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Four hundred and seventeen people, mostly women, committed suicide in Jhenaidah in the outgoing year of 2004 for various reasons including repression by husband and in laws, dissatisfaction in conjugal life, failure in love affair and non-fulfilment of dowry demand.
   Some of the suicide cases were attributed to dire poverty of the persons who chose this cruel method to end their life.
   The police record showed that about 70 per cent of these people committed suicide by taking poison and 25 per cent ended their life by hanging themselves.
   Of the total, 134 people committed suicide in sadar, 94 in Harinakundu, 49 in Mohespur, 44 in Kotchandpur and 24 in Sailakupa upazilas.
   According to the police record, 742 people committed suicide in the district in 1988, 745 in 1989, 809 in 1990, 885 in 1991, 794 in 1992, 901 in 1993, 707 in 1994, 725 in 1995, 808 in 1996, 713 in 1997, 790 in 1998, 712 in 1999, 657 in 2000, 597 in 2001, 780 in 2002 and 575 in 2003.
   In his paper Habibur Rahman, a social scientist, said the age of most of the women, who committed suicide, ranged from 15 years to 25 years.
   In most cases incurable colic pain was shown as the main reason of committing suicide to avoid police action, the paper noted.
   Sometimes, the guardians of the female victims refrained from filing cases with the police to escape further harassments both at the hands of the police and also those responsible for creating an unbearable situation that forced many married women to choose the path of suicide, according to the paper.
   The report pointed out that in some cases minor boys and girls committed suicide on trifling matters out of sheer emotion. The same was the case with some people who were too old.
   Emotional outburst prompted boys and girls as young as 7 years old and men and women over 80 years to commit suicide, police records showed.

The cultivation of high yielding variety of cauliflower is gaining popularity with the farmers in Narsingdi.
   A large number of farmers in the district have taken to cauliflower cultivation on commercial basis considering its economic benefit.
   Abu Sayeed, 42, of village Kundarpara in Shibpur upazila, is a successful cauliflower grower in the district. He has been cultivating cauliflower and other vegetables in most of his lands for last three years. Usually he grows these vegetables both in the early and late seasons to net high profit.
   This year Abu Sayeed has brought two and a half bighas of land under cauliflower cultivation. He took technical assistance from the Department of Agriculture Extension to boost production.
   The farmer said he had already earned a net profit of over Tk 40,000 by selling cauliflower. He expects to earn additional Tk 10,000 by selling the remaining cauliflower in his field.
   He said Tk 4,000 to 5,000 was needed to cultivate HYV of cauliflower on one bigha of land. Sowing of cauliflower seeds usually begins at the end of Bangla month of Ashar and Sraban. But the full season begins from the month of Bhadra. At the beginning of the season cauliflower is sold at high prices. Gradually its prices come down with adequate supply in the markets.

The Bangladesh Rifles seized mobile phone sets, VCD, television and computer spare parts worth about Tk 20 lakh from a bus stand at Benapole in Jessore Saturday.
   Acting on a tip-off, a patrol team of the BDR searched the bus while passing through Benapole Bazar a 3.30pm and seized the contraband items. The seized goods were deposited with the local customs officials.
   Another report from Rajbari adds: The police arrested a man along with two pounds of heroin from Talukpara village in Baliakandi upazila Friday.
   On information, the police and officials of the Narcotics Control Department jointly raided the area and recovered the drug from a bag.

Farmers of the district may not achieve the target of boro cultivation this season for price hike of seeds, fertilisers and diesel.
   According to the Department of Agriculture Extension sources, a scheme has been taken up to bring 20,000 hectares of lands under boro cultivation in this district.
   Of the total, 10,000 will be cultivated in Srinagar, 6,000 hectares in Sirajdikhan and the rest in Gozaria, Tongibari, Louhajang and sadar upazilas.
   Official sources said the Bangladesh Krishi Bank will disburse a loan of Tk 5 crore among the growers to make the program a success.
   But the bank distributed only Tk 50 lakh in the district in last three months, farmers said.
   Locals alleged that the marginal farmers are being deprived of the loan facilities because of the complex bank procedures.
   In this situation, they are compelled to take loan from the professional money lenders at high rate of interest to buy inputs and other materials for the cultivation of their lands.
   The DAE sources said this year cultivation has started here in December and would be completed in February. Only 9,500 hectares have so far been brought under boro cultivation, the sources added.
   The farmers had to face different problems like shortage of seeds and high price of fertiliser while preparing seedbeds.
   Farmers said that urea, TSP and DAP are being sold at higher prices in the district than the rates fixed by the government.
   The farmers are apprehending that they wouldn’t be able to achieve the cultivation target in the absence of adequate government patronisation and support.

A court here on Sunday sentenced a man to life term imprisonment for abducting, violating and marrying a minor girl forcibly.
   The lifer was identified as Fazrul Islam, 35, son of Rajab Ali of Chander Nagar village in sadar upazila.
   The court also fined him Tk 30,000.
   The court ordered to give half of the money to the girl as compensation.
   According to the prosecution, Fazrul abducted the girl on July 25, 2004 and violated her confining in different places of the district for seven days. Later, he married her against her will.
   The girl came back home after seven days when Fazrul released her. A case was filed in this connection.

The cultivation of wheat in Rajshahi division under the post-flood agriculture rehabilitation programme has been completed.
   The department of agriculture extension said the production target of the crop is expected to be fulfilled this year due to favourable climatic condition and the farmers’ increasing interest in the cropping.
   According to the crop wing of the department, a countrywide target of producing 14,62,500 tonnes of wheat from 6,50,000 hectares of land has been fixed for the current season.
   Of them, 8,19,000 tonnes of wheat from 3,64,000 hectares will be produced in 16 districts of Rajshahi division. The targeted production of wheat per hectare was fixed at 2.25 tonnes.
   The district-wise break-up of the land brought under wheat cultivation is as follows: 28,000 hectares of Rangpur in Rangpur, 10,000 hectares each in Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat and Sirajganj, 27,000 hectares in Kurigram, 20,000 hectares each in Nilphamari and Naogaon, 60,000 hectares in Dinajpur, 18,000 hectares in Panchagarh, 55,000 hectares in Thakurgaon, 30,000 hectares in Rajshahi, 15,000 hectares in Chapainawabganj, 30,000 hectares in Pabna, 22,000 hectares in Natore, 5,000 hectares in Bogra and 4,000 hectares in Joypurhat.
   The field workers of the DAE have started to collect data about the wheat-cultivating lands in the district to get the exact statistics of wheat producing area in the district in the current 2004-2005 rabi season.
   The sources said the post-flood agri-rehabilitation programme helped the farmers a lot in cultivating wheat in a greater extent than the previous season.