Main Page «
Front Page «
Business «
International «
Sports «
National «
Editorial «
Op-Ed «
Home «
Timeout «
Letters «

Archive «
Launch Supplement «
Special Supplements «

The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority tomorrow resumes the drive to reclaim canals, encroachment of which is widely blamed for the water logging in the city.
   Eight canals will be reclaimed during the drive and encroachers from the Segunbagicha and Zirani canals will be evicted on the first day, WASA officials said.
   The six other canals to come under the drive are Kalyanpur-A, Kalyanpur-B, Kalyanpur-E, Kalyanpur-F, Ibrahimpur and Katasur-Ramchandrapur canals.
   The drive resumes in the wake of last week’s water logging in many areas of the city, said a WASA official, adding ‘The government was giving the highest priority to reclaim the canals and directed us [WASA] to evict the encroachers.’
   Stern action will be taken if anyone tries to resist the drive, he said.
   A mobile court, led by WASA magistrate Kazi Wasiuddin, will lead the drive to be attended by its superintendent engineer (drainage circle), Zahirul Alam, and other officials.
   The drive will start at 11:00am Saturday and illegal structures along the Segunbagicha canal will be pulled down first, WASA sources said.
   The number of illegal structures will not be more than 20 as many structures were pulled down in drives conducted earlier, Zahirul said.
   The types of structures include extended part of boundary walls or buildings and non-brick built structures, he said, adding a few large concrete structures are also there along the canals.
   This time, the WASA will not serve any notice before pulling down the structures, he said. ‘We will just ask the grabbers through public announcement system to shift or remove their structures and valuables.’
   WASA officials said out of 43 canals in Dhaka city, 25 can now be recognised and 19 of them still have lean flows despite encroachment.
   The Dhaka WASA has 65 kilometres of canals under its jurisdiction, and the WASA drainage system covers about 140 square kilometres inside the flood protection embankment in Dhaka.
   The drive to reclaim city canals from the grabbers started in 2005 after a February 2 inter-ministerial meeting had issued a directive to the WASA authorities, asking them to pull down illegal structures along the canals.
   The WASA has so far reclaimed some portions of a number of canals pulling down several hundred brick and non-brick structures.

The Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital has decided to introduce fee for the attendants of inpatients from August for what the authorities claimed improving the services at the hospital.
   SBMCH director Md Moniruzzaman said a coordination meeting with local civil was held in this regard at SBMC teacher’s auditorium on Wednesday with the divisional commissioner of Barisal, Md Harun Chowdhury, in the chair.
   The meeting was also attended by the representatives of SBMC, divisional health directorate, district civil surgeon office, district joint forces and Barisal metropolitan police and other security agencies.
   The authorities have decided that to restrict the redundancy of inpatient attendants at the SBMCH a fee of Tk 10 would be imposed. According to the decision, an attendant will be asked to collect an attendant card depositing Tk 60 and at the time of the patient’s discharge from the hospital Tk 50 will be refunded and the attendant fee would be deducted from the deposit to mobilise a patient welfare fund, claimed the hospital authorities adding that measures would be taken for better management of clinical wastes and garbage and improvement of sanitation systems with the help of the nongovernmental organisations.
   The authorities made it compulsory for the physicians, nurses, officials, staff and employees to wear uniform, badge with nameplate during duty hours and imposed restriction on the visits of the medical representatives to the doctors during their duty hours.
   The authorities will also stop entrance of the domestic animals which graze denuding the campus of SBMCH.
   Vigilance teams will control the unauthorised and unnecessary trespassing and milling around on the campus and demolish unauthorised shops and establishment on the campus, sources in the meeting.
   Probe bodies would be formed to investigate all sorts of corruptions, including construction of an operation theatre on the fourth floor abandoned in 2000 and smuggling of medicines, foods, utensils and apparatuses.
   After the execution of the steps from the next month we hope that service condition of the hospital will improve remarkably and prayer for developing the hospital from 500 beds to 1000 beds would be send, said SBMCH director Md Moniruzzaman.

The LGRD and cooperatives adviser, Mohammad Anwarul Iqbal, has said consultation with the people about their needs and responding to those are the foundation of good governance.
   The only roadmap needs to prioritise decentralisation of powers to the elected local governments at the upazila, union parishad, pourasabhas and city corporation levels.
   He said this while addressing the launching of a technical assistance programme on ‘strengthening local governance in Bangladesh’ at a city hotel on Thursday, said a press release.
   The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the World Bank jointly organised the function.
   With Mohamad Alhousseyni Toure, WB operations adviser, in the chair, the function was addressed by Swiss ambassador in Dhaka Dora Ms Rapold, sector director of Sustainable Development Department of WB Constance Bernard and secretary of the Local Government Division Safar Raj Hossain.Chairman of BRAC Bdmail Network Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury presented the keynote paper.
   The speakers underscored the need for effective and accountable local governments for ensuring sustainable governance and inclusive growth in Bangladesh.
   The $3 million, multi-year, non-lending facility from the SDC will provide knowledge services and technical support to the government’s current efforts to strengthen local governance programme, which will be executed by the World Bank in close consultation with the government, civil society and other development partners.
   Toure hoped strong partnership among development partners that would help government to expand the core principles of discretion, accountability and transparency in local governance, envisioned in the Local Governance Support Project, started in 2006.

A Chittagong mobile court realised more than Tk 22.35 lakh from five industries and two food manufacturing companies during its drives at different parts of the city on Thursday.
   The court, led by Chittagong Port Authority magistrate Mohammad Munir Chowdhury, realised Tk 21.05 lakh from five industries on charge of pilfering water from the Water Supply and Sewerage Authority pipelines.
   The industries are Abdul Monem Limited in Baizid Bostami, RB Industries in Baluchhara, BCDA in Laldighirpar, Venus Washing Plant in port and Harbourage Dream in Sadarghat areas.
   The court also realised Tk 1 lakh from Kishowan Foods in Nasirabad industrial area for manufacturing biscuits under 10 brand names taking approval of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution for only one brand.
   The court realised Tk 30,000 in fines from Banaful at Chowmuhuni of Agrabad area in the city, as Banaful Special Bread was found substandard.

Forty-two Bangladeshi graduates have got Erasmus Mundus scholarship of European Commission for 2007-2008.
   Under the scholarship programme, students from across the world are offered the opportunity to study Master’s course in the European Union member states.
   The programme is also open to university teachers for short-term teaching assignments in Europe.
   Master courses are provided by cross-border university consortia in a wide range of academic disciplines. Students are required to study in at least two different European countries.
   A welcome meeting for the 42 Bangladeshi graduates was held in Dhaka on Thursday. Francoise Collet, charge d’affaires of the European commission delegation to Bangladesh, spoke on the occasion.
   She said the number of Bangladeshi Erasmus Mundus beneficiaries had increased since the programme was launched in 2004.
   Erasmus Mundus is aimed at providing the most talented students from across the world with a high-quality Master’s education in Europe to prepare them for professional career in the field of their choice, Collet said.
   ‘We hope that the programme will reinforce academic and friendship links between Europe and Bangladesh.’

The prize distribution ceremony of the Oitijjhya-Etcetera-New Age story writing competition will be held at the STM Hall of Scholastica school at Uttara in Dhaka tomorrow.
   The competition was initiated for the students of English medium schools, who are a little habituated to writing in Bangla.
   Anisul Huq and Kaiser Chowdhury will attend the function as guests. New Age editor Nurul Kabir, Etcetera managing director Maher Murshed and Oitijjhya chief executive Arifur Rahman Nayeem will also attend the function to be held at 11:30am.
   Sera Galpa, a book comprising the best 30 stories in the three categories, will be published by Oitijjhya, creating 30 new ‘little-writers’.
   The best three entries from each category will receive books worth Tk 10,000, Tk 7,000 and Tk 5,000, and all the nine writers will also be given crests and certificates.

The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology has taken up six-month programmes to celebrate its 60th founding anniversary that falls on Saturday.
   The inaugural function will be held at BUET’s central auditorium, the vice-chancellor, Professor AMM Safiullah, told a press conference on Thursday.
   ‘We will organise a series of programmes including seminars, talk show, debates and cultural programmes to mark the ‘60 Years of Engineering Education in Bangladesh,’ he said.
   Laboratories of the university will be kept open for visitors during the celebrations.
   The former BUET vice-chancellor, Wahiduddin Ahmed, will attend the inaugural function as chief guest while the incumbent vice-chancellor will chair it.
   Others former VCs of the university will also attend the celebration programmes.
   The then Ahsanullah Engineering College was the first institution for producing graduate engineers in Bangladesh.
   The college has become today’s Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 1972 after the country’s independence.

Omni Books, a publishing house in Dhaka, on Thursday accorded reception to the British Council Bangladesh director June Rollinson to mark her winning the Order of the British Empire Prize 2007.
   A number of academics and writers attended the function held at the Genetic Plaza in Dhanmondi in Dhaka.
   The vice-chancellor of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, Professor Rafiqul Islam, Dhaka University English department professor Niaz Zaman, University Press Limited publisher Mahiuddin Ahmed, journalist Sadeq Khan, New Age Editorial Board chairman ASM Shahidullah Khan, Dr Naila Khan, Omni Books managing director NEO G Mendes, Bengal Foundation director Subir Chowdhury and writer Ali Ahmad, among others, were present.
   Speaking on the occasion, June Rollinson said, ‘In fact I have been awarded the OBEs twice this year. The first one I got from the UK and the second one from this occasion today.’
   The participants in the function appreciated the role of June for promoting the activities regarding arts and culture in Bangladesh. A musical soiree followed the reception.
   June Rollinson has been awarded Order of the British Empire for her dedication and services to arts and administration. She has been working as British Council director in Bangladesh since 2003.
   She will go to London in November to receive the award from the British Queen.
   The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V.

The Rapid Action Battalion arrested Wednesday night two crime suspects in possession of firearms and ammunitions at Dakkhin Keraniganj and Nayabazar in Dhaka.
   The arrested are Mohammad Shiblu, 28, of Subadda at Keraniganj and his uncle, Shah Alam, 48, of Nayabazar in Dhaka.
   RAB arrested Shiblu after chasing an ambulance on the Dhaka–Mawa Highway Wednesday evening. Thirty-two 303 Rifle bullets were seized from him.
   Based on his statement, the team seized a sawn-off rifle at about 1:00am. The team, along with Shiblu, then conducted a raid on Shah Alam’s house at Nayabazar in Dhaka and arrested Shah Alam at about 3:00am.

Light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely at most places over Rajshahi, Dhaka, Sylhet, Barisal Khulna and Chittagong divisions during the 24-hour period till 6:00pm today, the Met Office said on Thursday.
   Moderately heavy to heavy falls may also occur in many places, it said and predicted nearly unchanged day temperature over the country.
   Under the influence of active monsoon over Bangladesh heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at places over Rajshahi, Dhaka, Sylhet, Chittagong and Barisal divisions during the next 24 hours commencing 6:00pm on Thursday.

Orientation at DU chemistry dept held
The orientation and farewell programme of the chemistry department of Dhaka University was held at the Teachers-Students Centre in Dhaka on Thursday. DU vice-chancellor SMA Faiz was present at the function as the chief guest while pro vice-chancellor AFM Yusuf Haider and dean of the science faculty Prof. Tajmary SA Islam attended the function as special guests. With chairman of chemistry department Prof. Abu M Shafiqul Alam in the chair, the programme was also addressed, by Prof. Abu Jafar
Mahmud.
— BSS

BSTI fines eight electronic shops in Rajshahi
A mobile court of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution realized Tk 97,000 in from eight electronic shops during a drive in the Rajshahi city on Wednesday. The mobile court, led by metropolitan magistrate Janendra Nath Sarker, conducted the raids in a number of electronic shops at Shaheb Bazar in the city. The court fined the shops as it found them selling goods without BSTI labels.
— BSS