SECOND EDITION

PAGE 3Democratic governance to feature in the upcoming JEC meeting

PAGE 5Minister: Rampal protesters lack info

PAGE 32 Saudi Shiites de� ant after 5 killed in ‘IS shooting’

PAGE 7 Delhi crowds lambast police over toddler rape

PAGE 410MW solar power plant planned at Monpura

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015 | Kartik 3, 1422, Moharram 4, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 182 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

KSA SENDS BACK UNSKILLED WORKERS PAGE 32

IMRAN GETS DEATH THREAT PAGE 3

BGMEA BLAMES BUYERS FOR UNETHICAL PRICE CUT PAGE 15

Another JMBman confessesin mugging casen FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong

Another member of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) confessed before a Chit-tagong court yesterday to being involved in a mugging incident in Sadarghat, Chittagong last month.

Chittagong Metropolitan Magistrate Abdul Kader recorded the confessional statement of Minhajul Islam Sajid, 24, following which

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

JMB killed a dozen religious scholars in two yearsn Mohammad Jamil Khan

Members of banned militant out� t Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), who were unpopular for systematic attacks on secular groups and individuals a decade ago, have now resorted to targeted killings, detectives said yesterday.

In the last two years, they killed at least 13 religious scholars, pirs and shrine followers across the country by forming a number of small units of sleeper cells, a high o� cial of the Detective Branch of police told the Dhaka Tribune.

JMB leader Faruq is the leader of the wing that carry out the attacks. He also led the snatching of three JMB men from a police van last year. Detectives said that Faruq might have left the country with absconding JMB leaders Boma Mizan and Salehin.

Involvement of the militant leader in the recent killings have been found during in-terrogation of its detained organiser Tariqul Islam Mithu. He was held in connection with the murder of former Power Development Board Khijir Khan.

Mithu told the investigators that he and six other JMB members had taken part in the kill-ing of Khijir, a spiritual leader.

“It is our religious responsibility to not ask the identities of the other members of the team. We met just a couple of hours before the

murder. But I will be able to recognise them if they are produced before me,” an o� cial of DB police said requesting not to be named.

Khijir Khan was slaughtered on October 5

by unidenti� ed assailants at his residence in the capital’s Badda area. The police have so far arrested two people in the killing, one of who directly slaughtered Khijir and a driver.

Mahfuzul Islam, additional deputy com-missioner of DB police, said: “We are trying to � nd out Mithu’s associates by analysing the information he provided.”

The JMB, formed in 1998 mostly with former Jamaat-e-Islami men aiming at establishing Islamic rule in the country, was banned on February 23, 2005 along with its sister concern JMJB. Both the founders were executed in 2007. The law enforcers found that all the extremist groups were working together since last year as their aim is the same.

According to the detectives, JMB’s sleeper cell members are using machete and knives to kill their targeted people rather than using � rearms and bombs as they believe slaugh-tering people is a precious work. The out� t is also collecting funds by conducting robbery to run their activities.

During the murder of Khijir Khan on Oc-tober 5, the killers though that he had a large amount of cash and properties in his house.

DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said that the JMB men consider worshipping mazars and pirs as a bad work.

Police also recovered a small piece of paper from Mithu’s possession where the name of another pir was found.

According to the investigators, the JMB men are now operating their activities in at least 12 regional groups. When they need

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Nasrul: Fresh tender to be � oated for o� shore 2D seismic surveyn Aminur Rahman Rasel

The government has decided to invite fresh bidding for 2D multi-client seismic survey for o� shore hydrocarbon hunt.

Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, made the dis-closure to journalists in a programme at the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity yesterday.

“After receiving some instructions from the Prime Minister’s O� ce, we are going to have a

fresh bidding for 2D multi-client seismic sur-vey,” Nasrul said in reply to questions during yesterday’s Meet the Reporters programme.

However, the government has yet to o� -cially make it clear whether it is cancelling the previous bidding for which interested compa-nies dropped proposals in March.

Sector insiders say that this might delay the exploration and extraction of oil and gas in the country’s o� shore areas. They also said that lack of guidance of decision-makers in ap-

pointing a selected surveyor had slowed down the momentum of the government initiative.

The government received tender proposals in March this year, but has since failed to award the survey contract to any of the bidders.

In April, a government evaluation commit-tee recommended that the Energy and Miner-al Resources Division signed a deal with Nor-way-US joint venture company TGS-NOPEC and Schlumberger to conduct the survey.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

19982002

2004

2005

20052007

2013

2014

2014

2015

2015

20042005

JMB, JMJB formed

Mymensingh cinemahall blasts

Attack onProf Humayun

Azad

JMB, JMJBkill 24in Rajshahi

Series bombblasts in

63 districts

Murder of twoJhalakathi judges

Jhalakathi public prosecutor killed

Murder of Taibur Rahmanand his son in Khulna,

Gopibagh six murders

Snatchingof three

militants

Nurul IslamFaruqimurder

Murder ofLengta Fakir,his follower

Attempted murderof priest Luke Sarker

JMB ATTACKS: 1998-2015

ASMAUL HOQUE MAMUN/DT INFOGRAPHIC

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015News2DT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Nasrul: Fresh tenderUS-based Geotrace came out second in that evaluation.

After evaluation, state-run oil company Petrobangla sent its o� ers to the Energy Di-vision for the next step. Attaching its own re-view with the Petrobangla o� ers, the Energy Division forwarded the relevant � les to the Prime Minister’s O� ce (PMO).

Sensing that they may lose the race, some bidders then allegedly tried to in� uence the process by lodging complaints with the PMO to disrupt a fair evaluation.

According to the Petrobangla plan, the successful contractor would get two years to complete the survey.

There are great potentials for � nding hy-drocarbons in Bangladesh’s maritime territo-ry considering that both India and Myanmar have discovered remarkable gas reserves in the Bay of Bengal. l

JMB killed a dozento contact each other they use code language and never disclose the names to others.

On September 4, a JMB member killed Chittagong’s Lengta Fakir (naked saint) Rah-matullah and his associate Khadem Abdul Kader at the mazar in Bayezid area. Police have arrested � ve JMB members for their in-volvement in the killings.

On October 5, JMB men tried to kill Chris-tian priest Luke Sarker in Pabna. Police ar-rested four JMB members for the attempted murder and they also confessed to their in-volvement.

On December 21, 2013, pir Lutfar Rahman and � ve others were killed by the JMB men in the capital’s Gopibagh area. Presenter of Islamic programmes and Ahle Sunnat leader Nurul Islam Faruqi was killed in the capital’s Rajarbagh area on August 27 last year.

On August 8, 2013, religious leader Tai-bur Rahman and his son Namum Manir were slaughtered in Khulna.

Monirul Islam, also the chief of DB police, suspects that the same JMB group was behind the Gopibagh and Rajarbagh killings. “We are hopeful to glean clues from Mithu during in-terrogation. We will also present four other JMB leaders in front of him for identi� cation,” he added. l

Another JMB man confesses in mugging caseSajid was sent to jail, said Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Kazi Muttaki Ibn Minan of Chittagong Metropolitan Police.

Sajid was produced before the court around 3:30pm, and the session ended at 6:30pm, the police o� cial told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Sajid admitted that he was actively in-volved in the mugging case saying that the operation had been conducted in a bid to col-lect fund for the militant group and carry out the expense of the organisational activities.

“A member named Rubel trained JMB ac-tivists in arms before the mugging operation and they conducted it from a business farm at Sadarghat,” the ADC said.

Police sought remand for Sajid yesterday, but the court scheduled the hearing of the remand petition tomorrow [today] and sent

him to jail.Sajid was arrested early yesterday by a

team of detectives led by ADC Babul Akhtar on a tip-o� in Nagarpur area, Tangail for his alleged involvement in the September 23 mugging incident.

On September 23, a team of JMB activists blasted several grenades while mugging a local businessman named Satya Gopal in Ma-jirghat area of Sadarghat, which killed two JMB men.

During investigation of the bomb blast, police found JMB’s involvement and arrested � ve JMB members including Tow� qul Islam Javed, 22, head of the out� t’s explosive wing in Chittagong, in the city’s Khoyajnagar area on October 5. Police also found nine hand-made grenades, ammunitions and a massive amount of explosives in his possession.

A team of Detective Branch took Javed along to a raid for arms recovery in the city’s Oxygen area, where Javed was killed in a gre-nade explosion.

The rest of the arrested activists confessed during initial interrogation that eight of their members had conducted the mugging in Sa-darghat area, where they snatched Tk5.40 lakh away from Satya Gopal, manager at Shah Corporation, and left him critically injured, who later died.

During the mugging operation, they blast-ed grenade in a bid to show their strength, but ended up accidentally killing their two fellow militants – Rabiul and Ra� q – on the spot, they said.

The detainees also confessed to being in-volved in the dounble burder at a shrine in Bayezid area on September 4. l

A girl sells stacks of water lily at Kushtia Court Railway Station. Known as Shapla in Bangla, the � ower is used as a vegetable as well, many consume it as a curry in the country SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Hindus begin Durga Puja celebrations today n Tribune Report

Durga Puja, biggest religious festival of the Hindu community, begins with the incarna-tion (Bodhon) of the Goddess Durga at tem-ples across the country today.

Centring the festival, devotees and artisans are busy taking last moment preparations and tastefully decorating the temples and man-daps across the country, reports the BSS.

Kajal Debnath, president of the central committee of Bangladesh Puja Ujjapan Pari-shad, told the BSS that a total of 29,074 man-daps have been erected across the country – 223 in the capital alone – this year to celebrate Durga Puja.

The � ve-day festival starts with “Bodhon” of the Goddess Durga while “Amontron” (Wel-come) and “Adhibas” (Dwelling) of the god-dess will be held today, marking the Shashthi.

The Mohasaptami puja will be held on Tuesday, Mohashtami and Kumari Puja on Wednesday, and Mohanabami Puja and Bijoya Dashami on Thursday.

As the Mohanabami and Bijoya Dashami this year are on the same day, there would be Darpan Bisharjan of the goddess on Thursday and immersion of the goddess the following day on Friday.

In separate messages, President Md Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and leader of the opposition Begum Raushan Er-shad conveyed greetings to the members of the country’s Hindu community marking the festival.

Security has been beefed up in the Puja pan-dals throughout the country including the cap-ital with the deployment of additional squads of Ansars, police, RAB and other law enforcers for peaceful celebration of the festival. l

PM releases postage stamp marking 40 yrs of Sino-Bangla tiesn UNB

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday for-mally released a commemorative postage stamp, a � rst day cover and a data card, on the occasion of 40th anniversary of diplomat-ic ties between Bangladesh and China.

The postage stamp and the � rst day cover is of Tk10 denomination each while the data card is of Tk5 denomination. A special cancel-ler was used on the occasion.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, State

Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim, acting foreign secretary Rear Admiral (retd) Md Khurshid Alam and Chi-nese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ma Ming-qiang were present among others.

The postage stamp, the � rst day cover and the data card is available at the Philatelic Bu-reau of Dhaka GPO, while they will be availa-ble at other GPOs and head post o� ces across the country later. There is an arrangement for a special canceller at four GPOs for using it on the � rst day cover. l

BSF picks up two Bangladeshisn UNB

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) picked up two Bangladeshi nationals from Shamserna-gar border in Patgram upazila of Lalmonirhat district early yesterday.

The Bangladeshis were identi� ed as Abdur

Rashid, 35, and Liton Miah, 33, both residents of Danga village in Patgram. A patrol team of 35 BSF Battalion of Buraburi camp detained them as they went to the border area to bring their cattle in the morning, said Lt Colonel Ahmed Bazlur Rahman Hayati, commanding o� cer of 15 BGB Battalion. l

10 injured inBCL-PCP clashn UNB

At least 10 students were injured as Bangla-desh Chhatra League activists attacked mem-bers of Pahari Chhatra Parishad on Rangamati College campus yesterday.

The PCP activists brought out a procession and held a rally on the campus at noon pro-testing against the government’s move to set up Rangamati Medical College and Rangamati Science and Technology University.

After the programme, two PCP activists were harassed by some Chhatra League mem-bers on the campus. As a sequel to the incident, activists of the two organisations locked in an altercation. They chased and counter-chased each other for about one and a half hours in College Gate, Kalyanpur and TTC areas.

On information, police rushed to the spot and � red teargas canisters as well as several rounds of bullets from shotgun. Later, the ac-tivists of both the organisations took position on two sides of the law enforcers and created barricades on the road, leading to the suspen-sion of vehicular movement for four hours. l

News 3D

TSUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

Imran gets death threatn Mohammad Jamil Khan

A man, identifying himself as a member of Is-lamic State of Bangladesh, has threatened to kill Gonojagoron Moncho spokesperson Im-ran H Sarker.

Araf Al-Islam threatened by saying that Imran would be killed like the two foreign na-tionals, who had been murdered in Dhaka and Rangpur in late September and early October.

Imran, on his o� cial Facebook page, wrote yesterday noon that he had contacted the of-� cer-in-charge of Shahbagh police station af-ter he had been threatened.

“I will � le a general diary with the police station in the evening seeking security. I do not fear such threats and the people who are doing this are the enemies of the state,” his status read.

He said those who had threatened him should be identi� ed and subjected to punishment.

“I am respectful of law and also urge all in the society to get ready and take preparations for � ghting such extremist groups. We should

unite forgetting all the barriers for taking ac-tion against such evil powers,” Imran wrote.

He also shared a screenshot of the Face-book text message sent to threaten him and said the person issuing the threat used mobile internet. “Mymensingh's Ananda Mohan Col-lege appeared as Araf's address.”

Militant out� t Islamic State claimed re-sponsibility for the killings of the two for-eigners – a Japanese and an Italian - but the government rejected the claim, and also as-serted that Islamic State has no existence in the country.

Imran was also threatened in May along with several others, including Dhaka Univer-sity Vice-chancellor Dr AAMS Are� n Siddique and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Adviser HT Imam.

Abu Bakkar Siddique, o� cer-in-charge of Shahbagh police station, told the Dhaka Trib-une that Imran had � led a general diary in the afternoon.

“We have taken the matter seriously and an investigation has been launched,” he added. l

Narrow roads, tough immigration key challenges for BBINn Tribune Report

The BBIN countries - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal - will face two major chal-lenges – strict immigration rules and narrow roads - while implementing the BBIN motor vehicle agreement, said speakers at a seminar yesterday.

They said meeting the challenges was cru-cial to take full bene� ts of the deal, while ad-dressing the seminar on regional connectivity organised by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) at its o� ce in the capital. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader was the chief guest at the programme.

Khondaker Golam Moazzem, additional research director at the Centre for Policy Dia-louge, said Bangladesh is likely to be bene� t-ed as the agreement would boost trade among the four countries because of the creation of new routes.

The BBIN motor vehicle pact is set to take e� ect from January next year, allowing trans-

national transport services among the four countries. Hari Kumar Shrestha, Nepalese en-voy to Bangladesh said the focus should be on the possible advantages that all four countries could get after the agreement would take e� ect.

DCCI President Hossain Khaled said: “Trade potential of the four countries has been limited by inadequate trade infrastruc-ture, dearth of supply chain network, tari� and non-tari� barriers and absence of region-al cooperation.”

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said actions would be taken to overcome the challenges that would emerge along the way. “But we have to start � rst.”

He said the trial run of cargo transports among the four countries in accordance with the agreement would start in early November.

Among others, Muhammad Sha� ullah, sen-ior economist at Policy Research Institution, Humayun Rashid, DCCI senior vice-president, and Khair Mohammad Khan, DCCI coordinat-ing director, addressed the seminar. l

Russel’s 51st birth anniversary todayn Tribune Report

The 51st birth anniversary of Sheikh Russel, youngest son of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mu-jibur Rahman, is observed today.

On this day in 1964, Sheikh Russell was born at Bangabandhu’s Dhanmondi residence.

Russel was killed along with most of Bang-abandhu’s family members on August 15, 1975, when he was a fourth-grader at Univer-sity Laboratory School.

Awami League, its associate bodies and socio-cultural organisations have chalked out various programmes to observe the day.

The programmes include laying wreaths at his grave at Banani graveyard, milad and doa mah� ls.

Awami League Joint General Secre-tary Mahbubul Alam Hanif in a statement has urged party leaders, supporters and well-wishers to observe the day in a be� tting manner. l

Democratic governance to feature in the upcoming JEC meetingn Asif Showkat Kallol

The agenda of the upcoming 7th Joint Eco-nomic Commission meeting between Bang-ladesh and the European Union will include issues like strengthening democratic govern-ance, skill development of Home Ministry o� cials, foreign donation act and support for power sector.

The JEC meeting will be held during No-vember 11-12 at the Pan Paci� c Sonargaon Ho-tel in Dhaka. It will also discuss the progresses made after the 6th JEC meeting, o� cials said.

These matters were included in the min-utes of a preparatory meeting of the Econom-ic Relations Division (ERD). The minutes were

sent to di� erent ministries and divisions.Tax exemption for EU-funded projects and

support for renewables are two of the three ma-jor agenda of that meeting, o� cials also said.

Bangladesh’s revenue authority, the Na-tional Board of Revenue (NBR), is currently looking into the modalities of awarding tax ex-emption facilities for EU-funded development projects. O� cials said this facilities might start rolling out from the next � scal year (2016-17).

Under the EU’s “Power System E� ciency Improvement Project 2,” several sub-projects for upgrading existing power plants to com-bined cycle plants are being run in Bangladesh.

The Power Division of the Bangladesh gov-ernment will prepare a progress report, which

will be discussed at the JEC meeting.In 2013, the European Investment Bank

funded two power projects in Bangladesh. More recently, a French bank withdrew its investment from the Rampal thermal power plant project.

O� cials said, both these issues are also likely to feature in the table of the JEC meet-ing in November.

According to the NGO A� airs Bureau, a draft of the proposed “foreign donations act” has been prepared and submitted to the rel-evant parliamentary standing committee for review.

The European Union will provide €7m for the project for skill development of Bangla-desh’s Home Ministry o� cials.

Under the “Bangladesh Multi-Annual In-dicative Programme for 2014-2020,” the EU has already earmarked a €690m fund for three priority projects on strengthening dem-ocratic governance; food and nutrition securi-ty; and education and skill development.

EU is one of the biggest trading partners of Bangladesh, accounting for nearly 58% of the country’s readymade garment export, accord-ing to the Commerce Ministry.

The trade balance between the 28-nation bloc and Bangladesh has been in favour of the latter. In � scal year 2013-14, Bangladesh ex-ported goods and products worth $16.4bn to the EU against imports of $2.38bn. The EU is also the top investor in Bangladesh. l

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015News4DT

Alternative livelihood means stressed to save Sundarbans n Abu Bakar Siddique

Creating alternative livelihoods for people dependent on the Sundarbans is must to save the forest and Bengal tiger, speakers said. The forest’s biodiversity will not be risk-free until adequate livelihood means could be ensured.

According to the latest tiger census, a mere 106 Bengal tigers are currently living in the forest although the � gure was almost four times as many just a decade ago.

Experts blamed excessive human interven-tion, including poaching in the forest, as one of the major causes of the dwindling number.

“If we can create alternative livelihood options for the people living on the forest’s periphery, human intervention could be re-duced,” said Mohammad Abdur Rouf, chief operating o� cer of Aarong.

He said his organisation is interested in creating livelihoods in the region by receiving handicrafts made by rural women.

The workshop was jointly organised by United States Agency for International De-velopment and Bangladesh Brand Forum at Lakeshore Hotel in the capital.

The organisers urged the business communities to come forward for creating funds in order to save the Sundarbans and Bengal tigers as part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

Md Quamrul Hasan, busi-ness director of Advanced Chemical Industries Limited, said his company already runs di� erent programmes under the CSR scheme.

“As for initiatives to save tigers, we will consider the matter seriously,” he said, add-ing that more � rms should be engaged in this plan. l

Secretaries hold meeting on Padma bankn UNB

A meeting of ministry secretaries was held on the bank of Padma River yesterday, the � rst of its kind outside the capital, with special focus on di� erent aspects of the much-hyped Pad-ma Multipurpose Bridge project.

Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan chaired the meeting held at the con-ference room of Padma Bridge Service Area 1 at Dogachi in Sreenagar uapzila.

A total of 58 secretaries attended the meeting.

Brie� ng reporters after the meeting, Musharraf said discussions were held on vari-ous issues, including the Padma Bridge, at the two and half-hour long meeting.

He said the meeting was held on the river-bank to ensure coordination among the min-istries concerned and bring dynamism in the project work.

“Although the [Road Transport and] Bridg-es Ministry has been implementing the pro-ject, it is actually a project of all ministries. It is a project of all irrespective of party and opinion. On top of all, it is a project of pride,” Musharaf said.

“The construction work on the Jamuna Bridge was completed before the stipulat-ed time. It is thus expected that the Padma Bridge work will be � nished before 2018,” he said.

“We’ll have to conduct research over the country’s economy and communication system after the implementation of the project. We will have to take projects for the development of the two sides of the bridge,” he added.

Responding to a question at the brie� ng, Bridges Division Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said the piling of the main parts of the Padma Bridge project would start at the end of December if weather remains favourable for the work. l

ACC to probe alleged Tk2,000 crore corruptionof DNCCn Tribune Report

The recently-formed Anti-Corruption Com-mission (ACC) taskforce will be enquiring into the Tk2,000 crore embezzlement allegations against Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC).

The DNCC allegedly misappropriated the money between 2012 and 2014.

The commission’s Deputy Director Mirza Zahidul Alam and Assistant Director Debabra-ta Mondol have been assigned to carry out the inquiry.

The inquiry team will get only seven days for initial veri� cation of the allegation against the DNCC.

The anti-graft body will also be carrying out inquiries against the DNCC concerning allegations of irregularities related to prepar-ing vouchers and facilitating private � rms for violating rules.

Requesting anonymity, an ACC o� cial told the Dhaka Tribune that it would be the � rst enquiry after the taskforce had been formed. “The commission is looking into the allega-tions seriously.”

ACC Chairman M Bodiuzzaman said the decision to launch the enquiry was made at a meeting of the commission but refused to disclose further details.

The audit department in a letter said a seven-bigha land in the capital’s Mohammad-pur Town Hall area was given to a property development company without any signing money.

30% of the land was given to the compa-ny, even though it was supposed to be 40%, which resulted in the DNCC su� ering a loss of Tk560 crore.

The project was signed in 2007 and a 20-storey commercial building was supposed to be built in � ve years but no construction was carried out in the site.

As the project failed, it was supposed to be cancelled but it is still active.

The audit department also mentioned losses of Tk352 crore and Tk430 crore in a 2.5-bigha DNCC land in Gulshan area and an-other four-bigha land in Rayer Bazar.

In another corruption allegation, the au-dit department showed that the tender of a project worth Tk1.35 crore was given to many � rms violating the rules.

All the corruptions were initiated as per the � nal order of incumbent DNCC Chief Ex-ecutive O� cer BM Enamul Haque. l

10 megawatt solar plant planned at Monpuran Aminur Rahman Rasel

State-owned West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd (WZPDCL) has decided to set up a 10MW solar power plant at Monpura Island in Bhola by next year.

“We are going to install the plant as part of our renewable energy programme. It will also reduce the cost of electricity generation at Mon-pura,” WZPDCL Managing Director Md Sha� que Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Currently, around 600 consumers are ben-e� ted by a generator-based power plant run by the WZPDCL. “Upon completion of the so-lar plant, we will be able to ful� l the demands of 80,000 families,” he hoped.

He said that cost of electricity per unit is Tk35 at the fuel oil-based plant and they were selling it at Tk3.5. The cost would come down to Tk7-8 if the solar plant is established.

There is no alternative option to supply electricity to Monpura as it is an o� -grid area.

Sha� que said that the Monpura plant – to be set up on 12 hectare land – would be run as an independent power producer (IPP). The construction company would bear the costs under build-own-and-operate (BOO) basis and provide power to the local people. The WZPDCL would pay the bill as the lone buyer.

“We have already approved the plan, and are now preparing a DPP to set up the new so-lar plant,” he added.

The WZPDCL covers 21 districts including Barisal and Khulna City in the south-western region.

The country’s current renewable pow-er generation capacity is 411MW whereas the government has planned to generate 1,740MW electricity from solar plants by 2021.

The government is currently working to

install solar panel-based power projects hav-ing 152MW production capacity and connect those to the national grid.

The projects are Dhorola 30MW Solar Park in Kurigram, Rangunia 60MW in Chittagong, Sarishabari 3MW in Jamalpur, Irshadi 2MW in Pabna, Aricha 1.5MW in Manikganj, Sirajganj 1MW and Gongachara 55MW in Rangpur.

The government earlier awarded contracts to set up two solar-based power plants at Dhorola and Sharishabari. Contractors of the projects – ETERN-HAREON Consortium and IFE-CPC-JEL Consortium – will implement the projects hav-ing the capacity of 30MW and 3MW.

On October 1, the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase approved a proposal for setting up a 200MW solar park in Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar, the largest in the country, on a build-own-op-erate (BOO). It will be implemented by SunE-dision Energy Holding (Singapore) Pte Ltd. l

A RAB o� cial inspects adulterated lubricant oil seized from Nawabpur in Old Dhaka. The RAB team led by Magistrate Sarwar Hossain destroyed the adulterated oil and closed down three shops and penalised two in a drive yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Nasrul Hamid: Rampal protesters lack � rst-hand informationn Aminur Rahman Rasel

Rejecting the concerns expressed by various quarters, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said that he will take environmental activists and jour-nalists to the Rampal power plant site.

At a press conference in the city, Hamid said that he would sit with the opposing par-ties, environmental activists and journalists, and also take them to the construction site to assess whether the plant would a� ect the Sundarbans mangrove forest.

His remark came when the Communist Party of Bangladesh and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal hosted a road march towards the 1,320MW coal-based Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant at Rampal, Bagerhat. Bangladesh and Indian governments are implementing the project beside the Poshur River.

“I think a visit to the place will remove the misconceptions. We recently sat with Trans-parency International, Bangladesh and they told us that they had information gap on the initiative,” he added.

Nasrul claimed that there was no similarity between the protesters’ demands and the real scenario of the project area.

Dhaka Reporters Unity President Shakha-wat Hossain Badsha delivered welcome speech and General Secretary Elias Hossain conducted the programme.

The state minister said that the govern-ment would take up more large-scale renew-able power projects alongside the coal-� red power projects.

He also expressed resentment at the recent withdrawal of 41 foreign sta� from three pow-

er plant projects by Spanish company Isolux on security grounds.

About Bangladesh’s move to import elec-tricity, he said that the government had been working to import electricity from Nepal and Bhutan. “But Indian help is essential to make it a success.”

On extraction of coal from underground mines, he said that the issue requires political decision and preparation. “The government is now thinking to implement a pilot project to extract coal through open-pit method at the northern part of Barapuku-ria coal mine.”

He also mentioned that a team was working on LNG (liq-ue� ed natural gas) import and the government would sign a � nal contract by December this year so that the imported LNG can reach within the next 18 months.

A memorandum of under-standing was signed with Qatar for procuring LNG and building an LNG terminal at Maheshkha-li, he said. O� cials of Exceler-ate Energy, Singapore, would visit Bangladesh to � nalise the Terminal Use Agreement on October 21, the state minister added.

Nasrul said that Japan was providing a huge support to implement di� erent power plant projects as part of its strategy on Big-B economic zone. It has a plan to shift its

industries in Bangladesh in future. In response to a query, he said that the gov-

ernment was working to formulate a policy for the use and price of LPG. “It will be sub-mitted to the Prime Minister’s O� ce soon. Af-ter getting approval, the government will set the price of LPG for its use in motor vehicles.”

He also said that the government has set a target of covering 90% population under the Rural Electri� cation Board by 2018. l

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015News 5

DT

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 5:30PM SUN RISES 5:58AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

34.0ºC 21.6ºC

Sitakunda Srimangal

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 32 23

Chittagong 32 24

Rajshahi 32 20

Rangpur 32 20

Khulna 32 22

Barisal 32 22

Sylhet 32 20

Cox’s Bazar 31 26

PRAYER TIMESFajr 4:42am

Sunrise 5:56amZohr 11:44am

Asr 3:55pmMagrib 5:32pm

Esha 6:47pm

WEATHER

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18

THUNDERSHOWER LIKELY

CPB-BSD road march obstructedn Tribune Report

Police and ruling party men yesterday again obstructed the road march activists on their way to Bagerhat’s Rampal launched in protest against the proposed 1,320MW coal-based power plant beside the Sundarbans.

Communist Party of Bangladesh and Bang-ladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) along with individual green activists began the road march on October 15 from Dhaka urging the government to cancel the joint venture pow-er project for the sake of the world’s largest mangrove forest. They reached Bagerhat yes-terday afternoon.

Prof Anu Muhammad in his Facebook post said that local police and stick-wielding Awa-mi League supporters had obstructed their march in Magura while they were also barred from entering Jhenaidah town.

“Police and ruling party goons cordoned the activists to Jessore. Moreover, the criminals created chaos during a rally at Katakhali,” the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Miner-al Resources, Power and Ports convener said.

Socialist Student Front leader Fahima Ka-niz Lava said that several activists had been injured when they tried to bring out a proces-sion in Magura as police charged batons.

On Friday, the road march was obstructed by the police in Manikganj. l

Development works of Rampal Power Plant in progress COURTESY INZAMAMUL HAQUE

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015News6DT

Knorr invites to #sharemeal on World Food Dayn Tribune Report

Knorr, a brand from Unilever, is partnering with the United Nations World Food Pro-gramme (WFP) to create a brighter future where nutritious food is accessible to more people globally.

In partnership with SOS Children’s Village, Bangladesh, Knorr Bangladesh, observed the World Food Day on October 16, 2015 by host-ing a #shareameal event in SOS Children’s Vil-lage, Dhaka, said a press release.

To inspire others to get involved, many who took part shared their experience on so-

cial media, using the hashtag #shareameal. Zaved Akhtar, brand building director,

Unilever Bangladesh Ltd and Md Saiful Islam, project director, SOS Children’s Village, Dha-ka, were present at the event.

Together Knorr, as one of the world’s largest cooking brands and WFP, the world’s largest humanitarian agency � ghting hunger world-wide, are nourishing the adolescents of today.

People looking to get involved in this cam-paign can share their story on social media using #shareameal or � nd out more about this year’s programme at www.facebook.com/KnorrBangladesh. l

‘BNP men upset for Khaleda’s stay at London’n Abu Hayat Mahmud

Ruling Awami League Publicity and Publica-tions Secretary yesterday said BNP leaders and activists are upset with party chief Khale-da Zia for having rented a house in London under the guise of getting treatment.

The ruling party leader further blamed her and Tarique Rahman for plotting conspiracies at secret meetings with terrorists and mili-tants after having reached London.

Hassan Mahmud made these remarks at a meeting organised by Bangabandhu Projon-mo League at Dhaka Reporters Unity in the capital yesterday.

Criticising BNP’s recent activities, he said: “BNP Acting Secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and International A� airs Secretary Asa-duzzaman Ripon have organised a press confer-ence at Naya Paltan so that the nation’s popu-lace don’t think the BNP has been annihilated.”

At the same programme, Food Minister Qamrul Islam said: “Khaleda Zia and her son Tareque have tried to foil the country’s quiet atmosphere by spreading conspiracies.” l

Ulama League faction clash hurt 10 n Tribune Report

At least 10 people were hurt in a factional clash of the ruling Awami Ulama League in front of the National Press Club yesterday morning.

The clash was between the supporters of one faction’s president, Ilias Hossain Bin Helali, and another faction’s president, Md Delowar Hossain. Supporters of one faction had chased and assaulted supporters of the other in the presence of police, who at � rst had watched as spectators.

According to witnesses and police, mem-bers of the Helali and Hossain factions stood in front of the Press Club in a human chain to congratulate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for receiving the “Campaign of the Earth” Award and to protest against acts of militancy.

Around 10:30am, when Helali arrived to join the human chain, the other faction’s supporters attacked Helali’s supporters with � rearms and sticks. The half-hour long clash, later settled by deploying additional police o� cers, left 10 people of both factions hurt.

The injured are Mawlana Shawkat Ali Shai-

kh, Hazi Habibullah Rupganji, Mawlana Abu Bakkar Siddique, Mawlana Mostofa Chow-dhury Bagerhati, Lokman Hossain, Mawla-na Asad, Mawlana Md Solaiman, Mawlana Nazmul Haque, Mawlana Rabikul Islam and Mawlana Sahjahan.

In this regard, Helali said he is the actual president of Ulama League. The group mem-bers who were driven out are the agents of Jamaat-e-Islam and Hefazat-e-Islam, he said, adding that they had tried to establish their own agenda which caused them to be ousted.

On the other hand, Abul Hasan, secretary of the faction supporting Hossain, claimed: “Helali’s supporters had attacked us and driven us out to prevent us from speaking about Bang-abandhu.” He also accused the Helali faction of working at the behest of Jamaat-e-Islami.

When contacted, Abu Bakkar Siddique, o� cer-in-charge of Shahbagh police station, said: “A complaint has been � led by the Helali faction in this regard, but we have yet to ar-rest anyone. We are investigating every issue and if needed we will conduct drives to arrest the one responsible.” l

Two factions of the Awami Ulama League engage in a clash while holding a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

INSIDE

7D

TWorldSUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

Delhi crowds lambast police over toddler rape

n AFP, New Delhi

Angry crowds gathered Saturday in New Delhi to accuse police of failing to act over the rape of a toddler, with outrage mounting after the gang-rape of a � ve-year-old girl in a separate attack.

The two-and-a-half-year-old girl was ab-ducted from a religious event in west Delhi by two men on Friday night and raped before being dumped in a park near her home, rela-tives and police said.

In a separate incident on the other side of the city, the � ve-year-old was lured to a neighbour’s house and raped by three men, a police o� cer told AFP.

An agitated crowd of more than 100 peo-ple gathered near the toddler’s home late Saturday afternoon attempting to block tra� c and lambasting the police’s failure to make arrests in the case, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.

“They (police) are not doing anything to arrest the rapists. We don’t feel safe in this city and there will be a day when parents will stop giving birth to girls fearing they will be raped,” a female relative of the girl told re-porters without giving her name.

The two attacks come as New Delhi grap-ples with a grim litany of sexual assaults against women – and in several recent cases, children – that have sparked outrage in India and abroad.

“We have launched a manhunt for the suspects. So far no one has been arrested,” Pushpendra Kumar, West Delhi police chief, told AFP of the younger girl’s case.

“Two men were involved in the abduc-tion of the girl and the tests have con� rmed rape,” Kumar said, adding that further ex-aminations would show whether both men

raped the toddler. He said they found the younger child

bleeding profusely several hours after she went missing. Authorities have released CCTV footage of two men riding away on a motorbike with the victim in an attempt to catch the alleged perpetrators.

Separately, police in eastern Delhi arrest-ed three men overnight in the case of the � ve-year-old victim, whom tests showed was raped multiple times, after locals man-aged to catch her alleged assailants.

“Her clothes were partially torn with blood spots all over them. Some locals saw her and she told them she was sexually as-saulted,” an o� cer from Anand Vihar police station in eastern Delhi told AFP on condi-tion of anonymity.

“Some of the locals then barged into the house and caught them (the alleged perpe-trators) before handing them over to us,” the o� cer said.

Both girls are undergoing medical treat-ment but are believed to be out of danger.

Safety situation ‘deteriorating’The latest attacks come eight days after a four-year-old girl was allegedly raped and slashed with a blade before being abandoned by a railway track in the capital.

Police arrested a 25-year-old man in that attack, in which the young girl su� ered se-vere internal injuries.

“When will Delhi wake up? Till when will girls continue to be brutalized in Indi-an capital. Gangrape of 2.5 year n 5 year old. Shameful,” Delhi Commission for Women chairwoman Swati Maliwal tweeted.

Maliwal told Indian television station NDTV that violence against women had as-sumed “epidemic proportions” in Delhi.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ex-pressed anguish over the rapes, terming them “shameful and worrying” on Twitter, but blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s gov-ernment for the security situation in Delhi.

“Repeated rape of minors is shameful and worrying. Delhi police has completely failed to provide safety. What are PM n his LG (lieutenant governor) doing?,” Kejriwal tweeted before heading to meet the victims in hospital.

Kejriwal and Modi’s administration are jostling for control of the capital’s police department, with Delhi city authorities say-ing they are unable to improve security for women.

They de� ect the blame on to Modi’s central government which controls Delhi’s 84,000 police, the largest metropolitan po-lice force in the world.

Ranjana Kumari, head of Delhi-based Centre for Social Research said the ongoing turf war between the two governments left Delhi vulnerable to such horri� c crimes.

“Delhi is not safe and secure for women and the situation is deteriorating,” Kumari told AFP.

“Most of these incidents have been re-ported in lower income areas like slums and densely populated areas, where mostly migrants stay. These men live in crammed spaces with no social or parental control and usually no fear of law,” she said.

The fatal gang rape of a young student on a bus in Delhi in 2012 led to an outpouring of anger over frightening levels of violence against women.

India recorded 36,735 rape cases in 2014, with 2,096 of them in Delhi.

Experts say those � gures likely un-der-represent the true scale of the crimes. l

Indian protesters shout slogans during a demonstration near the home of a minor girl who was raped in New Delhi on Saturday AFP

Three Palestinians killed trying to stab IsraelisThree Palestinians were shot dead trying to stab Israelis in east Jerusalem and the West Bank Saturday, as violence that has fuelled international concerns of a full-scale uprising showed no let-up. The violence that has raged for more than two weeks prompted a “very concerned” US President Barack Obama to call for calm as the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Friday. PAGE 8

Syria army, allies advance near Aleppo with Russian coverSyrian regime forces edged forward in the northern province of Aleppo on Saturday with air cover from Russian warplanes, but faced � erce resistance from rebel forces in the country’s centre. PAGE 9

WMA backs future president despite controversyThe world’s top medical-ethics body upheld its decision on Saturday to make an Indian doctor its future president, despite controver-sy over corruption allegations against him.Dr Ketan Desai is scheduled to become presi-dent of the World Medical Association (WMA) in late 2016. PAGE 10

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015World8DT

SOUTH ASIA

AUSTRALIA & PACIFIC

AFRICA

EAST ASIA

MID EAST

Myanmar diaspora cast advance votes for Nov pollsMyanmar’s diaspora cast advance votes Saturday for November polls in the former junta-ruled nation in coun-tries ranging from neighbouring Thailand to Singapore, but only a fraction of its overseas nationals are registered to vote. Advance voting for the general election, herald-ed as the freest in decades, kicked o� Thursday in Singa-pore and South Korea, as anticipation builds for the No-vember 8 polls. At midday on Saturday just a few dozen Myanmar nationals were lined up to cast ballots outside their embassy in the � nancial district of Bangkok. Several excited nationals arrived to � nd their names were not on the voter lists posted outside. -AFP

Australia to allow marijuana to be grown locallyAustralia is altering its drug laws to allow for the cul-tivation of marijuana for medicinal and scienti� c pur-poses, removing a major hurdle to the establishment of clinical trials of the drug, the government said on Saturday. Draft amendments to the Narcotics Drugs Act are being � nalised to allow for the controlled cultivation of marijuana, giving patients access to “a safe, legal and sustainable supply of locally produced products for the � rst time,” Health Minister Sussan Ley said in a statement. -REUTERS

Guinea opposition leader protests electionGuinea’s main opposition leader said on Saturday he would call on his supporters to protest fraud and rig-ging at an election which President Alpha Conde is likely to win. Conde is on track to secure a clear ma-jority and another � ve-year term following the vote on Sunday and there will be no need for a second round, according to a tally of partial results from the National Electoral Commission. “I will invite other candidates and the citizens, who are the real victims of this elec-toral hold-up, to organise peaceful demonstrations in accordance with the law to express our outrage,” said opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo. -REUTERS

Taiwan’s embattled KMT replaces presidential candidateTaiwan’s ruling Kuomintang replaced its pro-China presidential candidate Saturday as the deeply divid-ed party struggles for public support ahead of the vote. Party chairman Eric Chu was endorsed as the KMT’s new contender after members voted against Hung Hsiu-chu representing them at the polls, fol-lowing concern that her conservative views � y in the face of public sentiment. -AP

Twelve migrants drown as boat sinks o� TurkeyTwelve migrants drowned Saturday when their boat sank o� the Turkish coast as they were seeking to reach Greece, while around 25 others were rescued, the Anatolia news agency reported. The Turkish coastguard recovered the bodies from the wooden boat, which had sailed from northwest Turkey’s sea-side town of Ayvalik headed for the Greek island of Lesbos, the Turkish news agency said. The rescuers managed to save about two dozen others on board the sinking boat who had called for help on their cell-phones, Turkish media reported. -AFP Croatia diverts migrants

to Slovenia after Hungary border closuren Reuters, Opatovac, Croatia/Ljubljana

Migrants streaming across the Balkans reached Slovenia on Saturday, diverted over-night by the closure of Hungary’s border with Croatia in the latest demonstration of Eu-rope’s disjointed response to the � ow of peo-ple reaching its borders.

Hungary’s right-wing government de-clared its southern frontier with Croatia o� limits to migrants, blocking entry with a met-al fence and razor wire just as it did a month ago on its border with Serbia.

Croatia began directing migrants west to Slovenia, which said hundreds had arrived already and more were on their way.

Slovenia said they would be registered be-fore continuing their journey to Austria and Germany, the preferred destination of the vast majority, many of them Syrians � eeing war.

But their movement had slowed visibly, with dozens of buses lined up at Serbia’s border with Croatia through the night and into Saturday as Croatian police controlled their entry, a Reuters reporter said. Slovenia suspended rail tra� c with Croatia, saying it needed “complete control” over the � ow.

Aid agencies are concerned about backlogs of migrants building in the Balkans, battered by autumn winds and rain as temperatures drop before winter. Hungary said it had re-instated border controls on its frontier with Slovenia, e� ectively suspending Europe’s Schengen system of passport-free travel though it said it was acting within the Schen-gen rules. Both Slovenia and Hungary are part of the Schengen Area while Croatia is not.

A government spokesman said Budapest had taken the step because “migrants ap-peared” on the Slovenian side of the border.

Hungary says it is duty-bound to protect the borders of the European Union from the tide of migrants, most of them Muslims who Hungary says threaten the prosperity, securi-ty and “Christian values” of Europe.

With several other ex-Communist mem-bers of the EU, Hungary opposes a plan by the bloc to share out 120,000 refugees among its members. That is only a small proportion of the 700,000 migrants expected to reach Eu-rope’s shores by boat and dinghy from North Africa and Turkey this year, many of them � eeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. l

Three Palestinians killed trying to stab Israelisn AFP, Hebron

Three Palestinians were shot dead trying to stab Israelis in east Jerusalem and the West Bank Saturday, as violence that has fuelled international concerns of a full-scale uprising showed no let-up.

The violence that has raged for more than two weeks prompted a “very concerned” US President Barack Obama to call for calm as the UN Security Council held an emergency meet-ing Friday.

Including alleged assailants, 40 Palestinians have been killed since the violence erupted on October 1. Seven Israelis have lost their lives.

The mounting death toll has prompted fears of a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising, like those of 1987-1993 and 2000-2005, when thou-sands were killed in near-daily violence.

Two of Saturday’s attacks took place in the � ashpoint West Bank city of Hebron, where some 500 Jewish settlers live in a heavily guarded enclave in the city centre surrounded by nearly 200,000 Palestinians. The third was at a checkpoint in a Jewish settlement neigh-bourhood of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

In the � rst Hebron incident, a Palestinian tried to stab a settler before his intended victim, who was unharmed, shot him dead, the army said. Palestinian security sources identi� ed the assailant as 18-year-old Fadel al-Kawatsmi.

Video circulated by Palestinian activists showed a young man wearing a kippa bran-dishing a pistol as shots rang out before Israeli soldiers moved in to pull him away from a body lying on the ground. In the second attack, a Pal-

estinian girl attempted to stab a female Israeli soldier outside a border guard base before being shot dead by her would-be victim, Israeli police said. The soldier su� ered minor injuries to her hand, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.

Palestinian media said her assailant was aged 16.

Troops later opened � re at stone-throwing Palestinian youths in several sectors of Hebron,

wounding 11 with rubber bullets and one with a live round, Palestinian medics said.

In east Jerusalem, a Palestinian tried to stab a soldier at a checkpoint in East Talpiot but was shot dead by other soldiers. Police said the as-sailant was a 16-year-old from nearby Jabel Mukaber, the same neighbourhood that was home to three Palestinians who carried out at-tacks earlier this week. l

Villagers in Himachal Pradesh kill Muslim accused of smuggling cowsn Reuters, Dharamsala

Villagers in Himachal Pradesh have killed a Muslim man for allegedly smuggling cattle, police said on Saturday, in violence critics say is fuelled by the Hindu nationalist govern-ment seeking a nationwide ban of cow slaugh-ter and beef trade.

India is the world’s largest exporter of beef and its � fth biggest consumer, but cow slaughter is forbidden in some re-gions, including the state of Himachal Pradesh, as many Hindus regard the animal as sacred.

A group of local villagers attacked the victim, known only as Noman, and four oth-er men on Wednesday evening in Himachal Pradesh after seeing them transporting cattle in a truck, a senior police o� cial said.

Noman was beaten to death, while the other four men, who survived the attack, were charged with animal smuggling and cow slaughter, the o� cial said.

“We have already started the lookout for the accused,” said Soumya Sambasivan, the local police superintendent. “As it was a mob attack, so far we have registered the case for murder against unknown people.” l

An Israeli policeman checks the dead body of a Palestinian man who was shot dead after he drew a knife and tried to stab the o� cers who shot him dead, in a street in Jerusalem on Saturday REUTERS

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015World 9

DT

GERMANY

UNITED KINGDOM

REST OF THE EUROPE

THE UNITED STATES

REST OF THE AMERICAS

German mayoral candidate stabbed on the stumpA mayoral candidate for the western German city of Cologne su� ered serious stab wounds Saturday dur-ing campaigning for Sunday’s poll, police said. Henri-ette Reker, a independent close to the ruling Christian Democrats (CDU) of Chancellor Angela Merkel, was attacked by a 44-year-old man police said, indicat-ing her assailant had been arrested. Justice Minister Heiko Maas dubbed the attack “an unimaginable and abominable act” while regional president Annelore Kraft saw it as an “assault on democracy.” -AFP

Scottish nationalists to oppose any UK anti-IS air strikes in SyriaScottish National Party members of parliament, who form the third-largest bloc in the British parliament, will oppose any move by Prime Minister David Cameron to win parliamentary approval for Britain to attack Islamic State in Syria, the party said on Friday. Cameron is keen for Britain to begin its own air strikes in Syria, joining allies in a US-led coalition against Islamic State. The SNP stance complicates the issue for Cameron, who has said he will only seek the approval of parliament if he has a consensus among MPs. -REUTERS

Spain’s Rajoy says holding line against ‘extremists’Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Saturday his government represented the “moderate and rea-sonable majority” in the face of “extremist” rivals out to unseat his conservative Popular Party in a Decem-ber election. Lauding his party as the “safe bet which knows how to arrange things” Rajoy meanwhile un-veiled a new poll slogan – “promise kept, from crisis to recovery” and told voters they were emerging from their “bad dream.” -AFP

Benghazi panel grills Clinton aide Huma AbedinTurmoil swirled again around the Republican-con-trolled Benghazi committee on Friday as it ques-tioned a senior aide to Hillary Clinton, prompting fresh accusations that the panel was created to damage the Democratic front-runner’s presidential campaign. In a six-hour closed door interview, mem-bers and sta� sought answers from Huma Abedin, for years a close con� dante of Clinton. Abedin has served as the former secretary of state’s assistant at the time of the 2012 attacks on US diplomatic fa-cilities in Benghazi, Libya that killed four Americans. Democratic Representative and panel member Elijah Cummings told reporters that summoning Abedin raised more questions about whether the panel is “a taxpayer funded e� ort to derail the candidacy of Hillary Clinton.” -REUTERS

School collapses in deadly Argentina quakeA 5.9-magnitude earthquake shook northern Argen-tina on Saturday, knocking down a school, destroying houses and killing at least one person, authorities and seismologists said. The quake hit the mountainous, mostly dry province of Salta at 8:33 am (1133 GMT), the seismic institute Inpres reported. -AFP

Suu Kyi calls for unity in divided Rakhinen AFP, Thandwe, Myanmar

Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi called for uni-ty in volatile Rakhine state on Saturday in an impassioned election rally, tackling head-on bitter religious divisions between Buddhists and Muslims that have shaken the former junta-run nation.

The opposition leader has faced interna-tional disappointment at her reluctance to speak out for marginalised Rohingya Muslims in the western state, but is also viewed with suspicion by Buddhist hardliners who see her as sympathetic to the minority.

In a speech to hundreds of supporters in Thandwe town, Suu Kyi said it was critical that people nationwide could live “without discrimination based on race and religion.”

“All citizens in the union need to unite... great hatred and fear does not bene� t our country,” she said, repeating recent asser-tions that her political opponents had tried to use religion as a tool in campaigns for the November 8 polls.

Myanmar’s general elections are tipped to be the freest in generations for a nation that languished in poverty and isolation under al-most half a century of military rule.

‘No equal rights’Radical monks have surged in prominence in recent years, preaching a message that Mus-lims threaten the very fabric of Buddhist-ma-jority Myanmar.

In Thandwe, the gateway to the country’s most popular tourist beach resorts, a wave of

anti-Muslim rioting in 2013 killed at least six and left a legacy of fear. Those anxieties were on display at the rally Saturday where Suu Kyi took questions from both Buddhists and Muslims.

Asked by a Muslim man how the NLD would prevent religious discrimination, the veteran activist said a government under her party would prioritise the rule of law, a com-mon response from the Nobel laureate.

But she slammed a Buddhist asking her to respond to rumours that her party would ush-er in a Muslim take-over of the country, say-ing the very question risked “inciting racial or religious con� ict.”

Suu Kyi, 70, is in Rakhine for the � rst time in over a decade and will stop at one more rural coastal town, Gwa, before driving to the central delta region Sunday. l

Syria army, allies advance near Aleppo with Russian covern AFP, Beirut

Syrian regime forces edged forward in the northern province of Aleppo on Saturday with air cover from Russian warplanes, but faced � erce resistance from rebel forces in the country’s centre.

Since Moscow began its air campaign in support of its Damascus ally on September 30, the army and its allies have launched four ground o� ensives against rebel forces in northern and central Syria.

Syrian troops have gone on the attack in Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Latakia provinc-es taking advantage of Russian air strikes against Al-Qaeda a� liate Al-Nusra Front and other rebel groups.

Three senior Nusra members, one of them a US-designated “global terrorist,” were killed in an air strike in Aleppo province on Thurs-day, a monitoring group said.

Regime forces control the western part of

Aleppo city – Syria’s pre-war economic hub – but much of the surrounding province is held by rebel groups – Al-Qaeda and others in the west and IS in the east. Troops seized at least � ve villages and several strategic hilltops south of the city on Saturday, the Syrian Ob-servatory for Human Rights said.

That brought them to the edges of Al-Had-er, 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Aleppo.

“Taking this village would allow the re-gime to secure a supply line for the army between Aleppo and the central province of Hama, and would put the rebel’s own supply route in their line of � re,” Observatory direc-tor Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Russia ‘defending interests’And according to Maamun al-Khatieb, an ac-tivist in Aleppo and head of the pro-opposi-tion Shahba Press news agency, Russian war-planes had carried out at least 80 air raids on the area since Friday morning.

He said the regime was pushing hard to re-take the string of villages south of Aleppo city because they “form the gate towards Homs and Damascus.” A US o� cial said as many as 2,000 � ghters from Iran and its regional allies were supporting the army’s o� ensive in coor-dination with Russia.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow’s air war was an attempt to pro-tect its own national interests and security, amid reports that thousands of � ghters from the former Soviet Union are � ghting with IS in Syria.

“Of course we are not � ghting for speci� c leaders, we are defending our national inter-ests, on the one hand,” Medvedev said.

“And secondly, we have a request from the lawful authorities (of Syria). That is the basis we are working on,” he said.

“The president (Vladimir Putin) said this: it’s obvious that if we don’t destroy these ter-rorists there, they will come to Russia.” l

A Free Syrian Army � ghter reacts as another � ghter � res a weapon towards forces loyal to Syria’s president Bashar Al-Assad in Deraa, Syria October 16 REUTERS

World10DT

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

WMA backs future president despite controversyn Reuters, Moscow

The world’s top medical-ethics body upheld its decision on Saturday to make an Indian doctor its future president, despite controver-sy over corruption allegations against him.

Dr Ketan Desai is scheduled to become president of the World Medical Association (WMA) in late 2016.

“It’s clear that the council is supporting the current decision which is that Dr Desai will stand as president in 2016,” Dr Ardis Hoven, chair of the WMA’s council - a body that makes recommendations to its general assembly - said at the association’s annual general meet-ing in Moscow. Hoven is a former president of

the American Medical Association.The WMA’s new president, Sir Michael

Marmot, a British doctor, declined to com-ment on the reasons for the decision. Desai has denied any wrongdoing. He declined at the meeting in Moscow to comment about the allegations against him. Conspiracy and corruption allegations have surrounded De-sai since he was � rst selected in 2009 as a future president of the WMA, a body of more than 100 national medical associations that sets ethical standards for millions of doctors worldwide.

A Reuters investigation published in July reported that the WMA had stood behind the 58-year-old urologist despite criminal

proceedings against him then in two Indian courts.

Reuters found that the Indian Medical As-sociation – which Desai once headed – incor-rectly told the WMA on multiple occasions that all charges against Desai had been with-drawn and representatives of major doctors’ organisations, including the US and British medical associations, accepted the informa-tion as fact.

Dr Je� Blackmer, vice president of medical professionalism at the Canadian Medical As-sociation, said the WMA would discuss Desai’s situation further in the coming year.

“At the end of the day, the organisation needs to trust that the people in the position

to make these decisions have all the informa-tion,” Blackmer said.

A case against Desai in New Delhi, where he is accused of conspiring to obtain a bribe of 20 million rupees from a medical college, is currently on hold, pending the outcome of an appeal by another defendant in the case. Desai still faces charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy.

Proceedings in a separate case, alleging De-sai was involved in a conspiracy to have the Medical Council of India – which he headed - allow a private medical school to add more students, were put on hold by a district court last month until investigators obtain govern-ment permission to prosecute. l

INSIDE

We welcome the statement from the prime minister’s principal secretary that the government wishes to set up more large solar plants to meet future energy needs.

In the light of growing concerns about planned new coal plants, it is right the government convene business and investors to promote new renewable energy generation capacity as the preferred approach to improving energy security.

Climate change is the biggest single threat facing the country, which risks large areas of land becoming permanently inundated by rising water levels. It is vital Bangladesh plays its part in supporting a worldwide clean energy revolution to reduce global greenhouse emissions and to provide more sustainable sources for economic growth.

As concern grows about the negative impact of carbon emissions, more large banks and global investors are beginning to become averse to investing in fossil fuels, which are in any case limited in their utility due to their � nite nature.

There is every reason then for the government to speed up progress on supporting a global shift towards a carbon free economy.

We believe the government should do more to incentivise renewable energy production, by cutting subsidies on fossil fuels and actively supporting calls for worldwide taxes on carbon.

As there are over 114,000 people working in the solar industry already in Bangladesh, there is plenty of scope for clean energy incentives to help create new jobs as helping to reduce the country’s dependence on costly, non-renewable fossil fuels.

Increasing cleaner energy production is the best means available to provide the more reliable electricity the economy desperately needs, and to help bring the improvements in living standards people need to increase resilience to adapting to and coping with climate change.

Cut subsidies on fossil fuels and support global carbon taxes to speed shift towards clean energy

Mind the gap

The ugly truthJust because someone is from an EU country implies borderless movement and the ability to work anywhere -- this is unfair to me. Milking the UK’s welfare system and contributing little or nothing are unfair to me. Just because someone is able to arrive in the UK to claim asylum as if it is their right is unfair to me

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PAGE 12

PAGE 13

PAGE 14

Can we address the topic of bad loans?The global � nancial crisis post-2008 is a reminder of the fact that without a well-governed banking sector, any modern society faces the threat of a grave economic meltdown

The poor quality of the bus service is forcing people to depend on personal vehicles for their daily commute which is worsening the tra� c congestion. To reduce the tra� c congestion and improve the liveability of the city, it is essential to improve the city’s public transport service

Increase incentives for a renewable energy future

11D

TEditorialSUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

BIGSTOCK

Opinion12DT

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

n Ashikur Rahman

The economic transformation of Bangladesh over the last decade has been well-appreciated by the development community. Its

performance in improving key development indicators such as reducing extreme poverty or increasing life expectancy means that not only has Bangladesh reduced the acute burden of deprivation for a large share of its population. The overall progress has allowed the country to position itself favourably to qualify as a lower-middle income country in the next few years.

Of course, this economic leap also makes it critical for existing policy-makers to understand and address challenges that are likely to emerge as our economy modernises with time. Without any attempt to foresee the source of future risk, we will be gambling with prospects of our future generation. In this context, an area where urgent attention is most needed is the state of the banking sector in Bangladesh.

The global � nancial crisis post-2008 is a reminder of the fact that without a well-gov-erned banking sector, any modern society faces the threat of a grave economic melt-down. It is widely accepted by international policy-makers and academics that the global � nancial crisis of 2008 is a manifestation of poor regulatory frameworks within industrial countries, which failed to o� er appropriate oversight of risk-taking behaviour within the � nancial sector. Consequently, an important lesson tied into this global economic crisis is

that, for sustaining economic progress within developing countries, it is essential to scruti-nise the performance of the � nancial sector so that mistakes or irregularities plaguing the global � nancial health are not repeated within the emerging world.

As a result, policy-makers in Bangladesh must undertake reforms across legal and regulatory institutions that help sustain pro-gress. A stock market crash in 2011 followed by numerous banking scams have raised seri-ous concerns surrounding the capacity of the regulatory institutions in o� ering e� ective oversight and legal redress to the key actors within the � nancial market.

As of June 2015, overall bad loans in the country have crossed the $7bn threshold and gross non-performing loans within state owned banks are over 20%. Additionally, between 2013 and 2014, the government has cumulatively provided more than $1bn for recapitalising state banks. Needless to say, every dollar spent on recapitalisation of poorly functioning state-owned banks is a dollar less for expenditures on health-care or education.

Thus, if such governance de� cits go un-addressed, then serious doubts are likely to emerge in the long-run health of the overall banking sector. Most importantly, any bank-ing sector crisis will severely undermine the capacity of the sector to play its role in inter-mediating savings of the private and public sector to investments and other productive activities.

On the whole, to mitigate such risks, a large set of short-term and long-term � nan-

cial sector reforms are necessary in order to reduce sates bank’s exposure to bad loans. The Seventh Five Year Plan of Bangladesh presently aims to reduce Gross Non-Per-forming Loan in state-owned banks to 10% by 2020. This, I believe, is a sound objective, but it necessitates implementation of tough regulatory reforms, two of them being:

Autonomy for Bangladesh Bank It is extremely crucial for the government to review the issue of the independence of Bangladesh Bank and facilitate the con-ditions for it to become an e� ective au-tonomous regulator. A fully autonomous regulator empowered with the authority of hiring quality sta� , procuring the technology

it requires, strengthening its e� ectiveness, and implement prudential norms without the fear of political in� uence is essential to pre-vent � nancial irregularities observed during 2009 and 2014. An e� ective and autonomous Central Bank is also essential to formulate and implement sound monetary policies. Supervision of public banks The government needs to conceptualise a strategy and implement measures for e� ec-tive supervision of public banks. There is no doubt that poorly performing public banks with bulky non-performing portfolios are a severe threat to the banking sector.

Hence, policy-makers must urgently ensure that these banks are brought under the regulatory supervision of Bangladesh Bank and will be required to comply with all prudential norms, including certi� cation of the bank boards and senior management as per an internationally accepted criteria.

There is little ambiguity, however, that these institutional prescriptions will only be e� ective if there is an e� ective consensus within key policy-makers that the banking sector is an extremely dangerous zone, and any lackluster approach to governance can have catastrophic consequence for our devel-opment journey. So far, Bangladesh Bank has been able to bite the bullet and manage the existing bad loans, but let us not be com-placent in thinking that we will always face manageable threats in the future. l

Ashikur Rahman is Senior Economist, Policy Research Institute.

Can we address the topic of bad loans?Let’s not be complacent about Bangladesh Bank’s ability to manage bad loans in the future

The global � nancial crisis post-2008 is a reminder of the fact that without a well-governed banking sector, any modern society faces the threat of a grave economic meltdown

Are we headed for a � nancial crisis? BIGSTOCK

Opinion 13D

TSUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

n Shehzaad Shams

Is it a fad in recent times to come out? The long-pending bubble of truth, the dilemma of being right or wrong, the fear of hurting sentiments, or even the trau-

ma of being discriminated against or singled out? While many individuals and countries are in a more welcoming stance, there are still many who will have issues with this kind of “coming out,” where individuals can be condemned or even persecuted for doing so.

Well, all along, if you have got the im-pression that this is leading into another revelation about my sexual orientation, then be informed that you consciously digressed towards having that assumption. Irrespec-tive of you or me being gay, sad, straight, or twisted -- that can remain in the closet or the computer, if you so wish. This note today is about the truth I feel about the migrant and refugee crisis. I am an economic migrant to the UK myself, and I want to come out by saying that I want the door strictly slammed behind me. That is it.

As an economic migrant, I want to declare a few facts � rst. First of all, I did not come to this country because of any ancestral roots,

where my forefathers had served the queen during any world wars. I do not belong to any family � eeing torture from any despot or dictator anywhere in the world. I am not a student who came to study in the UK, then decided to overstay and convert my visa to upgrade my residence in this country. Sim-ilarly, at the expense of love and romance, I didn’t marry any European national to be able to keep staying in the UK with a British passport.

As many other economic migrants, I came through the work route, and I will continue to remain in that route, duly obliging by all the rules the government has. It is important to point out that I bought this product called “permanent residence/settlement” from the British government in exchange for a price. The sum is about to kiss the 10,000 pound mark, counting over a period of � ve years. There was no room for argument, and this is supposed to be a privilege, not an irrevocable right bestowed upon me.

In order to be eligible, I had to earn a cer-tain amount as annual salary, which is more than double the average national UK salary; I had to fall under a certain age bracket and, most importantly, I am not able to claim any bene� ts from the public services such as unemployment bene� ts. I took a conscious decision to accept these conditions and to continue adding value to the economy of the UK. Contrary to draining the social welfare system, the amount of eye-watering in-come tax I pay every month should be good enough to take care of the basic needs of a family of four on a monthly basis.

I am deeply disappointed with the fact that the government is not able to keep up its service standards promised to me. In ex-change for the price I paid, the rules I obliged to follow, and the taxes I paid to prove my salt over any native or European worker -- I am not getting what I was promised. When

I keep noticing that the tube I use to com-mute to travel to and from work is getting crammed every day and every hour, the way we are getting packed like sardines breathing on each other inside the crowded carriage of the London underground, frankly, there is no room for any compassion in my mind for any-one coming by boat to the European shores.

When I have to take my kids to school for enrolment and am informed about the mile-long waiting list, I seriously don’t feel empathy towards anyone else’s kid. Simi-larly, when I am in pain and want medical attention at the NHS, it doesn’t relieve my pain when the services cannot cope with the increasing demand, and asks me to wait until I am dead or nearly there.

I don’t feel any better either that, being in pain myself, others will be attended to � rst as there are just too many. As an economic migrant, I believe this is a meritocracy, and I am eligible to avail the services this country has to o� er -- because I not only bought the contract, but am also eligible for it. At least, this was the promise.

Not digressing into any lengthy discus-sion on humanitarian grounds about where the refugees should go, I can only say that they should � rst be accepted by the sur-rounding super-rich Gulf countries. Then, all the wealthy nations, including the US and Australia should accept their bits. If they all lined up to send arms to fuel a war, they might as well agree to share the spoils and the residues of their foreign policies.

There are children dying of poverty in Af-rica and Asia, new insurgencies taking place around the globe. Does it mean anyone who is able to reach the European shores by what-ever means are naturally eligible to claim residence? Humanity, sadly, has a limit. For my bit, I donate 10 pounds monthly to a char-ity working to eradicate poverty in Africa, another donation I make to the memory of a deceased friend, and I try to help poor family members and friends as and when I can. This is all I can do and want to do. I cannot solve all the problems of all the people of the world -- neither do I want to. And this is where the wisdom lies -- to know the di� erence between what I can and cannot do.

I feel that the competition I have to face is unfair to me. Just because someone is from an EU country implies borderless movement and the ability to work anywhere -- this is unfair to me. Milking the UK’s welfare system and contributing little or nothing are unfair to me. Just because someone is able to arrive in the UK to claim asylum as if it is their right is unfair to me.

So, I want to come out today by saying that I really want the door behind me to be closed. If I sound like a sel� sh, capitalist pig -- that is what I am. Every day, when I run down the tunnel in the London underground like a rat, alongside other rats of various shapes and sizes, I just think of the share of my cheese. That is why I am here and that is how I keep the UK economy ticking. Though it may not be pleasant, I had to � nally come out with the truth. l

Shehzaad Shams is a freelance contributor.

The ugly truthShould anyone who reaches the shores of the UK be allowed to claim residence?

Just because someone is from an EU country implies borderless movement and the ability to work anywhere -- this is unfair to me. Milking the UK’s welfare system and contributing little or nothing are unfair to me. Just because someone is able to arrive in the UK to claim asylum as if it is their right is unfair to me

A matter of human rights? REUTERS

Opinion14DT

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

n Ridwan Quaium

The public transport in Dhaka, which mainly consists of city buses, are unsafe, shabby, over-crowded, and di� cult to access by women, the

elderly, and people with special needs. The buses do not cover many commonly traveled routes in the city. Harassment -- sexual or otherwise -- and pick-pocketing are regular incidents that occur in the buses. Many of the buses are un� t and operated by drivers who have very little knowledge of tra� c rules and road safety.

The poor quality of the bus service is forc-ing people to depend on personal vehicles for their daily commute which is worsening the tra� c congestion. To reduce the tra� c congestion and improve the liveability of the

city, it is essential to improve the city’s public transport service. Two measures can be tak-en to improve the quality of public transport in Dhaka.

Transit busMany of the city buses in Dhaka are all-seated coaches. Such types of buses provide more seating space than standing space, provide insu� cient isle space, generally have one door and high � oors, and do not have any standing facilities such as poles or over-head straps.

Due to this, it is common to see standing passengers of these buses cramping near the door to reduce hassle while getting o� the bus. Due to the cramping and due to the high � oors of these buses, accidents happen frequently while passengers get on or o� .

All-seated coaches are generally used to serve longer distance journeys.

City buses need to ensure that they can ac-commodate as many passengers as possible. They have to provide facilities to ensure that standing passengers are able to travel safely and passengers are able to safely and quickly move around the bus and get on and o� the bus. All these criteria are met by transit buses.

Transit buses have spacious isles which increase the standing area. The spacious isle makes it easy for two passengers to stand alongside comfortably and to move around the bus conveniently. These buses are equipped with poles and overhead straps so that the standing passengers can hold on while the bus is moving.

These buses have at least two doors so that passengers are able to conveniently get on and o� the bus. The two doors also ensure that the standing passengers are evenly distributed along the bus, utilising all the standing area, rather than cramping near the only door. The low � oors of these buses make it easy to board and alight.

To provide a safe and comfortable journey, it is essential to phase out the all-seated coaches serving the city routes and provide air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned transit buses that are � t and well-maintained. The authorities should also take measures to ensure that the buses are operated by licensed drivers adhering to tra� c rules

and road safety. Taking these measures may encourage people who have access to personal vehicles to commute using the city buses.

Express serviceNone of the city buses in Dhaka provide express or non-stop service. This is why, for people travelling longer distances, commut-ing using the city buses is quite inconvenient, as it makes their commute quite long. Due to the lack of an express service, people com-muting longer distances generally depend on personal vehicles.

Similar to Bangkok, an express service using microbuses can be provided. These services can be provided on longer routes, for example from Uttara to Motijheel, Azimpur to Gabtoli, Mirpur to Motijheel, Azimpur to Gulshan, etc. The service should only load and unload passengers at a few designated locations along its route.

To ensure a safe and comfortable journey, the service should operate with licensed drivers adhering to tra� c rules and road safety, and not overload or take any standing passengers. They should also operate with well-maintained, clean vehicles. The express service may discourage people from commuting long distances on personal vehicles. l

Ridwan Quaium is a transport engineer working in Thailand.

Mind the gapDhaka is crying for a proper public transport system

The poor quality of the bus service is forcing people to depend on personal vehicles for their daily commute which is worsening the tra� c congestion. To reduce the tra� c congestion and improve the liveability of the city, it is essential to improve the city’s public transport service

Situations like these cannot remain the norm NASHIRUL ISLAM

15D

TBusinessINSIDE

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

Uncertain central bankers leave markets strandedWhen the blind lead the blind, there’s little con� dence in the direction of travel. Some-thing of the sort is going on in global mar-kets. Central bankers are giving out unclear directions and investors are wondering just where they should go. PAGE 17

Hoteliers expect in� ux of tourists during Durga Puja Tourists have started gathering in di� er-ent popular sites including Cox’s Bazar to celebrate Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of Bengali Hindus which begins on Monday. PAGE 16

AFP poll: China set to disappoint with Q3 growthChina probably grew at its slowest pace since the depths of the global � nancial cri-sis in the third quarter, an AFP survey of economists has found, con� rming investor fears following stock market turmoil and a currency devaluation. PAGE 18

Daily capital market highlightsDSE Broad Index 4676.62890 (-) 2.19% ▼

DSE - 30 Index 1766.50380 (-) 2.73% ▼

CSE All Share Index 14319.1826 (-) 2.23% ▼

CSE - 30 Index 12714.0651 (-) 1.65% ▼

CSE Selected Index 8711.7141 (-) 2.26% ▼

DSE key featuresTurnover (Million Taka) 19,178.62

Turnover (Volume) 590,368,111

Number of Contract 449,490

CSE key featuresTurnover (Million Taka) 1,549.38

Turnover (Volume) 47,835,691

Number of Contract 69,080

EXCHANGE RATE IMPACTBDT appreciated by 8.43% against USDEuro devalued by 11.25% against USDRubble devalued by 64.40% against USDCanadian dollar devalued by 19.64% against USD

FACTORS AFFECTING RMG PRICEProduction cost increased by 10%Prices fell by 2.45% in US Prices fell by 1.41% in EU

OTHER FACTORSA factory needs at least Tk5 crore to complete remediation Wages increased by 219% in last 5 years

NEW LEADERSHIP WILL FOCUS ON Enhancement of workers' productivityWorkplace safety and complianceBranding of BangladeshEco-friendly production through green technologyHuman Resources developmentEnsuring policy support for manufacturersArranging low-cost fund for remediation

Source: OTEXA, eurostat and BGMEA

RMG FACES PRICE CUT

70 75

80 85 90 95

100 105 110 115

120

Jul-1

4

Aug-

14

Sep-

14

Oct

-14

Nov

-14

Dec

-14

Jan-

15

Feb-

15

Mar

-15

Apr-1

5

May

-15

Jun-

15

Jul-1

5

Aug-

15

Sep-

15

Oct

-15

BDT per EUR (LHS) BDT per USD (RHS)

EXCHANGE RATES OF BDT

BGMEA blames buyers for unethical price cutn Tribune Report

Bangladesh Garment and Manufacturers and Exporters Association President Siddiqur Rahman yesterday said the global RMG buy-ers have reduced the prices of products un-ethically.

Siddiqur said this at a media brie� ng in his o� ce about the present situation of RMG sector and the ways forward.

Citing OTEXA data, he said: “In January-Ju-ly period, Bangladeshi RMG prices in US mar-ket have decreased by 2.45% while in Europe-an country 1.41% as per the data of eurostat.”

Unlike the price fall the production cost in-creased 10% including the wages that surged 219%, he said.

There are uneven competitions among manufacturers to negotiate product prices, Siddiqur said, adding that such competition exists everywhere in the world.

In reply to a question that big buyers like H&M canceled their planned visits to Bang-ladesh to talk business, the BGMEA boss ran counter to it, saying “H&M top brass are here and they met me twice.”

The country’s law and order situation is not such that would prevent the foreign buy-ers from visiting the country and deal with the manufacturers, said the head of the apex trade body of clothing industry.

There had been overreaction to the killing of two foreigners, Siddiqur said, adding that

terrorism prevails everywhere in the world whereas in Bangladesh it has not sprouted up since the government is ready to come down hard on it.

“We are trying to introduce a “Uni� ed Au-dit System” through introduction of a Uni-� ed Code of Conduct for ensuring fair prices of our products and responsibility of manu-facturers in setting prices.”

BGMEA also mulls over setting up of a “Global Secretariat” with buyers, entrepre-neurs, workers, government and interna-tional organisations to resolve the problems of RMG sector.

The secretariat will work as a think tank, he said, suggesting that the government should establish a separate secretariat for the apparel industry.

Recently, twelve Asia Paci� c Countries and the United States have signed Trans Paci� c Partnership (TPP), which will a� ect Bangladesh in its market as Vietnam, a strong competitor of Bangladesh, will get duty-free market access to the US market.

The BGMEA will act on how to face chal-lenges to remain competitive in the US mar-ket and to avert the impact of the pact, the boss of clothing industry association vowed.

He urged the government to take neces-sary diplomatic steps to be in-cluded in (TPP).

The apex trade body of gar-ment industry urged the Inter-national Finance Corporation (IFC) to increase the amount of remediation fund and provide that for all factories instead of some selective ones.

The Accord and Alliance through International Finance Corporation (IFC) are provid-ing $50m to the factory own-ers, from which the signatories of the two organisations source

products. According to a survey conducted by the

BGMEA, a factory has to spend Tk5 crore on implementation of Corrective Action Plan (CAP) especially structural reforms, � re safe-ty and installation of � re equipment.

To complete the detailed Engineering As-sessment, a company has to spend Tk5 crore to Tk20 crore.

BGMEA urged the government to allocate quota for gas connection.

At present, the RMG sector uses only 4% of the total supply of gas while there are many factories that import machinery and establish factory, but due to lack of gas con-nections they cannot go for production, said the president.

There is no alternative but to establish deep seaport, Dhaka-Chittagong expressway and increase investment in information and technology sector to achieve the $50bn tar-get by the 2021, Siddiqur said.

FBCCI senior Vice-President Sha� ul Islam Mohiuddin, BGMEA former president Abdus Salam Murshedy, Anwarul Alam Chowdhury Parvez, Vice-President Mohammed Nair, Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, SM Mannan Kochi and all directors were present at the programme. l

“We are trying to introduce a “Uni� ed Audit System” through introduction of a Uni� ed Code of Conduct for ensuring fair prices of our products”

Business16DT

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

New-mooring Container Terminal begins operationn Tribune Report, Chittagong

Partial operation of New-mooring Container Terminal (NCT) at the Chittagong Port started yesterday after more than eight years of its construction, involving Tk582 crore.

Shipping Minister Mohammed Shahaja-han Khan inaugurated the terminal at a pro-gramme as the chief guest with Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Chairman Nizamuddin Ahmed in the chair when Chittagong Mayor AJM Nasiruddin and lawmaker MA Latif were present, among others.

According to CPA sources, the project was implemented involving Tk582 crore in De-cember, 2007 while the tender procedure for the appointment of operator was initiated on

August 11, 2008.However, the ministry at a meeting held in

February 2010 decided to re-invite pre-quali-� ed tender, postponing the earlier procedure and relaxing di� erent conditions with an aim to include more companies as pre-quali� ed.

A pre-quali� ed company � led a case, protesting the ministry’s decision, which created a complexity in initiating terminal operation.

Recently, the court dismissed the case and the port, on June 25 last, signed a deal with the private operator, Saif Powertech, to han-dle container at the jetty No. 4 and 5.

CPA sources said process was on to operate two other jetties of the biggest terminal of the port. l

Bearish market sentiment extends in past weekn Tribune Report

Bearish market sentiment at the stock mar-kets continued for the second straight week that ended Thursday as trading remained lacklustre on panic-driven selling spree.

After losing 75 points in the past week, the benchmark of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, tumbled around 105 points or 2.26% to settle at 4,676,-- its lowest in three months.

The blue-chip comprising index DS30 was down 50 points or 2.8% to 1,766. The DSE Sha-riah Index, DSES, fell 34 points or 3% to 1,114.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Categories Index, CSCX, closed at 8,711, drop-ping 201 points or 2.3%.

The week’s daily turnover stood at Tk383 crore, slightly down more than 1% over the previous week, indicating that investors con-tinued to prefer to stay sideline.

Trading was concentrated mostly on bank, pharmaceuticals and engineering sectors, which jointly accounted for 45% of the week’s total turnover.

Almost all the sectors came under the sell-ing pressure during the past week.

Telecommunications became the week’s worst su� erer, slumping over 5%, followed by cement 7%, non-banking � nancial institu-tions 4% and power 2%.

KDS Accessories made debut in the last session of the week and gained 329% on its

o� er price.IDLC Investments said the bourse passed

nightmare of a week, watching almost unre-strained fall of stock prices, wiping o� over Tk66.8 billion of the equity market capitali-sation.

It said in the backdrop of heightened se-curity risk and consequential cancellation of trips to the country by foreign buyers and tourists as well as developments surround-ing Trans-Paci� c Partnership, investor was � dgety and worried.

Strong selling pressure in two multination-al stocks – Grameenphone (GP) and Lafarge Surma Cement – which captured almost 17% of the total market cap of the DSE, hit the

market movement for the week, it said.GP and Lafarge lost over 6% and 10% re-

spectively over the past week and contribut-ed signi� cantly to the downfall of the market.

Lanka Bangla Securities said stock faltered heavily closing the week below 4,700-mark as selling frenzy continued to mar the investors’ con� dence.

“The selling pressure on large cap stocks continued to batter market sentiment while some investors were eyeing on sector speci� c stocks to take position as the earnings season directed the market movement.”

Royal Capital said the market fell mainly due to the investors’ panic-driven sell-o� s also negative for the multinational stocks to fall. l

Hoteliers expect in� ux of tourists during Durga Puja n Ishtiaq Husain

Tourists have started gathering in di� erent popular sites including Cox’s Bazar to cele-brate Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of Bengali Hindus which begins on Monday.

The hotels are already booked and the au-thorities have stopped any new booking as the visitors will get three days of holiday in a row from Thursday – Puja vacation plus weekend.

Many are expected to leave the capital Dha-ka on Wednesday to spend the holidays with family members, friends and relatives in any of the country’s tourist places – Cox’s Bazar, Rangamati, Bandarban, Sylhet, Moulvibazar and Sundarbans.

Tourists are also coming from neighbour-ing India, particularly from West Bengal state, to celebrate the Durga Puja festival with rela-tives and friends living in Bangladesh.

According to Deputy High Commission Of-� ce of Bangladesh in West Bengal capital Kol-kata, more than one thousand Indians per day applied for Bangladeshi visa in last few days.

Bangladesh tourism sector has been badly a� ected by the political unrest in the recent

years. The new in� ux of tourists after such incidents allows the sector to have a sigh of relief.

“This is a good moment. Almost all the packages for room booking have been sold out ahead of Durga Puja festival,” said Syed Yameenul Huq, head of sales, the Palace Lux-ury Resort in Sylhet.

“For last few years, during Durga Puja, the number of tourists has been increasing. This is a very positive sign for the tourism sector. Not only Hindu community, but also the peo-ple from all religions enjoy the holidays of the Durga Puja,” he said.

Humayun Kabir, manager of Cox Today Hotel, said as of now 80% rooms have been occupied.

“We are very much happy to witness the response from the customers. Whenever, people get vacation, they visits di� erent tour-ist places,” he said.

Md Masum, an executive of Sayeman Beach Resort, said the hotel had been com-pletely occupied ahead of the Durga Puja.

Rahat Ahmed, executive director of Plaza Bandarban hotel, said last year, the tourists presence in Bandarban was not satisfactory as the visitors didn’t get long vacation.

“But this year, situation is totally di� erent due to the three-day holidays. We hope to re-cover our losses,” said Rahat Ahmed.

Tito Siddique, managing director and CEO of Excellence Asia Limited, said nearly 40 ships used for transporting tourists in Sun-darbans area. “During Puja all the ships are booked by the travellers. Small wooden boats will even be needed to transport tourists due to the unexpected in� ux.”

“Around 5,000 tourists are expected to ar-rive in Sundarbans on Thursday and Friday from Mongla during the Durga Puja festival, while another 2,000 might come from Sath-khira,” he said. l

First Software Technology Park to be launched today n Tribune Report

The government is going to launch the � rst Software Technology Park in the country today.

Sajeeb Wazed Joy, ICT advisor to the prime minister, is expected to inaugurate the event at ICT Division, while Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT, will be present at the function.

In 2000, the government acquired Janata Tower after the High Court convicted former president HM Ershad in a corruption case in connection with the purchase of the land.

Recently, the government resolved the is-sue, considering the court order by establish-ing the Software Technology Park (STP) at the Janata Tower.

The government declared Janata Tower to be a Software Technology Park for expansion of the country’s high-tech industry, according to Bangladesh High-tech Park Authority Law 2010.

Later in 2012, the tower was handed over to the software and information-based trade body – Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS).

The 11-storey structure, situated at Kar-wan Bazar, had been abandoned for a decade because of legal disputes and controversies centring the building. l

The Fifth Agro Bangladesh Expo 2015 begins in Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city yesterday RAJIB DHAR

‘But this year, situation is totally di� erent due to the three-day holidays. We hope to recover our losses’

Business 17D

TSUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

NBR o� ers incentives for EZ, high-tech park investorsn Syed Samiul Basher Anik

The government has announced a set of in-centives for investors in economic zones and high-tech parks, including complete tax-waiver facility on their dividend incomes.

The facilities have been o� ered for the economic zones administered under the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority Act 2010 and high-tech parks operated under the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority Act 2010, o� cials said.

The o� ers include complete tax-waivers on a company’s dividend income, capital gains from transfer of shares and on payable royal-ties, technical know-how and technical assis-tance until 10 years of commercial operation, according to a gazette noti� cation issued by National Board of Revenue (NBR) last week.

However, high-tech park investors will get 50% tax-waiver.

Cent percent tax-waiver facility on divi-dend income has also been o� ered for high-

tech park developers for the same period.The o� ers have been made in line with in-

structions by Finance Minister AMA Muhith during last June budget speech.

In his budget speech, � nance minister said special incentives were on the cards to en-courage investment in developing economic zones and high-tech parks.

He also proposed to allow full-exemption of value added tax on the electricity bill of developers of high-tech parks and on the procurement provider services of developers and investors.

Besides, foreign technical experts em-ployed in high-tech parks and economic zones will enjoy a 50% exemption of income tax for three years from the date of appointment.

However, the o� er will be applicable until � ve years of commercial operation of the em-ployer company.

To avail the bene� t, investors, developers and the foreigners in both economic zones and parks will have to obtain Taxpayers Iden-

ti� cation Number (TIN) and maintain book of accounts and � le income tax returns regularly.

Earlier, in July, the NBR o� ered 10-year tax holiday for investors and 12-year tax holiday for the developers of the economic zones and the high-tech parks.

On July 1, it also allowed duty-free import of capital machinery, construction material and development equipment for the econom-ic zone investors.

Developers and investors of the economic zones and high-tech parks will be completely exempted from customs, regulatory and sup-plementary duties and VAT on imports of ma-terials locally unavailable, according to earlier gazettes.

The government plans to establish 100 economic zones across the country over the next 15 years, which are expected to generate about 10m additional jobs.

By 2030, the export earnings only from the economic zones are expected to stand at $40bn, according to BEZA. l

Uncertain central bankers leave markets strandedn Swaha Pattanaik

When the blind lead the blind, there’s little con� dence in the direction of travel. Some-thing of the sort is going on in global markets. Central bankers are giving out unclear direc-tions and investors are wondering just where they should go.

Take asset managers’ response to bad economic news. In the past, they responded to anything that pointed to economic weak-ness as a buying signal for riskier assets. In-vestors reasoned that the news meant loose or even looser monetary policy, and that this

easy money did asset prices more good than a weak economy did them harm. Conversely, signs of improving activity were mostly a trig-ger for stock market declines.

But investors are increasingly capricious. The US S&P 500 index did not rise on Sept 17, when the US Federal Reserve left policy inter-est rates unchanged. It fell that day and for six of the next seven trading sessions. An un-expectedly weak US jobs report on Oct 2 led � rst to a sharp fall and then to an even greater rise. The S&P closed up 1.4% on the day. Since then, the market has risen on generally weak economic news, aside from a dip when two

Fed board members suggested rates should not rise in 2015.

One reason for rapidly shifting sentiment is that the markets have lost con� dence in the ability of Janet Yellen, the Fed chair, to give them clear directions. The central bank’s sen-sitivity to market gyrations – one of the con-cerns Yellen mentioned in her post-decision press conference – leads investors to fear that she is following rather than leading. The dis-sent on the board only reinforces their doubts.

But even a uni� ed Fed might not bring much con� dence. Investors are losing faith in the potency of monetary policy to overcome

slowing Chinese economic activity or gener-ate much in� ation. Little wonder that market in� ation expectations have fallen in much of the world, even though there is growing spec-ulation that the European Central Bank may be forced to ease policy further.

The market is likely to continue meander-ing. Vacillating and impotent central bankers make for erratic investors. l

Swaha Pattanaik is a columnist for Reuters Breakingviews. She has been covering � nancial markets and policymaking for 22 years. The article was initially published at Reuters.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen holds a news conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington REUTERS

Fed’s Dudley: Rate hike possible this year if data meets forecastsn AFP, Washington

New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said last week that an interest rate increase by the central bank remained possi-ble this year if economic data stayed “in line” with forecasts.

But Dudley, vice chairman of the Feder-al Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed policy board, said recent signs suggested the economy is slowing.

Gently dipping into an open debate among Fed o� cials over whether the economy is ready for the � rst rate hike in over nine years, Dudley held o� from any direct predictions, noting in a talk at the Brookings Institution that “there’s a lot of data between now and the end of the year.”

“There is some news that suggests that the economy is slowing down,” he said, pointing to sluggish retail sales and the dampening ef-fect on trade of the strong dollar.

Asked whether a long-predicted increase in the near-zero benchmark federal funds rate could happen by year-end, he was cautious, stressing any decision is dependent on the data.

But he added that if the economy moves “in line” with what the Fed forecasts, he would favor a hike.“What is not clear is how the economy is go-ing to perform,” he said.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen has repeatedly said this year that an increase in the interest rate, near zero since 2008, was likely by year-end. She repeated the prediction on September 24, while as usual stressing that the move would be “data-dependent.”

The Fed funds rate level has a huge impact on global interest rates and speculation on an increase has spurred months of greater vola-tility in markets worldwide.

But since Yellen last spoke, US economic data has come in weaker than expected, es-pecially the numbers on the September jobs market released on October 2.

Key indicators for Fed monetary policy - in� ation, job creation, and wages - all have been weaker than expected. And the strong dollar has hit US exports, another drag on eco-nomic growth.

Earlier this week two other FOMC members, Lael Brainard and Daniel Tarullo, said they pre-ferred to wait until 2016 to take the step. l

Business18DT

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

CORPORATE NEWS

Sena Kalyan Sangstha has recently awarded scholarships to 299 HSC and its equivalent level students of various institutes at Dhaka Cantonment. Its chairperson, Major General Md Zahidur Rahman handed over the scholarships in the form of cheques to the students at a programme held at Adamjee Cantonment College

Rupali Bank has recently held a discussion meeting on SME and agricultural loan distribution in Dhaka. The bank’s managing director, M Farid Uddin was present at the meeting as chief guest

Jamuna Bank Limited (JBL) has recently signed an agreement with NOVA Electronics Co Ltd in order to provide installment facilities to the bank’s employees and JBL credit card holders on purchase of all electric products from NOVA Electronics Co Ltd. The bank’s DMD, AKM Saifuddin Ahamed and AKM Faruk Ahmed, chairperson & MD of NOVA Electronics signed the agreement

NRB Commercial Bank Limited has recently donated to Prime Minister’s relief fund. The bank’s chairperson, Engr Farasath Ali handed over a cheque to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Gonobhaban

AFP poll: China set to disappoint with Q3 growthn AFP, Shanghai

China probably grew at its slowest pace since the depths of the global � nancial crisis in the third quarter, an AFP survey of economists has found, con� rming investor fears follow-ing stock market turmoil and a currency de-valuation.

Signs the world’s second-largest economy - a key driver of global growth - is struggling will add to pressure on Beijing to do more to head o� a hard landing.

Output rose an annual 6.8% in the Ju-ly-September period, according to the medi-an forecast in a poll of 19 analysts carried out this week.

The � gure - to be o� cially announced on Monday - would be the worst since early 2009 and comes after a raft of weak data has fanned concerns Chinese growth is slowing sharply, sending shivers through international markets.

Those worries turned into a worldwide rout after a Chinese stock market bubble burst in June, wiping some 35 percent o� Shanghai shares to date, and a surprise devaluation of the yuan currency in August stoked fears about stalling growth.

The wake-up call has slammed other emerging economies, delayed a move by the United States to raise interest rates and sent prices of commodities such as copper and oil, which China imports on a massive scale, plummeting to multi-year lows.

In March, Premier Li Keqiang forecast 2015

economic growth would be about 7.0 percent, as the country shifts to a “new normal” driven by domestic consumption instead of exports and government investment.

The AFP survey of China- and Hong Kong-based analysts for Chinese and international banks, securities � rms and consultancies showed they expect China’s economy to grow 6.9 percent this year, missing the target -- though the quali� er of “about” would allow Beijing’s leaders to declare victory.

“We all know it is impossible to realise the 7% growth target this year,” said Chang Jian,

China economist for Barclays Capital, which is forecasting 6.5% for the third quarter and 6.6% for the full year.

“The downward trend will continue next year and the slowdown will go on for quite a long time,” she said.

China’s GDP grew 7.3% last year, the slow-est pace since 1990.

Economic statistics in China - where the government depends on growth for legitima-cy - are often viewed with scepticism, fuelling suspicion that the true growth rate is lower than stated.

The International Monetary Fund this month pointed to the risk from stalling growth in China, warning the country is head-ed for a sharper-than-expected slowdown un-less leaders get a grip on the economy.

‘Slow is healthy’China has already cut interest rates � ve times in a year and slashed the amount of cash banks need to hold to boost lending, but that stimulus has yet to be seen substantially driv-ing real economic growth.

Analysts now widely expect China to fur-ther boost � scal spending and ease monetary policy before the end of the year to prevent a “hard landing”.

“We expect that there will be more mone-tary easing in the fourth quarter... which will lead to a rebound in the economy,” said Ma Xiaoping, a Beijing-based economist for HSBC.

Prominent Chinese � gures have played down the slowing trend, including Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, which has seen its US-listed stock plunge as a proxy for the � agging economy.

“Just like a human being, when you grow to 1.8 metres tall, you cannot keep up 10% growth every year,” Ma said this week, as the company began to count down to China’s big-gest online shopping day on November 11.

“Slow is good for China. Slow is healthy,” he said.

But weak economic data from September has put stock markets on edge. l

A woman worker, holding shovels, walks past a road construction site in Beijing REUTERS

News 19D

TSUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

Bam Morcha’s march faces police attack n Our Correspondent, Magura

Police attacked the activists of Gonotantrik Bam Morcha (Democratic Left Alliance) march-ing towards Sunderbans demanding stoppage of construction of a thermal power plant at Rampal at they reached Magura yestewrday.

Sources said the police obstructed the marchers to bring out a procession in the district town but defying the barricade, they reached near the o� ce district unit of motor workers union.

At one stage, police charged baton on the marchers that left the alliance coordinator Saiful Huq, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal leader Shubhrangshu Chakrabrti, alliance leader Mushrefa Mishu, BSD leader Fakhrud-din Kabir Atik and 15 others.

Munshi Asaduzzaman, o� cer-in-charge of Sadar police station, said the marchers were dispersed for obstructing highway and bringing out procession without permission. He claimed police did not charge batons on the protesters.

Later, around 12pm the marchers left Magura for Jhenidah and police there did not allow them to bring out any procession, said alliance leader Firoz Ahmed.

Firoz said police in Jessore was also ob-structing the marchers to bring out any pro-cession.

The police also attacked the march on the � rst day of the march in Manikganj. l

Minister: Bangladesh will � ght the legal battle against Nikon Aminur Rahman Rasel

The government has said that it has appoint-ed a top lawyer to � ght the legal battle in the Niko compensation case in an international tribunal.

Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, made the re-mark to the Dhaka Tribune as a reaction to a recent order of an international court that asked Bangladesh keep aside a huge sum of money for paying Niko’s overdue bills.

On September 14, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ordered Bangladesh’s state-run oil compa-ny Petrobangla to deposit more than $25.3m

(around Tk200 crore) in an escrow account for settling Niko’s invoices on gas deliveries be-tween November 2004 and April 2010.

A month before that, the ICSID passed the order that Petrobangla would have to pay the money that the Canadian oil and gas explora-tion and production company had claimed.

ICSID is a part of the World Bank Group that facilitates arbitration of legal investment disputes between international investors and host states.

The three-member tribunal constituted in 2010 for this claim is presided over by Michael E Schneider of Germany.

In 2010, Niko � led a lawsuit with the ICSID after Petrobangla withheld payments on gas

sales from the Feni Gas Field from 2006. It � led another case involving compensa-

tion for the two blowouts occurred at Chattak gas � eld in 2005, after a Bangladeshi court held Niko liable for the accident. The trial in that case has yet to be completed.

The blowouts took place while drilling at the gas � eld in Sunamganj, locally known as Tengratila � eld, on January 7 and June 24, 2005.

Bangladesh will now also have to pay the Canadian company an interest for the delay in payment.

The fate of the other case that Niko had � led seeking clearance of liability for the blowouts is likely to be decided next month. l

BB Governor hands over cheques to poor families in Tungiparan Our Correspondent, Gopalganj

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman convened people to stand united in order to eradicate poverty from the country.

He termed poverty a “ghost” while hand-ing over cheques to underprivileged families in Tungipara, Gopalganj yesterday.

The governor handed over Tk25,000 to each family totaling to Tk53 lakh from the Bangladesh Bank disaster management and corporate social responsibility fund. BB has issued a circular directing all government and non-government entities to use jute products, particularly, sacks to support the jute farmers.

“Farmers help to earn dollar. Their chil-dren work in the Middle East and send us remittance. Why won’t we stand by the farm-ers?” he said. l

Workers on inde� nite strike n Our Correspondent, Satkhira

Export and import remain suspended as workers of Bhomra port went on inde� nite strike since yesterday morning to press home their two-point demand.

Workers’ Union president Rezaul Islam said, around 5,000 workers started the strike de-manding their payment. Confessing the strike port super Faruque Hossain said, the port would remain open for two days.Then, it would close for seven days on the occasion of Durga Puja.

A large number of vehicle loaded with goods stranded on the road due to strike. l

Strict security in Khagrachhari for Durga Pujan Tribune Report

Khagrachhari district administration has taken strict security measures in the district ahead of Durga Puja, the biggest religious fes-tival of Hindu people.

Around 3,000 people, including police, Ansar-VDP and volunteers, will be deployed to maintain law and orders, our Khagrachhari correspondent reported.

Preparations are in full swing and the local Hindus are in a joyous mood, said Taran Kumar Bhattacharya, general secretary of Bangladesh Puja Ujjapon Parishad’s Khagrachhari unit.

“Preparation for 47 puja mandaps is almost complete at eight upazilas in the district.” Kha-

grachhari’s acting deputy commissioner Mollah Muhammad Mizanur Rahman said the district administration is on highest alert for the festival.

“We have met with local Hindu leaders and concerned law enforcement agencies several times and decided to deploy police, Ansar-VDP members and volunteers from concerned areas, who would make sure that the puja celebration goes successfully and peacefully. There will be executive magis-trates present to monitor the situation and take necessary steps if required,” he said.

Khagrachhari Superintendent of Police Md Mazid Ali said police would deployed in both uniform and plain clothes at each puja man-dap to ensure security.

“There will also be a police control room in our o� ce during for 24-hour service Durga Puja, and anyone can communicate with us if necessary,” he said.

Besides, members of Border Guard Bang-ladesh have been deployed in � ve districts of Chittagong division – Chittagong, Khagrach-hari, Rangamati, Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar – to add extra security for the puja.

Two platoons of BGB members started pa-trolling the cities and towns in every district from 6pm yesterday, said BGB sources.

“More BGB personnel will be deployed in full swing after the overall security assess-ment,” said BGB Chittagong Regional Com-mander Brig Gen Habibul Karim. l

Two students take a look at a wall magazine prepared by students of Narayanganj Ideal School depicting, among other issues related to child molestation, the shocking image of three-year-old Syrian boy Aylan whose body was washed up on a Turkish beach. The exhibition took place as part of the 8th National Wall Magazine Festival and Competition 2015 at the Central Public Library in Dhaka yesterday RAJIB DHAR

News20DT

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

Suspected robber killed in gun� ght with copsn Our Correspondent, Joypurhat

A suspected robber, who was injured in a gun� ght with cops at Komorgram village in Sadar upazila on Friday night, died early yesterday at Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital in Bogra.

The dead was Rezaul, 37.Farid Hossain, o� cer-in-charge of Sadar police station, said on

a tip-o� , a team of police launched a drive at the village around 9pm while a gang of robbers were taking preparation to commit robbery in the area.

Sensing the presence of the law enforcers, the gang members opened � re at them, prompting the police personnel to retaliate that triggered a gun� ght, leaving Rezaul injured.

Later, police arrested bullet-hit Rezaul while his other associ-ates managed to � ee the scene.

Police also recovered a knife and some iron rods from the spot.Injured Rezaul was � rst admitted to Joypurhat Adhunik Hospi-

tal under police custody from where he was shifted to Bogra Sha-heed Ziaur Rahman Medical College as his condition deteriorated.

Later, Rezaul succumbed to his injures at the hospital. l

MATIRANGA HEALTH COMPLEX

Lone X-ray machine lies idle for years n Our Correspondent, Khagrachari

The lone X-ray machine at the Matiranga Upazila Health Complex has been lying idle for long nine years as it cannot be operated due to the low voltage of electricity.

Matiranga Health Complex sources said the X-ray machine was installed in 2005 and could be operated till 2006.

Since then it had been remaining idle due to the low power supply, said Health Inspector of the upazila health complex Tapon Kumar Sarker.

“It requires uninterrupted power supply

in the range of 200-220 volts to operate the machine while the available voltage ranges between 150 and 170 volts at the health com-plex,” Tapon added.

“Patients, who need to undergo X-ray tests, are now referred to Khagrachhari Ad-hunik Sadar Hospital and di� erent private clinics for the purpose,” Senior Sta� Nurse (Male) Mohiuddin Jamaddar said.

Rokeya Begum, 42, of Shantipur village un-der Matiranga upazila in the district alleged that they were very often referred to private clinics causing su� erings and � nancial losses to them.

Upazila Nirbahi O� cer BM Moshiur Rah-man said it was very sad the people of the upazila were not getting any X-ray service, though the machine was there and an opera-tor was also recruited for it.

Dr Abul Hashem, Acting Resident Medical O� cer of the health complex, said the higher authorities were informed the problem sever-al times but there was no positive response.

Matiranga Municipality Mayor Abu Yusuf Chowdhury said the lone X-ray machine was installed at the health complex for about 1,00000 people of Matiranga. l

Schoolgirl killedin road crashn Our Correspondent, Mymensingh

A nine-year-old girl was crushed under the wheels of a truck in Beltoli area on Dhaka-My-mensingh Highway yesterday.

The victim Asha was returning home from a madrasa around 8am when a truck hit her from behind.

She was dead on spot while the truck ran away.

Asha was the daughter of Alal Uddin and a class two student of Bilarpar Poshimpara Gov-ernment Primary School.

In protest to the incident, locals blocked the highway for half an hour. l

Durga Puja to be celebrated in 152 mandapsn Our Correspondent, Noakhali

Durga Puja, one of the biggest festivals of the Hindu people, will be celebrated through 152 mandaps in the district, which kicks o� on October 19.

President of the Puja Udjapan Parishad Ratan Lal Saha said that 152 puja mandaps would be erected in the nine upazilas of the district this year.

“Artists are passing busy time giving � nal touch to idols of Hin-du goddess Durga and decorating the di� erent puja mandaps,” he said.

Of the total, 19 mandaps would be erected in Sadar, 15 in Be-gumgonj, 11 in Sonaimuri,9 in Chatkhil,12 in Senbag, 12 in Com-panigonj,16 in Kabirhat,28 in Subarnachar,and 30 in Hatiya upazi-las.

Of 152 puja mandaps, there would be 5 puja before the pitcher (without idol) in Begumgonj and 4 in Senbag upazilas.

Md Eliash Sharif, Superintendent of Police said adequate secu-rity measures have also been taken to celebrate the Durga Puja through 152 puja mandaps.

Deputy Commissioner Badre Munir Ferdousof said administra-tion took initiatives to ensure peaceful celebration of the festival.

Each puja committees will engage volunteer members along with the ansar and police members.

There will also be engaged vigilance teams in each upazilas to celebrate the festival in a be� tting manner across the district. l

How is the Job atmosphere at CookieJar?The Cookie Jar team is made up of a bunch of young digital marketing enthusiasts who are always up to make some “magic” on the internet. Drop by Cookie Jar’s o� ce on any given day, and you will see people running mad with work or a bunch of people laughing at a joke someone cracked. You will � nd discussion going on at every corner of the o� ce on some upcoming campaign. The o� ce is literally the second home for all the “cookies”, a nickname proudly given by the Cookie Jar team. Most of the days after work, the boys will be in lounge to play FIFA, goal celebrations, friendly taunts and a lot of laughters. What kind of person would � t perfectly in your company?The company runs with the philosophy of constantly exploring. Work is not about delivering a piece of work as per the brief only but to create something that one can be proud of. The firm wants people

Cookie Jar is a full service digital marketing agency from the house of Asiatic 360. Cookie Jar innovates to make a brand’s online campaigns more efficient and result driven. The firm attempts to make magic for the brands it works for and tries to bring innovation in the digital world. Clients include Microsoft, Opera, HP, Telenor and more.

Free apps Superman can’t do without

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

“Cookie Jar, to me, is more like a second home. An amazing place to work, to learn and most importantly, to enjoy what I do. The people were welcoming from the very � rst day and always made me feel like I was part of their family. Work pressure will always remain in every o� ce you work in, but Cookie Jar makes it fun all the way.” - Shaan Farabee, Intern, Cookie Jar

n Rad Sharar Bin Kamal

These applications aren’t just for the o� ce, no. They are not the main productive game changers either. These fellows sit on the sidelines and cheer, while you get your e� ciency game on.

Focus LockTake a look at what’s grabbing your attention while you work: noti� cations from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, built-in games, Whatsapp, Viber, Messenger, we can go on. But on a day when you need to get things done, some distractions you simply cannot a� ord. And for that, this handy little app comes in. Focus Lock, for a period of time you set, will lock o� the apps which bug you most during work. It even has the option to give “breaks” during which you can take a breather. Problem is, it’s only available for Android.

Google KeepOut of the hundreds of note apps out there, this continues to excel at keeping Lois Lane’s grocery list in top form. Simplicity at its best, you can keep notes, checklists and set

reminders on Google Keep in an instant. Notes can be colour-coded according to priority or how you � nd it pretty, and you can access them all from the web version of the app as well. Google Keep seriously e� ective to start o� the day with, especially for us who love to keep things simple.

Sunrise CalendarNo, wait! This one’s di� erent. It has special…nothing. But that’s the best part. It syncs with your accounts instantly and gives a sweet view of your month’s tasks, one which you would love just to look at. We know there are numerous replacements, but this one caught our eye, pretty well.

MintSix days into the month and your pockets are already feeling a slight chill from their barren grounds. And naturally, you have no idea where the money went either. Happens to us all, till Mint into the picture. Well, you guessed it, it’s a personal � nance tracking app, and an easy one at that. If you’re handling o� ce � nances, it helps immensely to separate it from other sources to keep things in perspective for you. l

Be productive, like never before

step into my o� ce

career tips

Cookie Jar

who love their work and works with a smile on their face, a real smile! But most importantly the company values passion, if you are passionate, you will fit perfectly at Cookie Jar. What are the deal breakers for an employee working at Cookie jar?If you are not curious then you won’t survive here. If you are not ready to learn something new every moment then you need to look elsewhere. But most importantly, if your heart’s not in what you do, then you de� nitely won’t survive. l

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About a boy16-year-old was ‘arrogant’ about his a� uent lifestyle, but ‘mysterious’

n Syeda Samira Sadeque

The 16-year-old boy who rammed into two rickshaws in Gulshan, injuring three and critically injuring a man on Monday, was popular for his wealthy status but too arrogant for his own good.

The boy, whose name is being withheld due to his status as a minor, rammed his SUV into two rickshaws on Monday afternoon in the Gulshan area. As a result, two rickshaw pullers were injured, and one of the passengers, who was critically injured, is still being treated at United Hospital.

In a conversation with the Dhaka Tribune, a long-time acquaintance of the boy said, on condition of anonymity, that he was very arrogant about his father’s wealth.

“He was known as the ‘badass’ kid in school. Everyone knew him: he was the one with all the Rolexes, the one always driving around,” said the girl who went to school with him and has known him for about � ve years.

She admitted that the boy was “genuinely nice” but was always mysterious.

“He always kept secrets, and even got other kids in trouble,” she said, adding that although he was “popular” for his a� uence, he was not well-liked by most.

“No one really liked him because of his bragging: he used to brag so much that it used to upset people,” she said.

This was also evident in certain photos shared on social media, where people have commented in the past, expressing their disapproval of some of his lifestyle choices.

A user commented on a photo shared on his Instagram account, expressing disapproval of the 16-year-old’s photo that suggested he was driving under the in� uence of alcohol. To this, the minor had responded by boasting that he hadn’t been in any accident so it was not the commenter’s concern.

This exchange was in August. Two months on, the 16-year-old’s face has been plastered across social media with pictures from his Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook accounts –– these photos reek of the a� uent lifestyle the boy led. There are photos of him in front of big cars, with watches –– all with explicit boastful captions that validate others’ claims regarding both his wealth and arrogance.

The boy’s attitude transcended boundaries of social media and his immediate surroundings.

A teacher, who formerly taught at a school the boy attended, said he had “extreme behavioral issues,” and that his parents seemed nonchalant about it.

He would also allegedly use his father’s position and wealth as means to threaten others.

“He would say things such as: ‘You know my dad, he can beat you up’,” added the girl who went to school with him.

His father is HBM Jahidur Rahman, chairman of INNOTEL, and mother is Shaila Shelly Khan, a director of Premier Bank. He is the nephew of former Awami League (AL) MP HBM Iqbal.

“He put up an attitude and behaved horribly with faculty and peers, and was almost always obsessed with his new shoes, new gadgets,” said the former teacher, on condition of anonymity.

She added that he had been expelled from three schools here –– a claim the boy’s friend also con� rmed.

Police accused of helping perpetrator The role of the police has been rather suspicious. It has been reported separately by the Dhaka Tribune that the police has not � led any cases over the incident, saying they were waiting for the victims to lodge a case.

The victims and their families have not shown interest in � ling cases. The rickshaw pullers appear content with the compensation received.

“I need money more than justice,” one of the relatives have told Dhaka Tribune journalist in a separate report.

The boy’s family is said to have compensated the victims including two rickshaw pullers, and an employee at Telenor Group.

Many speculate that the boy has already left the country, but his brother Shoave Rahman has told the Dhaka Tribune that the he is still here.

It appears that the minor’s connection to the Awami League politician has helped him walk free despite a number of things he could be charged for. He was driving illegally, given he is not yet of legal age to drive, and was in possession of alcohol.

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

Uproar on social mediaSocial media had a crucial role in both spreading the news as well as expressing the rage of the middle class at what many are claiming to be a “rich children’s” problem.

In fact, this is not the � rst time such an incident has occurred as a result of teenagers racing on Dhaka streets. For years, racing has been a mark of a� uence in Dhaka, especially in the Gulshan area, where youths often race on the avenues.

The di� erence, this time, was social media. As soon as the accident took place, posts went viral on Facebook –– on personal walls as well as tra� c alert groups, and the story soon spread.

In some ways, it helped put pressure on the police to take actions. Although the Gulshan police said the boy had been taken to the police station � rst and handed over to his father, photos have gone viral on social media showing the boy being taken away by the police on a bike, presumably away from the scene.

Social media users also reacted following other photos leaked from the minor’s social media accounts, where, according to his friend, he was very active.

So much so that just a couple of hours before the accident, he posted a photo on social media site Snapchat, showing a bottle

of whiskey next to the steering wheel, with the caption “My life > your life” (presumably meaning “my life is greater/better than your life”).

This infuriated social media users who, in the coming days, took to Facebook, Instagram with hashtags #ClassyKidsOfDhaka and #RichKidsOfDhaka, as a mockery of the boy’s earlier posts which had similar hashtags.

They also used the caption “My life > your life” to post photos of their own lifestyle practices – ranging from using public buses to drinking chaa-and-biscuit, the more realistic essence of Dhaka.

Whether or not the boy is charged for the incident, this issue will de� nitely be one that many will remember –– especially with the large number of photos and screenshots from the boy’s social media accounts, which many are using to publicly shame him on social media. There are posts going viral on popular blog Moja Losss?, each day revealing more and more insight into his lifestyle, although these posts have not been veri� ed independently.

Whether he leaves the country in a few days, or never gets charged, this reaction on social media and the public shaming in the aftermath, may be a sign of hope that the racing on commuters’ streets will slow down –– even if it’s temporarily. l

Features24DT

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

Dove runs self-esteem workshops for girls

“World Mental Health Day 2015” at BRAC University

Dove, a personal care brand of Unilever, runs a self esteem project that promotes that Beauty should be a source of con� dence, not anxiety. Globally conducted research shows that 9 out of 10 young girls want to change something about their physical appearance, as a result of pressures from external sources. Dove Self Esteem Project aims to change that by equipping young people with the tools they need to develop their self-esteem. Dove has already reached 17 million young people surpassing their target of reaching 15 million globally with the Self Esteem Project by the end of 2015.

Dove Day is an initiative of Dove Self Esteem Project where students engage in Dove Self-Esteem workshops. In Bangladesh, Dove Day came alive on October 13 this year at Uttar Badda Girls’ High School, Bangladesh International School & College, European Standard School (Kids’ Campus), St. Francis Xavier’s Green Herald International School, Sunshine Grammar School and Bangladesh Elementary School.

At the workshops, the participating students were informed about socially endorsed ideals about appearances, and the sources of the pressures these ideals create, including the role of media. The mediators also explained ways in which to avoid feeling pressurised to achieve these arti� cial standards. Attending students were asked to participate in several a� rming activities and role plays to discuss and internalise what real beauty is about to help improve their self-esteem. At the end of the session they all took a pledge to become change agents. Students had a new-found appreciation of their uniqueness after the session and each of them wrote what they loved about themselves on the ‘Dove Day Wall’.

Around 75 Unilever managers including Leadership Team members went directly to schools on this Dove Day. Dove hopes that every woman in Bangladesh will explore her inner beauty with con� dence and will be able to rediscover herself. l

Every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) observes “World Mental Health Day” on October 10, with the overall objectives of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilising e� orts in support of mental health. As part of this world wide awareness campaign, a seminar was organized at the BRAC University premises on October 15, 2015 on this year’s theme “Dignity in Mental Health”. The theme encompasses the contrast between dignity and stigma as well as the need for parity between physical and mental health. The seminar was organized by the Counseling Unit of BRAC University in collaboration with the Center for Psychosocial Well-being & SRHRG, BRAC Institute of Educational Development of BRAC University and BRAC‘s Gender Justice and Diversity Programme,.

Khan Ahmed Murshid, Strategic and International Programme of BRAC University welcomed the guests. The seminar that followed, highlighted various mental health services provided by the organisers. Later on, a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Nishat Fatema Rahman,

Assistant Professor and coordinator of Psychosocial Counseling Unit & SRHRG, BRAC Institute of Educational Development. panelists included Dr. Shaheen Akhter, Professor of Pediatrics and Program Director, Institute of Pediatric Neurodisorder and Autism, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University; Dr. Shaheen Islam, Professor and Chairman, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, University of Dhaka; Khursheed Erfan-Ahmed, Founder Member of Ain O Salish Kendra and Roushan Jahan Parvin, Senior Deputy Director, Support Service & Halfway Home and PSC Unit of Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK).

All the panelists discussed the mental health services they provide, common barriers that the � eld of mental health faces this day and the initiatives being taken to overcome these challenges in order to uphold the dignity in mental health. Sheepa Ha� za, Director of the Gender Justice and Diversity Programme of BRAC concluded the seminar by conveying thanks to the organisers of the seminar as well as the distinguished guests from various NGOs, universities and organisations. l

readily accessible to more people globally, by asking everyone to #shareameal. With one in four people in the world lacking the nutrition needed to live a healthy life, the partners observed World Food Day (October 16, 2015) by encouraging everyone to #shareameal with someone in their community.

Knorr Bangladesh, in partnership with SOS Children’s Village, Bangladesh (an NGO working with children), observed the occasion by hosting a #shareameal event in SOS Children’s Village, Dhaka where general public participated by sharing a meal with the children of the Village. Others participated by sharing a meal with someone in their community. Crucially, to inspire others to get involved, many who took part shared their experience on social media, using the hashtag #shareameal.

Zaved Akhtar, Brand Building Director, Unilever Bangladesh Ltd, and Md. Saiful Islam, Project Director, SOS Children’s Village, Dhaka, were both present at the event.

Knorr has now helped WFP provide 2 million nutritious school meals in many

countries across the world, since the start of the partnership in 2014. Together Knorr, as one of the world’s largest cooking brands and WFP, the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, are nourishing the adolescents of today, particularly girls whose needs are often overlooked, so they can become the change-makers of tomorrow in their families and communities. The initiative also aims to help to break the cycle of poverty working towards the UN’s recently agreed Global Goal #2: the Zero Hunger goal.

Beyond championing sustainable agriculture and contributing to Unilever’s target of helping more than one billion people take action to improve their health and well-being by 2020, Knorr is committed to driving positive long-term change by enhancing the livelihoods of families, farmers and local communities.

People looking to get involved in this campaign can share their story on social media using #shareameal or find out more about this year’s programme at www.facebook.com/KnorrBangladesh. l

#Shareameal on World Food DayKnorr, a brand from Unilever is partnering with United Nations World Food

Programme (WFP) and pledging to create a brighter future where nutritious food is

25D

TSportINSIDE

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

Flurry of wickets on NCL opening dayAs many as 13 wickets fell on the opening day of the Walton 17th National Cricket League’s fourth-round tie between Dhaka and Khulna at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium yesterday. Khulna’s decision to bat � rst back� red horribly as they were bundled out for 117. PAGE 26

Bad light interferes last hour drama in Abu DhabiEngland were 25 runs short of claiming an unlikely victory against Pakistan on the � nal day of the � rst Test yesterday with the tourists ending on 74-4 as bad light ended the match in a draw. Moeen Ali and debutant Adil Rashid had earlier helped reduce Pakistan to 173-allout. PAGE 27

Record-breaker CR7 eases Real past LevanteCristiano Ronaldo became Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer as Los Blancos moved to the top of La Liga thanks to a 3-0 win over Levante on Saturday. Ron-aldo struck his 324th goal for the Spanish giants in just his 310th game to open the scoring for the hosts. PAGE 28

Herath spins Sri Lanka to big win over WISri Lanka needed less than four days to thrash West Indies by an innings and six runs in the opening Test at Galle on Satur-day with Rangana Herath leading the vic-tory charge by claiming his � fth 10-wicket haul. The touring side were bundled out for 227 in their second innings in the after-noon session. PAGE 29

PREMIER LEAGUEChelsea 2-0 Aston VillaCosta 34, Hutton 54-og

Crystal Palace 1-3 West HamCabaye 25-P Jenkinson 22, Lanzini 88, Payet 90

Everton 0-3 Man United Schneiderlin 18, Herrera 22, Rooney 62

Man City 5-1 BournemouthSterling 7, 29, 45+3, Murray 22Bony 11, 89

Southampton 2-2 LeicesterFonte 21, Van Dijk 37 Vardy 66, 90

Tottenham 0-0 Liverpool

West Brom 1-0 SunderlandBerahino 54

Manchester City’s English mid� elder Raheem Sterling (C) scores their � rst goal against Bournemouth during their English Premier League match at the Etihad stadium in Manchester yesterday REUTERS

Manchester duo hit scoring spree, no goals for new boy Kloppn Reuters, London

Goals rained in for Manchester City and Manchester United but Juergen Klopp’s � rst game in charge of Liverpool was solid rather than spectacular with his new side drawing 0-0 at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday.

Raheem Sterling’s hat-trick and a brace for Wilfried Bony helped leaders City to a 5-1 home win against Bournemouth while a few miles down the motorway United got back to winning ways with a 3-0 thumping of Ever-ton - Wayne Rooney scoring United’s third, his � rst away league goal for 11 months.

Manchester City lead second-placed Unit-ed by two points with West Ham United a further two adrift.

Liverpool’s sixth draw in seven matches in all competitions left them down in ninth place, but there was reason for optimism for Klopp who replaced sacked Brendan Rodg-ers this month.

“0-0 is not my dream result but it is okay,” Klopp said. “I’m satis� ed with the start,” said the German, who succeeded the sacked Brendan Rodgers during the interna-tional break.

“We only had three days (of training) and Tottenham have a very, very strong and well-tuned team. It could be di� cult, but I’m really satis� ed.

“The start was brilliant. I think we surprised them a little bit. We didn’t want to go on the � rst ball, we wanted to go on the second ball and we were there, good timing,

very good.Chelsea steadied the ship with a routine

2-0 home win against struggling Aston Villa, although they were helped by a poor goal-keeping error by Brad Guzan and Alan Hut-ton’s own goal.

High-� ying West Ham notched their fourth away win of the season, Manuel Lan-zini and Dimitri Payet scoring late in a 3-1 victory at London rivals Crystal Palace who played half the match with 10 men after Dwight Gayle was red-carded.

West Ham’s former manager Sam Allard-yce’s � rst game in charge of Sunderland end-ed in a dismal 1-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion, leaving them second from bottom.

Southampton led 2-0 against Leicester City but were pegged back and drew 2-2. l

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp applauds fans after their English Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane yesterday REUTERS

Sport26DT

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

BD U17 V CAB U17, DAY 2CAB U17 (1st innings): 257-allout in 116.3 overs (Joshua 57, Ishaq 3/55)BD U17 (1st innings): 265/6 in 81 overs(Shamim 161, Kaushik 4/97)

Bangladesh U17 lead by eight runs

Shamim shines as BD U17s take lead n Tribune Desk

Shamim Patwari blasted a scintillating, un-beaten 202-ball 161 to enable Bangladesh Un-der-17 to a slender � rst-innings lead of eight runs against Cricket Association of Bengal Under U-17 during their third and penultimate three-dayer in Cox’s Bazar yesterday.

Bangladesh U-17 closed the second day’s play yesterday at Sheikh Kamal International Cricket Stadium on 265/6 with Shamim lead-ing the way.

The left-handed Shamim smashed a dozen boundaries and seven sixes as the home side, in pursuit of CAB U-17’s � rst-innings tally of 257-allout, registered a good reply. Kaushik Maity scalped 4/97 for the tourists.

CAB U-17 were earlier skittled out for a be-low-par total with Ishaq Ali (3/55) turning out to be the most successful bowler for the hosts.

Joshua Ozukum top-scored for CAB U-17 with a patient 120-ball 57. l

SHEIKH KAMAL INTERNATIONAL CLUB CUP

Abahani, MSC bolster squads with loan dealsn Shishir Hoque

The Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup is just two days away from its kick-o� and keeping that in mind, the Bangladesh Premier League sides are putting the � nal touches to their preparation.

Ahead of the international tournament, four-time professional league champions Abahani Limited, traditional crowd-pullers Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited and Chittagong Abahani have decided to bolster their squad with the inclusion of several play-ers from Sheikh Russel, albeit on loan.

The 10-day tournament will get under-way with the inaugural match between Dha-ka Abahani and Pakistan's Karachi Electric FC while Chittagong Abahani face Kolkata's King� sher East Bengal on the same day with both games taking place at MA Aziz Stadium.

Here we take a glance at the preparation of the three participating clubs from Bangladesh as they bid to seal the title at their own backyard.

Chittagong AbahaniExperienced coach Sha� qul Islam Manik might have claimed that they did not get enough training sessions but they are perhaps the best-positioned among the three clubs as they have recruited several players on loan

from Sheikh Russel KC. “The preparation has simply not been good

enough. Everything depends on a few expe-rienced players. If they are motivated, utilise home support and give their best only then can we dare to hope. I think we are in the group of death so our initial target will be to reach the semi-� nals,” Manik told the media yesterday.

The port city out� t have roped in some star national players in forwards Jahid Hasan Ameli and Zahid Hossain, mid� elders He-manta Vincent Biswas and Mithun Chowd-hury, goalkeeper Russel Mahmud Liton and defender Reza from Sheikh Russel.

They have also brought in foreign recruits like Baybeck, Kingsley Chigozie and Yoko Samnick.

Dhaka Abahani Manager Satyajit Das Rupu hoped that the Sky Blues would be able to � ght for the champion-ship title.

In their bid to claim the title, the former top-� ight champions received a boost when star Nigerian striker Sunday Chizoba and Ghanaian Samad Yusuf decided to join them.

Abahani have also bolstered their squad by purchasing Chester Akon from Brothers Un-ion and Samson Illiasu from Team BJMC.

As far as the local loanees are concerned,

Sheikh Russel duo Topu Barman and Waly Faisal have also joined Abahani to strengthen the defence.

“We have started our preparation before the Eid-ul-Adha vacation and tried to balance the � tness level of the players. As you can see, our group is very strong. We are preparing ourselves to � ght for the championship,” said Rupu.

MohammedanThe traditional Black and Whites have only had nine training sessions as part of their preparation for the tournament. Their miser-ies deepened when they found out that they will be missing the services of their Guinean striker Ismael Bangoura. A couple of others also incurred di� erent injuries.

Mohammedan however, did recruit young BJMC striker Nabib Newaz Jibon, who was earlier called up to the national squad for the recently-concluded 2018 Fifa World Cup sec-ond round quali� er away to Kyrgyzstan.

Brothers winger Faisal Mahmud has also joined Joshimuddin Joshi's out� t.

“The target is to put up a positive perfor-mance but the reality is tough. We had only nine sessions whereas we required at least four weeks to prepare ourselves. Many players are un� t as well,” said Mohammedan trainer Joshi following their training session yesterday. l

Flurry of wickets on NCL opening dayn Minhaz Uddin Khan

Wickets galore in FatullahAs many as 13 wickets fell on the opening day of the Walton 17th National Cricket League's fourth-round tie between Dhaka and Khulna at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium yesterday.

Khulna's decision to bat � rst back� red hor-ribly as they were bundled out for 117 in their � rst innings.

None of the Khulna batsmen crossed 27 in the face of some disciplined bowling by Dhaka, led by right-arm seamer Masum Khan (4/11). Mohammad Sharif and Ali Ahmed Manik provided valuable support, sharing four wickets between themselves.

In reply, the capital city out� t ended the day's proceedings on 77/3 with opening bats-man Joyraz Sheik posting an unbeaten 49. Dhaka trail by 40 runs with seven � rst-in-nings wickets remaining.

Honours even in KhulnaTaking � rst strike, Dhaka Metropolis conclud-ed the opening day's play on 211/7, courtesy half-centuries from national discard Shamsur Rahman and Asif Ahmed.

Sanjit Saha and Tanveer Haider were the most successful bowlers for Rangpur with

three wickets each.Metro will look to bat as long as possible in

their � rst innings when the second day's play gets underway today.

Sylhet in driving seatAsked to bat � rst, Barisal were dismissed for 155 in their � rst innings with left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed picking up four wickets while Khaled Ahmed and Sylhet skipper Alok Kapali bagged two each.

Sylhet cut down the lead to 110 runs when they ended the day on 45/1.

Chittagong v RajshahiRajshahi captain Mush� qur Rahim might have won the toss and decided to take � rst guard but he will be disappointed with the batting performance of his charges as they managed a below-par 208 before losing all of their wickets against Chittagong.

Rajshahi opening batsman Nazmul Hos-sain Shanto scored a well-made 63 but he lacked support from the other end. Chit-tagong spinner Iftekhar Sajjad shone for his side with an impressive � ve-wicket haul.

The port-city out� t made a solid start in their � rst innings as they registered 43 with-out loss, trailing Rajshahi by 165 runs. l

NCL, ROUND 4, DAY 1TIER 1

Khulna v Dhaka, KSOAS

Khulna (1st innings): 117-allout in 39.4 overs(Masum 4/11)Dhaka (1st innings): 77/3 in 24.1 overs

Dhaka trail by 40 runs

Rangpur v Dhaka Metropolis, SANS

Metro (1st innings): 211/7 in 92 overs (Asif 56, Shamsur 51, Sanjit 3/43, Tanveer 3/73)

TIER 2

Barisal v Sylhet, SCS

Barisal (1st innings): 155-allout in 55 overs(Nasum 4/32)Sylhet (1st innings): 45/1 in 20 overs

Sylhet trail by 110 runs

Chittagong v Rajshahi, ZACS

Rajshahi (1st innings): 208-allout in 72 overs (Shanto 63, Iftekhar 5/63)Chittagong (1st innings): 43/0 in 14 overs

Chittagong trail by 165 runsDhaka division’s young paceman Masum Khan took 4 for 11 against Khulna yesterday MI MANIK

Sport 27D

T

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

Siddikur 22nd as Macau Open ends todayPremier Bangladesh golfer Siddikur Rahman continued his roller-coaster ride in the Venetian Macau Open as he carded two-under-par 69 in the third and penultimate round at Macau Golf and Country Club yesterday. Following a brilliant opening round in which Siddikur hit a magni� cent six-under-par 65, the 30-year old Bangladesh golfer experienced a disappointing second round where he struck three-over-par 74. Siddikur however, enjoyed a good day in the o� ce yesterday, smashing four birdies against two bogeys and will go into the fourth and � nal round today at 22nd position, tied alongside seven others.

–TRIBUNE DESK

Grosjean broke seat in Sochi crashLotus Formula One driver Romain Grosjean revealed on Friday that the force of his Russian Grand Prix crash last weekend was so strong it broke his seat. The Frenchman, who is leaving Lotus at the end of the season to join the new U.S-owned Haas F1 team, said his escape with-out injury after hitting the barriers in Sochi was a testament to Formula One’s safety levels.

–REUTERS

Kerber to face Jankovic in Hong Kong � nalSerbia’s Jelena Jankovic all but ended Venus Williams’ slim hopes of qualifying for the end-of-season WTA Finals by winning the battle of former world number ones in the Hong Kong Open semi-� nals on Saturday. Jankovic prevailed 6-4 7-5 in a tight match to set up a Sunday showdown with Germany’s Angelique Kerber, who proved too strong for Australia’s Sam Stosur.

–REUTERS

Everton great Howard Kendall diesFormer Everton player and managerial great Howard Kendall has died at the age of 69, the Premier League club announced on Saturday. Kendall played for Everton as a mid� elder in the 1970s and had three spells as manager at Goodison Park, including a six-year stint in the 1980s that was the most successful period in the club’s history.

–AFP

Radwanska closes on WTAPoland’s Agnieszka Radwanska moved within one win of securing a place at the WTA Finals after thrashing Czech Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-1 in the semi-� nals of the Tianjin Open yesterday. Radwanska will take on Danka Kovinic today.

–REUTERS

Villa � op Cole sent to CoventryAston Villa mid� elder Joe Cole made a surprise move to third tier Coventry on a short-term loan on Friday. Cole opted to join Tony Mow-bray’s League One promotion contenders on a deal that will run until November 22 after falling out of favour at Villa.

–AFP

QUICK BYTES SCORECARDPAKISTAN 1ST INNINGS 523-8 dec (Shoaib Malik 245, Asad Sha� q 107, Mohammad Hafeez 98; B. Stokes 4-57)ENGLAND 1ST INNINGS R B(overnight 569-8)A. Rashid b Khan 12 36S. Broad not out 17 37J. Anderson not out 3 12Extras: (b7, lb7, nb11, w3) 28Total: (for nine wkts dec; 206 overs) 598

Fall of wickets1-116 (Ali), 2-281 (Bell), 3-285 (Wood), 4-426 (Root), 5-443 (Bairstow), 6-534 (Stokes), 7-549 (Cook), 8-563 (Butler), 9-590 (Rashid)BowlingRahat 28-1-86-1, Khan 27-7-74-2, Babar 72-17-183-1, Riaz 37-3-125-3 (11nb, 3w), Sha� q 7-0-19-0, Malik 35-4-97-2PAKISTAN 2ND INNINGS R BMohammad Hafeez run out 34 55Shan Masood b Anderson 1 4Shoaib Malik c Bairstow b Anderson 0 4Younis Khan c Stokes b Adil 45 114Misbah-ul-Haq b Ali 51 111Asad Sha� q c Butler b Rashid 6 11 Sarfraz Ahmed c Anderson b Rashid 27 36Wahab Riaz c Bairstow b Ali 1 4Zul� qar Babar c Anderson b Rashid 1 8Rahat Ali not out 0 1Imran Khan c Anderson b Rashid 0 1Extras: (b3, lb2, nb2) 7Total: (all out; 57.5 overs) 173

Fall of wickets1-3 (Masood), 2-3 (Malik), 3-47 (Hafeez), 4-113 (Younis), 5-139 (Sha� q), 6-159 (Misbah), 7-165 (Riza), 8-168 (Babar), 9-173 (Ahmed)BowlingAnderson 10-3-30-2, Broad 8-5-8-0, Wood 7-2-29-0, Rashid 18.5-3-64-5, Stokes 7-4-9-0, Ali 7-0-28-2 ENGLAND 2ND INNINGS R BMoeen Ali c Malik b Babar 11 12J. Butler lbw b Malik 4 5J. Root not out 33 29B. Stokes c Hafeez b Malik 2 4J. Bairstow st Ahmed b Babar 15 10I. Bell not out 5 6Extras: (lb2, w2) 4Total: (four wkts; 11 overs) 74

Fall of wickets1-13 (Butler), 2-29 (Babar), 3-35 (Stokes), 4-66 BowlingBabar 5-0-27-2 (1w), Malik 4-0-25-2, Riaz 2-0-20-0Result: Drawn

England’s Adil Rashid celebrates taking the wicket of Pakistan’s Younis Khan during the � fth day of their � rst Test in Abu Dhabi yesterday REUTERS

Bad light interferes last day Pakistan-England draman Reuters, Abu Dhabi

England were 25 runs short of claiming an un-likely victory against Pakistan on the � nal day of the � rst Test on Saturday with the tourists ending on 74-4 as bad light ended the match in a draw.

Spin duo Moeen Ali and debutant Adil Rashid (5-64) had helped reduce Pakistan to 173 all out from 139-4, which set England a target of 99 to win and about an hour’s bat-ting remaining.

Alastair Cook’s men went on the o� ensive in a rejigged batting order.

Shoaib Malik trapped Jos Buttler (4) lbw

and had Ben Stokes caught on two, while Moeen Ali (11) fell to Zul� qar Babar as spin again proved lethal on what had been a life-less Abu Dhabi pitch during the � rst four days’ play.

Jonny Bairstow smashed 15 o� 10 balls before being stumped by wicketkeeper Sar-fraz Ahmed, while Joe Root’s unbeaten 33 was nearly as brisk as England scored 74 o� 11 overs.

Pakistan declared on 523-8 on Wednes-day, England then taking nearly three days to reach 598-9 in their � rst innings before skip-per Alastair Cook called on the hosts to bat again mid-Saturday morning. l

BPL-3 fetches more foreign interestn Minhaz Uddin Khan

A minimum of 20 more cricketers will be add-ed to the Bangladesh Premier League Twen-ty20 players’ draft, informed Bangladesh Cricket Board media committee chairman Jalal Younus yesterday. He further informed that the nine under-19 players previously named in the draft will be withdrawn due to their busy schedule ahead.

The BPL governing council earlier re-leased a list of 318 enlisted players – 122 local and 196 foreign – for its third edition next month. However, Jalal said that out of the enlisted foreign cricketers 150 have already completed their registration while new names recently showed their interest in the tournament.

The Players’ by Choice, the process which will determine who plays where, is scheduled to take place on October 26.

“We have received requests from West In-dies and England cricketers. They want to be named in the draft and their request in under process,” said Jalal. “We had nine under-19 cricketers in the list but they have a tight schedule ahead and wont be available. So the technical committee has decided not to keep them for the draft.”

He added, “But we are adding around nine crickets to the list now. I am not sure who are named in that list though.”

The BCB director, who is also an active member of the BPL technical committee, said there are many pending decisions for the Players’ by Choice and it will be taken care

in a meeting with the franchises soon. Each side in the six-team competition will be able to register 13 local and 12 foreign players, and “We still need to think about it and we might also see some foreign cricketers getting re-moved from the list.”

It was understood that the franchises and the tournament committee reached an understanding where the six icon cricketers – Shakib al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Masharfe bin Mortaza, Mush� qur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain – will be uno� cially handed over to their respected franchises.

But Jalal produced a new twist saying, “This thing is still to be decided. There is a possibility that the icon cricketers will be put up in the Players’ by Choice.” l

28DT Sport

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

BUNDESLIGASchalke 04 2-1 Hertha BerlinHoewedes 27, Meyer 90+2 Kalou 73

VfL Wolfsburg 4-2 Ho� enheimKruse 1, 62, 83, Dost 7 Toljan 29, Schmid 54

Hamburg 0-0 Bayer Leverkusen

Augsburg 0-2 Darmstadt Wagner 7, Niemeyer 29

Werder Bremen 0-1 Bayern Munich Mueller 23

Record-breaking Ronaldo eases Madrid past Levanten AFP, Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo became Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer as Los Blancos moved to the top of La Liga thanks to a 3-0 win over Le-vante on Saturday.

Ronaldo struck his 324th goal for the Span-ish giants in just his 310th game with a � ne shot from outside the area after he had set up Marcelo to open the scoring for the hosts.

Jese Rodriguez added a third nine min-utes from time. A � rst victory in three league games moves Madrid two points clear of Vil-larreal at the top, but champions Barcelona can move level with Real should they beat Rayo Vallecano at home later on Saturday.

The scale of Ronaldo’s achievement is ex-empli� ed by the fact he has played 431 fewer games for Madrid than previous record holder and club legend Raul, who earlier this week announced his decision to retire from football next month after a brief stint with the New York Cosmos.

Ronaldo paraded his record fourth golden boot for being the top scorer in Europe last season to an adoring crowd before kick-o� .

Ronaldo was frustrated moments later when the referee waved play on after he ap-peared to be barged in the back by Simao Mate Junior inside the area.

Gareth Bale was partnering the Portuguese in attack for the � rst time in over a month, but the Welshman failed to make an impact before being substituted at half-time as he headed over with his best chance from Toni Kroos’s corner.

The opener arrived on 27 minutes when Levante needlessly gifted possession to Ma-drid inside their own half and a neat one-two between Marcelo and Ronaldo allowed the Real captain in the absence of the injured Ser-gio Ramos to � re home.

Levante nearly struck back immediately, but Navas’s brilliant start to the season con-tinued as he � ew to his left to somehow claw Deyverson’s powerful header to safety.

And within seconds Levante were pun-ished for again giving the ball away as Kroos squared for Ronaldo to thunder home his 11th

goal of the season. Madrid brie� y threatened to run riot as Ronaldo should have turned home Bale’s cut-back.

However, after Bale had been replaced by Lucas Vazquez at half-time to keep him fresh for Wednesday’s trip to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, another � at sec-ond-half display followed from Rafael Be-nitez’s men. Navas again had to rescue his side with a smart stop from Nabil Ghilas and Nacho made a remarkable block to prevent Deyverson pulling a goal back.

Madrid’s greater � repower proved the dif-ference once more, though, as substitute Jese rounded o� the scoring as he ghosted past Si-mao and smashed the ball high past the help-less Ruben Martinez.l

RESULTReal Madrid 3-0 LevanteMarcelo 27, Ronaldo 30, Jese 81

Unstoppable Bayern beat Werder for record league startn Reuters, Berlin

Bayern Munich edged past struggling Werder Bremen 1-0 on Saturday courtesy of Thomas Mueller’s � rst half goal to set a Bundesliga re-cord for the best start to a season with their ninth consecutive victory.

Germany international Mueller, in sensa-tional form this season, was left unmarked in the box to latch onto a superb Thiago Alcan-tara chip and tap in from close range in the 23rd minute for his ninth league goal as Bay-ern improved the record they had set them-selves in the 2012/13 season.

Unbeaten Bayern, who never needed to hit top form and eased o� late in the game grant-ing Werder more space, climb to a maximum 27 points, restoring their seven-point lead over second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who won 2-0 at Mainz 05 on Friday. Bayern face Arsenal in the Champions League next week.

Max Meyer scored a stoppage-time goal to give Schalke 04 a last-gasp 2-1 victory over ten-man Hertha Berlin and keep them � rmly in third place on 19 points, one behind Dortmund.l

Sport 29D

T

England women’s wicket-keeper Sarah Taylor (C), 26, is about to grasp a ball during a game of men’s grade cricket for Northern Districts in Adelaide yesterday. Taylor is making history as the � rst woman to play men’s grade cricket in Australia and is representing Northern Districts against Port Adelaide in South Australia’s premier men’s competition

AFP

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

Ten Sports 7:00AM Moto GP 2015: RaceAustralian Grand Prix 2:30PM ATP: Shanghai Rolex Masters, Final Ten ActionFrench Ligue 1 6:00PM Olympique De Marseille v Lorient Bretagne 9:00PM De Bordeaux v Montpellier Herault Ten Cricket12:00PM A-League 2015/16Brisbane Roar FC v CC Mariners Sony SixIRB Rugby World Cup 2015 5:00PM Quarter Final 3: Ireland v Argentina 8:30PM Quarter Final 4: Australia v Scotland 12:30AM Italian Serie A Inter Milan v Juventus Star Sports 12:00PM South Africa Tour of India 3rd ODI Star Sports 29:30AM Ranji Trophy 2015/16Round 3 Day 4: Punjab v Gujarat 7:30PM Indian Super League 2015Kerala v Delhi Star Sports 44:30PM BWF World Super Series Yonex Denmark Open 9:00PM English Premier League Newcastle United v Norwich City

DAY’S WATCH

Herath spins SL to big winn Reuters

Sri Lanka needed less than four days to thrash West Indies by an innings and six runs in the opening Test at Galle on Saturday with Ran-gana Herath leading the victory charge by claiming his � fth 10-wicket haul.

The touring side, who have never won a test match in Sri Lanka, were bundled out for 227 in their second innings in the afternoon session, after being asked to follow on by the hosts.

Herath added three wickets to his previous day’s removal of opener Kraigg Brathwaite (34) after claiming six victims in the � rst in-nings to � nish with match � gures of 10-147.

Three of the 37-year-old’s landmark hauls

have come at Galle, the venue for his Test de-but against Australia more than 16 years ago.

Debutant all-rounder Milinda Siriwardana and paceman Dhammika Prasad picked up two wickets apiece in the second innings for Sri Lanka.

Jermaine Blackwood played some de-lightful shots and showed nimble footwork against the spinners during his knock of 92, his second highest score in Tests, but was the last man out.

After resuming on 67-2, West Indies lost nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo (10) in wily left-arm spinner Herath’s third over and then experienced batsman Marlon Samuels was out lbw o� the � rst ball he faced. l

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews (2R) congratulates Rangana Herath (3L) at the end of the � rst Test against the West Indies in Galle yesterday AP

SCORECARDSRI LANKA 1ST INNINGS484 all out (Karunaratne 186, Chandimal 151; Taylor 2-65)WEST INDIES 1ST INNINGS251 all out (Darren Bravo 50; Herath 6-68)WEST INDIES 2ND INNINGS R BFollowing on Darren Bravo c Perera b Pradeep 31 66 Devendra Bishoo c Mathews b Herath 10 25 Marlon Samuels lbw Herath 0 1 Jermaine Blackwood c Silva b Prasad 92 135 Denesh Ramdin c Silva b Siriwardana 11 31 Jason Holder run out 18 26 Kemar Roach st Perera b Herath 5 6 Jerome Taylor lbw b Prasad 5 4 Shannon Gabriel not out 7 13 Extras (lb3 w2 nb3) 8 Total: all out (68.3 overs) 227

Fall of wickets1-18 (Hope), 2-60 (Brathwaite), 3-74 (Bishoo), 4-74 (Samuel), 5-88 (Bravo), 6-136 (Ramdin), 7-172 (Holder), 8-178 (Roach), 9-189 (Taylor), 10-227 (Blackwood) BowlingPrasad 9.3-3-28-2, Herath 22-5-79-4 Pradeep 14-1-28-1, Siriwardana 12-1-60-2, Kaushal 11-3-29-0

Djokovic mauls Murray, Tsonga awaits in � naln Reuters, Shanghai

World number one Novak Djokovic continued his dominance of the Chinese hardcourts by swatting aside a mis-� ring Andy Murray 6-1 6-3 to reach the � nal of the Shanghai Masters yesterday.

The Serbian will take on Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the � nal today after the 16th seed recorded a 6-4 0-6 7-5 win over Rafa Nadal, his � rst in almost four years against the Spaniard. The 30-year-old Frenchman was delighted with his scintillating display featuring 40 winners, mainly from a fearsome forehand, but will have to � nd yet another gear if he is to upset Djokovic today.

The 10-times grand slam champion is aim-ing for his third Shanghai title on the back of securing his sixth China Open last week when he dismantled Nadal in the Beijing � nal. l

Downtime30DT

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

DILBERT

How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

CODE-CRACKER

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 8 represents A so � ll A every time the � gure 8 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.As you get the letters, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1 Girdles (5)6 United (3)7 Live social (5)10 Make suitable (5)12 Single entity (4)13 Fruit (5)15 Prepare for publica-tion (4)16 Dry, of champagne (3)18 Transgression (3)20 Eft (4)22 Concur (5)23 Lofty (4)25 Draws nigh (5)28 Fate (3)29 Fails to keep (5)

DOWN1 Brags (6)2 Finish (3)3 Very heavy (6)4 Environment (7)5 Japanese currency unit (3)8 Public transport (3)9 Prevalent (4)11 Cushion (3)14 Everlasting (7)16 Takes by theft (6)17 Proceeds e� ortlessly (6)19 Muslim leader (4)21 Tiny (3)22 Everyone (3)24 Lacking in strictness (3)26 Fish eggs (3)

SUDOKU

Showtime 31D

TSUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

WHAT TO WATCHX-Men: First ClassStar Movies 11:46pmIn 1962, the United States government enlists the help of Mutants with superhuman abilities to stop a malicious dictator who is determined to start World War III.Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence

X-Men: Days of Future PastStar Movies 9:30pmThe X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate e� ort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.Cast: Patrick Stweart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman

Catch Me if You CanZee Studio 6:40pmA true story about Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars’ worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor.Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken

Mujhse Shaadi KarogiSony MAX 5:30pmSameer, fast at losing his temper is re-located to Goa where he falls in love with Rani. But Sameer’s new roommate Sunny, has some plans of his own.Cast: Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra

Edge of TomorrowHBO 9:30pmA military o� cer is brought into an alien war against an extraterrestrial enemy who can reset the day and know the future. When this o� cer is enabled with the same power, he teams up with a Special Forces warrior to try and end the war.Cast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton

“Illuminating Puran Dhaka – Heritage in Limelight”, a two-day cultural programme jointly organised by Alliance Française de Dhaka, Goethe-Institut and Urban Study Group (USG), concluded with much fanfare yesterday.

The main event involved video and light installations by French artist Christophe Bruyas and German artist Philipp Geist, accompanied by an exhibition showcasing the rich cultural heritage of Puran Dhak, and a saxophone and � ute recital as well as a dance performance. The project aimed at raising awareness on the cultural values of the heritage buildings in the country.

Daniel Afzalur Rahman has been appointed as the Chief Operating O� cer (COO) of Radio ABC recently. He will be in charge of managing all operations of the radio station with a focus to transform the station into the top entertainment media brand of the country. At the age of only thirty three this will be Daniel’s third CEO/COO role. Previously he served the top job at Radio Foorti and G&R.Owned by Transcom Group and concern of Media Star Limited, Radio ABC 89.2 FM is one of the most popular radio stations of the country.

What’s hot and what’s notn Showtime Desk

Another weekend at the box o� ce and a couple of new faces. There are new releases to keep an eye on and there are some to completely avoid.

This weekend, we see the premiere of Guillermo del Toro’s gothic romance, Crimson Peak. This periodically horror, if you want to call it that, has a good shot at becoming number one at the box o� ce past the weekend but will get some sti� competition by another horror � lm, Goosebumps. Unlike the former, the latter is more of a family a� air, as the � lm is based on the teen’s bestselling Goosebumps books of the 90s. Also opening is Steven Spielberg’s Cold War thriller, Bridge of Spies, starring Tom Hanks.

But it is assumed Goosebumps, with a wider audience, may take the top spot, while Bridge of Spies and Crimson Peak might have to � ght for second and third place. Regardless the releases, it will be a

close race. As for our theater experiences here in Dhaka, there are some worthwhile movies to enjoy.

The Martian, garnering endless positive reviews, remains the top and most desirable watch. For a 3D experiment, Everest is de� nitely worth the watch. Even though it’s best in IMAX, unfortunately, 3D will have to su� ce. One movie you should avoid is the biggest box o� ce bomb of the year, Pan (3D). Without going into too much detail, and a full on review, the direction is to blame for this disaster. The � lm doesn’t seem to know who their target audience is and the director has failed to capture the essence of Peter Pan or even portray a di� erent version of the story correctly.

You can catch Everest at both Star Cineplex and Blockbuster Cinemas. However, The Martian can only be viewed at Star Cineplex. See you at the movies! l

event

Photos: Mahmud Hossain Opu

Radio ABC appoints new COO

Back Page32DT

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015

WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT PAGE 31

HOTELIERS EXPECT INFLUX OF TOURISTS DURING DURGA PUJA PAGE 16

FLURRY OF WICKETS ON NCL OPENING DAY PAGE 26

KSA sends back unquali� ed, unskilled workersn Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Job market in Saudi Arabia for Bangladeshis is shrinking due to sending of unquali� ed and unskilled workers to the kingdom country.

Workers had to come back to Bangladesh as they did not ful� ll the quali� cation of the jobs.

In the last six months, about 7,000 people have gone to Saudi Arabia and out of them, about 200 came back due to non-ful� llment of the job description.

One may consider the 200 number insig-ni� cant, but it has negative impact on the im-age of Bangladesh.

When contacted, Deputy Chief of Mission of Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh Md Nazrul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that there is no restriction in sending people to Saudi Arabia but they want to recruit on the basis of quali-

� cation and skills.The mission is closely working with Bang-

ladesh recruiting agency Baira and Saudi re-cruiters and their recruiting agency SANAR-COM so that quali� ed and skilled people can work in the country, he said.

“There is ample scope of work in the coun-try but one needs to capitalise it prudently,” he said.

Bangladesh is also closely working with Saudi Arabia in trade, investment and other prospective areas.

“Bangladesh ICT minister just concluded his visit to Saudi Arabia, and Industries and Finance ministers will visit the country in No-vember,” Nazrul said.

The Bangladesh-Saudi joint commission meeting will also be held in Dhaka next month to discuss all aspects of bilateral issues.

Nazrul said both the countries are negoti-

ating have cooperation in the � eld of informa-tion communication and technology and he hoped that it would increase in the future.

About 2.5 million Bangladeshis are resid-ing in Saudi Arabia and they sent over $3.3 billion remittance in the last � scal.

Saudi Arabia suspended aqama or job transfer for Bangladeshis in 2008 but it with-drew the order last year and many Bangla-deshis got bene� ted from it.

Both the countries signed agreement on avoidance of double taxation and evasion of taxation and expected to sign another invest-ment related deal soon.

Bangladesh also supports Saudi Arabia po-litically as it threw its weight to the e� orts un-dertaken by coalition of Gulf and Arab coun-tries to restore the peace and stability as well as to re-establish the legitimate government in the Republic of Yemen. l

Durga festival returns to indigenous village after 150 yearsn Nure Alam Durjoy in Chapainawabganj

They used to celebrate Durga Puja long ago, but had been unable to do so for many years because of the continuous threat of evic-tion and oppression by land grabbers, and ofpoverty. This year, they are going to take part in the festival for the � rst time after a long while.

This is a story of Tonk Para, an indige-nous village in Amnura upazila of Chapain-awabganj district. The village is located on 19 bighas of land, where more than 200 people reside. All are landless farmers, both men and women.

Srimoti Kutila Rajowar, the village leader, told Dhaka Tribune that their families are � -nally going to celebrate Sharadotsav after 150 years.

“We are all going to celebrate. The children are happy, and so am I,” she said.

When this correspondent visited the vil-lage yesterday at noon, he found the villagers preparing for the festival with great enthusi-asm. The women were making pu� ed rice for the celebrations.

All walls of the mud-built houses had been decorated with many colours. The sculptor was sitting beside a big pond near the village, shaping the sculpture of the Goddess Durga.

The village children looked cheerful be-cause they had received new clothes.

Holding the festival this year has been pos-sible because of the Lahanti Foundation, a lo-cal organisation that is working for the rights

of indigenous people in the northern part of Bangladesh.

“Land grabbers who live in the other vil-lages have long demanded our lands, and continued to threaten us to leave this place,” said Kutila Rajowar.

“They even � led � ve cases against us,” she also said.

“Nobody wants to listen to our voices, not even the police, the administration, or the na-tion’s people,” she added.

The Durga Puja festival marks the victo-ry of Goddess Durga over the evil bu� alodemon Mahishasura. Therefore, the Durga Puja festival epitomises the victory of good over evil. l

Saudi Shiites de� ant after 5 killed in ‘IS shooting’n AFP, Riyadh

Saudi Shiites vowed Saturday to continue commemorating Ashura, one of their faith’s holiest occasions, despite a purported Islamic State group gunman killing � ve people at one of their gatherings.

The attack in Eastern Province was the latest in a series of bombings and shootings linked to the Sunni extremist group in Saudi Arabia over the past year.

A suspect with an automatic weapon opened � re at a Shiite meeting hall in Qatif city Friday evening, killing � ve people and wounding nine more, an interior ministry spokesman said.

Police intervened and shot him dead, the spokesman said without identifying him.

A group calling itself Islamic State-Bahrain Province said one of its “soldiers”, Shughaa al-Dosari, “attacked a Shiite in� del temple with an automatic weapon.”

It warned that “in� dels will not be safe in the peninsula of Mohammed,” the Muslim prophet.

IS considers Shiites to be heretics. Most previous attacks in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia have targeted the minority Shiites, who often complain of marginalisation.

A video purportedly of the attack posted on YouTube showed terri� ed people, includ-ing many children, running frantically for cover as gun shots could be heard.

Witness Ali al-Bahrani said the gunman � red at random at the faithful, who had been listening to a sermon.

Ashura, which peaks late next week, marks the killing of Imam Hussein, Mohammed’s grandson, by the army of Caliph Yazid in 680 AD. It lies at the heart of Islam’s divide into Shiite and Sunni sects. ‘Attacks won’t deter us’Jaafar al-Abbad, the uncle of Buthaina al-Ab-bad, 22, the only woman killed, said she died a “martyr for the sake of her beliefs”.

“She was about to graduate from universi-ty as a doctor. Now she is a martyr, and this is even better,” he said.

“People are pouring in to congratulate her parents,” said Abbad.

He echoed other Shiites in saying that such attacks “will not deter us from continuing to observe our rituals”.

Romain Caillet, a French expert on jihad-ists, said the attack poses a double challenge for Saudi authorities.

First, they should avoid the risk of “push-ing some of their citizens into radicalisation” by allowing Shiites to practise their beliefs.

“The other challenge is security, as author-ities should deploy more.. means to protect their population.”

He said this was the � rst attack by this branch of IS in the Arabian Peninsula, and said the use of the name was in keeping with the group’s aim of redrawing borders.

An indigenous woman in the Tongpara village in Chapainawabganj district tailors clothes and artists make Durga Puja idols as the festival returns to the village after one and a half centuries AZAHAR UDDIN

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