Participants in a discussion have underscored the need for creating awareness among people to combat tuberculosis (TB).
   There is no alternative to creating awareness across the country to prevent TB, they told the discussion titled ‘TB control and social participants’ held at the conference room of Cox’s Bazar deputy commissioner’s office on Wednesday.
   The Cox’s Bazar Press Club, National TB Control Programme under the Directorate of Health and non-governmental organisation BRAC jointly organised the discussion.
    The deputy commissioner, Sajjadul Hassan, addressed as chief guest the programme chaired by acting civil surgeon of the district, Dr Ajay Ghosh.
   The chairperson of Cox’s Bazar Ma o Sisho Hospital, Professor Md Abdul Bari, the chairman of non-government organisation Mukti, Professor Somesshor Chakrobarty and the additional deputy commissioner (general), Arifur rahman Apo, among others, were present.
   Asis Kumar Banerjey, BRAC district manager, delivered welcome address at the discussion.
   D Ajay Ghosh, Dr Ahad Talukdar, quality assurance specialist (TB), BRAC health programme, Dhaka head office, and SM Bazlul Hoque of BRAC head office read out key not papers.
   The speakers said the number of TB patients is increasing in Cox’s Bazar every year. Some 639 persons in the district were infected with TB in 2004, 1,451 in 2005, 2,098 in 2006 and 2,208 in 2007, they mentioned.

An Ansar-VDP personnel was chopped to death by unidentified assailants at Kukurmara village under Belabo upazila in Narsingdi Wednesday night.
   The victim is Abdul Alim, 60, of village Rahimakandi under the upazila. He was the commander of Ansar-VDP in Narayanpur union.
   Police sources said Alim went to a village market Wednesday night and since then he had remained missing.
   The next morning, local people found his body near a pond at Kukumara village and informed the Belobo thana police of the incident.
   Later, the police went to the spot, recovered the body and sent it to hospital morgue for autopsy. There were several marks of injury on the body, they said.
   Alim might have been killed by his rivals over previous enmity, the police suspect. A case was filed with Belabo police in connection with the incident.

A housewife was slaughtered allegedly by her husband for dowry at Char Ruppur village of Paksey union in Ishwardi upazila of Pabna Wednesday night.
   The police said Saju Biswas had been demanding Tk 75,000 as dowry from his in-laws for long.
   On the fateful night, he was locked in an altercation with his wife Labani Khatun over the dowry money.
   At one stage, he slaughtered Labani, 25, and injured his daughter Suchana Khatun, 2.
   Severely injured Suchana was admitted to the Pabna General Hospital.
   Informed, the police recovered the body Thursday noon and sent it to hospital morgue for autopsy. Saju went into hiding after the incident.

Local people blocked Khulna-Satkhira highway at village Tipna under Dumuria upazilla in Khulna on Thursday over the death of an old woman in a road mishap.
   Witnesses said the trouble erupted after a Khulna-bound bus hit a rickshaw, killing Alsum Begum, 50, of village Tipna on the spot.
   There other persons identified as Akula and Nurjahan and rickshaw puller of the same village were injured in the accident.
   The injured were admitted to Dumuria upazilla health complex
   Hearing the incident, a large number of local people gathered at the spot and put up barricade on the road at around 11:30am disrupting traffic for about one hour.
   At least 200 buses, trucks and other vehicles got stranded on the road during the blockade. Later, the angry people lifted the blockade at 12:30pm after the police and local administration assured them of taking action against the killer bus.
   The police said a case was filed with local police. None was, however, in connection with the incident.

A Sirajganj court on Thursday sentenced two persons to life term rigorous imprisonment in a murder case.
   The district and sessions judge, Biplab Goswami, also fined the convicts Tk. 10,000 each, in default, to suffer 2 years more RI.
   The convicts are Noor Islam Rubel, 20, son of late Abdul Kuddus of Parpatola village under Raiganj upazila of
   the district and Abdus
   Salam, 30, son of late Tamiz Sarker of Kaliakore village under Sherpur upazila in Bogra.
   The court also acquitted four others of the charge.
   According to the prosecution, Rubel with the help of hired goons killed his widowed elder sister, Jannatul Ferdos, 22, at his resident on July 4, 2007 by suffocating her following a dispute over land.
   The Raiganj police recovered the body the following day.
   A case was filed against six persons in connection with the killing.
   After investigation, the police submitted charge sheet against the accused.
   After examining witnesses and evidences, the court handed down the verdict.