September 8, 2016

SECOND EDITION

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

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Bhadra 24, 1423, Zil-Hajj 5, 1437

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 134

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www.dhakatribune.com

RAB foils two militant couples’ Pak travel plans n Kamrul Hasan Police’s elite force Rapid Action Battalion has claimed to have arrested two couples, all trained members of militant outfit New JMB, ahead of their travel to Pakistan reportedly to escape the ongoing anti-militancy crackdown.

According to RAB, several such groups of four to five members are now staying in Dhaka’s adjacent districts as different law enforcement agencies have been carrying out drives to arrest militants following the Gulshan and Sholakia terror attacks in July.

One couple – Aminul Islam, 34, and his wife Nahid Sultana, 30 – was assisting the other members of the outfit to flee the country by processing their passports and visa-related documents.

The two others detained are Shariful Islam alias Sultan Mahmud Tapas alias Mahmud, 18, and his wife Marzia Akter Shumi, 19.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Members of RAB 2 take away the four JMB members arrested yesterday from different areas of Dhaka during a special raid.

The photo was taken at RAB 2 office MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

n Reuters, Beirut A suspected chlorine gas attack on an opposition-held neighbourhood in the Syrian city of Aleppo caused dozens of cases of suffocation on Tuesday, rescue workers and a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue workers’ organisation that operates in rebel-held areas, said government helicopters had dropped

barrel bombs containing chlorine on the Sukari neighbourhood in eastern Aleppo.

The Syrian government has denied previous accusations it used chemical weapons during the fiveyear-old civil war. The Syrian army could not be immediately reached for comment on the latest allegations.

The Civil Defence said on its  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

INSIDE

Tailback on DhakaTangail Highway

Lessees ignore city’s cattle market rules

Temple with unique goddess idol unearthed

The Tangail-Dhaka highway is experiencing traffic tailback of over 62km near Tangail. Traffic began to increase from Tuesday on both sides of the highway.

The organisers and leaseholders of all the makeshift cattle markets in the city have already started violating terms and conditions of city corporations.

An at least 800-years-old temple has been unearthed in Dinajpur’s Kaharol that has a unique architecture and includes a unique idol, that of the Vishnu avatar Mohini.  PAGE 32

 PAGE 3

32 pages |

Price: Tk10

PM: No one will have to starve any more n Ariful Islam, Kurigram

Rescue workers: Suspected Aleppo chlorine attack chokes dozens Medical sources had reported 70 cases of suffocation

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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has inaugurated a generous food-aid programme for the ultra poor under which a card holder would get rice at Tk10 per kilogram for five months a year during the lean season.

The premier at the inauguration ceremony said: “The food programme for ultra poor would continue across the country for which special cards would be issued… no one will have to starve anymore” The programme “Sheikh Hasinar Bangladesh, Khudha hobe Niruddesh” is aimed at making rice available at a very low price for the poor of the country.

Some five million families will get the food support for the months of March, April, September, October and November every year.

Earlier in the morning, the premier  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

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Kuwait restricts recruitment of male Bangladeshi workers n Syed Samiul Basher Anik

Kuwait has reintroduced a ban on the recruitment of workers from Bangladesh, reports the Kuwait Times.

When contacted over phone, Abdul Latif Khan, labour counsellor at the Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait, told the Dhaka Tribune that the labour market for Bangladesh workers was still open, although

restrictions had been imposed on male domestic helpers.

According to a May 2 Kuwait Times report, quoting a circular issued by the gulf country’s assistant under-secretary for citizenship and passport affairs Maj Gen Sheikh Mazen al-Jarrah, the Kuwaiti government had agreed to allow it’s citizens to bring domestic help from Bangladesh, under certain conditions.

The decision covers male workers and conditions include that each Kuwaiti citizen can bring just one helper only and must not already have one from the same nationality.

“Earlier, anyone could come to Kuwait from Bangladesh with personal sponsorship which was free.

The provision is still free for all, but the authorities had imposed the restriction only on import of male

house maids [sic],” he said.

When asked about the reasons behind such a specific ban, sources in the embassy said the Kuwaiti authorities tightened the provision after incidents of some Bangladeshis manipulating the system came to light. But they said one of the latest additions to the provision was that Kuwaiti residents must own a house there in order to be eligible to em-

ploy a Bangladeshi domestic helper.

Wednesday’s Kuwait Times report says Sheikh Mazen al-Jarrah on Monday decided to enforce the ban after viewing statistics of the number of Bangladeshis currently residing in Kuwait. It also says that the Bangladeshi population in Kuwait reached the 200,000 threshold at the end of the first week of September. l

of the country, Mufti Mahmud said.

Fahim, who was caught by locals while fleeing after the attack on lecturer Ripon Chakrabarty, was killed in a “gunfight” with police on June 18, on the first day of his 10-day remand.

“Aminul and Nahid got married recently. Fahim attended the function and acted as their legal guardian.

We have got the evidence,” he added.

RAB got info on New JMB high-ups

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

RAB foils two militant couples’ Pak travel plans The four were traced and arrested after Shumi’s father Monsur Ali Sheikh filed a complaint with the elite force stating that his daughter had been missing since August 20.

A team of RAB 2 arrested Mahmud, Shumi and Aminul from a restaurant opposite to Ananda Cinema Hall at Farmgate around 12:30am yesterday on a tip-off.

Based on information provided by them, RAB detained Nahid from a residence in Narayanganj’s Fatulla area.

Nahid passed Masters’ in botany from Tolaram College in Narayanganj, Pabna’s Shumi was a second year honours student while Mahmud was the first year honours student of a college at Uttara.

Hailing from Sherpur, Aminul, who ditched his first wife to marry Nahid without permission, was dropped out while studying in class VIII. RAB’s Legal and Media Wing chief Mufti Mahmud Khan at a press briefing yesterday claimed that the documents recovered during the drives showed that the couples had been preparing to go to Pakistan.

He said that Aminul and Nahid were senior members of the group.

They used to help the other members of the outfit go abroad.

“They also contributed in the post-recruitment procedure of the New JMB group and used to assign

members in different squads,” the RAB official said, adding that the four were members of a squad ready for conducting any attack.

Sources in the police say in the last few years, several dozen individuals have gone to Syria and Iraq, some along with their families, from Bangladesh through other countries especially Pakistan, Malaysia and Turkey to join the Islam-

ic State.

Dhaka’s college student Golam Faizullah Fahim, one of the three militants who hacked a Hindu college teacher in Madaripur in June, was close to the two couples arrested yesterday.

Aminul and Mahmud had confessed during primary interrogation that the duo along with Fahim had been trained at different parts

Militant Fahim was from the same gang n Kamrul Hasan College student Golam Faizullah Fahim, one of the three militants who hacked a Hindu college teacher in Madaripur in June, was close to the two couples arrested yesterday by RAB for militant connection.

All members of the New JMB – a new faction of banned militant group Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, Aminul Islam, 34; his wife Nahid Sultana, 30; Shariful Islam alias Sultan Mahmud Tapas alias Mahmud,18; and his wife Marzia Akter Shumi, 19, were arrested in separate drives early yesterday from Dhaka’s Farmgate and Narayanganj.

RAB’s Legal and Media Wing Chief Mufti Mahmud Khan at a press conference yesterday said quoting Aminul and Mahmud had confessed during primary interrogation that the duo along with Fahim had been trained at differ-

ent parts of the country.

Fahim, who was caught by locals while fleeing after the attack on Government Nazimuddin College lecturer Ripon Chakrabarty, was killed in a “gunfight” with Madaripur police on June 18, on the first day of his 10-day remand.

The RAB official said: “Aminul and Nahid got married recently. Fahim attended the function and acted as their legal guardian. We have got the evidence.”

Fahim was an HSC student of Rajuk Uttara Model School and College. Family members said that he had left home in April in the middle of his exams.

During interrogation, Fahim admitted his connection with outlawed militant group Hizb ut-Tahrir, saying that he was recruited by his senior college-mate Jubair Ahmed and two staff at a book shop named Mishkat Library

Suspected Aleppo chlorine attack chokes dozens Facebook page that 80 people had suffocated. It reported no deaths. It posted a video showing wheezing children doused in water using oxygen masks to breathe.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks Syrian violence using sources on the ground, said medical sources had reported 70 cases of suffocation.

A United Nations and Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons inquiry seen by Reuters last month found that Syrian government forces were responsible for two toxic gas attacks in 2014 and 2015 involving chlorine.

The Civil Defence accused the government of two other suspected chlorine gas attacks in August .

The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria said it was investigating an August incident.

“Unimaginable crimes are occurring in Aleppo ... pro-government aerial bombardments cause mass civilian casualties,” Commission Chairman Paulo Pinheiro told reporters in Geneva. “In government-held areas, indiscriminate ground shelling (by) armed groups ... is also killing scores of civilians,” he added.

Aleppo has been one of the areas hardest hit by escalating violence in recent months after the collapse of a partial truce brokered by the United States and Russia in February.

Government forces put eastern Aleppo under siege on Sunday for

a second time since July after advancing against rebels on the city’s outskirts. The city has long been divided between government and opposition areas of control.

The Syrian conflict has killed more than 250,000 people and forced more than 11 million from their homes.

A Syrian military source denied on Wednesday accusations that the army had launched a chlorine gas attack on a rebel-held neighbourhood of Aleppo.

“We have not and will not use at any point this type of weapon,” the Syrian military source said. The accusation was an attempt by rebels to divert public attention away from their defeats, the source added. l

in front of his college.

DMP’s Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes unit chief Monirul Islam recently told the Dhaka tribune that they had got 49 names of suspected militants from the mobile phone of Fahim.

Another CT unit official said that Fahim and his associates were highly trained militants. However, the names they received do not match with the recent arrests, the official said, adding that those could be code names.

Police in late June arrested JMB member Khalid Saifullah Jamil, son of Nazimuddin College’s mathematics department head Belayet Hossain, in connection with the attack on Ripon Chakrabarty.

The law enforcers also detained Jamil’s friend Mohammad Parvez and Sajjad Hossain of Kalkini, and his maternal uncle Golam Rasul, a teacher at Gopalpur High School. l

The elite force claims that they have received some information about the financiers, planners of attacks and organisers of the New JMB. The Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit, a DMP wing investigating the recent militant attacks, also claims that they have learnt about the persons involved with the group.

Around a dozen members of the outfit including Gulshan attack mastermind Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury have been killed during raids and gunfights with the police in the last two months.

RAB’s Mufti Mahmud yesterday said that the group collects funds from its members and other sources abroad. Two of the financiers are Sohel alias Adnan and Ashraful alias Siddique.

RAB, however, could not confirm whether it is the same Sohel identified by the law enforcers as the alleged bomb supplier for the Gulshan attack.

From the massaging app used by the couples, RAB has found the name of Mehedi Hasan Rony who could be a financier of the group.

The elite force has also got the names of some leaders – Afif, Kaif, Jaishan and Mofiz – who used to motivate the potential recruits through Facebook. Mahmud’s wife Shumi was also motivated by them. l

PM: No one will have to starve reached Chilmari upazila on a helicopter, and later joined a rally at AU Pilot High School ground.

According to official sources, some 1,25,279 families in the district will be benefited under the scheme aimed at providing about 50 lakh poor families across the country the opportunity to buy 30 kg rice at Tk10 per kg a month for five lean months during the dry season.

Such facility for the ultra-poor families will be available during the months of March, April and September, October and November of the year. Under the programme, selected cardholders will get 30kg rice every month through village ration dealers.

The ultra-poor families have been selected through the local public representatives. They will get 30 kg rice in September, October and November in 2016 and March and April in 2017. The months have been selected in view of non-availability of work for the day-labourers.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Kurigram has the poverty rate of 63.7 percent, the highest among all the districts.

Meanwhile, about 30km road from the district town to Chilmari upazila have been decorated with colourful archways, banners and festoons to greet the Prime Minister on this noble occasion. l

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Tailback on Dhaka-Tangail Highway Afzal Hossain, n Mohammed Tangail The Tangail-Dhaka Bangabandhu bridge highway is experiencing traffic a tailback of over 62km near Tangail.

Traffic began to increase from Tuesday on both sides of the highway. The sluggish pace is due to the closure of Paturia Daulatdia ferry services, according to sources.

Police Superintendent of Tangail Md Mahbub Alam told the Dhaka Tribune: “There is a surge in trucks carrying cattle for Eid, and the ferry being shut down at Daulatdia has led to the excessive traffic on the highway. Hence cars, buses and trucks have turned to the Dhaka-Tangail highway.”

“While 12,000 vehicles crossed the Bangabandhu bridge on Monday, over 20,000 vehicles have crossed it on Tuesday. The twolane highway is facing difficulty accommodating this heavy traffic.”

He said that as per the orders of the inspector general of police, the

Govt removes Zia’s Swadhinata Puroshkar from National Museum

n Nure Alam Durjoy

The government has removed the Swadhinata Puroshkar (Independence Award) of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman from the National Museum yesterday.

Dr Swapan Kumar Biswas, a museum keeper at the department of history and classical art, told the Dhaka Tribune: “On Tuesday, we received a letter from the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs asking the museum authorities to handover Zia’s Swadhinata Puroshkar to the ministry.

“Later today [yesterday] in the afternoon, we removed Zia’s award – a medal and a citation – from the museum and handed them over to the ministry.”

Recently, the Cabinet Committee on National Awards recommended the cancellation of late president Ziaur Rahman’s Swadhinata Puroshkar in line with a High Court order.

In its recommendation, the cabinet committee said: “Those who assumed power violating the constitution should be tried so that no one dares to commit the same in the future. But on the contrary, he [Zia] was given the award posthumously.

“From November 1975 to March 1979, the country was ruled without any active parliament. This clearly indicates autocracy.”

Zia was awarded with the Swadhinata Puroshkar in 2003, during the BNP-Jamaat alliance rule. l

Muhith: Everyone should pay tax n Tribune Business Desk

Trucks, buses and other vehicles stuck in a tailback on the Dhaka-Tangail Highway

DHAKA TRIBUNE

tive duty. Furthermore, watchtowers had been built in Pakulla Mor, Rabna bypass area, Elenga, and near Mirzapur Cadet College. The police force was doing its best to reduce traffic, SP Mahbub said.

“Sometimes traffic congestion is caused by trucks without a fit-

ness certificate that break down and clog the highway. We have two police wreckers on active duty and another on stand-by to take care of these nuisances. But if the traffic intensifies, there are plans to bypass the traffic via Mymensingh,” the SP added. l

highway had been divided into four areas and being supervised by four ASPs leading a total of 750 police officers in three shifts to coordinate traffic and ensure swift passage.

He added that manpower had doubled since last Eid and that 40 motorcycle teams would be on ac-

A visit to militant Zia’s home n Saiful Islam, Moulvibazar An eerie silence fell upon the village home of militant Syed Ziaul Haq, the man behind the recent targeted killings of secular writers, bloggers and gay rights activists.

The large compound of the home, consisting of four tin-shed buildings with three to four rooms each, is surrounded by a boundary wall at Mostafapur village under Mostafapur union on the outskirt of Moulvibazar town.

All the rooms of three of the buildings were locked, while two caretakers, a driver of a private car of Zia’s father Zillul Haq, and a distant maternal uncle of Zia live in the other building.

After entering the paternal house of Zia through the gate, which was open, our correspondent tried to talk to the men residing there, but nobody came out of their rooms.

The driver went out of the house soon after he saw the correspondent.

After half an hour, a man showed up and talked to the Dhaka Tribune, introducing himself as a distant maternal uncle of Zia, the sacked army major.

Zia, the only son of his parents living in Dhaka, had not visited his village home for last seven to eight years, said the uncle named Muhib.

But Zia’s father visits the house at times. Three to four days before this year’s Eid –ul-Fitr, Zillul, who has two daughters also, came here for giving Jakat and then returned Dhaka, Muhib said.

He has a car here, which he uses during his visits to the village, add-

ed Muhib. Zia has one son from his first wife, who died of cancer, and two children from his second wife hailing from Patuakhali, he said.

Muhib also informed that Zia passed his SSC examinations from Uttara Holy Child School and College in Dhaka after he left Moulvibazar for Dhaka with his parents. Then he completed his HSC examinations from Sylhet Cadet College.

Nobody had ever guessed that he could be involved in militancy or any other subversive activities, commented the man. Zia has become talk of the town after police declared TK20 lakh bounty on him.

Though there is much curiosity among the people of the town about him, neighbours were reluctant to talk about him.

This correspondent tried to talk to them, but they denied talking about Zia. Mostafapur Union Chair-

man Rumel Ahmed said Zia has two sisters who also live in Dhaka and three paternal uncles in London.

He refused to make any comment on Zia. Police claimed that Zia is the key person of the pro-AlQuaeda outfit Ansar Al Islam here.

Ansar Al Islam is believed to be representing al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) in Bangladesh. Its members have carried out 13 attacks since 2013 and killed 11 people including war crimes trial campaigners, secular writers and LGBT rights activists.

Zia masterminded the murder of Faisal Arefin Dipan because the Jagriti Prokashoni publisher had brought out a book by slain secular writer-blogger Avijit Roy, a key suspect in the case has told police.

He was sacked in 2012 while trying to engineer a military coup and made headlines. l

Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday said every person with any income capacity should pay income tax.

“Everyone has to pay tax as compulsory. No matter what the amount is...it can be Tk5, Tk10 or Tk20,” he said.

The minister made the comment while addressing a seminar on “Payroll Tax and Tax Net Expansion” at Officers Club in Dhaka.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) organised the seminar presided over by its Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman.

“Initiatives should be taken to make tax payment mandatory for everyone with taxable income,” the minister said, adding that it, however, will require time for implementation.

About the payroll tax, Muhith said: “Contribution of payroll tax is 30% in different countries, but it is only 4%-5% in Bangladesh. The public servants pay the payroll tax. It is not familiar in the private sector and we need to give focus on this.”

He again expressed his frustration over the poor number of income tax payers in the country.

“In a country of 16 crore people, not even 16 lakh are paying tax. It is only 12 lakh who are paying tax, but people with capacity of paying income tax are much higher in the country,” he said.

If the actual number of millionaires can be found, the number of taxpayers will rise significantly, he added.

Speaking at the seminar, Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh Masud Ahmed said income tax is a progressive taxation system and it is a legal liability of people with taxable income to pay tax.

“But many people do not pay the tax despite having such income,” he said, stressing the need for revenue friendly culture in the country to develop the scenario.

Policy Research Institute Executive Director Ahsan H Mansur and NBR member Zia Uddin Mahmood also spoke at the event. l

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Pakistan again passes resolution over executions of war criminals n Tribune Desk The National Assembly of Pakistan has again passed a unanimous resolution strongly condemning the execution of condemned war criminals and Jamaat-e-Islami leaders in Bangladesh.

The resolution was passed yes-

terday, four days after top Jamaat financier Mir Quasem Ali was hanged for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.

The resolution moved by Sher Akbar Khan said that the execution of Jamaat leaders is contrary to the tripartite agreement signed by Paki-

stan, India and Bangladesh in 1974.

It demanded the government of Pakistan to seriously raise at all the international forums the sentencing of political opponents in Bangladesh, reported a number of Pakistani news outlets.

Earlier on Sunday, the External Affairs Ministry of Pakistan also

condemned the execution.

“Pakistan is deeply saddened over the execution of the prominent leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh, Mir Quasem Ali, for the alleged crimes committed before December 1971, through a flawed judicial process,” reads the foreign office statement released into six

hours of Mir Quasem’s execution.

The government of Bangladesh summoned acting high commissioner of Pakistan to Bangladesh Samina Mehtab and handed over a “strongly-worded” protest letter in protest against the country’s statement on the execution of the war criminal. l

Law minister comforts Qamrul, Mozammel n Shohel Mamun Law Minister Anisul Haq thinks that the two ministers fined by the apex court for questioning the authority of the judiciary do not need to resign.

“The ministers [Food Minister Qamrul Islam and Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq] have not lost the legality of holding offices as the Supreme Court verdict did not say anything about it in the verdict.

“Even, no law, rule or convention in our country states that the ministers can lose their posts duo to violating their oaths of office,” the minister told reporters at his Secretariat office yesterday. Anisul hosted the press conference to give clarification on several legal issues.

“The Article 66 of the Constitution has clarified the disqualification of a lawmaker; the ministers are not under

this disqualification,” he said.

The eight-member full bench of the Appellate Division on March 27 fined the ministers Tk50,000 each for making controversial statements about the judiciary in connection with the war crimes appeals case of executed Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali. The court also rejected the unconditional apology offered by the ministers on March 14.

At a roundtable on March 5, Qamrul demanded formation of a new bench to rehear the case, excluding the chief justice, alleging that Justice SK Sinha was talking like a defender of the war criminals. He expressed doubt that Quasem would be handed down death penalty. He also wanted the attorney general out of the hearing.

Echoing Qamrul, Mozammel said that the chief justice should not be delivering the verdict in the case. l

2 DAP officials made OSD over Ctg gas leak Hussain, n Anwar Chittagong Two officials of state-owned DAP Fertiliser Company Ltd have been made OSD (officer on special duty) as per recommendation of a probe committee formed to look into the August 22 gas leak incident.

The duo are Dilip Kumar Barua, deputy chief engineer (electric), and Noquibul Islam, general manager (technical and maintenance).

“We received an official letter from the BCIC authorities regarding the action on Monday,” Alamgir Jalil, general manager (admin) of the factory, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

A three-member committee formed to investigate the incident submitted its report to the Chittagong deputy commissioner on August 31.

On that day, Deputy Commissioner Mesbah Uddin told reporters that the accident could have been averted had the two accused officials of the factory discharged their responsibilities properly. He said that they would write to the secretary of the Industries Ministry for taking stern punitive action against the two officials.

The report also mentioned that the plant was not safe for anybody if the two guilty officials still hold their present official posts.

Although the factory authorities tried to soft-pedal on the accident claiming that it was a minor gas leak, the investigators found that the blast threw the dislodged tank 20 feet away from its position and 340 tonnes of ammonia gas emitted into the air. l

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Govt mulls law to confiscate war criminals' property

Private university VAT order stayed

n Shohel Mamun

n Ashif Islam Shaon

The government is contemplating a law to acquire properties of convicted war criminals, the law minister has said.

Law Minister Anisul Huq, speaking at a press conference yesterday, said there were two ways to go about this issue.

“We could add a new amendment to the International Crimes Tribunal Act, or we could draft a new law. The government is thinking about option two.”

“The first phase of the ongoing

war crimes trial has come to the end. Recently the nation has raised a demand that the property of the war criminals be confiscated,” he said.

In reply to a query, Anisul said the new law would not automatically confiscate a war criminal's property, it would be a court's decision.

“It is now awaiting the cabinet nod,” he added.

The government has also been thinking to ban Islami Chatra Shibir, the student wing of Jammat. The minister said he had been discussing this with the home minister.

Anisul said his ministry had also taken the initiative to amend the evidence act, aiming to improve judicial procedures.

'Jamaat politics will be banned'

In response to a question, the law minister said: “A draft of the ICT act (amendment) has already been sent to the cabinet, aiming to ban the politics of Jamaat-e-Islami.”

'Judicial secretariat unnecessary'

The minister refuted a High Court Judge's allegation that his ministry was not paying enough attention to

a call by Chief Justice SK Sinha for establishing a separate secretariat for the judiciary.

“This is actually beyond the authority of my ministry,” he said.

The establishment of a separate secretariat for judiciary would require a proposal to the cabinet and approval of the parliament, Anisul said.

“But personally I think there is no need to set up an independent secretariat for the sake of the judiciary. Neither the president nor the prime minister has such an office,” he said. l

Lessees ignore city’s cattle market rules Hayat Mahmud and n Abu Kamrul Hasan The organisers and leaseholders of all the makeshift cattle markets in the city have already started violating terms and conditions of city corporations by giving permission to the cattle traders of countrysides to bring cattle into the market before a week ago from the scheduled time.

The associates of leaseholders are allegedly forcing the traders to unload cattle truck at their market, though the law enforcement agencies have alert to stop such illegal activities and extortion.

The Dhaka Tribune has found the scenario during visit at the city's Estern Housing in Mirpur, Gabtali, Jigatala-Hazaribagh, Dhupkhola, Lalbagh, Meradia and others cattle markets.

Apart from the permanent cattle market in Gabtoli, there are eight temporary cattle markets set up in Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and 13 in Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).

The authorities concerned of the two city corporations have instructed the leaseholders not to bring their animals to the city before three to four days of Eid, aimimg to reduce traffic jam and public harrasment.

A volunteer of Dhupkhola cattle market wishing anonymity told the Dhaka Tribune: “It is not possible to follow all the rules issued by the city corporations.”

As Eid-ul-Azha approaches, many trucks loaded with cows enter Dhaka en route to different cattle markets in the capital. The picture taken yesterday shows a cattle trader unloading a cow from a truck at a cattle market in Kamalapur, Dhaka MEHEDI HASAN

RAIN LIKELY THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

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The Supreme Court yesterday stayed the High Court verdict, that had declared the government's 15% income tax on private universities illegal, for two months.

Hearing a government petition against the High Court decision made on September 5, the Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice Mirza Hussain Haider passed the stay order and asked the government to file a leave-toappeal plea within two months.

As per the Chamber Judge's order, private universities, medical, dental and engineering colleges will have to pay the taxes. The state will file the regular leave-to-appeal plea after getting a full copy of the High Court verdict, said Deputy Attorney General Rashed Jahangir.

In the High Court verdict, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) was asked to give back the money already extracted from the universities. The Chamber Judge also stayed this order yesterday.

The NBR in a gazette notification on June 28, 2007 imposed income tax on University Grants Commission-approved private universities.

However, private medical, dental and engineering universities and colleges were exempted from the tax.

But on July 1, 2010, another gazette notification was issued saying that all private higher education institutions will have to pay 15% income tax.

Later the educational institutions' authorities moved a number of writ petitions against the government's decision. Hearing the pleas, the High Court issued a rule asking why the decisions will not be declared illegal.

The rule was declared absolute by the court in it's verdict on Monday. l

Hossain Sunny to one month jail in charge of forcing cattle traders to unload cattle at Dhupkhola cattle market yesterday.

A number of DSCC and DNCC officials seeking anonymity told the Dhaka Tribune: “Several groups of the ruling Awami League’s associate bodies including Jubo League, Chhatra League, Swechchhasebak League are controlling all the cattle markets of DSCC and DNCC just like the previous years.” l

When contacted, DSCC Chief Estate Officer Khalid Ahmed said the city corporation's mobile court will visit immediately all the cattle market for monitoring.

DNCC Chief Estate Officer Aminul Islam said: “If anyone try to violate instructions of the cattle markets, tought action will be taken against them.”

Earlier, Executive Magistrate of Rapid Action Battalion's mobile court Sarwar Alam sent one Sanwar

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

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Rangpur

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Khulna

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Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:43AM

34.4ºC Srimangal

24.5ºC Rangamati

Source: Accuweather/UNB

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Sylhet

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Cox’s Bazar

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Fajr: 5:10am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 4:45pm | Magrib: 6:25pm Esha: 8:15pm Source: Islamic Foundation

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Load shedding despite highest production at KHPP n Ziaul Haque, Rangamati Though authorities of Kaptai Hydroelectric Power Plant (KHPP) have been enjoying the highest production of its capacity, as the water level of Kaptai Lake has increased significantly due to the downpour in the hill tracts of Bangladesh, people of the region have been facing severe load shedding due to mismanagement.

Local sources said, in the last 1015 days water level of Kaptai Lake had increased over 10 feet and it may raise more in upcoming days as un-

seasonal rain still showering the area.

The KHPP has total four units with total generation capacity of 180 MW, now the KHPP is producing a total of 188 MW electricity every day.

Though KHPP has been producing the highest of its capacity, the production would not be able to erase locals misery of load shedding.

Local people of the district is agitating day by day as they were deprived from the electricity produced at KHPP and they blamed local power division for their sufferings.

Aby Syed, president of Banoru-

pa Traders Welfare Society said: “Ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, traders of the district have compelled to sit idle as buyers are not interested to enter in the market due to frequent load shedding and heat.”

“This year we are going to face a great loss due to load shedding,” he added.

Bibhuti Ranjan Chakma, a resident of College gate area of the town said: “We had contacted with the officials of power board for several times to solve the power crisis but the problem is not solve yet.”

An official of Rangamati Elec-

tricity/Power Development Board wishing anonymity said to the Dhaka Tribune: “We need nearly eight or nine MW electricity to fulfil the demand of Rangamati district, normally which was supplied

by Kaptai Power Station.”

“If there is any fault in local line then we used Hathazari electric line to meet up Rangamati's electricity demand,” the official added.

Executive Engineer of Rangamati Power Division, Tapon Kranti Paul said to the Dhaka Tribune: “The present load shedding is happening due to the load of manage-

ment not for shortage of power or load shedding.”

“We are getting enough power against our demand but the problem has occurred when demand increased than the usual usages,” he said.

He noted that, to solve this problem permanently the construction works of a 132KV power station is under way which will be completed with two years.

The load shedding problem of Rangamati will be solved after completing the 132KV power station construction works, he added. l

Charges framed over Habiganj 4 murder n Md Noor Uddin, Habiganj

Fishermen are seen arranging Ilish at Fisherighat, Chittagong after netting the fish from the bay yesterday. Fishermen of the coastal are happy, as they have netted adequate number of Ilish in the last couple of weeks RABIN CHOWDHURY

A Habiganj court yesterday framed charges against eight people over the killing of four school children at Sundratiki village in Bahubal upazila of Habiganj.

Abul Hasem Molla Masum, lawyer of Habiganj Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal told the Dhaka Tribune that Judge Md Atabullah of District and Session Judge Court accepted the charges against Rubel Mia, Belal

Seven die in road accidents n Tribune Desk

At least seven people were killed in separate road accidents that took place in Tangail, Natore, Lakshmipur and Rangpur yesterday.

In Tangail, Bacchu Mia, 50, a resident of Khorok village, Bhuiyanpur upazila, was run over by a bus while crossing the Dhaka-Tangail Highway in Jokarchar area around 2:30pm. He died on the spot.

In Natore, three people

were killed and 12 others injured when a truck collided with a bus in Manikpur area of Baraigram upazila.

Of the deceased, one was identified as the truck driver Abdur Rahim, Helal Uddin and Majid Mia. All of them are residents of Sochuapur, Bhuapur upazila.

In Rangpur, a bus lost control over the steering at Lahirirhaat and hit a rickshaw-van and at last plunged into a roadside ditch. The rickshaw-van driver Jahurul and

Jubo League man shot dead n Tribune Desk

A local Jubo League activist was shot dead by some miscreants at Madhuai Bridge area in Feni Sadar upazila on Tuesday night.

The deceased was identified as Joynal Abedin, 42, a former member of Baligaon union unit Jubo League and son of Hafez Uddin of Dakkhin Madhuai village in the upazila. Police said a group of miscreants intercepted Joynal while he was returning home riding a motorcycle from the district town.

Later, he succumbed to his injuries at Feni Sadar Hospital. l

his passenger Nuru died on spot. Five people were also injured in the accident.

In Lakshmipur, a madrasha student was killed and his two brothers were injured as their microbus fell into a roadside ditch on the Dhaka-Lakshmipur Highway in Charchamita area in Sadar upazila in the morning.

The deceased was identified as Asad Bin Anwar, 19, son of M Anwar Hossain, resident of Raipur upazila of the district. l

Boy commits suicide for smartphone Huda Nasim, n Nazmul Bogra A minor schoolboy committed suicide on Tuesday night at Char Natabari village in Dhunat upazila for a smartphone.

The deceased was Leon Mia, 12, Class V student of Paranpur Primary School and son of Jwel Rana.

Local said Leon has been demanding a phone to her mother for few days.

The mother assured him

that she would give him the phone ahead of Eid-ulAzha.

On the day, the mother misbehaved with him after he reminded her about the phone. She also tortured him over the issue.

Afterwhile, the boy went to his room and locked from inside. He hanged himself from the bamboo beam.

Later, the family members recovered the body breaking open the door and informed police. l

Mia, Jewel Mia, sons of Abdul Ali of Bahubal upazila, Arju Mia, Ustar Mia, Babul Mia and Shahed Mia repectively, and fixed September 26 for next hearing of the case.

The court came up with the order as a Habiganj court transferred the case to Children’s Court from the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal and fixed September 7 to frame charges against the accused of the case on September 1.

Earlier on April 5, the investiga-

tion officer of the case submitted a charge sheet against nine people.

Among the nine, Bachchu Mia was killed in a ‘gunfight’ with RAB. Four schoolboys who had gone missing from Sundrateki village on February 12 were found buried in the village on February 17.

On the day, police arrested Abdul Ali and his son Jewel Miah in connection with the gruesome murders. They were placed on a 10-day remand the following day. l

DT

7

News

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

The solvent, not poor, get VGF cards n Nazmul Huda Nasim, Bogra Government of Bangladesh has been trying to eradicate sufferings of miserable people through vulnerable group feeding (VGF) assistance, but some unscrupulous local representatives of Bogra are spoiling governments efforts by providing VGF cards to solvent people.

Shaharul Islam Md Abu Hena, relief and rehabilitation officer of Bogra district, said: “Local representatives of the district had dis-

bursed VGF cards among the solvent people instead of helpless and these people used to sell the delivered rice to traders with low prices.”

Ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, the government has been distributing rice among VGF card holders. The government has already distributed nearly 1,123 tonnes and 620kg of rices among 212,364 card holders in 12 upzilas and 12 municipalities of the district, said the district relief and rehabilitation officer.

“Instead of this, government had distributed around 509 tonnes

of rice among the flood-affected people of the district,” said Abu Hena.

The district relief and rehabilitation officer said to give illegal advantages to relatives and to get supports from the voters, local representatives usually distributed cards among the solvent people, who are not eager to eat the relief rice as the quality of this rice is not good enough, so they sell it to local traders by Tk12 to 14 per kg.

He requested to the local representatives to distribute cards

among the helpless who really need the card to run their daily lives though local representatives ignored the allegation.

During his recent visit to different upazilas of the district this reporter has found that traders of the district were waiting around the rice distribution camps to buy the rice at lower price. After taking the rice, card holders went to the traders and had sold it immediately.

To stop this tendency of selling the relief rice, Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Dhunat upazila has con-

ducted several drives in the upazila and sized a huge amount of rice.

Though the upazila officer has warned the traders to stop buying rice from the card holders, people are still selling rice to traders.

Some card holders who used to sale the rice to the local traders with very low prices told the Dhaka Tribune wishing anonymity: “The quality of government rice is very bad and it is quite impossible to eat it.”

“So we have compelled to sell the rice to buy the good one, they added.” l

EXPLOSION AT COMILLA HOSTEL

Case handed over to Police Bureau of Investigation The case over an explosion at a private hostel, that left one female student of Comilla University dead, was handed over to Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) yesterday.

Documents of the case were handed over to the PBI following a direction of police headquarters and Inspector Rakibul Islam has been entrusted with the investigation of the case, said Khademul Bahar, sub-inspector of Sadar Dakhshin police station.

Fahmida Hasan Nisha, a student of Comilla University’s Economics department, died while being treated at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital in the early hours of Monday.

Nisha sustained 45% burns injuries as an unknown object exploded in a room of a female students’ private hostel namely Proshanti in the early hours of August 13.

On August 14, police named her along with six other female students from the hostel for their alleged involvement with Islami Chhatri Sangstha, the female student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, students’ front of the Jamaat-e-Islami of Bangladesh.

Detective Branch of Police detained six students of the university for interrogation. The detained students are Morjina Begum, Nurun Nahar, Shirin Akter, Ishrat Jahan, Piya and Saila Akter.

Sub-Inspector of Sadar Dakhshin police station Shahidul Bashar filed a case against Nisha and two other students of Comilla University on August 24. Two weeks have passed since the explosion took place, but police yet to determine the reason behind the blast. l

AZAHAR UDDIN

n Mohiuddin Molla, Comilla

A cattle-laden boat crosses the Padma River in Rajshahi. Local sources said every day a good number of cattle are smuggled into Bangladesh from neighbouring country India through waterway, as Eid-ul-Azha, the second largest festival of the Muslims, is coming within a few days. The photo was taken from Bulonpur, Rajshahi yesterday

College ground becomes cattle market in Shariatpur

Youth dies in police custody

n Monir Hossain, Shariatpur

A youth was reportedly tortured to death by Detective Branch (DB) of police at Belabo upazila in Narsingdi district yesterday.

The deceased was Mohammad Ali, 30, son of Zahirul Islam of Matialpara village in the upazila Sydur Rahman, sub-inspector of DB of police, said the police arrested Ali with 110 yaba tablets in the afternoon. At one stage he became ill. He was sent to the district hospital where he died.

Fatema Begum, wife of the victim, said the police tortured her hatband to death.

Anufa Begum, mother of Ali also echoed the voice of Fatema.

Dr Shamsur Rahman of the hospital said Ali was suffering from heart diseases. A case was filed in this connection. l

An unauthorised cattle market ahead of Eid-ul-Azha has been set up allegedly by the people affiliated with the ruling Awami League on the premises of BK Nagar Bangabandhu Degree College at Jazira upazila in Shariatpur hampering education of the students.

According to local sources, a group of AL people led BK Nagar union unit AL president Zulhash set up the market. The union AL vice-president Abdul Kuddos has been given lease of the market.

Joy, Razib, Shimul and Rakib, 2nd year students of the college told the Dhaka Tribune that they were worried as the college had been declared closed earlier.

The college premises became

dirty as cow-dung and urine are thrown here and there haphazardly, they alleged.

They blamed the college authority for giving permission to set up the market on the college ground.

Raihan, Kabir, Salam and Sharmin residents nearby the college said they protested the setting up the market but the authority ignored their proposal.

UP Chairman Mojibur Rahman Madbar said: “The environment of the college has been demolished by setting up the market.”

“I have not been informed about the market,” he said.

Leaseholder Kuddos said he had taken lease after getting permission from the local administration.

AL leader Julhash Mridha said:

“We have set up the market after getting permission from the college authority.”

“A great portion of the benefit from the market will be given to the college fund,” he said.

Principal Alamgir Hossain of the college said: “I do not know who have set up the market.”

“No body submitted any application to me for setting up the market,” he said.

When asked about closure of the college, he replied that college had been declared closed according to academic routine.

UNO Abdul Kader said: “There is no scope to set up cattle market on the college premises.”

“The market men have no permission of setting up the market in the college field,” he said. l

Ripon, n Asaduzzaman Narsingdi

DT

8 World

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

SOUTH ASIA

Taliban offensive nears Afghan provincial capital Taliban forces have fought their way to within a few kilometers of the capital of Afghanistan’s central province of Uruzgan, officials said on Wednesday, warning of its collapse unless authorities provide air support and ground reinforcements. The Taliban are battling to topple the Western-backed government of Afghanistan. REUTERS

INDIA

Indian villagers arrested over witchcraft killings Seven people have been arrested over the murder of two men accused of using black magic to kill their neighbours, Indian police said Wednesday.

The victims were beaten up and then set on fire on Monday when they returned to their village in the eastern state of Orissa after fleeing in the wake of the accusations.

AFP

CHINA

China under pressure at Asia summit over sea row Beijing came under pressure at an Asian summit Wednesday over its ‘illegal’ island-building in the South China Sea, after the Philippines produced photos it said showed fresh construction activity at a flashpoint shoal. Any artificial island at Scarborough Shoal could be a game-changer in China’s quest to control the South China Sea and raises the risk of armed confrontation with the United States.

AFP

ASIA PACIFIC

Japan: $440m for bolstering Asia’s anti-terrorism steps Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged $440m on Wednesday to help Asian countries strengthen counter-terrorism measures, a government spokesman said, as the region sees a surge in large-scale attacks. It was not clear which Asian countries will receive the aid, but the plan includes measures such as the introduction of cutting-edge biometrics identification systems and advanced equipment to detect explosives.

REUTERS

MIDDLE EAST

Syria opposition fleshes out post-Assad plan Syria’s opposition set out detailed plans Wednesday for the transition to a democratic state without President Bashar al-Assad ahead of talks with ministers of EU, US and regional powers in London. The proposed process would start with 6 months of negotiations to set up a transitional administration made up of figures from the opposition, the government and civil society.

AFP

Unicef: 28 million children uprooted by global conflict n Tribune International Desk Millions of children driven from their homes due to violence and conflict or in the hopes of finding a better and safer future face further dangers along the way – including the risk of drowning on sea crossings, malnourishment and dehydration, trafficking, kidnapping, rape and even murder – according to the new report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).

“Indelible images of individual children – Aylan Kurdi’s small body washed up on a beach after drowning at sea or Omran Daqneesh’s stunned and bloody face as he sat in an ambulance after his home was destroyed – have shocked the world,” Unicef Executive Director, Anthony Lake, said today in a news release issued by the agency.

“But each picture, each girl or boy, represents many millions of children in danger – and this demands that our compassion for the individual children we see be matched with action for all children,” he added.

According to the news release, the report ‘Uprooted’: The growing crisis for refugee and migrant children presents a sobering picture of the lives and situations of millions of children and families affected by violent conflict and other crises that make it seem safer to risk everything on a perilous journey than to remain at home.

According to the report, nearly 50m children, across the globe, have migrated across or within borders, or been forcibly displaced. More than half that number – 28m – are boys and girls who have fled violence and insecurity.

It further notes that more and more children are crossing borders on their own. In 2015, over 100,000 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum in 78 countries – triple the number in 2014. Unaccompanied children are among those at the highest risk of exploitation and abuse, including by smugglers and traffickers.

In terms of the geographic spread, the report notes that Turkey hosts the largest total number of recent refugees and very likely the largest number of child refugees in the world. Furthermore, relative to its population, Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees by an overwhelming margin: roughly 1 in 5 people in Lebanon is a refugee.

Migration also offers opportunities

Analysing the impact of migration, the report argues that where there are safe and legal routes, migration

Syrian refugee children pose as they play in front of their family residence at Azraq refugee camp near al-Azraq city, Jordan can offer opportunities for both the children who migrate and the communities they join.

For instance, it found that in high-income countries, migrants contributed more in taxes and social payments than they received; filled both high- and low-skilled gaps in the labour market; and contributed to economic growth and innovation in hosting countries.

“But, crucially,” Unicef flagged in the news release, “children who have left or are forcibly displaced from their homes often lose out on the potential benefits of migration, such as education – a major driving factor for many children and families who choose to migrate.”

In addition, the UN agency noted that children of refugees and undocumented migrants are more likely to have their rights compromised than other children, including lack of access to health care and education, discrimination.

It further noted that a refugee child is five times more likely to be out of school than a non-refugee child, and when they are able to attend school at all, it is the place migrant and refugee children are most likely to encounter discrimination – including unfair treatment and bullying.

Outside the classroom, legal barriers prevent refugee and migrant children from receiving services on an equal basis with children who are native to a country.

In the worst cases, xenophobia can escalate to direct attacks, it added.

Highlighting the price of failing to provide children with opportunities for education and a more normal childhood, the Unicef’s Executive Director asked in the news release: “What price will we all pay if we fail to provide these

REUTERS

THE UNICEF REPORT POINTS TO SIX SPECIFIC ACTIONS THAT WILL PROTECT AND HELP DISPLACED, REFUGEE AND MIGRANT CHILDREN

Ü Protecting child refugees and migrants, particularly unaccompanied children, from exploitation and violence.

Ü Ending the detention of children seeking refugee status or migrating by introducing a range of practical alternatives.

Ü Keeping families together as the best way to protect children and give children legal status.

Ü Keeping all refugee and migrant children learning and giving them access to health and other quality services.

Ü Pressing for action on the underlying causes of large-scale movements of refu-

gees and migrants.

Ü Promoting measures to combat xenophobia, discrimination and margin-

alisation.

young people with opportunities for education and a more normal childhood? How will they be able to contribute positively to their societies? If they can’t, not only will their futures be blighted, but their societies will be diminished as well.”

The UNICEF report points to six specific actions that will protect and help displaced, refugee and migrant children: Protecting child refugees and migrants, particularly unaccompanied children, from exploitation and violence.

Ending the detention of children seeking refugee status or mi-

grating by introducing a range of practical alternatives.

Keeping families together as the best way to protect children and give children legal status.

Keeping all refugee and migrant children learning and giving them access to health and other quality services. Pressing for action on the underlying causes of large-scale movements of refugees and migrants.

Promoting measures to combat xenophobia, discrimination and marginalisation. l

Source: UN NEWS CENTRE

9

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

ANALYSIS

USA

Trump closes in on Clinton as US election enters final stretch n Tribune International Desk Labour Day is traditionally when the US presidential election enters its final stretch.

The next nine weeks will feature a handful of debates and a lot of frenzied campaigning. They will also be decisive, as new polls suggest Donald Trump is closing the gap on Hillary Clinton.

The latest projections of CBC’s Presidential Poll Tracker show that Clinton’s lead over Trump has been cut in half over the last month. In the wake of her party’s national convention, the Democratic nominee had opened up a margin of more than six points over her Republican rival in early August.

Now, Clinton is estimated to have the support of 45.4% of decided voters, followed closely by Trump at 42.2%. That 3.2-point margin is the smallest it has been in the national polling average since the end of the Republican convention in July.

The polls have tightened quickly. In polls conducted over the past week, Clinton has averaged a lead of just under two points among decided voters. Her lead was twice as wide in polling done the previous week — and Trump led in just one of 13 surveys done at the time.

On average, 12.4% of decided voters say they will vote for third party candidates, including Libertarian Gary Johnson. With 15% being the threshold for inclusion in the debates, it appears unlikely he will be on the stage with the two major candidates.

Swinging states

Clinton’s lead in the electoral college is much more comfortable.

If the election were held today, she would likely win 341 electoral college votes, compared to 197 for Trump. In order to win the White House, Clinton needs 270 votes.

But the certainty of her electoral college edge has decreased dramatically. As recently as August 29, the Poll Tracker estimated Trump’s upper electoral college vote potential (which assumes he wins all of the “lean” states) to be just 218. It is now 274, putting it just over what Trump would need to become the next American president.

Considering the projected margins in the swing states, the mark of 274 electoral college votes is well within Trump’s grasp. In addition to the states he is projected to win more comfortably, he would need to take Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio, while also holding on to his lead in Iowa.

New polling done for the Washington Post, conducted in all 50

US ELECTION: CLINTON v TRUMP The prospect of a Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump matchup in November is edging closer

Hillary Clinton

Donald Trump

DEMOCRAT

REPUBLICAN

68 years old

69 years old

From Chicago, born Hillary Rodham

From Queens, New York Billionaire real estate tycoon and former reality TV star

Former secretary of state, former first lady, and the first female partner of her Arkansas law firm POLITICS

Considered on the right of mainstream Republicanism

Started her own formal political career as a Democratic senator in 2000, after working on health care reform plans as first lady Strong support from women Democrats and minorities

Popular with grassroots conservatives, white working and middle classes PROMISES

Gradual reform of Wall Street Tighten gun laws Expand university scholarships Immigration reform to simplify citizenship for illegal migrants

A wall on the Mexican border Deport millions of illegal immigrants To “stand up to China” “Make America great again” REPUTATION

Torchbearer of American women, has talked of the need to address racism and economic disparities

states, put Trump in a tie with Clinton in Colorado, ahead by one point in North Carolina, and up by four in Ohio. He was down by just two points in Florida and three points in Nevada.

This is a plausible map for Trump, though by no means an easy one. While the Washington Post survey had Trump in a good position in Colorado and Florida, polls done within the last month have shown much wider margins for Clinton — as high as the double digits. Polling in Ohio has been

Reputation for talking tough, “say-it-as-it-is” honesty, disdain for the “political class”, controversial comments about women, Mexicans and Muslims

more consistently positive for Clinton in the past as well.

But while Trump played into Clinton’s hands on this issue during the primary season and for much of the summer, his improving poll numbers and the past (relatively) controversy-free few weeks suggest he may be learning the lessons of the campaign trail. Can he keep it up for 62 more days? l

[This is an excerpt of a CBC article, which can be found at http://bit. ly/2cFS6fi]

Donald Trump on Wednesday challenged Russian intelligence to hack into Hillary Clinton’s emails, albeit insisting he had no relations with Russia as he tossed aside suggestions that Moscow was conniving to get him elected. He used a sweeping news conference to undermine his Democratic rival, astonishingly imply that Vladimir Putin used a racial slur against President Barack Obama.

AFP

Brazil’s new government buffeted by pension fund scandal The government of Brazil’s new President Michel Temer scrambled on Tuesday to distance itself from a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal that broke less than a week after he took office. With the country already reeling from a sprawling bribery and kickback scandal at state oil company Petrobras, the new corruption case could hamper the conservative Temer’s efforts to restore credibility.

REUTERS

UK

UK PM: Wait and see on Brexit strategy Prime Minister Theresa May warned Britons on Wednesday there would be no immediate answer to how their country would leave the EU, rejecting repeated demands from opposition leaders. May has highlighted positive signals from India, Mexico, South Korea, Singapore and particularly Australia as proof that Britain will be able to forge new trade deals outside the EU. AFP

EUROPE

Why Aleppo is Syria’s fiercest battleground A suspected chlorine gas attack on an opposition-held neighbourhood in the Syrian city of Aleppo caused dozens of cases of suffocation on Tuesday, rescue workers and a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue workers’ organisation that operates in rebel-held areas, said government helicopters had dropped barrel bombs containing chlorine on the Sukari neighbourhood in eastern Aleppo.

The Syrian government has denied previous accusations it used chemical weapons during the five-year-old civil war. The Syrian army could not be immediately reached for comment on the latest allegations.

Relentless shelling and airstrikes have killed more than 300 civilians in the city since rebels broke through a government blockade of the opposition-held east on July 31.

A look at Aleppo:

Trump challenges Russia to hack Clinton emails

THE AMERICAS

THE PERSON

EXPLAINER

n Tribune International Desk

DT

World

A shattered historical treasure Syria’s largest city and once its commercial centre, Aleppo was a crossroads of civilization for millennia. It has been occupied by the Greeks, Byzantines and multiple Islamic dynasties. As one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, Aleppo’s Old City was added in 1986 to Uneco’s list of World Heritage sites.

But the civil war has damaged its landmarks, including the 11th century Umayyad Mosque, which had a minaret collapse during fighting in 2012, the 13th century citadel and the medieval marketplace, where fire damaged more than 500 shops in its narrow, vaulted passageways. Some historic sites have been used as bases for fighters.

Aleppo was one of the last cities in Syria to join the uprising against President Bashar Assad’s government.

The key to victory?

Because of its heritage and its eco-

nomic potential, it is often said that whoever holds Aleppo wins the war. In fact, rebels hold other pockets around the country, but their defeat in Aleppo would mark a turning point in the conflict and deal a devastating blow to the movement to unseat Assad.

But Aleppo also sits just 50km from the Turkish border, making it the central theatre to the Syrian-Turkish proxy war.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is an open critic of Syria’s Assad and has shown strong support toward the rebels. Ankara enjoys wide influence in northern Syria, and most rebels’ supplies flow across the shared border. In a national address in June, Assad vowed Aleppo would be Erdogan’s “graveyard.”

Breaking the siege In August, the International Committee for the Red Cross called the battle for Aleppo “one of the most devastating conflicts in modern times.”

A photo of five-year-old Omran

Daqneesh, who was rescued from the rubble of a missile-struck building, sitting alone in an ambulance, confused and covered in debris and blood, has become the haunting image of the unforgiving struggle.

Pro-government forces, supported by overwhelming Russian air power, had managed to encircle rebels and some 300,000 civilians in the city’s eastern quarters in July, leading the UN to raise the concerns of catastrophic suffering if a protracted siege ensued.

The main Kurdish militia, known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, controls several predominantly Kurdish northern neighbourhoods.

The main insurgent groups in the city are the Nour el-Din Zenki brigade; the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham group; and the al-Qaida linked Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front.

Sources: REUTERS, AP

Germany: Press freedom is non-negotiable Germany said on Wednesday it regarded press freedom as crucial after German broadcaster Deutsche Welle complained that Turkey had confiscated the recording of an interview with a minister at his office in Ankara. The head of Deutsche Welle on Tuesday described the seizure of the tape of an interview with Turkish Youth and Sports Minister Akif Cagatay Kilic as a blatant violation of press freedom.

REUTERS

AFRICA

Tunisia calls for ban on radical Islamist party Tunisia’s government has asked a military court to outlaw the radical Islamist Hizb ut-Tahrir movement, which has been regularly accused of undermining public order since its legalisation in 2012. The party last month successfully overturned a decision by a civil judge to ban it, and has denounced what it says is police harassment in Tunisia.

AFP

DT

10

World

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

INSIGHT

Nigerian army faces new dangers in Boko Haram campaign n Reuters, Bama, Nigeria Nigeria’s military has liberated large swathes of land from Boko Haram but a ride with an army convoy, all guns firing for fear of ambush, shows how far the northeast is from normality after a brutal Islamist insurgency that has displaced millions.

The moment military convoys leave the relative safety of Bama, Borno state’s second town, soldiers in the lead vehicle open fire with a heavy cannon into the scrub along the road to pre-empt attacks by remaining fighters from the Islamist group.

As they head for the regional capital, Maiduguri, the soldiers scan the road for bombs or booby-traps, while shooting at any possible cover - abandoned petrol stations, burned out farmhouses, trees, even clumps of elephant grass.

Jeep drivers behind them in the convoy join in, firing assault rifles indiscriminately through windows with one hand while gripping the steering wheel with the other.

“If there is somebody there and you fire at him, he definitely wants to fire back so then you know his position and take action,” said Colonel Adamu Laka, the military commander in Bama. “You are trying to seize the initiative.”

Such extreme measures highlight the lack of security across Borno despite the army’s success in driving Boko Haram out of occupied territory that 18 months ago was the size of Belgium.

Reuters was given access to the Nigerian army on the ground as it seeks to reimpose order in Borno after seven years of dominance by Boko Haram, one of the world’s deadliest Islamist groups and a major challenge to a government also grappling with an economic crisis caused by plunging oil prices.

As the first international reporting team to travel through the area by road since Boko Haram was pushed back, Reuters was able to see the devastation caused by the group. Roads are highly dangerous, no food is grown in the fields, and people are still trickling out of their hiding places in the bush.

The military campaign has curbed an insurgency that has killed at least 15,000 people since 2009 but in a new phase of the conflict, the army now finds itself facing small groups of guerrillas operating in the sparsely populated, wooded terrain.

In July, Boko Haram fighters hiding in trees along the Bama-Maiduguri road ambushed a United Nations aid convoy, wounding five

people.

With the UN saying up to 5.5m people in the northeast might need food aid this year, the military is under intense pressure to make roads safer. It is no easy task.

“There are so many ambush sites along the road so we are cutting the trees,” Colonel Laka said.

As Boko Haram has been forced back, the government and aid agencies have been able to assess for the first time the extent of the humanitarian disaster left in the jihadists’ wake.

The UN children’s agency, Unicef, said last month nearly half a million children were at risk of ‘severe acute malnutrition’ in the area around Lake Chad that has been ravaged by Boko Haram.

According to Unicef, in Borno, where two in three medical centres or clinics had been partially or completely destroyed, 49,000 children will die this year if help does not arrive.

“Towns and villages are in ruins and communities have no access to basic services,” Unicef said.

Describing civilians liberated by the army, Mohammed Kanar, northeastern coordinator for the national relief agency, said: “You will see them emaciated. As for an adult man, you can even count his ribs.”

The numbers could well rise as civilians emerge from the countryside into towns now controlled by the army.

“We had to leave the bush because we were hungry,” said Haja Jamil, 40, a pregnant yet painfully thin woman who arrived in Bama two weeks ago with two children.

“Boko Haram kept coming and hassling us. We are still afraid of them,” she said, sitting on the floor of a military clinic in Bama while feeding her 3-year-old daughter, Aisha.

Deserted city

Since President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler, took office last year, the army has found fresh resolve against Boko Haram, which has been fighting to establish a mediaeval caliphate in the southern stretches of the Sahara.

The military has moved its headquarters to Maiduguri, drafted in new generals and improved cooperation with neighbouring countries, allowing it to capture and take control of dozens of towns such as Bama.

But the plight of Bama shows the extent of the challenge in recovering from the group’s scorched earth campaign.

Once a city of more than a quarter of a million people, Bama is now a ghost town, littered with burnt-

BOKO HARAM: NIGERIA’S ISLAMIST NIGHTMARE Type of target

Type of attack

Police barracks (for weapons, explosives) Prisons (to release fighters) Banks (for money) Construction sites (for explosives) Villages (for forced conscripts, to establish bases) Markets (’un-Islamic’) Schools (’un-Islamic’) Churches (’un-Islamic’) Mosques (’not jihadist/solofist enough’)

Founded 2002 ‘Boko Haram’‘Western education is a sin’ means Aim Establish an Islamic Caliphate in northern Nigeria NIGER

Gulf of Guinea

Abductions of women, children

August November January

2011

Abuja Abuja UN HQ

23

2012 150

BORNO

CAMEROON

Chibok Mubi Jos PLATEAU

ADAMAWA

ABUJA

100km

1.6m displaced

by Boko Haram attacks since 2009

2009 Start of armed rebellion

Lake Chad

Gamboru Ngala Damaturu Maiduguri Benisheik Potiskum Bama Damboa Gwoza

Kano KANO

CHAD

Boko Haram fighters Control present Total Partial

Deaths

Targeted assassination

CAMEROON

Lagos

15,000+ people killed

Armed ambush

YOBE

NIGERIA

150km

Kidnapping

Damasak

Maiduguri

ADAMAWA

Car bomb

NIGER

Lake Chad YOBE BORNO

ABUJA

Suicide attack (including using children)

Location State September

April

May

June

October November December January

2014

142 Benisheik Borno Civilians

Sources: Nigeria Watch, Nigeria Security Network, Nigeria Security Tracker

out buildings and home to 11,000 people living behind military fortifications.

Goats nibble at grass growing in cracks in the road. Piles of rubbish fester in ditches. The main street is lined with fire-gutted banks and shops, walls daubed with graffiti in Arabic saying “God is Great”.

Before it left, the group, whose name means ‘Western education is sinful’ in the local Hausa language, also ransacked schools and the palace of Bama’s traditional ruler.

Now, soldiers camp in abandoned shops behind walls of sandbags. Officers work in a tent, near a wall painted with the black flag of Middle East militant group Islamic State, to which Boko Haram pledged loyalty this year.

The army has set up makeshift classrooms for displaced children and piles of concrete blocks trucked in from Maiduguri point to hoped-for reconstruction, but the proximity of Boko Haram in the Sambisa forest - its final bolt-hole, according to the army - makes nor-

Gumsuri Borno Village 185

Damboa Borno Village 68

2013

185

Damaturu Kano Kano Yobe Churches, Police Police

Chibok Borno High school 276

123 Abuja Abuja Bus station

321

129

Gamboru Jos Ngala Ploteau Borno Market Town destroyed

400+

2015 200

Gwoza Mubi Borno Adamawa Villages Trading town

mality a distant dream.

“It’s just four or 5km from here.

Once you cross the river you start meeting their checkpoints,” Laka said, pointing towards the forest on a tour of Bama’s outskirts in a bullet-proof jeep.

The fight against Boko Haram has been complicated by an apparent split in the group after Islamic State’s magazine announced Abu Musab al-Barnawi as new leader. The previous leader, Abubakar Shekau, appears to have rejected the move.

But dangers remain for the military and, above all, for young people. While Barnawi rejects Shekau’s strategy of suicide bombings in crowded areas, analysts think he could regroup in rural areas to stage targeted strikes against the army.

And both groups will be competing for recruits at a time when many displaced children are not in school.

That will reduce their job prospects and leave them vulnerable to Islamists ready to exploit grievances over poverty and unemployment.

147

150

6006

Kano Damaturu Baga Kano Yobe Borno 16 towns Central and villages mosque

July 2016 1781 324 attacks

Mohammad Razon/ Dhaka Tribune

Anger, hunger

For now, the military says Boko Haram is low on ammunition and food. Heavy rains have however prevented any advance into Sambisa, whose dirt tracks do not suit tanks and artillery.

“Once we go in with any equipment it’s difficult to operate. So we rely on foot patrols,” Laka said.

Meanwhile, everything from bread to ammunition to medicine comes in from Maiduguri by road, passing abandoned farms, deserted petrol stations, bombed mosques and gutted tanks.

Behind its fortifications, Maiduguri has become an oasis of safety that is choking under the pressure.

Its population over the last few years has almost tripled to 5m, according to the national relief agency, causing shortages of everything from living space to food and cash.

Food price riots broke out twice in August, with crowds smashing cars outside one location until police restored order. l

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TOP STORIES $50bn RMG export: Investment in technology a must Investment in technology is need of the hour to make the country’s apparel industry more competitive, sustainable and profitable, and also to achieve the target of earning the goal of US$50 billion in fashion exports by 2021.

PAGE 13

Britain faces long road to post-Brexit trade deals Prime Minister Theresa May wants to make Britain a global leader in trade after Brexit, but former negotiators say the country faces a long slog despite warm words from some world leaders over forging new relationships.

PAGE 14

Five firms qualified for MNP bidding n Ishtiaq Husain Five joint-venture firms have been qualified to participate in the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) auction scheduled on September 28.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) yesterday disclosed the MNP qualifiers name.

MNP allows subscribers to switch their services among operators without changing their phone numbers.

The qualified firms are Roots Infotech Limited, Agile Technology Limited, REVE Number Limited, Greentech International Limited and Infozillion BD Teletech Consortium Limited.

BTRC Secretary Sarwar Alam told the Dhaka Tribune that the expert panel of BTRC has selected the five firms as they fulfilled all requirements needed for MNP bidding.

Another official of the commission said the regulator would start

The amount of coal-fired power generation under development worldwide has shrunk by 14% this year, driven down by China as it struggles with oversupply and tries to promote cleaner energy, a study showed yesterday.

PAGE 15

Capital market snapshot: Wednesday DSE Broad Index

4,594.7

0.6% ▲

Index

1,111.0

0.4% ▲

30 Index

1,762.3

0.5% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

4,986.0

4.8% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

130.8

23.5% ▲

All Share Index 14,125.8

0.6% ▲

30 Index

0.5% ▲

CSE

Selected Index

12,807.6 8,600.6

0.6% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

269.4

18.4% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

8.8

35.6% ▲

Roots Infotech Limited Agile Technology Limited REVE Number Limited Greentech International Limited Infozillion BD Teletech Consortium Ltd Source: BTRC

other process required to introduce MNP as early as possible after completion of auction.

If everything goes well, a licence will be given to an independent company for 15 years to operate the MNP system in the country, he added.

The selected company will have to roll out the MNP service within six months after getting the licence.

Six firms submitted bidding proposals to be the operator of MNP in Bangladesh.

Of them, Invariant Telecom Bangladesh Limited that has partnership with MNP Interconnec-

tion Telecom Solution of India failed to qualify.

A source in the BTRC said Invariant Telecom didn’t submit a vital document that was very much necessary to qualify.

According to the new auction schedule, the date for submission of bidding earnest money is now fixed on September 18, letter of acceptance or rejection on September 20 and consultation of auction procedure on September 25.

The auction will be completed on September 28 instead of September 21 announced earlier.

On June 14, BTRC set June 16 for the invitation of application while the last date of submission of any query was on June 30.

Base price of the auction was fixed at Tk1 crore while bank guarantee was Tk1 crore.

The firm that will finally be selected to operate MNP will have to pay Tk20 lakh as a licence renewal fee annually and will have to share 5.5% revenue with the BTRC.

Once the MNP is introduced, customers can switch from one mobile phone operator to another while keeping their numbers unchanged within the country’s territory and they can avail the facility again after 40 days with a subscription fee of Tk30.

The foreign companies, however, can hold as high as a 51% share, and must invest in foreign currency with no chance to mobilise funds from the Bangladeshi market.

Any registered Bangladeshi company can participate in the bidding but no mobile operators are eligible for the bidding.

Any Bangladeshi or expatriate Bangladeshi-owned company registered in the country is eligible to bid in the auction. Foreign companies partnered with Bangladeshi ones can also take part in the auction.

Seventy two countries, including neighbouring India and Pakistan, have already adopted the popular system for their customers pioneered by Singapore. l

SAASCO Group to build Foreign firm picked as Karnaphuli tunnel project Green Industrial Park n Tribune Business Desk

Global coal power plans fall in 2016, led

by China, India

LIST OF QUALIFIED FIRMS

SAASCO Group, an apparel manufacturer, plans to establish SAASCO Green Industrial Park at Muksudpur in Gopalganj with a view to creating jobs for locals and diversifying its business.

During a visit to Jalirpar under Muksudpur upazila of Gopalganj, it was seen that the group has bought over 38 acres of land and filled them with sand.

The factory will be established under the guidelines of US Green Building Council (USGBC) as it would be a green industrial park, which will have all necessary equipment to discharge industrial waste in order to ensure eco-friendly environment.

After the establishment of industrial park, the company would be able to employ over 8,000 people, which would indirectly benefit 40,000 people especially in the area. In the project, there will have ready-made garment (RMG) factory, garment accessories and agrobased industry, food processing and chemical factory.

During the visit, Sheikh Atiar Rahman Dipu, managing director of SAASCO Group, expressed his vision and dream centering the industrial park to a group of journalists. The government has set a vision to transform Bangladesh into a developed country, and as part of the

vision, it is establishing 100 Special Economic Zones, Atiar said.

In achieving the government goal, the private sector is the key to materialise the vision and it is in the driving seat, he added.

“I have invested to accelerate economic growth and change people’s lot in the southern part of the country.”

The SAASCO Group director added that he had chosen the area, considering implementation of the vision to create employment opportunity for the local unemployed people.

Locals have expressed satisfaction with the projects as they hope it would bring them employment for their sons and daughters.

“We are very happy with the initiatives taken by the group as it will provide locals with jobs,” said Adhir Kumar Shaha, an inhabitant of Jalirpar.

“Our sons and daughters go to capital or other industrial area for jobs. If the industrial park is established here, it will get them jobs.”

“It is a much-awaited and cherished project for the betterment of the people in the area,” said Gobinda Mondal, another resident in the industrial park area.

But some are creating problems for their personal interests, which would deprive us of a great opportunity to develop the area, he added. l

consultant n Asif Showkat Kallol

A foreign joint venture firm will supervise the construction of the much-anticipated construction of multi-lane road tunnel under Karnaphuli River in Chittagong and will also review the design of the project likely to be inaugurated next month.

Cabinet committee on public purchase presided over by Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday approved Road Transport and Bridges Ministry proposal of appointing Australia and Denmark joint venture firm as a consultant of the project.

After the meeting, additional secretary to the Cabinet Division, Mustafizur Rahman, said a joint venture firm of SABT Internation-

al Private Limited Australia, and QUWI Denmark in association with OBAY RU and Partners Denmark Limited, and AC Consultant Limited and Strategy Consultant Limited have been appointed for reviewing the design and supervision of Karnaphuli tunnel project.

He said cost of appointment of the consultant firm will be Tk291.37 crore, including VAT and tax.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to inaugurate the construction work of the country’s first tunnel under the river during his visit to Bangladesh early next month.

In last November, Ecnec approved the project at an estimated cost of Tk8,446.64 crore. The 3.4 kilometre-long tunnel is expected to take communication systems of the port city to a new height. l

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$50bn RMG export: Investment in technology a must n Tribune Business Desk Investment in technology is need of the hour to make the country’s apparel industry more competitive, sustainable and profitable, and also to achieve the target of earning the goal of US$50 billion in fashion exports by 2021.

Besides, infrastructure bottle necks and capacity constraints, which are the threat to prosperity, needs to be removed to attract more investment in the industry, the life blood of the country’s economy.

The observations came after an intense brainstorming panel discussion at a seminar on “Bastra Shilper Adhunikayan (Modern-

isation of Apparel Industry)” by ThreadSol, an innovative apparel software solutions provider in partnership with Independent TV, a leading private television channel, at the Radisson Blu Hotel in the city on Tuesday evening.

The objective of the seminar is to iron out a solution for making the dream of earning additional US$22 billion from garment exports in next five years into a success.

The panel is comprised of different sectors, including high government and non-government officials, banks, RMG industry, think tanks and IT officials.

Senior Secretary to the Ministry of Commerce, Haydayetullah Al

Mamun, Siddiqur Rahman, president of BGMEA, Nazneen Ahmed, Senior Research Fellow, BIDS, Showkat Aziz Russell, Chairman & Managing Director, Amber Denim and Mansij Ganguli, Co-founder & CEO ThreadSol were the discussants at the seminar.

Mohammad Zahid Hossain, special affairs editor of Independent TV, moderated the panel discussion.

Speaking on the occasion, the experts said globalisation is widely forcing textile producers to use technology that improves productivity through process improvement, product innovation and new worker skills and helps serve the customer more efficiently.

Manasij Ganguli said intelloCut was developed to give manufacturers the edge to reduce their material wastage by using effective concepts of fabric utilisation and streamline cutting room processes while at the same time boosting profits by up to 60%.

Investment in equipment and new technology will enable output per worker to increase and raise productivity and profitability, the panelist added that this will ultimately help achieve the goal of earning $50bn in exports within the next five-year.

The panelists were also of the view that as the country has already enough manpower resource,

technology is the only way to reach the goal by minimising the production cost and maximising the profit.

Use of technology in Bangladesh garment industry is at a nascent stage, they pointed out and called for a full-blown intervention of technology down to unit or operator level to increase efficiency from production to distribution level.

However, large scale manufacturers in the country are starting to look at global technology for their business.

The panel noted that the country’s many RMG factories failed to reap the benefit of advanced technology because of the backdated technology use. l

Banks asked to tighten security during Eid

Stocks extend rally ahead of Eid holidays

Bangladesh Bank has asked all banks to ensure security in their branches including head offices during Eid holidays.

Banks have been asked to tighten security in their respective branches, head offices and ATM booths to tackle cyber crime and any untoward incidents during Eid holidays, said a circular the central bank issued yesterday.

BB also advised the banks to take necessary measures to monitor the banks rotationally by bank officers during the holidays.

In an another circular issued yesterday, the central bank asked the banks to ensure non-stop transaction through ATM (Automated Teller Machine), POS (Point of Sale), e-Payment Gateway, MFS (Mobile Financial Services) during Eid celebration.

The circular mentioned that most of the bank branches will remain closed from 9 to 14 September.

During this period banks will have to take necessary steps to make sure that e-Transactions go on smoothly and uninterruptedly. l

Stocks registered higher yesterday on increased trading led by institutional buying in the banking and energy sectors.

However, some investors, particularly, retailers stayed on the sidelines ahead of the upcoming nine-day Eid holidays beginning from September 9.

The benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange DSEX rose 26 points or 0.6% to 4,594, extending its gaining streak for the fifth straight session. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, gained 8 points or 0.5% to 1,762. The DSE Shariah Index was marginally up 4 points to 1,110.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX was up 51 points to 8,600.

Trading activities also increased as the DSE turnover stood at Tk498 crore, up about 5% over the previous session. Most sectors ended positive with engineering sector leading the way with the highest rise of 1.2%. The market’s bellwether banks also moved up over 1%, followed by power 0.6%, non-banking financial institutions 0.5% and pharmaceuticals 0.4%.

Other low cap sectors, including IT, service & real estate and cement performed well while ceramics, life insurance, telecommunications and textile ended flat in green.

Mutual funds sector was the worst loser falling about 2%, followed by jute around 2% and travel & leisure about 1%.

Tannery, food & allied and general insurance closed flat in red.

Of 320 issues traded, 154 securities gained, 120 declined and 46 remained unchanged. Shahjibazar Power Company Ltd continued to be the most-traded share for the fifth session in a row with a turnover worth around Tk27 crore. l

n Tribune Business Desk

n Tribune Business Desk

Direct Fresh – a leading supplier of fresh and safe agro products for households – holds a press conference on its future business motto in the city yesterday COURTESY

Japan offers $596.8m to counter terrorism n Straits Times Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday announced his country would be giving anti-terrorism assistance amounting to 45 billion yen (S$596.8 million), while attending the Asean-Japan Summit in Laos.

The amount, which will be dis-

bursed over three years, will be targeted at - but not limited to - Asean and Sri Lanka.

The aid would help Asian countries improve capacity to counter terrorism, like improving border control, training law enforcement officials, enhancing education for youth, Japanese officials told The Straits Times.

It could come in the form of loans or grants, and include use of state-of-the art Japanese technology such as biometric authentication systems or detection equipment for explosives and drugs.

Both individual countries as well as Asean as a bloc may apply for the use of these funds. l

Shell: Oil market rebalancing could take until end 2017 n Reuters The huge global oil oversupply that has weighed on prices for the past two years may not clear until the second half of 2017, Shell’s chief energy adviser Wim Thomas told Reuters.

The potential return to the market of some 1.5 million barrels per day of supply from Libya and Nigeria and uncertainty about Iranian and Iraqi production levels could push a rebalancing further away

than many in the oil industry are hoping.

“All these things when they come back on the market can again postpone the true balancing,” Thomas said in an interview on the sidelines of the ONS oil conference in Stavanger, Norway.

He said the most optimistic scenario was for rebalancing, meaning that huge volumes of stored crude have to be absorbed, to kick in this year and that Shell was prepared for all outcomes.

“It can happen any time between the second half of this year and the second half of next year.”

Oil prices fell more than 70% from 2014 highs earlier this year and are still more than 50% below those levels as a fierce battle for market share between major producers has flooded the world with oil.

Thomas, a naval engineer by training, said three aspects could disrupt the current situation.

Oil demand from energy hungry

nations China and India will be a key driver for oil prices, as well as the resilience of US shale producers to weak prices.

Any OPEC agreement to freeze oil production could also result in a sudden boost for oil prices, Thomas said.

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum (IEF), which groups producers and consumers, in Algeria on Sept 26-28. l

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Britain faces long road to post-Brexit trade deals n Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May wants to make Britain a global leader in trade after Brexit, but former negotiators say the country faces a long slog despite warm words from some world leaders over forging new relationships.

With other countries reluctant to get involved in detailed discussions until Britain’s future ties with the European Union are clear, and a lack of negotiators in London ready to begin talks, any firm deals could be years away.

While the government says it can do the groundwork, Britain cannot

formally sign trade agreements until it leaves the EU, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has said EU member states should not even negotiate deals while still part of the bloc.

“Nobody with any sense from China, the US, Brazil or wherever is going to engage with the UK other than a friendly drink in the bar until the UK has a regime with the EU,” retired British trade negotiator Roderick Abbott told Reuters.

“That gives them the yardstick against which you negotiate,” said Abbott, who during his more than 40-year career worked on trade for the British government, the Euro-

pean Commission and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

May and her team strike an optimistic tone, highlighting nations which have said they are keen to do deals. But behind the scenes, countries are pragmatic.

A senior diplomat from a developed country with which Britain has suggested negotiating a deal said the EU was a more important partner, so any deal with Britain would depend on how it affected his country’s trade with the EU. “They want to talk to us. We’re always happy to talk trade. But frankly there isn’t much we can seriously talk about in detail, which

is really what trade deals are all about, until we know what their relationship will be with the EU,” he said, on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.

Japan has expressed concern over uncertainty surrounding Britain’s future EU relationship, including its access to the bloc’s single market, while US President Barack Obama quashed the prospect of a fast-track deal.

Pressure for deals

According to government figures, Britain’s total trade exports for June were worth 24.9bn pounds ($33.3bn), with the US its biggest

export market by value.

The government has said 3 million British jobs are linked to trade with the EU, while the EU estimates a further 3.9 million in Britain are supported by EU exports to the rest of the world. But she has also said she will not trigger Article 50, beginning the formal two-year divorce process, this year in order to allow the government time to prepare.

While Article 50 refers to “taking account” of the departing country’s future relationship with the EU, many say detailed talks will have to wait until Britain has left, meaning it could be 2019 before substantial trade negotiations begin. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation Ltd has recently held its 89th board meeting, said a press release. The company’s chairperson, Faruq A Choudhury presided over the meeting

Saiful Kabir from Sabujbag has recently won a chance to visit Japan under Eid offer programme of Best Electronics Ltd, said a press release.

The company’s managing director, Syed Asaduzzaman presented the prize to the winner on Tuesday

Ring Road branch of Pubali Bank Ltd has recently arranged a gettogether of its present and former officers, said a press release. The bank’s managing director, Md Abdul Halim Chowdhury was present on the occasion

An aerial view shows a coal-burning power plant on the outskirts of Zhengzhou, Henan province, China REUTERS

Global coal power plans fall in 2016, led

by China, India n Reuters The amount of coal-fired power generation under development worldwide has shrunk by 14% this year, driven down

by China as it struggles with oversupply and tries to promote cleaner energy, a study showed yesterday.

India also introduced policies in the first half of 2016 curbing plans for coal-fired plants, partly due to under-utilisation of existing plants, according to a Global Coal Plant Tracker run by non-government and anti-coal group CoalSwarm.

Overall, the amount of coalfired generating capacity in pre-construction planning fell 14% to an estimated 932 gigawatts (GW) in July from 1,090 GW at the start of the year, it said.

The overall decline, of 158 GW, was almost equal to the coal generating capacity of the European Union, at 162 GW, it said.

“It’s a combination of environmental concerns, including climate and health, along with the deteriorating economics of coal,” Ted Nace, director of CoalSwarm, told Reuters of the causes for the decline.

China had the biggest drop in its pre-construction pipeline by far, of 114 GW to a total 406 GW proposed, followed by India with a decline of 40 GW, it estimated.

The Philippines and Indonesia had also curbed coal, while countries such as Egypt and Mongolia raised their planning.

China vowed in February to close 500 million tonnes of coal production in the next three to five years to reduce oversupply. Profits also shrank in the first half because of sagging power demand and higher coal prices.

Beijing is trying to limit air pollution and climate change.

Even so, the report said the amounts of coal being planned and built were still too high to limit a rise in temperatures to the toughest aspirational goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) set by world leaders in the Paris Agreement on climate change last year.

Ben Caldecott, director of the Sustainable Finance Programme at the University of Oxford’s Smith School, said factors such as cheaper renewable energies and worries about climate change, pollution and water stress were causing cancellations.

“This trend will accelerate over time,” he wrote in a comment on the report.

Coal plant retirements are increasing worldwide, especially in the United States and Europe, but are still only a fifth the size of new plant construction, a study by CoalSwarm and other non-governmental organisations said in March.

From 2003 to 2015, for instance, the United States added 23 GW of coal capacity and retired 54 GW. Coal is the most polluting of the major fossil fuels and blamed for greenhouse gases that stoke more heatwaves, floods and rising sea levels. l

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September 8 is ‘International Literacy Day

Spreading the light of literacy in Shiplampi monthly pay orders (MPO) from the government. The Tripura tribe is also prosperous now, as lots of the people from our village have various businesses in the Thanchi Bazzar,” he said.

Maijesh could have easily stayed in the school of his own village and received the MPO, but he came from a different school of thought. “I wanted to spread the light of education among other tribes, and I wanted them to be educated,. so I came here at Shiplampi. The Mro tribe has the highest rate of illiteracy among all the tribes. I persuade the Karbari of Shiplampi and he gave me a piece of land here. The Christian NGO built the house and bought us the study material and I started the school,” he said.

He said that he mainly teaches Bengali here. “I also teach basic English and Maths right after the students have learnt to read and write Bengali. After studying in this school, many students go to the primary schools of Thanchi Bazaar and some of the large villages. I don’t take any money from anybody. I come here from Sherkorpara (a four hour trek) thrice a week and run the school.

I have also opened another school in Kunchingpara for the Khumi

n Mahmood Sadi As the sun came out, the changing light on the valleys misty, treeclad slopes looked golden in the morning light. One man was seen at the hill-top, approaching through a trail that appeared like a moving snake from the distance.

He stopped at the end of the path, lifted up his worn out bag over his head and carefully started to cross a narrow ‘Jiri’ (hill river) in front, which had a strong current and was covered with sharp boulders. Crossing that with panache, he climbed another little hill on the other side to reach a pleasant plateau covered with green grass.

A small one storied bamboo house with a red roof-top was there on the raised ground. He stood in front of the house, drew a key out from his threadbare pant's pocket and opened its gate.

I watched his movements from a little distance. It was very early in the morning and the ‘para’ (hill village) named ‘Shiplampi’ where I stayed the previous night (on our way to Tajindong), along with my trekking group, was still asleep.

I had a bad night's sleep and had gone out for some fresh air.

I still didn’t know that the house with red roof was a school, and the man who opened its gate was its lone teacher- Maijesh Tripura.

Driven by curiosity, I went to that house. Inside, there were 1012 wooden benches, a blackboard, a map of Bangladesh, a picture of Jesus Christ and a medium sized cross hanging on the wall.

I found Maijesh Tripura kneeling in front of the cross, offering a silent prayer. I waited.

Some moments later, he stood up and looked at me. His clothes looked more tattered up close than it seemed from the distance. He had thin grey hair, a lean muscular body and a monk-like smile.

‘Good Morning’, he greeted me.

From a birds eye view, it was a small house amid the vast greenery of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The nearest place with phone signal and electricity was about ten hours of trekking distance and the nearest village (Shiplampi) was inhabited by the indigenous ‘Mro’ population, one of the many matriarchal tribes of the country.

As I entered into conversation with Maijesh Tripura, I realised that he was indeed a unique person. He

is originally from Sherkorpara, a village mainly inhabited by the Tripura population. Unlike other hill people, he wanted to do something different than ‘Jhum’ (slash and burn cultivation) or hunting.

“Early in my childhood, I went to Saikotpara (a village of the Bom people) with my uncle. There I saw that a Christian NGO which had opened a school in the village.

I wanted to study there, but my parents didn’t allow me then as we had no relatives in that village,” he told me in fluent Bengali.

“But by seeing the Bom people, I realised one thing then - that if we, the Tripuras, don’t get literate and don’t get to speak and write in Bengali like them, we could never be prosperous. I realised that there is no alternative but to get educated,” he said.

“So I persuaded my parents and went to the school in Saikotpara. I was taught Bengali, a little English and mathematics there. A father (priest) at the Saikotpara School was pleased with my progress in studies, and he enrolled me at the school in Thanchi Bazaar (one of the six upazilas of Bandarban). I passed the SSC exams (then it was called Matriculation exam) from

I don’t take any money from anybody. I come here from Sherkorpara (a four hour trek) thrice a week and run the school there.”

Maijesh Tripura told me that after passing his SSC examinations, he decided to come back at Sherkorpara to establish a school. “The Karbari gave me a land; the villagers built a school house and sent their children.

But the main problem that I had encountered was the lack of educational materials. Most of the villagers were very poor and they could not afford books, pencils or copybooks for their children. Also the school books were very rare even in Thanchi Bazaar," he said.

“I went back to Saikotpara and asked the Christian NGO to provide funding for my school.

A few days later, it gave us the fund. It bought us the bench, blackboard and study materials.

Now the school of Sherkotpara is a government registered primary school. It has six teachers who got

tribe,” he said.

It was about 8 am in the morning. Maijesh excused himself from the conversation for some minutes to loudly ring a bell for a while. “Within 10 minutes the school will start,” he said.

My friends had also woken up from their sleep by then. Some of them came to the school. We also needed to leave and start our trekking for that day to cover the planned distance, but we waited for few more minutes to see what happened next.

In a short while, a number of little children came and the school had begun. “‘Au’ te auzogarti aslo tere. ‘Aa’ aamti ami khabo pere”- I could hear those familiar magical sounds of learning the alphabet of our beloved language come out from that small school of the hilly terrain. l

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Feature

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Laws of attraction n Touhid Kamal Did you know no matter how charming, smart or socially engaging you are, the person you like can be turned off in an instant over two seconds by a simple behavior or habit? And once that switch is off, it stays off!

We conducted an informal survey on what turns people off, and here are the results, broken down by gender

What turns off Bangladeshi men?

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6.

What turns off Bangladeshi women?

7.

1.

8.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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9.

There are too many guys who are too “cool” to read. Guys, reading is education. Be educated. And that’s hot.

– Nabila, 26 years old, employed at BGMEA There is nothing more awful than to see a guy walking around with a spear toe. Yes we all have them and we all should clip them! It’s a matter of personal hygiene. I also hate men who wear flip flops to everything. Hey dude, you are not at the beach you know!

– Farhana, 27 years old, Research Assistant at Islamic University of Technology.

It’s a real turnoff when guys gossip about another person’s body and features. Doesn’t matter if you are saying it behind their backs. Makes me wonder what you say about me in front of others!

– Nusaiba, 26 years old, student at North South University When I am on a date, and the guy starts eating away relentlessly without even looking, or without sharing. It’s a major turn off. I’m not going to finish your food. We are at a new place and just want to taste what their dish offers.

–Raida, 25 years old, Volunteer for Jaago Foundation.

It’s somehow implanted in our culture that men know about everything just because they are men. We are educated as well you know, and sometimes there are topics we know more about you. Respect that.

-Shahreen, 27 years old, Research Assistant at University of Manitoba.

Well, a turn off for me is when men forget birthdays and anniversaries. Also, a major turn off is when they say their “mom could have cooked much better.” Also, when they just stop saying that they love you.

–Natasha, 32 years old, Human Resource Specialist.

It is a major turn-off for me when a man is not aware of his bad breath. I can even tolerate profuse sweating but bad breath? That’s a big NO! Men who brag are not my kind either. It turns me off right away when he starts bragging about his photography skill or maybe singing skill or whatever he has in his bucket of pride just to impress me.

-Juthi, 26 years old, Marketing Professional.

Whenever a guy tries to impress me by saying “you’re not like other girls” and degrading other girls to impress me is a massive turnoff for me – Elma, 26 years old, employed at BRAC. I still see a lot of guys don’t know how to dress. Do you know that women find it a major turn off when a guy is not dressed properly? Trying to be “badass” when they’re mama’s boys in reality is a turnoff too.

–Adity, 25 years old, Teaching Assistant at University of Saskatchewan.

9.

I find it horrible when girls use slang. I also dislike shallow girls. Girls who prefer appearance and money.

– Nasser, 25 years old, student at North South University.

The tendency of hating the victor after losing in a logical argument is a major turnoff for me, especially if you are in a relationship with her.

– Sameer, 29, works at a digital media marketing company.

When I see a woman, who is very self-centered, and always thinks that the world revolves around her -- that is a big turn-off for me. Humility is a much better trait.

- Akib, 26, studies at University of Texas, Austin.

“Oh my god you are awesome! Why did my ex never try this?” That’s a universal turnoff for men.

- Kashfee, 27 years old, Certified Professional Accountant.

For any guy in a relationship, I suppose the biggest turnoff would be when they (women) don’t give space for your needs. And saying things like, “you don’t miss me anymore” Why the heck am I calling you if I don’t miss you anymore?

– Partha, 26 years old, graduate from BRAC University.

Ever faced a situation when you had to do all the talking? Women who can’t carry a conversation or lack a sense of humor are also a big turn off.

You don’t need to talk all the time, just be present in the conversation.

– Wahid, 29 years old, businessman.

Nowadays girls change their tones and accents while flirting with men.

Trust me, it’s a major turnoff. Do you talk to your parents with that tone?

– Rubayet, 27 years old, Graduate of University of Tumpro, Sweden.

I find many girls who don’t do anything except gossiping, going to classes and eating at restaurants -- that’s not healthy. Girls who are not passionate about anything are a huge turnoff for me – Atik, 24 years old, Student of BRAC University For me the biggest turnoff would be the immature behavior of woman.

If a woman can’t act her age then it is a no for me. Bad dressing sense is also a major turnoff – Shabab, 22 years old, lives in Netherlands. l

Photos: Bigstock

DT

18

Feature

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Direct Fresh: Farming for the next generation

n Features Desk Bangladesh has a food adulteration issue. Excessive use of pesticides and chemicals (like DDT and formalin by farmers) has become a matter of major public concern when purchasing fish, fruits, vegetables and milk from the market.

Direct Fresh is a new agribusiness that has emerged as one of the leading suppliers of fresh and safe agro products for households, wholesale markets, major grocery retailers and institutional customers in Bangladesh. In a short span of three years, Direct Fresh (“DF”) has developed a loyal customer base of 20,000 households who rely on safe and fresh DF products delivered to their doorsteps.

Besides the loyal customer base DF also supplies to discerning institutional clients like Apollo Hospitals, The Westin, Radisson Hotel, a number of international schools, clubs, and restaurants who want to ensure food safety for their employees and consumers.

“It has been quite a journey to get where we are today. We set out with the mission to deliver unadulterated and chemical free produce to the market not really knowing how we would do it but ended up being one of the leaders in producing and selling safe produce in the country,”shared Sam Bretzfield, co-founder and chairman of Direct Fresh Limited The unique value proposition Direct Fresh offers to its institutional customers is that using Direct Fresh as a supplier ensures food safety, but does not actually cost more.

Direct Fresh works closely with farmers, providing training and technical support to increase harvest yield and then purchase the produce at fair trade prices so farmers intrinsically benefit from working with Direct Fresh.

“We partnered with Direct Fresh because we wanted to

invest in improving the livelihood of farmers in Manikganj by connecting them to the Dhaka market directly and by developing their capacity through trainings and technical support provided

by Direct Fresh, so they could see real improvements in their lives through commercial gain and increased efficiency,”stated Gupta Bahadur Banjara, head of sectors, Swisscontact-Katalyst, a market development project funded by DFID, SDC and DANIDA. The Direct Fresh sustainable business model and work with the farmers of Manikganj was noticed by the ‘Business Call To Action’ [BCTA] global team. BCTA a United Nations Development Program [UNDP] initiative recognises companies that have successfully implemented innovative and sustainable business models that help improve the lives of individuals at the “bottom of the pyramid.” Direct Fresh has recently been asked to be a member of BCTA and is part of a global network of similar organisations all over the world.

Paula Pelaez, head of the Business Call to Action shared:“The Direct Fresh inclusive business is exactly the type of innovative model that the Business Call to Action global platform seeks to showcase. As one of our newest members, Direct Fresh will be participating in the BCTA Annual Forum in New York, held in conjunction with the United Nations General Assembly, to share their experience with other leading companies that deliver unique solutions to lowincome communities across Asia, Africa and South America, thus enhancing the quality of life at the base of the pyramid.”

Going forward the company is expanding rapidly and launching a model farm using advanced agricultural techniques, technology and practices which will serve as a benchmark for Bangladesh. Some of the latest

advancements and discoveries once adopted on wider scale in Bangladesh have the potential to change the landscape of farming.

The Direct Fresh Rajendrapur farm plans to introduce the use of Azolla instead of grass which grows six times faster and can be fed to cows, goats and chickens instead of grass decreasing feed cost by 85%.

The Rajendrapur farm will be one of the first farms to introduce multi-layer farming on a commercial scale allowing 300% more to be produced from the same square meter of land. In a densely populated country with limited land, one can imagine the benefits of maximising farming yields from the same land mass.

“From the very beginning we have succeeded because we

commercial scale Hydroponics Green House growing multiple types of lettuce, herbs, tomatoes, strawberries and capsicums completely stopping the import of these items from India and Thailand in the near future.

For the general public, Direct Fresh will be launching a second online store, www.epbazaar.com in the coming months, which will deliver the best retail value for good quality vegetables, fruits, fish, chicken, beef and other essential grocery items to the general public delivered to their door step. The new store will start by aiming to deliver across Dhaka city and expand in to a nationwide service over time.

The Direct Fresh vision for the future is a unique initiative has been made possible through the

The unique value proposition Direct Fresh offers to its institutional customers is that using Direct Fresh as a supplier ensures food safety, but does not actually cost more.

used ‘out of the box’ strategies to implement things others failed or found difficult. We took on challenges, often failed at first but tried again and again till we found the right approach. We launched some compelling business models that delivered results, getting us the traction in the market we see today,”explained Mishal Karim, cofounder and managing director of Direct Fresh Limited.

Vermicompost will be used as the primary organic fertiliser and natural bio-pesticides will all be created from animal waste from the cattle, goats, chickens and other animals kept on the farm.

The farm will also house the first

capital funding received from RSA Capital, the lead investor in Direct Fresh and other investment partners.

“It is rare to find investment opportunities that look exciting from a commercial perspective, delivers value to the farmers and to the consumers. RSA Capital sees DF as a unique opportunity to invest in an innovative company while it scales up its reach,”expressed Sameer Ahmad, chairman of RSA Capital.

Other investment partners were Business Research International Corporation Inc (BRIC), a global public and private equity investor and Razor Capital, a Bangladesh

focused, recently launched private equity fund.

Ousamah Gillah, managing partner of Razor Capital shared: “My family has been engaged in the agriculture business for decades. I see potential in a company that produces and sells directly to the market owning the own the entire warehousing, storage and distribution so it can cut out all middle men in the business. Delmonte adopts the same strategy and we have done well from doing so” Some new esteemed members to the Direct Fresh board of directors includes Sameer Ahmad, a pioneer investment banker, Mahmood Sattar, one of the most renowned bankers of Bangladesh and Zarif Munir, the first partner at the Boston Consulting Group currently looking after BCG ASIA and Ousamah Gillah, managing partner of Razor Capital.

“A big vision needs to be nurtured. I see the potential of what Direct Fresh is trying to achieve and want to assist them at every step that will truly define whether they will reach their end goal of being one the largest regional ‘farm to table’ food suppliers in the region,” Zarif Munir, partner at the Boston Consulting Group stated Mahmood Sattar, chairman, RSA Advisory Limited said: “Companies set for rapid growth and expansion will need to pay close attention to how they handle their finance. They will need guidance and advice along what can be long journey to becoming financially self-sustaining” Still in the process of building a strong and dynamic board of directors, Direct Fresh is set to be a company that will lead the way for nutritious, safe and affordable agriculture produce reaching the market benefiting all the residents of Dhaka city and eventually nationwide. l

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Biz Info

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

| innovation |

| tech |

GP accelerator promises Bangladesh’s first billion dollar company in 5 years

Huawei’s seeds for the future 2016 program kicks off

n SD Asia.com Grameenphone today received the second batch of GP Accelerator in the presence of Begum Tarana Halim, MP, State Minister for Ministry of Posts, Telecommunication & ICT. The GP Accelerator program, in partnership with SD Asia, has been designed to support early-stage, homegrown tech startups. These startups are provided with an intensive, rapid and immersive training over the four-month program.

The startups are provided with Tk11 lakh in seed funding each, work space in GP House, and a weighty set of industry contacts to speed up the life cycle of their businesses. This fixedterm, cohort-based program allows ventures to build a robust business model, become investable and scale them up.

Speaking on the occasion the State Minister said, “we have a large number of young people with great potential. So I have an advise for them, dream big and dream positive. Government will provide you with all necessary facilities.

guide the youths and support them accordingly. ” Welcoming the new batch to GP House, Grameenphone CEO Rajeev Sethi said: “The startups at GP Accelerator remind us every day of the skills that drive real success: speed, agility and focus against all the odds.

Grameenphone is committed to put Bangladesh on the global startup map firmly and together with the Government and the startup ecosystem.”

Minhaz Anwar, the head of GP Accelerator, said: “We are on a mission to help build the first billion dollar startup from Bangladesh by 2021 and GP Accelerator can achieve this bold ambitious goal only by working together with a range of partners.”

The top five startups of the second batch had to go through a rigorous, multi–staged process

Among those present were senior members the GP, SD Asia and members from the startup and investor communities.

The GP Accelerator program, in addition to essential resources, provides qualified mentors with prior experience in various fields to help the ventures get a lot done in short period of time. In exchange for a minimal equity share, every team joining is offered a package, including seed funding. The program, lasting for

ShahjahanMahmood, who was also present as special guest said, “Out of 50 thousands startup ideas about 90% of them are from youth. So we have to

to acquire the sought after GP Accelerator spots. The selectors had a tough job to review over 500 submitted applications before selecting the final five.

about four months, ends with a grand event, a demo day, where startups pitch to a plethora of experienced investors, partners and key clients. l

Huawei, a leading global information and communication technology (ICT) solutions provider, today kicks off its annual talent development program Seeds for the Future- 2016 at the company’s Customer Solution Innovation and Integration Experience Center (CSIC) in Dhaka. The program seeks to develop local ICT talent, enhance knowledge transfer, and improve young generation’s understanding of ICT and interest in the telecommunications industry.

This year, Huawei will select ten candidates for the study trip from six leading technology institutions in Bangladesh. The institutions are Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka University (DU), Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (KUET), Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology (RUET), and Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET).

At the kick-off press conference, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP, Honorable State Minister of ICT Division, said “I congratulate Huawei for such an initiative to endorse the talented students who are the future leaders who will help our country with their new

| tech |

Edison group unveils the Helio s2 Helio S2 the third device coming under the brand name Helio from Edison group; the same company that brings us the very successful Symphony mobile line up. The brand Helio which launched last year promising to bring a premium range of devices. They launched their new smartphone, the Helio S2, in a shopping mall in the capital.

The Smartphone has an attractive metallic uni-body having 8.15mm thickness. It comes with 2.5D water drop glass which makes the phone beautiful and responsive. The 5.5 inch full HD IPS display is higher than the Industry average. The rear camera is a 13MP unit with f/2.0 aperture that is paired with a Sony IMX sensor. It works amazing in low

light conditions. The main camera has 14 attractive features like GIF, Mood Photo to Professional quality and ultra-pixel feature which helps the phone to take extraordinary pictures. The pros are vibrant colors, good detail at the center of focus and a quick shutter and auto focus. The biggest surprise of the Helio S2 is the front camera, using of true

tone flash which is capable of taking attractive pictures at the aperture (f/2.2) 8 Megapixel. The phone is priced at Tk15,990/- l

ideas and ICT solutions in building a better digital Bangladesh.

I believe such competition aiming at Bangladeshi students will obviously help them gain practical knowledge on latest ICT technologies as well as enhance our country image globally.”

Ma Mingqiang, HE Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh, said “As you may know, Huawei is a leading global telecom and ICT solution provider originating from China. Today’s program might be a pioneering effort organised by Huawei, but I would like to say that this is the foundation. Bringing new technology and encouraging knowledge exchange is the most rewarding way to build a long-term relationship. So, I strongly believe through this initiative, Huawei can support Bangladesh government to develop local ICT talents.

Since inception, the program has been implemented in 67 countries and regions across five continents, benefiting over 15,000 students from 150 universities.

More than 1,700 university students from around the world have taken a study trip to the Huawei headquarters, including more than 800 visitors in 2015.

The program was first launched in Bangladesh in 2014, and has already proven a resounding success. l

DT

20 Editorial

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

TODAY

A woman on a public bus A very small number of girls can summon up the courage to go to the police to file a case. Those cases stay obscure most of the time PAGE 21

Keep on running But please don’t stop, because you have only just crossed one level. There are many more levels to conquer, and remember that your self-pity will come back again and again PAGE 22

Destroying a way of life Though the UN has come up with many new mechanisms and policies to protect and promote the indigenous peoples, in reality, indigenous peoples are still exploited PAGE 23

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/ DhakaTribune.

The views expressed in Opinion articles are those of the authors alone. They do not purport to be the official view of Dhaka Tribune or its publisher.

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

A long-term solution is needed for Eid holiday traffic

T

he roads and highways are clogged once again with unbearable traffic ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, putting holiday-makers in an unbearable situation.

We have been here before -- every Eid, the rush of people going home for Eid brings our entire road and highway network to a gridlock.

Despite promises of massive plans to tackle Eid traffic rush by the government before Eid-ul-Fitr this year, the city saw next to no improvement in traffic management -- citizens witnessed the same old pattern of traffic congestion.

It is baffling how this problem keeps recurring, with so little progress in alleviating the traffic.

To compound the traffic issue for holiday-makers, there are the cattletraders trying to get their livestock into cattle markets as fast as possible.

Stopgap solutions like deploying rover scouts to assist traffic police are not enough to tackle a problem of the magnitude that Dhaka and its connecting highways experience around the Eid holiday season.

We need to think broader and more long-term: Building more flyovers, foot over-bridges, bus stations, and, most importantly, making space for dedicated bus lanes on our roads are but some of the ways that our severe traffic situation can be brought under control.

Dhaka residents waste an average of 11 minutes at each major intersection and bus corridor. The long waits can add up to a staggering amount of wasted time, and lost energy and efficiency for commuters. In other words, traffic stands directly in the way of Bangladesh’s economic progress.

We, as a nation, seem to be trapped in a spiral, where Eid traffic worsens every year. We need to break this pattern and end the public misery that we have grown so used to witnessing.

We need to think broader and more long-term: Building more flyovers, foot over-bridges, bus stations, and, most importantly, making space for dedicated bus lanes on our roads

DT

21

Opinion

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

A woman on a public bus Sexual harassment on public transportation has gone out of control

n Sanjida Chowdhury

T

he local bus is one of the cheapest and most easily accessible modes of transportation in Dhaka.

Women and men routinely use buses, for both their affordable fares and availability. In fact, over the last few years, the public transport service in Dhaka has improved substantially.

Public transport reserves some seats for women, called “ladies seats” (mohila seat). They do it to make the journey easier for women.

The same bus that tries to serve women in the time of their need facilitates the abuse of women. As a matter of fact, in recent years, hundreds of girls in Bangladesh and across the border have been raped on public transport.

Even though the number of buses has increased with the aim to meet demand, they are far from being safe for women. Very recently, the Los Angeles Times wrote about a young woman being raped by five men in a minibus in Dhaka, echoing a fatal attack on a woman in New Delhi in 2012.

Another woman was raped in the same manner in a running

Special seats for women hardly solve the problem

The women who survive these horrors are overlooked by society. A very small number of girls can summon up the courage to go to the police to file a case. Those cases stay obscure most of the time

minibus, which was heading towards Dhaka from Tangail. She was alone in the bus, and was raped by three men.

Every day, many girls go through severe psychological and physical trauma due to sexual harassment. Not only this, there are accounts of women being raped in groups and even murdered on public transport.

The women who survive these horrors are overlooked by society.

A very small number of girls can summon up the courage to go to the police to file a case. Those cases stay obscure most of the time.

Why do men rape women on public transportation, and threaten them afterwards? This question cannot be answered only on the basis of the established male-dominated society in Bangladesh.

Patriarchy is, of course, a major issue here, but there is more to it. Women in Bangladesh are categorised as “mothers,” but this notion is completely blown away when they are raped irrespective of their age.

How does a person trying to grope a girl in a bus perceive this “mother figure” then? He measures a female body in front of him, not a human being.

A society like Bangladesh is controlled by religious beliefs and norms. People repeatedly quote religion to establish personal opinion. Men bringing religion to establish patriarchy in society are most likely to be the ones lacking in religious knowledge.

Religion does not place men over women to abuse them, but a lack of proper knowledge has given them the misguided idea that they can use women as objects.

They blame women for wearing skimpy clothes. Why? A woman’s outfit can never determine a man’s action.

Men forget the fact that Islam has also ordered them to restrain their gaze. Unfortunately, no one talks about that.

Not just drivers or conductors, but male passengers also take the advantage of the rush in the buses.

Their silent but constant gaze cannot hide the lust they hold for women. Our so- called authority reserves distinctive mohila seats for women, but whenever a woman is alone in the bus, she becomes an inferior creature.

It is the lack of proper education that keeps up this system of inequality. As a result of this superiority complex in men, a woman becomes an object to a man’s eye.

While talking about the

NASHIRUL ISLAM

motivations behind sexual harassment on public transport, the effects of pornographic movies cannot be excluded. With the help of the internet, pornography is just a click away.

“Because of the internet and mobile phones, an overwhelming amount of amateur pornography is being created and subsequently shared with millions in Bangladesh,” reported the Dhaka Tribune.

Not only this, different sex stories are also available online.

Websites and pages are loaded with erotic stories both in Bangla and English. Millions of readers are being added to these groups every day.

Sexual harassment in public transports has become an unbearable problem. It is time we stood against it.

We have to rise against this vicious phenomenon before it gets more out of our control. The government’s stand against sexual harassment is not enough to put an end to it.

It is us who have to come forward, and discuss a solution to this matter openly. l

Sanjida Chowdhury is a freelance contributor.

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Opinion

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Keep on running Don’t give in to self-pity

Train harder, make yourself better

n Touhid Kamal

F

riday morning is a peaceful time for those who are submerged in the daily routine of jobs, running businesses, or going to school.

You are lying on your bed, and thinking about what to do for the rest of the day, as free time nowadays is a rare find.

You should plan with enough diligence, so that you can enjoy each and every moment of the weekend.

But suddenly, a thought that has been lingering in your mind for years or months, which you have avoided with foolproof excuses, suddenly resurfaces.

And you, with the mighty force of sheer will, leap off from the bed, change clothes, and go out. Yes, it is that easy.

You get yourself out in the breezy calm morning of a Friday, and start running at a leisurely pace. You feel the cold, fresh air, and warm sunlight on your face.

Keep on running. Don’t try to beat any deadline or attempt to set any new records, just run.

Five minutes pass, and a

BIGSTOCK

thought lurks around in your mind. It’s an old friend: The selfpity.

Don’t you think you are pushing too far, you plump fellow?”

Ignore the voice. Keep on going.

Keep running. You will feel that your body is beginning to shut down, it can’t take any more, but

But please don’t stop, because you have only just crossed one level.

There are many more levels to conquer, and remember that your selfpity will come back again and again

Your self-pity declares: “Hey man.

It’s great that you have started running. Let’s call it a day! Let’s sit down somewhere and enjoy the breeze.”

Keep running.

As the first wave of tiredness grasps every muscle in your body, Mr Self-pity will come right back.

“You did it buddy. You are an awesome bloke. Look how far you have run. Not bad, considering you haven’t run for five years. Now let’s stop here!”

Do not stop even when the voice inside of you gets more persistent.

“Who are you trying to impress?

No one is even looking at you.

Your body will start to feel gravely tired.

Even when you feel breathless and your muscles ache, don’t stop.

“Look at yourself, you fat lad.

Lumping on the field like a limp kangaroo.

Look at the people around you.

They are staring, and they are laughing at you.”

Keep on running.

“I need a shower. I need some rest. Let’s just sit there on that bench by that tree and have a smoke. Let’s go to a fast-food joint and have something delicious.

Enough of this ridiculous jogging.

Why don’t we go to the movies instead?”

still you must keep on running, against all that self-pity and negativity that your own mind subjects you to.

“Please, stop. Have some mercy. I feel so sorry for myself. I feel like I am dying now.”

And after a while, with a rush of blood through the head, you will feel you have overcome the daunting struggle of the I’mabout-to-die moments, and that your running has become easy.

But please don’t stop, because you have only just crossed one level. There are many more levels to conquer, and remember that your self-pity will come back again and again.

It will make you doubt yourself, try to make you feel depressed, and will try to exploit each and every trick in its book to slow you down.

But, you my friend, you keep on running. You are stronger than your self-pity. The day will come when this inner voice will be silent.

You will realise that you are just running, and nothing is speaking to you anymore, and then you will not feel sorry for yourself.

You will feel at peace.

You will sense pure joy and satisfaction.

And this goes not only for running.

It goes for your dreams, your aspirations, your goals, your everyday tasks that you need to complete.

Every time you feel undervalued, every time you feel you are not made for the task, every time you feel sorry for yourself, train yourself hard, and then even harder, and make yourself better.

Be absolutely merciless with yourself. l Touhid Kamal is a freelance contributor.

DT

23

Opinion

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Destroying a way of life We cannot destroy the protected lands in the CHT in the name of development and tourism

Can we protect this life?

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

It seems as though the government has been using the tourism industry as an excuse for taking away the last of the indigenous Jumma people -- and has started grabbing their lands in the name of development.

Tourism centres and resorts are mushrooming in the region, violating the traditional land rights of the Jumma people.

Recently, an initiative to set up Alutila Special Tourism Zone, Khagrachari on 699.98 acres of hilly land has once again stirred up deep anxiety, concern, and grievances among the Jumma peoples of the CHT, including those of Khagrachari district.

It was learned that Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA), under the prime minister’s office, took the decision to set up a special tourist zone in Khagrachari district. To inform this decision, BEZA sent a letter to the deputy commissioner of Khagrachari hill district on June 15, asking for necessary information of proposed land, including holding number,

n John Tripura

D

evelopment is important to any nation, primarily to improve living conditions and reduce poverty levels.

But what if development is used to trigger the destruction of the life and culture of indigenous peoples?

The Bangladesh indigenous peoples’ painful history of being excluded, exploited, and discriminated against are reflected in their present situation. They belong to the fringes, as marginalised and vulnerable people in the country. Their traditional knowledge, cultural diversity, and sustainable ways of life make a unique contribution to the common heritage of our country.

This means that the issue of indigenous peoples is a challenge for the international community and the Bangladesh government in terms of upholding human rights, promoting cultural diversity, and peaceful coexistence, as well as protecting ecological diversity and achieving ecological sustainability.

At the same time, the indigenous peoples of Bangladesh are the custodians of some of the most ecologically diverse areas of the country.

The existence of many of the Bangladeshi indigenous peoples can be attributed to their resistance to prior waves of illegal development projects

Though the UN has come up with many new mechanisms and policies to protect and promote the indigenous peoples, in reality, indigenous peoples are still exploited, tortured, and continuously evicted from their ancestral lands in many parts of the world that had been initiated since the Pakistan period, and continue still at the hands of the Bangladesh government.

Their territories and cultures remain the final and most sought-after frontier in its latest expansion, and their resistance is the final obstacle. They stand, both physically and ideologically, at the frontlines in the struggle to put an end to illegal development.

The current model of the economic system in Bangladesh is based on the exploitation of natural resources predominantly located in indigenous territories.

The indigenous peoples in Bangladesh are the victims of systematic abuse associated with imposed forms of economic development.

In recent times, the indigenous peoples have faced the negative impacts of false development.

Many of these resources are taken from or developed on indigenous peoples’ territories, and very often without their consent.

Historically, the CHT had largely been a self-governed,

independent territory, and a totally excluded area until 1860.

In 1900, the British enacted the Regulation 1 of the 1900 CHT Act, in order to protect the indigenous Jumma people from economic exploitation by Bengali Muslims and to preserve their tradition and institutions based on customary laws, common ownership of land, and so on.

Throughout the British colonial period, the 1900 CHT Act functioned as a safeguard for the indigenous people, and prohibited land ownership and migrations of Bengali Muslims into the CHT, which meant that people from the plains were barred from settling there. We might say the indigenous Jumma peoples of CHT have enjoyed absolute freedom of life in that period.

However, since the Pakistan period, the CHT indigenous Jumma peoples are being divested of their ancestral lands at an alarming rate. It’s the result of projects and programs carried out in the name of illusive and false development at the heart of CHT.

location, and mouza map.

Most of these lands have been marked, allegedly and incorrectly, as “khas” in the documents of the concerned upazila offices, and in the enquiry reports submitted by the Offices of the Assistant Commissioners (Land).

In fact, the very concept of “khas” land, in reference to the CHT, is incorrect or fallacious in respect of the region’s laws, customs, and conventions. Lands referred to as “khas” have been designated, in these reports and documents, as lands owned by the deputy commissioner on behalf of the government of Bangladesh.

But in reality, the lands in question were commonly known as “Mouza and Jum lands” and have been managed by the indigenous Jumma people for centuries. In fact, the CHT Accord of 1997 vests the management of lands in the CHT with the jurisdiction of both the Hill District Councils and CHT Regional Council.

Over the last few decades, the concept of FPIC has increasingly

been used by indigenous rights advocates to guide negotiations between indigenous communities and outside interests.

The principles of FPIC were first formally laid out by the 1989 International Labour Organisation’s Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries (ILO 169), which establishes that consent must be acquired before indigenous communities are relocated or before development is undertaken on their land.

Free prior and informed consent (FPIC) is the principle to establish bottom-up participation and consultation of an indigenous population prior to the beginning of a development on ancestral land or using resources within the indigenous population’s territory, and indigenous communities have the right to give or withhold consent to proposed projects that may affect the lands they customarily own, occupy, or otherwise use.

FPIC is now a key principle in international law and jurisprudence related to indigenous peoples. One of the significant and most direct descriptions of FPIC is in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Article 10 states: “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories. No relocation shall take place without the free, prior, and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and after agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, with the option of return.”

Though the UN has come up with many new mechanisms and policies to protect and promote the indigenous peoples, in reality, indigenous peoples are still exploited, tortured, and continuously evicted from their ancestral lands in many parts of the world. The indigenous peoples of Bangladesh are in the most vulnerable situation.

The government must adopt indigenous friendly laws and regulations to protect these hapless peoples.

The government should also emphasise on free prior and inform consent regarding the development of any tourism point in the CHT. l John Tripura is an indigenous peoples’ human rights defender, and works for the Kapaeeng Foundation.

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24 Sport

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

TOP STORIES

Gemcon Khulna win Masters Cricket When the winning runs were struck in the 18th over, the excitement got to everyone present at the boundary’s edge as even Mashrafe Mortaza and Shakib al Hasan (both from the Khulna region) rushed to celebrate. PAGE 25

Maxwell fires record breaking Aussies Opener Glenn Maxwell’s blistering century in Australia’s world record 263 powered the visitors to a comprehensive 85-run win over Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 international in Pallekele on Tuesday. PAGE 26

Clarke takes Nepalese spinner under wing Michael Clarke has taken a young Nepalese under his wing, helping bring him to Sydney to train at his academy and play with his club. Clarke spotted Sandeep Lamichhane while he was coaching recently in Hong Kong. PAGE 27

Neymar lifts Brazil, Argentina held Brazil’s march towards the 2018 World Cup gathered pace on Tuesday with a Neymarinspired win over Colombia as Uruguay surged to the top of the South American qualification standings with a 4-0 rout of Paraguay. PAGE 28

Shakib al Hasan gives a piggy-back ride to his daughter in Mirpur yesterday

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Two-tier scrapped, BCB elated n Mazhar Uddin Bangladesh Cricket Board expressed its delight after the International Cricket Council withdrew the proposal for the two-tier system in Test cricket during its chief executives committee meeting in Dubai yesterday.

BCB has been opposing the twotier proposal from the beginning along with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Sri Lanka Cricket and Zimbabwe Cricket while the proposal was backed by the other six boards from Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan and the West Indies.

“Obviously it’s very good news as you know we have been oppos-

ing the proposal from the very beginning. India and Sri Lanka were also with us. We were hopeful as we were sure that this system won’t bring anything good for us.

So we have been opposing the issue from the beginning,” BCB president Nazmul Hasan told the media yesterday.

“Since India joined us, our support became stronger and finally, the ICC has officially announced that. I am delighted for that. Our cricket is not heading towards darkness now,” he said.

Earlier, one of the chief executives who attended the meeting yesterday informed, “There was a significant compromise and it was subsequently decided to with-

draw the two-tier proposal.”

According to the proposal, the two-tier system would comprise seven teams in the top tier and five in the bottom, with promotion and relegation system between the two based on performance.

Being the top two Associate nations, Afghanistan and Ireland would join the lowest three ranked Test-playing nations in the bottom tier, along with the other Associates. They would have the chance to be promoted, based on their performance.

The two-day CEC meeting was a special one as it was not part of the quarterly meetings held each year by the ICC where the representatives of the boards convened

to discuss international cricket structures in all three formats.

The other issues which were discussed in the meeting were alternative models to invigorate the health of Test and ODI cricket, and provide more context to fixtures, while the danger of excessive Twenty20 cricket was also discussed.

Another proposal was to bring back the World Test Championship, but the proposal was opposed, including the BCCI. “They wanted a Test Championship. That cannot happen because there is not enough time for everybody to play everyone [in the current Future Tours Programme cycle],” a chief executive said.l

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Sport

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Gemcon Khulna win Masters Cricket n Ali Shahriyar Bappa Gemcon Group Khulna defeated Lanka-Bangla All Stars Masters by four wickets to clinch the Walton Masters Cricket Carnival tournament at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

When the winning runs were struck in the 18th over, the excitement got to everyone present at the boundary’s edge as even Mashrafe Mortaza and Shakib al Hasan (both from the Khulna region) rushed to celebrate.

The trophy also ended a great sporting week for Gemcon

BRIEF SCORE LANKA-BANGLA ALL STARS MASTERS 124 for 6 in 18 overs Soheil Hossein 27, Lablur Rahman 23, Azam Iqbal 20; Totam 2-29 GEMCON GROUP KHULNA 126 for 6 in 17.3 overs Habibul Bashar 28, Jamal Babu 17, Harunur Rashid 15; Fahim Muntasir 2-16 Result: Khulna win by 4 wickets Man of the Match: Habibul Bashar (Khulna) Man of the Series: Mohammad Rafique (Dhaka Metro)

Group which won the 11th Ascent Corporate Soccer Cup on Saturday. It was their third consecutive title.

Back to the game and the AllStars made 124-6 in 18 overs. Opener Javed Omar Belim and Sohel Hossain built a good partnership at the beginning. In-form Javed was out for 17. Sohel top-scored with 27 runs that had two sixes before getting out in the 10th over.

Khulna were brought back into the game immediately when All-Stars’ captain Selim Shahed was clean bowled next ball.

However, Ehsanul Haque and Azam Iqbal crafted another good partnership and All-Stars managed to get past 100 runs. In the later part of the innings, Lablur Rahman made a quickfire 23 off 15.

Khulna’s Totam took two wickets conceding 29 runs.

In reply, Khulna started briskly, scoring 25 runs in three overs.

All-Stars’ pacer Hasibul Hossain bowled a brilliant over conceding just one run thereafter. In the first ball of the next over, Nahid got out to Jamal Babu.

But captain Habibul Bashar stood firm at the other end and made a crucial 28 to keep the mo-

Gemcon Group Khulna players celebrate with the Masters Cricket Carnival trophy alongside BCB president Nazmul Hasan (C) and director Kazi Inam Ahmed (CL) following their four-wicket win over Lanka-Bangla All-Stars Masters at Mirpur’s Sher-eBangla National Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK mentum going. All the Khulna batsmen put valuable contributions during the chase.

But it was Sanjay Chakrabarty who smashed a vital 14 off just

seven balls that had two big sixes.

Eventually Khulna chased down the 125 runs with three balls to spare. Fahim Muntasir took two wickets for the runners-up side.

Bashar was later adjudged man of the match while Mohammad Rafique was rewarded as man of the series for his all round performance.l

Where are the strikers? n Tribune Report

Ahead of their bowling action reassessment today, Taskin Ahmed, Arafat Sunny and coach Chandika Hathurusingha have dinner in Brisbane yesterday

Bad day in Baku n Tribune Report

Both the Bangladesh men’s and women’s chess team conceded defeat in their fifth-round match in the 42nd World Chess Olympiad on Tuesday.

In the open section, Bangladesh men’s side lost to 13th seeded Germany by .5-3.5 points while the women’s team lost to Moldova by 1.5-2.5 points.

Only Grandmaster Niaz Murshed (rating 2439) managed to earn a draw against German GM Buhmann Rainer while GM Enamul Hossain Razib lost to GM Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter.

Meanwhile, GM Mollah Abdullah

al Rakib lost to GM Meier Georg and GM Ziaur Rahman lost to GM Bluebaum Matthias. Every opponent from the German team has higher rating than the Bangladeshi ones.

In the women’s section, Women’s Fide Master Sharmin Sultana Shirin beat Women’s International Master M Petrenko Svetlana, WFM Nazrana Khan Eva drew with Women’s Grandmaster Partac Elena, WIM Shamima Akter Liza lost to WIM Baciu Diana and WIM Rani Hamid lost to WFM Gitu Paula-Alexandra.

In the sixth round, the men’s team will play against United Arab Emirates while the women’s side are up against Morocco. l

Since taking charge of the Bangladesh football team, Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet has regularly expressed his concern for the lack of a proper striker. The desperation reached new heights when, after Bangladesh’s goalless 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers play-off against Bhutan, he asked journalists to inform him if they could find a striker anywhere, anytime.

On Tuesday, Bangladesh created a dozen chances as they dominated the game. Striker Shakhawat Hossain Rony alone missed a series of clear-cut opportunities throughout the game but he was not alone.

His teammates exhibited their misfiring talent till the final whistle. They had at least three close chances in the last five minutes.

Some of them were like a tap-in or a push which would have been enough to find the back of the net.

It is no more a secret that Bangladesh football is in deep crisis in this regard. The scoring ability is evident when Bangladesh played against better opponents. The recent records from Fifa World Cup/Afc Asian Cup qualifiers and play-offs indicate that Bangladesh failed to score a single goal from nine matches in the last year, conceding 34 goals in total.

Bhutan were the weakest among the six opponents they faced in the

last 12 months.

Domestic leagues are a major source for the national squad from where the best performers got the call-up. It’s no different in Bangladesh but the domination of foreign players upfront in the last decade have made it very hard for the local strikers to get chance. Saintfiet discovered this on his first visit to Dhaka.

“We have a problem that we don’t have strikers. Most of the clubs have mediocre African strikers who play against clubs who have African centre-backs. So our defenders and strikers don’t develop. I

Bangladesh players walk out of the field following their goalless draw against Bhutan in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Play-Off at Bangabandhu National Stadium on Tuesday

believe these strikers have the quality but they don’t develop because of a lack of opportunity,” he said.

“Our defence was good. Our midfield was alone but they played well. The young players played with a lot of heart. The only thing that didn’t happen was a goal. We don’t have strikers. I don’t know what we have to do because we can’t score,” he added.

Bangladesh Football Federation president Kazi Salahuddin admitted that he is also aware of the situation.

“How much effort the local forward give for their own development? It’s true that they get less chance due to the presence of foreign strikers but it can’t change overnight. My question is that do the local strikers have that desire in their mind to prove them better than the foreigners?”

Saintfiet has a month to find a solution for goal-scoring before Bangladesh play the away game in Thimphu against Bhutan on October 10. He said he will take anyone, even the veteran Jahid Hasan Ameli, if he can prove his worth better than the current strikers.

Meanwhile, Saintfiet will be leaving for Belgium today and is scheduled to return on September 19. Goalkeeper coach Ryan Sandford and fitness trainer Ridoh Burden left yesterday. l

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Maxwell fires record breaking Aussies n AFP, Pallekele

Australia’s Glenn Maxwell goes big during their first twenty20 match against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Tuesday

AP

Opener Glenn Maxwell’s blistering century in Australia’s world record 263 powered the visitors to a comprehensive 85-run win over Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 international in Pallekele on Tuesday.

Australia, who broke Sri Lanka’s nine-year record of 260/6 against Kenya in 2007, restricted the hosts to 178 for nine in 20 overs to take 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

Maxwell destroyed the Sri Lankan bowling attack with his unbeaten 145 off 65 balls, which was laced with 14 fours and nine sixes, after the visitors were invited to bat first.

Skipper David Warner gave Australia a fiery start with his 28 runs off 12 balls as he put on a 57-run opening partnership with Maxwell to lay a solid foundation.

Off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake bowled Warner on a looping delivery that held its line to take the off stump, but Sri Lanka’s joy was shortlived as Maxwell, who was dropped from the ODI squad, was just warming up at the

other end.

“I thought to give the bloke (Maxwell) an opportunity, I like a right-hand, left-hand combination at the top. Credit to him, he has worked hard at home. Tonight was all Maxi,” said Warner.

The opener, who registered his maiden T20 century in his 35th game, found the perfect partner in

BRIEF SCORE, 1ST T20I AUSTRALIA 263/3 (Maxwell 145, Head 45, Khawaja 36) beat SRI LANKA 178/9 (Chandimal 58, Kapugedera 43, Starc 3/26) by 85 runs Usman Khawaja, who scored 36 off 22 balls, as the duo put together 97 runs for the second wicket.

Debutant left-arm spinner Sachith Pathirana got Khawaja trudging back to the pavilion, only to see Travis Head join forces with Maxwell.

Maxwell and Head, who scored an 18-ball 45, then put on 109 runs for the third wicket as it was raining boundaries at a packed Pallekele International Stadium.l

Run records fuel fears over bat-ball balance n AFP, New Delhi After first England and then Australia rewrote the cricket record books just days apart, some commentators are warning that a glut of runs risks wrecking the art of bowling and turning off fans.

Australia cruised to victory on Tuesday in the first match of a

T20 series against Sri Lanka after spanking 263 runs in their innings, breaking the previous best of 260 scored by their hosts against Kenya in 2007.

The performance came exactly a week after England posted the highest ever total in a 50-over international, scoring 444 for three against Pakistan.

The last fortnight has also seen a

new record for the highest number of runs in a T20 international, with India and the West Indies totalling a combined 489 runs in a match in Florida on August 27.

Such run-fests may be great entertainment for spectators, but some commentators say they could end up doing more harm than good.

“Bowlers are being reduced to

bowling machines. It is a terribly one-sided affair, there is no contest at all,” Indian spin great Bishan Bedi told AFP. “I don’t mind being hit for a four or a six but it’s being hit so easily and consistently. The charm of true cricket has been thrown out of the window.”

In a series of tweets after Tuesday’s carnage in Sri Lanka,

former India international Sanjay Manjrekar urged administrators to “respect the intelligence of fans” who “don’t come to watch just 4s & 6s”.

“The lopsided balance between bat & ball in T20s must be monitored” and should not be allowed to “reach ridiculous proportions”, added Manjrekar, who is now a TV commentator. l

Nervy win for ULAB n Tribune Report University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh claimed a nervy one-wicket victory over Assupol Tuks Cricket, University of Pretoria at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in the Red Bull Campus Cricket yesterday.

Taking first guard, UoP registered 152/9 on the board from their stipulated 20 overs, courtesy quickfire knocks by Evan Jones (39) and Tony de Zorzi (37).

BRIEF SCORE UOP 152/9 in 20 overs (Evan 39, De Zorzi 37, Anjum 3/27, Arifur 3/30) lost to ULAB 153/9 in 20 overs (Avishek 50, Kaber 2/16, Ngidi 2/16, Moore 2/35) by one wicket

ULAB’s Anjum Ahmed and Arifur Rahman bagged three wickets apiece while Mohammad Islam and Morsalin Mortaza picked up one each. In reply, ULAB reached their destination in 20 overs with one wicket in hand. Avishek Mitra top-scored with 50, featuring three fours and two sixes.

Thomas Kaber, Lungi Ngidi and Vincent Moore shared six wickets between themselves.

ULAB, reigning Twenty20 private university champion of Bangladesh, were invited by the tournament organisers as they earlier participated in the same tournament twice in Sri Lanka and England previously. This is the third time ULAB are partaking in the Red Bull Campus Cricket.l

In partnership with Bangladesh Cricket Board, Gazi Tyres has taken an initiative to find the cricket talents nationwide in a talent hunt titled ‘Gazi Tyres Cricketers Hunt’

27

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Sport

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Djoker, Monfils set to renew lopsided rivalry n AFP, New York Novak Djokovic boasts a dozen wins in as many matches against Gael Monfils, but the world number one remains wary of the exuberant Frenchman heading into their US Open semi-final showdown on Friday.

“He seems more focused at this time of his career,” Djokovic said. “Especially the hard court (season) this year, maybe he’s playing the best tennis he ever played. He’s very consistent. He hasn’t dropped a set till semis.

“That says a lot about the level he’s on.”

Tenth-seeded Monfils booked his first Grand Slam semi-final since Roland Garros in 2008 with a crisp 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory over weary compatriot Lucas Pouille.

Pouille, 22, was coming off three successive five-setters -- the last of them a stunning triumph over 14-time major winner Rafael Nadal.

There was little of the leaping and diving from Monfils that fans have come to love -- and which Djokovic himself said makes Monfils one of his favorite players to watch.

“He’s one of the few players that I will definitely pay a ticket to watch,” Djokovic said.

“He’s very charismatic. Plays with a smile. Enjoys tennis, enjoys life.”

For all that admiration, Djokovic has dominated Monfils. Since the French player won a developmental Futures Tour clash with the Serb in 2004, Djokovic has won all 12 of their ATP level meetings.l

Sandeep Lamichhane with former Australia skipper Michael Clarke during the Hong Kong Blitz T20 tournament played on May 27-29

Clarke takes Nepalese spinner under wing n AFP, Sydney Former Australian captain Michael Clarke has taken a young Nepalese leg spinner under his wing, helping bring him to Sydney to train at his academy and play with his club.

Clarke spotted Sandeep Lamichhane, 16, while he was coaching recently in Hong Kong, recognising his “outstanding potential”.

“It is a really exciting opportunity to have such a talented Nepalese cricketer travel this distance to come and test his skills and improve his game at my academy,” said Clarke, who

sponsored the boy to get him to Australia.

“Sandeep is a fantastic young man who enjoys his cricket and is extremely passionate about the game.”

Lamichhane, whose has played for the Nepal under-19s, will live with a local family to prepare for the upcoming season, where he will represent Clarke’s club Western Sydney.

“Thank you very much @ MClarke23 for your kind words and for inviting me to Australia. Looking forward to give my best,” Lamichhane tweeted on Tuesday.l

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Sport

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

POINTS TABLE Team

P

W

D

L

Uruguay

8

5

1

2

Brazil

GD Pts 11

16

8

4

3

1

7

15

Argentina 8

4

3

1

3

15

Colombia 8

4

1

3

2

13

Ecuador

8

4

1

3

1

13

Paraguay 8

3

3

2

-2

12

Chile

3

2

3

1

11

8

Bolivia

8

2

1

5

-4

7

Peru

8

2

1

5

-7

7

Venezuela 8

0

2

6

-12

2

RESULTS 4-0

Uruguay

Paraguay

Cavani 18, 54, Rodriguez 42, Suarez 45-P

2-2

Venezuela

Argentina

Juanpi 35, Martinez 53

Pratto 58, Otamendi 83

Chile

0-0

Brazil

2-1

Bolivia Colombia

Miranda 2, Neymar 74

Marquinhos 36-og

2-1

Peru Neymar (L) of Brazil in action with John Medina (C) and Jeison Murillo of Colombia at Amazonia Arena Stadium, Manaus, Brazil on Tuesday

REUTERS

Ecuador

Cueva 19-P, Tapia 78

Achilier 31

Neymar lifts Brazil, Venezuela hold Argentina n AFP, Montevideo Brazil’s march towards the 2018 World Cup gathered pace on Tuesday with a Neymar-inspired win over Colombia as Uruguay surged to the top of the South American qualification standings with a 4-0 rout of Paraguay.

Just four days after their first ever victory over Ecuador in Quito, Brazil dug deep to beat Colom-

bia 2-1 in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus courtesy of Neymar’s 74th-minute winner.

The result left Brazil -- who had started the day outside the automatic qualifying places -- in second place overall, just one point behind leaders Uruguay.

Argentina, who squandered the opportunity to maintain their lead after a 2-2 draw away to Venezuela, are third, trailing Brazil on goal dif-

ference with the two heavyweight rivals level on 15 points.

Brazil’s win over Colombia was the latest in a series of physical encounters between the two teams, who have skirmished regularly since the 2014 World Cup quarter-finals - a match that saw Neymar exit with a tournament-ending injury.

Neymar, who was sent off against Colombia in a bruising Copa America battle in 2015, exacted his

revenge with a sweetly struck low shot to decide Tuesday’s game.

It completed a memorable few weeks for the Barcelona superstar, who last month scored the winning penalty to give Brazil their first ever Olympic football gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Games.

Neymar’s Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez meanwhile was in similarly sparkling form for Uruguay in their 4-0 thrashing of Paraguay.

Super-sub Cahill the hero for Socceroos

Ronaldo-less Portugal beaten, France held

n AFP, Abu Dhabi

n AFP, Paris

Tim Cahill came off the bench to score with only his second touch as Australia edged the United Arab Emirates 1-0 in 2018 World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.

The 36-year-old, who replaced Tomi Juric in the 71st minute at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, took only four minutes to ensure Australia’s second win in five days in Group B of Asian qualifying.

The goal came when a fine buildup saw Brad Smith freed on the left flank and the Bournemouth winger whipped an excellent ball into the area for Cahill to convert.

The result followed a 2-0 home triumph over Iraq last Thursday and gives Ange Postecoglou’s Socceroos a solid foundation to stay on course for yet another appearance in the World Cup. They are level

with Saudi Arabia at the top of the group with a maximum six points.

“It was my second touch! First one was off my chest. I want teams to be fearful of me when I come on.

I’ve earned that respect over the last 10 years and I’m going to really push as hard as I can,” he said.l

RESULTS China

0-0

Iran

Syria

0-0

South Korea

Qatar

0-1

Uzbekistan Egor Krimets 86

Iraq Abdul-Raheem 18

Thailand

1-2

Saudi Arabia

Nawaf Al Abed 81-P, 87-P

0-2

Japan Genki Haraguchi 17, Takuma Asano 75

UAE

0-1

Australia Tim Cahill 75

With Cristiano Ronaldo still missing due to injury, European champions Portugal began their bid to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia with a disappointing 2-0 defeat in Switzerland on Tuesday.

Goals seven minutes apart in the first half from teenage sensation Breel Embolo and Admir Mehmedi gave the Swiss the points at the St Jakob-Park in Basel as they got off to the ideal start in qualifying Group B. Elsewhere on Tuesday, Euro 2016 runners-up France also showed signs of a hangover from their summer exertions as Les Bleus were held to a 0-0 draw in Belarus in Group A, while the Netherlands came from behind to draw 1-1 in Sweden.

In Nicosia, former Everton

boss Roberto Martinez’s first competitive match as coach of Belgium ended in a 3-0 win against Cyprus.

Ronaldo was one of three Portuguese players to have started the 1-0 extra-time triumph against France on July 10 who was absent from the away starting line-up in Basel, with Renato Sanches also sidelined and Joao Mario only on the bench.

Joao Moutinho and Bernardo Silva came in along with Lille striker Eder, the man who came off the bench to score the winning goal at the Stade de France.

But Fernando Santos’ side were undone as Switzerland went in front midway through the first half, Schalke striker Embolo heading home the loose ball after Rui Patricio had only managed to parry a Ricardo Rodriguez free-kick. l

Paraguay had entered the match in Montevideo optimistic of an upset following their win over Copa America champions Chile last week. But a magnificent individual performance from Suarez -who laid on two goals for Edinson Cavani before scoring one himself from the penalty spot -- left Paraguay reflecting on a humbling defeat. Cristian Rodriguez scored the other goal for the Uruguayans.l

RESULTS Albania

2-1

Macedonia

Sadiku 9, Bala 89

Cyprus

Alioski 51

0-3

Belgium Romelu Lukaku 13, 61, Carrasco 81

Herzegovina

5-0

Estonia

Spahic 7, 90+2, Dzeko 23-P, Medunjanin 71, Ibisevic 83

Gibraltar

1-4

Walker 26

Greece Mitroglou 10, Wiseman 44-og,

Fortounis 45, Torosidis 45+1

Sweden

1-1

Berg 43

Bulgaria

Netherlands Sneijder 67

4-3

Rangelov 16, Marcelinho 65, Popov 79, Tonev 90+2

Luxembourg Joachim 60, 62, Bohnert 90+1

Belarus

0-0

France

Switzerland

2-0

Portugal

Embolo 23, Mehmedi 30

Faroe Islands

0-0

Andorra

0-1

Hungary Latvia Sabala 48

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Of a choir (6) 5 Mingle (3) 7 Thin biscuit (5) 8 S American animals (6) 10 Golf mound (3) 12 Pastry item (4) 13 United (3) 14 Appear to be (4) 16 Skin opening (4) 17 Male child (3) 18 Self-satisfied (4) 20 Cushion (3) 23 Long angry speech (6) 24 Apple of the eye (5) 25 Marsh (3) 26 Make known (6)

DOWN 1 Young horse (4) 2 Public speaker (6) 3 Conscious of (5) 4 Final (4) 5 Encountered (3) 6 Wrath (3) 9 Neck hair (4) 11 Tree (3) 14 Morose (4) 15 Hire (6) 16 Mild explosion (3) 17 Show amusement (5) 18 Agitate (4) 19 Business transaction (4) 21 Copy (3) 22 Mouse-coloured (3)

29

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Downtime

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 11 represents W so fill W every time the figure 11 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.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

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

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30

Showtime

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Remembering ‘Jajabor’ Hazarika n Showtime Desk Bhupen Hazarika was a singer who sang for all of mankind.

“Ami Ek Jajabo,” “Aj Jibon Khuje Pabi,” “Dola Hey Dola”- each of his songs has a story associated with it which express the inner feelings of common people.

The great singer, lyricist from Assam was born September 8, 1926. Known as the “Bard of Brahmaputra,” whose voice fell silent on November 5, 2011.

Hazarika’s music encompasses the entire world, reflecting the mood and passion of the oppressed and downtrodden.

Hailed as the uncrowned king of the lands of the entire North-east, Bengal and Bangladesh, Hazarika sang his first song “Biswa Nijoy Nojowan,” in the second Assamese film, Indramalati, back in 1939 at the tender age of 12 and since then, there was no looking back.

In addition to his native Assamese, Hazarika composed, wrote and sang for numerous Bengali and Hindi films from the 1930s to the 1990s alongside other songs. He was also one of the leading author-poets of Assam with more than 1,000 lyrics and

several books of short stories, essays, travelogues, poems and rhymes for children.

Hazarika produced and directed, composed music and

Lil Wayne retiring? n Showtime Desk Dwayne Michael Carter Jr, better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, might retire. A few years ago, his names on the charts was inevitable. Widely popular for his outlandish personality, the 33 year old had hits like “A Milli,” “Drop the World,” “6 Foot 7 Foot,” and “Lollipop.” His most recent song, “Pain for Suckers” was featured in the film Suicide Squad. Despite all the fame, he has been having personal problems. Mostly health issues, at least that’s what his Twitter account suggests.

“I am now defenceless and mentally defeated and I leave gracefully and thankful I luh my fanz but I’m dun” the rapper tweeted. “ain’t lookin for sympathy, just serenity” he followed.

In the past, he has had seizures while touring on his private jet during the summer. On top of that, a lot of rumours are circulating about his ill health, but its not clear whether he is retiring or not. Nevertheless, the hint of him retiring created a shock among his fans, foes and well wishers. l

sang for iconic Assamese films like Era Batar Sur, Shakuntala, Lotighoti, Pratidhwani, Chick Mick Bijuli, Swikarokti and Siraj.

His most famous Hindi films

include his long-time companion Kalpana Lajmi’s Rudaali, Ek Pal, Darmiyaan, Daman and Kyon, Sai Paranjpe’s Papiha and Saaz, Mil Gayee Manzil Mujhe and MF Husain’s Gajagamini.

On his birthday, singers and musicians from India and Bangladesh will pay a special tribute to the doyen of Assam music at an event in London, this month.

The special concert on September 16 is being organised by social organisation Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters (FASS) in collaboration with the Nehru Centre, the cultural wing of Indian High Commission celebrating his 90th birthday.

Nahid Afrin, the young singer from Assam who was the runnerup in the last edition of Indian Idol Junior and famous accordion player, Romen Choudhury will be among the several artistes from India and Bangladesh who will perform at the event.

The event will be chaired

by Virander Paul, deputy high commissioner of India, while Khondeker M Talha, acting high commissioner of Bangladesh, is expected to be the guest of honour. l

No more Swiddleston

WHAT TO WATCH Kung Fu Panda HBO 9:30pm In the Valley of Peace, Po the Panda finds himself chosen as the Dragon Warrior despite the fact that he is obese and a complete novice at martial arts.

Voice: Jack Black (Po), Dustin Hoffman (Shifu), Angelina Jolie (Tigress), Jackie Chan (Monkey), Lucy Liu (Viper) 2012 Movies Now 9:30pm A frustrated writer struggles to keep his family alive when a series of global catastrophes threatens to annihilate mankind.

Cast: John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Liam James, Morgan Lily Batman & Robin WB 3:09pm

Batman and Robin try to keep their relationship together even as they must stop Mr Freeze and Poison Ivy from freezing Gotham City.

Cast: George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone Fantastic Four Star Movies 7: 14pm

n Showtime Desk Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston have called it quits after three months of dating, with multiple sources confirming the news.

So far, it has been learned that Swift was the one to put the brakes on the relationship.

Tom wanted the relationship to be more public than she was comfortable with. Taylor knew the backlash that comes with public displays of affection but Tom didn’t listen to her concerns when she brought them up and now, they’ve split.

A source close to Hiddleston revealed that he is “embarrassed

that the relationship fizzled out.”

Even though the two were hot and heavy early on, things became strained when Hiddleston went to Australia to film Thor: Ragnarok and Swift stayed stateside. As reported, they had their first fight in August. Some people close to the stars said: “They get along great and will remain friends, but they just don’t see it working romantically right now.”

Swift, 26, moved on with the British hunk, 35, just two weeks after breaking up with ex-boyfriend, Calvin Harris in June. l

A group of astronauts gain superpowers after a cosmic radiation exposure and must use them to oppose the plans of their enemy, Doctor Victor Von Doom.

Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans, Laurie Holden, Julian McMahon World War Z Z Studio 7:15pm Former United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments, and threatening to destroy humanity itself.

Cast: A group of astronauts gain superpowers after a cosmic radiation exposure and must use them to oppose the plans of their enemy, Doctor Victor Von Doom. l

Sunny:

A star in the making

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Showtime

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Who is Kali?

started concentrating a bit more on my music. In the midst of it all, I came across Arafat Mohsin.

We both clicked from the moment we met, ever since that, we started experimenting with our music. He is now a very close friend of mine.

n Rayan Quddus There is a new singing sensation in the scene and his name is Ahmed Hasan Sunny. This Eid, his debut album titled Sunny’r Muktanchol, is coming out under Ajob Records. Sunny is pairing up with the talented music director, Arafat Mohsin to bring out a total of nine tracks including one instrumental. And given all the hype around this album, Showtime had to get in touch with him to know a little more about it.

How did you get into music?

It’s really hard to say when but I can certainly tell you that I have been writing songs and poems since childhood. Just like Leonard Cohen, I too believe that the two don’t have much of a difference between them. I am a resident in the “Tower of Songs” and as a resident- I have been spontaneously in crafting my music but at the same time, I have tried to incorporate my vision as a poet in the album. But the listeners are entitled to form their own opinions. Other than that, I had an uncle, who used to play the guitar when I was a kid.

That, undoubtedly was a huge inspiration. Even till this day, the guitar and my poems are still my go-to tools to come up with new tunes.

What was young Sunny like, back at school?

When I was in school I was an

average kid, but a little above average with the grades. On the other hand, I was very lazy and I didn’t want to study that hard. Therefore, I studied commerce which seemed easier than science. After my HSC, I took a break. Later on, I started studying photography in Pathshala.

When did you seriously start working on music?

Right after I dropped out, I

What can the audience expect from your songs?

I don’t expect anything from anyone. I am an artist and I am separate from what I produce.

I don’t own my art, no one does. It is for every individual to come up with their own interpretations. You do not judge Eminem or Bob Dylan’s body of work based on their private lives. Yes, I do admit art showcases the truth but it’s not necessarily the literal truth, it’s an amalgam of passion, emotion, and heartbeats, where there is a hint of truth. In a way, you can call my album an experiment of sounds with elements of psychedelic rock.

I didn’t have a specific genre in mind while recording and writing my songs.

Are you working on other projects too?

Honestly, I am already working on my third album in my head with a lot of content already in mind. Other than that, I have a huge interest in films. Currently, I am working with a production house called Metro Films. So you can say that I am into films, photos, books and songs. l

n Showtime Desk What do you instantly think of when you hear the word “superhero”? A big white man, wearing a spandex costume and punching bad guys on the streets of New York city. Now close your eyes, imagine a fragile, young Bangladeshi girl with her face covered in a scarf. That’s our Kali, our superhero. To some, she is sympathetic, to others, she is the epitome of terror, and even the Angel of Death for those who deserve it. But at the end of the day, she is a mystery woman to all. Kali too was a victim- just like the rest of us. She has been able to turn around, to give answers. She could be the symbol of vengeance and retribution for us. When the sins of our collective silence comes back to haunt our streets; when nothing is safe from the dark claws of crime, Kali emerges as our

avenger. She makes the evil doers of Dhaka feel the pain of being burnt, the same pain she felt.

But, what is the secret of this mystery woman? Nobody knows the true identity of this fierce woman. No one has the slightest of an inkling about whose face is hidden behind the scarf. A rebellious, unseen fighter spirit; ‘Kali’ is the name of that character you will definitely fall in love with after the veil of mystery has been revealed. Who is this Kali? How did she come and from where? To find out, watch Amit Ashraf’s new mini-series Kali, exclusively on www.bioscopelive.com. To get a sneak peek of her saga check out the trailer of the mini-series on YouTube: https://www.youtube. com/watch?

Learn more from Bioscope’s Facebook page: www.facebook. com/bioscopelive. l

Bill Cosby’s fall from grace n Showtime Desk A few decades ago, Bill Cosby was arguably the most beloved figure among African Americans.

His clean-cut comedy reached the masses and landed him his very own sitcom, The Cosby Show.

Now he’s beyond his prime and until recently, he was still seen as a respected elderly figure. But things went downhill for him, when he was accused of being a serial rapist.

Fans, folks and well-wishers were skeptical about the accusations bought against him. After all, Bill Cosby was an inspirational figure to an entire generation.

Academics and critics praised him for his works, which were appropriate for all age groups. But as more and more cases started to surface, even the biggest Cosby supporters started wondering – Can a person who was awarded

the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom, be a rapist?

So far, there are more than 50 cases against Cosby regarding sexual misconducts. Currently, he is out on a $1 million bail, since December 30, 2015. Judges are saying that they plan to start the trial by June 2017. They also want the 13 women who accused Cosby, to testify against him in court. And if they do, it will be a shameful fall from grace on Cosby’s part. l

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

FIVE FIRMS QUALIFIED FOR MNP BIDDING PAGE 12

TWO-TIER SCRAPPED, BCB ELATED PAGE 24

SUNNY: A STAR IN THE MAKING PAGE 31

From shed to Haat: How cattle prices are fixed Jamil Khan, back from n Mohammad Chapainawabganj Cattle traders in border districts bring in cattle from India several months ahead of Eidul-Azha. The reason is that cows are cheaper if bought ahead of time and, if well tended to, can bring good profit during Eid sale.

“I bought my cow from India a few months ago for Tk21,000. I cared for it since then, and now I expect to sell it for Tk2 lakh,” said a cattle trader in Chapainawabganj.

The price of an Indian cow to be sold in a Bangladeshi market depends on several factors: the amount spent to care for it, the cost of bringing it across the border, the “khatal” or registration fee to be paid to the customs, and the bribes that you sometimes you have to pay to border security for safe passage.

Cattle smugglers in Chapainawabganj explained the process of getting a cow from India to the local market to the Dhaka Tribune.

“First, you have to place your order with an Indian cattle trader; your order must be in pairs. The you pay Tk42,000 for a pair of cattle via Hundi. After the transaction, a cattle rearer from the Indian side delivers the cattle, in exchange of Tk6,000,” said a cattle smuggler, asking not to be named.

If the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) patrol teams learn about the trade, you have to pay them for a safe crossover.

“For each pair, we pay BSF Tk12,000 and BGB Tk6,000,” the smuggler said.

By the time the pair of cattle reaches its Bangladeshi buyer, the overall price stands

at Tk66,000 a pair.

Local traders said the price of 40kg beef varies between Tk16,000 and Tk18,000.

Considering that price range, and given the fact that a Tk21,000 cow typically produces around 130kg to 150kg of meat, when the pair of cattle reaches the local market, their price stands at around Tk128,000.

Hossain Ali, a cattle trader from Mohipur village, said he bought a pair of Indian cows for Tk133,000 during Ramadan.

“In the past three months it cost me Tk14,000 to feed them. I want to take them to Chittagong for sale, but for that I need to hire a truck, which costs Tk33,000. Furthermore, a truck can be hired if I have 16-18 cattle to transport,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

But he found a way to sell his cattle without the additional cost. He asked Azad, a neighbour who is taking his own cattle to Chittagong, to take him along.

“I agreed to share half of my profit with him, considering all costs.”

He aims to sell his cattle for Tk200,000.

Why such a high price? “Because I still have other expenses. We have to pay Tk45,000 to the Haat organisers. Beside we need money to buy food for the cattle as well as ourselves.

“This is how cattle prices increase so much. If I do not manage to sell it for at least Tk200,000, I will not make any profit.”

But what if there are no customers willing to pay such a high price?

“Then I will take my cattle back home and wait until I can find a customer who will,” said Hossain. l

Bird’s eye view of the Madhabgaon Vishnu temple. Locals say the place was a hill or Buruj, covered in greenery. The nine facets on each side of the temple make it a unique architecture in Bangladesh DHAKA TRIBUNE

Temple with unique goddess idol unearthed in Dinajpur n Bipul Sarker Sunny, Dinajpur An at least 800-years-old temple has been unearthed in Dinajpur’s Kaharol that has a unique architecture and includes a unique idol, that of the Vishnu avatar Mohini.

This goddess is well-known across South and West India, but the Kaharol temple is the first of its kind discovered in the eastern subcontinent. Experts say the implications of this finding may change predominant ideas about the region’s history and traditions.

A Jahangirnagar University archaeology team began survey in Madhabgaon of Dabor Union in April this year and found the temple.

A full-scale excavation funded by the Cultural Affairs Ministry and the University Grants Commission has been going on for the last three months.

Madhabgaon temple’s architecture contains a feature called Navarath, sets of nine facets on all four sides. In fact this temple contains two additional sub-facets, or Uparath, behind each outermost facet.

This is the only such temple in Bangladesh, the team said. It is characteristic of Kalinga architecture of the 11th and 12th century eastern India.

Apart from the unique Mohini idol, excavators have also found a Shankha in Vishnu’s hand, a Sudarshana Chakra, a mace and a part of a Vishnu idol’s foot adorned in garland.

The excavation team’s workers include 13 veterans of the Mahasthangarh archaeological site as well as 26 locals. The 10 archaeology students from JU are engaged in drawing up the design of the temple that can be used in

future research.

Excavation team chief JU Assistant Professor Dr Shadhin Sen said the temple is divided into two parts. There is a 12 by 12 metre chamber on the west side where worship was possibly held.

“This is the first Navarath temple in Bangladesh. Earlier a Pancharath [five-faceted] temple was found in Dinajpur’s Nababganj,” he said.

The team had spoken to Indian archaeologist Dipak Ranjan Das who had remarked that the upper portion of the temple was similar to the Siddheswara Shiva temple in Bankura, West Bengal.

Claudine Bautze-Picron, an expert of East Indian iconography, has identified the idol recovered from the eastern part of the temple as that of Mohini, the Vishnu Avatar, he said.

“According to her this is the first stonemade Mohini idol in the eastern subcontinent, which leads us to reconsider the history of this region.”

In Hindu mythology, Mohini is the only female Avatar of the god Vishnu, who appears in the Samudra Manthan myth. The goddess is worshiped widely in South and West India.

After excavation, photography and documentation, the team will cover the temple with soil once again for its preservation, a standard practice for archaeological preservation. But locals have demanded that the temple be opened to the public.

Dr Sen said this would require preservation and maintenance by the Archaeology Department. Madhabgaon residents have filed an application with the government for the approval. l

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