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Insincerity of the traffic police or irregular enforcement of laws by them encourages the drivers to violate traffic rules in the Dhaka city.
   The policemen at the traffic department of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police hardly follow the electronic signals at many points while they allow non-motorised vehicles to use the roads which are off-limits to the vehicles.
   Also, the policemen, excepting for a few cases, allow the drivers to go unpunished, who frequently violate ban on honking in many roads, drive through the wrong-side on the one-way roads and park their vehicles in the parking-restricted areas.
   The law enforcers, in some cases, also release the offenders by taking bribe and all these encourage the drivers to flout traffic rules, causing traffic congestion and accidents in many cases in the Dhaka city.
   Some drivers alleged that during the rush hours the traffic police did not regulate the traffic in accordance with the light signals, and for that they had to wait till the automatic signals change twice or thrice before they were allowed to go their way.
   ‘Why have the electric signals been set up in the city at huge cost if the traffic police do not follow them and use their own manual signals during the rush hours?’ Mizanur Rahman, a cab owner who drives his own taxi, questioned.
   ‘When drivers see that the traffic police are not following automatic signals during the day, they also do not want to follow these signals at night when the traffic police are not on duty,’ he said.
   Tailback is common in one-way roads as drivers of many vehicles enter the roads from wrong direction either by dodging the traffic police, or by convincing or bribing them.
   Drivers of non-motorise vehicles also ply the roads off-limits to those the same ways.
   So is the situation for honking. Drivers very often engage in an apparent competition in presence of the policemen, particularly at the busy crossings, but the policemen hardly go for action against the offenders.
   The ban on blowing horns at certain places is also flouted with impunity, and one-way roads remain one-way only in theory, and ‘no parking rules’ are being broken right before the policemen’s eyes, although more than a hundred cases are filed everyday for such offences, acknowledged officials of the traffic department of DMP.
   Drivers usually do not even look at the automatic traffic signals after 11 at night as most of the roads do not have traffic police on duty at that hour.
   Heavy vehicles like loaded trucks, inter-district buses as well as the non-motorised vehicles like rickshaws and push-carts are allowed to ply the arterial roads after 10:00pm, causing jams at vital crossings and giving rise to accidents. No one wants to wait for long at night in obedience to the traffic signals, though the highest duration of a red light at a couple of points is 2.5 minutes at the maximum, said traffic joint commissioner Jasim Uddin.
   He admitted that such violation of rules can sometimes cause serious road accidents at night as the drivers of both motorised and non-motorised vehicles do not care about the signals.
   About manual signals to control traffic, Jasim said as the traffic signals are fully automated, the traffic police have to control traffic through manual signals during the rush hours when traffic on some roads is much heavier that traffic on other roads.
   ‘Traffic police have to use the manual signals to control the traffic pressure during rush hours on some of the busy roads, but it is only for a short time, and the rest of the day they follow the electric signals,’ he said.
   Jasim Uddin said although the Dhaka Metropolitan Police has banned blowing of horns near all hospitals and clinics and residential areas like Dhanmondi and Gulshan, very few drivers observe the rule. The DMP has filed about 4,000 cases against the drivers and vehicles for violating the ban on blowing horns between Sonargaon Hotel and BSMMU till March 29.
   But he said the incidence of honking on the city roads has decreased appreciably after the decision was taken in February this year to reduce sound pollution.

One of the seven mobile courts arrested 25 persons on charge of fishing in the toxic lagoons of the WASA’s Sewerage Treatment Plant at Pagla where fishing was banned considering safety of public health.
   During the drives of the seven mobile courts at city’s different diagnostic centres, hospitals and public transports in the city on Monday, filed fifty cases and fined Tk 23.58 lakh.
   Metropolitan magistrate Rokon-Ud-Doulah conducted a drive at Pagla Sewerage Treatment Plant arrested 25 persons as they were fishing in the lagoon water defying the government order.
   The court has filed a case against them for disobeying the government order and awarded them one month imprisonment.
   Tipped-off, magistrate Rokon reached the place and found several hundred people fishing there and the court asked them to refrain from fishing and also destroyed all the fishes netted by them.
   The mobile courts of the Dhaka WASA and along with the officials of the Department of Fisheries are stationed at the spot for destroying the fishes of 8 lagoons out of 16. The fishes of these lagoons are being destroyed since from Wednesday last following the order given by the agriculture and fisheries advisor Chowdhury Sajjadul Karim.
   The mobile court also unearthed two unauthorised fan companies — Three Star Electric and Amir Electric Company — in the city’s Mir Hazaribagh area.
   The court found them involved in manufacturing ceiling fans faking the brand of Tongi National Fans.
   The court immediately filed two cases and arrested 22 employees of the Amir Electric Company including the manager and the technicians of the company and awarded them one month rigorous imprisonment, in default to pay Tk 1 lakh each in fines.
   The court also issued the search warrant against the owner of the company, Amir Hossain, who managed to flee.
   A mobile court, led by magistrate Md Delwar Hossain, conducted a raid on the Diacom Diagnostic Centre in city’s Hatirpool area and found it running in unhygienic environment.
   The court also found that ECG and blood sample were collected by the qualified technicians.
   The court filed a case and realised Tk 20,000 in fines.
   Metropolitan magistrate Fashiullah conducted drive at Dhaka Hospital Limited in Mitford area found unhygienic condition inside the laboratory.
   The court also found the hospital has no adequate qualified nurses. The court filed a case and realised Tk 30,000 in fines.
   Metropolitan magistrate Azharul Islam Khan conducted drive at three diagnostic centres in city’s Humayun Road area and found these centres having no trained employees for different pathology departments of these centres. The court also found reagents which have no levels. The court filed three cases and realised Tk 43,000 in fines.
   A mobile court led by Abi Abdullah conducted drive Saif International Medical and Technology at Mirpur Section-10 and found the hostel of the medical training institute dirty, the court also found the bathroom of the Institute also unhygienic. The court filed two cases and fined Tk 10,000 each of the institutes.
   The mobile court also conducted drive at Al-Safi Hospital at Mirpur Section-10 found unhygienic condition and the hospital understaffed particularly having no required number of medical technologists. The court realised Tk 20,000 in fines and also filed a case.
   The court also filed four cases as the four Benarashi Palli shops at Mirpur Section-10 had no licenses and fined them Tk 7,000.
   The court also filed eighteen cases and realised Tk 900 in fines as they have been apprehended by the police for smoking at public places.
   Magistrate Delwar Hossain conducted a raid on buses in the capital’s Uttara area and found five buses having no papers and the court took these vehicles to the Uttara police station for dumping and also filed five cases against the owners and staff.
   The court also found some vehicles operating on the city streets with no fitness certificates, driving licenses and route permits and fined them Tk 9,500 and also filed five cases.
   A mobile court, led by Abdur Rahman, raided the Uttara area and found massive irregularities in buses as some of the vehicles running without any fitness certificates, route permit and driving licenses. The court filed eight cases and realised Tk 7,500 in fines.

A three-day ‘all university fair 2007’ will begin in the Dhaka city on July 5 with a view to providing students with necessary information about admission for higher studies at home and aboard.
   Forty-five participants including private universities, local campuses of international universities, student loan service provider banks and education consultancy firms will take part in the fair.
   A total of 72 stalls will be set up in the fair at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre. The fair will remain open from 10:00am to 8:00 pm.
   All admission-related information and courses of both international universities and colleges and the country’s private universities will be available at the fair.
   Besides, information about IELTS or similar English language programmes will be available.
   A separate booth will be set up at the fair venue to help the students get information of all the public universities.
   There will also be multimedia presentation during the fair. The participants will project academic activities and course offers for 45 minutes each.
   The three day event will end with a quiz contest conducted by Radio Foorti and a mega raffle draw.New Age, Samakal, Radio Foorti and Bangla Vision are the media partners of the fair.

Tension ran high in the Islamic history and culture department of the Rajshahi University on Monday as a group of pro-Jamaat teachers locked the chamber of the department chairman.
   Campus sources said the teachers had locked the chamber of the department chairman Professoressor Kazi Mustafizur Rahman for what they claimed occupying of the room of a retired teacher by the chairman.
   Professoressor Mustafiz took possession of the room following discussion with other teachers of the department on Saturday, campus sources said.
   Dr Muklesur, who recently went into retirement, handed over his room No 212 to the chairman, the sources added.
   On Sunday, Professor Yakub Ali of the department along with his colleagues and staff loyal to the Jamaat vandalised the room of the chairman.
   Earlier, the pro-Jamaat group collected signatures of some teachers and submitted a written statement to the department chairman seeking allotment of the room to Professor Yakub.
   Professor Yakub should be immediately given the room in the greater interest of research work of the department, the statement said.
   A teacher of the department said. Professor Yakub had his own room adjacent to the department chairman office and he has been doing research work for last two years there.
   When contacted, Professor Mustafiz said ‘I have taken the room from retired teacher Muklesur Rahman with a written statement.’
   ‘I decide to vacate my previous room No 223 for Professor Yakub Ali for his research work. Some teachers tried to take control of the room of the retired teacher by force.’

The president of the Khulna Chamber of Commerce and Industry Shaharuzzaman Mortoza, who was arrested on Friday by the police for allegedly holding two international passports, was released on bail from the Khulna jail on Monday.
   Magistrate Golam Rahman Mia granted the bail, rejecting the five-day remand prayer for Mortoza submitted by the investigation officer of the case, sub-inspector of police Jamil Hossain of Khulna police.
   Also BNP Khulna city member secretary, Mortoza, allegedly took two passports from Khulna passport office in two names.

A mobile court realised Tk 11.53 lakh in fines from four subscribers of the Water and Sewerage Authority and 54 buses in Chittagong city in the last 24 hours till 6:00pm on Monday.
   The mobile court realised the amount in fines on different charges.
   Five cargo vessels were also detained on charge of overloading.
   The court fined Haji Mohammed Ali, owner of two multi-storeyed buildings at Narikeltala in Patenga, Tk 5.60 lakh for pilfering WASA water by tempering meters.
   The court realised Tk 3.68 lakh from the owners of three other buildings for pilfering WASA water through illegal connections.
   Of them fined are Rahima Mansion in Patenga fined and Cafe Paramount and Mayabi Residential Hotel in the Station Road area.
   The court also realised Tk 2.25 lakh from the drivers of 54 buses in Patenga area for emitting black fumes and lacking proper documents.
   Five cargo vessels detained by the court are MV Salman Salim, MV Seven Circle-2, MV Dewan Mehdi, MV Master Saniat-1 and MV Erfan Salim.

The American Alumni Association will hold the 2nd AAA Awards Ceremony at Radisson Water Garden Hotel in Dhaka on July 6 to felicitate the American alumni in Bangladesh.
   The president, Iajuddin Ahmed, also a member of the association, will attend the ceremony as chief guest where he will also be presented with life membership crests.
   MK Aaref, president of the association, and Geeta Pasi, acting chief of US mission in Bangladesh, will address the function.
   Mashiur Rahman, chairman of the AAA Awards Committee, will announce the awards for the winners for their excellence and contribution towards their particular fields and development of the community and the country.
   The American Independence Day will also be observed with the programme to be followed by cultural function.

Light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely at most places over Khulna, Barisal and Chittagong divisions and at a few places over Dhaka, Rajshahi and Sylhet divisions with moderately heavy to heavy falls at places over Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Dhaka divisions during the 24-hour period till 6:00pm today, the Met Office said on Monday.
   The day temperature may rise slightly over the northern part of the country and remain nearly unchanged elsewhere over the country, it said.
   The country’s highest temperature on Monday, 35.0 degrees Celsius, was recorded in Sylhet and the lowest, 24.4 degrees Celsius, in M. Court.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 6:50pm and rises tomorrow at 5:16am.

Electrician of Rajshahi Parjatan Motel found dead
An electrician of the Rajshahi Parjatan Motel, Answer Ali aka Safi, was found dead in the motel Sunday morning. The motel sources said one of the cleaners found the body in front of room No 218 and informed it to the motel authorities. Informed by the authorities, the Rajpara police recovered the body and sent it to the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital morgue for a post-mortem examination. The victim’s brother, Shahanur Alam, filed a case with the Rajpara police in this connection.

English language training for teachers begins
A four-day training course on English language for the Bangla medium teachers began at the Dhaka office of the British Council on Monday. Forty high school teachers from across the country are taking part in the course, organised by the British Council in cooperation with non-governmental organisation Caritas. The contents of the course are English grammar, pronunciation, writing skill, classroom management and structuring the lesson, the council sources said. Professor Shahin Kabir of Jahangirnagar University is training the lteachers focusing on English textbooks from Class VI to Class X.
— New Age