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Several hundred students of Home Economics College staged a sit-in halting traffic on the Azimpur- New Market road for about five hours on Sunday in protest against college authority’s decision to increase readmission fees.
   Witnesses said the college girls took to the streets at about 9:30am and started the sit-in in front of the college and withdrew at about 2:30pm, causing huge traffic jams in and around the area.
   The agitating students will also observe class-abstention programme today and submit a memorandum to the education minister to press home their demands.
   When contacted, the Home Economics College principal, Laila Arjumand Banu, said, ‘We will sit with the government regarding the matter as the admission fee has been fixed under direction of the government.’
   She also said they would suspend taking admission fee until the matter was resolved.
   The students took to the street in the morning as the authorities of the government college recently decided that every student would have to pay additional Tk 505 in their yearly readmission fees.
   High rates of fee in the name of readmission every year in many educational institutions in the capital often fuel protests.

The Sylhet Osmani International Airport authorities have allocated possession for three shops in the newly constructed airport terminal allegedly flouting allotment rules.
   The allotment of the possession has been made illegally as the airport authorities did not invite any tender in this regard, local businessmen alleged.
   Airport officials, however, claimed that they had allotted possession for three shops in the terminal on temporary basis in the interest of passengers.
   According to airport sources, the civil aviation authorities have recently allotted the possessions for two fast-food shops and one bookstall in the newly built terminal.
   The possession has been allocated to Jamal Uddin, Kaysar Ahmed and another person, who is the owner of business firm Ekata Enterprise.
   Local businessmen alleged the airport authorities had allotted the possession for the shops for reaping personal gains.
   The authorities have deprived the genuine businessmen of their interest by not calling tender for allocation of possession in the terminal, they said.
   The airport manager, Abdul Mannan Miah, however, denied the allegation saying the civil aviation head office had allotted the possession.
   ‘The local airport authorities had nothing to do with it,’ he added.
   He, however, said the possession had been allocated on temporary basis and later it would be finalised after inviting tender as per proper rules.

Speakers at a media campaign on Sunday stressed the need for making concerted efforts by all quarters to prevent the human trafficking.
   The government or any single organisation alone cannot combat this social crime as its root has already gone into far depth, they said.
   Association for Community Development in cooperation with Winrock International organised the campaign at the ACD’s conference room.
   To make this effort a total success, they advocated for raising awareness of trafficking among the common people as well as specific targeted groups side by side with providing direct return and reintegration assistance to victims of trafficking and strengthening the capacity of locally elected bodies, police officers, prosecutors and lawyers.
   Discussants observed that incidents of human trafficking are increasing gradually in various forms like sexual exploitation, forced labour, begging, delinquency and adoption.
   In this context, they put forward a recommendation of increased skills in recognising different manifestations of trafficking along with due attention and efforts for prevention and protection particularly to different forms of trafficking.
   The speakers also said importance should be given on increasing awareness, access to need-based information and pre-departure orientation along with bringing the recruitment agencies under proper sensitisation programme.
   Ehsanul Amin Emon, programme manager of ACD, presented a paper on the present situation of the human trafficking in the border areas, including Rajshahi borders.
   In the paper, he said that a total of 174 men and 161 women and children were rescued while trafficking to India through Rajshahi borders during the period between 2003 and 2008. Of them, the law enforcers rescued 119 women in 2008 from Rajshahi borders.
   Sharmin Subrina, programme coordinator, Ajmal Huda Mithu, Mahtab Chowdhury, project officers, and Tajia Sharmin Tania, councillor of the project, and journalist Anwarul Alam Fatik, among others, took part in the open discussion. A total of 15 journalists participated in the media campaign.

The Khulna City Corporation authorities on Sunday decided to install fire fighting equipment at its key installations.
   The decision came at the sixth general meeting of the corporation chaired by the Khulna city mayor, Talukder Abdul Khaleque, according to meeting sources.
   The corporation will also repair all the roads and drains, expand healthcare services, develop different graveyards and market places in the corporation area.
   It also decided to take steps for making more playgrounds and parks at different wards for recreation of the city dwellers, the meeting sources said.
   The meeting was attended, among others, by corporation’s panel mayor-1 Ajmol Ahmed Tapan, panel mayor-2 Moniruzzaman Khan Khokon, Khulna Development Authority chairman Brigadier General Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, Khulna deputy commissioner NM Zeaul Alam and ward councilors Maqsud Hassan and Ashraf Hossain.

A two-day workshop on disaster management began at geography and environment department of Jahangirnagar University on Sunday.
   Geography and environment department has organised the workshop in collaboration with Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme under the food and disaster management ministry with focus on disaster management curriculum review for graduate, postgraduate, higher studies and training programme.
   Vice-chancellor Professor Sharif Enamul Kabir inaugurated the workshop as the chief guest. Pro vice-chancellor Professor M Muniruzzaman, pro vice-chancellor Professor Md Forhad Hossain, treasurer Professor Sayed A Hye, Mohd Shahadat Hossain Mahmud, national expert of livelihood security hazard awareness unit of CDMP, and Mahmudul Islam, senior project expert of CDMP, attended the inaugural session as special guests.
   Professor Razia Sultana, chairman of geography and environment department, presided over the inaugural session and Professor KM Shariful Huda presented a keynote paper at the inaugural session.
   Twenty-five senior and midlevel faculties from different public and private universities along with senior officials from CDMP are participating in the workshop.

The Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation has taken an initiative to procure 400 CNG-fuelled buses to expand the state-run transport service, sources in the communications ministry said on Sunday.
   The corporation will procure 100 CNG buses with the funding from the Nordic Development Fund. Another 300 CNG buses will be procured on credit from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund.
   The sources said the Dhaka Transport Coordination Board has undertaken a study with the World Bank assistance to introduce bus rapid transit for easing nagging traffic jam in the capital city.
   ‘Besides, a bus route franchise pilot project will be introduced on the Uttara-Azimpur route from April 14, first day of the Bangla New Year, to ease the traffic congestion,’ said an official.

A seminar on ‘Hazrat Imam Khomeini: some aspects of his socio-political innovations’ will be held at the seminar room of the Centre for Research in Humanities of Dhaka University today.
   Professor Syed Anwar Hossain of Department of History, Professor Mohammad Ibrahim of Department of Islamic History and AHM Shamsuli Muktadir, chairman of Foundation for Peace and Conflict Studies will address the seminar.

Seven thatched houses were burnt in a fire at Kalurghat under Chandgaon police station in the city on Saturday night.
   Fire brigade sources said the fire broke out at a house from an electric short circuit at about 11:30pm and soon burnt down the adjoining six houses.
   Five units of fire fighters rushed to the spot and put out the flames at about 12:30am.
   Fire bridge sources estimated the extent of loss from the fire at about Tk 8 lakh.

A two-member delegation of Putra University, Malaysia called on Dhaka University vice-chancellor Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique at his office on Sunday.
   During the meeting, they discussed matters of mutual interests, particularly the possibilities of establishing linkage and joint collaborative academic and research programmes between Dhaka University and Putra University.
   Arefin thanked the delegation, led by Professor Nor Aini AB Shukor of the Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products of the university, for their visit and interest in the academic programmes of the university.
   Other member of the delegation was Paridah M Tahir of the institute, said a DU press release on Sunday.
   DU Pro-VC Professor Harun-or-Rashid, dean of biological sciences Professor M Abul Basher, and Ishtiaq Mahmud and Professor Haseema Khan of bio-chemistry and molecular biology department were present.

Rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely to occur at one two places over Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions till 6:00pm today.
   Day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country, Met office said.
   Country’s highest temperature 37.0 degrees Celsius was recorded on Sunday at Mongla and lowest 19.7 degrees at Dinajpur.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 6:17pm and rises tomorrow at 5:44am.