SECOND EDITION
MONDAY, JULY 27, 2015
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CHHATRA LEAGUE ONCE UPON A TIME
Shraban 12, 1422, Shawwal 10, 1436
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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 102
ATIUR: DEFAULT LOAN STILL A HEADACHE PAGE 15
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www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10
GOVT CLAMPS DOWN ON DOCTOR ABSENTEEISM PAGE 32
Food chain fouled by industrial waste n Abu Bakar Siddique The high level of toxic elements like cadmium, arsenic, mercury and lead in foods available at the capital’s top kitchen markets is the result of severe pollution of soil and water, experts say. Heavy metallic elements enter the food chain mainly through industrial effluents, phosphatic fertilisers (especially cadmium) and the burning of fossil fuels (especially lead), says a study titled “Consumption of unsafe foods: Heavy metal, mineral and trace element contamination,” conducted by the Bangladesh Agricultural University. The research team examined samples of cereals, fish, meat, vegetables and spices from kitchen markets in Gulshan, Karwan Bazar and Hazaribagh, and detected at least one or more heavy metals – cadmium, arsenic, lead, mercury, antimony, nickel, aluminium and lithium – in five out of 16 food groups. Pollutants from industrial sources put public health and ecology at risk when the toxic elements are discharged into nature. They also affect agriculture resulting in the contamination of food items. Prof Rafiqul Islam, who led the study conducted in late 2012 and presented the report recently, said the extent of contamination differs according to the variation of sources of pollution and the origin of the food products. He says that the presence of arsenic in rice
varieties is seen due to soil conditions and concentration of arsenic in irrigation water. Bangladesh’s economy has been rising for the last two decades – thanks to rapid indus-
trial development. But businessmen do not pay any heed to the need to manage industrial effluents in an environment-friendly and sustainable manner.
Why some are opting for India n Jebun Nesa Alo from Kurigram Long ignored and neglected, exclave residents are suddenly in the spotlight as they make choices about their livelihoods, identity and future. The second part of this report explores one exclave and the considerations behind some residents’ choices
PAGE 3 SC: Stop further distribution of Brazilian wheat
Despite spending 50 years of his life surrounded by Bangladeshi culture, exclave resident Khalilur Rahman has decided to move to the Indian mainland because he believes the prospects for earning a living are better there than in Bangladesh. Khalilur belongs to a minority of Indian exclave dwellers who are opting not to remain in Bangladesh, mostly because they already enjoy strong economic ties, mostly through work, to India. For Khalilur, the decision to opt for the Indian mainland comes down to a question of economic opportunity. Khalilur believes Indian nationality will enable him to have a higher standard of living then what Bangladesh has to offer. Khalilur’s family has lived in Dasiar Chhara
PAGE 4 Stronger measures demanded to save children from violence
in Kurigram district for generations. As a result of an oddity of the international land boundary between Bangladesh and India, his ancestral home fell within an Indian exclave surrounded by Bangladeshi territory.
For instance, dyeing factories have been set up in many corners of the country though they usually discharge massive amounts of liquid waste into nearby canals and rivers without treating them, thus contaminating the water and the soil. The dyeing industry is considered a major backward linkage industry for the country’s Ready Made Garments sector. When contacted, Department of Environment Director General Roisul Islam Mondol gave a helpless gesture. He observed that industrialists never consider the condition of the ecology and environment but narrowly concentrate on profits. As an example, despite having all kinds of facilities, tanneries are yet to relocate from Hazaribagh to the newly-constructed leather park near Savar, Roisul said. The study suggests that the authorities should develop rice varieties that accumulate less arsenic and cadmium to minimise the transfer from irrigation water to the grains and from grains to the body. Moreover, the government should ensure that the rice is cultivated with arsenic-free water. Any amount of any type of heavy metal is intolerable for human consumption. Livers and kidneys are the primary victims. “But in the long run, heavy metals damage other organs too,” Prof Khaleda Islam of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science said. PAGE 2 COLUMN 4
Sohag, Zakir to lead Chhatra League n Arif Ahmed
After the recently signed Land Boundary Agreement decided to allow each side to absorb the pockets of foreign land into their respective territories, the inhabitants of the exclaves were given the right to choose which country to go with.
Saifur Rahman Sohag and Zakir Hossain were elected president and general secretary, respectively, of Bangladesh Chhatra League’s central committee at its 28th council yesterday. A total of 40 candidates ran for the two posts while 213 candidates withdrew nomination papers during the election period. Sohag, 29, is currently doing his e-MBA at Dhaka University. He completed a Master’s degree in language science. Zakir, 24, is a Master’s student of political science. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved the newly elected Chhatra League five-member central committee elected by councillors. The five-member committee consists of President Saifur Rahman Sohag, General
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‘I have worked and lived in India since birth, so I want to be an Indian national’
PAGE 5 Nasir vows to solve waterlogging
PAGE 10 Syrian army focusing on holding key areas
PAGE 32 ‘Climate fund release must not be delayed’