Pakistan win a cli -hangern Minhaz Uddin KhanAn emphatic knock by Shahid A ridi aided Pakistan pick one wicket victory in the high-voltage game against their arch-rivals India in the Asia Cup at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yes-terday.

Chasing 246, Pakistan needed 13 o the last two overs with four wickets in hand. But three dismissals - two in the 49th and one in the 50th - had Pa-kistan in trouble. But Afridi who is not amongst runs stood up for his team, slammed two sixes o Ravichandran Ashwin to cruise his side home.

Pakistan has been unsuccessful chas-ing 250 runs around in the last 12 games. This had put the sides chances in doubt on pen and paper and because of the pressure that they had in the game for India being the opponents. But the openers Sharjeel Khan and Ahmed Shahzad got the side o to a smooth run posting 71 runs.

The partnership was broken Ashwin o a carrom ball followed by a loose stroke from Sharjeel as his front foot hardly moved and he just went at the ball with his hands. Four overs after that, Amit Mishra laid the blow dis-missing Shahzad on 42 o 44.

This was followed by Pakistan cap-tain Misbah-Ul-Haqs run-out of con-fusion in the middle with Mohammad Hafeez in the 17th over and of Umar Akmals in the 23rd leaving Pakistan on 113 for 4. Hafeez however posted 75 o 117 ball hitting three fours and two

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Ukraine mobilises after Putins declaration of warn ReutersUkraine mobilised for war yesterday and Washington threatened to isolate Russia economically, after President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade his neighbour, creating Moscows biggest confrontation with the West since the Cold War.

This is not a threat: this is actually the declaration of war to my country, Ukraines Prime Minister Arseny Yat-

seniuk, head of a pro-Western govern-ment that took power when Russian ally Viktor Yanukovich ed last week, said.

Putin obtained permission from his parliament on Saturday to use military force to protect Russian citizens in Ukraine, spurning Western pleas not to intervene.

Russian forces have already blood-lessly seized Crimea - an isolated Black Sea peninsula where Moscow has a

naval base. They surrounded sever-al small Ukrainian military outposts there and demanded the Ukrainian troops disarm. Some refused, leading to stando s, although no shots were red.

Russia has staged war games with 150,000 troops along the land border, but so far they have not crossed. How-ever, pro-Russian demonstrators have marched in the east of the country and

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

News3 The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) is set to conduct a special drive to evict illegal establishments, such as slums, permanent or temporary houses, and shops near public hospitals.

4 Bangladesh Orthopaedic Society has urged the government to appoint orthopaedicians at district-level hospitals as the patient load at the capitals National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (Nitor) Hospital had risen signi cantly over the last few years.

Nation6 Obtaining higher education has become a challenge for

younger generation of the Banshfor people in Natore, an ethnic community commonly known as Harijans, and the adult members are also struggling to nd jobs.

Op-Ed11 As an adult, almost everyone has to face the question can you nd out more about that particular girl or boy? Its related to a marriage proposal.

Entertainment12 Oscar winning Indian composer and singer AR Rahman and Senegalese American R&B and hip hop icon Akon are set to enchant the audience of Dhaka on March 13 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

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7 | SANTINIKETAN: AN ABODE OF PEACE

Chhatra League goes back to violent pastn Emran Hossain ShaikhOnly one and a half months into the second consecutive tenure of the Awa-mi League government, its student front Chhatra League has indulged in more than a dozen violence in several institutions much to the embarrass-ment of the government.

Most of the Awami League Leaders are upset at the violent activities of Chhatra League saying that the student wing in the previous ve-year tenure of the party marred all excellent initia-tives of the government.

They said if the government failed to reign in its student wing it would have to pay dearly. They, however, said the prime minister was concerned about

the matter and she would take neces-sary steps like that of the punishment meted out to the Biswajit killers.

Leaders and activists of the Chhatra League during the regime of the im-mediate past government [2009-2014] were involved in mindless violence, extortion and killing. At that time, their mindless acts killed at least 10 peo-ple including a tailor Biswajit Das that shocked the public conscience.

On the 25th day after the government headed by Sheikh Hasina was formed on January 12, 2014, a group of Chha-tra League men launched an attack on Rajshahi University students who were agitating against additional fees and evening Masters Degree Courses.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

BCL clash leaves 15 injured in JU n Mahadi Al HasnatAt least fteen students were injured as two factions of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) were locked in a clash on Jahangirnagar University campus over non-payment of food bill yesterday.

The leaders and activists from both sides traded several rounds of bullets during the clash while one received bullet injury.

Witnesses said around 50 Chhatra League activists of Mir Mosharraf Hos-sain Hall loyal to JU unit Organising Secretary Faisal Hossain Dipu denied paying bills after having lunch at Dha-ka Biriani and Chotpoti House adjacent to Zahir Raihan auditorium yesterday around 1:30pm.

Lavlu, the shop owner, brought the PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

Pakistan wicket-keeper Umar Akmal tries in vain to run out Indian batsman Ravindra Jadeja during the latters brisk inninng of 52 out of Indias total of 245 runs in 50 overs. Pakistan chased the total down with one wicket and two to spare MUMIT M

DU science faculties fail to retain students Around 50% either switch to other disciplines or fail to carry on n Ahmed ZayeefNearly 50% students in the various sci-ence related departments in the Dhaka University manage to nish their grad-uation in the stipulated time, while the rest either fall behind or change their discipline of study altogether for vari-ous reasons.

A total of 140 students enrolled in the physics department under the science faculty in 2008-09 academ-ic session. However, only 61 of them successfully nished their graduation after the stipulated four years.

The faculty and the department of- ces only have information about the students that pass out successfully; but do not have any idea or record about those who leave the department or drop out.

Talking to some of the students from that batch, the Dhaka Tribune has learnt that 15 of their classmates attended fresh admission tests and joined other departments. Of the re-maining 64, a handful dropped out while most others failed to pass the year nal examinations and fell back.

In the same academic session, 75 stu-dents got admission in the botany de-partment under the Biological Sciences Faculty. Only 32 of them passed the honours nal examination successful-ly in the stipulated four years time. Among the rest, 20 changed their de-partments and 23 failed in the various year nal examinations.

A number of students and teachers of these department have said there are several reasons for this low percentage of emergence.

For those who pass the High Sec-ondary Certi cate (HSC) examinations with science major, Buet and the public medical colleges are the top priorities for higher education. Most of those who fail to get admission in Buet or the med schools, join the science dis-ciplines at the Dhaka University. Some of these students reattempt the engi-neering and medical admission exami-nations, come out successful and leave the DU.

There are other students, who, after doing a few classes in the science sub-jects, decide to migrate to the various

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, March 3, 20144097 owners in city outs Rajuk lawSome government organisations too not lagging behindn Tribune ReportMinister of Housing and Public Works Engineer Mosharraf Hossain yesterday presented a list of 4097buildingowner-swho did not follow the approved de-sign of the Rajdhan iUnnayan Kartipa-kkha in the capital.

Even some government organisa-tions like City Centre of Dhaka City Cor-poration, National Shooting Federation of Gulsan,Jamuna Oil, JanashankaBha-bon of Azimpur outed building de-signs approved by the Rajuk.

The minister submitted the list while answering to a question of Awami League Lawmaker AKM Rah-matullah in the question-answer ses-sion presided over by Speaker Shirin-SharminChaudhury.

According to housing ministers list a number of prominent people have built their structures by changing the approved Rajuk design.

Among the unauthorised buildings, 1022 are under authorised o cer-1, 560 are under authorised o cer-2, 1070 are under authorised o cer-2, 1410 are under authorised o cer-3 and 595 are under authorised o cer-4.

According to Rajuk laws, all building owners must have to approve the de-sign of their structures from the Rajuk

before buildings are constructed and if the owner wants to change the design they have to get it reapproved other-wise it would fall into the category of unauthorised buildings.

In answer to the second part of the question about the action on the unau-thorised structures the minister said it was routine work of the government to remove unauthorised structures.

Keari Limited of Mir Kasem Ali, Nar-dan International Medical College, ENA Properties of Emamul Haque MP, Shel-tech Development, Tropical Homes, Managing Director of East-West Prop-erties, Navana Real Estate, Concord Consortium, Subastu Development Ltd, Nagor Homes, Rangs Properties, Amin Mohammad Foundation, Shahabuddin Medical College, Rupnogor Real Estate, Concord Engineers Ltd, IDDL, Hyperi-on Development Ltd, Rupayon Housing, SEL, Mission Developers, Majumder Developers, Dom Inno, ANZ Properties, Green Delta Housing, H B M Iqbal, East-ern Housing, Nitol Group, Ad-Din Hos-pital, Crescent Holdings Ltd, Star Kabab of Dhanmondi-2, Former MP Moazzen Hossain Alal, Fazlul Haque Milon, Alam-gir Kabir are, among other,the prom-inent persons and organisationsthat have changed the designs of their struc-tures with the approval of the Rajuk. l

HC halts Sonargaon resort projectn Tribune Report The High Court yesterday issued an injunction notice against the develop-ment of Sonargaon Resort City project of Unique Property Development Lim-ited in Narayanganj.

Moreover, the court ordered the company to restore the land to its pre-vious position before earth- lling and the rms managing director to submit a report in two months regarding com-pliance of the order.

The bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Chowdhury and Justice Khurshid Alam Sarkar passed the order in response to a writ petition led on Thursday by Ban-gladesh Environmental Lawyers Asso-

ciation (BELA). According to the website of Unique

Properties, the project area is near the bank of River Meghna and the Dha-ka-Chittagong highway in Sonargaon.

Ikbal Kabir, lawyer for the petitioner, said 210 bighas out of total 2,350 bigha project area had been lled up. The court also issued a rule asking as to why the project should not be declared illegal.

The housing and public works secre-tary, land secretary, environment sec-retary, director general of Department of Environment, Sonargaon Upazila Nirbahi O cer, managing director of Unique properties and ve others were asked to respond to the rule within four weeks. l

Charge sheet in Lalkhan madrasa blast case acceptedn Tarek Mahmud, ChittagongA Chittagong court yesterday accept-ed the charge sheet pressed against Hefazat-e-Islam Nayeb-e-Ameer Mufti Izharul Islam Chowdhury, his son Ha-run Izhar and seven others in a case re-garding blasts the Lalkhan Bazar madra-sa in the port city on October 7 last year.

After taking the charge sheet into cognisance, Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge SM Mojibur Rahman xed March 27 for holding a hearing on the charge framing matter in the explo-sives case, Omar Fuad, bench assistant of the court, said.

Khulshi police submitted the charge

sheet to the court on February 10. During the order, seven of the ac-

cused were produced before the court. An accused is on the run while another is on bail, he said.

At least three people were killed and several others injured in the ex-plosions that took place at a dormitory of Jamiatul Uloom Al-Islamia Madrasa, of which Mufti Izhar is the principal, around 11am on October 7 last year. Later police recovered three hand gre-nades, huge materials for making gre-nades and 18 bottles of picric acid used to amplify the magnitude of explosion. Three cases including one for murder were lodged with Khulshi police. l

HC summons Prothom Alo joint editor n Nazmus Sakib The High Court yesterday ordered Proth-om Alo Joint Editor Mizanur Rahman Khan to appear in person before it on March 6 to explain his position regard-ing his writings published on the Bengali daily on granting anticipatory bail.

It also issued a rule seeking explana-tions from the newspapers Editor Ma-tiur Rahman and Mizanur the same day as to why they should not be punished for contempt of court for publishing two such columns.

The bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Zafar Ahmed, on its own motion, passed the order as Mizanur in one of his articles directly criticised the bench for granting anticipatory bail indiscriminately. l

Armed activists from two factions of Bangladesh Chhatra League engage in a clash on Jahangirnagar University campus yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Pakistan win a cli -hanger PAGE 1 COLUMN 6sixes. Middle order batsman Shoaib Maqsood also aided with 38 runs be-fore he became the second run out in the innings and this time it was Afridi on the other end. Umar Gul added 12 to the board before losing his wicket to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The dismissals had Pakistan reeling on 235 for 8 and saw two more wickets Mohammad Talha and Saeed Ajmal both on ducks and turn the atmosphere at Mirpur nail-biting.

Last batsman Junaid Khan was in the middle when Pakistan needed an-other 10 runs o 5 balls. He scored a single but a vital one as it had given the strike back to Afridi.

Afridi took the charge and nished the game with two balls to spare hitting back to back maximums.

Earlier, India were sent to bat rst af-ter Pakistan won the toss. The start was never smooth after India lost opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan (10) in the

second over. He was pinned in front of the stumps by Hafeez as Dhawan tried to play o the back foot. India reeling on 56 runs lost the second wicket and this time it was Virat Kohli. The Indi-an skipper had an unresponsive start before he practically gifted his wicket away scoring ve runs. Kohli ran a safe short ball o Umar Gul in the 10th over o the face of the bat and into the keep-ers gloves.

But the loss didnt hamper the Indi-an innings in the high-voltage clash as the innings had three half centuries to revive from. Opener Rohit Sharmas 58-ball 56 gave the initial thrust followed by Ambati Rayudus 58 in the middle of the innings. The third unbeaten 52 o 49 from Ravindra Jadeja powered the total towards a comfort zone followed by two chances one from the umpire and the second gifted by his arch-ri-vals.

He was rst reprieved on 7 after um-pire felt Mohammad Hafeez delivery

missed the timbers though the Hawk-Eye suggested leg stump was striking. The second was when Hafeez had op-portunity to remove him four overs later on 12. A high top-edge from Jadeja who was attempting to sweep against the spin, was dropped by Hafeez on his own delivery with just few steps from the bowling crease. These had allowed Jadeja score his next 40 runs o 24 balls and got his ninth half-century.

However amongst all the runs from the Indian batters, Saeed Ajmal capped a ne day with wickets. Though he was wicketless for most of the game, he ended reaping three wickets in his death-spell. Indias middle order had failed to pick his doosra. This aided other Pakistani bowlers reap rewards. Debutant Mohammad Talhas two wickets came as he bowled in tan-dem with Ajmal. Hafeez also claimed Dinesh Karthiks scalp, in the 37th over, while Ajmal operated at the other end. Ajmal conceded 40 from his 10 overs. l

BCL clash leaves PAGE 1 COLUMN 1matter to the notice of JU unit Chhatra League General Secretary Rajib Ahmed Rasel.

After that Rasel university unit Ch-hatra League President Mahmudur Rahman Jony sat with Dipu to solve the matter.

During the meeting supporters of Rasel and Dipu swooped on each oth-er with machetes, iron pipes and rods, wooden stick and other native weap-ons.

University Proctor Prof Muzibur Rahman then visited the spot but failed to calm down feuding Chhatra League men.

Geography Department student Rezaul Karim Rochi, archaeology De-partment student Asaduzzaman Ashik and International Relationship De-partment student Jahid Hasan were stabbed with sharp weapons during the clash.

All three injured were loyal to JU unit Chhatra League General Secretary Rasel.

After an hour around 4pm several hundred Chhatra League activists from di erent dormitories of the university loyal to Rasel launched an attack on Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall.

The Chhatra League men loyal to Dipu from Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall also attacked them with brick chips and stones from the rooftop of the dorm

while Rasels men red several round of bullets.

The activists of Mosharraf Hossain Hall also red 5-6 rounds of bullets.

Geography Department student Ne-hal received bullet injury to his left leg during the gunshots.

Police brought the situation under control around 5pm.

Savar circle ASP Russel Sheikh told the Dhaka Tribune: It was a faction-al clash of university unit Chhatra League. All students were sent back to their dorms and police were deployed on the campus.

Among the injured condition of Mo-hitosh Roy Titu was critical and he was sent to Dhaka Medical College and Hos-pital, source said.

JU unit Chhatra League General Sec-retary Rasel told the Dhaka Tribune: Chhatra Dal activists of Mosharraf Hossain Hall were creating chaos and demanding extortion from food stall in the name of Chhatra League.

While contacted for comment, JU unit Chhatra League Organising Secre-tary Faisal Hossain Dipu was unavail-able over his cell phone despite several attempts.

JU Vice-Chancellor Prof Farzana Is-lam said the situation was under con-trol and steps would be taken against the miscreants according to the recom-mendation of the disciplinary commit-tee of the university. l

DU science faculties fail to retain students PAGE 1 COLUMN 2departments under the Arts, Com-merce and Social Sciences Faculties. Some of them decide to do so because they realise that the subject they have chosen is not right for them.

Disciplines like pure or theoreti-cal physics and chemistry are mainly meant for those who wish to do re-search in future. However, since there is very limited scope of research in DU, or for that matter anywhere else in Bangladesh, many students realise that they will have to go abroad for doing research. Those who do not have the -nancial means to go abroad, often have to settle for teaching jobs at schools, colleges and universities a choice which con icts with the ambitions of many students. Many students explore alternate education options when they realise this.

Professor Anwar Hossain from the microbiology department told the Dhaka Tribune: These departments are fully research oriented. But we do not have much job opportunity to at-

tract the students. Most pharmaceu-tical companies taking product patent from outside and produce drugs. They do not have research and development wings.

On the other hand, the government research institutes such as BCSIR and Nuclear Energy Commission do not have su cient funds to engage DU sci-ence students for handsome salaries. When a student started to realise these barriers, they get frustrated, Professor Anwar said.

The heavy load of study also dis-courages many students. In some of the departments, students have to re-main busy with classes and practical sessions for six to seven hours a day. Moreover, the syllabi are immense in size. Those who cannot cope up with the pressure often seek admission in the departments under the other facul-ties because of the common perception that life is much easier in the depart-ments under the Arts, Commerce and Social Sciences faculties.

SM Imamul Haque, professor of

the Soil, Water and Environment de-partment, said: We are having this students through a weak admission system. Only the GPA of SSC, HSC and an MCQ-based admission test cannot judge a student properly. We also have to know about his communication skills and extracurricular activities. So, we need a change in the admission sys-tem to nd the best students.

Professor Yousuf Ali said: Students study science with the help of private tutors, coaching centre and guidebooks at the line in secondary and higher sec-ondary education levels.

As a result, they do not get the strong base needed for pursuing sci-ence subjects. Eventually, when they get admitted to the university, they cannot cope up with the vast and com-paratively hard syllabus.

On the contrary, students accuse some of the teachers of insincerity. Some of them alleged that many teach-ers neglect their duties at the public universities and pay more attention to their engagements with private univer-

sities because they get better payments there.

To al Azam, a postgrad student of statistics, told the Dhaka Tribune: Shortage of adroit teachers is the main reason behind students failing to get promotion. Moreover, the fact that there is very little subject-related job in the market also hamper the students interests in studying.

Nasreen Ahmed, pro vice-chancellor (education) of DU, said: The authority often raise these points for discussion at the meeting of the deans commit-tee. But the deans of the various fac-ulties never discuss these issues in the forum. I will try to nd out more about the alarming pass rate.

Educationist Jamilur Reja Chowd-hury said: Students who are doing well in engineering and anywhere else come through the existing secondary and higher secondary education system. So, we cannot accuse students. Teachers have to nd the reason why students are changing departments and why they cannot pass in the examinations. l

Ukraine mobilises PAGE 1 COLUMN 5have raised Russian ags over gov-ernment buildings in several cities, in what Kiev says is a move orchestrated by Moscow to justify a wider invasion.

Ukraines security council ordered the general sta to immediately put all armed forces on highest alert.

The Defence Ministry was ordered to stage a call-up of reserves - theoretically all men up to 40 in a country with uni-versal male conscription, though Ukraine would struggle to nd extra guns or uni-forms for signi cant numbers of them.

US Secretary of State John Kerry con-demned Russia for what he called an in-credible act of aggression and threat-ened very serious repercussions.

Kerry said Moscow still had a right set of choices to defuse the crisis. Oth-erwise, G8 countries and other nations were prepared to go to the hilt to iso-late Russia. They are prepared to iso-late Russia economically. The rouble is already going down. Russia has major economic challenges. l

Chhatra League goes back to violent past PAGE 1 COLUMN 3Soon after the occurrence the Chhatra League central committee expelled three of its activists of the RU Unit.

On February 22, Chhatra Leagues internecine clash left 22 of its activists injured in Azam Khan Commerce Col-lege in Khulna. Besides, on February 19 and 20 Chhatra League men attacked the administrative o ce of Rokeya University as their candidates of choice were not appointed as employees.

Earlier, on January 30, Rokeya Uni-versity unit Chharta League assaulted its rival student wing Chhatra Dal ac-tivists.

On Monday some female activists of Chhatra League Badrunnesa College unit manhandled an activist of Chhar-ta Dal of the same institution and the same day a case was led against two Chhatra League leaders of Manikganj for abducting a college girl.

When asked about the violent acts

of Chhatra League Awami League pre-sidium member Obaidul Quader said his government was hell-bent on tak-ing action against miscreants, no mat-ter if he belongs to his party or not.

Referring to the judgment on Biswa-jit murderer he said those involved in violence in Rajshahi University would not go unpunished.

Communications Minister Obaid-ul Quader, also in charge of Chharta League, said: The party several times has been embarrassed for their anti-or-ganisational activities.

When contacted Siddique Nazmul Alam, General Secretary of Chharta League Central Committee, said that they were victims of politics of another party.

He said that they were taking organ-isational action against the culprits.

We are expelling those involved in terrorism and dissolving the commit-tees that indulge in such anti-organisa-

tional activities, he said. However, Siddique Najmul Alam too

reportedly threatened a government o cial of the Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS) with dire con-sequence if he did not give him the job worth Tk20 crore of supplying medicine and surgical instrument to hospitals.

Sources said Najmul along with an-other Chhatra League leader went to the director of the hospital and clinic of the DGHS Professor ABM Abdul Han-nan on February 17 and put pressure on him to allocate the job in favour of him without tender.

After the incident, Dr ABM Abdul Hannan brought the matter to the notice of Health Minister Mohammad Nasim.

The Chhatra League secretary how-ever denied the allegation

Nothing happened with the director of the DGHS. I went there with a request for one of my neighbours but I have not bargained with him. he said. l

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, March 3, 2014

BGB: No o cial report on Felani casen Ahmed ZayeefBorder Guard Bangladesh Director General Major General Aziz Ahmed yesterday said the BGB had no o cial information on Felani killing case and the Border Security Force of India did not inform it about the progress of the case.

We do not have any o cial infor-mation on Felani killings case, he said this at a press conference at the BGB headquarters in the capital.

Felani, the 15-year-old girl was shot dead at the BSF Choudhuryhat Camp as she was trying to cross the barbed-wire fence at Anantapur border point in Kurigrams Phulbarhi upazila in 2011.

We will seek progress report on the Felani murder case in a DG-level meeting between India and Bangla-desh scheduled to be held in April, said Aziz.

On Jan 7 Felani Khatun was shot dead on her way back to Bangladesh. Her body was left hanging from the fence for quite a while. The killing had provoked huge outrage in both Bangla-desh and India.

After that a special court set up by the BSF found its 181 Battalion Con-stable Amiya Ghosh, accused of killing Felani, not guilty of the murder.

In the wake of widespread criticism for the acquittal the BSF decided to re-vise the murder trial.

The BGB authorities invited jour-nalists at 11am but they took 27 more munities to start the press conference as the director general did not turn up on time.

He, however, apologised for his late at the beginning of his speech.

The BGB chief claimed that border killing had been coming down gradu-ally over the last few years. Only three people have died in bordering areas this year whereas a total of 28 people were killed in 2013, 34 in 2012 and 39 in 2011.

The mind-set of the BSF, BGB and the people living in the border areas have to be changed in order to bring the border killing to zero level, he said.

We are yet to get the desired coop-eration from India in this regard. he said.

About Myanmar and Indias support in curbing smuggling, he said: There is a huge communication gap with My-anmar and we are trying to get closer.

Answering a query about BDR mu-tiny Aziz said: Discipline is the main factor here and strong law is a must to avoid such incidents. The law has been reformed in this regard. l

Public hospitals to get clean surroundings n Moniruzzaman UzzalThe Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) is set to conduct a special drive to evict illegal establish-ments, such as slums, permanent or temporary houses, shops and business, near public hospitals in the capital.

It was learnt that illegal establish-ments had seized huge areas of the various public hospitals in the capital. High o cials from the Directorate Gen-eral of Health Services (DGHS) told the Dhaka Tribune that some 145 acres of land of the directorate in the capitals Mohakhali had been occupied by ille-gal establishments for many years.

Health and Family Welfare Moham-mad Nasim had recently directed high o cials of the ministry to compile a list of illegal establishments at public hospitals and organise a special drive to evict them as soon as possible.

The ministry is also set to hold a meeting today in this regard. The meeting, which will be presided by health minister, is also expected to be attended by State Minister of Home Af-fairs Asaduzzaman Khan.

The meeting will decide on the schedule of the special drive for the eviction.

Mosharrof Hossain, joint secretary for hospital and clinic at the Health Ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune that the ministry would conduct a special drive very soon at every all public hos-pital in Dhaka.

Ministry sources also said author-ities from di erent public hospitals, such as the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) and Sir Salimullah Medical College and Midford Hospital, had already sent their list of illegal es-tablishments.

There are allegations that a vested quarter, which includes several ruling party leaders, had been coining crores by sheltering slum, shanties, and

other commercial establishments on government land. These illegal establishments are now being inhabited by several thousands of people, who have been long using state services, such as water, gas and electricity connections, without paying any bills.

In September 2009, the Ministry of Public Administration issued an order giving magistracy power to seven sen-ior health secretaries to conduct an eviction drive at the Mohakali Health Zone. However, the eviction drive has never took place.

According to the Ministry of Health, only 34.5 acres of land out of the total 145 remain free from illegal settlement.

In a recent assessment by the Minis-try of Land, the illegally occupied lands were valued at nearly Tk35 billion. Sources said, the real price of these grabbed lands could be three to four times higher than estimated.

Applauding the ministers initia-tive to conduct special eviction drives, DMCH Director Brigadier General Musta zur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that many illegal shops and other establishments had clogged the emergency gate of the hospital for a very long time.

He also said he found no response from the Dhaka City Corporation and the local police station even after send-ing several letters in this regard.

It was also learnt that a group of unscrupulous o cials and employees from the health department had con-structed hundreds of illegal structures on government land, citing a shortage in employee housing.

Local residents of a ected areas complained drug cartels and other criminal activities take place at these illegal slums. They also said criminal rackets from the slums also control var-ious supply sources for these hospitals, including medical equipment, medi-cine, food and ambulance services. l

Ruhal, Mahbubur to be issued ACC notice n Tribune ReportThe Anti-Corruption Commission will soon seek wealth statements from three Awami League leaders, including two former ministers, and members of their families on charge of accumulat-ing illegal wealth.

The anti-graft body yesterday ap-proved the notices for issuing upon former health minister AFM Ruhal Haque, former state minister for wa-ter resources Mahbubur Rahman and Rajshahi 4 constituency lawmaker Enamul Haque to know the reasons be-

hind phenomenal rise of their wealth and assets, an o cial said.

In the notice to Ruhal Haque, the ACC asked for wealth statements from the former minister, his wife Ila Haque and son Ziaul Haque. Along with Mah-bubur, his wife Preeti Rahman and their son will have to respond to the notice while the other notice address-ing Enamul states that his wife would have to submit statements on all their movable and immovable properties be-fore the commission.

During primary inquiry, the ACC investigators have found that their

wealth is inconsistent with the known sources of income, for which, the of- cials have recommended seeking wealth statement from the three.

The commission on January 22 as-signed seven of its o cials to probe into the wealth of seven ruling party leaders three former ministers, three current lawmakers and a former MP following newspaper reports that high-lighted large discrepancies between the wealth information they had pro-vided to the Election Commission be-fore the 2008 and 2013 parliamentary elections. l

No steps against fugitive BCL leaders, RU to reopen on March 10 n Our Correspondent, RajshahiNo legal action has been taken against the six Chhatra League activists who were seen brandishing rearms dur-ing the February 2 violence at Rajshahi University (RU).

A university source con rms the halls will re-open on March 10 and classes will resume from March 11. The university syndicate will decide today (Monday) to re-open the university campus, the source adds.

RU pro-vice chancellor Professor Sarwar Jahan Sajol, however, told the Dhaka Tribune on Sunday no nal de-cision had yet been taken in this regard and the syndicate would take the nal decision tomorrow (Monday).

Meanwhile, anger prevailed among the students as police or university ad-ministration is yet to take any action to nab the Chhatra League men who used rearms and attacked a rally of general students.

BCL joint secretary Nasim Ahmed Setu, organising secretary Samsu-zzman Emon, former joint secretary Sudipto Salam, leader Mustkim Billah, leader Anwarul Islam Shuvro and joint organising secretary Faisal Ahmed on February 2 openly used rearms. The gun-toting men launched the attack on the students but none of them has been named in any of the cases led by police and RU registrars o ce.

The BCL high-command suspended eight leaders and activists including Tawhid Al Hossain Tuhin, Akheruz-zaman Takim, Nasim Ahmed Setu and Atikur Rahman, after a hall unit con-vener was shot dead in a factional feud on July 16, 2012.All of them, however, were taken back.

Setu was expelled twice after De-cember 4, 2012, for beating RU Sang-skritik Jote president Arif Parvez at Bangabandhu Hall.

Tuhin was made the general secre-tary of the current RU BCL committee formed on July 20 last year. Around the same time, Takim became a cen-tral committee member and Atikur a vice-president.

Former RU BCL president Awal Ka-bir Joy and general secretary Majedul Islam Apu were expelled after a BCL activist was killed at Shah Makhdum Hall on August 23, 2010. Both of them are now back and active in BCL politics.

RU BCL vice-president Mehedi

Hasan said some BCL men though brandishing rearms was an easy way to secure vital posts in the organisa-tion.

It is a reality nowadays that armed cadres become leaders quickly. Chha-tra League is slammed for their activi-ties, though the organisation has many good students in its ranks.

Speaking of February 2 violence, he said a certain quarter had used some cadres to get blessings of the universi-ty authorities and win tender bids. He, however, did not go into details.

He also asked the government to le cases against the BCL men under the Arms Act. Countering Tajul, Agricul-ture Minister Matia Chowdhury cited several incidents of killings during the regime of Jatiya Party Chairman HM Er-shad, including the murder of Dr Milon.

When asked, registrar professor En-tajul Haque said: How can I comment on ling cases against the armed cad-res? You better ask the administration high-ups.

Contacted, vice chancellor Professor Muhammod Mizanuddin said the syn-dicate would take the decision on this.

Proloy Chichim, deputy commis-sioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, told the Dhaka Tribune there was no need to le a separate case against the armed Chhatra League men.

He said the six cases led by police, RU authorities and a BCL leader for damaging university properties and blasting bombs would cover all the al-legations.

Be it arms or crude bombs, all these were used for destabilising the situation. The existing cases cover everything, said a senior police o cial responsible for maintaining the law and order at RU. l

New pay scale unlikely this yearn Asif Showkat KallolThe National Pay and Services Commis-sion 2014 will not be able to place its recommendations in the stipulated six months time, commission chairman and former central bank governor Mo-hammad Farashuddin has said.

None of the previous pay commis-sions managed to submit report even in 15-16 months, Farashuddin told reporters after the rst meeting of the commission in the capital yesterday without giving any hint about exactly how much time would be needed for nalising recommendations.

However, a source from the meeting said the commission would take about two years for recommending amend-ments to the existing pay structure for the government employees.

Yesterdays meeting also reportedly discussed the fact that in India, new pay scales were announced every two years.

The government formed the 17-member pay commission on Novem-ber 24 last year and issued an order for it to place its recommendations within six months starting from December last year and ending this May. However, the order also said that the commis-

sion could take more time if needed, for considering a pay restructure for 13 lakh government employees.

The current commission is unique not only because it is bigger than any previous one, but also because it in-cludes noted economists and rep-resentatives from the armed forces, banks and autonomous bodies.

The previous commissions mainly comprised current and former bureau-crats who used to put forward recom-mendations only on the basis of the demands placed by the employees asso-ciations from various government o ces.

The previous commissions recom-mended salaries for government em-ployees considering a four-member family as standard. Farashuddin said this commission would take six as the size of a standard family.

He also said the commission had al-ready prepared a set of questionnaires, to be placed before government em-ployees of various ranks, for nalising pay restructuring report.

Although the commission had been planning to bring a major structural change in the salaries of the government employees, it would also keep in mind the means of the governments funding,

the former central bank boss said.We will evaluate the proposed

salaries and allowances structure up against the socio-economic situation in the country, he said.

Farashuddin also said the commis-sion had been working to come up with a balanced proposal that would end up narrowing the gap between the private sector and government pay structures.

He claimed: After the proposed pay scale is executed, the private sector will follow the government structure.

According to sources, yesterdays meeting discussed two sets of ques-tionnaires one set full of technical is-sues for the higher level employees and other set deal with basic needs for the lower level sta .

The rst set would be placed before the armed forces o cers, bankers and secretaries while the second set would be mainly for the third and fourth class employees.

Instead of drastically raising the salaries, the commission had been re-portedly mulling e ective rationing for the lower level employees to ensure sustainable living standard.

The next meeting of the commission is scheduled for later this month. l

School children take part in the National Flag Day celebrations on Dhaka University campus yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Elected UP chairman among 9 held for cheatingn Kailash SarkarThe elected chairman of Batamara Union Parishad of Muladi in Barisal and eight others were arrested in the capitals Kachukhet Saturday night for cheating people in di erent ways.

RAB o cials yesterday claimed that they had arrested the persons with a pistol, four bullets and 250 pieces of il-legal Yaba tablets in their possessions.

Apart from UP Chairman Md Muhasin Reza, 48, the other arrested persons are Md Kali Mridha, 48, Shaon Hawlader, 20, Azizul Huq, 30, Sajnay Saha, 44, Liton Munsi, 44, Mohammad Swapan, 30, Manik Khandaker, 40, and Jasim Uddin.

Wing Commander ATM Habibur Rahman, director of RABs legal and media wing, said the UP chairman had been running a ring and cheating peo-ple through land purchase and sale for the last eight years. They used to set up o ces in the capitals di erent places and Muhasin impersonated himself as citizen of di erent rich countries while purchasing land. l

Bashundhara gets dredging work for 24 water routesn Tribute ReportThe cabinet committee on public pur-chase has allowed Bashundhara Dredg-ing Company Ltd to dredge 24 water routes in the countrys southern part.

It has also approved increasing the construction cost of a bank-protection yard at the Janzira point of the proposed Padma bridge by 9.17% caused due to delay by the Indian construction rm.

The committee yesterday approved the proposals with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair.

The meeting gave the go ahead to a shipping ministry proposal for dredging the Barisal-Jhalakathi-Bargu-na-Patharghata water route under the revised Capital Dredging of River Sys-tem in Bangladesh project.

The shipping ministry submitted the proposal of the Bangladesh Inland Wa-ter Transport Corporation in October last year. But the committee rejected the proposal and sought clari cations on ve points, including whether the national competitive bidding process had been followed.

According to the ministry, an ad-vertisement for tender was placed in newspapers and posted on the BIWTC website for some time under the Public Procurement Regulation to make the bidding more competitive.

Bashundhara was selected as the responsive rm which quoted Tk96.26 crore for dredging 38 lakh cubic metres.

Regarding bank protection at the Janzira point, a senior o cial of the Bridges Division told the meeting: We will extend the deadline for the Indi-an rm Bhartia-MBEL (JV) Ltd to build the 2,163km river bank protection yard. Thus, we can save the time needed in case we oated tender again. As per the initial contract, the cost of building the Janzira point yard was Tk135.97 crore.

However, the Bhartia-MBEL failed to bring in all the necessary heavy equip-ment during the rainy season and the Bangladesh government has still not been able to manage to convince a pri-vate owner to give up its land for the bridge; as a result, the construction of the yard will now cost the government an extra Tk12.47 crore. l

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, March 3, 2014

City High Low

PRAYER TIMESFajar 5:03am

Sunrise 6:18amZohr 12:10am

Asr 4:24pmMagrib 6:02pm

Esha 7:18pmSource: IslamicFinder.org

WEATHER

Dry weather likely n UNB Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country and chances of light rain or thundershowers is likely at one or two places over Dhaka, Sylhet, Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions until 6pm today.

Day and night temperature may re-main nearly unchanged over the coun-try, Met O ce said.

The sun sets in the capital at 6:02pm today and rises at 6:18am tomorrow.

Countrys highest temperature 33.4 degrees Celsius was recorded yesterday in Sitakunda and lowest 13.2 degrees in Srimangal.

Highest and lowest temperature recorded in some major cities yesterday were:

Dhaka 29.2 18.2 Chittagong 31.9 18.2 Rajshahi 23.6 16.7 Rangpur 25.2 15.7 Khulna 30.5 18.2 Barisal 30.4 17.1 Sylhet 28.6 13.7 Coxs Bazar 32.0 20.0

Young leaders visit Japan n Tribune Report A group of 15 young o cials working as assistant commissioners and upazila nirbahi o cers are visiting Japan for 18 days since yesterday under the JICAs young leaders training programme.

Every year JICa invites 200 Bangla-deshi professionals for training. l

Con ict among Atish Dipankar Trustees to be resolved, UGC saysn Tribune Report A tripartite meeting involving two con- icting groups of Atish Dipankar Uni-versity of Science and Technology and University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to resolve the ongoing cri-sis among Trustees, a press release of UGC said yesterday.

The meeting held at UGC decided to create a new board of trustees on consensus. The meeting also decided the university would establish its own campus and would shut down its illegal outer campuses as per the Private Uni-versity Act of 2010.

Academic activities at the university

were hampered for quite some time be-cause of the con ict among the Trustee Board members.

The press release said the university agreed to stop operations at its unapproved campuses in Uttara, Panthapath, Mirpur and Paltan from May.

University authorities said they would send proposals of Vice chancel-lor, Pro-vice chancellor and Treasurer to the President, also Chancellor of the University, for appointment.

Among others, UGC member Atful Hye Shibly, Professor Anwara Begum and Professor Abul Hossain Sikder from the university were present. l

Violence, capture of polling stations mark upazila polls in Gopalganj n Our Correspondent, Gopalganj Violence, capture of polling stations, snatching ballot boxes and assault-ing polling o cer marked Thursdays upazila polls in Gopalganj district.

Golam Kibria, who was attacked while working as a presiding o cer at Suktail Govt Primary School under Sadar upazi-la, said: No steps were taken against bal-lot paper snatching and attack on me.

He also said he did not make any ob-jections as high-ups did not allow him to do so. Gopalganj Sadar police station O cer-in-Charge Md Zakir Hossain said: Two policemen were attacked at South Bangram.

Afterwards, additional policemen went to the place while the villagers at-tacked the policemen, said the OC.

The police lodged a case accusing ten villagers and 300 unnamed persons in connection with the incident, he added.

Vice-chairman candidate and dis-trict Chhatra League President Abdul Hamid said his agents were ousted from eight polling centres.

Moreover, violence occurred dur-ing casting vote in 40 polling centres.

It occurred under the leadership of UP Chairman Abid Ali, he said.

Returning O cer and Additional Deputy Commissioner Md Ra qul Is-lam said: No one has made any objec-tion regarding Sadar upazila polls.

Police lodged a case with the Go-palganj police station in connection with the attack on police, he added.

AL leader Sheikh Jahangir Hossain allegedly said the last ve years tenure of Biswas was full of corruption.

Biswas is trying to label activists of Mostofa as BNP-Jamaat albeit both the chairman candidates are AL backed, he made this comment in a press brief-ing held at the Mostofas election cam-paigning o ce at Gohordanga.

Earlier, activists of Gazi Golam Mo-stofa demonstrated against the arrest of Mostofas activist Moniruzzaman Talukder at Tungipara.

Accused chairman candidate So-laiman Biswas refuted the allegations and said: The case was lodged accus-ing Mostofas supporter Moniruzzaman Talukder as he had assaulted my sup-porter Oboni Gyne.

However, police arrested Talukder in connection with the case. l

Village police succumbs to poll violence injures The victim was discharging his duty when he was stabbedn Mohammad Jamil Khan A village policeman, who was injured in a clash during the second phase of upazila polls in Sonaimuri upazila of Noakhali, died in the early hours of Sunday while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). He was 55.

The deceased was identi ed as Ja-mal Uddin, 55, son of late Abdul Ha-kim Moulavi. He hailed from Dhanno-pur village of the upazila and died at around 4:00am as he received severe stab wounds throughout his whole body, Dr Ro kul Islam, registrar of neu-rosurgery department of DMCH, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Contacted, Mozammel Haque, in-

spector of Dhaka Medical College po-lice outpost, told the Dhaka Tribune the body was handed over to the vic-tims son Ripon having performed au-topsy in the morgue.

According to police, Jamal was on duty at Dhonnopur Dakhil Madrasa poll-ing centre on February 27 on the day of voting and was stabbed by some miscre-ants, who attacked the polling centre at around 03:00pm, when he tried to resist.

Later, he was admitted in a local clinic but as his condition started de-teriorating, he was shifted to DMCH. He, however, succumbed to his injures there on Sunday.

Abdu Samad, o cer-in-charge of Sonaimuri police station, told the Dhaka Tribune: Jamal received serious injuries

during a clash between two rival groups centering upazila polls on February 27.

The victim was discharging his professional duty during the clash, he said, adding that a case was led with police station in this connection against 60 unidenti ed people.

During a hospital visit on Sunday, this correspondent found Jamals son taking the body to home after com-pleting all hospital formalities as tears rolled down his face.

When asked, Ripon, with a broken voice, said his father was on polls duty but died after falling prey to politi-cal clash. Will any political party take responsibility for my fathers death, Ripon told this correspondent in a frus-trated voice. l

Accident patients on the rise More than 266,276 accident and trauma patients were admitted at NITOR hospital in 2012-13 n Moniruzzaman Uzzal Bangladesh Orthopaedic Society has urged the government to appoint or-thopaedicians at district-level hospi-tals as the patient load at the capitals National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (Nitor) Hospital had risen signi cantly over the last few years.

Professor Dr Abdul Gani Molla, sec-retary general of Bangladesh Orthopae-dic Society, made the demand at the societys annual conference in the capi-tal on Saturday night. Health and Fam-ily Welfare Minister Mohammad Nasim attended the event as the chief guest.

Professor Molla also informed that more than 266,276 accident and trau-

ma patients were admitted to the Ni-tor hospital in the last two years (2012-13), where 138,410 were admitted and 31,509 were operated.

Praising the government for creat-ing more than four hundred posts for orthopaedic doctors, he also urged the government to take necessary steps to appoint them at district-level hospitals.

Mollah also informed that in 2012, the number of outdoor patients at Ni-tor hospital were 130,667, of which some 21,000 were admitted and 5,994 patients were operated.

In 2013, the number of outdoor pa-tients increased to 135,609, of which 117,410 were admitted. Among the ad-mitted patients, 25,515 were operated, he added.

Accident and trauma patients from across the country are compelled to come to Nitor in the capital as most district-level hospitals lack good ortho-paedic facilities.

It is very unfortunate that few or-thopaedic surgeons leave public hospi-tals during duty hours and perform sur-geries at private hospitals, Abdul Awal Rizvi, president of Bangladesh Ortho-paedic Society and a former director of Nitor hospital, told the conference.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Mo-hammad Nasim urged the orthopaedic doctors to carry out their duties more e ciently. I will do everything pos-sible for promotion, post creation and appointment for the doctors, but they need to be more serious about their re-

sponsibilities, the minister said. Nasim further said: Every doctor

must stay at his/her duty station, as post-ed, for the certain period (two years). I will not entertain any recommendations or requests, no matter whoever he/she is. I will not tolerate corruption. If any doc-tor is attacked, inform me, I will stand beside you. But my only request to you is to carry out your duties properly.

The conference was also addressed by State Minister for Health Zahid Ma-lik, State Minister of Home A airs Asa-duzzaman Khan, Health Secretary MM Niazuddin, Bangladesh Medical Asso-ciation Secretary General Professor M Iqbal Arslan, Nitor Director Professor Dr Hamidur Rahman, and Dr RR Koiry, among others. l

Aspiring migrant workers form a human chain in front of the National Press Club in the capital yesterday, protesting the governments failure in sending them o to South Korea even after two years of passing the migration examination SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Eden College students submit memorandum to Prime Minister n Arif Ahmed, DU CorrespondentA seven-member team of Eden Mohila College submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister yesterday demand-ing the educational institution be re-garded as a full- edged university.

Hundreds of students gathered on the college premises around 11:30 am yesterday and marched towards the Prime Ministers o ce.

Police barred them while crossing the Shahabag intersection and allowed a seven member team to go to the pre-miers o ce.

Shahbagh police station O cer-in-Charge Sirajul Islam said: The protest rally was barred to avoid tra c jam and chaos. We asked the students to send a representative team to the prime min-ister.

Samajtantrik Chhatra Front General Secretary Imran Habib accompanied the team.

Mukta Baroi, one of the organisers of the movement, said: We have urged the prime minister to take steps within 10 days or else the students will take up stricter programmes.

Being barred by police, the students took position in front of the National Museum and staged a demonstration.

They urged the government to meet their demand as soon as possible and requested not to deploy any law en-forcers to hamper their peaceful activi-ties.

Students, teachers and employees of countrys biggest educational insti-tution for women have been demon-strating for around two months now to press home the demand. l

Two rental power projects get 5-year extension n Tribune Report The public purchase committee yester-day extended the tenures of two more rental power projects having a capacity of 128.5MW for ve years each.

The projects are 50MW DAP and 78.5MW Max Power.

In its previous tenure, the Awami League-led government extended the tenures of seven rental power projects.

Power Division o cials said the army-run 50MW DAP power project would be extended after xing its power tari to Tk19.99 per unit from Tk20.40 and through the extension the government would save Tk72 crore.

The tari for the 78.5MW Max Power project is expected to be set at Tk3.29 per unit from Tk5.41, which the Power Division expects will save Tk583 crore during the extended period of ve years.

The division claims that it could save Tk2,635.28 crore by extending the tenures of nine rental and quick rental power projects for ve years as the pur-

chase rates were adjusted downward from the producers.

The projects are: 100MW Desh En-ergy owned by former FBCCI president Annisul Huq, 50MW RZ Power of Ra-himafrooz, UK-based 55MW Aggreko Power, 55MW Energies Power of Wa-ter Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud, 110MW Quantum of Otobi, 110MW Khulna Power of the United Group, 78.5MW Max Power, 50MW DPA of Bangladesh Army, and 55MW Precession Energy.

The Power Division favoured the costly rental and quick rental power projects, considering the delay of based load power projects, an o cial said.

The countrys electricity production capacity had increased to 10,341MW and it would increase to 11,000MW next month, he added.

The government targets to increase power generation capacity by 16,000MW in 2016 and 24,000MW in 2021. l

Locals gather to watch a traditional bull ght at Narail sadar upazila yesterday. The bull ght was organised as part of an 8-day festival marking the birth anniversary of artist SM Sultan DHAKA TRIBUNE

5NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, March 3, 2014

New taxi cabs for Dhaka before Pahela Baishakh n Tribune ReportThe government has planned to intro-duce new taxi cabs for the capital and its vicinity before the Bengali New Year in mid-April.

The process of importing 60 new taxi cabs has already been complet-ed. The cabs will reach us within this March, Communications Minister Obaidul Quader told reporters yester-day.

The new cabs are the rst batch of 500 which were approved earlier by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).

The government hopes that induc-tion of the new cabs would reduce transport crisis in the capital. Of the 500, half would run in Chittagong city.

The rst cabs in Dhaka will also run in the nearby highways and Narayanganj, Joydevpur, Mawa and Paturia.

Army Welfare Trust and Toma Con-struction and Company Ltd which earlier took part in a bidding process would import the cabs from the coun-tries favourable to them, BRTA Director Engineer Saiful Haque said.

The newly-added taxi-cabs were licensed under air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned category as per Taxi Cab Regulation Act, 2010.

We have relaxed terms and condi-tions to quicken import of the cabs for meeting the increasing demand of the city dwellers.

Considering passengers su er-ings, the government has decided to introduce 1,000 new taxi cabs with

modern facilities in the capital city forferrying people smoothly, the minis-ter told reporters while visiting Shanti-nagar area.

He said: No company has been giv-en approval to import reconditioned cars older than three years as per law.

The new cabs would be minimum 1500cc. The air-conditioned cabs would be yellow, the non-AC ones sky blue while those over 2000cc green co-loured, the BRTA o cial said.

He also said, The cabs will run as per the passengers direction, not upon the drivers whims. If the authorities nd any problem in operation, the licensees will be seized.

The BRTA is now preparing number plates and distributing smartcard driv-ing licensees for the new taxi-cabs. l

AL LAWMAKER ASSAULTEDNew Lohagara vice-chairman, ve others sent to jailn Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong A Chittagong court yesterday (Sunday) sent six people, including the new-ly-elected Lohagara upazila vice chair-man, to jail in a case led in connection with attack on Awami League leader Abu Reza Mohammad Nezamuddin Na-dvi, also a lawmaker for Chittagong-16 constituency.

The court of Chittagong Senior Judicial Magistrate Masud Parvez passed the order when the accused surrendered before the court and submitted bail plea, said court sources.

The six persons are Nurul Abser, newly-elected vice chairman of Lohaga-ra upazila; Moshtak Khondokar, public relation o cer of International Islam-ic University in Chittagong;and four Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Md Sha , Md Mahfuz, Kazi Jashim Uddin and Nasir Uddin of the upazila, added the sources.

The same court also granted bail to two other accused Md Jashim and He-lal Uddin Noman in the case.

Jamaat-Shibir activists attacked MP Nadvi during a religious programme at Chunati union of Lohagara on January 31 night.

The following day, police lodged a case against 3,000 Jamaat-Shibir men mentioning 125 names, including ANM Shamsul Islam, amir (chief) of the city unit of Jamaat,in this connection.

Nadvi told the Dhaka Tribune the at-tack had been planned earlier.

The Satkania constituency compris-ing Lohagora and Satkania upazilas is known as a Jamaat-Shibir stronghold. l

RAILWAY RECRUITMENT SCAM

Two sent to jailn Tarek Mahmud, ChittagongA Chittagong court yesterday sent two job seekers to jail in a case led in con-nection with the irregularities in re-cruiting fuel checkers at the east zone of Bangladesh Railway (BR).

The court of Metropolitan Session Judge, SM Mojibur Rahman, sent Abul Kashem and Anisur Rahman to jail re-jecting their bail prayers when they sur-rendered before the court, said Omar Fuad, bench assistant of the court.

Earlier, the court framed charges against Yousuf Ali Mridha, former gen-eral manager, Golam Kibria, former so-cial welfare o cial, Ha zur Rahman, former additional chief mechanical engineer of BR (east) and the two job seekers on February 5.

BR sources said the east zone had is-

sued seven advertisements in October and November, 2010 to ll up 3419 va-cant posts in 38 categories.

The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel seized Tk 70 lakh, which was allegedly collected from the job seek-ers, from a car of assistant personal secretary (APS) Omar Faruk of the then Railway Minister Suranjit Sen Gupta on April 9, 2012.

Suranjit resigned from his post af-ter the incident while his APS, Mridha, Kibria, Ha zur and Railway Nirapatta Bahini Dhaka Divisional Commandant Enamul Haque were suspended.

SM Rashidur Reza, assistant director of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), lodged a case with Kotwali police sta-tion in connection with the irregulari-ties in recruitment of fuel checker post on September 13 ,2012. l

Hartal observed peacefully inBarisaln Our correspondent, BarisalA day-long shutdown called by Bari-sal city and district BNP protesting alleged mass vote rigging in Barisal Sadar upazila election on February 27 observed peacefully.

BNP activists burned tires on road at Nabagram area and brought out stray processions at di erent parts of the city and upazila. They tried to organise pro-hartal picketing but their e orts were foiled by law enforcers.

Transportations, transactions in nancial institutions, commercial ar-eas, classes at educational institutions, works at judiciary and administrative o ces were almost as normal as any other day.

Jubo League brought out anti-har-tal procession fromPort Roadarea and held a rally in front of thy party o ce. l

GRABBED DORMS IN JNU

Student protests foiled by law enforcersn Mohammad Jamil Khan Law enforcers foiled agitation pro-grammes of a group of students of Ja-gannath University (JnU) in capitals Bangla Bazar intersection yesterday.

Under the banner of JnU Hall Re-covery Parisad, the students held a demonstration and brought out a pro-cession to recover the three occupied halls of residence: Tibet, Shahabuddin and Abdur Rahman.

The students have been agitating for long to recover 13 halls from illegal oc-cupiers since the university started its journey on October 20, 2005. The latest protests began on February 18, with teachers and sta joining in.

On Saturday, demanding the vacat-ing of dormitories occupied by outsid-ers, they declared that they would free the halls by themselves.

Yesterday they gathered on the uni-versity premises around 11am and con-tinued the protest programmes for half an hour.

As police put up a barricade at the Bangla Bazar intersection to stop them from marching towards the halls, they sat on the street blocking the Chittaran-jan Avenue.

Because of the demonstration, ve-hicle movement in the area remained suspended until 2pm, when nally the students left their positions, Harun-or-Rashid, deputy commissioner of police of Lalbagh division told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said: We obstructed the stu-dents to avoid any untoward occur-

rence and to bring the situation under control. Additional law enforcers had been deployed in the area.

The teachers of the university sep-arately brought out a procession yes-terday that paraded through di erent

roads inside the campus and older parts of Dhaka.

They also demanded removal of deputy Commissioner of Lalbagh po-lice and o cer-in-charge of Kotowali police station following an incident on

February 23 where the students, along with teachers and university sta , tried to take over Tibet hall, resulting in a clash with police that left at least 200 protesters injured.

Addressing the rally, Professor Dr

Parimal Bala, general secretary of JnU teachers association, said: We have already boycotted classes from 11am to 4pm; however, we are still taking class-es until 11am. If the authority does not meet our demand and manage halls for

the students then we would go for a day-long strike.

He warned the authority not to com-pel them to go for tougher actions that might paralise all activities of the uni-versity. l

Khagrachhari villages still tense over clashesn Jasim Majumder, KhagrachhariLife has not yet returned to normal in Kamalchhari, Betchhari, Bhuyachhari and Barnalmukh villages under Sadar upazila over clashes between hill peo-ple and Bangalis.

According to sources, a group of eth-nic people were locked in a clash with Bangali people in the villages over the recent killing of indigenous woman Su-bita Chakma, that left a total 20 people injured on Tuesday.

Sources said students of several in-stitutes could not attend the classes as tension had grasped the area.

Some eight educational institutions including four primary schools and two high schools were almost student-less as most remained absent.

Kamalchharimukh Government Pri-mary School Headmaster Md Sirajul Is-lam said only three students out of 120 came to school on Sunday.

Replying to another query, Sirajul said students might be in panic and re-mained in their houses.

Kamalchhari High School headmas-ter Arun Jyoti Chakma said most of the students did not attend the classes as panic grasped the area.

Mohammad Shahjahan Farayezi, a local government representative, said the students had not attended school and madrasa since last Tuesday.

We sat with the ethnic leaders on Saturday afternoon to settle the issue and they agreed to maintain communal harmony in the area, he added.

Kamalchhari Union Parishad Chaiman Supon Khisa said: Normalcy will return by next two to three days.

Superintendent of Police (SP) SK Mi-zanur Rahman said situation would be alright by some more days.

Security personnel had been de-ployed in the area to avoid untoward incident, the SP added. l

Police put up a barricade at the Bangla Bazar intersection to stop a group of agitated students of Jagannath University from marching towards the halls in the capital yesterday. Businessmen lay siege to the main gate of Shaheed Ajmat Hossain Hall in Patuatuli RAJIB DHAR

Lohagora and Satkania upazilas are known as a Jamaat-Shibir stronghold

Negligence behind snatching of JMB leaders Home ministry probe body submits report, names suspects behind the rare incident n Rabiul IslamThe home ministry investigation com-mittee has found negligence and fail-ure of the police and the jail authorities behind snatching of convicted JMB leaders on February 23.

I have received the report and it is nothing but an utter negligence of the authorities concerned, Home Secre-tary CQK Mustaq Ahmed told the Dha-ka Tribune at his Secretariat o ce yes-terday evening.

The four-member committee head-ed by Additional Home Secretary Na-zimuddin Chowdhury submitted the 52-page report to the home secretary around 6pm.

Mustaq said: I have not yet gone through the report. But so far I have talked to the committee members; it was negligence, or else, such an inci-dent cannot take place.

A copy of the report was sent to State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan, he added. Members of banned Islamist out t JMB (Jamaatul Mujahi-deen Bangladesh) killed a policeman and snatched three of their top oper-atives from a prison van in Trishal of Mymensingh on February 23.

Following the incident, the home ministry formed the probe body and gave three working days to submit the report. But the committee took a few more days as it could not prepare the

report within the stipulated time, a member of the committee said.

Preferring anonymity, a senior home ministry o cial who was involved with the investigation said: We are consid-ering the incident as a failure of the po-lice and the jail authorities.

We have interrogated around 40 people including o cials of the police and the jail authorities, the o cial said adding that the names of suspects had been mentioned in the report.

They could be brought to the book after further investigation, the o cial said. There are some weaknesses in the system.

According to the o cial, when prison-ers are handed over to the police to pro-

duce them before a court, the jail author-ities do not see the strength of the escort. We have recommended for improve-ment of the system, the o cial said.

The probe committee has recom-mended further investigation to nd out whether there was any plot behind the incident as it did not rule out the possibility.

Hours after the incident, Rakib Hasan, one of the three JMB operatives, was recaptured from the bordering ar-eas of Sha pur in Tangail. He was killed in a gun ght in Beltoil Ceramic area of Mirzapur in Tangail on February 24.

Police also detained three other sus-pected JMB men in connection with the rare prisoner snatching incident. l

JAMUNA OIL DEPOT FIRE

Seven shifted to DMCH for better treatment n Tarek Mahmud, ChittagongSeven people, who sustained burn in-juries in a re at Jamuna Oil Company depot in Chittagong on Friday, were shifted to Dhaka yesterday.

The seven are Hasan, Shamsu, Jobi, Jamshed, Najim, Lokman and Khayer. They were sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital around 12:30am for better treatment, said Dr Mishma Islam from the Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit of Chittagong Medical College Hospital.

The two other injured are Jamal and Rahim. Jamal was still admitted at the CMCH while Rahim was released on Saturday. All the nine injured are em-ployees of the depot.

Authorities formed two separate probe bodies to investigate into the in-cident and an engineer of the plant was suspended for negligence in duty. l Students of the capitals Eden college demonstrate yesterday demanding full university status DHAKA TRIBUNE

6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, March 3, 2014

Awami League, BNP blame each other for violencen Our Correspondent, BholaChairman candidates backed by Awami League (AL) and BNP for upazila polls in Bhola Sadar alleged against each oth-er by holding a press conference in the district yesterday.

Johurul Islam Nakib, deputy coordi-nator of AL-backed chairman aspirants, alleged that around 10am at Bhola Press Club, BNP activists red bullets towards an ongoing AL meeting in Bapta area.

They have been trying to create violence in the upazila, he added.

On the other hand, Md Faruq Mia, district BNP secretary and BNP backed upazila chairman candidate, held

another press conference at 11am in district BNP o ce, alleged that AL activists had been attacking on their meetings in di erent areas of the town.

On Saturday, BNP organised a gath-ering in Bapta area while AL activists forcefully grabbed the place to hold their meeting. Awami League leaders beat BNP leaders and activists centring the issue.

They didnt get any remedy even after submitting a written complaint to the local administration, he added.

District police have been taking the side of AL activists, Faruq alleged.

District BNP President GolamNabi Alamgir and other BNP leaders were present at the press conference. l

Cattle traderdies in Indian Our Correspondent, KurigramA Bangladeshi cattle trader died at a hos-pital in Cooch Behar in India yesterday after receiving bullet injuries in the Phul-bari border area of Kurigram district.

The deceased has been identi ed as Mukul Mia, 35, son of Ismail Hossain of Poschim Balatari village of the upazila.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) sources said the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) men of Boshkotal camp had red gunshots at a team of cattle trad-ers while they were illegally entering India through Kholisha Kotal border in Phulbari upazila on Saturday morning.

Hit by a bullet, Mukul fell on the no mans land between Bangladesh and In-dia. Later, the BSF men had beaten him up and took inside India, said the sources.

BGB Balarhat Camp Commander Ha-bildar Rezaul Islam said BSF had been preparing to hand over the body to BGB. l

85 Bogra BNP activists jailed n Our Correspondent, BograA court in Sonatoli upazila of Bogra district has ordered to send 85 BNP activists to jail on charges of vandalis-ing houses and business organisation-sowned by AwamiLeague members.

The order was passed by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Abdul Hamid yesterday. Public Prosecutor MdHela-lur Rahman said ve cases were led against them centring the violence that took place in the upazila during the anti-election programme enforced by BNP, protesting the 10th parliamentary election of January 5.

Sources said the judge rejected the bail prayers of the accused and ordered to send them to jail.

O cer-in-charge Khalequzzamanof Sonatolipolice station said the newly elected chairman of Sonatoli upazila parishad, Jakir Hossain,wasalso among the total accused. l

Awami League backs Solaiman for polls in Gopalganj n Our Correspondent, GopalganjAwami League has backed Solaiman Biswas on Saturday to contest for the chairman post in the upcoming upazila election in Tungipara under Gopalganj district.

The upazila AL President Sheikh Ab-dul Halim said: Grassroots leaders of Tungipara upazila AL have pleged sup-port for Solaiman. The party leaders are campaigning for him, he added.

Solaiman said: After getting party support, I met the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to take her blessing. After that, I started election cam-paign.

Local AL General Secretary Abul Khair Bashar said: Locals support Solaiman. They will vote him to give the opportunity for doing work for the development of the upazila. l

Natore Harijans face education, occupation hurdlesn Our Correspondent, NatoreObtaining higher education has be-come a challenge for younger genera-tion of the Banshfor people in Natore, an ethnic community commonly known as Harijans, and the adult mem-bers are also struggling to nd jobs.

Nearly 800 people of around 100 families of the Bashfour community live in the districts Sadar, Lalpur, Gu-rudaspur and Baraigram upazilas. At least one member from each of the households is engaged in government

service as a grade IV employee. The rest of the members make their living as day-labourers or master-roll em-ployees cleaning post o ces, markets, clinics and private hospitals. Many of them also make money as undertakers and by assisting doctors in post mor-tem examinations.

Although most of the older com-munity members do not know how to write or read, the youngsters are trying to get out of that tradition by enrolling themselves in educational institutions but are facing numerous setbacks.

Shantash Kumar Lal, son of Binda Lal of village Moukhara of Baraigram upazila in the district said around 70% of the young children in their community goes to primary schools while 40-50% is receving secondary education. However, only he and his sister Joya Rani are opting for higher education.

Lal said he was trying to get into Rajshahi University under the ethnic quota but failed to get the deputy com-missioners certi cate in support of his communitys identity despite the fact

that the UNO had already given his certi cation. His sister is taking part in Degree (Pass) examination but is tense about securing job following the exam as many belonging to their community could not get job because of their in-ability to pay bribes

Paban Bashfour, general secretary of Bangladesh Harijan Kalyan Pari-shad of Rajshahi Regional Committee and also president of the district com-mittee, said many of their community members failed to get jobs as the Mus-lim sweepers manage to occupy posts

in exchange for a lot of money. This compels many people to live on master roll and their families live in a very dis-tressing state.

Paban urged the government to take necessary steps in this regard so that their children can obtain higher educa-tion as well as the grown-ups can lead a happy life.

He said such steps would help the community integrate into the main-stream segment of the society and would ensure the development of the society as well as the state. l

Two dead bodies recoveredn Our correspondent, NatoreTwo dead bodies were recovered from Natores Singra upazila and Tangails Dhanbari upazila yesterday.

In Natore, a dead body of a middle aged man was recovered in the early hours, reports our correspondent.

The dead Firoz, 53, was son of late Chhoyer Ali and a resident of Kadamkuri village of Singra upazila in the district.

Sha qul Islam, o cer-in-charge of Singra police station said Firoz was missing from Saturday night after he went out of his house suddenly.

Family members said they found his body in a paddy eld beside the resi-dence. Later, a team of Singra police re-covered the body and sent it to Natore Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy.

In Tangail, police recovered a body of a rickshaw-van puller from a septic tank. The dead Saju Miah, 28, was son of Mohammad Ali in Chatutia village of the upazila.

Mizanur Rahman, o cer-in-charge of Dhanbari police station said Saju went missing from last Friday after-noon and was found in a septic tank of Habibur Rahmans residence with both hands and legs of the body tied up.

Police suspected that the body was dumped in the septic tank after being killed in some other place. l

Daylong BNP strike observed in Natore n Our Correspondent, Natore The dawn-to-dusk strike imposed by the BNP demanding recounting of ballot papers was observed in Natore Sadar upazila yesterday.

BNP, Juba Dal, Chhatra Dal and Sweschhaswbak Dal brought out processions and held meetings in Tebaria, Hafrasta and station bazar areas early morning. Among oth-ers, district BNP Secretary Aminul Haq, Vice-President Rahim Newaz and Juba Dal President Saiful Islam

Aftab addressed meetings. On the other hand, district AL,

Juba League and Chhatra League units brought out an anti-strike pro-cession at Kanaikhali area in the city around noon. A meeting was also held in front of Natore Press Club.

District BNP Secretary Aminul Haq said if the government did not take any steps to recount the bal-lots, tougher programme would be declared soon and a case would be led with Natore court in this con-nection as part of the programme.

District BNP leaders demand-ed ballot papers be recounted by Saturday claiming the assistant returning o cer announced AL chairman candidate Shariful Is-lam Ramzan elected on February 27 after the election commission had declared schedules for second phase of upazila polls.

They also submitted a prayer to the returning o cer urging him to recount the ballot papers. The strike was imposed as no action was taken on their plea. l

Three Jamaat activists jailed n Our Correspondent, SatkhiraA mobile court yesterday sentenced three Jamaat-e-Islami activists to one year imprisonment each on charge of devising the plan to create violence in Kaliganj upazila of Satkhira district.

The court of Kaliganj Upazila Nirbahi O cer and Executive Magistrate Said Faruq Ahmed handed over the verdict.

The accused were Asaduzzaman Sarder, 40, of Tarali village of the upazila, Ra qul Islam, 37, of Poschim Narayanpur village and Mosharraf Hos-sain, 35. All three were sent to Satkhira jail in the morning. l

UPAZILA ELECTION 2014

Satkhira aspirants busy campaigningas AL nalises candidatesn Our Correspondent, SatkhiraThe ruling party Awami League has -nalised an aspirant for each post in the upcoming Kaliganj upazila polls sched-uled to be held on March 15 in Satkh-ira district while several BNP-backed candidates are contesting for di erent posts.

According to Kaliganj Upazila Elec-tion O ce, there are 191,543 voters among which 96,387 are males and 95,156 females under the 68 centres of 12 unions of the upazila.

Around 14 candidates for the upazi-

la polls have been keeping themselves busy in election campaigning.

Sources said thana Awami League President Freedom Fighter Sheikh Waheduzzaman with pineapple sym-bol was campaigning for the chairman post.

On the other hand, thana BNP Presi-dent Sheikh Abdus Sattar was con-testing with ink-pot symbol, district Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Azizur Rahman with motorcycle sym-bol, district Bangladesh Jatiya Party convener and current upazila chairman with sh symbol.

Jubo League Secretary Sayed Mehe-di is contesting for the vic e-chairman post.

Other candidates contesting for dif-ferent posts were thana Krishak League Convener Shariful Azad, Jamaat Joint Secretary Abdur Rauf, former thana Jatiya Party President Lotifur Rah-man Bablu and independent candidate Sheikh Abdur Hamid.

For woman vice-chairman post, thana Awami League President Je-bunnessa Jebu was contesting as a rival candidate since the party was support-ing Rozina Parvin. l

Two schools mark centenary in Chapainawabganjn Our Correspondent, Chapainawabganj

Polladanga Government Primary School and Shonkorbati High School in Chapainawabganj municipality area organised a programme to mark the 100th anniversary of the institutions.

A colourful rally was brought out from the school ground of the Shonkor-bati High School which went round dif-ferent areas of the municipality yester-day morning.

Hundreds of students holding na-tional ags participated in the rally.

On March 2 of 1914, these two schools were established at the Polladanga vil-lage of the municipality area. l

Supporters of several candidates mount loud speakers on vehicles for their campaigning in the upcoming third phase of the upazila polls on March 15. This picture was taken from Gaibandha yesterday FOCUS BANGLA

A vested quarter constructs a building on a government land near Gouranadi Upazila Hospital at Barisal, violating directions of the district administration FOCUS BANGLA

n Abdul Matin

For a long time, I cherished the dream of visiting Santiniketan, but it did not happen until our recent trip to Kolkata with my wife and youngest daughter. We left our hotel in Kolkata by car around 9.30am on January 30 in order to avoid the tra c jam that was expected because of a scheduled meeting of the Trinamul Congress (TMC) of Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of Paschimban-ga. She was due to address a huge crowd on the same day at the Brigade ground, ahead of the Lok Sabha elec-tion. The city of Kolkata was decorated with banners and ornamental gates for the occasion. A crowd of over two mil-lion supporters of TMC was expected to join the meeting and the whole area around the Brigade ground was likely to be closed due to tra c.

As we passed by the Brigade ground, we noticed a huge crowd had already gathered at the venue of the meeting. Thousands of supporters, chanting slogans and carrying party ags and banners with pictures of Mamata Banerjee, were coming in pro-cessions from all directions to attend the meeting. 200 giant screens were set up across Calcutta to beam the show live. Another 19 screens were at the Brigade ground. Renowned singers and dancers of Kolkata were due to perform on the stage to entertain the crowd. On our way, we saw hundreds of buses and trucks with supporters of TMC heading towards the city.

Santiniketan is in Birbhum district and about 170 km from Kolkata. Normally, it is a three-hour drive. We crossed the beautiful New Howrah Bridge, also known as Vidyasagar Setu, and were driving towards the north. The older bridge over the Hooghly Riv-er is, by the way, known as Rabindra Setu. It is interesting to note that none of the structures were named after any politician. Soon, we took the Kolka-ta-Delhi Highway, previously known as the Grand Trunk Road. Sher Shah Suri, an ethnic Pashtun, who ruled Delhi for ve years by ousting Mughal Emperor Humayun, built and extend-ed the road from Chittagong in Bangla-desh up to Kabul in Afghanistan.

It was a pleasant drive over the four-lane highway. The countryside outside Kolkata changed dramatically over the years, particularly during the rule of Jyoti Basu of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Thatched or tin-shed houses are rarely seen beside the high-way. Most houses in the villages are built with bricks and have electricity. Several buildings, apparently owned by well-to-do people, look like palac-es. We passed through Hooghly and Barddhaman districts by-passing the town of Barddhaman.

As we were halfway to Santiniket-an, I called my friend Prof DP Sengup-ta (Paharida) in Bangalore. We studied together at Liverpool University under the same supervisor during the early 1960s. He retired as professor of elec-trical engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Science (IISc). He informed me that his elder sister, Usha Mukharjee, was at Santiniketan at that time. He gave me her mobile phone number and advised me to call her on arrival at Santiniketan. I did not have to wait till our arrival. Ushadi called me soon after Paharida had nished his call. She was kind enough to invite us for tea at her house in the evening.

We left the highway near Panaghar, taking a right turn along a narrow two-lane road. The road was busy. We stopped at a roadside restaurant for tea even though the place was not very clean. We resumed our journey around noon. At one point, we had to take a detour as a bridge was under construction over a small river, now lying dry. We had to travel several kilometers along a narrow and bumpy

road through a village. Because of the detour and our stoppage for tea, we arrived at our hotel in Santiniketan a little late, around 1:30pm.

The West Bengal Tourist Lodge, where we stayed, is a beautiful place. Though not very modern, it has all the basic amenities. Situated in a serene surrounding, it comprises several single-storied cottages, each with one or two rooms, around a large rectan-gular garden with beautiful seasonal

owers. We took a large room in a cottage and soon went for lunch. Our car was conveniently parked beside our cottage.

At around 4 pm, we went to see the Visva Varati University. Santiniketan was originally called Bhubandanga, owned by the family of Lord Satyendra Prasanno Sinha, the rst Indian member of the British House of Lords. Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, fa-ther of Rabindranath Tagore, received the area as a gift from the Sinha family and renamed it Santiniketan, an abode of peace, in view of the serenity of the place.

In 1901, Rabindranath Tagore founded the Patha Bhaban, an institu-tion of primary and secondary educa-tion, initially with ve students, to ex-periment his philosophy of learning in a friendly atmosphere and in harmony with nature. This institution gradually developed into a centre of culture with emphasis on arts, language, human-