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The country’s first sanitary landfill site at Matuail was launched Wednesday with the aim to reduce the risks of health and environmental hazards and make the city clean by 2015.
   The Dhaka mayor, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, launched the landfill site, constructed at a cost of Tk 46.63 crore as per the master plan on solid waste management formulated in 2005 with the technical assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
   The operation of the landfill site has been carried out in a systematic manner in which wastes are disposed of in layers, compacted and covered by a layer of matured wastes at the end of each day’s operation, said the project director, Tariq Bin Yousuf, who made a presentation on the project at the programme.
   The working roads are being constructed on the waste using construction debris to facilitate movement of waste transporting trucks to go up and dispose waste debris up to 20 metre height, he said.
   Major sanitary landfill components introduced under the project were leachate collection and vac venting system, surface drainage improvement, systematic operation of waste by daily coverage, slope reformation, working roads, weighbridge operation and vehicle washing facilities, he said.
   Addressing the function, Khoka said the site has to be sustainable and its activities to be continued.
   ‘This [Matuail landfill site] will be one of the best works of my career as the Dhaka mayor, and the landfill will increase the confidence of the city dwellers on the corporation,’ he said.
   Khoka said they had to spend about Tk 114 crore a year for waste management while they would get Tk 25 crore from holding tax and rest of the money would come from subsidy.
   ‘If we could spend Tk 300 crore a year in this sector it would be possible to make Dhaka clean like Singapore City,’ he said.
   The Japanese ambassador in Dhaka, Masayuki Inoue, said the landfill site was the first successful pilot application
   of sanitary landfill system under the Clean Dhaka Master Plan of JICA’s development study programme and built with the financial support from the Japan Debt Cancellation Fund.
   ‘In the case of Bangladesh, most of the primary collection service providers are facing difficulties in investing in further expansion of their activities for lack of funds. A loan scheme through city corporations or through NGOs could be thought of for investment in primary collection at community level,’ he said.
   ‘The city corporation should make efforts to develop the primary collection methods to improve efficiency and test alternative equipment for accessing remote and impenetrable areas,’ he said adding that the community solid waste management should ideally comprise of public awareness, facilitation and primary collection support activities.
   The JICA resident representative in Dhaka, Nobuko Suzuki Kayashima, said the DCC and JICA are working together for a common goal of realising proper solid waste management in the Dhaka city. ‘Today, one of the major tasks for realising
   the objective has been accomplished through successful inauguration of this landfill site.’
   She also stressed proper operation and maintenance of the landfill. ‘Without efficient operation and monitoring of the surrounding environment all the efforts of establishing this landfill will be fruitless.’
   The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology vice-chancellor, AMM Shafiullah, said the green space after filling up the site would be 80 acres and it would be used as a picnic spot or a park.

Swindlers has become active in cheating people with counterfeit currency notes during Eid shopping at different shopping malls and markets in the port city.
   Currency notes drawn from different banks are also found to be counterfeit in some cases, some bank customers alleged.
   Mohiuddin Shahajahan, owner of a readymade garment shop at Lucky Plaza in the city, told New Age that he had received six fake notes of Tk 500 denomination from the customers in the past three days.
   The owner of my adjacent shop were deceived with two fake notes of Tk 500 on Tuesday, he said adding that the swindlers deceive them mainly at night when they remain busy with the customers..
   Sources at the New Market, VIP Tower, Mimi Super Market, Chittagong Shopping Complex, Bangkok Singapore Market and Central Plaza also reported cases of deception with counterfeit notes.
   Razib Chowdhury, a garment by-product businessman at Halishahar in the city, said he got a fake note of Tk 500 out of Tk 50, 000 drawn from the Agrabad branch of a commercial bank two days back.
   ‘I lodged complaint with the bank counter but they refused to change the note,’ he said adding that the bank staffers even threatened to hand over him to the police.
   When contacted, Ashiqul Hoque Bhuyan, assistant commissioner of the Chittagong Metropolitan Police, said they were aware of the matter and have already arrested some swindlers with fake notes since the beginning of the Ramadan.
   ‘We are conducting drives against the swindlers,’ he said and urged the city dwellers to inform the law enforcers immediately after anybody offers fake notes to them.

The Bangladesh Railway and the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation start selling advance tickets for Eid-ul-Fitr from today.
   The railway authorities detailing their services said the sale of advance tickets would continue till October 8 for journey by special trains that would run from October 9 and continue up to October 13.
   The advance tickets will be sold at Kamalapur railway station on October 4 for the journey on October 9, followed by October 5 for October 10, October 6 for October 11, October 7 for October 12 and on October 8 for October 13, railway sources said.
   The sale of tickets will start at 8:00am and continue up to 4:00pm amid strict security to check black marketing. One person can buy maximum four tickets. However, more tickets can be collected after taking permission from the railway officer concerned, the sources added.
   Two pairs of special trains will run on the Chittagong-Chandpur route from October 10-24 except Eid day and a pair of trains will ply the Dhaka-Dewanganj route from October 10-20, a railway official told New Age.
   Besides, additional railway carriages will be added with regular inter-city and mail trains, the official said.
   The state-run BRTC, which also start selling advance tickets today and will continue it till October 8. It will operate special service with 575 buses on 122 routes across the country from October 9 and continue special service eight more days after Eid.
   Anyone can buy four tickets at a time. The sale of advance tickets will start at 10:00am today at Motijheel bus depot as well as other depots simultaneously, BRTC chairman Hedayetullah Al Mamoon said.
   Advance tickets will be available at BRTC bus depots in Kalyanpur, Mirpur, Motijheel and Joarsahara in Dhaka, and bus terminals in Chittagong, Rangpur, Bogra, Barisal, Comilla, Pabna, Narsingdi and Khulna.
   The bus tickets will be sold today for the journey on October 9, followed by October 5 on October 10, October 6 on October 11, October 7 on October 12 and October 8 on October 13, BRTC sources said.
   The fares will be less compared to those of private services and fare charts will be posted at the depots concerned.
   If any lessee operating BRTC buses charges passengers higher fare than the rate fixed by the government, the lease will be cancelled and BRTC itself will operate the services instantly, according to BRTC officials.
   Buses will also be operated from Gabtali, Mohakhali and Sayedabad terminal premises apart from the BRTC depots, the sources added.
   A sub-control room will be opened at BRTC depot in Motijheel on October 11 to smoothly run the special service. The contact number of the sub-control room is 9333803.
   Besides, a help desk will work at the BRTC head office as control room. The contact number of the control room
   is 9564361 and mobile 01713003325.
   In the capital, BRTC bus service will continue as usual and operate Volvo double-deckers on the Motijheel-Mirpur route on Eid day with special arrangement, the sources said.
   Seats will be reserved for women and physically challenged passengers at BRTC buses. They will be able to travel under special arrangement.
   BRTC will also operate bus service for four days from Eid day for the tourists who will visit Dhaka Zoo, Botanical Garden, National Mausoleum, Jamuna Bridge, Fantasy Kingdom and Nandan Park for amusement.
   The tourist buses will run from Joarsahara bus depot as per the demand of passengers, the sources said, adding that to ensure smooth journey of homebound passengers, more buses might be included in the fleet from city bus services, if necessary.

The Bangladesh Railway today starts selling advance tickets for Eid on three routes from Chittagong.
   Sources at Chittagong Zone of Bangladesh Railway said they would sell tickets for journeys on October 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 on the Chittagong-Dhaka, Chittagong -Sylhet and Chittagong-Chandpur routes.
   Tickets for October 9 will be sold on the first day while for October 10 on Friday, for October 11 on Saturday, for October 12 on Sunday and tickets for October 13 will be sold on Monday, they said.
   The tickets can be collected from the Chittagong railway station and one person will be able to but a maximum of four tickets, the sources said, adding that if anyone needs more than four tickets, he/she will have to apply to the stationmaster.

Textbooks for Class-I, Class-II and Class-III written in languages of the ethnic minority communities were unwrapped at a ceremony held at the Karitus training centre in the port city on Wednesday.
   Karitus Bangladesh, a non-governmental organisation, published eight textbooks in Chakma, Marma and Tripura languages under its project, Samonnita Samaj Unnayan Prakalpa.
   The books were launched to educate children of teh ethnic minority communities in their own languages in the three hill districts — Bandarban, Khagrachari, and Bandarban of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
   Education of ethnic minority community children through the books will begin from the next academic year.
   A seven-member committee has worked to implement the project with a view to attracting children of ethnic minority to receive education in their mother tongue, which was also a longstanding demand of the ethnic minority community people in the country.
   Speaking on the occasion, some minority community leaders said it is a historical progress in education of ethnical community in Bangladesh.
   Primary education through our mother tongue will help the future generation to remember our colourful heritage and culture, they told the function.
   Chaired by the Karitus executive director, Dr Benedict Alo D Rogerio, the function was addressed, among others, by the chairman of Bandarban District Council, Professor Thanzama Lusai.
   A total of 31 schools operated by the Karitus Bangladesh in the three hilly districts will include the books in their curriculum from the next academic session, the sources said.
   The Karitus is operating 22 schools in Bandarban, five schools at Manikchari of Khagrachari and the remaining four schools at Rajsthali of the hill district of Rangamati, the sources added.

A mob beat a suspected mugger to death and injured two others at Gendaria, and a young man, stabbed by muggers at Pallabi Tuesday night, died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Wednesday.
   The police said three muggers intercepted businessman Russell near Gendaria Dhupkhola ground under Sutrapur police area at about 7:00am and stabbed him in a bid to snatch money.
   As the victim cried for help, the locals reached the spot and caught the three red handed. The mob beat them up severely until the police rescued them.
   The police took them to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where Abul Hashem, 25, died at about 8:00am. Condition of other two — Biswajit, 20, and Jahirul Islam, 22 — was ‘critical’.
   Earlier, one Zayedul Islam, 19, of Section 12 of Pallabi, Mirpur, was stabbed by muggers at Pallabi in the city Tuesday night.
   Local people said Zayedul came under the attack of the muggers near Purabi Supermarket at about 11:00pm. The attackers stabbed Zayedul indiscriminately, leaving him critically wounded. He was admitted to DMCH and died there at about 12:30am.

With the Eid festival drawing nearer, Eid shopping has gained momentum at different shopping centres and markets in the Barisal city.
   Shopping centres and makeshift shops are now abuzz with shoppers. People are crowding them for buying various items of their choice.
   Most shopping centres and markets including Chowkbazaar, Sobhan Bag, Girjamohallah, Makbul Market, Sajarani Market, Puran Bazaar, Municipal Market, Nutan Bazaar have been experiencing huge rush of buyers for the last couple of days.
   Colourful gates have been erected at the entry points of all the markets to welcome buyers.
   Besides, arrangements have been made for illumination of many shops after the sun set.
   Heavy crowd and jousting of buyers are noticed at the clothes and ready-made garment shops having a wide range of products with newer designs.
   A good number of makeshift shops have been erected on footpaths and along the roads for selling cosmetics, Eid cards, food items and others.
   The law enforcing agencies have taken adequate measures to maintain law and order particularly in the markets to ensure safety of the shopkeepers and buyers.

Light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely at a few places over Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places over Rajshahi and Dhaka divisions in the next 24 hours till 6:00pm today.
   The Met Office predicted nearly unchanged day temperature over the country.
   The country’s highest temperature on Wednesday, 34.8 degrees Celsius, was recorded on Wednesday at Jessore and the lowest, 23.9 degrees Celsius, at Maijdee Court. The sun sets in the capital today at 5:43pm and rises tomorrow at 5:52am.

On a simple wooden boat in a remote part of Bangladesh, school is underway for young housemaid Mosa Rita who has been up since dawn toiling for a few taka in the homes of better-off villagers.
   It is now nearly 9:00pm, but nothing can dim her enthusiasm for her lessons.
   Outside, parents and other villagers — most of them illiterate due to their own lack of schooling — gather to listen to what the children are learning.
   Mosa Rita’s father is a fisherman. Her mother is a beggar. The money Mosa Rita earns from her long hours cooking and cleaning is vital to help the impoverished family make ends meet.
   But at 6:30pm each day she heads for the river to be collected by the school boat that has become a lifeline for her and thousands of others like her.
   A fifth of this delta nation floods each year, preventing many children in rural areas from going to school. The flooding causes thousands to drop out, condemning them to a lifetime of illiteracy and low-paid work.
   Around 4,000 schools affected by this year’s floods at the end of July are still closed, while 44 have been totally destroyed, according to the UN children’s fund.
   School boats like the one that Mosa Rita attends, however, aim to prevent this disruption. They also encourage parents who stop their children receiving an education because they think the schools are too far away.
   In addition, evening classes reach out to children who are compelled to work during the day.
   Since the school boat started coming to Mosa Rita’s village, her parents have begun to hope that there might be a better future for their daughter.
   Bangladesh is one of the world’s poorest countries with 40 per cent of the 144 million population surviving on less than a dollar a day.
   Dressed in a ragged floral dress, she recites a long poem and when asked why she likes school says she gets books and pencils free.
   ‘The teachers teach us very well,’ she says proudly.
   The school boat, run by the sustainable development organisation Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha — winner of this year’s Ashden Award for education and welfare — is one of nine currently operational in the north-western Chalanbeel region. Six more are being expanded to two levels.
   The organisation’s founder, Abul Hasanat Momammed Rezwan, started the boat school project with one vessel in 2002 after seeing how some of his own friends and relatives suffered because of lack of education.
   The vessels — traditional wooden ‘country’ boats covered with bamboo roves — are all equipped with a computer and lights that run on solar energy.
   Twelve library boats also provide computer training and adult classes on subjects such as sustainable agriculture. Twelve more are being expanded.
   The boats are also used to deliver thousands of solar-powered lights to villagers.
   ‘If a family uses these lanterns it gives 30 to 35 hours of lighting a week and they don’t need to use kerosene which costs at least Tk 50 (70 cents) a week,’ said Rezwan.
   As well as saving money, the lamps also enable children to study after dark. Fishermen can work for longer hours and other income generating activities such as sewing can be carried out in the home, Rezwan added.
   High school student Shanto Islam, 18, regularly uses a library boat to study and read his favourite science fiction books.
   ‘This boat inspired me. After that, I started to dream,’ he said, adding that he now wants to go to university.
   The vessels are flat-bottomed so they can navigate very shallow water enabling them to reach even the most difficult locations.
   ‘The schools mean the children don’t need to go to distant places and the parents are more likely to let them come to the school,’ said teacher Rashida.
   ‘The parents are happy because they are illiterate because they were denied access to education, but they are now hoping for bright futures for their children,’ she said.
   Farida, 25, the parent of one of the boat pupils, said she had missed out on schooling but was happy her six-year-old daughter was being educated.
   ‘It was difficult for my parents to send me to school but now all the facilities are in the village,’ she said. ‘I have started planning for my daughter’s future education. I want to see her become a doctor or engineer.’

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police has asked the United Nations Development Programme for specialised equipment to help fight mobile phone-assisted crimes, a senior police official said on Tuesday.
   A letter from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner, Naim Ahmed, to the UNDP asked for 2,000 closed-circuit cameras and a mobile telephony interceptor.
   ‘We need the equipment to improve services in the department which currently lacks confidence and competence. We also suffer from a lack of modern equipment to trace high-tech crime,’ Ahmed said.
   Over the last few years, the police have recorded an increase in crimes such as extortion and ransom demands that have been facilitated by the wide spread use of mobile phones.
   The police drives to catch criminals have also been compromised by the speed information can now travel around the country.
   A UNDP official, who requested not to be named, said they had received a request from Dhaka police for assistance in phone related crime.
   Ahmed also said they were planning to modernise the department’s services under a project called Corporate Plan.
   The DMP wants to install the closed-circuit cameras at busy intersections, market places, bus stations, ferry terminals and railway stations.
   The controversial mobile telephony interceptor is used to jam mobile phone calls and has been criticised widely for its uncertain legality. ‘Our aim is to deal with crime. Implementation of the Corporate Plan will increase the competence of Dhaka’s police force. We have specific aims in mind,’ Ahmed said.
   The Corporate Plan aims to make police stations more service-oriented, increase internal discipline and create a special crimes team as well as install a criminal database.
   ‘Preparation of the criminal database is underway. It will contain 17 different types of data including the photographs of criminals in all police stations in Dhaka,’ the DMP chief said.

The staffs of the Bangla daily Jai Jai Din on Wednesday demanded payment of salaries and arrears by Friday.
   They made the demand at a meeting held at the newspaper office in the afternoon.
   The staffs decided to observe two-hour work abstention from 6:00pm every day from Wednesday, said a press
   release.
   They also gave the management an ultimatum to meet the demand by Friday afternoon and threatened to start complete work abstention after the deadline.
   The authorities concerned assured them of paying the salary for August by September 30, they said, calling for taking necessary steps to continue the publication of the daily.

The Gana Forum is not interested in joining any opportunist alliance but the party could consider joining any political combine that wants meaningful changes in the country.
   Gana Forum leader Pankaj Bhattacharjee told the news agency that Awami League presidium member Tofail Ahmed had communicated with him about joining a dialogue, but the Forum is yet to decide whether it would join such talks.
   The Awami League has decided to strengthen the 14-party combine and will sit with its allies and other like-minded parties to work out common and identical proposals for the EC-sponsored dialogue on electoral reforms.
   AL presidium member Tofail has been given the task to keep in touch with the allies in 14-party to further strengthen the alliance.
   The AL already had meetings with the Workers Party, JSD and Samyabadi Dal and they all took a decision to raise a demand for declaring a ban religion-based political parties, specially those accused of war crime, militancy, and fundamentalism in taking part in polls and national politics.
   Pankaj said they were with the AL-led combine but the party had broken its commitment of not giving nomination in to anybody in exchange of money and not to enter into any alliance with any religion- based political party.
   “The Awami League gave nomination to the black money holders before the stalled national election of January 22 and signed agreement with the Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish that is against the spirit of Liberation War and secularism,’ he said.

The third anniversary of death of journalist Mainul Hassan, former Barisal bureau chief of daily Ittefaq and president of the Barisal Journalist Union was observed with 2-day programmes.
   The Mainul Hassan Smriti Sangsad brought out a mourning procession and placed wreaths at the grave of Mainul Tuesday morning to mark the day.
   It also held a memorial meeting at Shabdaboli Group Theatre auditorium in the afternoon.

Two Swedish professors
meet DU VC
Two professors of Lund University of Sweden called on Dhaka University vice-chancellor, SMA Faiz, at the latter’s office on Wednesday. The professors are Dr Kristina Jakobsson, head of occupational and environmental medicine department, and Professor Dr Anna Rignell Hydbom of the same department. During the meeting, they discussed issues relating to mutual interests. Scopes for introducing cooperative education and a research project between the two universities also came up for discussion. The DU pro-VC, AFM Yusuf Haider, and the chemistry department chairman, Abu M Safiqul Alam, were also present on the occasion.

RAB seizes
liquor in Ctg
The Rapid Action Battalion in separate drives seized 93 bottles of foreign liquor and arrested a wanted criminal during the 24-hour period till 4:00pm Wednesday. Tipped off, a RAB team raided Fulchari area in Patenga and seized the liquor. The battalion in separate drive arrested Mohammed Aminul Islam alias Kamal, 47, an accused in several criminal cases, at Nasirabad. He was handed over to the Chandgaon police.
— New Ag