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The condition of the Barisal divisional telephone exchange further deteriorated as 500 more telephone connection went out of order Wednesday night, raising the number to 3,000 out of 5,000 connections starting with the figure ‘5’.
   The condition is still worsening and experts are uncertain when they will be able to restore the connections.
   Jagadish Chandra Mandol, the divisional engineer, and Shariful Islam, engineer-in-charge of switch room of the divisional telephone exchange, said they were trying their best to meet the problem.
   Special technicians have been sent to the Narayanganj telephone exchange, similar telephone exchange installed by the same Italian company, in search of spare parts and hard disk.
   “If it is available and suite parts of the Barisal exchange,
   the problem may be solved within the next week”, they said and cautioned that if otherwise, it would take months to collect
   the pars from Italy.
   Hundreds of telephone connections under the divisional telephone exchange went out of order owing to technical glitch Wednesday morning.
   The catastrophe took place after hard disk drive of the central processing unit of main frame distribution section, installed by the ITALTEL Company of Italy, had conked out.
   The glitch snapped not only the tele-communication but also the locking-unlocking and meter reading system.

At last, the forest department has constituted a seven-member committee to study the feasibility of establishing a sanctuary on 5,670 acres of land at Sangu Mauza of Lama upazila in Rangamati.
   Amid continued attacks of wild elephants in the locality adjoining to the forests in the district that led to the killing of dozens of people and damage to crops and properties worth crores of taka, the decision was made at a meeting held at the deputy Commissioner’s office Sunday.
   The conservator of forests of Chittagong forest circle, Mutaleb Hussain, additional deputy commissioner Anowere Hussain, divisional forest officers of Bandarban and Lama forest divisions, Abani Bhushan Thakur and Mohammad Ruhul Amin, respectively attended the meeting with DC Seikh Mohammad Alauddin in the chair.
   Earlier, the proposal to establish safe abode for wild animals in Bandarban made in 1996 was shelved owing to complexity in land acquisition, forest department sources said.
   Stepping up attacks on different localities of Lama upazila and Chakaria in Cox’s Bazar, wild elephants in herds killed at least 56 people and damaged standing crops of hundreds of acres of land, the police and forest department said.

Srabani Soor, assistant teacher of Madhusudan Taraprashanna High School, and one Bipul Chanda Day were released on bail in the dead of night from a Jessore court on Tuesday.
   The Benapole Port police and BDR said Srabani and her relative were arrested by the BDR at Benapole while they were going to India without passport at about 8:00pm on Tuesday.
   They were handed over to the Benapole police and a case was filed against them. The port police sent them to the court of Rafiqul Islam at about 10:15pm. Rafiqul granted them bail at about 11:30pm under section 11/C.

At least two persons were killed and 20 injured in road accidents at Shahjahanpur in Bogra on Wednesday and Thursday.
   The deceased were identified as Rafiqul Islam, 35, son of Mozahar Ali of village Bizrul at Nandigram upazila, and Ronny, 25, son of Abul Hossain at Brindabonpara in the town.
   Witnesses and the police said a Bogra-bound bus of Ronny Deluxe overturned and fell into a roadside ditch at Jamadarpukur of Shahjahanpur Wednesday evening.
   Rafiqul died and five more were wounded in another road accident Thursday morning.

A team of the Rajshahi Rapid Action Battalion arrested a person identifying himself as a RAB member at village Durgapur under Mohanpur upazila in Rajshahi Wednesday morning.
   The arrested was identified as Ashraful Ali, 28, of village Takipur under Shah Makhdum upazila in the district.
   The RAB said Ashraful, identifying himself as a RAB member, had been cheating simple-minded people for a long time.
   Recently, he offered job to one Momtaz Begum, daughter of Nurul Islam Shah, of village Durgapur and demanded Tk 15,000 from her.

An alleged leader of the underground Sarbahara and three members of the Rapid Action Battalion were injured in a gunfight in the Guthia-Narayanpur area under Wazirpur upazila in Barisal on Wednesday.
   Habul Sarder, leader of Sarbahara Zia-group and Habul Bahini, was arrested from the spot with severe bullet injury and taken to Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital while corporal Rahim, sepoy Shafiq and Humayun of RAB-6 were sent to Barisal Police Hospital.
   The RAB said they launched an operation at the Sarbahara-prone Guthia union Wednesday morning.
   As the RAB reached Narayanpur of Guthia, Habul Bahini ambushed them and opened fire from a betel leaf plantation. The RAB fired back, triggering a fight for about half an hour.
   As Habul got injuries, his gang-members retreated, leaving behind their critically injured leader. The RAB Habul along with a light gun, one shotgun and six bullets from the spot and sent him to the hospital.
   The police said Habul had hand in the killings of Workers Party central leader Babulal Shil and Awami League leader Aboni Baroi, elected UP chairman of Jalla union for two terms.
   Habul left the area after being chased by Kana Badal, Sarbahara leader of opponent Kamrul-group.