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Bidders, who were expecting fair distribution of makeshift cattle markets for the first time in four years, became frustrated once again on Thursday with the announcement of cancellation of the bidding process for Nayabazar market just before the announcement of its results.
   The authorities of the Dhaka City Corporation, which arranges the makeshift markets for the Eid-ul-Fitr every year, was, however, forced by the bidders to announce the results for the city’s largest makeshift market.
   The DCC chief estate officer, Abu Taleb, opened tender boxes for the 13 makeshift cattle markets at 4:00pm in presence of all bidders, announced results of 12 markets and then said that bidding process of the Nayabazar cattle market (open space adjacent to the Chitra cinema) has been cancelled. He cited that the Roads and Highway department had asked the corporation not to make any market at Nayabazar.
   The bidders burst into protest, saying that they would not tolerate any irregularities this year as they could not take part in the bidding process in the past four years due to ‘political influence’.
   ‘We failed to participate in the tender during the last four years as a syndicate loyal to BNP controlled it,’ said Mohammad Montu, an Awami League leader submitted bid for Nayabazar market in the name of Haji Mohammad Musa and became the second highest bidder offering Tk 1.75 crore.
   ‘The corporation is trying to award the market to a bidder of their choice though he offered much lower,’ Montu said. Abu Sayed, general secretary of Ward 71 of Awami League, became the highest bidder offering Tk 1.80 crore. The highest offer for the market in 20005 was Tk 79 lakh.
   Due to the pressure from the bidders and their flowerers, Taleb was forced to announce the results of the market. He, however, said it was the authorities’ decision not to allow any cattle market at Nayabazar and they would take the final decision in this regard.
   The DCC chief executive officer, Saifudding Ahmed, told New Age that they had received a letter from the Roads and Highway Department for not setting up any cattle market at Nayabazar as it blocks the entire area.
   Responding to a question, he said the Dhaka mayor, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, approved the decision of not setting up any market at Nayabazar. He, however, said they should have announced the decision before the opening of the boxes.
   SM Fazle Rabbi, who failed to get the bid of the cattle market in 2005, said although they became the highest bidder, the authorities amid pressure by the BNP=-backed syndicate had invited re-tender and awarded the market to Taij Uddin Ahmed Taiju. Tajuddin this year offered Tk 1.56 crore, the third highest.

A three-day cartoon exhibition against corruption got underway at the Drik Gallery at Dhanmondi in the Dhaka city on Thursday.
   Transparency International Bangladesh is organising the exhibition with 80 cartoons selected from among those submitted in a competition arranged ahead of International Anti-Corruption Day on December 9.
   Some 300 school, college and university students, and practitioners of the maximum age limit of 35 years submitted the cartoons in two groups.
   TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman said they had tried to involve the young generation in a sustainable movement against corruption by organising the competition and the exhibition.
   ‘Cartoon and essay competition for the young people against corruption is part of our social movement and we got tremendous response from the participants,’ he said.
   Cartoonists Rafiqunnabi, Shisir Bhattarcharjee, Shahrier Khan and Ahsan Habib, who were in the panel of judges in the competition, were present at the inauguration ceremony of the exhibition. Ambassador of Denmark in Bangladesh Einar H Jensen was also present.
   The Danish ambassador said Bangladesh and Denmark stand in a position opposite to each other as per the Transparency International corruption index.
   ‘Denmark, as per the TI report, is in the 4th position among the less corruption countries,’ he said and hoped that the people of Bangladesh would be aware about corruption and make a social movement against it.
   In the cartoon competition, Mahdin-Ur-Rahman won the first prize while Masum Billal and Minara Akhter became second and third in the junior group (age between 13 and 18). In the senior group (age between 19 years and 35 years), Sumn Wahid got the first prize, Mamun Hossain second and Arifur Rahman got the third prize.
   TIB will hand over the prizes of the competition in the city.

Student strike, called by the Bangladesh Chhatra League, was observed at all educational institutions in Rajshahi on Thursday demanding punishment for four members of the Rapid Action Battalion-5 allegedly killed its leader Ahsan Habib Babu.
   Rajshahi Awami League-led combine and the Chhatra Sangram Parisad jointly enforced the strike.
   Academic activities halted at the educational institutions including Rajshahi University, Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology, Rajshahi Government College and Polytechnic Institute.
   Hundreds of agitating Chhatra Sangram Parisad activists bought out several protest processions on the RUET and RU campuses, sources said.
   The parisad also held a rally at Rajshahi Government College.
   The leaders in the rally said, on December 1, the RAB men shootout BCL leader Ahsan Habib Babu at Tahirpur Bazar in front of hundreds of shoppers.
   The leaders demanded punishment for the RAB members.
   Earlier on Tuesday Babu’s father AL leader Afser Ali Molla lodged a murder case against four Rapid Action Battalion-5 officials with Rajshahi class-I magistrate court.
   The accused were Rajshahi RAB-5 commander LC Quazi Shamshuzzman, assistant directors Major Rashidul Hasan and Mustafa and deputy assistant director Nurul Haque.

Pakistani rock singer Atif Aslam rocked a huge audience at Radisson Water Garden Hotel in the Dhaka city Wednesday night.
   JPR event management orchestrated the concert that started with a fashion parade sponsored by Yellow by Beximco.
   Emmy inaugurated the show with models’ catwalk wearing different designs including red shirt and black sleek trousers by Yellow. After a forty-five minute fashion show, Indian performer Shayne entered the stage, but the audience cried aloud for Atif Aslam.
   Starting with a slow romantic number from George Michael’s careless whisper the man put a great effort in winning the heart of the audience by his both English and Hindi numbers.
   Apart from his performance Shayne kept the audience well entertained with his great sense of humour. Bangla song shader lao was a show stopper. Finally it was time for Atif, as he slowly appeared on the stage while singing his first song dil haaray pukaray.
   Living up to all the expectations, he drew most of the fans near the stage and danced to the tune of his rangon main, aadat, yaaden, dosti from Joonun. Finally, when he started his super hit number tere bin the audience got really hyped up and went on dancing as he mixed it up with Adnan Sami’s bhegi bhegi rat.
   Navana Real Estate, Aktel, BMW, Acer, Emirates and the Virgin were the sponsors while New Age was the media partner.

A Bangladeshi woman was shot dead and another abducted by the members of the Border Security Force of India in Koria frontier area under Panchbibi upazila of Jaipurhat early Thursday.
   The deceased was identified as Zarina, 40, a mentally handicapped woman, and the abducted one is Masuma, 35, a dumb woman.
   Local people said BSF troops shot around eight rounds of bullet at Zarina and Masuma while they were walking along the Koria frontier at about 6:00am leaving Zarina dead on the spot.
   Later, the BSF men took away the body of Zarina and also abducted Masuma.
   Sources at the Bangladesh Rifles confirmed the killing of Zarina but could not say anything about the abduction.

Tahrik-e-Eslahul Ummah, Bangladesh arranges a two-day Islamic mahfil on the premises of Darul Uloom Madani Nagar madrassah from December 8.
   Noted Islamic scholars will address the gathering in the Dhaka city, says a press release of the organization on Thursday.

Weather is likely to remain dry over the country in the next 24 hours till 6:00pm today.
   Light to moderate fog may
   also occur over the river
   basins of the country during early morning, Met Office said, predicting nearly unchanged night temperature over the country.
   The country’s highest temperature on Thursday, 30.2 degrees Celsius, was recorded on Thursday at Cox’s Bazar and the lowest, 10.8 degrees Celsius, at Srimongal.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 5:11pm and rises tomorrow at 6:30am.