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The project concept paper for the elevated roadway on Hatirjheel from the Tongi Diversion Road to the Pragati Sarani/Gulshan Avenue Link placed in the Planning Commission has been gathering dust for 11 months.
   The revised project concept paper of the project, prepared at the suggestion of a meeting, before its placement to the executive committee of the National Economic Council, on December 27, 2004, was submitted to the commission by the Local Government Division on January 12. The proposal still waits for ECNEC approval.
   As the project is being delayed, the water body, by the Tongi Diversion Road, is gradually going in the hands of grabbers. Land grabbers are earth-filling the roadside every night.
   The Dhaka mayor, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, in September sent a demi-official letter to the minister for finance and planning, M Saifur Rahman, requesting immediate approval of the project, said a city corporation official. But nothing has happened in this regard.
   The proposed 3.5-kilometre elevated roadway, to be implemented by the corporation, is estimated to involve a cost of Tk 530.34 crore. The implementation was expected to begin in July 2005 and to be completed in June 2008.
   The Japan Bank for International Cooperation would give Tk 300 crore as grant, Tk 150 crore to be disbursed in the current financial year, the official said.
   The concept paper said about Tk 420 crore would be spent on physical infrastructure and Tk 80 crore on land acquisition. Of the total land to be acquired, 31.39 acres of government land is expected to be obtained free.
   The roadway will connect the Tongi Diversion Road with Rampura, enabling vehicles from the western city part to move to the eastern side through Panthapath (now Bir Uttam Quazi Nuruzzaman Road) and the Sonargaon Road, avoiding the congested routes via Moghbazar or Mohakhali, said another official.
   As Panthapath has no direct link with Rampura, people need to take the longer routes of Moghbazar-Malibagh-Mouchak or Mohakhali-Gulshan to reach Rampura and other places in the eastern side, which causes severe traffic congestion.
   ‘It will lessen the persistent traffic congestion, especially on the Moghbazar-Mouchak Road, which costs the city dwellers several hours of delay a day,’ the official said.

Speakers at a roundtable discussion in Dhaka on Sunday urged the government to promote tourism in hilly areas ensuring proper measures against echo-piracy.
   They accused the security personnel deployed at the Chittagong Hill Tract of misbehaving with the indigenous people and the tourists which creates a negative impact on the development of tourism in hilly areas.
   The Bangladesh Tourism Expansion Forum organised the discussion on ‘sustainable tourism for poverty alleviation in mountain areas’ at the National Press Club in the afternoon in observance of International Mountain Day.
   The English daily newspaper New Age and the Bangla daily Samakal were media partners of the programme.
   ‘We need to first encourage the people in tourism and then foreign tourists after ensuring adequate protection against eco-piracy,’ said Ainun Nishat, country representative of the World Conservation Union–IUCN.
   He said although the arrival of foreign tourists was profitable, they cause eco-piracy, which is plundering of natural bounty of the earth shared by all and violation of the integrity of the right relations with the earth, which is harmful for bio-diversity.
   He said the promotion of tourism was impossible without ensuring basic safety.
   Artist Hashem Khan criticised indiscriminate hill cutting for roads, which helps the criminals to take away the forest resources and destroy the beauty of the hills.
   ‘The government should promote tourism for economic development,’ Professor Mozaffer Ahmad said in the discussion.
   The speakers stressed building friendly relation between the army and local people in hilly areas for a tourism atmosphere
   Muntasir Mamun Imran of the forum in the beginning gave an outline of various aspects of tourism in hilly areas. Mongkhi Marma discussed the problems and perspective of tourism in Bandarban.
   The forum brought out a procession from the National Museum in the mooring to mark the day for the first time this year in Bangladesh.
   The Dhaka University Tourists’ Society also organised different programmes to mark the day.
   The programmes included a photographic exhibition on tourism spots and discussion meeting.

The government incurs a loss of about Tk 200 crore every year because of gas theft and illegal use of gas, said energy adviser Mahmudur Rahman on Sunday.
   A month-long special drive against gas theft and illegal use of gas began on Sunday.
   ‘A section of customers and some Titas officials and employees are responsible for the theft which eats up around Tk 200 crore every year,’ said Mahmudur while briefing the team members of the drive, officials and employees of Titas and other Petrobangla companies on their role and responsibilities in the drive.
   Nineteen teams of the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company would inspect industries in Titas franchise areas to disconnect the illegal lines.
   The adviser asked them to carry out their responsibilities with honesty and dedication, urging them not to consider the size and investment of the industry, political affiliation and social status of the customers before disconnecting the lines.
   He hoped the drive would reduce the Titas systems loss by at least 50 per cent.
   The adviser said the best and successful team member would be rewarded after completion of the drive.
   He gave a warning that the Titas people found involved in gas theft would be dismissed from job.
   The adviser also gave a warning of stern action against gas thieves, branding them ‘criminals.’

The dwellers of the Baganbari slum at Mirpur in Dhaka on Sunday narrated their sufferings for the poor road condition and unemployment and also how the supply water crisis was mitigated before the visiting British minister, Hilary Benn.
   Benn raised his eyebrow to know how a slum dweller working as domestic help runs her family with Tk 300, less than £3, a month. Still he appreciated their fight for a better livelihood.
   ‘I am amazed to see life here and how you are trying to improve your conditions,’ the secretary of state for international development said during a visit to a supply water project financed by the UK Department for International Development.
   ‘Earlier we used to fetch water from half a kilometre distance and now we pay and get the water,’ Monwara Begum told the minister.
   They informed the minister that the outbreak of diarrhoeal diseases reduced significantly with the availability of water for drinking and cleaning. A boy, Mizanur Rahman, sang a song on sanitation. ‘I am very impressed,’ Benn said.
   The water project has arranged water supply through community-based organisations at nominal costs, which the dwellers said, are affordable. The project has some other components such as cluster latrines, hygiene promotion and capacity building.
   Under the project, the dwellers use tube wells to get water supplied by the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority and the people pay for this.
   Monwara told the minister, ‘We want to see good roads and living conditions. We like to bring up our children in a beautiful atmosphere and send them for schooling.’
   Bablu Miah is one of the slum dwellers who migrated from the poverty-ridden Rangpur district. He told the UK minister that he had a sewing machine as means of livelihood to run his family of two daughters, two sons and wife.
   Benn, one of the key figures in British prime minister Tony Blair’s Labour Party cabinet, also wanted to know whether the female dwellers work in the major export-earning readymade garment sector.

The students of geology and environment science at Rajshahi University on Sunday staged demonstration on the campus demanding resumption of their examinations immediately.
   All scheduled examinations of the department were postponed on Saturday for an indefinite period over misconduct with the teachers by some students on Friday.
   The students of different departments have threatened to initiate tougher movements if the authorities concerned did not take necessary steps to resume the examinations.
   They also demanded punishment for the students who misbehaved with the teachers.
   Additional police were deployed to avert any untoward incident.

The Islamic history and culture department at Rajshahi University on Sunday postponed master’s examination as materials did not reach the department in time.
   The authorities said the exam was not held because of the negligence of the exams controller.
   The sources said the materials were not sent to the department over conflict between the controller and his deputy.
   The department chair, Professor Ehsan Ali, postponed the exams for an indefinite period.
   The sources said the controller did not take any preparation and did not assign his deputy with the task.
   A department teacher said the academic committee after a meeting on December 6 asked the controller to take the preparation.
   The controller, Professor Anwar Hossain, said he was not given enough time.

The GrameenPhone Ltd has recently presented 10 roadblocks and 125 umbrellas to the Rajshahi Metropolitan Police.
   The RMP commissioner Nayem Ahmed, received the presents from the GrameenPhone additional general manger (marketing), Ghalib Ahmed Ansari.
   The RMP deputy commissioner (headquarters), Rafiqul Islam, and the GrameenPhone market communications officer, Jyotish Talukdar, were also present on the occasion.
   The roadblocks will be used to regulate traffic in the city and the umbrellas will be used by the traffic police.

Standard Chartered will support the Special Branch to renovate and modernise the immigration areas at airports and land ports.
   The bank will develope and operate a web site for online ED card facility for fast-track immigration process, a 24-hour customer service cell to provide one-stop support for foreign investors, VIPs, CIPs and tourists, modernisation of immigration process and beautification of immigration areas at the Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet airports and the Benapole land port.
   Head of the bank's consumer banking Sajidur Rahman and special superintendent of police Shah Alam signed the agreement on Tuesday.

The Faridpur municipality entered into a public private partnership for its water supply section with the Yusuf Harun International Ltd.
   Key personnel of the municipality and the private company came to Dhaka to attend a training course on 'effective implementation of public private partnership in water supply sector.'
   The Unit for Policy Implemen-tation sponsored the training; the Continuing Education Centre conducted the training beginning on November 27.
   At the certificate ceremony on November 29, Shafiqul Islam, deputy secretary of the Ministry of the LGRD and Cooperatives, was present.
   Manzurul Islam Chowdhury of the Continuing Education Centre designed, developed and conducted this training course.
   Three staff of the Faridpur municipality and five staff of the Yusuf Harun International Ltd took part in the training.

Mohiuddin Ahmad, a retired civil servant, died in Dhaka Medical College Hospital of old-age complications at 11:00am Sunday. He was 73.
   The late Ahmad is survived by three daughters. His janaza was held at Baitush Saraf Jam-e-Masjid at Farmgate in Dhaka after the maghrib prayers.
   He was buried in the Banani graveyard, said a release.

Dilkusha car park foundation laid
The Dhaka mayor, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, on Sunday laid the foundation stone of the 22-storey car parking-cum-commercial complex at Dilkusha in Dhaka. The complex, which will include two basements, will be constructed on 52 kathas of land (0.34788 hectares) at an estimated cost of Tk 60 crore with the fund of Dhaka City Corporation, said a corporation official. Eight storeys of the building would be used for parking cars; other storeys will be used for commercial purpose. The project will be completed in two phases. Four storeys, including the basements, will be constructed in the first phase at an estimated cost of Tk 12 crore. The first phase work would be completed in 15 months.

Consumers’ rights
law urged
About a hundred people on Sunday formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club demanding passage of the consumers right protection act. The Consumers Trust organised the programme. The organisers said the old laws enacted during the British and Pakistani rules could protect little of consumers’ rights. The government drafted a new law, approved by the Ministry of Industries in 1996, now lying with the cabinet committee for approval, the organisers said.

Call for end to
child abuse
Speakers at a briefing in Dhaka on Sunday urged the government, media and civil society to save the children exposed to exploitation on the streets. The Incidin Bangladesh and the Child Brigade organised the briefing at the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity. The speakers said the children were facing physical assault, sexual abuse, negligence, psychological punishment and forced involvement in risky activities. The speakers said the child protection policy would help in the reduction of such exploitation. Incidin Bangladesh executive director Ratan Sarkar, AKM Masud Ali, advocacy chief Nasimul Ahsan, Mushfiqur Rahman Sabbir, Aminul Islam, Monjur Hossain of the Child Brigade also spoke.

DU economics alumni reunion Jan 5
The reunion and biennial meeting of the Dhaka University Economics Department Alumni Association will be held at the Sonargaon Hotel on January 5. The association has requested all its members to register their names. A release said the association general secretary, the department chair Fariduddin Ahmed, could be contacted for further details.

Mobile communication course ends at BUET
A three-day short course on ‘mobile and wireless communications,’ organised by the Directorate of Continuing Education of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology ended on Saturday. Forty-two people joined the course, designed especially for the telecom industry people and the academia.
— New Age