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The Awami League on Saturday went on hunger strike for five hours across the country demanding arrest of essential goods price spiral, introduction of rationing across the country and permanent release of the party president, Sheikh Hasina.
   The party at the programmes vowed to resist any more polls under the state of emergency and local government polls before the national elections.
   ‘No more polls would be allowed to be held under the state of emergency and we must resist any move to hold any more local government polls before the national elections,’ the acting party president, Zillur Rahman, said as he addressed the programme at the office at Dhanmondi.
   Although the party is contesting the elections to four city corporations and nine municipalities, it is demanding national elections first.
   The party on July 13 announced the countrywide hunger strike to protest at essential goods price spiral and to push for a permanent, unconditional release of the party president, Sheikh Hasina, now abroad for treatment after her temporary release by an administrative order on June 11.
   In Dhaka, the members on the presidium, working committee and the advisory council took part in the programme in the party’ chief’s office at Dhanmondi. The city Awami League and the fronts gathered at the party’s central office on Bangabandhu Avenue.
   Addressing the programme at the office at Dhanmondi, the acting party president, Zillur Rahman, said they would not take part in the forthcoming parliamentary polls under the state of emergency. He also said the party would stop others from taking part in the polls in such a situation.
   Demanding parliamentary elections first after withdrawal of the state of emergency, he said holding upazila polls ahead of the national elections was part of a conspiracy.
   Zillur asked the government to immediately take initiatives to control the soaring prices of essential goods and said the country was now passing through a famine-like situation and the people were starving.
   He also urged for a permanent release of Sheikh Hasina. He said the party leaders and activists would not, otherwise, sit idle.
   Presidium member Amir Hossain Amu asked the government to implement their six-point demands, including a permanent release of Hasina and containing commodity price spiral.
   He also warned of tougher movements to push for their demands.
   Amu said upazila elections before parliamentary polls would not be acceptable to them.
   Presidium member Tofail Ahmed said the interim government had failed to fulfil people’s demands. An unelected government can never solve such problems, he said.
   He was critical of the government, saying it did not act as it had had promised during the dialogue. ‘The dialogue has now become a farce.’
   Presidium member Matia Chowdhury demanded withdrawal of the state of emergency, saying the government was not interested in lifting the emergency as it wanted to cling to power.
   The strike began at 11:00am and ended at 4:00pm when Zillur Rahman offered the protesters drinks.
   Party leaders Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Mukul Bose, Abdul Mannan, Faruq Khan, Habibur Rahman Siraj, Subid Ali Bhuiyan, AKM Jahangir, Shahara Khatun, Asaduzzaman Noor, Ali Ashraf, Abdul Mannan Khan, Tajul Islam, Nazma Rahman and Asim Kumar Ukil and advisory council members Amir-ul-Islam, AK Azad Chowdhury and Rahamat Ali, Mahila League president Ashrafunessa Mosharof and general secretary Fazilatunessa Indra and Juba Mahila League president Nazma Akter and general secretary Apu Ukil, among others, joined the programme.
   The Dhaka city Awami League and the Awami League fronts also observed the programme in the party’s central office.
   The Juba League, Awami Swechchhasebak League, Tanti League and Hawkers’ League also joined in. The protesters broke the fast as Matia Chowdhury offered them drinks.
   The New Age correspondent in Rajshahi said the city Awami League had observed the strike for two hours, beginning 9:00am, in the unit office at Kumarpara.
   The New Age correspondents in different divisional and district headquarters including Chittagong, Khulna, and Sylhet reported that party leaders and activists in the districts also went on hunger strike for five hours.

The government on Saturday lodged a ‘strong protest’ with the Indian government against the BSF’s encroachment into Bangladeshi territorial waters and the killing of two BDR personnel at Raghunathpur in Chapainawabganj. Meanwhile, several political parties and non-government organisations strongly condemned the killing of two BDR men by India’s BSF, and urged the Indian government to take measures to force its border guards for stop their killing spree along the border areas.
   In a protest note to India, the government stated that Bangladesh views the actions of the BSF as ‘totally unacceptable’.
   ‘We hope the Indian authorities will take appropriate action against those responsible and ensure that such incidents do not recur,’ said the note.
   The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal’s president, Moinuddin Khan Badal, and general secretary, Syed Jafar Sajjad, in a statement on Saturday strongly condemned the BSF’s intrusion into Bangladesh territory and killing of two BDR men without any provocation.
   ‘We hope the Indian government will find an acceptable solution to the grievous border incident, otherwise our bilateral ties will be seriously endangered,’ said the leaders.
   The Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh said that the killing of BDR men by the Indian border guards without any provocation was a reflection of their dominating attitude.
   The party’s president, Khandakar Ali Abbas, and general secretary, Saiful Haque, urged the government to take necessary measures to stop such wanton killing by the BSF and reduce the tension along the border.
   Odhikar, a prominent human rights organisation, strongly condemned the killing of two Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) personnel on 18 July near the Chapainawabganj border by the Indian BSF.
   In a release it said that India had persistently violated border practices and international norms and follows a shoot-to-kill policy.
   Odhikar further said, ‘This incident is significant in that it coincides with the annual bilateral foreign secretary-level consultations now taking place in New Delhi. When India is discussing with Bangladesh the mechanism to deal with terrorism and illegal cross-border activities, killings of such a nature are positively unhelpful and reveal India’s callous disregard for human lives.’
   Odhikar demanded that all the killings of Bangladeshis by the BSF should be thoroughly investigated and those found guilty should be produced before the law.
   ‘The government must ensure that such killings are not repeated and demand that the government of India should rein in the BSF,’ it said.
   Another human rights organisation, Neeti Gobeshona Kendro, condemned the killing of two BDR men by the BSF on Thursday night as well as the repeated killing of Bangladeshis by the trigger-happy BSF.
   It urged the government to raise the issue of continuous killing by the BSF in the international forum.

The Indian High Commission has categorically denied the involvement of India’s Border Security Force in the killing of two members of the Bangladesh Rifles, about 1.5 kilometres inside Bangladesh territory, on late Thursday night.
   In a news release dated July 18, the High Commission claimed that the incident occurred along the border and that it was a sequel to firing by smugglers on the BSF personnel, which left one of the Indian border guards seriously injured.
   The state-run Press Trust of India, quoting Murshidabad district magistrate Subir Bhadra in West Bengal, reported on Friday that two BDR personnel were killed and several BSF members injured in an exchange of fire between the border guards.
   The High Commission also expressed concern over what it claimed to be ‘inaccurate reports in some sections of the media’ that had alleged violence by BSF leading to the death of some BDR personnel.
   Referring to the coordination between the border guards of the two countries, the High Commission reckoned their current levels of cooperation to be ‘the best in many years’.
   However, the news release did not mention how the BDR men were killed while they were on duty inside Bangladesh territory. The statement also did not clarify whether or not the Indian border guards intruded into Bangladesh territory in Raghunathpur under Chapainawabganj.
   The High Commission’s release read: ‘On the basis of a specific input on cattle smuggling along river Ganga (Padma), on the night of July 17-18, 2008, the 108th Battalion of the BSF noted movement of cattle and their smugglers in the area of border outpost Nimtita (Malda Sector of West Bengal). The BSF river-wing pursued the cattle smugglers who were travelling in boats in Indian territory. These smugglers fired at the BSF upon which BSF retaliated. During this exchange of fire, one BSF constable sustained serious bullet injuries.’
   A flag meeting between local BSF and BDR commanders held on July 18 decided to refer the matter to higher authorities after detailed investigation, the results of which would be shared between the two sides, the release mentioned.
   ‘Cross-border crimes like cattle smuggling are a menace for both countries that occasionally cause firing incidents, mostly in the night. These illegal activities and firing incidents, which sometimes lead to regrettable loss of lives on both sides along the border, need to be tackled through joint efforts and mechanisms,’ said the release.
   ‘In this regard, the border forces of both the countries, BSF and BDR, have worked hard to improve their coordination and their current levels of cooperation are the best in many years,’ it added.

The Border Security Force of India shot dead two Bangladeshis on the Panchpirtala border under Chaugachha upazila in Jessore early Saturday.
   The deceased were Nazirul Islam, 30, son of Rezaul Islam of Panchpirtala and Jainul Abedin, 32, son of Bhadu Mia of the same village.
   The incident took place only a day after the Indian border guards had shot dead two Bangladesh Rifles members in Chapainawabgonj Thursday midnight.
   A tense situation was prevailing in the border area of Jessore over the killing.
   The BDR and locals said the BSF troops of Mashrumpur camp in the West Bengal had opened fire on Nazirul and Jainul at around 5:00 am when they were moving along the border at Panchpirtala. They died on the spot.
   The BSF dragged the bodies into the Indian territory.
   The BDR sent a letter of protest and the BSF has agreed to return the bodies after a commander level meeting was held at Chaugachha.
   The BDR Jessore battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Badrul Huda, told New Age that the BSF had not returned the bodies till 7:00pm.

With production of major cereal crops other than rice declining steadily, the country’s agriculture is still trapped in ad hoc policymaking in the pursuit of gaining self-sufficiency in food.
   Worries about farmland depletion at an annual rate of over 1 per cent have fallen into deaf ears, while calls for ensuring optimum utilisation of arable land and bringing fallow land under cultivation remain in rhetoric alone.
   According to Bangladesh Economic Review-2008, the share of agriculture in gross domestic product declined from 25.87 per cent in 1996-97 to 21.11 in 2006-07 fiscal, although the sector still employs more than 50 per cent of the national workforce.
   The agriculture ministry admits that the successive governments fixed all their focus on higher production of rice, while import bills for cooking oils and pulses continued to inflate due to global price volatility in recent years. A long-pending suggestion to bring slight changes in crop pattern for diversifying agriculture remains unheard to policymakers.
   Cultivation area of pulses shrank further to 7.69 lakh acres with output declining to 2.58 lakh tonnes in 2006-07 from 17.15 lakh acres with production of 5.28 lakh tonnes in 1996-97. The country’s oil seed production was 3.22 lakh tonnes from 7.84 lakh acres in 2005-06 fiscal compared to 4.78 lakh tonnes on 13.7 lakh acres in 1996-97 fiscal year.
   Production of wheat also dropped from an output of 14.54 lakh tonnes on 17.49 acres of land in 1996-97 to 7.37 lakh tonnes on 9.88 lakh acres in 2006-07 fiscal year.
   More than 50 per cent of the country’s demand for pulses of 15 lakh tonnes a year is met by imports while lentil in particular has a domestic demand of 3 lakh tonnes of which 1.5 lakh tonnes is imported, according to market watchers.
   Oil seed and edible oil import bills surged to nearly $800 million in about a decade since 1996-97 fiscal. When the official figures of 2007-08 would be available, it might be much higher in view of rising prices worldwide.
   During the decade, the acreage of Boro rice, which overlaps both Rabi [dry] and Kharip [rainy] seasons of cropping, rapidly increased — almost 1.14 crore acres now from 68.76 lakh acres in 1996-97. Overall, rice cultivation covers about 80 per cent of Bangladesh’s total cultivated area, though self-sufficiency in food still remains a far cry.
   Since rice is the staple food and a politically-sensitive product, agricultural policymakers during all the successive regimes concentrated almost solely on rice production and cared little about other major items.
   Some holistic approaches were planned, but those were never implemented.
   The previous government’s agriculture minister MK Anwar undertook an initiative on ‘Agriculture Sector Review’ in collaboration with development partners. Actionable policy briefs were also prepared but not properly followed up later on.
   ‘A number of valuable recommendations made in the actionable policy briefs have not been implemented. Technically we prepare good documents such as PRSP [poverty reduction strategy paper], but we don’t follow properly,’ said Uttam Kumar Deb of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, describing the lack of implementation of programmes as the biggest problem in Bangladesh.
   He expressed his conviction that Bangladesh could easily utilise regions such as Barindh tracts, coastal zone and Sylhet haor to grow more Rabi crops comprising pulses and oil seeds to significantly reduce imports.
   The chairman of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council, Abdur Razzak, earlier recommended an integrated crop management package by designing agricultural zones based on weather and soil conditions for increasing agricultural production. There are a total of 30 agro-ecological zones defined by experts.
   The latest global surge in prices of food-grains gave a nudge to the policymakers to focus on “self-sufficiency” implying adequacy of food-rains grown at home, shifting from a policy of “self-reliance” meaning the country’s ability to purchase food from international sources besides domestic production.
   Keeping in mind the issue of food security, the interim government is going to review shortly the agriculture policy for exploiting full potentials of the country’s farm sector, said CS Karim, agriculture adviser to the interim government.
   He believed that it was possible to achieve ‘near self-sufficiency’ in pulses and oil seeds. ‘We are trying to motivate the farmers to cultivate other crops as well to reduce dependence on imports,’ he told New Age in the past week, referring to promotional activities targeting 13 crops.
   After the twin floods and cyclone Sidr that caused havoc to agricultural in major parts of the country last year, the government identified mono-crop farmlands for growing more crops. Also, a work plan had been chalked out to increase crop production in each upazila, agriculture ministry officials said.
   Unplanned urbanisation, scattered industrialisation and imprudent infrastructure building on political considerations are generally said to be reasons behind shrinkage in arable land but issues such as expansion of rural houses and sometimes unnecessary construction of various structures on farmland due to inflow of remittances have not yet been properly studied for taking remedial measures.
   Asked how to save cultivatable land at least from non-productive and avoidable uses, Karim termed the issue an individual choice. He, however, mentioned that the government was planning to formulate a strict land use policy whereas development of small townships to stop misuse of cultivable land still remained at a conceptual level.
   Uttam Deb suggested creation of scopes for constructive investment with remittances and other surplus money to reduce farmland depletion. ‘An integrated plan and its proper implementation are important instead of trying to address the issue on a piecemeal basis,’ he added.

The chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, has said efforts are on so that honest, competent, dedicated and patriotic leaderships can hold the helms at local levels and in parliament for a rebuilt future Bangladesh.
   The ‘Esho Bangladesh Gori’ Road Show has carried out massive campaigns with this end in view, the head of the interim government said in his concluding remarks on the 50-day cross-country mission at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka Saturday.
   Fakhruddin firmly hoped that the culture of using black money and muscle power in elections would find a final end and the government was carrying out efforts sincerely to that end.
   ‘All have to work so that wise, honest, competent and patriotic people win every election, in every sphere, in the future and can stand with their heads high.’
   The chief adviser requested people to apply much of their judgment and knowledge in casting their sacred vote, which he said was the highest right of a citizen.
   He also suggested paying attention so that correct reflection of their opinion takes place in voting.
   The Esho Bangladesh Gori (Let us build the country) Road Show was inaugurated by the agriculture adviser, CS Karim, at the same venue on May 30 though the caravan embarked upon the journey from the country’s northern tip in Panchagarh on June 1.
   The campaigners marched with some theme slogans — build corruption-and terrorism-free Bangladesh, ensure free and fair elections, and establish honest and competent leadership in all tiers, say no to drugs, build food habit for other foodstuffs alongside rice, grow more to meet food deficit, remove unemployment, and improve socioeconomic condition through adopting information communication technology and flourishing tourism.
   The road show travelled 55 districts during its over 4,500- kilometre cruising.
   The army chief, General Moeen U Ahmed, also spoke at the function as special guest, making a call for building a corruption- and terrorism-free Bangladesh in the changed context. Agriculture adviser CS Karim presided.
   Advisers, special assistants to the chief adviser, schoolboys and girls and distinguished personalities were present.
   The chief adviser called upon all concerned to carry on massive public-awareness campaigns so that good persons and fit leaderships could take the responsibility of running the country.
   He reassured that free, fair and neutral elections would be held in December and hoped that through this election a welfare-oriented democratic government would take the sacred responsibility of ruling the country.
   He once more called for building a strong national unity like that in ’52 and ’71 for achieving an equitable society by way of establishing the rule of honest and competent persons.
   In his latest wake-up call the chief adviser observed that corruption was engulfing country’s development, prosperity and good governance to a large extent.
   ‘All will have to work together, irrespective of party, path and opinion, to root out corruption from society. Let’s all stand against corruption.’
   Mentioning efforts to keep election free from the influence of black money and muscle power, the CA said to this end the government has established institutional base through establishing independent Election Commission and Anti-Corruption Commission and making various time-befitting laws, rules and regulations.
   At the function, the chief adviser distributed honorary certificates among five institutions for their extraordinary contribution in their respective fields to the nation-building process. The institutions are RAB, BTRC, Department of Agricultural Extension, Bangladesh Computer Samity and Bangladesh Tourism Corporation.
   He also gave away awards to two SMS winners arranged on the occasion of road show.
   Ashiqul Chowdhury of SQUARE handed over to the chief adviser a charter of 100 best ideas, gathered from various sections of people under a programme on the occasion the road show, for building a prosperous Bangladesh. Ten best ones out of the 100 idea-providers would visit Malaysia as guests of that newly developed ASEAN country.
   Fakhruddin distributed recognition letters to three of the idea providers.

Onion and green chilli prices increased further in the city on Saturday because of inundation of chilli fields and disruption in onion import from India.
   Green chilli sold for prices between Tk 50 and Tk 60 a kilogram at the New Market on Friday, registering an increase by Tk 10 in a couple of days and by Tk 20 in the week.
   The supply of the commodities was disrupted as chilli fields went under water in the monsoon, said Abul Hossain, a wholesaler at Karwan Bazar in Dhaka.
   Five kilograms, or a palla, of green chilli were traded for prices between Tk 80 and Tk 100 at Karwan Bazar Saturday afternoon. The price increased by about 50 per cent on the price the previous week.
   Green chilli prices jumped, wholesalers told New Age, in a seasonal phenomenon; chilli prices increase at this time every year because of inundation of the chilli fields, mainly in char areas.
   Onions were retailed between Tk 24 and Tk 34 a kilogram on Saturday, registering an increase by Tk 2 in a couple of days and Tk 8 in two weeks.
   ‘Incessant rain hampered the supply of onions, from India and from farmers, to the wholesale market, which pushed up the prices,’ said Habibur Rahman, the president of the Association of Perishables’ Traders in Dhaka Metropolis.
   A Trading Corporation of Bangladesh report on Saturday said the retail prices of onions jumped by 37 per cent in a month and 9 per cent in a year.

The future of India’s government and a controversial atomic energy deal with Washington hang in the balance this week with the coalition facing a confidence vote seen as being too close to call.
   The Indian parliament opens debate on Monday and is expected to decide Tuesday whether the Congress-led government, grappling for support after being ditched by its communist allies, will stay in office.
   If the government loses, the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, will have to resign, and the world’s largest democracy will head into national elections – possibly as early as September or October.
   It will also spell curtains for a deal with Washington designed to bring nuclear-armed and energy-hungry India out of decades of isolation and into the global nuclear energy marketplace.
   The Congress party says it will win despite the loss of left-wingers, but commentators are not so sure.
   ‘Despite all the talk, the vote will be a close thing, as the smaller parties who hold the key may not back the prime minister,’ prominent political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan said.
   ‘One should not be surprised if the government falls by a few votes.’
   The party lost its majority on July 9 when its communist coalition partners withdrew support in protest over the deal, which the left bloc says is too pro-Washington and will derail India’s ambitious military programme.
   The coalition needs 272 votes to survive the July 22 ballot, and projections say it could fall about a dozen deputies short – despite the bullish talk from several top Congress party officials.
   With the left voting against, Congress has been courting the support of smaller regional and fence-sitting parties.
   One week ago, Congress said it had won over the regional Samajwadi Party – which has 39 MPs – but some members of that party have threatened to rebel and side with the opposition Hindu nationalist BJP.
   Rahul Gandhi, the fifth-generation heir of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, has acknowledged the vote could go either way. After all, a previous government lost a 1996 confidence vote by one seat.
   ‘For ideological or political reasons the deal is being opposed but the Congress has taken a decision... and sometimes in life, risk has to be taken. If the government falls in the process, so be it,’ Gandhi said.
   Rahul’s mother and Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born widow of former premier Rajiv, appealed Thursday to the Indian public for their support over the nuclear deal.
   ‘This nuclear agreement is in the best interest of our country and our future generations and I have no doubt they will recognise the value,’ the party leader told a rally five days ahead of the make-or-break vote.
   The prime minister Singh shows no sign of rolling back the deal he signed with the US president, George W Bush, in 2005, saying it is necessary because India’s coal reserves of 248 billion tonnes will not last forever.
   In an oblique appeal to the squabbling MPs, the government’s chief scientific advisor R Chidambaram told a workshop this week ‘nuclear energy was the inevitable option’ for India, which imports 70 per cent of its fuel needs.
   Nuclear power presently accounts for less than three per cent of India’s electricity generating capacity, according to data obtained from India’s Atomic Energy Commission, and the government says that needs to change with soaring oil prices and denting growth levels of around nine per cent.
   Delhi University political scientist Anand Ojha said Congress may have accepted the likelihood of elections coming sooner than May 2009 – the actual end of the coalition’s mandate.
   ‘This confidence vote is the final dress rehearsal for general elections for all parties,’ he said.

Lawmakers in Nepal on Saturday failed to elect the country’s first president and end weeks of political deadlock following the abolition of the Himalayan monarchy, officials said.
   The selection of the country’s first post-royal head of state would have paved the way for Nepal’s Maoists, who hold the most seats in a recently elected assembly but do not have a majority, to form a government.
   But no candidate won the 298 votes necessary in a secret ballot in the country’s constitutional assembly, according to figures provided by the legislative body.
   The candidate with the biggest number was Ram Baran Yadav, who won 283 votes, according to a statement provided by the assembly.
   Republican Ramraja Prasad Singh, the candidate backed by the Maoists though not a member of the party, won 270 votes, the statement said.
   A third candidate won no votes, leaving the two others to battle it out for the largely ceremonial post again next week in a fresh vote.
   ‘Since no candidate gathered a simple majority for the presidential post, repolling will take place on Monday morning at 8:00am (0215 GMT),’ Kul Bahadur Gurung, who chairs the assembly, announced late Saturday.
   Both candidates who secured votes are ethnic Mahadhesis who hail from the troubled lowland area bordering India known as the Terai, where demands for an autonomous federal state have seen frequent deadly clashes.
   Singh, who was arrested two decades ago for throwing small bombs at parliament and the palace as part of an anti-royal protest, was earlier pegged as the favourite by political analysts.
   The country has been stuck in political limbo since the assembly, which will write a new constitution for Nepal, sacked unpopular king Gyanendra and abolished the 240-year-old Hindu monarchy in a landmark meeting on May 28.
   Interim prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala has since resigned, but with no one in power to accept his resignation, the elderly centrist has lingered on as a weak caretaker.
   The three main parties, who are also leading a two-year-old peace process that saw the Maoist rebels lay down their arms after a decade-long struggle for a republic, had hoped to select a president by consensus.
   But political infighting led to a falling out and to Saturday’s election.
   The new president will take over some of the ceremonial duties previously performed by ousted autocratic king Gyanendra.
   In the past seven weeks, as arguing continued over the symbolic post, Nepal has been largely ungoverned.
   The Nepali fiscal year ended on July 15 without a new budget, although the assembly did approve a supplementary spending bill.
   The country has lurched from strike to strike, over fuel prices, wages and working conditions.
   But once a president is in place, that will pave the way for the formation of a government headed by a prime minister, most likely Maoist leader Prachanda – whose group is still classed as a ‘terrorist’ organisation by the United States.
   ‘The president will accept the resignation of the (interim) prime minister and then the Maoists can form a government,’ explained Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of the Nepali-language news weekly Samay.

Arafat Rahman, the youngest son of the BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, was admitted to a hospital in Thailand after he had left Dhaka Saturday afternoon.
   He was admitted to Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok.
   Thai Airways flight TG-322 carrying Arafat took off from the Zia International Airport at about 1:30pm. His wife Syeda Shameela Rahman, daughters Zahia Rahman and Zafia Rahman and brother-in-law Mushtakim Reza accompanied him.
   Arafat left his Dhaka cantonment home for the airport in an ambulance at about 12:25pm.
   His lawyers Sanaullah Mia and Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas and some relatives saw him off at the airport.
   The government deployed additional police at the airport and Dhaka cantonment before his departure.
   The government on July 17 released ailing Arafat from prison for two months to enable him to have treatment abroad.
   The army-led joint forces on September 3, 2007, arrested Arafat along with his mother at their house at Dhaka cantonment.
   Arafat was implicated in two cases for taking ‘kickbacks’ and ‘amassing illegal wealth’. A court, however, exempted him from personal attendance during the proceedings.
   Arafat underwent treatment in a prison cell in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University hospital for about eight months since November 12, 2007. His wife Shameela on May 24 asked the government’s permission to take him to Thailand for treatment.
   The government has imposed a number of conditions for the two months of his freedom that is scheduled to end on September 16.
   According to a home ministry order, Arafat or relatives accompanying him will inform the Bangladesh mission every three days after his arrival in a foreign country for treatment; he should not contact anyone to talk politics or business during his stay abroad; he will inform the government as soon as his treatment completes and will return home.
   His release will be cancelled if any of the conditions is violated. The government can cancel the release without showing any reason.
   On June 11, the government released Awami League president Sheikh Hasina from prison for eight weeks for treatment in the United States. After the treatment of her hearing and eyes, Sheikh Hasina is now visiting London.
   The government also released ailing AL general secretary Abdul Jalil on a 30-day parole on March 2 to enable him to have treatment in Singapore. Later it extended his parole till August 1.

A Dhaka court on Saturday ordered Shamim Eskandar, younger brother of the detained former prime minister Khaleda Zia, to jail.
   Chief metropolitan magistrate AM Zulfiker passed the order after he was arrested Friday in front of Khaleda’s Dhaka Cantonment residence.
   Shamim stands accused in a case, filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission, and also faces allegations of violating Emergency Powers Rules.
   Lawyers sought bail for Shamim, arguing that he was a patient with heart diseases.
   The graft case against Shamim was under investigation, according to Shamim’s lawyers. In court, the lawyers argued that there was no provision in the ACC law of arresting an accused person before pressing charges, but that was an exception.
   Shamim’s wife Kaniz Fatema won bail from the High Court in the same graft case.
   The magistrate said his court could not hold a hearing on the bail plea in a case under the EPR.
   The lawyers appealed to the court to make an arrangement for better treatment of their client and award him division. The magistrate asked jail authorities to take ‘proper steps.’
   Shamim was arrested when he arrived in the Dhaka cantonment to visit Khaleda’s youngest son Arafat Rahman, who was released Thursday on parole for better treatment abroad. Arafat left for Bangkok Saturday.
   Khaleda’s eldest son Tarique Rahman is also behind bars.

The BNP’s secretary-general, Khandakar Delwar Hossain, on Saturday said the arrest of Shamim Eskandar was meant to put Khaleda Zia under fresh mental pressure.
   He said the people of the country were seeing rays of hope at the conditional release of Khaleda’s younger son Arafat Rahman, but the rays have faded after the arrest of her younger brother Shamim.
   ‘Shamim was not hiding, but rather went to see his just released nephew. We do not accept the place and time of his arrest, and the arrest is questionable as it happened just after the visit,’ said Delwar at his Sher-e-Bangla Nagar flat.
   Delwar saw the release of Arafat Rahman as a positive gesture of the government but expressed frustration at the arrest of Shamim.
   He also demanded release of Tarique Rahman according to the same procedure. ‘If he is not sent abroad immediately, he will be physically disabled forever,’ he said. He also demanded immediate release of Khaleda Zia for creation of a congenial environment for dialogue on election issues. ‘Release of Khaleda Zia is essential in this regard. We have repeatedly said that we want to participate in the dialogue but the proper environment has to be created first.’
   ‘We are ready to attend the dialogue with the government along with Khaleda Zia, and we want to contest the polls too. But the BNP and the alliance will not participate in any staged, farcical election,’ he said.
   On trial of corrupt people, Delwar said, ‘The BNP never tolerated corruption and the corrupt people should be tried, but the trials have to be held under regular laws of the state, not under emergency rules.’
   He also slammed the deployment of policemen around the NAM building of which his flat is a part. ‘Whatever is done here should be according to rules and regulations. I do not know why so many policemen have been deployed here.’ ‘If I want to go to the airport to see off Arafat, I can go. I see no need for deploying policemen here,’ he said.
   Several contingents of policemen were deployed around Delwar’s place in the morning.

The Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal on Saturday observed a token hunger strike at the district headquarters to push for its 13-point charter of demands including release of the BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia.
   The Bangladesh Nationalist Party youth front’s other demands include sending of Khaleda Zia’s eldest son Tarique Rahman abroad for treatment, release of all detained political leaders, lifting of the state of emergency, containing the hike in prices of essential commodities and holding the parliamentary elections first.
   Reports from different divisional and district headquarters including Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Rangamati, Feni, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Chandpur, Comilla, Brahmanbaria, Sylhet, Habiganj, Sunamganj, Khulna, Jessore, Rajshahi, Bogra, Mymensingh, Faridpur, Netrakona, Jamalpur, Barisal, Manikganj, Sirajganj, Rangpur, Satkhira, Gopalganj, and Shariatpur said the leaders and activists of the organisation had observed a token hunger strike.

US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan Saturday to visit troops and assess efforts against extremist violence at the start of a major international tour, officials said.
   Obama will meet Afghanistan’s president Hamid Karzai on Sunday, the Afghan government said. He will also visit some of the 36,000 US soldiers in Afghanistan, many of them in the east of the country along the border with Pakistan.
   ‘I’m looking forward to seeing what the situation on the ground is,’ the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee told reporters before leaving the United States.
   ‘I want to, obviously, talk to the commanders and get a sense, both in Afghanistan and in Baghdad of, you know, what ... their biggest concerns are. And I want to thank our troops for the heroic work that they’ve been doing.’
   US government and military officials in Kabul were tight-lipped about Obama’s movements in Afghanistan, with high-profile visits usually under wraps because of the threat from insurgents like the Taliban.
   He is due to travel on to Iraq Monday and then to Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and Britain.
   The Illinois senator said in the days building up to the tour that Afghanistan needs more help as it battles the Taliban-led insurgency.
   If he wins the November elections, he plans to commit at least two more combat brigades, up to 10,000 men, to Afghanistan while downscaling the size of the force in Iraq.
   ‘We need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and more non-military assistance to accomplish the mission there,’ Obama said in the New York Times on Monday.
   ‘Iraq is not the central front in the war on terrorism, and it never has been.’ In a major foreign policy address on Tuesday, Obama reiterated his promise to get most US combat troops out of Iraq within 16 months, and to focus on al-Qaeda havens in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
   ‘Al-Qaeda has an expanding base in Pakistan that is probably no farther from their old Afghan sanctuary than a train ride from Washington to Philadelphia,’ Obama said.
   ‘We cannot tolerate a terrorist sanctuary, and as president I won’t.’ The insurgency that is hobbling Afghanistan’s attempts to recover from decades of war was launched after the Taliban were removed from government in late 2001 in an invasion led by the United States.
   The hardliners were attacked after they refused to hand over al-Qaeda leaders for the 9/11 attacks that killed around 3,000 people in Washington and New York.
   In one of the deadliest attacks on foreign troops since they deployed here in 2001, nine US soldiers were killed July 13 when about 200 insurgents stormed a base a remote outpost in the northeast. Another 15 soldiers were wounded.
   A week earlier, Kabul was struck by its deadliest suicide attack when a car bomb blew up outside the Indian embassy. Around 60 people were killed including two senior Indian diplomats.

Nelson Mandela, fresh from being feted at home and abroad on his 90th birthday, hosted a banquet Saturday for the new generation of South African leaders as well as hundreds of friends.
   Thabo Mbeki, who went from being Mandela’s deputy to succeed him as the country’s second black head of state in 1999, and Jacob Zuma, head of the ruling ANC party and tipped to become president next year, were among the first of the 500 guests to arrive for the lavish celebrations in the rural Eastern Cape.
   Mandela’s fellow Nobel peace prize winner Desmond Tutu and former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda were also expected for a feast which had traditional food such as tripe and sheep’s heads on the menu.
   Also there was George Bizos, the lawyer who defended Mandela and other anti-apartheid leaders during the era of white rule, and one of his doctors, Peter Friedland, who said, ‘For a man of 90, he’s in very good shape.’
   But heavily-armed police on duty at his homestead in the dury village of Qunu barred entrance to a number of would-be gatecrashers who were not on the guest list.
   Mandela’s grandson Mandla said ‘unfortunately we had to politely turn them away, irrespective of their stature.’
   ‘I was under the impression that as government officials we would be let in, I am disappointed about the Mandelas for doing this to us,’ said one politician who did not want to be named.
   The guests gathered under a big white tent decorated with the blue and orange colours of Mandela’s Xhosa tribe and with his clan’s crest of a bee flanked by tree branches, symbolising industry, community and strength.
   Black and white, they arrived bearing impressively wrapped gift boxes and banners reading ‘Mandela our hero’. Many wore colourful traditional Xhosa attire, complete with beads and animal skins, whatever their origin.
   Performances by choirs and dancers were planned under the tent. As the party started, herd boys beat drums outside, while an orchestra played inside.
   While Mandela spent his birthday – and the 10th anniversary of his marriage to his third wife Grace Machel – on Friday with his family, Saturday’s event was to give some of his legion of admirers a chance to express their best wishes in person.
   ‘We would like to thank him (for) what he has done for us, what he has done for the people of South Africa,’ Mbeki said in a televised interview.
   While the focus of the celebrations was in Qunu, those unable to secure an invite were planning to stage their own tributes, with a concert in Johannesburg’s landmark Nelson Mandela Square among the highlights.
   Although Mandela retired from public life four years ago he has continued to be involved with his charitable foundation, raising millions of dollars for victims of the AIDS pandemic and to help underprivileged children.
   An exhibition of art and letters by children from across the world featured at the Nelson Mandela Museum, close to Qunu, about Mandela and US civil rights activist Rosa Parks, who also challenged her country’s segregation laws.
   ‘The museum is what Madiba (Mandela’s clan name) stands for: humility, courage and wisdom,’ said Kader Asmal, the chairman of the board of the museum, who was a minister during Mandela’s five years as president.
   Pre-recorded video messages from US presidential contender Barack Obama and Tutu would also be shown at the museum, a family member said.
   Mandela served 27 years as a prisoner for his leading role in the fight against the whites-only apartheid regime before being released in 1990. He was elected president in 1994.
   A long-time hero of the majority black population, he then won over the white minority by pursuing a policy of racial conciliation before stepping down after one term in power.
   Zuma said Saturday that Mandela’s legacy reminds rulers to lead by the will of the people, defend democracy and never discriminate.
   ‘You are the glue that holds us together as a nation. You provide eternal hope in our people and the world, that South Africa can only be a better place each day’, he said.

Chief adviser’s special assistant for power and energy ministry M Tamim on Saturday said no more gas-based power plant would be set up in the country as there was a shortage of the fossil fuel.
   He said this while addressing a seminar on Bangladesh’s main challenges to meet future electricity demand, organised by Energy and Power magazine at CIRDAP auditorium.
   Referring to the country’s chronic gas crisis that hampers the electricity generation, Tamim said a team was now visiting the gas-fired power plants to identify their efficiency level.
   Terming the present gas crisis as a legacy of the past, Tamim, a former professor of Petroleum Engineering at BUET, said only one gas field was discovered in the country in the last 10 years. ‘So the present government has to think about gas import.’
   He said the use of electricity was increasing day by day because of its low price.
   Describing the government’s steps to boost gas production, Tamim said state-owned BAPEX was recently allocated the highest fund to expedite its operation. ‘Even we’ve accepted the price that BAPEX offered for its new gas field.’
   Calling upon the political parties to reach a consensus on the energy issue he said, ‘We should go for multiple approaches in resolving the country’s power and energy crises.’
   ’We’re going to hand over power to an elected political government. So, they should use experts to deal with the matters,’ he added.
   He said the existing coal and gas reserves were enough to ensure the country’s energy security for the next 10 years. ‘So it’s now imperative to take the right decision.’
   Taking a swipe at critics, the special assistant said they should come up with their alternative solution to the crisis instead of indulging in criticism.
   The seminar was addressed, among others, by Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission chairman Ghulam Rahman, former PDB chairman Quamrul Islam Siddique, Planning Commission member AMM Nasir Uddin, Power Cell director general Abdul Jalil and Petrobangla director Mokbul-e-Elahi.

Passport seekers will have to pay Tk 200 extra as postage for sending applications and getting passports delivered by post offices, said finance ministry sources.
   Post offices, engaged in speedy passport delivery services, at present do not take additional charges from applicants.
   ‘Postal department has engaged extra workforce and working hours for the services which also cost extra,’ said a high official of the finance ministry.
   The Department of Immigration and Passport proposed introduction of additional Tk 200 fee for passport seekers willing to get the postal service.
   Finance adviser Mirza Azizul Islam approved the proposal last week and a circular was to be issued shortly, officials confirmed.
   The postal department has engaged seven regional post offices to aid the Department of Immigration and Passport in expediting the passport delivery process through its one-stop service centre under a six-month project, which is set to be extended for a year.
   Under the project, post offices are accepting applications for passports through its service windows and sending those to Department of Immigration and Passport. After verification and issuance of passports, the immigration department send those to post offices concerned and from there applicants collect their passports.
   Last year Trust Bank, a private commercial bank, signed a memorandum of understanding with the immigration department for offering passport services through its branches at Dilkusha, Dhanmondi, Gulshan and Uttara in the capital.

Obesity continued to creep up in the United States last year and now affects more than one in four US adults, a US government report showed Friday.
   In 2005, 23.9 per cent of adults in the United States were obese, or had a body mass index greater than 30, while in 2007, the percentage had grown to 25.6 per cent, data issued by the Centres for Disease Control showed.
   Body mass index is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilos by his or her height squared in meters.
   In three states – Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee – nearly one in three adults was obese.
   Mississippi, which is also the poorest US state, had the highest rate of obesity in the United States, at 32 per cent. Colorado had the lowest rate of obesity at 18.7 per cent and was the only state in which obesity was running at less than 19 per cent.
   No state has achieved the official target to bring obesity down to 15 per cent of the adult population by 2010, the report showed.
   Obesity was highest for non-Hispanic black women, nearly four in 10 of whom were obese.
   University graduates were the least likely to be obese – around 22 per cent compared with 29 per cent of people who only obtained a high school diploma.
   A report issued last year by the Trust for America’s Health said the percentage of obese adults more than doubled in the past 25 years across the United States, growing from 15 per cent in 1978-80 to 32 per cent in 2003-04.

A Canadian soldier was among two dozen people killed in new Taliban-linked violence in Afghanistan, authorities said Saturday, as US presidential hopeful Barack Obama visited.
   The soldier, the 88th fatality from Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan since 2002, was killed when a bomb blew up a foot patrol in the southern province of Kandahar shortly before midnight Friday, the Canadian army said.
   Canada is one of the major contributors to an international coalition helping the Afghan government tackle an insurgency launched after the Taliban were driven from government in late 2001 by a US-led coalition.
   Four Afghan police officers were killed in another bombing in the same area on Saturday, the police said.
   The Taliban said they had carried out the attack in Kandahar’s Maiwand district.
   ‘A police vehicle which was on a routine patrol struck a roadside bomb. Four policemen were killed and another one was injured,’ the police official Khan Mohammad said.
   Also in Kandahar Saturday, a suicide bomber blew up near a police post on a road leading to the biggest NATO-led base in the southern city, injuring a policeman and a child, a police officer at the scene said.
   In the neighbouring province of Zabul meanwhile nine Taliban militants were killed in a gunfight with security forces, deputy police chief Ghulam Jailani Khan said.
   The fighting erupted after gunmen attacked a supply convoy heading to NATO bases in the region, he said.
   ‘We sent police forces to help the guards. In fighting which lasted two hours, we killed nine Taliban,’ he said.
   Separately, four police officers were killed when militants stormed their outpost in the eastern province of Paktia on Friday, the interior ministry said. Two other officers were missing, it said in a statement.
   Another police officer was killed Friday when a roadside bomb hit the convoy of the police chief of central Ghazni province. The police chief survived the bombing, the ministry said.
   It also reported that seven Afghan security guards working with NATO-led forces were killed in two separate bomb explosions Friday in the southern province of Helmand – a hotbed of Taliban insurgents.
   The latest violence comes as US Democratic presidential hopeful Barak Obama visited Afghanistan on his first tour
   of the main war zones where the US military has deployed troops.
   US troops make up nearly half of the almost 70,000 international soldiers in Afghanistan to help the government fight back the insurgents.
   This year 135 international soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan, most of them in rebel attacks, according to an AFP tally.

The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association claimed that the country does not need to import yarn as local spinners have more than enough capacity to feed the export-oriented knitwear manufacturing sector.
   ‘The BTMA is confident that the local spinning sub-sector is capable of not only feeding the country’s knitwear sector but also of exporting a considerable amount of yarn,’ said BTMA’s statement on Saturday.
   The BTMA claimed that spinning units across the country have large stocks of yarns ready for sale.
   The BTMA also informed knitwear manufacturers that at least five new spinning units will begin producing in the next few months, so the output of yarn will rise even further.
   The BTMA recently expressed its regret when the authorities concerned made it easy to import yarn from India, especially by relaxing import though land routes.

Nine Indian soldiers were killed and 16 others injured in a landmine blast Saturday in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, the army said.
   The attack was described as the deadliest since India and Pakistan started a peace process in January 2004.
   ‘We have nine fatalities,’ Indian army spokeswoman Neha Goel said, adding that over a dozen others were hurt in the explosion in Narabal on the outskirts of Indian Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar.
   A police officer confirmed nine had died and 16 others were hurt when their bus drove over the mine.
   Pro-Pakistan militant group Hizbul Mujahedin claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to the local Current News Service.
   ‘We have carried out the blast and killed more than 20 soldiers,’ a Hizbul Mujahedin spokesman claimed.
   The soldiers were travelling from Uri, bordering Pakistan-administered Kashmir, to the Indian army’s main headquarters in Srinagar.
   The blast ripped through the military bus, turning it sideways, and shattered the windows of six other vehicles, witnesses said. The dead and injured were taken to the Indian army’s main hospital in Srinagar.
   Goel said some of the injured were in a ‘critical condition.’
   Soldiers and the police later sealed off the area and launched searches to track down any militants.
   The blast took place on a key highway and military supply route connecting Srinagar with the northern districts of Baramulla and Kupwara, areas of heavy army and militant activity and both bordering Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.
   Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan hold the scenic region in part but claim it in full, and have fought two of their three wars over the region.
   Pakistan denies Indian allegations that it was behind a Muslim insurgency directed at New Delhi’s rule which broke out in 1989.

The chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, has called for providing more support to Bangladesh from the World Bank’s Global Food Crisis Response Programme to ensure food security of the country.
   He made the call when the newly appointed World Bank vice-president of South Asian region Ms Isabel Guerrero paid a call on him at his official residence Jamuna Saturday night.
   During the call on, matters relating to different issues including the adverse impact of climate change across the world came up.
   The chief adviser stressed on expanding regional cooperation to face the adverse impact of climate change.
   He sought World Bank’s support to construct coastal embankments to protect the country from natural calamities.
   Fakhruddin said Bangladesh was trying to maintain economic stability despite facing devastating cyclone Sidr, floods and global price-hike of essential goods.
   Appreciating the WB for its support in different social development, gas, power, communication and urban infrastructure sectors of the country, he asked for increasing the bank’s assistance in these very vital sectors to maintain its high economic growth.
   Referring to remittance earning of the country by exporting manpower abroad, the chief adviser said along with providing higher education the Bangladeshi labour forces have to be imparted technical and vocational training with a view to earn more foreign remittance.
   He said, the World Bank could support Bangladesh to this end.
   The chief adviser listed different programmes undertaken by the interim government to hold free, fair and credible elections as per the roadmap announced by the Election Commission as well as ensuring good governance.
   World Bank country director Xian Jhu was with the visiting World Bank vicepresident.

Poet Samudra Gupta died at Narayana Hridayalaya hospital in the south Indian city of Bangalore Saturday morning. He was 62.
   He is survived by his widow, two daughters and numerous friends and admirers. The body of the poet will arrive in Dhaka on Monday.
   The poet, who was suffering from severe complications of pancreas, was admitted to the hospital on July 3.
   His real name Abdul Mannan was totally overshadowed by his pen name Samudra Gupta.
   Samudra Gupta, a prominent figure in contemporary Bangla poetry and also a founding member and former general secretary of the National Poetry Council, was admitted to BIRDEM Hospital on May 5 and shifted to Square Hospital on May 17.
   He was flown to Bangalore on July 3 after his condition deteriorated.
   Different political, social and cultural organisations, including Bangladesh Workers’ Party, Bangladesh Chhatra Moitri, National Poetry Council, Dhaka University Film Society, Gana-Sangskriti Front and Jatiya Giti Kabi Parishad, in separate condolence messages, expressed deep shock at the death of the poet.
   In their messages, the organisations recalled Samudra Gupta’s contribution to the modern Bengali poetry. They said that his poems reflected the voice of common people.
   Samudra Gupta was born on June 23 in 1946 in Sirajganj. The poet-journalist authored a good number of collections of poems, short stories and essays. His books ‘Rod Jhalsano Mukh’, ‘Swapnamangal Kabya’, ‘Ekhono Utthan Achhe’, ‘Chokhe Chokh Rekhe’, ‘Ekaki Roudrer Dike’ received critical acclaim.

A prisoner died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital early Saturday a couple of hours after he was brought from Dhaka Central Jail.
   The deceased, Amzad Hossain Khokan, 38, was arrested about three months ago on charge of drug peddling.

Security has been stepped up in the Sylhet city and its adjacent areas ahead of the two-day visit by the chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed and members of the advisers’ council.
   The officials of the divisional and district administrations, police and Rapid Action Battalion held meetings aiming to ensure the foolproof security of the chief adviser and his cabinet members during the visit, sources in local administration and Sylhet metropolitan police said.
   Apart from the venues for the citizen’s dialogue and cabinet meeting, the police and RAB men will be deployed at all the key-installation points in the city.
   Additional armed police and other law enforcers will be stationed at Sylhet Osmani International Airport, Circuit House, Jalalabad Gas Bhaban and shrines of Hazrat Shahjalal and Hazrat Shah Paran.
   The plainclothes security personnel will also be deployed at the venues and adjacent areas.
   The chief adviser will reach Srimangal in Moulvibazar today by a helicopter from Dhaka and attend a meeting there.

Internet surfers in Bangladesh have failed to access the popular Bangla blogging community Sachalayatan (www.sachalayatan.com) since July 15 afternoon.
   The site administrators said it could not be accessed from Bangladesh through any internet service providers who use the international gateway of the Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited. A few users could access the site through the service providers who use VSAT.
   The Sachalayatan authorities in a posting on Friday said they had tried their best to find out technical fault, if any, on their end which might have stopped users from accessing the site from Bangladesh, but they did not find any such fault.
   Some information technology experts in Bangladesh and abroad told the site administrators that Port 80 and Port 110 of Sachalayatan had seemed to be blocked on the BTCL end, which could prevent HTML access to the site.
   The site administrators said bloggers and browsers from everywhere but Bangladesh could access the site and access was allowed from Bangladesh when users go through VSAT.
   The Sachalayatan authorities thought there could be two reasons — either a ban by the government on access to the site or a technical fault on the BTCL end.
   They also demanded withdrawal of any ban, if imposed, or correct the faults. They so doubted as in the case of banning any sites in the past, no announcement was made.
   Bloggers in Bangladesh observed the denial of access to the site could have followed a posting by blogger Faruk Wasif on the assault of a freedom fighter by forces who acted against the country’s independence during the war in 1971.
   The BTCL managing director, Ashraful Alim, told New Age he did not know if any such thing had happened. He said the company had no jurisdiction to block web site access.
   When he was told that the Sachalayatan ports on the BTCL end seemed to be blocked, Ashraf said he would look into the matter, if any, the next working day.

At least six people were killed and 20 others injured in a road accident at Konabari under Kamarkhand upazila in Sirajganj on Saturday.
   The police said the accident took place at 5:00am on the western side of Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge when a Dhaka-bound bus of Anindya Paribahan from Lalmonirhat collided head-on with a cement-laden truck.
   Three people including the bus driver died on the spot while three others on way to the hospital. Two of them were identified as Abdul Matin, 45, medical officer of Lalmonirhat General Hospital, and his associate Alamgir Hossain, 50.
   The injured were admitted to Sirajganj General Hospital. Five of them were in critical condition, hospital sources said.
   The police said the truck driver managed to flee from the scene soon after the accident. A case was filed in this regard.