AL slates govt for failure to
restore peace in CHT
STAFF CORRESPONDENT, Chittagong
Speakers at a seminar on Saturday castigated the government for persecuting the tribal people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts instead of the implementation of the peace accord signed by the previous AL government.
The four-party alliance government had completely failed to restore peace in the three hill districts, and unleashed a reign of terror across the country, they told the seminar on ‘Enforcement of CHT Peace Accord’.
The Awami League organised the seminar held at the Muslim Hall auditorium with AL presidium member Ataur Rahman Khan Kaiser in the chair.
It was addressed, among others, by AL presidium member Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, AL joint secretary Obaidul Kader, former secretary MA Samad, former minister MA Mannan, Bir Bahadur MP, Dipankar Talukder, Abu Yusuf Alam, and Professor Anwarul Azim Arif.
Mohiuddin said they would launch a tougher movement from November after forging a greater alliance with the like-minded political parties to free the country from the misrule of the ‘anti-people’ government.
Those who were against the implementation of the peace accord were the national enemies as it had been signed to bring back peace in the hill region, he said adding that if the government was envisaging the agreement as anti-national interest, they could cancel it as per their pledge after signing of the agreement on December 2, 1997.
He said the government neither canceled nor implemented the peace accord just to prolong unrest in the CHT as well as in the country.
Speakers said signing of the CHT peace accord was a great success of the previous AL government and scenario of the region had significantly changed after signing it. If the present government was sincere to entertain the peace accord, the nation would have been much benefited from it, they said.
CAB demands enactment of law
to protect consumers’ rights
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The law to protect consumers’ right, the draft of which was approved in 2004, should be enacted by Jatiya Sangsad immediately, said speakers at a roundtable discussion on Saturday.
They also expressed astonishment why the government took more than 12 years to enact the law after the then government had taken the initiative in 1992.
The Consumers’ Association of Bangladesh organised the discussion at the National Press Club on ‘The law to preserve consumers’ right: hapless consumers.’
The director of the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs, Ambassador Wali-ur-Rahman, the Daily Janakantha executive editor Borhan Ahmed, Professor SM Imamul Haq, vice-chairman of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Dewan Sultan Ahmad and its adviser Manjur Ahmed and the association general secretary, Kazi Faruque, among others, spoke on the occasion.
It is learnt that the then government prepared a draft law on preservation of the consumers’ rights in 1992 and it was submitted to the ministry concerned in 1995.
Then the Awami League government elaborately discussed the draft and prepared another draft on June 21, 1998. The law commission prepared a report on the draft law and submitted it to the ministry concerned on October 29, 2000.
Later, the cabinet approved the draft law in principle. The present government planned to table the draft in parliament in its first 100 days of its tenure. But the ministry concerned sent it back to the secretary level committee for further scrutiny.
The commerce ministry held a two-day international workshop on it on January 12 and 13, 2003 and incorporated recommendations in the draft. The draft was again approved at the cabinet meeting on August 9, 2004.
‘But it is now shelved in the ministry of law,’ said the keynote paper, presented by the association treasurer, Khalilur Rahman Sajal.
Wali-ur-Rahman said it was the Bangladeshi consumers, who could not defend themselves if they were harmed by the producers and the sellers due to lack of a law. ‘When other countries like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka enacted stringent law to preserve the rights of the customers, the successive governments of Bangladesh have tuned a deaf ear to the demand in this regard.’
SM Imamul Haq said there were nearly a dozen of laws to control the food production and the markets. ‘But most of them seem not to be in action while none of them preserve the consumers’ rights.’
Kazi Faruqe said it was astonishing that the consumers were often harmed but they could not demand compensation by filing a case with the court of law.
Rival factions of Khulna BNP accuse
each other of harbouring criminals
STAFF CORRESPONDENT, Khulna
Rival factions of the Khulna city BNP on Saturday accused each other of patronising criminals and vowed to oust them from the party.
Indicating to their rivals, a faction, led by KCC Mayor Sheikh Tayebur Rahman and Ali Asgar Lobby MP, at an iftar party said they would make ‘a list of criminals in the party’ and send it to the central committee for not keeping any relation with them.
‘Our committee wants to stop toll collection, terrorism and violence in the name of politics,’ Lobby, also the convenor of the newly formed city committee, told the function held at a city hotel.
Replying to a question about the presence of listed criminals at his meeting, Lobby said he did not know them. ‘Even then I will be careful with this in future.’
Other members of the committee, including Zafar Ullaah Khan Sachchu, Saharuzzaman Mortuza, Quazi Md Rashed, Nuruzzaman Khokan and Khulna City Corporation ward commissioner Moniruzzaman Mamun, were present at the function.
The other faction — led by whip Md Ashraf Hossain, M Nurul Islam MP and Nazrul Islam Monju — under the banners of city units of the front organisations of BNP, meanwhile, brought out a procession in the city demanding ouster of the ‘criminals and their patronisers in BNP’.
Accusing Lobby of patronising criminals, they also demanded dissolution of the Lobby-led city committee.
CPB blames ministers for thoughtless comment on market price
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The Communist Party of Bangladesh leaders at a rally on Saturday said the comments of different ministers on market price favoured the hoarders.
Referring to the commerce minister’s comment that in free market economy the ministers could not control the market price, the CPB leaders said there was then no need of ministers with high salary.
The Dhaka committee of the party organised the rally in front of Chandrima Market in the New Market area in the capital to protest at price hikes of essentials, including onion, during Ramadan.
The party central committee leader, Ruhin Hossain Prince, said the thoughtless remarks of the ministers regarding price hikes favoured the hoarders to increase commodity prices.
WP marches across the country
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The Workers Party of Bangladesh on Saturday held a 10km march in every district, protesting against the government’s failure to control the prices of essentials.
The Dhaka city committee held a march from Hossain Market of North Badda to Muktangan in the capital.
The acting general secretary of the party, Nurul Hasan, at the Muktangan rally said the ‘BNP-Jamaat’ alliance government failed to control the price hike of essentials and monga in the northern districts.
He called upon the people to be united to unseat the government immediately.
Meeting on non-ballotee hajj
passengers tomorrow
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism will hold a meeting with representatives of local and international airline operators tomorrow at the ministry.
A Saturday press release of the ministry said the civil aviation minister, Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin, would chair the meeting to discuss non-ballotee hajj passengers’ flight and to evaluate sealed offer which were invited earlier from the foreign operators to carry non-ballotee hajj passengers.
On October 24, the government asked the international operators to submit their sealed envelops in the office of the Civil Aviation Chairman with the rate, number of flights and passengers each operator can carry by October 30.
Satkhira sadar OC closed for taking bribe
STAFF CORRESPONDENT, Khulna
The officer-in-charge of Satkhira sadar police station, Golam Mohammad, was closed for allegedly taking bribe from and misbehaving with staff, common people and public representatives.
The district police sources said all the chairmen of the upazila submitted a memorandum to the home ministry through the Satkhira deputy commissioner and superintendent of police, demanding resignation of the OC.
They also called a day-long hartal on Thursday on the same demand but at last they withdrew the hartal as the administration assured them of taking immediate action, the sources added.
Md Abdur Rahim, the Satkhira superintendent of police, told New Age Saturday evening that the OC was closed on the basis of several allegations against him.
Candidates worried over faulty recruitment process
NTRCA exams on November 25, 26
SIDDIQUR RAHMAN KHAN
Aspirants for teachers’ posts in the non-government educational institutions have to suffer due to faulty examination rules formulated by the National Teachers Registration and Certification Authority.
The newly formulated rules of the Teachers Registration and Certification Authority Act 2005 have no provision for a candidate who wants to get a certificate from the authority to contest for jobs in schools and colleges simultaneously.
A government circular issued on September 22 seeking applications from the candidates had asked them to apply separately to get certification for qualifying as college or school teachers. The circular also said that the examinations would also be held separately, but the authority is now holding only one examination for candidates applying for both school and college posts.
‘I have no other option but to appear in only one examination although I have applied for both,’ said Mashudul Huq. ‘I have to suffer a lot for the authority’s fault. If I do not get chance in a college then I have no alternative to vie for a school as I will get only one certificate from the authority.’
Admitting this flaw in the examination process, an official in the education ministry told New Age on Thursday, ‘We shall arrange another examination as soon as possible to lessen the suffering of the would-be teachers. This has happened because we were in a hurry to formulate the examination rules.’
The first examination (compulsory) will be held on November 25 and elective examinations on November 26, and the results of the examination will be published within a month.
A candidate has to face a 200-mark written examination — a set of 100-mark essay type questions and another set of 100-mark multiple choice questions. The examinee has to get a minimum of 40 marks for passing each examination.
The examinations will be held in Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet.
In July, 2005 the education ministry finalised the rules for holding examinations, registration and certification for recruitment of teachers under the Non-government Teachers Registration and Certification Authority Act 2005, which came into effect on March 20.
Successful candidates will be issued certificates, made compulsory by the act, and the certificates, signed by the chairman and secretary of the certification authority, will remain valid for five years.
The NTRCA act stipulates that the registration and certification authority is solely responsible for giving the certificates to the teachers who will be eligible for recruitment in the non-government schools, colleges, madrassahs and technical and business management institutions.
The Jatiya Sangsad on February 9 enacted the law, which entails formation of a body under the education ministry that will certify and keep records of persons eligible for appointment to non-government educational institutions, including madrassahs, from junior high schools to degree level.
Around four lakh teachers are working for around 27,970 non-government educational institutions across the country.
MAIN PAGE | TOP
|
|
