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Ekushey book fair witnessed rush of visitors and boost in sales at Bangla Academy on Wednesday with one day away from Amar Ekushey February and International Mother Language Day.
   Arrival of new titles also increased with more than 136 titles hitting the fair on the day, while the information centre reported arrival of 121 books. The number of new titles was 80 to 110 on the previous few days.
   Books of poems topped the list of new arrivals again with 27 titles. A notable number of 22 story books arrived on the day which also witnessed 17 novels, nine essay books, and eight books for the children.
   ‘I came straight to the fair from the office and bought my favorite books before the weekend tomorrow,’ Didarul Alam, an employee of a private farm, said.
   The fair authority failed to implement the fair rules as the stall of Best Way Foundation, which was cancelled on charge flouting fair rules, remained open on Thursday.
   Best Way brought a good many new books, published by other publishing houses, on the day. Several books published from Kolkata were also found at the stall.
   The owner of the stall Amanullah Sheikh, also president of Dhaka city National Awami Party (Bhasani), said he did not receive any letter from the academy authorities.
   He also said he did not flout fair rules, ‘I applied for a stall in the name of Best Way Foundation, not Bhasani Smriti Sangsad. So, I will not go away even if they (fair authority) send me any letter.’
   Noted writers and artists took the wrap off 27 books on the fair ground on the day.
   Artist Hashem Khan unveiled the cover of ‘Chithipatre Chittaranjan Saha’ published by Muktadhara, at Nazrul Mancha.
   Hasnat Abdul Hai took the wrap off his book ‘All Those Yesterdays: 1954-1964’, published by Adorn Publications. Writers Ahmad Mostafa Kamal, Mirza Taher Zamil and journalist Rahat Khan were present.
   Bangla Academy organised a discussion on prose as a part of its series of lectures on ‘Prospective Bangladesh.’
   Essay writer Mahibul Aziz read out the keynote paper at the discussion chaired by writer Hasan Azizul Huq. The discussion was followed by a cultural function.
   Poet Bayetullah Quaderi will read out the keynote paper at today’s discussion on poetry to be held with poet Mohammad Rafique in the chair.

Participants at a daylong roundtable discussion in Rajshahi on Thursday stressed the need for formulation of a pro-people national health policy in the greater interest of ensuring health-related services for all particularly the poor and marginal groups.
   In all perspectives, they said, health was an integrated matter and healthcare was its one of parts. In this context, they viewed all related issues of the country like political, economical, social, cultural and lifestyle should be considered in the health policy.
   Apart from this, the health policy should be similar to the human rights and steps should be taken to fulfil the health- related demands of the people in accordance with the human rights.
   They were addressing the roundtable discussion styled ‘Want a pro-people national health policy’ arranged by Health Rights Movement Committee at Chillies Thai and Chinese Restaurant.
   Population Services and Training Centre, ALO and Shaw Unnayan jointly extended support to arrange the programme.
   Rajshahi mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton addressed the meeting as the chief guest with HRMC president Mozammel Haque in the chair.
   PSTC programme coordinator Mozahedul Islam presented a keynote paper portraying the merits and demerits of the present draft health policy.
   PSTC executive director Milon Bikash Paul, former chairman of Rajshahi Education Board professor Nurul Alam, executive director of ALO Shamima Sultana, president of Children Advocacy Forum Joytuna Khatun and editor of Daily Sonaly Sangbad Liakat Ali spoke on the occasion as panel discussants. Shaw Unnayan president Mustafizur Rahman Khan moderated the discussion.
   The speakers expected that the newly elected democratic government would formulate a welfare-based and pro-people national health policy for the sake of ensuring health-related services for all including the poor and underprivileged groups properly.
   Taking part in the discussion, mayor Liton said ensuring five fundamental rights including health was the constitutional obligation and urged all to remain alert in this regard.
   He said political commitment was indispensable for ensuring the health-related services including the reproductive health and
   put emphasis on reactiva-ting the community clinics so that the remote and
   rural people could get emergency primary healthcare service.
   Around 75 persons representing different government and non-government organisations concerned attended the discussion and gave their views on the issue.

Guardians of the children studying at Udayan High School in Dhaka on Thursday protested at the increase in monthly tution and session fees and other charges of the school.
   The Guardian Forum of Udayan High School brought out a procession, demanding that the school authorities should immediately reduce all the fees collected from the students.
   The forum members started the procession from the school premises and walked to the Teachers-Students Centre of Dhaka University, Central Shaheed Minar and National Press Club.
   Later, they held a rally on the school premises, demanding immediate reduction in the all the school fees.
   They also demanded removal of the school principal Khaleda Habib for, what they said, illegally hiking the school fees. The forum convenor Abul Kalam Azad said Khaleda Habib was trying to grab the money collected from the guardians in the name of donation and coaching.
   Kalam also alleged that the school authority was making the school into a business institution by illegally increasing fees.
   He demanded formation of a probe committee to investigate the ‘irregularities’ in the school.

Construction of the liberation war memorial is yet to begin at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology even more than eleven years after laying the foundation stone.
   According to sources in the university administration, former speaker Humayun Rashid Chowdhury laid the foundation stone of the proposed war memorial on November 13, 1997.
   The then Awami League government allotted Tk 40 lakh to build the war memorial but the university authorities have yet to take any initiative to implement the project, the sources alleged.
   ‘A certain quarter is preventing the authorities concerned from building any monument on the campus. So any of such projects has not yet been implemented here,’ an official said.
   Even the issue has not been included in the ongoing five-year development plan of the university which will end in 2010, another source said.
   Vice-chancellor Professor M Aminul Islam said that construction of the liberation war memorial will start soon. ‘Implementation of the project has been delayed for various reasons but the work will begin shortly,’ the vice-chancellor added.
   Chairman of economics department Professor Reza-e-Karim, also a freedom fighter, said it is very sad that no war memorial has yet been built on the campus more than eighteen years after establishment of the university.
   A cultural activist of SUST told New Age that they had failed to draw attention of the authorities on the issue despite repeated attempts.
   The SUST unit of the Bangladesh Chhatra League on Thursday called on the university authorities to immediately start construction of the proposed liberation war memorial on the campus.
   Leaders of the BCL, associate student wing of the ruling Awami League, made the demand while they were addressing a rally in front of the Library Building.
   The also announced a three-day agitation programme on the campus from Sunday to press for the demand, according to campus sources.

The Centre for Research on Bangla Language Processing of BRAC University on Thursday introduced text-to-speech system for Bangla language and Bangla optical character recognition.
   The text-to-speech software solution will help the visually impaired and illiterate persons in using the computer at a greater convenience. CRBLP is partly supported with grants from PAN Localisation Project of International Development Research Corp, Canada and Microsoft Corporation, USA.
   The text-to-speech software demonstrated at a seminar held at BRAC University.
    ‘It is a very painstaking task that may take another six months to make the voice sound friendlier,’ said Professor Mumit Khan, head of the CRBLP. The software will be available on the web site of BRAC University within a week, he said.
   The other project introduced at the seminar was the optical character recognition that is able to convert printed text images to editable text.
   Salehuddin Ahmed, pro vice-chancellor of BRAC University, attended the seminar as chief guest. Mansur Ahmed Chowdhury, managing director of Jatiya Protibandhi Unnayan Foundation, and Saiful Islam Khan of Social Welfare Department were also present.

The monument, built at Rajshahi College in memory of martyred language movement heroes, was inaugurated on Thursday.
   The Rajshahi mayor, AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, inaugurated the monument in a ceremony chaired by principal Ali Reza Muhammad Abdul Majid.
   Language movement heroes Sayeed Uddin Ahmed and Abdul Malek Khan, Professor Abdul Wazed, Professor Tanvir Mahmud and former Rajshahi Education Board chairman Nurul Alam were present.
   The monument was built beside the Muslim Students’ Mess, a dormitory of the college.

The detective police recovered a stolen private car from Subidbazar area in the Sylhet city on Thursday.
   The car with registration number Dhaka-Metro Ga 11-3938 was stolen from Gulshan two days back,
   the police said, adding that a team of the detective police recovered the car
   at about 4:00am and arrested one Shahidul Islam
   in connection with the car lifting.
   Following his statement, the police picked up five more persons from different areas in the city for their alleged involvement with the car lifting.
   They were identified as Shahin Ahmed, of Munshipara, Mostafiz, of Bhatalia and Shadequl Islam, Lablu and Abu Khaled Chowdhury, of Roynagar in the city.

Kendriya Sangskritik Jote of Rajshahi University unit Thursday staged demonstration on the campus, demanding cancellation of the permission for Bikalpa Sahitya Sangsad to hold the programmes at Shaheed Minar on February 21.
   The activists of the organisation at a protest rally criticised the authorities concerned for granting permission to Sahitya Sangsad, a Shibir-backed cultural body.

Dry weather is likely to continue over the country during the next 24 hours till 6:00pm today.
   Light fog may occur over the river basins of the country during late night till morning, Met Office said. Night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.
   Country’s highest temperature 31.3 degrees Celsius was recorded on Thursday at Cox’s Bazar and lowest 11.2 degrees at Rajshahi.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 5:57pm and rises tomorrow at 6:27am.