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Eleven river routes stretching about 30 kilometres under seven upazilas of Barisal region are fast losing navigability following emergence of numerous shoals and siltation at different points.
   Four launch ghats on these river routes had to be closed down as launches could not approach them because of poor navigability.
   The closed launch ghats are Bara Machhua under Mathbaria upazila in Pirojpur, Kasherhut under Muladi upazila and Bhabanipur and Dhamura under Wazirpur upazila in Barisal.
   A large number of steamers, launches, cargo vessels and oil tankers ply through these water routes everyday to different destinations including Dhaka, Narayanganj, Bhola, Patuakhali, Mongla, Pirojpur, Madaripur, Barguna, Torki, Galachipa, Khepupara and Mehendiganj.
   The river routes of Kirtonkhola, Arial Khan, Kalabadar, Shikarpur, Hizla, Naya Bhanguni, Sugandhaya and Meghna have developed shoals at different points threatening the movement of water transports.
   The waterways of Torki-Hosnabad (3 kilometres) at Gournadi upazila, Saheberhat-Tungibaria-Lahurhat (4 kilometres), Barisal launch ghat to fishing port (half kilometre), Dapadia launch ghat to Mridhabari (2 kilometres) under sadar upazila, Char Nainda-Rajapur (4 kilometres), east to west end of Bholanath Char (2 kilometres) at Mehendiganj upazila, Tengramari-south Vuterdia (4 kilometres) and Mallikpur- Madhayerchar (5 kilometres) at Babuganj upazila, Mahishakhola-Showla-Badartuni (3 kilometres) at Banaripara and Muladi upazilas and Banaripara town to launch ghat (one kilometre) at Banaripara upazila are losing navigability rapidly.
   The deputy commissioner of Barisal told New Age that he has already written to the concerned ministry and department thrice during the last three months for taking immediate steps to dredge these rivers.
   Md. Saiful Islam, deputy director, BIWTA, said they were waiting for the allocation of fund for this purpose.

Nearly 30,000 people of 11 villages at Berubari region under Boda upazila have been facing immense difficulties for the non-completion of Naotari Bridge over the river Ghoramara.
   The construction of the bridge was taken up during the fag end of the tenure of the last government. But work on the bridge was stopped for reasons best known to the authorities.
   Local sources said these 11 villages are surrounded by India on the north, the river Sui on the west and Ghoramara river on the east and the south.
   The people of Sarkar Para, Naotri, Prodhanpara, Jholapara, Bhangapara, Munshipara and Suierpara are now alienated from the rest of the upazila for the absence of a bridge over the Ghoramara river.
   Their living condition worsens further during the rainy season as they remain marooned with the flood water on three sides.
   Thousands of people of these villages are always deprived of fair price of their agriculture products as they cannot market them for the lack of good communication network.
   Mechanised transports cannot come to this region because of the worse condition of roads. The growers carry their products to nearby markets for sale by rickshaw vans.
   There is only one primary school at the entire Berubari region. The students of high schools and colleges have to go to the other side of the river to attend classes.
   A school teacher told New Age that the completion of the bridge would greatly facilitate the movement of the people of the Berubari region to Dhaka, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Bogra and other districts.
   The government should take initiative to complete the construction of the bridge considering the sufferings of the people of this region, he noted.

Nearly 13,000 worms killing tablets worth about Tk 65,000 have become time-expired at the Chapainawabganj sadar hospital about two months ago for non-utilisation.
   The resident medical officer of the hospital admitted the expiry of the validity of the worm-killing tablets at the godown of the hospital.
   A patient now undergoing treatment at the sadar hospital said some physicians of the sadar hospital always prescribed medicines to the patients of the pharmaceutical companies from which they received commission regularly.
   ‘It is really regrettable that some doctors of the sadar hospital compel patients to buy medicines of the companies of their choice from outside when such medicines become time expired at the godown of the hospital for non-utilisation,’ he added.
   Another patient complained that each patient had to spend Tk 5 for buying a ticket of the hospital, yet medicine worth even Tk 3 was not supplied to him.
   In this connection he pointed out that several thousand poor patients would have been benefited if the worms killing tablets were distributed among them before the expiry of their validity.

Indiscriminate dumping of industrial wastes by different industrial units at Natore town and its adjacent areas is polluting the environment seriously.
   The Jamuna Distilleries Ltd and the Natore Sugar Mills, among other industries, are polluting the environment in the area by dumping chemical and solid wastes indiscriminately.
   Besides, hundreds of farmers are being deprived of water for irrigation of their lands because of filling up the two canals by the wastes of the distilleries company at Hugalbaria.
   Local sources said several hundred farmers at Jungli, Liguria, Belghuria Hugalbaria have been cultivating irri-boro in the areas adjacent to the distillery firm for a long time. But industrial wastes from Jamuna Distilleries have started filling up the canal.
    President of Hugalbaria Lenguria Deep Tube-well Samabai Samity Harun-ar-Rashid said, ‘We’ve submitted petition to the concerned authority to intervene in this matter’.
   Locals alleged that the two factories have been dumping wastes into the two canals over the years.
   Production of fish fry has already declined in the river due to the massive pollution. Dead fishes, affected by various diseases, are often found floating in the river water.
   The people are also affected by the waterborne and other diseases.
   Air is also being polluted. People keep their nose closed while going to the riverside and its adjacent areas because of obnoxious smell.
   The director of the Jamuna Distilleries, Mahububur Rahman, said, ‘The factory has set up a plant for refining factory wastes. ‘So wastes of the distillery company would not pollute the environment, he maintained.
   Denying the allegation of polluting environment, the managing director of Natore Sugar Mills, Lutfar Rahman Khan, said wastes of the mill are not harmful to the people and the locality.
   Inhabitants of the area informed the authorities concerned of the matter, but no measures have been taken yet.
   The Natore municipality filed a case against the Jamuna Distilleries. But the case was still pending.

The authorities on Saturday suspended a sub-inspector and closed an assistant sub-inspector from Jessore Kotwali police station on charge of negligence of duty.
   Sub-inspector Khalilur Rahman was the investigation officer of the case in which a six-year-old boy Emon was implicated while ASI Humayun Kabir recorded the case on March 2 without ascertaining the age of the accused.
   They will also face depart-mental inquiry to be conducted by the police security cell.
   One Abul Kalam Shamsuddin of Nilganj Tantipara filed the case accusing 8 persons, including Emon a conflict with his neighbour on a disputed piece of land.

Some dealers have been selling rice allotted under open market sale in the black market at all the nine upazilas in Pabna.
   The government has fixed the price of one kilogram of rice under the OMS at Tk 14.50. But a section of dishonest dealers in collusion with the employees of the concerned department has been selling it at Tk 19 to 23, according to locals.
   Activists of a political party are also involved in selling the OMS rice in the black market. The people of low income groups are not getting rice at a price fixed by the government because of the corrupt practices of a section of dealers and employees of the concerned department.
   They said the officials of the food department were not monitoring the sale of rice allotted under the OMS.
   There are 262 OMS dealers at Bera, Santhia, Sujanagar, Faridpur, Atghoria, Chatmahor, Bhangura, Ishwardi and sadar upazilas.

A school for physically handicapped children set up at the Ghatail upazila headquarters in Tangail by the personal initiative of a blind man badly needs financial help from the government and the NGOs to run its activities smoothly.
   Rafiqul Bari, 36, who lost his eyesight at the age of two because of wrong treatment by a quack, established the school in July, 2002, for the education and training of the disabled children.
   It was formally opened in August, 2003, by the former state minister for jute, Lutfur Rahman Azad, now state minister for NGO affairs. The state minister donated Tk 20,000 to the school.
   Besides, the upazila administration allotted one tonnes of rice to the school.
   There are now 80 students on the roll of the school. Of them, 4 are blind, 20 physically disabled, 22 deficient in hearing and 34 suffering from lack of intelligence.
   The day’s programme at the institute starts with physical exercise in the morning. Later, the students attend classes on Bangla, English, mathematics, general knowledge and painting.
   The students are taught free of cost. The performances of the students and the teachers are reviewed regularly.
   The school for the disabled now functions at a two-room house rented at Tk 1,000 per month. One room is used for taking classes and the other one as office.
   Moreover, the school management has to spend Tk 1,200 each month for trans-porting the students to and from the school by rickshaw vans and Tk 150 for paying electricity bill.
   There is no permanent source of income for the school as the poor guardians of the students are unable to pay tuition fee.
   ‘We need at least four rooms and a playground for the recreation and mental dev-elopment of the students,’ said Rafiqul.
   The noble mission of Rafiqul Bari inspired six local youths to render voluntary service to the school.
   They are Morsheda Khatun, Bhajan Chandra Nath, Mukul Hossain, Rozina Siddique, Sheuly Akhtar and Shamsunnahar.
   Highly impressed by the performances of the disabled students of the school at a cultural function held recently, Saifuddin Ahmed Majumder, deputy commissioner of Tangail, held out the assurance of allotting a plot of land for the school. He also announced a grant of Tk 20,000 for its construction.
   Rafiqul said he established the school for the disabled children to give them some education and training so that they can lead a normal life.
   Morsheda Khatun, a teacher of the school, said teaching and training at the school were helping the students tremen-dously.
   ‘The level of understanding of many of the students is growing fast after their admission at the school,’ she added.

A court in Satkhira on Sunday awarded sentenced to death to three young men for murder.
   The additional district and session’s judge pronounced the verdict convicting Abdul Hamid, Zahid Hasan and Hafizul. Of them, the latter remained fugitive.
   According to the prosecution, the convicted hired motor cyclist Yar Ali of Nathpur village on February 12, 1998 to carry them to Jessore. On way they murdered Yar and fled with his motorcycle.

Five persons died on the spot and 20 others injured in a road accident on the west side of the Jamuna Bridge in Sirajganj Sunday.
   The police and locals said the accident took place when a fertiliser-laden standing truck with 25 labourers on board skidded off the road as it was hit by another drum-laden truck.
   The deceased were identified as Bulu, 37, Fakir, 40, Dulal, 20, and Osman, 50, of Sonatala upazila in Bogra and Salim Mia, 25, of Savar upazila in Dhaka.
   The injured were admitted to the Sirajganj Sadar Hospital.
   A case was filed withy the police in this connection.

The Speedy Trial Tribunal of Sylhet on Sunday sentenced a man to life term imprisonment for torturing a woman.
   The convict was identified as M Abul Kalam of village Bubartol in Borolekha upazila of Moulvibazar.
   According to the prosecution, Kalam entered the house of Joynab Bibi, wife of late Abdul Mannan of village Pekuchhara of the same upazila on February 5, 2004 and tortured her.
   Joynab filed a case against him on February 6 under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.

A clash between the deed writers and the deed copyists at the sub-registrar’s office of Nilphamari town on Sunday left one deed writer seriously injured.
   In protest against the incident, the ‘Deed Writers’ Association’ has announced pen-dawn programme for an indefinite period from Sunday.
   According to witnesses, the clash erupted as the two groups blamed each other for missing deeds from the storeroom of the sub-registrar’s office.
   The president of the deed writers’ association informed that about 742 deeds were stolen from the storeroom of the registrar’s office between 1999 and 2001, and 18 suspected copyists were stand-released. The deeds started missing from the storeroom when these people joined work after three years, he maintained.
   The sub-registrar said an investigation was underway and the persons found guilty would be punished.