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Boro procurement of the government trails behind the target due to skyrocketing price of rice in the local market, food officials said.
   Out of a target of 12 lakh tonnes, the government has so far procured only 5.25 lakh with one-and-half-month left before the drive ends for the season.
   Food ministry sources said they were compelled to start the boro procurement in the second week of May, about a month behind the usual time, after upward revision of the procurement price for the second time this season.
   But the official rates still appear to be lower than the market prices, they said.
   Official procurement rate was much lower than the market price, leading to the failure of the procurement drive last year, they pointed out.
   The boro procurement drive for the 2007-08 crop year will continue until August 31. The procurement price has been re-fixed at Tk 18 per kilogram of rice and Tk 11.25 for paddy.
   Wholesale and retail prices coarse variety rice hover around Tk 19 and Tk 22 respectively. The prices are Tk 21 and Tk 24 for medium variety like pari or shawrna, and Tk 28 and Tk 30-32 for fine rice.
   The procurement report prepared by the food department showed that the government so far procured only 6,157 tonnes of paddy out of the targeted 3 lakh tonnes due to some ‘technical difficulty’ in paddy purchase.
   The highest amount of paddy was collected from the Rajshahi division while the lowest amount came from the Chittagong division. The procurements totalled 5,121 tonnes and 14 tonnes respectively against the targets of 1, 049, 76 tonnes and 39,547 tonnes.
   Procurement from Khulna, Dhaka and Sylhet was negligible compared with the targets, while it was literally nil in Barisal.
   Only 744 tonnes paddy were collected from Khulna division, 260 tonnes from Dhaka and 18 tonnes from Sylhet against their respective targets of 32,052 tonnes, 90,866 tonnes and 23,525 tonnes.
   No procurement was recorded from Barisal, where 9,034 tonnes have been expected from, according to food department data.
   The government already has collected some 5.25 tonnes of rice out of targeted some 10 lakh tonnes. The highest amount of rice, 4.13 lakh tonnes, came from Rajshahi and the lowest 2,659 tonnes from Sylhet.
   Some 64,192 tonnes were procured from Dhaka, 7,584 tonnes from Chittagong and 38,432 tonnes from Khulna regions.
   Mohammad Badrul Hasan, director (procurement) of the Food Directorate, acknowledged that the official procurement price is not enough compared with the local market price. He felt that the government might need to extend the timeframe to achieve the boro procurement target.
   The aman procurement in 2006-07 was 1, 62,739 tonnes out of targeted 2 lakh tonnes while the boro procurement was 10, 39,052 tonnes out of targeted of some 12 lakh tonnes.

Baghabari Milk Vita Condensed Milk Plant has resumed marketing of milk cans about seven months after the closure.
   Sources in Milk Vita said the authorities concerned produced around 26,000 milk cans in the last two weeks and got positive response after marketing as no bacterial contamination has been found yet.
   Since its inception on July 26, 2006, the plant had produced only 1.54 lakh milk cans weighing about 400gm each, although the authorities set the target to produce 96,000 cans every eight hours.
   The authorities stopped production four months after the inauguration due to bacterial contamination in the condensed milk, the sources added.
   Former prime minister Khaleda Zia inaugurated the plant set up at cost of about Tk 21 crore to meet nutritional value of the country’s consumers and help poor and marginal milk farmers of the area.
   Bangladesh Milk Producers’ Cooperative Union Ltd implemented the Tk 55 crore project. GEA Liquid Processing Company of Denmark and Dynamic Corporation in Dhaka supplied necessary equipment for condensed milk plant.
   The project also includes setting up of a Condensed Milk Can Production Factory at cost of Tk crore 24 and Mineral Bottled Water Plant involving Tk 10 crore.
   During visit to Baghabari Milk Vita on 15 April, the LGRD and cooperatives adviser, Anwarul Iqbal, asked the authorities to complete the project. ‘The Milk Vita Company had to count a loss of about Tk 55 lakh every month due to corruption and lack of experience of some employees.’
   He also said that the interim government had already fired at least 287 employees in order to overcome the losses.
   Md Abdul Barik, acting general manager of Milk Vita, informed the adviser that the machines installed in the condensed milk plant seemed to be old.
   When contacted, Md Altaf Hossain, additional general manager of Baghabari Milk Vita Company, told New Age on Wednesday that they produced a large number of milk cans last year, but two-thirds of them remained unsold due to poor marketing system, bacterial contamination and crossing of expiry dates.
   ‘The workers were not fully skilled and milk collected had not been tested in proper way before use for the condensed milk plant,’ he added, saying that they would start the production of condensed milk in a full swing within few days.
   Md Mainul Hossain, manager (finance) of Milk Vita in Dhaka, told New Age on Wednesday that they had been able to overcome the losses incurred in the last five months. ‘We also declared a net profit of Tk 3.28 crore at the annual general meeting held on May 27 this year.’

The verdict in the bribery case against three detained police officials of Fatullah thana and two employees of the Abul Khair Group will be delivered on July 18.
   Shamsunnahar, the judge of Special Judge’s Court 4 of Dhaka, fixed the date for the verdict after completion of the arguments on Thursday.
   The suspended officer-in-charge of Fatullah thana, Ashraful Islam, and two sub-inspectors, Miraj Al Mahmud and Enamul Haque, who were arrested by army-led joint forces on January 30, were charged with taking Tk 14.80 lakh in bribe from two employees of the Abul Khair Group — Mustafizur Rahman and Zakir Hossain — for covering up the company’s attempt to sell rotten wheat, which was seized by the police.
   The two employees, arrested by the joint forces on January 30, were charged with bribing the police officials.
   The offences are punishable with imprisonment for three years or with fine or with both under the Penal Code and with imprisonment for seven years under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947.
   Another court, chaired by Shahed Nooruddin, fixed August 16 for hearing the arguments in the case against former state minister Mahiuddin Khan Alamgir for submitting false wealth statement and taking money from undisclosed sources.
   The case will be ready for verdict after completion of the arguments.
   The court fixed the date after recording the testimony of defence witnesses on Thursday.
   Alamgir’s brother, Borhanud-din Khan Jahangir, testified in his favour on Thursday.
   The recording of the testimony of prosecution witnesses continued in two other special courts in the bribery case against former communications minister Najmul Huda and his wife Sigma Huda, and in the case against former BNP lawmaker Manjurul Ahsan Munshi and his wife and two sons for submitting false wealth statements and amassing wealth from undisclosed sources.

A Dhaka court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Farzana Khan, daughter-in-law of former minister Shajahan Siraj, in a case of tax evasion.
   Another court has summoned the Hameem Group managing director and his family members to appear in court on August 26 in a case of audit manipulation.
   The court of metropolitan sessions judge Azizul Haque issued the warrant for the arrest of Farzana Khan after a hearing in the case filed by deputy commissioner (taxes) Sayed Zakir Hossain on Thursday.
   Farzana Khan, wife of the former environment minister’s son, Rajib Siraj, had not submitted income tax returns for the tax years of 2004 to 2006 and 2006 to 2007.
   Farzana, managing director of the Garden Fresh Preservation Limited, has Tk 2,55,56,786 deposited with banks and landed property worth about Tk 12,15,020 at Savar, but she concealed the information in his income tax returns submitted to the revenue board, the plaintiff told the court.
   The office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Farms filed a case against the Hameem Group managing director, AK Azad, his wife Shammi Akhter and two brothers, and the MA Matin and Company for their involvement in audit manipulation.
   Metropolitan magistrate AJM Abdullahel Baki asked the defendants to appear in court on August 26 after a hearing in the case filed by Joint Stock Companies registrar Mahfuzul Haque with the chief metropolitan magistrate’s court of Dhaka.
   The plaintiff told the court that Azad and three proprietors of the Hameem Group had manipulated the audit reports with the help of the MA Matin and Company.
   The Hameem Group in an audit report dated October 19, 2006 informed the office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies that the group had spent Tk 15,87,00,000 as honorarium which was not mentioned in the report dated June 7, 2006, the plaintiff told the court.
   Others accused in the case are Azad’s wife Shammi Azad, also a director of the group, and two other directors, Abdul Mutaleb and Belal Hossain.

The caretaker government on Thursday appointed chairmen and members to the Chittagong Hill Tracts’ three district councils.
   The CHT affairs adviser, Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, had earlier approved the ‘interim’ appointments of the new chairmen and members to Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban district councils.
   The ministry issued the circular on Thursday regarding the new appointments in the five-member district councils in line with the Hill District Council Act 1989.
   In the past each successive government has made new ‘interim’ appointments to these posts. Ministry officials said the present caretaker government had also made the new appointments in keeping with tradition.
   There exists a High Court order to hold district council elections within 120 days from the ‘interim’ appointments. Past political governments have invariably appointed pre-nominated councils without elections. It remains to be seen whether the elections will be held under the present regime.
   Jagatjyoti Chakma was appointed chairman of Rangamati District Council and Ratiknata Tanchangya, Aung Sui Chhain Chowdhury, Bihari Ranjan Chakma and Md Moniruzzaman Mohsin have been appointed its members.
   Khagrachari District Council chairman Monindra Lal Tripura retained his post and Animesh Dewan, Sanu Mong Marma, Muithi Karbari and Md Abu Bakar Siddique were appointed members to the council.
   Professor Thanjama Lusai was appointed chairman of Bandarban District Council. The members of the council are Thomas Sangtual Bom, Ching Sa Pru, U Nu Shai Pru and Md Aminur Rashid.

A Sylhet divisional court on Thursday posted for July 29 the hearing in the framing of charges in the case of the 2004 grenade attack on British envoy Anwar Choudhury as one of the accused was not produced in court.
   Three of the four accused — Bangladesh chapter Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami operation commander Mufti Abdul Hannan, Sharif Shahedul Alam alias Bipul and Delwar Hussain Ripon — were produced in the court.
   The judge, Abdul Gafur, accepted the charge sheet on Thursday and he did not hear the framing of charges as the other accused named in the charge sheet, Mafizur Rahman Ovi alias Muhibulla, younger brother of Mufti Hannan, was not produced, court officials said.
   Senior assistant superintendent of the Criminal Investigation Department Munshi Atiqur Rahman filed the charge sheet in the case with a magistrate’s court on June 9, accusing the four Harkatul men of carrying out the grenade attack on the British high commissioner in Dhaka.
   The magistrate’s court referred the case to the divisional court on June 26, posting the hearing in the framing of charges for July 12.
   Three were killed and 70, including Anwar Choudhury, injured in the attack at the Hazrat Shahjalal shrine mosque on May 21, 2004.

Mohammed Khairuzzaman, now ambassador in Myanmar, has been appointed the next Bangladesh high commissioner to Malaysia, said a foreign ministry release on Thursday.
   Khairuzzaman, a former army officer, joined the foreign service in 1976.
   He worked in different capacities with Bangladesh missions abroad, including in Cairo, Abu Dhabi and Manila.

The president, Iajuddin Ahmed, will leave Dhaka for Singapore on July 14 on a five-day visit for medical check-up.
   He will undergo medical check-up at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore as per previous schedule as advised by his Singaporean physicians, said a Bangabhaban handout.
   The president will also make a courtesy call on the Singapore president, Sellapan Ramanathan.
   Iajuddin will return home from Singapore on July 19.
   A regular aircraft of Singapore Airlines will carry the president and his entourage to Singapore.

The army-led joint forces seized 720 kilograms of hilsha worth about Tk 2 lakh from a shrimp processing plant, Atlas Seafood, at Rupsha area in the Khulna city on Thursday.
   Acting on a tip-off, the forces raided the processing plant and found 72 cartons of hilsha weighing 10kg each, sources in the joint forces said.
   The forces sealed the cartons and kept them under the supervision of the plant management.
   Khwaja Nazim Uddin, assistant manager of the plant, told newsmen that hilsha had been stored at the plant before the government imposed a ban on its export.
   ‘We had planned to export the hilsha to Italy,’ the manager of the processing plant added.

The police in Jessore arrested Wednesday night Suman, one of the eight accused of killing Tanvir Hassan Anjan, youngest son of RM Saiful Alam Mukul who was editor of the Bangla daily newspaper Runner.
   Tanvir Hasan was killed at his home on 9 July.
   His father, Mukul, was also killed in a bomb explosion on August 30, 1994.
   A two-member team of ATM Jahidul Islam and Hasan Mahmood Hadi on Thursday submitted the post-mortem examination report to the police saying that the Tanvir Hassan was killed.
   Saiful Alam’s wife Hafiza Akhter Shirin filed a case on July 11 with the Jessore kotwali police accusing eight, including RM Manjurul Alam Tutul, brother-in-law of the complainant and now editor of the newspaper, of killing Tanvir.
   The police arrested Suman, one of the accused, at his house at Bejpara.

The caretaker government is thinking of forming an independent human-rights commission and an ombudsman’s office, the law adviser, Mainul Hosein, said on Thursday.
   ‘We are considering the pros and cons for appointing an ombudsman. The government will need and seek the cooperation of the mass media in raising public awareness to this end,’ the adviser told the news agency over telephone.
   ‘The government has made the necessary decision to form a [human-rights] commission as soon as possible,’ Mainul said.
   After vetting, the law ministry will place the proposal before the interim cabinet for a final approval, sources familiar with the matter said.
   The BNP government had formed a cabinet committee to form the commission, which finalised the Draft Human Rights Ordinance 2002.
   The draft law was placed before a cabinet meeting, which asked for its further scrutiny.
   ‘The army chief has stressed the need for appointing an ombudsman, which is very much in line with our constitution also. The government is now weighing the matter seriously,’ Mainul said.
   ‘The democratic governments in the past could have appointed an ombudsman, but they remained preoccupied with other issues. But we cannot delay the matter any more now,’ Mainul said.
   Law ministry sources said the 1972 constitution incorporated the provision of an ombudsman, but the required law for appointing an ombudsman or establishing the ombudsman’s office was enacted before 1980.
   Despite pledging in the election manifestos, both the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party managed not to live up to the promise.
   The Awami League held meetings to update the ombudsman act while in office and developed a draft law, but there was no further progress.
   The BNP government amended the ombudsman act through a gazette notification on January 6, 2002 to make the law up-to-date.
   But the amended draft was never tabled in cabinet meetings for approval.

Rajshahi City Corporation mayor Mizanur Rahman Minu was sent to jail again on a detention for three months in an extortion case.
   Judge Ganendra Nath Sarker of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court ordered to send him to jail rejecting his bail when he was produced before the court after completion of one month detention.
   Sources said Minu was sent back to prison as the case has been included in Emergency Rules and its trial has already begun. The case documents have also been sent to the judge’s court.
   Shamsul Alam Khan, a managing committee member of Evergreen Model School and College in the city, filed the case on April 21 with Boalia thana accusing 11 people, including Minu on charge of demanding toll from him.
   District BNP vice-president Nazrul Huda and former general secretary of city BNP advocate Shafiqul Haq Milon were among the accused.
   Three BNP leaders, including Minu, were sent to jail on June 6 when they appeared before the CMM court for seeking pre-arrest bail.
   Later, they were released from the prison on June 11.
   A day after his release, joint forces arrested Minu under the Emergency Rules 16 (2) from his city corporation office and sent him to jail on a month-long detention.

A seminar in Dhaka has put out a call for the introduction of feeding programmes to retain poor children in schools and to supplement their nutrition.
   Two former lawmakers — of the BNP and the Awami League — and the chairman of non-governmental organisation Coastal Association for Social Transformation Trust made the call.
   The trust chairman, Tofael Ahmed, who presided over the seminar, said such a programme would help to retain children in schools in rural areas.
   The trust organised the seminar at the National Press Club on Thursday.
   Former BNP lawmaker Mahbubur Rahman said such a programme was needed and the process should create employment opportunities for the people in rural areas.
   He stressed the need for such a programme especially in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities as they lagged behind in education.
   Former Awami League lawmaker Nurul Islam Nahid said there should be uniformity in the various primary education systems now prevailing in the country.
   He also said there should be a sustainable feeding programme for all primary schoolchildren.
   The trust coordinator, M Saiful Islam, read out a paper on school-feeding programme at the seminar.
   Saiful, quoting a 2005 survey, said there were more than 80,401 primary schools of various types in the country. Of them, 37,672 are government primary schools.
   A former UNICEF official, Mamtaj Jahan and World Bank expert Mokhlesur Rahman also spoke.

Citizens’ Commission on Jute and Jute Industry and different labour rights bodies on Thursday expressed concern over recent retrenchment of the workers at various jute mills in Khulna, including the People’s Jute Mill.
   Leaders of the organisations in separate statements also demanded that the government should reinstate the sacked workers and reopen all the jute mills immediately in order to boost the economy of the country and save jute industry.
   The Citizens’ Commission chairman, Justice Mohammad Golam Rabbani, and its secretary Shah Alam said that 3,500 workers and employees of the People’s Jute Mill had been sacked ‘unlawfully’.
   The national economy will be hampered seriously and about 2 crore people involved with jute sector will be affected due to taking up the policies as per prescriptions of the World Bank and IMF, they said.
   Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal central committee member Mubinul Haider Chowdhury urged the interim government to reconsider the decision about the closure of People’s Jute Mill.

Singer Sabina Yasmin was admitted to the National Cancer Centre of Singapore Thursday morning soon after her arrival in the city state.
   She was placed under the supervision of oncologist Toh Han Chong, said the family of the ailing singer. The physicians were examining the previous diagnosis reports and asked for further medical tests. An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) test was done and some other tests would be performed, the family said. Sabina was flown in Singapore early Thursday after a month of treatment in a Dhaka hospital. The singer was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.