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The ferry terminal on the River Rupsa in the Khulna city is in a dire state as the pontoons at the terminal, gangway that links the pontoons and the road, and the road adjacent to the terminal have become almost unfit for use for want of maintenance.
   Engine boats ferrying passengers across the river quite often travel overloaded, risking the safety of the passengers.
   People using the terminal said the pontoons are not in a proper state. The slabs of two pontoons on the western side of the terminal had been stolen, which left gaping holes in the walkway.
   Commuters trying to get to the engine boats often sustain injuries falling through the holes.
   The road adjacent to the terminal has turned into a patchwork of potholes making it difficult for vehicles to move, especially for rickshaws, rickshawvans, and push carts.
   Larger part of the 15m gangway goes under water during high tides and the commuters need to wade through knee-deep water or get on a rickshaw or rickshawvan to get to the boats.
   Sources said about 50 thousand people on an average use the terminal every day and most of them cross the river on smaller engine boats as only one ferry boat is now in operation in the river after the opening of the Khan Jahan Ali Bridge for traffic on May 21.
   It takes 30 to 40 minutes to cross the river over the bridge, which is a longer commute than by an engine boat.
   There are more than a hundred small boats at the terminal with capacities to ferry 20 people each at a time.
   But the boats quite often carry 30 to 35 passengers, and sometimes the number exceeds 40, alleged the commuters.
   The Rupsa Ferry Terminal Engine Boat Workers’ Union general secretary, Hares Hawlader, said the engine boats do not carry more than 20 passengers.
   ‘If any of them carry one or two extra passengers, it has to carry the same number of passengers less on its next trip,’ he said.
   It was also alleged that although the only ferry boat is entitled to ferry non-motorised vehicles and people, but the boat often carries motorcycles.
   The crew of the boat allegedly collect Tk 5 a motorcycle without giving the rider any money receipt.
   A number of commuters on Monday told New Age that they felt an increase in the number of ferry boats at the terminal was a necessity.
   ‘We have no plan to increase the number of ferry boats,’ said an official of the Roads and Highways Division. ‘Influential people illegally get on the vessels with their motorcycles although the crew object to such activities.’

Four mobile courts on Thursday conducted drives against adulteration in different parts of the city and realised Tk 2.4 lakh in fine.
   During the drives in Old Town, Dhanmondi, Motijheel and Gulshan areas, the courts also filed 12 cases.
   A court fined Dukfa and Company at Debidas Ghat in the Old Town Tk 1.5 lakh for not mentioning the manufacturing and expiry dates in its lozenges and producing it without the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution approval.
   Led by a metropolitan magistrate, Rokon-Ud-Doulah, the court also filed two cases against the owner of the company.
   It also seized some medicines, claimed by the company owner to have been manufactured by a Barishal pharmaceutical, having no manufacturing and expiry dates and the BSTI approval.
   Rokon ordered the police to investigate whether the claim of the Dukfa owner was true, and if it was found false another case would be filed against him.
   Another court, led by metropolitan magistrate Mizanur Rahman, fined three restaurants under the Dhanmondi police area Tk 40,000 and filed three cases.
   The third court, led by metropolitan magistrate Syed Mazibul Haque, conducted drive in hotels and restaurants under Motijheel police area and fined five restaurants Tk 45,000 for unhygienic environment. It also lodged five cases.
   Four of the restaurants — Hotel Royal, Hotel Mohammadia, Karri House and Hotel Kabir — were fined Tk 10,000 each while the remaining one, Hotel Supper, was fined Tk 5,000.
   Metropolitan magistrate ABM Abul Fattah leading the fourth mobile court, which conducted drive in Gulshan police area, realised Tk 30,000 from Mahanagar Bakery and Tk 20,000 from Shamolima Food Limited for adulteration.
   It also filed two cases against the owners of the Shamolima Food and Mohanagar Bakery.

The speakers at dialogue on Thursday agreed on the need for separate juvenile justice system with the aim of correcting juvenile delinquents, instead of taking punitive measures against young offenders.
   Save the Children, UK, arranged the opinion exchange programme at the CIRDAP auditorium in the city where the speakers said there should be safe homes for the children because their living with the adult criminals in the same custody might cause them involved in the act of criminality further.
   In a key note paper on ‘establishment of juvenile court: scope and opportunity’, Nasrin Begum, a joint secretary of the law ministry, quoting jail sources, said 747 juvenile delinquents were detained in different jails until July.
   The district and sessions judge recommended for establishing effective juvenile justice court and it could be possible within the existing justice system.
   He recommended for appointment of a senior judge for the juvenile court to deal with both civil and criminal cases.
   The speakers also emphasised the standardisation of behaviour of judges, polices and investigating officers dealing with juvenile delinquents and they must be trained in this regard.
   The representatives of Save the Children, UK and UNICEF, Bangladesh agreed to arrange training for the officials in this respect.
   The state minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs, M Shahjahan Omar, bir uttam, who attended the dialogue as the chief guest urged the NGO representatives to build safe homes for the child offenders.
   Speakers also pointed out the need of proper diet for the arrested children.
   The principal secretary to the prime minister, Dr Kamal Uddin Siddiqui moderated the dialogue.
   Among others law secretary, Alauddin Sarkar, and the chief metropolitan magistrate of Dhaka, Jalal Ahmed, public prosecutors, representatives from different ministries and from different non-government organisations who work for children took part in the dialogue.

The additional commissioner (general) of Chittagong division, Mohammed Gulam Kuddus, sustained serious stab injuries after miscreants had attacked him in his government residence at Nasirabad in the Chittagong city on Thursday.
   Kuddus said four masked miscreants entered his residence in front of Chittagong Medical College Hospital at around 3:30pm by cutting window grilles.
   ’I came out of my room at that time to wake up my wife who was to fast on the occasion of shab-e-meraz and met the miscreants’, he said.
   He added that he tried to enter his wife’s room to escape attack but the miscreants shut the door and stabbed him in the hand, neck and abdomen. As he cried for help, the attackers fled the scene, Kuddus said.
   He was immediately taken to CMCH and left the hospital in the morning.
   Kuddus lives in the residence along with his wife, a son and a daughter, and there was police guards at the residence during the Chittagong City Corporation polls in which he served as a returning officer.
   The police protection was withdrawn after the polls.
   Golum Kuddus told New Age that he had written to the divisional commissioner for police protection in his residence after one week of the Chittagong City Corporation elections held on May 9 as he felt insecure.
   He said the divisional commissioner had forwarded it to the police commissioner of Chittagong metropolitan police but they paid no heed to it for reason unknown.
   The Panchlaish police termed the incident ‘an abortive robbery attempt’ but Kuddus said the miscreants attempted to kill him. He, however, could not ascertain any reason behind it.

The Greater Khulna Development Action Coordination Committee on Thursday launched a month-long mass signature
   collection campaign, to press home its demands, including gas supply in Khulna through pipeline.
   The campaign, started from the Shaheed Hadis Park in the city at 11:00am, will be held in all wards of the city and upazilas of the south-western districts.
   Other demands include modernisation of Mongla seaport and Bhomra land port, establishing deep seaport at Akram point, reopening of the closed mills, establishing a 210-megawatt power plant in Khulna and complete the works of an airport in Bagerhat.

Quazi Ali Azam, a deputy managing director (research, planning, and development) of the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, on Thursday was appointed the managing director of the
   water agency for a three-year term.
   Prior to his new assignment, Azam served as a project director in the Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation Water Supply Project under the Department of Public Health Engineering.
   He also served as a project director in different projects funded by UNICEF, DANIDA, and the World Bank.

The Dhaka University Teachers’ Association went out on demonstration on Thursday, protesting against the repeated harassment of teachers.
   The association marched from Aparajeya Bangla to the Central Shaheed Minar and held a brief rally there, denouncing the recent illogical confinement of the house-tutors of Shahidullah Hall by a hall-level leader of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and his followers.

Two minor boys in separate incident drowned in the River Buriganga and Turag when they were taking bath on Thursday.
   The deceased were identified as Reaz, 10, and Nahid, 12.
   Hospital sources said Reaz drowned in the River Buriganga when he went to the river, along with some of his friends, to have a bath at around 1:15pm as he did not know how to swim.
   Nahid drowned in the Turag when he went to the river for taking bath along with one of his classmates at around 12:30pm.

Exhibition to raise funds for acid survivors
The second phase of the exhibition organised by the Acid Survivors’ Foundation to raise funds for acid survivors will begin at the Sonargaon Hotel today. The Canadian high commissioner, David Sproule, will inaugurate the exhibition at 11.00am. The exhibition will run from Friday to Sunday between 10.00am and 9.00pm everyday. About 70 photographers and photojournalists have donated photographs.
— BDNews

UCEP new office bearers
M Sirajul Islam and Ubaidur Rob were elected chairperson and vice-chairperson respectively to the board of governors of UCEP-Bangladesh for the 2005-06 term. Niloufer Mahmood was also co-opted as a member of the seven-member board for the same period. Sirajul Islam is a former lawmaker while Ubaidur Rob is the country director to the Population Council, Bangladesh.
— New Age

DU ’67 Club to mark founding anniversary
The DU’67 Club, a body of former students of Dhaka University, will celebrate its 12th founding anniversary today. A discussion meeting, to be followed by a cultural evening, will be held at the Kurmitola Golf Club. The club president, Suhel Ahmed, will preside over the discussion. The club was founded in 1993 with Dr Saadat Hussain as its president.
— UNB

Group exhibition begins today
in Dhaka
An exhibition of the works of 10 contemporary artists, titled Shomokal-1, will open at GalleriKAYA in the Dhaka city today. The Canadian high commissioner, David Sproule, will inaugurate the fortnight-long exhibition at 5:45pm. Artist Mahmudul Haque, director general of the Bangladesh National Museum, will be present. The exhibition will remain open between 11:00am and 8:00pm daily till September 15. The artists whose works will be on display are Monsur ul Karim, Rokeya Sultana, Kazi Rakib, Tarun Ghosh, Dilara Begum Joly, Towfiqur Rahaman, Shishir Bhattacharjee, Mohammad Fokhrul Islam, Goutam Chakraborty and Bipul Shah.
— UNB

Ex-BCIC director Rabiul Haq dies
Sayed Kamal Rabiul Haq, former director of the Chemical Industries Corporation, died of cardiac arrest at a city hospital Wednesday. He was 67. Rabiul Haq is survived by his wife, one son and one daughter. He was buried at Shaheed Intellectual Graveyard after janaza at Baitul Mukarram Mosque. His qul khwani will be held on Friday after the asar prayers in his Shamoly residence.
— UNB