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The detained chief forest conservator, Osman Gani, on Wednesday submitted his wealth statement to the Anti-Corruption Commission, claiming to own property worth only Tk 4,58,15,000 and 300 tolas gold.
   The ACC’s secretary, Delwar Hossain, on June 13 notified Osman Gani to submit his statement of assets. The joint forces arrested Gani for his involvement in wholesale corruption on June 29.
   The joint forces found that Gani’s ill-gotten money, amounting to about one crore takas, was stashed in pillows, rice barrels, mattresses and shopping bags. The lucre he had hidden in his home had to be counted with a counting machine borrowed from a private bank.
   Foreign currency of $1,333 and 3,000 Indonesian rupees were also sized from Gani’s possession.
   According to Gani’s statement, he and his wife own immoveable property worth Tk 1,32,50,000; and their movable property includes savings certificates of Tk 1,45,65,000, and Tk 1 crore in cash that was seized by the government after his flat was raided by the joint forces.
   Others assets owned by them are a five-storied residence on five kathas of land on Maneshar Road in Jigatola which is apparently worth only Tk 62 lakh, and three plots of land — one in Purbachal Model Town on 7.5 kathas of land worth Tk 15 lakh, another in Uttara Model Town on five kathas of land, and the third also in Uttara on five kathas.
   The couple also own farmland on 15 kathas in Dakkhin Khan in Uttara and home town Barisal, according to Osman Gani who submitted his wealth statement to the ACC through the Dhaka Jail authority.
   The ACC, at a meeting on Wednesday, decided to re-investigate the complaints against former minister for civil aviation and tourism Mosharraf Hossain, president of AL’s Chittagong south unit Akteruzzaman Chowdhury Babul and president of AL’s Munshiganj district Mahiuddin Ahmed for flaws in the investigation against them.

Government and business leaders of Fiji have shown keen interest in Bangladeshi products and its service sector.
   The interest was shown when Bangladesh’s high commissioner to the Fiji Islands, Humayun Kabir, met Fiji’s health minister, Jona B Senilagakali, and the president of the Fiji Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Swani K Maharaj, on Wednesday in Suva, the capital of Fiji, said a foreign ministry press release.
   During his meeting with the Fiji’s health minister, Humayun proposed that they consider Bangladesh as a possible supplier of medicines, given the high standard and huge capacity of Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical sector.
   Senilagakali, Fiji’s health minister, said that her government is in the process of diversifying its import market for pharmaceutical products to reduce its overwhelming dependence on the expensive markets of Australia and New Zealand.
   Fiji is now focusing on South Asia, that includes Bangladesh, as a possible source of medicine.
   Fiji will soon place an order for bulk purchase of pharmaceutical products worth FJ$200 million and other pacific island states will soon follow suit.
   She indicated that mutual visits by the concerned parties in both the countries would help formalise Bangladesh’s inclusion as one of the sources of pharmaceuticals products, said a release of the Bangladesh mission in Canberra.
   Humayun also proposed that the health sector of Fiji engage doctors, paramedics and nurses from Bangladesh. Fiji is now suffering from acute shortage of health professionals.
   The health minister responded positively to the proposal and referred to the good services provided by the Bangladeshi doctors already employed in Fiji.
   Humayun Kabir, during his discussion with the president of the Fiji Chamber of Commerce and Industries, proposed to energise the two country’s trade relations for the mutual benefit of both Fiji and Bangladesh.
   He requested Maharaj to take a look at Bangladeshi export products that are of high quality but of very competitive price.
   Maharaj showed particular interest in pharmaceutical products, readymade garments and Bangladeshi cotton saris. He also showed keen interest in launching joint ventures with Bangladesh.
   The high commissioner proposed to increase trade links between the chamber bodies of the two countries through bilateral visits, and Maharaj responded positively.
   The chamber’s president also showed great interest in the activities of Grameen Bank and BRAC.
   On Tuesday Bangladesh’s high commissioner Humayun Kabir presented his credentials to Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda, president of the Republic of the Fiji Islands, in Suva Fiji.
   Bangladesh is ready to help Fiji in its developmental efforts with skilled and semi-skilled manpower.
   During the ceremony the Bangladesh high commissioner conveyed the greetings of the president of Bangladesh to the president of Fiji and the friendly people of Fiji.
   He also expressed his satisfaction at the friendly relations that exist between Bangladesh and Fiji.
   The president of Fiji also expressed his goodwill and commented that Fiji is proud to have Bangladesh as its friend.
   Humayun also expressed Bangladesh’s willingness to work in collaboration with Fiji on issues of mutual interest with special emphasis on UN peacekeeping, addressing climate change, and tackling developmental issues including micro-credit and women’s empowerment.
   The president of Fiji showed keen interest in the ideas espoused by the high commissioner and said that Fiji would be ready to work with Bangladesh.

Khulna Development Forum has demanded allocation of funds in the budget for fiscal 2007-08 for ensuring gas supply through pipeline for industrial development in the country’s southern region.
   Forum’s convenor Sharif Shafiqul Hamid Chandan and member secretary Syed Afzal Baker in joint statement on Wednesday also asked for modernisation of Mongla Port and development of infrastructures in the region.
   The statement alleged that the previous democratic governments had showed indifferent attitude towards Khulna region and urged the interim government to put an end to the discrimination.
   The forum leaders welcomed the interim government’s drive against corruption.

Doctors working on contract at BIRDEM Hospital continued with their strike for the third consecutive day on Wednesday as the hospital authorities failed to propose a way of regularising their jobs.
   The director general of Bangladesh Institute for Research in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolism Hospital, Ziauddin Ahmed, told New Age that he sat with the doctors at a meeting and requested them to return to work, but they did not.
   ‘They now have to wait for the return of AK Azad Khan, secretary general of Diabetic Association, Bangladesh, from abroad on Saturday,’ Ziauddin said.
   He also told New Age that the problem might be discussed at the upcoming national council of BIRDEM slated for June 30.
   Almost all the services at the specialised hospital have come to a halt since Monday as about 250 physicians appointed on contract went on a strike in demand of permanent jobs. They also announced to undertake a series of agitation programmes until the demand was met.
   The day saw many patients coming from across the country to the hospital forced to seek treatment from other hospitals in the city.

Acting law, justice and parliamentary affairs secretary Ali Ashraf Khan Lodi has been promoted to the rank of a secretary.
   The establishment ministry issued a gazette notification to this effect on Wednesday, backdated on Tuesday, just a day before his going on leave preparatory to retirement.
   Lodi is supposed to go on leave preparatory to retirement today, according to official records. Now he will get all benefits entitled to a secretary if he takes the leave preparatory to retirement.

Bangladesh has potentials to increase the orange production by four times to 60,000 tonnes, which is enough to meet 60 per cent of the annual demand for the juicy fruit, said agriculturists.
   Development of new varieties, preservation of germplasm and introduction of modern cultivation can increase the production of orange significantly, they said at a workshop at the Khamarbari in Dhaka on Wednesday.
   Bangladesh now produces around 14,000 tonnes of orange on 1167 hectares of land. Lack of quality plants, technology and poor nurturing of plants impede further expansion of orange cultivation, they said.
   Development of varieties through introducing budding technology and encouraging the homestead gardening could raise the local orange production by 45,000 tonnes a year, they forecast.
   The country’s annual orange demand is estimated at 90,000 tonnes, which is mostly met by imports.
   Director general of Department of Agriculture Extension Dr Rahim Uddin Ahmed chaired the session, while agriculture secretary M Abdul Aziz was the chief guest. Project coordinating director MA Salam and director general of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute M Harun-ur-Rashid also spoke.
   Now the country produces orange varieties like khasia-mandarin in some areas of Panchagarh, Chittagong Hill Tracts and hilly area of
   greater Sylhet. But the land under orange cultivation is declining due to nurturing problem, pest attack and traditional system of cultivation, the experts said.
   Based on a report of the task force formed in 2003 to identify prospects and problems of orange production, the government undertook a five-year project ( 2006-2011) for developing orange production in 40 upazilas of 10 districts.
   The hilly and flood plain land in some parts of Sylhet, Hobiganj, Sunamganj, Moulvibazar, Chittagong, Chittagong hill Tracts, Cox’s Bazar, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Tangail, Mymensingh and Gazipur have been found suitable for orange cultivation.
   Between the period of 1970 and 1990, orange cultivation area and production declined to 336 hectares and 915 tonnes from 840 hectares and 3600 tonnes respectively, said the agriculture secretary.
   Country’s overall demand for fruits is around 43 lakh tonnes, while the local production of seasonal fruits stands at around 18 lakh tonnes. About 15 lakh hectares of land in the hill tracts and another 3 lakh hectares in Barind area are good for orange production, said M Harun-ur-Rashid.

Japan under its new loan package on Wednesday pledged to provide $291 million in loan assistance with nominal interest for three development projects of Bangladesh.
   The Japanese ambassador in Dhaka, Masayuki Inoue, formally apprised the chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, of the pledge of Japan when he called on him at his office.
   This would be the first such big amount of loan assistance by a development partner to the present caretaker government after it assumed power on January 12 this year, said an official.
   The projects for which the soft loan would be utilised are New Haripur Power Plant’s 360MW Development Project Part I involving $144 million, Dhaka-Chittagong Railway Development Project with $104 million and Water Resources Development Project involving $43 million.
   The repayment period for the loan assistance is 40 years with a grace period of 10 years with 0.01 per cent interest per annum, according to the chief adviser’s press secretary, Syed Fahim Munaim, who was present at the meeting.
   Expressing gratitude for the loan assistance, the chief adviser assured the Japanese ambassador that it would be used in a transparent manner as per the guidelines.
   The Japanese ambassador said Japan had a great confidence in the caretaker government and the loan assistance was the reflection of that support to the chief adviser and his government.
   Inoue said the Japanese government and its people wanted to continue support to Bangladesh for its development.
   The chief adviser said Bangladesh was on the right track of Millennium Development Goals and poverty alleviation despite difficulties.
   He also welcomed increased Japanese investment in Bangladesh in the present investment-friendly climate and attractive incentives on offer for the foreign investors.
   As the Japanese envoy requested the chief adviser to complete the Japan-funded ongoing projects soon, the chief adviser directed the ERD secretary to take necessary actions to that end.
   ERD secretary Aminul Islam Bhuiyan was also present on the occasion.

The forest department suspended two more officials Wednesday for long absence from work and alleged involvement in corruption, while the Anti-Corruption Commission started investigating a case filed against 80 forest officials.
   The suspended officials are MA Atiqul Azam, forest conservator of Chittagong circle, and Tapon Kumar Day, divisional forest officer of Chittagong north.
   Earlier, eight forest officials were suspended on accusation of graft on June 25, the day on which Saidur Rahman, an assistant director of the ACC, filed the case with the Gulshan police against 80 forest officials.
   ACC staffers have started gathering evidence against them, police sources said, adding M Anwarul Islam, a former chief conservator of forest, was the prime accused in the case.
   Law enforcers, meanwhile, continued to interrogate Shamsul Azam, deputy chief forest conservator, and Ali Kabir Haider, forest conservator of central zone, about their alleged involvement in corruption.