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That left cococnut shels can be a source of income and a part of the cottage industry has been prvoved by Sheikh Hannan of Borunatoil village under Magura sadar upazila.
   Hannan has changed the wheel of fortune of himself and another 20 school and college going girls and women by helping them be self-reliant through his newly innovated business.
   Hannan makes buttons and different kinds of ornaments for women with coconut shels by giving them different shapes and sizes.
   He sells them to the garments factories, products of most of which are exported to different countries.
   Hannan said with an air of self-comlacence
   that he had to run his family in extreme hardships before but now he managed to maintain the family along with the educational expenses of his children smoothly with the income from his crafted items.
   He also said that he had been inspired to do the business seeing the wooden buttons imported from China, in different shops and garments factories in Dhaka.
   He did not have enough capital to start the business then. But he did not lose heart. Taking risks, he sold his single piece of land and bought seven mottor-run drill machines.
   Then he started the business in one of the rooms of his residence with seven female labourers.
   Now he runs his factory with 20 machines where 20 female workers work everyday.
   Student Runa working in the factory said that after school she worked three to four hours a day and earned Tk700 to Tk 800 per month.
   With the income she makes she bears her educational expenses.
   Housewife Shirin Begum said that she was unable to maintain his family with the income of her husband. But by working in the factory she now earns Tk1,200 to Tk 1,300 per month which has brought progress in her family.
   These artistic buttons achieved fame in many garments factories in Dhaka on the first sale.
   The factory produces 1.50 lakh to 2.00 lakh pieces of buttons every month.
   After production of the buttons, some parts of the shells are used in making ornaments for women and the rest are sent to mosquito coil factories.
   At least 30,000 to 50,000 buttons (big and small) can be produced from 1,000 coconut shells at an expenditure of Tk 3,500 to Tk 4,000.
   These buttons are sold at Tk 250 (big size) and Tk 120 toTk 200 (other sizes) per thousand.
   These are used in jackets, shirts and pants in different garments factories.
   Hannan said that this small industry could be turned into a biger one if enough care was taken and sufficient facilities provided to this sector.

Some one hundred and forty-six brilliant students of primary level have received the Professor Mahfuza Khanam- Barrister Shafik Ahmed Junior Scholarship .
   They were given stipend money and certificates at a function at the Government Boys High School auditorium in Manikganj on Friday.
   Professor Mahfuza Khanam, former principal of Manikganj Government Women’s College, and her husband barrister Shafik Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association, introduced the scholarship in 2003.
   Professor Mahfuza Khanam presided over the scholarship distribution ceremony addressed, among others, by barrister Shafik Ahmed, Professor Samsuzzaman Khan, former director general of the Bangladesh National Museum and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, eminent writer, columnist and researcher Syed Abul Moksud, Borhan Ahmed, executive editor of the Daily Janakantha, and education personality in Manikganj, Amal Kumer Basu.
   Samsuzzaman Khan said, ‘We are lagging behind with our education system going worse day by day while other countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal are ahead.
   The politicians will have to take responsibilities of promoting the education system, he added.
   Syed Abul Moksud said there were many affluent people in the society but very few of them spent money for the welfare of education.
   He urged the well-off section of the society to come forward to the development of education.
   Journalist Borhan Ahmed said the children had constitutional rights to get opportunity of manifestation of their brilliance. But they were deprived of their rights.

A two-day eye camp was held at Abdul Hye Eye Hospital at village Ibrahimpur under Belabo upazila in Narsingdi.
   Councilor of Singapore Mr Tan Kok Nam as chief guest inaugurated the eye camp on Friday with Dr Mahbubur Rahman Chowdhury in the chair.
   Zharg Feng, manager of the Singapore Airlines, Dr Professor Siddiqi and Dr Niaz Rahman, addressed, among others.
   The eye camp was jointly organised by Singapore Air Hospital, Alcon Bangladesh, ENT Center, Cosmetic Surgery Centre Ltd. Popular Pharmaceutical Ltd and Asiatic Marketing Communications Ltd.
   Specialist eye surgeons from the Singapore National Hospital and Bangladesh Eye Hospital with the help of other organisations gave free treatment and conducted eye and ENT operations for rural people.
   Four surgeons from Singapore, Dr Loon Seng Chee, Dr Cherg Lia Fong, Dr Paul Zhao and Dr Hanold Choi conducted operations.
   About 700 people have been treated and 100 cataract patients and 15 cleft-lipped people operated upon at the camp.

A daylong blood donation programme organised by the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society Gopalganj unit was held at the trade fair ground in the town on Friday.
   On this occasion, a discussion meeting was also held.
   The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society Gopalganj unit president, advocate Nahaz Pasha, presided over the meeting.
   The deputy commissioner of Gopalganj, SM Ashfaque Hussain, and the treasurer of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, advocate SM Munir Hossain Lablu, were present as the chief and special guests respectively.
   The life members of the Red Crescent Society Gopalganj unit, advocate Nawsher Ahmed Mitu, district BNP secretary, M Mansur Ali, district Jatiya Party president, advocate Golam Mehedi Khan, district Bangladesh Communist Party secretary, principal Abu Hossain, and Gopalganj Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, advocate Kazi Zinnat Ali addressed, among others.
   People from different strata including journalists, students, teachers and businessmen took part in the programme and donated blood.