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City dwellers will have to wait another four days to use the much-awaited Bijoy Sarani-Tejgaon link road as the date for the inauguration of the road has been deferred until April 20 because of ‘preoccupations’ of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
   After missing several deadlines, the city development authorities had fixed April 16 for the opening of the link road to vehicular movement, but once again the opening has been deferred until April 20.
   The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, was scheduled to inaugurate the road though it had earlier been inaugurated by the chief adviser to the last military-controlled caretaker government, Fakhruddin Ahmed.
   ‘We had made all the preparations to open the road for traffic, but are to defer the opening of the road until April 20 as the prime minister could not give time to inaugurate the road,’ Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha chairman Nurul Huda told New Age on Friday.
   ‘We are hopeful that the road will be opened for all on April 20 after inauguration by the prime minister at 10:00am on the day,’ he added.
   The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council late August, 2007 approved the project for the road involving Tk 122 crore under the Strategic Transport Plan aimed to increase east-west connection in the capital.
   The road was all ready for formal opening, a spot visit showed. The inauguration plaque has also been set up with the name of the prime minister.
   The affected people, however, attached banners on the both sides of the road to push for their demand for rehabilitation. ‘We have for long been demanding rehabilitation, in any of Rajuk’s projects, of some 48 families affected by project,’ said Abdul Hye, the general secretary of the association of affected families.
   The chief adviser to the immediate-past caretaker government inaugurated the road hurriedly on December 16, 2008, keeping most of the task of the road incomplete, just to show that it is they who constructed the road.
   The workers had to remove the carpeting to construct the road properly as it was temporarily carpeted only for the inauguration by the chief adviser.
   With the new government assuming office, the people of the area approached the local lawmaker requesting him to make intervention as the local residents said the 669-metre overpass on the link road was being built
   in a faulty manner keeping no service roads for the people.
   For the project, some 45 to 50 buildings on the link road were demolished without rehabilitating the owners although the affected people have for long been asking for it, even in exchange for money.
   Of the estimated amount, Tk 20 lakh was spent on the survey and planning, Tk 75.15 crore on acquisition of 3.544 acres of land, Tk 1.59 crore on demolition, Tk 27.91 crore on compensation and Tk 2.77 crore on road construction.
   The 22-storey Rangs Bhaban was dismantled by the caretaker government to construct the 1.33km link road. At least 19 labourers were killed as a floor was collapsed when the workers were dismantling the building.

The National University honours part 3 (special) examinees in Khulna division on Friday demanded declaration by the university authorities to keep their examination centres in the divisional headquarters.
   They made the demand at a news briefing held at the Khulna Press Club in the city.
   Md Shahadat Hossain, an examinee on behalf of all the general examinees, read out a written speech at the briefing in presence of more than 50 examinees of different colleges of Khulna, Bagerhat, Jessore and Satkhira.
   Referring to a notice published by the university authorities on October 10, 2009, Shahadat said that the authorities gave a chance to the students who got third class from 1997-98 to 2001-2002 academic year in the three-year honours course to sit for improvement in honours part 3 (special) examination, scheduled to start on May 10.
   He said a huge number of examinees of 21 subjects in five academic years of different colleges, who got third class, took it as a chance, but in an advertisement on a Bangla national newspaper on April 13, the authorities said all the examinations would be held in Dhaka.
   The written speech said if a student wanted to sit for the examination, he or she would have to stay in Dhaka for at least 23 days when many students were now doing jobs.
   Shahadat, on behalf of the general examinees, appealed to the NU authorities to keep their examination centre in Khulna divisional headquarters.

Jute geo textile has immense potential both in domestic and international market as it possesses much more advantages than the synthetic fibres.
   ‘Jute geo textile has got immense potential. It is used in controlling soil erosion - of roadside, riverbanks and hillsides,’ said Latifa Binte Lutfar, operations officer of the International Jute Study Group.
   Citing that neighbouring India is using jute geo textiles in the construction of national roads, she said this could also be used in road construction to a large extent in Bangladesh.
   Mentioning some of the advantages of jute geo textile, Latifa said that jute geo textile was biodegradable and it would not spoil the nutrition of soil. It is highly hygroscopic and could suck water as well as helped consolidate soil, enhanced the flexibility of soil and above all, it was cheaper than the synthetic fibres.
   ‘This item can be produced in our local mills as we have access to raw materials,’ she said, adding that the jute geo textiles could be made even from inferior jute.
   Latifa informed that jute geo textile had so far been used locally in two projects — Hatirjheel project and the road from Prime Minister’s office to Agargaon in the capital.
   Jute geo textile is a textile to address geo technical problem, she said.
   Geo textiles are of different kinds — coir geo textiles, jute geo textiles and blend of different fibres.
   She informed that a five-year project, titled ‘Development and Application of Potentially Important Jute Geo Textile’, was underway in Bangladesh and India under the auspices of Common Fund for Commodities to promote jute geo textile.
   Of the total project cost of $3.962 million, CFC is providing $2.045 million, Indian contribution is $1.24 million while Bangladesh contribution $0.567 million.
   IJSG is the supervising agency of the project while Jute Diversification Promotion Centre is the collaborating institution. BJRI, BUET, BJMC, WDB, LGED and RHD will work as facilitating agencies.
   Under the project, there will be 26 field trials — 16 in India and 10 in Bangladesh. The trials would be held by the facilitating agencies while JDPC will coordinate their works.
   Talking to the news agency, JDPC director Md Mainul Hoque said jute geo textile was now being used globally, including the USA and Australia.
   Mentioning that jute geo textile is more environment-friendly than traditional geo textiles, he noted that Bangladesh is the major contributors of jute geo textiles.
   ‘It’s a new idea and if the use of geo textiles could be increased, the demand of jute would further rise as also its cultivation,’ Hoque said.
   He informed that Latif Bawany Mills under state-owned BJMC and privately-owned Janata Jute Mills are now exporting jute geo textiles to different destinations including EU, Australia and Canada.
   Deputy managing director of Janata Jute Mills Mahmudul Huq said they exported around 2,000-2,500 tonnes of jute geo textiles per year.
   About the prospect of the product, he said although there was a bright potential they were not in a position to increase their production capacity due to machinery problem and unstable jute price. ‘The manufacturing base should also be widened.’
   Other areas where geo-textiles can be effectively used include management of eroding slopes of roads and railway embankments, mild landslides, prevention of railway track settlement, river embankment and management of solid waste.
   Presently, some 20,000 tonnes of jute is being used for geo textiles globally, accounting for about two per cent of the market segment ever after the market has doubled since 1980.

Bangladesh Medical Student Society, a non-profitable organisation of the country’s public medical college students, has started working with the World Health Organisation.
   The society was launched at a news conference held at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Friday.
   The society president, Salah Uddin Mohammad, said their organisation got the membership of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Association working under the supervision of United Nations at the association’s 59th general meeting held in Thailand in March.
   He said the medical students of the country would now work in association with the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and UNFPA in the health sector covering reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, medical education, research and global health.
   The join secretary general of the society, Shihab Arefin Chowdhury, said they provided health services to the people through health camps, distributing de-worming drugs, diabetic and high blood pressure tests, blood donating programme and other services free of cost across the country.
   The medical students of the country can now provide health services to the people across the world in light of these experiences, he added.
   Rejwana Afrin Tania, representative from Sir Salimullah Medical College, Muhammad Erfanul Alam, representative from Chittagong Medical College and Ahmed Asif Ferdous, treasurer of the society, among others, were present at the briefing..

Speakers at a seminar in Sylhet Friday noon stressed the need for teaching the indigenous children in their mother tongue at the primary level so that they could absorb the lessons easily.
   The seminar styled ‘Indigenous children’s primary education in mother language : significance and intention’ was organised by the Ethnic Community Development Organisation at a city restaurant.
   Eminent author and chief of the computer science and engineering department of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology Professor Mohammed Zafar Iqbal addressed the seminar as chief guest.
   Professor Yasmin Haq of SUST, Professor Abul Fateh Fattah of Sylhet Madan Mohan College, Sylhet Bar Association president EU Shahidul Islam and sadar upazila nirbahi officer Enamul Habib were present as special guests.
   Mentioning that the children have a natural capacity to learn any language, the speakers said the indigenous children should learn Bangla as the national language side-by-side with their own language so that they do not have to face any difficulty in their professional life.
   SUST social science faculty dean Professor Tulsi Kumar Das presented the keynote paper at the seminar, with ECDO’s executive director Lakshikanta Singha in the chair.

Rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely to occur at one or two places over the Rajshahi, Dhaka and Sylhet divisions and the regions of Jessore, Kushtia, Noakhali and Comilla till 6:00pm today.
   Weather may remain mainly dry with partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country, the Met Office said in a forecast on Friday.
   Day temperature is likely to remain nearby unchanged over the country, it said.
   Mild heat wave which is sweeping over Khulna division and the regions of Rangamati and Potuakhali also may continue.
   Squall warning: Rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary or nor’westerly Kalbaishakhi squalls speed 70-80kph or more is likely to occur over the regions of Rangpur, Dinajpur, Pabna, Bogra, Rajshahi, Faridpur, Dhaka, Tangail, Mymensingh, Jessore, Kushtia, Noakhali, Comilla, and Sylhet during the next 12 Hrs commencing 7:00pm Friday.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 6:21pm and rises tomorrow at 5:35am. The country’s highest temperature, 37.6 degrees Celsius, was recorded on Friday in Jessore and the lowest, 20.0 degrees Celsius, in Rajshahi.