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Internal conflicts among the politicians of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party in Sailakupa upazila of Jhenaidah have deepened in recent times.
   The political crisis got a new twist following the reorganisation of the party’s upazila committee leaving out the incumbent party president, Abdul Wahab.
   The union level leaders of the ruling BNP and its front organisations, including the Chhatra Dal and Juba Dal, decided to boycott Wahab at a mass gathering in the upazila headquarters on March 15.
   The leaders allege that the former lawmaker, Wahab, is immersed in corruption. Even he ignores the party supporters, which has been damaging the credibility and image of the party in the local politics.
   To protest against the evil activities of the upazila committee president, a new committee with the vice-president, Abul Hossain, as acting president was formed in the gathering.
   Also, campaign is on in the upazila to boycott all programmes of the former MP.
   The local unit vice-president of the BNP, Abul Hossain, the general secretary, Amjad Hossain, and the municipality chairman, Khalilur Rahman, said each and everybody in the party along with the front organisations were vexed at Wahab’s attitude. They would not allow the situation to continue any more.
   Wahab told New Age over telephone that the decision regarding his termination was illegal.
   A few so-called leaders of the Chhatra Dal and Juba Dal arranged the gathering, he said, adding that it was not conforming to the constitution or party manifesto, which, in turn, helped the main opposition Awami League to strengthen its position.
   Wahab claimed that he was elected in presence of the minister, Abdullah Al Noman, and the Dhaka City Corporation mayor, Sadek Hossain Khoka.
   Stating the ill-motive of the Sailakupa municipality chair-man, he expressed the optimism that the local people would prevent the plot against the BNP and mass people of the area.

Grabbing of government lands is rampant in Barisal, 114 kilometres south off Dhaka.
   A vested quarter with the help of some corrupt government officials are alleged to be behind the looting of the state-owned property.
   It is alleged that more than 50 per cent of the non-agricultural and 15 per cent of the agricultural khas lands in the district have already been occupied by land-grabbers.
   Non-agricultural khas lands lie in the urban areas while the agricultural khas lands are mainly in the rural and char areas.
   The list of total khas lands is yet to be prepared as erosion of river, emergence of shoals and some other elements are changing the landscape continuously.
   Sources in the district land office, referring to the available statistics, said the total non-agricultural khas land area is 101 acres, out of which 51.58 acres were occupied by force, fake documents or in some other ways.
   The statistics said that out of the total occupied non-agricultural khas lands, 29.47 acres were in Sadar, 12.20 acres in Wazirpur, 2.31 acres in Babuganj, 4 acres in Bakerganj, 2.60 acres in Mehendiganj, 0.70 acre in Agailjhara and 0.30 acre in Banaripara upazilas.
   The vested quarter, in the same way, illegally occupied 144.51 acres out of 18,639 acres of agricultural khas lands.
   The district land office acknowledged this and said the department had prepared a list of occupied khas lands with detailed information about the land-grabber gangs and corrupt government officials.
   Meanwhile, a meeting was held in this connection on February 13 with the deputy commissioner, Adbul Monaf Patwari, in the chair.
   It was attended by the additional deputy commissioner (revenue), upazila nirbahi officers and other officials concerned to review the situation.
   The meeting was informed that eviction notices were served to 274 illegal occupants of khas lands in the district and that the first class magistrates were employed to evacuate 43 land occupants under Sadar upazila.

The Nilphamari branch of the Federation of NGOs in Bangladesh has demanded of the government the life-security of their men and property.
   The federation protested against the repeated bomb attacks, apart from robbery, on their different offices throughout the country. The federation also demanded arrest of the criminals.
   It said that the main branch office of a leading NGO, the Association for Social Advancement, came under attack recently.
   The federation also referred to a recent robbery bid at a town-based BRAC health clinic and said that these incidents have made the NGO workers in the district panicky with an apprehension of greater occurrence.
   The NGO body brought out a silent procession Tuesday noon and paraded through different roads of the town.
   Thousands of NGO workers, a large part of whom were women, carried banners and festoons in support of their demands.
   The procession over, they went to the deputy commissioner’s office and handed over a memorandum to the commissioner, Rabindra Nath Chowdhury.
   The memorandum said the member NGOs are working within the boundary of law which earned international recognition for them.
   The federation is also associating the development work of the government, it said, adding that an extremist quarter was out to mislead the people regarding their activities with ill-motivation.
   This quarter is creating a chaotic situation, they said, demanding arrest of the criminals and safety and security of their life and property.

A three-day conference of the bauls (stoics) concluded at village Naogaon under Tarash upazila in Sirajganj on Saturday with a call to the concerned authorities to preserve their heritage and culture.
   Several hundred bauls from different parts of the country attended the conference at the premises of Chalanbil Baul Academy which organised it.
   The programmes of the 3-day conference were highlighted by the rendering of spiritual and devotional songs including Lalon’s.
   The presentation of marfati and murshidi songs by the devotees filled the atmosphere around the academy with divine serenity.
   This academy was established in March, 2003 adjacent to the mazar of Hazrat Shah Sharif Pir Zindani (RA) under village Naogaon with the primary objectives to preserve the devotional and folk songs of the bauls and welfare of the bauls.
   Normally 10 to 15 bauls always remain present at the academy. Their number swells to about 50 every Thursday.
   They pass the whole Friday night singing devotional and spiritual songs to the tune of dhol, ektara, dotara, harmonium and flute.
   Their devotional songs are mainly dedicated to Shah Zindani who was ardent devotee of baul doctrine.
   Fazle Khuda Liton, general secetary of the Baul Academy, said the bauls themselves bear the entire expenditure of the conference which is an annual feature.
   Some of the bauls expressed their happiness at the establishment of the baul academy, which they said, gave them a sense of identity.
   Gazi Alfazuddin Kanak, president of the academy, said the bauls were facing accommodation problem. A tin-shed built for them was still insufficient for their accommodation, he added.
   He further said researchers often came to the baul academy for research purposes. ‘But we are unable to make proper arrangement for their accommodation and food,’ he noted.
   In the past, the Hindu zaminders or the rich people used to help the bauls for their livelihood. But at present most of them have been struggling for their existence. They now subsist on the charity of the people who come here to visit the mazar of Shah Zindani.
   Some of the bauls earn their living by selling amulets, stones and rings, according to local sources.
   Bauls are indifferent to earthly gains and pains. Most of them lead the life celibacy.