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Female members of parliament from reserved seats bury their political divides while airing grievances against the government’s reluctance to specify their jobs and constituencies, and allow them to play due role in national development as legislators.
   Their number rose three times from 1972, but their role remains limited to attendance at parliament sessions as back-benchers as rules do not reserve any special role for them to play either in legislative or in local development works.
   They still feel left out and humiliated, and no initiative is in sight to improve their status as legislators though the 9th parliament has already spent more than six months of its five-year term.
   Many of them, who talked to New Age, irrespective of political divides, consider their present status shameful as they have no defined constituency to work for though they enjoy the similar perks and privileges as the directly-elected members of parliament do.
   They allege that they do not get cooperation from their male counterparts. Even the local administrations treat them as second class MPs, some regret.
   Female lawmakers of reserved seats find the definition and area of their work discriminatory with that of their male peers in the regular constituencies, both in terms of local development and legislative functions.
   To bury the discrimination, the woman MPs, who came to parliament through selection by political parties in proportionate to their seats, recommend further amendment to the constitution to specify their constituencies and terms of references.
   The ninth parliament has a total of 345 lawmakers with 45 chosen from major political parties for the reserved seats for women in line with the 14th amendment to the constitution, which raised the number of female lawmakers to 45 from 30.
   They are offered almost all perks and privileges enjoyed by lawmakers who were elected directly, but virtually left with no specific constituency and role.
   ‘It is a shame for us that we are getting all the privileges an MP is entitled to, but we do not have any work for the virtual constituencies,’ Shaheen Monowara Haq, a lawmaker of the reserved seat from ruling Awami League said adding that she personally does not like to get the privileges as an MP without doing anything.
   Although the provision of reserved seat was introduced for women’s empowerment, the female MPs had hardly any specific constituencies initially.
   Monowara said a lack of constituency generally holds back the lawmakers of the reserved seats from employing their talents properly for national development.
   ‘The lawmakers elected from regular constituencies do not take us easy when we go for development works at the grassroots, even we do not get due cooperation from the administration as our role in local development is not specified,’ said Monowara, who was also an MP of reserved seat during the previous Awami League regime between 1996 and 2001.
   An opposition lawmaker from Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Nelofer Chowdhury Moni, echoed the ruling party lawmaker saying that woman MPs are left with unspecific constituencies, which is not helpful for a meaningful role.
   ‘Instead of cooperation, we face obstruction from our male counterparts if we take up any development scheme in our areas,’ said the BNP lawmaker, who hails from a Jamalpur constituency, asking the government to amend the constitution facilitating woman MPs to contribute more to national development.
   She wants an end to anomalies in businesses between a female MP for a reserved seat and an MP elected from a regular seat.
   Asked about the areas of their work, another lawmaker of the ruling AL, Parvin Talukder regretted that their terms of reference were yet to be finalised.
   But she said that prime minister Sheikh Hasina assured them of allocating specific areas of work.
   However, Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, a ruling party lawmaker and human rights activist, sees the things differently as she believes that woman lawmakers have ample scope to work at the national level.
   ‘They should proceed with issues instead of being constituency-based,’ said the lawmaker adding that she was well aware of the problems faced by MPs of reserved seats in absence of specific constituencies.
   A Jatiya Party lawmaker, Noor-e-Hasna Lily, said if there is no area specified for an MP of reserved seat, then there remain chances of overlapping of development works. ‘Our areas should be clearly defined, and I hope the government will do the best for us,’ said Lily, who was chosen by the Jatiya Party, a partner of the ruling AL-led coalition government.
   Bangladesh’s 1972 constituency had provision for 15 female lawmakers from reserved seats. In 1979, the number was increased to 30 and the provision was made valid for 15 years. As the period elapsed, there was no female lawmaker in reserved seats in fourth parliament in 1988.
   In 1990, the provision was reintroduced with 10-year validity through an amendment. As the validity expired again, the eighth parliament started with no lawmaker in reserved seat.
   Later in 2004, the BNP-led alliance government reintroduced the provision for 10 more years and raised the number to 45 through the 14th amendment to the constitution.
   The provision stipulated proportional distribution of reserved seats among the representing parties.
   According to the proportion, Awami League has now 36 female lawmakers, BNP five and Jatiya Party four lawmakers in reserved seats.

Malpractices like adulteration of food, use of toxic chemicals like formalin to preserve fish and seasonal fruits and illegal occupation of footpaths have increased in recent times due to absence of mobile courts to enforce laws.
   Law enforcement agencies, including Rapid Action Battalion, have conveyed to Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in writing about a sudden rise in such malpractices affecting general public and appealed for resuming operation of mobile courts to curb such offences, said an official source.
   Consumers Association of Bangladesh has also informed Dhaka City Corporation and Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute of the fact that food adulteration has risen to a ‘dangerous level’ since there is none to check this dangerous malpractice. It has asked for immediate measures to protect the rights of the consumers as adulterated food items have flooded the city markets.
   ‘We have informed the authorities that malpractices like food adulteration and use of chemicals to preserve seasonal fruits and fish have increased due to absence of mobile courts,’ CAB general secretary Kazi Farook told New Age on Saturday.
   He said the association had asked the DCC and BSTI for resuming drives against food adulteration and other malpractices of which the consumers have been the worst victims.
   Magistrates of Dhaka metropolitan court, meanwhile, expressed their willingness for conducting mobile courts to curb such offences.
   The chief metropolitan magistrate, AKM Enamul Haque, in a recent letter to the registrar of the Supreme Court, sought directives on an emergency basis to permit operation of mobile courts by metropolitan magistrates.
   ‘The law enforcement agencies, including Rapid Action Battalion, have filed an appeal with chief metropolitan magistrate for conducting drives under metropolitan magistracy against such criminal activities,’ said the letter issued on June 8.
   The mobile courts ceased to operate in the city as the Awami League government that assumed office last January is yet to pass the proposed Mobile Court Ordinance 2007, allowing executive magistrates to conduct mobile courts against food adulteration, irregularities in the transport sector, illegal occupation of government land and pollutions, said a senior judicial officer.
   He said the judicial magistrates now have the authority for conducting summery trials under the Code of Criminal Procedure after the separation of judiciary.
   The Supreme Court in another letter on June 16 sought opinion of the law ministry about operation of mobile courts by metropolitan magistrates to curb crimes, maintain law and order and check food adulteration, said the senior official of the law ministry.
   Last week, divisional commissioners from six divisions met with law minister Shafique Ahmed to protest the willingness of the judicial magistrates to operate the mobile courts.
   They rather asked for making necessary amendments to the laws allowing executive magistrates to conduct mobile courts.
   ‘The minister has told the divisional commissioners that the ministry will not approve the proposal of the Supreme Court in this regard,’ said an official, adding that the issue was pending for the law ministry’s decision.

Extortionists continue to squeeze money from the developers and owners of construction sites, using their political identity, alleged the victims.
   The law enforcers are also reluctant to nab the culprits because of their party affiliations, forcing us to pay them silently in order to continue to run our businesses, they said.
   The victims feared that the recent move by the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh would be of little help in curbing extortion.
   ‘A group of miscreants with a certain political label came to me with a proposal to supply the construction materials of a ten-story building,’ said a victim.
   ‘If you do not provide us with this opportunity, give us Tk 20 lakh within a week,’ said the extortionists, as quoted by the victim.
   This is one of the approaches of extortionists, said the victim who lives in Mirpur.
   ‘I received a death threat after refusing their proposal,’ said the victim. ‘I had to pay them Tk 2 lakh to ensure my safety and to continue construction.’
   The REHAB’s president, Tanveerul Haque Probal, told New Age that they were taking measures to tackle the extortionists.
   ‘We have made a four-member committee, led by Abdur Rahim Khan, to tackle the extortionists through a cell,’ he said. ‘If any REHAB member receives a demand for toll, we request them to inform us so that the cell can take steps to save them from the miscreants.’
   Despite this, the developers are afraid to inform the organisation.
   ‘We have received only three complaints of extortion from our members after forming the cell two weeks ago,’ said Probal who, along with his team, also held a meeting with the home minister, Sahara Khatun, seeking steps by the government to rid the sector of extortionists for good.
   Owners of a number of construction firms blamed the police for leaking information to the extortionists.
   ‘If anyone files cases or complains to the police, the latter allegedly inform the extortionists,’ said an owner.
   ‘I have paid a handsome amount of money to a group of so-called political activists to ensure my safety and to protect my business from destruction,’ said an owner who complained to the police.
   ‘Silent extortion is going on as we cannot disclose the fact to anybody,’ he said. ‘If I refuse to pay them, they will simply use a single bullet to end my life.’
   The law enforcers also fail to ensure the citizen’s safety, one of the fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution, as they maintain an amiable
   relationship with the miscreants, alleged the owners.
   On May 10 some extortionists shot dead a teenage boy and injured his elder brother at an under-construction building in Uttar Kafrul after failing to extract Tk 10 lakh from the owner.
   Biplob Hossain, an engineer of Locket Harbour, said that the gangsters of ‘Raja Bahini’ were demanding Tk 20 lakh from them over the last one week.
   On May 12 the extortionists shot dead Mobarak Ali, 65, and terrorised his three minor school-going grandchildren by shooting into the vehicle indiscriminately at Merul Badda after failing to realise Tk 20 lakh from his son-in-law Delwar Hossain, managing director the Toba Group.
   Delwar said that the extortion money was demanded over the telephone from Dubai before the general elections on December 29, 2008, and he had lodged a General Diary with the Badda thana.
   On May 13 the extortionists fired gunshots indiscriminately after storming into the office of a businessman, Sirajul Islam Tapan, in Mohammadpur to terrorise him.
   Many criminals reportedly have been controlling the extortion racket from the jail through their closest associates in many areas.
   There are some toll collectors who often terrorise businessmen, said a subinspector of the Lalbagh police. ‘We often arrest and produce them in court. After being released on bail, they again start extorting money.’
   According to the monthly Dhaka Metropolitan Police
   crime statistics, 30 extortionists were arrested in June and 59 extortionists in May.
   ‘We are conducting regular drives to arrest the miscreants,’ additional deputy police commissioner Walid Hossian said.
   As the law enforces are active, the trend of extortion is decreasing day by day, he said.

Flood situation in the north and the south are likely to deteriorate as heavy rainfall continued over the north-east and the south-east with major river systems swelling.
   The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre issued a bulletin forecasting further deterioration as heavy rainfall continued over the north-eastern Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram and Tripura for which the rivers swelled upstream.
   Major river systems — Brahmaputra-Jamuna, Ganges-Padma, and Meghna — continued swelling for a couple of days. The rivers were still flowing bellow danger mark, inundating more areas in Bangladesh’s north and south.
   Rivers continued to swell at 40 points out of 73 river stations monitored, and they marked a fall at 22 point. The Surma was flowing 46cm above danger mark at Sunamganj and Kangsha was flowing 32cm above danger mark at Jariajhanjail.
   A family of six, including four children aged between one and 10 years, were killed as their house collapsed during a mudslide at Baragaon at Nabiganj in Habiganj because of heavy overnight rainfall, the police said on Saturday.
   At least 44 houses were damaged at Rangunia in Chittagong as parts of hills collapsed amid downpour that had continued for two days. A 200m stretch of the embankment was breached in high tide in the River Karnaphuli.
   The New Age correspondent in Kurigram said all the 16 rivers flowing in the district were swelling for heavy rainfall and onrush of upstream water, inundating villages on the riverbanks. River erosion has taken a serious turn.
   The Dharla submerged a vast expanse of cropland, houses on a two-kilometre stretch from Mogalbacha to Bhatlarpara in the district headquarters, making more than 1000 people of 200 families homeless.
   The correspondent in Lalmoinirhat said low-lying areas of 10 unions in five upazilas were inundated because of continuous heavy rainfall and sudden onrush of water upstream.
   At least 45,000 people have been marooned in the Teesta and Dharla sand bars and low-lying areas at Hatibandha, Kaliganj, Aditmari, Patgram and in the district headquarters.
   The Moghalhat border outpost of the Bangladesh Rifles stands to be eroded as the camp was just 200 metres off the Dharla.
   The River Brahmaputra rose by 29cm at the Chilmari point and the Teesta by 53cm at the Teesta Bridge point.
   The Khuniya Gachh union council chairman, Abdul Malek, said people in villages had got not time to remove their belongings and they had taken shelter on the Teesta embankment.
   The correspondent in Rangpur said several thousand houses in 20 villages in Gangachara had been marooned as the Teesta swelled. A 200ft stretch of the embankment at Nohali and 50 houses in Nohali, Mornea and Lakshmitarai have been washed away.
   Makbul Miah and Hazera Begum of Kachua at Nohali said their houses had gone under chest-high water. The Lakshmitari union council chairman, Abdul Kader, said low-lying villages in the union had gone under water with the swelling of the River Teesta Friday night.
   The Gangachara upazila nirbahi officer, Mahbubul Haq, said some villagers were submerged with a sudden rise in Teesta water Friday night.  He said repair workof the Teesta embankment was going on at Nohali.
   The correspondent in Nilphamari said flood situation at Baish Pukur, Sonakhuli, Chatunama, Vendabari, Gopaljhar, Haldibari of Dimla had worsened.
   Water Development Board officials said a sharp rise in Teesta water had threatened the main embankment at the Jharsingeswar point of Purba Chhatnai at Dimla.
   The Dalia division executive engineer of the Bangladesh Water Development Board, Atikur Rahman, said the authorities were trying to protect the embankment by dumping sandbags and with bamboo pilings.
   Reports from Netrakona said all the rivers in the district, including the Someswari, Kangsa and Dano, continued swelling because of incessant rainfall and onrush of hill water from across the border.
   Swelling of the Padma stopped forced ferries to stop operation on the Mawa–Kawrakandi route. More than 400 vehicles remained stranded on both ends.
   The River Padma rose by 28cm in 24 hours till Saturday morning, inundating the pontoon and the gangway of Terminal 2 at Kawrakandi and Terminal 3 at Mawa.
   Reports from Bandarban said water began receding on the Bandarban–Chittagong Highway at Bazalia.
   Although the Surma continued flowing above danger mark at Sunamgaon, flood situation in the district remained unchanged on Saturday.
   Reports form Feni said major portions of at least 20 unions of Feni, Phulgazi, Parshuram and Chhagalnaiya had been submerged because of onrush of to onrush of hill water from the Indian state of Tripura and downpour that had continued for four days.

The ruling Awami League on Saturday decided to write to the Election Commission seeking a six-month extension of its deadline for parties to hold council sessions and submit their ratified constitutions to the commission.
   The decision was adopted at a meeting of the AL presidium, the highest policymaking body of the party, chaired by party president Sheikh Hasina, also the prime minister, at her political office at Dhanmondi.
   According to the Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Act 2009, political parties must submit their ratified constitutions six months inside the first sitting of the ninth parliament. The first session of the ninth parliament began on January 25.
   Most of the members of the AL presidium preferred next December for holding the council session, meeting insiders said.
   Sources said the meeting had discussed the issue of the Tipaimukh dam India was planning to build on the river Barak and decided to reply to the letter of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, Khaleda Zia.
   Khaleda on June 29 wrote to the prime minister, seeking official cooperation to enable a seven-member team of experts, nominated by the BNP, to visit the site of the dam. The Prime Minister’s Office will reply to the BNP chief’s letter asking the party to name two representatives to visit the site, the meeting insider said.
   Hasina was silent when a presidium member drew her attention to the contradictory statements of two cabinet ministers over Indian high commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty’s remarks on Bangladeshi water experts centring Tipaimukh issue, the source said.
   ‘It will be difficult for the party to hold its national council at a time when many areas of the country have been flooded. So we have decided to seek six months from the Election Commission,’ party spokesperson Syed Ashraful Islam told reporters after the meeting. ‘We hope the EC will respond positively to our appeal.’
   He also said the meeting had decided that the party central committee would select the councillors for the national council from the nine district units where councils could not be held.
   Out of the 73 organisational districts, the party held council of 64 units but council of the rest nine units – Comilla (north and south), Kishoreganj, Narayanganj, Feni, Sunamganj, Barisal, Barisal city and Rangpur – could not be held.
   The central working committee will also take a decision in a couple of months to constitute committees for 11 district units where councils were held but full-fledged committees could not be announced.
   The meeting expressed satisfaction at the passage of the national budget for 2009-10 fiscal year, which was the first budget presented to the nation by the Awami League-led alliance government after assuming office. The meeting thanked the finance minister for it.
   Ashraf declined comments on party leader Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury’s allegation that Sheikh Hasina was served poisoned food while she was detained in a sub-jail during the rule of the immediate past caretaker government. He asked the questioner to contact Sajeda for clarification.

Law enforcers are on the hunt for leaders and activists of Bangladesh Nationalist party and trade unions in connection with the recent violence at garments factories of Ashulia at Saver in which two workers were killed and 200 others were injured.
   Five of the factories were set on fire and many others were vandalised during the June 27-29 violence, which began with the police on June 29 attacking the workers who were rallying to push for their demands.
   Local people said seven cases were filed with the Ashulia police in connection with the violence.
   Two of the cases were filed by the Ha-Meem Group and S Suhi Industrial Park in connection with arson attack and vandalism. Four cases were filed by the management of other factories.
   Subinspector Touhidul Islam of the Ashulia police filed a case in connection with the June 29 violence against 5,000 to 6,000 people, including 38 leaders and activists of the main opposition in the parliament Bangladesh Nationalist Party and trade unions.
   Local people alleged the case had been filed against local BNP and trade union leaders and activists to save the culprits.
   The police are on the hunt for Elias Shahi Mokhles, owner of the P&M Fashion, Dhamsona Union Juba Dal president Sharif Khan, Savar upazila BNP leader Ashkar Dewan and Zakir Hossain, Bangladesh Garment Workers Trade Union central adviser Montu Ghosh, Savar upazila president of the organisation Ali Reza Tuhin, general secretary Khairul Mamun Mintu, Aminul Islam Munshi, Ranjit Halder, Idris Ali and Nazrul Islam.
   Local BNP leader Ashkar Dewan told New Age, ‘The case has been filed as directed by an influential leader of the ruling Awami League to harass us and save the offenders.’
   The investigation officer of the case, subinspector Alamgir Hossain, told New Age on Saturday, ‘We will arrest the accused after investigation as we do not allow punishment of innocent people.’

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said Saturday he was ‘deeply disappointed’ after the reclusive head of Myanmar’s military junta refused to let him meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
   Ban said he had pressed top general Than Shwe on the issue when they met for the second time in two days in the bunker-like capital Naypyidaw but was told the Nobel Peace laureate was off limits because she is on trial.
   ‘I am deeply disappointed,’ Ban told reporters on the tarmac at Napyidaw airport before heading to Yangon. ‘It is a setback for the international community and it is a missed opportunity for the Myanmar authorities.’
   The refusal will spur critics of Ban’s visit to Myanmar, which had been considered diplomatically risky because of its timing during Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial on charges of breaching the terms of her house arrest.
   The 64-year-old was transferred from her lakeside home to Yangon’s notorious Insein prison in May to face trial after an American man swam uninvited to the property. She faces up to five years in jail if convicted.
   ‘The senior general told me repeatedly that while he really wanted to agree to my request, at this time he felt sorry that because Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is now under trial, this would not give a good impression,’ Ban said.
   ‘They didn’t want to be seen as being interfered with or pressured by our side. But when the time comes he said he would consider this request.’
   Rights groups had warned that his visit would be considered a major failure unless he managed to win the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained for most of the last two decades.
   Ban said however that he had pressed Than Shwe ‘very hard’ for the release of all political prisoners and that the regime was ‘seriously considering’ freeing some ahead of elections promised by the generals in 2010.
   Critics have accused the junta of using the trial as an excuse to keep Aung San Suu Kyi locked up for the polls.
   In a rare public speech to diplomats and aid workers in the commercial hub Yangon, Ban later outlined his vision for a democratic Myanmar and stressed the need for the regime to introduce reforms for the good of the country’s people.
   ‘I am here today to say: Myanmar, you are not alone. We want to work with you for a united, peaceful, prosperous, democratic and modern Myanmar,’ Ban said.
   He said Myanmar’s rights record remained a ‘grave concern’ and said the upcoming election must be ‘inclusive, participatory and transparent if it is to be credible’.
   Aung San Suu Kyi been under house arrest or in detention for 13 of the last 19 years since the junta refused to recognise her National League for Democracy’s landslide victory in Myanmar’s last elections, in 1990.

North Korea fired seven ballistic missiles on Saturday, South Korea’s defence ministry said, in an act of defiance toward the United States that further stoked regional tensions already high due to its nuclear test in May.
   South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said the missiles test-fired were ‘Scud-type,’ marking an escalation of recent sabre-rattling by the reclusive North, which has fired several non-ballistic, short-range missile since the May 25 nuclear test.
   North Korea is barred by United Nations resolutions from firing ballistic missile such as the Scud. A South Korean defence ministry official said more launches could come soon.
   It was the biggest barrage of ballistic missiles the North has fired since it launched seven missiles in 2006 around the US July 4 Independence Day holiday, including its longest-range Taepodong-2.
   The launches came as the United States has cracked down on firms suspected of helping the North in its trade in arms and missiles, which were subject to UN sanctions imposed after the nuclear test and are a vital source of foreign currency for the cash-short state.
   An anonymous South Korean official quoted by Yonhap said the launch may have been intended to send a message to Washington, the North’s main foe who for years has been trying to press Pyongyang to end its atomic ambitions and rein in missiles that threaten US allies South Korea and Japan.
   ‘Today’s missiles seem to have political purposes in that they were fired a day ahead of the US Independence Day,’ the agency quoted the official as saying.
   Peter Beck, an expert on Korean affairs at the American University in Washington, said: ‘If the North Koreans are trying to get out attention, it is difficult to see what they are actually trying to accomplish.’
   South Korea’s defence ministry confirmed the North fired seven missiles off its east coast from morning to late afternoon that flew about 400 km and splashed into the sea.
   ‘It is a provocative act that clearly violates UN Security Council resolutions,’ Yonhap quoted a statement from South Korea’s foreign ministry as saying.
   Japan’s foreign ministry said in a statement the country: ‘strongly protests and regrets today’s missile launches by North Korea as they are a serious act of provocation against the security of neighbouring countries, including Japan.’

Six members of a family were killed as their mud-house at Chatalgram in Nabiganj collapsed early Friday during torrential rain.
   The deceased were Mobarak Ali, 40, his wife Asma Begum, 35, sons Sumon, 12, Limon, 4, and Likhon, 2, and daughter Amina, 7. Locals said the hill-foot home of day-labourer Mobarak collapsed as rainwater rolled down the newly built mud-house at about 3:00am, killing all the inmates on the spot.
   Local people recovered the bodies later in the morning. Mobarak along with his family members started living in the new home only on Friday, a few hours before the tragic end of their lives, according to the locals.

Poet and writer professor Alauddin Al Azad died at his Uttara residence in Dhaka on Friday night. He was 78.
   Azad, also a language movement hero and academician, was survived by his widow, relatives, a host of friends, admirers and students to mourn his death. His first namaj-e-janaza was held after Asr prayers on Saturday at Uttara sector-7 jam-e-masjid.
   His body will be brought to the Central Shaheed Minar at 10:00am today and kept there for one hour for visitors to pay their last respect to the poet.
   Later, another namaj-e-janaja will be held at Dhaka University central mosque. He will be buried at Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard.
   Dr Azad’s famous poem ‘Smritir Minar Bhengechhe Tomar, Bhoy ki Bandhu’ was an instantaneous reaction to the sight of the ruins of the temporary memorial erected by the students on February 26, 1952, which the police pulled down four days after Salam, Jabbar, Rafique and some others were killed in police firing at the spot on February 21. Azad, then a student of Dhaka University, recited the poem at the site of the ruins and it was published in the first souvenir of the Language Movement edited by poet Hassan Hafizur Rahman in 1953.
   President Zillur Rahman expressed profound shock at his death. Dr Alauddin Al Azad was a talented litterateur. His fictions and poems depict the life of mass people of the country and uphold their causes, the president said in a message.
   Recalling Azad’s contribution to the 1952 Language Movement, the president said, ‘In his death, we have lost a patriot and talented writer.’
   The president conveyed sympathy to his bereaved family and prayed for salvation of the departed soul.
   Sheikh Shahidul Islam, general secretary of Jatiya Party (Ershad) expressed shock at his death and conveyed sympathy to the bereaved family, said a press release.
   Among others, civil aviation and tourism minister GM Kader visited the residence of Alauddin Al Azad on Saturday.
   Newsmen and staff of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) in a meeting on Saturday observed one-minute silence to pay respect to the eminent litterateur.
   Azad authored more than 123 books, including short stories, novels, poems and literary criticism. He had also been the Principal of Dhaka College and ‘Nazrul Professor’ of Bangla department at Chittagong University during 1980’s.
   Dr Azad received a good number of awards, including Bangla Academy Award, UNESCO Award, Ekushey Padak, National Film Award, Abul Kalam Shamsuddin Literary Award, Lekhika Sangha Award and Natyasava Award for his outstanding contribution to Bengali literature.
   He had also served as the educational consul at the Bangladesh Embassy in Moscow for a period in 1970s.
   He had also worked for the Bengali dailies Ittefaq, Millat, Insaf and Sangbad.
   Azad was named the ‘Man of the Year 1991’ by the American Biographical Institute for his accomplishment and the noble example he set for his country. He was the first personality in Asia to receive this international honour.
   The ABI also published a detailed biography of Dr Azad, including his famous poem ‘Portrait of Pushkin’, in the third edition of the international directory of distinguished leadership.
   His novels include Teish Number Toilchitra, Shiter Sheshrat Basanter Pratham Din, Karnafuli, Khashra Kagoj, Shyam Chhayar Sangbad, Jyotsnar Ajana Jiban, Swagatam Bhalobasha, Apar Joddhara and Purana Paltan.
   Some of his short stories are – Jege Achhi, Dhankanya, Mriganavi, Andhakar Shiri, Ujan Tarangey, Jakhan Shaikat and Amar Rakta Swapna Amar.
   His books of poems include Manchitra, Bhorer Nadir Mohanay Jagoran, Surjo Jalar Swapna, Lelihan Pandulipi.
   Ferari Diary is his reminiscences of the liberation war of Bangladesh.
   Alauddin Al Azad was born in Narsingdi in 1932.

The new fiscal measure will allow investment of undisclosed money in more than one security and prevent withdrawal of the money from the capital market before two years, revenue officials said.
   The National Board of Revenue is expected to come up with necessary clarifications to put into force the revised budgetary measure this week.
   As per initial proposals placed on June 11, investors of undisclosed money could en-cash the investment in one-year time by selling their stockholdings.
   The investment offer was restricted to only one share in initial budgetary proposals.
   Finance minister AMA Muhith, while placing the budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year in the parliament on June 11, had proposed that investment of undisclosed incomes would be allowed in specified sectors for a period of three years to June 2012 by paying only 10 per cent tax. The period was revised down to one year following widespread criticism against the black money whitening scheme, which is seen as a disincentive for regular taxpayers.
    NBR officials said the government deviated from its initial proposals for stock market investment of untaxed money following recommendations from the parliamentary standing committee on the finance ministry.
   The committee members viewed that the stock market would face a big problem as the ‘single-security-locking-system’ would deepen the crisis for good securities.
   Dhaka University professor of economics Abu Ahmed said good sense finally prevailed on the policymakers on the issue.
   He said the initial proposal for investment of black money in one security for one year could bring disaster for the market by sticking up huge amount of money and shares. The offer should have been extended to three years to keep the capital market stable, he felt.
   ‘This is rather a favour for black money holders. It poses risk to stock market investors in general,’ he said.
   Besides clarifying the revised provision for investing undisclosed money in the stock market, the NBR will make public rules and regulations for such investment in other sectors like industry, land and property.
   The NBR has identified more than 60 sectors including agro-based, toys, baby corn packaging, rubber, garment, pharmaceutical and light engineering industries for accepting undisclosed money at a flat 10 per cent tax rate.
   The rate will not apply to apartment purchase. In that case investors must pay special rates of tax.
   The stipulated tax rates for legalising undisclosed money through apartment purchase are Tk 400, Tk 600, Tk 800, Tk 1,000, and Tk 1,500 per square metre depending on size and location.
   Revenue officials expect at least Tk 150 billion of investment in this fiscal year from the budgetary offer for legalising untaxed incomes.

Serena Williams clinched her third Wimbledon title and 11th Grand Slam crown with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 victory over sister Venus, the defending champion, here on Saturday.
   The victory added to her 2002 and 2003 wins at the All England Club and shattered Venus’s hopes of a hat-trick of titles and sixth overall which would have taken her level with Billie Jean King.
   Saturday’s final was the fourth all-Williams title match-up at Wimbledon and eighth in all Grand Slams with the win giving Serena the edge in head-to-head meetings at 11-10.
   Serve dominated the first set with 27-year-old Serena fighting off the only two break points in the eighth game and it was the younger of the two sisters who seized control of the tiebreak.
   Serena went to three set points by forcing Venus to scramble from side to side before putting away a powerful crosscourt forehand.
   Venus saved the first set point but was powerless when a pinpoint lob from her sister left her stranded at the net.
   It was the first set Venus had dropped at Wimbledon since the third round in 2007, a run of 34 consecutive winning sets.
   Serena, who had saved match point in her marathon semi-final win over Elena Dementieva, carved out her first set point when Venus double-faulted to hand her a 4-2 lead and revenge for last year’s final defeat to her sister looked likely.
   Second seed Serena held to love, backed-up by her 12th ace of the match, to lead 5-2.
   She then wasted three match points in the eighth game but clinched the title when Venus netted with a forehand.

Sarah Palin, who sought the US vice presidency in 2008, has announced she is stepping down as Alaska governor, fuelling swift speculation of a possible 2012 White House bid.
   Palin, who was Republican John McCain’s running mate in last year’s failed presidential campaign, said she would step aside as governor and would be replaced by lieutenant governor Sean Parnell at the end of July.
   Palin, 45, told a press conference at her lakefront home in Wasilla, Alaska, that she wanted to ‘take a stand and effect change, not just hit our head against the wall and watch valuable state time and money, millions of your dollars, go down the drain.’
   In leaving her post before the end of her first term, Palin, the first woman to stand on a Republican presidential ticket, will be able to travel across the country more freely and build up a national political team, clearing the way for a potential presidential bid of her own.
   A June 2 CNN poll had Palin running neck-and-neck with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and ex-Arkansas governor Mick Huckabee in the top three favourites to head up the Republican 2012 ticket.
   While hinting at broader ambitions, Palin also lamented what she called a ‘superficial, wasteful, political bloodsport.’
   Staying in power as a lame-duck official after deciding not to run for re-election ‘would just be another dose of ‘politics as usual,’ something I campaigned against and will always oppose,’ she added, insisting her decision ‘has been in the works for quite a while.’
   The announcement came as a complete surprise to Alaskans, including members of her own cabinet.
   ‘Frankly, we didn’t know about it ‘till we got out there,’ Alaska Department of Revenue Commissioner Pat Galvin said. ‘It was pretty shocking.’
   Republican strategists were also caught aback by the sudden move.
   ‘It’s an enormous gamble — but it could be a shrewd one,’ Bill Kristol, a conservative political analyst and editor of the Weekly Standard, wrote on his magazine’s web site.

Former adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman has called for fair and transparent investigation into charges against members of the past caretaker government.
   Questioned by reporters after a seminar on Saturday, Hossain Zillur, who was education and commerce adviser during the interim administration, said, ‘I will reply to your questions as there is no reason to flee from the past.’
   ‘Many discussions and reviews on the caretaker government are taking place now and will continue to be debated.’
   Former law adviser Mainul Hosein and former home adviser MA Matin both face probes by parliamentary bodies over corruption charges.
   In the past few days, allegations have even surfaced against the two in connection with claims by the ruling and opposition parties that the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, and leader of the opposition, Khaleda Zia, may have been fed poison during their terms in special jail from 2007-08.
   Since an elected government, led by Hasina’s Awami League, came to power in January, many on both sides of the political divide have also called for the two-year emergency interim rulers to be put on trial for constitutional violations.
   Zillur, when pressed by reporters on Saturday about the charges against Moinul and Matin in particular, said, ‘I won’t comment on the specific points that you ask.’
   ‘Responsible persons will find the answers to the questions raised. A transparent process can solve this,’ he said.
   ‘During our period we tried to do our best knowingly and being honest in our duties,’ he added.
   He also said a common trend had been established in Bangladesh, calling it a ‘culture of revenge’ against the past.
   Zillur Rahman, who was speaking after an Internet entrepreneurship seminar at the CIRDAP auditorium, urged all to focus on national identity at the end of all discussions.
   ‘We want to see a unified nation. There may be political rivalry, but everything should be out in the open.’
   ‘Unity is the most important thing,’ said the former adviser.

At least six people were killed and six others injured as a truck and three-wheeler human hauler locally known as Nasiman collided at Goda-gari in Rajshahi on Saturday.
   The dead were Alauddin Ahmed and his two sons Enamul Haque and Babu of village Matikata, Mamtaz of village Bidirpur, Abdur Rahman of village Mahishalbari of Godagari and Rahmat Ali of village Akila at Nachol in Chapainababganj — all passengers of the Nasiman.
   Quoting the witnesses, the police said the accident took place in front of the Ratna Cinema Hall of Godagari when the Godagari-bound truck and the Rajshahi-bound Nasiman collided at about 12:30pm, leaving one dead on the spot.
   Five others were declared dead after they were taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
   The injured were admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital in a critical condition.

The Dutch minister for development cooperation, Bert Koenders, and the vice minister for transport, public works and water management, Tineke Huizinga, are scheduled to arrive in Dhaka today on a two-day official trip.
   The two Dutch ministers will meet prime minister Sheikh Hasina, finance minister AMA Muhith, foreign minister Dipu Moni and water resources minister Ramesh Chandra Sen on Monday, said a release of the Netherlands embassy in Dhaka on Thursday.
   Both the ministers are scheduled to visit Dutch government-funded education and water-sector projects in Khulna on Sunday to assess Bangladesh’s progress in the fight against poverty.
   They will also meet with members of parliament, academics, development experts, NGO representatives and leaders of the business community.
   Bangladesh so far received over $1 billion from the Netherlands, mostly in grants.
   The Dutch government now provides development aid of €60 million a year for Bangladesh through government and NGO channels for the improvement of water management, land reclamation, combating climate change, health, education and good governance.

The BNP secretary general, Khandaker Delwar Hossain, on Saturday demanded a fair investigation into the allegation of serving poisonous food to the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, when she was in a special jail during the emergency rule.
   ‘It is a severe allegation that the prime minister was served poisonous food in special jail. We are not alleging that our leader Khaleda Zia was served with poisonous food too, but we won’t rule out a possibility. We want a fair probe,’ he told reporters at the party’s central office.
   ‘Before conducting investigation, naming anyone would lead to hiding the real information as it was done in the case of Pilkhana probe,’ he said.
   Delwar alleged attempts were being made to put the blame on others to hide the real incident like that of the Pilkhana carnage.
   ‘If the incident of serving poison-mixed food to Sheikh Hasina had taken place, it needs to be investigated in a transparent manner and persons involved in such conspiracy should be punished.
   The prime minister’s adviser for health, Syed Modasser Ali, at a function on Friday named two former advisers whom he suspected to be involved in the conspiracy.
   The deputy leader of the House and Awami League presidium member, Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, a few days ago first spoke over the issue.

The budget session of Jatiya Sangsad is scheduled to resume this afternoon ending a four-day recess.
   A number of pending bills will be considered by the house in the coming days as the budget session is scheduled to be prorogued on July 9.
   The session, which began on June 4 amid abstention by the mainstream opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies, went into recess after the house on June 30 passed the national budget for 2009-10 fiscal year.
   The opposition parties, staying away from the parliamentary proceedings over a seating arrangement dispute, are yet to decide whether to return to the house immediately.

Barrister Mainul Hosein, former law adviser to the past caretaker government, Saturday said the prime minister must form a high-level neutral inquiry committee with experts to investigate the allegation of attempt to kill her through poisoning food if she got any plausible reason to believe it.
   In a statement Barrister Hosein referred to the interview of PM’s health adviser Dr Syed Mudasser Ali with Daily Jugantor on July 4 wherein he raised the allegation of mixing poison with food to ‘kill’ Sheikh Hasina in the prison during the rule of immediate-past interim regime.
   He said Syed Mudasser raised this allegation at different places and in the media and blamed two advisers of the caretaker government and former IG and the DIG prisons for such alleged doping misdeed.
   He said Syed Mudasser in his interview did not furnish any information to substantiate his doubt. ‘Syed Mudasser mysteriously implicated me as law adviser without involving any persons who were in charge of home ministry for not allowing him to meet with Sheikh Hasina.’