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A government committee has recommended giving permission to low-cost airlines to use Zia International Airport for carrying passengers cheaply in spite of Biman’s apprehension that it will hinder the growth of local airlines plying the international routes.
   The 10-member committee, headed by a joint secretary of the civil aviation and tourism ministry, in late February submitted its recommendations to the ministry, stating that budget airlines should be allowed to use ZIA to fly to countries with whom Bangladesh has bilateral air service agreement, but they will have to make at least three weekly flights from Chittagong.
   A low-cost carrier is actually an airline that offers low fares but omits many traditional passenger services. Legally there is no difference between a full-service and a low-cost carrier as both require approvals from the concerned regulatory authorities and have to ensure similar safety measures.
   Low-cost airlines are able to offer fares that are lower by $100 to $150 than those of the full-service airlines by curtailing onboard services such as food and beverage, online booking system and also by imposing restrictions on baggage weight.
   The Biman Bangladesh Ltd said that Bangladeshi carriers suffer from competitive disadvantage due to higher fuel price in Bangladesh and tax on aircraft spares, and if low-cost carriers are allowed to operate to and from Dhaka, this disadvantage would be deepened further and the local carriers would lose passengers and thus suffer financially.
   ‘This will seriously hinder the government’s initiative to develop private sector airlines in Bangladesh,’ said Biman. Besides Biman, there are four private airlines in the country providing service in domestic routes and also planning to spread their wings in the international sky.
   GMG Airlines already flies to several international destinations including Kolkata, Delhi, Dubai, Kathmandu, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Best Air also plans to fly to some Asian destinations including Chennai in India and Kunming in China.
   Independent aviation analyst Imran Asif said that allowing low-cost airlines would not hamper the growth of the local airlines, rather it would increase competition and thus attract more passengers.
   He, however, suggested withdrawal of taxes on fuel and spare parts as they are a heavy burden for the local airlines and hamper their growth.
   ‘Around 60 to 70 per cent of the operating cost is the price of fuel, so the existing 40 per cent tax on fuel automatically stops local airlines from being competitive in relation to foreign airlines,’ he said.
   Low-cost airlines like Air Asia of Malaysia, Air India Express of India, Air Arabia of the United Arab Emirates and Jazeera Airways of Kuwait have applied to the government for operating from ZIA.
   But the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh refused to grant permission to low-cost airlines to fly from Dhaka and allowed them to use only Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong.
   ZIA has the capacity of handling 85 lakh passengers annually, but according to an analysis of the last five years’ traffic, it handled only 32 lakh passengers, which means that the airport can accommodate many more airlines.
   The CAAB, earlier, granted permission to a low-cost carrier, Air Arabia, and Asia’s biggest budget airline, Air Asia, to operate international flights from Shah Amanat in Chittagong.
   Air Arabia currently operates five flights a week from Chittagong to Sharjah out of the seven it was given by the CAAB.

The government on Wednesday began commissioning a project with an involvement of $120 million to help improve livelihoods and living conditions of three million urban poor, especially women over a period of seven years.
   A major objective of the project is to deliver benefits to the poor through ‘pro-poor urban policy.’
   The United Nations Development Programme with support from the UK Department for International Development has undertaken the project styled ‘Urban Partnerships for Poverty Reduction.’
   A total of 30 towns, including the Dhaka city, will be covered by the project to be implemented by the Local Government Engineering Department in collaboration with respective municipalities and city corporations.
   A memorandum to this effect was signed between the government’s Economic Relations Division and the UNDP on Wednesday. ERD secretary Aminul Islam Bhuiyan and UNDP country director Manoj Basnyat signed the memorandum.
   ‘The ground work of the project has already been done while the money is also ready. The implementation of the project started with the signing of the MoU,’ a UNDP official told New Age.
   The Urban Partnerships for Poverty Reduction project is built on the experiences of the earlier UNDP-funded Local Partnerships for Urban Poverty Reduction Project 2000-2007. The new project is designed to support local capacity for development and implementation of poverty reduction strategies at town level.
   Links to financial institutions, such as local banks and micro-finance bodies, to provide access to a wide range of financial services by community groups, including housing improvements and business development support will also be provided through the project.
   ‘It will ensure that the implementation of pro-poor urban development and poverty reduction strategies at town level influence policy development at the national level,’ said a news release issued on the occasion.
   This project also aims to mobilise the urban poor communities and groups to create healthy living environments and support urban poor families to acquire resources, knowledge and skills to increase their incomes and assets.
   ‘As part of the global commitment made through the Millennium Development Goals, UNDP will continue assisting Bangladesh to fulfil the promise and we are thankful to the UK Government for its support to poverty eradication drive,’ said Manoj Basnyat.

The Anti-Corruption Commission in a letter to the Cabinet Division has said there are four present and former bureaucrats among the accused in the Barapukuria graft case filed against former premier Khaleda Zia and 15 others, and asked for necessary actions against them in this regard.
   The four former and incumbent bureaucrats accused in the case filed on February 26 are former energy secretary Nazrul Islam, former Petrobangla chairman and incumbent BISIC chairman SR Osmani, former Petrobangla director Moinul Ahsan (retired) and former managing director of Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Sirajul Islam (retired).
   Meanwhile, the commission on Wednesday approved the submission of charge sheets in the cases ag-ainst Awami League leader Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury’s son Dipu Chowdhury and former Awami League MP from Feni Joynal Hazari.
   A non-submission case was filed against Dipu Chowdhury for his failure to submit his wealth statement in time while Hazari was sued for acquiring wealth beyond his known sources of income.
   Former adviser to then prime minister Khaleda Zia and now LDP leader Professor Jahanara Begum and former deputy minister Asadul Habib Dulu on Wednesday submitted their wealth statements to the commission.

All should change their patriarchal mindset and pay more attention to empowerment of women, said former adviser to the caretaker government Sultana Kamal on Wednesday.
   ‘Change in social perception was also necessary,’ said Sultana Kamal, also the executive director of Ain O Salish Kendra, while she was addressing a discussion meeting.
   ActionAid Bangladesh organised the discussion at the CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka to mark International Women’s Day that falls on March 8.
   Speaking on the occasion, Michael Shultz Shrepping of the UNDP Police Reform Project stressed the need for ensuring gender equality in the police force as many victims were reluctant to talk to the male officers after occurring incidents like rape.
   Former adviser to the caretaker government and Women Entrepreneurs Association chairperson Rokeya A Rahman said now rural women in Bangladesh were in advanced position.
   ‘They are now more solvent and involved in family decision-making. Involvement of women in the garment industry has empowered them financially,’ she observed.
   Speakers at the discussion meeting said gender discrimination and patriarchal attitude were hampering the rights of women in every sector.
   ‘My son is not allowed admission into any school simply because he is the child of a sex worker,’ said a sex worker Rokeya referring to the discrimination against them.
   She said her children were also part of the society. ‘Political leaders come to us only for seeking votes but they don’t even talk to us after the election,’ she added.
   ‘Why can’t my son go to school?’ she questioned while speaking at the discussion meeting. Rokeya represented a group of sex workers and their families at the meeting.
   Taleya Rahman of Democracywatch, Farah Kabir, country director of ActionAid Bangladesh, and Nazneen Ahmed of BIDS also spoke at the programme.

The death toll from the February 28 launch disaster in the River Buriganga has risen to 49 with the recovery of one more body on Wednesday.
   Local people and the family of the victims have so far recovered 10 bodies after the rescue operation was called off Friday.
   The victim found on Wednesday was identified as Sajib, 10, son of Mohammad Lokhman Hossain of Sirajdikhan in Bikrampur.
   The victim’s uncle Amir Hossain recovered the body near the spot at around 9:30am after a search on board on engine boat.
   Sajib along with his younger brother Rajib, grandmother Anwara Begum, uncle Yousuf, and aunt Farzana on board the ML Sourav 1 to visit his grandfather’s in Narayanganj.
   Soon after the incident, Yousuf, and Farzana managed to survive with the help of some local boatmen. The rescuers recovered the body of Anwara.
   The family managed to recover the body of Rajib, along with six others, Sunday morning.
   The five-member inquiry committee, headed by shipping ministry joint secretary Abdul Matin, continued with the investigation on Wednesday.

Property worth about Tk 5 lakh was gutted in a fire that broke out at an apartment of a five-storey building at Dhanmondi in the city on Wednesday.
   Witnesses said the fire originated from an electric short circuit at a room on the third floor of the building at Road 4/A, House 55/1 in Dhanmondi at around 11:45am. It immediately engulfed the whole room, burning down household equipment, furniture, computer and colour television, they added. No casualty was reported in the incident.
   As smoke was billowing out from the third floor, a large number of people went to the spot creating traffic jam on the road and adjacent Satmasjid Road for a while.
   Frightened by the gushing smoke, most residents of the building, including housewives and children, came down to the central staircase shouting fire, fire.
   ‘There was a mad rush at the staircase to escape the fire although we hadn’t seen the flame. We were enveloped in smoke and couldn’t see anything,’ said Mahmuda, a housewife.
   On information, three fire fighting vehicles from Mohammadpur fire station rushed to the scene and put out the fire at around 1:15pm.
   Fire Service and Civil Defence officials said the extent of loss, caused by the fire, was under investigation. The loss would be at least Tk 5 lakh as they managed to save the valuables worth Tk 20 lakh, the officials said.
   The Mohammadpur police quoting a tenant of the residence said the fire that originated from an electrical short circuit caused a loss of about Tk 10 lakh.

The Shilu Abed Crafts Award 2008 was given to Jaya Rani in a ceremony at the BRAC Centre Inn in Dhaka on Wednesday.
   The National Crafts Council of Bangladesh organised the award ceremony sponsored by BRAC, said a release.
   The BRAC founder and chairperson, Fazle Hasan Abed, handed over a crest and a cheque for Tk 1 lakh to Jaya for the best needlework.
   Six other artisans also received certificates on the occasion for their excellence in needlework. They are Manika Mandal, Shahinur, Smriti Murma, Belal Hossain, Sadhana Rani and Kajali Mallick.
   One hundred and two needlework artisans sent in 125 entries for the award.
   The National Crafts Council president, Shahid Hossain Shamim, chaired the function.
   Leading fashion designer Mahin Khan spoke on life and works of Shilu Abed.
   Designer Chandra Shekhar Saha and Shilu Abed Memorial Trust representative Rafiqul Islam also spoke on the occasion.
   A day-long exhibition of dresses was also organised marking the occasion.
   The Shilu Abed Council has been holding the award ceremony every March 5 since 1998, observing the late Shilu Abed’s birth anniversary. Some 30 artisans have so far received the award.

Various environmental organizations formed human chains on Wednesday to press home their demand to stop the survey by US oil and gas company Chevron in Lawachhera Reserve Forest.
   The human chain was formed at Srimangal-Bhanugachh road adjacent to the Lawachhera reserve forest. Though it was organized by the Sylhet unit of the Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association, other organizations like SUJON, Daily Samakal, Surid Samabesh Moulvibazar, Friends in Village Development Bangladesh, co-management committee of Lawachhera Nishargo Support Project and teachers and students of the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology Sylhet took part in it.
   The local people of Kamalganj, members of Youth Aid and students of Madan Mohan University College in Sylhet also formed separate human chains on the railway line, which runs through Lawachhera Reserve Forest, on the same day (Wednesday) and time.
   Chevron, a US oil and gas company, is conducting 3-dimensional Seismic Survey in Lawachhera Reserve Forest in search of oil and gas. Environmentalists said this survey will damage the flora and fauna and other resources of the forest.

Late film actor Manna’s wife Sheli Quader has blamed a city hospital for her husband’s death.
   ‘Manna died prematurely because of the negligence of United Hospital,’ Sheli told a news briefing on Wednesday.
   The hospital authorities, however, rejected the allegation.
   Sheli said their only son lost his father and the country’s film industry lost a bright star. She said the hospital authority would have to shoulder the responsibility.
   She said there was no specialist doctor in the hospital to treat Manna after he was rushed there with chest pains on February 17.
   The late actor’s wife said she wrote a letter to the chief adviser with an appeal to punish those responsible. ‘If the people responsible are punished it will be a landmark,’ she said.
   Sheli said a previous statement of the hospital authorities, that it did not receive an immediate decision from Manna’s family for his treatment, was false.
   ‘In fact, the hospital lacked the sense of responsibility and morality to save a vulnerable patient at that time,’ she said. ‘They are now trying to cover up their failure.’
   Shejuti Zaman, an official of United Hospital, said Sheli’s allegations were baseless. She said cardiology specialist Zahiruddin M Ilias was present when Manna was taken to the hospital.
   ‘We protest the statement and we will formally make our position clear later today,’ Shejuti said told the news agency when asked by phone to comment on Sheli’s allegations.