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The prices of fodder have marked a sharp rise in Rangpur hitting hard the farmers in general and dairy farm owners in particular.
   The high price of fodder and the static price of milk have affected over 1,000 dairy farm owners most across the district.
   The price of one bag of fodder has increased by Tk 100 to 150 in the last few days.
   A bag of 74-kilogram oil cake is now selling at Tk 900 as against Tk 720 a few days ago. A bag containing 37 kilograms of chic pea costs Tk 370 as against Tk 300.
   The prices of wheat dust and other materials have also risen considerably much to the frustration of the dairy farm owners.
   Entaz Ali, a dairy farm owner in the town, said the soaring prices of fodder have almost crippled his farming.
   He said he was unable to repay the bank loan as his dairy farm has been incurring losses due to high prices of fodder.
   Though the fodder prices have gone up abnormally the price of milk has remained static at Tk 20 per litre, he added.
   Another dairy farm owner said bulk of their earnings was being spent for buying fodder at high prices.
   Shahabul Hossain, secretary of the Dairy Farm Owners’ Association, said the price hike of fodder has broken economic backbone of a large number of dairy farm owners.
   He expressed the apprehension that many of them would be compelled to close down their dairy farms if the fodder prices continued to rise. He urged the government to give subsidy in this sector.
   District livestock department sources said extensive research was now going on with the assistance of DANIDA to invent low priced fodder. It was expected to hit the markets soon, the sources added.

A Khulna court on Tuesday acquitted all the 16 accused persons on the charge-sheet of Chuadanga eight-murder case.
   According to the case description, a gang of activists of the underground Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-ML) on July 6, 1995 night attacked the Kulbila Guchchha Gram under Damurhuda upazila in Chuadanga, caught some Workers’ Party activists and demanded firearms from them.
   As they failed to provide them with firearms, the underground party operatives chopped and shoot seven WP activists of the village to death. They were Nasir, Murad, Kaosar, Arshad Ali, Kut, Ashanur and Jalal.
   Another seriously injured Shomsher died in a hospital the next day, the case description added.
   The attackers and killers, after the incident, left the place uttering slogans in the name of the underground party.
   Younus Ali, a neighbour of the killed persons, lodged a case in this connection with the Damurhuda police on July 17 and the police submitted charge-sheet in the case accusing 16 underground party operatives.
   They are Selim, Asad, Alal, Oltu, Chhakbar, Hasibur, Siraj Mollah, Panchu, Ruhul Amin, Nurul, Kalu, Zahid, Nuru Haque, Parvez, Laltu and Alam.
   The case was transferred from Chuadanga court to Khulna Special Trial Tribunal on August 30, 2003.
   Khulna special trial tribunal Judge Abdus Samad delivered the verdict ordering release of all of the accused persons after depositing statements of 25 witnesses.

Four hundred and thirty tonnes of chemical fertiliser worth about Tk 1 crore were seized at Hizla in Barisal and Kalapara in Patuakhali on Monday and Tuesday.
   The police and the navy men also picked up 17 people as they failed to submit any document, sources said adding that they were trying to smuggle the fertiliser out of the country.
   Of the total fertiliser, 350 tonnes were seized from the two engine boats anchored in the river Meghna at Char Memania in Hizla, and 80 tonnes from another engine boat anchored in the river Andhar Manik at Kalapatty in Kalapara.
   Nine of the arrested were identified as Abdul Ali, Yunus Mia, Jasimuddin, Mohammad Hossain, Belal, Azizul, Nazrul, Rafiq, and Alam.

A mob beats four persons in the Gaola Bil area under Fakirhat upazila in Bagerhat reportedly while they were escaping after night guards of the area challenged them suspecting them to be robbers early Tuesday.
   The beaten persons were identified as Nazrul alias Babu Sheikh, 29, Torab Sheikh, 30, and Biren Roy, 28, of village Shurigati under Chitalmari upazila and Shahjahan, 35, of village Gaola under Mollahat upazila in Bagerhat.
   The police rescued the four from the mob and admitted to Fakirhat Upazila Health Complex showing them arrested under section 54. The condition of Nazrul and Torab was stated to be serious.
   On the other hand, the victims’ family members claimed that the four were the prey of their rivals over shrimp enclosures of the area.

The sorry state of three approach roads to Aricha ghat has made the movement of all kinds of transports very risky.
   Cracks and potholes have developed at many places on the Aricha launch ghat road, Terminal Road and Kaltapotti road. The condition of the roads turns worse even after moderate rainfall.
   Locals said that though the three approach roads have lost much of their importance after the shifting of the ferry ghat to Paturia from Aricha, yet a large number of people of the northern and south western districts pass through Aricha every day.
   Nearly 20 thousand to 25 thousand people pass through Aricha in their journey to and from the capital every day.
   They cross the river Jamuna by boats and launches and come to Aricha ghat for going to the capital and other destinations, according to them.
   Though it is responsibility of the Roads and Highways Department to repair and maintain these approach roads
   properly, it is showing reluctance to do it since the shifting
   of the ferry ghat to Aricha, locals said.

A Narail court on Tuesday sentenced one person to life term rigorous imprisonment for killing a Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leader about three and a half years ago.
   The court also fined the convict, Aminul Islam Bulbul, 20, Tk 5,000, in default, to suffer six months more in jail.
   According to the prosecution, on March 25, 2002 night the accused person killed Shafiqul Islam, joint secretary of Narail Poura Chhatra Dal unit, son of Hossain Ali Mridha, of village Bhowakhali under Narail Municipality in front of the newly made Narail prison house.
   Victim’s father filed a case with the police accusing three persons. The police also submitted charge-sheet against those persons.
   District and sessions judge Md Shahinur Islam acquitted two other persons from the allegation as they were not found undoubtedly guilty.
   The court examined 16 prosecution witnesses and other relevant evidence before handing down the judgement.

Six buffaloes were killed in a road accident at Chhota Kumira under Sitakundo upazila in Chittagong on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway on Tuesday.
   The police and witnesses said the accident took place in the morning when a buffalo-laden truck from Dhaka skidded off the road and plunged into a roadside ditch.
   Trader Abdullah purchased 13 buffaloes from Gabtali in Dhaka.

A man killed his seven-year-old nephew in the forest of Palangkhali at Ukhia in Cox’s Bazar Sunday morning.
   The police arrested the uncle, Rahim Ullah, 22, and recovered the body of his nephew, Saiful Islam, on Sunday night from the forest.