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Most of the sweet shops and bakeries in Lalmonirhat run their business in most unhygienic condition pushing the people’s health at stake. Again most of these establishments have been conducting their business without any valid documents.
   According to sources in the local sanitation inspector’s office, there are around 200 sweet shops and 120 bakeries at five upazilas in the district.
   The places where sweets and food items are prepared are dirty and squalid. Rotten eggs and low quality baking powder, skimmed milk, vegetables, ghee, dalda and soyabean oil are used in these establishments for preparing different items.
   Production of cakes, biscuits, pastries, chanachur and many other eatables does not conform to the rules of the Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute.
   Floating people constitute the majority of the buyers of these restaurants and bakeries. Many of them fell victim by consuming the adulterated products of these eateries.
   The officials of different health departments seem to have no responsibility for ensuring the sale of pure foodstuffs in these establishments.
   Some of the owners of restaurants in the Lalmonirhat town told New Age privately that they managed things by managing the sanitary inspector.
   The sanitary inspector of the Lalmonirhat Municipality, Madhusudan Roy, however denied the allegation. He told New Age that acute shortage of manpower has been hindering the normal activities of his department.
   He informed that despite manpower shortage he penalised 15 restaurant and bakery owners of the town in the lat six months for selling unwholesome and stale foodstuffs and sweets.

Pirates killed all four persons aboard a cargo vessel loaded with 1,100 maunds of rice and looted the consignment at the estuary of the River Paira under Taltali upazila in Barguna.
   Sources said a trader, Jaher Akhand, of the town on February 18 sent the consignment of rice by ML Shiba for Khulna.
   ‘The pirates swooped on the cargo vessel at the estuary and looted the rice. They tied hands of the four men behind their back and threw them into the water,’ the trader said.
   The deceased are boatman Abu Jafar, 38, and crewmen Ibrahim, 30, Tayeb Ali, 35, and Masum, 25.
   Bodies of Jafar, Ibrahim and Tayeb were recovered from Ashar Char on Friday and body of Masum on Saturday.
   After post-mortem examinations, all the bodies were handed over to their respective relatives.
   All the deceased were residents of different parts of sadar upazila.
   Of them, Jafar and Ibrahim are cousins and Masum is their nephew.
   It is suspected that junior members of a Sundarban-based pirate gang styled Zia Bahini were behind the attack.
   Nothing more could be known as all those aboard the vessel were slain by the pirates.

High demand and fair price of maize have encouraged the farmers of three south western districts to expand the area of its cultivation.
   The farmers of Jhenaidah, Kushtia and Chuadanga have brought 28,155 hectares of land under maize cultivation this season surpassing the target by 8,578 hectares.
   The district-wise break up of maize cultivation is: Jhenaidah- 3,010 hectares, Kushtia- 6,870 hectares and Chuadanga- 18,275 hectares against the target of 2,507, 4,346 and 12,724 hectares respectively.
   In the past, the farmers showed little interest in the cultivation of maize. But its demand rose dramatically
   with the rapid expansion of the poultry farming across the country. Maize is a popular feed of the poultry birds.
   It is supplied to different markets in Dhaka, Chittagong and other districts for poultry birds. Some traders mix maize powder with flour to earn more profit.
   Local sources said maize is drought tolerant and it needs least water for its growth.
   While the farmers of Jhenaidah, Kushtia and Chuadanga are enthusiastic in the cultivation of maize, those
   in Meherpur, Jessore, Magura, Narail, Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira are quite indifferent to this crop.
   Maize is cultivated on only 165 hectares of land in Jessore, Magura, Narail, Khulna and Bagerhat.
   It is not cultivated commercially in any area of Satkhira.

Armed robbers looted cash and valuables worth Tk 10 lakh from the passengers of three transports putting barricade on the Jaipurhat-Bogra Highway at Shimultali in Bogra Friday night leaving 15 people injured, according to a UNB report.
   Witnesses said the armed gang numbering 25/30, raided a Dhaka bound night coach from the Jaipurhat town
   and beat the passengers
   mercilessly, leaving the 15 injured.
   They also swooped on one microbus and a truck when they reached the spot and looted cash and valuables from the passengers of the three vehicles worth about Tk 10 lakh.
   On information, a police team opened blank fire; but the robbers fled the scene.
   Meanwhile, New Age Comilla correspondent reports that robbers looted cash and valuables from a house at village Laducho under Brahmanpara upazila in Comilla early Saturday.
   Police and local sources said the robbers numbering 12 to 14 forced into the house of Dr Abdul Malek at the village at about 1:30am. They kept the residents hostage at gunpoint and looted valuables including 10 totals of gold worth Tk 1.5 lakh.
   The police visited the spot and a case was filed.

Some 118 freedom fighters of Gopalganj sadar upazila have not been getting their monthly allowance for the last one and a half years mainly due to lack of necessary papers and partly because of internal clash
   in the Gopalganj Freedom Fighters’ Association.
   Local sources said these freedom fighters could not draw their monthly allowance of Tk 500 each for lack of necessary papers including freedom-fighter certificate, monthly income certificate from the UP chairmen and gazette notification. Some freedom fighters blamed the clash of interest in the freedom fighters’ association for the delay in allotting the allowance to the freedom fighters.
   Association sources said that the arrear monthly allowances of these freedom fighters would be given at a time when necessary papers would be ready.

Two person committed suicide in Comilla and Tangail on Friday night and Saturday.
   A young man committed suicide at village Nagarkandi under Muradnagar upazila in Comilla on Friday night.
   The police said newly-wed, Shahajan Miah, 23, of the village took poison on Friday evening.
   He was taken to Muradnagar Upazila Health Complex where he died.
   The reason behind the suicide could not be known immediately.
   In Tangail, a person committed suicide at village Kahimpur under Mirzapur upazila Saturday.
   The dead Jainal Abedin hails from village Kahimpur under Mirzapur upazila in Tangail.
   Family sources said Jainal Abedin of the village took poison to get rid of acute pain for which he was suffering from the last six months.
   The victim was taken to Kumudini Hospital where he died.
   Separate cases were filed with the police.