims -N MJL BD Ltd.-A WesternMarine -N ACI Limited- A Ifad Autos -N Khulna Power-A SAIF Powertec-N BEXIMCO Ltd. -A

SummitAlliancePort.-A Square Pharma -A Grameenphone-A LafargeS Cement-Z RAK Ceramics-A

VolumeShares 2,650,093 163,450 8,245,652 2,162,069 4,461,794 320,476 2,018,371 2,322,776 1,855,728 3,749,612

Value in Million 526.54 491.68 358.08 287.81 217.69 177.82 153.95 141.80 135.03 121.30

% of TotalTurnover 9.78 9.13 6.65 5.34 4.04 3.30 2.86 2.63 2.51 2.25

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

1,718,619 360,579 271,580 725,200 1,309,680

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company United Power-N WesternMarine -N BEXIMCO Ltd. -A MJL BD Ltd.-A Shasha Denims -N SAIF Powertec-N BD Submarine Cable-A RAK Ceramics-A Square Pharma -A ACI Limited- A

UNITED AIR-A Zaheen Spinning -N Ifad Autos -N Unique Hotel RL - A Hakkani P& Paper -B

339,132 514,485 617,909 126,346 360,247 186,340 97,618 160,065 32,499 14,459

1,019,378 315,453 80,911 113,801 273,500

94.77 93.33 93.27 78.81 71.58

67.43 25.12 19.97 16.83 15.60 13.58 11.46 8.82 8.43 8.04

7.61 6.27 6.16 6.10 5.69

1.76 1.73 1.73 1.46 1.33

17.05 6.35 5.05 4.26 3.95 3.43 2.90 2.23 2.13 2.03

1.92 1.59 1.56 1.54 1.44

ClosingP 207.80 3015.80 44.70 131.30 49.20 545.60 75.50 60.30 74.50 32.20

55.10 258.20 342.00 108.10 56.00

ClosingP

Change % 8.85 0.26 7.97 -2.67 2.50 -4.45 -2.58 -2.58 0.81 2.88

2.04 -0.62 -0.20 -1.46 9.80

Change %

207.30 49.30 32.10 131.50 44.70 74.60 116.60 56.10 258.40 545.70

7.40 20.50 75.20 53.10 21.90

9.16 2.71 2.56 -2.59 7.97 0.81 1.66 10.00 -0.65 -4.16

1.37 8.47 -1.83 -1.30 0.00

ClosingY 190.90 3008.10 41.40 134.90 48.00 571.00 77.50 61.90 73.90 31.30

54.00 259.80 342.70 109.70 51.00

ClosingY

189.90 48.00 31.30 135.00 41.40 74.00 114.70 51.00 260.10 569.40

7.30 18.90 76.60 53.80 21.90

DHIGH

DLOW

208.40 3050.00 45.00 136.20 50.40 572.00 78.70 62.70 74.90 33.30

186.10 3005.00 41.70 130.10 47.10 538.00 74.20 60.00 71.00 31.60

DHIGH

DLOW

56.50 261.90 348.80 110.60 56.10

207.40 50.50 32.80 136.00 45.00 75.70 118.60 56.10 262.00 570.00

7.70 20.70 77.90 55.00 21.90

54.00 257.90 341.10 107.90 51.50

187.80 47.00 31.70 130.10 41.40 70.90 114.90 51.80 257.40 541.00

7.20 18.90 74.00 52.80 21.90

AvgPrice 198.69 3008.13 43.43 133.12 48.79 554.87 76.28 61.05 72.76 32.35

55.14 258.83 343.43 108.68 54.66

AvgPrice

198.83 48.82 32.32 133.20 43.30 72.88 117.39 55.13 259.40 556.07

7.46 19.88 76.10 53.59 20.80

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

4373.33900

(+) 0.29%

1668.34663

(-) 0.14%

13459.15910

(+) 0.61%

11095.70110

(+) 0.95%

8202.41900

(+) 0.69%

▲ ▼ ▲ ▲ ▲

Stocks finished flat amid high volatility yesterday as the prolonged political impasse witnessed no sign of settlement.

The market opened higher rising more than 50 points in the first session but started to decline as pessimistic investors released their holdings, cutting off more than two-third of the early gains.

The benchmark index DSEX rose almost 13 points or 0.3% to 4,373, extending its rally for the second session in a row.

The Shariah Index DSES was down 4 points or 0.5% to 1,060. The comprising blue chips DS30 inched 2 points or 0.2% down to 1,668.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, settled at 8,192, rising 42 points.

Trading at DSE remained strong in the session with total turnover crossing Tk500 crore- mark for the first time in the year. Turnover was Tk540 crore, which is 14.6% higher over the previous session’s value.

United Power Generation and Distribution Company

Limited continued to rise for the fourth straight session, gaining nearly 9% to more than Tk207 a share. Since its debut on April 5 except two sessions when it fell marginally, it continued to rise abnormally without any fundamental reason.

In response to a DSE query, the company said that there is no undisclosed price sensitive information of the company for recent unusual price hike.

The top gaining sector was ceramics that soared 8.5%, driven by RAK Ceramic that rallied 9.8%. Banks, non-banking financial institutions and power closed positive while pharmaceuticals cement telecommunication and food & allied declined.

IDLC Investments said the additional fund flow caused upbeat prices for many scrips. However, sellers still remained strong restraining market to enter into a positive correction mode, it said.

Recent earnings disclosure for the period of January – March 2015 had been promising so far and may have played part in increased turnover, it added. l

ANALYST

The additional fund flow caused upbeat prices for many scrips

DT

20 BUSINESS

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

‘Mobile phone users of five private operators top up Tk60cr daily’ n Muhammad Zahidul Islam The daily top-up average by the subscribers of Bangladesh’s five private mobile phone operators amounts to nearly Tk60 crore, said an official of a value-added services provider.

“The pre-paid users of five private operators recharge their mobile phones with more than Tk53 crore daily. This is over 97% of the country’s total mobile top up,” Mahindra Comviva country manager Reyad Hasnain told a workshop in the city yesterday.

The private operators are Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi, Airtel and Citycell which use Mahindra service in the mobile phones’ balance recharge. Bangladesh’s state-owned operator is Teletalk which receives the top up service of Chinese company Huawei.

The country’s market currently has 109m active prepaid SIM cards.

Reyad said some banks also now offer online balance recharge service for mobile phone subscribers using Mahindra’s network facility. He added very few of the people are in the post-paid service.

The workshop was jointly organised by Mahindra Comviva and Telecom Reporters’ Network Bangladesh (TRNB) at the Dhaka Club premises.

Mahindra Comviva currently offers telecommunication services in more than 90

Bank and Financial Institutions Division to get new name n Tribune Report The stakeholders of Bank and Financial Institutions Division have consented to the proposal for the new name of the division, official sources said.

Bank and Financial Institutions Division has been proposed to be named as Financial Institutions Division.

The stakeholders of the country’s financial sector yesterday gave their opinion in favour of the new name at an inter-ministerial meeting in finance division auditorium.

Banking Division Secretary M Aslam Alam presided over the meeting.

Following the meeting, the banking secretary said: “It is a lengthy process of changing the name for the division that must have an approval of the secretariat-level committee and cabinet consent.”

He added that under the new name, Financial Institutions Division would also set up its jurisdictions.

In December 2009, the government formed Bank and Financial Institutions Division under the Ministry of Finance.

The cabinet division also mapped out the plan for the banking division and specified its role.

The division now oversees credit and interest rate policies of the commercial banks, issue guidelines and policy directives for insurance sector, monitor and regulate the share market and review the investment policies and programmes of the government. l

countries.

In the past eight years, the telecommunication operators introduced a system of top up sending text messages. Now 14-17m transactions take place in this way.

Reyad said the top up increases during festival times like Eid and New Year celebrations and the transaction figure could go up to 25m daily on such occasions.

Of the total recharge amount, 5-7% is spent for buying data and the rest of the money is

used in voice and sometimes value-added services.

Mahindra Comviva’s global head Kamaljeet Rastogi said in 2014 an amount equivalent to 6% of gross domestic product was transacted using mobile money service. The figure is gradually increasing.

Joe Emmanuel, senior manager of Mahindra Comviva, said the Bangladeshi market is coming up with different modern services as the market is getting matured day by day. l

DCCI wants tax-free wealth surcharge limit at Tk4 crore n Tribune Report The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has urged the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to raise the tax-free limit of the wealth tax, also known as wealth surcharge, at Tk4 crore from the existing Tk2 crore from the upcoming budget for the fiscal year 2015-16.

The chamber leaders argued, “As all the taxpayer make assets through paying income tax, further imposition of tax on their wealth is illogical.”

The chamber, however, said the rest of the slabs can remain unchanged, but the minimum tax-free slabs need a raise to reduce the pressures of tax from the business community.

The DCCI has placed its charter of demand to the NBR recently with a set of recommendations, including 23 on income tax and its rules, 23 on custom duties while seven on Value Added Tax (VAT).

According to the Income Tax Ordinance-1984, surcharge or wealth tax is applicable on having net asset worth above Tk2 crore to up to Tk10 crore at 10%, while 15% surcharge for net assets up to Tk20 crore, 20% for up to Tk30 crore while 25% for above Tk30 crore.

The NBR imposes the tax based on the net assets that taxpayers declares in their income tax returns.

Regarding corporate tax, the DCCI has requested NBR to reduce the corporate tax rate for the merchant banks from existing 37.5% to 35%, listed companies from 37.5% to 35%, and for brokerage operations at 30% from the existing 35%.

For the individual taxpayers, the chamber

recommended the tax-free income limit at Tk2.75 lakh from existing Tk2.20 lakh while it has advised the board to finalise the limit for women and elderly persons from Tk2.75 lakh to Tk4 lakh, for physically disabled persons from Tk3.5 lakh to Tk4 lakh, and for freedom fighters from Tk4 lakh to Tk4.5 lakh.

They said people would be encouraged to pay more tax if the tax limit is finalised at a tolerable range for all level of people and therefore, the culture of tax evasion will decrease gradually.

With its proposal, DCCI also demanded for deleting section 16 CCC of Income Tax Ordinance 1984 that reads every company shall be liable to pay minimum tax at the rate of 0.3% of the amount representing such company’s gross receipts from all sources for that year as the DCCI thinks the provision is against the spirit of income tax law.

The chamber has said that the NBR should not make audit more than once in a year for VAT paying firms to reduce the volume of different tax cases and to prevent harassment for businesses.

In case of vehicle import, DCCI said, “Supplementary duty on cars (complete built unit) with engine capacity between 800 to 1300cc should be reduced from 45% to 30%.”

It also demanded that the supplementary duty should be set at 0% on four stroke motorcycle (CKD) ranged below engine capacity of 250cc, double cabin pickup (CBU) ranged between engine capacity of 2001 to 2750cc, and four stroke three wheeler (CBU) from the existing 30%, 60%, and 20% respectively. l

Radisson Blu launches commercial operation in Chittagong n Tushar Hayat, Chittagong Radisson Blu Chittagong Bay View, the port city’s first upscale international hotel, has finally launched its commercial operation after one and a half month of the formal inauguration by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The luxury hotel kicked off its operation on April 14, the first day of the Bengali New Year 1422.

The hotel authorities, however, announced it at a press conference yesterday (Thursday).

Addressing the press conference, Brigadier General Humayun Bakht, managing director of Radisson Blu Chittagong Bay View, said: “The much-waited demand for an international standard hotel in the port city has been met with the lunching of the commercial operation of this hotel.”

Owned by Sena Hotel Developments Ltd and managed by Carlson Rezidor, one of the largest hotel groups in the world, Radisson Blu Chittagong Bay View is the first-ever five star hotel in the port city, he said.

“The profit from the hotel will be spent for the welfare of the serving as well as retired army personnel and their families, and also to meet its obligation to Corporate Social Responsibility,” said Humayun.

The 22-storied hotel, which was constructed on an area of around 4.18 acres of land, is the second Radisson hotel operating in Bangladesh and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the hotel on March 1, this year.

Replying to a query, Humayun said: “We had decided to construct the hotel at a cost of Tk700 crore in Chittagong as it is the country’s premier port city, commercial capital and also one of the preferred tourists’ destination in Bangladesh.”

“With 2,100sqm of ballroom and meeting space, the hotel is going to be an attractive venue for business meetings, social events, weddings, conventions and seminars,” said Geir Sikko, general manager of Radisson Blu Chittagong Bay View. The hotel features with 241 spacious rooms, including 222 rooms, 13 junior suites and four executive suites.

To cater to the needs of the VVIPs, the hotel features a 284-sq-m Royal Suite and a 304sq-m Presidential Suite with its own private pool deck on the 18th floor, offering a spectacular view of the port city.

All the rooms are equipped with the stateof-the-art technology and furnished in a modern and contemporary style.

“Designed for business and leisure travelers, the hotel also features seven restaurants and two well-equipped multifunctional ballrooms on the first and fourth floors to host up to 1,400 persons, including a Business Centre with nine board rooms for holding large-scale corporate events and meetings,” added Sikko.

Thomas Hagemann, vice-president of Carlson Rezidor, expressed his optimism that with the arrangement for safe and comfortable stay of business travellers and tourists, Radisson Blue Bay View would surely help boost business and flourish potential tourism alongside taking the hospitality industry to a new height in Chittagong.

In response to a query, Hagemann informed the newsmen that the number of hotels in operation and under construction by Carlson Rezidor now stands at 70 in 16 countries of Asia Pacific. l

DT

21

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

T-JUNCTION

Friday kitchen fix Photo: Tasmia Momin

INSIDE

23 recipe

24

listology

Mad drivers

Boishakhi delights!

The holiday may be over, but the love for the food in festivities are free to continue.

Happy eating!

tv review

Daredevil

DT

22 T-JUNCTION

Tantalise

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

recipe

Steamed Mantu with Tomato-oil sauce Steamy Afghan affair n

Subhabrata Maitra

Afghan mantu is perhaps the most popular dish from Afghanistan. Originally from Uzbek, it is a meat (Beef) stuffed dumpling that is steamed in a multilayer steamer.

Mantu is served on special occasions and large gatherings. In Afghanistan, cooked mantu is often sold in markets and busy streets much like hotdogs and can be served as both a main and a side dish.

Prep time: 35 min Cooking time: 40 min Ready in: 1 hour 15 min Yields: four people.

Ingredients for Mantu Dumplings 2 Cup Ground Beef 2/3 Cup Onions 3 Cloves Minced Garlic 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder 1 Teaspoon Ground Coriander 1 Teaspoon Vegetable Oil Salt Wonton Wrap Ingredients for Tomato Sauce 1 Medium Chopped Onion, 2 Cloves Minced Garlic, 3 Tablespoon Tomato Paste ½ Teaspoon Turmeric ¼ Teaspoon, Cumin (Zeera) 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Salt, Black Pepper, to taste

Mantu Cooking Instructions Heat pan over a medium heat and add garlic, ground beef, coriander and salt.

Cook until the meat is cooked halfway for about 15 to 20 minutes. Add black pepper and remove from heat.

Combine one cup of raw chopped onions to the meat and let it cool down to room temperature.

Cut wanton wraps into 4” diameter circles or squares. Place approximately one tablespoon of the cooled ground beef and onion mixture onto each wrap. To make the wraps stick together easily, wet the edges with water. Fold over first two opposite ends of the egg roll wrap followed by other two ends to enclose dumplings.

Press the edges tightly to seal together.

Continue with the remaining wraps.

Take the racks out of the steamer dish.

Add water to the dish, cover and bring to boil. Grease the bottom of the steamer racks with oil to prevent sticking and place the dumplings on top leaving some room in between each dumpling so they don’t stick together.

Once the water has come to a boil, place the racks filled with dumplings back on to the steamer dish. Cover lid and cook for approximately 40 minutes.

While the dumplings are cooking, prepare the Tomato Sauce.

Tomato Sauce Cooking Instructions Heat the oil over a medium-high heat. Add onions and saute for about six minutes or

until soft. Add garlic, turmeric and cumin saute for two more minutes.

Add Tomato paste and salt and heat for one minute.

Add a pinch of black pepper to taste.

Arrange the dumplings in a plate; top it with tomato sauce, garnish with little ground cheese and black pepper crushed.

Photos: Subhabrata Maitra, The Westin

T-JUNCTION 23

DT

Tantalise

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

recipe

Boishakhi delights!

Treats to enjoy throughout the month n

Tasmia Momin

As we welcomed 1422 among much fanfare and festivity, we couldn’t help but be taken by the foodarama that comes with Pohela Boishakh. Bhorta, pantha bhaat, panta ilish – there’s so much to enjoy and such little time. Worry not because Pohela Boishak delights don’t necessarily have to be limited to the first day of the new year. Today I share with you two very special recipes that are full of love and warmth of a good old home cooked meal.

Photos: Tasmia Momin

Hilsha fish in mustard gravy (Shorisha Ilish) Ingredients • A glug of mustard oil • ½ tsp. of cumin seeds • ¼ cup of water • Few whole green chilies

Crunchy and Spicy Lentil Drops (Bori Bhorta) Ingredients • 15-17 lentil drops (Bori) • 1 tbsp. finely chopped onion • 1 tbsp. fried onion (beresta) • 2 green chillies chopped • 2 dried red chillies • Salt & sugar to taste • 2-3 tbsp. mustard oil Method Fry the boris with a small amount of vegetable oil in a frying pan on low heat for approximately 15 minutes or till its nicely crisp. While doing so, place 2 or more dried red chilies near your stove ring.

Let them cool for a while and crush the boris and red chilies coarsely in a mortar pestle.

Just before serving combine all the ingredients together with a spoon.

Marinara • 6-8 pieces of Ilish (Hilsha Fish) • 4-5 medium sized onions • 2 tbsp. mustard paste • 2 or more green chilies • ½ tsp red chili powder • A pinch of turmeric powder • ½ tsp. garlic paste • ½ tsp. ginger paste • ½ tsp. cumin paste • Salt to taste Method Cut the onions and green chilies into small chunks and blend them into a paste with a small amount of water. Marinade the fish with all the above ingredients, listed separately. Keep it in the fridge for at least an hour or more till you are ready to cook it.

In a large skillet, add a glug of oil and add in the cumin seeds. Within a few seconds, add the marinated fish along with the marinara.

Once it comes to a boil, cook it for about 2 minutes, turn the heat on low and let it simmer for around 20 to 25 minutes. Add a few whole green chilies. Cook for another minute and take it off the stove.

Enjoy the traditional taste of Shorisha Ilish!

DT

24 T-JUNCTION

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

Listology weekend binge

Driving insane

LISTOLOGY

The good, the stoned and the loaded

Marvel’s darkest n Mahmood Hossain

n Adila Hoque The traffic is crazy this time of the year. Or is it just the drivers?

Find out which: The NFS Now, if you live in Dhanmondi, you’re probably already familiar with the sudden whoosh of cars zipping away into the streets of the residential area, and music blasting at full volume.

Yes, they’re having way too much fun with eating Daddy’s money and their unlimited free time to care about your discomfort.

The Road Rager Hot summer day, traffic, man yelling in the distance: recognise this man?

He’s in a hurry and he’s definitely not having a very good day; something is obviously going wrong in this crazy traffic, and he’s losing it so he needs to take it out on someone. Just don’t take it personally.

The Radio Jammer He’s chilled. Oh yes, he is. And you wish you could be as relaxed as him, singing along to the music on the radio without a care in the world because they’re having that much fun. Jealous yet?

The Terp That one car that’s the slowest in the line, and somehow always manages to be the one in front of you. He can go

faster, and you wish he would because you’re running late for your morning class, but his sluggish way of driving is making your head explode and you can’t do anything about it. Pro tip: tell your teacher your driver arrived late.

Always works.

The Amateur The baby drivers, who just finished driving school, and are working for someone only temporarily: this is him.

He makes mistakes. He doesn’t know his way sometimes. If he’s not your chauffeur, you’re lucky. Unless he bumps into your car.

The make-shift DJ They always have the best music playing in their car. However, it is not enough for them that they can hear; they need to have passers-by and nearby cars have a taste of their music. This is probably why their music is always playing at earthshattering volume, whether or not it pleases you.

The stoner Many of us have fallen victim to one of these. Drivers who are baked all the time. All the time. In the morning when he’s taking you to school and his eyes don’t look okay, you know for a fact it’s not because he didn’t catch enough sleep the night before.

The only positive is, he’s usually very passive during arguments and can keep his calm longer than most. l

Brutal. Raw. Unapologetic. Marvel’s Daredevil, exclusively on Netflix, is the grittiest presentation they have to offer.

What is more impressive, although not surprising, is the execution of the show.

And since it’s a Netflix show, we got to see the entire season in one go. Let’s just say, comic book fans will appreciate this take on a superhero, regardless if you’re a fan of Marvel or DC. In all honesty, for the smaller screen, Daredevil is Marvel’s answer to DC’s Batman. Minus the billionaire status of course.

For the unfamiliar, at the age of nine, Matthew Murdock is sprayed with chemicals that have blinded him forever after saving the life of a man in a road accident. Fast forward to present day and we have a grown adult, recently turned lawyer by day and vigilante by night. Losing his eyesight has heightened the rest of his senses to superhuman level. Unlike other superhero stories and fictional cities, this takes place is the rough and rugged area of Hell’s Kitchen in New York. The atmosphere is perfectly set for a dark and tortured superhero.

You’ll see plenty of familiar faces on this show. Charlie Cox of HBO’s Boardwalk

Empire plays the lead role of Matt Murdock.

Edlen Henson is Foggy Nelson, Murdock’s legal partner in their newly developed private firm. Deborah Ann Woll of True Blood fame (also from HBO) plays Karen Page, a stunning young woman who joins the team from an unfortunate event.

Hollywood A-lister Rosario Dawson is a beautiful nurse who assists Daredevil with his bumps and bruises, both physical and emotional wounds. Last but not least, Vincent D’Onofrio is Wilson Fisk aka the ruthless Kingpin.

The performances, the directing, fight choreography and the overall flow of this series is brilliant. We can’t give it less than an A grade. It’s gone down as a fantastic first season, and there’s plenty in store for the future. l

news

Hotel Sarina Celebrated Pohela Boishakh.

Hotel Sarina Celebrated Pohela Boishakh with their fun-filled “Borsho Boron O Mehedi Utshab”. From folk music, to mehendi applications, face-painting, stalls for candyfloss, chotpoti and phuchka marked the festive occasion. Lunch and dinner featured a special buffet arrangement replete with authentic traditional Bengali food items. l

British freestyle snowboarder Billy Morgan has become the first person to land a 1,800-degree quadruple cork. The jump involves four off-axis flips and five full rotations

Sport 26

CAN BANGLADESH MOVE TOWARDS NO 8 IN ODIS?

27

SKY BLUES CLINCH DERBY, MUKTIS ALSO WIN

28

(L-R) Bangladesh team manager Khaled Mahmud, Mahmudullah, Shakib al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar and Arafat Sunny enjoy some football during training in Mirpur yesterday

25

DT

SUPERNATURAL

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

SUAREZ BRACE SINKS PSG, PORTO STUN BAYERN

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Shakib believes history can be changed n Minhaz Uddin Khan Not so long ago, Bangladesh’s captain for the first ODI, Shakib al Hasan, predicted that the home side will start as favourites in the bilateral home series against Pakistan. Recent results suggest Shakib had every right to forecast such a prediction.

Although the Tigers are well placed to vindicate Shakib’s faith, they will also be mindful of the past. The only time Bangladesh celebrated a win against Pakistan was back in the 1999 ICC World Cup in England. In their very first appearance in the flagship event, the Tigers recorded a memorable 62-run vic-

tory in Northampton to cap off their impressive debut campaign.

However, Bangladesh have faced Pakistan in 25 ODIs since that eventful evening in Northampton. And on each occasion, the Tigers came up short. The most recent heartbreak came in the Asia Cup last year at home when some late Shahid Afridi heroics snatched the game away from Bangladesh.

The Tigers though have the glorious opportunity to set the record straight, starting from today, when the two subcontinent rivals face each other in the first ODI in Mirpur. The pre-match press conference previewing the first ODI, therefore, did not hesitate to ask Shakib – can Bangladesh break the jinx today once and for all and register only their second ever limited-over win against Pakistan?

“I think our approach is fine. We will definitely target a win. I do not know what anyone else is thinking. If we go into a game thinking we will not win because we never won in the past, then we can never win.

We have to change this way of thinking.

Bangladesh cricket will be at a standstill if we think it (win) is not possible as it did not happen in the last 16 years,” said an optimistic Shakib.

“We are confident, especially due to the recent performance of some of our players.

We are not belittling Pakistan in any way.

They are definitely a good team. We have to play very well to beat them and do what we did in the World Cup. If we can continue in that vein, we will get results.

“Plus, we are doing well. Maybe they

are not in their best form. But, they have a number of match-winners, so we will be on the alert,” he said.

Shakib believes the fast bowlers and spinners of both the sides will have a lot to offer, irrespective of the conditions, and thinks veteran Pakistan slow bowler Saeed Ajmal might not have the same bite after returning to cricket following an eight-month absence.

“He (Ajmal) is coming back after a long time. We have no idea whether the Saeed Ajmal of old will be playing against us.

After such an incident, the effectiveness does not always remain within a bowler.

He can definitely do better than before or he may not. We can only tell after playing him tomorrow (today).” l

DT

26 Sport

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

Azhar enjoying new responsibility, Waqar eyes fresh start n Mazhar Uddin New Pakistan ODI skipper Azhar Ali yesterday said he is enjoying his role as captain and relishing the challenge of facing a confident Bangladesh side in the first ODI today at Sher-e-Bangla

National Stadium.

“I really feel excited about this challenge.

We have a very young side with a lot of energy. I am really looking forward to my captaincy debut tomorrow (today). It will be a great opportunity for me to play in the ODI as well,” Azhar told the media yesterday.

“Bangladesh have really improved in the last few months. We have a young and very

HEAD TO HEAD BANGLADESH 32 1

PAKISTAN

Matches Wins

32 31

Last 5 meetings Pakistan won by three wickets, Mirpur, 2014 Pakistan won by 21 runs, Mirpur, 2012 Pakistan won by 58 runs, Chittagong, 2011 Pakistan won by 76 runs, Mirpur, 2011 Pakistan won by five wickets, Mirpur, 2011

talented side. The youngsters are very excited. In the World Cup, I think our bowling attack was one of the best. There is a lack of experience but definitely we are looking forward to the challenge. We have come here to play hard and positive cricket,” he said.

Azhar said he did not read too much into the one-wicket defeat against Bangladesh Cricket Board XI in the lone practice match last Wednesday in Fatullah.

“It was a practice game. We tried a lot of things in that game. The good thing is we got everything in that game. I was very happy the way the Bangladeshi players did there. The atmosphere was great and it was the practice we needed. I am really glad our guys played in that game. It was a good practice game,” he said.

Pakistan coach and former fast bowling great Waqar Younis on the other hand agreed with Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan that the home side will start as favourites.

“Yes, they are favourites. I think he felt this way because we are a young side. We don’t mind that. We are in the transition period. We are playing Bangladesh after a while.

If he is confident, fair enough. But, we are not lacking anything. We have a disciplined side with match-winners,” said Waqar. l Pakistan middle-order batsman Fawad Alam (R) consults with batting coach Grant Flower during training in Mirpur yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

PLAYERS TO WATCH

n Mazhar Uddin 2015 ICC World Cup quarterfinalists Bangladesh and Pakistan take on each other in the first one-day international today at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. It promises to be an enterprising encounter between a confident Bangladesh and a Pakistan side looking to rebuild following retirements of some of their most experienced campaigners. Here, we take a look at two talented cricketers who have the ability to turn a match on its head in no time.

SABBIR RAHMAN Bangladesh displayed some impressive cricket throughout the entire World Cup and the young Sabbir was one of the star performers. Coming in to bat at the lower middle-order positions, the 23-year old made his presence felt in almost all of the matches.

And heading into the first ODI today, the Rajshahi lad could not have asked for a better run-in as he blasted 123 off just 99 balls to lead Bangladesh Cricket Board XI to a nervy one-wicket win over the visitors in the lone practice match last Wednesday in Fatullah. A clean striker of the

cricket ball, Sabbir smashed eight sixes and seven boundaries as BCB XI chased down the challenging target of 269 with seven deliveries remaining.

Besides his big-hitting ability, his handy leg-spinners and his electric fielding makes him the player to watch for the home side.

Probable XI (Bangladesh) 1 Tamim, 2 Rony, 3 Soumya, 4 Mahmudullah, 5 Shakib (c), 6 Mushfiq (wk), 7 Sabbir, 8 Nasir, 9 Rubel, 10 Abul, 11 Taskin

WAHAB RIAZ The tourists’ squad may be filled with new faces but the Tigers need to be on guard against leftarm fast bowler Wahab. The left-armer announced himself as the most exciting quickie in world cricket after his fiery spell to Australia’s Shane Watson in the quarter-final at Adelaide Oval. With 77 wickets in 54 ODIs, Wahab will no doubt be a handful for the Bangladesh batsmen.

Probable XI (Pakistan) 1 Hafeez, 2 Sami, 3 Haris, 4 Azhar (c), 5 Sarfraz (wk), 6 Shafiq, 7 Nasim, 8 Wahab, 9 Ajmal, 10 Junaid, 11 Rahat/Ehsan l

Can Bangladesh move towards No 8? n ICC Pakistan knows that it must avoid a 3-0 series defeat against Bangladesh to maintain its seventh place ranking in the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings when the two sides face off in the first of three One-Day Internationals (ODIs), which starts in Mirpur on today.

Pakistan currently lies in seventh spot on 95 ratings points and has a chance to reduce England’s six point advantage by one point if it wins the series 3-0. A 2-1 victory would see Azhar Ali’s men remain on 95 points.

Bangladesh knows that it cannot move up the table irrespective of the result, but a 3-0 whitewash in its favour would see it move to 81 points. In that scenario, the West Indies would move level with Pakistan on 92 points, but the men from the Caribbean would hold a slender 0.13 point advantage when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.

A 2-1 win for Mashrafe Mortaza’s Bangladesh would see the hosts move up three points to 79. Although Pakistan would retain its seventh place position following that series scoreline, it would drop two points to 93.

Meanwhile, Mushfiqur Rahim of Bangladesh goes into the forthcoming series as the highest ranked batsman in 30th place

in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings and is one of five batsmen on either side inside the top 50. Rahim has climbed the rankings steadily since making his debut in 2006 and lies one place, and two points shy, of Australia’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 winning captain Michael Clarke.

Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez (33rd) and Bangladesh trio Shakib Al Hasan (36th), Mahmudullah (45th) and Tamim Iqbal (48th) are the other prominent batsmen likely to feature in the series.

On the Reliance ICC Players Rankings for ODI Bowlers, Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal will go into the series as the top-ranked bowler in 3rd place, 16 points behind South Africa’s Imran Tahir. Tenth placed Shakib al Hasan will be looking to gain ground on Proteas fast bowler Morne Morkel, who is currently seven points ahead of him. Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez (16th) is the only other bowler from either side inside the top 20, while Mashrafe Mortaza (26th) and Junaid Khan (39th) are also likely to feature in the three-match series.

The ICC Player Rankings for ODI All-rounders sees Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan lead the way with a significant 16-point gap over Bangladesh’s Shakib al Hasan. l

DT

Sport 27

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

QUICK BYTES Pakistan lose injured Shah for Bangladesh series Pakistan’s leg-spinner Yasir Shah was on Thursday ruled out of the upcoming one-day series against Bangladesh, a third injury setback for the tourists in the past two weeks. Shah, 28, needed three stitches on his left thumb after being hit during a practice match on Wednesday ahead of the first of three one-day internationals in Dhaka on Friday. A Pakistan Cricket Board release said left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar will fly in as a replacement, but it was unclear if Shah would be able to play in the subsequent Test series.

Shah played just one match in the recent World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, conceding 60 runs without taking a wicket against India before being ignored for the remaining games. The leg-spinner has taken 27 wickets in five Tests and two wickets in two one-dayers since his debut in 2011. Two other World Cup squad members, Sohaib Maqsood and Sohail Khan, were earlier ruled out of the tour with injuries. Babar, who was ignored for the World Cup, has claimed 33 Tests and four one-day wickets.

–AFP

Barcelona, Chelsea, Man Utd set for US games European heavyweights Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester United will take part in this year’s International Champions Cup friendly tournament in the United States, organisers announced on Wednesday. The 10-team line-up for the competition, won by United in 2014, also features Paris Saint-Germain, Porto, Fiorentina, Mexico’s Club America, New York Red Bulls, Los Angeles Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes. The format for the tournament and the match venues have not yet been announced, but it will take place between July 11 and August 5, prior to the start of the 201516 European season. Last year, United played Real Madrid in the International Champions Cup in front of a record crowd of over 109,000 in Michigan, illustrating the growing popularity of European teams in the US. “Manchester United made history in its last visit to the United States by breaking the country’s soccer attendance record and the huge level of support for the club was evident in every city we visited,” said United managing director Richard Arnold in a statement.

–AFP

Mandzukic clears Carvajal of biting in battle of Madrid Atletico Madrid striker Mario Mandzukic on Wednesday cleared Real rival Dani Carvajal of biting him in their Champions League clash but a punch delivered by the Real defender could still cost him a ban. Mandzukic backed Carvajal’s denials of a bite in a Twitter statement after the bruising quarter final clash encounter on Tuesday night which ended 0-0. “Yesterday’s match was very hard and both teams gave everything, but for me there was no controversy, no bite, or anything,” the Croat striker said. “We’re all thinking about Saturday’s match against Deportivo which is very important.”

Mandzukic ended the Champions League game with a bloodied face after an elbow from Real defender Sergio Ramos. But his clash with Spanish international Carvajal dominated post-match talk.

Battling in the penalty area, Mandzukic’s arm is raised to hold back his rival. As Carvajal moves round, his mouth comes close to Mandzukic’s arm and then he lands a punch in the striker’s stomach.

–AFP

An action of the Manyavar Bangladesh Premier League match between Abahani and Chittagong Abahani at BNS yesterday

COURTESY

Sky Blues clinch derby, Muktis also win n Raihan Mahmood Abahani rode on the strikes of their Hungarian duo to go past Chittagong Abahani 2-0 in the Manyavar Bangladesh Premier League at Bangabandhu National

Stadium yesterday.

Forward Szabolcs Csorba and midfielder Gabor Demjen rescued the traditional Sky Blues again with two late strikes. The two Hungarian recruits have now accounted for seven of the eight goals scored by Abahani in this campaign with Csorba netting four and Gabor notching three. The lack of local finishers overawed Abahani in the entirety of the first half before the Hungarians rose to the occasion.

Csorba’s intelligence helped Abahani break the deadlock in the 73rd minute. Picking up a Shakil Ahmed through pass, Csorba placed the ball into the far post with a side-footed effort.

RESULTS Abahani

2-0

Chittagong Abahani

Szabolcs Csorba 73 Gabor Demjen 79 – P

Muktijoddha Fekri Zejada 56 Abbas Inusah 58 Camara Sarba 78

3-1

Team BJMC Nabib Newaz Jibon 90+1

Demjen sealed the fate of the match six minutes later with a spot-kick. Chittagong Abahani’s Guinean defender Camara Mamado’s side tackle on Csorba forced the Hungarian down in the middle of the box and Demjen

Asia Cup to alternate between one-day and T20 formats n AFP, New Delhi Cricket’s Asia Cup will switch from the oneday format to Twenty20 next year with the format of future tournaments matching that of the subsequent World Cup, a top official said Thursday.

The next edition of the regional showpiece will be held as a T20 event for the first time, ahead of the World Twenty20 in India in March-April next year, the official said.

Then in 2018, it will be a one-day tournament because the 50-overs-a-side World Cup will be played in England in 2019, outgoing Asian Cricket Council (ACC) CEO Ashraful Haq told AFP. The Asia Cup has been played with the 50-overs-a-side format since it began in 1984.

“The changed formats are confirmed but

the host nation for next year’s tournament and the dates have not yet been decided,” Haq added.

The upcoming Asia Cup is likely to be a six-nation event, with the big four - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - being joined by two non-Test nations.

Afghanistan took part in the previous tournament in Bangladesh last year which was won by Sri Lanka.

Haq confirmed that the Kuala Lumpur-based ACC will shut shop by June 30 and the International Cricket Council will take over its operations, including the conduct of the Asia Cup. “The ICC will now look after the development of cricket in Asia,” said Haq, a former official of the Bangladesh Cricket Board who has served at the ACC since its inception in 1983. l

stepped up to send Chittagong Abahani goalkeeper Mohammed Ershad the wrong way.

Abahani took their tally to seven points from three matches while Chittagong Abahani are yet to open their account.

In the other match of the day, Muktijoddha powered past Team BJMC 3-1. Egyptian midfielder Fekri Zejada drilled a low free-kick into the near post from 20 yards out to put Muktis ahead in the 56th minute while Ghanaian defender Abbas Inusah headed in the second in the 58th minute. Senegalese marksman Camara Sarba headed in the third in the 78th minute as Muktijoddha sealed the fate of the match. In stoppage time, Nabib Newaz Jibon netted the consolation for BJMC. Muktijoddha have nine points from three matches while Team BJMC remained on their previous tally of one. l

Russia to face Germany without injured Sharapova n AFP, Moscow Russia’s hopes of winning a place in the Fed Cup final suffered a setback as world number two Maria Sharapova dropped out through injury just days ahead of the semi-final with Germany. Before Sharapova’s withdrawal, Russia looked favourites to win the semi-final as she has been joined by 25th-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova, a two-time Grand Slam winner, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (38th), and Elena Vesnina (71st).

The 29-year-old Kuznetsova, three-time Fed Cup champion, has a chance to become Russia’s most successful player in Fed Cup history if she wins just one more rubber.

“I enjoy so much playing in the Fed Cup,” Kuznetsova, who is currently level with Elena Likhovtseva and Elena Makarova on 26 wins, said.l

DT

28 Sport

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

Suarez brace sinks PSG, Porto stun Bayern n AFP, Paris Luis Suarez hit a brilliant second-half double as Barcelona appeared to end Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League dream for another year with a 3-1 quarter-final, first leg win at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday.

The visitors’ all-star attack made their class count as Neymar coolly converted from a Lionel Messi assist in the 18th minute to put Luis Enrique’s men in control, before Suarez produced two clinical finishes in the final quarter of the game.

PSG got one back eight minutes from time from what was credited as a Jeremy Mathieu own-goal from a Gregory van der Wiel shot, but this was their first home defeat of the season and a first loss at home in Europe in 34 matches since 2006.

RESULTS PSG (FRA)

1-3

Mathieu og-82

Porto (POR) Quaresma 3-P, 10, J. Martinez 65

Barcelona (ESP) Neymar 18, Suarez 67, 79

3-1

Bayern Munich (GER) Thiago Alcantara 28

The French champions have been eliminated on away goals at this stage of the competition in each of the last two seasons, including against Barca in 2013, but they will do very well to even make it that close on this occasion.

PSG’s evening was further marred by the loss of captain Thiago Silva, who hobbled off just after Neymar’s opener with a thigh problem.

A dejected Silva walked straight off the field to have his left thigh bandaged up, not even waiting until his fellow-Brazilian David Luiz was ready to take his place.

The former Chelsea stopper was a surprise inclusion in the squad after travelling to Russia for treatment on a hamstring injury that was expected to sideline him for around three more weeks.

But even with Silva on the field, Paris

looked uncomfortable against Barcelona’s attack. The match was only 14 minutes old when Suarez found Messi on the edge of the area, the Argentine controlling the ball and curling a shot off the left post.

Messi, who has scored 45 goals in all competitions this season, provided a 25th assist soon after, sliding a pass into the path of Neymar, who finished across Salvatore Sirigu with the PSG defence posted missing after Adrien Rabiot lost possession on the right wing.

After crashing into Messi in the lead-up to that goal, Silva hobbled off, and Luiz had taken his place in time to see Neymar cut into the box and send in a shot that Sirigu, this time, saved comfortably.

It took 35 minutes for PSG to force Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the Barcelona goal into a save, and even then it was an easy catch as Edinson Cavani hooked a Maxwell cross on target.

There was a further scare for the hosts as Sirigu came up clutching his left arm after falling awkwardly while saving a Suarez shot, but the Italian goalkeeper was able to carry on.

PSG had a greater purpose about them at the start of the second half, and both Javier Pastore and Rabiot forced saves from ter Stegen, before Barcelona were dealt an injury blow of their own as captain Andres Iniesta was stretchered off after taking a knee in the lower back from Pastore.

However, Barcelona again undid the PSG defence midway through the second half, Suarez eliminating Luiz and Marquinhos as he cut into the area from the right before holding off Maxwell and prodding past Sirigu at his near post.

Ter Stegen blocked a thunderous Cavani shot before the classy Suarez struck again on 79 minutes, playing a quick one-two with Javier Mascherano and nutmegging the hapless Luiz before lashing a shot high into the top-right corner.

That appeared to be that, although PSG were given the smallest glimmer of hope when Van der Wiel’s volley from outside the area beat ter Stegen with the aid of a decisive

Barcelona’s Uruguayan marksman Luis Suarez celebrates scoring his second goal against PSG in the first leg of their Uefa Champions League quarter-final at Parc des Princes on Wednesday REUTERS touch off substitute Mathieu.

Porto have one foot in the Champions League’s semi-finals after their shock 3-1 win at home over Bayern Munich in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final, first leg.

Porto carry a weighty advantage to Munich for Tuesday’s return leg at the Allianz Arena while Bayern have a glimmer of hope after their away goal, but still need to score at least twice at home.

Host coach Julen Lopetegui got one over

his ex-Barcelona team-mate Pep Guardiola with Porto poised for a first semi-final appearance since 2004 when they won the Champions League under Jose Mourinho.

Lopetegui had said Porto needed to be the ‘perfect protagonists’ against Guardiola’s Bayern and they got off to a dream start as right winger Ricardo Quaresma scored twice in the opening ten minutes.

Bayern pulled one back through Thiago Alcantara with 28 minutes gone.l

Mayoral candidates promise sports-friendly Dhaka n Raihan Mahmood

The mayoral candidates of the upcoming Dhaka City Corporation elections show their solidarity during an exchange view programme yesterday COURTESY

The two Awami League-backed Dhaka City Corporation mayoral election candidates, Saeed Khokon of South and Annisul Haque of North, yesterday pledged to make Dhaka more sports friendly provided they win their respective elections.

The young Khokon and the experienced Annisul expressed their pledges in an exchange view programme organised by the Combined Sports Family at the National Sports Council auditorium yesterday. Hundreds of sportspersons, federation officials, national award winners and organisers were present on the occasion.

Khokon commemorated his father’s passion for sports. “My father was the first elected mayor of Dhaka and he was a former president of Bangladesh Football Federation. I am aware of the fact that many city corporation-owned sports grounds are occupied by others and many are out of use. I will do my best to ensure a sports-friendly Dhaka,” said Khokon.

Annisul on the other hand said he has already identified the problems. “I have a vision of improving the overall infrastructure of Dhaka North and sports is very much on the list. I am talking with the people about the problems and how to improve.

If I am elected, I will deploy all my possible efforts to improve the sports arena,” said Annisul.l

DT

Sport 29

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

Djokovic, Dibaba winners at Laureus awards

Captain Cook’s sorry England form could end in his demise n Reuters, London

n AFP, Shanghai

If Alastair Cook does not sort out his batting problems during the series against West Indies, the England captain’s Test future looks rather bleak, former batsman Nasser Hussain said.

Cook, who has not scored a Test century since May 2013 when he notched up 130 against New Zealand at Headingley, was out for 13 in England’s second innings against the West Indies in Antigua after scoring 11 in the first.

World number one tennis star Novak Djokovic and Ethiopian athlete Genzebe Dibaba were named Laureus sportsman and woman of the year Wednesday at an event in Shanghai that also honoured China’s sporting trailblazers.

Germany’s world-conquering footballers were chosen as team of the year at the Laureus Sports Awards, while a heavily pregnant Li Na, China’s two-time Grand Slam winning champion, picked up the exceptional achievement award.

The pioneering tennis star, who bowed out from the sport last year, collected the award on a night of success for China, with former NBA superstar Yao Ming picking up the spirit of sport award in his home city.

Among the sporting greats attending the show were China’s 2004 Olympic hurdling champion Liu Xiang - another Shanghai hero - who retired earlier this month.

Djokovic is currently playing at the Monte Carlo Masters and was not at the event to collect his second sportsman of the year award.

Earlier this year, the Serb won his eighth Grand Slam triumph at the Australian Open, and his first since becoming husband a father in 2014. Middle and long-stance runner Dibaba, who broke three world records in different events in two weeks, was also not attending the glitzy ceremony.

For Li Na, the first Laureus awards to be held in China was a moment to reflect on her retirement. l

DAY’S WATCH Sony Six 8:30PM Indian Premier League Mumbai v Chennai

Ten Action 2:30PM ATP: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Quarterfinal 1, 2, 3, 4 12:30AM French Ligue 1 2014/15 FC Nantes v Olympic Marseille

Ten Sports 3:45PM A-League 2014/15 Newcastle Jets v Sydney FC 12:45AM Sky Bet Championship Norwich City v Middlesbrough

Ten Cricket 7:45PM England Tour of West Indies 1st Test, Day 5

Star Sports 4 04:25PM FIA F1 World Championship 2015: Practice Sessions 1 : Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain 12:10AM Liga Bbva 2014/15 Levante UD vs. RCD Espanyol

BRIEF SCORE, DAY 3 England 399 and 116 for 3 (Ballance 44*, Root 32)

West Indies 294 (Blackwood 112*, Tredwell 4-47) England lead by 220 runs

The New South Wales Police Force organized a successful cricket tournament for international students on Sunday at Old Kings Oval, Parramatta Park in Australia. The tournament had four participating teams Nepal, India, Pakistan and a combined team from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The preliminary round was 10 overs each and the final was scheduled to be a 17 overs match. The tournaments major attraction was one of the legends of the Australian cricket and the entire cricket world in general, Brett Lee. The star player bowled 2 overs each for every participating team INTERNET

The 30-year-old was axed as one-day captain ahead of this year’s World Cup because of his poor form and having now gone 33 Test innings without a century, his place in the side is under scrutiny once again.

“His technique is all over the place at the moment,” former England captain Hussain told Sky Sports.

“He has got a couple of games to try and turn it around and not just get a few runs, get a stack-load.”

West Indies’ fast bowler Jerome Taylor again exploited Cook’s inability to deal with the full ball outside off-stump as the England captain wafted at a shot and was caught by Sulieman Benn in the second innings.

England’s former Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan believes Cook’s movement at the crease has improved but said the Essex batsman must address his problems outside off-stump. l

Swiss miss as Federer and Wawrinka lose n Reuters, Monte Carlo

Former world number one Roger Federer was beaten 6-4 7-6(5) by local favourite Gael Monfils in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters on a bad day for the Swiss which also saw Stanislas Wawrinka exit on Thursday.

Defending champion Wawrinka put up only token resistance as his game fell apart in a 55-minute 6-1 6-2 rout at the hands of Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov on Centre Court.

Dimitrov will face Monfils in the quarter-finals after the French showman, decked out in green and black stripes, saw off second seed Federer in a high-quality contest.

Federer, beaten by Wawrinka in last year’s final, moved 3-1 ahead courtesy of an early break but Monfils hit straight back and then outplayed the Swiss from the baseline to break again at 4-4 before clinching the opener.

The second set went with serve and Federer built a 5-3 lead in the tiebreak before losing four points in a row.

“It was not the best end to the match,” Federer told reporters. “I should have done

better with the break up in the first. I think I did a good job to hang around the second set.

I also had chances of my own.

“I never felt like things were really happening the way I wanted them to be going during the whole match.”

Federer said he would now return to Switzerland to prepare for more claycourt action in Istanbul and Madrid. Wawrinka also looked like he needs some practise.

The third seed hit 41 unforced errors as he went down in less than an hour.l

Gael Monfils of France reacts after winning his match against Roger Federer of Switzerland at the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco yesterday REUTERS

DT

30 DOWNTIME

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Embellishes (6) 4 Cut grass (3) 7 Sheeplike (5) 8 Abstract (6) 11 Fastener (3) 12 Remaining (4) 13 Probability (4) 15 Praise highly (5) 16 European capital (5) 20 Church service (4) 23 Wavelike flow (4) 24 Humour (3) 25 Fit to be eaten (6) 26 Spicy fragrance (5) 27 Precious stone (3) 28 Hid (6)

DOWN 1 Copious (5) 2 Clergymen (7) 3 Tolerable (4) 4 look after (4) 5 Responsibility (4) 6 Raining (3) 9 King (L.) (3) 10 Newt (3) 14 Writer of a daily record of events (7) 17 Plunder (3) 18 Sick (3) 19 Frozen shower (5) 20 Deep mud (4) 21 Minute particle (4) 22 Close up (4) 24 Oscillate (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 21 represents T so fill T every time the figure 21 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

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

First glimpse at Shakib and Paoli’s Swatta

CELEBS ON SOCIAL

n Showtime Desk The very first teaser video of Shakib Khan and Paoli Dam starrer Swatta has recently gone viral on social media. The one minute and twenty-four seconds long teaser features some disordered but exquisite scenes from the film, and apparently it holds the first encounter of Shakib and Paoli Dam in the movie.

In the film, Paoli enacted a role of an orphan who was forced to become a sexworker and one day meets her saviour Shakib, a spoiled young man from an elegant family. Directed by Hashibur Rahman Kollol, the film is adapted from Sohani Hossain’s story “Maa” while Ferdous Hasan has written the screenplay and dialogue for it.

The first taste of the much hyped film, it brings Dhallywood’s leading star Shakib and Tollywood sensation Paoli Dam on board, gives idea of it’s musical side rendering “Amare Poraite Tomar Eto

Bollywood Top 10 Jeena Jeena, Film: Badlapur Singer: Atif Aslam Music by: Sachin-Jigar

Lilly Singh @IISuperwomanII This picture with @therock is 20 years in the making. No caption will ever do justice. The most… https://instagram. com/p/1eDTwaH6uT/

Ayojon” in the background of Momtaz’s voice. Bappa Mazumder has tuned and composed all six songs for the film, as Samina Chowdhury, Mila and Kona along with Momtaz lent their voice. Ahmed Rubel, Bonna Mirza, Shimul Khan, Kabila

and Don have taken on the supporting roles.

Produced by Taranga Entertainment, the film will shortly resume the rest of the shooting depending on the availability of the actors. l

Insurgent opens at Blockbuster Cinemas

Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan, Film: Roy Singers: Meet Bros Anjjan, Kanika Kapoor, Music by: Meet Bros Anjjan

TELEVISION Captain America: The Winter Soldier B Star Movies 9:30pm As Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world, he teams up with another super soldier, the black widow, to battle a new threat from old history Cast: Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson

Sooraj Dooba Hain, Film: Roy Singers: Arijit Singh, Aditi Singh Sharma, Music by: Amaal Mallik Tu Jo Hain, Film: Mr. X Singer: Ankit Tiwari Music by: Ankit Tiwari Tere Bin Nahi Laage, Film: Ek Paheli Leela, Singer: Uzair Jaswal, Music by: Uzair Jaswal

Journey Song, Film: Piku Singers: Anupam Roy, Shreya Ghoshal Music by: Zee Music Galliyan, Film: Ek Villain Singer: Ankit Tiwari, Music by: Ankit Tiwari Samjhawan Film: Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania Singers: Arijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal Music by: Sharib-Toshi l

Ellen DeGeneres @TheEllenShow It looks like @Oprah has revised her show “Master Class.” I never knew how strong @BarbaraJWalter’s core was. http://ellen. tv/1cwMMFE

WHAT TO WATCH

Desi Look, Film: Ek Paheli Leela Singer: Kanika Kapoor Music by: Dr. Zeus

Teri Meri Kahaani, Film: Gabbar Is Back Singers: Arijit Singh, Palak Muchal Music by: Zee Music

Aamir Khan @aamir_khan One of the best films I have seen in a long time. Check out the trailer. http://bit. ly/1Kp8KJP

n Showtime desk Insurgent, the second instalment of the Divergent trilogy, will open today at the Blockbuster Cinemas of Jamuna Future Park. It is now Robert Schwentke’s take on the sci-fi adventure.

Along with the first film’s returning cast, the sequel features supporting actors Octavia Spencer, Naomi Watts, Suki Waterhouse, Rosa Salazar and others.

Robert Schwentke has taken over from Neil Burger as director, with Burger serving as the executive producer of the film.

Based on Veronica Roth’s trilogy of best-selling novels, the Divergent films are set in a walled, post-apocalyptic Chicago,

where survivors are ritualistically sorted into five factions. Every 16-year-old is tested for which faction suits them, and then must choose one and remain there forever.

Much of the drama of Insurgent takes place in a virtual reality, in which Tris frequently faces various simulation challenges, forcing her to reconcile her guilt in the death of her parents, as seen in the first instalment.

“The Divergent Series: Insurgent,” a Summit Entertainment release, is rated PG-13 for “intense violence and action throughout, some sensuality, thematic elements and brief language.” Running time: 118 minutes. l

Hanuman C B4U Movies 6:30pm Hanuman was born to Anjani, a female Apsara and the Monkey King Kesari.

When Anjani was expecting a child, Pavan Dev placed Lord Shiva’s ‘ansh’ in her womb and hence he is also called ‘Pavanputra’.

Genre: animation Step Up Revolution BHBO 7:32pm Emily arrives in Miami with aspirations to become a professional dancer. She sparks with Sean, the leader of a dance crew whose neighborhood is threatened

by Emily’s father’s development plans.

Cast: Kathryn McCormick, Ryan Guzman, Cleopatra

DT

32 BACK PAGE

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015

BUSINESS CONFIDENCE MAY GROW IN JAN-JULY PAGE 15

SHAKIB BELIEVES HISTORY CAN BE CHANGED PAGE 25

A GLIMPSE AT SHAKIB, PAOLI’S SWATTA PAGE 31

Teary reunion at Thakurgaon border n Zakir Mostafiz Milu, Thakurgaon When the entire nation was happily celebrating the arrival of Bangla New Year 1422 on Tuesday, some families in Haripur and Baliadangi upazilas of Thakurgaon were eagerly waiting for an event yet two days ahead.

And what the next two days brought was a tear-jerking mix of happiness and sorrow.

What the next two days brought was a somewhat reunion of family members living across the border between Bangladesh and India.

On the occasion of Pohela Boishakh, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and India’s Border Security Force (BSF) arranged for the mass family reunion on Wednesday and Thursday for the families who got separated during the 1947 Partition.

People living in Molani, Dabri, Betna, Bujruk, and Ratnai areas in Haripur and Baliadangi had the opportunity to see their estranged family members living in India’s Sreepur, Nargaon, Katarganj and Borra. Security was beefed up on both the sides of the border as thousands of people turned up for the emotional event.

But the reunion was incomplete – the families met, but was still separated by the barbed wire fence that marked the border between the two neighbouring countries.

People were seen desperately trying to reach their loved ones, some silently shedding tears, others wailing for not being able to embrace their family members. Srabanti Rani, from Mundumala area in Baliadangi, could not stem her tears as she kept staring at her mother on the other side of the fence.

Victims of the 1947 Partition, estranged family members try desperately to reach out to each other through the barbed wire fence that separates Bangladesh and India. The photo was taken yesterday at the Bangladesh-India Border in Ratnai area, Thakurgaon DHAKA TRIBUNE “This is the first time I have seen my mother after I got married. I don’t remember when I last hugged her. She is so near, yet so far,” a sobbing Srabanti told the Dhaka Tribune.

The sentiment was somewhat similar

among all coming to the reunion.

Haripur Upazila Parishad Chairman Nurul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that before the partition, the upazila used to be a part of India’s Dinajpur district. “This is mainly why

these families got separated then. Now they get to reunite only once a year.”

After meeting their families, many asked the government to take steps so that this temporary reunion could turn into a permanent one. l

BCL members assault female TIB: Coal mega projects student at JU, 5 suspended riddled with corruption n JU Correspondent Five leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League molested a female indigenous student of Jahangirnagar University on the night of Pohela Boishakh, resulting in their suspension from the organisation.

The victim, a botany student, submitted a written complaint against the culprits to the university authorities yesterday.

According to the complaint, the victim along with her friend Nahid Ahmed was returning to her dormitory Pritilata Hall around 8pm from her department’s Pohela Boishakh celebration, when journalism student Nishat Imtiaz Bijoy, chemistry student Nafis Imtiaz, anthropology students Abdur Rahman Iftee and Nurul Kabir and geography and environment science student Rakib Hasan blocked their way near the Chourangi intersection.

The accused forcefully took them to a deserted area and snatched away their valuables. They beat them up both and tried to un-

dress the girl. As both the victims screamed for help, people gathered quickly which made the culprits flee.

All the accused are residential students at Shaheed Salam Barakat Hall of the university. Of them, Bijoy is an executive member of Chhatra League, while Nafis is the publicity secretary of the organisation in the dormitory.

This incident created an uproar among the JU students.

Chhatra League also suspended the accused members, according to a press release issued by the organisation yesterday.

Mahmudur Rahman Jony, president of JU Chhatra League, confirmed it to the Dhaka Tribune and said: “They will remain suspended until this matter is properly investigated and the report is submitted. If they are found guilty, they will be expelled for life from Chhatra League.”

JU Proctor Prof Dr Tapan Kumar Saha said his office had received the complaint. “We have forwarded it to the university’s anti-sexual harassment cell.” l

n Aminur Rahman Rasel Corruption in land acquisition and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reporting afflicts two major power projects, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) claimed.

The watchdog unveiled a report titled “Rampal and Matarbari Power Projects: Challenges of Good Governance on Land Acquisition and EIA” at a press conference in the MIDAS Centre in the capital yesterday.

It was presented by TIB researchers Mohammad Hossain and Md Rabiul Islam.

TIB Executive Director M Iftekharuzzaman conducted the talk while TIB Board of Trustees Chairperson Sultana Kamal chaired it.

A 1,320MW coal-based power plant is slated to be built at Rampal. Another 1,200MW plant at Matarbari, financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), is on the cards as well.

Iftekharuzzaman alleged that Jica misappropriated climate change funds by giving the mon-

ey to Bangladesh in loans instead of as grants.

Despite mounting protests, Japan continues to finance the building of coal-fired power plants with money earmarked for fighting climate change, with two new projects under way in India and Bangladesh.

Japanese officials say they are counting some $630 million in loans for coal plants in Kudgi, India, and Matarbari, Bangladesh, as climate financing.

Tokyo says the projects are climate-friendly because the plants use technology that burns coal more efficiently.

The TIB report also said Tk23cr had been misappropriated by authorities at Matarbari.

Iftekharuzzaman said the two plants require independent monitoring.

Bangladesh and India are jointly implementing the Rampal power plant project at a location close to the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and a Unesco world heritage site.

Environmentalists vigorously oppose it. 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