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An environmentally-friendly urban planning with reduced dependency on motor vehicles is needed for the Dhaka city considering people’s heath, environment and economy, experts at a seminar in Dhaka said on Thursday.
   The plan should also be pedestrian-friendly where they will be given more priority than the transport users, they told the seminar on ‘Pedestrian-friendly development: perspective from architecture and planning’.
   The urban and regional planning department of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and Work for Better Bangladesh (WBB) Trust organised the seminar at the university.
   Danish architect Dr Jan Gehl presented the main article at the seminar, addressed by BUET vice-chancellor AMM Shafiullah and urban and regional planning department chairman Rukhsana Hafiz.
   Dean of urban and regional planning and architecture of BUET Sarwar Jahan, Healthbridge Canada’s regional director Devra Efroymson, urban and regional planning department professor Moniruzzman and architecture department professor Shayer Gafur also addressed.
   Gehl said many countries prioritised non-motorised transports considering issues like environment, health, economy and fuel cost.
   Bangladesh can use its non-motorised transports that include rickshaw and bicycle, Gehl said, adding ‘The country can take the experience of the cities in Scandinavians countries, which were previously somewhat like the Dhaka city and have now become the ideal cities in the world.’
   Citing the example of Denmark, he said 37 per cent movement in the cities of Denmark occurred by bicycle while plan was being taken how to increase it to 50 per cent.
   Shafiullah said, ‘We should make urban planning considering the people first. When other cities are planning to control motorised vehicles, we are planning to make Dhaka a vehicle-dependent city.’
   ‘We need an environmentally-friendly city to improve the living standard of the people and all of us have to be careful in this regard from now on,’ he said and stressed the need for expanding the rail network.
   He also emphasised freeing the lakes, canals, waterbodies from encroachers to get rid of unusual water-logging in the capital.
   ‘The look of our cities is changing rapidly. Children are becoming deprived of spaces to play due to lack of enough open spaces in the city, and it is causing harm to proper physical and mental grow up of our children,’ Rukhsana said.

The Dhaka City Corporation has decided to submit the long-awaited city’s park study report to the LGRD and cooperatives ministry next week, corporation officials said.
   ‘The park study committee of the corporation has finalised the report and is ready to submit the report to the ministry,’ the corporation’s chief town planner in-charge, Mohammad Sirajul Islam, told New Age on Thursday.
   Siraj, also member secretary of the study committee, said the committee convenor would sign the study report by Sunday and then the report would be sent to the ministry.
   Another source, however, said ‘The study report will be signed by the committee convenor by today (Thursday) and will be sent to the ministry on Sunday.’
   The study committee convenor, Abu Mohammad Yusuf, also, the newly appointed corporation’s chief estate officer could not be reached for his comment in this regard.
   The study report was prepared during the period of the immediate past chief estate officer Quamruzzaman Chowdhury but as he was made OSD in December last year, the process of submitting the report halted, an official concerned said.
   The LGRD ministry issued an order to the corporation authorities on September 19, 2007 asking it to submit a report on the current condition of all parks in the capital.
   In the order, the corporation authorities was also asked to submit the report by 15 days but it took time from the ministry as they could not involve representatives from other agencies concerned in the process, corporation officials said.
   According to the report, the study committee has made a list of 49 parks including two road islands — Nimtoli Sarakdip and Fulbaria Sarakdip. Earlier, the corporation’s estate department had a list of 47 parks.
   Most of the city parks and open spaces are owned by the corporation while only a few ones belong to the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkah, Public Works Department and National Sports Council, corporation sources said.
   There are 10 playgrounds in 90 wards of the capital and most of them remain in a derelict condition, the sources added.
   According to study report, majority of the city parks and open spaces lies in a pitiable condition. They have no walkway, lighting, drainage system, grass and trees, boundary walls and they are not cleaned regularly while some have disappeared due to illegal occupation.
   Of them, Karwan Bazar Park has been made a wholesale market, Sayedabad park has turned into a dumping place along with makeshift bus stand and some others feature public toilets and makeshift establishments, committee sources said.
   However, some parks operated by private organisations are in a better condition compared to others.
   The Dhaka City Corporation in its current 2007-2008 fiscal year has allocated Tk 8 crore for parks’ development while Tk 4 crore were shown spent in the immediate past 2006-2007 fiscal.

The ongoing water resources development project in the country’s south-western coastal region is feared to founder due to lack of proper planning and mismanagement.
   The people of the region will not benefit from the $43.3 million project because of faulty planning, the Coastal Development Partnership, a Khulna-based NGO, told a news conference on Thursday.
   The project is aimed at developing the lives of eight lakh villagers in Narail, Jessore and Gopalganj, Mollarhat of Bagerhat and Terokhada of Khulna.
   But it is likely to fail in achieving the real objective due lake of proper planning, the CDP coordinator, Ashraf-Ul-Alam Tutu, said in his written statement.
   The Asian Development Bank, the Netherlands and Bangladesh government is funding the project titled ‘south-western coastal regional integrated water resources development and management project’.
   The CDP arranged the news conference at Khulna Press Club ahead of the visit by the ADB mission to the project areas.
   The ADB team is scheduled to visit the project area from January 25 to January 28 and will exchange views with the government and NGO officials and local people.
   Among others, CPD officials Marina Juthi, Quazi Zaved Khalid Pasha Joy, Shyamali Sutar and Azizur Rahman Chhabi were present.
   The CDP coordinator in his speech said they are in doubt about the success of the project as it was undertaken without discussion with the local people.
   He said there are a large number of fishermen in the project area, but their opinions were not taken before undertaking the project.
   Ashraf also pointed out that another big ADB-funded project Khulna-Jessore drainage rehabilitation project in the region has proved a failure.
   In this regard, he mentioned that the problem of water logging in different areas of the two districts is yet to be eased rather the problem has worsened after implementation of the project.

One hundred and two fire incidents happened in the Barisal city causing damage of valuables worth over Tk 7.88 crore in 2007, Barisal Fire Service and Civil Defence sources said.
   The fire fighters could also save properties worth Tk 4.45 crore by extinguishing the fires promptly, they said, adding that only five persons had been injured in the 102 incidents of fire.
   Unofficial sources, however, claimed that the extent of damages was at least two times higher than the Fire Service and Civil Defence figure.
   The fire service sources detected 17 types of reasons of the fire incidents.
   They said the highest 45 fire accidents took place in residential units, causing damages of valuables worth Tk 66 lakh.
   Twenty-five of the fires happened in markets, shopping complexes and shops, causing damage of Tk 1.25 crore.
   Five fire accidents took place at office, hotel, and on the court premises damaging properties worth Tk 70 lakh.
   Three incidents of fire in two industries and a godown burnt machinery and other valuables worth Tk 5.04 crore while the remaining 24 incidents of small-scale fire caused damage of valuables worth Tk 23 lakh, the sources said.
   Golam Mustafa, deputy director of Barisal Fire Service and Civil Defence, said open ovens and lamps and electric short circuit were found to be the prime reasons for the fire incidents.
   Lack of awareness and failure to immediately inform the fire service stations increased the extent of damages due to the fires, he claimed.

Lack of timely removal of wastes has made the wholesale kitchen market at Nirala in the Khulna city into a stinking place causing nuisance to the market people as well as the pedestrians.
   The Haji Rahej Uddin wholesale kitchen market adjacent to the Sher-e-Bangla road in the city has turned filthy as the wastes of the market are not removed from the dustbin timely, sources in the market said.
   Everyday hundreds of tonnes of vegetables and other kitchen items are sold in the wholesale market and several tonnes of wastes are generated from the market, they added.
   But against this huge quantity of wastes there is only one dustbin at the market and very often wastes spill over into the road causing nuisance to the people and hampering traffic movement, the market sources said.
   The Khulna City Corporation does not have any scheduled time to remove the wastes from the dustbin and generally takes away the garbage through its trucks at day time, a trader said.
   This odorous situation can be averted if the city corporation removes the wastes in the early hours every day, he added.
   The bazaar committee president, Md Humayun Kabir, told New Age that they requested the conservancy department of the corporation several times to clear the dustbin in the early hours.
   ‘But despite repeated requests, the department is yet pay heed to our plea,’ he said.
   When contacted, conservancy department official MA Sattar said they had a plan to place bigger dustbin as the present one is too small to accommodate all the wastes of the market.
   ‘We have planned to make 30-feet long and 20 feet-wide covered dustbin to resolve the problem.

Bangladesh Society for Geographical Information held its regular seminar in the seminar room of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners on January 17.
   Scientists from Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University, Khulna University, Islamic University, SPARRSO, CEGIS and IWM took part in the seminar, said a press release.
   Shahriar Pervez, scientist of SAIC and contractor to USGS Centre for Earth Resources Observation and Science, made a presentation on ‘streamflow simulation using remotely sensed hydrometeorological estimates’.
   The presentation was on an innovative method of estimating stream-flow data where access to ground-level data for the entire basin is unavailable.
   The estimates are simulated using publicly available remotely sensed data on rainfall and evapotranspiration over the entire river basin.
   The model was tested to accurately predict the amount of streamflow at the Bahadurabad point of the Jamuna.
   The streamflow estimates are essential for flood forecasting and flood disaster management.
   The method appears to be very suitable for Bangladesh forecasting where ground data from the headwaters region in India are not readily available.
   After the seminar, the executive committee of BSGI held its regular meeting with its president Professor Amanat Ullah Khan in the chair.
   The meeting decided to hold its annual seminar, AGM in April, and reviewed the progress of launching its proposed Professional Journal. An editor and editorial board were selected for the purpose.

Sex workers have unsafe sex in over 60 per cent cases as their clients avoid wearing condoms, according to a survey.
   The study, conducted by ICDDR,B with the help of the government and local NGOs, shows that the sex workers lack the negotiation power and their clients complain of ‘lack of pleasure’ as the major reasons to avoid wearing condoms.
   The study, titled ‘Understanding barriers to condom use in sex trade in Bangladesh’ was revealed at a joint dissemination seminar in Dhaka on Thursday. Health and family welfare secretary AKM Zafar Ullah Khan was present as chief guest.
   The study was undertaken with assistance from AusAID to identify and explore the barriers to condom use by quantitative survey and individual interview among brothel, hotel and floating sex workers and their clients.

Light rain or drizzle may occur at a few places over Rajshahi, Dhaka, Sylhet, Khulna, Barisal and Chittagong divisions during the 24-hour period till 6:00pm today, Met Office said.
   Light to moderate fog may occur over the river basins of the country during early morning, it said.
   The night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country, the Met Office predicted.
   The country’s highest temperature on Thursday, 28.2 degrees Celsius, was recorded at Cox’s Bazar and the lowest, 11.8 degrees Celsius, at Jessore.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 5:39pm and rises tomorrow at 6:42am.

The Anti-Corruption Commission has rejected the wealth statement of former minister and Awami League presidium member Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury on legal grounds.
   ACC director general for administration Hanif Iqbal said the statement lacked some legal requirements.
   ‘The commission in a meeting today (Thursday) decided not to accept her wealth statement now. A decision will be taken later whether she would be asked for a fresh one or not,’ Hanif told the weekly briefing on Thursday.
   Responding to an ACC notice served on November 18, 2007, Sajeda Chowdhury’s lawyer advocate Khandakar Moniruzzaman submitted her wealth statement to the commission on January 22.
   The ACC secretary, who received the statement, spotted some legal loopholes in it and referred it to the commission for a decision.
   Sajeda is one of the 35 corruption suspects whose names appeared in the fourth list of ACC.
   Hanif said the commission accepted the wealth statement of former minister and chairman of Bangladesh Jatiya Party Naziur Rahman Manjur.
   The ACC on Thursday approved notices to be served on three persons including former state minister KM Jahangir Hossain asking them to submit wealth statements.
   The two others are former BNP lawmaker Fazlul Haq Milon and Shahidul Haque Jamal, a BNP leader and ex-chairman of Bangladesh Red Crescent Society.
   Besides, the commission decided to file cases against two persons and their spouses on charge of acquiring illegal wealth.
   M Habibur Rahman Khan, suspended chief hydrographer of Chittagong Port, and his wife Roksana Khan will be sued on charges of amassing illegal wealth of over Tk 1.87 crore and concealing information of over Tk 1.05 crore in the wealth statement.
   The commission will also sue Captain M Habubur Rahman, principal officer of Mercantile Maritime Department, and his wife Kohinoor Sultana for their wealth of over Tk 1.25 crore earned from unspecified sources and Tk 89 lakh in hidden wealth.

A Rajshahi court Thursday sentenced 10 Sarbahara men to death for killing four policemen and a Juba Dal leader at Manda upazila in Naogaon on August 25, 2006.
   ATM Mesbauddoulah, judge of the Speedy Trial Tribunal in Rajshahi, also sentenced six people to life term imprisonment and five others to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment.
   Those who were awarded death sentence are Tahurul Islam, Shafiqul Islam, Nurul Islam, Nurun Nabi Hasan, Abu Bakkar Siddique, Shafiqul Islam-2, Sanjoy Kumar, Dilip alias Mamun, Tanal alias Ferdous and Pintu.
   Raghunath Barman alias Hero, Ahmed Shah, Nurul, Sanaul Islam, Haji Azimuddin and Khairul Islam were sentenced to life term in prison.
   In addition, the court sentenced 12 persons to life term imprisonment and nine others to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment in an explosion case.
   According to the prosecution, a gang of armed cadres of underground Purba Banglar Communist Party killed the four policemen at a cattle market in the upazila on August 25, 2006 and took away their rifles and three shotguns.
   Najer Ali, a leader of Manda Upazila Juba Dal, was also killed and 50 other people were injured during a 30-minute gunfight between the miscreants and the police.
   After setting off bombs in the market, Sarbahara cadres slit the throats of assistant sub-inspector Feroz and police constables Ashkan, Farid and Bablu.
   The Manda police filed two cases after the incident. The police submitted charge sheet against 21 persons on April 16 last year.
   The law enforcers arrested seven persons in connection with the murder and bomb explosion. Fourteen more convicts are still absconding.
   The arrested seven were on the dock when the judge pronounced the verdict.
   After examining witnesses and evidence, the judge handed down the verdict in a jam-packed courtroom.

The OIC assistant secretary general, Atta Manane Bakhit,
   visited some Sidr-hit areas
   in Sarankhola upazila in Bagerhat on Thursday.
   He drove to Sarankhola from the Dhaka city in the afternoon and visited Southkhali, Tafalbari, Uttar Southkhali and Rayenda village and saw two mosques at Gabtala village razed to the ground by the November 15 cyclone.
   The OIC senior official talked to the affected people during his visit.
   The cyclone hit 75 unions
   of nine upazilas of Bagerhat killing more than 700 people and leaving a trail of destruction.
   Sarankhola was one of the worst affected upazilas in the calamity in the coastal districts of the country.

Mohammad Nasiruddin, assistant news controller of the Bangladesh Betar, died of cancer at a hospital in Dhaka on Thursday. He was 53.
   The namaj-e-janaza of Nasiruddin was held at Ferdous mosque in Mirpur, section 2 after asr prayers, an official handout said. Information secretary Jamil Osman and director general of Betar Mahbubul Alam expressed deep shock at the death of Nasiruddin.
   Mohammad Nasiruddin joined Bangladesh Betar in 1979 and during his career he performed his duties as the regional news controller of Sylhet.
   Nasiruddin would be buried at his family graveyard at Kabulpur at Senbagh upazila in Noakhali.

Language movement hero Muhammad Abdul Halim was buried at Tootpara graveyard in Khulna city Thursday afternoon after namaj-e-janaza at Shaheed Hadis Park.
   Halim, also a National Awami Party leader and historian, died at a Dhaka hospital on Wednesday at the age of 80. He had been suffering from old age complications.

Tayob Uddin, a retired professor of Chapainawabganj Government Collage, died of cardiac arrest at Rajarampur in Chapainawabganj municipality Thursday morning. He was 65.
   He is survived by his wife, two sons and four daughters. He was buried at Namosankarbati Bhobanipur graveyard.

Amjad Hossain Sarker, additional secretary and former chairman of the Land Port Authority, died of cardiac arrest at a city hospital Wednesday night. He was 58.
   He was buried at Banani graveyard after namaj-e-janaza at Baitul Mokarram National Mosque after zuhr prayers Thursday.
   His qul khwani will be held at Amirabad Housing Society after asr prayers on January 28.
   Amjad, a forest cadre official, was on LPR.

Evening EMBA admission test at RU March 14
The test for admission to executive MBA (evening) at the Institute of Business Administration under Rajshahi University will be held at the institute on March 14, said a press release on Thursday. The admission forms can be collected from and submitted to the institute office from Feb 2 to March 4. The students will need to deposit bank draft of Tk 435 with each set of form. Students having minimum GPA 6 in their SSC and HSC exams are eligible for the test.
— New Age

Re-excavation of Subadda Canal
begins
The re-excavation of Subadda Canal at Alam market point in Keraniganj began on Thursday. The local joint forces commander Colonel Mohammad Nasim Akhtar inaugurated the re-excavation. The Water Development Board will execute the 6-kilometer canal re-excavation at a cost of Tk 1.24 crore. The joint forces and district administration with the help of the local people reclaimed the canal, a press release said. The deputy commissioner of Dhaka, Kamal Uddin, and officials of the Water Development Board and BIWTA were present on the occasion. Nasim sought all out cooperation from the local people to make the canal operational again after its re-excavation. Kamal said the canal played a great role in flourishing trade and business in this area.
— BSS