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Eighty-four new books hit the Ekushey book fair on the third day of the month-long annual event on the Bangla Academy premises on Sunday with novels dominating the list.
   The new titles included 23 novels, 10 collections of short stories and seven collections of poems.
   Two advisers of the interim government — commerce and education adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman and women and children affairs adviser Rasheda K Chowdhury — visited the fair that continues to draw a large crowd.
   Zillur launched Ahmed Safa’s three books —Complete Works of Ahmed Safa, Sei Sab Lekha, a collection of essays, and Ahmad Safa’r Chithi — at the Lekhak Kunja. Khan Brothers published the books.
   Bangla Academy director general Syed Mohammad Shahed, Professor Anisuzzaman, Professor Ahmed Kamal and editor of Ahmed Safa’s new books, Nurul Anwar, also a nephew of Safa, also attended the function.
   ‘I have attended the launch of Ahmed Safa’s books not as an adviser but as a fan of Safa,’ Zillur said.
   Syed Mohammad Shahed at the regular press briefing of the academy said, ‘We have identified six stalls that are still remaining useless. We will allot 11 more stalls among the publishers, who did not get stalls but appealed for it.’
   Apart from allotting the book stalls, the academy will today allot some 50 stalls among different food shops and non-governmental organisations in Suhrawardy Udyan.
   Noted poet from West Bengal Ranjit Das, who came to attend the two-day poetry festival that ended on Saturday, was delighted to see the large crowd at the fair. ‘It is a live cultural occasion. I have visited Delhi Book Fair, but it was lifeless.’
   The publishers and salesmen at the stalls were happy with the crowd as well as the sales.
   ‘People usually thumb through books in the first week of the fair every year, but it is different this year. The sale is good enough,’ said a publisher. Books are being sold at 25 per cent discount, which was 30 per cent last year.
   The Bangla Academy as part of its regular programmes held a discussion on ‘The achievements in arts-literature in 36 years: Jatra (1972-2007).’
   Tapan Bagchi read out the keynote paper. Lutfar Rahman, Bhaswar Bandapaddhay and Main Ahmad took part in the discussion, chaired by eminent writer Rashid Haider.
   Rashid said, ‘Jatra is an important art-form in Bengali arts and culture. We need to promote it for enriching our culture and its glorious past.’
   Charoni Natyaghoshthi from Manikganj staged Jatra opera ‘Michael Madhusudan Dutt’, scripted by Bidhayak Bhattacharya and directed by Jyosna Bishwas.
   Filmmaker Manzare Hasin Murad will present the keynote paper while writer Rashid Haider will chair the discussion on ‘The achievements in arts-literature in 36 years: Film (1972-2007)’ at 4:00 today.
   Faridur Rahman and Mahbub Azad will take part in the discussion with filmmaker Subhas Dutta in the chair.

The Dhaka City Corporation authorities on Sunday formed a committee to inquire the alleged irregularities in leasing out its three parks.
   The three parks leased out to private management in 2002 are Wonderland at Gulshan, Shishu Mela at Shyamoli and Wonderland at Swamibagh in Sayedabad.
   The corporation chief engineer, Colonel Ashfaqul Islam, heads the five-member committee at a meeting held at the Nagar Bhaban Other members of the committee are chief estate officer, chief revenue officer, executive officers of Zone-6 and Zone-9 and law officer of the corporation, officials concerned said.
   The corporation’s chief estate officer, Abu Mohammad Yusuf, told New Age, ‘The committee will find out whether there were any anomalies in the leasing process for the three parks.
   The probe committee after holding a series of meetings would also make a report on the current status of the three parks, he said adding the next meeting of the committee will be held on February 6.
   During the regime of late Dhaka mayor Mohammad Hanif, the corporation under an agreement leased out the three parks on February 2, 2002 for three years’ term.
   Wonderland at Gulshan was leased out for Tk 5.42 lakh, Shishu Mela at Shyamoli for Tk 1.45 lakh and Wonderland at Swamibagh for Tk 1.14 lakh annually, corporation officials said.
   After completion of the three-year term in 2005, the leasing company Bhaya Media Business Services approached the corporation for renewal of the lease agreement.
   But the corporation primarily detected some irregularities in the leasing process and decided to take back the parks by cancelling the lease agreement.
   Following the corporation’s decision, the lessee went to the court and got an injunction in its favour to keep up operation of the parks.
   At present, the leasing company is running the three parks on commercial basis violating the lease agreement, corporation officials said.
   There are several fast food shops and restaurants in those parks and they were set up without the knowledge of the corporation, they added.
   The corporation will take steps soon to legally face the issue, the officials said.
   The corporation, according to its latest study, owns 49 parks in the city including two road islands — Nimtoli Sarakdip and Fulbaria Sarakdip now being uses as parks.
   Of them, the corporation commercially runs Shaheed Zia Shishu Park at Shahbagh while a private operator runs the aforesaid three parks.

Specialist doctors urged the country’s rich community to stand beside the cancer-affected children so that no child died without treatment.
   ‘Let’s stand beside the cancer-affected children so that none of them dies without treatment. It’s not an incurable disease. Childhood cancers are very much curable,’ Bangladesh Childhood Cancer Society president Professor MA Mannan said at a press conference at the National Press Club Sunday noon.
   The society organised the conference on the eve of World Cancer Day-2008 to be observed today around the globe, including Bangladesh. The main theme of the Day this year is `passive smoking is more injurious to our children’.
   Professor Mannan said 60-70 percent of childhood cancers in Bangladesh could be cured if timely and proper medical care could be provided. ‘Scarce facilities, huge expenses and need for prolonged treatment are the main hindrances. And treatment facilities are almost non-existent in places other than Dhaka.’
   The cost of treating childhood cancer ranges from Tk 50,000 to Tk 500,000 and the duration of treatment varies from six months to three years.
   He said 5,000-6,000 children are affected by cancer each year in the country, most of which are curable. ‘The whole nation cannot take the responsibility of those childhood cancers. If people from affluent section of society came forward most of these children would have been blessed with new lives.’
   ‘Whenever we visit the 28-bed cancer ward at the Bangbandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, we see scared faces of the children who think they are dying. But only Tk 50-60 thousand can save 80 percent of cancer-affected children,’ he said.

Teachers and students of Dhaka University on Sunday demanded fair investigation into the bomb attack on the residence of former DUTA president AAMS Arefin Siddique, also a professor of mass communication and journalism department.
   To press home their demand, teachers and students of journalism and the DU unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League staged separate demonstrations on the campus in the morning.
   Chhatra League also formed a human chain in front of the Arts Building at 11:30am.
   Teachers and students of journalism brought out a silent procession on the campus at about 11:00am. Later, they held a rally at the foot of Aparajeya Bangla.
   The department chairman, Professor Sheikh Abdus Salam, Professor Akhter Sultana, associate professors Mofizur Rahman and Shamim Reza and lecturer Shamim Mahmud addressed the rally.
   Speaking at the rally, Salam said the culprits behind the bomb attack would have to be found out through proper investigation for the sake of security of the teachers and students.
   ‘The DU teachers are repeatedly being victimised by terrorist attacks. Few years ago, in this month of February, late Professor Dr Humayun Azad came under terrorist attack. But the state has failed to ensure security of its leading citizens,’ he said.

A three-day show of documentaries on juveniles, titled ‘Voices of adolescents’ begins at the National Public Library in Shahbagh of Dhaka today.
   Former adviser to the caretaker government Sultana Kamal will inaugurate the show in the Shaukat Osman auditorium of the library at 4:00pm.
   Swidish ambassador in Dhaka Britt F Hagstrom and secretary for the women and children affairs ministry Rokeya Sultana will be present as special guests at the programme, organised by Steps Towards Development, an NGO.
   Seven documentaries, made by the audio-visual section of the organisation, will be screened at the show, which also include discussions on adolescents, executive director of the organisation Ranjan Karmaker told a news conference at his office on Sunday.
   The documentaries reflect different aspects of the lives of juveniles, who account for 22 per sent of the total population, Ranjan said, adding the documentaries will later be screened in educational institutes of the country.
   Steps Towards Development adviser and filmmaker Manzerahasin Murad, Steps Towards Development adviser Bibhu Ranjan Sarker, directors Moinul Huda and Rekha Saha and filmmaker Shabnam Ferdousi were present at the conference.

Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country during the 24-hour period till 6:00pm today.
   Severe cold wave is sweeping the regions of Srimangal and mild to moderate cold wave is sweeping Rajshahi division and the regions of Jessore, Satkhira, Barisal, Rangamati, Sandwip Faridpur and Tangail and it may improve gradually.
   Light to moderate fog may occur over the river basins of the country during early morning, it said.
   The night temperature may rise slightly over the country, the Met Office predicted.
   The country’s highest temperature on Sunday, 25.2 degrees Celsius, was recorded at Sitakundu and the lowest, 5.6 degrees Celsius, at Srimangal. The sun sets in the capital today at 5:46pm and rises tomorrow at 6:38am.
   The Met Office predicted rise in the night temperature in the outlook for subsequent two days and a little change in the extended outlook for another five days.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Sunday posted for February 13 the hearing in a government plea seeking a stay on the High Court verdict that had declared illegal the detention of Kheleda Zia’s son Tarique Rahman and her adviser ASM Hannan Shah.
   Appellate Division chamber judge MA Matin scheduled the petition for a full-court hearing to be chaired by the chief justice, M Ruhul Amin.
   A government attorney moved the petition seeking an interim order against the January 30 High Court verdict as the government preferred leave to appeal.
   The High Court gave the verdicts after hearing separate habeas corpus writ petitions challenging the legality of the detention. The court in its judgements found the grounds for detention vague and unspecific.
   Hannan Shah’s counsels said their client should be released from prison immediately as there are no further cases against him.
   Tarique’s counsels said he would not be released from jail now as he is yet to be granted bail in six out of the 10 cases filed against him.
   The joint forces on March 8, 2007 arrested Tarique, also senior joint secretary of the BNP, at the house of her mother in the Dhaka cantonment on charge of extortion of Tk 1 crore. The government on April 13, 2007 ordered him to be detained under the Special Powers Act.
   The police arrested Hannan Shah on November 7, 2007 on charge of violating the Emergency Powers Rules by gathering people, chanting slogans and assaulting some leaders of the government-backed faction of the BNP, including former army chief Mahbubur Rahman, at Ziaur Rahman’s grave during the observance of National Revolution and Solidarity Day.
   The High Court on December 6, 2007 granted Hannan bail in the case. The government on November 25 ordered him to be detained under the Special Powers Act.
   He was earlier arrested on May 14, 2007 in five extortion cases, but was remanded on bail on July 22 by the High Court in all the cases.
   Kaiser Kamal on behalf of Tarique Rahman and Hannan Shah’s son Shah Rezaul Hannan separately filed the habeas corpus writ petitions with the High Court on December 2, 2007 challenging the detention orders.
   The court the same day ordered the government in both the cases to explain why the detention orders should not be considered illegal. The court on January 27 completed hearing in the writ petitions.

Meeting on dev
of Ctg held
A meeting on the development of the Chittagong city was held at the Nagar Bhaban on Sunday. The divisional commissioner, Hossain Jamil, attended the meeting as chief guest and the CMP commissioner, M Akbar Ali, as special guest. The mayor in-charge of the Chittagong City Corporation, M ManjurAlam, stressed the need for proper coordination among the utility and other service-oriented institutions for the development of the city and ensuring services for the dwellers. The CCC will not be able to fulfil the expectations of the city dwellers without coordination with the CDA, WASA, PDB, BTTB, Chittagong Port Authority, Bangladesh Railway and gas supplying authorities, and the district and police administration, he said. The CCC chief executive officer AKM Khairul Alam, panel mayors Rekha Alam and SM Iqbal Hossain, Chittagong Press Club president Ali Abbas, general secretary Ezaz Yousufi, Chittagong Union of Journalist president Shahidul Alam and general secretary Riaz Haider addressed the meeting, among others.
— New Age