15 injured in Ward 63 by-polls clash
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
At least 15 people, including the Awami League-backed commissioner candidate, were injured in an attack at Bakshibazar during the by-election to Ward 63 of the Dhaka City Corporation on Wednesday.
Witnesses said the BNP activists, with the help of the police, attacked their rivals at polling centres at Husaini Dalan, Badrunnessa College and Bakshi-bazar in the ward at about 10:00am.
The Awami League-backed candidate, Mohammad Hossain Basan, who was injured and then admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, told newsmen that the BNP activists had attacked him and his men in front of Badrunnessa College when he went there to verify whether his agents had been driven out from the centre.
The polling agents of three contestants, except for the four-party alliance candidate, were reportedly driven out from the three polling centres, Badrunnessa College, Aliya Madrassah and the Bakshibazar Government Primary School, immediately after the arrival of the local BNP lawmaker, Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu, at the Badrunnessa College centre at about 9:00am.
After the clash at the Badrunnessa College gate, the supporters of Mohammad Hossain assembled in front of the Awami League office on Husaini Dalan Road and tried to go out on demonstrations. But the police went there and dispersed the agitators by charging at them with truncheons.
Six of the injured were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and five of them — Joynal, Aslam, Yusuf Miah, Mahmud and Sobhan — were discharged after they had been given first aid. The commissioner candidate was released after treatment in the afternoon.
A taxi-cab was also attacked. The police picked up a number of Awami League supporters in connection with incident.
Three of them — Chandan Das, Milon Hossain and Mohammad Manjur — were shown arrested in the case filed by the cab driver, Mohammad Ali, under the speedy trial act.
Mohammad Hossain claimed that the cab was damaged by the BNP activists and the police implicated his supporters, including him, in the case.
CCC polls: BNP, AL mayor
candidates begin campaign
STAFF CORRESPONDENT, Chittagong
All the candidates for the mayor and commissioner’s positions of the Chittagong City Corporation elections began their campaign after the allotment of symbols on Tuesday.
The Awami League-backed candidate, ABM Mohiuddin, also incumbent mayor, and the BNP-backed candidate, Mir Mohammad Nasir Uddin, also the state minister for civil aviation and tourism, plan to involve top party leaders in their campaign, sources said.
The supporters of the ward commissioner candidates are busy to pasting bills on walls at different city places.
The BNP is planning to involve the party chief, prime minister Khaleda Zia, and others leaders including secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and first joint secretary Tarique Rahman in the campaign, sources in the party said.
The Awami League is planning to involve the party’s president Sheikh Hasina and others presidium members in the campaign, sources said.
‘We planned to engage 60 ruling party law makers in the campaign and also the party’s chairperson and other central leaders,’ the city unit general secretary of the party, Dastagir Chowdhury said.
Sources in the Awami League said Sheikh Hasina was scheduled to reach Chittagong on May 1 to attend a Shramik League rally where she would introduce Mohiuddin as the party’s candidate for the mayoral polls.
‘After attending the May Day programme at Laldighi Maidan, Hasina will attend some roadside rallies at CEPZ, Muradpur and Bahaddarhat,’ the city unit environment affairs secretary of the party, Khorshed Alam Sujan, said.
Posters seeking vote for Mir Nasir have been pasted on walls across the city; no posters seeking vote for Mohiuddin were seen till Wednesday.
Party sources said Mohiuddin was not interested in publishing posters seeking vote for him. And the party has been planning a campaign of another type.
‘We distributed about one lakh leaflets, including the mayor’s 40-point election manifesto and some view-cards, among the city residents,’ Sujon said.
A leaflet published under the banner of a citizens’ committee, Nagarik Sanghati, has, meanwhile, been in circulation which accused Mohiuddin of misappropriating the money of the Hajj pilgrims in the name of Mayor Hajj Kafela.
Party insiders said they were planning to publish some other photographs showing failure of and mismanagement by Mohiuddin. Dastagir, however, denied any link of his party with the Nagarik Sanghati.
The Awami League is also planning to publish some photographs, printed in some dailies after an aircraft accident, holding Mir Nasir responsible for the incident.
‘We will publish the photograph to show people that he had been unsuccessful,’ Khorshed Alam said.
Segunbagicha Canal reclaimed
amid resistance by grabbers
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority on Wednesday reclaimed the Segunbagicha Canal amid resistance at Gopibagh and south Mugda.
Some people claiming them to be the land owners tried to resist the WASA canal reclamation team in the first such incident since the beginning of the drive on March 29. The police accompanying the WASA team, however, tackled the situation.
The team along with a 60-member police force and 100 workers began the operation at 10:00am and demolished structures, mostly made of bamboo, along the canal.
Dhaka WASA superintendent engineer (drainage circle) SDM Quamrul Alam Choudhury led the operation. WASA magistrate Quazi Wasiuddin was also
present.
A number of people near the Titipara bus station in Gopibagh and south Mugda protested the drive claiming that their houses were being demolished illegally.
WASA is conducting the drive without demarking the canal, they claimed.
‘Scopes are there for all to measure the land and be sure of that whether WASA has demolished their houses and other structures,’ Quamrul told New Age. ‘Some grabbers who have long been occupying the WASA land do not want to leave it so easily.’
With the Segunbagicha Canal, WASA has so far reclaimed the Kalyanpur branch canal, Kantasur (Mohammadpur) Canal, Ramchandrapur Canal, Mohakhali and Gulshan-Banani Canal and the Begunbari Canal. The drive will continue till the rain comes.
As per the decision of an inter-ministerial meeting presided over by the LGRD and cooperatives minister, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, an expert committee identified 43 canals, flows of which have been barred in some places and stopped in some other places, to be reclaimed to ease the water flow during the rainy season.
Order for further probe
yet to reach police
STAFF CORRESPONDENT, Khulna
The Khulna speedy trial tribunal order for further investigation of the murder case of the Khulna-based New Age correspondent Manik Chandra Saha, is yet to reach the Khulna Metropolitan Police.
The tribunal judge, Md Abdus Samad, passed the order on April 11. The metropolitan police deputy commissioner, M Akbar Ali, said they had not received the order.
The hearing in the case began on January 24, 2005. Twenty-two witnesses have so far given their deposition till April 7.
Also a former president of the Khulna Press Club, Manik was bombed to death on January 15, 2004 at Chhota Mirzapur, a few yards off the Khulna Press Club, in the city.
The Khulna special tribunal posted the next hearing in the case of explosion, in which Manik was killed, for May 11.
Trader stabbed to death at Pallabi
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Assailants stabbed a young trader to death at Pallabi in Dhaka early Wednesday.
Family members said Zakir and Kalam called the victim, Mohammad Mintu alias Shaon, 28, out of his Pallabi residence at about 11:00pm on Tuesday.
He was found critically wounded in at the Banashree Housing Project, Pallabi after midnight.
The family members went to the place and took Shaon to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where he was declared dead.
Shaon traded in fish fry and the killing might have resulted from money-related feuds, the police suspected.
The police arrested Zakir, Kalam and his wife Shephali in this connection, but the arrested denied their involvement in the incident.
Noise limits often violated
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The acceptable noise limits are regularly exceeded, particularly by horns and motor engines in the Dhaka city, posing a hazard to the public health, said experts at a seminar in Dhaka on Wednesday.
They said factories and brick-grinding machines used in residential areas grossly violate the noise limit.
As per the related law, noise limit is fixed at 45 decibels during daytime and 35 decibels at night in some areas, 50 decibels during daytime and 40 decibels at night time in residential areas, 60 and 50 decibels in mixed areas and 75 and 70 decibels in industrial areas.
A survey conducted by the Work for Better Bangladesh Trust and the Asia Pacific University found noise pollution reaches 95 decibels in mixed areas such as Shahbagh crossing, Sayedabad bus terminal and Bangla Motor crossing.
They also identified at least 30 diseases directly result from such a high degree of noise pollution. The diseases include hearing disability, headache, uneasiness, high blood pressure, indigestion and heart problems.
The Noise Pollution Prevention Coordination Committee and the Bangladesh Society for Conservation of Environment organised the seminar at the Public Health Engineering Directorate on the adverse effect of noise on people’s health and its remedies marking International Noise Awareness Day.
With Rezaul Karim in the chair, director general of the directorate, Khan Md Ibrahim Hossain, spoke as chief guest.
Professor Hasanuzzaman of the Asia Pacific University, Sirajul Islam Mollah of Sundar Jiban, and Nazma Harun, Hamidul Islam and Sohrab Hossain of the trust spoke.
A former ENT head of Dhaka Medical Collage Hospital, Abdullah Harun, and Amit Ranjan Dey of the trust read out two keynote papers.
A test result, conducted on 312 persons in Dhaka between May 2001 and June 2002 showed that only 72 persons have normal hearing.
The remaining people tested had lost hearing ability at least partially. Of them 33 — vehicle driver, traffic police, hawkers and vendors, garment factory workers, pedestrians and students — were worst affected.
Ibrahim Hossain said the government had prepared a draft law, for a sound pollution control act.
Husband kills wife in Sylhet
OUR CORRESPONDENT, Sylhet
A man killed his wife by slitting the throat while she was asleep in her residence at Tetli union under South Surma police station in Sylhet early Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as Khayrun Nessa, 34, wife of a tailor Masabbir Ali, 36, also mother of five children, of village Shasyaura under Tetli union.
Informed, the South Surma police recovered the body from the spot at about 3:00am on Wednesday. The police also held the husband.
The police said Masabbir killed his wife with a sharp dagger at about 12:00am on Wednesday and tried to commit suicide by cutting the throat.
But his eldest daughter, Beauty, 9, woke up and begun shouting. Inmates of the house, including two brothers of Masabbir, stopped him.
Later, the family members informed the South Surma police of the incident and the police recovered the body and took Masabbir to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital, the sources said.
The police also sent the body to the hospital morgue for post-mortem examination Wednesday morning.
Haji Alauddin, brother of the victim, filed a murder case with the South Surma police. He claimed in his statement that Masabbir Ali killed his sister after failing to realise dowry.
But Masabbir’s family members said he was mentally disoriented. One of his brothers, Azam Ali, said he had been suffering from Siezofrania for about ten years.
He also said Khayrun Nessa was a divorced British expatriate. Masabbir married her about 12 years ago, and it was a love marriage.
Bangla New Year’s Day observed
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The Bijoynagar-Purana Paltan Line Jana Kalyan Samiti arranged a children's painting fair and dress-as-you-like programme on April 15 to mark Bangla New Year's Day.
Cartoonist Rafiqun Nabi, and artists Abul Barak, Alvi and Anzalur Rahman attended the programme.
Cultural personality Nasiruddin Yusuff, singer Md Khurshid Alam, photographer Shafiqul Islam Swapan and the association president, Shamim Ashraf Chowdhury, also a cricket commentator, were present.
Swadesh observes Pahela Baishakh
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The Swadesh Consumers Ltd celebrated the Bangla New Year's Day with series of fanfare at several city places on April 14.
The company began its programmes with a horse-drawn carriage rally from its head office. The rally continued till 5:00pm.
A Baishakhi Mela was run between 8:00am and 7:00pm in front of the Dhaka Club.
A rally with the participation of over 200 people began from the Teachers-Students Centre of Dhaka University at 10:00am.
Sample products were distributed free at the Ramna Batamul from 8:00am.
Free dental camp held
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
A one-day free dental camp was held in commemoration of the late Hafez Abdul Hamid at Baragaon of Daudkandi in Comilla on Friday.
Md Abdul Muktadir Bin Hamid arranged the camp where physicians of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujub Medical University distributed medicines and treated about 600 patients.
The medical team included 28 physicians, including Md Monjur Iqbal, Shubha, Milan, Faisal, Zia, Mobashsher and Rupak.
Obituary
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Hafiza Samad, wife of former deputy commissioner MA Samad, died in Lab Aid Cardiac Hospital on Wednesday. She was 74.
She had been suffering from heart disease for long. She was mother of the chief editor of Weekly Probe, Irtiza Nasim Ali.
She is survived by one son and four daughters.
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CITYLINE
Chinese sailor
killed in Ctg
A sailor of a Chinese flag carrier was killed at Jetty 8 in Chittagong port as a truck knocked him down Tuesday evening. The deceased, identified as Ou Haijon, was admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, where he died at about 11:00pm. The port police said Ou Haijon was a sailor of the Fu-Ping-Sun.
— BDNews
Paribesh Bikshan human chain
A Dhaka University-based green group, Paribesh Bikshan, on Wednesday formed a human chain in front of the central library, demanding action against the owners of all vulnerable installations. The group demanded punishment for the owners of the Spectrum Sweater and Knitting Factory at Savar that collapsed on April 11.
— New Age
BBC Bangla audience increases
The BBC’s weekly audience in Bangladesh increased by 2.6 million in 2004, said a survey conducted by an independent market research agency in Bangladesh. The BBC World Service marketing communications and audiences controller, Alan Booth, said, ‘The BBC is by far the strongest international media brand in Bangladesh. It is a major market for us.’ The survey, involving 2010 respondents, was conducted between December 2004 and January 2005.
— New Age
CCC polls
observation
The National Election Observation Council on Tuesday began a long-term observation of the election to the Chittagong City Corporation. The council will observe all campaigns on an hourly basis till May 10.
— New Age
BRAC Univ team
in int’l contest
A BRAC University team joined the annual Global Business Challenge case competition 2005 at the University of Washington business school, Seattle, between April 4 and April 10. The team was the only one from South Asia that showed a good performance in the competition.
— New Age
265th pope hailed
The Bangladesh Christian Association president, Pramad Mankin MP, and secretary general, Nirmal Rozario, in a statement welcomed the 265th pope, Joseph Ratzinger, on being elected as successor to
John Paul II.
— New Age
Essay competition
on Prophet
The Institute of Hazrat Mohammad held an essay contest on the life of the prophet for schoolchildren on the occasion of Eid-e-Miladunnabi. A discussion was held at the Spectra Convention Centre, followed by an award ceremony, attended by the state minister for education, Ehsanul Hoque Milan, said a release.
— New Age
Round Table
programme
The local chapter of the Round Table, an international circle of young men working for the poor, held its first annual meeting in Dhaka on April 15. Amir Bhaduri, after serving out his tenure, handed over the responsibilities to Asif Chowdhury. The local chapter of the organisation was formed on July 3, 2003. It now has 18 members.
— New Age
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