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The chance for Chittagong to become the commercial capital, in line with a declaration made long ago, remains a hope against hope for lack of required infrastructural facilities.
   The lack is attributed to the shift of businesses to Dhaka and other parts, said local leaders and businessmen.
   The political party leaders and the stalwarts of governments at different times merely paid lip-service to the demand for turning Chittagong into a commercial capital; but there are little efforts in this regard, they said.
   With the shift of commercial interests, Khatunganj, Korbaniganj and Chaktai, once known as the business hubs, have put on a deserted look, said traders.
   About 20 years ago, 80 per cent of Bangladesh’s import and other businesses were controlled from the places.
   Some tea stalls have replaced the trading firms in the areas where several thousand brokers once conducted their daily business.
   Many small traders and middle-class businessmen were forced out of business from these areas after the drastic fall in business activities.
   A large number of warehouses at Majhirghat, Strand Road, Korbaniganj, Khatunganj and Chaktai are now used as residences.
   Even some multinational companies based in Chittagong for a long time moved to Dhaka, leaving behind just their liaison offices. Some such companies are Lever Brothers, Reckitt & Coleman, Berger and Glaxo.
   Business leaders say the absence of decision-making bodies and infrastructural facilities forced most businesses to leave for Dhaka.
   Some top businessmen in the city, who began their operation in Chittagong, have ended up spending most of their time in Dhaka, said sources.
   The head offices of business concerns, including shipping agencies, were relocated to Dhaka to stay close to policymakers and attend international bids.
   The multinational companies shifted only to help their officials avoid shuttling between Chittagong and Dhaka for meetings, said the officials of a number of companies.
   The head offices of most top-ranking banks and insurance companies are based in Dhaka.
   The head offices of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation and the Bangladesh Tea Board were shifted to Chittagong, but these hold limited authority.
   The Chittagong mayor, ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, told New Age that it would not be possible to turn Chittagong into the commercial capital without developing its infrastructure.
   ‘It was a farce to declare Chittagong as the commercial capital and to concentrate all the authority and facilities to Dhaka,’ he said. ‘Everybody paid lip-service to the demand. Bureaucrats in Dhaka neglected Chittagong and showed a negative attitude towards its development.’
   ‘Our local ministers could not play any role in this regard as they were hostage in the hand of the bureaucrats in Dhaka,’ said Mohiuddin.
   Former senior vice-president of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ershad Ullah said, ‘When we do not have business concerns in Chittagong, how can we think of turning it into a commercial capital? All the businesses have been shifted to Dhaka.’
   ‘We received just assurances. But nothing has taken place. That is why infrastructural development did not happen. The declaration was made in 1996,’ he said.
   Ershad, also a director of the Sonali Bank, said, ‘In 2003, the government took up some programmes for the purpose. No programmes have been implemented.’
   ‘The government has hardly released any funds for the development projects in Chittagong,’ he said.
   Former president of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry Farid Ahmed Chowdhury said, ‘For lack of infrastructural development, not only the foreigners but also a number of local people migrated to Dhaka.’
   ‘Chittagong should first be declared a province to develop its infrastructure to turn it into the commercial capital,’ he said.

A mini Thailand has been set up at the Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka for a taste of authentic Thai food, fruit, and culture.
   People can feel Thailand by watching the colourful performances of Thai dance and music at the Café Bazar in the hotel, enjoy a sumptuous Thai buffet lunch or dinner, or taste the fruit of Thailand.
   The Thailand Festival, with Thai food and fruit on display, began at the Sonargaon Hotel on July 14 as part of a series of programmes in Bangladesh.
   The minister for civil aviation and tourism, Mir Mohammad Nasir Uddin, inaugurated the festival as chief guest.
   The Thai ambassador, Suphat Chitranukrohm was also present.
   A cultural show was held in the opening ceremony were some renowned cultural troupes of Thailand performed.
   The Thai embassy in Bangladesh, Thai Airways International, and the Sonargaon Hotel organised the festival.
   Sonargaon marketing communications manager Imtiaz Ahmed Siddiqi told New Age that they were getting tremendous response from visitors, especially at dinner time.
   ‘Several hundred people are standing in queue every day at the Café Bazar to visit the festival,’ said Imtiaz.
   The cost of a Thai buffet lunch or dinner is Tk 1,600 a person and there are more than 35 items on the menu prepared by an authentic Thai chef. Some local food items are also on the menu.
   Thai Airways general manager Nivat Chanparachoti told New Age that the festival was going well and the cultural shows are attracting large crowds.
   Four tonnes of Thai fruit imported from Chiang Mai were sold in the fruit fair in the hotel lobby between Saturday and Monday, according to the vendors.
   Rambutan, the queen of Thai fruits, longan, a fruit like litchis, durian a fruit that tastes and looks like jackfruit, honeydew, and sweet tamarind were some of the fruit on sale.
   There is a little Thai bazaar where Thai silversmiths, fruit carvers, and umbrella painters are exhibiting their crafts and products.
   Imtiaz said they were arranging an auction of large hand-painted umbrellas, and the money would be donated to the Lifebuoy Friendship Hospital.
   The festival will continue till July 24 and will remain open between 10:00am and 7:00pm every day.

Non-government colleges in the capital have announced the schedule of the admission procedure for the higher secondary courses, and public colleges are expected to start it within two or three days.
   The results of the Secondary School Certificate examinations were published on June 9, and the students will get the transcripts by August 15.
   According the education ministry’s decision, both the government and non-government colleges will have to enrol the students in the higher secondary courses as per their results in the SSC examinations.
   The meeting also decided to start classes in colleges by August 25 and fixed the price of the admission form and test fees at Tk 50.
   Some of the colleges might be allowed to take viva-voce, if the number of applicants exceeds the number of seats, the meeting decided.
   Notre Dame College has 1,150 seats for science group, more than 650 seats for business studies, and 350 for humanities group.
   The college will start distribution of admission forms on July 22 and continue till July 30. Minimum qualification for collecting admission forms is GPA 4.88 for urban students, and GPA 4.75 for rural students for science group.
   For commerce group, GPA 4.00 is required for the students who were in science group in the SSC, and GPA 3.75 for urban students with commerce group in the SSC, and GPA 3.50 for rural students.
   For humanities group, GPA 3.00 is necessary for urban students and GPA 2.50 for the students from rural areas.
   Dhaka Commerce College started distribution of admission forms from July 18, and the last date for submission of forms is August 10. The list will be published on August 11. There are about 1,000 seats in the college.
   Students who have scored GPA 3.50 or above will be eligible for collecting admission forms from the college, and those who scored GPA 5 can be got admitted directly.
   Dhaka Imperial College having 825 seats will start distribution of admission forms on July 23.
   Minimum GPA for colleting forms is 4.00 for science group, 3.00 for commerce group, and GPA 2.00 for humanities group.
   Ideal Commerce College has started distribution of admission forms on July 17.
   In addition, there are 1,100 seats for science, humanities, and commerce groups at Dhaka College, followed by 606 at BAF Shaheen College, 990 at Viqarunnissa Noon School and College, 1,083 at Dhaka City College, 819 at Government Badrunnesa College, 972 at Government Bangla College in Mirpur, and 1,050 seats at Ideal College.
   There are also 444 seats at Rajuk Uttara Model College, 488 at Holy Cross College, 300 at Residential Model College, and 750 seats at Lalmatia Women’s College.
   Sources in the renowned public colleges, including Dhaka College, said they have been waiting for the circulars from the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka to start the admission process.
   Board sources said they will issue the circulars to the colleges within two or three days.

Extortion has increased in the Dhaka University Market despite the anti-crime drives by the Rapid Action Battalion across Bangladesh, alleged the owners of shops at the market on Tuesday.
   Frustrated with an increased extortion, the shop owners urged the government to rid them of the menace by taking legal action against extortionists.
   Several hundred shop owners on Tuesday brought out a march, holding sticks, to protest against extortion.
   They marched from Nilkhet to the Kataban crossing and kept their shops closed during the agitation programme.
   They demanded arrest of and punishment for the extortionists, especially of Chakma Ripon, Noor Alam, Khokon, and their associates.
   The leaders of the Dhaka Universality Market Business-men’s Association alleged that deputies of Chakma Ripon, Noor Alam, and Khokon tortured several shop owners who failed to pay them money.
   ‘Failing to collect Tk 70,000, the gang vandalised my shop, critically injured my elder brother, took away Tk 5,000, and two mobile handsets on Saturday,’ one of the shop owners, Azmail, told New Age.
   ‘My brother is still under treatment. The extortionists stabbed him in the head,’ he said.
   The association president, Suza Uddin Ahmed, said, ‘The extortionists tortured us several times. So we have decided to use sticks and whistles for our protection.’

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartri-pakkha requested the Dhaka Electric Supply Authority to move away the 40-foot electric poles in the Nikunja 1 area for secure flight and landing of aircraft, official sources said.
   Rajuk gave this instruction on the recommendations of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh to reduce the height of the electric poles to 25 feet because the area is adjacent to Zia International Airport.
   ‘We have officially informed DESA. But it has not responded yet,’ said Rajuk chairman, Shahid Alam.
   According to the Residential Policy for Nikunja-1, the height of the buildings in the area will not cross 25 feet. But the electric poles set up the power supply agency are 40 feet high, the sources said.
   Official sources at DESA said it would take time as all the DESA poles are 40 feet high.

A young man was stabbed to death at the Polo Ground in the Chittagong city late Monday.
   The deceased is Safiul Alam, 30, a resident at Mogadhigi, Mirsarai, in the district.
   The police and witnesses said the victim got on a city service bus near the Polo Ground after being stabbed at around 11:00pm.
   The passengers took him to Chittagong Medical College Hospital where he died.
   Physicians found him in possession of Tk 5.77 lakh. The police said snatchers might have attacked him.
   A case was lodged with Kotwali police.

The teachers’ association of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology condemned the killing of Rafiqul Islam Patwari Liton, a student and former assistant general secretary of the university unit Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal.
   They held an emergency meeting of the association’s general committee at the university on Tuesday.
   The association’s general secretary, Sushanta Kumar Das, Kamal Ahmed Chowdhury, Sajedul Karim, Ashraf Uddin, Abdul Awal Biswas, and Zahir Uddin spoke. The president, Habibul Ahsan, was in the chair.
   Liton was critically injured in an attack by his rivals on the campus on July 13. He died in Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital the next day.
   The teachers demanded that the authorities should arrest the killers and try them in a week of submission of the report by the inquiry committee. They also demanded reopening of the university.

A man and his son were strangled in the Baro Hatia area under Lohagara upazila in Chittagong early Tuesday.
   The police and local people said Santos Kanti Nath, 50, and his son Bandon Kanti Nath, 22, were found dead in their grocery shop at Mogdhigi Bazar under Baro Hatia Tuesday morning.
   They went to sleep at around 12:00pm and the miscreants entered the shop breaking open the door any time between 12:30am and 5:00am and strangled the two, the police said.
   The killers also bruised their bodies with iron rods and sprayed chilli powder on them.
   The police held one Mohammed Shafique, 35, of the locality as he was found with chilli powder all over his body in the morning.
   Additional Supernatant of Police AKM Hafiz Uddin visited the spot and told New Age that the killing might be a sequel to previous enmity, adding the mystery would be unfolded after the interrogation of the arrested.

The Hewlett-Packard began a campaign, ‘impressive printing with fabulous gifts,’ which will continue till July 31.
   Focused on its corporate customers, the campaign offers gifts with each purchase of selected models of HP Colour LaserJet, HP LaserJet All-in-One, HP DeskJet and Hp Business InkJet printers.
   HP is offering a HP Office Jet 4255 All-in-One offering print, scan, copy and fax facility free with the purchase of HP CLJ of 2550, 3500, 3550 and 3700 models.
   Each purchase of HP LaserJet AIO model 3015, 3020, 3030 and 3380 which offers print, scan, copy and fax facility comes with a gift of HP DeskJet 3744 printer.
   The purchase of HP DeskJet Printer model 1280, 9300, 9650, 9680 and 9800 and HP Business InkJet printer model 1000 and 1200 carries a gift of mobile recharge card worth Tk 600.
   After purchase from HP authorised resellers, customers will need to collect the gift from Inpace Communications with a copy of the invoice.
   HP is now runs road show at the BCS Computer City to promote the offer. The road show will continue till July 14.

Fertile men and women have to use the permanent and long-term family planning methods to control the rapid growth of population, speakers told a national seminar at IDB Bhaban in the Dhaka city on Tuesday.
   The permanent methods include –– Tubectomy, Vasectomy, IUD or Copper-T and Contraceptive Implants — to bring down the total fertility rate, they said.
   The Directorate General of Family Planning and Engender Health Bangladesh organised the seminar, chaired by Mirza AHM Bareque, line director, clinical contraception service delivery programme.
   The secretary of women and children affairs ministry, AFM Sarwar Kamal, was chief guest and director general of the family planning directorate, MA Akmal Hossain Azad, attended as special guest.
   Among others, the seminar was also addressed by the Engender Health country representative AJ Faisal, project coordinator Mizanur Rahman, acting team leader of PHN of USAID Sherinouane Johnson and director of technical programmes of Engender Health, New York, Karen Bettie.
   About 300 participants comprising central, divisional, district and upazila officials of the family planning department along with divisional directors, civil surgeons, representatives of development partners and NGO communities were present.
   Bareque said one of the reasons of the stagnant total fertility rate was reduction in the use of permanent and long-term family planning methods.
   Sarwar said for a better health of the mother and children and to contain the population growth, family planning has become imperative.
   He stressed involvement of officials of all levels and all sectors and also the opinion leaders of the society in order to popularise the methods by removing misconceptions about family planning and family planning methods.
   Akmal said family planning users stand at 58.1 per cent and 26.2 per cent of the eligible couples use oral contraceptives and 46.5 per cent of them discontinue usage within the first year.
   This situation is a major concern from both health and population perspectives.

Traders rally against Nilkhet Square
The Bakushah Hawkers’ Market Cooperatives Society on Tuesday demanded that the city corporation’s project of constructing Nilkhet Square at Nilkhet should be suspended until the handover of 1.68 acres of land to shop owners. The Dhaka mayor, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, laid the foundation stone of the six-storey Nilkhet Square on Monday. The leaders at a briefing said the market would not only ruin the business of 2,000 shops at the Bakushah market, but also create traffic problems. They alleged that government did not hand over 1.68 acres of land for which the shop owners paid Tk 16.821 crore on May 4, 2002. The traders will form a human chain on July 23.

CCC reclaims land worth Tk 5.6cr
The Chittagong City Corporation in separate drives reclaimed land worth about Tk 5 crore at Agrabad and Madarbari in the city on Tuesday. A squad, led by the corporation magistrate, Sarwar Jahan, demolished 250 makeshift houses on the south of the jamboree ground and reclaimed about 15,000 square feet of land. The corporation magistracy in another drive reclaimed about 3,000 square feet of land valued at Tk 60 lakh at Pashchim Madarbari.

Hijack bid foiled
at Eskaton
People foiled an attempt of hijacking a car and caught hold of two suspected of lifting the car on Eskaton Road in Dhaka Monday night. The police said the gang tried to steal the car of one Abul Kalam at gunpoint. The local people chased the gang members and caught two, Sirajul Islam Swapan and Monir Khan. Others managed to get away. The people beat them until the police rescued them. The two were under treatment in Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

JU debate competition ends
Jahanara Imam Hall became champion and Fajilatunnesa Hall runner-up in the inter-hall debate competition at Jahangirnagar University. The final round of the competition organised by Pritilata Hall unit of the university’s debating association was held in the central seminar room of the university on Sunday. The vice-chancellor, Khandakar Mustahidur Rahman, distributed prizes among the winners. Kazi Fatema Begum was adjudged the best orator.

Human chain
in Khulna
Khulna Nagarik Samaj Tuesday morning formed a human chain at the Picture Palace crossing in the Khulna city, demanding opening all the canals and repair of drains to solve water stagnation problem. A rally after the programme was chaired by Firoz Ahmed. The speakers said some people grabbed the canals, creating water stagnation.
— New Age