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The development of two new graveyards in Dhaka has become uncertain as government is reluctant to approve the project and provide the required funds.
   An initiative was taken two years ago to set up four graveyards on the four sides of the city, but corporation later opted for two following the suggestion of Planning Commission as they refused to fund four graveyards, said a corporation official.
   The Planning Commission issued a letter on October 19, 2005 asking the corporation to set up two graveyards instead of four in the city, he said.
   The corporation then submitted a project proposal for two graveyards on February 24, 2006 — to be developed at Goran Chatbari of Mirpur on 25 acres land and at Aftabnagar of Badda on 25 acres land involving an estimated cost of about Tk 82.53 core — Tk 49 core for the graveyard at Goran Chatbari and Tk 33.62 crore for the one at Aftabnagar.
   The Planning Commission again refused to fund two graveyards and in a letter asked the corporation on April 6 to release only Tk 14 crore for the acquisition of land for a graveyard at Goran Chatbari.
   ‘We did not agree to the Planning Commission suggestion and issued a demi-official letter to the finance ministry on May 2 requesting funds for two graveyards — at Goran Chatbari and Aftabnagar,’ said the official.
   He said the corporation requested the entire amount to be spent on the development of two graveyards as the prime minister earlier asked the corporation not to sell reserved burial space.
   He said the corporation was yet to receive any response from the finance ministry in this regard.
   The four graveyards the corporation earlier planned were supposed to be developed at the flood protection embankment at Lalbagh, behind the Mirpur zoo, at Aftbnagar of Badda and at Sayedabad of Demra, all on 37.07 acres of land.
   The corporation also submitted a project concept paper to the Planning Commission through the LGRD and cooperatives ministry.
   The city corporation now has five graveyards — at Azimpur, Jurain, Uttara, Mirpur and Banani where space is now at a premium, forcing the corporation into reuse of graves more frequently than ever, said another official of the corporation.
   Although it is needed to take a minimum of two years time to reuse a grave, shortage of land in the graveyards forced the authorities to reuse a grave within 6 months to one year, he said.
   The official said 120 to 140 general burials take place in the graveyards every day.
   On an average, about 40 to 45 bodies were buried in the Azimpur graveyard a day. Some 35 to 40 bodies are buried in the Jurain graveyard and 10 bodies in the Uttara graveyard.
   As the city population keeps increasing rapidly, it become essential to develop more graveyards, said the official.

The University of Rajshahi placed a Tk 74.55 crore budget for the financial year 2006–2007 on Thursday.
   The treasurer, Abdul Jabbar Khan, proposed the budged in a programme with the vice-chancellor, Altaf Hossain, in the chair.
   The budget proposed the highest allocation of Tk 52.40 crore for the salary of teachers and other staffmembers. The figure is Tk 5 crore higher than what was in the previous budget.
   The university sought Tk 130.43 crore from the University Grants Commission and the commission granted Tk 74.55 crore.
   The budget allocated limited fund for research and education expenditures.
   The commission directed the authorities to earn Tk 3.25 crore from internal resources. The commission also directed the university to reduce subsidy on power, water, telephone and other bills.
   The commission granted only Tk 5.68 crore for education and research activities; the figure was Tk 5.80 crore in the previous year.
   The commission granted only Tk 37 lakh for the purchase of scientific instruments. The university sought Tk 1.5 crore for the purpose. The commission did not grant any funds for new recruits.
   The commission did not approve the regularisation of jobs of Rajshahi University School and College teachers under the budget. The school and college teachers said they would initiate movement.

The prices of potato, lentils, eggs and fine variety of rice increased further in the city kitchen markets in the past week.
   The traders said supply shortage and speculations pushed up the prices of some essential commodities.
   With a further increase in the prices in a couple of days, red lentils on Friday were retailed between Tk 64 and Tk 68 a kilogram against the prices between Tk 60 and Tk 64 the week before.
   Lentil price, which sold between Tk 54 and Tk 56 a couple of weeks ago, increased after India on Thursday banned, for six months, export of their pulses.
   ‘On the speculations on supply shortage, importers and wholesalers pushed up lentil price,’ said Abu Taher, a retailer at New Market.
   Statistics show India sources less than 10 per cent of local market demand and the gap is met with imports from Canada, Australia and Turkey.
   Potato price kept rising again from the early week. Large sized potatoes on Friday sold for Tk 18 a kilogram at Kalyanpur, against Tk 16 the week before and Tk 15 a month ago.
   ‘Inadequate stock of potato in cold storages because of low productions in the past season has pushed up its price,’ said Abul Hossain, a potato wholesaler at Karwan Bazar.
   The prices of other vegetables remained somewhat stable. Aubergine sold between Tk 24 and Tk 28 a kilogram on Friday, bitter gourd between Tk 20 and Tk 24, okra and snake gourd between Tk 16 and Tk 20.
   The price of farm eggs, which were retailed for Tk 51 a dozen on Friday, increased by Tk 3 from the price the week before and by Tk 6 from the price a month ago.
   The traders said productions of eggs of free-range chickens declined with the beginning of the rainy season as feeds became scarce and farm egg production declined because of heat.
   ‘The supply of farm eggs in Dhaka declined by roughly 25 per cent to 1.5 million pieces a day while free-range chicken eggs supply declined from 0.5 million pieces to about 0.2 million,’ said Mohammad Mahiuddin, general secretary of the Bangladesh Egg Producers’ Association.
   Mohiuddin told New Age the wholesale rates of eggs increased by Tk 25 a hundred in a couple of weeks.
   The price of fine rice increased by Tk 1 a kilogram in the week, with Najirshail selling between Tk 23 and Tk 24 a kilogram and Miniket between Tk 28 and Tk 29.
   Fish prices remained high as also meat, with beef selling for Tk 150 a kilogram, and broiler for Tk 95.

The activities of metropolitan police of six police stations are going to start in Sylhet soon, the finance and planning minister, M Saifur Rahman, told a local BNP meeting in the past week.
   Saifur, also local lawmaker, said quoting the state minister for home that the proposal to establish Sylhet as a metropolitan city soon had been approved by the home ministry recently.
   Meanwhile, most of the work related to setting up the metropolitan police, including fixing the areas of four more police stations, in addition to the existing two — Kotwali and Dakshin Surma — has been completed, sources said.
   On April 10, 2000, the then deputy inspector general of police in Sylhet range, Abu Hanif, sent a proposal to the home ministry to for establishing the proposed the Sylhet metropolitan police.
   Later in June 2003, after the first election of the Sylhet City Corporation, the finance minister assured the Sylhet city-dwellers that he would take initiative to rank the city as a metropolis and ordered the high officials of the Sylhet divisional police to take the necessary steps in this regard, said sources concerned.
   Sylhet police then sent a draft proposal on this issue to the police headquarters on January 19, 2006. The police headquarters, after scrutinising the proposal, sent it to the home ministry, which the ministry has recently approved, said Sylhet divisional police sources.
   The Sylhet Kotwali police station will be divided into four stations and the Dakshin Surma into two, they said. The proposed four new police stations are Jalalabad, Shahparan and Airport in Uttar Surma, and Moglabazar in Dakshin Surma.
   Besides, at least eight more police outposts and four police boxes will be set up, sources said.
   Three deputy police commissioners would be appointed under the commissioner, north and south circles, with the police forces remaining divided mainly in the north and south circles, said an official in the Sylhet police.
   The deputy inspector general of the Sylhet range, Abdul Hakim Mandal, told New Age they were looking for a suitable site to set up the SMP headquarters, adding, ‘Initially it may start at a rented office, if a permanent site is not found.’

US hospital ship USNS Mercy arrives in Bangladesh today on an eight-day visit to share experiences and treat patients.
   The hospital ship will anchor at Cox’s Bazar seashore and provide treatment to patients under the leadership of Capt Moore.
   Doctors of the Bangladesh Armed Forces and the Chittagong Medical College Hospital will take part in the programme.

The University of Rajshahi reopens today after 38-day summer vacation amid fears of violence. Students began to return to the campus as the halls were opened on Friday.
   Campus sources said after the reopening of the campus, conflicts might surface centring Islami Chhatra Shibir president Mahbub Alam Salehi’s taking master’s examinations. Salehi is an accused in the case of killing of geology teacher Sayed Taher Ahmed.
   The authorities allowed him to take the exams reportedly under pressure from Islami Chhatra Shibir.
   The academic committee of the department earlier barred him from taking the exams on the grounds of poor class attendance. He attended a single class in a year, sources in the department said.
   Sources said the campus may turn volatile centring the explosion of bombs in a Nawab Abdul Latif Hall room on June 24.
   Chhatra Dal leader Safin Ahmed was injured while he was making bombs in his room. The police later recovered six bombs and two revolvers from the room. Safin is under treatment in Dhaka, campus sources.
   Most activists of a Chhatra Dal faction loyal to Likhan stayed out of the campus as two cases were filed with the police regarding the bomb explosion.
   Student organisations such as Chhatra League and left-leaning bodies threatened to launch movement after the reopening.
   The campus may also turn volatile as the officials and employees have been continuing with a movement demanding regularisation of jobs of 31 employees.
   They earlier enforced a five-day strike and threatened to begin a strike for an indefinite period.
   The authorities are also processing the recruitment of 350 more officials and employees reportedly to regularise some of the 546 controversially recruited employees.
   The employees threatened tough movement if their jobs were not regularised under the process.
   The university proctor, Enamul Haque, acknowledge the fears said more policemen were deployed to avert any troubles.

Light to moderate rain or thunder shower accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely at a few places all over Bangladesh with moderately heavy rainfall at places till 6:00pm today, said the Met Office in a forecast on Friday.
   Day temperature may remain nearly unchanged during the period. The highest temperature on Friday, 35.5 degrees Celsius, was recorded in Rajshahi and the lowest, 24.5 degrees Celsius, at Sandwip.
   The sun sets in the capital city at 6:50pm today and will rise at 5:15am on Sunday.

NSU begins
workshop
The North South University, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies and the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute began a workshop on corporate, social and environmental management on the university campus in Dhaka on Friday. The speakers said the world economy witnessed tremendous development in past few decades — $600 billion in 1900 to about $60 trillion today. The world population more than trebled during the period. The university vice-chancellor, Hafiz GA Siddiqi, chaired the opening session and former NSU Foundation chairman, MA Awal, chaired the technical session.

Photo exhibition begins in Ctg
A weeklong photo exhibition ‘light… more light…’ began at the Photo Bank Gallery on Sarson Road in Chittagong organised by the Chittagong Photo Artist Club on Friday. Professor Jamal Nazrul Islam opened the exhibition as chief guest; Murtuja Tawfiqul Islam and area manager of the sponsor Asian Paints Bangladesh Limited, Moin Ahmed Chowdhury, were special guests. Eight photo-artists — Shoeb Faruqui, Kazi Golam Kuddus Helal, Mostufa Shahriar Tareque, Asraf, Wahid Adnan, Azad Mahmud, Badrun Nahar Ruba and Naima Parvin Moni — were honored with the achievement award in a function chaired by Syed Abdullah Khaled. Forty-two photos, 10 of which won international awards, of 26 artists will be on display between 10:00am and 8:00pm every day during the exhibition.
— New Age