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Boishakh 27, 1421Rajab 10, 1435Regd. No. DA 6238Vol 2, No 40 SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

Avenue-T | MAKING MOTHERHOOD EASY 12 | BHALOBASHA EXPRESS HITS THE CINEMAS

Nation6 Almost half of a Tk2 crore 23 lakh boat passage has been built with poor quality sand and rocks in the absence of the authorities oversight of it over Shaila canal connecting Patharghat and Rakkhilabarhi village in Gopalganjs Tungipara. Seeking anonymity, a labourer told the Dhaka Tribune, Pakshi sand is of good quality and a bit pricey. Instead of using it, the contractor blended Madhumati and Sylhet sand together and then used it in the casting of the passage construction.

News4 There has been missappropriation of over Tk5 crore at the state-owned Petrobangla as it transferred money meant for the de cit oil head margin for Bapex sector to the price de cit fund sector instead, said the audit report from the Commercial Audit Directo-rate. The report also said Petrobangla had incurred a loss of over Tk16 lakh in the scal 2012-13 as it accepted the tender for lift maintenance placed by the second lowest bidder instead of the lowest bidder.

Op-Ed11 All respectable and educated people belong to the Awami League was a mantra I heard all too often growing up. And why not?

Sport13 Sheikh Russel KC all but con rmed a second round ticket from Group A in the AFC Presidents Cup with a convincing 5-0 win over Sri Lanka Air Force at the Sughatdasa Stadium, Colombo yesterday.

14 Strapping Sam Allardyce doesnt look the sentimental type, but the West Ham boss says hed like his team to deny Manchester City the Premier League title in the nal match of the season on Sunday.

News5 Illegal battery-run and non battery-run three-wheelers continue to operate on the city roads as police allegedly allow union leaders to issue permit tokens in exchange for bribes, which accumulates to around Tk20 lakh per month.

7 | PICASSO PAINTING FETCHES $31M 8 | EXPLORE THE HERBAL MYTHS

Police nally bust Nur Hossains drug den3,500 bottles phensidyl, 37 cans beer, 9 bottles liquor, 7 weapons recoveredn Ashif Islam Shaon andAhmed Zayeef

It is not that the Narayanganj civil ad-ministration, police and RAB were un-aware of the drug den and other illegal businesses of Nur Hossain, the prime accused in seven murders, and could not bust those.

The shocking reality is that the local administration was fully aware of Nurs longstanding underworld crime activ-ities but it had never dared touch him because of his political clout, money and muscle, many local residents say.

Nur Hossain is a ruling Awami League leader in Narayanganj who enjoyed blessings of powerful Osman familys Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman. He was Shiddhirganj Union Parisad Chairman for a long time and now a councillor of Narayanganj City Corporation.

How can it be possible that the local administration and law enforcers did not have any knowledge of Nur Hos-sains underworld criminal activities? wondered many locals.

Because of his political in uence and administrative backing he had re-mained untouched and immune from arrest. O cials in the civil administra-tion and law enforcing agencies used to get kickbacks from him, said a social activist in the port city preferring not to be named.

But yesterday Narayanganj adminis-tration had a di erent look. It plucked up the courage to bust few of the dens of Nur Hossain and recovered some drug and sharp weapons.

When the port citys police launched this crackdown all powerful Nur Hos-sain was not in Narayanganj. He has been on the run a couple of days after the abduction of his rival Nazrul and six others. Their body were found in Shitalakkhya River on April 30.

Nazrul was also a councillor and a panel mayor of the same city corpora-tion. His family led a case accusing six people for the seven murders where Nur Hossain was mentioned as the key suspect.

After the abduction Nur Hossain PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

Family: Chandan Sarkar quested peace his whole lifen Ashif Islam Shaon andAhmed Zayeef

My father was a handsome man. We were proud of his sophisticated look but we could not see his face for the last time as it was dis gured brutally. We were not allowed to see his face. We have only seen his legs which were not covered by cloth.

Dr Susmita Sarkar, second child of slain Advocate Chandan Sarkar, was telling about the last memory she had about her father.

Mother did not want us to look at his face as we might not be able to erase that from our memory for the rest of life, said Susmita as she started to sob.

He was a man who tried to nd peace in his whole life. We do not know why he has to leave us this way.

Senior lawyer Chandan Sarkar and his driver Ibrahim were among the sev-en Narayanganj abductees who were

killed later. Chandan did not have any political involvement or rival or crim-inal record, something believed to be the cause behind the murder of ve others. Chandan and his chau eur are believed to have been killed because they witnessed the abductions.

It took time for his family member to believe that Chandan was abducted. They were certain that if any group had abducted him, they would free him be-cause of his clean image.

I was in Dhaka. After hearing the news of abduction, I called him. No-body picked up till 10pm, said Bijoy Kumar Paul, son-in-law of Chandan.

Bijoy later requested one of their family acquaintances working at an intelligence agency to trace the phone. He was told that the cell phone was in Tejgaon, somewhere near Anik Tower.

Around 11:30pm, he rushed to Te-jgaon police station and asked for help. Police dialled Chandans number but

found it switched o .Police said they could not trace

the phone as it was switched o . The o cer was suspecting that the car had driven past Tejgaon and then went elsewhere, Bijoy said.

Chandans family members, with the help of in uential people, contacted RAB Director-General, State Minister for Home and also the ex-commanding o cer of RAB.

Everyone kept assuring us that the kidnappers will not do any harm to my father because he was a man with

a clean image. They said my father would come back somehow, he said.

Among all we had contacted, Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Mohammads behav-iour hurt us. As we asked him if they have picked up father, he lost his tem-per and asked us to leave RAB 11 o ce, said Bijoy.

On Tuesday, they got the indication that Chandan and his driver had been killed.

Asked why they took ten days to le a case and why they did not name any accused, Bijoy said: In the case led by Nazruls wife, she did not mention names of my father-in-law and his driv-er name as assassinated. So we led a separate case so that we can get justice.

Chandan was born in april 23, 1952 at Ibrahimpur village in Nabinagar upazi-la of Brahmanbaria. In 1972, he got ad-mitted in the mathematics department at Dhaka University. After completing both graduation and post-graduation

studies, he tried to get a job. But as he had a greater sense of freedom, he failed to be stable in any job.

Chandan then began studying law at Dhaka University. Following com-pletion of LLB, he started practicing in Narayanganj court. He was not only a lawyer but also a man who was thirsty for knowledge for his whole life.

Father used study every day. I can hardly remember any day when I did not see him studying till the late hours of night. Often, he would study for the whole night, said Susmita.

Science, history, literature, novel, drama, religion he was actually inter-ested in every branch of knowledge. He would also inspire us to seek knowledge.

Chandan Sarkar published two poetry books named Kar Hate Rajdondo Mano-bik Hobe and Shit Borshar Keu Now. A story book, a poetry book and two novels were also on their way to be published.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

10 killed in Rajbari road accidentn Our Correspondent, RajbariAt least ten people were killed and 30 others were injured in a road accident on the Dhaka-Khulna highway in front of the Nehaj Jute mill in the Boshonto-pur area under the Sadar upazila, Ra-jbari, early yesterday.

Police sources said Safeen Hossain, 16, the son of Abul Baser of Ambula in the Agailjhara upazila of Barisal, Babu Fakir, 45, the son of Khaleque Fakir of Fotaputi in the Moksedpur upazila of Gopalganj, Roton Sarker, 52, the son of Subodh Sarker from the Agailjhara upazila of Barisal, Paresh Roy, 50, the son of Jagabandhu Roy of Fulsiri in the Agailjhara upazila of Barisal, Zannat Khatoon, the three month old daughter of Billal Hossain from the Mehendiganj upazila of Barisal, Nasima Khatoon, 28, Billal Hossains wife and Zannats moth-er, comprised the list of the deceased.

The identity of another four people could not be known immediately, po-lice added.

Sub-Inspector Nazim Uddin Khan of Alhadipur highway police outpost told the Dhaka Tribune that a Dhaka bound bus, the Eagle Paribahan, coming from Khulna collided head on with a Khul-na bound bus, the Global Paribhan inthe Bashantapur area in front of the Ne-haj Jute mill under the Sadar upazila of Rajbari.

As a result of the collision, one bus fell into a road side ditch, leaving four people dead on the spot, including a mother and her child. Another died on the way to the Faridpur Medical Col-lege Hospital. The accident occurred at around 3:30am early yesterday, wit-nesses said.

O cer-in-Charge of the Rajbari Sa-dar police station Abdul Khaleque said the movement of vehicles on the Dha-ka Khulna high way was at a standstill due to the incident, but resumed after three hours.

He said the identi ed bodies were handed over to their relatives after the PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

BNP alliance leaders: AL to lose Indias blessing if BJP assumes powern Mohammad Al-Masum MollaLeaders of the BNP-led 19-party al-liance believe that if the BJP returns to power in India, the Awami League might not enjoy the state blessing of the Indian government any longer.

They think the Awami League en-joyed tremendous support from India after the January 5 election boycotted by the then main opposition BNP only because the Congress was in power and the ruling party had better understand-ing with it.

Some leaders say if the BJP comes to power, the BNP alliance may not derive any signi cant bene t, but the Awami

League government is likely to face some di culties as its tie with the BJP is not as good as with the Congress.

Rather the BNPs tie with the BJP was much better in the past.

Abdul Moyeen Khan, a Standing Committee member of the BNP, told the Dhaka Tribune that the Congress in India and the Awami League in Bangla-desh seemed to have set up a partner-ship of mutual convenience for histori-cal or whatever reasons.

He said: Unfortunately this rela-tionship should really have been set up between the people of Bangladesh and that of India. Consequently, whenever PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Illegal immigrant issue may end up hurting Indias causen Sheikh Shahariar ZamanPolitical leaders and analysts say no matter who comes next to power in India, the leadership in New Delhi will maintain good relationship with Dhaka for its own interests.

If India feels that it will have an un-pleasant relationship with Bangladesh, it will a ect New Delhi more than Dha-ka, prime ministers Economic Adviser Mashiur Rahman told the Dhaka Trib-une recently.

Asked what New Delhis policy would be if Narendra Modi became the Indian premier or any non-Congress coalition selected another person, he said: I am not a soothsayer. We knew the BJP leadership when it formed the

government last time, but we have less interaction with the current leadership.

From previous experiences, I think India will not resist Bangladesh from doing all the work here no new crisis will be created and it will be a neutral relationship; but, it will be di cult to nd new areas of opportunity or coop-eration.

About Modis recent remarks on get-ting rid of so-called illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in India, Mashiur said: It will be a very risky policy for India.

Pushing or sending back Bangalee Muslims in the name of getting rid of illegal immigrants would cause more harm to New Delhi than Dhaka, he said.

Bangladesh has the ability to con-tain any crisis but India does not. Mus-

lims in India will not come to Bang-ladesh and they will resist any such move. That will lead to a riot in the country [India], he expressed fear.

If there is any repercussion of the Indian policy here, Hindus might leave Bangladesh for India and thus create a fresh problem for them, Mashiur said.

In addition, neither of the Bangla-desh and Indian governments certi es that there are illegal migrants from Bangladesh. So, how will you identify which group has come from Bangla-desh and which has not?

The BJP and Modi want to achieve economic prosperity and any such move will not help that cause. Their [Indias] international image as a secular country PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

One of the two buses that collided on the Dhaka-Khulna Highway in Rajbari, killing 10 people, yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

During the 1971 Liberation War, my father lost his fathers house. It saddened him and he expressed it in his literary work

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, May 10, 2014Seven Chhatra League activists arrested over abduction of tradern DU CorrespondentPolice yesterday arrested seven Dhaka University students for their alleged involvement in the abduction of a busi-nessman from the capitals Fakirapul.

The arrestees are Anupam Chandra, Himel, Tanvirul Islam, Mamun, Bappy, Srijann Ghosh and Arfan Patwary. All of them were taken to Ramna police station. All of them are involved with Bangladesh Chhatra League.

Police also rescued businessman Far-had Islam, 26, from Dhaka Universitys Jagannath dorm a day after his abduction.

Shahbagh police station Sub-Inspec-tor Shimul Kumar Mohonto told the Dhaka Tribune that a case had been led against the arrestees.

Police sources said Chhatra Leagues Central Deputy Sports Secretary Sajib

Ghosh and his followers abducted the trader on Thursday night around 9pm, con ned him in the dorm and then de-manded Tk5 lakh from his family.

Police later arrested Arfan when he was taking the ransom money from Far-hads family members in Central Shaheed Minar area. Based on his information, po-lice conducted a drive in the universitys Jagannath dorm and arrested the Chhatra League activists around 2:30pm.

Jagannath Hall Provost Ashawim Kumar told the Dhaka Tribune he was not aware of any such incident.

Dhaka University acting proctor Amzad Ali said punitive measures would be taken against the accused.

Chhatra League DU unit President Mehedi Hasan Mollah said the arrested activists would be expelled from the or-ganisation if they were found guilty. l

Lt Col Anwar Latif made RAB 11 COn Tribune Online ReportLt Col Anwar Latif Khan has been made the commanding o cer (CO) of Rapid Action Battalion 11, several private tel-evision channels reported.

Previously, he had served as the CO of RAB 5.

On May 6, former commanding o cer of RAB 11 Tareq Sayeed and two other o cials were sent to forced retirement following allegations of their involvement in the abductions and killings of seven people in Narayanganj.

The RAB was formed in 2004 with the forces from six government law enforce-ment agencies Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Forces, Border Guard Bangladesh and Ansar alongside civil forces for administration purposes. l

17,000 policemen punished in 15 months, 2,000 RAB men in 10 yearsNo one receives punishment for extrajudicial killingsn Kailash SarkarAround 17,000 policemen were award-ed punishments in last 15 months from January 2013 while 2,000 members of the Rapid Action Battalion in last 10 years from 2004 for their crimes and il-licit acts, sources in police and RAB said.

But no punitive action was taken against anyone of the law enforcers for the killings of over 2,200 people in the name of cross re, line of re or en-counters since 2004.

The maximum punishments giv-en to the lawmen include suspension from their jobs and demotions while the minor punishments include re-bukes or reprimands.

Police, RAB and Home Ministry sources said punitive action was tak-

en against the law enforcers for their involvement in robberies, extortions, abuse of power, harassment and some other o ences.

In most cases, allegations brought against policemen and RAB members are not proved for lack of witnesses as most of the complainants do not dare to give their depositions in fear of har-assment, the sources added.

According to the police headquar-ters sources, punitive action had been taken against 17,000 policemen after complaints were led against 53,422 po-licemen with security cell at the Police Headquarters while punitive measures against many others were under process.

Of the total, around 800 policemen ranking from constables to inspectors were awarded major punishments, in-

cluding dismissal of 95, while around 1,600 given minor punishments.

Besides, 10 o cials ranking from assistant superintendent of police to above were awarded minor punish-ments and four others were dismissed from their services.

Earlier, 13,745 policemen were pun-ished in 2012 while 11,000 in 2011.

Besides, punitive measures were taken against 1,949 RAB personnel since 2004. Of them, over 700 were awarded major punishments and the rest minor punishments.

Over 4,000 allegations were brought against RAB men in last ten years while 78 RAB men were sent to jail by courts while 76 suspended from their jobs. Besides, over 2,000 cases were led against RAB and police in connection

with extortion.When asked whether any RAB men

were punished for extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances, the RAB director said, There is no existence of extrajudicial killing and forced disap-pearance in the laws of police and RAB.

But the RAB used to take punitive ac-tion against any RAB man if found guilty. None is spared by the RAB, he added.

According to di erent human rights bodies, over 2,200 people were killed by the law enforcers, including RAB and police, since 2004.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Exec-utive Director of Ain O Salish Kendra Sultana Kamal said these incidents continue across the country as the per-sons responsible for such killings go unpunished. l

Family: Chandan Sarkar quested peace his whole life PAGE 1 COLUMN 5During the 1971 Liberation War, my fa-ther lost his fathers house. It saddened him and he expressed it in his literary work. He wanted to make a house in a quiet and calm area like the way he passed his childhood in Ibrahimpur village, Susmita said.

Apart from these, he loved to play ute. During our childhood, when there was a power cut, we would stop our study and my father would take us in his room. He would then play ute. When I close my eyes, I can still listen to that melody, she added.

Chandan has four daughters. Of them, Sejuti Sarkar, the elder one, and Susmita nished their study from Kumudidni Medical College. Showti Sarkar, the third one, is studying law at a private university and the youngest one Shoptorshi is student of A-level whose nal exam will start this month.

Chandans wife Orchona Sarker has virtually become speechless since her husbands death.

This correspondent found an eerie silence prevailing all over the house yesterday.

A big portrait with a oral wreath was on Chandans reading table. A number of books remained scattered on the table. l

Illegal immigrant issue may end up hurting Indias cause PAGE 1 COLUMN 3will also be damaged, said the adviser.

India has many outstanding is-sues with China and Pakistan and has strained relationships with oth-er neighbouring countries including Bangladesh, he said.

Mashiur, however, said under the central government system in India, it would never be a one-man show. Vari-ous stakeholders, including the voices of di erent states, must be taken into account before making any decision.

Humayun Kabir, former ambas-sador to the US and director general of the South Asia Desk at the Foreign Ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune that the Modi administration might bring a couple of changes.

Citing the electoral manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said it wanted to curb corruption and accel-erate development in the backdrop of the poor economic performance over the last couple of years.

They wanted internal stability re-gardless of the criticisms that Modi or the BJP would fuel communalism.

I think that is unlikely. Social and political tensions will really sap the en-ergy of the government and may also deter the possibility of higher econom-

ic growth, Humayun said.My feeling is that regardless of

what we hear from the campaign trail, if Modi wants to ensure good governance and higher economic per-formance, then stable internal envi-ronment and improved regional envi-ronment is a must, he said.

The former diplomat feels that bringing up the issue of illegal Bangla-deshi immigrants was just a strategy to attract votes.

We cannot ignore the fact that the BJP is trying to consolidate Hindu votes and for that it needed to nd a scapegoat, he said.

The BJP was weak in West Bengal and other states along the border of Bangladesh, and it had been trying to make an inroad into the politics of these states, he added.

Whatever India got over the last ve years is de nitely a net gain, es-pecially in terms of security, econom-ic cooperation and connectivity...Why should any government in India change this positive course?

We [Bangladesh] must develop a bipartisan approach to deal with India. In India, bipartisanism exists in the re-lationship with neighbours.

"It is extremely important that we

[also] develop a bipartisan approach with regards to our relationship with India and other major countries, Hu-mayun said.

Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed has warned that play-ing the in ltration card in election campaign will negatively impact Dha-ka-Delhi relationships.

Asked about Modis statement that all illegal Bangladeshi migrants in India should pack and leave on May 16 the result day of the Indian polls, Tofail recently told the Dhaka Tribune over phone: Any hasty step made by the new government [in India] will hit bilateral ties.

Tofail also said there were no il-legal immigrants from Bangladesh in India.

In an interview with Indian TV channel Times Now last week, Tofail said: I do not believe that in the name of illegal immigrants, the settlers liv-ing in India will be pushed back or sent back...If [any such step] is taken, the relationship between the two coun-tries will be jeopardised.

Indian media reported last Tuesday that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had expressed concerns over the remarks made by Modi.

Indian daily The Economic Times published a report that said a person familiar with the matter from Dha-ka informed the newspaper that in a private meeting on Monday morning Hasina told her close aides that Modis comments were unnecessary and un-warranted.

The prime minister told her aides that such statements could spoil rela-tions between the future Indian gov-ernment and Bangladeshi citizens, the newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, the BJP has endorsed Modis stance against alleged Bangla-deshi in ltrators as justi ed and le-gitimate.

An article, written by leader of the opposition Arun Jaitley and posted on the BJP website, said: It is not only the BJPs stand that in ltration must be stopped and the in ltrators must be sent back. The Supreme Court described it as a silent invasion of India.

The BJP has been playing the in l-tration card to lure voters in their fa-vour from the beginning of its election campaign.

Modi in his election campaign said several times that he would get rid of the Bangladeshi in ltrators if he came to power. l

Police nally bust Nur's drug den PAGE 1 COLUMN 2was seen in Narayanganj till April 29 afternoon. Nazruls family led the case against him on April 28. But the local administration and police did not detain or arrest Nur Hossain. The mys-tery of such inaction of law enforcers ba ed the local people.

When the media in last 10 days have exposed Nur Hossains crime world Nazruls family came forward with many convincing information and log-ic of suspecting Nur Hossain for killing Nazrul and others.

But till yesterday police had failed to nab Nur Hossain and his accomplices though they have claimed to have made substantial progress in the investigation.

They also failed to unearth his drug business before they recovered 3,500 bottles of phensidyl, 37 cans of beer, nine bottles of foreign liquor and sev-en sharp weapons yesterday from ve shops of Nur Hossain.

None was arrested during the drive as all the shops were locked.

When the drive was going on at Sid-dhirganjs Shimrail Truck Stand Md Zakaria, additional superintendent of police in Narayanganj, who led the po-lice team said: We have come to know today that Nur had piled drugs includ-ing phensidyl, foreign liquor, beer,

yaba tablets in ve shops here.As Police Superintendent of the dis-

trict Dr Khandakar Mahid Uddin was asked why police did not launch any drive in the past, he said: I was posted here only nine days back. If you ask an-ything about the previous activities of police, I cant answer it.

I can assure you, from now on no-body will ever be able to run drug busi-ness or any illegal activities here. You see, we have recovered drug. We also searched Nur Hossains o ce, he said.

About the progress made in the sen-sational seven-murder case, he said: Investigation is going on. We have made substantial progress.

Following the abduction involve-ment of local RAB 11 o cials were dis-cussed strongly. Police had said that they would arrest anyone they deemed necessary for investigation.

On May 6, the authorities concerned dismissed Commanding O cer of the RAB 11 Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Moham-mad and its company commanders Maj Arif Hossain and Lt Commander SM Masud Rana for their alleged involve-ment in abducting and killing of seven people in exchange for money.

Asked, if they would arrest the sacked ex-RAB men, he said: We are looking into everything. Let us see. l

AL to lose Indias blessing if BJP assumes power PAGE 1 COLUMN 5a government falls either in India or in Bangladesh the relationship between the two countries also collapses.

The major architect of this scenar-io, on the one hand, was over-domi-nated by the south block in Delhi and in Bangladesh perhaps the group with-in the Awami League who crossed over to India in 1971.

The former minister said: Thus the perception of the common people is that there may be an overturn in the relationship between India and Bang-ladesh if the Congress is defeated in the next general election and the BJP comes to power.

Andaleeve Rahman Partha, chair-man of the Bangladesh Jatiya Party, said many people said the Indo-Bangladesh relations would not be a ected by any change in the Indian government.

But the working style would change and I think the new government would be more political and will work more politically. If the Congress government

does not assume o ce, the Awami League government will not enjoy the bene ts it has been enjoying till date.

The BNP-led alliance leaders think if the BJP or any non-Congress power assumes o ce in New Delhi, a new window of opportunity will open up for improving its relation with India.

The party tried to mend its ties with India and to this end party chief Khale-da Zia visited India and held a series of meetings with top political gures. But Khaleda refused to meet Indian Presi-dent Pranab Mukharjee when he came to Bangladesh which many BNP lead-ers considered a great mistake in terms of the diplomatic relations with India.

Moyeen Khan said: Whether this will bring any bene t to the BNP is a question that only time will answer. In the past it had been observed that the equation between the BJP and the BNP did not work out too badly.

In essence, a lasting relationship between these two sensitive peoples in these two neighbouring countries

will only be sustainable once the two governments understand that friend-ship must be left to people-to-people relationship instead of governments trying to interfere between them.

On April 7, Indian High Commission-er in Dhaka Pankaj Saran said Indias policy towards Bangladesh would not change even if there was a change of regime in New Delhi after the elections. He said every country had interests and those interest really did not change.

Sha ul Alam Prodhan, leader of an-other component of the BNP-led alliance, said national interest of the Indian gov-ernment was its rst priority and there was no scope for thinking that any sort of change in the Indian state would bring any change in the fate of Bangladesh.

There is a di erent level of under-standing between the Congress and the Awami League. The Awami League does not have the same relation with the BJP. But I do not think it will bring any sea of change in the relation be-tween the two countries, he said. l

10 killed in Rajbari road accident PAGE 1 COLUMN 6incident. A case was led with the Ra-jbari Sadar police station, he added.

Police said a local Member of Parlia-ment, the deputy commissioner, and the police super visited the spot and gave necessary directives to the o -cials concerned. l

Law enforcers recover a huge quantity of contraband phensidyl, foreign liquors and weapons from the o ce of Nur Hossain at Narayanganj yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

7 NARAYANGANJ MURDERS

Accused to be arrested in aday or twon Rabiul IslamState Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan yesterday said the persons ac-cused in the abduction and killing of seven people in Narayanganj would be arrested in a day or two.

You will see in a day or two that the accused are arrested, Asaduzzam-an Khan told the Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday.

The state minister, however, could not say anything about the wherea-bouts of the ve suspects, including Nur Hossain.

We have already changed top level o cials of the Rapid Action Battalion 11 and more changes will come in the low-er tier of the force soon, he said.

Twelve days after the abduction and subsequent killings of Narayanganj panel mayor Nazrul Hossain, senior law-yer Chandan Sarkar and their aides, law enforcers have not yet been able to arrest anyone accused in a case led against ve persons including Nur Hossain. l

Do not kill Nurin cross ren Ashif Islam ShaonShahidul Islam, father-in-law of slain Narayanganj city panel Mayor Naz-rul Islam, fears that Nur Hossain, the prime accused in the recent abduction and murder of seven people in the city, might be killed in cross re. He also urged the law enforcers not to do that.

This will hide the facts. Nur knows everything. Many culprits will be saved if he is killed in cross re, Nazrul told the Dhaka Tribune over phone.

Asked if he had got any indication of Nur's arrest from the investigators, he said Narayanganj police had assured him that Nur would be arrested soon. But if he is killed in cross re, we will be deprived of justice, he added.

We want to know the real fact. We do not want anyone to stop the investiga-tion midway by killing him, Shahid said.

Nazrul, his four aides, senior lawyer Chandan Sarkar and his driver were abducted almost at the same time on April 27.

Six bodies, including that of Nazrul and Chandan, were found oating in the Shitalakkhya river three days later, and the other was found the following day. l

7 arrested for killing Swechchhasebak League leader n Mohammad Jamil Khan Members of the Detective Branch of police have arrested seven people for their alleged involvement in the mur-der of Swechchhasebak League Presi-dent of Dhanmondi Thana unit.

The arrestees in primary interroga-tion confessed to have killed Swechch-hasebak League President Sheikh Mu-nim Foyez, 40, over con icts of money transaction of multi-level marketing company Jubok.

The DB has unearthed the mystery of the murders in a brie ng yesterday at the Media and Community Centre of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

Munim went out of his Dhanmondi residence on April 5 and since then he has gone missing. Soon after the inci-dent, the family members of victim led a general diary with Kalabagan police station.

On April 6, police recovered the body of Munim from near Borsha Cine-ma Hall of Gazipur intersection.

Later, a murder case was led with Kalabagan police station against some unidenti ed people.

Addressing the brie ng, Krishna Pada Roy, deputy commissioner of the DB (south) police, said they had arrest-ed the accused from di erent parts of

the capital. The arrestees are identi ed as Kazi

Shirajul Alam alias Kazi Siraj, 62, Mo-hammad Sakil Khan, 25, Jahid Hassan alias Siraj, 22, Nabin Hossain, 23, pri-vate car driver Farid alias Ra qul Is-lam, 35, ambulance driver Mostofa, 33, and ambulance helper Imran Hossain, 20.

Krishna said deceased Munim was a director of the Jubok. Kazi Shiraj and a woman were the members of Jubok who deposited huge amount of money in the Jubok account.

As part of their plan the woman told Munim over phone to visit her house at Rayerbazar. Their plan was to con ne Munim and realise ransom from him. Soon after Munim reached that house Siraj along with some others psychical-ly tortured him.

Later the accused took the victim to Nabins house at Kamrangirchar. As he was put under anaesthetic Munim died there. The accused then tried to take the body out of the capital in a private car but reaching Mohammadpur area car driver Ra qul refused to go further.

After that an ambulance was hired with the help of Ra qul. However, reaching Gazipur intersection, they hired a van saying that the deceased is one of their relatives and they were taking him home.

Soon after the accused ed leaving the body on the van. In fear of arrest, the van driver too has left the spot.

Sanowar Hossain, additional dep-uty commissioner of the DB who is investigating the case, said recently Jubok has sold out one of their hous-es in Dhanmondi area and the accused thought that Munim would not give their money back. So they planned to collect the money as ransom by con n-ing him.

But their plan did not work as Mu-nim died following psychical torture and under the impact of anaesthetic.

Asked about the woman ADC Sa-nowar declined disclosing her name for the sake of investigation saying that the woman was on the run.

Munims wife Nahid Farzana along with two children of her was also pres-ent at the brie ng.

She told the Dhaka Tribune that Munim was appointed as a director of Jubok in the year of 2009. I want nothing but exemplary punishment to the killers of my husband. l

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, May 10, 2014

A city corporation worker uses a jet blower to clean dust from the road on the city protection embankment making way for repair work yesterday. The picture was taken from Rayerbazar area MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Interest payment may eat up 12% of next budget n Asif Showkat Kallol The allocation of interest payment against government borrowings from local sources is expected to grow by more than 17.23% in the upcoming budget which will add pressure on the scal management and widen the bud-get de cit.

The government will put aside Tk30,809 crore for the scal year 2014-15, up Tk4,806 crore from the outgoing scal year, to service domestic debts to be required during the period, a nance ministry o cial said.

The countrys overall debts have reached around 50% of its gross do-mestic product (GDP). The o cial es-timated that interest payment will eat up about 12.37% of the total budget for the new scal year which is likely to be Tk249,000 crore.

The allocation of interest payment in the outgoing scal year was Tk26,003 crore against domestic borrowings.

O cials concerned pointed out that they had di culty in keeping the bud-get de cit of the new scal at ve of GDP because of a huge pressure for sub-sidy and interest payment.

According to a primary estimate of the last budget resources committee, the amount of total subsidy is likely to be Tk26,053 crore.

Interest payment and subsidy cov-ered 85.56% or Tk56,862 crore for next year with possible budget de cit of

Tk66,458 crore. The total allocation of both interest payment and subsidy would account for almost one-fourth of the total budget outlay.

Successive governments have been maintaining the de cit within the range for a long time. The o cial said sever-al Padma Bridges are likely to be built from the yearly allocation of subsidy and interest payment outlay.

The budget wing of Finance Division sought suggestions from the policy-makers on how to complete the di cult arithmetic relating to the de cit.

The budget management commit-tee, headed by Finance Minister AMA Muhith, is likely to sit this week to re-solve the problem.

The higher budget de cit is con-trary to prudent scal management for an economy like Bangladesh. It would have destabilising impacts on the mac-ro-economy and currency management as the government is forced to expensive borrowings due to shortage of internal resources, said the ministry o cials.

A major part of increased de cit would come from bank borrowing for the next scal year which might be cre-ated from subsidy and interest payment for the past borrowing, Planning Com-mission member Shamsul Alam told the Dhaka Tribune.

He, however, said it would be bet-ter to borrow from the banks as a little amount of money had so far been taken from the banking system. l

Maya: My family has no links with seven murdersn Emran Hossain ShaikhDisaster Management Minister Mofaz-zal Hossain Chowdhury Maya yester-day in a statement claimed that there was no link of his family members to the seven murders in Narayanganj.

I would rmly say that none of my family members has ever been linked or involved in any business dealings with any of the accused in the murder case, Maya said in the statement sent by his Public Relation O cer Omar Faruque Dewan.

This is the rst time Maya has talked about the issue two days after his son-in-laws premature retirement from army.

Former Lt Col Tarek Sayeed Mah-mud, Mayas son-in-law, was removed from his job as head of the Narayan-ganj-based RAB 11 unit two days after the April 27 abductions were reported.

In the statement the minister ex-pressed profound shock at the murders of seven people including Narayanganj City Corporation Councillor Nazrul Is-lam and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family members.

Di erent reports are being present-ed in media involving my family mem-bers in the incident. It is shocking and insulting for me and my family mem-bers, he added.

He urged all to know the fact before making any comments on the incident.

Maya, also secretary of the Awami League Dhaka city unit, said he did not want to comment on a sub-judge matter.

The investigation is going on. This is why I want to avoid any comment that may in uence the investigation. I hope the truth must come out through investigation, the minister said. l

15 Hong Kong returnee migrants likely to get bank loan waiver n Rabiul IslamThe government has urged Probashi Kallyan Bank to waive the bank loan of the 15 female migrant workers who re-turned home after losing jobs in Hong Kong several months back.

The Expatriates Welfare and Over-seas Employment Ministry requested the bank to look into the problems of those female migrants and waive the bank loan, a senior o cial of the minis-try said seeking anonymity.

We are investigating why the mi-

grants returned home, and if we waive the loan, the bank will not survive, the banks Managing Director Koyes Sami told the Dhaka Tribune.

We cannot waive the principal amount, but we can facilitate the re-payment of loan by easy installment, Sami added.

The ministry o cial, however, said the bank authority was reserved as the message of loan waiver might encourage other migrants to use the opportunity.

After being terminated from jobs and facing various types of harassment

in Hong Kong the 15 female returnees lodged complaints with the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.

They also demanded that their bank loan be waived and compensation paid.

Each female migrant took a loan of Tk120,000-Tk140,000 from Probashi Kallyan Bank before they ew to Hong Kong. They were supposed to repay the loan by installments from their monthly wages.

BMET sources said a total of 427 Bangladeshi women went to Hong Kong to work as housemaids. l

Khaleda set to visit Narayanganj May 14n Mohammad Al-Masum MollaEven though her party has not got per-mission to hold a rally in Narayanganj, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will visit the district on May 14 to express sym-pathy for the family members of seven victims.

Narayanganj district BNP president Taimur Alam Khandakar told the Dhaka Tribune over phone that Khaleda Zia will come to Narayanganj on May 14 to express her sympathy for the family members of the seven people who had been abducted and killed recently.

City panel mayor Nazrul Islam, se-nior lawyer Chandan Sarkar and ve others were abducted from the citys Link Road on April 27 and were found dead two days later.

The party had sought permission to hold a meeting on Bangabandhu Lane in Narayanganj on May 14, which was turned down by city corporation au-thorities. Then it sought permission from the deputy commissioner for Alauddin Stadium, but that too was turned down.

Though we have not got permis-sion to hold the rally, the schedule for Khaleda Zias programme will be the same. She will go to the residences of Nazrul Chandan, Taimur said. l

SSC results early next week n Mushfi que Wadud Results of the Secondary School Certi cate examinations will be published early next week, an education board o cial told the Dhaka Tribune.

Taslima Begum, chairperson of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Sub-committee, said the results will be published on either May 17 or May 18, depending on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas approval.

The education minister usually hands the results over to the prime minister and then formally announces them at the secretariat.

After the announcement, students collect their results from their respected schools.

Taslima told the Dhaka Tribune that the results of any public examination is supposed to be published within 60 days of the end of the exams.

May 19 marks the end of the 60-day period, so the results will be published before that day, she said.

A total of 14,32,727 students, 733,202 male and 699,525 female, appeared in the SSC examinations at 2,942 centres throughout the country this year 1,29,554 more than last years number of examinees. l

Brick kilns, transports key air pollutersGovernment initiatives start after WHO ranks Bangladesh fourth worst country to breathen Abu Bakar SiddiqueThe government has identi ed the brick making industry and transporta-tion system as the key reasons behind the deteriorated quality of air in the country, especially in urban areas.

The latest air pollution monitoring report of the World Health Organisa-tion (WHO) ranked Bangladesh fourth among 91 countries having the worst urban air quality.

A number of government o cials told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that the government had taken a number of initiatives, including improving the brick kiln industry and introducing modern transportation systems with a view to improving the air quality.

The newly formulated Brick Making and Brick Field Establishment (Control) Act 2013 will be enacted from July 1, prohibiting operations of the old-fash-ioned brick elds that are largely to blame for air pollution, said Md Raisul

Alam Mondal, Director-General of the Department of Environment, yesterday.

According to the report, three Ban-gladeshi cities Narayanganj, Gazipur and Dhaka have been marked as hav-ing the 17th, 21st and 23rd worst quality air, respectively.

The new law prohibits the establish-ment of brick kilns using conventional methods and promotes energy-e -cient and relatively cleaner technolo-gies like Zigzag, Hybrid Ho man Kiln (HHK) and Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK). In September 2010, the govern-ment gave the brick makers two years to adopt these technologies. At present, there are more than 6,356 brick elds in the country. Till June 2013, only 1,101 of them have adopted Zigzag, HHK and VSBK technologies.

The deadline was later extended by six months till March this year and again by another three months till June.

The report was prepared on the basis of the monthly air quality monitoring

data of 2013 from the Department of Environment (DoE).

The DoE has set up air quality mon-itoring stations in eleven cities, includ-ing Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Ra-jshahi, Chittagong, Khulna and Sylhet.

Apart from the new technologies, the new law prohibits the establishment of brick elds in residential, protected, commercial and agricultural areas, and also in forests, sanctuaries, wetlands and Ecologically Critical Areas (ECAs).

Any establishment in the prohibited areas will be treated as a criminal of-fense, the law says, with varying de-grees of punishment for the o enders to be determined based on the nature of the areas involved.

The maximum punishment for set-ting up a brick eld in a residential, pro-tected or commercial location will be a ve-year jail term or Tk5m in nes or both.

For forests private or public sanc-tuaries and wetlands, the punishment

will include a 1-year prison sentence or a ne of Tk100,000.

Speaking on the improved and mod-ern transportation systems, the DoE DG said that the government has taken a speci c initiative to make the citys transportation systems more environ-ment-friendly.

The Prime Minister has called a meeting tomorrow which will be at-tended by the stakeholders, includ-ing the Ministry of Environment and Forests. There will be a discussion on this, he added.

Of all the regions, Pakistan has been listed as the worst country in terms of air quality with Qatar and Afghanistan ranking second and third, respectively. Iran, Egypt, Mongolia, the United Arab Emirates, India and Bahrain take other positions among the worst ten.

Outdoor air pollution has killed 3.7 million people in 2012 and the WHO says it is now the worlds single largest environmental health risk. l

Detectives produce seven persons, detained in connection with the Swechchhasebak League President Sheikh Munim Foyez murder case, before the media in the capital yesterday NASHIRUL ISLAM

This is the rst time Maya has talked about the issue two days after his son-in-laws premature retirement from army

4 NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, May 10, 2014

MK Anwar: Arrest BNP men if involved with Narayanganj killing n Mohammad Al-Masum MollaBNP standing committee member MK Anwar, who has remained silent for a long time after his release from jail, yesterday urged the government to arrest his party men if anyone of them was involved with the abduction and killing of seven people in Narayanganj.

He came up with the statement as a cabinet minister alleged that BNP men were involved with the Narayanganj killing.

I want to say that not the BNP men rather Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League were involved with the killing. If any BNP man was involved with the killing, arrest him, Anwar told a roundtable discussion.

The country has now turned a death valley, he said while addressing the roundtable discussion organised by Swadhinata Forum at the National Press Club.

Pointing his accusing nger at a

former chief justice who ordered an-nulment of the caretaker government system, the BNP leader said the gov-ernment along with a former chief jus-tice was responsible for the countrys existing situation.

He added: A former justice through a verdict scratched an amendment from the constitution and snatched the fundamental and voting rights of people. The more days the constitu-tion will remain, the country will not see any development. So, the constitu-tion should have to be thrown into the dustbin.

The former bureaucrat said the ad-ministration had collapsed just because of a huge number of OSDs (O cers on Special Duty) and the anti-corruption commission was issuing certi cates to only those, whom the government wants to see corruption-free.

In the way the government has damaged all the basic organs of the state, he said and hoped that people of the country would raise their voice and then none could stop them. So, there is nothing to get frustrated rather people have to move forward.

Urging the prime minister to step down from the o ce he said, Resign immediately, otherwise you have to pay the price.

Former chief election commissioner Abdur Rauf also spoke at the discus-sion meeting. l

Drug administration starts punitive measures against faulty pharmaceuticals companies n Moniruzzaman Uzzal The Directorate General of Drug Ad-ministration has started taking puni-tive actions against the substandard pharmaceutical companies that have been outing rules and manufacturing drugs.

As part of its latest move, the admin-istration cancelled the drug licence of Mystic Pharmaceuticals Ltd, as well as prohibiting it from the manufacture, sales and marketing of drugs.

Brig Gen Md Zahangir Hossain Mollick, director general of the Direc-torate General of Drug Administration (DGDA), said: We will show zero toler-ance toward pharmaceutical companies manufacturing substandard drugs.

Mystic Pharmaceuticals is one of the

62 companies which had been detected as substandard company by the parlia-mentary committee of Health Ministry. They have been found guilty of mal-practice as they have been manufac-turing drugs in violation of the World Health Organization and Good Manu-facturing Practice guidelines for years.

A high o cial of the DGDA told the Dhaka Tribune the authorities will can-cel the drug licence of a couple of com-panies very soon.

The DGDA issued show cause no-tices to 15 pharmaceutical companies which were previously identi ed as the manufacturers of substandard drugs, asking them to explain within 15 days why their licences should not be can-celled.

The drug administration made the

move following the directives from the Health Ministry on April 20.

The DGDA served a show cause notice to Mystic Pharmaceuticals Ltd based in Narsingdi on February 18 after its inquiry into the drug company.

The inquiry report mentioned that Mystic Pharmaceuticals Ltd was not following the GMP guidelines.

The Dhaka Tribune obtained a copy of the suspension order in which the DGDA mentioned 12 valid reasons for cancelling the drug companys licence.

The investigation team found a shortage of manpower and no microbi-ologists in the drug industry.

A plant in-charge was the only o -cial who looked after manufacture and quality control.

There was even no quarantine area

or nished product store for the manu-factured drugs.

The manufacture of substandard drugs came into the spotlight in 2010 following the deaths of 24 children who took a paracetamol syrup manu-factured by Rid Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

The parliamentary body of the Health Ministry formed a probe team that identi ed 62 companies as produc-ers of fake medicine in 2010.

Later it revised the number of com-panies and placed it at 73, following a second round of inspections in 2013.

Of the 73, the team found 29 compa-nies posing high risks to public health.

The report mentioned that the 29 did not comply with the World Health Organisation guidelines in manufac-turing drugs. l

JaPa in crisis as GM Quader and Rawshan lock hornsn Manik MiazeeJatiya Party has been facing a serious crisis as the party has divided into two fractions, one led by party Chairman Husain Muhammad Ershads wife and Opposition Leader Rawshan Ershad and the other by his brother and party senior presidium member GM Quader.

For quite a long time, the two frac-tions had failed to agree on party deci-sions and subsequently this gave rise to internal feuds within the party ranks.

The Rawshan-led fraction includes Anisul Islam Mahmud, party Secretary General Zia Uddin Ahmed Bablu, Kazi Firoz Rashid and other leaders who took part in the 10th Parliamentary Elections held on January 5 this year.

The GM Quader fraction consists of former secretary general ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader, Sunil Shuvo Roy, Bobi Hajjaj, Shohel Rana, Ershads nephew Asif Shahriar and other leaders of the party who withdrew their nomination papers as per a directive of the party chairman.

At the partys last presidium mem-bers meeting, Rawshan and her panel members criticised the party chairman

for making unilateral decisions and frequently changing them.

She also criticised pro-GM Quad-er leaders for carrying out activities against Rawshan and others.

Pointing out Sunil Shuvo Roy and Bobi Hajjaj, Rawshan came down heavily on HM Ershad for appointing some of the partys paid employees as senior leaders.

Such activities hamper the partys image, she said. She also questioned how an o ce employee can get the par-ty ticket to participate in an election.

Saying that Sohel Rana had failed to serve the party as its election coor-dinator, she further added: Rana has never participated in any election. He has no expertise in election coordina-tion. Then why is he holding the post?

Surprisingly, GM Quader was not present at the meeting. According to the party source, GM Quader had re-frained from joining the meeting due to Rawshans presence.

And for the same reasons, Ruhul Amin Howlader and Sunil Shuvo Roy were not present at the meeting, claim-ing illnesses.

Ershad was reportedly furious at

Rawshans comments and announced to his resignation from the post of par-ty chairman, after the meeting. He also sent a letter to the partys secretary general in this regard.

However, his decision was with-drawn within a short period of time.

When asked, Ershad said: A presid-ium meeting has to be called if I am to resign. Why should I resign? I just an-nounced my resignation in rage.

Meanwhile, GM Kader has been los-ing his credibility with the ruling gov-ernment.

Ershad had asked for GM Kader to be made MP from the Rangpur-6 constituency, however, that did not happen. The government also paid no heed to Ershads requested to make Kader a technocrat minister.

In this regard, GM Quader told the Dhaka Tribune: My name was not on the good list of the government, so it is not possible for them to make me a minister of the present government.

Regarding the con ict, Rawshan told the Dhaka Tribune: Our party is the largest party in the country. It is normal to have some con ict with par-ty leaders but it is nothing serious. l

Financial irregularities grip Petrobangla n Aminur Rahman Rasel There has been missappropriation of over Tk5 crore at the state-owned Petro-bangla as it transferred money meant for the de cit oil head margin for Bapex sector to the price de cit fund sector instead, said the audit report from the Commercial Audit Directorate.

The report also said Petrobangla had incurred a loss of over Tk16 lakh in the scal 2012-13 as it accepted the tender for lift maintenance placed by the sec-ond lowest bidder instead of the lowest bidder.

A four-member team from the Com-mercial Audit Directorate took nearly two months, from February to March this year, to audit the companys 2012-13 statement. The team submitted the audit report to the Director-General of the directorate on April 10.

As for the misappropriation, the report revealed that gas distribution companies under Petrobangla, includ-ing Titas Gas Transmission and Distri-bution Company Ltd, Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Limited, Pash-chimanchal Gas Company Ltd, Jalala-bad Gas Transmission and Distribution System Limited and Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited, pay Bapex Tk25 for each mcs of gas.

In order to meet the de cit in the gas production cost by Bapex, these distribution companies send money to Petrobanglas account at a speci ed rate in the de cit oil head margin for the Bapex sector, which, according to the rule, should be sent to the Bapex account by Petrobangla.

Petrobangla authorities, however, transferred a portion of the sum col-lected from the distribution rms to its own price de cit fund. In the s-cal 2012-13, Petrobangla transferred Tk51,828,838 to the fund which was supposed to go to the Bapex account.

The price de cit fund sector was created to adjust the subsidy paid at the consumer level in the wake of a hike in the price of gas obtained from the In-ternational Oil Company. Thus, trans-ferring the money paid by distribution rms for the de cit oil head margin for Bapex sector to the price de cit fund sector is a violation of the rules.

The audit team has recommended in-forming it after transferring money from the de cit oil head margin for Bapex sec-tor to the price de cit fund sector.

Petrobangla Chairman Hossain Monsur told the Dhaka Tribune that it will be inappropriate to comment be-fore seeing the audit report.

In addition, the report revealed that, according to tender opening sheet, six bidders submitted bids for the contract to repair and maintain ve Petrobangla lifts and Ben x Technology was given the work order dated 30th June, 2011, as the lowest bidder and the contract price was Tk4,358,908.80.

The report further revealed that Ke-cco Limited bid Tk2,754,000 for the ve lifts for 36 months, with Tk15,300 for each lift per month. The tender evalua-tion committee, however, declined Ke-cco Limiteds bid on the grounds that the rm did not have any prior expe-rience in running and maintaining LG lifts, and that the bid placed by it was less than the estimated bid. The tender thus went to Ben x Technology.

However, Kecco Limiteds bidding document showed it had experience in maintaining LG lifts, meaning its bid was wrongly cancelled which led to a loss of Tk1,604,909.

Speaking on the issue, Hossain Mon-sur told the Dhaka Tribune everything was done according to the tender eval-uation committees report.

The committee is not supposed to give a report that could lead to a loss for Petrobangla, he added. l

Language Movement activist Azharuddin laid to restn Our Correspondent, BarisalBhasha Soinik and freedom ghter AKM Azharuddin was laid to rest with state honour at his family graveyard in Barisal city, yesterday afternoon.

Azhar died at the age of 82 at Bird-em Hospital in the capital on Thursday evening.

He had been under treatment there since April 17 due to old-age complica-tions, said his son Abu Bakar Sohel.

His body was taken to Barisal early yesterday and his Namaz-e-Janaza was held on Begum Tofazzal Manik Mia Mah-ila College ground after Jumma prayers. He was then given the state salute.

People from all walks of life, includ-ing distinguished personalities, admin-istrative o cials and leaders of di er-ent organisations, attended the Janaza and burial.

They expressed deep condolences and remembered Azhars contribution in 1952 and 1971, as well as in society and the country in later years.

Born in South Alekanda, Barisal city in 1932, Azharuddin was one of the active participants in the Language Movement activities in Barisal.

A student of Class X at A K Institution in Barisal at the time of the movement, Azhar led a procession of school stu-dents on February 22, 1952 chanting the slogan Rashtra bhasha Bangla chai (We want Bangla to be state language) and protesting the killing of the movements activists in Dhaka on February 21.

Later, he actively participated in the Liberation War in 1971.

As an avid social worker, a trait that he held on to for his entire life, he founded a juvenile voluntary organisa-tion Kishore Majlish in his area in 1953.

A retired o cial of Bangladesh Wa-ter Development Board at the time of his passing, Azhar is survived by three daughters, ve sons and a number of well-wishers. l

Schoolgirl gang raped n Our Correspondent, Barguna A grade V schoolgirl was gang raped at her own house in Barguna in early hours yesterday.

Family sources said a group of mis-creants led by Zakir, 30, son of late An-war Hossain of village Chal Tatli under Embaliatali union of Sadar upazila and Nazmul, 32, son of late Faiz Uddin of the same village con ned the victims mother and raped the child one by one at 2am yesterday.

The father of the victim was not present during the incident. Her mother told the locals about the incident as she seriously fell sick in the morning. After-wards the victim was sent to the Bargu-na Sadar police station and she was later

rushed to the Barguna Sadar Hospital as her situation aggravated further.

O cer-in-Charge of Barguna Sadar police station Pulok Chandra Roy said the child had been sent to the hospital as her condition became critical. Pro-cess was initiated to le a case in this connection as the accused were on run, he added.

The Resident Doctor of Barguna Sa-dar Hospital Tapash Kumar Pal told the Dhaka Tribune that the victim was now out of danger and she has sustained in-juries only on her face.

The investigating o cer of the inci-dent Sub-Inspector Md Touhidur Rah-man said he had already visited the crime scene and they were trying their level best to arrest the culprits. l

A horde of bu aloes swim across a river to travel from one side of the forest to the another at Nijum Dwip in Noakhali yesterday BANGLAR CHOKH

Members from the associate bodies of Gonojagaran Moncho take part at the platforms joint meeting in the capital yesterday RAJIB DHAR

The administration had collapsed just because of a huge number of OSDs and the anti-corruption commission was issuing certi cates to only those

Green activists demand removal of structures from Dhanmondi groundn Abu Hayat MahmudEnvironmental activists, politicians, sports personalities and residents in Dhanmondi area yesterday termed the leaders of Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club outsiders and illegal occu-pants of Dhanmondi playground.

They urged the Dhaka South City Corporation to form a management committee comprised of only local people for the playground.

The individuals also demanded dem-olition of all old and new structures, halt to all construction in the play-ground and withdrawal of false cases led against the leaders of Dhanmondi Playground Protection Committee.

They made the demand at a rally held inside the playground yesterday.

The programme was moderated by Alamgir Kabir, coordinator of Green Voice, an environmental orgranisation.

Architect Mubasshar Hussain, former president of the Institute of Architects Bangladesh, said: The city corporation clearly said the playground had not been allocated to any private club or person, but inside it, the club authority con-structed structures, which are illegal.

He claimed that Sheikh Jamal Club governing body chairman was the in-cumbent Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Benazir Ahmed.

Mubasshar said recently the club authority put an advertisement in dif-ferent national dailies for the publicity of the club which was illegal.

How is it possible that a government high o cial is involved with such an il-legal act? he posed a question.

We are demanding an immediate resignation of the DMP commissioner from the illegal committee of the clubs governing body.

He also noted that they went to the

court to settle the dispute.The High Court bench repeatedly

felt embarrassed to hear a petition, seeking its directives to remove the structures built on the Dhanmondi playground, said Mubasshar.

Our campaign would continue till making the playground free from the clutch of illegal occupants, he said.

The architect alleged that the incum-bent club authority was masterminding to split the playground into two parts.

In one part, the club authority would like to establish its own rule like Ayub Khan.

Musta zur Rahman, executive di-rector of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said the playground was gradually fall-ing into the hands of several land grab-bers, thus forcing children in Dhan-mondi to depend on computers only for their recreation.

So we should protect the public

playground from the occupation of the land grabbers.

Expressing solidarity with the rally, veteran politician Pankaj Bhattacharya said: The playground should be open for all because it is a public playground.

He claimed that the activities of Dhanmondi Club authority were an-ti-constitutional and against Prime Min-ister Sheikh Hasinas stand on the neces-sity of open space and childrens park.

Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan Joint Secretary Iqbal Habib said: Our protest leader is Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In 2000, she directed all authorities con-cerned to free all public playgrounds, open space, childrens parks and wet land from the grabbers. Now we are just following the PMs directives.

We hope the premier will issue fur-ther directives to the club authority for demolition of all illegal structures from the playground. l

5NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, May 10, 2014

PRAYER TIMES Fajar 3:56am Sunrise 5:18am Zohr 11:55am Asr 4:33pm Magrib 6:31pm Esha 7:54pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Source: Accuweather/UNB

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A Y

Dhaka 41 29Chittagong 32 27Rajshahi 42 28Rangpur 39 25Khulna 39 27Barisal 39 27Sylhet 32 23Coxs Bazar 32 28

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:32PM SUN RISES 5:19AM

YESTERDAYS HIGH AND LOW41.2C 21.5C

Rajshahi Sylhet andRangamati

WEATHER

SATURDAY, MAY 10

THUNDERSHOWER

Illegal three-wheelers continue to operatePolice, other authorities allegedly taking bribes for non-harassment tokens in Barisal cityn Our Correspondent, BarisalIllegal battery-run and non battery-run three-wheelers continue to operate on the city roads as police allegedly allow union leaders to issue permit tokens in exchange for bribes, which accumu-lates to around Tk20 lakh per month.

Most of these illegal vehicles have locally-made bodies and run on low quality engines, posing great risks to the lives of their passengers, pedestri-ans and other vehicles.

Although leaders of these union bodies acknowledge the token sys-tem, they claim that the revenue gen-erated from these tokens are used as donations for the welfare fund of theworkers.

Mobashwer Ali Khondokar, presi-dent of the Barisal district Auto-Rick-shaw, Tempo, Baby Taxi, and Cab Own-ers Association, said only around 500 diesel-operated and 1,200 battery-run three wheelers have valid licenses.

More than 2,000 diesel and bat-tery-run three-wheelers are illegally operating on di erent roads and streets of the city without any number plates, legal or tness documents, licenses or any kind of permit from the authorities concerned. These vehicles continue their operation by agreeing to pay a non- harassment token, the associa-tions City Secretary Advocate S M Ra -kul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune.

An investigation found out that ev-ery month, drivers or owners of illegal battery-run or motorised three-wheel-ers are made to pay around Tk1,000,

which comes down to Tk 300-500 for legal ones, to receive a non-harass-

ment token signed by approved agents or sta who manage law enforcers and

other authorities on their behalf.Sources also informed that at least

60% of the sum collected from these non-harassment tokens are distribut-ed among police o cials while the rest get divided among di erent o cials of the BRTA, the BCC, the district admin-istration and the leaders of the ruling party and di erent associations.

When asked, the BRTA Barisal O ce Deputy Director Uttam Kumar Barua said BRTA has jurisdiction only over fuel-run vehicles and the City Corpo-ration has added the word auto with these battery-run three wheelers and is responsible for issuing the licensesfor them.

Meanwhile, an o cial of the trans-port section of the Barisal City Cor-poration has told this correspondent

that, till now, the city corporation has issued licences to some 1,209 battery-run three wheelers and is ex-pected to award licences to anoth-er 1,000 rickshaws upgraded withbattery-run engines.

However, many illegal vehicles con-tinue to operate without any number plate from the BRTA or the BCC by sticking On-Test labels or with forged documents.

However, law enforcement agen-cies and other authorities concerned are apparently not taking any punitive measures against these ill practices al-though they have full jurisdiction to take action against any kind of unli-censed vehicle.

When asked, Barisal Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner (tra c) Mahmud Hasan brushed o the allega-tions and said regular drives are being conducted to check the validity and tness licenses of all three-wheelers in the city. l

Two workers die in sock factory re n CU CorrespondentTwo workers were burnt alive in a re at a sock factory in Chittagong citys Baizid area, earlyyesterday.

Arafat Hossain Roni, 25, the son of late Tamanna Khan from the Paikdi area in Chandpur and Md Iftekhar, 32, the son of Jahirul Alam of the Raozan upazila of Chittagong, passed away in the re, said police sources.

Mohammed Yahiya, assistant direc-tor of the Fire Service and Civil Defense headquarters in Agrabad said a re broke out at the Karnaphuli Knitting factory, in Shitaljarna of the Oxygen area, from an electrical short circuit at around 4am, yesterday.

Fire ghters rushed to the spot on receiving this information and doused the re after one and a half hours of frantic e ort, added the o cial.

The two workers sustained critical injuries since they were asleep inside the factory during the re, said Sub-In-spector Panna Lal Barua of Baizid police station, adding that they were immediately taken to the Chittagong Medical College Hospital where the on-duty doctors declared them dead.

An unnatural death case was led, added the SI.

Meanwhile, at least six thatched houses and a readymade garments fac-tory were burnt in the citys Akbar Shah area and Chakbazar area, respectively.

Sources said one fire originated from an electrical short circuit on the second floor of the furnishing section of Fashion Park International on the Lalchand road under the Chawkbazar police station at around 2:30am, yesterday. l

Call to unite against foreign cultural aggressionn Our Correspondent, BarisalBarisal Sangskritik Sangathan Saman-naya Parishad (BSSSP), the alliance of 26 cultural organisations in Barisal city, urged all to unite and raise their voice against injustice and to prevent foreign cultural aggression, yesterday.

At the 31st annual general meeting of the organisation, the speakers made the call.

The day long programme was inau-gurated by Mamunor Rashid, distin-guished drama writer, actor and direc-tor, at the Barisal Aswini Kumar Hall. A rally was brought out that marched through di erent city-roads as part of the inauguration ceremony.

Later, a discussion meeting and the annual general council were held, which was presided over by Syed Dulal, outgoing president of the BSSSP.

The speakers called for unity in order to spread the practice of Ben-gali cultural traditions in all aspects of life to prevent foreign cultural ag-gression.

They also urged the people to build a secular, non-communal and demo-cratic Bangladesh, abolishing all injus-tice and disparity as per the spirit of the 1971 Liberation War and the dreams of the freedom ghters. l

Ratify the UN convention on common rivers n Abu Bakar SiddiqueSpeakers, at a discussion yesterday, urged the government to ratify the UN Convention on the International Trans Boundary Rivers 1997 to move towards international arena to get equitable shares of the 54 common rivers which lie between Bangladeshand India.

They also expressed the need for building public opinion among the like-minded people who live in these two countries against the ag-gressive attitude of India, regarding the equitable sharing of water fromthe rivers.

Bangladesh does not have any op-tion other than going to the Interna-tional court to get proper water shares during lean periods to save its agricul-ture, environment and ecology as In-dia did not pay any heed to the issue, said Prof Anu Muhammad, member secretary of the National Committee for protecting oil, gas, minerals, power and ports.

He said this while addressing a dis-cussion titled The aggressive attitude of India regarding equitable water shar-ing of 54 common rivers: Bangladesh Perspective, held at the citys National Press Club auditorium and organised by the Gano Sanghati Andolon.

Blaming the Joint river commission for not working properly, he said the platform did not bring any fruitful re-sult.

Blaming the Indian government, Prof Tanjim Uddin Khan of the Inter-national Relations of Dhaka University said the Indian government made an eye-wash drama in 2011 regarding the Treaty for water sharing of the Teesta River.

Indian central government has the right to make any bilateral trea-

ty with any country, he said, add-ing that it seems that the West Bengal government does not want that the Teesta treaty should besigned.

Prof Anu Muhamamad said In-dia created several dams and barrag-es upstream, resulting in a reduced amount of siltation in the Bay ofBengal.

In the case of the Teesta River, the Indi-an government has set-up at least four dams upstream to divert the water ow and use the water for its own irrigation without having any concern for how this might harm the agriculture and ecology of the northern part of Bangla-desh.

As an example, he cited that around 2.5 billion tonnes of silt had deposit-ed in the Bay in 1971 whereas it came down to only 1.2 billion tonnes in 1991 because of the reduction in water ow in the common rivers.

If the situation continues, most of the rivers of the country will lose its navigability, he added.

Prof Nasima Akhter Hossain of Ja-hangirnagar University, Jonayed Saki, coordinator of Gano Sanghati Andolon and Bangladesh Communist Party Gen-eral Secretary Khalequzzman spoke on the occasion, among others. l

Operators of battery-run rickshaws often without licence plates, left are given token, above, for running on the streets of Barisal city DHAKA TRIBUNE

Green activists form a human chain inside the Dhanmondi playground yesterday, demanding eviction of all illegal establishments from the ground RAJIB DHAR

Renowned Rabindra Sangeet artiste Ameena Ahmed congratulates Sujeo Sham yesterday for getting the honorary award for his contribution during the 1971 Liberation War as a singer SADIA MARIUM

The Indian government has set-up upstream dams to divert the water ow and use the water for its own irrigation without having any concern about Bangladesh

National Rabindra Sangeet festival endsn Afrose Jahan ChaityA ve-day National Rabindra Sangeet festival organised by artists of Bangla-desh Rabindra Sangeet Shilpi Sangstha (BRSSS) ended yesterday at the Public Library Auditorium to celebrate the 153rd birth anniversary of Nobel laure-ate Rabindranath Tagore.

Honourable Speaker of Bangladesh National Parliament Dr Shirin Sharmin Choudhury attended the program as chief guest and she handed over the honourary award to Singer Shujeo Shy-am for his contribution in the Liberation War as a singer. He was a music direc-tor and singer at Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra during the Liberation War.

The concluding program started with Ankhi Boidyos solo rendition of Tagores Shey Amar Gopon Kotha. Mon-

jira Nisha, Nasrin Akter, Abdur Rashid, and many other artists performed mesmerising Rabindra songs at the closing ceremony. Solo performance on Rakho Rakhore by Ameena Ahmed captivated the audience while Rabi-raag performed a group rendition of Ami Marer Sagor Pari Debo Go. Artists of BRSSS also sang National Anthem atthe occasion.

BRSSS also organised a Rabindra Sangeet competition on the 90th birth anniversary of Tagore exponent and artist Kalim Shara . The nal round of competition was held yesterday and the best singers were awarded with Kalim Shara Memorial Award. With the slogan Dibe Ar Nibe, Milabe Mi-libe, Jabe Na Phire, BRSSS also cele-brated the organisations silver jubileethis year. l

6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, May 10, 2014A festival of corruption in Gopalganj A boat passage over canal built with poor quality materials at Tungipara n Our Correspondent, GopalganjAlmost half of a Tk2 crore 23 lakh boat passage has been built with poor qual-ity sand and rocks in the absence of the authorities' oversight of it over Shaila canal connecting Patharghat and Rak-khilabarhi village in Gopalganj's Tun-gipara.

Seeking anonymity, a labourer told the Dhaka Tribune, "Pakshi sand is of good quality and a bit pricey. Instead of using it, the contractor blended Mad-humati and Sylhet sand together and then used it in the casting of the pas-sage construction."

"Besides this, dust-mixed rocks were used in concrete blocking work," he said. As per work schedule, use of Pakshi sand is a must in the construc-tion of the boat passage.

"The contractor is not only using poor quality sand, rocks, but also rods and piling sheets while building the passage," said another labourer, seek-ing anonymity.

A Water Development Board o -cial, preferring not to be named said, "The project site falls under a quite in-accessible area and so o cials cannot go and oversee the construction work regularly."

"Taking advantage of it, the contrac-tor used the substandard items in the

construction work," he said. Our correspondent also visited the

site and found piles of Madhumati sand, which is available on a throwa-way price. The work of piling, wing walls and some others have already been completed.

Messrs Meherul Alam, a contracting rm, is building the boat passage. The work of the boat passage began in the middle of 2012.

Manager of the contracting rm Md Babul Mia, also admitted the use of low-quality sand, but deniedany irregularity in the passage con-struction.

"No irregularity has been done in the work of rod, piling and wing wall. We are only doing the casting work with local sand, instead of Pakshi sand. As for rocks, we are using the rocks of that quality, which are usually used across the country," he said.

"The Water Development Board is also overseeing our work. Our work will pass the hurdle of BUET test easily because we are not compromising over the quality of the work," said Manager Babul.

Nikhil Chandra Biswas, sub-divi-sional engineer at Gopalganj Water Development Board also admitted the use of substandard materials in the construction work.

"We have put on hold the con-struction work for now after learning about the use of poor quality sands

and rocks," he told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday, adding, "The contractor has been called to the site.

"We will conduct a BUET test over it and see whether quality has been en-sured so far." l

STUDENTS-WORKERS DISPUTE

Transport strike continues in Dinajpurn Our Correspondent, DinajpurWorkers continue the transport strike to press home their demands in Dina-jpur while students of the Hajee Mo-hammad Danesh Science and Technol-ogy University (HSTU) have called o their highway blockade program on the third day.

On last Wednesday, a private coach collided with a HSTU transport pool bus, resulting in a scu e between the students and the coach workers.

Following the incident, students im-posed a blockade at around 5pm in the evening on the highway in front of the university.

Several buses were vandalised dur-ing the blockade, sources said.

Later, bus-truck owners and work-

ers jointly started a transport strike demanding the safety of workers and vehicles, including long distance pas-senger-buses, on all the routes of the district. Passengers are su ering tre-mendously due to this continued strike.

Sources said Iqbalur Rahim, a ruling party lawmaker from Dinajpur, talked to the demonstrating students on his way back from Dhaka.

He assured them that no students will be arrested till proper investigation has been done and the students called o their program and returned to their campus.

Meanwhile, transport men told the Dhaka Tribune that their demands have not been met yet, so they will not be calling o their strike until the mat-ter is mutually settled. l

Five killed in separate road accidentsn Tribune ReportAt least three people, including a law enforcer, were killed in three separate road accidents in Sherpur, Comilla, Sirajganj and Faridpur.

A nine-year-old boy was killed after a truck ran him over in Sherpurs Kalibari area under the Jhinaigati upazila, yester-day. Witnesses said a speeding truck ran over Jony Sheel while he was riding his bicycle over to meet his father at around 10am, leaving him dead on the spot.

He was a class three student of the Chenguriya Government Primary School.

Following the incident, agitated locals detained the driver and barricaded the road, in protest. Later, police recovered the driver from the agitated locals. Sub-Inspector Fazle Elahi of the Jhinaigati police station con rmed the incident.

In Comilla, a micro-bus ran over a police constable on the Dhaka-Chit-tagong highway on Thursday night.

Md Delwar Hossain, 52, succumbed to his injuries on the way to Dhaka

for treatment. O cer-in-Charge Abu Salam Mia of the Daudkandi model po-lice station said Delwar was rst taken to the Gouripur Hospital from where the doctors referred him to the capital.

The micro-bus was detained but the driver managed to ee, the OC said, adding that a case had been led with the police station.

A school student, Mohammad Ali, 13, was killed when a bus ran him over in Sirajganjs Belkuchi area on the Sirajganj-Belkichi-Enayetpur road at around 8am, yesterday. Police said Ali died on the way to hospital, adding that a case had been led.

In Faridpur, two o cials of Medi Plus Toothpaste, Faridpur Branch, were killed in a road accident on the Dhaka-Barisal highway, early yesterday.

Highway police said a microbus coveying Mahbubur Rahman, 32, and KG Mostafa, 45, lost control and fell into a roadside ditch. The duo died on the spot and two others, including the driver, were injured, they added.l

Fortune smiles on watermelon farmers in Panchagarhn Our Correspondent, PanchagarhFarmers in Panchagarh are very happy nowadays since they have not only witnessed a bumper yield of watermel-ons but are also getting fair prices for their produce.

Just few years back, most of the peo-ple in this area were facing abject pov-erty and now they are leading happy lives with three meals a day and their children get to go to school regularly.

Farmers said a marginal farmer also earned Tk30,000-50,000 as each of their produce sold at Tk10 to Tk30 ac-cording to size.

Panchagarh is considered the pro-ducer of the best quality watermelon in the country for its favourable climate, suitable soil, easy availability of labour and other facilities.

The fruits are mostly cultivated at the Harivasha, Chala, Magura, Amarkhana, Satkhamer, Ha zabad, Banglabandha, Tirnai, Jagdal and

Bhajanpur villages. Not only has the juicy summer fruit

ooded the local markets, it also makes its way to Dhaka and other parts of the country on 10 to 20 trucks, daily. Each truck carries 2,000 to 2,400 watermel-ons, said Md Abdul Malek, who is a wholesaler.

The price of 100 watermelons is between Tk1,500 and Tk4,000 in the local markets, he said, adding that wa-termelons have boosted the local econ-omy as the strategic business hubs are humming with fruit traders and mid-dlemen who are coming in from dif-ferent parts of the country. Local resi-dential hotels and transport owners are also doing good business.

While growers have little or no mar-gin in hand after marketing paddy and jute, melon growers have pocketed three to four times of their production cost.

Sarwar Hossain, a watermelon farm-er from the Panchagarh Sadar upazila,

said he had cultivated the fruit on 20 acres of land and had spent around Tk8 lakh.

I have already sold watermelon worth Tk12 lakh and I hope to earn about Tk25 lakh this season, he said.

Nurul Islam, a farmer from the Na-jirganj area, said he had harvested about 2,000 watermelons from three bighas of land and earned Tk50,000 while his production cost was less than Tk15,000.

He said more farmers will begin to grow melons if they are provided with credit facilities by the bank.

Cultivation of watermelon is more pro table than paddy here and I think this can change the lot of the poor people here, said Nuruzzaman of the Bammatol village in the Sadar upazila.

Saiful Islam, another farmer from the Mirzapur union under the Atowari upazila, also cultivated watermelon on ve acres of land.

I hope to earn around Tk7 lakh this

year if there are no natural disasters, he said.

While visiting di erent areas of the district a few days ago, this correspond-ent saw wholesalers from Noakhali, Comilla and other places crowding the elds to buy watermelon.

Successful campaign for crop diver-si cation, backed by improved seeds, techniques and pesticides, resulted in this years miracle, said Md Abdul Ma-tin, sadar upazila agriculture o cer.

Department of Agriculture Exten-sion (DAE) are motivating farmers to cultivate the fruit on their land on a large scale to meet the demands of the people and bene t the growers eco-nomically, he added.

Md Nazrul Islam, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture Ex-tension, said at least 2,000 hectares of land were brought under watermelon cultivation this year in all ve upazilas of the district with a production target of 80,000 tonnes of watermelon. l

Gecko rescued in Barisaln Our Correspondent, PirojpurGecko, a kind of small lizard common-ly known as Tokkhok in Bangla, is on the verge of extinction because the species is being constantly smuggled out of the country.

Several groups of unscrupulous people are active in catching the vulnerable species and smugglingthem out in order to earn a handsome pro t.

The number of such people is very alarming as there are several rumours regarding the price of geckos.

Some of the illegal businessmen have already been penalised by dif-ferent mobile courts after they were detained by the law enforcement agencies, recently.

In the latest incident which oc-curred yesterday, police recovered a 10 inch long gecko from Barisals Swarupkathi area.

Sub-Inspector Md Enamul Haque of the Swarupkathi police station said

the Tokkhok was recovered from the house of Swapan Majumder in the Kourikhara area. Swapan, Hridoy Mandal and Milton were detained in this regard and they were ned Tk10,000 each, the SI added.

Swarupkathi Upazila Nirbahi Of-

cer Mizanur Rahman later handed over the Tokkhok to the Forest De-partment.

Assistant Conservator of Forest, Pirojpur Forest Department, Harun-or-Rashid said the Tokkhok was set free in the forest. l

Rabindra festival ends n Our Correspondent, BarisalA Rabindra festival organised at the Aswini Kumar Hall in Barisal on the oc-casion of the 153rd birthanniversaryof Bishwa Kobi Rabindranath Tagore, ended on Thursday night.

Jatiyo Rabindra Sangeet Sammilan Parishad Barisal un