UN Foundation to launch $33m
campaign against measles
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The UN Foundation will launch a $33-million (Tk 217-crore) campaign against measles in Bangladesh early next year, aiming to immunise 35 million children between the age of 9 and 10, its chairman, media mogul Ted Turner told a new briefing at a hotel in the capital city on Monday.
‘The project will be the largest public health undertaking in the history of Bangladesh,’ he said. ‘The campaign against measles [is] to be launched early next year mobilising 40,000 vaccinators and 150,000 volunteers.’
The UN Foundation, the American Red Cross, the US Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention, UNICEF and the Worth Health Organisation will launch the campaign over the next two years, in partnership with the Bangladesh government.
Turner, found of the CNN, appreciated Bangladesh’s role in the reproductive health and women’s empowerment scenario, containment of arsenic contamination of groundwater and eradication of polio.
‘Poor people are around the world and the foundation has been making efforts towards [helping] them,’ he said.
Turner, one of the richest people in the world, said he had no plan to invest in Bangladesh media although ‘it has been terrific’.
He identified ‘too much water’ and ‘too many people’ as major problems for Bangladesh and said he was ready to work on both issues, as those are extremely important for the future of Bangladesh and its economic development.
‘You see how quickly Bangladesh changes its population dynamics,’ he said. ‘The country has become the peacekeeper of the world and makes valuable contributions to the world community by sending peacekeepers to some of the dangerous and difficult areas around the world.’
He was also appreciative of the country’s AIDS education efforts. ‘The country requires all its solders leaving to be tested and tested again when they come home which is unusual in the world.’
Timothy E Wirth, president of the foundation, said the found had spent $7 million on projects related to polio adolescent girls, Sundarban and arsenic mitigation in three major districts over the last seven years.
The campaign against measles is the first of its kind in South Asia and Bangladesh is the first country where the measles programme will be launched after its success in Africa, he said.
Wirth appreciated the efforts of Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, and said the micro-credit scheme has been one of the Bangladesh’s most important exports around the world.
Earlier, led by Turner, the UN Foundation board of directors met the prime minister, Khaleda Zia. They discussed ‘radicalism’, crisis relating to sharing water with other neighbours and fighting HIV/AIDS.
‘We discussed the concern of radicalism and bombing and agreed every religious group around the world condemn this kind of violence,’ said Wirth.
Pointing to a meeting of world religious leaders at the United Nations, he said. ‘It is very important to speak out against this kind of violence and more importantly, political leaders should get together and work out to ensure it has no place either in Bangladesh or in any other religion around the world.’
Turner donated $1 billion to create the foundation in 1998 to strengthen and support UN causes.
Former Norwegian prime minister Harlem Brundtland, special advisor to UN Secretary-General Nafis Sadik and Muhammad Yunus also spoke.
IPPs asked to complete maintenance
work before summer
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The government on Monday asked independent power producers not to go for any maintenance work shutting down the plants in the coming summer — March to September.
‘Complete the maintenance and other related works of the plants by next two months,’ the state minister for power, Iqbal Hasan Mahmood, asked the IPP representatives during a meeting with them at his office.
Six IPPs, including CDC Globeleq’s Haripur (360MW) and Meghnaghat (450MW) plants and Westmont’s Baghabari plant (90MW), generate around 1310 megawatt power, more than one third of the country’s total production.
The country suffers over 1,000MW of load shedding during summer as the demand reach around 4500MW against the average maximum generation of 3300-3500MW, and the crisis aggravates if any power plant goes for overhauling.
The representative of CDC, however, told the minister that their Haripur plant was scheduled to go for one month maintenance programme in February and the Meghnaghat plant in August, and it would be difficult for them to break the schedule.
Iqbal then asked the official to complete the maintenance work of Haripur plant by February and start the overhauling of Meghnaghat plant in October.
A representative of the Khulna Power Company Limited alleged that they had to face difficulties in importing fuel and spare parts because of unwarranted intervention of different government agencies.
‘If the unwarranted intervention in importing fuel continues the plant may face disruption in power generation during the summer,’ he warned.
A Westmont official, however, said he found no difficulties in importing fuel and spare parts. ‘Even I do not need to open letter of credit for importing those.’
The remark surprised everyone at the meeting and the minister told the IPP representatives to contact the Westmont representative for hassle-free import of fuel and equipment.
Westmont would add around 148MW power with its existing generation of 90 MW by February, 2006, the official said.
Speedy Trial Act to remain in
force for 2 more years
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The Law and Order Infringing Offences (Speedy Trial) Act, which makes provision for summary trial of some criminal offences, will continue for two more years after its expiry on April 9, 2006.
The cabinet at its weekly regular meeting held on Monday approved the law ministry’s proposal for the extension of the period of validity of the law.
After the meeting, the law minister, Moudud Ahmed, told New Age that now the ministry would prepare the Law and Order Infringing Offences (Speedy Trial) (Amendment) Bill, seeking amendment to the law.
The bill would be tabled in Jatiya Sangsad following the approval by the cabinet, the law minister said.
The law was enacted on April 10, 2002 with effect for two years.
The validity of the law, however, was extended by two years with enactment of the Law and Order Infringing Offences (Speedy Trial) (Amendment) Act 2004 before its expiry.
The meeting was told that 7,228 cases were filed and 11,162 people arrested under the act till September 19, sources present in the meeting said. During the same period, 6,007 cases had been disposed of and 8,337 people convicted in 3,218 cases.
Hasina urges govt officials
to defy ruling alliance
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, on Monday reiterated that the government officials should not stand
beside the government to bear the responsibility of its misdeeds.
‘Time has come for all officials, including defence and administration, to think whether they will remain with the people or work to protect the illegally earned wealth of the prime minister’s family,’ she told a discussion in the city.
The Juba League, AL’s youth front, organised the discussion marking the 66th birth anniversary of the organisation’s founder Sheikh Fazlul Huq Moni, also a cousin of Hasina.
Hasina, also the leader of the opposition in parliament, at the November 22 rally in Dhaka urged the government officials not to be party to the misdeeds of the alliance government led by BNP.
Accusing the government of harbouring militants, she said if the prime minister, Khaleda Zia, her son Tarique Rahman and Jammat-e-Islami amir, Matiur Rahman Nizami, and the state minister for home, Lutfozzaman Babar, were interrogated all information regarding blasts would be unearthed.
‘Bombings would be stopped if the government are ousted and militants would be netted if Khaleda, her son, Nizami and Babar are interrogated.’
She also alleged that the prime minister and her family members were involved in corruption, plundering public money and siphoning it off abroad.
Traffic sergeant assaulted
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Transport workers assaulted a traffic police sergeant and burnt his motorbike at Mohakhali Monday night.
Witnesses said the workers became angry when an information reached the terminal that a driver, Kausar Mollah, of the United Travels, was detained by the police.
The workers took to the streets. When a traffic sergeant, Niti Bikash Datta, came in front of their procession, they attacked him and set fire to his bike.
BNP demos against bomb blasts
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Monday staged demonstration across the country in protest against the recent spate of suicide bomb attacks and conspiracy against democracy.
Carrying banners and wearing scarves, and chanting slogans against bombings, leaders and activists of the party and its front organisations paraded the streets and held rallies at all the thana headquarters in the capital.
Addressing the rallies, the leaders expressed their concern over the suicide bomb attacks, and urged the government to deal with the criminals with an iron hand.
They also urged the party men to make its December 21 grand rally in Dhaka successful. A number of ministers and lawmakers took part in the rallies.
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