6 cases � led against 525 RU studentsChhatra League expels two gun-wielding leadersn Tribune Report

Rajshahi University authority, police and Bangladesh Chhatra League yes-terday � led six cases against 525 stu-dents over Sunday’s incident on the campus that left scores of agitating stu-dents injured.

However, no legal action was tak-en against the two gun-trotting activ-ists of the Chhatra League who � red on students who were demonstrating against the university authority’s deci-sion on increasing fees and introducing evening courses. Only, Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League, expelled the two activists from the organisation.

University’s acting registrar Prof

Saad Ahmed had � led two cases – one for explosion and another for vandal-ism – against 250 students, naming 50 of them, said Abdul Momen Sarkar, in-vestigation o� cer of the cases.

Motihar police station OC Shamsun Nur told the Dhaka Tribune that police had lodged two cases against 195 stu-dents over the incident.

Chhatra League � led two other cases against 80 students, naming 10 includ-ing RU unit Shibir President Ashraful Alam Emon.

No cases were � led in connection with the assault on demonstrating students. The law enforcement agencies could not also arrest as of yesterday any of activists who had swooped on the agitating stu-dents and � red at will on Sunday.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Na-hid said actions would be taken after investigation against those who had been involved in the Rajshahi Univer-sity incident.

He said he was sorry, worried and angry with what had happened in Ra-jshahi University and that the ministry had asked the VC to take measures so that the university could be reopened.

Nahid, however, claimed that activ-ists of the Islami Chhatra Shibir, stu-dent wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, had joined the students’ movement and tried to incite violence.

Asked about Chhatra League activ-ists seen with arms, Nahid told report-ers that whoever was involved would

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

HC declines to hear bank-loan case after minister’s phone calln Nazmus Sakib

The High Court yesterday declined to hear a bank loan-related suit after re-ceiving a phone call from a minister and sent the case to the chief justice for appropriate order.

The High Court bench of Justice Sha-rif Uddin Chaklader and Justice AKM Shahidul Huq said: “During the hearing of this matter, a minister called one of us. Therefore we are not inclined to hear this matter. Let this matter be placed before the chief justice for appropriate order.”

Md Asaduzzaman, the lawyer of the defendant, told the reporters that for the � rst time the High Court had de-clined to hear a case and sent it to the chief justice after receiving phone call from a minister.

“When the suit came for hearing, the High Court bench said they would not hear the matter because of a minis-ter’s lobbying through phone call,” said the lawyer.

However, in the order, the court did not disclose the name of the minister and for whom they had lobbied, Asa-duzzaman said.

According to the case details, one SMA Muhith, owner of Barendra Inter-national, took a Tk70 lakh loan from the Jamuna Bank in 2002 by mortgaging property worth more than Tk4 crore.

The bank said Barendra Interna-tional owed Tk2.17 crore including interests. But the borrower claims he owes the bank only Tk84 lakh. “Jamu-na Bank then sold o� the mortgaged property for Tk1.20 crore through an auction,” Md Asaduzzaman said.

Barendra came to the High Court with a writ plea alleging fraud in the auction. But the court said the peti-tion was not maintainable in the High Court as allegation of fraud was subject to proof. Then they went to the lower court and obtained order for them-selves. But Md Hossain Khan, who had purchased the property, challenged the lower court’s order by � ling a civil

PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

Dhaka seeks uplift ofRakhine state for Rohingya repatriation n Julfi kar Ali Manik and

Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Dhaka has expressed its desire in con-tributing to the socio-economic devel-opment of the Rakhine state in Myan-mar, for creating an environment for the voluntary return of Myanmar na-tionals residing in Bangladesh.

During a meeting with US Senior Ad-visor on Myanmar Judith Ce� in yester-day, State Minister for Foreign A� airs Md Shahriar Alam rea� rmed that the government would continue to pur-sue dialogue with Myanmar in order to have early repatriation of refugees and undocumented people from Myanmar bilaterally, said a press release issued by the foreign ministry.

Before leaving for Myanmar yester-day, Ce� in met with journalists at the American Centre in the capital, where she said the repatriation of Rohingya refugees should take place only when it was voluntary and when conditions permitted people to return without having to fear for their lives.

The US is actively engaged in help-ing to identify, support and encourage the changes that are needed to create a hospitable environment for return, she said.

“We are encouraging them [Myan-mar] to � nd ways to bring the commu-nities together.

“We know that throughout history, the communities have coexisted – the Buddhist and the Muslim communities – and that it is clearly possible; and we want to encourage them to � nd ways to reintegrate communities so that can go back to peaceful coexistence,” Ce� in added.

She said, “We hope that soon the condition will be di� erent that will per-

mit to consider whether it is possible for some of those people to start going home. But the time hasn’t come yet; so until that time comes, it is important to continue to provide the humanitarian support, not to push back those that are � eeing for violence and persecu-tion.”

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Md Shahdiul Haque told the Dhaka Trib-une that the Rohingya problem was created by Myanmar and it must be solved by them.

“Myanmar needs to address the citi-zenship of the Rohingyas to solve the problem,” he said.

Another diplomat, seeking anonym-ity, said Bangladesh has been providing humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees for over 30 years and it is com-mitted to do so.

“But Bangladesh is overburdened with problems as it has very limited capacity and the US understands that,” he said.

Dhaka wants to have more en-gagement with Naypyidaw and an ar-rangement is expected between the countries for holding security dialogue to address non-traditional security threats, the diplomat added.

“Our prime minister [Sheikh Hasina] visited Myanmar in 2011 and we expect to have its president [Thein Sein] in

PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

AL, BNP fail to� eld single candidates Political ambitions of grassroots leaders scupper upazila poll plans of both parties n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla and

Mohammad Zakaria

Both the ruling Awami League and the BNP-led 19-party alliance have failed to pick single candidate in the upazila polls because of de� ance of the grass-roots leaders who either want to make their political fortune or save their po-litical future.

The AL could choose single candi-date in 21 upazilas for chairman posts out of 52, according information avail-able from di� erent districts until last night. The Dhaka Tribune could con-� rm information on the 52 upazilas out

of 98 where the � rst phase of elections would be held on February 19.

The BNP managed to keep single candidate in 25 upazilas while its ally Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is set to vie in 20. The BNP left two seats for Ja-maat. But in the 18 other seats, Jamaat will � ght for the chairman posts along-side the BNP-supported contenders.

According to another source, the AL has chosen single candidates in 44 upazilas while there will be more than one aspirant in 52 upazilas. The BNP has got single candidate in 45 upazilas and more than one in 45 others, while Jamaat-backed candidates � led nomi-nation in 28 and HM Ershad-led Jatiya

Party in 15 upazilas. However, the in-formation could not be con� rmed from independent sources.

Yesterday was the last day for with-drawing nomination papers.

The leadership of the 19-party alli-ance has instructed its grassroots lead-ers to come to a consensus on picking up single candidate for the chairman post in each of the upazilas so that they could recoup the political loss they had conceded after boycotting the January 5 parliamentary election.

AL President Sheikh Hasina recent-ly wrote to the district unit presidents and secretaries in this regard and also warned of disciplinary action in case of violation of the directive, sources said.

Irrespective of political identities, grassroots leaders have always com-plained that their voices are rarely heard in the party forum and the cen-tral leaders usually try to push their own decisions.

The party leaders also said it would not be possible always to choose single candidate during the local-level elec-tions since the grassroots leaders are the key deciders.

Belayet Hossain Bhuiyan, a BNP leader of Ramgar upazila in Khagrach-hari who is also a rebel candidate, said: “I � led the nomination paper to contest the polls. In local level elections, there is no scope of party nomination matter. So I will not withdraw my candidature.”

Nizamuddin Ahmed, the chairman of Santhia upazila in Pabna, refused to obey the party order. He is hopeful about winning the polls.

“It is not a partisan election. So I am PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

20 pages plus 16-page T-Mag tabloid | Price: Tk10

Magh 22, 1420Rabius Saani 3, 1435Regd. No. DA 6238Vol 1 No 311 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

7 | DEATH ON THE ROADTMAG | TMAG’S YOUNG VOTER SURVEY

BusinessB1 The government is contemplating to change the corporate tax structure as well as bringing ‘out of the box’ the high rate of interest on bank loans

Op-Ed11 ‘No government can be long secure without formidable opposition,’ said Benjamin Disraeli. The 19th century British prime minister is incorrect as far as Bangladesh is concerned.

INSIDE

9 | NORTH, SOUTH KOREA FOR TALKS 13 | MUSHFIQ HOPES FOR TURNAROUND

‘Bangladesh is overburdened with problems as it has very limited capacity and the US understands that’

Child victims of blast still in shockn Tazlina Zamila Khan

They bore a blank expression on their faces, and most were � abbergasted and speechless.

These are the child victims of hatals and blockades enforced by the BNP-Ja-maat alliance.

Uncertainty looms large over the fates of kids who fell victim to political violence.

The kids lost their limbs and became physically impaired.

The impairment cost them not only their education – as they cannot do writing since most of them lost their right hand � ngers blew o� after they picked up cocktails mistaking them for toys – but also cornered them to � ght for survival.

The political violence took away their opportunity for education, com-pelling them to drop out of schools.

Some lost � ngers of their both hands.

Now it is a challenge for them to eat and do their other daily activities.

A visit to the victims’ houses re-

vealed that the victims were battling for survival, let alone going to school.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

‘As our party chief has written to the grassroots, those who will violate the directive will face action’

Parents crowd with their children in front of a vaccination centre in Mirpur’s Kalshi Balughat area yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

AL shuts door for independent MPsn Kamran Reza Chowdhury

The Awami League leadership has de-clined to take independent MPs in its fold as most of the 16 such lawmakers showed interest in joining the treasury bench in the 10th Jatiya Sangsad.

Sheikh Hasina, the leader of the House and prime minister, wants the independent MPs having Awami League background to play the role of the opposition and criticise the govern-ment in parliament, said the whips.

Whip Shahiduzzaman Sarker yes-terday told the Dhaka Tribune that for-mer Awami League MP Haji Selim and businessman Yussuf Abdullah Harun, among others, had expressed desire to join the ruling party.

Political observers say the major PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

A PROMISE TO KEEP THEM HEALTHY

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Major changes in top civil administration n Mohosinul Karim

The civil administration yesterday ex-perienced a massive reshu� e includ-ing that in the o� ces of � ve secretaries.

The o� ces of 14 additional secretar-ies and six joint secretaries were also reshu� ed on the same day.

The Public Administration Ministry yesterday issued separate gazette noti-� cations in this regard.

Senior Secretary to the Water Re-sources Ministry Shaikh Altaf Ali was transferred to the president’s o� ce as senior secretary while Secretary to the president’s o� ce Monjur Hossain was made Local Government secretary.

Expatriate Welfare Secretary Dr Zaf-ar Ahmed Khan became water resourc-es secretary while Housing and Public Works Secretary Dr Khondker Showkat Expatriate Welfare secretary.

Acting Secretary to the Local Gov-ernment Division Golam Rabbani was posted to the Housing and Public Works Ministry as acting secretary.

Among the additional secretaries, the Primary and Mass Education Min-istry’s SM Ashraful Islam was made director general of the Directorate of Social Welfare while o� cers on special duty Rois Ul Alam Mondol and Imtiaz Hossain Chowdhury became director general of the Department of Environ-

ment and member of Civil Aviation Au-thority respectively.

Parliament Secretariat’s Syed Ahmed was made chief inspector of the Inspectorate of Factories and Institutes while member of the Rural Electri� ca-tion Board Golam Mostafa additional secretary to the Parliament Secretariat on deputation.

On the other hand, prime minister’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad, who was enjoying the status of a secretary, was appointed as managing director and chief editor of the state-owned news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.

He received a contractual appointment for the next three years which would be e� ective from the date of his joining.

Earlier, the prime minister approved the proposal of the Public Administra-tion Ministry to reshu� e the o� ces of the secretaries.

Seeking anonymity, an o� cial of the ministry told the Dhaka Tribune the post retirement leave of prime minis-ter’s Principal Secretary Shaikh Md Wa-hid Uz Zaman had been cancelled.

He is going to get a contractual ap-pointment for the same post. The order would be issued any day.

Earlier, the Public Administration Ministry approved his leave from Feb-ruary 11 after completion of his service age of 59. l

BNP threatens with unstoppable movement n UNB

The BNP has threatened to wage an un-stoppable movement soon to oust the government for its "growing repressive act."

“This government wants to hang on to power using terror. We will soon launch a rigorous movement to put an end to this autocratic regime,” said Joint Sectary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi at a press brie� ng at the party’s Nayap-altan o� ce in the capital yesterday.

He also alleged that the government intended to annihilate the opposition

so that there would be no one to speak against its misdeeds. Slamming the government for, as he termed it, the recent spate of extra-judicial killings, Rizvi alleged that the government was killing opposition leaders and activists across the country using its subservi-ent law enforcers.

Referring to a recent report of local rights body Odhikar, the BNP leader added that 39 opposition leaders and activists had become victim to ex-tra-judicial killings after the January 5 general election.

He further said the government was

now barring the opposition from hold-ing their democratic programmes to isolate it from the people.

The BNP leader also condemned the recent attack on general students at Rajshahi University by Chhatra League activists.

“Although the activists of Chhatra League and police attacked general students at Rajshahi University, the prime minister, the information minister and home minister have remained silent. It seems that they are proud of the heinous activities of Chhatra League,” Rizvi added. l

6 cases � led against 525 RU students PAGE 1 COLUMN 4face actions. The home ministry had been asked to take e� ective measures.

Sheikh Rasel, o� ce secretary of Ch-hatra League’s central committee, told the Dhaka Tribune that Nasim Ahmed Setu, joint secretary, and Shamsuz-zaman Emon, organising secretary of RU unit, had been expelled for “anti-or-ganisation activities.”

It was learnt from Ganabhaban sources that the decision had been made after the Chhatra League presi-dent and secretary met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Our Rajshahi University correspon-dent reports: University’s acting reg-istrar Prof Saad Ahmed � led an explo-sives case, naming 60 students, and a case over vandalism, naming 50 stu-dents, said investigation o� cer Abdul Momen Sarkar.

Sarker refused to disclose the names of the accused for the sake of investi-gation.

The Chhatra League activists swooped on Rajshahi University stu-dents who were protesting against a hike in fees and a move to introduce evening courses at Rajshahi Universi-

ty on Sunday. The ruling party-backed activists and police locked into a clash with the agitating students that left over 100 students injured – 20 of them with bullet injuries.

The agitating students expressed their frustration as no shooters were arrested after the incident.

Police and the university authority did not raid the halls to recover the guns used by the Chhatra League activists.

Proctor Tariqul Hasan avoided an-swering why no raid was conducted, saying: “To control the situation stu-dents were asked to leave the halls. All steps will be taken as per the decision of the syndicate.”

OC Shamsur Nur told reporters that police could not raid halls unless the university authority asked them. “We are looking for those who were seen brandishing guns during the incident.”

A protester said the Chhatra League activists had attacked and � red on the students under the very nose of law en-forcers. Another alleged that the univer-sity authorities had � led cases against or-dinary students to foil their movement.

General students vacated their halls yesterday by 8am as the university

Syndicate on Sunday night had de-clared the campus closed for an indef-inite period.

A number of Chhatra League activ-ists, however, were seen in Bangaband-hu Hall until 1pm.

The Syndicate formed a � ve-mem-ber probe body led by Prof Khalekuz-zaman of geology department to in-vestigate the incident, public relations administrator Prof Eliyas Hossain said.

Police on Sunday arrested a protester named Sajeeb Ahmed, a fourth year stu-dent of � nance and banking; he was sent to jail after being produced before court.

Meanwhile, the agitating students declared that they would continue their strike and abstention of classes and examinations from the day the university is reopened.

Rajshahi University students had started agitating on January 16 to push their three-point demand – withdrawal of the recent decision to introduce eve-ning master’s courses under the Social Sciences Faculty, stopping the ongoing evening master’s courses at BBA and law faculties, and withdrawal of the re-cent decision to increase fees.

After the attack, the students yester-

day added four more points to their de-mands – resignation of VC Prof Mizanud-din and Pro-VC Prof Chowdhury Sarowar Jahan and the proctorial body, trying the attackers and expelling them from the university, bearing the expenses of the injured students’ treatment, and ensur-ing safety of students in the halls.

At a meeting with the journalists at his o� ce yesterday, VC Prof Mizanud-din said the violent situation had not been expected on the campus. “The law enforcers acted on their own to take the situation under control as the students went on a rampage,” he said.

University Chhatra League unit President Mizanur Rahman Rana al-leged that Shibir was manipulating the students’ movement. “We prevented the Shibir activists,” he said.

In Dhaka, the Progotishil Chhatra Jote, an alliance of left students’ or-ganisations, protested the attacks on Rajshahi University students by po-lice and Chhatra League activists and demanded immediate resignation of the university VC, proctor and the law enforcement members on duty at that time, and exemplary punishment to the attackers. l

Dhaka seeks uplift PAGE 1 COLUMN 6Bangladesh in a return visit,” the diplo-mat said.

O� cially, around 30,000 Rohingya refugees reside in two camps in Cox’s Bazar, while about half a million un-documented Myanmar nationals are estimated to reside in Bangladesh.

Rohingyas, who are Myanmar na-tionals, started to come to Bangladesh since there was a � rst in� ux in late 1970s following sectarian violence and

ethnic cleansing in the Rakhine state close to Bangladesh border.

Last year in December, in a testimony given to the US Senate, Judith Ce� in said nearly 200 people were killed and approximately 140,000 people, mainly Muslims, were displaced after tensions spiraled into violence in June and October 2012; while up to 60,000 Rohingyas � ed Rakhine state by boat, the highest number in over 20 years. l

HC declines to hear bank-loan case after minister’s phone call PAGE 1 COLUMN 6revision case with the High Court and secured a stay over the lower court’s order.

The High Court bench led by Justice Chaklader had earlier heard the matter partially, but it refused to hear the peti-tion after receiving the phone call from

a minister yesterday. Though present at the court during

the order, Deputy Attorney Gener-al Sashanka Shekhar Sarkar declined to give any information saying the suit was private in nature and the government was not involved inthe case. l

AL, BNP fail to � eld PAGE 1 COLUMN 2not bound to obey the party order here. People elected me in the past and they will do the same now so that I can serve them. I will be with the people and the people will also be with me. Political parties cannot interfere in the local level elections,” Nizamuddin told the Dhaka Tribune.

As there are more than one candi-date in more than half of the upazilas, election experts said the local govern-ment elections would be a tough � ght when festive mood would prevail cen-tring the polls which are taking place after � ve years.

“As our party chief has written to the grassroots, those who will violate the directive will face action. There will certainly be some impact in the polls if there is more than one candidate from a party for one post.

“The leaders and activists will work for the party-backed candidate. So oth-er aspirants will be discouraged and quit the race,” Matia Chowdhury, an AL Presidium member, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Mohammad Shahjahan, joint sec-retary general of the BNP, said it was tough to choose single candidate in ev-ery seat as the aspirants could not con-test the polls under the party banner.

“When the election campaign will begin, the other candidates of the party may quit the race through announce-ment and extend support to the par-ty-backed candidate. I hope that the local-level leaders will continue their e� orts to pick single candidate in every upazila,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Shahjahan also said the voters nev-er did any wrong, but in some cases the political leaders did mistake. “So, I think the national issues will in� uence the elections which will help the BNP to win more seats.”

As there is no scope of contesting the polls under a party banner, the politi-cal parties have got involved with the electoral process directly and played crucial roles. In many cases, the na-tional issues have overshadowed local issues and drew attention of the voters. During the city corporation polls held

last year, it was seen that the national issues had played a key role to deter-mine the fate of the contenders.

Meanwhile, Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN) issuing a press re-lease yesterday said more than one candidate from di� erent political par-ties submitted nomination papers to contest the polls.

“But the political parties have been pressing the candidates to withdraw their candidature only to � eld one can-didate. This is a clear violation of the electoral code of conduct…we request the political parties to be respectful to the laws,” the statement said.

405 candidates withdraw nominationAs many as 1,274 candidates are contesting in the post of chairman, vice-chairman and reserved vice-chair-man for women in � rst phase of polls in 98 upazila parishads.

Meanwhile, for the second phase of polls in 117 upazila parishads on Febru-ary 27, at least 1,852 aspirants of di� er-ent political parties � led nomination papers yesterday.

Deputy Secretary of the Election Commission Mihir Sarwar Morshed said 405 aspirants withdrew their can-didature yesterday.

There are no uncontested candi-dates in the chairman post.

In Belabo upazila of Narsingdi, high-est 19 candidates are contesting for the chairman post, the EC o� cial said.

However, one vice-chairman aspi-rant of Kazipur upazila in Sirajganj and two women vice-chairman candidates of Jajira upazila in Shariatpur and Dup-chachia upazila in Bogra are set to be elected unopposed as the other candi-dates have withdrawn their nomina-tion papers.

The candidates will be able to start formal election campaigning after the EC allocates the election symbols.

In the � rst phase of polls, as many as 1,732 candidates � led nomina-tion papers but the returning o� cers cancelled 112 nominations. After ap-peals hearing, a total of 49 candi-dates of the three posts got back theircandidature. l

AL shuts door for independent MPs PAGE 1 COLUMN 1challenge of the 10th parliament, which has 154 MPs elected uncontested, is to make the legislature e� ective as the Ja-tiya Party, the second largest party in parliament, has sent its representatives to the cabinet.

The BNP-led 19-party alliance boy-cotted the January 5 national poll.

“Most of the independent MPs have shown interest in joining the Awami League, but Leader of the House and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has not given consent,” Shahiduzzaman said.

“Sheikh Hasina wants strong criti-cism of government decisions. She re-ally wants parliament to be e� ective. So, we want to promote them as the opposition,” he said.

Chief Whip ASM Feroz told the Dhaka Tribune that his party would give “max-imum” encouragement to the indepen-dent MPs to play the opposition’s role.

“We want a strong opposition. If they and the Jatiya Party play an active role, parliament will be truly e� ective,” Feroz said.

Leader of the Opposition Rawshan Ersahd on the opening day of the 10th parliament told the House that her party’s dual role as the opposition and part of the government was a “new thought” in parliamentary practice.

She, however, admitted that she did not know if the two-in-one role of her party would work.

Rawshan said the Jatiya Party would extend full support to the treasury bench.

The Election Commission declared 297 MPs winners in the January 5 parliamentary polls, with the Awami League bagging 231 seats, JaPa 34 seats, the Workers Party six and the Jatiya Samajtantril Dal � ve seats. The Tariqat Federation and the Jatiya Party (Manju) got two seats each and the Bangladesh Nationalist Front got one seat. l

Child victims of blast still in shock PAGE 1 COLUMN 4A seven-year-old victim, Fahim, was seriously injured in a cocktail explo-sion on January 6 in the capital’s Mod-dho Badda area around 8:30am.

The second grader from Badda Gov-ernment Primary School was recently released from the National Institute of Traumatology & Orthopaedic Rehabili-tation (NITOR) on January 29.

The kid was spotted at his home sit-ting idle and looking vacant.

Whilst he was supposed to be in class, he was instead continuously � ghting against his physical challenges.

Violent politics forced the child to accept the challenge, rather than a smooth future.

Fahim’s mother, Nasima Begum, 35 a garment worker in Manson Garments Ltd in the area, broke down in tears.

She said: “My son became crippled for life. Nothing can be done now. He cannot go to school although he has new books. My son can’t eat with his hands. I feed him. How can he write when he can’t move his � ngers?” she asked.

The cocktail blew o� three � ngers of his left hand, and two of his right. He also received injuries to his belly.

The mother said she hadn’t got

any support from the government or anyone else. “We had to spend over Tk30,000 on his treatment.”

The doctors took � esh from his leg for surgery. They advised Nasima to visit them once in a week.

The entire family depends on her income, Nasima said, adding that she drew a salary of Tk7,000 of which Tk2,800 was used for rent.

Innocent looking Fahim told the Dhaka Tribune he wanted to be a doctor.

He said: “I love to study and my teachers. I want to go to school again.”

Another victim – a third grader To-fazzal Hossain, 11, from the capital’s Tejgaon area, lost his index, middle and ring � ngers of his right hand in the blast on November 20, 2013.

His left hand was badly hurt too. His father, Jamal Hossain, 50, a rick-

shaw puller, said Tofazzal had gone to his village home in Kishoreganj.

“Schoolteachers said they would promote my son to Class IV as he was a brilliant student,” said Jamal.

The 11-year-old boy vowed that he would practise writing with his left hand.

“My son wanted to become a police o� cer, but no one will recruit a crip-pled person,” Jamal said while tears

welled up in his eyes. Lokman, the 10-year-old boy, re-

ceived splinter injuries to his left hand.He was sent back to his village in

Sherpur although he had been study-ing in Class II in a local Brac School.

His cousin Md Alam said: “My father is taking care of him in the village.”

On the night of April 22 last year, a cocktail explosion ripped through the right wrist of Tania, a madrassa student in Hazaribagh.

The girl stopped going to school. Cur-rently, she had been staying at home. Ta-nia said: “I can’t write, and I eat rice with my left hand.” Her father Md Rashid, 47, a rickshaw puller, said his dream was to educate his daughter, but now he was worried about her marriage.

He added that his daughter was a brilliant student, but the accident shat-tered her dream. Rashid said: “The government only supports Rana Plaza victims, we do not get anything.”

A bereaved mother Anwara Begum, 35, said: “My son died only 40 days be-fore my daughter lost her middle � nger in an explosion. We are born to su� er.”

The accident happened during April 23-24, when the BNP-Jamaat called a hartal last year. l

Members of Doctor for Health and Environment form a human chain in front of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, demanding safe roads in the capital yesterday RAJIB DHAR

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 4, 2014

15 injured in clash between BCL factionsn Mohammad Jamil Khan

At least 15 people were injured in a clash between two groups of Bangla-desh Chhatra League on the Bangla-desh University of Textiles premises in the capital yesterday.

The hour-long clash broke between two groups of the university unit of Chhatra League, the student wing of ruling Awami League, around 1.30pm.

Witnesses said the two groups, namely the university unit “pres-ident-secretary group” and “vice president-join secretary group,” were engaged in a clash over declaring com-mittees for AGM Osmani hall and Aziz hall and establishing supremacy on the campus.

According to students, the con-� ict had been rolling on for last three months between the two factions.

Supporters of Juwel Rana, presi-dent of the university unit of Chhtra League, beat up supporters of the Sen-ior Vice-President of the unit Abdullah Al-Ka� .

In retaliation Ka� supporters came out from the Aziz hall and the two groups kept attacking each other with sticks, iron rods, and bricks for an hour

leaving 15 injured from both sides. Police went to the spot and charged

baton to tame the situation. The injured were admitted to the

Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Among them Secretary of the univer-sity unit of Chhtra League Nahid Pato-wari is in a critical state.

Mohammad Salahuddin, o� cer-in-charge of Tejgaon industrial police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that some junior students of the university locked into the clash over petty issues and some people were injured from the incident.

The situation was now under con-trol and additional forces had been de-ployed in the area to avert any unwant-ed situation onwards, he added.

Abdullah Al-Ka� said: “The cen-tral committee of Bangladesh Chhatra League has appointed two irresponsi-ble people in the posts of president and secretary in the university unit. They are now trying to establish supremacy in the halls and attacking us by using juniors. “

However, Juwel Rana said they would run an internal investigation into the incident and action would be taken against those found guilty. l

Two workers of Dhaka Medical College Hospital dump clinical waste into a city corporation dustbin yesterday. Though there are speci� c directives from hospital authorities on waste disposal, this dustbin near the hospital has been long used for the purpose, posing both health and environmental risks RAJIB DHAR

Rajshahi University students leave dormitories and wait for transports yesterday in front of Kajla Gate after the university was declared closed on Sunday night, following the attack on demonstrating students DHAKA TRIBUNE

HC questions Pabna 1 polln Nazmus Sakib

The High Court yesterday issued a ruling, asking why the recently held parliamen-tary election in Pabna 1 (Sathia-Bera) constituency should not be declared void following allegations of vote rigging.

The single bench of Justice Soumen-dra Sarker made the ruling after hearing a petition � led by Abu Sayeed, an inde-pendent candidate in the January 5 poll.

The elected MP from the seat, Sham-sul Haque Tuku, along with two other candidates, Yasir Arafat (JP Monju) and Nazrul Islam, the chief election com-missioner, the returning o� cer and the

deputy commissioner of Pabna were given three weeks to respond to the rule, Idrisur Rahman, the lawyer for the petitioner, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Abu Sayeed also attached a copy of a news item published in the Dhaka Trib-une, headlined “Polls-rigging allega-tion against Tuku’s son”, with his plea � led on Wednesday.

Sayeed claimed that Tuku had rigged a signi� cant amount of the votes in the Pabna poll by abusing his power as the then state minister for home.

Tuku won the seat with 65,929 votes, while Sayeed bagged 45,379 votes. l

HC stops extraction from Sari Rivern Nazmus Sakib

The High Court yesterday gave injunc-tion on extraction of mineral resources including sand from the Sari River in Sylhet’s Jaintapur.

The bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Khurshid Alam Sarkar passed the order after hearing a writ petition lodged by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association (BELA).

It ordered the deputy commission-er and police super of Sylhet as well as upazila nirbahi o� cer of Jaintapur to

stop extraction of mineral resources and to give a compliance report in this regard.

The court also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned as to why the river should not be declared as ecolog-ically critical area under the Environ-ment Protection Act, 1995. It further wanted to know as to why the author-ities concerned should not be directed to continue the crystal � ow of water in the Sari River.

Ikbal Kabir argued for the BELA, while Deputy Attorney General Al-Amin Sarker represented the government. l

Jamaat leader killed in tra� c accidentn Kailash Sarkar

The chief of capital’s Darussalam thana unit of Jamaat-e-Islami was killed after being hit by a vehicle during a clash with police in Pallabi yesterday morn-ing, At least 10 people, including a po-liceman, were also injured in the clash.

Yesterday, Jamaat-Shibir mem-bers brought out a procession around 8:30am near the Journalists’ Colony in Kalshi, Pallabi. During the proces-sion, Jamaat-Shibir men went into a rampage, vandalising several vehicles and exploding bombs indiscriminately, eyewitnesses said.

In the clash that ensued, police � red around 20 rounds of gunshots and ar-rested a Jamaat activist while Jamaat men hurled crude bombs, brick chips and vandalised several vehicles.

Police and witnesses said the de-ceased Jamaat leader Billal Hossain, 50, who was also the Imam of Ibne Sina Hos-pital Mosque at Kalyanpur, was hit by a speeding pick-up van while he was trying to run away from police during the clash.

The pick-up van was detained, but its driver managed to run away, police said.

Billal was rushed to the Dhaka Medi-cal College and Hospital (DMCH) where doctors declared him dead. Billal sus-tained injuries to his head, said sources at the DMCH and the morgue.

Constable Abdus Salam, 20, of Pal-labi police station, was admitted to the Rajarbagh Police Lines Hospital. The identities of the other injured could not be ascertained.

Police said the clash erupted when the police constable sustained injuries in an explosion, prompting police to � re rubber bullets, leaving several oth-er Jammat men injured.

Imtiyaz Ahmed, deputy commis-sioner of Mirpur Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said: “While be-ing chased by police, the Jamaat-Shibir men, who had been vandalising vehi-cles and charging bombs, started run-ning away, but one of them was hit by a running pickup van.” l

High Court grants bails to seven BNP leadersn Nazmus Sakib

The High Court yesterday granted bail for various durations to seven BNP lead-ers in cases of violence and corruption.

The HC bench of justices M Enayetur Rahim and Mohammad Ullah gave six weeks’ anticipatory bail to BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam in each of the three cases of vandalism against him.

Meanwhile, the bench of Justice Nai-ma Haider and Justice Zafar Ahmed granted six months’ ad-interim bail to BNP vice-chairmen Ha� zuddin Ahmed and Sadeque Hossain Khoka, party stand-ing committee member Moudud Ahmed, Joint Secreatary Barkat Ullah Bulu and Organising Secretary Fazlul Haq Milon.

On the other hand, the same bench issued a rule seeking explanation as to why chairperson’s adviser Khandker Mahbub Hossain should not be granted

permanent bail in a case � led by Ramna police on charges of vandalism, blasting crude bombs, attempted murder and ob-structing police. The court also granted bail to Mahbub until disposal of the rule.

Moudud was given bail for six months in a case � led by the Anti-Cor-ruption Commission for allegedly grab-bing a piece of government property worth Tk300 crore in Gulshan, Deputy Attorney General Khandaker Diliruz-zaman told the Dhaka Tribune.

Moudud’s lawyer Anowarul Islam Shaheen said his client had received bail in all � ve cases against him.

In a separate ruling, Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, chamber judge of the Appellate Division, did not stay an ear-lier HC order granting bail to BNP stand-ing committee members MK Anwar and Ra� qul Islam Miah in two cases � led with Motijeel police station, said de-fence lawyer Ehsanur Rahman. l

Third witness in Mir Kashem case cross examined n Udisa Islam

The defence in the case against war crimes suspect Mir Kashem Ali yes-terday ended questioning the prose-cution’s third witness who on Sunday said the accused and his cohorts had tortured pro-liberation people at Dal-eem Hotel in Chittagong City to collect information about freedom � ghters.

Nasir Uddin Chowdhury in his deposition said the accused had ordered his followers in al-Badr force to abduct, torture and subsequently kill innocent civilians for supporting the Liberation War.

Defence counsel Mizanul Islam questioned the witness suggesting that Mir Kashem had no control over al-Badr and razakar forces which had collaborated with the Pakistani oc-cupation forces to commit genocide, murder, rape, arson, looting and reli-gious persecution.

After the end of grilling, the pros-ecution sought time to place further witness. The International Crimes Tri-bunal 2 adjourned the proceeding until February 17.

The three-member tribunal led by Justice Obaidul Hassan with members Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Md Shahinur Islam recorded the cross-examination of the witness.

Nasir, a freedom � ghter, said he had been captured by the al-Badr men one night in the month of November 1971 and taken to the Daleem Hotel where many more pro-liberation people were tortured.

He heard that everyone was cap-tured and tortured upon the order of Mir Kashem, the alleged al-Badrcommander of Chittagong duringthe war.

Jamaat-e-Islami Executive Council member Mir Kashem is facing 14 charg-es of crimes against humanity he had committed in Chittagong in 1971. l

PM: Complete river dredging, set up Ganges barragen Mohosinul Karim

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked the shipping minister to restore the navigability of rivers and canals soon by completing the dredging pro-jects that were started during the pre-vious government’s tenure.

The instructions came at yesterday’s cabinet meeting, chaired by the pre-mier, at the secretariat’s cabinet con-ference room.

Seeking anonymity, a minister told the Dhaka Tribune that the prime min-ister also asked the shipping minister about the progress of the capital dredg-ing project, which was initiated under the premier’s directive during her pre-vious tenure.

Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan

termed fund shortage as an impedi-ment in doing the work on time; but Finance Minister AMA Muhith said the government has already provided ade-quate funds for completing the dredg-ing work.

Muhith also suggested the shipping minister to complete the work during the dry season of the November-April period, with funds available for the work after budgetary allocation in July.

Senior ministers Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Matia Chowdhury, Mo-hammed Nasim and other ministers who had constituencies in the river ero-sion areas took part in the discussion.

The ministers called for the dredg-ing work to be started during the dry summer season as more silt might be removed at that period, while also urg-

ing Shajahan Khan to protect the river-banks.

The prime minister also suggested the shipping minister to use the Tk20bn fund of Chittagong port authority, if there was any delay of fund releasing from the � -nance ministry; and directed him to pro-tect the shoals for people’s use.

Meanwhile, the water resources minister was also asked to speed up the project for setting up the proposed Ganges barrage in Rajbari, aiming to protect water resources and increase food production by utilising irrigation.

Water Resources Minister Anisul Is-lam Mahmud briefed the premier about the progress of the project, which was also initiated during the tenure of the past government.

Saying the preparation and paper-

work for the Ganges barrage project was nearing completion; Anisul ex-pressed hopes that the construction would start shortly if the funds could be arranged.

Hasina, however, assured the min-ister of funding, saying some interna-tional donors and countries including China were interested in � nancing the project.

On a separate note, the prime min-ister directed cabinet members and senior Awami League leaders to assist the seven teams of the party that were formed to select sole candidates for re-spective seats in the upazila poll. Hasi-na also said sole candidates had been ensured in 80% areas, while further checks need to be completed in the rest of the upazilas. l

‘Paresh in China’n Tribune Report

Paresh Barua, chief of Indian separatist group United Liberation Front of As-sam (Ulfa) and a death condemned in a 10-truck arms smuggling case in Bang-ladesh, is now living in China, reports The Times of India.

“Barua’s phone call and other recent developments have cemented inputs that he is living in China’s Rui Li town,” said the report published yesterday.

According to sources, Barua has been living in the Chinese town for the past two years. His wife and two sons live in Bangladesh, it added.

The matter was revealed when Barua made a frantic call from his China hide-out last week to one of his key deputies, Jyotirmoy Barali, who looks after an Ulfa camp in Myanmar, sources said. l

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 4, 2014

City High Low

PRAYER TIMESFajar 5:21am

Sunrise 6:37amZohr 12:12am

Asr 4:11pmMagrib 5:47pm

Esha 7:04pmSource: IslamicFinder.org

WEATHER

Weather likely to remain dryn UNB

Weather may remain dry with partly cloudy sky over the country until 6pm today.

Moderate to thick fog might oc-cur over the river basins and light to moderate fog might occur elsewhere over the country during midnight until morning, Met O� ce said.

Mild cold wave is sweeping over the regions of Jessore, Kustia, Sayedpur, Dinajpur and Srimangal and it may continue. Night and day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.

The sun sets in the capital at 5:47pm today and rises at 6:38am tomorrow.

Country’s highest temperature 29.3 degree Celsius was recorded in Cox’s Bazar and lowest 08.4 degrees in Sri-mangal yesterday.

Highest and lowest temperatures re-corded in some major cities yesterday were:

Dhaka 25.0 12.0 Chittagong 26.1 16.6Rajshahi 21.0 10.5 Rangpur 19.2 10.5 Khulna 25.5 11.5Barisal 26.2 10.2Sylhet 25.7 12.6 Cox’s Bazar 29.3 17.7

UPAZILA POLLS

EC plans to deploy own o� cers as observersn Mohammad Zakaria

The Election Commission is planning to deploy its own o� cials as election observers in the upcoming upazila parishad elections to detect violations of the electoral code of conduct during the polls.

The commission will present a plan about deploying its own o� cials at the meeting with returning o� cers, police superintendents and the heads of law enforcement agencies, a senior EC of-� cial said yesterday.

The commission will deploy its own observers from the beginning of election campaigning till the elections, as a large number of candidates from the ruling party and other political parties are contesting in the polls, he said.

The commission will also form spe-cial monitoring cells for informing the commission immediately about any type of violation of electoral laws by the candidates, the o� cial said.

The EC has taken the plan to deploy its own o� cials as observers in the

polls as ruling party or other political party candidates might in� uence the local body polls.

“The EC’s own observers will ob-serve the polls secretly. If any irregu-larities or violation of electoral laws by the candidates are noticed, they will inform the special monitoring cells to provide information to the commis-sion,” the senior o� cial said.

The commission announced the polls schedule of upazila parishad polls in two phases. Election to 98 upazilas will be held on February 19 in the � rst phase and polls to 117 upazila parishads will be held on February 27.

A record number of candidates are contesting in the three posts of the upazila parishads. Candidates of all po-litical parties including Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party and Jamaat-e-Islami are contesting.

An election commissioner yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that the com-mission would deploy its own observ-ers in the upazila parishad polls. But the commission is yet to take � nal deci-sion in this regard, he also said. l

Tailbacks on both sides of Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue yesterday. Though an everyday scenario on this road, authorities are yet to take any measures to put an end to the commuters' su� erings from this sort of congestion SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Relatives and co-workers of Dr Murad, who was murdered in Potuakhali on December 3, 2013, form a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday, demanding arrest and exemplary punishment of the killers MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

ACC arrests one for Tk46 lakh embezzlementn Syed Samiul Basher Anik

The Anti-Corruption Commission yes-terday arrested Mostafa Kamal, an accused in two cases � led by the anti-graft body in connection with embez-zling of around Tk46lakh government money through cheque forgery.

ACC Deputy Assistant Director Ra� Nazmus Sadat, also probe o� cial of the case, arrested Mostafa from the capi-tal’s Motijheel area.

Earlier on August 7, 2012, the ACC � led two cases against four people for embezzlement of Tk46lakh through cheque forgery.

The case statement reads the ar-restee named Al Amin Ratan as M Mo-saddek Ali Sajib in the reference while opening a bank account with One Bank Limited principal branch at Dilkusha in Motijheel.

Al Amin Ratan was the main ac-cused who embezzled the amount of money in the name of land acquisition through cheque forgery.

The arrestee was brought to the ACC headquarters following the arrest and he was primarily interrogated by the probe o� cial. l

High Court orders police to transfer bank robbery case to RAB n Nazmus Sakib

The High Court yesterday directed po-lice authorities to hand over charge of investigating the Tk16 crore Sonali Bank robbery in Kishoreganj to the Rapid Action Battalion within 48 hours.

The bench of Justice Quazi Reza-ul Hoque and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain passed the order in response to a writ pe-tition � led by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, a legal aid organisation.

The court also asked why it should not issue orders to punish the master-minds of the robbery and probe any involvement of militants in the crime.

The home secretary, the inspector general of police, Dhaka Metropoli-

tan Police commissioner, the director general of RAB, Kishoreganj police su-perintendent and o� cer in charge of Kishoreganj model police station were given two weeks to reply to the rule.

The court also sought a report of compliance of the order within two weeks, Manzil Murshid, lawyer for the petitioner, told the Dhaka Tribune.

The writ was � lled with attached media reports suggesting possible militant connection to the looting of Tk16.40 crore through a tunnel bored into the vault of the state-owned bank’s main branch in Kishoreganj on January 26. RAB arrested two suspects and recovered part of the looted money on January 28. l

25 Jamaat-Shibir men held in Ctgn Tribune Report

Police in separate drives arrested 25 Ja-maat-Shibir men from Chittagong’s Sita-kunda and Lohagara upazilas on charges of conducting sabotage on highways and attacking an Awami League lawmaker.

Iftekhar Hasan, o� cer-in-charge of Sitakunda police station, said they nabbed 15 Jamaat-Shibir activists from di� erent areas of the upazila in an over-night drive.

The detainees were accused in sev-eral cases lodged with the police sta-tion for their involvement with the subversive activities on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway, he said.

Meanwhile, 10 more Jamaat-Shibir activists were held in connection with the attack on Awami League lawmaker on Friday night, said OC Mohammad Shahjahan of Lohagara police station.

On Friday night, Jamaat-Shibir activists carried out an attack on Nadvi, at a religious programme in Lohagara. l

Noman: AL trying to appease Indian Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Awami League is trying to take BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and her family members into 10-truck arms haul cases to make India happy.

The BNP Vice President Abdullah Al Noman yesterday comment it at a press brie� ng in the party o� ce of the Chit-tagong city unit, at Nasiman Bhaban.

“Awami League gave false informa-tion about Khaleda and his son Tareque Rahman in the sensational arms sei-zure to destroy the nationalist ideology from the country,” he said.

The arms were seized by the BNP government and they started the trial during their tenure, Noman also said.

Shahadat Hossain, general secretary, and Abu Su� an, senior vice president of the city unit of BNP, were present at the conference among other local leaders.

The BNP leaders claimed that the arms consignment was brought by in-ternational smuggling gang and BNP has no connection with it. l

Taslima blames Hasina-Khaleda-Mamata n Tribune Report

Writer Taslima Nasrin has blamed Sheikh Hasina, Khaleda Zia and Ma-mata Banerjee for making her life “dif-� cult,” reports PTI.

The exiled Bangladeshi yesterday claimed that despite her feminist writ-ings, women leaders had not been sym-pathetic to her.

She told the Indian state-run news agency: “It is strange that I have been writing on women issues for the last three decades but three women (Sheikh) Hasina, Khaleda (Zia) and Mamata (Ba-nerjee) have made my life di� cult.

There is no hope for Bangladesh. And I miss Kolkata because culturally I con-nect with the city. But I have now given up all hopes of returning to the city.”

Taslima � nds no di� erence between West Bengal and Bangladesh as there is no freedom in writing here as a year af-ter the launch of her book Nirbasan was cancelled at the Kolkata Book Fair.

She said: “Situation in West Bengal is exactly like Bangladesh. The West Ben-gal government has also made me a per-sona non grata as they are not allowing me to enter, banning my books besides the TV drama series scripted by me.

“They are not allowing me to par-ticipate in the ongoing Kolkata Book Fair. It happened during the CPI(M) re-gime and I thought the situation would change when Mamata Banerjee came to power but that did not happen,” she told PTI. l

Non-formal education act draft sent back n Mohosinul Karim

The cabinet on Monday has sent back the proposal of enacting a new law ti-tled “Non-Formal Education Act, 2014” for further improvement of the pro-posed law consulting with the stake-holder ministries.

The proposal was placed to the cabi-net for passing the law for bringing the dropped out children and the persons who have crossed their age 14 under education.

But, the cabinet meeting held at secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, asked the primary education minister to improve the draft as it may not con� ict with other laws.

“The draft of the law would be placed to the next cabinet meeting af-ter improving it consulting with the other ministries and as per the direc-tives of the cabinet,” Cabinet Secretary

M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told re-porters after the meeting.

He added: “It will be passed in the cabinet shortly as it was already got the in principle approval of the cabinet earlier.”

He said the non-formal primary ed-ucation is a running issue in the coun-try to ensure minimum literacy for the elderly and dropped out children.

“The department of non-formal education looks after its activities. But, there was no law in this regard. It is necessary to enact a new law to contin-ue the activities of non-formal educa-tion,” he added.

He also said the provision of estab-lishing a non-formal education board was kept in the proposed law. It will act along with the department of non-formal education such other formal education system.

“Not only minimum literacy, the provision of creating literate manpow-

er with technical education was kept in the law as they would be able to accom-modate for any kind of employment. If there is anything con� icting with other laws, it will be removed from the draft,” he added.

The meeting of the cabinet was also informed about the achievements of World Trade Organisation’s December 3-6 conference held at Bali in Indonesia.

Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed led the Bangladeshi delega-tion for the conference as the minister could not a� ord to join there.

Primary Education Minister Musta� zur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that the draft law would be placed before the meeting shortly after amending it consulting with the other ministries.

It would be passed in the next cabi-net as it was already approved by the cabinet earlier, he added. l

3 killed in separate incidentsn Tribune Report

At least three people were killed in separate incidents in Mymensingh, Kishoreganj and Habiganj yesterday.

An alleged drug-addict chopped his younger sister to death at Dubaliapa-ra village in Bhaluka upazila of My-mensingh yesterday.

Police said Rubel Mia, 17, chopped his younger sister Amena Khatun, 14, who was a worker at Arif Textile Mills in Bhaluka, as she denied to provide Rubel money for buying drugs. Rubel also chopped his father Badshah Mia when he tried to save his daughter.

Locals rescued the duo and sent them to Bhaluka Upazila Health Complex where on duty doctors pro-nounced Amena dead.

Abdul Motalab Miah, o� cer-in-charge of Bhaluka police station, said a case was � led in this connection.

In Kishoreganj, one Deen Islam, 28,

who hailed from Mazlishpur village of Nikli upazila, was allegedly strangled by unidenti� ed miscreants in yesterday.

Police said locals found the body in a boat on the Narsunda River around 1pm and informed the police.

Mahbub Alam, o� cer-in-charge of Nikli police station, said the victim might have been killed at night but reason behind the murder could not be known immediately. Elsewhere in Hab-iganj, Rizu Mia, 25, who was injured in a clash over land dispute on Sunday, suc-cumbed to his injuries early yesterday.

Police said supporters of Poilarkandi Union Parishad Chairman Khoaz Ali and Member Saraj Mia under Habig-anj’s Baniyachong upazila had a � erce clash over land dispute on Sunday, leaving at least 20 people injured.

Rizu was admitted to Sylhet Medical College Hospital in a critical condition, where he succumbed to his injuries around 2am. l

55 illegal Malaysia-goers rescued n Our Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar

The Rapid Action Battalion rescued 55 people in Ukhia upazila in the wee hours yesterday as they were being tra� cked to Malaysia.

The elite force members also held two tra� ckers Rustam Ali and Kaiser from the spot.

RAB 7 Commander Rashedul Alam said: “Acting on a tip-o� , a team of RAB conducted the drive and held Rustam and his son Kaiser along with some 55 illegal Malaysia goers.

“They were trying to tra� c some 100 people but more than 40 people � ed the scene upon sensing the pres-ence of RAB,” he added.

Rustam Ali is known to have been tra� cking people to Malaysia in � shing boats for a long time. It is believed that he had tra� cked about 1,000 men to Malaysia last month. l

'WB government has also made me a persona non grata'

News 5DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Encroachment on Turag continues unabatedGrabbers cashing in on faulty demarcation of river, stacking sand and raising illegal buildingsn Abu Hayat Mahmud

A group of sand traders and land grab-bers are, in an e� ort to grab the river Turag, ignoring the High Court order and capitalising on the faulty demarca-tion of the water body.

The encroachers are stacking sand and raising illegal establishments in the river area.

Markets, permanent and makeshift shops, rickshaw garages, restaurants, mosque and crematorium are being constructed inside the river demarca-tion pillars while the local residents are dumping solid waste, all contributing to the contraction of the water body.

Dr Md Samsuddoha Khandaker, chairman of Bangladesh Inland Wa-ter Transport Authority (BIWTA) told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have been informed about the continuous en-croachment upon the river Turag.”

A meeting on Sunday was held in the Ministry of Shipping to save the riv-er from grabbers, he added.

“The grabbing of the river goes on unabated on its both sides at di� erent parts between Mirpur and Aminbazar.”

The demarcation pillars were in-stalled in the heart of the water body, ap-plying wrong process, he regretted, add-ing that a further demarcation would be done as per the decision of the meeting.

A joint committee of the Dhaka deputy commissioner o� ce and BIW-TA demarcated the river area and set up pillars, leaving a large area on both sides of the Turag.

The river was originally 1,500 feet wide which had now taken the shape of a canal because of continuous encroachment.

Samsuddoha Khandaker main-tained that the ministry recommended demarcation of the river based on two types of map known as CS and RS.

The BIWTA chairman vowed that ac-tion would be taken against those grab-

bing the river and polluting the water body by dumping waste.

“The area pillars will be re-installed, and we will take strong measures to re-

claim the river immediately,” he added.A visit to the di� erent areas of

Gabtoli, Borobazar, Kotbari, Hariram-pur, Jahanabad, Golartek, Lalpara,

Diabari, Sinnirtek, Jagannatbad, No-baberbagh, Nagarbari – eastern part of the river adjacent to the city’s Mirpur – and Eskabed, Golbari, Knundia, Beg-

satra – western side of the river under Harirampur union, revealed that the grabbers built di� erent establishments according to their own sweet will.

Besides, sand-loaded trucks remain parked on both sides of the embank-ment-cum road built on the river bank, causing disruption to smooth tra� c movement from Mirpur to Ashulia.

More than 20 sand traders run their business in the area, with blessings from the lawmen and local political leaders.

In November 2012, the HC directed the government to stop sand trading on the banks of the city’s rivers.

The court ordered the authorities to shut down the sand markets on the bank of Turag and submit a compliance report within four weeks.

Apart from the order, the HC, on June 25, 2009, also directed the BIW-TA to protect four rivers – Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Shitalakhya – from en-croachment and pollution.

Alamgir Hossain, a resident of Jah-anabad, said: “Several in� uential land grabbers, including the ruling party leaders, are in an e� ort to grab the river by building settlements and shops and by dumping sand.”

“Several government authorities, including the former caretaker govern-ment, failed to free the river bank, he said, adding that when a mobile team goes into action to demolish the illegal establishments, the grabbers use polit-ical backing to resist the drive.”

Sand traders – Jahirul, Ripon, Afzal-ur and some others – are said to have been running sand business occupying the river bed.

Contacted, Ripon said: “We are run-ning business in our own land, not in the river area. So none can take action against us.”

Other traders refused to talk to the media. Apart from the grabbing of Tur-ag, domestic and Industrial waste from drain and sewerage contribute to the river water pollution and emitting a foul smell, thus putting an impact on the environment. l

Five killed in road accidents n Tribune Report

A total of � ve people were killed and six injured in separate road accidents in the capital, Brahmanbaria and Go-palganj yesterday.

In the capital, an unidenti� ed 70-year-old man wearing a shirt, a lun-gi and a blanket was found lying on the road in front of Korea-Bangladesh Technical Training Centre in Darus-salam, Mirpur around 7am.

Md Sumon, sub-inspector of Darus-salam police station, said some pedes-trians had informed the police about the old man after they found him on the road. The man was taken to Dhaka Med-ical College Hospital where the doctors declared him dead, suspecting that he might have been hit by a vehicle.

In another incident, a 24-year-old man, Billal Hossain, was found lying on the road in critical condition in front of Engineers’ Institution around 12:30am.

The young man was taken to DMCH where he was declared dead. He was from Beparikanda village of Shariatpur’s Jajira upazila and was an employee of a shoe shop named Suruj Mansion at Siddiqbazar.

In Brahmanbaria, two people were killed in separate roads accidents.

Su� an Bhuiyan, 22, relief and disaster management secretary of Kasba upazila Chhatra league, died in a motor cycle ac-cident at 4pm, reports our correspondent.

Witnesses said Su� an had lost con-trol of his motorbike and struck a pil-lar at Bishara Bari area. He was dead on the spot. Kasba police station O� -cer-in-Charge Mizanur Rahman con-� rmed his death.

In the district’s Sarail, a tempo driver Shahjahan Mia, 32, was killed in an acci-dent in Sarail-Nasirnagar road near the Uchaliapara Madrasha in the afternoon.

Police and local source said Shah-jahan’s vehicle fell to a roadside ditch as the soil on the road was loose. The driver drowned in the water and died on the spot.

In Gopalganj, Governor of APEX Club of Bangladesh and United Com-mercial Bank (UCB) Vice-President Ehsanul Kabir, 65, was killed in a road crash around dawn.

Six people including Ehsanul’s fami-ly members sustained injuries.

The accident took place around 5:30am at Gerakhola of Muksudpur up-azila in the Dhaka-Khulna highway.

Muksudpur police station OC Ferdaus Hossain said Ehsanul’s private car was hit from the back when it attempted to over-take a bus of Hamim Paribahan. The car also collided at the same time with a truck coming from the opposite direction.

Ehsanul Kabir died on the spot and his family members sustained injuries, he added. l

Five indicted in Himu murder casen Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

A Chittagong court yesterday � nally framed charges, after deferring four times, against � ve accused in a case � led in connection with the killing of A-level student Himadri Majumdar Himu in Chittagong city’s Panchlaish area in 2012.

Chittagong Metropolitan Session Judge SM Mojibur Rahman passed the indictment order.

The accused are Shah Selim Tipu, his son Junaid Ahmed Riad, Riad’s friends Shahadat Hossain Shaju, Mahbub Ali Khan Danny and Zahidul Islam Shaon. Among them Tipu and Shaju are on bail while the others were on the run, court sources said.

Kamal Uddin Ahmed, public pros-ecutor of Chittagong Metropolitan, said February 18 was � xed for the nexthearing.

Himu, 18, an A-level student of Summer� eld School and Col-lege, was allegedly pushed o� theroof of a four-storied building in Panchlaish Residential Area on April27, 2012 by his friends. He suc-cumbed to his injuries 26 days laterin Dhaka.

Over the incident, Asit Das, mater-nal uncle of the deceased, lodged a case with Panchlaish police station, accus-ing the � ve.

The charge-sheet of the case was submitted before the court on Septem-ber 30, 2012. l

3 held for killing 2 children in N’ganjn Kailash Sarkar

Rapid Action Battalion yesterday ar-rested three youths for killing two children after abducting them from Narayanganj on January 21.

The arrestees are Parvez Hossain, 21, Md Jahangir Hossain, 30 and Shah Ali, 22. All the three detainees hail from So-nargaon upazila in Narayanganj.

“During the primary interrogation, we have come to know that Parvez was the mastermind behind the abduction and killing of the two children follow-ing his personal enmity with former employer Shamsul Alam and step-fa-ther Rahmat Ali,” said RAB Wing Com-mander ATM Habibur Rahman during a press brie� ng at RAB headquarters in the capital on Monday evening.

On January 21, the criminals kid-napped Zahidul Islam, 13, a Class-VII student of Omar Ali High School, and

Saqin Alam, 9, a Class III student of the same school, from Kanchpur area and demanded Tk20 lakh as ransom from their guardians.

However, just a day later, police re-covered the beheaded body of Zahid, son of Rahmat Ali and step brother of Parvez, from a sack at Bargaon Berib-adh near Kanchpur, and the body of Saqin, son of Shamsul Alam, from a sack near a wetland the next day.

“Although the kidnappers had killed both the boys shortly after the abduc-tion, they continued their demand of Tk20 lakh as ransom from the two fam-ilies,” added the Habibur Rahman.

The RAB director said Parvej was a former employee of a motor garage owned by Shamsul Alam in Gazipur, which he had left following a disagree-ment with the owner over salary and other bene� ts. Besides, Parvez and his family also had been a tenant of a

house owned by Shamsul. After quitting his job at the garage,

Parvez sent a proposal to Shamsul’s eldest daughter and was later rebuked by Shamsul and his step-father Rahmat over his approach. Following the inci-dent, Parvez became furious and draft-ed the brutal plan to abduct and kill Za-hidul and Sakin, to get back at Shamsul and his step-father.

Parvez also sought help of two of his friends, Shah Ali and Jahangir, for his evil plans and promised them a share of the ransom once the job was done.

Rab o� cials said they � rst arrested Shah Ali and Jahangir from Meghnaghat at Narayanganj on Monday morning and later Parvej was arrested at Senpa-ra in Kanchpur in the afternoon.

He claimed all the three detainees admitted their involvement in the ab-duction of the children and brutal kill-ings. l

KEPZ boiler explosion injures three workersn Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

At least three workers of a factory in Korean Export Processing Zone (Ko-reanEPZ) were injured in a boiler ex-plosion under Anwara upazila in Chit-tagong district yesterday.

The injured are Lakhi Akhter, Mon-iruzzaman and Aiyub.

Sayedee Anwarul Azim, public rela-tions o� cer (PRO) of KoreanEPZ, told

Dhaka Tribune a boiler of a lamination machine at the shoe factory of Karna-phuli Sportswear Industry (KSI) had blasted around 10:10am, leaving the three injured.

The injured were sent to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH).

Police said that the injured had been admitted to di� erent wards in the hos-pital while Lakhi was released after giv-ing primary treatment. l

18 gold bars seizedin Chittagong airport n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Customs o� cials at Chittagong’s Shah Amanat International Airport yester-day seized 18 gold bars, worth around Tk 87 lakh, in separate drives.

Moshiur Rahman Mondol, assistant commissioner of Chittagong Customs House in the airport, said three gold bars, weighing 291.60 grams, were seized from a Dubai expatriate Abul Kalam, hailing from Rangunia upazila of Chittagong.

“Kalam arrived at the airport from

Dubai through an Air Arabia � ight at around 11:00am,” he added.

Earlier on Sunday night, customs o� cials seized 15 gold bars, weighing 1.725 kilograms, from four persons who arrived at the airport from Dubai and Oman.

According to existing laws, a per-son can bring in up to 200 grams  of gold from abroad.

In 2013, customs o� cials seized 686 gold bars, worth Tk 35.30crore, from the airport from the expatriates, mostly from the Middle East countries. l

Shibir leader injuredin BCL attack at CUn FM Mizanur Rahaman, CU

Activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), student wing of ruling party yes-terday, beat up a leader of Islami Chha-tra Shibir (ICS) at Chittagong University (CU).

Witnesses said a group of BCL ac-tivists led by Nazim Uddin, deputy mass-education a� air secretary of the BCL, attacked Mahmudul Hasan, fourth year student of Sociology department, former ICS secretary of Social Science Faculty’s committee and also “Shathi” of Shibir at the campus.

The BCL men beat him up with wooden sticks leaving him injured.

On information, Anwar Hossain Chowdhury, an assistant proctor of CU rescued the ICS leader and sent him to the university medical centre.

“After receiving primary treatment, Hasan reached his dormitory,” said Is-mail Hossain, o� cer-in-charge (OC) of Hathazari police Station.

Ariful Islam, organising secretary CU unit of BCL said the BCL men re-sisted the Shibir men while they were distributing lea� ets among the junior students. l

Woman diesin hill slide n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

A woman was killed in a hill slide in Chittagong’s Bayezid area yesterday.

The dead, Nurunnahar, 30, resided at the foothills in Shantinagar area un-der Bayezid police station.

A chunk of earth fell on Nurunnahar as she along with her father-in-law Jodu Miah were cutting the hill adjacent to her house around 2pm, said Sub-Inspector Jahirul Islam, in-charge of Chittagong Medical College Hospital Police Camp. l

Members of Jatiya Sharthe Blogger-Online Activist Forum bring out a torch procession in the capital’s Shahbagh yesterday, protesting the combined attacks of Chhatra League and police on demonstrating Rajshahi University students RAJIB DHAR

A syndicate of land grabbers have � lled a portion of the Turag river by sand SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Making time for the Dhaka Art SummitThe countdown begins for the world’s largest South Asian art event, February 7-9n Tasnuva Amin Nova

Mysti� ed about the clocks that have suddenly sprung up on billboards all over the capital?

They are part of a public art pro-ject titled “Meanwhile Elsewhere” by the Delhi-based Raqs Media Collec-tive, commissioned by the Samdani Art Foundation for the 2014 Dhaka Art Summit.

“This is their largest public art pro-ject to date,” said Nadia Samdani, the Founder and Director of Dhaka Art Summit.

Competed yesterday, the project covered ten billboards and 150 road-side signs with the image of a clock – but contrary to traditional clocks, these show Bangla words instead of numbers, representing a subjective in-terpretation of time.

The billboards feature clocks whose minute-hands show one word and the hour-hand another. These words or phrases complement each other, hint-ing towards a deeper meaning. When

all the billboards are seen collectively, it is meant to reveal a combination of di� erent states of mind and being dur-ing di� erent times of the day, crafted into a poem.

The � nal piece is the “Crazy Clock” video installation, to be unveiled at the Dhaka Art Summit. The hands will spin around pause on a “crazy” message.

The Summit will be taking over the four � oors of the Shilpakala Academy from February 7-9. Billed as the world’s largest South Asian art event, the Dha-ka Art Summit will highlight the re-gion’s contemporary art scene.

The concept behind the clocks is to examine the way we look at billboards, and “subjective experience of time and duration,” the artists said.

Research suggests that reading words on walls or commercial sign-posts can create a strong e� ect on the subconscious. It captures the readers’ moments between awareness and una-wareness after reading certain words. Despite being present in the situation, our minds can wander o� somewhere else. Hence, the project title.

“Meanwhile Elsewhere” is part of the Untimely series, one of Raqs Me-dia Collective’s experiments with time and the “metaphorical possibilities” of time.

Other installations of the series have been exhibited around the world.

In Birmingham, UK, in 2012, Raqs Media Collective did a similar installa-tion of clocks billboards with English words, called: “Whenever the Heart Skips a Beat,” as part of the 48 Sheets project.

The � rst of such clocks by the Raqs were seen in Emoção Art.� cial Exhibi-tion, Itaú Cultural Centre, Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2002.

The theme there has remained the same for this installation in Dhaka: to nudge our mental state of being or feel-ing with words, representing emotions we contemporaneously feel within: epiphany, panic, remorse, nostalgia, fear, ecstasy, awe, fatigue, guilt, indif-ference, anxiety.

Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula and Shuddhabrata Sengupta, who designed the project, are practitioners of con-

temporary art and through Raqs Media Collective. They have participated in many major international shows, in-cluding The European Biennial of Con-temporary Art in 2008.

Diana Campbell Betancourt, artistic director of Samdani Art Foundation, is curator of the initiative. l

6 FeatureDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, February 2, 2014

Grace under � reAn interview with Rumana Monzur, as part of our weekly series on One Billion Rising Bangladesh, in support of justice for violence against womenn Syeda Samira Sadeque

“I never thought it would hap-pen to me. And then it did,” Rumana Monzur, iconic survivor of severe domestic

abuse, told the Dhaka Tribune in an ex-clusive interview earlier this week.

To survive is to have a story to tell, to have the chance to show others what

they didn’t see. Or ignored. Rumana, having enrolled in law school after completing her Masters degree, is do-ing just that: surviving gracefully, and telling her story.

Rumana was attacked by her hus-band in June 2011, when he gouged out her eyes and bit o� parts of her nose. Rumana, a former University of Dhaka Assistant Professor of International Relations, was visiting Dhaka on break from Vancouver, where she was a grad-uate student at that time.

The brutal act triggered protests both at home and in Canada.

Rumana survived to tell her story, and to completely turn her fate around. After extensive medical treatment, she enrolled as a law student at Univer-sity of British Columbia in Vancouver, where she lives with her parents and eight year old daughter Anusheh.

“I am studying law because it makes me legally empowered. I wonder now if I had had this education, if it would have been easier for me to � ght my le-gal battles.”

Despite the obvious nature of the crime, her husband’s family has been trying to claim custody of her daugh-ter, accusing her of faking her blind-ness, or saying that she will not be able to take care of Anusheh. She has to submit documents to prove that she is visually impaired.

Vicious cycle of abuseDomestic abuse in Bangladesh is nothing new. A recent survey by BBS

and UNFPA suggests a staggering 90% of women face abuse by their husbands.

“Those being abused need to un-derstand that showing patience to monsters and demons is wrong. They mistake our commitment to be our weakness. No one needs to go through this to save their marriage.”

Even after being married to her abusive husband Hasan Sayeed for ten years, Rumana used to be reluctant to reveal her secret.

“I used to think talking about it would be a matter of shame, so I kept quiet instead.”

“But we must realize it is not us who ought to be ashamed but them, those who in� ict abuse on us who should be held ac-countable, who should be shamed.”

Rumana says society also has a role to play to create a safe haven for those living in a system of abuse. Instead of facing the judgement and stigma of so-ciety, Rumana braved the challenges in-side her abusive home, as many still do.

“The society’s attitude must change. If they were supportive of those trying to leave abusive systems, it would be a lot easier for girls to do so.”

Saving graceAfter it happened in June 2011, the in-ternational media was quick to pick up

the story, largely due to the fact that Rumana had an international sup-port system from her friends and col-leagues in Canada.

In Bangladesh, what stood out about Rumana’s case was the fact that she was an educated, � nancially independent woman in the society. This incident broke the previously held assumption that domestic abuse takes place primarily in lower income homes, to women who are illiterate and unaware of their rights.

“I never thought despite having a Masters degree, despite my � nancial independence, I would face this,” Ru-mana says.

After the incident, her husband jus-ti� ed his attack by accusing her of hav-ing an a� air with an Iranian man. Some local media agencies also capitalised on the controversy, falsely reporting or validating rumours - mostly triggered by her husband’s family - that soon af-ter the attack she had remarried or that she was faking her blindness.

But she was lucky that this time, so-ciety took the side of the woman.

“The support that poured out after my attack was overwhelming. It showed me that for the 10% of people who be-lieve in these false rumours and thought [the incident] was ‘justi� ed,’ there is the other 90% who supported me.”

Regaining equilibriumThree years since the attack, Rumana is still trying to come to terms with what happened.

“I really don’t know why this hap-pens. But I know that a relationship must be about mutual respect. I used to hear news of acid attacks, wives be-ing burnt.

“But we never realize just how trau-matising it is until it happens to us,” Rumana says.

But today she is coping. “I’ve figured out alternative ways

to communicate with my daughter,” she laughs adding that she plays with her, cooks for her among other things.

“She is the reason I am trying to go back to a normal life. I always try to stay positive because I know I have to bring her up. I know I have to live a meaningful life.”

A meaningful life indeed, for a vic-tim who turned herself into a survi-vor. A survivor who, now that she has come out of the abuse system, says we must be careful about our society, and not overlook any derailments in the system.

“We mustn’t look at domestic abuse as news anymore: it’s not news, it’s a situation that any one of us can be in any day.”l

8 OUT OF EVERY 10 WOMEN IN BANGLADESH SUFFER FROM PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE, ACCORDING TO THE SURVEY

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN BANGLADESH

Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula and Shuddhabrata Sengupta, designers of the project

RAPED BY HUSBANDS

NEEDED MEDICAL HELP

ABUSED BY CURRENT OR PAST HUSBANDS

Raqs Media Collective’s installation Now Elsewhere (2009) at the Faurschou Foundation in Copenhagen

One of the Meanwhile Elsewhere billboards – reading: fuzzy/logic, sharp/intense – outside Shilpakala Academy, the venue for Dhaka Art Summit MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Raqs Media Collective, commissioned for 48Sheet in partnership with the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham

Dhaka Art SummitShilpakala AcademyFebruary 7-9

Featuring South Asian artwork from 33 galleries, 14 installation art projects, 13 experimental � lms, 9 artist performances, and 5 talks and speakers panels.

To register for a VIP pass to Dhaka Art Summit, visit: dhakaartsummit.com/register

UBC student Rumana Monzur speaks to the media upon her return from India

Rumana Monzur with daughter Anusheh in 2013

A survey conducted in 2011, which was published on the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics website in 2013, has revealed that 9 out of 10 Bangladeshi women are subject to domestic violence. The survey, titled “Report on Violence Against Women (VAW) Survey 2011, was designed by BBS, the Institute for Statistical Research and Training at Dhaka University, and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

98 % 33 % 50 %

Tuesday, February 4, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE InternationalDHAKA TRIBUNE8

Abbas says Israeli pullout over 5 years if NATO deploys: NYTn AFP, Ramallah

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas would support a � ve-year Israeli with-drawal from the West Bank provided a NATO force is deployed to ensure secu-rity, the New York Times has reported.

Abbas, in an interview published by the paper on Sunday, shifted from his insistence on a three-year time frame for Israel’s withdrawal from occupied territories under any future peace deal.

“At the end of � ve years my coun-try will be clean of occupation,” Abbas said, insisting however that NATO forc-es should be deployed during this pe-riod to undertake cross-border security and anti-terrorism duties.

“For a long time, and wherever they want, not only on the eastern borders, but also on the western bor-ders, everywhere,” NATO could be stationed, he said.

“The third party can stay. They can stay to reassure the Israelis, and to pro-tect us.”

Abbas’s comments came as the Unit-ed States tries to coax Israel and the Palestinians into ending a decades-old con� ict and bringing about a two-state solution.

But US-backed peace talks are fal-tering over a number of seemingly ir-reconcilable issues, including that of security arrangements in a future Pal-estinian state.

Israel insists it be allowed to main-tain a long-term military presence, no-tably in the Jordan Valley, where the

West Bank borders Jordan.But the Palestinians demand that Is-

rael withdraw entirely to make way for an international force.

The Palestinians would only have a police force and no army under a � -nal status agreement, Abbas said, so a NATO force would undertake anti-ter-rorism and cross-border security tasks.

“We will be demilitarised,” Abbas told the Times. “Do you think we have any illusion that we can have any se-curity if the Israelis do not feel they have security?”

Hardline Israeli o� cials slammed Abbas’s proposal, opposing the notion of evicting Jewish settlers from their homes in the occupied West Bank.

Abbas’s “programme cannot be implemented, because he still wants to expel 400,000 settlers from their homes,” Housing Minister Uri Ariel, himself a settler, said in remarks broad-cast by public radio.

Deputy foreign minister Zeev Elkin told the radio Abbas “does not want peace, since he refuses to recognise Is-rael as a Jewish state.”

“We cannot talk of progress while he says he doesn’t want to throw us into the sea just now, but later instead,” El-kin said.

Israel demands Palestinian recogni-tion of Israel as a Jewish state.

But the Palestinians refuse this, fearing it will preclude the right of re-turn for refugees who � ed or were driv-en from their homes when Israel was created in 1948. l

Al-Qaeda disowns ISIL rebels in Syrian Agencies

Al-Qaeda’s general command has dis-avowed all links with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), according to a statement posted online.

The statement, published late on Sunday, reiterated a previous peremp-tory statement in which the group’s chief Ayman al-Zawahiri ordered ISIL to disband and return to Iraq, and add-ing that Jabhat al-Nusra was al-Qaeda’s o� cial branch in Syria.

“Al-Qaeda announces it is not linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Le-vant, as it was not informed of its cre-ation [and] did not accept it,” read Sun-day’s statement, which criticised ISIL’s mode of operations.

ISIL “is not a branch of al-Qaeda, has no links to it, and the [al-Qaeda] group is not responsible for its acts,” it added.

“We a� rm our disavowal from the sedition that is occurring in Syr-ia between factions of jihadists, and from the blood that was shed by any party,” it said.

In recent weeks, ISIL consolidated its grip on the northern city of Raqa, the only provincial capital to fall out of regime control since the outbreak of Syria’s uprising in March 2011, im-posing their strict version of Sharia law on residents.

ISIL also issued four statements ordering women to wear the niqab in public, forbidding the sale of cigarettes and narghile (water pipe) products, banning music and making attendance of Friday prayers compulsory.

It has also killed the leaders of two rival rebel groups on Saturday. l

Baghdad attacks kill 16 as Iraq presses Anbar assaultn AFP, Baghdad

A series of attacks in and around Bagh-dad, including a spate of car bomb-ings, killed 16 people Monday as Iraqi forces pressed an assault against mili-tant-held areas of Anbar province.

The latest bloodshed comes amid a surge in violence that left more than 1,000 people dead last month, the worst such � gure in nearly six years, as security forces grapple with near-daily attacks and protracted battles with an-ti-government � ghters.

Foreign leaders have urged the Shiite-led government to do more to reach out to the disa� ected Sunni Arab

minority in a bid to undercut support for militants.

But with parliamentary polls loom-ing in less than three months, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has taken a hard line.

Despite o� cials insisting operations against militants, including those a� l-iated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadist group, are having an impact, the bloodshed has continued unabated.

In and around the capital on Mon-day, four car bombs killed 12 people while authorities said they found the dumped bodies of three men and a woman. All were shot in the head and

they appear to have been tortured.Seven people were killed in two

separate car bombs – one of which was detonated by a suicide attacker – in the town of Mahmudiyah, just south of the capital.

Five others were killed by vehicles rigged with explosives in the Bagh-dad neighbourhoods of Baladiyat and Hurriyah.

The assassinations in particular har-ken back to Iraq’s brutal Sunni-Shiite sectarian war which raged from 2006 to 2007, when corpses were often found abandoned on the streets, with the victims’ bodies bearing signs of tor-ture. l

Corruption scandal tests Turkey’s cowed median Reuters, Istanbul

Dozens of their colleagues are in prison or on trial, thousands of faceless op-ponents hound them on Twitter, and phone calls from government o� cials warn them over their coverage - all haz-ards of the trade for Turkey’s journalists.

Government critics who refuse to be muzzled can � nd themselves sacked. Others avoid trouble, such as the broadcaster which screened a doc-umentary on penguins last June while police sprayed thousands of demon-strators in Istanbul with tear gas.

What has erupted in the past few weeks - a probe into alleged corrup-tion at the heart of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government - might seem like a gift to Turkey’s cowed and long-su� ering press.

But, with a few exceptions, much of the press is in no position to capitalize on the scandal by taking a more robust line with the government.

The scandal has blown open a feud between Erdogan and the US-based cler-

ic Fethullah Gulen, a powerful former ally whose “Hizmet” (Service) move-ment has in� uence in the police and ju-diciary, as well as parts of the media, and whom Erdogan blames for orchestrating the graft probe to unseat him.

“Gulenist” newspapers such as Zaman and Bugun, previously loose-ly allied to Erdogan’s AK Party, have reported details of the allegations, from pictures of cash stu� ed in shoe boxes to damaging phone recordings between businessmen and Erdogan’s associates, something almost unthink-able just a few months ago.

Pro-government newspapers like Sabah, Star and Yeni Safak have large-ly portrayed the corruption investiga-tions as a plot against Erdogan.

In the middle is a mainstream me-dia, largely owned by sprawling con-glomerates with business ties to the state, which has been cautiously try-ing to � nd a more assertive new voice, although its ownership structures cast doubt over whether there can be real change. l

Heaviest snowstorm in 50 years blankets northern Irann AFP, Tehran

The heaviest snowstorm in � ve de-cades has blanketed provinces in northern Iran, cutting power supplies and trapping villagers, Iranian media reported Monday.

The storm is “unprecedented for the past 50 years, with two metres (almost seven feet) of snow falling since Fri-day,” a Mazandaran provincial o� cial said, quoted by the media.

“Our main problems are (the pro-vision of) power and water, which have been cut o� due to the heavy snow,” he said.

According to o� cials, around 500,000 people in northern Iran have been left without electricity and gas since Saturday.

Iran’s Red Crescent head, Pir Hos-sein Kolivand, said teams have in the past four days rescued around 11,000 people caught in the heavy snow.

Seven-nine people have been hos-pitalised, o� cial IRNA news agency reported.

“Some 3800 people have also been settled in emergency shelters,” he added.

In Tehran, temperatures plunged to -7 C (19 Fahrenheit) on Saturday, making it the capital’s coldest night of the year, while other provinces experi-enced temperatures as low as -18 C.

Some schools in northern Teh-ran were closed Monday because of the weather.

New snow storms are expected from Monday night in the southwest of the country. l

Student detained after killing two in Moscow school shootingn Reuters, Moscow

A Moscow high-school student shot a teacher and a police o� cer dead and held more than 20 other students hos-tage in a classroom on Monday before he was disarmed and detained, police said, just days before Russia hosts the Winter Olympics.

In a rare school shooting in Russia, the attacker entered his school in north-ern Moscow carrying a ri� e and held stu-dents and a teacher hostage in a biology classroom, police in the capital said.

Police later said the attacker had been detained and had been led out of the school and into a waiting car. Ac-cording to the Lifenews website, he ini-tially shot one o� cer and then opened � re at others who arrived at the scene.

“The person who took 20 people and a teacher hostage is a student in the upper classes at the same school. He has been neutralized and all the students have been freed,” Interior Ministry spokesman Andrei Pilipchuk said on state TV.

“One policeman was fatally wound-ed during the operation and died in hospital, and a teacher at School No. 263 was also killed,” he said.

The shooting sent dozens of stu-dents scurrying out the school while a police helicopter landed in a snow-cov-ered � eld outside. l

Report: Syria air raids kill scores in AleppoBarrel bombs pound the country’s second city for a third day, killing at least 30

n Agencies

Syrian government forces have at-tacked a number of Aleppo’s districts with barrel bombs for a third day, with scores of people killed over the 72-hour period, according to monitor groups and sources.

The latest attack across the coun-try’s second city on Monday killed at least 30, sources told Al Jazeera. Unveri� ed activist footage show chil-dren were among those wounded in the attack.

The attacks took place on Hanano, Sakour, Sha’ar and al-Hedariya districts in Aleppo.

The bombing adds to a toll of at least 150 people killed in similar attacks over the previous two days, as reported by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Barrel bombs have killed more than 700 people in Syria in the past six weeks. Their use has been denounced as indiscriminate, not least by Western powers at last week’s peace talks in Switzerland.

Sunday’s attacks included a wave of barrel bombs in the residential district of Tareq al-Bab. A reported 21 people were killed, including 13 children, ac-cording to the observatory. Another 15 died in air raids and barrel-bomb attacks in other areas. The observatory reported 85 deaths to similar attacks on the city on Saturday.

Western powers proposed a UN Se-

curity Council resolution in December to condemn the use of barrel bombs, which they say indiscriminately target civilians.

But Russia, a staunch ally of Pres-ident Bashar al-Assad, has repeated-ly blocked such plans in the Security Council.

Once Syria’s economic hub, large parts of Aleppo have been devastated by the � ghting that began there in mid-2012. The city is split into areas held by regime and rebel forces.

The reports of fresh attacks come as a UN-organised meeting began in Rome to secure more donations for humanitarian aid for victims of the Syrian war.

The meeting, which is being attend-ed by international organisations and state representatives, comes weeks af-ter a summit in Kuwait, where nations pledged more than $2bn to aid. The UN has set a target of more than $6bn.

Jacky Rowland, reporting from Rome, said that the UN was looking at a grim future for Syria.

“We are going to have more vio-lence, and more people displaced,” she said. “There are already two million refugees, most in neighbouring coun-tries, and they expect that number to double by the end of the year.

“There is also a big question about who is giving these people protection. There have been repeated calls for wealthy nations to open their borders to refugees.” l

Tight security for Turkish police murder trialn AFP, Kayseri

Four policemen went on trial in Turkey amid heavy security on Monday, ac-cused of beating to death a 19-year-old student in huge anti-government pro-tests that rocked the country last June.

The high-pro� le court case comes as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan battles his biggest crisis in 11 years in power, which has hit the economy and is threatening the strongman’s presi-dential ambitions.

Some 2,000 riot police were de-ployed in the central city of Kayseri for the start of the trial, roads around the courthouse were blocked and demon-strations banned for “security” reasons.

Activists said buses carrying dem-onstrators were prevented from enter-ing the city. Several hundred people made it through, however, marching, waving � ags, carrying banners and chanting for justice. Ali Ismail Korkmaz died after being pummelled with base-ball bats and truncheons in the western city of Eskisehir on June 2. l

Yemen capital rocked by three blastsn Agencies

Three large explosions have been heard in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, close to the defence ministry, the central bank and the former president’s home, a report by Reuters news agency has said.

“The explosions were followed by heavy gun� re,” said a resident quoted by Reuters.

The third explosion occurred near the house of the former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, the news agency said.

Security vehicles immediately raced to the third site of the blasts and blocked all access to the area, while an ambu-lance transported four people injured on site, eyewitnesses told Reuters.

The witnesses told Reuters that the blast near Saleh’s home appears to

have been caused by an implanted ex-plosive device in the area.

There was no immediate word on the total number of casualties or the cause of the blasts, the news agency said.

Yemen has been in turmoil since mass protests in 2011 forced long-serv-ing Saleh to step down.

In December last year, a suicide bomb and gun attack near the defence ministry killed 52 people.

In another indication of the growing unrest in the country, a mortar shell was � red overnight in the direction of the French embassy while a car bomb exploded metres away in Sanaa’s diplo-matic quarter, a police source said early on Monday.

“The two attacks happened after midnight. There were no victims,” the

source said.The shell fell by a concrete block,

installed for security reasons on a road leading to the embassy, he added.

That blast came shortly after a car exploded on the nearby main road.

Unidenti� ed gunmen kidnapped a British national on Monday, witnesses and a police source told Reuters news agency - the second abduction of a westerner in recent days.

Witnesses told Reuters that four armed men forced the man out of his car and into a waiting vehicle in the Hadda district of the capital city of Sanaa.

Yemeni tribesmen said on Sunday they had kidnapped a German man on Friday to press their government to free jailed relatives. l

Children walk out of the premises of a high school, where a shooting incident has occurred, on the outskirts of Moscow REUTERS

A Syrian man carries the body of a victim out of the rubble of a destroyed building after an alleged air strike by Syrian government forces on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo AFP

9Tuesday, February 4, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE International

Australia probes detention of asylum-seeker childrenn AFP, Sydney

Australia’s human rights watchdog launched an inquiry Monday into the detention of more than 1,000 children under punitive government policies that banish asylum-seekers arriving by boat to remote Paci� c camps.

Gillian Triggs, president of the Aus-tralian Human Rights Commission, said the probe would examine the im-pact of mandatory detention on more than 1,000 asylum-seeker children being held in immigration facilities in Australia and more than 100 on far-� ung Nauru.

“These are children that, among oth-er things, have been denied freedom of movement, many of whom are spending important developmental years of their lives living behind wire in highly stress-ful environments,” said Triggs.

The inquiry will examine whether Australia is in breach of international child protection obligations and measure prog-ress on the issue over the past decade.

A similar investigation was held in 2004 into the then-government’s “Pacif-ic Solution” of detaining asylum-seekers arriving by boat on Nauru and Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island – a policy aimed at deterring dangerous people-smuggling journeys from Indonesia. l

Deadly blasts hit Pakistan cineman Agencies

A cinema in the northwestern Paki-stani city of Peshawar has been struck by two blasts, killing at least � ve peo-ple and injuring at least 20 others.

The explosions took place on Sun-day in the Picture House, as it is known locally, in Qissa Khawani Bazaar.

Faisal Mukhtar, a senior police o� -cial, told AFP news agency that a stam-pede following the explosions was re-sponsible for many of the injuries.

Mukhtar also said that a “Chi-na-made hand grenade” was used in the blast, Reuters news agency said.

Jamil Shah, a spokesman for Pesha-war’s Lady Reading Hospital, said three dead bodies and 31 injured people had so far been taken to the hospital. Two of the injured later died in the hospital.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Peshawar is the main city of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which is no stranger to violence.

The death toll is expected to rise be-cause there were up to 150 people in-side at the time of the blasts.

Bomb-disposal sta� con� rmed that two grenades were thrown by people sitting at the back of the cinema.

The neighbourhood was the target of a bombing last September that left at least 40 people dead.

Sunday’s attack happened at a time when the government of Pakistan has announced the formation of a commit-

tee to hold talks with the Pakistani Tal-iban, Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder report-ed from Islamabad.

“There are fears in Pakistan that as the prospect for talks improve, there would be attacks to sabotage the peace talks.” l

Pakistan’s Imran Khan declines Taliban talks rolen AFP, Islamabad

The party of Pakistani cricket-er-turned-politician Imran Khan said Monday they “appreciated” a Taliban request for him to represent them in peace talks with the government, but declined the o� er.

Two teams, nominated by the gov-ernment and Tehreek-e-Taliban  Pa-kistan  (TTP), will hold a preliminary meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday af-ternoon to chart a “roadmap” for talks.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif caused surprise last week by naming a team to begin dialogue with the militants, who have been waging a violent insurgency since 2007.

Following a bloody start to the year, with more than 110 people killed in militant attacks in January, many had been anticipating a military o� ensive against TTP strongholds in  Pakistan’s tribal areas.

The TTP named Khan as one of its negotiators on Saturday, along with several hardline religious � gures in-cluding Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, known as the “Father of the Taliban”.

Khan, the leader of the  Paki-stan  Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party, has been a vocal supporter of negotiating with the insurgents.

But PTI spokeswoman Shireen Mazari told AFP on Monday that be-cause a senior party � gure, Rustam Shah Mohmand, was already on the government team, Khan’s presence was not needed.

“The core committee of  Paki-stan  Tehreek-e-Insaaf appreciated Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan o� er to our chairman Imran Khan to become part of their committee,” Mazari said.

Haq said his team would meet its government counterparts on Tuesday and afterwards discuss with the TTP leadership how to proceed.

“We expect a cease� re from both the government and the Taliban -- it’s mandatory for the peace process,” said Haq.

He told AFP that the TTP, which has repeatedly said it wants Islamic sharia law to be imposed throughout  Paki-stan, had not yet put forward any for-mal demands for the talks.

“We will try to complete the nego-tiations in weeks instead of months,” he said.

A grenade attack on Sunday in a cinema in the northwestern city of Pe-shawar, which killed four people, has raised fresh doubts about the viability of any peace deal with the TTP, a frac-tious coalition of militant groups. l

Japan asks Netherlands to act against anti-whalersn AFP, Tokyo

Japan on Monday said it was asking the Netherlands to take “practical mea-sures” against a Dutch-registered ves-sel that collided with a Japanese whal-ing ship in the Southern Ocean.

The Bob Barker, belonging to mil-itant anti-whaling campaigners Sea Shepherd, came into contact with a Japanese harpoon vessel on Sunday as it tried to interrupt the hunt.

Each sides has blamed the other for the collision.

In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga condemned the group, saying it was responsible for the accident.

“The sabotage activity was extreme-ly dangerous,” Suga told reporters.

“It is unforgivable,” the top govern-ment spokesman said without elabo-rating. “As a government, we are asking the Netherlands, where the ship is reg-istered, to take practical measures.”

Australia’s Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the alleged collision occurred in New Zealand waters and sounded a warning to the warring groups.

“This must be a message to both parties – whalers and protesters – these are dangerous waters, nobody can play any games with safety, nobody can play any games with international law,” Hunt said.

“Everyone must abide by the law

and of course if there is evidence that either party has breached international maritime law we will raise it.”

Sea Shepherd has insisted that the Japanese ship rammed the Bob Barker during a coordinated attack as the Jap-anese � eet’s three harpoon ships tried to drive the campaigners away from the factory ship Nisshin Maru.

The group said the Japanese had at-tempted to damage the Sea Shepherd ships’ propellers with steel cables, had thrown projectiles including grappling hooks at a second Sea Shepherd ship, the Steve Irwin, and � red water cannon at the Bob Barker’s crew as they tried to cut the cables from a small boat.

Bob Barker captain Peter Ham-marstedt said the Sea Shepherd vessels were “unprovokedly attacked” by the Japanese harpooners in a “ruthless” fashion.

A Japanese � sheries agency o� cial said no crew aboard the whalers had been hurt and all its vessels were able to continue sailing normally.

High-seas confrontations are com-mon between Sea Shepherd and the Japanese, who hunt whales in Antarc-tica under a “scienti� c research” loop-hole in the international moratorium on whaling.

In 2010 a collision resulted in the sinking of Sea Shepherd’s speedboat Ady Gil. l

Malaysian court jails man who raped, then married minorn AFP, Kuala Lumpur

A Malaysian court on Monday sen-tenced a man to 12 years in jail for raping a 12-year-old whom he later married, as an activist urged the Muslim-majority nation to ban all child marriages.

The district court in Sabah state on Borneo island found former restaurant manager Riduan Masmud, 41, guilty of raping the girl in February last year, his lawyer Ram Singh said.

The father-of-four was charged with rape shortly after the act, but in May last year told the court that he had mar-ried the girl.

The case caused an outcry and pros-ecutors continued to pursue the rape charge.

“The court says even though the marriage is still valid, he is guilty” of rape, Ram told AFP, adding he would appeal the verdict.

Riduan was also sentenced to a � ne and two strokes of the cane. The court deferred the sentence pending appeal.

Ram said Riduan was also facing brib-ery charges in a separate court for paying the girl’s father 5,000 ringgit ($1,500) to give his consent to the marriage.

Child marriages are not uncommon in the conservative Southeast Asian country. Some 60% of Malaysia’s 28 million people are Muslim.

Girls below the age of 16 must obtain the permission of Islamic courts, which regulate civil matters for Muslims. But activists say such permission is too readily granted. l

North, South Korea to hold talks on family reunionsn AFP, Seoul

The two Koreas moved a step clos-er Monday to resuming reunions for families separated by the Korean War, although � nal agreement could be de-railed by a row over South Korean-US military exercises.

After weeks of back-and-forth, and a period of silence from North Ko-rea, the two rivals � nally settled on a date for preparatory talks to set up a reunion event at the North’s Mount Kumgang resort.

Pyongyang on Monday o� ered talks on Wednesday, February 5 or Thursday, February 6. Seoul chose Wednesday and the North accepted the proposal.

The working-level meeting will be held at the border truce village of Pan-munjom where the armistice ending the 1950-53 con� ict was signed.

“We welcome that the North has � nally come forward to discuss the reunion,” Uni� cation Ministry spokes-man Kim Eui-Do told reporters.

“Given the urgency of the matter, we will make preparations to hold the reunion as soon as possible,” Kim said.

The “urgency” refers to the fact that, 60 years after the war ended, many of those who su� ered the division of their families have died. Most of those still living are in advanced old age.

In a surprise move that coincided with a series of other apparently con-ciliatory gestures, North Korea o� ered last month to host a reunion and asked South Korea to pick the dates.

Seoul quickly proposed February 17-21, but given the time that has since elapsed that schedule now looks optimistic.

The reunion programme began in earnest in 2000 following an historic inter-Korean summit. Sporadic events since then have seen around 17,000

relatives brie� y reunited.If the Mount Kumgang gather-

ing goes ahead, it would be the � rst reunion since 2010 when the pro-gramme was suspended following the North’s shelling of a South Korean border island.

A reunion with around 100 people from each side had been planned last September but Pyongyang cancelled at the last minute, citing unspeci� ed South Korean “hostility.” l

Thai protesters head for downtown Bangkokn Reuters, Bangkok

Thai anti-government protesters who have been camped out in north Bang-kok packed their tents and marched downtown on Monday as they consol-idated e� orts to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a day after a dis-rupted general election.

Some joined protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban on foot and others fol-lowed in cars and six-wheel trucks as Thailand’s long-running political con-� ict showed no sign of ending.

Others surrounded a government o� ce in north Bangkok where Yingluck and two senior ministers had been holding a meeting and cut through a barbed-wire fence. They did not enter the building and it was unclear if Yin-gluck was still inside.

The protesters closed camps at two of the seven big intersections that they have blockaded since mid-January, at Victory Monument and Lat Phrao, and were heading for the fringes of the cen-tral oasis of Lumpini Park.

A third camp run by an allied group at a big government administrative complex may also be closed.

Suthep said on Sunday this was be-ing done out of safety concerns, but it could also be because their numbers are dwindling. Reuters put the num-ber of marchers at about 3,000, with hundreds surrounding the government o� ce.

“Suthep’s movement is now crum-bling, but it still has powerful unseen backers,” said Chris Baker, a historian

and prominent Thailand scholar.“Backdoor negotiations are needed

because both sides will avoid any di-rect confrontation in public view. The business lobby should revive its e� orts to play the intermediary role.”

Suthep’s supporters on the route showed no sign of crumbling, waving � ags and handing over money.

The demonstrators blocked ballot-ing in a � fth of the country’s constit-uencies on Sunday, saying Yingluck must resign and make way for an ap-pointed “people’s council” to over-haul a political system they say has been taken hostage by her billionaire brother and former premier, Thaksin Shinawatra.

The election, boycotted by the main opposition party, is almost certain to return Yingluck to power and, with voting passing o� peacefully across the north and northeast, Yingluck’s supporters will no doubt claim a legitimate mandate.

But the vote is unlikely to change the dysfunctional status quo in a coun-try popular with tourists and investors yet blighted by eight years of polar-ization and turmoil, pitting the Bang-kok-based middle class and royalist establishment against the mostly poor, rural supporters of the Shinawatras.

The election was peaceful, apart from a few scu� es, with no repeat of the chaos seen the previous day, when supporters and opponents of Yingluck clashed in north Bangkok. Seven peo-ple were wounded by gunshots or ex-plosions. l

Thousands of India’s disabled protest to demand equal rightsn AFP, New Delhi

Thousands of disabled people protest-ed in the Indian capital on Monday, demanding parliament pass long-await-ed legislation that gives them equal rights including to education and employment.

Thousands with intellectual or physical impairments gathered to sup-port the bill drafted for the country’s 40-90 million disabled people, who have long been among the most ex-cluded and stigmatised in society.

“We have been waiting since inde-pendence for this, some of us even lon-ger,” National Association of the Deaf president Zorin Singha said of the coun-try’s estimated 18 million deaf people.

“This bill will change everything for us,” he told AFP, sitting in front of In-dia Gate among a crowd of supporters waving placards that read, “We want our rights, not your charity.”

Indian political boss Sonia Gandhi has pledged to push for the bill’s pass-ing when the national parliament sits this week for the � nal session before her ruling Congress party faces general elections due by May.

But its introduction and passage through the chaotic and often dysfunc-tional parliament is uncertain, with 126 other bills already pending in the parlia-ment which is set for a 16-day session.

Singha singled out the right to edu-cation as a highlight of the bill, which will guarantee that disabled students are entitled to teachers trained to meet their needs.

“Basically my school taught me nothing at all. The school had no teach-ers for deaf students and there were no alternatives. They just kept trying to force me to speak even though they knew I was deaf,” Singha said.

Some disabled groups have opposed the bill, which would replace one from 1995. They say the latest draft has been watered down, and for example does not de� ne people with psychosocial problems as disabled.

But Mohammed Umar, who con-tracted polio when he was three and walks with crutches, said the bill would increase the chances of disabled

people � nding jobs.“We are pushed into the margins of

society. People won’t give us jobs, even our own families consider us a burden and this is especially so in rural areas,” said Umar from Jais city in neighbour-ing Uttar Pradesh state.

The bill, modelled on the United Na-tions Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, raises the quota of government jobs reserved for people with disabilities from 3 to 5%.

It also makes private compa-nies accountable for creating a dis-abled-friendly environment for em-ployees and visitors. l

Pakistani investigators inspect the site of a grenade attack in a cinema in Peshawar AFP

Indian disabled people hold placards as they assemble at India Gate during a protest in New Delhi AFP

Millions were separated from family by the 1950-53 war AFP

Smoking minister apologises publiclyJanuary 29

Muhammad Siddiqul Islam This proves that not everyone deserves to have the responsibility to serve the country.

Zia Uddin Not enough. We are unhappy with a mere apology. He should have resigned. We will be happy to no longer see him as a minister.

Manam Ahmed Come on people! How many of you don’t smoke publicly? A person has admitted his fault and publicly apologised and promised it will never happen again. We should have consideration for him for this time.

WaliI like this culture of accepting responsibility for one’s own folly. A culture hitherto unknown to Bangladesh politics! Bravo, honorable minister!

Akhtar ShahWell done, minister. You’ve done the right thing. He should be excused for his indiscre-tion. To err is human, as we all know.

The Dhaka that wasJanuary 27

Farid WakeelVery enjoyable read.

H IqbalIt really struck a chord in my heart, as if by travelling through HG Wells’ time machine, I had a glimpse of the lost city I can never go back to.

Nodee AhmedCall me pedantic but mentioning Chinese food and then referring to sushi and wasabi is inappropriate; sushi hails from Japanese cuisine which arrived in Bangladesh only recently.

LunikI would rather go back to 1947 and build the country bottom up.

Ronnie Lunik: Just make sure we start off as Bangladesh, and not as the eastern wing of an alien country. :)

disgustedReminiscing about what Dhaka used to be. That’s a joke, as people like you have made Dhaka as it is today. You all embraced Western hip-hop culture and Dhaka has become a dump like Bangkok, along with the social evils which have become a permanent fixture of a city that used to be clean and people were happy and carefree.

WaliulHaqueKhondkerThat the author is a ‘71 generation lad is obvious

from the discussion! He could not conceptualise the beauty and necessity of a city river bank. Something my generation enjoyed.

All civilised cities of the world including Kolkata have protected and developed their river banks as a special hangout area for all classes of the society, especially the middle class. Unfortunately, Bangla-deshis have systematically destroyed the banks of our rivers, like the Buriganga, by allowing it to be grabbed by all and sundry.

Why so? Because the VCR generation never felt any urge to be on a river bank in the afternoons and evenings! The politico-bureaucracy of the era was too busy flattering dictators to upgrade their own lives, rather than improving and developing the bank of the Buriganga! :(

RonnieTowheed Feroze is guaranteed to inform and entertain. I know, from having occasionally read his illuminating and humourous pieces elsewhere. I was raised (from the age of 4) entirely abroad, and spent the entire ‘80s in school. However, spending a few weeks in Dhaka and Barisal every year, over my summer holidays, means that I recognise all too well what Towheed is talking about here. The ‘80s definitely was another era – and, for better or worse, almost completely unrecognisable from the Dhaka and the lives we live in this city today.

ShaonWow!

Rein in BCL thugs

It is disgraceful that Bangladesh Chhatra League activists have been assaulting fellow students during demonstrations at Rajshahi University.Over 100 people, including a Dhaka Tribune reporter were

injured after Bangladesh Chhatra League cadres attacked demonstrating students at Rajshahi University on Sunday.

Policing of demonstrations is a matter for the police to act on within the con� nes of the law. There is little doubt that the violence which erupted, would not have occurred during a demonstration involving so many ordinary students, had not BCL supporters behaved so thuggishly.

Around 5,000 ordi-nary students had been holding protests against an increase in tuition fees at the Rajshai cam-pus, when BCL mem-bers began wielding � rearms and shooting at random into the crowds.

It is not acceptable for the police to have stood by while BCL thugs openly used ille-gal � rearms. We expect the police to arrest anyone who brandishes illegal � rearms.  Police ended up � ring rubber bullets and tear-gas shells to disperse everyone and the university has had to be closed to ensure safety.

The violence at Rajshai follows recent incidents of lawbreak-ing by BCL members at other institutions, notably Tangail’s Maulana Bhashani Science and Technology University where Chhatra League members vandalised academic buildings, re-portedly because they objected to a teacher criticising students and outsiders who collected extortions from the campus, on his facebook page.

Action needs to be taken by law enforcers to arrest the Chhatra League activists who were seen and photographed brandishing � rearms at Rajshahi on Sunday. Student groups must not be allowed to terrorise other students and break the law with impunity.

Stop sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is unfortunately far too common an experience for young women in Bangladesh.

Awareness and education need to be improved to root it out. Discouraging sexual harassment and encouraging dignity and respect for all, is essential to reduce discrimination and to help society tackle sexually related criminal o� ences including rape and stalking.

The lack of progress on this issue is particularly concerning in the education sector where attempts to ad-dress this problem have been grossly inadequate thus far. Even though the High Court has issued directives stip-ulating that all public and private institutions should form complaint committees to deal with allegations of sexual harassment and assault, recent reports indicate that this has been al-most entirely ignored.

More dishearteningly, examples can be found where school authorities have sided with o� ending teachers against the student complainant in the name of preserving their reputation.

The government has also failed to enact a speci� c law to deal with sexual harassment, as was required by the High Court directive.

Sexual harassment is an insidious tool used to keep young women out of the public space and limit their access to edu-cation and economic opportunities. In the long run it has a dev-astating e� ect not only on the rights of women but also on the welfare of the country as a whole. The government and school authorities must take decisive action to prevent the harm that it causes.

Editorial10

www.dhakatribune.com

DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 4, 2014

LETTER OF THE DAY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

Letters to the Editor

Awareness and education need to be improved to root it out

We expect the police to arrest anyone who brandishes illegal � rearms. Student groups must not be allowed to break the law with impunity

To set an exampleFebruary 1A story was published on January 28 showing an example of a minister on a dais smoking in public. This was an insult to all teachers, parents and guardians of young students who were present at the function. His example is shameful beyond any norms of public behavior. If he has not already done so, he should immediately be made to bid farewell from his position, and then punished as per the law, for violating the law of not smoking in public.

A guardian

Blogger Rajeeb murder: Charge sheet against 8January 28His death is a tragedy. So many rumours about him that we can’t be sure what is true and what is false, but he was a victim. That much is clear.

Nazmul Khair

Special tribunal to speed up prosecution of minority attackers?January 28Not just a faster one but a fair and neutral one.

Ahnaf Saber

Be HeardWrite to us at: Dhaka Tribune

FR Tower, 8/C PanthapathSukrabad, Dhaka-1207

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Crossword

Sudoku

CROSSWORD CODE-CRACKER YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

ACROSS1 Send money (5)4 Farm animal (3)6 Church recess (4)8 Customary (5)9 Step (4)11 Golf club (4)12 Harsh (5)15 Answer (5)18 Rent (4)20 Operatic air (4)21 Tenet (5)22 Adhesive (4)23 Beverage (3)24 Coarse � les (5)

DOWN1 Puts to � ight (5)2 Colour (5)3 Hooked claw (5)4 Fruit (4)5 Small secluded valley (4)7 Venomous ill-will (5)10 Fuel (4)13 Thunder god (4)14 Of the kidneys (5)15 Added clause (5)16 Court attendants (5) 17 Periods of time (5)18 Diplomacy (4)19 Latvian capital (4)

n Mohammad Ali Sattar

At long last, the ten-truck arms case has wound up after the court in Chittagong handed

death sentences to the accused. Lut-fozzaman Babar and Maulana Nizami are the big ones netted in the case. If higher courts uphold the verdict, these two along with the other 12 will have to walk the gallows.

As usual, we have reactions coming in from all quarters. Whatever the outbursts are for, it is true that there have been attempts of ferrying the sophisticated arms and ammunitions to a destination through Bangladesh.

As in all cases of smuggling or cross-border trading, there has to be two or more parties involved in both sides of the border with a strong set of connections.

The entire episode of this high volt-age arms consignment is dangerous for

Bangladesh. The outlawed groups are vigorously carrying out their activi-ties in the hills of our country. Long stretches of land in the eastern and south-eastern frontiers are still not safe for many.

We have our Shanti Bahini cadres and ULFA activists on the other side of the border. These groups will cause the government worry and trouble for as long as they exist.

With war-loving and deprived groups actively working to disrupt the mainland peace, we cannot expect to have our boundaries clean and safe. They never will be.

The in� ltration of mercenaries and

the regular exchange of stealthy visits by unlawful personnel of these under-ground parties are hard to prevent.

We can ill a� ord to drop our guard and invite threats to our sovereignty. Bangladesh should take up the issue with its neighbouring countries, and

take initiative for joint action against the clandestine groups that operate in the fringes.

Against such a backdrop, the ten trucks that were caught with weapons of various descriptions emanate an ominous signal for the nation. It took 10 years for the verdict to be delivered. Proceedings were holed up all this time.

Whether persons found guilty were actually guilty shall remain a debate. But trial has taken place, and the ver-dict has been given.

We need to have the wheel of justice moving. Rule of law is not suf-� cient, as it is the rule of justice that should be made visible. While meting out punishments to the guilty, we must be vigilant not to harm any who are innocent.

Past killings, be it gunning down of political leaders, or inconsequential murders, have not received the kind of attention they deserved.

From the lowest to the uppermost tier, the suspects were either let o� the hook or kept unfastened as long as possible.

There are reports of hardcore criminals set free from jails as per directions of powerful quarters of the government.

Even the much talked about killings in cross� res should not go unaccount-ed for. An innocent does not deserve

an accidental death.The culture of impunity should go,

plain and simple. The guilty ought to get the treatment they deserve. We must try and establish the rule of jus-tice to heal the wounds of those who are victims of the mindless savagery of the perpetrators.

All crimes committed need to come to light, especially if these are state-backed acts. Killings or abductions over the last 42 years ought to be brought to light in the right perspective. And those who did not receive any trial, or a fair trial, should be given attention by the authorities concerned.

Killings, abductions, and the maim-ing of political opposition or social rivals that started during the liberation war went on, even after the liberation of the country. Instead of practicing tolerance and patience, we slipped into the politics of hatred and envy. Today, we are living with a system dangerously out of control.

Siraj Sikder, Bangabandhu Shekih Mujib and his family, four Awami League leaders, Khaled Mosharaf, Ziaur Rahman, General Manzur, SMS Kibria, Ahsanullah Master, the bomb blasts at Udichi and Ramna, the gre-nade attack on Sheikh Hasina, and in-numerable political and social murders need to be dealt with in earnest.

Maybe it is time we take up the trial

issue of the 195 Pakistani army o� cers who committed mass murder and other war crimes in 1971.

Again, trials ought to be kept as unsoiled as possible and not motivated by political vengeance, even though most of the cases taken up and dealt with have political odours.

We can shape our justice system into a reliable institution which the people will happily look up to each time the judge strikes the gavel and pronounces the verdict against the culprit.

People would like to see trials of those cases that are still pending for years get underway. Let these be less political and more evenhanded.

This government has the opportu-nity to start the practice of fair trials, and set an example for posterity. Does it have the will? l

Mohammad Ali Sattar is a journalist and DT columnist.

A feeling of emptiness n Yousuf Rahman

The empty stands at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium during the � rst Test against Sri Lanka are

extremely disappointing, not only for those who follow Bangladesh cricket, but also for those who are engaged in the middle.

This was not the case when we played our last Test series against the Kiwis not too long ago. It is a clear sign of their frustration with Bangladesh cricket, which I hope does not convert into rejection. With all the controver-sies circling in the global cricketing arena, now is the time for the fans to show their strength in full force by turning up for the matches.

At the same time, the blokes in cricketing � annels need to gather themselves, harness their energy, and focus on the job at hand, which is to play competitive cricket. Unfortunate-ly, the result is going to give the critics of Bangladesh cricket added ammo to fuel the � re against our cricket.

The BCB administrators need to understand the value and power of its vote, but � rst of all, they need to understand the value and strength of the fanbase that ranges from a � ve-year-old to an 80-year-old, regardless of religion, gender, or occupation.

This is a huge bonus, which the BCB has failed to take advantage of. Bangla-desh carries a powerful vote that may be a pivotal one in the ICC, and not to use this wisely would be a sin. Both India and Pakistan understood the power of this vote a long time ago, and hence the strategic move to upgrade Bangladesh’s status in international cricket.

Mr Najmul Hassan has been applauded by his board on getting verbal assur-ances from the “self-styled Big Three” on the abandonment of the two-tier Test system followed by a proposed

o� er to play Test matches against the three at home and away.

The question is, whether this promissory note is a bait to secure the vote or not. They spoke about guar-antees too. All three (ECB, CA, and BCCI) have extremely busy schedules that are set up years ahead. Matches against Bangladesh will only happen if they have slots available for us, and hence my suspicion.

If the ICC decides to abandon the pro-posal of the two-tier Test plan, then as it is, our Test match playing status remains unchanged. The proposed promise made by the Big Three to Bangladesh then becomes somewhat redundant.

BCB should try to beef up the crick-eting relationship with the countries outside of the Big Three, and imme-diately start working on establishing Test match tours against them. I think it will bene� t our cricket a great deal more if we rely on the other members to give us con� rmed Test series on a more frequent basis. We don’t have to play the Big Three to improve our cricket.

Meanwhile, my message to the players is quite simple. No adminis-trator can do as much for the game as you can do through your performance. If you want the fans to � ll the stands, then you need to play with mental strength, and prove to them that you are worth cheering for.

Play for the logo on the front of your shirt, and not the name on the back. As I have mentioned many times, our fans are some of the most passionate one can imagine. They re-mind me of the football fans of Europe and Latin America. Only you can bring them back. l

Yousuf Rahman is a former cricketer of the Bangladesh National Cricket Team.

11Op-Ed Tuesday, February 4, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

At least the 10th parliament cannot be accused of hypocrisy AFP

n Ikhtisad Ahmed

“No government can be long secure without a formidable opposition,” said

Benjamin Disraeli. The notable 19th century British prime minister is incor-rect and irrelevant as far as Bangladesh is concerned.

An argument can be made that there is no need for an opposition. Parliamentary practices, especially in the 21st century, have developed by working tirelessly to � rst lessen, then altogether remove, the e� ectiveness of the opposition. At least the 10th parlia-ment cannot be accused of hypocrisy or lies: It has rid the country of the pretence of an opposition.

The current one was part of the ruling alliance. Its members are ministers, its chairman is the prime minister’s special envoy. The party was going to boycott what it called a “farcical election,” then joined it under the leadership of the new opposition leader while its head was nowhere to be seen or heard from.

It would not be a stretch to say that it has been colonised by the ruling party. The other big collective of opposition comes in the shape of rebel Awami League leaders who ran as in-dependent candidates. None of these will boycott parliament and gleefully take to the streets to make a violent point as the members of AL, BNP, and

Jamaat have done when in opposition. The country should unite to thank

the current government for preserv-ing the sanctity of the constitution and bestowing this kindness unto its long-su� ering people.

However, every hero, real or imagi-nary, needs a villain, or the perception of one. With the BNP-Jamaat alliance no longer a legitimate opposition after the controversial 10th general election, the new AL government is an absolute force sans any antagonist.

The former and their undesirable ac-tivities have mercifully been expelled from the sphere of governance. The cost of achieving this, regardless of its permanence, is that the demigods of the latter have been elevated to the status of gods, making them wholly impervious to the law. They should, however, expect stricter scrutiny of every single one of their actions hereafter.

The AL has been in power for � ve years, during which time it pointed � ngers at the evil that was, from foun-dations of buildings being shaken to

cause them to collapse, to the issuance of permits for these buildings, from the persecution of minorities to the prevalence of anti-liberation senti-ments, being the work of members of the previous nefarious regime.

Earthquakes, � oods, and other acts of God, and all acts of men, were their fault. There was good reason to be convinced that corrupt, inept, and criminal organisations were so wholly responsible.

Such convenient excuses to de� ect

attention from its own failings – of which there were many, as there were during the BNP’s preceding rule – have been negated by the BNP-Jamaat prob-lem having been left out of the latest election equation.

Past failings causing present ills too are now the doings of the AL, owing to the last half a decade of its gov-ernance. Even though the media and the educated and elite classes are not shouting it from the rooftops yet, all � ngers are � rmly pointed at a govern-ment that is under the microscope.

Its strong rhetoric only masks its

many weaknesses. It can be hoped that this will prompt extra vigilance on its part to ensure good governance, but past experience informs that this will certainly not be the case.

Calling a hat a chair works for only so long. By ordinary standards, this time limit has expired. If Bangladesh is thought to be an extraordinary case, then that limit is fast approaching.

For a start, the AL needs to control its own people, whether it is the ac-tions of its rabid student-wings – less a part of the political process and more a personal militia force of the party – or the behaviour of its members during lavish campaigns and public events.

The other parties need to do so as well, but they are of little consequence as they are, e� ectively, no longer part of the system of governance. Therefore, if the AL leaders are unable or unwilling to assert themselves on members of their party and rid themselves of the plethora of negative elements that abound, they cannot be expected to give leadership to the people of Bangladesh, the less than half of the less than half of the registered voters that elected them and the others alike.

The citizens, whose tolerance, it has to be hoped if not believed, has been stretched to its extreme limits, will be watching. l

Ikhtisad Ahmed is a writer and an erstwhile lawyer. He can be contacted on Twitter via @Ikhtisad. 

Limits of acceptability

Calling a hat a chair works for only so long. By ordinary standards, this time limit has expired

While meting out punishments to the guilty, we must be vigilant not to harm any who are innocent

With war-loving and deprived groups actively working to disrupt the mainland peace, we cannot expect to have our boundaries clean and safe

Play for the logo on the front of your shirt, not the name on the back

The BCB administrators need to understand the value and strength of the fanbase

All o� enders must stand trial

EntertainmentDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 4, 2014 12

Film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Thor: The Dark World, Paci� c Rim in 3D, The Conjuring, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Escape PlanTime: 10am – 10pmStar Cineplex, Level 8Bashundhara City Panthapath

ExhibitionLife and Struggle of Padma By Sumon Yusuf Time: 3pm – 9pmLa Galerie, Alliance Francaise de Dhaka

Ways of SeeingTime: 12pm – 8pmBengal Art Lounge, 60 Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan 1

TODAY IN DHAKA

Practice makes a man perfect: Emonn Afrose Jahan Chaity

Emon made his debut as an actor in the � lm Daruchini Dwip, an adapta-tion of the popular Humayun Ahmed novel. Since then, the talented actor has occupied a strong position in the � lm industry.

Currently, Emon is working on two

new � lms by Chashi Nazrul Islam: Bhul Jodi Hoy and Ontorongo.

In an interview with the Dhaka Tri-bune Emon talked about his recent ventures:

What are you up to nowadays?I am working on Chashi Nazrul Islam’s Ontorongo. On the other hand, three of my � lms will release soon: Putro Ek-

hon Poyshawala by Nargis Akter, Jona-kir Alo by Khalid Mahmud Mithu and Emono To Prem Hoy by Mosta� zur Rahman Manik.

What about your movies in the pipeline?A dozen of � lms are in pipeline now, such as, Mosta� zur Rahman Babu’s

Mayer Momota, Kokhono Bhule Jeo Na and Obujh Bhalobasha, Tonmoy Tansen’s Poddo Patar Jol, AhmedAzim Titu’s Payra, Mithu Khan’s Nishhobdo Artonad, Swapan Ahmed’s Porobashini, Chashi Nazrul Islam’s Ontorongo and Bhul Jodi Hoy, Mohammad Aslam’s Bhalobashar Nesha, Jane Na E Mon and another � lm by Mohammad Sohel.

Which one is your favourite?All the movies have unique stories to tell and I’ll play diverse characters. I have tried to give my best e� ort and used my talent to try and reach out to the audience.

Among them, I want to talkabout the science � ction, Porobash-ini, my character in the � lm is verydi� erent from the usual roles yousee in the movies, I really enjoyedthe � lm.

What factors do you consider before signing a film?Director, story and character, these three are equally important for me be-fore selecting a � lm. I am always keen towards characters that the mass peo-ple can relate to.

That particular element in a role brings me closer to the audience and I really appreciate it.

What is your current goal?I have only one dream, objective and aim, that is to be a successful actor and I hope I will be able to act till the day I take my last breath.

Where do you see yourself ten years from now?Ten years from now, I want to see my � lm releasing worldwide. I would be happy if our � lm industry could re-lease � lms worldwide.

Emon’s most popular release so far has been Lal Tip. Gohine Shobdo is another hit movie featuring Emon and the actor terms it as a major turning point in his career.

According to Emon, hardwork and determination never goes unrewarded and he believe that “practice makes a man perfect.” l

Sumaiya Shimu represents the struggle of women in Naari n Entertainment Desk

A new drama series titled Naari will start airing tonight at 8pm on Maasranga TV which will feature Sumaiya Shimu in the lead role. Here the talented actress will be seen as a rebellious character where she � ghts back the oppressors in the male dominated society.

Written and directed by Mostafa Monon, the drama also features Shotabdi Wadud, Shamima Tusty and Pori Moni in the important roles. The drama will air every Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The story is about the struggle of women in a pa-

triarchal society. In the capital city, Ronti and his hus-band Azad live in an apartment. Suddenly, Azad gets arrested by the police and Ronti has no clue as to why it happened. The police do not allow her to talk to her husband and a helpless Ronti seeks legal help from her neighbour who happens to be an advocate. However, the neighbour plays a dirty game with Ronti and she un-derstands that he will be of no help. She becomes alone in the apartment and the male characters of her sur-roundings make her uncomfortable through di� erent approaches. Hence, Ronti begins a new journey where she struggles to protect herself from the stalkers. l

Street Theatre Festival in full swingn Hasan Mansoor Chatak

National Street Theatre Festival con-tinues with their week long � esta with more and more audience gathering to watch the array of street plays. It is very likely to draw in more audience, as each play address the pressing social issues that needs to be acknowledged. Organised by Bangladesh Group The-atre Federation (BFTF), the festival will have � ve staging today named Mrittika Kathon, Dabee, Baddhyabhumite Shes Drishya, Adom Test and Trank Rahasya, at the Shaheed Minar premises.

On February 2, the second day of the festival, four plays were staged that portrayed contemporary socio-politi-cal issues like the trial of war criminals, religious bigotry, violence on civilian and despoiled political norms.

The show began with a play named Chourasta, staged by troupe Brahman-baria Shahitya Academy. Written by Malay Bhoumik and directed by Mi-zanur Rahman Shisir, the story of the play portrayed how a civilian’s political opinion is being robbed by a counter-feit religious leader, a power politician, a pro� t making politician and even by a disguised member of civil society.

The event was followed by Shaper Khela, a play written and directed by Mohammad Shahnewaz and Mahakal Natya Sampraday brought the play to the stage. The symbolic use of snakes in the play was to depict the war crim-inals and the snake charmers as the group who protected these reptiles who later posed as a threat to the coun-

trymen who believe in liberalism and the independence of Bangladesh.

Theatre troupe Aranyak Nattyadal staged eminent playwright Mamunur Rashid’s work, Aaguner Daal Paala. The play is directed by Shah Alam Du-lal. It enabled the audience a look into the current judicial procedure of the trial of war criminals. It shows how the war criminals are trying to escape from the gallows using fake evidence and statement.

Bachar Lorai is a play written and directed by A K Kabir and was staged by Kheyali Nattyagosthee. The story of the play represents how few people become powerful using religion and politics after the war of independence. These individuals worked as local col-laborators during the war. Meanwhile, believers in liberalism and indepen-dence of Bangladesh failed to survive in a struggle against them, but later the believers took vengeance in di� erent ways from their afterlife.

Bangladesh Group Theatre Fed-eration has organised the National Street-theatre Festival 2014, to mark the International Mother Language Day and Martyrs’ Day. The programme be-gan on February 1 and will continue un-til February 7. The slogan of the festival is “Culture against violence.” Around 35 theatre troupes from all over the country including Udichi, Dhaka San-skritic Dol, Mahakal Natya Sampraday, Opera, Muktangan Natyalay, Brahman-baria Shahitya Academy, Drishtipat, Bonolota and others are taking part at the seven-day long festival. l

Shaper Khela by Mahakal Natya Sampraday was staged at the festival SADIA MARIUM

Suchitra Shoroney out in the market n Entertainment Desk

Parvin Sultana’s ninth solo album is titled Suchitra Shoroney as an homage to Suchitra Sen which was released yesterday. The album is comprised of popular songs of the late � esty diva Suchitra Sen’s � lms. About the album, singer Parvin says: “Suchitra is one of my favourite actors. Since I am a singer, I felt that this is the proper way to pay tribute to her.”

The thirteen tracks includes Tumi Je Amar O Go Tumi Je Amar, E Shudhu Gaaner Din, Ei Shundor Shornali, Ghum Ghum Chaad, Ei Toh Amar Prothom, Jaanina Phurobe Kobe, Kicchukhon Na Hoi, Phuler Kaane Bromor, Ami Sho-pney Tomai, Ei Modhur Raat and Ganer Mor Indrodhonu. The music arrange-ment was done by Khayem Ahmed. l

Fuad-al-Muktadir joins Raja Handsome teamn Entertainment Desk

Celebrated music director Fuad-al- Muktadir signed in to undertake the job of directing the music of Shakib Khan starring � lm Raja Handsome

produced by Bioscopewala Produc-tions Limited. The ceremony was held February 1 at Fuad’s studio in Banani between the veteran artist and Ahad Mohammad Bhai of Bio-scopewala Productions Limited.

This is the � rst time people will � nd Fuad working out his mind ma-neuvering magic in a full-length fea-ture � lm at home. “I am in no doubt Raja Handsome is going to set its new standard before the � lm industry of Bangladesh through its ambitious venture,” he explained.

Raja Handsome features seven songs in total. The playback has not yet been � nalised. Jahid Ahmed is penning most of the songs including the title track of the movie.

When asked why he has chosen Fuad to handle music direction of the movie, Ahad Mohammad Bhai of Bioscopewala Productions Lim-ited said, we are in reality trying to bring together the best from every diverse sect the industry and through a collective e� ort bring out an orig-inal best for the movie lovers of thecountry and at abroad. Fuad has al-ways been on a continuous hunch to create something new and that is why we have chosen to sign up him to work as a member of team Raja Handsome.

Badiul Alam Khokon, director of the movie, will kick o� shooting Raja Handsome from the secondweek of March in Bangladesh. Later, a vital portion of the shooting willtake place at di� erent locations inEurope. l

JK Rowling says she got Harry Potter romance wrongn Entertainment Desk

Harry Potter would have been a better match for Hermione Granger than Ron Weasley, author JK Rowl-ing appears to suggest in a new mag-azine interview.

Speaking to Wonderland maga-zine, the writer said she made Ron and Hermione a couple “for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility”.

“If I’m absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective on that,” she told guest editor Emma Watson.

The actress played Hermione in the � lm versions of Rowling’s fanta-sy novels.

In the interview, published in full in the latest edition of the Wonder-land quarterly, Rowling admits she made a mistake in having Hermione marry Ron at the end of her sev-en-novel cycle.

“I think there are fans out there who know that too and who wonder whether Ron would have really been able to make her happy,” Watson responds in excerpts from the inter-view printed in the Sunday Times. l

Juhi Chawla was never my competitor butan inspiration: Madhuri Dixitn Entertainment Desk

The two divas Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla have been Bollywood contemporaries since the 1990s but Madhuri and Juhi have only come to-gether now for Gulaab Gang . Where Juhi avoided Madhuri, thinking of her as a competition, the latter never thought of Juhi as a competitor but an inspiring spirit.

Madhuri disclosed in an interview: “I never thought of her as my com-petitor. I never had any qualms about working with anyone. This is my thinking that we are actors not horses running towards one � nish line. It is a creative � eld and we like certain roles and work with people we like. It is not that I have not worked in two-heroine projects earlier. I worked with Prei-ty Zinta( Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke), Aishwarya Rai ( Devdas)s and Karisma Kapoor (Dil To Pagal Hai).” She further continued that it was wonderful to work with Juhi: “She is a good actor. It is inspiring to see another good actor work with you. I think our scenes are very tight and I would de� nitely love to work with her again.”

In her interviews, Juhi has said that there was a lot of competition between actors at that time.

She adds: “I would say that earli-er there were a few chances me and Madhuri could have worked togeth-er, but at that time I didn’t do the � lm because Madhuri was there in the � lms. I thought if she is there, then what would I do? Comparisons were bound to happen, so to avoid all that tension, I didn’t do those � lms.”

“I am so glad that I am playing a

villain in the � lm. So you can’t com-pare the two of us. I neither had to dance nor sing. All that has been done by Madhuri,” said Juhi, who es-says a politician in the � lm.

Gulaab Gang emphasises on wom-en empowerment and have women only in lead characters. The � lm stars Tannishtha Chatterjee, Divya Jagdale and Priyanka Bos in other important roles. The director Soumik Sen has himself given music to the � lm, re-leasing on March 7. l

13DHAKA TRIBUNETuesday, February 4, 2014

SportDid you know?

Arsenal have won seven Premier League

games 2-0 this season; no other team

has more than three

14 Ronaldo sees red, Atletico go top

15 Mathews calm but cautious

DAYS TO GO

0 4 0

Round two begins n Mazhar Uddin, from Chittagong

It will be a Test of character for the Bangladesh team, particularly the

batsmen as the second Test against Sri Lanka begins today at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chit-tagong today.

The Bangladesh team that will at a ground where they have performed reasonably well is almost the same side – with the notable exception of Mohammad Ashraful – that drew against Sri Lanka in Galle last year by making their highest ever total in Test cricket, featuring Bangladesh’s � rst ever double hundred by Mush� qur Rahim. However, the side is also coming o� a thrashing in the � rst Test of this series in Dhaka.

There will be at least two changes to the playing 11. The selectors an-nounced that top order batsmen Mar-shal Ayub will miss the match with a wrist injury while paceman Robiul Is-lam was omitted from the squad of 12 that was released.

Imrul Kayes will return to the national side after two years to replace Marshal. Imrul, who usually opens the batting, joins a line-up that also includes two other openers – Tamim Iqbal and Shamsur Rahman – and the selectors will have to choose which two face up to the new ball. As Imrul batted

at number three in the Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) recently it is likely that he will do so again in the Test match.

The other spot on o� er will be con-tested for by Mahmudullah and Abdur Razzak. Mahmudullah is likely to get the nod as he has been in good form recent-ly - he took 10 wickets in a BCL match against Central Zone – and his useful bat-ting down the order is also an asset.

The focus for Bangladesh will be on improving batting. Having been bowled out for 232 and 250 in Dhaka, the likes of Tamim Iqbal, Shakib al Hasan, Mush-� qur Rahim as well as Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain and Shamsur Rahman will be looking to prove their mettle in the longer form of the game.

Another area the Tigers will be look-ing to improve on is catching, which was exceptionally poor in the � rst Test.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will be with-out two of their standout performers. Shaminda Eranga and Rangana Herath will miss the game due to injury and are likely to return home today.

However, not having won an away series 2008, Sri Lanka will be hungry to seal the rubber. Mahela Jayawar-dene, who scored a double hundred in the last match, and Kumar Sangakkara both boast stunning records against Bangladesh, and they will be sup-ported by youngsters Kaushal Silva and Kithuruwan Vithanage, who both made centuries in Dhaka. l

Mush� q hopes for turnaroundn Mazhar Uddin, from Chittagong

One the eve of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Chit-tagong, Bangladesh

captain Mush� qur Rahim said he was looking to his batsmen to play with more responsibly at the port city ven-ue where the Tigers have a reasonable record, at the Zahur Ahmed Chowd-hury Stadium yesterday.

“There isn’t much di� erence, but the way we played in the last Test, there seems to be a di� erence. To be honest, we haven’t played this bad in the last 18 months. We have a good record in Chittagong, so we are con� -dent. It is a big opportunity. If we can

play good cricket over � ve days, that’ll be great. We will try to grab the chanc-es with both hands.

“If our batsmen can play with a lit-tle more responsibility, then maybe it will be a better game for us. This is how one can turn around. It is a new game, so an opportunity,” said Mush� q.

Bangladesh achieved their � rst draw against Sri Lanka on a tour last year, but a crushing loss by an innings and 248 runs in the � rst Test of this series has put them � rmly on the back foot. Mush� q expressed the opinion that returning to basics could help Bangladesh change their fortunes. “It is not that easy to turn around, but any team could have had such a bad Test. We don’t have much to change, other

than the mental attitude. We have to focus on our basic work, and not fall into their traps. We know what they’ll do against us,” he said.

In recent times, Bangladesh’s bats-men have shown a new maturity in their approach but in the � rst Test, they were undone by short pitched bowling and poor shot selection. How-ever, Mush� q thought that the Chit-tagong wicket would be more batting friendly.

“Wickets that don’t have sideways movement, bowlers will try to bowl at a shorter length. Our batsmen made some silly mistakes by having a little gutsier attitude. Maybe this wicket won’t have that much bounce like Dha-ka. It might be more di� cult to duck.

They can play their pull shots, but make sure they play with control. This is our message to the batsmen. If we can avoid giving them a breakthrough, then later on we can create pressure on their spinners,” said Mush� q.

The captain went on to reiterate the need for better � elding and noted that the spinners might play a big role. At the last Test played in Chittagong, So-hag Gazi was highly successfully, tak-ing a hat-trick and eight wickets in the match.

“I know we are still capable of taking 20 wickets but � rst we have to take the catches. They have some great play-ers and I hope we will take advantage of the opportunities we come across. Wickets are spin-friendly so Shakib

and Gazi will have some help. We have Razzak and Riyad in our squad, so we will have a decision on them. I hope they deliver in these conditions.

“I don’t feel the ground makes much of a di� erence. But an X-factor does work. Gazi would now think that ‘I took a hat-trick and six wickets here’, so it might play in mind. We have to play, and it’s not that easy. They might plan something di� erent, but we are ready. The batsman have to take con-trol of the Test match, and I hope they get to do it. 

“It is a lucky ground for me, I av-erage 45+ here. So I want to perform at that level. It is important for me, among senior batsmen to lead from the front,” said Mush� q. l

Nitol-Tata steps up againn Raihan Mahmood

Bangladesh Football Federation wel-comed back Nitol-Tata to the football arena o� cially after declaring them as the sponsors of the ongoing Bangla-desh Premier League yesterday.

Nitol-Tata returned to sponsor football after a gap of nine years as the renowned conglomerate of the country had earlier sponsored the National Football League from 2001 to 2005. Their arrival was like a breath of fresh air for the struggling football federation who started the showcase league of the country without any sponsors.

However the deal is not lucrative as the previous sponsorships of Citycell and Grameenphone but was ‘quite sat-isfactory’ said Abdus Salam Murshedy, the senior vice-president of BFF. “Due to the political unrest, the last year was a hard year for the federation, when we were struggling Nitol-Tata stepped again to be with us. We wel-come them and hope it will be a sus-tainable relationship,” said Salam. The amount was not disclosed, but it was

learnt that the deal was inked on Tk6m. It would also be mentionable that among the three phases of the league the � rst phase is almost completed. Abdul Matlub Ahmed, the chairman of the Nitol-Niloy Group, said that his or-ganisation was always behind football and they have stepped up again to stay. “I � nd some positive changes in foot-ball after Kazi Salahuddin was elected as the president. It has improved but at the same time I have to say that foot-ball is yet to ful� ll the expectations of the people,” said Matlub.

Despite the sponsorship Nitol-Tata will also provide a Tata Ace pickup for the champions of the league and three motorcycles for the top three players. It would also provide 12 televisions for lottery in the last 12 matches of the league and 10 televisions for various prizes subject to be � nalised by BFF.BFF vice-president Tabith Awal, gener-al secretary Abu Naeem Shohag,  repre-sentatives from the co-sponsors, AFM Iqbal bin Anwar Dawn of Walton, Ziaul Karim of Pragat Insurance, Akteruzza-man of Amber Group were also present on the occasion.  l

Fixing verdict out at end of monthn Minhaz Uddin Khan

Three-member tribunal formed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board to conduct the hearing of the � xing allegation brought by the ICC (International Crick-et Council) from the second edition of Bangladesh Premier League is likely to reach its verdict by February 26 or 27, a reliable source from the ongoing trial informed the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. This will bring an end to the � xing saga which has lasted about 10 months.

It was also learnt that the � nal hear-ing of the tribunal will be held on Febru-ary 6. Later the accused individuals will be given at least two weeks to prepare their defence and appear before the tri-

bunal along with witnesses.In May 2013, the Dhaka Tribune and

a national Bangla daily revealed the ICC Anti-Corruption Security Unit’s (Acsu) visit to Dhaka in order to investigate du-bious on-� eld incidents from a couple of games in the BPL 2 in February 2013. At that time, Mohammad Ashraful con-fessed to wrong doing and named sever-al others who he claimed were involved in � xing – both in the BPL and in the in-ternational arena.

On August 14, 2013 the ICC charged nine individuals with � xing activity and related o� ences. The charges related to spot and match � xing by players and o� cials of two time BPL champions Dhaka Gladiators and failure to report

corrupt approaches. Three months later, the BCB formed

a three-member tribunal headed by Jus-tice Khademul Islam Chowdhury, a for-mer judge of the Supreme Court, to look through all the objections, allegations and applications made by Acsu and the accused.

The tribunal held its � rst full hearing on January 19, where only one of the nine accused were present. It is not clear if the accused faced the tribunal on that day.

Afterwards, the tribunal took steps to ensure that all of the accused were present at the hearings and now at long last, the � rst ever � xing scandal in Bangladesh cricket is set to come to an end. l

Usha top Abahanin Raihan Mahmood

A composed Usha beat a mis� ring Abahani 2-0 in the last match of the � rst phase of the Green Delta Insurance Premier Division Hockey League at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium yesterday. The win saw Usha, the old Dhaka out� t, consolidate their position at the top of the table with 18 points while Abahani � nished second with 15.

The win put Usha in a comfortable position ahead of the Super Four phase. If they win two matches and draw with Abahani, Usha will emerge champions. Abahani meanwhile, will need to win all three matches to force a play-o� for the title. Shadharan Bima and Ajax are the other teams in the Super Fours.

Abahani failed to score from 14 penalty corners – nine in the � rst half and � ve in the second. Nonetheless, Usha’s Pakistani goalie Imran Butt put on a brilliant performance. Showing superb anticipation and positioning sense, the brother of former Pakistani international Rehan Butt was a wall that de� ed the aspirations of the Abahani attackers. The Pakistani trio of Hashim Khan, Amir Shahzad and Kashif Ali could not hit the bird’s eye with their PC combinations.

Usha were impressive as they demonstrated strong, teamwork based game and were e� cient in defence. With Abahani lacking bite in mid� eld, Usha capitalized to stamp their authority in that area, with Sarwar Hossain e� ectively linking the defence and o� ence in � ne style, while the Pakistani trio of Shafqat Rasool, Syed Kashif Shah and Niaz Ashfaq combining to knit the team together.

Usha earned three penalty corners in the match and went ahead from the very � rst one in the 31st minute. Shafqat’s push was neatly stopped by Sarwar and drag and � ick ace Chayan hit the top of the net in customary fashion. The second one was scored in the 40th minute when Sarwar’s through pass was collected by forward Mainul Islam Koushik and after his hit rebounded o� the pads of Abahani goalie Ashim Gope, Jahid bin Talib Shuvo easily pushed the ball into the net.

Abahani compiled considerable pressure in their pursuit of a goal but their forwards Puskor Khisha, Hasan Jubaer Niloy and others continued to squander chances as the side tasted defeat for the � rst time in six matches. l

BangladeshTamim Iqbal, Shamsur Rahman, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Mush� qur Rahim (capt & wk), Shakib al Hasan, Nasir Hos-sain, Sohag Gazi, Rubel Hossain, Al Amin, Abdur Razzak/Mahmudullah.

Sri LankaKaushal Silva,Dimuth Karunaratne, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Angelo Mathews (capt), Kithuruwan Vithanage, Dilruwan Perera, Nuwan Pradeep, Ajantha Mendis, Suranga Lakmal.

PROBABLE SQUADS

Bangladesh players at a training session at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday in Chittagong yesterday ahead of today’s second Test against Sri Lanka MUMIT M

The new logo of the Bangladesh Premier League, recently sponsored by Nitol-Tata, was unveiled at the BFF House yesterday COURTESY

Players of Usha Krira Chakra rejoice after scoring against Abahani Limited at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey

Stadium yesterday

Lille su� er Nice defeat n AFP, Paris

Lille were left hanging on to a Champions League place by a single point fol-lowing their 1-0 defeat at Nice on Sunday.

Later, former multiple champions Lyon fell 2-0 at

Rennes and Marseille were held 2-2 by Toulouse at the Velodrome.

Saint-Etienne’s 3-0 success over struggling Valenciennes on Saturday had put the pressure on Lille but the 2011 champions failed to respond.

Former Paris Saint-Germain for-ward Mathieu Bodmer scored the only goal with a cute back-heel in � rst half stoppage time, although there was a

suspicion of o� side.The defeat could have been worse for

Lille but for Rio Mavuba clearing a Dario Cvitanich header o� the line and Idrissa Gueye getting away with what appeared a blatant handball inside the Lille box.

Marseille remained in � fth, on 36 points, after their stalemate at home.

Twice Marseille went ahead,

through goals by Dimitri Payet and Ma-thieu Valbuena, and twice they were pegged back.

Toulouse striker Wissam Ben Yad-der levelled on 11 minutes with Serge Aurier ensuring they went home with a point on the hour.

Lyon, who pitched up seeking a fourth straight league win, had a torrid time of it at Rennes. They went down a man when Samuel Umtiti was red carded for an ill-judged tackle on Romain Alessandrini three minutes from the interval.

Rennes were already leading at that stage thanks to Cedric Hountondji’s 22nd minute header and new signing, Swedish forward Ola Toivonen, doubled up with less than half an hour left. l

Ancellotti unhappy at Ronaldo red cardn AFP, Madrid

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti ac-cused Athletic Bilbao’s Carlos Gurpegi of exaggerated theatrics in the action that led to Cristiano Ronaldo’s sending o� in a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

The recently crowned Ballon d’Or winner was given his marching orders 15 minutes from time, with the score already at 1-1, for appearing to hit out at Gurpegi after having a penalty ap-peal turned down.

The away draw leaves Real three points behind La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid, who moved to the top of the table with a 4-0 win over Real Sociedad earlier on Sunday.

Ronaldo is now likely to be banned for another crucial league encounter against Villarreal next weekend and Ancelotti wasn’t convinced his star man deserved to see red.

“I think it is di� cult for me to judge because I wasn’t there, but the images show that it was an exaggerated reac-tion,” said the Italian.

Brazilian defender Marcelo was stronger in his criticism of the deci-sion. It is hard when you lose a player in an unjust manner. It is obvious that the decision wasn’t fair and that made it very di� cult, although our intention is to win every game,” he told Spanish TV station Canal Plus.

“Athletic are a very good team, but we had bad luck today.” The game was dif-

� cult for both teams,” added Ancelotti.“In the � rst-half Athletic pressed a

lot and that made it di� cult to play the ball on the ground so we played more on the counter-attack.

“In the second-half, the intensity of their pressure dropped a bit and we played better in possession, we scored and had good control of the game.

“Bilbao scored a fantastic goal, but in general I personally am satis� ed with how Real Madrid played.” l

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 4, 2014 14

Neymar blasts 'false friends'Brazil starlet Neymar blasted “false friends” as he alluded Sunday to the strain of a tax probe into last year’s money-spinning move to Barcelona. Neymar senior last week denied signing a pre-contract with Barcelona until Neymar said the storm over his transfer had seen “a lot of people come out and talk a load of rubbish – calling our character into doubt. I also understood we have masses of false friends,” said the Brazil star, urging his father to join him back in Spain as “I’ll be back playing in a few days and I need you here.” –AFP

Arsenal new boy out for a monthArsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed on Sunday that new loan signing Kim Kallstrom will be out for around a month with a back injury sustained be-fore he joined the club. Wenger reacted to a glut of injuries in central mid� eld by signing the 31-year-old Sweden international from Spartak Moscow on the � nal day of the January transfer window on Friday. However, reports soon emerged that Kallstrom had hurt his back playing beach volleyball and might not be able to feature for Arsenal for around six weeks. –AFP

Zaccheroni praises Honda’s e� ortJapan coach Alberto Zaccheroni praised his protege Keisuke Honda yesterday for stretching himself to � t into AC Milan’s mould, a month after moving from CSKA Moscow. The 27-year-old mid� elder joined the Serie-A giants in early January on a free transfer after three years with the Russian champions. Italian media has minced no words in reviewing his performances, lambasting his low-key performance in a 1-1 draw with Torino on Saturday. “He has been doing all right by following my advice,” added the Italian tactician. –AFP

Team P W D L GD PTS1 At Madrid 22 18 3 1 42 572 Barcelona 22 17 3 2 43 543 Real Madrid 22 17 3 2 39 544 Athletic 22 13 4 5 14 435 Villarreal 21 11 4 6 17 376 Sociedad 22 10 6 6 8 367 Sevilla 22 8 7 7 4 318 Valencia 22 8 4 10 -4 289 Levante 22 7 7 8 -8 2810 Espanyol 22 7 5 10 -4 2611 Celta Vigo 22 7 4 11 -6 2512 Getafe CF 22 7 4 11 -12 2513 Málaga 22 6 6 10 -7 2414 Granada 22 7 3 12 -9 2415 Elche 22 6 6 10 -12 2416 Osasuna 21 6 4 11 -16 2217 Almería 22 6 4 12 -19 2218 Valladolid 22 4 8 10 -13 2019 Rayo 22 5 2 15 -30 1720 Real Betis 22 3 5 14 -27 14

POINTS TABLE

Ronaldo sees red, Atletico go topn AFP, Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo was sent-o� as Real Madrid lost ground in the La Liga title race with a 1-1 draw away to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Atletico Madrid became outright leaders for the � rst time since their double winning season in 1996 earlier in the day with a 4-0 win over Real So-ciedad on Sunday.

The draw moves Real level with Bar-celona, who su� ered a shock defeat at home to Valencia on Saturday, three points behind Atletico.

It could have been so much better for Madrid as after a di� cult opening 45 minutes, Jese Rodriguez looked to have them on the road to a 11th consec-utive victory when he prodded home

Ronaldo’s cross 25 minutes from time.However, after Ibai Gomez had

spectacularly equalised, Ronaldo was shown a soft red card for lashing out at Carlos Gurpegi.

Ancelotti’s men could have been in front after just 20 seconds as Ronaldo took advantage of a poor clearance by Gorka Iraizoz, but his e� ort � ew inches wide. Thereafter, it was Athletic who had the upper hand in the � rst-half and should have been in front when Aduriz shot wide when clean through on Diego Lopez.

Real’s lead lasted just nine minutes as Gomez made a stunning introduc-tion as a substitute as with his second

touch he � red an e� ort from 20 yards in o� the inside of the post.

Earlier, Atletico moved top on an emotional evening at the Vicente Calderon, as former players and fans paid their tributes to former Spain and Atletico player and coach Luis Ara-gones, who died on Saturday, before the match.

The Atletico fans remained silent for the � rst eight minutes before be-ginning to chant Aragones’ name in a tribute to the number he wore as a player with Los Rojiblancos.

And Atletico boss Diego Simeone was pleased with how his side dealt with the emotion of the evening. l

Clinical Juve outclass spineless Intern AFP, Milan

Champions Juventus tightened their grip on Italy’s Serie A on Sunday after outclassing Inter Milan 3-1 to claim de-served bragging rights

from the “Derby d’Italia”.Inter travelled to Turin hoping to at

least replicate their 1-1 draw with An-tonio Conte’s men in Milan during the opening half of the season.

But Juve, who had scored 16 goals in their � ve previous league games, � ew out the blocks and had created sev-eral early goalscoring chances before Stephan Lichsteiner’s diving header from Andrea Pirlo’s chipped ball gave the hosts a 15th minute lead.

Juve piled on the pressure and only the safe hands of Samir Handanovic

kept Inter from conceding more before the break. Juve doubled their lead only two minutes after the restart thanks to defender Giorgio Chiellini, with an alert Arturo Vidal giving Juve a 3-0 lead on 55 minutes after pouncing on Paul Pogba’s rebound.

Inter’s e� orts in a late but faint � ght-back were rewarded in the 71st minute when Rolando beat Marco Storari in the Juve goal although it was scant con-solation for what was a decidedly me-diocre performance from Walter Maz-zarri’s side. Mazzarri lamented to Sky Sport Italia: “Overall I can’t criticise too much. We knew Juve would come out hard and press us from the start.

Juve’s 19th win of the campaign took their lead on Roma to nine points although the Giallorossi’s earlier en-counter at home to Parma was rained o� and has yet to be rescheduled.

In comments to Mediaset Premium, Vidal said: “At the end we su� ered a little because Inter lifted their game but we showed how strong we are as a team.

Napoli are a distant third, 15 points adrift after a stunning 3-0 collapse at Atalanta, with Fiorentina a further three points o� the pace.

Inter have now taken only eight points from their last 10 games and are sixth in the table, 26 points behind Juve and two behind Verona, who oc-cupy the � rst Europa League qualify-ing place. Inter had dominated the weekend transfer headlines with the capture of Hernanes from Lazio.

But neither the Brazilian inter-national mid� elder nor Colombian Fredy Guarin – the subject of a recently botched swap deal involving Juve striker Mirko Vucinic - were in Maz-zarri’s starting line-up. l

Bayern stay 13-points clearn AFP, Berlin

Bundesliga leaders Bay-ern Munich maintained their 13-point lead with a 5-0 home romp against Eintracht Frankfurt to extend their record

44-match unbeaten run on Sunday.Bayern ran riot against strugglers

Frankfurt with Mario Goetze, Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and centre-back Dante all getting on the scoresheet at Munich’s Allianz Arena.

Spain’s Thiago Alcantara set a new Bundesliga record with 185 ball con-tacts as Bayern’s mid� eld dominated.

Germany star Goetze put the hosts

ahead when he chested down Mario Mandzukic’s cross and slammed his shot inside the far post with only 12 minutes gone.

France star Ribery then proved he has recovered from a leg injury when he added Bayern’s second just before the break.

Likewise, Robben came o� the bench and � red home Goetze’s � nal pass to put his leg injury behind him on 67 minutes before Dante headed Bayern’s fourth two minutes later.

Fittingly, Mandzukic, who was dropped ten days ago for poor training performances, netted their � fth on 89 minutes and was mobbed by his team-mates. l

Southampton trio impress England manager Hodgsonn Reuters

The free-scoring ways of Southamp-ton’s Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez and Rickie Lambert continue to push their claims for swapping the south coast for Brazil’s Copacabana beach come World Cup time.

With England manager Roy Hodgson watching on, the trio produced another sparkling attacking display, scoring a goal each in a devastating 11-minute spell to help beat Premier League strug-glers Fulham 3-0 on Saturday.

Lallana got the Saints up-and-run-ning on 64 minutes with his seventh league goal of the season as he com-

bined with Lambert, breaking free of the Fulham defence before � ring a shot past Maarten Stekelenburg.

The emergence of the talented trio, who have scored 24 league goals for Southampton this season, will delight England manager Hodgson, who con-tinues to watch the � edgling interna-tionals with interest as he decides who deserves a place on the � ight to Brazil.

Lambert, 31, has been capped four times, scoring twice including a goal on his debut against Scotland which helped secure a 3-2 win, while Lallana and Rodriguez made their debuts in the 2-0 defeat by Chile at Wembley in November. l

Beckham homing in on Miami MLS dealn AFP, Miami

David Beckham is homing in on a deal to bring a Major League Soccer club to Miami, local media reported Sunday.

The former England star mid� elder had exercised his option to buy an MLS club and wants to bring it to Miami, with the plan contingent on a deal for a privately funded stadium, The Miami Herald reported. Beckham, his invest-ment group and MLS commissioner Don Garber will be in Miami today and Wednesday seeking support for the venture.

Garber said a possible MLS expan-sion team owned by Beckham could come in February. l

RESULTSNice 1-0 LilleBodmer 45+1

Rennes 2-0 LyonHountondji 22,Toivonen 66

Marseille 2-2 Toulouse Payet 7, Valbuena 40 Ben Yedder 11, Aurier 60

RESULTSElche 1-0 Almeria Herrera 58

Real Betis 2-0 EspanyolRuben Castro 71, 88

Atletico Madrid 4-0 Real SociedadVilla 38, Diego Costa 72,Miranda 74, Diego 87

Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Real Madrid Ibai Gomez 73 Jese 64

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo (L) laughs as he receives a red card during their Spanish La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames stadium in Bilbao on Sunday REUTERS

Juventus' Giorgio Chiellini shoots to score against Inter Milan during their Italian Serie A match at Juventus Stadium in Turin on Sunday REUTERS

Abahani enjoy goalless drawn

Table toppers Abahani Limited continued their unbeaten streak in

the Bangladesh Premier League as they shared points in a goalless draw against defending champions Sheikh Russell KC at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Haitian International Pascal Millien � nally made his debut in the league for Sheikh Russell after joining from Irish premier division club Sligo Rovers while Abahani coach Ali Akbar Pourmoslemi also handed his Moroccan striker Ekele Patrick a debut in the absence of their Ghanaian Osei Morrison.

The draw didn’t change Abahani’s position at the top of the points table as they moved four points clear of second-placed Sheikh Jamal, who played two games lesser, with 17 points. Russell remained at third with 12 points from eight matches, one more than Abahani.

Abahani are enjoying a glorious run as they haven’t conceded in six matches o� their seven outings and Ali Akbar termed it as ‘Normal’. “It was a di� cult game for us. Our today’s � nishing was not good enough in the absence of Mor-rison. The opponents also played good and I think the draw is normal,” said the Iranian coach after the game. Ali Akbar also added that they need a playmaker to create more chances.

On the other hand, Russell coach Maruful was not happy with draw say-ing that they missed the easiest chance of the game which could have earned them full three points. In the 59th min-ute just when Pascal started to cope up, a square pass of Robin put him in a one-on-one situation with Abahani keeper Sohel, but his powerful strike from in-side the box went wide.   

“We missed today’s easiest chance. But I’m happy with the progress of my team. Pascal is back, Mithun, Mamun, Roux will be � t from next game which changed the shape of my team. I’m con-

� dent we will win rest of the matches of 1st phase,” said Maruful who also content with Pascal’s performance on his debut.

Pascal was also ruing his miss and said, “I would have scored it any time any day. Now my main focus is on train-ing and I have to prove myself in the next match so that I can rectify my mistakes.”

Meanwhile, Ekele Patrick showed glimpse of his brilliance with his touch-es, passing and shooting. The Cameroo-nian striker had his � rst shot on target in the 27th minute when, receiving a lobbed pass of Meshu, he dribbled past a defender and � red an angular shot that was � sted away for a corner by Russell goalkeeper Biplob.

Abahani had two more chances in the opening half but Towhidul Alam’s strike and Awudu Ibrahim’s header was o� target.

Russell enjoyed greater possession in the mid� eld after the breather and their best opportunity came around the hour mark when Pascal missed the sitter. l

Czechs, Japan, Britain into last eightn

The Czech Repub-lic kept their Davis Cup three-peat bid on track while Japan

reached the World Group quarter-� -nals for the � rst time on Sunday as � rst round ties concluded.

Great Britain notched their � rst World Group win since 1986 as Andy Murray beat Sam Querrey in San Diego to give the Brits a 3-1 victory over the United States. Britain next face Italy, who downed Argentina in Mar del Pla-ta thanks to Fabio Fognini’s third vic-tory in as many days.

In Ostrava, the Czech Republic held the upper hand 2-1 going into the re-verse singles against the Netherlands and Tomas Berdych bagged the all-im-portant third point with a three-set win over lowly-ranked Thiemo de Bakker.

The Dutch claimed the � nal dead rubber when Igor Sijsling saw o� Lukas Rosol giving the Czechs a 3-2 victory and a last eight date with Japan, who beat Canada in Tokyo.

In California, where the United States hosted Britain on a clay court set up at Major League Baseball ground Petco Park, world number six Murray gained the crucial point with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (3/7), 6-1, 6-3 win over Querrey -- the top US player in action after the late in-jury withdrawal of John Isner.

Querrey had been stunned on Fri-day by Britain’s James Ward, who won 10 of the last 11 games in a remarkable � ve-set � ght-back that helped the visi-tors take a 2-0 lead on the opening day on which Murray also crushed Davis Cup newcomer Donald Young.

The � nal score stood at 3-1 after the � fth scheduled match was cancelled.

At Mar del Plata, Fognini beat Carlos Berlocq 7-76 (7/5), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to give Italy a 3-1 advantage that stood up after the dead rubber was scrapped.

Serbia, trailing Switzerland 3-0, had only honour at stake in Novi Sad.

With the Swiss resting their top two players - Australian Open winner Stan-islas Wawrinka and Roger Federer - last

year’s beaten � nalists duly clinched the closing two academic rubbers courtesy of Filip Krajinovic and Dusan Lajovic.

The Swiss host Kazakhstan, who saw o� Belgium 3-2 in Almaty, in the quarter-� nals.

Germany, who held an unassailable 3-0 lead over � ve-time former winners Spain in Frankfurt, soured their win by claiming that three of their players were un� t to play. That left the crowd and the Spanish short-changed, with the hosts unable to play the opening rubber of the day. Germany’s last man standing, Daniel Brands, beat Roberto Bautista Agut in the � fth rubber to complete a 4-1 win. The quarter-� nals of the 114-year-old compe-tition are scheduled for April 4-6. l

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 4, 2014 15

Liverpool boss Rodgers backs ToureLiverpool manager Brendan Rodg-ers refused to criticise defender Kolo Toure after his glaring error gifted West Bromwich Albion striker Victor Anichebe an equalising goal in their 1-1 Premier League draw on Sunday. Liverpool, who stayed fourth in the table on 47 points, took the lead on 24 minutes when Uruguay’s Luis Suarez set up strike partner Daniel Sturridge to score his 14th goal of the season. Yet Pepe Mel’s side equalised when Ivorian defender Toure played a stray pass across his own penalty area, allowing substitute Anichebe to drive the ball expertly past Simon Mignolet after 67 minutes. “I’ll never criticise players for trying to play football but Kolo probably shouldn’t have received the ball under pressure and his pass was misplaced,” Rodgers told reporters after the match.

–Reuters

Britain bans French comic Dieudonne from Anelka visitFrench comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala was on Monday banned from entering Britain after he reportedly planned to visit to support Nicolas Anelka over the footballer’s use of the “quenelle” gesture. Britain’s inte-rior ministry said it had slapped an exclusion order on Dieudonne, who has a string of convictions for anti-Semitic speech in his homeland, on the grounds of public security. “We can con� rm that Mr Dieudonne is subject to an exclusion order,” a Home O� ce spokeswoman said in a statement. “The home secretary (Theresa May) will seek to exclude an individual from the UK if she considers that there are public policy or public security reasons to do so.”

–AFP

India’s NZ Test warm-up ends in drawIndia’s under-� re batting line-up gained valuable match practice on Monday as the tourists’ two-day Test warm-up against a New Zealand XI ended in a draw. India declared at 313 for seven on day two in response to the hosts’ 262 for nine declared, with wicketkeeper-batsman Ambati Rayudu unbeaten on 49 after Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rah-ane retired on 59 and 60 respectively.All-rounder Ravi Ashwin also made a good start before Shawn Hicks bowled him for 46 in encouraging signs for an Indian line up that failed to shine with the bat in a 4-0 one-day international series loss to the Black Caps. The � rst of two Tests between New Zealand and India starts in Auckland on Thursday.

–AFP

West Ham hope Carroll avoids ban to lift survival hopesWest Ham United are hoping Andy Carroll’s productive double-act with Kevin Nolan will not be derailed by a three-match ban as the Premier League strugglers look to ease their way out of relegation trouble. Carroll, who has barely featured for the club due to injury since making a permanent move from Liverpool this season, helped set up both of Nolan’s goals in the 2-0 win over Swansea City on Saturday, a part-nership which combined to great e� ect last term while the striker was on loan. However, the tall forward was sent o� shortly after setting up Nolan’s second early in the second half, following an innocuous looking clash with Chico Flores which left the Spaniard rolling theatrically on the Upton Park turf. The 25-year-old faces a three-match ban if his appeal is not overturned, a loss which would hit West Ham’s hopes of moving up to safety from 18th place.“Hopefully we get justice in Andy’s decision being overturned,” mid� elder Mark Noble told the club’s o� cial website.

–Reuters

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DAY’S WATCH

Mathews calm but cautiousn

The huge win in the � rst Test in Dhaka strength-ened the chances

of Sri Lanka to achieve something that they haven’t tasted since 2008 – an away Test series win. However, despite the easy win the visiting captain An-gelo Mathews is well aware of the chal-lenge they have to face in the last of the two-match Test series starting today.

“They’ve got nothing to lose and they’ll come back hard at us, so we’ve got to accept the challenge. It’s their own conditions and they play well at home, so we’ll expect a good challenge from them and we’ll play our brand of cricket to try and win the game,” said Mathews at the Zahur Ahmed Chowd-hury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday.

Mathews said the win by an innings and 248 runs is a great inspiration for them and everyone is very focus on their job out in the middle. He also added, “We’ll approach it in the same way as we did in the � rst Test match and try and win this game.”

The Sri Lankan skipper emphasised

on the mental approach and hoped to cope with the wicket as early as possible.

“The mental approach is going to be very important in this game. If we play the same way we played in the � rst Test, we will probably win. But it’s a fresh wicket, fresh start, fresh condi-tions and we’ll probably try to adapt as quickly as possible and perform as well as we’d like to,” he said.

However, Sri Lanka’s charge in the � nal Test will be weakened by the ab-sence of injury struck Shaminda Eran-ga and their spin wizard Rangana Her-ath. Paceman Eranga sustained a thigh strain while left-arm spinner Herath’s knee injury might see him � y back home today.

In that case Ajantha Mendis, who has been in and out of the Sri Lankan squad for some time, will be needed to control their spin attack while fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep will also come in to complete the third seamer slot. Mathews was con� dent of Mendis’ capability and said, “All players have a bit of a rough patch as their career goes on. Mendis had a bit of a rough patch in the past, but he’s bowling brilliantly and he’s back in form.” l

Rubel ahead of Robiul? n

A side known for its strength in spin bowling B a n g l a d e s h s e l e c t e d

three fast bowlers in their � rst Test playing eleven against Sri Lanka which surprised many, and if that wasn’t enough than their selection of the 12-member side for today’s match de� nitely is.

Robiul Islam was not among the 12 names the selectors chose for the � nal Test starting today, but the right-arm fast bowler’s exclusion can be debated heavily.

Though Robiul did not pick any wicket, but he was the only seamer who looked to create any sort of dis-comfort to the Lankan batsmen com-pared his other two partners Al Amin and Rubel Hossain.

Al Amin, the only wicket taker o� the three pacers in the � rst Test,

claimed one wicket but had the � eld-ers not squandered catches he could have ended up with more victims. Ru-bel was the only o� -beat attacker and bowled a line that hardly made any impact.

It can be argued that Robiul should have been the pick ahead of Rubel based on their track record too. Robiul played eight Tests and picked up 23 wickets at an average of 38.56 with the best bowling � gure of 6/71 and more importantly the fast bowler has the ability to bowl longer spells with the old ball with good e� ect. On the other hand, Rubel played 11 matches more than Robiul and took 26 wickets at a very high average of 81.23.

The hosts su� ered badly for their poor decision of playing three quick-ies in the � rst Test and heading in to the second and last Test of the series today, the Bangladesh selectors did change their strategy but once again their selection leaves a big question mark. l

ULAB to meet Manarat in � naln University of Liberal Arts and Manarat International University reached the � -nal of the ULAB Fair Play Cup Cricket by winning their respective semi-� nals at the ULAB playground, Ramchandrapur, Mohammadpur yesterday.

In the � rst semi-� nal, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh had an easy time beating Independent University Bangladesh by 10 wickets, before Man-art overpowered North South University Bangladesh by 6 wickets in the second semi.

ULAB, who opted to � eld � rst bun-

dled, IUB for 85, with Tanvir Ahmed tak-ing 2/11. In reply, ULAB raced to victory in 11.3 overs with man-of-the-match Hasan Zaman blasting 75 o� 35 balls.

NSU won the toss and scored 92/9 from the stipulated 20 overs, with Ka-jol and Omar Faruk’s taking two wick-ets each for the bowling side. In reply, Manarat reached 94/4 in 17.3 overs. Omar Faruk added to his wickets by scoring 19 and was named man-of-the-match.

North South University will face In-dependent University Bangladesh in the third place decider at 9:30am tomorrow, while the � nal will be held at 1:00pm. l

ULAB player Hasan Zaman takes the man-of-the-match award yesterday

Sri Lanka star cricketers Mahela Jayawardene (L) and Kumar Sangakkara attend a practice session at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday MUMIT M

Australia’s Test warm-up in South Africa cancelledn Australia’s only warm-up � xture ahead of the three-match test series against South Africa has been cancelled after torrential rain in Potchefstroom left little chance of play.

The four-day match against a South African Invitational XI was due to be played between Wednesday to Satur-day, but with conditions unlikely to improve in the coming days, Australia have opted instead for more nets.

“Cricket South Africa (CSA) and Cricket Australia (CA) have reached a collaborative decision to cancel Austra-lia’s four-day warm-up match against a South Africa Invitational XI scheduled from 5-8 February in Potchefstroom,” CSA said in a statement on Monday.

“There has been torrential rain in the area over the last few days which has hampered the squad’s training, with the forecast for the coming days also looking gloomy.

“Australia will travel to Johannes-burg today, and are scheduled to have practice at SuperSport Park in Centu-rion tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.”

Centurion, near Pretoria, will host the � rst test of the series starting on Feb. 12. l

Warne to ‘think about’ England coaching jobn Australian bowling great Shane Warne, so often the cause of England’s demise, o� ered Monday to think about reviv-ing the old enemy as the country’s next coach. As England players � ew home in the early hours following a � nal defeat in Sydney, Warne took to Twitter in answer to calls for him to apply for the role.

“To my English followers, I’m � at-tered that you would like me to consider the England job,” Warne tweeted.

“All I can say is – I will think about

it!!!” The comment could of course be a wind-up from the 44-year-old who named as spin consultant ahead of Aus-tralia’s World Twenty20 campaign start-ing in Bangladesh in March. Cricket Aus-tralia said Warne would support head coach Darren Lehmann, providing spe-cialist training for the squad’s spinners.And Warne later made it clear Australia remained his number one concern.

“Re Eng job, I know it’s created a bit of interest hahaha,” he wrote. “I’m � at-tered to be considered, but my priori-ties, as always, are with the Aussies.” l

Police probe Walcott coin attackn Police said Monday they were looking for three men accused of pelting Ar-senal’s Theo Walcott with coins dur-ing last month’s north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.

The 24-year-old England winger came under attack as he was carried o� on a stretcher after injuring his knee during the FA Cup tie at Arsenal’s Emir-ates Stadium on January 4.

Stewards and ambulance sta� were also hit by the coins, in a confrontation that saw Walcott make a “2-0” gesture with his hands in retaliation, referring to the scoreline.

Monday saw London’s Metropolitan Police Force release indistinct pictures of the three men suspected of throwing the coins.

“During the match, an Arsenal play-er on a stretcher, medical sta� carrying him and stewards were struck by coins and other missiles thrown at them from a section of the crowd occupied by Tottenham fans,” a force spokes-man said.

“The player and stewards received minor injuries as a result. O� cers from the Metropolitan Police launched an investigation and have now identi� ed three men they would like to contact.” l

Great Britain's Davis Cup team (L-R) Colin Fleming,Dominic Inglot, James Ward,Andy Murray and captain Leon Smith celebrate their 3-1 victory against of the United States during day three of the Davis Cup World Group � rst round at PETCO Park on Sunday AFP

16 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 4, 2014

n Ahmed Zayeef

After more than a year into the death of celebrated writ-er Humayun Ahmed, the love of his fans and readers has kept him

alive at this year’s Ekushey Book Fair. The obsession for his works, even long after his death, was evident on the third day of this year’s fair, the second book fair without the presence of the legend.

“Please take my picture with Humayun Ahmed sir on my right side,” Md Nurunnobi, a young visitor was found shouting in front of the stalls of Anyaprokash Publications.

The publishing house which had brought in most of the books of Humayun had put up a picture of the writer in front of its stall. Although the fair saw a fewer number of visitors yesterday, the stall of Anyaprokash, Humayun’s most favourite

publishing house, attracted many visitors. Adorned in yellow, the colour of Hu-

mayun’s popular character Himu, the stall holds a large portrait of Humayun with pic-ture of an open window in the background, depicting Humayun’s departure from the world of the living.

Designer of the stall, architect Shakur Mojid said: “Humayun is no more among us. However, we still feel his presence. In some way, I think we still think he is here with us. The picture that we put up of him was previously unpublished; it was taken while he was on a tour in the Sundarbans.”

Anya Prokash publisher Mazharul Islam said apart from the decorations, the stall also had di� erent compilations of Huma-yun’s books.

The fair is yet to assume its usual festive look as many publishers have not � nished decorating their stalls. The kids’ corner drew lots of attention; however, the little magazine corner remained almost deserted. A total of 31 stalls out of 45 have opened in the little magazine corner.

Mirja Faiaj Ahmed, a class two student who came to the fair with his mother, bought a lot of colouful books, mostly on ghost stories and comics. His mother said she had brought her son not only to buy books, but also to infuse a love for reading.

Although the presence of the visitors was not up to the expectation of the pub-lishers, they hoped that the fair would gain momentum in a day or two.

Some vendors were found setting up illegal makeshift shops outside the fair premises.

Murshid Uddin Ahmed, deputy director of department of co-ordination and public relation of Bangla Academy, told Dhaka Tribune: “Some illegal shops are making the entrance unattractive. Soon we will inform the matter to law enforcement agencies, and take actions against them.”

Sixty new books were published at the fair yesterday. A discussion on Maulana Mohammad Akram Khan, founder of � rst Bengali newspaper The Azad, was held presided over by Professor Abul KashemFozlul Haque. l

Readers, fans keep Humayun alive

A M A R E K U S H E YB O O K FA I R 2 0 1 4

More Rana Plaza victims to be identi� ed soon n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

The second phase of DNA test results of the unidenti� ed victims of the Rana Plaza disaster are set to be submitted to the labour ministry soon, although the exact number of veri� ed identities could not be known.

Dr Sharif Akteruzzaman, head of the National DNA Pro� ling Laboratory at the Dhaka Medical College (DMC), told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that the second phase of DNA test results would be submitted to the ministry soon.

When asked how many victims had been identi� ed, he said the results were yet to be � nalised and the exact num-ber would not be disclosed before the report was submitted to the ministry.

On November 4 last year, the � rst phase of DNA test results was announced. Out of 322 unidenti� ed victims, the tests were able to identify 157 victims, includ-ing 116 women and 41 men.

Sources said the rest of the 165 un-identi� ed bodies have undergone DNA tests in the second phase, with the laboratory being able to match several DNA samples collected from victims’ relatives. The � ndings of the tests would be submitted to the labour min-istry within a week, the sources added.

Reliable sources at the women and children a� airs ministry and the labour ministry told the Dhaka Tribune that the number of identi� ed body was like-ly to be around 30-40.

A third round of tests would be car-ried out for further identi� cation, al-though over 100 victims are likely to remain unidenti� ed inde� nitely.

The laboratory used the Codis soft-ware provided by the US Federal Bu-reau of Investigation to sort and match samples collected from the victims and their relatives.

Meanwhile, the families of the 157 victims – who were identi� ed during the � rst phase of DNA tests – are yet to receive � nancial assistance from the government, despite the Prime Min-ister’s O� ce having prepared their in-heritance cheques. The families were initially promised compensations in the range Tk2-5 lakh.

On April 24 last year, at least 1,134 people were killed when the nine-sto-rey Rana Plaza in Savar, that housed � ve garment factories, collapsed. l

EC to send info to tribunal agency on ex-MP Sakhawat n Mohammad Zakaria

The Election Commission is sending information of alleged war criminal Md Sakhawat Hossain to the International Crimes Tribunal’s investigation agency following its request.

Sakhawat was allegedly a com-mander of razakar and al-Badr force during the Liberation War in 1971.

Seeking anonymity, a senior assis-tant secretary of the EC yesterday said the investigation agency had sent a let-ter to the commission seeking informa-tion about Sakhawat.

The information being sent to the agency includes facts on the elections Sakhawat contested and the information provided by him to the EC for running in the polls, the senior official said, adding that the secretariat will present the letter in this regard at the commission’s meeting for formality.

An EC o� cial said the commission

did not have any detailed personal re-port on Sakhawat, as he did not contest in the 2008 parliamentary poll, when submitting a� davits prior to the poll became mandatory.

Sakhawat, however, contested par-liament elections as a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate in 1991, a BNP candidate in 1996 and as a rebel candidate in 2001 in the Jessore 6 constituency; winning only in the 1991 election.

The o� cial also said Sakhawat was at � rst a Jamaat member before joining the BNP. After that, he joined the Lib-eral Democratic Party and the Progres-sive Democratic Party before going on to join the Jatiya Party.

Earlier, the commission had also sent information on ATM Azharul Is-lam and Syed Md Qaisar to the tribunal agency.

According to the EC, Sakhawat Hos-sain is the son of Late Omar Ali and a resident of Hijaldanga village under Keshobpur thana in Jessore. l

New policy to restrict shrimp farming n Abu Bakar Siddique

The government has � nalised the draft of the revised National Environment Policy with a provision to stop shrimp cultivation on agricultural land, a prop-osition which contradicts with the ex-isting � sheries policy that promotes farming of shrimp.

“We have already � nalised the draft policy. It will soon be placed in the cabinet for approval,” said Dr Sul-tan Ahmed, director (natural resource management) of the Department of En-vironment (DoE).

He said the DoE had taken the ini-tiative considering the rising trend of shrimp cultivation and the negative consequences on environment, ecolo-gy and agricultural land.

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, executive director of Bangladesh Environmen-talist Lawyers Association (BELA), praised the government initiative but expressed concern over the future of the provision as it would clash with the existing � sheries policy.

Shrimp is widely cultivated in coastal districts where saline water is available. Bangladesh exports shrimp and other frozen foods to Europe and the US.

The proposed policy, which will re-place the existing one formulated in 1992, has brought eight new sectors un-der its jurisdiction as the form of degra-dation of environment and ecology has changed while climate change requires a larger focus.

Sustainable conservation and devel-opment are needed besides ensuring better disaster management, states the proposed policy drafted by the envi-ronment and forest ministry.

The eight sectors are air pollution, hilly ecosystems, biodiversity and bio-safety, ecotourism, climate change, disaster management, di� erent types of pollution and economic develop-ment; the policy already has 15 areas of preference.

However, it does not mention the common issues of concerns, including coal use, ship-breaking industry, poly-thene use or proper waste management.

Rizwana told the Dhaka Tribune that the proposed policy was almost same as the existing one as it “describes the pre-viously mentioned sectors elaborately to

some extent, except for some new issues like restricting the shrimp cultivation.”

The DoE in July last year put the draft policy on its website seeking public opinion. It also held meetings with line ministries and environmen-tal groups. The o� cials say they have incorporated in the draft the issues of concern raised by the stakeholders.

The government in 1992 formulated the � rst National Environment Policy on 15 areas of concentration, including agri-culture, energy, land, wildlife and forest.

On the basis of the policy, it formulat-ed the Bangladesh Environment Conser-vation Act 1995 and revised it in 2010.

Sultan Ahmed said they had plans to amend the 2010 Act and make it time-be� tting once the environment policy was � nalised.

The � rst draft of the policy was pre-pared by an 11-member technical com-mittee. Later an experts’ committee revised it and put it on the website for public opinion.

On the loopholes in the policy, Riz-

wana said the proposed policy did not incorporate the issue of environment tribunal which will state the way of activating the trial process for environ-mental o� ences.

Moreover, like the existing one, the draft policy also remains reluctant about the forest department’s not pro-tecting the bu� er zone of the forests, rather allowing the government and pri-vate investors to set up eco-parks and tourist spots. Currently, the forest de-partment works only to protect the core

zone of forests diminishing day by day.The government also failed to incor-

porate any obligation to protect the coun-try’s natural forests. “It rather emphasise on a� orestation initiatives to expand for-est areas which is absurd,” she said.

Rizwana criticised the government for not incorporating the issue of receiving public opinion while preparing Environ-mental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports for initiating any development project.

The matter is also absent in the cur-rent Environment Conservation Act.

And if it is not included in the draft pol-icy, further revision of the act would not have the issue covered.

Rizwana, a Magsaysay Award win-ner, said because of the absence of such a provision, the government was able to undertake projects like coal-based Rampal power plant near the Sundar-bans defying public resistance.

The proposal states that it will re� ect the issues of conservation of environ-ment and biodiversity in line with the basic principles of the country’s consti-

tution. Moreover, it will be treated as a comprehensive policy for conservation and development, and will coordinate all the environment-related issues mentioned in other national policies.

It also speci� es how the plans would be implemented in association with di� erent ministries and government agencies.

Bangladesh is pledge-bound to en-sure follow 30 environment-related con-ventions and agreements it had accept-ed, adopted or accessed over the years. l

Tazreen � re: New compensation scheme proposed Petitioners submit proposal, accusing owners for industrial disastersn Udisa Islam

The High Court will take an alternative method of compensation for those who die and sustain injuries at industries based on a report submitted by peti-tioners who demand proper compen-sation for the victims.

Lawyer Asaduzzaman submitted the report to the court yesterday pro-posing a compensation scheme which considers the � re at Tazreen Fashions Ltd on November 24, 2012 as the “tor-tuous liability of the owner.”

The court on November 24 last year asked the petitioners to help it � nding out the international standard of compensation for victims of industrial disaster.

The lawyer told the Dhaka Tribune: “We submitted an alternative scheme to the court where we demand that all com-pensation should be given by the govern-ment. Later, the government can realise the money from the liable companies.”

According to the proposal, victims aged below 40 years will have to be given compensation of the sum of all wages and facilities s/he would have got until the age of 60.

For those aged between 40 and 50 years, the compensation would be one and a half times of his/her income un-til the age of 60; while for the victims aged 50-60 years, it would be double.

The bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain on November 24 last year also directed the authorities concerned to pay the fami-

lies of 20 more Tazreen � re victims, who have later been identi� ed through DNA test, Tk7 lakh each as compensation.

But yesterday, the attorney gener-al’s o� ce sought more time saying that they had formed a committee headed by the police superintendent, but it was yet to give a report on the com-pensation. The court gave them seven more days to pay the compensation.

The court had earlier ordered that each of the 20 families be given Tk7 lakh as compensation, as per recommendations made by the government and the BGMEA – the apex body of garments owners.

On April 28 last year, three anthro-pologists – Naznin Akter Banu, Saydia Gulrukh Kamal and Mahmudul Hasan Sumon – � led the writ petition and sub-mitted a list of 25 names of the � re victims who were not compensated as they could not be identi� ed or went missing. Five of the victims are yet to be identi� ed.

The devastating � re at Tazreen Fashions, a garment factory at Ashulia on the outskirts of the capital, killed at least 111 people and injured many oth-ers. The death toll was so high since the authorities had barred the workers from coming out of the factory building after the � re broke out.

One of the petitioners, Saydia Gulrukh said the current compensation scheme under the ILO C121 was the most rea-sonable provision. “But it does not take into account the criminal liability of local owners or global buyers. These provi-sions are meant for ‘industrial accident.’”

She added that the existing provi-sions did not cover the injuries/death caused by “negligence of the employer” and/or “for the inactions or supervisory lapses of the government authorities.”

After yesterday’s proceedings, Naz-nin told the Dhaka Tribune: “We think it is of the utmost importance to com-pensate the victims or the families of Tazreen factory � re considering it as a tortuous liability, not merely an acci-dent or industrial accident.” l

Jamaat leader cuts ‘father’s trees’ on government landn Our Correspondent, Natore

Jamaat-e-Islami’s Natore municipality unit Vice-President Rowshan Are� n, also brother-in-law of a state minister, allegedly cut trees worth Tk1 lakh from government land yesterday.

Rawshan is a cloth trader by profession. His wife Fahmida Akter is the elder sister of State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Junayed Ahmed Palak, many local people and the local administration sources con� rmed to the Dhaka Tribune.

Witnesses said some workers in presence of the Jamaat-e-Islami lead-er felled the trees from a government land under ward five in Singra mu-nicipality.

Locals informed the AC (assistant commissioner) Land o� ce which later

directed not to remove the trees from the spot.

However, the administrator nei-ther seized the trees already felled nor served the accused any notice.

Local timber trader Arman Ali said the price of the tree would be around Tk1 lakh.

When contacted, Rowshan Ali said: “Although it is government land, the trees were planted by my father.

“I stopped cutting the trees being instructed by the AC Land o� ce. I have applied to the o� ce to get two-thirds of the trees.”

Salma Khatun, UNO of Singra up-azila, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Upon getting information, I directed AC Land Ra� qul Islam to visit the spot and in-vestigate the allegation.”

She said they would make a decision in this regard at a meeting today. l

Victims aged below 40 years will have to be given compensation of the sum of all wages and facilities s/he would have got until the age of 60

Aerial view of shrimp farms in Bagerhat. The photo was taken recently SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Anyaprokash Publications decorates its stall with a cut-out of late writer Humayun Ahmed at the Ekushey Book Fair 2014. The photo was taken yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

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

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Business

www.dhakatribune.com/business TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014

B3 Mutual funds show higher half-yearly profi ts

B4 A long way to go formutual funds

Remittance hits one yearhigh in Januaryn Tribune Report

The country received foreign exchange remittance of US$1.25bn in January, which is highest in last one year when it witnessed a slow growth.

The � gure stood second after $1.32bn bagged in January last year.

The remittance in� ow hit one-year high in the � rst month of this year due to e� orts to boost manpower exports, upgrading skills of migrants and enhanced incentives to use formal channels to remit and invest funds, said a senior central bank executive.

It registered a slow growth throughout the year due to falling manpower export and political unrest, he said.

The central bank has identi� ed the slow growth of remittance as a risk factor for the near future thanks to its projection that the demand for foreign exchange would increase this year with the apparently stable political situation.

In its latest monetary policy for the second half of the current � scal year, Bangladesh Bank pointed out that the imports particularly of industrial ma-chinery and raw materials would create increased demand for the greenback, putting pressure on the balance of pay-ment (BoP).

The Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) also proposed the government to take measures in increasing manpower export to o� set the possible setback in the country’s foreign exchange bal-

ance.Of the remittance received in Jan-

uary, $387.64m received through state-owned commercial banks, $16m through specialised banks, $832m through private commercial banks and $14.27m through foreign commercial banks, according to Bangladesh Bank data released yesterday.

After many years of bullish in� ow, the country experienced a slowdown in remittance receipt last year as overseas employment dropped compared to previous years, according to a report by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) released re-cently.  

Only four lakh workers migrated to di� erent countries in 2013 compared to over six lakh in 2012.

It said the country received $13.47bn until December 24 in 2013 as against $14.17bn in the year before. Since 1976, the remittance growth had been sus-tainable.

To boost remittance in� ow, Bangla-desh Bank has created separate savings instruments for non-resident Bangla-deshis (NRBs).

The instruments include, among others, non-resident foreign currency deposits, US dollar premium bonds and wage-earners’ development bonds, ac-cording to Bangladesh Bank.

Smart cards or mobile phone bank-ing services were also introduced to facilitate sending home the remittance.

Bangladesh’s foreign currency re-serves have exceeded $18bn last year though slow remittance in� ow. l

Some mobile operators defy BTRC directive on post-call details n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

Some mobile phone operators in Ban-gladesh are not following a directive of telecom regulator to provide post-call details including duration, cost and balance to the users.

In September last year, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Com-mission issued the directive making it mandatory for all six operators.

The directive is intended to bene� t particularly the prepaid users who con-stitute 95% of then total 11.38 crore.

Operators like Grameenphone, Tele-talk and Airtel are giving the post-call details however, say the subscribers.

But users of other operators say they are not getting it.

“It’s a right of a subscriber to learn about key info of call he has just made, like duration, cost and balance. But all operators are not giving it,” a BTRC high o� cial told the Dhaka Tribune re-questing anonymity.

When contacted, the senior exec-utives of the mobile operators con-cerned refused to make any comment on the matter o� cially.

As implementation of the directive would require investment to introduce the related technology, they said the companies do not have su� cient fund for it after paying billions of Taka for 2G licence renewal and 3G spectrum.

There have been allegations from the users of some operators that balance is sometimes cut by a large amount though they do not use call time that much.

“We are often being cheated by the operators, but have no remedy yet,” said Jamal Uddin, a student of private Stamford University in Dhaka.

He said BTRC directive should also be for data service like SMS etc.

According to him, the use of mobile data service has become more popular now than voice and the subscribers are being cheated every day in this service.

Kamrul, a Fine Arts student in the city, said he could never enjoy the speed and tari� what his operator has o� ered.

As of December 2013, the total active mobile subscribers of the country stood at 11.38 crore, said BTRC data, and more than 95% subscribe on prepaid basis. l

BPC to borrow $300m from ITFC for fuel oil importn Asif Showkat Kallol

Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is set to seek a credit worth US$300m from Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) for importing fuel oil to meet increased demands in the country.

The lone state-run oil trading com-pany sought permission as well as legal opinions of the � nance ministry to sign an agreement with the international � -nancial institution, an autonomous en-tity of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

In a letter wrote last week, BPC re-quested the ministry to provide a state guarantee along with Currency Repa-triation Undertaking (CRU) for getting the loan.

“This credit will be a part of a syn-

dicated murabaha operation loans worth $2,200m loan of ITFC for the year 2013,” a senior � nance divisiono� cial told the Dhaka Tribune yester-day

The BPC has sent the letter to the debt and credit management wing under the � nance division through its supervising ministry, which is the Ministry of Power and Mineral Resources.

Till now, BPC already received $50m loan from ITFC with an interest of 4.45% for nine months. The IDB has reduced the mark-up rate from 5% last year.

The corporation had imported over 7 million tonnes of fuel oil in the last year to run 49 mostly fuel-run power plants to generate an additional 5,319 megawatt of electricity by the end of

2013. The BPC buys petroleum oil at high-

er prices from the international market than the sales price at domestic mar-ket.

As a result, the state-run company has to incur huge amount of � nancial losses every year.

BPC had earlier signed a credit deal worth $855m with ITFC in April 2012 for importing the fuel oil to meet the local demands.

The BPC had received $1.48bn loans from the ITFC in 2011 and the lender had also increased the loan amount by $0.52bn this year.

In December 2011, the ITFC assured Bangladesh of providing $2bn credit with 5% interest rate this year, which was 0.30% lower than that of the last calendar year. l

Tofail urges buyers to raise apparel pricen Tribune Report

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed has urged the buyers to increase prices of readymade garment products in line with the recent wage hike for the work-ers to help survive the industry.

“As the government has set the wage 77% higher, it would be really di� cult for this sector to survive unless the buyers increase the prices of the appar-el products,” he said, emerging from a meeting in Dhaka yesterday.

Representatives from more than 40 buyers attended the meeting titled “Strengthening Business Environment in the RMG sector of Bangladesh,” or-ganised by Bangladesh Garment Man-ufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

The meeting was attended, among others, by Commerce Secretary Mah-bub Ahmed, Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar and Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque, and representatives from Ac-cord, Alliance and ILO.

Tofail assured the buyers’ repre-sentatives of a congenial atmosphere in the country, saying “Stability has now been totally restored in the coun-try as the political situation improved further after the polls and there will be no political unrest anymore as theopposition political parties have realised their faults for doing politics of violence.’’

BGMEA President Atiqul Islam re-quested the Accord and Alliance to take realistic and pragmatic measures in the process of inspection of the garment factories as a good number of garment

units are still located at the shared and rental buildings.

“I don’t know what would exactly happen after the inspection, but I can cast my doubts whether the sector will survive or not if they inspect all the factories as per their plan,” he said, ex-pressing concern.

He urged the buyers not to make public any report of their inspection before ensuring the remedial measures and to refrain from withdrawing orders from those factories.

Srinivas Reddy, Country Director of International Labour Organisation (ILO) opined that the concerns of the apparel makers on the standards and inspection process should be listen carefully as they are valid ones.

“There will be no compromise on safety and workers rights issues and the steps should be pragmatic,” he added, urging quick disbursement of the com-pensation as proposed by the retailers for the victims of Rana Plaza incident.

“The spirit of the Accord and Alli-ance initiatives is very positive as these are the long term project aiming at de-veloping the RMG sector with check and balance, not for creating any pan-ic,” said Roger Hubert, country director of H & M. These initiatives are going forwards, he said stressing on actions rather talking.

“The buyers are here in Dhaka to do business and they have assured us that they will raise the price hike issue to their respective headquarters,” BGMEA vice-president Shahidullah Azim told the Dhaka Tribune quoting the buyers. l

Muhith hints at bringing interest rate ‘out of the box’Government mulls restructuring corporate tax to provide business with some space to do better, he says n Tribune Report

The government is contemplating to change the corporate tax structure as well as bringing “out of the box” the high rate of interest on bank loans to provide the country’s real business units with some space to do better.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith dropped the broader hints about re-structuring the � scal and � nancial sys-tem following a meeting with the new-ly elected board members of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) at his secretariat o� ce.

“As our corporate tax structure is not appropriate, it should be changed after having consultation with the businessmen,” he told reporters.

The lowest corporate tax in Bangla-desh is now 27.5% and the highest 45%. There are, however, tax rebates for list-ed companies that would declare divi-dends at rates more than 20%.

The average rate of corporate tax is 42.5% in Bangladesh as compared to 30% in India, 35% cent in Pakistan, 25% in Nepal, 30% in Bhutan, 20% in

Afghanistan and 28% in Sri Lanka. In the Maldives, corporate tax is 25% for only commercial banks.

The minister expressed concern over the high interest rates that ranges be-tween 12% and 18%, but said: “We are habituated to take credit from commer-cial banks with higher interest rates.”

“We have to � nd out something out of the box to reduce the high bank in-terest rate that is better for the local businesses,” he said as the DCCI del-egation raised the concerns over the issues. They requested the minister to take measures to bring down the inter-est rate spread to 3% so the credit � ow to the private sector gets a momentum.

Regarding Public-Private Partnership initiative, Muhith said a separate guide-line has already been formulated for in-frastructure projects to be implemented under the initiative, but complete free-dom is yet to be given to the new entre-preneurs under this guideline.

The government would soon � nal-ise an infrastructure expressway proj-ect from the capital’s zero point up to Mawoa at a cost of $1.5bn. l

REMITTANCE INFLOW TREND

Solaiman, 16, operates a machine by his feet to mould aluminium pots at a factory in Kamrangir Char, Dhaka being ignorant of the related hazards. He has been engaged in the work despite repeated calls and regulatory safeguards against child labour Mahmud Hossain Opu

BTRC issues show-cause to Citycell for dues n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

The telecom regulator has served show-cause notice to mobile phone op-erator CityCell stating why its licence should not be cancelled after the fail-ure to pay Tk255.3 crore dues.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) issued the notice under the Bangladesh Tele-communication Act asking the opera-tor to reply in 30 days.

“We sent the showcase letter to Citycell as it has failed to pay its dues to BTRC,” said Md Abdus Samad, the regulator’s legal commissioner.

But CityCell said they had not re-ceived the notice yet.

“We got the news from journalists, but are yet to receive the notice,” Meh-bub Chowdhury, chief executive o� cer of Citycell, told the Dhaka Tribune over

phone yesterday.BTRC said it had issued � ve letters

from December last year to Citycell for the payment of outstanding fees but got no response.

Of total Tk255.3 crore dues, 2G li-cence renewal fee amounts to Tk229 crore and social obligation fee Tk4.78 crore. The remaining part has arisen from revenue sharing payment from March last year.

CItycell sources said they had al-ready discussed the matter and the op-erator was ready to pay the outstand-ing fees without 2G spectrum fee.

According to them, Citycell never received full of the spectrum BTRC had allocated to them. That’s why they will not pay full money for it. “Though we were allocated 10 Megahertz (of spec-trum, we got 6.5 Megahertz in two years,” said a senior o� cial. l

'We are often being cheated by the operators, but have no remedy yet'

B2 Stock Tuesday, February 4, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

DSEX crosses 4,800 points for � rst time n Tribune Report

Stocks earned modest gains as to-tal trade crossed Tk800 crore mark yesterday with the help of heavy-weight sectors like banks and fuel and power. It continued to gain for a fourth consecutive session.

The benchmark DSEX index rose 38.9 points or 0.81% to close at 4,826, highest since the launching of the index in January last year.

Shariah-based DSES index edged 2.2 points or 0.23% higher to 981 while the blue chip comprising DS30 index rose by 11.2 points to 1,671.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, gained 86 points to close at 9,493.

The total turnover at the DSE was Tk804 crore, which was 14.3% higher than the previous session.

Out of 289 issues traded, 175 closed higher, 90 declined and 24 remained unchanged at the DSE.

LankaBangla Securities in its market analysis said market main-tained strong momentum for the fourth consecutive trading session with DSEX consistently supporting above 4,800-level.

It added: “Investors are showing a trading appetite on the long side for stocks of � nancial and service sector.”

Banking and insurance sector gained 2.2% and 1.5% in market capitalisation as buyers were queu-ing to � nancial stocks.

While, engineering and textile got the biggest hit losing 0.8% and 0.7% of market capitalisation re-spectively.

Backed by continued upbeat sen-timent, key index DSEX surfaced over 4,800 points level for the � rst time yesterday, said IDLC Invest-ment.

Meghna Petroleum was the most traded stock with a turnover of Tk45.9 crore, followed by Mercantile Bank, LankaBangla Finance, Aamra Technologies and Padma Oil. l

News from trade serverMETROSPIN: The Company has informed that it has credited the bonus shares for the year ended on June 30, 2013 to the respec-tive shareholders' BO Accounts.EASTRNLUB: The Company has informed that it has already taken necessary steps to deposit the Cash Dividends for the year ended 30 June, 2013 to the BO/Fo-lio Account Shareholders' Bank Account under Bangladesh Electronic Fund Transfer Network (BEFTN). Besides, sharehold-ers whose cash dividends have not yet been deposited in their respective bank accounts, they are requested to contact with company's Share Section. Contact No. 031-614235-7, Ext. 214.

Right share: ARAMITCEM: Subscription 23.03.2014 to

17.04.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 09.01.2014.

RUPALILIFE- Subscription 06.04.2014 to 05.05.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 16.01.2014.

BRACBANK: Subscription 20.04.2014 to 15.05.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 10.02.2014.

IPO Subscription: Matin Spinning Mills Limited subscription date 26-30 January 2014, NRB upto 08 Feburay 2014. @ Tk. 37/-, face value taka 10 and market lot 200. Hwa Well Textiles (BD) Limited subscription date 17-23 February 2014, NRB upto 04 March 2014. At per, face value taka 10 and market lot 500.

Dividend/AGMSALAMCRST: 13% cash, AGM: 29.03.2014, Record date: 11.02.2014.

1STPRIMFMF: 10% cash, Record date: 11.02.2014.

HRTEX: 15% cash, AGM: 09.06.2014, Record date: 20.02.2014.

MAKSONSPIN: 5% stock, AGM: 13.03.2014, RD: 16.02.2014.

GSPFINANCE: 12% stock, AGM: 20.02.2014, RD: 03.02.2014.

ECABLES: 10% cash, AGM: 01.03.2014

SAVAREFR: No dividend, AGM: 30.01.2014

CSE LOSERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Phoenix Insur -A -6.92 -1.45 55.01 53.80 58.00 53.10 0.084 3.81 14.4Marico BD Ltd-A -6.54 -5.34 813.10 813.10 813.10 813.10 0.041 46.53 17.5Apex Footwear-A -5.83 -5.83 530.00 530.00 530.00 530.00 0.424 28.27 18.7Rahima Food -Z -4.02 -2.38 65.12 64.50 66.50 64.10 0.163 -1.00 -veBengal Windsor-A -3.93 -3.75 59.31 58.60 61.20 58.30 8.581 2.50 23.7GPH Ispat Ltd-A -3.16 -2.44 55.95 55.10 57.00 54.00 1.007 2.42 23.1RAK Ceramics-A -2.95 -2.28 56.62 56.00 58.50 53.00 2.202 2.10 27.0BD Building Systems -A -2.95 -4.47 69.44 69.20 71.00 68.60 9.321 2.92 23.8Moza� ar H.Spinning-N -2.68 -1.88 40.25 40.00 41.70 39.90 5.374 2.16 18.6LankaBangla Fin. -A -2.66 -1.93 77.73 76.80 79.30 76.00 12.479 2.75 28.3

DSE LOSERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Rahima Food -Z -4.26 -2.90 65.72 65.10 67.50 64.40 3.319 -1.00 -veBengal Windsor-A -3.94 -4.28 59.29 58.50 61.30 55.00 55.389 2.50 23.7GPH Ispat Ltd-A -3.86 -2.26 56.10 54.80 57.70 51.30 37.441 2.42 23.2Apex Tannery -A -3.50 0.42 162.22 159.90 167.40 157.30 31.585 4.86 33.4Hakkani P& Paper -B -3.42 -1.56 31.45 31.10 33.20 31.00 1.950 0.28 112.3Kay & Que (BD) -Z -3.27 -3.86 20.67 20.70 21.50 20.50 0.155 -0.89 -veMiracle Industries -B -3.20 -3.10 24.69 24.20 25.50 22.80 9.931 0.22 112.2BD. Autocars -Z -3.14 -2.72 27.89 27.80 28.90 27.70 0.251 0.04 697.3BD Building Systems -A -3.11 -3.79 69.22 68.50 75.50 64.00 48.045 2.92 23.7RAK Ceramics-A -2.95 -2.91 56.35 55.90 58.40 52.00 14.321 2.10 26.8

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Daily closing

Price change

Daily opening

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

Appollo Ispat CL -N 870,600 29.84 4.21 34.70 0.00 34.70 34.90 34.00 34.27UNITED AIR-A 1,424,707 23.50 3.32 16.50 -1.20 16.70 16.80 15.10 16.50aamra technologies-A 507,725 21.36 3.02 42.80 5.16 40.70 43.10 40.80 42.06Eastern Cables-Z 200,900 19.89 2.81 99.00 4.21 95.00 99.00 95.20 99.00Meghna Petroleum -A 69,175 18.85 2.66 273.50 4.47 261.80 278.40 262.60 272.43Mercantile Bank -A 840,572 16.88 2.38 20.20 2.02 19.80 20.30 19.80 20.08UCBL - A 490,677 15.34 2.17 31.30 1.29 30.90 31.40 30.90 31.27AB Bank - A 399,036 13.42 1.90 34.40 5.52 32.60 34.60 32.80 33.64Shahjalal Islami -A 658,968 12.76 1.80 19.70 4.79 18.80 19.70 18.80 19.36National Bank - B 896,018 12.66 1.79 14.10 0.71 14.00 14.30 14.00 14.13LankaBangla Fin. -A 160,550 12.48 1.76 76.80 -2.66 78.90 79.30 76.00 77.73BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 339,321 12.28 1.73 35.90 -1.10 36.30 36.60 35.70 36.19Salvo Chemicals-B 441,249 11.87 1.68 27.10 4.23 26.00 27.30 26.30 26.89Delta Life Insu. -A 41,550 11.14 1.57 270.40 2.70 263.30 271.30 263.20 268.19Fareast Finance-N 642,500 11.01 1.56 17.30 4.85 16.50 17.40 16.50 17.14People`s Leasing-A 374,289 11.01 1.56 29.30 2.81 28.50 30.00 28.70 29.42Paramount Textile Ltd.-A 207,490 10.79 1.52 51.80 0.19 51.70 52.80 51.50 52.01Padma Oil Co. -A 31,324 10.60 1.50 339.50 4.37 325.30 343.70 331.50 338.26Southeast Bank-A 438,621 10.02 1.42 23.00 0.88 22.80 23.10 22.40 22.85BD Building Systems -A 134,225 9.32 1.32 69.20 -2.95 71.30 71.00 68.60 69.44

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Daily closing

Price change

Daily opening

Daily high

Daily low

Daily average

Meghna Petroleum -A 1,689,188 460.29 5.72 273.10 4.20 262.10 280.00 250.00 272.49Mercantile Bank -A 9,644,446 192.92 2.40 20.20 2.02 19.80 21.50 17.90 20.00LankaBangla Fin. -A 2,476,132 192.37 2.39 76.70 -2.54 78.70 79.40 72.00 77.69aamra technologies-A 4,268,290 179.52 2.23 42.90 5.93 40.50 43.20 37.00 42.06Padma Oil Co. -A 453,864 152.86 1.90 339.30 4.69 324.10 344.00 310.00 336.80S Purbanchol Power-N 2,011,710 148.74 1.85 74.30 -0.13 74.40 75.50 67.00 73.94UCBL - A 4,705,858 147.08 1.83 31.30 1.29 30.90 32.00 28.00 31.25Olympic Ind. -A 685,119 124.58 1.55 182.10 0.22 181.70 183.00 168.00 181.83Square Pharma -A 503,175 119.21 1.48 236.70 -0.21 237.20 239.00 225.10 236.92UNITED AIR-A 6,858,297 112.77 1.40 16.40 -1.20 16.60 18.00 15.00 16.44Delta Life Insu. -A 411,400 110.09 1.37 270.20 3.33 261.50 271.00 262.70 267.60Active Fine Chem.-A 1,126,834 110.07 1.37 96.60 -2.03 98.60 99.90 89.00 97.68Grameenphone-A 516,051 109.28 1.36 212.20 0.38 211.40 213.20 205.00 211.76AB Bank - A 3,219,294 108.31 1.35 34.40 5.85 32.50 34.70 29.30 33.64One Bank -A 5,730,819 106.66 1.33 18.80 3.30 18.20 19.00 16.50 18.61Appollo Ispat CL -N 3,066,800 105.07 1.31 34.70 0.29 34.60 34.90 34.00 34.26Con� denceCement A 699,083 104.81 1.30 151.50 3.20 146.80 152.90 145.00 149.93BDCOM Online-A 3,014,002 101.30 1.26 34.30 6.19 32.30 34.80 30.00 33.61Orion Pharma-N 1,415,700 92.29 1.15 65.00 -0.61 65.40 65.90 59.00 65.19People`s Leasing-A 3,069,621 90.32 1.12 29.40 3.52 28.40 29.80 25.70 29.42

CSE GAINERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Progressive Life-A 25.00 25.00 150.00 150.00 150.00 150.00 0.075 2.30 65.2EXIM Bank 1 MF-A 9.86 7.04 7.60 7.80 7.80 7.20 0.011 0.70 10.9Midas Financing-Z 8.71 8.55 33.65 33.70 34.10 32.30 0.067 -5.96 -veIslami Ins.BD-A 8.31 8.28 37.79 37.80 38.30 37.00 1.074 1.60 23.6Bangas -A 7.62 4.22 518.14 529.50 529.50 500.00 0.661 5.70 90.9Apex Foods -A 7.55 7.55 114.00 114.00 114.00 114.00 0.011 3.56 32.0Peoples Insur -A 6.32 6.14 36.98 37.00 37.30 36.70 1.860 2.20 16.8BGIC -A 5.61 5.98 33.85 33.90 34.80 32.30 2.120 2.33 14.5BDCOM Online-A 5.59 6.94 33.59 34.00 34.30 32.10 2.252 1.70 19.8AB Bank - A 5.52 4.05 33.64 34.40 34.60 32.80 13.422 1.65 20.4

DSE GAINERS

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average Closing Daily high Daily low Turnover

in millionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Islami Ins.BD-A 8.31 7.16 37.25 37.80 38.10 33.00 38.196 1.60 23.3Bangas -A 7.61 3.81 513.31 530.50 530.50 480.00 25.552 5.70 90.1BDCOM Online-A 6.19 5.16 33.61 34.30 34.80 30.00 101.302 1.70 19.8aamra technologies-A 5.93 2.46 42.06 42.90 43.20 37.00 179.524 1.88 22.4Rupali Bank - A 5.91 3.30 79.27 80.60 81.20 70.00 8.780 5.89 13.5AB Bank - A 5.85 4.34 33.64 34.40 34.70 29.30 108.307 1.65 20.4Pharma Aids A 5.74 3.39 181.04 184.30 185.50 174.30 18.955 4.26 42.5Libra Infusions-A 5.44 5.41 542.86 542.90 553.50 520.00 2.280 3.04 178.6Agni Systems -A 5.35 3.99 25.30 25.60 26.00 22.30 50.860 1.10 23.0ISN Ltd. -A 5.26 3.91 21.78 22.00 22.50 19.50 4.296 -0.36 -ve

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

Sector DSE CSE TotalMillion Taka % change Million Taka % change Million Taka % change

Bank 1406.05 17.48 151.16 21.35 1557.21 17.80NBFI 721.50 8.97 82.14 11.60 803.64 9.18Investment 179.38 2.23 9.59 1.35 188.97 2.16Engineering 582.24 7.24 90.02 12.71 672.25 7.68Food & Allied 347.24 4.32 23.06 3.26 370.30 4.23Fuel & Power 1149.61 14.30 59.37 8.38 1208.98 13.82Jute 4.15 0.05 0.00 4.15 0.05Textile 719.76 8.95 60.96 8.61 780.72 8.92Pharma & Chemical 665.49 8.28 55.91 7.90 721.41 8.24Paper & Packaging 1.95 0.02 0.08 0.01 2.03 0.02Service 50.96 0.63 5.37 0.76 56.33 0.64Leather 106.66 1.33 5.00 0.71 111.66 1.28Ceramic 52.22 0.65 6.09 0.86 58.31 0.67Cement 264.64 3.29 13.44 1.90 278.08 3.18Information Technology 344.65 4.29 31.90 4.50 376.55 4.30General Insurance 562.40 6.99 27.77 3.92 590.17 6.74Life Insurance 419.82 5.22 20.56 2.90 440.38 5.03Telecom 153.42 1.91 13.24 1.87 166.66 1.90Travel & Leisure 184.83 2.30 29.80 4.21 214.63 2.45Miscellaneous 123.41 1.53 22.65 3.20 146.06 1.67Debenture 1.63 0.02 0.00 0.00 1.63 0.02

MON 03-FebSUN 02-Feb

THU 30-Jan

WED

TUE 28-Jan

Capital Market Highlights:

MON 27-Jan

29-Jan

Daily capital market highlights

DSE Broad Index : 4826.51482 (+) 0.81% ▲

DSE Shariah Index : 981.52367 (+) 0.23% ▲

DSE - 30 Index : 1671.44037 (+) 0.67% ▲

CSE All Share Index: 14982.3734 (+) 0.87% ▲

CSE - 30 Index : 12538.1246 (+) 1.18% ▲

CSE Selected Index : 9493.3523 (+) 0.92% ▲

DSE key features February 3, 2014Turnover (Million Taka)

8,042.00

Turnover (Volume)

199,836,615

Number of Contract 164,410

Traded Issues 289

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

182

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

99

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

8

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,298.74

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

27.86

CSE key features February 3, 2014Turnover (Million Taka) 708.10

Turnover (Volume) 21,813,051

Number of Contract 25,863

Traded Issues 232

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

143

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

85

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,90.45

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

26.55

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

ANALYSTInvestors are showing a trading appetite on the long side for stocks of � nancial and service sector

-1%

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

03

10

17

24

31

07

14

21

28

Change of DSE Broad Index vs Sectoral Index

BankIndex DSE BroadIndex

'Market maintained strong momentum for the fourth consecutive trading session with DSEX consistently supporting above 4,800-level'

B3BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Basic Bank Limited on Sunday distributed blankets for the cold stricken people at Lalbagh area in the capital

Meghna Bank Limited chair, HN Ashequr Rahman yesterday greeted Kaiser Chowdhury with � owers on winning Bangla Academy Sahitya Award 2013 for his extraordinary writing in “Child Literature” category. Abdul Alim Khan Selim, the bank’s vice chair were also present in the inauguration ceremony

Square Toiletries Limited’s annual distributors and sales conference for the year 2014 took place during the � rst two days of February at Hotel Sea-Palace in Cox’s Bazaar. The event was inaugurated by the company’s managing director, Anjan Chowdhury

Mamun-Ur-Rashid, deputy managing director of Standard Bank Ltd has been elected general secretary of the Global Economist Forum (GEF), Bangladesh chapter. He was elected at the biannual general meeting of the forum held recently. GEF is accredited by the United Nations ECOSCO as a special consultative status organisation

Jim McCabe, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Standard Chartered Bank, recently handed over rare photographs of ancient Bangladeshi coins to Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman for BB’s Currency Museum

Pakistan’s privatisation tsar embarks on quest to revive economyn Reuters

Mohammad Zubair was on a cruise dinner with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Thailand when he was o� ered the hardest job of his life: pri-vatising a huge chunk of the economy while � ghting resistance from the op-position and trade unions.

When the prime minister left the table, a colleague of former IBM execu-tive Zubair rushed to his side.

“Are you mad? Three privatisation minis-ters have gone to jail and most have cor-ruption cases hanging over their heads,” he said. “Don’t take this job.”

But Pakistan’s new privatisation tsar is determined to � nd buyers for 68 pub-lic companies, most of them loss-mak-ing, including two gas companies, an oil company, about 10 banks, the national airline and power distribution compa-nies - all within the next two years.

The government sees the sell-o� s as a life saver for Pakistan’s $225bn econ-omy crippled by power shortages, cor-ruption and militant violence. Success-ful privatisation is Sharif’s top political

and economic goal.“We lose 500bn rupees annually

because of failing enterprises,” Zubair told Reuters. “Every day a � le lands on

a bureaucrat’s desk and he has to take a decision he isn’t quali� ed to. This can’t go on, no matter what.”

Pakistan can raise up to $5bn in privatisation revenue in the next two years to ease pressure on strained pub-lic � nance, Zubair said.

Last September, the International Monetary Fund saved Pakistan from a possible default by agreeing to lend it $6.7bn over three years. In return, Paki-stan must make good on a longstand-

ing promise to privatise loss-making state companies.

Privatisation o� cials, requesting anonymity, said several foreign in-

vestors, including the World Bank’s private-sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, and the U.S. mu-tual fund Fidelity Investments have shown interest in the companies.

But for Zubair, a former IBM chief � -nancial o� cer for the Middle East and Africa, the real challenge is overcoming resistance from thousands of workers who will have to be laid o� and opposi-tion parties who are against the plan.

Once a source of pride, Pakistan In-ternational Airlines is struggling to stay aloft, having accumulated losses of more than 250bn rupees. A quarter of its 40 aircraft are grounded. Flights are regularly cancelled and engineers say they have to cannibalise some planes to keep others � ying.

Unions strongly oppose the privati-sation. The IMF wants the airline par-tially privatised by December.

Another asset is Pakistan Steel Mills, which has accumulated losses of more than 100 billion rupees. Oversta� ed by at least three times, employees haven’t been paid since October.

“I should not use this word but what has happened is the complete rape of this institution,” said Zubair.

An attempt to privatise the mill in 2006 was blocked by the then chief justice. Foreign investment dwindled as deals got caught up in court. Now, under a new Supreme Court chief, of-� cials say the prospects of reform have improved.

'No magic wand'Under IMF conditions, � nancial advis-

ers must be hired to evaluate the assets and examine accounts by June.

Zubair’s daily work includes visits to opposition lawmakers, parliamentary committees and unions to convince them of his plan. But he has few takers.

“The answer to our current econom-ic malaise lies not in hawking of state-owned institutions but in restructuring these industries,” Bilawal Bhutto, chief of the former ruling Pakistan People’s Party, wrote in a commentary.

Asad Umar, an opposition lawmaker and former chief executive of one of Pakistan’s largest conglomerates, said privatisation was being pursued on an unrealistic time frame and the criteria for identifying entities was inconsis-tent.

For Umar, it makes no sense that on the list with a bleeding airline are Oil and Gas Development Co. Ltd and Pakistan Petroleum Ltd, which made pro� ts of 91bn and 42bn rupees respec-tively in 2013, and have zero debt.

Not all sell-o� s are expected to go smoothly.

A nine-year dispute between the government and Etisalat, the United Arab Emirates’ largest telecoms � rm, over payments from the privatisation of Pakistan Telecommunication Com-pany Ltd, is seen as a discouragement for investors. But Zubair says no plan is without risk.

“There is no magic wand to ensure that all these ventures will be success-ful,” he said. “But the bottom line is that I’m not going to hold o� privatisa-tion for anyone.” l

Oil prices down in Asia on weak Chinese datan AFP, Singapore

Oil prices eased in Asian trade yesterday as data showing weak Chinese manu-facturing activity fuelled concerns over energy demand in the world’s second largest economy, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for Marchdelivery, eased 22 cents to $97.27 in afternoon trade while Brent North Sea crude for March was down two cents at $106.38.

“Commodity prices are currently under pressure due to weaker-than-expected data on Chinese manufacturing activity,” Desmond Chua, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, told AFP.

China on Saturday said manufactur-

ing activity slipped to a � ve-month low in January, con� rming a slowdown in factory activity in the world’s top en-ergy consumer.

The monthly purchasing managers’ index (PMI) declined to 50.5 in January after recording 51 in December and 51.4 in November, according to the govern-ment’s National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

Any � gure above the 50 mark indi-cates expansion of manufacturing ac-tivity while anything below that signals contraction.

The news came days after banking giant HSBC said it PMI hit a six-month low of 49.5 last month.

Chua said investors will be keeping a close watch on US non-farm payrolls and unemployment data due out on Friday.

“Investors will be focused on the jobs data to see if the disappointing December numbers are a one-o� as the US Federal Reserve has said, or if it is the start of something larger,” Chua said.

The US Labou r Department last month said the US economyadded just 74,000 jobs in December, well below the 197,000 expected by analysts.

The unemployment rate fell 0.3 per-centage point to 6.7%, the lowest since October 2008, mainly due to people dropping out of the labour force. l

Commodity prices are currently under pressure due to weaker-than-expected data on Chinese manufacturing activity

Euro rises in Asia after in� ation data tumblen AFP, Tokyo

The euro bounced back against the yen yesterday after su� ering a sell-o� last week in response to weak eurozone data that fuelled speculation of an in-terest rate cut by the European Central Bank (ECB).

In afternoon Tokyo trade, the euro rose to 137.96 yen from 137.61 yen in New York Friday, its lowest level since early December, while it held steady at $1.3484 against $1.3487.

The dollar strengthened to 102.31 yen from 102.03 yen.

O� cial data Friday showed euro-zone in� ation eased to 0.7% in Janu-ary, from 0.8% in December, as the bloc struggles to recover from its debts cri-sis. The bank’s target is for 2% in� ation.

The � gures come as the ECB’s poli-cy-setting governing council prepares to hold its monthly policy meeting on Thursday, with some analysts tipping a rate cut to head o� de� ation.

“This result has some now anticipat-ing further easing action from the ECB this Thursday,” National Australia Bank said.

“We rather think they would wait until March when new sta� economic projections are available, but (ECB chief Mario) Draghi’s press conference is going to be interesting ... either way.”

The dollar won support after the US Commerce Department last week said the world’s number-one economy ex-panded 3.2% in October-December, well above the 3% projected by analysts.

There was also some cheer from � g-ures showing a 3.3% rise in consumer spending, which is a crucial driver of growth in the United States.

That came a day after the Federal Re-serve reduced its stimulus programme by another $10bn a month to $65bn, following a similar cut in December.

While the US central bank cited a � rming economy for the wind-down, the announcement rattled emerging markets such as India, South Africa and Russia on fears of a capital � ight, which in turn sent their currencies diving.

Sentiment took a knock after China released data at the weekend pointing to a slowdown in manufacturing activ-ity in the world’s number two economy and key driver of global growth. That came days after HSBC said its own sur-vey of activity in China had shown a contraction.

The dollar was mixed against other Asia-Paci� c currencies.

It strengthened to Sg$1.2778 from Sg$1.2763 on Friday, to 1,083.32 South Korean won from 1,080.69 won, to 45.39 Philippine pesos from 45.32 pe-sos and to 12,249 Indonesian rupiah from 12,213 rupiah.

The greenback also rose to 62.58 In-dian rupees from 62.41 rupees while it weakened to Tw$30.34 from Tw$30.35 and to 32.91 Thai baht from 33.02 baht.

The Australian dollar lost ground at 87.50 US cents from 87.66 cents, while the Chinese yuan bought 16.88 yen against 16.90 yen. l

Mutual funds show higher half-yearly pro� tsn Tribune Business Desk

Thirty � ve mutual funds listed on Dha-ka Stock Exchange recently disclosed their half yearly pro� ts for the second half of 2013.

The funds representing 79% of the sector reported earnings of Tk134.5 crore during July to December period of 2013 against Tk102.3 crore during the same period of 2012.

Tk102.3 crore of pro� ts were from 33 funds as two funds were launched last year. The two funds, Exim Bank 1st and ICB AMCL S onali Bank Limited 1st have reported pro� ts of Tk11.5 crore during H2 of 2013.

Among the funds, ICB AMCL man-aged IFIL Islamic Mutual Fund-1 regis-tered the highest increase of 633% from a pro� t of Tk0.6 crore in H2 of 2012 to Tk4.4 crore in the second half of 2013.

RACE managed EBL First Mutual Fund reported a declinein earnings by 38% while NLI First, Trust Bank 1st, AB Bank 1st, EBL NRB, Green Delta, IFIC Bank 1st and FBFIFreported lower prof-itability too.

None of the funds having lower pro� tability declared any cash divi-dend in 2013.

Brokers believe the better perform-ing market have pushed up the rev-enues of the funds in the recent times.

The mutual fund industry’s asset ranges between Tk40bn to Tk50bn, said an analyst. l

Name of Mutual Fund DSE ticker Fund manager % increaseof H2 pro� ts in 2013 against 2012

Cash dividends per unit in 2013 (in Taka)

NAV/unit (Feb 2, 2014) in Taka

Redemption year

First Janata Bank Mutual Fund 1JANATAMF RACE 58% 10.67 20201st ICB M.F. 1STICB ICB 38% 70 1,221.88 20142nd ICB M.F. 2NDICB ICB 13% 37.5 277.97 20143rd ICB M.F. 3RDICB ICB 9% 24 287.06 20144th ICB M.F. 4THICB ICB 18% 24 273.27 20145th ICB M.F. 5THICB ICB 0% 20 226.18 20146th ICB M.F. 6THICB ICB 7% 10.5 64.83 20147th ICB M.F. 7THICB ICB 5% 12 114.18 20148th ICB M.F. 8THICB ICB 24% 11 74.87 2014AB Bank 1st Mutual Fund ABB1STMF RACE -7% 11.67 2022DBH First Mutual Fund DBH1STMF LR Global 129% 10.51 2019EBL First Mutual Fund EBL1STMF RACE -38% 10.61 2019EBL NRB Mutual Fund EBLNRBMF RACE -8% 11.06 2021EXIM Bank 1st Mutual Fund EXIM1STMF RACE 11.2 2023First Bangladesh Fixed Income Fund FBFIF RACE -27% 10.98 2022Mutual Fund One GRAMEEN1 AIMS 65% 2 33.76 2015Mutual Fund Grameen One : Scheme Two Grameen GRAMEENS2 AIMS 65% 1 18.34 2023Green Delta Mutual Fund GREENDELMF LR Global -23% 10.06 2020ICB AMCL 1st NRB Mutual Fund ICB1STNRB ICB AMCL 41% 2.5 27.72 2017ICB AMCL 2nd NRB Mutual Fund ICB2NDNRB ICB AMCL 18% 1 12.05 2018ICB AMCL Third NRB Mutual Fund ICB3RDNRB ICB AMCL 91% 0 8.1 2019ICB AMCL Second Mutual Fund ICBAMCL2ND ICB AMCL 175% 9.05 2019ICB Employees Provident MF 1: Scheme 1 ICBEPMF1S1 ICB AMCL 111% 0 8.26 2019ICB AMCL Islamic ICBISLAMIC ICB AMCL 86% 2 18.64 2014ICB AMCL Sonali Bank Limited 1st Mutual Fund ICBSONALI1 ICB AMCL 10.80 2023IFIC Bank 1st Mutual Fund IFIC1STMF RACE -26% 11.01 2019IFIL Islamic Mututal Fund-1 IFILISLMF1 ICB AMCL 633% 9.92 2019NLI First Mutual Fund NLI1STMF VIPB -4% 11.87 2022Phoenix Finance 1st Mutual Fund PF1STMF ICB AMCL 157% 7.9 2019PHP First Mutual Fund PHPMF1 RACE 5% 10.48 2020Popular Life First Mutual Fund POPULAR1MF RACE 28% 10.96 2020Prime Bank 1st ICB AMCL Mutual Fund PRIME1ICBA ICB AMCL 182% 8.26 2019Reliance Insurance Mutual Fund RELIANCE1 AIMS 167% 12.64 2021Southeast Bank 1st Mutual Fund SEBL1STMF VIPB 22% 11.45 2021Trust Bank 1st Mutual Fund TRUSTB1MF RACE -6% 11.26 2019

MOST MUTUAL FUNDS’ HALF YEARLY (2013) PROFIT DISCLOSURE

Chairman of Pakistan’s Privatisation Commission Mohammad Zubair speaks during an interview with Reuters at his o� ce in Islamabad

Global automakers look for dream market in rural Indian Reuters

As economic torpor su� ocates demand for new cars in India’s megacities, incomes are growing faster in small towns and country areas. That’s push-ing the likes of General Motors and Honda Motor Co to fan out in search of buyers in places where fewer than 20 people in every thousand own a car - for now.

Standing � rmly in the way are strong home-grown brands. With local services plentiful and repairs cheap, Maruti Suzu-ki India Ltd, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, and Tata Motors Ltd dominate the rural vehicle market where foreign automak-ers are seen as expensive and distant.

Foreign companies showing cars at the Delhi auto show, starting on Wednesday, have already poured bil-lions of dollars into factories, product development and marketing in India’s once-booming car market.

Still, no foreign car maker has a share of more than 6% in India’s pas-senger vehicle market aside from South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co with 15%.

Car makers see success in rural ar-eas as vital, as slow economic growth, high interest rates and rising fuel prices mean overall sales are headed for their second straight year of decline. Though the need for rural sales has been recog-nised, success could yet prove illusory.

Japan’s Honda entered India nearly two decades ago but will still have only 170 dealerships by end-March, com-pared with market-leading Maruti’s current 1,300. Of the 60 sales outlets Honda plans to open in India in the � s-cal year that starts in April, 43 will be in small towns.

“It’s very easy to travel once in three-four years to a place 100 kilo-metres away to buy,” said Jnaneswar Sen, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Honda India. “It becomes a bit of a hassle for the customer to travel 100 or 150 kilometres every few months to get the car serviced.”

Like most foreign carmakers in India, however, Honda is seen as a premium brand, beyond the reach of

price-sensitive rural buyers. To expand its potential market, Honda last year launched the entry-level Amaze sedan, which starts at about 520,000 rupees and has helped it nearly double its mar-ket share to 4.7%.

Smaller towns and cities account for nearly two-thirds of Amaze sales, the company said.

“Smaller towns and rural areas are a gold mine that foreign automakers are yet to tap e� ciently,” IHS Automotive analyst Anil Sharma said.

“One of the prerequisites for any au-tomaker to be successful in rural areas would be availability of after-market ser-vices. Since the population is more dis-persed in rural areas, what we probably need is services like mobile workshops.”

Selling foreign cars to rural India remains tough. Deepanshu Rai, who

lives in Raigad, a small town about 100 kilometres from Mumbai, said he never considered buying a foreign model when he bought his � rst car about 10 months ago, an Alto 800 hatchback made by Maruti.

“If you buy a foreign brand, it won’t have a service centre everywhere. You may have to travel far even for a small issue,” said the 22-year-old Rai, who works for a mapping company.

Mighty MarutiFor Maruti, the opposite is true. Found-ed in Gurgaon, outside New Delhi in 1982, Maruti accounts for nearly one in two new cars sold in India.

Though it has drawn on the small-car knowhow of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp, its majority shareholder, Maruti is seen as so home-grown that in the

1980s, the word “Maruti” was used ge-nerically to mean any car.

On narrow rural roads, its cheap small cars jostle for space with Mahin-dra’s sturdy utility vehicles, tractors, motorbikes and bullock carts, with foreign models scarce. Spare parts, including fakes, are cheap and ubiq-uitous, and mechanics everywhere can � x a Maruti, keeping maintenance costs down.

Maruti’s deep rural penetration has helped it defend its market share amid the industry’s two-year downturn. That’s despite the onslaught of new models launched by foreign rivals.

Next in line will be Nissan Mo-tor Co’s relaunched low-end Datsun brand. At the Delhi auto show Datsun will showcase a hatchback to compete with Maruti’s Alto 800, which starts at

280,000 rupees.Areas with populations of less than

10,000 people account for 31% of Maru-ti’s sales so far in the � scal year that ends in March, said Mayank Pareek, Maruti’s chief operating o� cer for mar-keting and sales, adding the company began a heavy push to target rural buy-ers � ve years ago.

“Unlike urban markets, in the rural markets customers are very loyal. So you get a big � rst-mover advantage,” he said.

General Motors has been selling cars in India since 1996. It has a market share of just 3.5% and 273 dealerships, increasing to 300 by the end of the next � scal year. Most of the new outlets will be in smaller towns and rural areas, said P Balendran, vice president at GM India.

“With higher growth expected in ru-ral areas as compared with the metros, we expect the share of rural markets in our overall sales increasing in the fu-ture,” he said.

One thing that is certain in the push by global car makers beyond India’s big cities is more choice for the grow-ing number of rural buyers. Until a few years ago, many rural buyers essential-ly had just one choice to make - the co-lour of their Maruti 800, the hatchback predecessor to the Alto.

Krishnakant Shinde, a farmer in Gove, a village about 250 kilometers from Mumbai, says he was the � rst in his village to buy a Volkswagen AG when he upgraded last October to a Vento sedan from a Maruti Swift Dzire entry-level sedan.

Volkswagen, which has market share of just 2.25% in India, said it doesn’t plan new outlets in the country this year. But it opened a dealership in Satara, a regional hub about 15 kilometres from Shinde’s home, about two years ago.

“Volkswagen the company wasn’t new to me, but I didn’t buy earlier as I was worried about spare parts and ser-vicing,” said Shinde, a sugar cane and dairy farmer.

“Now, since they have opened a showroom and service centre in Satara, I decided to buy.” l

B4 BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, February 4, 2014

A long way to go for mutual fundsShahidul Islam, chief executive o� cer of VIPB Asset Management Company Limited, in an exclusive interview with Dhaka Tribune tells having a regulatory framework is a must for development of the business in Bangladeshn Tahmidur Rahman

At which stage Bangladesh’s mutual fund industry is today?The sector is still at a nascent stage as it is very small compared to the capital market. Though there are about 15 as-set management companies licensed by BSEC (the securities regulator), only seven have money under management. The asset management companies manage roughly Tk5,000 crore which is less than 3% of the total market capi-talisation. In many countries mutual fund assets are close to 50% of market capitalisation.

If market needs more funds, then why isn’t VIPB launching another? Well, coming up with new funds is not easy as currently most closed-ended funds are trading at 30-40% discounts to net asset value (NAV). So clearly there is a lack of demand for such funds. Investors would invest in ex-isting funds that are trading at deep discounts instead of investing in new funds that would be o� ered at prices close to the NAVs. Also, the existing funds have shorter time to maturity compared to new funds. Shorter time to maturity generally means less uncer-tainty for the investors. As a result we have witnessed under-subscriptions of the IPOs (initial public o� erings) of closed-ended funds, which aren’t com-mon for the IPOs of companies.

Under such circumstances, launch-ing new closed-ended funds will not be wise. However, some asset manage-ment companies have come up with open-ended mutual funds. But it has not been a huge success either. We are also in the process of launching an open-ended fund. With our excep-tional track record in the last couple of years we hope to make it a success.

So, why do you think the funds are traded at a discount whereas we have some institutional and foreign investors who, at least, should understand that they are huge bargains?Other than the institutions you men-tioned market players in general do not understand mutual funds. And those who understand mutual funds have a general lack of trust for managers in the country. Also most of our active investors are inclined towards short term, speculative trades. Mutual funds

at deep discounts fail to attract them.Also lack of disclosures by the mu-

tual fund managers discourage inves-tors from investing in mutual funds. In most countries mutual fund portfolios are made public but all the asset man-agement companies in Bangladesh do not do so.

How investors’ trust on the funds can be built?Firstly, immediate redemptions of the funds that have already missed their original deadlines will help gain in-vestors trust. I personally think all close-ended mutual funds should be redeemed on the date of its maturity mentioned on the prospectus and trust

documents.Secondly, funds should make the

information of their portfolio holdings public.

Lastly, BSEC (Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission) should be sending teams of inspectors to have a look into the funds' portfolio, opera-tion and investment decision process. Mutual funds books should be in-spected by BSEC inspectors in the same way bank books are inspected by Ban-gladesh Bank inspectors. Banks take deposits from the public and invest it in loan products whereas the asset management companies raise money from the public for investing mainly in the capital market. As investing in

capital market is riskier than invest-ing in loans, monitoring of the mutual fund industry is at least as important as monitoring banks.

What might be stopping the regulators in improving the industry?The BSEC lacks human resources to oversee the funds. Perhaps, they don’t understand the importance of inspect-ing or monitoring the funds.

Internationally where do we stand?In respect of mutual fund manage-ment, Bangladesh stands nowhere close to the rest of the world. It’s not all about the relative smallness of the industry in Bangladesh. It’s about the

regulatory environment, professional-ism of the asset management compa-nies and awareness of the investors. Only a few years ago we saw an insane phenomenon in Bangladesh - mutual funds trading at 200-300% premium to their NAVs.

Now things have somewhat re-versed. Many closed-ended funds are trading now at 30-40% discounts to NAVs. To explain this I had previously told to the Dhaka Tribune that either the investors do not understand the funds or they don’t trust fund manag-ers. Now I think that investors’ lack of trust in the fund manager perhaps is the main reason behind the current predicament of the industry.

What are the problems you faced that prevented you from creating value for the unit-holders? First of all, let me clarify that VIPB As-set Management Company has been able to generate exceptional returns for its investors since launching its � rst fund. We have generated double digit returns even in the years when the stock market return was negative. In 2013, our funds generate 13% return compared to about 5% return of the capital market.

However, in the long-run, mutual funds’ performance will be closely related to the performance of the economy in general and the capital market in particular. If the listed companies do not perform well, the funds will not be able to create value for the investors because the funds invest mostly in the listed companies. I think proper corporate governance and � nancial disclosures of the listed companies are critical for the overall development of the capital market. The accountability of the auditors and accountants is paramount for an e� ective capital market.

Also the professionalism and credibility of the fund managers are extremely important. Some funds have recently reported abnormal and absurd net asset values, which was also published at Dhaka Tribune but you would see that no explanations were made.

Summing up - what are the major challenges before mutual funds to excel?Lack of the capacity of BSEC as I men-tioned before is a big challenge. Also the lacks of transparency, good corpo-rate governance in the listed compa-nies, accountability of the accounting and audit profession and professional-ism and integrity of fund managers are major challenges.

A simple question for the last – do you think mutual funds create value for its investors?Mutual funds de� nitely create value for investors and, therefore, they man-age trillions of dollars globally. Unfor-tunately, due to the challenges I men-tioned, you can always argue that the mutual fund industry in Bangladesh is not creating value for investors. But the solution is to address the issues, not to shut down the industry. l

Shahidul Islam, CEO of VIPB Asset Management Company speaks to Dhaka Tribune DHAKA TRIBUNE

Tata Motors shows o� 1st new cars in four yearsIndia’s largest carmaker Tata Motors unveiled its � rst new models in four years on Monday, banking on two small cars to reverse the company’s sliding passenger car sales in the face of grow-ing foreign competition. Sales of Tata passenger vehicles in India fell an annual 37% in the � rst nine months of the � scal year that ends in March, according to data from Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the steepest drop in an ailing industry headed for a second straight year of declining sales. Rising interest rates and high fuel costs in Asia’s third-largest economy, growing at its slowest pace in a decade, have pushed consumers to delay the pur-chase of big ticket items. – Reuters

India’s manufacturing PMI rises to highest since March 2013Indian factories started 2014 on a high note, with activity growing at its fastest pace in nearly a year as domestic and overseas orders increased, according to a survey that also showed in� ation accelerated. The HSBC Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), compiled by Markit, bounced to 51.4 in January, its highest since March, from 50.7 in the previous month. – Reuters

China, France drag on global manufacturing revivalManufacturers around the world en-joyed a solid start to the year as order books swelled, surveys showed on Monday, though a struggle for growth in China and a downturn in France took the shine o� the overall picture. Euro zone factories had their best month since mid-2011 and, with unemploy-ment near record highs, increased headcount for the � rst time in two years. – Reuters

NEWS IN BRIEF

A villager cleans his Renault Duster car as bu� aloes look on nearby, outside his house in Kishangarh village on the outskirts of the northern Indian city of Chandigarh REUTERS