27 May, 2015

SECOND EDITION

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 | Jyoistha 13, 1421, Sha’ban 8, 1436

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 45

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www.dhakatribune.com

| 32 pages plus 8-page Treehouse | Price: Tk10

SALAHUDDIN DISCHARGED RAB BUSTS STUDENTS’ GRIM SECRETS OF FROM NEIGRIHMS PAGE 3 KIDNAPPING GANG PAGE 5 TRAFFICKING CAMPS

PAGE 32

Teesta flow at historic low Al-Masum Molla n Mohammad back from Lalmonirhat With Bangladesh receiving the least water ever from Teesta this year, farmers along the basin in Lalmonirhat have never had a more unproductive yield.

Most of them did not see their crops being watered through the boro season – January to March – which accounts for almost two-thirds of Bangladesh’s food production.

Although their lands were ostensibly under the Teesta irrigation project, only about a tenth ended up being covered. The project has never failed them in such a manner. The main reason, officials say, is lack of water flow in the once mighty river.

According to Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), on a particular day this year, the flow in Teesta was 232 cubic feet per second (cusec), the lowest ever.

“There was water scarcity in almost the whole boro season—January, February, March and mid-April and farmers have the most difficult time this year,” said JRC member Mir Sajjad Hossain.

Alternative sourcing for irrigation has to be thought of, as water flow is decreasing every  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

A man standing in waist-high water near the Teesta barrage in the middle of the once-mighty river to fish is a highly unusual scene, especially at this time of year. The photo was taken on May 13 in Lalmonirhat SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Modi’s maiden visit June 6 n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Dhaka on a two-day state visit on June 6.

Modi’s maiden visit follows paving of the way in the Indian parliament for the implementation of the much-talked-about Land Boundary Agreement.

The visit of Modi is expected to focus on some major issues including the Teesta water sharing deal and river basin management.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart will have the official talks on June 6 and it is expected that a good number of instruments will be signed in the presence of the two prime ministers.

During his visit Modi will pay a courtesy call on President Abdul Hamid.

Leader of the Opposition Rawshan Ershad will meet Modi during his stay in Bangladesh.

Modi is also likely to have a meeting with BNP chief Khaleda Zia. The Indian prime minister will also deliv-

PAGE 2 PM asks UN to tackle terror attacks on peacekeepers

er a speech at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.

Modi will visit the National Memorial at Savar, Bangabandhu Museum and is expected to attend a congregation at the Dhakeswari temple.

Agreements

The Renewal of Trade Agreement and the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade have already got the nod of the cabinet and it is almost sure that those would be signed during the visit of the Indian premier.

A coastal shipping agreement, which has been finalised by the two countries, will also be signed in the presence of the two prime ministers.

Agreements and protocols on bus services between Dhaka-Shillong and Kolkata-Agartala through Bangladesh will also be inked during Modi’s visit.

The test run of a bus service between Dhaka and Shillong was held on May 22 and it is  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

PAGE 3 Police refuse to take rape case, term victim liar

PAGE 5 22 robbers arrested in separate drives

PAGE 8 China to extend military reach in disputed waters

PAGE 9 India heatwave kills 800

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2 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

RAB arrests seven human traffickers in city n Tribune Report

Police put up a barricade and watch as various organisations stage demonstrations in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka demanding stopping of human trafficking and immediate rescue of those stranded in the sea MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

PM asks UN to tackle terror attacks on peacekeepers n UNB Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday strongly denounced the killing of a Bangladeshi UN peacekeeper in Mali and urged the United Nations to play a more effective role in tackling such terrorist and militant acts.

In a condolence message, the prime minister also expressed profound shock at the death of the peacekeeper, Nilkanto Hajong of Bangladesh Army, who was shot

dead by terrorists in Bamako, the capital of Mali.

She said Bangladesh has always stood against terrorism and militancy both at national and international levels.

The prime minister also prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed her deep sympathy to his family members.

She also wished early recovery of another Bangladeshi peacekeeper, Shirajul Islam, who was injured in the same incident. l

Annisul: Most billboards illegal n Tribune Report Around two-thirds of the billboards installed around Dhaka North are illegal and will be removed immediately, said Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Annisul Huq. The newly elected mayor, backed by the ruling Awami League, made the statement during his visit to four DNCC wards yesterday.

He was accompanied by the ward councillors as well as DNCC Chief Exicutive Officer BM Enamul Haque, Chief Engineer Brig Gen Md Gazi Firoj Rahman, Chief Health Officer Brig Gen KM Masud Ahsan, Chief Waste Management Officer Bipon Kumar Saha and several other officials on the visit.

Visiting wards 15, 18, 19 and 20, Annisul inspected the conditions of several parks, waste management in the areas, mosquito control, roads, drainage and sewerage systems, street lights, footpaths and kitchen markets.

“The sewerage system in Gulshan is in a very poor condition and needs to be fixed immediately. We have shared our concern with Dhaka Wasa and urged them to take the necessary steps to do so,” Annisul told reporters.

He further said the city corporation had asked the authorities concerned to arrange land for waste transfer stations because the number of such stations in Dhaka North was insufficient.

During Annisul’s visit, locals spoke to the mayor about their problems and the lack of proper service from the city corporation, demanding immediate solution to their new mayor.

Listening to their pleas, Annisul asked the officials concerned of the respective departments to take steps to resolve the problems immediately.

A day earlier, Annisul visited wards 2, 3, 5 and 6 where he assured the locals of swiftly resolving their problems. l

Rapid Action Battalion arrested seven suspected human traffickers in a drive at DIT road of the capital’s Malibagh area.

The arrestees are the chairman of Mahbub Tours and Travels Ahmedur Rahman and his six associates, who could not be identified at the time.

Operation Officer of RAB 3 Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Saiful Islam said acting on a tip-off a team of RAB 3 led by Deputy Director of RAB 3 Major Kamran Kabir arrested the human traffickers.

He said RAB also rescued six victims from the building and recovered a huge number of passports, some stamped with fake visas.

ASP Saiful informed that they trafficked women in name of jobs abroad and also provided fake visas for large amounts of money to unsuspecting victims.

Major Maksudul Alam, assistant director of RAB’s legal and media wing, said as complaints were found against the suspected human traffickers, legal steps will be taken in this regard. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Teesta flow at historic low year, he added.

Water flow at the Gajoldoba point, where India built a barrage in 1977, was very thin this year. India has used the entire supply of water on the other side of the barrage, causing severe problems for the Bangladeshi farmers downstream.

The Teesta irrigation project was expected to have covered 70,000 hectares but reached only 8,572 hectares, according to the Water Development Board of Bangladesh.

Since its inception in 1993, this is the lowest coverage of the project, spanning the three northern districts of Nilphamari, Dinajpur, and Rangpur.

The project requires water flow of around 2,000 cusec for watering 65,000 hectares of boro cultivation, which mainly consists of the water-intensive high yielding varieties of paddy — the mainstay of Bangladeshi cereal production.

But given the poor water flow, the irrigation project has not been able to cover even half that land. Last year when water flow was at 500 cusecs, only about 20,000 hectares could be irrigated.

Rafiul Bari, irrigation extension officer of Dalia in Nilphamari, said: “Low water flow is the main reason for not being able to irrigate the lands.”

He also said that February and March are sensitive months because boro needs a lot of water during this time. “The average water flow was poor this year during the Boro season. But it went up to around 2,000-3,000 cusec from April 1.”

Since India built a barrage at Gajoldoba in West Bengal in 1977, Bangladesh has been getting around 5,000 cusecs on average during the lean season.

He also said: “If farmers have to use alternative sources for irrigation, production cost rises. Irrigation by shallow water pumps costs

around Tk1,800 per bigha, while we charge only Tk120.”

Consequently the authorities were compelled to resort to water rationing, which is harmful for the boro paddy because they need standing water in the fields almost through the entire crop cycle.

On paper, the Teesta runs along nearly 1.963 million hectares. Of that stretch, 749,000 hectares fall in Bangladesh and the remaining 1.214 million is in India. Reportedly, India has seldom managed to bring the entire stretch of its land under cultivation during the lean season.

The lives and livelihoods of around nine million people from Nilphamari, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur and Dinajpur districts in Bangladesh are directly and indirectly dependent on Teesta water and boro farming.

The boro growers have been irrigating their land with the water from Teesta project canals for years. However, this season, many of them had to install shallow pumps and use ground water because the canals had run dry.

Abdus Samad, a farmer of Dalia Point, said: “This year farmers have suffered the worst.

We did not get any water from the canals for 20-25 days. We had to use shallow pumps which increased production costs.” l

Modi’s visit expected that Hasina and Modi will see the launch of the first formal bus service.

Bangladesh and India are negotiating to sign the second Indian line of credit, which will be used for infrastructure and social sector projects.

The first line of credit of $1 billion was signed in 2010 but of the amount, $200 million was converted into grant. The $800 million credit has already been exhausted. l

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NEWS 3

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Salahuddin discharged from Neigrihms n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

Shillong police yesterday took BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed into their custody after he was discharged by the Neigrihms Hospital authorities.

The BNP joint secretary general may be produced before a local court today or tomorrow, said Meghalaya state police.

Bhaskar Bargohayen, a doctor at the Neigrihms, told reporters that Salahuddin had been discharged as his physical condition got stable.

The BNP leader went missing in Dhaka on

March 10 and reappeared in Shillong on May 11. Right after he disappeared, his wife Hasina Ahmed alleged that he had been picked up by Bangladeshi law enforcers.

Salahuddin has recently said that he does not remember much of what happened to him after March 10. Police in Meghalaya lodged a case against the BNP leader for entering India without legal documents.

He was shifted to the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (Neigrihms) from the Meghalaya Civil Hospital for better treatment.

However, the BNP has claimed that Salahuddin was still very sick.

At a press conference in the Nayapaltan office yesterday, Abdul Latif Jony, assistant office secretary of the party, said: “Salahuddin Ahmed is still sick. He has kidney and skin problems. Apart from these, eight months ago, he took treatments for cardiac problems.”

Since Salahuddin reappeared two weeks ago, this is the first time that his party has come up such a statement at a press briefing at their Nayapaltan office.

Asked about Salahuddin’s treatment, Jony

Teacher gets life for rape of 5-year-old

RAB: Some of microbus gang rape accused identified

n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu An Arabic teacher of Holy Crescent School at Mirpur has been sentenced to life term imprisonment for raping a five-year-old girl of the same school inside the compound last year.

Convict Minhaz Uddin, younger brother of the school’s Principal Mesbah Uddin, was also fined Tk2 lakh. In case of his failure to pay the fine, he will have to serve three more years in jail, the court said in the order yesterday.

Judge Tanjina Ismail of the Dhaka’s Fifth Special Tribunal for Prevention of Repression on Women and Children passed the order in presence of the rapist. The court also ordered the convict to give Tk1 lakh to the victim’s family as compensation.

According to the case, on the way home from school with her grandmother on March 11 last year, the victim was crying constantly but did not mention anything. Mother of the victim found blood on her trousers when she tried to change her clothes. She then said her teacher had hurt her.

She was first taken to Al Helal Hospital in Mirpur and later admitted to the One-Stop Crisis Centre at Dhaka Medical College Hospital for excessive bleeding.

Police arrested Minhaz on March 12 after the girl identified him. l

n Kamrul Hasan

A non-partisan platform against sexual harassment demonstrates in TSC area yesterday protesting rape of women and demanding exemplary punishment to the perpetrators MEHEDI HASAN

Police refuse to take case, term rape victim liar n Our Correspondent, Shariatpur A rape victim and her family members from Goshairghat of the district have alleged that local police refused to register a case terming the allegations wrong.

Father of the victim, who is a Class XIII student at a local school, said four teenagers including Rizvi Khan of the same village abducted her on Sunday evening from the house. They tied her hands and mouth, and Rizvi raped her at the house of Delowar Hossain Bepari throughout the night while others guarded the house.

After a frantic search, family members found her in captivity at Bepari’s house around 10am on Monday.

Rizvi’s three other accomplices include Bepari’s son Rajon. Rizvi is the son of Delwar Hossain Khan of Jagir Munshi village under Kodalpur union. He recently passed SSC from another school in the area.

Family members of the victim went to

said: “Doctors did not say anything about the patient’s treatment there. Doctors told Salahuddin’s wife not to worry as taking care of him was their responsibility.”

Regarding Salahuddin’s treatment in Singapore, the BNP leader said: “Salahuddin generally goes to Singapore for medical treatment.

That was why his wife had talked about taking him to the third country. But the Indian court will decide where he will be given treatment – whether it will be outside or inside India.”

Jony had been to Shillong and had met Salahuddin there. l

Goshairghat police on Monday afternoon to file a case. But the police did not register the complaint.

OC Mohammad Moazzem Hossain said: “We did not take the case as the victim’s statement was incoherent. Later I sent Sub-Inspector Faruk Hossain for investigation. He did not find the allegation to be true.”

Father of the victim told the Dhaka Tribune: “Police talked to my daughter in a separate room and later claimed that she was lying. They claimed that we are trying to put someone in a trap.”

The father said Rizvi had been harassing his daughter sexually every now and then for the last two years. She was studying at the same school where Rizvi studied until last year. But they had to change her school because of the harassment.

He said they had informed Rizvi’s family about the matter seeking remedy, but to no avail.

“On Sunday evening, I went out to the mosque to say prayers leaving my two daughters at home. But when I came back, I did not find my younger daughter at home or anywhere around. We discovered her at an abandoned house of Delowar Hossain Bepari the next morning.”

He alleged that SI Faruk had only spoken to Rizvi’s family members and tried to save the accused.

Journalists from Shariatpur met the victim’s family yesterday and sent her to the Sadar Hospital for treatment.

“Rizvi was giving me marriage proposal for long. Recently he told me that he will do something so that no one else marries me.

Rizvi and his friends abducted me around 8:30pm on Sunday when I came out of the house to go to the toilet,” she told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Rizvi raped and tortured me severely tying my hands and mouth. The three others were staying outside the room.” l

Investigators have identified more than one perpetrator behind the recent rape of an indigenous woman inside a moving microbus in the capital.

Footages from CCTV cameras were analysed, while the victim’s statement also helped in making the identification, RAB officials said.

Without disclosing exactly how many rapists have been identified, RAB legal and media wing Assistant Director Maj Maksudul Alam said some of the offenders were identified.

He also refused to disclose the identities of the culprits for the sake of investigation.

However, a senior RAB official, on condition of anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune the investigation officer had identified two perpetrators so far.

Maj Maksudul also alleged that some media outlets were publishing fabricated news over the incident. This claim was also raised

by DB chief Monirul Islam on Monday.

Monirul, the joint commissioner of the Detective Branch of police, said efforts were on to identify the culprits by analysing footage from roadside CCTV cameras, as well as CCTV footage from inside Jamuna Future Park – the shopping mall where the victim worked at.

He added that the police were yet to trace the microbus that was used in the crime.

Inspector (investigation) Sazzad Hossain of Bhatara police earlier told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have collected footage from the CCTV cameras installed at different establishments on the route followed by the microbus [during the incident].”

On last Thursday, the Garo woman was forced into a microbus at gunpoint from Kuril Bishwa Road bus stand area, before being raped by five youths inside the vehicle. She was left near Jasim Uddin Road at Uttara after around one and a half hours. Family members along with the victim went to Turag, Gulshan and Bhatara police stations to file the case.

Later, a case was filed with Bhatara police station in this regard.

A High Court bench on Monday issued rule upon the police and authorities concerned seeking explanation for the delay. The court also ordered the government to make sure that the police accept any rape complaint and serve all victims without any discrimination. l

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4 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Latif Siddique bailed in 7 cases n Tribune report

Former minister Latif Siddique has been granted interim bail for six months in seven cases filed for hurting religious sentiments.

The High Court bench of Justice Md Nizamul Huq and Justice Farid Ahmed stayed proceedings of the cases for six months and issued a ruling, in response to separate pleas from the sacked minister, asking why those proceedings would not be scrapped.

The stay order on the proceedings will be effective until disposal of the ruling, said Latif’s lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua.

However, Latif will not be released from prison yet as he is under trial in at least 15 other cases filed with divisional courts outside Dhaka.

Following controversial comments on the Hajj, Tabligh Jamaat and the prime minister’s son made by Latif at a programme in the US on September 28 last year, cases were filed in 18 districts. l

HC grants Rafiqul bail n Tribune Report The High Court yesterday granted four-week anticipatory bail to BNP leader Rafiqul Islam Mia in seven criminal cases.

The bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice Md Khasruzzaman passed the order after hearing seven bail petitions.

During hartal and blockades on different days after January 5, seven cases were filed against the BNP standing committee member with Mirpur and Pallabi police stations under explosives and special power acts.

Deputy Attorney General Fazlur Rahman Khan told reporters that they would appeal to the Supreme Court against the bail orders.

Former attorney general AJ Mohammad Ali represented the accused BNP leader. Rafiqul appeared before the court yesterday for the bail hearing, following several months of staying out of the public eye. l

Scholarship awards ceremony at ULAB

n Tribune Report The University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh awarded scholarships to its best students of the last four semesters on May 25 at its Dhanmondi campus.

Imran Rahman, Vice Chancellor of ULAB distributed the Vice Chancellor’s Honors List awards and the deans and heads of the departments distributed the ULAB’s Dean’s Honors List scholarships to the highest achievers of Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014 and Summer 2014 terms. Both scholarships cover full tuition for the term.

Professor Dr Jamilur Reza Choudhury, renowned academician and Vice Chancellor of University of Asia Pacific, was present as the chief guest.

The university also awarded its two most prestigious “Kazi Anisur Rahman Scholarship” and “Major General Abdul Mannan Siddiqui (Retd) Scholarship” to Mir Sadia Rashid of Business Administration and Piu Chowdhury from English and Humanities department respectively.

Ms Juditha Ohlmacher, Advisor of Communications and Student Affairs at ULAB gave the welcome speech and Professor Imran Rahman, Vice Chancellor of ULAB, gave the closing speech. l

Research: Nutrition education needed in safety net programmes n Abu Bakar Siddique

Knowledge of nutrition should be included in transfer modality of the government’s social safety net programmes to get the best output in terms of achieving poor people’s nutrition, stated a research.

The findings were revealed in a seminar organised by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) at the capital’s Lakeshore Hotel yesterday.

“Scaling up nutrition education in the social safety net programme will be the most effective way to improve food security and child nutrition among very poor families, as 36% of all children under five in Bangladesh are stunted,” said Akhter Ahmed, chief of IFPRI Bangladesh.

The two-year study conducted by the World Food Program (WFP) and the IFPRI observes that whilst the majority of safety net interventions are foodbased, cash transfers are becoming in-

creasingly important.

In northwest Bangladesh, cash transfers combined with nutrition education caused significant improvement in children’s nutrition, with a 7.3% point decrease in the proportion of children suffering stunting.

Christa Rader, WFP Bangladesh representative, said the outcomes confirm that with cash transfers combined and nutrition training, a significant reduction in child stunting can be achieved in a short period of time. l

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

RAB busts students’ gang of kidnappers n Mohammad Jamil Khan Members of Rapid Action Battalion busted a gang of kidnappers, all private university students, and rescued two victims in and near the capital on Monday.

“A team of RAB 1 conducted a drive in Joydebpur area of Gazipur on Monday evening and arrested eight members of the gang,” Kamrul Hasan, operation officer of RAB 1 and an assistant police superintendent, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“The members of the team rescued two hostages from the gang’s den and seized six mobile phones and a microbus,” Kamrul said.

Based on the information given by these

eight arrested persons, RAB picked up the gang’s ninth member, who is a woman, in the capital’s Uttara.

Seven of the arrestees are Shahin, 26, Tariqur Rahman, 22, Md Roki alias Jibon, 20, Abu Tareq, 25, Sanjay Roy, 23, Al Amin, 22, Sabrina Kabir alias Moumita, 20, all students of the Uttara-based International University of Business, Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT).

The other two are Shaikh Shahin, 23, student of Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (Duet), and Md Kaiyum, 24, student of Uttara University.

The two rescued victims are Shimon Miah, 28, and his cousin Md Saddam, 24. Shimon is an expatriate Bangladeshi living in Singapore

and is originally from Kaliganj of Gazipur. He came to visit Bangladesh on May 5 and was kidnapped on Monday.

RAB officials said that Shahin, believed to be the leader of the gang, used his girlfriend Moumita to lure Shimon into a trap. Moumita called up Shimon and tried to build a relationship.

On Monday, Moumita fixed a date with Shimon; they met near the Agriculture Research Centre in Gazipur around 11:30am.

Shimon took his cousin Saddam with him.

Soon, the kidnappers, in the guise of detective police, came to the area and picked up Shimon and Saddam. They blindfolded them, snatched Tk4,500, a gold chain and

a ring and took them to their den inside the Bhawal forest.

The kidnappers told Shimon to call up his brother, who also lives in Singapore, and ask for Tk5 lakh as ransom, or else threatened to severe his limbs.

When they were torturing the hostages, a female worker of a nearby mango forest noticed the incident and informed other local people who then informed the Porabari camp of RAB. Then the drive was conducted, said RAB official Kamrul.

Kamrul said they are trying to find out whether the gang was involved in any other kidnapping. He also said the process of filing a case against the kidnappers was underway. l

22 robbers arrested in separate drives Prothom Alo fined for wrong report on Apex factory worker n Kamrul Hasan

The police have arrested 22 suspected robbers in separate drives in Dhaka and outskirts.

Eight, accused of looting Tk72 lakh of NAR Sweater Company in Gazipur in September, were arrested in a DB drive in Mohammadpur.

Lawmen recovered three pistols, five rounds of bullets, 12 crude bombs, 1kg of gunpowder, 10 mobile phones, one microbus and a private car from them.

Three or four members of the robbery gang, however, managed to flee the scene, DB official Sheikh Nazmul Alam told reporters.

Meanwhile, in a separate drive in Motijheel, DB detained five members of another gang.

One microbus and four lethal weapons were

recovered. DC Alam said these robbers posed as DB officials to rob people and used stolen vehicles in committing crimes. The group had several cases against them.

Three case were filed against them. They will be produced before a court with a 10-day remand plea, the DB official said.

In Lalbagh, police arrested nine in connection with a car theft. Initially, the group’s leader – Sumon – was arrested. Based on his information, police in several raids in the city arrested eight other members of the gang of thugs.

Police also recovered a truck, a mini-truck, 60 drums of palm oil, a huge amount of rice, one deep fridge, and four lethal weapons. A case has been filed against them, said Lalbagh DC Mafiz Uddin Ahmed. l

Lawyer’s wife killed in city n Kamrul Hasan

Unidentified miscreants stabbed to death a Supreme court lawyer’s wife at their flat in the capital’s Nikunja area yesterday.

Lawyer Rafiqul Islam alleged that his wife, Lima Akhter Mukul, 39, had been killed because of his enmity with several people.

The woman was killed between 11:30am and 5:30pm when Rafiqul had been outside, Sub-Inspector of Khilkhet police station Golam Mostafa said. A 13-year-old local boy used

to keep an eye on the house and do the household chores, police said quoting Rafiqul.

Rafiqul returned home around 5:30pm and found the collapsible gate open.

Police said the victim had been attacked with a knife. Part of the knife was found near her body.

Rafiqul’s first wife lives in the USA. He married Lima in January.

Police collected evidence from the spot and sent the body to Dhaka Medical College morgue for post mortem examination.l

Political appointment must stop n Tribune Report Widespread politicisation contributed to low quality of staff in the civil service sector, former reputed bureaucrats said yesterday.

They said the situation turned worse after the introduction of quota system in the public service two years back, sparking strong protest among general students.

The observation came at a book launching ceremony at the Policy Research Institute in the city. The book titled “Gresham’s Law Syndrome and Beyond: An Analysis of the Bangladesh Bureaucracy” is written by former bureaucrat Akbar Ali Khan.

For a competent and effective bureaucracy, speakers gave some recommendations that

include recruitment free from political clout, promotion, competitive salary and incentives for better performance and punishment for bad performance and corruption.

Chairman of Centre for Development Research Bangladesh Mizanur Rahman Shelly said political leaders should not be myopic to hold on to power.

Former caretaker government adviser Syed Manzur Elahi said corruption vitiates bureaucracy. “Lower wages in civil services fail to attract talents, which reduces efficiency.”

Prime Minister’s Adviser Gowher Rizvi said: “Without political will, things will not be changed. But cooperation from civil servants are also necessary to bring aboiut changes.”l

n Ashif Islam Shaon The High Court yesterday ordered the daily Prothom Alo to give Tk1 lakh to a female worker of Apex Footwear Limited in a month as compensation for publishing a wrong report.

Disposing of a suo moto rule, the court observed that the newspaper must give Hamida Akter the money as part of social responsibility since her image was tarnished by the report on her abortion, Deputy Attorney General Tapos Kumar Biswas said.

The May 10 report said pregnant Hamida’s leave appeal was turned down by factory supervisor Ratan Mia. Later she fell unconscious in a toilet and gave birth to a baby. The infant died after they were taken to Shafipur Modern Hospital.

The bench of Justice Qazi Reza-Ul-Hoque

and Justice Abu Taher Mohammad Saifur Rahman passed the order after the Kaliakoir upazila nirbahi officer submitted a probe report.

The probe committee found that Hamida had an abortion accidentally as she took medicine of her own. She did not give birth to any child, rather it was a five-month fetus.

Following the report, the court had issued the rule on its own volition and summoned three officials of Apex to appear on May 24.

The three officials appeared before the court and said though the report was wrong, they had taken measures for Hamida’s treatment.

The court later exempted them from the rule.

In the meantime, the daily published a clarification saying that the report was made on wrong information. The court took the clarification into consideration and yesterday asked its authorities to pay the compensation. l

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6 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

80,000 tonnes urea losing quality The agri-input kept under the open sky for several months n Our Correspondent, Jamalpur Around 80,000 tonnes of urea fertiliser is gradually losing quality as those have been kept under the open sky on the premises of Jamuna Fertiliser Factory located at Tarakandi, Jamalpur for long time.

Factory sources said the agri-input have been kept under the open sky over several months due to space shortage at the warehouse.

According to factory sources, Jamuna Fertiliser factory has the capacity to accommodate 64,000 tonnes of fertiliser while 144,000 tonnes of fertiliser have been stockpiled in and around the factory.

Local dealers said as fertiliser has not been disbursed among dealers of 16 districts across the country during the current Boro season, the amount of fertiliser has remained unsold.

A good number of dealers wishing anonymity told the Dhaka Tribune that a section of importers had influenced that Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation not to distribute fertiliser among dealers so that they could sell their imported fertiliser among them.

Jumuna Fertiliser Factory, the biggest fertiliser factory in the country, produces 1,600 tonnes fertiliser everyday. About 1,900 dealders are distributed fertiliser from the factory.

According to dealers, about 500 dealers were provided with fertiliser in January, Februray and March while 1,400 were deprived off the fertiliser during that period.

Abul Hossain, a dealer of Tarakandi area, told the Dhaka Tribune that during Boro season Jamuna Fertiliser Factory Command area met the demand of dealers with imported fertiliser. Now, a huge amount of fertiliser are

kept in the factory’s warehouse.

Abdul Hamid, another dealer, said: “As imported fertiliser has been kept in the government godown, there is no space in the warehouse to keep the home-made fertiliser.”

Rafiqul Islam, another dealer, said: “Quality of the fertiliser might be damaged because of keeping those under open sky months after months.”

He also said the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation will make dealers to buy inequality fertiliser.

“Not only dealers, but also farmers will face loss after applying the inequality fertiliser in their fields.” Managing director of the factory Mustafizur Rahman said that they had kept the fertiliser with proper protective measures.

He also assured the Dhaka Tribune that quality of the agri-input would not be hampered. l

22 drug addicts flee rehab centre n Our Correspondent, Barisal At least 22 drug addicts, who were undergoing treatment at a drug addict rehabilitation centre in Barisal city’s C&B Road area, fled yesterday.

Three staff of the rehabilitation centre, Holy Care Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts, sustained injuries while trying to obstruct the addicts.

Sabuj Chandra, one of the injured staff, said the patients suddenly became furious and attacked them in the morning leaving three injured while they were serving breakfast.

Later, 22 drug addicts, out of 30, fled the rehabilitation home, breaking open the grill of the central kitchen located on the ground floor, added Sabuj.

Sabuj along with his another colleague was admitted to Barisal Sher-E-Bangla Medical College Hospital. l

DT

NEWS 7

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Port city’s footpaths again in the grip of illegal occupiers

Survey to check traffic jams starts today n Tribune Report

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (traffic) will jointly conduct a survey to find out the causes of traffic congestion regularly occurring on the road connecting the Dhaka Airport and Shahbagh area in the capital.

The decision came at a meeting held at DSCC Nagar Bhaban yesterday in presence of Mayor Sayeed Khokon.

The mayor told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have formed a nine member committee headed by Moslehuddin Ahmed, joint commissioner of DMP traffic. The committee will start the survey tomorrow [today] and will submit its report within 15 working days.”

Director of Clean Air and Sustainable Environment project, Deputy Commissioners of DMP, Dhaka South and North City Corporation’s traffic engineering officials and urban planners are members of the committee.

Moslehuddin Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune: “We will basically find out the causes of traffic jam, the problems on the roads which result in traffic jams. However, this survey is not for bringing long term solutions.”

DSCC CEO Anser Ali Khan, Additional Commissioner of DMP (traffic) Maruf Hasan were present at the meeting. l

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong Within a few months of an eviction drive jointly conducted by the Chittagong Metropolitan Police and Chittagong City Corporation, illegal occupiers have started coming back to roadside areas and footpaths with their regular business due to lack of proper monitoring.

Subsequently, traffic congestion has turned severe in the port city much to create sufferings for townspeople.

During a visit to city’s Sholoshahar rail crossing area yesterday, this correspondent found illegal makeshift kitchen markets on both sides of the rail track. The aforesaid scenario was also seen in Two Number Gate Rail Crossing area.

“The rail track adjoining illegal markets always contribute to traffic jam which causes sufferings for us,” said Shafkat Islam, a private company employee.

The New Market area, one of the main business hub of the port city, goes in the grips of illegal occupiers after dusk which creates

severe traffic jam it’s intersection and adjoining roads till the mid night.

“None disturbs us as we provide weekly toll to police and local ruling party leaders,” said Sabur Mia, a hawker.

The aggression of hawkers was seen stretching from Puraton Railway Station to New Market, GPO Office to New Market, Chittagong Government City College intersection to New Market and Tin Puler Matha to New Market.

Fruit sellers and pornography CDs sellers dominate the footpath in front of Jahur Hawker Market from morning till the late night.

Apart from the areas, roadsides and thoroughfares of Agrabad Excess Road, Sheikh Mujib Road, Nimtola, CEPZ, Bahaddarhat, GEC, Reaz Uddin Market, Chittagong Government Commerce College Road have been grabbed by hawkers.

Commissioner Abdul Jalil Mandal, after taking charge of the CMP, coordinating with the CCC, started eviction drives at several points last year and then they succeeded to free many important footpaths and thoroughfares of the city from illegal occupations.

But in absence of monitoring during the city polls last month, hawkers have started come to their regular business.

The CMP and the CCC sources said the aggression of roadside grabbers were seen before Ramadan and Eid-ul Fitr every year since local dominating groups, some ill motivated police and ruling Awami League’s men collect toll from the occupiers and allow them to carry on their business.

“Not only illegal occupiers, but also the illegal parking of different vehicles contribute to traffic jam and pedestrians’ sufferings,” said CMP Traffic’s Inspector Hafiz Uddin, who is in-charge of Alangkar traffic police box.

The CMP Commissioner Mandal said they were working to rehabilitate the hawkers so that they cannot grab the roadsides and footpaths.

The CCC newly elected Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin said he had just taken oath as mayor while he would take the charge formally on June 26 after that he would look over the matter seriously.

“I would make the port city roads free from the illegal occupation,” he also said. l

WEATHER THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 DHAKA TODAY

TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:39PM

SUN RISES 5:12AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

35

27

Chittagong

34

28

Rajshahi

36

28

Rangpur

31

24

Khulna

36

27

Barisal

35

27

Sylhet

31

24

33

27

Cox’s Bazar

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

36.4ºC

20.5ºC

Satkhira

Syedpur Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

3:47am 5:12am 11:56am 4:35pm 6:39pm 8:05pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

Dhaka Wasa digs up a portion of the Mirpur Road covering Dhanmondi 5 in the capital for installing a pipe, narrowing down the street significantly and putting pedestrians and vehicles into difficulties. The photo was taken yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Many brick kilns yet to comply with DoE rules n Our Correspondent, Barisal A good number of brick kilns are still defying government’s rule despite facing penalty several times in the last six months.

According the Department of Environment, at least 128 brick fields were fined Tk54.16 lakh during the period.

Sources at Directorate of Environment Barisal office said 230 out of 298 brick kilns in Barisal division had taken licenses from the DoE, but 145 of those were yet to comply with rules of the DoE properly.

Sukumar Biswas, director of the DoE Barisal office, acknowledging the facts said according to the Brick Kiln Amendment Rule

2001 and Environment Conservation Act 1995 (amended in 2010), brick fields should not be installed within three kilometres of residential areas which are densely populated, reserved, commercial, part of city corporation, municipality and upazila towns, forest areas, water bodies, agricultural land and garden.

Another circular dated October 2, 2012 asked the offices concerned to strictly enforce the law to preserve the environment when it lifted a 1999 suspension order on issuing licences for setting up brick kilns.

The official said six out of 29 brick kilns in Jhalakathi, 10 out of 26 in Pirojpur, 14 out of 37 in Patuakhali, 53 out of 116 in Barisal, 39 out of 51 in Bhola and 31 out of 39 brick kilns in

Barguna districts of the division are operating following the directions of DoE. Amid manpower, transportation, budget and equipment crisis DoE operating drives in different districts of Barisal division collected fines Tk41,93,200 from 100 brick kilns in 2014 and Tk12,23,000 from 28 brick kilns in first five months of 2015, he further added.

On other hand Kaium Khan, owner of the Khan Bricks, said a huge brick kiln owners yet not succeeded to follow direction of the DoE about instaltion of improvement chimney because of financial crisis, lack of knowledge about modern technology and consciousness about environment pollution. l

DT

8 WORLD

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

China to extend military reach, build lighthouses in disputed waters n Reuters, Beijing China outlined a strategy to boost its naval reach yesterday and held a groundbreaking ceremony for two lighthouses in disputed waters, developments likely to escalate tensions in a region already jittery about Beijing’s maritime ambitions.

In a policy document issued by the State Council, the Communist-ruled country’s cabinet, China vowed to increase its “open seas protection”, switching from air defence to both offence and defence, and criticised neighbours who take “provocative actions” on its reefs and islands.

China has been taking an increasingly assertive posture over recent years in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, where Beijing has engaged in land reclamation in the Spratly archipelago.

China, which claims most of the South China Sea, criticised Washington after a US spy plane flew over areas near the reefs last week, with both sides accusing each other of stoking instability.

It has overlapping claims with the Philip-

“From the perspective of sovereignty, there is absolutely no difference,” he told reporters.

Some countries with “ulterior motives” had unfairly characterised China’s military presence and sensationalised the issue, he said. Surveillance in the region was increasingly common and China would continue to take “necessary measures” to respond.

“Some external countries are also busy meddling in South China Sea affairs. A tiny few maintain constant close-in air and sea surveillance and reconnaissance against China,” the strategy paper said in a thinly veiled reference to the United States.

OFFENCE AND DEFENCE pines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.

Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said China’s reclamation in the Spratlys was comparable with construction of homes and roads on the mainland.

It said China’s air force would shift its focus from territorial air defence to both offence and defence, and building airspace defences with stronger military capabilities.

China also hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the building of two lighthouses in the South China Sea, broadcast on state television, defying calls from the United States and the Philippines for a freeze on such activity. l

n Reuters, Kabul

An Indonesian soldier gives slices of fruit to Rohingya children who arrived in Indonesia last week at a temporary shelter in Aceh Timur regency near Langsa in Indonesia's Aceh Province yesterday REUTERS

Iraq forces tighten noose around Ramadi n AFP, Baghdad

Iraqi forces closed in on Ramadi yesterday and launched an operation aimed at cutting off the jihadists in Anbar province before a major offensive to retake the city.

Ten days after the Islamic State group’s shock capture of the capital of Iraq’s largest province, a spokesman said the latest operation was only a preparatory move before an assault on Ramadi.

The operation will see a mix of security forces and paramilitaries move south towards the city from Salaheddin province, said Hashed al-Shaabi spokesman Ahmed al-Assadi.

The Hashed al-Shaabi (“popular mobilisation” in Arabic) is an umbrella group for most-

Taiwan proposed a peace initiative yesterday to resolve territorial disputes in the South China Sea that it says will reduce tensions that have put Beijing at odds with its neighbours and the United States.

The South China Sea Peace Initiative announced by President Ma Ying-jeou called on claimants to temporarily shelve their disagreements to enable negotiations on sharing resources.

Ma’s plan is similar to a 2012 proposal for the East China Sea, which allowed Taiwan and Japan to jointly fish in the contested waters.

However it appeared unlikely the plan would be accepted by China, which claims most of the South China Sea and has rebuffed earlier attempts at multilateral negotiations.

“We believe Chinese people on both sides of the Strait have a duty to jointly protect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests and safeguard the stability of the South China Sea region,” said Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry, when asked about the plan yesterday. l

Australia to strip citizenship for terror links n AFP, Sydney

Suicide bombers attack Afghan court killing two Taliban suicide bombers attacked a court in Wardak province yesterday, killing two police officers before being shot dead as they entered the compound, the police chief said.

The police officers were killed when one of the bombers detonated his vest at the first entrance. Wardak province is about an hour’s drive west of the capital.

“Two bombers managed to enter the compound, but our security forces were prepared and shot them dead before they reached the second entrance,” Wardak police chief Khalil Andarabi said.

The Afghan police force also suffered losses in eastern Paktika province, where eight officers were killed in a Taliban ambush overnight, the deputy governor said yesterday. l

Taiwan offers South China Sea peace plan to avert ‘major conflict’ n Reuters, Taipei

ly Shiite militia and volunteers, which the government called in after the Islamic State group captured Ramadi on May 17.

“The operation’s goal is to liberate those regions between Salaheddin and Anbar and try to isolate the province of Anbar,” Assadi told AFP. He said it had been dubbed “Operation Labaik ya Hussein”, which roughly translates as “We are at your service, Hussein” and refers to one of the most revered imams in Shiite Islam.

The Hashed said 4,000 men were heading to the northern edge of Ramadi.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and his US allies had been reluctant to deploy Iranbacked Shiite militia in Anbar, a predominantly Sunni province.

Anbar’s provincial capital Ramadi had resisted IS assaults for more than a year but fell earlier this month after a massive jihadist offensive and a chaotic retreat by security forces.

The Islamic State group controls most of Anbar, a huge province which borders territory also under its control in neighbouring Syria.

Pockets of government control include some eastern areas near the capital, the city of Haditha, parts of the town of Al-Baghdadi and the Al-Asad air base, where hundreds of US military advisers are stationed.

Regular forces and Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitaries also made progress south and west of Ramadi, an army lieutenant colonel told AFP, and retook an area called Al-Taesh. l

Australia yesterday announced it will amend the law to strip dual nationals linked to terrorism of their citizenship for “betraying the country”, but insisted no one would be left stateless.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the new powers would apply to dual nationals who fight with or support jihadists such as Islamic State group or so-called lone wolves who pose a threat on home soil.

But the government backed away from removing citizenship from second-generation Australians. Under that scenario, such nationals linked to terror groups would have been forced to take on the citizenship of their parents’ birth countries.

“The changes will be consistent with our international legal obligation not to leave a person stateless. There will also be safeguards, including judicial review, to balance these powers,” said Abbott.

“These new powers are a necessary and appropriate response to the terrorist threat.

They modernise our laws and bring them closer to those of Britain, Canada, France, the United States and other countries.”

The announcement came as a Sydney mother reportedly abandoned her two children and fled to Syria for a new life under Islamic State, becoming one of more than 100 Australians who have joined the jihadists. At least 30 have been killed.

The Sydney Daily Telegraph said Jasmina Milovanov, a 26-year-old Muslim convert, left her children, aged five and seven, with a babysitter earlier this month and never returned.

It cited her ex-husband as saying she sent a text message telling him she was in Syria. l

DT

WORLD 9

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

India heatwave kills 800 n AFP, Hyderabad

At least 800 people have died in a major heatwave that has swept across India, melting roads in New Delhi as temperatures neared 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).

Hospitals were on alert to treat victims of heatstroke and authorities advised people to stay indoors, with no end in sight to the searing conditions.

India’s Meteorological Department said it had issued heat warnings to several states where temperatures were forecast to top 45 degrees Celsius over the next few days.

“As of now, we don’t predict any respite from the extreme heatwave for the next few days,” said spokesman BP Yadav.

Hundreds of people – mainly from the poorest sections of society – die at the height of summer every year across the country, while tens of thousands suffer power cuts from an overburdened electricity grid.

Streets were deserted in Hyderabad, capital of the worst-hit state of Andhra Pradesh in southern India where 551 people have died in

the last week.

“The state government has taken up education programmes through television and other media to tell people not to venture into the outside without a cap, to drink water and other measures,” said P Tulsi Rani, special commissioner for disaster management in the state.

“We have also requested NGOs and government organisations to open up drinking water camps so that water will be readily available for all the people in the towns.”

‘Bad business’

Large parts of India, including the capital New Delhi, have endured days of sweltering heat, prompting fears of power cuts as energy-guzzling air conditioners work overtime.

The Hindustan Times daily said the maximum temperature in the capital hit a two-year high of 45.5 degrees Celsius on Monday – five degrees higher than the seasonal average.

The paper carried a front-page photo of a main road in the city melting in the heat, with the white pedestrian crossing stripes curling and spreading into the black asphalt.

An Indian man covers his face as drives on a scooter under the hot sun in Hyderabad yesterday

“It’s baking hot out here -- our outing has turned into a nightmare,” said Meena Sheshadri, a 37-year-old tourist from the western city of Pune who was visiting Delhi’s India Gate monument with her children.

“My throat is parched, even though I’ve been constantly sipping water.”

In Telangana state, which borders Andhra Pradesh in the south, 231 people have died in the last week as temperatures hit 48 degrees Celsius over the weekend.

In the western state of Orissa 11 people were confirmed to have died from the heat.

Another 13 people have died in the eastern state of West Bengal, where unions urged drivers in the city of Kolkata to stay off the roads during the day.

India’s power industry has long struggled to meet rapidly rising demand in Asia’s third largest economy, with poorly maintained transmission lines and overloaded grids.

The Hindustan Times warned that some of the hot, dry conditions could plunge the worst-affected states into drought before monsoon rains arrive. l

AFP

Russia rights ombudsman slams law on ‘undesirable’ foreign NGOs n AFP, Moscow Russia’s rights ombudsman has slammed a controversial law approved by President Vladimir Putin that allows the authorities to ban international NGOs deemed “undesirable.”

Human rights ombudsman Ella Pamfilova – whose parliament-appointed role is monitoring rights abuses – said she was “seriously concerned” by the law targeting any foreign groups accused of threatening “state security”.

Putin on Saturday signed off on the law, sparking condemnation from the European Union and United States over what human rights activists see as the latest step in Moscow’s crackdown on civil society.

The vaguely-worded legislation fails to give a “precise legal definition” for why an organisation can be banned, the ombudsman said in a report released late Monday.

“The legal grounds for declaring (groups) represent a threat to the constitutional basis of the Russian Federation, defence or state security are not specified,” the report said.

The ombudsman said the power given to the Prosecutor General to tag groups “undesirable” without going to court contradicts the Russian constitution and slammed the lack of a right to appeal.

Under the law authorities can ban foreign NGOs and jail Russians working with them for up to six years.

A lawmaker in Russia’s parliament has already requested Russia’s prosecutor general look into whether five organisations -- Human Rights Watch, Transparency International, Amnesty International, the Carnegie Endowment and Memorial rights group – were undesirable.

A spokesman for legislator Vitaly Zolochevsky told AFP yesterday that a request had been sent but could not give any more details on when any probe might start.

Russia has been turning the screws on civil society groups since the reelection of Putin as president, including the introduction of a law branding local NGOs that receive funding from abroad as “foreign agents”.

Putin’s supporters claim the “undesirable” organisation bill is designed to stop a Western-instigated revolution against the Kremlin. l

Nepal moves to protect children from traffickers after quake n Reuters, Kathmandu Nepal banned children from travelling without parents or approved guardians on Tuesday in an unprecedented move to deter human traffickers who authorities fear are targeting vulnerable families after last month’s devastating earthquake.

Hundreds of thousands of families lost their homes in Nepal after two large earthquakes struck on April 25 and May 12, killing more than 8,600 people and raising concerns among rights groups that trafficking rings in the region are taking advantage of the chaos.

Children under 16 would not be permitted to travel outside their home district without a par-

ent or another adult approved by the district’s Child Welfare Board, a senior official said.

“If strangers are found travelling with children they will be under the watch of police,” said Radhika Aryal of the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare in the capital Kathmandu.

“All district officials and police units across the country have been asked to remain on high alert on this.”

International adoption of children from Nepal would also not be permitted for the next three months, said Kiran Rupakheti, another official of the ministry.

The cautionary measures come one week after authorities found dozens of children

from earthquake-struck areas travelling with strangers under suspicious circumstances, officials said.

Tarak Dhital of the government’s Central Child Welfare Board said 64 children from Dolakha and Dhading districts, both of which were devastated by the earthquakes, were now under the care of a registered children’s home.

Police arrested two Indian and three Nepali adults who were travelling with 11 of the children, between 10 and 12 years old, from Dolakha to Kathmandu without the required papers, police said.

“We are investigating if this is a case of trafficking,” police official Dan Bahadur Karki said.

Reports of suspected trafficking since the

quakes have so far been limited, considering the scale of destruction and Nepal’s long-running struggle to reign in human traffickers operating in its borders.

Thousands of Nepali children and women are trafficked into India every year to work in brothels and as child labourers, activists say.

But child rights activists warn the situation may worsen as traffickers target newly vulnerable children and families.

“After the earthquake, traffickers’ groups could become very active targeting parents who have lost their homes to send their children with them promising education or a better life,” said Krishna Thapa of Voice of Children, a rights group. l

DT

10 WORLD

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Malaysia bars Hong Kong student leader for ‘anti-China’ views n AFP, Kuala Lumpur Hong Kong pro-democracy student leader Joshua Wong was barred yesterday from entering Malaysia because of fears he would threaten ties with China, the country’s police chief said.

Wong was the teenage face of the “Umbrella Movement”, which brought parts of Hong Kong to a standstill for more than two months late last year with mass rallies calling for fully free leadership elections.

Wong had been planning to give talks on democracy in China, from the massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 to Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement, according to the Scholarism student protest group he founded.

But Malaysia’s Inspector-General of Police Abu Bakar Khalid said the purpose of Wong’s visit was to explain how he had organised demonstrations in Hong Kong.

“We were afraid that what he was going to speak about would harm our security,” he told AFP.

“He was also going to speak about China. We know his anti-Chinese speeches. We do not want him to jeopardise our ties with China,” Khalid said.

Democracy activists reject Beijing’s restrictions on a proposed public vote for Hong Kong’s leader in 2017, which stipulate that candidates must be vetted by a loyalist committee.

Khalid said Malaysian police had asked the immigration department to stop Wong entering the country. “We do not need him in Malaysia as Wong is an undesirable element,” he said. l

Pro-government fighters push rebels out of Yemen city n AFP, Aden Yemeni fighters allied with exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi have retaken the city of Daleh after pushing out Shiite Huthi rebels, local chiefs said on Tuesday.

The insurgents backed by troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh had seized Daleh last month as they expanded southwards, triggering deadly confrontations with Sunni tribes and southern fighters.

The pro-Hadi forces made their advance two months into a Saudi-led air campaign aimed at restoring the president to power.

“The whole city of Daleh is now under the control of the Popular Resistance Committees,” an umbrella group of southern factions, local chief Saleh al-Mansub said.

“All the military bases and strategic positions in the city

are in the hands of the Popular Resistance Committees,” said another local chief, Ali al-Assmar.

Troops loyal to Saleh in the region had sided with the rebels.

On Tuesday, pro-Hadi southern fighters overran several positions, including bases of the renegade 33rd Armoured Brigade.

Meanwhile, coalition warplanes struck Huthi positions on Mount Sabr in the central province of Taez, and in the northwestern province of Hajja on Tuesday, witnesses said.

In Aden, clashes continued between rebels and local fighters on the city’s northern outskirts, witnesses said.

Hadi took refuge in Aden after he escaped house arrest in Sanaa in February, but he fled to Riyadh after rebels started closing in on the southern port. l

DT

EDITORIAL 11

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

INSIDE

The object of power To keep the people from revolting, they are constantly fed state propaganda and they are told what a citizen should or should not do PAGE 12

Beyond the numbers Consequences for low social capital might include increased tax evasion, corruption, brain drain, and lower voter turnouts PAGE 13

BIGSTOCK

No need to blame the victims

W A foreigner in Kuakata Kuakata is at the end of the road. The road from Dhaka, from Barisal. The bus stops there. There is nothing beyond.

Everybody out!

PAGE 14

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email letters.dt@ dhakatribune.com

Send us your Op-Ed articles:

opinion.dt@dhakatribune. com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook. com/DhakaTribune

e are concerned by the prime minister’s suggestion that one response to the problem of human trafficking should be to punish people who try to leave the country in an illegal manner.

It is one thing to call for tough measures against human traffickers, but quite another to punish innocent people who are merely wishing to seek employment abroad.

There is no question that strong action is needed to stop criminal gangs who kidnap a large number of Bangladeshis for ransom and forced labour, by luring would be migrants with false promises of work abroad.

Sheikh Hasina is right to call for action against people smugglers and to condemn the unconscionable suffering that they cause.

However, while she is right to call for a publicity campaign to highlight exploitation by traffickers and the fact that the grass is often not greener abroad, nothing is gained by lashing out at people who go abroad illegally in search of employment.

All citizens have a fundamental right to choose to leave and return to Bangladesh. Tampering with this principle would do nothing to diminish the push-pull factors which make people want to go abroad, and would harm Bangladesh’s image.

Indeed, it should be noted by the government that often those who migrate legally end up no better off than those who do so illegally.

Their legality or illegality is not the issue. The issue is that they are Bangladeshi citizens who should be humanely treated and are entitled to the support and protection of their government.

The government must focus on stopping traffickers and those corrupt officials in this country and others who enable them to pursue their cruel and often deadly trade. It also needs to work with other states to facilitate legal migration routes.

More importantly, it must invest massively in education and skills training to draw the investment Bangladesh needs to live up to its economic potential.

Creating better livelihoods and opportunities at home is the best and most effective long-term way to prevent people falling into the hands of traffickers.

Create better livelihoods and opportunities at home

DT

12 OPINION

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

The object of power n SM Shahrukh

T

he powerful are always fearful about losing power. Once power is abused, the powerful realise that the abused, if they ever get a taste of power, will use that to get back at their abusers.

A regime holding absolute power tries to keep their grip on power by feeding ideology (even dogma) to the masses; they use the entire arsenal at their disposal: The administration, the law enforcers, the media, the money of the state coffers.

If the power-holders are unable to feed the masses what they consider would allow them to quash dissent and make people amenable to the rage of their power, they resort to coercion.

When they try to enforce their will by any means possible, lawlessness becomes inevitable and then rampant, the justice system suffers, and a culture of impunity develops. Because the powerful will never accept any legal sanction for their misdeeds, “they dine on the most rarefied delicacy of all: Impunity.”

And to keep the people from revolting, they are constantly fed state propaganda and they are told what a citizen should or should not do

The inevitable result of an existing culture of impunity within a state is all out fascism.

Fascism is often considered far-right within the traditional left-right spectrum, although there are some academics who call that description insufficient.

When a state becomes fascist, people’s democratic rights become a victim; so does freedom of speech and expression, the right to hold a contrary view.

Fascists also advocate a mixed economy with a goal to achieving autarky to preserve national self-sufficiency and a protectionist and interventionist policy to keep independence. The state becomes overregulating, and private entrepreneurship suffers -- the state invades the private space of the citizens.

A totalitarian state also predetermines roles for all citizens and people are meant to act as cogs in a machine and that policy inevitably eats away at individual freedom.

Fascism is deemed as anti-democratic and quite often like tyranny in practice.

When a “culture of impunity” starts to take root in society, the tendency seeps into the upper echelons of power.

When corruption becomes a random affair, people get away with massive crimes

with unlawful uses of money. And, of course, nepotism, where the law and order agencies start to guard the few instead of the majority, and most policies are directed with the aim of benefiting only a few and not the masses, and an oligarchy is formed.

The economy becomes an oligopoly. The oligarchs are often seen holding posts of power and they have no choice but to resort to policies reminiscent of fascism; they have to quell all voices of protest, crush them if need be. The state loses all semblance of being the least bit democratic.

And the ghost of George Orwell rises to haunt us. We are reminded of his doomed predictions of absolute power games. I quote from 1984: “Down in the street little eddies of wind were whirling dust and torn paper into spirals, and though the sun was shining and the sky a harsh blue, there seemed to be no color in anything, except the posters that were plastered everywhere. The black mustachioed face gazed down from every commanding corner. There was one on the house-front immediately opposite. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into Winston’s own. Down at street level another poster, torn at one corner, flapped fitfully in the wind, alternately covering and uncovering the single word INGSOC.” Ingsoc (Newspeak for English Socialism or the English Socialist Party) is the political ideology of the totalitarian government of Oceania in George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984.

The state takes up the role of “Big Brother,” keeping an eye on everyone’s activity but as is the nature of the beast, overlooking all misdeeds of the cronies holding power. History is what the powerholders tell people and not what actually happened.

The misdeeds of past regimes are invoked at every opportunity and draconian measures are taken to clamp down on people in the name of protecting the state from anarchy.

They conveniently overlook “the fact that a crime might have been committed with impunity in the past may make it seem more familiar and less gruesome, but surely does not give it any greater legitimacy.”

Under such a rule, the state as a whole may become wealthy but the income disparity between the ruling class and the ruled keeps widening. It is diabolical that a state may get wealthy but the majority remains in hard struggle to keep body and mind together.

And to keep the people from revolting, they are constantly fed state propaganda and they are told what a citizen should or should not do. Citizens often resign to this fate of subservience and the hydra headed totalitarianism makes life for them “hell on Earth.”

Let us once again visit Orwell and 1984: “The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power … The object of torture is torture.

The object of power is power.” l SM Shahrukh is a freelance contributor.

BIGSTOCK

DT

OPINION 13

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

BIGSTOCK

Beyond the numbers n Maliha Ahmed

N

ational social capital seems to be at an all time low. Achievement of middle-income status is contingent on successful policy interventions to prevent erosion of social capital.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index, this year Dhaka has retained its rank of being the second worst liveable city in the world. While our policy-makers are paying much attention to visible fundamentals for development such as infrastructure, health care, and education, an issue that has been somewhat ignored so far is that of “social capital.”

“Social capital,” according to Dr Robert Putnam, professor of public policy at Harvard University, refers to “features of social life -- networks, norms and trust -- that enable participants to act together to pursue shared objectives.” In economic literature, social capital has been often cited as a factor having a significant contribution to economic growth, mainly through its by-products: Trust and social norms.

Although there are no time-series studies of social-capital in Bangladesh using analogous methodology to help us decipher the trend of the stock of social capital in Bangladesh, the trend is pretty much apparent to any ordinary unprejudiced observer.

Nowadays, it is not uncommon for the newspapers to be filled with accounts of minority violence, political and religious conflicts, acts of women and child repression along with other heinous crimes such as murders.

In fact, the EIU has termed “conflicts” to be a significant contributor in making Dhaka the second worst liveable city. Many eminent economists at home and abroad have also identified conflicts as being a major impediment to the achievement of middle-income status.

According to the World Bank estimates, average annual GDP per capita growth (after removing inflationary effects) has been 4.1% during 2006-2010 and 5% during the period 2011-2013.

by affecting citizens’ confidence in public institutions.

Low levels of trust in society often takes the form of conflicts and acts of minority violence, which not only has short-term losses but also carries major long-term losses for the economy in the form of damaging confidence of local and foreign investors. Other consequences for low social capital might include increased tax evasion, incompliance of rules and regulations, corruption, brain drain, and lower voter turnouts.

Consequences for low social capital might include increased tax evasion, incompliance of rules and regulations, corruption, brain drain, and lower voter turnouts

So far, such robust growth figures have been possible mainly through exporting readymade garments and manpower, and through fostering small and medium micro-enterprises. However, in order to maintain vibrant growth in the future and graduate to middle-income status, the nation needs to improve productivity, technology and skillbase, which may be hindered by the low level of social capital in the nation.

Low stock of social capital affects economic activity and investments adversely

According to TIB’s Corruption Perception Index, Bangladesh has not been able to sustain its trend of diminishing corruption, climbing up by two ranks in the direction of increasing corruption this year compared to last year.

It may well be the case that our country is trapped or will be trapped in a vicious cycle of low social capital. This happens when low social capital results in increased crimes, non-compliance with laws, loss of confidence, religious and political conflicts, and

minority attacks, which in turn reduces social capital to a lower level. This cycle keeps on continuing until an intervention successfully raises social capital or lowers crimes and other social costs, thereby, successfully breaking off the trap.

Policy-makers should divert more attention to building our stock of social capital.

Examples of such policies include: Restoring confidence in public institutions, moving to a credible system of governance, focusing on timely, effective implementation of rules and regulations, and undertaking campaigns to foster the democratic spirit and citizens’ motivation to work together to achieve common goals.

Investment to GDP ratio has remained almost stagnant, ambling within a narrow band of 25% for the last seven years. According to ADB, investment to GDP ratio needs to rise to 37.6% in FY2015 if 8% GDP growth is to be achieved for faster poverty reduction.

Investment to GDP ratio in middle-income countries is within 35 to 40%, much higher than that of Bangladesh. Also, private investment to GDP ratio has been falling from 20% in FY2012 to 19% in FY2013 and 18.9% in FY2014.

After the recent political conflict and violence on minorities, women and children, it is clear that Bangladesh currently lacks the social capital for achieving such healthy investment to GDP ratio. In this situation, it is crucial for policy-makers to act, since it is vital for the achievement of the much sought after middle-income status. l Maliha Ahmed is a freelance contributor.

DT

14 LONG FORM

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

A foreigner in Kuakata n Arild Engelsen Ruud

K

uakata. Not a name that meant much to me except as a name for a destination, a coastal place praised by people from Dhaka as a small version of Cox’s Bazar. Beaches. The sea. Vacation. Then the idea of a vacation is appealing, and with good friends for company ...

The whiff of the sea immediately hit the senses as soon as we came out of the car, that slight smell of something different in the air, not fresh, like the sea smells in colder climates -- it was a hot day -- but still different from the inland air. Somewhat salty perhaps, or with a slight hint of rot, of rotting seaweed, drying fishing nets, the slow decay of the wood walls of the small shops.

Perhaps it smelt of visits to seashore places on the Mediterranean. Somewhere in France, or in Greece. That same blend of saltiness with the heat, that hint of decay, of languor, of sun screen oils and soft sandwiches and warm Coke. Lazy villages somewhere on the south coast of England or Spanish fishing towns that had matured into tourist traps for cheap travels from further inland or from colder countries, tourist traps that featured beach chairs and happy hours.

The government resort was practically empty. The rooms were along a long, empty corridor, echoing of earnest lack of imagination, drawn by architects with a favourite ruler. Each room was small but clean and cheap and featured a view to a corrugated iron settlement in front and a sea barely visible behind some trees.

The building was held in an impeccable Soviet style where you have the semblance of fun and frolic enjoyed by the capitalists but at the same time perform the role of the content nationalist from the 1950s, happy with what his government has to offer.

We moved on, to a guest house closer to the sea and with all the trimmings of a happy-go-lucky management. A television set blearing in a large unwelcoming common room on the ground floor, rusty locks on the doors, soap missing from the bathroom, each room featuring a veranda practically filled with the air conditioning set.

But these were shortcomings easily forgotten in the face of the welcoming smile of the owner and the quick step and service-mindedness of the young boys he sent scampering about, the generous offer of a reduced price on what was already a ludicriously cheap rate, and the ashtray immediately presented when we hauled cigarettes out of the bag.

Kuakata is at the end of the road. The road from Dhaka, from Barisal. The bus stops there. There is nothing beyond. Everybody out! And they climb down from the bus, from the cars, the passengers, the holiday-makers, the handful of students and friends free from their courses for a few days, some with happy anticipation and others tired and weary after the long ride, streching their backs. The father and mother with the children and the anxious faces: All here? All bags? Where is our guest house? A small child crying.

A handful of small eateries, and on the road down to the beach, some curio shops selling plastic toys from China and sea shells from Thailand. A small, bazar-like alley with

Kuakata is at the end of the road. The road from Dhaka, from Barisal. The bus stops there. There is nothing beyond.

Everybody out!

tiled pavement set up by the government, but the staff all utterly bored.

There are no tourists, not like it used to be, not like it should be. Political unrest, some blockades, protests, some bombs. The number of tourists has been reduced down to a quarter. This only adds to the sense of languor -- at midday the shop staff is half asleep over the counter, the few tourists who have come browse the trinkets for sale without much interest.

First impressions set the mind, and the idea that is formed fixes your perception.

Languor, heavy, salty air, and the sensation at the back of the palate of warm Coke. The oppressive sun. The smallness of the place.

Its crying insignificance.

And then one is proven wrong, the prejudice shamed. For right there, in the midst of this nothingness, life, in all its glory, happiness, contentment, the simple and yet so inescapable truth -- it is not what you have, but what you make of it. The small eatery called Baishakhi.

Mr Shukur smiled a broad smile, showed us with all his pride the many dishes he could serve us. And when we were unable

to decide, unaccustomed as we were to the richness of what the sea provides, he served us a bit of all. Simply that. A bit of this fish, a bit of that, some prawn dish, some small fried fish, some large piece in sauce, all with different flavours, delicately prepared.

And he elaborated: Why this fish in that sauce, and why that piece of that fish should never be fried, always boiled, but that part you may fry. The head, however, is prepared with so-and-so spice, and these large prawns should be marinated in a blend of spices with onion and garlic and so on and so on.

In between, he told us his story of how he had worked in Chittagong, in Dhaka, but had come to Kuakata to settle. But the political unrest, bombs, and his earnings were down, terribly down. Mr Shukur smiled a broad smile and brought a new dish. Try this! More rice? Some water? This dish is made from such-and-such fish.

How unfortunate the city-dweller, the urbanite who can tell the finer differences between chain burgers or chain pizzas, but knows so very little of the rich wealth of the fresh produce -- and the seafood in particular, so subtle and delicate and varied. But Mr

Shukur knew, and smiled his broad smile, and brought ever new dishes.

We were not fooled, nor was he. He was in a rough patch financially. It was not a happy place to be, and he found no pleasure in it. But he enjoyed his job, however strenuous, however unrewarding, however full of bumps. And he loved to serve food, to prepare dishes, and to see people happily eating. And so we did, enjoying his efforts, his expertise. So we ate there, every meal.

Always sea food. An astounding variety of dishes.

And thanks to Mr Shukur and his contagious enthusiasm, I could see Kuakata for what it was. For it was a seaside place, like the seaside place of long ago, when we visited in the summer and the sandwiches were limp and the Coke was warm. But those were great days.

Lazy days, immensly enjoyable, filled with nothing in particular, some sunbathing and castles build in sand on the beach until the heat or the sand got to you, the retreat to the bar, the relief at the Coke that wasn’t warm after all, the langurous evenings, that salty smell with its seaside hint of rotting seaweed and drying nets.

So, renewed and refreshed, we walked the beach to see the sun set. Kuakata has a nice beach with exceedingly fine white sand and a breeze that cools you just enough for you to enjoy the evening. And the sea was still, quiet, stretching all the way to the horizon and beyond. And the sun set into the sea.

And all was well. l Arild Engelsen Ruud is Professor of South Asia Studies, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental languages, University of Oslo, Norway.

16

The coming jobs massacre

17

Oil prices steady, indications rally out of steam

19

Stocks edge up with volatility

20

DT

Business

15

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Govt won’t allow arable land for shrimp farming

Vita FY16 subsidy to be range-bound Milk to produce

Oil subsidy will be reduced substantially thanks to sharp fall in oil price powdered milk In the revised budget of the outgoing fisAn allocation of only Tk800 crore would n Asif Showkat Kallol n Tribune Report be given for oil subsidy in the next fiscal year cal year, power subsidy would increase to The subsidy allocation for the next fiscal year is likely to increase by over 8% to Tk26,609 crore from revised outlay of Tk24,609 crore for the outgoing fiscal year, according to a latest budget document the government is now preparing. In FY14-15, the actual subsidy allocation was Tk27,400 crore.

The allocation is being increased, despite expected reduction in oil subsidy, due to a government plan to purchase more electricity from rental power plants, says the document obtained by the Dhaka Tribune.

“We’re greatly relieved as the fuel oil price substantially decreased in the international market in last one and half years,” a senior official of the finance ministry said.

considering the reduced oil price as compared to a revised outlay of Tk600 crore for the outgoing fiscal year when the actual allocation was Tk2,400 crore.

According to the latest budget document, Tk8,000 would be allocated for power subsidy next fiscal year as more than 80% would go to rental and quick rental power plant. In the original budget for the outgoing fiscal year was Tk7,000 crore.

Bangladesh Power Development Board purchases electricity from the rental and quick rental plants at a price ranging between Tk13 and Tk23 per unit and sell the electricity to consumers at an average of Tk6.5 per unit, according to PDB.

Tk9,000 crore.

Meanwhile, the agriculture subsidy in the next fiscal year would stand at Tk9,000 crore – a level that continues for last few years – while the food subsidy would be Tk1,900 crore, rising from Tk1,620 crore of the revised budget of the outgoing fiscal year.

Besides, a Tk3,500 crore is set aside for export subsidy in the upcoming budget. The amount was similar in the original budget for the current fiscal year, but was later increased by another Tk500 crore in the revised budget.

Jute purchase subsidy for Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) would be Tk1,000 crore and other subsidy will be Tk2,409 crore for the next fiscal year. l

Ecnec approves revised Khulna-Mongla rail track project n Tribune Report

Ecnec yesterday approved a revised project of Tk3,801.61 crore for laying new railway tracks from Khulna to Mongla Port after a feasibility study.

The project will be partly financed out of the Indian line of credit – the $1bn low-interest loan offered by the last Indian government to implement infrastructure projects that would ultimately aid connectivity between the two nations.

The cost of the revised project is twice the original.

Ecnec chair and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved the projects at the 29th meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council in Dhaka yesterday.

A total of nine development projects were approved with a total outlay of Tk5,868.52 crore, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal

told reporters after the meeting. Of the nine projects approved yesterday, six are new and the rest are revised.

Of the total project cost, Tk2,270.19 crore will come from the state coffer, Tk30.94 crore from the relevant organisations’ own funds, and Tk3,547.39 crore as project assistance from India, said Kamal.

The government would provide Tk1,430.26 crore out of the Tk3,801.61 crore to lay the new railway track, and the remaining Tk2,371.35 crore would come from the Indian line of credit. Bangladesh Railway will implement the project by June 2018.

The revised project witnesses a 120% hike in cost; it was originally estimated at Tk1721.39 crore when first approved by the Ecnec in December 2010.

Under the project, a 65km broad gauge track along with 21km loop line will be laid.

A 717m rail bridge now has to be construct-

ed over the Rupsha River due to the change in the rail route, accounting for the added cost, Planning Minister Kamal said.

Because of the change in alignment, a 12km additional track will have to be laid and more land will have to be acquired at an additional cost of Tk2,200 crore, the minister said.

Ecnec yesterday also approved a revised rehabilitation project for the Kulaura-Shahbajpur rail track in Moulavibazar worth Tk678 crore as the government has decided to reopen the route.

The government will provide Tk122 crore for the project while the remaining Tk556 crore will come from the Indian loan.

Under the project, the government plans to expand the 51km route to the Indian border by setting up an additional 9km track and converting it into dual-gauge to connect to the regional railway network and the Trans-Asian railway network in future. l

VAT-free turnover limit may rise to Tk30 lakh in FY16 n Tribune Report The National Board of Revenue is likely to raise the Vat-free annual turnover limit to Tk30 lakh from existing Tk24 lakh for small businesses of production, trading and services sectors.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has already instructed the board to finalise the threshold, officials said.

Leading chambers and trade bodies,

including the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Foreign Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Bangladesh Chamber of Industries, in their pre-budget proposals had urged the government to widen the exemption limit to facilitate growth of small businesses.

According to the VAT and Supplementary Duty Act-2012, which will come into effect from 2016, a single VAT rate at 15% will be imposed on all businesses having

a turnover above Tk80 lakh.

Earlier in March, a nine-member review panel, headed by a former NBR member placed their recommendation to the finance minister on implementation of VAT and SD Act 2012. The panel suggested the turnover VAT ceiling should be raised to Tk36 lakh from existing Tk24 lakh to facilitate growth of small and cottage industries, rural enterprises and to reduce hassles of retailers and small businesses. l

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday approved a project of Tk75 crore to set up a powdered milk factory at Baghabari Ghat in Sirajganj.

The approval came at the 29th ECNEC meeting of the current fiscal year held at the NEC conference room in the city’s Sher-eBangla Nagar area with NEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

The project would be implemented by Milk Vita by June 2017 and it is expected to produce 25 metric tons of powdered milk per day, said Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal while briefing the media after the meeting.

The project would help meet the growing demand of powdered milk to some extent, he added.

Currently, Bangladesh imports 21,700 metric tons of powdered milk per year whereas the daily import of powdered milk is 59 metric tons. The per day production capacity of the country’s lone powdered milk factory under Milk Vita is 12.5 metric tons per day.

The meeting also approved another project titled Strengthening Women’s Ability for Productive New Opportunities, or Swapno, worth Tk853 crore, to be implemented at 1030 unions under 106 upazilas of 22 districts.

The government would provide Tk213 crore for the project while the remaining Tk640 crore would come as grant from UNDP. The project would create part-time jobs for the poor women in the village areas in the lean season and it is a social safety net project, said Kamal.

Under the project, the poor rural women would be given Tk200 per day for various works including rural road repair and maintenance, he added.

Of their wages, Tk50 would be deposited to bank every day and after a period of oneand-a-half years, the amount would stand at Tk25,000, which the depositors could later invest in more income-generating activities, said the minister. l

DT

16 BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

GP unveils sustainability report n Tribune Report

A humanoid robot named Han developed by Hanson Robotics is shown at the Global Sources spring electronics show in Hong Kong

The coming jobs massacre n John Lloyd The elephants in the room lumber about, undisturbed by politicians or people of vision.

The hard issues of the economy are well known. Politicians, bureaucracies, CEOs and trade union leaders have dealt the issues of productivity, unemployment, competition from east and west, the collapse of industries through the decades of the 20th, and now the 21st, centuries. Yet these are harder now.

Intelligent systems, robotic manufacturing, driverless vehicles, online services, all carve deep into established trades.

In the post-war decades, every time a new

technology came along, the feared bonfire of jobs didn’t happen — or only briefly and not everywhere. It’s different this time. The jobs massacre that super-intelligent machines and systems presage, doesn’t — for now — seem to leave many large areas of human work.

My son settled, in his mid-teens, on the trade of an actor as his life’s work: and in his mid-twenties, became one. I was glad, yet felt obliged to issue the warning that this was a trade renowned for unemployment, and frustrated hopes.

But acting is not yet a candidate for automation. Maybe he was wiser than his co-evals who studied law, engineering and business studies. Maybe, if automation relieves us of

Reuters

much physical and mental toil, the old utopian dream of leisure and cultivation of the mind and body could be realized, and actors will be in short supply and highly rewarded.

Maybe: but what a massacre of jobs to get there! And as that comes closer, the political world has to simultaneously come to terms with a possibility rapidly becoming a fact.

That is, the likely end to Western Europe’s long period of peace. l John Lloyd co-founded the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, where he is Senior Research Fellow. The article was initially published at Reuters.

Grameenphone has launched its first ever Sustainability Report, highlighting its various initiatives being implemented across the company to carry out corporate responsibility and sustainable business practices over the years.

The report was unveiled at a local hotel in the capital recently.

The report covers sustainability achievements, all programmes and projects that focused on corporate governance, communication services and society, responsible business practices, climate and environment, plus supply chain sustainability.

All these aim at overall development of the country and healthy continuity of GP business.

Introducing the Sustainability Report, Debashis Roy, head of Corporate Responsibility of Grameenphone, said: “Grameenphone wants to ensure healthy work culture, ethics and compliance internally as well as create sustainable projects and campaigns externally to extend the benefits of telecommunication services to the underprivileged groups of the society, besides enabling the safe use of our services and minimising negative impact on the environment.”

Through this report, GP draws the stakeholders’ attention towards issues like climate diversity, human rights and supply chain sustainability.

The market leader wants to ensure the organisation’s credibility, transparency and accountability through its numerous activities which are important to various stakeholders.

Sayed Talat Kamal, head of External Communications of Grameenphone, was present at the programme.

The sister concern of Telenor Group is the leading telecommunications service provider in Bangladesh with more than 52 million subscribers. l

Portugal, like Europe, loses hunger for reform n Reuters, Sintra

Celebrated among Europe’s elite as a model of how to reform an economy after a debt binge, Portugal’s enthusiasm for change has waned as Europe loses its appetite for further belt-tightening.

With Greece’s future in the euro uncertain, after its leftist government all but tore up a reform-for-aid deal, Europe’s policy setters are putting an extra shine on other countries that were bailed out - in part to avoid a spillover.

They have declared Portugal, following on the heels of Ireland, a recovery success story after a debt crisis that started with a financial crash and drove countries from Greece to Ireland to the brink of bankruptcy. “l compared the case of Portugal to the film ‘Match Point’,” Jose Manuel Barroso, the former president of the European Commission,

and one-time prime minister of Portugal, told Reuters, referring to Woody Allen’s film.

“Which side of the tennis court would the ball land on after hitting the net? Ireland or Greece. It was Ireland’s. Recovery is now under way in Portugal.”

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi chimed in last weekend, praising Portugal for grasping the nettle and making difficult changes to the way its economy works.

“A great deal has been achieved and we have praised progress where it has taken place, including here in Portugal,” Draghi told a group of central bankers and academics gathered at an ECB event near Lisbon.

Yet Draghi’s encouragement was tempered by his broader warning that Europe was letting its guard down on reform, underscoring worries about apathy in a region artificially buoyed by the ECB’s trillion-euro-plus money printing.

Portugal, like Europe, had been ambitious.

It made sweeping changes to meet the terms set for emergency loans from the euro zone and International Monetary Fund under its bailout, including reforms to its labour markets and legal system.

It cut civil servants’ wages and pensions and made the biggest tax hikes in generations.

But economists say that drive has waned after the three-year bailout programme ended last year and international inspectors stopped visiting the country to check on its progress.

Attempts to cut state salaries have been partially overturned by the country’s highest court, while a general election due in September or October has also sapped enthusiasm among politicians to pursue further changes.

Talk of failure, however, is, off the agenda.

The Portuguese economy started to recover in 2014 after three years of recession, expanding

0.9%, and growth is expected to accelerate in 2015 to around 1.5%.

Those figures, however, mask deep-seated problems. Almost one in seven Portuguese who could be working are not, the third highest level of unemployment in western Europe.

The government has warned that this trend will take a long time to reverse.

Charts, which Draghi used in his presentation, hint at the reason for this. One, labelled ‘untapped potential’, ranks Portugal as last on a list of eight euro zone countries for labour productivity, well behind Spain, Italy and France.

In a ranking of countries by ‘ease of doing business’, Portugal comes mid-way down the list, behind Ireland.

Last week, the IMF criticised the government for failing to push ahead with a legal framework to help companies shed heavy loans, a debt burden that will hinder growth. l

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BUSINESS 17

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Oil prices steady, indications rally out of steam n Reuters, Singapore Crude oil prices were broadly unchanged in early trading yesterday, as firm demand supported and ample supply dragged, but analysts said there were signs that a recent rally was running out of steam.

Robust demand in Asia as well as due to the driving season in the United States is being met by near record output, especially from the Organization Of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), although US production seems to have been peaked, at least temporarily.

Front-month Brent crude prices were up 6 cents to $65.58 per barrel by 0120 GMT. US crude prices were up 16 cents at $59.88 a barrel.

Analysts said that big price spikes away from current levels were unlikely.

“Crude oil markets were supported by a reported decline in US production and crude oil inventories last week but prices failed to retest the highs set earlier in the month,” ANZ bank said in a note on Tuesday.

London-based Timera Energy said that the recent oil rally had run out of steam because WTI prices were reaching levels at which producers could operate profitably.

“The fact that WTI prices are approaching LRMC (long-run marginal cost) benchmarks for new investment suggests to us that the recent rally in oil prices may not have much further to run,” London-based Timera Energy said.

“If this is correct then the US-dollar is likely to provide a useful indicator as to the next move lower in crude prices. If the US-dollar resumes its climb then oil prices will likely face strong headwinds,” they added.

The dollar hit a one-month high against

An oil well is pictured at sunrise a basket of major currencies yesterday after stronger-than-expected underlying US inflation bolstered the Federal Reserve’s case for

REUTERS

an interest rate hike later this year. The rally followed a 7% fall between mid-March and mid-May.

African economy to strengthen in 2015 despite Ebola, oil price drop n AFP, Johannesburg

Africa’s overall economy should advance in 2015, expanding by 4.5%, showing resilience despite weak commodity prices and the devastating Ebola epidemic, an annual report published Monday said.

And future growth could be spurred by the continent’s population doubling to two billion over the next 35 years, repeating in Africa the economic boom seen in Asia’s biggest countries.

“Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to strengthen to 4.5% in 2015 and 5% in 2016 after subdued expansion in 2013 (of 3.5%) and 2014 (3.9%),” said the report, co-authored by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the African Development Bank and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

The continent has so far been “relatively resilient to the sharp fall in international commodity prices,” said the report, such as crude prices which dropped more than 50% between June and January.

And if the commodity prices remain low, the report warned that the economies of resource-rich countries, such as leading oil exporters Nigeria and Angola, may slow down as their governments will inevitably have to trim spending.

The latest forecast is a downward revision from projections made in 2014 which suggested Africa’s economy was going to expand by 5.7% this year.

At the same time, economists noted that Africa’s increasing population could boost growth in much the same way that population booms fuelled development in China and India.

“This phenomenon may be helpful as was the case with India and China because the demographic dividends usually help growth,” OECD Development Centre director Mario Pezzini told AFP. But, if Africa fails to absorb the enormous youth bulge in the labour market, “then you may have very strong tensions,” he added.

Jobs, Ebola

An estimated 23 million youths are expected to enter the African labour market this year alone, according to the report.

Of those, four million will be in North Africa, the region that dragged down the continent’s growth rates last year, as a result of fall-out from the 2011 Arab Spring popular uprisings.

That region grew by just 1.7% last year.

Southern Africa slowed to below 3% in 2014 due to labour unrest in South Africa, the continent’s most advanced economy which

grew by just 1.5%.

“In part the lower rates of growth in Africa were related to the social crises in South Africa and we are expecting that (they) are reducing now and as such South Africa will have a rate of growth that’s better than in the past,” said Pezzini.

Despite being ravaged by deadly Ebola virus, the West African region faired relatively well, posting an average 6% growth last year.

Oil-rich Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy, which was not at the epicentre of the Ebola crisis, saw 6.3% growth in 2014 fuelled mainly by non-oil sectors.

But the countries worst hit by Ebola - Liberia, Ghana and Sierra Leone - will be seriously affected and economic activity will remain subdued “notably in Sierra Leone where the economy is expected to contract,” from a previous 10% growth rate, the report said.

East Africa was the best performing region, accelerating more than 7% last year, with Ethiopia being counted among the best. But that growth may slow down to 5.6% this year partly due to unrest in oil-producing South Sudan.

The latest continental predictions in the OECD-led report are in line with the International Monetary Fund’s projections of 4.5% in 2015, but are slightly more optimistic than the World Bank’s forecast of 4%. l

Brent crude prices, by contrast, rallied more than 25% between March and mid-May but have moved largely sideways since. l

Euro lower on Greek worries n AFP, Tokyo The euro drifted lower against other major currencies yesterday as jitters grew about the high-stakes standoff over Greece’s bailout reform.

The common European currency fell to $1.0937 and 133.15 yen in Tokyo trade from $1.0980 and 133.60 yen Monday.

The dollar edged up to 121.74 yen from 121.66 yen on Monday afternoon.

Many markets around Europe and in New York were closed Monday for public holidays.

Investors are watching closely for any new developments in talks between Greece and its international creditors over unlocking bailout funds, with no deal in sight and 300m euros of payments due next week.

The discussions with the European Union, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund are aimed at releasing the final 7.2bn euro tranche of its 240bn euro bailout.

But Athens is resisting austerity and reform demands to free up the money and thus avoid possible default that could drive the country out of the eurozone.

“Trade today will be a very tough day to call and is likely to see fluctuations as there is no major data in Asia,” said Evan Lucas, a markets strategist in Melbourne at IG Ltd. “Greece is edging closer to a deal, however, the detail, size and scope of that deal is being blurred by the hour,” he said in a client note. l

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18 BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

News, analysis and recent disclosures PADMAOIL: (Repeat):(Q3): NPAT= Tk. 1,181.02 million with EPS of Tk. 12.02 as against Tk. 1,576.19 million and Tk. 16.05 respectively.

HRTEX: (Repeat): (H/Y): NPAT= Tk. 10.98 million with EPS of Tk. 0.43 as against Tk. 20.40 million and Tk. 0.81 respectively.

NHFIL: (Repeat): (Q1): NPAT= Tk. 35.09 million with EPS of Tk. 0.33 as against Tk. 61.68 million and Tk. 0.58 respectively.

IPO Subscription: Aman Feed Limited Subscription 25.05.2015 TO 04.06.2015. Offer Price per share Tk. 36.00, Market Lot (Shares) 200.

Dividend/AGM

DELTALIFE: 20% cash dividend, AGM: 21.06.2015, Record Date: 02.06.2015.

FAMILYTEX: 10% stock dividend,EGM & AGM: 07.08.2015, Record Date: 09.07.2015.

KPCL: 40% cash, AGM: 25.06.2015, Record Date: 31.05.2015.

BDWELDING: 5% stock dividend AGM: 25.06.2015, Record Date: 09.06.2015.

NBL: 10% stock dividend, AGM: 14.09.2015, Record date: 30.08.2015.

ORIONPHARM: 15% cash dividend, AGM: 28.06.2015, Record Date: 21.05.2015.

ISNLTD: No dividend, AGM: 28.06.2015, Record date: 16.06.2015.

PURABIGEN: 15% stock dividend, AGM: 30.07.2015, Record date: 07.06.2015.

JANATAINS: 10% stock dividend, AGM: 25.07.2015, Record Date: 21.05.2015.

AMBEEPHA: 28% cash dividend, AGM: 14.06.2015, Record Date: 25.05.2015.

ISLAMIINS: 5% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 13.06.2015, Record Date: 19.05.2015.

NCCBANK: 10% stock dividend, AGM: 24.06.2015, Record Date: 18.05.2015.

PEOPLESINS: 13% cash dividend, AGM: 09.06.2015, Record Date: 18.05.2015.

LEGACYFOOT: 5% stock, AGM: 13.06.2015, Record Date: 14.05.2015.

RUPALIBANK: 15% stock , AGM: 31.05.2015, Record date: 14.05.2015.

UNIQUEHRL: 20% cash dividend, AGM: 25.06.2015, Record Date: 24.05.2015.

WATACHEM: 5% cash and 25% stock dividend, AGM: 11.06.2015, Record Date: 14.05.2015.

CMCKAMAL: 12.50% stock dividend, AGM: 31.05.2015, Record Date: 17.05.2015.

ARAMITCEM: 10% cash dividend, AGM: 13.06.2015, Record Date: 13.05.2015.

Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

Company Rahima Food -Z Keya Cosmetics -A Bangladesh Welding -Z ACI Formulations-A Al Arafa Islami B-A Fine Foods A Aziz PipesZ LankaBangla Fin. -A ICB AMCL 1st NRB -A Dulamia CottonZ

Closing (% Change) 9.97 9.74 9.55 9.29 9.09 8.70 6.79 6.74 6.70 6.33

CSE GAINER Company Bangladesh Welding -Z Rupali Bank - A Keya Cosmetics -A ICB AMCL 1st NRB -A Rahima Food -Z Fine Foods A ACI Formulations-A H.R. Textile -A Global Heavy Chemicals-N LafargeS Cement-Z

Closing (% Change) 10.00 9.94 9.79 9.73 9.72 8.89 8.75 8.64 8.55 8.33

DSE LOSER Company Khan Brothers-N Meghna Con. Milk -B Anlima Yarn -A Unique Hotel RL - A Rupali Bank - A The Peninsula CTG.-N ICB AMCL3rd NRB MF-A Uttara Bank - A ICB AMCL 2nd NRB -A Shurwid Ind. -N

Closing (% Change) -6.89 -6.41 -5.58 -5.26 -4.91 -4.74 -4.65 -4.50 -4.11 -4.08

CSE LOSER Company Apex Footwear-A PrimeFin. 1st MF-A Phoenix Insur -A AFC AgroBiotech-A Eastern Cables-A Baraka Power-A SAIF Powertec-N Hakkani P& Paper -B Shurwid Ind. -N SummitAlliancePort.-A

Closing (% Change) -8.73 -6.20 -6.12 -5.11 -5.08 -4.94 -4.82 -4.61 -4.45 -4.40

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

DSE key features May 26, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka)

DSE GAINER

Sector

8,357.04 207,314,465 176,493

Traded Issues

316

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

226

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

83

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

7

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,587.69

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.37

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 469.42 328.00 56.37 953.35 194.95 2110.41 1.83 607.97 1380.58 23.34 378.40 31.00 192.02 213.91 210.26 59.60 152.57 352.60 306.91 333.41 0.14

% change 5.62 3.92 0.67 11.41 2.33 25.25 0.02 7.27 16.52 0.28 4.53 0.37 2.30 2.56 2.52 0.71 1.83 4.22 3.67 3.99 0.00

Million Taka 42.55 40.39 6.05 126.37 16.56 176.23 51.38 83.84 2.77 28.19 1.55 10.44 31.87 15.56 1.90 20.11 47.03 30.58 39.68 0.02

Average (% Change) 10.83 9.59 7.24 7.11 8.11 7.52 6.37 7.11 7.69 21.74

Average (% Change) 6.92 9.94 9.79 9.73 11.31 8.53 7.96 8.45 5.84 8.16

Average (% Change) -0.27 -6.85 -2.97 1.07 -1.25 0.98 -0.24 -1.23 -0.85 -3.03

Average (% Change) -0.06 -5.58 -6.12 -0.64 -5.40 -2.57 -3.32 -4.87 -0.16 -3.60

CSE

ClosingAvg. 35.30 21.37 18.97 217.42 14.13 9.87 17.03 29.82 22.27 9.52

ClosingAvg. 19.32 52.00 21.30 20.30 33.36 9.80 215.87 23.86 45.14 116.69

ClosingAvg. 29.56 7.34 18.96 63.96 53.09 22.73 4.19 21.70 7.04 24.00

ClosingAvg. 324.00 12.18 23.00 65.53 112.00 37.11 85.79 20.70 24.37 63.75

% change 5.50 5.22 0.78 16.35 2.14 22.80 0.00 6.65 10.85 0.36 3.65 0.20 1.35 4.12 2.01 0.25 2.60 6.08 3.96 5.13 0.00

Closing

DHIGH

35.30 21.40 19.50 221.20 14.40 10.00 17.30 30.10 22.30 8.40

Closing

35.30 21.40 19.50 221.40 14.50 10.10 17.50 30.40 22.70 8.40

DHIGH

19.80 52.00 21.30 20.30 35.00 9.80 220.10 23.90 45.70 117.00

Closing

324.00 12.10 23.00 63.10 112.00 36.60 85.00 20.70 23.60 63.00

Million Taka 511.97 368.39 62.42 1079.72 211.51 2286.64 1.83 659.35 1464.42 26.10 406.59 32.55 202.46 245.78 225.82 61.50 172.68 399.62 337.49 373.09 0.16

35.30 20.90 18.00 205.00 13.10 9.20 16.50 28.40 21.00 8.30

DLOW

19.80 52.00 21.30 20.30 35.00 9.90 220.10 23.90 46.30 118.60

DHIGH

28.40 7.30 18.60 61.20 52.30 22.10 4.10 21.20 7.00 23.50

Closing

DLOW

18.50 52.00 21.10 20.30 30.00 9.40 208.00 23.80 43.00 110.00

DLOW

31.20 7.80 19.60 67.00 55.00 23.70 4.30 22.30 7.30 25.40

DHIGH

28.00 7.20 18.30 60.30 52.00 22.00 4.10 21.00 7.00 23.40

DLOW

324.00 12.40 23.00 68.50 113.00 38.80 88.50 20.70 25.00 65.50

Total

324.00 12.00 23.00 62.50 111.00 36.30 84.60 20.70 23.50 62.40

% change 5.61 4.03 0.68 11.83 2.32 25.05 0.02 7.22 16.04 0.29 4.45 0.36 2.22 2.69 2.47 0.67 1.89 4.38 3.70 4.09 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

1.225 121.543 18.485 299.898 53.880 0.727 0.241 74.900 0.940 0.001

Turnover in Million

-0.47 2.02 -0.40 6.80 0.80 -0.27 -2.64 -5.28 2.61 -3.15

Latest EPS

2.234 0.000 13.401 0.010 0.535 0.083 7.725 0.039 2.144 22.897

Turnover in Million

-ve 10.6 -ve 32.0 17.7 -ve -ve -ve 8.5 -ve

Latest PE

-0.40 5.84 2.02 2.61 -0.47 -0.27 6.80 0.86 2.08 2.00

Latest EPS

47.127 0.265 2.523 128.703 1.058 20.310 1.156 8.871 1.301 13.305

Turnover in Million

Latest PE

-ve 8.9 10.5 7.8 -ve -ve 31.7 27.7 21.7 58.3

Latest PE

1.52 -4.49 0.83 3.04 5.84 1.39 0.48 2.68 0.87 0.53

Latest EPS

0.016 0.080 0.002 11.626 0.134 9.523 13.029 0.006 5.361 12.527

19.4 -ve 22.8 21.0 9.1 16.4 8.7 8.1 8.1 45.3

Latest PE

-37.80 0.40 3.12 3.20 1.12 3.00 2.69 0.29 0.53 1.00

-ve 30.5 7.4 20.5 100.0 12.4 31.9 71.4 46.0 63.8

CSE key features May 26, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

773.07 22,718,551 29,960

Traded Issues

253

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

197

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

48

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

8

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,514.93

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.48

DT

BUSINESS 19 WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Stocks edge up with volatility n Tribune Report

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Khulna Power-A ACI Formulations-A United Power-N MJL BD Ltd.-A ACI Limited- A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A BD Submarine Cable-A SAIF Powertec-N BSRM Ltd. -N RAK Ceramics-A

SummitAlliancePort.-A FAR Chemical-N UNITED AIR-A Baraka Power-A LafargeS Cement-Z

VolumeShares 8,931,816 1,379,380 1,495,756 2,472,736 543,925 7,089,670 1,401,683 2,105,507 2,617,218 2,401,892

Value in Million 683.79 299.90 293.31 288.07 264.53 233.63 228.62 180.80 179.01 177.86

% of TotalTurnover 8.18 3.59 3.51 3.45 3.17 2.80 2.74 2.16 2.14 2.13

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

2,725,884 3,086,938 15,843,617 4,152,704 1,141,663

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Khulna Power-A BSRM Ltd. -N BD Submarine Cable-A United Power-N MJL BD Ltd.-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A UNITED AIR-A LafargeS Cement-Z Delta Life Insu. -A FAR Chemical-N

WesternMarine -N DESCO Ltd. -A Keya Cosmetics -A SAIF Powertec-N Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A

590,213 624,064 226,754 161,318 259,135 800,142 2,608,144 196,214 165,348 328,621

343,625 202,215 629,153 151,870 775,582

174.25 170.93 157.90 153.71 131.02

45.19 42.44 36.97 31.63 30.27 26.35 25.86 22.90 19.08 18.08

15.99 14.95 13.40 13.03 12.69

2.09 2.05 1.89 1.84 1.57

5.85 5.49 4.78 4.09 3.92 3.41 3.35 2.96 2.47 2.34

2.07 1.93 1.73 1.69 1.64

ClosingP 78.70 221.20 194.70 117.80 494.60 32.30 161.20 84.70 68.00 73.30

63.10 54.80 9.70 36.60 115.60

ClosingP

Change % 2.08 9.29 4.23 3.33 5.93 -0.31 0.31 -2.64 5.92 -2.27

-0.63 0.55 0.00 -3.43 5.96

Change %

78.60 67.90 161.00 194.70 117.70 32.00 9.70 117.00 116.30 54.40

46.00 71.00 21.30 85.00 16.10

2.61 6.76 -1.23 3.23 3.43 -2.14 -1.02 8.33 6.02 3.03

-0.65 -3.14 9.79 -4.82 -2.42

ClosingY 77.10 202.40 186.80 114.00 466.90 32.40 160.70 87.00 64.20 75.00

63.50 54.50 9.70 37.90 109.10

ClosingY

76.60 63.60 163.00 188.60 113.80 32.70 9.80 108.00 109.70 52.80

46.30 73.30 19.40 89.30 16.50

DHIGH 79.50 221.40 202.00 119.40 501.50 33.60 166.00 89.40 70.40 75.80

65.60 57.00 10.40 38.30 118.90

DHIGH

79.50 69.90 166.90 202.70 120.00 33.80 9.90 118.60 119.00 56.20

47.30 77.40 21.30 88.50 17.00

DLOW 74.50 205.00 187.60 112.90 464.00 31.70 161.00 84.10 65.50 72.70

62.10 53.20 9.60 36.20 110.50

DLOW

74.60 66.00 160.20 188.00 113.60 31.20 10.00 110.00 111.40 53.00

45.60 70.70 21.10 84.60 15.90

AvgPrice 76.56 217.42 196.09 116.50 486.34 32.95 163.10 85.87 68.40 74.05

63.92 55.37 9.97 37.01 114.76

AvgPrice

76.57 68.00 163.06 196.10 116.83 32.93 9.92 116.69 115.37 55.01

46.55 73.91 21.30 85.79 16.36

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

4627.16500

(+) 0.26%

1748.78788

(+) 0.72%

14278.3408

(+) 1.03%

11401.5088

(+) 1.15%

8712.7221

(+) 0.61%

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

Stocks closed marginally higher yesterday as late profit taking selling pressure cut sharp gains seen in the early trading and the previous session.

The benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, rose marginally over 12 points or 0.3% to 4,627, extending the winning streak for the fourth straight session.

The Shariah index, DSES, inched over 4 points or 0.5% up to 1,113. The blue chip comprising index DS30 gained 12 points or 0.8% to 1,748.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange prime index, CSCX, rose 52 points to end at 8,712.

The rally was led by small-cap cement sector that posted a hefty gain of 4.5%, followed by life insurance 4%. Power, pharmaceuticals, food and allied, and non-banking financial institutions ended slightly higher.

Profit booking took place mainly on heavyweight sectors such as telecommunications and banks that were down marginally.

Trading activities continued to remain vibrant despite the decline as the DSE turnover stood at Tk840 crore, down 2.3% over the previous session.

IDLC Investments said bullish trend continued in the morning hours which was gradually subdued as investors realised some profit of the previous couple of sessions.

It said investors’ participation remained buoyant in anticipation of positive news of the upcoming budget.

Lanka Bangla Securities said stocks slowed down after gaining more than 100 points in the previous session.

It said though buying interest in large cap fundamental stocks pushed DSEX to its day’s high to 4670, but profit booking in the afternoon trading closed the benchmark index with moderate gain.

Lanka Bangla said the finance minister hinted cut in oil price to some extent in the next budget which would convey positive impact on domestic growth and downward pressure on inflation.

Khulna Power Company Limited was the most traded stocks or the third consecutive session with shares worth over Tk68 crore changing hands. l

ANALYST

Profit booking took place mainly on heavyweight sectors such as telecommunications and banks that were down marginally

DT

20 BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Govt won’t allow arable land for shrimp farming n Tribune Report The government won’t allow the shrimp farmers to use saline water on the arable land as well as the dwelling areas for the purpose of shrimp production.

State minister for Fisheries and Livestock Narayan Chandra Chand came up with the declaration while addressing a roundtable on “Perspective of Shrimps Firming: Experiences, Reality and Responsibility” held in the city yesterday.

“Access of saline water into the arable lands and residential areas for the purpose of shrimp firming will not be allowed anymore,” the minister categorically told the roundtable.

The roundtable was jointly organised by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Associa-

tion (BELA), Association for Land Reform and Development and Nijera Kori.

On the other hand, the participants and speakers urged the government to revise “The National Shrimp Policy-2014” as there are some conflicting clauses in the policy which also failed to protect the environmental impacts as well as the people’s interest.

Addressing the dialogue, Narayan said, “What has been done in the name of shrimp farming is nothing but totally anti-public interest which should not be continued any further.”

“We cannot consider the shrimp firming on the arable lands only for foreign currency earnings,” said Narayan.

Anu Muhammad, professor of Jahangirnagar University, said: “We should not advocate

FIs to report transactions over Tk10 lakh n Tribune Report Bangladesh Bank asked all financial institutions to submit Cash Transaction Report (CTR) to its Financial Intelligence Unit.

The financial institutions (FIs) will have to report the transactions of over Tk10 lakh by 21st of every next month, said a circular Bangladesh Bank issued yesterday.

The cash deposits to the account of government, stateowned institutions, semi-government institutions and autonomous body will not be required to report, said the circular.

The central bank introduced the cash transaction reporting system to closely monitor the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing prevention activities.

The FIs will have to store the transaction report for at least five years since the reporting month to Bangladesh Bank, according to the circular. l

GTCB and BEI enter into collaboration agreement n Tribune Report

Grant Thornton Consulting Bangladesh (GTCB) and Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) have entered into a collaboration agreement to enhance their complementary competencies and capabilities in the field of social policy and development consulting services, said an announcement yesterday.

GTCB is a member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the world’s leading professional service organisations with over 40,000 Grant Thornton people, across 130 countries.

Grant Thornton Consulting focuses on a range of advisory services including social policy, organisational development, human resource management, governance, risk and compliance, corporate finance and technology.

BEI is a non-profit, non-political research center and focuses on foreign policy & security, corporate social responsibility, corporate governance, migration & development, media liberalisation, financial inclusion and leveraging the diaspora.

BEI President Farooq Sobhan and GTCB Managing Director Dewan Nurul Islam, who signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations, said they were looking forward to the opportunities of collaborating both in Bangladesh and the SAARC region.

The combined resources and capabilities of the two organisations will produce synergy and greater intellectual depth to support the social development programmes of the government of Bangladesh.

Nigel Ruddock, Global Leader, Grant Thornton advisory services commented: “We are extremely pleased with the initiatives Grant Thornton Consulting Bangladesh has taken to collaborate with organisations which strengthen its image and its service delivery capacity.” l

infavour of the saline-water based firming just considering the foreign currency earnings, rather, we should consider social, environmental and human sufferings for the use of saline water in shrimp firming.”

“Shrimp firming has also become a violent sector as there are terrorist activities including killings for establishing supremacy over the rival groups centering lands grabbing for firming,” he added.

Commenting on the existing Policy, Polli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) Chairman Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, said: “It is the violation of the constitution and against the government’s vision of 2021 and it should be reconsidered.”

The disparity should be removed and conmsider to revise as per the directrion of

the High Courtr on the issue, he said.

Khushi Kabir, coordinator of Nijera Kori moderated the roundtable, where Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of BELA highlighted the lacking of the policy.

Last year, the government has passed “The National Shrimp Policy, 2014” keeping the provisions of some restrictive measures like entering saline water illegally, protecting mangrove forest and ecological biodiversity and fixing the limit of shrimp enclosures to ensure improvement of the sector.

The main motto of the policy is to maintain environmental and ecological balance, protect biodiversity and create jobs as well as shrimp production, processing, marketing and export market expansion. l

Grameen Intel launches social business service for farmers n Tribune Report

The world’s first IT social business company, Grameen Intel Social Business Ltd. – has launched the cellphone-based fertiliser recommendation service for the farmers of Bangladesh.

The service namely – krishē – will help farmers obtain specific recommendations about how much fertiliser they need to apply to a particular crop.

Grameen Intel’s Chief Executive Officer Kazi Huque launched the krishē service in presence of a group of journalists at the company’s head office at Mohakhali in the capital yesterday.

The farmers will get the service by

calling a certain phone number. The call centre agent will ask a few questions to the farmer and logic software will actually deliver the recommendations.

The recommendations are based on the guidelines of Soil Research Development Institute of Bangladesh government. Gameen Intel will provide the service with the technical assistance of Win-Miaki.

Sajedul Pavel Hoq, chief operating officer, and MD Fakhrul Islam, general manager, also addressed the launching programme.

The service will be available initially in Char Fashion of Bhola, Uzirpur of Barishal, Baliakandi of Rajbari and Jes-

sore Sadar. The coverage area will be increased gradually.

Grameen Intel’s Chief Executive Officer Kazi Huque said there are 2.5 billion farmers in the world whereas in Bangladesh more than 60% of population rely on agriculture for their livelihood.

“We felt that technology would be able to help farmers become more productive. It would help bring the farmers higher yields at a lower cost.”

The krishē service will provide solutions across the country where mobile connectivity is available, he said.

GISB is a joint venture of Grameen Trust and Intel Corporation and was established in 2009. l

DT

21

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

T-JUNCTION

A breath of fresh air Photo: Bigstock

news

INSIDE

BUFT and Wuhan Textile University, China signing AoF BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT) signed an Agreement of Cooperation (AoC) on academic issues with Wuhan Textile University, China on May 24 at Prime Minister’s Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Muzaffar U Siddique, founder of BUFT and chairman of the Board of Trustees and Prof WEI Yiliang, president of Wuhan Textile University signed the agreement on behalf of their respective universities. Honourable prime minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and Chinese vice premier H E Ms LIU Yandong were present on the occasion.

In the agreement signing ceremony Hasanul Haq Inu, honourable minister, Ministry of Information,

Md Nazrul Islam Khan, secretary, Ministry of Education, Prof Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique, vice chancellor of Dhaka University, M Nazrul Islam, director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs were present.

Among others, members of Board of Trustees of BUFT Abdus Salam Murhedy, senior vice president of Bangladesh Football Federation, former president of BGMEA, Shafiul Islam (Mohiuddin), ex-president of BGMEA, Siddiqur Rahman, ex-vice president of BGMEA and Md Atiqul Islam, president of BGMEA were also present in the signing ceremony. High officials from China Embassy, delegates of Wuhan Textile University and other dignitaries from different Ministry were present.

22

Trial Room

The rise of the Internet entrepreneur Under the agreement, both universities will jointly work to provide a standard international education in the field of apparel, fashion and textile. Both the universities agreed to transfer credit, exchange students, faculty members and researchers and provide the students with scholarships. They will also work together in curriculum design and development and hold joint exhibitions and fashion design competitions. l

24 décor

Blinds and shutters room of the week

Lilac lanes

DT

22 T-JUNCTION

Trial Room

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

interview

The rise of the Internet entrepreneur

A sneak peak into Kaymu’s bustling platform of successful Internet entrepreneurs

n N Anita Amreen

Niroshan: What we’ve realised is that people look for products that they can use on a daily basis – products that are of good quality and are priced competitively. The three products that are best sellers are shoes, T-shirts and electronics. Shoes are one product that is not only popular among Bangladeshis but also all over the world. T-shirts actually sell really well as you have to replace them and that too is easy to do since the prices are very competitive. You can get a decent quality T-shirt for Tk250 or so, and you can also get premium ones as and when you want. Thirdly, I think people in Bangladesh love electronics or gadgets. They love cool accessories such as USB fan coolers, LED vacuum cleaners, LED shoelaces power banks - people love buying or having something that sets them apart.

With almost two years under their belt, Kaymu.com.bd has made its mark as the leading online shopping community, giving people from all walks of life a chance to really find their entrepreneurial spirit and make it big using this online marketplace. From having merely five employees, they now have a team of over 80 employees who monitor and work with thousands of products on their website. There was once a time when they approached potential sellers to join their market, today, they are flooded with budding sellers who try their hand at online selling by braving Kaymu waters. As the website experienced exponential growth, so did the sellers who’s success stories run rampant.

From university students looking to make quick bucks to housewives who want a side earning, it seems that there is a growing community of Internet entrepreneurs that have found their niche with Kaymu.

Today we speak to Niroshan Balasubramaniam and Christian Schroeder, co-founders and co-managing director of Kaymu to see what makes Kaymu the number one choice for sellers looking for their big break. Read on to get insider tips on how to start selling on Kaymu while also getting a lowdown on which products sell fastest and which don’t.

From the offset Kaymu has believed that Bangladesh has great growth potential. Tell us a little about this.

Niroshan: As of now, we have already strongly established our business in Pakistan and we knew that Bangladesh will be the next big hit. First, if we take into account the size of Bangladesh population wise, it is one of the top ten biggest countries in the world. There are many opportunities to invest and the number of young people who are willing and ready to invest is substantial. There’s a young, dynamic crowd of budding entrepreneurs everywhere..from the street side food shops to family run businesses everyone is doing something and I think it made us realise that Bangladesh has great opportunities to tap into the online market. In that sense, Kaymu also seemed like the ideal vessel to ride that wave since we are made of entrepreneurs and we serve entrepreneurs.

Kaymu has thousands of sellers under their umbrella. What makes these sellers choose Kaymu over other leading websites?

Niroshan: I think this is because we have the best brand out there with lots and lots of people buying from our website, choosing us over others. It’s also because of our investment into customer service. We have a strong team solely dedicated to customers to make sure they get their purchases. These customers that buy from us keep coming back, thanks to the relationship we’ve built with them. Secondly, we regularly invest in marketing campaigns that are trend specific.

For instance, we have a product set for different occasions such as Valentine’s Day or the Cricket World Cup. We keep up with the trends and we also connect emotionally with

the customers. This contributes to making the customer experience a very positive one.

I would say it’s the customer experience, the platform and the service and help we provide to our sellers that set us apart. We aren’t here just to list products for other sellers on our website - we are here to help them create their online shop. We even provide a professional photographer to go to the sellers’ shops to take pictures of their best products to make their experience special. We also have dedicated account managers for separate sellers with their only focus being helping the suppliers understand better and make their overall experience a satisfactory one.

What are the top three products that sellers can make a quick profit on?

You have incorporated a unique training programme for your sellers - how does it work?

Christian: There are several different training sessions from small to large, depending on the level you are currently at. If you’re a new seller then once you sign up we will call you, tell you how Kaymu works and show you the basics. Once you get the first order we help you ship it to the buyer. During the early steps we make sure we help and guide the sellers to complete an order.

Once sellers start selling in bulk we implement our “Kaymu university” concept where we invite sellers to come to our office to take part in a large training session to show them everything from how to list their own products, write appropriate descriptions, take product pictures to how they can identify products from their online store to generate more sales. We also guide them so that they can scale up their operations to be able to up their product volume.

The final step is the key account manager relationship with the seller. If you are successful at Kaymu then our key account manager will work more closely with you on a weekly basis to make sure you do everything possible to grow your business.

The biggest accounts that get large order volume get detailed advice - at lease one hour each week to help them generate and maximise sales.

Do you think in Bangladesh it’s easier for people to enter an online market than start an actual shop? Does Kaymu make it easier?

Christian: Kaymu is all about making it easy to sell and buy online and I think setting a shop online is very simple. I can do it, you can do it, just about everyone can do it. If you have a small shop maybe you have a thousand customers coming into your shop. With Kaymu, everyday we have 10,000 customers visiting the website. It’s an easier platform to sell your products because you can start selling to just about everyone. Every month we increase our seller base by 20-30% and as Niroshan mentioned, we see more sellers coming to us to actively sell their products.

With such high levels of traffic, Kaymu certainly makes it easier to join the online selling masses with our website.

T-JUNCTION 23

DT

Trial Room

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Photos: Courtesy products that consumers want and you must have a solid pricing strategy. You need to understand the customer and the market.

Ask yourself what are the current trends, who are your competitors?

Third and most importantly, you need to invest in customer service because at Kaymu what matters is to make the customer happy.

We look very closely at the sellers who don’t fulfill our requirements. Remember that if you deliver great customer service the same customer will come back to you over and over again. You also need people to invest in your team to make sure you can call the customers and see how the order is processed. These tips can turn anyone into a great entrepreneur.

A few key tips for a seller who is interested to start selling on Kaymu?

Niroshan: One thing you need to be aware of is your strength. Ask yourself what market do you know most about. It can be the garments industry, the IT sector or anything you’re interested in. Next try to figure out where you can source very attractive products while offering them at competitive prices. You need to choose really attractive

In your journey with Kaymu what’s one thing you two take great pride in?

Niroshan: It’s definitely the success stories we hear from our sellers. Nothing makes us happier or prouder than when we see Kaymu entrepreneurs telling us about how their profit from Kaymu helped them prosper, buy cars, buy houses. It’s amazing how far some of the sellers on Kaymu have gone. This is something we’re proud of on a more emotional basis but on the more serious front it’s probably our growth that we’re most proud of. We’ve practically grown from having zero employees to over 80 employees serving thousands of sellers with 80,000 products on our website.

Toady we are the number one marketplace

in Bangladesh, thanks to the passionate entrepreneurs who put their trust in Kaymu.

What’s next for Kaymu?

Niroshan: We intend to invest more in our website platform to make our customer experience even better and make the search functions even more enjoyable. We will be investing more on the customer

service and journey. We want to enhance the experience of going through our website to placing an order to receiving the product at home. Lastly, we will grow the number of account managers because they are truly helping guide entrepreneurs in the initial stages. They help professionalise budding sellers to allow them to target, garner and maximise sales. We believe they will act as the growth engine of Kaymu. l

DT

24 T-JUNCTION

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Tucked In

decor

Blinds and shutters

The dos and don’ts of curtain installments

n Adila Hoque Often the last element to add to a room or window, curtains are often one of the most crucial items out there. Changing a little something here and there could make all the difference in the world if you want them to make a statement.

Lined vs unlined First, keep in mind that you should always put function over style considerations. If you want total privacy in a room, opt for curtains that are made of thicker material or are lined. If you’re okay with a little filtering,

room of the week

Lilac lanes

Lilac cushions and accent wall, paired with ivory ones pop out like no other.

Name: Samin Marwarid Area: Mirpur DOHS Photos: Courtesy

go with unlined curtains. Lined fabrics are a little expensive, but they definitely have their perks. It helps shield the material and protects it from sun damage so it lasts longer.

The lining also adds a little weight to your curtains so it looks more graceful hanging.

Velvety fresh For a formal space, go with velvet curtains or heavy silk; they’re both great insulators.

If you’d like a more practical option, rayon blends or cotton satin should probably be your go-to options. As for colours and prints/ patterns, mix and match keeping the rest of the room’s decor in mind. If your room is

painted a deep colour that makes a statement or has a lot of antiques in it, go with simpler colours and prints. On the other hand, if your furnishings are less heavy, bring some flavor into it with some big fancy curtains.

Mounting curtains As a general rule, hanging the curtain brackets on top of the wall above and outside the window moldings looks the nicest. If your window frames are pretty and you want to show them off, hang the curtains within the frame, not around. Remember, cover only what’s necessary, not more and definitely not less.

Tiebacks For a light, swoopy look, tiebacks are your answer. In a lot of cases, they provide framing for a nice view outside too. Make

sure to match the rod with the rest of the room. If you want your room to still have that grand feel about it, go with matching tassels and fancy ropes. Just remember, tiebacks require maintenance too, so if you’re a lowmaintenance kind of person, definitely lose the idea.

Comfort all the way For your living room, go with curtains that really reflect your inner creativity. When it comes to the bedroom, however, stick to comfort on a basic level. For little windows and miscellaneous purposes, try to have fun with your choices!

Also, when shopping for curtains, balance price, durability, and maintenance on the same scale. l

Yaya Toure’s agent performed a U-turn on Monday by declaring that the Ivory Coast midfielder would remain at Manchester City for next season

Sport 26

MASHUD EXPRESSES MIXED EMOTIONS WITH HP SQUAD

27

BANGLADESH CRASH OUT OF VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

28

25

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U-TURN

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

ANCELOTTI DISMISSED BY RUTHLESS MADRID

This is the first time an Asian Tour event is being hosted by Bangladesh.

The event is one of the five new Asian Tour events this year.

The trophy is designed in the form of Bangladesh’s national animal, the Royal Bengal Tiger.

A total of 156 golfers from 25 countries including 31 locals are participating in the meet. Locals also include 5 leading amateurs.

There are at least 10 former winners and 30 top golfers of Asia in the midst.

Prize money for this tournament is USD 3,00,000. The winner will secure approximately 18% of the amount.

Most of the leading players on the tour are Asian, but players from other parts of the world also participate.

Ten Golf will cover one highlight programme immediately after the event and 20 highlight programmes throughout this year.

Participants Bangladesh Thailand India Australia

31 30 26 10

Korea Taipei Others Total

07 07 45 156

Players to watch

If I can play my own game here, I think I can win this tournament. This is definitely a golden opportunity for me to win and prove that Bangladeshi golfers are good

Siddikur Rahman (Ban), Rashid Khan (Ind), Thaworn Wiratchant (Thai), Steve Lewton (ENG), Marcus Both (Aus), Lalith Kumara (SL), Berry Henson (USA), Carlos Pigem (Spain), Bryce Easton (RSA), Niclas Johansson (Swe)

Words Rashid Khan It will help a lot to the local professional golfers. They need one good start through a tournament like this. It will help golf in Bangladesh.

Berry Henson The course looks beautiful and in great shape.

It is my first time here so I’m excited to be here. It is going to be a great event. It is always nice to visit a new country.

Carlos Pigem I feel good. This is the first time I’m here but I like this country. People are kind, the course is nice so I like it. This is a tricky golf course and you need to find fairways to have a chance to attack the green. If you go to the rough, it will be tough to have a low score.

Chapchai Nirat You must find for fairways here. If you can do that, then your second shot will be easy.

I finished number four on the local Tour last week. My game is good now so I’m feeling very confident.

An eagle-eyed Siddikur Rahman aligns the line of the ball and the hole in his imagination during practice at Kurmitola Golf Club yesterday

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Siddikur eyes home glory Bangladesh set for its first ever Asian Tour event to play better. I do not feel pressure because I n Tribune Report have won many tournaments here,” said SidThe golf icon of the country, Siddikur Rahman, believes he will get the golden opportunity to overcome his recent blip in form when the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open tees off today in the greens of Kurmitola Golf Club.

Siddikur might have missed the cut four times in his last five professional tournaments this season but the 30-year old golfer from Madaripur is of the opinion that the familiarity of the Kurmitola course, hosting the country’s first ever Asian Tour event, will give him a significant advantage over the other participants.

“I am very excited that this week has finally arrived. I am feeling great because this is my home course and we have a good advantage

dikur, who is gunning for his third Asian Tour title after successes in Brunei and India.

“If I can play my own game here, I think I can win this tournament. This is definitely a golden opportunity for me to win and prove that Bangladeshi golfers are good,” added a confident Siddikur, who is among 31 Bangladeshi participants in the tournament.

“I am feeling very confident because I am physically fit and really looking forward to a good week. I did not prepare any differently this week because I feel very comfortable here. I think the fans and golfers will really enjoy the week.”

Siddikur however, admitted that it will not be all plain sailing for him on the 6500-yard course.

“This is not an easy course because the rough is long. The key is finding fairways and greens. The course is proving to be more difficult compared to 2011 when I won the Asian Development Tour. It will be challenging this week,” said Siddikur.

Siddikur, ranked 59th in the world rankings, will also have other things in mind when the $300,000 event gets underway at 6:30am.

The top 60 golfers qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio so Siddikur knows a good finish in the tournament will aid his Rio prospects greatly.

“It is my dream to play in the Olympics. If I can maintain this position, then I will add another milestone in my career,” he said.

Siddikur will tee off at 7:30am from the 10th hole.l

DT

26 Sport

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

South on verge of BCL title n Minhaz Uddin Khan Prime Bank South Zone took one step closer to the Bangladesh Cricket League longer-version title after managing a 138-run first-innings lead against Islami Bank East Zone following the third and penultimate day’s play in the third round yesterday.

South later extended their overall lead to 369 runs as they ended the day’s proceedings on 231/4 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong.

South finished the third day with 42 points while East have 32 points, which means the latter must play for an outright victory when the fourth and final day begins today. In the event of a draw, South will lift the crown by virtue of their first-innings lead.

Resuming on 159/3, East lost their remaining seven wickets for the addition of just 88 runs. Opener Shadman Islam added just one run to his overnight score of 86 while Abul Hasan played his part with a fifty.

South off-spinner Sohag Gazi led his side’s bowling attack with a four-wicket haul while Al Amin Hossain bagged three.

Later, South made merry of the opposition bowlers to end the day on 231/4 with Soumya Sarkar and Anamul Haque registering half-centuries. Imrul Kayes was dismissed without troubling the scorers but Soumya (75 not out) and Anamul (70) saw off the early damage, along with youngster Mosaddek Hossain, who was unbeaten on 43.

Meanwhile in the other match of the final round in Mirpur, Bangladesh Cricket Board North Zone ended the third day on 11-2 in pursuit of a target of 203 runs against Walton Central Zone.

Central, who managed a two-run first-innings lead after bundling out the opposition for 287, resumed the day on 21/2 and added a further 179 runs before being skittled out for 200, thus presenting North with a target of 203.

On a rain-curtailed day, Mehrab Hossain Jr top-scored for Central with a painstaking 54-run knock. Mahmudul Hasan scalped four wickets for North while Taijul Islam and Muktar Ali picked up two each.

In reply, North lost Junaid Siddique (three) and Hamidul Islam (nought) early as Mohammad Shahid and Shuvagata Hom threatened to cause more damage. Mahmudul (nought not out) and nightwatchman Taijul (eight) however, rode out the barrage and will resume the final day’s play today.l

Central Zone batsman Mehrab Hossain Jr is all poised for a sweep shot against North Zone on the third day of the final BCL round at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Mashud expresses mixed emotions with HP squad n Minhaz Uddin Khan Former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mashud acknowledged the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s initiative to organise a High-Performance programme but said there should not be any age-barrier when the cricketers are considered for selection in the HP squad.

The 39-year old stated that since the programme will provide the national side with ready-made replacements, performance should been the first priority rather than age.

“The selection process varies but what I understand is that the HP is the second-string national side. So, I think there should not be any age-limit. There are many cricketers who get the chance to play in the national team at the age of 16 or 17 but then again there are

cricketers who perform, say, at the age of 30plus. They (seniors) have the potential to give good service to the national team. So, performance should have been the priority here.

That is more important than age,” Mashud told the media at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

Mashud said the national selection panel already has a tough task in their hands, what with the national side selection, but the former wicketkeeper-batsman informed that the selectors could have done better while selecting the HP squad, comprising 22 cricketers.

“With all due respect to the national selectors, I think there was room for them to think a little bit more. Now, cricketers like Naeem Islam, Junaid Siddique, Marshal Ayub, Rakibul Hasan, Jahurul Islam or Shamsur Rahman do

BCSA presents cricket festival n Tribune Desk

BRIEF SCORES, DAY 3 South Zone v East Zone South 385-allout & 231/4 in 54 overs Soumya 75*, Anamul 70, Mosaddek 43*; Jayed 2/48 East 247-allout in 83.3 overs Shadman 87, Hasan 50; Gazi 4/62, Al Amin 3/45, Razzak 2/73 South lead by 369 runs

Central Zone v North Zone Central 289 & 200-allout in 83.1 overs Mehrab Jr 54*; Mahmudul 4/53, Muktar 2/36, Taijul 2/73 North 287-allout & 11/2 in 2 overs North need 192 more runs to win

not get good practice facilities compared to the national team. I believe they still have the potential to get back to the national team and to be honest, there are a few names that come to mind as far as the replacements of the national team is concerned. They should have been a part of the HP programme I believe,” he said.

Mashud, who captained the Tigers in 21 Tests and 30 ODIs, said he feels for the out-offavour national cricketers who were not even considered for selection in the HP squad.

“The selectors might have thought differently. I think the inclusion of the aforementioned players would have been better. With time, I am afraid they will be lost and all the efforts made by the board and many others to get these players into the national pipeline will go in vain,” he concluded.l

Visitors thronged the Drik Gallery in Dhanmondi yesterday to witness the three-day Clemon Bangladesh Cricket Festival 2015 exhibition MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Bangladesh Cricket Supporters Association (BCSA) launched a three-day long cricket festival under the banner ‘Clemon Bangladesh Cricket Festival 2015’. The exhibition at Drik Gallery in Dhanmondi was inaugurated by founder of Nirman School Cricket, KZ Islam yesterday and will be open for all today and tomorrow. BCB director Ahmed Sajjadul Alam, founder of Clemon sports, Sheikh Jamil Uddin and former national cricketer Javed Omar were present during inauguration.

The exhibition features memorabilia of Bangladesh’s milestones in cricket, rare photos of the legends in the game of the country and also cricketers’ personal cricket gears and jerseys used at different times during their national career.l

DT

Sport 27

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

QUICK BYTES

SCORECARD

Welbeck to miss Cup final

ENGLAND 1ST INNINGS 389 (J Root 98, B Stokes 92, J Buttler 67, M Ali 58; T Boult 4-79, M Henry 4-93)

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says striker Danny Welbeck is set to miss the FA Cup final against Aston Villa on Saturday. Wenger confirmed Welbeck’s knee problem is likely to rule him out next weekend and could put a question mark over whether the striker will be fit for England’s upcoming friendly against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin and the Euro 2016 qualifier away to Slovenia.

–AFP

NEW ZEALAND 1ST INNINGS 523 (K Williamson 132, M Guptill 70, R Taylor 62, BJ Watling 61 no, T Latham 59; S Broad 3-77, M Wood 3-93, M Ali 3-94)

Schalke’s Di Matteo resigns Roberto di Matteo has stepped down as coach of Schalke after a disappointing season that saw the Gelsenkirchen outfit finish only sixth in the Bundesliga, a club statement announced on Tuesday.

The Italian had been in charge since October after his predecessor Jens Keller was sacked, but last Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at home to strugglers Hamburg looks to have been the last straw for Schalke’s board.

–AFP

Costa dropped from squad Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been omitted by Spain boss Vicente del Bosque from his 24-man squad for a friendly against Costa Rica and a Euro 2016 qualifier away to Belarus next month.

Sevilla duo Sergio Rico and Aleix Vidal are rewarded for their fine form with the Europa League finalists with their first call-up.

–AFP

Drogba may join Lampard and Gerrard in US

Didier Drogba will not play for another English team when he leaves Chelsea and may follow Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard by ending his career in the United States. The 37-year-old former Ivory Coast forward played his final game for Chelsea when the Premier League champions beat Sunderland 3-1 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

–Reuters

Galatasaray win title after 7-man Fenerbahce draw

Galatasaray became Turkish league champions for a record 20th time on Monday after bitter rivals Fenerbahce could only draw 2-2 at Basaksehir and had four players sent off. The result left Galatasaray with an unassailable fivepoint lead over Fenerbahce with one match to play, handing them their third title in the last four seasons.

–Reuters

Tottenham’s Kane scotches transfer rumours

Tottenham striker Harry Kane on Tuesday dismissed speculation of a move to Manchester United following his breakout season, as Spurs readied for a friendly in Kuala Lumpur against a Malaysian select squad.

–AFP

ENGLAND 2ND INNINGS (overnight: 429-6) A. Lyth c Southee b Boult A. Cook c Latham b Boult G. Ballance b Southee I. Bell c Latham b Southee J. Root c Boult b Henry B. Stokes c Taylor b Craig J. Buttler c Latham b Henry M. Ali lbw b Boult S. Broad b Boult M. Wood not out J. Anderson b Boult Extras (b2, lb12, w5)

R 12 162 0 29 84 101 14 43 10 4 0 19

Total (all out, 129 overs, 571 mins)

478

Fall of wickets

England all-rounder Ben Stokes (C) celebrates with team mates after dismissing New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum (not pictured) during day five of their first Test at Lord’s on Monday REUTERS

Cook salutes Stokes as England seal dramatic win n AFP, London England captain Alastair Cook hailed the impact of Ben Stokes as his side completed a stunning 124-run win against New Zealand in the first Test at Lord’s on Monday.

The hosts had been 134 runs behind on first innings yet, with Cook making 162 and Stokes powering his way to an 85-ball century, the fastest-ever Test hundred at Lord’s, they set New Zealand 345 to win on Monday’s fifth and final day.

It proved too much for the Black Caps, who collapsed to nought for two and 12 for three.

Then Stokes - born in Christchurch, New Zealand, but brought up in Cumbria, northern England - struck twice in two balls to reduce the tourists to 61 for five as the lively seamer captured the key wickets of first-innings century-maker Kane Williamson and Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum.

BJ Watling (59) and Corey Anderson (75)

checked England’s progress, but when they fell in quick succession the writing was on the wall for New Zealand.

“Ben Stokes played an innings of the like I’ve never seen before,” said Cook. “We had a hundred lead when he came in, and when he was out two hours later it was about 270 and I’d scored 10 of them!”

Stokes also made 92 in England’s first innings, having come in when his side were in desperate trouble at 30 for four, and Cook added: “We’ve just got to keep backing him and he’ll be a tremendous cricketer.”

England came into this match on the back of a disappointing 1-1 series draw in the Caribbean, a result that led to the sacking of coach Peter Moores. And no sooner had Andrew Strauss, England’s new director of cricket taken that decision, the former captain was in the eye of a much larger storm after maintaining Kevin Pietersen’s longstanding exile from international cricket. l

1-14 (Lyth), 2-25 (Ballance), 3-74 (Bell), 4-232 (Root), 5-364 (Stokes), 6-389 (Buttler), 7-455 (Cook), 8-467 (Broad), 9-478 (Ali), 10-478 (Anderson)

Bowling Boult 34-8-85-5; Southee 34-4-162-2 (1w); Henry 29-3-106-2 (3w); Craig 28-3-96-1 (1w); Anderson 3-0-13-0; Williamson 1-0-2-0

NEW ZEALAND 2ND INNINGS (target: 345) M. Guptill c Ballance b Anderson T. Latham lbw b Broad K. Williamson c Root b Stokes R. Taylor lbw b Broad BJ Watling c Buttler b Wood B. McCullum b Stokes C. Anderson lbw b Root M. Craig b Stokes T. Southee c and b Ali M. Henry not out T. Boult c Ali b Broad Extras (b5, lb7, w2, nb1)

R 0 0 27 8 59 0 67 4 20 10 10 15

Total (all out, 67.3 overs, 300 mins)

220

Fall of wickets 1-0 (Guptill), 2-0 (Latham), 3-12 (Taylor), 4-61 (Williamson), 5-61 (McCullum), 6-168 (Watling), 7-174 (Anderson), 8-198 (Craig), 9-198 (Southee), 10-220 (Boult)

Bowling Anderson 14-5-31-1 (1w); Broad 16.3-3-50-3 (1nb); Wood 13-3-47-1; Stokes 11-3-38-3 (1w); Ali 8-3-35-1; Root 5-3-7-1; Result: England won by 124 runs Man-of-the-match: Ben Stokes (ENG) Series: England lead two-match series 1-0

Bangladesh crash out of volleyball championship n Tribune Report Bangladesh crashed out of the DBBL Asian Senior Men’s Central Zone Volleyball Championship 2015 after the hosts lost to Nepal by 3-2 sets in their last match of Pool B at the Shaheed Suhrawordi Indoor Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

Maldives and Nepal swept into the semifinal of the event from Bangladesh’s group while Turkmenistan and Afghanistan earned the tickets for the last four from Pool A as Uzbekistan crashed out.

Turkmenistan defeated Uzbekistan by 3-2

sets in the first match of the day to become the first side to make it into the knockout stage. After winning the first two sets by 25-

The semifinal matches will be held today at 3pm at the same venue 21, 25-15, they lost the next two sets 17-25, 1725 before sealing the victory in the final set by 15-11 points.

In the day’s second game, Maldives strolled to an easy victory when they handed Kyrgyzstan a straight 3-0 set defeat and also became the first team from Pool B to reach the semifinals. They won all three sets by 2515, 25-18 and 25-19 points.

After losing against hosts in their first match, Maldives won their next two matches and earned six points to confirm a last-four spot while Turkmenistan and Afghanistan earned four and three points respectively to get through from Pool A. The semifinal matches will be held today at 3pm at the same venue.l

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28 Sport

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Roma stun Lazio to secure UCL spot n AFP, Rome A late glancing header from defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa earned Roma a stunning 2-1 victory over Lazio in a fiery city derby on Monday to secure the Giallorossi’s automatic entry to the Champions League.

Hosts Lazio looked to have salvaged a share of the spoils at the Stadio Olimpico when late substitute Filip Djordjevic headed Miroslav Klose’s headed cutback past Morgan Da Sanctis in the Roma goal to level Juan Iturbe’s 73rd minute opener for the visitors.

A draw would have secured at least a thirdplace finish for Lazio and a place in the Champions League play-offs.

But Yanga-Mbiwa turned the match on its head with a glancing header from a free kick five minutes from time to secure the points for Rudi Garcia’s side.

The result leaves Roma in second place, 16 points behind recently-crowned champons Juventus but four ahead of Lazio with one game remaining this season.

Lazio remain third but Stefano Pioli’s men, who sit three points ahead of Napoli, now require a point from their trip to Naples in their final game of the campaign next week, when Roma host Palermo.l

CARLO ANCELOTTI

Nationality : Italian Birthdate : June 10, 1959 -- age 55 Birthplace : Reggiolo, Italy

Playing Career Position: Midfielder Clubs: Parma (1976-1979), Roma (1979-1987), AC Milan (1987-1992) International appearances for Italy: 26 (1 goal) International debut: 06/01/1981, Holland v Italy (1-1)

Playing Honours Intercontinental Cup: 1989, 1990 European Cup/Champions League: 1989, 1990 European Super Cup: 1989, 1990 Serie A: 1983, 1988, 1992 Italian Cup: 1980, 1981, 1984, 1986, Italian Supercup: 1988

Coaching career Clubs: Reggiana (1995-1996), Parma (19961999), Juventus (1999-2001), AC Milan (2001-2009), Chelsea (ENG/2009-2011), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA/2011-2013), Real Madrid (ESP/June 2013-May 2015)

Coaching honours Club World Cup: 2007, 2014 Champions League: 2003, 2007, 2014 European Super Cup: 2003, 2007, 2014 Spanish Cup: 2014; Serie A: 2004 Italian Cup: 2004; Italian Supercup: 2004 English Premier League: 2010 English FA Cup: 2010; Community Shield: 2009 French Ligue 1: 2013

AS Roma captain Francesco Totti (C) wears a t-shirt that reads ‘Game Over‘ as he celebrates with his team mates at the end of their Serie A match against Lazio at the Olympic stadium in Rome on Monday REUTERS

‘Peacemaker’ Ancelotti dismissed by ruthless Madrid

Sevilla seek history against dogged Dnipro n AFP, Warsaw

n AFP, Madrid

Sevilla can become the first side ever to win four Europa League or UEFA Cup titles when the holders face a Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk side playing in their first major European final on Wednesday.

Moreover, victory would also secure direct qualification to next season’s Champions League having missed out by just a point to Valencia in the battle for fourth place in La Liga.

“The growth that the team has experienced is thanks to what we feel for the Europa League,” Sevilla boss Unai Emery told Uefa. com. It means something. The team want the fans to feel the vibrations that this competition gives us. We’ve achieved something that makes us bigger, it gives us prestige, it gives us a place in history and recognition in Europe for our hard work.

“We can’t deny that we have the chance to write history. Of course we are grateful to have that chance, to be able to pursue this.

“We are aiming to achieve something with this team, with Sevilla. It shouldn’t feel like pressure or stop us from executing our game plan against Dnipro. It will serve more as motivation, like a dream we can achieve.”

In contrast to the late goals and two penalty shootouts that led them to glory in last season’s Europa League, Emery’s men have been rampant this campaign losing just once in 14 games and scoring 26 goals in the process.

Dnipro’s unlikely road to Warsaw has been far more hard-fought as the Ukrainians have won just seven of their 16 matches in reaching the final.

However, having already upset the likes of Olympiakos, Ajax and Napoli, coach Myron Markevich is prepared for his side’s stiffest task yet in the Polish capital.l

Just 366 days since delivering Real Madrid their much-awaited 10th Champions League title, Carlo Ancelotti became club president Florentino Perez’s latest managerial victim as he was sacked on Monday.

Ancelotti, 55, ultimately paid for failing to build on the best run of results in the club’s history, in late 2014, with no major trophy at the end of the season.

“During these two years, Carlo Ancelotti has earned the affection of the board and of myself personally, as well as all the fans,” Perez told a news conference.

“But Real Madrid is extremely demanding and we believe it is time to give a new impulse that will allow us to win new titles and reach our maximum level.”

Beaten by a treble-seeking Barcelona in La Liga and eliminated by city rivals Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey, Ancelotti’s last chance of keeping his job was ended when one of his former clubs Juventus progressed to the Champions League final at Madrid’s expense earlier this month.

Madrid had won the Club World Cup on a streak of 22 consecutive victories between September and December to add to the Copa del Rey and UEFA Super Cup in a record four-trophy haul in 2014.

At that point the Madrid press talked of a new contract for the Italian with the club keen for him to become their Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary Scottish coach who spent 26 years in charge of Manchester United before retiring in 2013.

Yet, just six months later, Ancelotti won’t even see out the final year of the deal he signed when the European champions poached him from Paris Saint-Germain to re-

place Jose Mourinho in 2013.

Ancelotti perfectly fitted the profile needed by Madrid after Mourinho’s three-year scorched earth policy left the club divided in the stands and the dressing room.

Billed as the “peacemaker”, Ancelotti united the dressing room and avoided the constant confrontation and controversy Mourinho sought. Former AC Milan star Paolo Maldini once described Ancelotti as as “teddy bear” who never loses his temper.

Even in his final days as Ancelotti’s fate seemed sealed, with media leaks linking Napoli’s Spanish boss Rafael Benitez to his job, Ancelotti maintained his dignity and insisted he wanted to stay on.

All of which leaves Perez in a very uncomfortable situation. Unusually for a departing coach, the players and fans were not calling for Ancelotti’s head.

World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo increased the pressure on his president when he posted on his official Twitter account after Saturday’s season-ending 7-3 demolition of Getafe: “Great coach and amazing person.

Hope we work together next season.”

According to a survey carried out by Madrid-based sports daily Marca, 73 percent of the club’s members also wanted Ancelotti to stay.

Ancelotti does carry some of the blame for that failure. His reluctance to rotate his star-studded squad against even the weakest of opponents with many players coming off a World Cup that has left them short on gas at the business end of the season.

Moreover, despite winning titles in Italy, England and France, Ancelotti’s overall league record is surprisingly poor.

In 15 seasons in charge of Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea, PSG and Madrid he has delivered the championship just three times. l

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Norwich back in EPL at first attempt n Reuters, London Norwich City’s return to the Premier League at the first attempt via the playoffs on Monday owes much to their young Scottish manager Alex Neil who was virtually unknown south of the border when he was appointed in January.

Although the Canaries failed to win automatic promotion under Neil -- finishing third in the Championship -- their new boss quickly fashioned an expansive side with a cutting edge who outplayed Middlesbrough to win 2-0 at Wembley.

The 33-year-old Neil, a hard-as-nails midfielder who played in the lower leagues at Barnsley and Mansfield Town, became player-manager of Scottish club Hamilton Academical in 2013. He took them into the top flight via the playoffs where they enjoyed a fine start to the season, alerting Norwich to his talents, although many Canaries fans at first had their doubts.

But Neil has repaid the club’s faith with a place in the big time and appreciates their bravery in appointing him.

“I hate letting people down and the fact that Norwich showed so much belief in me in giving me the job so young -- a lot was made of that,” he told reporters after their triumph.l

Norwich City players and officials celebrate after winning the English Championship play off final against Middlesbrough at Wembley Stadium on Monday AFP

Nadal off to flying start n AFP, Paris Rafael Nadal began his campaign for a 10th French Open with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win over world number 296 Quentin Halys on Tuesday.

The brutal, quickfire demolition of the 18-year-old Frenchman threw down the gauntlet to top seed Novak Djokovic, who followed Nadal onto Court Philippe Chatrier to face Finnish veteran Jarkko Nieminen.

Nadal, seeded a humble six this year -- his lowest for a decade -- needed just one hour and 50 minutes to record his 67th career win at Roland Garros.

Wimbledon champion and fourth seed Petra Kvitova needed two and a half hours to see off New Zealand’s world number 80 Marina Erakovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, getting broken six times and committing 47 unforced errors.

The 25-year-old goes on to face Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain.

Kvitova was a semi-finalist in Paris in 2012 and had clinched the claycourt title in Madrid earlier this month.

But she struggled throughout large parts of Tuesday’s match against an opponent she had previously defeated four times out of four.

DAY’S WATCH Star Sports 2 6:00PM AFC Champions League Guangzhou Evergrande v Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma

Ten Action 12:00AM UEFA Europa League Final: Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk v Sevilla

Spain’s David Ferrer won his 300th claycourt match when he swept past Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko.

Ferrer, 33 and seeded seven, won 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 to become just the second active player behind Nadal to win 300 matches on the surface. Ferrer, the Roland Garros runner-up in 2013, goes on to face compatriot Daniel Gimeno-Traver. Croatia’s Marin Cilic, the ninth-seeded US Open champion, defeated Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.

Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2009 champion, beat Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 and could face 2010 winner Francesca Schiavone in the next round should the Italian see off China’s Qiang Wang. Fifth seed and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki won through to the second round, beating Italy’s Karin Knapp 6-3, 6-0.

Later Tuesday, women’s top seed Serena Williams, the 2002 and 2013 champion, starts her 14th Roland Garros against the Czech Republic’s Andrea Hlavackova.

The 190th-ranked Czech lost 6-0, 6-0 to Williams in their only other meeting three years ago at the US Open.

Canadian sixth seed Eugenie Bouchard, who made the semi-finals in 2014, plays France’s Kristina Mladenovic.l

FIFA challenger says he was offered Blatter’s financial info n AP, Zurich Prince Ali bin al-Hussein’s FIFA election team says it rejected a potentially illegal offer to help him oust President Sepp Blatter in Friday’s election and informed law enforcement agencies about the approach.

The challenger’s campaign said Monday it was approached by an individual who offered details on Blatter’s finances and claimed to be able to help deliver dozens of votes in the head-to-head contest for the FIFA presidency.

It did not identify the individual.

It said it rejected the offer and informed police authorities, but did not disclose which country’s law enforcement was contacted.

However, the Jordanian prince — a FIFA vice president — did not notify football’s governing body of the attempt to corrupt the election or that Blatter’s purported private information was apparently being touted.

“The FIFA administration has not been informed of any such matter,” FIFA said in a statement to The Associated Press. “However, the body to deal with such cases is the investigatory chamber of the independent ethics committee.”l

Officials and dignitaries pose for a photograph prior to the start of the ITF Junior Tennis Initiative 2015. 28 schools from Dhaka, Comilla, Narsingdi, Naogaon, Rajshahi and Jhalakathi will participate in the event COURTESY

DT

30 DOWNTIME

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Concealed (6) 4 Early freshness (3) 7 Banishment (5) 8 Ruinous damage (6) 11 Rodent (3) 12 Gem (4) 13 Bearing (4) 15 Slowly (mus) (5) 16 Heavenly body (5) 20 Slender sticks (4) 23 Fondness (4) 24 Male sheep (3) 25 Scribe (6) 26 Sports enclosure (5) 27 Female swan (3) 28 Heckle (6)

DOWN 1 Christmas song (5) 2 Lofty (7) 3 Swarm (4) 4 Dreadful (4) 5 Dash (4) 6 Raining (3) 9 Monkey (3) 10 Forefront (3) 14 Worship (7) 17 Pithy saying (3) 18 First woman (3) 19 Concise (5) 20 Uncommon (4) 21 Augury (4) 22 WA river (4) 24 Sharp blow (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 20 represents H so fill H every time the figure 20 appears.

You have one letter in the control grid to start you off. Enter it 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

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

DT

SHOWTIME 31

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

Exhibition explores nature, women’s issues

n Nadira Sultana Ava

paintings by 22 artists.

The artists used a wide array of mediums such as acrylic, etching, monoprinting and mixed media to depict symbolic scenes of man-made natural disaster, social inequality, women sexuality and gender discrimination.

“This exhibition is a call to all conscious and educated people to come forward

Fahmida Enam Kakoli

A three-month painting exhibition exploring issues related to women and nature opened on Saturday at a restaurantcum-gallery at Dhanmondi.

The event, titled “Jago Nari Jago Bonhi Shikha”, was organised by Studio 48 at Eric’s Bistro restaurant, featuring 22

Organized by

and stand against all forms of social anomaly,” said Fahmida Enam Kakoli, founder of the platform of visual artists and one of the participating artists at the exhibition.

About her work titled ‘Reminiscence,’ she explains how women are being objectified in a carefully-orchestrated social setup which inspires women to look good, thereby becoming unwitting victims of sexual advances.

“Products meant to beautify fascinate women and this is one of their major weaknesses. This artificial process of beautification, in a way, provokes them to give in to their desires,” she added.

Most of the exhibits also centred on women’s issues. Some of the paintings are “Dark Image,” “Obscure Sorrow,” “Woman Beauty,” and “Nari” which dealt with the challenges and sufferings faced by women in their everyday life.

The theme of man-made environmental disaster was explored in Md Harun-ar-Rashid’s painting titled “Trail of Destruction.” The painting is a mishmash of scenes of destruction and things that cause them, including a sinking ship, petrol and brick kiln. It also portrays victims of such environmentally harmful things.

Alauddin Ahmed’s painting “Seedoard”, is a dark image of several ships at sea depicting a terrible facet of nature.

Studio 48 started its journey in 2010.

It has organized several art exhibitions in Dhaka and in this exhibition, 9 artists from Studio 48 and 13 guest artists are participating.

The art exhibition was inaugurated by eminent artist Hamiduzzaman Khan on Saturday and it will run until August 23, open for all, every day from 10:00am to 9:00pm.l

CELEBS ON SOCIAL Louis Tomlinson @Louis_ Tomlinson Gutted to hear @ kbennyb has left Donny ! Best of luck in the future mate !

Ariana Grande @ArianaGrande milan, u made me cry. such a special show tonight. i love you w all my heart. incredibly grateful. mille grazie. ti voglio bene, Italia.

Ed Sheeran @edsheeran About to dress up like a tit to play golf with the boiz. Never played golf before, wish me luck

WHAT TO WATCH

Venue: “Eric’s Bistro” Cafe Gallery , Date: 23 May - August 23 Fatema Arcade, Mirpur Road, Dhanmondi-5, Dhaka-1205,

Cell: +88 01915 334 333

X-Men: First Class Star Movies 7:00pm In 1962, the United States government enlists the help of Mutants with superhuman abilities to stop a malicious dictator who is determined to start World War III. Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence

Oh Boy to be screened Showtime Desk Oh Boy, a German dark comedy film directed by Jan-Ole Gerster, will be screened at the Berlin Hall of Goethe Institut Bangladesh. The film will be presented on May 31 at 6:00pm as a part of the Sunday

Movie Night programme, which features independent and experimental films as well as documentaries from Germany beyond the mainstream.

Alternatively called A Coffee in Berlin, the anamorphic black and white film chronicles one day and one night in the

life of Niko - a young man who is trying to find his place in life. After dropping out of his university, Niko is living for the moment not thinking about the consequences of his lifestyle. While drifting through the streets of Berlin, he encounters a range of interesting characters.

The screening, synced with English subtitles, is open to all. l

Journey to the Center of the Earth WB 7:44pm On a quest to find out what happened to his missing brother, a scientist, his nephew and their mountain guide discover a fantastic and dangerous lost world in the center of the earth.

Cast: Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem The Tuxedo Zee Studio 7:25pm A hapless chauffer must take a comatosed secret agent’s place using his special gadget-laden tuxedo.

Cast: Jackie Chan, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jason Isaacs

DT

32 BACK PAGE

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015

FY16 SUBSIDY TO BE RANGE-BOUND PAGE 15

SIDDIKUR EYES HOME GLORY PAGE 25

EXHIBITION EXPLORES NATURE, WOMEN’S ISSUES

PAGE 31

Grim secrets of Malaysian trafficking camps n Reuters Malaysian police forensic teams began pulling out the remains of dozens of suspected human trafficking victims yesterday from shallow graves discovered at a jungle camp near the border with Thailand.

The government said it was investigating whether local forestry officials were involved with the people-smuggling gangs believed responsible for nearly 140 such graves discovered around grim camps in the country’s northwest.

The dense forests of southern Thailand and northern Malaysia have been a major stop-off point for smugglers bringing people to Southeast Asia by boat from Myanmar, most of them Rohingya Muslims who say they are fleeing persecution, and Bangladesh.

Malaysian authorities said on Monday they had found 140 graves, some containing more than one body, around 28 camps scattered along a 50km stretch of the border in the northern state of Perlis.

Authorities took a group of journalists to one of the camps yesterday, nestled in a gully in thick jungle up a steep, well-worn path about an hour’s walk from the nearest road.

Apparently abandoned in haste, what remained of the camp was little more than a tangle of bamboo and tarpaulin, but one police official, who did not want to be identified, said it could have help up to 400 people.

There was a faint smell of decomposition on

smuggling syndicates, state news agency Bernama reported, adding that some had been detained by police.

Evidence of abuse and fear

A Royal Malaysian Police forensic team handles exhumed human remains yesterday in a jungle at Bukit Wang Burma in the Malaysian northern state of Perlis, which borders Thailand AFP the edges of the camp. It was painstaking work for the police, who poked gingerly at the damp earth with hoes. The first body was exhumed yesterday afternoon, a Reuters witness said.

Muhammad Bahar, of Perlis state police CID, said he could not confirm the state of the body or how long it had been there, but added

the grave could contain more bodies.

The scale of the discoveries has raised questions about the level of complicity by officials in Malaysia and Thailand.

Malaysia’s Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday said initial investigations revealed links between forest rangers and

The steep uphill path to the camp was littered with clothes and food wrappers that suggested it was a well-trodden route.

As reporters watched the police dig in sombre silence, evidence abounded that this had been a place of abuse and fear.

Several broken-down bamboo structures raised on stilts appeared to be makeshift prisons, with wire mesh walls and coils of barbed wire. There was a low cage, too small to stand up in, that police believe was used to punish migrants.

Amid the tangle of bamboo and tarpaulin was a large water tank. Police photographs of other camps in the area showed an abandoned generator, makeshift kitchens that could cook for hundreds of people, and evidence that crops were being grown – all signs that the camps had been there some time.

The grisly discoveries in Malaysia followed the uncovering of similar graves on the Thai side of the border earlier this month, which helped trigger a regional crisis.

The find led to a crackdown on the camps

by Thai authorities, after which traffickers abandoned thousands of migrants in overloaded boats in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. l

BD-Myanmar in pact for returning 200 boatpeople

Bangladeshi peacekeeper killed by militants in Mali

n Reuters

n Tribune Report

Myanmar yesterday said it had reached an agreement with neighbouring Bangladesh to repatriate 200 Bangladeshis rescued from a boat off the Myanmar coast last week.

A migrant crisis has flared up in Southeast Asia as Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar and Bangladeshis trying to escape poverty at home become prey to human traffickers.

After Thailand cracked down on the practice, traffickers began abandoning overloaded boats on the open sea rather than trying to smuggle travellers through Thailand. Some 3,500 are stranded, the United Nations refugee agency has said.

Monday’s agreement followed talks involving Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry, Myanmar’s ambassador to Bangladesh and Bangladesh officials in Myanmar, the state-owned Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

Myanmar said there were 200 Bangladeshis among the 208 men aboard the vessel rescued on Friday by its navy off the coast of western Rakhine State, describing the rest as

Bengalis from Rakhine.

Southern Thailand and northern Malaysia have been a major route for smugglers and traffickers bringing people to Southeast Asia by boat from Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The men aboard the ship are from Bangladesh’s coastal resort of Cox’s Bazar, the port city of Chittagong and the capital, Dhaka, the newspaper said.

It ran interviews with four of the men, who said they had been tricked, or forced, into boarding the boat.

“I visited Cox’s Bazar beach,” the paper quoted a man, identified as Mohamod Mufa Zalhusin, as saying.

“Two guys forcibly took me to a boat,” he added. “The guys on the boat told me they had bought me. They headed to Thailand.

Later we were asked for a ransom of Tk50,000 to return to Bangladesh, as security was tight on the Thai coast.”

Washington and the UN have urged Myanmar to fight discrimination and violence against ethnic Rohingya Muslims, saying its policy toward them is a root cause of mass migration behind the crisis. l

A Bangladeshi soldier deployed on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali was shot dead, and another wounded, in a militant attack at Bamako, the capital of Mali, in the second attack in days, the UN said yesterday.

The deceased was Nilkanto Hajang and the injured soldier is Shirajul Islam, a press release issued by Inter Services Public Relations Directorate said yesterday.

A militant group ambushed a vehicle of the Bangladesh transport contingent of the peacekeeping mission around 7:30am on Monday, killing Nilkanto. Shirajul took a bullet to his hand and is undergoing treatment, the statement read.

A Malian security source told the AFP overnight on condition of anonymity that the sol-

diers were killed by unidentified armed men.

But the source later clarified: “We have launched an investigation to find out what exactly happened since, on the face of it, there are no bullet holes, just traces of blood, in the vehicle.”

More than 100 Bangladeshi peacekeepers have lost their lives in the UN missions so far.

Bangladesh’s contribution to UN peacekeeping mission is the largest in the world, with over 10,000 members in service.

With 35 peacekeepers killed in combat since the inception of MINUSMA, the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, in 2013, the UN has described northern Mali as the deadliest place on Earth for its personnel.

The force is regularly attacked by militants in the north, but had not been a direct target in Bamako before an assailant opened fire on a MINUSMA residence in the city’s Faso Kanu neighbourhood on Wednesday last week.

No group has claimed responsibility for either attack, but they come at a time of strained relations between the government and MINUSMA, which has complained that its impartiality has been regularly called into question. l

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