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The Power Development Board is failing to collect outstanding bills amounting to Tk 142 crore from its clients in Chittagong due to shortage of manpower.
   PDB sources said the lone post of magistrate was lying vacant for about two years, seriously hampering bill collection.
   Besides, 43 posts of meter readers out of 113, six posts of senior meter inspectors out of nine, six posts of meter readers out of nine, two posts of junior supervisors (data) out of three and three posts of assistant supervisors out of nine are lying vacant for long.
   Sujit Chakma, chief engineer of PDB in Chittagong, said they fail to conduct mobile court drives against bill defaulters regularly as the post of magistrate had been lying vacant for about two years.
   ‘We are carrying out mobile court drives against bill defaulters irregularly with the magistrate of district administration. It’s not possible for the district magistrate to realise a huge amount of outstanding bills.’
   He also said they were failing in preparing the bills and sending them to clients timely due to huge number of vacant posts, adding that it was causing sufferings to clients as well.
   The sources said sometimes they were sending average bills to the clients without reading their meters due to acute shortage of manpower. Such electricity bills would be adjusted after reading the meters.
   Rafiqul Islam, a grocery shop owner in the Sonali residential area in Halishahar, said PDB was sending an average bill of Tk 1,000 for more than six months though he was not using same units of power every month.
   Rafiq said he was running the shop on rent, adding that he would have to incur loss if he shifted his shop before adjustment to the electricity bills.

Students of the Dhaka University want quick implementation of the proposed education policy to bring discipline in the country’s education sector.
   Talking to the news agency they said the policy had been formulated to ensure access of all citizens to education as well as minimum education for every man and woman.
   Ibrahim Bin Harun, a student of mass communication and journalism department said the governments since the country’s independence constituted eight commissions/committees to formulate an education policy and some of them were also submitted their reports.
   But, no government could start the process for implementing any of the policies, Ibrahim said adding the present government wants to implement the policy with support of all within its tenure.
   He said the proposed education policy should dispel the notion that vocational education is a medium of education for the poorer section of the people. Moreover, it must also address the issues of quality education and participation of local government in the education system, he added.
   Tania Rahman, a student of development studies department said policymakers have to give attention to three issues while implementing the education policy. These are access of all people to education, quality of education and affordability of education.
   Ahmed Karim, an economics student, said the proposed education policy is the first one formulated for building efficient, competent and patriotic manpower in the country since its independence.
   The policy clearly stipulates the necessity of increasing national budget for education, he said, adding that in the coming years the government would try to allocate at least five per cent of its gross domestic product to the sector.
   Sabrina Sultana, a Bangla student called for giving importance to both mother language and English in the proposed education policy, saying that the new policy should lay emphasis on principles of education rather than structural changes of the existing education facilities.
   She said policymakers have to give attention to three issues while implementing the education policy. These are access of people to education, quality of education and affordability of education.
   Education is a continuous process, Sabrina said adding that changes must be brought while during implementation of the education policy.
   Mansur Alam, a student of finance department said implementation of the policy would be the main challenge for the present government as about Tk 68,000 crore would be needed for implementation of the policy in nine years.
   Kamrul Hasan, a fine arts student said song, drawing, physical exercise and other subjects which help children develop their creativity should be made compulsory at the primary school level with other subjects as proposed by the education policy formulation committee.

Speakers at a rally in the Khulna city on Saturday demanded compensation from the industrialist countries for adverse impacts of climate change on Bangladesh and other poor countries.
   The industrialist nations are responsible for climate change and they should compensate the poor countries for huge losses they are suffering because of them, they said.
   The coastal area campaign group of Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihood organised the rally titled ‘climate poverty hearing’ at Shaheed Hadis Park in the city.
   Several hundred people, including political leaders, researchers, civil society members, representatives for socio-cultural and professional organisations and journalists took part at the rally.
   Chaired by Professor Anwarul Quadir, the rally was addressed by Khulna mayor and city Awami League president Talukder Abdul Khaleque, BNP lawmaker and Khulna BNP city convener Nazrul Islam Monju, Khulna University Students’ Affairs director Professor Monirul Islam ande Khulna Press Club president AK Hiru, among others, spoke.
   The organisers of the rally placed an 18-point charter of demands including compensation to the poor countries by the rich nations for climate change effects, lessening greenhouse gas emission, unconditional funding by the rich countries to lessen climate change effects, providing fund to the poor nations for buying technology to fight climate change effects and immigration of ‘climate change refugees’ in the rich countries.
   Climate change has posed a serious threat to country’s coastal region, the speakers said adding that tidal surge, draught, river erosion, water-logging and increase in salinity is now common because of impact of climate change.

Second-year honours examination-2008 under National University will begin at 10:00am instead of 1:00pm on Monday.
   The university academic council a meeting decided to change the timing of the examination, a university press release said on Saturday.
   The decision was taken following the demands of the principals of different colleges, guardians and students, the release added.

Speakers at a press conference on Saturday urged the government to make local government bodies especially city corporations stronger to ensure rights of sexually abused children and street children.
   It is responsibility of the city corporation authorities to ensure rights of street children, they said, adding that street children are still being deprived of rights and becoming victims of physical, mental and sexual abuse every day.
   National Alliance for Combating Sexual Exploitation of Children organised the press conference at Gender and Development Resource Centre in association with Adivasi Sangskritik Unnayan Sangstha and INCIDIN Bangladesh.
   Raj Kumar Shaw, executive director of Adivasi Sangskritik Unnayan Sangstha, read out a written statement at the press conference.
   The speakers also called upon the government to build safe night shelters for street children.
   Basanti Murmu, executive director of Adivasi Nari Kalyan Samity, Fazlul Karim of Adivasi Sangskritik Unnayan Sangstha, and Mushfiqur Rahman of INCIDIN Bangladesh were present.

Noted personalities and businessmen on Saturday urged the affluent people and corporate offices to stand by the poor for a better Bangladesh.
   ‘Every institution has some social responsibilities and if we can contribute from our respective positions, the people of the society will be benefited,’ said former Bangladesh Bank governor Salehuddin Ahmed at an award-giving programme at a community centre in the city.
   Voluntary organisation Bankers Forum organised the programme to mark its 10th founding anniversary.
   Renowned singer Runa Laila and senior executives of different banks attended the programme with forum president MA Khaleque in the chair. Thanking the organisers for their work, Runa urged the affluent people of the country to stand by the poor to help change their fates. The organisers honoured 10 banks with the corporate social responsibility awards for their contributions.
   Top executives of Islami Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, Pubali Bank and Agrani Bank received the CSR award for the 2008 while Standard Bank, Dutch Bangla Bank, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Eastern Bank and Pubali Bank received the same award for 2009. The organisers also set up an eye camp to provide free treatment for some madrassah students.
   The Commercial Bank of Ceylon also distributed some blankets among the madrassah students on the occasion.

Law enforcers arrested a suspected thief and recovered two stolen CNG-run auto-rickshaws in his possession in Chittagong on Friday.
   The arrested was identified as Mohammed Manik, 28, a resident of Dopiosha area under Baufal upazila in Patuakhali.
   Sources at Chittagong Metropolitan Police said on a tip-off, a Detective Branch police team conducted a drive in the city’s Bandartila area at about 2:00pm and arrested Manik.
   On the basis of confessional statement, the police later recovered two stolen CNG auto-rickshaws from the rented shop of Manik from Chandanaish upazila of the district.
   The two auto-rickshaws were stolen from Kotwali and Panchlaish areas in the city recently, the police said.

Kazi Shamsul Haque, honorary consul in Kyrgyz Republic, on Saturday donated Tk 10 lakh to help build Ahsania Mission Cancer Hospital at Uttara in Dhaka.
   Shamsul handed over a cheque for Tk 10 lakh to Rafique-ul Haque, chairman of the governing body of the cancer hospital.
   The hospital chairman Kazi Rafiqul Alam was also present.
   Rafiq-ul Haque said if donation continues, they would be able to start the activities of the hospital in a limited scale by September next year.

Light rain may occur at one or two places over Rajshahi, Dhaka and Khulna divisions and weather may remain mainly dry with partly cloudy sky over the country till 6:00pm today.
   Light fog may occur over the river basins of the country during late night till morning, Met Office said.
   It said night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 6:12pm and rises tomorrow at 7:14am.
   Country’s highest temperature 34.5 degrees Celsius was recorded on Saturday at Cox’s Bazar and Mongla and lowest 18.8 degrees at Srimongal.