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The erosion by the mighty river Brahmaputra has washed away vast tracts of land with standing crops, homesteads, shops and other infrastructures at fifteen villages under Rajibpur upazila in Kurigram.
   The erosion by the river has rendered thousands farmers of these villages landless and homeless and made traders of small means pauper.
   Local sources said that the food godown, hospital, telephone exchange office, upazila administration building and other government and private establishments worth crores of taka might be washed away soon if no proper steps were taken to protect them.
   The fifteen villages which have been washed away by the swirling current of the Brahmaputa included velamari, Tarabari, Dasgareapara, Uttar Velamari, Pachchim Rajibpur, Munshipara, Tangaleapara, Uttar Kodakkati,
   Jugipara and Dhalagacha.
   There were eight primary schools and madrashas and offices of different departments at the fifteen villages which have gone into river.
   Velamari primary school,Madanirchar primary school, Badarpur madrasha, Barber primary school ,Shannashisikhandi primary school were among them.
   At least 20,000 erosion hit people are now living a miserable life.Many of them can not afford to make their ends meet because of abject poverty. Losing their cultivable lands and homes, many of them are now living on the embankments and khas lands of the government.
   Ainal Pahari,60, of village Velamari told New Age that the rapacious river had eroded his house nine times during the last one decade.He was once a rich farmer with enough land for cultivation.
   He had also a large number of cattlehead, cows and poultry birds. But erosion has made him an ultra poor.
   Many well-to-do farmers of Rajibpur upazila have met the fate of Ainal after losing their arable lands, homesteads and other establishments to the fury of Brahmaputra.
   The Water Development Board took up a Tk 11 crore programme in 2001 to check the erosion of the river. But the fund was too little to complete the project, according to local sources.

At least 60 persons were injured in sporadic clashes Wednesday and Thursday in four districts – Natore, Patuakhali, Jessore and Gopalganj.
   In Natore, 20 landless people were injured, 45 houses damaged, and 5 others set on fire during an attack allegedly by the hired goons of a landlord at Brikaso village under Gurudaspur upazila Wednesday.
   The police and local people said a group of 50-60 men led by landlord Abdul Khalek damaged 45 houses and set fire on five others, injuring 20 landless people. The landless people tried to resist them, but failed.
   Five of the injured – Abdur Rahman, Jaynal, Anwar, Rabeya, and Karuna – were admitted to Gurudaspur Health Complex.
   Sources said the landless people have long been living on 2.66 acres of khas land in the village by building about fifty houses.
   But landlords Khalek, Abdur Rahim, and Ardosh Ali tried to grab the land and to make a haat on it.
   Later the landless people filed a case with the court which issued an order in favour of the landless people on May 20.
   As violating the court order, the influential group tried to grab the land forcefully recently, the landless people filed another case against them.
   After hearing the case, the court ordered the Gurudaspur police to submit an investigation report on violation of court order. But the police did not submit the report, local people alleged.
   About 250 landless people were passing their days in inhuman condition under open sky.
   Injured Abdur Rahman told New Age that Khaleq with his associates tried to evict them from the land. On Wednesday, he and his associates hired some men and attacked them.
   Khalek, however, denied the allegations saying that he did not know who attacked the landless people. ‘I did not take part in the attack on the landless people.’
   A case was filed with the Gurudaspur police station accusing 11 landlords and their associates. But the police are yet to arrest them.
   In Patuakhali, at least 22 people including one ward commissioner and five women were injured when a group of BNP cadres allegedly attacked the Patuakhali Municipality office Thursday.
   They held a gathering in front of the municipality building and also attacked the house of the municipal chairman in the afternoon.
   According to witnesses, the attacks were led by Juba Dal leaders Mostafijur Rahaman Rumi, commissioner of ward 3, and Akhtaruzzaman Nobel, commissioner of ward 4.
   The assailants beat the office staff injuring Nurul Islam, secretary, Mustafizur Rahman, accounts officer, Md Yunus, surveyor, Udaya Sammaddar, office assistant, Abdur Rouf and Md Nazrul. The female employees of the office were also harassed, it was alleged.
   Chairman Mostak Ahmed Pinu informed the police super of the incident. A contingent of police led by the OC of the sadar thana went to the spot to control the situation.
   The agitated officers and employees of the municipality, after being assaulted, left the place declaring suspension of water-supply, street-lights, sanitation works and other citizen services for an indefinite period.
   Witnesses said, at about 5.30pm the assailants attacked the house of Pinu and ransacked it. They also pelted brickbats damaging the window pans and gates.
   During the attack, commissioner Delwar was chopped and later hospitalised. At a press conference the chairman said that he was feeling unsafe after the attack.
   He alleged that commerce minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury masterminded the attack. He observed that the attackers were his men and during the attack he was staying in the town.
   In Jessore, at least eight students were injured in a clash between the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and the Bangladesh Chhatra League in Jessore MM College Thursday.
   The clash erupted when the BCL tried to stop the classes of the college at around 11:00am. Of the injured, three were rushed to Jessore General Hospital.
   In Gopalganj, at least 10 persons including three women were injured, four of them critically, in a clash between two rival groups at village Ulpur under Gopalganj sadar upazila Thursday.
   The critically injured were admitted to Gopalganj Sadar Hospital. The injured were Mazeda Akhter, 25, Taslima, 26, Hafej Md Golam Rasul, 40 and Md Rashedul. 22.
   According to sources, Nannu Miah with his associates demanded Tk 20 thousand as toll from Abdul Kuddus, who refused to pay.
   For this, Nannu and his associates attacked Kuddus’s residence and beat the inmates, injuring seven men and three women.
   A case was filed with Gopalganj police in this connection.

The production of sesame is gaining popularity with the farmers in Jhenaidah as it yields more profit with less investment.
   A total of 2,996 hectares of lands have been brought under sesame seed production at six upazilas in the district this season surpassing the target by 353 hectares. The area under sesame production in the district was 1,876 hectares last year.
   The DAE sources said the target sesame seed production this season has been fixed at 20 tonnes from 380 hectares under sadar upazila, 50 tonnes from 575 hectares under Kaliganj upazila, 50 tonnes from 1,170 hectares under Mohespur upazila, 50 tonnes from 696 hectares under Sailakupa upazila,10 tonnes from 40 hectares under Harinakunda upazila and 20 tonnes from 135 hectares under Kotchandpur upazila.
   The local sources said sesame seed has high demand in the market for preparing hair tonic and other herbal medicines.
   A farmer of the sadar upazila said one could earn Tk 12,500 by investing Tk 3,000 for cultivation of sesame seed on one bigha of land.

Two persons including a woman were killed in two separate road accidents at Kalibari town in Lalmonirhat on Thursday and Wednesday.
   Witnesses said, Parvez, 30, son of businessman Yunus Shikder, was crushed under the wheels of a truck while he was crossing the road Thursday evening.
   In another accident on Wednesday afternoon, Anita Chakraborty, 45, wife of the priest of Kalibari temple, died on the spot when a speeding truck ran over her at the same place.
   The police sent the bodies to hospital morgue for post mortem.
   Two separate cases were filed but the police could not seize the trucks or arrest the drivers.
   Another report from Sirajganj said 27 people were injured in sporadic clashes between the residents of two localities in Sirajganj town on Wednesday.
   Witnesses said the clash erupted in the afternoon over suspicious movement of some youths of Rahamatganj at Shahidganj area of the town.
   Later, residents of Rahamatganj and Shahidganj were locked in clashes.
   Both the groups threw brickbats and bottles at each other leaving 27 people injured.
   Of the injured, nine were admitted to Sadar Hospital and clinics while others were released after receiving first aid.

At least 20 people were injured, four of them critically, in a fierce clash between two groups of landless people at Langolia char under Hatiya upazila in Noakhali Thursday.
   The police and witnesses said the clash erupted in the morning between the groups - one led by Giyas Uddin and another by Enayet over the possession of a plot of khas land.
   Both the groups used lethal weapons and sticks in the violent clash that lasted several hours. On information, the police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. Later the police arrested two persons from the spot.
   Of the injured, Sabir Ahmed, Enayet, Giyas Uddin and Zafar were admitted to the Upazila Health Complex . Their condition was stated to be critical.

A vegetable trader was killed by some miscreants at Chandipur under Sailkupa upazila in Jhenaidah Wednesday night.
   Locals said, the miscreants waylaid trader Aminul Mia, 35, of village Kashipur at 10:00pm when he reached Chandipur on his way home from Charpara bazar under Horinakundu upazila by a motorbike.
   They beat him mercilessly, dragged him to a nearby field and strangled him to death.
    The killers did not take away his motorbike and money.
   The police suspected that he might have been killed following a previous enmity. The police recovered the body and sent it to Sadar hospital morgue for autopsy.
   Later some angry people and the businessmen torched three houses of the suspected assailants.