SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016 | Jyoishtha 22, 1423, Shaban 28, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 43 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

SECOND EDITION

STORIES ONPAGE 24,25,26

R.I.P. THE GREATESTMuhammad Ali, one of the iconic sporting heroes of the 20th century and three-time heavyweight champion of the world, who said he could “� oat like a butter� y, sting like a bee,” died on Friday in Arizona at age 74.

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No speci� c strategies to stop wildlife tra� cking in BDn Abu Bakar Siddique

Bangladesh government has yet to have a solid set of strategies in place or to take proper actions to stop illegal wildlife trade and traf-� cking in the country, despite the number of poaching incidents that have come to light in recent years.

In fact, no � eld-level survey has been conducted on wildlife trade and tra� cking, which could give the realistic details regarding the numbers, routes, vulnerable spe-cies, vulnerable areas, etc, accord-ing to several sources.

Bangladesh, along with the rest of the world, is observing World Environment Day today.

This year’s theme for the day is “Go wild for life: Zero tolerance for the illegal wildlife trade.”

There have been a number of me-dia reports on wildlife tra� cking in Bangladesh in recent years, especial-ly the rescue of animals by law en-forcers. The most highlighted report was the rescue of three tiger cubs by

Rapid Action Battalion in 2012.“Wildlife trade and tra� cking in

and around the country has been in the limelight in the past few years, but no research has been done on this issue, said Ishtiaq Uddin Ah-mad, country representative of In-ternational Union for the Conserva-tion of Nature (IUCN), Bangladesh.

In addition, the government has yet to take proper action to put a stop to wildlife tra� cking in the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, he added.

Aiming to protect the wildlife in the Sundarbans – including the in-famous Bengal tiger – as well as the plant life and timber, Bangladesh and India signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2011 to jointly monitor and take measures to protect the mangrove forest.

“But there has been no signi� cant progress in implementing the MoU,” said Ishtiaq, also a former chief con-servator of forest under the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

On the occasion of World Envi-

ronment Day, the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) and Interpol jointly published a report yesterday on the environ-ment-based crimes.

According to the report, the last decade has seen environmental crime rise by at least 5-7% per year around the world.

The value of environmental crime is 26% larger than previous estimates, at $91-258 billion to-day compared to $70-213 billion in 2014, says the report.

“The Interpol and Unep have joined forces to bring to the atten-tion of the world the sheer scale of environmental crime. The vast sums of money generated from these crimes keep sophisticated in-ternational criminal gangs in busi-ness and fuel insecurity around the world,” said Unep Executive Direc-tor Achim Steiner.

“The result is not only devastating to the environment and local econo-mies, but to all those who are men-aced by these criminal enterprises. l

News2DTSUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

World Environment Day todayn Abu Bakar Siddique

The 2016 World Environment Day is being observed in Bangla-desh today along with the rest of the world with a focus on saving wildlife from illegal tra� cking.

This year’s theme for the day is “Go wild for life: Zero tolerance for the illegal wildlife trade.”

The Department of Environ-ment has organised a round table discussion on the issue in obser-vance of the day. The discussion will take place at CIRDAP audito-rium in Dhaka today.

The United Nations Envi-ronment Programme (Unep) is stressing the importance of stop-ping wildlife poaching to save wildlife this year.

The growing trend of trad-ing wildlife products illegally is directly a� ecting Earth’s biodi-

versity, which in turn puts the existence of humans at hugerisk, according to the Unep web-site.

“The killing and smuggling is also undermining economies and eco-systems, fueling organised crime and feeding corruption and insecurity across the globe,” the website says.

Unep has identi� ed icon-ic elephants, rhinos, tigers, gorillas and sea turtles to beespecially endangered by wildlife crime.

It also listed o� the speci� c species that have already gone extinct in recent years due to wildlife tra� cking: A subspecies of Javan rhino, western black rhi-nos, great apes, helmeted horn-bills and pangolins. The extinct plants include wild orchids and rosewood. l

BB asked to keep bank branches open at night during Ramadann UNB

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan yesterday urged the Bangladesh Bank to take a step to keep bank branches near shopping malls and markets open at night during Ram-adan to facilitate businesspeople.

The minister advocated for the nighttime banking as he said the money � ow increases in markets and shopping malls at night during the fasting month.

The home minister made the re-quest while addressing a views-ex-

change meeting on the role of busi-nesspeople and law enforcement agencies in controlling the prices of essential commodities during the upcoming Ramadan.

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (DCCI) organised the programme at its conference room in the city.

Asaduzzaman said the police will remain ready to escort and en-sure the security of businesspeople while carrying money from one place to another.

Besides, he said, police will also

ensure round-the-clock security in markets and shopping malls during Ramadan.

The minister urged the busi-nessmen to inform police about extortionists, if they presume an-yone, so that they can take stern action instantly.

He said the government wants the businessmen to run their businesses without any fearand interruption as the wheels of the country’s economy will rollif they can do their business prop-erly. l

‘Muhith was never minister of any democratic government’n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The BNP on Saturday harshly crit-icised the Finance Minister saying the Abul Maal Abdul Muhith could not understand the meaning of “reactionary” as he was never the minister of any democratic govern-ment.

“He would not understand the meaning of reactionary because he was the minister of autocratic ruler Ershad and never was minis-ter of any democratic government. His mindset is yet to be changed,” Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, BNP senior joint secretary general, said at a

press brie� ng at party’s Nayapaltan headquarters.

The BNP on Thursday in a post budget immediate reaction said the budget is ‘reactionary’. Finance minister on Friday countered Riz-vi’s comment saying progressive meant who were aligned to the left from the centre and those on the right, reactionary.

Rizvi said: “Reactionary means anti-people. Proposed budget did not go in favour of the people as price hiking of bread, � our, agricul-tural machineries and there was no space for employment. It is called reactionary.” l

Experts discuss the proposed national budget for the � scal year 2016-17 at a roundtable organised by Bangla Tribune in its o� ce in Dhaka yesterday RAJIB DHAR

3 killed on last day of UP pollsn Tribune Desk

At least three people were killed during the last day of the six-phase Union Parishad elections yesterday with the chief election commis-sioner claiming that they had per-formed their duties successfully.

Of the deceased, an agent of a member candidate in Feni was gunned down by unidenti� ed criminals in the morning while a Chhatra League leader got killed during a clash in Noakhali. The other person Md Shahjahan, 50, died while chased by law enforcers following a clash at Gafargaon of Mymensingh.

In the sixth phase, elections were held at 698 union parishads under 92 upazilas of 46 districts. Some 3,223 candidates contested for the chairman posts, more than 25,000 for member and over 5,000 for the reserved women seats. Twenty-� ve chairman candidates backed by the ruling Awami League already won the elections uncontested.

The person killed in Feni is Shipon, 40. Local BNP claimed him as their member.

Shipon was shot and bombed while 12 others including four police members injured during the clash that took place outside Hazi Tofael Ahmed High School centre in Char Bhoirab area of Char Chandia Union under Sonagazi Upazila around 10:30am.

Voting was suspended at the centre following the � erce clash, OC Mesbah Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune’s Feni correspondent.

Four others were shot in the upazila during the clashes – one at Palgiri centre of Mahiganj Union, one outside Sorajpur centre and two others in Amirabad area under Nawabpur Union.

In Noakhali, eight campaigners of two member candidates were injured in a clash between the ri-val groups in the morning outside Mohammadia Ebtedayee Madrasa centre under Newazpur Union over establishing supremacy.

Of them, injured Chhatra League leader Arafat, 26, died on the way to Dhaka from Noakhali General Hospital in the afternoon, reports our correspondent.

Arafat was the president of Chhatra League’s Newazpur Union unit. Vice-President of the union unit Awami League Jahid, 23, was critically injured in the clash.

In the district, the election o� -cials suspended voting at six cen-tres following the incidents of vote rigging, clashes and snatching of ballot boxes.

According to our Mymensingh correspondent, the supporters of member candidates Musa and Ka-rim engaged in a clash at Pukuria Primary School centre under Saltia Union of Gafargaon around 3pm.

Locals said that BGB � red blank

shots to disperse the supporters. At one point, Shahjahan started to run along with other people as the BGB members chased them, but fell into a roadside pond. Musa’s supporters al-leged that Shahjahan had been hit by the BGB men which led to his death.

19 BNP candidates boycott pollsThe BNP yesterday blamed the Election Commission and the gov-ernment for all sorts of irregulari-ties and violence centring the polls, claiming that at least 113 people were killed in the six phases. The party alleged that the EC was work-ing on behalf of the government.

Our correspondents report that at least 19 BNP-backed chairman aspirants boycotted the elections yesterday raising allegations of vote rigging and irregularities

against the ruling party-backed candidates and their supporters.

Five BNP candidates boycotted the polls in Feni Sadar Union, � ve others at two upazilas of Natore, three each in Chittagong and Savar, and one each in Noakhali, Gaib-andha and Narsingdi. Agents of the BNP candidates were driven out of polling centres in some districts.

Widespread violence at many placesFierce clashes and incidents of vote rigging were reported from at least eight districts. Voting was suspended at some polling centres because of the irregularities.

In Chittagong, Awami League chairman candidate of Kancha-na Union under Satkania Upazila Ramjan Ali received bullet injuries during a clash around 11am.

Three other people were shot in a clash outside a polling centre at Mohsen Awali High School in An-

wara upazila. Moreover, four hous-es were set on � re during a clash at Barshat union of the upazila.

On the other hand, members of Border Guard Bangladesh detained Chhatra League activist Emran Ahmed, 25, with a locally-made LG from Board O� ce polling centre of Bazalia Union under Satkania yes-terday morning.

In Tangail, at least seven people were injured during a clash between the supporters of two chairman candidates of Jamuria Union under Ghatail in the morning. Two of them were sent to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital with critical injuries.

The clash took place at Sadhur-para Golonogondo centre between the supporters of Awami League’s Shahidul Islam and BNP’s Shamim Khan. Police held three people in

this connection.Gobindaganj police in Gaiband-

ha said that around seven people were injured in a clash that broke out at Balughora Primary School centre under Gumaniganj Union.

In Narsingdi, � ve people were injured in a clash between the sup-porters of two member candidates at Kocherchar Muksud Ali High School under Doulatpur Union of Monohardi Upazila around 1pm.

Presiding officer heldA mobile court yesterday afternoon detained Nur Nabi, the presiding o� cer at Char Sahabhikhari High School under Char Darbesh Union of Feni’s Sonagazi, for snatching away 800 ballot papers.

Additional Executive Magis-trate Sohel Rana said that they had heard about outsiders casting fake votes in connivance with the pre-siding o� cer.

Nur Nabi was later handed over to the local police, OC Humayun Kabir said.

CEC says they took prompt stepsChief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad yesterday said that they had took legal and ad-ministrative action against wrong-doers at many places.

During a press conference at his o� ce in the evening, the CEC said that they had suspended, withdrawn and even sacked many o� cials including police superin-tendents, UNO, OC and election of-� cers. Moreover, cases were lodged against lawmakers.

He mentioned that the EC had � ned 500 people Tk12.9 crore and sentenced 18 others to di� erent jail terms.

‘Killings are social problem’Rakibuddin blamed the people’s intolerance for the murders cen-tring polls. The candidates think they must win at any cost, and it triggers violence and results in deaths.

“The most important reason be-hind the election-related violence is our social intolerance which is seen at every step of the society. We have to change the scenario …

“The value of people’s lives has become the cheapest thing nowa-days. On the other hand, prices of everything else are increasing.”

The CEC avoided a direct answer when asked who is to blame for the killings. “It is a social issue. The people need to change their mind-set. We hope that someday we will be able to hold a fair election with-out the help of the law enforce-ment agencies,” Rakibuddin told reporters. l

3D

TSUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

News

Followers of two union parishad (UP) member aspirants lock in a clash near a poll centre in Haripur union of Poba upazila, Rajshahi yesterday during the vote-casting for the UP elections. The clash left four people including Awami League- backed candidate Saidur Rahman Badal injured AZAHAR UDDIN

BNP: 113 killed in UP electionsn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The BNP has claimed that at least 113 people were killed and around 10,000 others injured in the six phases of the Union Parishad elec-tions that ended yesterday.

The party blamed the Election Commission and the government for all sorts of irregularities and vi-olence centring the polls.

Selima Rahman, vice-chairman of the party, came up with the al-legations after meeting with the EC o� cials yesterday.

“The Election Commission is not independent. They are working on behalf of the government,” she said, adding that violence could have been stopped had the EC act-ed independently.

Selima also said that her party had complaints to the EC repeat-edly but not a single complaint was entertained.

“The chief election commission-er said again and again that they are taking steps and that the situation will improve. But in reality violence and irregularities are taking place.”

The BNP leader alleged that through the UP polls, it is now proved that fair election is not pos-sible under the incumbent govern-ment and the Election Commission.

Asked whether her party would take part in any election under the ruling party, Selima said: “It is a decision of the party but my personal realisation is that fair election is not possible under this government.” l

BNP claims widespread rigging in pollsn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The BNP on Saturday alleged that a vote rigging spree is taking place in the last phase of Union Parishad elections.

“Till now from the information we have received, it seems to us that a festival of occupying poll-ing stations is going on across the country,” Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, senior joint secretary general of the party, said at a press brie� ng at party’s Nayapaltan headquarters.

The BNP leader alleged that the voters cannot enter the polling stations and the ruling party men have been stamping on the Awami League’s party symbol illegally.

When asked about the achieve-ment of the party participating in the polls even after raising alle-gations, Rizvi said: “Through this elections, the government’s real face came out. We know what are the consequences of this election. Even after that, we have participat-ed in the polls and we are success-ful in unveiling the government’s real face before the people.” l

Desco signs deal for 5 new GIS substationsn Aminur Rahman Rasel

Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited (Desco) yesterday signed a Tk455.42 crore contract with Hyosung Corporation of Korea to construct � ve gas-insulated high-voltage switchgear (GIS) grid substations.

The GIS substations will be constructed in Uttara third phase area, Aftabnagar, Purbachal, Bashundhara and Gulshan-Banani area, all of which are under the jurisdiction of Desco.

GIS is a compact metal encapsulated switchgear consisting of high-voltage components

such as circuit-breakers and disconnectors, which can be safely operated in con� ned spaces.

The signing ceremony was organised by Desco at a hotel in Dhaka.

Zul� qar Tahmid, company secretary of Desco, and Yun Tae-bum, general manager of Hyusung Corporation, signed the deal on behalf of their respective organisations.

Brig Gen (retd) Shahid Sarwar, managing director of Desco, said: “With the construction of the � ve new substations, Desco will achieve the capacity to supply 640MW of electricity at 132KV

level. It will also become possible for Desco to provide 450,000 new connections.

“The total cost of the project is Tk946.13 crore. Of the amount, the government of Bangladesh will provide Tk160.47 crore, Desco will provide Tk242.12 crore and the remaining Tk543.53 crore will come from project aid.”

Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, in his speech as the chief guest asked Desco to improve its customer service.

“Providing connections to new subscribers is not Desco’s only task. As a public service provider,

it is their duty to improve customer services. Customer services of Desco are not up to the mark and they should work on that as early as possible.”

Md Tajul Islam, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on power, energy and mineral resources ministry, AR Khan, chairman of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission, Mahbub-ul-Alam, additional secretary of the Power Division, Asian Development Bank’s Country Director Kazuhiko Higuchi, and the chairman of Desco board were present at the signing ceremony among others. l

PwC: Budgetary measures to help expand taxpayers basen Tribune Report

Several measures introduced by the government to increase the to-tal taxpayer base in the budget for the Fiscal year of 2016-17 will have a positive impact on the economy, according toPricewaterhouseCoop-ers (PwC) Bangladesh, a global con-sultancy � rm.

The introduction of penalties in absence of electronic tax identi� -cation number (e-TIN) can even-tually lead more people to register for e-TIN. While penalties, such as imposing disallowances and higher

tax rates if the 12 digits e-TIN is not obtained have been proposed in the recent budget said PwC Bangla-desh, yesterday at a critical evalu-ation of the impact of Finance Bill for the Fiscal year 2016-17.

In addition to expanding the number of taxpayers, the budget also focused on the collection of tax deductible at source (TDS) in order to ncrease the revenue base.

Such mechanisms of enforce-ment includes the acceptance of TDS claims only on submission of proof of tax deposit while a false TDS certi� cate would result in a

personal liability for penalty.“It has been observed that many

people are indeed paying TDS but that sum is not ending up in the sates co� ers which results in lost revenue for the government,” said Mamun Rashid, Managing Partner of PwC Bangladesh.

He added: Introducing a penal-ty mechanism for not paying TDS should encourage business’ to pay their dues to the government on time.

Road towards ‘Flat VAT’ rateVAT component of the revenue

sources has undergone drastic changes in the proposed budget – mainly to establish a platform that would make way for VAT reforms in the coming year.

We have witnessed changes in VAT rate of many products and services conversing towards 15% in budget for the � scal year of 2016-17, said Sushmita Basu, lead researcher of the paper at PwC Bangladesh.

This year’s budget is servicing as an implementation phase of the new VAT and Supplementary Duty Act 2012, she added.

Notable changes in the Finance Bill FY17Finance Bill 2016-17 proposed some changes that can potentially levy a bigger cost to the general public for the consumption of some speci� c products and services.

The government introduced an advance tax of Tk15,000 on buy-ing a car with engine capacity not exceeding 1500cc while the tax amount increases with higher en-gine capacity.

Contrarily, the government re-duced source tax on bank deposit interest from 10-15% to a � at 5%. l

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

4DT News

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her younger sister Sheikh Rehana and her entourage perform Umrah at Mecca early yesterday BSS

Sheikh Hasina performs holy “Umrah”n BSS

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina per-formed the holy “Umrah” after she reached the holy city of Mec-ca overnight from Jeddah of Saudi Arabia.

“She performed the holy Umrah after Friday midnight and o� ered special prayers at the Ka’aba Sha-rif,” premier’s press secretary Ih-sanul Karim told newsmen.

He said the premier also o� ered prayers seeking divine blessings for the people of Bangladesh as well as continued peace, progress and prosperity of the entire Muslim Ummah.

In line with the Islamic rituals Sheikh Hasina performed ‘tawaf’ around the holy Ka’aba Sharif and walked and ran between Safa and Marwa.

She later o� ered the prayers at the Ka’aba Mosque.

Father of the Nation Bangab-andhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s youngest daughter Sheikh Rehana, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and other entourage members of the premier also performed “Um-rah” along with her.

Earlier, the premier arrived at the holy city of Mecca from Jeddah by road around midnight on Friday.

The prime minister is now in Saudi Arabia on a � ve-day o� cial visit at the invitation of King Sal-man bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

After arrival at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport last night, Sheikh Hasina joined a banquet hosted in her honour by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz at King Faisal Palace.

Sheikh Rehana, Saudi Minister of Haj and Umrah Dr Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten, Islamic De-velopment Bank (IDB) President Dr Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Madani, Organisation of Islamic Coopera-tion (OIC) Secretary General Iyad bin Amin Madani attended the banquet, among others. l

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016News 5

DT

PRAYERTIMES

Cox’s Bazar 32 26Dhaka 36 27 Chittagong 34 27 Rajshahi 37 27 Rangpur 35 25 Khulna 34 26 Barisal 35 27 Sylhet 35 26T E M P E R AT U R E F O R E C A S T F O R TO DAY

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:44PM SUN RISES 5:11AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW37.2ºC 23.4ºC

Rajshahi SrimangalSUNDAY, JUNE 5Source: Islamic Foundation

Fajr: 4:40am | Zohr: 1:15pmAsr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 6:45pmEsha: 8:30pm

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

New LPG policy introducedn Aminur Rahman Rasel

With provisions for import and ex-port, the government has enacted a policy for establishing Lique� ed Petroleum Gas (LPG) bottling plant under both public and private ini-tiative.

“Before this policy, there was only a provision for LPG import. With this policy, the import ori-ented LPG bottling plant establish-ment system of 2011 is abolished,” an o� cial of Energy and Mineral Resources Division told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

The recently enacted policy by Energy and Mineral Resources Di-vision said that no person or organ-isation could import, export, estab-lish, bottling, distribute or market any LPG without the permission of the government.

Considering the limited energy resources and the continuing de-velopment of the country, the pol-icy termed LPG as one of the most promising energy sources.

Under the circumstances, the government in principle has tak-en the decision to establish the LPG bottling plant to increase the usage of LPG in households, au-tomobiles, small industries and as the raw materials for chemical and processing industries.

The government also formed

the LPG Bottling Policy 2016 to safeguard the dwindling energy resources of the country as well as to ensure competitive market sce-nario.

The government can cancel the license of any LPG plant or compa-ny under the act if it violates rules and regulations.

The organisations interested to establish a plant must take permis-sions and licence from Department of Environment, Department of Explosives, Fire Service and Civil Defense (FSCD), district adminis-tration, local government, Board of Investment (BoI), Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), Bangladesh Energy Regu-

latory Commission (BERC) and the concerned ministries and depart-ments of the government.

After getting the licence, the or-ganisation has to make a contract with Bangladesh Petroleum Corpo-ration (BPC).

The organisation has also to take the approval of the Ministry of Commerce aside from taking the approval of Energy and Mineral Re-sources Division.

If the government wants, it can provide assign a company the rights to market LPG in given areas of Bangladesh or the entire country.

No company will be able to mar-ket and distribute their products without their own branded cylinder.

However, if several organisa-tions have mutual agreements among themselves, they can go for cross � lling after taking permission from the license giving authorities.

To get the permission for estab-lishing an LPG plant, the concerned organisation must establish a labo-ratory comprised of modern equip-ments to conduct di� erent kinds of testing and experiments on the external and internal examinations of the LPG cylinder.

Besides the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, BPC, BSTI and any authority powered by the divi-sion could check the quality if the LPG.

The policy also said that the no

LPG bottling plant could be estab-lished in residential and populous regions.

“There is no real monitoring on any safety or operational issues by government departments like explosives and others in this sec-tor – as a result we see so many il-legal re� lling stations around us,” LAUGFS Gas Bangladesh Ltd Chief Executive O� cer and Director Mo-hammed Saidul Islam told the Dha-ka Tribune.

“The government should have developed separate institutions in this sector like the Explosives Department or BERC to facilitate growth in a safe manner. Instead the investor needs similar sorts of approval from many of these gov-ernment departments,” he said.

Referring to the recent negative newspaper reports on the sector, Saidul said: “This can frustrate big investors and can encourage illegal traders. Investors need one point approval for LPG bottling plant from all government departments, say in 60 days - not separately from all departments.”

“For engraving or embossing company name on valves, the in-vestors need some time, there are many cylinders in the pipeline.

“Also, there is no separate guide-line for 'Satellite LPG � lling plant' for the importers,” he added. l

Bela: HC directives yet to be in place in ship-breaking industryn Abu Bakar Siddique

The High Court's directives on environmental safety and compliance in the Bangla-deshi ship-breaking industry are yet to be implemented due to the lack of political will, an environmental group has said.

“The High Court wants to impose restrictions on the ship breaking industry but the government wants the ongo-ing hazardous situation to go on,” Syeda Rizwana Hasan, head of Bangladesh Environ-mental Lawyer’s Association (Bela), said yesterday at a con-ference.

In a 2010 directive, the High Court called ship-break-ing a “hazardous and pollut-ing operation” and told the government the industry could not continue on open

beaches without proper safety measures for the people of the coastal area as well as protec-tion of the eco-system.

It decreed that the govern-ment has no authority to lease out seashore, coastal areas and forest lands as ship-break-ing yards.

The said the government is yet to implement most of the HC directions to make the in-dustry clean.

Bela chief Rizwana was speaking at a session titled Supreme Court directives on Environmental Justice: Ship-breaking at the National Access to Justice Conference held yesterday at CIRDAP In-ternational Conference Cen-tre.

The day-long conference was jointly organised by Bang-ladesh Legal Aid and Services

Trust, Bela and Bangladesh Women Lawyer's Associa-tion.

According to data present-ed at the conference, Bang-ladesh imported 72 ships be-tween March 2009 and June 2011. In 2012 the number of imported ships was 206, in 2013 it was 194, in 2014 it was 222 while in 2015 it was 194.

The ships broken in Bang-ladeshi yards are mostly im-ported from European Union countries like Germany, Den-mark, Bulgaria, Poland, Bel-gium, Greece, Italy, UK, Cy-prus, Netherlands and Malta.

According to the World Bank 2010 data, Bangladesh will receive some 79,000 tonnes of Asbestos by 2020 through ship-breaking , if the current rate of ship import continues. l

Nabaganga River now cropland n Mazharul Hoque Lipu, Magura

Nabaganga, a tributary of Mathab-hanga and one of the biggest river in the country turned into cropland in Magura as it has dried up at dif-ferent points.

Hundreds of people, particularly the � shermen, have become jobless due to continued drying up of the river.

Fishermen in the district are passing through hard times as they hardly � nd any � sh due to siltation and drastic fall in the water level of the river.

Even movement of people in small boats is also being hampered due to continued siltation and emer-gence of a good many shoals in the river.

The river lost its navigability long ago forcing the service of water ves-sels including steamer and launches to stop. It once played a vital role in transportation of merchandise and movement of people to di� erent places. A good number of market places had been developed near the banks of the rivers passing through several points. These market places always remained abuzz with trade activities.

Farmers living in the river-side areas, who used to irrigate their crop � elds with the water from these riv-ers, cannot use river water now due to siltation and fall in the water level.

The sharp fall in the water level of the river has resulted in almost disappearance of � sh, local sources said. Once various kinds of � sh were found aplenty in the two rivers and � shermen got huge catch.

‘Now I � nd it very di� cult to earn my livelihood. I have no alternative to earning as continued siltation has made the river almost dead,’ a � sher-man living near the river said.

Thousand of people thronged the river bank to enjoy boat racing in the river. Durga puja fair took place on the bank of the river. But all these have now turned into story only as the river has lost its navigability and turned into cropland.

Water Development Board (WDB) sources said the river had lost its navigability as illegal structures had been built up occupying the river.

Local in� uential are using the riv-er as dumping station. An unscrupu-lous circle is continuing � sh cultiva-tion by making embankment in the river for years. All these have plun-dered the normal � ow of the river.

About 22 km of the river has been silted up in want of dredging the riv-er.

Abul Fatta of Nanduli village said: “Earlier we used the river for our jour-ney to di� erent district like Jhenidah, Narail, Khulna and Faridpur as launch and steamers plied in the river. But now we cannot imagine this as the river is now almost dead.”

Septuagenarian Mihir Shikder Ramnagar village said: “We did not use irrigation pump to irrigate our cropland. We used the river water for irrigation in natural way.

He also said: “We also used the river for transporting our agricultur-al products to di� erent markets. But stigma in the river � ow has stopped all these causing di� culties to us.”

When contacted, Agriculture Ex-tension Department (DAE) o� cial Gobinda Shaha said: “The river is

now being used as cropland. About 200-hectare land in the river bed is being used as cropland.”

Sha� qur Rahman executive di-rector of Palli Prokriti (an environ-ment friendly NGO) said: “The river is almost dead now. It has a great im-pact on our social as well as econom-ic life.If we fail to save our river, our ecology will he hampered seriously.”

“Through proper planning river, we may get back its youth. Non gov-ernment organization as well as gov-ernment organization should come forward in this regard right from now,” he added.

WDB Executive Engineer Abdul Latif said the dredging of the river could be continued due to want of � nancial support. l

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

6DT News

‘Singra municipality to become role model for development’n M Kamal Mridha, Natore

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak said yesterday Singra municipality of Natore would become a role model of development for other local government bodies across the country.

“Bangladesh will soon be con-sidered as a role model for de-velopment internationally, while Singra will be the role model for development locally,” the state minister said while speaking as the chief guest at the budget session for 2016-17 of the munici-pality.

Palak said Bangladesh would become middle-income country within 2021 under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sehikh Hasina.

“We will also become one of the developed nations in the world by 2041,” he said.

The state minister said Singra was a neglected municipality in the country for long, but things have started reversing after people gave their mandate to local Awami League candidate Jannatul Ferd-ous as the municipality mayor.

“Now the entire area is united when it comes to becoming a role model for others,” Palak said.

Singra municipality announced an annual budget of Tk48.79 crore in the presence of Palak, the upazila chairman and other local o� cials. l

A recent picture shows farmers have cultivated crops on the dried-up riverbed of Nabaganga near Magura town DHAKA TRIBUNE

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016News 7

DT

Mango trade gains momentumn Tribune Desk

Mango trading has gained momen-tum with appearance of several varieties of mango in the markets of Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj districts, which are famous for the delicious fruit.

Besides the market and other growth centres, the mango-based trade and business has changed the rural economic scenario of the re-gion as a whole.

Now the city’s markets are abun-dant with all varieties of mango and the wholesale buyers as well as the retailers have been pouring into the markets and bargaining to settle the price.

During the current peak sea-son, Gopalbhog, a king variety of mango for its taste and � avor along with some other delicious varieties like Langra and Himsagar have ap-

peared in the markets in abundance besides other local and developed varieties. However, the brisk busi-ness of Gopalbhog is at the last stage.

According to the sources con-cerned, market price of the seasonal delicious fruit is exorbitant this sea-son due to less production caused by di� erent natural catastrophes.

Gopalbhog is being sold at Taka 2400 to 2600 per mound while Lan-gra and Himsagar at Taka 2000 to Taka 2200 and Taka 1800 to 2000 in the wholesale markets and there is no possibility that the market price will come down in the days ahead.

In Rajshahi city, many places like Shaheb Bazar, Swarnapatty, Seroil, Railway Gate, Luxmipur, Bus terminal, Court Bazaar, New Market, Upashahar Market, Shalba-gan, Binodpur, Court Station and Baneshwar Bazar are � ooded with

mangoes. Besides the market-based trad-

ing, many vendors are selling man-go with vans and other manual ve-hicles frequently.

Rahmat Ali, a mango-trader at Bus terminal in the metropolis, said the much- expected buying and selling has been gaining mo-mentum gradually despite the high price.

Like the previous years, people from across the country are coming in Rajshahi city and its outskirts es-pecially Baneshawar Bazar to buy quality juicy mangoes.

Meanwhile, at present around 40 tonnes of mangoes are being sup-plied and transported from Rajsha-hi and Chapainawabganj districts to di� erent parts of the country including the capital city Dhaka everyday.

In addition to the passen-

ger-coach, train, truck and other private vehicles, huge mangoes are being transported by the courier services in particular every day.

Some conscious buyers alleged that a section of unscrupulous man-go traders are mixing quality man-goes with low quality mangoes to make extra pro� t, reports BSS.

Centering the marketing of man-go, also an important cash crop in the northwestern Bangladesh especially in the two districts, a large number of people are involved in various types of works in the two districts.

Dr Alim Uddin, Principal Scien-ti� c O� cer of Mango Research Cen-tre, said mango farming is increas-ing every year and the gardeners are earning huge pro� ts by cultivating high yielding and hybrid varieties like Amropali side by side with the traditional and popular indigenous varieties. l

Biharis demand continuation of free power supplyn FM Mizanur Rahaman,

Chittagong

The Bihari community in Chit-tagong yesterday urged the author-ities concerned not to discontinue free electricity services till their full-� edged rehabilitation as as-sured by the government.

They made the call during a news conference organised by the Stranded Pakistani General Repa-triation Committee at Chittagong Press Club.

Sohel Aktar Khan, zonal sec-retary of the committee, told the conference they came to know that the government had decided to cut power supply to di� erent Bihari camps in the district.

“The government from now on will not bear electricity expenses of the Bihari people in Chittagong, even those who have been includ-ed in the voter list,” he said.

“Around 30,000 Bihari people are leading a miserable life in seven camps in Chittagong. The decision to cut power lines will severely af-fect them.

“The government’s plan will de� nitely trigger a humanitarian disaster if we are deprived of pow-er supply. We also urge the govern-ment to speed up the rehabilitation process so that we can lead our life with dignity,” said Sohel.

Referring to rising electricity prices, the Bihari community lead-er said: “A Bihari family uses only a light and a fan inside the camp. We do not use air-conditioner and refrigerator. Still we have to count Tk12,000-14,000 in electricity bill for a camp. This is totally absurd and ridiculous.”

Sohel alleged that some corrupt Power Development Board workers and camp residents were responsi-ble for tampering with the electric meters in the camps.

“Only illegal power connections should be cut and those who ma-nipulated the meters should be brought to book,” he said. l

Traders not to hike prices of essentials in Ramadann BSS

Business community leaders here at a meeting yesterday expressed their commitment for keeping pric-es of the essential commodities reasonable during the coming holy month of Ramadan.

The common people should not be worried as supply and stock sit-uations of the essential commodi-ties are quite normal and satisfac-tory to contain increase of market prices during the coming Ramadan

in the district, they said.At the same time, the business

community leaders sought contin-uous cooperation of the govern-ment in reducing some hurdles be-ing faced by them in the process of importing essential commodities for ensuring smooth supply to the local markets.

Leaders of di� erent organisa-tions of the business community, importers, whole sellers and re-tailers made the commitments at a views exchange meeting organised

by Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) at RCCI audi-torium in the city.

President of RCCI Md Abul Kashem chaired the meeting with the business community leaders of the city with a view to contain prices of the essential commodi-ties within logically tolerable limits during the holy month of Ramadan.

Senior Vice-president of RCCI Mostafa Ahmed, its Vice-president Mozammel Haque Dambel, Direc-tor Habibur Rahman Raja, leaders

of di� erent business organisations including Akbar Ali, Azizul Islam Mukul, SM Badruddoza, Alhaj Sadek Hossain Munna, Altaf Hos-sain, Sirajul Islam Siraj and Alhaj Moyen Uddin, addressed among others.

In his speech, the RCCI Presi-dent urged the businesspersons to conduct their businesses with nor-mal pro� ts during the holy month of Ramadan like in the other peri-ods of the year.

“Steps would be taken with as-

sistance of all concerned organ-isations to keep prices of the es-sentials stable and tolerable and a Bazaar Monitoring Committee will work for ensuring supply of pure and hygienic food stu� s during Ramadan,” he said.

The businesspersons reiterated their � rm commitments for ensur-ing supply of pure and hygienic food stu� s and conducting busi-ness genuinely in keeping prices of essential commodities normal dur-ing the holy month of Ramadan. l

With little care about their own lives, three construction workers rest on the Moghbazar � yover yesterday amid moving vehicles, deliberately putting themselves at risk of a major accident MEHEDI HASAN

8DT WorldSUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

SOUTH ASIA

Diplomats urge Obama to keep Afghanistan troop levelThirteen retired US generals and senior diplomats urged President Barack Obama on Friday to main-tain the current US troop level in Afghanistan, saying a reduction would undercut the morale of Afghan government forces and bolster the Taliban. The 13 men oversaw US military operations and policy in Afghanistan. -REUTERS

INDIA

5 Indian security o� cers shot dead in KashmirFive Indian security personnel have been shot dead by suspected rebels in restive Indian-administered Kashmir in the past two days, police said Saturday. Two police o� cers were on a routine patrol Saturday when insurgents � red automatic weapons from a moving vehicle in southern Anantnag town. On Friday, 3 paramilitary soldiers from India’s Border Security Force were killed when militants � red bullets. AFP

CHINA

China detains activists on Tiananmen anniversaryChinese police have detained several activists while others were placed under surveillance for the anniver-sary of the bloody 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square, which was heavily policed on Saturday. On June 4, 1989 military tanks rolled into the square in the centre of Beijing to crush pro-democracy protests, killing hundreds of unarmed civilians. -AFP

ASIA PACIFIC

Japan, S Korea to set up direct line between defence ministersJapan Defence Minister General Nakatani said on Saturday that Japan and South Korea agreed to expand an emergency communica-tion system between their defence ministries, including adding a new direct line between defence ministers. Tensions have been high in the region since early January when North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test. -REUTERS

MIDDLE EAST

UN blacklists Saudi coalition in YemenUN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon slammed the Saudi Arabia-led coali-tion � ghting in Yemen for killing and maiming children by adding it to an annual blacklist of states and armed groups that violate children’s rights during con� ict. The coalition was responsible for 60% of child deaths and injuries last year, killing 510 and wounding 667, according to Ban’s report released on Thursday -AP

US � exes muscles as Asia worries about South China Sea rown Reuters, Singapore

The United States stepped up pres-sure on China on Saturday to rein in its actions in the South China Sea, with top defence o� cials un-derlining Washington’s military superiority and vowing to remain the main guarantor of Asian secu-rity for decades to come.

Defence Secretary Ash Cart-er said the US approach to the Asia-Paci� c remained “one of commitment, strength and inclu-sion”, but he also warned China against provocative behaviour in the South China Sea.

Any action by China to re-claim land in the Scarborough Shoal, an outcrop in the disputed sea, would have consequences, Carter said.

“I hope that this development doesn’t occur, because it will re-sult in actions being taken by the both United States and ... by others in the region which would have the e� ect of not only in-creasing tensions but isolating China,” Carter told the Shangri-La Dialogue, a regional security fo-rum in Singapore.

“The United States will remain the most powerful military and main underwriter of security in the region for decades to come – and there should be no doubt about that.”

The South China Sea has be-come a � ashpoint between the United States, which increased its focus on the Asia-Paci� c under President Barack Obama’s “pivot”, and China, which is projecting ever greater economic, political and military power in the region.

Carter however said he would welcome China’s participation in a “principled security network” for Asia.

“Forward thinking statesmen and leaders must ... come together to ensure a positive principled fu-ture,” he said, adding that the net-work he envisaged could also help protect against “Russia’s worrying actions” and the growing strategic impact of climate change.

The deputy head of China’s delegation to the forum said the United States should reduce its provocative exercises and patrols in the region and said any at-tempts to isolate China would fail.

“This is a time of cooperation and common security,” Rear Ad-miral Guan Youfei told reporters. “The US action to take sides is not agreed by many countries. We hope the US will also listen to the other countries.”

Regional worriesOther Asian leaders said the situ-ation in the South China Sea was viewed with concern across the region.

“All countries in the region need to recognise that our shared prosper-ities and the enviable rate of growth that this region enjoys over past dec-ades will be put at risk by aggressive behaviour or actions by any one of us,” Indian Defence Minister Mano-har Parrikar told the forum.

Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani said his country would help Southeast Asian nations build their security capabilities to deal with what he called unilateral, dangerous and coercive actions in the South China Sea.

“In the South China Sea, we have been witnessing large-scale and rapid land reclamation, build-ing of outposts and utilization of them for military purposes,” Na-katani said. “No country can be an outsider of this issue.”

A Chinese o� cial responded by saying Japan should be careful “not to interfere and stir up prob-lems” in the waterway, while Chi-na’s foreign ministry also weighed in regarding the US and Japanese comments.

“Counties outside the region

should stick to their promises and not make thoughtless remarks about issues of territorial sov-ereignty,” the ministry said in a statement.

Trillions of dollars of trade a year passes through the South Chi-na Sea, which is home to rich oil, gas and � shing resources. Besides China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have claims in the area, and rising ten-sions have been fuelling increasing security spending in the region.

“The uncertainty of China’s fu-ture trajectory is arguably the main driving concern about possible mil-itary competition now and in the future,” Malaysian Defence Minis-ter Hishammuddin Hussein said.

Carter said that for decades some critics had been predicting an impending US withdrawal from the region, but this would not happen.

“That’s because this region, which is home to nearly half the world’s population and nearly half the global economy, remains the most consequential for America’s own security and prosperity.”

Trump counterIn an apparent counter to “Amer-ica-� rst” policies expounded by prospective Republican presiden-

tial candidate Donald Trump, in-cluding suggestions that US troops should be withdrawn from Asia, Carter stressed bipartisan support for continued engagement.

The Shangri-La Dialogue is be-ing held ahead of a signi� cant rul-ing expected in coming weeks on a case � led by the Philippines in the International Court of Arbitration challenging China’s South Chi-na Sea claims, which Beijing has vowed to ignore.

The United States has been lob-bying Asian and other countries to back the judges’ statement that their ruling must be binding, a call echoed by Japan on Saturday.

China has lobbied on the oth-er side for support for its position that the court lacks jurisdiction in the case. l

CHINA

MALAYSIA

PHILIPPINES

TAIWAN

Chinese claim

Fighter aircraftrange fromChineseair strips

China’s reachSuspected radar and defence capabilitiesaccording to a study published February by US think tank*

*Center for Stratetic and International Studies

Woody Islandsurface-to-airmissile range

Potentialradar range,according tosatelliteimage analysis

Woody Island

Triton island

Duncan island

BRUNEI

Sources : CSIS/AMTI

South China Sea watch

200 km

VIETNAM

Subi

Mischief

HughesFieryCross

Graven

Cuarteron

JohnsonSouth

CORRECTION

On June 4, Dhaka Tribune pub-lished a report on Page 8 titled “SWIFT � ghts to restore faith after BB height.” We inadvertently put ‘height’ in place of ‘heist’. Actual-ly the headline should have been “SWIFT � ghts to restore faith after BB heist.” We regret the error.

9D

T

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016World

USAUS House Speaker Ryan backs Trump Paul Ryan, the top elected US Republican, ended a long period of soul-searching and endorsed Donald Trump for president in a column for the Janesville Gazette newspaper, step toward unifying party loyalists behind the insurgent candidate despite concerns about his candida-cy. Ryan did not speci� cally use the word endorse in his column, but his spokesman, Brendan Buck, made clear that Ryan’s move should be seen as an endorsement. -REUTERS

THE AMERICASArgentines protest violence against womenThousands of people marched in Buenos Aires on Friday to con-demn violence against women, the latest public outcry follow-ing the recent killings of three 12-year-old girls in Argentina and the gang rape of a teenage girl in Brazil. The rally was organised on social media by women’s groups under the slogan #NiUnaMenos, meaning “Not one less.” -AP

UK‘Brexit campaign writing cheques they know will bounce’David Cameron has accused senior Brexit campaigners of “writing cheques they know will bounce” for claiming that leaving the EU would al-low the government to pump £100m more a week into the National Health Service (NHS) by 2020. In a joint statement, Vote Leave campaigners Michael Gove, Boris Johnson and La-bour’s Gisela Stuart said quitting the EU would provide a cash transfusion into the NHS. -THE GUARDIAN

EUROPEGerman president to skip candidacy for second termGerman President Joachim Gauck will not run for a second � ve-year term in o� ce, given his age and health reasons. Gauck, 76, is expected to explain his decision in a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday. Gauck’s term ends in March 2017. A spokes-woman for the president declined to comment. -REUTERS

AFRICABoko Haram attack in Niger kills 32 soldiers30 soldiers from Niger and two from Nigeria were killed in a Boko Haram attack by hundreds of assailants on Friday on the southeastern town of Bosso close to the border with Nige-ria, the Niger defence ministry said on Saturday. 7 others from Niger and 8 from Nigeria were injured in the attack, according to the minis-try, which reported several deaths among the assailants. -REUTERS

Brexit debate brings out Britain’s World War II � xation

n Reuters, London

When Nigel Farage rolls into town in a purple double-decker bus to cam-paign for Britain to leave the EU, the music blaring from the loudspeak-ers is from the classic World War II movie “The Great Escape”.

“That’s what we need, isn’t it? A great escape from this Europe-an Union!” Farage told cheering supporters as his bus arrived at a recent campaign stop, a typical scene as he tours Britain ahead of its June 23 referendum on EU membership.

Critics say it is outrageous to suggest a parallel between a tale of British and allied prisoners of war escaping from a Nazi camp and the prospect of the United King-dom leaving the EU, but support-ers of Farage’s UK Independence Party love it.

“This has to be the best cam-paign tour! The ‘Great escape’ theme :) what a brilliant choice. Makes you proud to be British!”

wrote user @Mat_Gri� n on Twitter.Memories of World War II are

central to many Britons’ self-im-age as an indomitable island peo-ple. Historians say the contrast with fellow EU member nations which experienced fascist rule and foreign occupation is a main reason why Britain has struggled to � nd its place in the bloc.

Talking about the war is a reli-able way to tug at patriotic heart-strings, and both sides in the EU debate have been doing it.

Prime Minister David Camer-on, campaigning to keep Britain in the bloc, recounted in a speech last month that when he departs for EU summits from a Royal Air Force base, he passes a Spit� re, the � ghter plane that helped to re-pel Adolf Hitler’s Luftwa� e.

“Like any Brit, my heart swells with pride at the sight of that air-craft,” he said.

Cameron went on to argue that it was not by choice that Britain stood alone against the Nazis in 1940, after the fall of France and before the United States entered the war, and that wartime lead-

er Winston Churchill had never wanted isolation.

“In the post-war period he ar-gued passionately for Western Eu-rope to come together ... so that our continent would never again see such bloodshed,” Cameron said.

Churchill, Hitler and the EUChurchill’s grandson Nicholas Soames, a member of parliament, has said Churchill would have vot-ed “Remain”.

But the “Leave” camp argues that he did not want his country to be fully involved in European integration and would therefore have backed a British exit.

“All of the evidence about Churchill’s view on the matter says he wanted Britain to be a sep-arate sponsor and friend to the developing union in Europe,” said Julian Thompson, a retired ma-jor general who chairs pro-Brexit group Veterans for Britain.

Treading into even trickier ter-ritory, “Leave” campaigner and former London mayor Boris John-son argued that the EU and Hitler were part of the same long history

of doomed attempts to dominate Europe.

“Napoleon, Hitler, various peo-ple tried this out, and it ends trag-ically. The EU is an attempt to do this by di� erent methods,” he said in a newspaper interview.

The comments by Johnson - a senior member of Cameron’s Con-servative party which is divided on the issue - caused a row that dominated the campaign for days on end.

The shadow of Hitler was also present on the front page of The Sun, Britain’s top-selling newspa-per, when it mocked a package of reforms obtained by Cameron that he said gave Britain “special sta-tus” within the EU.

Referring to “Dad’s Army”, a hugely popular BBC TV comedy about a group of hapless older men volunteering to defend Brit-ain against Nazi invasion, the Sun asked: “Who do you think you are kidding Mr Cameron?”

This was the � rst line of the Dad’s Army theme tune, except that in the original, the question was addressed to “Hitler”. l

18 DAYS TO GO

Trump seizes on US jobs report to target Democratic economic policiesn Reuters, Washington, DC

Republican presi-dential candidate Donald Trump said a US jobs report on Friday that showed the weakest hiring

in more than � ve years proved that Democratic economic poli-cies are pushing the country in the wrong direction.

The report gave Trump his big-gest opening yet to target Demo-cratic rival Hillary Clinton on the economy, after months of mostly solid economic indicators.

Clinton, the front-runner to be the Democratic nominee for the November 8 election, has credited President Barack Obama for reviv-ing the US economy after the 2008 recession but has also said that the recovery is not over.

In a CNN interview, Clinton ac-knowledged the � gures were “dis-appointing to anybody.”

The unemployment rate in May fell three-tenths of a percentage point to 4.7%, the lowest level since November 2007, but that was in part due to people drop-ping out of the labour force. Over-all, non-farm payrolls increased by only 38,000 jobs in May.

If disappointing jobs reports con-tinue, Trump could use Clinton’s pledge to build on Obama’s work against her to woo working-class

voters in states such as Ohio. The state has lost well-paying manufac-turing jobs and is also a key presi-dential battleground - closely com-petitive because it does not lean heavily Republican or Democratic.

Clinton leads in pollClinton, a former secretary of state, is likely to � nally clinch the Dem-ocratic nomination over challenger Bernie Sanders on Tuesday when six states hold nominating con-tests. One is California, the most populous US state, with the most Democratic delegates of any other state and where both candidates have been campaigning heavily.

In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday, some 46% of likely vot-

ers said they supported Clinton, while 35% said they supported Trump, and another 19% said they would not support either. The sur-vey of 1,421 people was conducted between May 30 and June 3.

Trump, a real estate developer, has already sewn up the Repub-lican nomination. In the general election campaign, job creation plans are expected to be a priori-ty, particularly in states that have been hit hard by manufactur-ing-sector job losses.

Trump has promised to toss out international trade deals to revive US manufacturing and sweep away a slew of environmental regulations to bolster the ailing energy sector.

Job creation in the manufac-

turing and construction sectors fell sharply in May, according to Friday’s jobs report.

Trump has already begun working economic numbers into his stump speeches. He has said he could put 15 states that have voted for Democratic presidents in recent elections in play, includ-ing Pennsylvania, Ohio and Mich-igan, which have all lost manufac-turing-sector jobs.

Peter Morici, a conservative economist and professor in the business school at the University of Maryland, said the poor jobs numbers re� ected trends that have driven voter frustration and fueled the populist campaigns of both Trump and Sanders.

He said Trump needed to add detail to his economic policies, such as detailing changes to social programs like Medicaid, which provides healthcare for the poor. “We can’t just turn around and cut income taxes without doing something about those things,” Morici said.

Republican strategists agreed that Friday’s jobs report created an opportunity for Trump to dif-ferentiate his policies from Oba-ma’s or Clinton’s.

“Trump has been � eshing out his foreign policy ideas and has released a tax plan, but he has been light on other details, such as how he would oversee the US � nancial system. l

Chants during a demonstration outside a campaign rally for Donald Trump in San Jose, California on Thursday REUTERS

10DT

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016World

US falters in campaign to revive Iraqi armyn Reuters

A 17-month US e� ort to retrain and reunify Iraq’s regular army has failed to create a large number of e� ective Iraqi combat units or limit the power of sectarian militias, ac-cording to current and former US military and civilian o� cials.

Concern about the shortcom-ings of the American attempt to strengthen the Iraqi military comes as Iraqi government forces and Shia insurgents have launched an of-fensive to retake the city of Falluja from Islamic State. Aid groups fear the campaign could spark a human-itarian catastrophe, as an estimat-ed 50,000 Sunni civilians remain trapped in the besieged town.

The continued weakness of regular Iraqi army units and re-liance on Shia militias, current and former US military o� cials said, could impede Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s broader e� ort to defeat Islamic State and win the long-term support of Iraqi Sunnis. The sectarian divide between the majority Shia and minority Sunni communities threatens to split the country for good.

Critics agree that there have been some military successes, citing the continued victories of American-trained Iraqi Special Forces, who have been � ghting IS for two years. But the presence of 4,000 American troops has failed to change the underlying Iraqi politi-cal dynamics that fuel the rise and growing power of sectarian militias.

Retired US Lieutenant General Mick Bednarek, who commanded the US military training e� ort in Iraq from 2013 to 2015, said the Ira-qi army has not improved dramati-cally in the past eight months. He blamed a variety of problems, from a lack of Iraqis wanting to join the military to the resistance of some lower-level Iraqi o� cers to sending units to American training.

Two senior US military o� cers and Bednarek said that with few exceptions, the most e� ective and only truly non-sectarian Iraqi gov-ernment � ghting force is the Iraqi Special Forces, sometimes called the Counter-Terrorism Service. American o� cials expressed worry that the Special Forces units may burn out after nearly two years of continuous combat.

Militia influenceAcross Iraq, regular Iraqi army units have largely watched from the sidelines as Iraqi Special Forc-es and Shia militias have reclaimed land from Islamic State, current and former US military o� cials said. Militias have repeatedly taken advantage of the power vacuums that have emerged after Islamic State defeats.

The Iraqi military operations command of Salahuddin province,

north of Baghdad, is dominated by a Shia militia leader, Abu Mehdi Mohandis, according to a current US military o� cer, an Iraqi security o� cial and three Iraqi o� cials who monitor the province.

Mohandis serves as the chief state administrator for Shia para-military forces. The US Treasury sanctioned him in 2009 for alleg-edly attacking US forces in Iraq. He was also convicted in absentia by Kuwaiti courts for the 1983 bomb-ings of the US and French embas-sies in Kuwait.

The Fifth Iraqi Army Division in eastern Diyala province is consid-ered to be under the command of the Badr group, a powerful Shia mi-litia and political party with strong ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, according to four current and former US military of-� cers.

In Baghdad, US military o� cers estimate that 10% to 20% of the 300 o� cers who run the Iraqi mil-itary’s Operations Command have an a� nity or association with ei-ther the Badr militia or the Shia re-ligious leader Muqtada al Sadr.

And after Iraqi Special Forces, aided by US air strikes, captured a strategic oil re� nery in the town of Baiji in October, Shia militias loot-ed all of its salvageable equipment, according to a senior US military o� cial and three Iraqi government o� cials.

Over the past year, US military o� cers have struggled to ensure that militias do not seize American weaponry delivered to the main Iraqi army supply depot in Taji and to a brigade in the Saqlawiya region.

“An official body”Iraqi government and senior par-amilitary leaders said the reports

of poor training and Shia militia dominance in the military are false. They said the militias follow the or-ders of the prime minister and his military commanders.

Iraqi defence ministry spokes-man Brigadier General Yahya Ra-sool called the militias “an o� cial body connected with the o� ce of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.” He said they take their orders only from government o� cials and “have a great role in supporting the army forces and the federal police.”

Mohammed Bayati, a former human rights minister and senior Badr group leader, now commands forces in northern Salahuddin Province. He said the Shia paramil-itaries fall under the army, police and regular military chain-of-com-mand. Bayati said that any reports of militias operating on their own were false.

“Yesterday, I was in the Sala-huddin Operations Command,” he said. “All orders are coming from the police and army leadership.” The Shia militias “are supporting the army and police.”

The spokesman for the govern-ment umbrella body that oversees the militias, Ahmed Al-Asadi, said the Shia forces did not loot the Baiji re� nery. “I deny totally such allegations,” he said. Islamic State, he said, stole and destroyed equip-ment.

The o� ce of Prime Minister Abadi and the Iraqi Embassy in Washington didn’t respond to re-quests for comment.

American concernsBut current and former US military o� cials and local Sunni leaders say the militias continue to take advan-tage of the vacuums that emerge in predominantly Sunni areas after

Islamic State forces are defeated. A lack of strong regular army units allows the militias to remain the dominant players.

Norman Ricklefs, a former US government adviser to the Iraqi in-terior and defense ministries, said the state has still not � lled the void in most areas retaken from IS. He said militias are the most powerful they have been since Iraqi govern-ment forces defeated them in a se-ries of battles across Iraq in 2008. Ricklefs regularly visits Iraq and maintains ties with the Iraqi secu-rity apparatus and Shia and Sunni politicians.

“In the cities the militias occu-py - Samarra and Tikrit and signif-icant parts of eastern Baghdad - they are the most powerful force,” Ricklefs said. “For the � rst time since 2008, the government has lost control of large parts of cities” to Shia militias.

One senior US military o� cial said the setbacks call into question the Obama administration’s overall strategy in Iraq. He said any mili-tary training e� ort would fail until the US put more pressure on Iraq’s Shia and Sunni political leaders to strike a genuine power-sharing agreement.

Obama administration o� cials said the US strategy is succeed-ing and Iraqi forces have steadily grown stronger with American support.

US advisers have helped train existing units and set up two new Iraqi divisions, according to American and Iraqi o� cials. They achieved this despite struggling with shortfalls in Iraqi funding to hire new soldiers and a shortage of Iraqi Shia volunteers.

But there has been little im-provement in overall Iraqi army combat readiness, according to a

US civilian o� cial, one ex-o� cial, a former general and three current senior US military o� cers.

Last October, American military o� cials estimated that only � ve Iraqi army divisions were ready for battle and put their combat readi-ness at only 60 to 65 percent. To-day, those � gures have increased only marginally, the o� cials said.

‘Lion’s share’ of progressThe US military spokesman in Iraq, Colonel Chris Garver, said that de-spite the di� culties, US forces have seen Iraqi army units improve after training. He also cited advances by army brigades in areas around Fal-luja as signs of success.

But Garver acknowledged that the lion’s share of military o� en-sives has been spearheaded by the Special Forces, and that two years of battle are taking a toll on Iraq’s elite soldiers.

“The Government of Iraq has relied heavily on the Iraqi special operations forces and the potential for these forces being depleted into combat ine� ectiveness is a real concern,” he said.

Garver said the regular Iraqi army continues to struggle with in-creasing its ranks. “Recruiting and funding have both been well-doc-umented challenges for the GOI,” or Government of Iraq. “These are areas the GOI must address.”

Brigadier Rasool, the Iraqi De-fence Ministry spokesman, reject-ed any suggestion that the regular Iraqi army was not an equal partner to the Iraqi Special Forces.

The current and former US o� -cials contended that the Falluja of-fensive is again exposing the weak-ness of regular army units.

“The regular army does not seem to have been rebuilt,” Rick-lefs said, “and it’s a real pity.” l

A member of the Iraqi security forces � res artillery during clashes with Islamic State militants near Falluja, Iraq, May 29 REUTERS

Dam completion signi� es Indian in� uence in Afghanistan

11D

T

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

World

n Tribune International Desk

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Afghanistan on Saturday to mark the completion of a nearly $300m hydroelec-tric dam project, the latest symbol of Indian investment in its South Asian neighbour.

The dam, originally built in western Herat province in 1976 before being damaged during the civil wars of the 1990s, was re-built by some 1,500 Indian and Afghan engineers, according to the Indian Ministry of External A� airs.

“It is symbol of our friendship and would usher in hope, light up homes, nourish the fertile � elds of Heart and bring prosperity to the people of the region,” Modi said in a social media post as he departed for Afghanistan, the � rst stop on a � ve-country trip.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has nurtured closer ties with India in the past year as relations with Pakistan have deteriorated in the face of continued insurgent attacks and border tensions.

Afghanistan has walked a � ne line as it accepts Indian aid, with Pakistan historically wary of any Indian in� uence in Af-ghanistan.

“Salma Dam is another big step in deepening and broadening the relationship between Afghanistan and India,” Ghani said in a post on Twitter.

At more than 100 metres high and 540 metres wide, the dam is designed to generate 42 megawatts of power and help irrigate 75,000 hectares of land, according to Modi.

India has poured more than $1 billion into Afghanistan recon-struction projects and humanitarian aid, making it one of the largest donors to the war-torn country.

A new national assembly building in Kabul and major power line and road construction have been among the main projects funded by India.

Building prosperityNew Delhi’s active engagement has led analysts to point to the threat of a “proxy war” in Afghanistan between India and its nu-clear-armed arch-rival Pakistan.

Pakistan - the historic backer of the Taliban - has long been accused of supporting the insurgents in Afghanistan, especially with attacks on Indian targets in the country.

In December, Modi inaugurated Afghanistan’s new parlia-ment complex in Kabul, built by India at an estimated cost of $90 million.

A few days after his visit militants launched a 25-hour gun and bomb siege near the Indian consulate in Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif city.

And in March, Taliban militants � red a barrage of rockets at the parliament complex.

“Destroying is easy and building is di� cult. Contrary to those whose main art is destroying and sending messages of destruction, we have taken the di� cult responsibility of build-ing prosperity,” Ghani said in a veiled reference to the Taliban.

“We resolutely believe that... prosperity triumphs over destruction. Hope is right and hopelessness is wrong; seek-ing peace is right and seeking war is wrong.”

Diplomatic relations between New Delhi and Kabul have

grown despite a series of attacks on Indian installations in Afghanistan.

The two countries recently signed a three-way transit agreement with Iran to develop its southern port of Chaba-har, as Modi visited Tehran last month.

The deal, bypassing Pakistan to connect Iran, India, and Afghanistan to central Asia, would boost economic growth in the region, Modi said at the time. l

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, centre, arrives ahead of the inauguration of the Salma Hydroelectric Dam in Herat on Saturday AFP

12DT Business

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

Capital market snapshot: Past WeekDSE

Broad Index 4,446.1 1.3% ▲

Index 1,097.0 1.9% ▲

30 Index 1,761.2 3.1% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk 21,695.1 45.8% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol 689.1 56.7% ▲

CSEAll Share Index 13,691.3 1.2% ▲

30 Index 12,563.1 0.9% ▲

Selected Index 8,329.7 1.3% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk 1,474.2 57.1% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol 61.1 66.9% ▲

EAB: Cut tax at source for exporters Exporters Association of Bangla-desh (EAB) yesterday called upon the � nance minister to reconsider rationalising tax at source for the exporters, which was proposed to hike at the national budget. PAGE 13

Stock markets pass the week cautiouslyStock markets passed the week with cautious trading taking cues from the new budget proposed in the parliament on Thursday after-noon. During the past week, the benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange DSE gained 58 points or 1.4% to 4,446, after pro� t booking decline in previous week. PAGE 15

TOP STORIES

National Savings Week 2016 beginsn Tribune Business Desk

National Savings Week 2016 begins yesterday across the country to motivate the people for investment in savings.

To mark the week, Department of National Savings will organise di� erent programmes till June 8 across the country for encouraging people to invest in savings under the slogan “Savings is symbol of � -nancial and social security.’’

Internal Resources Division Senior Secretary Md Nojibur Rah-man inaugurated the programme through bringing out a colourful rally in the morning in the city.

The rally, which was brought out from National Sports Council premis-es at Purana Paltan, paraded the near-by areas including National Press Club before concluded at the same place.

Addressing the programme, No-jibur Rahman said: “The author-ities are trying to provide quality services to the people to meet the vision 2021 and 2041 announced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.”

The directorate is trying to habit-uate the people in savings through making saving instruments pop-ular as a tool of social security, he added. l

Call to end rampant extortion during Ramadann Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Business leaders yesterday called for steps to end rampant extortion throughout the month of Rama-dan allegedly demanded by law enforcers and musclemen backed by political parties.

They said such extortion lead to an abnormal hike in prices for essentials ahead of Eid.

Several leaders from some wholesale trade associations came up with the call at a view exchange meeting titled “The role of law enforcement agencies in keeping prices for essentials at tol-erable level during Ramdan”.

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) hosted the meeting in the capital.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was present at the meeting as the chief guest while DMP commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia as a special guest.

DCCI president Hossain khaled presided over the session.

The wholesale trade leaders also laid blame on manufacturers and importers for price hike of essentials like sugar, lentil, gram and edible oil.

They said they are entirely de-pendent on four to � ve importers and re� ners, who control the sup-ply chain of those items.

“In true sense, there is no visi-ble drive by the law enforcers and Tax or VAT o� cials in the market for 11 months of the year except Ramadan. Only at Ramadan, they become more active,” said Abu Motaleb, one of the directors of Federation of Bangladesh Cham-bers of Commerce and Industry.

He also alleged that police and political musclemen become des-perate to extort money from the traders, thus pushing the prices up.

Motaleb also blamed the pro-posed budget for the � scal year 2016-17 that would lead to hike in price for essentials in line with the rise in VAT.

Ruling out the allegation of unethical business practice, Mot-aleb claimed that 99% traders in Bangladesh are honest. Only 1% of them is dishonest and they are af-� liated with political parties who use power to run their business.

Bangladesh Paikary Vojjaya Tel Babosayee Samity president Md Golam Mawla said: “The whole-

sale traders are dependent on the producers and the international supply chain. If the prices go up in the global market, they a� ect our local market.’

A leader of wholesale sugar trader, Hazi Md Abul Hasem, said there is no actual data of real de-mands for essential products, which is needed for keeping stock in line with the demands.

“If re� ners fail to make availa-ble supply of sugar, we have noth-ing to do as a lion’s share of the de-mand is met by imported sugar,” said Hasem.

Khaled said TCB can use e-com-merce system for selling its products

smoothly to maximum customers. He also called upon police to

provide security to the business-men while the latter is carrying a large amount of money specially in the month of Ramadan.

Home Minister said: “Extor-tion and other crimes have fallen compared to the previous time, and the government is committed to ensuring zero tolerance for any kind of extortion or hijacking.”

The intelligence department is working to identify extortion and robbery hot spots, he said.

“We will take stern actions against the extortionists whoever they may be.” l

SoEs net pro� t jumps by 173% in FY’16n Jebun Nesa Alo

The government experienced a sharp rise in net pro� t by 173% in the � scal year 2015-16 from the state-owned enterprises (SoEs) backed by Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) earning.

The Oil price fall in global mar-ket helped the government bag a huge pro� t, said the authorities concerned.

According to the statistics of Bangladesh Economic Review 2016, the net pro� t from SoEs stood at Tk11,786 crore as of April 2016 of the current � scal year compared to Tk4,316 crore in the previous � scal year.

The pro� t growth was 52% in the � scal year 2014-15 from the earning of Tk2,837 crore.

The government pro� t saw a high jump as BPC capitalised on the oil price fall in the global mar-ket and earned Tk12,186 crore in the current � scal year which was 195% higher from Tk4,126 crore in the last � scal year.

Though the Saudi Arabia’s economy is su� ering badly for

crash in oil price, it brought a blessing for Bangladesh, said a senior executive of BPC.

He said the gulf countries are on the move to cut the govern-ment facilities for their residents to reduce cost, but in Bangladesh the scenario is opposite as the government slashed the fuel price which will positively impact the

mass people.Though the government earns

big from SoEs, it gives subsidy to some SoEs that went up by 37% in the current � scal year.

The total amount of subsidies stood at Tk1,824 crore as of April 2016 of the current � scal year compared to Tk1,328 crore in the last � scal year. l

-10,000

-8,000

-6,000

-4,000

-2,000

02,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

1,0000

12,000

2011

-201

2

2012

-201

3

2013

-201

4

2014

-201

5

2015

-201

6 (Ap

ril)

-9,415

-2,626

2,8374,316

11,786Taka in crore

SoEs NET PROFIT/LOSS IN LAST FIVE YEARS

Sour

ce: B

angla

desh

Econ

omic

Surv

ey

Shah Cement celebrateshouseful o� erThe country’s leading cement Brand, Shah Cement, on Friday hosted a gala day in Hotel Le Meridian in the capital to celebrate its houseful o� er. The celebration came following a four-month cam-paign o� er period from January to April. PAGE 14

Business 13D

TSUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

EAB: Cut tax at source for exportersn Tribune Report

Exporters Association of Bangla-desh (EAB) yesterday called upon the � nance minister to reconsider rationalising tax at source for the exporters, which was proposed to hike at the national budget.

General activities of the ex-port-oriented industries will slow down while capacity of the indus-try will be reduced in the highly competitive market due to the pro-posed tax at source hike to 1.50%

from existing 0.60%, said EAB President Abdus Salam Murshedy in a press statement released yes-terday.

In his budget reaction, he ar-gued: “Economic development of the sector will be badly hampered while increasing investment and employment generation will be discouraged in the wake of the pro-posed provision.”

The association has also called upon the � nance minister to recon-sider the provision for the sake of

the export-oriented industry.The association also demanded

the government to reduce the cor-porate tax for the apparel manu-facturing industries at 10% from the proposed 20% to increaseinvestment and job creation in the sector.

While presenting the budget proposal for the FY-17, Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposed to reduce the corporate tax rate for the apparel makers at 20% from ex-isting 35% from the next � scal year. 

He also drew the � nance minis-ter’s attention to the special mone-tary policy for the export-oriented industries and requested him to come up with a direct or an indirect direction in the next budget to spur investment.

The association, however, welcomed the � nance minister for coming up with an extensive budget for the � scal year 2016-17.

Besides, it welcomed the � nance minister for keeping Tk4,500 crore as incentive for export-oriented

industries, continuation of conces-sional duty rate for capital machin-ery import, special tax package on import of pre-fabricated building material and � re safety material, for ensuring signi� cant allocation for human resource development, and plan to introduce pension scheme for the private sector. 

It also greeted the minister for putting emphasis on electricity, energy and overall communication infrastructure along with signi� -cant funds for 10 mega projects. l

Menon: Aviation University in the o� ngn Ishtiaq Husain

The government has taken up an initiative to establish an “Aviation University” in the country to ful� l manpower requirement in aviation sector.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Min-ister Rashed Khan Menon came up with the disclosure while ad-dressing a seminar titled “Role and Impact of Aviation Sector on Visit Bangladesh 2016” at a city hotel yesterday.

Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) and Travel Magazine “VROMON” jointly organised the seminar.

The seminar was addressed, among others, by former Bangla-desh Bank governor Mohammed Farashuddin, Controller General of Bangladesh Masud Hossain, Malay-sia-Bangladesh Chamber of Industry President Nasir A Chowdhury, Ad-ditional Secretary of Aviation Min-istry Ra� quzzaman, Tourism Board CEO Akhter-Uzzaman Khan Kabir, Board of Trustee Chairman (Da� o-dil University) Sabur Khan. Novoair Managing Director Mo� zur Rahman presented a key-note paper.

Speaking as chief guest, Menon said: “Periphery of aviation sector is increasing day by day as the in-dustry is recognised an important sector in the world. As we don’t have much trained people in this sector, the government has under-taken a move to set up an Aviation University in the country.

“Aviation industry plays a vital role in � ourishing the tourism in-dustry as most of the foreign tour-ists enter into a country through airports. So, we will have to give more emphasis on this sector, so the foreign tourists can treat our country positively,” said Menon.

“Bangladesh has a total of 15 airports, out of which, only seven airports are functional. If the gov-ernment take proper decision to make all the airports functional, it will bring a positive impact on the country’s overall economic activi-ties,” speakers told the seminar. l

Minister for delivering ECR machines in installmentn Tribune Business Report

Liberation War A� airs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque has urged the government to provide Elec-tronic Cash Register (ECR) ma-chines for the traders, who are not able to pay the machine price instantly, through installments for the e� ective use of the mechanism across the country.

Many foreign countries collect Value Added Tax (VAT) on sales through ECR machines but these machines are very few in Bangla-desh, said the minister while ad-dressing a seminar on new Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act 2012 held at IDEB Bhaban in the city yesterday.

In this regard, citing an example, he further said: “Only 5 to 10 shops in Gazipur uses the ECR machines.”

Addressing the seminar, as chief guest, the minister said: “If the mechanism can be used properly, it can help the government earn higher amount of revenues.”

Customs, Excise and VAT Com-missionerate, Dhaka (South) or-ganised the seminar to aware the stakeholders about the new act.

The minister called upon the government and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to take an imita-tive for providing the machines to the traders through installments to make the system e� ective and mandatory across the country.

While unveiling budget for the � scal year 2016-17 in parliament on Thursday last, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said: “The govern-ment will collect the ECR and Point of Sales (POS) machines by itself and will deliver them to the companies.”

He also proposed the govern-ment to amend the existing rules and orders to make it mandatory for all the super resorts, hotels and companies to use the ECR and POS.

In July 2009, NBR made it man-datory for 11 types of business to in-stall and use ECR and POS software to boost VAT collection. The busi-ness entities include hotels, restau-

rants, sweetmeat shops, furniture outlets, beauty parlours, communi-ty centres, all shops located at the mega malls in the metropolis, de-partmental stores, general stores, big and medium-size wholesalers and retailers and jewellers.

The new VAT law, which will fully come into e� ect from July 2017, will make it compulsory to use ECR ma-chine in shops and other businesses.

According to an NBR estimate, there are now 11,005 shops under the categories. Of them, a number of 8,559 were selected for ECR installa-tion, but so far only 2,970 machines have been installed in the country.

The NBR is now working to con-nect its server system with the ECR machines to get real time record of the machines to get the actual amount of VAT collected by busi-ness entities from their customers.

According to the plan, NBR will install a chip in each ECR which will be connected with the IVAS server. Thus the NBR o� cials will be able to cross check the transac-

tion records any time they want.By doing so, the revenue authority

is expected to get the actual amount of VAT as no traders will be able to alter the records due to that system.

Mozammel Haque also called upon the government to come with special tax incentive packages to encourage industrialisation in backward and undeveloped areas of the country.

In this regard, he said: “Old busi-nesses are enjoying many facilities including proper connection of gas and electricity that helps them do business in low costs. On the other hand, the new entrepreneurs are to spend more to manufacture their products due to lack of availability of utility connections.”

Presiding over the seminar, NBR Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman said: “There will be no complexity in the VAT payment and collection when the new law will come into e� ect as it will ensure hassle-free and fear-free atmosphere for busi-nesses and industrialists.” l

Shah Cement celebrates houseful o� ern Tribune Business Desk

The country’s leading cement Brand, Shah Cement, on Friday hosted a gala day in Hotel Le Me-ridian in the capital to celebrate its houseful o� er.

The celebration came following a four-month campaign o� er peri-od from January to April.

Shah Cement gave away scratch cards each to its clients for buying every hundred bag cement during the campaign period.

The scratch card was worth a wide range of gifts, i.e. smart-phone, Tab, Laptop, refrigerator, motorbike and car.

Mr Naushad Karim Chowdhury, Shah Cement brand director, hand-ed over the keys to the car and mo-torbike winners.

Toyota-Allion was the mega gift among the company’s houseful of-fer.

Deputy General Manager Md

Helal Uddin, Assistant General Manager (Finance) Mr Kazi Asi-fIqbal, Senior Manager (Finance) Mr NahidUllah, Brand Manager Mr Ibrahim Khalil, Sales Manager Mr

Shahinur Alam Shahin and other senior o� cials, distributors and dealers of the company were pres-ent at the celebration event.

The musical performance by the

country’s famous singers Kumar Biswajit and Konal stole the show.

Shah Cement has recently been recognised among the very best ce-ment in ASIA. l

Shah Cement o� cials at a prize-giving ceremony held on the sidelines of a gala party in Le Meridian hotel in the capital on Friday COURTESY

Business14DT

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

CORPORATE NEWS

Rajshahi branch of National Bank Limited has recently arranged a loan distributing programme in Rajshahi, said a press release. The bank’s managing director, AFM Shariful Islam was present at the programme

Standard Bank Limited has recently celebrated its 17th founding anniversary at a hotel in Dhaka, said a press release. The bank’s chairperson, Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed inaugurated agent-banking service of the bank at the programme

Standard Chartered Bank and MasterCard Bangladesh have recently launched the � rst automatic cash back credit card in Bangladesh, said a press release. The bank’s CEO, Abrar A Anwar was present at the launching ceremony of Titanium credit card

Business 15D

TSUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

Stock markets pass the week cautiouslyn Tribune Business Desk

Stock markets passed the week with cautious trading taking cues from the new budget proposed in the parlia-ment on Thursday afternoon.

During the past week, the benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange DSE gained 58 points or 1.4% to 4,446, after pro� t booking decline in pre-vious week.

The blue-chip comprising index DS30 rose 53 points or 3.2% to 1,761. The DSE Shariah Index DSES was up 20 points or almost 1% to 1,097.

The Chittagong Stock Ex-change Selective Category Index CSCX closed at 8,329, rising 104 points or 1.3%.

The national budget pro-posed by Finance Minister AMA Muhith has nothing un-usual message for the stock market.

Risk-averse investors were cautious throughout the week while some bargain hunters took position during the past week.

The market observed rising activities last week, coupled with sector and issue speci� c movements, as expectations for budgetary incentives came into play, said IDLC Invest-ments.

The market broke the spell in the � nal session of the week, as indices strode for-ward with surging participa-

tion, it said. Stocks-wise movement was

strong as some issues attract-ed considerable turnover and o� ered substantial gain.

Among the major sectors, cement, food and allied, pow-er, engineering and telecom-munications increased by 8%, 2%, 2%, 1.5% and 1% respec-tively, while non-banking � -nancial institutions and bank sectors decreased marginally.

Lanka Bangla Securities said the prime index made sig-ni� cant move last week amid increased market volatility as budget gripped the investors mind throughout the week.

The daily average turno-ver stood at Tk434 crore, up over 16.6% over the previous week’s average of Tk372 crore during the week.

Power, pharmaceuticals and engineering sectors dom-inated the trading throughout the week as they together ac-counted for 46% of the week’s total turnover.

Gainers took a modest lead over the losers as out of 326 issues traded, 170 closed high-er, 131 ended lower and 25 re-mained unchanged on the DSE during the week.

Lafarge Surma Cement was the week’s top turnover leader with shares worth Tk128 crore changed hands, followed by Titas Gas, Shahjibazar Power Company, United Airways and United Power. l

Global oil giants seek inroads into India’s retail fuel marketn Reuters, New Delhi

Global oil majors including Saudi Aramco and Total plan to tap the retail fuel market in India, its oil minister said on Friday, re� ecting the expand-ing role of the world’s fast-est-growing large economy on the global crude landscape.

India’s fuel markets could be a lucrative prize for the world’s oil majors as they seek outlets for their gasoline and diesel. India posted the fast-est oil demand growth in the world in the � rst quarter of 2016 and is replacing China as the driver of growth glob-ally, the International Energy Agency said in its latest report.

“Saudi Aramco is eager to enter in Indian market,

we are � nding ways to help them,” Oil Minister Dharmen-dra Pradhan said in Hindi in a live telecast on a government website.

India, the world’s fourth-biggest oil consumer, recently o� ered Saudi Aramco a stake in re� neries and petro-chemical projects.

Saudi Aramco wants to ex-pand globally and is looking at potential joint ventures in sev-eral countries, including Indo-nesia, India, the United States, Vietnam and China, chief ex-ecutive Amin Nasser told Reu-ters in an interview in May.

Fuel marketing in India has turned pro� table after the government ended dec-ades-old control over the retail prices of gasoline and diesel. l

Reverting backBefore my father passed away, I wanted to study the arts and become an artist. I loved it – to be able to make something beautiful from what I saw around me.

However, life had something di� erent planned for me, and before I knew it, I was a son without a father. It took an e� ort but I was able to integrate my passion for art into my drive to make a positive change.

Business, in today’s world, demands to be creative; to be unique. In that sense, somewhere along the line, I became a di� erent form of artist.

Family and supportMy mother and elder brother were always supportive of my initiatives. They encouraged my leaps of faith but as simple as it sounds, it never is as easy to leave your friends and family behind, miles away. When it’s all for the greater cause, I guess the struggle is automatically justi� ed, right?

Bumps and cracksWhen I came to Bangladesh, I personally faced the immediate

challenge in cultural di� erences and tra� c deadlocks.

In addition, severe challenges arose when starting our business in Bangladesh due to the lengthy and time consuming documentation process.

Then came the issue of combining the right team. Bangladeshi job seekers are not exactly tech savvy to the Japanese de� nition. People here use the Internet mostly for sur� ng, Facebook and YouTube.

There aren’t many e� cient logistics support either. Moreover, lack of local and international payment gateway systems held us back. Local transactions are still manageable due to mobile money services like Bkash. But when it came to international transactions, the task was excruciating in Bangladesh.

Company tickboxesBIT Makers Ltd’s plan is to ful� ll the needs of the untapped IT market in Bangladesh. Our company is coming up with innovative IT based products; for instance, specialised job portals like “Tech Monsters” for the IT sector, “Kajer Khoje” for Blue Collar employment opportunities and � nally, “First Jobs” for fresh graduates to � nd immediate work. A wedding portal named Biye Bari is also in the pipeline, which shall serve as a one-stop-shop for all marriage related needs.

We seek fresh opportunities for more IT related services and hope to become leading IT company in the Bangladeshi market.

The goal? To become the number one IT service provider in the respective sectors we head into.

Secrets of survivalIn short, co� ee and biryani. I just can’t resist!

Words of wisdomYour dreams are your heart telling you what you need to � ght for. Listen to it. l

n Rad Sharar Bin Kamal

Sorane Fukuda is introduced as the founder and CEO of BIT Makers Ltd, an IT service provider in Dhaka. His entrepreneurial journey is a one worth mentioning, trailing from Japan to Dhaka in just six years.

Today, Fukuda speaks on how the path of success will inevitably be turbulent, and how sheer persistence and passion can pull success towards you.

The seedBefore I came to Bangladesh, I worked at an advertising agency based in Japan, as a digital producer, as well as accounts executive. It was an interesting job and I really loved it, but something inside me really wanted to make a bigger impact. I wanted to have a � rm that I could call my own. I think that passion may be tracked

back to my father, who was an entrepreneur as well.

The beginningWhen I was a university student, I frequently visited India for research projects. I gained a general perspective on the culture, lifestyle and economy of Bangladesh through that, as it may be deemed similar.

I wished to concentrate on South East Asian countries for my ventures after my visits. I was hungry for opportunities, and eventually ended up creating a company specialising in donation tracking systems with a friend of mine.

The opportunityMy drive seemed to only grow from there. I looked towards Bangladesh after RE.A.PRA Group, a Japanese start-up building company, reached out to me.

To me, Bangladesh is di� erent in every meaning. The people here are truly kind, the country is exquisite in beauty and nature, the food is irresistible, and all that together, makes it a wonderful country full of opportunities.

RE.A.PRA Group saw Bangladesh in the same light as I did, and our ideologies matched instantly. We saw a population with the potential to revolutionise the country’s IT infrastructure, one which is a decade behind Japan with regard to digital market innovation.

I felt a need to parry that, and everything seemed to put itself into place from there. By taking up that responsibility to establish a thriving IT initiative in Bangladesh, BIT Makers Ltd began to form on November 11, 2015.

BIT Makers is an IT service provider, one which aims to lead the category in Bangladesh.

16DT

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016Career

The humble artist

Bangladesh is di� erent in every meaning. The people here are truly kind, the country is exquisite in beauty and nature, the food is irresistible and all that together, makes it a wonderful country full of opportunities

About BIT Makers Ltd’s services:

First JobsThis is an online job portal and the ultimate platform for the fresh graduate students who have just completed their education and are looking for an entry level jobs.

This platform will help them initiate their corporate journey, with the best opportunities available. On the other hand. organisations can also � nd their potential candidates by posting job o� ers on the portal.

Tech MonstersThis is an online job portal dedicated

to IT developers. Techmonsters.com will allow IT engineers and developers to make their skills click to their best advantage.

The platform will also allow employers to circulate job vacancies. Individual freelancers also can apply for the contractual or permanent jobs.

Kajer KhojeThis is an online job portal for the common job seeker to look for employment. The portal will advertise and promote blue-collar jobs exclusively.

With the aim to reduce the information gap and empower the mass, kajerkhoje.com aims to bring the right skills to satisfy the right need.

Biye BariThis is an online curation media focused on the wedding market of Bangladesh. The wedding portal will act as a single go-to destination for all celebratory needs.

The site shall also provide important and interesting articles on various issues and news of the Bangladeshi wedding scenario over time.

Story of a Japanese entrepreneur taking the necessary steps to make Bangladesh leap forward

n Mustafi zur Rahman Khan

As college students, when applying for internship to enrich working experiences, you often opt for big companies that you have heard about and dreamt of. However, what we don’t know is that there are lots of hidden advantages when you are working at a startup company.

Nowadays, landing a part time job or an internship at a startup has become quite easy, given how the startup scene is sprouting with new names every day. Startup internships are said to be notorious for being underpaid or involving unpaid voluntary work. That is why many have a negative predetermined notions about working in startups.

That is not and has never actually been the case. While looking for opportunities, startups will be happy to o� er you a position as a paid intern (that is, if you are quali� ed and make the cut). In fact, if you have performed well enough by the end of the internship you might just get a recommendation guaranteed to have a job waiting when you graduate. Here, we are going to talk about the bene� ts of completing an internship at a startup and debunk those negative views.

Your performance will always automatically be evaluated or seenIn some big � rms, it is not only hard to get noticed but sometimes, your e� orts and contributions tend to be unnoticed. Whereas,

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SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016Feature

Advantages of being a startup intern

This article has been reprinted under a special arrangement with SD Asia.

Whereas in a startup, you will be updated with more interactive meetings, where even the top level managers will be willing to hear your pitch about your absurd idea or suggestions

in startups, all your e� orts count. What’s more, whatever you do, your performance is visible.

So in a way, your performance, if not constantly curated, will always shine through one way or the other. Thus, it will make you more conscious and aware of your responsibilities. This will eventually help to build up your con� dence in work places.

It helps you to explore your talents across a wider spectrumCollege can be a confusing time. Even if you’re still unsure as to which speci� c sector you want to work in, an internship at a startup will be your perfect opportunity to � gure it out.

Now, in my experience, I have heard many complain about how at a startup they hand you tasks from other departments. Working at a startup can be more challenging than working at a stable big � rm but it also helps you to be more versatile simultaneously.

By the time you are done with your internship, you can � aunt that resume with experiences in not only a single line of work, but a whole range of skills.

You will have more knowledge about the internal framework of the companyYou’ll have hands-on experience,

as the projects that you may be taking on in a startup will have a direct impact on the � rm’s image and e� ciency. On the contrary, your e� orts will be a fraction of all the work put in by many other employees in a large company. Hence, you get limited exposure in big � rms than in startups.

Besides, you will gain more knowledge about the other departments. Whether it be through quick team meetings, overhearing a conversation between two programmers at the engineering department in the elevator or going to lunch with the marketing team, there’s no stop to the information you will be absorbing from di� erent sectors.

As an intern, many do not even get the word on what a large company is planning to do or about its next move, leading to greater chances for you slugging behind. Whereas in a startup, you will be updated with more interactive meetings, where even the top level managers will be willing to hear your pitch about your absurd idea or suggestions.

Startups are always on the verge of becoming the next big thingSo what if you did not work at a big shot � rm but instead at a startup? These days, startups have become bigger names than some companies that have been around

for years. You might just end up working for a startup that will possibly take the market by storm.

Even if it is not the case, worry not, for you will be receiving experience and knowledge. Top that with a rocking recommendation and you are all set for your big plans after graduation!

Furthermore, in the future, the ones you have worked with in a startup may go on to do di� erent and big things. That will always come in handy to expand your network in your speci� c sector of profession.

The work environment will always be a more tight-knitIt’s obvious that a working in a

startup will be more like working with a family. You will always have a direct contact with the heads of di� erent departments. However, working at a large � rm with experienced team members can be a daunting experience, and may hinder you to present your true talents.

In startups, you can further explore your realms of talents and know your capabilities more in a comfortable manner, thus giving you a better experience. That also opens up the opportunities of receiving feedback about your performances. Why? You can learn more by asking for guidance, assistance and by self-learning as your performance is up to you. l

18DT

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016Feature

n Mahmood Sadi

After the much talked about cyber heist in Central Bank this year, the entire commercial banking sector of Bangladesh has been put under a scanner to seal o� every security leak. Many banks have already began consulting with world- leading cybersecurity providers.

Dr Vilius Benetis is a senior consultant, focusing on securing digital environment and capabilities development for organisations, via changing behavior and automation. With 20 years of experience in the sector, Benetis promotes critical security controls for e� ective cyber defense to IT � rms.

He is currently working with the Bangladesh Government for the implementation of National Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT) and development of information security policies in Bangladesh. Dhaka Tribune recently sat with the expert, and talked about to what extent cybersecurity issues really matter.

What do you think is the condition of cybersecurity in the � nancial and banking sectors in Bangladesh? What are the major threats?The only way for the � nancial sector to be e� cient and reliable in the world, and in Bangladesh,

is to be highly automated. That includes the automation of client services and internal operations. Automation is implementing through digitisation, and the usage of digital services saves time for the customers, helps elevate the economy, reduce physical dangers to people as well as organisations.

At the same time, digitisation is changing the threat and crime models. Instead of physical attacks on banks and armed heists, criminals are bene� ting from cyber attacks.

This change has to be comprehended by banks and their clients, and it should come hand-in-hand with new skills and knowledge on how to protect themselves.

The biggest risk for � nancial institutions and their clients is the lack of knowledge on these new threats - what their methodologies are, what technology they use, and what cyber-hygiene they follow.

What is your current assignment in Bangladesh?The objective of the assignment is to establish the Government of Bangladesh’s information security program, as well as set program goals and priorities to support the government’s mission. It will also provide resources to set up a national Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT) to facilitate

and support the program. The assignment has multiple

components, including the drafting of policies, regulations, standards and guidelines. It will also propose a structure for the CIRT that is technically, � nancially, and operationally sustainable; provide trainings for the CIRT personnel; and lastly, assist the CIRT to establish relationships with other international/regional CIRTs.

 What is CERT? Are there any di� erences between CSIRT and CERT?CERT/CSIRT/CIRT are synonyms, with some minor, mostly irrelevant, di� erences. These teams have a particular processes, communities, cooperation models, and trust in the community.

CIRTs can be national/sectorial/company wide, depending on the need and setup. NRD CS have commercial CIRT, which helps organisations to set up own CIRTs and securely handle cybersecurity incidents on their behalf.

  Is this cybersecurity solution to banking industry expensive? What options are present?Cybersecurity costs must be adequate to the value of the protected assets. Due to more assets moving to the digital world, more investment is required. What is not so obvious is that hygiene is not expensive at all due to numerous tools which exist (both commercial and open source). What costs most is the setup of appropriate processes and build required human skills.

 You mentioned a few issues in our Digital Security Act, for instance,

provision of a national Internet security o� cer. Why do we need that position?

We were not commenting on the Digital Security Act, as it is in a draft form and still being discussed. Yesterday, we were not talking about the Digital Security Act.

 Does the � nancial sector need a CIRT to monitor transactions?Organisations in the � nancial sector should start from building their own capability (Cybersecurity Incident Response Teams - CIRT/SOC), adjust processes, and then cooperate in organised manner with other national and regional CIRT teams to achieve the security of their assets and clients.

Additionally, organisations should focus on cybersecurity hygiene - adopting and implementing practical frameworks like CIS Security Controls (https://www.cisecurity.org/critical-controls.cfm), which already bene� tted many organisations around the world. This would allow them to be better suited with sectorial regulation as PCI DSS.

 How can you trace breaches that have been made in the system?We empower � nancial organisations to be able to secure and monitor their IT and banking systems, detect incidents and respond appropriately in order to reduce losses.

It is done by the means of creating internal CIRTs – teams of incident handlers, who work according to speci� c process.l

‘Digitisation is changing the threat and crime models’

The biggest risk for � nancial institutions and their clients is the lack of knowledge on these new threats

Dr Vilius Benetis

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SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016Biz Info

| agreement |

| food |

| o� er |

A six-member German team on a fact � nding mission for the new GIZ project, entitled Bangladesh German Higher Education Network for Sustainable Textile visited BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT) on May 29.

The purpose of the visit was to � nd out the areas of education and collaborative research between German higher education institutions, BUFT and GIZ. Faruque Hassan, senior vice president of BGMEA and member of the Board of Trustees, BUFT,

gave a warm welcome and discussed the overall activities of BUFT. There was a fruitful discussion between the two parties who decided to work together for the development of RMG, fashion and textile education of Bangladesh. l

GIZ project team visits BUFT Iftar delights at Sonargaon

Pan Paci� c Sonargaon Dhaka, a premier destination for food lovers, is o� ering a truly unique iftar experience to celebrate this year’s holy month of Ramadan.

Enjoy a sumptuous feast with friends and family as the hotel’s culinary team prepares a traditional Ramadan iftar bu� et at its Café Bazar Restaurant. The Ramadan bu� et will feature some of the most unique dishes from countries along the Paci� c Rim. When celebrating Ramadan in countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, millions of Muslims spend the daylight hours avoiding food awaiting an iftar that is not only tasty and hearty, but also recipes that warms the soul and rewards the assiduous Muslim after his day of sacri� ce. Bangladeshis here are no di� erent in this aspect. And so, this gave the inception of uniting iftar culinary dishes from the Paci� c region to our local traditional Bangladeshi pleasures at Pan Paci� c Sonargaon hotel.

With a selection of several menus to choose from, including the lip-smacking traditional halim and jilapi, rest assured the guests will � nd something to suit their palette. All menus feature a selection of traditional

curries, porridges, roasts, and rice cakes in endless varieties, along with a few innovations. Main dishes on o� er include a variety of succulent meat dishes, including the famous Malaysian beef rendang, chicken cooked in coconut milk known as Opor Ayam from the hills of Indonesia, traditional Thai chicken satay and the renowned Vietnamese aromatic lamb chops. The menus also come with a delightful culmination of mouthwatering desserts, bringing a healthy and nourishing end to your Iftar with some delicious glutinous rice cakes known as Pulut Intl Kelapa from the outskirts of Malaysia. Also, do not forget to taste the highlight of this year’s iftar at Café Bazar - the delectable Phuket chicken biriyani.

Besides the heavy-on-calorie dishes that are ought to be the apex of this year’s iftar outing at the hotel, the chef’s team has also kept in mind the healthy diet of the worrywarts in Dhaka who are very conscious about their health. For them, there is the Thai turkey salad, Malay baked spinach patties, Indonesian fried corn fritters and world famous Vietnamese noodle soup, Pho. l

The Co� ee Bean & Tea Leaf launched its � agship store in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded in 1963 by Herbert Hyman in California, USA, The Co� ee Bean & Tea Leaf is one of the largest privately-owned, family-run co� ee and tea companies in the world. This is their 1029th store in the world.

Known for sourcing and providing the � nest ingredients and � avours, the brand has built relationships with the best private co� ee farms and tea estates around the world, selecting only the top 1% Arabica beans and � nest hand plucked, whole leaf teas.

Co� ee Bean has a lighter roasting touch, which di� erentiates it from Starbucks and some of the other chains. The company’s house blend, for example, falls into a light-to-

medium-roast category. They have a very classic and welcoming interior but great decor isn’t really what makes it a must-visit. Their Chicago cheesecake is also worth a mention. l

The Co� ee Bean & Tea Leaf in Dhaka

TODAY

“If I get kicked out of America, I have another home,” said Muhammad Ali, upon receiving an honorary Bangladeshi citizenship when he was visiting the country in 1978, where he was greeted by 2 million fans at Dhaka Airport.

The only three-time lineal world heavyweight champion in the world, Muhammad Ali, aged 74, fought for his � nal breath on Friday. He was su� ering from a respiratory illness complicated by Parkinson’s, a battle he had been tackling for 32 years.

Even till the end, Ali did not shy away from being bold in his views as he recently criticised Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering America.

His gift of witful gab got him the name of “Louisville Lip” early in his career, as he often bragged his own talents in verse and his provocative words often stirred controversy. He claimed that the hype was part of his job, like skipping rope.

He was reputed to have thrown an Olympic gold medal he won into a river, acting out against American racism as he was refused services at a soda fountain.

Even if this tale was apocryphal, his courage and outspokenness in the � ght against racism and bigotry were not.

In 1967, Ali refused to � ght in the Vietnam War, even after being drafted. He pointed out the hypocrisy of the American administration in denying rights to black people even as they were ordered to � ght in the war.

He was stripped of his title and banned from boxing for his convictions.Muhammad Ali was not just a boxing champion and a � ghter in the ring,

he was a testament to the � ghting spirit that inspired hope and con� dence for many around the world to stand up against oppression.

By his own estimation, he was one of the greatest athletes of our time. No doubt, the world agrees, and will miss him dearly.

Ali was not just a boxing champion and a � ghter in the ring, he was a testament to the � ghting spirit that inspired hope and con� dence for many around the world to stand up against oppression

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Should we be worried about the size?Our growth rate has accelerated in the post-2008 period when the global � nancial crisis took the world market by surprise. This is a noteworthy achievement

The � nal � ght

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REUTERS

EditorialSUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

DT 20

It’s time to go wild for lifeWithout Royal Bengal Tigers, the forest will be less dangerous, and thus safer for wildlife poachers, illegal trading, honey collecting, � shing, and forest-cutting

Opinion 21D

TSUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

n Md Mahfuzul Haque

The 2030 agenda for UN’s Sustainable Development Goals is to achieve economic, social, and

environmental sustainability in a balanced and integrated manner.

To achieve this goal, the world community is determined to protect the planet from degradation through sustainable consumption, production of natural resources, and urgent action on climate change.

However, the UN long ago acknowledged the contribution of biodiversity and ecosystem in providing goods and services which accounts for at least 40% of the world’s economy and 80% of the needs of the poor, and are almost free.

To create awareness on environmental issues, each year UN celebrates World Environment Day based on a certain theme.

This year, the theme is “Go Wild for Life” and the host of the event is Angola because of its imminent threat of illegal trading of ivory, rhinoceros horns, and dwindling biodiversity.

Likewise, the Bangladesh government, along with its development partners, are also celebrating the day.

As a developing nation, the country’s economy has its deepest roots in its natural resources in some form.

Increased wildlife poaching and unplanned development are eroding its precious biodiversity and natural heritage, and are driving some species to the brink of extinction.

Unfortunately, the contribution

of biodiversity and ecosystem is neglected in development planning.

For example, the Sundarbans -- the nation’s largest mangrove forest -- helps in reducing poverty for the 2-3 million people living in the impact zone by expanding economic opportunities.

The mangrove forest stores about 615.5391 million mg carbon and acts as a regulator for greenhouse gases. It also acts as a deterrent to tropical cyclones and storm, and saves assets worth millions of dollars.

But this monetary value and its contribution are being ignored in our economy.

I argue about the monetary value because the Vietnam government has assessed that planting and protecting 12,000 hectares of mangrove costs just over a million dollars, but it also saves annual expenditures on dike maintenance of well over $7 million dollars.

However, Bangladesh does not have a comprehensive assessment on the contribution of the Sundarbans to our economy, including the savings it makes during cyclones by protecting vulnerable communities.

The iconic Royal Bengal Tiger, the jewel of the mangrove, is

su� ering from habitat loss and falling in numbers due to the decline of its prey. IPCC also predicts that the tiger population in the Sundarbans could disappear by the end of this century due to rise in the sea level caused by climate change.

The tiger census conducted

by the Forest Department of Bangladesh has found 440 tigers in 2004, while the last census in 2015 o� cially found that the number is only 106 in Bangladesh territory.

Honey collectors in the Sundarbans say the wilder the Sundarbans, the higher the ecosystem services. They also predict that if there are no Royal Bengal Tigers in the Sundarbans, ultimately, there will be no Sundarbans, period.

Without Royal Bengal Tigers, the forest will be less dangerous, and thus safer for wildlife poachers, illegal trading, honey collecting, � shing, and forest-cutting.

When the mangrove forest has a great potential to � ght climate change, initiatives launched by the government and development partners are not su� cient in protecting wildlife.

In the last � ve years, the Bangladesh government has invested Tk3,000 crore ($390m)

through 369 projects initiated by the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund. But none of the projects has exclusively focused on wildlife preservation in the Sundarbans except a small project that seeks to induct the Sundarbans as a new wonder of nature.

However, this project has no direct value for the conservation of the Sundarbans. In fact, the government has approved environmentally sensitive development projects like the construction of a coal-based power plant near the Sundarbans and has authorised commercial ships to navigate the rivers within the forest.

All these activities are threatening noise and water pollution, which will adversely a� ect Irrawaddy dolphins and other species, and can be attributed to “counter climate � nancing” initiatives for this world heritage site.

However, development partners and donors are also doing their bid to conserve the ecosystem and raise awareness to protect its endangered species.

Climate funds like Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund and Pilot Program for Climate Resilience have also ignored the

issue of conservation of wildlife to combat climate change.

Although Global Environmental Facility has implemented certain projects, it has also canceled a project which was exclusively focused on biodiversity conservation concerning the Sundarbans.

Recently, GEF has decided to set up a new trust fund to implement the Paris Agreement to build country-level adaptation and mitigation capacities by providing, initially, $50m through GEF agencies.

As both opportunity and the need for adaptation � nance exists, the government should create more pressure on development partners to provide adaptation � nance for biodiversity conservation.

Because, if this mangrove and its unique species cease to exist, there will be no place for the wild to go to.

The government needs to ensure stronger and more transparent policies for the correct utilisation and implementation of projects by integrating poverty, climate vulnerability, and sustainability issues to access ecosystem services.

So, this year’s theme of World Environment Day 2016 matters to us more than any other nation, to ensure environmental integration, economic development, and better adaptive capacity to face the pressing challenges of climate change. l

Md Mahfuzul Haque is Program Manager, Climate Finance Governance, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).

Let’s not let these beautiful creatures go extinct SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Without Royal Bengal Tigers, the forest will be less dangerous, and thus safer for wildlife poachers, illegal trading, honey collecting, � shing, and forest-cutting

The economic contribution of the Sundarbans to the nation is incalculable

It’s time to go wild for life

Opinion22DT

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

n Ashikur Rahman

Every year, the shape and size of the national budget in any country raise imperative questions

concerning the economic opportunities it will create, the challenges it might face, and the socio-economic vision it will support.

Thus, the strong public discourse in Bangladesh on the expected nature of the current national budget for FY17 is, by and large, a healthy and useful development.

Most importantly, a vibrant public scrutiny allows policy-makers to � ne-tune its resource mobilisation mechanisms and expenditure decisions by balancing competing needs, so that the overall exercise achieves both productive and allocative e� ciency.

In the context of Bangladesh, however, one aspect of this public discourse -- ie whether the budget size is too ambitious or not -- is, I believe, somewhat misguided.

While it is true that most discussions on the national budget have rightly focused on the need to improve the capacity of the government to implement its objective e� ectively, the size of the budget has rarely received an adequate comparative analysis.

This, I believe, is essential if we have to understand where Bangladesh is and the kind of socio-economic character it can and should aim to achieve.

First, let us agree that no acceptable evaluation of the budget size is possible without scrutinising the relation the

market and the state will have with each other in any country.

In other words, does Bangladesh aspire to be a country where neo-liberal principles are dominant and market-led mechanisms play a fundamental role in allocating resources?

Or, will Bangladesh aim to create a dynamic social welfare

state where equal opportunities are available for everyone? Of course, some mistakenly believe that this decision only has implications for allocation -- ie the share of total expenditure that is dedicated for social sectors like health care, education, public housing, etc.

But as I will point out, the socio-economic opportunities that a state aims to create also have consequences for the budget size itself.

For countries where policy-makers have invested in a market mechanism so that it can play a fundamental role in shaping economic outcomes, like the US, the size of the budget has typically been around 25% of GDP.

On the other hand, countries where its respective political leadership has opted for a social welfare state, especially

Scandinavian countries in Europe and others like Germany, France and the UK, the budget size has been approximately 35% of GDP or more.

Even a country like India, which is far from settling whether it wants to carry on operating on neo-liberal economic principles or whether it will opt for creating a welfare state entertains a budget outlay that is nearly 25% of GDP.

Consequently, the size of the national budget in Bangladesh, which typically hovers around 15% of GDP, does not merit a discussion on.

In fact, as indicated in Figure 1, we have performed unfavourably in increasing our budget size as a share of GDP if we compare to countries like India or Malaysia.

Hence, the only option for policy-makers in Bangladesh is to be ambitious and continue to

The present agenda is an ambitious agenda, but not a meaningless one

Should we be worried about the size?

Our growth rate has accelerated in the post-2008 period when the global � nancial crisis took the world market by surprise. This is a noteworthy achievement

The goals are big, but we have to plan right BIGSTOCK

23D

TSUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

concentrate e� orts to enhance the size of our tax base so that we can mobilise resources for � nancing our infrastructure needs and investments in human capital.

In recent times, however, Bangladesh has achieved tremendous results in increasing the absolute size of its national budget as of FY10.

When the current government assumed o� ce in early 2009, it started implementing its Vision 2020 manifesto with approximately Tk90,000 crore for FY10. In the last � scal year, the original budget aimed for achieving Tk295,000cr, but the revised budget stood at approximately Tk264,000cr.

This re� ects a threefold increase approximately against the earlier budget size of FY10.

In the upcoming � nancial year, the budget size is expected to be

Tk340,605crore, which marks a growth of 30% in total outlay. Moreover, if this milestone is achieved, then our budget size will reach 17.4% of GDP.

As pointed out in the Seventh Five Year Plan, budget size is targeted to reach 18.5% of GDP by FY17 and 21.1% of GDP by FY20 (Figure 2).

Hence, the Tk31,000cr revenue shortfall in the current � scal year probably explains why policy-makers have lowered their target from 18.5% (as originally targeted in the Seventh Five Year Plan) to 17.4%. On the whole, this ambitious resource mobilisation endeavour needs to be backed by well-thought-out actions.

This is particularly crucial because the size of the budget fundamentally shapes the state’s capability to pay attention to the

economic needs of our social sector and the type of investments on infrastructure we can undertake, which will determine our economic growth prospects.

Bangladesh has already de� ed expectations in achieving growth rates that makes it stand out with few other countries in the current global economic context.

In fact, since 1990, we have maintained an economic growth rate above the world growth rate (Figure 3).

An even more remarkable land-mark is that our growth rate has accelerated in the post-2008 period when the global � nancial crisis took the world market by surprise.

This is a noteworthy achievement, and it deserves sincere re� ection, especially at a

time when the dominant public discourse in Bangladesh is mainly focussed on the “glass half-empty narrative.”

Furthermore, if we have to achieve a growth target of 8% and reduce poverty to under 20% by 2020, as embodied in the Seventh Five Year Plan (Figure 4), there is no alternative to increasing the size of the state in our country.

Hence, the present ambitious agenda is not necessarily a mean-ingless agenda for Bangladesh, and I hope policy-makers will design e� ective measures to realise such an agenda. l

Ashikur Rahman is Senior Economist, Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI), and Member Secretary, Bangladesh Economists’ Forum (BEF).

Opinion

24DT Sport

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

HIGHLIGHTS OF MUHAMMAD ALI’S RING RECORDDATE OPPONENT RESULT TOURNAMENTOct 29 1960 Tunney Hunsaker Won 6th rd Pro debut Feb 25 1964 Sonny Liston TKO 7th World championship May 25 1965 Sonny Liston KO 1st World championship Nov 22 1965 Floyd Patterson TKO 12th World championship Mar 29 1966 George Chuvalo Won 15 World championshipMay 21 1966 Henry Cooper TKO 6th World championship Aug 6 1966 Brian London KO 3rd World championshipSep 10 1966 Karl Mildenberg TKO 12th World championship Nov 14 1966 Cleveland Williams TKO 3rd World championship Feb 6 1967 Ernie Terrell Won 15 World championship Mar 22 1967 Zora Folley KO 7th World championshipMar 8 1971 Joe Frazier Lost 15 World championship Oct 30 1974 George Foreman KO 8th World championship

Mar 24 1975 Chuck Wepner TKO 15th World championship May 16 1975 Ron Lyle TKO 11th World championship Jul 1 1975 Joe Bugner Won 15 World championship Oct 1 1975 Joe Frazier TKO 14 World championship Feb 20 1976 Jean Pierre Coopman KO 5th World championship Apr 30 1976 Jimmy Young Won 15 World championship May 24 1976 Richard Dunn TKO 5th World championship Sep 28 1976 Ken Norton Won 15 World championship May 16 1977 Alfredo Evangelista Won 15 World championship Sep 29 1977 Earnie Shavers Won 15 World championship Feb 15 1978 Leon Spinks Lost 15 World championship Sep 15 1978 Leon Spinks Won 15 World championship Oct 2 1980 Larry Holmes KO By 11 World championship Dec 11 1981 Trevor Berbick Lost 10 Last pro � ght

Ali, in his own words

“Float like a butter� y, sting like a bee.”

“It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds � y, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.”

“Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up.”

“At home I am a nice guy but I don’t want the world to know. Humble people, I’ve found, don’t get very far.”

“I’ve wrestled with alligators. I’ve tussled with a whale. I done handcu� ed lightning, and throw thunder in jail. You know I’m bad. Just last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick. I’m so mean, I make medicine sick.”

“I’m not the greatest. I’m the double greatest. Not only do I knock ‘em out, I pick the round. I’m the boldest, the prettiest, the most superior, most scienti� c, most skillfullest � ghter in the ring today.”

“I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin’ hell but as long as they ain’t free, I ain’t free.”

“I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong.”

“I may not talk perfect white talk-type English but I give you wisdom.”

“If Ali says a mosquito can pull a plow, don’t ask how. Hitch him up!”

“I’m the onliest person that can speak to everybody in the whole world. My name is known in Serbia, Pakistan, Morocco. These are countries that don’t follow the Kentucky Derby.”

“Sometimes I feel a little sad because I can see how some things I said could upset some people. But I did not deliberately try to hurt anyone. The hype was part of my job, like skipping rope.”

“Now the things that once were so e� ortless - my strong voice and the quickness of my movements - are more di� cult. But I get up every day and try to live life to the fullest because each day is a gift from God.”

When Ali came to BangladeshGiasuddin, boy who ‘knocked out’ Ali, cherishes memoriesn Tribune Report

Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74.

He was su� ering from a respiratory illness, a condition that was complicated by Parkinson’s disease.

The funeral will take place in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, his family said in a statement.

The death of the people’s cham-pion Ali took Bangladesh back to 38 years ago when one of the greatest

athletes of the 20th century visited the country, leaving not only his footprints behind but a “lifetime experience” for some people.

Accompanied by close family members including wife Veronica Porsche, daughter Laila Ali and his parents, the boxing legend landed in Bangladesh, back then in polit-

ical turmoil, on February 19, 1978 for a � ve-day tour. Ali was greeted by millions of his jubilant fans at the airport.

The National Boxing Stadium (Muhammad Ali Boxing Stadium) in Paltan still carries the legend’s name. Ali himself inaugurated the venue and during the occasion

staged a “boxing match” with a certain 12-year old boy named Mo-hammad Giasuddin.

Ali was originally supposed to � ght with Abdul Halim, who was known as “Muhammad Ali of Ben-gal” but he refused to join a real � ght and instead asked for a young-er one for some “fun boxing”. In came Giasuddin.

Cherishing the memory, Giasud-din said, “I could not believe that I would share the same ring with Muhammad Ali but later I prepared quickly to get into the ring.”

He continued, “I saw a scar on his face and he told me not to hit on his face. Although my hand would not reach the well built Ali, I tried hard to punch on his belly and chest. And his lightning speed amazed me. It was the most mem-orable moment of my life and I will never forget the experience.”

A documentary was made � lm-ing his � ve-day stay titled “Mu-hammad Ali Goes East: Bangla-desh, I Love You,” and during his time in Bangladesh, Ali travelled to some remote but beautiful areas of the country, including the Sundar-bans, Sylhet, Rangamati and Cox’s Bazar. He was also awarded a plot of land in the coastal town of Cox’s Bazar.

Ali left behind hundreds of memories in Bangladesh and after witnessing the warm hospitality and the country’s beauty, he had this to say, “If you want to go to heaven, come to Bangladesh,”. He expressed his wish to return to Bangladesh and build a home here.

He has another famous quote regarding Bangladesh - “If I get kicked out of America, I have an-other home.”

He was honoured with the Bangladeshi citizenship, courtesy of a passport. l

IF YOU WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN, COME TO BANGLADESH

This � le photo from 1978 shows legendary boxer Muhammad Ali hoisting the Bangladesh � ag in Dhaka MOHAMMAD LUTFAR RAHMAN BINU

CAREER RECORD

TOTAL FIGHTS

61WINS

56 WINS BY KO

37 LOSSES

5

Sport 25D

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SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

‘Ali was the moral lodestar’Dhaka Tribune Sports (DTS): What is your first memory of Muhammad Ali?Zafar Sobhan (ZS): Actually, just about my very � rst memory in life is sitting with my father and broth-ers at my grandmother’s house and watching the “Thrilla in Manila” on TV. This must have been 1975. It is certainly the � rst vivid one. I remember that they used to cut away to ads in between rounds and when they came back from the ad after the 14th round, the � ght was over! This was because Joe Frazi-er’s trainer had thrown in the tow-el before the 15th round started to save his � ghter from more damage.

DTS: What caught your eye when you first saw him?ZS: We all loved Muhammad Ali. Apart from his preternatural talent as a boxer and a showman, he iden-ti� ed with the people of the Third World and was a spokesperson and lodestar for us. In fact, for years as a child I thought that he was a Bangladeshi and remember how shocked I was when my mother gently informed me that actually he was American!

DTS: Did your father’s boxing background also draw you towards Ali?ZS: My father had been a champion boxer in his schooldays and took his boxing very seriously. So we all did too. We used to watch and fol-low boxing from a very early age, and I even learned how to box very young as well. While other kids were learning world capitals etc my brothers and I knew the names of all the heavyweight boxing champs starting with John L Sullivan. We all followed boxing as obsessively as we did football and cricket, and still do, to a large extent.

DTS: Do you remember anything about his visit to Bangladesh in 1978?ZS: Sadly, we weren’t living in Bangladesh in 1978 and so I only was able to hear about it from my friends and family. I was green

with envy and disappointment. It was only afterwards that I truly un-derstood what a momentous visit it had been and how it had been very much in character for him. It was a wonderful gesture of Third World solidarity and meant and still means a lot to Bangladeshis. People still remember that visit here and talk about it.

DTS: Why do you think he is the greatest? What stood out for you?ZS: He was the greatest. Not only was he a supremely talented boxer but his entire life story was an in-spiration: How he came out of Lou-siville in the deep South and bat-tled racism and prejudice his whole life. How he was a spokesperson for black Americans in their � ght for equal rights and dignity. The abuse he su� ered growing up and early in his career can scarcely be imagined today. The fear he engendered among large swathes of the white

American population and the fer-vour and love he inspired among the black community and around the world. His outspoken refusal to bow down to white supremacy. His embrace of Islam. His commitment to the down-trodden. His fellow feeling for the impoverished and disadvantaged around the world. And of course, the crowning glory of his life: His refusal to � ght in the Vietnam War. His refusal to take part in an unjust war being waged against people of colour. He put his money where his mouth was. He was stripped of his title, banned from boxing, even thrown in jail on trumped-up charges. But he stood by his guns. He did the right thing. What a man.

DTS: What was bigger for you, Ali the boxer, the athlete or the personality?ZS: I think Muhammad Ali tran-scended boxing and transcended

sport. It was his story, his courage, and his outspokenness that made him who he was. We should nev-er forget Ali the boxer. Without question one of the all-time greats. Very possibly the greatest of them all. But he was so much more than that. And that is where his true greatness lay.

DTS: What does his passing away mean to the world?ZS: This is a sad day for the world. We have lost one of our greatest sons. There will never be another one like him. But we should contin-ue to take inspiration from his life and take heart from the fact that by the time he passed away the entire world - including those who had once reviled him - acknowledged him as a great man who had been a true leader and moral lodestar. It shows how far we have come as a people. There is a lesson in his life for all of us to take away.l

Dhaka Tribune editor Zafar Sobhan shares his memories of Muhammad Ali, the legendary world champion boxer who passed away yesterday at the age of 74

In this May 25, 1965, � le photo, heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali stands over fallen challenger Sonny Liston, shouting and gesturing shortly after dropping Liston with a short hard right to the jaw in the � rst round of their title � ght in Lewiston AP

TWITTER REACTIONS

“God came for his champion. So long great one.”

- @MikeTyson

“Muhammad Ali is dead at 74! A tru-ly great champion and a wonderful guy. He will be missed by all!”

- Republican presidential hopeful @realDonaldTrump

“God bless Muhammad Ali peace and love to all his family.”

- Beatles drummer Ringo Starr @ringostarrmusic

“Muhammad Ali was not just a champion in the ring - he was a champion of civil rights, and a role model for so many people”

- British Prime Minister David Cameron

“This Man. This King. This Hero. This Human! Words cannot ex-press. He shook up the World! God Bless Him.”

- pop star Madonna

“The peoples champ. My hero” - rapper Snoop Dogg

“This is the ALI we should all re-member! The fun loving man who was fully himself!! RIP CHAMP!!!”

- Canadian pop star Justin Bieber posted this message alongside a picture

of a youthful Ali playing Monopoly

“A giant among men, Ali displayed a greatness in talent, courage & conviction, that most of us will EVER be able to truly comprehend. #RIPAli”

- former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis

“RIP @muhammedali, a legend who transcended sport and was a true champion for all. #thegreat-est#MuhammadAli”

- former Mexican-American champion Oscar De La Hoya

“Today we lost the Greatest Sports-man that’s ever lived #RIPMuham-madAli”

- former Irish featherweight champion Barry McGuigan

“The Greatest there will ever be .... The biggest and the best ..... Rest In Peace.”

- Former England football captain David Beckham on Instagram

26DT Sport

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

20 best moments that made Ali 'The Greatest' 1) Takes up boxing after his bike is stolen (1954)If it wasn’t for the lure of free food, Muhammad Ali may never have boxed. As the 12-year-old Cassius Clay he pedalled on his red and white Schwinn bike to the Louisville Home Show, an exhibition for black businesses, for the free popcorn, hot dogs and candy. But when he left, his bike was gone.

2) Wins his first bout – and is hailed a future champion (1954)The 6st 9lb Clay won his � rst bout by split-decision against another novice, Ronny O’Keefe, on Martin’s TV show Tomor-row’s Champions, which was shown all over Kentucky.

3) Gold at the Rome Olympics (1960)

After comfortable victories in his opening three bouts, Clay found the 1956 bronze medallist Zbigniew Pietrzykowski harder to fathom in the � nal, struggling with his opponent’s southpaw stance before winning a unanimous verdict.

4) Clay meets the wrestler Gorgeous George (1961)As Ali later told his biographer Thomas Hauser: “[George] started shouting: ‘If this bum beats me I’ll crawl across the ring and cut o� my hair, but it’s not gonna happen because I’m the greatest � ghter in the world’.”

5) Clay becomes a boxing Nostradamus (1962)Ali soon started correctly predicting the round of victory and when, in February 1962, he stopped Don Warner in four rather than the � ve forecast, he claimed he had � nished the � ght early because Warner had not shaken hands.

6) Shows his heart against Henry Cooper (1963)Clay sauntered into Wembley like a monarch, with a gown emblazoned with “Cassius the Great” and a crown encrust-ed with imitation diamonds. And, having predicted Cooper would fall in � ve, Ali preferred slow death by a thousand cuts.

7) Earns himself a fight with Sonny Liston (1964)Clay was fast, handsome and quick-tongued but he was also brave. Just before the second Sonny Liston v Floyd Patterson � ght in 1963, Clay followed Liston to Vegas and, after watch-ing him lose at craps, shouted to him: “Look at that big ugly bear, he can’t do anything right.”

8) Clay wins world heavyweight title (1964)

At the weigh-in, Clay’s pulse was double his normal rate. Peo-ple thought he was scared. But as he explained to his doctor Ferdie Pacheco he had a plan.

9) Cassius Clay becomes Muhammad Ali (1964)

After the earthquake, the aftershock. Clay’s interest in the Black Muslims began in 1959 when he saw a man in Louisville selling newspapers shouting: “Muhammad speaks! Read it!” But it was only in March 1961 that he visited a temple and be-came deeply immersed in the religion.

10) Ali shows his nasty side (1965 and 1967)After knocking out Liston in the � rst round of their rematch – a robust discussion continues over whether Liston, a mob � ghter, took a dive – Ali faced Patterson, who had told Sports Illustrated: “The image of a Black Muslim as the world heav-yweight champion disgraces the sport and nation.” Ali re-sponded, � rst with his tongue – Patterson was “nothing but an Uncle Tom Negro” - and then by torturing him for 12 rounds.

11) “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong” (1966)

After hours of questions from reporters, asking him where he stood on the Vietnam War, Ali erupted: “Man, I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong.” White America, who already hated him for being a Black Muslim, now accused him of be-ing a draft dodger too.

12) Ali takes the heavyweight belt out of America (1966)In � ve decades, from when Jack Johnson had lost his title to Jess Willard in Havana in 1915 to 1966, the heavyweight title had been contested only twice outside America. Yet with Ali � nding it hard to � ght in the US, he took his belt on the road: travelling to Canada to beat George Chuvalo, then to England to dispose of Henry Cooper – again – and Brian London, be-fore hopping to Germany to beat Karl Mildenberger.

13) The Ali shuffle is unveiled (1966)When Ali returned to America, he produced one of the great visual performances of his career, stopping Cleveland “Big Cat” Williams in three rounds – although Williams, who had lost a kidney and needed four operations after being shot in 1964, was an already broken shell.

14) Banned from boxing and thrown into jail (1967-68)“How can I kill somebody when I pray � ve times a day for peace,” asked Ali, as over a few feverish months in 1967, he was stripped of his heavyweight title and banned from box-ing for refusing to join the US Army. A year later he had a 10-day spell in the Miami Dade County Jail, for driving without a valid license, where he served food to death row inmates.

15) The Fight of the Century (1971)

At Madison Square Garden, Ali and the new champion Joe Frazier threw everything at each other. But Ali was not quite as elusive or sharp, and increasingly Frazier caught up with him, before a left hook putting Ali on his pants in 15th round.

16) Wins back title in The Rumble in the Jungle (1974)

Foreman had destroyed Frazier in two rounds, and set out to dismantle the 32-year-old Ali in much the same way. But Ali sat back on the slack ropes – the famous “rope-a-dope” – in-viting Foreman to expend his energy before picking him o� .

17) Thrilla in Manilla (1975)Ali was on top early, Frazier rallied but with his eye closed, he took a beating in the 13th. At the end of the 14th, Frazier’s trainer Eddie Futch stopped the � ght, telling him: “No one will forget what you did here today”.

18) Ali becomes a three-time heavyweight champion (1978)He was a little less plodding as he won the rematch to become the � rst man to hold the heavyweight belt for a third time.

19) A horrible night against Larry Holmes (1980)

But like so many � ghters, Ali couldn’t keep away. He signed up to � ght Holmes, his former sparring partner and now the new champion, and having taken huge quantities of diuretics he looked the part entering the ring. But as Ali admitted after-wards, the drugs had drained him.

20) Atlanta – and reappraisal (1996-present day)Not everyone has bought into the Ali-as-saint narrative: in his book Ghosts of Manilla, the acclaimed writer Mark Kram claimed: “Ali was no more a social force than Frank Sinatra.”l

Cassius Clay wins gold at the Rome Olympics

“I shook up the world”: Cassius Clay screams with delight after defeating Sonny Liston in their world heavyweight title bout on February 25, 1964

Malcolm X trains his camera on Muhammad Ali after he beat Sonny Liston to become the heavyweight champion of the world

Muhammad Ali watches as defending world champion George Foreman goes down on the canvas in the eighth round

Heavyweight champion Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali exchange blows during their world heavyweight title match in 1980

Muhammad Ali steps away from a punch thrown by boxer Joe Frazier during their heavyweight title � ght in 1971

Muhammad Ali, center, in 1966. He was barred from boxing for years for draft evasion

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SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

Arsenal trigger Vardy’s buy-out clauseArsenal have triggered a buy-out clause in striker Jamie Vardy’s contract with English champions Leicester City after making a bid of about 20 million pounds ($29.04 million), several British media reports said on Friday. Vardy, who is in England’s 23-man squad for the Euro 2016 � nals in France that start next week, scored 24 Premier League goals last season as Leicester won the top-� ight crown for the � rst time in their history. The 29-year-old was chosen as Player of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association and was named in the Professional Footballers’ Association’s team of the year. Former England forward Gary Lineker, a Leicester fan, has urged Vardy not to leave.

–REUTERS

Colombia down US hosts 2-0 in Copa openerColombia scored two � rst half goals to tame hosts the United States and open the Copa America tournament with a convincing 2-0 victory in front of a big crowd on Friday. The South Americans did not take long to strike with Cristian Zapata delivering the � rst goal in the eighth minute, the defender seizing on a corner kick from the left and volleying the ball into the back of the net. James Rodriguez scored the second from a penalty in the 42nd minute after DeAndre Yedlin had been penalised for handball, a call the Americans hotly contested. “The hand ball was not a hand ball,” defender Geo� Cameron told reporters. “We’re disappointed, obviously. But I thought we were the better team.”

–REUTERS

Ibra will sign for Man United - Sky sourcesManchester United will swoop for Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a free transfer as new manager Jose Mourinho’s � rst marquee signing at Old Tra� ord, Sky Sports reported on Friday. United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is � nalising a one-year deal with the player’s representatives and the 34-year-old could join before Euro 2016, Sky sources said. Sweden’s � rst Group E match against Ireland is on June 13. The former Malmo, Ajax Amsterdam, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona and AC Milan striker, whose Paris St Germain contract is about to expire, wants to add the Premier League title to a trophy cabinet that already includes the Dutch, Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1 crowns.

–REUTERS

Narine, Pollard in triumphant return for WISunil Narine and Kieron Pollard made triumphant returns to the West Indies team in a comfortable victory over South Africa in the opening match in a triangular one-day international series on Friday. O� -spinner Sunil Narine took a career-best six for 27 as West Indies dismissed South Africa for 188 o� 46.5 overs on a slow pitch at Providence Stadium in Georgetown, Guyana. Pollard then did his job with the bat, using his power to hoist six sixes in a run-a-ball 67 not out as the Windies scored 191 for six to win by four wickets with 11 balls to spare. The entertaining innings by the 29-year-old Trinidadian turned the match around after the West Indies had become bogged down and the run rate had slowed to a crawl. All of his sixes came in an arc between long-on and straight hit. In the process he became just the fourth Caribbean player to hit 100 sixes in ODIs, joining Chris Gayle, Viv Richards and Brian Lara.

–REUTERS

QUICK BYTES

DAY’S WATCHFOOTBALL

SONY ESPN7:30AM

Copa America Centenario Brazil v Ecuador

3:00AM (Monday)Jamaica v Venezuela

6:00AM (Monday)Mexico v Uruguay

CRICKET STAR SPORTS 1

4:00PMRoyal Londan One Day Cup Somerset v Gloucestershire

TEN 310:30PM

Tri-Nation: 2nd ODIWest Indies v Australia

BASKETBALL SONY SIX

6:00AM (Monday)NBA Finals: Game 2

Golden State Warriors v Cleveland Cavaliers

MOTO GP TEN 2

2:00PMRace: Catalunya GP

Djokovic and Murray eye milestones in blockbuster Paris � naln Reuters, Paris

An 18-year rivalry will play out its next gripping chapter at Roland Garros as Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic eye up a French Open � nal in which mile-stones galore will be on the line.

Will Murray become the � rst British man to lift the French Open trophy in more than eight decades? Or will Djok-ovic have enough energy left in the tank after playing four days in succession at the rain-ravaged claycourt grand slam to become the � rst man in almost 50 years to hold all four majors at once?

What is certain though, is that the Musketeers’ Cup will have a new name engraved on it come today - weather permitting - after Djokovic pulled rank

on a player he described as “a leader of a new generation” to reach his fourth Paris � nal in � ve years.

The world number one’s 6-2 6-1 6-4 win over Austrian tyro Dominic Thiem on Friday had to be staged on the sec-ondary Court Suzanne Lenglen after a week of rain derailed the tournament’s usual schedule.

That left Murray and defending champion Wawrinka to grab Centre Court billing and while the Swiss con-jured some blazing backhands to whip the noisy crowd into a frenzy, the win-ners were rare as he surrendered his Roland Garros crown with a 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-2 defeat by the British second seed.

“I knew today if I wanted to win I was going to have to play one of my

best claycourt matches. Stan was play-ing better every match,” an emotional Murray, who became the � rst Brit-ish man to reach the Paris showpiece since Bunny Austin in 1937, told the crowd with a quivering voice.

“I am extremely proud. I never ex-pected to reach the � nal here, I always struggled on the clay. I played one of my best claycourt matches today... I hope I can put on a good match on Sunday.” Djokovic and Murray, born a week apart in May 1987, are not the only ones in pursuit of records in Paris. Martina Hingis and Leander Paes both completed the full set of grand slam doubles titles when they beat Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig 4-6 6-4 10-8 in the mixed � nal. l

28DT Sport

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

DPL hots up ahead of � nal roundn Mazhar Uddin

With only the 11th and � nal round remaining, the Dhaka Premier League has reached its business stage as the six-team Super League is beckoning for several clubs who are still in the reckoning.

Keeping that in mind, second positioned Victoria Sporting Club and third placed Legends of Rup-ganj yesterday registered impor-tant wins over Brothers Union and Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club re-spectively.

Kalabagan Krira Chakra, meanwhile, leaped out of the much-dreaded relegation zone with an impressive victory against Mohammedan Sporting Club.

Victoria SC v Brothers Batting � rst in Mirpur, Victoria posted a huge 302/9, riding on a brilliant 170-run opening wicket stand between Abdul Mazid (118) and Fazle Mahmud (71). This was Mazid’s third List A century.

In what was a below-par display by the Brothers bowlers, only Nabil Samad (4/50) stood out from the rest. In reply, third-from-bottom, Brothers never looked like chasing the target down and were eventu-ally skittled out for 190 with just captain Tushar Imran (93) o� ering any sort of resistance.

Paceman Mahbubul Alam bagged three wickets for Victoria while Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Al Amin shared four wickets between themselves.

Rupganj v Sheikh Jamal DCAway at the BKSP 3 ground, Rup-ganj’s decision to � eld � rst paid o� in some style as they strolled to a rather comfortable seven wicket win over Sheikh Jamal, who are fourth from bottom.

Asked to take � rst guard, Sheikh Jamal were bundled out for 184 in 45 overs; Taijul Islam and Murad Khan picking up three wickets each for Rupganj, who hardly seemed to miss the suspended duo skipper Mosharraf Hossain and Moham-mad Mithun.

In pursuit of a lowly 185, Rupganj coasted home with seven wickets and 17.1 overs to spare. One-drop Nahidul Islam top-scored with a 92 while Junaid Siddique was unbeat-en at the end on 53.

Kalabagan KC v Mohammedan SCThe Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadi-um witnessed a high-scoring a� air and it was eighth positioned Kal-abagan KC who prevailed against fourth-placed Mohammedan.

Batting � rst, Mohammedan put up 290/6 with Bipul Sharma’s 100 the highest score. In reply, Kalaba-gan KC coasted home in 43.1 overs with six wickets in hand. Tasamul Haque was undefeated on 126 while Hasanuzzaman provided valuable support, scoring a brilliant 95. l

Russel, Ctg Abahani in Fed Cup group of deathn Tribune Report

Rising powerhouse Chittagong Abahani and former treble winner Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra were pitted against each other in the group of death as the draw ceremony of the Federation Cup was held at Bangladesh Football Feder-ation House yesterday.

The second professional tournament of the season will kick o� at Bangabandhu National Stadium this Fri-day with the participation of 12 premier league clubs split into four groups. And it goes without saying that Group B, comprising Sheikh Russel, Chittagong Abahani

and Muktijoddha Sangsad, appears the most toughest among all the groups.

Reigning champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi

Club were drawn in Group C along with Brothers Union and the newly-promoted Ut-tar Baridhara.

The traditional arch-ri-

vals, Abahani Limited and Mohammedan Sporting Club, meanwhile, were placed in comparatively easier groups.

The Sky Blues will face Feni Soccer Club and Aram-bagh Krira Sangha in Group A while the Black and Whites will take on Team BJMC and Rahmatganj MFS in Group D.

The top two teams from each group will progress to the quarter-� nals.

The semi-� nals will be held on June 22 and 23 with the grand � nale scheduled for June 26.

The logo unveiling and Memorandum of Understand-ing signing ceremony were also held yesterday afternoon.l

GROUP A: Abahani, Feni Soccer, Arambagh

GROUP B: Sheikh Russel, Mukijoddha, Chittagong Abahani

GROUP C: Sheikh Jamal, Brothers Union, Uttar Baridhara

GROUP D: Mohammedan, Team BJMC, Rahmatganj

Kalabagan KC’s Tasamul Haque cuts one during his unbeaten hundred against Mohammedan SC in the DPL in Fatullah yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

BRIEF SCORESVICTORIA SC 302/9 (Mazid

118, Fazle 71, Nabil 4/50) beat BROTHERS 190 (Tushar 93, Mahbubul 3/33, Kamrul 2/25)

by 112 runs

SHEIKH JAMAL DC 184 (Sadat 41, Taijul 3/29, Murad

3/48) lost to RUPGANJ 185/3 (Nahidul 92, Junaid 53*,

Soumya 29) by seven wickets

MOHAMMEDAN SC 290/6 (Sharma 100, Mush� q 75, Sabbir 3/77) lost to

KALABAGAN KC 291/4 (Tasamul 126*, Hasanuzzaman 95, Tanveer 52*) by six wickets

Spain's Garbine Muguruza kisses the trophy after winning the women's � nal match against US player Serena Williams at Roland Garros yesterday AFP

MUGURUZA OVERPOWERS SERENAGarbine Muguruza achieved the rare feat of overpowering world Serena Williams to claim her maid-en grand slam title with a 7-5 6-4 win over the world number one and defending champion in the French Open � nal yesterday.

The 22-year-old fourth seed, who lost to Williams in last year’s

Wimbledon � nal, became the � rst Spaniard to lift the Suzanne Leng-len Cup since Arantxa Sanchez Vi-cario in 1998.

“This is the big tournament in Spain and Rafa (Nadal) is our cbam-pion,” she said courtside, referring to the nine-times men’s winner who pulled out injured last week.l

Downtime

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

DILBERT

How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

CODE-CRACKER

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 15 represents L so � ll L every time the � gure 15 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.As you get the letters, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CROSSWORD

ACROSS1 Eating place (4)3 Rascal (5)8 Above (4)9 Minute particle (4)11 Abnormally fat (5)12 Sly look (4)14 Narrow beam (3)15 Upright (5)18 Fixed gaze (5)19 Corded fabric (3)21 Preservative (4)24 Angry (5)26 Capital of Peru (4)27 Former Yugoslav leader (4)28 Show contempt (5)29 Aid to detection (4)

DOWN1 Fuel (4)2 Failure (4)4 Male swan (3)5 Ward o� (5)6 Table-shaped hill (4)7 Exerts harmful in� uence (5)10 Fitting (arch) (4)11 Musical drama (5)13 E� ace (5)16 Prison room (4)17 Legal documents (5)18 Flood (5)20 Poet’s Ireland (4)22 Money drawer (4)23 Destiny (4)25 Digit (3)

SUDOKU

29D

TSUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

30DT

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016Showtime

Filming the GOAT Prakash Mehra wished to make � lm with Muhammad Ali and Amitabh Bachchan

Cultural icons lost in 2016n Mahmood Hossain

Self-proclaimed, “The Greatest of All Time,” Muhammad Ali was an inspiration all over the world, almost unmatched. Not only was his presence known and felt in the boxing ring, Ali was revolutionary in other aspects of life. He was also a major in� uence in rapping and the development of the hip-hop culture. To no surprise, the man was visually stunning, so it is only � t to capture his charismatic and polarising � gure. We take a look at the must-see � lms based on arguably the greatest heavyweight to ever put on a pair of boxing gloves.

The Greatest (1977)Directed by Tom Gries, here is a � lm about the life of Muhammad Ali, starring, well, himself. Ali plays himself during his � ght stages through the 1960 Olympics, all the way to his regaining the heavyweight crown from Gorge Foreman. A � ght that was

remembered in 1974 as “Rumble in the Jungle.” Most of the � lm uses actual footage of the time, and all the pre and post-� ght events as well. The song “The Greatest Love of All” was written for the � lm and sung by George Benson. It was later remade by Whitney Houston as “Greatest Love of All”.

Ali (2001)Starring one of the biggest movie stars in the world, Will Smith, this was the � rst actual biopic on Ali’s life. This � lm portrays Ali’s life in and out the ring, directed by

Michael Mann. It captures all of the notable events from 1964 to 1974. From his heavyweight bout with Sonny Liston (as in that iconic photo), to his views on Islam and the Vietnam War. His return � ght against Joe Frazier in 1971 and the “Rumble in the Jungle” � ght in 1974 are also highlighted in this � lm. The movie also discusses the political upheavel in the US, after Malcolm X’s and Martin Luther King Jr’s assassinations.

Facing Ali (2009)This was a one-of-a-kind documentary that � lmed Ali’s rivals in the ring. More importantly, the � ghters that went toe-to-toe with “The Greatest of All Time” speak very highly of him in this � lm. Throughout the entire � lm, 10 of his former competitors share their personal experiences with Ali, and also pay tribute to the � ghter. l

“I’m young; I’m handsome; I’m fast. I can’t possibly be beat.” - Ali

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has mourned the death of legendary former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, terming him, “the greatest ever.”

He said that late � lmmaker Prakash Mehra wished to make a � lm with them. Ali, who was hospitalised with respiratory pains on June 2, passed away at the age of 74 on Friday.

“Mohammed Ali the greatest ever! A gentleman and learned mind! He not just fought in the ring but outside it as well! And won,” Amitabh posted on Twitter this past Saturday.

The � lm star later posted a black-and-white photograph of himself “with the greatest” Muhammed Ali at his home in Los Angeles. “Prakash Mehra had wished to make � lm with him and me,” he wrote alongside the image.

One of the greatest boxers in

history retired in 1981 and soon found signs of sluggishness and neurological damage. He thereafter received treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

Ali, known as Cassius Clay before he converted to Islam, began boxing training at the age of 12. He won the World heavyweight championship at the age of 22 in 1964.

He won the title again in 1974 and 1978. l

Source: The Indian Express

The year 2016 has claimed some of the world’s most iconic � gures, leaving many missing the familiar faces and personalities they had known throughout their lives.

Muhammad Ali’s death Friday night was the latest in the � rst half of a year in which celebrity deaths have continued to pelt grieving fans with more sadness.

The dismal litany actually began shortly before 2016, with Natalie Cole, the daughter of Nat King Cole, dying at age 65 on New Year’s Eve.

Another major blow came shortly afterwards, with David Bowie succumbing to cancer on January 10, two days after his 69th birthday.

While Ziggy Stardust’s death left many thinking that the

world had lost enough talent, the � rst three months of the year would go on to claim actor Alan Rickman; Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey; Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White; Prince protégé Vanity; author Harper Lee; and singer Frank Sinatra Jr.

April was also a cruel month, with wrestler Chyna and singer Billy Paul leaving us in a week that was dominated by purple-themed tributes to Prince.

Even those who had remained unmoved by previous departures said they became emotional at Ali’s exit from the arena. l

Source: NY Daily News

Taking a look at Muhammad Ali through moving pictures

31D

TSUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

ShowtimeWHAT TO WATCH

Batman & RobinWB 11:25pmBatman & Robin try to keep their relationship together even as they must stop Mr Freeze and Poison Ivy from freezing Gotham City.Cast: George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone l

The Amazing Spider-Man 2Zee Studio 2:50pmWhen New York is put under siege by Oscorp, it is up to Spider-Man to save the city he swore to protect as well as his loved ones. Cast: Andrew Gar� eld, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz

Life of Pi [Star Movies 9:30pm]A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.Cast: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Ayush Tandon, Gautam Belur, Adil Hussain

The Bourne UltimatumStar Movies 4:20pmJason Bourne dodges a ruthless CIA o� cial and his agents from a new assassination program while searching for the origins of his life as a trained killer.Cast: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine, Edgar RamirezRocky BalboaHBO 4:55pm

The Matrix RevolutionsHBO 11:5pmThe human city of Zion defends itself against the massive invasion of the machines, as Neo � ghts to end the war at another front while also opposing the rogue Agent Smith.Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Blackman

Rocky BalboaHBO 4:55pm30 years after the ring of the � rst bell, Rocky Balboa comes out of retirement and dons his gloves for his � nal � ght; against the reigning heavyweight champ Mason ‘The Line’ Dixon.Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Milo Ventimiglia, Tony Burton, Antonio Tarver

The MatrixHBO 6:50pmA computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers.Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantoliano

Back Page32DT

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016

SOES NET PROFIT JUMPS BY 173% IN FY’16 PAGE 13

WHEN ALI CAME TO BANGLADESH PAGE 24

FILMING THE GOAT PAGE 30

Country’s southerner � shermen to turn dolphin savioursn Rafi qul Islam

Akkas Ali is a � sherman from Dub-lar char, a remote island located o� the coast in Bangladesh’s Bager-hat district. He has been � shing in the Bay of Bengal for almost 20 years and has been witness to the slaughter of dolphins. Most of these deaths were accidental – dolphins became entangled in the nets of � shermen and died. In the last two years, three dolphins were killed after being trapped in Akkas Ali’s own � shing nets.

At least � ve species of dolphins and several species of whales can be found between the coast of the Sundarbans (the world’s largest mangrove forest) and the Bay of Bengal. The rivers of the mangrove forest are the habitat of Gangetic river dolphins and Irrawady dol-phins.

According a 2010 joint survey conducted by the US-based Wild-life Conservation Society (WCS) and Bangladesh Cetacean Diver-sity Project (BCDP), there were about 225 Gangetic river dolphins, 6,000 Irrawady dolphins, over 1,000 Bottlenose dolphins and a signi� cant number of Indo-Paci� c hump-backed dolphins, pan-trop-ical spotted dolphins and spinner dolphins in the rivers and canals of the Sundarbans. Some of these dolphins are also found in the Brahmaputra, Meghna, Karnaphuli and Sangu rivers, which � ow from India into Bangladesh.

Most � sherfolk in Bangladesh do not intentionally harm dolphins. But, just like elsewhere in the world, many dolphins drown because they become entangled in � shing gear. Akkas Ali is about to change this; he will now become their saviour and will even help researchers conduct studies on dolphins and other ma-rine aquatic species.

Turning fishermen into conservatorsThe change involves two simple things: equipment and training. As the � shermen could not mon-itor their nets, they did not know when a dolphin became entangled. Now they have been issued binocu-lars, a relatively expensive piece of equipment for the � shermen. “Us-

ing binoculars, we will see that dol-phins are trapped in our nets and immediately cut the nets so that they can free themselves,” Akkas Ali proudly told thetheirpole.net.

Akkas Ali is not alone. WCS trained nine � shermen to help in dolphin conservation in April 2016. The � shermen have also been sup-plied equipment to help in this task, including binoculars, Glob-al Positioning Systems (GPS) and cameras to help them monitor dol-phin movement in the sea during their � shing excursions.

“By releasing live animals from their nets, � sherfolk can save dol-phins. And many do that. But it’s not always that easy, especially be-cause nets are often set at night or are so long that entangled dolphins can’t be detected quickly,” said the director of WCS Bangladesh, Elis-abeth Fahrni Mansur.

In the coastal waters, she said, WCS has established a citizen sci-ence network among gillnet � sh-ermen who monitor their nets for dolphin entanglements, rescue live dolphins when they become entangled and collect information and samples from dolphins found already dead.

“We provide them with a GPS and training on how to use it to navigate to safety during increas-ingly frequent extreme storms. This has proved to be an e� ective incentive to engage � shermen in marine megafauna conservation,” Mansur added.

A win-win situationIn exchange, the � shermen are happy to help monitor dolphins in the rivers and the sea. “We general-ly go to sea for 15 day trips to catch � sh,” Akkas Ali said. “During that time we will count dolphins and identify their species. We will use GPS to map their movements and take photos.” Hopefully they will also make short videos of the dol-phins as they swim out to sea, he added, keeping a watch on the en-dangered species throughout the year.

If the � shermen � nd dead dol-phins in the sea, they will collect a piece of their hides. Upon return-ing to their homes, they will pro-vide all the data they collect from the sea to the WCS researchers.

Jahangir Alam, a senior re-searcher at WCS, said the role of the � shermen was critical not only

in saving the dolphins, but also to help in research. “We go to sea during winter to collect data on dolphins, but we cannot do so dur-ing the monsoon due to adverse weather. The � shermen can,” he explained.

With the help of the data and samples the � shermen can pro-vide, Alam hopes to identify the dolphin species in the region and their habitats. He also hopes the new information will help WCS map more accurately the risks that the dolphins face as well the trends among the sea mammals.

Steps to save dolphinsThis is part of a wider e� ort in Bangladesh to protect the dolphin population. In 2014, the country declared 1,738 square kilometres in the Bay of Bengal a marine pro-tected area. Unplanned � shing has been prohibited and the access of ships to the area has been restrict-ed to ensure safe habitat for the dolphins.

According to forest depart-ment o� cials, the river dolphins found in the Sundarbans move mostly in the rivers Andharmanik, Dhangmari, Dudhmukhi, Betmore,

Chandpai and Patakata of the Sun-darbans east zone. Therefore, the Bangladesh Forest Department cre-ated three dolphin sanctuaries cov-ering 32 square kilometres of the rivers and canals in the mangrove forest in 2012.

“Earlier, we identi� ed three hotspots of dolphins in the Sund-arbans and have already declared these spots as sanctuaries,” said chief conservator of forests, Mo-hammad Yunus Ali.

Still in dangerAlthough the government of Bang-ladesh has taken steps to conserve dolphins, many of them are merely announcements without serious follow through. Jahangir Alam, who is also the coordinator of BCDP, said � shermen are still us-ing banned nets to catch � sh in the designated areas and ocean-going vessels are still using the area as a thoroughfare. According to survey data collected by the BCDP project, at least 130 dolphins were killed in the marine protected areas from January 2007 to April 2016 either because they were trapped in � sh-ing nets or injured by the propel-lers of ships.

Unchecked � shing continues in the Sundarbans and vessels carry-ing toxic chemicals move through the rivers. A tanker carrying about capsized in the Shela River of the Sundarbans, a dolphin habitat, on December 9, 2014 while a cargo ship sank on March 19, 2016.

Three years after the announce-ment of dolphin sanctuaries, the authorities concerned are yet to � nalise a management plan to pro-tect dolphins in the Sundarbans’ rivers. “We have already prepared the management plan and sent it to the Ministry of Environment and Forests. But the ministry is yet to � nalise the plan,” Yunus Ali said.

Once the plan is � nalised, he said, unplanned catching of � sh in the Sundarbans’ rivers and wa-ter vessel movement on the rivers could be checked that will help en-sure safe havens for the dolphin.

The article was originally pub-lished on thethirdpole.net and has been republished under Creative Commons license. l

The Ganges dolphin IMAGE BY BANGLADESH CETACEAN DIVERSITY PROJECT/THETHIRDPOLE.NET

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