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The mindset of Indian policymakers is a major stumbling block for trans-border power trade in the South Asian ‘grown quadrangle’ region that includes Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan, said an expert from India on Wednesday.
   Besides, they are apprehensive of regional cooperation, and India has no consistent policy on bilateral relations, said Professor Mahendra P Lama of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, at a roundtable on the socioeconomic benefit of regional power trade.
   He said around 80,000 megawatts of power are needed for electricity security of the region, which is yet to be produced. Nepal and Bhutan have the potential for producing thousands of megawatts of power, so they should be assisted to do so for the whole region’s benefit.
   Lama, however, hoped that the dream of regional power cooperation would come true as there has been a perceptible change in the Indian policymakers’ mindset in recent times, and they have started negotiation with Myanmar and Bangladesh about a tri-national gas pipeline.
   He said Bangladesh alone could save $1 billion annually, and the GDP growth would increase by 0.5 per cent at least, if regional interconnections among the sub-continental nations become a reality.
   Professor Abul Barakat of Dhaka University said Bangladesh’s GDP growth needs to reach about 7 per cent in two to three years for achieving the millennium development goals.
   ‘For reaching the GDP target, per capita power consumption has to be increased from 218 kg OE (oil equivalent) to 1,000 kg OE, as power is the main driving force of development,’ he said.
   He estimated that around $15 billion would be needed to meet the power demand in the next 15 years. Foreign direct investment as well as regional cooperation in the power trade is needed to meet the huge demand, said Barakat.
   The South Asian Regional Energy Coalition (SAREC) organised the roundtable, titled ‘Economic and Social Benefits of Power Trading in the South Asia Growth Quadrangle (SAGQ) Region’.
   Aftab-ul Islam, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh and also SAREC’s board director, moderated the discussion. Sayeeful Islam, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries, chaired the roundtable.

The opposition Awami League is considering legal action against extra-judicial killings by members of law enforcing agencies, including the Rapid Action Battalion.
   ‘Every citizen has the right to get justice whether he is accused in criminal cases or innocent,’ the AL general secretary, Abdul Jalil MP, told a news conference at the party’s Dhanmondi office on Wednesday.
   The press conference was called to protest against the killing of a thana-level AL leader, Mafizul Islam Dudh Miah, in ‘crossfire’ with RAB at Keraniganj near Dhaka on Tuesday night.
   Jalil accused the alliance government of killing AL leaders and workers in a planned way to annihilate the Awami League so that the party cannot return to power in the next general election.
   He held the prime minister responsible for all the ‘extra-judicial killings’. ‘She speaks against terrorists, but gives protection to them… she is using RAB to annihilate her political rivals.’
   Jalil alleged that BNP lawmaker Nasir Uddin Ahmed Pintoo had hands behind the killing of Dudh Miah in a bid to weaken the position of the Awami League in Old Town.
   He claimed that plainclothes RAB members arrested Dudh Miah just after he had come out of the court after appearing at the speedy trial tribunal in connection with a case in which he was ‘falsely implicated’.
   He also accused RAB of lying about the arrest and killing.
   Hajji Selim, a former lawmaker from the Lalbagh-Hazaribagh constituency,
   said Dudh Miah was not engaged in criminal activities and the cases filed against him were ‘false’.
   ‘If Dudh Miah is a listed criminal considering the number of cases, I would be a top-listed criminal as the cases filed against me were not less than triple of the ones against Dudh Miah.’
   The Awami League has called a daylong shutdown in Meghna upazila of Comilla on Thursday protesting against the killing of Dudh Miah, who was the joint convener of the upazila unit.
   Earlier, Dudh Miah’s Kaosari Islam urged the prime minister, Khaleda Zia, the state minister for home affairs, the inspector general of police and the RAB chief to punish those law enforcers who had shot her husband dead.
   In a plea sent by fax to the concerned offices, she alleged that the RAB resorted to falsehood in claiming that her husband was arrested in Keraniganj.
   She said her husband was in fact arrested from the speedy trial tribunal premises while he was returning home after appearing before the court on Tuesday.
   She alleged that the RAB had arrested Dudh Miah with the intension to kill him as he was an AL worker.
   Kaosari said her husband was a fruit trader, not a criminal.

Political influence continues to hamper academic and administrative activities at the National University and its affiliated colleges, alleged several college teachers at a seminar on Wednesday.
   Also, a lack of coordination between the education ministry, the education boards and the university hampers policy and administrative functions of the colleges, they told the seminar on quality education, organised by the university at the BIAM auditorium.
   They levelled allegation of nepotism against the university administration in recruitment and promotion of teachers.
   ‘Political influence in the university continues to hamper academic and administrative activities at the university and its affiliated colleges,’ said Professor M Shariful Islam, principal of the Mohammadpur Central University College.
   He also called for effective coordination between the university and the government machinery.
   The principal of the Maulana Bhasani Degree College, Khandaker Enamul Haq, said there was a severe dearth of college teachers, especially in the rural areas. ‘Quality education and good results cannot be expected when there is a crisis of teachers.’
   Several other teachers claimed that violence and political interference often get in the way of congenial atmosphere on the campus, and demanded that political division in government colleges and corruption in fund allocation should be done away with.
   The vice chancellor of the university, Aftab Ahmed, who chaired the programme, dismissed allegations of nepotism and said the university had never been plagued with partisan politics either.
   The heath and family welfare minister, Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, who addressed the function as chief guest, said the government had already made a significant success in enrolment of students, especially female students, through various incentive programmes.
   He termed identified students dropping out as a major challenge for the education sector.
   AKM Fazlul Haq Milan MP and Syed Mehedi Ahmed MP also spoke.

Some 115 Bangladeshi workers are being subjected to torture at a garment factory in Jordan, alleged one of the workers, who recently returned home.
   Kabir Hossain, who also worked in the factory, Al Shahed Apparels Textile in Al Hasan Industrial area of Ramta in Jordan and returned home on March 21, narrated the torture inflicted on them at a press conference at the Crime Reporters’ Association of Bangladesh office in the capital on Wednesday.
   Kabir said a total of 121 Bangladeshi workers went to Jordan through Golden View International, a Bangladeshi travel agency located on Road No 27, Block A at Banani, between November and December last year.
   The Al Shahed authorities allegedly housed the workers in four small rooms since their arrival in Jordan and used to torture them whenever they tried to protest or asked for their wages.
   ‘After 48 hours of work at a stretch, the authorities used to give us two pieces of bread. We were bound to work without salaries. As we demanded our salaries, they beat us up mercilessly,’ Kabir said.
   ‘We informed the Bangladesh embassy there of the matter, but it did not take any step’, he said.
   Kabir said the workers could not convey their sufferings to others as they were ‘kept under lock and key’ both at the factory and in their place of accommodation.
   ‘As I, along with five other workers, protested against the inhuman torture, the authorities forcibly sent us back’, Kabir alleged.
   Kabir also said after returning home, they informed Ohiduzzaman Raju, owner of the Golden View International, of the matter, but he ignored the complaint.
   Some family members of the expatriate workers, who were present at the press conference, said they had to sell everything to arrange Tk 90,000 to Tk 130,000 for sending their relatives to Jordan.
   They demanded compensation from the travel agency and also urged the government to take action in this regard.

A large portion of the country’s lone TSP complex jetty suddenly collapsed on Wednesday, causing total suspension of raw materials supply to the company.
   Sources at the complex said nearly 20 metres of the 150-metre jetty suddenly broke down while the workers were unloading raw chemicals from a light rage vessel at around 3:00am.
   The jetty fell down in the river along with the rail bit, suspending the unloading process, a top official of the state-owned chemical complex said.
   He said a crack developed in the jetty some days back, but the authorities did not take any pre-cautionary measures.

Some 25,000 doctors are expected to vote today to elect a 40-member executive committee of the Bangladesh Medical Association, the largest organisation of physicians.
   Voting will take place between 8:00am and 5:00pm at the BMA headquarters on Topkhana Road in the capital and 66 centres across the country.
   Two panels — one backed by the BNP-led four-party alliance and the other by the opposition Awami League — will fight it out for the executive committee posts.
   The alliance-backed Doctors’ Association of Bangladesh has fielded MA Hadee as president and AZM Zahid Hossain as secretary.
   The AL-backed Swadhinata Chikitshak Parishad has nominated Rashid-e-Mahbub and Iqbal Arsalan for the top two positions of the association.
   Both panels have announced their election manifestos and accused each other of attempting to manipulate the election.
   The pro-ruling alliance panel has come up with an 18-point election pledge, welfare of the doctors’ community and giving preference to postings on the basis of merits. It has pledged to work towards increasing allowance for interns and filling up vacant posts at the union level.
   The Rashid-Iqbal panel at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity on Tuesday announced its 16-point election pledge.
   The panel leaders alleged that the ruling party-backed panel was trying to influence the physicians working at government hospitals and organisations.
   The government physicians are threatened that they will be transferred if they do not vote for the government’s panel, they alleged.
   The association has 25,216 registered members, with 10,955 in Dhaka alone.

The director general of the Bangladesh Rifles, Major General Md. Jahangir Alam Choudhury, on Wednesday asked his force to ensure a leak-proof guard at the frontier to check smuggling, infiltration and woman and child trafficking.
   He made the directive while visiting the country’s north-eastern frontier to see the border situation in the wake of the recent border crisis between Bangladesh and India following a clash between the border guards of the two countries.
   The director general talked to BDR jawans deployed at different frontier of the region and asked them to tackle the situation with patience and applying wisdom.
   He visited International Check Post (ICP) both in Akhaura in Bangladesh and Agartala in the Indian State of Tripura, a BDR press release said.
   He also called on battalion commander of the India’s Border Security Force (BSF) and exchanged pleasantries with the BSF members in Agartala.
   As the BDR chief reached Tripura, RK Chowdhury, a DIG of the India’s border guard, greeted him and he was given a guard of honour by the BSF.
   Comilla sector commander of the Bangladesh Rifles and local BDR battalion commander accompanied the BDR chief.
   ‘The tension on Akhaura border is gradually being eased and the panicky villagers who left their homes have started coming back,’ the director general told journalists after the visit.
   On the meeting with BSF officers, he said, ‘It was a courtesy call. Both the sides have agreed to keep the border tension-free.’
   Major General Jahangir Alam assured the farmers of all necessary cooperation when local villagers told the BDR chief that they were unable to reap the harvest of their crops in fear of BSF.

Bangladesh Rifles along the border in Rajshahi was asked to be on alert on Wednesday after a member of the Indian border guard killed two of his colleagues and then committed suicide on Monday.
   Deputy commander of the Bangladesh Rifles in Rajshahi, Major Enayet, admitted it and said the BDR was kept on alert.
   BDR sources said, a member of the Border Security Force killed two of his colleagues while they were on duty near Bogchar within the Indian territory.
   Later, the killer BFS man killed himself by shooting with his rifles. 
   Being informed, the high officials of the BDR in Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj visited the border points and directed local people not to go to the no man’s land.

The National Democratic Foundation has protested against a news item, filed by BDNEWS and published in New Age, involving the organisation and its president, Asaduzzaman Ripon.
   In a clarification on Wednesday, the foundation expressed surprise over the news item based on the allegations made by the Awami League-backed Nagarik Committee, regarding Ripon’s visit to Chittagong and purpose of his staying there.
   ‘It was a personal visit on his own expense, not in expense of any project,’ it added.
   It said the foundation had been observing every election since 1996 and would monitor the Chittagong City Corporation election as per the electoral code of conduct.

To fulfil its pledges for women empowerment, the government has taken initiative to ensure women’s participation in politics, said the law, justice and parliamentary affairs minister, Moudud Ahmed, at a workshop on Wednesday.
   Addressing a workshop jointly organised by the law ministry and the United Nations Development Programme on ‘gender sensitisation amongst people’s representatives in Bangladesh’, the minister said the women have already playing role in decision making at national and local levels.
   He described women’s participation in various sectors, including politics, as a silent revolution.
   ‘Women started entering into decision making in mainstream politics. If they are provided with adequate facilities, they will be able to play a proper role in reforming the society as males can do,’ he said.
   Among others, the chief whip of Jatiya Sangsad, Khandakar Delwar Hossain, the state minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs, Shahjahan Omar, the Barisal city mayor, Mozibur Rahman Sarwar, and the UNDP assistant resident representative, Dr Najmus Sahar Sadiq, spoke at the function.
   Acting law secretary, Ali Ashraf Khan Lodi, presided over the inaugural session of the workshop. About 150 representatives of Dhaka and Barisal city corporations took part in the daylong workshop.

The president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Mahbubey Alam on Wednesday warned the pro-government lawyers of the Supreme Court, of cancelling their memberships.
   ‘Be benefited from the ruling party, but do not act against the decisions of the bar association as the association will be bound to cancel the memberships of those lawyers who will act against the decision of the SCBA on the Faizee issue,’ he said pointing to the pro-government lawyers.
   The pro-government lawyers are acting in favour of controversial judge, Justice Faisal Mahmud Faizee.
   Alam was addressing a rally organised on the occasion of a human chain formed by Sammilita Ainjibi Samannay Parishad in protest against ‘politicisation of judiciary and conspiracy of destroying the image of the Supreme Court’ at the Supreme Court premises.
   In the meting, the association leaders reiterated their demand to the Chief Justice to withdraw Faizee from judicial function.
   Former SCBA presidents, Abdul Baset Majumder and Ozair Farooq, former law, justice and parliamentary affairs minister Abdul Matin Khasru, SCBA secretary, Enayetur Rahim, Mamtajuddin Mehedi and BA Rashid, among others, addressed the rally.

A three-day international conference on ‘Establishing human rights, protecting the stigmatised: women in sex trade, their children and the exploited minors’ ended on Wednesday with three sets of recommendations for improving the condition of sex workers.
   The conference was funded by the European Union, and jointly organised by Terre des Hommes Foundation Italia, Aparajeyo Bangladesh and Jagorani Chakra.
   It enjoyed the presence and active participation of a large number of representatives of the NGOs, EU, UN, government and the donor community.
   A large number of the brothel-based, floating and trans-gender sex workers also took part in the conference.
   The participants focussed on three areas for cooperation and action. Those areas are women, children and aspects of the legal framework. They made certain recommendations based on discussions of the challenges at the national level.
   The participants also highlighted opportunities for the collaborative actions wherever possible.
   For the children they said that the recent law on birth registration should open the doors for extensive reforms. The need for the father’s name to access services like education and health should not be mandatory.
   The positive role of the media was also emphasised for reduction of discrimination and not depicting children of sex workers as victims,
   which might be counterproductive in reducing social stigma of the children and their mothers.
   The participants emphasised the need for strengthening the sex workers’ organisation’s capacity to deal with legal and administrative issues. They also recommended leadership training and support for sex workers’ organisations.
   They recommended ‘creation of social spaces’ for the sex workers so that they can gain confidence and believe in themselves and their rights.
   To prevent and reduce torture, discrimination and child prostitution, the participants recommended creation of a watchdog body that will ensure legal aid and prevent entrance of minors into the brothels.

The High Court on Wednesday declared an order of the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation paying off its 143 central cadre officers illegal.
   After hearing for about three months on the rule of six writ petitions filed by 143 paid off employees, a High Court bench of Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Quamrul Islam Siddiqui passed the order declaring the rule absolute.
   The court also ordered the petitioners to return the money they had received from the corporation after their paying off to the BCIC authorities for adjusting the benefits of service.
   The BCIC authorities, on December 15, 2002, issued an order paying off 266 of its central cadre officers.
   Out of 266, 143 paid off officers filed six writ petitions challenging the validity of the payoff orders.
   On December 18, 2002, after hearing the writ petitions, the High Court issued a rule upon the government and BCIC authorities to show cause as to why the payoff orders should not be declared illegal.
   Five officials, including secretary to the industries ministry, have been made respondents in the rule.
   Dr Kamal Hossain assisted by Advocate Mantu Ghosh and Barrister Tanjibul Alam moved the petition while Advocate Khalilur Rahman and Barrister Tofailur Rahman for the corporation, and former attorney general AF Hasan Ariff for the government.

The municipalities will be empowered to collect land development tax by reforming the laws concerning union council and municipalities.
   The local government, rural development and cooperatives minister and secretary general of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan said this while speaking as the chief guest at a workshop on ‘review of progress in implementing the projects under Bangladesh Municipal Development Fund at the LGED building.
   The chairmen and their representatives from 114 municipalities and city corporations across the country attended the workshop.
   Bhuiyan urged them to earn trust of the people by working for the sake of public interest, using the scarce resources of the country with transparency.
   The minister underlined the need for realising tax to make the municipalities self-reliant.

Lightning killed eight and injured 15 people on Wednesday in five districts of the country.
   The news agency from Panchagarh, Nilphamari, Rangpur, Cox’s Bazar and Chandpur reported incidents of sudden lightening that killed eight people.
   In Panchagarh three persons, including an aged person along with is grandson were killed, while three others were injured, while in Rangpur a mother and her daughter were killed, when the lightning struck them.
   In Cox’s Bazar, a housewife was killed, while her husband and a child were injured when the lightning struck them during the night.
   The lightning also killed a farmer in Nilphamari and in Chandpur, another farmer was killed and two women were injured.

Shuzen Tanigawa, senior vice-minister for foreign affairs of Japan, will arrive in Dhaka on May 21 on a three-day official visit to attend the inaugural ceremony of Rupsha Bridge in Khulna.
   The bridge was constructed with Japanese loan amounting to $78 million, which was about 80 per cent of the total cost, a diplomatic source said on Wednesday.

The Boalia police arrested five persons Tuesday evening including the three who are accused of raping and killing an 11-year-old girl at Sheikhpara in the Rajshahi city the same day.
   The accused are Leon, 25, son of the owner of the house where the incident took place, Minar, 25, nephew of the house owner, and Fazlur Rahman a neighbour of the victim.
   The accused were produced before the chief metropolitan magistrate’s court on Wednesday.
   The police asked for a 10-day remand but the magistrate granted five days.
   The victim’s father filed a case under the Women and Children Repression (Prevention) Act, accusing the three in connection with the rape and killing of his minor daughter.
   Meanwhile, Professor Ashraful Islam of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital Forensic Department handed over the report to the investigation officer, subinspector Akhter Hossain, Wednesday afternoon confirming that the victim was raped before she was killed.
   Scores of schoolgirls and classmates of the victim and a number of non-governmental organisations formed a human chain Wednesday noon in front of the PN Govt School protesting against the incident.
   Leaders of Rajshahi Protection Movement Council, Mahila Parishad, Barind Unnayan Forum, and parents of school children also expressed their grave concern over child rapes and killings in the city in recent days.
   Students of all the schools in the city will wear black badges on Thursday in mourning and protest. They will also collect signatures in protest against the incident, and on May 8 they will form a human chain in the city.
   The victim was a class V student of the PN Govt School.
   At about 7:30am on Tuesday, the victim’s mother went to pick her younger brother from school.
   When she came back at about 10:00am she found the entrance door locked from inside. She called her daughter repeatedly to open the door but there was no reply. So she entered the house breaking open the door with the help of her neighbour. They found the victim lying on a chair with a noose made of cloth around her neck. During the breaking of the door, one of the rapists was inside the room but managed to escape.