BDR has intensified drive at the border points in Lalmonirhat to check smuggling of sugar, salt and Phensidyls are being smuggled into the country from across the border.
   Local sources said the smuggling of Phensidyl syrup from India has of late increased alarmingly much to the concern of the people.
    A syndidate of smugglers is involved in smuggling hundreds of bottles of Phensidyl every day to earn windfall profit.
   The smugglers buy one bottle of Physidyl at Tk 50 from across the border and sell it at Tk 125 to 150 inside the country.
   They also smuggle different goods into the country through 22 points.
   Taking advantage of the scarcity and high price sugar in the country the smuggler syndicate is bringing this commodity in huge quantity.
   To hoodwink the law enforcing agencies the smugglers are using the salt and sugar sacks to carry Phensidyl syrup from the border areas.
   The Phensidyl bottles are brought to Lalmonirhat town from different border points of the district.
   Later they are transported to different places including Dhaka by trucks, buses, jeeps and trains.
   Our Comilla correspondent adds: The Comilla police arrested an inter-district robber and seized 180 bottles of Phensidyl from village Jagotmohan on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway under of Chouddagram upazila in Comilla on Saturday night.
   The arrested was identified as Lkman Miah, 27, of Ujirpur union under the upazila. He is wanted in 14 criminal cases.
   On information, the police arrested him and seized the Phensidyl from his possession while he was going to Dhaka.
   A case was filed against him under the Narcotics Control Act.

A young man was killed and five others were injured in a land dispute at village Vabanipur under Babuganj upazila on Friday.
   The deceased was identified as Sirajul, 15.
   The injured persons are Azizul, 45, Zulhas Kabiraj, 48, Selim, 22, Manik Kotwal, 31, and Shairnur, 26.
   The police said the clash erupted over the ownership of a land.
   Sirajul and five other injured persons were taken to Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College hospital.Sirajul died in the hospital Saturday morning.
   Selim, brother of Sirajul, lodged a murder case with the Babuganj police station accusing 16 people.
   The police have so far arrested three persons in this connection.
   A UNB report from Noakhali adds: A fierce clash over taking possession of a disputed land left 30 people, including women, injured at village Gangchil in Companyganj upazila in Noakhali on Friday.
   Locals said there was a longstanding rivalry between Abul Kashem and Nur Nabi of the village over a plot of land.
   The clash ensued when a gang of musclemen numbering 30/35 led by Abul Kashem went the grab the disputed land, which was in possession of Nur Nabi.
   In the fierce clash both the groups used lethal weapons and sticks that lasted for several hours. The injured were rushed to local hospitals and clinics.
   Of the injured condition Nur Nabi, Abu Naser, Nurul Amin, Sakina Khatun, Nur Jahan, Russell, Nur Hossain, Ibrahim, Kashem and Abu Taher was stated to be critical.
   Tension is prevailing in the area.

The number of people suffering from leprosy has come down appreciably in the country over the years.
   This was stated at a workshop on leprosy held at the Danish-Bangladesh Leprosy Training Centre in Nilphmari town on Saturday.
   The workshop was told that just two and a half decades ago Bangladesh was placed at the fourth position out of 122 leprosy infected countries for its huge number of lepers.
   At that time the ratio of lepers was 13.6 per 10 thousand people. But the ratio is now only 2.29 per 10,000 people. Efforts are on to bring down the ratio to one per 10,000 people.
   The speakers pointed out that awareness can protect people from its attack.
   Presided over by Dr.Adul Majid, acting civil surgeon of Nilphamri, the workshop was addressed, among others, by Dr. Sheikh Abdul Hadi, an expert on leprosy.