RMG in concert with $50bnexport targetPM urges sector stakeholders to remain alert about conspiraciesn Ibrahim Hossain Ovi and

Rajib Bhowmick

Despite recent tragedies and existing obstacles, Bangladesh is still regarded as a popular global apparel sourcing destination and have the potential to hit the top of buyers’ priority lists.

There are also predictions that at the 17% average annual growth rate achieved in the last 25 years, Bangla-desh needs only to elevate its current global market share to 7% from the ex-isting 5% to reach the self-righteous tar-get of $50bn yearly apparel export 2021.

But to achieve that target, some key obstacles including infrastructural and productive de� ciencies, low worker productivity and safety compliance, need to be overcome.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yes-terday told a summit in Dhaka that lo-cal and international conspiracies are being hatched against Bangladesh’s apparel sector.

“Bangladesh is the world’s second largest apparel exporting country. Many people do not like this. Envied

by the progress, local and internation-al conspirators are trying to destroy the sector. I urge the owners, workers, global buyers and consumers to remain alert,” she said before opening the Dha-ka Apparel Summit 2014.

To move ahead, Bangladesh has to increase productivity, come up with

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

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Joydebpur-Mymensingh 4-lane project half-done

The photograph taken yesterday makes it hard to believe it is one of our most important highways. With only six months before deadline expires, less than 50% of the 4-lane Mymensingh-Joydevpur Highway project has been completed MEHEDI HASAN

n Shohel Mamun

Almost half of the construction work in much-hyped Joydebpur-Mymensingh four-lane upgrading project is yet to be completed with only six months to go before inauguration of the 87km-long highway.

In February, Road Transport Minister Obaidul Quader told reporters that the project would be � nished by December this year. In the middle of June, he had said: “The four-lane project work will be completed by March 2015.”

Around 47% construction work is yet to be done, as per the project’s lat-est progress report (until September 15) prepared by the Roads and Highways Department and signed by Project Di-rector Ha� zur Rahman. It was sent to the Prime Minister’s O� ce recently.

Ha� zur yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune: “After placing the report to the PMO, more than 4% work has been complete. But it is not possible to com-plete the work within the scheduled time because of di� erent reasons in-cluding crisis of construction materials and some instruments.”

He said they were trying their best.The infrastructure project began

in July 2010 under the supervision of the RHD with acquisition of some 8.66

PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

STORY OF A SURVIVOR

Child tra� cked to India for sex speaks outn Tazlina Zamila Khan

A 14-year-old child with olive skin and big black eyes sits in a chair, speaks brief-ly with her lawyer, and then turns to me.

“My name is Rinku. I am a victim of tra� cking. I was sent to there to be forced into prostitution,” she says, her eyes wet with tears.

She described how she was taken to India illegally to be forced into prosti-tution and how she managed to escape.

Rinku’s lawyer, Advocate Shahin Momtaz of the Bangladesh Nation-al Woman Lawyers’ Association, said her client had been traumatised by herordeal.

“We are trying to give her courage,” she said.

Her tale began eight months ago in March. Between March and November, Rinku was all by herself in India, far away from her family.

Rinku Akhter Simu, a student of class VII, studies at a local school in Niltek Shingashur of Kolatia Bazar in Keraniganj.

On March 15, she came to visit her elder sister Rehana Khatun and broth-er-in-law Ashraf Uddin at a house in Dhaka Udyan.

There Rinku met a girl, Sathi, wife of Raju, who lived in the next room of the building. Sathi was pregnant.

The man who turned out be her traf-� cker, Sirajul Islam, 18, son of Ashraf Ali of Natore, was staying in another room of the building.

Rinku told the Dhaka Tribune: “A day after I got there, Sirajul proposed to me. He said he wanted to have an a� air with me and wanted to marry me.”

Rinku says she never responded to Sirajul’s proposal.

Her brother-in-law Ashraf Uddin said: “I forbade her to talk with Sathi, but Sathi used to visit our place and bring Rinku over to gossip.”

Sirajul met Rinku at Sathi’s place on March 15.

On March 26 around 7am, Rinku

was getting ready to leave for home, as her mother was on her way to pick her up. She went to Sathi’s place to saygoodbye.

Sathi o� ered her snacks, and Sir-ajul suddenly arrived. He asked her: “Where are you going?”

When Rinku replied that she was go-ing home, Sirajul placed a handkerchief over her mouth and she fainted.

Rinku later found out that Sathi had told Sirajul that if he managed to take Rinku, then he had to pay her Tk500.”

According to Ashraf Uddin, Sirajul paid Tk500 to Sathi, over the kidnap-ping and tra� cking of the girl.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Apparel Export Growth Trends

0

10

20

30

40

50

1989-90 1999-00 2009-10 2013-14 2020-21

Expo

rt V

olum

e ($

bn)

25-year average export growth ra

te

17%

0.62

4

4.34

12.5

24.5

50

President seeks Bhutan’s support for connectivityn Tribune Desk

President Abdul Hamid sought support from Bhutan in improving regional con-nectivity within and beyond South Asia.

The president also stressed on Bhu-tan’s active and e� ective role in the re-gional cooperation in water resources management, and electricity and hy-dro-power connectivity, BSS quoted his Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim as saying.

Abdul Hamid spoke on these issues when the visiting Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay called on him at Bangabhaban yesterday.

The Bhutanese premier expressed hope for more cooperation between the two countries and extended an invita-tion to Abdul Hamid to visit Bhutan.

The delegation of the Bhutanese PM, and the foreign secretary of Bang-ladesh were present at the meeting.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Raw-shan Ershad also met Tobgay at the Pan Paci� c Sonargaon Hotel and discussed bilateral issues, including possibilities of Bhutan using the Mongla seaport.

The Bhutanese premier requested Rawshan to explore the possibilities of setting up a special economic zone in the northern region of Bangladesh for use of Bhutanese businessmen. l

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, December 8, 2014

President Abdul Hamid shakes hands with Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay during a courtesy call made by the latter at the Bangabhaban in the capital yesterday PID

Sluggish progress in solving Prof Sha� ul’s murdern Mohammad Jamil Khan

Investigation into the gruesome mur-der of Rajshahi University Professor AKM Sha� ul Islam is going on at a slug-gish pace, with no signi� cant develop-ment in the case since the arrests of � ve people by the RAB two weeks ago

The Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP), the authority in charge of investi-gating the murder, claimed that they were still analysing the RAB � ndings which were disclosed on November 23, but were yet to get any lead or con� rmation.

Iftekharul Alam, spokesperson for the RMP commissioner and also an as-sistant commissioner of the Detective Branch, told the Dhaka Tribune yester-day that they had interrogated the � ve arrestees – Ariful Islam Manik, Sabuz, Pintu, Kalu and Al Mamun – during a two-day remand.

“During interrogation, the arrestees gave us the same information that they gave to the RAB after their arrest on No-vember 23; but the arrestees did not agree to provide any confessional statement before court,” said Iftekharul, who is co-ordinating the sensational murder case.

Asked about the type of information provided by the arrestees, Iftekhar said they claimed of planning to teach Prof Sha� ul a “good lesson” for misbehav-ing with the wife of Pintu – one of the arrestees.

Replying to a query on why the police were not taking any action against Jubo Dal leader Uzzal and Chhatra League leader Moon, whose involvements were also mentioned by the detainees after their arrests, the DB o� cial said the police were currently looking into the involvement of other people in the murder and would take action once the process was completed.

On November 15, unidenti� ed as-sailants hacked Prof Sha� ul to death in

broad daylight near his Chohoddipara residence in Rajshahi city.

Soon after the incident, the police arrested 11 people who were actively in-volved with the politics of Jamaat-Shibir. At the time, law enforcers also claimed that an organisation’s Facebook page which took the responsibility of the killing – was also operated by Shibir supporters.

However, on November 23, the Rap-id Action Battalion arrested � ve people and briefed the media that Prof Sha� ul was killed for personal reasons.

Although the RMP at � rst refused to accept the RAB � ndings, it changed its tune to match that of the elite force on November 27.

Since then, no signi� cant progress has been made in the case, while the real mo-tive or the identity of the perpetrators be-hind the murder was yet to be con� rmed.

Alamgir Hossain, o� cer-in-charge of Motihar police station and the investi-gation o� cer of the case, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that the police were taking more care in probing this case as it was a sensational murder case. The results will be disclosed once all the information was analysed, he added. Meanwhile, teachers at the Rajshahi Uni-versity continue to express their dissat-isfaction over the investigation process.

Kamrul Hassan Majumder, presi-dent of Rajshahi University Teachers Association, termed the progress of the probe “unacceptable.” Claiming that the investigation seemed to be head-ed towards an inconclusive result like two previous killings of RU teachers, Kamrul told the Dhaka Tribune that the teachers did not want the failure of jus-tice to be repeated.

Prof Ananda Kumar Saha, a senior member of a platform of the university’s progressive teachers, also demanded justice to be ensured so that no one ever dared to commit such a crime again. l

Khaleda urges youths to take to the streetsn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

Asking the young generation to take to the street to oust the government from o� ce, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yes-terday said she would be with them as she believed she was still young enough.

“You all have to take to the street. I am not that much old yet … I will join you,” she said at a view exchanging programme with the Blue-Band Call Online Activists at her Gulshan o� ce.

“Before the January 5 election, the road to my house was barricaded with sand-laden trucks … people were shot at, many were killed. But this time I will be on the street. I do not think I am too old to be in the � eld to protect the country,” she said.

Khaleda said Awami League was a

party of cowards – if they had courage, they would face the people. “People would have done something on Decem-ber 29 last year. But fearing this, the gov-ernment cordoned me o� in my house for three days so that I could not go out.”

The former premier alleged that the government had been destroying the country’s industries one after another, which resulted in unemployment.

“Bangladesh was in the second posi-tion in the global RMG sector, but now it is in the fourth. Industrialists face losses due to the government’s ine� -ciency and irregularities,” she said.

The BNP chief also said the govern-ment had no friends internationally any more. “It is not prudent to keep good ties with only one country. Relations should be maintained with all the countries.”

Khaleda alleged that the government has been supplying modern weapons to Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders and activists and turned the public uni-versities into armouries.

Khaleda said a levelled � eld was necessary for fair play, and demanded election under a non-partisan interim government.

Meanwhile, leaders and activists of BNP’s Khilkhet unit staged a demon-stration in front of Khaleda’s o� ce against the party’s Standing Committee Member Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, alleg-ing that he had disbanded the unit by taking bribes from other faction leaders.

Goyeshwar, however, refuted the allegation and said: “I have to recon-stitute 57 unit committees in 10 thanas. Some may be happy with the changes,

some may not. I think everything will be � ne in due time.”

Non-stop programme if gas and power prices are hikedThe BNP-led 20-party alliance threat-ened to wage a non-stop programme if the government decided to go ahead with its plan to hike the prices of gas and electricity.

“Non-stop movement will be launched on the day the gas and elec-tricity prices are hiked,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, acting secretary general of the party, said yesterday.

The Power Development Board sent a proposal to Bangladesh Energy Regu-latory Commission to raise the electric-ity tari� by 18.12%, or Tk0.81 per unit at bulk level. l

RMG in concert with $50bn export target PAGE 1 COLUMN 2new designs and explore new markets to remain globally competitive, she recommended.

In the HSBC Trade Con� dence Index published in September, Bangladesh’s score rose sharply to 141 in 2014 from 103 a year back, marking the second highest in the sample of 23 countries.

The report said the hefty rise was un-derpinned by strong demand from the West for Bangladeshi garments and tex-tiles. The HSBC index also appreciated the authorities’ e� orts to introduce bet-ter safety regulations to the garments sector which appeared to have provid-ed an additional boost to con� dence.

According to a June-2014 forecast by the United States Fashion Industry As-sociation (USFIA), one of the most re-spected voices of the US fashion indus-try, apparel retailing companies are not leaving Bangladesh and are committed to compliance there and elsewhere.

Despite the recent tragedies like those in Rana Plaza and Tazreen Fash-ions, Bangladesh was still regarded as a popular sourcing destination with growth potential.

A vast majority of nearly 77% of the respondents of what USFIA called its “Benchmarking Study” have been sourcing from Bangladesh. More than half of the respondents say they expect to “somewhat increase” this sourcing

in the next two years, and 5% expect to “strongly increase” sourcing. Another 15% expect no change in their current scale of sourcing in Bangladesh.

In 2013, US-based global manage-ment consultancy � rm McKinsey & Company, which has 105 o� ces around the world, surveyed 29 chief procure-ment o� cers (CPOs) at leading apparel companies responsible for a combined €28bn in purchasing volume.

They found that Bangladesh re-mained at the top of the list of appar-el-sourcing markets expected to grow in importance in the next few years. A 2011 McKinsey forecast showed that Bangladesh was on the radar-screen of all European and US apparel buyers and likely to grow nearly three times its current size, that is $45bn, by 2020.

That forecast is well in concert with Bangladesh’s vision 2021 of reaching $50bn apparel export target.

Data from the Export Promotion Bu-reau (EPB) of Bangladesh shows that in FY1989-90, apparel export volume was only $624.16 million which increased a staggering eight times to reach $4.34 billion in FY1999-2000.

In FY2009-10, export volume in-creased to reach $12.5bn, marking a 300% growth in these 10 years.

In FY2013-14, the volume exceeded $24bn, marking another 200% growth in just four years.

Shahidullah Azim, vice-president of Bangladesh Garments Exporters and Manufacturers Association (BGMEA), told the Dhaka Tribune: “It is true that we have many obstacles now. But, there is no reason to think that we did not have any hurdles in the past. Still, we have achieved impressive growth in the last few decades.”

He also said with conviction: “I be-lieve that things will only improve in the coming years. We have already tak-en a lot of measures to ensure workers’ safety and improve productivity. Hur-dles will always be there. But we are very much up to it.”

Hurdles and way out Yesterday, stakeholders discussed in detail the hurdles facing Bangladesh’s clothing sector on the � rst day of the 3-day Dhaka Apparel Summit 2014 at the Bangabandhu International Con-ference Centre in the capital.

“To meet the export target [of $50bn], the RMG sector needs a lot of entrepreneurs, governance, education, workers e� ciency, value added prod-ucts and above all, branding Bangla-desh,” said Francois de Maricourt, chief executive o� cer of HSBC Bangladesh, at the summit yesterday.

Wajedul Islam Khan, general secre-tary of Bangladesh Trade Union Ken-dra, said: “It is very unfortunate that

when we discuss RMG, workers are kept outside. Workers and trade union are an integral part of the sector. Work-ers’ participation should be ensured so that they can raise their voice.”

Employers should not treat work-ers as enemies, said Islam. “If workers do not work properly and do not show their responsibility, then reaching the target will be impossible,” he added.

Regretting the high interest rate of bank loans, Mostafa Golam Quddus, former president of BGMEA, said: “We are in the belly of banks and they are eating us out...We cannot be compet-itive enough because we are paying more interests than our competitors.”

In reply, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said the government is looking into the matter.

“A comprehensive action plan has been taken to provide all the facilities to the RMG sector,” the minister assured.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yes-terday unveiled the curtain of the “In-ternational Trade Expo for Building and Fire Safety 2014” and the Centre of Excellence for Bangladesh Apparel Industry aimed at boosting workers productivity through research and de-velopment and to chalk out roadmap for the country’s RMG sector.

BGMEA in association with Bangla-desh Brand Forum has jointly organ-ised the summit. l

Child tra� cked to India for sex speaks out PAGE 1 COLUMN 6Rinku told the Dhaka Tribune: “When I woke up, I was in a boat with Sirajul and two others, Sakib and Moinul.”

“I was crying and shouting, ‘I want to go home,’” she recalls.

Siraj told her that he was taking Rin-ku to his mother’s house to marry her.

“I cried and said, ‘I don’t know you, why would I marry you? I want to go home. I couldn’t shout properly as I had not eaten since the night before. I was feeling very weak,” Rinku told the Dhaka Tribune.

After getting down from the boat, Sir-ajul pulled the boat in. On the main road, I saw a man standing with a microbus.

Rinku said Sirajul pulled her hand and kept saying: “I am taking you to my home.”

She walked around 10 minutes to reach the main road. She overheard Sirajul’s partner say: “Do not take this road, there are police there.”

Ibrahim, the person standing next to the microbus, is one of the most notori-ous tra� ckers on the border.

With the help of Sakib and Moinul, Sirajul took Rinku to Nabinagar of the Dhaka district. They took a Hanif Pari-

bahan bus around 11pm. On March 27 around 7am, they got down to Benapol and, with the help of Ibrahim, all of them entered India without any trouble.

Rinku said: “There was a pond in the area and big banana trees beside the road. I did not know that I was in India.”

On reaching the main road, Sirajul took Rinku to a car.

After about 30 minutes of travel, the car reached a two-storey building. Rin-ku did not yet know that she was in the Shibpur, West Bengal.

Rinku’s mother Aisha Begum said: “Sakib, Sirajul and Moinul sold my daughter to brokers for big money.”

Sirajul took Rinku to the � rst � oor of the building, where she saw a woman.

Rinku told the Dhaka Tribune: “I got scared looking at her. She looked hor-rible.”

Sirajul told Rinku: “You stay here for two days. I will come again to take you to my mother’s house.”

There were 5 or 6 other girls of her age at the building. Rinku did not know that she had been taken to a brothel, where the woman and her nephew’s wife ran the sex business. The wom-an, she later found out, forced her own

nephew’s wife into prostitution. “The woman asked me if I had had

an a� air with Sirajul. I said, ‘No. I want to go home.’ Then the woman said, ‘You were not brought to this house to go home.’”

“Then I saw the woman give a lot of money to Sirajul and he left,” said Rinku.

She could not say what the woman’s name was.

The woman asked her if she had any physical relations with anyone before and Rinku said no.

The woman then said: “Then you can be sold for a huge amount of mon-ey. Such girls have a high demand in this business.”

Rinku told the Dhaka Tribune: “The woman called someone on the phone. She said she had a virgin. The person talking on the other side of the phone said something and the woman laughed. She urged the person on the other end to come quickly and get me.”

Rinku was taken to the room where the other girls were staying. She was crying when a girl asked if Rinku came here of her own free will. She replied that she had been forced.

Then the girl told me: “You do not

know where you are. This is a brothel and all of us here must sell sex.”

“I was crying when the girl said she would teach me how to escape from the place. She give me Tk600. When I asked her why she did not � ee although she knew the way out, she replied that she came here of her own will in order to earn money,” Rinku recounted.

It was March 28. The woman in charge was in the wash room. Her nephew’s wife was also absent. Tak-ing advantage of the situation, Rinku opened the lock and � ed the house. She ran for an hour and a half until she got to Seyaldah bus stand.

At one point she took a rickshaw for a fare of Tk20 to reach the bus stand. After reaching the bus stand, she bought a ticket for Bongaon in West Bengal, India.

As she was getting on the bus, Rin-ku’s would-be-madam grabbed her by the wrist.

“You have a lot of courage. Come with me. I will teach you a lesson.”

Rinku was crying and a crowd sur-rounded them. Rinku told the gather-ing crowd that the woman was in the sex trade and that she had been forced

to come to India. When the woman tried to escape,

she was caught and beaten up by the public.

Javadpur police took them to the police station. The next day, Rinku was produced before the court. But the woman managed to escape by bribing the police.

Rinku was later handed over to Indi-an NGO Sanlaap.

Meanwhile, Rinku’s parents were searching for her everywhere when a neighbour of Ashraf’s said he saw Rin-ku with Sirajul around 12pm on the day she went missing.

Sirajul’s phone had been switched o� for several days. After three days, Sirajul reappeared and told Rinku’s parents that he had married the girl and she was staying at Natore.

When Rinku’s family called Sirajul’s home, his parents denied it.

Sakib’s brother-in-law, Babu, who lives at the same house, said Rinku and Siraj were in Pabna.

Ashraf and Babu went to Moinul’s house in Pabna. They told Moinul’s fa-ther, Abul, about the missing girl.

On March 28, they found Sirajul and

beat him up. They then took him to the Gonigacha union chairman, Md Nurul, where Sirajul admitted that he sold Rinku for Tk13,000.

Sakib, Sirajul and Moinul took Tk5000, Tk4000 and Tk4000 respec-tively. He demanded another Tk40,000 to bring Rinku back.

Sirajul was taken to Dhaka and handed over to Mohammadpur police station.

A case was � led on April 5 against four people including Sirajul. The inves-tigation o� cer of the case Sub-Inspec-tor Jalal Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune: “Sirajul is an FIR-listed accused. He was produced before court on April 6.”

Sirajul told the police that he took Rinku to Savar for an outing. They were in a love relationship, he claimed.

After remaining in India in a Sanlaap safe house for eight months, Rinku was brought back to Dhaka on December 5.

Rinku told the Dhaka Tribune: “Those were the worst days of my life, far away from my family. I did not do anything wrong, why did this happen to me? Only a tra� cked girl can under-stand my pain. I want justice. I want the criminals to be punished.” l

Joydebpur-Mymensingh 4-lane PAGE 1 COLUMN 3hectors of land. Due to extension of the project deadline twice, the cost was re-estimated too. Finally, the cost is es-timated at Tk1,815.12 crore.

The project work comprises four packages.

Construction of the � rst package, 12.25km Joydebpur intersection-Ra-jendrapur intersection, sees 47.54% completion while 51.82% of the second package – 17.6km road between Rajen-drapur and Nayanpur.

Bangladesh Army’s Special Works Organisation (West) is implementing these two packages. Even though the project had begun in July 2010, the army was given the work in 2012.

According to the report, the army has been working smoothly, but the two other companies lagged behind, until February, when they started im-plementing the project quickly.

In the third package that involves 29.6km Nayanpur-Raimoni, 50.99% work has been � nished while 60.55% in the fourth package of 27.32km stretch between Raimoni and Mymensingh.

The third package is being executed by China Major Bridges Company in as-sociation with local � rm Project Build-er’s Limited (PBL). The other package is being implemented by the consortium of MCC, SEL and Toma Construction Limited-JB.

With all these, the average progress of the construction of the four packag-es stands at 53.53%.

Secretary MAN Siddique said work in only package three was delayed while the others would be completed before the time frame.

“We have already arranged a meet-ing to solve this problem. We think it is also possible to complete within the stipulated time.”

About the slow progress of the pro-ject, the project director in the report pointed out at sluggish utility shifting, political instability, inadequate supply of money by the contractor, long ab-sence of lead partner, insu� cient sup-ply of required equipment and lack of e� ective management.

PBL Chief Engineer Ra� qul Anam said: “We are responsible for construct-ing 30km of the project. There are dif-ferent reasons behind the delay but now more than 50-60% work has been � nished. The project cost was earlier estimated at Tk3bn but it will � nally go up to Tk4bn.”

In the 2014-15 � scal year, though the government allocated Tk397.94 crore for the project under the annual development programme (ADP), it has released only Tk99.49 core.

As of September 15, a total of Tk896.23 crore has been spent for the project. l

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, December 8, 2014

Tribunal probe body submitted ‘� awed’ reportn Ahmed Zayeef

The prosecution, for the � rst time, has found some “serious inconsistency” in the investigation process of the war crimes tribunal’s probe agency in the case of two alleged razakar siblings of Kishoreganj.

Claiming that it is “harmful” for the case, they sent back all the documents regarding the case to the agency for re-investigation.

The two accused are Nasir Uddin Ahmed alias Captain ATM Nasir, 62, and Shamsuddin Ahmed, 60, a mem-ber of Kishoreganj Bar Association. Na-sir is on the run while Shamsuddin was arrested on November 26. The probe agency submitted its report to the pros-ecution the following day.

Sheikh Mosfeq Kabir, one of the prosecutors of the case, told the Dha-ka Tribune: “We sent back the probe report and all the documents through the chief prosecutor as found some complexity and serious inconsistency in the investigation were identi� ed.

“Their have been some contractions in the case documents and also in the deposition of witnesses. In an applica-tion, we have asked them to reinvesti-gation the case and provide more infor-mation.”

The Dhaka Tribune obtained a copy of the application where the prosecu-tor has showed some inconsistencies about the birthday and profession of the two accused. Mosfeq also pointed to some inconsistencies in the witness statements.

The investigation report says the current age of Nasir is 62 while his birth date February 9, 1954. He was 19 years’ old in 1971.

But if the birth date is correct then his current age is 60 years nine months and 15 days while he was 17 years’ old in 1971, as per the day of submission of the report. But the agency did not clar-ify on what basis they mentioned his age 19 years in the year of 1971.

The probe body submitted a copy of tabulation sheet collected from a pri-vate school where it shows that Nasir’s

birth date is February 9, 1954. But the agency did not mention whether they had checked the matter with the Dhaka Education Board about his attending the SSC examination.

On the other hand, according to Nasir’s National Identity Card and SSC certi� cate, his birth date is December 1, 1957. He joined the Bangladesh Army on the basis of this date. According to this date, his age was 14 in 1971.

On the other hand, according to the NID and the investigation report, Shamsuddin was born on December 1, 1958 and he was 13 years’ old in 1971. But the agency mentioned that his age to be 17 years at that time. They also did not provide any documents about it.

Even though the arrestee is a lawyer, the probe agency did not provide any certi� cate about his joining the occu-pation. They also did not mention what was his previous occupation though the report says he joined the current profession recently.

Prosecutor Mosfeq also mentioned � ve inconsistencies about the state-ments of the possible witness, refer-ences and the crime time situations. “Two boys of 13 and 19 years’ age led the Pakistani Army [to commit crimes] is totally irrational,” he said.

Mosfeq also asked the probe body to take a decision about whether a person aged below 18 could be made accused ac-cording to the International Crimes (Tri-bunals) Act of 1973 and the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court.

The prosecutor said the investiga-tion process had been faulty and that the case would be hampered if the for-mal charges were pressed without � x-ing the � aws.

“The prosecution will also be a� ect-ed. In this situation, it needs to gather clear opinion of the chief prosecutor urgently,” he wrote.

Sanaul Huq, assistant co-ordinator of the probe agency, told the Dhaka Tri-bune: “It is true that the prosecution is asking for reinvestigation for the � rst time. But it is not unusual. We will clar-ify all the issues and provide the prose-cution with all necessary documents.” l

Latif Siddique’s bail pleas rejectedn Tribune Report

A Dhaka court yesterday rejected two bail petitions of former minister Abdul Latif Siddique in cases � led for hurting religious sentiments.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mu-hammad Asaduzzman Nur passed the order following a bail petition submit-ted by Latif’s counsel Barrister Jyotir-moy Barua. Metropolitan Magistrate Md Younus Khan rejected bail petition in another case � led by Alhaj Badal Miah, a cattle-hide trader and a resi-dent of Chawkbazar in Mawartek of the capital on October 1.

During the bail petition hearing, Latif’s counsel told the court that he had � led the petitions as the charges brought against his client was bailable and also because he was ill.

Latif was not produced before the court yesterday as he was admitted to the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) hospital on Satur-day because of chest pain and high blood pressure. The court � xed March 15 as the next date for hearing on charge framing and ordered the prison authorities to pro-duce Latif before the court on that day. l

Nine years on, families of Netrakona blast victims still reeling in painn Our Correspondent, Netrakona

Nine years have passed but the fami-lies a� ected by the deadly bomb blast in front of the Netrakona Udichi o� ce have not got any � nancial support – neither from the government nor from any non-government organisation.

On this day in 2005, nine people were killed and more than 50 injured in a sui-cide bomb blast by outlawed Islamist militant out� t Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

That blast near the o� ce of cultural organisation Udichi Shilpi Goshthi on the Azhar Road in Netrakona town killed its joint secretary Khaza Haider, organi-sational secretary Shudipta Paul Shelly and member Jadav Roy.

Victims’ families said not a single

government o� cial had ever come even to condole them.

On February 17, 2008, a speedy trial tribunal of Dhaka sentenced three JMB members – Salahuddin, Asaduzzaman and Yunus – to death for the killings. But that sentence has not been executed in nearly seven years.

Police have not even managed to identify the local godfathers of those JMB militants. Some of the dead victims of the blast were the only earning mem-bers of their families.

Shahnaz Begum, widow of Khaza Haider, said in exasperation: “You peo-ple [journalists] come to talk to us only when this day comes every year. The pain is still unbearable when we talk about it. But, we have never got any help from the government. People � nish their

duties by giving speeches in discussions. Why? Is not there a single person in this society who can help my family? I have got tired of talking to media.”

According to witnesses, on that day in 2005, the JMB militants � rst set o� a bomb in front of the Udichi o� ce. When people gathered to see what had happened, they blasted another suicide bomb in the middle of the crowd, killing and injuring those people.

Mosta� zur Rahman, president of the Netrakona unit of Udichi, urged the gov-ernment to identify and bring to trial the local sponsors of the JMB militants.

To commemorate the day, Netrako-na Udichi has chalked out programmes including placing of wreaths, hoisting black � ag, , protest processions and an anti-terrorism rally in the evening. l

Corruption links found against IRD o� cialsn Tribune Report

A parliamentary body has found evi-dence against o� cials of the Internal Resources Division (IRD) who allegedly misappropriated public funds during the tenure of the last caretaker government.

The incidents of corruption by o� -cials of the IRD – which falls under the Finance Ministry – were revealed at a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts yester-day at the parliament building.

The meeting, presided by former home minister Mohiuddin Khan Alam-gir, discussed a report by the Comptrol-ler and Auditor General of Bangladesh (CAG) on its audit objection against the IRD during the 2008-09 � scal year.

Sources at the meeting said the CAG report revealed that IRD o� cials had given rebate worth Tk14.64 crore to private � rms beyond the jurisdiction of the division, causing signi� cant � nan-cial harm to the government.

Unscrupulous IRD o� cials also did not use Tk39.97 lakh worth of import-ed products – a fact which was also

revealed in the annual audit objection report by the CAG.

O� cials of the income tax o� ce also showed low sale � gures of application forms, causing losses worth Tk1.98 crore.

The parliamentary body directed the IRD to arrange a tripartite meeting among the IRD, the CAG and other of-� cials concerned to recover the misap-propriated funds with the help of the audit o� ce within 30 days, sources at the meeting added.

The IRD also did not � nd the exis-tence of a � rm which had caused the gov-ernment revenue losses worth around Tk8.47 crore along with losses in VAT worth Tk6.78 crore. The committee also asked the IRD to � nd the � rm within the stipulated time and recover the money.

The public accounts committee also found that the Green Line transporta-tion company did not pay Tk54.40 lakh worth of value added taxes during the 2008-09 � scal year and directed the IRD to recover the money within a month.

The body also directed the CAG to place its audit objection report before the parliament. l

‘Govt probing Khaleda’s meeting with public servants’n Rafe Sadnan Adel

The December 4 meeting of BNP Chair-person Khaleda Zia with a number of government o� cials at her o� ce would be “illegal” if they had discussed political matters, State Minister of the Public Administration Ministry Ismat Ara said yesterday.

According to the constitution, govern-ment o� cial cannot be involved with any political party directly or indirectly when he/she is in service, she said.

“We are investigating the matter and legal steps will be taken if anyone is found to have violated the law. The government will not take the issue lightly as it is a matter of discipline within the service,” Ismat added.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina too has warned of taking legal steps against the public servants after investigation.

Even though the BNP has been de-nying having any meeting with former or current government o� cials, mainly the OSDs (o� cer on special duty), on the December 4 night, media reports say at least 20 o� cials led by Joint Sec-retary AKM Jahangir met with Khaleda at her Gulshan o� ce. To topple the gov-ernment, Khaleda allegedly asked the o� cials to launch a platform – similar to the one organised by the Awami League when it was in opposition in 1996.

On November 24, 2006, Khaleda’s then energy adviser Mahmudur Rah-man held an alleged secret meeting with around 50 people including 15 government o� cials at his Uttara o� ce of Artisan Ceramics. Later from a press conference, Mahmudur termed it a so-cial gathering and blasted the media for violating his privacy.

In 2010, a sedition case was � led against Mahmudur and 15 other gov-ernment o� cials in this connection. The case is now pending because of a High Court stay order. l

SCBA moves against forgery at top courtn Tribune Report

From now on, lawyers attached with any association of the lower court will be able practice with the High Court lawyers as an apprentice only after se-curing a certi� cate of the Bangladesh Bar Council.

The Supreme Court Bar Association made the announcement yesterday through a press conference where its leaders warned that without ful� lling this criteria, no one would be given per-mission to enter the High Court arena or any chamber of a High Court lawyer.

Dhaka Tribune yesterday ran a re-port on forgery practices in the Su-preme Court, committed mainly by clerks who prepare fake documents and choose low-pro� le lawyers to move bail petitions for notorious criminals.

Those who have already been do-ing apprenticeship would have to wear “pupillage badge” provided by the SCBA, Khandker Mahbub Hossain, president of the association, said.

“We observed that wearing black coats and ties, some people are lobbying for cases and committing forgery in the court arena. They are not members of the Supreme Court Bar Association or any district Bar. They also do not have any certi� cate of the Bangladesh Bar Council.

“They are just ruining the dignity of the court.”

He also came down heavily on the clerks who assist the lawyers. “Some clerks are also found to have been in-volved in forgery. We will begin prepar-ing a list of them. Without having per-mission and registration, no one will be able to become a clerk.” l

Third witness testi� es at tribunal in ‘Siraj Kosai’ casen Tribune Report

A martyr’s wife yesterday told the In-ternational Crimes Tribunal 1 that war crimes accused Sheikh Sirajul Haque alias Siraj Master, accompanied by razakars, had killed her husband and other relatives during the 1971 Libera-tion War.

Kamala Rani Chakrabarty, 60, who was 16 years’ old during the war, testi-� ed as the third prosecution witness in the case � led against three war crimes accused of Bagerhat including Siraj Master, who was also known as “Siraj Kosai” for his brutality.

She said Siraj Master along with his seven or eight associates attacked their house and shot dead her husband Po-ritosh Chakrabarty and father-in-law Nishikanto Chakrabarty.

“They hacked to death my grandfa-ther-in-law Binod Chakrabarty. They also looted our house and set it on � re,” the witness said adding that she and some other neighbours were hiding in a nearby garden.

“As my two-month-old daughter was crying, villagers who took shelter with me asked me to stop her fear-ing that the razakars might � nd and kill them. Then I stu� ed cloths in my daughter’s mouth.”

Kamala said after the razakars had left, she with the help of villagers bur-ied the bodies. Later she left for India as a refugee.

State-appointed defence counsel Mohammad Abul Hossain cross exam-ined the witness.

The case was adjourned until today. Sirajul is facing six charges for his al-leged involvement in crimes against humanity.

Meanwhile, the prosecution yes-terday completed placing opening statement in the case against fugitive accused Syed Mohammad Hassan alias Hassan Ali.

Hassan is facing six charges for his alleged crimes against humanity in Kishoreganj during the war. l

‘Poor infrastructure major barrier to industrialisation’n Shohel Mamun

The lack of infrastructural facilities – which is a by-product of bureaucratic tangles – was one of the major barriers to the industrialisation of the country, speakers at a programme said yester-day.

They also observed that the com-plexity of getting bank loans, insu� -cient road and rail services, political instability and lack of proper planning were some of the other barriers for the development of business in the country.

The observations were made at a programme titled “Infrastructure – The Road to Chittagong & Beyond” held at the Bangabandhu International Con-ference Centre, organised by garment manufacturers’ apex body BGMEA on the occasion of the � rst Dhaka Apparel Summit.

Tou� q-e-Elahi Chowdhury, energy adviser to the prime minister, said the

government was thinking about im-porting gas from Myanmar to meet the demand of garment factories, as part of the need to double the country’s power generation for providing electricity to everyone.

Terming the incumbent government a “qualitative one,” Tou� q said: “We have � xed our goals. In the ready-made garments sector, our plan is to achieve $50bn business target, and it is possible by 2021.”

He said the government was plan-ning to set up a deep-sea port for the betterment of trade, adding that it has also set a target to become a middle-in-come country by 2021.

Also speaking at the programme, BNP Standing Committee member Ab-dul Moyeen Khan claimed that it was possible to achieve the export target if the bureaucratic tangles were removed.

“Achieving the export target is not a challenge, the challenge is resources.

We have to develop infrastructures and resolve bureaucratic tangles to achieve export target,” he said.

Moyeen Khan, also a former min-ister, said policymakers repeatedly talked about progress of the six-lane Dhaka-Chittagong highway, but the much expected highway was yet to be completed.

“Among the six lanes, four lanes are yet to be completed. If this continues then it might take seven more years to complete the expected six lanes.”

Former US ambassador James F Moriarty, also a board member of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, said industries should ensure safe workplace and workers’ rights to achieve the vision of reaching the $50bn business target.

SM Fazlul haque, former president of BGMEA, said political stability was needed to achieve the vision of $50bn by 2021.

Mikio Hataeda, chief representative of JICA, said the Japanese organisation has identi� ed a few sites and conduct-ed feasibility study to support the es-tablishment of a special economic zone and some road and rail infrastructure.

World Bank’s lead economist in Ban-gladesh, Dr Zahid Hussain, said: “We need minimum $74bn and maximum $100bn to develop the infrastructure in the south Asian region.”

Zaidi Sattar, chairman of Policy Re-search Institute of Bangladesh (PRI), said energy, transport and port were crucial elements to maintain the export growth.

The programme was presided by BGMEA representative Asif Ibrahim, who called for taking e� ective steps to expedite the implementation of the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway project and ensuring upgrades and regular mainte-nance of the existing roads for smooth transportation of RMG products. l

Pedestrians, including a policeman, are seen crossing the road instead of using the nearby foot over-bridge. The situation seems back to square one with the end of the much-talked-about drive against jaywalking. The photo was taken from the Airport Road in the capital yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

BNP denies having any meeting with former or current government o� cials on December 4

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, December 8, 2014

3 Bangladeshi teens returned by BSFn Our Correspondent,

Chuadanga

Two Bangladeshi teenagers returned home through Ch-uadanga’s Dorshona border yesterday after serving two-and-a-half years in an Indi-an safe home.

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) handed them over to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) o� cials by holding a � ag meeting at a no man’s land near Dor-shona’s Joynagar check-post yesterday around 12:30pm.

The two boys named Sumit Saha, 14 and Jewel Rahman, 15, hailed from Charraninagar-Bokchar vil-lage of Chapainawabganj.

They said two and a half years back, they had gone to Murshidabad’s Lalgola and Maldaha to work at con-struction sites crossing the border illegally. A team of BSF caught them while they were returning.

An Indian court awarded Jewel and Sumit two-and-a-half years and one-and-a-half years of jail term respectively. As they were under 18, they were kept at a safe-home under local jail custody in Baharampur of Murshidabad.

Darshana Immigration In-Charge Sub-Inspector Mahbubur Rahman said af-ter the end of their jail term, Bangladesh National Wom-an Lawyers Association and Prajok, a non-government organisation of India, joint-ly took the initiative to bring them back home.

The two were handed over to Damurhuda police station in Chuadanga from where they were handed over to their family mem-bers, said Damurhuda police station OC Kamruzzaman. l

Asia Energy could shut its doors soon if mining deal not reached n Aminur Rahman Rasel

Amid resistance to its proposed open pit mining project at Phulbari, Asia En-ergy Corporation, Bangladesh subsid-iary of the UK-based GCM Resources, may wrap up its business within two or three years, company sources said.

The company has reduced its capi-talised project-related expenditure this year to £0.8 million from £1.9 million in the last � nancial year and minimised its Dhaka o� ce, the company’s 2014 annual general meeting (AGM) will be told tomorrow in London.

But Gary Lye, chief executive o� cer of Asia Energy Bangladesh and chief operating o� cer of GCM Resources, sound a positive note, saying: “There is considerable support from local people for the project and it is growing. People are now well convinced that the project will bring signi� cant positive changes in their life and livelihoods including jobs, business opportunities and higher living standards.”

Two weeks ago, protesters against the open pit mining proposal attacked and vandalised the mine site o� ces and imposed a day-long road and rail blockade of the area during a visit to the area by CEO Gary Lye and his wife Nana Lye.

According to Asia Energy, about 40,000 people will be relocated and 5,933 hectares of land will be directly a� ected, of which around 4,000 hect-ares is agricultural land.

The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports, an activist organisation, has joined local protesters for the last few years against Asia Energy’s bid to con-duct open pit mining at Phulbari coal mine.

“We are yet to take decision on whether Asia Energy will stay or not,” Secretary of Energy and Mineral Re-sources Division Md Abu Bakar Sid-dique said.

The Phulbari coal project has been on hold since 2006 due to intense local opposition. Three people were killed

and many more injured when paramil-itary o� cers opened � re on a protest against the mine in 2006.

On November 12, 2014 Michael Tang, executive chairman of GCM, stated: “We have restructured operations from a cost perspective and I am pleased to advise that the loss for the year ended 30 June 2014 was £1.3 million, com-pared to £3.2 million in the previous � nancial year.”

“Capitalised project-related expen-diture during the year was £0.8 million compared to £1.9 million in the last � -nancial year. Whilst reducing costs has been a key focus for the company, we have also ensured that the necessary expertise and resources are in place to continue pursuing project approval,” he said.

GCM has identi� ed a coal resource of 572 million tonnes at the Phulbari coal project in North-West Bangladesh. They are awaiting approval from the Bangla-desh government to develop the project.

“The ruling Awami League-led al-liance government did not implement the Phulbari deal because there is pub-lic opposition to open pit mining. If they allow extraction of coal by the open pit method there will be massive environ-mental destruction,” Anu Mohammad, member secretary of the National Com-mittee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Re-sources, Power and Ports said.

Lye, explaining the expenditures to date told the Dhaka Tribune: “It is com-mon for a project which is still in devel-oping stage and not generating any rev-enues. For Phulbari coal mine, it will require signi� cant capital investment of about US$1 billion to get the � rst coal on the ground.”

“In total, we have expended about US$68 million as of June 30, 2014. Most of these expenses were incurred for resource de� nition and social and en-vironmental studies associated with mine development,” he said.

“We are still awaiting project ap-proval and we have an obligation to keep the local community fully in-formed on the project,” he said. l

DU admission seekers submit memo to PM n Arif Ahmed

Students demanding the restoration of a system that allowed admission seekers to sit for entrance exams for a second time at Dhaka University (DU) yesterday submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Mohammad Nizam Uddin, an of-� cial at the Prime Minister’s O� ce (PMO), received the memorandum around 2:00pm.

Earlier around 11:00am, some 100 to 150 agitating students gathered in front of the Raju Monument on the universi-ty campus and later marched towards the PMO to submit the memorandum.

Police intercepted the students at the Shahbagh intersection around 11:30am and charged batons to disperse them.

Some 8-10 students were injured in the incident. The injured are Farzana Akthar Eti, Shakil Ahmed, Ahasan Habib, Alamin, Ratul, Tanjid, Imon, Delwar and Nishi. They took primary treatment at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Police, however, allowed six repre-sentatives of the students to go to the PMO to submit the memorandum. The six members are Salman Khan, Raidul Islam, Razu Hasan, Aziz-ur Rahman, Emon Ahmed and Delowar Hossain.

At one stage, the rest of the students tried block the entrance road of DU in front of the National Museum.

To disperse the agitating students, police used water cannons. They also arrested three from the spot on charge of attacking the law enforcers by pelt-ing brick chips around 2:00pm.

The arrestees are admission seekers Riadul Islam, a HSC graduate from Uni-versity Laboratory College, and Ahasan Habib from Camilla Victoria College; and Bangladesh Chhatra Union Central Com-mittee organising secretary Zilani Shuvo.

Shahbagh Police Station Inspector Md Habil said: “Bhutan’s prime minis-ter is in Bangladesh now. Many VIPs are using the road [the Shahbagh road]. We used water cannons to disperse them when they tried to block the road,” he said.

“The arrestees will be freed soon,” he said.

However, an o� cial at the police station told the Dhaka Tribune in the evening that a process of � ling a case against the arrestees was underway.

Salman Khan, an admission seeker, said: “The authorities of the university are using police to control us. But we will not stop our movement until the authorities change their decision”.

On October 14, the DU university au-thorities decided not to allow admission seekers to appear in the � rst year honors entrance exams for the second time.

Since then, the admission seekers have been demonstrating for over one and half months demanding the can-cellation of the decision.

They also observed a hunger strike for � ve days at the Central Shaheed Mi-nar last month.

The admission seekers and some pro-gressive student organisations brought out two separate processions on the DU campus in the evening, demanding im-mediate release of the arrestees. l

Tortured domestic help rescued n Tribune Report

Police rescued a teenage domestic help in an injured state from an apartment in the capital’s Segun Bagicha yester-day.

The victim Shampa Banu, 13, daugh-ter of Hamidul Islam of Naogan district, was tortured allegedly by her employ-ers, Shams Bayazid, a businessman and his wife Taposhi Rabeya, an employee of a private bank.

After primary treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), she was taken under police custody.

Tejgaon police station OC Md Selim Miah said Shampa had worked at the couple’s house for last � ve months. They rescued her after neighbours informed them that she was going through continuous torture.

Quoting Shampa, police said the couple used to beat her up with sticks whenever she made a mistake, who had also cut her hair as a punishment, l

JS body annoyed by delay in dredger purchasen Tribune Report

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Water Resources Ministry yester-day expressed annoyance as the gov-ernment has yet to procure dredging machines to improve river navigability, even after two years of tender call.

At the parliamentary watchdog’s sixth meeting, it asked the ministry to procure the machinery soon that are fac-ing loss of navigability due to siltation.

The ministry invited tender for 11 dredgers in 2011, but none of them has arrived yet.

“We recommended the ministry to � nish the procurement task soon, al-though it should have been done by now,” said AKM Fazlul Haque, one of the members of the standing committee.

“The ministry informed us that � ve of the machines would arrive by March next year,” he added.

He also told the Dhaka Tribune that the committee suggested the ministry to procure more dredging machines as most of the existing machines have gotten old and ine� cient, and their op-eration duration has expired.

There are around 230 rivers in the country that are considered its lifelines, as the country’s agriculture system is largely dependent on these for irrigation.

However, most of them, including the Brahmaputra, Padma and Meghna, face siltation every year which decreas-es their navigability, causing over� ow of water during the monsoon, which results in � oods.

The committee also suggested that the government implements the pro-posed project on developing the drain-age system of Chhoto Feni River in Noakhali in a sustainable manner so that the people living in the area can be bene� ted. l

2nd death anniv of Khan Sarwar today n Tribune Report

The second death anniversary of prominent edu-cationalist Prof Khan Sarwar Mur-shid will be ob-served today, says a press release. He was also one

of the organisers of the Liberation War . A Doa Mah� l, placing wreaths at his

grave in Mirpur Shahid Buddhijibi Grave-yard and distributing food among the destitute s have been chalked out to mark the occassion. Khan’s family members urged people to join the programmes.

Khan Sarwar was an adviser of the country’s � rst prime minister Tajuddin Ahmed and a member of Mujibnagar commission. Later, he served as am-bassador to Poland and Hungary and chairman of Transparency Internation-al Bangladesh (TIB). l

Police bar the Dhaka University aspirants who have been demonstrating for a second chance to appear in the admission tests in Shahbagh area of the capital yesterday as they headed to the Prime Minister’s O� ce to submit a memorandum MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Selima Rahman’s motorcade attacked in Barisal; four injured n Our Correspondent, Barisal

At least four BNP activists sustained injuries as the motorcade of BNP vice-chairperson and former minister Begum Selima Rahman was attacked at Muladi upazila in Barisal yesterday.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Seli-ma claimed that activists of the Ban-gladesh Chhatra League attacked her motorcade when she was passing by Muladi Degree College, on her way to the upazila to attend a rally.

“They damaged four motorcycles and injured four BNP activists,” she said.

Seeking anonymity, a witness told the Dhaka Tribune that the Chhatra League members chased and attacked the mo-torcade with sticks around 11:30am.

However, Jubayer Ahmed Jewel, president of Chhatra League’s Muladi

upazila unit, denied the allegation of Chhatra League’s involvement in the incident.

“BNP’s Muladi unit has factions which are rivals. It may have been the rival factions that attacked the motor-cade, and now the BNP leader is shift the blame on the Chhatra League,” he said.

Alauddin Milon, o� cer-in-charge of Muladi police station, also said that the Chhatra League was not involved in the incident.

“The Chhatra League activists as-sembled in front of the college to re-ceive Awami League-backed upazila Vice-Chairman Mainul Hasan Sabuj, who returned home from abroad,” the OC said.

Chaos ensued as the panicked BNP activists were seen on a rush to move away from the con� ict, witnesses said. l

7-day HC stay order on CCC mayor’s house construction n Tribune Report

The High Court yesterday issued a sev-en-day stay order on the construction of a house for the Chittagong City Cor-poration (CCC) mayor by cutting down hills in the Tigerpass area in Chittagong.

A HC bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman passed the order in response to a petition � led by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).

The court also ordered the Chit-tagong DC and the DoE director (en-forcement) to visit the area and submit a report within seven days.

Besides, the court issued a ruling asking the authorities concerned and the CCC to explain why they should not be ordered to stop the cutting of hills and the removal of construction mate-rials from the site.

The court � xed December 14 for passing further order in this regard. l

WEATHER

PRAYER TIMES Fajr 5:09am Sunrise 6:28am Zohr 11:50am Asr 3:35pm Magrib 5:11pm Esha 6:32 pm

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 5:11PM SUN RISES 6:30AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW30.0ºC 12.9ºCSyhlet Sitakunda

MONDAY, DECEMBER 8

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 27 16Chittagong 29 18Rajshahi 27 13Rangpur 26 14Khulna 28 13Barisal 28 15Sylhet 28 15Cox’s Bazar 28 19

5NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, December 8, 2014

PARTLY CLOUDY

Signi� cant war sites in need of preservationn Our Correspondent, Barisal

Many historical sites in Barisal, which bear witness to the tumultuous times of the Liberation War in 1971, are in sham-bles and in urgent need of restoration and preservation, freedom � ghters and concerned locals said on the occasion of the “Liberation Day” of Barisal today.

“We demand immediate preservation of these sites and memorials connected to the Liberation War,” said Mokhlesur Rahman, commander of Barisal Sadar Upazila Muktijoddha Parishad.

One of the most important sites re-lated to the war is the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) com-plex on the bank of Kirtankhola River.

When the Pakistan Army took over Barisal town on April 25, 1971, they made the Wapda complex their region-al headquarters and cantonment.

During the war, the occupation army and its local collaborators ran their op-eration in the surrounding areas from the Wapda complex. It was also the detention and torture centre and the killing ground for the captured free-dom � ghters and their sympathisers. After killing the freedom � ghters, the occupiers dumped their bodies in the Kirtankhola River.

On the night of December 7, as the Pakistan Army realised they were los-ing control over Barisal, they along with some of the collaborators tried to � ee via the river, but their vessels were gunned down by the Indian Air Force.

After the freedom � ghters took back control of Barisal on December 8 af-ternoon, the rest of the Pakistan Army collaborators took shelter inside the Wapda complex. Later on December 18, they surrendered peacefully to Nurul Islam Manjur, the then district Awami League secretary and organiser of lib-eration movement in Barisal, and Mah-

fuz Alam Beg, sub-sector commander.A site of such a historical signi� -

cance, it is on the verge of total de-struction, said Enayet Hossain Chow-dhury, former joint convener of the Barisal District Muktijoddha Parishad.

Many locals and freedom � ghters also claimed that negligence of the au-thorities concerned was a major reason behind the current state of the Wapda complex and other memorial sites.

Sources said the city corporation is supposed to look after these sites and build memorials where appropriate, but they hardly took any action in this regard.

Only three memorials – an unnamed memorial adjacent to the Wapda com-plex, Shahid Smriti Pholok – contain-ing the names of the martyrs – near the deputy commissioner’s o� ce, and Bijoy Bihongo (the bird of victory) at Amtala crossing in the city were constructed in 2004, 2006 and 2009, respectively.

O� cials at Barisal City Corporation told the Dhaka Tribune that lack of funds hindered the process of building new and maintaining the existing me-morials in Barisal city.

“The Ministry of Liberation War Af-fairs allocates the funds required for tasks like this. When we get the money, we will be able to do something in this regard,” Nikhil Chandra Das, CEO of Barisal City Corporation, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Liberation Day to be celebratedBarisal District Muktijoddha Sangsad is organising a rally today from Barisal Government Girls School to mark the 43rd anniversary of Barisal’s liberation.

A discussion and cultural function will also be held at Muktijoddha Sang-shad auditorium in the city.

Besides, Bangladesh Udichi Shilpi Gosthi’s Barisal unit will arrange a dis-cussion and cultural event at the Bijoy Bihongo in Amtala in the afternoon. l

Three college killed in Rajshahi road accident n RU Correspondent

Three female students were killed and 30 others injured as a bus fell into a roadside ditch after a head-on collision with another bus on the Dhaka-Rajsha-hi Highway in Rajshahi city yesterday.

The deceased were identi� ed as Mahmuda Akter Tania, a 1st year stu-dent of the Social Work department of Rajshahi College, Shima and Sharmin, 2nd year students of the History and

the Management departments of the college.

Police said the bus locally known as “Lucky” was carrying female students of the Rajshahi College. It fell intothe ditch in front of Katakhali Jute Mill after a head-on collision with a Ra-jshahi-bound bus belonging to Islam Paribahan, killing the three girls on the spot and injuring 30 others.

On receiving information, � re � ght-ers rushed to the spot, recovered the

bodies and rescued the injured people. Of the injured, 13 people were sent to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital in critical condition.

The bodies were sent to hospital morgue for a post-postmortem exami-nation. Later, � re � ghters salvaged the wreckage of the bus.

However, a � ve-member probe body has been formed by the college authorities in the evening with Prof Mosharraf Hos-sain of Mathematics department as head.

Others members of the body includ-ed Prof Al Faruk and Oliur Rahman of Bangla, Dr Kamal Hossain of History and Prof Abdur Razzak of Management department.

Prof Habibur Rahman, the principal of the college, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had � led a case in this con-nection.

The probe body has been asked to submit its report within 8 working days, Habibur added. l

Minor girl violatedn Our Correspondent, Jhenidah

A second-grader was allegedly molest-ed by a 40-year-old man at Radhakan-tapur village in Sadar upazila on Sat-urday. Later, she was admitted to Jhenidah Sadar Hospital.

The girl’s father who is a farmer said one of his neighbours named Afajul Shah, son of Monta Shah, had forcefully picked up her daughter to an isolated betel leaf garden around 3pm while she was collecting dry leaves and raped her.

When she returned home, her moth-er witnessed the severe bleeding and got admitted her to the hospital in crit-ical condition. In this regard, the vic-tim’s father yesterday � led a case with Jhenidah Sadar police station against Afajul Shah.

Dr Imdadul Islam, senior consultant of Gynaecology department of the hos-pital, said the condition of the girl has been improving gradually. l

Fire service o� cials carry an injured college student out of a bus rented by the Rajshahi College that fell into a roadside ditch yesterday following a collision with another bus in front of the Rajshahi Katakhali Jute Mills AZAHAR UDDIN

SHUJAN for strengthening EC for fair pollsn Our Correspondent, Sylhet

Sushasoner Jonno Nagorik ( SHUJAN) yesterday demanded the strengthening of the Election Commission to conduct free and fair elections across the country.

Civil society members came up with the demand at a dialogue arranged by SHUJAN in Sylhet.

They said as the January 5 election this year was not held under the care-taker government, it could not achieve credibility both at home and abroad. The giant political parties need to play stronger roles to ensure political stabil-ity in the country.

Chairman of SHUJAN Sylhet unit Faruq Mahmud Chowdhury conducted

the session while Central Coordinator of Shujan Dilip Kumar Sarker presented a national draft proposal to resolve key political issues.

In the draft, he made suggestions for three political stages – pre-election, at election and post-election. He called on the political parties to reach a con-sensus over the democratic practices for conducting elections.

“No” votes should be sustained in order to signify the voters’ choices and re-elections should be arranged ac-cordingly, he said.

The speakers presented four pro-posals for strengthening the Election Commission: political parties must adopt a democratic attitude, follow

proper electoral rules and proceedings, � lter corrupt politicians through fair probe when giving nominations, and stern action to be taken by the Election Commission to implement the elector-al code of conduct and empower voters by providing necessary information.

Although the January 5 election was boycotted by the then opposition par-ty, scores of violence took place while casting of votes. Violence during vote casting and post-election unrest was a common practice in our political scene, they said.

A memorandum of understanding to resolvesuch issues, should be signed by all the political parties, they sug-gested. l

'Failing to wage movement BNP is hatching conspiracy'n Our Correspondent, Comilla

Road Communication and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said that the BNP, after failing to wage movement, was trying to hatch con-spiracy against the government and the country in the middle of the night.

The minister made the remark on a visit to the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway in the Comilla Cantonment area.

A group of incumbent and former government o� cials held a meeting with BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan o� ce on Thursday.

At the meeting, around 20 government functionaries, mainly OSDs (O� cers on Special Duty) and BNP-minded o� cials, were asked to form a Janatar Mancha-like platform to mount pressure on the gov-ernment, meeting sources said.

But the BNP issued a press release on Friday claiming that the reports on the meeting were false and baseless

About the meeting, the minister said the government o� cials who should obey rules and regulations, violated them and held a meeting with the BNP chairperson who is neither the opposi-tion leader nor a lawmaker. l

Ambulance strike at CMCH called o� n Tribune Report

The private ambulance owners-em-ployes called for a halt their strike yes-terday following an assurance from the Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) authorities to meet their de-mand.

When asked, Dr Muzibul Haque, president of Bangladesh Medical Asso-ciation (BMA) in Chittagong con� rmed it to the Dhaka Tribune, saying the de-cision is result of a meeting between

the leaders of Chittagong Halka Mor-torjan Ambulance Malik-Sramik So-monnay Committee and them at CMCH around 2:30pm.

During the meeting, city Awami League General Secretary AJM Nasir Uddin, CMCH Principal Dr Selim Md Jahangir and BMA Vice-President Dr Md Mahbub Haque were also present among others.

The committee’s Joint Secretary Anwar Hossain said their service was resumed around 5pm when the CMCH

authorities allowed them to park ten ambulances inside its boundary. “From now we can park ten vehicles on the east corner of the CMCH,” he added.

The organisation went into the strike from Wednesday as police had seized their three ambulances from a road in front of the CMCH and lodged two cas-es against them for illegal parking.

During the strike, the patients and the relatives of the deceased visiting the hospital have experienced im-mense su� erings. l

The IDEB Women and Family Welfare Associarion forms a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday, demanding arrest of the killers of physician Shamarukh Mahjabin Shama NASHIRUL ISLAM

Dense fog disrupts ferry services on Kawrakandi, Daulatdia routesn Tribune Report

Ferry services on the Daulatdia-Paturia and Shimulia-Kawrakandi routes came to a halt yesterday for several hours be-cause of dense fog.

The ferry services between the Shimulia-Kawrakandi route along the Padma River resumed after � ve hours, causing tailback on both sides of the river, our Munshiganj correspondent reported.

Hundreds of vehicles, including per-ishable goods-laden truck, waited in long queues in the morning.

Assistant Manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) in charge of Shimulia pontoon Shekhar Chandra Roy said they had been compelled to suspend the ferry services around 4am due to thick fog.

“We started ferry services around 9am,” he said.

Dense fog forced nine ferries left from both ghats to anchor in the mid-dle of the river causing about 1,000 passengers and 200 vehicles to spend the night in the middle of the river.

“About 200 hundred vehicles got stuck on both sides because of the dis-ruption, creating immense su� ering to the commuters,” he added.

Meanwhile, ferry services on the Daulatdia-Paturia route along the Pad-ma River resumed in the morning after

a four-hour disruption for thick fog, re-ports UNB.

Mahiuddin Rasel, manager of Bang-ladesh Inland Water Transport Corpo-ration (BIWTC) at Aricha, said the ferry services as well as the plying of other

water vessels came to a halt at 4amdue to blurred visibility caused by dense fog.

Two ferries with a large number of vehicles and passengers were kept an-chored at Daulatdia while three were at Paturia.

Eleven ferries stood in the middle of the Padma river since 4am.

Passengers and a good number of vehicles were waiting to cross on either side of the river.

Ferry services on the important route resumed around 8am as fog start-ed disappearing after sunrise. l

Dense fog forced nine ferries left from both ghats to anchor in the middle of the river causing about 200 vehicles to spend the night in the middle of the river

6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, December 8, 2014

Outlaw killedin gun� ghtn Our Correspondent,

Kushtia

An outlawed leader of Pur-ba Bangla Communist Party (PBCP) was killed in a gun-� ght with police in Bhanga Battala area under Mirpur upazila in Kushtia yesterday

The deceased was identi-� ed as Enamul,35, a regional commander of Janajuddho (ML-Lal Pataka), a faction of the PBCP.

Kazi Jalal Uddin Ahmed, o� cer-in-charge of Mirpur police station said Enamul and his cohorts demanded a large sum of money as ille-gal toll from Shahidul Islam, owner of a brick � eld in the area.

“Tipped-o� , a joint team of Detective Branch (DB) of police and Mirpur police sta-tion conducted a drive in the area aroundt 3:15am to arrest them when the gang came to the area to take the toll mon-ey from Shahidul,” he said.

Sensing the presence of the law enforcers, Enamul and his associates attacked the law enforcers, triggering a gun� ght.

The OC Uddin said at least 30 to 35 bullets were exchanged between the law enforcers and the PBCP ac-tivists, leaving him dead.l

AL leader killed in train accidentn Our Correspondent,

Habiganj

A local Awami League leader was crushed under the wheels of a train at Harashpur Rail-way Station in Madhabpur upazila yesterday.

The deceased was identi-� ed as Murshed Kamal Mos-hahid, 36, joint secretary of Lakhai upazila AL unit and former chairman of Bulla union council.

When Kamal got down from a train for water and crushed under the wheels of another train. He died on the spot. SI Osman Gani of Shaistaganj Railway police outpost said. l

SSC candidates count extra feesn Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj

Students in Kishoreganj’s Sadar and Tarail upazila are allegedly being made to pay fees more than what the board has set for sitting secondary school cer-ti� cate examinations next year.

This correspondent found such alle-gations at di� erent schools in the dis-trict’s Tarail upazila and Sadar upazila , but he focused on one school only since the allegations are not much dif-ferent among students and their guard-ians from school to school.

Sources said the Purura High School, which falls under 2 No Rauti Union Parishad, held preliminary exams to see how prepared its 216 students this year. Only 10 students passed the ex-aminations.

Of 206 students, some 190 passed in less than � ve subjects while some 20 others passed in � ve subjects in the

qualifying examinations. However, none was being left out of the next year exams, they said.

Guardians termed this result frus-trating and said this result was made up and the school teachers and manag-ing committee might have made it up only to earn money illegally by charg-ing fees from students who had failed in the exams.

Guardian Khokon Uddin Bhuiyana said his daughter Reshma Akhter from arts group had failed in four subjects and so she had to pay Tk1800 to � ll up her form while other students had paid more than her ranging from Tk2500 to 2800.”

Student Tamanna Akhter from commerce group said she had to pay Tk2500 to � ll up her form because she had failed in more than one subjects in the exams.

Guardian Jahirul Islam, who does business in the Pururha bazar, said his

son had to pay extra fees for � lling up his form because he had failed in three subjects in the examinations.

Former teacher of the school So-jatullah Sujon said he had heard from quite a number of students that they had to pay the total fees ranging from Tk2800 to 2900 to � ll up their forms. However, none could show any receipt for it.

The Dhaka Education Board has � xed Tk1085 as board fee for a student from science group and Tk995 for a student from commerce or arts group. It has set Tk300 as centre fee and Tk100 as late fee for any SSC candidate.

The board fee and centre fee all-in-clusively must not cross Tk1400 on any excuse for coaching or anything else, according to a notice found on the board’s website yesterday.

Teacher Mohiuddin of the school said there were only 10 teachers for

1808 students at the school. There were six teacher vacancies in the school but they could not be being � lled up for lack of cooperation from locals.

To make up the teacher crisis, ten teachers had been appointed and just for paying them some salary, the school was charging some extra fees from stu-dents, he added.

When asked, Pururha High School Headmaster Md Mujibur Rahman ad-mitted that they were charging extra fees, adding: We are also charging no fees or not more than Tk300 from stu-dents who are poor, such as no fees have been charged from three stu-dents.”

SV Government Girls’ School, Hash-mat Uddin High School, Azim Uddin High School and Zilla Smarani Girls’ School are also allegedly Tk2500 to4500 as form � ll-up fees in the dis-trict’s Sadar upazila. l

Attack on journalist protestedn Our Correspondent, Bandarban

Journalists formed a human chain in front of Bandarban Press Club yester-day, protesting an attack on journalist Jahir Raihan, a correspondent of Dainik Bir Chattagram Mancha, a daily pub-lished from Chittagong.

Local journalists working in di� er-ent media organisations, including print, television and online, took part in the programme.

Bandarban Press Club President Os-

man Gani, General Secretary Minarul Haque, Prothom Alo Bandarban Corre-spondent Debajoyti Chakma, Chanel24’s Faridul Alam and Dainik Janakantha’s S Basu Dash, among others, spoke on the occasion. The speaker said they would launch tougher movement if the attack-ers were not brought under law soon.

On December 6, some miscreants attacked Jahir Raihan, also a corre-spondent of Baishakhi television in Bandarban, with sticks in Bandarban Stadium area following publication of a

series of news articles in the Dainik Bir Chattagram Mancha.

The news articles said some leaders and activists of Bandarban district unit and Naikhangchari Upazilla unit of the ruling Awami League were involved in the activities of Rohingya Solidarity Or-ganisation (RSO), an insurgent group in the Arakan state of Myanmar.

On December 4, leaders and activist of Chhatra League, Jubo League, and Shra-mik League brought out a protest proces-sion against Jahir in Bandarban town. l

Irregularity in school teacher recruitmentn Our Correspondent, Gopalganj

A number of applicants who applied for teaching jobs at Noiarbari Bahumukhi High School in Kotalipara but were re-jected have alleged irregularities in the recruiting process.

They claimed the two candidates se-curing the � rst place in business stud-ies and computer studies tests were not appointed, adding that those who paid bribes were recruited eventually.

The tests were held on November 10, where Animesh Baroi and Naresh Chandra Biswas scored the highest marks in tests for business studies and computer studies respectively.

But Madhusudon Baroi, headmas-ter of the school, allegedly took bribes and appointed Basudev Baroi in the subject of business studies and Uttam

Adhikary in computer studies. The headmaster denied any wrong-

doing, saying he did not take bribes and also avoided clarifying why the ap-pointees were recruited despite scoring less.

Animesh Baroi claimed the head-master asked him to pay bribes but he did not.

“This is why I did not get the job,” he said.

President of the school committee Komol Haldar also denied the allega-tion of bribery, saying the recruitment was done in compliance with the rules.

“There have been no irregularities in the recruitment,” he claimed.

Upazila Secondary Education Of-� cer Mahabubur Rahman said action would be taken if the allegation was found to be true. l

Newborn falls victim to vengeancen Our Correspondent, Narsingdi

A newborn baby died because of the vengeful act by a ward boy of Narsingdi Bhelanagar Supreme General Hospital yesterday.

Father of the child Bishwajit Chan-dra Das said: “My wife gave birth to a healthy boy via cesarean on Tuesday. Today we were supposed to take re-lease from the hospital.”

He alleged that the manager of the hospital and also a ward boy Uzzal had demanded Tk200 from him.

“As I refused to pay him the mon-ey, he administered a wrong injection into my son which killed him within a while,” said Bishwajit.

Following the incident, the relatives of the dead and locals besieged the hospital around 10am yesterday.

By 12noon a team of police brought

the situation under control. “No high rank o� cer of the hospital

was found around during the agita-tion,” said Narsingdi Sadar Model po-lice station Assistant Superintendent Billal Hossain. Police had arrested the accused Uzzal and another ward boy of the hospital, said the ASI.

“We are trying to � nd out the reason behind the death of the newborn,” he said. l

Two growers take care of a cabbage � eld at Sagordighi in Tangail yesterday. Many farmers of the district have cultivated vegetables at mango orchard this year DHAKA TRIBUNE

7Special Monday, December 8, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Mizanur Rahman Shelley

Teacher, writer, diplomat, a top international o� cial Professor Khan Sarwar Murshid is the epitome of his exciting times. His life

and work capture the essence of cul-ture and re� nement which constitute the mark of modernity and progress.

He happens to be a distinguished member of the generation that trav-elled through turbulent times to wrest rich rewards for the national society. Born during the British Colonial rule

in South Asia, Khan Sarwar Murshid was a young man when the British re-treated and the subcontinent achieved freedom.

The price of independence in 1947 was the partition of the land into the new born states of India and Pakistan. As an inhabitant of the newly created Pakistan, Murshid began his carrier as lecturer of English language and literature in the Dhaka University. The year was 1948. Savage communal clashes that accompanied the partition created virtual rivers of blood and � re.

Hundreds of thousands were killed, millions displaced. The painful memory of unparalleled human su� ering caused by communal frenzy profoundly shocked and hurt the progressive segment of youth to which Murshid belonged. The tragic expe-rience did not diminish these young men and women. If anything, it made stronger their resolve to protect and preserve human values from all savage and barbaric onslaughts.

Murshid remained un� inchingly devoted to the cause throughout his life. As a teacher and cultural activist he worked resolutely to espouse the cause of humanity united in diver-sity. The vision he pursued from the dawn of intellect is that of a society thriving in harmony despite commu-nal and ethnic di� erences. A quiet and thoughtful man, he conducted his mission away from the noise and glitter of publicity.

Education, the � rst � ame of his life continued to be the last even as

he passed the twilight of his life in the second decade of the 21st centu-ry. Despite a brief though eventful adventure, in other words his prime, his abiding commitment has been to enlightenment through education.

He served as Ambassador of Bang-ladesh for sometime from 1975 and then as Assistant Secretary-General of the Commonwealth from 1977 to early 80s. He worked in these exalted sta-tions with characteristic competence and patience. The gloss and glitter of those high o� ces could not hold him captive for long.

He returned to teaching in the Dhaka University in 1982. Earlier, immediately after the liberation of Bangladesh in 1972, he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the war-ravaged Rajshahi University and virtually rebuilt and rehabilitated it physically and psychologically.

These short sojourns into the worlds of administration and manage-ment, national and international, must have put him to stress and strains. This, however, is the lot of men of contemplation who are compelled by moral imperatives to venture in the world of action. Plato depicts the predicament of the philosophers who have to act when their societies make such action compelling for achieve-ment of the greater good.

In Murshid’s case such compulsions came early. As a young teacher he headed cultural organisations such as Samaskriti Samsad, Dhaka Universi-ty (1951-53), edited and brought out the prestigious, progressive journal New Values (1949-66) and organised the centenary celebrations of poet Rabindranath Tagore as Secretary General of the celebration committee (1961).

It is to be noted that this was an act of courage in the prevailing situation in which the military regime of the Pakistani dictator Ayub Khan was op-posed to such expressions of distinc-tiveness of Bangali cultural identity.

The zenith of Professor Murshid’s activism for the national cause was reached during the period between 1960s to 70s. At that time he partici-pated, with all dedication in the mul-ti-dimensional process of liberation of Bangladesh.

In 1969 he accompanied Bangab-andhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to the abortive Round Table Conference held in Rawalpindi. In 1971 he served the Mujibnagar Government as a mem-ber of the Planning Commission and untiringly worked for the liberation of the country.

His participation in the challenging and rewarding endeavours for national liberation not only enriched his expe-

rience but also equipped him better to carry on his mission as a teacher � rst and teacher last.

My encounters with Professor KS Murshid were always encouraging and memorable. As a student of Political Science I did not have the opportunity to be directly taught by him. Neverthe-less, our paths crossed time and again from 1959 when I was a student of the � rst year BA Honours class.

Many of us, though belonging to other disciplines regularly attended the seminars of the English Depart-ment which were lively and enriching. Most of these were chaired by Pro-fessor Murshid and his enlightening and witty observations constituted a source of varied knowledge and last-ing joy. Classmate Syeda Umme Su� a, student of English who later became my wife, was a devoted student of Professor Murshid and never ceased to praise his capacity and skill as a gifted teacher.

I came closer to Professor Murshid during the period 1964-1967 when I served as teacher of the Political Science department of the Dhaka University. The love and a� ection he used to bestow upon me as a student continued uninterrupted even after I was inducted into the ranks of his junior colleagues.

I was delighted, almost enthralled, when in 1965 he asked me to review a book for the New Values. The work, “The Invisible Government” by Wise and Ross had created a stir in the intellectual and political circles at that time. It was a well-documented and scathing exposure of the dubious and deceitful operations of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in furthering the aggressive domination of the American establishment over the world in general, and the US in particular.

I worked hard and produced a crit-ical review but felt apprehensive that Prof Murshid might � nd it inadequate.

I was delighted beyond measure to see it published in the next issue of New Values. Before the journal came out Prof Murshid did not say anything but while handing over the number containing my writing he smiled as if to say, “OK, you have made the grade.”

l

It was a black day in the history of Dhaka University when noted econo-mist, Chairman of the Department of

Economics, Professor ANM Mahmud was beaten up by a few hooligans with connections to the govern-ment-backed students’ organisation that disliked him because of his leftist views. All teachers of the university and right-thinking students were shocked and outraged.

Dr Murshid was the Secretary-Gen-eral of the Dhaka University Teachers’ Associations (DUTA) at that time. We the teachers met at the Teachers Club and resolved to condemn the incident. Representatives of the press were waiting for the press release from the DUTA. Many of them pleaded with us for the statement.

I went to Prof Murshid who was � nalising the draft with characteris-tic caution and care. That took time and the pressmen were impatient. So was I. At one point as the clock ticked on, my impatience spilled over and I blurted out, “Sir, they are waiting. It’s getting late.” “Don’t fret, young man,” said Prof Murshid, “These things need to be prepared with great care.”

In impertinent sarcasm I retorted, “Sir, if you were the editor of a daily it would have come out once in a fortnight!” He stopped correcting the draft, took o� his glasses, stared at me with a look of great sadness and pain but did not say anything. He worked quietly on the draft for few more minutes, put the � nishing touch on it and gave it to me for typing and distribution.

I did the needful but felt greatly re-duce by my unforgivable impudence. Throughout all these years, almost half a century now, he has never mentioned that sad incidence and has not let it strain our relationship. I have not forgotten. Professor KS Murshid on his part has evidently forgiven me. Such is the everlasting sense of value of a generous and loving teacher who treats his students and juniors with unparalleled kindness.

As an inspiring teacher of English literature Professor Murshid has taught moving poetry to many gener-ations. “Poets,” he quoted PB Shelley, “are unacknowledged legislators to the world.”

He can add, “So are teachers, because they also shape the destinies of nations and the world by moving the minds of men.” Like many great teachers Professor KS Murshid may not be a poet but, as the noble rhythm of his extraordinary life tells us, “there is a poet in him.” l

Mizanur Rahman Shelley is a social scientist, educationist and litterateur.

The maestro of moving timesIn memory of Professor Khan Sarwar Murshid (July 1, 1924 – December 8, 2012), a distinguished member of the generation that travelled through turbulent times to wrest rich rewards for the nation

Professor Khan Sarwar Murshid COURTESY

Education, the � rst � ame of his life continued to be the last even as he passed the twilight of his life in the second decade of the 21st century

His participation in the challenging and rewarding endeavours for national liberation not only enriched his experience but also equipped him better to carry on his mission as a teacher � rst and teacher last

Murshid remained un� inchingly devoted to the cause throughout his life. As a teacher and cultural activist he worked resolutely to espouse the cause of humanity united in diversity

Monday, December 8, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE World8

Chokehold death protest gets violent in California

n AP, New York

Mostly peaceful protests of a grand jury’s decision not to indict a white police o� cer in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man continued around the country, but authorities said a march in California turned vi-olent when demonstrators smashed windows and threw bricks and rocks at police.

A Berkeley police o� cer received hospital treatment for a dislocated shoulder after being hit with a sandbag, while another sustained minor injuries,

police spokeswoman Jenn Coats said.She said several businesses were

looted and damaged during the march Saturday night, and o� cers attempt-ing to get the crowd to disperse used tear gas. Some squad cars were also damaged.

Authorities did not provide further details of any injuries or arrests. “The total number of arrests and injuries is not known at this time,” Coats said.

Thousands of demonstrators have protested peacefully in New York and elsewhere since the announcement Wednesday that a grand jury declined to

indict a white o� cer in the death of Eric Garner, a black man who gasped “I can’t breathe!” while being placed in a choke-hold as he was being arrested for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. The decision closely followed a Ferguson, Missouri, grand jury’s choice not to indict a white o� cer in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old.

The scope of the demonstrations and the lack of violence were moving to Garner’s mother and widow, they said Saturday.

“It is just so awesome to see how the crowds are out there,” said Eric

Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, who add-ed that she ended up stuck in her car after protests shut down tra� c.

“I was just so proud of that crowd,” Carr said. “It just warmed my heart.”

Garner’s widow, Esaw Garner, said she saw demonstrators from her apart-ment window and told her son, “Look at all the love that your father’s getting.”

O� cers have said the outcry over the grand jury decision has left them feeling betrayed and demonised by everyone from the president and the mayor to throngs of protesters who scream at them on the street. l

Six Guantanamo prisoners sent to Uruguay for resettlementn Reuters, Washington

Six men held for more than a decade at the US military pris-on at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were sent to Uruguay for re-settlement on Sunday, the Pentagon said, the latest step in a slow-moving e� ort by the Obama administration to close the facility.

The release of the four Syrians, a Tunisian and a Pales-tinian, who were � own to South America aboard a US mili-tary plane, represented the largest single group to leave the internationally condemned US detention camp since 2009.

President Barack Obama took o� ce nearly six years ago promising to shut the prison, citing its damage to America’s image around the world. But he has been unable to do so, partly because of obstacles posed by the US Congress. l

Iran ‘con� rms strikes against ISIL’n Agencies

A senior Iranian o� cial has con� rmed his country carried out air strikes in neighbouring Iraq against Islamic State of the Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) � ghters at the request of Iraqi authorities, Brit-ain’s Guardian newspaper has reported.

It quoted Deputy Foreign Minis-ter Ebrahim Rahimpour as saying the strikes were not coordinated with the United States, which is also waging an air campaign against the armed group that controls large parts of north and west Iraq.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s defence ministry, on Sunday, denied that any Iranian � ghter jets had targeted ISIL hideouts in Iraqi airspace.

The purpose of the strikes was “the defence of the interests of our friends

in Iraq,” the newspaper quoted Rahim-pour as saying in an interview in Lon-don on Saturday.

“We did not have any coordination with the Americans. We have coordi-nated only with the Iraqi government,” he said.

“In general, every military opera-tion to help the Iraqi government is according to their requests.”

Rahimpour’s reported comments were the � rst from an Iranian o� cial con� rming Iran’s role in the air strikes in the Iraqi province of Diyala, which borders Iran, in late November.

On Wednesday, an Iranian o� cial had denied that Iran had launched any such strikes.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Ab-badi said on Wednesday he had no knowledge of Iranian air strikes. l

Tests con� rm remains of one of 43 abducted Mexican studentsn Reuters

Tests have identi� ed the remains of one of 43 trainee teach-ers abducted 10 weeks ago in southwestern Mexico, a source close to the investigation said on Saturday, apparently con-� rming a feared massacre the government has blamed on drug gang henchmen.

The brazen attack has sent shockwaves through Mexico, shining a spotlight on the nexus between impunity, corrup-tion and drug gangs that has blighted Latin America’s No.2 economy for years.

President Enrique Pena Nieto is facing his deepest crisis over his government’s handling of the probe. The govern-ment says the students were murdered and incinerated, their remains then tipped into a garbage dump and a river.

Thousands marched in Mexico City on Saturday evening, chanting “Out Pena” and “They were taken alive, we want them alive.”

“If these disappearances and executions have grown over the years, it is because the authorities have permitted this to happen,” said Itzel Silva, a 38-year-old human rights lawyer. “People are fed up with impunity.” l

Israel opens new investigations into Gaza warn Agencies

The Israeli military has ordered eight new criminal investigations into cases involving Palestinian civilian casual-ties in this summer’s Gaza war, a move that is seen as another attempt to head o� international probe into the case.

More than 2,100 Palestinians, most-ly civilians, were killed during the 50-day con� ict, according to Palestinian and UN estimates.

While Israel is accused of deliberate-ly targeting civilian infrastructures, Tel Aviv says the number of civilians killed was much lower than reported and ac-cuses Hamas, the group ruling the strip, of using them as human shields.

On the Israeli side, 66 soldiers and six civilians died.

“While we’re all pleased about this development, we can’t really expect that these investigations will be ef-fective,” Emily Omer-Man, legal di-rector of the Yesh Din Security Forces Accountability Project, told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv.

“Previous investigations carried out by the Israeli Defence Forces have re-ally fallen short of international stan-dards of investigating,” Omer-Man said, adding that two key elements are independence and impartiality.

She added that Israel’s penal code has no room for holding commanders accountable, which means higher ranks

are never investigated or indicted.Israel has referred about 100 cases

to legal examination and 85 of them are currently under various stages of review.

“During and in the aftermath of the operation, the Military Advocate General received complaints regarding alleged incidents on behalf of Palestin-ian residents or by non-governmental organisations, Israeli, Palestinian and international,” Major General Danny Efroni said in a statement from the Is-raeli army.

Israel’s military advocate general says a professional fact-� nding mech-anism has helped decide which cases to investigate. l

Syria accused of using chlorine gas on ISILn Agencies

The Syrian government has been ac-cused of using chlorine gas against the Islamic State of the Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the latest allegations of chemi-cal weapons use in the country’s bitter con� ict.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday that ISIL � ght-ers showed the e� ects of a chlorine gas attack as government forces repelled an o� ensive on a key air base in the country’s east.

The UK-based watchdog, which opposes the government, said some the groups � ghters had breathing problems as they attempted to close in on the strategic Deir Ezzor military airport.

Syrian State TV quoted an unnamed military o� cial as saying troops re-pelled attempts by “terrorists” on sev-eral areas near the city of Deir Ezzor

and killed “tens of them and destroyed their vehicles and weapons.”

The station later aired footage of Syrian troops standing near bodies of dead � ghters it said were ISIL mem-bers who were killed.

SOHR said since ISIL launched their assault on Thursday, 51 of Assad’s forc-es and 68 ISIL � ghters had been killed, including two French citizens.

One of the last government-held ar-eas in Deir Ezzor province, the outpost is used by the regime to mount raids on ISIL positions in several areas across the country.

ISIL controls most of Deir Ezzor province, but half the provincial capi-tal remains in government hands.

The oil-rich province lies between ISIL-controlled Raqqa province and the border with Iraq, and is a key prize for ISIL which declared an widely un-recognised Islamic “caliphate” strad-dling the two countries in June. l

At least 13 killed in failed US bid to rescue hostages in Yemenn Reuters, Sanaa/Aden

A woman, a 10-year-old boy and a local al Qaeda leader were among at least 11 people killed alongside two Western hostages when US-led forces battled militants in a failed rescue mission in Yemen, residents said on Sunday.

US special forces raided the village of Dafaar in Shabwa province, a mil-itant stronghold in southern Yemen, shortly after midnight on Saturday, killing several members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

American journalist Luke Somers, 33, and South African teacher Pierre Korkie, 56, were shot and killed by their captors during the raid intended to secure the hostages’ freedom, US o� cials said.

US special forces who tried to res-cue photojournalist Luke Somers from al-Qaeda in Yemen were not aware of the identity of the other hostage held with him, a US o� cial has told the BBC.

A charity working with Mr Korkie said he was to have been freed on Sunday.

Its statement said the US rescue at-tempt had “destroyed everything.”

The US says the raid in southern Yemen was launched because they be-lieved there was an immediate threat to Somers’ life. AQAP, formed in 2006 by the merger of the Yemeni and Saudi branches of the network, has for years been seen by Washington as one of the movement’s most dangerous branches.

Western governments fear an ad-vance by Shi’ite Muslim Houthi � ght-ers with links to Iran has bolstered sup-port among Yemeni Sunnis for AQAP, which has established itself in parts of south and east Yemen. l

A protester � ees as police o� cers try to disperse a crowd comprised largely of student demonstrators during a protest in Berkeley, California early yesterday REUTERS

Unholy row as nativity scene ban divides Francen Guardian

It has been called the nativity war. A French court’s ban on a nativity scene in a town hall in order to preserve France’s secular traditions has triggered a � erce backlash.

“Why not ban Christmas and the public holidays that go with it?” thundered Le Parisien on Sunday. Its headline read: “Spare us a nativity war.” According to the newspaper, 86% of more than 12,000 readers surveyed were in favour of keep-ing nativity scenes in public places.

The court in Nantes ordered regional authorities in the western town of La Roche-sur-Yon to remove the crib from its building’s entrance hall, after a complaint from the secular campaign group Fédéra-tion Nationale de la Libre Pensée.

The council is appealing against the decision with the support of national politicians including the Front National leader Marine Le Pen, who described it as “stupid and blinkered secularism.” The local senator, Bruno Retailleau, is-sued a statement saying: “Next we’ll be banning epiphany cakes at the Élysée Palace.”

The Nantes tribunal invoked a 1905 law that enshrines the separation of state and church. But other town halls are � ghting similar decisions. In the southern town of Béziers, the FN-supported mayor, Robert Ménard, is refusing to dismantle a crib in the town hall in de� ance of a letter from the prefect ordering him to respect the constitutional and legislative principles guaranteeing secularism. Authorities in Melun, south-east of Paris, where a nativ-ity scene has been set up in the town hall gardens for the past 10 years, are awaiting

a court ruling.The controversy comes as the

government is anxious not to be seen as discriminating against only Muslims, who have been banned from wearing burqas or niqabs in public. But critics say the gov-ernment is leaning too far the other way to protect the country’s secular traditions.

Nadine Morano, an outspoken deputy with the centre-right UMP party, said “secularism must not kill our country, our roots and our traditions.”

A sociologist, Jean Baubérot, claimed the upholding of France’s religious “neutrality” had become an increasingly

aggressive and repressive secularism a� ecting Islam.

“The anti-Islamic climate is causing a crackdown on other religions,” he told Le Nouvel Observateur weekly magazine. But, he added, the law is the law, and “cribs are a religious symbol that has no place in a public space.”

France is struggling to contain sectarian tensions. The interior minister, Bernard Ca-zeneuve, speaking after the brutal robbery of a Jewish couple in a Paris suburb last week, announced on Sunday that the � ght against racism and antisemitism would be a “national cause.” l

Picture taken of a nativity scene displayed at the Beziers city hall on December 5. The mayor of Beziers, supported by the French far right Front national party (FN), Robert Menard wants to keep the Christmas creche installed in the town hall, despite of a letter of the Herault’s prefect urging him ‘to reconsider his project’ arguing that it violates the principles of secularism AFP

Monday, December 8, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE World 9

China slams Philippines over South China Sean AP, Beijing

China on Sunday again rejected an at-tempt by the Philippines to challenge its vast territorial claims over the South China Sea through international arbi-tration, a week before a deadline for Beijing to respond to the case.

China prefers to settle its disputes in discussions with the countries direct-ly involved. However, after China took control of a disputed shoal following a naval stando� with the Philippines near its coastline, Manila � led a case early last year with a tribunal operating under the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea. It provides a regulatory framework for the use of the world’s seas and oceans.

Xu Hong, director general of the For-eign Ministry’s Department of Treaty and Law, said the Philippines was “ob-stinately pushing forward arbitration procedures” and urged it to negotiate with Beijing instead. He told reporters that China was committed to rejecting and not participating in the arbitration proceedings.

However the arbitration works, “it won’t change the history or the facts of China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea islands as well as the adja-cent waters,” Xu said.

The document released Sunday elaborates on China’s previous argu-ments that territorial sovereignty is be-yond the scope of the tribunal.

The Philippine government will study China’s paper and may issue a response later. l

US hands Pakistan senior militant detained in Afghanistann Reuters, Kabul

The United States has handed to Paki-stan three prisoners including a senior Taliban militant held in Afghanistan, as Washington rushes to empty its Afghan prison before losing the legal right to detain people there at the end of the year.

US forces captured Latif Mehsud, the former number two commander in Pakistan’s faction of the Taliban, in October 2013, in an operation that an-gered then Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

Mehsud, a Pakistani, and his two guards were secretly � own to Paki-stan, two senior Pakistani security o� cials told Reuters. The US mili-tary con� rmed it transferred three prisoners to Pakistan’s custody on Saturday, but would not reveal their identities.

“TTP senior commander Latif Meh-sud who was arrested was handed over to Pakistani authorities along with his guards,” one Pakistani security o� cial said. “They reached Islamabad.”

The transfers coincide with a vis-it by outgoing US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to Afghanistan.

They also follow a spate of US drone strikes against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistani Taliban, and al Qaeda. On Saturday, the Paki-stani military killed an al Qaeda com-mander accused of plotting to bomb the New York subway.

The TTP is separate but allied to the Afghan Taliban. Both work alongside al Qaeda. l

Pakistan aiming for jet boost to defence exportsn AFP

A revamped version of Pakistan’s JF-17 jet � ghter took centre stage at a de-fence exhibition in Karachi this week as the restive nuclear-armed state looks to boost its role as a military exporter on the world stage. Pakistan’s large, well-funded military has long been a major importer of defence equipment, particularly from key ally China.

But Pakistan is hoping the updated JF-17, conceived and initially devel-oped with the help of China, along with Pakistani-made tanks and surveillance

drones, will help grow military exports and bring in much-needed foreign exchange revenue. Pakistan’s forex reserves are slowly recovering after falling to just $3bn in November 2013, from nearly $15bn in 2011.

But the economy is still shackled by a long-running energy crisis and growth remains sluggish, predicted at 4.3% this � nancial year.

The new JF-17, which is manufac-tured at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) just west of Islamabad, was among the key exhibits at the four-day International Defence Exhibi-

tion and Seminar (IDEAS) event.The plane will initially be handed

over to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), which is currently carrying out air strikes against Taliban militants in the northwest. “We will hand over 16 Block-II JF-17s to the PAF every year,” said Air Marshal Javaid Ahmad.

He said the � rst � ve would be deliv-ered this month and the plant has the capacity to produce 25 aircraft per year.

The air force started using the � rst edition of the JF-17 in 2010, having his-torically relied on US imports during its wars with India. l

N Korea denies ‘righteous’ Sony hackn AP, Seoul

North Korea released a statement Sun-day that clearly relished a cyberattack on Sony Pictures, which is producing an upcoming � lm that depicts an as-sassination plot against Pyongyang’s supreme leader.

While denying responsibility for an attack last week that disrupted So-ny’s computer system and spewed con� dential information onto the In-ternet, an unidenti� ed spokesman for the North’s powerful National De-fense Commission acknowledged that it “might be a righteous deed of the supporters and sympathizers” of the North’s call for the world to turn out in a “just struggle” against U.S. impe-rialism.

“We do not know where in Amer-ica the Sony Pictures is situated and for what wrongdoings it became the target of the attack, nor (do) we feel the need to know about it,” the state-ment carried in state media said. “But what we clearly know is that the Sony Pictures is the very one which was going to produce a film abetting a terrorist act while hurting the dig-nity of the supreme leadership of” North Korea.

North Korea has built a cult of per-sonality around the Kim family, which has ruled for three generations, and sees any outside criticism or mockery

of its leader as an attack on its sover-eignty. It recently opened � re on an-ti-Pyongyang propaganda balloons that North Korean defectors in the South were � oating across the border into the North.

The Sony movie in question, “The Interview,” is a comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, and its plot concerns an attempt on the life of lead-er Kim Jong Un.

Pyongyang is not amused.The statement said the North’s en-emies, the United States and South Korea, had “groundlessly linked the hacking attack with” Pyongyang, but the denial also included a threat.

The United States should know that “there are a great number of support-ers and sympathizers with (North Ko-rea) all over the world as well as the ‘champions of peace’ who attacked the Sony Pictures,” the statement said. “The righteous reaction will get stron-ger to smash the evil doings.”

Some cybersecurity experts say they’ve found striking similarities between the code used in the hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment and attacks blamed on North Korea that targeted South Korean companies and government agencies last year.

Experts are divided, however, over the likelihood that North Korea or in-dependent hackers were involved. l

Ponzi schemes resurface as multi-state cooperative societiesn Agencies

After having made themselves scarce for more than a year in West Bengal, Ponzi schemes seem to be back in busi-ness in the state under a new garb, that of the ‘multi-state cooperative society’.

“We recently conducted an inquiry and found that certain organisations, by obtaining registration as a multi-state cooperative credit society (MSCS) from the Centre, are raising money from the common public by promising huge returns. Neither do they have a no-objection certi� cate from the state nor any kind of RBI permission,” State Cooperative Minister Jyotirmoy Kar told PTI.

“We suspect that chit-fund com-panies/Ponzi schemes which used to operate in the eastern states may be using the guise of MSCS to raise mon-ey. These companies may be taking ad-vantage of the MSCS Act to evade legal action,” he said.

After the Saradha bubble burst in April, 2013, several Ponzi schemes and chit-fund companies had to wind up their operations as central and state agencies cracked the whip amid pro-tests by lakhs of defrauded investors.

MSCS is cooperative society which operates in more than one state and has a minimum of 50 members in one state.

According to o� cials of the state

cooperative department, the MSCS acts as a good option for chit-fund companies as it more or less matches their pattern of collecting money and operations.

Kar said the matter � rst came to light a few months ago when he re-ceived a complaint from a woman in East Midnapore district that a MSCS organisation took Rs 70 lakh with a promise of huge returns but was now untraceable.

According to Kar, it was found that around 100 MSCS are functioning in various districts of the state and are raising money from the common peo-ple with promises of huge returns on recurring and � xed deposits. l

Switzerland tells India: Come with proof, not for ‘� shing expedition’n Agencies

As India continues its pursuit of black money allegedly stashed abroad, Switzerland has said it would not entertain any “� shing expedition” and authorities cannot ask for names of all Indian account holders in Swiss banks without doing their own independent investigations.

Switzerland’s Ambassador to In-dia Linus von Castelmur also said the past cannot be undone, while promis-ing full support of his country in cases where at least some proof is provided on tax frauds.

He, however, agreed that all the mon-ey deposited in Swiss banks might not have always been “taxed money” in the past, as Switzerland was a major desti-nation for several decades when money would � ow in from di� erent sources.

The Ambassador said cooperation by Swiss authorities cannot take place on the basis of stolen lists of account holders and would need independent probes by Indian agencies and at least a prima facie proof of tax frauds.

“We understand and appreciate In-dia’s concerns on the matter. We need clear understanding on the issue,” Cas-telmur told PTI in an interview.

“I think one part of the issue is deal-ing with the past and Switzerland was destination for several decades where money � owed in from di� erence sources and that was no always a tax money,” he said.

The issue of black money suspect-ed to be stashed abroad, including in Swiss banks, has been a matter of in-tense debate in India for years.

The matter has been in focus re-cently with the Opposition parties ac-cusing the government of going back on its promise to bring back black money from overseas within 100 days of its coming to power. l

Typhoon howls through Philippines More than 1 million � ee

n Reuters, Manila

A powerful, slow-moving typhoon pounded through the central Philip-pines on Sunday, bringing howling winds that toppled trees and power lines and cut o� communications to areas still scarred by a super-storm just over a year ago.

Typhoon Hagupit did not appear to have wreaked devastation on the same scale as last year’s deadly Ty-phoon Haiyan, but o� cials cautioned that the picture remained incomplete with many of the � rst areas to feel the storm’s force still cut o� .

More than 1 million people had � ed to shelters away from coastal ar-eas and landslide-prone villages by the time Typhoon Hagupit slammed into the town of Dolores, on the eastern coast of Samar island, on Saturday night.

“We need to punch through up to Dolores to see the impact there, that’s where the landfall was, we need to see

so we can report back to Manila,” Inte-rior Secretary Manuel Roxas told a lo-cal radio interview from Samar.

The radio report described Roxas as traveling by motorbike to oversee workers using chainsaws to clear huge fallen trees.

Most of the houses, made of light materials, on both sides of the road were destroyed and residents lined the route asking for food, water and other supplies. Roofs were blown away while thatched houses were lifted and dumped meters away.

Hagupit, which days earlier had reached category 5 “super typhoon” strength as it churned across the Pa-ci� c Ocean, weakened on Sunday to category 2 as it made a second landfall at Cataingan town in the south of Mas-bate island.

There were no initial reports of the kinds of storm surges that were so destructive during Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 7,000 people across the central Philippines. lStrong winds and waves brought by Typhoon Hagupit pound the seawall in Legazpi City, Albay province southern Luzon yesterday REUTERS

Mamata: ‘BJP are men of riots’ n Agencies

Launching a scathing attack on the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister Ma-mata Banerjee said on Saturday that the BJP leaders were “men of riots.”

Addressing a rally organised by the TMC’s minority cell to observe “Babri Masjid demolition day,” she slammed the BJP for playing communal politics and said, “The Lotus party only loves the Lotus religion and spews out ven-om about all other religions.”

While Mamata was not scheduled to attend the meeting, she sprung a surprise by cancelling prior commitments and reaching the venue. “I was not sched-uled to attend this meeting as I had some other programmes. But I could not resist myself from attending this meeting. So I came here to speak to you,” she said.

Reiterating her stand on the NIA in-

vestigation into the Burdwan blast, Ma-mata said, “These people are destroying the communal harmony here. They are arresting people from here and there and then they are labelling them as ter-rorist. They are terming all the madrasas as terror centre … Who are these people? They have spent their whole life insti-gating communal violence and riots. They are made of riots from head to toe and kidney to liver,” she said.

Saying that criminals do not have any religion she said, “The criminals should be punished. But one should not blame an entire community for one person’s crime. In Bengal, we have our minority brothers, who are 30% of the total popu-lation. We have to look after them and we are always with them.” Her remarks at the meeting came at a time when the people from minority community in the state were reportedly started joining the BJP. l

Uber taxi driver held over alleged rape in Indian AP

Indian police have arrested a driver from the international taxi-booking service Uber over an alleged rape in the capital, Delhi.

Shiv Kumar Yadav, 32, was held in his home town of Mathura, about 100 miles away. He is due to appear in court in Delhi on Monday.

Police said the complainant was re-turning from a dinner engagement on Friday night and used Uber’s mobile app to hire a cab to drive her home. She said she fell asleep during the ride,

then when she woke up the car was parked in a secluded place and the driver threatened and then raped her, the Press Trust of India reported.

Uber said on Saturday that it had suspended the driver’s account and was cooperating with authorities.

On Sunday dozens of students scuf-� ed with o� cers as they tried to enter the police headquarters in Delhi to pro-test against the rising number of rapes in the capital.

The protesters, from the All India Students Association, dispersed after an hour-long demonstration.l

Visitors stand next to a JF-17 Thunder � ghter jet during the last day of the International Defence Exhibition and Seminar ‘IDEAS 2014’ in Karachi December 4 REUTERS

Listen to our exportersWeak infrastructure and overstretched port facilities are major

bottlenecks to our economy’s ability to grow exports. The government needs to listen to pleas from exporters

and make faster progress on developing new deep sea port facilities. It should give more priority to following up the interest expressed by China and major port companies such as DP World in improving connectivity and developing a new deep sea port.

We need to improve our port capacity anyway to meet the growing needs of our economy. Bangladesh also needs to catch up quickly with progress being made by competing nations such as Myanmar and Sri Lanka, in order to take full advantage of our key location between the markets of South and South East Asia.

For Bangladesh’s RMG industry to meet the Apparel Summit’s target of $50bn in exports by 2021, the work being done by stakeholders to improve safety and working conditions needs to be matched by increasing national investment in infrastructure.

The BGMEA is right to have highlighted the four Ps of port, power, place (land), and politics (stability and low-cost funds) as the major obstacles holding back investment in the economy.

Only about 3% of our GDP is currently spent on infrastructure, compared to up to 15% in China. The ADB has estimated that to sustainably grow the economy and help reduce poverty, Bangladesh should invest $7bn to $10bn in infrastructure annually over the next 10 years.

The government needs to act on the concerns expressed by exporters and release these bottlenecks to growth.

Secure land for sustainable factoriesThe BGMEA is to be commended for supporting initiatives to reduce

the negative environmental impacts of factories.Its promotion of the Partnership for Cleaner Textiles (Pact) at

this week’s Apparel Summit provides a welcome sign that sustainability is being addressed with the seriousness it deserves.

Projects to ensure zero discharge of hazardous chemicals, by building modern e� uent treatment plants alongside RMG factories, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing energy e� ciency and renewable generation, are essential to improve environmental sustainability.

While the spotlight is focused on vital government and stakeholder initiatives to improve factory safety and working conditions, it is equally timely and important that the BGMEA raise awareness of the value of incorporating sustainability into future planning decisions.

Consumers, buyers, and investors all around the world will increasingly prioritise long-term sustainability in their business decisions. As Bangladesh’s leading industrial employer, the RMG sector has to take and show a lead in adopting the best practices and technologies to improve business and environmental sustainability.

Many of the problems of poor safety and weak infrastructure which have cost lives and held back the industry, are a legacy of the way it historically developed in non-purpose-built residential buildings.

The government owns or controls a lot of idle or unproductive state land. It should lease or sell more of these lands for building modern, safer, cleaner factories such as at the planned 470 acre RMG Industrial Park at Bausia in Munshiganj.

By helping relocation in this way, it can secure jobs and growth by building a safer, more sustainable industry.

Tazreen Fashions Fire: Accused still free to walk the streetsNovember 24

Dr Ahsan HabibStill, our commerce minister, continues to claim all issues regarding the garments industry are resolved, and continues to blame the US for not giving GSP privileges to Bangladesh. First of all, clean up your own act, minister. Then point � ngers.

Make child rights a living realityNovember 24roseEvery child has the right to achieve education, and our society should take every measure to ensure that.

Time to enact the lawNovember 24LisaYes, the government should de� nitely enact the judges’ recruitment law, like our neighbouring countries and Great Britain, as the writer discussed.

The past is not a foreign country for usNovember 24Evil People Politics“As people do not see the bene� ts of change in the future, going back to the past may not be unacceptable.” The past really is not a foreign country to us, but maybe that’s not such a

Editorial10 DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, December 8, 2014

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207Email letters.dt@dhakatribune.com

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Develop deep sea port and infrastructure to remove bottlenecks to investment

Government should lease or sell idle state land for building cleaner, new, safe factories

CODE-CRACKER

ACROSS1 Landed property (6)4 Spoil (3)7 Permission (5)8 Leaping antelope (6)11 Tear (3)12 Sporting side (4)13 Require (4)15 Wander o� (5)16 Airman (5)20 Domestic animals (4)23 Not any (4)24 Resinous substance (3)25 Seesaw (6)26 Nimble (5)27 Marry (3)28 Incentive (6)

DOWN1 Sends out (5)2 Unyielding (7)3 Dash (4)4 Female horse (4)5 Greedy (4)6 Corded fabric (3)9 Came into contact (3)10 Equality (3)14 Distinguished (7)17 Fate (3)18 United (3)19 Concise (5)20 Wired enclosure (4)21 Sour (4)22 Plant’s support (4)24 Jurisprudence (3)

CROSSWORD

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

SUDOKU

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 21 represents H so � ll H every time the � gure 21 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . Enter them in the appro-priate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.As you get the letters, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZSpace for radicalism?

November 23

Richard ParkerYou are right on the money in your assessment of the threat of religious militancy.

Yes, the current state of polity, with the hallmark of a single-party setup, has a lot to do with it. It’s as if the government is inviting militancy by denying space to political opponents.

Paraphrasing Lyndon Johnson: It’s prudent to have the religious parties inside the tent urinating out, than outside the tent urinating in. Certain members in the governing party don’t get it, I guess.

PNBIMO, the premise that shrinking political space is driving extremists underground, and hence remov-ing them from any accountability, is overstated.

The extremists in the form of Jamaat were members of the cabinet when the August 21 grenade attack on the then leadership of the opposition took place. In politics, one cannot be more mainstream than as an active part of the government.

They worked actively to entrench extremism and fundamentalism in our body politic from a highly visible political space and full government patronage. The time has certainly come to redress the balance.

RSSuch religious parties should not get the chance to spread terrorism in the country. E� ective measures should be taken to eliminate them.

Karl HungusThere should be a more poignant way to tackle this thorny issue than just another “my way or the highway” solution.

Put pedestrians � rstNovember 24

SEApart from training the pedestrians to make use of walkways and footbridges, the police should also be stringent with the reckless drivers and provide instructions to them as well.

Anjali Khatun“Bad and reckless driving is the prime cause of accidents and congestion. It is naive to scapegoat pedestrians.”

Jaywalking is a ridiculous concept. The whole point of cities is that people should be able to go around on foot/public transport easily. Putting sel� sh car users � rst is pure folly for a densely-populated city such as Dhaka.

Get ready for more start-upsNovember 23

Foxymophandlemama“Cut red tape and encourage clusters of expertise to help entrepreneurs.”

This is some good, good advice to the powers-that-be.

Be nice to your neighboursNovember 23

Srinivasan KrishnaswamyAs an Indian who can speak Bengali, I really hope that India-Bangladesh relations improve. Free movement of goods is desirable. However, free movement of people can be dangerous. As we have seen in the last two months, a lot of terrorists have been moving freely across the border and planning attacks on both countries. The visa application process must be made easier, but there should be a record of the people crossing.

PM: Take action against foreigners staying illegally

December 2

Bijoy Fahim Kono“The duration of visa

and work permit of every foreign national should also be veri� ed

by the authorities concerned, the prime minister said.”

Just watch. There won’t be any action implemented.

Cement tanker topples overDecember 2

S M Intisar Kabir “Carrying far more

weight than its capacity, a cement

tanker � nally gives up and turns over near

Bangabhaban in the capital’s Gulistan area.”

That cement tanker is very popular in Dhaka. Whenever it enters a narrow lane, a huge jam occurs.

Woman allegedly raped at capital Kazi o� ce

December 2

Nazmul Khair “The woman was reportedly raped by an assistant

kazi when she came to collect her nuptial-document (Kabin nama).”

How funny! What a nation we live in! Moghbazar is one of the busiest areas of the city. In the middle of Dhaka, during o� ce hours, a woman

is violated and no one can hear her scream.

11Op-Ed Monday, December 8, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Khawaza Main Uddin

Many of our senior citizens use the word “sanction” to denote the allocation of money for a

project. A di� erent connotation of the word is “economic embargo,” which comes from America’s deliberations on a state which Washington has con-sidered to be an aggressor or at least dangerous.

Such punitive action was being discussed, rather speculatively, during the tumultuous days of the one-sided ballot in Bangladesh, although no country had threatened to do so.

The United States has exerted its in� uence by imposing sanctions on countries such as Iran and North Korea on grounds of nuclear stand-o� s, and Russia for annexing Crimea.

Despite the e� ectiveness of the blockade in weakening a “hostile” regime, it has a price, which is paid by the people of that country. Bangladesh was lucky not to have been perceived as a rogue state.

It’s not in the limelight of crisis either, unlike the cases of Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Palestine, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Mali, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Ukraine which invited global actions. So, given Washing-ton’s long list of priorities, a sanction

against Bangladesh over a boycotted election was not likely.

Communiqué and interactions with diplomats further suggest that the West was unwilling to punish the people by using economic weapons, thanks to our progressive track record, in spite of the undemocratic policies of the party in power.

That kind of stance has presented the Awami League with some much needed relief that it has at least survived in o� ce in the post-January polls period.

The party is, however, reluctant in acknowledging that nobody forgets a two-fold reality: Bangladeshis have been deprived of the opportunity to vote for choosing their represent-atives, and the main contender for power has been pushed out of parlia-mentary politics.

Dodging harsh international ac-tions, the administration of Premier Sheikh Hasiina has tried to create the impression that a number of important countries like China and Japan, though not India and Russia, were joining her initiative to build rapprochement, and hence, strengthen economic ties with Bangladesh.

Dhaka is already marketing its stance against Islamist militancy to the West and the Indians to make

Hasina’s stay in power be “taken for granted,” irrespective of her autocratic attitude towards all dissenting voices. Thus, the regime has amassed enough self-con� dence-turned-arrogance.

Simultaneously, it is ignoring the fact that the heart of the national economy is being bled continuously, with a decline in remittances and uncertainty in the export market, stagnation in investment, shrinkage in the domestic job market, fall in sales of apartments, rising corruption, embezzlement of bank money, a sick share market, and revenue shortfalls being observed.

The AL, once again proven poor in economic management, is con� dent that the commoners won’t understand the technicalities of the economy.

Yet, struggling with depleted popu-larity at home and occasional embar-rassment abroad, Premier Hasina’s trusted men have turned increasingly audacious in their policy pursuit; they don’t care about anyone's opinion, including the lone superpower of the world.

Following suit with his colleagues, AL general secretary and LGRD min-ister, Syed Ashraful Islam’s “pooh-poohing” of Washington’s call for a fresh, inclusive election has exposed the party's collective frustration and

its deliberate policy of embarking on power(s) other than the US for its glob-al pampering.

Awami intellectuals are trying to discover in his discourteous statement a “strong message” which can be sent to the US. Ah! Unpopular regimes often become super-patriotic, smell conspiracies everywhere, or resort to crusades to � nd an escape route.

The costs of Syed Ashraf’s derogatory remarks may have to be borne by the people alongside the rulers if Washington decides to take any punitive measures. Will his abusive words about American o� cials help Dhaka in any way to regain the GSP facility in the US market? His cabinet and his party boss too have expressed readiness to sacri� ce America’s amity.

The Hasina regime has embraced the “Look East” policy, by attempting to get closer to China, Japan, and also India from where Bangladesh does most of its importing, su� ering a huge trade de� cit.

Conspicuously, the AL government is not being received cordially in the countries where we export goods and manpower, enjoying a healthy balance

of surplus payments. In the multilater-al forums, the Padma Bridge corrup-tion scandal remains a stigma for this regime.

Premier Hasina is about to exhaust all options to persuade foreign inves-tors and governments by only making “fervent calls.” She will have nothing to do if investors go to Myanmar, evad-ing Bangladesh, or if the Middle East

doesn’t come to terms with Dhaka on how to resume recruitment of Bangla-deshi workers.

Also, if the government can’t deliver on what it pledges with ample lip-servicing – land, gas, infrastructure, proper regulatory atmosphere, and stability – Chinese and Japanese investors may eventually shy away.

Still, a section of investors will come in, but only for predatory gains, like the way some multinational corporations go to Nigeria or Iraq for windfall pro� ts. Illegitimate regimes can never ensure a fair share for the nation in any deal with foreign players.

We fear that lest Bangladesh – despite its strategic blessing in Asia and the potential of emerging as a bridge between global powers – is lost in the narrow personal interests of the powermongers who have shown no hesitation in quarantining the country itself.

The current leadership, clearly inca-pable of matching the thinking of the new generation, may not foresee the undeclared sanction it is courting by its increasing isolationism and missed opportunities for the nation in the global arena. l

Khawaza Main Uddin is Executive Editor at ICE Business Times.

Towards an unforeseen sanction

Illegitimate regimes can never ensure a fair share for the nation in any deal with foreign players

n Abdullah-Al-Rezwan

The extended party for banks in the last decade seemed almost ceaseless. The night continued

to seem young. But as it happens, after a night full of wild but vague memo-ries, the morning sun doesn’t always come with the enlightenment you would have liked.

Thanks to an unprecedented compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.3% in credit in emerging Asia, compared to the global credit growth of 7.2% in the last decade, the pro� t-ability of many emerging Asian banks skyrocketed. In fact, the collective revenues of emerging market banks saw a meteoric rise from $268bn in 2002 to $1.4tn in 2012. Even the global � nancial crisis didn’t hit hard in many emerging markets.

As the global � nancial crisis deeply a� ected the Eurozone and other developed economies, capital in� ows increased signi� cantly to emerging markets. While the quantitative easing resulted in an in� ux of capital in� ows, the reversal of it, which is known as “tapering,” poses some serious questions to future credit growth in emerging economies.

Following the credit boom, almost everyone in the emerging market is � nding it di� cult to rein in the rising Non-Performing Loans (NPL). The focus has now shifted to creating a strong culture of risk within the banks. Bangladeshi banks too have found themselves in the myriad of NPLs, and the banks’ pro� tability took a severe hit in the process. But like I already mentioned, we are hardly in a unique situation here. The banking sector of almost all of the countries in the subcontinent are troubled with rising NPLs.

Of course, it’s not the exact same factors that are a� ecting these coun-tries simultaneously. For example, the change in loan classi� cation policy in 2012 and an extended political instability have been among the predominant factors in the rising NPL here in Bangladesh. NPL has actual-ly increased further to 11.6%, as the e� ect of a relaxed rescheduling policy

formulated in December 2013 has been diminished.

In fact, banking regulations throughout the world are getting even more stringent with the impending implementation of Basel III. Basel III prescribes banks to maintain a liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) of at least 100%, which requires banks to have high quality liquid assets to fully cover total net cash out� ows over the next 30 days. LCR is mainly intended to equip banks in maintaining stability in a short-term stress scenario.

Basel III does not only stop at maintaining short-term bank stabil-ity, it has also suggested a net stable funding ratio (NSFR) to be above 100% so that banks remain stable even in the long-term. Stable funding sources, by de� nition, must be reliable over a one-year period under conditions of extended stress.

In addition to the capital conserva-tion bu� er of 2.5%, Basel III introduces another capital bu� er – the counter-cyclical capital bu� er – in the range of 0-2.5% of the RWA which could be imposed on banks during periods of excess credit growth.

Basel III recommends a minimum leverage ratio of 3% for banks. In 2013, except for � ve banks, all the banks in Bangladesh had leverage ratios of more than 5%.

This barrage of regulations will be phased in by the next � ve years. Of course, developed market banks will be a� ected too. But many emerging market banks, in addition, will have to deal with the rising NPL � rst. If the banks become extra conscious in lend-ing, it may result in credit crunch. This is not really a concern for us at the moment though, as our banking sector has excess liquidity at the moment.

McKinsey estimates the credit growth in emerging Asia to be 10.7% in 2012-2020, which is still higher than the estimated global credit growth of 7.7% in the same period. Therefore, the music hasn’t totally stopped yet, but it sure won’t be as loud in the next decade. l

Abdullah-Al-Rezwan is a freelance contributor.

Music slowing down for banks

n Towheed Feroze

Dhaka streets are adorned with unique � ags featur-ing a dragon. The only di� erence is that this drag-on hardly spews � re. It

releases (or so we are made to believe) peace and harmony. Bhutan, the state nestled within the Himalayas, is hardly in any negative news. Let peace be intertwined with living – the mantra has worked to a great degree.

However, I was a bit surprised when a report on rising suicide cases in Bhu-tan caught my eye a few years ago. As per the report, there had been cases of suicide in the face of old-age complica-tions, unemployment, and stress.

But then, only one report can’t smear the country’s image as a place where the pursuit of mental peace su-persedes most other concerns. At least Bhutan is not inexorably sucked into the vortex of rapacious capitalism and its endless by-products of woe.

To cut the clichés – it’s no spotless paradise either, but in a world where most cities and towns reek of sel� sh consumerism, Bhutan’s airport city Paro, and the capital Thimphu, still manage to ignite the dormant philoso-pher in a person.

Despite the insidious entry of the lure of capitalist comforts, the GNH (Gross National Happiness) issue still manages to be the prime objective. Of course, to keep pace with the world, one simply cannot remain a recluse; and opening up means allowing a lot of elements – both good and bad – to enter the country.

Surprisingly, Bhutan has managed to cling on to its unique identity be-cause, despite the inclusion of TV and other modern-day gadgets, extracting purity from nature is unquestionably a major part of their lives, advocated diligently at all levels of education and social life.

The GNH stresses on the idea where a bond between man and nature inter-twine to create moments of unsullied peace. Be practical – this de� nitely does not imply that one leave all material pursuits, become an ascetic or a mendicant. The problem is that sometimes, the spirit of GNH is mis-understood to an extent where people think that it only espouses spiritual ful� lment. Creating a balance between the two is the essence.

Even in the capital, the word “rush” will seem incongruous. As a visitor a few years ago, what struck me was the relaxed poise of the canine group on Thimphu’s main roads. They looked happy and well-fed. A tourist remarked: “See, even the dogs look happy.”

Interestingly, while Bhutan exports a large amount of fruit-based products to Bangladesh, for most Bangladeshis, the Himalayan Kingdom is a bit of an enigma. After talking to a tourist agency, I found out that very few peo-ple ever think of Bhutan as their � rst choice for a holiday destination.

Maybe, we are not comfortable with the idea of a tourist spot without major shopping options. Immersion in nature and breathing clean air do not spring to mind when the plans for a getaway are made. Hence, for many of us, the concept of GNH is a bit elusive.

As Dhaka is hosting the Bhutanese PM, and talks are underway to import hydro-power from the mountainous state, e� orts need to be made to bring some of their philosophies here too, because as days go by, we become overwhelmed by machinations, treach-ery, double-dealing, and the soul-de-stroying pretences of urban life.

The smiles we wear are make-believe, the lines we utter cautiously chosen, the moves we make very strategic, and eventually, life is just

a well-choreographed stage piece. Communion with nature is not in the picture.

I have nothing against materialism. In fact, growth will be spurred when people want more from life. However, inner peace can come only through introspection within natural settings. In Thimphu, there are plenty of places to forget the drudgery of life. Sorry, but Dhaka only has a few.

Our city, which was once a town of ponds, greenery, and haunting shades formed by countless rows of large trees, is the capital of cacophony now. To be realistic, Dhaka will only become more mechanised. So, maybe if we try to culture the notion of GNH, some rural areas can be transformed into weekend sanctuaries.

I am certain that once the happiness philosophy is taught to our bickering politicians, some sense will begin to develop. For instance, leaders won’t make obtuse remarks in public that smell of autocracy and refrain from lighting a cigarette at a public forum, or use the roads with their VIP sirens to muscle out others.

No, I am not hoping for wonders. Just a few basic changes so we don’t look coarse in front of the world. One last thing: How about sending some of our aviation o� cials to serve at the Paro airport? At least for some time, they will have to speak softly, smile wide, and adopt a friendly demeanour. You never know, some of these good habits may become permanent. l

Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

How Bhutan does itS E R P E N T I N E D E N

Once the happiness philosophy is taught to our bickering politicians, some sense will begin to develop

Taking shelter in nature BIGSTOCK

BIGSTOCK

12 DHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, December 8, 2014

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Bangladesh Under-21 hockey players and o� cials celebrate with the trophy at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Invincible Bangladesh lift Men’s Jr AHF Cupn Raihan Mahmood

Bangladesh continued their clinical performance in the Islami Bank Men’s Junior AHF Cup to lift their maiden title of the tournament beating Oman 4-0 in the 1st place decider at the Mau-lana Bhashani National Hockey Stadi-um yesterday.

Bangladesh participated in the in-augural edition in 2003 in Karachi and � nished third but did not appear in the following editions in 2007 and 2011. In 2004, Bangladesh clinched the title of an invitational Under-21 tournament organised by the Bangladesh Hockey Federation which was, however, not

recognised as an AHF event.Oman, who lost 0-7 to the hosts in

the group stage, forced their way in to the Bangladesh defence in the ear-ly minutes with Muhanna Naser Ali and Sha� Talib Nasib while they could have surprised the home side in the third minute, but Salmeen Ahmed Said dragged the ball wide of the side post from a penalty corner.

Bangladesh settled in and adopted a counter attacking strategy which near-ly paid o� in the ninth minute. Forward Milon Hossain, � oating unmarked a few feet away from the Oman post, failed to � ick a neat cross of Moinul Is-lam Koushik.

However, Bangladesh took the ex-pected lead in the 16th minute with Khorshedur Rahman, the penalty corner specialist, hitting the target. Defender Ashraful Islam doubled the margin in the 24th minute o� anoth-er beautifully planned penalty corner. Khorshed Hossain, who usually takes the � nal drag, pushed the ball to Ashra-ful as he used the space to rattle the net.

In their fourth penalty corner of the match and three minutes after the resumption, Khorshed deceived the Omani defence with another low drag to increase the margin while the � nal nail on the co� n was hammered by

Bangladesh captain Sarwar Hossain in the 50th minute. It was Koushik’s gal-loping run down the left � ank which paved the way for Sarwar who was in a perfect position to unleash a cracking hit at the 18-inch board.

Oman piled up considerable pres-sure in the dying stages to earn four penalty corners, but Bangladesh goalkeeper Ashim Gope shielded the threats with superb positioning and re-� ex saves as the home side completed the tournament without conceding a single goal in � ve matches.

Both Bangladesh and Oman quali-� ed for the Men’s Junior Asia Cup to be held next year in May in Malaysia. l

BD women lift handball title in Pakistann Raihan Mahmood

Bangladesh women’s handball team clinched the crown of the International Handball Federation Trophy after de-feating hosts Pakistan 34-22 in the � nal held in Faisalabad yesterday.

Six teams – Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Afghanistan and Yemen – participated in the women’s category of the tournament.

On their way to the � nal, Bangladesh outplayed Afghanistan 52-5, overpowered Nepal 35-19 and thrashed Yemen 48-13 in the group stage matches.

Bangladesh Handball Federation congratulated the women’s team on the feat of being the champions.

Meanwhile Bangladesh’s men’s team also competing in the same tour-nament bowed out in the semi� nals losing to Yemen. l

DHAKA PREMIER LEAGUE 2014

Great power, zero responsibilityn Minhaz Uddin Khan

“With great power comes great respon-sibility” is a very popular quote derived from Hollywood movie Spiderman, but sometimes the responsible people tend to forget that. Dhaka Premier League – the most (?!) prestigious and the lone 50-over domestic tournament of the country – is considered as the platform for the future cricketers. But, has the team o� cials acted according to the spirit of cricket in recent times?

A cricket league cannot be based upon the national players only. It has often been the case that a dispute be-tween a club and the cricket board puts a halt in the league as the club refuse to play without the national ‘star’ they signed for the season.

However, one can possibly under-stand the logic behind refusals of that sort, but the relationship that exists between Lutfur Rahman Badal and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is hard to explain.

Badal, owner of Legends of Rupganj, has the reputation of building a team comprising big names. He is not shy to � ash the wallet and it will also not be wrong to label his side as the “Real Madrid” of Bangladesh cricket. He is amongst the few club owners who clear full payment of the cricketers he hired – a rare appraisal and a good example indeed for the game of cricket.

However, Badal has also proved to be very unsporting and unprofession-al when it comes to losing a match. Frustrations and � ngers of blame have always been pointed at the umpires in the game of cricket whenever a team encounter an unwanted result – but Badal seem to have taken the “I am a bad loser” to a whole new level.

He recently used abusive words in

a statement against the BCB while his choice of words has also stunned the cricketing circle. Every action has an opposite and equal reaction – as BCB president Nazmul Hasan responded threatening to take legal action if nec-essary for LRB’s “disgraceful” com-ment.

Meanwhile, Rupganj manager Tari-kul Islam Tito claimed of being assault-ed by some unruly people during his team’s match against Mohammedan Sporting Club at BKSP last Saturday.

Tito claimed the people were sent by irked members of the BCB to create an uneasy and fearful atmosphere around his team’s dressing room throughout the game. According to Tito the group were abusing the players and the o� -cials from the beginning of the match.

What is more alarming is that the unruly bunch chased the players to the dressing room as soon as the match ended while Titu was held inside his own car at the time of departure.

“They asked me to apologise, but when I asked whom will I say sorry to, those unidenti� ed people did not an-swer back,” said Titu.

This is not the only season Badal has been in the center of trouble in the “not-so-regular” Dhaka Premier League. In 2011-12, Badal, at the helm of Victoria SC, was accused of forging clearance of Pakistani recruit Moham-mad Yousuf which saw the league en-counter being halted for over a month.

The battle and exchange of heated words between Badal and the BCB are proving nothing but internal politics and personal issues among the two parties. This should not have come thus far. Not only will it a� ect the sport and the cricketers, the uncalled-for in-cidents will tarnish the country’s do-mestic scene too. l

Faruk emphasises on stand-by optionsn Minhaz Uddin Khan

Chief of the national selection panel, Faruk Ahmed, stressed on the impor-tance of stand-by players in the wake of the announcement of the 30-man pre-liminary squad for the 2015 ICC World Cup to be co-hosted by Australia-New Zealand.

The three-member selection panel, also comprising former national crick-eters Minhajul Abedin and Habibul Bashar, named the Bangladesh squad last Saturday and Faruk said they want-ed to select as many back-up players as possible.

“We tried to pick back-up players for each position,” Faruk told the me-dia at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. “As there are adequate back-up players for each position, in the case of injury, I do not think we will su� er much.”

The notable inclusion was that of right-arm o� -spinner Sohag Gazi.

Gazi has been undergoing remedial work ever since his bowling action was found to be illegal by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

With a little over two months to go to the global showpiece event Down Under, Gazi still had time to script a comeback. However, Faruk said the o� -spinner’s form has not been pleas-ing enough.

“He (Gazi) is in the remedial process but the fact is he could not show any eye-catching performance. He could have put forth a stronger case for his selection,” said the chief selector.

“Moreover we got some good spinners in the meantime and they have been performing well. We cannot keep a specialist o� -spinner in the team as we have Mahmudullah, who is e� ective in the one-day format. He is bowling well. We have Nasir Hossain, who is a part-time o� -spinner,” he added.

Also a former captain, Faruk informed that the � nal 15-man

squad will be put together without drastic changes.

“Every country have a core team. There are no more chances to bring wholesale changes ahead of the mega event. When we form our � nal squad within the ICC’s time-frame, we will try to pick the best possible squad,” he explained.

Expressing his satisfaction over the form of the players, he added, “We do not have to face any problem while selecting the � nal squad as maximum players are in sublime form.”

“First, we will take the players’ performance into consideration. The performances that will be counted starts from the recent tour of the Zimbabwe A side in Bangladesh, the Zimbabweans’ recent bilateral series in Bangladesh and the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket league. Most of the players will get seven more matches (in the premier league) before going to Australia-New Zealand.” l

Clubs not losing sleep over transfer windown Shishir Hoque

The deadline day of the inter-club play-ers’ transfer window for the upcoming football season 2014-15 is just three days away and yet, not a single premier league club have completed their o� -cial registration process till yesterday.

It is nothing new in Bangladesh foot-ball as the past few seasons showed that most of the clubs hurried to the BFF House on the deadline day or a day be-fore to complete the players’ registration.

This is, however, due to the fact that the top premier league clubs have already formed their team well in ad-vance although the o� cial formalities are still to be completed.

While talking to the club o� cials most of their response were almost the same. “Yes, the local players’ recruit-ment is done. But there is still time be-fore the deadline day,” said Sheikh Ja-mal manager Anwarul Karim yesterday.

He added that most of the clubs will seal their deals this Wednesday or Thursday.

Among the big clubs, Sheikh Jamal have once again formed a title-winning team. Their squad contain 12 national players -highest amongst the top-� ight clubs - who were recently selected to represent Bangladesh in the upcom-ing friendly against the Japan Under-21 side scheduled for December 18 at Bangabandhu National Stadium. They have strengthened their squad by sign-ing Denmark-based Bangladeshi defen-sive mid� elder Jamal Bhuiyan who re-cently shone for the men in Yellow and Blue in the King’s Cup in Bhutan.

The premier league champions will exclude the names of Haitian interna-tional Vaniel Sirin and Emmanuel Yogo from their squad. “The players will re-sume training tomorrow (today). Vaniel and Yogo will leave and we are looking to add two quality foreign players. The recruitment of local players is done,”

said Anwarul.Four-time professional league cham-

pions Abahani Limited have also formed a better team compared to the last sea-son. The Sky Blues’ squad are a mixture of youth and experience. They have roped in goalkeeper Ziaur Rahman, de-fenders Ariful Islam, Mamun Mia, Na-hid and Jahid, mid� elders Emon Babu, Omar Faruk, Atikur Rahman and Shakil Ahmed and promising national forwards Wahed Ahmed and Aminur Rahman.

“We have formed a good team for the upcoming season and have already started our preparations. Our target will be the same as before, which is, to regain the championship title,” said Abahani manager Satyajit Das Rupu yesterday.

Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra seemed to have taken lessons from their down-fall in the previous seasons by con� rm-ing the services of several star national players from Mohammedan. Emily, Zahid Hossain, Hemanta Vincent, Topu

Barman, Yousuf Sifat and Nahidul Is-lam have already joined the club.

On the other hand, Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited are all set to dis-appoint their fans by drafting a weak-ened team. The traditional crowdpullers of Dhaka are heading into the deadline day without any national player in con-tention having excluded all of their best players from the previous seasons.

“We spent a lot of money on players and formed a quality team last season but what we have got in return is noth-ing. We will see what we can do with the new team,” said Mohammedan’s di-rector in charge, Lokman Hossain Bhui-yan, yesterday.

Meanwhile, the con� ict between Mo-hammedan and Abahani regarding Ariful has not been solved yet. Mohammedan said they have complained about Ariful to the Bangladesh Football Federation, claiming that the Sky Blues were in-volved in behind-the-doors dealing.l

Mamun hails his triumphant chargesn Raihan Mahmood

Bangladesh Under-21 coach Mamunur Rashid labelled his charges as the fu-ture of Bangladesh hockey after they beat Oman to clinch the Islami Bank Men’s Junior AHF Cup at Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium yes-terday. Meanwhile, the defeated coach, former German international Oliver Kurtz, acknowledged Bangladesh’s su-periority but slammed the umpires be-hind their downfall.

“We worked hard for the title and we wanted to prove our superiority in this level. Bangladesh U-21 team have a lot of potential and we always believed that we will be the champi-ons. We want to continue the trend in the Junior Asia Cup also. I believe this team, if properly groomed, can play in the Youth World Cup hockey as one of the top-four � nishers in the Junior Asia

Cup,” said a calm and resolute Mamun after the � nal.

Oliver termed lack of experience as the main di� erence and said, “Bangladesh had a good number of players who played in the senior level and had international exposure. It created the di� erence but I am not happy with the umpiring. They demoralised my players and at the end Bangladesh goalkeeper made some super saves to deny us.”

Highest-scorer Khorshedur Rahman expressed his elation and said, “Scor-ing 10 goals in � ve international match-es de� nitely boosts my con� dence, I hope to continue the trend in the na-tional team also.”

Hsu Ching of Chinese Taipei emerged as the most talented player in the tournament while Ashim Gope of Bangladesh was adjudged the best goalkeeper. l

Brothers Union player Roman Ahmed (R) poses with Abahani player Hamilton Masakadza during their DPL match in Fatullah yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE 13Monday, December 8, 2014

Star sports 14:30PMIndian Tennis Premier LeagueStar Sports 212:00 AMSpanish La LigaLevante v GetafeStar Sports 49:50 AMRanji Trophy1:50 AMEnglish Premier LeagueSouthampton v Manchester UnitedStar Sports 1,2,4, HD 15:55 AMAustralia v India1st Test, Day 1Ten Cricket5:00 PMPakistan v New Zealand 1st ODI

Rodgers faces tough task to replace GerrardBrendan Rodgers knows he faces a huge task to successfully replace Steven Gerrard after leaving the Liverpool captain out of his team’s starting line-up for the 0-0 draw with Sunderland at An� eld. Reds boss Rod-gers was left to rue his decision to rest Gerrard on Saturday in order to have the former England mid� elder fully � t for Tuesday’s vital Champions League clash with Basel. It was a move that followed on from resting Gerrard eight days earlier, when Liverpool laboured to beat Stoke City 1-0, and, on this occasion, Rodgers was forced to use his talismanic mid� elder as a substitute after 67 minutes as his team attempted to record what would have been a third consecutive league victory. Instead, they were left frustrated and Liverpool fans were left to wonder what life will be like for their team should Gerrard re-ject the one-year, rolling contract that is currently on o� er from his boyhood club. “That’s something we’re looking for but it’s very hard to replace that quality,” Rodgers said.

–AFP

AFC bans North Korea coach for a year North Korea coach Yun Jong-Su has been banned for a year for a furious rant at the Asian Games in October, se-verely denting the team’s preparations for next month’s Asian Cup. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) threw the book at Yun after he launched a tirade of abuse at match o� cials following North Korea’s 1-0 defeat by bitter rivals and hosts South Korea in the Asian Games � nal in Incheon. The confed-eration cited “o� ensive behaviour” in suspending him from all AFC compe-titions for 12 months. The AFC said on its website that Yun was still permitted to register as a team o� cial and attend training sessions, but was banned from the dressing room or the area surrounding the � eld of play. Asia’s governing body also suspended North Korea player Kim Yong-Il for six months for misconduct after being shown a red card at the end of a tempestuous � nal on October 2, which hosts South Korea won 1-0 with virtually the last kick of extra time. North Korea have been drawn alongside China, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan in Group B at the Asian Cup in Australia, which takes place from January 9-31.

–AFP

Dhoni’s captaincy under the microscopeTours of Australia have traditionally been tests of character for visiting Indian cricketers and skipper Mahen-dra Singh Dhoni will no doubt be put through the wringer when the four-Test series starts in Adelaide on Tuesday. Dhoni, having recovered from a thumb injury, joined his team mates on Saturday and is expected to lead them in Adelaide after the series was pushed back following the tragic death of Australia batsman Phillip Hughes. Virat Kohli had been in line to lead the team in the � rst Test but with the match being rescheduled Dhoni has had enough time to recover. Dhoni took over the cap-taincy of the limited overs side in 2007 after Rahul Dravid cracked under the pressure of leading a team represent-ing a country of 1.2 billion cricket fans, arguably the most di� cult job in the game. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, India won the Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 and the 50-over World Cup four years later and remained the top ranked Test team for a year and half in between. But India’s most successful captain has also presided over a series of dismal away performances. When India beat England at Lord’s in July, it was their � rst away Test victory in over three years.

–Reuters

QUICK BYTES

DAY’S WATCH

England:M. Ali c Sangakkara b Dilshan                19A. Hales c Jayawardene b Prasad            0J. Taylor c K. Perera b A. Mendis         90  J. Root b Herath                             36R. Bopara b Dilshan                          22 E. Morgan c Sangakkara b Dilshan    62J. Buttler c Jayawardene b Herath      15 B. Stokes c T. Perera b A. Mendis             6C. Woakes b Herath                            6C. Jordan c T. Perera b A. Mendis             1S. Finn not out                               1Extras: (lb1, w6)                             7Total (all out, 50 overs)                   265

Fall of wickets1-5, 2-29, 3-122, 4-170, 5-173, 6-203, 7-219, 8-238, 9-245, 10-265  BowlingMathews 6-0-21-0, Prasad 6-1-29-1 (w2), Dilshan 10-0-64-3 (w2), T. Perera 2-0-19-0 (w1), Herath 10-0-36-3, J. Mendis 7-1-39-0, A. Mendis 9-0-56-3 (w1).Sri Lanka:T. Dilshan c Morgan b Woakes                 16K. Perera c Jordan b Ali                     31K. Sangakkara c Woakes b Jordan        86M. Jayawardene b Jordan                      44A. Mathews not out                           51L. Thirimanne not out                        19Extras: (b4, lb4, w12)                       20Total (for 4 wickets, 49.4 overs)        267

Fall of wickets1-28, 2-69, 3-165, 4-214    BowlingFinn 9.4-1-61-0 (w3), Woakes 9-0-53-1 (w1), Ali 10-0-44-1, Jordan 10-0-35-2 (w3), Root 6-0-29-0 (w3), Bopara 3-0-16-0, Stokes 2-0-21-0 (w2) Sri Lanka won by six wickets; lead 3-1

in seven-match series

SCORECARD

Australia brace for emotional test against India in Adelaiden Reuters, Melbourne

The � rst Test Australia hosts against India this week is set to be fraught with con� icting emotions as players return to battle with a mixture of relief and apprehension after the tragic death of Phillip Hughes.

The Adelaide Oval was Hughes’ adopted home ground after his move from New South Wales, and both teams will pay tribute there to the batsman who died in hospital last month, two days after being struck by a short ball during a She� eld Shield match.

A number of his Australia team mates were � elding for New South Wales when Hughes was felled at the Sydney Cricket Ground and all were present at his funeral last Wednesday, along with India batsman Virat Kohli.

Though the � rst Test was delayed and switched to Adelaide to allow play-ers time to grieve, Tuesday’s opening day will be a leap into the unknown for a number of them.

“It’s been the most challenging, mentally, couple of days I’ve had to go through in my career,” Australia all-rounder Shane Watson, who was

� elding when Hughes was struck, told reporters at training in Adelaide on Sunday.

“Trying to process everything that happened, especially being there at the SCG.

“But there’s no doubt I’ll be ready to go on Tuesday.”

Among a number of tributes, the Australian team will wear armbands and the number 408 on their playing shirts, a reference to Hughes, the 408th cricketer to play a Test match for Aus-tralia.

The fast bowler’s use of the bouncer has come under scrutiny in the wake of Hughes’ death, with some pundits call-ing for it to be further limited or even banned altogether.

Few expect either team’s pacemen to eschew the delivery at Adelaide, however, and former Australia players have called on them to send down a bouncer � rst thing to “clear the air”.

Australia have long prided them-selves on “tough, aggressive” cricket, particularly on their fast and bouncy home pitches, but their approach to the game will be under heavy scrutiny.

India will head into the match un-

derdone, having had only one two-day tour match against a rookie local XI to warm up, with cricket virtually halted in Australia after Hughes’ death.

Uncertainty pervades both sides in terms of their lineups, with � tness que-ries over captains Michael Clarke and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Clarke returned to training on Sat-urday as he races to recover from his third hamstring injury in three months. Dhoni was expected to train on Sun-day after being sidelined with a broken thumb.

Team mates have backed both to lead on Tuesday, but vice-captain and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin will take over if Clarke fails to prove his � tness, with batsman Kohli standing in for Dhoni.

India, who were whitewashed 4-0 in their last tour Down Under in 2011-12, have won only once from 10 Test matches against Australia at Adelaide Oval, their sole victory coming in 2003.

They are likely to need to record their second win at the ground this week if they are to have any hope of a breakthrough Test series win Down Under. l

Hafeez suspended over bowling action: ICCn AFP, Dubai

All-rounder Mohammad Hafeez was suspended for an illegal bowling action the International Cricket Council said Sunday, becoming the second Pakistan player after Saeed Ajmal to face sanc-tion in the past three months.

Hafeez, 34, had his action reported during the � rst Test against New Zea-land in Abu Dhabi last month.

“The ICC con� rmed that an inde-pendent analysis has found the bowl-ing action of Pakistan’s Hafeez to be illegal and, as such, the o� -spinner has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate e� ect,” the ICC said.

The analysis revealed that all his de-liveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regu-lations, the ICC added.

Hafeez can apply for a reassessment after he has modi� ed his bowling ac-tion in accordance with the rules, the ICC said. The analysis was performed on 24 November by the ICC’s accredited team of human movement specialists using the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough, England.

The suspension is a further blow for

Pakistan before the next year’s World Cup as they are already reeling from leading o� -spinner Ajmal’s suspension in September.

Hafeez, who also opens the batting, gives balance to the one-day interna-tional side having taken 122 wickets in 149 matches.l

Sri Lanka edge England to go 3-1 up in ODI seriesn Reuters, Colombo

Kumar Sangakkara laid the foundation before Angelo Mathews completed a nervy chase as Sri Lanka beat England by six wickets in the fourth one-day international to go 3-1 up in the sev-en-match series on Sunday.

Sangakkara hit a sparkling 86 but it was Mathews' � ne, if not � awless, cap-tain's knock of 51 not out that helped the hosts overwhelm the 266-run vic-tory target with two balls to spare at Colombo's R Premadasa Stadium.

James Taylor's career-best 90 and Eoin Morgan's belligerent 62 had pow-ered England to 265 all out in 50 overs, nine of the wickets claimed by spinners.

Sri Lanka looked in trouble at 69 for two but Sangakkara and Mahela Jay-awardene, who have played over 800 ODIs between them, added 96 runs for the third wicket to put the chase back on track.

Jayawardene dragged a Chris Jor-dan delivery onto his stumps to depart, while Sangakkara perished chasing a wide delivery from the same bowler.

England maintained the pressure and were nearly rewarded but Alex Hales spilled a Mathews catch in the 46th over from an exasperated Jordan.

Despite conceding 20 extra runs in-cluding 12 wide balls, the visiting bowl-ers showed enough � ght to take the game to the last over but Mathews hit Steven Finn for a boundary to bring up his 50 and seal victory.

Earlier, regular England captain

Alastair Cook's suspension, due to a slow over-rate o� ence, handed Taylor an opportunity and the 24-year-old grabbed it.

Opting to bat � rst, England wobbled early as Hales fell for a golden duck and the in-form Moeen Ali (19) was sent back by Tillakaratne Dilshan (3-64).l

Abahani, Kalabagan CA keep on winningVictoria deepen Old DOHS’ woesn Mazhar Uddin

Abahani and Kalabagan Cricket Acad-emy continued to impress while Old DOHS capitulated to yet another defeat in the ninth round of the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League yesterday.

Abahani registered a comfortable 69-run win over Brothers Union, Ka-labagan CA beat fellow namesake Ka-labagan Krira Chakra by 37 runs while Victoria posted a six-wicket victory against bottom side Old DOHS.

Abahani v Brothers Union, FatullahDue to early-morning fog, the match was reduced to 42 overs-per-side but Abahani were hardly a� ected by the disruption as they maintained second position in the 12-team points table.

Sent in to bat � rst, Abahani put up 191 runs on the board losing nine wick-ets in their allotted overs. Opener Liton Kumar Das scored 40 o� 42 balls while the other opening batsman, Abdul Ma-jid, chipped in with 37. The opening pair added 84 runs in 16 overs.

The traditional Sky Blues lost their remaining nine wickets for 107 runs and were it not for Saqlain Sajib (31*) coming in at No 9, they would have been restricted to a much lower total.

However, it did not make any dif-ference as Brothers were skittled out for 122 with four balls remaining. Nasir Hossain scalped three wickets while Saqlain and Nazmul Apu shared four wickets between them.

Kalabagan CA v Kalabagan KC, MirpurThe much-anticipated derby did not live upto its billing as Kalabagan CA, third in the points table, overcame Ka-labagan KC, who tasted their seventh loss of this campaign.

Asked to bat � rst, Kalabagan CA were dismissed for 215 in 49.2 overs. National cricketer Sabbir Rahman was the highest scorer with 73 from 67 de-liveries, his knock featuring half a doz-en boundaries and two sixes.

Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak

(3/40) gave a timely reminder of his credentials while Nasum Ahmed also accounted for three wickets.

In reply, Kalabagan KC were bundled out for 178 with 26 deliveries of their innings still to be completed.

Middle-order batsman Tasamul Haque’s unbeaten 60 was inadequate as the Kalabagan CA bowlers – Imtiaz Hossain (3/24), Mehedi Hasan Miraz

(2/19) and Bishwanath Halder (2/41) – ran the show.

Victoria v Old DOHS, BKSP 3Although the match was curtailed to 34 overs, the light at the end of the tunnel continued to desert promoted side Old DOHS. Victoria coasted to the win with their openers – Mahbubul Karim (68 o� 58 balls) and Jasim Uddin (48) – putting

on 124 runs on the board, in pursuit of 160 for victory. Victoria cantered to their target with six wickets intact and 33 deliveries remaining.

Earlier, Old DOHS scored 159/6 in their stipulated overs with skipper Ne-haduzzaman blasting an unbeaten 54 o� 43 balls. The total proved insu� cient at the end as Old DOHS su� ered their ninth defeat in as many matches. l

BRIEF SCORESKalabagan KC v Kalabagan CA

Kalabagan CA 215 allout in 49.2 oversSabbir 73; Razzak 3/40, Nasum 3/36Kalabagan KC 178 allout in 45.4 oversTasamul 60*; Imtiaz 3/24, Mehedi 2/19, Bishwanath 2/41

Kalabagan CA won by 37 runsVictoria v Old DOHS

Old DOHS 159/6 in 34 overs (maximum)Nehaduzzaman 54*; Haider 2/26, Marjan 2/27Victoria 161/4 in 28.3 oversMahbubul 68, Jasim 48; Joyraj 2/14

Victoria won by six wicketsAbahani v Brothers Union

Abahani 191/9 in 42 overs (maximum)Liton 40; Denly 3/19, Younus 2/31, Asif 2/52Brothers 122 allout in 41.2 oversNasir 3/15, Saqlain 2/20, Apu 2/35

Abahani won by 69 runs

Abahani batsman Liton Kumar plays a lofted shot during their Dhaka Premier League match against Brothers Union at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Sri Lankan batsman Sangakkara plays a shot during their fourth ODI against England in Colombo yesterday AFP

Belgium player John-John Dohmen (L) tussles with Australian player Fergus Kavanagh during their Hero Hockey Champions Trophy 2014 match yesterday AFP

Belgium hold Aussies in Champions Trophy thrillern AFP, Bhubaneswar

Tom Boon slammed in a last-gasp pen-alty corner to help Belgium force a dramatic 4-4 draw from world number ones Australia in the Champions Tro-phy � eld hockey tournament in Bhu-baneswar on Sunday.

Ruthless England destroyed Paki-stan 8-2 in another pool A match of the eight-nation tournament at the Kalinga stadium, to build on the 3-1 win over World Cup holders Australia in their opening game. Australia, who have won the last � ve Champions Trophy titles, appeared headed for an easy vic-tory over Belgium when they ran up a 3-0 lead by the 21st minute.

But the fast-improving Belgians, ranked fourth in the world, scored twice in quick succession to make it 2-3 at half-time. Flynn Ogilvie scored his � rst international goal to extend the Kook-aburras’ lead to 4-2 in the 37th minute, but John-John Dohmen narrowed the margin for Belgium soon after.

The determined Belgians forced a series of penalty corners in the last quarter and were rewarded with just three seconds remaining in the match when Boon recovered a miscued drag-� ick after a penalty corner and smashed in the equaliser.

Belgium, who defeated Pakistan 2-1 in their opening match on Saturday, have four points from two games.l

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE14 Monday, December 8, 2014

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo attempts a bicycle kick during their La Liga match against RC Celta de Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on Saturday AFP

Ribery’s 100th goal keeps Bayern seven points clearn AFP, Berlin

Bayern Munich continued their seeming-ly relentless march towards a 25th Ger-man title as Franck Ribery’s 100th goal for the Bundesliga leaders secured Satur-day’s 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen.

Pep Guardiola’s side remain seven points clear of nearest challengers Wolfsburg after defeating Leverkusen, who remain the last team to beat Bayern at the Alli-anz Arena, back in October 2012.

The visitors threatened after four minutes when Juan Bernat was forced to clear o� the line after Karim Bellara-bi pounced on a rare mistake.

But Bayern took the lead when winger Ribery volleyed home from a corner on 51 minutes to claim his 100th competitive goal for the club in all com-petitions on his 186th league appear-ance - the most for a French player in the Bundesliga.

This was an o� -key performance from Bayern, who managed just two � rst-half shots, as they began a busy pe-riod of � ve matches in 14 days, including Wednesday’s � nal Champions League group game at home to CSKA Moscow.

Earlier, second-placed Wolfsburg came from behind to claim a 3-1 win at Lower Saxony rivals Hanover 96 to brie� y trim Bayern’s lead to four points.

However, Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking gave a grumpy reply when asked about his side’s supposed role as ‘Bayern hunters’.

Meanwhile, Roberto Di Matteo’s Schalke warmed-up for Wednesday’s must-win Champions League clash at Slovenia’s Maribor with a 4-0 mauling of VfB Stuttgart as Cameroon striker Eric Choupo-Moting claimed a hat-trick in exactly an hour.l

Dream draw for defending women’s WC champions Japann AFP, Ottawa

Defending champions Japan gained a dream draw on Saturday for the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada while the United States face a rocky road to a potential third title.

The Nadeshiko, seeded atop Group C, will face Switzerland, Cameroon and Ecuador, all � rst-time quali� ers for the tournament.

The United States face a tough � rst-round path against Australia, ranked 10th in the world by FIFA, Nigeria and Sweden - a European powerhouse ranked � fth in the world and only un-seeded for “geographic” reasons.

Their Group D, with most of its � rst-round matches in Winnipeg, imme-diately appeared the toughest but US forward Sydney Leroux took to Twitter to indicate the Americans are up for the challenge.

US coach Jill Ellis said the challeng-ing group was good preparation for the latter stages of the tournament, when the Americans hope to be challenging for a third World Cup title but their � rst since 1999. They and Germany are the only two-time winners of the event � rst played in 1991.

Adding intrigue to the match-up be-tween the United States and Sweden, the Europeans’ manager Pia Sundhage guided the Americans to back-to-back Olympic titles before taking the helm in her native country in September of 2012.

The former Sweden international admitted before the draw she thought it was “weird” that sixth-ranked Brazil, rather than � fth-ranked Sweden, got the nod as a seeded team.

The seventh edition of Women’s World Cup will feature 24 teams for the � rst time -- up from 16.

The � rst and second-placed � nish-ers in each group automatically ad-vance to the round of 16.

Hosts Canada will open the tourna-ment in Edmonton on June 6 against

China, with New Zealand and the Neth-erlands rounding out Group A.

Germany, who won it in 2003 and 2007, could also breathe a sigh of re-lief at their draw in Group B, which in-cludes dangerous 1995 champions Nor-way but also inexperienced Ivory Coast and Thailand.

Brazil, led by � ve-time women’s world player of the year Marta, launch their bid for a � rst World Cup crown against South Korea, fast-improving Spain and Costa Rica in Group E while France, ranked fourth in the world, will face England, Colombia and Mexico in Group F.

First-round matches will be played in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton, with the � nal in Vancouver on July 5.

Japan lifted the trophy with a dra-matic win over the United States in Germany four years ago, delivering a boost to their country months after a deadly earthquake and tsunami.

But the United States gained revenge by winning the Olympic gold ahead of Japan in London, with Canada taking bronze and France � nishing fourth.

Despite controversy over the plas-tic pitches for the event, Japanese head coach Norio Sasaki insisted they can adapt after beating Canada in a friendly on the surface in Edmonton in October. l

Ibra brace takes PSG topn AFP, Paris

Paris Saint-Germain leapfrogged Mar-seille into top spot in Ligue 1 on Sat-urday by coming from behind to beat Nantes 2-1 at the Parc des Princes thanks to a Zlatan Ibrahimovic brace.

Nantes had led thanks to a stunning early strike by United States interna-

tional Alejandro Bedoya, but Ibrahi-movic equalised before the interval and then got what proved to be the winner with a ferocious free-kick three minutes after the restart.

The result maintained PSG’s unbeat-en record this season - the only one left in Europe’s leading leagues after Pre-mier League leaders Chelsea lost earlier in the day - and allowed the defending champions to move provisionally two points clear at the top of Ligue 1.

Laurent Blanc’s side had been held at Lille in midweek but they bounced back to make it just one defeat in their last 39 home league games despite several leading players being rested ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Barcelona. Of his team’s unbeaten record, Blanc added: “It doesn’t give you anything, no extra points, no quali� ca-tion for any competition. It just means that you are having not too bad a season.”

Scorer of eight goals in his last nine games, Cavani was left on the bench at kick-o� along with Luiz and Matuidi.l

In-form United eye podium place at St Mary’sn AFP, London

Louis van Gaal’s resurgent Manches-ter United will have their eyes on third place in the Premier League table when they tackle Ronald Koeman’s sputtering Southampton at St Mary’s on Monday.

After winning only three of their � rst seven league games, a run of four con-secutive victories has taken United to within touching distance of early-sea-son surprise package Southampton.

Victory for United will lift them above Southampton into third place and allow Van Gaal’s team to close to within eight points of leaders Chelsea, who crashed to a 2-1 defeat at Newcas-tle United on Saturday.

Van Gaal’s relationship with his fel-low Dutchman Koeman provides one of the sub-plots for Monday’s game.

Koeman, 51, successfully worked under 63-year-old Van Gaal at Barcelo-na, but the pair fell out at Ajax in 2004, when Koeman was coach and Van Gaal technical director.

Van Gaal described Koeman as “weak” in his autobiography, but the two men have refused to discuss their relationship in the build-up to the game, with both declaring the matter “private”.l

More records as Ronaldo’s 23rd treble cheers Realn Reuters, Barcelona

Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a record 23rd La Liga hat-trick to guide leaders Real Madrid to a 3-0 victory over Celta Vigo at the Bernabeu on Saturday.

It also helped the European cham-pions extend their club record winning streak to 18 matches in all competitions and equal the record run of victories set by Barcelona between October 2005 and January 2006.

Elsewhere, a ferocious drive by Jose Maria Gimenez set Atletico Madrid on the way to a 2-0 triumph at Elche that lifted them into second place.

With his latest treble he overtook greats Alfredo Di Stefano of Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao’s Telmo Zarra and he has three more hat-tricks than his pres-ent day rival Lionel Messi at Barcelona.

Ronaldo, the inspiration behind Re-al’s blistering form this season, struck the opening goal from the penalty spot nine minutes before the break after he was felled by Jonny Castro.

There was no stopping Ronaldo though as he blasted a volley from the centre of the penalty area after 65 min-utes to make it 2-0 before adding a third goal from close range nine minutes from the end.

Real have 36 points from 14 games, four ahead of Atletico and � ve in front of Barcelona who host Espanyol on Sunday.

Diego Simeone’s Atletico side are bet-ter known for their aerial threat at set-plays but they showed versatility

to work a short corner to centre back Gimenez on the edge of the area and he lashed into the back of the Elche net after 15 minutes.

Mario Mandzukic � nished clinically eight minutes into the second half to seal a victory that sees them leapfrog Barcelona who take on city rivals Es-panyol on Sunday.

Cordoba picked up their � rst league win of the season, beating Athletic Bilbao 1-0 with a Nabil Ghilas strike to climb o� the bottom of the table.

A rocket shot by Sergi Darder from 30 metres gave sixth-placed Malaga a 1-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna.l

Aguero injury overshadows City winn AFP, Manchester

Manchester City manager Manuel Pel-legrini admits it’s impossible to know how long knee ligament injury victim Sergio Aguero will be sidelined after the star striker hobbled o� in the 1-0 win over Everton.

The Argentina international, the Premier League’s top scorer with 14 goals, limped out in the second minute when he jarred his knee as he stretched for the ball in a challenge with Mu-hamed Besic.

City’s medical sta� will assess Aguero on Sunday to determine the extent of the injury and how long they expect the 26-year-old to be on the sidelines.

Pellegrini has already ruled Aguero out of Wednesday’s decisive Cham-pions League game against Roma in which City must better CSKA Moscow’s result against Bayern Munich to prog-ress to the knockout stage.

“It is not good news, I don’t think he will be able to play,” Pellegrini said.

“We must wait for the diagnostic, the important thing he will not play against Roma and that is a very import-ant game. It’s impossible to know how

long he will be out.“He has a problem with his liga-

ment in his knee and on Sunday we will know better how serious it is.

“It’s very di� cult if you have trouble in your ligament to recover in a few days. Of course it’s a big problem, because Ser-gio was in a very good moment and is an important player for our team.”

Premier League leaders Chelsea slipped to a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United earlier in the day which meant City’s victory moved to them within three points of the London club.

The victory over Everton came thanks to a Yaya Toure’s 24th-minute penalty and Pellegrini said it proved his side are not just one-man team reliant on Aguero.

“The way we won was important for what we showed in defence. Some-times it’s important to just win 1-0.

“We had a chance to score another goal and didn’t so I am pleased for the defence because they are criticised a lot, but I thought they did very well.

“It was important for a lot of things. Chelsea lost their game and it was im-portant to recover the points and to be near the leaders.

“December is a very di� erent month where we have to play a lot of games. It’s a month where maybe you don’t win the title as such, but it is a key month to try to start the next year near the top.”l

Late Moteab goal makes Egyptian history for Al Ahlin Reuters

Emad Moteab struck in the sixth min-ute of added time as Al Ahli landed their � rst African Confederation Cup title with a 1-0 second-leg victory over Sewe Sport de San Pedro in the � nal in Cairo on Saturday.

The striker’s late header made the aggregate score 2-2 but Al Ahli won on the away goals rule amid joyous scenes as they became the � rst Egyptian team to lift the trophy.

Ivory Coast side Sewe Sport had the best chances in the second leg and hit the crossbar in the � rst half with a thunderous shot from mid� elder Sou-leymane Dembele.

However, they invited pressure in the latter stages of the match and the only goal came when a cross from the right by Walid Soliman was met by the unmarked Moteab.l

LIGUE 1PSG 2-1 NantesIbrahimovic 34, 48 Bedoya 8

Bordeaux 3-2 LorientKhazri 43, Jeannot 31, Diabate 64, 66 Le Go� 51

Caen 2-3 NiceDuhamel 39-P, Amavi 32, Bautheac 64-P,Nangis 45 Plea 74

Rennes 0-4 Montpellier Martin 23, Sanson 55, Barrios 60, Mounier 90+2

Saint-Etienne 1-0 SC BastiaVan Wolfswinkel 58

BUNDESLIGAM’gladbach 3-2 Hertha BerlinJantschke 9, Schieber 45, Ra� ael 53, Hazard 83 Kalou 90+2

Hanover 96 1-3 VfL WolfsburgJoselu 45+1 De Bruyne 4, Dost 69, Arnold 85

VfB Stuttgart 0-4 Schalke 04 Choupo-Moting 1, 21, 61, Meyer 10

Cologne 1-2 AugsburgUjah 13 Djurdjic 53, Esswein 90

Paderborn 1-1 FreiburgKachunga 89 Darida 18-P

Bayern Munich 1-0 LeverkusenRibery 51

LA LIGAElche 0-2 Atletico Madrid Gimenez 16, Mandzukic 53

Athletic Bilbao 0-1 Cordoba Ghilas 23

Real Madrid 3-0 Celta VigoRonaldo 36-P, 65, 81

Group A (Edmonton)Canada, China, New Zealand, NetherlandsGroup B (Ottawa)Germany, Ivory Coast, Norway, ThailandGroup C (Vancouver)Japan, Switzerland, Cameroon, EcuadorGroup D (Winnipeg)USA, Australia, Sweden, NigeriaGroup E (Montreal) Brazil, South Korea, Spain, Costa RicaGroup F (Moncton)France, England, Colombia, Mexico

WOMEN’S WC DRAW

Paris St Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates after scoring during their French Ligue 1 match against FC Nantes at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on Saturday REUTERS

Manchester City’s Argentinian striker Sergio Aguero su� ers an injury during their EPL match on Saturday AFP

EPLMan City 1-0 EvertonToure 24-P

DHAKA TRIBUNE Entertainment Monday, December 8, 2014 15

The MasterHBO De� ned, 10am

A Naval veteran arrives home from war unsettled and uncertain of his future - until he is tantalized by The Cause and its charismatic leader.

The FugitiveWB, 8:57pm

Dr Richard Kimble, unjustly ac-cused of murdering his wife, must � nd the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt.

The Polar ExpressHBO, 11:36pm

On Christmas Eve, a doubting boy boards a magical train that’s head-ed to the North Pole and Santa Claus’ home.

Looking up and above with Ranjit Dasn Nadira Sultana Ava

Humans are surrounded by di� erent elements of nature – be it living be-ings or inanimate objects, in all kinds of shapes, colours and sizes. To some, these variations may mean nothing, but to some others, these are inspirations of artistic endeavour.

In such a setting, artists are spokes-persons of what is happening around them, and Ranjit Das is one such artist. He has portrayed his surroundings in 34 paintings, currently on display at his solo exhibition titled “Looking Up and Above” at Gallery Kaya in the capital, which began on Friday.

“My paintings are my constant en-deavour to capture the true character-istics of my surroundings. Nature has various shapes and forms. As an artist, I tried to translate those aspects of na-ture into a humanitarian form on the canvas,” Ranjit said about his paintings.

A pro� cient artist, Ranjit paints us-ing di� erent media, such as acrylic on canvas, ink on paper, charcoal on pa-per, and graphite and chalk pastel on paper. However, in the exhibit most of the paintings have been done in acrylic.

In the present world, when art-ists are relying more on abstract concepts, Ranjit has adopted � g-urative style to make his paint-ings pleasing for the layman’s eyes.

One of the acrylic paintings on display, titled “Rhythm and Distortion 1,” de-picts three im-ages of a female face in milieu of birds, insects and trees. The best part of the paint-ing is assorted shades of red that dominates the com-position of the faces.

In” Harmony 2,” another acrylic painting, the artist has portrayed a man and some women in modern out� ts, de-picting urban life.

However, regardless of the subjects

and the media, one aspect is common in all the paintings – they are equally cap-tivating, boldly demanding the viewers’ attention when they pass them by.

The exhibition, which will run until December 19, is open for all from 11am to 8pm every day. l

MOUSHUMI to play crime reportern Shadma Malik

Promising actress Moushumi Hamid is going to appear as a journalist on big screen.

Under the direction of Hasan Fuad, she will be seen in a � lm titled “Lukochuri Prem,” shooting of which is going to start from the begin-ning of next year.

About the plot, Moushumi says: “Lukochhuri Prem is a triangular love story. I will play the character of a crime reporter. Arzoo and Irin will play the roles of my colleagues. We will be sharing a good emotion-al bond on screen.”

“As a crime reporter I will do investigative stories, I will delve into the world of crime, the underground world. The role is a challenging one that overcomes risks and thousands of barriers,” she said.

Asked if she was ever interested to become a journalist, the popular actress said: “Never ever in my life. I have seen political events where female journalists are humiliated. It is a challenging profession indeed.”

“For doing this � lm, I will be getting in touch with some of the crime reporters, I believe that will enhance my skills to do justice to the script.”

Moushumi’s upcoming � lm “Blackmail” is expected to release in this month. Besides, she is working for “Black Money” and the squeal of “Purno Doirgho Prem Kahini.” l

The show of dance drama ‘Badi-Bandar Kahini’ was ended at the National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilapakala Academy on Saturday. Based on the fairy tale ‘Alibaba and the Forty Thieves’, the Srishti Cultural Centre produced and premiered the dance drama. Kolkata-based choreographer Sukalyan Bhattacharya directed the two day long production. Local dance artistes Shibly Mohammad (as Alibaba), Shamim Ara Nipa (as Morzina), Sakhina (as Sabrina Nisha), Dolly Iqbal (as Fatema) Anisul Islam Hiru (as Abdullah), among others, performed on stage

Lux-Channel i Superstar second runner up 2014, Nilanjona Nila is going to play a role in a Tele� lm titled ‘Taroi Prothikkhai’ based on the country’s War of Liberation in 1971. She will share the screen with Jayanta Chattopadhyay, Saberi Alam and Wasek in the TV play which is scheduled to be aired in the Channel i on the victory day on December 16

AAMIR says PK has been the toughest rolen Entertainment Desk

Bollywood star Aamir Khan says his character in upcom-ing � lm “PK” does not su� er from autism and is one

of the toughest roles he has done in his career.“’PK’ is not autistic. He has a reasonable ap-

proach to life. He does not blink. It is one of the toughest roles I have played in my career,” said the actor. PK is a comedy of ideas about a stranger in the city, who asks questions that no one has asked before. PK makes loyal friends and powerful foes. Finally, it is a moving saga about a friendship between strangers from worlds apart.

The � lm, scheduled to hit theatres on December 19, is produced by Vidhu Vinod

Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani, who has also di-rected the movie. Oscar Award winner Resul Pookutty is the sound designer for the � lm.

Aamir said that Hirani is the force behind the � lm. “This particular � lm was a special

challenge to me and the experience of that jour-ney is quite satisfactory. PK has been really an

amazing experience for me. The � lm has shaped up pretty much as we desired,” he said. l

NICOLE KIDMAN: 2014 has been a really hard year for me personally n Entertainment Desk

Nicole Kidman has said that 2014 has been a real-ly hard year. Speaking at the Australian premiere of “Paddington” in Sydney, the actor said it felt good to close out the year with a � lm that makes people smile, following the grief of losing her father, Austra-lian clinical psychologist Antony Kidman, to a heart attack in August.

“Personally [it’s been] really really really hard,” she told Guardian Australia. “My family underwent

a massive tragedy. So not my favourite year. But I try not to be ungrateful – I’m grateful to be alive.”

It has been a mixed year for Kidman on screen, too, with Oliver Dahan’s biopic “Grace

of Monaco” critically panned in February, but “Paddington” topping the UK box o� ce after universally warm reviews. The � lm is released in Australia on 11 December and in January in the US.

“My whole career is always a roll-er-coaster,” she said on the red carpet.

“I’m so random and spontaneous and unusual in my choices – I never expect

anything.”Kidman, who has two daughters with

her husband, Australian country music singer, Keith Urban, and an adopted son and

daughter with former partner Tom Cruise, said: “I hadn’t made a � lm that had made people feel

good for a long time. I’d made � lms that are darker in tone. So, it’s really nice to be able to make a � lm where you can say: “yeah, bring your kids’.”

The Oscar-winning actor is set for a busy 2015, starring opposite Robert Pattinson in Werner Herzog’s Queen of the Desert and opposite Hugo Weaving and Joseph Fiennes in the Sundance-bound Strangerland, by Australian director Kim Farrant in her feature de-but. l

WHITNEY HOUSTON’s TV biopic to premiere in Januaryn Entertainment Desk

The TV biopic on late singer Whitney Houston, titled “Whitney,” will air on January 17, reported Ace Showbiz. The � lm, directed by Angela Bassett, stars Yaya DaCosta as the much-loved singer, and actor Arlen Escarpeta playing Bob-by Brown.

“Whitney” will follow the pair’s rela-tionship from their � rst meeting to their headline-making marriage, while also showing the di� culties they faced as Ms Houston rose to fame around the world.

The � lm will include hit singles in-cluding “I Will Always Love You,” “I’m Every Woman and The Greatest Love Of

All,” all sung by the Grammy-nominated singer. Deborah Cox Brown’s “Every Lit-tle Step” will also feature.

Meanwhile, Lifetime has also an-nounced that the premiere will be fol-lowed by an hour-long documentary Beyond the “Headlines: Whitney Hous-ton.”

The programme will feature inter-views with industry insiders, colleagues and friends including Darlene Love. “American Horror Story” star Bassett recently defended the � lm, after Whit-ney’s mother Cissy Houston criticised it for going ahead without the family’s blessing. “Whitney” will premiere on Lifetime on Saturday, January 17, 2015. l

LANA DEL REY beginswork on third albumn Entertainment Desk

Lana Del Rey has con� rmed that work has begun on her new album. The sing-er released her second album “Ultra-violence” in June of this year but has already started recording its follow up, according to an interview she gave to Galore. Interviewed by her sister, Chuck Grant, Del Rey discussed her recent � lm work and her next studio album.

“I just wrote two songs for Tim Bur-ton and Harvey Weinestein’s � lm called ‘Big Eyes,’” she said in relation to mate-rial that was debuted earlier this week, “and I’m working on a new record.”

And that’s not all Del Rey has on at the moment, “I’m also always writing

small pieces for independent � lms etc. Dan Heath and Rick Nowels are two of my dearest friends and producers and we are always up to something.”

“Big Eyes” tells the story of American artist Margaret Keane, whose paintings, characterised by their illustrations of large eyeballs, were falsely credited to her husband. The movie stars Amy Ad-ams and will hit cinemas at Christmas.

It was recently announced that Lana Del Rey will tour the US with Courtney Love in 2015. The two acts will hit the road together as part of the Endless Summer Tour. The joint stint will be-gin at the Woodlands Festival in Texas, before heading to Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles and other cities. l

16 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, December 8, 2014

Khasia villagers gripped by eviction fearThey fear arrest at any time following a case � led by a tea garden against ‘unidenti� ed Khasia people’n Morshed Jahan Mithun back

from Sreemangal

Arkid Pohshyad was scared hearing the growl of an approaching car around midnight one night last month. The 10-year-old ran to warn his mother. “Tell father to hide deeper in the forest. The police are coming.”

Arkid’s Khasia neighbourhood has been living in fear of eviction since end May. He was afraid that the police would arrest his father in a murder case � led by the nearby Nahar Tea Garden management. They had mentioned “unidenti� ed Khasia people” immedi-ately putting them under the radar.

The local Khasia chief, however, says there is nothing to it. “It was only to harass us.”

Two adjacent Khasia villages (Punji) of Moulvibazar with 79 families have been gripped with such fear that the sound of approaching engines sends a chill down their spines.

“My son was a residential student of class IV at Classic Ideal School in Sree-mangal. But he had to come back as we feared he might be kidnapped. I do

not want to lose my son,” said Arkid’s mother Asrin Pohshyad.

The tension began on the morning of May 30. It was around 11am when about 200 armed tea garden workers and out-siders led by Nahar Tea Garden Manag-er Pijush Kanti Bhattacharya marched towards the two punjis in an apparent attempt to grab the Khasia lands.

At least 20 Khasia villagers including women were seriously injured in the ensuing skirmish. One Nitai Tanti, 45, a casual labourer who was injured, died in a hospital two days later.

Pijush lodged a murder cases nam-ing 18 and 160 unidenti� ed Khasia peo-ple. The garden manager alleged that Nitai had died from a gunshot � red by the Khasia chief. But the autopsy report, seen by this correspondent, concluded that his death was due to a strong blow to the back of the head.

The Khasias also wanted to lodge a complaint having lost many betel leaf plants from the attack. But the police did not let them. Instead the Khasias had to be content with just ageneral diary.

Pijush’s assistant manager, Mizanur

Rahman, � led the second case on Au-gust 30 accusing 28 villagers of burgla-ry, use of illegal � rearms, and destruc-tion of tea estate property.

“The 28 villagers included a dead man, a physically handicapped per-son and another who was already in police custody. How can a physically challenged man ruin their tea garden?” wondered Dibarmin Potam, the local Khasia chief.

Pijush did not have an answer when asked how a deceased or a physical-ly-challenged man could be involved in vandalising a tea garden.

Mizanur Rahman lodged anoth-er “false” case with the Sreemangal police against the Khasia villagers onSeptember 2.

The Khasias allege that tea garden o� cials along with miscreants regu-larly threaten them and vandalise their betel vines – the lifeline of the matri-archal indigenous community – to de-stroy their main source of income.

Each vine takes three to four years to mature after which it yields betel leaves for the following 10-12 years.

“We are Bangladeshi citizens and

have been living on this land for long. But the garden authorities claim to be the owners,” Dibarmin said alleging that they were not even allowed to use the road that runs by the Nahar Tea Garden after dusk.

Pijush denied barring the Khasias from using the road beside the garden. “Everyone is allowed to use the road. But we cannot allow criminals.”

Asked whether all 700 Khasias living in the villages were criminals, Pijush remained silent.

The tea garden authorities sold 4,000 trees of the Khasia villages to a local trader named Selim Uddin in September 2008. The forest and en-vironment ministry put a stop to fell-ing trees following protests by theKhasia people.

But when the same ministry on June 15 this year approved cutting down “old and harmful” trees, Selim felled 200 trees most of which had betel vines on them.

Nahar Tea Garden was set up in 1960 on 350 hectares. The Khasia community leased out 80 hectares and established the Aslom Punji. Later more people set-

tled in what is now the Kylin Punji.The Khasia have been paying the

tea garden authorities Tk25,000 asyearly rent.

However, the garden authorities re-portedly forced the Khasias to abandon eight hectares every year to expand the garden.

“The media is favouring the Khasias. They are not publishing the truth that the government ordered us to expand the tea garden by 2.5% every year,” Pijush Kanti told the Dhaka Tribune. “The land belongs to the tea estate, not the indigenous people who are occu-pying it. We will expand our garden by hook or by crook.”

A civic group comprising activists, journalists and researchers visited the Khasia dwellings from November15 to 16.

Pavel Partha, a researcher who was on the team, said the tea garden author-ities were moving in the wrong direction denying the Khasia their rights. “The problem is deepening as the corporate tea business is expanding. The rising demand for tea is another reason why such con� icts have been on the rise.” l

Actor Khalil dies n Tribune Report

Renowned actor Khalil Ullah Khan died of heart ailments at the age of 80 yesterday. The revered actor died around 11am in the coronary care unit of Square Hospital.

Khalil was honoured with the Life-time Achievement Award at the Na-tional Film Award Ceremony 2012.

Khalil Ullah Khan was born on Febru-ary 1, 1934. He made powerful appear-ances both on silver screen and small screen. Beginning his career as a thea-tre activist, he made his debut in Zahir Raihan’s Sonar Kajol.

His � lms include Preet Na Jane Reet, Bhawal Sannashi, Jongli Phool, Bini Su-tar Mala, Wada, Bou Kotha Kow, Sonar Cheye Dami, Megher Pore Megh, Mod-humoti and many more. Besides acting in more than 800 � lms, Khalil earned appreciation for his role “Miya” on the famous play on BTV “Sangsaptak.”

He was also the president of Bangla-desh Film Artistes’ Association. l

Tk1.1 crore snatched in two incidentsn Ashif Islam Shaon

In two separate armed mugging in the capital yesterday, unidenti� ed miscreants took away Tk1.1 crore.

The � rst crime was committed in Mirpur, where muggers shot the driver of a private car in his leg and snatched Tk90 lakh from the three passengers, who work at a distri-bution � rm that has business with bKash and Airtel.

The driver, Jahidul Islam, was sent to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation.

The three passengers - Akhter, Yahiya, and Moha - were on the way to Brac Bank and Standard Chartered Bank in Mirpur 11 to de-posit the money, said Dhaka Met-ropolitan Police (DMP) Assistant Commissioner (Pallabi zone) Md Kamal Hossain.

“Tk76 lakh of bKash was sup-posed to be deposited in Brac Bank while the remaining Tk14 lakh in Standard Chartered Bank. The car had motorcycle escorts provided by the company but they stopped following the vehicle after it

moved around 700 yards from the o� ce,” he said.

A group of muggers intercepted the car near Proshika Bhaban, and one of them broke the windshield by hitting with a shovel.

“They wanted to hijack the car along with the money and asked the driver for the key at gunpoint. They shot him when he refused to hand the key,” said Matlubur Rah-man, Rupnagar police inspector (investigation).

“They also � red a shot in the air as a passer-by was watching the in-cident,” he added.

Deputy Commissioner of DMP’s Mirpur division Nisarul Arif said CCTV footage was collected from some nearby shops which would help identify the muggers.

“We have also quizzed � ve people in this connection,” hesaid.

Arif said city dwellers have re-peatedly been advised to ask for police escort while carrying large amounts of money but the compa-ny did not do it.

Four local youths own the com-pany, he added.

In another incident in Khilgaon, criminals in the afternoon shot Abdus Salam, general manager of Ekota General Store, and snatched Tk20 lakh from him while he was going to bank to to deposit the money.

Three to four muggers inter-cepted Salam’s rickshaw near the tempo stop in Goran, shot him in the leg and � ed with the money immediately.

Rickshaw puller muggedA 30-year-old rickshaw puller named Abdul Aziz was stabbed in Rupnagar around 5am yesterday when he was returning home from Sayedabad bus stop in a CNG-run autorickshaw.

The attackers intercepted the vehicle near his residence, stabbed him indiscriminately and snatched Tk2,000.

He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

“Aziz brought the money from his hometown in Bager-hat to migrate abroad,” his wife Rabeya told reporters at thehospital. l

Cuban doctor cured of Ebola, returns homen AP, Havana

A Cuban doctor successfully treated for Ebola at a Swiss hospital returned home Saturday.

Felix Baez Sarria contracted Ebola while working with a Cuban govern-ment medical team in Sierra Leone and was � own to Geneva for treatment on November 20.

In a brief meeting with journalists at Havana's international airport, Baez said that he and his colleagues in Afri-ca are committed to � ghting the Ebola outbreak.

"I will return there to � nish what I started," said the doctor, who was wel-comed home by his wife and two sons.

The Geneva University Hospital said Saturday that tests this week showed Baez was cured.

The chief medical o� cer of Gene-va c, Jacques-Andre Romand, said in a statement that "the total recovery of the patient, con� rmed by thorough laboratory tests, now allows him to leave the country and travel with no risk of contagion." l

Biggest mobile Hackathon � nds solution to national problemsn Muhammad Zahidul Islam

After 36 straight hours of programming, mobile applications found solutions to 10 social and national problems at the National Mobile Hackathon that started on Saturday morning and concluded last night.

Also termed the biggest of its kind in the world, the event churned out around three hundred projects, out of which one was select-ed as the best solution for each of the problems.

The participants were asked to � nd mo-bile-based solutions to question paper leak-age, corruption, sexual harassment, tra� c jam, security on the highways, sanitation, water transport safety, cyclone centre man-agement, reproductive health, and personal health problems.

The Information and Communication Technology Division will announce the win-ner among the selected 10 in a day or two, who will receive a Tk20-lakh award from the Access to Information (a2i) Programme’s innovation fund to materialise their project, sources said.

The other nine projects will receive � nan-cial assistance from the innovation fund as well.

All 10 teams are supposed to turn in their solution paper by today noon.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Jabec, a team from Dhaka City College that worked on highway security, said their project in-cluded a list of accident-prone areas across the country, and whenever a vehicle neared one of such areas, the app would send an alert message to the app user.

Innovation, a team from Patuakhali Sci-ence and Technology University, built an app to tackle sexual harassment.

“Users of our app will be able to send emergency message to the nearest relative when under the threat of sexual harass-ment,” team leader Zahid Hasan told the Dhaka Tribune.

The most popular problem at the Hacka-thon was tra� c jam – 40 teams worked on this problem alone.

A total of 1,675 young developers, free-lancers, students and mobile application de-velopers participated in the event, divided into 288 teams, each containing � ve mem-bers – both coders and designers. The partic-ipants worked on Android, IOS and Firefox OS platforms to build the solutions. l

Bangladesh sends water to Maldivesn Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Bangladesh has sent 100,000 litres of drinking water and � ve desalination plants to the Maldives in a bid to assist the country during its ongoing emer-gency over drinking water crisis.

Bangladesh Navy Ship (BNS) Sam-udra Joy at left Chittagong yesterday with the aid, read a press release of Bangladesh Navy.

The move came in reply to a call by the Maldives government, which re-quested international assistance after a devastating � re at Male’s sole water

sewage treatment plant on December 4 led to the halt of drinking water supply to around 100,000 people in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

To assist during the crisis, India has already sent two ships with spare parts for the damaged plant, while the Mal-dives government has also appealed to Sri Lanka, China and the US for help.

“The ship [BNS Samudra Joy], with about 200 crews led by Captain Kutu-buddin, is scheduled to reach Maldives’ capital Male on December 11 and will conduct their water distribution stay-ing in Male,” the release read.

The navy ship and the navy person-nel would distribute the water while the � ve desalination plants are capable of supplying about 30,000 litres of pu-ri� ed water per day and the ship’s own water plant will also provide about 10,000 litres of puri� ed water to the people of Male, the release added.

Bangladesh Navy (Chittagong re-gion) Area Commander Rear Admiral Mohammad Akhter Habib, Commo-dore Commanding of Chittagong Flotil-la Commodore M Khalid Iqbal and oth-er navy o� cials were present during the departure of the ship. l

JMB planning to make rocket launchersn Tribune Desk

Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was planning to make rocket launchers with lathe machines, using designs downloaded from the internet on mobile phones, Indian counter-ter-ror agencies investigating the October 2 blast at Bardhaman in West Bengal have uncovered, reports Hindustan Times.

Two alleged bomb makers — Sham-im Shakil Ahmed and Sopan Mondal – died in the explosion.

Abdul Hakim – also injured in the blast – con� rmed that the entire group,

including the two dead, belonged to the outlawed militant out� t JMB.

But Hakim refused to disclose fur-ther, saying he did not trust Indian po-lice.

Ahmed’s wife Rumi Bibi said the group was trying to reproduce the weapons using a lathe machine, inves-tigators said.

Photos of rocket launcher designs and projectiles were found in the re-cords of phones destroyed in the blast.

Investigators have pieced together evidence using IMEI numbers of the mobile phones to trace JMB operatives.

Meanwhile, the Indian detective agency CID on Monday intensi� ed its search of a Bangladeshi national and JMB operative named Kausar who took delivery of a consignment of IEDs.

Rumi Bibi had told security agencies that they sent four consignments of bombs in the last three months through Kausar and another man called Rasiq.

Investigations showed Kausar was the main motivator and carried bombs in a black rucksack along with Rasiq. Despite having their phone records, In-dian and Bangladeshi agencies haven’t been able to trace the duo. l

Received Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012

The Jahangirnagar University plays host to � ocks of migratory birds which is a sign that winter is here. The photo was taken yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

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

www.dhakatribune.com/business MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2014

B3 More than $150bn of oil projects face the axe in 2015

B4 ILO: Blame your boss, not China, for stagnant wage growth

WB to support VAT modernisation n Tribune Business Desk

The World Bank will provide $60 million to modernise Bang-ladesh’s value added tax (VAT) administration and to boost tax revenue, according to an agree-ment signed in Dhaka yesterday.

Economic Relations Division (ERD) Additional Secretary Kazi Sho� qul Azam and World Bank Lead Economist and Acting Country Director Salman Zaidi signed the deal on behalf of their respective sides, reports UNB.

The credits from the Interna-tional Development Association (IDA) – the arm of the World Bank Group that helps the world’s poorest countries – have 40 years maturity time with a 10-year grace period, and carry a service charge of 0.75%.

The Washington-based lend-ing agency is giving the fund

under the VAT Improvement Programme Project which will introduce automation, includ-ing online VAT taxpayer servic-es, and improve transparency in the VAT administration system.

The project eyes the ratio of VAT to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to increase by at least one percentage point of GDP by 2019. The VAT to GDP ratio for 2012-13 is 3.7%. l

It will support the govern-ment to implement the new VAT law which comes into ef-fect in 2015 and aims to provide better services and reduced ad-ministrative costs for taxpayers.

The project will include a campaign to raise awareness of the need to register and � le for VAT. The project will seek to in-crease the number of active regis-tered taxpayers to 85,000 within the next � ve years compared to

around 35,000 VAT payers today.It will introduce modern busi-

ness processes and Information Technology systems as well as a more transparent service-orient-ed tax administration, registra-tion, return processing, and tax payment will become possible online. This will reduce compli-ance costs for taxpayers.

The project will also support the VAT administration system to become fully compliant with Bangladesh’s Right to Informa-tion (RTI) Act. The introduction of vigorous Management Infor-mation System will enable the administration to detect irreg-ularities and initiate remedial measures.

An ERD o� cial said the pro-ject will improve taxpayer ser-vices, encourage better compli-ance and increase tax revenue by automating the VAT system. l

Beza’s Tk3,000cr land acquisition proposal rejected n Asif Showkat Kallol

The Ministry of Finance has rejected a Tk3,000cr proposal from the Bangla-desh Economic Zones Authority (Beza) to acquire land, saying that private capital be raised for it.

The ministry suggested the crea-tion of a Bangladesh Bank fund to raise private capital, explaining that it had declined to allot the funds in order to maintain � scal discipline, o� cial sources said.

The decision was made at an in-ter-ministry meeting at the Finance Di-vision o� ce last week after the Prime Minister’s O� ce sought Tk2,917cr in urgent allocation from the Finance Di-vision to acquire land to set up the � ve economic zones under Beza.

The meeting was presided over by Additional Secretary of Finance Divi-sion Jalal Ahmed.

The Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikdar told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday: “It may put massive pressure on this year’s budget to provide nearly Tk3,000cr for Beza, so we will take an alternative path.”

“We will amend the economic zone investment policy to allow private sec-tor � rms that have three years’ experi-ence to develop the economic zones,” Sobhan said.

In some cases funds from the gov-ernment exchequer will not be re-quired, he said.

The PM’s principal secretary said: “Japanese investors are keen on de-veloping economic zones surrounding Dhaka city, but the government wants to provide 8,000 acres of land at Mir-sarai in Chittagong.”

Korean investors have developed 500 acres of land at the Korean Export Processing Zones (KEPZ) out of the 2,492 acres of land allotted to KEPZ 16 years ago, he added.

He said: “The rest of the land allot-ted to the KEPZ will be given to other foreign investors interested in devel-oping export processing zones.”

Meanwhile, an o� cial of the Finance Division said it had already asked Beza to start talks with the authorities about � nancing the development of the eco-nomic zone sites.

It called for Beza, the Financial In-stitutions Division and Bangladesh

Bank to work together to set up the fund.

According to the decision last week, loans from local commercial banks will not be viable for Beza since their inter-est rates are so much higher than for-eign banks.

The meeting decided that state-owned commercial banks would guar-antee any foreign loans that Beza takes.

Of the total Tk2,916cr Beza has sought, Tk2,700cr is for the develop-ment of economic zones at Mirsarai in Chittagong, Gohira in Anowara of Chit-tagong and Moulvibazar in Sylhet.

The remaining Tk216cr is to acquire land in Mongla and Sirajganj.

The Mirsarai, Anowara and Moulvibazar zones are 6615.12 acres, 611.47 acres and 354.99 acres in area, respectively.

The � ve zones are Sirajganj, Rajsha-hi, Mirsrai of Chittagong, Gohira in Anowara of Chittagong and Moulviba-zar in greater Sylhet.

At the � rst Beza board meeting held on April 18, 2012, the body, headed by the prime minister, decided to estab-lish � ve economic zones in the country within the next two years. l

SME lending rises over 15%n Tribune Report

Loan disbursement to Small and Me-dium Enterprises rose over 15% in � rst nine months of the current year as banks focused the sector to achieve ex-pected credit growth set in monetary policy by Bangladesh Bank.

Banks and non-bank � nancial insti-tutions disbursed a loan of Tk72,062 crore between January and September this year which was 81% of a total an-nual target of Tk89,030 crore, accord-ing to the central bank data released yesterday.

The loan of Tk62,472 crore was dis-bursed in the same period last year against the target of Tk 74,186 crore.

Bangladesh Bank has taken several steps to encourage banks and non-bank � nancial institutions for � nanc-ing the SME sector.

As part of its e� ort, the central bank awarded the best SME promoter on Oc-tober through arranging “SME Banking Award and SME Financing Fair 2014”.

It also held a seminar in November ti-tled “SME development: role of an e� ec-tive SME association” as part of its drive for developing SMEs in the country.

Banks are now focusing the SME sector as they are burdened with sur-plus money amid lack of loan demand

from industrial sector, said a senior ex-ecutive of a private bank.

He said banks are now trying to come out of traditional banking and concentrating on the SMEs to achieve credit growth.

According to the central bank data, a major share of total disbursed SME loan goes to business. In last nine months, 64% of total SME loan went to business sector, 28% to industrial sector and 8% to service sector.

Loan disbursement to women entre-

preneurs increased by 13% to Tk2,651 crore between July and September quarter compared to the same period last year.

Of the total disbursed SME loan in the last quarter, Tk6203 crore went to rural area and Tk18,750 crore to urban area, according to the central bank data.

The number of new entrepreneurs increased by 27% to 61,210 in the � rst nine months compared to the same pe-riod last year. l

Experts at a discussion on apparel industry following inaguration of the Dhaka Apparel Summit 2014 at BICC in Dhaka yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Experts show path to achieve $50bn apparel export n Tribune Report

Speakers at a session of the country’s � rst Apparel Summit 2014 have made a series of recommendations, which in-clude branding Bangladesh, for reach-ing US$50bn export target by 2021.

The other recommendations are enhancing workers’ productivity, de-veloping infrastructure, ensuring good governance, education, and penetrat-ing to high-end products.

The speakers came up with the rec-ommendation at the � rst session styled “Bangladesh RMG 2021 – reaching $50bn on 50th anniversary of Bangla-desh – A collaborative and coordinated approach” during the apparel summit being held in the city.

BGMEA President Md. Atiqul Islam moderated the session.

The session focused on devising a strategic action plan to overcome the existing challenges and realise the po-tentials to make the RMG sector sus-tainable and to reach the $50bn export target by 2021.

“To meet the export target, RMG sector needs lot of entrepreneurs, gov-ernance, education, workers e� cien-cy, value-added products and above all Branding Bangladesh,” said Francois de Maricourt, chief executive o� cer of HSBC Limited, Bangladesh.

He noted that Bangladesh stands in second position in 25 countries in terms of trade con� dence as per the latest HSBC Trade Con� dence Index, which is very positive for the country.

Kihak Sung, founder chairman and chief executive o� cer of Youngone Corporation said: “Bangladesh can eas-

ily earn $50bn by 2021 if the workers’ e� ciency is increased by 10% and the infrastructure is improved further.”

Achieving $50bn should not be the goal; rather pro� t and better life should be the main target. E� ciency is the key element of reaching the target. “I have increased the workers e� ciency by 200% in the last seven years,” he said.

General Secretary of Bangladesh Trade Union Kendra Wajedul Islam Khan said, “It is very unfortunate when we discuss RMG sector, keeping the workers out of the scene, although both the workers and trade unions play an integrated role in this sector.”

“As opportunity for Bangladesh is growing and if the progress continues with the present pace, there is no question about reaching the export target of $50bn by Bangladesh,’’ said

Rick Darling, executive director of Li and Fung.

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said: “Comprehensive action plan has been undertaken by the government to provide all the facilities to the RMG sector, so the sector can be full-� edged compliant one within the next three years.”

Speaking on the impact of high bank interest rate, Mostafa Golam Quddus, former president of BGMEA said: “We are becoming less competitive due to high interest rates compared to our competitors.”

“Infrastructure, energy and educa-tion need to be ensured to achieve the target,” said Ellen O’Kane Tauscher, in-dependent chair to board of directors of Alliance for Bangladesh Workers’ Safety. l

Workers at a small light engineering factory in the city’s Dholaikhal RAJIB DHAR

A � reman briefs a visitor on � re safety equipment at a programme held on the sidelines of the Dhaka Apparel Summit 2014 at BICC yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Russian � rm’s slot to be taken for � rst satellite n Asif Showkat Kallol and

Muhammad Zahidul Islam

The government has decided to pro-cure 119.2 east longitude orbital slot from Russian company Intersputnik to launch the country’s � rst ever satellite, Bangabandhu Satellite-1.

The cabinet committee on econom-ic a� airs yesterday approved a propos-al of Post and Telecommunication Di-vision to acquire the slot at $28m under procure from single source method.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith presid-ed over the cabinet committee meeting.

“Bangladesh has no other choices other than procuring the slot from the Russian company,” said cabinet division joint secretary Musta� zur Rahman.

BTRC commissioner ATM Monirul Alam thinks if the country wants to launch its inaugural satellite by 2017, there is only option which is taking slot from Intersputnik.

“Time is very limited and options are also limited. If we want to launch the satellite on time, the only option is Intersputnik,” he told Dhaka Tribune.

Finance ministry sources said if the deal was not signed with Intersputnik by December 31, the company would sell the slot to another interested party.

The project’s consultant Space Part-nership International, a US company, has rated the slot as the best among re-maining options for the satellite.

Monirul Alam said though a cost of $45m was sought, it has now been pro-posed at $28m.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is the implementing agency of the project.

BTRC commissioner said the slot will be bought for a 15-year period which can be extended twice for same years each time with no additional payment.

The Russian company Intersputnik is willing to give full control of the satellite to Bangladesh, a feature not provided in other available orbital slots, according to the Telecom Division’s proposal.

There is a scope to launch three sat-ellites in a line from the slot and it will be possible to provide many planned quality services to Bangladesh and oth-er countries in the region through it.

If the second and the third satellites are not launched in near future, the country can earn revenue by leasing out or selling the remaining frequency to other countries across the world.

Currently, the country’s demand for a satellite is met by renting bandwidth from di� erent satellite operator, which cost almost $14m each year, with the amount increasing progressively.

On November 25, Executive Com-mittee of the National Economic Coun-cil (ECNEC) approved Tk2,967 crore for the Bangabandhu project, of which, Tk1,652 crore come from foreign aid. The remaining amount will be raised through bidder fund.

The proposal said the satellite would minimise the digital divide as it would take broadcasting and telecommuni-cation services to the most rural areas and introduce pro� table and promis-ing services such as direct service to homes throughout the country.

The government has planned to launch the satellite in the middle of 2017 although the launching was supposed to take place at the end of 2014. l

B2 Stock Monday, December 8, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

News, analysis and recent disclosuresPHOENIXFIN: Alpha Credit Rating Limited (AlphaRating) has rated the Company as "A+" in the long term and "AR-2" in the short term along with a stable outlook based on audited � nancial information of the Company up to December 31, 2013 and quantitative and qualitative information up to November , 2014.AFTABAUTO: The Company has sent notice of its 34th AGM to DSE from which it has been revealed that the Company will transact the following 'Other Business' in the forthcoming 34th AGM scheduled to be held on December 24, 2014: 1) to adopt divestment of Navana Furniture Limited and Navana Paints Limited at Net Asset Value Tk. 28,64,59,719 and Tk. 11,40,88,261 respectively, and 2) to consider transfer of around 86.46 Kathas of leasehold land from Aftab Automobiles Limited to its wholly-owned subsidiary, Navana Batteries Limited for a total consid-eration (including costs of registration) at Tk. 10,22,57,971.FUWANGFOOD: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company has decided to go for commer-cial operation of Fu-Wang Chocolate Bar and di� erent types of Chocolate Coated Products from December 07, 2014 and its annual turnover is expected to be around

Tk. 20.00 Crore.UNITEDAIR: The Company has further in-formed that the 9th AGM of the Company will now be held on December 24, 2014 at 9:30 AM at Polwel Convention Center Plot: 9/B, Sector # 08, Abdullahpur, Uttara, Dhaka-1230.IPO Subscription: IFAD Autos Limited subscription date 23 to 27 November 2014, NRB upto 06 December 2014. @ taka 30, face value taka 10 and market lot 200. Shasha Denims Limited subscription date 14 to 21 December 2014, NRB upto 30 December 2014. @ taka 10, face value taka 35 and market lot 200. Zaheen Spinning Limited subscription date 28 December 2014 to 04 January 2015, NRB upto 13 January 2015. @ taka 10, face value taka 10 and market lot 500.Right Share: ICB: Subscription period for rights issue will be from 07.12.2014 to 30.12.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 09.09.2014. FIRSTSBANK Subscription period for rights issue will be from 07.12.2014 to 28.12.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 20.11.2014.Dividend/AGMKEYACOSMET: 20% cash, Record Date: 21.12.2014. Date, Time and Venue of the AGM will be noti� ed later.RECKITTBEN: 175% interim cash dividend

(second time), Record date for entitlement of interim dividend: 15.12.2014.BATASHOE: 175% interim cash dividend, Record Date for entitlement of interim dividend: 04.12.2014.ICB: 45% cash, AGM: 20.12.2014, Record Date: 03.12.2014.BATBC: 100% interim cash dividend, Record date for entitlement of interim dividend: 03.12.2014.BENGALWTL: 23% cash, AGM: 28.12.2014, Record Date: 02.12.2014.MPETROLEUM: 95% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 16.01.2015, Record date: 04.12.2014. ENVOYTEX: 12% cash and 3% stock dividend, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record date: 02.12.2014. AFTABAUTO: 17% cash, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record date: 30.11.2014.JAMUNAOIL: 90% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 07.02.2015, Record date: 11.12.2014.GEMINISEA: 7.50% cash, AGM: 22.12.2014, Record Date: 08.12.2014. KBPPWBIL: 10% stock, AGM: 29.12.2014, Record Date: 08.12.2014.RAHIMAFOOD: No dividend, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record Date: 04.12.2014. DACCADYE: 10% stock dividend, AGM: 12.12.2014, Record date: 25.11.2014. ORIONINFU: 15% cash dividend, AGM: 18.12.2014, Record date: 25.11.2014.

Stocks down for 2nd day with volatility n Tribune Report

Stocks registered losses with vola-tility for the second session in a row yesterday, as late-pro� t booking selling pressure cut early gains.

The market initially moved be-tween red and green with a band of 20 points and from the mid-session, it dived.

The benchmark DSEX shed 31 points or 0.7% to settle at 4,930, hitting highest 4,978 in the open and low-est 4,930 at the end.

The Shariah index DSES edged 9 points or 0.8% lower to 1,151. The comprising blue chips DS30 ended at 1,822, falling 21 points or 1%.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, closed at 9,261 with a drop of 48 points.

Turnover decreased sharply as it came down to Tk400 crore after hov-ering over Tk500 crore in the previ-ous two sessions. The DSE turnover stood at Tk383 crore, down more

than 25% over the previous session. All the major sectors ended lower

except non-banking � nancial insti-tutions that rose marginally.

Pharmaceuticals lead the way falling almost 1%, followed by pow-er 0.8%, life insurance 1.6%, tele-communication 0.7% and banks 0.6%. Food and allied closed at � at shedding.

Hamid Fabrics Ltd in its second trading day closed � at slightly fall-ing 0.4% to Tk55.9 a share, after ris-ing more than 40% in its debut day.

Gainers and losers remained al-most same as out of 299 issues trad-ed, 135 advanced, 132 declined and 32 were unchanged.

IDLC Investments said the market was still going through correction mood. Hence, market remained stag-nant at opening hours and turned negative at the later part, it said.

However, some positive news related to Textile sector, like robust export target of garment products and rebranding of Bangladesh put an upbeat vibe, it said.

Consequently, six stocks from the textile sector appeared at top 10 gainers’ list. Accordingly, the sector led the performance as well as turn-over chart, gaining 1.9% and captur-ing 17.5% of total trade value.

Beximco Pharma, the country’s leading drug maker, was the most traded issue with shares worth al-most Tk25 crore changing hands, followed by Hamid Fabrics, Summit Alliance Port Limited, AB Bank and Keya Cosmetics. l

CSE LOSER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Meghna Petroleum -A -14.35 -12.67 229.84 226.20 243.00 225.50 5.171 23.44 9.8Apex SpinningA -7.20 -4.96 71.04 69.60 73.00 69.00 0.128 0.86 82.6Khan Brothers-N -5.44 -6.75 40.17 40.00 41.50 39.30 6.990 1.36 29.5Fu-Wang Food A -4.98 -1.27 23.37 22.90 24.20 22.90 1.370 1.80 13.0Shurwid Ind. -N -4.79 -3.51 32.45 31.80 33.30 31.70 0.957 0.76 42.7Apex Foods -A -4.72 -4.72 99.00 99.00 99.00 99.00 0.040 3.64 27.2WesternMarine -N -4.39 -4.20 55.18 54.40 57.30 53.60 13.993 1.80 30.7Prime Insur -A -4.26 -4.26 18.00 18.00 18.00 18.00 0.005 1.81 9.9AIBL 1st Is. M. F.-A -4.08 -4.08 4.70 4.70 4.70 4.70 0.002 -0.08 -veOrion Infusions -A -3.77 -4.07 46.46 46.00 48.00 45.70 3.475 3.64 12.8

DSE LOSER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Meghna Petroleum -A -14.05 -12.57 230.23 227.00 237.30 220.00 81.491 23.44 9.8Shurwid Ind. -N -5.67 -4.55 32.29 31.60 33.60 31.50 14.015 0.76 42.5Khan Brothers-N -5.44 -6.85 40.50 40.00 41.90 39.80 71.071 1.36 29.8Eastern Lubricants -A -5.20 -5.60 365.00 366.20 370.00 365.00 0.073 2.08 175.5Anwar Galvanizing-B -5.11 -4.64 34.12 33.40 35.40 33.00 3.480 0.84 40.6WesternMarine -N -4.41 -4.30 55.13 54.20 57.50 53.50 84.634 1.80 30.6Apex SpinningA -4.19 -4.23 71.97 70.90 75.90 70.30 6.895 0.86 83.7Berger Paints-A -4.02 -3.86 1186.67 1183.80 1186.10 1180.10 0.178 49.25 24.1Fu-Wang Food A -3.77 -1.89 23.36 23.00 24.80 22.90 27.745 1.80 13.0Deshbandhu Polymer-A -3.74 -1.86 21.12 20.60 21.80 20.00 15.151 1.52 13.9

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

% of Total-Turnover ClosingP Change % ClosingY DHIGH DLOW AvgPrice

Midas Financing-Z 7,505,000 105.08 23.93 15.90 8.16 14.70 16.10 15.80 14.00Hamid Fabrics -N 836,000 45.67 10.40 55.50 0.00 55.50 59.50 51.60 54.63Moza� ar H.Spinning-A 766,375 18.85 4.29 25.80 6.61 24.20 25.80 24.20 24.60Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A 618,000 14.21 3.24 23.30 6.39 21.90 23.40 22.20 22.99WesternMarine -N 253,600 13.99 3.19 54.40 -4.39 56.90 57.30 53.60 55.18BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 287,067 11.73 2.67 40.50 0.25 40.40 42.50 36.40 40.86Beximco Pharma -A 167,331 11.43 2.60 67.60 1.35 66.70 69.40 66.40 68.30Khan Brothers-N 174,000 6.99 1.59 40.00 -5.44 42.30 41.50 39.30 40.17AB Bank - A 196,026 6.22 1.42 31.40 -0.63 31.60 32.20 31.20 31.75Beacon Pharma Ltd.-Z 333,500 5.80 1.32 17.80 9.88 16.20 17.80 15.00 17.39Keya Cosmetics -A 199,000 5.72 1.30 28.50 -2.06 29.10 29.20 28.30 28.73MJL BD Ltd.-A 44,150 5.36 1.22 119.80 -3.00 123.50 127.00 119.50 121.40SummitAlliancePort.-A 68,692 5.32 1.21 77.40 2.38 75.60 79.00 76.30 77.50R. N. Spinning-Z 159,500 5.20 1.18 32.60 9.76 29.70 32.60 32.60 32.60Meghna Petroleum -A 22,500 5.17 1.18 226.20 -14.35 264.10 243.00 225.50 229.84

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

% of Total-Turnover ClosingP Change

% ClosingY DHIGH DLOW Avg-Price

Beximco Pharma -A 3,651,763 248.37 6.48 67.20 0.00 67.20 69.40 62.00 68.01Hamid Fabrics -N 3,839,200 210.67 5.49 55.90 -0.36 56.10 58.90 52.20 54.87BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 2,850,170 116.29 3.03 40.40 0.00 40.40 41.50 37.00 40.80SummitAlliancePort.-A 1,274,409 98.77 2.58 77.70 3.05 75.40 78.80 72.50 77.50AB Bank - A 2,797,936 88.56 2.31 31.40 0.00 31.40 32.30 30.00 31.65Keya Cosmetics -A 3,031,154 87.07 2.27 28.60 -1.72 29.10 29.30 26.30 28.73WesternMarine -N 1,535,100 84.63 2.21 54.20 -4.41 56.70 57.50 53.50 55.13Meghna Petroleum -A 353,950 81.49 2.13 227.00 -14.05 264.10 237.30 220.00 230.23Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A 3,511,500 80.79 2.11 23.20 5.94 21.90 23.40 22.20 23.01Jamuna Oil -A 299,710 75.92 1.98 252.80 -0.59 254.30 257.60 244.00 253.30GSP Finance-A 2,162,896 71.69 1.87 33.20 4.40 31.80 34.00 29.20 33.14Khan Brothers-N 1,755,000 71.07 1.85 40.00 -5.44 42.30 41.90 39.80 40.50Square Pharma -A 225,851 58.90 1.54 259.20 -1.44 263.00 263.00 240.00 260.78People`s Leasing-A 2,225,119 55.53 1.45 24.80 0.81 24.60 25.40 22.20 24.95Moza� ar H.Spinning-A 2,048,250 53.10 1.38 26.10 3.16 25.30 26.40 23.50 25.92Alltex Industries -Z 4,845,000 113.67 1.51 22.90 4.09 22.00 24.20 20.50 23.46

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

Sector DSE CSE TotalMillion Taka % change Million Taka % change Million Taka % change

Bank 342.58 8.94 27.38 5.97 369.96 8.62NBFI 368.60 9.61 120.42 26.25 489.02 11.39Investment 41.17 1.07 4.55 0.99 45.72 1.07Engineering 380.15 9.92 36.30 7.91 416.45 9.70Food & Allied 130.27 3.40 11.34 2.47 141.61 3.30Fuel & Power 473.72 12.36 28.46 6.20 502.18 11.70Jute 3.86 0.10 0.00 3.86 0.09Textile 674.92 17.60 115.39 25.15 790.31 18.41Pharma & Chemical 640.09 16.70 41.30 9.00 681.39 15.87Paper & Packaging 33.39 7.87 1.72 41.25 0.96Service 154.12 4.02 8.80 1.92 162.93 3.80Leather 33.33 0.87 6.10 1.33 39.42 0.92Ceramic 30.35 0.79 3.66 0.80 34.01 0.79Cement 67.99 1.77 5.20 1.13 73.19 1.70Information Technology 49.42 1.29 1.98 0.43 51.40 1.20General Insurance 24.23 0.63 2.27 0.49 26.50 0.62Life Insurance 47.64 1.24 2.95 0.64 50.58 1.18Telecom 58.38 1.52 6.42 1.40 64.80 1.51Travel & Leisure 49.57 1.29 5.75 1.25 55.32 1.29Miscellaneous 230.10 6.00 22.57 4.92 252.67 5.89Debenture 0.08 0.00 0.04 0.01 0.12 0.00

Weekly capital market highlightsDSE Broad Index : 4930.37096 (-) 0.63% ▼

DSE - 30 Index : 1822.37632 (-) 1.16% ▼

CSE All Share Index: 15195.08340 (-) 0.47% ▼

CSE - 30 Index : 12443.75230 (-) 0.97% ▼

CSE Selected Index : 9261.72660 (-) 0.52% ▼

DSE key features December 7, 2014Turnover (Million Taka)

3,833.94

Turnover (Volume)

104,605,795

Number of Contract 107,056

Traded Issues 300

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

110

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

181

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

9

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,634.89

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.94

CSE key features December 7, 2014Turnover (Million Taka) 441.85

Turnover (Volume) 18,307,396

Number of Contract 16,488

Traded Issues 226

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

96

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

125

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,535.52

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.73

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 was still going through correction mood. Hence, market remained stagnant at opening hours and turned negative at the later part

CSE GAINER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Bangladesh Welding -Z 9.94 10.35 17.49 17.70 17.70 17.00 1.287 0.44 39.8ISN Ltd. -Z 9.91 7.92 11.99 12.20 12.20 11.50 0.186 0.13 92.2Beacon Pharma Ltd.-Z 9.88 5.14 17.39 17.80 17.80 15.00 5.801 0.08 217.4R. N. Spinning-Z 9.76 11.57 32.60 32.60 32.60 32.60 5.200 2.19 14.9Fareast Finance-Z 9.59 8.51 15.81 16.00 16.00 14.40 2.878 1.08 14.6Alltex Industries -Z 9.56 10.12 29.49 29.80 29.90 28.00 4.099 3.28 9.0Sonargaon Tex -Z 9.17 8.42 11.85 11.90 11.90 11.30 1.007 -0.84 -veShinepukur Cera-Z 9.15 8.94 15.47 15.50 15.60 15.00 0.552 0.39 39.7Aziz PipesZ 9.13 7.78 22.43 22.70 22.80 18.80 0.047 -0.37 -vePremier Leasing-Z 9.09 8.20 9.50 9.60 9.60 9.20 0.888 0.08 118.8

DSE GAINER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

ISN Ltd. -Z 9.91 8.47 12.04 12.20 12.20 11.20 1.583 0.13 92.6R. N. Spinning-Z 9.73 10.55 32.69 32.70 32.70 28.30 18.858 2.19 14.9Beacon Pharma Ltd.-Z 9.15 4.96 17.57 17.90 18.00 15.00 50.464 0.08 219.6Bangladesh Welding -Z 9.09 10.99 17.88 18.00 18.10 16.70 12.230 0.44 40.6Fine Foods A 9.09 7.06 10.62 10.80 10.80 10.00 0.637 -0.48 -vePremier Leasing-Z 9.09 8.10 9.48 9.60 9.60 8.10 7.105 0.08 118.5Alltex Industries -Z 8.73 9.87 29.39 29.90 30.00 27.50 27.788 3.28 9.0Shahjibazar Power-N 8.72 9.53 268.06 268.10 268.10 268.00 2.627 9.00 29.8Kay & Que (BD) -Z 8.51 6.51 15.05 15.30 15.40 14.20 0.745 -1.41 -veMidas Financing-Z 8.23 6.51 17.01 17.10 17.30 15.00 0.894 -7.00 -ve

ANALYST

All the major sectors ended lower except non-banking � nancial institutions that rose marginally

B3BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, December 8, 2014

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has recently visited Mirza Ahmed Ispahani High School situated at Pahartali in Chittagong. The school’s headmaster SM Mojibur Rahman greeted Nurul Islam

Dr Md Enamur Rahman has recently inaugurated Muktijoddha Dr Mohammed Haider Ali Miah Road at Pathalia, Savar in Dhaka

Trust Bank Limited has recently opened its Hobigonj branch. The bankk’s MD and CEO, Ishtiaque Ahmed Chowdhury inaugurated the branch

Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh has recently been awarded the 'Bank of the year' award at The Banker Awards 2014. The award was handed over to Abrar A Anwar, head of corporate & institutional clients of Standard Chartered Bangladesh at a programme held recently in London

More than $150bn of oil projects face the axe in 2015 n Reuters, London

Global oil and gas exploration projects worth more than $150bn are likely to be put on hold next year as plunging oil prices render them uneconomic, data shows, potentially curbing supplies by the end of the decade.

As big oil � elds that were discovered decades ago begin to deplete, oil com-panies are trying to access more com-plex and hard to reach � elds located in some cases deep under sea level. But at the same time, the cost of production has risen sharply given the rising cost of raw materials and the need for expen-sive new technology to reach the oil.

Now the outlook for onshore and o� shore developments - from the Bar-ents Sea to the Gulf or Mexico - looks as uncertain as the price of oil, which has plunged by 40 percent in the last � ve months to around $70 a barrel.

Next year companies will make � nal investment decisions (FIDs) on a total of 800 oil and gas projects worth $500 billion and totalling nearly 60 billion barrels of oil equivalent, according to data from Norwegian consultancy Rys-tad Energy.

But with analysts forecasting oil to average $82.50 a barrel next year, around one third of the spending, or a � fth of the volume, is unlikely to be ap-proved, head of analysis at Rystad En-ergy Per Magnus Nysveen said.

“At $70 a barrel, half of the overall volumes are at risk,” he said.

Around one third of the projects scheduled for FID in 2015 are so-called unconventional, where oil and gas are extracted using horizontal drilling, in what is known as fracking, or mining.

Of those 20 billion barrels, around half are located in Canada’s oil sands and Venezuela’s tar sands, according to Nysveen.

Assessing the economics Geographically, the projects on the bal-ance are widespread.

Chevron’s North Sea Rosebank proj-

ect is among those with a shaky future and a decision on whether to go ahead with it will likely be pushed late into 2015 as the company assesses its eco-nomics, analysts said.

“This project was not deemed eco-nomic at $100 a barrel so at current lev-els it is clearly a no-go,” said Bertrand Hodée, research analyst at Paris-Based Raymond James. He estimates a devel-opment cost of $10bn for Rosebank, with potential reserves of 300 million barrels - meaning the Chevron would only recoup $33 a barrel.

Even with oil at $120 a barrel, the economics of some projects around the

world were in doubt as development costs soared in recent years. Chevron’s Rosebank project has already been de-layed for several years.

In response to a question from Re-uters, the company said “the Rosebank project is in the Front End Engineering and Design phase. The review of the economics and the additional engi-neering work is progressing ... It is pre-mature to make any statements on an FID date.”

Hodée said any o� shore project with a development cost above $30 a barrel would most likely be put on hold in current oil prices.

Norway’s Statoil this week said it had postponed until next October - a six-month delay - a decision to invest $5.74bn in the Snorre � eld in the Nor-wegian Sea as its pro� tability was un-der threat.

New oil � elds typically require four to � ve years to be developed and billions before the � rst drop of oil is produced.

Any cutbacks in oil production bodes ill for international oil compa-nies that are already struggling to re-place depleting reserves as exploration becomes harder and discoveries small-er. It also points to tighter supplies by the end of the decade. l

Vehicles wait in line at a gas station in Turnersville, New Jersey REUTERS

Morgan Stanley slashes Brent price forecasts n Reuters

Morgan Stanley on Friday slashed its Brent price forecasts, citing oversupply and inaction by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in curb-ing production.

The investment bank cut its average 2015 Brent base case outlook by $28 to $70 per barrel and for 2016, by $14 to $88 a barrel.

The bank expected over-supply to peak in the second half of next year.

“Unlike 2009, this is a self-in� icted ‘crisis’, and the coming oversupply is grossly exaggerated. With only a modest � x required, the market is complacent about potential upside risk, particularly in light of lower prices,” analyst Adam Longson said in a note.

U S crude oil closed on Friday at its lowest since July 2009, as Brent aver-aged below $70 a barrel in the week for the � rst time since 2010, as strong US employment data did little to lift the oil market’s bearish mood. l

‘Buckwheat panic’ grips Russians as economic sanctions bite n AFP, Moscow

With its warm, � u� y brown grains, buckwheat is the ultimate comfort food for Russians and as sanctions hit home, it is � ying o� the shelves in a shopping frenzy dubbed the “buckwheat panic”.

Hard-hit by falling oil prices and West-ern economic sanctions imposed over the Kremlin’s role in the Ukrainian crisis, Russia is seeing a catastrophic deprecia-tion of the ruble and steep in� ation.

But while Russians grumble about the rising price of chicken, cheese or sausage, it was only when rumours spread of buckwheat supplies running low that shoppers dashed out to � ll their trolleys.

Buckwheat “is not just a food, it is a national idea,” Russia’s leading busi-ness daily, Vedomosti, wrote recently in an editorial.

While in the West buckwheat is more seen as a trendy food for the health conscious, in Russia it is a tradi-tional staple, predating potatoes.

The cereal, which originates from India and Nepal, was � rst introduced to the Russians in the 13th century by the Mongol invaders. It was cultivated by Byzantine monks, leading to its name in Russian of “grechka,” which sounds like Greek.

Buckwheat can be eaten at any meal in Russia, whether simmered with milk as a porridge for breakfast, served with chopped liver for lunch, or even stu� ed inside a roast piglet at a special dinner.

It is ubiquitous in the cafeterias of Russian schools and kindergartens, hos-pitals, military barracks and prisons.

This autumn as Russians began to feel the e� ects of sanctions and the retaliatory embargo on most Western foods ordered by President Vladimir Putin, news spread of a low harvest in Russia’s buckwheat heartland - the Al-tai region in Siberia.

Due to a drought, Russia’s buck-wheat harvest fell this year to just un-der 600,000 tonnes, against the usual 700,000 tons.

Buying just in case That was hardly a disaster, but media reports were enough to spark panic de-mand among consumers with people storming shops across several regions.

“In Moscow, people see a television news report about a buckwheat crisis in Penza”, a city 600 kilometres (350 miles) away, and “in just four days they buy up buckwheat stocks that would normally be enough for two months,” the Mos-kovsky Komsomolets daily wrote.

One supermarket chain in the north-western city of Saint Petersburg even introduced a � ve-pack limit for buck-wheat purchases.

Even though buckwheat is home-grown and so little a� ected by sanc-tions or the falling ruble, the price of a packet of buckwheat rose from around 30 rubles to 50 rubles ($0.93) in Mos-cow and doubled in some regions.

“People store up on buckwheat - which can be kept for a long time - be-cause they do not know what to expect from the (Western) sanctions,” said Ga-lina, a trader at a Saint Petersburg food market.

There have been “buckwheat cri-ses” in the past, most recently sparked by a 2010 drought, said Alexei Makar-kin, a political analyst with the Centre for Political Technologies.

But what is di� erent now is that “there is no question of a real short-age of buckwheat,” said Dmitry Rylko of the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies.

While initially there was no prob-lem with supplies, “excessive demand sparked” the buckwheat crisis, said Alexey Alexeyenko, a senior o� cial at Russia’s food safety agency, Rosselk-hoznadzor.

Russian media called the phenom-enon “hysteria” or even “buckwheat psychosis.”

A survey conducted in late Novem-ber by the Levada Center pollster found that almost a third of the Russians had stocked up on buckwheat in recent weeks. l

ILO: Women in Europe, Russia, Brazil should earn more than men n Reuters, Geneva

Women in work in large parts of the world are better educated, more expe-rienced and more productive than their male counterparts on average, but are still paid less, the International Labour Organisation said on Friday.

In its latest Global Wage Report, the ILO found men were paid more than women in all of the 38 countries ex-amined, showing the ‘gender pay gap’ remains � rmly entrenched around the world.

The biggest pay gap was in the Unit-ed States, where women earn $64.20 on average for every $100 earned by a man. That discrepancy could largely be ex-plained, however, by factors such as the men’s greater productivity, education or experience, the ILO said. However, in Europe, Russia and Brazil, women

scored higher than men for such attri-butes, but the pay gap still existed.

“One of the factors that will account for that is discrimination,” ILO Deputy Director-General Sandra Polaski said. “It may re� ect di� erent factors in dif-ferent countries, but certainly discrimi-nation is part of it.”

On average, in the 26 European countries in the survey, women should expect to get paid 0.9% more than men, based on those factors, but they actually earn 18.9% less.

In Brazil, Russia, Denmark, Sweden and Lithuania the pay premium for women would amount to more than 10%. In Slovenia the � gure was 18.5%.

In China, women and men’s pay should be virtually the same based on those factors, with women due a 0.2% premium. But Chinese women are ac-tually paid 22.9% less than men. l

JPMorgan continues run as top ranked investment bank n Reuters, London

US bank JPMorgan retained its crown as the top performing investment bank in the � rst nine months of the year, having made revenue of $17.1bn in the year-to-date, new data showed on Friday.

In a ranking compiled by indus-try analytics � rm Coalition, US banks dominated the top spots, with Gold-man Sachs coming second. The only

European bank to make the top three was Deutsche Bank DBKGn.De, which shared third place with Citigroup and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Coalition, which only reports rev-enue � gures for the top-ranked banks, said that total investment bank revenue earned so far this year was 6 percent lower than a year earlier, driven largely by a downturn in � xed income, curren-cies and commodities (FICC) divisions. l

Oil down after Saudi Arabia slashes crude price n AFP, Singapore

Oil fell in Asia on Friday after major producer Saudi Arabia slashed the price of the crude that it sells to Asia and the United States, analysts said.

US benchmark West Texas Inter-mediate (WTI) for January delivery tumbled 31 cents to $66.50 a barrel in late-morning trade and Brent crude for January dropped 38 cents to $69.26.

“Saudi Arabia has just cut the price of the oil it sells to Asia and the US and this is going to have a big e� ect on the market today and early next week,” said Daniel Ang, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.

Saudi Aramco, the kingdom’s state-owned oil company, said Thursday it had slashed its o� cial selling price for Arab light grade oil bound for Asia in January by $1.90 a barrel from Decem-ber’s level.

It also reduced the price of Arab light

grade oil bound for the United States by 70 cents.

“They’re de� nitely � ghting for mar-ket share,” Ang told AFP.

Saudi Arabia is the biggest and most in� uential member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which late last month decided to maintain output levels despite a global oversupply.

OPEC’s decision at its November 27 meeting in Vienna sent oil prices tum-

bling to their lowest point in � ve years. Singapore’s United Overseas Bank

said Saudi Arabia’s move was “rein-forcing concerns that the world’s lead-ing exporter is now more focused on defending its market share than in-creasing price”.

“Saudi reportedly believes oil prices could stabilise at $60 a barrel and there is also rife speculation that Saudi is also trying to drive high-price producers out of the market,” it said in a market commentary.

But French bank Credit Agricole said lower prices should give emerging mar-kets a boost.

“Oil-intensive economies, including the bulk of Asia, would bene� t from lower in� ation, larger monetary lee-way to support the recovery, and lower corporate and household costs,” it said.

“Against such a backdrop this could support a scenario of a slight recovery in emerging market GDP growth in 2015.” l

'Saudi Arabia has just cut the price of the oil it sells to Asia and the US and this is going to have a big e� ect on the market today and early next week'

Millennium Group, a conglomerate in the automobile industry of the country has recently opened its showroom of SsangYong under its company, Millennium SsangYong Motors Ltd at Tejgaon I/A in Dhaka. The company’s managing director, Shareq Fahim Haque inaugurated the showroom

B4 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Monday, December 8, 2014

DILBERT

ILO: Blame your boss, not China, for stagnant wage growth n Reuters. Geneva

Stagnant wage growth in rich countries is a result of corporate penny-pinching and not competition from cheap Chi-nese labour, the International Labour Organization said on Friday.

Average wages in developed coun-tries have grown only 0.4% since 2009 despite a 5.3% increase in workers’ productivity, the ILO said in its latest Global Wage Report.

Globally, wages are slowly converg-ing as poor countries close the gap with rich countries. Wage growth in devel-oped economies was a 0.1% in 2012 and 0.2% in 2013, while developing econo-mies saw increases of 6.7% and 5.9% respectively.

But it is not cheap labour competi-

tion that is causing wages to stagnate in more advanced economies, said Sandra Polaski, the ILO’s deputy direc-tor for policy.

“If productivity levels are increasing you can accommodate the competition because the productivity of your � rm will allow you to continue to pay good wages and still be able to compete.”

Pro� ts have recovered since the global � nancial crisis but that income was not being reinvested at the rate that was seen previously, Polaski said.

“It’s sitting on this retained pro� t-ability that’s not producing good re-sults for the global economy.

“Those lower incomes in these ad-vanced economies are reducing house-hold demand which is decreasing over-all aggregate demand.” l A worker arrives at his o� ce in the Canary Wharf business district in London REUTERS

Assessing the fallout from the fall in oil prices n Reuters, New York

With crude oil prices hitting � ve-year lows, investors are scrambling to gauge the impact of the sharp drop in petro-leum costs on companies beyond the energy sector.

Determining the e� ects of the de-cline in commodities prices for ancillary industries is di� cult. So it will be in-structive to see what kind of comments come out of a number of analyst meet-ings being held in the next few weeks from major industrial companies, some of which have substantial businesses that supply the energy industry.

On Monday, Dover Corp, which de-velops pumps and sensors used in oil and gas extraction, will hold an analyst day. Its shares have fallen 9% in the last eight trading sessions.

“In the next couple of quarters, should drilling and the build-out of in-

frastructure slow down, these are the guys that are going to get hit,” said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

Goldman Sachs pointed out in a note this week that some big manufacturers have signi� cant exposure to the oil and gas industry. Dover’s annual report notes that its energy business compris-es about a quarter of its annual sales, and its annual report last year said it expected to continue expanding.

“It could be early for a number of these companies to announce or spec-ulate on how the decline in oil prices has impacted or will impact their re-sults, either positively or negatively,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment of-� cer of Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, New York.

Energy earnings expectations have continued to crater. On Monday, the fourth-quarter estimate was for a year-

over-year decline of 11.2% for S&P ener-gy stocks. By Friday, that had dropped to 14.7% decline, according to Thom-son Reuters data. Whether the drop in energy prices will have an e� ect on other sectors is yet unclear.

Sector behemoths Honeywell and General Electric have a 15% exposure to oil and gas each while United Tech-nologies, also with an upcoming ana-lyst day next week, is “less tied to oil trends,” according to Goldman Sachs.

Honeywell and GE will have analyst days the week after next. Volatility in GE’s shares has been lower than usual of late, which means anything unusual out of the company could a� ect the stock.

The same goes for Honeywell, whose shares Goldman notes have moved, on average, 3.4% after its last seven � scal outlook calls, compared with an average 1.9% move after its last eight earnings releases. l

China 2015 GDP target in focus as stimulus expectations heat up n AFP

China is poised to cut its growth target for the � rst time in three years and ramp up stimulus as the economy comes un-der increasing downward pressure, an-alysts say ahead of a key policymakers’ conference expected this week.

President Xi Jinping and other top leaders are trying to put China’s in-creasingly a� uent consumers at the centre of the world’s second-largest economy, rather than investment and exports, and are ready to tolerate slow-er expansion in GDP to achieve more sustainable growth.

But how much lower is the ques-tion, with China’s economy assailed on multiple fronts including a de� ating property bubble, high debt levels, and the threat of de� ation hovering in the background.

Economists will be looking for clues in next year’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth target, which is likely to be decided at the annual Central Eco-nomic Work Conference.

The gathering - which is not an-nounced in advance - is expected this week, although its conclusions will probably not be formally unveiled until March.

Separately, main monthly economic statistics are due this week, with ana-lysts expecting weakening industrial production growth and chronically low in� ation.

The closely watched economic con-ference brings together key o� cials to decide policy for the coming year, with topics expected to include monetary policy, the consumer price index (CPI) target, and further economic reforms.

“We expect the government to low-er its 2015 economic targets for GDP growth to 7% from 7.5% in 2014 and CPI in� ation to 3% from 3.5%,” Nomura economists wrote.

“We believe the government will need to ease policy further - even to meet a lower GDP growth target - due mainly to strong headwinds from the

property market correction, severe overcapacity in upstream industries and high local government debt.”

China last lowered the target in 2012 to 7.5% from 8% and a drop to 7% would be the lowest since 2004.

Slowing growth this year prompted the central bank to carry out a surprise interest rate cut last month, reducing benchmark borrowing costs for the � rst time in more than two years.

The move wrong-footed many econ-omists, who had expected policymak-ers to continue with a series of � ne-tuning measures introduced from April onwards on concerns that the economy needed a boost.

The cut showed that top leaders “are certainly worried to a certain point” about the economy, Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Lu Ting told AFP.

They are likely to take a similar step during the � rst half of next year, he added, while also reducing the amount of cash banks must keep on their books -- the reserve requirement ratio -- to free up money for lending.

Shares soar The Chinese Communist Party’s pow-erful Politburo gathered Friday ahead of the economic conference, with the o� cial Xinhua news agency citing a statement that in 2015, the government will “keep the economy operating within a reasonable range”.

It gave no details on precise mea-sures that might be taken.

ANZ economist Liu Li-Gang said

that authorities need to push broader reforms beyond tweaks to monetary policy.

“China should allow rapid develop-ment of its capital markets in the future to replace banks as the pillar of the � -nancial system,” he said. “Or else it’s very likely that a credit contraction-led economic slowdown will emerge.”

But the slowing growth outlook has not dented enthusiasm for Chinese shares, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index leaping 38.8 percent so far this year. Much of the improve-ment has come in the wake of the inter-est rate cut and amid expectations for more stimulus.

Growth in industrial production, which slowed in October, is likely to have taken another hit in November, economists say, as China ordered fac-tories in and around Beijing to close to ensure blue skies for the APEC summit.

The � gure is due on Friday, two days after the monthly in� ation statistics. Consumer and producer price in� ation have both been weak in China, and the latter has been negative for more than two years.

Capital Economics economists Ju-lian Evans-Pritchard and Mark Williams see CPI falling to a near-� ve-year low of 1.5% in November, down from 1.6% in October, with further falls ahead.

Still, they described worries about the threat of de� ation as “overdone”.

“With the prices of industrial inputs falling, but factory gate prices of � n-ished consumer goods � at, many � rms are actually better o� ,” they wrote. l

Rate cut calls grow as Australian economy falters n AFP, Sydney

Pressure is building on Australia’s cen-tral bank to cut interest rates from their record lows as growth in the resources-driven economy, already faltering on the back of China’s slowdown, takes a further hit, analysts say.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has repeatedly said it will continue to maintain a “period of stability in inter-est rates”, but softening GDP growth � gures last week sparked a � urry of economists forecasting further mon-etary policy easing.

That would take the cash rate below 2.5%, where it has been for 16 months.

“The GDP read ... is creating a very dark shadow over the state of the Aus-tralian economy with income growth now in recession,” IG markets strategist Evan Lucas said.

The data showed the economy ex-panded by just 0.3% in the third-quar-ter, far below consensus estimates of 0.7%, to take the annual growth rate to a below-trend 2.7%.

“The pressure on growth in 2015 is ratcheting up as key commodities re-

main in bear markets and if housing cools, this will only accelerate,” added Lucas.

The slowdown in China, Austra-lia’s largest trading partner, is already weighing on the resources sector and hurting the wider economy.

Continuing fears about the health of the world’s second-largest economy, which helped fuel Australia’s unprecedented mining investment boom, has been re� ected in the local dollar’s high sensitivity to � uctuating Chinese data.

Just last week, the exchange rate slumped to a fresh four-year low af-ter weak manufacturing � gures raised concerns about China’s growth out-look.

Tumbling commodity pricesThe new forecasts are in part driven by a plunge in commodity prices and the lack of a similar decline in the exchange rate to soften the blow.

Lower prices, particularly for Aus-tralia’s biggest export iron ore, were also eroding the national income, Trea-surer Joe Hockey said.

The mining investment boom has helped Australia avoid recession for more than two decades, but the re-balancing towards non-resources led growth has been uneven.

While record low interest rates have fuelled a surging housing market, con-sumer con� dence has � oundered amid tepid wages growth and following a tough federal budget in May in which the government pledged to cut back on welfare and spending.

There has also been a slower-than-expected pick-up in business invest-ment outside the mining sector, while the unemployment rate has been ris-ing, hitting an almost 12-year high of 6.2 percent in October.

These factors have seen Australians continue to save at near record levels and balk at taking on more debt.

“The baton change in the economy has been delayed and we are now fac-ing the environment where mining is a lot weaker than expected because of commodity price falls globally,” Mac-quarie Bank’s head of Australian eco-nomic research James McIntyre told AFP.

“And we haven’t been positioned adequately on the non-mining side to pick it up.”

Bearish outlookThe RBA’s willingness to consider measures to curb investor lending for housing, which would allow the central bank to drop the cash rate without fear-ing that residential property would be-come overheated, has also opened the door to easing.

Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Westpac Bank all last week forecast 50 basis points of cuts next year to take the cash rate down to 2%.

They were joined by AMP Capital, which predicts a 25 basis points easing in February or March and a 50% chance of another cut in 2015.

If one or more cuts do occur next year, the RBA is hopeful they play a key role in encouraging activity in non-mining industries.

A lower cash rate could also help make the Australian dollar less attrac-tive to investors and thus weaken the exchange rate, especially if commodity prices continue to tank, McIntyre said.

“In terms of rate cut impacts on the economy ... what you haven’t seen is the currency fall, which then shifts demand back onshore and gives the non-mining sector a catalyst to begin investing,” he said.

“I think that’s the one that the RBA is going to have to - reluctantly - focus monetary policy on next year.”

Not all analysts believe lower rates are needed, with some gaining cheer from stronger-than-expected October retail sales data released Thursday.

HSBC’s chief economist for Australia Paul Bloxham, who continues to fore-cast an extended period of unchanged rates, warned commentators needed to be careful not to overstate the impact of falling commodity prices.

“Unlike the previous sharp, negative terms of trade shock where commodity prices fell, this time around, the key o� set is that there’s still a strong ramp-up in export volumes on the horizon,” Bloxham told AFP.

“The biggest part of this is the (liq-ue� ed natural gas) sector, where we ex-pect to see a 330% rise in exports over the next three to four years.” l

S&P lowers Saudi, Oman outlook on low oil price n AFP, Dubai

Standard and Poor’s has lowered the outlook for the world’s top oil exporter Saudi Arabia to stable from positive and its Gulf partner Oman to negative on sliding oil prices.

However, the ratings agency af-� rmed the strong “AA-/A-1+” long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings for Riyadh over the “strong external and � scal posi-tions” it has built up in the past decade when oil prices were too high.

“We base our outlook revision on our view that, although real econom-ic growth remains relatively strong, we think Saudi Arabia is unlikely to achieve su� cient levels of nominal in-come to raise the ratings over the next two years,” S&P said.

It said low oil prices will place pres-sure on the kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita income which was reduced for the 2014-2017 period to $23,400 from $25,600 in June.

“We view Saudi Arabia’s economy as undiversi� ed and vulnerable to a sharp and sustained decline in the oil price, notwithstanding government policy to encourage non-oil private sector growth,” S&P said late Friday.

Although Riyadh built � scal reserves of around $750bn from surpluses from high oil revenues, its public spend-ing rose to record highs that raised the breakeven price for oil to between $85 and $93 a barrel. Saudi Arabia pumps around 9.7 million barrels per day. S&P said the hydrocarbons sector contrib-utes about 45% of GDP.

The agency said the stable outlook re� ects that Saudi Arabia will keep its very strong � scal balance sheet and net external asset position, while mon-etary policy � exibility remains lim-ited and dependence on hydrocarbons stays high.

For non-OPEC member Oman, S&P said the negative outlook was based on the view that the deterioration in the � scal or external positions could be sharper than currently expected be-cause of the steeper fall in oil prices.

S&P also a� rmed Oman’s satisfacto-ry “A/A-1” long- and short-term sover-eign ratings on “strong net external and general government asset positions”.

“The ratings are constrained by our view that the quality of Oman’s public institutions and governance is moderate, that high � scal, external and economic dependence on volatile hydrocarbons receipts will persist, and that monetary policy � exibility is limited by the (US dol-lar) pegged exchange rate,” it said. l

Morning commuters are seen outside the New York Stock Exchange REUTERS