At least seven persons were killed in separate road accidents in Narayanganj, Sirajganj, Chapainawabganj and Faridpur on Wednesday.
   According to a UNB report, in Narayanganj, three persons were killed and another was injured when a truck plunged into a roadside ditch at Bholail in Fatullah as the lorry skidded off on the Dhaka-Munshiganj road.
   The police said three persons died on the spot as the iron rod-laden truck tumbled into the ditch and the rods fell on them at about 5.30am.
   The deceased were truck-driver Moshiur Rahman, 35, helper Khademul Islam, 34, and Abdur Rashid.
   The injured person was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition.
   The bodies were sent to Narayanganj General Hospital morgue for post-mortem examinations.
   A case was filed.
   Our Sirajganj correspondent reports a pedestrian was killed at Pipull Baria Bazar in the district headquarters.
   Local people said Lalon Hossain, 25, died on the spot when a sand-laden truck ran over him at about 10:00am.
   In Chapainawabganj, a woman was killed at Akhila in Kasba union under Nachol upazila.
   She was Anwara Begum, 70, of Mirzapur under Niamatpur upazila in Naogaon.
   The police said Anwara had seriously injured as she was dashed by a bhotbhoti, a shallow engine-run vehicle.
   She was taken to the Nachol Upazila Health Complex where she died.
   Our Faridpur Correspondent reports three persons were injured when a Dhaka-bound passenger bus rammed a truck on the Dhaka-Khulna Highway at Kanaipur at about 12:00pm.
   They were taken to Faridpur Medical College Hospital where Miraj Shikder, 25, died.
   The body was sent to hospital morgue for a post-mortem examination.
   A case was filed.

BEGUM Roquiah Smriti Kendra was on Sunday reactivated by unlocking it at village pairabandh under Mithapukur upazila where pioneer of Muslim women education Begum Roquiah was born.
   The Adviser for Women and Children Affairs, Mass Education and Culture, Rasheda K Chowdhury, ordered for reopening the locked doors of the memorial centre while exchanging views with local people there to implement the direction of the chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed.
   The council of advisers at its meeting chaired by the chief adviser at Rangpur Circuit House on Saturday took the decision for handing over the Kendra to the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs from the Ministry of Culture and ensuring proper utilisation of the centre within the next three months.
   The adviser exchanged views with the local elite as per direction of the chief adviser at the conference hall of the Kendra with Mithapukur upazila nirbahi officer AKM Masuduzzaman in the chair.
   Education officer Shahjahan Siddique, assistant commissioner (land) Rafiqul Islam Selim, agriculture officer Golam Mostafa, social service officer Abdul Matin, Pairabandh UP chairman Rezaul Islam Reza and principal of Pairabandh Smriti Degree College Ekramul Haque addressed on the occasion.
   They informed the adviser that the construction of the Kendra started in 1997 and completed in 2004 where 13 officials and employees were appointed. But, the Kendra never functioned smoothly because of different problems.
   The main building with 14,710 square feet area has a modern 250-seat with acoustic sound system, 100-seat seminar room, 50-seat modern library with a capacity of 10,000 books, research room, archive, sewing training centre, two training rooms for music education, office rooms, reception centre, store room, sentry box, a 40KV standby generator and a pump house.
   The 4,030 square feet complex has guest rooms for the VVIPs, VIPs and other guests. Besides, it has residential facilities for the employees of the Kendra.
   There are facilities of training programmes for the unemployed women on different trades, officials said.

Farmers are expecting bumper mustard production in 11 southern districts under Barisal Agriculture Extension Zone during this season as the climatic condition is very favourable this year.
   Official sources said a total of 38,754 hectares of land were brought under mustard cultivation in the southern districts this season.
   Department of Agriculture Extension expects that mustard will be produced at an estimated rate of 1.03 metric tons per hectares.
   DAE, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute, Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, commercial banks and some leading NGOs have been assisting the farmers by
   providing necessary in puts for ensuring a good yield, the source added.
   Of the total, 2,035 hectares were cultivated in Barisal district, 708 hectares in Jhalakathi, 71 hectares in Pirojpur, 100 hectares in Patuakhali, 68 hectares in Barguna, 1,195
   hectares in Bhola, 11,077 hectares in Faridpur, 7,766 hectares in Madaripur, 4,338 hectares in Gopalgonj, 3,450 hectares in Rajbari and 7,950 hectares in Shariatpur districts.
   BADC distributed 3,87,540 kg high yielding varieties of seeds on the basis of first-come-first serve basis. Besides, BADC have taken up a measure for distributing fertilisers, pesticides and other inputs to the farmers for making the programme a success.

A rickshaw puller husband allegedly strangled his garment worker wife to death in the Vogra Modhdhapa area in the Gazipur district headquarters on Wednesday night.
   The deceased Rehana Begum, 30, a worker of Nexaus garments of the area. Locals said Rehana, mother of eight-year-old boy, had been living at a rental house of one Siddiqur Rahman of the area along with her husband.
   On the fateful night, Saman Ali alias Razzak, husband of the deceased, strangled her to death following an altercation and fled away.

One Siraj Mollah has been sentenced to five years’ rigorous imprisonment in a fraud case in Gopalganj. He has also been fined Tk 20,000, in default to serve six more months in jail. Another court in Rajbari sentenced to 12 persons to 14 years in prison for committing robbery.
   The chief judicial magistrate, Delip Kumar Bhoumik, gave the judgement Wednesday afternoon. Two others accused in the case, Waliur Rahman and Riazuddin, were acquitted of the charge.
   Siraj produced a forged marriage certificate and claimed one Panna Begum as his wife whose husband, Majnu Sheikh, went to Suadi Arabia in 1997.
   Panna later filed a case with the Gopalganj magistrate’s court against the three.
   According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, in Rajbari, twelve persons were sentenced to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment each by a court on the same day for committing robbery in a ferry a Dhawapara ferry ghat in the district seven years ago.
   The court also fined the convicts Tk 10,000 each, in default to suffer one year more in prison.
   Additional district and sessions judge Mohammad Shahidullah Bakul delivered the verdict.
   The convicts were Alam alias Joynuddin, Manik, Murad, Biplob, Lalon Kumar Halder, Tanzia alias Nayon, Sawpan alias Harunur Rashid Janu, Shamim, Masud, Kochi alias Madhu and Shahin.
   After examining the record and witnesses, the judge handed down the verdict.