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The Khulna University has suspended two more employees and served show cause notices on two senior officials for their alleged involvement in the admission form forgery.
   The suspended employees are security guards SM Kalam and Gazi Nazrul Islam, and the officials served show cause are assistant registrar and security in-charge Liakat Hossain Morol and deputy director, finance and accounts, Amar Kumar Das.
   The authorities earlier on Wednesday suspended a section officer, Mahabubul Hasan.
   The accused sold forged admission forms, each at the rate of Tk 600, for 2006-07 academic session through the KU branch of the Agrani Bank, sources in the university said.
   Official sources suspect that the syndicate also include section officers, teachers, security staff, bank officials and staff of the printing press from where the original admission forms are printed.
   The font, shape and colour of the forged forms are found similar to the original ones and it bears the testimony of the involvement of those who are in charge of the printing and distribution of the forms, they added.
   ‘A strong syndicate, active in the admission form forgery, includes members within the university,’ the KU vice-chancellor, Professor Mahbubur Rahman, told New Age on Thursday. He, however, could not confirm how many forged forms had been sold.
   ‘We have formed a seven-member committee, headed by the life science school dean, Professor Sanjay Kumar Adhikari, and the committee will submit its report very soon.’
   We have primarily found involvement of a bank official, he added.
   The KU branch of Agrani Bank manager, Md Iqbal Hossain, however, rejected the involvement of any bank official in the forgery, saying, ‘It is the officials of the branch who had detected the forgery and informed the authorities concerned.’

A minute of meeting was signed on Thursday between the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Dhaka City Corporation on ‘the project for strengthening of solid waste management in Dhaka city of Bangladesh’.
   The minute was signed by M Emdadul Haque deputy secretary, ERD-Japan Branch and Eiichiro Cho, the team leader of the JICA preliminary evaluation mission on the technical cooperation project for solid waste management in Dhaka city.
   Chief conservancy officer of DCC Sohel Faruqui, representative of ministry of the LGRD and cooperatives were present in the minute signing ceremony.
   The main objective of the project is to improve the solid waste management situation of Dhaka city aiming at achieving clean Dhaka by the year 2015, said a press release of the JICA.
   During 2003 to 2005 JICA conducted the clean Dhaka master plan study for comprehensive improvement of the waste situation of Dhaka city which targeted the year 2015 for materialising the recommendations according to the master plan, the press release said.
   For attaining this broader goal, this technical cooperation project expects to make a positive impact on the city’s waste management system through promoting participatory waste management programme, capacity development of waste collection and transportation and through appropriate management and operation on final disposal site at Matuail, press release added.
   A three-member preparatory evaluation mission was dispatched to Bangladesh on October 4, 2006. The mission comprised of officials from the JICA Bangladesh office and consultants from Japan.
   The mission visited the DCC mechanical workshops at Syedabad, Matuail and Aminbazar disposal sites and ward 6 and 65 of Mirpur-11 and Old Town of Dhaka city.
   It was expected that the four-year long project would start its activities from February 2007.

The Japan Foundation has announced a number of fellowships and cultural exchange programmes in three categories for the citizens of Bangladesh.
   The categories of the programmes are arts and cultural exchange, Japanese language education overseas and Japanese studies overseas, and intellectual exchange, said a Japan Foundation press release on Thursday.
   The deadline for applying for most of the programmes is December 1. Some programmes have multiple deadlines.
   Interested applicants can visit the website http ://www.jpf.go.jp for application forms and new announcements of supplementary deadlines.
   Interested persons can also send complete application forms to the Information and Cultural Affairs Division of the Embassy of Japan at Baridhara in Dhaka.
   The purpose of the fellowships and cultural exchange programmes and activities is to contribute to a better international environment and to the maintenance and development of harmonious foreign relations with Japan, through deepening other nations’ understanding of Japan and promoting better mutual understanding among nations, the release added.
   The foundation, an independent administrative institution of the Japanese government, was established in 1972 as a legal entity to undertake international cultural exchange programmes and was subsequently recognised as an independent administrative institution in October 2003.

Asian Development Bank organised a series of consultations with various stakeholders between October 15-19 to get feedback and suggestions as part of preparing the proposed Dhaka water supply project.
   The proposed water supply project, which is expected to begin in 2008, aims to support 24-hour safe and reliable water supply to the rapidly growing population within the Dhaka water supply and sewerage authority coverage area.
   Over one hundred stakeholders representing government officials from different ministries and agencies, union leaders, nongovernmental organisations, water and sanitation experts, researchers, lawyers, civil society members, consumers and donor agencies participated in the consultations.
   The report of the feasibility study of the proposed project were discussed and shared.
   In collaboration with the government, the feasibility study of the proposed ‘Dhaka water supply project’ is being carried out by a team of consultants from Carl Bro Intelligent Solutions, Denmark, and DHI Water and Environment, BETS, AQUA, and Institute of Water Modeling from Bangladesh.
   Seven international experts from public water utility companies, academia, the private sector, and ADB’s private sector operations department shared their experiences with the stakeholders on international best practices in the water supply sector on October 15.
   Another workshop, held on October 16, was attended by senior government officials including from WASA, focused on resolving key bottlenecks in implementation of the Dhaka WASA Act.
   A workshop with civil society representatives, held on October 18, suggested involving NGOs in increasing consumer awareness and developing modalities to distribute water among the members of low-income groups.
   The team also held detailed discussion with the WASA Board of Directors on October 19.
   The project has been proposed at a time when WASA is facing different challenges, including inadequate supply of clean water, poor quality of water distribution network, low pressure and weak governance.

City dwellers are still facing power and water crises, although the Rajshahi mayor, Mizanur Rahman Minu, recently asked the authorities concerned to improve the situation.
   The mayor on October 15 made a surprise visit to the local power office and directed the officials concerned to ensure uninterrupted power supply mainly at night-time.
   He also asked the law enforcers to keep close watch so that the city dwellers could not stage demonstrations at the power office, demanding uninterrupted power supply, sources in power division of the city corporation said.
   The corporation authorities, meanwhile, decided on Tuesday to keep 50 per cent of high-voltage streetlamps switched off at night considering the existing power crisis.
   Some residents alleged that the power situation in the city worsened especially at night-time from the very beginning of Ramadan. The duration of power outages has now increased three times, they said adding that earlier, it was only 15-30 minutes at a stretch.
   On the other hand, the local traders expressed their dissatisfaction over unprecedented power outages which, they said, caused huge losses to their business. ‘We can do business maximum for an hour at night,’ said a businessman.
   The sources said they usually light up 458 sodium and high-voltage streetlights at different areas including Bindur crossing to C&B Square, Medical Bandagate to Kashiadanga crossing, Lakshmipur to Ghoshpara crossing and Sonadighi to Alupatti crossing. Now they decided to light up only 229 streetlamps.
   After taking new measures, they would be able to save 30 kilowatts of power per hour, the sources claimed.
   The local residents also alleged that although the corporation authorities have extended their time schedule for supplying water through the pipeline, it made no impact on the city life.
   Besides, city life has become unbearable due to mosquito menace as the corporation authorities failed to launch the drive against mosquito in the last three months for fund-constraints.
   The corporation sources said most of the fogger machines went out of order, and they were fogging at 30 wards with only 15 machines.

The University of Dhaka on Thursday decided to honour its most famed alumnus, Muhammad Yunus, by conferring an honorary Doctor of Laws degree on him.
   The syndicate at its meeting in the evening made the decision as per the recommendation by the academic council after the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s announcement of awarding Yunus the Nobel peace prize 2006.
   It also decided to confer the degree on Yunus in the university’s 43rd convocation scheduled for December 24. Yunus will also attend the function as convocation speaker.
   Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Peace and Development Mission executive committee congratulated Profe-ssor Muhammad Yunus on his winning the Nobel peace prize.
   The committee members said the event brought a rare honor for Bangladesh. It is a matter of pride for the nation, said the organisation’s president Muhammad Azizur Rahman.

The employees of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology locked the gate of the registrar building on Thursday demanding payment of their monthly salaries.
   According to campus sources, the employees locked the collapsible gate of the registrar building at about 2:15pm and staged a demo in front of the building as the authorities concerned failed to pay them monthly salaries and Eid bonus on the last day before the vacation.
   They said Kalam Ahmed Chowdhury, private secretary to the vice-chancellor, took the signature from the VC on the salary sheet, but he was not allowed to enter the VC’s office housed in the registrar building.
   Following frequent requests by the employees, the director (finance) of the university, Faizul Haque, asked Kalam to provide him with the copy of the pay order on Thursday, the last working day before the Eid vacation.
   But Kalam refused to provide the copy as he was not allowed to enter the VC’s office which was also locked by the agitating left-leaning progressive teachers’ alliance.
   The officials concerned finally failed to provide the employees with the salaries as Kalam remained firm with his condition. At one stage, the employees got angry and locked the collapsible gate of the registrar building.
   Earlier, the left-leaning progressive teachers’ alliance of the university locked the door of the vice-chancellor’s office on Wednesday demanding his immediate removal.

A mobile court led by magistrate Sardar Keramat Ali conducted a drive at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Thursday and fined 12 visitors for entering the administrative hub illegally.
   The court fined the visitors Tk 500 each and forced other 22 visitors to leave the secretariat for not having gate pass.
   The visitors entered the secretariat by cars of the government high-ups and the officials of other organisations. The court so far fined more than 50 illegal visitors in the last five days from Sunday.
   Another mobile court led by magistrate Abu Fateh Mohammad Abdullah carried out a drive at Sadarghat launch terminal to check irregularities. The magistrate found that everything was going on smoothly at the terminal in the presence of the members of the law enforcing agencies.
   Ten out of 19 mobile courts conducted their drives at Sadarghat launch terminal, Kamalapur railway station and Sayedabad, Gabtali and Mohakhali bus terminals.
   Nine other mobile courts conducted drives at different parts of the city and realised Tk 122,600 in fines. The courts also filed 29 cases, sent a man to jail and issued arrest warrant against another.

Rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty wind may occur at a few places over Rajshahi, Dhaka, Sylhet and Chittagong divisions and at one or two places over the Barisal and Khulna divisions in the 24-hour period till 6:00pm today, according to a Met Office forecast issued on Thursday.
   The day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country, it added.
   The country’s highest temperature on Thursday, 33.5 degrees Celsius, was recorded at Jessore and the lowest, 21.9 degree Celsius, at Rajshahi.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 5:28pm and rises tomorrow at 5:59am.

Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia today expressed her deep shock at the death of Karimunnesa Begum, mother of State Minister for Labour and Employment Amanullah Aman.
   In a condolence message sent from Saudi Arabia where the Prime Minister is on a visit, she prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul.
   Begum Zia conveyed her sympathy to the state minister and other members of the bereaved family in their hour of grief.

Abul Kalam Azad, a motorcycle mechanic, is now fighting for life as his both the kidneys have been damaged, says a press release.
   His father Abdul Khaleq, a rickshaw puller from Kirta under Saitha upazila in Faridpur, has appealed for financial assistance from all for the treatment of his son.
   The doctors said the treatment would cost around Tk 5 lakh.
   Contributions can be sent to Account No. 4532, Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Saitha Bazar Branch, Faridpur. Interested persons can also call on 01721092548.

Fire burns 4 small factories in Ctg
Valuables worth about Tk 5 lakh were gutted in a fire that burnt four vermicelli and chanachur factories at Tulatoli of Char Chaktai area in the Chittagong city early Thursday. The fire service and civil defence sources said the fire had originated from a vermicelli factory, owned by one Abu Bakar, at about 1:05am and soon engulfed three adjacent factories — a vermicelli factory and two chanachur factories. Six fire fighting units brought the flame under control at around 2:30am. There was, however, no report of casualty.
— New Age

Korean speech contest held at DU
The South Korean embassy in Dhaka and Korea International Cooperation Agency organised a Korean speech contest in the Institute of Modern Language of the University of Dhaka on Thursday. The DU vice-chancellor, SMA Faiz, inaugurated the contest attended by eight Bangladeshi students. South Korean ambassador in Dhaka, Park Seung Ung, was also present at the function, said a DU press release. Terming Korean Language as one of the important languages in the world, Faiz said many Bangladeshi students had been learning Korean language at the DU Institute of Modern Languages.
— BSS