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Shopping malls and supermarkets in the capital city continue to use government-supplied power during peak hours in defiance of a Power Division order.
   Almost every shopping centre and super market was found using full electricity during the peak hours on Sunday while the country suffered from around 500 to 700 megawatts of load shedding.
   Irrigation and studies of examinees of the Secondary School Certificate examinations faced a setback due to this power shortage.
   Officials of the power division said Sunday that it was a ‘gentleman’s call’ to the traders to stop using power during peak hours for the sake of irrigation and education. If they continue to defy the call the division will go for tough action by two to three days, they added.
   The power division on Thursday asked the operators of large shopping malls not to use the government-supplied power during the peak hours from 6pm to 10pm for saving around 300MW of power and ensuring smooth supply of power to households, particularly for the SSC examinees, and irrigation areas.
   Owners and shopkeepers of different malls said that it was not possible on their part to run business with generators in the evening as those are not capable of generating enough power for lighting and air conditioning.
   ‘I made a candid request to the traders not to use power during peak hours for the greater interest of irrigation and education. If they do not listen, we have no alternative to going for tough action,’ the state minister for power, Iqbal Hasan Mahmood, told New Age on Sunday.
   He, however, said that he would arrange a meeting with the business leaders within this week to request them again to stop using power during peak hours.
   Mahmood said that it was the high time of irrigation and power is desperately needed in the cultivation areas for water supply.
   Officials of the Dhaka Electric Supply Authority said that they had already sent written request to the shop owners to stop using power in the evening.
   ‘But owners have yet to respond to the request. We have already surveyed and made a list of malls which use high-voltage power. We do not want confrontation, we want cooperation from the traders,’ said a high official.
   The maintenance officer of the Karnaphuli Garden City at Shantinagar, Mustafa Hossain, said their shopping mall is a centrally air-conditioned one which cannot be run with generator permanently during the peak hours.
   ‘It will take about Tk 50,000 for fuel everyday if we want to run the central electrification in our own management,’ he said.
   Besides, he said, the generators do not produce enough power to run the air conditioning system properly.
   Manager of a shop ‘Ranguli Shari’ in Bishal Centre at Moghbazar said the government should enact a law to close down all the markets by 8:00 pm and open at 10:00 am instead of banning usage of electricity.
   This law should be implemented strictly so that every body follows it, he said.
   The Dhaka Metropolitan Shop Owners’ Association at a meeting, with its president, Md Helal Uddin, in the chair, at the office of Chittiya Market Dokan Malik Samity on Sunday protested against the government decision.
   Threatening to go for legal action, the leaders of the shop owners association said it is the duty of the government to ensure electricity and owners have right to purchase the electricity for commercial use during the peak hours.
   If they are denied their right, they will go for legal action, they added.
   They said crises could be overcome by using electricity in a calculative manner.
   They decided to put off half of their mercury bulb of every market every day from March 20 to June 30.
   They also demanded putting off the light of bill boards during the peak hours (5:00pm—11:00pm) through enactment of a new law.
   They demanded of the government not to give approval of any new modern market.

The customs authorities on Sunday suspended one officer and closed another in Chittagong for unauthorised release of imported goods.
   The sources at the Chittagong customs said the two officers in connivance with importers had released 208 sets of mobile phone under false declaration from Shah Amanat International Airport.
   The forgery was unearthed when the police seized the consignments at the Cement crossing under the Patenga police station in the afternoon finding them to be mobile phone sets instead of toothpaste as per the declaration, the sources added.
   The authorities after initial investigation, found both the officers guilty and took the punitive action against them, the sources said.
   The order signed by commissioner, AM Mashrur suspended a preventive officer, Fazlul Haque instantly and withdrew a superintendent, Mohammad Nurunnabi from duty, added the sources.
   The sources further said the order also recommended to the National Board of Revenue for taking further action against the superintendent.
   ‘As the NBR is the authority to suspend any class one officer, commissioner sent his recommendation to the chairman of the board,’ a top official of Chittagong customs told New Age.

Five thoroughfares of the capital will officially be renamed after five freedom fighters in separate ceremonies to be held by the Dhaka City Corporation next week.
   The corporation had announced the renaming of the streets on December 16 last year and will complete the formalities in a series of five ceremonies on consecutive days beginning March 20, corporation officials said.
   The freedom fighters are retired air vice marshal AK Khandakar Bir Uttam, retired colonel Quazi Nurruzzaman Bir Uttam, retired major general CR Datta Bir Uttam, retired major general, the late MA Rabb Bir Uttam and retired lieutenant general Mir Shawkat Ali Bir Uttam.
   The Dhaka mayor, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, made the announcement at a reunion of freedom fighters at Nagar Bhaban earlier on December 16.
   The link road from Jal Khabar at Mohakhali to Gulshan Circle 1 will be named Bir Uttam AK Khandakar Road, after the retired air chief who was deputy chief of staff during the war of independence. The road will be commissioned on March 20.
   The road from Panthapath to the Sonargaon crossing will be named Bir Uttam Quazi Nuruzzaman Road, after Nuruzzaman who was commander of Sector 7. The road will be commissioned the next day.
   The road from the Kantaban crossing to the Sonargaon crossing via Hatirpool Bazar will be named after Bir Utam CR Datta Road on March 22. He was commander of Sector 4.
   The road from the Science Laboratory to Peelkhana gate will be named Bir Uttam MA Rabb Road after Rabb who was chief of staff during the independence war. The road will be commissioned on March 23.
   The road from Tejgaon Nabisco to Gulistan Circle 2 via Shooting Club will be named Bir Uttam Mir Shawkat Ali, after Shawkat who was commander of Sector 5. The road will be commissioned on March 24.
   The officials said the freedom fighters, excepting MA Rabb, would inaugurate the roads by unveiling plaques at 5:00pm every day.
   As MA Robb is not alive, the corporation decided that anyone of his family would be invited to unveil the plaque of the road named after him.
   The officials said all the freedom fighters would be invited to the programme. The Dhaka mayor and the state minister for liberation war affairs, Md Rezaul Karim, will also attend the programme.
   ‘Advertisements inviting them to the programme will soon be published in daily newspapers,’ an official told New Age.
   He said the corporation is installing the plaques on the roads, each costing about Tk 32,000.
   The mayor told New Age on Thursday that the decision had been made to honour the five freedom fighters.
   ‘The process of naming roads after the name of freedom fighters will continue in phases,’ he said.
   As CR Datta has been staying abroad, the corporation officials said there might have been a little change in the programme. ‘We are trying to reach him,’ said Sirajul Islam, the chief town planner.

The LGRD and cooperatives minister, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, informed the Jatiya Sangsad on Sunday that about 35 lakh slum dwellers live in the capital.
   Replying to a question from Golam Habib Dulal, he said there were about 4,500 slums in Dhaka.
   On a question from Manjur Kader, he said the cleaners of the Dhaka City Corporation start sweeping the city late at night.
   The concerned authorities see to it that sweeping of the city streets ends before sunrise, for the convenience of morning walkers, he added.

At least 20 people were injured and properties worth Tk 25 lakh damaged in two fire incidents in Barisal early Sunday.
   In the Barisal city, fire started from a candle at the Khaledabad Colony residence of Kanchan Sikdar during power outage and spread to two adjacent houses before being doused by fire servicemen at about 12:30am.
   Ten people including two firemen, Faruk Hossain and Shafiqul Islam, were injured.
   At Neamoti Bazar, fire started from a short circuit at Dulal Stores and spread to five other stores before the firemen extinguished the fire at about 1:00am.
   Five establishments — Dulal Stores, Suma Stores, Bhai Bhai Bakery, Hafez Shoe Stores, Shahjalal Stationery — were gutted with properties worth Tk 10 lakh.

Activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, student wing of the ruling BNP, beat up two residents of Ziaur Rahman Hall at the Dhaka University and ousted them from the hall early Sunday.
   Ashikur Rahman Rono of fine art and Monir Hossain Suman of Islamic history, who were ousted from their rooms, lodged a compliant with the provost.
   Sources in the hall of residence said Chhatra Dal leader Abdullah al Masum and his associates beat them when they protested against outsiders staying at room 312 with Masum.
   They beat Suman and Rono with clubs and iron rods. At one stage they drove Rono out of the hall. Suman tried to escape jumping off from the second floor of the hall.

A number of students’ and cultural organisations on Sunday observed the 13th anniversary of death of the promising student leader Moin Hossain Raju with a renewed pledge to resist all sorts of violence on campus.
   The student organisations demanded that the Dhaka University authorities declare March 13 as anti-violence day.
   Moin Hossain Raju, a bachelor’s student of soil science at the university and a central committee member of Bangladesh Chhatra Union, was killed on the day in 1992 while leading a procession against campus violence.
   The procession was brought out protesting against shootouts between the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and the Bangladesh Chhatra League.
   The Progressive Stude-nts’ Alliance, a combine of eight left student bodies, and the Bangladesh Chhatra Union, the Raju Bitarka Angan and Raju Crafts Council held different programmes to mark the day.
   The organisations placed wreaths at the Raju Memorial Monument at the Teachers-Student Centre on the Dhaka University campus.
   The Bangladesh Chhatra Union brought out a procession from the monument at noon parading through different streets on the campus. The organisation also held a discussion in the afternoon. Contemporary student leaders of Raju, Belal Chowdhury and Sajjad Zahir Chandan, recalled their experience with Raju.
   The Raju Crafts Council organised a painting and crafts exhibition at the Raju Memorial Monument. About 30 paintings with anti-violence messages were displayed.
   There were also some miniature sculptures on display. The Raju Bitaraka Angan held a debate.

RAB arrests 3 with firearms
The Rapid Action Battalion arrested three alleged snatchers — Sohel, 22, Sohel Rana, 25, and Masud, 26, in possession of a revolver, two crude bombs, one dagger and three bullets at Bhanga Rashta under the Demra police station in Dhaka at 4:00am on Sunday, when the three were preparing to mug a passer-by on the Dhaka-Demra Road. The arrested were handed over to the Demra police.
— BSS

Unidentified young man run over by train
The Government Railway Police said a young man, clad in black trousers and full shirt, died on the spot when a train ran over him at the Azampur-Kanchabazar railway crossing under Uttara in Dhaka at about 1:30pm on Sunday. He was crossing the rail line. No case was filed till filing this report.
— BDNews

NUB seminar artificial intelligence
The Northern University, Bangladesh computer science and engineering department organised a seminar on ‘paradigms of artificial intelligence: face detection for human-robot’ at the university auditorium at Dhanmondi in the capital on Saturday. The academic affairs division director, Md Lutfor Rahman, inaugurated the seminar, where Dr Al Amin of the organiser department presented the keynote paper. The department chair, Professor Mir Md Akramuzzaman, was present as the guest speaker.
— New Age

AL candle procession in Rajshahi
The Rajshahi district female unit of the Awami League brought out a procession in the city Sunday afternoon, protesting against crisis of electricity and water. The procession paraded the city main roads.
— BDNews

Dental unit opened in Chittagong
A full-fledged dental unit was inaugurated at the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society-run Jemison Red Crescent Maternity Hospital in the Chittagong city on Sunday. The society chairman, advocate Harun Al-Rashid in the morning inaugurated the Tk 15 lakh unit. The Chittagong unit acting chairman of the society, Dr Shahadat Hossain, chaired the function. The society senior vice-chairman, BRCS local unit Alhaj Dastagir Chowdhury, Principal of the Chittagong Medical College Professor Chowdhury B Mahmud, civil surgeon of Chittagong Dr Khurshid Jamil Chowdhury, chief health officer of Chittagong City Corporation Dr Sarfaraz Khan Chowdhury and BRCS secretary of the Chittagong district unit Mohammad Abdul Awal Chowdhury addressed the function.
— BSS