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The Dhaka City Corporation compensation programme will not cover most of the shop owners who lost their property in a fire at the Gulistan market in 2004, said the affected.
   The shop owners, basically tenants, alleged that only the landowners, who paid the first instalment for possession, would benefit from the programme meant to rehabilitate the people whose property were burnt in the November 21 fire.
   The people who had been running their business in rented space will be deprived as the corporation has not taken any initiative for them.
   The corporation has decided to build a multi-storey shopping complex on the compound to rehabilitate the affected businessmen, said a corporation official.
   The market will be built on corporation funds, and it will house 2,000 shops. The affected owners will pay the cost of construction of the shops.
   The corporation will initially construct five storeys. The complex will later be expanded up to 12 storeys for office and other purposes.
   The market, handed over to the corporation by the district administration in 1998, had 1,646 shops. About 1,200 of them were run by the businessmen who had rented the spaces from the owners.
   A hawker who rented four shops said, ‘I have lost about Tk 3 lakh. I had 11 employees and we are now in trouble.’
   Another businessman who rented two shops said, ‘I incurred a loss of Tk 3.2 lakh. Now I am helpless as I have no capital to start the business again.’
   The Dhaka mayor, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, told New Age on Tuesday that tenants might be accommodated only after accommodating all who had possessions of stores. ‘We will try to accommodate the tenants on the upper floors.’
   The Gulistan Old Market Hawkers’ Association president, Chowdhury Alam, told New Age on Tuesday that the corporation had taken the initiative only to rehabilitate those who had possessions and had paid the first instalment.
   ‘It is not right to rent out a shop to others for businesses as it is a hawkers’ market and everyone here has been allotted shops to run their own business. The shops should not be rented out without permission,’ he said.
   He said it should be the shop owners’ responsibility to compensate the tenants.
   Businessmen complained no one has been compensated for their losses, although the minister for LGRD and cooperatives, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, earlier promised such compensations.
   Some owners also demanded immediate rehabilitation as they are faced with hardship after losing their property.
   ‘Immediate rehabilitation rather than an initiative to construct a shopping complex is necessary. The construction is a lengthy process and we are still on the streets,’ said a shop owner, who ran his in 15 other rented shops.
   ‘I had 27 employees. They have no jobs now. I run my business in a small space, about six square feet, on the pavement allotted by the association,’ he said.
   There are some 100 such stalls on the pavement run by the affected hawkers, said some of them.
   Four firms submitted tender proposals for the construction job, floated on December 19 and opened on January 1.
   An evaluation committee is examining the offers, said a corporation official.
   ‘The committee will complete the work by February. We will then ask for technical aspects and financial offers,’ said the market circle executive engineer, Sayed Mozaffar Hossain.

Sale of books was not up to the expectations of the publishers on February 21 although there was a large crowed on the day.
   ‘It seems the visitors have made a vow at the Shaheed Minar not to buy books,’ said Selim, an employee of the Adorn Publications on February 21.
   The Samay Prakashan owner, Farid Ahmed, was not unhappy with the sale. But he said it was the worst in comparison with the sales on February 21 of the past years.
   ‘People are avoiding the fair for the long queue,’ he said. ‘The crowd is thicker outside the fairground than inside,’ he said.
   The Oitijjhya owner, Arifur Rahman Nayeem, echoed him, saying, ‘If people cannot enter the fair, how can they buy books?’
   The end of a queue tailed back to Shamsunnahar Hall in the afternoon on February 21. By the evening, there was hardly any space for movement on the fairground.
   A record number of titles, 110, hit the fair on the day. The past highest figure was 63 on February 20. Thirty titles came out on Tuesday.
   The authorities announced the Bangladesh Academy award on February 20.
   The award in poems, novel and story went to Amjad Hossain and Mozammel Huq Mintu. Mohammad Asaddar Ali and Muhammad Zafar Iqbal were awarded in the category of article, research and science.
   Zafar Alam and Faridur Reza Sagar won the award in the category of translation, play and children’s literature.
   The choice of two award recipients invited criticism by the writers present at the fair. No one of them could identify one of recipient in the category of poems, novel and story. Literary editors of two Bangla dailies said they never heard the name of one winner.
   Despite the announcement of opening the fair at 8:00am on Ekushey February, the security people did not allow anyone to enter the fair before 9:30am.
   The visitors coming from the Central Shaheed Minar became agitated and chanted slogans against mismanagement.
   The Bangla Academy held a session of recitation of pomes on Ekushey February.
   One hundred and thirty poets recited their poems at the function chaired by Faruq Alamgir.

The Skills Development Centre for Hotels and Tourism (Pvt) Ltd was licensed by the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association in a ceremony in a city hotel on Tuesday.
   The US ambassador to Bangladesh, Harry K Thomas, was the guest of honour. He said the centre would help people to develop their skills in tourism sector.
   The diversified economic strategies of Bangladesh will also turn to tourism sector soon and unemployed people will get jobs, he said.
   Experts from tourism and hotel management sectors stressed collaboration between the government and private entrepreneurs which could turn the tourism sector into a major revenue-earning source.
   The state minister for civil aviation and tourism, Mohammad Nasiruddin, in a message said the licence given by the Educational Institute of American Hotel and Lodging Association paved the way for technology transfer to Bangladesh for the development and promotion of tourism sector.
   The centre began its first-batch training courses on food and beverage on January 15.
   There are four courses on food and beverage production, food and beverage services, front office management and house keeping.
   Tuition fees are between Tk 30,000 and Tk 35,000 for the courses, which include functional English training as mandatory.
   ‘We also have a plan to introduce courses on pastry making, bakery, package tours, functional English and cookery,’ said Zulfia Asaf, professional development director of the centre.
   The centre’s managing director, Shahabuddin Ahmed, said the institute was set up in 1953 and has become the premier source for delivering quality hospitality education, training and professional certification.
   The institute functions globally through its licensees, distance education programmes, internet, videos, courses and guides.
   A former state minister for civil aviation and tourism, A Mannan, and the Board of Investment executive chairman, Mahmudur Rahman, also spoke.

A large number of treatment and rehabilitation centres for drug addicts, mostly run by private authorities all over the country, are in sorry state due to lack of required facilities.
   According to statistics of the Narcotics Control Department there are 89 such centres all over the country and 24 of them are operating in Dhaka.
   But the real number is much higher, said a source in the department.
   These private centres are run without any authorisation from the narcotics department of the home ministry.
   Free of any central standardisation and monitoring, the centres are being run without any standardised treatment facilities, equipments, hospital environment, number of physicians and their availability.
   While visiting some of the clinics in Mohammadpur, Jatrabari, Postogola and in the old town of Dhaka, it was found that most of the centres have no full-time physician and nurse and too many beds were accommodated in a very limited space.
   Most of the clinics were established in rented apartments or in roadside buildings with a chaotic environment, which is neither suitable for treatment nor beneficial to the psychology of drug abusers.
   Some of the clinics are even engaging in drug business themselves. Sources said they usually buy drugs in the name of treatment for the patients but sell them at high price to the abusers.
   Parvin Akhter, assistant director of the treatment and rehabilitation section of the narcotics department, told New Age that a law is being drafted for licensing and monitoring these private drug addicts’ clinics.
   Under the law all such private clinics will have to take a licence from the Narcotics Control Department.
   According to the law being drafted one psychiatrist, one full-time doctor, two nurses and one sweeper must be employed for a ten-bed clinic, and one bed must be accommodated in a minimum space of 80 square feet. The clinic’s environment should be calm and peaceful.
   She also said according to a survey by the UNDP in 1996, there were more than two million drug addicts in the country. But the number has rapidly increased in the past few years, she added.
   There are only four government-run drug addicts’ treatment centres in Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Khulna.
   The central treatment centre at Tejgaon in Dhaka has 40 beds, and the other three have only five beds each. The government has taken an initiative to increase the number of beds and facilities at these centres, said Parvin.
   At present these government-owned centres are providing only a 14day partial treatment called ‘detoxification’ for the drug abusers.
   The department’s statistics showed that 1,725 drug abusers have taken treatment from the four government-run centres in 2004 and 80 per cent of them were addicted to heroin. The statistics also showed that 46 per cent of the addicts were 21 to 35 years of age.

The London red buses will soon join the fleet of the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation, the minister for communications, Nazmul Huda, said during question hours in Jatiya Sangsad on Tuesday.
   ‘I received a phone call this morning from the British high commissioner, Anwar Chou-dhury, who informed me that the London buses could be arranged for Bangladesh if their carrying costs from London are provided,’ he said.
   He said he had earlier requested the high commissioner to see if this could be arranged.

A three-day drama festival, Ekushey Patha Natak Utsab, began at Bhuban Mohan Park Shaheed Minar on February 22 in Rajshahi.
   Six theatre organisations — Rajshahi Theatre, Sandhya Pradip Sanskritik Academy, Udichi Rajshahi, Rajshahi Sagskritik Sangha, Metro Theatre and Mancha Kotha Theatre — have been staging plays daily at 4:30pm.
   Theatre activist Talebur Rahman opened the programme on Tuesday. A rally was brought out.
   Seven plays will be staged. The first-day productions were Bush Shaheber Ekbela by Liakat Ali, and Jiban Ranga, scripted by Selim Jahangir.

A two-day international workshop, Teachers for Tigers, began in Dhaka on Sunday with a call for the conservation of tigers.
   The Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Forest Department and the Zoo Outreach Organisation organised the workshop in collaboration with the Dhaka Zoo and the Guide Tours Lt.
   The University of Development Alternative vice-chancellor, Professor Emajuddin Ahmed, also president of the Asiatic Society, opened the workshop at the Asiatic Society. The Wildlife Trust chairman, Enayetullah Khan, was in the chair.
   A number of international experts and teachers of environment and biodiversity are taking part in the workshop.
   The workshop is supported by the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Tiger, Tiger and Rhinoceros Conservation Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society, New York. The programme was developed by the Wildlife Conservation Society.
   The Zoo Outreach Organisation founder, Sally Walker, Wildlife Conservation Society international trainer Nalini Mohan, Professor Mahfuzur Rahman and the general secretary of the Asiatic Society also attended the opening function.
   The Wildlife Trust chief executive, Professor Anwarul Islam, read out the statement of the minister for law, Moudud Ahmed, as he could not attend the programme.
   Enayetullah Khan stressed the importance of developing community-based conservation programmes and urged all to teach children about the importance of tigers in ecosystem.

A two-day Australian education exhibition will begin at the Sheraton Hotel on February 24.
   The Trade Commission of the Australian High Commission and IDP Education Australia will hold the programme.
   The Australian high commissioner, Lorraine Barker, will open the exhibition, a release said in Dhaka on Tuesday.
   The exhibition will remain open to all visitors form 10:00am to 5:00pm on February 24 and 25, the release said.

Agora outlet
launched
Agora, a chain supermarket, opened a single-floor branch at Mogbazar in Dhaka on Tuesday. The Rahimafrooz Group chairman, Afroz Rahim, opened the branch. The ceremony was also attended by the group chief executive officer, Feroz Rahim, the Rahimafrooz Superstores Ltd managing director, Niaz Rahim, group directors — Mohammad Ismail, Mudassir M Moin and Munawar M Moin — and other high officials.

Japanese cultural exhibition
The Dhaka Japanese Language Institute Alumni Association and the Bangladesh-Japan Youth Friendship Association in cooperation with the Japan embassy in Bangladesh will organise a day-long Japanese cultural exhibition, Discover Japan, at the Central Public Library between 10:00am and 6:00pm on February 24. The Dhaka University vice-chancellor will open the programme. The Japan ambassador in Dhaka, Matsushiro Horiguchi, will be special guest.

Course on network administration
The Information Valley, IIT is offering a lab-based three-month course on network administration on Windows and Linux, including server set-ups such as DNS, DHCP, Mail, Proxy, Web etc. The last date of registration is March 5. For details, Information Valley, IIT, 11/18-A, Iqbal Road, Mohammadpur can be contacted or 9134763, 0173038289 can be dialled.

DU student commits suicide
A Dhaka University student died on the spot after he had jumped from the roof of the Surya Sen Hall on Monday. The deceased is identified as Humayun Kabir, 24, a master’s student and residence of Room 406. He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Kabir is from Jhenidah.

Project inauguration
The inauguration of the American Association of Bangladesh Engineers and Architects Imdad-Sitara Khan Foundation Joint Research Centre for Advanced System Engineering project was held at the East West University on February 18. The University Grants Commission chairman, Professor Asaduzzaman, was as chief guest.

Zonta regional confce
The 18th regional Zonta District 25 conference will be held in Dhaka between September 30 and October 2. This was announced by the governor, Dilruba Ahmed, at a recent meeting in Dhaka.
— New Age