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Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha on Monday demolished the extended portions of two buildings, which were identified as risky for smooth operation of the flights, at Bailjuri under the Turag police station.
   This was the first drive against the buildings which were constructed violating the rules of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.
   A demolition team led by the Rajuk magistrate, Mohammad Helal Uddin, first pulled down 15 feet of a 30-feet height building owned by one Abul Kashem, and later another 15 feet of a 40-feet height building owned by one Aminul Islam at Pakuria village.
   The heights of both the buildings were allowed for maximum 25 feet.
   Tahsin Islam, son of Aminul Islam, told New Age that they had purchased the land in the area 10 years back, and constructed the three-storey building six years ago.
   He said they did not take any permission from Rajuk as they did not know about the approval of Rajuk. At that time, there were also few buildings which were constructed without approval of Rajuk.
   Tahsin complained that Rajuk in a recent survey identified 17 buildings as most risky, but seven of them were constructed after the survey. ‘No initiatives have so far taken against them.’
   Abu Taher, son-in-law of Abul Kasem, said his father-in-law purchased the land in 1988, and the building was constructed in 1998.
   ‘We with other owners of the area had tried to take approval of Rajuk, but failed. Some managed to take the approval giving a handsome amount of money to the officials,’ he said.
   Although Rajuk had identified 17 buildings as risky buildings, about 13 more buildings of the same heights are still here which were also constructed violating the rules of the CAAB, he said.
   The magistrate told New Age that they will initially demolish 17 buildings which are identified as very risky for smooth operation of flights. The other buildings constructed violating the rules would be demolished in phases.
   Rajuk on August 23 postponed its drive against such a building in the same area as the owner of the building had submitted the documents to Rajuk just before the drive.
   Shamsur Rahman, authorised officer-2 of Rajuk, said they will demolish the building after cancelling the approval.
   A good number of police, officials of the CAAB and Rajuk, however, were present during the drive.
   Earlier Rajuk identified the extended portions of 111 buildings for demolition near the airport and at Tejgaon based on the survey of the CAAB.
   Of the buildings, 46 were identified at Tejgaon and the rests near Zia International Airport. Seventeen of them were selected for demolition immediately.
   ‘We will continue to demolish the extended portions of seven other buildings from August 29 to October 20 as five owners of the 17 buildings went to court, and a legal battle has been in between the owners and Rajuk,’ an official said.
   Three owners have already submitted their documents of approval, he said adding that the next drive will be conducted on September 4.

Three mobile courts on Monday conducted drives against substandard food and other products in different parts of the city and realised Tk 1.2 lakh as fines.
   It also filed 16 cases, one under the Special Power Act, and seized about 50 kgs of banned polythene during the drives at Gulshan, West Rampura and Tantibazar areas.
   A court, led by metropolitan magistrate Rokon-Ud-Doulah, unearthed a fake cosmetics factory at 18 Ananda Mohan Bashak Lane of Tantibazar.
   It found fake cosmetics of different brands and two drums and four jars of chemical and destroyed it instantly.
   The magistrate also directed the Kotwali police to file a case against the owner of the company, Md Abdul Mia, under the Special Powers Act.
   Another court, led by metropolitan magistrate ABM Abul Fattah, conducted drive in a Meghna Group warehouse and Genet Bangladesh Private Limited at Gulshan, and fined them Tk 1 lakh.
   In the warehouse at Gulshan-2, the court found stock of coarse flour (atta), packed tea and vegetable oil of Fresh brand without any label bearing production and expiry dates. The team fined the company Tk 50,000.
   It fined the Genet Bangladesh Private Limited at Gulshan-1 Tk 50,000 for marketing of Malaysian Gano Fresh Toothpaste without any approval by the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution.
   The third court, led by metropolitan magistrate Jahangir Alam, conducted drive at Pashchim Rampura Bazar and different shops in Gulshan-1 area and filed 15 cases.
   It fined the 15 shop owners with Tk 20,000 as fine and seized 50 kgs of polythene bags.

A mobile court of the Chittagong City Corporation on Monday fined six food shops and six gold shops a total of Tk 1.73 lakh for selling and producing unhygienic food and for giving short measure.
   The court led by magistrate Sayoda Sarowar Jahan inspected the Gani Bakery and fined it Tk 70,000 on charge of carrying stale food and for not having BSTI seal.
   The court fined the Sizal, a fast food shop at Agrabad, Tk 15,000, for selling unhygienic food. It also fined the Sara Restuarant in the same area Tk 25,000, Sajna Restuarant Tk 10,000, and the canteen of the Rupali Bank Tk 25,000 for keeping their kitchens dirty and for selling stale food.
   Six gold shops in the Lucky Plaza were fined a total of Tk 21,000 and the Milkvita was fined Tk 7,000 for giving short measure.

The Chittagong Ambulance Drivers’ Association went on a strike for an indefinite period on Monday in protest at an alleged attack on their colleagues by the activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal for refusing to pay them tolls.
   The association officials said one of their members, Mohammed Liton, was beaten and tied up by Shahinul Alam Shahin, a Chhatra Dal leader, also former general secretary of the CMC Students’ Union, and his two associates — Sazzad and Sumon — for not paying tolls at the western gate of the hospital at noon.
   They also beat Mosharraf Hossain, the association president, as he went there to rescue Liton.
   After the incident, the association stopped carrying patients with their 50 ambulances and demanded exemplary punishment for the accused.
   The association officials alleged that the Panchlaish police refused to record any case in this connection.
   They said they would not resume their services until the attackers were arrested.

Two persons were sentenced to life imprisonment in two murder cases in Sylhet on Monday.
   The convicts are Didar Hussain of Chakmati at Nandail in Mymensingh, and Nayan Miah of Chakrajendrapur at Madhabpur in Habiganj.
   The Sylhet district and sessions judges court sentenced Didar, a domestic help, to rigorous life imprisonment for killing an elderly woman domestic help at Fajilchist in the city.
   The judge also fined the convict Tk 20,000, in default to suffer one more year in jail.
   Didar hacked and killed Manai Bibi on April 14, 2002.
   In the other case, Nayan Miah beat his neighbour Kawsar, son of Safar Ali, to death over a family feud on March 13, 2001.
   Safar filed a murder case accusing six people with the Madhabpur police the next day.
   The police filed charge sheet to the court against the accused on March 23, 2004. The case was later transferred to the speedy trial tribunal in Sylhet.

The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority will today begin a drive against illegal water connections, unauthorised deep wells and bill defaulters.
   A team led by a magistrate and accompanied by WASA officials and police will begin the drive at 10:00am, from the WASA head office at Karwan Bazar.
   The agency earlier conducted a drive against illegal consumers of its service and bill defaulters on August 23.
   The agency snapped two water connections and sealed off a deep well, and made a fine of Tk 30,000 and realised Tk 2 lakh.
   Acting WASA managing director Ali Azam at a in the end of July made the decision on conducting such drives.
   The agency a loss of more than Tk 100 crore a year because of unauthorised connections and bill default.

The residents of the Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall at Jahangirnagar University confined the hall officials and employees for two hours on Monday.
   The students kept them confined in the administrative building and demanded permanent expulsion of an employee from the university.
   The residents accused a sick boy of the hall, Jamaluddin, who attends ailing residents, of peeping into a bathroom on August 15.
   The students let officials go at noon when the vice-chancellor, Khondaker Mustahidur Rahman, assured the girls of his permanent expulsion.
   A three-member inquiry committee was formed in this regard.

The education minister, M Osman Farruk, on Monday said the government is going to formulate the guidelines to oversee the activities of the English medium schools in private sector.
   ‘English medium schools have made a class of alien people inside the country. We can’t allow them to continue without any guidelines,’ the minister said while addressing the inaugural session of an international seminar on ‘UK education, customer support and shared goals’ organised by UK-based examination board, Edexcel International, at Hotel Sheraton.
   Arrogance of some English medium schools is intolerable, the minister said adding that all should abide by the existing law on the land.
   Having registration from the government is mandatory for the private universities and English medium schools and they have to follow it, he added saying that a huge number of schools are running without registration for years, and it can’t go any longer.
   ‘The students of English medium schools should keep in mind that they are the children of this soil, and must have to uphold the culture and values of the country.’
   Richard Sunderland, deputy director (examinations), British Council Bangladesh said, ‘We have an excellent working relation with Edexcel and are looking forward to continue such partnership for many years to come.’
   Nick Sansome, regional director for Asia of Edexcel International, and Mushtaque Chowdhury, executive director of BRAC, were also present.
   Edexcel has been offering its examinations in Bangladesh for more than 30 years in association with the British Council.

A gang of armed robbers took away Tk 1 lakh in gold ornaments, cash and valuables from three houses in the Kalabagan area under Sonadanga police station in the Khulna city early Monday.
   A housewife, Nazma Begum, 35, was injured. The group of robbers hit her with a dagger in the head.
   The police said a gang of eight to 10 robbers, equipped with firearms, entered the house of Alkas Mridha, 45, of Kalabagan under Sonadanga.
   The robbers took the family members hostage at gun-point at around 1:00am.
   The robbers snatched the keys to to almirahs of the house and took away Tk 40,000 in cash.
   They also looted gold ornaments and valuables from the house.
   The robbers then entered the houses of Nazma Begum, 35, and her brother Shafiq in the neighbouring area.
   They took away valuables worth about Tk 60,000, the family members said.
   While the robbers were getting away with the looted goods after the incidents, they also hit Nazma in the head.
   She was critically injured and was sent to Khulna Medical College Hospital.
   Nazma was discharged from the hospital after first aid treatment. A case was filed with the Sonadanga police in this connection.

Speakers in a programme on Monday said gender disparity in educational system is a bar towards sustainable development and urged effective measures to address the problem.
   They said girls should be educated so that they could take part in decision making both in family and society. They addressed a daylong workshop on ‘gender mainstreaming in secondary education’ in the BIAM auditorium.
   The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education organised the workshop under its teaching quality improvement in secondary education project.
   The directorate director general, Professor Dilara Hafiz, chaired the opening session followed by four presentations.
   The Canadian high commission first secretary, Robin Ruggles, and Asian Development Bank country programme specialist Putu Kamayana attended.
   The papers focused on various aspects of gender inequality in education. The researchers suggested implementation of the proposed plan of appointing at least 30 per cent women teachers at the primary level with 60 per cent as a whole.

The World Astrological Society will accord a reception to and hand in awards among the celebrities in a ceremony at the National Press Club in Dhaka on today.
   The minister for commerce, Altaf Hossain Choudhury, will be present as chief guest; the state minister for LGRD and cooperatives, Ziaul Haq Zia, and UNB chairman Amanullah Khan will be present as special guests.
   The function will be chaired by the society president, Professor Hawlader. Nurul Haq Majumdar, Anisuzzaman, Fariduddin and history researcher Muhammad Asad will take part in the discussions.
   The recipients are Santosh Gupta (posthumous, journalism), Shaikh Siraj of Channel i (broadcasting), Maulana Ruhul Amin Khan (Islamic thinker), Harunur Rashid (columnist), Gaziul Hassan Khan (journalism), Abul Khayer (journalism), Kabori Sarwar (film), Syeda Shahina Khan (former lawmaker and social worker) and Md Abu Taleb Miah (poet and lyricist).

Engineers demand more facilities
The Public Works Department Diploma Engineers’ Association leaders in a divisional council at the Rajshahi Tennis Complex on Monday demanded an increase in their official and transport facilities and office decoration. More than 150 engineers of the 16 northern districts attended the council where the Rajshahi mayor, Mizanur Rahman Minu, was chief guest.
— New Age

Sheraton workers’ union committee
The Matin-Shafi panel won all the 14 posts of the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel Workers and Employees’ Union in a biennial election this week. Matiur Rahman became president and Mohammad Shafiuddin general secretary of the committee which will run the office for two years, a release said. Others on the committee are vice-presidents Harun-Or-Rashid and Sulaiman Sikder, joint secretary Alamgir Kabir, assistant secretaries Latif Khan and Anis-uz-Zaman, organising secretary ASM Ahsanullah, treasurer Kabir Hossain, cultural secretary Kamrul Islam, sports secretary Mohammad Salim, office secretary Quazi Elias Uddin and executive members Anisur Rahman and KM Zafar Siddique.
— BSS

Drug substances destroyed
The Department of Narcotics Control in Rajshahi destroyed heroin, Phensidyl (codeine), cannabis and beer worth more than Tk 7 crore on Monday. The officials said the drugs were seized in two months by the Rapid Action Battalion, Bangladesh Rifles and the department. They said the destroyed goods included 32,000 bottles Phensidyl, five kilograms of heroin, and 70 kilograms of cannabis and 216 bottles of
beer.
— New Age

Presentation on US Supreme Court
The American Centre will hold an interactive video presentation showcasing the US Supreme Court, its history and its influence on everyday life in America at 3:00pm on Thursday. The cultural attaché, Michelle Jones, will present the show, ‘decisions that changed America,’ to explain several landmark cases.
— New Age

Citibank awards scholarship
The Citibank Bangladesh has recently awarded scholarships to 10 meritorious students from several educational institutions to mark its 10th year celebrations in Bangladesh. The US embassy chargé d’affaires, Judith Chammas, distributed the awards among the students of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka University, BRAC University, Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh.
— New Age