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Journey by train from Lalmonirhat to different destinations in the northern region is fraught with the risk of accidents and many other hazards because of the deplorable condition of the century old slippers on the railway tracks.
   Most of the slippers installed on the railway tracks during the British period have neither repaired nor replaced by new ones. Movement of trains on the tracks with damaged pillars may cause accident any time, according to local people.
   Besides, pilferage of the railway property and goods, ticket less travelling, unclean waiting rooms and platforms and lack of toilet and drinking water facilities and corruption by a section of the railway employees have made the railway journey uncomfortable in this region.
   Miscreants in collusion with a section of dishonest railway employees are involved in pilfering slippers, fish plates, hooks, iron bars and other materials regularly.
   Some drivers of the trains often steal diesel and sell it to local diesel traders for their personal aggrandizement.
   Dirty platforms and waiting rooms at most of the railway stations always add to the inconveniences of the passengers. The floors of platforms and the waiting rooms remain littered with peels of fruit and vegetables, husks of peanut, filth and other materials. These dirty materials pile up at the platforms and the waiting rooms as they are not cleaned regularly.
   Lack of toilet and drinking water facilities is a perennial problem at many railway stations in the northern region.
   The hand tube wells at the stations most often remain out of order.
   Passengers have to go to the nearby hotels and restaurants to quench their thirst for water.
   The condition of the toilets at the waiting rooms is beyond description.
   The offensive smell emanating from the toilets is simply nauseating and the passengers try to avoid these toilets as far as possible.
   The government is being deprived of huge income in revenue due to ticket-less travelling by a large number of passengers. Many youths travel by trains without ticket. They move in groups and harass the ticket collector if he demands tickets from them. Some ticket collectors allow the ticket less passengers to move in exchange for money for their personal benefit.
   Talking to New Age, some passengers said the communications ministry should take steps to streamline the railway administration by stamping out corruption and other lapses and ensure smooth journey of the passengers.

Most of the roads in the Netrakona Municipality are in a bad shape due to lack of maintenance and repair.
   The Netrakona Municipality was established in 1987 covering an area of 13 kilometres. It was upgraded to class one status in 1996. But its infrastructural development is still far from satisfactory. Though the residents have been provided with some civic amenities, their expectation of a good communication system is yet to be fulfilled.
   Out of 175 kilometres road in the municipal area, 20 kilometres are metalled and 36 kilometres are half-metalled.
   The roads at the Teri Bazar, Ukilpara and Malni, Azahar, Barhatta, Satpai, Katli, Kurpar, and the Upazila Road and Nikhil Nath Road were badly damaged. There are big holes in the roads. After a moderate shower, the roads get waterlogged and the people get trapped in the holes.
   Faruk Ahmed, who lives near the Barhatta Road, told New Age that the road has become unfit for the plying of transports and movement of people due to numerous holes at different points. The authorities occasionally filled up the holes with brickbats, but they again returned to their previous shape after sometime, he added.
   Like Faruk some other inhabitants expressed their resentment over the dilapidated condition of the roads.
   They demanded immediate steps for their repair and development.
   The newly elected municipal chairman, Nazrul Islam Khan told New Age that they prepared a master plan for the development of the municipality. The Asian Development Bank has already sanctioned Tk 1 crore for the development of the roads, he added.

An extensive programme for aman cultivation has been taken up in all the 16 districts under the Rajshahi division in the current season.
   The Department of Agriculture Extension has set a target for the cultivation on 17.75 lakh hectares of land with a production target of 62.12 lakh tonnes of paddy in the division.
   Meanwhile, the farmers have started transplantation of aman seedlings in full swing everywhere for the last couple of weeks. Most of them finished the primary works of preparing their lands to cultivate the targeted crop.
   The farmers faced a severe setback and incurred a heavy loss in cultivating aman paddy last year in the region due to repeated flood.
   However, this year they hoped for bumper production. So they kept themselves busy in nursing their lands to harvest the crop.
   The farmers made seedbeds on 88,542 hectares of land to make the transplantation a complete success. Most of the seedbeds were high-yielding varieties.
   Talking to the news agency, Hafez Mizanur Rahman, a farmer of Krishnapur village under Tanore upazila, said the frequent rainfalls were helping their plantation activities to a greater extent.
   To ensure proper output, the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation disbursed 2,664 tonnes of quality seeds among the farmers in the division.
   Additional director of DAE Lal Mahmud on Saturday said the farmers were being habituated in producing quality seeds by themselves instead of depending on the BADC.
   For this reason they are being provided with seeds and fertilisers free of cost along with necessary training for growing seeds in an acre of land in each agriculture block, he said.
   To achieve the production target, the farmers are also being provided with high-yielding varieties of seeds and fertilisers, pesticides and bank loans, DAE officials said.
   Now the farmers are becoming interested in cultivating high-yielding varieties of paddy, considering their significant production.
   The officials said the target of aman paddy production is expected to be achieved this year if favourable climate conditions remain till harvesting.

A court in Gopalganj sentenced five persons to life term rigorous imprisonment in a murder and robbery case. They were also fined Tk 5,000 each and in default, to suffer six months more in jail.
   Mohammad Akbar Hossain Mridha, additional district and sessions judge delivered the judgment on Sunday.
   The convicts are Iktar sheikh, Akbar Munshi, Lota Kazi, Khalil Kazi and Siraj Biswas.
   According to the prosecution, on July 5, 1994, the accused five persons looted goods worth Tk 3.5 lakh from the residence of Motiur Rahman at Moulavipara, Ghosherchar under the sadar upazila.
   Before fleeing away they fired gunshots that injured two neighbours — Lutfur Rahman and Ekramul. The seriously injured were sent to Gopalganj Sadar Hospital where they died.
   Motiur filed a robbery case with the Gopalganj police in this connection.

A newly-married housewife was slaughtered allegedly by her husband and sister-in-law at village Alipur under Muksudpur upazila in Gopalganj on Saturday afternoon.
   After the murder both the suspected killers have gone into hiding.
   According to the police sources, Miltan Fakir, 25, and Rehana Parveen, 18, who got married on July 1, were locked into quarrels after she came to know about husband’s illicit affair with his elder brother’s wife Reba Begum, mother of two children. Reba’s husband Liton Fakir has been living in Saudi Arabia.
   Rehana’s elder sister Nazma Akhter, filed a case.

The Comilla district administration evicted over one hundred families from Baro Dhurmapur under sadar upazila on Sunday. The authorities said the families were living there illegally.
   The drive was led by First Class Magistrate Rafiqul Alam.
   The magistrate said the drive was carried out as per the instruction of the deputy commissioner.
   The evicted people took to the roads and put barricade on the Comilla-Chandpur Highway in the evening in protest against the eviction. During the agitation that continued for about three hours the traffic movement on the highway was stalled in the area.
   The protesters demanded their immediate rehabilitation.

The police rescued an abducted businessman from the Satirpara area in Narsingdi on Sunday.
   According to witnesses, a gang of miscreants abducted Mokarram Hossain, 35, from his shop at gunpoint at 1: 30 pm the same day and stabbed his nephew Nayeem when he tried to resist them.
   Enraged by the incident, local people put a barricade on the Dhaka Sylhet Highway at Shaheprotap, halting traffic movement for about an hour.
   Later, the police rescued Mokarram from the Satirpara area and took Nayeem to Sadar Hospital in a critical condition.
   The agitated people withdrew the barricade after the Narsingdi police super, Mir Rezaul Alam assured them of legal action against the abductors.

A storm swept over some parts of the sadar upazila in Netrakona Saturday night leaving at least five persons injured and causing damage to standing crops as well as properties.
   Local people said three villages — Uluhati, Tangha and Digjan — were affected by the storm that lasted for at least three minutes.

The members of the executive committee of the Pabna Press Club were elected with Mohiuddin (The News
   Today) as president and ABM Fazlur Rahman (Samakal) as secretary for 2005-2007 at its biennial general meeting Friday.
   The meeting was held at the press club with Rabiul Islam Rabi, outgoing president of the press club, in the chair.
   Other office bearers are: Vice presidents- Rumi Khandaker (Matribhumi) and Akhtaruzzam Akhtar (Jugantar), joint
   secretary- Utpal Mitra (ATN Bangla), treasurer- Johurul Islam (Amar Desh) and cultural secretary- Abdul Kuddus Chadu.
   Members of the executive committee are: Shibojit Nag, Anwarul Haque (Ittefaq),
   Mirza Azad (Pabnar Alo),
   Abdul Matin Khan (Nirbhar), SM Sajedur Rahman,
   Abdul Mazid Dudu (BTV) and Kazi Morshad Babla (Bibriti).