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The students of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College on Tuesday celebrated in style as the institute topped the tally of top graders for the fourth consecutive year in the Secondary School Certificate examinations.
   The students along with their guardians and teachers thronged the school compound on the day to celebrate the outstanding performance of the institute, congratulate the brilliant performers and exchange greetings.
   This year, 564 girls out of 750 from the school secured grade point average of 5. Of them 445 were from science group, 104 from business studies group and 16 from humanities group. The school topped the tally in 2006 with 591 candidates, in 2005 with 464 candidates and in 2004 with 421 candidates.
   Cheering slogans, enthusiast applause and beat of drums amid monsoon drizzling marked the success of the candidates in the school that also drew a competition to have and offer sweets.
   The guardians, mostly the mothers of the students, were busy taking snaps to capture the joyous emotion of everyone though the students were more interested to pose for the press photographers and the electronic media.
   The college principal, Tahmina Khanam, said they had been grooming the girls since Class IX and the best teachers of the school were employed for nurturing the school secondary examinees. ‘We had taken series of preparatory exams for the girls so that they could produce their best in answer scripts,’ she said.
   Tasnim Farhana Iftekhar, who secured GPA 5 in business studies, said, ‘I am extremely happy today as I have received recognition for my hard works I have done in the past 10 years.’ She wishes to have further studies at the Institute of Business Administration at Dhaka University and wants to be event manager in future.
   Situation was nearly the same at the Ideal School and College at Motijheel where the boys and girls were celebrating their success by dancing and singing. Some of them had emotional outbursts at their success while some for their failure to secure the highest grade. Five hundred and twenty seven candidates out of 857 from the school secured GPA 5.
   Shahanara Begum, principal of the school, attributed the results for taking regular class tests and close monitoring of the students’ performance.
   The Monipur High School in Mirpur was in third position of top graders with 314 candidates out of 701 examinees.
   The Rajuk Uttara Model College kept its record with 100 per cent pass rate and 281 candidates out of the 319 examinees have secured grade point average of 5.
   As 178 out of 319 candidates from Dhaka Residential Model College secured the highest grade, so the compound looked not so festive.
   Sale of sweet went up at the two shops opposite the Dhaka College though the success rate in adjacent Government Laboratory High School was not at the expected level. One hundred and seventy two students out of 270 from the school obtained GPA 5.
   The Dhanmondi Government Boys High School secured 100 per cent pass rate and 149 candidates out of 265 obtained GPA 5.

WaterAid Bangladesh on Tuesday urged the government to increase the allocation for water and sanitation sector in the proposed budget to achieve the goal of ‘safe water and sanitation for all by 2010’.
   ‘The government will not be able to achieve the goal if it doesn’t increase budgetary allocation for water and sanitation sector in the proposed budget for 2007-08,’ Dr Muhammad Abdus Sabur, country representative of WaterAid Bangladesh, told a news briefing at the National Press Club in Dhaka.
   Water and sanitation sector needs Tk 2,674 crore but the government has allocated only Tk 827.5 crore which is 2.95 per cent of Annual Development Programme, Dr Sabur said, adding that only 30 per cent of the total money needed for ensuring safe water and sanitation has been allocated in the budget for 2007-2008.
   ‘Without proper allocation for water and sanitation sector, the government would not be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.’ He suggested doubling the allocation for this sector in the proposed budget and put special importance on small towns, including the district ones.
   He also suggested that the government should put forward an appeal to the lending agencies for getting interest waiver against large amounts of loans, saying that the money can be spent in water and sanitation sector.
   The government in 2003 declared to achieve the goal of water and sanitation for all by 2010 and ‘October’ as sanitation month which is observed every year since 2004 to ensure sanitation for the poor. The government has approved a block allocation which is 20 per cent of ADP, Dr Sabur mentioned.

The Rajshahi University authorities formed a 20-member committee to seek allocation from the University Grants Commission for payment of salaries to its more than 500 additionally recruited teachers and employees.
   The committee headed by the university vice-chancellor will meet the UGC chairman today and try to present real picture of additional recruitment in the university, a committee member said.
   The committee comprises teachers loyal to the BNP, Awami League and Jamaat, syndicate members, faculty deans, department chairmen and other high administrative officials, campus sources said.
   Earlier, the commission decided that it would not sanction budget for salaries of more than 5000 RU teachers and employees as their recruitment was not made as per rule.
   Meanwhile, the AL-supported teachers in the committee on Tuesday declared they will withdraw their names from the body.
    Earlier, pro-AL teachers met the UGC chairman and demanded exemplary punishment for those who were involved in mass recruitment, corruption, irregularities, nepotism and violation of the University Act during the past BNP-led government.
   The university authorities, meanwhile, included three pro-AL teachers in the committee including RU syndicate members Prof Abdus Sobhan, Prof Saiful Islam and life and earth faculty dean Prof Golam Kabir.
   ‘We also declared no-confidence in the committee’, Prof Sobhan told newsmen.
   Earlier, a two-member budget inspection team of the UGC finance committee led by the UGC finance director Ibrahim Kabir visited the campus to investigate the alleged illegal recruitment.
   The investigation team found that most of the recruitments were made without UGC permission and not as per the rules and regulation of the UGC, campus sources said.
   Later, the investigation team declared the additional recruitments illegal.
   According to UGC rules, if any university needs any recruitment, it must take permission from the UGC as well as approval from education and finance ministries..
   But violating the rules, the RU authorities had recruited teachers and employees during the past BNP-Jamaat government with political consideration, campus sources said.
   ‘If the authorities do not cancel the recruitment, the UGC will not disburse the fund allocated in the fiscal year 2006-2007’, a university high official said.
   When contacted, the university VC, Prof Altaf Hossain, told newsman that we would meet the UGC chairman to present to real picture of additional recruitment and request him to sanction allocation.
   He also claimed that the recruitments were made to fill up vacant posts in the university.
   Last year, the university teachers and student organisations staged demonstrations against alleged mass recruitment, corruption, irregularities and violation of the University Act by the RU administration.

Speakers at a seminar on Tuesday demanded that the authorities concerned should take steps to protect the rights of the workers at state-owned jute mills in Khulna zone.
   They observed that the workers at their colonies and slums in and around Khalishpur industrial belt were leading inhuman life as they were not paid for several weeks and the mills laid-off without paying benefits.
   Samaj Progoti Sangstha and Rupayan in association with ActionAid Bangladesh organised the seminar on ‘development of Khulna and violation of human rights’ at a city hotel.
   Human rights activist Advocate Firoz Ahmed chaired the programme moderated by Professor Anwarul Quadir. The seminar was addressed by The Daily Tribune editor Begum Ferdausi Ali, BJMC’s Khulna zonal coordinator Shamim Ahmed, Greater Khulna Coordination Action Committee secretary general Sheikh Ashrafuzzaman and Khulna Nagarik Forum chairperson Sheikh Abdul Quayum.
   The speakers sought help from the chief adviser, finance adviser and industries adviser to carry out development programmes in the region.
   They blamed power crisis, bank loan and its interest, dishonesty of collective bargaining agent leaders, irregularities in buying jute, machinery and spare parts, and old machinery for the loss of the jute mills.
   The BJMC Khulna zonal coordinator said that they urged the government to provide Tk 300 crore with jute mills to run them smoothly in addition to Tk 300 per year. It needs Tk 3400 crore to pay all the dues of the workers, if the government wants to close the mills, he added.

Gas crisis has deepened in the Chittagong city, with the industrial, commercial and domestic consumers hit hard.
   According to sources, state-owned Petrobangla can supply only 171 million cubic feet (mmcf) of gas a day against the demand for 320 mmcf. At present, the country produces about 1,600 mmcfd of gas against the demand of over 1,800 mmcfd.
   The port city has a number of bulk consumers and of them Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited consume 52 mmcfd, KAFCO 65 mmcfd, Rauzan Power Plant 82 mmcfd and Shikalbaha Power Plant 2 mmcfd.
   The domestic consumers of the port city need about 10 mmcfd of gas. Besides, there are three export processing zones that consume huge natural gas.
   Like the industrial and domestic consumers, seven CNG stations in the port city are also facing severe gas shortage, forcing the CNG-run vehicles to wait in long queues for hours together for refilling.
   Some 110 more CNG stations are also waiting to have gas supply to go into operation.
   Sources said the gas crisis in Chittagong has been acute after the production fall in Sangu gas field, which is the main source of gas supply. They said the gas supply situation might aggravate further as Sangu is likely to bring down its daily output in December next.
   Against this backdrop, the industry insiders suggested the government to take special measures to increase the gas supply in the port city.
   ‘Otherwise, the economy in the port city will be in jeopardy that will also have a big impact on the national economy,’ said the top executive of an industrial unit in Chittagong.

The University of Dhaka finalised a Tk 144.85-crore budget, with a deficit of Tk 2.4 crore, for the financial year 2007-2008.
   The treasurer, Syed Abul Kalam Azad, will place the budget at the senate session on June 26.
   The major portion of the budget will come from the government allocation. The budget will propose to mobilise Tk 15 crore from internal resources. The internal resource target is Tk 3 crore more than that in the budget of the past year.
   There is an added allocation in the proposed budget for the salary, pension and some other general heads. About Tk 95 crore will be proposed for teachers’ salaries and other allowances and Tk 21.65 crore for pension. Tk 13.7 crore has been proposed in the draft for education. The revised expenditure for the sector in the past budget was Tk 13.2 crore. The proposed budget will be finalised through a finance committee.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed for 45 days the High Court order that asked the authorities concerned to remove all the establishments of the Wonderland Amusement Park at Gulshan in Dhaka.
   The vacation chamber judge of the Appellate Division, Justice Joynul Abedin, passed the order after hearing a petition filed by the park authorities seeking a stay on the operation of the High Court order.
   The High Court on May 24, after hearing a public interest litigation writ petition filed by a local resident, MA Reza, ordered the Wonderland authorities to remove all the establishments of the park within six months.

The GrameenPhone Zainul-Quamrul International Children’s Competition was launched on Tuesday.
   Gandaria Kanchi-Kanchar Mela director, Shafiur Rahman Dulu, inaugurated the biennial competition at the head office of GrameenPhone in Dhaka.
   GP chief marketing officer Stein Naevdal, was present as special guest at the launching ceremony. GP is sponsoring the competition for the third time.
   The competition is open to children aged between three to 16 years. Entries will be accepted till November 30.
   The prize giving ceremony followed by a three-day exhibition of the paintings will be held at National Museum in the first week of December. Top 84 winners will receive GrameenPhone awards, of them four winners will be awarded with gold medals.

The Dhaka City Corporation has been asked to keep constant contact with the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority for keeping the Titipara Pump Station at Kamalapur operational during the rain.
   The decision was taken at a meeting at local government division at the secretariat to resolve the water-logging problems in the city and keep the pavements free from illegal occupants.

Light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely at most places over Chittagong and Sylhet divisions and at many places over Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna and Barisal divisions with moderately heavy to heavy falls at places over the country during the 24-hour period till 6:00pm today, the Met Office said on Tuesday.
   The day temperature may rise slightly over Khulna, Dhaka and Rajshahi division, the Met office added.
   Under the influence of active monsoon over eastern part of Bangladesh heavy to very heavy rainfall may occur at places over Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions during the 24 hours commencing from 3:00pm Tuesday.
   The country’s highest temperature on Tuesday, 35.4 degrees Celsius, was recorded in Jessore and the lowest, 21.2 degrees Celsius, in Chittagong.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 6:47pm and rises tomorrow at 5:10am.
   The Met office predicted improvement in weather in the outlook for subsequent two days.

10 launches
fined in Barisal
A mobile court in a drive here on Tuesday realised Tk 54,000 in fines from 10 launches for violating rules. The court led by first class magistrate Debashis Nag in cooperation with BIWTA authorities conducted the drive. The launches were found operating without fitness certificates, lifebuoys, fire extinguishing equipment and other life-saving materials. Of the 10 launches, Tk 10,000 was realised from Sagar King, Tk 5,000 from Surovi- 3, Tk 5,000 from MV Dalim, Tk 5,000 from Sumona Navigation, Tk 5,000 from Super Sonic-1, Tk 5,000 from MV Mahima, Tk 4,000 from Nasir Khan, Tk 5,000 from Dipraj, Tk 5,000 from Parabat-8 and Tk 5,000 from Surovi- 6.
— BSS