print edition: 22 march 2014

7/22/2019 Print Edition: 22 March 2014

1/16

nTribune Report

Around 26 million people in Bangla-

desh do not have access to improved

drinking water, say Unicef and the

World Health Organisation.

Bangladesh is among the 10 coun-

tries that are home to almost two-

thirds of the global population but do

not have access to improved drinking

water sources, according to estimatesof the two global bodies.

They disclosed the data up to 2013

yesterday on the occ asion of the World

Water Day today.

Unicef says women and girls are

disproportionately affected by the lack

of access to safe water. An estimated

71% of the burden of drinking water

collection is being shouldered by

women and girls.

We have had to consume malo-

dorous water from tube wells for thelast five years. We also found algae in

tube wells, Nazrul Islam of Goner-

gaon village under Shilmandi union

of Narsingdi district told the Dhaka

Tribune on Thursday.

People in at least six unions in Nars-

ingdi had been suffering from this

problem, the shopkeeper said, adding

that local people believed that dis-

charge of industrial waste from nearby

factories had led to the situation.

We have to drink this water as there

is no other alternative sources, he said.One of the MDG targets for Bangla-

desh is to bring 89% of the countrys

population under the coverage of safedrinking water.

In Bangladesh, arsenic contamina-

tion, industrial pollution, saline in-

trusion in ground water in the coastal

belt, contamination of river water and

decrease in ground water level in many

parts were major reasons for the short-

age of safe water, Professor M Feroze

Ahmed, a water expert, told the Dhaka

Tribune yesterday.

The former teacher of Bangladesh

University of Engineering and Technol-

ogy, now vice-chancellor of Stamford

University, said the situation was worst

in hilly and char areas.

According to the joint monitoring

programme of the WHO and Unicef,

water supply coverage in Bangladeshincreased from 78% in 1990 to 98% in

2006. However, arsenic contamination

of 22% of the tube wells in the country

proportionately lowered the service

coverage to 78%.

The latest multiple indicator surveyof Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in

2009 revealed that access to improved

source of water adjusted for arsenic

contamination had increased 86%.

There is still more than 20 million

people drinking water that contains

arsenic above the Bangladesh standard

for drinking water 50 parts per billion.

Close to 90% of these people live in ru-

ral areas and 5 million of them live in

areas where 80% sources are contami-

nated with arsenic.

Increasing saline intrusion in

PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

BNPs movement plan in tattersnMohammad Al-Masum Molla

The BNP is still reeling from the nega-

tive impact of its recent violent pro-

tests that the country saw in its recent

hartal and blockade programmes.

When the party is in a total disarrayit finds it diffi cult to reorganise its com-

mittees of different tiers with the upazi-

la parishad elections adding woe to its

misery. Moreover, arrest of its top level

leaders also rubbed salt into its wound.

The party insiders said they were now

pressing ahead very cautiously as a sin-

gle mistake might ruin their entire plan

and which is why they had remained

silent even after charges were framed

against party Chairperson Khaleda Zia

and her son Tarique Rahman.

We know the party rank-and-file

members have become demoralised as

we failed to announce any programmes

protesting framing charge against

the party chairperson and her son,

they said.

The leaders think as people never

accept destructive programmes they

are now abstaining from announcingany such programmes.

They, however, are scared of mount-

ing government oppression on the op-

position leaders and activists if they

remain off the streets.

A number of senior leaders were re-

ported to have advised Khaleda Zia to

go for a comprehensive preparation to

launch a vigorous campaign along with

grassroots leaders putting pressure onher for the same.

Standing committee meeting will be

called soon and the next course of action

programmes will be finalised there, a

standing committee member seeking

anonymity told the Dhaka Tribune.

He also said: We have a plan to

wage a movement after reorganising

the party and completion of upazila

parishad elections, but the detention of

the senior leaders and charges framedagainst the madam (Khaleda) and Tari-que Rahman really put us in trouble.

Now it has become very important

for us to prioritise the agenda first,

he said.

A joint secretary general of the party

wishing not to be named said many dis-

trict and upazila level leaders were on

the run and could not secure bail even

from the High Court rather new cases

were filed against them over upazila

elections.

The government is filling cases one

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

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Vol 1 No 358 SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com SECOND EDITION

News3 The Old Brahmaputra River flowing

through the district was once a lifeline for

thousands of local people. But, those days

are gone by as its water has now turned

pitch black.

4Two mobile phone operato rs have asked

the countrys telecom regulator to give

them another year to shift their Blackberry

subscribers to another platform.

5 A gang of criminals are active in the city

who get children involve in stealing mobile

phones after they were provided training.

Op-Ed

11 Thanks to a misguided burst ofemotionalism born of sincere nationalism,

Bangladesh failed an entire generation

of youth who could nary put together a

coherent sentence in proper English.

INSIDE

AVENUET| WORK IT, GIRL! 12|GAME OF THRONES MAY END AS MOVIE9| THAI COURT VOIDS ELECTION7| TRY TO AVOID NASTY NICKEL

FOURTHPHASE UPAZILA ELECTION

AL eyes more chairman postsnEmran Hossain Shaikh

The ruling Awami League looks to aviolence-free fourth phase upazila poll

scheduled to be held tomorrow and

hopes that it would bag more chairman

posts in this turn.

Several leaders of the party hope

that in the fourth phase they would

fare better than any other phases.

They alleged that the BNPJamaatalliance would resort to violence to

make the polls questionable.

The leaders said that was why they

instructed their grass roots activists to

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

India outplayPakistan in coolSuper 10 opener

nRaihan Mahmood

India opened their ICC World T20

campaign with a cool seven wicketwin over arch-rivals Pakistan in the

first match of the Super Ten phase at

the Bangabandhu National Stadium

yesterday.

It was not a big target to chase for the

Indian batting lineup that contained

Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh

Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and

they cruised to victory with 131 in 18.3

overs with seven wickets to spare.

The 25,000+ capacity crowd, how-

ever, did not see the flair and fire of a

typical T20 of the traditional sub-conti-

nental rivals; it was rather a controlled

and calculative India who made a win-

ning start.Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar

Dhawan put on 54 before Dhawan fellon 30. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina

ensured no further damage in the 66

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

26m Bangladeshisdeprived ofimproved waterArsenic, industrial pollution, salinity,decrease in groundwater levelmajor reasons

Indian batsmen Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina are ecstatic after their win against arch-rival Pakistan in the first group stage match of World Cup T20, 2014 at Sher-e-Bangla National

Stadium yesterday MUMIT M


2/16

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, March 22, 2014

Accepting IslamiBank donationscontradictory to

PMs statementsnTribune Report

An anti-war criminal forum yesterday

claimed that the governments accep-

tance of a Tk3 crore donation from

Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd, a pro

Jamaat-e-Islami banking institution,

during fundraiser for a new Guinness

world record on March 26 is contradic-

tory with the prime ministers state-

ments against Jamaat and its allied in-

stitutions.

In a statement released yesterday,

Forum for Secular Bangladesh and Tri-

al of War Criminals of 1971 condemned

the governments move to collect do-

nations from the Islami Bank.The donation was accepted during

a fundraiser of the government for

Sonar Bangla in Million Voices, an at-

tempt to set a new world record on the

most number of people sing the nation-

al anthem together on the countrys In-

dependence Day.

Appreciating governments initiative

for organising Sonar Bangla in Million

Voices programme, the statement also

added: We understands that the gov-

ernment needs financial support from

both the public and private organisa-

tions for hosting the programme, but

the move to collect money from the

commercial organisation by the an-ti-liberation force Jamaat-e-Islami has

surprised and shocked us.

The statement was signed by the

forums President Mohammad Golam

Rabbani, Executive President Shahriar

Kabir, Vice President Muntasir Mamun,

general secretary Kazi Mukul, and Shy-

amoli Nasrin Chowdhury, Ferdousi Pri-

yobhashini, filmmaker Shamim Akhter.

We has been demanding govern-

ment to seize of all commercial organ-

isation belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami

and its assets for a long time, which

the government has not implemented.

Rather, it has accepted donations from

its allied institution Islami Bank, which

we condemn.

With the statement, the platform

has demanded a ban on Jamaat-e-Isla-

mis politics, seize of all of its commer-

cial organisation and assets.

It also urged the government to re-

turn the money to Islami Bank and not

to collect any donation from the anti

liberation force or its allies in future. l

Tofail, Nasim criticise NHRC chiefs'pro-BNPJamaat' rolenArif Ahmed

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed and

Health Minister Mohammed Nasim

yesterday hinted at National Human

Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman

Mizanur Rahman for being a pro-BNP-

Jamaat intellectual.

They made the comments in the

presence of Mizanur, at a conference

organised by Jatiya Puja Udjapon Pari-

shad at Dhaka Universitys TSC.

Earlier at the same program, Mi-

zanur had criticised the governments

failure in preventing communal vio-

lence surrounding the 10th parliamen-

tary election.

The NHRC chief said in many of the

violence-hit areas, cases had most-

ly been filed without naming anyone

as accused, adding that these cases

against the unnamed had been lodged

only for business purposes.

He also expressed disappointment

as the accused were yet to be brought

to justice.

Later, Health Minister Nasim re-

ferred to the NHRC chiefs speech and

said: The real attackers are known

faces, but the speaker [Mizanur] did

not mention anything against those

who were involved with such heinous

attacks.

He added that some intellectuals

never point blame at the real culprits,

as they were patronised by the evilforces.

Further referring to Mizanurs

speech, Nasim said such speech was

attractive to the public, but not fruit-

ful. The minister also vowed to work

with the premier to make Bangladesh a

non-communal country.

Speaking as chief guest, Commerce

Minister Tofail also criticised Mizanurs

remark, saying: One [Mizanur] gave

speech aiming at the ministers, but

did not specify the main culprits.Here is the difference between our

intellectuals and pro-BNPJamaat

intellectuals.

Tofail assured of ensuring proper

punishment for the miscreants who

committed the heinous attacks during

the national election.

President of Jatiya Puja Udjapon

Parishad Kanutosh Majumdar presid-

ed over the programme, which was

conducted by the parishads Secretary

General Monindra Kumar Nath. Among

others, DU Vice-Chancellor Professor

AAMS Arefin Siddique, Federal Union

of Journalists President Manjurul Ah-

san Bulbul, Hindu-Buddhist-Christian

Unity Council President Rana Dasgupta

were present. l

Six murdered inseparate incidentsnTribune Report

At least six people, including a child,

were killed in separate incidents in Ra-

jbari, Bandarban, Mymensingh, Narail

and Pirojpur yesterday.

Miscreants shot dead Salmi, 35, and

Chan Mia, 42, near Doulatdia railway

station in Rajbari yesterday evening.

Abul Bashar, offi cer-in-c harge of Go-

alanda police station confirmed.

At least 10-12 miscreants shot dead

Ka Hla Thowi Marma, 48, in Bandar-

ban yesterday, Lama police station Of-

ficer-in-Charge Shahjahan Khan con-

firmed.

In Mymensingh, a farmer was mur-

dered and two others, including the

farmers son, sustained critical injuries

in a clash over watering of Boro field at

Nagua village in Tarakanda.

The deceased was Rokon Uddin, 70,of Nagua village.

Critically injured Nazim Uddin, 35,

and his wife Jubeda Khatun, 30, were

admitted to Mymensingh Medical Col-

lege Hospital (MMCH). Nazim was later

referred to Dhaka as his condition dete-

riorated, police said.

Nazim Uddin locked in a quarrel

with his neighbour Abu Taher over wa-

tering of Boro field. At one stage, Taher

and his men attacked Nazim with sharp

weapons around 5am. When Nazims

wife Jubeda reached the spot hearing

the shouting, the gang also attacked

her, said police.

The gang also hacked Nazims father

Rokon when he came out from a local

mosque after saying his Fazr prayers,

they also hacked him indiscriminately,

leaving him critically injured, said Ali

Ahmed, offi cer-in-c harge of Tarakanda

police station.Three injured were rushed to the

MMCH where on duty doctors pro-

nounced Rokon dead. Police visited the

spot but no one was arrested till filing

the report.

Meanwhile, a mother killed her

two-year-old son, drowning in a pond

at Paikmari village in sadar upazila of

Narail early yesterday.

Narail sadar p olice station Offi -

cer-in-Charge Amir Toymur Eli said be-

ing informed police visited to the spot

and recovered the body. A case was

filed in this connection.

In Pirojpur, a 13-year-old boy Sujit

Kaora was beaten to death in Buch-

haikathi area under Nazirpur upazila.

Sujit who hailed from Satkhira was

with a pig rearing team.

Mintu Kaora, one of the team mem-

bers, told reporters that they went to

that area with 150 pigs a few days back.

Around 4am our team member Ut-

tam started beating him up when we

were asleep. We took Sujit to a hospi-

tal but he died around 11am, he said,adding that they had no idea why Sujit

was killed.

Abdul Khaleque Hawlader, offi -

cer-in-charge of Nazirpur police station

said Uttam had confessed about the

killing and Sujits family members had

been informed. A case would be filed,

the OC added. l

Another victim of Tazreen factory fire diesnTribune Report

Sumaya Khatun, 16, another victim of

Tazreen Fashions fire, died yesterday

evening. The death toll in the deadly

incident now stands at 113.

Sumaya died at her home in Nis-

chintapur of Ashulia. She died from anaggressive and rapidly growing tumour

behind her right eye possibly triggered

by the chemical fumes she had inhaled

being trapped in the Tazreen Fashions

factory, according to a press release.

The girl had neither received the

salary for the month of November 2012

when the fire incident happened nordid she receive any compensation as an

injured worker.

The fire broke out on November 24,

2012 at the Tazreen Fashions factory in

Ashulia on the outskirts of the capital.

At least 200 were injured in the

deadliest factory fire in the countrys

history.

Sumaya will be buried at Melanda-

ho of her home district Jamalpur after

Zohr prayers today.

Eminent economist Professor Anu

Muhammad, Moshrefa Mishu, a leader

of Bangladesh garment workers forum,

photographer Taslima Akhter, colum-

nist Rahnuma Ahmed, and Activist

Anthropologists members Saydia Gul-

rukh, Nazneen Shifa and Mahmudul

Shumon expressed deep condolences

at the death of Sumaya. They demand-

ed that all injured and missing workers

of Tazreen Fashions fire get their right-

ful compensation immediately. l

180 Jamaatleaders resign enmass in Pabna

nTribune Report

More than 180 leaders of Jamaat-e-Is-

lamis Bera upazila unit in Pabna re-

signed en mass yesterday, protesting

the withdrawal of the Jamaat-backed

candidate from the upazila poll and

directives to support the BNP-backed

candidate.

The decision to resign en mass

was made at an emergency meeting of

the partys local leaders, including the

chairman candidate, said Ataur Rah-

man, secretary of Jamaats Bera upazila

unit.

He also said Bera upazila Jamaat

Ameer Abdul Baten was chosen as Ja-

maats candidate to contest the upazi-

la poll to be held on March 31 as there

was a possibility of win in the partys

stronghold.

However, on Friday morning, Ja-maat-e Islami Pabna district Ameer Ab-

dur Rahim asked Baten to withdraw his

candidacy and directed him to work for

the BNP-backed candidate in the area,

he added.

Following the decision, Jamaat

leaders called an emergency meeting

and decided to resign en mass, Ataur

said.

Pabna district Jamaat Nayeb-e-

Ameer Jahurul Islam, however, said

no instructions had been given for the

withdrawal of Batens candidacy.

The withdrawal might have been a

result of an intra-party feud among lo-

cal leaders, he said, adding that he was

not aware of the resignation. l

A mobile court destroys jars containing unsafe water and seals off a factory at the capitals Karwan Bazar area yesterday. The factory has been bottling and distributing unsafe drinking

water for quite some time MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

BNPs movement plan in tattersPAGE 1 COLUMN 5

after another to mount pressure on the

BNP and to defuse the movement but

it will not work, Abdullah Al-Noman,

vice-chairman of the party, said.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia said

she would wage movement after reor-

ganising the party as it had been due

for a long time.

But by the time detention of the

senior leaders including partys acting

secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam

Alamgir forced the party to shelve its

organisational plan.However, another senior leader

seeking anonymity, said they launched

the movement after Khaledas eviction

from her residence but it went in vain

and the legal battle went down badly

too.

There is no alternative to putting

pressure on the government because

legal battle will not work as the courtwill act on the instruction of the gov-

ernment, he said.

Over the last one month the party

has announced programmes like

demonstration and submission of

memorandum but they reportedly

received lukewarm responses from

leaders and activists from across the

country.l

India outplayPAGE 1 COLUMN 6runs unbeaten third wicket partnership

where Kohli contributed 36 off 32 balls,

including four fours and one six, and

Raina adding 35 off 28 balls.

Earlier Pakistan failed to crawl out

of the web cast by the Indian bowlers,

the spark was never there with the last

over producing 15 runs as the most pro-

ductive over for Pakistan. With Kam-

ran Akmal returning to the dressing

room in the second over off a run out,

Pakistan failed to attain an ideal start.

Kamran, strong in playing lofted shots,

scored just eight off 10 balls. The mis-

communication between the Pakistani

batsmen was visible again between

Ahmed Shehzad and Md Hafeez, but

fortunately they survived.

However, runs were not coming off

the bats. Indian skipper Mahendra Sin-

gh Dhoni continuously switched his

bowlers. The fourth over bowled by Md

Shami conceded only two runs, the 10th

over by Rabindra Jadeja cost three runs,

the ninth over bowled by Amit Misra

was a wicket maiden and the 16th, 17th

and 18th overs produced eight runs

only. The first Pakistan six was hit by

Shoaib Malik in the 12th over. Pakistan

was never in the spree of runs and Indi-

an bowlers apart from the 11th and 20th

overs were never disturbed. Dhoni in-

serted Yuvraj Singh in the 11th over and

it cost him 13 runs, the second highest

in an over for Pakistan. The cocktail of

pace and spin was perfectly mixed for a

bitter taste to the Pakistani batting.

Ahmed Shehzads 22 off 17 balls,

Umar Akmals 33 off 30 balls, Shoaib

Maliks 18 off 20 balls and Sohaib

Maqsuds 21 off 11 balls in the dying

stage provided some respectabilityto the Pakistan innings. Shahid Afridi

failed to fire as well. Leg spinner Amit

Misra was the pick of the bowlers scalp-

ing Ahmed Shehzad and Shoaib Malik

for 22 runs in his four over. l

AL eyes more chairman postsPAGE 1 COLUMN 5remain alert to prevent any untoward

incident.

They urged the government and the

Election Commission to tough out the

violence centring the upazila polls.

In the fourth phase, the ruling party

faces 43 rebel candidates in 91 upazila

parishads.

As a move to put down rebellion, the

party high-ups have strengthened their

support to the Awami League-backed

candidates.

Sohel Sarwar Kajol, brother of lo-

cal lawmaker Saimum Sarwar Komol,

stood for the election as a chairman

candidate of Ramu upazila under the

Coxs Bazar district backed by the local

Awami League leaders, but the central

committee gave another candidate Ab-

dul Mabud the nod to vie for the poll.

Salauddin Ahmed, secretary to

the Coxs Bazar district unit Awami

League, said: Sohel was more popular

than others, but we do not know why

the party high command withdrew

support from S ohel.

Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, Awa-

mi League organising secretary en-

trusted with coordination of upazila

polls in Rangpur division, told the

Dhaka Tribune their leaders and activ-

ists at grass roots level were kept alert

to thwart any sort of violence commit-

ted by the BNPJamaat alliance.

He said they hoped to do b etter than

the previous phases.

Awami League presidium member

Kazi Zafarullah echoed the same.

He said Awami League-backed can-

didates were defeated in many upazila

parishad polls because of the rebel can-

didates.Though we are more careful about

the matter, but in the local body elec-

tion, we have some limitations to get

tough with the rebels, Kazi Zafarullah

maintained.l

26m Bangladeshis deprived of improved waterPAGE 1 COLUMN 2

ground water in the coastal belt, low-

ering of the ground water level, which

is more serious in hilly areas including

the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the south-

east and some parts of Sylhet in the

northeast, make access to potable wa-

ter a big challenge.

The nine other countries and their

populat ion without suffi cient access to

safe drinking water in the Unicef-WHO

finding are: China (108 million), India

(99 million), Nigeria (63 million), Ethio-

pia (43 million), Indonesia (39 million),Democratic Republic of the Congo (37

million), United Republic of Tanzania

(22 million), Kenya (16 million) and Pa-

kistan (16 million).

According to the Unicef-WHO esti-

mates up to 2013, a staggering 768 mil-

lion people do not have access to safe

drinking water across the globe, caus-

ing hundreds of thousands of childrento fall ill and die each year.

Most of the people without access to

pure drinking water are poor and live in

remote rural areas or urban slums.

Unicef says 1,400 children aged un-

der five die every day from diarrhoeal

diseases linked to lack of safe water

and adequate sanitation and hygiene.

Every child, rich or poor, has the

right to survive, the right to health, theright to a future, Sanjay Wijesekera,

head of Unicefs global water, sanita-

tion and hygiene programmes, said in

a statement yesterday.

The world should not rest until ev-

ery single man, woman and child has

the water and sanitation that is theirs

as a human right.

Almost four years after the world

met the global target set in the MDGs

for safe drinking water, and after the UN

General Assembly declared that water

was a human right, over three-quarters

of a billion people, most of them poor,

still do not have this basic necessity,

Unicef said in a press release on the oc-

casion of the World Water Day.

The MDG target for drinking water

was met and passed in 2010 when 89%

of the global population had access to

improved sources of drinking water

such as piped supplies, boreholes fitted

with pumps, and protected wells.

Also in 2010, the UN General

Assembly recognised safe drinking

water and sanitation as a human right

meaning.

We must target the marginalised and

often forgotten groups: those who are the

most diffi cult to reach, the poorest and the

most disadvantaged, Wijesekera said.l


3/16

91 upazilas to go to polls tomorrowViolence may flare, hint intelligence agencies

nMohammad Zakaria

The fourth phase of the ongoing upazila

polls will be held tomorrow in 91 upazila

parishads, amid widespread allegations

of manipulating and threatening voters

and opposition candidates by ruling par-

ty-backed aspirants.

Voters, candidates and their agent,

mainly the BNP-backed candidates, have

expressed concerns over violence and

polls manipulation after receiving threats

from ruling party-backed candidates.

Although the Election Commission

has received complaints from many

candidates on being harassed from the

administration offi cials and police, the

commission has not yet moved to ad-

dress the allegations.

Meanwhile, election campaigning in

91 upazila parishads yesterday ended

and all vehicular movement had been

halted from midnight.A total of 1,186 candidates, which in-

cludes 389 candidates for chairman, 485

for vice chairman and 312 for women

vice chairman were contesting in the 91

upazila parishads.

It was observed that in both the Awa-

mi League and BNP, several rebel candi-

dates have also joined the electoral race

in this phase as like the previous three

phases held earlier.

Meanwhile, the commission has

postponed the polls in Sherpur Sadar,

Jagannathpur upazila in Sunamganj as

per a High Court order.The Election Commission has already

deployed the army as striking forces

while other law enforcing agencies,

including Border Guard Bangladesh,

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), police

and Ansar, had also been positioned in

the respective upazilas for maintaining

the law and order situation during the

polls.

An EC offi cial yesterday told the Dha-

ka Tribune that intelligence reports re-

ceived by the commission indicated that

chances of incidents of violence and dis-

order are higher than the compared the

last three phases of the polls.

Election Commissioner Mohammad

Abu Hafiz said the local administration

would decide about increasing the

deployment of law enforcing personnel

considering the vulnerable polling

centres.

The commission had setup 5,882

polling stations in 91 upazila polls,

where 37,338 polling booths has been

setup. Of total 13,859,278 voters while

6,907,956 are male and 69,51,322 are

female will cast their votes on the

election day.

In fourth phase, 43 of AL and 44 of

BNP rebel candidates are contesting in

the polls.

Earlier, allegations were made that a

ruling-party candidate in Kolaroa upazi-

la in Satkhira had threatened both vot-

ers and opponents and their agents to

stay away from polling centres or face

dire consequences.

In a written allegation sent to the

EC, BNP-backed candidate Shahidul Is-

lam alleged that Awami League-backed

candidate Firoz Ahmad Shopan issued

an open threat against voters and op-

ponents during a meeting with his sup-porters on March 19. He also submitted a

video footage of the respective meeting

to the commission.

If you find ink in any voters finger,

cut it off. If any voter dies after being

beaten of my activists for going to cast

their vote on election day, I will not re-

sponsible for that, the written allega-

tion quoted the Awami League backed

candidate as instructing his activists. l

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, March 22, 2014

Manju: Corruption rife inenvironment sectornRabiul Islam

Environment and Forest Minister An-

war Hossain Manju said corruption and

irregularities had engulfed the sector,

tarnishing the image of the ministry.

He warned offi cials concerned of dire

consequences if anybody was found in-

dulging in irregularities and corruption

in the forest department.

Manju issued the warning while

speaking at a discussion organised by

the Forest Department in the capital

yesterday on the occasion of Interna-

tional Day of Forest 2014.

Citing an example of alleged irregu-

larities in a tender process, he said the

tender would be cancelled and called

afresh and th e respo nsible offi cer

would be suspended if found guilty.

I have asked the chief conservator to

investigate the matter, Manju told the

Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday.

Manju stressed the need for improv-

ing the image of the environment and

forest sector. Monitoring of different

projects under the ministry has to be

strengthened.

According to the Forest Department,

17.62% area of the country is forest

while the population is 16 crore.

Forest Conservator Tapan

Kumar Dey presented a paper at thediscussion.l

Brahmaputra no more beckons peoplePollution causes immense sufferings to them

nAshif Islam Shaonbackfrom Narsingdi

The Old Brahmaputra River flowing

through the district was once a lifeline

for thousands of local people. But,

those days are gone by as its water has

now turned pitch black.

Now water has become extremely

toxic and pollutants are threatening

the aquatic life, crops and greenery.

People in seven unions under Sadar

upazila dont use its water. But, the

inhabitants once blessed with the river

now face the hazards.

Highly toxic industrial waste and

untreated water are being released

into the vast area mainly from dyeing

factories since the last 15 years,

destroying the farmland and water

bodies.

Farmers and residents say theirlivelihoods have been shattered by

serious water pollution caused by

the 72 factories which are making its

fortune at cost of their lives.

Once they cultivated two crops a

year, but now they are compelled to

grow one.

During the rainy season, pitch-

black water enters the field and destroys

crops. So, we have stopped cultivating

Aman. IRRI only grows during the

summer season, said 58-year-old Haji

Sayed Uddin, a resident of Baniadi

village under Shilmandi union. Now,

he runs a shop.

We used to produce around

30 maunds of crop per acre just 20

years back and now we can produce

maximum 10 maunds. The land seems

uncultivable, he said.According to locals, there was a few

number of knitting factories 20 years

back. At that time, boats would ca rry

goods in the river and people would

bathe there and even would drink its

water.

Now the knee-deep river has

nothing but stinky water. It flows

through the unions such as Shilmandi,

Meherpara, Madhbi, Nuralapur,

Pachdona and Mohishashur, polluting

the riverbanks. Finally, the water

of this narrow river falls into the

Meghna River through Mohishashur

Chanderpara sluice gate, polluting

also a part of the Meghna.

There are 72 dyeing factories on a

stretch of 12km area from Pachdona

to Madhbi, releasing industrial waste

into the river and polluting its water

seriously.

Once we cultivated crops on the

banks. Now we forbid our children

from going near the banks as they may

have itch, said Farid Munshi who lives

in Nagar Baniandi village.We experienced drought last year.

We saw a dog swimming across the

river and it died within 20 minutes

before reaching this end, he said

citing an example of the extent of the

pollution.

The water quality suffers due to

severe pollution. Even deep tube-

well water has also become stinky, he

added.

Water pumped from 250 feet deep

is also stinky and muddy. If we pump

water from the tube-well every day,

we do not get muddy water, said

Nazmunnahar Nargis, the headmistress

of Gonergaon Government Primary

School. The school has more than 350

students.

Children drink this water and

sometimes fall sick. When I joined theschool four years back, I used to carry

boiled water from home. Now we fetch

water from a distance village, she said.

We installed a pump to get water

from more beneath, but the result is

same, she said. Nazmunnahar thinks

there will be no drinkable water left in

these villages after a few years.

Villagers alleged that most of the 72

facto ries do not have effl uent treatment

plants (ETPs) and others do not run

those. They just dump chemical waste

into the dying river.

We have met the offi cials con cerned

several times and urged them to take

action against the factories responsible

for polluting the environment, one of

the villagers said.

They have nexus wi th the offi cials.

Some factories were fined, but they

did not stop operation. Most of the

factories do not have environmental

clearance certificates, said Abdul

Bakir, chairman of Shilmandi Union

Parishad.

We have also requested state

minister for water resources Col (retd)

Mohammad Najrul Islam a few days

back. He is yet to take any step, he

said.

Mohammad Ataur Rahman, senior

chemist of Department of Environment

distric t offi ce, sai d 12 fac tories ha d

ETPs just three months back, now

more than 65 factories have ETPs.

Its true that they do not want to

use ETPs for extra cost. We conducted

raids and realised more than Tk1 crore

fine from eight factories in the last two

months and the amount was Tk5 crore

in the last one year, he claimed.

He also said that the factories

usually stop operating the ETPs at

night. Some influential owners also do

it that during daytime.

We do not have logistics and

manpower to carry out drives duringnight time, he said.

He said that the authority is planning

to install closed-circuit cameras at

the factories to monitor the untreated

water released by them.

And, we will seal the pipes if we

find that they keep the ETPs off, Ataur

said.

Ataur said only 20 of the total

72 factories have environmental

clearance certificates. They only sealed

off 3-4 factories for running without

certific ates since 2010 w hen the offi ce

had started functioning in the district.

Actually, factory owners started

doing business many years back. So,

we cant do what we want, he added.l

Myanmar builds checkpointsalong its bordernRabiul Islam

Myanmar is reportedly building new

checkpoints along its border with

Bangladesh in volatile Rakhine state.

The home ministry of the country said

the Myanmar government was resuming

the construction of a fence along the bor-

der, reported the Voice of America.

Border Gua rd Bangla desh offi cials

said they were still unaware that My-

anmar was setting up the checkpoints.

Myanmar can set up checkpoints

outside of 5km from zero line and it is

their internal matter, BGB Director Gen-

eral Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed told the Dhaka

Tribune over phone yesterday. We take

the matter into our consideration when

it is within five kilometres, he added.

Commanding Offi cer of 31 b attalion

of Naikhangchari Lt Col Md Shafiqur

Rahman said Myanmar had constructedfence as part of their security measure.

We also gave proposal to construct

fence inside our territory. If the fence was

constructed the Rohingyas would not be

able enter into Bangladesh, the com-

mander said. Khin Saw Wai, a member of

Myanmar parliament from Rakhine state

who pushed for the new security meas-

ures, told the Voice of Americas Burmese

service that people from Bangladesh were

entering into Myanmar because there was

not enough security along the border.

He said: Although we have a fence

at Myanmars western door between

Bangladesh and our Maung Daw region

[Rakhine State], this cannot stop illegal

entry into the country. We have seen il-

legal entering and no effective system

to stop it. That is why we want the gov-

ernment to control this situation.

I submitted the proposal to increase

security for the Rakhine region. Now Iread in the news that there will be 15

more security gates at the border, but

I do not know where exactly they will

be built. Nonetheless, as a person who

proposed this at the parliament, I hope

this will be a more effective way of con-

trolling the border situation.

Spokesperson of the Myanmar gov-

ernment Ye Htut confirmed that new

security measures were being planned.

He said: I only know that there have

been some preparations for security in

Rakhine state. Since this measure is be-

ing undertaken by the Rakhine govern-

ment, it is best to ask the information

department of the local government.

Buddhist-Muslim violence erupted in

Rakhine state in 2012 and has since spread

to other parts of the country. The sectar-

ian fighting has killed at least 240 people

and displaced 140,000 others, mainly Ro-

hingya Muslims, who are called Bengalee

by the Myanmar government.

Myanmar government refuses to of-

ficially recognise the Rohingya, saying

members of any offi ciall y recognis edminority must be able to prove their

ancestors lived in Myanmar before the

British invaded Rakhine in 1823.

Talks between Myanmar President

Thein Sein and Bangladesh PM Sheikh

Hasina on the sidelines of a regional

meeting last month produced no tangi-

ble agreement on the Rohingya issue.l

Behind the scenes ofbottled water tradenAshif Islam Shaon

Filtered water stored in blue jars and

sold to thirsty people is now common-

place in the capital. From restaurants

to tea stalls to cafeterias, a glass of fil-

tered water costs only Tk1 and people

drink this water believing it is pure and

germ-free.

But there is a horrible story behind

this purified water as it is almost similar

to the Wasa water and the jars are most-

ly supplied by miscreants or influential

politicians. This lucrative business has

several times been a matter of feud

among many criminal groups since the

time the business was started.

There are more than 700 firms in

Dhaka that sell filtered water in jars. Of

those, Wasa has identified 47 in Badda,

Maniknagar, Jurain, Postagola, Khilk-het, Rampura and Uttara which just

pour Wasa water directly into jars.

In the past few years, law enforce-

ment agencies have fined these facto-

ries a large sum of money and factory

offi cials hav e been jailed bu t the busi-

ness could not be stopped.

Ironically, those who had water pu-

rification equipment and started the

business with honesty now sell sub-

standard water.

These companies have no registra-

tion and sell each jar to rickshaw or van

pullers or middlemen at Tk25, though

a jar of water costs them Tk5-10. Those

middlemen transport the jars to restau-

rants and roadside tea stalls and sell

each at Tk45. The shopkeepers then

earn Tk75 by selling a jar.

Visiting a number of factories at

Badda, Eskaton, Uttara and Shahbagh,illegal factories were found in kitchen

markets, congested rooms and even be-

side public toilets. Jars are cleaned with

bare hands.

A team of RAB yesterday raided sev-

eral factories in Tejgaon and Karwan Ba-

zar and caught an owner along with 14

workers from three factories red-hand-

ed for filling jars with Wasa water.

The workers were fined Tk7,000

while owner Khandaker AK Azad was

jailed for two years and fined Tk1 lakh.

These factories were sealed off sev-

eral times but they resumed operation

without permission, said Anwar Pa-

sha, Executive Magistrate of RAB.

He said Azad had been jailed for the

same offence two years back.

They use blue jars so that dirty wa-

ter cannot be detected from outside,

Anwar said. We even found jars lying

in toilets.

He said: An ideal plant should have

filling machines and filter machines

with ultraviolet ray facility. A bulb

of the ultraviolet ray machine costsTk15,000 and those can only be used

for once. That is why traders do not buy

that machine.

A number of factories once set up

laboratories to examine the water but

most of them do not use those now.

They dont have any chemist for the

purposel

CANDIDATES AND VOTERSChairman 389

Vice-chairman 485

Women vice-chair 312

Total voters 13,859,278

BNP: EC helping AL-backed candidatesnUNB

The BNP yesterday alleged that the Elec-

tion Commission has been working in

favour of Awami League-backed candi-

dates in the ongoing upazila elections.

The Election Commission is work-

ing to make ruling party-supported can-

didates winners in the upazila elections.

We, along with the people of the coun-

try, will give a befitting reply to the mis-

deeds, BNP Joint Secretary General Ru-

hul Kabir Rizvi told a press conference

at the partys Nayapal tan central offi ce.

Inspired by the violence in the third

phase elections, Awami League activists

were flexing muscle for staging show-

downs in the fourth phase polls, creat-

ing panic among the voters, he alleged.

Besides, the law enforcement agen-

cies are being used against democra-

cy and the voting rights of people, he

said, adding that the EC has turned into

a puppet organisation of the adminis-

tration. Criticising the prime ministersspeech in parliament that drive was on

against armed activists to hold peaceful

elections, Rizvi said the premier con-

ducted drives at the houses of innocent

people, not the armed hooligans.

BNP Joint Secretary General Salah

Uddin Ahmed, Mass Education Affairs

Secretary Sanaullah Miah and Deputy

Offi ce Secretary Abdul Latif Jony were

present among others.l

A couple pulls a bucket of water from a ventilation pipe of a deep tube well at Kakon of Godagari upazila in Rajshahi yesterday. Although the globe observes the World Water Day today,

around 768 million people in the world 26 million in Bangladesh still lack access to an improved source of water DHAKA TRIBUNE


4/16

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, March 22, 2014

City High Low

PRAYER TIMES

Fajar 4:45am

Sunrise 6:0 0am

Zohr 12:05pm

Asr 4:28pm

Magrib 6:10pm

Esha 7:26pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

WEATHER

Thundershowerslikely

nUNB

Rain or thundershowers accompanied

by temporary gusty wind is likely to oc-

cur at one or two places over Khulna,

Barisal, Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet

divisions and the regions of Rajshahi

and Pabna until 6pm today.

Weather might remain mainly drywith partly cloudy sky elsewhere over

the countr y, Met Offi ce said. D ay and

night temperature may remain nearly

unchanged over the country.

The sun sets in the capital at 6:10pm

today and rises at 6:00am tomorrow.

Countrys highest temperature 34.6

degree Celsius was recorded in Jessore

and lowest 14.5 degrees in Dinajpuryesterday.

Highest and lowest temperatures re-

corded in some major cities yesterday

were:

Dhaka 32.7 20.1

Chittagong 30.2 23.0

Rajshahi 33.2 16.3

Rangpur 30.2 15.5

Khulna 34.0 21.8

Barisal 33.2 23.7

Sylhet 33.6 19.0

Coxs Bazar 31.0 22.8

Article 19 launchesprinciples regardingwater and sanitationnTribune Report

Public bodies and private entities must

ensure the peoples access to reliableand accurate information regarding

water and sanitation, The Free Flow

Principles: Freedom of Expression

and Rights to Water and Sanitation

launched yesterday by Article 19 said in

a recommendation.

The Bangla version of the Principles

entitled Muktochintar Neetimala: Mot

Prokasher Shwadhinota Ebong Paani O

Sanitationer Odhikar was simultane-

ously launched at the National Press

Club in Dhaka.

The Principles, developed in coop-

eration with experts and activists from

around the world, provide guidance

to policy makers and activists on how

freedom of expression and information

can help secure the rights to water and

sanitation.

Other recommendations made in

the principles include; all decision-

making process related to the rights to

water and sanitation must be demo-

cratic and transparent and represent

the needs of those affected.Launching the publication, Tah-

mina Rahman, director to Bangladesh

and South Asia of Article 19 said: The

principles highlight the interconnected

aspects of the right to freedom of ex-

pression and the right to water and

sanitation. The right to know obliges

government and other duty bearers to

proactively inform people about issues

related to water and sanitation and

water related resources and manage-

ment.A panel discussion followed the

launch where Tahmina Rahman, Iqbal

Kabir, environmental activist and law-

yer, Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, chief

moderator of Equity BD, Bahreen

Khan, a lawyer at Supreme Court of

Bangladesh and Zahid Hossain, envi-

ronmental protection expert, spoke as

resource persons. l

Environmentalists demand

cancellation of Rampal plantnTribune Report

Members of civil society yesterdaystrongly demanded the cancellation

of setting up of two coal fired thermal

power plants in Rampal near the Sun-

darbans.

Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa),

Save the Sundarban Foundation, Green

Voice, Bagerhat Development Society

and Centre for Human Rights Movement

formed a human chain in front of the Na-

tional Press Club in Dhaka.

The human chain titled "Immediate-

ly cancel the Rampal Power Plant proj-

ect! Save the Sundarbans, the world

heritage site."

They said the government should

immediately scrap the project to pro-

tect the mangrove forest from its ad-

verse impact. These power plants were

scheduled to be located in a area that

would be in the immediate vicinity of

the Sundarbans' territory and would

damage its wide range of biodiversity.

Apart from these harmful after-

effects, the power plants would also

release huge hot water that would ul-

timately destroy the freshwater andvarious species of fish in the surround-

ing water of the Sunderbans, the civil

society members commented.

The thermal power plants would de-

stroy the ecological balance and biodi-

versity of the Sunderbans for extreme

spewing of effl uents like sul phur diox-

ide, nitrous oxide, carbon mono oxide,

carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocar-

bon (CFC) gas, said Bapa Joint General

Secretary Iqbal Habib. He also expressed

his concern over the plying of oil tankersand other vessels in the water channels

of the Sunderbans, saying that it would

damage the flora and fauna of the forest.

Habib presided over the programme

while Sheikh Faridul Islam, chairman

of Save the Sundarbans, Sheiks Mo-

hammad Zakir Hossain, chairman of

Bagerhat Development Society, Md

Mujahedul Islam, secretary general of

Centre for Human Rights Movemet also

spoke among others. l

UnileverCommunity HealthCamp inaugurated

nTushar Hayat, Chittagong

To take healthcare facilities at the

doorsteps of the mass, Unilever Ban-

gladesh Limited inaugurated a two-day

community health camp at the Hamid-

ia Ideal Government Primary School

premises in Chittagong yesterday.

In collaboration with Chittagong Di-abetic Hospital, Chittagong Ma O Sishu

General Hospital, and Lions Eye Hospi-

tal, the camp titled Unilever Commu-

nity Health Camp, is being held for the

8th time in the Chandgaon area of the

port city.

A total of 2,500 patients had registered

for the camp to avail different healthcare

facilities like routine checkups, mother

and child health, eye care etc. The pa-tients would be provided with free drugs

at the camp, said Unilever offi cials.

Speaking as the chief guest, lawmak-

er Mainuddin Khan Badal said the cur-

rent government had set a goal to take

healthcare facilities at the doorsteps of

the people of the country and physi-

cians had been appointed at each of the

union health centres in that regard.

He inaugurated the health camp

with Shapan Bhatcharjee, general fac-

tory manager of Unilever.

A collaborative approach is neces-

sary alongside government initiative to

take health care facilities at the door-

steps of the people of the country andUnilever is playing a key role in this re-

gard, he said.

Kazi Saiful Islam, factory human re-

source manager at Unilever, said they

were not keeping themselves confined

within the commercial activities only,

rather they were engaged in different

kinds of activities for the welfare of thesociety.

We have been working in various

sectors including healthcare, educa-

tion, nurturing talents and women em-

powerment, he said.

Unilever had been running communi-

ty health camps for the past seven years

where 17,983 patients had been benefit-

ted with healthcare facilities, he added.

SM Morshed Hossain, vice president

of the Chittagong Ma O Sishu General

Hospital addressed the inauguration

among others. l

Man kills nieceover extramaritalaffairsnOur Correspondent, Narayanganj

Identity of a woman skeleton was con-

firmed yesterday that was recovered

earlier on Tuesday from under a con-

struction site in Godail Santinagar area

under Siddhirganj police station of Na-

rayanganj.

The victim is Shahnaj, 28.

Her lover Rashed, 36, strangulatedher to death and buried in the area

eight months ago, said Rashed in a con-

fessional statement given yesterday af-

ter being held.

He gave the statement before the

Senior Judicial Magistrate court of Na-

rayanganj under section 164.

Hailing from Sharishabari area of Ja-

malpur, Rashed is son of Badsha Mia.He used to work as a supervisor at

Suborno Textile. Earlier on March 18,

police recovered the skeleton while

construction work of a storehouse of one

Hazi Abdul Manan was going on in the

area.

Rashed said Shahnaj was daughter

of his wifes maternal cousin.

He and Shahnaj lived in the same

house for over a year and grew an af-

fair that eventually came to his wifes

knowledge. Since then, he had been

passing days in agony because of the

quarrels frequently breaking among

the family members.

Therefore, he planned to kill Shahn-aj and as per his plan, he called up

Shahnaj at night during the Eid-ul-Fitr

vacation last year and strangulated her

to death, said Rashed. l

Operators want one year for shiftingBlackberry platformnMuhammad Zahidul Islam

Two mobile phone operators have asked

the countrys telecom regulator to give

them another year to shift their Black-berry subscribers to another platform.

Grameenphone and Airtel the

two operators currently offering the

Blackberry services applied for time

extensions through letters sent to the

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regu-

latory Commission (BTRC) recently.

Earlier, the BTRC decided to shut-

down the services in Bangladesh after

the companies failed to comply with the

telecom watchdogs directives concern-

ing national security. The BTRC, in a let-

ter last December, asked the two mobile

operators to take necessary measures to

provide alternative solutions to its ex-

isting Blackberry subscribers.

The decision came after Blackberry

failed to take measures in providing

the government with access to lawful

interception of Blackberry network.

As per licensing terms and condi-

tions, the government reserves the

right to access telecoms service provid-

ers networks as and when it deems

necessary, but such lawful intercep-

tion was impossible in Blackberryhandsets, which are highly encrypted

to protect privacy.

Meanwhile, sources said the high

commissioner of Canada the coun-

try where Blackberry manufacturers

Research In Motion (RIM) are located

also discussed the issue with BTRC

Chairman Sunil Kanti Bose on Wednes-

day; but no decision was made at the

meeting.

Canadas High Commissioner toBangladesh Heather Cruden requested

BTRC authorities to be soft while mak-

ing a decision on the Blackberry issue,

the sources added.

Giashuddin Ahmed, vice chairman

of the BTRC, admitted that the meeting

had taken place, but said no decision

was reached.

He also acknowledged that the two

letters from Grameenphone and Airtel

were under consideration.

If the BTRC did not accept Grameen-

phone and Airtels requests, the opera-

tors might need to swap all BlackBerry

handsets purchased from them toother devices, which will be a hassle

for the users, an offi cial from Gra meen-

phone said.

The regulator and the two operators

met several times to hold talks on the

issue, but were unable to reach a com-

mon ground.

Blackberry launched its services in

Bangladesh in 2008 and until 2013, it

had around 6,166 subscribers including

high offi cials in the Prime Mini sters Of-

fice, CEOs of leading local and foreign

business conglomerates and top diplo-

mats, industry insiders said.

A senior offi cial of the BTRC sai d the

regulators were against the closure of

any services but in this case they had

nothing to do as the RIM had failed to

comply with regulations.

The problem could have been solved

had the RIM set up a server in the coun-

try, enabling the government to access

the netwo rk, the o ffi cial exp lained.

Without a local server, it was not pos-

sible to have access to the highly en-

crypted data of Blackberry.Top offi cials of both Grameenphone

and Airtel said the RIM headquarters

failed to take necessary measures despite

repeated requests from the companies.

One reason for the RIMs reluctance

in setting up a server was that it would

not be financially viable in such a small

market like Bangladesh, a Grameen-

phone offi cial said.

Grameenphone has 4,664 Blackber-

ry users, while Airtel has 1,500 active

Blackberry subscribers.

Blackberry reportedly faced similarproblems in different countries includ-

ing India, Saudi Arabia and China. In

2010, the company was prompted to

set up a server in Saudi Arabia after the

countrys government said Blackberry

services would be closed unless it pro-

vided the government with access to its

network.l

BNP, LDP vye with alliance partner Jamaat in SatkanianTushar Hayat, Chittagong

Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Lib-

eral Democratic Party have jointly

been fighting w ith Jamaat-e-Islami a

partner of the 19-party alliance in the

upazila parishad election of Satkania

known for Jamaat stronghold.

The election is scheduled to be held

tomorrow.

Jamaat candidates have also beencontesting polls in two other upazilas un-

der the district where there are BNP can-

didates with relatively strong position.

Oli Ahmed, president of the Liberal

Democratic Party, in a recent visit to

Satkania, introduced the BNP-backed

chairman candidate Sheikh MohammedMohiuddin and vice-chairman candi-

date Jasim Uddin as his candidates.

Local sources said Olis electioneer-

ing could sway voters to cast vote for

his candidates who might win over Ja-

maats.

The ruling Awami League-backed

candidate might cash in on such situa-

tion, added the locals.

Oli was elected as lawmaker from

Satkania constituency in 1996, but was

defeated by Jamaat candidate Shahja-

han Chowdhury in the general election

of 2001.Oli, the then standing committee

member of BNP, contested the poll

against Jamaat candidate, defying therequest of the party high-up to sacri-

fice the constituency to their alliance

partner.

The defying cost Oli his association

with the BNP, said sources.

A district (south) unit leader of Ja-

maat, preferring anonymity, said the

local BNP was engaged in an effort to

push Jamaat into inconvenience at Sat-

kania as many of its leaders and activ-

ists were on the run and in jail.

Mohammed Ishaque, acting president

of district (south) unit Jamaat, however,

said Jamaat men as well as common peo-

ple at Satkania had been oppressed by

the government in recent period.

He added that the voters would

think twice prior to casting their votes

for the candidates.

We have always supported a can-

didate who can guide the oppressed

people of Satkania, he said.

Mujibur Rahman, president of the

upazila unit BNP, said Satkania was nota stronghold of Jamaat, rather it was

the stronghold of BNP.

He added that they had been fight-

ing with the Jamaat in the upazila elec-

tion as it was the right time to prove the

might of BNP at the locality.

The common people are annoyed

with the recent destructive activities of

Jamaat and they would not vote for the

Jamaat candidate, he said, adding that

they were confident over the victory of

their party candidate.

Awami League-backed Nurul Absar

Chowdhury also expressed confidence

in winning the poll.

He said his party candidate won the

chairman post in the upazila earlier and

this time it would be much easier.

Meanwhile, Jamaat candidates have

been contesting the posts of chairman

in Banshkhali and Fatikchari upazilas

where there are BNP-backed candi-

dates with relatively strong position.

We did not contest the post ofchairman in any upazila, except Sita-

kund, where BNP has a strong base,Rabiul Hossain, assistant general secre-

tary of district (north) unit Jamaat said,

adding that the BNP candidate lost in

Sitund upazila for not negotiating with

Jamaat.

He also said it would have been bet-

ter for both BNP and Jamaat if the two

parties could reach an understanding

and take part in the election of seven

upazilas in Chittagong scheduled for

tomorrow. l

Children take part in a painting competition commemorating the countrys Independence Day, at Department of Fine Arts in Dhaka

University yesterday NASHIRUL ISLAM

Volunteers from Jaago Foundation remove garbage fro m the Banani Lake in the capital yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE


5/16

100 students awarded for innovative projectsnMushfique Wadud

A total of 100 students were awarded

for their innovative projects at the clos-ing ceremony of annual science fair or-

ganised by St Joseph Higher Secondary

School yesterday.

Khandaker Shabbir Ahmed, pro-

fessor and architect of the Bangladesh

University of Engineering and Tech-

nology (BUET) handed over the prizes

to winners. Among others, broth-

er Robi Purification, principal of the

school and other teachers were present

at the closing ceremony.

Students of different classes were

awarded prizes in different categories

in terms of innovative approach and

presentation of their science projects.

The theme of this years fair was Role

of Science in Human Resource Devel-

opment and Economic Prosperity.

The three day annual science fair

was inaugurated on Wednesday.

Around 460 projects were presented in

the fair, along with a total of 750 scrap-

books. Students of 50 schools across

the country took part in the fair. The

school premises was crowded with stu-dents and their guardians at the closing

day. Students waited long to hear their

name as the winner and when some-

ones name was declared as winner, s/

he expressed his/her joy by shouting.

Speaking at the programme, Khan-

daker Shabbir Ahmed, who is also an

alumni of this school, said science fair

is an important way of learning science.

He said students learned to use their

imagination power and the ability to

ask questions through this science fair.

He also said asking proper questions

and using imagination power is not

only important for science but also for

all other fields of knowledge.

Three students of Bir Shreshtha Noor

Mohammad Public School and College

stood first in the inter-school science

project competition for their project ti-

tled Mobile controlled Rescue Robot.

The students are Shakti Banik, Imran

Bin Yousuf, and Fazle Shawon Younus.

St Francis Xavier Girls School came

second for their project titled New

treatment using Modified HIV to kill

Lymphoma Cancer Cell. The students

are Eshita Agnes Purification, Barsha

Christina Palma, and Joyes Cicilia Sral.

Three students of Viqarunnisa Noon

School placed third for their project ti-

tled Noise proof class room.

In inter-college science project com-

petition, three students of Holy Cross

College stood first for their project on

Biodegradable Plastic and uses. The

three students are Ishmal Sifat, Fariha

Mehnaz, and Redwana Noor.

Another team of Holy Cross College

secured the second position as well for

a project. Three students of Holy Cross

College namely Faria Farzana, Maliha

Anjum, and Smeeta Mahanta came as

third for their project.

Moreover, the first, second and third

position winners of each groups were

also awarded. Safwan Uddin of class

three was awarded for his project of a

windmill. In class three, Hanjala and

Steve Probal Shanjal got second prize

for their project on modern city.

Ahnaf Farhan Khan and JawadMuntasir Riddha got first prize for their

project on Save the Environment.

Students were also awarded for

scrapbooks, quiz competitions, art

competitions and science Olympiad. l

5NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, March 22, 2014

CERN DG due on April 7nTribune Report

Dr Rolf-Dieter Heuer, director general

of CERN, the European Organization

for Nuclear Research will arrive in Dha-

ka on April 7, an education ministry

press release said yesterday.

The press release said a preparation

meeting was held regarding his arrival

at the education ministry yesterday.

It said the CERN DG had been invit-

ed as the convocation speaker at the

48th convocation of Dhaka University

scheduled to be held on April 7.

It said Dhaka University would con-

fer the Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) upon

Dr Rolf-Dieter Heuer.

He would meet with eminent sci-entists, researchers, engineers, teach-

ers and students on April 8 at Nabab

Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban

of the university. l

Quota system in competitiveexaminations should gonAshif Islam Shaon

Quota system in every competitive

examination should be annulled as

it deprives meritorious students but

only the freedom fighter quota in gov-

ernment jobs should exist considering

their contribution to the birth of the

country, Social Welfare Minister Syed

Mohsin Ali has said.

Those who have merit will get the

job. The country needs the right person

in the right position but quota system

is an obstacle to that, observed the

minister while addressing a discussion

on special priority for the Dalit and the

Harijan communities in development

policy and activities in a city auditori-

um yesterday. The discussion was ar-

ranged by Bangladesh Harijans Oikya

Parishad to mark the International Day

for Elimination of Racial Discrimina-tion while Manusher Jonno Founda-

tion and Fair were the co-organisers.

Sharing his personal experience

at the discussion, Mohsin said: Im a

member of the governing body of three

colleges. We recruited several teachers

a few months back but lately, we saw

a minister recommending a candidate

for the post of professor.

Mohsin went on: When the candi-

date arrived to face the viva voce, we

asked him to recite a few lines from any

of Rabindranath Tagores poems. Sur-

prisingly, the candidate who had a Mas-

ters in Bangla Literature failed to do so. Ithen told his referee that the aspirant had

stood seventh among eight candidates.

Quota system and lobbying like this

allow incompetent men to come forward.

The Harijans arent less meritorious. We

will help if you demand anything to in-

crease your effi ciency but dont request

for quota, the minister said as the Hari-

jan community demanded special quota

in admission tests and jobs.

The Harijans can cook delicious

food and curry that the Bengalis cant.

They should utilise that skill to find out

alternative ways of making money if

theyre not educated enough, he said.

Speaking at the discussion, Nation-

al Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

Chairman Professor Mizanur Rahman

said the Dalit should be provided with

equal rights and facilities first and the

quota system would be of use then.

In educational institutions and the

job market, the Dalits must be provid-

ed with special facilities. They sacri-

ficed their lives during our War of Lib-

eration but still we are depriving them.

We have to repay the debt, he said.

The Dalits demanded forming a Dal-

it commission, bringing them under

the safety net programme, conducting

separate census for them, and reserv-

ing 80% of the jobs in services like

sweeping and cleaning and also in per-

manent jobs in city corporations and

municipalities.

Bangladesh Harijans Oikya Parishad

statistics say some 5.5 million Harijans

are living in the country. Also known

as Jaat (professional) sweepers, they

are originally the descendants of im-

migrants from Indias Kanpur, Nagpurand Andhra Pradesh.

Their jobs include sweeping streets

and offi ces, clea ring sewer age lines ,

and cleaning up manholes and hospi-

tal waste. Many of them are employed

in crematoria as well. l

Call to protect riversfrom encroachmentnMohammad Zakaria

Speakers at a roundtable yesterday

said the rivers around the capital were

almost dead because of unabated en-

croachment and establishment of ille-

gal construction on the river bank.

They also demanded that the gov-

ernment take immediate steps to pro-

tect all rivers including the Buriganga

around Dhaka as it was important for

the countrys economy.

The speakers made the demand at

a roundtable organised by Poribesh

Bachao Andolan (Poba) marking the

World Water Day at the National Press

Club in the capital.

They said it was high time the govern-

ment demarcated the rivers in the coun-

try as per the Cadastral Survey record to

protect the water bodies from pollution.

The discussants also called uponthe government to dredge the rivers

regularly and remove all illegal estab-

lishments from the river banks.

They also demanded that the gov-

ernment relocate tanneries and take

measures to stop dumping waste into

the rivers. Poba examined the pollu-

tion of Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shi-

talakkha rivers over the past one year.

In August-September, the level of

oxygen in these rivers water was zero

because of dumping of waste from in-

dustries, houses and launches.

The pro-environment group ob-

served that the rivers around Dhakawere almost dead for illegal establish-

ments and encroachment.

It also underscored the need for im-

mediate steps by the government to

protect the rivers across the country.

Poba Joint General Secretary Md

Abdus Sobhan said if the government

did not take initiative to protect rivers,

the water bodies around the capital

and other places would die down.

Rajuk Executive Magistrate Rokon-

Ud-Dowla said the city development

authority removed all illegal establish-

ments from the Buriganga river bank

regularly.

Nagorik Oikko Convener Mahmudur

Rahman Manna urged the government

to take immediate steps to protect all

rivers in the country. l

Fire burns

Chittagong

buildingnCU Correspondent

A fire broke out at a three-storeyed res-

idential building in Chittagong citys

Baizid Bostami area yesterday after-

noon.

Fire Service and Civil Defense,

Agrabad Station sources said the fire

broke out on the third floor of an un-

der construction building of Green

Residential area at Kacha Bazar under

Baizid Bostami police station at 5pm.

However, none was injured in this in-

cident

Jasim Uddin, deputy assistant di-

rector (DAD) of Fire Service and Civil

Defense, Agrabad Station told the Dha-

ka Tribune that the third floor and sec-

ond floor of the building were used as

a warehouse of garment refuses while

ground floor was being used for resi-

dential purpose.On information, fire fighters from

four units rushed to the spot and put

out the blaze after two hours of frantic

efforts, he said. However, he could not

ascertain the cause of the fire and ex-

tent of damages. l

REHAB Fair sees hugecrowd on 2nd daynAbu Hayat Mahmud

Real estate and housing companies have

expressed satisfaction over the presence

of a large number of visitors yesterday,

the second day of REHAB Fair 2014.

Leaders of Real Estate and Housing

Association (REHAB) said they were

satisfied after observing that custom-

ers were interested to purchase flats

and plots from the fair.

Besides, customers said they were

interested to purchase flats and plots

as many companies were offering dis-

counts on the occasion of fair.

Customer relations manager of a

renowned real estate company said,

Customers presence and their inter-

ests to purchase and book flat and plot

were satisfactory. He hoped that the

number of customers might be more

than their expectations during the fair.

Today (Friday) is the second day,

so most of the customers wanted to

know prices of plots and flats. We hope

that many of the customers will con-

tact wi th our main o ffi ce to purcha se

flats and land, he added

Another offi cial of a l and develop er

company expressed hope that sale of

plots and land would get momentum

in the last two days.

Some REHAB leaders, who visited

the fair yesterday evening, said this

year, visitors presence was compara-

tively more than last year.

Meanwhile, visitors were also seen

happy with different discount offers.

Masud Ahmed, an offi cial of a pri-

vate company, said he was satisfied

with discount offers and loan facilities

offered by different realtor companies.The five-day housing fair began on

March 20 at Bangabandhu Internation-

al Convention Centre at Agargaon in the

capital aiming to promote housing sector.

This year, a total of 155 companies

are taking part in the fair. Of them, 141

are housing and 14 construction mate-

rials companies. Apart from the com-

panies, a total of 11 sponsor companies

have taken part in the fair. l

A syndicate tortures children if theyrefuse to get involved in theft

nMohammad Jamil Khan

It was around 10am yesterday when

three minor street children had

been staging a small play inside the

Suhrawardi Udyan: a girl having an

old vanity bag was walking on a street;

another boy suddenly came in front

of the girl and fell down; and the third

one, another boy who was passing by,

simply took away a mobile phone from

the vanity bag.

However, a young man who was

standing beside the spot slapped the

first boy, and asked him to be more nat-

ural while acting.

In an investigation, it was learned

that it was not a play but a trained ef-

fort on how to steal mobile phones from

people. The man, who was giving train-ing to these street children, was identi-

fied as Sahidul, a notorious mobile thief.

There are several groups that had

been training the street children to

steal mobile phones, and they alleged-

ly torture the children if anyone refuses

to do such work.

Such sensational information was

first flashed after the arrest of three

children from Dhaka Medical College

Hospital (DMCH) last Tuesday.

The detained kids told the Dhaka

Tribune that they had been learning

pick pocketing from one Ibrahim, 18, a

resident of Chankharpool, for the last

couple of months. They got caught by

the police on the first day of their real

work. Their boss Ibrahim was stand-

ing nearby to instruct them, but he left

soon after the hospital police caughtthem.

One of the detained boys said he

used to sell chocolate and sleep at

Sohrawardi Uddyan. Once, Ibrahim

came to him and forced him to do such

work. When he refused to do so, Ibra-

him beat him up.

When asked, he said he had taken

training with 25 other kids and all of

them were of similar ages. The mas-

terminds only gave them Tk100 if they

could snatch any cell phone, he added.

The detained kids were sent to Opo-

rajeyo Bangladesh, a non-government

organisation working for the distressed

children to take care of them.

Contacted, Shahima Akhter, a staff

of Oporajeyo Bangladesh, told the Dha-

ka Tribune that they had taken them to

their safe home at Lalbagh.

We will find out their family mem-

bers and hand them over, she said,

adding that if the law enforcers gave

some attention to such crime, this kind

of crime could be stopped.

Monirul Islam, joint commission-

er of Detective Branch of Police, saidsometimes under-age children were

arrested, but they could not take action

considering their ages.

However, our members are active

to take stern actions, he added.l

Street kids get training on mobile phone stealing

Dhaka Medical College authority recently detained three minor boys namely Rasel, Shohag and Riaz allegedly for cell phone theft, the photo is taken from the administrative building

of DMC MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

St Joseph Higher Secondary School awards winners of its annual Science Fair in the city yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU


6/16

6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, March 22, 2014

Shailakupa residents yet to get an embankment

nOur Correspondent, Jhenaidah

People of Baruria and Krisnanagar vil-

lages under Sailkupa upazila in Jhenai-

dah are passing days in anxiety appre-

hending that woes are waiting for them

in the coming days.

Residents of the villages are afraid

that like previous years, many home-

steads might go under the Gorai River

this year, as the Water Development

Board is yet to build a permanent em-

bankment to save them from erosion.

Local sources said a good portion of

Baruria and Krisnanagar villages had

been eroded in the mighty river, leaving

around 300 families homeless over the

last five decades.

Most of the erosion-affected people

have taken shelter on the river bank, but

they fear if the river bank is eroded they

would not have any place to take shelter.

They said an embankment might

stop the erosion of the river.

A member of Sarutia union pari-shad under Sailkupa upazila said they

were told that the Bangladesh WaterDevelopment Board (WDB) would put

concrete blocks to stop erosion. But the

work is yet to be started.

The ward member said if dredg-

ing would be done in the river, erosion

could be stopped permanently.

Executive Engineer of the WDB in

Jhenaidah Abdul Latif said a team of the

Asian Development Board had visited

the affected area in Sarutia union under

Sailkupa upazila a few months back.

The WDB had suggested to put con-

crete blocks to stop the erosion perma-nently. Then, the ADB assured the WDB

that they would provide fund for the work.

But we have not received any allo-

cation from the ADB yet, he said.

Moreover, the locals said a shoal had

emerged on the northern bank of the

river, but some local influential people

have illegally occupied the shoal, de-

priving the actual homeless people.

Salamat Sheikh, 43, a resident of vil-

lage Baruria, said at least 11 bighas oftheir ancestral land were eroded by the

river in the last 40 years.A number of people of Baruria village

had tried to settle in the shoal which has

now become a part of Mukshidpur area

under Khoksha upazila in Kushtia.

But Ekdil Bahini chief Ekdil Hossain

along with his supporters had forced

the erosion-affected people to leave the

area. B eing instigated by Ekdil Hossain,

residents of Mukshidpur, Bhabanipur

and Bamanpara villages also swooped

on them. Finding no alternative, inhab-

itants of Baruria and Krisnanagar vil-

lages left the area, fearing life risks.

Ayub Ali, 45, a resident of Krisnana-

gar said, deputy commissioners of

Jhenaidah and Kushtia, along with the

superintendent of police of the districts

had sat to resolve the crisis.

They came to a decision that the

persons whose land, according to land

offi ce map, would emerge on the north-

ern bank of the river in Khoksha upazila

would get their land. But, the people of

Khoksha upazila could not be satisfiedwith the decision. l

Najirganj ferry ghat shakyfor sand liftingnTribune Desk

Najirganj ferry ghat (jetty) is now in a

vulnerable state as a section of influen-

tial people have continued sand lifting

illegally from near the Padma River in

Sujanagar upazila, intensifying threat

of erosion in the area.The riverbank beside the ferry ghat

has kept breaking apart due to the ille-

gal sand extraction from the river.

If the situation continues, the road

communications of Rajbari, Faridpur

and Barisal districts with Pabna, Sira-

jganj and Bogra might be stopped in

near future, locals apprehend.During a recent visit, this corre-

spondent saw some 8-10 dredgers lift-

ing sand from the riverbed every day.

They stock the extracted sand on

the nearby croplands.

People involved in the sand lifting

are mostly influential.

More than 100-150 truckloads of

sand are sold every day from here and

no one dares to complain against those

involved in the illegal sand business as

they are powerful.

Earlier, a mobile court realised a

fine of Tk50,000 from one Madhu of

Habashpur village in Pangsha upazila

in Rajbari district for illegal sand lift-

ing.

But executive magistrate M Sakha-

wat Hossain, also upazila nirbahi of-

ficer of Sujanagar upazila, while talk-

ing to the news agency expressed his

inability to take any steps to stop sand

lifting in Sujanagar portion of the river.

He showed the reason that the in-

fluential people were continuing ille-gal sand lifting without any lease from

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport

Corporation.

Besides, pontoons of the ferry ghat

have also become frail due to the sand

lifting work.

Sometimes, buses, trucks and othergoods-laden vehicles meet accident for

the reason. l

Two villagersabducted

nOur correspondent, Khagrachhari

Two villagers were allegedly

abducted by the cadres of United

Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF)

at Barmachhari village under

Lakshmichhari upazila in Khagrachhari

district yesterday.The two abducted men were iden-

tified as Ripon Chakma, 22, son of

Shukya Chakma and Gorolya Chakma,

21, son of Budda Jyoti Chakma while

both of them hailed from Barmachhari

village in the district.

A group of around 20 armed activ-

ists of UPDF raided the houses of both

Ripon and Gorolya and abducted themat gun point, said Mohammad Bahar

Mia, sub-inspector of Lakshmichhari

police station, quoting locals.

Security personnel were trying to

rescue them, SI Bahar added.

However when contacted, Niron

Chakma, district unit UPDF press sec-

retary denied any involvement regard-

ing the abduction. l

Offi cials of Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Department under Rajshahi Forest Division rescued a rare species of peacock

from a house in Lalmonirhat. Later, the wounded bird was brought to Rajshahi on Thursday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Brother-in-law beats man to deathnTribune Report

A man was beaten to death allegedly by

his brother-in-law in Palsha area under

sadar upazila in Chapainawabganj on

Thursday.

The deceased was identified as

Jashim, 36, son of Amir Master of Bil-

danga area.

Offi cer-in-C harge o f Sada r pol ice

station Jashim Uddin said: There was

a longstanding conflict between Jashim

and his brother-in-law Khairul over

land properties.

Over the same matter, they locked

into a quarrel with each other around

12:30 pm, he said.

At one stage of the quarrel, Khairul

beat Jashim mercilessly that left him

critically injured.

Later, he died on the way to a local

hospital.

Meanwhile, police arrested Khairul

and his wife Lal Banu after the inci-

dent.

A case was also filed in connection

matter. l

Corrupt municipality offi cialsput Brahmaputra at stakenOur Correspondent, Mymensingh

Piles of garbage dumped by the My-

mensingh municipality in the Brah-

maputra River through the Kalibari oldferry ghat are posing serious threats

print edition: 22 march 2014

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