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Magh 1, 1420Rabiul Awal 12, 1435Regd. No. DA 6238Vol 1 No 291 TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

15 | RONALDO WINS 2013 BALLON D’OR7 | POPULATION IN CROSSFIRE 8 | FRENCH FIRST LADY IN HOSPITALTMAG | DRESSING THE PART

BusinessB1 Tofail Ahmed yesterday said his utmost priority would be to retain the Generalised System of Preferences for Bangladeshi products in the US.

News5 Health ministry is planning to relax the cut-o� mark for admission to private medical and dental colleges.

5 Haphazard and illegal parking of vehicles in the city is at its height, blocking almost half the city roads contributing much to the gridlock.

O� ces of the Dhaka Tribune are closed today on the occasion of Eid-e-Miladun-nabi and there will be no issue of the pa-per tomorrow. However, the website will still be updated.

INSIDE

HOLIDAY NOTICE

Verdict in 10-truck arms haul case due on Jan 30n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

A Chittagong court yesterday � xed January 30 for delivering the verdict in two cases related to the sensational recovery of 10-trucks full of arms and ammunition on April 2, 2004.  

Judge of Chittagong metropolitan special tribunal 1, SM Mujibur Rahman, � xed the date on the completion of ver-bal arguments by defence lawyers.

Public prosecutor Kamal Uddin Ahmed concluded his verbal argu-ments in the cases on Sunday. He told reporters that the court had directed the prosecution and the defence to submit their written arguments by Jan-uary 23.

The court also asked Abdus Sobhan Tarafder, counsel for  the former state minister for home,Lutfozzaman Babar, to submit his written arguments by the

� xed date as he could not appear be-fore the court yesterday.

Meanwhile, the court did not take the verbal arguments of Brig Gen (retd) Abdur Rahim, former director general of National Security Intelligence (NSI), and Maj (retd) Liakat Hossain, a former NSI director, which were placed before the High Court expressing a lack of con-� dence in the trial court.

In the two cases, a total of 50 peo-

ple were sued in arms case, and 52 in smuggling cases relating to the sensa-tional incident.

The other accused include former industries minister and Jamaat-e-Isla-mi chief Motiur Rahman Nizami,  for-mer managing director of Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited (CUFL) Mohshin Uddin Talukder, former CUFL gener-al manager of AKM Enamul Haque,

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Speaker to leave o� ce to contest by-polln Kamran Reza Chowdhury

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury is unlikely to be re-elected as she has been preparing to contest the upcoming by-election to Rangpur 6 seat, which

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina vacated, as the president convenes the � rst ses-sion of 10th parliament on January 29.

Rather she is likely to become the foreign minister as Hasina has not ap-pointed any minister for the post. In response to the reporters’ query at the Bangabhaban, the premier on Sunday said her cabinet would get more female minister after the elections to the 50 women’s reserved seats.

According to the parliamentary rules, the � rst job of Shirin Sharmin on Janu-ary 29 is to elect a new speaker as she has not been elected as a lawmaker. Un-less she is elected from a reserved seat or through the by-poll before January 29, she must leave the speaker’s post.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

First session on January 29; Inaugural sitting to elect new speaker and deputy speaker; Shirin likely to become foreign minister after by-poll

With the challenges of an election boycotted by a major political party, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is engrossed in work at her o� ce yesterday while other ministers mostly spent their � rst day in o� ce being greeted by supporters and lobbyists PMO

Only greetingson day oneMany came to meet ministers; o� cials did not want to miss the chance n Mohosinul Karim and

Rabiul Islam

As new ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers entered their o� ces at the secretariat for the � rst day yes-terday, o� cials and visitors rushed to welcome them.

A huge gathering of visitors and cars was seen inside the secretariat. There was no room to move at the o� ces of the new cabinet members.

Pro-government o� cials greeted them with � ower bouquets upon their entrance. Grassroots leaders from across the country came to Dhaka to greet the new ministers. Even lawmak-ers loyal to the ministers and state min-isters came to meet and congratulate them.

O� cials in di� erent ministries and divisions received their ministers and informed them of the details of the ongoing work and future plans. The ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers also held meetings with sen-ior o� cials of the ministries concerned and o� ces under their ministries.

All of the new cabinet members en-tered the secretariat yesterday in mo-torcades.

The General Secretary of Awami League’s Birganj upazila, Dinajpu-runit,Abu Sayeed,had come to receive Primary and Mass Education Minister Musta� zur Rahman Fizar.

While waiting outside the secre-tariat he told the Dhaka Tribune: “I have been waiting for a pass to enter

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Observers weigh in on voter turnout,estimates range from 30% to 37%n Tribune Report

Three leading election monitoring groups have come out with their ob-servations on voter turnout, which are closer to the EC � gures than to the opposition’s claims. Observers Janipop and the EWG have placed the � gures at 30% and Brotee at 37%.

The Election Commission had earli-er claimed that 40.69% voters had cast their votes, whereas the BNP claimed that the turnout was in the range of 8-10%.

Janipop (national election obser-vation council), the Election Working Group, and Brotee emphasised that they were obstructed by training sta� prior to elections and were also unable to survey extensively because of risks of violence.

The Fair Election Monitoring Alli-ance (FEMA), another leading poll ob-server, is yet to release its � ndings but has made some observations.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

China, Cambodia and Vietnam congratulates Sheikh Hasinan Tribune Report

China, Cambodia and Vietnam con-gratulated Sheikh Hasina yesterday for assuming the o� ce of the prime minister after the recent parliamentary elections.

In a message addressed to Hasina, her Chinese counterpart Li KeQiang warmly congratulated her for assuming the o� ce of prime minister of Bangla-desh, said a statementfrom the foreign ministry.

The letter was handed over to For-eign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque by Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jun yesterday.

While conveying his good wishes, the Chinese premier added that Chi-na would like to join hands with thenew government to strengthen the Bangladesh-China cooperative part-nership.

Meanwhile, the prime minister of Vietnam, Nguyen Tan Dung, wrote a letter congratulating Hasina for be-ing re-elected as prime minister ofBangladesh. Similarly the government of Cambodia also sent its good wish-es to the prime minister for being re-elected. l

Khaleda may brief media tomorrow n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The opposition BNP-led 18-party alli-ance is likely to observe hartal or bring out black � ag procession on January 29, the inaugural session of 10th parlia-ment, terming it a “democracy killing day.”

The alliance leaders discussed the matter at a meeting last night at the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan o� ce with Khaleda Zia in the chair.

The BNP chief is likely to hold a press conference tomorrow to inform the people about the alliance’s current stance, said several leaders. This would

be Khaleda’s � rst press meet after the January 5 poll.

Talking to some of the alliance lead-ers, it was also learnt that the three-time former premier may also call the government to initiate dialogue to re-solve the prevailing political stalemate.

At the meeting, the alliance leaders discussed about the programmes the alliance had enforced to thwart the election – the successes and also the wrong steps. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s conditional call for dialogue – breaking up ties with Jamaat-e-Isla-mi and the role of foreign diplomats

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Observers weigh in on voter turnout, estimates range from 30% to 37% PAGE 1 COLUMN 6Even as the observers released � gures close to the EC’s, they did not go so far as to claim that the elections were en-tirely free and fair; they all noted that the turnout was far lower than historic standards.

Commenting on the gap between Janipop’s estimate and that of the EC, Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, chairman of Janipop,  said: “Elections were held in 147 seats and we monitored in 75 seats. The calculation of the Election Commission was based on 139 seats. The di� erence does not seem unex-plainable. We were unable to o� cially observe [elections in] villages where turnout was reportedly much higher than in towns. So, because of the com-mission’s extensive database, its num-ber is within credible limits.”

On the day of the election though, quoting FEMA, some media claimed that the turnout was 10%. But, FEMA President Munira Khan said she had been misquoted.

“FEMA o� cials monitored polls in

three seats, partially in Dhaka, until 2pm. Based on that observation, the vot-er turnout appeared little.” Munira Khan said FEMA had not yet received all the reports from its local correspondents.

Brotee estimates that the voter turn-out on January 5 stood at 37% although in Dhaka it was 26%. Speaking at a press conference on January 10, Sharmin Murshid, chief executive of Brotee, said a 5% deviation was quite normal.

Sultana Kamal, executive director of Ain O Salish Kendra and a former care-taker adviser, said: “The main reason behind the low turnout was fear. Many of my colleagues informed me about the threats conveyed by the opposition to the voters, especially the Hindus. There were several incidents of arson and threats were made the night be-fore the election, about which I was informed later.

“In some districts such as Dinajpur and Joypurhat, opposition supporters checked people’s � ngers to � nd out if they cast votes. I was saddened to learn that an aged person in Joypurhat died

of heart attack after thugs had attacked his house accusing the inhabitants of voting.”

Criticising the EC’s management, Joint Secretary General of Bikalpadha-ra Bangladesh Mahi B Chowdhury said: “The information provided by the Elec-tion Commission is not acceptable by any means. But, the survey of Janipop and Brotee seems to be acceptable. I think the Election Commission would be in a serious awkward situation if they had to cover 300 seats instead of 147.”

Salimullah Khan, who teaches at a private university and keeps track of political developments, said: “Turnout this time was de� nitely much lower than usual. A big part of it can be at-tributed to the boycott by the main opposition, and the consequent lack of competition in many seats. But the opposition’s active role in trying to dis-rupt the election process and the risk of violence were also big concerns.

“To know the accuracy of any obser-vation, one needs to know their sample size and method. But since several or-

ganisations with credible past records are reporting over 30% turnout, it seems that despite many discourage-ment a lot of people still wanted to come out to vote.”

Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul, CEO of a private TV channel and a leader of a faction of a journalists union, said: “Compared to the 87% turnout in 2008, even the Election Commission’s � gures show that it was half this time. But turnout is not the only factor in deciding the validity of an election. The commission failed to prevent bal-lot-stu� ng and other irregularities in many places.”

Bulbul’s concerns were echoed by several election observers. Sharmin Murshid of Brotee pointed out that while lack of competition in constitu-encies and the risk of violence were the main contributors to a low turnout, the EC needed to do a more convincing job of ensuring that no fake ballots were cast. “Even a single instance of such activity can reduce people’s con� dence in a poll.” l

Only greetings PAGE 1 COLUMN 2secretariat. I will enter the secretariat to receive him.”

He was holding a � ower bouquet in his hand.

Family Welfare Visitors Association (FWVA) General Secretary Ohida Kha-tun and Publicity Secretary Shamsur Nahar were waiting at the gate of the secretariat to enter to receive Health Minister Mohammad Nasim.

“We have come to the secretariat to give � owers to our ministers,” Shmasun Nahar said.

Nobi Newaz, lawmaker of Jhe-naidah3, came to meet some ministers, including the LGRD minister.

O� ces of the health minister, food minister, land minister, deputy minis-ter for water resources, local govern-ment minister and state minister, state minister for women and children af-fairs, cultural a� airs minister, civil avi-ation and tourism minister, commerce minister, primary and mass education minister were � lled with visitors.

A senior o� cial noted, however, that only the secretary along with a few o� cers should have received the min-isters.

It was not necessary for all o� cers to go downstairs to receive the minis-ters, the o� cial observed. Criticising the actions, the o� cial said such o� -cers would cause the downfall of the ministers.

“We should guide the ministers in such a way that they can perform well for the betterment of the ministry,” the senior o� cial at the home ministry told the Dhaka Tribune while seeking ano-nymity. l

Speaker to leave o� ce to contest by-poll PAGE 1 COLUMN 5The Awami League is set to hold the meeting of its parliamentary board today mainly to start the procedure of selling nomination papers for the posts, followed by interviews of the potential candidates on a next date.

Election Commission o� cials say they would announce the schedule for the elections to the women’s reserved seats after January 18. The by-election date is yet to be set.

As per the electoral rules, the by-election must take place by April 7 – as many as 90 days since the pub-lication of the gazette on the results of the 10th parliamentary polls held on January 5.

“She [Shirin] is not going to be the speaker again. No female MP will be-come the speaker,” a top ranking leader

of the Awami League told the Dhaka Tribune seeking anonymity.

Yesterday, the female MPs of the ninth parliament from AL came to con-gratulate Shirin Sharmin in advance for her decision to contest from the Rangpur 6 seat. Many of them also congratulated her as the would-be foreign minister.

A good number of AL leaders from the Rangpur 6 constituency yesterday came to visit Shirin Sharmin at her par-liament o� ce, assuring that the people of Pirganj were waiting eagerly to wel-come her.

Sa� a Khatun MP, who was tasked to coordinate the development works in Pirganj constituency, saw Shirin Sharmin and assured her of giving pos-sible support to get her elected in the by-poll.

HM Ershad, the Jatiya Party chair-

man, before taking oath as MP of the Rangpur 3 seat talked to the govern-ment high-ups demanding the Rang-pur 6 seat to get his brother GM Quader elected in the by-poll.

“The prime minister informed us that she will nominate Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury for the Rangpur 6 by-elec-tion,” State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque Chun-nu, who was one of the JaPa leaders to meet Hasina on January 9, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Shirin Sharmin was elected speaker of the ninth parliament on April 30 last year, as her predecessor Abdul Hamid was elected president following the death of Zillur Rahman.

She earned con� dence of all parties while running the House. The BNP, which was boycotting the sessions for

about a year, returned to the House and cooperated fully with Shirin Sharmin.

Many MPs opposing her as speaker now want to see her reelected.

JS businessThe � rst session of the 10th parlia-

ment will sit at 6pm on January 29. According to the constitution, the pres-ident will address the new legislature on the � rst day of the � rst session.

With a recess for some days, the House will resume its business holding discussion on the president’s speech.

The ninth parliament had its � rst meeting on January 25, 2009. The main opposition BNP had very poor presence in the last parliament. Out of the total 418 sittings, the highest presence of the BNP was 76 days. Party chief Khaleda Zia as the opposition leader was pres-ent on 10 days in � ve years. l

10 arms-laden trucks PAGE 1 COLUMN 5alleged smuggler Ha� zur Rahman, Din Mohammad, former NSI � eld o� cer Akbar Hossain, former NSI director Wing Commander (retd) Shahabuddin Ahmed, former NSI chief NSI Maj Gen (retd) Rezzaqul Haider Chowdhury.Accused ULFA leaders Paresh Barua and former industries secretary Nurul Amin are on the run.

The defence claimed that the sei-zure of arms and ammunition was re-lated to the home ministry and that the government had implicated Nizamiin the cases in 2009for political reasons.

The lawyers of others accused claimed their clients were innocent, and that their names were not includ-ed in the First Information Report on the cases. The prosecution witnesses mentioned the names of the accused before the court under the in� uence of the prosecution.

They also demanded further investi-gationsin the cases.

The prosecution produced 56 wit-nesses, out of 256, before the court.

Law enforcers on April 2, 2004seized 4,930 types of sophisticated � rearms, 27,020 grenades, 840 rocket launchers, 300 rockets, 2,000 grenade launching tubes, 6,392 magazines and 11,40,520 bullets as they were being loaded on to  10  trucks from two engine-boats at the CUFL jetty.

Ahadur Rahman, then Karnaphuli OC, � led the cases  the next day. The cases were transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department after 22 days.The CID on June 26, 2011 submitted supplementary charge sheets follow-ing further investigations into the cas-es upon a court directive. l

HC grants bail on condition of planting 50 trees n Nazmus Sakib

In an eco-friendly ruling, the High Court yesterday ordered a UP chairman accused of felling trees to plant 50 trees in exchange for bail.

The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Mohammad Ullah set the unique bail condition for Abdul Majid Biswas, chairman of Shialdanga union parishad in Satkhira, for cutting down seven trees to put up a road block during Jamaat-e-Islami’s demonstra-tion last year.

A case was registered against 22 suspects, including Majid, on March 8 with Satkhira Sadar police station. The accused chairman was arrested on Sep-tember 9. The suspects were accused of committing sabotage by putting logs on Abaderhat-Rajapur road on March 3-4 last year.

The HC ordered Biswas to plant 50 teak and mahogany trees in the area and inform the court through an a� da-vit on ful� lling the term of the bail.

However, it did not mention a time-frame for carrying out the bail condi-tion.

The court also asked the o� -cer-in-charge of Satkhira Sadar police station to keep an eye on whether Biswas plants the trees or not and re-port back.

First cabinet meet on Thursdayn Tribune Report

The � rst meeting of the new cabinet, which was sworn in on Sunday, will be held on Thursday morning.

Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hos-sain Bhuiyan told reporters yesterday.

He said the meeting would be held at 10am in the cabinet division’s secre-tariat o� ce.

The new ministers of the cabinet will attend the meeting.

The cabinet division has already started preparing � les and briefcases for the new cabinet members, a cabinet di-vision o� cial told the Dhaka Tribune. l

PHOTOJOURNALIST AFTAB MURDER

Suspected killers heldDriver allegedly made four associates to rob the journo's house; � ve are accused of a similar killing in Barisal in 2010n Kailash Sarkar

Nineteen days into the murder of prominent octogenarian photojour-nalist Aftab Ahmed, RAB personnel yesterday arrested his driver and four other suspects in connection with the killing on December 25.

The arrestees are driver Huma-yun Kabir alias Kabir Hossain, and his four associates Habib Hawlader, Sabuj Khan, Raju Munshi and Kislu.

The elite force claims that Huma-yun had planned the murder and hired the others. In 2010, they killed another man, a shopkeeper in Barisal, during a robbery.

They killed the journalist at his Ram-pura home, and took away Tk65,000 and his mobile phone.

Sources said a team of RAB 3 � rst ar-rested Humayun at the capital’s Sayed-

abad, and following information he gave them, the same team arrested the others at Agargaon and Gazipur over the period from Sunday night to early yesterday.

RAB made the arrests only a week after they had been assigned the case. Earlier it was investigated by the Ram-pura police and the Detective Branch (DB).

Col Ziaul Ahsan, additional direc-tor general (operations) of RAB, said: “During primary interrogation, all the � ve detainees admitted their involve-ment in the murder. They killed the journalist for the cash he kept in his house.”

He also said they were yet to recover the money.

Wing Commander ATM Habibur Rahman, director of legal and media wing of RAB, said the � ve accused had

killed Aftab as he had resisted the rob-bery.

He added that RAB was trying to � nd other motives behind the killing.

The body of journalist Aftab was found at his bedroom in the morning on December 25, with his hands and legs tied with ropes and mouth wrapped with tape. He was strangulated to death in hisbedroom.

Immediately after the murder, the family members said Aftab had kept Tk15 lakh at the house, which he got by selling a � at at Ramakrishna Mission Road. Driver Humayun had been on the run since then.

Monwar Ahmed, the only son of Af-tab, � led a case accusing Humayun and several others of his father’s murder. The driver was appointed on December 1, only 24 days before the murder. l

Saudi envoy meets Khaleda n UNB

Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Dr Abdullah bin Nasser Al Bussairy met BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yester-day evening.

The meeting was held at the chair-person’s Gulshan o� ce around 8pm.

BNP chairperson’s advisers Riaz Rahman, Sabihuddin Ahmad and Vice-Chairman Shamsher Mobin Chow-dhury were present in the 45-minute meeting.

However, there was no brie� ng from either side about the meeting. l Police o� cials take Lutfuzzaman Babar and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leader Motiur Rahman Nizamee to a Chittagong court yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

AL leaders lobbyingfor reserved seats n Emran Hossain Shaikh

Since the end of January 5 polls, Awami League leaders have been lobbying the party’s in� uential leaders, including its chief, to get nomination for the seats reserved for women in parliament.

To draw attention, they are going to the prime minister’s o� cial residence Ganabhaban and meeting party’s Par-liamentary Board members.

Election Commission o� cials say the poll schedule for 50 reserved seats will be declared after January 18 and the process is likely be completed be-fore the � rst session of parliament, slated for January 29.

The party has also begun procedure to nominate candidates. Today a meet-ing of the Parliamentary Board will be held at Ganabhaban, Deputy O� ce Secretary Mrinal Kanti Das MP yester-day con� rmed to the Dhaka Tribune.

“The meeting will take decisions on the price of the nomination forms and � x dates for starting sale and submis-sion of the forms.” he said.

Party sources said there would be

no massive change in the faces. Most of the MPs of the ninth parliament would possibly be reelected.

A source close to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the Dhaka Tribune that she wanted to nominate MPs from the ninth parliament if they were “clean.”

Leaders willing to be reserved seat MPs started getting in touch with the party chief and other senior leaders.

They are contacting the party’s Parliamentary Board members includ-ing Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Obaidul Quader and Syed Ashraful Islam.

One of the aspirants, an organising secretary of Mohila Awami League, on Thursday met a minister and sought blessings to become an MP. Yester-day, she met Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury for the similar reason.

Fazilatunnessa Bappi, a reserved seat lawmaker of ninth parliament, told the Dhaka Tribune: “It is the prime minister’s jurisdiction to make some-one an MP of the reserve seat. If she desired, she may select me considering my contribution.” l

Khaleda PAGE 1 COLUMN 3stationed in Dhaka also came up for discussion.

The alliance leaders sat last time on November 19. It enforced series of blockades across the country after the Election Commission had declared the poll schedule on November 25 and boy-cotted it.

The 18-party alliance postponed the ongoing movement for an inde� nite period from yesterday.

“We have successes and failures in the movement. We discussed all these things at the meeting. People did not go to the polling centres on the election day responding to madam’s [Khaleda’s] call. The election was questioned. It is a big success,” Col (retd) Oli Ahmed, president of 18-party ally LDP, told journalists after the meeting.

Abdul Mobin, chairman of Islamic Party, said they had decided to observe hartal on January 29. “Madam [Khaleda] will hold a press conference on Wednes-day; or it can be Thursday,” he said.

He also said Khaleda would go to the district headquarters to rejuvenate the grassroots leaders and activists to wage tough movement against the govern-ment.

Formerly the four-party alliance, led by Khaleda, joined the � rst session of ninth parliament on the � rst day.

At the meeting, an alliance leader raised the question of leaving Jamaat. Quoting Khaleda, he said: “We have alliance with Jamaat. If our vote drops then we will be su� erer. Why it has be-come a headache for the prime minis-ter?”

Another alliance leader seeking an-onymity told the Dhaka Tribune that the government was actually playing with Jamaat and wanted to introduce “divide and rule policy.” He also ques-tioned why the government had not banned Jamaat.

When an alliance leader raised ques-tion about the role of the foreign dip-lomats, Khaleda said they had played their due role. l

Qaisar’s indictment order on Jan 30n Udisa Islam

The war crimes tribunal yesterday set January 30 for delivering order on the framing of charges against former Jati-ya Party state minister Syed Md Qaisar.

The charges were taken into cogni-sance on November 14. Later the pros-ecution and the defence argued on the charges.

The International Crimes Tribunal 2 set the date after hearing the defence’s discharge petition.

Counsel Md Abdus Sobhan Tarafder said his client had faced a case under Collaborators’ Order after the Liber-ation War and acquitted. “If Qaisar is tried again, it will be an instance of ‘doctrine of double jeopardy.’”

The accused was in the dock. He is facing 18 charges of crimes against hu-

manity he had allegedly committed in Habiganj district during the war.

He had formed “Qaisar Bahini” to assist the Pakistani occupation forces in carrying out genocide, killing, rape,

abduction and con� nement in the dis-trict, says the prosecution.

On May 21 last year, Qaisar was arrest-ed at a city hospital. The tribunal grant-ed him conditional bail on July 30. l

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 14, 2014

CHARGES AND OFFENCESCharge 1 Murder, attack, loot, arson in Islampur

Charges 2, 7, 12 and 13 Loot and arson in Madhabpur Bazaar, Nasirnagar, Habiganj sadar and Katiara

Charges 3 and 4 Murder, loot and arson in Krishnanagar andMadhabpur Bazaar

Charges 5 and 6 Con� nement, torture, murder in Shayestaganj

Charge 8 Assisting in rape in Chunarughat

Charge 9 Murder in Madhabpur

Charges 10, 15, 16, 17, 18 Abduction con� nement, murder in Borobohula, Chunarughat, Madhabpur

EC might hold upazila parishad poll in Apriln Mohammad Zakaria

The Election Commission is now plan-ning to hold elections in the 487 upazi-la parishads in the second week of April. It is likely to announce the poll schedule early in March.

The EC has started making prepara-tions to hold the fourth upazila parish-ad polls; it will start training election o� cials in the last week of February, a senior EC o� cial yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune. The o� cial said the commission had decided to hold the election with the updated voter lists, and it would inform the LGRD ministry about the decision soon.

Election Commissioner Md Shah Newaz said the commission would hold the upazila parishad polls as soon as possible after completing the remaining tasks of the 10th general election. As per laws, the upazila parishads poll must be held within the � rst week of May.

He, however, said the full commis-sion would decide when the election would be held.

The third upazila parishads polls, held in 481 upazila parishads, was on January

22, 2009 and the � rst meetings of these local government bodies were held at di� erent times in April-May that year.

According to the laws, the elections to upazila parishads must be held at least 180 days before the expiry of their � ve-year tenures, which started with the � rst meeting of the parishad.

The country now has 487 upazila parishads. Chairmen and vice-chair-men of upazila parishads are elected by direct voting.

Elections of reserved female mem-bers did not take place in 2009 because of legal complications. But the EC has amended the relevant laws in the meantime.

EC o� cials said the number of poll-ing centres would be increased to over 40,000 in the upazila parishads polls, and it had already procured electoral equipment and printed election papers.

The EC had estimated a probable ex-penditure of Tk489 crore for the elec-tion, an o� cial said.

The EC did not hold the by-election of 29 upazila parishads and four new upazilas because of the 10th parlia-mentary polls. l

Envoys call for talks to hold inclusive pollsn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The foreign diplomats in Bangladesh called upon the BNP to shun the path of violence and to engage in talks with the government for a peaceful political solution leading to an inclusive elec-tion soon.

The call came at a meeting held yes-terday by the BNP at a city hotel to brief the diplomats on the January 5 polls and its stance on the issue.

At least 34 ambassadors, high com-missioners and representatives from USA, UK, EU, Germany, Canada, India, Pakistan and some other countries at-tended the brie� ng.

In his address to the media, US Am-bassador to Dhaka Dan W Mozena said: “We hope that the dialogue will lead to the elections as soon as possible. We feel the need to have an environment conducive to dialogue and an environ-ment conducive to the election. And so, in that regard, we hope that both parties will take some measures that will help to create a conducive environment.”

The US view on the January 5 polls was very clear, said Mozena.

“We are disappointed by the elec-tion. We feel it did not credibly re� ect the will of Bangladeshi people.”

The US ambassador said the BNP should stop hartal and blockade and refrain from violence while the govern-ment provide political space for rally or procession.

“Violence is not acceptable. It must stop immediately,” said Mozena.

Echoing Mozena, EU Ambassador to

Bangladesh William Hanna said it was very important that there should be a condition created for dialogue.

“We express disappointment that the people of Bangladesh did not get an opportunity to vote and express ful-ly their democratic rights,” said Hanna with regard to the January 5 polls.

Canadian High Commission in Dha-ka Heather Cruden stressed stopping violence, adding that violence was not a political tool which could be used.

“We are very pleased to hear that the BNP had called o� blockade and hartal, and we hope this will de� nitely create a space for dialogue among the political parties.”

The reaction of the envoys came af-ter they were briefed by the BNP on the election scenarios.

“The diplomats came here in re-sponse to the party’s invitation and a BNP delegation briefed them on the polls,” Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, BNP vice-chairman, told journalists af-ter the meeting.

Seeking anonymity, a senior leader of the party said the envoys were pre-sented with the print and electronic media reports showing an absence of voters in polls’ centres and vote rig-ging, plus a documentary on the elec-tion-day situation.

BNP standing committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan, BNP chairper-son’s advisers Reaz Rahman and Sa-bihuddin Ahmed, journalist Sha� que Rehman and Dhaka University Prof Borhanuddin Ahmed were present at the brie� ng. l

Schedule for reserved seats likely next weekn Mohammad Zakaria

The Election Commission is expected to announce the schedule next week for holding election in reserved women seats in parliament.

The EC also sent letters to seven political parties and independent can-didates, who were eelcted in January 5 poll asking whether they would join any alliance.

Commissioner Md Shah Newaz yes-terday said the EC would announce the schedule for reserved women seats af-ter holding the election in 392 polling centres under eight constituencies, which were suspended because of vio-lence, on January 16.

According to the laws, reserved

seats elections should be held within 90 days after publishing the gazette of parliamentary election. The reserved seats are distributed among the par-ties or alliances in proportion to the total seats won by them in the general election. To contest, a candidate would have to be proposed by a lawmaker.

The EC will declare the results of the election, if the candidates do not with-draw candidature, in line with the par-ty’s or alliance’s proportion.

In the 10th election, out of 292 con-stituencies, Awami League got 231 seats, Jatiya Party 33, Workers Party six, JSD (Inu) � ve, Jatiya Party (JP) one, Tariqat Fedaration one, Bangladesh Nationalist Front (BNF) one and inde-pendent candidates won 14 seats. l

Two youths stabbed to death in capitaln Kailash Sarkar

Two youths were stabbed to death and another injured in two incidents at Ar-manitola and Darus Salam in the capi-tal yesterday.

In old Dhaka, 25-year-old Moham-mad Shahed, son of Abdul Malek of Armanitola, Bangshal, was stabbed by a gang of criminals on Aga Sadek Road around 4:30pm. He died on the spot, said Bangshal police station’s OC (in-vestigation) Hasan Ahmmed.

He could not say anything about the suspected motive behind the murder and the identities of the killers.

In another incident, Md Fazal, 20, son of Sirajul Islam of Bangaon village, Savar, was stabbed to death following a feud over a cricket match around 3pm at Lalkuthi Colony under Darus Salam police station in the capital.

Fazal, who lived at Lalkuthi with his

elder brother Md Faruq, an employee of a garment factory in the area, was celebrating with his team their win in a cricket match when he was stabbed.

His cousins Sabuj and Jewel said two youths named Rubel and Farid had been among those who had stabbed Fazal and Tanvir.

Ra� qul Islam, OC of Darussalam police station, said Fazal had been tak-en to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead around 6pm. He said the cause of the murder was yet to be known.

Injured Tanvir, a student of class VIII, was admitted to DMCH with stab injuries on his back.

The bodies of Shahed and Fazal were sent to Dhaka Medical College morgue for post mortem examination. Two cases were � led in connection with the killings, but none was arrested as of late last night. l

Members of Bangladesh Minority Party take part in a human chain tying black rag around their mouth as a symbol of the muted state of minority people. The photo was taken in front of the National Press Club yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Ershad, JaPa leaders mad at each othern Manik Miazee

Resentment has been prevailing be-tween Jatiya Party Chairman HM Er-shad and party leaders over decisions made during the 10th parliamentary poll.

After a month-long stay at the Com-bined Military Hospital, the JaPa chief returned to his residence in Baridhara yesterday after he took oath as an MP. Many of his party leaders did not go to his residence to meet him, while many wanted to meet him but was refused.

Only Secretary General ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader, GM Quader, Delwar Hossain Khan and three other presidi-um members and some root level lead-ers have been able to meet him in the last two days.

A source at Ershad’s household told the Dhaka Tribune that Ershad was an-gry at many of the JaPa leaders for not following his order and withdrawing their nomination papers in the 10th parliamentary poll. He was also angry

at his wife Rawshan Ershad, and those known as pro-Awami league leaders in-side his party.

On the other hand, the leaders who did withdraw their nomination papers following Ershad’s orders appear also to be frustrated with their leader.

JaPa presidium member Ahsan Ha-bib Linkan said, “The party has now turned into a contractual � rm, it is not a political party anymore. Jatiya Par-ty earlier had a vision and mission. I would decide on what to do after get-ting a clari� cation from Ershad.”

Linkan withdrew his nomination paper from Kushtia 2 constituency.

Party presidium member and newly

elected MP Salma Islam yesterday went to Ershad’s residence and described a brief conversation to reporters when she came out.

However, sources at Ershad’s house said the party chief had not met her, and she had left after waiting over half-an-hour.

Ershad’s Press and Political Secre-tary Sunil Shuvo Roy, who served with Ershad for over 15 years, also wanted to meet him but Ershad declined, said party insiders.

Rawshan Ershad earlier said the party would take action against party associate body Jatiya Jubo Shonghoti President Rezaul Islam Bhuiyan and Special Adviser to Ershad Bobby Hajjaj for creating a chaotic situation inside the party over participation in the poll.

Both leaders are in fear about what action they might have to face since Er-shad did not meet them yesterday, said insiders.

Ershad on Sunday said he would bring changes inside the party and following the statement, party activ-ists who withdrew nomination papers following Ershad’s instruction are thinking that actions would be taken against them by Rawshan while those, who participated at poll are thinking that Ershad would take actions against them, said insiders.

Joint-Secretary General Mostak Ahmed and some of his followers are guarding Ershad’s house to prevent those who participated in the poll and are known as followers of Rawshan Ershad, from getting near. Sources said they had harassed Party Secretary General ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader in front of Ershad’s residence.

On Sunday, Ershad met GM Quader, ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader and Mir Abdus Sabur Asud and took updates from them on what happened during last one month.

In a press statement, Ershad an-nounced that GM Quader and ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader would be the spokespersons of JaPa and no other decisions except those provided by the two leaders should be considered party statements.

On November 12, law enforcement personnel admitted Ershad to CMH, following which several party lead-ers claimed that Ershad had been de-tained. l

Hearing in Sayedee appeals case resumesn Nazmus Sakib

The hearing in the much talked about war crimes appeals case of death row convict Delawar Hossain Sayedee be-gan yesterday after 48 days.

The � ve-member Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Md Muzam-mel Hossain could not hear the case due to the 18-party alliances’ hartals and blockades programmes, and be-cause of the winter vacation of the Su-preme Court.

Yesterday, the defence read out the tes-timonies of witnesses given at the In-ternational Crimes Tribunal. Later the bench adjourned the proceedings until Thursday.

November 25 was the last day the court heard the case. It isexpected that the argument stage will start soon if the political situation re-mains normal.

The tribunal, on February 28 last year, handed down the death penalty to Sayedee. He appealed against the sentence seeking acquittal on March 28. The government also lodged an ap-peal to specify the sentence in all the six charges that were proved at the tri-bunal.

The Appellate Division bench has so far disposed of the appeal case of Ab-dul Quader Molla, while six other ap-peals are pending.

Quader Molla was executed on De-cember 12 in light of the top court’s verdict. l

80 joint secretaries promoted n Mohosinul Karim

The government has promoted 80 joint secretaries of the civil administration to additional secretary, taking the total number of additional secretaries to 307.

The public administration ministry yesterday issued a gazette noti� cation in this regard.

The promotion comes within two days of the formation of new govern-ment led by the Awami League. Accord-ing to the ministry database, 31 addi-tional secretaries are currently serving as o� cers on special duty (OSD).

The newly promoted additional sec-retaries will be considered as OSDs af-ter they join the posts, the gazette says. There are only 108 approved posts for additional secretaries while only 430 for the joint secretaries. l

The Appellate Division bench has so far disposed of the appeal case of Abdul Quader Molla, while six other appeals are pending

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 14, 2014

City High LowDhaka 25.7 15.8Chittagong 25.8 15.2Rajshahi 23.5 13.8Rangpur 24.2 12.5Khulna 25.0 14.0Barisal 25.6 12.5Sylhet 28.5 14.5Cox’s Bazar 28.0 16.5

PRAYER TIMESFajar 5:24am

Sunrise 6:42amZohr 12:07am

Asr 3:55pmMagrib 5:31pm

Esha 6:51pmSource: IslamicFinder.org

WEATHER

Dry weather likelyn UNB

Weather may remain dry with tempo-rary partly cloudy sky over the country until 6pm today.

Moderate to thick fog might occur over the country during midnight until morning, Met O� ce said.

Night temperature may fall by 1-2 de-gree Celsius and day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the coun-try. The sun sets in the capital at 5:32pm today and rises at 6:44am tomorrow.

Country’s highest temperature 28.5 degree Celsius was recorded in Sylhet and lowest 09.6 degrees in Srimangal yesterday. Highest and lowest temper-atures recorded in some major cities yesterday were:

WHEAT BLACK MARKETING CASE

Jhalakati AL leader jailedn Our Correspondent, Barisal

A trial court in Barisal yesterday sent an Awami League leader to jail after he surrendered before the court to extend the ad-interim bail granted by the High Court previously.

Mahbubur Rahman, Jhalakati town Awami League secretary and for-mer president of Jhalakathi Chamberof Commerce and Industry, wasan accused in a wheat black marketing case.

The court also ordered to send Md Shahjahan, a Barisal-based business-man and a co-accused in the case, to jail on the same grounds.

Court sources said 3,200 sacks of wheat with government fooddepartment seals on sacks were re-covered by Bangladesh Coast Guard last year from the Kirtankhola River of Barisal.

Wheat-businessman Shahjahan then claimed that he had collected that wheat from Mahbub, who was also a � ower mill owner.

Mahbub, on the other hand, had claimed that he imported thatwheat from India and then sold to Shahjahan.

Bangladesh Coast Guard on June 13 last year lodged a case withBarisal Kotwali police station against Mahbub and Shahjahan for sellinggovernment procured wheat in black market.

Police submitted the � nal report of the case on September 2013.

However, the court rejected the � nal report and ordered fair investigation. Both the accused were granted a two-month ad-interim bail from the High Court on November 2013.

On the last day of the granted ad-interim bail, yesterday, both the ac-cused surrendered before the court and prayed for permanent bail.

However Habibur Rahman, district and session judge of Barisal, rejected the bail prayers and ordered to send both the accused to jail, Advocate Gia-suddin Kabul, Barisal district public prosecutor, said. l

Ministers’ reaction on day one in o� cen Mohosinul Karim and

Rabiul Islam

The new ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers attended their o� ces yesterday morning, a day after being sworn-in to the cabinet, with the ninth parliament still in e� ect.

More than half of the newly formed cabinet is composed of new faces.

Most of the ministers, state minis-ters and deputy ministers talked with reporters from di� erent media.

LGRD MinisterLGRD Minister and Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said the government would continue its e� orts towards dialogue to resolve the current political crisis.

Ashraf said: “Awami League and BNP had come close to reaching a con-sensus in the three meetings that were held under the initiative and negotia-tion of UN envoy Taranco.”

He believed BNP would soon "re-alise" the "mistake" it had made by not participating in the January 5 polls.

When asked about the current gov-ernment’s term, Ashraf said the gov-ernment was set to serve for the � ve years that it had been elected for.

“There is no scope of dissolving the parliament even one day before its ten-ure,” he said.

Commerce MinisterThe new government will rule the country for � ve years, Commerce Min-ister Tofail Ahmed said.

“The decision of calling o� hartals and blockades proves that BNP’s politics was wrong and they have realised it now,” the senior politi-cian said.

Regarding Jatiya Party’s dual role in government and opposition, Tofail said: “The JaPa will make constructive criticism of the government while stay-ing with the government.”

The aim of his commerce ministry was to boost the trade at home and abroad, he said.

Health MinisterHealth Minister Mohammad Nasim praised BNP for withdrawing their agi-tation programmes.

“We believe that they are assisting the government by not declaring har-tals and blockades. If they continue with such assistance the government will help them in return,” he said.

“If BNP severs ties with Jamaat-e-Is-lami and avoids violence, a peaceful at-mosphere will be created for holding a dialogue,” he said at his ministry o� ce.

“There is no point in denying that there have been some irregularities in the health sector,” the minister said.

These problems will be addressed, he said.

Law MinisterAnisulHaque told the Dhaka Tribune that the task of the law ministry was a challenge and that he was determined to uphold the rule of law.

Primary Education MinisterPrimary Education Minister Mosta� -zur Rahman said he was committed to maintaining the progress of his ministry in line with Awami League’s manifesto.

Water Resources MinisterEnsuring a fair deal on water sharing would be his main challenge, Water Re-sources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud said on his � rst day in o� ce.

The Teesta sharing deal, promised during the visit of Indian Prime Min-ister Manmohan Singh in 2011, was stopped by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Though the issue was repeatedly raised during the last government’s tenure, the Awami League-led alliance failed to make any real progress in this particular matter.

India welcomed the January 5 par-liamentary poll, which was boycotted by the BNP, and was the only major international observer during the polls.

However, the minister from Jatiya Par-ty did not elaborate further on the issue.

Regarding the government’s for-

mation, Anisul Islam said: “We do not want to be an opposition like BNP. They boycotted most of the parliament sessions,” he said.

When asked how long this govern-ment would stay in o� ce,the minister said, “I cannot say this beforehand.”

Land Minister Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sharif said the work of the ministry would be the development of lands and a reform of the land sector.

Food MinisterFood Minister Kamrul Islam said: “The people do not care what kind of election was held in the country or who wants caretaker government. They only want peace. We will have to uproot militancy, terrorism and sabotage from the coun-try, if we want to ensure peace,” he said.

Junior Home Affairs MinisterState Minister for Home A� airs Asa-duzzaman Khan Kamal said improving law and order by checking unlawful ac-tivities would be his priority.

Kamal promised that he would visit the areas where minority communities had come under attack.

“The situation there is coming back to normal. The Hindus who came un-der attack are starting to come back to their homes,” he said.

Junior Land MinisterSaifuzzamanChwodhury said his main work would be ensuring a transparent, e� cient and digital land ministry.

“No irregularities will be tolerated in this ministry. There will be no land grabbers,” he said. “We will try to be transparent and honest all the time.”

Junior Rural Development and Cooperative MinisterMashiur Rahman Ranga said he would be honest in discharging his tasks as a minister.

“Actions will be taken if we � nd cor-ruption or irregularities in the minis-try,” he said. l

PDB o� cial killed in Chittagongn FM Mizanur Rahaman

Police recovered the body of a Power Development Board (PDB) o� cial from the Central Railway Building at Tiger-pass in Chittagong yesterday.

The deceased Champak Dewan, 32, was an assistant accountant of the PDB at Hathazari upazila.

Police said they had found the o� cial’s body lying on a road near Kather Banglo at the Railway Building around 7:30am while they were patrolling in the area.

Police supected that the man was killed somewhere else and the body was dumped here later.

The reason behind this suspicion was there was no blood sign on the spot where the body was found, but there were several injury marks under the arms of the body, said police. l

Dhaka court rejects Hannan and Rizvi’s bail plean Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday rejected the bail pleas of BNP Joint Secretary Gen-eral Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and BNP leader ASM Hannan Shah.

Dhaka Metropolitan Session Judge Md Jahurul Haque passed the order af-ter rejecting the bail pleas in two cases against Hannan � led with Motijheel police station and a case against Rizvi with Paltan police station.

Defence counsel Md Sanaullah Miah, in the plea, claimed that Rizvi and Hannan were not involved in the respective cases, and alleged that po-lice had involved them in politically

motivated cases. Claiming that the BNP leaders were

victims of the political situation, Sanaul-lah appealed for their bails, saying these senior leaders were sick and aged person.

Sanaullah told the Dhaka Tribune: ‘‘They will go to the High Court for their bail against this bail rejection order.”

On November 25, Detective Branch of Police detained Hannan Shah near the Japanese Embassy in the capital.

On November 30, plainclothes po-lice arrested Rizvi at BNP Nayapaltan central o� ce two days after 19 people su� ered burn injuries when miscre-ants set � re on a bus at Shahbagh in the capital. l

HC asks not to harass BNP's Mintoo, Kho konn Nazmus Sakib

The High Court yesterday asked the law enforcement agencies not to show Abdul Awal Mintoo and AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon arrested or harass them in further cases without following due legal process.

Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice Md Habibul Gani passed the

order after hearing two writ petitions. The court also issued a rule, seeking ex-planation within four weeks, as to why showing them arrested without main-taining due legal process should not be declared illegal.

Mintoo, the BNP chairperson’s ad-viser, was shown arrested in three cases while Khokon, the party's joint secretary, in two cases. l

MEDICAL AND DENTAL COLLEGE ADMISSION

Government likely to relax the cut-o� markn Moniruzzaman Uzzal

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is planning to relax the cut-o� mark for admission in private medical and dental colleges for the ongoing aca-demic year (2013-2014).

Previously, the cut-o� mark was set at 120 for both medical and dental col-leges; but now it would be set at 105 medical 100 for dental colleges. More-over the last date for admission would extended until January 31.

Sources said the � nal decision would be taken soon after a meeting at the health ministry preside over by new Health Minister Md Nasim. The ministry has extended the last date for admission three times already.

The Dhaka Tribune has learnt that Professor Dr ABM Abdul Hannan, direc-tor (medical education) of the Director-ate General of Health Services (DGHS), on January 7 sent a proposal to the min-istry to set the new cut- o� mark and to extend the date of admission.

Professor Dr Khondokar Md Sifay-etullah, director general of DGHS, told

the Dhaka Tribune that because of the political unrest, most of the private medical colleges could not � ll up the pool of seats and hence facing huge � -nancial losses. Professor Shah Md Selim, secretary general of the Bangladesh Private Med-ical College Association (BPMCA), said

around 30% seats in most of the private medical and dental colleges had still been vacant.

The public and private medical col-leges in the country enroll students on the basis of the results of one common admission test. The dental colleges – both public and private – also have their common tests.

These tests carry 100 marks for the written examination plus 100 marks for the weights of the HSC and SSC results. Out of the latter 100, HSC results carry

60 marks and SSC 40.A grade point average (GPA) of 5 in

HSC equals 60 marks while a GPA 5 in SSC equals 40. A candidate must have an aggregate GPA of 8 from the two ex-ams, which must not include any GPA of less than 3.5.

Seeking anonymity, several medical education experts have said most of the private medical and dental colleges are not getting meritorious students. In order to take admission at any private medical and dental college, a students must be able to pay huge amounts of money. Therefore, just appearing in the merit list is not the main requirement.

According to DGHS, at present there are 54 private medical colleges and 18 private dental colleges in the country. Over the last two to three months, 11 more private medical colleges got pri-mary and administrative approvals.

Seeking anonymity, several o� cials said the number of medical and dental colleges was rising day by day. Most of these colleges are getting approval out of political considerations without ful-� lling the minimum requirements. l

RAB rescues abducted mann Our Correspondent, Sirajganj

An abducted man was rescued by members of the Rapid Action Battalion from the Bank Colony area of the dis-trict town on Sunday night, six days after being kidnapped.

The rescued person has been iden-ti� ed as Ananda Singh, 20, of Jaanpur area of the district town.

RAB sources said a gang abducted Ananda last Tuesday from a workshop in Goshala where he used to work. The kidnappers also demanded Tk10 lakh.

Ananda’s father � led an abduction case on the same night. l

The capital’s Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue sees a lengthy tra� c yesterday as the opposition postponed the continues blockade SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Members of the Doctors Association of Bangladesh form a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday, protesting the ongoing communal violence and demanding measures to protect human rights MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

A candidate must have an aggregate GPA of 8 from the two exams, which must not include any GPA of lessthan 3.5

Ganajagaran Mancha to launch second road marchn DU Correspondent

Ganajagaran Mancha will launch its second road march on January 16, 17 and 18, marching to Thakurgaon to protest the recent communal violence against local Hindus centring around the 10th parliamentary polls.

At a press conference in front of National Museum yesterday, Mancha spokesperson Dr Imran H Sarkar an-nounced the programme and issued a three-point demand.

The demands include introducing separate laws to ensure stern action against communal attackers, bringing the perpetrators of the recent atrocities to book immediately, with a speedy trial, and to ensure adequate compen-sation for the victim’s families.

The fact-� nding report the Mancha released during their � rst long march stated that political activists who op-posed the 10th parliamentary elections also carried out the attacks on the Hindu inhabitants of Malopara. It revealed that attackers vandalised and looted some 130 houses and torched at least 10 others in a Hindu village in Abhoynagar upazila.

Regarding the housewife rape case at Monirampur of Jessore, Imran said the victims’ family had requested a through a written statement from him, to help get justice. l

Fire guts 19 houses in Ctgn CU Correspondent

Fire gutted at least 19 houses in two separate incidents at Railway colony and Char Pathargata area in Chittagong yesterday.

Fire Service and Civil Defence sourc-es said a � re originated from an electric short circuit at Railway Masjid Colony under Katwali police station around 3:25pm that left two shops burnt to

ashes and damaging assets worth Tk2.5 lakh.

At another incident, 17 thatched houses were gutted at Char Pathar-ghata under Karnaphuli police station early yesterday.

Sources said a � re broke out at a residence from kitchen around 12:15am and soon engulfed the adjacent houses.

No causality was reported from any of the incidents. l

News 5DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Illegal car parking still remains a problem in capital Two city corporations set aside only � ve areas and one indoor multi-storey building in capital where parking is lawfuln Abu Hayat Mahmud

Haphazard and illegal parking of vehi-cles in the city is at its height, contrib-uting much to the gridlock, blocking almost half the city roads in front of shopping centres, educational institutes and here and there across the capital.

The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha, Dhaka City Corporation and tra� c po-lice seem to � ght shy of taking strin-gent actions against the unlawful car parks causing nuisance to motorists and pedestrians.

The urban planners and city dwell-ers alleged that illegal parking on the city streets, especially in front of shop-ping malls across the capital, was on the rise violating parking law.

It blocked almost half the city streets, virtually leaving hardly enough room for the vehicles to pass along, said the city dwellers. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh President Prof Nazrul Is-lam, also chairman of Centre for Urban Studies, said there was no discipline in car parks in Dhaka city.

“The Rajuk in this regard is yet to implement its plan while lack of mon-itoring, weakness of tra� c manage-ment and lack of adequate parking facilities are responsible for the rise of illegal parking,” Prof Nazrul observed.

The capital development authority only approved infrastructure, its plan and design, but hardly probed whether the implementing authorities did their work in accordance with its approval and plan, he added.

Most drivers and vehicles’ owners seemed to be oblivious of the parking rules and regulations, and they just parked their vehicles on roads accord-ing to their own sweet will, said he.

Nazrul Islam allegedly said most shopping malls lack enough parking lot, and shoppers very often left their cars parked either in front of them, or

on both sides of the road, being least concerned about a free and smooth movement of other vehicles. Such ran-dom parking is very common in the city, with car drivers doing this practice under the very nose of tra� c police.

But Mir Rezaul Alam, joint commis-sioner (tra� c) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, claimed that mobile teams of tra� c police were continuously on the lookout for tra� c law breakers in order to take punitive actions against them.

“Sometimes, it is di� cult to spot the law breakers in the nick of time while they are making illegal parking,” he added.

Rajuk Member (planning) Sheikh Abdul Mannan claimed that they had been taking actions against the city building owners, who did not abide by Rajuk plan to keep a provision of car parks in their buildings.

“We also have operated mobile court at di� erent times and imposed � nes on the building owners,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Dhaka South City Cor-poration (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) have allowed for car parks in only six locations across the city.

DSCC Chief Town Planner Moham-mad Sirajul Islam said they set aside one area in the city for car parks and one indoor multi-storey parking lot named “City Centre” at Motijheel with a capacity to accommodate 1,500 cars.

According to the parking law, vehi-cles are permitted to park on roadside where the city corporations put up a parking sign. Parking elsewhere other than those selected areas are illegal.

Chief Estate O� cer of DNCC, Md Fa-siullah, said the city corporation chose two sites near Mohammadpur Town Hall Market and Kitchen Market for car parks.

Two other parking lots were near Gulshan Kitchen Market and Banani Kitchen Market, he said, adding that they had a plan to choose some other such sites in Badda. l

3 killed in road accidentsn Tribune reports

At least three persons were killed and 19 army men were injured in separate road accidents in Faridpur, Rajbari and Bandarban districts on January 12.

Faridpur correspondent reports: Two motorcyclists were killed in an ac-cident in Jhatukdia area under Bhanga upazila.

The dead were Harun Mia, 38, and Gopal Chandra, 45, of Aruakandi vil-lage of the upazila.

Highway police station O� -cer-in-Charge M Shariar said theaccident had taken place as the motor-cycle had rammed into an army jeep coming from opposite direction, leav-ing the two motorcyclists dead on the spot.

Rajbari correspondent adds: A man was killed in an accident on the Dha-ka-Khulna highway in Daulatdia Ferry Ghat area under Goalondo upazila.

The deceased was Amalesh Halder, 22, son of Amoresh Halder in Be-leshshar village under Madhukhali up-azila.

Bandarban correspondent reports: At least 19 army men were injured in an accident on the Lama-Chakaria road in Yangcha Choimail area of the district.

According to sources, a vehicle of 3 East Bengal was heading towards Alikodom upazila from Lohagora of Chittagong after poll-duty. At one a stage, the vehicle carrying them skid-ded o� the road, leaving 19 injured.

Of the injured, 11 were admitted to Chittagong Military Hospital. l

Miscreants torch AL leader’sGazipur housen Mohammad Ali Zheelon

Miscreants set � re to the house of local Awami League Leader Amzad Hossain Sawpon in the village of Mulgoan in Kaliganj Paurasabha, Gazipur earlier yesterday.

The house had � rewood stored in it, locals said, adding that Sawpon, along with locals, brought the � re under control after an hour-long e� ort. The house was burnt to ashes, they added.

No casualties were reported.Con� rming the incident, o� -

cer-in-charge of Kaliganj police station Md Nazmul Haque Bhuyan said the in-cident was a pre-planned attack. l

Dawn-to-dusk hartal in Chittagong tomorrow, BGB deployed at CUn CU Correspondent

The student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Chhatra Shibir, has called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal tomorrow in greater Chittagong, protesting the kill-ing of an organisational leader in Sun-day’s Chittagong University clash.

In a press statement issued yester-day, Kayes Mahmud, acting publicity secretary of Chittagong district Chha-tra Shibir, said they would enforce the hartal in Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and the three hill tracts districts.

Nazmul Hasan, additional super-intendent of police, told the Dhaka Tribune that  two platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh had been deployed at the campus to avert any untoward incident.

“The police and Rapid Action Bat-

talion have also been patrolling on the campus premise to keep the situation under control,” he added.

Meanwhile, the CU authorities on Sunday night formed a three-mem-ber committee, headed by Professor Dr Mohammed Mohiuddin of Insti-tute of Forestry and Environmen-tal Science, to investigate into theincident.

The university authorities vacated the Shah Amanat Hall at night after a case was � led with the Hathazari police station in connection with the killing of a student.

On Sunday, activists of Chhatra League, the student wing of the rul-ing Awami League, and Chhatra Shibir locked in a clash at CU campus, leav-ing a Shibir leader dead and 25 othersinjured. l

Sadarghat turns into battle� eld over credit disputesn Kailash Sarkar

The entire Sadarghat area in the south of Dhaka turned into a battle� eldyesterday as a tripartite clash erupt-ed following a dispute over creditsettlement between two fabric busi-nessmen.

The clash, starting inside the local police station, continued for about an hour before police � nally managed to quell it. At least 30 individuals, � ve of them o� cials of the station, were in-jured.

Witnesses said the incident occurred around 1pm after a failed attemptby the o� cer-in-charge of Kotwa-li police station to resolve a dispute concerning the recovery of an unpaid credit.

Soon it spilled over the adjoining areas as hundreds of supporters of the feuding businessmen, Mohammad No-biullah and Matiur Rahman, arrived and joined the � ght with sticks, iron rods and bamboos.

Merchants and businessmen in the area were forced to put up their shut-

ters during the clash while communi-cation in the launch terminal area was suspended for hours even after the clash was over, causing su� erings to waiting commuters.

According to sources, the dispute ensued after Mohammad Nobiullah of Ladies Market purchased fabrics worth Tk300,000 from Matiur Rahman of South Plaza Market but failed to pay for that even after several months.

Then OC Salauddin Ahmed of Kot-wali police station proposed to settle the dispute through negotiation and

invited the two parties in the station earlier yesterday. But instead of reach-ing a settlement the two engaged into a clash.

“They injured � ve policemen while inside the station and soon the clash spilled over adjoining areas with hun-dreds joining them. Police charged batons and � red rounds to bring the situation under control,” said SI Golam Rasul of the station.

Police � red nearly a hundred rounds of ammunition and detained four indi-viduals in this connection.

Four of the injured were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), 16 to Mitford Hospital while the rest to di� erent clinics in the area. At least 15 of them sustained bullet wounds and the condition of some were said to be critical.

In another clash between students and transport workers over bus fares at Farmgate around 12:30pm, at least three individuals were injured. The in-jured – identi� ed as Rabil Islam, Sazzad Hossain and Pinaki – were admitted to DMCH. l

Local women remove a portion of a wall erected by an Awami League leader to set up shops on a school compound DHAKA TRIBUNE

Ruling party men grab another school land n Our Correspondent, Barisal

The playground of another government primary school in Rasulpur area under Barisal City Corporation was grabbed by ruling party men on January 11.

Locals said Surveyor Bazlur Rahman alias Bazlu, a local in� uential connected with ruling party and AL backed Ward Councilor Harunor Rashid occupied the playground of Chawak Bazar Government Primary School by constructing stalls.

Zinnat Ara Nabina, headmaster of the school, said the school was found-ed in 1943 in the area.

The then BCC Mayor, city AL presi-dent and now lawmaker-elect Shawkat

Hossain Hiron inaugurated the newly constructed school building at Rasul-pur area on Port Road in 2012.Shamsunnahar, former headmaster of

the school, said 33 decimal land was al-lotted by the government for the school with a playground on the emerged Rasul-pur Char land at Port Road area in the city.

When contacted, However Harunor Rashid denied the allegation.

The land was owned by the govern-ment and authority sanctioned only seven decimal land for the school, he said.

Tauhidul Islam, district primary ed-ucation o� cer, said he had visited the spot and informed the matter to the higher authorities.

Local people and female activists of the local unit of Krishani Sava protest-ed the grabbing.

Police o� cials also visited the spot.Joynul Abedin, a local AL leader and

war councilor of the city corporation has been also grabbing lands from a school premises and constructed his personal o� ces on them. l

Bazlur Rahman alias Bazlu has occupied the playground of Chawak Bazar Government Primary School by constructing stalls

Four murdered across thecountry n Tribune Report

Four bodies were recovered in Dhaka, Sirajganj, Habiganj and Chandpur yes-terday.

The authorities of Salimullah Mus-lim Hall found the body of an infant in the morning.

DU acting proctor Amzad Ali said the body was handed over to the police and the police sent it to Dhaka Medical Collage morgue for post mortem exam-ination.

In Sirajganj, police recovered the body of a minor girl from Square Clin-ic in Kodda area of Sadar upazila. The deceased was Aysha Khatun, 8, a stu-dent of Hosenpur Gevernment Primary School.

Police osuspected that the girl was killed and later dumped into the pond.

In Habiganj, police recovered the body of a missing CNG-run auto-rick-shaw driver from Finley tea garden area in Rashidpur, Bahubal upazila. The deceased was Siraj Mia, 35, of Konagao village in Chunarghat upazila.

Locals said Siraj took some com-muters and started for Sreemangal on the previous night. After that he went missing.

In Chandpur, police recovered the body of a seventh grade student from a brick kiln at Randhunimurara, Ha-ziganj upazila. The deceased was Md Rabbi, 13, who had been missing for the last four days.

Shah Alam, o� cer in-charge Haz-iganj police station, said the body was recovered from a hole in the brick kiln owned by Bashu Majumdar. There was no mark of injuries on the body. Vic-tim’s parents did not blame anyone, added the OC. l

Several cars are parked illegally on both sides of Mirpur Road that often causes a long tailback in the city. The photo was taken from New Market area yesterday RAJIB DHAR

6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Illegal brick kilns back in operation in Bandarbann Our Correspondent, Bandarban

With the start of brickmaking season a number of illegal brick kilns have started operating inside the forests and woodlands of Naikkhangchhari upazila in Bandarban, despite a statutory re-striction on such operations.

These kilns rely on � rewood collect-ed from the forests – including those declared ‘reserved’ by the government – to heat bricks, posing grave threats to human health and the environment.

The local administration, however, claimed to have no knowledge of the re-started kilns, which use faulty chim-neys and wood fuel.

The government had earlier im-posed a ban on brick manufacturing in three upazilas of the district and out-lawed 41 brick� elds.

Many of the chimneys used in these � elds were as small as 15ft in height, al-though a 1989 law made it mandatory for to have chimneys a minimum of 120ft high.

According to sources, there are sev-eral kilns in the Kajogikhola area of Naikkhangchhari which have been op-erating for the past few months.

Nazmul Huq Piaro and Samsuddin Ahmed are among two businessmen who recommenced brickmaking using wood fuel, after members of Border Guard Bangladesh had stopped their operations on a previous occasion.

When contacted, they claimed to have licenses for their businesses, but failed to show any documents to sup-port their claims.

On average, around 300 mounds of wood are used daily in each of these brick kilns, built mostly near primary schools, agricultural land and forests. The total consumption of wood in the 41 now-outlawed kilns is believed to be around 12,300 mounds.

It has been alleged that brick manu-factures often collected wood in con-nivance with unscrupulous forest of-� cials. Forest O� cer of Lama Forest Division Md Said Ali, however, denied the allegation and said, “We’ve in-structed o� cials to see that no one can collect or burn wood.”

According to the Brick Making and Brick Field Establishment (Control) Act 2013, establishing a brick kiln without license is punishable by one year’s im-prisonment and a � ne of Tk50,000.

For setting up kilns in residential, protected and commercial locations, the maximum punishment will be � ve years’ imprisonment, or a � ne of Tk50 lakh, or both.

Setting up a unit in private or gov-ernment owned forest areas, sanctu-aries and wetlands, will be punishable by a jail term of one year, or a � ne of Tk100,000, or both.

“There are no authorised brick kilns in the district as the government has revoked the permits to build or operate one,” said Deputy Commissioner KM Tarikul Islam.

The practice of using wood fuel to burn and harden clay bricks is not re-stricted to Bandarban; similar practices are seen in di� erent upazilas of Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong district as well. l

Workshop on strawberry cultivation heldat BSMRAU n Tribune Report

A daylong seminar titled “Improving Sustainability of Strawberry Produc-tion in Bangladesh” was held at Bang-abandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agri-cultural University on Saturday.

The seminar was jointly organised by the Department of Biotechnology of the university and West Virginia Uni-versity, USA.

In the technical session, scientists and experts discussed various issues in-cluding their experiences of strawberry cultivation in Bangladesh, its prob-lems, prospects, technology needed for strawberry cultivation, experience at Bangladesh Agriculture Research Insti-tute and post-harvest management.

Meanwhile, Dr Mahfuzur Rahman of West Virginia University discussed about strawberry production in US and disaster management.

He said temperature management was the most important factor of pre-serving strawberry, adding strawber-ries kept at 1°C was the most e� ective treatment in reducing fungal decay, weight loss, and delaying the changes in external colour compared to other treatments during 8 days of storage.

However, he said quality of straw-berry could be maintained up to 6 days at 10 °C. The speakers at the workshop pointed out production of seedlings, controlling diseases, preservation, transportation and marketing as the main challenge at farmer’s level for strawberry production in Bangladesh.

Amongst the others, BSMRAU Pro-fessor Dr Md Ismail Hossain Mian, Prin-cipal Investigator from West Virginia University, USA, Dr Mahfuzur Rahman, Principal Investigator from BSMRAU Professor Dr M Tofazzal Islam and Head of Biotechnology Department of BSMRAU Dr Md Ashraful Haque spoke on the occasion. l

Solar power brings bliss in remote villagesn Tribune Report

Use of solar power has changed lifestyle and so-cio-economic condition of thousands of people living in the remote char villages on the Basin of Brahmaputra River in recent years.

Char people are now watching television, us-ing fans, lighting bulbs, using refrigerators, charg-ing mobile phone sets and operating computers.

Villagers have become more aware about neg-ative impact of child marriage, dowry, malnutri-tion of pregnant women and children, reasons of maternal and child mortality, adverse e� ect of social superstitions di� erent medias.

The people, who could hardly think about availability of electricity, are now enjoying vari-ous facilities.

They neither su� er from low-voltage, nor get irritated due to load shedding.

During a visit to di� erent villages it was found that many farmers were crushing paddy at night using electricity from the plants.

Local sources said over 120,000 char people are now using some 21,000 solar power units set up

under assistances of di� erent NGOs in char areas of Rangpur, Nilphamari, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha and adjoining riverine districts.

The Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service, the BRAC, the Grameen Shakti, the Resource Inte-gration and Social Development Association,

Bangladesh, Pratyasha and Rahim Afroz, Srijnoni have installed solar-power units at costs between Tk12,000 to Tk45,000 each depending on power generation capacities mainly with the assistanc-es of the Infrastructure Development Company Limited, reports BSS.

“RDRS Bangladesh has set up 1,300 solar pow-er units in char areas and other backwards villages inhabited by the ethnic minority communities so far in the region,” Agriculture and Environment Coordinator of the NGO Mamunur Rashid said.

According to the NGO sources, over 850 solar power units have so far been set up in Chilmari Sadar, Ostomir Char, Noyarhat, Ramna and Rani-ganj unions in Chilmari upazila on the Brahma-putra riverbed alone during the past six years.

The people of Hatia, Buraburi and Anantapur, Bazra, Gunaigach, Santoshbiram and Khamar Damarhat char villages under Ulipur upazila are now using over 350 solar units provided by BRAC on easy installments. Similarly, thousands of people living in the char villages of Rangpur, La-lmonirhat, Nilphamari, Kurigram and Gaibandha are now using solar power.

Chairman of Chilmari upazila Shawkat Ali Sarker, Bir Bikram, said solar power had brought revolutionary change in char areas.

Bimola Khatun, 42, Noor Alam, 52, Saiful Is-lam, 46, of Chilmari upazila said they were now getting uninterrupted supply of power using the solar technology.

Students of di� erent char areas Tahmina, 17, Moshfeka, 15, Sultana, 15, Gokul, 17 and Shakil, 16, said they studied at nights getting uninter-rupted solar power. l

Government of the people Republic of BangladeshOffi ce of the Executive Engineer RHD

Magura Road Division, MaguraE-mail: eemag@rhd.gov.bd

Reference: e-gp/2013-14/23 Date: 06.01.2014

e-Tender Noticee-Tender is invited in the National e-gp System Portal (http:// www.eprocure.gov.bd)

for the procurement of “Repair and Seal coat on the existing road pavement by base type-ii at 3rd km (p) to 7th km (p) of Arpara-Shalikha Road under Road Division, Magura during the year 2013-14. (e-Gp/11/MRD/2013-14)

This is an online Tender, where only e-Tender will be accepted in the National e-GP portal and no offl ine/hard copies will be accepted.

To submit e-Tender, registration in the National e-Gp System Portal (http:// www.eprocure.gov.bd) is required.

The fees for downloading the e-Tender Documents from the National e-Gp Sys-tem Portal have to be deposited online through any registered Banks’ branches up to 26/01/2014 at 5:00PM.

Further information and guide lines are available in the National e-GP System Portal and from e-GP help desk (helpdesk@eprocure.gov.bd)

(Subrata Datta) Executive Engineer (RHD)DG-04/14 (4x3) Road Division, Magura

RDRS Bangladesh has set up 1,300 solar power units in char areas and other backwards villages inhabited by the ethnic minority communities so far in the region

A brick kiln is run inside the forests and woodlands of Naikkhangchhari upazila in Bandarban DHAKA TRIBUNE

Hindu people living in anxiety in Gaibandha n Our Correspondent, Gaibandha

Fearing further attacks by anti-libera-tion forces, people of Hindu commu-nity have been living life with grave anxiety.

Male persons of Hindu families have started patrolling villages with lethal weapons to protect themselves from Jamaat-Shibir attacks, locals said.

Many families have already taken shelter at their relative houses to save their lives plus honour.

Principal Paresh Chandra Saha, president of the Bangladesh Hindu, Boudha, Khristan Oikya Parishad, said the miscreants also continued issu-ing threat to the minority families of Sundarganj, Sadullapur, Palashbari

and Gobindaganj upazilas so that they could not dare to go to polling centres during re-elections scheduled to be held on January 16.

A Hindu man was killed and 28 in-cidence of violence had taken place in Sadar, Sundarganj, Sadullapur, Palashbari and Gobindaganj upazilas of the district during pre and post-poll violence, says a press release issued by Bangladesh Hindu, Boudha, Khristan Oikya Parishad, district unit.

The miscreants allegedly belong to anti-liberation Jamaat-Shibir conducted their destructive activities through at-tacking the Hindu families, vandalising their houses and furniture, looting prop-erties and setting � re to it during the period, leaving the minorities panicked.

The anti-liberation forces also beat two presiding o� cers, Kanti Bhuson Barmon and Mukul Chandra Borman, while they were going to polling cen-tres with electoral materials the day before election.

Now, they are undergoing treatment at Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

Besides, the fanatics also exploded two crude bombs at the homesteads of two minority families on the Election Day in a bid to create panic among Hin-dus, said the release.

Apart from it, Satendranath Borman of Kachdaha village under Ramjibon union of Sundarganj upazila was beat-en to death allegedly by Jamaat-Shibir men after the January-5 election.

Hindu people urged the government

to take immediate measures to protect the Hindus and their properties by tak-ing stern actions against the people in-volved in the attacks without any delay.

Meanwhile, cultural activists formed a human chain on Town Hall premises in Mymensingh town yes-terday morning, protesting communal violence on Hindus across the country. Mymensingh Theatre Association or-ganised the event.

They also demanded immediate ar-rest of the attackers to bring them to book.

Convener of Mymensingh Theatre Association and Secretary of Bahu-rupi Natya Sangstha Shahadat Hossain Khan Hilu, among others, addressed the programme. l

30 illegal structures evicted from SBMC premisesn Our Correspondent, Barisal

A mobile court yesterday evicted more than 30 illegal structures from the Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital premises in Barisal.

They � ned around 12 drivers and

owners of commercial ambulances for illegally parking on the premises creat-ing hurdles in the movement of patients.

With the help of law enforcement agencies and hospital o� cials, Assis-tant Commissioner (land) Ashafur Rah-man led the drive.

Sources said a group of people patron-ised by fourth grade sta� of the hospital and local goons, had established small restaurants, tea stalls, stationery and grocery shops on the premises illegally.

The drivers and owners of some pri-vate commercial ambulances also had

been illegally using the hospital prem-ises for parking and maintenance of their vehicles.

Such activities had largely ham-pered the hygienic environment of the largest public health education and service providing institution in the city, they said.

Sources claimed that drug peddlers throng these tea-stalls that largely hamper the law and order situation in the premises.

Because of the political connection of the illegal businessmen, the SBMC authority had failed to evict them de-spite repeated attempts, said Dr Kamrul Hasan Selim, acting director SBMCH.

He sought help from the district ad-ministration.

Accompanied by Executive Magis-trate Md Qamruzzaman, the three hour drive started around 10am.

The court � ned Tk19,400 to each of the private ambulance owners un-der section 209/39 of Consumer Rights Conservation Act and section 52 of Mo-tor Vehicles Act. Similar drives would be conducted in future if necessary, Ashafur Rahman added. l

Madaripur students demand hostel repairn Our Correspondent, Madaripur

Agitated students of Madaripur Gov-ernment Nazimuddin University Col-lege yesterday laid seize on the District Education Engineering Directorate o� ce, demanding immediate repair works of their hostel building.

The protests began after the directo-rate failed to start the repair works of the institute’s 4-storey hostel, even af-ter a crack was discovered in the build-ing some six months ago.

The protesters, led by Hostel gen-eral secretary Jamal Hossain, also an-nounced to form a human chain on Wednesday to press home their 6-point demand.

Along with the repair of the crack, the agitated students also demand bet-ter sanitation system, repair of electric connections, immediate solution to water crisis and the repair of the build-ing’s window glasses.

Earlier in June, a crack was spotted on the 4-storey hostel building of the college and an emergency evacuation was ordered. However, the students were asked to return after engineers from Dhaka were sent to inspect the problem.

Meanwhile, Abdul Haq, assistant engineer of Madaripur Education En-gineering Directorate, said Tk4.96 lakh has been allotted for the hostel and the repair works will begin nextThursday. l

JSD leader brings allegation of vote rigging in Narsingdi n Our Correspondent, Narsingdi

A Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal leader Zayedul Kabir has alleged that Kamrul Ashraf Khan, who won from the Nars-ingdi 2 constituency in the recent na-tional poll, had rigged votes.

He also alleged that Khan, who was an independent candidate, had been threatening and assaulting his follow-ers since the poll ended.

The JSD leader made the statement in a press brie� ng yesterday.

In the 10th National Parliamentary Election held recently, Kabir lost while Khan won from the Narsingdi 2 con-stituency.

Kabir, the AL backed candidate for the constituency, said Khan’s men had started rigging votes after 12noon on the poll day. As the polling agents tried to prevent them, they drove them away from the centre.

They did it with the help of the law enforcement agencies, alleged Kabir.

Kabir also alleged that Khan’s fol-lowers had assaulted and threatened people of the Hindu community in the constituency on Saturday for casting their votes to the ‘boat’ symbol in the poll.

“My followers were threatened of being dismissed from their jobs. Khan’s followers threatened to shut down their businesses,” Kabir added.

Upazila parishad Chairman Farukul Islam, upazila Awami League General Secretary Sheikh Md Ilias, Upazila JSD President Md Sa hidullah and General Secretary Md Mobarak Ali attended the brie� ng. l

The AL backed candidate for the constituency, said Khan’s men had started rigging votes after 12noon on the poll day. As the polling agents tried to prevent them, they drove them away from the centre

A mobile court demolishes a makeshift shop in Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital area in Barisal city yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

7DHAKA TRIBUNE Long Form Tuesday, January 14, 2014

n Zia Hassan

“In death, Kadambini proved she had indeed been alive.” This popu-lar line from the ending of a Tagore novel comes

to mind as the aftermath of the Janu-ary 5th elections proves how the oppo-sition’s call for a caretaker government to oversee elections had been right.

The new government, however, has very little time to dwell in literary sim-iles. Awami League has by now won 231 seats, and the rest was allocated to handpicked parties to construct an op-position party. Among these 231 seats, 154 were won before any votes were cast due to lack of contestation.

Not so credible poll

On election day, TVs were reporting as little as 10 to 20 votes from the polling booths until noon, and in one instance, broadcast bored election o� cials getting haircuts. Facebook was abuzz

with jokes about the state minister who theorised that the people were not coming to vote due to the cold weath-er. The abysmal turnout persisted throughout the day. However, by the evening, the election commission re-ported a 30%-40% turnout rate, which seemed incredulous in light of the visible lack of voters throughout the country. No doubt that Bangladeshis and the international community, with the exception of India, were in unison in condemning the poll that deprived people of their right to choose.

This is a big deal for Bangladesh. It has turned into a tradition that people remain silent about the injustices com-mitted during the ruling party’s entire tenure and make their voice heard in ballot boxes. Along with other deeply rooted political traditions in the coun-try, no incumbent has been re-elected in the 42 years history of Bangladesh – never through a free and fair election, that is. But, the current government has successfully interrupted the pattern and appears undisturbed by all the criticism about the manner in which it achieved its goal.

The election commission has de-clared the polls a success, with a 30% turnout rate. But that has only served to prove how incapable Bangladeshi politicians are of conducting a legiti-mate poll under their own auspices, which in turn further legitimises the movement for conducting elections under a caretaker government.

Even hard core government sup-porters appear to be apologetic about this embarrassing a� air. They are sav-ing face by claiming that this poll had to be carried out to ful� l constitutional obligations, and that a new election will very soon be called following new dialogue with the opposition.

Insolent government

Sheikh Hasina, the supremo of the Awami League, along with the top leadership of the party, are probably not looking at the future in the same way. They seem to be fully prepared to trudge on for another � ve years, and undeniably possess the political acumen to counter any form of local or international pressure. It is no coincidence that an in� uential aide to the government was caught whisper-ing in an open microphone, at a press conference, advising the prime minis-ter on how to deal with allegations of irregularities from the reporters.

Those who have closely observed the government will know that Awami League means business when it comes to Bangladeshi politics. And, they are under no obligation to accept that this poll is illegitimate and unfair, although the credibility of the newly formed government is bound to be called into question. There are also expectations that there will be local and international pressure for another round of elections. But the Awami League government is well poised to play on their own terms – a situation which, judging by all signs, including surveys and previously held polls, will mean the dethroning of the current government.

At the same time, the government is structurally, � nancially, and organical-ly ready to crush any opposition and to continue with their rule for the full term. Supported by a dogmatic ide-ology and a signi� cant portion of the population, the ruling party is likely to continue with its strategy. Anohter major disappointment had been the War Crimes Tribunal that turned out to be a potent tool for the government to avert criticism.

Floundering opposition

On the other hand, BNP, the main opposition, (which some diplomats have jokingly called Basically No Party among themselves) is a structurally weak organisation. BNP leader Begum Khaleda Zia appears physically unwell to carry out a movement. She appears to be dependent on her aides who have been barred from seeing her since she is under virtual house arrest. Her son, Tareque Zia, lives in exile in London and seldom makes public ap-pearances, rendering BNP a rudderless organisation.

The party was also weakened by the arrest of its senior leaders. Many claim that the opposition’s protest activi-ties are basically being carried out by Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, not by BNP activists.

Under these circumstances, BNP is too powerless to force the government to hold new elections.

The problem for BNP is that although it is considered a natural replacement to Awami League as per Bangladesh duopoly, its own activi-ties and polices raise valid questions about its moral right to be successor to the throne when vacated by Awami League. It is a party that has been elected twice and was overwhelmingly rejected by the people after its last tenure. However, the party’s deci-sion-makers seem to have learnt little and in recent times have in� amed the people by adopting violent tactics of targeting the common people during anti-government protests.

Before election day nearly 500 schools scheduled to be polling locations, were burnt down, allegedly by opposition cadres, to the utter dismay of people from across the spectrum. They have regularly torched transport vehi-cles and killed people who defy the blockade for their livelihoods. There were also attacks on religious minority communities in a number of places immediately after the vote, allegedly carried out by Jamat-e-Islami, its stu-dent wing and the BNP. However, in some instances the leaders of the Hin-du-Buddhist-Christian Alliance have laid blame on government supporters.

Population in crossfire

Bangladesh is now stuck in a quagmire from which there is no visible way out. Awami League leaders will not, in any way, accept a situation where they might have to face a poll free of their

in� uence and they will continue to run their government until a compromise has been achieved on their terms.

On the other hand, BNP and its allies will continue to call blockades, strikes and go on with the destruction of public property until the govern-ment hands over power to a neutral caretaker government for another round of elections. The consequences of people’s su� ering has already start-ed to show.

Farmers are unable to ship their winter produce which is rotting in their � elds, the unskilled workers and daily labourers and their families - a large chunk of the population -are struggling to make ends meet due to lack of jobs; school are closed for an inde� nite period; businesses, big and small, are shedding jobs or not paying their sta� . It is a miserable scenario to which the government-controlled media are not drawing attention. You can only hear grumbles of dissent and stories of su� ering when you walk into the streets and speak to the people.

Bangladesh is a nation of 155 million resilient people who have learnt to live their lives on very little despite the destructive cyclones, � oods and other natural calamities. People have learnt to live their lives bypassing periodic political violence as well. But, this time it appears to be going too far and too long even for them to bear. l

Zia Hassan is a political and cultural analyst. He writes in local and international blogs and social media outlets. This article was � rst published by Al-Jazeera.

Population in cross� reCabinet members, ‘elected‘ in questionable elections, taking oath BSS

Police cordoning the BNP headquarters on the day of the road-march. All activities of the main opposition has been met with stern resistance, both form Awamy League activists and state mechanisms RAJIB DHAR

Awami League means business when it comes to Bangladeshi politics, and are under no obligation to accept that this poll is illegitimate and unfair

People have learnt to live their lives bypassing periodic political violence as well. But, this time it appears to be going too far and too long

Faced with an impotent opposition, the Awami League carries on with impunity

Tuesday, January 14, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE InternationalDHAKA TRIBUNE8

‘Party over’ in Central Africa as troops return to barracksn AFP, Bangui

The interim president of the vio-lence-wracked Central African Repub-lic declared Monday that “the party is over” after weeks of deadly sectarian violence as deserting troops and police returned to duty.

Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet, speaker of the country’s provision-al parliament and interim president, vowed that the “anarchy” that has gripped the country would be swiftly brought to an end.

And he issued a stern warning to war-ring militiamen from the mostly Muslim Seleka group and the anti-balaka Chris-tian � ghters set up to oppose them.

Speaking at a police headquarters in the capital Bangui, he said: “To the ex-Seleka, to the anti-balaka and the lovers of looting, I’m giving you a se-vere warning: The party is over.”

Nguendet, whose parliament has been charged with � nding a new tran-sitional president within two weeks, declared: “The chaos is over, the pil-laging is over, the revenge attacks are over.”

The return of soldiers and police to duty was another encouraging sign

for the Central African Republic after weeks of horri� c sectarian violence in-cluding reports of cannibalism.

Sunday night was “particularly calm” with no reports of looting, ac-cording to residents contacted by AFP.

The troops, many of whom had � ed their units for fear of being killed, heeded a call from chief of sta� Gener-al Ferdinand Bomboyeke to return to barracks by Monday.

“They came in very large numbers and they’re still coming,” Colonel De-sire Bakossa, who supervised the reg-istration, told AFP.

“They answered the general’s call. It’s a relief. It’s a very good sign.”

Similar centres have opened in Ban-gui for police to register after many of them deserted too.

Nguendet said the police, complete-ly absent from the streets of Bangui in recent weeks, would be “redeployed within 72 hours and would take part in the disarmament process” underway in the city.

“I’m very happy to see again my brothers in arms,” said adjutant Jacky-Morel Gbabja, who � ed his unit in December to take shelter with his family.

Nguendet’s speech came the day after scenes of reconciliation in the southern Bangui neighbourhood of Bimbo as rival � ghters struck a truce and embraced.

The interim president also went to the airport where some 100,000 peo-ple were sheltering to urge them to return home.

Ten months of violence have dis-placed a � fth of the country’s popu-lation, and the sectarian � are-up has killed more than 1,000 people in the past month alone, despite a French mil-itary intervention and the presence of an African peacekeeping force, MISCA.

France has deployed 1,600 troops in the country to support MISCA, which is meant to have up to 6,000 troops but has not yet reached 3,500.

“It is a shame for the nation to see the security of the people of Central Af-rica entrusted to regional and interna-tional organisations,” said Nguendet.

The provisional parliament was due to begin consultations on Tuesday with politicians and civil society members in a bid to elect a successor to former president Michel Djotodia, who re-signed last week under international pressure. l

Iran nuclear deal to take e� ect on January 20n Reuters

A deal between Iran and six major pow-ers intended to pave the way to a solu-tion to a long stando� over Tehran’s nu-clear ambitions will come into force on January 20, the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the European Union said on Sunday.

Shortly after the interim accord takes e� ect, an Iranian o� cial added, Tehran and world powers will start negotiating a � nal settlement of their di� erences about activity the West sus-pects is aimed at obtaining a nuclear weapons capability.

Iran says its atomic energy program is aimed purely at electricity generation and other civilian purposes, although past Iranian attempts to hide sensitive nuclear activity from UN non-prolifera-tion inspectors raised concerns.

The November 24 agreement ap-peared to halt a slide towards another,

wider Middle East war over Iran’s nu-clear aspirations, but diplomats warn it will not be easy to carry out because of long-standing mutual mistrust.

The Iranian o� cial, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, said the deal would allow Iran to stop complying if it saw its partners not living up to their own commitments.

“We don’t trust them,” he told state television, re� ecting ingrained suspi-cions between Iran and the West that underlie what have been protracted negotiations. In Washington, President Barack Obama said Sunday the United States and other nations would begin to give Iran “modest relief” on economic sanctions as long as the Islamic Repub-lic lived up to its end of the agreement.

Obama said he would veto any new sanctions passed by the US Con-gress during talks on a long-term deal with Iran. l

South Sudan troops advance on Born Agencies

Government troops in South Sudan have been advancing on the � ashpoint town of Bor, the last state capital still in rebel hands, according to an army spokesper-son. Bor, situated around 200km north of Juba and capital of the restive Jonglei State, has already changed hands three times since � ghting broke out in South Sudan one month ago.

“Bor is still in the hands of the rebels but our forces are... moving towards it,” Colonel Philip Aguer said on Monday.

The con� ict in South Sudan has raged for weeks between forces loyal to Presi-dent Salva Kiir and a loose coalition of army defectors and ethnic militia nom-

inally headed by Riek Machar, a former vice president and seasoned guerilla � ghter. Government troops recaptured the key northern oil city of Bentiu last week, but have since grappled with reb-el � ghters closer to the capital Juba. The rebels also claim they are close to retak-ing Malakal, the capital of the biggest oil-producing state, Upper Nile.

Meanwhile, mediators were meeting separately with negotiators from both sides of the South Sudan con� ict in an e� ort to reach a cease� re deal. The Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) said mediators needed to mini-mise the number of conditions that par-ties want ful� lled before they can commit to signing a cease� re agreement. l

Israel pays homage to Ariel Sharonn AFP, Jerusalem

Israel paid homage Monday to Ariel Sharon at a memorial service honouring one of its most skilled but controversial leaders who was hailed internationally for his dedication to the Jewish state.

At an outdoor ceremony under cloudless blue skies, the burly for-mer general who died on Saturday, was eulogised by both Israeli leaders and foreign dignitaries for his military prowess, his lifelong defence of Israel’s security, and his political courage.

But Sharon was also remembered as a “complex” character whose actions could have destructive consequences following a decades-long career which saw him both reviled as a warmonger and hailed as a peacemaker.

He will be laid to rest in a ceremony at 1200 GMT at his family’s Sycamore Ranch in the southern Negev desert, which lies a few miles from the north-ern border of the Gaza Strip.

“You never rested in service of your people, when defending your land and making it � ourish,” said Is-raeli President Shimon Peres standing in the Knesset plaza, where Sharon’s � ag-draped co� n stood on a black marble plinth.

“The land from which you came will embrace you in the warm arms of the history of our nation to which you add-ed an unforgettable chapter,” he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya-hu, a bitter opponent of Sharon’s with-drawal of all troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, focused on Sharon’s “unique contribution” to Israel’s secu-rity, saying it would be “engraved on the pages of our nation’s history.”

Taking to the podium wearing a black Jewish skullcap to address the sombrely-dressed crowd, which in-cluded ministers and diplomats from 20 countries, US Vice President Joe Biden remembered Sharon as a “his-toric leader” whose guiding star was “the survival of the state of Israel and the Jewish people.”

“Prime Minister Sharon was a com-plex man... (who) lived in a complex time in a complex neighbourhood,” said Biden, hailing him for both his mil-itary courage and his political courage in pushing through Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.

Former British premier Tony Blair remembered him as “passionate” about his country but a man who “could leave considerable debris in his wake.” l

More than 20 Belgian Islamists killed in Syrian AFP, Brussels

More than 20 of the 200 or so Belgian Islamists who have left for Syria to � ght President Bashar al-Assad’s regime have been killed, Foreign Minister Di-dier Reynders said Monday.

“More than 200 people have been clearly identi� ed or are being identi-� ed... Most have joined the most ex-tremist groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),” an al-Qaeda-linked group, Reynders said in a newspaper interview.

“More than 20 have already died in Syria,” he told the daily La Libre Bel-gique newspaper.

Reynders also reiterated growing concerns among governments across Europe over “how to keep track of these jihadists to see whether they are dangerous once they return here or elsewhere.”

“Not only will they be more radi-calised in their commitment but also (acquire) techniques and experience enabling them to do almost anything,” he added.

Belgium has been working on the problem with France, which believes some 400 youngsters have left to � ght with extremist Islamist groups.

O� cials from the two countries have also been in contact with Brit-ain, Germany, the Netherlands, Ita-ly, Spain and Denmark to coordinate a response. l

Ukraine opposition demands sanctionsn Agencies

At least 50,000 demonstrators have  gathered in  a central square in Kiev, reviving  Ukraine’s slowing pro-test movement just as opposition leaders called for international sanc-tions against the government.

The mass rally in Independence Square  came as opposition leader Ar-seniy Yatsenyuk announced that he would be  sending an envoy to a US Senate hearing on Wednesday to press Washington to impose economic sanc-tions against “the gang now violat-ing the law and the constitution,” refer-ring to the government.

Sunday’s demonstration was the largest so far this year against President Victor Yanukovych, who drew the ire of thousands of Ukrainians in November after he decided to reject a trade deal with the European Union in favour of closer cooperation with Russia.

“We will continue to � ght,” Vitaly Klitschko, an opposition leader and former heavyweight boxing champion, told the protesters. 

“And in order to be heard, we are going to organise a national strike - � rst a short one, as a warning, and then a full-scale one that lasts a long time,” Klitschko said.

The protest came after Ukrainian riot police used force to disperse protesters outside a courthouse in the capital, in-juring at least ten people.

Yuriy Lutsenko, the former interior minister and opposition leader, was reportedly beaten by police on Friday. “He received about 10 blows to the head,” Lutsenko’s spokeswoman said.

Protests in Ukraine attracted as many as 800,000 people at their height last year.

But the protests quieted over New Year and the Ukrainian Orthodox Christmas, celebrated on January 7.

The opposition has repeated calls for early presidential elections, which are not due until 2015. l

French � rst lady in hospital after reports of Hollande a� airn Reuters, Paris

French � rst lady Valerie Trierweiler has been admitted to hospital following reports of an a� air between President Francois Hollande and an actress, but will be discharged on Monday, sources said on Sunday.

Daily newspaper Le Parisien said on its website earlier that Trierweiler, 48, had been taken to hospital after being shaken by a celebrity maga-zine’s reports of a liaison between her partner Hollande and French actress Julie Gayet.

“She has been in hospital since Friday. She will leave tomorrow,” her spokes-man Patrice Biancone told Reuters.

Asked about the future of Trierwei-ler’s relationship with the president, Biancone said: “She needs rest. Then she will decide what to do.”

A source at the Elysee declined to comment on Trierweiler’s hospitaliza-tion and the magazine report.

“The president is at work. He is pre-paring Tuesday’s news conference,”

the source said.On Tuesday, Hollande will face the

media in a traditional new year news conference that had been scheduled well before the reports of the a� air broke.

Hollande, who came to power in May 2012, is expected to announce new measures to boost the French econo-my, including lower charges for com-panies, cuts in public spending and a simpli� cation of business regulation.

Hollande and Trierweiler are sched-uled to make a state visit to the Unit-ed States in February and are set to attend a state dinner with President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle on February 11.

On Friday, Hollande, 59, threatened to sue celebrity magazine Closer, com-plaining of breach of privacy after it said he was having an a� air with Gayet, 41.

Closer published a series of photos of a woman resembling Gayet entering a Paris � at close to the Elysee presiden-tial palace, followed by a man masked by a black motorcycle helmet who the magazine said was Hollande.

Gayet, a mother of two, has dozens of � lm credits to her name but is little known outside France. Last year, she starred in “Quai d’Orsay,” in which she plays a vampish diplomatic adviser in the foreign ministry.

In March last year she � led a com-plaint with the Paris prosecutor for breach of privacy over Internet rumors alleging she had a relationship with Hollande.

Hollande and Trierweiler, a journal-ist for celebrity magazine Paris Match, are not married but have been in a long-term relationship for several years.

Hollande has four children from a previous relationship with Segolene Royal, a senior member of his Social-ist Party who ran for president against Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007. Royal an-nounced their separation right after she lost the election.

Speaking on France 2 television on Sunday, Royal declined to com-ment on the a� air, saying that French people had more important things to worry about. l

Spain’s Carlos Sainz steers his buggy during the Stage 1 of the Rally Dakar 2014 between Rosario and San Luis , Argentina AFP

DAKAR RALLY

‘Party over’ in C.Africa as troops return to barracks AFP

French President Francois Hollande and his partner Valerie Trierweiler AFP

9Tuesday, January 14, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE International

24 wounded in Philippine school blastn AFP, Cotabato

A suspected improvised bomb attack at a university campus in the Philippines, has left 24 people wounded – many critically – including students and teachers, police said Monday.

It appeared a � re was set o� deliberate-ly in a school building housing securi-ty personnel at the state-run Cotabato Foundation College of Science and Technology, before the blast occurred Sunday night, police added.

“The � re drew responders, includ-ing � remen, teachers, and students, and they were among the injured,” ex-plained Senior Inspector Rolly Oranza of the local police force in the troubled Mindanao region.

He said 17 of the wounded remain in a critical condition at the hospital.

Police told AFP they believe the ex-

plosion was caused by an improvised explosive device, but ordnance experts are still determining the exact details.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and police are still try-ing to determine the motive, Inspector Oranza said.

The school is situated in Arakan, a quiet farming community on the southern island of Mindanao, populat-ed mostly by indigenous tribes.

Mindanao is gripped by a long-run-ning Muslim insurgency that has left more than 150,000 dead.

While Muslim rebels are not known to operate in Arakan, there has been violence between armed paramilitary groups � ghting for control of the area. Communist rebels are also known to have some presence in Arakan, but police said it was unclear if they were involved.

In October 2011, an Italian Catho-lic priest who had been helping tribal groups was shot and killed as he was leaving his parish in Arakan. In Sep-tember, Oranza said police recovered and defused an improvised bomb planted near the school’s � ag pole. l

China general’s daughter apologises over Cultural Revolution deathn AFP, Beijing

The daughter of a top Chinese Commu-nist Party o� cial has apologised over the killing of one of her teachers, the lat-est former Red Guard to express remorse for the horrors of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, state media said Monday.

Song Binbin’s father Song Renqiong was a powerful general and one of the Communist Party’s “Eight Immortals,” and she herself was a leader of the rev-olutionary Red Guards at her school as a teenager in 1966.

The establishment’s vice-president Bian Zhongyun was beaten to death in one of the � rst and most notorious kill-ings of a teacher during China’s decade of chaos and bloodshed.

Now 64, Song says she should have done more to protect Bian and other school o� cials – although she did not specify her exact role in events.

“Please allow me to express my ev-erlasting grief and apologies to Princi-pal Bian,” Song said Sunday in a tearful apology at her former school, the Bei-jing News reported on Monday.

“I failed to protect the school lead-ers, and this has been a source of life-long pain and remorse.”

“If we don’t re� ect on things, it is hard to get close to the truth,” she told the newspaper. “I hope that all of those

who made mistakes during the Cultur-al Revolution – all those who did harm to their teachers and classmates – can face themselves, re� ect on the Cultur-al Revolution, ask for forgiveness and achieve reconciliation. “I believe this is everyone’s desire.” China heavily cen-sors discussion of the Cultural Revolu-tion, the decade of social and political upheaval led by Mao during which mil-lions were persecuted and killed.

But in recent months, several for-mer Red Guards – members of the stu-dent movement charged with purging the country of ideological “foes,” often by bloody means – have stepped for-ward to apologise for their actions.

Last October, Chen Xiaolu, a for-mer Red Guard leader and the son of a legendary Communist military leader, visited his former school in Beijing to o� er his remorse to teachers and sta� who had been tortured and subjected to forced labour.

Such “inhumane violations of hu-man rights should not appear again in any form in China,” Chen wrote in a blog post months before he delivered his face-to-face apology. While some in China greeted Song’s apology Mon-day, Wang Jingyao, the slain teacher’s widower, said that she did not go far enough and that a fuller accounting of her part in the killing was in order. l

China: 20 political cases in Tibet last yearn AP, Beijing

China prosecuted 20 cases involving national security in Tibet last year, a state newspaper reported Monday, in an indication of continuing low-level unrest in the Himalayan region.

The cases dealt a “heavy blow” to those seeking the region’s indepen-dence, the o� cial China Daily quoted a judge, Sodar, as saying. He gave no de-tails about individual cases or the num-

ber of people who were prosecuted.Sodar, who like many Tibetans uses

just one name, said more high-pressure tactics will be used this year against separatists, including those operating within Tibet’s Buddhist religious es-tablishment.

Authorities will “leave no room for separatists,” Sodar was quoted as say-ing in a report Sunday to the regional legislature.

Information about political cases is

tightly restricted and no � gures were given for the numbers of cases prose-cuted in previous years.

However, the China Daily quoted Tibet’s governor, Lobsang Jamcan, as saying the situation remained “grave,” standard terminology used in describ-ing the anti-separatist struggles in Tibet and Xinjiang just to the north, where Turkic Muslim Uighur separatists have also been battling Chinese rule.

Communist troops occupied Tibet in

1950, although Beijing says it has been part of China for centuries. Many Tibet-ans say Tibet was e� ectively indepen-dent for most of that time and chafe at restrictions on Buddhist observances and at large-scale migration to the region by settlers from other parts of China.

Tibet and ethnically Tibetan parts of western China have been under heavy security since a wave of sometimes vi-olent rioting and protests against Chi-nese rule in 2008. l

Health minister hails ‘monumental milestone’ of polio-free Indian AFP, New Delhi

India’s health minister on Monday hailed the country’s success in eradi-cating new cases of polio as a “monu-mental milestone.”

India marks three years since its last reported polio case on Monday, mean-ing it will soon be declared as having defeated the ancient scourge in a huge advance for global eradication e� orts.

“In 2009 India accounted for over half of the global polio burden and to-day is the historic day when we have completed three years without a single case of wild polio,” Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters in the capital.

“This monumental milestone was possible due to unwavering political will at the highest level, commitment of adequate � nancial resources, tech-nological innovation... and the tireless e� orts of millions of workers including more than 23 lakh (2.3 million) vaccina-tors,” he said. The milestone con� rms one of India’s biggest public health success stories, achieving something once thought impossible, thanks to

a massive and sustained vaccination programme.

Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only three countries in the world where polio is still endemic.

Countries are certi� ed by the WHO

as being polio-free if they go 12 months without a case, and are then said to have eradicated it after a period of three years without new infections.

India will likely receive this en-dorsement in March. l

India scrambles to save tigers from deadly virusn AP, New Delhi

India is scrambling to protect its beleaguered tiger population after several big cats tested positive for a virus common among dogs but deadly to other carnivores, experts said. In the last year, canine distemper virus has killed at least four tigers and several other animals across northern and eastern India, according to Rajesh Gopal of the government’s National Tiger Conservation Authority.

The revelation is bad news for wild tigers — already endangered by rampant poach-ing and shrinking habitat as India undergoes breakneck development to accommodate the staggering growth of its 1.2 billion people. That same economic development and popu-lation growth means more people — and more dogs — are coming even closer to wildlife.

India will now test every tiger carcass it � nds for the virus, Gopal said, while author-

ities also consider a massive campaign to vaccinate dogs against canine distemper. “We cannot vaccinate every dog, of course. But even 50% of dogs in the zones around sanctuaries would help,” Gopal said. He did not give details of the plans being consid-ered. There is no vaccine for big cats.

The cases being found across such a huge swath of India, however, suggests the disease could already be running in the wild, experts said, though they agree much more research is needed. “These are very disturb-ing � nds,” said Dr. A.K. Sharma, head scien-tist at the Indian Veterinary Research Insti-tute, which performed the canine distemper lab tests. “The cases were quite distant from each other, and the latest was an area where there are no dogs. So it appears the virus is spreading.”

Since two cubs tested positive in a zoo in the Bihar state capital of Patna a year

ago, Sharma and his colleagues have found at least four more cases — a red panda in the northeast state of Manipur, a wild tiger in West Bengal, a zoo lion in Darjeeling and

last month a wild tiger in the Dudhwa Tiger reserve in Uttar Pradesh. “In the last case, forest guards said they saw the animal in a confused state before it died,” he said. l

Indian maid, 11, tortured with chilliesn AFP, Mumbai

Indian police have arrested a trader for allegedly torturing a 11-year-old maid who was forced to eat chillies which were also rubbed on her body, an o� -cial said Monday, in the latest abuse of domestic servants.

Sarjil Ansari, a 38-year-old napkin seller, was arrested at the weekend and his wife Farhat was being questioned, said an investigating police o� cer in Thane district neighbouring Mumbai.

The couple bought the girl in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh for 15,000 rupees ($240) from her parents about a year ago on the pretext that she would be well looked after and given a better education, the o� cer said, de-clining to be named.

“They used to regularly torture and beat up the girl. The girl complained that she was forced to eat chillies, which were also applied on her body,” he said. This would happen when she urinated out of stress or fear, he added.

“Often the family would turn up the volume on their home music system to mu� e her cries for help.” l

No resistance as protesters occupy Bangkokn Reuters

Tens of thousands of Thai anti-gov-ernment protesters occupied parts of central Bangkok on Monday, meeting no resistance from the authorities, ratcheting up a two-month agitation to force the resignation of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Police and soldiers kept a low pro-� le as the “Shutdown Bangkok, Restart Thailand” drive got under way in the city of about 12 million people, and the mood among protesters was festive, with many singing and dancing in the streets.

Although major intersections that normally teem with cars and trucks were blockaded, city trains and river ferries were operating, most shops were open and motorbikes plied the roads freely.

But protesters said they were pre-pared for a long haul to tighten the noose on the capital, suggesting the crisis could drag on for days, if not weeks, threatening to in� ict substan-tial damage on Southeast Asia’s sec-ond-biggest economy.

The upheaval is the latest chapter in an eight-year con� ict pitting Bangkok’s middle class and royalist establishment against the mostly poorer, rural sup-porters of Yingluck and her self-exiled brother, billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin was ousted by the army in 2006 and sentenced to jail in absentia for abuse of power in 2008, but the for-mer telecoms tycoon still looms large over Thai politics and is the dominant force behind his sister’s administration from his home in Dubai.

In a bid to end the unrest, Yin-gluck - who has a commanding ma-jority in parliament - called a snap election for February 2. Protest leader

Suthep Thaugsuban has rejected the poll, which Yingluck’s Puea Thai Party would probably win.

As the blockade began to bite, Yingluck invited the protest leaders and political parties for a meeting on Wednesday to discuss an Election Commission proposal to postpone the vote, according to a senior aide of the prime minister.

However, the protesters are deter-mined to install an appointed “peo-ple’s council” to change the electoral system and bring in other reforms to

weaken Thaksin’s sway.“This won’t end easily, and the turn-

out today is impressive, so it seems this deadlock looks set to continue,” said Sukum Nuansakul, a political analyst and former dean at Bangkok’s Ramkha-mhaeng University.

“Suthep has said he won’t nego-tiate with the government, yet the government said today it will try to invite all warring parties to the table. The protest group’s aims to overhaul the political system in this country won’t happen overnight. This could be

just the beginning.”Eight people, including two police

o� cers, have been killed and scores wounded in violence between protest-ers, police and government supporters since the campaign against Yingluck’s government started in November.

Shootings were reported over-night near a government administra-tive complex that protesters began to blockade late on Sunday and at the headquarters of the opposition Demo-crat Party, which has thrown in its lot with the protest movement. l

Pakistan to name school, stadium after teenage ‘bomb hero’n AFP, Peshawar

A Pakistani schoolboy who sacri� ced his own life to save hundreds of his classmates by tackling a suicide bomb-er will have his school and a stadium named after him, o� cials said Monday.

Aitzaz Hassan, a 15-year-old from the mainly Shiite Ibrahimzai vil-lage in northwestern Khyber Pakh-tunkhwa province become a national hero after intercepting the bomber before he was able to enter Hassan’s school last week. The teen died in hos-pital after the bomber blew himself up some 150 metres (490 feet) from the main gate of the school of 1,000 stu-dents, though no one else was wound-

ed or killed in the incident.Amjad Afridi, a senior adviser to the

provincial government, told AFP: “We have decided to name Aitzaz Hassan’s school after him. We will also construct a sports stadium in Hangu and will name it after Hassan.”

Afridi, who along with another se-nior o� cial went to pay their personal respects to the family of Hassan, added the provincial government would also donate � ve million rupees (US$47,000) to the bereaved parents. The award comes after the o� ce of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last week said it would seek “to approve the conferment of a top national bravery award Sitara-e-Shujjat (star of bravery)” on the teen. l

Shootout in Kashmir kills 2 suspected militantsn AP, Srinagar

Indian law enforcement o� cers killed two suspected militants in a gun battle Monday in the Indian-controlled por-tion of the disputed Kashmir region, police said.

Indian police and paramilitary forc-es also trapped a third suspected rebel in the shootout in Sopore, about 55km northwest of Srinagar, the main city in Indian-ruled Kashmir, area Police Chief Abdul Qayoom said.

The clash erupted less than a week

after a police o� cer was killed in an-other gun battle in Sopore.

The divided Kashmir region, claimed by both India and Pakistan, has had a surge of violence in recent months as anti-India rebels step up de-mands for independence or incorpora-tion into Pakistan.

Some 68,000 people have been killed since 1989 in an armed uprising and subsequent crackdown by Indian forces. While the rebellion has largely been suppressed, anti-India resent-ment still runs deep. l

An anti-government protester waves a Thai national � ag at Victory Monument in central of Bangkok REUTERS

A child receives polio vaccination drops from a medical volunteer AFP

Mindanao is gripped by a long-running Muslim insurgency that has left more than 150,000 dead

Obhoynagar reminds of ’71 horrorsJanuary 6

Md SelimSuch a shame. Where is our administration?? What on earth are they doing??

Akhtar ShahThe fact remains that citizens are having to leave their homeland in fear. That’s simply unacceptable.

abdul shahid ukWe should all stop and think what our fellow countrymen are doing to the country. Most politicians are corrupt and in politics for their interest, not for us. So let’s get rid of all of them and form an honest and educated government.

TanzimTheir pleas for help to local Awami League leaders, the district’s deputy commissioner, upazila nirbahi o� cer and the o� cer-in-charge of the Obhoyna-gar police station went unheard throughout the day.

If they really wanted to stop the attacks, they would adapt better tactics. Maybe they could set up regular patrols to minority areas, and/or make two sentry posts (armed with a gun and walkie talkie) at each of these areas. Also the police could have set up a hotline for these people only.

WaliulHaqueKhondkerThis is not the � rst time or even the last that Hindu community has come and will come under attack by their Muslim neighbours. It is the responsibility of the state to provide security to any community, when under such threat. Routinely the state has failed in its basic duty.

In the case of election-related violence, the EC is solely responsible. It appears the EC performed very badly in planning and executing its elec-tion security. Why is it so, that law enforcement agencies appeared on the scene, always after the attack was over and the perpetrators got away? They should expect an explanation from the EC!

Meanwhile, as a Muslim, I extend my most sincere apology to the a� ected fellow citizens. Brothers and sisters, I am ashamed of the conduct of these so-called Muslim hoodlums who not only bring disunity among our fellow citizens, but de� le their sacred religion, and Islam as well.

If we call ourselves civilised, we have to move forward together, hand in hand, from darkness to light.

Free the Mujib and Zia familiesJanuary 6

commentatorThese two families should step aside forever.

chickletThese two families should have been barred from doing politics or holding any public office after their father/husband were killed.

Sakib The idea in this article is to get rid of the two par-ties in question (BNP and AL) and let the system breathe in fresh ideas and better educated, if not more quali� ed, individuals and parties to join the political system. It is not about who is better or worse.

I would also like to know what BNP and AL stands for. What is their motto? Liberal, or con-servative? I have never understood their stances in politics. As a Bangladeshi, I have lost my faith in both the political parties, including other parties such as Jamaat. It is time for a reform. These parties should be abolished.

Atrocities on religious minorities in BangladeshJanuary 7

There have far too many pre- and post election attacks and atrocities on religious minority com-munities. Where are the administration and law enforcement agencies? According to press reports, they visited the areas after the incidents. Then why have they not taken appropriate measures before-hand, considering the vulnerability of these areas and communities?

We urge the government to take pro-active

measures. We also urge the National Human Rights Commission (and its chairman) to look into how those atrocities are impacting these communities and forcing them to become poorer, marginalised, and having to opt for crossing the border.

The media, cognizant citizens, and progressive political parties should come forward and stand by the Hindus and all minorities.

Udatta Bikash

New Cabinet,same challenges

Over half the new cabinet are � rst time cabinet ministers.Even though the same party is forming the government, a majority of ministers of the immediate past cabinet have

been changed. The many new faces and removal of a number of controversial � gures, shows promise that the government is seri-ous about its declared intention to reward competence and build credibility.

The new cabinet may still face questions about its composition as not all members are free from controversy. It also remains to be seen how well the Jatiya party can ful� ll its mixed role of both providing ministers for a multi-party government and in forming the o� cial opposition.

Even so, the bold step of comprehensively refresh-ing the cabinet, and high-lighting controversy and incompetence as reasons for dropping members, is highly welcome.  A cabinet containing more capable, credible individuals has the potential to be good for governance and the national interest.

In order to achieve this however, competent performance must also be rewarded. Ministers need to be held accountable for their performance whilst in o� ce. Incompetence or corruption must be identi� ed and dealt with more quickly. Reshu� es should not just be about dropping individuals who have performed poorly at the end of a term.

This new cabinet, for all its promise, takes shape following a highly controversial election. The issue of real public mandate is not necessarily resolved to the satisfaction of all citizens, so, even as we wish this new cabinet well for the sake of the country, the government still needs to engage with the BNP as the largest opposing party in the country.

RMG shows its strengthin new markets

RMG exports to non-traditional markets such as China and South America have grown by over a third in the last year. Exports to Turkey alone more than doubled to over $335m.

This is a welcome reminder of the initiative of the nation’s garment entrepreneurs. During a period when public attention has been focused on the main buyers from Europe and North America and there have been reports of some buyers dropping orders, the RMG sector has shown creativity and innovation by continuing to diversify across new markets.

The Export Promotion Bureau reported a rise in apparel exports overall for July to November 2013, compared to the same period the previous year. With the economy hit hard by strikes and garment exporters having to endure the burden of increased costs for transportation, the maintenance of market share during this time has clearly been important.

As competition remains intense from rival countries, such resil-ience is vitally needed to grow the industry further. The progress made on the minimum wage last year and in developing safety initiatives supported by major buyers and unions in the aftermath of Rana Plaza are all signs of widespread stakeholder support for the industry in Bangladesh.

It is important for the RMG industry to continue to show cre-ativity in nurturing new markets while building on its strengths with longer established customers, in order to ensure sustainable growth and to create new jobs.

Editorial10

www.dhakatribune.com

DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 14, 2014

LETTER OF THE DAY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

Letters to the Editor

With the economy hit hard by strikes and exporters enduring increasing transportation costs, the maintenance of market share during this time has clearly been important

A cabinet containing more capable, credible individuals has the potential to be good for governance and the national interest

Democracy in BangladeshJanuary 10The concluding part of Professor Ruud’s thought-provoking article on the subject is a rational, logical and realistic analysis of voter behavior, vis-à-vis the universally accepted secret ballot practices in democracy. By and large, ordinary people are not bothered about how the political matrix functions. Except for short-ages and the evident unbalanced general living environment, like now, people mostly are not bothered about other things that do not a� ect them. However, in Bangladesh, many politicians use the pliant, who are not gainfully employed, to attain their personal aims and objectives.

In my pragmatic opinion, this article should be a part of the reading material for all students of political science in Bangladesh.

SA Mansoor

Govt goes tough on BNPJanuary 8

No one supports BNPs violence, but this is draconian!

Akshah

Crossword

Sudoku

CROSSWORD CODE-CRACKER YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

ACROSS1 Parts of speech (5)4 Drinking vessel (3)6 Wicked (4)8 Live coal (5)9 Ground spice (4)11 Dwarf bu� alo (4)12 Ointment (5)15 Skin openings (5)18 Encourage in crime (4)20 Shift (4)21 Sacri� cial table (5)22 Ireland (poet) (4)23 And not (3)24 Prickle (5)

DOWN1 Turns away (5)2 Insurgent (5)3 Strong fabric (5)4 Tribe (4)5 Excuse (4)7 Adult insect (5)10 Innermost part (4)13 Early Christian pulpit (4)14 Elector (5)15 Factory (5)16 Proportion (5)17 Sea nymph (5)18 Prayer ending (4)19 At all times (4)

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What next, Bangladesh?

n Arild Engelsen Ruud

The election held on Jan-uary 5 was controversial. The government and the election commission claim 40% of the voters took part

in spite of the opposition boycott, and that hence the election must be con-sidered legitimate. The prime minister has hinted at the possibility of an early re-election if an agreement is reached with the opposition, but other leaders of the ruling party have stated that the parliament will sit its full � ve-year term.

The opposition claims that the elec-tion was not only deeply � awed with half the seats won by default because of the opposition boycott, but that it was illegal and unconstitutional be-cause elections should be held under the supervision of a neutral caretaker government as in the past. Also, the UN and other foreign observers have

made unhappy noises.There are two ways of looking

at what has happened. First, from a democratic point of view, the AL is pursuing a “minus one formula.”

What has happened with the present election is that the AL is poised to continue in power for another full term, which means that by the next election, they will have been in power for a full ten years.

The BNP does not have the ideolog-ical foundation that the AL has. Both AL and BNP depend on access to state power and the possibility of distribut-

ing state patronage in order to survive as political parties, only the BNP much more so than the AL. Without power for a full ten years, the BNP will ap-proach a near-death. In other words,

success for the “minus one formula.” In the meantime, there is reason to

be fearful of certain tendencies in the AL. It has curtailed the Anti Corrup-tion Commission. It is using the police and courts for partisan purposes, as it did when con� ning Khaleda Zia to her house and Ershad to a hospital, and when it stopped all public transpor-tation in order to prevent the opposi-

tion’s “March for Democracy.” The AL also � elded several candidates with an unsavoury past for this election.

For democracy as a model of gov-ernment, the continued position of the AL is not ideal.

From a political analyst’s point of view, then, when BNP was in power in 1996, it tried to manipulate the elec-tion to continue in power. A phoney election boycotted by the opposition was followed by widespread protests that led to a second election that same year.

When BNP was in power in 2006, it again tried to manipulate the election. This it did by changing the laws re-garding the caretaker government that was to oversee the election. However, when the AL was in government in 2001, power was peacefully handed over to the caretaker government, and an election organised, which it lost.

In other words, there is no particular reason to feel sorry for BNP.

They have tried twice to manipulate the government apparatus in order to win the election. They just failed. The AL has proven itself better at a game BNP also plays.

In this perspective, the rivalry between the AL and BNP has been the decade-long rivalry between two factions of Bangladeshi society. This rivalry may have come to an end. But only for the moment.

One faction of society has now won a substantial strategic victory over the other in their long series of battles and skirmishes over unclear lines. The two factions of society are in many ways similar, both being the same motley crew of businessmen, ambitious local leaders, honest politicians, activists, and supporters from the same social classes.

There are some di� erences in ideology and history, but these are easily overstated. There are, for instance, few in the BNP who do not share the ideology of secularism and independence, and there are many in the AL who might as well have been in the BNP.

At a basic level, the two are similar. They both depend on access to state patronage for survival. Now one faction has proven itself cleverer at this than the other. But in a world of ambition and rivalry over scarce resources, there will be fractures within the winning faction, and there will be defections from the losing faction. Those who are in will not be able to keep everybody happy, not even a majority.

In this perspective, nothing has really changed, and there is every reason to believe that the rivalry will continue, although one group will have to lick its wounds for a long time.

So what will happen next? There are two main scenarios. One is that the government and the AL will continue in power for a long time, possibly for � ve years. The BNP is severely weakened, but has two tools it may choose to use. One is the Jamaat. Although BNP is organisationally weak, support from Jamaat with its activists will make it possible for it to be a continued nuisance for the government.

Severe political turmoil in the weeks and months ahead may force the government into some form of ne-gotiation. The government will try its best to curtail such unrest, but may, in the end, not be entirely successful.

Another tool is the dubious legit-imacy of the new parliament, and hence of the government. Foreign powers with democratic pretentions will � nd it slightly awkward to con-tinue the same kind of cooperation as until now. That the UN has expressed reservations is serious, in particular because the Bangladesh army is so keen on its UN missions, and also because development cooperation is important to the continued economic growth of the country.

So far, however, no foreign power has uttered the word “sanction,” and there is so far reason for the government to regard this possibility with some ease. Many members of Bangladesh’s thriv-ing civil society, including the media, are also upset at the way things have been handled by the government. But the civil society is also divided in this respect, and probably not much to be feared.

The BNP has a razor’s edge to balance on. If it leans too much on for-eigners to intervene, it will lose legit-imacy among many of its anti-Indian voters. If it leans too much on Jamaat, it will lose foreign support and much popular support. Jamaat is also not necessarily easy to please.

Opinions within the party seem divided at the moment, with reports of the party leader and the sec-ond-in-command, her son, holding slightly di� ering views on whether to approach the government for talks or not.

It is likely that protests will contin-ue for a while. The BNP is in a tough corner, but will not take a defeat lying down. However, in the end, circumstances may force it to consider alternative strategies.l

Arild Engelsen Ruud is Professor of South Asia Studies, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo, Norway.

Some are more equaln Ikhtisad Ahmed

An Orwellian nightmare, brought to fruition with disturbing regularity in today’s world

without being borne in on the masses, has been the product not of perver-sions of socialism or communism, but by an unadulterated, cultish greed for wealth and power.

The prevailing principle of capital-ism is not about the pursuit of a better society. It is about the establishment of the elites, who are the minority, as the dominant class of inner and outer party members, and the solidifying of their demigod status to the point where it is unchallengeable and, sadly, unimpeachable.

The world, shorn of the laughable notion of equality, therefore wants and needs monarchs and chieftains. Bangladesh is no di� erent. The coun-try has, in fact, always had a monarch. Subjugation by the supreme rulers of the Mughal Empire and kings of the In-dian subcontinent was followed by the absolute rule of the British Empire that introduced the theory of colonisation.

The Pakistanis followed suit during the oppressive rule of the ailing king-dom of West Pakistan. It was, thus, only natural for an independent Bang-ladesh to welcome the autocratic rule of Bangladeshis with pride and open arms. The centuries-old programming of subjecting oneself to absolute power was so ingrained in the DNA of Bangladesh, it was a temptation too delectable to resist.

Revolutionary and dissenting voic-es, forever in the negligible minority amongst the meaningless majority, were easy to silence. Some of them were given a stake in the kingdom, as the British Empire did with the

elevation of maharajas, or made to be important enough for them to have no want for wealth.

This diluted their objective views or rendered them ine� ective from independence until now. Others were identi� ed as enemies of the state, witches the lot of them. These unfor-tunate souls were burnt at the stake, their legacies tainted. Such strategies have been revisited in recent times.

The bulk of this insigni� cant minority are themselves so toothless to truly act or allow their thoughts to ever amount to anything that they are ignored. Allowing that sideshow to continue gives the illusion of fairness, of justice, of hope. Should any of them defy expectations and ever become too much of a nuisance, they can be, and have been, made to disappear.

The wheels and cogs of the state machinery have, thus, creaked and cranked unhindered towards ensuring absolute power. Much preferred to conditional power, which comes with the unsavoury caveat of accountabili-ty, it is never di� cult to convince the petty despots who make up the rank

and � le of the monarchy to continu-ously work towards building institu-tions that feed the autocratic beast, the sum-total of which has been a system that exists for the elites.

The only loyalty of those belonging to this class is to wealth and power, exponentially absolute and trickling down from the ruler to his or her advisers, ministers and hatchet-men. This is the widely accepted structure of any monarchy, perfected during the medieval times and used to devastat-ing e� ect by the kings, queens, emper-ors and empresses of the time.

The serfs have always been happy with the basic necessities. Every time

mankind developed, the de� nition of what constituted a basic necessity was adjusted accordingly. If the serfs ever showed any signs of disgruntlement, they were either put to the sword with deft ease or the monarchs improved their conditions in line with the new de� nition.

These lessons of the past, too, are being relied upon in the present. However, when taking the latter route, the ruler, without exception, makes certain that the serfs exist below the real line of their basic necessities be-ing met. That makes them toil harder to meet them and dream of improving their condition, which makes them unquestioningly obedient and almost entirely unlikely to ever concern themselves with state a� airs.

The propaganda that these mind-less drones are susceptible to because of the severe dearth of knowledge amongst them makes it easy for them to believe that all is always well, that things are forever getting better. Once again, centuries of servitude has programmed Bangladeshis to willingly give in to this situation, to an absolute ruler.

The hope that lies in the proles is, thus, a cruel fallacy, never to bear any fruit. Some people are always, always, in� nitely and unconditionally more equal than others. Contrary to the idealistic dream sold by the myth of heroes in books, television shows and � lms, black always defeats the lonely white in insurmountably skewed chess problems. l

Ikhtisad Ahmed is a writer and an erstwhile lawyer. He can be contacted on Twitter via @Ikhtisad. 

Not a man of peacen Mohammad Ali Sattar

Ariel Sharon had been in a coma after su� ering a massive stroke in January 2006 during an elec-

tion campaign. For many Israelis, this man has

done a lot for the nation. Starting from its birth, and during critical points of its history, Sharon had been a saviour. But for others, he was not the ideal person they wanted him to be. His was a love-hate a� liation with his countrymen.

History is visited now and then by the likes of Sharon. We have had Genghis Khan, Franco, Hitler, Pol Pot, King Leopold II, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Mussolini, Mengistu Haile Mariam, Milosevic, and Yahya Khan. These bellicose minds ruled with impulse and hatred.

Sharon was the best man to realise the dreams of Zionism, for the very nature and principle behind the crea-tion of the State of Israel had been use of force and illegal occupation. It has been a cold-blooded murder of Pales-tinian statehood. The region had been plunged into bloodshed and brutality for the last 66 years.

One by one, the bordering states were dragged into con� ict following the forceful occupation of the main-land Palestine, part of Lebanon, West Bank, Sinai, and Jerusalem.

Sharon was good at saying things that many couldn’t utter. He was good at killing and demolishing the enemy in front. He was adroit at bulldozing persons and structures alike. His ideas were that of elimination of the adversary. He never had faith in peace. Maybe that was his greatest quali� ca-tion, which made him the hero for the hawks in Israel.

He was also despised by many among his own people. Many Israelis wanted to live moderate and peaceful lives. They did not approve of the kind of nationalistic impulses that he represented.

Sharon had a lengthy military ca-reer spanning � ve Israeli wars, starting with its war for independence in 1948, in which he was seriously wounded.

Sharon’s military career was marked by chaos and de� ance.

His infamous elite commando force, Unit 101 mounted so-called counterterrorist operations against Palestinians in the 1950s. Ever since, there has been no respite either for the Israelis or the Palestinians or other neighbouring countries. The entire region has been in war for decades.

After he realised that he did not stand a chance to be the army chief, he made his way into politics. In 1973 the Likud Party was formed, of which, he was a founding member. Likud party chief Menachem Begin became prime minister in 1977.

As a government minister, his evil designs of expansion of Jewish settle-ments began. They were to continue all his life, later to become the nation-al policy of Israel.

He de� ed all obstacles and outcries and pursued his own scheme for building a network of settlements across the West Bank. He said: “When it comes to security, we will stay there forever.”

In 1982, as the defence minister, he led the invasion of Lebanon. The Leba-nese war ended with one of the blood-iest incidents in the recent history of the Middle East. Lebanese Christian forces, allies of Israel, attacked the Sa-bra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut and massacred more than 3,500 Pales-tinians, including women and children, while Israeli o� cers looked on.

This massacre somewhat forced him to remain in hibernation for a while. And in the 90s he bounced back under the government of Netanyahu. Palestinian uprisings (intifada) were actually outbursts of anger by the Pal-estinians over his sadistic remarks.

He became the prime minister in 2001, and cracked down on the Pales-tinians. He kept Yasser Arafat con� ned to Ramallah for a long time.

In January 2006, he su� ered a massive stroke and went quiet. His death is not a mourning a� air, for his hands are still drenched in blood. He was never a man of peace. l

Mohammad Ali Sattar is a journalist, political analyst, and DT columnist.

11Op-Ed Tuesday, January 14, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

More turmoil to follow? SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

The world, shorn of the laughable notion of equality, wants and needs monarchs and chieftains. Bangladesh is no di� erent

The hope that lies in the proles is a cruel fallacy. Some people are always more equal than others

His death is not a mourning a� air, for his hands are still drenched in blood

The BNP has tried twice to manipulate the government apparatus in order to win the election. They just failed

Nothing has really changed, and there is every reason to believe that the rivalry will continue

Golden Globe winners announcedn Entertainment Desk

12 Years a Slave went into the 71st Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night with seven nominations but was passed over again and again. That is, un-til the last award of the evening, and arguably the best of them all. The harrowing portrayal of slavery in America took home the prize for best drama of 2013.

But the evening’s biggest victor was David O Russell’s Ab-scam-inspired come-dy, American Hustle. It won three trophies during the three-hour ceremony that aired on NBC from the Beverly Hilton, including for best musical or come-dy, best actress for Amy Adams and best sup-porting actress for Jen-nifer Lawrence.

Also performing well at the awards is the AIDS drama Dallas Buy-ers Club. Matthew McConaughey won his � rst Golden Globe as lead actor in the � lm, as did Jared Leto for supporting actor in the � lm. Cate Blanchett received the best actress in a drama honor for Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine.

Blanchett paid tribute to Woody Allen, who also received the Cecil B DeMille award for life-

time achievement at the Globe which was ac-cepted on his behalf by Diane Keaton.

Leonardo DiCaprio joked that he never thought he’d win a Golden Globe for a comedy, but that’s just what he did, taking home the tro-phy for best actor in a musical or comedy � lm for his role as a hedonistic broker in The Wolf of Wall Street. He praised the � lm’s director, Martin

Scorsese, with whom he’s worked � ve times, saying, “Thank you for your mentorship.” Di-Caprio also commend-ed the other unlikely “comedians” nominat-ed in the category with him, including Chris-tian Bale.

Best director went to Mexican Alfonso Cuaron for spectacu-lar space drama Grav-ity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts

stranded in orbit after a space station accident.Best foreign � lm went to Italian Paolo Sor-

rentino’s The Great Beauty, defeating the Cannes-winning Blue is the Warmest Color as well as The Hunt, The Past and The Wind Rises.

Disney’s musical fairy tale adaptation Frozen won the Golden Globe for best animated � lm, beating The Croods and Despicable Me 2. l

Australian � lmmaker Robyn Hughan on her workn Hasan Mansoor Chatak

On her third visit to Bangladesh for at-tending the Dhaka International Film Festival, Dhaka Tribune caught up with the Australian � lm director and writer Robyn Hughan, who is currently a jury member of the Short and Independent Films segment of the 13th DIFF. Her new � lm Mooo-ving Cows & Filipino Brides is going to be screened today. In the exclu-sive interview, Robyn shares her experi-ence as a � lmmaker and more.

Tell us about yourself and your work.I am an independent � lm director and have worked closely with refugees over the past decade, you can call me a pas-sionate refugee advocate.

I worked as a producer’s attachment and researcher on the seven part se-ries Tales from a Suitcase: the AfghanExperience, the project was an initiative of the state government agency Film Victoria.

My independent work is a 56 minutes documentary, A Nun’s New Habit, which gives a personal insight into a Nun’s life, who advocates for refugees placed in detention after their arrival in Australia. It’s a pleasure that the � lm was awarded

Best Spiritual Documentary in the 11th Dhaka International Film Festival.

Your � lm Mooo-ving Cows & Filipino Brides is going to be showcased today, tell us about it. Mooo-ving Cows & Filipino Brides is a part of a project, Destination Shepparton, its story encircles four people, Ramil, Cynthia, Linda and Dina of the Filipino community. It portrays their compelling reasons to come to the Greater Sheppar-ton area to experience love, work, spiri-tuality and entertainment.

How do you connect your civil activism work with your � lmmaking?I have an emotional attachment with thesubject matter. Like an anthropolo-gist, sometimes I live with the refugees in their community, observe their suf-ferings and struggle. The hardships they face everyday is the base of my driving force to work for them. I have coopera-tion with other young � lmmakers who inarguably work with me on such proj-ects.

Do you � nd any young civil activist � lmmakers from Bangladesh engaging them in � lmmaking? Yes, I noticed but as a jury, I can’t reveal the name of the � lms right now. A lot of appreciable � lms are being screened at the festival and I think that a great num-ber of � lms are waiting in the queue.

Tell us about your current project.During the last several months, I have been embedded in Malaysia and Indo-nesia with Afghan refugees and the re-sult is some incredibly personal stories of survival from the women and their families. Facing dire circumstances and severe bouts of depression, it is a chal-lenge for them to survive the terrors as

13TH DHAKA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

EntertainmentDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 14, 201412

ExhibitionShilpacharya and his Outer World of ArtTime: 12pm-8pmBengal Gallery of Fine ArtsHouse 42, Road 16 (New) / 27 (old)Dhanmondi

DeReal Solo exhibition by BahramTime: 3pm – 8pmDhaka Art Center (DAC)House-60 Road-7ADhanmondi

FilmPaci� c Rim in 3D, Escape PlanThe Hunger Games: Catching FireStar CineplexBashundhara CityPanthapath

13th Dhaka International Film FestivalTime: 10am – 10pmMain Auditorium and Su� a Kamal Auditorium of National MuseumPublic LibraryAlliance Francaise de DhakaEMK Center

Harano ShurStarring: Suchitra Sen and Uttam KumarTime: 6:00pm – 8:30pmInternational Digital Cultural Archive, Bangladesh Shilpakala AcademySegun Bagicha

GravityBlockbuster CinemasJamuna Future ParkKa-244, KurilPragati AvenueBaridharaBashundhara

TODAY IN DHAKA

MOVIE4:25pmFox Movies PremiumZero Dark Thirty9:30pmWB Jonah Hex

COMEDY11:30am FXWhose Line Is It Anyway?9:30pm Comedy CentralAnger Management

DRAMA10:30pm ColorsUttaran12:00pm Star PlusDiya Aur Bati Hum

ON TV

Iranian � lms dominate today’s schedulen Entertainment Desk

The Iranian Film Industry has garnered international fame for their interesting art � lms and now enjoys a global following. Today’s Dhaka International Film Festi-val’s schedule will be dominated by six � lms from Iran.

Thirty � lms including one Bangladeshi � lm will be screened today at di� erent venues across the capital.

Five � lms will be screened today at the main auditorium of National Museum from 10am to 9pm in the “Cinema of the World” and “Retrospective and Tribute” categories–Fire In The Blood at 10:30am, Agnus Dei at 1pm, L’ Eau Froide at 3pm, Irma Vep at 5:30pm and HHH at 7:30pm.

Eight foreign � lms and one Bangla-deshi � lm from Short and Independent and Spiritual Section will be screened at the Su� a Kamal Auditorium from 10:30am to 9pm. These are Mooo-ving Cow & Filipino Brides and Diyalee from 10:30am to 1pm, Eat Sleep Die at 1pm, Queen at 3pm, Vekne Hleba Riba (The Loaves & Fish, Fourth Dimension 4D, and Son Of Man from 3pm to 5:30pm, Amar Protibad Amar Dekha Itihash and Indian Summer from 7:30pm to 9pm.

From three sections, Australasian Competition, Women Filmmaker, and Children Section, � ve � lms will be screened at the Public Library auditori-um - Topraga Uzanan Eller (King of Cot-ton) at 10am, About Elly at 1pm, Fireworks

Wednesday at 3pm, Siri Perakum (The Crown From Mud) at 5:30pm and Where is the Land at 7:30pm.

In the Australasian Competition cate-gory, four � lms, including a Bangladeshi one, will be screened at the Alliance Fran-caise de Dhaka, Eve Donus Sarikamiş 1915 (The Long Way Home) at 10am, Meeting Leila at 12pm, Kil at 3pm and Hush…Girls Don’t Scream at 5pm.

Seven � lms will be screened from the Women Filmmaker category at EMK Cen-tre–Atese Ucan Kelebekler (Butter� ies Fly-ing To Fire) at 10am, Death in Jakarta Re-loaded, and Scattered Windows, Connected Doors from 12pm to 3pm, The Kitchen, and Kayan from 3pm to 5pm and, Khaatti Suun, and A Boy Like Her at 5pm. l

A scene from Siri Perakum (The Crown From Mud) A scene from Meeting Laila

Three superstars of Dhallywood come together in Tarkantan Afrose Jahan Chaity

Three leading stars of Dhallywood, Moushumi, Are� n Shuvo and Bidya Sinha Mim signed up for a � lm titled Tarkanta. This is the � rst time the three megastars will share screen space together. Director Mustafa Kamal Raj is all set to start � lm-ing from January 25.

Tarkanta is a movie which will feature hu-mour, action, romance and drama and is bound to hold the interest of the audience with its striking star-studded and unique script. Story of the � lm is also written by the director. Moushumi will be seen as Shuvo’s sister and Mim as his girlfriend. The dy-namic duo, Shuvo and Mim has also paired up for the silver-screen and the audience are in for a treat as their on-screen chemistry seems to be promising.

A major element in the � lm is its music direct-

ed by Ar� n Rumey and produced by Shukla Ban-ik. The lyrics of the songs are written by Kabir Ba-kul, Anurup Aich, Mahmud Manzur, Joni Haque and Jahid Akber.

The shooting of the � lm will start with the � lming of a song and about the � lm, the direc-tor told Dhaka Tribune: “My � lm Tarkanta is all about portraying the pain felt by humans and var-ious other emotions. But, the twist is that, I will depict that pain in a humourous manner, and by no means it that an easy task. It will be a full pack-age of entertainment for our audience.”

On the other hand he is almost ready to re-lease his second � lm Chhaya-Chhobi featuring Purnima and Are� n Shuvo. Shooting of the � lm is complete and now it is on its post-production phase, after which the � lm will be submitted to the censor board for approval. l

Bidya Sinha Mim, Are� n Shuvo and Moushumi signed up for a � lm titled Tarkanta

Deepika Padukone to romance Aamir Khan onscreenn Entertainment Desk

Deepika Padukone has worked with an array of big names, from her debut seven years ago with Shah Rukh Khan to other popular actors like Akshay Ku-mar, Saif Ali Khan and Ranbir Kapoor.

The actress has since risen to the top of the box-o� ce charts, with four back-to- back hits in 2013--Race 2, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Chennai Express, and Ram-Leela. But her wish-list of co-stars is still a long one.

“Every year I am asked which Bollywood actor I would like to work with now. I hope in the next one or two years I will get to work with Hrithik, Salman and Aamir,” Deepika, had told the media at her success party which she hosted at Worli hotel on December 21.

If all goes well, one of her three wishes is on the verge of being ful� lled. Buzz is, Deepika will star with Aamir in a � lm, which will be produced by Excel Entertainment, a production house helmed jointly by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani. Aamir had attended Deepika’s bash with his wife Kiran Rao and the two had stayed for a long time.

Those behind the project are keeping the de-tails strictly guarded. Ritesh Sidhwani denied the development. But, the shooting is likely to com-

mence from July - August this year.Incidentally, this movie will be Aamir and

Deepika’s second outing with Excel. While Aamir has done Talaash for the company two years ago, Deepika was paired with Farhan in Karthik Calling Karthik in 2010. l

A look at the winners

Film, Drama: 12 Years a SlaveFilm, Musical or Comedy: American HustleDirector: Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)Actor, Drama: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)Actress, Drama: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)Actor, Musical or Comedy: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)Actress, Musical or Comedy: Amy Adams (American Hustle)Foreign Language Film: The Great BeautyAnimated Film: FrozenTV Series, Drama: Breaking BadTV Series, Musical or Comedy: Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Popular face of the small screen, Rumana Malik Munmun is yet again hosting a lifestyle show, titled Chardeyaler Kabyo, which begins airing today at 4:20pm on ATN Bangla. The show aims to inspire people to decorate their homes and other spaces with the opinion of interior designer and architects they will bring in each episode. Ideas for living room designs, o� ce space and the entire home will be discussed explicitly. The talented and con� dent Munmun � rst came into the limelight through participating in the renowned beauty pageant Lux Channel i Superstar in 2006. Following the competition, she became a regular face in the small screen both as an actor and host to many shows.

Walk in the park for Jamaln Raihan Mahmood

Title contenders Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club Ltd � exed their

muscles again to thrash Feni Soccer 4-2 to go top of the Bangladesh Premier League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

The � nal score however does not suggest the domination of Jamal in the game as the conceded goals came in the last nine minutes due to some lapse of concentration among the Dhanmondi out� ts. Haitian forward Sony Norde’s absence in third straight game was not felt once again, but the e� ort in dying minutes will give their Nigerian coach Josef Afusi some headache.

Afusi assigned his attackers Nigerian Emeka Darlington and Haitian Wedson upfront with Nigerian mid� elder Okemiri as the playmaker and his strategy was fully justi� ed after all three made it in the scorers list.

Feni Soccer’s Gambian coach Omar K Sise looked to contain but his � ve-man defence strategy was cracked in the 28th minute by winger Mobarak Hossain Bhuiyan. A clever � at corner from Wedson ba� ed the Feni

defenders as Mobarak headed in from the near post to grab the lead.

Wedson was once again in the act as he earned a penalty right at the stroke of half-time before converting it successfully to give his side a comfortable 2-0 lead halfway through.

Feni goalkeeper Mohammad Nehal was caught unbalanced trying to clear a long ball as Emeka was quick to take advantage of the situation and stole the ball from the custodian for a far post � nish.

It was all too easy for the Dhanmondi based giants as they netted the fourth in the 70th minute.

This time Okemiri’s quickly taken shot from 20 yards out, though not carrying enough venom, sneaked through the gloves of a diving Nehal.

A lead of 4-0 and the soft goals made Jamal relax which came back to bite them in the 81st and 90th minute. Motiur Rahman was unmarked as his back header on a corner from Alauddin squeezed through the near post while substitute defender Keshto Kumar’s unnecessary foul on Turja resulted in a penalty which was converted by experienced mid� elder Ajmal Bidyut for the second goal.

Jamal sit top of the table with nine

points from three matches while Feni Soccer are still lurking in the bottom with one point from three matches. l

Centuries galore in BCLShamsur Rahman � res double hundred for Walton Central Zone on second day, Imrul Kayes, Mithun Ali and Farhad Reza also struck hundreds n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Walton Central Zone opener Shamsur Rah-man’s unbeaten double hundred

and three individual tons in the game between Prime Bank South Zone and the BCB North Zone kept the day in-teresting in the Bangladesh Cricket League yesterday. Shamsur’s 229 not out is his second double century in the franchise based � rst-class cricket tour-nament.

Walton Central v Islami Bank EastShamsur’s unbeaten 229 runs provided defending champions Central Zone with a 126-run lead in the � rst innings against East Zone at BKSP 2. At the end of the second day, Central Zone had scored 429 runs with four 4 wickets to spare.

Losing opening batsman Shahriar Nafees (23) and Marshal Ayub (4) in quick succession was a shocker for the Central Zone. The side further the lost wickets of Mehrab Hossain Jr (12), skipper Mahlmudullah (1) and Rakibul Hasan (22) in a span of 12 overs and looked to be in trouble. However Shamsur along with wicket-keeper batsman Nurul Hasan took charge and put on 155-runs for the sixth wicket to steer the defending champions to a safe position.

Nurul, after a brilliant e� ort, fell six

runs short of a hundred. He scored 94 runs from 81 balls with 16 fours.

However Shamsur continued on to stumps. The right handed batsman faced only 86 balls to reach his � rst hundred while the second came in 147 balls. The 25-year old smashed 24 fours and 7 sixes and at stumps, had posted 89-runs for the seventh wicket with Elias Sunny. Sunny was unbeaten on 32 at the end of day’s play.

Alauddin Babu picked two wickets for East Zone while Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Yasin Arafat, Enamul Haque Jr and Alok Kapali each took one.

Earlier in the morning, Islami Bank East Zone started the day on 301 for nine and could add only two runs to the tally before losing their last wicket.

BCB North v Prime Bank SouthThree individual hundreds have turned the game between the North and the South Zone at BKSP 3 interesting.

The second day of the game resumed with BCB North Zone batsman Farhad Reza unbeaten on 76 and the side at 331/8. All-rounder Reza went onto lengthen the innings and scroed 153 runs o� as many balls. He also anchored two partnerships – 54 runs with Taijul Islam for the ninth wicket and another 57 runs for the tenth wicket with Saqlain Sajib. Reza was the last batsmen to be dismissed and his innings, which had 22 boundaries and six sixes, saw North Zone post 421 runs in the � rst innings.

In reply, Prime Bank South Zone failed to get a strong start, losing both the openers – Anamul Haque (3) and Soumya Sarkar (42) - with only 69 runs on the board. However the 220 runs third wicket stand between Imrul Kayes and Mithun Ali aided the side to recover.

Four overs before stumps, Mithun was dismissedfor 107. His 135-ball in-nings included 13 fours and four sixes. Imrul, who is in the running to get his spot back in the national dressing room, was unbeaten at stumps with 127. He faced 214 balls and struck 15 fours and � ve sixes. At the end of the day, the side trailed by 132 runs with seven wickets in hand. l

Walton Central v Islami Bank EastIslami East (1st inn): 303 all out in 91.4 overs Liton 79, Nazim 57, Mahmudullah 4/67Walton Central (1st inn): 429/6 in 85 oversShamsur 229*, Nurul 94, Alauddin 2/84Walton Central Zone lead by 126 runs

BCB North v Prime Bank South BCB North (1st inn): 421 all out in 107.5 oversFarhad Reza 153, Nasir 99, Forhad Hossain 76, Razzak 3/105Prime Bank South (1st inn): 289/3 in 70 oversImrul 127*, Mithun 107, Farhad 1/51, Taijul 1/56

Prime Bank South Zone trail by 132 runs

BRIEF SCORE, DAY 2

13DHAKA TRIBUNETuesday, January 14, 2014

SportDid you know?

Luis Suarez is one of only eight players to

score more than 20 PL goals in consecutive

seasons. Thierry Henry did it 5 years in a row

14 Embattled Milan sack coach Allegri: club

15 Rusty Djokovic, slick Serena through in Melbourne

MATCH HIGHLIGHTSSheikh Jamal 4-2 Feni Soccer

28”GOAL! Winger Mobarak puts Jamal ahead with a header

from the near post

46”GOAL! Feni Soccer defender Akramuzzman Liton fouls

Haitian forward Wedson inside the box. Wedson steps up to score the second goal

61”GOAL! Nigerian striker Emeka Darlington scores Jamal’s third

with a delicate touch

70”GOAL! Nigerian mid� elder Okemeri’s gets on the

scoresheet with a soft goal. The regulation shot from 20 yards out went through Feni Soccer custodian Nehal’s gloves

81” GOAL! Substitute forward Motiur Rahman reduces the

margin with a back header on a corner

90” GOAL! Feni Soccer mid� elder Azmal Hossian Bidyut scores

from the penalty spot after Jamal’s Keshto Kumar brought down Turja

DAYS TO GO

0 6 1

Stunning Shamsur scintillates n Mazhar Uddin

The second day of the Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) belonged to Shamsur Rahman who smashed a brilliant double hundred for Walton Central Zone and remained unbeaten at the close with 229 runs behind him. The right hander said yesterday that he will be looking to register his 250 as the play resumes today at the BKSP.

Islami Bank East Zone’s � rst innings � nished early in the day as they were bowled out for 303. Shamsur opened Central Zone’s innings along with national discard Shahriar Nafees, who was dismissed after scoring 23 runs.

Shamsur, who had a wonderful outing in the last ODI series against New Zealand where the right hander just missed his hundred, showed his class and was in in no mood to throw his wicket as the right hander played his natural game and took the attack to the opposition.

“I was positive right from the start and looking to score runs whenever I got the opportunity and luckily, I got the bad deliveries quite often,” said Shamsur.

With wickets falling at regular intervals at the other end, it was a one-man show from Shamsur. He reached his hundred from just 86 balls. “We lost a few wickets quickly but I remained focused on my game and was looking to smash the bad balls, no matter what was happening at the other end which I think proved well for me,” he explained.

Shamsur shared a 155-run partnership with wicket keeper batsman Nurul Hasan, who was eventually dismissed

by Alok Kapali for 94. “Sohan (Nurul Hasan) gave me good

support after we lost a few wickets and I think he was unlucky to miss a century but he played very well,” said Shamsur.

The 25-year old continued to be attacking and reached his double hundred o� 233 balls. He � nished the day unbeaten on 229, having struck 24 fours and seven sixes, to take Central Zone to 429/6 – 126 runs ahead.

“I always wanted to score big runs, especially in the longer format of the game and today (yesterday) was my day. I am very happy to get this double hundred,” said Shamsur.

Shamsur’s innings currently stands as the fourth highest individual � rst class score by a Bangladeshi behind Raqibul Hasan’s 313, Marshal Ayub’s 289 and Mohammed Ashraful’s 263.

However, he said he was not thinking about breaking that record but was instead focusing on reaching 250, “Honestly I am not thinking about such things at the moment. All I want is to score my 250 tomorrow (today) and after that, it will all depend on the situation. But de� nitely it will be a big boost for me if I manage to score my triple hundred, inshaallah.”

Shamsur, who made his ODI debut and did quite well both in the T20’s and ODIs, is now looking to � nd a place in the Test side. “My job is to score runs and play for my country in every format of the game, but rest is up to the selectors. De� nitely I am looking forward to make my Test debut and I am preparing myself for that, but as I said it will depend on the selectors.”  l

BCB look to utilise Saqlainn Mazhar Uddin

Bangladesh team’s spin bowling coach Saqlain Mushtaq could be asked to help young spinners of the country as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), who hired the Pakistani spin legend last year, still has 65 days left in the 100-day contract with him. The board hopes to get the most out of the former Pakistan o� -spinner from the remaining days, informed the new chairman of the BCB Cricket Operations Akram Khan yester-day. 

Many in the BCB felt that Saqlain, who is usually asked to join the team before a series or a tournament, could be used more thoroughly and Akram said he would get in touch with Saqlain over the next few days to discuss de-tails of his next visit.

“A player of Saqlain Mushtaq’s cali-ber should be fully utilised. We have a lot of cricket coming up in the next

three months, and I will discuss with him how we can get the most from him. He might join us ahead of the Asia Cup.

 “We will certainly look to have him with the senior side but at the same time, we would want to help the young cricketers as well,” said Akram.

Meanwhile Saqlain could be asked to visit di� erent parts of the country to � nd more o� -spinners and leg-spin-ners as there is a relative shortage of such bowlers in Bangladesh.

Saqlain is primarily assigned with the Bangladesh team, and has worked with the side both at home and away in the 2012-13 season. His last assign-ment with the team was during the Zimbabwe series in April and May

last year. Before that, he was with the team ahead and during the 2012 World Twenty20s in Sri Lanka and the home series against West Indies.

The Pakistani spin legend worked with the Bangladesh team for 35 days since he had a contract with the BCB, but did not join the Bangladesh side for the series against New Zealand last October. However BCB informed that Saqlain would join the squad ahead of the home series against Sri Lanka this month.

Meanwhile Saqlain informed that he is yet to get details from the BCB through his agent, who communicates with the board o� cials and later dis-cusses matters with Saqlain. “Usually my agent is in contact with the BCB, so I am waiting to � nd out the details. We can discuss whether I will work with the national team or others. It is not yet clear what I will be doing next with the BCB,” he said. l

SLC wants Bangladesh tour to go aheadn Cricinfo

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has rea� rmed its commitment to the tour of Bangladesh even though a canceled tour may bring the Asia Cup and World Twenty20 to Sri Lanka. SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga has said the board will not compromise on player security but is otherwise eager to support its Asian neighbours. Sri Lanka is believed to be among the reserve hosts for both those tournaments.

“Player security is what we are most concerned about, but if we tour Bangladesh, we can help ensure the region stays strong from a cricketing perspective,” Ranatunga said yesterday. “In Asia, we have a situation currently where we can’t tour Pakistan. Even though a tournament could be moved, in the long-term it is better for us that the region remains strong. Bangladesh has a cricket-loving public and it’s important that cricket is played there, if possible.”

SLC has monitored the security situation in Bangladesh during the past weeks, but has maintained its willingness to send a team throughout the upheaval. Its � nal decision on the

tour is expected by tomorrow, and is subject to the � ndings of a security delegation that arrived in Bangladesh on Sunday. The Sri Lanka team is scheduled to leave for Bangladesh on January 24.

The board’s enthusiasm to send its team is also driven by an element of reciprocity, Ranatunga said. “In the past we have had problems in our country as well, but during that time, Bangladesh were happy to tour. As long as there is no risk to our players, we would like to support the BCB as well.”

The Sri Lanka team had been victims of a terrorist attack in Lahore in 2009, and Ranatunga had earlier said the board would play close attention to any possible security threats. SLC has received advice from the Sri Lankan High Commission in Dhaka in the lead-up to its � nal decision.

The two-member security unit will visit Mirpur today and meet the local security authorities on the following day. One of the two men will stay back in Dhaka for the January 20 World Twenty20 security assessment meeting with the rest of the participating boards and the ICC. l

Late goals upset Afusin Raihan Mahmood

Despite the easy 4-2 win Sheikh Jamal’s Nigerian coach Josef Afusi is focused to seal the loopholes that caused his side two late goals while his Gambian coun-terpart Omar K Sise also echoed some-thing similar and said it was their mis-takes that cost them heavily yesterday.

“I have to look through the mat-ter why we conceded two goals in the � nishing stages,” said Afusi before he added “We have conceded three goals in three matches and its matter of con-cern.”

However, the Nigerian was pleased with their third straight win, but he said, “It would have been a satisfying experience if the result stood at 4-0. We gifted our opponent two goals and that’s not desirable.”

Meanwhile, Omar K Sise, who once was the coach of Jamal’s youth academy, said Jamal as an opponent is dangerous when there are mistakes. “It’s dangerous to commit mistakes against Sheikh Jamal and we made a number of mistakes that was not pardoned by them. We also failed to gel as a unit and for sure, Jamal is a di� cult opponent,” said the Gambian after the defeat at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. l

Shamsur Rahman of Walton Central Zone returns to the pavilion with unbeaten 229 after the end of the second day of their BCL match against Islami Bank East Zone at BKSP-2 yesterday

Sheikh Jamal winger Mobarak Hossain (L) charges to go through the Feni Soccer defence during their Bangladesh Premier League match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday COURTESY

We will certainly look to have him with the senior side but at the same time, we would want to help the young cricketers as well

Liverpool edge Stoke in eight-goal thrillern AFP, Stoke-on-trent

Luis Suarez scored twice as Liverpool secured a � rst Premier League victory at Stoke City and climbed to fourth in the table with a dramatic 5-3 win on Sunday.

The visitors raced into an early 2-0 lead, with a Ryan Shawcross own goal and a Suarez e� ort giving them an ap-parently comfortable cushion.

But Peter Crouch’s header pulled one back before Charlie Adam -- also a for-mer Liverpool player -- thumped in from the edge of the area to pull Stoke level just before half-time.

Steven Gerrard restored the lead with a penalty before Suarez curled in a fourth.

Jonathan Walters looked to set up a tense � nish by reducing the arrears in the 85th minute, but Daniel Sturridge celebrated his return from an ankle in-jury by scoring Liverpool’s � fth.

The visitors were far from convincing at times, but they picked up what could prove to be a pivotal win in their push for a Champions League place.

Brendan Rodgers’s side had to make a strong start defensively as they dealt with a couple of early Adam corners, but the visitors got a welcome break after just � ve minutes.

Lucas Leiva played Raheem Sterling into space down the right and the wing-er clipped the ball back for Aly Cissokho,

whose shot from 25 yards was � ying well wide before hitting Shawcross and � ying past Jack Butland. The visitors were con-tinually forced deep but rarely looked in trouble and should have doubled their advantage when Sterling crossed for Philippe Coutinho, only for the Brazilian to lift his shot just over the bar.

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet failed to deal with another Walters ball in and Glenn Whelan’s drive was de� ected wide before Kolo Toure did well to clear ahead of Crouch from the corner that followed. Suarez hit a free-kick wide o� Marko Arnautovic, but the Uruguayan added a second with half an hour gone.

Skrtel thumped the ball forward and both Marc Wilson and Shawcross failed to deal with it, enabling Suarez to roll in from a narrow angle.

But six minutes before the interval the hosts pulled one back when Arnau-tovic chucked a cross into the area and Crouch angled in a clever header at the near post. Liverpool almost responded immediately when Coutinho was picked out by Suarez, but he could only shoot straight at Butland. l

Milan sack coach Allegrin AFP, Milan

Struggling Serie A giants AC Milan sacked coach Massimiliano Allegri yes-terday, a day after a 4-3 league defeat to league newcomers Sassuolo.

Milan are 11th in Serie A, 30 points behind leaders Juventus and 20 be-hind Napoli who occupy the third and last qualifying spot for the Champions League.

A statement on  www.acmilan.it said: “AC Milan announces that it has dismissed as coach of the � rst team, with immediate e� ect, Mr. Massimil-iano Allegri and his sta� .

“AC Milan would like to thank Mr. Allegri and his sta� for the work done and wishes them the best profession-al success. The team will be run on a caretaker basis by Mr. Mauro Tassotti.”

For the second successive season Allegri’s side has struggled to keep pace on the domestic front as Juven-tus, Roma and Napoli lay early claim to Serie A’s three allocated places in the Champions League.

Sunday’s defeat to Sassuolo, who scored four goals thanks to 19-year-old sensation Domenico Berardi, appeared to seal Allegri’s fate when he came un-der attack from club vice-CEO Barbara Berlusconi.

Berlusconi, the daughter of club owner and president Silvio Berlusconi, had launched a scathing attack on club CEO Adriano Galliani prior to Christ-mas which prompted the o� cial to o� er his resignation before eventually backpedalling.

On Sunday Berlusconi pointed the � nger directly at Allegri and said an “urgent change” was needed at the helm of the seven-time European champions.

“A disappointing night, just like others, which con� rms that a change is necessary and urgent,” Barbara Ber-lusconi said.

“We can no longer tolerate the fact that our fans have to put up with per-formances like these.”

Allegri, who ironically played a piv-otal role in leading Sassuolo into Se-rie B, took over Milan in time for the 2010/2011 season and won the title in his � rst season in charge. l

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 14, 201414

RESULTStoke City 3-5 LiverpoolCrouch 39, Adam 45, Shawcross 5-og,Walters 85 Suarez 32, 71, Gerrard 51-pen, Sturridge 87

City squad boosted by Aguero returnn Reuters

Manchester City’s top scorer Sergio Aguero is ready to make his return from injury against Cardi� City on Sat-urday and could even feature in the FA Cup replay against Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday, the Argentine said.

Aguero has not played since limping o� the � eld with a calf injury during the 6-3 victory over English Premier League title rivals Arsenal on Dec. 14. l

Gutierrez hints at Newcastle exitn AFP, London

Jonas Gutierrez has indicated he could be set for a January transfer window de-parture from Newcastle amid reports he may be joining up with former Magpies manager Chris Hughton at Norwich.

The 30-year-old Argentinian mid-� elder appeared to call time on his � ve-year career with north-east club Newcastle by telling his Twitter follow-ers: “It was an honour and a pleasure to play with the Newcastle shirt and to have the support of the Geordie.”

After receiving several replies laud-ing his career at St James’ Park, Gutier-rez added: “Thanks for the messages. I enjoy my 5 years at the club, I hope the club � nish the highest this season and the best to my team mates.” l

Pepe winner moves Madrid closer to leadersn AFP, Madrid

Real Madrid moved to within three points of La Liga leaders Barcelo-na and Atletico Madrid with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Espanyol on

Sunday.Portuguese defender Pepe got the

only goal of the game when he rose highest to head home Luka Modric’s free-kick 10 minutes after half-time.

Cristiano Ronaldo should then have added to his side’s lead on a number of occasions.

But despite their star man having an o� night in front of goal, Madrid com-fortably held on for the three points as Espanyol created nothing of note after falling behind.

“I am satis� ed with how we played because we had a good balance, we played good football and kept trying to score until the last minute,” said Real boss Carlo Ancelotti.

The Italian also hailed the impor-tance of his side taking advantage of Atletico and Barca’s 0-0 draw on Satur-day to bring themselves right back into the title race.

Espanyol had started on the front foot and should have been in front af-ter just three minutes when Cristian Stuani skewed his header wide when unmarked just six yards out.

Thereafter, though, Madrid had the better of the chances in the � rst-half without ever completely dominating the game.

Ronaldo uncharacteristically � u� ed his lines after Karim Benzema’s � ne

solo run down the left had freed the Portuguese inside the area.

Espanyol keeper Kiko Casilla also had to beat away Angel di Maria’s long-range drive and a free-kick from Ron-aldo.

However, the visitors best chances of the � rst 45 minutes came just before the break when Modric led a counter-attack, but after feeding Di Maria the Argentine failed to pick out one of four

available teammates. The ball eventu-ally fell to Gareth Bale and his cross was headed just wide by Benzema.

Madrid did make the breakthrough 10 minutes into the second-half as Mo-dric’s free-kick towards the back post was powerfully headed low into the far corner by the unmarked Pepe.

For Ronaldo, who is expected to pick up his second Ballon d’Or in Zu-rich on Monday, frustration continued to build as he also dragged an e� ort wide after being released by Di Maria.

Bale was starting a league game for the � rst time in nearly a month and his looked short of match sharpness as he contributed little before being replaced by Jese Rodriguez 15 minutes from time. l

Teenaged terror hits four to upstage Milan’s Hondan AFP, Milan

Teenaged striker Do-menico Berardi scored four goals for Sassuolo in a 4-3 win over AC Milan to steal the limelight from new Rossoneri mid� elder

Keisuke Honda.Japan international Honda, signed on

a free transfer from CSKA Moscow, came o� the bench for Massimiliano Allegri’s side 20 minutes into the second half.

By that time, the damage had been done although Honda came close to helping reduce arrears for the struggling Serie A giants when a header came o� the post late in the second half.

Robinho gave Milan a ninth-minute lead when he ran on to Nigel De Jong’s ball after the Dutch mid� elder and Bryan Cristante had dispossessed Ra-man Chibsah to beat Gianluca Pegolo with a low angled strike at the keeper’s far post.

The visitors were 2-0 up only four minutes later when Mario Balotelli beat Pegolo with an angled strike to send Mi-lan on their way to what appeared to be an easy three points.

Sassuolo, however, had other ideas.Eusebio Di Francesco’s side had suc-

cumbed to a 7-0 reverse at home to Inter

Milan early in the season but showed great resolve to reduce their two-goal de� cit within 13 minutes.

There was a hint of o� side about Be-rardi’s opener when he ran in behind the defence on the quarter hour to beat Christian Abbiati from a tight angle.

However Berardi’s second was a � ne demonstration of individual skills and sheer determination.

The striker collected in mid� eld, shook o� one challenge, and then dismissed another in the area to turn and beat Ab-biati with a sharp, angled strike.

Berardi completed his hat-trick on 41 minutes, nicking in ahead of Urby Emanuelson to leave Abbiati with no chance by � rst-timing Reto Ziegler’s pacy cross from the left past the ‘keeper.

The Sassuolo striker stunned Milan with his fourth of the game and 11th of the season two minutes after the restart when he bundled home from close range.

Allegri saw the warning signs and made a double substitution, Honda re-placing Robinho and Riccardo Monto-livo replacing Antonio Nocernino. l

Nicola follows Allegri to become 8th casualtyn AFP, Milan

Former AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri and Livorno handler Davide Nicola became the seventh and eighth coaching casualties of the Serie A sea-son yesterday.

Allegri was dismissed a day after a 4-3 league defeat to league newcom-ers Sassuolo, which left the seven-time European champions 30 points adrift of leaders Juventus. Livorno followed suit, dismissing Nicola two days after the Se-rie A newcomers’ seventh defeat in 8 games left them second bottom.

Last week Stefano Pioli was sacked as coach of Bologna and replaced by Davide Ballardini while at the turn of the year Edoardo Reja took over from sacked Lazio coach Vladimir Petkovic.

The � rst coach � red this season was Fabio Liverani, who was replaced at Ge-noa by Gian Piero Gasperini at the end of September. Barely a month later Rolan-do Maran was shown the door by Cata-nia following defeat to fellow strugglers Cagliari and replaced by Luigi De Canio.

Delio Rossi was then relieved of his duties as coach of struggling Samp-doria and while Giuseppe Sannino was sacked as coach of Chievo and replaced by Eugenio Corini. l

Marseille come from behind to win while Lille crashn AFP, Paris

Marseille remain unbeaten in � ve do-mestic games under Jose Anigo after coming from behind to beat Evian 2-1 while Lille blew a chance to go second as they lost 2-1 to Reims.

On-loan winger Pape Amodou Sou-gou put Marseille in front against his parent club, but Benoit Cheyrou equal-ised for OM and Andre-Pierre Gignac netted what turned out to be the win-ner before the interval.

It was Marseille’s � rst-ever win away to Evian and the three points lifted them back up to � fth place in the Ligue 1 table.

Lille meanwhile su� ered only their second home defeat of the season as they slumped to a 2-1 loss against Re-ims, where Odair Fortes and Grzegorz Krychowiak hit second half goals.

Anthony Weber put the ball through his own goal to give Lille hope with two minutes left but it was too little, too late as the Champagne-region out� t held on for their eighth victory of the season. l

RESULTSGetafe 0-1 Rayo Vallecano (Bueno 29)

Real Betis 1-2 Osasuna Molina 80 Torres 2, Figueras 57-og

Espanyol 0-1 Real Madrid Pepe 55

Levante 1-0 MalagaBarral 19

RESULTSassuolo 4-3 AC Milan Berardi 15, 28, 41, 47 Robinho 9, Balotelli 13, Montolivo 86

RESULTSNantes 1-0 LorientBangoura 89

Evian 1-2 Marseille Sougou 15 Cheyrou 22, Gignac 38

Lille 1-2 Reims Weber-og 88 Fortes 73, Krychowiak 77

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo (R) attempts an overhead kick against Espanyol's Javi Lopez as Gareth Bale (L) looks on during their Spanish � rst division match at Cornella-El Prat stadium, near Barcelona on Sunday REUTERS

AC Milan's coach Massimiliano Allegri gestures during the Serie A football match against Sassuolo at the Mapei Arena stadium in Reggio Emilia, on Sunday AFP

Liverpool's Luis Suarez (R) celebrates his second goal against Stoke City with teammate Daniel Sturridge during their EPL match at the Britannia stadium on Sunday REUTERS

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 14, 2014 15

Third division quali� ers start tomorrowThe Third Division Cricket League quali-� er is set to start tomorrow, informed the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) through a media release yesterday. AZM Nasiruddin, one of the Bangladesh Cricket Board director and chairman of the CCDM, is expected to inaugurate the tourna-ment. A total of 14 teams will partici-pate in the quali� ers and they were divided among four groups through lottery. Group A and B were � lled with four teams each while Group C and D have three teams each. Each group champions will move onto play the Super League, the second phase of the tournam ent, and the top two teams from the single-league format will get promoted to play in the third division cricket league season 2013-14.

–Tribune Desk

Nasri says he will be out for ‘eight weeks’Manchester City mid� elder Samir Nasri said Monday he expected to be out of action for “around eight weeks” follow-ing a knee injury su� ered against New-castle on Sunday. The 26-year-old France international was taken from the � eld at St James’ Park on a stretcher with his left leg in a brace during City’s 2-0 victory. Afterwards City manager Manuel Pel-legrini said Nasri had damaged his medial ligament, raising fears the player could be ruled out of France’s squad for this year’s World Cup � nals in Brazil, which start in June. However, Nasri - who was due to undergo a scan on Monday - told his Twitter followers: “Thank you every-one for your kind words and overwhelm-ing support, I suppose its kind of good news that I will be out around 8 weeks.”

–AFP

Spain to the fore as Sainz, Barreda claim Dakar 7th stage Former winner Carlos Sainz won the sev-enth car stage of the Dakar Rally on Sunday with his fellow Spaniard Joan Barreda claiming the motorbike section. After Sat-urday’s rest day the gruelling rally resumed for the cars with a timed 533 kilometre circuit around Salta in Argentina. The bikes and quads � nished their day’s racing across the Bolivian border in the nearby town of Uyuni. Thousands of spectators, including the country’s President Evo Morales, descended on the town built alongside the largest salt lake in the world to watch the Dakar’s � rst ever visit to Bolivia.

–AFP

QUICK BYTES

Fifa Ballon d’OrCristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid)Women’s World Player of the YearNadine Angerer (Germany)Coach of the Year (Men’s)Jupp Heynckes (Bayern Munich)Coach of the Year (Women’s)Silvia Neid (Germany)Fair Play AwardAfghanistan Football FederationFerenc Puskas best goal awardZlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)Honorary Ballon d’OrPeleRemarkable Personality in SportFormer IOC president Jacques RoggeFifa World Team of the YearManuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Dani Alves (Barcelona), Thiago Silva (PSG), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Franck Ribery (Bayern Mu-nich), Xavi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG), Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

WINNERS LISTFIFA BALLON D'OR

Sony SixNBA 2013-148:00AMUtah v DenverStar Sports HD1

2:40PMBig Bash T20Melbourne Renegades v Sydney ThundersTen Action

2:00AM Coppa Italia 2013/14Round of 16, Lazio v ParmaTen HD

2:00AM Coppa Italia 2013/14Round of 16, Lazio v ParmaStar Sports 4

6:00AMAustralian Open

Tomorrow Sony SixNBA 2013-147:00AM Memphis v Oklahoma City09:00 AM LA Lakers v ClevelandTen Sports

1:45PM Hero Hockey World League Final Match 13, 14, 15, 16Star Sports HD1

2:40PM Big Bash T20Sydney Sixers v Hobart HurricanesTen Cricket

10:00PM Ram Slam T20 2014Titans v WarriorsTen Action

11:00PM Coppa Italia 2013/14Round of 16, Milan v Spezia2:30AM Copa del Rey 2013/14Osasuna v Real Madrid (2nd Leg)Star Sports 4

6:00AMAustralian Open

DAY’S WATCH

Rusty Djokovic, slick Serena through in MelbourneKvitova, Venus sent packing by Thai Kumkhumn Novak Djokovic showed some early season rustiness but Serena Williams roared into the second round like a well-oiled machine as the tournament favourites took centre stage on the � rst evening of the Australian Open on Monday.

Williams, looking for her sixth title, closed the evening on Rod Laver Arena with a 6-2 6-1 demolition of local hope Ashleigh Barty after four-times cham-pion Djokovic had overcome Lukas Lacko 6-3 7-6(2) 6-1.

Earlier, there were shocks aplenty in the women’s draw with the biggest coming when sixth seed Petra Kvitova fell victim to Thai world number 88 Luksika Kumkhum in front of a raptur-ous crowd on Margaret Court Arena.

There were upsets for two Italian seeds as well, Sara Errani beaten 6-3 6-2 by German Julia Goerges and her

doubles partner Roberta Vinci going down 6-4 6-3 to China’s Zheng Jie.

Serena’s sister Venus Williams also bid an early farewell to the tournament when she blew a 3-0 lead in the decid-ing set to lose 2-6 6-4 6-4 to Russian Ekaterina Makarova.

Djokovic’s new co-coach Boris Becker will have raised an eyebrow with the 30 unforced errors the second seed served up as he opened his quest for a fourth straight title in Melbourne.

The Serbian always looked like can-tering to victory in three sets, however, and 23 minutes after taking a tight sec-ond stanza by dominating the tiebreak, he was � ring down his 10th ace for the win.

“I know that I didn’t play my best, especially in the second set,” said Djokovic, who has now won his last 22 matches at Melbourne Park and 25 contests in a row in all tournaments since his loss to Rafa Nadal in the U.S.

Open � nal.“I was a little bit too passive in some

stages of the match and was trying to � nd the proper setting and proper bal-ance and footing in the court.”

With temperatures forecast to soar well above 40 degrees Celsius from Tuesday onwards, there was good rea-son for the players to keep their time on court to a minimum and rest up for challenges to come.

Even in the cool of the evening, Ser-ena Williams showed no signs of want-ing to hang around and 17-year-old Barty looked like a lamb heading for the slaughter.

Williams, who hit 31 winners, feast-ed on the teenager’s second serve and even dominated at the net, suggested that she herself was the biggest obsta-cle to her title ambitions.

“I just don’t want to get in my way. I just have to stay out of my way and I’ll be � ne,” she said. l

'Losing toss was unfortunate'n Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore Monday said that losing the toss was key to his team’s defeat to Sri Lanka in the sec-ond Test in Dubai as a low � rst innings score proved to be decisive.

Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews won the toss and decided to bowl � rst, getting Pakistan out for a paltry 165.

Sri Lanka posted 338 to gain a big 223-run lead. Pakistan fared better in the second innings to score 359 but it only provided their biggest-ever loss to SL in 45 Tests between the two nations.

Sri Lanka now enjoy a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after the � rst Test ended in a draw in Abu Dhabi.

Whatmore said, “It was unfortunate to lose the toss as the wicket was help-ful to the pace bowlers. The wicket had been under the covers for nearly 24 hours previously (because of rain) which meant the batsmen were in for a di� cult period on day one. Our � rst innings total was always going to prove di� cult to defend.” l

Usha, Abahani cruise to Club Cup Hockey � naln Last edition’s runners-up Abahani Ltd will get a chance to take revenge over defending champions Usha as the giants won their respective semi-� nals yester-day to set a repeat of last year's � nal in the UCB Club Cup Hockey tomorrow.

In the � rst semi Abahani overpow-ered Ajax by 7-0 goals while Usha ousted Sonali Bank 5-1 in the second semi at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium.

Abahani was cautious from the be-ginning and took time to settle, but once they found the rhythm Ajax was send to the receiving end throughout the remaining time. Abahani mastered the penalty corners which paid them in huge dividends. The versatile Pen-alty Corner (PC) combination of Nannu, Biplob and Khorshedur was an instant success as the latter dragged the � rst PC which ended inside the roof of the goal. However Abahani’s next two PCs were foiled by Ajax goalie Rakibul Hasan.

Abahani piled up pressure and went to the break in a commanding mode

having scored two more goals. Forward Din Islam scored the second goal with a powerful hit after Nannu paved the way for him with a square pass at the top of the arc. Forward Niloy added the third in the 33rd minute after Shoaib

Ali danced down the right � ank and passed the ball back to Niloy whose soft push beat the pads of Rakibul.

Abahani added four more in the second-half with Nannu striking the fourth in the 39th minute, Romman

netting the � fth in the 43rd minute, Puskor Khisha hitting the sixth in the 54th minute and Raihanuddin com-pleting the route in the 56th minute.

Meanwhile in the second semi, Usha dominated from the word go and it took just two minutes for the hold-ers to go ahead. It was not only the goal inside two minutes from mid� elder Ja-hid bin Talib, but Rimon Kumar Ghosh and drag � ick specialist Mamunur Rahman Chayan also scored in quick succession to add misery to the dis-heartened bankers. Sonali Bank were trailing 3-0 in 13 minutes before Manik pulled a goal back � ve minutes later. However, the conceded goal hardly had any impact as Usha continued to dominate with Belal netting the fourth in the 28th minute. Jahid registered his second goal of the game in the 41st minute as Usha cruised to the � nal.

In the last � nal of the competition, Usha beat Abahani 3-2 to lift the title. Meanwhile it was learnt that Usha will not be � ying in the four Indian players ahead of the � nal due to visa complica-tions. l

Abahani forward Hasan Jubaer Niloy (C) controls the ball against Ajax in the UCB Club Cup Hockey at hockey stadium yesterday COURTESY

Dhoni not taking New Zealand lightly n India arrived in New Zealand for their � rst tour in four years Monday, with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni saying he will not be taking the “fantastic” Black Caps lightly.

India will play two Tests and � ve one-dayers against the New Zealanders, in a tour itinerary shortened by one Test and one Twenty 20 due to India’s partic-ipation in the Asia Cup in late February.

The tourists’ main interest is likely to be the one-dayers, with the trip allow-ing them to familiarise themselves with New Zealand conditions ahead of the 2015 World Cup, which the Kiwis will co-host with Australia.

Dhoni, whose side is rated number one in the 50-over format compared to New Zealand’s eighth ranking, said In-dia would not underestimate the Black Caps. “They will be a fantastic side,” he told reporters after the side arrived in Auckland.

“They’ve got good bowlers in the side now. I would rather go into the se-ries not taking the New Zealand team lightly. l Serena Williams

Ronaldo ends Messi run with 2nd Ballon d’Or n AFP, Zurich

Cristiano Ronaldo ended the four-year dominance of Lionel Messi when he was awarded the 2013 Fifa Ballon d’Or in Zurich on Monday.

The tearful 28-year-old Real Madrid and Portugal star, who won the award in 2008, had been the overwhelming fa-vourite to pip Barcelona and Argentina wonder Messi, winner the previous four years, and France’s Franck Ribery, who claimed the treble with Bayern Munich in 2013.

Ronaldo won with 27.99% of the votes ahead of Messi (24.72%) while Ribery was third (23.36%) according to France Football, co-organisers of the

award with Fifa.“There are no words to describe

how I feel,” said Ronaldo.I’m delighted, I want to thank all my

team-mates, all my family in the room.“Those who know me know how

many sacri� ces I made to win this re-ward. “I want to thank all those who had faith in me and I want to speak again about (recently deceased Portu-gal legend) Eusebio and (recently de-ceased former South Afrca president) Madiba (Nelson Mandela) and to pay tribute to them one last time.”

News of Ronaldo’s success � ltered through from France Football just mo-ments before the o� cial announce-ment in Zurich.

Ronaldo, who was widely expected to win after news spread on social me-dia earlier in the day that seven mem-bers of his family were joining him in Zurich and his club Real were transmit-ting the award ceremony live on their o� cial television channel in a change to the programmed schedule, broke down in tears on stage during his vic-tory speech.

Ribery, who won the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup with Bayern last season, before add-ing the European Supercup and Club World Cup before the turn of the year, had been the early front-runner.

But a controversial two-week exten-sion to the voting deadline for inter-

national coaches, captains and media meant those casting their ballots could take into consideration Ronaldo’s re-markable hat-trick to beat Sweden in the World Cup play-o� s in November.

That was widely believed to have been enough to tip the scales in his favour.

However, with 66 goals in his 56 matches this year -- more than Messi and Ribery’s combined 65 -- no-one could deny Ronaldo was a worthy winner.

As expected, Bayern’s Jupp Heynckes, who retired following their historic treble in May, won the coach’s award.

German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer was named women’s Ballon d’Or win-ner while Germany coach Silvia Neid

won the women’s coach award.A special honorary Ballon d’Or was

given to Brazilian legend Pele, who never quali� ed for the award during his playing career as he never plied his trade in European club football.

From its inception in 1956 until 2010, the Ballon d’Or was awarded to the best player in Europe and the Fifa World Player of the Year award was only inaugurated in 1991, before end-ing in 2009 when it was assimilated into the Ballon d’Or.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic won the Ferenc Puskas best goal award for his stun-ning, acrobatic overhead kick from 40 yards for Sweden in a friendly against England. l

YEAR WINNER2013 Cristiano Ronaldo (POR) 2012 Lionel Messi (ARG) 2011 Lionel Messi (ARG)2010 Lionel Messi (ARG)2009 Lionel Messi (ARG)2008 Cristiano Ronaldo (POR)2007 Kaka (BRA)2006 Fabio Cannavaro (ITA)2005 Ronaldinho (BRA)2004 Andrei Shevchenko (UKR)2003 Pavel Nedved (CZE)2002 Ronaldo (BRA)2001 Michael Owen (ENG)2000 Luis Figo (POR)1999 Rivaldo (BRA)

LAST 15 BALLON D’OR WINNERS

Brazilian football legend Pele (R) applauds next to Real Madrid's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo as he cries after receiving the 2013 Fifa Ballon d'Or award at the Kongresshaus in Zurich yesterday AFP

16 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Padma scam-accused Mosharraf rewardedn Mohosinul Karim

Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, prime ac-cused in the much-talked-about Padma bridge graft case, has been made mem-ber of the Privatisation Commission, nearly seven months after he was made o� cer on special duty (OSD). The public administration ministry issued a noti� -cation regarding the matter yesterday.

Mosharraf is one of the seven who were charged with “conspiracy for cor-ruption in the Padma bridge project.” The Anti-Corruption Commission � led the case on December 17, 2012.

He was suspended on December 26 the same year when he was in jail. The suspension order, however, was with-drawn and he was made OSD on June 5 last year as he was out of jail on bail.

The seven accused were charged for alleged undue favour given to Canadi-an � rm SNC-Lavalin for the contract as a supervising consultant for the coun-try’s largest infrastructure project.

It was learned that the diary of a La-valin o� cial contains a list of those who received 10-12% commissions for the project, and the information was very precise. It said: “Padma PCC, 4% Min, 2% Kaiser, 2% Nixon, 1% Secretary and 1% Moshi Rahman.” According to the di-ary, “Secretary” is Mosharraf Hossain.

After being made OSD, Mosharraf on July 23 met with ACC Chairman M Bodiuzzaman and commissioners Sha-habuddin Chuppu and Nasir Uddin Ahmed on July 23 last year. After the meetings, the accused told the media that it had been courtesy call.

Before the January 5 poll, Sheikh Hasina urged people not to vote for the candidates whose name came up in Padma bridge scam and for whom the dignity of the country was undermined.

She said this at an election cam-paign rally for party candidate Qazi Za-farullah, also Awami League’s Presidi-um member, who was later defeated by Mojibur Rahman alias Nixon Chowd-hury, a suspect in the scam.

According to the ministry’s noti� ca-tion, Economic Relations Department (ERD) Secretary Abul Kalam Azad has been transferred as secretary of the Prime Minister’s O� ce. He has been re-placed by Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) Secre-tary Md Mesbah Uddin.

Member of Privatisation Commis-sion Suraiya Begum has been trans-ferred to the IMED as its secretary.

The contractual appointment of Molla Wahiduzzaman, secretary of PMO, will be terminated on January 17. Azad will join the post the same day. l

Habibur Rahman will remain alive among peoplen Nazmus Sakib

Muhammad Habibur Rahman was a legendary and much-loved personality. His wisdom, leadership and sagacity will keep him alive among the people of this country.

Such were the sentiments echoed by mourners who came to pay their last respects to the former chief justice and head of a caretaker government.

People from all walks of life crowd-ed the central Shaheed Minar yester-day to view the body of Justice Habibur Rahman, who died on Saturday night at the age of 85.

Paying tribute, Arif Khan, a lawyer of Dhaka Judge Court, said: “Justice Habibur deserves respect as he was one of those who practise the spirit of the Language Movement through their words and work. He did a tough job for the Bangla language _ compiling the one and only Bangla thesaurus, a law lexicon _ Ain Shobdo Khosh, a dictio-

nary on religion _ Jar Ja Dhormo and a dictionary of idioms and proverbs _ Bachan-0-Prabachan.”

“Justice Habibur was also a wise judge who delivered verdicts consider-ing all types of conditions and the coun-try’s situation. He had authored the Su-preme Court judgement that returned the citizenship of Ghulam Azam, rely-ing on a law which ultimately became a boon in prosecuting the former Jamaat chief for his atrocious role in the 1971 Liberation War,” he continued.

“But Habibur was not out of the ambit of criticism. He never directly comment-ed on national issues. Rather, he gave hints, which we cannot expect from such a personality,” Arif Khan alleged.

He also regretted that the eminent jurist did not write enough legal liter-ature, which could have bene� tted the country’s judiciary.

Ali Ulluh Opu, a law student of Dha-ka University, said Justice Habibur’s judgements had helped him to develop

a judicious mind. Shawkat Ali, who works at a bread fac-

tory, said it was under Habibur Rahman’s leadership that the country marched towards establishing true democracy in 1996. Shawkat, along with his two daughters, came all the way from Uttara to lay a wreath and pay hommage.

Justice Rahman’s � rst namaz-e-janaza was held at the Supreme Court premises around 1:37pm.

Chief Justice Mozammel Hossain, several government ministers, justices from both the Appellate Division and the High Court and prominent lawyers were present at the janaza. 

After the funeral prayers, Registrar AKM Shamsul Islam declared: “The second session of the High Court will not be held today as a tribute to late Habibur Rahman.”

Justice Rahman was laid to rest at the Banani graveyard in the capital after his second namaz-e-janaza, which was held at the Azad Mosque in Gulshan.

Justice Habibur Rahman retired as chief justice in 1995 and served as the chief adviser to the � rst constitution-ally-established caretaker government from March 31 to June 23, 1996.

In 1994, he delivered a verdict in favour of Ghulam Azam, restoring the citizenship of the former Jamaat-e-Is-lami chief.

He also authored a judgement scrap-ping the eighth amendment of the con-stitution enacted by former military dictator HM Ershad’s government.

The amendment stipulated circuit benches of the High Court in six cities of the country. Both judgements faced criticism from many quarters.

Many critics said restoration of Ghu-lam Azam’s citizenship was not correct as the Jamaat kingpin had carried out atrocities on the people of Bangladesh during the 1971 war. Many also said circuit benches would have been ben-e� cial in serving justice-seekers across the country. l

Redundant samples leftidle at DNA labPolice stations often ignore letters from the lab asking to collect the samples after tests

n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

On October 29, Siddirganj police station in Narayanganj recovered an abandoned human leg from a bush in the area and sent it to the National DNA Pro� ling Laboratory at Dhaka Medical College for identifying who it belonged to.

The family members of a man, who had gone missing in the area around that time, later gave DNA samples to the lab which eventually matched with the DNA of the recovered leg.

However, since then, the leg has been lying at the DNA lab’s sample ar-chive room. The lab o� cials had sent several letters to the investigation of-� cer of the Siddhirganj police station, but neither had be ever replied nor took any step to take the limb out of there.

The Dhaka Tribune has learnt that more than 200 DNA samples (bones, limbs, teeth, clothes, and embryos) placed with the lab in connection with various cases have been left in the ar-chive room although days have passed after the tests were completed.

Most of these samples were sent from various police stations across the country, while in most cases, the concerned police o� cers reportedly ignore letters from the lab authorities and failed to collect the samples after the completion of the DNA tests. From

2006 to 2013, a total of 2,332 samples have been tested in the laboratory.

With the number of the DNA sam-ples rising each day and only two re-frigerators to store the samples in, au-thorities are reportedly forced to keep many of the samples outside the fridge, causing a bad odour to spread through-out the laboratory.

According to the recently rati� ed DNA Act 2013, the DNA lab is allowed to destroy any sample six months af-ter the completion of tests. But for the sake of investigations, samples could be preserved for longer.

Dr Sharif Akteruzzaman, head of the DNA pro� ling laboratory, told the Dhaka Tribune that the lab had to de-stroy most of the biological (blood, tis-sue, etc) samples after the completion of DNA tests because a huge number of samples were sent for tests. Bones, clothes and other dry samples are giv-en to an NGO that deal with medical waste disposal. That NGO destroys the samples in an incinerator.

Dr Akteruzzaman said the police sta-tions concerned hardly ever respond to requests for taking back the samples.

However, insiders said the redun-dant samples should be removed soon because they are hampering smooth operation of the laboratory by spread-ing bad smell. l

Man killed for Tk1n Our Correspondent,

Brahmanbaria

A youth yesterday killed an elderly neigh-bour at Bijoynagar in Brahmanbaria for demanding Tk1 extra while recharging the youth’s mobile phone balance.

Victim Abdul Bashir Mia, 58, was a grocery shop owner and a mobile re-charge vendor in Khatinga village of Paharpur union in the district.

Witnesses said Sohel Mia, 22, son of carpenter Badshah Mia, yesterday morning wanted to recharge his mobile phone. Bashir Mia charged him Tk1 extra as the youth was recharging only Tk10.

Sohel refused to pay the extra amount, and engaged in an altercation with the shopkeeper. It is a common practice among mobile recharge vendors to charge Tk1 or Tk2 extra for re� ll of less than Tk20.

Abul Kalam Azad, a neighbour and a teacher by profession, paci� ed them momentarily. But Sohel along with a few friends later attacked Bashir Mia around noon and stabbed him grocer in the ab-domen with a knife.

Bashir died on the spot. His sons He-dayet Ullah, 24, and Rahmat Ullah, 22, were also injured. They were admitted to Brahmanbaria Sadar Hospital. Hedayet was later sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital as his condition deteriorated.

Jasim Uddin, sub-inspector of Bi-joynagar police station, said Sohel’s cousin Shamsu Mia, 45, and his aunt Marufa Begum were arrested. l

Prof Anwar quits as Jahangirnagar VCn JU Correspondent

Stricken by movement of a section of teachers for over nine months, Jahan-girnagar University Vice-Chancellor Prof Anwar Hossain resigned yesterday.

When contacted, he told the Dhaka Tribune: “I have resigned following my previous announcement [on Sunday]. Now I will return to Dhaka University.”

Asked about the next VC, he said the newly elected government would take a decision in this regard.

Registrar Abu Bakr Siddique told the Dhaka Tribune: “The resignation letter of Prof Anwar Hossain has been submit-ted to President and JU Chancellor Ab-dul Hamid [yesterday] in the morning.”

The agitating teachers of the uni-versity expressed glee as Prof Anwar resigned and expected that the nine-

month-long deadlock at the university would be removed very soon.

JUTA President Prof Ajit Kumar Ma-zumder, also convener of the united forum, told the Dhaka Tribune that the rationality of the movement had been proved through the resignation.

A former DU teacher, Prof Anwar, earlier said he would resign after hold-ing election to the JU Central Students’ Union (Jucsu) and reconstructing the Senate body of the university within January 24. The agitating teachers op-posed the decision and demanded his immediate resignation.

The movement was jointly led by a sec-tion of pro-Awami League teachers loyal to ousted VC Prof Shari� Enamul Kabir and the pro-BNP teachers. Over a dozen alle-gations were brought against Prof Anwar that include not punishing the leaders

and activists of JU unit Bangladesh Ch-hatra League for assaulting teachers and illegal recruitment of teachers.

The movement was launched by JU Teachers’ Association (JUTA) and fol-lowing a High Court order not to con-tinue movement, the agitating teachers formed JU General Teachers’ Forum and JU Teachers-Students and O� -cers-Employees United Forum.

On December 3, the agitating teachers con� ned the VC for the second time at the residence on the campus. Police res-cued him on December 5 and since then he had been conducting administrative activities from a rented house in Uttara.

Forum Member Secretary Prof Muhammad Kamrul Ahsan said they would decide about the movement af-ter getting o� cial documents of Prof Anwar’s resignation. l

Driver injured during blockade dies n Tribune Report

In the last 15 hours of the nationwide communication blockade, which end-ed early yesterday, a truck driver, who was injured during a chase by opposi-tion pickets in Noakhali, died. While a Shibir activist sustained bullet injuries in Satkhira.

Driver Nizam, 38, a resident of Feni, died while en route to hospital.

Nizam was critically injured after his vehicle hit a roadside tree and over-turned. He was trying to speed away from a group of pickets as they chased him on the Feni-Begumganj road in

Senbagh, at around 9pm on Sunday.His helper, Babul, 25, was also in-

jured in the collision.Meanwhile, 23-year-old Shibir activ-

ist Moyna was injured and subsequent-ly arrested by police around 10pm in front of the Judge’s Court in Satkhira.

Witnesses said pickets were trying to vandalise buses when police in-tervened and chased them. A count-er-chase occurred as they hurled pet-rol bombs, while police opened � re on them.

Later police arrested the wounded Moyna and took him to a local hospital.

Our Satkhira correspondent adds:

army troops, deployed there before the January 5 election, were sent back to the Jessore cantonment yesterday morning.

In this regard, Deputy Commission Nazmul Ahsan said the army was with-drawn as the law and order situation in the district was “stable”.

In Jhenaidah and Kurigram, police arrested at least 38 Jamaat-Shibir men for their alleged involvement in vio-lent activism. In the Mirsarai upazila of Chittagong, police also arrested 14 Ja-maat-Shibir men for their alleged links to violence on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway. l

NATIONAL FORENSIC DNA PROFILING LABORATORY (NFDPL) STATISTICS

Description 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013Jan - Sep

Total

1 Parentage test 20 72 105 146 100 139 146 87 825

2 Murder 02 08 20 25 20 24 75 29 203

3 Rape 03 90 154 223 162 198 233 116 1179

4 Identity 02 02 01 03 03 01 09 11 32

5 Immigration 00 03 03 05 08 03 04 5 31

6 Burglary 01 00 00 00 00 0 0 0 01

7 Sibling 00 00 01 02 02 02 01 02 10

8 Tissue Transplant 00 00 00 00 00 13 23 15 51

Total 28 175 284 404 295 380 491 265 2332

Lawyers pay their last respects to Justice Habibur Rahman on the High Court premises yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial O� ce: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

Continue to the Business section...

Business

Muhith hints at slashing revenue targetH1 earnings fall 15% short of target due to political turmoiln Syed Samiul Basher Anik

The revenue collection is apprehend-ed to be lower than projection in the current � scal year, forcing the govern-ment to consider revising down the target.

The estimate would be revised late this month as Finance Minister AMA Muhith indicated while visiting the Na-tional Board of Revenue headquarters in Dhaka after yesterday, taking o� ce for the second time on the day before.

NBR Chairman Ghulam Hussain ap-prised the minister, who set the reve-nue target before placing the budget for FY14, of the sorry state of collec-tion in the � rst half of the � scal with around Tk8,535 crore or 15% short of the target of Tk57,519 crore.

He explained the minister on how the frequent shutdowns and blockades in last couple of months had a� ected the revenue as the fall out of almost stalled economic and business activ-ities – particularly the export and im-port activities.

In� ation and volatility in exchange rate were also held responsible.

“The revenue target needs to be re-vised,” Muhith said, indicating a decision to be taken by the end of this month.

He said the economic activities came to a standstill due to the political turmoil for last three months.

“The political turmoil will come to an end within this month”.

The minister, however, advised the revenue authorities to ensure cli-

ent-friendly attitude to improve the revenue scenario.

A NBR o� cial said they have al-ready proposed the � nance ministry to lower the target to Tk125,000 crore from Tk136,090 crore targeted for the current � scal year.

Before the FY14 budget, NBR had proposed the ministry to � x a target at a level what they have proposed now apprehending the political situation ahead of the general election, but the minister had refused the proposal.

The NBR chairman apprised the minister, who was accompanied by State Minister for Finance MA Man-nan, of revenue collection situation what he termed was not satisfactory as compared to the previous years.

“We have failed to collect a major portion of the revenue for last three months. December was the worst, which alone su� ered Tk3,500 crore shortfall,” he said. “NBR cannot even approach the businessmen for tax due to the situation.”

He said it was beyond the NBR’s consideration that it would have to face such worst case this year when it had to receive tax returns at least one lakh less than the previous year. There are, however, requests from 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh taxpayers who sought time to submit the returns.

During the July-December period, revenue collection fell Tk8,535 crore short of target while income tax wing witnesses Tk3,433 crore, VAT wing Tk2,844 crore, customs wing Tk2,050

crore and other taxes Tk209 crore, ac-cording to provisional � gures.

NBR collected Tk15,634 crore in in-come tax against Tk19,067 crore target, Tk18,146 crore in VAT against Tk20,990 crore target, Tk14,912 crore in customs duties against Tk16,962 crore target and Tk291crore in other taxes against

Tk500crore target.The NBR set a target to collect

Tk1,36,090 crore in revenue for the cur-rent � scal year with highest Tk48,300 crore in income tax, Tk51,000 crore in VAT, Tk35,790 crore in customsduties and Tk1,000 crore in othertaxes. l

www.dhakatribune.com/business TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2014

B3 Dollar pressured aft er lacklustre US jobs data

B4 Politi cal stability is a must for rebuilding buyers’ confi dence

Sour

ce: N

BR

Plastic goods producers to get soft loans n Tribune Report

Plastic goods manufacturers would get soft loans at low interest rate to devel-op products having potentials at home and abroad.

SME Foundation, an independent and non-pro� t organisation, will pro-vide 177 clusters of small and medium enterprises in the city and its adja-cent areas with collateral-free loans of Tk3 crore at 9% interest under a pro-gramme styled “Cluster Mapping.”

Managing director of the foundation Engr Syed Md Ihsanul Karim and IDLC Finance Ltd Managing Director Selim RF Hussain signed an agreement on the lending programme for their respective organisations in Dhaka yesterday.

Lalbag, Chalkbazar, Islambag and adjacent areas of Dhaka district will come under the cluster. After a need assessment programnme, the founda-tion found access to � nance is the main bottleneck for the micro and small en-

trepreneurs of these areas. There are around 3,000 small, me-

dium and large entrepreneurs who provide more than one lakh jobs. Over 150 types of plastic products like household goods, toys, raw materials for di� erent industries and bottles are being manufactured in the country.

Plastic products currently represent a sizeable sub-sector in the chemical industry.

But most of the manufacturers are su� ering from lack of infrastructure support; waste management and recy-cling facility; and skilled manpower.

According to the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Paci� c (ESCAP) of the United Nations launched in 2012, the market size of plastic products is around US$1bn - $714m in the domestic market and the remaining in the global market.

Local producers exported plastic products worth US$38m in the � rst six months of the current � scal year, ac-cording to Export Promotion Bureau.

Plastic products are used in di� er-ent purposes such as packaging, con-struction, pharmaceutical and con-sumer products.

Garbage bags, toothbrushes, ar-ti� cial � owers, ballpoint pens, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) pipes, polythene sheets, electric switches and computer accessories are also being made up of plastic. l

‘It’s too late’ for Teletalkn Muhammad Zahidul Islam

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regu-latory Commission (BTRC) has report-edly rejected an application of Teletalk mobile phone operator for allocating it an upgraded 3G spectrum, saying, “it’s too late.’’

The state-owned operator had earli-er � eld an application to BTRC with a request for changing its 3G spectrum for further improving its network, but the commission at a recent meeting outright rejected the plea.

The commission, which has already allocated 3G spectrum to Grameen-phone and Airtel during an open auc-tion held in September 2013, noted that there have been no way to change the spectrum after the open auction.

But Teletalk o� cials claimed they have applied for the change well before the auction.

“We have no idea as to why the regulator is not considering our appli-cation, and also why they have placed our request before the commission meeting so late,” Md Mujibor Raha-man, managing director of Teletalk told the Dhaka Tribune.

Teletalk, the � rst 3G operator in the country, however, o� ered the fastest data service through mobile phone from October 2012 with a “commercial test run” that would come to an end in April.

Currently, Teletalk is using 1960-1970 Megahertz (MHz) for uplink and 2150-2160 for downlink for 3G services, which they got April 2012.

The country has a total of 70 MHz spectrum for 3G, 1920-1970 MHz for uplink and 2110-2160 for downlink.

“If we get spectrum as per our de-sire, we can provide better services. And being the incumbent operator, we have all the right to get it,” said a senior executive of Teletalk.

The operator wants to change their spectrum with 1930-1940 MHz for up-link and 2120-2130 for downlink; or 1940-1950 MHz for uplink and 2130-2140 for downlink, according to the Teletalk’s application.

Both of the options of Teletalk clashed with the market leader Grameen-phone, which has taken 10 MHz spectrum (1935-1945 and 2125-2135), competing the other operators in the auction.

Airtel has got 5 MHz (1945-50 and 2135-2140), which also clashed with the Teletalk’s second proposal.

The telecom watchdog can now hardly sell 25 MHz in the auction while 10 MHz is allocated for the Teletalk. The telecom regulator, however, has another 15 MHz unsold, 1920-1935 Megahertz for uplink and 2110-2125 for downlink, without any speci� c plan, according to the sources. l

Women at a stall at Dhaka International Trade Fair 2014 bargaining with the seller as the fair witnesses an increased number of visitors yesterday NASHIRUL ISLAM

'We have no idea as to why the regulator is not considering our application, and also why they have placed our request before the commission meeting so late'

Tofail: Top priority is to retain GSPn Tribune Report

A day after taking oath as commerce minister of the new cabinet, veteran Awami League leader Tofail Ahmed yesterday said his utmost priority would be to retain the Generalised Sys-tem of Preferences (GSP) for the Ban-gladeshi products in the US market.

He came up with the priority issue while talking to journalists at his secre-tariat o� ce in Dhaka. He said the Unit-ed States is the single largest importer of the Bangladeshi products.

“Apart from that, we will take other initiatives for exploring new markets across the globe to get duty-free excess of our goods. We would try to enhance the internal as well as foreign trade to boost the country’s total trade vol-ume,’’ said the minister.

The number of foreign embassies and foreign missions will be increased, if nec-essary, for enhancing our trade, he added.

Regarding the price hike of essential commodities, he said a coordination

committee will be formed compris-ing of members from the trade bodies while capacity of the Trading Corpo-ration of Bangladesh (TCB) will be enhanced to tackle any trade-related problem.

“Prices of the essential commodities will be kept stable through market in-

tervention by TCB,” he added.Businessmen will do business while

the government will just create an at-mosphere congenial to have good rela-tions between the local traders and the businessmen, which would be the strat-egy in the coming days, said Tofail.

“My main job will be to make Ban-gladesh a middle income country with-in 2021 through boosting trade and business,” he said.

The minister would visit India on January 16-17 to attend a business con-ference.On June 27 last year, the US govern-ment suspended the GSP because of concerns over labour rights and work-ers’ safety that intensi� ed after hun-dreds of workers died in the worst glob-al garment industry accident. While, on December4, the European Union (EU) warned Bangladesh of restoring political stability and protecting hu-man rights as well as ending violation of democratic practices by the political parties. l

Wage board to include more categories ofRMG workersn Tribune Report

The wage board for the readymade gar-ment workers is scheduled to hold a meeting tomorrow to include some new categories of workers, who have been left out from the new wage structure.

The meeting has been convened amid demands from the workers, said an o� cial in the wage board. In the new structure, the board set seven categories for the workers, who are performing dif-ferent jobs. But the workers of few jobs have not been included in the structure.

“Factory owners are getting the bene� ts taking advantage of the new wage structure that left out some cat-egories,” said Sirajul Islam Rony, work-ers’ representative to the wage board.

The government has decided to in-clude some categories into the gazette to resolve the problems, he added. l

Frozen food export rises 30%n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Bangladesh’s frozen food exports seen sharp rise by 30% to over $377m in the � rst half of the current � scal due to in-creased prices in the global market.

In July-December 2012, export earn-ings from the frozen foods sector was $290m.

According to Export Promotion Bu-reau, the most signi� cant rise in terms of value was seen in shrimps, which posted a 35% growth to over $331m compared to $246m of 2012. While frozen � sh saw a 14% decline to $25m, compared to previous year’s $29m.

In 2012-13 � scal year, frozen foods exports recorded 9% fall to $544m as � sh production fell due to disease in prawn.

Demands for Tigers (Bangladeshi shrimps) has been increased in glob-al market due to disease vannamei shrimps, which pushed prices up, said M Khalilullah, vice president of Ban-gladesh Frozen Food Exporters Associ-ation (BFFEA). Though prices were up,

the production remain low, he added. Export earnings from the frozen � sh

declined as the government imposed ban on Hilsha export while withdrawal of cash incentives by the government for frozen � sh export expedited the fall, said Khalilullah, also the managing director of Satkhira Foods.

Urging the government to withdraw the ban on hilsha export, Md Amin Ullah, president of BFFEA told theDhaka tribune that negativeattitude on exporting � sh including Hilsha slowed down the earnings from the sector.

Imposing additional duties by the US government on shrimp imports from � ve competitor countries, includ-ing India and Vietnam, has helped in-crease the export from Bangladesh, he said.

The US Commerce Department in-creased the duty to 54.5% from 4.52% on shrimp imports from India, China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Ecuador as their governments provide huge subsi-dies for the farmers. l

Plastic products currently represent a sizeable sub-sector in the chemical industry. But most of the manufacturers are su� ering from lack of infrastructure support; waste management and recycling facility; and skilled manpower

B2 Stock Tuesday, January 14, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

Stocks end � at amid choppy tradingn Tribune Report

Stocks ended � at amid choppy trad-ing yesterday with the benchmark DSEX climbing almost one-year high.

After booking pro� ts on some sectors, investors rebalanced or re-positioned their portfolio, making the market uneven, analysts say.

The DSEX gained 17 points or 0.4% to settle at 4,455, extending its gain for the � fth consecutive ses-sion. It is the highest rally since its launch in January 27, last year.

However, the blue chip compris-ing index DS30 fell slightly 5 points or 0.4% to 1,571.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Se-lective Category Index, CSCX, closed at 8,770 with a rise of over 38 points.

Participation in trading contin-ued to increase as the total DSE mar-ket turnover stood at Tk650 crore, which is 5% higher over the previ-ous session. Of the total turnover, engineering sector accounted for more than 24%.

The stock market will remain closed today because of public hol-iday on the occasion of Eid-e-Mila-

dunnabi.After soaring straight two weeks

with a side by side move, market be-haved choppy as investors’ bagged pro� t on sector speci� c stocks, said Lanka Bangla Securities in its daily market analysis.

“Index rally is mostly backed by positive move in market capitalisa-tion of banking sector.”

IDLC Investment said market took a pause, passing a � at session, as investors stood wondering at the historical high level of DSEX – about the strength of the current rally.

“Investors moved between stocks and sectors, pricing them cautiously, generating a healthy turnover.”

Engineering, fuel & power, tex-tile and pharmaceuticals remained vibrant, too, re� ecting diverse inter-est from the investors.

After remaining under pressure for long time, banks – the market’s bell-wether – posted the highest gain of 1.6%, riding on expectations of accom-modative upcoming monetary policy.

Other heavy weight sectors – telecommunications, power and � nancial institutions – ended in red on pro� t booking.

Gainers beat losers as out of 291 issues traded, 159 closed higher, 103 lower and 29 remained unchanged.

Five issues from the engineer-ing sector featured in the top ten turnover leaders, including Ben-gal Windsor Thermoplastics that topped the chart with Tk28 crore.

Other turnover leaders were Ap-pollo Ispat, Golden Son, Orion Phar-maceuticals, Olympic Industries, Bangladesh Building, Lanka Bangla Finance and Summit Purbanchol Power. l

News from trade serverGHAIL: The Company has informed that the cash dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2013 has been credited to the respective shareholders' Bank Accounts on January 09, 2014 through Bangladesh Electronic Fund Transfer Network (BEFTN) system.AFTABAUTO: The Company has informed that it has credited the bonus shares for the year ended on August 31, 2013 to the respective shareholders' BO Accounts on January 12, 2014.FUWANGFOOD: Fu-Wang Foods Ltd. has informed that the Bonus shares of the Company for the year ended 30 June 2013 have already been credited to the respective shareholders' BO Accounts on 13 January 2014.CVOPRL: CVO Petrochemical Re� nery Ltd. has informed that the Bonus shares of the Company for the year ended 30 June 2013 have already been credited through CDBL to the respective shareholders' BO

Accounts on 12 January 2014.BENGALWTL: Bengal Windsor Thermo-plastics Ltd. has informed that the Bonus shares of the Company for the year ended 30 June 2013 have already been credited through CDBL to the respective sharehold-ers' BO Accounts on 7 January 2014.RIGHT SHARE: ARAMITCEM: Subscription 23.03.2014 to 17.04.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 09.01.2014. RUPALILIFE- Subscription 06.04.2014 to 05.05.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 16.01.2014.IPO Subscription: Emerald Oil Industries Limited subscription date 06-12 January 2014, NRB upto 21 Januray 2014. At per, face value taka 10 and market lot 500. Matin Spinning Mills Limited subscription date 26-30 January 2014, NRB upto 08 Feburay 2014. @ Tk. 37/-, face value taka 10 and market lot 200.Dividend/AGM

ECABLES: 10% cash, AGM: 01.03.2014, RD: 29.12.2013. USMANIAGL: 11% Cash & 10% Stock, AGM: postponed, RD: 07.11.2013.DESCO: 10% Cash & 15% Stock, AGM: 04.01.2014, RD: 05.11.2013. ANWARGALV: 7% Case for general share-holders, AGM: 13.01.2014, RD: 11.11.2013.MPETROLEUM: 70% Cash & 20% Stock, AGM: 17.01.2014, RD: 28.11.2013. POWERGRID: 15% Cash, AGM: 25.01.2014, Time: 10:00 AM. RD: 01.12.2013.EASTRNLUB: 30% Cash, AGM: 25.01.2014, RD: 04.12.2013. JAMUNAOIL: 90% Cash & 10% Stock, AGM: 25.01.2014, RD: 04.12.2013. SAVAREFR: No dividend, AGM: 30.01.2014, RD: 19.12.2013.PADMAOIL: 90% Cash, 10% Stock, AGM: 15.02.2014, RD: 23.12.2013. SAMORITA: 30% Stock, AGM: 11.01.2014, RD: 25.11.2013.

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Daily closing

Price change

Daily opening

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

Appollo Ispat CL -N 1,826,400 70.62 11.43 39.10 3.99 37.60 39.40 37.50 38.67Bengal Windsor-N 384,904 27.54 4.46 73.60 8.24 68.00 74.60 67.20 71.56Golden Son -A 331,000 22.19 3.59 66.60 0.30 66.40 68.00 66.00 67.03UCBL - A 841,306 22.17 3.59 26.50 1.92 26.00 26.90 25.80 26.35Paramount Textile Ltd.-N 378,480 20.67 3.35 54.50 1.49 53.70 55.40 53.60 54.60BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 507,864 18.27 2.96 35.60 -2.47 36.50 37.00 32.90 35.97BD Building Systems -A 219,100 16.48 2.67 75.70 2.30 74.00 77.00 73.10 75.20Orion Pharma-N 214,820 14.10 2.28 65.80 2.17 64.40 66.20 64.70 65.64LankaBangla Fin. -A 157,659 11.95 1.94 75.70 0.13 75.60 76.80 74.80 75.82UNITED AIR-A 674,505 11.53 1.87 17.00 -0.58 17.10 17.30 16.90 17.09Olympic Ind. -A 68,250 11.40 1.85 166.10 -2.01 169.50 172.00 165.00 167.05S Purbanchol Power-N 143,510 10.31 1.67 72.40 -1.23 73.30 74.70 70.90 71.87Generation Next-A 281,780 10.25 1.66 36.40 0.28 36.30 36.80 36.10 36.36

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Daily closing

Price change

Daily opening

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

Bengal Windsor-N 3,964,804 283.97 4.36 73.80 7.27 68.80 74.80 61.20 71.62Appollo Ispat CL -N 7,099,400 274.96 4.23 39.10 3.99 37.60 39.50 37.90 38.73Golden Son -A 3,305,049 221.66 3.41 66.40 -0.30 66.60 68.10 60.00 67.07Orion Pharma-N 2,960,200 194.36 2.99 65.90 2.65 64.20 66.10 58.00 65.66Olympic Ind. -A 1,036,557 173.03 2.66 166.30 -2.06 169.80 172.00 152.60 166.93BD Building Systems -A 1,889,500 141.21 2.17 75.70 3.13 73.40 77.00 66.50 74.73LankaBangla Fin. -A 1,816,770 137.45 2.11 75.40 1.07 74.60 76.70 68.00 75.66S Purbanchol Power-N 1,842,430 132.45 2.04 72.00 -1.10 72.80 73.40 66.00 71.89UCBL - A 4,940,835 130.53 2.01 26.60 1.92 26.10 27.00 23.40 26.42Square Pharma -A 630,622 130.13 2.00 207.10 0.63 205.80 208.00 190.00 206.36IFIC Bank - A 3,312,228 116.25 1.79 35.60 4.71 34.00 35.80 31.00 35.10Paramount Textile Ltd.-N 1,965,040 106.89 1.64 54.60 2.44 53.30 58.30 48.20 54.40Delta Life Insu. -A 387,100 105.86 1.63 272.20 -0.84 274.50 279.50 271.10 273.46BSRM Steels-A 1,362,344 105.84 1.63 78.60 4.24 75.40 80.00 70.00 77.69Generation Next-A 2,886,660 104.60 1.61 36.30 0.55 36.10 36.60 33.00 36.24Grameenphone-A 493,400 102.46 1.57 205.90 -1.91 209.90 211.80 205.70 207.65Tallu Spinning -A 2,483,232 96.71 1.49 38.80 -2.51 39.80 40.20 36.00 38.94Quasem Drycells -A 2,288,606 94.34 1.45 41.90 3.97 40.30 44.00 36.30 41.22Khulna Power-A 1,681,118 92.81 1.43 55.90 2.76 54.40 56.10 49.50 55.21BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 2,393,926 85.92 1.32 35.50 -1.66 36.10 38.00 32.70 35.89

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

Sector DSE CSE TotalMillion Taka % change Million Taka % change Million Taka % change

Bank 616.54 9.48 69.61 11.26 686.15 9.63NBFI 474.24 7.29 48.29 7.81 522.52 7.33Investment 144.27 2.22 11.88 1.92 156.14 2.19Engineering 1579.40 24.27 180.05 29.12 1759.45 24.69Food & Allied 281.88 4.33 29.82 4.82 311.70 4.37Fuel & Power 682.43 10.49 46.15 7.46 728.58 10.23Jute 3.42 0.05 0.00 3.42 0.05Textile 753.53 11.58 70.92 11.47 824.44 11.57Pharma & Chemical 693.60 10.66 44.79 7.24 738.39 10.36Paper & Packaging 1.27 0.02 0.35 0.06 1.62 0.02Service 28.99 0.45 2.10 0.34 31.09 0.44Leather 118.42 1.82 13.52 2.19 131.94 1.85Ceramic 33.40 0.51 3.97 0.64 37.37 0.52Cement 218.42 3.36 11.13 1.80 229.55 3.22Information Technology 47.49 0.73 10.06 1.63 57.55 0.81General Insurance 102.20 1.57 2.58 0.42 104.78 1.47Life Insurance 323.39 4.97 16.81 2.72 340.20 4.77Telecom 156.14 2.40 11.22 1.81 167.36 2.35Travel & Leisure 100.06 1.54 14.78 2.39 114.84 1.61Miscellaneous 147.46 2.27 30.20 4.88 177.66 2.49Debenture 0.26 0.00 0.10 0.02 0.37 0.01

Weekly capital market highlightsDSE Broad Index : 4454.83404 (+) 0.38% ▲

DSE - 20 Index : 1571.09787 (-) 0.36% ▼

CSE All Share Index: 13816.6616 (+) 0.40% ▲

CSE - 30 Index : 11381.5664 (+) 0.13% ▲

CSE Selected Index : 8770.6670 (+) 0.44% ▲

DSE key features January 13, 2014Turnover (Million Taka)

6,506.80

Turnover (Volume)

144,501,232

Number of Contract 145,662

Traded Issues 291

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

140

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

136

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

15

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2m148.13

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

26.04

CSE key features January 13, 2014Turnover (Million Taka) 617.74

Turnover (Volume) 16,306,984

Number of Contract 23,129

Traded Issues 232

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

113

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

116

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

2

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,054.23

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

24.90

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

ANALYSTIndex rally is mostly backed by positive move in market capitalisation of banking sector

CSE LOSERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Prime Insur -A -7.82 -7.82 33.00 33.00 33.00 33.00 0.008 2.36 14.0Usmania Glass -Z -4.51 -4.52 135.38 135.40 136.00 135.10 0.054 5.68 23.8CVO PetroChem RL-Z -4.46 -3.97 690.99 685.60 700.00 685.20 0.511 -6.76 -veReliance Insur -A -4.11 -4.11 70.00 70.00 70.00 70.00 0.035 4.59 15.3Sinobangla Indu.-A -3.85 -2.31 32.94 32.50 34.00 32.10 4.660 0.64 51.5Aziz PipesZ -3.56 -4.49 21.25 21.70 22.30 20.80 0.089 0.59 36.0Rahima Food -Z -3.15 -6.43 73.98 73.70 75.00 73.30 0.370 -0.64 -veSamorita Hospital -A -2.61 -2.61 89.60 89.60 89.60 89.60 0.045 2.24 40.0Padma Oil Co. -A -2.50 -3.06 297.43 296.00 303.50 293.30 4.939 27.28 10.9Fu-Wang Food A -2.50 -2.69 23.52 23.40 24.00 23.00 1.872 0.76 30.9

DSE LOSERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Reliance Insur -A -5.74 -4.29 77.28 77.20 81.00 75.30 0.511 4.59 16.8Meghna PET Ind. -Z -5.38 -9.25 8.83 8.80 9.10 8.60 0.459 -0.52 -veMidas Financing-Z -4.93 -4.47 32.72 32.80 33.50 32.00 0.182 -2.48 -veRahima Food -Z -4.40 -5.04 75.04 73.80 80.00 73.00 8.705 -0.64 -veSinobangla Indu.-A -3.86 -2.58 32.91 32.40 34.00 32.00 10.713 0.64 51.4EBL NRB M.F.-A -3.57 -2.64 8.10 8.10 8.10 8.00 0.008 0.40 20.3Prime Bank 1st MF-A -3.51 -1.78 5.51 5.50 5.60 5.50 2.010 0.76 7.3Eastern InsurA -3.36 -1.55 37.59 37.40 38.70 35.00 0.934 2.60 14.5BD. Autocars -Z -3.34 -3.58 29.11 28.90 29.90 27.10 0.273 -0.56 -ve

CSE GAINERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

AramitCementA 9.93 9.93 64.20 64.20 64.20 64.20 0.995 1.16 55.3Kay & Que (BD) -Z 8.89 3.32 19.63 19.60 19.80 19.40 0.147 -0.89 -veBengal Windsor-N 8.24 4.71 71.56 73.60 74.60 67.20 27.544 4.52 15.8Delta Brac HFCL-A 6.93 9.82 70.22 71.00 73.00 70.90 8.802 4.72 14.9BATBCL -A 6.25 6.25 1700.00 1700.00 1700.00 1700.00 0.170 76.51 22.2Asia Pasi� c Insu. -A 6.13 5.23 32.62 32.90 32.90 31.60 0.082 2.67 12.2PrimeFin. 1st MF-A 6.10 7.50 26.53 26.10 27.00 25.20 1.539 1.00 26.5MBL 1st M. F.-A 5.97 4.33 6.99 7.10 7.10 6.80 0.171 1.48 4.7PragatiLife Insu. -A 5.94 5.92 167.56 167.60 172.00 167.00 3.435 2.38 70.4Padma Islami Life*-N 5.91 4.31 65.32 66.30 66.50 63.40 1.117 1.10 59.4

DSE GAINERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Renwick Jajneswar-A 10.55 8.09 157.61 160.30 160.30 148.90 8.637 4.92 32.0PragatiLife Insu. -A 9.94 12.39 175.70 183.60 184.00 167.30 54.726 2.38 73.8AramitCementA 9.91 9.91 64.30 64.30 64.30 64.30 37.744 1.16 55.4Savar Refractories-Z 9.45 9.93 65.96 66.00 66.30 65.00 0.155 0.40 164.9Bengal Windsor-N 7.27 5.20 71.62 73.80 74.80 61.20 283.967 4.52 15.8Rupali Life Insur.-A 6.39 5.59 127.22 129.80 131.70 112.00 63.646 5.33 23.9Imam Button -Z 5.56 4.71 9.34 9.50 9.60 9.00 1.270 -2.20 -vePrimeFin. 1st MF-A 5.28 4.16 25.80 25.90 26.60 24.60 29.991 1.00 25.8Sun Life Insurance-N 5.00 4.49 62.82 63.00 65.00 57.00 29.572 0.00 -BATBCL -A 4.91 (3.38) 1,690.26 1,720.50 1,729.00 1,650.00 6.592 76.51 22.1

'Investors moved between stocks and sectors, pricing them cautiously, generating a healthy turnover'

OECD sees growth � rming on improving euro zone outlookn Reuters

The outlook for advanced economies is improving as momentum shifts up a gear in the crisis-weary euro zone, the OECD’s monthly leading indicator showed yesterday.

The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Develop-ment said its leading indicator cover-ing 33 member countries pointed to growth � rming, reaching its highest level since March 2011.

The indicator, meant to � ag early signals of turning points in econom-ic activity, rose to 100.9 in November from 100.7 in October, moving further above the long-term average of 100.

The euro area saw a “positive change in momentum”, the OECD said, with its reading rising to 101 from 100.8 showing improvements in the out-looks for the three biggest economies - Germany, France and Italy.

Meanwhile, growth continued to � rm in the United States with the read-ing for the world’s biggest economy rising to 101 from 100.9 in October.

Likewise, the Japanese economy, boosted by a huge infusion of central

bank stimulus last year, also saw an improvement with its reading reaching 101.4 after 101.2 in October.

The outlook was more mixed for major emerging market economies with Chi-na seeing a “tentative positive change in momentum” as its reading ticked up to 99.4 from 99.3.

In India, the OECD said growth was below trend with its indicator unchanged at 97.5 while growth was around its long-term trend in Russia at 99.6 for the third month in a row. l

B3BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 14, 2014

IDLC Finance raises syndication � nancing for Tradexcel Auto BricksIDLC Finance Limited has arranged a syndication loan facility of Tk 390mn for Tradexcel Auto Bricks Limited to set up an energy e� cient ‘Tunnel Kiln’ brick project in Gazipur. The project will generate 30mn bricks a year.

The loan & security agreement was signed by Tradexcel Auto Bricks and

IDLC Finance (the lead arranger) and other � nancial institutions on success-ful � nancial closure of the syndication at a local hotel recently.

The syndication lenders comprised of Trust Bank Ltd, IDLC Finance Ltd and Uttara Finance and Investments Ltd. l

Islami Bank receives partronage awardIslami Bank Bangladesh Limited was awarded the best patron prize for its outstanding contribution to the coun-try’s sports sector. Bangladesh Sports Press Association conferred the prize at a function held at National Sports Council Auditorium on 11 January 2014. Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, Speaker of National Parliament hand-

ed over the crest and certi� cate of the award to Md. Ataur Rahman, Execu-tive Vice President of the Bank. Prof. AAMS Are� n Siddique, Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University, Md. Hasan Ullah Khan Rana and Mostafa Mamun, Presi-dent and General Secretary respective-ly of Bangladesh Sports Press Associ-ation were present on the occasion. l

EXIM Bank Managing Director and CEO Dr Mohammed Haider Ali Miah is inaugurating the ATM Booth at Dhaka International Trade Fare on January 12. Deputy Managing Director Md Sirajul Islam, Sirajul Haque Miah, Khondoker Rumy Ehsanul Haq and top executives of the head o� ce are also seen in the picture. The Booth will remain there until the fair ends and visitors can withdraw their money from this booth

Hamdard celebrates Shaheed Hakim Mohammad Said's 94th birthday Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Bangla-desh (HBL) held a discussion and doa mah� l at Hamdard Bhaban in the cap-ital recently, marking the 94th birth-day of Shaheed Hakim Mohammad Said. Chief Motuwalli and Managing Director Dr Hakim Md Yousuf Haroon Bhuiyan presided over the programme and Hamdard University Bangladesh Vice Chancellor Dr M Moshiuzzaman was present at the function as the chief guest. l

Social Islami Bank Limited (SIBL) Board of Directors Chairman Major (Retd) Dr Md Rezaul Haque delivering his speech at the Business Review Meeting of Managers of SIBL, held at the corporate o� ce recently. Managing Director Md Sha� qur Rahman is also seen

DIU gives free laptop to studentsDa� odil International University (DIU) distributed 520 Laptop at free of cost among the students in the eighth phase of its Laptop Project at the DIU Auditorium recently. DIU Founder Vice Chancellor and Emeritus Profes-sor Dr Aminul Islam was present on the Laptop Distribution Programme as the chief guest. Presided over by the Registrar Dr Engr A K M Fazlul Hoque, the function was also addressed by Humanities and Social Science Faculty Dean Dr M Golam Rahman, Control-ler of Examinations Dr Golam Maowla Choudhury, Director (Student A� airs) Syed Mizanur Rahman and Sr Accounts O� cer Md Mohin Chowdhury. l

Bengal Windsor top traded stockat DSEn Tribune Business Desk

Bengal Windsor Thermoplastics Lim-ited was the most traded scripts at the Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday.

Its shares worth Tk28.37 crore was changed hands, contributing 4.4% of the total trades. The company’s share prices surged 8.5% to close at Tk73.8 each, which is its highest price lev-el since its listing with the country’s twine bourses.

Listed in 2013, the engineering com-pany last week announced that it has credited 8% bonus shares for the year ended on June 30, 2013 to the respec-tive shareholders’ bene� ciary owner account. Earlier, the company had proposed 14% cash dividend and 8% bonus shares for last year.

The � rst quarter net pro� t of the company was Tk8.51 crore, up by al-most 33% in the same period a year ago, according to its unaudited quarterly re-ports ended on September, 2013.

Unaudited quarterly � nancial state-ments showed that increase in revenue has pushed up the company’s pro� t-ability.

In the annual report, total sales during 2012-2013 stood at Tk87.9 crore against Tk79.5 crore in 2011-2012, which result-ed in net pro� t after tax of Tk23.8 crore in 2012-2013 against Tk19.4 crore in 2011-2012. According to DSE, the com-pany has a restated net asset value per share of Tk24.29 as of 2013. l

Dollar pressured after lacklustre US jobs datan AFP, Singapore

The dollar faced fresh pressure in Asian trade yesterday as lacklustre US jobs data fuelled speculation about the Federal Reserve’s plans to wind down its stimulus programme.

The euro bought $1.3677 in afternoon Singapore trade from $1.3666 in New York on Friday. The greenback eased to 103.47 yen from 104.15 yen. The euro bought 141.52 yen from 142.33 yen.

Japanese � nancial markets were closed for a public holiday.

The greenback’s losses extended those seen in New York on Friday after data from the US Labour Department showed the economy added a mere 74,000 jobs in December, well below the consensus estimate of 197,000.

The unemployment rate dropped to 6.7%, from 7% in November, although that was mostly because more people had given up looking for work.

The Fed last month said it would cut its monthly bond purchases by $10bn to $75bn in January as the economy shows signs of strengthening and the unem-ployment rate falls. Analysts were ea-gerly awaiting the jobs numbers as they were seen to likely in� uence whether further cuts would follow swiftly.

“The dollar traded much lower against all majors following the ap-palling jobs report,” Desmond Chua, market analyst at CMC Markets in Sin-gapore, wrote in a note.

He said the dollar was likely to re-main pressured below the $105.30 yen level owing to “the outlook in the US

looking slightly bleak before US con-sumer con� dence and retail sales data later this week”.

However, French bank Credit Agri-cole said the jobs data was not likely to alter the Fed’s plan to continue with its so-called “tapering”.

“Adverse weather may have played a

role in the weakness, while complicating matters was the drop in the unemploy-ment rate to 6.7% largely due to people leaving the jobs market,” it said in a note.

The lender said the euro faced downside risks after European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi last week said the ECB governing council had discussed using “all eligible in-struments allowed by the (EU) treaty” if in� ation in the 18-nation economic bloc continues to fall.

“From that angle it cannot be ruled out that more aggressive policy action such as quantitative easing will be con-sidered if monetary conditions tighten further,” Credit Agricole said.

The greenback was mostly lower against other Asia-Paci� c currencies.

It eased to Tw$29.96 from Tw$30.02 in Tokyo on Friday, to 12,043 Indone-sian rupiah from 12,198 rupiah, to Sg$1.2647 from Sg$1.2693, and to 44.57 Philippine pesos from 44.70 pesos.

It also eased to 1,056.80 South Kore-an won from 1,061.50 won, and to 61.54 Indian rupees from 61.92 rupees. It rose to 33.03 Thai baht from 33.00 baht.

The Australian dollar edged up to 90.31 US cents from 88.99 cents, while the Chinese yuan was at 17.12 yen against 17.30 yen. l

India’s Tata launches new Nano with power steeringn AFP, Mumbai

India’s struggling Tata Nano, launched in 2009 as the world’s cheapest car, unveiled a new, pricier variant of the jelly-bean shaped car on Monday fea-turing power-steering in a bid to boost � agging sales.

The latest model, called Nano Twist, targets young people. It has power steering along with remote key-less entry, a four-speaker music system with bluetooth and a higher ground clearance for rough terrain. Ranjit Yadav, president, passenger vehicles business, Tata Motors, said the car was “loaded with trendy features” to make it a “smart city car to hang out with”.

When Tata Motors - part of India’s giant Tata group - launched the Nano in 2009, analysts said it would revolu-tionise how millions in India travelled.

But after poor sales in recent years, it become clear the car’s unique selling point - its price - had back� red as aspira-tional Indians shied away from buying a vehicle tagged the world’s cheapest.

Tata Motors - part of the tea-to-steel Tata conglomerate - has been seeking to reposition the car in the market by adding features and making it trendier.

In December, Tata Motors sold just 554 Nano cars, down 75% from 2,202 cars a year earlier. Tata Motors o� cials on Monday said some 45% of Nano drivers are between 18 and 34.

The Tata group’s former chairman Ratan Tata said shortly before his re-tirement in December 2012 it had been a mistake to market the Nano merely on its low-price, saying “various stig-mas have been attached to it”. l

The � rst quarter net pro� t of the company was Tk8.51 crore, up by almost 33% in the same period a year ago, according to its unaudited quarterly reports ended on September, 2013

Airbus beats Boeing with record sales in 2013n AFP, Toulouse

European aircraft maker Airbus beat US rival Boeing with record sales and or-ders last year but came second in terms of � nished airliners delivered, � gures from the company showed yesterday.

Airbus said that in 2013 it took 1,503 net orders, allowing for cancellations. This compares with 1,355 orders taken by Boeing. Total orders taken by Airbus is a record for the whole industry.

Airbus also said that at the end of last year it had record orders to build 5,559 aircraft, equivalent to eight years of pro-duction. Results published by Boeing on January 6 showed that the US � rm had a total order book for 5,080 aircraft.

However, last year Airbus delivered 626 planes, far behind Boeing which delivered 648 aircraft. In 2012, Boeing had beaten Airbus in terms of orders and deliveries. The chief executive of Airbus, Fabrice Bregier, said that the company was considering increasing production of its best-selling plane, the Airbus A320 which is popular with low-cost airlines, to satisfy global demand for medium-range aircraft.

“If the market remains positive, if the customer needs more aircraft, I think we would be silly not to ramp up again,” he told journalists shortly before the com-pany published its annual results. l

In India, the OECD said growth was below trend with its indicator unchanged at 97.5 while growth was around its long-term trend in Russia at 99.6 for the third month in a row

Labourers unload goods from a trailer at a port in Kolkata. India's trade de� cit widened in December on slowing export growth which could pose pressure on the country's fragile current account balance REUTERS

B4 BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, January 14, 2014

ECB’s Draghi wins new central bank governor’s awardEuropean Central Bank Governor Ma-rio Draghi has won the inaugural Gov-ernor of the Year award for 2014 from specialist publication Central Banking, the London-based media group said yesterday. Draghi’s leadership helped restore con� dence in crisis-hit Europe, Central Banking said, without naming any runners-up. – Reuters

Europe banks cheer easing in leverage rules, shares rallyDeutsche Bank and Barclays led European bank stocks yesterday to their highest for nearly three years after regulators watered down new rules aimed at strengthening banks but which could have limited their ability to lend. Sunday’s decision by the world’s top central bankers was aimed at trying to avoid restricting � nancing for the global economy, and was seen as a positive for banks, especially those with big investment banking arms. – Reuters

UAE sees keen interest for largest oilfields on revised terms - ministerAbu Dhabi has received strong interest from international � rms for participating in its largest oil� elds, the UAE oil minister said, as it weighs continuing previous partnerships with Western oil giants or letting big Asian buyers take stakes. – Reuters

India seeking long-term oil supply contract with Canada - ministerIndia is seeking a long-term oil supply contract with Canada, oil minister Veerappa Moily said yesterday. In November, Indian Oil Corp, the country’s largest re� ner, became the � rst state re� ner to buy Canadian oil, joining private re� ners Reliance Industries and Essar Oil. – Reuters

New Acer CEO disappoints with lack of detail on future plansInvestors looking for speci� cs as to the future of Acer Inc, the world’s No 4 PC vendor, came away disappoint-ed when the new CEO spent more time delivering a history of the com-pany’s past mistakes than on where it was headed. – Reuters

BMW keeps luxury sales crown as Audi, Mercedes catch upBMW posted the smallest gain in De-cember sales of Germany’s top three premium-car brands as the battle with Audi and Mercedes-Benz for the luxu-ry-sales crown is heating up. – Reuters

NEWS IN BRIEF

Political stability is a must for rebuilding buyers’ con� denceHarsh political programmes such as hartals and blockades should be stopped. If political violence cannot be avoided, the whole economy especially the export sector will face the dire consequencesn Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Bangladesh needs to ensure its polit-ical stability for creating a congenial atmosphere to rebuild the global buy-ers’ con� dence for the sake of main-taining a sustainable export growth trend in the coming days, Abdus Salam Murshedy, veteran footballer turn businessmen and also the president of Bangladesh Exporters Association (EAB) told the Dhaka Tribune in an ex-clusive interview.

How can Bangladesh rebuild buyers’ confidence?Well, globally reputed brands have chosen Bangladesh as a destination for RMG outsourcing since long. In fact, buyers started to raise questions in re-cent times just after Rana Plaza collapse, which had claimed over 1100 lives.

Following several others factory disasters, the buyers � nally expressed their grave concern over the working conditions and � re safety issues.

Apart from that, the recent ongoing political unrests have further deepen the existing crisis as the whole supply chain has been disrupted in the wake of frequent calls for blockades and har-tals. As a result, the global buyers have also been confused and worried about the shipment of their products as per schedule.

Under such a circumstance, I think Bangladesh needs to ensure political stability at least for one year, so we can rebuild con� dence global buyers’ for continuing sustainable export growth trend.

What are the major challenges before Bangladesh to maintain export growth?For maintaining export growth and also for reaching a sustainable level, manufacturers have to enhance pro-

duction capacity through their produc-tion engineering. If we do not start our production engineering right now, we won’t be able to increase our produc-tion level as per the growing demand.

The government should provide utility support including new gas and electricity connection outside Dhaka city for opening new factories to gen-erate new production. As a good num-ber of RMG factories will have to be relocated outside the capital after the inspection by Accord and Alliance and to continue the production of those factories, the newly set up factories need gas and electricity connection on priority basis. If the government fails to provide utility services to those relocated factories, a huge number of RMG workers would be unemployed as a consequence.

What should we do to explore new markets?

If we want to explore new markets, we need cooperation from the govern-ment. It would be really di� cult for us to explore our new venues if there have been no foreign mission in the desired countries.

It is important to set up more Ban-gladeshi missions or even consulates with the trained and knowledgeable persons on Bangladeshi export prod-ucts, so they can display our products in di� erent exhibitions to attract the buyers in the non-traditional markets. The government should also increase cash incentive to 5% from the existing 2% and to continue it for more years to boost the exporters to explore more new markets.

What would you suggest to the government and the opposition political parties for ensuring smooth transportation to meet the lead time?First of all, harsh political programmes

such as hartals and blockades should be stopped. If political violence cannot be avoided, the whole economy espe-cially the export sector will face the dire consequences.

During hartal and blockades pro-

grammes, the country’s business came to a complete halt as transpor-tation system collapsed, suspending import-export supply chain. In recent times, we have seen that RMG laden vehicles were burnt.

Will Pangao Sea Port bring any benefit to exporters?O� course, we will be bene� tted from this port. But it is important to ensure e� ective use of the port. It needs to be

time-bound and cost-e� ective; other-wise people would not show interest to use the port.

Does devaluation of Indian Rupee cast any impact on Bangladesh exports?Country’s export sector, especially RMG, jute and ceramic sector will be af-fected by the devaluation of Indian ru-pee against US dollar, as prices of Ban-gladesh and India already came to the same level, even to some extent below.

In order to avert negative impact of the devaluation of rupees, we have already demanded special dollar rates for the exporters on behalf of the RMG sector. On the other hand, India is going to get the GSP facilities, which would be a big blow for us.

What Bangladesh should introduce to ship products quickly?Being a developing industrial country, there is no alternative to the deep sea port to cope with our tougher compet-itors as shipment of products has be-come a major concern for us.

We are to ship our products via an-other deep sea port, which takes 15 to 20 days in a shipment period. Against such backdrop, Mongla Sea Port can be converted into deep sea port to meet the real time shipment deadline set by our clients.

What is the prospect of the apparel industry in the year 2014?The New Year 2014 would be a chal-lenging transitional period for the gar-ment sector as we have to go through scanning by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Accord and Alli-ance to ensure � re and building safety in the work place.

Though it might be a very tough time for us to face the challenges ahead, we do hope to get this sector a compliant one in 2014. l

Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Exporters Association speaks to Dhaka Tribune TAHMIDUR RAHMAN

ADB: China and Japan should tackle pollution togethern AFP, Hong Kong

China and Japan should put aside their diplomatic di� erences and � nd com-mon ground in protecting the environ-ment, the Asian Development Bank said yesterday.

Takehiko Nakao, ADB’s president, said China could learn from Japan’s historical record in cleaning up its once heavily polluted environment.

“The area of environment is a good area of cooperation between these two countries,” he told AFP in Hong Kong where he was visiting for the Asian Fi-nancial Forum.

“Japan had serious air and water pollution in the late 1960s and in the 1970s and there were so many laws en-acted and there were so many actions taken,” Nakao said, adding that China could learn from Japan’s experience.

Though China’s economy is one of the fastest growing in the world, it is plagued by major environmental prob-lems associated with the pace of its in-dustrial growth.

Dense, acrid smog shrouded Chi-na’s commercial hub Shanghai and other eastern cities last month, delay-ing � ights and spurring sales of face masks.

And levels of PM 2.5 - tiny particles considered particularly hazardous to health - hit as high as 24 times the World Health Organization’s safety guidelines.

Nakao said Japan could share its green expertise with China such as renewable energy technologies and innovations in low-emission hybrid vehicles.

He also said Chinese o� cials were very serious about the country’s envi-

ronmental issues, but urged swift im-plementation of regulations to lower pollution.

Asia’s economy “cannot be sus-tained,” Nakao warned, if nothing is done to address the problem of pollu-tion.

Diplomatic relations between To-kyo and Beijing cooled in 2012 in the wake of a dispute over an East China Sea island chain.

The Manila-based ADB in Octo-ber urged the two nations, along with neighbours South Korea and Mongolia, to set up a climate research network and an emissions trading scheme.

A carbon trading market could see the countries hit their greenhouse gas emission targets at a “signi� cantly lower cost than acting alone”, it said at the time.

As an export-oriented industri-

al powerhouse, the East Asia region accounts for 30% of the world’s total energy-related greenhouse gas emis-sions, the bank said.

Beijing, whose population tops 20 million, launched a lottery system in 2011 for an annual maximum of 240,000 car registrations to curb pol-lution.

Tianjin, a coastal city near Beijing with 14 million people and 2.36 million registered motor vehicles last year, said last month it will cap new car plates to 100,000 a year.

Founded in 1966, the ADB issimilar to the World Bank, and aims to reduce poverty in Asia by helpingits 67 member countries evolve into modern economies through invest-ment in infrastructure, � nancial and public administration, and health ser-vices. l

An elderly exercises in the morning as he faces chimneys emitting smoke behind buildings across the Songhua river REUTERS

Oil market slides on Iran newsn AFP, London

Global oil prices fell yesterday follow-ing news that a landmark deal to curb parts of Iran’s disputed nuclear pro-gramme in exchange for sanctions re-lief will take e� ect from January 20.

New York’s main contract West Tex-as Intermediate for February delivery lost 61 cents to $92.11 a barrel.

Brent North crude for February dipped 64 cents to stand at $106.60 in London.

“Prices have softened slightly this morning as progress on a deal regard-ing Iran’s nuclear programme sets the stage for easing sanctions which could boost supply,” said Sucden brokers an-alyst Kash Kamal.

US President Barack Obama wel-comed the announcement, but warned there was still a rough road ahead to clinch a comprehensive deal.

Obama added that he would veto any attempt by Congress to impose new sanctions on Iran during the next phase of negotiations.

“This is bearish for oil as we may see some oil sanctions lifted if the deal goes well,” added Inenco analyst Lucy Sidebotham.

The Islamic republic’s oil exports have been crippled by a series of inter-national sanctions aimed at bringing an end to its nuclear drive, which the West claims is being used to develop atomic weapons. Iran denies the assertion.

Tehran agreed in November to roll back parts of its nuclear work and halt further advances in exchange for the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets and limited relief from sanctions that have choked its economy.

The oil market also fell on Monday as traders continued to digest last Fri-day’s weaker-than-expected non-farm payrolls data in top crude consumer the United States.

The US government’s Labour De-partment said Friday that the world’s biggest economy added just 74,000 jobs in December. That dashed market hopes for a gain of 197,000.

While the jobs data was weaker than expected, it could also prompt the Fed-eral Reserve to delay any further re-duction in its stimulus programme at its next meeting later this month.

At its most recent meeting inDecember the bank’s policy com-mittee said it would cut its bond-buying scheme by $10bn a month to $75bn in January, citing a pick-up in the economy.

Any delay to the tapering would put downward pressure on the US curren-cy and make dollar-priced oil cheaper, boosting demand and prices. l