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Politicians, experts and right activists have apprehended that the government’s own Tk 700 crore climate change trust fund could be misused or misappropriated as there are no representatives of the victims and experts on the trustee board formed to disburse the fund.
   At a discussion meeting on Thursday on the management of the fund, they called for ‘democratic ownership’ in management of the funds allocated by the government for its smooth, fair and proper disbursement.
   The discussion was organised by the Equity and Justice Working Group, Bangladesh ( EquityBD) and Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihood at the National Press Club.
   EquityBD general secretary Mohammad Shamsuddoha in his keynote speech said the government had formed a 17-member trustee board to manage its climate fund of Tk 700 crore with only two representatives from the civil society.
   ‘Moreover, the terms and condition for the board have been formulated in such a manner that the government can drop the two civil society members any time on any ground…,’ he added.
   Besides, the government has not set any criteria as to who will be eligible to get funds for which about 5,000 non-government organisations are in the race, he said.
   He said the ministry did not even have sufficient manpower to scrutinise the applications. ‘Many NGOs which were born yesterday applied today for the funds.’
   Bangladesh Nationalist Party standing committee member Mahbubur Rahman asked the authorities concerned to ensure transparency and accountability in managing the climate fund, saying there was no alternative to ‘democratic ownership’ in managing the fund to prevent its misappropriation.
   He alleged that the trustee board was not formed in a democratic manner. ‘The trustee board must include people’s representatives, including lawmakers, experts and representatives of the victims.’
   Golam Mortuza, editor of weekly Saptahik, however, said he had a different view as regards inclusion of experts in the trustee board.
   ‘Will it help prevent misappropriation of funds if experts are included in the board? Time has come for introspection.’
   Among others, EquityBD convener Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Oxfam GB director Ziaul Haque Mukta, Nagorik Uddyog executive director Zakir Hossain and professor Kamal Ataur Rahman also spoke on the occasion.

The women medicine ward of Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital faces serious difficulty in serving its patients due to lack of sufficient allotment and space on hospital building.
   The hospital sources said often they had to admit more patients against the total number of beds in the ward.
   The sources said there are only 48 general beds and 24 paying beds in the women medicine ward, but this ward has to manage treatment for some 150 female patients everyday, most of them were sent from the skin and sex disease department, nephrology, gastrology and neuro-medicine and mental diseases department of the hospital.
   A hospital staff said, ‘Everyday, 70 to 80 patients have to stay on the floor due to acute crisis of beds at the ward.’
   Salma Begum, 45, a patient of migraine, told New Age on Wednesday that she was admitted to the ward three day ago but she could not sleep for a while over the days because of its noisy atmosphere.
   A hospital staff complained that the large number of patients’ attendants add more sufferings to the patients.
   The assistant director of the hospital, Ehteshamul Haque Chowdhury, said, ‘The number of beds at the women ward could not be increased due to space shortage in the hospital building.’
   He, however, said the hospital authorities already had decided to shift the medicine and surgery wards for women to a newly constructed building within two months.

Speakers at an advocacy meeting on Thursday in Rajshahi underscored the need for substantial fall in tobacco use to help reducing the number of tuberculosis patients throughout the country.
   Speakers said this at an advocacy meeting on ‘Tuberculosis and its treatment and forging social resistance against tobacco uses: Role of local leaders,’ organized by the National Anti-Tuberculosis Association of Bangladesh, at the conference hall of Diabetic Association in Rajshahi.
   They said each year about 70,000 among three lakh tuberculosis patients die in Bangladesh and mostly of these people are tobacco users.
   NATAB Rajshahi unit secretary Shahinul Haque, in his welcome speech, explained harmful aspects of tobacco uses and suggested various steps reducing tobacco uses and preventive measures for tuberculosis.
   The medical officer of Rajshahi Tuberculosis Hospital, Ismat Ara, said Tuberculosis is not a deadly disease now and it can be fully cured if the patients take regular medications for six to eight months as per the suggestions of the physicians.
   ‘Tuberculosis spreads through breathing of affected patients. If cough continues for more than two weeks with pain in the chest of a person, it may be Tuberculosis and the person should be diagnosed immediately,’ she added.
   Rajshahi Diabetic Association secretary Mamunur Rashid said free treatment facilities for tuberculosis are available in Upazila Health Complexes, district hospitals, public and private medical colleges and various health centres of Bangladesh.
   He urged all to cooperate with doctors and health workers in identifying Tuberculosis patients and bring them under the Directly Observed Treatment Short-course for building TB free society.
   The meeting was chaired by NATAB Rajshahi unit president Golam Rabbani while BRAC district manager Faridul Alam, health department program officer Rafiqul Islam, Damien Foundation program officer GM Ferdous, Rotary International Rajshahi unit president Shamsul Alam, Human Rights Commission Rajshahi unit president Amzad Hossain, NATAB members Serajul Haque and Mollah Sohrabul Hassan addressed the meeting among others.

Nineteen personalities were awarded Poet Abu Zafar Obaidullah Award 2010 on Thursday for their contributions to respective fields.
   Abu Zafar Obaidullah Foundation organised a discussion to mark the awards ceremony at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Thursday.
   Dhaka University vice-chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique attended the ceremony as the chief guest while Professor Safiuddin Ahmed presided over the ceremony.
   As special guests, Shilpakala Academy director general Kamal Lohani and Bangladesh Television director general Abu Zafar Siddique joined the session.
   The award recipients were language veteran Abdul Matin, Rasheda K Chowdhury, Nurul Fazal Bubul, MR Taha, Kazi Sirajul Islam, Mohammad Sharfuddin Ahamed, Rafiqul Islam, Syed Mahbub, Mohammad Abdul Mannan, Saiful Ahsan Bulbul, Atiar Rahman, Mamud Al Faisal, Abdul Hye Siddique, Mohammad Matiur Rahman, Mohammad Abu Talib, Khalequzzaman, Sheikh Mohammad Maruf Hasan, ASM Rahmatullah and Shahjahan Alam Saju, said a news release on Thursday.
   Poet Abu Zafar Obaidullah Foundation had been distributing this award since 2005.

A six-bed intensive care unit of the burn and plastic surgery unit of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital will be opened today.
   The health minister, AFM Ruhal Haque, will inaugurate the ICU facility, project director burn and plastic surgery unit Samantalal Sen told the reporters on Thursday.
   According to the officials of the unit, the ICU facility could not be opened before due to manpower crisis, but this time it is going to be opened at the direct intervention of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
   Earlier it was planned to set up 10 beds, they said, adding that all the 10 beds could not be set up because of lack of manpower.
   Project director Samantalal Sen said that five physicians had been appointed at the unit as officers on special duty and five nurses on deputation.
   ‘We have already applied to the health ministry for 10 medical officers, four junior consultants and 28 nurses,’ he added.

One person was sentenced to life-term imprisonment and another to three years for the possession of heroin in Rajshahi on Wednesday.
   Special Sessions judge Shamsul Haque delivered the verdict.

A team of Detective Branch of the Sylhet Kotwali police arrested 10 drug addicted youths, including a drug peddler, from Dakkhin Surma railway station area in the city Wednesday night.
   The police sources said they arrested Islam, 20, son of Abdur Rahim of Baluchar area in the city from the spot and seized cannabis form the peddler during the drive at 10:30pm on Wednesday.
   Other arrested were identified as Jamil Ahmed, Jamal Uddin, Belal, Imam, Khaled, Saddam, Rauf, Zamal Miah, Daras Ali and Lahin Ahmed, the police said.
   Later, the arrested were handed over to the Kotwali police Wednesday night, said the sources.

A Rapid Action Battalion team arrested 12 gamblers in the Barisal city on Thursday.
   RAB members conducted a drive at a house at Rupatali central bus terminal area of the city on early Thursday and caught them red-handed.
   The arrestees were identified as Jamal Haowladar and Md Masum of Sagardi area, Haider, Abed Molla, Milon, Rafikul Islam, Halim Molla, Md Nasir, Md Faruk and Abdus Sattar Howladar of Ruaptali area, Firoz Khan of Tiakhali area of the Barisal city, Md Iraz Shikdar of Timirkati under Nalchhity upazila in Jhalakati.

A team of two Bangladeshi students won silver and bronze medals at two international Olympiads held in Georgia and Turkey this month, said a news release.
   Abdul Omar Raruq and Khondaker Faijur Rahman, students of the International Turkish Hope School in the capital, earned silver medal in the fourth International Young Inventors Project Olympiad in Georgia held over May 10 to 12 and bronze medal in the 18th International Environment Project Olympiad in Turkey held during May 19 to 22.
   In the Olympiad in Georgia, 120 students with 70 projects from 25 countries participated while 200 students of 45 countries with 110 projects took part in the Olympiad in Turkey.

Rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind are likely at many places over the Sylhet, Barisal and Chittagong divisions and at one or two places over the Rajshahi, Dhaka, and Khulna divisions till 6:00pm today.
   Day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country, the Met Office said in a forecast on Thursday.
   The sun sets in Dhaka today at 6:40pm and rises on Saturday at 5:11am.
   The country’s highest temperature, 34.8 degrees Celsius, was recorded on Thursday in Satkhira and the lowest, 21.8 degrees Celsius, in Rangamati.