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Short supply makes medicines dearer
Alpha Arzu

Medicine prices have shot up four to five times on an average over the past few weeks due to supply shortage and alleged market manipulation by business syndicates.
   The price hike has taken drugs beyond the reach of many patients, particularly those from the poor and fixed-income segments of the society.
   The authorities and stakeholders concerned blame one another for the uncontrolled price spiral and unavailability of medicines on the market.
   Weak regulation, poor monitoring, and lack of control over drug manufacturers and traders are the main reasons for the sudden price hike, said patients and pharmacologists.
   Officials of the Directorate of Drug Administration admitted the situation and said the directorate had not approved any application for import of raw materials for medicine in the past eight months, which might be one of the reasons for the price increase. The directorate, however, approved the pending import applications last week.
   The supplies of antibiotics, vitamins, mineral supplements, intravenous saline fluid, and drugs used for treatment of high cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension, cardiac and kidney diseases, cancer, thallassemia, kala-zaar, thyroid disorder, and brain haemorrhage have been far short of demands, traders at the Mitford wholesale medicine market said.
   According to sources in drug manufacturing companies, most of these drugs are imported and some local products have also not been available on the market as the drug administration had not approved any application for import of raw materials for locally manufactured drugs in the past eight month.
   Talking to New Age, Druggists and Chemists’ Association deputy secretary Monir Hossain said the prices of some imported drugs had increased, but he could not provide the names.
   These drugs are legally imported as well as brought in by smugglers, but they are widely used in the country as doctors prescribe them, Monir said.
   The association leaders urged the government to ensure smooth import of these drugs or take immediate steps to set up industries to manufacture them as, otherwise, patients would suffer severely.
   They also said some local pharmaceutical companies increased the prices of their drugs on the ground of increased prices of raw materials on the international market.
   The association president, Sadequr Rahman, said prices of all antibiotics were increased by pharmaceutical companies, so, the druggists had nothing to do with it.
   He claimed that all the 65,000 members of the association had stopped selling unregistered drugs since long.
   The neurological, cardiac and cancer patients are suffering the most as there is an acute shortage of drugs they need in the market. Pentocit and Methyl Dopaport used to stop brain haemorrhage and Dockservocyn used during chemotherapy of cancer patients are now hard to find, patients alleged.
   A packet of Neo-mercazole, a drug from Switzerland, which cost Tk 1,000 one month back, is now selling at Tk 1,800 to Tk 2,000, sources said. The price of Dockservocyn (50mg) from Holland has increased from Tk 1,100 to Tk 2,000 over the past six months and that of MTX injection (50mg) from Tk 300 to Tk 500, said a staff of Medical Corner, a medicine shop at Maghbazar in the capital.
   ‘Insulin mixtard30 penfill is not available in the market for a month,’ said Ayesha Begum, a diabetic who takes it twice a day. ‘After looking for it at a number of drug stores in Banashree, I bought it for Tk 2,500 the price of which was Tk 2050 last month,’ she added.
   Stilamin, an essential injection for cancer patients, Lexotenil, Revotil, and Oroxyne have disappeared from the market said a salesman of Lazz Pharma at Kalabagan.
   The price of Oroxyne, a medicine for hormonal diseases, has gone three times higher from Tk 2 in just a week, said a salesman of Shifa Pharmacy at Gulshan.
   According to the current drug policy, the drug administration sets the prices of 117 generic drugs only. The prices of other drugs depend on the manufacturing companies, said ABM Faruque, a professor of pharmacy at Dhaka University.
   He said the government should revise the list of essential drugs every two years. The list was last revised in 1982.
   Some 20 leading companies of the country’s 807 allopathic, ayurvedic, unani and homeopathic drug manufacturers with nearly 14,000 products control more than 80 per cent of the medicine market.
   But, Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries general secretary Nazmul Hasan said, ‘If there is any allegation about price increase by the manufacturers, the government can look into it.’
   The director of drug administration, Sarkar MA Matin, declined to comment on the issues.


Bangladesh knock West Indies out
Azad Majumder

Bangladesh delivered a knockout blow to West Indies and moved into the Super Eights of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup with a six-wicket victory at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Thursday.
   Skipper Mohammad Ashraful plundered 61 off 27 balls to ensure Bangladesh’s win with two overs to spare after the bowlers had restricted West Indies to 164-8. Aftab Ahmed chipped in with an unbeaten 62 off 49 balls and shared in a 109-run stand with Ashraful for the second wicket.
   Bangladesh will take on South Africa in their next game on Saturday, a game which virtually turned into a warm-up for both sides. West Indies had already lost to South Africa in the tournament opener.
   In the Super Eights teams will be divided into two groups. Bangladesh will play in Group F most likely against Australia/Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
   Bangladesh had their share of luck when Mohammad Ashraful won a crucial toss and elected to field first after the game was delayed for about an hour due to a damp pitch. The groundsmen had over-watered the pitch causing the delay.
   Syed Rasel had augured a bright future for Bangladesh with a first-over maiden that also saw the fall of dangerman Chris Gayle, who cut the bowler to Alok Kapali at point before the scoreboard even moved.
   Rasel continued his impressive run and returned with 4-1-10-1, the most economical bowling in Twenty20 cricket. Abdur Razzak took the new ball from the other end, but conceded 12 runs in the first over prompting the skipper to invite his deputy Mashrafee bin Murtaza.
   Mashrafee bowled three wide balls before his first legitimate delivery and gave away just 16 runs in his two overs. With Razzak and Sakib doing a good containing job, West Indies were limping at 104-3 in 15 overs, but added 60 runs in the last five overs.
   Ashraful too made some contribution in their late onslaught. His first two overs cost Bangladesh just 11 runs, which might have inspired him to complete his full four overs quota. But the decision did not pay off as he conceded 44 runs in the last two overs.
   Thanks to Sakib, the Tigers still managed to keep West Indies in check. Sakib took three wickets in his last overs to return with 4-34, easily the best bowling by a Bangladeshi in this form of the game.
   Bangladesh’s beginning with the bat was even poorer than the West Indies. Nazimuddin miscued a pull shot off the first ball of the second over to be dismissed for one and his opening partner Tamim Iqbal followed soon after making 10 off 13.
   The arrival of Ashraful however changed the scenario completely. The inspirational skipper began with four boundaries in Daren Powell’s third over which realised 18 runs and then hit seamer Ravi Rampaul for a six and four off consecutive balls.
   The dapper right-hander, who was dropped by Edwards on the fine-leg fence when on 29, welcomed Dwayne Bravo with 4, 4, 6. At the other end, Aftab rotated the strike skillfully and hit eight boundaries and a six.
   When Ashraful hooked Fidel Edwards for a six, he played just 20 balls to become the fastest half-centurion in the game surpassing Sanath Jayasuriya’s 23-ball 50 against New Zealand at Wellington in 2006.
   Man-of-the-match Ashraful departed when he was caught at cover by Gayle off Sarwan and the same bowler also had Sakib (13 off 10) shortly, but by that time victory was virtually assured.
   Alok Kapali (5 not out) completed the job with a cheeky single nudging Rampaul at backward point off the final ball of the 18th over.


No action against high rises
without expert opinion

Mustafizur Rahman

The interim government has decided not to take any action now against the high rises in Dhaka constructed in violation of the civil aviation rules before the completion of a survey on the structures by experts.
   ‘Experts will examine each of the high rises identified as a threat to aviation. Decisions will be made on their recommendations as the demolition of such high rises will impact the economy,’ the acting housing and public works secretary, ASM Rahidul Hai, told New Age on Thursday.
   The government will hire international aviation experts to resolve the issue if needed, he said.
   ‘If the experts recommend that the high rises do not pose any threat to the landing and taking off of aeroplanes at Zia International Airport and the old airport at Tejgaon, such structures will not be demolished.’
   ‘But the owners must pay penalty for any kind of deviation from the rules,’ he said.
   The interim government has started working on amendments to the existing laws keeping provisions for penalties to discourage deviation of any types from the rules. ‘The proposed penalties for such deviations have been sent to the law ministry for vetting,’ Rahidul said.
   A nine-member committee, headed by a civil aviation joint secretary, has, meanwhile, been formed to review the list of the buildings constructed in violation of the civil aviation rules.
   The high-powered committee of representatives from Rajuk, law ministry, Civil Aviation Authority Bangladesh, Bangladesh Air force and the owners of the buildings will hold its first meeting on September 17.
   In mid-August, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha issued notices to the owners of 142 buildings, including 45 high rises, to dismantle the buildings on their own, but the authorities later suspended the notices, considering the economic impact of the move, till the submission of the review committee report, sources said.
   The buildings and high rises constructed in violation of the civil aviation rules are a threat to aeroplanes taking off or landing at Zia International Airport and the old airport at Tejgaon, said a civil aviation official.
   Rajuk in 2005 identified 111 structures, including 46 high rises — prominent among which are Rangs Bhaban (now being demolished), Grameen Bank Tower, Bashundhara City, IDB Bhaban, BRAC Centre, Iqbal Centre, Karnaphuli Garden City, Twin Tower and Navana Tower — constructed in violation of the height restriction rule of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.
   According to the regulation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the height of buildings and other structures is restricted to a certain level around the airports for prevention of accidents and smooth flight operation.
   Civil aviation officials said each building in the city should be built only after getting clearance from the civil aviation authority, and Rajuk should not approve any plans without such clearance.
   According to international regulations, an area of 3,000 feet from each end of a runway is considered ‘zero-height’ area, and a height of a foot is allowed for every 50 feet of stretch thereafter till a distance of 10,500 feet from both the ends. But no structure should cross the height of 150 feet within the area, the regulations said.


Bangladesh under high
risk of earthquake

Little chance of tsunami hitting
the country’s coast

Helemul Alam

Some 38 earthquakes of small to medium magnitude were felt in Bangladesh in the first eight months of the current year, with August recording as many as 14 tremors, said the Met office.
   The intensity of 12 earthquakes that took place this year was of magnitude 5 and above in the Richter scale.
   Professor Mehdi Ahmed Ansary of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, who supervised the seismic zoning map prepared by BUET, told New Age on Thursday that 43 per cent of the country is in the highest earthquake vulnerable risk zone, 41 per cent in moderate and 16 per cent in low zones.
   According to the zoning map, Panchagarh, Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Bogra, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Mymensingh, Netrokona, Sunamganj, Kishoreganj, Moulvibazaar, Sylhet, Habiganj and Brahmanbaria are in the highest earthquake vulnerable risk zone.
   Parts of Thakurgaon, Sirajganj, Tangail, Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Cox’s Bazar also fall in the highest risk zone according to the map whose preparation was funded by the science, information and communications technology ministry.
   According to Professor Ansary, there is hardly any risk of tsunami in the country. If a tsunami does occur, it will be in the coastal areas of the Chittagong region, he said.
   A tsunami that affected the Chittagong region in Bangladesh occurred at Arakan in Burma in 1762, said Ansary.
   An official of the Met office said that although the two earthquakes of high intensity, which occurred in June 18 and August 18, hit 6.6 in the Richter scale, they did not cause any damage as their epicentres were in the south-western costal belt of Papua New Guinea and in the north-western portion of Turkmenistan. Those areas are far away from Bangladesh.
   The zoning map prepared by the BUET is yet to be included in the Bangladesh National Building Code, said sources in the housing and public works ministry, adding, however, that the process of inclusion was going on.
   In the zoning map of 1993, which was included in the national building code, 26 per cent of the country has the highest, 38 per cent moderate and 36 per cent low earthquake vulnerability.
   Although Bangladesh is in a moderate zone of earthquake, there is a huge chance of a major earthquake in the country as more than 100 years have elapsed since a big earthquake occurred in the country.
   If any major earthquake occurs in the country, the government does not have the capacity to conduct post-earthquake rescue work due to lack of equipment and proper preparedness, said an official of the food and disaster management ministry.
   According to available records, at least seven powerful earthquakes occurred in Bangladesh between 1836 and 1930.
   About ninety-five per cent of the earthquakes occur on the boundaries of tectonic plates, said Mohammad Abu Sadeque, director of the Disaster Management Bureau.
   Bangladesh is close to the meeting point of the Indian, Eurasian and Burma plates, and the movement of the Indian and Eurasian plates has been ‘locked’ at the foot of the Himalayas for many years, storing strain energy which may burst out any time, he said.
   When the lock is sprung, it will let out the strain energy, causing major earthquakes that will affect Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal, said Sadeque.
   Besides, there are a few active fault zones in Bangladesh in which medium-scale earthquakes could take place, he said. There are seven fault zones in the country which could trigger earthquakes in different areas, he added.
   Bruce Bold identified four probable sources of earthquake — Assam fault zone, Tripura fault zone, Sub-Dauki fault zone and Bogra fault zone — during his analysis of different seismic sources in and around Bangladesh as part of a feasibility study for the Jamuna Bridge, said Professor Mehdi.
   One more zone — the Chittagong fault zone — has recently been added to the list because of many small earthquakes in the area, he added.
   John Whitney in 2004 identified two more fault zones at Shahji Bazar and Tanor, he added.


Tsunami nightmare ends
Thousands spend sleepless night at shelters

Nurul Alam . Chittagong

Over one million people in the coasts returned home after a dreadful overnight stay at cyclone shelters and other higher grounds as the authorities lifted tsunami warning around midnight Thursday, administrative and Red Crescent officials said.
   ‘Some people started leaving the shelters before dawn after hearing the announcement of withdrawal of tsunami warning,’ said regional director of Red Crescent, Salauddin Chowdhury.
   ‘We heaved a sigh of relief as tsunami has not hit our coast. We give thanks to the Almighty,’ he said, also expressing gratitude to the coastal people for heeding the warnings announced through megaphones and acted accordingly.
   ‘It is unbelievable that over a million people hurriedly moved to the cyclone shelters, neighbouring high rise buildings and different higher grounds in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar coastal belt,’ he added.
   Apart from cyclone shelters, all school buildings, markets, roof tops and roads at higher places were crowded with people, who stayed overnight to escape the possible disaster.
   Many evacuees were seen taking with them luggage and household items hiring microbuses at exorbitant rents from Patenga, Anwara and Banskhali coasts.
   ‘Massive media publicity about tsunami that hit Indonesia in 2004 made our coastal people so aware about the colossal impacts of such disaster,’ the Red Crescent official said.
   Red Crescent volunteers assisted the people and accompanied them in the shelters, he said.
   Deputy commissioner of Chittagong district Asraf Shameem said, ’About 5 lakh people alone in Chittagong coast took shelter at different higher grounds. All of them went back home by this morning.’
   ‘We announced the withdrawal of tsunami warning at 2:30am and people started moving back home. None of them could sleep,’ added the DC, who also spent a sleepless night monitoring the evacuation and sheltering of coastal people.
   ‘It was like doomsday as panicked people ran for safety after dark along with children, old and household goods as much as they can,’ said a resident at Patenga coast, Abdus Sattar.
   ‘Three of my tenants and their families shifted to other places in fear of tsunami attack while many others from my neighbourhood took shelter on rooftop of our building,’ he added, comparing the scenario with that of the worse 1991 cyclone that left several thousand people killed in the coastal belt.
   Duty forecast officer of Patenga met office Meghanath Tonchonga said, ‘I found many residents taking shelter at the rooftops, markets and other high rise buildings after tsunami alert was sounded.’
   The authorities lifted tsunami warning, following similar action by Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, but the sea was still rough, the weatherman said.
   Harbour master of Chittagong Port Jafor Ullah said port operation was restored from midnight after the withdrawal of warning.
   Earlier, the port officials alerted ship operators to a possible tsunami attack and advised them to take necessary precautions.


Indonesia spared massive damage
as fresh quake hits

Agence France-Presse . Jakarta

Huge aftershocks rumbled across Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Thursday but officials said damage from a massive quake that killed 10 people was not as bad as first feared.
   As another powerful quake struck a few thousand kilometres away, authorities sought to ferry aid supplies to villages and outlying areas where scores of homes were flattened.
   But it appeared the country had been spared the scale of devastation first feared when the 8.4-magnitude quake struck at dusk Wednesday – welcome news for terrified residents who had spent the night outdoors.
   Officials however warned the death toll could still rise. In many places, telephone lines and electricity were down, and emergency teams were racing to remote areas to assess the extent of casualties and damage.
   The quake was strong enough to shake buildings in Thailand and Malaysia and triggered a tsunami alert as far away as East Africa, raising memories of the December 2004 catastrophe that killed 220,000 people.
   It struck on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and was followed Thursday by dozens of aftershocks and several tsunami warnings.
   Meanwhile another quake hit the northern tip of Sulawesi on Thursday with a magnitude of 6.2, according to the US Geological Survey, some 2,700 kilometres to the east of the Sumatra epicentre.
   It prompted another tsunami warning, but there were no initial reports of damage and the alert was later lifted.
   The vice president, Jusuf Kalla, expressed his relief at the lack of damage from Wednesday’s quake.
   ‘Yesterday we expected massive destruction.
   But from the reports coming in this morning we are grateful that the damage is not as big as we thought,’ he told a press briefing.
   Many residents said it was a miracle there had been so few casualties.
   Officials in Bengkulu, closest to the epicentre of Wednesday’s undersea quake, said six people had been killed in the area. Four were killed elsewhere, while dozens more were injured.
   More than 130 buildings or homes collapsed in the quake while nearly 4,000 other were seriously or partially damaged across Bengkulu, a provincial official at the disaster control centre said.
   Bengkulu’s provincial police chief said the priority now was guarding homes left empty by their owners and cleaning up damaged mosques to enable evening Ramadan prayers to be held.
   Meanwhile Indonesian ministers rushed in to see what rescue and relief efforts were needed.
   In Jakarta, relief aid was being loaded onto aircraft including tonnes of food and medicine, an ambulance, generators and other supplies.
   The quake was powerful enough to slosh the water out of swimming pools in Jakarta, hundreds of kilometres away, and scare workers out of their high-rise towers in Malaysia.
   In Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of people on the coast ran for higher ground after a tsunami warning there.


Ramadan begins today
United News of Bangladesh . Dhaka

Ramadan, the lunar month of self-purification through fasting and abstinence, begins today as the new moon was sighted on Thursday evening.
   Lailatul Quadr, the night of divine blessing and benediction, will be observed on October 9 (Tuesday), in the run-up to Eid-ul-Fitr festival.
   The National Moon Sighting Committee on Thursday made the decision at a meeting held at the Islamic Foundation to review reports on moon-sighting for Ramadan, 1428 Hijri.
   Chairman of the committee and the religious affairs, ASM Matiur Rahman, presided over the meeting. The religious affairs secretary, M Ataur Rahman, director general of the Islamic Foundation M Fazlur Rahman, additional secretary to information ministry Sayed Hasinur Rahman, deputy director general of Bangladesh Betar Nasimul Quader Chowdhury, deputy director of meteorological department Shah Alam and the Khatib of the Baitul Mukarram, Maulana Obaidul Haq, were present among others at the meeting.
   The president, Iajuddin Ahmed, and the chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, in separate messages greeted the countrymen and Muslim nations on this occasion. In his message the president hoped that ‘sanctity and teachings of Ramadan would be reflected in life of all of us’.
   The chief adviser urged all to maintain ‘sanctity, restraint, tolerance, amity and brotherhood during the month’.
   Meanwhile, the government has taken various measures for a smooth run of the month of fasting and celebrations of the religious festival of Eid-ul-Fitr at the month-end. In the wake of price rises, makeshift fair-price shops have been opened in the capital city and across the country.


B Chy to decide on Sunday
whether to join BNP

Shahidul Islam Chowdhury

Former president AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, who has been invited to return to the BNP by both the conformists and reformists, will decide whether he will do so, and on what terms, next Sunday after consulting his fellow leaders in the Liberal Democratic Party.
   Chowdhury will convene a meeting of the faction of the LDP led by him on Sunday morning to decide what course of action he should take in response to the invitations.
   ‘We are in touch with B Chowdhury and a decision will be taken in consultation with the party’s senior leaders,’ ASM Hannan Shah, Khaleda Zia’s adviser, told New Age on Thursday.
   When he was asked about the unpleasant incidents that took place after Chowdhury’s departure from the party in 2002, Shah side-stepped the question and said, ‘He has never said objectionable things about Begum Zia.’
   AHM Mofazzal Karim, one of the advisers to the BNP chairperson but a close associate of Mannan Bhuiyan, on Thursday admitted that they had requested Chowdhury to return to the BNP. ‘We have approached
   him and he has sought time to take a decision,’ Karim told reporters after a meeting with Bhuiyan at the latter’s Gulshan residence.
   LDP’s joint secretary-general Saju Kamal on Thursday told New Age that Chowdhury has called a meeting of the LDP’s executive committee and top leaders of its front
   organisations to discuss the two sides’ request to return to the BNP.
   ‘BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia sent a written communiqué to B Chowdhury two months ago, requesting him to return to the party,’ claimed Saju Kamal. ‘BNP’s joint secretary-general Selima Rahman signed the letter that was carrying Begum Zia’s message.’
   Selima Rahman was not available for comment on Thursday as she was abroad.
   Chowdhury, the founding secretary-general of the BNP, left the party in 2002 as he was forced to resign from the presidency in 2002. He formed Bikalpadhara Bangladesh in March 2004. Later he joined the LDP formed by former BNP member, Oli Ahmed, in October 2006.


Awami League to investigate
attacks on party leaders

Staff Correspondent

The Awami League on Thursday deplored and denounced the attacks on some of its leaders and decided to form an inquiry committee to probe the incidents that took place on Wednesday.
   The acting president of the party, Zillur Rahman, at a press briefing said that the party would take punitive measures against the persons responsible for the attacks if the allegations were found to be true after investigation.
   The supposed activists of the AL and its front organisations on Wednesday manhandled an organising secretary and insulted four other leaders, who are said to be dissidents and ready to run the party, if required, without its president Sheikh
   Hasina, in front of party chief’s Dhanmondi office after a central working committee meeting.
   ‘We condemn, and protest against, such heinous incidents as they may weaken the unity of the party,’ Zillur told reporters at his Gulshan residence in the afternoon.
   He said that the persons who were responsible for the attacks might have no link with the Awami League, and the party would form an inquiry committee to probe the incidents. ‘If any party member is found to be involved in the attacks, the party will take action against him,’ said Zillur.
   He also claimed that there was no schism in the party and all the leaders had unanimously agreed to do everything possible to free Sheikh Hasina, the party’s president, in Wednesday’s meeting.
   Zillur decided to form a probe committee after the acting general secretary, Mukul Bose, who was also physically assaulted, complained to Zillur Rahman and demanded exemplary punishment of the persons who took part in the attack, said sources in the party.
   Mukul Bose on Thursday termed the incident as a conspiracy to break the party.
   ‘The attacks on the leaders was part of a conspiracy to break up the party,’ Mukul told reporters at the residence of another leader, Abu Sayeed, and added that such ill-motivated moves were against the instructions of Sheikh Hasina, who had told her party members to ensure the party’s unity at any cost. He said that the persons involved in the attacks did not want to free Hasina and were hatching a conspiracy to divide the party.
   ‘The attacks took place when all the leaders had unanimously decided to free Hasina from jail and had agreed to abide by all the decisions of the party,’ he said, adding that the attackers wanted to keep the AL’s office under lock and key in a planned manner by violent acts.
   He also reminded reporters that Sheikh Hasina, through her lawyers, had instructed the party members to uphold the unity of the AL at any cost.


Abusive words for Ashraf
Staff Correspondent

A number of BNP activists used abusive words to the expelled joint secretary general, Ashraf Hossain, on Thursday near his NAM Flat house when he went out and returned.
   A group of activists shouted at him and tried to chase his car when it was leaving the flat complex at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka in the morning.
   When he returned in the afternoon to Building 6 of the complex, where the BNP secretary, Khandaker Delwar Hossain, also lives, some activists waiting at the place called Ashraf ‘traitor’ and warned him ‘not to speak against the party.’ Asraf hurriedly entered his house.
   Ashraf in the evening told New Age he was not aware of any such happenings.


Pietersen sets up England win
Agence France-Presse . Cape Town

Kevin Pietersen played a match-winning innings against Zimbabwe at Newlands Thursday which he said gave England a chance to ‘humiliate’ Australia in the World Twenty20 championship.
   England’s 50-run win meant Australia have to beat England in order to avoid elimination when the old rivals meet in their final group match at the same ground Friday.
   Australia suffered a shock five-wicket defeat against Zimbabwe Wednesday. Pietersen lashed 79 off 37 balls to set up a 50-run win for England.
   ‘We’ve been humiliated by Australia,’ said Pietersen. ‘Now we are in a position of strength where we can humiliate them.’
   But Pietersen warned that Australia were likely to bounce back. ‘We’ve been playing a lot of cricket and they looked a bit rusty yesterday but they’ve got world-class players and you can never underestimate them. But we’ve got an edge in terms of match practice.’
   The margin of England’s win Thursday meant that an Australian win would probably result in both England and Australia going through to the Super Eights stage.
   Zimbabwe coach Robin Brown acknowledged: ‘We are hoping England bowl as well against Australia as they did today. But whatever happens we have played some good cricket and we can only go forward.’
   Pietersen and captain Paul Collingwood were mainly responsible for England’s total of 188 for nine after Collingwood decided to bat after winning the toss.
   Pietersen and Collingwood (37) put on 100 for the fourth wicket off 54 balls.
   Zimbabwe briefly threatened to repeat Wednesday’s upset when Vusi Sibanda and Brendan Taylor put on 74 for the first wicket in 8.4 overs.
   But Zimbabwe’s innings lost momentum against the medium pace of Dimitri Mascarenhas and the leg spin of Chris Schofield.
   Bowling in tandem, Mascarenhas and Schofield were responsible for five wickets while conceding only 33 runs between them in eight overs. Mascarenhas took three for 18 and Schofield two for 15.
   For Schofield, 28, it marked a successful return to international cricket after he played in two Test matches in 2000 before hitting a low in his career, which included a spell in Minor Counties cricket before he joined Surrey late in the 2006 season.
   Pietersen batted with power and invention in an innings which included four sixes
   and seven fours. At one stage he hit successive reverse sweep shots off slow left-arm bowler Keith Dabengwa for 6, 4 and 4 in an over in which he scored 22 runs.
   It was the reverse sweep which was his downfall, however, when he hit Zimbabwe captain, off-spinner Prosper Utseya, to Hamilton Masakadza on the deep cover boundary.


India-Scotland tie washed out
New Age Desk

Heavy rains prevented any play in the India-Scotland Group D match of the Twenty20 World Championship cricket here Thursday, forcing the teams to share the two points.
   The umpires waited for the rain to stop, but when it continued beyond the cut off point they declared the match abandoned. The two teams got one point each.
   Earlier, Scotland captain Ryan Watson had won the toss and asked India to bat at Kingsmead.
   But then came the rains and prevented any action.
   India now play Pakistan in their second and final league match today.
   Rains have forced open a window of hope for Scotland. They and India have almost equal chance to advance to the second round, Super Eights, along with Pakistan who are on top of the table with two points from their win over Scotland.
   Before this match, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, appointed skipper after regular captain Rahul Dravid and senior pros Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly opted out of the tournament, said the three-month tour of England will be quickly forgotten.
   ‘I don’t think fatigue will have any impact on the team,’ the swashbuckling batsman-wicketkeeper told reporters here.
   ‘The England tour was very tiring and exhausting but this is a World Cup and that brings excitement, freshness and confidence to the team.’
   Dhoni said he was under no pressure to captain the cricket-mad nation, even if only for the Twenty20 tournament.
   ‘I never even dreamt of playing for my country, so to captain India is a massive bonus,’ he said. ‘But I am not under any pressure because it is the team that must implement my decisions.
   ‘I only make the decisions and whether they are successful or not depends on the response of the whole playing eleven.
   ‘I know it is a very big challenge to be captain but success is not just about the captain. Good captains are made by good teams.’
   Five players who were not part of the touring team in England have joined the team here. They are spinner Harbhajan Singh, all-rounders Joginder Sharma, Irfan Pathan and Yousuf Pathan and aggressive opening batsman Virender Sehwag.
   Meanwhile, India’s star batsman Sourav Ganguly feels India can be satisfied with their recent tour of England despite their narrow defeat in the one-day international series.
   ‘We had a pretty good series,’ Ganguly told the Asian Age. ‘Maybe we didn’t win the one-day series but overall the tour went off very well.
   ‘Just because we lost the final one-day game, it’s not fair to call us chokers.
   ‘Prior to the England series, we came back to beat South Africa 2-1 in Ireland.’
   Ganguly, along with Sachin Tendulkar and skipper Dravid, decided not to participate in the World Twenty20 in South Africa, insisting the selectors allowed him to make up his own mind.
   However, he has backed India to give a good account of themselves despite the missing trio.
   ‘I am sure they will do well,’ he added. ‘They will not have any problem in adjusting to the conditions.’


Mirza Aziz denies role of
market syndicate

Staff Correspondent

The finance adviser Thursday ruled out the presence of price syndication in the commodity market since there is no sign that businesses are making abnormal profits.
   Price difference of rice between importer’s and retailer’s levels was about 17 per cent, which did not indicate an abnormal profit, Mirza Azizul Islam said at a seminar on markets and prices in Dhaka.
   He rejected the notion that the government was closing public sector jute mills at the insistence of global lenders. ‘I swear on God that neither World Bank nor IMF has put any pressure on us to close jute mills.’
   The government has a role to play in the market economy but its nature is different, he said at the seminar on ‘markets and prices: findings from a triangular study of producers, traders and consumers.’
   The finance adviser conceded that the government could not take sufficient measures to increase agriculture production due to financial constraints.
   Agriculture adviser CS Karim echoed the same views, saying the government has failed to bring sufficient agricultural innovations into the field.
   The country should prepare itself for the future as cultivable land is shrinking fast while demand is mounting with scopes for import squeezing globally, he cautioned.
   If risks associated with agricultural production and marketing are shared by all parties, prices would become stable, if not go down, the agriculture adviser said.
   Former agriculture minister of Awami League government, Matia Chowdhury said poverty alleviation is directly linked to development of agriculture and any negative impact on it would increase the number of people below the poverty line.
   ‘No thesis or research will help if the government fails to function properly,’ she said.
   MK Anwar, who served as agriculture minister of BNP-led coalition government, said prices would come down automatically if agricultural production costs could be minimised.
   ‘For reducing production cost, yield must be increased,’ he said. Senior economist Wahiduddin Mahmud said efficiency of middlemen should be enhanced to reduce prices of farm produces.
   The government has to play its role in developing marketing infrastructure all over the country, he said.
   He urged the government to rebuild wayside hats and markets that were bulldozed under a countrywide eviction drive against unauthorised structures.
   Executive chairman of Power and Participation Research Centre, Hossain Zillur Rahman said about 66 per cent of the vegetables produced are sold in the market and the rest are consumed by the growers.
   Most of the agriculture trade remains outside the purview of banking channel and it is financed by traders themselves, the economist found in his study.
   The commerce ministry in association with the local research group, Power and Participation Research Centre, organised the seminar.


Bangladeshi aid worker
killed in Afghanistan

New Age Desk

An area manager of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee was killed in a remote area of north-eastern Afghanistan on Thursday.
   The victim, Abdul Alim Lebu of Tangail, was shot dead by unknown gunmen while travelling through the remote area on a motorbike, an AFP report from Kabul said.
   The body was kept in the mortuary of Kabul Military Hospital and BRAC would take steps to bring back the body as soon as possible, said Anwarul Haq, director, communications of BRAC in Dhaka.
   The BRAC official was working on a microfinance project in the rugged, underdeveloped province of Badakshan and had gone to a remote village with a colleague to collect a loan when he was attacked, the provincial police commander, Aqa Noor Kendoz, AFP reports.
   Two gunmen opened fire on them as they approached the village on Wednesday, the commander said. Abdul Alim was killed while his Afghan colleague was wounded.
   The attackers were arrested and claimed to be robbers, Kendoz said. He cast doubt on the claim, however, saying the pair had made no attempt to steal anything.
   The police chief suggested the attackers might be linked to the insurgent Taliban movement, which targets any one helping to support the new Western-backed Afghan government.
   The Taliban did not claim responsibility.
   He was the first foreign national with BRAC to be killed in Afghanistan although some of the group’s Afghan employees had been targeted, he said, confirming the police version of the incident.
   BRAC has been in Afghanistan since 2002 and works on development projects, including building schools, roads and clinics. Its microfinance programmes in Afghanistan work largely with poor and disadvantaged women.
   Badakshan sees almost none of the Taliban violence that has left around 5,000 people dead so far this year, most of them in southern and eastern areas and most of them rebel fighters.


Arrest warrants issued
against 2 DU teachers

Staff Correspondent

A metropolitan magistrate on Thursday issued warrants for arrest of two senior Dhaka University teachers and 16 students as they did not appear in court during the hearing of the case in which they were charged for the August 20–22 student protests on the campus.
   The Shahbagh police was also asked to report to the court on September19 on the compliance with the order.
   Magistrate Ferdous Alam issued the warrants for arrest of the Dhaka University Teachers’ Association president, Sadrul Amin, and the Jagannath
   Hall provost, Neem Chandra Bhowmik, on a plea of the
   investigation officer, Ali Asghar Khan.
   The magistrate also issued warrants for arrest of university unit Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal president Hasan Mamun, general secretary Saiful Islam Firoz, and leaders HM Kamrul Hasan Kachi and Rokanuzzaman of Zia Hall, Shahinur Nargis of Roquiah Hall, and Tanzil Chowdhury Lipi of Shamsunnahar Hall, university unit Chhatra League vice-president Nazrul Islam Rasel and leaders Rifat Hossain Ziku and Mitul of Shahidullah Hall, Shamsul Kabir Rahat of Zahurul Haq Hall, and Arapana Pal of Kuwait-Moitree Hall.
   The court also issued warrants for arrest of three general students — Aziz Hasan and Mohammad Anwar of Sir F Rahman Hall and Kamruzzaman of Zia Hall.
   The investigation officers on September 9 submitted the charge sheet to the chief metropolitan magistrate’s court indicting 21 people.
   The DU teachers’ association general secretary Anwar Hossain, social sciences dean Harun-or-Rashid, and student Moniruzzaman Sarder of Jasimuddin Hall were arrested earlier. They are now detained in jail.
   The teachers were indicted in three cases filed on August 23 by the police with the Shahbagh police station against unnamed people in connection with the protests at Dhaka University resulting from manhandling of some students by some army men at the university playground on August 20.
   The four teachers were charged with instigating of the demonstrators and the rests were charged with leading the demonstrators.


DU, army teams meet
DU Correspondent

Senior army officials Thursday afternoon had a meeting with the Dhaka University authorities in a city hotel to discuss the cases against teachers and students accused of instigating student protests that led to the closure of the institution on August 22.
   The DU delegation, led by the vice-chancellor, Professor SMA Faiz, urged the authorities concerned to deal with the cases lightly in which 36, including four teachers, were named on the charge sheets, said sources attending the meeting at Samarkand at Gulshan.
   The university delegation also included pro-vice-chancellor Professor AFM Yusuf Haider, treasurer Professor Abul Kalam Azad, syndicate members, deans and representatives of the Dhaka University Teachers’ Association. The army delegation included the chief of general staff, Major General Sina Ibn Jamali and deputy director general of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence Brigadier General Fazlul Bari.
   The sources said the army delegation said the cases would be dealt with in accordance with the law and anybody proved guilty would be punished.
   Speeches of some teachers during the incident agitated the students, the army delegation said. The army officers said the higher a person’s position is the more ‘reponsible and restrained’ he should be.
   The university delegation suggested release of all the teachers and students named on the charge sheets which would be as ‘a positive step towards restoring academic atmosphere to the university after the reopening.’
   The meeting also discussed the posting on a defence web site which indiscriminately accused the students and teachers of Dhaka University. This has tarnished the image of an institution such as Dhaka University, the teachers said.
   A university delegation is scheduled to meet the chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, on September 16 to discuss the campus situation, the sources said.


People cry for food, water
as flooding worsens

Staff Correspondent

Flooding in central areas worsened on Thursday as major rivers such as the Padma, Jamuna and the Meghna kept rising.
   Shortage of food and pure drinking water intensified in flooded areas, said reports reaching from outside Dhaka.
   Flooding in central and southern districts may continue to aggravate in the next two days as the Padma, Jamuna and the Meghna kept swelling, inundating more areas, a Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre bulletin said on Thursday.
   Tarabi prayers and other preparations for Ramadan beginning today were hampered in the flooded areas as mosques in most places remained inundated.
   The Lalmonirhat deputy commissioner, Rafiqul Islam, said erosion of the Teesta and the Dharla took a serious turn in the district, washing away thousands of houses and damaging standing crops and vegetables.
   Flooding in Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Netrakona, Sherpur, Comilla, Feni, Noakhali and Lakshmipur started improving on Thursday, the flood warning centre bulletin said.
   The India Meteorological Department forecasts a relatively weak monsoon over the region and isolated rainfall over the northeastern states such as Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram and Tripura today.
   In Sirajganj, the worst affected upazilas are Kazipur, district headquarters, Belkuchi, Chauhali, Shajadpur, Ullapara, Rayganj and Tarash where people are facing acute shortage of food and drinking water in the absence of relief efforts.
   Diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases have broken out in flooded areas and hospitals experienced heavy rush of patients.
   The death toll from flooding reached 883 between July 30 and September 13, according to central control room of Directorate General of Health Services.
   Seven hundred and sixty-people died by drowning in flood water, 80 died from snake bite, 20 from respiratory problems and 23 died of diarrhoea during the period, the control room said.
   One thousand, nine hundred and ninety-eight people contracted diarrhoea, 950 respiratory tract infections, 1054 skin diseases, and 1,520 eye diseases in 24 hours till Thursday morning and were admitted to or treated in public hospitals.
   Three hundred and eighty-seven patients were admitted to the hospital run by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh in Dhaka in 24 hours till Thursday morning.
   Eighteen were reported drowned in flood water and four died from snake bite in 24 hours till Thursday morning, said a control room official.


EC mulls over poll expenditure ceilings proportionate to number of voters
Staff Correspondent

The Election Commission is likely to raise the ceiling of election expenditure from Tk five lakh and fix it in different slabs based on the number of voters in a constituency.
   ‘Though we are thinking about raising the ceiling and fixing it based on the proportion of voters, a decision will be taken in line with the views of the political parties after the ongoing dialogue on electoral reforms,’ election commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hussain told reporters at his office on Thursday.
   Sohul also said the commission would try to reduce the huge gap in the number of voters from constituency to constituency through fresh delimitation of constituencies.
   Among the 300 parliamentary constituencies, Dhaka-5 has the highest number of voters and Dhaka-1 has the lowest number of voters. The number of voters in Dhaka-5 is 6,33,435 and in Dhaka-1 the number is 1,19,242.
   According to the election roadmap, delimitation of constituencies will start in January, 2008 and complete by June of the same year.
   While announcing the roadmap on July 15, chief election commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda presented a brief chart of inconsistencies in the number of voters in 10 constituencies and said the flaws should be corrected according to the census of 2006.
   According to rule, the EC has to delimit the electoral constituencies only after publication of the latest census report and based on geographical compactness of areas, administrative convenience and, as far as practicable, the distribution of population in the constituencies.
   Sources in the commission said work on delimitation was likely start in November.
   Usually the commission has to work for at least six months after starting field-level work on delimitation of constituencies to settle legal complications that might arise over delimitation.
   The number of constituencies, according to law, will remain unchanged at 300 after delimitation of the electoral areas, making changes in the boundaries of the constituencies.
   The last delimitation of parliamentary constituencies was completed in 1995 and the commission had to spend more than six months to dispose of the objections filed against delimitation in 335 cases. It was mostly political leaders who filed cases against delimitation.
   According to the rule, after the publication of the final report of the population census, the commission will ask the district administrations to prepare a draft proposal for delimitation, and then make it public and invite opinions of local people. If anyone challenges the draft, the commission will hear the objection and conduct opinion polls to settle the dispute.
   Section-8 of the Delimitation of Constituencies Ordinance, 1976, says: ‘The territorial constituencies shall be delimited afresh upon completion of each census, for the purpose of general elections to parliament to be held following such census unless otherwise directed by the commission for reasons to be recorded in writing, before each general election.


Yunus calls for lifestyle change
to fight against warming

Agence France-Presse . Seoul

The 2006 Nobel peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus called Thursday for a worldwide lifestyle change, saying global warming is ‘a matter of life and death’ for low-lying countries like Bangladesh.
   In a keynote speech to a symposium on climate change, Yunus suggested a ‘traffic rule’ under which products bear red, yellow or green markings to indicate the extent to which they come from renewable sources.
   Yunus, honoured for his creation of the Grameen Bank which grants micro-credit to the poor, said his country was bearing the brunt of climate change, with 40 per cent of its land mass less than one metre (3.3 feet) above sea level.
   Sea levels are rising an average three millimetres a year, he said, and Bangladesh’s 150 million people are already confined to living on around 144,000 square kilometres.
   ‘Floods and Bangladesh are becoming synonymous,’ Yunus said, adding that their frequency and intensity are increasing year by year.
   ‘For many people around the world this is an issue of concern but for us it's an issue of life and death.’
   He called for global lifestyle changes to make the world a better place.
   ‘Can we come to a decision, this simple decision globally? Each generation will make a pledge they will leave the world safer than we found it when we came to this world. I think that is the best start to make it happen.’
   Yunus said allegations that rich countries are the polluters and developing countries the victims no longer apply since the quality of life and consumption levels are also rising in underdeveloped countries.


Time pressure for Pakistan deal: PPP
Associated Press . Islamabad

Time is running out for the Pakistan president, general Pervez Musharraf, to finalise a pact with ex-premier Benazir Bhutto that would keep the US-allied leader in office, Bhutto’s party warned Thursday.
   Musharraf and Bhutto have been trying for months to secure an agreement that would allow her to return from exile and help Musharraf get another term. But with the presidential election due in less than five weeks, the two sides have yet to resolve crucial differences on how they might share power.
   ‘The ball is in the court of the government, and the time has almost completely run out,’ said Farhatullah Babar, spokesman for Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party. ‘The window is not completely shut, but no agreement has been reached.’
   Musharraf’s authority has eroded since March when he tried unsuccessfully to oust the Supreme Court’s top judge and a pact with Bhutto could help him overcome expected legal challenges to another run.
   Bhutto wants authorities to drop corruption cases pending against her and insists Musharraf must step down as army chief. However, Musharraf’s political allies are resisting her demands and want Musharraf to retain much of his sweeping powers.
   On Monday, Nawaz Sharif, another two-time prime minister and a key opposition leader, was sent back to exile in Saudi Arabia shortly after he landed in Islamabad on a self-proclaimed mission to oust Musharraf and restore civilian rule.
   Authorities rounded up more than 1,000 of his supporters to prevent them from giving the former premier a rousing welcome at Islamabad airport.
   Provincial authorities started releasing the supporters in time for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins in Pakistan on Friday, interior ministry spokesman brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema said.
   Pakistan government has barred Sharif from contesting elections saying he has already been convicted and sentenced in a case, but put the corruption cases against him in the cold storage, reports Press Trust of India.


Govt rejects ADB proposal to retain design consultant for supervision
Staff Correspondent

The interim administration has rejected a proposal of the Asian Development Bank for keeping an option to negotiate with the design consultant to retain it as supervision consultant for Padma bridge construction as such provision would violate the government’s procurement guideline.
   If the government allows the provision, it would not be covered by the public procurement regulations-2003, the communications ministry observed while rejecting the proposal in August.
   The ministry, however, said the design consulting firm might take part in the supervision consultancy if there was no restriction in this case.
   The multilateral lending agency in July said the Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge Authority, the executing agency of the project, should keep two options while preparing the Expression of Interest and Request for Proposal for inviting bids to prepare a detailed design of the bridge.
   The $20 million ADB-funded study will start in January next year.
   In the first option the JMBA will recruit a design consultant and separately recruit a construction supervision consultant and in the second option, the government may negotiate with the design consultant to retain it as the supervision consultant under a separate contract.
   ‘We suggest keeping the two options as it will give the JMBA and the government maximum flexibility,’ said the ADB.
   ‘The second option would not be covered by the public procurement rule-2003 and hence cannot be accepted,’ the communications ministry told the ADB.
   Communications ministry officials said keeping the two options in EoI and RFP was unrealistic as the nature of two consultancies were absolutely different from each other.
   Moreover, the officials feared that the government might be forced to appoint the design consultant as supervision consultant following the pressure from the ADB as the government earlier accepted a condition of the bank authorising it to conduct the consultant selection process on behalf of the government for construction of the proposed Padma bridge.
   The government, however, will retain its authority for contract negotiation and contract signing for the project.
   The ADB has committed to provide a $300 million loan for construction of the 5.58km road-cum-railway bridge. The ECNEC in August approved the construction of $1.6 billion Padma bridge.
   Apart from the ADB, the World Bank and Japan Bank for International Cooperation also informed the government that they had earmarked $300 million each in their lending
   programmes for 2009 for the construction of the bridge which will be largest in the country.
   The Netherlands government, DFID and Germany also showed interest in pumping a substantial amount for the project.
   The proposed Padma bridge, to be built at Mawa-Janjira
   point of the river and considered to be of much national import, is one of the highest priority projects of the government.
   Its construction is expected to begin in 2009 after completion of land acquisition.


NBR showcauses Cotecna
on car import scam

Special Correspondent

The National Board of Revenue has served show-cause notice on Cotecna, an authorised pre-shipment inspection company, for its alleged involvement in under-invoicing in import of luxury vehicles.
   The notice, signed by Rashid-Ul-Ahsan Chowdhury, NBR member (customs) asked the agency why legal action would not be taken against them and its contract be scrapped due to gross irregularities, revenue officials said.
   The notice, signed on September 9, gave the agency seven days’ time to reply.
   Earlier, NBR’s central intelligence cell investigated irregularities in import of 12 luxury vehicles including US-made Hummer and unearthed incidence of quoting lower import rates than market prices and facilitating money laundering. PSI company Cotecna was found involved in the wrongdoings, revenue officials said.
   The government’s taskforce on major crimes on June 25 asked the revenue intelligence to investigate the irregularities committed by Cotecna, importers and customs officials, sources said.
   The show-cause notice mentioned that the company had certified the import consignment of Hummer-H3 vehicles quoting a price of $18,500 per vehicle against the actual price of $35,215.
   ‘Your company (Cotecna) thus helped the importer evade tax of Tk 23,68,362.54,’ reads the notice.
   The revenue board contacted the US carmaker General Motors and verified clean report of findings (CRF) of other PSI companies to be sure about the import fraudulence.
   Peter Sewel, Cotecna’s
   manager, operations, in Dhaka did not receive any call from New Age despite several attempts on Wednesday for a comment.
   Failure to reply satisfactorily to NBR notice may lead to scrapping of the contact with the Swiss company, which is currently responsible for certifying imports from 16 countries falling under blocs ‘B’ and ‘D,’ revenue officials hinted.


70 killed in fresh Afghan violence
Agence France-Presse . Kabul

Major clashes between Taliban and security forces in Afghanistan left nearly 70 rebels dead, officials said Thursday.
   The deadliest of the incidents on Wednesday was in the province of Uruzgan and kicked off with an ambush on Afghan and coalition troops who called in air support, the US-led coalition said.
   ‘More than 45 insurgents were killed in the engagement,’ said the coalition, which operates alongside a separate NATO-led force to defeat an insurgency launched by Taliban after they were driven from government in 2001.
   Another 13 militants were killed and six wounded in southern Kandahar province late Wednesday in a 90-minute battle after rebels attacked an Afghan and NATO patrol, provincial police chief Sayed Aqa Saqib said.
   In the adjoining Zabul province meanwhile, militants attacked another Afghan and NATO convoy the same evening, sparking a battle in which 11 militants were killed, provincial spokesman Gulab Shah Alikhail said.
   Elsewhere, three mine clearers who were abducted a week ago with 10 colleagues were freed late Wednesday in the southeastern province of Paktia, police said. The 10 were freed Monday.
   Officials have not accused any group of the abductions and the Taliban have not claimed responsibility.
   Police in the Helmand province capital of Lashkar Gah spotted and shot dead a would-be suicide bomber Thursday, provincial police chief Mohammad Andiwal said.
   ‘NATO forces later helped to removed his explosive vest,’ Andiwal said.


Rail link disrupted as Silk
City derails at Bhuyanpur

Our Correspondent . Sirajganj

Silk City express train headed for Rajshahi from Joydevpur derailed at Char Patalkandi under Bhuyanpur in Tangail Thursday evening, disrupting railway communications.
   Railway sources said the train derailed between Ibrahimabad station and the eastern end of the Jamuna Bridge at about 6:00pm.
   Lalmonirhat and Drutajan express trains remained stranded at Dhaka and the Padma express train at Sadanandapur station, to the west of the Jamuna Bridge in Sirajganj.
   The Jamuna Bridge (east) police officer-in-charge, Mostafa Manjur Mahamud, and the Jamuna Bridge (west) police officer-in-charge, Rawshan Mostafa, said two relief trains left Dhaka and Ishwardi to rescue the derailed train. The rescue operation would take time. Security for passenger has been tightened, they said.


Oli asks govt to keep
sycophants at bay

Staff Correspondent

Liberal Democratic Party faction president Oli Ahmed on Thursday called on the interim government to take steps for handing over state power to ‘real politicians’.
   He was addressing a meeting at the party’s central office at Maghbazar.
   Two industrialists – Masif Group managing director Mohammad Muraduzzaman Khan and Noor-e-Erfan – joined the party on the day.
   If sycophants control state power, the consequences are dangerous for the country and it has been proved during the immediate past BNP regime, he said.
   Khaleda Zia was encircled and misguided by syco-
   phants during her rule which resulted in her present
   condition and pushed the country to the brink of disaster, Oli added.
   Oli termed former BNP secretary general Mannan Bhuiyan a ‘yes man’ of Khaleda Zia
   during her rule and wonde-
   red how a quarter of the
   government was now trying to take such sycophants with them.
   He warned the government that it might meet the fate of Khaleda Zia if it relied on persons who changed their stances overnight.
   LDP leaders Didar Bakht and Shahadat Hossain Selim also spoke at the gathering.

MAIN PAGE | TOP
Headlines
» Tsunami nightmare ends
» Bangladesh knock West Indies out
» No action against high rises without expert opinion
» Bangladesh under high risk of earthquake
» Indonesia spared massive damage as fresh quake hits
» Ramadan begins today
» B Chy to decide on Sunday whether to join BNP
» Awami League to investigate attacks on party leaders
» Abusive words for Ashraf
» Pietersen sets up England win
» India-Scotland tie washed out
» Mirza Aziz denies role of market syndicate
» Bangladeshi aid worker killed in Afghanistan
» Arrest warrants issued against 2 DU teachers
» DU, army teams meet
» People cry for food, water as flooding worsens
» EC mulls over poll expenditure ceilings proportionate to number of voters
» Yunus calls for lifestyle change to fight against warming
» Time pressure for Pakistan deal: PPP
» Govt rejects ADB proposal to retain design consultant for supervision
» NBR showcauses Cotecna on car import scam
» 70 killed in fresh Afghan violence
» Rail link disrupted as Silk City derails at Bhuyanpur
» Oli asks govt to keep sycophants at bay
 
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