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

Archive «
Launch Supplement «
Special Supplements «

The Dhaka mayor, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, who completed his five-year term on Monday, advocated taking an integrated 50-year master plan to keep the Dhaka city, overburdened with huge population and transports, fit for human habitation.
   Addressing a press conference at Nagar Bhaban, Khoka also decided to send three letters to the interim government today, requesting it to take steps to take the master plan, save the rivers in and around the city including them in the master plan and bring the corporation under the ongoing reforms programme.
   Khoka, who will continue his assignment till an elected mayor takes over, said the corporation in one of the letters would request the government to take the master plan taking into consideration the increasing number of population and transport, the utility service agencies, area of the city and other important issues.
   ‘If the government fails to take proper measures from now under a long-term master plan, the sufferings of the city dwellers will be kept mounting, he said.
   Although the people and transports have been increasing day by day in the city, new roads are not being constructed as per the demand, he said.
   In another letter, the corporation will request the government to take effective measures to save Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakhya rivers and include them in the master plan.
   About reforms in the corporation, content of the third letter, Khoka said the administrative power of the corporation should be strengthened and some of its acts should be amended.
   ‘As the interim government is bringing reforms to many sectors for which they are being appreciated widely, we will request them to include the corporation under the reforms programme,’ Khoka, who was a lawmaker in the immediate past BNP government, said.
   The outgoing mayor, who arranged the conference to mark the completion of his five-year term and talked a little about political issues, however, criticised the ‘culture of filing cases against political opponents to harass them’.
   ‘Cases were filed against many Awami League leaders and activists during the tenure of BNP while many BNP leaders and activists sued during the Awami League rule,’ he said adding ‘We have to come out of the culture and work unitedly for the nation.’
   Asked about his recent remarks about BNP, he said, ‘I have made the comments for the betterment of the party in future.’
   He also reiterated that he would not hold any government post after handing over the power to an elected mayor.
   ‘I have no wish to do work in any government office or hold any public post anymore. I shall, however, continue working for the people,’ he said.
   Asked about the corruption in the corporation, he said if there was any specific allegation, they would probe it and take action if anyone found guilty.
   ‘Even the people can lodge compliant to the Anti Corruption Commission against me if they have any specific allegation and I am ready to face it,’ he added.
   Mentioning some of his successes, he said the corporation with the assistance of JICA had taken a 15-year master plan for the solid waste management, implementation of which would significantly improve the waste management system.
   Steps have already been taken to construct four graveyards, he added.
   He stressed the need for a special force to take action against hawkers, who are violating the corporation rules and regulations.
   Khoka announced that the corporation would increase compensation for the employees, who will die or become physically disabled for any incidents while on duty.
   ‘We have decided to increase compensation from Tk 50,000 to Tk 1 lakh for those who will die and to Tk 50,000 from Tk 25,000 if anyone becomes disabled for any incidents while on duty. If there is any qualified member in the victim’s family, he/she will be given appointment to the post.’

The Chittagong Development Authority has decided to take a housing project involving Tk 100 crore for the female garment workers to ease their exhausting commuting from work to home.
   Sources in the CDA said a dormitory, comprising of 1,000 beds, and 100 tiny flats, each two-bed, will be constructed on two acres of land at Saltgola in Patenga area.
   The CDA would sell the two-bed flats directly to the female garment workers in instalments while the dormitory floors to the owners of garment
   factories in instalments for providing residential facilities to the female workers of their respective industries, the sources said.
   The authority will provide all sorts of civic facilities, including market, hospital and playground, to the project site and ask the garment owners to ensure the use of the dormitory only by the garment workers, the sources added.
   The first vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, MA Salam, told New Age that they had
   been urging the CDA to take residential projects for the female garment workers for a few years.
   He also said that the female garment workers, dwelling in rented houses in different parts of the city, were facing hassles commuting between their workplaces and homes adding that they were also facing different sorts of insecurities.
   ‘A number of female workers go back to their village home due to the severe housing problem in the city,’ he said adding that implementation of the project would ease the problem significantly.
   Shah Mohammed Akhteruddin, chairman of the CDA, said they had sent the project proposal to the
   ministry for approval adding that they would initiate the project soon after getting the approval.
   ‘We are contemplating taking more residential projects for the workers at other industrial areas in the city,’ he said adding that the garment industries would ease the housing problem of workers.

The president, Iajuddin Ahmed, on Monday asked the university authorities to take state-of-the-art curricula so the students can work at the cutting-edge of technology and make them worthy anywhere in the world.
   The president’s call came a day after the government had published a list of private universities proscribed for their alleged mushroom growth without going through due process.
   ‘It needs huge competent and capable human resources to play a vital role in creating human resources to address our challenges in an era of globalisation. I believe universities, private or public, can play a vital role in creating human resources to face the challenges of the time,’ he told the 6th convocation of the East-West University at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre.
   He also emphasised adopting appropriate measures for stopping brain drain for the sake of the country as many students and teachers do not come back home after taking higher degrees abroad.
   Iajuddin called upon all concerned to come forward to stop brain drain, saying: It is our prime duty to ensure employment opportunity for the capable and highly qualified persons in the country in order to stop brain drain.
   Regarding the standard of university education he said it is desired that all the universities would maintain the highest standard at the level of higher education on appropriate curricula of world class, creating congenial atmosphere and providing concerted efforts for the sake of the students as well as the nation.
   He also emphasised providing proper education to the students so that they can make them capable and differentiate between right and wrong in their way of life.
   He asked the graduates that they would use their knowledge with a grand vision in mind, a vision of the prosperity of the country and the nation.
   The knowledge of the students is for the service of Bangladesh as it needs their youthful energy, innovative spirit and sincere dedication, said the President.
   An East West University press release adds: Six hundred and forty-four undergraduate and graduate students were conferred degrees at the convocation. Eleven students were also honoured with gold medals for their outstanding academic performance.
   The adviser in charge of the education ministry, Ayub Quadri, was present as special guest at the function addressed, among others, by the university vice-chancellor, Professor Mohammed Sharif, president of the university’s board of directors, Jalaluddin Ahmed, and Maksuda Hafeez. Jamal Nazrul Islam, professor emeritus of Chittagong University, was the convocation speaker.

Teachers and students of the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet on Monday demanded trial of the killers of the university student Mosharraf Hussain Shamim.
   The demand came at a rally held on the campus to mark the first anniversary of the death of Shamim who was killed in police firing during a clash.
   The speakers at the rally regretted that the killers of Shamim had not yet been brought to book even after one year of the killing.
   They urged the chief adviser to the caretaker government, Fakhruddin Ahmed, to take immediate steps against the killers, campus sources said.
   On Sunday, the university teachers and students brought out a mourning procession demanding arrest and punishment of the persons involved in the killing.
   The procession that started from the central library building paraded different roads on the campus.
   Shamim, a 3rd year student of the public administration, sustained severe bullets in police firing during a clash between the students of the university students and private medical college on May 12, 2006. He died at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka on May 14 the same year.

A housewife was stabbed to death allegedly by her husband at Badda in the Dhaka city early Monday.
   The victim was identified as Rubi Akther, 18, wife of Raihan.
   Neighbours of Rubi informed the police as they saw blood in front of the closed door of her rented house.
   The police broke open the house at about 2:00pm and recovered the body of the Rubi lying in a pool of blood on the floor.
   The police said Rubi might have been killed sometime Sunday night.
   The reason for the killing could not be ascertined immidiately.
   The body was sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue for a post-mortem examination. Raihan went into hiding after the killing. A case was filed in this connection.

A mobile court, led by metropolitan magistrate Rokon Ud-Doula, raided the Advance Food Industries Private Limited at Uttarkhan, under Uttara police in the city and found the company marketing adulterated mustard oil.
   The court also found that the company did not renew its licence and marketed atta, maida and sugar in packets without having proper weight.
   The court filed a case under the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute ordinance and fined its owner, M Faisal, Tk 1 lakh, in default, to suffer one year in prison.
   The court also filed another case against the company and fined Tk 5,000 as the company was found marketing the products with less weight.
   Another court, led by Md Delwar Hossain, raided different transport offices across the city and found operating buses without route permits and any driving licence.
   The court also has sent five public buses of different companies to the Rampura police stations for dumping as the transports had no route permit.
   The court filed some sixteen cases under the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority ordinance and realised Tk 16,000 in fines.
   A mobile court, led by Dhaka City Corporation magistrate Md Fashiullah, conducted raids on Hridoy bakery and a local hospital in Kamrangir Char area, filed two cases and realised Tk 70,000 in fines from them.
   The court found 35 workers of the bakery working without any proper dresses while the technicians of the hospital were found working without any aprons and gloves in the hospital.
   Metropolitan magistrate Azharul Islam conducted a drive at a confectionary in the city's Adabar area and found it running without BSTI approval and city corporation licence.
   The court also raided a mineral water factory at Mohammadpur and found it operating without any trade licence.
   The court filed two cases and issued warrants for arrest of the owners of these companies as they managed escape arrest when mobile court reached the area.
   A mobile court, led by AKM Dinarul Islam, raided different restaurants and shops in Gulshan area, filed five cases and realised Tk 51,000 in fines for poor hygienic environment and running without any city corporation licence.
   Another metropolitan magistrate, Abi Abdullah, raided different organisations including the Milk Vita, Ceramic Brick Company, some restaurants and a mineral water factory in Mirpur area. The court filed seven cases and realised Tk 76,100 in fines for unhygienic environment.
   Mobile court, led by Nazirul Islam, conducted drive at kitchen markets, different hotels and Chinese restaurants in Rampura bazar and Malibagh area and found them running business in unhygienic environment and also without any trade licence.
   The court found the traders of the kitchen markets, selling goods using wooden scales and giving short measures. The court filed twenty cases and realised Tk 75,600 in fines.
   A mobile court, led by Mohammad Delwar Hossain, conducted drives at two restaurants in Ramna area. The court filed two cases under the Dhaka City Corporation Ordinance and realised Tk 35,000 in fines.
   Metropolitan magistrate Abdul Alim conducted drive at two shops of electronic goods in the city's Wari area and found them selling unauthorised electronic appliances.
   The court filed two cases and issued warrant for arrest of one seller while the court fined other person with Tk 1 lakh.

A Chittagong mobile court on Monday arrested three persons and realised Tk 8.25 lakh in fines from different business enterprises, residential houses and an oil tanker on different charges.
   The court, led by special metropolitan magistrate Mohammed Munir Chowdhury, arrested three employees of the Nahar Food Products in East Maderbari area for producing food without approval of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute.
   The court also seized one tonne of substandard food items from the factory and sealed it off alongside filing a case against the owner, who fled the scene sensing the presence of the court.
   The court, in another drive, realised Tk 7.70 lakh in outstanding bill and fines from 18 subscribers of the Chittagong Water Supply and Sewerage Authority in Nasirabad, Baizid Bostami and Reazuddin Bazar areas on charge of pilfering water.
   The court realised Tk 30, 000 in fines from a Chittagong Port Authority employee on charge of renting out a CPA house to the outsiders illegally.
   The same court also realised Tk 25, 000 in fines from Abul Kashem, captain of an oil tanker MT Madina-1, and seized his certificate for plying the vessel riskily.

One person was killed and three others were injured when a truck and an auto-rickshaw collided head-on at Arongghata on the Khulna bypass road in the city on Monday.
   The police and witnesses said a Jessore-bound truck collided with and an auto-rickshaw bound for Daulatpur at Arongghata at about 3:300pm leaving one dead on the spot and three others injured.
   The deceased was identified as Mokbul Joardar, 48, of Modhugram village in Dumuria upazila of the district.
   The injured —Nazrul Islam, Khobir Sheikh and Biplob — were admitted to the Khulna Medical College Hospital in a critical condition.

Moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely at most places over Chittagong, Barisal, Khulna and Sylhet divisions at many places over Rajshahi and Dhaka with moderately heavy to heavy falls at places over Chittagong, Barisal and Sylhet during the 24-hour period till 6:00pm today, Met Office said.
   The day temperature may fall by 2-3 degrees Celsius over the country. The country’s highest temperature on Monday, 34.0 degrees Celsius, was recorded in Chuadanga and the lowest, 22.1 degrees Celsius, at Sandwip.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 6:34pm and rises tomorrow at 5:16am.

Two robbed, injured in capital
Two people were injured by muggers in the city’s Mohammadpur and Rampura areas on Monday. At Mohammadpur, a band of assailants intercepted Mohammad Hanif, 30, a cabbie, near Satmasjid Road while he was returning to his house after parking his cab at a garage at Chan Miah Housing at about 1:30am. The assailants shot him in the hand and took away cash and a mobile phone from him. He was admitted to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. In another incident, muggers stopped the rickshaw of Tojam Ali, 28, near the Bangladesh Television gate at about 7:45am. The muggers stabbed him indiscriminately and took away Tk 15,000. Tojam was hospitalised.
— New Age

Young man dies falling from
rooftop in Khulna
A young man died falling from the rooftop of a building at Iqbal Nagar in the Khulna city Sunday night. Witnesses said Saidur Rahman, 26, son of Ali Hossain, a tenant of the five-storey building, went to the rooftop with the other family members during a load shedding at about 9:00pm. At one stage, he slipped and fell on the ground. He was rushed to Khulna Medical College Hospital and died there at about 10:00pm. An unnatural death case was filed.
— UNB