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City service bus operators on Thursday urged the government to introduce a special lane for buses immediately to ease the capital city traffic.
   The Association of Bus Companies, whose members operate some 3,000 buses in the city, also demanded that the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and the communications ministry to take immediate measures to stop extortion in transport sector.
   ‘If our demands are not met by November 5, our board meeting will decide next course of action,’ association president Khandaker Rafiqul Hossain told reporters at a meeting at a city hotel.
   ‘We request the government to introduce a special lane for buses so that the buses can run quickly,’ he said.
   Executives of the 80 companies attended the meeting.
   The leaders said a number of bus companies had already shut their business as the expenditures were higher than their incomes.
   Severe tailbacks reduce the frequency of their trips while unabated extortion add to their hidden costs and make their investment unviable, they pointed out.
   They demanded that the government to take steps to stop extortion immediately to save the sector.
   Asked about reducing the transport fares which are higher than average bus fares in the city, Rafiqul said, ‘We are running our services in loss. If the traffic moves faster, we will be able to charge less.’
   The transport operators criticised the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner AKM Shahidul Hoque for forming a toll collection prevention committee incorporating people who are blamed for collecting tolls from vehicles.
   ‘They are identified toll collectors and they convinced the city police chief to illegally fix Tk 70 as daily toll for each bus,’ said the association in its statement.
   ‘Having the permission, the collectors are extorting even up to Tk 700 per bus instead of Tk 70 and often attacking staff members at the ticket counters,’ it said.
   The association requested the police commissioner to withdraw the decision of taking toll from the ‘counter service’ buses.
   ‘Otherwise, the companies themselves will resist the toll collectors,’ it warned.
   The DMP formed a 19-member committee comprising police, transport owners and workers on July 19 to prevent extortion and terrorism in the transport sector amid a fresh wave of criminal activities.
   The decision to form such a committee was earlier taken at a meeting of senior police officials with leaders of transport owners and workers’ associations at the DMP headquarters.
   Executive president of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation Shahjahan Khan, who later became shipping minister, was also present at the meeting, chaired by Dhaka city police chief.
   The DMP commissioner had vowed to stop transport sector extortion, which he identified as the key reason for terrorism and recent murders, meeting sources said.
   Shahjahan Khan had stressed the need for a specific guideline to collect fees from transport owners and workers to meet associations’ expenditures.
   ‘Illegal and desperate extortion in transport sector can be stopped if the fees are collected on the basis of a specific guideline,’ Khan was quoted as saying at the meeting.
   Leaders of Dhaka Road Transport Samity, Sayedabad City Bus Terminal Samity, Mohakhali Bus Terminal Owners Samity, Gabtoli terminal transport workers’ union, Fulbaria terminal workers’ union and Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Union attended the meeting to discuss problems facing the transport sector.

Over 50,000 children die of diarrhoeal diseases every year in Bangladesh but 40 per cent of those incidences can be reduced through the practice of hand washing.
   Hand washing can also help reduce respiratory problems by 25 per cent, according to a study conducted jointly by UNICEF and World Health Organisation.
   The findings of the study were revealed at a press briefing held at the Department of Public Health Engineering auditorium on Wednesday, marking Global Hand Washing Day on Thursday.
   Bangladesh is observing the day along with 80 countries across the world for the second time. The theme of the day this year is ‘My life is in my hands.’
   UNICEF programme coordinator Shirin Hossain, referring to the study conducted told the briefing that Bangladesh was one of the 10 top countries in the world in respect of child mortality rate.
   As many as 50,800 children under the age of five die in Bangladesh every year, it said.
   The mortality rate is on rise for not washing hands properly which is the cause for spreading germs.
   DPHE chief engineer Syed Nuruzzaman said: ‘Over 35 lakh children die in the world every year before they reach the age of five. Of them 85 per cent children die in South Asia and Sub-Sahara regions.’
   Children of more than 80,000 schools and madrassahs in the country are participating in the Hand Washing Day programme on Thursday with the assistance of DPHE, UNICEF, Unilever, Save the Children and Plan Bangladesh.
   Nuruzzaman said Bangladesh first observed the day last year.
   As many as 1.44 crore children attended the day’s programme last year which was placed in Guinness Book of World records.
   Mentioning a joint study of DPHE and ICDDR,B, he said only one per cent people in Bangladesh wash their hands before eating and 30 per cent people wash hands after going to the toilet.
   The rate increased by 17 per cent in the last one year, but the rate is not satisfactory, the official said, underlining the need for launching a countrywide campaign for making the hand washing practice compulsory for all citizens, specially the children.

The Rajshahi University authorities on Thursday caught four fake examinees during the admission test of mass communication and journalism department.
   The arrested were identified as Atiqur Rahman, a fourth year student of geography department at RU, Jewell Rana, a first year student of political science department at Dhaka University, Mahbubur Rahman, a second year student of sociology department at Jagannath University, and Ruhul Amin, an applicant who came from Natore district.
   Campus sources said a team of invigilators caught Jewell Rana and Mahbubur Rahman while they were sitting for the test at Momtaj Uddin Arts Building.
   Based on their statements, the proctorial body with law enforcers arrested Atiqur Rahman and Ruhul Amin for their alleged involvement with such activities. Atiqur has claimed that he is an activist of Bangladesh Chhatra League of the university unit.
   Proctor Professor Chowdhury Mohammad Zakaria told New Age that the four were handed over to the Motihar police.
   The officer-in-charge of the Motihar police station Tofazzal Hossain said they would take legal action against them after investigation.

Mobile phone operator Grameenphone and Evista Technologies jointly launched Grameenphone Studyline— a call centre-based news service to provide education-related information over the phone.
   The service offers admission-related information on local schools, colleges, and universities, admission procedures for renowned universities around the world, and information on standardised tests like IELTS, SAT, GMAT and GRE, in addition to other relevant services.
   The education minister, Nurul Islam Nahid, was present as the chief guest at the launching ceremony held at Hotel Sonargaon in city.
   ‘So far I know, a caller will have to pay Tk 15 for the first three minutes. I think the amount is too high for the large number of students across the country and the charge should be reduced,’ the minister said.
   The minister hopes that the Studyline will help a lot in providing education-related information to a significant number students and guardians across the country.
   Grameenphone chief executive officer Oddvar Hesjedal said ‘The Studyline will be the most cost-effective, time-saving means to get accurate information on education-related queries.
   The Studyline No. 2255 will remain open from 8:00am to 10:00pm everyday.

A newlywed housewife was strangled allegedly by her husband at Moheshwar-pasha Banikpara in the city Wednesday night.
   The victim was identified as Mukti Rani Das, 19, wife of, Kishore Kumar Das.
   Quoting the local people, the police said Kishore married Mukti only one and a half months ago and they were locked in an altercation Wednesday night over a family quarrel.
   At one stage, he strangled his wife and hung the body from the ceiling of the house. Soon after the incident, he went into hiding. The police recovered the body from the spot and sent it to the Khulna Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Thieves took away Tk 1.69 lakh from the offices of Janakantha and Amar Desh on Jubilee Road in the city early Thursday.
   The police said the thieves entered the Chittagong bureau of Janakantha at Mannan Bhaban cutting the window grilles sometime after midnight. Later, they took away Tk 1.52 lakh breaking open the locker.
   The thieves also entered the Chittagong bureau of Amar Desh on the same floor of the building cutting the window grilles and lifted Tk 17,000 breaking open the locker, the police added.

Resident students of Roquiah Hall at the Dhaka University staged demonstrations in front of the vice-chancellor’s residence on Thursday, demanding removal of their hall provost
   They went out on demonstrations in protest at the hall authorities’ decision to allocate each room of the hall for seven students instead of six. The students returned to the hall after the vice-chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique assured them of looking into the matter.
   Roquiah Hall provost Laila Nur Islam said the university authorities have met the students’ demand regarding allocation of their hall room.

Nokia, the world’s largest handset manufacturer, on Thursday launched a three-month long campaign styled ‘Ovijaan’ with two cyber buses aiming to enable the rural students to use internet.
   The state minister for science and ICT Yeafes Osman inaugurated the campaign at Spectra Convention Centre.
   The campaigners by the buses equipped with solar panels and internet set-up for five Nokia handsets and five computer stations will visit around 120 schools and colleges in 40 districts reaching about 40,000 students, who will be imparted with the computer literacy and given e-mail identities.
   The campaigners will start their journey from Dinajpur and Cox’s Bazar on October 18.
   The state minister said, ‘Country’s development won’t be possible without improvement of the computer literacy of the next generation.’
   He lauded the initiative of Nokia for launching the campaign for the students of schools and colleges in rural areas and assured them of providing all possible cooperation.
   Prem Chand, general manager of Nokia Emerging Asia, Reza Ali, MP and Nowfel Anowar, head of marketing of Nokia, were also present.

A reunion of Dhaka University Mass Communica-tion and Journalism Alumni Association will be held at Teacher-Student Centre today.
   Law minister Shafique Ahmed will attend the function as the chief guest.
   State minister for housing and public works Abdul Mannan Khan, DU vice-chancellor Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique, acting secretary of Bridge Division Mohammad Zahid Hossain, supernumerary professor of DU mass communication and journalism department Shakhawat Ali Khan, journalist ABM Musa, president of National Press Club Shaukat Mahmood, editor of the daily Amader Samoy Naimul Islam Khan and Professor Geeti Ara Nasreen will be present as the special guests.

Social science faculty dean of Khulna University has been suspended for allegedly misbehaving with the pro-vice chancellor. The university syndicate at a meeting Wednesday night took the decision against Saiful Islam, official sources said.

Light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at a few places over Khulna, Barisal and Chittagong divisions and at one or two paces over Dhaka and Sylhet divisions till 6:00pm today.
   Weather may remain mainly dry with partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country.
   Day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country, Met Office said.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 6:31pm and rises tomorrow at 6:57am.
   Country’s highest temperature 34.0 degrees Celsius was recorded on Thursday at Jessore and Bogra and lowest 22.6 degrees at Srimangal.