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The just announced central committee of opposition BNP’s associate student body, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, was greeted with protests at Dhaka University campus on Thursday.
   Irked by the formation of the new committee incorporating ‘elderly and non-student’ leaders, a large group of JCD activists brought out a procession on the campus, demanding of the BNP high-command to review the decision for the sake of uniting the party’s student front.
   The BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, shortly before midnight on Wednesday approved a five member central committee with Sultan Salauddin Tuku and Amirul Islam Khan Alim as president and general secretary respectively and asked them to form a full committee in next 10 days. The tenure of the new committee will last until next January.
   Shahidul Islam Babul has been chosen as senior vice-president, Amiruzzaman Khan Shimul as joint secretary, and Anisur Rahman Khokan as organising secretary in the newly formed committee.
   Meanwhile, tension mounted at the Dhaka University campus as the Chhatra Dal already split into two groups over formation of the committee.
   As the new president and general secretary arrived at Madhu’s canteen on Thursday morning, some of their followers welcomed them offering flower bouquets. But the dissidents brought out a procession outside the canteen denouncing the committee and held a rally in front of DUCSU building.
   The dissidents, who claimed them as ‘revolutionary group’ at the rally chanted slogans : ‘We do not want uncles’ committee’, flaunting their identity cards.
   They said a group of interest-mongers like Amanullah Aman and Fazlul Haq Milon, who were out to destroy Chhatra Dal, had formed the committee misinforming the BNP chairperson.
   The dissidents said the committee was formed by such controversial former leaders of Chhatra Dal who had received bribes in terms of car and cash from some party quarters or vested interests.
   They said Tuku was such an elder person who had contested the election to eighth parliament from Tangail 2 constituency as a BNP candidate. He is the brother of two controversial persons, former deputy minister for industries, Abdus Salam Pintu, who is a accused in the August 21 grenade attack case, and Maulana Tajul Islam, leader of a militant outfit.
   Danesul Islam, president of Salimullah Hall unit Chhatra Dal, said, ‘The new leaders are too old to be called as brother and some of them face allegations of having link with religious extremists.’
   The dissident leaders said all the members of the new committee are not students at all. Tuku had taken admission to Dhaka University in 1986-87 session and Alim took admission in 1989-90 session. Both of them are married and are father of children, they added.
   The previous JCD committee was formed in 2004, with a one-year term.

Health rights activists on Thursday alleged that the proposed national health policy was drafted to encourage privatisation and thus commercialise the health services in the country.
   National Health Rights Movement Committee at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity also claimed that the proposed health policy has been formulated only to protect the interest of the donor agencies instead of providing better healthcare services at the doorsteps of the people.
   They asked the authorities to finalise the proposed national health policy in consultation with health professionals, consumers, patients, civil society members and health service managers to ensure better healthcare services for all.
   ‘It seems that the national health policy was formulated by the policy support department of the World Bank office in Dhaka. But formulation of a people-oriented health policy is time-consuming as it needs opinions from all walks of life, especially physicians, civil society members and experts. But the government so far did not make any contact with any professional bodies to formulate an effective health policy,’ said the committee president Dr Rashid-e-Mahbub.
   He said it was regretful that the donors were interfering in the process of making different national policies. ‘No country of the world formulates their national policy in consultation with the donors; they (donors) will only ensure their own interest as they see everything commercially,’ alleged the former secretary general of the Bangladesh Medical Association.
   ‘We will send a set of recommendations taking people’s views to all lawmakers requesting them to formulate a pro-people health policy,’ he said.
   Addressing the press conference, member secretary of the committee Nitai Chandra Roy said they would observe a series of programmes demanding inclusion of physicians to the panel for preparing the national health policy.
   Another member of the committee, Dr Abdul Matin, said the proposed health policy would not be able to ensure healthcare services for all if the government formulates it without having consultation with the physicians.
   He also urged the government to allocate more funds for the health sector to provide world-class healthcare services within the reach of the people.
   Former Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University vice-chancellor Mahmud Hasan read out a written statement where he said the government should bring some changes in its laws and rules to enforce the national health policy effectively.

A Royal Bengal tiger was beaten to death by villagers at Uttar Rajapur village under Sarankhola upazila in Bagerhat Thursday morning.
   The DFO of Sunderban East Division, Mihir Kumder, said the tiger crossed the river Vola into the village from the Sundarban and swooped on a dog, leaving it dead early in the morning.
   Hearing the roar of the tiger villagers rushed to the scene and beat the tiger to death.
   Later, forest officials recovered the carcass of the tiger and sent it to Sarankhola range office.
   With the killing, the number of tigers beaten to death in the world’s largest mangrove forest rose to 12 from 2001 till the date, forest officials said.
   They said at least 17 people were killed in tiger attack in the eastern division during the same period.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police has decided to make the road stretch between Pragati Sarani to Janapath at Sayedabad via Badda, Rampura, Malibagh and Mainknagar off-limits to rickshaws and on Thursday began a campaign to make people aware of the move.
   ‘We began the awareness campaign today. We will later make the road stretch off-limits to rickshaws in line with the recommendation of the parliamentary standing committee on home ministry to ease traffic congestion,’ said additional deputy commissioner (traffic south) Bidhan Tripura on Thursday.
   The Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Wednesday issued a release to announce the decision to make off-limits to rickshaws nine crossings, including five level-crossings.
   The crossings are Pragati Sarani level crossing, Natun Bazar crossing, Badda Link Road, Rampura Bridge, Malibagh level crossing, Khilgaon flyover, TT Para crossing, Maniknagar level crossing and Janapath crossing at Sayedabad.
   The stretch will remain off-limits to rickshaws and rickshaw-vans between 8:00am and 10:00pm, the release said.
   Bidhan said decision was not implemented on Thursday, but rickshaws having no valid documents were stopped from plying the main road. Unauthorised rickshaws and rickshaw-vans sent into the lanes.
   In areas such as Maniknagar, the police sent all the rickshaws and rickshaw-vans from the main road into alleys.
   ‘We made announcement on PA system to make people aware of the plan.

Smajtantrik Chhatra Front on Thursday protested at an initiative of the English department in Dhaka University to offer evening master’s courses.
   The students’ organisation brought out a procession and held a rally in front of the arts faculty building where its leaders said the authorities were trying to commercialise education and attempts of a few departments at offering such courses was part of the conspiracy.
   Some English department students also joined the rally. They said they resist any attempt of the department to offer evening courses.
   ‘The authorities cannot offer evening courses only for money for students who otherwise failed to take admission to the department,’ said Shibaji Mridha, a master’s student of the department.
   The leaders at the rally said general students would continue with their movement to resist such a move.
   Such movers were earlier taken in several arts and social sciences departments, but the attempts were discontinued in the face of opposition. Only the business studies departments run such courses in exchange for increased fees.

A woman was killed allegedly by her husband over dowry at Mohanpur in Rajshahi Wednesday night.
   The deceased was Parul, 35, wife of one Ibrahim, a resident of Berabari at Mohanpur.
   Local residents said Parul had been married to Ibrahim three months ago. Ibrahim repeatedly demanded Tk 50,000 in dowry from her. At her refusal, Ibrahim used to torture her often. Ibrahim beat her Wednesday night which caused the death.
   Ibrahim managed to get away. A case was filed.

A parliamentary panel on Thursday recommended that the Bangladesh missions abroad should have their own office buildings and residential quarters for staff to avoid spending large sums on rented houses.
   ‘Bangladesh should have spaces abroad to accommodate chancery buildings and residences for mission staff, and the government should buy them every year to save resources,’ Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on foreign ministry, said after a meeting.
   The meeting, presided over by the committee chairman, was told that the government had signed a deal to purchase a floor/space in New York.
   The committee members pointed out that the government had been spending a large amount of money every year on rented offices and residence buildings abroad. To save resources, the missions should have their own lands or spaces abroad.
   ‘It would help reduce the cost of running missions abroad,’ the committee chief agreed.
   The meeting suggested that the ministry should take advantage of lower land prices in Europe and America in the fallout from the global recession.
   Bangladesh has only a few foreign missions on its own lands or buildings, according to foreign ministry officials.
   The meeting, attended by foreign minister Dipu Moni, also a committee member, suggested that a Bangladeshi mission should be opened in South America.
   It also reviewed the perks and privileges Bangladeshi diplomats and mission staff were enjoying in the South Asian countries.
   The meeting pointed out that the staff at Bangladesh missions in the South Asian countries received low perks compared to the privileges their counterparts from those countries enjoyed.
   At the same time, the committee asked for introduction of Inspector General of Missions to effectively monitor the activities of Bangladeshi diplomats.
   ‘They [ missions] must look after the interest of Bangladesh and its citizens staying abroad for various purposes,’ said the committee chairman admitting that in most cases Bangladeshis did not get services at the missions concerned.
   The meeting stressed the need for a guideline for the missions abroad asking the ministry to submit a draft guideline at the next meeting of the committee.
   The lone opposition member at the committee, Mahbub Uddin Khokon, said that he had raised the issue of the Tipaimukh dam being constructed by India upstream of the river Meghna.
   He said that the government should include opposition lawmakers and water experts in the committee to visit the Tipaimukh dam project site as suggested by the leader of the opposition, Khaleda Zia.
   He also demanded expulsion of the Indian envoy to Bangladesh for breaching the limits of diplomatic norms.
   Committee members Imran Ahmed, Mostafa Faruk Mohammad and Muhammad Emaj Uddin Pramanik, and the foreign secretary, Touhid Hossain, attended the meeting among others.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council Thursday approved five projects involving Tk 1,136 crore with Tk 619 crore from government sources, an officials statement said.
   The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, chaired the ECNEC meeting that approved the projects which were Improvement of Digital Mapping System of Survey of Bangladesh (revised) Project under the defence ministry, Dinajpur Jail Reconstruction Project of the home ministry, Eastern Bangladesh Bridge Improvement Project of the communications ministry, Barisal City Corporation’s Infrastructure Development and five upazila level road development projects under local government ministry with ZDCF assistance.
   Tk 502 crore would come as project assistance while ZDCF is to provide the rest as Tk 519 crore is to be provided by the government from its own sources.
   The finance minister and alternative chairman of ECNEC, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, planning minister AK Khondoker, agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury, local government minister Syed Ashraful Islam, labour & employment and expatriate welfare & overseas employment minister Khondoker Mosharraf Hossain, water resource minister Ramesh Chandra Sen, commerce minister Faruq Khan, communications minister Syed Abul Hossain, shipping minister Afsarul Amin, advisers to the prime minister HT Imam, Moshiur Rahman, Modassir Hossain, Alauddin Ahmed and Toufique Elahi Chowdhury and state minister for science and ICT Yeafes Osman joined the meeting.
   Cabinet secretary, principal secretary, planning secretary and planning commission members, other concerned secretaries and senior officials were present.

The Jahangirnagar University disciplinary committee has recommended expulsion of the Bangladesh Chhatra League activists involved in clashes over elections to rag day committee, formed to celebrate course completion, on Wednesday in which three were injured.
   The committee made the recommendation in an emergency meeting Wednesday evening. The vice-chancellor, Shariff Enamul Kabir, presided over the meeting.
   Sources in the administration said the meeting also formed a high-powered committee, led by the pro-vice-chancellor (administration) Farhad Hossain, to investigate the matter. The committee has been asked to submit the report in 15 days.
   The committee was also asked to investigate the involvement of outsider Chhatra League activists in the clashes.
   Chhatra League factions on Wednesday clashed over the rag committee election of the Batch 33.

Many people of Khulna including students, who were victims of cyclone Aila, submitted a memorandum to Bagerhat’s deputy commissioner and formed a human chain before the district headquarters on Thursday morning, demanding repair or reconstruction of educational institutions and compensation from rich countries responsible for climate change.
   A memorandum, signed by Sabuj Roy and Prabhat Roy on behalf of the affected students, demanded urgent repair of the damaged educational institutions, distribution of books to the affected students, tuition-free studies in the affected areas along with financial support.
   Meanwhile, more than 500 people of the affected upazilas of Bagerhat district also formed an hour-long human chain in spite of heavy rains on Thursday morning at Doshani Mor in the district headquarters, demanding their rehabilitation and compensation from the rich countries that are responsible for the climate change that is causing frequent cyclones.
   The gathering was addressed by Md Kamruzzaman, principal of Khan Jahania Gano Bidalaya, Mollah Moniruzzaman, a fisherman, and Abu Muzaffar Mahmud and Nasima Jahan, both NGO personnel.
   Cyclones like Aila and Sidr have been occurring in the coastal zone of Bangladesh due to climate change, said the speakers, adding that as the rich countries are responsible for climate change they should compensate the affected people.
   The speakers also demanded reconstruction of the totally damaged embankments, repair of partly damaged embankments, provision of food and drinking water and rehabilitation of the displaced people of the worst-affected areas in the south-western region.

The Rapid Action Battalion personnel on Thursday recovered a Chinese rifle and two live bullets abandoned at Hazaribagh in the city.
   A RAB-2 team, acting on a tip-off, recovered the firearms and ammunition believed to have been lost from the Bangladesh Rifles headquarters during the February 25-26 rebellion, RAB sources said.
   Rebel BDR soldiers, while the fleeing from their headquarter, had taken with them huge weapons from their arsenal. The rifle and bullets were found dumped in a garbage heap beside a three-storey building at Ganaktuli, a RAB release said.
   Earlier on Wednesday evening, another RAB team seized 19 bullets with two clip chargers abandoned inside the boundary wall of Azimpur graveyard, only 50 yards from the BDR gate No. 3. Meanwhile, six more BDR soldiers made their confessional statements before the chief metropolitan magistrate’s court on Thursday in connection with the bloody carnage at Pilkhana headquarters.
   So far some 1,552 people, most of them BDR soldiers, have been arrested in connection with the rebellion and 1,327 of them were taken on police remand for interrogation.
   Some 225 of the arrested people, including three civilians, made their confessional statements to the court.
   Outside the capital, a total of 1,723 soldiers have so far been arrested in 30 districts for their suspected involvement in the rebellion at their respective battalions and sector headquarters on the second day of the mutiny.

The president, Zillur Rahman, has stressed the importance of creating a hassle-free investment environment so that non-resident Bangladeshis can be attracted to invest more in the country.
   ‘Our investment environment has to be hassle-free so that the NRBs feel interested to spontaneously invest in the country,’ he said while inaugurating a three-day programme titled ‘First NRB manpower development and opportunities conference-2009’ at a city hotel on Thursday.
   The foreign minister, Dipu Moni, and the expatriate welfare and overseas minister, Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, were present as special guests at the conference held with the Bangladesh Bank governor, Atiur Rahman, in the chair. It was organised by Scholars Bangladesh.
   Zillur said the NRBs were playing an important role in keeping the country’s economy vibrant through their remarkable contributions. ‘The foreign remittance should be used properly in productive sectors for the country’s rapid progress.’
   He urged the ministry of expatriate welfare and overseas employment to closely monitor so that outbound people do not fall victims to harassment and cheating. ‘It’s also the responsibility of our missions aboard to assist the expatriates in this regard.’
   The president also urged the NRBs to actively take part in implementing the programmes of ‘Vision 2021’ declared by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina. ‘I firmly believe that on the golden jubilee of the country’s independence in 2021, Bangladesh will be able to become a prosperous country based on information technology with the implementation of the prime minister’s declared roadmap.’
   He said the country’s huge population had to be turned into skilled human resources by giving them proper training and IT knowledge. ‘I hope Bangladeshis will able to mark their contributions aboard not mere as workers but also as skilled manpower like competent engineers, physicians, professors, IT experts and think tanks in various countries of the world.’
   Appreciating the efforts of NRBs, Dipu Moni said the government would try to solve the emerging problems of the expatriates abroad.

Bangladesh Chhatra Union on Thursday demanded expulsion of the Indian high commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty for his ‘audacious statements’ in violation of diplomatic norms.
   The Indian envoy recently termed Bangladeshi water experts ‘so-called experts’ in connection with India’s Tipaimukh Dam project.
   The organisation made the demand in a rally in front of the Dhaka University central library. The leaders said only the government could take initiatives to stop the conspiracy by India and the lawmakers should pressure higher authorities for steps to protest at the Indian initiative.
   The organisation’s central committee president Khan Asaduzzaman Masum said, ‘The speech of the Indian high commissioner proves Bangladesh has a submissive foreign policy towards India.’

Former Bangla Academy deputy director Momen Chowdhury, also a folklore researcher and writer, died of old-age complications at the age of 73 on Thursday.
   He was buried in the Gopibagh graveyard after his namaz-e-janaza on the academy premises.
   The Bangla Academy director general, Shamsuzzaman Khan, other officials and employees placed flowers when the body was kept there for public viewing.
   The Bangla Academy in a condolence message expressed shock at his death.

The third official ‘Birth Registration Day’ will be observed today throughout the country with detailed arrangement to put new names on records from cities down to district towns and villages.
   The day’s programme will begin with a discussion meeting on the significance of the drive today at Osmani Memorial conference hall in the city.
   The president, Zillur Rahman, and the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, have given separate messages on the occasion highlighting its significance and wishing the day a success.
   At today’s discussion meeting, health and family welfare minister AFM Ruhal Haque will be the chief guest. Adviser to prime minister on health, family welfare and social welfare Dr Modasser Ali and state minister for LGRD Jahangir Kabir Nanak will attend it as special guests.
   UNICEF country representative Carole D Roy and project director Saiful Islam Chowdhury will also speak on the occasion. A cultural presentation will follow.
   The authorities concerned have taken a detailed programme throughout the country on the occasion to effectively carry out the drive.
   They will also hold discussion meetings and mass contacts to create public awareness so that people come out voluntarily for registration of new born babies, said official sources.

The Awami League general secretary, Abdul Jalil, on Thursday visited Taufique Uddin, senior staff reporter of daily Manabjamin, who is undergoing treatment in the city’s Samorita Hospital with serious illness.
   He stayed at the bedside of the ailing newsman for sometime and handed over Tk 50,000 to his attendants as assistance for his treatment.
   Jalil will leave Dhaka for Singapore on Saturday night for routine medical check-up and is expected to return on July 9.

The American embassy, including its Consular Section and the Public Affairs Section with the Archer K Blood American Centre Library and the Student Advising Centre, will remain closed on July 5 on the occasion of Independence Day, an American national holiday.

At least six people were killed and 55 others injured in road accidents at different places in Gazipur on Thursday.
   Local residents blocked road after four people had been killed and five injured when a bus collided head-on with a human hauler at Bilashpur Battala in the Gazipur district headquarters on Thursday.
   The accident took place when the bus headed for Dhaka collided with the human hauler headed for Sheemultali at about 8.00am. All the deceased and the injured were passengers of the human hauler.
   After the accident, local people blocked the Joydevpur–Sheemultali Road, for which traffic had been suspended for about six hours.
   The deceased were Md Nazme Amin Rifat, 13, a student of Class VII of the Gazipur Cantonment Board High School, and Alacatec Aluminium Factory workers Md Monir Hossain, 25, Hasan Khan, 28 and Kamal Hossain, 28. All died on the spot.
   Local residents took the injured to hospital. The condition of all the injured was reported to be critical.
   The police arrested the bus driver and the sent the bodies for post-mortem examination.
   In another incident, at least two people were killed and 50 others injured in a head-on collision between two buses on the Kaliakair Bypass at Kaliakair Thursday night.
   Local people said a Dhaka-bound bus collided head-on with a Jamalpur-bound bus. Two were killed on the spot and 50 were injured.
   Five of the injured were sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Others was taken to local hospital and clinics.

Bangla and Islamic History examinations will be held with creative question method at Dakhil level of madrassah education system from 2011.
   The government has taken various steps including introducing of creative question method instead of existing question method at all secondary and equivalent level in phases aiming at bringing qualitative change in the education system of the country.
   The creative question method would be introduced in all related subjects at the class VI, VII and VIII at general education system for the academic year-2009, an official press release said.
   Two more subjects of humanities, commerce and science sections will be included in the general education system with Bangla first part and religious education in the SSC examinations in 2011.
   Geography and general science will be included in humanities while business introduction and general science in commerce and chemistry and social science in science.
   According to the earlier announcement, the exams of Bangla first part and religious education will be held with creative question method in the SSC examinations in 2010.

The Afghan ambassador to Bangladesh, Ahmad Karim Nawabi, made a courtesy call on the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Thursday morning and requested her to reopen Bangladesh’s embassy in Kabul, which was closed down after the start of the Afghan ‘war on terror’ by the US-led allied force.
   During the meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office, they also discussed various matters of bilateral interest, including prospects for expansion of trade and business between the two SAARC member-states.
   Prime minister’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad briefed newsmen about the meeting.
   The prime minister said, ‘Bangladesh attaches due importance to its relations with Afghanistan.’
   They expressed the hope that the existing friendly relations between the two South Asian countries would further strengthen in the days to come.
   The Afghan ambassador expressed deep shock at the death of internationally renowned nuclear scientist and prime minister’s husband, Dr MA Wazed Miah.
   He expressed deep sympathy for the bereaved family and prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul.
   As the issue of terrorism came up during the discussion, the prime minister reiterated her call for united efforts to root out terrorism from the region.
   ‘Terrorists have no boundary and religion,’ she said and expressed the government’s firm stand against all forms of terrorism.
   The prime minister and the envoy expressed satisfaction over the existence of democratic governments both in Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
   Hasina said, ‘Only democratically elected government can ensure people’s development as it is the people’s government.’
   Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office Mollah Waheeduzzaman and former ambassador M Ziauddin were present.

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, sought enhanced assistance from the United Nations for improving child and maternal health and empowering the womenfolk in the country, as she listed some setbacks in the population sector in recent times.
   She made the call when the representative of UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) in Bangladesh, Arthur Erken, on the eve of World Population Day which falls on 11 July, made a courtesy call on her at the Prime Minister’s Office Thursday.
   The prime minister reiterated her government’s commitment to establish social-safety net through creating huge employment opportunities and empowering women, providing quality health services to people of all walks of life, particularly to mothers and children.
   She said in line with the dream of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of building a healthy nation, the last Awami League government had taken a project for setting up 18,000 community health clinics across the country and some 4,000 of the clinics were made functional in full swing.
   The main purpose of the project was to take quality health facilities to the rural people, mothers and children, she said.
   But, Hasina deplored, the last BNP-Jamaat government had stopped the community health clinic project ‘only for political reason’.
   People’s longevity also increased during the five-year rule of Awami League government, but later the longevity reduced in a setback, she told the UN executive.
   ‘The community health clinics could have played a tremendous role in making the country’s population healthy and creating employment opportunities in the rural areas,’ she said.
   The present government will reintroduce the community health clinics as it believes that without a healthy population a country cannot advance towards sustainable development, the prime minister said.
   Hasina also informed the UNFPA representative about the government’s strong commitment for empowering the women.
   She said the Awami League in the last general election gave direct nomination to a considerable number of women and now the deputy leader of the house, the ministers for agriculture, home and foreign affairs and state minister for labour are all women, which reflects the present government’s stand for women empowerment.
   Hasina described early marriage as one of the main obstacles to development of the women community and identified poverty, illiteracy and social insecurity as some of the major reasons behind the early marriage.
   She observed that through merely enacting and implementing laws early marriage cannot be stopped. ‘People will have to be made educated and poverty must be eradicated to empower the women.’
   Prime minister’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad briefed newsmen after the meeting. Prime Minister’s Office secretary Mollah Waheeduzzaman and former ambassador M Ziauddin were present.
   The UNFPA official briefed the prime minister about the UN activities in support of the Bangladesh government’s population policy.
   He highlighted several features of the UNFPA’s support, including improving maternal health, the promotion of family planning and addressing gender issues.
   Arthur Erken gave a resume on the status of maternal and reproductive health in Bangladesh and illustrated some opportunities to enhance greater thrust on the effectiveness of the national family-planning programme in Bangladesh.
   The UN executive congratulated the PM on the Awami League-led grand alliance’s grand victory at the last election and her assumption of the office and assured more assistance in the population sector.

The national grid received another 33 megawatts from Thursday as Summit Utteranchal Power Company Limited launched a small independent power plant at a cost of Tk 145 crore.
   The prime minister’s energy adviser Toufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury formally unveiled the plant at Mawna in Gazipur.
   Chowdhury said the government planned to generate another 5,000 megawatts in coming years through public, private and combined initiatives.
   Referring to a Tk 2000 crore budgetary allocation for PPP, he said, ‘We also want to form a fund to assist the private sector instead of relying on the budget alone.’
   He said about 30 million energy saving light bulbs would be distributed free throughout the country next year, which would cut 300-400 megawatts of consumption and attune the people to conserving power.
   On media criticism regarding slow growth in the power sector, he said, ‘The progress in this sector appears invisible and time consuming.’
   Summit Uttaranchal’s new plant will sell electricity to the Rural Electrification Board at Tk 2.32 per unit.
   The plant is expected to meet the power needs of about 112,000 consumers in Mymensingh and Gazipur.
   The Gazipur deputy commissioner, Md Kamal Uddin Talukdar, local ruling party MP Rahmat Ali, REB chairman Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan and Summit Uttaranchal chairman Muhammad Aziz Khan were present.

In the wake of sharp decline in export earnings in last couple of months, Export Promotion Bureau wanted to know from the exporters what needs to be done to expedite exports, official sources said.
   The EPB will also request the ministry of foreign affairs to know how the competitors of the Bangladeshi exporters are performing in the global markets.
   The EPB held a meeting on Thursday at its auditorium to identify the causes of decline in the export earnings against the backdrop of the global recession.
   The meeting, presided over by director general of the EPB Md Khalilur Rahman, was attended by local exporters, leaders of some 13 exporters’ associations and businessmen.
   ‘We have already requested the local exporters to let the EPB know how they could help to increase their export earnings from the international market and exactly what they need to expedite the exports,’ said a senior official of EPB.
   Meeting sources said officials of EPB and the exporters had discussed about the declining earnings of tea, raw jute, jute goods, ceramics, frozen foods, primary products, petroleum products and engineering products.
   According to EPB, the country’s export earning was worth US$ 12816.11 million in July-April period of the last fiscal year against a target US$ 13100.69 million for entire fiscal that ended on June 30.