Main Page «
Front Page «
Metro «
Business «
International «
Sports «
Editorial «
Op-Ed «
Home «
Timeout «
Letters «

Archive «
Launch Supplement «
Special Supplements «

The government is going to formulate a policy to cut down the amount of sulphur in diesel fuel to 50 parts per million to ensure sustainable environment by reducing vehicular air pollution and encouraging adoption of cleaner vehicle technologies.
   A project called ‘air quality improvement through clean fuels and vehicles’ has already been taken to this end, said a senior Department of Environment official.
   The environment and forest ministry with the United Nations Environment Programme has undertaken the project which the environment department will implement.
   The UNEP is helping Bangladesh to implement the project as part of its programme called ‘Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles’ aimed at reducing vehicular air pollution in developing countries by promoting elimination of lead and reduction of sulphur in petroleum fuels.
   ‘Departmental special project evaluation committee of the environment and forest ministry has already approved the project,’ deputy director (planning and development) of the environment department Quazi Sarwar Imtiaz Hashmi told New Age.
   He said the project director was yet to be appointed as the project was yet to get the go-ahead. The project was scheduled to begin in November.
   The project involving Tk 41.93 lakh is scheduled to be completed by December 2010; Tk 25.53 of the project fund will come in grant from the UNEP and the remaining amount of the fund will be provided by the Bangladesh government.
   The project will work out how prevalence of sulphur in diesel fuel can be reduced to 50ppm and how vehicular emissions can be reduced by adopting cleaner vehicle technologies.
   Under the project, a sensitisation programme at the national level on the importance of sulphur reduction in diesel and use of cleaner vehicles will also be taken.
   According to the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, imported diesel contains 2500ppm of sulphur while refined diesel contains 9000ppm of sulphur which has an immediate effect on the health of the people.
   The UNEP in its Forth Global Partnership Meeting for Clean Fuels and Vehicles in Nairobi in 2006 decided it would work with others with a goal of reducing sulphur in fuels globally to less than 50ppm.
   This initiative has 85 partners from governments, private sector and non-governmental and international organisations.

The Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd has failed to fulfill more than 50 per cent of its connectivity capacity in Barisal region because of poor service and acute shortage of manpower.
   Official sources at the BTCL regional office in Barisal said the number of land phone users could not be increased as they were suffering acute shortage of manpower.
   People of all the six districts in the region are not interested to use land phones even after offering them free connections, according to BTCL sources.
   Besides, many people who had BTCL connections have stopped using land phones, the sources added.
   Currently, the BTCL has a total 14,835 connections in the region till June 2009 against its connectivity capacity of 38,500, official sources said.
   The number of connections has dropped to 15,634 in 2008 from 20,494 of the previous year in the region divided into Barisal and Patuakhali telecom divisions.
   The authorities concerned in 2001 proposed setting up of offices of one general manager, two divisional engineers and revenue office but the proposal is yet to be implemented.
   At present, only one divisional engineer is looking after six districts of Barisal telecom region and the lone man is engaged in overseeing carrier and wireless divisions.
   The BTCL cannot ensure quality services as many key posts like general manager, divisional engineer, assistant divisional engineer, assistant assistant engineer and lines men have remained vacant, Jagadish Chandra Mandal, divisional engineer in charge of Barisal BTCL region.
   The wireless connectivity structures within 38 kilometre radius of Barisal, Bhola and Patuakhali telephone exchanges have remained unused.
   BTCL sources said 10,517 (37 percent of capacity) connections were under use in June 2009 after surrendering about 5000 connections in Barisal, Pirojpur, Bhola and Jhalakati under Barisal telecom division.
   The BTCL connections in Patuakhali and Barguna under Patuakhali telecom division decreased to 4,318 till June, 2009 from 9,880.
   The number of free BTCL land phone applicants was 10, 000 in six districts under Barisal and Patuakhali telecom divisions in July, 2009.
   But more than 50 per cent of the applicants could not be provided with connections for technical problems and shortage of cables, Barisal BTCL office sources said.
   Satten Bose, a sub-assistant engineer of Barisal BTCL, said shortage of manpower and fund crunch and technical difficulties stand in the way of providing better service to the customers.

A Dhaka court passed an order for further investigation on a 19-year old murder case in Mymensingh in which Major (retd) Bazlul Huda, one of the death sentenced convicts in the Bangabandhu Murder Case, along with 29 others, is accused.
   Dhaka’s Second Speedy Trial Tribunal judge Md Asgar Ali on Thursday passed the order and also asked the Kotwali police of Mymensingh to submit the report by February 1.
   The case was transferred to the Dhaka’s Second Speedy Trial Tribunal two months earlier as an ‘important case’ for finalising it immediately.
   The case had been stayed for long by the High Court.
   Special public prosecutor at the second tribunal Rafiqul Islam Benu said he asked for further investigation as no testimonies were taken in this case in the Mymensingh court and even the charge sheet
   was submitted without scrutinising the names
   and addresses of the accused.
   From the certified copy of the case charge sheet, it was found that the convicts, with arms in their possession, were taking tea at a roadside stall in front of the Freedom Party office near Purabi Cinema Hall in Mymensingh town in the evening of February 11, 1990.
   One of the convicts, Major (retd) Zainal Abedin, the then Ameer of Islami Andolan, ordered others to fire on the curious people who gathered to see them with arms.
   One pedestrian, ‘Harun’, was shot dead.
   Mosharraf Hossain Bablu, brother of the deceased, filed a case against 30 people with the Kotwali police station following the shootout.
   S M Rafiqul Islam, special public prosecutor of the Fourth Speedy Trial Tribunal, said arms were seized from several convicts, including Abedin.
   On July 10 the same year, assistant superintendent of police Rafiqul Islam Chowdhury pressed the charges with the District Magistrates’ Court in Mymensingh. Later, the case was transferred to District Judicial Court.
   Huda is currently held in the condemned cell at Dhaka Central Jail. Abedin is also in jail while another Ashraful is in prison cell of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital, Mohammad Hafizur Rahman, counsel for the accused told bdnews24.com. An arms case was also filed against 23 people.
   Testimonies of eight people for the prosecution were taken at the Mymensingh court on the case so far.
   The PP for the case said further investigation into the case might be required and the court set Dec 30 for taking testimony on the case.
   In both the cases, Huda has been mentioned as vice president of the Freedom Party.

The Communist Party of Bangladesh has said the radical Islamist organisations are trying to trigger communal tension through their protests against the planned construction of Tipaimukh Dam in India.
   The party urged the people to remain alert to the threat in a statement on Friday, a day after Islami Andolan, led by Charmonai Pir Syed Mohammad Rezaul Karim, started a long march from the capital’s Muktangan.
   The CPB president, Manzurul Ahsan Khan, and the general secretary, Mujahidul Islam Selim, alluded to that programme and said the fundamentalist quarter’s long march has no relation with the real Tipaimukh Dam issue.
   The statement added that the main goal of the radicals is to gain political mileage by deceiving people.
   However, the CPB leaders urged all the left-leaning, progressive and patriotic forces to stand up against the dam plan.
   India’s contentious dam project is planned to cross the River Barak, which enters into Bangladesh as the Surma and Kushiyara rivers.
   India had already said on several occasions the dam would not withhold water, but environmentalists and the people of Bangladesh, as well as Manipur state, remain concerned over the impact of the projected dam in vulnerable downstream areas.

A two-day 6th council of Bangladesh Tanchangya Kalyan Sangstha began in Rangamati on Friday with a call for constitutional recognition of ethnic minority people living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region.
    The former special assistant to the chief adviser of the past military-backed interim government, Raja Debashish Roy, inaugurated the council at the Tribal Cultural Institute auditorium in the district town.
   In his inaugural speech, Debashish said ethnic minority people could not enjoy their legitimate rights as they do not have constitutional recognition.
   Debasish, also chief of the Chakma circle, demanded an amendment to the constitution to ensure constitutional recognition of the ethnic minority groups.
   The social science faculty dean of Chittagong University, Gazi Salehuddin attended the session as special guest with Prashyana Kanti Tanchangya, councilor of Bandarbun Hill District Council, in the chair.
   Prashyana Kanti was made president of the BTKS at the opening session of the council.
   More than 500 delegates from the three hill districts, Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban, are participating in the council.
   The state minister for CHT affairs, Dipankar Talukdar is likely to exchange views with the new committee of BTKS on Saturday.

The Communist Party of Bangladesh formed a human chain in Dhaka city on Friday, demanding immediate measures against abnormal increase in house rents.
   The Segun Bagicha unit of the party organised the hour-long human chain programme at Muktangon in the city to press for the demand.
   The human chain was followed by a rally at the same venue with the CPB unit secretary, Sekander Hayet, in the chair.
   Central leaders of the party Ruhin Hossain Prince, Kartik Chakrabarty and Mushfiqul Islam, among others, spoke at the rally.
   The CPB leaders said abnormal increase in house rent had multiplied the sufferings of the city dwellers, particularly of the low and fixed income groups.
   They called on the government to take steps against the land lords who increase house rents at their will against the rate by fixed by the Dhaka City Corporation.
   The CPB leaders urged the government to take steps to implement the house rent law to ease the sufferings of city dwellers.
   They also urged the DCC authorities to take effective steps to curb mosquito menace, start repair work of the damaged roads, cleaning of the city drains..
   Earlier, a procession was brought out by the CPB Segunbagicha unit urging the government to solve all the problems of the city dwellers.

Botiaghata upazila chairman and upazila nirbahi officer field cases against each other in Khulna Friday following a row over evicting a club-house from a khas land.
   The police said the UNO, Kamruzzaman, and the assistant tahsilder, Sahidul Islam, came to Sharapat village Thursday afternoon and pressed some local youths to evict the club-house.
   The upazila chairman, Ashraful Alam, and the Amirpur UP chairman, Hazzat Ali, also appeared on the scene and tried to settle the issue.
   At one stage, Ashraful was locked into an altercation with the UNO and the tahsilder and pushed down Shahidul.
   Later, both sides filed the cases against each other.
   Tahsilder Shahidul first filed the case against Ashraful, Hazzat and seven others with the local police station on charge of disrupting official activities in the morning.
   Later, in the afternoon, Hazzat filed the other case against the UNO, tahsilder and five others on charge of harassing them.

A company commander-level flag meeting between the Bangladesh Rifles and Border Security Force of India was held in Debhata border area of Satkhira on Friday.
   During the meeting, both sides agreed to work together for checking cross-border crimes and solving other outstanding issues.
   Killing and kidnapping of innocent Bangladeshi nationals, smuggling of contraband drugs and women trafficking also came up for discussion.
   Debhata company commander Nazir Ali led the six-member BDR team while his counterpart SK Jazz of BSF Hashanah company led the six-member Indian team.
   The BDR and BSF agreed to maintain peace along the river border at Debhata.
   The BDR alleged that BSF men often attack Bangladeshi nationals saying many Bangladeshis had been and injured in the last few months along the border.
   The Indian side assured that they would try to avoid killing of any Bangladeshi citizens.
   The BSF officials showed positive attitude in resolving the disputes through flag meeting, an BDR official said.

A hospital will be built in Dhaka to treat freedom fighters free of cost, the state minister for liberation war said on Friday.
   The hospital at a cost of Tk 75 crore will be built at Tejgaon in Dhaka, ABM Tajul Islam said, speaking at a reunion accorded to freedom fighters in the city.
   The elderly freedom fighters who fought under Sector 7 during 1971 independence war met at the ceremony at Agargaon.
   At the function, many of the participants alleged inconsistencies in the current freedom fighters’ list.
   Islam said in many cases, enrolled freedom fighters helped those who did not fight the war to enroll as freedom fighters. The government has begun work but it needs time to purge the list of fake names, he added.

Relatives of dismissed lieutenant colonel Syed Faruk Rahman, a death row convict in the Sheikh Mujibur Ragman murder case, met him in jail Friday afternoon.
   The Dhaka central jail officials said Faruk’s mother Mahmuda Rahman, sister Yasmin Rahman, daughters Sharmin Rahman and Naznin Rahman and brother-in-law Ishafaqur Rahman met him at the gate of his cell in the jail about 12:30pm.
   Senior jail superintendent Towhidur Rahman told New Age Faruk’s relatives stayed there for about 30 minutes and talked with him.

At least nine people were killed and 27 injured in road accidents in Bogra, Sirajganj, Naraynganj and Noakhali on Thursday night and Friday.
   Our Sirajgonj correspondent reports that at least three females, including two young girls, were killed and three others injured in two road accidents in the district on Friday.
   The police and local people said a Northern region-bound truck from Dhaka hit a rickshaw at Panchila, on the western side of Bangabandhu Bridge under Salanga police station, at about 2:00pm, leaving two passengers dead on the spot and three others injured.
   The deceased were identified as Aklima, 14, daughter of Faridul Islam, of village Bania Ganti under Belkuchi upazila of the district, and her cousin Shirin Akter, 14, daughter of Idris Ali, of village Jaipur under Sujanagar upazila in Pabna.
   In another accident, a woman was killed when a Pabna-bound truck from Dhaka ran over her at Shelunda area under Nagorbari-Bogra highway at about 7:00am.
   The deceased was identified as Zarina Begum, 55, a resident of Nukalia village under Shahzadpur upazila of the district.
   Two separate cases were filed with Salanga and Shahzadpur police stations.
   Our Noakhali correspondent adds that one person was killed and five were injured in a road accident at Chatkhil-Sonaimuri road near Joyag Bazar of Sonaimuri upazila in Noakhali Thursday night.
   The deceased was identified as Md Salim, 45, statistics officer of Khagrachari and a resident of village Tushi of Sonaimuri upazila.
   Quoting witnesses, the police said, Md Salim died on the spot and five others were injured when a Maijdee-bound Janani Paribahan bus hit him from behind at about 10:30pm while he was crossing the road.
   After the accident, local people blocked the Chatkhil-Sonaimuri road, halting traffic for half an hour.
   They also burnt two buses of Jananai Paribahan.
   Later the police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.
   The injured were admitted in Sonaimuri Health Complex while the body was sent to Noakhali General Hospital morgue. A case was filed.
   In Narayanganj, three people were killed and 15 injured at Adhuria in Rupganj when a bus and a truck collided.
   Two of the deceased were identified as Siddiqur, 45, and Shahjahan, 35, while the third could not be identified instantly.
   Three among the injured were taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital while others were admitted to other local hospitals.
   In Bogra, two persons were killed and five injured in separate road accidents Thursday night and Friday morning.
   The deceased were identified as Abdul Mannan Dulal, 50, and Ripon, 14, both residents of Dalamba under Adamdighi upzaila in the district.
   Quoting witnesses, the police said Abdul Mannan was critically injured when a three-wheeler hit him at Dalamba at around 5:00pm on Thursday. He was taken to Adamdighi health complex where the attending physicians declared him dead.
   In another accident, Ripon was also injured when a Naogaon-bound truck hit him from behind at around 3:00pm.
   He was taken to Shomijek hospital, where he died.

A Dhaka court passed an order for further investigation on a 19-year old murder case in Mymensingh in which Major (retd) Bazlul Huda, one of the death sentenced convicts in the Bangabandhu Murder Case, along with 29 others, is accused.
   Dhaka’s Second Speedy Trial Tribunal judge Md Asgar Ali on Thursday passed the order and also asked the Kotwali police of Mymensingh to submit the report by February 1.
   The case was transferred to the Dhaka’s Second Speedy Trial Tribunal two months earlier as an ‘important case’ for finalising it immediately.
   The case had been stayed for long by the High Court.
   Special public prosecutor at the second tribunal Rafiqul Islam Benu said he asked for further investigation as no testimonies were taken in this case in the Mymensingh court and even the charge sheet was submitted without scrutinising the names and addresses of the accused.
   From the certified copy of the case charge sheet, it was found that the convicts, with arms in their possession, were taking tea at a roadside stall in front of the Freedom Party office near Purabi Cinema Hall in Mymensingh town in the evening of February 11, 1990.
   One of the convicts, Major (retd) Zainal Abedin, the then Ameer of Islami Andolan, ordered others to fire on the curious people who gathered to see them with arms.
   One pedestrian, ‘Harun’, was shot dead.
   Mosharraf Hossain Bablu, brother of the deceased, filed a case against 30 people with the Kotwali police station following the shootout.
   S M Rafiqul Islam, special public prosecutor of the Fourth Speedy Trial Tribunal, said arms were seized from several convicts, including Abedin.
   On July 10 the same year, assistant superintendent of police Rafiqul Islam Chowdhury pressed the charges with the District Magistrates’ Court in Mymensingh.
   Later, the case was transferred to District Judicial Court.
   Huda is currently held in the condemned cell at Dhaka Central Jail. Abedin is also in jail while another Ashraful is in prison cell of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital, Mohammad Hafizur Rahman, counsel for the accused told bdnews24.com. An arms case was also filed against 23 people.
   Testimonies of eight people for the prosecution were taken at the Mymensingh court on the case so far.
   The PP for the case said further investigation into the case might be required and the court set Dec 30 for taking testimony on the case.
   In both the cases, Huda has been mentioned as vice president of the Freedom Party.

A three-day outreach Mega Eye Camp was held at Nalta Nazir Bagbi Hospital premises under Debhata upazila in Satkhira in December 23-25.
   Nalta Hospital and Community Health Foundation, Nalta, Satkhira, organised the Mega Eye camp under preventable blindness programme in collaboration with the Freed Halos Foundation Bangladesh, Sight Savers International Bangladesh, Vision 2020 Satkhira District Committee and National Eye Science Institute and Hospital, Dhaka under the supervision of National Eye Care Bangladesh.
   Professor AHM Enayet Hossain of department of Paediatric Ophthalmology, National Eye Science Institute and Hospital, Dhaka inaugurated the Mega Eye Camp on December 23.
   Out of 2,600 listed eye-patients of Assasuni, Shymnagar and Debhata upazila, 600 received treatment from the Mega Eye camp.
   The eye camp was conducted by a team of 35 experienced Ophthalmologists and technicians of NESIH and NEC.

The state minister for forests and environment, Hasan Mahmud, has alleged that the BNP was trying to mislead the nation over Bangladesh’s actual gain from the just ended Copenhagen climate change summit as the party perhaps failed to realise the core objective of the global meet.
   ‘Bangladesh participated in the global summit resolutely under the leadership of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, and for the fist time the country had been able to secure a unified position instead of isolated one’, the state minister said at an impromptu press briefing to clarify the Bangladesh position and achievement in the summit and answering main opposition’s BNP’s allegations on the issue.
   The press briefing was held on Govt Muslim High School premises in the city Friday afternoon just on the eve of his presence at the centenary anniversary of the school as a former student.
   Considering the significance of the summit and universality of the issue, Hasan Mahmud said the government had included all relevant experts and stakeholders in the government and private delegations irrespective of their political affiliation.
   ‘Even two BNP lawmakers—Nilufer Chowdhury and Mazharul Alam Prodhan— were included in the official delegation led by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina’, he said.
   Turning down the BNP’s allegation of ignoring the party in the process of finalising Bangladesh’s official stand at the global climate summit, Hasan Mahmud said BNP lawmaker Abdul Momin Talukder as a chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on forests and environment ministry presided over the meeting in which Bangladesh’s official stand in Copenhagen summit was approved prior to the conference.
   ‘Had the BNP not agree with then what the party’s lawmaker approved’, the state minister questioned.
   Requesting the BNP leadership to study carefully and minutely the Copenhagen Accord, Hasan Mahmud said some important and crucial interest-serving clauses and provisions were included in the 5th , 8th and 12th paragraphs of the accord in favour of Bangladesh following vigorous efforts by the prime minister and Bangladesh’s active intervention.
   Bangladesh had played a bold and pioneering role in reaching consensus among global leadership for developing for the first time an exclusive fund for mitigation and adaptation of climate change consequences.
   At time and again the name of Bangladesh was mentioned at the global summit particularly in the speech of IPCC chairman and US president Barack Obama which was a plus point for the country and that became possible due to Hasina’s bold and pro-active role before and during the summit.
   ‘We under the capable leadership of the prime minister had been able to project the case and concern of Bangladesh regarding the climate change issue before the global community, Hasan pointed out.
   The state minister alleged that when Hasina had been playing a lauding and strong role in the summit , the leader of the opposition in parliament and BNP chief, Khaleda Zia, made such remarks that reflected her total ignorance on the issue.
   The state minister said Bangladesh was not begging for fund but pursuing compensation she deserved for dealing with the climate change.

The Jatiya Samjtantrik Dal faction led by Hasanul Haq Inu will hold its national council session in January 7-8 in Dhaka. The party is now holding the district council sessions.
   The two-yearly district council session of the party units of Jaipurhat, Lalmonirhat and Thakurgaon were held on Friday. The party’s general secretary Syed Zafar Sajjad, joint general secretary Shirin Akhter and organising secretary Rezaul Karim Tansen took part in the council sessions.
   The district council session of Dhaka, Rajshahi, Bogra, Sirajganj, Moulavi-bazar, Bhramanbaria and Borguna will be held today.
   The party president, Hsanul Haq Inu, Syed Zafar Sajjad, executive president Moinuddin Khan Badal, vice-president Sharif Nurul Ambia, and central leaders Shah Zikrul Ahmed, Ikbal Ahmed Khan, Nazmul Haque Prodhan and Mohammad Khaled will take part in the council sessions.

The 117th anniversary of birth of the Chinese leader Mao Zedong will be observed today in Bangladesh as elsewhere across the world.
   Mao Zedong, the first chairman of the Communist Party of China, was born on December 26, 1893.
   He led the People’s Republic of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976.
   Mao Zedong, the Chinese revolutionary, political theorist and communist leader, died on September 9, 1976.
   Mao is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of modern world, and named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

The United People’s Democratic Front will observe its 11th founding anniversary in the three hill districts today.
   The party has chalked up programmes such as discussions, exchanges of views, bicycle rallies and drawing competitions for children in Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban.
   The organisation was founded on December 26, 1998 with a pledge to fight for the right of the ethnic minority people of the region.
   The UPDF president, Prasit Bikash Khisha, on Friday told New Age, ‘We said the role of the government and the army is most important in ensuring peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.’
   As for recent demand of the CHT regional council chairman for a ban on the UPDF, Prasit said this only showed the level of his frustration, which ‘comes from the fact that he [Santu Larma] has been unable to challenge the UPDF ideologically, politically and organisationally.’
   The UPDF chief said his party was fully committed to democratic ideals and principles. ‘It adheres to its stated policy of campaigning for full autonomy through peaceful and democratic means. There is, therefore, no question of us having any military wing.’

A transport worker was hacked to death at Pabna Telephone Exchange in the Pabna town early Friday, the police said.
   The deceased was identified as Md Shahin, 30, son of Abul Hakim of village Chak Shadhupara in the town.
   The police arrested Md Jahangir of the same village on suspicion of his involvement in the murder.
   The police and local sources said the criminals hacked Shahin at around 6:00am when he was coming to the bus stand for his daily work.
   The criminals hacked him, leaving him death on the spot.