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The Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, on Friday urged the meritorious students to be imbibed with patriotism, principles and serving mentality to lead the country to prosperity.
   ‘Bangladeshi students are brilliant all over the world. Prepare yourselves to lead the country forward, acting according to your principles, and free it from the present anarchic situation,’ said Hasina, urging them to be more attentive to their studies to gain and spread real knowledge.
   The leader of the opposition in parliament was addressing a reception accorded to GPA-5 recipient students of SSC examinations at Sultana Kamal Mahila Sport Complex in Dhanmondi.
   The reception was organised by the Bangladesh Chhatra League, student wing of Awami League. About 7,000 students from different parts of the country attended the reception, claimed the organisers. Hasina extended her heartfelt thanks to the students for their outstanding performances in spite of a national situation that is not conducive to study.
   Describing the situation prevailing in the country as anarchic, she urged them to put in every effort to free the country from the prevailing chaos.
   ‘A tense situation is prevailing in the country and people are living under anarchy. They want to get rid of this situation,’ she said.
   She castigated the BNP-Jamaat alliance for not implementing a proper education policy and not creating a congenial atmosphere for education. She said that the alliance government is not interested in a proper education policy and ideology, and that is why it is engaged in amassing wealth by illegal means to indulge in luxury at the cost of the people’s well-being and the country’s progress.
   The former prime minister alleged that the BNP-Jamaat coalition government is creating unrest in society and dividing it by patronising religious fanaticism, terrorism and leaking out question papers.
   She promised that if she is voted to power her party would improve the standard of education and generate more employment for the youths.
   Bangladesh Chhatra League president Liakat Sikder chaired the reception and general secretary Nazrul Islam Babu gave the address of welcome. Bangladesh Economic Association’s general secretary Professor Abul Barakat, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists’ secretary-general Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, Tarana Halim, Mozammel Babu, former captain of the national cricket team Naimur Rahman Durjoy, captain of the national football team Arifur Rahman Khan Joy also took part in the discussion. Ishtiaq Ahmed and Sharmin Sobhan spoke at the reception on behalf of the students.

Leaders of Communist Party of Bangladesh on Friday accused both the BNP-led ruling alliance and the previous Awami League governments for lingering the trial of the killers of five workers of the party who died in bomb attack on CPB rally in 2001.
   They would carry forward the movement until the culprits are brought to justice, said the leaders at a rally at Muktangan marking the fifth anniversary of the blast.
   The AL government formed an inquiry commission but delayed activities of the commission and the BNP government stopped the trial, alleged Monzurul Ahsan Khan, president of the communist party.
   The Dhka committee of the party organised the protest rally demanding trial of the killings.
   The party general secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim called upon the people to unite and face the anti-liberation forces, autocratic forces and imperialism.
   He announced a series of programmes including countrywide demonstrations on January 26, protesting against the politicisation of the Election Commission by the alliance government, countrywide protests on February 2, demanding resignation of the government, demonstrations at each district on February 9, protesting against the ultra militant forces and oath-taking at every shaheed minar in the country on February 21, on language movement day.
   The communist party did not give any support to the countrywide down-to-dusk general strike called by the AL-led opposition alliance on January 22 but it wished the programme success.
   The party will continue its anti-government movements from an independent stand point and work for strengthening the left-democratic political forces and at the same time hold issue based parallel movements with the AL, said Selim.
   Chaired by party’s Dhaka Committee president, Mahbub Alam, the rally was addressed, among others by its central leaders Azharul Islam, Monu Ghosh, Jainal Khan and Syed Ahmed.
   Thousands of party leaders and workers from Dhaka took part with banners, festoons and red flags.
    Earlier the party, its front organisation and left political leaders placed wreaths at a makeshift tombstone at Paltan ground.
   The party’s team was led by Monzurul Ahsan Khan and general secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim. The Left Democratic Front team was led by its coordinator Ruhin Hossain Prince. The Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon and general secretary Bimal Biswas also placed wreaths.
   New Age’s correspondent from Khulna reported the district and city units of the party and its front organisations laid wreaths at the temporary monument at Khulna CPB office, brought out a procession and held a rally in Khulna Friday morning.
   After laying wreaths, the organisations brought out a procession which met in a rally.
   Chaired by the CPB Khulna city president Firoz Ahmed, the rally was also addressed by district general secretary SA Rashid, city general secretary Monoj Das, HM Shahadat, Mahendranath Sen and Badsha Alam.

The authorities here have expressed serious concern over the rampant sex racket at different places along the Indo-Bangla border in West Bengal, Assam and Tripura.
   Official sources said sex rackets in the border areas were being carried out mostly by the smugglers from across the border.
   This alarming situation of sex trade in the frontier areas came to light after a number of Bangladeshi girls were rescued from different brothels in India, including Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and West Bengal.
   Reports from West Bengal, Assam and Tripura said though the sex rackets had been rising in the border areas of the three states, trafficking was being done mainly through West Bengal because of low cost of transport for moving to different parts of the country.
   The reports said smugglers from both Bangladesh and India were mainly engaged in the sex trade.
   Poor girls trafficked in and even female students from affluent families, who stay in hostels, join the sex racket for easy and quick money, the reports said.
   Such sex rackets were also reported from Dhubri and Karimganj in Assam, North 24 Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad, Malda and North and South Dinajpur in West Bengal and Sonamura, Belonia and Kailashahar in Tripura.
   A section of smugglers had appointed pimps in both Bangladesh and West Bengal for identifying the poor families and luring the girls assuring them with jobs in different cities in India.
   The West Bengal government recently directed the district administrations and the Border Security Force to crack down on such rackets and traffickers and, as a result, a number of girls from both Bangladesh and West Bengal were rescued from different border districts.
   In Tripura, the police cracked down on rackets at Sonamura in the past two days and arrested two Bangladeshi pimps and four Bangladeshi girls, including a college student. All the six arrested had been sent to jail custody.
   The police said these girls used to work at beauty parlours during the day and ‘entertained’ customers across the border in the evening to earn quick money and return to their respective native places in Bangladesh.
   Local people of Sonamura alleged that smugglers used these girls to influence a section of the BSF members guarding the border.
   BSF sources, however, denied the allegations and said the smugglers, who had been finding it increasingly difficult to carry on their clandestine activities due to intensive patrolling, had been spreading these canards.

Politicians and student activists paid tribute to the supreme sacrifice of Shaheed Asad on Friday marking the 37th anniversary of his death.
   Different political, social and cultural organisations observed the day with various programmes including discussions. They also placed wreaths at Asad Memorial in front of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
   The base of the monument went under layers of flowers as the organisations placed wreaths.
   Most of the student organisations active at Dhaka University including the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Bangladesh Chhatra League, Bangladesh Chhatra Union, and Samajtantrik Chhatra Front placed wreaths at the monument.
   The Chhatra League, Chhatra Union, and Chhatra Maitree held separate rallies on the university campus on the occasion.
   The Communist Party of Bangladesh, Workers Party of Bangladesh and the Bangladesher Samyabadi Dal also placed wreaths.
   Asaduzzaman Asad, a leader of the then East Pakistan Chhatra Union, was killed on the day when police opened fire on a procession of the Student Action Council protesting against the military ruler, Ayub Khan. The death of Asad forged the anti-military rule movement which eventually led to the fall of the regime.
   The Workers Party president, Rashed Khan Menon, at a discussion organised by Bangladesh Juba Moitree said the chief election commissioner was acting like a clown and would be ‘swept away’ by people like that of the mass upsurge of 1969.

The president of the Population Council, Peter J Donaldson, and the vice-president, Anrudh Jain, arrive here today on a two-day visit.
   The visit is part of the Asia tour by the Population Council president after India, Vietnam, and Thailand.
   During his brief stay in Dhaka, the president would meet the partners of the Population Council in Bangladesh including ministry of health and family planning, department of youth development, USAID, UNFPA, CIDA, research organisations, and NGOs.
   The council has been providing technical assistance to the family planning programmes of Bangladesh since mid-sixties.

The 11-Party Alliance leaders on Friday held mass contacts in Dhaka to drum up support for the hartal for Sunday.
   The Awami League-led opposition alliance called the countrywide down-to-dusk general strike to protest against the politicisation of the Election Commission by the BNP-led, four-party alliance.

Assets worth about Tk 5 lakh were burnt in a fire that broke out at a market at Fatikchari upazila under Chittagong district Friday morning.
   The fire service said the fire broke out at a shop at Bhuzpur Bazar in Fatikchari at around 5:50am and soon engulfed 10 shops.
   Fire fighters went to the spot from Baizid Fire Station in the city and brought the fire under control at around 8:30am.
   Fire officials said the fire had been ignited from an electric short circuit and estimated the extent of damage at Tk 5 lakh.
   However, locals claimed the damage to be over Tk 5 lakh.
   No casualties were reported.

The Satkhira sadar police recovered four pipe guns from a pond by the side of Satkhira Stadium in the town Friday noon.
   According to the police, they recovered the weapons upon receipt of secret information. The weapons were wrapped in polythene. The pipe guns might have been kept there by the miscreants for later use, said the police. A case was lodged.