Nat'l ID cards to be made must for all

National identity (ID) cards would be made compulsory for every citizen of the country by amending the citizenship act, said Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday. "If necessary laws will be amended to make national ID cards compulsory because laws are for the people's welfare," he told reporters after a meeting with Home Minister Sahara Khatun and State Minister for Home Affairs Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj at the home ministry. Muhith also hinted that in future none would be able to claim citizenship of Bangladesh without the national ID card and Tax Identification Number (TIN) would also not be given without it. The meeting with Sahara in the chair was held to finalise the work plan on launching the Machine-Readable Passport (MRP) and Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) projects. The meeting decided to start MRP and MRV after April next year in compliance with an international deadline. It also decided not to issue any non-machine readable passports from April next year. Passports that have validity beyond that period will be acceptable.During the meeting Muhith proposed linking the national ID card to MRP. "If the national ID cards are linked with machine-readable passports then it would be digitised and it would prevent corruption," said the finance minister adding that digitisation is the main enemy of corruption.He said the land registration cell and the police department are the country's top corruption infested sectors. "Probably the third one is LGRD or the judiciary, I do not know," he added.The finance minister said an authority for the national ID cards would be set up. Currently the Election Commission is in authority, he said. Briefing the newsmen after the meeting, Sahara said the army would place samples of the MRP and MRV soon and then the ministry would give its approval to start the job. She said Tk 283 crore will be spent on the MRP project and the army will be given the job of preparing machine-readable passports as per the decision of Ecnec. Machine-readable passports will be launched in four colours--red, black, green and yellow. Currently, 1.20 crore non-machine readable passports are in use and 10 lakh such passports are issued every year.Sohel Taj said a steering committee on the MRP would be formed with Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder as its head and a project director from the army would be appointed soon on deputation to start the project. "The project will be implemented through civil and military cooperation," he said, adding, "The MRP project has been designed keeping the e-passport (a passport that uses biometrics to identify a person) in mind so that we can upgrade to e-passport when time comes." The meeting formed an eight-member technical committee, with director general of immigration and passport directorate as its convener, to deal with the MRP project and oversee its technical affairs. The committee has been asked to submit its report within 10 days.

Wasa plans to preserve water of Ashulia

Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) is planning to preserve floodwater in Ashulia area, treat and supply it to Uttara to meet the ever-growing demand for pure water in the capital.A coordination meeting of Dhaka Wasa's operation and maintenance wings held yesterday with Managing Director Md Shahjahan Ali in the chair decided to conduct a feasibility study in this regard.The meeting also asked officials concerned to place at the Wasa board meeting a feasibility study proposal on whether ground water can be recharged artificially by preserving rainwater.It urged all to stop watering gardens using Wasa water and washing cars with piped water.The meeting directed the project director concerned to expedite setting up four gas generators.Those present at the meeting included deputy managing directors Liakat Ali and Golam Ahmed, and chief engineer Md Nurul Haque.

Jubo League man killed in bomb attack

Unidentified miscreants launched a bomb attack on a Jubo League meeting in Judge Court area of Chuadanga district on Monday night, leaving a ruling party leader killed and two activists wounded. The dead was identified as Baharul Hayat, 40, joint con vener of district unit Jubo League, youth front of ruling Awami League (AL).Police said criminals hurled several bombs when Jubo League leader Baharul was holding a meeting with his party colleagues in the north side field of the court at about 9:30 pm. Baharul was rushed to Chuadanga district sadar hospital where the attending doctors declared him dead at about 10:45 pm.Of the injured, Sahinul Islam was admitted to Orthopaedic Hospital in Dhaka. At night, police arrested five BNP men in this connection. They are Abu Bakar Siddique, joint convener of Chuadanga sadar upazila unit Jubo Dal, Manwarul Islam, cousin of former BNP lawmaker Sahidul Islam and BNP activists Akram Kazi, Atiar and Badsha.AL and its front organisations brought out a rally in the town yesterday protesting at the killing.The ruling party men also ransacked several shops and business establishments, including chamber of district unit Jubo Dal general secretary Abdul Jabbar Sona. In another incident, cadres of outlawed Lal Pataka killed school student Asif Rana, 15, on Monday night after kidnapping him from his house at Khrodpur village in Alamdanga upazila of Chuadanga district.Sources said the outlawed party cadres demanded toll of Tk. 2 lakh from Rana's father Chad Ali, a businessman, several days ago and on Sunday night they kidnapped him as the family refused to give the money.Police recovered Rana's body from a field of the village. Outlawed Lal Pataka, factions of Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-ML), claimed responsibility for the killing of school student over phone to local journalists.

Stop construction on arable land

The parliamentary standing committee on the planning ministry yesterday recommended that the government legislate against construction on arable land. It asked the land ministry to draft a law and place it before parliament. “Within 20 years, there would be no land left for agricultural use if the way arable land is decreasing continues. So we have made some recommendations to keep the remaining cultivable land intact," Col (retd) Oli Ahmed, chairman of the committee, told reporters after a two-hour meeting at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. "We have asked the land ministry to draft a law prohibiting construction on arable land and place it before the House," he added.He, however, could not say whether the proposed law would be placed in the session beginning on June 4. The recommendations come at a time when experts say every year the country loses around 80 thousand hectares of land suitable for cultivation due to human settlements, rapid urbanisation, erosion of rivers, construction of new roads and broadening of the existing ones, and various other development activities. At yesterday's meeting, the parliamentary body also expressed dissatisfaction over performance of different ministries with regard to implementation of development projects. It asked the education ministry to leave the task of recruiting teachers to the discretion of the schools' managing bodies to cut the red tape in this regard. Oli, lone lawmaker from Liberal Democratic Party, said the committee also recommended that the education ministry take measures so that no-one with education below SSC level can become a member of the school managing committee. "We have also asked the ministry to ensure that all public educational institutions are built with an option to raise it by at least four storeys," Col (retd) Oli also said. About different ministries' performance, he said the trend of going slow during the caretaker government tenure is still there."We have asked them to quicken the pace in their activities especially in development projects."

Only 25 BDR men now found hiding

The authority has finally identified only 25 BDR jawans as fugitives among over 7,000 earlier claimed to have escaped from Pilkhana BDR headquarters after the February 25-26 carnage.Commerce Minister Faruk Khan, who heads a committee for coordinating measures of the Prime Minister's Office and the home and defence ministries in the wake of BDR carnage, yesterday said many of these fugitives committed grievous offences.Many including defence officials wondered how around 7,000 BDR personnel could flee the BDR headquarters after committing the bloody mutiny in which 57 army officers and 17 others were killed.The role of the law enforcement agencies and the government was questioned, even alleging if the jawans were "allowed" to flee.Interestingly, the authority gave the media different numbers of fugitive BDR members in the last two and a half months--from the initial 2,000 to 1,800 to 1,000 and then only 250.Yesterday, the BDR authority provided brief information about the 25 fugitive BDR jawans and their photographs for publishing in newspapers."We are hopeful about arresting the absconding BDR jawans and when they are arrested more significant leads into the carnage will be gleaned from them," Faruk Khan yesterday said at a press briefing arranged at Pilkhana to update the media about the investigation and progress of the national probe committee report.However, the briefing ended with some unwanted debates over media reports on the army probe findings as Faruk Khan termed media reports "speculative".As the minister said he did not see the army probe report and that it has not yet been submitted to the government, reporters asked him how could he then term media reports "speculative"."In world history, coming out of a probe report on any incident within two days after its completion is unprecedented," Faruk said, adding that he does not think publishing the army probe report was necessary.Reporters asked him how and why did he term the news reports "speculative" while the army itself has not yet protested those news items.Faruk then tried to explain the word "speculative" as "writing a news item on a report which is not yet officially published".He said the army would do whatever is necessary in the force in the wake of the carnage on the basis of its probe report.Faruk Khan said if the government feels necessary to make probe reports public in the interest of the nation, it would publish them.He also said the national probe committee formed to investigate the carnage would submit its report in a few days.He quickly winded up the press conference amid arguments.BDR RESTRUCTURINGThe committee formed to report on restructuring and renaming of Bangladesh Rifles yesterday submitted a partial report, suggesting logos, mottos, designs of uniform, and new names for the border guards.The four-member body headed by BDR Director General Maj Gen Md Mainul Islam will submit the complete report in a few weeks.Chaired by Faruk Khan, the committee held a four-hour long meeting at the BDR headquarters from 9:00am.Elaborating on the partial report, Faruk said a questionnaire with 18 questions on restructuring of the BDR was sent to 6,000 people in the armed forces, police, ansar, Rapid Action Battalion, former BDR officials and bureaucrats.The report, prepared on the basis of suggestions of these people, has suggested 10 names for the border guards in English and Bangla, 10 mottos, and two designs of uniforms--one for those who will work in the office and a combat uniform for those on duty at the border.Replying to a query, Faruk said the government will see if the BDR jawans who revolted after declaration of the general amnesty by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on February 25 will come under it.The BDR DG told reporters that BDR men who revolted after February 25 across the country committed more grave crimes.STATUS OF INVESTIGATIONFaruk Khan said 1,390 people have so far been arrested in connection with the Pilkhana carnage and of them 580 were interrogated on remand.He also informed that 85 BDR jawans have made confessional statements under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) while statements of 500 others have been recorded under section 161 of the CrPC.He said 3,207 BDR jawans have so far been questioned about the carnage.A total of 1,581 BDR men have been arrested in 29 districts outside Dhaka for staging mutiny, breaking in arsenals and looting firearms following the Pilkhana carnage, he said, adding that the number of firearms missing from Pilkhana now stands at 93. These include revolvers, rifles and SMGs.

Rahim has cut on right eye

Detained former chief of National Security Intelligence (NSI) Abdur Rahim yesterday slipped and fell on a windowsill and injured his right eye while using bathroom at CID's Chittagong divisional headquarters.The incident happened before dawn when electricity went out, said Mohammad Muslim, special superintendent of police (SSP) in Chittagong CID.Rahim, who along with another ex-NSC boss Major Gen (retd) Rezzaqul Haider, was held on Saturday in connection with 10 truckloads of arms and ammunition seized in Chittagong five years ago, needed several stitches to close a cut on the upper-lid.As he was under treatment, the interrogators did not quiz him.They however continued questioning Rezzaqul who gave some information on the last day of his three-day remand yesterday, said sources close to the interrogators of Criminal Investigation Department.His information bears some similarity to the confessional statement made by former NSI director (security) Sahab Uddin, they added.Meanwhile, State Minister for Home Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj yesterday told journalists that the sources of funds for the arms shipment and persons involved are coming out gradually.He said the BNP-Jamaat coalition government had attempted to cover up the truth and divert attention from the arms haul case. Our Chittagong office adds: The two ex-NSI chiefs might be brought face to face with Sahab Uddin to verify the information gleaned so far, said SSP Muslim.The two would be produced before the court with a prayer for fresh remand today, he told The Daily Star.CID sources said Rahim was first rushed to the police hospital in adjoining Dampara Police Lines. Later, he was taken to Chittagong Eye Infirmary and Training Complex at Pahartali.He came out of the hospital at around 1:30pm, said the sources and witnesses.SOHEL TAJAbout the investigation into the Chittagong arms haul, the state minister for home said, "We have given the investigators a free rein. In no circumstances will we allow the probe to be influenced by any quarters.”About BNP Joint General Secretary Nazrul Islam Khan's remark that there's an ulterior motive behind bringing up Tarique Rahman's name in the arms smuggling, he said they did not name anyone. Asked if the CID would be allowed to grill the influential persons of the previous alliance government, Sohel Taj said they would back the investigators to reveal the truth.

152 industries wreaking havoc

Villagers along polluted Turag moving to safer places

Indiscriminate discharge of liquid waste by the industries in and around Konabari industrial zone has ruined a large part of the Turag river and Baimail Jheel, causing immense suffering to residents living on the banks.Industrial liquid waste and black smog created by brick kilns have doubled the sufferings and even compelled many to move their houses.Locals say brick kilns have left their fruit trees unproductive, while industrial waste exterminated fish in the river and nearby water bodies, increased mosquitoes, and made croplands infertile.The government established the Konabari Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (Bscic) industrial area in early 1980s to promote and expand small and cottage industries. Since then the industries are polluting surrounding environment despite getting different facility packages from the government.Recently, the Bscic authorities have made a list of 152 polluter industries that include 56 dyeing and textile industries, 50 chemicals and pharmaceuticals, nine food processing and 37 other engineering industries. None of these industries has installed an effluent treatment plant (ETP)."We have been corresponding with the industrialists for last three years about ETP but all in vain," says a Bscic official asking not to be named.The Bscic provided the industrialists with land in a subsidised price along with many other facilities. But most of the industries are paying back by indiscriminately polluting the environment.Since the beginning the government was providing tax holiday for five years and no import duty and VAT for capital machinery for these polluters.Stinky blackish water was seen flowing in the Turag as liquid waste falls in the river directly from the industries.Massive suffering of the people was witnessed during visits to the surrounding villages including Baimail, Kodda, Kashimpur and Konabari. Besides industrial waste, dust from the brick kilns around adds to the suffering of the local inhabitants."We cannot use the river water in any way. Even we cannot take a bath there. Besides, dust from the brick kilns is also causing much suffering to us," says Bayezid Hossain from Baimail village."At least 20 of our neighbours have left the village and settled in Gazipur town or nearby areas due to this environmental pollution," he adds.While describing his childhood memories, Uday Sarkar of the area said, "Just 12 years ago the Turag and Baimail Jheel had a variety of fish. Now no fish can survive there."The industry waste has spoiled everything. We cannot afford moving from our village, so we are living here and suffering," he said.Villagers from Kashimpur say it is a big problem for them to collect water from tube-wells for bathing, washing and drinking."For the last few years we are not getting fruits from coconut, banana, mango and some other trees," said Shamsur Rahman from Majlishpur."If I wash my hand in the river waters, it stinks like kerosene," says a villager. He adds their corrugated tin-made houses are being damaged within two to three years these days thanks to the dust from brick kilns.

Trio took Tk 40 lakh additional fuel bill

Former speaker Jamiruddin Sircar, his deputy Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui and former chief whip Khandaker Delwar Hossain took over Tk 40 lakh as fuel bills in addition to their fuel allowances during the tenure of the last parliament.According to a report prepared by the transport pool of Parliament Secretariat, Sircar drew Tk 7.73 lakh and Akhtar Hamid Tk 15.71 lakh as additional fuel bills for two Pajeros during 2004-2008 while Delwar drew Tk 16.68 lakh for a microbus during 2001-2006, sources in the secretariat said.Fuel bills for the Pajeros were also increased to 20 litres a day from 10 litres in 2005, the sources said.The three were entitled to use two vehicles each for official purpose and money for around 40 litres of fuel daily. They were also entitled to get fuel bills for trips outside Dhaka.Another document shows that Tk 4.50 lakh was allocated in 2004-05 fiscal year for the maintenance of the vehicles used by Sircar and Akhtar Hamid at that time. But the amount was increased to Tk 14.50 lakh following demands from their offices.The additional money was provided from other sectors in the budget for Parliament Secretariat, officials said. They, however, could not give the details of the expenditures.The transport pool of Parliament Secretariat has recently submitted the report to a parliamentary sub-committee led by Brig Gen (retd) SK Bakr. The sub-committee formed by the all-party parliamentary probe body is probing allegations of corruption in Parliament Secretariat and has started gathering information on transport expenditures during the last parliament.When contacted, Bakr, also a lawmaker of the ruling Awami League, told The Daily Star that they are yet to collect all the information. "So far we have examined a number of documents and we detected anomalies in the expenditures," he said.Bakr said he would submit the findings to the main probe body.He has already submitted a probe report to the main committee, asking it to recover Tk 35 lakh from Sircar, Akhtar Hamid and Delwar, which they took as medical bills illegally.Both Sircar and Delwar have refuted the allegations and questioned the authority of the probe body to investigate the alleged corruption against them. Akhtar Hamid is now behind bars.

Sramik Dal leader killed

Jahangir Kabir, 48, a local leader of Sramik Dal and general secretary of Khulna city unit of PDB workers' union, was stabbed to death yesterday at Banargati under Sonadanga police station. Sources said, the murder was a sequel to a dispute over theft of a cell phone owned by the victim. Police said, Kabir was severely stabbed in his neck and chest. He died on way to hospital. The killer, however, managed to flee.

Increase budget allocation

Demand physically challenged people in Rajshahi

Physically challenged people have demanded at least two percent allocation in the upcoming budget for 2009-10 fiscal year to ensure rights of around 1.50 crore of their kind in the country.Ensuring rights and welfare of the disabled people are responsibility of the government as the constitution ensures equal rights for all citizens, they said at a press conference at the auditorium of Rajshahi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) yesterday.Assisted by Action on Disability and Development (ADD), Badhan Protibandhi Sangstha and Jatiya Trinomul Protibandhi Sangstha organised the press conference at the auditorium of Rajshahi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI).In the previous 2008-09 budget, the government allocated some 0.07 percent amounting to around Tk 100 crore for development of the disabled people.Now increased allocation is needed to fight social prejudice and injustices against the people with disabilities, speakers at the press conference said.The disabled people presented a 12-point demand including allocation of Tk 50 crore for providing equipment like wheel chairs, crutches, white sticks, hearing aids and artificial legs, Tk 10 crore for legal assistance to victimised disabled women, Tk 10 crore for sports and cultural activities and Tk 5 crore allocations from the SME sector for assistance to disabled entrepreneurs.They also demanded 10 percent of the education allocations for the disabled students, introducing stipend for them up to degree level, special quota in higher education and service sectors, special facilities in transportation and land registration and health allowances for pregnant mothers with disabilities.Physically challenged Nargis Akter Sharifa read out a written statement at the press conference.Sheikh Abu Tareque Mukul, convenor of Badhan Protibandhi Sangstha, M Saidur Rahman of NGDO, Sarker Helaluzzaman, area coordinator of ADD and Hezzy Smith of Harvard Project on Disability spoke, among others.

20 hurt in AL-BNP clash

At least 20 people were injured in a clash between the activists of ruling Awami League (AL) and BNP at Atigram village in Mirpur upazila on Monday night. The clash erupted over establishing supremacy in the area, sources said. According to police, nephew of AL leader Altaf Ali beat up Saidul Islam, son of BNP leader and former chairman of Chatian Union Parishad (UP) Jamal Uddin at Chatian bazar in the afternoon. As the news spread, two rival groups locked in a fight for about an hour leaving at least 20 activists of both groups injured.

Arms, bullets recovered

Kotwali police yesterday recovered two firearms and 27 bullets from a water body in Sree Angayan area of the town. The items include an SBLL foreign gun, one shooter gun, 10 shotgun bullets and 17 Chinese rifle bullets.

Rajshahi bus strike disrupts road links

Rajshahi bus owners and workers went on an indefinite strike yesterday to press for their 10-point demand, disrupting road communications between Rajshahi and rest of the country.The demands include security of bus drivers and workers on roads, shifting of BRTC bus depot from the city's Kumarpara to an outer spot, stoppage of double-decker BRTC bus service on inter-upazila routes and ban on shallow-engine driven human hauler.Bus services to and from Rajshahi came to halt and ticket counters remained closed yesterday, causing immense sufferings to the passengers. Trucks and tank Lorries were also off the city streets. Stick-welding bus owners and workers brought out a procession and paraded different city streets. They also intercepted two BRTC buses at Talaimari point as the buses were trying to enter the city. Escorted by Rab personnel, a few BRTC buses managed to ply from the city outskirts. Rajshahi Sarak Paribahan Group, Bas Owners Association, Motor Sramik Union, Truck workers Union and Tempo workers Union jointly called the strike as angry mob set a bus afire at Nawhata on May 12 following a road accident that left two people dead. Meanwhile, hundreds of people staged a demonstration in the city last month against the private bus owners and workers blaming them for making passengers hostage on roads.They also alleged the private bus owners are hatching conspiracy to stop BRTC buses, which provide better service for the passengers.

Karnaphuli workers on strike for pay hike

Workers' strike at different ghats of Karnaphuli River continued for the second day yesterday. Around 3,000 workers began an indefinite strike and refrained from unloading of imported goods, mostly essential commodities, from lighter vessels anchored at 16 ghats along the Karnaphuli river on Tuesday morning demanding pay hike.However, unloading of cargoes from 26 vessels out of 36 at the outer anchorage was done yesterday. Water Transport Co-ordination Cell (WTCC) Secretary Commodore (retd) AZ Nizam said the strike had no impact on the unloading of cargoes at the outer anchorage.A scheduled meeting between workers and contractors to resolve the issue could not be held yesterday morning, as contractors did not participate in it, sources said. Abdul Khaleque, general secretary of Chittagong Ghat and Godown Workers Union, said they joined the meeting and waited for the leaders of the contractors but no one came.

Farmers use family men to save labour cost

Bid to Minimise Boro Loss in N-dists

Farmers in many northern districts are using family labour for harvesting paddy to save the cost for day labourers as the production cost has already exceeded the market price in this season.Farmers said they have to incur loss of Tk 100 to Tk 150 a maund (40kg) as paddy is selling for only Tk 400 to Tk 450 whereas the average production cost stands at Tk 550. Under the government's current paddy and rice procurement drive, the price of a kg of Boro paddy has been fixed at Tk 14. Accordingly, a farmer is supposed to get around Tk 560 for one maund of paddy. But the government's drive seems to work little as the drive is going on at a snail's pace. Taking the advantage of the situation, the middlemen are buying paddy at very low prices.To save Tk 600 to Tk 700 as harvesting cost per bigha, especially small and medium farmers are now cutting, carrying and thrashing paddy with family labour. Even women members of a farmer's family including his wife, daughters and daughters-in-law are going to paddy field for the purpose.Many farmers are now hiring woman day labourers for lower pay.Meanwhile, like other monga-prone areas, the day labourers of Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat districts are now going to distant areas to work in the Boro harvesting season for higher pay. Day labourers are often seen waiting at rail stations or bus stands with small bundles on their heads to go to distant districts for Boro harvesting. Pay for daily labour is higher in different southern and eastern districts, said several day labourers of Parulia and Kakina villages in Lalmonirhat district. “I can bring Tk 5,000 for the family if I work in those places for 15 days,” said Rabiul, a young day labourer.

Stocks continue rising

Dhaka stocks continued its Monday upward trend yesterday, backed by the non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs).The benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSE General Index, rose by 30.32 points, or 1.2 percent to 2,557.09. The DSE All Share Price Index also increased by 23.21 points, or 1.1 percent to 2,128.15.All NBFIs gained yesterday, with most of them rising by more than 5 percent.The news about the NBFIs' BASEL-II coverage by the end of 2010 has propelled the sector forward over the last couple of days with impressive gains.It is expected that the NBFIs will have to increase their capital base to meet the BASEL-II provisions.The pharmaceutical sector also performed well mostly because of the big gains by Square Pharma, the share prices of which increased by 7 percent.The advancers beat the losers 162 to 73. Ten securities remained unchanged.A total of 2,72,09,615 shares worth Tk 477.16 crore changed hands on the premier bourse.Beximco topped the turnover leaders, with 19,13,700 traded shares worth Tk 57.11 crore, followed by Summit Power, Titas Gas, S Alam Cold Rolled Steels, Bextex, LankaBangla Finance, Beximco Pharma, Union Capital, Summit Alliance Port and Shinepukur Ceramics.Chittagong stocks also marked a rise yesterday. The CSE Selective Categories Index gained by 79.75 points, or 1.48 percent, to 5,448.01. The CSE All Share Index also increased by 118.85 points, or 1.43 percent, to 8,394.03.A total of 47,82,105 shares worth Tk 63.16 crore changed hands on the port city bourse. Of the traded scrips, 98 advanced, 60 declined and two remained unchanged.Beximco topped the turnover leaders with 2,30,800 shares worth Tk 6.87 crore being traded. The day's other turnover leaders were Beximco Pharma, Shinepukur Ceramics, Summit Power, AB Bank, LankaBangla Finance, Summit Alliance Port, Union Capital, Beximco Synthetics and Titas Gas.

Digital Bangladesh

Bangladesh has grown in various dimensions since independence its population doubled, its grain production tripled, its economy multiplied 10-fold but there is one valuable resource that has not grown at all because it cannot grow on its own our landmass. Bangladesh has a landmass of 144,000 sq km, which is more or less static over time (despite hopes of gaining land from coastal siltation). As the number of people is rising and our per capita income is also growing, the demands on the fixed landmass is escalating faster and faster making this scarce resource all the more scarce. No wonder we are seeing land prices skyrocketing like at no other time in recent memory. Measure for measure, a strip of land on Gulshan Avenue is more expensive than a parcel of land on the Las Vegas Strip, presumably one of the choicest places on earth for commercial property. Despite the high cost of land and its relative paucity compared to our large population (we are already one of the most densely populated countries in the world) it's nothing less than amazing that a complete inventory of our land resources is still not done. Our land ownership records are still maintained in the archaic ways handed down to us from more than a century ago. The age-old system of land-record keeping and its management is so faulty that fraudsters and tricksters are having a field day in this country for a long time. I previously wrote about how the land transfer records, ownership records and taxation records are maintained by three separate government agencies without any mutual accountability among them. As a result, land ownership disputes have grown exponentially over the years, so much so that legal experts estimate that a staggering four-fifths of all litigations are land-ownership related.Now, keeping land ownership records is that so difficult a task one may wonder. The simple answer is no. Throughout the world computer-based record keeping has greatly facilitated land records management in the last 30 years. Within our vicinity, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand have already achieved simplicity and efficiency in land records management. There is no rhyme or reason why we should not be able to emulate our neighbours on this. In fact, we should have been ahead of our neighbours in this area since land records computerisation pilots were undertaken in our country since the mid-eighties. Do we ever wonder why in so many places we never seem to graduate out of the pilot phase even though the benefits are so obvious?There have been some progress though; the developments are far too slow and too little compared to what is needed to root out the evils in land-records management. These days, if you need a land-ownership record (called a 'porcha'), the Department of Land Records and Survey (DLRS) office gives you a computer generated printout in place of the hand written 'porchas' of the past. This has reduced the time from more than a week in the past to a couple of days at present. The process can be further expedited by automating the actual 'porcha' application process, which remains manual.The immediate past DG of DLRS (the current executive director of Bangladesh Computer Council) took up a project to publish the 'porchas' online through their website, www.dgdlrs.gov.bd. DLRS sources say more than 40,000 porchas of Dhaka City are already uploaded on this site. There have also been a number of proof-of-concept computerisation projects for land revenue collection as well as land ownership records and maps management in the last five years. The DLRS management appears convinced of the merit of computerisation and committed to mainstreaming the adoption of information technology in their operations immediately. They have proposed a Tk 3,000 crore plan to computerise all land records of the country in the next five years. On the other hand, the registration processes of land title transfer deeds under the Inspector General of Registration (IGR) are being amended to require more definitive proofs of land ownership and possession. In the past the requirements were very lax in this regard. The Law Ministry (the line ministry of IGR) is known to be considering computerised archiving of registered deeds for faster retrieval and cross checking, where necessary.For an effective land administration system, however, a seamless computer-based land information system will be required that interconnects the computer systems of the DLRS, IGR, and district administration offices. This way, when a land-ownership transfer deed is registered on the computer system at the sub-registry office, the ownership record at the district revenue administration office (ownership title changes called 'mutation' are done here) and at the DLRS office (for issuing up-to-date 'porcha') will be updated contemporaneously. In Kolkata these days, this whole process takes less than an hour. In Dhaka it can take years. It can however be done here in a few minutes also provided the government and the ruling party are fully committed to making this happen. And, by the way, it can all be done without large sums of money from the exchequer. The computer-based land administration system can generate more than enough revenue from the expedited and hassle-free services to pay for itself through build-operate-and-transfer (BOT) financing schemes in partnership with the private sector. With the current finance minister contemplating a public-private-partnership (PPP) allocation in the ensuing budget, may be this is the route 'Digital Bangladesh' will take in modernising its land administration system.

Ecnec okays 4 projects of Tk 426cr

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) in its meeting yesterday approved four development projects involving a total cost of Tk 426 crore to be financed from local resources.Held in the NEC conference room, the meeting approved a revised project on construction of Kashimpur High-Security Prison, having a capacity of accommodating 1,000 convicts, Planning Minister AK Khandakar told a press briefing after the meeting.He said the project started in 2006 but could not be completed due to non-availability of funds as per schedule.Other projects approved are the incomplete Mymensingh town bypass road, incomplete bridges project under Roads and Highways department and a project on construction of 10 bridges along Sylhet-Salutikor-Companyganj-Bholaganj road.Prime Minister and Ecnec Chairperson Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting that adopted an obituary reference on the death of noted nuclear scientist Dr MA Wazed Miah. The planning minister focused on the contribution of Wazed Miah to the development of nuclear science in Bangladesh.

Rahimafrooz to start carbon trading

Rahimafrooz will start commercial carbon trading from May 2010 for the first time in the country by achieving carbon emission reduction (CER) standard with an aim to earn $100 million a year.“Carbon trading will provide monetary reward and facilitate the focus to reduce emission in every activity in our economy and bring the country to the global carbon commerce market worth $100 billion,” said Munawar Misbah Moin, managing director of Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Ltd.“We are optimistic about earning $100 million a year from the global carbon commerce market. This will also help the country's role in addressing global warming and climate change issues,” he added.Bangladesh Carbon, a clean development mechanism (CDM)-based carbon trading service of Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy, and Carbon Planet, an Australian company, yesterday signed an agreement in this regard. Munawar Misbah Moin, managing director of Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy, and Haris Chaudry, director (Carbon Commerce Division for Asia and Africa) of Carbon Planet, signed the deal. Moin said initially the project design document of CER is to be submitted to the government for approval and then Designated Operational Entity, a UN-approved agency, will validate it.The CDM Executive Board in Geneva, Switzerland, then registers the project.Currently, there are two companies -- Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies and Waste Concern BD -- working with CDM projects in the country. Another 2 projects are under validation from CDM Executive Board.Md Mostafizur Rahman, state minister for environment, said the government would consider a public-private partnership to promote carbon trading in near future.Dr Justin Lee, Australian high commissioner, and Feroz Rahim, group managing director of Rahimafrooz, were also present at the agreement signing ceremony.

Business leaders favour PPP funds

Chamber leaders and businessmen think the concept of a public-private partnership (PPP) budget is encouraging, as the local investors would have opportunities to participate in the development of infrastructures for smooth running of businesses.Finance Minister AMA Muhith in his pre-budget parleys with different stakeholders, including FBCCI and MCCI, made an assurance that a substantial amount of fund would be earmarked for PPP in the upcoming budget to execute power and other uplift projects.Complaints over the nagging power and gas crisis from the industrial sector are piling up at different ministries and government agencies. Thriving industries, especially the readymade garments (RMG) sector, are suffering due to the absence of such facilities. "In fact, we placed the proposal to execute projects on PPP basis to ensure better management," said Annisul Huq, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, pointing to the present weak state of infrastructure, a major impediment to industrial growth."We can at least start a few projects under the PPP fund to see whether the option is feasible or not," He said. "In some cases, the government can also be a partner by providing fallow land for development. But, the government must give a very viable policy framework for making the PPP concept effective." he the FBCCI chief added.Welcoming the idea Abdul Hafiz Chaudhury, president of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), said the government should formulate a guideline in this connection first.The PPP fund could pay dividends in several ways, as the total fund is an internal resource. he said."The government should come up with such proposals as many local investors have idle money to spare," Chaudhury added. Welcoming a PPP budget, Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said, "The government should go for short, mid and long-term solutions to power crisis," Murshedy said.MA Awal, chairman of Prime Group of Industries, one of the leading textile and RMG manufacturers, said the government can buy 500 MW of power within a year from the industry owners' captive power plants by using such funds.Fazlul Hoque, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said the government can at least start some pilot projects under the PPP fund, and if it works, major projects can then be undertaken. "Of course the concept is encouraging as the involvement of the local investors in development process is ensured," Hoque said.

Shrimp exports to EU suspended for 6 months

Exports of fresh water shrimp, second biggest foreign currency earner, to the European Union face a suspension for the next six months in the wake of cancellation of more than 50 consignments to the region due to the detection of health hazardous antibiotic-nitrofuran since January this year, officials said yesterday.“It's a voluntary restraint by the exporters who have agreed not to export fresh water shrimp until resolution of the problem,” said a top government official who attended an inter-ministerial meeting on the issue yesterday.The meeting, also attended by stakeholders of the shrimp industry, was held after buyers from the EU area detected presence of nitrofuran antibiotic in more than 50 consignments of fresh water shrimp (Galda) exported from Bangladesh.The total value of the consignments stands around more than Tk 60 crore, exporters said.“We have taken decision of not exporting galda(fresh water shrimp) to European Union for the next six months. But we will continue exporting other shrimps to this region,” Kazi Shahnewaz, acting president of Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA) told The Daily Star.Shahnewaz said the halt to galda exports to the EU will be effective from June 1.He, however, claimed that that the move would not hurt the sector in the long run. Officials at the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Ministry said the decision will be effective with immediate effect and no new application for export of fresh water shrimp to the EU will be accepted. Exports of salt-water shrimp or bagda will not fall under the suspension move, officials claimed.The latest move of halting exports came as a pre-emptive measure to avoid any sanction by the EU authority.After registering a growth of 3.64 percent in the fiscal year 2007-08, exports of frozen foods, mainly shrimp, now faces a slack period as the global financial meltdown bites demand. Export from the sector fell by 13.01 percent to $355.67 million during July-March of the current fiscal year from $ 408.87 million a year ago.Stakeholders said the health hazardous element comes from feeds, although the use of nitrofuran is prohibited in Bangladesh, with some suspecting that the element is coming through illegal channel of trade.“We have agreed in principle to suspend export of fresh water shrimp for the next six months,” said Maqsudur Rahman, the BFFEA vice president.Maqsudur said exporters will strengthen their monitoring activities as well as initiating awareness campaign among farmers to encourage them to avoid using feeds having nitrofuran.A foreign consultant is expected to be assigned for investigation into the source of contamination. Steps will also be taken to examine the water and soil of the shrimp farming areas, officials said.

Siddons targets India

Bangladesh national cricket team have tar-getted beating India in their first match of the ICC World Twenty20s in England and are all set to depart amidst some modest but important concerns from coach Jamie Siddons.Siddons's biggest worry is the lack of international exposure that the Tigers have had ahead of the tournament and he believes that it is a worrying factor as the players have not faced quality bowling attacks in the recent past."Definitely it's a cause for concern for us since we haven't faced world-class opponents for some time now. The boys have played plenty of domestic cricket and in Chittagong but they haven't faced good fast bowlers and the practice matches we have played are good but not really world-class," said Siddons. Bangladesh team will fly out for London on May 23. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have scheduled a seven-day training camp at Wormsley, which includes three unofficial practice matches against New Zealand on May 26, Netherlands on May 28 (Canterbury) and against Scotland on May 29.Captain Mohammad Ashraful and vice-captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza will join the squad in Wormsley a day after the team arrives in England as they would first travel from South Africa to Dhaka and then catch a flight to London on May 24.Bangladesh's official practice matches are against Australia on June 1 and Sri Lanka on June 4 at Trent Bridge.Bangladesh have been pitted in Group A along with defending champions India and ICC associate member Ireland in the second version of the ICC World Twenty20s which will begin on June 5. Ashraful's men face India on June 6 and Ireland on June 8 at Trent Bridge.Siddons is happy with his schedule of practice matches but felt that it would have been better if the side were pitted against more quality bowling line-ups. "I hope the five practice matches will help us recover all that we have missed but again, we are facing the likes of Scotland who also don't have fast bowlers to push us. So I hope we pick up the pace sooner so that we are ready for the challenge ahead," added the coach.Siddons did not just point out India as an early kill but also explained that reaching the second round and living up to the Tiger's name of giant killers were equally important."Anyone can win in a Twenty20 game and anyone can get knocked over. But we are hoping to beat India in our first game and we are not too worried about our second game against Ireland. Realistically we want to get to the Super Eights and once we are there we want to be the giant killers that people think we are. But we don't want any games to be a fluke; I'd rather want them to be genuine victories for us. It's bit of a cliché but we are trying to beat India first, that's our main target," said Siddons.On the issue of whether captain Ashraful and his deputy Mashrafe have missed out on some valuable preparation ahead of the competition, the coach kept his fingers crossed and considered the practice matches will be good enough for them to turn in some good performances. "I pushed for Mash (Mashrafe Bin Mortaza) and Ash (Mohammad Ashraful) to join the squad early as it's important to gel together as a team. It's a big sacrifice on their part as they are going to come here and just a day later they will fly out to England. "They are not getting the match practice they need at the moment so its important for them to join us for the practice games in England. If they have some success they will be ready. Ashraful holds the key for us to win games as he is the number three batter and it's important for him to fire early on if we want to win games," added the Australian.The rookies in the team Shamsur Rahman and Mohammad Mithun look forward to making the playing eleven in their debut season but the shaven-headed coach thinks they need to work on a few things before they can sustain their careers at the international stage."I haven't seen too much of the two new boys although we have been working with them. They have got issues as most of the guys who have gone through our system have had like backlift and stuff but I am not toying too much with them and just letting them play their instinctive game. "But for them to be long term players a few changes need to be made and then there's the added pressure of facing the media and meet the board members and cameras in their faces; its all so nerve wracking. We just need to give them some time and they will be okay," said Siddons.

Tigers end prep poorly

The Tigers ended their preparation at home poorly when they suffered a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Maharashtra Cricket Association in the third and final practice match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday ahead of their departure to play the ICC World Twenty20s in England.The batting of Jamie Siddons's charges, who won the first Twenty20 game by 63 runs under the BCB XI banner, were found wanting in the final game against a mediocre attack as the local side were dismissed for only 117 in 19.1 overs after deciding to bat first.BCB XI lost opener Mohammad Mithun in the very first over as the right-hander continued his bad form since joining the Tigers squad. His opening partner Tamim Iqbal started well but could manage only 21 runs in 14 balls with four boundaries.At one stage the home side, who played the last match without Shakib Al Hasan, were stumbling at 40 for 6 but stand-in skipper Mushfiqur Rahim and Nayeem Islam saved their blushes by added 60 runs for the seventh wicket.Wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur made 28-ball 39 and Nayeem added a 33-ball 27 but their effort was not good enough to put up a fighting total. MCA skipper Harshad Khadiwale played yet another stroke-filled knock, a 47-ball 62, that contained seven fours and a six, as Maharashtra reached the target of 118 by losing just three wickets.Coach Jamie Siddons however seemed unperturbed with his side's poor finish at home. "I don't think we batted too badly. A lot of players made 25 of 20 balls. On this wicket it doesn't really matter who you play and obviously it's not a wicket for 180 runs. We lost a lot of wickets and could not recover. Our boys tried to score quickly and got out," defended Siddons."I am happy that all the batters are getting practice and every batsmen have got runs here and there except for the two new ones," he added.Mushfiqur admitted that they threw away their wickets against weak opponents but hoped that everything would be okay in England."It was difficult to defend this small total, especially when we played the match without Shakib and Razzak. We threw away our wickets but there is nothing to be worried as we have some practice matches in England before the start of the World Cup," he said.SCORES IN BRIEF BCB XI: 117 all out in 19.1 overs (Tamim 21, Mithun 0, Zunaed 10, Rokibul 1, Shamsur 1, Riyad 0, Mushfiqur 39, Nayeem 27, Shahadat 4, Rasel 7, Rubel 0 not out, extras 7; Samad 1-13, Srikant 4-22, Kiran 3-23, Aditya 1-15).MAHARASHTRA: 118-3 in 17.5 overs (Harshad 62, Rohan 1, Ameye 31, Srikant 11 not out, Digamber 6 not out, extras 7; Rasel 1-24, Rubel 1-15, Shahadat 1-23)Result: Maharashtra won by seven wickets.

ICC World Twenty20 , Their T20 with media

Given their reticence, it is uncommon for any of the national cricketers to speak with the reporters so when the entire national cricket team turned up to face the media yesterday, it yielded interesting results for both parties.The occasion was the ICC World Twenty20 for which the Bangladesh team will take off for London on May 23, and a few of the team members are new to the national fold and absolutely raw when it comes to facing the media. Remarkably, even the more experienced ones find talking to the media troublesome but then there are a few who talk openly and eloquently enough to sound reasonable.To the surprise of many, the introverted Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim delighted the journalists with their wise replies. The two BKSP lads have come a long way from the days when they were said to be difficult with the media. "We have specific goals for the team like starting well and how to finish an innings but if we can't fulfil them, we will think differently," said the world's No. 1 ODI all-rounder. Mushfiqur was bold enough to suggest that he wasn't happy with the practice in Dhaka but reminded everyone that their first match opponents should remember the Tigers. "India are a big team and probably the favourites but for what happened in 2007 [World Cup in West Indies], they will keep us on mind," said the baby-faced wicketkeeper.Among the new boys, Mohammad Mithun seemed confident enough but for Shamsur Rahman and Rubel Hossain, it was nothing short of an ordeal. The same goes for some of the older boys in the group who bank on obvious lines even when pressed with a difficult question. They would merely mention their targets, an obvious question, and fend off the harder ones with some difficulty. 'I will try to do well' is a favourite for this shy lot while some simply inform what they are, a batting or bowling all-rounder.This sort is a nightmare for the journalists who always stay in the lookout for stories with unique angles. Yesterday it was all going downhill until Tamim Iqbal, Shahadat Hossain and to some extent Nayeem Islam came to the rescue."Look, if I bowl at the same pace Yusuf Pathan will send me out of the ground. But not me, he will dispatch my ball!" quipped the easy-going Shahadat who informed that he himself couldn't hit the ball a long way.Tamim's little quip in third person could be taken as a slight sense of arrogance but it's quickly covered by his witty persona. "Nobody knew Tamim, but Tamim also didn't know Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma," jibed the left-hander when asked about the loss of his surprise factor.But before the likes of Tamim, Shahadat, Shakib and Mushfiqur got to the dais, their teammate Nayeem Islam turned heads with his icy counter when asked about concerns with his strike-rate. Nayeem's outburst stunned many who know him as a quiet chap.Coach Jamie Siddons however believed that some of the new boys find it difficult to cope with the pressures of media and officials when they play at home. "I think they are in some pressure when they play at home with the media around but look how Tamim (Iqbal) and Shakib (Al Hasan) have managed everything," said Siddons.

Rohingya rebels trained JMB men

Investigators glean it from Boma Mizan; Huji too received training from the RSO

Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) had close links with Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), an insurgent group in the Myanmarese state of Arakan, JMB explosives expert 'Boma Mizan' revealed in interrogations.Sources close to Rab interrogators said Mizan and some other JMB operatives received training from RSO arms experts in a camp near Myanmar border in 2002.Now executed JMB chief Shaekh Abdur Rahman sent them for the training. In exchange for arms training, JMB's explosives experts trained RSO men to improvise and detonate bombs and grenades.Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami (Huji) Bangladesh, another outlawed Islamist outfit, too had strong connections with RSO. Officials from the police, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and some intelligence agencies have been interrogating Mizan, who is on a seven-day remand after being captured by Rab on May 14.The sources said JMB military wing's former chief Ataur Rahman Sunny and activist Galib are among those trained by arms experts of the Rohingyan outfit.Sunny was executed in March 2007 along with five other militant kingpins including his brother Abdur Rahman and JMB operations commander Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai. Galib is behind bars. "Mizan said their training from RSO was conducted somewhere in Chittagong hill tracts and lasted 10 days. He did not give anymore details," an investigator told The Daily Star in return for anonymity.Mizan and the others, who took training from RSO, later trained JMB operatives across the country, said the investigator.Shaekh Abdur Rahman himself would used to liaise with RSO. He would also maintain ties with Huji. Some persons claiming to be former Huji men told this correspondent that in the late 80s and 90s many of their fellow operatives took arms training from Rohingya rebels.They said the RSO men trained the Huji operatives in greater Chittagong, particularly in deep forest of the hill districts.RSO had some make-shift camps for their shelter and training. A good number of RSO-trained Huji cadres went to Arakan to fight for the Rohingyas, they added.Sources said Huji took RSO help in securing weapons as well as funds. The Rohingyan group had extensive supplies of arms, and for funds it would count on a number of Muslim-majority countries especially those in the Middle East.Meanwhile, an investigator said Mizan had taught around 25 JMB operatives how to make and set off bombs.He received explosives training from JMB bomb expert Shakil alias Mollah Omar. Omar got killed in a shootout with Rab and three of his family members in explosions meant to resist the raid on their hideout in Comilla town on March 13, 2006.He was trained by Shaekh Rahman, who had received training in explosives from militant organisations in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Boy drowns in pond

A two-year old boy drowned in a pond at village Bakchara in Sadar upazila yesterday. Nayan, son Mintu Mali, fell into the pond when he was playing near it, locals said. Villagers recovered his floating body from the pond.

Tigers killing, getting killed for years

Incidents of killings by Sundarbans tigers and deaths of man-eating feline are going on around the mangrove forest as for years as the authorities concerned remain indifferent to saving their lives. At least 120 fishermen, woodcutters and honey collectors were killed by the ferocious cats while 16 man-eaters were beaten to death by the villagers as they entered localities in the last 10 years. According to forest officials, 12 fishermen, woodcutters or honey collectors were killed by tigers in 1999, 22 in 2000, 11 in 2001, nine in 2002, 18 in 2003, 15 in 2004, eight in 2005, 10 in 2006 and 13 were killed in each year in 2007 and 2008.During the period, four tigers were killed in 1999, five in 2000, two in 2001, three in 2003 and one tiger each in 2004 and 2008. While talking to this correspondent a member of poor fishermen, woodcutters and honey collectors said they have no other alternative to going to the forest knowing well about the looming danger as they are dependent solely on the forest resources. They urged the authorities concerned to take measures to save their lives in the Sundarbans.Contacted, assistant forest officer (AFO) Rajesh Chakma said, 'Despite all good intentions we are helpless. We cannot ensure security of their lives for lack of necessary staffs and sophisticated arms."

Four suspected JMB militants sent to jail

Four suspected cadres of outlawed Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), arrested on Sunday night, were sent to jail yesterday. The arrestees are Shakil Hasan, 31, of Gradoba village in Gangni upazila of Meherpur, Zahidul Islam, 30, of Durgapur village in Matlab upazila of Chandpur, Shimul Hossain, 21, of Binni village and Atiqur Rahman, 26, of Shraftala village in Harinakundu upazila of Jhenidah.

Man eater kills two fishermen in Satkhira

SATKHIRA, May18: Two fishermen were killed by Royal Bengal Tigers while they were catching fish and crab at Shapkhali and Kateshwar canals in the Sundarbans under Shymnagar upazila in the district during the last two days, reports BSS.The victims was identified as Shahinur Rahman Gazi, 35, son of Abul Gazi of village Matiabhanga under Koyra upazila of Khulna district and Kadom Ali, 50, son of Munsur Ali Khan of village Chandnimukha under Shymnagar upazila of Satkhira.Family members of the victims and forest department sources said, Shahinur Rahman with four of his associates went to the Sundarbans with legal pass for catching crabs a few days ago. On the fateful day while they were catching crab in Shapkhali canal on Sunday suddenly a man eater Tiger jumped on them and took Shahinur away in the deep Forest.In another incident, a man eater killed fisherman Kadom Ali while he was fishing in Kateshwar canal under the same upazila today.Later, their relatives with the help of the forest guards recovered the mutilated bodies from the deep forest. While contacted assistant conservator of forest, Satkhira Range Rajesh Chakma confirmed the incident.

Morshed, Monju get HC bail

The High Court Monday granted bails to two bigwig graft convicts former, Communications Minister Anwar Hossain Manju of JP and Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan of BNP, in graft cases, reports UNB. A division bench comprising Justice MA Wahhab Mian and Justice M Marzi-ul-Huq passed the orders following separate petitions.The bails will remain valid until the disposal of their appeals pending with the High Court against their sentence and conviction awarded by trial courts, according to the HC orders.Tried in absentia amid a crackdown on graft suspects after the 1/11 changeover, Manju was jailed for 32 years in separate cases, including bribery and amassing wealth illegally, while Morshed Khan was sentenced to 13 years for accumulating wealth illegally.In compliance with the recent Supreme Court orders, fugitive convicts Manju and Morshed surrendered to the lower courts on May 6 and 10 respectively. The courts sent them to jail for serving the sentences denying their bail prayers. Both the convicts filed separate bail petitions from the jail before the High Court in compliance with the recent Supreme Court orders that had asked the fugitive convicts to surrender to their respective trial courts. Earlier, the High Court refused to grant bails to a dozen of bigwig fugitive convicts as they sought bails in corruption cases after surrender to it by dodging their respective trial courts.

BNP dist, city unit bodies except Dhaka finalised

The convening committees of opposition BNP''s district and city units, except Dhaka city unit, have been approved by the party standing committee after a series of its meetings since Saturday.According to a party policymaker, the terms and references of the convening committees would be finalized at the adjourned standing committee meeting scheduled to sit this (Monday) evening. The standing committee, the highest policymaking body of the party, on Saturday held a marathon meeting to approve the convening committees. The meeting ultimately gave approval to the convening committees of district and city units of four divisions - Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and Barishal. Later, the meeting was adjourned till Sunday 7:30pm.Talking to UNB over phone this afternoon, BNP standing committee member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said the convening committees of all district and city units under six divisions, except Dhaka city unit, got the final approval by the standing committee. He said the new convening committees with one convenor and some joint convenors, except the Dhaka city unit, would be announced by this week.Dr Mosharraf said Sunday''s meeting which continued till midnight and adjourned for today (Monday) approved the convening committees of district and city units of Dhaka and Chittagong divisions sans Dhaka city unit. The Dhaka city unit is considered vital in the arithmetic of politics and the party''s heavyweights, particularly two antagonists, former Minister and present BNP joint secretary general Mirza Abbas and Dhaka city Mayor and former Dhaka city BNP president Sadeq Hossain Khoka are in the race to capture the top post of the unit. Dr Mosharraf said today''s (Monday''s) standing committee meeting would discuss and finalize the terms and references of the convening committees.The district convening committees would be assigned to constitute new committees of the party''s union and upazila units through councils within a deadline. The party national council would be held on completion of the councils of district, upazila and union units. About Dhaka city unit convening committee, Mosharraf said the matter is yet to come on the table for discussion. All eyes of the party leaders and workers across the country are on the new convening committee which is important for having its future leaders against the backdrop of two-pronged shock of the January 11, 2007 changeover, including the reformists from inside the party and the debacle in the December 29 general election.The announcement of the new convening committees of the party''s 75 organizational district units was supposed to be made by the third or the fourth week of April last. But it did not happen due to last-minute lobbying anti-lobbying, dispute and counter dispute by the party bigwigs to include their men and in some cases a number of senior leaders themselves became candidates for the post of convenor of politically vital districts and units as well as due to some recent political developments, according to the party insiders. A four-member subcommittee of the standing committee, headed by BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, reviewed for about two months the reports of opinions of grassroots-level leaders to revamp the party as well as to constitute the district and city convening committees

Lankan rebel leader killed

The announcement on state television came shortly after the military said it had surrounded Prabhakaran in a tiny patch of jungle in the north-east. The head of the Sri Lankan army Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka said the military had defeated the rebels and "liberated the entire country". The claims cannot be verified as reporters are barred from the war zone. "Today we finished the work handed to us by the president to liberate the country from the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)," Gen Fonseka said in the broadcast. Sri Lankan forces had routed the rebels in the past few weeks, over-running their territory and bringing the 26-year war to its conclusion. The broadcast quoted military officials as saying Prabhakaran was killed along with two of his deputies. It said Prabhakaran, his intelligence chief Pottu Amman and Soosai, the head of the rebels'' naval wing, were shot dead in an ambush in the Mullivaikal district while trying to escape the war zone in an ambulance. Earlier, at least three senior rebel leaders were killed, including Prabhakaran''s eldest son, Charles Anthony, the military said. State TV broadcast images of what it said was Charles Anthony''s body. Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara confirmed Prabhakaran''s death, saying 250 Tamil Tigers were also killed overnight.The government''s information department also sent news of Prabhakaran''s death by text message to mobile phones across the country. In the past few days, the LTTE had been hemmed into a 300 sq metre (3,230 sq ft) patch of land - a tiny part of the 15,000 sq km territory they had controlled until recently. The BBC''s world affairs correspondent Adam Mynott says Prabhakaran was a shadowy figure, constantly under the threat of arrest or assassination. He says he fashioned a ruthless and uncompromising fighting force, which assassinated several Sri Lankan political leaders and the former Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Ghandi. Under Prabhakaran''s leadership the LTTE was branded a terrorist organisation by many countries, and he was wanted by Interpol - the global police network - for murder, terrorism, organised crime and conspiracy. Sources in the UN say significant numbers of civilians were still in the combat zone but the Sri Lankan government said all civilians had left. There have been street celebrations in the capital, Colombo, but also an angry demonstration against Britain, with protestors accusing it of seeking to help the rebels by earlier calling for a ceasefire. More than 1,000 Sri Lankans protested outside the British High Commission. Some protesters threw stones and burnt an effigy of UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband. A High Commission spokesman said it was "an outrage" that the Sri Lankan authorities let the demonstration become so violent. The Tigers had been fighting for a separate state for Tamils in the north and east of Sri Lanka since the 1970s. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict and thousands displaced.

Criminals take on law enforcers in 4 city gunfights

Four gunfights between law enforcers and criminals took place in the city's Gulshan, Pallabi, Mirpur and Turag areas yesterday leaving an alleged mugger killed and four other criminals wounded. In an incident, Mohammad Manik, 32, was killed in a shootout between police and his cohorts on Banani Staff Road in Gulshan early yesterday.Police said they chased a gang of five to six muggers when they were trying to rob a pedestrian at around 12:30 am.The muggers opened fire on the law enforcers who also retaliated it leading to a gunfight, a sub-inspector of Gulshan Police Station said.They found Manik with bullet wounds after the criminals fled the scene, he added.Manik was rushed to National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) where he died in the afternoon.In another incident, two alleged muggers Shamim and Rubel were wounded in a shootout between police and the gang in Pallabi area at about 1:00 am. Police said the criminals opened fire on them in a bid to snatch one of their accomplices from the law enforcers. The law enforcers also shot back starling a gunfight and Shamim and Rubel were found with bullet wounds after the criminals left the spot, police said.They were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). Talking to The Daily Star at DMCH, Shamim claimed himself to be a tea vendor while Rubel, an electrician.Yet in another incident, one criminal was wounded in a gunfight between Rab and his cohorts in the city's Turag area yesterday.Rab said, the criminals opened fire on Rab men when they raided the house of drug peddler Nazmul Hasan to recover arms. A gunfight ensued that left Eqramul Islam Babu wounded, it added.Later, Rab held Babu along with two pistols, 41 bullets and three snatched mobile phone sets. In Mirpur, mugger Rabiul Islam Babu was wounded in another shootout between Rab and his accomplices near Bangladesh Krishi Bank Institute at about 2:30 am.Some muggers opened fire on the law enforcers when they chased them. When Rab shot back, Babu received bullet wounds. His accomplices, however, managed to leave the spot. Babu was held along with a pistol and four bullets.

591 more BDR jawans arrested

A total of 591 Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) jawans were arrested at different units in ten districts on charge of staging mutiny following the Pilkhana carnage on February 25-26.Police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) made the arrests after filing sedition cases against the suspected mutineers. The arrested border guards were later sent to jails in districts concerned following court orders.Of the arrestees, 106 were apprehended at Teknaf in Cox's Bazar, 93 at Rajshahi, 78 at Khagrachhari, 44 at Jamalpur, 23 at Sunamganj, 72 at Netrakona, 53 at Naogaon, 43 at Moulvibazar, 30 at Chapainawabganj and 49 more at Mymensingh, according to our correspondents and sources. Meanwhile, a Dhaka court yesterday placed 48 suspected BDR men including arrested Deputy Assistant Director Towhid on remands after Criminal Investigation Department (CID) produced them before the court with remand prayers, reports our court correspondent.Of them, Towhid and two others were placed on three-day remand each and the rest 45 on five days' remand each. Moreover, seven suspected mutineers yesterday confessed to their involvement in the Pilkhana carnage under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. They are sepoys Ziaul Haque, Rashedul Islam, Rabiul Islam, Shahjahan, Atiar Rahman, Abdur Rahim and Saifuddin.Another Dhaka court sent 24 BDR jawans to jail after they were produced before it following their remand.In Teknaf, police and Rab arrested 106 BDR jawans out of 107 accused in the sedition case filed on Sunday. The suspects were arrested at the sector headquarters of 42 Rifles Battalion in the morning.Our staff correspondent in Rajshahi reports: Rajshahi Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's (CMM) Court sent the 93 suspected BDR jawans to jail after they were produced before it.Goalia police chief Ramzan Ali filed the sedition case with the Rajshahi CMM court against the BDR jawans for their 'unruly activities' on February 26 at Rajshahi BDR sector headquarters.The accused border guards reportedly demonstrated on that day and fired injuring a rickshaw-puller.Our Netrakona correspondent reports: Police and Rab arrested 72 BDR suspects after identifying them from video footages of different television channels and photographs published in local and national dailies and on confessional statements made by arrested BDR personnel.In Naogaon, police arrested 53 jawans from two battalions in the district. However, they were also sent to jail following a court order. Our Chapainawabganj correspondent adds: Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court in the district ordered to send the 30 suspected BDR members to jail after police produced them before it yesterday.On February 26, the BDR jawans took control of the camp in the district town and barricaded different roads. BDR jawan Nazrul Islam sustained bullet wound while he was loading his rifle during the mutiny. Our Mymensingh correspondent reports: Police produced 49 BDR personnel of 45 Battalion before a Judicial Magistrate court yesterday. The arrestees included five subedars, eleven havilders and 33 jawans. They were later sent to jail. Police filed the case against the 49 arrestees with Kotwali Police Station on Sunday. They will be produced before the court on June 26, said court sources.

Govt seeks China help to get Harbin going

The Chinese company sitting idle for 18 months as tax dispute with PDB unsettled

As the last resort for a friendly solution, Bangladesh government has sought intervention of the Chinese government to make a Chinese company, Harbin, complete and handover the 90 megawatt three-unit Fenchuganj Power Project that has been remaining idle for more than 18 months following a dispute over payment of taxes, said a top PDB source. In accordance with the government rule, the Power Development Board (PDB) last year deducted 4.5 million US dollars as payment of taxes to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) from the 83 million dollar power project. Harbin claimed the contract was tax-free.Clause 55.01 (b) of the contract signed in September 2005 says, "The contractor shall pay all income tax, super tax, corporate tax, VAT, and all other taxes of similar nature on income earned in Bangladesh arising out of both foreign and local currency portions of the contract price, which shall be deducted at the source as per the existing rule of the government."NBR scrutinised Harbin's claim and decided that it has no validity. "NBR clearly told Harbin that it would have to pay the taxes," said the top PDB source adding, "The government is convinced that PDB's deduction of tax was rightfully done, and Harbin cannot give us any excuse."Harbin in September-October last year tested two units of the plant and generated up to 70 mw of power. It has been following a go-slow policy since 2007 soon after PDB informed the company that taxes would be deducted from the payables to the company. It however now has the third unit installed too, but has been refraining from launching the power plant, while hammering on its demand for tax exemption.Frustrated by Harbin's non-cooperation, PDB issued several notices primarily warning it of cancellation of the contract for its failures, and setting the primary ground for contract termination. The power ministry meanwhile sought legal opinions and sat with Harbin over the issue."We hope we will not have to cancel the contract and the Chinese government would help us resolve the matter amicably," said the source adding, "The foreign ministry formally wrote to the Chinese embassy to intervene."Using the influence of now-defunct alternative centre of political power, Hawa Bhaban, during the four-party alliance rule, Harbin won PDB's contracts for Tongi 80 MW peaking power project, Fenchuganj 90 MW project, and Chandpur 150 MW power project, while controversies surrounded the process of awarding the projects to the Chinese company. The Tongi plant came into operation in 2005, but tripped more than 100 times in its two years of guaranteed operation. The Chandpur project was cancelled last year when Harbin demanded 10 percent increase in the project budget, which the government declined. Regarding the Tongi project, it was later found that while Harbin won the project by quoting low prices, after getting the award the company took a few extra million dollars from PDB by drawing up an additional budget. Tender were invited for the Fenchuganj scheme five times, each of which were cancelled under pressure from vested interest lobby that failed to bag the deal. During the fourth bid, a Japanese company Sumitomo offered to do the job with the lowest cost of 85 million dollars, but that was cancelled without any good reason. Through the fifth tender invitation Harbin was awarded the job in 2005. On top of that Harbin was given a 10 percent down payment in violation of government rules. However, Harbin's problems emerged soon after the 1/11 change in the country's political scenario in 2007. The local agent of Harbin along with some others filed an extortion case against Giasuddin Al Mamun, a friend of BNP Senior Secretary General Tarique Rahman who is also a son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, saying they took Tk 5 crore for awarding the Tongi power project to Harbin during the four-party alliance rule. Meanwhile, the caretaker government that came to power through the regime change, probed into the Chandpur power project, against which also there had been allegations of foul play by another competing Chinese bidder, and which were found to be true by a committee of the planning ministry. Amid such a complex scenario, Harbin made its claim of tax-free power projects, saying no power project contractor had ever paid such taxes. PDB however already paid more than 60 million dollars to Harbin for the three units of 90 mw Fenchuganj plant.