19 Aug, 2015

SECOND EDITION

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

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Bhadro 4, 1422, Zilqad 3, 1436

BLOGGER MURDERS MASTERMIND HELD PAGE 3

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 125

WHO GETS EXCLAVE CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS? PAGE 5

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

MOTIJHEEL WARNED OF INTERNET CUT PAGE 15

Killers killed in gunfights Ajibor was number two accused in the Magura mother shooting case

Arju was accused of beating teenager Raja to death

n Our Correspondent, Magura

n Kamrul Hasan

Mehedi Hasan Ajibor, a prime accused in the much-talked-about case of shooting of a pregnant woman that also injured her baby, was killed after an alleged gunfight between law enforcers and his cohorts in Magura town early yesterday.

The gunfight ensued when the police were on a drive to arrest Ajibor, 35, in Doarpar area of the town around 1am, Magura Assistant Police Superintendent Shudarshan Kumar Roy said.

The law enforcers gave their customary version of an alleged gunfight. “As we conducted the drive to arrest Ajibor and his accomplices, they opened fire on the police. In retaliation, the law enforcers shot at them

and later found Ajubor’s bullet-hit body on the spot. His cohorts fled the scene.”

The ASP said that locals had recovered his body from the area around 2am.

Ruling party supporter Ajibor was named as the second accused in a case filed over the July 23 incident when the Awami League supporters clashed among them killing a person and injuring pregnant Nazma. She had to undergo surgery immediately to save the baby, whose body was pierced with the bullet.

The mother and the newborn were first treated separately. Condition of the baby, undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital for around two weeks, is now stated to be stable.

Over a dozen people have so far been arrested in the case. l

Arju Mia, the Hazaribagh unit president of pro-government Chhatra League, was killed in a so-called crossfire with the Rapid Action Battalion personnel early yesterday, hours after being sued as a prime accused for beating a teenager to death in the area.

RAB Assistant Director (legal and media wing) Maj Maksudul Alam said that they had arrested Arju on Monday night following a complaint lodged by the victim’s sister.

The gunfight occurred when the RAB team headed towards Baroikhal area to arrest his associates.

“Some miscreants attacked the RAB patrol team to snatch Arju around 3:30am. Arju was hit by bullets as he tried to flee,” Maj Maksud

Let’s hear it for the boys

n Tribune Report

n Shishir Hoque from Sylhet

PAGE 3 Shawkat Mahmud arrested in arson case

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Muhith: Time scale, selection grade will be reconsidered

Bangladesh U-16 football team comes of age with Saff victory against India A young, spirited and clinical Bangladesh side clinched their first ever Saff Under-16 Championship title, beating reigning champions India 4-2 in a breathtaking penalty shootout in the final at a jam-packed Sylhet District Stadium yesterday.

After the stipulated time ended 1-1 in a game largely dominated by the home side, the fearless Tigers were composed and calm-headed in the tie-breaker, leaving the holders to rue what might have been.

An early second-half goal by Bangladesh midfielder Fahim Morshed was cancelled out later by a screamer from Amay Avinash Morajkar. And the way Fahim, Jahangir Alam Sajeeb, Atiquzzaman and Saad Uddin converted their penalties from the spot, one could hardly guess that they are an U-16 side. The junior Tigers exhibited a glimpse of maturity and announced themselves as the next big stars of Bangladesh football. Bangladesh goalkeeper

claimed adding that doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital declared him dead.

Two pistols and bullets were recovered from the spot, he said.

Morgue sources said that Arju had sustained seven bullet injuries in his head.

Hazaribagh police registered the case of Raja’s sister Reshma Akhter Shabana early yesterday against 14 people with Arju named the prime accused.

The family alleged that Arju had called the boy to his house around 10:30am Sunday, locked him in a room on the ground floor of his three-storey building and beat him severely along with his accomplices. Arju alleged that Raja had stolen laptop and mobile phones from his Gonoktuli Lane house the previous day.

the triumph as there were not a single seat available inside the stadium. Not only that, each and every single building surrounding

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said they will reconsider the exclusion of time scale and selection grade before implementing the new pay structure for government employees.

The minister told this to reporters after a meeting with a delegation of BCS officers at the Planning Commission in Dhaka’s Sher-eBangla Nagar yesterday.

“I had a wrong idea about time scale and selection grade. Today, the concepts have become clear to me,” he said.

The government is implementing the new pay scale for government employees on the basis of and after reviewing the recommendations placed by the 8th National Pay and Services Commission (NPSC).

Among other things, the NPSC had recommended that the two provisions be scrapped because these had over the years bred corruption and discrimination.

Time scale and selection grade have been used to compensate those public servants

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Bangladesh youngsters celebrate their victory – a turning point for the country’s football – against India U-16 team in Sylhet District Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK Faysal Ahmed also deserves credit for saving India’s fourth penalty, taken by Saqlain, after Abhijit hit the bar in the previous effort.

The galleries were more than elated with

PAGE 4 HC questions minors’ data in voter list

PAGE 8 No survivors in Indonesian plane crash, black box found

PAGE 9 Just who is leading Nigeria’s jihadists?

PAGE 32 Stalker arrested in Gaibandha schoolgirl suicide case

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

Old Dhaka Jubo League leader shot, condition critical n Kamrul Hasan A ward-level leader of ruling Awami League’s youth body Jubo League was shot by unknown miscreants in front of his Hatkhola residence late last night.

Abdul Mannan, 32, general secretary of Dhaka South City Corporation’s ward number 31 unit Jubo League, was coming back home with a friend by rickshaw around 10:45pm when he was shot, his family said.

His wife Nusrat Jahan said having heard the sound of several gunshots in the street adjacent to their house – Nakshi Apartment, they rushed downstairs and saw Mannan lying on the road in the middle of a pool of blood.

Nusrat said she had been told by witnesses that there were two to three miscreants who opened fire on her husband. She also said that Mannan’s friend Al Amin was with him but he had probably ran away to save his own life after the miscreants opened fire.

Al Amin could not be immediately reached.

Mannan was first taken to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) in critical condition, with at least two bullet wounds on his

Firearms, ammos recovered from Jubo League leader’s ditch n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong The Criminal Investigation Department recovered firearms and ammo from a ditch, owned by a local Jubo League leader in Satkania.

Sources said the CID was searching the ditch as part of a murder investigation on Monday night when they recovered an AK 22 rifle, six bullets, 2 magzines, 3 light guns, 3 rounds of 7.65mm bullets and 7 cartridges.

Mahfuz, from Chankhola village, is a member of Eociya union parishad and a known follower of Satkania lawmaker Abu Reza Mohammad Nezamuddin Nadvi, said an Awami League insider. Mahfuz was arrested recently in connection with the murder and gave information during primary interrogation, based on which the CID raided the ditch and found the weapons and bullets, CID Inspector Obaidul Haque told the Dhaka Tribune. l

BTRC to form new cyberspace monitoring body n Tribune Report Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission is planning to form a separate body to control cybercrime and ensure cybersecurity in coordination with all law enforcers.

The main objective of the body will be to monitor cybercrime and activities on social media, investigate the criminal acts and identify the guilty, the BTRC said in a statement issued yesterday. The telecom regulatory body is preparing a proposal in this regard to send to the Prime Minister’s Office. l

head and chest. Our correspondent reports that Mannan was referred to the Square Hospital because there was no life support facilities available at that moment at DMCH. He was brought to the Square Hospital around 11:50pm. But the on-duty doctor, Tanvir, said Mannan required an emergency vascular surgery, which could not be done because there was no vascular surgeon in the hospital. He was then referred to the Apollo Hospital.

Nurul Amin, assistant commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Wari Zone, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have heard about the incident and have already began collecting information. As the victim is now under treatment, we could not talk to family. So, we are not yet clear about the reason behind the incident.”

Nusrat also said that Mannan ran a drug store near the Mitford Hospital on Old Dhaka. They live on the second floor of the seven-storey apartment building.

When this report was being filed around 12:50am, Mannan was being taken to the Apollo Hospital located in the Bashundhara Residential Area on the other side of the city.l

Rajshahi Journalists’ Union forms a human chain in Saheb Bazar demanding immediate release of Probir Sikdar yesterday AZAHAR UDDIN

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Let’s hear it for the boys the venue were swarming with enthusiastic fans. Even a water tank, around 100m from the venue, was filled with people who were flying the red and green flag with a lot of pride.

Bangladesh began the game with a bit of tiredness and it was apparent from their body language as they struggled for the first quarter of the final. This was due to the effect of playing three matches inside the space of six days.

However, the home side seemed to have charged up following their first attack in the 22nd minute when Fahim set up Mohammad Shawon with a fine pass from the left side of the box. Shawon’s header though flew inches over the bar.

In the second half, the home side took only a minute to take a deserved lead. Shawon initiated the attack with a cross from the right flank, Mostajeb received the ball in the middle of the box and passed it back to Fahim whose left-footer rolled straight into the back of the net.

Bangladesh custodian Faysal Ahmed produced a lovely save to deny Indian midfielder

Abhijit Sarkar’s shot from inside the box in the 55th minute.

India equalised the margin in the 63rd minute from a stunning strike by midfielder Avinash whose powerful strike from just outside the box hit the woodwork before entering the net. Faysal had nothing to do with the goal due to his height.

Fahim squandered a great opportunity to give the hosts the lead in the 79th minute when the midfielder received a missed clearance from an Indian defender but failed to find the target despite an empty net.

India’s intention was clear in the last quarter of the game as they wanted to take the tie into the tiebreaker, going fully defensive.

Bangladesh had a couple of chances but nothing concrete. Just a minute before the final whistle, the encounter was stopped for 12 minutes due to blackout.

And when the game did resume, no one could stop the Bangladesh youngsters from sealing their maiden success in the third edition of the age-level competition. l

Muhith: Time scale, selection grade will be reconsidered who deserve promotions but have not got any due to shortage of posts.

Most public servants have strongly opposed the government move to drop these two provisions.

Muhith said two weeks ago that the new pay structure would be placed in a cabinet meeting in August and implemented thereafter.

The minister yesterday said that there is no reason for the government employees to be worried as the new structure would be implemented with retrospective effect. This means that alongside the hikes, they would get the arrears for July as well.

The pay commission recommended nearly doubling the salaries of public servants at all grades. The government has made some changes to the commission’s proposals after review. l

Arju was accused of beating teenager Raja to death Later, they took the boy to Kamrangirchar, tortured him in an under-construction building and left him almost-dead at his house in the afternoon. Before losing his consciousness, Raja only wanted to drink water, locals said.

The 17-year-old was taken to the DMCH and declared dead around 5pm on Monday.

Raja had been living with his aunt in Kamrangirchar area for the last two years and worked at a steel furniture shop. He came to his Hazaribagh house two days back.

The murder took place at a time when the country has been abuzz over the recent brutal killing of several children in Sylhet, Khulna and Narayanganj.

Meanwhile, a Dhaka court yesterday granted the police three days to interrogate two people who were arrested from Hazaribagh in the case. Another arrestee gave confessional statement in the court.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Shamsul Arefin granted the remand for Moniruzzaman Monir alias Peitya Monir and Sujon Hossain Shamim after Investigation Officer Sub-Inspector Aliv Mahmud produced them before the court.

The SI also pleaded to the court to record the confessional statement of Sagor Ahmed Sana. He was later sent to jail.

On the other hand, Arju’s brother Masud Rana yesterday threatened Raja’s family

members with dire consequences at the DMC morgue, Ratna Akhter, an aunt of Raja, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Masud claimed that his brother could not be killed “centring such a minor issue.

Someone must have misled the elite force to achieve their political gain.”

Locals alleged that Arju had killed another person of the same area, Jamir, over a land dispute two years ago, and returned to the area recently.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters that it was an incident of gunfight.

The law enforcement agencies could have obtained more information from the accused if the encounter had not taken place. l

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

Blogger killers' mastermind arrested n Kamrul Hasan Law enforcers have arrested the suspected mastermind behind the murders of two secular bloggers, as well as detaining two of his cohorts – all of them active members of banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team.

Touhidur Rahman, 58, who is being accused of masterminding the killings of bloggers Avijit Roy and Ananta Bijoy Das, is a British citizen of Bangladeshi origin, said Commander Mufti Mahmud, the director of the Rapid Action Battalion’s legal and media wing.

With Ansarullah chief Jasim Uddin Rahmani behind bars since 2013, IT-expert Touhidur had been handling the finances of the militant group along with masterminding all the killings committed by its members, Mahmud told a press briefing at the RAB Headquarters yesterday.

The two other arrestees are 28-year-old Sadek Ali Mithhu, who RAB accuses of being involved in murdering both bloggers; and 35-year-old Aminul Mollik, who reportedly helps members of the outfit flee the country by making them fake passports.

The Detective Branch of police, who are overseeing the cases of blogger murders, did not issue any official statement following the latest arrests by the elite force.

Since the brutal killing of Avijit near the TSC roundabout earlier this February, law enforcers had been searching for the mastermind of the operation. The breakthrough finally came on Monday night when RAB arrested Sadek Ali Mithhu, who is in charge of Ansarullah Bangla Team’s online presence, from the capital’s Nilkhet area.

Based on the information he provided during primary interrogation, RAB members led a raid to arrest Touhidur and Mollik from the city’s Dhanmondi in the early hours yesterday.

Sadek and Touhidur have already admitted to their complicity to the blogger killings, RAB Commander Mahmud said.

RAB arrest three militants, Touhidul Islam, left, Sadek Ali, middle, and Aminul Mollik, right, of Ansarullah Bangla Team in bloggers Avijit and Ananta murder cases MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU The militants reportedly executed their plan following directives given by their chief from behind the bars of the Kashimpur Jail.

RAB authorities also said the murders were committed by a team of five men – Sadek, Ramjan alias Siam, Nayeem, Julhas Biswas and Jafran Al Hasan.

However, in brief comments to reporters at yesterday’s press conference, detained Sadek claimed that he was at his sister’s house at the time of the murders, and added that it was Ramjan and Nayeem who committed the killings. Jafran and Julhas later claimed responsibility of the murders on social media, Sadek

told reporters.

Earlier, the DB had claimed that there were seven killers involved in the murder of writer-blogger Avijit Roy. They also arrested Hizb ut-Tahrir leader Shafiur Rahman Farabi for instigating the killing of Avijit by openly threatening him with death several times on Facebook.

According to law enforcers, Touhidur had been living in the UK since the 1990s where he worked as an IT expert. Following his return to the country, he was inspired by the works of Jasim Uddin Rahmani and became involved with Ansarullah Bangla Team.

Apart from masterminding the blogger murders, Touhidur also gathered intelligence against Avijit and Ananta and monitored their activities, said the RAB official.

Sadek, on the other hand, had been working as the health adviser to the militant outfit’s chief and regularly visited him in prison to receive instructions about the next courses of action.

It was at the Kashimpur Jail where Ansarullah chief Rahmani, who is currently facing trial for the killing of blogger Rajeeb Haider and the attack on Asif Mohiuddin, reportedly set the blogger killings in motion by issuing the initial directive.

Based on his orders, Touhidur formed the plan and laid down the groundwork for the five-member team to carry out the blogger killings.

On February 26, the day writer-blogger Avijit Roy was killed, the five Ansarullah members reportedly waited at the Mohsin Hall field for two hours for the blogger to arrive at the Ekushey Book Fair. They followed him from there, later attacking and hacking him to death near the TSC. His wife Rafida Ahmed Bonna survived the attack, but was seriously injured.

On May 12, two months after the killing of Avijit, assailants hacked to death secular blogger Ananta Bijoy Das in Sylhet. RAB’s Commander Mahmud said the team of killers also acted in a similar method to kill Ananta, an activist of the Gonojagoron Mancha and editor of a science magazine.

Also in May, the Bangladesh branch of alQaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), who identified themselves as Ansar Al Islam, claimed responsibilities for the murder of several secularist activists since February 2013.

On July 2, RAB claimed to have arrested 12 militants including the Bangladesh chief coordinator of the AQIS, Mufti Mainul Islam alias Mahim, from different areas of the capital with huge explosives from their possessions. l

Journalist Shawkat Mahmud Pro-BNP citizens accuse police of foiling meeting arrested in arson case n Kamrul Hasan Detectives yesterday arrested BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s Adviser and journalist leader Shawkat Mahmud in an arson case.

Also president of a faction of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, Shawkat was held by plainclothes police around 11am while he was on his way to attend a programme in the capital.

Pro-BNP organisation Adarsha Dhaka Andolon was set to disclose a report on irregularities centring the city corporation elections, organisers said. But it did not take place. Police claimed that the organisers had not taken permission to hold the event.

DMP Deputy Commissioner Muntasirul Islam said that Shawkat is a charge-sheeted accused in cases filed for an arson attack on

a bus that killed one and burned 27 others in Dhaka's Jatrabari during the BNP-Jamaat alliance’s anti-government movement. One of the cases was under the Special Powers Act. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters that Shawkat had been arrested on specific charges.

Shawkat’s assistant Abdul Momen said that when they reached near the venue, a car intercepted them and asked Shawkat to get out of his car. Shawkat inquired them about their identities. “They did not give any reply and forcibly took him to their car.

“Later we followed the car and found that it went inside the DB Headquarters at Mintoo Road,” he added.

A former president of the National Press Club, Shawkat might be produced before a court today seeking remand, police said.

Meanwhile, a faction of BFUJ condemned the arrest. They are set to hold a protest rally in front of the National Press Club today demanding Shawkat’s release. l

n Tribune Report Leaders of Adorsho Dhaka Andolon, a proBNP citizens’ platform, have claimed that police foiled their scheduled meeting in the capital’s Panthapath area yesterday.

The platform had arranged the programme at Samurai Convention Centre in Panthapath to discuss the city corporation polls that was boycotted by the BNP-backed candidates on the allegations of vote rigging and manipulation.

Adorsho Dhaka Andolon Convener Prof Emajuddin Ahmed, mayoral candidate Tabith Awal and several other eminent citizens were scheduled to attend the programme, but the gate of the convention centre was found locked since morning.

“This incident shows the opposite scenario of what the prime minister and her cabinet members claim to be democracy. I do not even want to condemn it; I just wish to say that they [the government] should be aware of people’s rights,” Prof Emajuddin, also a for-

mer vice-chancellor of Dhaka University, told journalists after failing to enter the venue.

Mahfuzullah, a leader of the platform, said: “We were not required to take permission for any in-house programme. Still, we informed Kalabagan police station about the meeting in a letter. Intelligence officials, who had enquired about the programme, also did not object to it.”

Yakub Ali, assistant sub-inspector of police who was stationed at the convention centre, said he was there for security purposes, but he declined to say anything more.

Police also detained journalist Shawkat Mahmud, a leader of Adorsho Dhaka Andolon and an adviser to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, from the convention centre, for his alleged involvement in sabotage during the BNP-led 20-party alliance’s blockade-hartal movement early this year.

His personal assistant, Abdul Momin, said police picked him up and then took him to the Detective Branch office. l

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

HC questions minors’ data in voter list n Ashif Islam Shaon

The High Court yesterday issued a rule asking why the Election Commission’s move to collect information of minors for the updating the voter list should not be declared illegal.

The bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Md Ashraful Kamal asked the chief election commissioner and the election commission secretary to explian as to why the decision should not be declared illegal as per section 11 of the Voter List Act 2009 and Rule 27 of the Voter List Rules 2012 within 10 days.

The order came in response to a writ petition filed on July 24 by Supreme Court lawyer ZI Khan Panna.

Shahdeen Malik and M Manjur Alam argued for the petitioner while Deputy Attorney General Md Motahar Hossain Saju represented the state.

The EC on July 24 decided to collect data of citizens aged 15 or above, for the first time, to update its database for 2015-2016. Earlier, data of only the 18-year-old or above were collected.

During the hearing, Shahdeen told the court that updating the voter list means inclusion of those who have reached the age of 18 in the previous years. He said that the EC must update the list annually or every year.

They cannot update the list in advance, he added.

According to Article 122 of the constitution

and section 11 of the Voter List Act 2009, the list will only include data of 18-year-old citizens or above and therefore, it is beyond the jurisdiction of the EC to collect information about citizens who are under 18, he added.

Deputy Attorney General Motaher Hossain Sazu said that the EC was not including the under-18 citizens as voters, rather it was a preparatory work as part of updating the voter list.

The commission has been saying that the minors will not be registered as voters, but once they turn 18 they will automatically be included in the electoral roll. The data of the minors will be collected in advance to process their personal data to prepare national identity (NID) cards. l

Man chased by RAB falls to his death n Kamrul Hasan

A man fell to death from a three-storey building while being chased by RAB officers in the Shantinagar area of the capital yesterday.

The dead man, Kayes Mohammad Babar, 28, was the son of Mazibur Rahman of Titas, Comilla.

The elite force had come to the site to arrest Babu, allegedly a drug dealer in the Shantinagar Bazaar area.

Although he was not a suspect in the RAB raid, Babar became nervous when the elite force arrived, and fled.

When RAB officers followed him, Babar climbed to the roof of the market and fell.

He was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, RAB 3 Commanding Officer Khandokar Golam Sarwar said.

The injured man was then taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries 6am yesterday, Mozammel Haque, the in-charge at the DMCH police camp, said.

Doctors said he had sustained head injuries that caused external and internal bleeding. l

SELIM AL-DEEN’S BIRTH ANNIVERSARY

JU holds three-day festival n JU Correspondent

Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh forms a human chain in front of the Jatiya Press Club yesterday demanding exemplary punishment for Awami League MP Abdur Rahman Badi for beating up an engineer in Ukhia of Cox’s Bazar SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Contempt case brought against TV channel n Tribune Report

The Supreme Court has declared that constructive criticism can be made after a court delivers a judgement but many people do not understand what positive criticism is.

All people should be respectful of the rule of law, it said, adding that the court should not be scandalised in any manner. There is freedom of speech in the USA and in European countries, but people do not criticise any pending cases there, the court also said.

The four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha made these statements yesterday during proceedings over an August 10

report and a television talk show based on a conversation between two judges.

The court received the videotape from the TV channel on the report and talk show which was submitted by the TV channel authorities on Sunday as per the SC’s order of August 11.

The court said that an order will be passed after the court examines them.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told the court that comments were made about the judiciary in the talk show which is a contemptuous act.

Ekattor had aired the report and the talk show on the conversation between two SC judges with the pending proceedings of a contempt of court rule against Janakantha Editor

and Publisher Atiqullah Khan Masud and Executive Editor Swadesh Roy. The SC on August 13 sentenced Masud and Swadesh Roy to confinement in the courtroom for over three hours on finding an article, relating to war crimes convict on Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, as contempt of court.

The journalists were also fined Tk10,000 each which they must donate to two charitable organisations within a week.

“None can scandalise the court and its judges, and the state would be damaged if the judiciary is harmed,” the Attorney General told reporters about the court’s observation. l

A three-day festival marking the 66th birth anniversary of Natyacharya Selim Al-Deen started at Jahangirnagar University (JU) yesterday.

A documentary on the veteran playwright and theatre artist was screened on the first day of the festival. Two of Al-Deen’s plays will be staged during the festival.

Selim Al-Deen, the founder chairperson of the Department of Drama and Dramatics at JU, died at a hospital in Dhaka on January 11, 2008 due to cardiac attack.

Hundreds of teachers and students, under the banner of “Jatiya Natyashala,” brought out a colourful procession from the department.

JU Vice-Chancellor Prof Farzana Islam, ProVC Prof Abul Hossain, Al-Deen’s wife Begumjadi Meherunnesa Selim attended the rally. They placed floral wreaths at Natyacharya’s grave.

Prof Farzana Islam said: “Selim Al Deen made extensive contributions to the field of Bengali drama that the nation will forever cherish. He launched a social movement across the country though writing plays.”

Begumjadi Meherunnesa Selim said: “Selim had become prominent with his writings. I am trying to publish his unpublished writings and I vow to work rest of my life to do so.”

A documentary “Adimatar Borputra O Natyacharya Selim Al Deen” was screened at Zahir Raihan Auditorium in JU. Selim Al Deen’s play titled “Usha-Utshab,” directed by Prof Afsar Ahmed was staged around 7pm.

Selim Al Deen’s play “Swarnoboal” will be staged today at 7pm at Zahir Raihan Auditorium. The closing ceremony of the festival will be held at Shilpakala Academy in the capital.

JU Teacher-Student Centre (TSC), Dhaka Theatre, Bangladesh Gram Theatre, Desh Bangla Natyadal, Swapnadal, Bunon Theatre, Taluknagar Theatre, Selim Al Deen Foundation and, leaders and activists of different cultural organisations and theatre groups put floral wreaths on Al-Deen’s grave. l

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

Just who is entitled to exclave citizenship privileges? n Ariful Islam, Kurigram In the wake of the land swap between Bangladesh and India that followed the implementation of the Land Boundary Agreement, some people are finding it difficult fitting in.

One man, Mofiz Uddin, has petitioned to have himself, his children and his exclave resident spouse, put on the list of those seeking Indian nationality.

Mofiz’s story is important because his petition is based on the fact that his spouse is a resident of a former exclave, though he himself is not, and that her family subsequently should be able to exercise the option of becoming Indian citizens.

He is the only Bangladesh-born person affected by the exclave swap to have petitioned on behalf of his family in neighbouring India’s Cooch Bihar. He claims his family failed to enlist themselves for Indian citizenship due to threats made by locals.

Some say he is attempting to use the international agreement as a back door into India.

Mofiz’s situation highlights the complexities of citizenship and residency rights.

To determine the authenticity of his petition, an India-Bangladesh joint team yesterday held a hearing in Dasiar Chhara in Kurigram district’s Phulbari upazila.

While a two-member Indian delegation came to Bangladesh through the Burimari Land Port in the morning, District Magistrate Rabindra Nath Bose of Mekhaliganj, Cooch Behar, went to Dasiar Chhara to verify Mofiz’s claims.

Phulbari Upazila Nirbahi Officer Nasir Uddin Mahmood accompanied him at the hearing.

Mofiz, his wife and three of their children

SC seeks concise statement in Mir Quasem case n Tribune Report The Supreme Court yesterday asked the attorney general to submit a concise statement in convicted war criminal Mir Quasem Ali’s appeals case within two weeks.

A four-member bench of Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha passed the order after Attorney General Mahbubey Alam sought time.

The defense lawyers have already submitted their concise statement to the apex court.

The statement will contain the points on which the counsels will place their arguments.

The International Crimes Tribunal 2 sentenced Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem to death on November 2 last year after finding him guilty on 10 of 14 war crime charges.

The convict filed the appeal on November 30 pleading him not guilty.

Top Jamaat financier Mir Quasem was a commander of notorious al-Badr force in Chittagong during the 1971 Liberation War, and perpetrated genocide, murders and torture on the Hindus and freedom fighters in the port city. l

Mofiz’s story

Mekhaliganj District Magistrate Rabindra Nath Bose from Cooch Behar and Upazila Nirbahi Officer Nasir Uddin Mahmood visit Dasiar Chhara to hear claims that an exclave resident’s family was barred from opting for Indian nationality DHAKA TRIBUNE were not at the hearing, since they reside in India. Only Mofiz’s son, Moksedul, was in the village for he hearing.

The joint team officers interviewed Idris Ali, brother of Mogor Ali – Mofiz’s brotherin-law with whom Moksedul is residing – because Mogor is physically disabled.

They also interviewed Moksedul.

“His whole family lives in India. We found one son, 11-year-old Moksedul, who told us his family prefers Indian citizenship. We will

take further steps according to the report filed by the inquiry officer,” he said.

Kurigram Deputy Commissioner Nurul Amin on Monday told the Dhaka Tribune that the name of the six members of Mofiz’s family were not in the 2011 head count list.

“We do not know why they complained to the Cooch Behar administration,” he added.

The Dhaka Tribune has learnt that Mofiz was in fact included in the original 2011 survey. His head count number was 1,183.

IFPRI: Bangladesh yet to ensure nutrition for all n Abu Bakar Siddique Although Bangladesh has achieved food security, it is yet to ensure nutrition for all, said International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Director General Shenggen Fan. Still 36% of children aged under five are stunted, he said while addressing a press conference organised to mark IFPRI’s 40th founding anniversary at a hotel in the capital yesterday.

“From 1990 to 2014, the percentage of people suffering from hunger in the country had come down to half. I am optimistic that Bangladesh government can bring the number of people suffering from lack of nutrition to zero by 2025,” said Shenggen.

The conference highlighted that when planning development oriented initiatives, any government must pay attention to the findings and suggestions made by different research organisations This can bring out the best output, said Akhter Ahmed, IFPRI representative in Bangladesh.

“The country has already achieved food security by analysing all gaps and opportunities underscored in different study findings,” he said.

Therefore, the remaining issues related to food security and nutrition must be handled with more attention and research.

According to the latest progress report, Bangladesh is on track to achieve five out of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

It has made remarkable improvement in poverty reduction, ensuring gender parity in enrollment in primary and secondary schools, and curbing child and maternal mortality rate.

However, progress still remains slow in areas like hunger reduction, elevating nutrition rate, sanitation, environmental sustainability, and certain aspects of gender parity.

With an aim to eradicate huger by 2015, IFPRI and partners, including Bangladesh, are going to launch a new initiative titled “Compact 2015” in November this year. l

Mofiz hails from a village in Kashiani union parishad under Phulbari upazila in Kurigram.

His village is not a former exclave.

Fifteen years ago, he married Manju Begum, 35, a resident of Dasiar Chhara, a former Indian exclave within Bangladesh’s Kurigram district. Manju lived in ward 3 of Dasiar Chhara. It was Mofiz’s second marriage.

Mofiz later took a job at a brick field in Delhi and took his wife there. The couple had four children there: Monira Begum,13, Mohammad Moksedul Haque, 11, Mojidul Islam, 8, and Monisha Khatun, 6.

Mofiz regularly visited Bangladesh for a few days each year and then returned to India.

Mofiz was included in the 2011 joint survey which serves as the basis to determine who may seek repatriation because of residency in the exclaves.

His inclusion is disputed by a Bangladeshi local administration official, but harassment by locals is part of Mofiz’s petition. He filed a complaint in the Indian district of Cooch Behar, instead of in Bangladesh.

Three years ago, he brought his son Moksedul to Bangladesh and left him at his brother-in-law Mogor Ali’s house.

“My family lives in India, but I am here with my aunt Monowara Begum’s family. I want to live where my father wants us to live,” Moksedul, a third grade student at the local Talukder School, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Mofiz visited Bangladesh on July 14, two days before the joint survey ended.

“He came to include his name on the list to choose Indian citizenship, but he failed,” said Idris Ali, another of Mofiz’s brothers-in-law. l

Memorial speech on Bangabandhu held at UGC n Tribune Report A memorial speech on the life and works of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was held yesterday at the UGC auditorium in the capital.

Terming Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as an uncompromising leader, Emeritus Professor Dr. Rafiqul Islam said, “Bangabandhu was the leader of the nation and he dedicated his life for the liberation of the country.

He also called all for taking lessons from the life and works of Bangabandhu.

Emeritus Professor Dr. Rafiqul Islam was the memorial speaker on the occasion. UGC Chairman Professor Abdul Mannan attended the programme as the chief guest. UGC Secretary Dr. Md. Khaled, who is also the president of UGC Officers’ Association, chaired the event.

UGC Officers’ Association and UGC Karmachari Union jointly organized the memorial speech to mark the 40th National Mourning Day. l

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6 NEWS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

Four cops hurt in criminal attack, accused snatched n Our Correspondent, Chandpur

A gang of drug peddlers snatched their aide by attacking law enforcers and leaving four police personnel injured at Haimchar in chandpur district early yesterday.

Sources said police searched the bodies of Amir Hossain and Ripon in the area and recovered six yaba tablets from them.

In interrogation, they confessed they had got the contraband from drug trader Kana Jasim, son of Anwar Hossain.

Later, the law enforcers raided the house of Jasim in Tekkandi area and arrested him.

At least 25 cohorts of Jasim attacked the members of law of enforcers with local weapons and snatched him from the police custody while they were heading to police station.

Four police personnel were injured at the attack seriously. They are SI Younus, ASI Abul Kalam, Anwar and constable Md Halim.

Waliullah, officer-in-charge of Haimchar police station confirmed the incident. l

Adivasi Kendrayio Committee forms a human chain at Naohata in Naogoan yesterday demanding punishment to the killers of indigenous leader Alfred Soren.

Soren was murdered on August 18, 2000 AZAHAR UDDIN

Pirojpur guava growers see dingy future n Tribune Report

Guava farmers in Pirojpur are apprehending that a dark future is waiting for them as they are not getting fair price of the seasonal fruit for lack of communication facilities.

The growers have also been being deprived of fair price of the fruit for the last several years for various reasons, including shortage of cold and middlemen’s manipulation.

Succeeding generations of farmers have so far cultivated guava, locally called `Apple of poor’ for its unique taste, for their livelihood.

The growers of the area send their produce to various places across the country, including Dhaka, but for lack of a developed communication system, the item cannot be supplied to full extent.

Despite good harvest of guava in the current season, farmers could not be happy, as apprehending heavy losses they were forced to sell the item at throughway prices in the local markets for lack of preservation facilities.

During off-peak season, guava is sold at Tk560-700 per maund at the local markets but in the peak season it is sold at only Tk30-40 per maund.

In the current season, the demand of guava is high across the country but due to poor management and lack of preservation facilities along with poor communication system supply and marketing of the fruit face a serious setback.

Besides, representatives of the food processing companies show lack of interest to come to buy the fruit using the undeveloped roads here; consequently the traders have to sell the item at throwaway prices.

Sources said guava is grown by 1,345 families in their orchards at 50 villages in the district.

Farmers at Songgitkathi, Khairkathi, Vodrananda, Bastuvita, Adabari, Dholahar, Zindakathi, Aatghar, Kuriwana, Edolkathi, Mandra, Bengoli, Adamkathi, Andarkul villages in Swarupkati of the district produce more than 10-12 tonnes of guava each year

ATTACK ON STUDENTS

Eight accused sent to jail n Our Corresponden, Chandpur A court in the district yesterday sent eight BCL men to jail who were accused of a case in connection with attack on students of of Bhuyapara High School under Kachua upazila in Chandpur district on August 16.

Sub-inspector Nasiruddin of Kachua police station, also the investigation officer of the case, said the accused were appeared before the court at noon praying seven days remand.

The court also sent them to jail.

Sources said some Jubo League activists went to the school on August 15 and demanded extortion to its headmaster Dulal Chandra Sarker on the occasion of National Mourning Day.

They harassed him physically as he rejected their proposal. Fazlur Rahman, an assistant teacher of the school went to the spot and rescued the headmaster. He also protested the Jubo League men.

Later, a number of Jubo League activists attacked the house of Fazlur Rahaman at night and tortured him. In the morning, the students organized a protest rally in the school premises while Jubo League activists led by Faruk, Liton and Munir attacked them with local made firearms, leaving 40 injured.

Of the injured, Sujan, Sahaparan, Rakib, Makbul, Milon, Rafi,Popy, Misti, Tania, Sayema and Tanjina Meem were admitted to Upazila Health Complex in critical condition. l

from which they earn at least Tk 8-9 crore.

Swarupkathi upazila Agriculture Office sources said 26 villages in the upazila have retained their name for producing the fruit for over 100 years.

Around 645 acres of land were brought under guava cultivation at the villages this year.

Guava orchards at the villages have come under attack of virus diseases, for which young guavas wither away from the plants.

Eight-nine tonnes of guava are produced per hectare of land in the upazila every year but for lack of sufficient number of cold storages, preservation of the fruit is being seriously hampered.

As a result, the growers are bound to sell their produce at throughway prices, suffering heavy losses, much to their disappointment.

Mostafa Kamal, a guava grower of Vhimruli village, who owns some large guava orchards, said in August-September, season of guava production, he employs at least three labourers in his orchards,

which costs Tk1500 but now he has to sell guava at Tk35-40 per maund to the middleman, which leads him to utter frustration.

Guava growers of the area now think it an urgent need to have some cold storages and agro-based industry in the area, which could boost guava cultivation, he said.

Shekhar Kumar Sikdar, chairman of Kuriwana Union Parishad, said lack of cold storages and market manipulation by the middlemen hinder preservation and sale of guava, which has created frustration among the cultivators at 50 villages.

Agriculturalist Jagotpriyo Das said production of guava has noticeably increased due to research in the last few years and some aid from the government could help the growers earn huge profit from guava cultivation.

Upazila Agricultural Officer of Swarupkathi Md Rifat Sikdar said the government has taken steps to build two guava purchasing centes in the area, construction work of which will start in 2016. l

23 BNP men charge-sheeted over Magura bomb attack n Our Correspondent, Magura Police submitted a charge sheet against 23 BNP and Chhatra Dal men yesterday in connection with a case of petrol bomb attack in Magura on March 21.

Imaul Hoque, DB police inspector and investigation officer of the case, said the charge sheet was submitted accusing 23 persons including Chhatra Dal central committee president Rajib Hasan , its general secretary Ekramul Hoque , Magura district unit BNP general secretary Ali Ahmed Biswas and vice president Monoar Hossen Khan.

During the blockade on March 21, miscreants hurled petrol bomb at a sand laden truck in Moghi area on the Magura –Jessore Road injuring nine persons .

Later, they were admitted to Magura Sadar Hospital in critical condition from where they were sent to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital. Five persons succumbed their injuries in the hospital.

On March 22, SI Abdush Salam filed a case with Magura police station accusing 22 persons.

After investigation, the police submitted charge sheet accusing the 23 persons. l

DT

NEWS 7

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

2 crore suffer from kidney ailments n BSS

Heath experts at a seminar yesterday said nearly two crore people have been suffering from kidney related ailments across the country.

The experts suggested a set of preventive measures, including keeping under control high blood pressure, diabetes and body weight, for avoiding fatal consequences of the disease.

The seminar was organised by Kidney Foundation at its auditorium at Mirpur.

Vice-chancellor to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Prof Kamrul Hassan was the chief guest at the programme while International Chamber and Commerce of Bangladesh (ICCB) President Mahbubur Rahman, Kidney Foundation General Secretary Professor M Muhibur Rahman and Vice President Prof MA Wahab were the special guests.

Kidney Foundation Founder President Professor Dr Harun-ur Rashid held lifestyle and lack of awareness responsible for kidney diseases and said the number of kidney patients has increased alarmingly in the country.

“In most of cases kidney diseases are not diagnosed at an early stage in our country though prevention and early detection can reduce morbidity and mortality,” he said. l

Kibria murder case hearing deferred seventh time n Our Correspondent, Sylhet

The charge framing hearing in former Awami League minister Shah AMS Kibria murder case was not held yesterday, for the seven consecutive date since June 23, as all the accused were not produced before the court.

Speedy Trial Tribunal Judge Mokbul Ahsan deferred the date as the law enforcers had failed to produce suspended Sylhet mayor Ariful Huq. The judge set August 25 for further hearing and ordered the jail authorities to ensure appearance of Arif on that day.

BNP leader Arif was not produced following a medical report on his health condition, public prosecutor Kishore Kumar Kar said.

However, 13 out of 32 accused including former home state minister Lutfozzaman

Babar and banned militant group Huji leader Mufti Hannan were brought to the court.

Ten accused are on the run while eight others secured bail.

The indictment hearing was earlier deferred six times due to non-appearance of all the accused.

Kibria and four others were killed in a grenade attack on January 27, 2005 after holding a rally in Habiganj sadar. He died on the way to Dhaka. Two cases – one for the killings and the other under the Explosives Act – were filed over the incident.

The case was transferred to the Speedy Trial Tribunal in early June for quick disposal. As per the law, the case would be disposed of within 135 working days. But the judge can take more time due to rational reasons. l

BNP leader MK Anwar sent to jail n Our Correspondent, Comilla

A court in the district yesterday sent BNP standing committee member MK Anwar to jail rejecting his bail petition in a case filed in connection with petrol bomb attack on a bus in Chouddogram upazila under the district on February 3.

Sources said Anwar appeared before the session court-5 and pleaded for his bail.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Shahidullah Kaiser passed the order after hearing, said Anwar’s lawyer Md Harunur Rashid.

On February 3, eight people were killed in a petrol bomb attack on a bus at Chouddogram upazila.

Later, Sub-inspector Nuruzzaman Hawladar of Chouddogram police station filed two cases against 56 persons in this connection under the Explosives Substance Act. MK Anwar along with its chairperson Khaleda Zia, standing committee members Barrister Rafiqul Islam Mian and joint secretary general Rizvi Ahmed, were indicted in one of the two cases for instigating the petrol bomb attack. l

WEATHER THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19 DHAKA TODAY

TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:29PM

SUN RISES 5:35AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

32

26

Chittagong

30

26

Rajshahi

32

26

Rangpur

31

25

Khulna

33

26

Barisal

32

26

Sylhet

26

24

Cox’s Bazar

28

26

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

34.4ºC

24.2ºC

Sayedpur

Rangamati Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:14am 5:34am 12:02am 4:37pm 6:29pm 7:59pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

A pilgrim reads the rules to follow while performing Hajj prior to departing from Ashkona hajj camp in Dhaka yesterday

Chittagong’s first Hajj flight starts with 417 pilgrims n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong The first Hajj flight carrying 417 Bangladeshi pilgrims left Shah Amanat International Airport of Chittagong city for Saudi Arabia on Monday night.

The flight, BG-1015, of Biman Bangladesh Airlines departed from the airport at 9:25pm, said airport sources.

Chittagong City Corporation Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin, also the general secretary of the city unit of Awami League, and AL’s lawmaker MA Latif saw the pilgrims off at the airport.

They exchanged views with the pilgrims before the flight’s take off while the CCC Mayor said all the authorities concerned were working intensively to send the pilgrims to

Saudi Arabia without any hassle. The next flight is scheduled at 9:35am on August 20, said the airport sources.

This year a total of 12,000 persons applied for Hajj from Chittagong, however, 1,500 applicants’ Hajj performing has become uncertain due to visa related complexities, said Hajj Jattri Kalyan Sanstha sources.

Airport sources said this year about 10,000 people would go to Saudi Arabia for performing Hajj from Chittagong.

To carry the pilgrims, 16 special flights will take off from Chittagong to Saudi Arabia while the pilgrims can go to Jeddah by regular flights.

In Chittagong, a total of 76 Hajj agencies out of 96 are going to Saudi Arabia with Hajj pilgrims this year. l

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Two drugstores sealed off n Tribune Report

A mobile court of Directorate of Drug Administration in a drive yesterday morning sealed off two medicine stores and fined three others with Tk27,000 for selling unapproved drugs.

Assistant Commissioner also Executive Magistrate of District Administration Ruhul Amin led the mobile court in Agrabad, Chowmohuny area.

Ruhul Amin said the mobile court fined three drug shops with Tk27,000 and sealed off two others for selling medicine without having license and other documents.

The mobile court fined New Janata Pharmacy with Tk 10,000, Saif Pharmacy with Tk15,000, M and N Pharmacy with Tk2,000 for selling unapproved medicine without document while it sealed Shuvo Homeo Hall and Saif Pharmacy off. l

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8 WORLD

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

Hunt on for Thai blast CCTV suspect Another small explosion at a Bangkok river pier, no causalities

n Reuters, Bangkok Thai authorities said on Tuesday they were looking for a suspect seen on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage near a famous shrine where a bomb blast killed 22 people, nearly half of them foreigners.

The government said the attack during the Monday evening rush hour in the capital’s bustling commercial hub was aimed at destroying the economy. No one has claimed responsibility.

Jangling nerves in the city on Tuesday, a small explosive was thrown from a bridge towards a river pier, sending a plume of water into the air, but no one was injured.

The man suspected of the bombing at the Erawan shrine was seen in grainy CCTV footage entering the compound with a backpack on, sitting down against a railing and then slipping out of the bag’s straps.

Wearing a yellow shirt and with shaggy,

dark hair, the young man then stands up and walks out holding a blue plastic bag and what appears to be a mobile phone. The backpack was left by the fence as tourists milled about.

National police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang said the suspect could be Thai or foreign.

“That man was carrying a backpack and walked past the scene at the time of the incident. But we need to look at the before and after CCTV footage to see if there is a link,” Somyot told a news conference.

Police earlier said they had not ruled out any group, including elements opposed to the military government, for the bombing at the shrine, although officials said the attack did not match the tactics of Muslim insurgents in the south.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha also referred to the man as a suspect without giving details. He said there were “still anti-government groups out there,” although he did not elaborate.

Police were at the blood-splattered site on

Tuesday, some wearing white gloves and carrying plastic bags, searching for clues to an attack that could dent tourism and investor confidence.

Police said the death toll was 22, with 123 people wounded.

“Police are not ruling out anything including (Thai) politics and the conflict of ethnic Uighurs who, before this, Thailand sent back to China,” Somyot said. Thailand forcibly returned 109 Uighurs to China last month.

The Erawan shrine, on a busy corner near top hotels, shopping centres, offices and a hospital, is a major attraction, especially for visitors from East Asia, including China. China urged Thailand to thoroughly investigate the blast and punish the perpetrators.

Four Chinese, a British resident of Hong Kong, 2 Malaysians, a Singaporean, an Indonesian and a Filipino were also killed.Scores of people were wounded, including many Asian tourists. l

Amnesty to UN: Probe war crimes into Yemeni conflict n AFP, Dubai

Rights watchdog Amnesty International called Tuesday for a UN-commissioned investigation into alleged war crimes committed during the Yemeni conflict that has killed more than 4,300 people since March.

In a report, Amnesty criticises “unlawful coalition airstrikes in densely populated residential neighbourhoods” as well as attacks in civilian areas by rebels and pro-government forces.

“All the parties to this conflict have displayed a ruthless and wanton disregard for the safety of civilians,” said Donatella Rovera, senior crisis response adviser at Amnesty.

The report speaks of a “gruesome and bloody trail of death and destruction in (third city) Taez and Aden from unlawful attacks, which may amount to war crimes, by all parties.”

Amnesty called on the UN Human Rights Council to form an international commission of inquiry to investigate “alleged war crimes” committed during the conflict. l

Shakeup in Myanmar as Aung San Suu Kyi allies with ousted ruling party chief n Reuters, Naypyidaw

No survivors in Indonesian plane crash, black box found n AFP, Jayapura, Indonesia A plane that crashed in eastern Indonesia was Tuesday found “completely destroyed” with the bodies of all 54 passengers and crew strewn amid the wreckage in a fire-blackened jungle clearing, officials said.

Rescuers finally reached the debris of the Trigana Air plane, which went down Sunday in Papua province during a short flight in bad weather, after abandoning search efforts a day earlier due to mountainous terrain, thick

fog and rain.

The black box flight data recorders, which could provide clues about the cause of the crash, were retrieved. Money – some of it burnt – was also found among the wreckage of the plane, which had been transporting IDR6.5bn ($470,000) in cash.

It is just the latest air accident in Indonesia, which has a poor aviation safety record and has suffered major disasters in recent months, including the crash of an AirAsia plane in December with the loss of 162 lives. l

Myanmar’s main opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Tuesday her opposition would ally with powerful ousted ruling party leader Shwe Mann, as the country’s political forces re-align in the biggest shake-up since the end of military rule.

President Thein Sein purged rival Shwe Mann and his allies from the Ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in dramatic fashion last week, just months before a landmark election.

“It is now clear who is the enemy and who is the ally,” Suu Kyi told reporters at the country’s parliament, when asked if Shwe Mann’s sacking had cost her an ally. “The National League for Democracy will work with the ally.”

She did not detail how they would work together. As chairman of the USDP, Shwe Mann sought to build ties with Suu Kyi, which sparked suspicion among some members of the ruling party and contributed to his sacking. The USDP is made up of many former military officers.

Shwe Mann had antagonised the military by backing Suu Kyi’s campaign to reform the constitution to limit the sway of the generals over Myanmar’s politics.

She is banned from the presidency under a constitution drafted by the military before it handed over power in 2011. The armed forces hold a veto over any charter changes.

On Tuesday, Shwe Mann denied he had divided the country in a speech to the joint chambers of parliament.

“I am not destroying party unity and stability,” he said.

Security forces surrounded the USDP compound late on Wednesday, locking down the building while the president’s allies met party

leaders to remove Shwe Mann’s faction from the leadership committee.

“As for the happenings of the middle of the night, this is not what you expect from a working democracy,” Suu Kyi said.

In response, Information Minister Ye Htut told reporters at a news conference that police had a duty to respond to a request for protection made during the evening by the USDP. Suu Kyi’s said the upheaval in the USDP was likely to benefit her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which would win more votes in the election.

Her party was already expected to win the most seats in the November ballot, seen as a crucial test of the country’s democratic reforms.

‘It is now clear who is the enemy and who is the ally,’ Suu Kyi told reporters at the country’s parliament

Concerns over the durability of those reforms were heightened last week by a media crackdown in the wake of Shwe Mann’s sacking.

The scrapping of censorship in 2012 was one of boldest reforms of Thein Sein’s government.

Ye Htut said on Tuesday that a radio station, Cherry FM, with links to Shwe Mann had been taken off the air until after the election after failing to convince the government it would be impartial. l

DT

WORLD 9

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

India embarks on nationwide drive to protect its millions of forest inhabitants Reuters Foundation, n Thomson Bhubaneshwar

India is embarking on a national campaign to help millions of indigenous people protect their forest land and resources using a sevenyear-old landmark law that has gone largely ignored, the country’s tribal affairs minister said on Monday.

The Forest Rights Act of 2008 was hailed by campaigners as a watershed law that would improve the lives of impoverished tribes by recognising their right to inhabit and live off the forests where their forefathers settled centuries before.

But India’s Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram admitted the law remains poorly implemented, leaving some forest dwellers open to abuse, exploitation and eviction, with Prime

Minister Narendra Modi calling for action to protect their livelihoods.

“Although a large number of forest dwellers know about the Forest Rights Act, we still need to create awareness so that everybody knows about it and benefits from it,” Oram said during an interview.

Oram said recent progress in technology will make it easier to identify the land claimed by forest dwellers, many of whom live on the margins of society and are dependent on the land for their food security. “...With the adoption of new technology such as Google maps to demarcate areas, settling claims could be much faster,” he said.

While the law was passed by the central government, many of the country’s 36 states and territories, which are responsible for its implementation and enforcement, had failed

The Boko Haram mystery: Just who is leading Nigeria’s jihadists? n AFP, Lagos

Claims that Nigeria’s Boko Haram has been “decapitated” have been spectacularly rebuffed by the jihadists’ leader, yet his first broadcast in months may not see off an impending mutiny, say analysts.

Abubakar Shekau released an eight-minute audio recording on Sunday – his first since March – denying claims by Chadian leader Idriss Deby that he had been replaced, and dismissing the president as a “hypocrite” and a “tyrant.”

The tirade was a reaction to Deby telling reporters in N’Djamena last week that Boko Haram was no longer led by the fearsome Shekau and that his successor, whom he named as “Mahamat Daoud,” was open to talks with the government.

Security analysts accept the Shekau recording as genuine and many experienced observers are taking Deby’s claims with scepticism, pointing out that similar reports have proven untrue in the past.

But Ryan Cummings, chief security analyst at South African consultancy Red 24 and an expert on the Nigerian insurgency, described the Chadian head-of-state’s claims as “not without merit.”

Cummings believes Boko Haram may be an umbrella movement comprising many disparate factions rather than a monolithic organisation and says internal rivalries “would be no means be a new development for the sect.”

He points to the formation of Ansaru, a splinter group formed in 2012 on the back of ideological differences and a leadership struggle between Shekau and a high-ranking Boko Haram commander known as Khalid al-Barnawi.

“So this does highlight that a precedent

for leadership squabbles and factionalism does exist within the Boko Haram entity,” Cummings said.

‘Top dog’

Boko Haram has been waging a six-year uprising against the Nigerian state, claiming more than 15,000 lives, but the jihadists’ recent extension of their northeastern insurgency across borders has brought Chad and its neighbours into the fray.

In March, Shekau pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, renaming his organisation “Islamic State West Africa Province,” or “ISWAP.” Deby’s speech on the group’s decapitation made headlines around the world, but shed little light on Shekau’s putative replacement, an apparently new player in global jihad who was virtually unknown before last week.

Nigerian security analyst Fulan Nasrullah, one of the country’s most respected Boko Haram watchers, argues in a blog post for the London-based Royal African Society that the “Mahamat Daoud” to whom Deby referred is actually Muhammad Daud, a Shuwa Arab from Borno State, the cradle of the insurgency.

Daud, aged around 38, is an ex-serviceman and protege of slain Boko Haram founder Muhammad Yusuf, who disagrees with the 2009 uprising and is “one of the few top dogs against the pledge of allegiance made to Islamic State,” Nasrullah says.

The militant, who has a Chadian mother, is a powerful commander in charge of counter-intelligence and internal security who oversaw the training of suicide bombers and the planning of attacks in major cities, according to the analyst. l

to do so, Oram said.

“Our country is very big, knowledge of people living in interior forested areas is limited and the state bureaucracy, which is responsible for raising awareness, is very slow.

These are the main problems why it is not implemented,” he said.

Directives have been sent to the states to enforce the law and the central government is organising workshops and seminars with local officials and human rights groups to promote awareness of the Forest Rights Act, he said.

According to a July study by the Washington-based Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), the Forest Rights Act has the potential to give an estimated 150m people rights over at least 40m hectares (100m acres) of forested land.

If properly implemented, the study said, the law would shift forest governance from “an undemocratic, colonial system to a decentralised, democratic one” where local village councils are the main decision-makers over the forest land and produce.

Inhabiting remote areas, the way of life of many tribes and other forest dwellers has barely changed over the centuries, with communities eking out a living from farming, cattle rearing and collecting fruit and leaves.

Few have benefitted from the India’s economic boom over the last two decades, partly due to a Maoist insurgency in the country’s central belt and partly due to general neglect by authorities. As a result, social indicators such as child malnutrition and literacy are among the worst in the country. l

Rajapaksa’s comeback bid fails, Sri Lankans back reforms n Reuters, Colombo Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s attempt to stage a comeback in Sri Lanka’s general election has ended in defeat as results on Tuesday showed the alliance that toppled him making decisive gains.

The ruling United National Party (UNP) was likely to fall just short of an outright majority but Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe should still command enough support to form a stable government.

“I invite all of you to join hands,” Wickremesinghe, 66, said in a statement. “Let us together build a civilised society, build a consensual government and create a new country.”

The outcome is a triumph for President Maithripala Sirisena, who beat his former ally Rajapaksa in a presidential vote in January and called early parliamentary polls to secure a stronger mandate for reforms.

Defeat for Rajapaksa will keep Sri Lanka on a non-aligned foreign policy course and loosen its ties with China, which during his rule pumped billions of dollars into turning the Indian Ocean island into a maritime outpost.

Wickremesinghe’s UNP won 93 of the 196 seats up for grabs in multi-member constituencies. The alliance led by Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) took 83 seats after suffering losses.

Final representation in the 225-seat chamber will be decided when 29 national seats are allocated by proportional representation.

UNP sources said the party expected to win up to 107 seats overall - just shy of a 113seat majority. It won 45.7% of the popular vote, ahead of 42.4% for Rajapaksa.

The power struggle between the past and present presidents overshadowed the election in a country with a history of political feuding that has often spilled over into violence and even the assassination of its leaders. l

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10 World

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

Privileges threatened, days may be numbered for Greece’s ‘everyman’ farmers n Reuters, Naxos, Greece

A jovial potato farmer whose family has tilled the fertile land on the island of Naxos for over 200 years, Stelios Vathrokilis is unfazed by all that he believes a farmer must inevitably face: God, inclement weather and natural disasters.

But mention tax hikes on farmers demanded by Greece’s creditors and Vathrokilis’ face darkens with anger.

“With the new taxes we will turn the clock back to 1970 when my mother cooked on a wood stove,” the portly 50-yearold says. “Life will be like what it was when Nazis occupied the country, except this time it will be forever.”

For Vathrokilis’ compatriots, the hardships of seven years of austerity are nothing new. One in four workers is unemployed and virtually every industry has made sacrifices in jobs and in pay. Yet some sectors, notably agriculture, have been relatively untouched and even, critics say, coddled. No longer.

The change is an illustration of the hardened mood among Greece’s creditors in Brussels, Berlin and at the IMF, and a sign of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ weakened hand in the latest round of bailout negotiations.

Greece’s new bailout programme, the third, looks set to scrap the status of Greece’s farmers as a protected group long the beneficiaries of subsidies and tax breaks.

Farmers have been shielded by successive governments in a nod to supporting agriculture and keeping an important voter base on side. As a consequence, farmers largely escaped the worst of Greece’s financial ruin. As the crisis bit, many Greeks who lost big-city jobs even returned to villages for the relative safety of farming.

But that is set to change at a stroke. Greece’s creditors are demanding measures to end special treatment for farmers.

These would involve doubling their income tax rate to 26%, making them pay tax upfront, full instead of partial taxation of EU farm funds and scrapping benefits such as a 40% discount on power and diesel subsidies, Greek officials say. Farmers are also expected to triple contributions to their pension fund.

The changes would mark the end of an era for Greek farming, a sector dominated by small-scale farmers who thrived in recent decades thanks to an influx of EU funds and benefits aimed at making up for a lack of economies of scale and ensuring the country preserved its agricultural sector.

The lenders say farming should now simply be brought in line with other professions. In a country where inheriting a tiny olive grove or a small patch of land in the countryside is common, the changes would also end the incentive to declare oneself a farmer in order to enjoy preferential tax treatment.

Only about 350,000 of the 850,000 Greeks involved in farming are full-time farmers, said an agriculture ministry official, adding that a third of agricultural output is sold or traded illegally without receipts.

Farming has also been beset with legal loopholes: until recently, the size of land held rather than output determined eligibility for farmers’ benefits, allowing some Greeks cultivating small plots for their own use to enjoy the perks.

And even the current 13% income tax rate was only introduced in 2013 under pressure from EU/IMF creditors after they found farmers were being taxed not on income but on a method based on acreage and type of crop that resulted in minimal taxes for most, the official said.

Before that tax rate was set, farmers paid a total of €350m in tax in 2013 - meaning the state only received about €400 in taxes annually per Greek farmer, said an official at Greece’s financial crimes unit, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Agrarian roots

But in a country that prides itself on an agrarian heritage and where most urban Greeks have family or roots in villages, the latest proposals have stirred deep anger and a backlash from opposition and government lawmakers.

“Greece is seen as an agrarian society - the farmer is more associated with the common man than the industrial labourer,” said Joann Ryding, vice president of the American Farm School in Thessaloniki, which teaches farmers to run their

farms as a business. “The farmer represents the struggling common man.”

So contentious is the issue that Prime Minister Tsipras excluded it from two sets of reforms passed last month, leaving it part of a small set of unresolved issues still being discussed with lenders before being voted on.

Last week, Tsipras visited the agriculture ministry to pledge

he would fight for farmers even as his government rushed to conclude talks with creditors before a mid-August deadline.

He said he was pushing to keep the farmers’ income tax rate at 13% and have them pay half rather than all tax upfront.

“We need to support agricultural production which can be a tool to grow and exit the crisis,” Tsipras said, and then, referring to farmers: “Without them, we cannot make it.” l

Greek farmers stage a rally with their tractors in Alexandroupolis, Greece for fairer tax system on February 18 last year

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DT

EDITORIAL 11

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

INSIDE

Would you like some poison with that?

Despite knowing the health risks, we are more likely to consume whatever is presented to us

PAGE 12

Armchair activists everywhere We don’t truly care enough to stand by what we think is worth fighting for, but consciously or otherwise, we try our best to be articulate on social media

PAGE 13

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We need to stop using ICT Act to suppress journalism

T Women among equals The concept of shame has to be taken out when it comes to educating our children. Adults need to learn to behave as well

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

he arrest of Probir Sikdar on Sunday illustrates the way in which draconian provisions of the Information and Communication Technology Act can be used to suppress independent journalism.

Sikdar, editor of Uttoradhikar 71 News, was sent to jail in a case for allegedly “tarnishing the image” of LGRD Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain. A court on Tuesday has allowed police to hold him a further three days for questioning.

The case arises out of a Facebook post made by Sikdar in which he claimed three individuals, including the minister, had threatened his life over some of his investigations.

We have commented before on how the draconian nature of the ICT law enacted first by the BNP in 2006 and amended by the AL government in 2013, can be misused as a tool to clamp down on freedom of expression. The jailing of Sikdar over the disputed contents of a social media posting, is a case in point.

There is no reasonable justification for him to have been jailed in this matter. This is especially so given that the police reportedly did not investigate the alleged threats against Sikdar, before arresting him on a complaint filed by a local AL leader.

Like everyone else, the individuals accused by Sikdar have the right to dispute the facts and veracity of his reports in free media and to bring civil actions for defamation.

It is worrisome that draconian provisions of the ICT law have instead enabled a third party to summarily file a case and have Sikdar arrested and jailed. This means he now faces a potential seven-year prison sentence if found guilty in the defamation case brought under Section 57 of the ICT Act. This loosely defined provision goes far beyond the standard national security and cyber-crime parameters found in analogous ICT laws in other countries. Its existence puts citizens at risk of a prison sentence if found guilty of defamation.

It means any newspaper or other media which publishes reports that can potentially be described as false, runs the risk of facing similar charges and imprisonment. The chilling effect on free debate and free media of such laws is self-evident.

We hope the courts will release Sikdar at the first available opportunity.

The government should support calls to release Sikdar and take steps to amend the ICT Act so that it can no longer be misused by influential persons to suppress legitimate journalistic inquiry and free expression.

Amend draconian provisions of the ICT law to prevent their misuse to suppress free expression

DT

12 OPINION

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

Would you like some poison with that?

The amount of adulteration in our food should be a cause for alarm

Despite knowing the health risks, we are more likely to consume whatever is presented to us

Perhaps clean food should be a basic human right

n Syed Zainul Abedin Eiffel

I

n a recently revealed study, they surveyed the level of heavy metal toxicity in the food in Bangladesh. It was a chart so monumental in size that I was unable to complete reading it. I couldn’t help but flinch at each entry on the table.

We, as Bangladeshis, often called “machhe bhaate Bangali,” eat food, at least twice a day, which is contaminated with cadmium, arsenic, lead, and mercury, all of which are injurious to our health.

We as a nation are swallowing high volumes of this harmful stuff every day, constituting a severe threat to our health.

This particularly affects the middle and upper-middle classes, according to the study.

The annual rate of sickness as a result of this is nothing if not alarming.

It has become not so hard to believe that all we consume from morning till night is laced with some form of “venom” that is slowly corroding us from the inside. These are the secret assassins that might eventually get to us, in a country which is already teem-

ing with invisible threats to our lives.

Bangladeshis -- we love our food. To generalise, due to our preference for food when we see it, despite knowing the health risks, we are more likely to consume whatever is presented to us, and, through these foods, the poisons find themselves in our system.

The reasons for food contamination are numerous: From environmental and industrial pollution to shoddy agricultural practices, and food processing and packaging, all of these contribute to an overall production of food that is unsuitable for human consumption. This, in turn, is causing damage to our kidneys, our nervous systems, intellectual capacities, and also creates cancers, to name a few, culminating, no doubt, in a most painful death.

The rate at which industrial sludge and effluents are being emitted without treatment is another reason for this sorry state of affairs. Industrialisation is, of course, good for economic growth, but at what cost? Our lives? Without a healthy populace, what is the point of a booming economy? It won’t buy back our lives.

SK Roy, a senior scientist from ICDDR,B,

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detailed their effects, and I paraphrase: Use of artificial ripening substances, growth hormones, and chemical dyes also contribute to this phenomenon. Formalin injected into our fish, fruit, meat, and milk cause throat and blood cancer, asthma, and skin diseases.

Poisonous colouring agents like auramines, rhodomine b, malachite green, yellow g, allura red, and Sudan red may very well give off the illusion of bright and juicy fruit, but the reality is one of damaged livers and kidneys, and stomach and bladder cancers.

Other colouring agents such as chrome, tartzine, and erythrosine are used in spices, sauces, juices, lentils, and oils. The results of these: Cancer, of course, in addition to allergies and respiratory problems. Calcium carbide -- another sleeping agent -- causes cancer in the kidneys, livers, skins, prostate, and lungs. Rye flour used in barley, bread, and wheat flour contribute to convulsion and miscarraige.

Hormones used in cauliflowers results in infertility in women. Agino moto, or monosodium glutamate, used generally in Chinese food, causes nervous system disorders and

depression. Urea put in rice also results in the same, with a bonus of respiratory problems.

Sulphuric acid in milk causes damage to the cardiac system.

The greed for profit doesn’t really improve the situation.

About a month ago, in Dinajpur, eight children, aged between two to six, died eating highly contaminated lychees. In the same month in 2012, 14 kids died for the same reason, also in Dinajpur, and Thakurgaon. Since then, the government has not embarked on any investigation on the matter.

So what do we do now? Do we stop eating?

Surprisingly enough, there are 16 laws which are there to fight food adulteration, which result in, one presumes, the sporadic drives to check for contamination, especially during Ramadan. The government should be taking a more hardened stance on the issue, so that necessary steps are taken to prevent incidents such as these in the future. Otherwise, we’ll be having poison for dinner, with a side of actual food. l Syed Zainul Abedin Eiffel is a journalist.

DT

OPINION 13

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

Armchair activists everywhere We are full of strong words, but do we care?

A lot of online activism is meaningless

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n Saquib Rahman

S We don’t truly care enough to stand by what we think is worth fighting for, but consciously or otherwise, we try our best to be articulate on social media

ocial media networks, especially Facebook, have had an unbelievable impact on the youth these days. No stone was left unturned when it came to heated debates online -- be they legalisation on gay marriage, politics, religion, or secularism -- with dedicated Facebook groups being made to tackle such heady subjects, such as the now defunct “Moja Losss?”

During the Shahbagh movement of 2013, I myself was present when Professor Muhammad Zafar Iqbal publicly apologised to the youth, saying how he had always been wrong in thinking that the current generation only knew how to raise their voices online, that they lacked the guts to bring the protests down to the streets. Though Shahbagh proved to be an exception for a short term, I honestly believe that Zafar Iqbal sir’s original thought still stands somewhat correct.

Leaving protesting outside, even in light of something as appalling as 13-year-old Rajon’s torture-murder last month, most of our young folk were content with the oftmade “suggestion” in their social network of choice, forgetting that there are other, more public, platforms, such as newspapers, in which they can have their voices heard more loudly.

Going by the fact that most choose to share their thoughts through social media almost exclusively, it’s hard not to get the impression that, not only do they post online for the convenience, but that it also requires

less research and knowledge regarding the matter concerned, the depth of which the youth does not care enough to dig into.

Such shallowness not only makes the youth inconsistent with their stances regarding ongoing issues, but also provides them with a false feeling of righteousness.

Even though most realise that their social media “messages” make no practical difference, another popular trend is to attack specific groups or persons for not standing up for a cause which is completely unrelated to the activism of that particular group or person.

For instance, there was the unwarranted online criticism of Gonojagoron Moncho for not organising something as big as the Shahbagh protests to rally against child abuse in Bangladesh, an issue which has been brought to light after the Rajon incident.

To Facebook posts in the vein of “where is Shahbagh now?” for every other unfortunate incident that occurs, I feel it is important to reply with: “Forget them, why aren’t you there?” The same Imran H Sarker, who the youth once thought as their leader, now has hundreds of such young men and women swearing at him in the most uncouth manner on his Facebook page (related or unrelated to his activism).

Things have taken a turn now, with the intolerance of the youth against secular or atheist writers and free-thinkers. The same youth now judge Imran Sarker for being an atheist (such judgments, unfortunately, have spill-over effects), and now they also blame

him and his organisation for not taking into consideration matters which hardly concern them.

I am not trying to make it a point how inconsistent or hypocritical we, the youth, have become just over a short span of time, instead, I am emphasising the comfort of actually doing nothing, or blaming someone else for doing nothing, with regards to a particular issue, while posting entire paragraphs on social media, prioritising one matter above all. Irrespective of the statements Gonojagoron Moncho may make regarding many contemporary issues, there is no doubt when it comes to the organisation’s main motive.

Since I was very young, on every July 21, I have noticed candlelight walks and silent protests being held. Participants of the protests were not only the family members but also leaders and activists of JSD and the socialist followers of Bir Uttam Lieutenant Colonel Abu Taher, who was executed through a kangaroo trial. Such a trial was proven to have been illegal, and the protesters finally found some solace after their years of activism, upon the Supreme Court’s verdict in 2011.

On an even smaller scale, “Desh, We’re Concerned” is the only registered non-profit organisation to have consistently campaigned over the years for the proper trial of the BDR Pilkhana carnage, in which the nation lost 57 Bangladesh Army officers. I had initially founded the organisation as an advocacy group, since I thought of this matter to have been of prime importance and deserving of attention.

Just like the thousands of freedom fighters and their families, biranganas and commoners find it important to find justice for 1971. Members of Colonel Taher’s family and his comrades also find it relevant to stand against how he was wrongfully killed, and the family members of the 57 officers along with “Desh, We’re Concerned” shall continue its activism to unearth the truth behind the Pilkhana massacre -- and all of this is being carried out offline.

The youth must try and build a Shahbagh of their own, rather than wait for Gonojagoron Moncho to act. All activist groups have aims and objectives, and, provided the long paragraphs posted on Facebook actually aim to bear some fruit, the youth are required to be bothered enough to act in real life. Otherwise, not only does the nation miss out on the potential good that social media offers, but, over time, we will become a generation that practically has nothing to offer but lists of complaints.

We don’t truly care enough to stand by what we think is worth fighting for, but consciously or otherwise, we try our best to be articulate on social media, with the sole target of attracting followers, the increasing amount of which we falsely believe makes each of us more celebrated than the others. l Saquib Rahman is the founder of “Desh, We’re Concerned,” a registered society for rights and social awareness.

DT

14 OPINION

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

Women among equals Awareness must be created to curb sexual harassment against women

n SM Shahrukh

O

n the April 17, the Dhaka Tribune printed my opinion piece, “Learn to respect women,” in which I tried to delve into how the concept of shame that is prevalent in our society with regards to the naked human body, the sex act, and the lack of sexual education from an appropriate age, has brought out perversity in the minds of the menfolk and has made women vulnerable members of society. This, time, however, I will try to enumerate the ways in which the overall sexual harrassment situation can be improved.

Rape is the ultimate form of violation meted to a woman; it crosses our definitions of sexual harassment and becomes a crime at par with murder and other heinous crimes.

Rape victims face numerous problems and are stigmatised for life. The rapist, even if caught red-handed, somehow escapes punitive action, largely due to the patriarchal bias that plagues our society.

And the raped, if she is unmarried, will be hard-pressed to find a “suitable boy” for marriage. And, as is common with victims of sexual harassment, more often than not, the victim is blamed and faces censure.

A very sad case (or cases) in point: The victims of rape in our War of Independence.

The women abused by the Pakistani army and their local allies, the women we call “birangona,” get recognition and a few words or some petty cash on various special days, but are mostly forgotten the rest of the time.

Big words have never translated into big attempts at their restitution.

Besides, these women -- not all, but a great majority -- had to wear their “loss of virtue” as a stigma, and even their near and dear ones would not welcome them into their households with open arms, and society pointed them out, mercilessly, as “fallen” women. Their stories are probably the saddest legacy of the pains we suffered during that most glorious of our achievements as a nation -- our independence.

Punishing rapists in the court of law is tricky business. There is almost never an eye-witness and mostly, if ever a rape case comes to court, its outcome hinges on circumstantial evidence, making it difficult to punish the criminal. Additionally, a rape victim will have to undergo a medical test within 24 hours of the rape, which is another hurdle, as the police in our country are found to be dillydallying about. This is an example of the patriarchal system we live in, oppressing women and depriving them justice.

There is now a demand for a provision of “attempt to rape” in the penal code. Even if such a law were to be inducted into the penal code, it won’t be of much use to the victims.

In the absence of eye-witnesses, these cases may become a matter of “he said/she said.”

But if there is any possibility of improvement, bring on the provision.

The matter of sexual harassment, not rape per se, is faced by women from a very early age, way before puberty, and one will be hard-pressed to find a woman who has not this demeaning experience. Little girls going

The plight of women in our country is an unacceptable one

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The concept of shame has to be taken out when it comes to educating our children. Adults need to learn to behave as well

to school or walking about in an amusement park or in close proximity to men in a queue are often mercilessly groped.

The groper skidaddles away, high on perversion, and the groped is scarred for life. The negative effects of being groped as a child makes a woman suspicious of all men and the culture of impunity that exists for gropers stops her from reporting it.

The sexual harassment continues for the girl-child through her teens and into her 20s and 30s and does not stop until she is an old lady of vastly diminished physical allure.

Young girls and women going to schools, colleges, and universities face harassment from teachers and other students.

Even if they can stand up to classmates and give a much deserved slap or two, they are often helpless against the higher-ups who are hell-bent on sexual aggression. They can take action against errant teachers only if they get the co-operation of their male colleagues.

In workplaces, the situation is no better.

Men often make remarks laced with sexual overtones and get away with it. Women are often groped, shoved, pushed, and their bod-

ies, not so accidentally, brushed, or worse, as they walk the streets or wait for the bus. This sort of behaviour is present in every realm of public space.

A very slim minority of women scream and shout at such ghastly “manly” behaviour; most suffer in silence. The Bengali woman is raised to become virtuous, and staying demure is a big part of that “education.” Some women have got it into their heads that wearing the hijab is a sure way of averting cat-calls or saving the orna from getting snatched.

Recently, I read the story of a devout woman who had been sexually harassed in her office; she was hijab-clad at the time.

Wearing the hijab to stop from getting sexually harassed is a defeatist attitude and will not stop the marauding “men” from doing what they did at TSC on Pohela Boishakh.

However, I respect a woman who wears the veil purely as a religious edict -- to each his or her own faith.

The deputy commissioner of police in charge of media matters declared in no uncertain terms that the police deems as sexual harassment even acts such as a suggestive

stare or remarks that smack of sexual misbehaviour. But I fail to see the police being rigorous in implementing these policies. No wonder, then, that women seldom turn to the law for protection.

How can we change this deplorable state of affairs?

Some women’s rights groups are raising hell after the untoward incidents during Pohela Boishakh, and rightly so. This is an opportunity to bring the issue to the fore.

Women have faced enough and they deserve a vast improvement in the way they are treated, everywhere they go, be it for education, work, amusement, or shopping. The government should stand beside them with the full support of the administration. The prime minister, several cabinet ministers, the speaker of the house, and the opposition leaders, both official and unofficial, are women. The battling begums of our politics should unite in this issue, at least.

At the time of our independence and the first two decades after that, the population boom could not be supported by the meagre resources of a country trying to grapple with the aftermath of a bloody war. But then the government of the day and the subsequent ones launched massive family planning awareness and implementation programs with support from donor agencies. Since then, we have reduced the growth in population significantly.

The taboo of talking about sex and contraceptives was broken by health officials and volunteers who went to the farthest and remotest villages to create awareness. I see no reason why such large-scale programs cannot be launched to fight the scourge of sexual harassment. A few posters about “eve-teasing” and a small advert or two on television will not suffice.

The government needs to empower the local governments and employ experts to impart knowledge to the field workers whom the upazilla or union parishads will employ.

A country that aims to be a middle-income one by 2021 should not have any dearth of funds for this country-wide operation. It needs initiative from the people in power.

The clerics will also need to be trained with regards to the correct and acceptable social behaviour; people listen more to them than even their family elders.

Some apparently unpopular steps need to be taken but there can be no equivocation about taking them.

The concept of shame has to be taken out when it comes to educating our children.

Adults need to learn to behave as well. If one sees one’s father showing utter disdain towards women, one is wont to follow in those footsteps.

We all need to grow up and acknowledge the elephant in the room. Meanwhile, the perpetrators like those at TSC, should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. However, that would only be treating a symptom; the disease that needs immediate attention is in our minds. If we stop at the symptom, the disease simply goes merrily along. l SM Shahrukh is a freelance contributor.

16

Muhith: FIs not upgraded to satisfactory level

17

Bangladesh, USA gap in RMG compliance persists

19

Stocks rebound from three-week low

20

DT

Business

15

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

The cost of China’s devaluation

Actual Provision

30,036

27,564

2015

Required Provision

APR-JUNE

2015

n Jebun Nesa Alo

JAN-MAR

2014

TREND OF PROVISION SHORTFALL IN BANKING SECTOR

Banks suffer huge provision shortfall

OCT-DEC

Provision Shortfall

2,472 Required Provision

Actual Provision

30,680

26,902

Provision Shortfall

3,778 Required Provision

Actual Provision

28,960

28,164

Provision Shortfall

796 (TK IN CRORE)

The country’s banking sector experienced a provision shortfall of Tk2,472 crore in June, which was required to maintain against the default loans.

Though the shortfall amount was decreased by over Tk1,300 crore in April-June quarter compared to Tk3,778 crore in the previous January-March quarter.

“A slight fall in bad loans mainly accounted for the lower provision requirement that led the shortfall to go down during the second quarter of this year,” a senior executive of Bangladesh Bank yesterday.

The actual provision maintained by the banking sector was Tk27,564 crore against the required provision of Tk30,036 crore in June, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.

The provision shortfall of the five stateowned banks including BASIC Bank, which had major contribution in total shortfall amount, increased by 691% or Tk1,211 crore to Tk2,957 crore in June compared to Tk1,746 crore in March.

Sonali Bank and BASIC Bank mainly accounted for the total shortfall amount that incurred by the five state-owned banks.

The shortfall of Sonali Bank stood at Tk1,468 crore in June compared to surplus of over Tk81 crore in March.

The scam-hit BASIC Bank experienced a decline in shortfall amount to Tk1,691 crore in June from Tk2,043 crore in March, said Bangladesh Bank data.

Attending a recent meeting, Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman had warned that observers would be appointed at the state-owned banks if their existing performances were not improved.

The governor expressed his extreme dissatisfaction over the poor performance of the state-owned banks mainly due to the rising trend of default loans and capital shortfall.

The three private banks, out of 39, suffered from provision shortfall are-Bangladesh Commerce Bank, National Bank and Standard Bank.

The shortfall of National Bank stood at Tk62.22 crore, BCBL Tk196 crore while Standard Bank Tk20 crore.

The total bad loans of the banking sector decreased slightly to 7.75% in second quarter from 8.07% in the first quarter, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.

The total bad loans stood at little over Tk42,000 crore in June compared to Tk42,158 crore in March.

The five state-owned banks have a total bad loan of Tk 18,649 crore as of June, rising from Tk18,514 crore in March.

The gross default loan rate stood at 9.67% in April-June quarter of the year 2015 from 10.47% in the previous quarter.

The amount of total default loans decreased by Tk2,141 crore to Tk52,516 crore in June compared to Tk54,657 crore in January-March quarter.

Bangladesh Bank’s latest data showed that the total outstanding loan stood at Tk5,43,085 crore in June. l

ISPs warn to stop services in Motijheel n Tribune Report Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) warned to stop providing internet services in the capital’s Motijheel and Dilkusha commercial areas in protest of a decision to remove overhead internet cables.

Dhaka Power Distribution Company Ltd (DPDC) and Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO) has decided to remove the overhead cables from the areas by August 21.

“If the decision is finally enforced, we will have to take tough actions. DPDC and DESCO will be responsible for any disastrous situation in that case,” MA Hakim, president of ISPAB, told a press conference yesterday.

He said the government has given Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN) licence to two organisations only.

“But they are not fully prepared to provide us with technical solutions. The ISPs have developed their networks in their own ways. We have installed hundreds of kilometres of cables on the poles investing hundreds of crores of taka.”

MA Hakim said overhead cables were essential to provide the internet service smoothly. “In order to avoid the problem of overhead cables, the number of LDP points needs to be increased, which is the responsibility of NTTN operators.”

“Unfortunately, it has been noticed that the ministry of power and the DPDC always try to put the responsibility on the shoulders of ISP operators instead of NTTN operators,” he alleged.

Motijheel and Dilkusha areas are the major commercial hubs of Bangladesh. All the commercial activities of the country are operated and controlled from here. Bangladesh Bank, head offices of different state-owned and private commercial banks, insurance companies, garment industries and other major companies are situated here. All overseas commercial operations are also carried out from here.

In this regard, a technical committee has been formed, led by deputy secretary to power, energy and mineral resources ministry.

Other members of the committee include rep-

resentatives from DESCO, DPDC, BTRC, Summit Communication Ltd, Fibre@Home Ltd, BTCL, CCOAB and ISPAB. The committee has been working for removal of overhead cables over the last two years after monitoring and analysing the technical problems.

“We don’t understand how DESCO and DPDC have published notices through newspapers for removal of overhead cables in commercial areas like Motijheel and Dilkusha without prior consultation with the committee,” ISPAB General Secretary Md Emdadul Huq said.

“Every year, we pay Tk62 crore to Fibre@Home and Tk42 crore to Summit Communication, but we didn’t get proper services from them,” he alleged.

He said in order to avoid such an undesirable situation, ISPAB leaders proposed to ensure NTTN operators’ “last-mile

underground connections” to fix the NTTN cable rate at Tk0.25-0.30 per mitre.

“But now it stands at Tk2.00. DPDC, DESCO, city corporations and other 2/3 private companies should be given the opportunity to have the NTTN licence. Otherwise all the ISPs will not get the benefit of NTTN.” Former ISPAB President Akhtaruzzaman Manju also spoke at the press conference. l

DT

16 BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

Muhith: FIs not upgraded to satisfactory level n Tribune Report Finance Minister AMA Muhith has stated that the services of the banks and financial institutions have been developed over the years but their upgradation works are yet to reach the expected level.

Muhith came up with the remark while addressing a two-day national conference titled “Inclusive Finance in Bangladesh” at Bangabandhu International Conference Center in the city yesterday.

Institute of Microfinance organised the event.

Speaking as chief guest, the minister said, “A poor man is facing hardship to repay loan instalments at 27% interest rate although the country’s financial agencies have spent huge amount of money to provide those credit facilities.”

Country’s banks provide major services to their clients but every one admit government services have increased by 3-4 times compared to previous period, he also said.

Muhith further said the services of the country’s financial institutions wouldbe increased if the local finance institutions could create more innovative activities for their clients like commercial banks. Banks provide major finance services to clients. Besides a large number of micro-finance institutions come in the front to provide financial facilities to clients, observed the minister.

“But now the major problems of the country’s financial institutions is to arrange funds for their operation,” opined Muhith.

Muhith said, “The financial institutions have expanded across the country over last 20 years but they have imposed huge service charges to their clients. Those institutions will go further in the rural areas to reduce the poverty level.”

A research conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management shows that fi-

Finance Minister AMA Muhith speaks at a national conference on inclusive finance in Bangladesh at Bangabandhu International Conference Center in the city yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE nancial inclusion of the total population was 39.76% in 2004 which rose to 56.42% in 2010 due to the opening of 90 lakh Tk10 farmers’ accounts in state banks.

There are around 9,000 bank branches along with about 18,000 branches of NGOMFIs, 1,200 thousands post offices and 183,000 co-operative outlets totalling about 2.1 lakh branches/outlets for the 56.6 million economically active population - generating at least one financial service point per 270 people.

In 2011,Bangladesh Bank, the country’s central bank, issued Mobile Financial Services (MFS) Guidelines defining a model where MFS must be bank-led, but partnerships with regulated micro-finance institutions were

made to reach customers.

Two MFS providers have emerged as early leaders: bKash of BRAC Bank and Dutch Bangla-Bank mobile banking.

Launched in 2011, bKash, initially a joint venture of BRAC Bank and the US based company Money in Motion, has emerged as the market leader with more than 15 million customers.

Following IFC’s investment, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the world, also made an equity investment in 2014. The service provider has around 105,000 agent points nationwide to facilitate cash-in and cash-out services at every corner of Bangladesh. l

Another denim expo in November after successful last event n Tribune Report

Bangladesh is going to host another denim expo in November as the sector received a huge response from the last event in May this year.

The two-day event titled “Bangladesh Denim Expo” will be held on 11-12 November at the International Convention City Bashundhara in Dhaka, said a press release yesterday.

The expo will aim to attract international buyers to the latest designs of Bangladeshi jeans and other denim products.

“There was a huge response from international buyers after the May event, so we have decided to organise another such event in larger arrangements in November,” said CEO of the Expo Mostafiz Uddin.

“In May we displayed products of unique and innovative designs which pleased the buyers,” he added.

Mustafiz said their primary purpose was to create a platform for denim stakeholders and make Bangladesh as one-stop sourcing platform for denim industry, which could bring benefits to the entrepreneurs.

The expo is aimed at not only promoting the denim industry but also encouraging a better business practice and raising the living standard of the people, he stressed.

There will have six seminars on different topics relating to denim industry and its prospects and challenges on the sidelines of the upcoming expo. A “Trend Zone” will be set up to display latest and future denim trends.

About 4,000 apparel entrepreneurs, businessmen, fashion professionals and other stakeholders from 1,200 companies of 60 countries will visit the expo. Bangladesh is the second largest denim exporter to the European market and the third largest in the US market.

About 50 denim manufacturers and enterprises from 15 countries including the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Mexico, Spain, Turkey, Hong Kong, Brazil, Australia, Russia and Bangladesh will take part in the expo. l

UAE open to meeting ECNEC okays six projects of Tk4,000cr Indian oil demand He said some 216 dredgers would be repaddy, wheat and corn would be produced, n Tribune Report processed and distributed among the farmers. quired for carrying out capital dredging across n Reuters, Abu Dhabi This is aimed at boosting crop production the country. The dredgers will cost around The Executive Committee of the National The United Arab Emirates is open to meeting any demand for oil from India, the Gulf OPEC member’s economy minister Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri told Reuters on Monday.

Mansouri was speaking after meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in the UAE on a two-day visit.

“India is importing oil now and the UAE is open to meet demand for any oil from India,” Mansouri said, adding that the issue would be discussed further by representatives of the two sides. Abu Dhabi currently provides 9% of India’s energy needs and India is the world’s fourth biggest oil consumer.

Mansouri said Modi presented proposals for investments in India worth $1tn. “The UAE can focus on certain areas such as infrastructure, railways, medical, tourism, real estate,” Mansouri said, adding the tourism sector had huge potential but needed rules to develop it. l

Economic Council approved six development projects related to improving seed quality, river dredging and communication.

The cost of the projects has been estimated at a total of Tk3,962 crore.

Of the amount, the government will provide Tk3,814 crore from public exchequer while the respective agencies will bear Tk147 crore from their own funds.

Among the projects, four are new and two are revised.

The projects were approved at a meeting yesterday with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Of them, the project on production and development of high quality seed of paddy, wheat and corn (second phase) is worth Tk353.45 crore.

Under the project, some 150,000 metric tons of standard quality cereal seeds including

and ensure food security in Bangladesh, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told journalists after the meeting.

He said annual demand for seed is 370,000 metric tons, of which, around 37% could be met after completion of the project. Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) will implement the project at 166 upazilas under 35 districts in six divisions by June 2020.

Another project on procurement of dredgers and other related equipment for dredging rivers of Bangladesh (first revised) will be implemented at a cost of Tk1,253 crore. Bangladesh Water Development Board will implement the project by 2016.

Under the project, 21 dredger sets with 650 mm diameters, 500 mm diameters and 250 mm diameters would be procured, said the planing minister.

Tk31,000 crore.

The project on damaged roads, drains and footpath development of five areas under Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has been taken at Tk250 crore.

Under the project works include development of some 169 kilometres roads, construction of about 187.63 kilometers drains and development of around 25.19 kilometer-long footpaths. The DSCC will implement the project by June 2017.

Other projects are rehabilitation of Kalukhali-Bhatiapara section railway track and construction of Kashiani-Gopalganj-Tungipara railway track at a total cost of Tk2,023 crore, creating physical facilities for transfer of technology and innovation of BCSIR at Tk36.63 crore, expansion of BCS administrative academy building and extension of training facilities there at Tk44.60 crore. l

DT

BUSINESS 17

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

Bangladesh, USA gap in RMG compliance persists n

Proposal to buy lighterage vessel goes to cabinet committee today

n Tribune Report

The difference between Bangladesh and USA over the implementation of the Action Plan outlined for the restoration of GSP facilities stillpersists.

Although the government of Bangladesh has claimed that it has successfully completed all the sixteen conditions of the Action Plan, the US government is arguing that still three is room for more progress in the field of labor rights, freedom of association and safety issues.

However, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday clarified that Bangladesh was just only one condition away to comply with all the conditions of the Action Plan set by the US authorities to get back the GSP facility.

The rules of the amended Labour Act, the lone condition to comply with, will be doneshortly as it is now pending with the law ministry for vetting, said Ahmed.

“We’ll be able to achieve 100% compliances as soon as the rules are issued after the vetting within an expected one-week period,” said the minister while briefing the reporters

after a meeting with the foreign diplomats in Bangladesh, including the US Ambassador Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat.

During the meeting, the diplomats and the commerce minister broadly discussed about the Sustainability Compact and National Tripartite Action Plan, which is aimed at upgrading the safety standard of Bangladesh industry especially in the RMG sector.

“I think tremendous progress has already been made on labor safety and some progress on workers’ rights,” said US Ambassador Bernicat.

In response to a question, the US diplomat said: “As we’ve satisfactory situation for all concerns, I want to sent the message to our USTR representative who will visit Bangladesh in mid-September to see the overall progress so far made.”

“We’re exceedingly pleasedto be here, all of us present here renewed our commitment to help Bangladesh and its RMG sector and still there are number of issues where we’ve worked together and continued to work further,” she added.

She also pointed out that there were a sixteen-point Action Plan and there was progress

in many of the items but still there are some issues to be addressed which include workers rights, safety, online data for union registration, transparent data base on working conditions and complains and stopping unfair labor practices.

“We’re working with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to focus on those area,” she added.

A USTR team will visit Bangladesh in September while Bangladeshi team comprising commerce, foreign and labor secretary will visit USA, said Ahmed.

“Following the view-exchange meeting, I am sure that the US administration will soon realisethat time has come to withdraw the GSP suspension for Bangladesh and provide trade facilities under the scheme, hoped the minister.

Among others, Benoit Pierre Laramee, high commissioner of Canada to Bangladesh, Sarah Cooke, head of DFID Bangladesh, Danish Ambassador to Bangladesh Hanne FuglEskjer, Labor Secretary MikalShipar, Senior Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon and Foreign SecretaryShahidul Islam attended the meeting. l

Singapore bankers rattled by Asian moves to chase undeclared wealth n Reuters, Singapore

Singapore-based wealth managers, already under pressure from a global move towards tax information sharing, face a more immediate threat as Asian countries including Indonesia and India look to chase undeclared money in the low-tax city state.

A global crackdown on tax evasion launched during the 2008 financial crisis has already forced Switzerland and other European offshore hubs to surrender their prized bank secrecy.

Like those centres, Singapore has committed to automatically start sharing information with foreign tax authorities from 2018, in line with an agreement signed by more than 51 countries last year that seeks to put an end to tax evasion.

But Singapore banks face a more urgent challenge.

Indonesia, Singapore’s main source of wealth assets, is considering offering a tax amnesty to individuals willing to repatriate funds from abroad - targeting $225bn Jakarta says is parked in Singapore alone.

“Indonesia accounts for 30-50% of business for private banks in Singapore,” a Singapore-based banker at a top global wealth manager told Reuters. “Clients are worried and asking about this, (while) accounting and legal firms are pitching to help clients structure their transactions,” said another banker.

Both declined to be named due to client confidentiality rules. The second banker said one client was considering whether to pass his wealth directly to one of his children, who is in the process of taking Singapore nationality.

Singapore, Asia’s second-largest offshore

Vehicles travel on a bridge past the skyline of the central business district in Singapore centre by assets behind Hong Kong, has thrived as a banking centre due to its political and economic stability, low taxes and rule of law. It manages $470 billion of private client assets, Deloitte data show.

Singapore’s central bank has said it has a rigorous regime to combat money laundering and is ready to take tough action if there are breaches. Sources said Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) officials have been asking private banks if they have heard any client concerns about the exchange of information mechanism. The MAS didn’t comment.

The finance ministry noted that Singapore would need to sign bilateral agreements before any automatic data sharing, and those deals would depend on partner countries having a “robust” legal framework to maintain information confidentiality and “confine its use to tax purposes”, a ministry spokeswoman

REUTERS

said.

Seeking to recoup funds it first bled in the aftermath of former president Suharto’s government, Jakarta is looking to introduce a tax amnesty, but has given no timetable for this.

“The idea is to first prepare the legal framework,” Suahasil Nazara, who heads the fiscal policy office, told Reuters.

The planned amnesty, private bankers say, is modelled on a successful but controversial Italian tax scheme that helped Rome recoup billions of euros unlawfully parked in Switzerland against the payment of a modest penalty.

This system, which was criticised for allowing tax evaders to come clean without too much pain, is a faster way to recover funds than wading through a myriad of tax and bank data.

India, too, is trying to turn up the heat on an estimated $340 billion of undeclared wealth by its residents. l

Asif Showkat Kallol

Shipping ministry is set to place a proposal before cabinet committee on public purchase today to procure a crude oil carrying lighterage vessel. The present two vessels are 27year old and will not be allowed in the international maritime area after the end of 2015.

According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) provision, the single hull based two oil lighterage vessels - MT Banglar Jyoti and MT Banglar Shourabh will no longer be allowed to operate in international maritime area from end of this year.

IMO said the vessels are 27-year old and need to be replaced. It said only the double hull based vessel would be allowed in the international maritime area after the end of this year.

A shipping ministry official said the Turkey’s Camlica Shipping would supply a 12 yearold crude oil carrying lighterage vessel in a few months as per condition tagged with tender.

A total of five local and foreign companies participated in the tender.

Turkey’s Camlica Shipping’s local agent M/S Afroz Shipping and M/S Overseas Marketing Corporation passed the technical evaluation of tender process, the official said.

Camlica Shipping scored the highest point and agreed to supply MT PULI lighterage vessel with a capacity of 15,857 MT DWT. The vessels will be procured at a cost of Tk156.11 crore.

In January the cabinet committee on public procurement approved in principle the procurement of six vessels for BSC with funding from Chinese Exim Bank - one of a number of investment undertakings China pursuing.

Presently, the corporation has 13 ships. Of them, one is container ship, 10 are product carriers and two are lighter tankers. A BSC official said the average age of the ships is 28 years, which need to be replaced very soon.

Established in 1972, the BSC is entrusted with the responsibility of carrying bulk cargo, food-grains and crude oil, chartering, tramping and feeder services, unloading and providing agency service and ship repairing. l

Norwegian fund excludes four Asian firms over palm oil n AFP, Oslo

Norway’s gigantic sovereign wealth fund announced Monday it was divesting from four large Asian companies over the environmental damage their palm oil activities have on tropical forests. The world’s largest public investment fund, managing 7.15tn kroner (785bn euros, $872bn), said its decision to exclude four groups - including South Korean group Daewoo International - from its portfolio was based on “an assessment of the risk of severe environmental damage” from their conversion of tropical forests to cultivate palm oil.

Daewoo, South Korean steelmaker Posco and Malaysian groups Genting and IJM were targeted in the divestment decision by Norway’s central bank, which manages the wealth fund that owns around 1.3% of all stocks on global equity markets, with stakes in about 9,000 companies. l

DT

18 BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

News, analysis and recent disclosures RUPALIBANK: Alpha Credit Rating Limited (AlphaRating) has rated the Company as “A” in the long term and “AR-2” in the short term along with a stable outlook based on audited financial statements of the Company up to December 31, 2014 and relevant qualitative information up to August 16, 2015.

1STPRIMFMF: ICB has informed to the hon ’ble Unit holders and all concerned of Prime Finance First Mutual Fund, managed by ICB Asset Management Company Ltd., that Prime Finance First Mutual Fund will complete its tenure of 7 years on 14 March, 2016. As per rule, this fund will be abolished from 15 March, 2016. As a result, from that date its trading will remain closed. As per rule 50 (Kha) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (Mutual Fund) regulation, 2001, if required consent is obtained from three forth number of unit holders present in the meeting, then the term of the scheme can be extended subject to approval of BSEC. In the trustee committee meeting, it has been decided that if minimum three forth consent is obtained from the unit holders of Prime Finance First Mutual Fund in the unit holders meeting, the term of the fund may be extended for 3 years, subject to approval of BSEC. The record date in this case will be 09.09.2015. Date, time and venue of the unit holders’ meeting will be notified later.

cash 15% Unit Dividend, Record date: 07.09.2015.

GRAMEEN1: 82% Unit Dividend, Record date: 07.09.15.

GREENDELMF: 4.50% Cash Dividend. Record date: 06.09.2015. ABB1STMF: 15% Unit Dividend. Record date: 07.09.2015. EBLNRBMF: 6% Unit Dividend. Record date: 07.09.2015. PHPMF1: 7.50% Unit Dividend Record date: 07.09.2015. POPULAR1MF: 12% Unit Dividend. Record date: 07.09.2015.

BERGERPBL: 100% interim cash dividend. Record date for entitlement of interim cash dividend: 20.08.2015.

PRAGATILIF: 17% cash and 5% stock dividend AGM: 29.09.2015,. Record Date: 20.08.2015.

SHASHADNIM: 10% interim cash dividend for 2015, Record date for entitlement of interim cash dividend: 20.08.2015.

NAVANACNG: 15% cash general shareholders (excluding Sponsors), AGM: 16.09.2015, Record Date: 18.08.2015.

SUNLIFEINS: 6% stock, AGM: 15.09.2015, Record Date: 18.08.2015.

APEXSPINN: 20% cash AGM: 30.09.2015, Record date: 18.08.2015.

SQURPHARMA: 30% cash and 12.50% stock dividend, AGM: 16.09.2015, Record Date: 13.08.2015.

MEGHNALIFE: 13% cash and 20% stock, AGM: 27.08.2015, Record Date: 30.07.2015.

STYLECRAFT: 60% cash, AGM: 27.08.2015, Record Date: 30.07.2015.

Dividend/AGM

APEXTANRY: 45% cash, AGM: 04.10.2015, Record date: 09.09.2015. GRAMEENS2: 10%

Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

Company Apex Foods -A Apex Tannery -A Atlas BD-A Northern Jute -Z Prime Textile -A AMCL (Pran) -A People`s Leasing-A FAR Chemical-N Zahintex Ind.-N Renwick Jajneswar-A

Closing (% Change) 9.96 9.96 9.86 8.75 8.63 8.31 6.41 6.12 5.69 5.54

CSE GAINER Company Apex Tannery -A Apex Foods -A Prime Textile -A IFIC 1st MF-A AMCL (Pran) -A Zahintex Ind.-N 1st ICB M F -A Social Islami. B-A Apex Footwear-A People`s Leasing-A

Closing (% Change) 9.93 9.88 9.69 8.51 8.12 7.80 6.22 6.11 5.76 5.16

DSE LOSER Company GeminiSeaFood-B BD Fixed Income MF-A Midas Financing-Z LR Global BD MF1-A Phoenix Fin. 1st MF-A Trust Bank 1st MF-A Monno Stafllers -A 5th ICB M F-A Kohinoor Chem -A Al-Haj Textile -A

Closing (% Change) -5.44 -5.26 -4.96 -4.26 -4.08 -3.92 -3.75 -3.52 -3.29 -3.28

CSE LOSER Company 6th ICB M F-A 8th ICB M F-A EBL NRB M.F.-A Rupali Bank - A AIBL 1st Is. M. F.-A Standard Insurance-A Samata LeatheR -Z Sonargaon Tex -Z National Life I -A 1st Janata Bank MF-A

Closing (% Change) -10.40 -9.80 -9.26 -8.30 -8.16 -7.27 -5.80 -4.60 -4.11 -3.92

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

DSE key features August 18, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka)

DSE GAINER

Sector

5,285.77 145,392,177 122,274

Traded Issues

319

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

133

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

182

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,701.54

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

32.75

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 646.38 208.79 98.00 872.85 285.16 716.46 14.88 653.76 805.13 13.26 73.22 189.64 42.67 164.26 31.38 29.58 45.05 151.10 84.15 159.49 0.56

% change 12.23 3.95 1.85 16.51 5.39 13.55 0.28 12.37 15.23 0.25 1.39 3.59 0.81 3.11 0.59 0.56 0.85 2.86 1.59 3.02 0.01

Million Taka 40.58 17.95 3.89 73.54 113.43 47.16 46.95 44.79 1.13 4.44 11.53 2.50 17.50 2.14 0.91 2.69 14.38 12.24 15.71 0.01

Average (% Change) 7.19 4.96 4.56 8.64 6.12 6.20 5.20 2.24 3.32 3.05

Average (% Change) 7.88 9.91 6.52 7.59 7.80 3.31 6.22 4.02 5.75 4.21

Average (% Change) -1.16 -6.87 -7.04 -2.58 -2.89 -2.18 -2.73 0.00 -3.64 -5.20

Average (% Change) -9.91 -12.11 -8.16 -8.21 -6.33 -7.27 -5.93 -4.48 -4.11 -2.17

CSE

ClosingAvg. 170.86 157.32 153.05 353.44 20.81 229.30 16.19 55.73 21.77 273.00

ClosingAvg. 161.35 170.14 20.91 5.10 230.88 21.54 1498.00 13.71 389.00 16.08

ClosingAvg. 418.92 7.19 13.08 4.53 4.71 4.93 275.74 200.00 391.43 133.65

ClosingAvg.

% change 8.57 3.79 0.82 15.53 23.96 9.96 0.00 9.92 9.46 0.24 0.94 2.43 0.53 3.70 0.45 0.19 0.57 3.04 2.59 3.32 0.00

60.30 61.70 4.95 43.14 4.59 15.30 26.00 8.31 172.60 4.96

Closing 177.80 163.40 156.00 355.50 21.40 233.40 16.60 57.20 22.30 278.10

Closing 165.00 170.10 21.50 5.10 233.00 22.10 1498.00 13.90 389.00 16.30

Closing 408.20 7.20 13.40 4.50 4.70 4.90 275.00 200.00 391.00 132.50

Closing

DHIGH 177.80 163.40 156.20 355.50 21.50 234.20 16.80 57.60 22.90 283.40

DHIGH 165.10 170.20 21.50 5.10 234.20 22.40 1498.00 14.10 389.00 16.50

DHIGH

157.50 147.00 140.20 331.10 19.50 215.00 15.60 53.60 20.90 262.10

DLOW 150.00 170.00 20.00 5.10 224.90 20.60 1498.00 13.40 389.00 15.50

DLOW

442.00 7.80 13.80 4.60 4.80 5.10 282.00 200.00 402.00 139.00

DHIGH

60.30 61.70 4.90 43.10 4.50 15.30 26.00 8.30 172.60 4.90

Million Taka 686.97 226.74 101.89 946.39 398.60 763.62 14.88 700.71 849.92 14.39 77.65 201.17 45.17 181.75 33.51 30.49 47.74 165.48 96.39 175.20 0.56

DLOW

397.00 7.10 12.90 4.50 4.70 4.80 266.50 199.90 382.50 130.10

DLOW

60.30 61.70 5.90 45.00 4.80 15.30 26.00 8.50 172.60 5.00

Total

60.30 61.70 4.90 43.00 4.50 15.30 26.00 8.20 172.60 4.90

% change 11.93 3.94 1.77 16.43 6.92 13.26 0.26 12.17 14.76 0.25 1.35 3.49 0.78 3.16 0.58 0.53 0.83 2.87 1.67 3.04 0.01

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

Turnover in Million

Latest EPS

47.936 155.340 32.599 4.699 34.645 63.834 93.855 118.105 24.128 1.380

Turnover in Million

0.36 6.25 -1.24 1.75 0.99 6.19 0.20 3.23 1.03 3.91

Latest EPS

9.909 0.158 4.575 0.003 2.726 2.122 0.003 2.172 0.012 12.664

Turnover in Million

474.6 25.2 -ve 202.0 21.0 37.0 81.0 17.3 21.1 69.8

Latest PE

6.25 0.36 0.99 0.73 6.19 1.03 142.00 0.70 -24.62 0.20

Latest EPS

7.561 1.165 0.625 1.257 0.256 4.772 0.640 0.097 1.325 86.223

Turnover in Million

Latest PE

25.8 472.6 21.1 7.0 37.3 20.9 10.5 19.6 -ve 80.4

Latest PE

11.77 0.51 -1.55 0.40 0.65 0.69 0.70 35.67 8.25 1.07

Latest EPS

0.000 0.000 0.010 0.071 0.137 0.001 0.000 0.059 0.002 0.093

35.6 14.1 -ve 11.3 7.2 7.1 393.9 5.6 47.4 124.9

Latest PE

13.93 17.26 0.61 2.20 4.76 2.90 -0.05 -2.26 12.46 0.79

4.3 3.6 8.1 19.6 1.0 5.3 -ve -ve 13.9 6.3

CSE key features August 18, 2015 Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume) Number of Contract

473.46 11,921,231 17,180

Traded Issues

253

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

95

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

150

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

8

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,603.31

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.56

DT

BUSINESS 19

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

Stocks rebound from threeweek low n Tribune Report

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Islami Bank BD - A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A Square Pharma -A Apex Tannery -A Shahjibazar Power-N LafargeS Cement-A United Power-N FAR Chemical-N Ratanpur Steel -N Grameenphone-A

Beximco Pharma -A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Ifad Autos -N CVO PetroChem RL-A People`s Leasing-A

VolumeShares 6,620,315 13,906,328 701,715 987,421 797,450 1,095,424 796,582 2,119,047 1,720,580 370,013

Value in Million 202.69 200.57 166.16 155.34 153.79 128.13 127.61 118.11 116.70 115.52

% of TotalTurnover 3.83 3.79 3.14 2.94 2.91 2.42 2.41 2.23 2.21 2.19

VolumeShares

Value in Million

% of TotalTurnover

1,568,153 3,206,361 928,426 224,896 5,795,849

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BATBCL -A BSRM Ltd. -A LafargeS Cement-A Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A United Power-N FAR Chemical-N People`s Leasing-A UNITED AIR-A Grameenphone-A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A

Apex Tannery -A CVO PetroChem RL-A Islami Bank BD - A Square Pharma -A Olympic Accessories -N

35,000 148,231 126,559 1,007,970 86,904 235,904 787,489 1,048,253 33,788 332,754

61,413 20,634 287,816 35,377 129,682

101.58 100.19 99.13 97.58 93.86

103.25 17.36 14.75 14.61 13.90 13.09 12.66 11.03 10.57 10.43

9.91 8.95 8.81 8.37 8.06

1.92 1.90 1.88 1.85 1.78

21.81 3.67 3.12 3.08 2.94 2.76 2.67 2.33 2.23 2.20

2.09 1.89 1.86 1.77 1.70

ClosingP 30.80 14.40 238.90 163.40 192.30 117.80 159.50 57.20 67.70 315.90

65.00 31.20 107.80 431.40 16.60

ClosingP

Change % 1.32 -2.70 1.70 9.96 -1.44 0.86 -0.75 6.12 -0.88 1.54

-0.15 -0.95 4.05 1.55 6.41

Change %

3000.00 115.40 117.40 14.40 159.20 57.20 16.30 10.50 315.80 31.20

165.00 432.00 30.60 239.20 61.80

0.00 -2.04 0.17 -2.04 -0.50 5.93 5.16 -0.94 1.54 -1.58

9.93 0.70 0.66 1.70 -1.12

ClosingY 30.40 14.80 234.90 148.60 195.10 116.80 160.70 53.90 68.30 311.10

65.10 31.50 103.60 424.80 15.60

ClosingY

3000.00 117.80 117.20 14.70 160.00 54.00 15.50 10.60 311.00 31.70

150.10 429.00 30.40 235.20 62.50

DHIGH 31.00 15.40 239.50 163.40 195.00 119.20 163.00 57.60 69.00 320.00

65.70 31.90 108.90 446.00 16.80

DLOW 30.20 14.20 234.50 147.00 190.20 115.80 158.60 53.60 67.10 309.00

64.10 31.00 103.20 426.00 15.60

AvgPrice 30.62 14.42 236.80 157.32 192.85 116.96 160.20 55.73 67.82 312.21

64.78 31.25 106.77 433.89 16.19

DHIGH

DLOW

AvgPrice

3000.00 119.90 118.00 14.70 162.00 57.80 16.50 10.70 318.00 32.00

3000.00 114.00 115.90 14.30 158.20 54.00 15.50 10.40 308.40 31.00

2950.00 117.09 116.55 14.49 159.91 55.48 16.08 10.53 312.86 31.33

165.10 445.00 31.00 239.80 63.40

150.00 428.00 30.30 234.60 61.60

161.35 433.81 30.62 236.61 62.16

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

12342.24140

(+) 0.87%

1841.86016

(+) 0.76%

14717.98780

(+) 0.54%

12342.24140

(+) 0.69%

8963.51700

(+) 0.54%

▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲

Stocks bounced back from nearly three-week low yesterday, snapping a three-session losing streak.

The market opened lower and continued to remain in red till last session but final minute buying spree mainly on heavyweights like banks and telecommunications that pulled up the market.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange benchmark index, DSEX, closed up over 41 points or 0.9% at 4,809.

The Shariah index, DSES, rose 10 points or 0.9% to 1,184.

The blue chip comprising index DS30 settled at 1,841, rising 14 points or 0.8%.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX gained 48 points to 8,963.

Gainers took a marginal lead over losers as out of 318 issues traded, 143 advanced, 133 declined and 42 remained unchanged.

However, trading activities still remained sluggish as DSE turnover stood at Tk528 crore, down over 14% from the previous session’s Tk610 crore.

Banks continued to show its muscle since the news that default loans came down to single digit. The banking sector moved up 1.8%, extending winning streak for the second consecutive session.

After remaining flat over the last several sessions, telecommunications-led by the country’s largest mobile phone operator Grameenphone, surged 1.5%.

Pharmaceuticals also went up by 1.4%, followed by cement 0.8%, non-banking financial institutions 0.6%, power 0.3%, and food and allied 0.2% respectively. IT and textile were down by 0.5% and 0.6% respectively.

Lanka Bangla Securities said market has closed higher above 4800 aided by lucrative prices of value stocks.

All the major multi-national companies stock gained while banking stocks continued to rally reacting to the news of improved asset quality, it said.

Islami Bank continued to top the liquidity chart with turnover worth over Tk20 crore. It was followed by Familytex, Square Pharmaceuticals, Apex Tannery, Shahjibazar Power Company Limited and Lafarge Surma Cement. l

ANALYST

The gradual trimming down of the market continued as most scrips traded succumbed to investors’ reluctance

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20 BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

The cost of China’s devaluation n Edward Chancellor

payments were 11% of GDP and rising rapidly.

Foreign loans reduced this burden.

The result has been a surge in Chinese overseas borrowing, much of it from foreign banks. The Bank for International Settlements records that global banks’ net US dollar lending to China rose from around $100bn in late 2012 to nearly $650bn by mid-2014. The BIS also notes that Chinese corporations have increasingly taken to borrowing abroad through their overseas affiliates – a type of borrowing misleadingly recorded in the national accounts as foreign direct investment.

Trade credit has provided yet another

Financial markets, like religions, are faithbased networks. The complex structures of assets and liabilities that comprise markets are held together by a set of underlying beliefs. Unlike religions, however, financial dogmas are occasionally shown to be false. We experienced such a moment last week, when the Chinese authorities chose to devalue their currency.

For years, the consensus view has been that as China’s economy outgrew the developed world, its currency would inevitably appreciate. True, the yuan’s value was pegged to the dollar, but Beijing in the past had allowed it to gradually rise. The decision by the People’s Bank of China to relax the peg and depreciate the currency thus took the market by surprise. The significance of this move is not that it will set off another round of currency wars or that it will exacerbate global deflation – although both these outcomes are possible. Rather, the true danger comes from the adverse impact this unexpected devaluation may have on China’s dysfunctional financial system.

A shop clerk checks a 100-Chinese renminbi note The era of ultra-low US dollar interest rates has lured global carry traders source of foreign currency borrowing. Chito China. It’s easy to see why. Chinese banks nese corporations betting on the continued paid better deposit rates than their US coun- appreciation of the renminbi have got around terparts and yields were even higher in the the country’s capital controls by faking export country’s shadow banking system. In addi- invoices, which enabled them to bring doltion, carry traders could expect to earn a few lars into the mainland. The practice, which percentage points from currency appreciation is known as export preconversion, has been each year. To many foreigners, lending in Chi- mainly conducted with Hong Kong counterna with an expected annual return of around parties. In recent years, the value of exports to Hong Kong as reported by Beijing has regu10% must have seemed a one-way bet.

The inclination of Chinese borrowers to larly exceeded Hong Kong’s own record of imavail themselves of foreign loans has been ports from the mainland by a wide margin. In driven by need as much as greed. Of course, the late 1980s, Japanese companies likewise it has been cheaper to borrow abroad and the boosted their profits with complex financial rising yuan shrunk the size of outstanding li- transactions known as zaitech.

The result is that China now has vast foreign abilities. More to the point, as the country’s credit boom continued, China’s financial sys- debts. Although the country is still a net fortem has strained to keep up with demand. eign creditor, its gross foreign liabilities have climbed to nearly $5tn, according to Macro Foreign lenders have filled the gap.

Furthermore, as China’s non-financial debt Strategy Partnership, an independent research has climbed above 250% of GDP, the costs of company – a figure that even exceeds China’s servicing these obligations has become ex- $3.7tn pile of foreign exchange reserves.

In recent months, China has experienced tremely burdensome. Two years ago, Fitch estimated that Chinese corporate interest large capital outflows, estimated by Goldman

India, UAE plan infrastructure fund, defence and tech ties n Reuters, Dubai India and the United Arab Emirates will set up a multi-billion dollar fund to invest in Indian infrastructure projects and cooperate in producing military equipment, space technology and nuclear energy, officials said on Monday.

Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyan Jaishankar announced the plans at the end of a two-day visit to the UAE by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which focused on both business ties and national security.

India is eager for foreign capital and technology to develop its economy while the UAE, one of the richest of the Gulf Arab energy exporters, wants to use overseas investments to

diversify its asset base beyond oil.

The fund will aim to raise $75bn to build railways, ports, roads and other projects in India, Jaishankar said. He did not give a time frame, say how such a huge sum would be financed or describe how the fund would be structured.

A joint statement by the two governments said the UAE would help India develop strategic petroleum reserves in addition to its upstream and downstream petroleum sectors.

It set a target of increasing bilateral trade by 60% in the next five years and pledged cooperation in developing and launching satellites, as well as peaceful uses of nuclear energy. l

Sachs to have reached some $224bn in the second quarter. As the global carry trade retreats, foreign bank lending to China has collapsed – it’s down by around $250bn over the last year, according to the BIS. While Beijing was maintaining its currency peg, these outflows forced the PBOC to sell foreign exchange reserves and buy renminbi.

The trouble is that when a central bank swaps foreign exchange for its own currency domestic liquidity tightens, something that China’s cash-strapped corporate can ill afford.

The PBOC has reduced the reserve ratio requirement – the money that banks must hold at the central bank – to 18.5% of deposits and could lower it further. But it’s not clear whether this would be sufficient to offset tightening liquidity conditions. Historically, there has been a strong correlation between growth in capital inflows and growth in Chinese bank deposits.

The alternative was to let the currency depreciate, thus upsetting the calculations of all those who were relying on the renminbi’s continued appreciation, or at least stability, relative to the U.S. dollar. Chinese foreign AFP borrowers – particularly real estate companies, many of which have large dollar debts – now face the consequences of having mismatched their assets and liabilities. Thai finance companies found themselves in a similar predicament in 1996.

Great financial disasters often result from what the investment writer Vitaliy Katsenelson has called “false axioms”. For instance, Japan’s bubble economy of the 1980s was founded on the notion that the country’s property prices could only go up. When that belief turned out to be wrong, Japan’s banking system collapsed taking down the economy with it. Likewise, Ben Bernanke and others argued that US home prices would never decline. That false axiom delivered us the subprime mortgage crisis. The belief that China’s currency could only appreciate is another such mistaken belief. We cannot predict the consequences. Yet history suggests that bad things happen when the market’s deepest faith is shaken. l Edward Chancellor is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The article was initially published Reuters.

Oil prices slide further in Asia n AFP, Singapore

Oil prices slipped further in Asia yesterday, weighed down by a strengthening dollar as concerns about weakening demand in China added to expectations a global oversupply will last for years.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for September delivery was down 12 cents to $41.75 in afternoon trade. WTI has lost more than 30% in the past two months, bringing it to the lowest level since March 2009. Brent crude for October gave up 11 cents to $48.63.

Oil has led a slump in energy commodity prices in the past month “due to concerns about falling demand from China and robust global supply, especially in the US,” research house Capital Economics said.

Due to concerns about falling demand from China and robust global supply, especially in the US Strong output from US shale oil producers and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel has outpaced the growth in demand, leading to an oversupply that has depressed prices.

BMI Research, a subsidiary of financial information provider Fitch Group, predicted the glut will persist until 2018.

“The return of Iranian oil to market, coupled with strong project pipelines in North America, the Middle East, west Africa and Kazakhstan, will see global supply expansion outstrip the growth in global consumption for the next two years,” it said.

Punishing Western sanctions that have restricted Iran’s oil exports for years are expected to be lifted once it is verified that Tehran is complying with a deal to curb its nuclear ambitions.

Analysts say the return of Iranian oil will add to the current excess, further dampening prices.

Anticipation the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as early as September and China’s surprise devaluation of the yuan have also boosted the US currency, making dollar-priced oil more expensive in the global market.

This tends to discourage demand and leads to lower prices. l

CORPORATE NEWS

BRAC Bank Limited has recently signed an agreement with Guardian Life Insurance Company Limited for providing life insurance coverage to its (small business, unsecured) loan customers. The bank’s MD and CEO, Syed Mahbubur Rahman and MM Monirul Alam, MD & CEO of Guardian Life Insurance exchanged documents after signing the agreement at the bank’s head office

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Photo: Bigstock

T-JUNCTION

A new era

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19 2015

INSIDE

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Trial room

The IT scientist

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Profiles

The path least trodden

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Trial Room

The IT scientist WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19 2015

Kazuki Nakayama, country director of Sekai Lab Bangladesh, a Japanese software development start-up, took us on a journey of his experiences in Bangladesh

n Rad Sharar Bin Kamal How did you first enter the commercial industry in Japan?

It all began when I joined an apparel company, where I was given charge of setting up a factory here in Bangladesh.

Initially I joined to support that firm, but due to multiple external reasons, I ended up becoming their general manager in Bangladesh and managed the company for two and a half years. As I was in charge of setting up their operations from scratch, in a country still new to me, I had to manage it all to the day the company was sold. I also gave time as a JICA (volunteer) lecturer at Dhaka University for two years. It was truly a difficult time for me then.

I didn’t enjoy the first three months to be honest. I lived in Shyamoli and had to transit using public transport from there to Dhaka University for the first three months.

The attention, the constant efforts to take advantage of me thinking I didn’t know the local fare (I did), the under-toned “Chinese” comments (I’m Japanese, but nodded along as it was easier than explaining) among others, kind of made that time a bittersweet experience. Yet, it was an unforgettable one and one of the most important phases of my time here.

What are you personally fond of in Bangladesh? And vise versa.

The best part about this country are the people, which I took a bot of time to understand. When I lived in Shyamoli, there was a tea stall between my home and the bus stand. When returning from office every day, I would sit there, sipping tea and

sharing stories with the locals, who used to show so much interest that it was surprising in the very least. I had to speak in English at the university, hence the tea stall became a perfect hub for me to learn the language and know the people. What they changed extensively was my perception of rich and poor, and redefined my understanding to one where I realised how rich the people are here; not because they have wealth, but have it in their hearts to give whatever they can even when they aren’t well-off.

The raw and warm hospitality I was shown was comparable to no other, and it made me slowly fall in love with the culture.

Tell us your Sekai Lab journey.

After I moved back to Japan, I was looking for a job to which I can fully devote myself to in an Asian country, and funnily enough, somewhere other than Bangladesh.

Soon, I got to know that Sekai Lab was going to start a new branch in Dhaka. Still curious, I talked to them and came to know their vision for creating a platform for diversity, and their aim to nurture the understated potential talents of the youth in Bangladesh.

I just fell in love with Sekai Lab after that, and immediately decided to join.

“This is a very young country. Engaging yourself in shaping up the form of the country is something people cannot experience in developed countries like Japan. The economy is booming, and surely you can make the new success story (or a new chapter in Bangladesh history) with the IT industry.”

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Trial Room

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19 2015

I believe there are huge opportunities for Bangladesh to excel in the IT industry within the next 10 years. We will grow up as fast as India and China if we persist, and now it is our turn to overtake their history.

Mitarai Hiroshi Chief Technology Officer Sekai Lab Bangladesh

How did the activities of Sekai Lab initially start out in Bangladesh?

The word is quickly! Sekai Lab is a start-up, and one of the great strengths of a start-up is that they are nimble and fast.

The decision to set up a branch here was made in December 2014. From then on, the recruitment process had already begun in Japan, with me interviewing in February and joining in March. Company registrations began by April and new recruits from Bangladesh were taken in by May. And today, we have 22 employees working at full speed.

How do you plan to help develop the company and employees through Sekai Lab? Challenge is the keyword. As a Bangladeshi,

In my spare time: I actually like to take street photos of Bangladesh, photography being an interest of mine. Moreover, I love Cafe hopping here too!

I have some hobbies, including football (Arsenal fan), trekking and traveling for sure.

Also a history enthusiast, I love to know more about Asia. there is a common success story: “Get a diploma abroad, get a good job there, invite your family and maybe get a citizenship and settle.�

As the economy is growing, we can have a different success story by providing enough challenging jobs and projects in Bangladesh; not just by writing codes and implementing from a lower platform, but handling top-tobottom overall IT solutions. Creative work, such as business plan creation, upper-level information sourcing to bottom-level user acceptance testing is all part of the process, giving our employees a full view and practice of global projects.

By providing new challenges to these young engineers, coupled with a very competitive salary, we might just be able to offer a new concept of success in Bangladesh.

What are your future development plans for Sekai Lab? Firstly, to become the number one leading IT company in Bangladesh in 10 years, which will be visible to the world and change their perception of the country being inadequate in the industry.

Secondly, to handle large-scale international projects with our local team. l

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24 T-JUNCTION

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19 2015

Profiles

The path least trodden The tale of Dream Weaver coming to existence

n Sharafat Hussain In the minds of his friends and family, the future of Jobayer Hossain Shuvo was somewhat predetermined and predictable.

He was one of the brightest students to come out of Comilla Zilla school, and him getting admitted in IUT to study engineering raised no eyebrows on that regard. But when he left it all behind for the pursuit of greatness in photography, everyone could tell he wasn’t taking it as a mere hobby. Only a few photos shot by him at IUT concerts and at friends’ weddings had tell-tale signs of the hidden talent that was bursting at the seams, waiting to pop out and make him renowned.

The same man recently received an international membership from WPPA for illustrating Bengali wedding culture with his photography. WPPA is one of the biggest photography institution in Asia that provides membership to the world’s best photographers based on the artistic quality and professionalism of the photographer.

The judges take interviews of the photographers and analyse their work, and Shuvo’s work passed the test quickly.

At first, he was worried that they might not like it, but to his astonishment, they asked, “Can you show us a few more photos?

It’s possible that you will be the first one to receive the craftsmanship award from your country.”

Unfortunately, he hadn’t snapped too many. As a result, he had to be content with the licentiateship award alone, which is quite respectable on its own, being the second photographer from Bangladesh to

ever receive it. However, Shuvo was looking forward to becoming the best photographer not only in Asia, but in the world.

This recognition indicates that Shuvo is successful both as an entrepreneur and a photographer. But was the path of this journey an easy one? Far from it. Shuvo and his team from IUT started their photography firm “Dream Weaver” while they were just students. Finding the capital was not easy and having satisfactory clients was even harder. Hence, he had to buy his own gear and camera from taking private classes, and the first wedding event they covered was the wedding ceremony of the “canteen mama,” thereby receiving a mere Tk500 as payment. With passing time, the photos of their Facebook page started accumulating attention and made them the most sought after photographers. Although the load of engineering was very hectic, he managed to bring out the best from both worlds.

He passed engineering within time with a respectable degree.

But why would an engineer choose photography as a profession? Many people could not swallow the idea. And it wasn’t only him, but 24 members from the group of Dream Weaver photographers are engineers who dared to take photography as their profession, and all of them are quite content with their decision. Luckily, Shuvo’s family and his significant other were always supportive and he remained determined to follow his passion. Although wedding photography was a luxury reserved only for the elites in the beginning, numerous people from ordinary backgrounds also dreamed to get photographed on their special day.

Subsequently, Dream Weaver made their wedding photography affordable and conventional for the middle class, and now the rising popularity of wedding photography among all classes of people is very prominent after the change.

When we tried to ferret out the reason behind their success and how they came to have 600,000 fans along with arranging two “Bibaho Utshab” (wedding festival) within three years, we realised that it was their professionalism, hard work and savvy marketing strategy that led them to glory.

As a result, they had opened their second branch in Chittagong on June 15, 2015 at Madina Tower. However, not relying on our own assumption, we thought it would be better to hear from him the secret of his success, to which he replied promptly,”If everyone follows their dream and passion and start taking their best skill as their profession, then I believe we will have more people like Einstein, Picasso and Mozart.

Many youngsters are crazy to get a job. But I think they should focus more on becoming a successful entrepreneur.” l

James Anderson could feature in the fifth Ashes Test against Australia after returning to practise on Monday. He will be assessed on Tuesday and Wednesday before the final decision

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WOMEN’S TOUR OF PAKISTAN UNCERTAIN

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SL AIM TO PRESENT SANGA VICTORIOUS FAREWELL

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FIT ENOUGH?

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

BILBAO HOLD BARCA TO END 31-YEAR DROUGHT

When joy knows no bounds

Bangladesh’s jubilant Under-16 boys take a lap of honour with the trophy after beating India in a scintillating Saff Under-16 Championship final at the Sylhet District Stadium yesterday

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

SYLHET TIDBITS

BANGLADESH V INDIA, SAFF U-16 CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL The favourite venue

It has not been long since the Sylhet District Stadium last hosted an international football match. Less than a year ago, the north-east venue hosted Bangladesh U-23 and Nepal U-23 in a friendly ahead of the 17th Asian Games in Incheon in September. Since then, Sylhet has become one of the favourite venues of the organisers. The last time an international tournament took place in Sylhet was the 3rd Bangabandhu Gold Cup earlier this year. That the different age-level home sides have performed admirably at the venue is largely down to the effort of the organisers and the boisterous support of the crowd.

Extra demands, extra tickets

What the 20m people in the capital could not do, the football lovers in Sylhet did it with pride and aplomb. Most of the matches, domestic or international, in Dhaka fail to attract the full capacity but it is totally a different scenario in Sylhet. All the official tickets, around 20,000, of the grand finale between the hosts and the holders were sold out a day before matchday so the organisers decided to sell extra 3,000 tickets yesterday morning.

Even after those 3,000 extra tickets were sold out and the stadium was packed to the rafters, thousands of fans were seen queuing outside the venue hours before kick-off.

Emotional speech

The chairman of the Bangladesh Football Federation’s organising committee, Badal Roy, has been working his socks off for the development of the country’s youth football.

The former footballer, who also happens to be the vice president of the country’s football regulatory body, gave an emotional and inspirational speech to the members of the Bangladesh U-16 squad before they went for lunch yesterday. “It is an opportunity for you to accomplish something what your formers could not achieve. Just imagine where you were two months ago and where you are now. It is you who will decide where you will

be after two months,” said Badal during his 15-minute motivational speech to the players.

Salahuddin’s wish

BFF president Kazi Salahuddin too had a message for the youngsters. The BFF supremo has never had the opportunity to hand over the trophy to his countrymen in any Saff event during his six-year tenure as the president of the South Asian Football Federation.

He was in Sylhet yesterday to watch the game and conveyed his wish to the players. The BFF boss also had words of encouragement for the youngsters.

–SHISHIR HOQUE FROM SYLHET

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26 Sport

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

WHAT THEY SAID Syed Golam Jilani, Bangladesh head coach Our football needed this trophy very much. This is a turning point in my coaching career as well. I said it before that I want to move ahead one step at a time and we showed the improvement by winning this trophy.

It never came to my mind that we could lose the game. Our strategy was not to allow them taking long range shots. Our players perhaps lost the concentration for a while but the goal was brilliant and deserves all the credit. My plan was to keep the defense solid and attack.

Shaun Hossain, Bangladesh defender and the Player of the Final We wanted to reach the peak with small steps and we made it. I want to thank the coaches especially as they prepared us in a very short time which is unbelievable.

Sarowar Zaman Nipu, Bangladesh striker and the Most Valuable Player I was always confident that we would win the game. I'm very grateful to the people of Sylhet for their amazing support throughout the tournament.

Bitan Singh Ngangkham, India head coach

There was not an inch left to fill inside the Sylhet District Stadium yesterday as hundreds of football crazy fans risked their lives and hurried on to the rooftops of the adjacent under-construction building and climbed the floodlight tower to cheer the home side in the Saff U-16 final yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Women’s tour of Pakistan uncertain n Minhaz Uddin Khan A Bangladesh Cricket Board delegation will only be sent to Pakistan to inspect the security condition if the Bangladesh government gives the green signal. The BCB was supposed to send a team to Pakistan earlier this month to assess the security situation. But it did not materialise as the BCB was waiting for a nod from the Bangladesh government.

BCB director and chairman of the media and communications committee, Jalal Younus, said the home ministry of Bangladesh has been informed of the issue and has been requested to act accordingly. Jalal also said the final call, both on sending a delegation and the women cricketers, will come from the government, and not from the BCB. “We have informed the home ministry a long time ago and wanted a representative from the ministry to be a part of the delegation and visit Pakistan. We wanted the team to consist a representative each from the BCB, home ministry and government security agency. We want the government to be involved in this. So now it depends on the government if a security team should visit Pakistan or not. We are waiting for a call from the government at the moment,” informed Jalal yesterday.

The recent security crisis in Pakistan has made the BCB rethink of the tour, informed Jalal. Last Sunday, a suicide attack in Pakistan killed Punjab’s Home Minister Shuja Khanzada and at least eight others. A Taliban-linked group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Earlier on August 5 this year, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram said he had escaped a gun attack in the southern port-city of Karachi. Wasim said he was on his way to the city’s National Stadium where he was conducting a bowling camp when a man rammed a vehicle into his car and then opened fire before fleeing.

The women’s tour of Pakistan has been mooted as a possibility ever since PCB chairman Shahryar Khan visited Bangladesh last year but the recent incidents have confused the BCB. “We had nothing to worry about even a few days ago. Bangladesh’s handball and football teams visited Pakistan and everything was fine.

They informed us that they were very much satisfied with the security and the VVIP treatment. But the recent incidents are alarming and you always have room to think when a Home Minister of a country gets killed by a terrorist attack,” Jalal explained. He further informed that a decision is likely on the issue from the home ministry within eight to 10 days. l

Today we were unlucky. Bangladesh are a good team and they utilised the home support and advantage. Our boys also put up an excellent display. We had several attempts in the second-half where we attacked from the wings and equalised with an excellent goal. We tried everything but I can not say anything about the tie-breaker. They are more experienced (in taking penalties). Ours are good but they looked more matured. l

11 companies interested in buying BPL teams n Mazhar Uddin The governing council of the Bangladesh Premier League yesterday announced the names of 11 companies who have submitted the Expression of Interest for the third edition of the money-spinning Twenty20 tournament.

During yesterday’s press conference the governing council initially declared the names of 10 companies who are interested in purchasing franchises but the number of parties was later increased to 11.

The interested companies are - DBL Group, Sohana Group of Industries, Beximco, BBS Cables, Blues Communications, Networld Bangladesh Ltd, Mediacom (Square Group) Index Group, Bengal Communications, Axiom Technology Ltd and Fiber@home Ltd. BPL member secretary Ismail Haider Mallick informed the media yesterday that the

board would finalise the owners of seven franchises within next month.

“We are going to sit with every corporate house separately and only then can we ensure the financial prospects with the franchises.

Then, we will approve the interested parties.

I hope we can announce the seven new franchise owners by next month,” said Mallick.

According to Mallick, there are very little chances for the previous owners of the seven franchises to take part in the upcoming edition.

“As we have received interest from the new firms, we did not accept the terms of the previous seven franchise owners. But if the previous franchises pay their due payments, we may think about their inclusion in the third edition.

However, it is not in our hands. We are yet to finalise any decision with regards to the previous franchises and we are only looking forward with the prospective new owners,” he said. l

(L-R) BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury, director Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan, BPL member secretary Ismail Haider Mallick, governing council chairman Afzalur Rahman Sinha and BCB directors Jalal Younus and Akram Khan address the media in a press conference yesterday COURTESY

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

QUICK BYTES Bridge tournament starts Friday The Max Group Open Bridge Tournament, organised by the Bangladesh Bridge Federation, will begin at the Engineers Recreation Center from Friday. A sum of Tk 24000 will be given away as prize money in the tournament. Non Dhaka players will receive an allowance of Tk 1000 while educational institution teams will receive an allowance of Tk 4000 as special incentives. In a press conference held at the BOA auditorium yesterday, Lt. col (retd) Mosharraf Hossain, the general secretary of the federation and chairman of Max Group presented the details of the event to the media.

–TRIBUNE DESK

Sri Lanka aim to present Sangakkara victorious farewell n AFP, Colombo Kumar Sangakkara gets a chance to bow out in style by leading Sri Lanka to a series-cliching victory in the second Test against India starting in Colombo on Thursday.

The prolific left-hander, the highest run-getter among those still playing at the highest level, will bid adieu to international cricket after

the match, ending a glorious 15-year career.

With Sri Lanka leading the three-match series after conjuring a brilliant come-from-behind win in the first Test in Galle by 63 runs, the stage is set at the P. Sara Oval for a Sangakkara special.

The 37-year-old will be desperate to end an unusually barren streak at the venue where he has fallen for zero in each of his last three

Messi, Tevez join Argentina for friendlies Barcelona star Lionel Messi, who suffered more disappointment with Argentina in the Copa America last month, has been called up by national coach Gerardo Martino for friendlies against Bolivia and Mexico in September.

Argentina lost the Copa America final to Chile on penalties a year after falling in the World Cup final to Germany.

–AFP

Proteas eye revenge for NZ World Cup defeat When it was announced that South Africa and New Zealand would play a one-day international series during the South African winter, the obvious marketing angle was that it would provide a rematch of the dramatic World Cup semi-final between the two teams.

–AFP

DAY’S WATCH Ten Sports 11:00AM Champions League, Play-off Celtic v Malmo

Ten Action 9:00PM ATP Masters: Western & Southern Open Round 2 Day 3 12:00AM Champions League, Play-off Valencia v Monaco

Ten Cricket 4:30PM New Zealand Tour of South Africa 1st ODI

Sony Six 10:30AM India Tour of Sri Lanka 2nd Test, Day 1

Star Sports 2 Pro Kabaddi League 2015 8:20PM Patna v Jaipur 9:30PM Pune v Bengaluru

Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara (L) plays football during a practice session at P Sara Oval Stadium in Colombo yesterday AFP

Rogers confirms retirement after Ashes finale n AFP, London Chris Rogers is retiring from international cricket after this week’s Ashes finale against England, the Australia opener announced on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old joins his captain Michael Clarke in retiring from international career after the fifth Test.

He said: “I have had an amazing couple of years playing for Australia and enjoyed it and been part of some pretty special things - but everything comes to an end.”

England wrapped up the Ashes with victory in the fourth Test that put them 3-1 up in the five-match series.

Tuesday’s confirmation comes after Rogers had suggested it was his plan to make the Oval his international swansong in what will be his 25th career Test.

Rogers, who has more than 24,000 firstclass runs to his name, made his Test debut in 2008 but did not win his second cap until the start of the 2013 Ashes - at the age of 35.

The determined left-hander has since scored five Test centuries, most recently in Australia’s only victory of this Ashes series at Lord’s.

Rogers suffered a dizzy spell in the second

Test at Lord’s and was forced off the field on 49 in Australia’s second innings.

Medical tests revealed the injury was related to a balance problem in the inner ear caused when Rogers was hit on the helmet by a James Anderson bouncer during his Testbest 173 in the first innings.

Despite injury doubts he was able to play at the next Test at Edgbaston.l

Tests, including a first-ball duck against Pakistan in June.

Sangakkara scored five and 40 against the Indians in Galle, where Sri Lanka snatched a remarkable victory after seemingly heading for a crushing loss.

The hosts had been reduced to 95-5 in their second innings before lunch on the third day, still 98 runs away from avoiding an innings defeat, when Dinesh Chandimal led the recovery with a brilliant 162 off 169 balls.

Chandimal shared valuable partnerships with Lahiru Thirimanne (44) and Jehan Mubarak (49) to lift the hosts to 367 before veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath took over.

Herath grabbed seven wickets as Virat Kohli’s men, chasing a modest victory target of 176, were skittled for 112 soon after lunch on the fourth day.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said nothing less than a series win would be a fitting tribute to Sangakkara.

“We will definitely go for the kill,” he said.

“Sangakkara deserves the best possible farewell and only a win can do that. There is so much to play for in this Test.”

Indian team director Ravi Shastri said it hurt to lose at Galle after dominating the Test till the third afternoon, but promised to set things right in the next two matches.

“Matches like Galle hurt you more than some others, because you have dominated the Test and still lost it,” the former all-rounder said.

“You learn from this kind of result quicker than any other kind of result. Hopefully you will see it in the next few days.”l

Manager hails Benteke impact after win at Bournemouth n Reuters Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said Christian Benteke gives his side a different dimension and hailed his performance against Bournemouth on Monday after the Belgian international scored on his home debut to make it two wins out of two in the Premier League.

Liverpool beat Bournemouth 1-0 after the 24-year-old, who signed from Aston Villa for 32.5 million pounds ($50.6 million) in the off-season, turned in midfielder Jordan Henderson’s cross from close range midway through the first half.

“I thought he was a real handful, you saw all the facets of his game,” Rodgers said.

“His hold-up play is outstanding, he’s got a wonderful touch for a big guy and you saw that this evening.

“Because of his physicality and contact, he keeps the ball alive in a dangerous area of the field,” the Northern Irishman added.

“It gives us a different dimension to our game, whilst looking to retain that philosophy to move the ball and get fluency.”

Benteke was pleased to mark his Anfield debut with a winning goal, but was equally happy with his team’s second consecutive clean sheet.l

DT

28 Sport

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

Bilbao hold Barca to end 31-year trophy drought n AFP, Madrid Athletic Bilbao claimed their first trophy in 31 years as they drew 1-1 with 10-man Barcelona to win the Spanish Super Cup 5-1 on aggregate on Monday.

Lionel Messi had given the European champions - who trailed 4-0 from the first leg - a glimmer of hope with the opener two minutes before half-time.

However, any realistic hope Barca had of pulling off a monumental comeback disappeared when Gerard Pique was shown a straight red card for dissent 10 minutes into the second-half.

And Aritz Aduriz exploited the space left by the Spanish international defender’s dismissal to follow up his hat-trick in the first leg with the crucial away goal midway through the second-half.

“For us to win a title is the best thing that can happen to us,” Aduriz told Spanish TV station Telecinco.

“Apart from the birth of my daughter this is the happiest day of my life.”

Defeat ends Barcelona’s hopes of matching the club record set by Pep Guardiola’s side in 2009 of winning six trophies in a calendar year.

They won’t have long to wait for a chance at revenge, though, as the two sides square off once more in their opening game of the La Liga season on Sunday in Bilbao.

“It is a tie of two games and in the first they were clear victors,” said Barca captain Andres Iniesta.

“Today we tried everything. Possibly we needed another goal in the first-half so that they would have more doubts.

“I think very few teams have won six titles. Very few have won three or four, we

1-1

Bilbao win 5-1 on aggregate will go for the fifth and until December we have an interesting first part of the season ahead of us.”

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique had made six changes to the side that was thrashed at the new San Mames on Friday with a host of first-team regulars coming back into the side.

The hosts started on the front foot as Luis Suarez saw a shot deflected just over before Pique’s effort came back off the crossbar.

Yet, Athletic’s mass ranks of defence were comfortably keeping Enrique’s men at bay and the visitors even had a great chance to put the tie to bed when Javier Eraso skipped past Javier Mascherano before firing into the side-netting rather than squaring for Aduriz to apply a simple finish.

Barca finally found a way through thanks to a brilliant move as Suarez headed down for Messi who controlled the ball on his chest before sweeping home.

Claudio Bravo kept Barcelona’s hopes alive early in the second period with saves from Markel Susaeta and Aduriz, but the Chilean’s good work was undone when Pique was sent-off for something he said to the referee’s assistant after he failed to flag Aduriz offside. To their credit Barca didn’t give up as Pedro Rodriguez, Ivan Rakitic and Suarez all fired off target with fine chances to reduce the deficit to two goals. l

29

DT

Ascent Cup 2015

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

RESULTS, DAY 5 GEMCON

12-0

BANDO DESIGN

10-0

ANCHOR EXIM US LTD

Defending champions Gemcon Group (yellow) in action during their match against Metronet yesterday. The holders cruised through to the last eight

THE HEAVYWEIGHT OF ASCENT CUP GEMCON GROUP If BexiPharma is the Brazil of the Ascent Cup, then Gemcon Group would have to be Holland. The expression ‘Always a bridesmaid’ applies to them as much as it does to the Dutch. However like the Dutch they also play their own brand of Total Football. Gemcon is a team that has it all. A tight unit that can move up and down the length of the pitch with devastating pace.

They also have the finishing skills of Sohel, last years Golden Boot (highest scorer) winner and Shamim, the recipient of last years MVP award. We have watched the nucleus of this team develop over 5 years and the improvement is staggering. On their day, they can bring heavy weight teams like BexiPharma and Union Capital down to their knees. However, they have been beaten runners up for 2 consecutive years before finally wearing the crown in the previous edition. Only time will tell if Gemcon can repeat their feat in presence of competition from other heavyweights Bando Design and BexiPharma.

METRONET CENTRO TEX

3-1

COMFIT COMPOSIT

SECUREX

1-0

ACCENTURE

SAJEEB GROUP

6-3

BONGO

RUNNER GROUP

4-5

BANGLA CAT

BEXIMCO PHARMA

3-0

ASUTEX

ASCENT

3-1

STERLING GROUP

Favorites progress after nail biting pre-quarters n Arsalan Quddus and Syed Shabab It may have been raining cats and dogs outside the STM but it wasn’t raining goals inside, as all the high pressure matches of the Pre-Quarters were played out today. Each and every match was a nail biter and what may have lacked in goals surely made up in terms of scintillating action on the pitch.

COMFIT COMPOSITE vs ANCHOR

The first match of the day saw Anchor take down a very stubborn Comfit Composite. It took the brilliance of Raznoor’s brace to break down the Composite defense. Comfit Composite can leave this tournament with their heads held high as we bid farewell to this exciting team.

SECUREX vs ACCENTURE

The match between Securex and Accenture is one of the reasons that we love this game.

It was an eye an eye encounter with neither team willing to budge or give any quarter.

The match was locked at nil-nil till the last minute of regulation time until Monir of Securex broke deadlock with a screamer

from the halfway line. It ought to be added that the security company were missing the mercurial captain Mosabber who incurred an injury in his last match. As for Accenture, it was the end of the road of a highly successful campaign.

SAJEEB GROUP vs BONGO

Sajeeb Group versus the Bongo tie was an ill-tempered affair which saw a lot of argy-bargy going on between the players both on and off the pitch. The Bongo players eventually lost the plot in the second half with Sajeeb group romping into the quarter-finals with a hard earned 6-3 win. Chisty and Piash both scoring braces for the Sajeeb while Salman Khan replied with two of his own for the advertisers.

RUNNER GROUP vs BANGLA CAT

One of the best matches we have seen in the tournament so far was when Bangla Cat took on Runner. In the first half we saw Cat take a 3-0 lead. Sajeeb Group came back from behind to even the score but two goals from Cat’s Sourav put the game beyond Runner

reach at the final wistle. We say Sayonara to Akihiro Ueda and his men – their skillful play will surely be missed at the STM.

BEXIMCO PHARMA vs ASUTEX

Powerhouse Beximco Pharma found the going tough when they came up against a plucky Asutex. The final scoreline of 3-0 did not reflect the actual nature of the match as Asutex fought tooth and nail for their pride.

Sunny, Akhter, and Shuvo all converted for Beximco as they look ominous once again for the rest of the tournament.

ASCENT GROUP vs STERLING GROUP

Home side fans of Ascent could be heard at high decibels inside the STM with their drumbeats and vuvuzelas, but it was a different story on the pitch. Ascent may have had the final laugh but newcomers Sterling Group gave a marvelous account of themselves. We hope to see Sterling back next year stronger but it is Ascent Group who will live to fight another day in this tournament.

Faruk scored a fabulous two goals for the home side. l

DT

30 DOWNTIME

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Little wave (6) 4 Apply friction to (3) 7 Unbound (5) 8 Photographic apparatus (6) 11 Was ahead (3) 12 Love god (4) 13 Require (4) 15 Frighten from (5) 16 Clenched hands (5) 20 Domestic animals (4) 23 Midday (4) 24 Merry amusement (3) 25 Quickly(mus) (6) 26 Fragrance (5) 27 Lair (3) 28 Stinging plant (6)

DOWN 1 Contested in speed (5) 2 Gift (7) 3 Dash (4) 4 Acting part (4) 5 Second-hand (4) 6 Resting place (3) 9 Land measure (3) 10 Pithy saying (3) 14 Distinguished (7) 17 Distress signal (3) 18 Small child (3) 19 Sleep noisily (5) 20 Remedy (4) 21 Soon (4) 22 Short space of time (4) 24 Passing craze (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 20 represents N so fill N every time the figure 20 appears.

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

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

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, AUGUST 19, 2015

Apu Trilogy enters the Criterion Collection n Showtime Desk

Sony awards Bangladeshi photo enthusiasts n Showtime Desk The award giving ceremony for Sony’s World Photography Awards 2015 competition for Bangladeshi nationals was held at Sony CCM Center, Sonartori on August 12.

Winner Ata Mohammad Adnan’s “Monsoon Splash” won the best photography award, securing first place, while the second place was awarded to Arafat Siraji for his photograph “Worried Worker.”

Mohammad Amir Hamja secured third place for “Bangladeshi Smile.” The first prize was Sony α7S camera with VarioTessar, second prize a Sony α7 camera with Sonnar T* FE and third prize a Sony α6000 camera with Vario-Tessar T* E. l

The Criterion Collection has quite a few releases coming out this November, but Satyajit Ray’s The Apu Trilogy is certainly the crown jewel among them all. As an American video distribution company that specialises in licensing “important classic and contemporary films,” film aficionados are in for a rare treat with this new release.

After the highly anticipated wait, the boutique label is finally putting Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road), Aparajito (The Unvanquished) and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) into one must-have set.

Just a few days prior to the 60th anniversary of Pather Panchali’s first theatre release on August 26, film enthusiasts around the world are going to experience the high-resolution home video version of these masterpieces.

These aren’t just barebone releases given spiffy 4K restorations; they come with extras (interviews, documentary excerpts, audio recordings) and basically anything and everything someone who has been waiting for these movies to get officially released stateside could want.

Elsewhere, Michael Haneke’s Code Unknown will mark his first entry into Criterion. The Juliette Binoche starring

movie has a new 2K transfer and will include a making-of documentary, vintage interview material featuring Haneke himself, and more.

Akira Kurosawa’s lovely Ikiru gets a Blu-ray upgrade, while there will also be a Julien Duvivier Eclipse set.l

JATRA BIROTI BULLETIN “Bhaab” featuring Tanveer Alam Shawjeeb Time:Thursday, August 20 Tickets:Tk500 Shawjeeb is a singer/musician/composer/ arranger with over 25 years of experience in performing producing, directing and editing. He has worked in both documentary and fictional genres.

Shawjeeb will be accompanied by the talented musicians Yameen Khan, Rahin Haider, Zunayed Sabbir Ahmed and Dewan Anamul Hasan Raju Open Mic Time: Friday, August 21 Tickets: Tk300 An audience-driven event.

Yoganika followed by electro/accoustic Time: Saturday, August 22 Tickets: Tk500 Public yoga session with well-known instructor Anika Rabbani. Don Donadoni will do a live set that he specifically created to take the experience to another level. Yoga session will be followed by Electro/Acoustic with The Speakeasy crew, Fahad Zaman and some other surprise guests. Follow Yoganika’s event page for further details: https://www. facebook.com/events/996876387013816/ Tickets are available to book or buy online at www.imdhaka.com Tea and phuckha are included in the ticket price.

DT

32 BACK PAGE

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

BANKS SUFFER PROVISION SHORTFALL OF TK2,400CR

PAGE 15

ROGERS TO RETIRE AFTER ASHES PAGE 27

APU TRILOGY ENTERS CRITERION COLLECTION PAGE 31

Islamic Climate Declaration calls for fossil fuel phaseout n Abu Bakar Siddique Islamic leaders from 20 countries yesterday launched a climate change declaration to engage the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims on the most pressing issue of our times.

Adopted by 60 participants at the International Islamic Climate Change Symposium held in Istanbul from August 17 to 18, the declaration urged governments to signal the end of the road for fossil fuels and limit global warming above pre-industrial levels to 2, or preferably 1.5, degrees Celsius.

The declaration called for a rapid phaseout of fossil fuels as well as moving towards 100% renewable energy to mitigate the environmental impact of fossil fuel use.

Participants from the Muslim countries urged emitters to provide generous financial and technical support to less well-off nations to achieve the greenhouse gas phaseout.

In addition, the declaration urged corporations and the financial and business sectors to shoulder the consequences of their profit-making activities and to take an active role in reducing their carbon footprint.

In order to mitigate the environmental impact of their activities, the business sector should commit to switching to 100% renewable energy as quickly as possible, the declaration stated.

Representatives from the Muslim countries called on developed nations and oil-producing states to lead the phaseout of greenhouse gas emission by 2050.

The declaration presents the moral case, based on Islamic teachings, for Muslims and

people of all faiths worldwide to take urgent climate action.

It was drafted by a large, diverse team of international Islamic scholars from around the world following a lengthy consultation period prior to the symposium.

It has been endorsed by more than 60 participants and organisations including the Grand Muftis of Uganda and Lebanon.

The Declaration is in harmony with the Papal Encyclical and has won the support of the Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace of the Holy See. Dr Saleemul Huq, Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development, said: “I am proud to be part of the Islamic Climate Change Symposium held in Istanbul and to be associated with the Islamic Declaration on Climate Change.”

“It appeals to all Muslims to abide by the tenets of Islam to preserve the environment and to help the poorest and most vulnerable,” he added yesterday in an email communication with the Dhaka Tribune.

Citing the findings of climate scientists, the declaration said a rise in global temperature of two degrees Celsius was a “tipping point” that would be unavoidable if global behaviour did not change.

The civil society of several Muslim countries adopted the declaration ahead of COP21, the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will take place later this year in Paris.

The two-day symposium was organised by Climate Action Network International. l

Indian President’s wife Suvra Mukherjee passes away n BSS Suvra Mukherjee, wife of Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, died yesterday at 10:51am, Rashtrapati Bhavan announced.

She died at the age of 74.

The couple had been married for 58 years and had three children – Abhijit Mukherjee, Indrajit Mukherjee and Sharmistha Mukherjee.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan statement said: “It is informed with deep sorrow that First Lady Smt Suvra Mukherjee passed away this morning (August 18, 2015).”

President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and several cabinet ministers condoled her death and prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed their sympathies to members of the bereaved family.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to attend the funeral of Suvra Mukherjee today in New Delhi.

A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines

carrying the Prime Minister will take off from Shahjalal International Airport at 6am, PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told BSS. The flight is scheduled to reach Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi at 8am local time.

Suvra Mukherjee was suffering from a respiratory ailment and had suffered a cardiac arrest about a fortnight back. She was under treatment at the Army (Research and Referral) Hospital in Delhi.

Suvra Mukherjee was born on September 17, 1940 in Jessore (a southern district in Bangladesh) and married Pranab Mukherjee on 13 July, 1957.

Suvra Mukherjee was an ardent fan of Rabindranath Tagore. She was a vocalist of Rabindra Sangeet and performed in the poet’s dance-dramas for long years not only in different parts of India, but also in Europe, Asia and Africa.

She was also a highly talented painter who had many groups and solo exhibitions to her credit. l

Stalker arrested in Gaibandha schoolgirl suicide case n Our Correspondent, Gaibandha Police yesterday arrested an alleged stalker, two days after a schoolgirl committed suicide in Gaibandha sadar upazila. The girl has also left behind a five-page suicide note.

Amina, 15, a ninth grader at the Gaibandha Government Girls’ High School, committed suicide by hanging herself with a saree from a tree near their home in Dulaler Vita village under Kholahati union on Saturday night.

Her family alleged that arrestee Rayhan, 19, used to stalk Amina on her way to school almost everyday.

Police took the matter seriously and eventually detained the young man after Gaibandha Deputy Commissioner Md Abdus Samad visited Amina’s house and talked to her parents. Gaibandha police chief Ashraful Islam accompanied the DC.

Amina’s mother Shilpi Begum said that on August 7, Amina was going to attend private tuition in Gaibandha town, when Rayhan stopped her on the way and forcefully took her to a nearby place called Garerbata.

Rayhan used one of his female cousins, who is a neighbour to Amina, to convince her to go with him.

At one point, local people in Garerbata noticed that they were having a loud altercation. They then got hold of them and brought them to Amia’s residence in Dulaler Vita.

Later that night, Rayhan’s father, who is a vegetable vendor in a nearby village market, went to Amina’s house along with some local influential people and arranged for an arbitration.

The arbitration decided that Amina will have to marry Rayhan and fixed August 16 for the wedding.

The girl did not have consent to this marriage

although her rickshaw-puller father and housewife mother agreed to the arbitration’s decision. After that, the local influentials and his family took Rayhan back home.

On the night of August 15, a day before the scheduled wedding, Amina left a note and committed suicide.

Police later that night recovered the dead body, sent it to the Gaibandha government hospital for autopsy and also took the five-page suicide note as evidence, said Rajiur Rahman, OC of the Gaibandha sadar police station.

The OC however refused to give details of the autopsy report and the content of the note for the sake of investigation. The dead body was later handed over to the family.

He also said: “We have registered an unnatural death case with the police station. Rayhan was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday on the basis

of a tip off. He is now being interrogated. I cannot tell you anything more for the sake of the investigation.”

When contacted, Gaibandha DC Samad also refused to make any comment because investigation was going on.

Both Amina’s parents are illiterate, but some of their neighbours had the chance to have a look at the suicide note before police took it.

According to neighbours, Amina wrote in the note that she was being stigmatised for having an affair with Rayhan and she did not want to get married to him.

Her family said Amina was a brilliant student.

She got distinction in the grade five Primary School Certificate examination.

Rayhan’s neighbours said Rayhan, who just had primary education, was an unemployed youth and was known for stalking many other girls. l

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