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The government will take strict security measures in the capital and elsewhere in the country to avert any subversive activity and maintain law and order during celebrations of Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bengali New Year on Thursday.
   Anticipating a huge crowd, the government will deploy about 7,000 members of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and the Rapid Action Battalion in and around Ramna Batamul, the main venue for New Year celebrations in the capital.
   The decision was taken at the 24th meeting on law and order at the secretariat on Monday with the state minister for home affairs, Lutfozzaman Babar, in the chair.
   Plainclothes personnel will be on duty inside the park and uniformed ones will be deployed outside the venue. RAB members with the dog squad will also patrol in and around the venue.
   Video cameras will be installed at different points of the inner perimeter and metal detectors at all the entrances of the park. People will have to enter Ramna Batamul through the detectors, the meeting decided.
   Cameras will also be fixed at different high-rise buildings around the venue. Security personnel will be on patrol in the lake by speedboats. Bomb disposal units and dog squads will also be deployed.
   Besides, the meeting ordered continuation of raids in different places across the country.
   The meeting reviewed the decisions taken in the previous meeting, and expressed satisfaction over the recovery of drugs and arrest of people in this regard.
   It instructed the officials concerned to submit charge-sheets of the cases relating to drug recovery, and asked the department of narcotics control to submit laboratory test results of heroin and other drugs within a short time.
   The meeting also expressed satisfaction over the disposal of pending cases in the Dhaka Metropolitan where about 2,000 cases were disposed of. But it was not up to the mark outside the capital, and the officials concerned have been instructed to gear up the activities, a home ministry official said.

The mayoral candidates of both the Awami League-backed Nagarik Committee and the BNP-led four-party alliance submitted their nomination papers to the returning officer for the May 9 elections to the Chittagong City Corporation on Monday.
   Before the submission, the Nagarik Committee candidate incumbent mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury and the BNP candidate Mir Mohammad Nasir Uddin, also the state minister for civil aviation and tourism, held two separate meetings in the morning.
   BDNews reported that 20 more people submitted their nomination papers for the mayoral position in the corporation elections on the day.
   Four hundred and seven candidates submitted nomination papers for the post of 41 ward commissioners and 71 women commissioner candidates for 14 reserved seats. The nomination papers will be scrutinised today.
   The other candidates for the mayoral position are Md Shahidul Islam (Amra Chattalabasi), Khoirati Mia Chowdhury (independent), Md Nasir (independent), Shamsuddoha Chowdhury (independent), Dilip Bhadra (Sangskritik Morcha), Touhidul Islam (independent), Kamrul Huda (independent), Didarul Alam (independent), Reajul Karim Chowdhury (independent), Abdul Karim (independent), Md Iqbal Bin Yaqub (Islami Oikyo Jote–Amini), M Jamaluddin (independent), Haji Md Taher (independent), Nurul Alam (independent), Abu Naser Talukdar (Islamic Front Bangladesh), Md Endaj Mia (Bhasani–NAP), Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury (Love Bangladesh), Haidar Ali (Jatiya Party–JP), MA Salam (independent) and Maulana Abul Kashem Nuri (Olama Mashaekh Party-faction of Bangladesh Islamic Front).
   Mohiuddin held the meeting at Jamiyatul Falah Complex and Nasir at the outer stadium where they put forth their election manifesto.
   The Chittagong city Awami League president, MA Mannan, also a former minister, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal executive president Mainuddin Khan Badal, Awami League presidium member Suranjit Sen Gupta, Ataur Rahman Khan Kaisar, joint secretary Obaidul Quader, organising secretary Beer Bahadur MP, Fazlee Karim MP, north district unit president Mosharraf Hossain, south district unit president Akhtaruzzaman Chowdhury Babu and central leader Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir addressed the Nagarik Committee rally.
   The Awami League leaders threatened to initiate anti-government movement in Chittagong if the ruling party tries to rig the votes.
   ‘The people rejected the BNP government after vote rigging in the Magura by-polls. Now they will overthrow the government if any irregularities were found in the city corporation polls,’ Obaidul Quader said.
   Mohiuddin Chowdhury urged the city residents to re-elect him. ‘I opposed an Awami League government decision of allowing an American company to set up a private port in the estuary of the River Karnaphuli. I will uphold the interest of Chittagong at any cost until my death.’
   The speakers at the BNP rally urged the city residents to elect Mir Nasir for a comprehensive development of the city.
   The city BNP president Mir Nasir chaired the rally. Former minister LK Siddiqi was present as chief guest.
   The state minister for housing and public works, Alamgir Kabir, whip Wahidul Alam, commerce ministry adviser Barkat Ullah Bulu, former minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Jamaat leader Shahajahan Chowdhury, Mostofa Kamal Pasa MP, Islami Oikya Jote leader Mufti Izharul Islam, Gias Uddin Qader Chowdhury, north district unit president Golam Akbar Khandokar and city unit general secretary Dostagir Chowdhury addressed the rally.
   They held the incumbent mayor responsible for poor development of the port city during his tenure of 11 years.
   ‘If I voted to power, I will make the city one of the best tourism sites in Asia,’ Nasir said.
   After the rally, Mir Nasir reached the returning officer’s office in a procession and submitted his nomination paper at about 1:00pm.
   When Mir Nasir left the office, Mohiuddin also in a procession reached the place and submitted his nomination paper at about 2:15pm.
   Several hundred processions were brought out by the candidates for the position of ward commissioners. Such processions continued till afternoon.
   Traffic movement remained almost stalled between 10:00am and 3:00pm after the processions and rallies.
   The Chittagong Metropolitan Police earlier imposed a ban on vehicle movement at Chattershwari between 9:00am and 2:00pm where the returning officers office was located.
   The leaders of the Bangladesh Awami League at a news briefing in the Nagarik Committee office Monday afternoon accused the government of using administration and the police in favour of its candidate.
   ‘The returning officer did not allow us to enter his office before 1:30pm as the BNP candidate was submitting his nomination paper at the time, although he planned to submit the paper at noon. This proves to be a partisan move,’ Mohiuddin said at the briefing.
   They also held the police commissioner responsible for arresting three key leaders — Monjurul Alam, Moshiur Rahman and Islam Ahmed — before the polls.
   The Awami League leaders warned the government against changing the polls result by using the administration and the police.
   Central leaders Suranjit Sen Gupta, Obaidul Quader, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir also addressed the briefing.

The crisis of drinking water for about 7.5 lakh residents of the Rajshahi city became acute, as most tube wells went dry because of plunging water table.
   The pumps of the Rajshahi City Corporation are not working because of insufficient power.
   The corporation holds power problem responsible for the water crisis. The corporation has been failing to provide supply water to five wards, out of the 30. The wards which do not get supply water are Ward 1, 2, 16, 17, and 30.
   The Rajshahi City Corporation officials said demand for water in the city stands at 2.26 crore gallons a day.
   The corporation has a capacity to supply 4.7 crore litres of water a day that meets only 45 per cent of the demand.
   In 2006, the demand for water is expected to increase to 3.51 crore gallons a day.
   The corporation officials said 400 volts of uninterrupted power supply is required to run its deep tube wells. But the power supply has only about 340 volts.
   Two pumps at the PN School and Binodpur have been damaged by voltage fluctuation.
   As the authorities have failed to run pumps for several hours a day, the corporation has suggested that consumers should set up reserve tanks.
   The corporation supplies water through a 348-kilometre pipeline, which will be expanded to about 453 kilometres after the completion of the second phase of the water treatment plant by 2006, the officials said.
   Only 28 lakh gallons of treated water, out of 98 lakh, is supplied by three plants.
   The first phase of the project was completed in June 2003.
   The officials said work on the second phase began in July 2003 to treat water from the River Padma.

Better pay for artisans is the most effective way to save crafts and artisans from the wave of free trade, said speakers at a workshop on the ‘impact of free trade on crafts sector in Bangladesh’ on Monday.
   The Ecota Trade Forum organised the workshop for journalists in the Women’s Voluntary Association auditorium in Dhaka as part of the Global Week of Action against Unfair Trade.
   Javed Hussen, who read out the keynote paper, said the majority of artisans are in and out of work frequently.
   The speakers also criticised the World Trade Organisation and western nations for imposing ‘colonial pattern’ of economy on Bangladesh.
   Economist Dr Salimullah Khan blamed the western capitalist nations for not allowing poor countries to establish any major manufacturing industry. ‘We are turning into a permanent colony as they force us only to establish low wage manufacturing plants such as readymade garments instead of high wage industries.’
   Mizanur Rahman Apel, a journalist, called for self-criticism. He said instead of blaming the western nations, the WTO and other international bodies, ‘We should point the finger at the failures of our government officials who failed to work out a strategy to counteract the negative effects of free trade.’
   Mahfuza Akhter, an activist, said, ‘In Jessore, an artisan gets Tk 10 after a whole day of work.’
   Ecota director Arshad Siddiqui criticised journalists for ‘stereotyped’ reporting on crafts.
   Ecota chairperson Abdul Awal, and executive committee member Shah Abdus Salam also spoke.

Awami League organising secretary Saber Hossain Chowdhury on Monday announced a programme of protest against Sunday’s police action on the activists who protest against the alleged faulty construction of the Khilgoan flyover.
   He said the residents of Khilgaon would form an hour-long human chain from 4:30pm on April 16 from the Malibagh level crossing up to the flyover.
   ‘This programme is not political. It is a protest by the common people of the area,’ he told a news briefing in the Awami League central office on Bangabandhu Avenue. ‘We are only organising the people.’
   He also said the flyover is not complete without the originally planned loop.
   Referring to the reported police action in which a number of Awami League activists were injured, Saber said the alliance government is undemocratic and they proved it again through the police action on a peaceful programme.

The Leroy B Williams professor of history and political science of Harvard University, Roderick MacFarquhar, a scholar on Chinese policies, will present a paper on ‘China’s Evolving Relations with South Asia: Implications for Bangladesh’ at a seminar on the topic at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies on Wednesday.
   The minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs, Moudud Ahmed, will attend as chief guest.
   MacFarquhar is a former director of the John King Fairbank Centre for East Asian Research.
   He was founder-editor of the China Quarterly and has been a fellow at the Columbia University, the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars and the Royal Institute for International Affairs.

The 1360-metre Khan Jahan Ali Bridge on the River Rupsa, with 8.68 kilometres of connecting roads, built at a cost of Tk 724.15 crore, will open to traffic on April 27, said Khulna mayor, Sheikh Tayebur Rahman.
   He visited the bridge site on Monday. According an official handout, 98 per cent work has been completed.
   The bridge will have road communications with Dhaka and the northern and southern parts.
   The Roads and Highways Department began the construction on May 17, 2001 on the financial assistance from Japan.
   BNP leader Sikander Jafarullah Khan Sachchu, and Khulna Press Club president Sheikh Abu Hasan were present.

Discussants at a meeting on the ‘development of water and sanitation situation in Bangladesh’ in Rajshahi on Monday emphasised the need for ensuring safe water and sanitation for all to reduce the current rate of disease and mortality.
   The NGO Forum organised the discussion in its regional office with financial assistance from the Danish International Development Agency.
   The discussants stressed capacity building of the grassroots people for changing their hygiene behaviour in a sustainable way to achieve the goal.
   A four-member DANIDA delegation attended the discussion as resource persons.
   The participants agreed on a set of recommendations for the coming years, which include working together to analyse the impact of past and current projects, strengthening of project monitoring, evaluation, and increased consultation with the people of the community.

The qul khwani of Awami League leader Abdul Manna, also former minister for health and home affairs, was held in his Elephant Road residence after the asr prayers on Monday.
   A leading organiser of the independence war, Abdul Mannan died suffering extended illness on April 6.
   Senior Awami League leaders Tofail Ahmed, Begum Motia Chowdhury, Mozaffar Hossain Paltu, Gano Forum president Kamal Hossain, Workers Party leader Fazle Hossain Badsha and number of other political parties attended.
   The Tangail District Association in Dhaka, founded by the late Mannan, has decided to hold a commemorative meeting at the National Press Club on April 19. The minister for jute and textile, Shajahan Siraj, will attend the meeting as chief guest.

British Council art exhibition
The British Council Bangladesh will hold an outdoor art exhibition to celebrate the Bangla New Year 1412. The exhibition will begin on April 13 and will continue until April 30 on the council premises. The Dhaka University vice-chancellor, SMA Faiz, will inaugurate the exhibition as chief guest at 5:30pm. The works of three artists — Ferdousi Priyabhashini, Ruhul Amin Kajol and Tayabuzzman Topu — will be on display. The opening ceremony will be followed by sessions of Baul songs, traditional tricks with sticks and songs of Mymensingh. The exhibition will remain open between 10:00am and 7:00pm every day.
— BDNews

British High Commission closure
The British High Commission in Dhaka and its office in Sylhet will remain closed on April 14 on the occasion of Pahela Baishakh, said a commission release on Monday.
—BDNews

Two witnesses snatched
Two witnesses in a case were snatched by a gang Sunday afternoon at the Utsab Cinema in the Rajshahi city while they were on their way to court. The witnesses have been identified as Sahabuddin, 35, and Deen Mohammad 28, of Patiabari at Charghat. They were going to court to give deposition. A case was filed with the Boalia police station in this connection. The police said a gang of four in motorbikes stopped the autorickshaw the witnesses were in and dragged them out. They were taken towards Kajla.
— New Age

Japanese volunteers in town
Seven new Japanese Overseas Cooperation volunteers arrived in Dhaka on Friday to extend cooperation in areas such as rural development, midwifery and infectious disease control. They will work with public organisations of Bangladesh for two years. Since March 1973, the Japan International Cooperation Agency has sent 854 Japanese volunteers for help in areas such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries, processing, maintenance and management, civil engineering and construction, health and hygiene, education, culture and sports. There are now 62 volunteers engaged in various activities across the country. The volunteers called on the Japanese ambassador, Matsushiro Horiguchi on Sunday at the chancery.
— New Age