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The Bangladesh Rifles has reclaimed 400 acres of land, including some portion of the river Punarbhaba, from the possession of India long 59 years after the 1947 partition of the subcontinent.
   BDR sources said the land was retaken on the basis of border demarcation survey conducted by the survey departments of the two countries that concluded last month.
   As per decision between the two neighboring countries, Shaheen Azad and Biswanath on behalf of Bangladesh and India respectively conducted the survey from January 5 to February 16,2006 on the disputed land stretching from No- 240 main pillar to No-244 border pillar.
   ‘The survey suggests that India had been occupying 400 acres of land of Bangladesh,’ a BDR official said.
   After the survey, the commander of BDR Adatola BOP, Nayeb Subedar Abdul Quddus, requested the BSF commander Suresh Chandra Jadev of Laxminarayanpur for providing necessary cooperation to give back the land to Bangladesh.
   ‘As the BSF authority had not responded till March 3, BDR members entered the land and started patrolling the area. At one stage, BSF personnel left the occupied land,’ the official said.
   The recovered land comprises Mohadevpur mouja in Patari union under Sapahar upazila. After a joint survey conducted by the two countries in 1957-58, the land was ceded to the territory of the then Pakistan.
   ‘After the reclamation, BDR personnel have been put on high alert with support of the people of the frontier villages.’
   Farmers of Bamongola thana in Maldah district and Topon thana of Balurghat district of India had been cultivating the land.
   The commander of 28 Rifles Battalion, Lieutenant Col Jahid Hasan told the news agency the recovered land is now ‘khas’ property of the government.

The National Front of Teachers and Employees on Sunday announced a series of agitation programmes to press home its eight-point charter of demands including formation of a national examination policy.
   The front, a combine of eleven teachers and employees unions of non-government schools and colleges from high school to masters’ level, will hold rallies at the divisional headquarters and representative’s conference from March 11 to April 30.
   The leaders of the front at a press conference at its Farmgate office also announced that they would hold a protest rally in Dhaka on July 1, if the government did not allocate necessary funds in the national budget to meet their demands.
   The demands include a 10 per cent pay rise, immediate withdrawal of all circulars issued by the education ministry that contrary to the interests of the teachers and employees, reinstatement of the teachers and employees terminated on political grounds, and reintroduction of gratuity that would have been provided from the teachers-employees’ trust earlier.
   The chief coordinator and convener of the front, Quazi Faruque Ahmad, central leaders Mohammad Azizul Islam, Mohammad Shahjahan, Asadul Haq, SMA Jalil, and MA Sattar were present at the press conference.

BNP men allegedly attacked a public meeting of the Awami League at Bhallukgachhi under Puthia upazila in Rajshahi Sunday afternoon.
   At least 20 leaders and activists of the Awami League and its youth front, Juba League, including the party’s district president Tajul
   Islam Muhammad Faruque, also a former lawmaker, were injured.
   Of the injured, Puthia municipality AL president Abdul Malek and the upazila’s Juba League general secretary Awlad Hossain and two others were admitted in Rajshahi Medical College Hospital in a critical condition.
   A tense situation prevails in Puthia. Police were reportedly inactive during the BNP
   attack on the rally, alleged AL leaders.
   The police arrested Puthia thana AL general secretary Golam Faruque and municipal AL general secretary Abul Malek.
   Following the attack, the police blocked a protest rally of the Awami League at Puthia leading to chase and counter chase between the police and the party activists in the evening.
   The police fire four blank rounds and dispersed the agitating party men.
   Locals said, the Awami League staged a public rally at Bhallukgachhi High School playground Sunday afternoon when the district president Faruque, district organising president Anil Sarker, leader Abdul Majid and other district level leaders had reached the venue.
   The district unit president alleged that a number of BNP activists led by the local union council BNP president, also a council member, Pintu, stormed on the rally with lethal and sharp weapons.
   Faruque claimed that the attack intended to kill him and also pointed out that senior leaders were injured while the rally was foiled.
   Rejecting the allegations, local BNP lawmaker Nadim Mostafa claimed that activists of a rival Awami League faction had attacked the rally.
   Rajshahi city AL general secretary AHM Khairuzzaman Liton slated the incident and demanded immediate arrest of the BNP terrorists.

Compared to western world, women in Bangladesh face less obstruction from men on their way to empowerment, a seminar was told on Sunday.
   Speakers at the seminar mentioned that women in the West faced obstruction when they had demanded their voting rights, but in Bangladesh men came forward to support women when they raised such demands.
   They, however, observed that Bangladesh’s women will have to go a long way for their participation in every sphere of life– from the grass-root level to parliament.
   Advocate Sultana Kamal of Ain-O-Salish Kendra presided over the first session of the seminar on `women empowerment in political sphere, prospect and predicament’ organised by Nagarik Uddyog, a non-government organisation at Women’s Voluntary Association auditorium.
   The seminar began on Saturday ahead of the International Women’s Day on March 8 with the main theme of participation of women in all spheres of the society – from the grass-root level to the legislative body.
   Shahin Rahman in his keynote speech said the mainstream movement can be mingled with the movement for women empowerment as it happened during the British era.
   Rahman, director of the Gender Development Communications Centre and Steps Towards Development, focused on the urgency of working women’s involvement in national politics.
   Sharmin Murshid, executive director of Broti, another NGO, insisted on the participation of ‘alienated boys’ in the ongoing movement for women empowerment in the country.
   Bonhi Sikha Jamali of Sramajibi Nari Moitree stressed that practice of gender equity should be established within the political parties first for empowerment of women.

A global labour rights forum said the recent deaths in a garment factory fire and a building collapse were murders.
   The Brussels-based International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation, in communiqué to the prime minister, Khaleda Zia, said, ‘Inaction, disinterest and negligence renders these deaths in Chittagong and Dhaka nothing short of murder.’
   Referring to the fire in KTS textiles in Chittagong and a collapsed building of the Phoenix group, that previously housed a garment factory, the federation urged Khaleda to initiate an enquiry to find out quarters responsible — ministers, government officials, factory owners and managers — and to bring them to justice.
   The fire killed 56 workers and the building collapse left 21 dead.
    ‘These tragedies were totally avoidable. The industry has been repeatedly warned that such disasters were staring it in the face, but unfortunately these warnings were ignored,’ said the federation’s communiqué to Khaleda from its general secretary Neil Kearney.
   ‘Year after year, major accidents have occurred but all have been quickly forgotten by the industry and government alike,’ said the federation. ‘Legislation exists but generally ignored.’
   Prescribing some measures, the federation demanded an immediate programme to ensure structural and fire safety measures in factories.
   It prescribed an urgent survey overseen by the labour ministry and foreign experts, at every factory by June 30 starting from May 1.
   The federation prescribed that the government make mandatory for all production units to obtain certificates of structural safety, fire safety and factory’s written fire emergency policy tested regularly through monthly fire drills.
   The federation said the government should also oblige all units to have designated managers responsible for structural and fire safety. It said the units should also have fire fighting equipment and personnel trained in fire fighting and dealing with emergency situations.
   Units employing more than 25 workers should have a statutory health and safety committee comprised of representatives of management and workers which must meet regularly to review these issues including fire.
   All units not in compliance with requirements must be closed and remain closed till they become compliant, demanded the federation and urged a complete review of existing legislation on structural safety, fire safety, heath and general labour rights.
   ‘Implementation must be undertaken urgently before more lives are lost,’ the federation urged.

The CHT Regional Council, chairman Jyotirindra Bodhipriyo Larma popularly known as Santu Larma, has been re-elected president of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity.
   The election was held on Saturday, the concluding day of the three-day 8th national conference of the PCJSS.
   A 33-member central committee has also been elected with Satya Bir Dewan as its general secretary.
   Later, the PCJSS leader Amiyo Sen Chakma administered oath to the new president.

The Australian minister for immigration, multicultural and indigenous affairs, Senator Amanda Vanstone, arrives in Dhaka on Tuesday on a two-day official visit.
   She would discuss with government leaders bilateral issues, including trade, development assistance and immigration matter, a foreign ministry official said.
   ‘The visit is a reflection of growing relations between Bangladesh and Australia,’ the official said.
   This is the first high level visit from the Australian government to Bangladesh in recent months.
   During the visit, the Australian minister is expected to meet several senior ministers and discuss measures to strengthen cooperation between Dhaka and Canberra.
   Apart from trade and commerce, the issue of manpower export from Bangladesh might come up for discussion.
   There are some 25,000 Bangladeshi immigrants now living in Australia. Besides, a good number of students are studying in different colleges and universities in that country.
   Australia is also providing cooperation in the development of Bangladesh cricket.

A three-month postgraduate certificate course on ‘seed technology’ began at the auditorium of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU) in Gazipur on Sunday.
   The University Grants Commission chairman, M Asaduzzaman, inaugurated the course, organised by SID/DANIDA, the agriculture ministry, and the university.
   Chaired by Ismail Hossain Miah, director of outreach programme at the university, the inaugural function was addressed, among others, by vice-chancellor Lutfor Rahman Khan, seed expert of SID/DANIDA project Nazmul Huda, and associate professor and course coordinator M Mynul Haque.
   All the faculty members and the officers of the university were present. A total of 20 participants from different government and non-governmental organisations are taking part in the course.

Journalists at Rajshahi University submitted a memorandum to the acting proctor on Sunday demanding immediate removal of a sub-inspector of the Motihar police station for misbehaving with them.
   The university correspondents said sub-inspector Kazi Chahel misbehaved with them while they were gathering information about the recovery of two powerful bombs at the administrative building.
   They alleged that Chahel hurled abusive words and threatened to arrest them.

Professor Khalilur Rahman, director (training) of the National Academy for Educational Management, has been made the director general of the academy.
   An education ministry circular on Thursday said that Khalil, a professor of political science, had been given the current charge of the academy.
   The post had been lying vacant since the retirement of Professor Shaheda Obaid on January 31, and the education minister, M Osman Farruk, was at loggerheads with the state minister, ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milan, over the appointment of a new director general.
   According to the ministry documents, Osman had been trying for the appointment of Khalil while Milan had recommended appointment of a person having requisite qualifications.
   A senior professor of Dhaka College told New Age on Sunday that despite having numerous allegations of corruption and nepotism against Khalil, no audit was conducted in the academy over the past few years for an ‘unknown reason’.
   ‘There is no justification for appointing an ‘unfit’ and ‘junior-most’ professor to the vital post in the education sector,’ he said. ‘There are at least 100 senior professors and selection grade professors in the education cadre who are suitable for the post.’
   NAEM is an organisation responsible for conducting research and imparting in-service training to senior educational administrators and teachers of the secondary and higher secondary levels. It also conducts the foundation training of the education cadre officers of the Bangladesh Civil Service.

The Awami League-led opposition has completed all preparations to make a success its grand rally at the Barisal Bangabandhu Udyan this afternoon.
   The administration has taken adequate security measures to avert any untoward situation, sources in the divisional and district administration said.
   The Awami League chief, Sheikh Hasina, also the leader of the opposition in parliament, will address the rally as chief guest and announce fresh agitation programmes against the BNP-led alliance government, the organisers said.
   More than 1,000 members of the police, Rapid Action Battalion, Armed Police Battalion and patrol police will be deployed at different places in the city, main in the rally venue and its adjacent areas.
   Dog squad will examine the rally ground while metal detectors will be set up at two entrances of the venue and at the entrance of the circuit house where Hasina is scheduled to halt night after the rally. Close circuit television cameras will also be installed at the rally venue.
   The deputy inspector general of police, Moniruzzaman, deputy commissioner, Shawkat Nabi, and superintendent of police, Mainur Rahman Chowdhury, said the security personnel, both uniformed and plainclothes, would be engaged at all entrances in the city.
   The divisional coordinator of the AL-led alliance, Shawkat Hossain Hiron, also the city AL convener, said all preparations had been complete to hold the rally.
   ‘We held regular meetings, brought out processions, distributed leaflets and put posters in the village, union, ward, upazila and city levels to drum up support for the rally,’ he said.
   The district AL secretary, Abul Hasanat Abdullah, also the chief whip of the past Awami League government, is likely to make his first appearance in Barisal after the 2001 general elections, by attending the rally.

Ganatantrik Jatiya Party, a new faction of the Jatiya Party led by Shafiul Alam Pradhan, will stage demonstration across the country on March 12 protesting against the ‘failure of the government at all spheres’.
   The convener of the convention coordination committee, Shafiul Alam Pradhan, announced the programme at a rally held at Muktangan in Dhaka on Sunday.
   Criticising the government for its failure to provide the farmers with diesel, fertiliser, and electricity, he urged all to observe farmers’ demand day and hold protest rallies on March 12.
   The party organised the rally protesting against the failure of the government to combat militancy, control price hike of essentials, and to resolve the crisis of fertiliser and fuel.
   Chaired by the city convener Asadur Rahman Asad, the rally was addressed, among others, by its leaders Rehana Pradhan, Anisur Rahman, and Muhiuddin Ahmed.
   The rally was followed by a protest procession which paraded different city roads.

The prime minister, Khaleda Zia, on Sunday said an opposition political party was unhappy at the arrest of JMB kingpin Shaikh Abdur Rahman as it wants terrorism to continue and innocent people killed by the terrorists.
   ‘All quarters, including political parties and religious leaders, have congratulated the government on its success in capturing Shaikh Abdur Rahman, but they (opposition) are unhappy,’ she said while addressing a huge public meeting on the Shaheed Smriti Model School ground here in the afternoon.
   None of the terrorists would be spared, the prime minister categorically said and also expressed firm optimism
   that the remaining others of the terrorist gang would be arrested soon.
   Khaleda said the main opposition could not tolerate any welfare of the people. While in power, they established a reign of terror and they want it to continue, she added.
   ‘They want that the people are killed by terrorists from behind the screen,’ the prime minister said and alleged that that party has taken the path of conspiracy shunning the democratic ways to go to power.
   The prime minister said the main opposition party resorted to conspiracy from the very beginning of the present government’s tenure. But the people of this country did not and will never allow any conspiracy to be successful, she added.
   The lawmakers belonging to the main opposition party did not attend parliament sessions but took salaries, procured duty-free cars and went on foreign trips as MPs, she said.
   The Election Commission is working freely and fairly and it would do so also in future, she said.
   The prime minister made a number of development pledges for the locality, including construction of roads and bridges.
   Chaired by local MP Khurram Khan Chowdhury, the rally was also addressed, among others, by the state minister for health and family welfare, Mizanur Rahman Sinha, the Prime Minister’s political secretary Harris Chowdhury, former state minister, AKM Mosharraf Hossain, MP, Engineer Shamsuddin Ahmed, MP, Delwar Hossain Khan Dulu, MP, Shah Nurul Kabir Shaheen, MP and Nurjahan Yasmin, MP.

The Awami League general secretary, Abdul Jalil on Sunday said the government had staged the surrender ‘drama’ of Shaikh Abdur Rahman to divert people’s attention from the issues of reform of the caretaker government and Election Commission, prevailing power and fertiliser crisis and price hike of essential commodities.
   Demanding a transparent and open trail of the militant kingpin, the AL general secretary said, Shaikh Rahman should be allowed to talk to the media to make it clear that the arrest of Rahman was not a drama.
   Terming the statement of the BNP secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan regarding the arrest of Rahman misleading and baseless, Jalil said the BNP leader had failed in his attempt to prove that the arrest episode was not a drama.
   ‘The people have realised that the drama was staged to hide the government’s failure in tackling abnormal price hike, crisis of power, fertiliser and fuel and to divert people’s attention from the reform issue’, Jalil said at a press conference at the Awami League central office at Bangabandhu Avenue in the afternoon.
   ‘Another intention of the ruling alliance was to mislead international community as the surrender drama was staged at the time when the US President, George Bush was visiting India and Pakistan,’ Jalil said
   The AL general secretary held the press conference protesting the remarks made by Mannan Bhuyian at a press briefing on Saturday regarding the Abdur Rahman arrest issue.
   He also placed four point demands before the government including an open trial of the militant leaders and interrogation of the ministers and lawmakers of the ruling alliance.

Around 100 persons, including few police personnel, were injured in a clash between two rival factions of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party over the formation of a convening committee at Sreepur upazila in Magura on Sunday.
   The police said a faction of BNP, led by Kamal Hossain Master and Rezaul Islam, organised a rally in front of the BNP Sreepur unit office, demanding restructuring of the newly-formed convening committee of Khalilur Rahman and Hero Chairman.
   The agitators declared former minister-cum-BNP central committee leader, Nitai Roy Chowdhury, persona non-grata in Sreepur and burned his
   effigy.
   As the rival faction tried to foil the rally, the two groups got engaged in a clash that continued for about three hours leaving over 100 injured.
   On information, a huge contingent of police, led by the additional district magistrate and police superintendent of Magura, went to the spot and fired more than 70 rounds of gunshots in the air to bring the situation under control.
   The injured persons were taken to the Sreepur Upazila Health Complex and Magura Hospital.

Another family has been ostracised at village Dhurail Pakuria under Mohonpur upazila in Rajshahi for filing a complaint against a teacher who allegedly tried to rape a girl student.
   Local sources said a village arbitration announced a fatwa (religious decree) against one Nader Ali after he had filed a complaint over rape of his eight-year-old daughter by a schoolteacher.
   Villagers said Nader’s daughter, a Class II student of Dhurail Pakurai Registered Primary School under Mohonpur upazila, went to school on February 14 morning and assistant teacher Gaffer Ali allegedly tried to rape her near the school building.
   Later, girl joined the class crying and told her classmates and her parents the incident. On February 15, Nader submitted a written complaint to the school headmaster, Edul Islam.
   The headmaster staged a village arbitration on the school premises on February 18.
   As the allegation of rape was not proved in the arbitration, the village leaders imposed restriction on Nader’s daily work in the village area and ostracised his family.
   Terming the arbitration ‘a farce’, Nader gave a complaint to the upazila nirbahi officer on February 19.
   The UNO, AHM Golam Kibria, however, directed the officer-in-charge, Ratan Krisna Nath, to ensure security of Nader’s family but the police did co-operate with them, Nader Alleged.

Ganamukti O Jatiya Sampad Rakhya Sammilita Andolan, a combine of 18 left political parties and groups, on Sunday demanded immediate arrest of the ministers and the member of parliaments those responsible for patronising Shaikh Abdur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai.
   The combine leaders during a press conference at the central office of Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal in Dhaka said arresting of JMB chief Abdur Rahman would not bring any solution in curbing the activities of the Islamist forces in the country.
   They demanded immediate arrest of Bangla Bhai and the ministers responsible of patronising the group, including post and telecommunication minister Aminul Haque, industries minister Motiur Rahman Nizami, commerce minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury and deputy minister for youth and sports Asadul Habib Dulu.
   At the conference, the combine also came up with a seven-point demand that includes formation of an enquiry committee acceptable to all and holding the trial of Abdur Rahman in an open court, prohibiting use of religion in politics and teaching of religion with an communal aim, dissolution of the 5the amendment of the constitution, dropping of two Jamaat e Islami Bangladesh ministers from the cabinet and holding of trials of the war criminals.

The security forces arrested six tribal miscreants and seized two rifles, including an AK-47, from their possessions after busting a den near the Kalapahar hill under Mahalchari upazila of the district on Sunday.
   The arrested — Banshi Chakma, 32, Priti Jiban Chakma, 35, Komal Ranjan Chakma, 45, Sushil Kumar Bonomali, 48, Kala Marma, 35, and Aung Kyjya Marma, 20 — were handed over to the Mahalchari police, sources in security forces said.
   A gang of tribal miscreants opened fire on the troops while they were patrolling the area in the morning.
   After half an hour gunfight, the forces busted their den and picked them up with two rifles and some bullets.

The amir of Islami Ain Bastabayan Committee, Fazlul Haque Amini, MP, considered a section of the press as enemy to the nation and Islam.
   Amini, also the chief of a faction of Islami Oikya Jote, a partner of the four-party alliance government, blasted a section of the print media saying the newspapers were trying to find out relation with the banned Islamist organisation Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh and their party.
   Addressing a press conference on Sunday at Madina Bhaban in Dhaka, Amini mentioning the names of three Bangla national dailies Prothom Alo, Janakantha and Amader Samay, said the newspapers were publishing baseless news regarding the JMB connection with the alem and olema communities of the country.
   He called upon the government to take immediate measures to punish the newspapers.
   Amini appreciating the arrest of JMB chief Shaikh Abdur Rahman, castigated the roles of opposition political parties, specially Awami League, for terming the arrest as a drama.
   The committee will hold a rally at Paltan Maidan on March 24, to protest against the cartoon paintings of the prophet.
   The committee leaders Muhiuddin Ahmed, Noor Hossain and Abdul Latif Nezami were also present during the conference.

The Communist Party of Bangladesh today observes its 58th founding anniversary.
   On this day in 1948, the Communist Party of Pakistan was formed after the independence of India and Pakistan from the British colonial rule.
   The provincial committee of the party, the Communist Party of East Pakistan, was also formed on the same day.