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The capital dredging of the River Padma has become indispensable to ensure surface water resources for protecting the northern region of the country from environmental degradation.
   'We have no alternative but to save the mighty Padmna from the continuous silt to conserve the vast tract of the Barind area from desertification,' Rajshahi City Corporation mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton said while sharing views with journalists on 'overall development of the metropolis and civic services' at the City Bhaban on Saturday.
   Liton said the existing cropping system and biodiversity in the region have been facing an odd situation due to the adverse impact of climate change caused by global warming.
   So, he said, this is the high time to take effective steps to address the situation for sustainable livelihood of the farmers as they contribute a lot to make the agro-based economy of the region vibrant.
   'I'm going to attend the Copenhagen conference in December next to depict the climate change-related grim picture of the Barind area as the only mayor of Bangladesh side by side with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,' Liton said.
   Replying to a query, the mayor said time has come to keep the educational institutions free from students' politics for the sake of maintaining congenial and academic atmosphere.
   Addressing the meeting, he also portrayed a list of need-based development programmes, including roads, drainages, water supply and income-generation activities of the RCC and expected the metropolis would become a beautiful, safe and environmentally sound one on successful implementation of the programmes within his four-year tenure.
   'We have increased holding and water taxes at reasonable rates but all the freedom fighters and their families have been kept out of the tax hike,' he said.
   He said the RCC has undertaken some income- generating projects including a 16-storey city tower for increasing its own revenue as the government has gradually been curtailing the lump- sum grants.
   The RCC mayor said Asian Development Bank has approved a Taka 10 crore project for establishing a tourist spot on the bank of the Padma , where a 15-kilometer walkway, six playgrounds and six other amusement parks would be built.
   In addition to availing the scope for pipeline-based gas by next September-October, he said there will no more crisis of water supply and street lighting.
   Liton said the Department of Public Health Engineering has been implementing a water treatment plant project for supply of safe-drinking water to the city dwellers after collecting from the Padma.
   In this context, the mayor said a 50- megawatt rental power plant at Katakhali power substation will go on power generation by April next and another 50-megawatt picking power plant at the same place will go on commissioning subsequently.
   One more intercity train 'Dhumketu' is going to be launched on the Rajshahi-Dhaka route on Monday next.
   Earlier, he also held a meeting with the leaders of Rajshahi Journalists Welfare Association at the same venue to devise ways and means how to solve the problems being faced by the journalists.

Terming acid throwers enemies of the society, speakers at an advocacy meeting have vowed to eliminate acid violence even at the cost of their lives.
   More stringent laws are needed to stop acid violence in the society, they said.
   At the meeting organised by local NGO SoDESH with the help of an international NGO Action Aid at Satkhira deputy commissioner's conference room on Saturday
   local administration officials, elites, people's representatives, journalists and other stakeholders shared their views how to bring an end to acid violence and reinforce its monitoring system. Madhab Dutta, executive director of SoDESH, was in the chair.
   Satkhira deputy commissioner Abdus Samad was the chief guest while former Awami League lawmaker Dr Mokhlesur Rahman, municipality mayor Sheikh Ashraful Haque, press club president Abu Ahmed, Action Aid member Sania Ahmed, special public prosecutor Farida Akhtar Banu, journalist Kalyan Bannerjee, among others, took part in the discussion.
   Action Aid employee Begum Nurunnahar, who is also an acid survivor, informed the meeting that a total of 33 cases had been filed against 51 people for acid throwing in Satkhira in the last nine years (from 2001 to 2009).
   The total cases filed with different police stations in the district include five in 2009 and 16 in 2008.
   Of them, trial of nine cases has been completed so far while the accused in two cases have been punished.
   Economic independence is crucial for acid victims to ensure their normal and dignified life, 'said DC Abdus Samad. Other speakers stressed the need for treatment and rehabilitation of the acid survivors.
   They urged all, especially the civil society, to stand by the acid survivors. They also said that media could play an important role in raising public awareness of the social menace.

Law enforcers arrested six alleged drug peddlers and recovered 903 bottles of Indian Phensidyl (codeine) syrup from their possession in Chapainawabganj and Jaipurhat on Saturday, according to New Age own correspondents.
   In Chapainawabganj, the Detective Branch of police arrested four persons along with 580 bottles of Phensidyl from Amnura Bazar under Jhilim union of sadar upazila on Saturday.
   The arrested were Shahinur, 38, and Robiul, 37, of Kolaroa upazila under Satkhira, and Saifuddin, 34, and Liton, 27, of Kaliganj upazila under Jhinaidah.
   On a tip-off, a DB police team waylaid a Bhatbhati (human hauler) near Amnura Bazar on the Chapainawabganj- Amnura Road at 1:30 am and recovered 580 bottles of Phensidyl after searching the vehicle and arrested four persons in this connection.
   In Jaipurhat, the Rapid Action Battalion seized 323 bottles of Phensidyl syrup and arrested two alleged drug peddlers from Birampur Rail early Saturday.
   RAB camp sources said, on a tip-off, a team of the elite force headed by DAD Salim Khan during a raid on the Rail Gate searched a truck and seized 323 bottles of Phensidyl syrup and arrested two persons in this connection.
   They were Shamir Raj, son of Sarda Raj, and Rafik, son of Mowla Shikdar of Mirpur area in Dhaka.

The Kotwali police arrested two suspected terrorists and seized one kilogram of explosives and a knife from a house at Puratankashba Lichubagan in the Jessore town Friday morning.
   A police team, led by sub-inspector Apurba Hasan, raided the residence of Azibar Kasai at about 11:00am and arrested listed criminals Osman, son of Sultan, and Shohagh, son of Shafi Sarder of Puratan-kashba, the police said, adding that they were preparing to make bombs there.