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The number of electrocution has increased alarmingly mainly due to heavy rainstorm, killing several persons and injuring a few hundred during monsoon season every year.
   People become electrocuted or sustain electrocution burn injuries when they come in contact with bare electric wires, submerged non-insulated electric lines, electrified walls, grilles and home appliances due to faulty electric connections and in some incidents short circuit and human errors mount the number of deaths from such incidents, experts said.
   ‘Over 10 per cent patients at burn unit are electrocuted and the number of such accidents not only happens during monsoon, but it is common round the year’, said Dr Samanta Lal Sen, the project director of Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Monday.
   There were 107 burn patients in the 50-bed burn unit till Friday, said the unit director. According to medical experts electrocution burn injuries are more fatal than any burns compared to flame, hot water, or acid, said the burn expert.
   Due to poor monitoring in city slums, the electric wires, that remain vulnerable to electrocution in the areas, kill and injure dozens at a time, said the burn expert.
   Everyday many electrocuted patients are being admitted into hospitals in the country, many of them are loosing vital limbs like hands and legs due to high temperature that is generated in the body when electricity passes through their bodies, he opined.
   Awareness among the users and passers-by could prevent them from being electrocuted and save hundreds of lives, Dr Sen said.
   Mobile phone and TV antennas fall on high-voltage electric supply lines due to gusty wind and rain, causing such accidents availably.
   ‘High-voltage electric wire accounts for the male burn in the country and over 70 per cent of male burn victims admitted into the unit and the hospitals all over the country have suffered electrocution.
   Electrocution is common both in cities and villages because of its widespread use. The number of such incidences increases, particularly during monsoon, because gusty wind often disconnects loose electric wire, he said.
   People unknowingly touched the bare wires and get electrocuted, resulting in either death or burn injuries. Electrified moist electric poles are also responsible for such accidents, said the medical experts.
   Electrocution remains a major cause of deaths of electricians or labourers during construction. According to different surveys, electrocution accounts for about 20 per cent of all fatalities in construction.
   Rods and other construction materials often come in touch with the building-sides and uncovered electric wire and electrify the construction workers when they pull them.
   A Power Development Board official informed that when dishonest people attempt to get electric connections illegally, safety procedures are not followed and most of the lines remain loose and become disconnected during heavy wind especially in monsoon.
   ‘People, who give the illegal connections, always hurry in repairing those wires disconnected by storm or rain and thus the accidents take place,’ he said.
   Tamijuddin (34), an electrician in Dhaka’s Shyamoli area was repairing an electric line at a slum on Thursday, accidentally the wire shocked him with a jerk and his left hand touched a high-voltage line which was just above the electric line he was repairing.
   Tamijuddin was lying in the Central Hospital loosing his left hand due to high-voltage electrocution burn injuries and might be referred to burn unit at DMCH for better treatment, said a physician of the hospital.
   Initial assessments of such burns are difficult as electrification burns the body from deep inside including bones and muscle. In most cases the person becomes disabled because doctors have to amputate nonviable limbs, said experts.

Speakers at a news briefing on Saturday demanded a certain amount of budgetary allocation in the upcoming budget for the development of haor areas in the country.
   The people on marshland under some 48 upazilas in seven north-eastern districts have been living a miserable life for years due to food insecurity, unemployment and natural disasters, they said at the news briefing organised by Nagarik Sanghati, an organisation working on environmental issues, at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity.
   But no government had taken any effective steps to improve standard of living of the people in haor areas since the country’s independence, the speakers added.
   They also urged the government to take action against the ‘corrupt’ officials of Water Development Board and local influential people for misuse of the money allocated for constructing embankment in the haor area.
   They said every year flood causes havoc to crops on vast tract of land in Sylhet because of faulty construction of the embankment in this area.
   Mostafa Jabbar, an IT specialist and resident of haor area, alleged, ‘Politically influential people, contractors and water development board officials plunder a huge amount of money every year with faulty construction of embankment.’ He suggested taking effective steps for permanent solution to protection of the land from flooding.
   The speakers demanded that the existing leasing system to fish in the haor areas should be revised in line with the regulations of 1972 and steps should be taken to protect the people of the area from food insecurity.
   Quoting a survey, the green activists said that the farmers in the haor areas were able to harvest crops only twice between 2001 and 2006. Sharifuzzaman, general secretary of Nagarik Sanghati, said the literacy rate in haor area is less than 38 per cent for fewer numbers of primary schools, shortage of teachers and lack of easy communication.
   Not only educational facility but there is also very limited healthcare service for the people in vast haor area. ‘There is a very few number of hospitals, but one can hardly get a doctor,’ he said.
   Inamul Huq, former director general of Haor Development Board, admitted that the board had failed to make any significant effort to improve living standard of the haor people except undertaking some projects.
   The board under the water resources ministry had been shut down several times since its establishment in 1977, he said blaming the ministry for its inaction and negligence.

Experts at a discussion on Saturday stressed the need for community-based media so that the grassroots people of the country can have access to information.
   Community-based newspaper, radio and television, can functioning as ‘alternative media’ for the grass-roots people to have access to information, they observed at a discussion on ‘World Press Freedom Day-2007’.
   The Department of Mass Communication and Journalism of the Dhaka University organised an the discussion at RC Mojumder auditorium at the DU lecture theatre.
   Associate professor of mass communication and journalism department Robayet Ferdous presented a keynote titled ‘The Ownership of Mass Media and Mass People’s Information Right’ at the function.
   Former information advisor and also editor of the Daily Independent Mahbubul Alam attended the discussion presided over by chairman of the department Prof Sheikh Abdus Salam.
   Dean of social science faculty Prof Dr Harun-ur-Rashid, former chairmen of the department Prof Dr Golam Rahman and Prof Sakhwat Ali Khan and Prof Kazi Abdul Mannan and Dr Abul Monsur from Rajshahi University addressed the function.
   Speaking on the occasion Mahbubul Alam said the media industry would have to be related with other institutions of society. ‘They (media) is not any isolated institution.’ Terming community mass media a ‘very good’ idea, he said this media would speak for the locals. ‘Reading habit should be established among the community people.’
   Harun-ur-Rashid said right to information of all citizens could be ensured through allowing all democratic institutions in the country. ‘There is no alternative to democratic government in the country,’ he told the meet.
   Dr Golam Rahman focused on a paradox the press in Bangladesh is faced with evidently for a lack of its growth as a well-spun industry. He noted that media ownership provides a strong bridge for occupying power.

The Dhaka University authorities published the results of course final examination of 1st year public administration students Saturday evening after the students staged demonstration for publishing their results in the morning.
   Some 200 students demonstrated from 10:00am to 1:00pm in front of the department to press home their three-point demands, including immediate publication of the results. The students said that although the first year examination of 2004-2005 session ended on June 10, 2006, the authorities concerned failed to publish the results on due time.
   The students also demanded punishment for those involved in the admission forgery and repair of the department’s seminar library and computer lab.
   Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, the chairman of the department, said that they sent the result sheet to the examination controller’s office on August 31, 2006 but it was returned as there were no tutorial marks of 11 examinees on the sheet.
   ‘Later we formed a probe committee, headed by Mohammad Mohabbat Khan, to investigate into the irregularities,’ the chairman said, adding, ‘That is why it takes enough time to publish the result.’

Leaders of different civic groups here on Saturday urged the government to provide adequate budgetary allocation for the development of Khulna division.
   The demand came at a discussion jointly organised by the Greater Khulna Development Action Coordination Committee, the Khulna Citizens’ Forum and Sachetan Nagarik Committee at Purbanchal Dialogue Centre in the city.
   They proposed that the government should give adequate allocation in the coming budget to provide gas supply in Khulna through pipeline, complete work on Khan Jahan Ali Airport and Abu Naser Specialized Hospital, set up IT village, 210 MW power plant and construct Padma Bridge at Maowa point.
   They also sought enough budgetary allocation for development of the eight state-owned jute mills in Khulna-Jessore region, protection of the shrimp sector in the
   south-western zone, deep sea port at Akram point, modernisation of the Mongla port and reopening of the closed mills including Khulna Newsprint Mills.
   The Khulna city corporation mayor, Sheikh Tayebur Rahman, the Khulna University vice-chancellor Professor Mahbubur Rahman, Citizen’s Forum chairperson Shaikh Abdul Quyaum, GKDACC secretary general Sheikh Ashrafuzzaman, Khulna Development Authority chief engineer ATM Wahid Azhar, Khulna Chamber and Commerce Industries president Shaharu-zzaman Mortuza, BNP leader Nazrul Islam Monju, Workers’ Party leader Hafizur Rahman Bhuian, spoke on the occasion.
   The Khulna mayor said no governments since the country’s independence had taken proper care for the development of Khulna.
   He mentioned that the government allocated only Tk 7 crore for the Khulna City Corporation while the Dhaka City Corporation got Tk 50 crore and the Sylhet City Corporation got Tk 30 crore in the on-going fiscal year.
   Tayebur also urged the government to provide allocation of at least Tk 25 crore in the coming budget for the city corporation for the development of the Khulna city.
   Other speakers said that the political leaders of Khulna zone during the past governments had did nothing for the development of Khulna .
   They said no significant development took place in Khulna during the last 36 years of country’s independence.
   Meanwhile, the Khulna branch of ‘Janaudyog’ arranged another pre-budget discussion at Umesh Chandra Public Library in the city.
   The speakers demanded enhanced budgetary allocation for development of Khulna division.
   The discussion was addressed, among others, by Gazi Shahidullah, Syed Abdul Matin, Dr Barkat Ali, Mahendranath Sen, Azizul Hasan Dulu and Chisti Muhammad Shahidullah.

The number of the Higher Secondary Certificate examinees under Barisal Board continued to go down for the last three consecutive years.
   During the period, the number of HSC examinees declined by 6,348 to 24,305 this year from 30,653 in 2004.
   Sources in Barisal Education Board said that the number of HSC examinees was 25,618 in 2006 and 27,766 in 2005.
   A decrease in pass percentage in the Secondary School Certificate examination and ‘pressure’ from the education ministry to achieve the minimum target of pass percentage in public examinations are main causes for the decrease in number of HSC examinees, the sources added.
   This year 24,305 HSC examinees — 13,021 male and 11,284 female — will sit for the examination at 71 centres under six districts. Of them, 14,134 have been enrolled from humanities group while 3,358 from science group and 6,813 from commerce group.
   A total of 8,579 students have been enrolled to sit for the HSC examination from Barisal while 4,157 from Patuakhali, 3,285 from Bhola, 2,306 from Barguna, 2,137 from Jhalakati and 3,841 from Pirojpur.
   Meanwhile, 20 vigilance teams comprising teachers and board officials have been formed to check unfair means in the examination, the sources said.

Rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely at a two places over the Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions till 6:00pm today, said the Met Office in a forecast on Saturday.
   The prevailing mild heat wave over western part of the country including Dhaka may continue.
   Day temperature may remain nearly unchanged. The highest temperature on Friday, 39.2 degrees Celsius, was recorded in Rajshahi and the lowest, 24.4 degrees Celsius, in Jessore and Cox’s Bazar.
   The sun sets in the capital city today at 6:29pm and rises on Monday at 5:20am.

Girls’ enrolment in secondary school in Bangladesh jumped to 3.9 million in 2005, from 1.1 million in 1991, including an increasing number of girls from disadvantaged or remote areas.
   ‘This has enabled Bangladesh to achieve one of its Millennium Development Goals ahead of time — gender parity in education,’ said a World Bank press release.
   The Bangladesh Female Secondary School Assistance Programme, financed by International Development Association, supported a government programme to improve access to secondary education for girls by providing tuition stipends.
   Appreciating Bangladesh’s success, the WB said female enrolment, as a percentage of total enrolment, increased from 33 per cent in 1991 to 48 per cent in 1997 and about 56 per cent in 2005.
   Secondary School Certificate pass rates for girls in the project area increased from 39 per cent in 2001 to 58 per cent in 2006, it added.
   Some 66,000 members of school management committees have been trained in school management accountability, with a focus on education quality and a conducive learning school environment.
   A total of 6,666 schools — many more than originally targeted — are currently participating in the programme, through a cooperation agreement with the ministry of education.
   ‘Indirect benefits of the project included delays in the age of marriage and reduced fertility rates, better nutrition, and more females employed with higher incomes,’ the WB said.
   IDA helped build and strengthen a programme management unit within the ministry of education, Bangladesh that now manages and oversees the stipend programme.
   A key innovation was the direct funding mechanism featuring the transfer of stipends directly from banks to individual girls’ bank accounts.
   The programme has proven ground-breaking in addressing girls’ access to education, and is recognised worldwide as a pioneering undertaking. As a result, the government of Bangladesh decided to expand the programme nationwide.
   A number of other countries, learning from Bangladesh experience, have implemented similar stipend or conditional cash transfer programmes with IDA support. Having achieved gender parity at the country level, the government is now focusing more on how to reach economically and geographically disadvantaged girls — as well as poor boys.

Police nab 33 in Rajshahi
The police, in separate raids, arrested 33 alleged criminals from different areas under the metropolis and nine police stations of the district during the last 24 hours. According to the sources in the police, of the detained persons, 12 were arrested under Rajshahi Metropolitan Police ordinance and six others under warrant of arrest or complaints lodged against them with the police stations. The rest of them were arrested on charge of violating motor vehicle rule, the sources said.
— BSS

Trader’s house robbed in Chittagong
A band of armed robbers Friday night looted savings bonds worth Tk 5 lakh, 40 bhoris of gold ornaments and cash from the house of a tin trader Swapan Dutta at Asadganj in the port city. The Kotwali police said between four and five robbers took away the savings bonds and gold ornaments at gunpoint from the house on the Khuillah Miah wholesale market in Asadganj which remains closed on Friday. The robbers entered Swapan Dutta’s house at about 9:00pm, passing them off as their relatives, the police said. No case has yet been filed in this connection.
— bdnews24.com