print edition: 9 april 2014

7/22/2019 Print Edition: 9 April 2014

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BNP wantsto overcomefrustration firstnMohammad Al-Masum Molla

The BNP is planning to adopt a long-

term strategy to strengthen the party

and decide not to launch any strong

movement for a few more months.

The plans came following several

rounds of discussions and evaluation

meetings at joint secretary general and

organising secretary level.

The meetings summed up that the

party would first reorganise itself to

beat the frustration that had percolated

through the organisation after the Jan-

uary 5 polls, said a senior leader.BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will

hold a series of workers meeting and

public meetings in every division inthe months ahead along with some is-

sue-based programmes.

The party discussed all these plans

and policies while joint secretaries and

organising secretaries held a meeting

at party Chairperson Khaleda Zias Gul-

shan offi ce on Monday.

The BNP policy making body, the

standing committee, will decide upon

all these plans and decisions in to-

nights meeting.

We have discussed many things in

the meeting and all the issues will be

finalised in the standing committee

meeting, Mohammad Shahjahan, joint

secretary general of the party, told the

Dhaka Tribune.

A senior leader of the party seekinganonymity said they discussed upazila

election, movement strategy and how

to reorganise the party and on the basis

of their observation and decisions they

submitted a report to Khaleda Zia on

Monday night.

According to the report, some cen-tral teams will be formed to visit thanas

and upazilas to reorganise the grass-

roots.

The report also said the party would

withdraw all the expulsion orders is-

sued during the upazila parishad elec-

tions to strengthen the imminent an-

ti-government campaign but as for the

expelled leaders they have to apply for

withdrawal of their expulsion orders

with recommendation of the district

and thana committees.

Another senior leader said Khaleda

Zia would start holding meetings with

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Student bodies warn GonojagoronsImran, ask him to realise mistakesnDU Correspondent

Five students organisations have

slammed Gonojagoron Moncho

spokesperson Imran H Sarker for his

undemocratic and authoritative atti-tude in managing the famed Shahbagh

movement.

In a press conference at the Madhur

Canteen on the Dhaka University cam-

pus yesterday, the leaders of these or-

ganisations asked Imran to realise his

mistakes as soon as possible, warn-

ing him that otherwise they would

have to take steps against him.

They, however, did not specifywhether taking steps meant dislodg-

ing Imran from the post of the Moncho

spokesperson.

The warning comes only two days

after Imran had hinted that the plat-

form might float a political party if the

people of the country wanted it to.

Two days before that, ruling Awami

Leagues student body Chhatra League

in a press conference at the same venue

said it was no more with the Moncho.

In recent times, the Moncho activ-

ists have openl y got into scuffl es with

Chhatra League activists centring var-

ious issues.

The five student bodies who or-

ganised yesterdays press conference

were Bangladesh Chhatra Moitree, JSD

Chhatra League, Chhatra Andolon,

Chhatra Oikya Forum and the Chhatra

Samiti.

All these groups and the ruling

partys student wing had been close-

ly associated with the activities of

the Gonojagoron Moncho since it waslaunched in February last year to press

home the demand for ensuring capital

punishment for war criminal Abdul

Quader Molla.Of these groups, Moitree and JSD

Chhatra League are the student fronts

of Bangladesh Workers Party and Jati-

ya Samajtantrik Dal respectively both

allies to the ruling Awami League.

Bappaditya Basu, president of Bang-

ladesh Chhatra Moitree and one of the

organisers of the Moncho, read out a

written statement that said: We [205

organisations] selected Dr Imran H

Sarker as the convener of the Gono-

jagoron Moncho because he was not

actively involved with any particular

political organisation or any studentbody at that time. A few days later,

when the movement was in full swing,

Imrans attitude began to change and

he became autocratic. He began to ig-

nore the others opinions inside the

Gonojagoron Moncho and took vital

decisions on his own. We tried to solvethe problem internally, but failed.

Regarding Imrans hints about form-

ing a political party, Bappa said: We

will never sacrifice the countrymens

sentiment for any individuals wish-

es. Rather we will take stern actions

[against anyone who will do so] and

do everything needed for protecting

PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

Cern will train scienceteachers in BangladeshnSheikh Shahariar Zaman

Cern the biggest and the most prestig-

ious particle physics research institute

in the world is going into an umbrella

agreement with the Bangladesh gov-ernment to cooperate in the field of sci-

ence and technology.

The matter was disclosed yesterday

by Rolf-Dieter Heuer, director gener-

al of the European Organisation for

Nuclear Research (Cern) who came to

Dhaka on Monday on a three-day trip.

He was talking to a small group of

journalists at a city hotel yesterday.

Bangladesh and Cern signed an ex-pression of interest instrument last

year while a memorandum of under-

standing was likely to be signed in the

middle of this year, he added.

The umbrella agreement would tell

that Bangladesh and Cern wanted to

work together and it would be support-

ed by the government, he told journal-

ists.

Under the agreement, there would

be several arrangements such as pro-

viding training to high school teachers

and students or experiment-sharing

between Cern and a Bangladeshi uni-

versity.A Bangladeshi student would also be

sent to the institute in the summer for

two months for training, Heuer said.

We will arrange a workshop for

high school teachers and train them

with modern knowledge, he said.

Heuer observed that Bangladesh

needed to have good teachers to grow

interest among young students about

science. He said he would not have be-

come a physicist had his first teacher

not been good.

He also said big projects such as the

Apollo programme or the Higgs-Boson

invention attracted young people tostudy science. When the first rocket

was sent under the Apollo programmein the USA, many young students opted

to study engineering.

Cern, which proved the existence

of god particle, popularly known as

the Higgs-Boson particle in 2012 and

became a f ront page item, still attracts

media attention.

The world is still watching what we

are doing, Heuer said.

Cern has 21 member countries and

two associate members and 10,000-

11,000 scientists from 98 countries

work there.

Pakistan, Russia, Cyprus, Turkey,

Brazil and Ukraine have applied for as-

sociate memberships and after signing

the agreement, Bangladesh can also

apply for it.

The main thing is to have agree-

ment with the government. It makes

two things. One, it is more visible in

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

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Regd. No. DA 6238

Vol 2, No 11 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com SECOND EDITION

BusinessB1 The construction of luxury hotels will

enjoy exemption from all taxes except for

5% customs duty on the import of building

materials and equipment.

News5 Migration from villages to cities contrib-

utes rapid urban growth in Bangladesh

that poses serious threats to urban disaster

since the cities are growing violating urban

development principles and standards,

says a new study.

Nation6 The smuggling of potatoes to India

through Mogholhat border in Lalmonirhat

Sadar upazila is going strong because of

negligence of Border Guard Bangladesh.

Op-Ed11 It is election time for the largest de-

mocracy in the world. This time it happens

to be the largest elections ever held in any

country, with a record number of voters

set to exercise their voting rights.

Entertainment12 Shurer Dhara, one of the leading music

schools of the country, is preparing to

welcome Pahela Baishakh the first day

of the Bangla calendar with thousand

voices on April 14.

INSIDE

Traders from across the country bring boats loaded with watermelons to the Badamtoli fruit market. The fruit gains popularity during

the summer as people eat watermelons to get a respite from the scorching heat SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Fakhrul releasedfrom Kashimpur jail

nOur Correspondent, Gazipur

BNP acting secretary general Mirza

Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was freed from

Kashimpur jail yesterday, a day after he

was granted six-month interim bail in a

case.Jahangir Kabir, senior jail super-

inetendent of Dhaka Central Jail 2

(Kashimpur), confirmed the news.

He said the BNP leader had earlier

also secured bail in two other cases,

filed with Shahbagh and Dhanmondi

police stations, in connection with a

petrol bomb attack on police car, van-

dalism and other charges.

On Monday, the High Court bench of

Justice Borhan Uddin and Justice KM

Kamrul Quader granted six monthsbail to Fakhrul in a case accusing him of

instigating a bomb attack in Malibagh

during pre-polls violence on November

30 last year that killed one person.

Fakhrul walked out of the jail as the

necessary papers of the bail order were

scrutinised after it arrived at Kashim-

pur in the afternoon.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Public servantsmay not getsalary hikePay commission chairman says publicservants may get improved non-financial benefits instead of a hike

nAsif Showkat Kallol

The national pay commission may drop

the idea of hiking salaries of govern-

ment employees from a point of view

that it may lead to higher inflation.

Instead, the commission is contem-

plating improved non-financial bene-

fits such as insurance facilities, tuition

fee allowance and free textbooks for

the children of the employees.After the third meeting of the com-

mission yesterday, Chairman Moham-

mad Farashuddin told reporters that

the aim was t o improve effi ciency o f

government staffs without putting

pressure on the consumer price index.

According to a government circular,one of the tasks of the National Pay

and Services Commission formed last

year is to find a way to adjust the sal-

aries of government employees with

prevailing inflation rates.

The rate of inflation in the country

for March 2014 is 7.48%, says Bangla-

desh Bureau of Statistics. For the same

month, inflation in the USA is 1.1%, and

in the UK 1.7%. In India, inflation for

February 2014 was 6.73%.

The commission has put up two

sets of questionnaires on the finance

ministrys website seeking opinions

and recommendations from the publicservants about the next pay structure.

In those questionnaires, there are

several questions where respondents

are asked to give their opinions on

whether the next pay structure should

take into consideration the prevailing

inflationary pressures.

After yesterdays meeting,

Farashuddin said: There werediscussions on non-financial benefits

such as providing for tuition fees

of schools and colleges and giving

free textbooks and study materials

to the children of the employees...

We have also discussed short term

insurance facilities for the employees

alongside salaries. However, all

these are still at the initial stage of

consideration.

Binayak Sen, research director of

Bangladesh Institute of Development

Studies, told the meeting that raising

salaries and benefits would not solve

the problem of living standards; rather

the government needed to make sure

that effi cient and s killed peo ple were

recruited, meeting sources said.Then again, citing the example of

Indian public servants and universi-

ty professors many of whosemonth-

ly salaries are as much as Rs80,000-

Rs85,000 in addition to other fac ilities,

Sen stressed the need for good pay toattract effi cient people into the govern-

ment sector.

In Bangladesh, the pay scale for the

senior most government employees

is around Tk40,000 apart from other

benefits.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith also

reportedly agreed with the notion that

just like the private sector, talented

people should also work in the public

sector.

One member of the committee

pointed out that senior government

staffs should enjoy better insurance

policies than the younger ones.

Another member reportedly said the

government employees should start

contributing towards a housing fund

from the beginning of their services so

that they could own houses by the endof their job tenures.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

Just like the privatesector, talentedpeople should alsowork in public sector

9 | PINGS KEEP MH370 SEARCH IN LIMBO 14| BET ON ROONEY FOR BAYERN CLASHTreehouse | MIND READING 7 | IF THE HOUSE COULD SPEAK

The main thingis to haveagreementwith thegovernment

WATERMELONS GALORE: FEELING THIRSTY?


2/21

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, April 9, 2014

CHT DevelopmentBoard Bill placed in JSnTribune Report

The government tabled the Chittagong

Hill Tracts Development Board Bill

2014 in pa rliament yesterday, mainly to

replace the existing ordinance promul-

gated by Gen Ziaur Rahman in 1976.

When passed, the bill will establish

the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development

Board in Rangamati. The government

will then appoint the chairman and the

vice-chairman of the six-member board.

State Minister for Chittagong Hill

Tracts Affairs Bir Bahadur Ushwi Sing

placed the bill to continue ongoing de-

velopment projects in the region, which

lags behind in almost all the develop-

ment indicators. In keeping with proce-

dure, the Parliamentary Standing Com-

mittee on the Chittagong Hill Tracts

Ministry will further scrutinise the bill.

It has the authority to bring any changes

it seems fit to the proposed law.The standing committee will refer

its report back to the House after final-

ising its the recommendations. l

36 fake freedomfighters' certificatescancelledn

Mohosinul Karim

The Liberation War Affairs Ministry

cancelled freedom fighters certificates

of 39 offi cials as th ey were proved fals e

in the investigation.

A liberation war affair ministry ga-

zette notification issued on April 6 said

the temporary freedom fighters certif-

icates tha t were issued to th e offi cials

were proved false in the investigation

of the department of the national secu-

rity intelligence.

It was also proved that those offi cials

who have taken temporary certificates

from the ministry are not real freedom

fighters. As a result, the certificates is-

sued to those offi cials were can celled.

The certificates of former districtjudge Sadikur Rahman Talukder, Raipur

Sub-Registrar Offi ces assistant Golam

Mostafa, Project Director of LGED Ataur

Rahman Khan, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan

Banks Deputy Manager Abul Kashem,

Bangladesh Krishi Banks Principal Of-

ficer Sheikh Jan Mohammad, Director

of Rural Electrification Board SM Saidur

Rahman Chowdhury, senior outdoor

assistants of Mongla Port Authority Sha-

habuddin Chowdhury and Sadek Ali,

BIWTAs Auto-gage Operator Ohiduz-

zaman Ahad and senior public servant

AKM Mirza Alam were cancelled.

Certificates of Gazipurs former dis-

trict food controller Mojibar Rahman,

Kishoreganj Sadars Dr Altabur Rah-

man, auditor of Magura Md Moksed

Ali, Assistant Commissioner of Chit-tagong Customs House Kazi Abdul Ba-

sit, KPCLs former senior clerk Kohinur

Miah, former public servant Sheikh

Mohammad Rawshan Ali, fisheries of-

ficer Zo arder Anw arul H aque, o ffi ce

assistant of small irrigation project of

Bhola Mosharef Hossain, employee of

Bangabandhu Hall of Agriculture Uni-

versity of Mymensingh Mofizul Islam,

offi ce assista nt of regional l abour offi ce

of Chittagong Tazul Islam Khan, Public

Works Departments Work Assistant

Nazrul Islam, Assistant Foreman Jainal

Abedin an d Administ rative Offi cer of

small irrigation project of Barishal Amir

Hossain were also cancelled.

The authorities also cancelled the

certificates of Faridpur Nagarkandas

Assistant Teacher SM Iman Uddin,

Bangladesh Railways Abdul Kaiyum

Amin, Dinajpur Chirir Bandars head-

master Debendra Nath Roy, Netrokona

Purbodholas headmaster Siraz Miah,

Headmaster of Chandpur Faridganj Sir-

azul Islam, Polices former sub-inspec-

tor Soaliman Ali, former sub-inspectorShamsur Rahman, Constable Amir Ali,

Security Habilder of AFCCL KM Bablu,

Khagrachari Ramgarhs Shah Md Wa-

liullah, Barguna Betagis Abdul Aziz,

Khulna Kairas Abdul Malek and Jamal-

pur Dewanganjs Abdul Aziz. l

Moudud apologises forGoyeshwars commentnTribune Report

BNP Standing Committee member

Moudud Ahmed has apologised to the

High Court for his fellow Goyeshwar

Chandra Roys contemptuous com-

ment about the court.

As Moudud went to the bench of

Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Jus-

tice ABM Altaf Hossain with a writ pe-

tition yesterday, the bench raised the

issue of Goyeshwar who on Sunday

said all courts including the Supreme

Court are in the po cket of Mujib Coat.

Moudud then apologised for Goyesh-

wars remark, Deputy Attorney General

Biswojit Roy told the Dhaka Tribune.

A junior colleague of Moudud also

confirmed the incident but said it was

informal.

Goyeshwar at a programme on Sun-

day said: Judge Court, High Court andSupreme Court all courts are now im-

prisoned in the pocket of Mujib Coat. If

it is not possible to tear this pocket, no-

body will get justice. T he judges con-

science will not be revived.

He alleged that the judges do not

hear arguments, rather they wait for

a signal. When the signal comes, the

judges have to pen down the judge-

ment in line with the signal.

The same bench on its own motion

on Monday asked Goyeshwar to appear

before it on April 20 to explain his re-

marks. It also summoned Doctors As-sociation of Bangladesh Vice-President

M Salam and Secretary General AZM

Zahid Hossain as Goyeshwar had made

the comment at a human chain organ-

ised by the pro-BNP doctors' platform.

The bench also issued a contempt rule

against the three asking as to why they

should not be punished for contempt

of court. The three alleged contem-

nors have to reply to the rule in writing

through affi davits within two weeks to

explain their positions if they had any. l

Rab arrests 2 recruiting agencyowners for fraud, human traffi ckingnKailash Sarkar

The Rapid Action Battalion yesterday

arrested the owners of two recruit-

ing agenci es suspect ed of traffi cking

people to the Middle East and holding

them hostage overseas for ransom.

The arrested suspects, identified

as Abdul Zabbar Khan, 47, owner of

Samira Tours and Travels, and SMA

Mannan, 37, owner of Zaber Interna-

tional, were picked up from the cap-

itals Mohammadpur and Paltan areas

respective ly, RAB 2 offi cials to ld a press

briefing at their Agargaon offi ce yester-

day evening.

The men are suspected to be mem-

bers of a human traffi cking gang, send-

ing people abroad, mostly to Middle

Eastern countries, with false jobs and

forged visas and passports.

They are also accused of sellingpeople as slaves in countries like Iraq,

or keeping them hostage by seizing

their passports and then collecting ran-

som money from their families in Ban-

gladesh.

The RAB offi cials sa id more th an

300 people had fallen victims to their

cheating and other inhuman activities.

Due to the gangs cheating and

forgeries, a few hundred innocent Ban-

gladeshis were arrested abroad and ex-

perienced untold sufferings in deten-

tion in foreign countries, AdditionalSuperintendent of Police Raihan Uddin

Khan, oper ation offi cer of RAB 2, said.

The offi cer said the s uspected ga ng

members used to send people abroad

through their recruiting agencies with

fake visas and passports. They were

also involved in sending women to Iraq

and selling them as the slaves there, he

added.

Zabbar Khan was arrested in Iraq in

2011 for cheating and forgery. He had

gone to Iraq several times using three

separate passports, Raihan Uddinsaid, adding that Zabbar was blacklist-

ed by the Iraqi authorities for his illegal

activities.

This gang sent 300 people to Iraq

against visas for only 100 people in

2009. Fifty of the victims were arrest-

ed and sent back home when it was

proven that they had fake visas, while

50 others had to suffer in jails there,

Raihan said.

Abdul Zabbar, from Faridpur dis-

trict, lives in Shyamoli, while Mannan,

of Kosba upazila in Brahmanbaria, re-

sides at Naya Paltan in the city.

Meanwhile, earlier yesterday, Mo-

hammad Barakat Ali, manager of

Samira Tours, had claimed that Man-

nan was picked up in a white microbus

outside his Moti jheel offi ce on Monday

night by some people who identified

themselves as RAB personnel. l

Special security for PahelaBaishakh celebrationsnKailash Sarkar

With the deployment of additional

forces of police and RAB, police author-

ities have projected a special security

plan for Pahela Baishakh, celebration

of the Bangla New Year.

Topmost offi cials of police held a

meeting at the Police Headquarters

yesterday afternoon fo r the planning.

Chaired by Inspector General of Police

Hassan Mahmood Khandker, the meet-

ing was attended by AKM Shahidul Ho-

que, additional IGP (Administrations),

Zaved Patwari, chief of Special Branch,

Himayet Hossain, chief of Armed Police

Battalion, Mokhlesur Rahman, direc-tor-general of RAB, and Benajir Ahmed,

commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan

Police (DMP), among others.

Control rooms will be set up at the

Police Headquarters, police headquar-

ters of all the metropolitans, all ranges

and offi ces of th e Superint endent of

Police (SP) so that the celebration takes

place without a hitch, as well as to co-

ordinate the security measures in this

regard.

Sources in the meeting said the in-spector general had asked all the forces

at the meeting to remain alert so that

people would be able to celebrate the

occasion. He also urged people to help

the law enforcers in this regard.

The sources also said RAB helicop-

ters would patrol from the sky on the

day of, apart from the additional forces

- both in uniform and plain clo th.

In addition, extra vigilance will be

arranged for in the shopping malls,

markets, bus and launch terminals and

railway stations.l

Court accepts charge

sheet against OisheenMd Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday accepted the

charge sheets pressed against OisheeRahman and three others in a case re-

garding the murder of parents Special

Branch Inspector Mahfuzur Rahman

and his wife Swapna Rahman in August

last year.

After taking the charges into cogni-

sance, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate

Maruf Hossain sent the case to Metro-

politan Sessions Judges Court for trial.

Oishee, her boyfriend Mizanur Rah-

man Rony, Asaduzzaman Jony and

housemaid Khadiza Khatun alias Sumi

were present before the court.

On March 9, DB Inspector Abu Al

Khair Matubba r, also investigatio n offi -

cer of the case, submitted two separate

charge sheets before the Dhaka Chief

Metropolitan Magistrate Court.

Of the charge sheets, one was filed

against Oishee, Jony and Rony; Sumi

was also charged but she will be tried in

a juvenile court as she is still under 18.

On August 14 last year, the SB in-

spector and his wife were stabbed to

death at their rented flat in Chameli-

bagh, Malibagh. Police recovered the

bodies on August 16. Oishee and Sumi

surrendered at the Paltan police station

the following day. Later, Oishee gave a

confessional statement. l

BNP wantsPAGE 1 COLUMN 6

the district level leaders from April 10

and before that grassroots leaders will

have to sit with joint secretary generals

and organising secretaries.

The Nayapal tan central offi cials

have already issued letters and phoned

district leaders to let them know about

their schedules of meetings with cen-

tral leaders including the chairperson

in Dhaka.

As per the report, the joint secretary

generals and organising secretaries re-

quested Khaleda Zia to go to Nayapal-tan offi ce once a week but Kha leda Zia

refused to do so. l

Public servants may not get salary hikePAGE 1 COLUMN 2

According to meeting sources, the idea

was that if civil servants could be sure

that they would own houses at the end

of their jobs, they would not resort to

corruption.

After the meeting, former central

bank governor Farashuddin told re-

porters that it would not be possible for

the commission to submit the report by

the June deadline. He said the commis-

sion had already applied for extension

and hoped to place the report by De-

cember 2015.

The 17-member pay commission

was formed in November last year to

come up with a new pay scale for 12lakh government employees. l

Fakhrul releasedPAGE 1 COLUMN 1Earlier on January 20, Fakhrul, along

with BNP leaders Mirza Abbas and Ab-

dus Salam, were granted eight-week

bail by the High Court in a case over the

murder of a policeman at Banglamotor

and two more cases of arson in Mali-

bagh and Poribagh.

Howver, the Appellate Division can-

celled the bail orders of five BNP lead-

ers including the three on March 9.

On March 16, the three leaders were

produced before the court, where they

sought bail from the appellate division.

However, the court rejected the bail plea

and ordered them to be sent to jail. l

Student bodies warn Gonojagoron's ImranPAGE 1 COLUMN 4

the prestige of the Gonojagoron Mon-

cho. We will sit with all Moncho activ-

ists from around the country and the

pro-Liberation War cultural, social and

political organisations [for making a

decision].

He blamed Imran for being too le-

nient towards Chhatra League which

gave the ruling partys student front

the courage to assault Moncho activ-

ists.

He also claimed that Abir and Shishir

blamed for attacking Moncho activ-

ists had never been associated with

the Chhatra League and Jubo League;

rather they were activists of the Mon-

cho.

In immediate reaction to the press

conference, Imran said: I never de-

cided anything for the Moncho on my

own. People will always have different

views, but it is not always possible to

accept them. But that does not mean

that we were autocratic.Terming the recent turmoil within

the Moncho unexpected, he said: We

have already planned to form a new

committee comprising representatives

from all the organisations so that we

can make f uture decisions calmly.

He also said: I do not considerthis a warning from the Gonojagoron

Moncho. I was not selected [as

the spokesperson] by those five

organisations. There are hundreds

more. But I accept the allegations as a

view from my allies and hope to work

jointly in future. l

Cern will trainscience teachers in

BangladeshPAGE 1 COLUMN 6

the political arena and second, it is sort

of moral obligation to continue for this

not for one year but for long-term, hesaid.

The Cern chief said the workshop

for teachers was likely to be held at the

end of this year. l

Porters and day labourers sleep away in the daytime on the walkway of Sadarghat Launch Terminal in the capital as there are very few launches operating until the evening. The photo

was taken yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Leaders of five student organisations hold a press conference at Madhu's C anteen on Dhaka University campus yesterday, raising various

allegations against Gonojagoron Moncho spokesperson Imran H Sarker RAJIB DHAR


3/21

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Study: Only 7 outof 126 RMG trade

unions activenTazlina Zamila KhanOnly seven trade unions in the ready-

made garment industry out of 126 reg-

istered are actively working to promote

the rights of workers, a new study says.

The key impediment for most trade

unions not being functional is harass-

ment and assaults by the factory man-agement, finds the study titled Organ-

ising Trade Unions in the RMG Sector

2010-14.

It states that two trade unions re-

ceived registrations in 2011 and 2012,

while the number increased to 81 last

year, but has come down to 43 this year.

The findings of the study conducted

by Solidarity Centre were revealed

yesterday at a social dialogue pro-

gramme styled Industrial Relation

and Sustainable Development of RMG

Industry in Bangladesh: Role of Na-

tional and International Stakeholders.

Bangladesh Institute of Labour Stud-

ies (BILS) and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

(FES) organised the event in the citys

Brac Inn.

Alonzo Glenn Suson, executive di-

rector of Solidarity Centre, said around

20% of the workers engaged with the

trade unions fo und it diffi cult to oper-ate due to torture by the members of

the factory offi cials.

Quoting recent studies of the BILS,

speakers said at least 1,063 industrial

unrests took place from January 2010

to June 2013. Most of these incidentscould have been avoided had there

been the practice of bipartite dialogue

at the factory level and tripartite dia-

logue at national level.

One of the main reasons behind

those outbursts was the absence of dis-

pute settlement through discussions.

Michael Sommer, president of the

International Trade Union Confeder-

ation (ITUC) and chairman of German

Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB),

said: Unified trade unions are a must

to ensure the workers rights. Employ-

ers and government need to provide

more space for the unions to operate.

He suggested having a regular so-

cial dialogue in every two months rep-

resented by the unions to address the

problems.

Sommer stressed the need for en-

suring safe work places, and equitable

and economically sustainable wage

growth, reliable cooperation and ac-

countability structures between work-ers and employers. So, Accord should

be fully implemented.

On February 20, the Accord, a

platform of 150 European retailers,

launched the first phase of inspection

and inspected over 225 factories for

fire and electrical safety and over 180

factories were inspected for structuralsafety. On the other hand, the Alliance

for Workers Safety in Bangladesh had

inspected 305 factories and found no

faults.

Roy Ramesh Chandra, secretary

general of IndustriAll Bangladesh

Council, suggested formation of a sep-

arate trust fund for the RMG workers.

The owners will pay Tk5 per work-

er and the workers will pay the same

amount every month. The buyers will

give 10 cents. This fund can be used for

the betterment of the workers.

The former Jatiya Sramik League

leader said the workers could also sit

with the buyers in order to ensure their

rights.

Syed Sultan Uddin Ahammed, as-sistant executive director of BILS, said

the owners ignored the basic needs of

millions of workers, especially their

accommodation and medical facilities.

Mikail Shiper, secretary of Labour

and Employment Ministry, said: TheNational Crisis Management Commit-

tee headed by the labour minister was

formed to address the workers rights

issue.

Srinivas Reddy, country director of

the International Labour Organisation,

said the RMG sector was vital for Ban-

gladesh to achieve the Millennium De-

velopment Goals and reduce poverty.l

ACC: Mosharrafs wife involvedwith money laundering

nTribune Report

The Anti-Corruption Commission

(ACC) has found that Bilkis Akhter

Hossain, wife of detained BNP stand-

ing committee member Khandaker

Mosharraf Hossain, was involved with

laundering Tk9.54 crore to the UnitedKingdom.

ACC deputy director Ahsan Ali told

reporters: Mosharraf has concealed

his income related information in the

income tax statement filed in Bangla-

desh and we have found his wifes in-

volvement with irregularity.

He made the disclosure after ques-

tioning Bilkis Akhter at the ACC head-

quarters at Segunbagicha.

However, Bilkis Ahter declined to

comment further saying: I have ap-

peared before the ACC following their

notice and have replied to their que-

ries.

ACC director Nasim Anwar on Feb-

ruary 6 filed a case against the BNP

leader on charge of laundering around

Tk9.54crore to the United Kingdom.

According to the case statement,

Khandaker Mosharraf illegally amassed

over 800,000 (Tk95,395,381) by abuse

of power between 2001 and 2006 and

concealing information.

The sum has been put into a joint

fixed-term deposit account at Lloyds

TSB Offshore Private Banking at Guern-

sey in the UK. The joint account be-

longs to him and his wife.

On March 12, police arrested Khan-

dakar Mosharraf at Gulshan in the capi-

tal in connection with the case. l

BNP: Unfreeze Khaledasbank accountsnMohammad Al-MasumMolla

The BNP yesterday demanded that

party Chairperson Khaleda Zias bank

accounts be reopened immediately al-

leging that those were frozen unjustly.

In 2007, the then caretaker gov-

ernment frozen bank accounts of both

Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina. ButSheikh Hasinas accounts were unfro-

zen in 2008 and she is operating her

accounts.

Nazrul Islam Khan, standing com-

mittee member of the party, said this

while addressing a press briefing atpartys Nayapaltan headquarters: We

strongly demand the immediate un-

freezing of her bank accounts.

The government evicted Khaleda

Zia from her cantonment residence

with a political vengeance, he said.

Nazrul said Khaleda Zia has eight

bank accounts and among those there

is no money in six bank accounts.The BNP leader alleged Khaledaa

Zias bank accounts have remained fro-zen for long seven years.

From the prime minister to minis-

ters and ruling party leaders are mak-

ing derogatory remarks on Khaleda Zia

which is unfortunate. I have no word to

condemn the ruling party leaders false

and dirty comments on Khaleda Zias

personal life. l

Feroz Rashid: JaPa not true oppositionnKamran Reza Chowdhury

A senior lawmaker of Ershads Jatiya

Party yesterday resented the fact that

his party was not the true opposition.

Peoples perception of the JaPa is

very bad as the electorate do not rate

it as the true opposition in parliament,

said Kazi Feroz Rashid in an unsched-uled discussion that started minutes

after the House started its business at

5:05pm.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury

presided over the session.

He demanded that the JaPa be given

the responsibilities of some heads of

the parliamentary standing committee.

Kazi Feroz Rashid said the result

of the recently-held upazila was a tes-

timony to peoples perception of the

government-JaPa relation.

It is regrettable that the JaPa is not

given any post of chiefs of the standing

committee. We cannot show our face

outside, he said.He lamented the fact that he was the

ninth member of a standing committee

while he was telecom minister 25 years ago.

He said the JaPa would extend all

out support to the government on

some basic issues. We will praise all

good actions of the government and

criticise the bad decisions.

Rustom Ali Farazi, an independent

MP and former JaPa lawmaker,

then took the floor in another

unscheduled slot. He also echoed the

view of Firoz.

SM Abul Kalam Azad, the lone MP

from Bangladesh Nationalist Front, ob-

jected to the government decision togive power corridor to India which

refused Bangladesh the due share of

the Teesta river.

It is not acceptable that we are to

meet the demands of India one after

another but never get our due share ofwaters, he said.l

Witness: Azhar abducted Carmichael College teachersnUdisa Islam

A new prosecution witness in the trial

against alleged al-Badr commander of

Rangpur ATM Azharul Islam yesterday

said the accused had been involved di-

rectly in the abduction and killing of

Carmichael College teachers during the

1971 Liberation War.

Shobha Kar, sister of martyred Chit-

yaranjan Roy, told the war crimes tribunal

about the abductions of her brother and

three other teachers. She could identify at

the time of incident Azhar since they had

been classmates, the witness said.Now living in Kolkata of India, she

submitted his deposition as the 19th

prosecution witness in the case. De-manding justice for the killings, the

witness said the man who had planned

and killed the intellectuals of the coun-

try should be punished.

After her deposition, the defence

counsel started questioning her and

the tribunal 1 adjourned the trial until

tomorrow.

Shobha said she used to stay on the col-

lege premises with her brother who was a

teacher of mathematics department.

At midnight on April 30 of 1971,

some Pakistani Army personnel came

to our house and picked my brotherup with two other colleagues Sunil

Baran Chakrabarty and Ram Krishna

Adhikari. For some reason, Ram Krish-

na was at our house.

When the abductors took them on

a truck, we saw through the window

that some Bangalees were helpingthem. I identified Azhar then because

he was my classmate.

The witness said the next day Ratan

Das, the cook of Kala Chand who was

a teacher of chemistry, told her that

Azhar had also abducted his master. He

also saw the abduction of Manjusree,

wife of Kala Chand, and Sunil Baran.

Shobha said: Later my brothers

student Salauddin informed us that all

of them had been killed near Damdam

Bridge of Rangpur town when the lower

halves of their bodies were kept under the

ground and all of them were blind folded.

Azhar, a senior Jamaat-e-Islami lead-

er, was indicted on November 12 last

year on six charges of crimes against hu-

manity including genocide in 1971.

Meanwhile, the same tribunal yester-

day deferred the proceedings of the case

against war crimes accused Mobarak Hos-

sain upon a defence plea until April 17.

The defence counsels earlier sought

time several times. The tribunal yester-day said it was accepting the plea for

the last time. If the defence failed to

produce their last witness, the prose-

cution would begin their closing argu-

ments in the case.

At the tribunal 2, the prosecution

yesterday paced the 23rd witness, Ani-

sur Rahman, in the case against warcrimes accused Mir Kashem Ali, an

alleged al-Badr commander in Chit-

tagong during the Liberation War who

operated torture camps in the port city.

The witness works at the investi-

gation agency as an inspector. He is

in charge of the agencys library from

where the inve stigatio n offi cer seized

some documents.

After his deposition and cross-ex-

amination, the tribunal set today for

placi ng the investi gation o ffi cer, also

the prosecutions last witness.

The same tribunal yesterday re-corded cross-examination of the first

prosecution witness in the case againstwar crimes accused Maulana Abdus

Subhan. Witness ATM Shahiduzzaman

Nasim on Monday described the killing

of three members of his family in 1971

when the accused had been present at

the scene with a sword in his hand.

The tribunal 2 set today for plac-

ing the second witness against the ac-

cused, a Jamaat nayeb-e-ameer.l

HC allows twomore weeks toensure widespreaduse of Bangla

nTribune Report

The High Court yesterday gave two

more weeks to the government to en-

sure the usage of Bengali in the names

of mass media, number plates for vehi-

cles and all sign boards.It also asked the government to en-

sure use of Bangla in every sphere of

life except the embassies and foreign

institutions.

The bench comprising Justice

Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice

ABM Altaf Hossain passed theorder following a petition filed by the

government.

On February 17, the High Court

bench passed an order to ensure

all-out use of Bangla upon a petition

of Supreme Court lawyer Eunus Ali

Akond.

The court also directed the govern-

ment to comply with it within its allot-

ted time.

As the order was not implement-

ed, Akond lodged a contempt of

court petition with the HC on April 6

against six secretaries of cabinet

division, and law, home, cultural

affairs, information, and education

ministries.l

Bangladesh to bea middle-incomecountry soon

nBSS

US Ambassador Dan Mozena said here

today that Bangladesh would soon

emerge as a middle- income country.

The envoy was on a tour of Joypur-

hat where he visited the countrys big-

gest sugar mill, Joypurhat Sugar Mills.Explaining his optimism, he said

that the people of Bangladesh have the

merit and skill to make their co untry an

economic tiger soon.

The local administration including

Zilla Parishad administrator, S M Sulay-

man Ali, the mayor of the local munic-

ipality, president of the local chamber

of commerce, the deputy commission-

er and superintendent of police held a

meeting with the Ambassador at the

local Circuit House. l

Apparel workers vandalise a factory at Chittagong EPZ yesterday to press for their various demands DHAKA TRIBUNE

The Democratic Left Alliance begins road march towards Teesta Barrage from the National Press Club in the capital yesterday demanding proper water sharing RAJIB DHAR

At least 1,063 incidentsof industrial unrest tookplace during the period

between January 2010and June 2013


4/21

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Hall-Mark bossesface another case

nMd Sanaul Islam Tipu

The Sonali Bank authorities yesterday

filed a fresh case against Hall-Mark

Group Chairman Jasmine Islam and

Managing Director Tanvir Mahmud

for realising Tk60.44 crore on behalf

of Design Wear Limited and High Need

Limited that swindled the hefty money

from the bank through forgery.

In the case, the couple and the two

entities of the group have been made

defendants for defaulting the amount.

Abdus S alam, executive offi cer ofthe state-owned banks Ruposhi Bangla

Hotel branch, lodged the case with Ar-

tha Rin Adalat 1 (money loan court) ofDhaka. Judge Md Rabiuzzaman took the

case into cognisance and ordered the de-

fendants to submit written statements

before it by April 12 through counsels.

With this, the bank has filed 12 cases

against Hall-Mark Group for realising

more than Tk161.82 crore.

Hall-Mark alone took away Tk2,686

crore from the bank on forged doc-

uments between 2010 and 2012. The

scam shook the entire country when it

came to light in May 2012.

The Anti-Corruption Commission

filed 11 cases against 27 persons tied

to Hall-Mark and the bank on Octo-

ber 4, 2012. The ACC on October 7 last

year pressed charges against 25 of the

accused. Of them, seven persons, in-

cluding Tanvir, are now in jail while

Jasmine is on bail. Seventeen others

are absconding. l

SAMIUL MURDER

Key accused Bakkus bail cancellednTribune Report

The High Court (HC) yesterday can-celled the bail of Md Shamsuzzaman

Arif alias Bakku, the prime accused in

the case of murder of Samiul Azim Wafi,

a six-year-old boy.

An HC bench comprising Justice Ni-

zamul Huq and Justice Zahangir Hos-

sain passed the order.

Deputy Attorney General Amit Taluk-

der said the bench on February 16 grant-

ed bail to Bakku and issued a rule, ask-

ing the authorities concerned as to why

Bakku should not be granted permanent

bail. The court yesterday cancelled his

bail after quashing the rule, he said.

According to the case statement, vic-

tims mother Humaira Akter Ayesha and

her lover Bakku killed Samiul as he wit-

nessed them being intimate. His body

was recovered from near his house in

the capitals Adabar on June 24, 2010.

On February 1 in 2011, a Dhaka court

framed charges against the duo and

the trial started after seven days with

the testimony of KR Azam, father of

the minor boy. So far, nine prosecution

witnesses have given depositions in the

case.

Azam recently told the Dhaka Tri-

bune that he received death threat from

Bakku after he was released on bail from

jail. The accused also threatened the

victims father not to bring witnesses

anymore to the court.l

Government lacksaccurate data onmigrant workersnRabiul Islam

The government has no accurate data

on the migrant workers who are now

working in different countries, includ-

ing Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United

Arab Emirates, Oman, Singapore, Ku-

wait and Malaysia.

As a result, experts say, it is not pos-

sible to project the foreign currenciesto be remitted by the migrant workers.

They have observed that it is also

necessary to collect accurate data on

the migrant workers with a view to

making policy for migration sector.

For example, they said, statistics are

a must if the government wants to pro-

vide the migrant workers with proper

services.

Just on the basis of assumption, the

expatriates welfare and overseas em-

ployment ministry claims that nearly

one crore migrants are now working

abroad.According to Bureau of Manpow-

er, Employment and Training (BMET)

data, 8,813,070 migrant workers have

gone abroad till March 2014 since 1976.

It means these workers got clearance

from BMET.

During the period, a total of

2,630,580 migrants have gone to KSA

while 2,308,433 to UAE, 479,814 to

Kuwait, 869,921 to Oman, 284,235 to

Qatar, 278,623 to Bahrain, 100,545 to

Lebanon, 118,896 to Libya, 706,954 toMalaysia and 498,623 migrants to Sin-

gapore. These are the major labour im-

porting countries.

Offi cials concern ed sai d migr ant

workers usually go abroad on a two-

year contract.

A large number of workers return

home every year after the expiry of

their contracts, they said, adding that

the government does not collect data

on returnees.

Apart from returnees, a good num-

ber of migrants who become illegal due

to overstay are deported every year,

but the government has no statistics.

According to BMET, 250,000 mi-

grants were deported from different

countries since 2009. Of the total,

around 36,000 migrant workers were

evacuated from Libya during civil war

in 2011.

Refugee and Migratory Movements

Research Unit (RMMRU) founding

chair Tasneem Siddiqui said the gov-

ernment has no mechanism to keep

information on returnees.It is very important to keep accurate

statistics for the migrants, she said,

adding: If we want to evacuate the

migrants during any crisis situation

like Libya, data is a must.

Now we cannot project the remit-

tances to be remitted by the migrants

as we dont know how many workers

are working abroad at the moment,Tasneem told the Dhaka Tribune re-

cently.

A senior offi cial at the exp atriates

welfare ministry said data is necessary

if the government wants to provide the

returnees with proper service.

Around 8,700,000 workers are now

working abroad, Expatriates Welfare

Secretary Khondaker Showkat Hossain

told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

When asked about a large number

of returnees, he replied in the negative.

Talking to this correspondent at her

offi ce on Sunday, BMET Di rector Gen -

eral Begum Shamsun Nahar admitted

that there is no accurate data on mi-grant workers.

We are trying to keep data on re-

turnees and we would get accurate

data on our migrants.

She also informed that out of BMET

clearance, a large number of workers

have gone abroad. l

Rajuk gets new chairmannMohosinul Karim

The government yesterday appointed

a new chairman for Rajdhani Unnayan

Kartripakkha (Rajuk) and reinstated the

former chairman of Insurance Develop-

ment & Regulatory Authority (IDRA) both for three years.

Former chairman of National Hous-

ing Authority GM Jainal Abedin Bhuiyan

has been made the new chairman of the

citys development regulator while for-

mer IDRA chairman M Shefaque Ahmed

was reappointed, according to separate

orders of the public administration min-

istry. The orders will be effective from

their joining date. The offi cials will have

to disconnect all relations with any oth-

er companies or organisations.Former bureaucrat Jainal Abedin,

who is now on post-retirement leave

(PRL) as an additional secretary, will re-

place Nurul Huda.

The tenure of contractual appoint-

ment of Huda, a retired civil engineer

who worked for the public works de-

partment, expires on April 20. Earlier,

the government rejected Hudas resig-

nation several times and extended his

contracts three times. He has been the

Rajuk chairman for the last four years.

Meanwhile, the IDRA turned into

a guardian-less entity after the end of

three-year contract of Shefaque on Jan-

uary 26. Later, the government issued

a circular bestowing the charges of the

chairman to Md Fazlul Karim, the lone

existing member of the authority.

The regulator requires at least three

members out of its five posts, includ-

ing the chairman, to hold a commission

meeting, according to the IDRA Act.

The government established theIDRA in January 2011, replacing the De-

partment of Insurance, to develop the

insurance industry, by enacting an act

in the parliament. Shefaque was thefounder chairmen of the regulator.l

WiFi bus set to ply city streetsnMuhammad Zahidul Islam

The government is set to introduce

special buses equipped with third gen-

eration wireless internet connectivity

for commuters in the capital.

Under the Access to Information

(a2i) program under the Prime Min-

isters Offi ce, arou nd 20 buses o f the

state-owned Bangladesh Road Trans-

port Corporation (BRTC) equipped

with the facility will be introduced

along the Motijheel-Uttara route.

Commuters with WiFi enabled de-vices, such as smartphones, laptops or

tablet computers, will be able to use the

service while travelling on the buses.Commerce Minister ObaidulQuad-

er and State Minister for ICT Zunaid

AhmedPalak are expected to inaugu-

rate the service tomorrow at the capi-

tals Farmgate area.

Source said, the a2i programme will

be providing at least four 3G wireless

routers of state-owned mobile phone

operator Teletalk in each of the buses,

which will enable around 40 pa ssenger

to use the service simultaneously.Even if the buses travel at 55 to

60 km per hour, there will be no dis-

ruption in the service, Naimuzzaman

Mukta, peoples perspective specialist

of a2i programme, told the Dhaka Tri-bune yesterday.

He added that currently at least 10%

passengers used smartphones and would

be able to use the internet services to

spend their time more productively.l

Engineer gunned down in capitalnAshif Islam Shaon

A young textile engineer was shot dead

by unidentified criminals in the Kolaba-

gan area of the capital early yesterday.The victim, Sadbin Hossain, 25, had

recently joined an apparel factory as a

textile engineer in Savar after complet-

ing his studies.

Quoting the deceaseds relatives,

police sources said Sadbin was return-

ing to his Green Road home around

12:45am on a motorcycle, when some

miscreants in a car intercepted his ve-

hicle near Labaid Hospital and shot

him indiscriminately. Nearby pedestri-

ans took Sadbin to the hospital where

duty doctors declared him dead.

Police later sent his body to the

Dhaka Medical College morgue for an

autopsy. A case has been filed accusing

a man named Jahangir Azim, who had

allegedly been threatening to kill Sad-

bin as the textile engineer refused to

pay extortion to Jahangir.

Kolabagan police station OC Md

Iqbal said Azim might be involved in

the murder and they were trying their

best to arrest him along with the other

criminals. l

Oman to recruit 35 doctors and50 nurses from BangladeshnRabiul Islam

Oman will recruit a total of 35 doctors

and 50 nurses from Bangladesh in the

next one month for a health centre

located at an industrial area near the

capital, Muscat.

Bangladesh Overseas Employment

Services Ltd (Boesl), a government

sponsored recruiting agency, would

handle the recruitment process.We would process the recruitment

as interested doctors and nurses do not

want to go through private recruiting

agencies, which charge huge amounts

of money for processing the visas, Za-

hirul Islam, general manager of Boesl

told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

The medical personnel would be

employed at the Rusayl Health Centre,

a multi-specialty hospital at Rusayl In-

dustrial Estate, 45km from Muscat.

Interested doctors and nurses have

to apply to the agency by April 15, and

interviews will take place on April 20.Each selected candidate would

only have to pay Tk60,000 as servicecharges, and no other fees, Zahirul

said.

There are 25 posts for MBBS doctors

with monthly salaries of US$2,100 and

other facilities, while 10 aviation med-

icine specialists for treating aircrews

will be paid $2,600 each.

A total 25 male nurses and 25 fe-male nurses would also be recruited

for monthly salaries of $760 and $730

respectively.

If we send the doctors and nurses

successfully, we would get more re-

quests, Zahirul hoped.

Oman is one of the destinations for

migrant workers from Bangladesh. Inthe first three months of this year, the

Persian Gulf nation recruited 27,137

Bangladeshi workers, according to the

Bureau of Manpower, Employment

and Training. l

Ship-breaking yardcatches fire in Ctg

nCU Correspondent

A ship-breaking yard at Kumira in Chit-

tagongs Sitakunda upazila caught fire

yesterday afternoon.

However, no causality was reported

in the incident, according to the FireService and Civil Defence sources.

Abdul Harun Pasha, senior station

offi cer at Kumira fire s tation, sa id a fire

had broken out at BBC Ship-Breaking

Yard at Ghatghar area around 6:30pm.

On receiving information, fire

fighters of Kumia fire station rushed to

the spot and doused the blaze after one

hour, he said, adding that reason for

the fire was yet to be known.

Kamal Hossain, assistant sub-inspector at Sitakunda police Station,

said a team of police had inspected

the site.

The extent of damages caused by

the fire was yet to be determined.l

Muggers shoot bKash agent, snatch Tk10 lakhnKailash Sarkar

Pistol-wielding muggers on motorcycles

opened fire on a sales agent of a mobile

banking service and made off with Tk10

lakh in broad daylight in the capitals

Mirpur area yesterday, leaving him and

a passer-by with bullet wounds.

The wounded victims, Abul Kalam

Mollah, 28, a sales agent for bKash,

and Kabir Hossain, 25, the driver of a

private car, were admitted to the Dha-

ka Medical College and Hospital.

Abul Kalam was hit with two bullets

in his chest and hand, while Kabir was

shot in the shoulder, hospital sources

said.

Witnesses and police said several

armed men, riding on two or three mo-

torbikes, waylaid Abuls motorcycle in

front of Al Helal Hospital at Kazipara

around 1pm while he was on his way

to a Brac Ba nk branch from his o ffi ce

in Pallabi.

The armed criminals first tried

to take away the bag with the money

from Abul. But when he tried to resist

them, they started shooting, snatched

the bag and sped away, Sub-inspec-

tor Fazlur Rahman of DMCH police

outpost said, adding: Kabir, who wasdriving through the area at the time,

was hit by a stray bullet.

Bystanders and local residents first

rushed the injured men to a nearby

clinic. They were later moved to the

DMCH for b etter treatment.

Saiful Islam, a cousin of Abul Kalam,

said the criminals probably followed Ka-

lam from his offi ce, AID Distributors,

and carried out the attack at Kazipara.When the pedestrians and locals

chased after the criminals, they fired in-

discriminately, said Saiful.

A subsidiary of Brac Bank, bKash

Ltd provides mobile financial services,

enabling people to transfer money over

their mobile phones across the country.

In another incident in the city, a

gang of muggers at Goranin Khilga-

on stabbed a police constable and

snatched gold jewellery from his wife

around 6:30am yesterday as the couple

was returning to their Chawkbazar res-

idence in a rickshaw.

The victim, Nazrul Islam, 38, posted

at Chawk Bazar police station, was ad-

mitted to the DMCH with stab wounds

in his hands, legs and face.

His wife, Israt Jahan Mitu, said Naz-

rul was stabbed as he resisted the mug-

gers.

When the rickshaw reached Goran,

a gang of four to five muggers stopped

us and snatched away my gold neck-

lace and ring. As my husband tried to

resist them, they stabbed him indis-

criminately, Israt Jahan said.

Inspecto r Siraju l Islam , offi cer in

charge of Khilgaon police station, said

they were trying to apprehend the

criminals. l

BGB personnel pose with smuggled Indian sarees, worth around Tk1.37 crore, seized in Comilla yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

In a recent photo, a farmer is seen using a locally made irrigation system to cultivate paddy on a piece of land where once used to be the Fokinni River in the Bagchha village in Rajshahis

Bagmara upazila DHAKA TRIBUNE


5/21

TWOKI MURDER

Twoki Moncho: Highestgovernment authoritiesinterfering in probe

nTribune ReportThe highest tier of the government was

intervening in the probe of Twokis

murder because members of an influ-

ential family close to the government

were found to be involved with the

crime, claimed Santrash Nirmul Two-

ki Moncho, a platform to ensure jus-

tice for the murder of the Narayanganj

teenager.

Analysing the investigation and tri-

al process, it is normal to think that the

highest authority of the government

was intervening into the investigation

and trial process, Twokis father Rafiur

Rabbi alleged at a press briefing yester-

day.

Two days after going missing, TanvirMohammad Twoki, 17, was found dead

on March 8 last year on the bank of Shi-

talakkhya River. Twoki was allegedly

murdered because of his fathers role

as the member secretary of the election

conducting committee of Salina Hayat

Ivy, who defeated rival Shamim Osman

in the Narayanganj City Corporation

election.

In yesterdays press briefing, activ-

ists of Twoki Moncho also alleged that

Narayanganj has become a den of mur-

der, extortions and crimes after Sham-

im Osman and Nasim Osman becamelawmakers.

After they [Shamim Osman and Na-

sim Osman] became MPs in an unop-

posed election, on the one hand they

are threatening the activists of Twoki

Moncho and on the other hand they are

intervening the investigation and trial

process of Twoki killing, Halim Azad,

member secretary of the Moncho said

in a written statement.

Speaking at the press briefing, noted

cultural personality Kamal Lohani said

despite assurance from the premier,

the killers were yet to be brought to jus-

tice even though 13 months had passed

since the killing.

He added that although the prime

minister showed generosity in other issues,

people were not satisfied with her role in

addressing the Twoki murder issue.

She [prime minister] had said she

needed Shamim Osman for her party.

Can she not make some compromise

for an innocent teenager like Twoki? Is

she not a mother? Lohani asked.

He said that if the killers of Two-

ki were not punished, one day people

would seek accountability from the

government.

Manzurul Ahsan Khan, adviser to

the Communist Party of Bangladesh,

said the failure to punish Twokis mur-

derers was sending a message to other

criminals that murderers did not have

to face punishment.

He said the government must take

strict action against all criminals irre-

spective of their partisan loyalty. l

5NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, April 9, 2014

PRAYER TIMES

Fajar 4:27am

Sunrise 5:41am

Zohr 12:00am

Asr 3:28pm

Magrib 6:17pm

Esha 7:33pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Source: Accuweather/UNB

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

Dhaka 35 25

Chittagong 32 25

Rajshahi 40 23

Rangpur 36 23Khulna 36 24

Barisal 34 25

Sylhet 33 21

Coxs Bazar 32 25

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:18PM SUN RISES 5:42AM

YESTERD AYS H IGH AND LOW37.4C 21.2C

Rajshahi Srimangal

WEATHER

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9

RAIN

LIKELY

Cities not ready to manage migration,reveals an Oxfam studynAhmed Zayeef

Migration from villages to cities con-

tributes rapid urban growth in Bangla-

desh that poses serious threats to urban

disaster since the cities are growing vi-

olating urban development principles

and standards, says a new study.

The study conducted by Oxfam

states that while the rural people, af-

fected by joblessness, migrate to the

cities for better living, a large section of

them have poorer living.

The cities are not prepared to better

manage them.

The international NGO has revealed

the study findings yesterday at a work-

shop on urban disaster risk reduction

based on the disaster vulnerabilities

of Dhaka, Rangpur,Khulna, Mymens-

ingh, Sirajganj,MonglaPort, KurigramandDurgapur.

The workshop took place at Spectra

Convention Centre in the city.

According to the study, over 4.4

crore people which is 29.1% of the total

population of now are now living in the

urban areas.

It was only 15% in 1981 and 23% in

2001.

Within the next decade, the number

could rise to 6.5 crore, as of the UN pro-

jection, says the study.

Analysing last 10 years poverty in-

cidence gap between rural and urban

areas, the study says: The poverty in-

cidences in disaster-affected or adja-

cent urban areas increased than rural

areas, but in non-affected areas, the

urban poverty has reduced in last 5years.

Citing the example of Khul-

naand Barisaldivisions where urban

poverty has increased rapidly after the

cyclones in 2007 and 2009, the study

states that such natural disasters are

pushing people to the urban areas.

Such trend will go up. So, if we do

not handle rural-urban migration in

a planned way, vulnerabilities in the

cities will be serious threats, AKM Ma-

munur Rashid, a disaster risk reduction

specialist, said while presenting the

study.

He said the existing urban land-use

planning did not consider urban haz-

ards in their planning and guidelines.

Only the recent Detailed Area Plan

(DAP) of Dhaka city has considered

flood and water-logging issues, while

the building code is considered be-

cause of earthquake and fire hazard, he

said.

However, implementation of the

DAP and the building code still remains

a big challenge to implement for thecity, he added.

Disaster Management Minister Mo-

fazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya said

presently more than 90% of the minis-

trys allocation was spent for humani-

tarian assistance, but reducing risks is

now becoming more important.

He assured of settling these issues

in consultation with other ministries

concerned.

Prof Mahbuba Nasreen, Prof AQM

Mahbub and Prof Dr ASM Maksud Ka-

mal, Department of Disaster Manage-

ment Director General Mohammed

Abdul Wazed, European Commission

representative Abdul Awal and Oxfam

Country Director Snehal Soneji also

spoke at the function. l

RU BCL postponesindefinite strikenRU Correspondent

Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL)

Rajshahi University unit yesterday

postponed its indefinite strike on the

campus till April 29 demanding the im-

mediate arrest of Rustom Ali Akonds

killers, a BCL leader who was alleged-

ly killed by Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS)

operatives in his dormitory room last

Friday.

BCL leaders also threatened tougher

action if their demands were not met

by April 29, at a press conference held

at the university central cafeteria at

2pm.

BCL RU unit President Mizanur Rah-

man Rana said they had postponed

their indefinite strike for the sake of

students after discussing it with the

university aut horities , police offi cials

and the central BCL committee.BCL yesterday observed its strike for

the fourth consecutive day since Satur-

day, while no classes and examinations

were held during the strike on the cam-

pus.

BCL RU unit General Secretary

Touhid-al-Hossain Tuhin said if their

six-point demands, including the ar-

rest of ICS RU unit President Ashraful

Alam Emon, were not met by April 29,

they would declare tougher measures

on campus.

Other demands by the BCL include

financial assistance for Rustom Alis

bereaved family, banning Shibirs pol-

itics on campus, suspending all Shibir

cadres involved in earlier attacks on

BCL men including Faruk Hossain who

was allegedly killed by Shibir activists

on February 8, 2010; ensuring securityof students on campus and holding an

election for RU Central Students Union

(RUCSU).

Rustom was a fourth year student

of Political Science and acting general

secretary of BCL Shaheed Shuhrawardy

Hall unit. He was shot dead in his room

last Friday. He was also a candidate for

the post of president in the upcoming

hall unit council, slated to be held on

April 10.

Students of the Political Science de-

partment held a mourning ceremony

and a discussion at the department in

the morning and demanded justice for

Rustom as soon as possible.

BCL also held a mass signature cam-

paign in front of the central library in

support of their demands yesterday

morning.

Sharmin Akhter, a magistrate of Ra-

jshahi Chief Metropolitan Magistrate

court yesterday granted a one-day re-

mand for two Shibir men detained last

Sunday. Police had asked for seven

days of rem and, Ziau r Rahman , offi -cer-in-charge of DB, said.

The detainees were ICS Dashmari

unit Finance Secretary Sanaullah Jacky

and Khurshed Alam, an ICS activist.

There was no more arrest in con-

nection with the murder and police

were trying to arrest the masterminds

of the Rustom murder, he also said. l

Youth held for uploadingphoto showing beatingfemale classmatenAshif Islam Shaon

Police have arrested a teenage boy who

allegedly uploaded photos and a video

on Facebook showing him beating his

female classmate.

According to the police, one of the

accuseds friends recorded the video

and took the pictures during the inci-

dent.

The teenager was arrested from in

front of Purbachal City on Sunday night

and was produced before a Dhaka court

on Monday.

Mashroof Hossain, assistant

commissioner in the cantonment zone

of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told

the Dhaka Tribune that a Facebook

page titled Moja losss? posted the

photos of the boy slapping the girl,

aged around 16, in December last year

and administrators of the page sought

help from its followers to find out the

boy.

A few days later, they published thevideo as well.

The video showed that the teen-

age boy, who was wearing school

uniform, slapped the girl on a road.

Someone was recording the video,

he said.

During investigation, we came to

know that the boy and his friends re-

corded the video and took snaps of

the incident. The girl, who came from

a poor family, was previously a good

friend of his and the boys planned to

harrass her as she had been avoiding

the boy. They spread the video on the

Internet, and Moja losss? picked it

up, he said.

The video came to our notice a few

days back and consulting with high of-

ficials, we decided to nab the boy. Withthe help of the Facebook pages admin

panel members, we traced him. We also

spoke with a few locals who personally

knew the boy, he added.

During primary interrogation, the

teen admitted to his involvement and

said he was wrong.

He had slapped the girl on October

2 last year.

The incident came to the concern

of their school teachers and the mat-

ter was settled in an arbitration by the

school committee, he said.

The victims family filed a case un-

der Section 10 of Women and Children

Repression Prevention Act with Khilk-

het police station on Monday in this

connection.

When asked whether the offence of

uploading objectionable photos and

videos should go under the Informa-

tion and Communication Technology

Act, Mashroof said under the act an ac-

cused can be awarded up to seven-year

imprisonment and Tk1 crore fine,

which is huge for a teenager.The plaintiff considered his age,

he said. l

Demonstration continues over Saad killingnOur Correspondent, Mymensingh

Hundreds of agitating students contin-ued staging demonstrations for the 8th

consecutive day yesterday, protesting

the killing of Saad Ibne Momtaz, a stu-

dent of Fisheries Faculty of Bangladesh

Agricultural University.

The students also organised a cul-

tural programme including recitation

of poetry and verses written remem-

bering Saad.

The agitating students held a rally

at the altar of Bijoy71 monument on

the campus in the afternoon in favour

of their demands, including arrest of

Saads killers, and to make their names

public, cancellation of their student-

ship and permanent expulsion of the

accused from the university.

The programmes included protest

procession, mass signature collec-

tion campaign, and formation of hu-

man chain, candle lighting on Bijoy71

premises and drawing paintings on the

campus.

The students have been continuing

different programmes protesting the

death of Saad since April 1.

All academic activities remained

suspended since the incident, the BAU

sources said.

Saad, 21, a final year student of Fish-

eries Faculty of BAU and organising

secretary of BCL Ashraful Haque Hall

unit, was killed in an attack by friends

who are also BCL men on April 1.

Meanwhile, police received post-

mortem report from Mymensingh

Medical College and Hospital regarding

the death of Saad yesterday. Quotingthe report, offi cer-in- charge of Kotwali

Police Station Golam Sarwar said,

Saad died of due to liver collapse and

brain hemorrhage following merciless

beating.

Earlier on Monday, teachers of Fish-

eries Science Faculty of BAU at a press

conference expressed solidarity with

the demands placed by the general

students. The teachers also expressed

no-confidence over the six-memberprobe committee formed to investigate

the killing of Saad.

A six-member probe body formed

headed by Prof Dr Mohsin Ali of Fisher-

ies Faculty of BAU to investigate into the

killing of Saad will submit its report at the

meeting tonight, campus sources said.

Earlier, BAU authority served show

cause notices on Sujoy and Rukon asking

them to reply by April 7 but they replied

the notices, informed the proctor.l

Chittagong DB detainsdrug peddlers, seizes illegalrickshaw chargersnTarek Mahmud, Chittagong

The Detective Branch of Chittagong

Metropolitan Police yesterday evening

nabbed five drug peddlers and five oth-

ers with 165 battery-run rickshaw char-

gers from several shanties at Motijhar-

na area of port city.

Acting on a tip-off, a DB team con-

ducted a drive at the area and nabbed

five noted drug peddlers who were

smuggling drugs into the port city for

a long time, CMP Detective Branch Ad-

ditional Deputy Commissioner Babul

Akhter told the Dhaka Tribune.

Meanwhile, detectives also arrested

five persons involved in charging bat-

tery-run rickshaws illegally, he added.

They also found 165 chargers from theirpossession.

The arrestees and the recovered

items were handed over to Khulshi

police station and two separate cases

were lodged with the police station. l

One held withstolen fabric inChittagong

nTarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Detective Branch (DB) in Chittagong

Metropolitan Police (CMP) early yester-

day arrested an employee of a covered

van company with 752 pieces of fabric

of shirts stolen from Chittagong citys

Boropol area.

Babul Akhter, additional deputy

commissioner of DB in CMP, said a DB

team had nabbed the employee, Mo-

hammad Rahim, from the area with the

stolen fabric around 5:00am after halt-

ing the covered van while it was com-

ing from the capital city to the port city

with the facrics.

He also said the covered van com-

pany, Taher Company, brought 312 car-

tons of fabric of shirt from a readymade

garments factory of Beximco Group for

exporting those to the USA.

Rahim stole the pieces of fabric fromthe cartons and it would hurt the coun-

trys goodwill, the additional deputy

commissioner said.

The intelligence agency suspected

that the covered van company might

be behind the stealing of fabric worth

Tk20 lakh while they are investigating

the matter, added the additional com-

missioner.

The arrestee and recovered fabrics

were handed over to Halishahar police

station and a case was lodged with the

police station in this connection. l

Washing factoryfined in Gazipur forpollution

nOur correspondent, Gazipur

The Department of Environment (DoE)

yesterday fined Tk 12 lakh to a washing

plant in Gazipur for polluting the envi-

ronment.

DoE Assistant Director Mohammad

Hafijur Rahman said the owner of Five

Ocean Washing Limited was fined after

a magistrate court found out that he

had shut do wn the fa ctorys effl uent

treatment plant (ETP) and had been

dumping hazardous chemicals on anearby canal. l

Rafiur Rabbi, father of Twoki, addresses a press conference at the National Press Club in the city yesterday RAJIB DHAR


6/21

Potatoes smuggled with help from border guardsHundreds of Lalmonirhat borderfamilies dependent on smuggling

nOur Correspondent, Lalmonirhat

The smuggling of potatoes to India

through Mogholhat border in Lal-monirhat Sadar upazila is going strong

because of negligence of Border Guard

Bangladesh.

According to sources, at least 1,000

sacks of potatoes (one sack contains

80 kg) are smuggled to India everyday

where 200 local people are engaged in

the business.

Border people alleged that the BGB

men and other law enforcing agencies

were involved in the smuggling.

In anonymity, boatman at Kashem

Ali Boat Ghat at Nagortari char village

said: Potatoes are smuggled to India

from Bangladesh dawn to dusk every

day.

At least 200 people living at

different bordering villages are

involved carrying the smuggled goods

to India by bicycle and they use boat for

crossing the Dharla River, he said.

Nurnabi Islam, a smuggler at Na-

gortari char village said he had got

Tk40 for transporting one sack of po-tato from Mogholhat Bazar to Gidaldah

Bazar in India.

I transport two sacks in a trip and

I can do four trips from dawn to dusk

every day, he said.

At least 300 families in the area de-

pend on smuggling to make a living,

said transporter Karim Miah of Sole-

man Tanti char village.We transport potatoes from Bang-

ladesh to India with the vigilance of

Indian Border Security Force.

They never obstruct us and they

assist to load potatoes in the Indian

truck, said a transporter in the condi-

tion of name not to be published.

Border Guard Bangladesh at Mog-holhat company camp get Tk10 against

each sack of potatoes, he added.

Many people including Abdul Hanif,

Hafizar Rahman, Taherul Islam in

the border village alleged the price of

potato had increased sharply in the

local markets as the potatoes were

smuggled.

Bangladesh could earn revenue if

these potatoes were exported to India

in legal way.

But unabated smuggling is depriv-

ing revenue to the government, they

said.

A group of smugglers and BGB

men were earning windfall profit insmuggling potatoes to India, they

added.

Bordering sources said, a kg of po-

tatoes was being sold at Tk 16 in India

while smugglers purchase a sack for Tk

9 in Bangladesh.After bearing all expenditures, the

smugglers make a profit a Tk 3 against

each kg of potato.

The local farmers get fair prices but

the consumers have to face a price hike.

Smuggler Mazibar Rahman said lo-cal farmers get fair prices and hundreds

of families earned their livelihood by

smuggling as they do not have other

option to main their livelihood.

Commander of Mogholhat BGB

camp Nayek Subedar Shamsul Alamsaid: BGBs vigilance was lax on pota-

to-smuggling to India for the interest of

the farmers.

The BGB did not enjoy benefit in this

regard, he said. l

6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Sindurmoti fairheld in Lalmonirhat

nOur Correspondent, Lalmonirhat

The entire Sindurmoti village under

Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila wore afestive look yesterday as a daylong

Sindurmoti fair was held with the

participation of both Bangladeshi and

Indian devotees.

During the fair, devotees prayedat a temple and took bath in Sindur-

motipond as they believe that water

of Sindurmoti pond would bring peace

and purity to their life.

Tight security has been taken sur-

rounding the fair venue to ensure safe-

ty for the pilgrims, said Aslam Khan,

additional SP inLalmonirhat.

The convener of the Sindurmoti

Fair Celebration Committee Atul Chan-

draRoy said the historical Sindurmoti

fair had begun about 300 years back.

People from both Hindu and

Muslim communitiesof the villagehelp

the district administration to celebrate

the fair in peacefuland festive manner

every year, he said, adding that the

historical Sindurmoti pond is going

to turn into a tourism spot in Rangpur

region.

Debendra Nath Roy, 59, who camefrom district town to have bath in the

pond, said: I have been attending the

Sindurmoti fair for the last 32 yearstoget peace and purity in my life.

In my childhood I came to the fair

with my parents. We really get men-

tal satisfaction after taking bath in the

pond, said another devotee Asutosh

Saha, 55.

The Deputy Commissioner of the

district Habibur Rahman said Sindur-

moti was heritage and religious site of

Hindu community.

As a large number of Hindu devo-

tees came from different places to join

the fair, the district administration

took tight security in and around the

fair venue. l

Rural Magura finally gets OMS ricenOur Correspondent, Magura

People living in the rural areas of Magu-

ra are finally going to enjoy the benefits

of open market sale (OMS) of rice.

This is the extention of the OMS pro-gramme for rice launched on February

2 by Magura distri ct food offi ce, which

had been selling rice in the districts

municipal area only.

Following the constant demand for

the facility by the rural population, the

government body decided to stretchout the programme to the upazilas,

starting yesterday.

Sources at the distri ct food offi ce said

they had started selling rice under OMS

in three upazilas: Shalikha, Moham-

madpur and Sreepur. Under the OMS

programme, everyone would be able to

purchase 5kg rice every day at Tk24 a kg.

Abdul Kuddus, a day labourer from

Durgapur village under Sreepur upazila,

said: I buy 5kg rice every day. Before, I

had to spend Tk190 for that rice, but now

I can get it at Tk120 because of OMS. We

are very happy because of OMS rice.

Golam Rabbani, a rickshaw vanpuller from Ghama village under Mo-

hammadpur upazila, said: We were de-

prived of the OMS rice as it was available

only in the municipalities earlier. It was

not possible for me to go all the way to

Magura, which is 35km away from my

home, to get OMS rice spending Tk80 as

conveyance. Now, I can easily purchase

the rice from the upazila headquarter,

which is only 3km from my house.

When contacted, Abdul Kadir,

Magura district food controller (act-

ing), said: We have started selling

rice under OMS in the upazila level.

We are getting good response in thisregard as rural people are showing

high interest here. l

Upazila chairman sent to jailnOur Correspondent, Barisal

A Pirojpur court rejecting bail prayer yes-

terday ordered to send the newly elected

BNP-backed chairman of Nazirpur upa-

zila jail for violence during hartal.

Local sources said the BNP-backed

candidate Nazrul Islam Khan contested in

Nazirpur upazila on February 27 for chair-

man post when he was detained in jail.

Nazrul was elected chairman from

jail by defeating AL-backed candidate

Abdul

print edition: 9 april 2014

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