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The agriculture minister, Matia Chowdhury, on Monday said the government with the support of mass people will launch a drive to reclaim the grabbed banks of all the rivers.
   ‘People, who have encroached upon the River Buriganga, definitely belong to an influential class of the society. This quarter, even, did not spare Hatirjheel canal project land,’ Matia told a discussion on ‘save rivers’ on Sangsad Bhaban premises.
   Matia made the comment pointing at Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries president Annisul Huq, also former president of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association. Annisul spoke at the programme immediately before Matia.
   The speaker, Abdul Hamid, also spoke in the discussion organised by The Daily Star and private TV channel Channel-i.
   The programme was arranged to urge the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, to take immediate steps to save the country’s rivers from encroachment and pollution by industrial wastes.
   Eminent personalities from the socio-cultural arena also attended the programme extending their all-out support to save the rivers of the country.
   The government with the support of mass people will start drive to reclaim the banks of the rivers, Matia said.
   She also assured the audience that that the design of Hatirjheel project would be implemented properly.
   Matia said, ‘The prime minister at a recent meeting decided that no more roads will be constructed by destroying the agricultural land. She also asked the authorities concerned to carry out the order.’
   The speaker, Abdul Hamid said, ‘If the lawmakers place a bill in the Jatiya Sangsad to save the rivers, I will take quick initiative to pass the bill into a law.’
   He also urged the government to take all necessary steps to save the rivers by any means from the encroachers.
   The guests at the end of the programme made a promise to save the country’s rivers by releasing pigeons.
   Members of the Group Theatre Federation staged a mime on rivers.
   A three-day photography show featuring photos on encroachment on river banks published by the Daily Star also began at the venue.

Students of the College of Physiotherapy who are on a ‘fast unto death’ programme for the past nine days announced on Monday that they go for self-immolation today as the government was yet to declare the timeframe for the construction of the college building.
   Most of the students taking part in the programme have become very sick and many of them are now hospitalised while some of the students are continuing their fast at the Shaheed Minar.
   A representative group of the agitating students met the health minister, Ruhal Haq, Monday evening but the minister did not give any decision.
   ‘Government are avoiding our demands and they have no concern about us though we are continuing our fast for past nine days and most of us are very sick,’ Physiotherapy Student’s Union convener Rasel Rana said.
   ‘We have no other way but for self-immolation to realise our demand,’ he added.
   They told the reporters that they would commit suicide at 2:30pm today.
   More than 200 students are now continuing their fast unto death programme.
   They also observed fast unto death program for two days on November 25 in 2008 and on January 17 this year on the same demand.

The Rapid Action Battalion arrested two suspected criminals after separate gunfights at Jatrabari and Kadamtoli in Dhaka city Sunday night and early Monday.
   Battalion sources said a gang of three criminals intercepted a plainclothes RAB team while it was passing Boubazar under Jatrabari police station at about 8:00pm on Sunday.
   The gang fired shots at the RAB members triggering the lawmen to return the fire. One of the associates of the gang identified as Mohsin, 20, was wounded in his legs.
   The two others managed to run away leaving behind Mohsin. The RAB members seized a sharp knife in his possession.
   The injured was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where he was undergoing treatment under police custody, battalion sources said.
   In another incident, another plainclothes RAB team came under attack by a gang of four muggers at Shanirakhra under Kadamtoli police station at around 12:45am on Monday.
   The gang opened fire on the RAB team forcing them to fire back. One of the gang members identified as Hafiz, 18, was wounded in the legs while the three others managed to flee, the battalion said.
   The assistant director (operations) of RAB-10, Flight Lieutenant Humanyun Kabir said plainclothes RAB men with bags or brief cases are roaming in the capital city in a bid to nab the criminals.
   A total of seven suspected criminals were killed and 12 others injured in encounter with the RAB at different places in the capital in May, said battalion sources said.

Three government colleges in Barisal city collected about Tk 50 lakh as union fees from the students in the last six years although no union elections were held at these institutions during the period.
   The authorities of the colleges continue to collect union fees from the students despite suspension of the union activities for the last six years, sources at the institutions said.
   Official sources at the three colleges said the collected amounts had been duly deposited in the accounts of the unions and they would be used after holding of stalled union elections.
   Of the three colleges, BM College collected Tk 30, Barisal College Tk 5 lakh and Syed Hatem Ali College collected Tk 15 lakh as union fees.
   The last election to the students union at BM College was held on August 13, 2002.
   Masiul Alam Sentu, Abu Jafar Badal of JCD unit of the college had been elected vice-president and general secretary respectively while Sheikh Neamul Karim of Chhatra Shibir as general secretary in that election. No other student organisations participated in that election.
   Tenure of the BM College students union expired in 2003 and no election was held since then.
   But despite having no union activities, the college authorities collected Tk 30 from its 20,000 students in the last six years.
   Of the amount, Tk 17 was collected as student union fees and Tk 13 as union election fees.
   When contacted, the college principal Professor Nani Gopal Das, the collected money had been deposited in the students’ union fund.
   The last election to the students union of Barisal College was held in 2002 and tenure of the union expired in 2003.
   And since then the college authorities collected about Tk 25 per student from its 2,200 students. The collected amount totalled about Tk 5 lakh.
   The college principal, Professor Majibor Rahman, said the amount had been collected as per the instructions of the government.
   ‘We did not use the money for any other purposes. It will be used for students’ welfare after holding of the college student union,’ he added.
   The last annual student union election at Syed Hatem Ali College was held in 1992 and the union’s tenure expired in 1993.
   The college authorities collected Tk 25 per head from 3,000 students. The amount totalled about Tk15 lakh.
   The principal of the college, Professor Golam Mustafa, said the amount collected from the students as union fees would be spent as per government instruction.
   The city BCL unit convener, Ziaur Rahman Zia, told New Age that they wanted immediate holding of the stalled elections to the students unions of the three colleges.
   Activities of the students union are very essential for improving the educational environment on the campus and welfare of the students as well, he said.
   GM Atae Rabbi, general secretary of city unit JCD, also stressed the need for immediate holding of union elections for welfare of the students.
   Some students of the three colleges while talking New Age said the college authorities should use the collected money in solving their accommodation and transport crisis.

Speakers at a workshop here on Monday underscored the need for concerted efforts of all stakeholders to mitigate the arsenicosis problem.
   They said only the government or any single organization will not be able to remove the problem. Public-private partnership could be an effective means to get over the crisis.
   Department of Public Health Engineering and Civil Surgeon Office jointly arranged the workshop titled ‘detection of arsenicosis and its management’ at the DC conference hall in Rajshahi.
   Deputy Commission of Rajshahi Shefaul Karim addressed the meeting as the chief guest with Civil Surgeon Dr Jahurul Islam in the chair.

The probe committee to investigate the alleged corruption, irregularities and politicisation at Rajshahi University during the tenure of the BNP-Jamaat government started its investigation on Monday.
   According to sources in the university administration, the RU syndicate in a meeting on May 26 formed a five-member probe committee following an order from the education ministry.
   Professor Entazul M Haque of the chemistry department was made convener and Professor Mahbubur Rahman, director of the Institute of Business Administration, member secretary of the probe committee.
   Other members on the committee are syndicate members Professor Zulfiker Matin of Bangla department, Professor Sarker Ali Akkas of law and justice department and advocate Zillur Rahman.
   ‘We issued an order to the investigation team to start their works on Monday,’ said Professor M Abdul Bari, acting registrar of RU, adding, ‘the probe committee was also asked to submit their report to the education ministry within a month.’

The government has undertaken a Tk 350 crore project to develop the graveyard adjacent to Rayerbazar killing ground in Dhaka to mitigate the shortage of burial space for the city dwellers.
   The LDRD ministry has initiated the move to fulfil the election pledge of the state minister of the ministry Jahangir Kabir Nanok.
   The Dhaka City Corpora-tion will implement the project covering 80 acres of land.
   Land acquisition process will begin soon with the survey nearing completion. Issuance of clearance certificates from Rrajuk, department of environment and other concerned agencies is in the progress.
   Implementation work on the project will begin in the forthcoming fiscal year 2009-10. Once implemented, it will be the biggest graveyard in the city having the capacity to bury 250,000 bodies per year, said an official handout.

Light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely at a few places over the Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places over the Rajshahi and Dhaka divisions in the next 24 hours till 6:00pm today.
   Moderately heavy to heavy falls at one or two places over the Barisal and Chittagong divisions are also likely during the period, the Met Office said.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 6:43pm and rises tomorrow at 5:11am.
   The country’s highest temperature, 35.4 degrees Celsius, was recorded on Monday in Madaripur and the lowest, 22.0 degrees Celsius, in Dinajpur.