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

Archive «
Launch Supplement «
Special Supplements «

Brokers with the connivance of some doctors and employees of Orthopaedic Hospital and Suhrawardy Hospital lure a large number of patients from the hospitals to nearby privately-owned hospitals, diagnostic centres and clinics.
   The patients at the registered or unregistered and sub-standard hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres face ordeals in terms of treatment, cost and behaviour, sources at the Orthopaedic, well known as Pangu Hosptial, and Suhrawardy Hospital said.
   The brokers are appointed by the authorities of some private-sector hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres in Mohammadpur and Shyamoli areas, and they lure patients from the public hospitals with the connivance of some staff of Pangu and Suhrawardy Hospital in exchange of commission, the sources said.
   A section of physicians of the public hospitals are also involved with the private-sector hospitals and clinics or allow them to use their names for which they are given ‘honorarium’ regularly, the sources added, saying that the brokers, in most cases, maintain liaison.
   The Rapid Action Battalion arrested 30 such brokers who were taking away patients from the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation and Shaheed Suhrawardy Hospital in the last two days, said sources at the hospitals on February 13.
   Some brokers were also arrested from these public hospitals in May 2007, but they were granted bail from the court and again started their activities at the hospitals, the sources said.
   ‘We inform the law enforcing agencies to take action against the brokers as we failed to take steps against them due to lack manpower,’ Professor Khadiza Begum, director of Suhrawardy Hospital, told New Age.
   About the latest arrest of 30 brokers, she said RAB personnel in plainclothes had watched the activities of the brokers for four days and then they had gone for action against the brokers.
   Uttam Kumar Barua, emergency medical officer of the hospital, said ‘It is unfortunate that brokers, who are paid by clinics and diagnostic centres, lure patients from a hospital, which is equipped with almost all modern facilities.’
   Especially poor and illiterate patients, who come from outside the capital, fall easy victim to the brokers, Uttam said adding ‘Instances are there that such patients go to the clinics and diagnostic centres thinking that those are separate building of the hospital.’
   ‘Patients at the Pangu Hospital have to wait in long queues due to huge rush and the brokers take the chance of the rush to lure the patients from the state-run specialised hospital,’ said Professor Siraj-Ul-Islam, director of Pangu Hospital.
   According to the emergency medical officer of the hospital, Rezwanul Bari, one average, 100 to 150 patients visit the emergency department of the hospital every day while the number is up to 1,000 in outpatient department.

A large number of individuals and corporate clients are searching for upgraded software solutions of their choices and needs at the software exhibition, which started on February 14 at the Bangladesh China Friendship Centre at Agargaon in Dhaka.
   Participant software companies said increasing queries and searches of local users proved that software uses had been significantly increased in the local market.
   One hundred and fifty software and IT-enabled service providers are participating in the five-day BASIS Softexpo, organised by the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services.
   The companies are exhibiting a wide range of business solution software, outsourcing, multimedia and animations, games, mobile and wireless appliances, e-commerce, e-governance, hardware technology solutions, telecommunications and networking software products.
   Multitech Corporation Limited is exhibiting ERP solution, dealership, personal property, export and import, hotel and tailoring management software. Safiqul Islam, marketing manager of the company, said they were offering 20 per cent discount on their software at the exhibition.
   ‘We are getting good response on ERP solutions software mainly from the SME entrepreneurs and hotel management software,’ he said adding ‘We directly sale our ready software or upgrade those according to the demands from the clients’. Toon Bangla Limited, an animation studio, is exhibiting their products on 2D animation for website, television and films.
   Managing director of Visual Magic Corporation Limited, Mohammad Kamruzzaman, said they were exhibiting a currency checking device to identify counterfeit notes of local currency. Price of the device is Tk 3,200.
   He said business outlets like Aarong, Flora Limited were using the device. ‘We are trying to improve a system to identify fake notes from bundles,’ he said. Apart from local clients, a good number of foreign companies and delegations are searching the outsourcing partner thorough visiting the exposition and holding meeting with the participating software companies.
   Qumrun Nahar, deputy director of UK Trade and Investment (Bangladesh), said they were trying to building a bridge between the UK and Bangladeshi IT and software companies.
   TIM Nurul Kabir, convener of the fair, said foreign companies and delegates were having one-to-one meeting with the local companies.
   Roundtable discussions and seminars on different IT issues are also being held at the exposition that ends today. Danish Federation of Small and Medium Industries, Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, UK Trade and Investment, Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) are the strategic partner of the exposition.
   Denmark is the theme country of this year’s event and the theme is ‘Get, Gain and Grow’. IT Industry Association of Denmark will be the association partner of BASIS Softexpo 2008, a BASIS executive said.

Book lovers continued to pour in at the Amar Ekushey book fair on the Bangla Academy premises on Sunday as 98 titles hit the month-long event with poetry dominating the list.
   The day’s arrivals included 20 novels, nine collections of essays, 28 collections of poems, one science fiction, 14 juvenile literary works, one research work and nine collections of stories, four collections of rhymes and three biographies each.
   A number of books were also launched on the day at the Writers’ Corner.
   The Sammilito Sanskritik Jote general secretary, Golam Quddus, along with writers Rashid Haider, Rabindra Gop, Aslam Sani and Mainuddin Kajal took wrap off Sabed Al Saad’s fourth collection of poems ‘Naribritta’.
   The Dhaka University journalism and mass communication professor, AAMS Arefin Siddiq along with former foreign secretary Mahiuddin Ahmed, Professor Razia Matin Chowdhury, former adviser to the caretaker government Dhiraj Kumar Nath and Dr Hasna Banu launched collection of essays ‘Swadhinata O Bangbandhur Bangladesh written by expatriate Bangladeshi in Austria, M Nazrul Islam.
   The Bangla Academy director general, Syed Mohammad Shahed, took wrap off Sharmin Zajaria’s novel on independence war, Swadhinata: Shudhu Tomari Jonne, published by Biddya Prokash.
   Jai Jai Din journalist Fakhre Alam launched his own collection of essays on independence war, Dakkhiner Muktijuddha published by Biddya Prokash.
   Writer Rabeya Khatun said, ‘This is my first day at the fair this year. I cannot say that I could visit the fair second time. My travelogue ‘Tasmania Theke Canberra’ has already been published at the fair.
   Poet Asad Chowdhury at the rendezvous of the Media Centre on the academy premises said, ‘I see every thing fine at the fair this year. Ityadi Grantha Prokash has published my collection of poems ‘Nodir Bhangan Aar Pakhir Thote Khor’. Five more books of mine will be available for children this year soon.
   Ananda Alo announced the names of five recipients of Citi-Ananda Alo Literary Award 2008, jointly introduced by Citi Bank and fortnightly Ananda Alo.
   The recipients are Humayun Ahmed for his novel Modhanha-2, Imdadul Huq Milon for his book for children Ke, Al Mahmud for collection of poems Selai Kora Mukh, Fazlul alam for collection essays Sabhyatar Durge Sanskritir Karaghat and artist Qayyum Chowdhury for cover designing.
   Three jury board members poet Asad Chowdhury, writer Amzad Hossain and media expert Muhammad Jahangir announced the names of the award recipients on the academy premises.
   The awards will be handed over to the recipients in a ceremony today.
   The Bangla Academy, as part of its regular programmes, held a discussion on ‘the achievements in arts and literature in 36 years: short story (1972-2007)’.
   Sayeda Banu read out the keynote paper at the discussion chaired by Hasan Azizul Huq. Mahfuzur Rahman, Gazi Azizur Rahman and Abdul Whab took part in the discussion, followed by a cultural function.
   A discussion on ‘the achievements in arts and literature in 36 years: novel (1972-2007)’ will be held at 4:00pm today with Ahmad Kabir in the chair. Ahmed Mowla will present the paper. Vismadev Chowdhury, Shirin Hoque and Habib Rahman will discuss on the issue.

The Metro Regional Transport Committee of Dhaka Metropolitan Police is working on downsizing the number of and renaming bus routes in and around the capital.
   The number of bus routes will be reduced to 40 from 138 and they will be renamed to bring discipline to the service of public buses, said a DMP official.
   According to DMP and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, there are 138 bus routes in the capital and its peripheral areas, with a fleet of around 5,000 buses and minibuses.
   DMP joint commissioner M Jasimuddin is working to reduce the total number of routes to 40 from existing 138, DMP sources said.
   The route number will be reduced and renamed on the basis of their origins and destinations, M Sayedur Rahman, deputy commissioner, Traffic Division (South) of DMP, told New Age, adding that company ownership, instead of individual ownership, will be utilised in this move to rename routes.
   With this reduction of the number of routes, it will be easier for the city commuters to find out buses of their desired destinations and discipline will also be restored in the transport sector, he said.
   The plan will be implemented soon, DMP officials said.
   At present, buses of different owners ply a single route with different names, which, according to DMP officials, create problems for the passengers and the overall traffic management.
   According to BRTA statistics, there are a total of 4,12,540 registered motorised vehicles in the city that included cars, jeeps, microbuses, taxis, buses, minibuses, trucks, auto-rickshaws, human haulers, covered vans and motorcycles.
   Of the vehicles registered between 1999 and 2006, motorcycles were the highest in number with a total of 1,56,334, followed by 1,05,636 cars, 42,356 jeeps and microbuses, 5,070 buses and 8,021 minibuses.
   The total road network of the city, according to Dhaka City Corporation, is more than 2,000 kilometres that include main roads, lanes and by lanes. Of them, the main thoroughfares are 210 km, DCC officials said.

A Rajshahi court on Sunday sentenced a man to death and 22 people to life imprisonment for killing a man in Godagari upazila 12 years back.
   Additional district and sessions judge Rasheda Sultana awarded the capital punishment to Rafiqul Islam of Kalidaspur village in the upazila.
   The judge also fined the lifers Tk 5,000 each, in default, to suffer one year more in jail. They are Omar Ali, Enamul, Shafiqul Islam, Nazrul Islam, Hazrat Ali, Mobarak Hossain, Moidul, Abul Kalam, Abdul Bari, Ibrahim, Badar Ali, Arman Ali, Taslem, Neser, Hasir Uddin, Fazlul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Anarul, Giyas, Ziarul Islam, Dulal and Monur Ali, all from Bardasa village of Godagari.
   The convicts killed Shafiqul on December 28, 1996 over a land dispute. Mainul Islam, younger brother of the victim, filed a case with the Godagari police accusing the 23, and the police submitted the charge sheet on July 31, 1997.

Weather is likely to remain mainly dry with partly cloudy sky over the country during the 24-hour period till 6:00pm today.
   Light to moderate fog may occur over the river basins of the country during early morning.
   The night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.
   The country’s highest temperature on Sunday, 28.8 degrees Celsius, was recorded at Jessore, Khulna and Mongla and the lowest, 8.7 degrees Celsius, at Srimangal.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 5:55pm and rises tomorrow at 6:29am.

The Anti-Corruption Commission chairman, Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury, Sunday called for uprooting seed of corruption from everyone’s mind.
   ‘Though corruption has taken roots in our minds, may be it will not remain in future,’ he said while addressing a views-exchange meeting on corruption at the local pourasabha auditorium.
   The ACC chairman mentioned that pay scale was raised twice during the previous governments of Awami League and BNP. ‘But even then corruption did not show any decline,’ he said.
   He added: ‘It’s true, people look for opportunities when there is gap in want; but is there any limit on want? So, not only lack of money, it is desire that tempts people to it (corrupt practices).’
   Hasan Mashhud said at first, people have to attain honest courage to resist corruption. Since the anti-graft drive began, the corrupt people are under pressure psychologically that they will have to get
   punishment for their corruption.
   ‘So, anti-graft slogans will have to be raised from mosques, madrasahs, schools and colleges.’
   He said, ‘In the past, there was less risk and more gain in corruption. We will raise risk, reduce gain.’
   The ACC chairman said they have started the drive with firm determination to free the country from corruption. ‘We don’t want to bear the bad reputation of corruption.
   ‘We’ll surely remove this, InshaAllah.’
   The additional deputy commissioner, Swapan Kumar Boral, presided over the meeting. The ACC director general (prevention), M Abu Taleb, police super Shahriar Rahman and president of district anti-corruption committee Md Sirajul Huq were, among others, present.
   Press Club convenor Anal Kumar Dey, Rowshan Ara and Akhi Akter, a student of Shariatpur Govt Women College, among others, spoke at the question-answer session.
   At another meeting on the Madaripur Police Lines premises in the afternoon, the ACC chairman said the anti-graft drive was not against any particular quarter.
   The drive will continue against corruption everywhere.
   The deputy commissioner, Shashi Kumar Sinha, and police super Debdas Bhattacharya were, among others, present at the meeting.

Rapid Action Battalion handed over the two suspected members of Harkatul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh, arrested in connection with seizure of 41 hand grenades, to the Debhata police Saturday night.
   The police produced Mufti Mainuddin Sheikh and Nazrul Islam Ghorami before Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court, Satkhira on Sunday amid tight security, and magistrate Ranu Bilkis Banu sent them to Satkhira district jail, police and court sources said.
   Tariqul Islam, sub-inspector of RAB-6, lodged a case against the two with the Debhata police station under the explosives act.
   The complainant said they arrested Mainuddin at Baniar Chala in Gazipur on Thursday and based on his statement, a battalion team arrested Nazrul at his house at Shimultali under Debhata upazila in Satkhira on Friday.
   They also seized 41 live Arges brand hand grenades from a place near Nazrul’s residence Friday night.
   The seized grenades are similar to those used in the attack on an Awami League rally on August 21, 2004, the police said.
   The officer-in-charge of the Debhata police station Lokman Hossain told New Age that the grenades were not handed over to them. ‘We did not seek remand for the arrested as Criminal Investigation Department is seeking remand to the court in Dhaka in connection with the grenade
   attack case filed on August 22, 2004. We shall seek remand for them on completion of CID remand.’
   He said the police went to Nazrul’s residence but found none of his family members there. The police opened the door breaking the lock and recovered a passport of his son and some shoe labels of his footwear shop, he added.
   The CID police appealed to the chief metropolitan magistrate’s court in Dhaka on Sunday and sought a 10-day remand showing Mainuddin arrested in the August 21 grenade attack case.
   The court fixed February 19 for hearing in the remand petition, court sources said.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police has geared up the investigation and disposal of pending cases in different thanas of the capital and included two more crime divisions to carry out the additional responsibility in this regard.
   According to the DMP, at the end of January there were 5,248 pending cases with 33 thanas of the capital. The DMP commissioner, Naim Ahmed, told reporters that such initiatives which were taken earlier had significantly reduced the number of pending cases.
   After spreading the initiative to Gulshan and Wari divisions, investigation of about 800 more pending cases were completed and reports were submitted to the court, he said, adding that such initiatives were first taken in Mirpur and Lalbagh divisions as test programmes. The programme will be spread to all the eight crime divisions in phases, he said.
   ‘Our target is that an investigation officer will have one single pending case at the month’s end,’ he told newsmen after presiding over the monthly crime review meeting at the Rajarbagh police telecom auditorium on Sunday afternoon.
   Admitting the increase in the number of car lifting and snatching incidents, he said that special teams were working to tackle such crimes and they have already caught a number of suspects.
   About traffic congestion, the city police chief said that a special team was working to streamline the traffic system.
   ‘At present, over 5,000 buses are plying 135 routes, which is too much is too much for 200 kilometres of roads which buses can ply. The special team is working to reduce the number of bus routes to 40 so that the routes do not overlap and there is less congestion,’ he said.

Reacting to the Indian high commissioner’s remarks about exporting rice to Bangladesh, the foreign ministry on Sunday said rice procurement from India was being done on the basis of ‘commercial purchase’ without ‘undue cost to either.’
   The Indian high commissioner, Pinak Ranjan Chakraborty, after a meeting with the home affairs adviser last week told reporters that ‘India cannot herself be hungry in order to feed Bangladesh.’
   A spokesman of the ministry of foreign affairs observed that ‘rice procurement from India was being conducted on the basis of commercial purchase, which should be a win-win situation for both parties, without undue cost to either’.

AM Yakub Ali, Bangladesh high commissioner to Kenya, has been appointed as the high commissioner to Canada.
   A career diplomat, Yakub Ali joined the foreign office in 1981. He also worked in the Bangladesh missions in France, Morocco and Sri Lanka.

The first anniversary of death of former Awami League lawmaker Altaf Hossain Golandaj was held at his village home at Bagua in Gafargoan upazila of Mymensingh on Sunday.
   A milad-mahfil and a discussion were held on the occasion. A destitute feeding was also arranged.
   AL leaders including Motiur Rahman, Asim Kumar Ukil, Ashraful Islam, Ruhul Amin Madani, Abdul Matin Sarker and Ahmed Hossain were present on the occasion.
   Altaf Hossain Golandaj Smriti Parishad, Rustam Ali Golandaj High School, GM Senior Madrassah and Altaf Hossain Golandaj Degree College also organised separate programmes to mark the day.
   Altaf was elected as MP on AL ticket from Gafargoan (Mymensingh 10) constituency.

Professor Muhammad Ansar Uddin, chairman of the Islamic Studies Department of Dhaka University, died of a cardiac arrest at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in Dhaka on Sunday.
   He was 65.
   Ansar is survived by his wife, three sons and six daughters.
   He was buried at the Banani Graveyard after namaj-e-janaza at the DU Central Mosque after asr prayers.
   DU vice-chancellor SMA Faiz expressed profound shock at the death of Ansar Uddin.
   He recalled his contribution to the development of country’s education as well as research works.
   Pro-vice chancellor Yusuf Haider and treasurer Syed Abul Kalam Azad also condoled the death of Professor Ansar.
   They conveyed deep sympathy to the members of the bereaved family and prayed for peace of the departed soul.

1,000 bottles of Phensidyl
seized in Ctg
The Department of Narcotic Control seized 1,000 bottles of Phensidyl and arrested two persons from the Foy’s Lake area in the city early Sunday. Tipped off, a team of the department searched a private car in front of the Foy’s Lake gate at about 3:00am and found the Phensidyl in it. They also arrested Kanchan Das and Mohammed Ali from the car. The two acknowledged that they had smuggled in the contraband syrup of cough from India through Comilla border. A case was filed with the Khulshi police in this connection.
— New Age

DAM receives Tk 72 lakh for cancer hospital in two months
Dhaka Ahsania Mission received Tk 72.32 lakh as donation in the month of December 2007 and January 2008 for construction of its cancer hospital, said a press release. Among the major donors, Maissa Karim Foundation led the chart with Tk 20 lakh followed by Hena Ahmed Tk 15 lakh and Foreign Office Wives’ Association and Intezar Ahmed each Tk 10 lakh. The hospital is being constructed at Uttara in the capital. It needs Tk 200 crore for completion of the hospital.
— BSS