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Huge rush was all around the kitchen markets, banks, bus and launch terminals and railway stations on Sunday with the city dwellers taking preparations for another round of blockade, and many leaving the capital city to avoid being trapped.
   Two rounds of blockades and other political programmes over two months that had killed at least 20 people and caused abnormal price increase of essential commodities and disruption of normal life in and outside the city forced the common people to try within their limits to safely pass the blockade beginning today.
   The Awami League-led alliance is enforcing the countrywide non-stop blockade to push for its demands, including resignation of the chief election commissioner, while the stance of the BNP and its allies in favour of the CEC made the situation volatile.
   A section of people expressed their anger over the possibility of fresh violence and said they were taking preparations for remaining at their residences during the blockade programme.
   Some people at different kitchen markets said they were buying essential commodities more than usual as their prices went up abnormally during the two previous blockades.
   ‘Despite having risk I have to attend the office if my employer keeps it open. I am helpless here, but I am buying some vegetables, fish and meat as these may go beyond the reach of the people like us if the blockade prolongs,’ Kamran, who serves a non-governmental organisation at Dhanmondi and resides at Moghbazar, told New Age at the Karwan Bazar kitchen market.
   Muhammad Bari, a resident of Jatrabari, said he bought five litres of liquid milk for his infant as there was no supply of liquid milk during the previous two blockades. ‘I had to buy one litre of milk at Tk 52 during the previous blockade though its price is Tk 32.’
   Traders at different markets said demand for rice, pulses, eggs and potatoes were high on Sunday. ‘People are trying store food to face the possible crisis,’ said Jainuddin, a grocer at Karwan Bazar.
   Crowd were also found in different banks and financial institutions with the people withdrawing money to face urgent needs and pass the blockade period tension-free.
   Queues were also seen in the banks to pay the gas, water, electricity and telephone bills.
   The low income group people also found taking preparations for the blockade. The street vendors were trying to sell their products even at lower prices than usual to keep some money in their hands.
   Some day labourers at the Green Road crossing said they had nothing to do other than wishing that the political parties refrain from giving any programme that affects their income.
   People who have to undergo regular medical check-ups also rushed to different clinics and hospitals in the city, particularly in the Stroke Clinic of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
   Motaher Hossain, a patient of heart disease, said ‘I need check-up twice a month, but I missed last Sunday’s date for the countrywide blockade. I came to Dhaka from Sherpur last night and I will leave Dhaka at 5:00pm as it is uncertain how long the blockade will continue.’
   Fazlul Karim Sumon, who came to Dhaka from Mymensingh for kidney dialysis, said ‘Although it is not possible for me to make a three-hour journey after the dialysis, but I have to go back today, otherwise I might get trapped in Dhaka.’ ‘Besides, my wife is sick and she is in Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.
   A long queue of the diabetic patients was also found at the BIRDEM.
   Abdus Sattar, a businessman who came to the Shajahanpur branch of Uttara Bank to pay the electricity bill, said, ‘I can pay the bill till 22nd of each month, but as I don’t know how long the blockade will continue I am paying the bill today.’
   The long-route passengers were engaged in a fierce competition to get tickets at the counters of luxury bus companies at Kalabagan, Rajarbagh, Malibagh, Shyamoli and Kamlapur. Huge crowds were also found in Sadarghat launch terminal and Kamlapur railway stations.
   Crowds were also seen at the counters of the post offices and courier services.
   MA Hasan, a poly pack supplier, said, ‘I have sent packages through courier service to Khulna and Chittagong for shrimp packaging.’

The Dhaka City Corporation will set up 13 makeshift cattle markets in the city for the forthcoming Eid-ul-Azha.
   The corporation on Sunday floated tenders for the markets after the Dhaka mayor, Sadeque Hossain Khaka, had approved it on Thursday. The tenders will be opened on December 7.
   The markets will start sitting three days before the Eid-ul-Azha and continue till the Eid day.
   Venues of the markets are — open spaces adjacent to the Chitra Hall at Armanitola, Khilkhet Tanpara, Jhigatola-Hajaribag ground, Rahmatganj playground, Dhupkhola ground, Hosseni Dalan Road (from Chankharpul crossing to Bakshibazar traffic signal) and at the Balurmath adjacent to the Brothers Union Sporting Club in Kamalpur, Azampur (Uttara) Government Primary School playground and adjoining open space of Rajuk, Meradia Bazar, open space in front of Alam Market at Postagola, Rayer Bazar playground, open space adjacent to the Taltala (Khilgaon) bus stand and open space at Agargaon (adjacent to the LGED Bhaban) and Sunrise playground.
   The corporation will select the lessees after scrutinising the offers by the evaluation committee and approved by the mayor.
   The number of cattle markets in the past Eid-ul-Azha was 14 while it was 16 in 2004, 19 in 2003, 21 each in 2002 and 2001 and 17 in 2000.
   An official of the corporation said offers amounting to less than Tk 1 lakh for any cattle market would not be considered.
   The corporation may cancel any of the cattle markets
   and approve other markets that are not in the list, the officials said.
   Sources in the corporation said influential quarters, including ward commissioners and political leaders and activists, mainly of BNP, had already started lobbying for getting the lease of the markets.
   Some leaders are also trying to take approval for setting up cattle markets in their own localities.

The officials and employees of Rajshahi University started their five-day work abstention on Sunday hampering the administrative activities seriously.
   Several hundred officials and employees under the banner of the Officers-Karmachari Oikya Parishad began the programme to press home their five-point charter of demands, including extension of retirement age to 65 from 60, regularisation of jobs of 31 officials and cancellation of the decision to cut 20 per cent of pension.
   The agitating staff staged a demonstration in front of the administration building in
   the morning when the vice-chancellor, Altaf Hossain, and other high officials entered their offices with taking no heed of demands of the demonstrators.
   The agitators at a rally threatened that they would continue their work abstention for an indefinite period until their demands were met.
   The parishad president, Mirza Wazed Hossain Beg and members Shahjada Mia, Ayub Ali and Mukul addressed the rally.
   The parishad leaders urged the university authorities to immediately meet their demands.
   Meanwhile, the teachers and students of the university expressed concern over the start of the work abstention programme by around 800 officials and staff.
   It would seriously hamper the academic and admission test related activities, they said calling on the authorities concerned to immediately meet the demands of the staff and restore congenial educational atmosphere on the campus.

Owners of rickshaws on Sunday demanded that the caretaker government should fix how many rickshaws are permissible to ply the Dhaka city streets and provide them with fresh licenses.
   They made the demand while addressing a news briefing organised by Dhaka Mahanagar Rickshaw Malik Oikya Jote at the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity office on Sunday.
   The also demanded that the government should deploy a magistrate instead of the police to seize illegal rickshaws plying the Dhaka city streets.
   ‘The seizure of rickshaws by the police is not lawful as per by-laws of the Dhaka City Corporation, the lone licensing authority; it is supposed to be done by a magistrate,’ said M Mahtab Uddin Miah, convenor of the organisation.
   Besides, in the name of distributing seized rickshaws to Monga-hit people, a section of dishonest people has earned a lot of money by selling the rickshaws to the people of different districts since 2001, Mahtab Uddin alleged, adding that the rickshaws were distributed in the name of the immediate past government’s lawmakers, ministers through divisional commissioner of Dhaka.
   He claimed at least 50,000 seized rickshaws were sold out at Tk 3000 on an average for each rickshaw since 2001 in the name of distributing them into poverty-stricken people.
   Although according to the DCC there are 79,616 authorised rickshaws, the organisation leaders at the briefing claimed there are 88,160 licensed rickshaws in the Dhaka city, Mahtab Uddin said, adding that a case was running between the DCC and them in this regard.
   Among others, member secretary M Mojibur Rahman and joint member secretary M Momin Ali and other representatives of the seven rickshaw owners’ associations were present at the briefing.

Environmentalists at a press conference on Sunday demanded immediate stoppage of the demolition of the library building at Jagannath University and reconstruction of the historic building in its original form.
   A team of experts and activists should be allowed to assess the extent of damage, said Nazrul Islam, chairman of the Centre for Urban Studies, at the press conference organised by the Institute of Architects Bangladesh, Paribesh Bachao Andolan, Centre for Urban Studies and Campaign for Heritage Conservation at the National Press Club.
   He said there were library and administrative buildings at Jagannath University, but the university authorities have continued demolishing the library building ignoring every legal apparatus of the country.
   On behalf of the organisations, he demanded listing of heritage properties and assets without any delay, conservation of environments around Bahadur Shah Park, bringing all heritage properties under the protection as per the antiquity law and formation of an advisory group for heritage conservation.
   Taimur Islam, member-secretary of the Campaign for Heritage Conservation, said according to the national antiquities ordinance 1976, any building over 100-year old should be considered as a national heritage and is required to be preserved.
   ‘Conservation of heritage is our constitutional obligation; substantial degree of protection and guarantee for preservation of the heritage building are also provided in the National Building Code 1993 and the National Building Construction rules 2006,’ he added.
   The 20-storey building is being constructed demolishing the century-old library without taking the approval from Rajuk, Taimur said.
   ‘The present historic environment is plagued by a weak legislative framework offering protection to the heritage assets. On top of which an even weaker and incapable governance regime, under the department of archeology, has failed to enforce the existing laws.’
   He said each building adjoining the Bahadur Shah Park needs to be brought under the conservation due to its historical importance and aesthetic value.
   Khademul Ali, president of the Institute of Architects Bangladesh, said most of the government organisations do not take approval from Rajuk to construct any building.
   The high-rise building being built demolishing the century-old library is another example of not taking approval from the authorities concerned, he said adding people’s awareness is very important to protect such buildings from the demolition.
   The Paribesh Bachao Andolan convener, Abu Naser Khan, and architect Humaira Zaman also addressed the conference.

Dhaka Mahanagar CNG-run Auto-rickshaw Businessmen and Owners Samity on Sunday urged political parties to keep CNG-run three-wheelers out of the purview of blockade.
   The association leaders at a discussion on the continuing political crisis and its impact on economics said auto-rickshaw owners were counting loss while the drivers were losing their jobs because of the blockade.
   They said all other three-wheelers such as rickshaw, rickshaw-van and pushcart were kept out of the purview of blockade.
   So, the CNG-run auto-rickshaw should kept out of the purview of blockade, strike and other political programme to carry on the business and help general people, they added.
   The association president, Barkatullah Bhulu, and general secretary ATM Nazmul Hasan, Harun-Ur-Rashid, Sahabaz Khan and Akkas Ali spoke on the occasion.
   They also demanded a peaceful solution to current political crisis as early as possible.

Torture on domestic helps has increased in society for inaction of the existing laws, said speakers at a sub-national consultation meeting in Rajshahi, urging the policy makers to enact effective laws to prevent violence against children.
   Aiming at preparing a ‘national child policy’, the meeting on ‘to develop national strategy for Bangladesh on prevention of violence against children’ was held at a community centre in the city Sunday.
   Around 10 local and national non-governmental organisations and professionals took part in the meeting organised by the Association of Community Development and supported by Save the Children.
   Underprivileged children from different levels of society, including aboriginal community, disabled, sweepers, orphans living in shelter homes, domestic helps who were victim of violence and street children, gave their opinion to prepare the national policy.
   They recommended that the government should ensure security of the underprivileged teens who are busy with different trades, ensure equal opportunity for minority, disabled, sweeper children.
   They also demanded enactment of tougher laws to prevent violence on domestic help and establish their rights.
   The ACD president, Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan, Save the Children representative Syed Iqbal, Plan Bangladesh official Faruk Ahmed, Naharul Islam of Trinomool and Shipak Das of TDC addressed the function among others.

Weather is likely to remain mainly dry with partly cloudy sky all over Bangladesh till 6:00pm today, said the Met Office in a forecast on Sunday.
   Night temperature may remain nearly unchanged. The highest temperature on Sunday, 31.3 degrees Celsius, was recorded in Chittagong and the lowest, 15.1 degrees Celsius, at Srimangal.
   The sun sets in the capital city today at 5:11pm and rises on Tuesday at 6:18pm.

Ten people were injured and ten shops ransacked during a clash between the activists of the BNP and Awami League at Sonapur Bazar under Sonaimuri upazila in Noakhali on Sunday afternoon.
   Witnesses said the clash erupted at about 4:00pm after a group of AL activists attacked a Juba Dal leader, Mohammad Hanif, leaving him injured critically.
   The injured were identified as Kamrul, Masudur Rahman, Mofiz, Shipon, Osman, Ismail, Anwar, Shahabuddin, Masud and Raihan. Two of them —Shipon and Osman — were admitted to the hospital in critical condition.
   The Sonaimuri police later went to the spot and brought the situation under control.

Body of girl
found in Dhaka
The police Saturday night recovered the body of an unidentified girl from the Kamalapur railway station in Dhaka. The body was found at about 11:30pm inside luggage abandoned on Platform 4, the police said. Some street children first found the luggage and then informed the police of it. The body bore marks of torture and it was sent to the DMCH morgue for autopsy.

JU admission test postponed
Admission tests for the 2006-2007 honours course of Jahangirnagar University, to be held from November 20 to 23, have been postponed. A press release of the university on Sunday said the schedule of test to be held on November 26 will remain unchanged. The updated schedule of the tests will be published in newspapers and on university website www. juniv.edu.

RAKUB viva-voce postponed
The Bangladesh Bank postponed all viva-voce for appointment in officer’s posts of the Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank to be held between November 20 and 27. The new schedule will be published through newspapers and bank website www. bangladeshbank. org.bd.

Reflect convention put off
The Reflect Convention 2006 of Actions Aid Bangladesh scheduled to be held on November 20-21 at PROSHIKA HRDC in Koitya was postponed due to political unrest. The new schedule will be publicised through newspaper, a press release by the organisation said.
— New Age