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Production activities in Kurigram Textile Mills and Kurigram Spinning Mills have remained suspended over two to three months putting around 1,000 employees of the two mills in extreme economic miseries.
   Sources at Kurigram Textile Mills said production in the state-owned mill was suspended upon expiry of the period of its agreement with the service charge party.
   The textile mill set up by the Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation went into production on October 14, 1986.
   The mill with 29 machines has 18 officials, 94 employees and 442 to 554 labourers.
   The BTMC authorities stopped distributing working capital to the mill in 1996 as it continued to incur losses.
   In 1997, a service charge party, was entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining production in the mill.
   But the mill could not avert loss yet and it was closed down in July, 2002.
   Jobs of the mill employees were terminated through golden handshake.
   In 2003, the mill was reopened through appointing a service charge party.
   The workforce was appointed on a daily basis with payment of Tk 55 to Tk 100 to a labourer per day. In view of low payment, the employees observed work abstention for 18 days till June 16. The mill suffered a loss of about Tk 66 crore.
   Production in the mill was suspended on September 1 with the expiry of the period of its agreement with the service charge party, Messer’s Traders Concern.
   The sources said the authorities invited tender for new service charge party on August 11 and re-tender on October 20 to run the mill again.
   But no one participated in the tender dropping scheduled on November 18.
   Md Abdul Hamid, deputy general manager of the mill, told this correspondent that re-tender would be called shortly to run the factory.
   No information was available about resumption of production in the Kurigram Spinning Mills which came to a halt on September 25 in the face of short cotton and electricity supply, faulty machinery and non-availability of a service charge party.
   The mills with 150 officials and employees and 550 labourers went into production in May, 2004.
   Akhtaruzzaman, chairman and managing director of the mill, said that the authorities had declared the mill layoff as it faced a loss of Tk 2.50 crore in three months.

The farmers in all the three upazilas of Narail are expecting a bumper production of transplanted aman this year for favourable weather and adequate fertiliser.
   Farmers of the district have brought a vast track of land under aman cultivation to recoup the loss of last year’s floods.
   According to the Department of Agricultural Extension Department, a total of 29,000 hectare of land brought under aman cultivation this year.
   Of them, 27,000 hectares of land under High Yielding Varieties and 2,000 under local varieties have been brought this year.
   A total of 12,250 hectares in saadar upazila, 9,180 hectares in Lohagara upazila and 7,570 hectares in Kalia upazila.
   The production target has been fixed at 76,000 tonnes of rice.
   According to the DAE officials, at least 90 per cent of land has been harvested till Monday. The farmers said while talking to New Age that they had harvested aman beyond their expectation.
   Farmers said they had planted aman sapling in more land within the first week of April. Some farmers said this year the supply of fertilisers, pesticides, power, irrigation and all other necessary inputs has been smoother than the previous years.
   Anil Chandra Roy, deputy director of DAE said the experts had conducted various training and awareness building activities at the grassroots level to educate the farmers in popularising the use of ‘leaf colour chart’ and granular urea to ensure optimum use of fertiliser in aman fields.
   Distribution of quality seeds, fertilisers and other agri-inputs among the small and marginal flood-hit farmers under the post-flood agri-rehabilitation programmes helped in large-scale boro farming in the flood-ravaged vast char areas in the river basins this time, he added.

At least 500 shanties were demolished rendering about 2,000 people homeless in a slum eviction drive in the Cox’s Bazar sea beach area on Monday.
   As per the decision of district law and order committee and Cox’s Bazar sea beach management committee, a team of law enforcer led by assistance commissioner (land) of Cox’s Bazar sadar upazila Tohidul Islam demolished dwellings of the people in the beach area.
   The slum dwellers alleged that the drive was launched without any prior notice when most of the adults were out at work and children were alone at their shanties.
   District administration sources said they had issued notices asking the illegal occupiers to vacate the land immediately before the drive but they did not vacate the land.
   But the slum dwellers alleged that the authorities only announced the drive through a loud speaker Saturday night.
   ‘No untoward incidents took place and we did not demolish the shanties forcefully or all of a sudden. The dwellers willingly took away their valuables when we reached the spot said Tohidul Islam adding that they had demolished the unauthorised shanties for the beautification of the sea beach.
   All the unauthorised houses in the area will be demolished soon, he added.

A Sylhet court on Monday sentenced a man to life-term imprisonment for killing 10 years ago.
   Additional district and sessions judge Jalal Uddin handed down the verdict against Burhan Uddin of village Galmukapan under Balaganj upazila in the district.
   The court also fined Tk 5,000, in default, to serve six more months in jail.
   According to the prosecution, Burhan killed his domestic help Masuk Miah of the same village on January 16, 1998. Later, the police recovered the body from bathroom on January 20.
   Abu Miah, father of the victim, filed a case with Balaganj police in this connection. The police also submitted charge sheet against him.
   The court also sentenced a young man to 18 years rigorous imprisonment while another to eight years for possessing illegal arms.
   The convicts are Suman and Collins of Badambagicha area of the district. Of them Collins was absent during the trial. He went into hiding after being released in bail.
   The Rapid Action Battalion arrested the convicts along with a pipe gun with ammunitions on December 23, 2004.

Law enforcers rescued a schoolboy on Sunday three days after he was abducted from Lemua Bazar under Feni sadar upazila on November 20.
   The victim is Jahedul Islam, 14, student of class VIII and son of Saudi expatriate Abdul Momin and resident of Mohammadpur village in Feni sadar upazila.
   Jahedul, student of Lemua High School, said some miscreants had made him senseless by spraying something on his face at Lemua Bazar while he was on way home from school on November 20.
   Later, they took him to an unknown place from where they contacted the victim’s family over phone demanding Tk 4 lakh as ransom for his release.
   The criminals also threatened to take out his kidney for sale it if their demand is not met.
   Bashir Ahmed, maternal grandfather of the boy, informed the police of the matter who advised him to negotiate with the abductors.
   After negotiation, the abductors agreed to take Tk 1.50 lakh in ransom and asked the guardians to come to a certain place in the district town along with the money.
   Victim’s mother Ayesha along with two female plainclothes police went to the kidnappers who changed their locations 5-6 times and at last asked them to come to Dewanganj rail crossing in the town.
   When one of the kidnappers Abul Kalam was taking the money, the two female police and other policemen waiting nearby caught him at about 3:30pm.
   Later, the kidnappers, who kept the boy at an undisclosed location, freed the boy near Baro Masjid in the town.
   Arrested Abul Kalam, 30, resident of Baharipur in the town, told police that four others were involved in the kidnapping. Police said the drive was on to arrest the other abductors.

The police arrested three alleged robbers and seized firearm and ammunition from their possession foiling a robbery bid at village Shitli in Harinakundu upazila of Jhenaidah Saturday night.
   The arrested were Gias, 25, Rezaul Karim, 30, and Reazaul Haque
   The Harinakundu police station officer-in-charge, Abdul Khaleque Hawlader, said the three had entered the house of one Ruhul Mandal to commit robbery at about 9:00 pm.
   As the house owner raised a hue and cry, neighbours came to rescue of the inmates. On being informed by local people, the police rushed to the spot and arrested the three in possession of a pistol and three rounds of bullet.

At least 10 persons were injured in a clash between two rival groups at Narayanpur union under Chapainawabganj sadar upazila Sunday night and Monday morning.
   The police said two groups — one led by Narayanpur union parishad chairman Habibur Rahman and another by Humayun clashed with each other following an altercation over harvesting pulse Sunday night.
   On Monday morning, both groups again clashed with each other over the issue and hurled some bombs, leaving at least 10 persons injured from both sides.
   On information, the police and Rapid Action Battalion went to the spot and brought the situation under control.