Three people killed as commuter train hits bus in capitaln Ashif Islam Shaon and

Mohammad Jamil Khan

At least three people, including a jour-nalist’s wife, were killed and eight oth-ers critically injured as a commuter train hit a bus on TT Para level crossing near Kamalapur Railway Station in the capital last night.

One of the deceased was Nazmus Sadat Naju, 25, wife of Daily Janakan-tha subeditor AKM Obaidur Rahman while the identity of the two other vic-tims, aged between 30 and 35, could not be known immediately.

Naju died from her injuries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital while the two bodies were kept at Kamalapur railway police station.

O� cer-in-charge of Kamalapur rail-way police station Abdul Mazid said the accident took place around 10:30pm. The injured were rushed to the DMCH.

Police said the bus of Balaka Pariba-han was heading towards Gazipur from Sayedabad Bus Terminal.

Shahinur Rahman, an eyewitness to the incident, told the Dhaka Tribune that as the train coming from Narayan-ganj was about to enter the Kamalapur Railway Station, the gateman pulled down the iron bar to stop the move-ment of vehicles on the level crossing.

“But the driver was in a hurry and he tried to cross the line before the train reaches, but in vain. Finally, the driv-er tried to avoid the collision, but the train hit the bus at that time,” he said.

Obaidur Rahman, who was also in-jured in the mishap, claimed that a por-tion of the iron bar was open and the bus driver used the space to reach the line.

However, the driver managed to � ee the scene soon after the accident.

Railway’s Director General Tafazzel Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune that a four-member committee would be formed to investigate the accident.

Turning down the claims of the jour-nalist, he said, “It was the bus driver’s fault.”

After an hour of the incident, the wreckage of the bus was removed from the spot.

Tra� c on the road was suspended for more than one and a half hours due to the accident. l

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INSIDE

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

Long Form7 Bangladesh is facing an interesting future. Its largest and most important neighbour by far, India, may have a new government in a few months time.

Op-Ed11 You might be taken by surprise by the title of the piece or take the scribe as a lunatic. Why am I demanding the gallows, and for whom? No, I am not renewing the demand for hanging the war criminals.

Nation6 Farmers are worried about expected mango output as young mango fruits are hugely falling o� due to sweltering weather in Chapainawabganj this year.

BusinessB1 Three mobile phone operators - Grameen-phone, Robi and Teletalk – made a total net pro� t of Tk1,883.4 crore in 2013.

News4 The drug administration authority has is-sued show-cause notices to 15 pharmaceuti-cals companies, which have previously been identi� ed as manufacturers of substandard drugs, asking them to explain within 15 days why their licences should not be cancelled.

A wrecker removes the smashed bus, hit by a running train, from rail track at TT para level crossing near Kamalapur Railway Station in the capital yesterday Mahmudul Hossain Opu

Food adulteration reaches new heightn Moniruzzaman Uzzal

Unsafe levels of pesticides are present in around half of the vegetables and more than a quarter of fruits sold in the capital’s markets, a recent survey has found.

A 15-member team of the National Food Safety Laboratory, with support from the Food and Agriculture Organi-sation (FAO), came up with the � ndings after collecting and testing food sam-ples from the capital’s Gulshan, Karw-anbazar and Mohakhali markets.

The survey report, a copy of which was acquired by the Dhaka Tribune, read that nearly 40% of 82 samples of milk, milk products, � sh, fruits and vegetables contained banned pesti-cides such as DDT, Aldrin, Chlordane and Heptachlor.

The amounts of pesticide in these samples were found to be three to 20 times greater than the limits set by the European Union.

Around 50% vegetables and 35% fruits were found to be contaminated with unsafe level of pesticides.

Analysing more than 30 samples of turmeric powder (branded, packaged and open), the team also found that

nearly 30% of the samples contained traces of lead chromate, which can be fatal if swallowed or inhaled.

These samples also contained lead at

20 to 50 times above the safety limit of 2.5 parts per million set by the Bangla-desh Standard Testing Institute (BSTI).

PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

RANA PLAZA AFTERMATH

Safety compliance a make-or-break for many garment factories n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

O� cial data shows that many garment factories have lost business in the past one year since the Rana Plaza collapse, but stakeholders say cancellations have not a� ected the compliant units.

In fact, compliant factories are more optimistic about rising from the slump that followed the collapse, because the industry overall has been making pro-gress in terms of ensuring � re safety and workers’ security.

According to a BGMEA survey cov-ering over 400 factories, foreign buy-ers have cancelled orders worth $110m from 37 factories over the last year.

Industry insiders said most of these factories had not done much to become � re and safety compliant.

Since the collapse that claimed the lives of more than 1,100 workers, com-pliance has become the single most

important issue for foreign buyers to consider while placing orders.

Many factories that faced cancel-lation were small units. Becoming � re and security compliant takes a lot of investment, which many of these fac-tories cannot a� ord.

Over the last year, foreign buyers have also strengthened monitoring. Ac-cord – an inspection group sponsored by European buyers – and Alliance – a US-backed inspection team – have been constantly surveying RMG factories in Bangladesh. These two groups have inspected more than 800 factories in recent months.

Following recommendations from Accord and Alliance, the authorities con-cerned have even shut down many fac-tories because they lacked compliance.

However, the government has also taken a number of major steps to

PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

Abductions still wrapped in mysteriesObservers believe most of the recent incidents are politicaln Mohammad Jamil Khan

and Ashif Islam Shaon

Recent incidents of abduction and dis-appearance have numbed the nation, especially because almost all these incidents are shrouded in mysteries: why these people were abducted, who abducted them, or why those who have come back alive were released – these questions have remained alive in dis-cussions but unresolved.

In the past, families of victims would get phone calls from the kid-nappers and come to settlements to get back their near ones.

But the scenario has been completely di� erent lately, as abductors have not called the family members of their vic-tims, demanding any ransom or any other settlements; law enforcers have also failed to trace the victims or the abductors. The victims have often re-turned alive only after the kidnappers released them.

According to Ain O Salish Kendra, in recent times, 16 people fell victim to “forced disappearance,” and seven of them were found dead. Around 53 peo-ple have been abducted so far this year while 68 in 2013, 56 in 2012, 59 in 2011 and 46 in 2010.

In one of the latest incidents of ab-duction, seven people, including a Narayanganj City Corporation ward councillor, were picked up in the dis-trict in the same way BELA chief’s hus-band Abu Bakar Siddique had been ab-ducted two weeks ago.

ASM Shahjahan, former inspector general of police, yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that incidents of such kind of criminal activities had in-creased as the rule of law had not been ensured properly. “The rule of law must be established and action must be taken against the culprits after proper identi� cation, and only then such inci-dents will stop occurring.”

Professor Dr Zia Rahman, chairper-son of the criminology department at Dhaka University, identi� es three types of abduction: at the instruction of top underworld criminals; abduction caused a result of personal con� icts; and political abduction, in which case the kidnapping is conducted using the guise of law enforcers.

He pointed out that the recent ab-ductions did not go with the � rst two types. “It mainly points to the third type where the abductions took place using the name of the law enforcers and no one claimed any ransom from the victims’ families.”

Dr Zia said the country had been apparently without any violence lately and there was no reason for abduction to take place.

“In this situation, it cannot be overlooked whether any third party is involved in such incidents, wheth-er international politics is working, to portray the government as weak, thus leaving it confronted by the people,” he said. “The state must investigate any

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Parliamentary body for abandoning metre gauge tracksn Kamran Reza Chowdhury

A parliamentary watchdog has asked the government to switch focus to building a broad gauge-based railway network instead of investing money for the existing metre guage tracks.

The Awami League government has invested over Tk8,407crore in the last � ve years for promoting metre gauge tracks.

The Parliamentary Standing Commit-tee on the Railway Ministry at its maiden meeting yesterday said the government could not turn Bangladesh Railway (BR) into a safe and reliable entity and reap the bene� ts of globalisation if it promot-ed metre gauge tracks, abandoned by most countries including India.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

NARAYANGANJ ABDUCTIONS

Top o� cials withdrawn for negligencen Tribune Report

The government has decided to with-draw senior government o� cials and top-level law enforcers, in connection with recent incidents of abductions.

State Minister for Home Asaduzzam-an Khan Kamal last night con� rmed the withdrawal of Rab 11 Commander Lt Col Tarek Sayeed, Narayanganj Po-lice Superintendent Syed Nurul Islam, and the O� cers-in-Charge of Fatullah and Shiddhirgangj police stations, Ak-ter Hossain and Abdul Motin.

The deputy commissioner of Narayanganj, Monojkanti Boral, was also withdrawn, a source in the Home Ministry said.

On the other hand, sources at the Police Headquarters con� rmed that two other personnel from Rab 11, Maj Arif and Lt Rana, were also among the o� cials who were withdrawn.

However, when contacted, the DC and SP of Narayanganj told the Dhaka Tribune that they were yet to get any ministry order in this regard.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

State minister for home and the IGP said abduction had happened in the past and it was happening now and there was no need to be scared

High microbialpopulationsfound in milk

turmeric powder

30%

ADULTERATED WITH LEAD CHROMATE

Feed contamination andantibiotics detected

Adulteration of formalin

Arsenic andchromium abovesafe limitsdetected in rice

* DDT, Aldrin, Chlordane, Heptachlor: 3 to 20 times the limits set by European Union* 20 to 50 times above the safe limit of 2.5 parts per million set by BSTI* Street foods showed widespread contamination in water supply

CONTAMINATED WITH PESTICIDES

VEGETABLES

50%

FRUITS

35% 40%

ALL THE SAMPLES

A H MAMUN/DT INFOGRAPHIC

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Jamaat man killed in ‘gun� ght’ n Our Correspondent, Satkhira

An activist of Jamaat-e-Islami killed in a so-called “gun� ght” with police in Debhata upazila early Tuesday.

The deceased, Sirajul Islam, from Chiledanga village of the upazila was a suspected criminal in di� erent cases including the murder of Parulia Awami League leader Raihan and cutting of trees.

Debhata police station OC Md Jalal Uddin con� rmed the incident to the Dhaka Tribune.

He said when they had conducted a raid in the village early yesterday, armed activists of Jamaat hurled cock-tails at the police. In retaliation, police � red 10 rounds of bullets that triggered the gun� ght.

Sirajul received bullet injuries while his associates � ed the spot. Later, he was taken to Shokhipur Hospital where the duty doctors declared him dead. The OC said: “Two police members were also injured in the incident. We have recov-ered two arms from the spot. l

Defence starts argument in Mir Kashem case n Udisa Islam

The defence of war crimes accused Mir Kashem Ali began placing clos-ing arguments yesterday and denied all the charges pressed against the Ja-maat-e-Islami Executive member.

Mizanul Islam argued for half of the session claiming that during the 1971 Liberation War, the accused had not played any role as commander of al-Badr as claimed by the prosecution.

He also claimed that the prosecution witnesses including the investigation o� cer had given false statements at the tribunal and that the accused had not been present at the scene of crimes.

At the end of day’s proceedings, the International Crimes Tribunal 2 ad-journed the hearing until today for the defence to place further argument.

Mir Kashem, also the Jamaat treas-urer and key fancier, was indicted on September 5 last year on 14 charges of crimes against humanity he had com-mitted in Chittagong as an al-Badr com-mander.

According to the government, Kashem paid a US lobbyist � rm $25m to make the tribunal controversial. The accused owns a number of businesses including Diganta Media Corporation that runs Diganta TV and the daily Naya Diganta. According to the defence, he is

the founding trustee and also a mem-ber responsible for administration of the Ibn Sina Trust and director (mar-keting) of Ibn Sina Pharmaceutical In-dustries.

The defence yesterday argued on � ve charges mostly related to Daleem Hotel.

Refuting the claim of the prosecu-tion that it was an al-Badr torture cell, the defence said Daleem Hotel had not been a torture cell of the al-Badr as it was under the control of Motiur Rah-man alias Moitya Gunda.

The defence also claimed that de-scription of the charges and deposition of the witnesses had been di� erent while the prosecution never � led any review petition to change the language of charges framed by the tribunal.

The prosecution completed its part of closing arguments on Monday and sought highest punishment for the “Bangalee Khan of 1971.”

According to the prosecution, Mir Kashem was the chief of Chittagong city unit of Islami Chhatra Sangha, then Jamaat’s student wing.

Mir Kashem had led the armed al-Badr group in the port city and used Daleem Hotel as their torture camp where freedom � ghters and the pro-lib-eration people had been brought and killed following torture. l

Locals barricade the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Siddhirganj, Narayanganj protesting the abduction of municipality councillor and panel mayor Nazrul Islam and four others and demand their immediate rescue Mahmudul Hossain Opu

Safety compliance a make-or-break for many garment factories PAGE 1 COLUMN 6enhance the overall safety compliance in the industry. Some of these steps are: raising the wage structure; amend-ing the Labour Law; training 13,000 mid-level RMG employees with � re safe-ty; appointing 67 inspector; and so on.

The entrepreneurs have also stepped out. According to the Bang-ladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), many factories now have � re doors and exits. The number of trade unions has also risen signi� cantly.

“It is unfortunate that although we are working hard to make the sector safe and fully compliant, the buyers are cancelling orders from the factories, especially those that share buildings,” BGMEA President Atiqul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune.

In fact, some apparel makers have told the Dhaka Tribune that they are hav-ing to chase the buyers for getting orders.

“In my 17 years in the RMG sector, I never did marketing. But, after the Rana Plaza collapse, as the buyers are not placing orders, I am doing it,” said Abdul Kashem, deputy managing di-rector of AKH Group.

“Orders used to pour into Bangla-desh because we ensured high quality at reasonable prices,” Kashem reminded.

The termination of orders has bad-ly hurt the factories that operate on sub-contracts. According to uno� cial data, out of the 3,600 active RMG units in the country, at least 1,200 or around one-third operate on sub-contracts. Around 10 lakh workers are employed in these factories.

Seeking anonymity, the owner of one such factory located in Gazipur said: “It is impossible for owners like me to implement the new wage struc-ture. Bills have remained the same but the wages have increased by 77%. I am trying hard to ensure safety of the workers, but it is very tough for me be-cause the costs are very high.”

After the Rana Plaza and Tazreen disasters, Apex Holdings installed 700 sprinklers at a cost of TK6.5 crore in its Gazipur warehouse in line with buy-ers’ recommendation. The company also removed all water tanks from the rooftop and spent Tk1.5 crore to build an underground reservoir that can store up to 10 lakh litres of water to be used only for � re incidents. Fire doors

and special lights that can see through smokes, were also installed.

“We have su� cient work order now and the buyers have expressed satisfac-tion with the work that we have done in terms of improving safety,” said MD Abul Kalam, a deputy general manager of Apex Holdings.

Another ex-BGMEA chief Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury, also the MD of Evince Group, said: “If the factory is compliant orders will come. My orders have increased because we are working on compliance.”

Recently, Envoy Group, owned by former BGMEA president Abdus Salam Murshedy, imported and installed 130 � re doors in its factories. Despite the in-itiative, he said he had lost 10% orders.

“Bangladeshi exporters have lost competitiveness as production cost has increased. Now they are having to spend more for compliance issues and the new wage structure,” he said.

He however said if the industry got compliant, orders would start coming back. “The Rana Plaza collapse tar-nished our global image. We need to rebuild it by ensuring workers’ safety.”

Rokeya Begum, a sewing machine

operator at the factory of the IDS Group in the capital, told the Dhaka Tribune that: “As a worker, I feel safer than be-fore. Fire exits now remain open during working hours. Earlier, the doors used to be locked.”

Sumon, who works at the factory of Brothers Fashion in the capital’s Kar-wan Bazaar, said: “We are enjoying a new wage structure, but at what cost. We lost so many brothers and sisters in the worst ever factory disaster.”

Srinivas B Reddy, country director of the International Labour Organisation, recently said: “Freedom of association in the RMG sector in Bangladesh is getting a shape. During the last 15 months, a total of 134 trade unions got registered with the government. This is very signi� cant in terms of freedom of association in collective bargaining.”

BGMEA President Atiqul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that: “The RMG sector is ready to set a new paradigm in safety and security because many initiatives have been taken. If the buy-ers and the stakeholders continue their e� orts, the RMG sector would become safe and matured.” l

MoU signed for 3rd 1,320MW coal plant PAGE 1 COLUMN 6a capacity of 250MW was built by the Chinese � rm CMC.

In October last year, the construc-tion of the Rampal power plant began amid massive resistance from the con-servationists who fear that the pro-posed plant situated beside Pashur Riv-er – a sweet-water dolphin sanctuary, and the Sundarbans – a Unesco World Heritage Site – would be a threat to the biodiversity of the mangrove forest.

After the signing of the MoU, the en-ergy adviser yesterday said though the country’s power generation capacity was 10,000MW, only 7,000MW could be generated. Power plants having the capacity of around 2,000MW were under maintenance while another 1,000MW could not be produced due to gas crisis.

Admitting the persistent loadshed-ding, Taw� q urged all to have patience. He also reminded that there had been progress achieved in the power sector.

The PDB chairman said: “We have taken initiative to acquire 5,000 acre land in Moheshkhali where around 9,000MW capacity power plants will be installed. It will be the country’s future power hub for coal power plants.”

He said now the government would begin the feasibility study, � nalise the joint venture agreement, prepare pro-ject documents and carry out other project development activities in full swing.

“We have to mobilise 30% of the funds as equity while the rest will come as soft loan from China,” Ruhulullah added. l

Parliamentary body PAGE 1 COLUMN 6Being a signatory to the 14,080km Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) network that stretchedfrom Singapore to Tur-key, Bangladesh must convert its track into broad gauge to get connected with the global railway link through India’s board gauge network.

The TAR connectivity will en-ter Bangladesh from India and cross through the neighbour’s northeastern states. The broad gaugetrack can carry twice the number of passengers at one and a half times cheaper cost than me-tre gauge lines.

“Almost all countries in the world have abandoned the unsafe and un-reliable metre gauge long ago, but our network is still metre gauge-based. We have to keep pace with the world and turn the network into broad gauge,” ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury, chair-man of the parliamentary body, told the Dhaka Tribune after the meeting at the parliament building yesterday.

He said: “We cannot reap the ben-e� ts of TAR unless the tracks are con-verted into broad gauge.”

Md Ali Asghar, Mizanur Rahman, Sirajul Islam Mollah, Mohammad No-

man, Yeasin Ali and FatemaJohra– the other members of the committee who attended the meeting – also gave con-sents to the recommendations.

Railway Minister MazibulHoque, who also agreed, said conversion would need huge investment although he did not specify any � gure.

The issue of converting the tracks came up when the committee had been discussing the recent derailment of the metre-gauge Drutojan Express on the Jamunabridge.

O� cialstold the meeting that the train, which unexpectedly accelerated because of strong wind, would not have derailed if the track was broad gauge.

One-metre wide metre gauge tracks can be turned into dual gauge, on which both metre gauge and 1.76-metre broad gauge trains can run, by setting up an additional rail beside the existing track.

BR has been setting up a new 64km metre gauge track on the Tongi-Bhairab route at a cost of over Tk2,037crorefor smootheningtra� c on the Dhaka-Syl-het and Dhaka-Chittagong routes.

According to a paper presented at the meeting, BR has been also imple-menting seven projects costing over

Tk2,800crore for procuring 70 metre gauge locomotives and 864 coaches, wagons and carriages.

O� cial � gures show that the length of BR’s tracks is 2,877km,of which 1,808km is metre gauge, 660km broad gauge and 409km dual gauge.

Welcoming the recommendation, TA Chowdhury, a former BR director general, told the Dhaka Tribune that: “One of the major problems for the BR is the mixed nature of its tracks. We should have a uniform network for en-suring seamless journey from one cor-ner of the country to another.

“We are a signatory to the TAR. Ac-cordingly, we have to turn the tracks into broad gauge to get connected to India,” he said.

The former DG explained that often the BR could not run broad gauge trains because there were not enough com-patible locomotives and engines.

“If the tracks are made uniform, all locomotives could be used for all types of carriages,” he said.

The UN Economic and Social Com-mission for the Asia Paci� cis sponsor-ingthe TARnetwork that connects Singa-pore with Turkey through South Asia. l

Food adulteration reaches new height PAGE 1 COLUMN 4Arsenic and chromium above safety limits were detected in a total of � ve out of 13 rice samples.

Using a sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method developed by the food safety lab, 66 samples were analysed for the presence of formaldehyde, while adulteration was detected in samples of coriander, mango and fresh shrimps.

The tests indicated that poultry feed in the country had also been contami-nated, as samples of chicken and � sh contained traces of antibiotics.

High microbial populations were found in several samples of pasteurised milk, indicating poor processing pro-cedures by the manufacturers. Sam-ples of cucumber and street foods also showed high microbial populations, suggesting widespread contamination in the water supply.

At least four samples of package juice were mislabelled as containing no preservative, although they contained benzoic acid within safety limits.

Dr Subimal Sinha Choudhury, di-rector of Institute of Public Health (IPH), told the Dhaka Tribune that the survey report has been submitted to

the Health Ministry. Further tests of di� erent products were being carried out at the food safety lab, Subimal said, adding that the reports would be made public soon.

The latest survey report was hand-ed over to Health Minister Mohammed Nasim and other senior o� cials of the health directorate on April 15.

Prof Dr Shah Monir Hossain, former director general of the health services and senior national adviser of the FAO, said the � ndings were shocking infor-mation for the whole nation.

He added that instead of focusing only on the end products, the issue should be addressed at the root level. Pointing out that there were four steps in the production process – farmer, transport, wholesale, and retail trader, Dr Monir said better monitoring and supervision were mandatory for stop-ping food adulteration.

Adulterated food products are re-portedly the cause behind thousands of people su� ering from fatal diseases like cancer, kidney failure and heart problems.

Health specialists told the Dhaka Tribune that the Food Ministry had enacted a Food Safety Act, but was yet to prepare the necessary rules. As the

issue of food safety was also linked to 14 other ministries, a coordinated agency should take responsibility of ensuring safety in food products, they added.

HC issues order on food adulterationThe High Court yesterday ordered

the government to inform it within two weeks on what steps they had taken to halt the poisoning of food and also against its perpetrators.

The bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Khurshid Alam Sarkar passed the order following a writ petition lodged by Supreme Court lawyer Kazi Mynul Hasan.

The court also issued a rule seek-ing explanation from the government as to why they should not be directed to ensure production and sale of safe food and to take proper legal action against the people who are responsible for adulteration of food and its sell-ing, Deputy Attorney General Al-Amin Sarker told the Dhaka Tribune.

The bench � xed May 18 for hearing the petition, our court correspondent reported.

The petition told the court about the recent study which found that 40% food in the capital’s market contained high levels of pesticide. l

Top o� cials PAGE 1 COLUMN 1The state minister said: “The govern-ment has zero tolerance about abduc-tions and enforced disappearances. The decision has been taken to bring back relief among the Narayanganj dwellers.”

Earlier on Sunday, Nazrul Islam, councillor of ward 2, his four aides – Tajul, Swapan, Liton and Jahangir – and his driver, were kidnapped from Adalatpara area of the city. Hours after the incident, lawyer Chandan Kumar Sarkar and his driver were also kidnapped in a separate incident of abduction from Narayanganj. lAbduction fear grabs nation

PAGE 1 COLUMN 2such possibility and take action accord-ingly.”

Advocate Elina Khan, chief exec-utive of Bangladesh Human Rights Foundation, however, does not think that any “third party” has been behind the recent incidents. She holds respon-sible the failure of the law enforcers and the state behind these abductions.

She told the Dhaka Tribune yester-day that there had been no chain of command among the � eld level police o� cers.

“General people are now used to thinking that the law enforcers cannot help them while criminals think that the law enforcers cannot do anything to them,” she said.

Narayanganj abductionSupporters of Narayanganj ward 2 Councillor Nazrul Islam, who was abducted around 1:45pm on Sunday along with his four aides – Tajul, Swa-pan, Liton and Jahangir – from Adalat-para area of the city, yesterday blocked the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway for nearly two hours, demanding immedi-ate rescue of the � ve men.

Transport movement remained suspended on the highway until the demonstrators withdrew the blockade around 12:30pm, reports our Narayan-ganj correspondent.

The demonstrators took to the street and blocked the highway at Mouchak point around 10:45am, said Abdul Ma-tin, o� cer-in-charge of Siddhirganj po-lice station.

Nazrul, also the former general sec-retary of Narayanganj Chhatra League, and his men were leaving the court premises after securing bail in a case, said Nazrul’s wife Selina Islam. They were in Nazrul’s private car when they were abducted.

Police found the car at Rajendrapur in Gazipur around 9pm on Sunday but have yet to trace the victims.

Meanwhile, lawyers of Narayanganj Ainjibi Samiti boycotted the court, de-manding information on the where-abouts of abducted lawyer Chandan Kumar Sarkar and his driver, who had been kidnapped hours after the abduc-tion of Nazrul and his men.

Around the time the � ve were kid-napped, senior lawyer Chandan Sarkar and his driver Ibrahim were abducted from the court area, family members said. Police recovered Chandan’s car from the capital’s Gulshan around 10pm yesterday.

When contacted, Nurul Islam, police super of Narayanganj, told the Dhaka Tribune that they were trying to trace the abductors and the victims.

Two abducted Gazipur brothers rescuedGazipur Superintendent of Police Ab-dul Baten has claimed that they have identi� ed the abductors and they will be arrested soon.

Dil Mohan Mondal, 45, and Kedari Mohon Mondol, 41, were rescued on April 28 from Nandan Park area around 9pm. They had been kidnapped three days before, reports our correspondent in the district.

Dil Mohan said six to seven men identifying themselves as police ab-ducted them at gunpoint on April 25. He said their hands had been tied and they had been blindfolded and taken to an unknown place by a microbus after roaming around for an hour.

He said they had been con� ned to a room in a house near Nabinagar. The abductors did not torture them, nor did they demand any ransom. On Monday evening, they took the two brothers in a car and left on a road from where po-lice rescued them.

Meanwhile, 10 people, including teachers and students, have been ab-ducted in the past two months in My-mensingh.

Our correspondent there reports: The last incident of abduction took place in the early hours of Monday when unknown people kidnapped three people, including two teachers at gunpoint, cu� ng them after breaking into their houses in Bhaluka upazila’s Pachgaon village.

Quoting locals, police said eight to 10 people broke into the house of Shamsuddin Munshi. They held the family members hostages at gunpoint and handcu� ed Kamal Hossain Sabuj, 35, son of Shamsuddin and a teacher at a local coaching centre. They also picked up Abu Bakar Siddique Swapon, a cousin of Sabuj, who is also a teacher at the same coaching centre.

When family members inquired where they were taking the two, the armed men said they were taking them to the police station.

In another incident, introducing as police seven to eight armed men ab-ducted Yusuf Ali Sohag, 18, a second year student of Mymensingh Homeo-pathic College and son of Kolimullah of Panibhanda village, on the night of April 19.

The same group of armed men also picked up Bashir Ahmed, Morshed Ali, and Sohel from an adjacent village the same night.

There has been no trace of the two teachers and the four youths yet.

On March 5, posing as RAB person-nel, some armed people broke into the house of Asadullah of Purbapara vil-lage and took away his sons Abu Hanif, Nazmul and Sanwar in a microbus.

O� cer-in-Charge of Bhaluka Mod-el police station Ra� qul Azad said two general diaries had been lodged in con-nection with the incident.

The three boys were found blind-folded and lying beside a road after three days of the abduction.

In reply to a question, IGP Hassan Mahmood Khandker yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune: “Who says cases are not investigated? Investigations are underway, but yes, some are pending. The law enforcers have been trying hard and we have already brought back a few victims.”

Asked separately why abduction has been on the rise recently, both the IGP and State Minister for Home A� airs As-aduzzaman Khan said abduction had happened in the past and it was hap-pening now. They said there was no need to be scared as the law enforcers had been looking into the cases. l

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, April 30, 2014

HC: Govt not interested to implement Banglan Tribune Report

Expressing dissatisfaction, the High Court yesterday said it seemed from the activities of the government that it had no interest regarding implementa-tion of Bangla language in all spheres.

The bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain also directed six secretaries to im-mediately stop the use of English in signboards, banners, number plates of vehicles and all public o� ces (except for embassies, foreign institutions and areas related with those).

The court also asked them to stop ad-vertisement in English as well as mixed

language in electronic and print media, except for the English newspapers.

The respondents were asked to com-ply with the court’s order by May 15.

The court said the English dailies could publish advertisements in En-glish language. If they failed to imple-ment the order in the stipulated time, the court would make them stand in the courtroom, the bench said.

During yesterday’s hearing, the bench perusing two reports of cabinet secretary and information secretary, placed by Deputy Attorney General Bis-wojit Roy, said no e� ective measures had been taken to implement Bangla except for exchanging of letters. l

German delegates doubt about � ve-year stability of governmentn Mohammad Al-MasumMolla

The Visiting German parliamentary del-egation yesterday appreciated the pre-vailing political stability in the country but at the same time expressed concern whether it could last for � ve years.

“I must express the Bundestag’s concern that the current parliament has been elected by a small part of the electorate only with tens of millions of voters having been deprived of the pos-sibility to cast their ballots.”

“While we appreciate the stabili-ty this country has again found today we have some doubts whether it can be maintained for a full period of � ve years unless substantial dialogue be-tween the major political forces starts, rather sooner than the later. We would hope to soon receive a positive signal from Bangladesh in this respect,” Dag-mar G Wohrl, head of the delegation, told journalists at a press conference.

Expressing optimism to continue the support to Bangladesh the delegation chief said: “German remains committed to continue its support to Bangladesh on its way to leave behind poverty and to consolidate its democracy.”

In reply to a query whether Germany wants fresh election in Bangladesh she said the German delegation expressed its concern over political system in Bangladesh while meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina but it is up to Bangladesh whether it would hold new election or not.

“Dialogue should be resumed soon... we regretted that a mecha-nism of participatory election was not found. The matter of new election is yours (Bangladesh),” Dagmar said.

In reply to another query whether the relationship between Bangladesh and Ger-many would be a� ected after the January 5 election she said Germany would con-tinue to work with Bangladesh as the two countries have had a long-standing tie.

German parliament member Stefan Rebmann said Bangladesh will be as-sessed critically and will be under fo-

cus in future about workers’ safety and job security.

“German has strong trade unions and Bangladesh also should have pow-erful trade unions for the sake of prog-ress and sustainable development,” he said adding that strong trade union helps country to move towards prog-ress and development. As he was asked whether more German investment would come to Bangladesh in future he said it depends on safety and job secu-rity of the workers and frame work.

Dagmar said as Germany is Bangladesh’s second biggest market worldwide “It creates a joint obligation for buyers, traders and producers for your govern-ment and for ours, for your trade unions and civil society and ours to make sure that production and working condition are up to international standards”

About the working atmosphere in the RMG sector, especially after the Rana Plaza collapse, she said with the help of Accord and ILO, but also with the support of Alliance, some progress has been made, no doubt, all stakehold-ers deserve praise for this. “But it is only the beginning of a long road, which Ger-many is ready to go with Bangladesh.”

Praising Bangladesh for achieving the millennium development goals, Dagmar said Bangladesh is considered to be a role model in areas such as pov-erty reduction, increasing enrolment at primary schools and lowering infant and maternal rate.

In the press brie� ng, German Am-bassador to Bangladesh Dr Albrecht Conze, Deputy Head of Delegation Ste-fan Rebmann, Jürgen Klimke, Frank Heinrich, Gabi Weber,NiemaMovassat and UweKekeritz were present. l

Two men arrested with arms, ammo remandedn Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday granted 10-day police remand against two persons who were arrested from an intercity train at the Airport railway station in the capital with explosive substances.

Dhaka’s Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Nazmul Haque Shyamol granted the remand in two cases for the accused – Nurul Islam and Md Shamim alias Abdullah – after hearing a plea.

The defence counsels � led a bail prayer with remand rejection prayer, while Additional Public Prosecutor Anowarul Kabir Babul opposed their bail and sought remand.

Md Sirajul Islam, a Railway police sub-inspector, produced them with 20-day police remand in the cases.

On 28 April, an automated AK 22 ri� e, two magazines and eight bullets were recovered from the duo when they got down from “Subarna Express.” The lawmen also found three knives, 10 small packets of power gel, 10 det-onators and some electric wire in their possession. l

Qaisar’s defence claims witness gave false statementn Udisa Islam

The defence counsel of war crimes ac-cused Syed Mohammad Qaisar yester-day cross examined the prosecution’s ninth witness and claimed that the wit-ness had given false deposition in the case.

Mostafa Ali in his statement at the International Crimes Tribunal 2 on Monday said he had witnessed the kill-ing of seven sta� of a food storehouse in Shayestaganj of Habiganj including his father on April 29, 1971 by the Paki-stani occupation forces, assisted by the accused and his accomplices.

During the cross-examination, de-fence counsel Abdus Sobhan Tarafder suggested that the witness had given false statement upon instruction of the prose-cution. Mostafa denied the claims saying: “I came here for justice and whatever I told earlier in my deposition is true.”

At the end of questioning, the pros-ecution submitted a petition seeking permission to place a war victim in camera. The tribunal then set May 4 al-lowing the plea.

Chief of “Qaisar Bahini,” a group of collaborators in Habiganj, the ac-cused was indicted on February 2 on 16 charges of crimes against humanity. l

Malaysia to build 22,000 apartments, � yover in Dhakan Mohosinul Karim

The government of Malaysia is expect-ed to construct 22,000 apartments in Uttara and Kamrangir Char areas in Dhaka city and a 13km long � yover be-tween Shantinagar and Jheelmil proj-ect at Mawa in Keraniganj.

Bangladesh and Malaysia yesterday signed three memorandums of under-standing to implement three projects.

Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain and Malaysian govern-ment’s Special Envoy Utama S Samy Vellu signed the deals on behalf of their respec-tive sides. The Malaysian government will put forward its � nancial proposals to the Bangladesh government as soon as pos-

sible to sign a � nal agreement for starting the construction works, the minister told reporters at the signing ceremony held at the ministry’s conference room.

He said, “We hope the Malaysian government will submit its proposals soon so that we can sign the � nal deal within next two months to start the construction work. They will complete building 22,000 apartments within 30 months since the award of work order.” Initially, the Malaysian government will construct 12,000 out of 18,000 apart-ments under Uttara apartment project.

The government had cancelled work order awarded to Ena Properties Ltd, a local construction � rm owned by ruling Awami League MP Enamul Haque, as it

failed to build the apartments within a stipulated time. And, the Housing and Public Works Ministry will construct the rest of apartments.

At the same time, the Malaysian au-thority will � nalise proposals for build-ing 10,000 new apartments in Kamran-gir Char area after eviction of illegal occupants from the government land. Even though illegal occupants would be evicted from the government land, they would be rehabilitated under the new apartment project, Mosharraf said.

However, Bangladeshi government will continue talks with the Malaysian authorities to construct a 13km � yover between Shantinagar and Jheelmil proj-ect which had already been � nalised.

“We will look at their proposal. If their proposal is acceptable, we will go ahead with it. Otherwise, we will look for another company or country to con-struct the � yover,” he added.

Samy Vellu informed that Iqbal Mo-hammed, chief of International Con-struction Company, will look after the construction works on behalf of the Ma-laysian government as its local agent.

He said, “If we go to construct the apartments with traditional technol-ogies, it will take around six years to complete the work. But we are not go-ing to do it. We will provide modern technologies and designs in the project as we can complete the works within 30 months since the work order.” l

MoU signed for 3rd 1,320MW coal plant n Aminur Rahman Rasel

Bangladesh and China have signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a 1,320 megawatt coal-� red power plant in Moheshkhali Island of Cox’s Bazar – a possible future hub of such electricity generating units.

Having two units each with equal production capacity of 660MW, the proposed plant will use imported coal. Construction of the plant is likely to complete in 2019.

State-owned Power Development Board struck the deal with China’s largest state-owned power generation company yesterday to jointly set up the $2bn plant.

It would use ultra-supercritical tech-nology to curb pollution which is evi-dent at a coal-run power plant. The De-partment of Environment has already given location clearance for the plant.

PDB Chairman Md Abduhu Ruhu-lullah and China Huadian Hong Kong Company Limited President Zhao Longjun inked the MoU from the re-spective sides at Bidyut Bhaban in the capital yesterday.

Foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali, Prime Minister’s Power and Energy Ad-viser Taw� q-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Pow-er Secretary Monowar Islam, Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jun and senior o� cials attended the function.

The PDB chairman claimed that the site required almost no resettlement and rehabilitation while it would cre-ate minimum disturbance to the na-ture, environment and ecosystem of the vicinity.

After the signing of the MoU, the en-ergy adviser yesterday said though the country’s power generation capacity was 10,000MW, only 7,000MW could be generated. Power plants having

the capacity of around 2,000MW were under maintenance while another 1,000MW could not be produced due to gas crisis.

Admitting the persistent loadshed-ding, Taw� q urged all to have patience. He also reminded that there had been progress achieved in the power sector.

The PDB chairman said: “We have taken initiative to acquire 5,000 acre land in Moheshkhali where around 9,000MW capacity power plants will be installed. It will be the country’s fu-ture power hub for coal power plants.”

He said now the government would begin the feasibility study, � nalise the joint venture agreement, prepare proj-ect documents and carry out other proj-ect development activities in full swing.

“We have to mobilise 30% of the funds as equity while the rest will come as soft loan from China,” Ruhu-lullah added. l

‘But it is only the beginning of a long road, which Germany is ready to go with Bangladesh’

Police display arms and explosive, including an AK 22 automatic ri� e, recovered from Kamalapur Railway Station in the capital yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

4 NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, April 30, 2014

AKM Mohsinlaid to restn Tribune Report

Group Captain (retd) AKM Mohsin, father of National University (NU) Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Munaz Ahmed Noor was buried at the Air Force Graveyard yesterday. His namaz-e-jana-za was held at Mohakhali DOHS Mosque after Asr prayers yesterday. AKM Mohsin breathed his last on April 27.

NU VC Professor Dr Harun-or-Rashid, Pro-VC Professor Dr Md Ashlam Bhuiyan and university sta� attended the janaza. A Doa Mah� l will be held at Mohakhali DOHS Mosque on Thursday after Asr prayers. l

Government launches cyber security programmen Asif Showkat Kallol and

Muhammad Zahidul Islam

The government has launched a pro-gram for strengthening cyber security under Public-Private Partnership.

The programme, being mainly im-plemented by the Information and Communication Division, is called the Cyber Nirapotta Karmashuchi (cyber security programme).

The Tk66.2 crore project will run from April 2014 to June 2015. The division has started implement-ing the project in collaboration with the Insight Bangladesh Foundation,an NGO.

Work has already begun on moni-toring phishing, identity theft, credits card fraud, online shopping frauds, cy-ber pornography, call and SMS forging, romance frauds, and so on.

Sources said Finance MinisterAMA Muhith has already allocat-

ed Tk1.98 crore from the block al-location of the ICT Ministry for the � rst three months of the 15-monthproject.

ICT Division Secretary Nazrul Islam Khan said the programme would try to make people, especially students and the young , aware about safe use of in-ternet.

According to the ICT Division web-site, the project would try to spread knowledge about cyber security and thus protect the privacy of citizens and businesses.

Sources said the government want-ed to monitor internet activities and increase security layers to protect in-dividuals and industries from of perpe-trators.

The Finance Ministry has directed the ICT Division to form a three-mem-ber committee that will keep the min-istry updated about the progress of the project. l

Show-cause notices served to substandard pharmaceuticalsn Moniruzzaman Uzzal

The drug administration authority has issued show-cause notices to 15 phar-maceuticals companies, which have previously been identi� ed as manu-facturers of substandard drugs, asking them to explain within 15 days why their licences should not be cancelled.

The Directorate General of Drug Ad-ministration (DGDA) made the move following a directive from the Health Ministry made on April 20.

Major General Jahangir Hossain Mollick, director general of the DGDA, con� rmed the news and said the no-tices were served to companies identi-

� ed by a specialised committee, which was formed by the parliamentary body of the ministry in 2010 following the deaths of 24 children allegedly caused by the paracetamol syrup produced by Rid Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

The team of specialists had also pre-viously identi� ed the drugs of 29 phar-maceutical companies as posing “high risk to public health.”

When asked why the DGDA issued notices to only 15 of the 29 companies, Major General Mollick said the 14 other companies had already been suspend-ed by the drug administration. But the suspension orders were later halted by the court after those companies lodged writ petitions against the DGDA. So the show-cause notices could not be served

to those companies, the DG added. The punitive actions against the 15

companies will depend on the replies of the show-cause notices, he said, adding that the highest punishment will be the cancellation of manufactur-ing licences.

Seeking anonymity, a senior DGDA o� cial told the Dhaka Tribune that most of the companies identi� ed as “risky” had been continuing the man-ufacturing of large amounts of fake and substandard drugs by securing court orders against their suspension.

Sources at the DGDA said the team of specialists had identi� ed 62 companies as producers of fake medicine in 2010, and revised the number to 73 following a second round of inspections in 2013.

Out of those 73, the team identi� ed 29 companies as posing “high risk to public health.” Three were told to con-tinue production of drugs except pen-icillin, cephalosporin, antibiotics and steroids while the other 26 were told to continue production in accordance with the specialised team’s instruc-tions, but were also barred from pro-ducing penicillin, cephalosporin, anti-biotics and steroids.

The report by the specialised team mentioned that the 29 companies did not comply with the World Health Or-ganisation guidelines.

Prof ABM Faruque, a member of the inspection team, told the Dhaka Tribune that the team had visited the companies in 2010 and cautioned them about maintaining standards. Some of those companies had managed to im-prove their quality, but the rest were still in same conditions. l

‘BNP speaking in the language of con� ict’n Our Correspondent, Savar

The BNP is speaking in the language of con� ict, instead of politics, said Communications Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday.

“They have resorted to the violence, failing to involve people in their movement,” he told reporters during a visit to the BRTA’s Savar o� ce.

“We won’t respond in the language of arms. Rather, le-gal action will be taken (against them),” he said.

The BNP itself was perpetrating abductions, killing and enforced disappearance in a bid to bail itself out of trou-bled waters, he alleged. While visiting the BRTA o� ce, the minister suspended two persons, including Shaukat Iqbal, an inspector at the o� ce. l

Two � shmongers rescued in Chittagong; � ve cheats held n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Members of Rapid Action Battalion in a tip-o� drive rescued two whole-sale � sh traders con� ned by a gang of miscreants for ransom from Pan-walapara area in Double Mooring of the port city yesterday.

The victims were identi� ed are Osman Gani Badsha, 22, of Moulvi-pur village in of Sitakunda upazila in

the district, and Abul Hossain, 28, of Doajipara village in the upazila.

During the drive, RAB personnel also arrested � ve abductors from the spot. Of them, two are women.

Additional Superintendent of Police Md Ma� zul Islam, spokes-man for RAB-7, told Dhaka Tribune that two female cheaters of a gang allured Osman and Abul Hossain to have sex with them in Alangkar area

just after dawn while trading and later they went to a residence of Pan-walapara area.

At one stage, some male accom-plices of the gang con� ned the trad-ers and snatched all money from them, who later contacted family members of them (traders) and de-manded Tk 70,000 more.

However, their family members in-formed the matter to RAB-7 who res-

cued the two around 11:30am follow-ing on a tip-o� and nabbed the � ve miscreants, the o� cial continued, adding that four other members of the ring managed to escape from the spot.

The arrested were handed over to Double Mooring Police Station and a case was launched against them.

They were conducting drives continuously to nab the rest mem-bers of the gang, the o� cial added. l

Aman gets bail, Sohel, Goyeshwar denied n Tribune Report

The High Court yesterday granted bail to BNP Joint Secretary Amanullah Aman in a case � led over the killing of an Islami Chhatra Shibir activist on De-cember 29 last year.

Meanwhile, Justice Zafar Ahmed, one of the judges of the division bench, felt embarrassed to hear the bail plea of Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, a Standing Committee member of the party, Dep-uty Attorney General Khurshedul Alam told the Dhaka Tribune.

Goyeshwar’s petition could be moved to another bench, he added.

Aman’s lawyer Sagir Hossain said upon getting bail the leader now could

be released from jail. The two leaders were sent to jail by a

lower court on April 20.The same bench yesterday also or-

dered the formation of a medical board to check on the health of BNP Stand-ing Committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain.

The board, comprising two profes-sors, nominated by the VC of BSMMU, will have to submit a report in this re-gard.

The order came after Mosharraf placed a bail petition on medical grounds in a corruption case of embez-zling over Tk9 crore.

Meanwhile, Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Jahurul Haque yesterday

again denied bail to Jatiyatabadi Swech-chhasebak Dal President Habib-un-Na-bi Khan Sohel in four cases � led with di� erent police stations in the capital.

The cases were � led for bomb blasts, arson attacks and obstructing police from performing their duties during the BNP-led alliance’s ant-government movement in last year.

Sohel, chief of the BNP’s volunteer wing, was sent to jail on April 6 af-ter he had surrendered before a court in 13 cases. Counsel of the accused Mosharraf Hossain said: “A total of 23 cases were � led against him. Of the cases, Sohel earlier granted bail from the High Court and lower courts in 19 cases.” l

The report by the specialised team mentioned that the

Land minister discloses threats from land grabbersn Emran Hossain Shaikh

Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sharif yesterday said he had already received threats from land grabbers over the government’s new initiative for land record management.

“The land minister receives threats from land grabbers saying ‘do not to meddle with a hornet hive,’ and this is the reality,” the minister said while addressing a roundtable, titled “Land Digitalisation: Prospect for Land Equal-ity in Bangladesh,” at The Daily Star conference hall in the capital yesterday.

“Some say that there are only 10-12 land grabbers, but let me tell you... the numbers are way more than that. I want cooperation from all so that I can suc-cessfully execute my plans,” he added.

During the last tenure of the Awa-mi League-led government, the then public works minister Abdul Mannan Khan took a strong stand against land grabbers and threatened them in pub-lic. However, after the end of his ten-ure, the Anti Corruption Commission launched a probe against the former minister for unusual rise in wealth. l

Experts fear land digitalisation project too large to tamen Emran Hossain Shaikh

Speakers at the roundtable conference on land digitalisation expressed doubts about the future of the land record digitalisation project saying in the context of Bangladesh, such a large project would be very di� cult to implement.

They made the observations at a roundtable conference, titled “Land Digitalisation: Prospect for Land Equal-ity in Bangladesh,” at The Daily Star conference hall in the capital yesterday.

The discussants, however, ex-pressed hope that if the land record system was successfully digitalised, cases regarding land disputes in this re-gard would be greatly reduced.

Land record digitalisation project began in January 2013 is expected to digitalise all the existing land docu-ments of the three upazilas, Amtali of Barguna, Mohonpur of Rajshahi and Jamalpur Sadar, by December 2015 as a pilot project funded by the European Union.

In the discussion, ruling party law-maker Sagufta Yasmin has express con-cern regarding the implementation of the project saying it was a herculean task for Bangladesh.

“I do not know whether it will be a success or not. But, I am happy that the initiative has been taken,” the lawmak-er said, while describing the bitter ex-perience she had while visiting a local land o� ces.

Claiming that the land o� ces, both local and central, have been infested with the corrupt, the lawmaker also noted: “No work can be done at any land o� ce without bribes.”

Earlier in 2009, a pilot land digital-isation initiative was taken at Savar, Dhaka and Palash, Narsindi, which ended fruitlessly.

Philippe Jacques, head of coopera-tion of the European Union delegation to Bangladesh, also expressed similar views as the ruling party legislator.

Expressed his disappointment over the slow development of the digitalisa-tion project, Philippe said that the land

o� ces of Bangladesh have become a nesting ground for corruption, much like the police and custom department.

In the discussion, the representa-tives from several NGO’s also expressed similar concerns over implementation of project.

Speaking over the phone with the Dhaka Tribune, he added: “Currently, digital survey is being conducted only on 4 mouzas out of 600 mouzas of three di� erent upazilas.”

He said there are 59 thousand mou-zas in Bangladesh and a government team was now working to gather the funds required to implement the digi-talisation process all over the country.

At the discussion, Professor Abul Barkat said most of the cases � led in Bangladesh were related to land dis-putes, which now stands at 2.5 million pending cases.

“On an average, a case takes 3 to 45 years to reach a settlement. Thus, if no new case were � led from today, the ju-diciary would still need 27 million years to settle pending cases,” he said. l

Bangladesh Nari Progoti Sangha Executive Director Rokeya Kabir speaks at a seminar on dicrimination against wemen, at National Press Club yesterday NASHIRUL ISLAM

Visitors bypass the security barrier around the lion’s cage at Dhaka Mirpur Zoo yesterday to take a closer look, paying no heed to the risk of such insensible behaviour SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Beach committees to be formedn Mohosinul Karim

The government has asked authorities concerned to form “beach manage-ment committees” and improve safety measures to prevent loss of lives while swimming in the sea.

Schools and other educational insti-tutes were also asked to inform the min-istries of education, tourism and infor-mation about visits by their students to sea beaches. The Cabinet Division gave the directives yesterday through an of-� cial circular, which was sent to the di-visional and deputy commissioners of Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong and Patuakhali, and to police superintendents and other high o� cials across the country. l

5NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, April 30, 2014

PRAYER TIMES Fajar 4:05am Sunrise 5:25am Zohr 11:56am Asr 4:22pm Magrib 6:27pm Esha 7:47pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Source: Accuweather/UNB

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 38 27Chittagong 34 26Rajshahi 40 27Rangpur 37 25Khulna 39 26Barisal 37 27Sylhet 37 22Cox’s Bazar 34 25

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:26PM SUN RISES 5:25AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW40.2ºC 20.3ºC

Rajshahi Srimangal

WEATHER

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

DNCC halts beauti� cation of Airport road median halfway Vinoy World completed the renovation from Jahangir Gate to Chairman Bari area, but rest has been left incomplete n Abu Hayat Mahmud

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has failed to resume the beauti� cation works of a portion of the Airport road’s median in the capital after the renova-tions were halted in March following criticism from urban planners and ar-chitects.

Vinyl World, a private company who had sponsored the renovations from Kakoli to Jahangir Gate on the Airport road, was asked by the city corporation to suspend the beauti� cation works.

Vinyl World Chief Executive O� cer Md Abaid Monsur told the Dhaka Tri-bune: “We have suspended the devel-opment work following the directives of the DNCC.”

The private advertisement � rm had already completed the renovations from Jahangir Gate to Chairman Bari area, but rest had been left incomplete.

“We are ready to complete rest of the work. If the city corporation would be given us permission, we will do the work as per the DNCC’s advice,” he added.

Contacted, DNCC Chief Executive O� cer BM Enamul Haque said: “We are not sure on whether we should continue with beauti� cation project as there we had faced criticism from few architects, urban planners and media persons on the quality of the works.”

“Now, we want suggestions from all of you on what steps we can take in this regard,” he added.

He further added that DNCC was ready to demolish all existing beauti-� cation instalments from the Airport road, if they receive a better and ac-ceptable alternative from any organi-sation or person.

“After receiving much criticism be-fore the ICC T20 World Cup, we have reduced the number of concrete struc-tures and planted trees on the medi-an,” he said.

Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB) former president Mubasshar Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have just suggested the city corpora-tion to increase plantations on the me-dians, nothing else.”

“Dhaka has become a concrete jun-gle, and trees are disappearing fast. Thus, the city’s temperature has been rising continuously and the highest temperatures are witnessed in posh ar-eas of the capital,” he said.

Hossain also added that architects, urban planners have no grievance against the city corporation and any other organisation or person.

“They have just criticised the beau-ti� cation project since it focused on concrete structures.”

“You can see the median of Manik Miah Avenue, it is full of greens. Does it look bad? There can be no com-plaints against trees,” he said.

Similarly, Centre for Urban Stud-ies Chairman Professor Nazrul Islam echoed the same sentiment and said the two city corporations should indi-

vidually form advisory committees in-cluding architects, urban planners and art experts.

Meanwhile, the development works of roads, footpaths and drains, which were part of the beauti� cation project for the ICC World T20, have started at di� erent areas of the DNCC area.

Repair and renovation works on footpaths along the Airport road, Rokea Avenue and Kalshi road has been going on although the development works were supposed to be completed before the ICC World T20 to give the capital a facelift for international visitors.

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) began the beauti� cation work in early February, following approval from the government on January 19.

The Local Government Department approved the Tk115 crore project, with Tk92 crore from the government ex-chequer and the remaining from DNCC funds.

Under the project, di� erent roads of the capital was identi� ed to be wid-ened, installed with streetlights, tra� c signs and road markers and beauti� ed.

Brig Gen Md Abul Khair, chief engi-neer of DNCC, told the Dhaka Tribune that: “We were given only four-� ve weeks to complete the tasks. Due to time constrains, we could not com-plete some of the [beauti� cation] works on schedule.”

He, however, expressed hopes that the works would be completed by March 8. l

AL LEADER ASSAULT AT CU

BCL faction demands permanent expulsion of their rivalsn CU Correspondent

A section of Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders at Chittagong Univer-sity yesterday held a press conference on the campus to press home their seven-point demand, including per-manent expulsion of the miscreants and organisation responsible for the assault on an Awami League Leader.

The leaders of this faction also warned to go for tougher movement on the campus unless their demands were met.

The demands came just few days af-ter � ve Chhatra League activists of CU unit were expelled by the central com-mittee over the same issue.

At the press conference, the leaders alleged that the “intruders from the anti-liberation force” Islami Chhatra Shibir was responsible for the attack

on Nasir Haider Babul, assistant secretary of Awami League central sub-committee.

Sumon Mamun, join secretary of Ch-hatra League CU unit, read out a writ-ten statement that also declared CU Chhatra League President Mamunul Haque “persona-non-grata” on the campus for one year.

The statement alleged that the cen-tral committee had only expelled the workers, but did not take any action against the masterminds of the attack.

Sabbir Ahmed, vice-president, and Ariful Islam, organising secretary of CU BCL unit, were alleged to be the mas-terminds of the attack.

Sabbir and Ariful Islam had been im-plementing the agenda of Jamaat-Shi-bir, the statement added.

Terming them “intruders,” the statement demanded immediate ex-emplary punishment. The other de-mands were to take legal action against the attackers, suspending the academ-ic certi� cates, maintaining a congenial education atmosphere, ban politics of Jamaat-Shibir on the campus and re-moving the Jamaat-Shibir agents from the administration.

Nasir Haider Babul was physically assaulted by a few Chhatra League ac-tivists on the campus on April 5, and a case was � led with Hathazari police station in this connection. l

Garment workers stage demo in Savarn Our Correspondent, Savar

Hundreds of garment workers of a fac-tory yesterday staged demonstration in front of the factory in the capital’s Savar as 12 workers were sacked on Monday.

Workers of Jeisa Fashion Limited staged the demonstration in front of the factory in Hemayetpur area.

Later, police brought the situation under control dispersing the agitators.

The protesting workers alleged that the authorities of the factory often car-ried out physical and mental torture on the workers.

Moreover on Sunday, some workers of the � nishing section were beaten by the authorities alleging that they had made some mistakes.

Protesting the incident, workers ob-served work abstention inside the fac-tory on Monday.

As a repurcussion, the authorities had sacked 12 workers in this connec-tion.

Seeing such notice yesterday, the ag-itated workers started demonstrating in front of the factory main gate.

Mosta� zur Rahman, director of in-dustrial police, con� rmed the incident, and said additional law enforcers were deployed in front of the factory to avert any untoward incident. l

Five houses gutted in Chittagong � ren CU Correspondent

A � re gutted � ve houses at Satkania up-azila in Chittagong yesterday. However no casualty was reported in the inci-dent, said � re brigade sources.

Sources at Fire Service and Civil De-fence Headquarters in Agrabad said the � re originated from an electric short cir-cuit at a house located at Asokerpara area of the Satkania upazila around 3pm and soon engulfed the adjacent four houses.

Two units of the � re � ghters from Sat-kania Fire Station rushed to the spot on information and doused the � ame after one and half hour of frantic e� orts.

The extent of the losses caused by the � re would be around Tk3 lakh, said the sources. l

Mugger gets life-term in Chittagong n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

A Chittagong court yesterday sen-tenced life term to a notorious mugger in an arms case while the court also awarded him seven more years of im-prisonment in another section of the same case.

The convict, Firoz Alam alias Sha-hin, 30, is a fugitive, said court sources.

The court of 6th Metropolitan Spe-cial Tribunal, ASM Jul� quar Hayat, sentenced the verdict yesterday in ab-sentia of the accused, said Mohammad Masud, bench assistant of the tribunal.

The court sentenced him for life term under section 19 (A) of Arms Act, 1878 on charge of keeping illegal arms and more seven years imprisonment

under section 19 (F) of the same act on charge of keeping ammunition.

According to the case documents, Pahartali police arrested Firoz with a lighter gun, four rounds of cartridg-es and two machetes on February 29, 2012 when he was getting prepared for mugging.

Sub-Inspector Kanon Chowdhury of Pahartoli police station lodged a case with the police station accusing Firoz in this connection. Police submitted the charge sheet against him on April 3, 2012 while the court framed the charge against the accused on September 17, 2012.

The court sentenced the verdict af-ter testifying 11 witnesses, court sourc-es said. l

A plenty of trees were supposed to be planted along the median from Chairmanbari to Kakoli but the work has been stopped due to indecision of the authority concerned ABU HAYAT MAHMUD

BCL protests attack on its leaders at RUn Du Correspondent

The leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) Dhaka University unit brought out a procession on its campus yesterday, protesting the recent attack on two of its leaders at the Rajshahi University unit.

Later, they held a protest rally at Aparajeyo Bangla at 12:30pm yesterday. BCL DU unit President Mehedi Hassan and General Secretary Omar Sharif spoke on the occasion.

They demanded immediate arrest of the Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) activists involved in the crime.

Speaking at the rally, DU President Mehedi Hasan claimed that ICS men had been directly involved in the RU incident and strongly demanded a check on Shibir’s activities on the educational premises.

He called the ICS men cowards for waylaying the BCL leaders and demanded exemplary punishment.

Omar Sharif warned ICS men not to

repeat it in the future. “If they attack on us in future, we won’t remain silent and will give them an appropriate answer,” Omar Sharif added.

Omar Sharif conducted the rally while leaders of BCL DU unit and Hall units were present, among others. The protest march was brought out from DU’s Madhur Canteen and went along di� erent streets on campus.

Earlier, a group of unidenti� ed miscreants allegedly severed an activist’s leg and tore the tendons on the leg and hand of another leader of Rajshahi University BCL unit on campus yesterday morning.

The victims were identi� ed as Abdullah Al Masud and Tagar Mohammad Saleh, second year students of the History and Folklore departments respectively who were initially admitted at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital but later transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital as their conditions deteriorated. l

Rift on JU campus over former VC’s presence n JU Correspondent

A con� icting situation has come back on Jahangirnagar University campus over the presence of former vice-chan-cellor Prof Shari� Enamul Kabir at a fresher’s reception.

Over the issue, a section of teach-ers has boycotted the reception for the � rst year students under 2013-14 aca-demic year.

Arranging a press conference at new Arts Faculty building under the ban-ner of “Shikshak Somaj’ at about 4pm yesterday, the teachers declared that they would not participate in the pro-

gramme because Enamul Kabir would be made chief guest there.

Prof Nasim Akhter Hossain, conve-ner of the platform, said the initiative by the university authorities was not praiseworthy as Professor Enamul Kabir was ousted from VC’s post by teachers and students because he had done mas-sive corruption and irregularities.

He said they would stage demon-stration on the campus protesting Prof Shari� Enamul Kabir’s presence on the campus.

He said teachers and student would raise black � ag and launch a mass cam-paign against the former vice-chan-

cellor on the campus at 10am today (Wednesday) as a protest of this initia-tive.

Prof Shari� Enamul Kabir resigned from VC’s post on May 17, 2012 in re-sponse of “Shikshak Somaj’ and stu-dents’ combined movement “Oust VC movement” after the killing of Zubair and Chhatra League’s attack on cul-tural activists on the campus, campus source said.

Prof ATM Atikur Rahman, Prof Noim Sultan, Prof Aminul Islam, Prof Muzibur Rahman, associate profes-sor Rayhan Rhyne were present at the press conference, source said. l

O� cials of Consumers Rights Protection Directorate recently raided a wholesale banana market at Kutubpur area under Sakhipur upazila in Tangail and destroyed huge amount of chemical-mixed fruits and seized chemical mixing machineries BANGLAR CHOKH

Sabbir and Ariful Islam had been implementing the agenda of Jamaat-Shibir, the statement added

1 injured as BSF opens � re n Our Correspondent, Kurigram

One person was injured when the In-dian Border Security Force men shot at cattle traders near Shimulbari border in Phulbari upazila of the district early yesterday.

The injured is Shamser Ali, 40.Locals said he had been shot at no-

man’s land by the BSF personnel of Boskotal Camp in India.

Members of the Border Guard Ban-gladesh rescued Shamser and detained three of his associates. They are Salam, 40, Zahedul Islam, 45, and another un-identi� ed.

Subedar Ali Imran Nizami, company commander at Shimulbari, con� rmed the incident to the Dhaka Tribune. l

6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Government of the People’s Republic of BangladeshOffi ce of the Chief Engineer

Health Engineering Department (HED)Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

105-106, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.

Memo No. HED/HPNSDP/10 Bed/MCWC/Tender-127/2014/616 Dated: 27.04.2014

Cancellation NoticeThe Tenders pertaining to the works Construction of 10 bed Mother & Child Welfare Centres [Baherchar & Kunjerhat {Package No-WP-621/SDP(GOB)-HED & WP-622/SDP (GOB)-HED}]; [Medhakandar {Package No- WP-628/SDP(GOB)-HED}] & [Karapur, Mokimabad & Dangarhat {Package No-WP-460/SDP(GOB)-HED, WP-585/SDP(GOB)-HED & WP-591/SDP (GOB)-HED}]; invited vide this offi ce Memo Nos. HED/HPNSDP/GOB/10 Bed/Tender-127/2014/435, Dated 06.02.2014; HED/HPNSDP/GOB/10 Bed/Tender-128/2014/437, Dated 06.02.2014 & HED/HPNSDP/GOB/10 Bed/MCWC/Tender-963/2014/449, Dated 06.01.2014 respectively are hereby cancelled.

Md. Nazrul Islam Executive EngineerDG-83/14 (5×3) Health Engineering Department

SWELTERING WEATHER

Mango farmers see bleak futuren Our Correspondent,

Chapainawabganj

Farmers are worried about expected mango output as young mango fruits are hugely falling o� due to sweltering weather in Chapainawabganj this year.

Agriculture o� cers say the target for 2,50,000 metric tonnes of output may be missed if it does not rain soon.

Besides intense heat, extra use of insecticides will contribute to the re-duction of mango output this season, they say.

According to the o� ce of the Department of Agriculture Extension, this district is home to around 19, 00,000 mango trees at � ve upazilas of the district.

People rely more on mangos as means of living rather than on paddy in the district.

Around 83% mango trees bear buds late this season, but these trees bear fruits up to the mark in the end as there was no calamity, farmers say.

A Kansat mango farmer, Nurul Islam says, “I have bought mango orchards worth around Tk30,00,000 this year, but worried over the output due to rainless and sizzling weather.”

“Due to lack of wet weather, young mango fruits are falling o� trees every day. If rains do not come soon, I may have to face huge loss,” he says.

“Size, taste and output of man-goes depend on wet weather,” thefarmer adds.

Mainly, unscrupulous mango trad-ers who lease or buy orchards in ad-

vance make extra use of insecticides seeking to rake in pro� ts.

The farmers should use insecticides on experts’ advice and also look out so that mango traders, who buy the fruits in advance, cannot use extra insecti-cides, agriculture o� cers suggest.

A senior o� cer at Mango Research Centre at Chapainawabganj, Dr Sharf

Uddin says, “Extra use of insecticides is damaging mango orchards as well as public health.”

“So, it should be used on experts’ advice. Besides, uses of insecticides as per rules help grow a good output of mango. Extra use of insecticides also kills useful insects hamperingmango output.”

“It is enough to spray insecticides on the mango trees three times from mangoes’ budding to ripening period,” he says.

Deputy Director at the Department of Agriculture Extension Abu Rashed says, “Mango output may not be up to the mark this season because young mango fruits are heavily falling o� .” l

Drought drying upjute pro� tsFarmers facing huge losses because of lack of rainfall in Maguran Our Correspondent, Magura

The plight of Magura jute growers has mounted to a large extent this year be-cause a drought like situation has been prevailing in the district over the last few day days.

People related to jute cultivation are assuming that farmers of the district might loss over Tk50 crore for lack of rainfall.

According to Agriculture Extension Department (DAE), a total of 28,250 hectares of land has been brought under jute cultivation in the district this year.

Jute cultivation started in the dis-trict in February. Since then, farmers have been su� ering from lack of water and in this period farmers could not see a single drop of rainfall.

Jute growers said jute cultivation requires heavy rainfall. For want of rainfall jute growers in the district are being compelled to irrigate their land with irrigation pumps that have hiked production cost abnormally.

Many farmers of the district have al-ready irrigated their land twice, but they did not get expected results. In many places, jute plants have turned yellow as marginal farmers do not have capability to water jute plants with additional costs.

If growers irrigate their land with extra cost Tk50 crore will be required to cultivate 28,250 hectares jute � elds.

Monirul Islam, a farmer of Jagdal vil-

lage under Magura sadar upazila, said“We are facing di� culties to grow jute in want of rainfall. If I knew such drought like situation would prevail I would not cul-tivate jute. I have cultivated jute on four bighas of land this year. I have borrowed money on high interest from local money lender to irrigate my land.”

“I am very much worried about my fate, if I could not repay money, what will happen with my family?”

Ra� qul Islam, a farmer of Gangna-lia village under Magura sadar upazila, said, “Last year there was adequate rainfall in the district during jute sea-son. For this, we did not need irriga-tion. In spite of low production cost we could not make pro� t from jute last year. But this year our production cost has increased at a large scale in want of rainfall. In this situation, how shall we make pro� t from jute?”

An o� cial of Magura DAE Noab Ali in want of rainfall jute growers in the district are watering land by irrigation pump. As huge amount of land have been brought under jute cultivation in the district this year, huge amount of underground water is being lifted eve-ry day through irrigation pump. Such lifting of underground water was caus-ing adverse e� ect on environment.

When contacted, Deputy Director Mokhlesur Rahman said jute growers might count huge loss this year as they were not getting su� cient water. l

Mayor among 80 sued in Barisal for vandalism n Our Correspondent, Barisal

A case was � led against a total of 80 people, including a local mayor, with Gournadi police station on Monday night on charge of vandalism in the upazila complex the previous day.

The accused key � gure is Harisur Rahman Haris, the mayor of Gournadi Municipality, and also general secre-tary of Gournadi upazila unit AL.

Gournadi police station OC Abul Kalam said Saiful Islam Razu, typist of upazila chairman o� ce, � led the case

against 30 named and 50 unnamed people for vandalising the o� ces of upazila chairman, vice chairman, LGED engineer and accountant on Sunday.

The case statement also said 20 people got injured and 12 motorcycles parked before the building were van-dalised during the attack.

As per direction from higher author-ities, the lawsuit was recorded as crimi-nal case and police were investigating the incident, the OC added.

Meanwhile protesting the attack, both AL-blessed upazila chairman and

vice chairman conducted their work under the open sky in front of the building.

Shah Alam Khan, chairman of Gour-nadi upazila and president of the upa-zila unit AL, said as their o� ces were damaged, they were forced to perform public duties in the open.

However, Shah Alam and Harisur Rahman Haris blamed each other for the attack. Due to tense situation, ad-ditional police were deployed in the upazila town to prevent any future un-toward incident. l

Five cocktails recoveredPolice on Monday recovered � ve cocktails from the Water Development Board area in town. Jhenaidah police station Sub-Inspector Uzzal Maitra said, on a tip-o� , the police raided the area at 9.30pm and recovered the cocktails from near the tennis club in the area. The law enforcers could not nab anyone in this connection. A case was � led with Jhenaidah police.–Our Correspondent

One dies from electrocution A farmer died from electrocution in Charanipara village, Ranagacha union council, Jamalpur Sadar upazila yester-day. The deceased was identi� ed as Abul Hossain. Lutful Kabir, chairman of the district said Abul had come in contact with a live wire while he was working in the � eld during a storm. He died on the spot. Sadar police station O� cer-in-Charge Mujibur Rahman con� rmed the incident. –Our Correspondent

Inter school sciencefair held A daylong interschool science fair was held yesterday in Kurigram district. AFAD, a local NGO, organised the programme in Bijoystambha Chattar with the help of the Freedom Founda-tion. AFAD Executive Director Syeda Yasmin presided over the function where civil surgeon Lokman Hakim, additional superintendent of police Shahab Uddin and former Mayor Kaziul were present, among others. Additional magistrate Akter Hossen Azad inaugurated the func-tion. 20 schools in the district partici-pated in the programme.–Our Correspondent

NEWS IN BREAF

Jatka netting still on, 14 � ned in Barisal n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Although administration frequently conduct drives and penalise � sher-men for catching of jakta (ilish less than 10 inch in length), it has no ef-fect on o� enders.

A mobile court � ned 14 � shermen and boatmen Tk28,000 for netting jatka in Barisal yesterday morning.

Anisur Rahman, contingent com-mander of Coast Guard, said they had conducted a raid on several

boats in the Kirtankhola River near Taltali area and seized 1,320 kilo-grams of jatka from four engine-run boats.

The detained � shermen, boat-men with boats and jatka were hand-ed over to mobile court and the court � ned each of the 14 � shermen and boatmen Tk2,000 and released them with boats, Rahman said.

The � ned � shermen and boatmen were Ra� k Farazi, Masud Farazi, Nizam Farazi, Moslem, Azizul, Ab-

dul Hakim, Hasan, Nizam, Masud, Ershad, Faisal Yunus, Moksed, and Momin, all from Bhashanchar area under Mehendiganj upazila of Ba-risal.

Bimal Chandra Das, district � sh-ery o� cer, said the seized jatka were distributed among the poor.

Fisheries department has im-posed the ban with a view to boost-ing  � sh resources in the country, said Dr Aminul Islam, divisional � shery o� cer.

But defying the government’s ban, � shermen of southern region are catching the � sh fry for lack of rehabilitation facilities.

Fishermen said drive against netting  jatka could not be success-ful without representation of grass root level � shermen in implementa-tion of the government  policy  and without helping the marginal � sher-men  by giving subsidy, alternative job facilities during ban of � shing on open water sources. l

‘Community clinics vital in rural Moulvibazar’n Our Correspondent,

Moulvibazar

State-run community clinics are play-ing a vital role in ensuring maternal and neonatal healthcare in the rural areas of Moulvibazar, said Muhammad Taskir Miah, president of Porchakra Community Clinic, at a congregation in Monsurnagar union under the dis-trict’s Rajnagar upazila yesterday.

Held on the clinic premises,

the congregation was made up of around 100 expecting women and adolescent girls who participated in a drive organised by Porchakra group committee with the support of Partners in Health and Develop-ment, an NGO.

The � rst of its kind in Moulvibazar, the aim of the drive was to measure haemoglobin and sugar levels and determine blood groups of the par-ticipants, free of cost.

The event was chaired by Taskir and conducted by Shiekh Muham-mad Abdul Khalique, � eld co-co-ordinator of Partners in Health and Development. Muhammad Milon Bakht, chairman of Monsurnagar union parisad, Mamunur Rashid, union parisad member, and Uma Roy of the NGO addressed the gath-ering, among others.

Milon Bakht stressed on the need for both the government and the

community’s active participation to make the community clinics suc-cessful for the greater interest of ru-ral public health in Moulvibazar.

Jamirul Islam, district co-coordi-nator of Partners in Health and De-velopment, said the NGO had plans to support such events with the help of UNICEF and Canadian Interna-tional Development Agency in all the community clinics in the dis-trict’s seven upazilas. l

A huge quantity of young mangoes fall o� because of scorching heat in Chapainawabganj this year DHAKA TRIBUNE

Police super conducts a cleanliness drive at Pirojpur Government Primary School yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Gazipur road accident kills twon Gazipur

Two people have been killed and 10 others injured in a head-on collision between a truck and a human hauler on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway yesterday.

The deceased were identi� ed as Geeta, wife of Dorshon of Manipur. The name of the deceased eight-month old girl could not be known immediately.

Witnesses said a truck collided head-on with a human hauler at South Shakna area on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway around 10:30am, killing Geeta on the spot and injuring the others.

Later, the child succumbed to her injuries when rushed to the hospital.

Hotara police outpost In-Charge Sub-Inspector Ra� qul Islam con� rmed about the deaths to the Dhaka Tribune.

Of the injured, � ve were sent to Dha-ka Medical College Hospital. l

Beekeeping turns into lucrative profession in Dinajpur n Tribune Desk

Honey collection through beekeeping in litchi orchards has turned out to be a lucrative profession helping the dis-trict’s economy grow considerably.

It has become a common trend among the people involved in apicul-ture to collect honey from litchi buds in the district, which has a good name for widely producing the succulent sum-mer fruit.

A large number of beekeepers from di� erent places of the country collect honey from the litchi orchards of the district every summer when the litchi trees are in full bloom.

They pay a considerable amount of money to the litchi plant owners in ex-change for the scope to maintain hon-eybee colonies in the hives.

Selling the items in the local mar-kets and outside the district, the bee-

keepers are getting highly economi-cally bene� ted, which also ultimately helps increase the size of the district’s economy.

Consequently, as apiculture is meet-ing the need of honey greatly in the country so it is also removing unem-ployment of youths largely.

But some insiders of the sector told this correspondent that the honey pro-duced in the district could be exported if government patronisation including loan was found.

According to sources at the industry assistance centre of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), Dinajpur, there are around three hundred honeycombs in the dis-trict.

Around 45 tonnes of honey worth Tk1.5 crore is collected form the honey-combs of the district every year.

Madhabbati of Biral upazila and

Masimpur of Sadar upazila are famous for litchi production.

Honey collector Jiban Chandra from Sirajganj said they come to the district for honey collection in the summer when the litchi plants start budding.

He has 78 boxes to collect honey from the litchi gardens.

Garden owners allow them to collect honey because it also helps good pro-duction of litchis.

Beekeeper Abdur Rahman of the same area said those who come to col-lect honey have teams of three to four people and each team collects 30-40 maunds of honey. Per maund honey is sold at Tk 12,000.

Each team makes pro� t of Tk3lakh to Tk 5 lakh.

He, however, said they collect honey from buds of litchis in Dinajpur, from mustard � owers in Chapainawabganj, Sirajganj and Bogra districts, from co-

riander � owers in Chakma, from black cumin

� owers in Shariatpur and sesame � owers in Panchagarh in six months of a year but they have to remain unem-ployed for the remaining six months.

Honey cultivator Sikandar said al-though they collect honey it has no designated market.

There is no system as well to process the honey they produce.

Moreover, those who collect honey are not given bank loan from the gov-ernment.

Assistant engineer of industry assis-tance centre of BSCIC, Dinajpur, Niren-dra Nath Roy said honey cultivators are given training to expand apiculture in-dustry in the district.

Dr Saikhul Are� n of Dinajpur Horti-culture Centre said honey cultivation is now a big sub-sector of the district’s agriculture. l

7Long Form Wednesday, April 30, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Arild Engelsen Ruud

Bangladesh is facing an in-teresting future. Its largest and most important neigh-bour by far, India, may have a new government in a few

months time. If there is a new govern-ment then it will probably be headed by Narenda Modi of the BJP.

As readers will know the BJP, the Bharatiya Janata Party, is a Hindu nationalist party, and Modi himself is a proud member of the RSS, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu chau-vinist cultural organisation.

These organisations have for many years been feeding on anti-Muslim sentiments, and although Modi now-adays professes policies that are more focused on development and econom-ic issues than cultural nationalist ones, he still cannot make himself say sorry for the events that killed thousands of Muslims under his watch. For a politi-cian of such ambition, surely a simple apology would not matter much? But his inability or unwillingness to do so suggests that his antipathy against Muslims is not just a political gimmick but something that runs deep in his personality.

What can a much smaller neighbour, the Muslim majority Bangladesh hope for with such a man at the helm just across the border?

The � rst thing to note is that the position of prime minister in India is a relatively less powerful position than that of the prime minister of Bangla-desh. Formal institutions are stronger and more independent in India than in Bangladesh, for instance the courts, the election commission, and various other government institutions.

A second thing to note is that India being a federal republic has some pow-ers divested to the states, meaning out

of reach of the prime minister. This is particularly so in cases where the state is run by a party di� erent from that of the central government.

A third thing to note is that although important powers do rest with the central government, the political reality of contemporary India is that of coalition politics. No central government can hope to remain independent and e� cient without the considerable goodwill of regional parties.

A fourth point to note, and perhaps the most important one, is that India’s general objectives will not change with a new government. Whichever party heads the government, the general aim will be the same. The overwhelm-ing political consensus in India today is that of economic growth.

The Congress too wants economic growth, even if they emphasise on distribution more than growth in their election campaign. Indians in general are all in favour of economic growth. They are in favour of foreign investments, of improved export, of greater opportunities for business, and of more and better jobs for the millions of hopefuls all over the country.

To meet such aspirations India will need friendly relations with world powers, the ability to match strength with China, the absence of con� icts along its borders in order to look good in the UN, massive import of energy fuels, and new markets.

India today has a relatively positive image in the world, based on its ability to build economic growth while ensur-ing (relatively) social distribution and maintaining democracy. Modi is busi-ness-friendly, and his businessmen friends will tell him how important this soft power is for new opportuni-ties overseas.

Modi also realises the need for friendly relations with countries in the Middle East. No economic develop-ment is possible without oil and gas. Modi also realises the need to aviod, if possible, con� icts that will ru� e American or European feathers. Inter-national con� icts will ru� e feathers.

The US is India’s largest trading partner, but even larger is the Euro-pean countries combined in the EU. With friends like that, you don’t need enemies. Your friends will keep you on the straight and narrow.

India’s priorities are set by deep aspirations in the country and will not change much even if the Hindu nationalist topples the secular dynasty from the throne. A strong prime minister will do his utmost to steer the country towards a direction that seeks to ful� ll those aspirations.

For Bangladesh it would mean politics as usual. Perhaps a little less cordial than the present bonhomie between Dhaka and New Delhi, but still a professional relationship. With Modi at the helm, New Delhi will wish a good, e� cient, working relationship with Dhaka.

Issues of common concern are the corridor to India’s north-east, trade, and the many issues relating to the border including water sharing. But a strong government will not wish to prolong such con� icts, however Hindu nationalist it may be. Business will remain the primary aim.

The fly in the soupThe question is how a weak prime minister might do. It may well be that Modi will not win as many seats as his spin doctors suggest. Opinion polls are generally unreliable, and tend to over-emphasise the urban and the middle class, where Modi’s support is higher.

Besides, the Indian voter, apart from being prone to change of opinion at the last minute, is reticent with information about his or her preferences. Moreover, the American style projection of Modi as the main man on whom all light shines is an untested strategy in the Indian context. Equally important is the fact that in some of the large states, most notably in Uttar Pradesh, the four big parties in the fray (SP, BSP, BJP and Congress) all hover around the 20%-25% mark.

This makes it virtually impossible to guess the outcome. Parallel situa-tions prevail in other states. We have in other words only a dim idea about the outcome of the election. Will Modi secure 220 seats for the BJP? Or perhaps 230? Or only 190?

A weak Modi will be vulnerable. He has a number of close allied parties in the existing alliance, but a weak result for these or for the NDA itself will make it necessary for Modi to � nd new friends. This is not an unlikely outcome. The problem is that the available partners will sell themselves dearly. A possible candidate in this respect is Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamul Congress from West Bengal.

She may well secure 20 seats in her home state, a number that will make her extremely interesting to a weak Modi.

Mamata Banerjee has improved her chief ministerial touch over the two and a half years of her rule. But she has some of the maverick agitator of the past left in her. This feature resur-faces every now and then, and we last saw it during the election when she thought herself as above law and the election commission.

As every reading Bangladeshi knows, there are two major outstanding issues of contention between India and Bangladesh. One is the sharing of the Teesta water and the other is the land boundary agreement regarding the northern enclaves. In both these the maverick Mamata Banerjee has claimed a political stake for her state.

If she is to sell herself to Modi, it will be in exchange for a heavy in� uence on these two issues. If she is strong enough she may gain veto pow-er over both issues. A weak Modi may in fact outsource his entire Bangladesh policy to Mamata Banerjee.

Mamata Banerjee is not anti-Bang-ladesh, and she is not anti-Muslim. But she is a populist and a tactician. She is a populist in the sense that she appeals unashamedly to Bengali sen-timents, including the deep sense of deprivation and despair that prevails in a state once rich and powerful, but now economically in the backwaters while others surge forward.

So she promises to protect their interests – the interests of her state. These interests include, naturally one might say, “their water” and every inch of the motherland. These are issues that sit well with a large section of the electorate and de� ect from her poor economic results.

Mamata Banerjee is also a tactician, an ambitious politician who will seek every opportunity to strengthen her hold on power and ensure its prolon-gation. She is not overly concerned about India’s relationship with Bang-ladesh or with the US, and she has never shown any interest in interna-tional issues. Her primary interest is her own position within India. If she can exploit nationalist (or regionalist) sentiments to enhance her position, there is little reason to believe that she will not do so, even if at the cost of the country’s international reputation.

She may be the chief minister of West Bengal and have a strong position there, but it is clear that she has national ambitions as well. To achieve such an ambition she may need emotional issues that will project her image.

Bangladesh will want a peaceful and mutually agreeable resolution of outstanding issues with its most important neighbour. This can be done if the neighbour feels con� dent and strong; strong enough to be a little generous. A reputation as the neighbourhood bully is not in India’s interest now.

Its ambition points to a much larger scene, and so India too will want a peaceful and mutually agreeable reso-lution of outstanding issues.

But a huge but weak neighbour is a liability. With its Bangladesh policy outsourced to Kolkata, India seen from Dhaka will be erratic, uncooperative, unpredictable, and prone to making risky allegations.

Bangladesh can best hope for no Modi. But as a second choice, it can hope for a strong Modi. l

Arild Engelsen Ruud is Professor of South Asia Studies, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental languages, University of Oslo, Norway

If Mamata is to sell herself to Modi, it will be in exchange for a heavy in� uence on these two issues. A weak Modi may outsource his entire Bangladesh policy to Mamata

But a strong government will not wish to prolong regional con� icts of interest, however Hindu-nationalist. Business will remain the primary aim

Hoping for a strong ModiIf Narendra Modi has to be a factor in the India-Bangladesh relationship, a strong Modi is the best hope for a meaningful resolution of India’s internal con� icts of interests

Wednesday, April 30, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE World8

At least 4% of US death row convicts are innocent, researchers sayn Agencies

At least four percent of death sentences in the US send an innocent person to death row, according to new research published Monday in the scienti� c journal Proceed-ings of the National Academy of Sciences, The Christian Science Monitor reported.

Some of those people are exonerat-ed and freed – but not all of them, the researchers report.

Th e study follows a broader report earlier this year that found that a record number of people were exonerated for crimes in 2013, suggesting that innocent people go to prison far more often than had been thought.

Th e study authors found that over a 31-year period, 1.6 percent of inmates sen-tenced to death were exonerated and freed. Of the remaining innocent inmates, some see their sentences reduced to life in prison, while others are executed, the authors say.

Bu t for those wrongly convicted

inmates who are removed from death row and not exonerated, their new life sen-tence among the general prison popula-tion is a mixed blessing: the odds of being executed are now nil, but their chances of being freed also plummet, since, once o� death row, outside e� orts to prove their innocence tend to slow, or even cease, according to the researchers.

“The net result is that the great majority of innocent defendants who are convicted of capital murder in the United States are neither executed nor exonerated,” the researchers write. “They are sentenced, or resentenced to prison for life, and then forgotten.”

The new research is based on US death row records kept between 1973 and 2004, during which period 7,482 defendants were sentenced to death. As of Dec. 31, 2004, 1.6 percent of them, or 117 people, had been exonerated, some 12 percent had been executed, and about 46 percent were still on death row. l

Attacks raise tensions on eve of Iraq pollsn AFP, Baghdad

Twin bombings killed 15 people north-east of Baghdad yesterday, the latest in a wave of deadly violence that has cast a pall over Iraq’s � rst general election since US troops withdrew.

The bloodshed came a day after a spate of blasts, including 10 suicide bombings, killed 64 people, raising ques-tions over whether Iraq’s security forces can protect upwards of 20 million eligi-ble voters during Wednesday’s polls.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, under � re over the worst protracted surge in violence in years along with a laundry list of voter grievances, is bidding for a third term in o� ce in the election, the country’s � rst since 2010.

The Shiite premier has trumpeted a

battle against violent jihadists whom he claims are entering Iraq from war-torn Syria and supported by Gulf Arab states including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

But critics say the authorities’ heavy-handed treatment of minority Sunnis has contributed to the unrest.

In the latest violence, a spate of at-tacks on Monday killed 64 people in Baghdad as well as north and west of the capital, fuelling fears voters may stay at home rather than risk being caught up in bloodshed.

On Tuesday morning, twin bomb-ings at a market in the town of Saadiyah, northeast of Baghdad, killed 15 more peo-ple. “I can’t imagine the militancy is going to sit back and say, ‘Yeah, have your elec-tion’,” said John Drake, a London-based security analyst at AKE Group. l

EU imposes more sanctions on Russia over Ukraine crisisn Reuters, Brussels

The European Union announced asset freezes and travel bans on 15 Russians and Ukrainians over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, but the measures were seen as less aggressive than sanctions im-posed this week by the United States.

In Ukraine’s eastern city of Luhansk,

hundreds of pro-Russian separatists stormed the regional government headquarters, unopposed by police, and the Ukrainian government said it had information that they also planned to seize the local television center.

The EU list published yesterday in-cluded senior Russian politicians but did not extend to companies, several

of which were singled out by Washing-ton when it extended its sanctions list on Monday. Moscow immediately de-nounced the new EU measures, saying the Europeans were simply doing Wash-ington’s bidding and should be ashamed of themselves. A senior Russian politi-cian said Moscow was working on mea-sures to counter the new sanctions. l

Violent weather in US kills at least 29n AFP, Washington

Americans in the southern and eastern US braced for more violent weather yesterday after a string of tornadoes and other storms killed at least 29 peo-ple, news reports said.

Some 75 million people were at risk from storms that could unleash hail, winds and twisters on the a� ected re-gions, according to the National Weath-er Service.

The toll from two days of violent weather reached at least 29 Monday in

at least six states, CNN and other media reported.

After violent weather Sunday that killed 17, most of them in Arkansas, the new deaths included eight in Mississippi on Monday, CNN reported, quoting the state emergency management agency.

The governors of Alabama and Geor-gia declared state-wide emergencies.

In the Mississippi town of Louisville, the storm snapped trees in half and stripped them of their branches. Sheet metal twisted itself around road signs and tree trunks, CBS News reported.

Mississippi Senator Giles Ward hun-kered down in a bathroom with his wife, four other family members and their dog Monday as a tornado de-stroyed his two-story brick house and � ipped his son-in-law’s SUV upside down.

“For about 30 seconds, it was unbe-lievable,” Ward said. “It’s about as aw-ful as anything we’ve gone through,” the network quoted Ward as saying.

In the hardest-hit parts of Arkansas, emergency crews intensi� ed their search for survivors of Sunday’s twisters. l

Iran warns against Egypt death sentencesn AFP, Tehran

Iran yesterday warned that the 683 death sentences handed down by an Egyptian court to suspected Islamists could add to a deteriorating situation in the country.

The verdicts passed on Monday in Cairo amid a crackdown on supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi were condemned by the United States and the United Nations.

In remarks that expressed concern rather than all-out criticism, Iran’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mar-zieh A� ham said the judgements went against Egypt’s historic principle of tolerance.

“Issuing such verdicts could have many social and political consequenc-es and encourage Egypt’s enemies to exploit the current situation,” A� ham said at a news conference.

The White House said that the court’s decision de� ed “even the most basic standards of international jus-tice,” calling for it to be reversed. l

Settlement work upped during talksn AP, Jerusalem

Israel increased settlement work four-fold during the latest round of peace talks, pushing forward with construc-tion of nearly 14,000 new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, a watchdog group said yesterday.

Pe ace Now issued its statistics as a nine-month negotiating period between Israel and the Palestinians came to a close. The group cited Israel’s construc-tion surge as a key reason for failure.

US Secretary of State John Kerry had envisioned brokering a � nal peace agreement when he brought the sides together last July. But negotiations made no progress and were charac-terized by a lack of trust, in large part because of continued Israeli settlement construction in captured territories claimed by the Palestinians.

Th e Palestinians seek the West Bank and east Jerusalem, along with the Gaza Strip, for an independent state. They say that Israeli settlement con-struction is a sign of bad faith.

Israel captured all three areas in the 1967 Mideast war, though it withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Today, more than 550,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, making it increasingly di� cult to divide the territory.

Most demographers believe that the Arab population of Israel, along with the West Bank and Gaza, will soon outnumber the Jewish population. Without a two-state solution, Israel’s position as a democracy with a Jewish majority could be in jeopardy.

According to Peace Now, Israel pro-moted plans or issued tenders for con-struction of 13,851 homes during the

talks. These included tenders, or bids for construction, of 4,868 homes, near-ly half in the West Bank alone.

The group said the number of ten-ders, including earlier bids that were reissued, was more than quadruple the average level of construction of the previous two Israeli governments.

And citing o� cial government � g-ures, the number of housing starts in the second half of 2013, some 828 new units, was nearly double the year-ear-lier level.

Peace Now said the settlement activ-ity was “destructive for the American e� orts” and undermined trust. “It also created facts on the ground that proved more than anything else that the Net-anyahu government did not mean to go for a two-state solution” and instead tried to strengthen Israeli control over occupied territory. l

Israeli demolishes West Bank mosque n Reuters, West Bank

Israeli forces demolished several struc-tures, including a mosque, in a Pales-tinian village yesterday, the day a dead-line for a deal in now-frozen peace talks expired. A Reuters correspondent saw several hundred soldiers deployed in Khirbet al-Taweel, in the occupied West Bank, around daybreak. They guarded six bulldozers that reduced to rubble buildings that were constructed without Israeli permits. Palestinians say such doc-uments are nearly impossible to obtain.

Palestinians saw a link between the demolitions and the passing, without a peace deal, of the April 29 deadline set when the talks began in July. Israel has also drawn Palestinian anger by con-tinuing to expand settlements on land they seek for a state. l

Mideast talks in tatters as peace deadline expiresn AFP, Jerusalem

Washington’s deadline for reaching a peace deal expired yesterday with the sides bitterly divided and warnings that Israel risked becoming an “apart-heid state” if it failed to make peace with the Palestinians.

As � nal date for the nine-month ne-gotiation period arrived, peace hopes appeared more remote than ever with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Net-anyahu and Palestinian president Mah-mud Abbas locked in a tactical game of � ngerpointing, and US attempts to bro-ker an extension in tatters.

After more than a year of intensive shuttle diplomacy by US Secretary of State John Kerry who had initially hoped for a deal by April 29, Washing-ton’s was reluctant to admit failure, acknowledging only a “pause” in the dialogue.

But Israel and the Palestinians were under no illusions about the fate of the latest US-led peace e� ort, with analysts saying it was a case of back to square one.

“We’re back to where we started,” said Jonathan Spyer, senior researcher at the Global Research in International A� airs Centre near Tel Aviv.

The Palestinians, he said, were like-ly to continue with their “strategy of political warfare” by seeking global recognition for their promised state, in a bid “to isolate Israel in international bodies and pressure it into making con-cessions.”

Until a month ago, the Palestinians had suspended moves on the interna-tional front to give the talks a chance but resumed the process after Israel re-neged on a commitment to release two dozen veteran prisoners.

Israel, Spyer said, was unlikely to

make any sweeping gestures but mere-ly seek to maintain the status quo by seeking to either “ignore, or reverse” the Palestinian diplomatic moves.

“Don’t expect a grand strategy from Netanyahu besides seeking to blame the collapse of the current round of ne-gotiations on Mahmud Abbas,” he told AFP.

‘Netanyahu broke construction records’

Other Israeli analysts said the col-lapse of the talks was a direct result of Israel’s relentless settlement construc-tion on land which was the subject of negotiations.

Figures published on Tuesday by settlement watchdog Peace Now showed that in parallel with the ne-gotiations, the Israeli government ap-proved plans for nearly 14,000 new settler homes, describing it as an “un-precedented number.”

“Netanyahu broke construction re-cords during the nine-month peace talks,” Peace Now head Yariv Oppen-heimer told AFP.

The ongoing settlement building in-furiated the Palestinians but Netanya-hu insisted he had never agreed to any “restraints on construction” through-out the talks.

“Abu Mazen made a hefty contribu-tion to the failure (of the talks), there is no doubt of that,” wrote Nahum Bar-nea in the top-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper.

“But only politicians with amnesia can ignore the huge contribution of the settler lobby to the failure.”

If Israel continued its relentless drive to build beyond the 1967 Green Line, it would end up turning into an apartheid state, he said, echoing a sim-ilar warning by Kerry.

“The settlers’ political lobby ... will fashion Israel in two stages. In the � rst stage, Israel will become an apartheid state, shunned by businesses in the world, it will come under siege polit-ically, legally and culturally,” Barnea wrote.

“In the second stage, the world will force (Israel) to become a bi-national state.” l

Passenger plane lands safely after engine � ren AFP, Australia

A passenger plane carrying 93 people landed safely at Perth Airport yester-day despite a dramatic midair engine � re shortly after take-o� , o� cials said.

No one was hurt during the scare on the Cobham Aviation jet bound from Perth for Barrow Island in Western Aus-tralia, but some passengers panicked. 

“Fuel starting spewing out, caught alight, there was a bit of panic on board but the pilots were quite quick to react and cut fuel lines and then put it out,” Jason Grimmett, who was on the plane, told the Australian Broadcasting Cor-poration. A spokeswoman for the gov-ernment agency Airservices Australia told AFP there was a � re in the number two engine shortly after departure. l

UK o� cial: Terrorists have changed methods since Snowden leaksn Reuters, London

Terrorists have substantially changed their methods of communication since leaks by former US intelligence opera-tive Edward Snowden, hindering intel-ligence agencies’ e� orts to track them, a senior British security o� cial said yesterday.

“The Snowden e� ect has been a very, very severe one,” Stephen Phipson, a director at Britain’s O� ce for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT), told a London security conference.

Snowden, a former National Secu-rity Agency (NSA) contractor, caused international uproar last June when he disclosed details of the extent of sur-veillance and electronic intelligence

gathering by his former employers and by the British equivalent GCHQ to the Washington Post and Britain’s Guard-ian newspaper.

“Our adversaries, the terrorists out there, now have full sight of the sorts of tools and range of techniques that are being used by government,” he said. “I can tell you data shows a substantial reduction in the use of those methods of communication as a result of the Snowden leaks.”

Snowden � ed the United States where he faces espionage charges and has since been granted temporary asy-lum in Russia.

In his initial revelations, he told the newspapers the NSA was mining the personal data of users of Google, Facebook, Skype and other US

companies under a secret program codenamed Prism.

Further leaks suggested the United States had monitored phone conversations of some 35 world leaders, including Germany’s Angela Merkel, while GCHQ has been accused of intercepting millions of Yahoo Inc webcam chats as part of massive surveillance operations.

The � ood of accusations prompt-ed US President Barack Obama to an-nounce reforms in January to scale back the NSA program and to ban eavesdropping on the leaders of close friends and allies of the United States.

Britain says its intelligence agencies have stayed within the law and that there is rigorous oversight of their actions. l

In this March 14, 2011 � le photo, a general view of a construction site in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Modiin Illit. An Israeli watchdog group said yesterday that Israel increased settlement work four-fold during the latest round of peace talks, pushing forward with construction of nearly 14,000 new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem AP

The collapse of the talks was a direct result of Israel’s relentless settlement construction on land

9Wednesday, April 30, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE WorldA new Gandhi seeks to revive Indian dynasty’s fortunesn AFP, New Delhi

As  India’s ruling Congress heads for what could be its worst ever election defeat, Priyanka Gandhi, sister of lack-lustre campaign leader Rahul Gandhi, has stepped up to lead a � ghtback by the political dynasty.

Priyanka, 42, has traditionally ceded the limelight to her older brother Rahul, 43, the di� dent scion of the country’s most famous political family and frontman for the Congress’s campaign.

But with the party � ailing in opinion polls and the election entering its � nal stretch, Priyanka has emerged swing-ing against Narendra Modi, prime ministerial candidate of the right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Par-ty (BJP).

Priyanka -- who looks like her im-perious grandmother, late four-time premier Indira Gandhi -- has called the battle against Modi and the BJP a “� ght for the heart” of Hindu-majority but constitutionally secular India.

Finally heeding calls to play a more prominent role in the campaign, Pri-yanka declared at the weekend that she was “here to thwart him (Modi)” in his “negative” agenda.

“The ideology of Congress is to unite people... while that of the opposition is to divide,” she said.

Modi is seen as a deeply polaris-ing � gure due to his Hindu national-

ist rhetoric and failure to swiftly curb deadly 2002 anti-Muslim riots that swept Gujarat during his early years as chief minister of the prosperous west-ern state.

Too late to save Congress? -While Priyanka, a mother of two chil-dren, has replaced her brother Rahul in the headlines with her attacks on Modi, analysts say her appearance has come too late to rescue the party from a hu-miliating rout.

Furthermore, the � nancial dealings of her husband Robert Vadra have giv-en the BJP a new opportunity to ham-mer away at its anti-corruption mes-sage after the Congress-led coalition’s two scandal-plagued terms in o� ce.

An investigation by the Wall Street Journal published last week showed that Vadra, an enthusiastic body-build-er, had amassed a vast property empire since getting his start in real estate with a few thousand dollars of investment.

Vadra, an unpopular public � gure who drew ridicule on social media af-ter appearing with Priyanka to vote in Delhi wearing pink trousers and a plunging V-necked T-shirt, has denied allegations of any wrongdoing and has never faced any legal charges.

Rahul and his sister are extremely close after a childhood scarred by the political assassinations of their grand-mother, and their father, former pre-mier Rajiv Gandhi. l

BJP, Congress employing tech-savvy professionals to power war of wordsn Agencies

If this poll battle has sunk to a new low, it’s because of the helping hand of the dirty tricks departments of politi-cal parties, the Hindustan Times said. These wings of the Congress and the BJP have in the past few weeks worked hard to � ing mud at each other.

The BJP attacked Congress presi-dent Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra with a video on his alleged land deals in Haryana and  Rajasthan  on Sunday. The Congress hit back the next day with pictures and a video showing BJP prime ministerial candidate  Nar-endra Modi  with alleged Surat-based hawala operator Afroz Fatta. Minutes later, the BJP retaliated by circulating a picture of Fatta and Congress MP Mo-hammad Azharuddin.

O� cially, political parties of course deny having any dirty tricks de-partment but in reality they employ tech-savvy professionals who look for material that can publicly embarrass their party’s rivals.

“Any video or picture coming out in the election season is not a knee-jerk re-action but a well-planned move. Some-times it takes months to � nd concrete evidence against an opponent. Using it at an appropriate moment is the work of a clever political mind,” said a polit-ical functionary who once was part of his party’s dirty tricks department.

BJP leader Amit Shah’s hate-speech that debarred him from campaigning for a week would not have gone public if the Congress hadn’t seized upon the opportunity. Shah sought “revenge” for the Muza� arnagar riots at a closed door meeting with local Jat leaders and it was recorded. The video was then provided to some TV channels alleged-ly by Congress workers.

This was the Congress’ revenge for its Saharanpur candidate  Imran Masood  landing in jail after his hate-speech against Modi went viral. The six-month-old video was dug out by the BJP’s Uttar Pradeshunit headed by Shah.

Congress insiders said the party has a dedicated team to track every speech of Shah and BJP sources disclosed that the party keeps tabs on Congress lead-ers like Beni Prasad Verma and Salman Khurshid, who are prone to spouting controversial comments. While the Congress coordinates its dirty tricks from Delhi, the BJP does it from Luc-know and Ahmedabad.

Political parties also employ dirty tricks at the local level, especially to � eld namesakes against their rivals.

In a large number of constituen-cies in Kerala, many candidates had to face namesakes. In Kasargode, there are two candidates with the same sur-name: T Siddique from the Congress and an independent candidate called A Siddique. l

Indian TV debate ends in � ery horrorn AFP, Lucknow

A television debate show in northern India has ended in horror after a spec-tator set himself ablaze and embraced a local politician, leaving both men � ght-ing for their lives, police and a witness told AFP yesterday.

The election show on India’s state-owned national TV channel Doordar-shan was being recorded in a park on Monday in Sultanpur, a town about 160 kilometres (100 miles) from the city of Lucknow.

A man, named by police as Durgesh Kumar Singh, emerged from a crowd of about 150 onlookers, doused him-self in petrol and then grabbed the lo-cal leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Kamruzzama Fauji, engul� ng the pair in � ames.

Singh sustained burns on 95 percent of his body which are likely to be fatal,

while Fauji was in a critical state with 75 percent burns, police said.

“This man suddenly came on the stage, poured petrol on himself and set himself on � re before tightly hugging one of the political guests,” local pho-tographer Pankaj Kumar Gupta told AFP.

“People were just too shocked to know what was happening,” said Gup-ta, whose photos show the men en-gulfed in � ames with spectators � eeing the scene.

Two other local politicians taking part in the show, Ram Kumar Singh and Chowdhary Hriday Ram Verma, also sustained minor burn injuries while trying to save the pair.

“The injured were � rst admitted to the district hospital here (in Sultanpur) and were then referred to Lucknow,” said a statement from the police.

The motive for the incident is un-known. l

Muslim woman alleged gang-raped for helping BJP campaign n AFP, Patna

A Muslim woman in eastern India has al-leged she was gang-raped by more than a dozen men because of her work help-ing the Hindu nationalist opposition in ongoing elections, police said yesterday.

The woman from Jharkhand state has � led a complaint with police that a mob attacked her in her home on Mon-

day and also assaulted her 13-year-old daughter. Her husband was allegedly handcu� ed during the attack.

Anurag Gupta, a senior o� cer and spokesman for Jharkhand police, con-� rmed an investigation had started but said it was too soon to con� rm her al-legations of a political motive for the attack.

“An investigation from all angles is

on and it is very di� cult at present to say the exact reason behind the inci-dent,” Gupta told AFP.

The victim, in her 30s, was part of a so-called “minority” wing of the Bhara-tiya Janata Party (BJP) designed to at-tract Muslim voters to the party, which is expected to sweep the ongoing polls.

Few Muslims are expected to vote for the BJP, which is being led by hard-

liner Narendra Modi who remains tar-nished by religious riots in his home state of Gujarat in 2002.

Modi, forecast by voter surveys to become prime minister after results are announced on May 16, was chief minis-ter of Gujarat when the riots broke out. More than 1,000 people were killed, most of them Muslims.

Despite criticism that he failed to con-

tain the violence, he has been cleared of any personal wrongdoing. A woman he later appointed to his cabinet has been jailed for life for directing rioters.

Women’s issues are high on the agenda in the parliamentary elections following the fatal gang-rape of a stu-dent on a New Delhi bus in December 2012, which touched o� a national de-bate about sexual violence. l

Obama ends Asia tour, ignites Chinese angern AFP, Manila

Barack Obama ended an Asian tour yesterday with a warning to China against using force in territorial dis-putes, as Chinese authorities accused the US president of ganging up with “troublemaking” allies.

The barbs ensured a tense � nish to a four-nation trip dominated by the worsening maritime rows between China and US allies in the region, which have triggered fears of military con� ict.

“We believe that nations and peo-ples have the right to live in security and peace, to have their sovereignty and territorial integrity respected,” Obama told a gathering of US and Fil-ipino troops in Manila.

“We believe that international law must be upheld, that freedom of nav-igation must be preserved and com-merce must not be impeded. We be-lieve that disputes must be resolved peacefully and not by intimidation or force.”

Close American ally the Philippines has been embroiled in one of the high-est-pro� le territorial disputes with Chi-na, over tiny islets, reefs and rocks in the South China Sea.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, which is believed

to contain huge deposits of oil and gas, even waters and islands or reefs close to its neighbours.

The Philippines, which has one of the weakest militaries in the region, has repeatedly called on longtime ally the United States for help as China has increased military and diplomatic pressure to take control of the contest-ed areas.

The Philippines and the United States signed an agreement on Mon-day that will allow a greater US military presence on Filipino bases.

Obama pledges supportAnd Obama sought on Tuesday to re-assure the Philippines that the Unit-ed States would support its ally in the event of being attacked, citing a 1951 mutual defence treaty between the two nations.

“This treaty means our two nations pledge, and I am quoting, ‘our common determination to defend themselves from external armed attacks’,” Obama said.

“And no potential aggressor can be under the illusion that either of them stands alone. In other words, our com-mitment to defend the Philippines is ironclad. The United States will keep that commitment because allies will never stand alone.”l

Priyanka Gandhi to Modi: PM-aspirants should not indulge in childish behaviourn Agencies

Priyanka Gandhi yesterday slammed BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi calling his behaviour ‘childish.’

“Your aim is to become the Prime Minister of the country, so why do you indulge in childish attacks?” Priyan-ka said in Amethi referring to Modi’s ‘shahjada’ and other barbs at Rahul Gandhi.

“You should understand the dignity of the position you are aiming for,” Pri-yanka said without taking Modi’s name.

Campaigning for Rahul, Priynaka invoked former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to seek votes for her brother.

She also attacked BJP candidate Sm-riti Irani and said, “Some leaders sit in closed rooms with reporters and pass value judgment on development in Amethi.”

“These leaders are not interested in ensuring development,” she said call-ing Smriti an ‘armchair politician.’

Smriti Irani reacted strongly to Pri-yanka’s attack and said, “Whatever I am, I have never lived o� my family’s name.”

The state of development in Amethi shocks me, she said speaking to Times Now. l

Gujarat

Andhra Pradesh

UttarPradesh

West Bengal

Bihar

Jammu & Kashmir

Punjab

Dadra & Nagar Haveli

Daman & Diu

Source: India Election Commission

Voting day markersare placed approximately

at the center of eachconstituency

Indian general election 2014Stage 7April 30

4

F

11

18

25

2

9

5

S

12

19

26

3

10

3

T

May1

8

10

17

24

T

8

15

22

29

6

2

W

9

16

23

30

7

M

28

7

14

21

S

4 5

27

6

13

20

1211

April1

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye pays her respects in front of a joint memorial altar for victims of the sunken South Korean ferry ‘Sewol’ in Ansan on April 29, 2014. Park apologised yesterday for her government’s failure to prevent a ferry disaster that left some 300 people dead or missing AFP

‘I AM SORRY’

An Indian fruit seller poses alongside watermelons carved with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slogan ‘Ab ki Baar Modi Sarkar’ - this time, it’s Modi government - in Jodhpur on April 29 AFP

Palestinian doctors treat wounded child following air strike in Beit LahiaApril 24Where is the Dislike button?! Tragic. May peace prevail on earth!

Mariam Ispahani

The battle for historyApril 23Well written piece. We should look to the future.

Farhad

No excuse for persecutionApril 23

Indeed the wrongful and rather unIslamic demand of Hefazat Secretary General Junaid Babunagari needs to be challenged and restrained. According to Islamic scholars, “Qur’an expresses a condemnation of all sectarianism arising out of people’s intolerant, mutually-exclusive claims to being ‘the only true ex-ponents’ of the Qur’anic teachings,” which is evident from the following :

Surah 6:159 – “Indeed, those who have divided their religion and become sects – you, [O Muham-mad (SW)], are not [associated] with them in any-thing. Their a� air is only [left] to Allah; then He will inform them about what they used to do.”

All sects of Islam do believe in the same Quran, Prophet (SW) and Allah. There is no controversy over this. Since Babunagari himself belongs to a sect, he should rather be fearful of Allah and not raise a � nger/voice at any other sect because it is Allah alone who knows who are on the correct path.

As regards to atheists or non-believers, the Quran expressly and emphatically declares:

Surah 2:256 – “There shall be no coercion in mat-ters of faith. Distinct has now become the right way from [the way of] error; hence, he who rejects the powers of evil and believes in Allah has indeed taken hold of a support most unfailing, which shall never give way, for Allah is all-hearing, all-knowing.”

Again the Quranic scholars say: “On the strength of the above categorical prohibition of coercion (ikrah) in anything that pertains to faith or religion, all Islamic jurists, without any exception, hold that forcible conversion is under all circumstances null and void, and that any attempt at coercing a non-be-liever to accept the faith of Islam is a grievous sin, a verdict which disposes of the widespread fallacy that Islam places before the unbelievers the alterna-tive of “conversion or the sword.”

By asking atheists not to be allowed to live in Bangladesh, Babunagari is committing a grievous sin, because it is tantamount to coercion in matters of religion.

WaliulHaqueKhondker

Modi is out of orderWe condemn the anti-Bangladeshi remarks being made

by Narendra Modi during the ongoing Indian general election campaign in the strongest possible terms.

It is up to Indian voters to choose India’s leaders, but we must express concern about o� ensive and divisive remarks which can only unnecessarily stir up tensions between our two countries.

Sadly, his position is not isolated within his party. BJP eminence Subramanian Swami recently stated that one-third of all Bangladeshis are in India and that Bangladesh should give India land to compensate for this supposed in� ux.

Nor is it only Bangladeshis who have cause for concern. Modi’s in� ammatory rhetoric signals open season on Muslims (especially Muslim Bengalis) and other minorities within India more generally, and is clearly aimed to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

To raise valid concerns about illegal immigrants is one thing. To threaten purge-type policies is quite another, and ill be� ts the putative leader of the world’s largest democracy.

Any action by India would increase public pressure for commensurate action by Bangladesh and may prove costly for Indians. In particular, souring ties could a� ect strong cross-border cooperation on anti-terror that has helped both countries.

To reduce ties between two historically close countries to single, populist points is not statesmanship. Policies that may incite communal tensions on either side of the borders will hurt Modi’s personal reputation on a very sensitive front.

Coming on the heels of the extraordinary e� orts of the current Bangladeshi government to improve ties with India, we � nd the rhetoric of the leading candidate from India to be deeply disappointing and highly concerning.

India is overwhelmingly a bene� ciary of trade with Bangladesh, both formally and informally, and with extensive trading ties and a plethora of common interests, amicable and cooperative relations are crucial to the well-being of both countries.

Driving a wedge between our two nations in the way Modi is threatening to is not only profoundly worrisome for Bangladesh, but also counterproductive to India’s own interests.

Tender allegations need investigation

Serious allegations of irregularities and lack of transparency have been made about the tender process for the government’s VAT automation project.

An o� cial complaint was � led with the National Board of Revenue and details sent to the Anti-Corruption Commission on Sunday, by a leading multinational software provider, calling for an o� cial investigation into the NBR’s procurement process.

The complainant claims to have had its bid, which was $1.1m lower than the winning bid, ruled out by the tender evaluation committee, for unexplained reasons. As a company that is larger and has substantially more experience in Bangladesh than the winning company, it claims there is no obvious technical or logistical reason for its disquali� cation.

The lack of explanation and transparency in this matter is very serious as the inference is drawn that its bid was ruled out in order to favour its competitor.

At the very least the tender process appears to have fallen below expected standards because of the lack of transparency about the reason for one bid being disquali� ed.

It is important for the government to ensure a complete and open investigation into the allegations being made.

This is important to taxpayers for two reasons. Firstly, to ensure that funds are spent e� ciently and transparently. Secondly, and just as important, to protect the country’s reputation with international companies and funders.

The credibility of public procurement processes requires that they meet the highest standards of fairness and transparency and that any alleged discrepancies are looked into fully.

Editorial10

www.dhakatribune.com

DHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, April 30, 2014

LETTER OF THE DAY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

Letters to the Editor

The government must ensure that funds are spent e� ciently and transparently

Amicable and cooperative relations are crucial to the well-being of both countries

To promote science educationApril 28At the gold medal ceremony of the Bangladesh Bingan Academy, at Osmani Smriti Milanayatan earlier this month, Sheikh Hasina urged the new generation to make studying the sciences a priority. From history, we know that science can do a great deal to help lift up a nation and increase its development.

Not very long ago, around 40% of secondary level students studied the sciences, and now, it is not even 20%. We know that around 98% of educational institutions are private. Also, it is an open secret that many teachers have been recruited based on who gives the largest bribes to the person concerned who belongs to the party in power. This is surely an important reason why quality teachers are not being hired.

We urge the government to recruit talented and dedicated people as teachers by establishing PSC for teacher recruitment and their promotion.

Md Tofazzel Hossain

Be HeardWrite to us at: Dhaka Tribune

FR Tower, 8/C PanthapathSukrabad, Dhaka-1207

Email us at: letters.dt@dhakatribune.comSend us your Op-Ed articles:

opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com Visit our website: www.dhakatribune.com

Come join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

Keeping an eye on the banksApril 24

Corruption and nepotism during times of recruit-ment is unfortunately common practice now.

Ashraful Islam Siam

Why Moyes had to goApril 23

Well put. In truth, the two biggest mistakes Moyes made was to dispense with SAF’s coaching team and to pander up to Rooney. Of the two, indulging Rooney with an undeserved pay rise was the bigger mistake, for that destroyed the other players’ morale and brought dissension into the dressing room. It was a se-rious breach of two fundamental HR principles – never reward disloyalty and never overpay anyone over oth-

er higher performing sta� . When RVP was justi� ably de-motivated, what did Moyes contemplate doing? He contemplated replacing RVP! That man was clueless about man-management, although I’d concede that he was hardworking and honest and brought integrity to the job, all the qualities aptly pointed out by the club in their termination announcement.

FrankDLaw

Crossword

Sudoku

CROSSWORD YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

ACROSS1 Form (5)5 Public walk (4)8 Allow (6)9 Encounters (5)10 Alone (4)11 Numeral (5)12 Tree (3)15 Repose (4)18 Henhouse (5)21 Female pig (3)22 Entrance (4)24 Stagger (4)25 Fertile spot (5)28 Good name (6)29 Containers (4)30 Swarms (5)

DOWN1 Boil gently (6)2 Monkey (3)3 Domestic animals (4)4 Celtic language (4)5 Niggard (5)6 Makes up for (6) 7 Zodiac sign (3)13 Behold! (2)14 Not antiquated (6)16 Accordingly (2)17 Intertwines (6)19 Parts of shoes (5)20 In the direction of (2)23 Disorderly � ight (4)24 Plunder (3)26 Consumed (3)27 Observe (3)

How to solve Sudoku: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 num-ber repeating.

SUDOKU

Beyoncé tops Time’s most in� uential listApril 24

I don’t know if “girls run the world.” But Bangla-desh, they do! :)

WK

n Afnan Khan

There is a long history of power struggle between the Paki-stan army and intelligentsia,

but Saturday’s attack on Hamid Mir has reopened the scars of the heavily under � re media in the country.

The attack on probably the most prominent journalist of the country sounds like déjà vu for progressive media persons. He was attacked by terrorists close to extremely secured Karachi airport.

The terrorists were con� dent enough to chase Mr Mir for sever-al minutes while spraying bullets on his car. The brazen attack puts a lot of questions on Inter Services Intelligence’s (ISI) role in the matter especially when Hamid Mir himself accused the agency of planning his assassination.

Harassment, torture, abductions, and killings are not new words for journalists and intellectuals in Paki-stan. They have been facing that for opposing the army’s shady activities in Bengal, their involvement in politics, patronising religious extremists, rights violations in Baluchistan, and across the country as well as military takeovers.

What also did not change is the modus operandi of the assailants. First tag somebody as a traitor and an agent of India/West, and then abduct him or kill him in cold blood. Use torture as a means to control the country and its people.

Then denial and condemnations by the establishment and then in extreme situations an inquiry commission and then the matter is buried forever.

All that is done in the name of national interest. Pakistan’s military establishment has also set up a huge fan following. They have managed to indoctrinate their version of nation-al interest in the minds of Pakistani schoolchildren through their text-books throughout the decades.

These naive citizens think its army’s birthright to pick up, torture, or kill somebody if the person doesn’t match their yardstick of patriotism. Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis were killed under such mindset before Bangladesh came into existence.

Even today, a massive propaganda campaign is in full swing across Pakistan to label Mir and his TV channel as traitors for pointing the � ngers at their suspects.

The spin-doctors are in full throttle against Hamid Mir with ridiculous claims such as he deliberately took six bullets to malign ISI, and some are even demanding closure of Geo TV for dragging the army through mud.

But does it sound sane to say that all the victims who � rst accused security agencies for threatening them, deliber-ately got killed to prove their point?

Murdered journalist Saleem Shahzad is one of the victims. Other senior journalists like Najam Sethi, Imtiaz Alam, the leadership of South Asian Free Media Association, prom-inent journalists working for Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a number of Baloch and Pashtoon journalists, those who have worked on sensitive issues like human rights violations by the army, and myself, are among those who believe they were also threatened by the state agencies.

Pakistan’s military establishment has been playing the politics of ex-pulsion since General Sikandar Mirza dragged the army into state a� airs to establish his rule.

Then they did not like Bengalis for demanding their democratic rights. So they tried to bend them while ending up losing half of their dominion and eternal shame for the rights abuses.

Then they played the religion card and started dividing the rest of Pakistan on a communal basis, ending up exclud-ing Ahmedis from their list and yet again, through inhuman treatment, creating probably the most powerful Pakistani community across the globe.

Then came the turn of Baluchis, Sindhis, Pashtoons, Shias, and sects within Sunnis. So thousands of them have been killed so far while no end to this politics of division comes to sight. Yet the country has been virtually carved up.

And yet, a large number of Pakistan-is are intoxicated by the establishments propaganda instead of standing up for the heroes who � ght for their rights. They are unable to understand that by doing so they are signing a charter of slavery for their generations to come.

Hamid Mir recently censured inhuman military repression in Ba-lochistan. He talked openly against the army’s involvement in mass abduc-tions, killings, and mass burials of Baloch people.

Baluchistan’s case is quite similar to the case of Bangladesh. All they wanted was their democratic share in everything, but what they were given was mass killings, rapes, abductions, hunger, and poverty.

Hamid is the son of a legendary Pakistani journalist Waris Mir who stood for rights of Bengal and faced never-ending persecution by the establishment and their cronies like Jamaat-e-Islami.

Time has come for Pakistanis to demand an end to the army’s med-dling in media a� airs. Pakistan army should realise that Pakistanis wanted the country to stand out as a true democracy but their involvement in every business makes it look like a banana republic or a North Korea-style authoritarian regime to the world.

And just like the security agencies of civilised world, Pakistanis should also learn to work under their consti-tutional limits.

All Pakistanis should now decide to stop the bloodshed. Perhaps today, Paki-stanis have a chance to free themselves from the clutches of its violent forces if everyone stood their ground. l

Afnan Khan is a Pakistan-based journalist. His last job in Pakistan was as Chief Reporter of the Daily Times newspaper while also serving as the Joint Secretary of Punjab Union of Journalists.

n Uday Sankar Das

As India’s polling marathon for the 16th Lok Sabha enters into the last three laps, and voters

have been swarming the polling cen-tres in increasing numbers, one point being discussed in depth is – should In-dia’s neighbours become wary if there is a change in government in Delhi?

It is now felt that a Congress-led government is unlikely to get a third term in o� ce, and the likelihood is that either a BJP-led alliance would sweep to power, or a non-BJP and non-Congress government could be stitched up with the regional parties (with or without the support of the Congress Party) to take charge in Delhi.

It is usually seen that the basic tenets of India’s foreign policy do not undergo a wholesale change with a change of government – national inter-ests take precedence over party ideol-ogies. The country’s national security comes before everything else.

Political observers feel that in case of a non-Congress and also a non-BJP government ie a Third Front taking control in Delhi, where Congress may also join up, they would follow the existing policy regarding India’s neigh-bouring countries. The neighbours in that case need not have sleepless nights.

But, if the Modi juggernaut moving across the country catches the people’s imagination and a BJP-led govern-ment is formed, the scenario takes a di� erent turn. If, for example, Modi has to take the support of Jayalalitha in Tamil Nadu and Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, he would try to bring in the states as partners in the execution of the country’s foreign policy. The reason behind such a move is that the Centre’s hand is seen to be weakened by conceding veto to the states, as has been evident in the past in the cases of both Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

If, however, Modi does not require the support of the other parties and the BJP-led alliance bags the magi-cal number of seats of 272 or more, political analysts believe there could be changes and the neighbours would need to keep a close watch on Modi’s moves.

In its election manifesto, Hindu nationalist, BJP emphasises on the need to restore a resurgent India to its “rightful place in the comity of nations” and raises the idea of taking a “strong stand and steps” in the neighbourhood, if necessary. BJP also says there will be “zero tolerance” of terrorism and extremism.

In a recent interview, Narendra Modi said: “I believe in Hindutva, which is based on the age-old con-

cept of ‘Vasudeva Kutumba.’ I believe mutual respect for one another and cooperation should be the basis for re-lationships with foreign nations. I will follow the policies of the Vajpayee-led NDA government … And I don’t think a decision taken by any individual or one event should impact the overall policy.”

While very strongly maintaining that he would be pursuing the policies that Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s NDA alliance had followed, Modi has also said in no uncertain terms that he appreciated Vajpayee’s ability to project strength and preserve peace.

There is, however, a vast di� erence between the political acumen of Atal Behari Vajpayee and that of Narendra Modi. Vajpayee showed his statesman-ship and farsightedness in pursuing his country’s relationship with Paki-

stan. He very e� ciently conducted the “Lahore bus diplomacy” and did not budge in going into war with Pakistan over Kargil. Pragmatic, Modi might be, but he is yet to attain the stature required of the leader of a country that is termed as an emerging world power.

Looking at some of India’s neigh-bours and Modi’s comments, the BJP prime ministerial candidate, in an election speech recently has warned China to shed its “mindset of expan-sionism” and in the past, he has talked tough against Pakistan for attacks by militants in India.

Narendra Modi’s advisers have already said that India will get tougher on territorial disputes with China and in its old rivalry with Pakistan if he becomes the prime minister in May after a general election. In general, BJP is seen as tougher on the issue of terrorism traced to Pakistan.

But, it must also be borne in mind that as chief minister of the state of Gujarat for more than a decade, Modi has often sought investment from China and has a record of pursuing close commercial ties with its northern neighbour. Modi would, therefore, have to do a balancing act by defend-ing India’s security interests on the one hand and growing business links with the world’s second-biggest econ-omy on the other.

As regards Bangladesh, there is a perception that a Congress-led govern-ment in India usually maintains a good relationship with Bangladesh when Awami League is in power. There is a historic perspective to it. But, it has also been seen that when these two parties are in power in their respective countries, many issues remain unre-solved. The two main unsettled issues between the two countries now relate to Teesta and Land Boundary Agree-ment, including the enclaves.

It has also been seen that during the last AL-led government in Bangladesh when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the In-dian prime minister, relations between the two countries were cordial. There was that gruesome incident at Padua, when many people died in a border skirmish and horri� c pictures were published in the newspapers in Bang-ladesh. However, it did not take long for the two sides to sit across the table and bring an end to their di� erences. The Ganges water sharing agreement was also renewed during the rule of the last BJP-led government in India.

However, there has been some elec-tion-time rhetoric from BJP leaders re-lating to Bangladesh in the recent past and that has not gone down very well, with justi� cation, among the common people here. One might say that these have no bearing on the foreign policy

to be pursued by India, but these do create a dangerous precedent and also ill-feelings in the minds of people.

As one political analyst said re-cently: “Poll rhetoric is one thing and statesmanship is something else.”

It is widely felt that Narendra Modi, unlike Vajpayee, is not a man of the world. Modi as prime minister of India would mean a RSS takeover, or cer-tainly Hindu fundamentalist takeover. There is a feeling that they would take up the Bangladeshi immigrants issue very strongly.

The problem relating to river water-sharing between India and Bangladesh would need the help of the concerned state governments. If the state governments are non-BJP non-al-lies, then � nding solutions would be even more complex.

As regards Indian foreign policy outline and relations with its neigh-bours, we have so far seen a broad consensus, irrespective of which party comes to power. But things have changed in this election campaign.

As one of Narendra Modi’s aides recently said: “This time, if there is a change in government, I do expect a break from that tradition.” l

Uday Sankar Das is a senior journalist who worked for BBC World Service radio and is presently based in Chittagong.

11Op-Ed Wednesday, April 30, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Mohammad Ali Sattar

You might be taken by surprise by the title of the piece or take the scribe as a lunatic. Why am I de-manding the gallows, and

for whom? No, I am not renewing the demand for hanging the war criminals. They are already under trial and the tribunal is dealing with the cases.

I am talking about those forces who are our own kin, our own men, out to destroy the nation. The food poison-ing syndicate (FPS) is working under the nose of the powers, right in the open glare of the media, and within the knowledge of the law enforcing members.

We catch regular print reports car-ried with full-blown pictures and TV grabs of the victims who fall sick after consuming adulterated food, fruits, or drinks.

We are served with unpleasant re-ports of dissipated vegetables and fruit traders selling their goods with coats of pesticides, the greedy � sh trader selling � sh dipped and preserved in formalin and that too at outrageous prices, restaurants selling stale and contaminated food often prepared with poisoned cooking oil and spices.

We are now familiar with intelli-gence of all sorts of contamination and adulteration in the crop and food sector. In fact, the whole food sector has been poisoned in a planned way. A syndicate is in operation to see that its well-oiled machine of impure food trade goes unimpeded, thanks to the consortium of the godfathers!

Why is this happening? To � nd the roots is not impossible. It is simply an opportunity used by killer minds and greedy souls. The growing demand for food and the unplanned lifestyle of the millions (unaware and uneducat-ed) make way for these villains of the society.

They have a nexus both at home and abroad, and work in tandem within their chains. Along the line of production, adulterating process and supply, they work in strict order and with e� ective communication. Every-one involved enjoys a pleasing pay, each getting his share according to the service delivered.

According to latest press reports, the whole nation is now forced to con-sume infected and impure food, � sh, meat, fruits, and drinks. The sad part is, even reputed food and grocery out-lets are not reliable any more. Where do we go from here?

Instead of ringing the alarm bell, we have apparently fallen in the traps and don’t give a damn about the slow poi-soning of ourselves and our children. We even fail to realise the dangers that

lie in wait for the posterity. The whole nation is being slowly pushed to death.

What kind of crime is this? This is one of the gravest crimes against hu-manity. Shooting someone or murder-ing with a blunt weapon or committing rape and arson are not the only crimes against humanity. The mixing of poisonous elements in food should be treated as the gravest sin and biggest crime in the current context.

We don’t need to look far to � nd such examples. We can � nd examples of hanging by the neck or executions carried out by shooting squads in many countries for poisoning or adul-teration.

China is the biggest example. The country set an example by executing those criminals who took part in the adulteration of baby food. The govern-ment is doing a great job by trying to save the hapless lot from the “poison syndicate” who are out to destroy the nation for money.

In Bangladesh, the same crime is being committed. This is “genocide in silence.” Masterminds and their collaborators are at work round the

clock. While we become numb and paralysed, they are awake and active, watching us drown in the ocean of permanent slumber.

What should we do? Since this is being done within our parameters and our own people are involved, we should easily apprehend them and take them to such severe task that the whole process of the “killing trade” will come to a halt within a short span of time.

They should be brought to justice immediately. If there are laws to pun-ish them, these are not enough. Ar-rests, imposing � nes, and letting them free is something like playing with the sentiments of the people and making a mockery of law of the land.

Plain and simple, the government should send a message to these elements through a proper channel (ministries and other government bodies) that the utmost measures are being taken to arrest the culprits and to stop this dangerous trade.

The culprits should be caught and handed the most severe punishment. They ought to be tried in full notice of the nation, each proceeding and the list of their crimes ought to be made public, and they should be shown no mercy at all. The proven criminal should be sent to the gallows.

Leaving aside all politics of rhetoric, the top national agenda should be to free the nation from the “food poisoning syndicate” and save the na-tion from passing o� into permanent hibernation. l

Mohammad Ali Sattar is a journalist and a DT columnist.

Hang ’em high

The top national agenda should be to free the nation from the ‘food poisoning syndicate’

There has been some rhetoric from BJP leaders relating to Bangladesh that has not gone down well

A massive propaganda campaign is in full swing across Pakistan to label Mir and his TV channel as traitors

Media under � re

Modi alert

What punishment � ts the crime of poisoning our food? MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

n Entertainment Desk

Fox is joining NBC in the live musical event business with its own production of Grease, expected to air sometime in 2015.

The network is calling it Grease Live as a working title, but the three-hour production will

take the 1971 Broadway musical (and the 1978 movie) and recast it with a

brand-new ensemble cast.NBC took a gamble last year

with its live production of The Sound of Music that turned

into a ratings smash, with 18.6 million people tuning into the live event. NBC announced this year it was following up The

Sound of Music with a live production

of Peter Pan, which will air in December. l

EntertainmentDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, April 30, 201412

ExhibitionGermany – A Sporting Nation Time: 11am – 6pmGoethe Institut BangladeshRoad 9(new), House 10Dhanmondi

‘Water Rhymes-2’Time: 11am – 8pmGalleri Kaya, House 20, Road 16, Sector 04, Uttara

Group Art ExhibitionTime: 11am– 8pmZainul Gallery, Charukala, Dhaka Univer-sity, Shahbag

Bonded Stitches & StruggleTime: 3pm – 8pmDrik GalleryHouse 58Road 15A (New)Dhanmondi

Film Captain America: The Winter Soldier (3D & 2D) Jonakir AloThe Legend of Hercules 3DAvatar in 3DFrozen in 3DEnder’s GameTime: 10am – 10pmStar Cineplex, Level 8Bashundhara City 13/3 KaPanthopath

MusicRoom 2By Dhaka Electronica SceneTime: 7pmBerlin Hall, Goethe-Institul

TheatreKonjushBy Loko NatyadolTime: 7pmExperimental Theatre, Shilpakala Acade-my, Shegun Bagicha

TODAY IN DHAKA

Apurbo and Mou romance on screen for the � rst time

n Entertainment Desk

Sadia Islam Mou and Apurbo is pairing up for a single epi-sode play titled Black Co� ee. This is the � rst time the duo will be working together on the small screen. Written by Rumnodro Mahfuz and Sakhawat Hossain Manik, the dra-ma also features Urmila Srabonti Kar.

Mou is playing Moumita in the story, Apurbo will be seen as Abhik and Urmila as Inam. About working with Mou, Apurbo said: “Acting opposite to Mou was a learning experience for me. Her acting skills are much superior than mine, yet she did not make me feel intimidated. I learned a lot from her during the shooting. She has won the love and appreciation of the audience with her performance in the industry and her dedication is truly admirable.”

Mou said: “Currently, I am busy working in dramas and tele� lms. I think it is fortunate that I am receiving good scripts to act on. My experience of working with Apurbo was quite pleasant and I must say that the script of Black Co� ee is very well written.”

The play will air in private TV channels during Eid. l

Child artistes of Nrityanchal perform at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on April 28 on the � rst day of a two-day event organised by the dance school marking International Dance Day SADIA MARIUM

Exhibition showcases young artists’ quest for purity

n Hasan Mansoor Chatak

A group art exhibition featuring some fasci-nating pieces of paintings titled The Search of Purity is going on at the Dhaka Art Center, Dhanmondi.

Three young artists Biplob Kumar Das, Zi-aur Rahman Joy and Kamrun Nahar are par-ticipating in the exhibit with unique concepts, compositions and aesthetics. All of them are from Narayanganj, one of the oldest cities of Bangladesh and a centre of business and in-dustry. Their orientation of the locality has a great impact on their artistic endeavours. Biplob Kumar Das told Dhaka Tribune: “The city is very rich with many artistic elements and for the artists, it is like a “drawn canvas.”

Besides portraying natural beauty, the art-ists also depicted the marred atmosphere of the city in their canvas.

Biplob Kumar Das is experimenting with a new form of abstract expressionism called “plastic form” with acrylic colour, which is acquainted from his academic knowledge. With the use of collage in his paintings, he unfolds joy, ecstasy, peace, nature and di� er-ent facets of materialistic life in abstract form.

Ziur Rahman Joy is interested in drawing � gures of hermits, bauls and spiritual vaga-bonds who travels from one place to another in quest to search for the meaning of life and beyond. He depicted their prudent expres-sion and diverse lifestyle in his compositions as he use to observe them from his childhood. He worked with mixed media using water colours, dry pastel and charcoal in his paint-ings. His expertise has been manifested in his paintings which express his feelings through simple � gurative compositions and colours.

Kamrun Nahar has developed a unique style, particularly in watercolour medium. Her works re� ect realistic portrayal of nature and surroundings. She painted ships, boats and rivers which represent the landscape of Narayanganj.

According to Nahar, she visits the spots � rst to get the feel of the ambiance and then portrays the surroundings. The art show will end this evening. lPaintings displayed at the exhibition

Natyo Juddho’s grooming session beginsn Entertainment Desk

The grooming session of the talent hunt show Royal Tiger Natyo Juddho has began. Through rigorous au-ditions, seventeen hundred participants have been selected from various parts of Bangladesh to identify and award talented actors, playwrights and direc-tors. The show will be a window of opportunity for aspir-ing talents to enter the entertainment industry of the country. Single episode plays will be screened to portray the abilities of the competitors.

About the initiative, director Tuhin Barua said: “We are really excited to broadcast the show. I think that this is going to be the top reality show among the ones that are currently on TV. From the very be-ginning, since we have announced the competition, we have received thousands of response from poten-tial participants. Finally we are done with the selec-tion process and now the grooming session is on full swing.”

Natyo Juddho will soon air on ATN Bangla. l

Mrittika to perform on Music Club tonightn Entertainment Desk

Marking the May Day, band Mrittika will perform on the eve of the occasion in a live show titled Music Club at 11:25pm on Banglavision.

The band will present songs on a variety of subjects such as protest, love and humanity. Mrittika believes in the initi-ating power of men to bring about positive changes. Their lyrics re� ect our heritage and their innate understanding of the human nature.

The show provides opportunity for the audience to call and talk to the band members. They will share their story, the turning point of their career and future ventures in be-tween song requests and phone calls. l

Dhaka Theatre to stage Outsider in Tangailn Entertainment Desk

Dhaka Theatre is going to stage its new play Outsider at the Bhashani Hall, Tangail, at 6pm today.

The script of the play, directed by Nasiruddin Yousuf Bacchu and modi� ed by Rubayet Ahmed, has been produced from the famous novel The Stranger subtitled in French L’Étranger by Albert Camus.

The plot of the story revolves around a French Algerian Meursault who received the news of his mother’s demise on telegram. And in an incident,

he kills an Arab and the story takes a turn into crime and punishment.

Camus explored the nakedness of a man faced with absurdness in his trial. The play focuses on humanity, justice, love and politics. Camus was awarded Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957.

Dhaka Theatre emphasises classical plays, which has gained a remarkable position in the international cultural arena and it also represents the culture and art of Bangladesh featuring music and dance, re� ecting the traditional forms with modern ideas. l

Artistes of Dhaka Theatre in a scene of Outsider

Game of Thrones ratings skyrocket even after controversyn Entertainment Desk

If last week’s controversial episode upset Game of Thrones viewers, it sure didn’t drive them away. HBO’s fantasy hit once again broke its ratings record Sunday night. The Oathkeeper episode delivered an all-time high of 6.9 mil-lion viewers.

The episode showed a sequence which was not mentioned in the orig-inal book and that raised huge contro-versies.

That edges out the previous best set earlier this season. Across three plays,Thrones totaled 8.4 million view-ers.

At 10pm, the latest episode of HBO’s new comedy Silicon Valley had 1.6 mil-lion viewers (1.8 million for the night).Veep had 922,000 viewers (1.2 million for the night).

HBO also premiered its new talk show Last Week Tonight with John Oli-ver, which delivered 1.1 million viewers at 11pm and 1.4 million when you add its � rst encore. That’s pretty strong for an HBO late-night program, and the show received very positive reviews.

Oliver was previously a correspon-dent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. By comparison, last week The Daily Show averaged 1.5 million view-ers and The Colbert Report had 1.2 mil-lion viewers. l

Kangna Ranaut and Irrfan Khan are ‘Divine Lovers’n Entertainment Desk

Actor Kangana Ranaut will be romancing National Award winning actor Irrfan Khan in Divine Lovers to be direct-ed by Sai Kabir of Revolver Rani . Revolver Rani, which has been warmly received by critics, has managed to do a business of Rs30m in two days of its release on Friday.

“Yes I’m doing a � lm called Divine Lovers with Kan-gana and Irrfan in the lead. It would be a complete con-trast to Revolver Rani. It won’t be loud, aggressive, vio-lent and splashy like RR. But again Divine Lovers would be about the ‘Great Indian Dream,’” said Sai Kabir. “The � lm would be about the moral corruption of the middle class,” he added. l

Fox to broadcast Grease Live

13DHAKA TRIBUNEWednesday, April 30, 2014

Sport 1414 Juventus on brink of Serie A title

Barcelona pay last respects to Vilanova

15 Man City, PSG have chance to settle FFP breaches

Did you know?Monday’s result

ensures that Arsenal � nish above

Tottenham in the league for the 19th successive season

Team BJMC mid� elder Abdullah al Parvez goes wild after scoring a sensational goal against Mohammedan SC during their Bangladesh Premier League match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MUMIT M

Mush� q coy on Jurgensen

Bangladesh national skipper Mush-� qur Rahim said he was ‘upset’ when he learned of his head coach Shane Jur-gensen’s resignation. He was batting in the nets of the Sahara-BCB Academy when the news of the Australian re-signing from his position as the head coach of Bangladesh reached him.

Mush� qur restrained from making any comment in public right away. But the wicket-keeper batsman eventually expressed concern on the ‘issue’ when he confronted the media in a signing ceremony as the brand ambassador of the Goldmark Foods Ltd held in a � ve-star hotel in Dhaka yesterday.

Mush� qur informed that he had been asked by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to make no comments on the situation but, “I can say that I will meet him (Jurgensen) when he comes to Dhaka to discuss the issue. His res-ignation has not been approved yet as the board president (Nazmul Hasan) is not in the country,” said Mush� q to the media yesterday. “I hope he remains as our head coach,” he also added.

Jurgensen was skeptical of the cur-rent environment in the BCB and his position in the team following Bangla-desh’s below par showing in the ICC World Twenty20 and the subsequent comments made in the media by the BCB president Nazmul and few board directors. It is understood that the sit-uation took its toll on him which ulti-mately triggered his decision to move, considering it to be the best thing to do for the team and his coaching career.

Bangladesh’s di� cult period started in January when they were crushed by Sri Lanka in the � rst Test before bounc-ing back with a drawn game in Chit-tagong. They lost the T20 and ODI se-

ries, albeit by narrow margins. The Asia Cup brought four defeats including the humiliating one to Afghanistan while their World T20 campaign su� ered a massive shock when associate nation Hong Kong beat them in the � rst round. Those defeats, now followed by Jur-gensen’s resignation might threaten to make things even worse for Bangladesh as yet another coaching conundrum looms large with only eight months re-maining before the ICC World Cup 2015 begins down under.

“Yes, the job has become more challenging for us now because we are going through a tough time at the moment. But at the end of the day, you should also accept that not everyday

runs smooth at the o� ce. I believe we do have the strength to overcome the bad patch and it will happen soon,” af-� rmed Mush� qur.

However, before he faced the me-dia, the Bangladesh captain signed a one year contract with Goldmark Foods Ltd. The event was attended by its Managing Director Mohammad Bashir, Executive Director Jahir Uddin Mahmud Khan, General Manager (Mar-keting) Md. Monir Hossain and Brand Manager Md. Golam Sarwar Rubel. Monowar Hossain Pathan, Managing Director of Prionti Communication and Geeteara Sa� ya Choudhury, Chairman of ADCOMM Ltd. were also present in the ceremony. l

Al Hikmah lift school hockey title

Al Hikmah Muslim Academy from Ra-jshahi emerged as the champions in the First Security Islami Bank National School Hockey with a hard fought 2-1 victory over Jessore’s Municipal Preparatory School in the � nal at the Maulana Bhashani Nation-al Hockey Stadium yesterday.

Al Hikmah, visibly superior both technically and tactically, showed their character to win the title with an all out team e� ort. Despite conceding an ear-ly goal, the upbeat unit bounced back to win Tk100000 while the runners up had to remain content with Tk50000.

Al Hikmah started in an attacking mode and cornered their opponents with series of attacks led by their in� uen-tial captain Ahsan Habib Ridoy and mid-� elder Sadekul Hikmah. However they conceded the goal against the tide in the 22nd minute when the Preparatory forwards initiated a counter attack from which Walid Omar took them ahead.

It took Al Hikmah six minutes to re-turn in the contest as a superb � icked goal from the middle of the box by mid� elder Abu Sayeed Ridoy equalised the margin.

Ahasan Habib Ridoy scored the win-ner in the 50th minute after Abid Shahri-ar initiated a penalty corner. Instead of taking an instant hit, Ridoy took few steps forward and made room to hit the board with an angular hit.

Shihab Hossain of Armanitola High School received Tk100000 as highest scorer while his teammate Tuhin Hos-sain and Ridoy received Tk50000 and Tk25000 respectively for becoming the second and third highest scorer. The top scorers’ money was provided by ATN Bangla chairman Mahfuzur Rahman.

State minister for youth and sports Biren Sikder distributed the prizes as chief guest. Managing director of First Security Islami Bank AA Zakaria, BHF president Air Marshal Enamul Bari and general secretary Khawaja Rahmatul-lah were also present on the occasion.l

Parvez wonder goal stuns MSC

Substitute mid� elder Ab-dullah Al Parvez scored a sensational goal as Team BJMC a� ected a halt in Mohammedan’s unbeat-en streak in the Bangla-desh Premier League with a thrilling 3-2 vic-

tory at the Bangabandhu National Sta-dium yesterday. In the other match of the day, Chittagong Abahani and Uttar Baridhara Limited played out a goalless draw at the same venue.

BJMC were 2-1 down when Parvez came onto the pitch in the 77th minute to steal the show. Just four minutes after his arrival, the gifted mid� elder provided the assist for Samson Iliasu’s equalizer before sealing the victory with an exquisite lobbed � nish from just inside the opponents’ half.

With the match destined to be a draw and the clock ticking over to � nal whistle, Parvez produced a swirling,

pin-point lob with his left foot from well over 45 yards that dipped under the woodwork. Although Mohammed-an keeper Mamun Khan backpedaled and his � nger slightly touched the ball, it was too little and too late to prevent the ball from going into the net.

The result put an end to Indepen-dence Cup champion Mohammedan’s 12-match unbeaten run in all compe-titions and the last time they su� ered defeat was against Abahani in the � rst phase of the league more than three months ago. The Black and Whites, however, remain third with 20 points from 12 matches while BJMC sit in the seventh position with 15 points.

BJMC made the � rst attack after just four minutes but Mamun Khan produced a super save when he � sted away Samson Iliasu’s powerful strike from just outside the box after a cut-back from Mahadi Hasan Tapu. BJMC’s promising beginning saw them draw � rst blood as Ismael Bangoura put BJMC ahead in the 15th minute from

a penalty after Cameroonian defend-er Bayebeck Fombagne pushed Ismael down inside the box to gift BJMC an opportunity to score and the Guinean striker obliged gleefully by sending Mamun Khan the wrong way to score from the spot.

The Black and Whites also earned a penalty at the half hour mark and their Nigerian mid� elder Demian Chi-gozie converted it to restore parity af-ter BJMC defender Shahanur Rahman Rony brought down the Burkinan for-ward Zongo Ousseni.

Mohamedan took the lead for the � rst time in the match just two minutes after the resumption. Dispossessing a BJMC defender, Wahed Ahmed made an un-obstructed darting run into the box and rounded o� the keeper before placing the ball into an empty net. Wahed, how-ever, wasted a great chance in the 57th minute when his attacking partner Zon-go Ousseni provided a neat pass to him as he was unmarked. But Wahed failed to take the chance as he shot wide.

Mohammaden were left to rue that chance as the introduction of Abdullah Al Parvez in place of Shahnur Rahman Rony, changed the course of the game immediately in favour of BJMC. Parvez made an instant impact when in the 81st minute he curled in a cross from the right � ank that found Samson at the second bar who out-muscled and out-jumped his marker to head home past Mamun to make it 2-2.

When it seemed that the game was heading for a draw, Parvez produced that magical moment in the injury time to leave the Mohammedan fans stunned as his wonderful but yet an in-credible lob found the back of the net to seal a memorable victory for his club.

A dull opening half and a wasteful second-half meant the match between Chittagong Abahani and Uttar Baridha-ra could earn nothing but a goal-less stalemate which leaves both clubs with seven points from 12 matches with Chittagong Abahani ahead only on goal di� erence. l

Witty Parvez still dreams of nat’l call

The 40-yard out stunning strike from Abdullah Parvez to shock both Mo-hammedan SC and its supporters at the Bangabandhu National Stadium was the result of clever thinking from the BJMC mid� elder.

Putting the goal at the top of his list, Parvez revealed at the post-match con-ference that he caught MSC goalkeeper Mamun Khan o� guard and took the opportunity which paid o� brilliantly.

“I saw Mamun Khan watching me and I deceived him intending to pass the ball to Ismael Bangoura, but in my heart I was con� dent to take the chance. I saw Mamun a little o� posi-tioned and unleashed a curling shot. It’s one of the top goals in my career,” said the former national mid� elder.

He carries the reputation of scoring wonder goals as it was only in January when he scored his � fth goal in the sea-son in the seven goal win over Uttar Baridhara. Standing vertical to the goal post Parvez curled his trademark left footer into the middle of the net with a banana kick.

“I was ready to do something for the team and our team spirit was good, for the last few days we also practiced hard as the management has cleared a por-tion of our dues. We were ready to � ght it out and I am happy to see the team � nish as winners,” he said.

Parvez’s impact was evident in the � eld within four minutes after his ar-rival. He came on as Shahnur Rahman Rony’s replacement in the 77th minute and in the 81st it was his curved cross from the left � ank that was headed home by Nigerian mid� elder Samson Illiyasu. “With my current form I have started to believe I can still give some-thing to the national team. I am 28 now and I don’t know whether I would be selected or not,” said the player who hails from Narayanganj. l

Bangladesh skipper Mush� qur Rahim (R) poses for a photograph with Mohammad Bashir, Managing Director of Goldmark Foods Limited, after signing as their brand ambassador at a city hotel yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

I can say that I will meet him (Jurgensen) when he comes to Dhaka. His resignation has not been approved yet as the board president is not in the country

Al Hikmah Muslim Academy from Rajshahi celebrate with the trophy after emerging as the champions of the First Security Islami Bank National School Hockey at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium yesterday MUMIT M

Bananas campaign fruit of Neymar � rm

Dani Alves’ inspired moment of impro-visation in defusing a racist gesture by picking up a banana and calmly eating it is becoming a social media phenomenon.

The latest salvo in the burgeoning an-ti-racist campaign comes courtesy of his Brazil and Barcelona team-mate Neymar, whose PR � rm is launching a “we are all monkeys” social media initiative.

Sao Paulo-based company Loducca were alerted by Neymar’s father after his son also endured racist insults in an April 12 match in Granada, the � rm’s vice-president Guga Ketzer revealed.

“The idea was to do something light-hearted, even amusing. We wait-ed for the best moment and that came with what happened with Daniel on Sunday,” Ketzer said.

After Alves picked up the banana thrown by a fan at Villarreal – since banned for life by his club – social me-dia sites burst into life as Neymar and even Brazilian President Dilma Rous-se� joined in to decry racism. l

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Shobukhova gets 2-year doping banRussian marathon star Liliya Shobukhova was on Tuesday banned for two years by the national track and � eld athletics federation’s anti-doping panel.

The 36-year-old was banned based on abnormalities in the haematological pro-� le of her biological passport, which indicates a high probability of blood doping. The ban will be backdated to January 24, 2013 and will end on January 23, 2015. All her results from October 9, 2009, were cancelled, meaning her marathon best of 2hr 18mi 20sec, set in winning in Chicago in 2011, will be wiped from the record books. –AFP

Spurs edge Mavericks in playo� seriesManu Ginobili scored 23 points, including three clinching free throws in the � nal seconds, to give the San Antonio Spurs a 93-89 NBA playo� victory at

Dallas on Monday. The Western Conference top seed Spurs pulled even at 2-2 in the best-of-seven � rst-round series with game � ve Wednesday at San Antonio and game six back in Dallas on Friday. After a last-shot loss in game three at Dallas, the Spurs felt the game was a must-win matchup since NBA clubs that fall behind 3-1 in a series are eliminated 96 percent of the time. “It was a tough loss. It was really hard,” Ginobili said. “This was a huge win for us. I’m glad we got it done.” –AFP

Sangakkara signs for DurhamKumar Sangakkara will warm-up for Sri Lanka’s forthcoming tour of England by appearing in the next two rounds of County Championship matches for ti-

tle-holders Durham. One of the outstanding batsmen of his generation and ninth on the list of all-time leading Test run-scorers with 11,151 at an average of nearly 59, Sangakkara is set to play for Durham in their four-day games with Yorkshire and Sussex next month. “I’m really looking forward to returning to county cricket with Durham and I’m immensely grateful for the opportunity”,” Sangakkara said in a statement. –AFP

FC Barcelona football team, including (L-R) Victor Valdes, Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, attend former coach Tito Vilanova’s memorial service at Barcelona Cathedral on Monday REUTERS

Juventus on brink of Serie A title

Juventus came from be-hind to win 3-1 away to struggling Sassuolo and edge closer to retaining the Serie A title on Mon-day night.

Simone Zaza put Sassuolo in front, but the visitors recovered and an own goal from Alessandro Longhi brought them level before strikes by Claudio Marchisio and Fernando Llorente gave Juve a victory that leaves them eight points clear of second-placed Roma with three games remaining.

A win at home to Atalanta next Mon-day will clinch a third successive title for the club from Turin, although it could be over by then anyway if Roma fail to win at Catania on Sunday. Under pouring rain in Reggio Emilia, the eve-ning started badly for Conte’s Juve side as they fell behind inside nine minutes.

Zaza, who is co-owned by Juventus, beat visiting goalkeeper Gianluigi Buf-

fon at his near post with a shot from a tight angle to put relegation-threat-ened Sassuolo in front.

Sassuolo, playing in the top � ight for the � rst time in their history, famously

beat AC Milan 4-3 at home in January, but there was to be no shock this time around. Zaza might have restored the home side’s lead just before the inter-val, but this time his e� ort from a tight angle was saved by Bu� on.

And Juve’s class told in the second half, as Andrea Pirlo’s delightful � ight-ed ball over the top was converted � rst-time by Marchisio in the 56th minute to put the league leaders in front.

Tevez then hit the bar, but the Bian-coneri put the � nal outcome beyond doubt inside the � nal quarter of an hour thanks to a touch of class from Llorente.

Paul Pogba found Stephan Licht-steiner, and his low cross from the right was brilliantly backheeled into net from six yards by Spanish striker Llorente, despite the attentions of Luca Antei.

If the title race is decided next week-end, then there will be nothing riding on the meeting of Roma and Juve in the capital on May 9. l

Mourinho rejects FA charge

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has denied a charge of misconduct lev-elled against him by England’s gov-erning Football Association folowing comments he made after the Premier League title-chasers shock loss to Sun-derland.

The Black Cats ended Mourinho’s 77-match unbeaten home league run as Chelsea manager with a stunning 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge last month.

Afterwards, Mourinho mocked the o� cials by saying: “Congratulations to (referee) Mike Dean, because he made a fantastic performance. l

Alves backed from all sides over banana incident

Barcelona, a host of fellow players and even the Italian prime minister have backed Daniel Alves after he produced a clever riposte to a racist taunt in-volving a banana when taking a corner during Sunday’s La Liga game at Villar-real.

Alves, who has previously taken a stand against racism at matches in Spain, grabbed the banana thrown in front of him on to the pitch, quickly peeled it and took a bite before tossing away the skin and completing the kick.

“We are all monkeys, we are all the same, say no to racism,” Alves’s Barca and Brazil team mate Neymar wrote on

his Twitter feed with a picture of him holding a peeled banana, one of a num-ber of high-pro� le players who expressed their support in a similar fashion.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Ren-zi even got in on the act, pointedly munching a banana along with Italy coach Cesare Prandelli to show their backing for Alves.

Barca earlier pledged their “com-plete support and solidarity” with the player and referred to “insults he was subject to from a section of the crowd”.

They also thanked Villarreal for imme-diately condemning those responsible.

“Barcelona accepts that the perpe-trators of these insults are in no way connected to Villarreal and we value

very positively the support the club of-fered to our player,” Barca said.

“The club’s immediate condem-nation of the incidents is a step in the right direction to � rstly isolate and then eradicate completely from the sporting arena this kind of behaviour.”

Villarreal said they had identi� ed the culprit, whom they did not name, and had withdrawn their membership and banned them from the stadium for life.

They also expressed their “absolute condemnation” of any act that violat-ed those principles, such as “violence, discrimination, racism or xenophobia”.

European soccer has long been blighted by racist incidents involving fans and their leagues criticised for not

doing enough to stamp them out.UEFA has been running a high-pro-

� le campaign to try to counter racist behaviour and promote respect.

Alves complained of abuse last year after being taunted by monkey chants from sections of the crowd during a King’s Cup semi-� nal at Real Madrid and labelled Spain’s e� orts to tackle the problem a “lost war”.

Angel Maria Villar, president of the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) and a UEFA and FIFA vice president, made a brief comment on the incident on Mon-day, saying “Spanish football is against racism and xenophobia”.

The federation’s competition commit-tee would be looking into it, he added. l

Arsenal eye top four after Newcastle stroll

Arsenal moved four points clear of Everton in the race for the fourth and � nal Champions League place

on o� er to Premier League clubs with a convincing 3-0 win over Newcastle United on Monday.

A rare strike by Laurent Koscielny opened the scoring at the Emirates Stadium before Mesut Ozil netted for the 10th time this season and Olivier Giroud sealed victory with his 21st goal of the campaign to boost the Gunners’ hopes of a 17th successive term in Eu-rope’s premier club competition.

Arsene Wenger’s side now require just one more victory from their � nal two league matches against either West Bromwich Albion or Norwich City to book their spot.

“We had some problems at the start

of the game, trying to � nd our way through the defence. When we found an opening we became stronger,” Gun-ners boss Wenger told Sky Sports.

In truth, visitors Newcastle had goal-keeper Tim Krul to thank for keeping the scoreline respectable as Alan Pardew, back on the touchline after a seven-game absence due to suspension, saw his side su� er a sixth successive league defeat – the north-east club’s worst run in the En-glish top � ight since the 1986/87 season.

“It was tough for us tonight,” said Pardew, whose side remain ninth in the table.

While followers of � fth-placed Ever-ton were cheering on Newcastle in the hope they could do them a favour, the blue half of Merseyside would be dis-appointed as Arsenal, with the FA Cup � nal against Hull City at Wembley on May 17 con� ned to the back of their minds, dominated throughout. l

Atletico look to storm the Bridge

Atletico Madrid will expect another ex-hibition of ultra-dis-ciplined count-er-punching from Chelsea when the

teams reconvene for the second leg of their Champions League semi-� nal at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Chelsea emerged from last week’s � rst leg with a 0-0 draw after a cautious display in which they enjoyed only 38 percent of possession and mustered � ve attempts at goal to Atletico’s 26.

Jose Mourinho’s side were at it again on Sunday, relaunching their Premier League title bid with a 2-0 success at leaders Liverpool after again surren-dering possession and playing on the counter-attack.

Chelsea’s form has oscillated wild-ly in recent weeks, with performances such as the victory at Liverpool, a 6-0 demolition of Arsenal and the 2-0 de-feat of Paris Saint-Germain in the Cham-pions League quarter-� nal second leg

interspersed with shock losses to Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Sunderland.

Mourinho has declared that Chelsea do not have a chance of winning the league, but he stands on the brink of history in Europe.

Success in the May 24 � nal in Lisbon would make the 51-year-old Portuguese the � rst manager to win the Champions League with three di� erent clubs, and few coaches thrive on the tactical duels in Europe’s elite competition like he does.

Atletico are unbeaten in this sea-son’s Champions League, however, and having preserved their four-point lead in La Liga by winning 1-0 at Valencia on Sunday, they, too, have a trophy double in their sights.

Simeone has played down the po-tential impact of Chelsea’s selection issues and is also unconvinced that his side’s run of nine straight league wins will prove a factor at Stamford Bridge.

Atletico will be without captain Gabi due to suspension, with former Chel-sea mid� elder Tiago Mendes expected to take his place, but Simeone other-wise has a full squad to choose from. l

Barcelona pay last respects to Vilanova

Barcelona and the world of Spanish sport on Monday gathered in the city’s cathedral for the funeral service of for-mer coach Tito Vilanova, who died last Friday after a long battle with cancer aged 45.

More than 1,500 people, including the Barcelona squad, attended the ser-vice for Vilanova, who had been cre-mated on Saturday.

He was � rst diagnosed with cancer of the salivary gland over two years ago and was forced to step down as Barce-lona boss last July after just one season in charge to continue receiving treat-ment.

“He will always be in our heart and we will never forget him,” said Barcelo-na president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Some 53,000 people queued up to pay their respects to Vilanova in a ded-icated section of Barca’s Camp Nou sta-dium over the weekend.

“Of all the things that my father told me the most important is that life is too short to be unhappy,” said Vilanova’s daughter Carlota in front of gathered mourners including the Catalan presi-dent Artur Mas. l

Belgium to include Januzaj in WC squad

Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj will feature in a preliminary Belgium squad for World Cup warm-ups against Luxembourg and Sweden, national coach Marc Wilmots was quot-ed as saying on Tuesday.

Wilmots, who last week made known Januzaj’s decision to play for Belgium, said he had not given any guarantees to the 19-year-old that he would be in the � nal squad in Brazil.

Wilmots told that Januzaj had shown he could also play as a centre forward, a useful option given the unavailability of Christian Benteke due to injury. l

Racism storm drives Alves’ father bananas

After a racist Spanish fan threw a ba-nana at Barcelona full-back Dani Alves his farmworker father Monday said he would respond by ... planting bananas.

Politicians from Brazilian President Dilma Rousse� to players, including Alves’ compatriot and team-mate Ney-mar, scurried to their computers to con-demn the incident on social media and praise Alves for his response - he simply picked up and ate the discarded fruit.

Domingos Alves, 64, meanwhile came up with a cool response of his own.

“I plant mangos, coconuts, melons, watermelons, passion fruit -- and now I’m going to plant bananas,” he told Globo’s G1 news portal from his home in the northern state of Bahia.

But he added a note of caution, say-ing he feared one day a racist fan might go as far as trying to poison a player. l

#WeAreAllMonkeys, #NoToRacism

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE14

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Sony Six8:30PM Indian Premier LeagueMumbai v Hyderabad

NBA Play O� 2013-146:00AM Chicago v Washington8:30AM La Clippers v Golden State

Giggs can be United’s Guardiola LindegaardManchester United interim manag-er Ryan Giggs has the potential to replicate Pep Guardiola’s success as coach of Barcelona, according to goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard. “It might sound pretty rash and naive, but, in my opinion, we are dealing with a new Guardiola,” Lindegaard told BBC Sport on Tuesday. “What we have seen in the � rst week has been more than convincing. The similarities with Sir Alex Ferguson are striking and it is evident that Ryan Giggs has learned from one of history’s most respected football managers.” Giggs, United’s record appearance-maker, was placed in temporary charge of the United � rst team last week after David Moyes was sacked just 10 months into a six-year contract as the successor to Ferguson.

–AFP

Hamburg’s Van der Vaart racing to be � t against BayernStrugglers Hamburg SV could have playmaker Rafael van der Vaart back for their game against champions Bayern Munich on Saturday in their penultimate chance to avoid their � rst ever relegation. The 31-year-old Dutch mid� elder, out for weeks with a thigh muscle injury, returned to team training on Tuesday, raising the possibility of him playing against the Bavarians. Hamburg, nicknamed ‘dinosaur’ for being the only club to have played in the Bundesliga every season since its creation in 1963, are on the relegation playo� spot with 27 points, one above Nuremberg and two ahead of last-placed Eintracht Braunschweig with two games left in the season. The distance to safety and 15th spot, currently occupied by VfB Stuttgart who are � ve points ahead, is almost out of reach following their 3-1 defeat at Augsburg on Sunday.

–Reuters

Howard still has Everton hopeEverton goalkeeper Tim Howard has insisted the To� ees can raise themselves for Saturday’s visit of Premier League title-chasers Manchester City after their own quest for Champions League foot-ball su� ered a setback last weekend. The To� ees were their own worst ene-my at Southampton last weekend, scor-ing a pair of own-goals to give the Saints a 2-0 victory. Everton’s defeat meant they missed the chance to provisionally leapfrog Arsenal into fourth place and a Champions League spot. But a draw with City would guarantee Everton a place in next season’s Europa League, while any points they took o� City would do near-neighbours Liverpool a favour in the Reds’ quest to win the title.

–AFP

Leicester’s golden oldie Phillips to retireLeicester City’s veteran striker Kevin Phillips revealed on Monday that he will retire at end of the Championship sea-son this weekend. Phillips will make the � nal appearance of his 20-year career when he plays for already-promoted Championship winners Leicester against Doncaster Rovers at the King Power Stadium on Saturday. The 40-year-old goes out on a high after helping Leices-ter into the Premier League just a year after his penalty in the Championship play-o� � nal at Wembley gave Crystal Palace promotion at the expense of his former club Watford.

–AFP

Schurrle says Chelsea critics ‘just jealous’Chelsea forward Andre Schurrle has reacted to criticism of his side’s defensive approach in their 2-0 win at Liverpool on Sunday by branding the critics “jealous”. “Winning is what matters. It’s the most important thing,” the 23-year-old Germany international said, in comments published by several British newspapers on Tuesday. “You can play perfect foot-ball, have lots of one-touch stu� , and you lose. But that’s not what you want – you want to win. Rodgers also claimed that Chelsea’s approach was “not di� cult to coach”, but Mourinho was unrepentant about his side’s tactics, declaring: “The best team won.” –AFP

DAY’S WATCH

QUICK BYTES

Injured Walcott won’t hurry back

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott is pre-pared to take his time as he recovers from severe injury, even if it means missing the start of next season.

The 25-year-old England interna-tional saw his dreams of playing at this year’s World Cup in Brazil dashed when he ruptured the anterior cruciate liga-ment in his left knee during the closing stages of Arsenal’s FA Cup third-round victory over arch-rivals Tottenham in January.

Speaking to the o� cial Arsenal matchday magazine for Monday’s Pre-mier League clash against Newcastle, Walcott said: “I am not pushing myself to be � t for the World Cup or anything like that. I want to be back quickly, of

course, but safely, too.“I want to try and be back for the

early part of next season, that is the goal, so there will be a lot of hard work throughout the summer and during the World Cup.”

“At the moment, I’m working on muscle strength and building muscle in my quad.

“I don’t see any point in being down in the dumps about the injury because it has already happened and there are a lot of people with worse problems in the world.

“I will just get on with my work -- I am � rst in and last out on most days.

“I see the consultant soon, too, and hopefully he will give me the thumbs up to push on. I would love to be run-ning in a few weeks.” l

Dhaka, Narail in women’s kabaddi � nal

Dhaka and Narail reached the � nal in the Marcel Inter Divisional Women’s Kabaddi by winning their respective semi� nals at the Kabaddi Stadium yes-terday.

In the � rst semi� nal Dhaka beat Panchagarh by 47-28 points with four lonas while Narail outplayed Jamalpur by 35-28 points with two lonas in the second semi.

Post and Telecommunication min-ister Abdul Latif Siddiki will distribute the prizes as chief guest while AFM Iqbal bin Anwar Dawn, the additional director of Walton will be present as special guest. l

An action from the match between Narail and Jamalpur during their Marcel Inter Divisional Women’s Kabaddi semi� nal at the Kabaddi Stadium yesterday COURTESY

Man City, PSG have chance to settle FFP breaches

Big-spending Manchester City and Paris St-Germain have been given the chance to settle breaches of UEFA’s � -nancial fair play (FFP) rules that will leave them free to play in next season’s Champions League.

UEFA’s club � nancial control board has o� ered settlement deals in recent weeks to teams deemed to have bro-ken rules designed to rein in reckless spending and make soccer more stable economically.

The panel will meet on Thursday to consider responses by the fewer than 20 teams a� ected and its decisions will be announced over the next few days, a source close to the process said.

The likely sanctions range from a reprimand, to a � ne or a cap on squad

size for European competition for next season.

UEFA has the power to ban teams from European competition if their losses exceed its limits but is expected to shy away from imposing that heavi-est punishment at this stage.

If the sanctions are not tough enough, rival clubs are likely to com-plain that o� enders are being let o� with a slap on the wrist and that the much-vaunted process has been a sham.

Clubs that fail to agree a settlement at this stage will have their cases set-tled by an adjudicatory panel.

Having spent heavily to compete with the best teams in Europe in recent sea-sons, Manchester City and PSG appeared most at risk of falling foul of the rules.

City, in the running for their second

Premier League title in three years, have been bankrolled by cash from Abu Dha-bi’s Sheikh Mansour while PSG have been lavishly funded by their Qatari owners and now dominate French soccer.

UEFA spokesman David Farrelly declined to comment on the reports at this stage. City and PSG were unavail-able for comment.

The rules are being introduced to force clubs to live within their means and prevent those with rich owners from simply spending their way to suc-cess.

In February, UEFA secretary gener-al Gianni Infantino said 76 European clubs out of 237 originally assessed had been asked to submit additional infor-mation about their � nances ahead of the new rules which come into full ef-fect next season. l

Raonic hits the heights in Portugal

Altitude-averse second seed Milos Ra-onic on Monday found himself perched high up on the mast of a training vessel as the Canadian took his mind tempo-rarily o� of claycourt tennis prior to starting the Portugal Open.

The youngest member of the world top 10 at age 23, who stands 10-4 this season, was helping to promote the 2015 Lisbon stop of the Volvo Ocean race.

The round-the-world challenge will set o� from Spain and visit South Afri-ca, United Arab Emirates, China, New Zealand, Brazil, United States, Por-tugal, France and Sweden, spanning 71,745 kms en route.

It begins October 4 in Alicante, Spain, and � nishes June 27, 2015, in Go-thenburg, the Swedish home of Volvo.

Raonic tweeted his bemused reac-

tion to an interview conducted high above the boat’s desk.

“A sel� e 100 feet in the air on the mast of a sailboat and I don’t like heights! That was fun,” he said.

Raonic will start his second cam-paign at the Jamor Sports Complex in the second round after a bye, playing on Wednesday against the winner from Aleksandr Nedovyesov of the Ukraine or Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas.

He was forced to quit a 2011 Portu-gal semi-� nal against Spain’s Fernando Gonzalez due to back pain.

Raonic has reached the quarter-� -nals of all three Masters 1000 events so far this season, in Indian Wells, Mi-ami and Monte Carlo, where he lost to eventual champion and 2013 Oeiras champion Stanislas Wawrinka.

With opening-day qualifying rounds still wrapping up on both the men’s and women’s sides of the draws, 2009 champion Yanina Wickmayer of Bel-gium reached the second round over Ursula Radwanska 6-4, 7-5.

Oeiras � ve years ago was the � rst of the 58th-ranked Wickmayer’s three ca-reer titles.

The Belgian recovered from 3-5 down in the second set to earn her win in just under two hours over Radwans-ka, 73rd-ranked younger sister of third-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska.

Serbian Bojana Jovanovski beat Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in just over two and a quarter-hours. l

Woods holds on to number one spot

Tiger Woods has stayed atop the world rankings despite his continued absence from competitive golf following back surgery.

The 38-year-old US superstar was treated for a bulging disc in his spine in late March and subsequently pulled out of the Masters, the � rst of the year’s four majors.

He is in serious doubt for the US Open at Pinehurst in mid-June with reports saying he could be targetting a return to action at the British Open which starts at Hoylake, near Liverpool, on July 17. l

Kolkata Knight Riders allrounder Shakib al Hasan (C) celebrates the wicket of Sanju Samson of the Rajatshan Royals during their Indian Premier League match in UAE yesterday BCCI

Huegill apologises after drugs charge

Former Olympic swimmer Geo� Hue-gill apologised Tuesday after being charged with cocaine possession as he faced a professional backlash.

The two-time Olympic medallist and his wife were allegedly found with the illegal drug during a police raid on a glamorous horseracing event in Sydney on Saturday.

“Some people feel that they have been let down and I deeply apologise for that,” the 35-year-old told the Nine Network.

Huegill, an inspirational � gure in Australian swimming after a comeback from retirement in which he shed a whopping 45 kilograms over 18 months to win gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, is due to face court on May 14.

His brush with the law could cost him, with water safety body AustSwim suspending Huegill as an ambassador

pending the outcome of his court case.“However, if the allegations are

proven then AustSwim’s standards would not allow him to continue in his role as an AustSwim ambassador,” it said.

One of his sponsors, Swisse, told reporters Huegill was used as part of a contract with Swimming Australia which ends in May.

But it said the company’s decision not to renew the deal was unrelated to the latest incident. Another sponsor, Speedo, would not comment.

Huegill won bronze in the 100m but-ter� y and silver in the 4x100m medley relay at the Sydney 2000 Olympics but quit the sport soon after the Athens Games, where he � nished eighth in the 100m butter� y � nal.

Six years after retiring, he made in-spiring swims at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi to win silver in the 50m butter� y and gold in the 100m � nal. l

RANKING1. Tiger Woods (USA) 8.462. Adam Scott (AUS) 8.183. Henrik Stenson (SWE) 8.004. Bubba Watson (USA) 7.355. Matt Kuchar (USA) 7.146. Jason Day (AUS) 6.707. Jordan Spieth (USA) 6.028. Sergio Garcia (ESP) 5.909. Phil Mickelson (USA) 5.8510. Justin Rose (ENG) 5.8011. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 5.7412. Zach Johnson (USA) 5.4713. Dustin Johnson (USA) 5.2414. Graeme McDowell (NIR) 4.4415. Steve Stricker (USA) 4.3316. Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 4.2917. Luke Donald (ENG) 4.2218. Jason Dufner (USA) 4.1719. Keegan Bradley (USA) 4.1320. Ian Poulter (ENG) 4.13

The Belgian recovered from 3-5 down in the second set to earn her win in just under two hours over Radwanska, 73rd-ranked younger sister of third-ranked Radwanska

Wimbledon seedings boost for champion Murray

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray will be among the top seeds at this year’s tournament despite having slipped down the ATP world ranking to eighth, organisers announced on Tuesday.

“We have a surfaced-based seeding system here at Wimbledon,” All En-gland Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) chair-man Philip Brook told a press confer-ence at the tournament venue in south London.

“So we take the ranking points of each player, and add to that the rank-ing points they hypothetically received last year on grass, and we add to that 75 percent of the best-performing tourna-ment in the previous year. l

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE 15

2 BCL men lose limbs in attack, 15 heldn RU Correspondent

A group of unidenti� ed miscreants sev-ered limbs of two Bangladesh Chhatra League activists in broad daylight on Rajshahi University campus yesterday morning.

The victims, Abdullah Al Masud and Tagar Mohammad Saleh, were on their way to the university on a rick-shaw when they were attacked near Ziaur Rahman Hall around 8:15am, said Alamgir Hossain, OC of Motihar police station.

After severely injuring the victims, the attackers set o� two crude bombs and promptly left the scene, said wit-nesses.

A few local shop owners and the guards at Ziaur Rahman Hall then rushed Masud and Saleh to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, said the OC.

The culprits hacked o� Masud’s right leg from knee and severed the ten-dons of Saleh’s arms and legs, accord-ing to sources at the medical collegehospital.

Later, they were moved to National Institute of Traumatology and Ortho-paedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) in the capital’s Agargaon area as their con-ditions worsened, the Chhatra League leaders said.

Masud is an activist of Chhatra League’s Rajshahi University unit,

while Saleh is the student scholar-ship a� air secretary, according to the student party’s leaders. Both are sec-ond-year students at the university and residents of Madar Bux Hall.

Both Chhatra League leaders and po-lice suspect that activists of Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, were involved in the incident.

Alamgir said: “Shibir might have been involved in the attack. We have arrested 15 Shibir activists on suspicion that they may be involved with the case.”

The arrested were currently be-ing interrogated at Motihar police station, he said, adding that police would continue looking for the miscreants respon-sible for the attack.

Mizanur Rahman Rana, president of the Rajshahi University unit of Chhatra League, claimed Shibir activists were involved in the attack and demanded immediate arrest of those responsible for it.

However, when contacted, Shoy-eb Shahriar, organising secretary of Shibir’s unit in the university, denied all allegations and said the attack was the result of Chhatra League’s internal feud.

Professor Tariqul Hasan, proctor of the university, told the Dhaka Tribune that additional police had been de-ployed on the campus to deter further untoward situation.

Following the incident, Chhatra League activists brought out a proces-sion on the campus in protest and de-manding justice. l

16 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, April 30, 2014

‘2.6cr to migrate by 2050 for climate change’n Rabiul Islam

A recent study � nds as many as 1.6 to 2.6 crore people in Bangladesh will be the victim of internal migration be-tween 2011 and 2050 due to adverse impact of the climate change.

Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) of Dhaka Uni-versity and Sussex Centre for Migration Research (SCMR) of Sussex University jointly conducted the study.

The � ndings of the study were disclosed at a workshop on “Climate Change Adaptation in Bangladesh: Mi-gration, the Missing Link” at Senate Bhaban of the Dhaka University yester-day.

The RMMRU made the prediction based on historical analysis of upazila level census data of 2001 and 2011 and prediction of global climate models and the World Bank Studies of 2010 and 2011.

According to the � ndings, 20 lakh to 50 lakh people will migrate due to riv-erbank erosion, 30 lakh to 60 lakh due to inland � ooding and 50 lakh to 70 lakh due to coastal storm surges.

A survey was conducted on 1500 mi-grants and non-migrant households in climatic stressed areas of Bangladesh including Chapainawabganj, Satkhira and Munshiganj.

Only 10% of the respondents said that they migrated due to climatic stresses.

A total of 27% responded that they moved for lack of work and availability of work in destination areas.

While 34% moved to earn an income and live a better life and 9% attributed poverty as their reason for migration. Others said marriage and study as their major reasons for migration.

The � ndings suggest rethinking of policy framework that treats migration as failure of adaptation.

The study says adaptation pro-grammes in Bangladesh should not set its goals to prevent migration as it hin-ders people’s choice of mobility.

While respecting the right of the af-fected people to stay in places of origin

policies should also respect the desire of those who choose to migrate.

Criticising the government policies, the RMMRU founding Chair Dr Tas-neem Siddiqui said internal migration in the policies has been depicted as a negative impact of climate change.

Citing the research � ndings, she said along with bene� tting from local level interventions, some families have also used livelihood migration as one of the tools.

Siddiqui mentions policies do not promote internal migration.

Di� ering the view that migration can be a tool for adaptation, Professor of Ge-ography of Dhaka University AQM Mah-bub said, rather encouraging migration, people should be settled locally.

If the people being a� ected by cli-mate change come to the city their suf-ferings would be intensi� ed. He also questioned the prediction of the � gure. How did you calculate the � gure?

Bangladesh Institute of Develop-ment Studies (BIDS) Professorial Fel-low M Asaduzzaman said migration can be a tool for adaptation individual-ly but not in large scale.

If due to climate change, all people leave from a certain place, that place would be vacant, what would happen to that place?

He suggests that the vulnerabili-ty and risks of climate change should have to be reduced.

Team leader of Climate Change and Disaster Resilience at the DFID-Bangla-desh Colum Wilson said climate change displaced people and migration can be an adaptation tool. Migration is not taken as adaptation in Bangladesh pol-icies, he added.

Speaking as the chief guest, Disas-ter Management Secretary Mesbah Ul Alam said Bangladesh is the innocent victim of climate change.

“We have to increase the capacity of our people to reduce the loss for any kind of disaster,” he said.

“We are formulating a disaster man-agement policy and it is at the � nal stage and we would try to rethink the migration issue,” Alam said. l

Study: Bangladeshis prone to heart attacks 10 years sooner than westernersn Moniruzzaman Uzzal

Bangladeshis are having heart attacks at least 10 years earlier than the typical su� erers of the condition in western countries, according to preliminary � ndings of the largest heart attack study ever held in Bangladesh.

The � ndings also revealed that the average age among Bangladeshis to have heart attack was 52 years, with ap-proximately 40% of all cases occurring in people aged less than 50 years.

Preliminary � ndings of the study, ti-tled “Bangladesh Risk of Acute Vascular Events” (BRAVE), were discussed at a seminar in the capital’s ICDDRB yester-day. The study is a partnership among researchers at England’s Cambridge University, the Dhaka-based Interna-tional Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease and Research Bangladesh (ICDDRB) and the Bangladesh National Institute of Cardi-ovascular Diseases (NICVD).

Individuals who consumed greater amounts of rice, sugar and � sh were gen-erally facing a higher risk of heart attack, while around 80% of all heart attack pa-tients were users of tobacco products.

Preliminary � ndings from dietary intake pattern showed reduced risk of heart attack in individuals who ad-hered to a “prudent” diet (comprising of higher vegetables, fruits and lower carbohydrates and protein).

On the other hand, toxic heavy met-als such as arsenic, copper and lead may be increasing the risk of heart at-tack in Bangladesh, as presence of the elements were found during the blood tests of the participants in the study.

While several classic risk factors (such as diabetes, blood pressure, li-pids and smoking) determine heart at-tack risk in this population, a majority of the heart attack su� erers were classi-� ed as “lean”, with a third of all su� er-ers classi� ed as having “central obesi-

ty” (weight around their stomach). Among the � rst heart attack cases

admitted at the NICVD, approximately 12% were women, meaning there was a possibility that a majority of the early heart attack symptoms in women may have been ignored at the households, raising a grave likelihood of substantial case fatalities in women.

“We are beginning to identify dis-tinctive factors which increase the risk of, or protect against, heart diseases,” said Dr Rajiv Chowdhury, principal in-vestigator of the Cambridge University for the BRAVE study.

“For instance, blood levels of several toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, cop-per and lead increase the risk of heart at-tack. Through BRAVE, we are now able to pinpoint the contribution of both tra-ditional and emerging vascular risk fac-tors in a more precise manner than ever before”, Dr Chowdhury added.

Beginning as a pilot initiative in

2011, this ongoing study has so far re-cruited about 4,000 acute myocardial infarction (or � rst heart attack) patients and 4,000 healthy participants as a control group – making BRAVE the larg-est heart attack study in Bangladesh’s history.

The study is currently recruiting par-ticipants from the NICVD hospital in Dhaka, while ICDDRB is collecting data and samples from the study participants as well as partly analysing the samples at its own facilities; the data is also sent to the Cambridge University for further advanced statistical analyses.

Yesterday’s seminar was chaired by Dr Suhrab Ali, member of ICDDRB’s board of trustees, while the chief guest was national professor Brig (retd) Ab-dul Malik. Other special guests includ-ed NICVD Director Professor Abdulla Al Sha� Majumder and Dr Emanuele Di Angelantonio, senior scientist at the Cambridge University. l

Garment factory owners contribute naught to labour welfare fundn Mohosinul Karim

The garment factory owners do not have any contribution to the Labours Welfare Foundation Fund of the La-bour and Employment Ministry that has now a total of Tk50 crore deposited in its account.

They are not interested in contributing their pro� t shares to the fund, Labour and Employment Secretary Mikail Shi-par said yesterday.

“We failed to draw their attention after communicating with them sever-al times. Which is why the government has decided to create an independent fund for welfare of garment workers,”

he said at a press brie� ng on the occa-sion of May Day held at the secretariat.

He said seven organisations agreed to donate Tk8 crore to the fund. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will receive the cheques at a discussion meeting mark-ing the May Day at the Osmani Memo-rial Auditorium.

The seven companies are British American Tobacco Bangladesh, Lafarge Surma Cement Ltd, Nestle Bangladesh Ltd, Linday Bangladesh Ltd, Crown Ce-ment Ltd, Singer Bangladesh Ltd and Coats Bangladesh Ltd, Shipar said.

The secretary said, the fund was founded in 2006 while it was function-al in 2008. But unfortunately neither local nor foreign garment factories showed any interest to deposit only 0.5% of their pro� t share to this fund.

A total of Tk50 crore was deposited by 19 industrial units excepting ready-made garment (RMG) factories since its inception in 2008, the secretary said.

“As per the law it is mandatory for an industrial unit to deposit 5% of their pro� t share from the net annual pro� t of Tk1 crore or more than that to the La-bour Welfare Foundation Fund.

“From the fund, the factory owner will distribute 4% of the money directly to their factory workers and 0.5% will be

deposited in the factory Labour Welfare Fund while the remaining 0.5% to the Labour Welfare Foundation Fund of the Labour Employment Ministry to be used for the security of workers,” Shipar said.

Replying to a query the secretary said: “We will compel the owners of the industrial units to deposit the said pro� t share. Each industrial unit will have to pay a � ne of Tk5, 000 for one day. More-over, cases will be � led against those who fail to deposit the money in time.”

About the � xation of salaries, the secretary said they had identi� ed 42 sectors including the RMG and “the government is planning to form a mini-mum wage board to � x salaries of three crore workers in the country. The board will � x the salaries of the workers every � ve year”.

On the May Day programme the secretary said a colourful rally will be brought out from the Srama Bhaban at 7am and a discussion meeting will be held at the Osmani Memorial Auditori-um at 10am to mark the day.

State Minister for Labour and Em-ployment Mojibul Haque Chunnu and Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Labour and Employ-ment Ministry Munnujan Su� an will attend the functions. l

As per the law it is mandatory for an industrial unit to deposit 5% of their pro� t share from the net annual pro� t of Tk1 crore or more than that to the Labour Welfare Foundation Fund

Farmers spend a busy day harvesting at their paddy � eld at Rupganj upazila in Narayanganj yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Both BCL leaders and police suspect that Shibir activists were involved in the incident

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial O� ce: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

GP, Robi & Teletalk report pro� ts in 2013n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

Three mobile phone operators - Grameenphone, Robi and Teletalk - made a total net pro� t of Tk1,883.4 crore in 2013.

But Other three operators - Airtel, Banglalink and Citycell - incurred a net l oss of Tk1,358.3 crore.

The operators disclosed the � gures recently in a classi� ed presentation with the National Board of Revenue on Thursday last.

The total revenue of the six op-erators for the year 2013 amount-ed to Tk20,373 crore, which mightincreased a little more in the upcoming years.

According to the document, the operators claimed that their market size would be grown further by up to Tk23,419 crore only if the NBR brings some regulatory changes.

“During the last � ve years, although all the six operators earned a revenue worth Tk83,481 crore, only two of them made pro� ts,’’ says the report.

“It is our hardcore calculation and we jointly worked on it for last two months to � nd out the realestimates,” said TIM Nurul Kabir, sec-retary general of the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangla-desh (Amtob).

He also disclosed that all the chief � nancial o� cers of the six mobile phone operators were engaged in pre-paring the presentation on the basis of the performances of their respective companies.

In the presentation Amtob claimed that low industry pro� tability was hin-dering growth and investment in the sector.

Grameenphone made pro� t of Tk7,665.6 crore in between 2009 and 2013 while their revenue was around Tk41,714.3 crore.

The onlylisted mobile operator also

made Tk1,470.2 crore pro� t last year. Though Robi has not been consistent in pro� tmaking but the record shows that the operator made Tk560.5 crore net pro� t against its net income worth Tk16,078.8 croreduring the last � ve years.

The pro� t and revenue of Robi stood at Tk366.8 crore and Tk4,517.1 crore respectively in 2013, according to the presentation.

However, Banglalink could not make any pro� t in the last � ve years even in the year 2013, being num-

ber two operators in terms of sub-scriber numbers. Its net loss stood at around Tk2,037.6 crore during the last � ve years as its revenue was only Tk17,878.8 crore.

On the other hand, Airtel never dis-closed their revenue and pro� t or loss statement after launching its operation in Bangladesh since 2010.

But, this presentation unveiled that their revenue stood at Tk1,354.9 crore while it incurred a net loss of Tk625.1 crore in the year 2013.

It was also estimated that the com-

pany earned Tk4,154.3 crore as reve-nue and Tk3,413.6 crore as net loss in the last � ve years.

Only state-owned operator Tele-talk made Tk46.4 crore pro� t on their revenue of 660.3 crore on 2013 while they observed Tk98.9 crore net loss in the last � ve years from Tk1,734.9 crore revenues.

Citycell, the oldest operator in South East Asia, somehow, managedto earn Tk243 crore revenue in 2013 with a net loss of Tk303.7 core.

The company had to calculate Tk1,922.8 crore as its revenue while Tk724.3 crore as net loss in between 2009 and 2013.

Nurul Kabir noted that the whole telecom industry was running through a cross road and stressed the need for working together to put the industry on right track.

“The above mentioned � gures only demonstrate how the telecom indus-try is sturggling and if the decision makers don’t realise the situation, the telecom industry will soon become a sick industry very soon,” added secre-tary general of Amtob.

Amtob in its another presentation showed that if the tax regulator could bring some changes in some regu-lations, the revenue of the telecom industry could jump up to Tk23,419 crore bythe year 2016.

But if the regulation remain un-changed, the size of the total market will be hardly Tk22,197crore within the same period.

Amtob presentation also estimated that the loss of the Airtel and Citycell might be increased further after two years though Banglalink’s might be able to reduce some its loss.

“Though Grameenphone and Tele-talk’s pro� t may increase in the com-ing days, the pro� t of Robi is, however, likely to be decreased if the regulation remains same.” l

www.dhakatribune.com/business WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2014

B3 E� ective regional e� orts key to cut risks of trade openness

B4 Islamic branding: Reach-ing out to the untapped billions

ADB mission due to explore investment opportunities n Tribune Report

An Asian Development Bank (ADB) delegation is scheduled to visit Bangla-desh in the second week of next month to review three infrastructure projects and explore further investment poten-tials in the country.

The three-member delegation tiled “� eld subject mission” will review the projects including the proposed LPC plant and rail-based inland container depot at Dhirasrom in Gazipur during their 5-day visit to Bangladesh since May 10.

“The mission is to examine invest-ment potentials in the infrastructure projects,” said a senior o� cial of the � nance ministry.

He said the team, head by Senior ad-visor of PPP Ryuichi Kaga, will discuss the progress of development projects with the government o� cials.

Other members are senior Pub-lic–Private Partnership specialistLise Weidner and specialist of PPP Jin Sasaki .

Sources in the shipping ministry said, after construction of the rail-based inland container depot, the car-goes of India, Bhutan and Nepal would easily pass to other countries without connecting Dhaka city.

Bangladesh will gain some bene-� t after signing the transit agreement with India,Nepal and Bhutan.

After construction of the Padma Bridge, containers could easily be transported from Dhaka to Mongla port, sources said.

The visiting team will hold discus-sion with Shipping Secretary Syed Monjurul Islam, Power SecretaryMd Mozammel Haque Khan, CEOof PPP O� ce Syed Afsor H Uddinand o� cial of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation. l

BB set Tk6,000cr credit limit for 4 state banksn Jebun Nesa Alo

Bangladesh Bank has set a total credit limit of Tk6,186 crore for four state-owned banks for this year.

Based on adjusted loan status of the previous year, the central bank has set separate credit targets for the banks - Sonali, Agrani, Janata and Rupali – with signing separate memorandum of understandings (MoU) recently.

The targets were calculated by sub-tracting government and agriculture loans from the total loan status of each of the banks.

As the banks are to disburse certain amount of loans to the government and agriculture sector every year, the ceiling of bank credit is determined on the basis of the adjusted loans so the banks could disburse loans in other sectors, said a senior executive of Ban-gladesh Bank.

He said the central bank has tight-ened regular monitoring on aggressive loan disbursements, although most of the banks have failed to achieve the growth target last year due to overall slower credit growth in the country amid sluggish investment climate and political unrest.

“As a result, the central bank did not extend the credit ceiling of most of the banks so they could fully comply with their respective targets and other con-ditions set by the central bank.”

All the four banks failed to achieve the credit growth target set by the central bank in 2013, excepting Rupa-li Bank. Considering the credit dis-bursement performance of the banks,Bangladesh Bank did not expedite the new ceiling for Agrani and Janata, rath-er it has cut the credit limit for Sonali Bank.

The credit target has been increased only for Rupali Bank as it had sur-

passed the loan ceiling � xed for last year. The credit ceiling of Sonali Bank has been set at Tk1,328 crore for the year 2014, which is 6% of the adjusted loan status of Tk22,133 crore in 2013.

The adjusted loan growth rate of Sonali Bank was negative 7.07% in the last year against the target limit of 8% set by Bangladesh Bank. The total loan growth of the banks decreased by 11.67% or Tk3,963 crore in the last year.

The loan disbursement limit of the Agrani Bank has been set at Tk1,676 crore for the year 2014, whichi is 10% of the adjusted loan status of Tk16,764 crore of 2013.

Adjusted loan growth rate of Agrani Bank was negative 0.63% during the last year against the target limit of 10%. Total loan disbursement of the bank reduced by 7.76% or Tk1529.44 crore in the year 2013.

The credit limit of the Janata Bank has been set at Tk2,206 crore for the year 2014, which is 10% of the adjusted loan status of Tk22,067 crore of 2013.

The growth target of the Janata Bank was same in the last year but the bank was able to achieve only 1.15% of its target. The total loan disbursement of the bank was reduced by 8.59% or Tk2,405 crore in the year 2013. The central bank set the credit limit of the Rupali Bank at Tk976 crore for the year 2014, which is 12% of the total adjusted loan status of Tk8,139 crore of 2013.

The adjusted loan growth of the bank increased by 13.98% in the year 2013 against its 10% target limit of the adjusted loan status set in the MoU. The total loan growth of the bank in-creased by 18.59% or Tk1,613 crore in the last year.

The central bank punished the Rupali Bank asking it to block the ex-cess loans that it had disbursed beyond its target limit. l

NBR may o� er tax relief for factory relocationn Syed Samiul Basher Anik

The government plans to provide temporary tax relief to the entrepre-neurs just for relocating their indus-tries outside the capital.

National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Md. Ghulam Hussain yes-terday came up with the disclosure while addressing a pre-budget discus-sion with the representatives of Ban-gladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) at the NBR headquarters in the capital.

As Dhaka has scored top as the worst livable city in the world, Ghu-lam Hossain requested the businesses to address this issues, bringing some changings in their business policy.

Referring to a recent global sur-vey conducted by Economist Intelli-gence Unit, he noted that Dhaka had earned 38.7 points on a scale of 100, which is lowest among other major cities in the world.

“Those, who will establish indus-tries in and around the capital like Sa-var, Ashulia, Gazipur or Narayanganj has to pay higher taxes but those who will shift businesses far from the cap-ital or establish new industries out-side the city will enjoy temporary tax relief,” he categorically said.

He assured the business of ensur-ing all the facilities for relocating their industries outside of Dhaka, which could also be helpfulfor the workers to work in a hygienic atmosphere, which is totally absent in Dhaka.

“Businesses have started to go outside the capital as major inves-tors like Globe, Lalmai Group, Par-tex Group have already moved to Noakhali region. If you shift your in-dustries, you will get bene� ts, which will be increased further in case of the new investors,” he clari� ed.

During the meeting, the BCI lead-ers placed a 73-point recommen-dations to the NBR for considering before � nalising the budget for the next � scal 2014-15.

The BCI Director Mohabbat Ullah, also managing director of Nippon In-dustries Pvt. Limited, urged the NBR to reduce the tax on annual gross in-come at 0.25% from 0.5%.

He also urged the NBR to provide

tax holiday without any conditions, especially for the newly established industries in the less developed and remote areas.

In response, NBR chairman asked the BCI leaders to come up with a speci� c proposal and submit it to NBR for consideration.

Other demands of BCI include providing special bene� ts to small companies, who import intermedi-ary materials and make assemblies here, supporting jute factories, � x-ing 0% tax on import of mould (capi-tal machinery for industries), impos-ing more taxes on imported biscuits, reducing duties at import of lorry and pickups etc.

BCI also demanded for the with-drawal of taxes from capital machin-ery import for plastic industry, gas generator, withdrawal of VAT from local made plastic toys, reducing cus-toms duty from 25% to 5% for import of component of toys, increasing sup-plementary duty on imported plastic pipes from existing 30% to 100%, increasing supplementary duty on Completely Built Unit (CBU) motor-cycles from existing 45% to 60%.

Chairman of Aysha Memorial Hospital Priti Chakraborty request-ed the NBR to allocate a Tk500crore budget for the women entrepreneurs to support them working in the mac-ro-level businesses.

They also urged the NBR not to do audits in the industries for thrice or fourth times in a year, rather to make it once in a year and establishment of plastic testing laboratory.

In response, NBR chairman said the expectation from the businesses were very high, but the NBR would consider the proposals on three point of views- revenue side, indus-tries side, and consumers’ side. He also urged businesses not to focus on only reduction or increase of duties, rather to focus on policy protection.

The meeting was attended, among others, by NBR member (in-come tax policy) Syed Aminul Karim, former NBR member (VAT) Md. Sha-habuddin, BCI senior vice president Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu, and director Zia Hayder Mithu. l

Green Delta Ins launches product focused on women n Tribune Report

Green Delta Insurance Co Ltd has in-troduced a product exclusively for women in the country, through which they would now be able to insure ac-cidental loss of house holdings, death during chid births and also traumas such as acid victims, rape and robbery.

The general insurance company yesterday launched the product by awarding the � rst of its kind product to Shomi Kaiser, a female entrepreneur in a launching ceremony held at head o� ce in the capital.

The product titled “Nibedita” was launched last year on pilot basis and now it has hit the market o� cially.

“We have created a platform for growth for the insurance industry and now we are to empower 52% of our population who are women,” said Far-zana Chowdhury, managing director and CEO of Green Delta Insurance.

She added: “The product will align with serving human rights of women

which are neglected at times as their rights are frequently violated.”

The product was made aiming to make it a� ordable for the women from all walks of lives and the lowest monthly premium of Tk580 is likely to be availed by female workers of textile sector as well, said Shubasish Barua, head of product development of the company.

Sum insured of Nibedita ranges within Tk1 lakh to a maxi-mum of Tk10 lakh.

The company’s for-mer MD and CEO, Nasir A Choudhury claimed the product will be hassle-free.

Nasir Choudhury is cur-rently advisor of the insur-ance company.

On the penetration and marketing of the product, the management said it will reach out to NGOs, telcos and independent bodies to inform women living in ur-

ban and rural areas.ASA Muiz, the company’s consul-

tant, Wa� SM Khan, the CEO of Green Delta Securities, and other high o� -cials attended the conference.

The company’s stock raised 1.35% yesterday at the Dhaka Stock Ex-change, apparently due to the inclu-sion of a new product in its portfolio, as the company advertised the product day before yesterday. l

Moody’s ranks Bangladesh 13th for controlling corruptionIt gives stable outlook to credit rating for 4th year n Kayes Sohel

The global rating agency Moody’s has ranked Bangladesh 13th for controlling corruption among more than 100 countries it rated.

It also ranked the country 9th for government e� ectiveness, 10th for rule of law, according to Moody’s latest report of credit analysis on Bangladesh released yesterday.

“Poor public service quality and institutional weaknesses have led to disruptions in the disbursement of do-nor support in the past, as evidenced by the World Bank’s suspension of � -nancing related to the Padma Bridge in 2012,” said the report.

Moody's earlier gave a B3 stable out-look to Bangladesh's credit rating for the fourth consecutive year.

“Bangladesh's Ba3 sovereign bond rating re� ects the country's stable and healthy growth path, progress in im-plementing structural reforms under

an Extended Credit Facility program with the International Monetary Fund and limited vulnerability to � scal and external funding stresses,” says Moody's Investors Service.

In addition, the country's external liquidity position is comfortable, with foreign reserves providing ample cush-ion against maturing debt obligations.

Moody's conclusions were con-tained in its just-released credit analy-sis on Bangladesh which examines the fundamental drivers underlying the sovereign rating.

Its report points out that Bangla-desh's headline growth and exports were not meaningfully impacted by heightened political turbulence over the last year in the run-up to parlia-mentary elections in January 2014, or by disruptions caused by industrial ac-cidents in the garments sector.

Upward triggers to Bangladesh's rating would stem from sustained, strong economic growth supported

by structural improvements, partic-ularly in infrastructure; a broadening of the tax revenue base, which would improve � scal fundamentals and � ex-ibility. It said

Reform of the labor market and in-dustrial working conditions, which would ensure continued favorable ex-port prospects, while also encouraging greater foreign investment, it said.

On the other hand, it said, the rating would come under downward pressure if political setbacks strain the coun-try's economic or � scal pro� le, or the crystallization of contingent liabilities in the banking system is larger than Moody's anticipates, thereby weighing on � scal strength.

However, the weak � nancial perfor-mance of the four state-owned com-mercial banks (SOCBs) could result in the further crystallization of contin-gent liabilities that add to the � scal burden, it noted.

B3 COLUMN 1

ANALYST

B2 Stock Wednesday, April 30, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

Stocks tumble on lower earningsn Tribune Report

Stocks posted steep fall yesterday, triggered by depressed � rst quarter earnings that poured in the market.

The benchmark index DSEX lost 58 points or 1.3% to close at 4,567, extending its losing streak for the third straight session and hitting one-month low.

Shariah Index DSES witnessed marginal losses of 5 points or 0.5% to 1,012. The blue-chip comprising DS30 was down 20 points to 1,669.

Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, closed at 8,795, shedding 107 points.

All the major sectors ended in red today except telecommunica-tions that soared 1.2% and pharma-ceuticals 1.5%. Banking sector was the worst losers with a drop of 29% after gain in the previous session.

Trading activities declined sig-ni� cantly with DSE turnover hitting 2-week low to Tk387 crore, going down by 11.1% than that of the pre-vious session.

IDLC Investments said quarterly declaration centric trading pattern called for larger correction. “Be-sides, depressed earnings growth empowered with recent waning tone unleashed panic sale pres-sure.”

It said buyers retreated, creating a vacuum in demand side. As a re-

sult, investors observed 11 sessions’ lowest activity amounting turnover below Tk400 crore, it said.

Lanka Bangla Securities said market continued to fall into red territory amid substantial volatil-ity as banking stocks were under pressure and manufacturing stocks continued to drag.

It said market is seemed to react to the fundamental stocks as index is likely to take cue from the quar-terly and annual earnings of the companies.

“Investors churned their portfo-lio heavily with some picky stocks in recent time and they were most-ly bullish on multinational stocks over � nancial and other local man-ufacturing stocks.”

Zenith Investments said market scenario was an extension of pre-vious session’s dry performance, where major sectors shed heavy losses.

“Although, technical and fun-damental indications still indicate market turnaround, but if the vol-ume keeps getting weak then it will be di� cult for the market to land on a strong support zone.”

Grameenphone was the most traded stocks with shares worth Tk20 crore changing hands, fol-lowed by Meghna Petroleum, Ban-gladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd, Lafarge Surma Cement and Heidelberg Cement. l

News, analysis and recent disclosersRDFOOD: 10% stock, AGM: 29.05.2014, Record Date: 08.05.2014. EPS of Tk. 0.89, NAV per share of Tk. 17.72.BGIC: 12% cash, AGM: 26.06.2014, Record date: 12.05.2014. EPS of Tk. 1.36, NAV per share of Tk. 19.61.EASTERNINS: 20% cash, AGM: 24.06.2014, Record Date: 15.05.2014. EPS of Tk. 2.46, NAV per share of Tk. 36.60.PREMIERBAN: 10% stock, AGM: 28.05.2014, Record Date: 11.05.2014. EPS of Tk. 1.53, consolidated NAV per share of Tk. 15.59.JANATAINS: 12.50% stock, AGM: 22.06.2014, Record Date: 15.05.2014. EPS of Tk. 0.59, NAV per share of Tk. 16.10.KARNAPHULI: 7.5% cash & 5% stock, AGM: 19.06.2014, Record Date: 15.05.2014. EPS of Tk. 1.70, NAV per share of Tk. 19.87PHENIXINS: 20% cash, AGM: 18.06.2014, Record date: 11.05.2014. EPS of Tk. 2.71, NAV per share of Tk. 35.89.RANFOUNDRY: 22% cash, AGM: 25.06.2014, Record Date: 15.05.2014. EPS of Tk. 2.84, NAV per share of Tk. 19.00.SONARBAINS: 12% stock, AGM:

19.06.2014, Record Date: 11.05.2014. EPS of Tk. 1.77, NAV per share of Tk. 15.46.PARAMOUNT: 10% stock, AGM: 25.06.2014, Record Date: 11.05.2014. EPS of Tk. 1.45, NAV per share of Tk. 13.92.

Unaudited Financials: 1STICB: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 21.68 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 28.91 as against Tk. 18.66 million and Tk. 24.88 respectively*.2NDICB: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 12.46 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 24.93 as against Tk. 11.16 million and Tk. 22.32 respectively*.3RDICB: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 16.64 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 16.64 as against Tk. 17.55 million and Tk. 17.55 respectively*.4THICB: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 17.33 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 17.33 as against Tk. 15.47 million and Tk. 15.47 respectively*.5THICB: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 21.00 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 14.00 as against Tk. 20.93 million and Tk. 13.95 respectively*.6THICB: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 24.24 million

with earnings per unit of Tk. 4.85 as against Tk. 22.73 million and Tk. 4.55 respectively*.7THICB: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 27.03 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 9.01 as against Tk. 25.93 million and Tk. 8.64 respectively*.8THICB: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 29.85 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 5.97 as against Tk. 26.02 million and Tk. 5.20 respectively*.IFILISLMF1: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 80.31 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 0.80 as against Tk. 6.68 million and Tk. 0.07 respectively*.ICB3RDNRB: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 48.38 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 0.48 as against Tk. 13.99 million and Tk. 0.14 respectively*.PF1STMF: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 31.89 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 0.53 as against Tk. 7.28 million and Tk. 0.12 respec-tively*.PRIME1ICBA: (Q3): NPAT= Tk. 55.21 million with earnings per unit of Tk. 0.55 as against Tk. 11.83 million and Tk. 0.12 respectively*.

CSE LOSERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Delta SpinnersA -39.94 -40.03 18.80 18.80 18.80 18.80 1.940 0.55 34.2Takaful Islami Insu-A -17.27 -17.70 27.30 27.30 27.50 27.00 0.041 1.98 13.8aamra technologies-A -9.77 -9.55 31.73 31.40 34.20 31.40 7.865 1.39 22.8Peoples Insur -A -9.69 -8.03 26.10 26.10 26.10 26.10 0.010 2.27 11.5Legacy Footwear -A -9.69 -9.55 26.61 26.10 28.80 26.10 1.902 0.36 73.9BD Submarine Cable-A -8.75 -7.50 186.47 182.50 200.50 182.50 28.031 2.95 63.2Premier Cement-A -8.53 -4.96 85.80 82.60 88.50 82.40 0.927 3.46 24.8Eastern Cables-A -8.28 -7.22 118.79 117.40 129.70 116.20 0.487 2.03 58.5Bangladesh Welding -A -8.15 -10.04 12.36 12.40 13.00 12.20 0.767 0.24 51.5Prime Textile -A -7.95 -5.34 22.00 22.00 22.00 22.00 0.044 1.12 19.6

DSE LOSERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Delta SpinnersA -39.94 -40.17 18.80 18.80 18.80 18.80 10.919 0.55 34.2Takaful Islami Insu-A -16.77 -15.93 27.65 27.30 28.30 27.00 1.887 1.98 14.0aamra technologies-A -9.83 -9.83 31.56 31.20 34.90 31.20 44.589 1.39 22.7Legacy Footwear -A -9.79 -10.05 26.32 25.80 28.20 25.80 1.974 0.36 73.1Bangladesh Welding -A -8.89 -8.88 12.52 12.30 13.30 12.20 3.921 0.24 52.2Islamic Finance-A -8.78 -6.04 13.84 13.50 14.10 12.80 3.421 0.74 18.7BD Submarine Cable-A -8.77 -8.16 184.48 182.10 194.60 182.10 141.576 2.95 62.5Phoenix Insur -A -8.59 -6.92 36.86 36.20 39.60 35.00 1.621 2.71 13.6BD. Thai Alum -B -8.23 -7.35 22.80 22.30 24.40 21.90 6.484 0.77 29.6Al-Haj Textile -A -8.20 -6.79 107.61 105.30 110.00 104.00 18.273 2.00 53.8

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Daily closing

Price change

Daily opening

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

BD Submarine Cable-A 150,326 28.03 10.10 182.50 -8.75 200.00 200.50 182.50 186.47UNITED AIR-A 958,304 12.13 4.37 12.60 -3.08 13.00 13.00 12.40 12.65Bata Shoe Ltd. -A 9,576 11.02 3.97 1158.00 6.24 1090.00 1158.10 1100.00 1150.42Grameenphone-A 40,800 10.84 3.91 267.30 1.98 262.10 269.00 260.40 265.68LafargeS Cement-Z 167,000 10.72 3.87 64.20 -0.31 64.40 64.90 63.20 64.22Meghna Petroleum -A 33,359 10.15 3.66 303.70 -0.65 305.70 307.00 300.00 304.20aamra technologies-A 247,830 7.86 2.83 31.40 -9.77 34.80 34.20 31.40 31.73BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 263,064 7.25 2.61 27.20 -4.23 28.40 28.40 27.00 27.56Premier Bank -A 625,903 7.10 2.56 11.20 1.82 11.00 11.90 11.10 11.34Matin Spinning-N 170,800 6.64 2.40 38.60 -1.53 39.20 39.60 38.40 38.90Square Pharma -A 23,308 6.42 2.32 276.50 1.43 272.60 277.60 272.50 275.61BSC-A 10,775 6.29 2.27 573.30 -1.92 584.50 595.00 571.00 584.00National Bank - B 463,100 6.17 2.22 13.20 -2.94 13.60 13.70 13.10 13.32Padma Oil Co. -A 16,164 5.59 2.02 343.90 -0.64 346.10 348.70 343.00 345.90Appollo Ispat CL -N 211,600 5.39 1.94 25.10 -3.83 26.10 26.40 25.00 25.47

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Daily closing

Price change

Daily opening

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

Square Pharma -A 821,341 225.37 5.81 277.00 1.65 272.50 278.00 260.00 274.39Grameenphone-A 747,827 198.81 5.13 267.90 1.94 262.80 269.00 250.00 265.85Meghna Petroleum -A 624,938 190.25 4.91 303.70 -0.85 306.30 309.50 280.00 304.44BD Submarine Cable-A 767,420 141.58 3.65 182.10 -8.77 199.60 194.60 182.10 184.48LafargeS Cement-Z 2,188,000 140.60 3.63 64.20 -1.08 64.90 65.00 63.70 64.26HeidelbergCement -A 224,650 133.52 3.44 597.90 3.03 580.30 603.00 571.80 594.35Renata Ltd. -A 96,606 112.38 2.90 1172.90 3.22 1136.30 1180.00 1100.00 1163.28Olympic Ind. -A 429,770 101.12 2.61 236.00 -0.51 237.20 238.00 233.30 235.30Bata Shoe Ltd. -A 87,044 99.28 2.56 1156.90 6.24 1088.90 1156.90 1090.00 1140.52Padma Oil Co. -A 274,923 94.95 2.45 343.70 -0.17 344.30 349.00 330.00 345.37Delta Life Insu. -A 374,850 77.95 2.01 206.10 -3.96 214.60 216.00 204.20 207.95Southeast Bank-A 3,201,701 70.19 1.81 21.80 -2.68 22.40 22.50 20.20 21.92UCBL - A 2,585,845 70.06 1.81 26.80 -3.94 27.90 29.00 25.20 27.09BSC-A 116,310 67.86 1.75 573.75 -1.84 584.50 595.00 570.00 583.46Eastern Housing -A 1,084,121 61.37 1.58 56.70 3.09 55.00 58.80 51.30 56.60

CSE GAINERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Bata Shoe Ltd. -A 6.24 5.55 1150.42 1158.00 1158.10 1100.00 11.016 59.44 19.4Berger Paints-A 6.04 5.96 1208.07 1220.00 1222.00 1195.00 1.752 57.68 20.9Deshbandhu Polymer-A 4.49 3.57 18.55 18.60 19.00 18.00 3.766 0.81 22.9Eastern Housing -A 3.83 1.63 56.23 56.90 58.00 55.00 2.307 1.56 36.0ICB Emp. PMF-A 3.51 2.79 5.89 5.90 5.90 5.80 0.062 0.68 8.7Prime Bank 1st MF-A 3.51 3.00 5.84 5.90 5.90 5.80 0.053 0.73 8.0PrimeFin. 1st MF-A 3.50 1.60 20.28 20.70 21.00 19.90 0.761 1.64 12.4AMCL 2nd MF-A 3.17 2.69 6.50 6.50 6.50 6.50 0.003 0.99 6.6HeidelbergCement -A 3.08 1.75 594.50 598.70 602.90 580.00 3.567 26.09 22.8Aziz PipesZ 3.03 3.03 20.40 20.40 20.40 20.40 0.002 0.59 34.6

DSE GAINERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Northern Jute -Z 9.59 9.67 147.50 147.40 147.90 147.00 0.059 -10.24 -veBata Shoe Ltd. -A 6.24 5.28 1,140.52 1,156.90 1,156.90 1,090.00 99.275 59.44 19.2Kohinoor Chem -A 5.14 8.74 341.16 341.60 353.00 301.00 2.614 9.37 36.4PrimeFin. 1st MF-A 5.10 2.68 20.28 20.60 21.10 19.20 28.331 1.64 12.4Deshbandhu Polymer-A 4.55 4.44 18.58 18.40 19.00 16.00 15.302 0.81 22.9AFC AgroBiotech-N 4.25 2.36 53.82 54.00 54.70 51.70 22.335 1.54 34.9Dulamia CottonZ 4.17 4.60 7.50 7.50 7.50 7.50 0.001 -4.02 -veLinde (BD) Ltd. -A 4.03 3.12 1,101.62 1,101.90 1,124.80 999.90 60.058 48.55 22.7Berger Paints-A 3.81 3.78 1,203.08 1,211.90 1,230.00 1,170.00 47.282 57.68 20.9Aramit -A 3.69 1.12 301.00 305.90 309.70 285.50 3.898 12.56 24.0

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

Sector DSE CSE TotalMillion Taka % change Million Taka % change Million Taka % change

Bank 489.15 12.62 40.94 13.57 530.09 12.69NBFI 149.10 3.85 10.04 3.33 159.14 3.81Investment 163.45 4.22 6.73 2.23 170.18 4.07Engineering 249.39 6.43 22.68 7.52 272.07 6.51Food & Allied 179.90 4.64 13.51 4.48 193.41 4.63Fuel & Power 521.04 13.44 28.26 9.37 549.30 13.15Jute 3.49 0.09 0.00 3.49 0.08Textile 270.28 6.97 27.03 8.96 297.32 7.12Pharma & Chemical 563.27 14.53 18.79 6.23 582.07 13.93Paper & Packaging 0.82 0.02 7.14 2.37 7.96 0.19Service 69.76 1.80 3.07 1.02 72.83 1.74Leather 136.99 3.53 20.81 6.90 157.81 3.78Ceramic 14.83 0.38 2.08 0.69 16.92 0.40Cement 342.36 8.83 17.69 5.87 360.05 8.62Information Technology 53.27 1.37 9.45 3.13 62.72 1.50General Insurance 42.57 1.10 1.67 0.55 44.24 1.06Life Insurance 108.33 2.79 5.50 1.82 113.83 2.72Telecom 340.39 8.78 38.87 12.89 379.26 9.08Travel & Leisure 65.24 1.68 12.92 4.28 78.16 1.87Miscellaneous 111.31 2.87 14.42 4.78 125.74 3.01Debenture 0.93 0.02 0.01 0.00 0.94 0.02

Daily capital market highlights

DSE Broad Index : 4567.04039 (-) 1.25% ▼

DSE Shariah Index : 1012.35380 (-) 0.46% ▼

DSE - 30 Index : 1668.91522 (-) 1.17% ▼

CSE All Share Index: 14058.3229 (-) 1.24% ▼

CSE - 30 Index : 11741.0103 (-) 0.91% ▼

CSE Selected Index : 8795.0297 (-) 1.21% ▼

DSE key features April 29, 2014Turnover (Million Taka)

3,875.87

Turnover (Volume)

84,624,657

Number of Contract 87,327

Traded Issues 289

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

54

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

229

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,347.33

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

28.45

CSE key features April 29, 2014Turnover (Million Taka) 280.88

Turnover (Volume) 8,322,042

Number of Contract 12,144

Traded Issues 212

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

37

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

170

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,242.09

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

27.18

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

Market is seemed to react to the fundamental stocks as index is likely to take cue from the quarterly and annual earnings of the companies

B3BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, April 30, 2014

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited in Bangladesh has been recognised as the ‘Best Foreign Commercial Bank’ at the ICAMB Best Corporate Awards 2013 recently. Steve Ball, the bank’s CFO of HSBC Bangladesh is seen receiving the award from the Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith

IDLC Finance Limited was awarded the best corporate award in the non-banking � nancial institution sector at the Institution of Cost and Management Accounts of Bangladesh (ICMAB) award-ceremony held in Dhaka on Sunday. HM Ziaul Hoque Khan, the company’s deputy managing director received the award from Finance Minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhith

NRB Global Bank Limited yesterday opened its Gunabati branch in Comilla. The bank’s chair, Nizam Chowdhury inaugurated the branch’s operations as chief guest

Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited has been awarded the ICMAB Best Corporate AWARD 2013 by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) in the private commercial banks (Islamic operation) category. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith is seen handing over the award to Md Habibur Rahman, the bank’s managing director

Exim Bank recently has been awarded the ICMAB Best Corporate Award 2013 in the category of private commercial bank (Islamic operation) for its performance. The bank’s managing director, Dr Mohammed Haider Ali Miah received the award on Sunday from the Finance Minister AMA Muhit

Bangladesh Commerce Bank Limited recently held its 14th annual general at the National Sports Council Auditorium in Dhaka. The bank’s chair Md Yousuf Ali Howlader presided over the programme

Standard Bank Limited has recently won the third best corporate award of 2013 from the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB). The bank’s managing director, Md Nazmus Salehin seen receiving the award from the Finance Minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhith

Prime Bank Limited on Sunday received the � rst prize in the ICMAB Best Corporate Award 2013 in the category of private commercial bank (traditional operation). The bank’s managing director and CEO, Md Ehsan Khasru received the award from the Finance Minister AMA Muhith

IDRA forms two committees n Tribune Report

Insurance Development and Regula-tory Authority (IDRA) has formed two committees to facilitate implementa-tion of the Insurance Act 2010.

The committees – one for life insur-ance and another for general insurance – would suggest rules and regulations on how the law could be implemented, according to an IDRA noti� cation is-sued yesterday.

IDRA Member Sultan-Ul-Abedine Molla will head the committee on life insurance and other members are IDRA Member Zuber Ahmed Khan, Delta Life Insurance Managing Director Swapan Kumar Sarkar and two representatives of Bangladesh Insurance Association (BIA).

The committee on general insur-ance is headed by IDRA Member Zuber Ahmed Khan and other members are IDRA Member Sultan-Ul-Abedine Mol-la, Rupali Insurance Managing Director PK Roy and two representatives of BIA.

The committee will � nalise the draft of rules and submit those to IDRA Chairman M Shefaq Ahmed.

The committee will call meeting time to time and � nalize the draft of provisions. Then they will present the � nal draft to the IDRA Chairman M Shefaq Ahmed, said the o� ce order issued the authority yesterday with immediate e� ect.

The committee has been formed to issue rules and regulations to explain the provisions of the law, said Shefaq Ahmed. Some regulations have already been issued. Some more need to be is-sued for implanting the act properly, he said. l

FBCCI seeks Swiss investment for SMEs developmentn Tribune Business Desk

Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) has sought investment from Switzerland for the development of small and me-dium enterprises (SMEs) across the country.

FBCCI President Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed made the call at a meeting with Swiss Ambassador to Bangladesh Chris-tian Fotsch held on Monday in Dhaka.

Lauding the role of the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation (SDC) in improving employment conditions, promoting income generating activi-ties and improving local governance in the country, he called upon the ambas-sador to sign a Memorandum of Un-derstanding (MoU) between the FBCCI and National Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Switzerland in this regard.

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), an apex trade organisation of the country, also stressed the need for further enhancing bilateral trade along with more investment, which is cur-rently not signi� cant enough.

In reply, Christian Fotsch said he would try to attract Swiss investors to invest in SMEs sectors in Bangladesh along with the large corporate sectors.

During the � nancial year 2012-2013, Bangladesh exported an amount of US$121.38m to Switzerland while im-ports were around $185m.

The meeting was also attended by the director of FBCCI Kazi Shahnewaz. l

E� ective regional e� orts key to cut risks of trade opennessn Tribune Report

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman has put emphasis on e� ective regional e� orts to cut the risks of trade openness.

“Openness to global capital � ows likewise spurs growth by attracting in-vestment in� ows, but at the same time heightens instability risks from volatile trends of global capital � ows arising both from speculative position taking and from spillovers of persistent imbal-ances in major economies,” he said.

He said external opening up also poses new demands on approaches in safeguarding of monetary and � nan-cial stability.

The Governor was speaking at the inaugural session of a day-long SAA-RC Finance seminar on "Management of External Sector Openness - South Asian Country Experiences" in Dhaka yesterday.

Atiur said increasing openness to external capital � ows heighten expo-sure of domestic banks and � nancial institutions to destabilizing surges of global fund � ows, calling for appro-priately strengthened regulatory and supervisory regimes.

Former � nance adviser for a care-taker government Dr. ABM Mirza Azi-zul Islam presented the keynote paper at the seminar.

In his keynote paper, he said there are both opportunities and risks of

allowing capital in� ow and out� ow among South East Asian nations. But he cautioned that trade openness would be counterproductive if the as-sociate risks were not addressed with appropriate preemptive measures.

He recommended for ensuring ef-fective regional coordination in regu-latory and policy approaches for mak-ing trade openness bene� cial to the economy.

Delegates from the central banks of SAARC countries and high o� cials from Bangladesh Bank, di� erent min-istries, other national and international institutions participated in the seminar.

In his keynote paper, Dr. ABM Azi-zul Islam said in terms of total trade as percent of GDP, Sri Lanka has been found the most open economy in this region among four major economies (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) followed by Bangladesh.

In last three decades, numbers of countries have opened-up their econ-omy. Some of them are very much bene� ted since they have utilized and managed the � ow of foreign capital successfully for their growth and de-velopment, he said.

On the other hand some countries had to face severe � nancial crises since

they could not manage the � ows of capital to their countries.

He said as reform and liberalisa-tion measures were being pursued, the degree of integration of Bangladesh economy with world economy has in-creased gradually and country is now ‘trade dependent country’ from being an ‘aid dependent country’.

The country’s openness indicator- trade-GDP ratio increased from 18.5% in FY1990 to 30% in FY2000 and to-wards the decade, the steady growth of the ratio notable increased and reached to 47.1% in FY2013, according to the keynote paper. l

India irked by EU mango ban

n AFP, New Delhi

India’s leading export promotion agen-cy criticised a European ban on mango imports as unjusti� ed yesterday and appealed to Brussels to overturn its decision.

The 28-member European Union imposed the ban, to take e� ect May 1, on import of the highly prized Alphon-so mangoes, known as the “king of fruits”, and four vegetables after � nd-ing unwanted pests such as “non-Euro-pean fruit � ies” in some consignments.

“Now all consignments are under-going certi� cation and testing to ad-dress the concerns,” Ra� q Ahmed, president of the Federation of Indian

Export Organisations (FIEO), a govern-ment-a� liated organisation, told AFP.

“We ask the EU to look into the matter - we have taken care of the issues. Now they should lift the ban,” Ahmed said.

Meanwhile, a commerce ministry o� cial told AFP that New Delhi has already raised the issue with Brussels.

The EU plant health care committee announced plans last month to intro-duce the ban after 207 Indian consign-ments of fruits and vegetables were found to be contaminated by pests such as fruit � ies.

Among the vegetables banned are bitter gourd and eggplant.

The EU said it acted to tackle what it called “signi� cant shortcomings in

the phytosanitary certi� cation system of such products exported to the EU”.

It noted a high number of consign-ments arriving with “quarantine pests, mainly insects, like non-European fruit � ies”.

Though the prohibited goods ac-count for below � ve percent of the total fresh fruits and vegetables imported into the EU from India, introduction of new pests could threaten EU agriculture and production, the committee said.

The ban is due to run from May 1 to December 2015 but Ahmed said the ban should be lifted earlier.

The ban has enraged some in Brit-ain, a key market for Indian growers where London’s mayor Boris Johnson supported the � rst-ever Indian mango festival in Trafalgar Square last year.

Indian-origin lawmaker Keith Vaz called the mango ban “Euro-nonsense and bureaucracy gone mad.”

“Indian mangoes have been import-ed to Britain for centuries,” Vaz said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. But the EU ban has led to a surplus of mangoes in local Indian markets, driving down prices to the de-light of local fruit lovers.

But Indian farmers are dismayed.“The export ban will de� nitely af-

fect farmers and prices because the unsent mangoes will be diverted to lo-cal markets and cause a supply glut,” Miling Joshi, an o� cial at the Mango & Cashew Board told AFP. l

A hawker arranges mangoes at a roadside shop REUTERS

Moody’s ranks B1 COLUMN 3“Although ongoing reforms, if success-fully implemented, would improve SOCB competitiveness and restore their � nancial viability over time.”

Moody’s said the poor � nancial strength of state-owned banks also adds to banking-sector vulnerabilities, although we view contagion risks as limited.

The IMF has estimated total recapi-talization needs for the banking system at 1.0-3.5% of GDP. In September last year, the government once disbursed Tk4,100 crore or 0.3% of GDP, to the state-owned banks when their aggregate capital shortfall was over Tk8,000 core.

According to the � nance ministry, the government plans to inject more funds into four state-owned commer-cial banks – Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali –to make up for the signi� cant capital shortfall that has alarmed both the World Bank and IMF.

Banking division has already pro-posed to provide Tk6000 crore to the state-owned banks for addressing their address capital inadequacies.

As of December last year, capital shortfall of Sonali Bank stood at Tk249 crore, Rupali Tk107 crore, Janata Tk404 crore and Agrani Tk92 crore, according to the Bangladesh Bank.

“The timely implementation of the reform measures should eventually re-store � nancial viability to the SOCBs, but we will be monitoring the stability of the banks and the possibility of con-tingent liabilities stemming from their operations,” said Moody’s. l

B4 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, April 30, 2014

DILBERT

Islamic branding: Reaching out to the untapped billionsn Saifur Rahman

According to Al Ries, author of Posi-tioning: The Battle for Your Mind, “a brand is a singular idea or concept that you own inside the mind of a pros-pect.”

Branding is a phenomenon that was popularised during the late 19th Century by soap bars sold in packaged units with a distinct logo. Since then, di� erent brands have tried to attract their target group in many ways to win the battle of the mind of the consum-ers. But all this while, they had been ignoring a large segment of the global population – the Muslims – until recent times.

They are now trying to understand the delicate needs of the growing Mus-lim population and design campaigns to comply with the Muslims and their religious principles (Shariah). A new race has begun among the global brands to capture the mindshare, heart share, and most importantly, the wallet share of the emerging Muslim consumer group.

Ogilvy Noor, the Islamic Branding wing of world leading advertisement � rm Ogilvy and Mather, de� nes Islam-ic branding as “branding that’s empa-thetic to Shariah values, in order to ap-peal to the Muslim consumer, ranging from basic Shariah-friendliness to full Shariah-compliance in all aspects of a brand’s identity, behavior, and com-munications.”

According to this � rm, core Shariah values and its compliance resonate

with majority of the Muslims irrespec-tive of their geographic location, age, gender, culture, or degree of religious practice. Shariah is not limited to � qh (law) only, but also includes values such as honesty, respect, kindness, peacefulness, purity, discipline, mod-esty, unity, and dignity, which are an integral part of the Islamic faith.

Although in recent years, China and India have captured the atten-tion of the world’s marketers, a quiet but enormous business potential lies largely untapped in the global Muslim consumer market today, justifying a shift in focus to what is known as the “3rd one billion.” Currently, Muslims make up almost one-fourth of the world’s population. The global Muslim market now stands at approximately $1.8bn and is projected to grow by

about 35% in the next 20 years. The ha-lal market alone is worth a staggering $2.1tn a year, which is greater than the entire GDP of India, Russia, Canada, or Australia respectively. Not surpris-ingly, marketers are rushing towards this group as it is increasing at $500bn each year due to the enormous growth

of the global Muslim population.Majority of the Muslim population

is from the South and South East Asia (62%) region followed by the Middle East (20%) and sub-Saharan Africa region (15%). Most global enterprises, whether from the West or the East are starting to notice the N-11 countries (coined by Goldman Sachs investment bank) where 53% of the population are Muslim. Muslim population are some of the youngest in the world with more than 750 million under the age of 25, representing 43% of the global Mus-lim population, and 11% of the world. This population and economic growth have been accompanied by an Islamic

renaissance sowing its seed through the rise of new generation of young Muslim think tanks, business profes-sionals, and entrepreneurs.

Most of the marketers face two main challenges when it comes to ad-dressing the Muslim consumers. First, most of the global brands operate on a geographic basis, but the “Islamic conscience” is something that is a more universal concept. The best way to capture this is to move from local-ised management to a universally fo-cused product management function, to transfer the Islamic brand and its meaning into the core products. Sec-ond, Muslim consumers are not a seg-

ment that di� ers by one variable from the norm. We have to understand that Muslim consumers have an alternative norm where the starting point is their Islamic identity, and everything else � ts into it. Muslims’ own believes in the signi� cance of Islam in their lives are pervasive, and for them “sincerity” is the key in marketing practice of any company. l

Saifur Rahman is the director of Business Development at LightCastle Partners, an emerging market specialised business planning and intelligence � rm. The article was originally published in the LCP Blog. (lightcastlebd.com/blog)

Android surging in global tablet marketn AFP, Washington

The Google Android platform extended its dominance over Apple in the tablet market in early 2014, a research � rm said Monday.

Strategy Analytics said Android grabbed 65.8% of global tablet sales in the � rst quarter, up from 53% a year ago.

Apple meanwhile saw iPad sales slump and its market share tumbled to 28.4% from 40.3% a year earlier, the survey showed.

Global tablet sales in the quarter were up 19% at 57.6 million units, the market research � rm said.

"Android continues to make steady progress and now commands two-thirds of the tablet market share," said Peter King, analyst at Strategy Analytics.

While Apple ignited the tablet mar-ket with its � rst iPads, it has now lost its dominance to Android in the same manner as the iPhone has seen its share eroded in the smartphone market.

The report said iPad sales were down 16% from the same period a year ago.

"We believe that the disappointing performance in the early part of the calendar year is because Apple has changed its product release cycle to the

holiday timeframe," King said.He added that Apple "will likely lose

share over the next several months to refreshed Android products, but we believe Apple will win back meaningful high-end market share during the � nal months of the calendar year."

Android sales totaled some 38 mil-lion in the period to Apple's 25.6 mil-lion, the report said.

The survey also found a steady mar-ket share for tablets using Microsoft Windows.

Windows tablet sales rose to 3.4 million from 2.8 million a year earlier, keeping a steady market share of 5.8% , according to Strategy Analytics.

"There may be an uptick in Windows following Microsoft's decision to o� er Windows for free for sub nine-inch de-vices," the report noted.

"We may see a new batch of eight-inch Windows-based tablets with re-duced prices; they will still not be as inexpensive as Android, but it will en-able them to be more competitive and appealing to a wider audience."

But the researchers said a dearth of apps continues to be a problem for Microsoft, "with seemingly little incen-tive for developers to work on the plat-form." l

Disney eyes bigger plans with Shanghain AFP, Washington

American entertainment giant Disney is set to pour an additional $800m into its Disney Shanghai, its � rst theme park on the Chinese mainland, o� cials said Monday.

CEO Bob Iger said the deal, with Shanghai Shendi Group, will total an investment of $5.5bn , and the addi-tional funds will be to boost the park's capacity and attractions.

"Since we � rst broke ground in Shanghai we've been very impressed with the growth of China's economy, especially the rapid expansion of the middle class and the signi� cant in-crease in travel and tourism," Iger said in a statement.

"Our accelerated expansion, includ-ing additional attractions and enter-tainment, will allow us to welcome more guests for a spectacular Disney experience on opening day."

Disney says it is decidedly upbeat about 330 million people being within a three-hour range of the park in Shang-hai, the economic capital of the world's second largest economy.

Under terms of their deal, Shanghai Shendi Group will continue to hold a 57% stake and Disney the other 43.

Started in 2011, Disneyland Shang-hai will be the company's fourth theme park outside the United States after Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong. l

Euro zone sentiment, in� ation expectations dip in Apriln Reuters, Brussels

Euro zone economic sentiment dete-riorated slightly in April, defying fore-casts of further improvement, while in-� ation expectations continued to fall, European Commission data showed yesterday.

The monthly Commission survey showed that economic sentiment in the 18 countries sharing the euro eased to 102 in April from 102.5 in March, mainly because of a dip in con� dence in the construction sector and in ser-vices. Economists polled by Reuters had expected an improvement to 103 in April.

But some economists said the de-cline could be just a blip as it followed 11 monthly improvements.

“In general, euro zone economic sentiment is still defying the laws of economic gravity,” said David Brown, an economist at New View Economics, an independent consulting group.

“Despite the proximity of recession risk, fragile recovery, near record un-employment and chill political head-winds blowing in from the Ukraine, economic con� dence is still reasonably upbeat,” he said.

But others said the decline could be a sign of the risks that the euro zone re-covery faced.

“We interpret the break in this up-trend as a � rst sign that the gloomier external economic climate will not leave the euro zone economy un-scathed,” said Christoph Weil, an econ-omist at Commerzbank in Germany.

“Problems in many emerging coun-tries after the end of a decade of cheapmoney, the continued slowdown of growth in China and, most recently, the uncertainly stemming from the Ukraine crisis will prevent economic growth in the euro zone from strength-ening in the further course of the year,” he said.

“We expect the economy to contin-ue to grow at a rate of 0.25 per quarter in the coming quarters and anticipate a plus of 1% on average in 2014,” he said.

InflationThe Commission survey also showed that the indicator of consumers’ in-

� ation expectations for the next 12 months fell to 7.5 points in April from 10.8 in March, continuing a steady de-cline since last October.

Selling price expectations among manufacturers also fell, to -1.4 in April from -0.7 in March and -0.2 inFebruary.

The expectations are important be-cause in� ation has been stuck in what the European Central Bank calls the “danger zone” below 1% year-on-year since October, mainly because of fall-ing energy prices and food and the ap-preciation of the euro.

This creates a risk of de� ation, and the ECB has said that if the euro ex-change rate appreciated further, it would respond with monetary policy measures. The ECB meets to discuss policy on May 8.

Separately, the Commission’s busi-ness climate indicator, which points to which phase of the business cycle the economy is in, fell to 0.27 in April from 0.40 in March.

“Managers’ evaluation of the past and expected production, as well as of the current level of export order books worsened, while their assessment of overall order books improved and their appraisal of the stocks of � nished prod-ucts remained broadly unchanged,” the Commission said. l

1.8 billionMuslims

USD 2.1trillion

– 3rd ‘one’ billion– 25% of world population

– More than India’s GDP– Growing at USD 500 billion/year

KEY FACTS

We have to understand that Muslim consumers have an alternative norm where the starting point is their Islamic identity, and everything else � ts into it

In general, euro zone economic sentiment is still defying the laws of economic gravity

An employee of the French Renault group in Morocco works on a production line at the Renault factory of Melloussa, near Tangier, on April AFP

EU unveils tougher bank tests in bid to draw line under crisisn Reuters, London

European banks must show they can survive simultaneous routs in bonds, property and stocks, in the toughest test so far by regulators aiming to re-store con� dence in an industry that had to be rescued by taxpayers in the � nancial crisis.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) said yesterday it would gauge the resilience of 124 banks from the 28-country European Union to see if they would still have enough capital af-ter facing a toxic cocktail of theoretical shocks.

The EU watchdog set out the sce-narios which banks such as Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas and Barclays could face, in tests whose results will be pub-lished in October, raising hopes among some policymakers that banks can � -nally turn a corner and lend more to the economy.

“The granularity and relevance of

the scenarios is much better than Eu-rope’s � rst two stress-test attempts, but the absence of widespread de� a-tion is an elephant in the room,” said Neil Williamson, head of EMEA credit research at Aberdeen Asset Manage-ment.

“To be fair, de� ation in the euro zone would have such dire conse-quences for both public and private � nances, that to include it could have risked too big a jolt to the � edgling con� dence returning to the euro zone,” Williamson said.

Over a three-year stress test period - a year longer than in the previous exercise - banks must show they can cope with a cumulative loss of 2.1% in economic output, much worse than the 0.4% decline in the last test.

Such a poor economic performance would push up unemployment to 13% and send house prices down 20% on average, triggering defaults on loans held by banks, the EBA said. l