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The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has said her government has a plan to construct an elevated expressway from Gazipur to Narayanganj to facilitate the communications system.
   Apart from this, railroads, ring roads and waterways would be developed outside Dhaka to this end, she said when members of Board of Directors of Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry called on her at her office in the capital on Thursday.
   During the meeting, the prime minister referred policies and development agendas of her government and said it (government) would make all of its policies public for ensuring transparency and accountability in implementation of those projects.
   ‘We took the initiatives as we believe in transparency and accountability in implementing government programmes,’ she added.
   After the meeting, press secretary to the prime minister Abul Kalam Azad briefed the newsmen.
   The prime minister said her previous government had taken various measurers for strengthening the private sector for achieving overall development of Bangladesh. In this context, she said she had also brought amendments to her party constitution to this end.
   About construction of multi-storied buildings, she called upon the developers to construct such buildings keeping provisions of various utility services, including car parking.
   The prime minister mentioned the traffic congestion in the capital and said the head offices of different organisations need to be shifted outside Dhaka to ease the traffic jam. In this connection, she said her government had a plan to construct overpasses at six rail crossing points in the city.
   Referring to the increased electricity demand, she said her government had a plan to set up an independent power plant to meet the demand.
   About foreign investment, she called upon the FICCI to invest more in Bangladesh saying the low cost production base and attractive incentives offered by the government make Bangladesh an ideal destination for foreign investment.
   In reply, the FICCI delegation members requested the government to announce Saturday and Sunday as weekly holidays, instead of Friday and Saturday, to facilitate the trade and business.
   They also requested the government to increase utility services and other facilities for the foreign investors along with ensuring uninterrupted supply of electricity and smo-oth transportation of goods.

At least three persons, including two police personnel, were injured in a gunfight in front of the BG Press High School on early Thursday.
   The injured were identified as sub-inspector Marmo Sing Tripura, constable Satto Ranjan Pal, and suspected gangster Abdul Jalil, 28.
   Police said that a suspected criminal, identifying himself as Khorshed Alam, demanded a handsome amount of money through a cellular phone from government official Ataur Rahman three/four days ago.
   The official, without informing anyone, paid Tk 11,000 to Khorshed through SA Paribahan two days ago.
   But the gangsters again demanded Tk 25,000 from the official on Wednesday. He complained to the officer-in-charge of Tejgaon Industrial Area police station, and the OC immediately directed sub-inspector Marmo Sing Tripura to take action after investigating the incident.
   Accordingly, the investigation officer contacted the gan-gster through the victim and proposed to pay the money at any convenient spot.
   The gangster asked Sing to bring the money to the gate of BG Press High School at around 2:00am.
   Sensing presence of the police, the gangster opened fire on them, forcing them to retaliate.
   At one stage, Abdul Jalil collapsed on the ground after being shot in the leg.
   The police instantly arrested Abdul Jalil and seized a pistol of Italian make which was loaded with three bullets. He is now undergoing treatment at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
   Sub-inspector Marmo Sing Tripura and constable Satto Ranjan Pal also sustained bullet injuries during the incident.
   Tejgaon thana’s officer-in-charge, Omar Faruk, told New Age, ‘Two separate cases have been filed in this connection.

Eviction drive to free all rivers of the country and river banks from illegal encroachment will begin within 10 days.
   The shipping minister, Shajahan Khan, said this while presiding over the first meeting of the taskforce constituted to protect navigability of the rivers, including the Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Balu and Turag, and environment as well as to remove encroachers and evict illegal establishments.
   Law minister Shafique Ahmed, water resources minister Ramesh Chandra Sen, state minister for environment Hasan Mahmud, state minister for land Mostafizur Rahman, state minister for housing and public works Abdul Mannan Khan, parliament members Begum Sanjida Khanam, Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin, Nasim Osman, AKM Mozammel Haque, water expert Ainun Nishat, Ittefaq editor Rahat Khan, Observer editor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam, chairman of Save the Environment Movement Abu Naser Khan and Professor Nasreen Ahmed of the Geography and Environment Department of Dhaka University were present at the meeting.
   The shipping minister said the drive to evict encroachers from the Kanchpur Bridge will start within 10 days. ‘After freeing the rivers from encroachers, walkways will be built on banks of the rivers side by side with afforestation,’ he said.
   As per directives of the High Court, Shajahan Khan said, a survey to identify the boundaries of the rivers and illegal establishments is going on.
   ‘Request will be made to the authorities concerned to complete the work of the survey by November 30,’ he said.
   The shipping minister said a letter would be sent to Dhaka City Corporation requesting them not to throw waste in a scattered manner.
   Placing emphasis on building a social movement against river encroachment, he said the taskforce members should visit the occupied areas to make the people aware.
   ‘The drive against encroachers will be conducted by making the people aware and with their cooperation,’ he said, adding no work will be successful without the involvement of the people.
   Shajahan Khan said many people encroach on the rivers in the name of the ruling party but they were not actually members of the party.
   ‘The taskforce would carry out their eviction drive with determination,’ he said.
   The shipping minister said a master plan had been undertaken to carry out dredging on 53 river routes out of 82. ‘The dredging work will continue for eight years,’ he added.

Dhaka University authorities and different organisations observed Thursday the mourning day marking October 15, 1985 tragic incident that claimed lives of 39 students, employees of Jagannath Hall and guests.
   The incident occurred on this day when the roof of the assembly building (now October Smriti Bhaban) collapsed on them. They were watching television at that time.
   The DU authorities and different student and cultural organizations chalked up elaborate programmes to observe the day.
   DU vice-chancellor Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique along with pro-VC Professor Harun-Or-Rashid, treasurer Professor Mizanur Rahman, Jagannath Hall provost Ajoy Kumar Das and house tutors placed wreaths at the ‘October Smriti Stamba’ (Memorial Plaque) in the morning.
   Senior journalist and vice-president of Jagannath Hall Alumni Association Swapan Kumar Saha, former VPs of Jagannath Hall Subash Singh Roy and Anupam Roy, president and general secretary of Mohanagar Sarbojanin Puja Committee Kajal Devnath and Tapash Kumar Paul, AL leader Sujit Kumar Nandy and other leaders of the committee Kishore Mandal and Mihir Halder and other former leaders of the hall were present on the occasion.
   Earlier, a mourning procession was brought out on the campus from ‘Aparajeyo Bangla’ and terminated at ‘October Smriti Stambha’ of the hall.

The government has been mulling over separation of accounting from audit department for making public financial disclosures transparent and reducing corruption in the public sector, officials said.
   A nine-member committee has been formed to suggest measures in three months for the separation, a finance ministry circular said Thursday.
   ‘Huge corruption in the public sector cannot be checked properly as accounting and audit departments are not separated,’ said a senior official of the finance ministry.
   The same officials and employees are doing accounting jobs and audits in the public sector meaning that the whole exercises lack accountability, he said.
   An additional secretary of the finance ministry has been made convener of the committee while a joint secretary is the member secretary.
   Other seven members are representatives from the Cabinet Division, office of the Controller General of Accounts, ministries of education, establishment, defence and agriculture as well as Roads and Highway Department.
   The committee will gather experiences from the accounting and auditing works in countries like India, Pakistan, and Nepal.
   Its recommendations will be used as inputs for finalising the draft audit act.
   Finance adviser to the 2007-08 interim government Miza Azizul Islam said the separation of the accounting from the audit department alone will not reduce public sector corruption.
   ‘Without ensuring accountability in the public sector, the corruption will not be reduced,’ he told New Age.

Former military strongman HM Ershad says he only followed his predecessor General Ziaur Rahman in rehabilitating the killers of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
   ‘When he was in power (former president) Ziaur Rahman gave the killers of Bangabandhu jobs and many other facilities,’ he said at his house in Rangpur.
   ‘I have just continued with that,’ said Ershad, chairman of the Jatiya Party, the key partner in the ruling alliance government headed by the Awami League.
   Allegations have been there that Ershad rehabilitated the killers of Sheikh Mujib, the founding president of Bangladesh.
   ‘I was in power for nine years but not for once did the Awami League ask me for the trial of Bangabandhu’s assassination.’
   ‘Can any Awami League leader say that they demanded the trial of Bangabandhu’s killing?’ he questioned.
   ‘The indemnity bill got passed before I came to power. Rather I and my party backed the Awami League’s initiative to revoke the Indemnity Act in 1996.’
   Party leaders and workers greeted them with flowers when Ershad and his wife, Rawshan, reached his house ‘Palli Nibash’ in Rangpur town at 4:00pm.
   Rangpur district Jatiya Party president Moshiar Rahman Ranga, general secretary Mostafizur Rahman Mostofa were present, among others.
   To his party leaders, Ershad said, ‘We will be in the alliance as we have been. But the Jatiya Party has to be strengthened. We want to run the next elections on our own.’
   On the conflict among party leaders in Rangpur, he said, ‘I will not accept any conflict in the party in Rangpur. I hear there was a clash. Why is there so much division? I am the chairman of the Jatiya Party, and your guardian.’
   ‘I will settle issues sitting with you all.’
   ‘I have asked for formation of new committees by holding councils across the country. Council will also be called in Rangpur. He who will be elected by workers will be the leader only.’

The International Rural Women Day was observed on Thursday in Bangladesh as well as in the world, and the rural women were exhorted to ‘Claim Your Rights to Health and Wellbeing.’
   This day has been observed around the world since 2007 when the United Nations declared October 15 as the day dedicated to women of the villages and rural areas.
   Various organisations arranged programmes to mark the day.
   The National Observation Committee of the International Rural Women Day organised a seminar on ‘National Health Policy 2009, Health Rights and Rural Women’ in the National Press Club.
   Health experts and labour leaders, while addressing the seminar’s audience, said that the draft national health policy had encouraged commercialization of the health sector instead of ensuring health services to everyone.
   Rashid E Mahbub, former president of the Bangladesh Medical Association, said the proposed health policy was not formulated with the mass people’s right to health in mind. The rural women continue to be deprived from healthcare facilities, he said.
   He said that women’s health depends not only on medical treatment but also on proper sanitation and sufficient nutrition, so the government should address these issues properly in the health policy.
   The National Day Observation Committee of IRWD’s member, Atikul Islam Chudhury, and secretary, Mostafa Kamal Akand, said in their keynote paper that it has not been spelled out in the proposed health policy how private health organisations would be controlled.
   They suggested decentralisation of the health management system and allocation of funds in accordance with population and need.
   In Muktangon state minister for labour and employment Begum Munnujan Sufian, while addressing a rally organised by Karmojibi Nari on Thursday, said the government would change parts of the existing labour law to ensure the rights of rural women.
   ‘The government has formed a committee to remove the loopholes in the existing labour law passed in 2006 to ensure the rights of all communities. The government is committed to protect the rights of rural women as they are playing a pivotal role in building the nation,’ said the state minister.
   She also stressed the need for reviewing the agriculture labour law passed in 1984 to boost the agriculture sector.
   Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal’s president Hasanul Haq Inu said that rural women were playing a significant role in developing the nation but they were being deprived of all the rights.

The government has appointed Professor Hossain Mansur of Dhaka University as the new chairman of Petrobangla on a contractual basis for one year.
   Mansur, a geology teacher and a former chairman of Petrobangla, will replace the acting chairman, Muqtadir Ali, who will get leave preparatory to retirement on October 19.
   The government, in an order issued on Wednesday night, said Mansur would sever all ties with other organizations, except the Dhaka University, before joining Petrobangla.
   The terms and conditions of the appointment will be fixed in the contract, it said.
   Mansur, who says he is an activist of the Awami League, was appointed as chairman by the previous AL government of 1996-2001.
   He took part in various protest programmes of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Port against the proposed open-pit mining project of Asia Energy and the government’s joint venture agreement with Canada’s Niko Resources for the Feni and Chhatak gas-fields during the tenures of the BNP-led four party government and the interim government.
   He, however, altered his position on open-pit mining and extended his support to the controversial mining method as soon as this AL-led government took office.

A mobile court realised Tk 71,000 in fines from six hotels at different parts of the city during an anti-adulteration drive on Wednesday.
   The mobile court, led by magistrate Romana Rahman Shampa, conducted the drive at the hotels in Laldighirpar, New Market and Kazir Dewri with help of BSTI officials and officials concerned.

A teenaged employee was burned to death in a shoe factory that caught fire on the Alauddin Road of Bangshal in Old Dhaka Thursday.
   The deceased, Shamim, 14, was at work inside as the fire, believed to have originated from an electric short circuit, engulfed the shoe factory housed on the first floor of 30, Alauddin Road owned by one Abdul Halim at around 1:30pm, firefighters and locals said.
   Nine other workers managed to come out of the factory.
   Two fire-fighting vehicles from Plassey and Lalbagh stations doused the flame at around 2:15pm and recovered the charred body of Shamim.
   Raw materials, chemicals and adhesives were gutted in the fire.

The chehlam of former finance and planning minister M Saifur Rahman was held at Baharmardan in Moulvibazar on Thursday.
   Central BNP leaders Hannan Shah, former minister Abdullah Al Numan, former state minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, Ebadur Rahman Chawdhury, Ruhul Quddus Talukdar and Moulvibazar municipal chairman Fayzul Karim Mayun, among others, attended.
   Hannan Shah told reporters the Anti-Corruption Commission had been made a domesticated tiger of the government and the government was using the commission to harass BNP leaders.

Suraiya Khondker, mother of Securities and Exchange Commission’s chairman Ziaul Haque Khondker, died at Central Hospital in Dhaka on Thursday. She was 78.
   She has long been suffering from various old-age complications.
   Wife of Shamsul Haque Khondker, former registrar of the Dhaka University, she is survived by three sons and two daughters.
   Her qul khwani will be held after asr prayers today in her eldest son’s residence at Dhanmondi (House-34/B, Road-4).
   Relatives and well-wishers are requested to attend the qul khani to pray for salvation of the departed soul.

The second death anniversary of MA Hadi, former vice-chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, will be observed today.
   Hadi was also a former president of the Doctors’ Association of Bangladesh and the principal of the Dhaka Medical College.
   A prayer session will be held in the family graveyard at Gaffargaon in Mymensingh after the jumma prayers.
   Organisations such as the Bangladesh Medical Association and the Doctors’ Association of Bangladesh have chalked up programmes on the occasion.

Research organisation Incidin Bangladesh will arrange a workers-public solidarity rally on Friday marking World Food Day 2009.
   The rally will be held at Rabindra Sarobar Mukta Mancha on Road 8/A, Dhanmondi about 4:00pm.
   Lawmakers, including the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the labour ministry, trade union leaders,
   civil society actors and cultural activists are expected to attend the rally and express solidarity with the workers,
   said Incidin executive director Ratan Sarker as he briefed newsmen at the National Press Club on Thursday.
   Ratan said the workers were poorly paid. ‘We hope the workers-public solidarity rally will discuss living wages for workers and it will call the attention of political leaders and policy makers to the issue,’ Ratan said.

The Workers Party of Bangladesh president, Rashed Khan Menon, on Thursday warned against activities that cause harm to the unity of the components of the ruling alliance and called for strengthening the unity to reach targets.
   ‘People gave us blank support in the December 2008 polls and we should not forget the instances where people have overthrown the party they had given support for. We form unity and forget it after assuming office. Such things are not new and have been taking place since 1954,’ he said at the 5th national conference of the Bangladesh Juba Maitree at the Institution of Engineers.
   ‘The issue of unity is important in Bangladesh’s politics. No party — be it the Awami League, the BNP, the Jatiya Party or Jamaat — can claim they are able to assume office alone. The people acting against the unity are hindering the country’s advancement,’ he said.
   ‘We fought for war crimes trial, but now confusion is rife on the issue. We struggled to protect our resources and now it is said right to export should be given for gas exploration,’ he said.
   Menon also questioned the justification of a joint military exercise of Bangladesh and the United States in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. ‘I do not find any logic for America’s joint exercise with Bangladesh.’
   He said nine months were not enough to assess a government’s performance. ‘This government has drafted an education policy, but the easier they have formulated it, the tougher it will be its implementation. People working against the policy are strong and active. But there is no initiative to implement the policy because of relations and interests of vote, alliance, power and their lords,’ said Menon, who is the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the education ministry.
   ‘We struggled against looting and corruption, but such forces are still active and even the state machinery is protecting them. Why has the Anti-Corruption Commission been made powerless? Menon said.
   Menon urged the youth to stand united and be ready for sacrifice for the country.
   Another Workers’ Party lawmaker, Fazle Hossain Badsha, said they, still being in the ruling alliance, were opposing the move to hand mineral resources over to foreigners.
   Presided over by the Juba Maitree president, Nur Ahmed Bakul, the programme was also addressed, among others, by Anisur Rahman Mallick, Nazmul Huq Pradhan, Abdullahel Kafi Ratan, Hazera Sultana, and Rafiqul Islam Sujan.
   The father of slain Juba Maitree leader Russell Ahmed Khan, Shafiar Rahman Khan, inaugurated the conference.
   After the inaugural session, a procession marched city streets.

Abdur Rahim, father of AL lawmaker from Moulvibazar-1 constituency M Shahab Uddin Ahmed, died on Thursday morning at his Pakihala village residence in Baralekha upazila of Moulvibazar. He was 92.
   He is survived by eight sons and two daughters.
   The namaj-e-janaza of the late Abdur Rahim was held at Baralekha PC High School play ground on Thursday noon.
   Chief whip vice-principal MA Shahid, law maker Syed Mohsin Ali and district AL leaders condoled the death of Rahim.

A Dhaka court has rejected a defamation suit against daily Prothom Alo filed on Thursday by Bashundhara Group.
   The lawsuit claimed that two reports published in the Bangla-language daily had caused the complainant’s organisation Tk 500 crore in losses.
   The Judicial Magistrate’s Court for Dhaka rebuffed the lawsuit since the FIR could not specify which statement of the report had defamed Bashundhara.
   The group filed the defamation suit a day after filing a general diary against it and another daily. Bashundhara Steel Complex executive director Zahedur Rahman filed the suit.
   Prothom Alo editor and publisher Matiur Rahman, reporter Mizanur Rahman and Transcom Group chairman Latifur Rahman were made accused.
   Gazi Shah Alam, lawyer for the plaintiff, told reporters they would file another civil suit against Prothom Alo.
   Bashundhara Group on Wednesday filed a general diary against eight including the editors and publishers of Prothom Alo and Shamokal for their alleged involvement in setting fire to the Bashundhara City on March 13, which left seven dead.
   Bashundhara Group chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, better known as Shah Alam, was belittled socially, politically and financially by the two reports carried in Prothom Alo on May 8 and October 12, the lawsuit added.
   The company faced losses worth Tk 500 crore as many firms lost interest to do business after the reports had been published.
   The hearing took place at the court of magistrate Shahriar Arafat.

Human rights activist, university teachers and representative of non-governmental organisations on Thursday made public some proposal for the government to make the education policy gender-neutral.
   The Steps Towards Development arranged an exchange of views on the national education policy 2009 and gender perspective in the WVA auditorium in Dhaka where speakers said the national education policy was women-friendly, but gender issue should be given more importance to make it gender-neutral, secular and without discrimination.
   Jobaida Nasrin, an anthropology teacher in Dhaka University, said 6 per cent girls drop out from secondary education only because of heckling. He said the government needed to ensure the security of girls and they should talk about in the education policy.
   She suggested introduction of gender-neutral games in schools and colleges which could be played by students of both the sexes. She suggested removal of discriminatory pictorial representation in textbooks, which portrays women as nurses, housewives or teachers.
   She said the government should portray women also in other professions. She also suggested that the sacrifice of women in independence war should also be portrayed in textbooks.
   Ranjan Karmaker, executive director of the Steps Towards, read out the keynote paper where he said the government should create opportunities for girls so that they could play.
   The speakers said the government should give importance to the education of the physically impaired and hermaphrodites.
   The Dhaka University vice-chancellor, AAMS Arefin Siddique, addressed the meting as chief guest. He said, ‘We should formulate an education policy which we can implement.’