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Padma bridgefunds divertedTk4,600cr shifted to pay dearnessallowances for govt employeesn Asif Showkat Kallol

The government diverted Tk4,600crfrom the budget allocation for thePadma bridge, to pay 20% dearness al-lowances that it had promised publicservants in its last term because of a

shortage of funds. Many said this wasa clear violation of the Budget Manage-ment Act.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith ad-mitted that the 20% dearness allow-ances had been paid out of the Padma bridge fund this scal year.

After a meeting of the non-conces-sion loan committee at the FinanceDivision yesterday, Muhith said a largeportion from of the Padma bridge fundswould hopefully cover the dearnessallowances of the government staff this year.

He also said the Padma bridge fund

would not be of any use this year as themain physical development of the Pad-ma bridge project may not start beforethe end of the scal year.

As per provisions 14 (1) and (2) of thePublic Moneys and Budget Manage-ment Act 2009, without the approval ofthe parliament and prior endorsementof the Finance Division, no capital ex-penditure fund can be diverted for rev-enue expenditure.

Offi cials at the Finance Division saidit was a gross violation of the act todivert the Padma bridge funds for thepayment of dearness allowances.

Sources in the Budget Division saidthe size of the 20% dearness allowanc-

es is estimated to total Tk2,400cr thisyear, whilst the total amount of salariesand wages to be paid to the public serv-ants is Tk12,000cr.

Moreover, this year the govern-ment will pay an additional Tk2,000crin dearness allowances, as it has also

promised the allowance to semi-gov-ernment staff.Muhiths last budget, for the scal

year 2013-14, allocated Tk6,852cr forthe Padma bridge project under theBridges Division.

He had told the parliament the allo-cation was made to facilitate the initialwork on the bridge and avoid unneces-sary delays.

Former adviser to the caretaker gov-ernment AB Mirza Azizul Islam said thegovernment could not divert develop-ment project funds that were speci-cally allocated to revenue expenditure,and that this would be a violation of theBudget Management Act.

The government announced a 20%dearness allowance last year and formeda Pay Commission, which is supposed tosubmit a report on revising the salariesof the 13 lakh government staff.

Last week, the government divertedthe unspent management funds to pay

the salaries and allowances of the PayCommission for the next six months,which was also said to be a violation ofthe Budget Management Act.

The nance ministry, on January 16,disbursed Tk1.99 crore for the paymentof salaries and allowances for the PayCommission through a circular.

Last month, the government divert-ed a portion of the Tk900 crore stockmarket renance scheme to BangladeshCommerce Bank Ltd (BCB) for the is-suing of a rights share. Of that amount,Tk67.5 crore was invested in BangladeshCommerce Bank Limited, who issuedone rights share of Tk100 against existingones to increase its paid up capital. l

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BusinessB1 Negli gible presence of foreignvisitors-cum-buyers has utterly frustrated

the export-oriented manufacturers whoare exhibiting products at the DhakaInternational Trade Fair that began onJanuary 11.

International8 Former international prosecutorssaid Tuesday they have evidence froma defector proving that the regimeof Syrian President Bashar al-Assadhas systematically killed and torturedaround 11,000 people.

INSIDE

A woman walks down the railway track listening to music with earphones stuffed into her ears, completely oblivious to any approachingtrain. The photo was taken from Karwan Bazar yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

AL to Khaleda: Apologise in 24hrsn Emran Hossain Shaikh

The ruling Awami League has given BNPChairperson Khaleda Zia 24 hours forwithdrawing her statement and apol-ogise to the nation for questioning thecountrys sovereignty and interfering inthe operations of patriotic armed forces.

General Secretary Syed AshrafulIslam made the announcement yes-terday while expressing his partys re-action over Khaledas speech given at arally at Suhrawardy Udyan on Monday.

Also the LGRD minister, Ashraf saidthe BNP chief had made the comments by not heeding to the apology the dailyInqilab sought for the false news ithad published on January 16.

Khaleda delivered a similar speechon the law enforcers crackdown inSatkhira on the people responsible forviolence before and after the electionsaying that the Indian army had carriedout the operation together with theBangladeshi law enforcers.

Issuing a note of warning to the BNP

chairperson, the AL leader said: With-draw your false statement within 24hours and apologise to the nation. Oth-

erwise, the government will take nec-essary steps.

He was speaking at a press confer-ence held at the party chiefs Dhan-mondi offi ce when party leaders Nul-UlAlam Lenin, Mahbub-Ul-Alam Hanif,BM Mozammel Haque, Khalid MahmudChowdhury and Hasan Mahmud werepresent.

The joint forces comprise membersfrom the Border Guard Bangladesh andthe police, and sometimes the RapidAction Battalion.

While addressing the party rally,Khaleda sai d: It is diffi cult to bel ievethat our law enforcers have conductedsuch violent drives against their owncountrymen. She hinted the involve-ment of outsiders with the joint forces

operation in Satkhira district.After the daily newspaper publishedthe report, quoting little-known on-

line media, the law enforcers raided itsoffi ce, arrest ed three jour nalists and

sealed off its press. Later, the newspa-per apologised for publishing the re-port without proper verication.

Does she want a ght with ourneighbouring countries? A politicalperson cannot make such fearsomecomments. The nation did not expectsuch irresponsible language from a for-mer prime minister, the AL spokesper-son said.

Where does she want to take thecountry by making this attacking com-ment on a friendly country?

He said no one had the right to playwith the countrys sovereignty, it is amatter of national security.

Criticising the 18-party chief forher speech full of lies, Ashraf said:She intentionally tried to instigate theneighbouring country by questioningthe role of our law enforcers.

Khaleda has a great spleen overeverything. We want immediate stop-page of such situation. None can hin-

der the strengthening of democracy,he added. PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Onus on government

to hold talks: BNPn Mohammad Al-Masum MollaAs part of its strategy the BNP nallydropped the Jamaat and three otherpolitical parties from Mondays Dhakarally to send a positive message to theruling party and also to internation-al community that they were sincereabout holding talks.

Some party insiders said the full re-sponsibility of holding talks now lieswith the ruling party Awami League.

Despite being a key ally of the BNP-led 18-party alliance the exclusion ofthe Jamaat-e-Islami from Mondays ral-ly boosted up the party leaders and ac-tivists to organise public rally and wagemovement alone, they said.

A number of senior leaders saidthey were thinking of leaving out theJamaat, Islami Oikyo Jote, KhelafatAndolon and Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam

from the black ag procession pro-gramme on January 29, the rst day ofthe parliament session.

The BNP will observe some moreprogrammes alone in the comingmonths and will watch the govern-ments attitude towards the BNP andthen they will take the decision on theright wing Islamists political parties.

The party, however, will not cut thetie right now as they are yet to get anypositive response from the governmentover the dialogue to hold a fresh elec-tions which the ruling party has hintedearlier.

About 90% people of the countrywant election under a non-partisangovernment and the Jamaat is part ofit. It is a strategic alliance, not a perma-nent one. The party on Monday provedthat it can organise any sort of pro-gramme alone, Amir Khosru MahmudChowdhury, adviser to the BNP chair-person, said.

A senior leader of the party seeking

anonymity said the government hadmainly set two conditions for talks PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

It is diffi cult to believe thatour law enforcers haveconducted such violentdrives against their owncountrymen.

Offi cials at the Finance Divisionsaid it was a gross violation ofthe public Moneys and BudgetManagement Act 2009 andno capital expenditure fundcan be diverted for revenueexpenditure

War CrimesTribunal stuckin maybesn Udisa Islam

Restructuring of the war crimes tri- bunals and the prosecution team has been stuck in a maybe situation af-ter the retirement of Justice ATM FazleKabir as the chairman of tribunal 1 lastmonth.

Proceedings in several cases at thetribunal 1 have remained pending asthe government is yet to appoint a newchairman. In this situation, everybodyrelated with the war crimes trial issearching for answer to questions and

getting no clear answer from the au-thorities.Justice Kabir retired on December

31 while keeping the case against Ja-maat-e-Islami chief Motiur RahmanNizami in CAV (waiting for judgement).It made everyone puzzled about theverdict. Even the prosecutors are un-clear whether they need to place clos-ing arguments in the case again.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

ACC to probeillegal wealth ofex-judge Motaharn Syed Samiul Basher Anik

The Anti-Corruption Commission be-gan an enquiry into illegal wealthof retired special judge Motahar Hos-sain who had acquitted BNP Senior

Vice-chairman Tarique Rahman from amoney laundering case.The commission launched the

probe following an allegation, scruti-nised by three-member ACC team, thatfound evidences of irregularity, ACCCommissioner M Shahabuddin yester-day told reporters.

The investigation team requestedthe commissioner concerned to ap-prove the enquiry against the judge.

The allegations brought against himare laundering money, amassing illegalwealth beyond known sources of in-come and abuse of his judicial power,the commissioner said.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

LOST TO A DANGEROUS WORLD

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com SECOND EDITION

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War Crimes Tribunal stuck in maybes PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

Prosecutor Mohammad Ali answeredin the affi rmative: Maybe we need toargue again before the new tribunal.

When asked about formation of thenew tribunal, he said: We may get anew chairman this week.

About re-hearing in Nizami case,prosecutor Tureen Afroz said: A new judge may invite new arguments but itis not mandatory.

Defence counsel Tajul Islam claimedthat the new chairman should hear both parties as he has to take part inthe judgement.

Meanwhile, the prosecution thinkssome rearrangement may happen intheir team as some prosecutors has no

work to do.

Source said it could not be conrmedwho would get the chance to continueand who not. Those who have not con-ducted any case may be dropped.

Currently, there are 22 prosecutorsfor the six cases at the two tribunals.The team conducted the Nizami trialnow has no work and it maybe reshuf-ed.

Sources said some prosecutors hadnot conducted any case since the for-mation of the tribunal in 2010 and hadno involvement with cases or as re-searchers.

Prosecutor Shahedur Rahman said:We are not sure about this. The pros-ecution always works as a team. So, 22members are not too much.

He, however, agreed that all prose-

cutors had not been active. Maybe thenewly-appo inted offi cials will t hinkabout it. If the government thinks tocut or reshuffl e the team, we havenothing to do.

When asked about the appoint-ment of a new chairman, ArunavChakrabarty, deputy register of the tri- bunal, said: Maybe it will happen thisweek or the next. The government istaking all required steps they need to.

This month, the tribunal 1 deferredthe proceedings in cases against Mo- barak Hossain, Zahidul Islam aliasKhokon Razakar and two contemptcases. Everybody is assuming that thegovernment may appoint a new chair-man before the next hearing date, Jan-uary 24. l

ACC to probe illegal wealth of ex-judge Motahar PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

ACC sources said the commission hadalready appointed its Deputy DirectorHarun-ur-Rashid as investigation offi certo probe the matter. It also imposed a baron the foreign trip of the former judge.

Motahar bought a house in Londonwhere his son is studying. He also boughttwo apartments in Dhanmondi and heowns a lot of land in his village Natore.

In regards to another query the com-missioner said ACC is a prosecutionorganisation and it had appealed tothe court after the acquittal of Tarique

Rahman in the money laundering casein which his friend was found guilty.

Following ACCs appeal, the courtdirected him [Tarique] to surrender be-fore the court. It is on him now wheth-er he would follow the directive of theHigh Court, he said.

The HC on Sunday asked BNP Se-nior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman tosurrender before it in the money laun-dering case. The court accepted the pe-tition lodged by the ACC that appealedagainst the lower court verdict thatacquitted Tarique Rahman in the afore-

mentioned money laundering case.While contacted, Commission Chair-

man M Bodiuzzaman told the Dhaka Tri- bune that they had heard about the allega-tion against the judge earlier and thereforedecided to an enquiry into the allegation.Replying to a query, he said the appeal hasgot to do nothing with any political con-nection. The ACC appealed to the courtas it was not clear to the ACC as to whyGiasuddin Mamun was found guilty in thesame case while Tarique was acquitted.

Now it is the matter of the court,he said. l

AL to Khaleda: Apologise in 24hrs PAGE 1 COLUMN 4

Ashraf alleged that the Jamaat-Shi- bir activists had joined Mondays ral-ly though no identied leaders wereseen on the dais. They joined the rallywith arms and the government has evi-dence, he claimed.

Regarding the interference of for-eign diplomats in the countrys poli-tics, the minister said: Khaleda Zia hassurrendered to ambassadors for power.She thought some ambassadors willmake her the countrys prime minister.It is not good for our country.

Khaleda failed to uphold the image of

the country, he said. Apart from affect-

ing her own image, she also ruined thecredibility of the country by involvingforeign powers into our internal matters.

He claimed: We do not have imagecrisis and not in shortage of friendlycountries. So why will we allow the in-terference of foreigners in our internalpolitical issues?

Mentioning about several meetingsof the AL with foreign envoys, he said:We talked about bilateral issues withthem. Some time, they [envoys] wantto discuss about our politics but wehave not allowed this.

Regardless country or alliance, theAL would not let them indulge in Ban-

gladeshs politics.Ashraf claimed that the people were

confused about the BNPs actual politicalstance as its central leadership was divid-ed into many streams. There were twohigh-commands within the party. Theirpolitics is being operated by two heads.

Regarding dialogue between the twomajor parties, the AL leader said: Fewdays ago, Tarique Rahman [Khaledasson and senior vice-chairman of BNP]said no dialogue will be held with thegovernment while Khaleda Zia saidholding a dialogue is a must. They couldnot come to a consensus on whetherthey actually want a dialogue. l

Tarique may getbail after surrendern Rabiul Islam

BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rah-man can secure bail if he surrenders tothe trial court in the money launderingcase following the High Court order.

Law Minister Anisul Haque said thiswhile answering queries of reportersabout brining Tarique Rahman from theUnited Kingdom.

The law minister was talking to report-ers after the meeting with British HighCommissioner to Bangladesh Robert Gib-son at his offi ce at secretariat yesterday.

It is Tariques own matter if he willsurrender but as part of legal processhe can get bail after surrendering to thetrial court, Anisul said. On Sunday, theHC ordered Tarique to surrender beforethe Dhaka court that acquitted him in aTk20 crore money laundering case.

The HC bench of Justice Nizamul Huqand Justice Jahangir Hossain passed theorder accepting the appeal for hearingled on December 5 by the Anti-Corrup-tion Commission for convicting Tarique.

The bench also directed the trialcourt to release Tarique after his surren-der subject to its own satisfaction. l

Upazila polls: AL opts for single candidaten Emran Hossain Shaikh

The ruling Awami League has asked theparty grassroots to support single can-didate in the upcoming upazila parish-ad elections.

The instruction was given througha letter signed by General SecretarySyed Ashraful Islam to the presidentsand secretaries of district units, partyinsiders conrmed to the DhakaTribune.

The letters could be sent today.The Election Commission has de-

clared schedule for polls in 102 upazilason February 19.

Sources said the grassroots leadershad been asked to choose party can-didates through joint meetings of thedistricts committee with the presidentsand secretaries of ward, union and up-azila units.

Organising Secretary Khalid Mah-mud Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tri-

bune that as a local-body election,there was no scope for a party to inter-fere offi cially.

He said the partys central commit-tee had decided to support a single can-didate in each upazila parishad.

Khalid, however, said he was notaware of issuance of letters.

Sources said the last working com-mittee meeting, headed by party Presi-dent Sheikh Hasina, made the decisionon January 18. l

255 Bangladeshiworkers detainedin Malaysian

Rabiul IslamA total of 255 Bangladeshi workerswere detained on the rst day of a na-tionwide crackdown to nab illegal for-eign nationals in Malaysia yesterday,reported the Malaysian National NewsAgency Bernama.

It said the illegal immigrants de-tained under the second phase of the6P Integrated Operation would be en-listed in the biometric database systemto ban their re-entry to Malaysia.

Malaysian Home Minister AhmadZahid Hamidi said all illegal foreignnationals held in the nationwide crack-down which began late last night,would be deported to their countries oforigin within seven days.

Their repatriation will not be borne by the Malaysian government, but bytheir employers or the respective for-eign embassies, he told reporters atthe Police Training Centre yesterday.

He said among the 1,565 illegal im-migrants held in 107 operations nation-wide, 695 are Indonesians, 255 Bangla-deshis, 157 Myanmarese and the restare from Cambodia, Vietnam, India,Pakistan, the Philippines, China, Nige-ria and Thailand.

Hamidi said the illegal immigrants

who had no valid travel documents orwork permits, were detained under theImmigration Act 1959/63, Passport Act1966, Immigration Regulations 1963and Anti-Traffi cking in Persons and An-ti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.

The operation carried out by rele-vant law enforcement agencies wouldcontinue until the year-end to detect,detain, charge and deport foreign ille-gals, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Bangladeshi Ministerfor Expatriates Welfare and OverseasEmployment Khandaker MosharrafHossain told the Dhaka Tribune onMonday that the government hadnothing to do with those who failed to become legalised.

He asked the undocumented Ban-gladeshi workers to return home toavoid harassment and punishment.

According to the Bangladesh HighCommission in Malaysia, around5,00,000 Bangladeshis currently areworking in Malaysia.

The Malaysian minister said the op-eration involved 2,015 personnel fromvarious agencies including the Immi-gration Department, Rela, police, CivilDefence Department, National Regis-tration Department and Malaysian An-ti-Corruption Commission. l

EC to rule out loan defaulters for upazila polln Mohammad Zakaria

The Election Commission has soughta list of the loan defaulters from thenancial division of the BangladeshBank prior to the upazila parishad pollslated for February 19.

EC offi cials s aid the commissi onsought the information as the loan de-faulters would not be allowed to takepart in the poll.

Signed by EC Secretary Muhammed

Sadique, the commission yesterdaysent the letter to the CreditInformation Bureau of BangladeshBank requesting to send the list to thereturni ng offi cers.

Upon receiving the information, thereturning offi cers would cancel nomi -nations of those found to be defaulters.

The EC also sent a letter to the Min-istry of Local Government, Rural De-velopment and Cooperatives, directingthem not to take up any development

project in their respective areas untilcompletion of the poll.

It also sent a letter to the Home Min-istry to take preparation for ensuringsecurity during the poll, keeping thelaw enforcers on alert.

The commission sent a letter to thepublic administration and the cabinetdivisio n asking for suffi cient manp ow-er to hold the pol ls and not to reshuffl eposts under the administration aheadof the poll. l

General Secretary of the Awami League Syed Ashraful Islam speaks at a press conference at the partys Dhanmondi offi ce yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Onus on government to hold talks: BNP PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

the BNP has to shun violence and cutits tie with the Jamaat.

By holding rally alone yesterday wehave showed our positive gesture andnow the government has to respondpositively. We are planning to holdJanuary 29 programme alone too, hesaid.

The BNP leader also said: If you lis-ten to the speech carefully you will see

the party chairperson stressed on theword peaceful and expressed eager-ness for talks.

The BNP has already backtrackedfrom announcing any tough pro-gramme like hartal and blockade anddecided to go for soft programmes inthe coming months like demonstra-tions and meetings and hinted at ralliesin districts across the country, said par-ty insiders.

However, the party is not willingto leave Jamaat right now. But as theEuropean Union parliament adopteda resolution on Thursday urging theBNP to distance itself from the Jamaatand Hefazat the party planned to ob-serve its programmes for the next fewmonths alone, they said.

The EU parliament stressed thatparties which turn to terrorist actsshould be banned. l

2 murdered in 2 districtsn Tribune Report

Two people were killed in Jhenaidahand Brahmanbaria yesterday. Both thevictims were missing on the previousday and later found dead, report ourcorrespondents.

In Jhenaidah, an abducted easy bikediver was hacked and burnt to death atvillage Udoypur under Jhenaidah sadarupazila on Monday night. The massa-cred body was recovered from a tobac-co eld in the village yesterday.

The deceased was Rasel Ahmed, 20,of village Kumrabaria. Rasel might bekilled by the miscreants who tried tosnatch the batteries of the easy bike,the police suspected.

Jhenaid ah police station Offi -cer-in-Charge Iqbal Bahar Chowdhurysaid Rasel left his house around 9amin the morning of Monday for profes-sional purposes. But he did not returnaccordingly.

The law enforcers have recov-ered the body severely affected witha number of stab injuries and burnsigns, while there was no battery inthe three-wheeler. The burn incidentof a youth has created panic among

the three wheeler drivers and commonpeople, the OC said.

A case was led with Jhenaidah po-lice. The body was sent to JhenaidahSadar Hospital morgue for post mor-tem examination. No one was arrestedtill lling of this report on Tuesday af-ternoon, the police said.

In Brahmanbaria, a girl was founddead in a graveyard in village Ka-lishimul in Sarail yesterday. The de-ceased was Farzana Akhtar Moyna, 19,of the village.

Locals said the family members ofMoyna went to a village fair on Mondaynight. They did not nd her in her roomwhen they came back on yesterdaymorning. Later, locals spotted the bodyin the graveyard and informed police.

Family members said Moyna waskidnapped by Alfaj Mia, of village Lo-para, about three months ago. Theyled a GD and rescued her after 12 daysof the incident. Alfaj might have killedher, they claimed.

SI Forhad Abbas of Sarail police sta-tion said they did not nd any sign ofraping during the primary investigation.The body was sent to a morgue for postmortem examination, he added. l

Special security to preventviolence at upazila pollsn Mohammad Zakaria

The Election Commission has plannedto take special security measures inthe upcoming upazila parishad polls toprevent any kind of violence.

A senior EC offi cial yes terday toldthe Dhaka Tribune that the commissionwould prepare the security plan for de-ploying law enforcement in the upazilaparishad polls at a meeting tomorrowwith the law enforcement agencies.

Then the commission would holdanother meeting with the returningoffi cers and heads of the law enf orce-ment agencies, he said.

The senior offi cial also said the com-mission would decide at a full commis-sion meeting whether it would deploythe army in the polls. The commissionwould take that decision by examin-ing intelligence reports and the viewsof seni or law enforcem ent offi cials,he said.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB),Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), police,

ansar, VDP, Armed Police Battalionand the Coast Guard will be deployedin the polls. Striking and mobile forceswill be deployed two days before thepolls an d stay for a day after, the offi -cial said.

Election Commissioner MohammadAbu Haz yesterday said the EC wouldtake special security measures to holdupazila parishad polls in a free andfair manner.

The commission will hold a meetingwith the pr incipl e staff offi cer of theArmed Forces Division, senior secre-tary of home ministry, IGP, directorgenerals of BGB, Rab, Ansar and VDPand Coast Guard, NSI and DGFI tomor-row. The EC would deploy additionalpolice, ansar and VDP at vulnerablepolling centres.

At ordinary polling centres, 21 lawenforcement personnel will be de-ployed and 25 personnel will be de-ployed at vulnerable polling centres.Besides, 25 personnel will be deployedin Chittagong Hill Tracts area and Haor

areas, EC offi cials said.They also said BGB and Coast

Guard will be deployed for ve daysand Rab and armed police battalionwill be deployed for seven days in theupazila polls.

The commission has decided tohold the 487 upazila parishads pollsin phases across the country. The rstphase of the election, at 102 upazilas,will be held on February 19.

Election Commissioner Md ShahNewaz yesterday said the commis-sion may announce the schedule forthe second phase of upazila parishadstomorrow.

EC sources said the chief electioncommissioner would announce theschedule of the second phase of theupazila polls after the meeting with thelaw enforcement agencies.

Shah Newaz said the commissionwould set up polling centres for hold-ing the upazila polls at the same venuesthat were used in the 10th parliamenta-ry polls. l

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Interrogate Moudud at jail gaten Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday xed January27 for hearing a graft case against sen-ior BNP leader Moudud Ahmed and his brother Monjur Ahmed led by the An-ti-Corruption Commission.

ACC Deputy Director and investiga-tion offi cer of the case Harunur Rashidled a petition before the Chief Metropol-itan Magistrates Court to show Moududarrested in the case and quiz him for

three working days at the Jail gate.Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md

Mostazur Rahman passed the order forhearing the petition on January 27 withthe presence of the accused.

According to the case statement, onDecember 17 last year, ACC Deputy Di-rector Harunur Rashid led the case withGulshan police against Moudud and his brother Manjur Ahmed for occupyinggovernment land worth Tk300 crore inGulshan, abusing power.

The land belonged to Inje Maria Flazand her husband M Ehsan, Pakistani citi-zens, who left the country before the Lib-eration War in 1971, the case statementsaid. The property, declared abandoned,was seized by Moudud Ahmed withforged documents using his position as acivil servant during 1978 to 2006.

Moudud Ahmed defended the prop-erty several times producing documentsthat his brother had rented the land fromits previous owners. l

Argument inSayedee appealscase starts Jan 28n Nazmus Sakib

The Appellate Division of the SupremeCourt yesterday set January 28 to beginarguments in the appeals case of deathrow convict war criminal Delawar Hos-sain Sayedee.

The ve-member top court benchheaded by Chief Justice Md MuzammelHossain passed the order in response to adefence time plea that sought four weeks.

The arguments were supposed to begin yesterday as the defence thesame day completed reading out thetestimonies of 28 prosecution witness-es and 17 of the defence given at the In-ternational Crimes Tribunal.

Abu Bakar Siddique, a defence law-yer, told the Dhaka Tribune that theyhad sought time as two of their seniorcounsels were not available.

Chief defence counsel Abdur Raz-zaq, also a Jamaat-e-Islami leader, wasabroad while another counsel Khand-ker Mahbub Hossain, also an adviser tothe BNP chief, in prison, he said.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alamand Deputy Attorney General EkramulHoque represented the governmentduring yesterdays hearing. l

Bangladesh worse inhuman rights: HRWn Tribune Report

The US based watchdog Human RightsWatch (HRW) in its World Report 2014said the Bangladesh had tumbled back-ward on human rights in 2013.

The report, released yesterday, ac-cused the government of engaging ina harsh crackdown on members of civ-il society, the media, and the politicalopposition.

The report said, The authorities ar- bitrarily arrested members of the mainopposition party, the BNP.

The report said violent street pro-tests broke out in Bangladesh in Feb-ruary and continued throughout theyear, killing nearly 200 and injuringthousands.

The earlier protests were linked todecisions by the International Crimes Tri- bunal (ICT), a domestic court set up to put

on trial those responsible for war crimesand other abuses during BangladeshsLiberation War in 1971, said the report.

Street violence continued after themain opposition alliance decided to boycott elections scheduled for Janu-ary 5. While the political parties failedto restrain their supporters from en-gaging in violence, state forces, on oc-casion, used excessive force to restorelaw and order, said the report.

It said convicted war criminal andJamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul QuaderMollas execution led to further pro-tests and violence at the end of theyear.

The authorities often employedviolent and illegal measures againstprotesters, and failed to initiate anyinvestigations into credible allegationsof unlawful deaths at the hands of itssecurity forces, the report said. l

BNP: AL has to payn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The BNP yesterday warned that the rul-ing party would have to pay dearly infuture for the o ne-sided parliamentaryelection.

The BNPs warning came hot on theheels of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinasstatement that the BNP has to suffer for boycotting the polls.

When 95% people boycotted elec-tion mockery the Awami League pres-ident said BNP would have to pay fornot participating in the polls. Her state-ment proves that she wants to go withthe unelected clowns, AsaduzzamanRipon, international affairs secretary ofthe party.

It cannot be a peoples governmentas they did not go to cast their votes.The prime minister is not saying it inpublic but she is certainly realisingthe truth. And thats why the rulingparty has to pay politically in future,Riponn said this to ournalists at apress brieng at partys Nayapaltanheadquarters. l

Solar panels not mandatoryfor new power linesn Aminur Rahman Rasel

The government is consideringwithdrawing the requirement toinstall solar panels for new electricityconnections to households.

State Minister for PowerNasrul Hamid yesterday said thealternate power method will not beencouraged in urban areas anymore;rather, its use will be encouraged inrural areas.

He was speak ing to offi cials o f theReal Estate and Housing Associationof Bangladesh (REHAB) at a meeting atthe Power Division.

The REHAB members urged thestate minister to x the commercialprice rate of electricity for developers

during construction of buildings.

There is no xed rate for theconstruction period at present, andthe government charges real estatecompanies double the commercial rateduring construction of a building.

Nasrul, who is also the presidentof REH AB, assur ed the offi cials ofconsidering their demand.

According to the Power Division,new domestic connections consumingup to 2kW of electricity do not requireinstallation of solar panels, butexceeding that range requires installingsolar panels producing 3% electricityof the demand.

REHAB Vice-President Abdur Rashidtold the meeting that the governmenthad started giving new connectionsto households on November 7, 2011after a gap of several months. The

government asked consumers to installsolar panels as a requirement for newconnections, but it also seemed that itwas not mandatory.

But we have seen that consumershave been compelled to install solarpanels, he said.

The Power Division in an order onthat date said it would ask consumersto install solar panels as a prerequisiteto getting household electricityconnections, but it also said inanother clause that it would requestconsumers to set up solar panels.

Power Secretary Monwar Islam,REHAB Vice-President Liakat AliBhuiyan, acting general secretary MdSydul Islam Badal, executive memberSheikh Md Shoyeb Uddin, amongothers, were present at the meeting. l

Gibson calls for dialoguen Abu Hayat Mahmud

British High Commissioner Robert Gib-son has urged Prime Minister SheikhHasina and BNP Chairperson KhaledaZia to take concrete steps towards en-gaging in dialogue to solve the politicalcrisis as soon as possible.

The British envoy made the statementafter attending a meeting with Communi-cations Minister Obaidul Quader yester-day at Setu Bhaban in the capital.

The British High Commissionersaid in the meeting he had requestedthe communications minister to gothrough the statement of British SeniorForeign Offi ce Minister Syed a HossainWarsi on the January 5 poll and thetranscript of the UK parliament debateon Bangladesh.

The debate addressed issues ofdemocratic accountability of the coun-try and urged the government to takerapid steps to address political differ-ences through a dialogue involving allpolitical parties, he said.

Gibson further said the statementsof the chiefs of two major political par-ties after the January polls seemed toshow that they were interested in di-alogue. He urged the government totake rapid steps to hold dialogue withall political parties and ensure every-ones voting rights.

The UK is a large investor in Bang-ladesh and we hope to continue that,he added.

Obaidul met reporters after two sep-arate meetings with envoys of the UKand South Korea.

Quader said the UK envoy talkedabout the current political situation,and the Korean ambassador had dis-cussed investment in the Padma Bridge.

The minister said he had discussedthe Padma Bridge with Korean Am- bassador Lee Yun Young. Two Koreancompanies Samsung Engineering andTerim Construction have applied forthe construction of the bridge.

The construction will start by Junethis year, he said. l

HC stays proceedingsin Adilur casen Nazmus Sakib

The High Court yesterday halted forthree months the cyber crimes caselodged against Adilur Rahman Khan,secretary of rights body Odhikar, andASM Nasir Uddin Elan, director of theorganisation.

The bench of Justice Borhanuddinand Justice KM Kamrul Kader passedthe order following an appeal led un-der the Code of Criminal Procedure todischarge them from the case.

Conrming to the Dhaka Tribune, MdAsaduzzaman, lawyer for the petitioners,said the court had given the stay orderand summoned the case details from thetrial court. The case was led for provid-ing distorted information regarding thelaw enforcers operation on Hefazat-e-Is-lams Motijheel rally on May 5 last year.

On January 8, Dhakas Cyber CrimeTribunal Judge KM Shamsul Alam in-dicted the duo in the case after dismiss-ing a discharge petition. They appealedagainst the order with the High Court. l

Six BNP leadersrefused bail,remain in jailn Nazmus Sakib and

Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

Six detained BNP leaders have to re-main behind bars as their bail pleas indifferent cases were rejected yesterday.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate As-aduzzaman Noor denied bail to BNPstanding committee members MoududAhmed, MK Anwar and Raqul Is-lam Miah, vice-chairman HazuddinAhmed and chairpersons special assis-tant Shimul Biswas.

Meanwhile, Dhaka MetropolitanSessions Judge Md Jahrul Haque re-fused bail to ASM Hannan Shah, whois accused in three cases led duringrecent anti-government protests.

However, Moudud, Anwar, Raqul,Shimul and BNP chairpersons advis-er Abdul Awal Mintoo were granted bail by the High Court bench of JusticeNizamul Huq and Md Jahangir Hossainin two other cases led with Motijheelpolice station.

Of them, only Mintoo could be re-leased from jail any time as no othercase remains against him.

In another HC ruling yesterday, the bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowd-hury and Justice Md Habibul Gani di-rected the law enforcing agencies notto harass Hannan Shah or show him

arrested in any new case without dueprocess.

The same bench ordered law enforc-ers not to harass BNP joint secretary Sa-lauddin Ahmed or search his residenceswithout a warrant. Salauddin was freedon bail in all the six cases lodged againsthim, his lawyer, Kaisar Kamal, said.

The court also issued a rule seekingan explanation from the governmentand law enforcers within four weekson why raids conducted recently atSalauddins residences without searchwarrants should not be declared as ille-gal, Kaisar said.

Another High Court bench, compris-ing Justice Naima Haider and JusticeZafar Ahmed, found the two-day policeremand order of BNP leader KhandkerMahbub Hossain illegal.

On January 8, a Dhaka court grantedthe remand order against Mahbub in acase related to blasting crude bombsnear the Dhaka Metropolitan PolicesRamna offi ce on Januar y 4. The orderwas stayed by the HC on January 9.

BNP leaders Moudud, Anwar andRaqul were arrested in front of theSonargaon Hotel on November 8, whileMintoo and Shimul were picked upoutside BNP Chairperson Khaleda ZiasGulshan residence a few hours later thesame day. l Winter vegetables pour in at a kitchen market in the capital yesterday. However, consumers complained that the pr ices were still too high SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina talks t o the Ambassador of United Arab Emirates at her offi ce yesterday BC

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News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, January 22, 2014

City High Low

Dhaka 22.4 13.2Chittagong 25.0 15.0Rajshahi 20.5 12.6Rangpur 23.3 13.0Khulna 18.4 13.0Barisal 22.6 13.2Sylhet 28.9 13.1Coxs Bazar 27.5 17.5

PRAYER TIMESFajar 5:24am

Sunrise 6:43amZohr 12:10am

Asr 4:02pmMagrib 5:37pm

Esha 6:56pmSource: IslamicFinder.org

WEATHER

Dry weather likelyn UNB

Weather is likely to remain dry withtemporary partly cloudy sky over thecountry in next 24 hours till 6pm today.

Moderate to thick fog may occurover the country during night till morn-ing, said so urces at Met Offi ce.

Night temperature may fall slightlyand day temperature may remain near-ly unchanged over the country.

The sun sets in the capital today at5:37 pm and rises tomorrow at 6:42am.

Countrys highest temperature 28.9degree Celsius was recorded yesterdayin Sylhet and lowest 10.2 degrees in Sri-mangal. Highest and lowest tempera-ture and humidity recorded in somemajor cities and towns yesterday were:

Private varsitieshiring more

full-time facultyNew trend reducing dependencyon part-time, visiting teachersn Mushque Wadud

Private universities that used to de-pend mostly on part-time and visitingteachers from public universities arenow appointing a signicant number offaculty in full-time positions.

According to the recently releasedUniversity Grants Commission 2012annual report, about 68 percent of theteaching staff in the countrys 78 privateuniversities is now engaged full time.

UGC offi cials sai d the trend was si g-nicant and would help to ensure qual-ity education in the private universities.

In 2012, the total number of teachersin private universities was 12,113, with8,178 full-time teachers and 3,935 in part-time or contractual posts, the report said.

Of the full-time teachers, 623 wereprofessors, 421 associate professors, 1,508assistant professors and 5,268 lecturers,while the rest were teaching assistants.

The part-time teachers included1,066 professors, 605 associate profes-sors, 757 assistant professors and 1,274lecturers and 233 teaching assistants.

The report said 1,181 more full-timeteachers were appointed in 2012 than

the previous year.It also said the teacher-student ratio

had improved over the years. In 2012,the average teacher-student ratio was1:26, an improvement over the 1:40 ra-tio in 2011.

The number of full-time teachershas been increasing in private univer-sities over the years, said Atful HyeShibly, a UGS member who is in chargeof private universities.

These are very positive develop-ments. Ensuring good quality educa-tion would be impossible if private uni-versities did not have adequate numberof full-time teachers, he added.

Shibly said the commission had been p utting pressure on private uni-versities to increase the number of full-time teachers, and now they were at asatisfactory level.

Since private universities started their journey in 1992, the institutions weremainly dependent on part-time and visit-ing teachers from state-run universities.

Leading educationists have longrecommended increasing the numberof full-time teachers in private univer-sities to ensure better education. l

DU BCL assault 4'Shibir' activistsn Arif Ahmed

Members of the Bangladesh ChhatraLeagues Dhaka University unit yester-day assaulted four university studentsand handed them over to police, sayingthey were members of the Islami Chat-tra Shibir.

The detainees are fourth yearstudent Borhan, third year studentMoudud and second year student Fa-ruk of the Islamic History and Culturedepartment, and Rakib, a fresher.

Witnesses said, a group of ChhatraLeague activists from the Shahid Ser-geant Zahurul Haq Hall unit, led byits secretary general Al Naihiun KhanJoy, swooped on the four suspectedShibir activists and severely beat themwith wooden stumps and iron rods ataround 4:00pm in the afternoon.

Later, the Chhatra League menhanded over the four suspects to thepolice. l

College girl rescuedthree months afterabductionn Our Correspondent, Lakshmipur

A college girl was rescued from thecitys Rayerbag area on Monday threemonths after her abduction from Man-dari Bazaar of Lakshmipur sadar upazi-la. Police arrested two persons in thisconnection.

The arrestees were Sohag, 25, and hisfather Abdur Rab, 50, of Somaspur vil-lage under Lakshmipur sadar upazila.

Acting on a tip-off, police conducteda drive at the house of Sohag at Kad-amtali in the city on Monday afternoonand arrested him along with his father.Later, they were sent to LakshmipurSadar police station on Tuesday.

Sub-Inspector of Lakshmipur sadarpolice station Razib Sharma said Sohaghad abducted the girl of the same localityfrom Mandari Bazaar on October 20, 2013.

Afterwards, father of victim lodgeda case with Sadar police station onOctober 22 against ve people underWomen and Children Repression Pre-vention Act.

Offi cer-in-ch arge of Lakshm ipurSadar police station Md Iqbal Hossainsaid the arrestees would be produced before a court.

The victim was sent to LakshimpurSadar Hospital for medical test. l

Jamaat callshalf-day hartaln Our Correspondent, Meherpur

Jamaat-e-Islami Meherpur unit hascalled a half day hartal in the districttoday protesting the murder of its As-sistant General Secretary Tariq Mu-hammad Saiful Islam.

Islam, 35, died on Monday in a gunght with the members of the jointforce at the Shwashan ghat area on theoutskirt of the town.

The deceaseds wife and familymembers alleged that members of thelaw enforcement agencies murderedhim in a pre-planned manner and co-loured it as a gun ght.

Police arrested Tariq from IslamiBank area on Sunday afternoon in ninecases led for vandalism during BNP-enforced hartal and blockade, ReazulIslam, offi cer-in-charge of t he Sadarpolice station said. l

Former SECchairmanSultan-uz-ZamanKhan diesn Tribune Report

Sultan-uz-Zaman Khan, former chair-man of the Securities and ExchangeCommission, died yesterday at the ageof 83, says a press release.

Sultan, who joined the Pakistan Civ-il Service in 1955, served as the com-missioner for Khulna division in 1970.After the country's independence, heserved as the secretary for the ship-ping, inland waterways and aviation in1973.

From 1977 to 1992, he was a seniorinternational civil servant for the Eco-nomic and Social Commission for Asiaand the Pacic (ESCAP) in Bangkok.

Sultan served the Securities andExchange Commission of Bangladeshfrom 1993 to 1996 as its chairman.

He is survived by his wife, twodaughters and two granddaughters.

His family requests all friends andwell-wishers to join the Qulkhwaniat Gulshan Azad Mosque today afterMaghrib prayers. l

Barguna upazila chairman,

4 BNP leaders sent to jailn Our Correspondent, BarisalA Barguna court yesterday rejected the bail petitions of Sadar Upazila ParishadChairman and four other BNP leadersand sent them to jail.

The ve jailed BNP leaders are: LtCol (retd) Abdul Khalek, chairmanof Barguna Sadar Upazila Parishadand convener of district Krishak Dal,Rashedul Hasan, organizing secretaryof municipal BNP, Mainul Islam, dis-trict president of Matsyajibi Dal, Shah- jalal, president o f district Olama Dal,and Mojibor Rahman, vice-president ofWard No 2 of municipal BNP.

Court sources said BNP leader

Khalek was accused in four cases,which includes arson on voting cen-ters, buses and assault on law enforc-ers. Three other BNP leaders have beenaccused in two cases, including arson,attack on buses and assault on law en-forcers.

After surrendering to the court yes-terday, the accused BNP leaders ap-pealed for bail.

However, Senior Judicial Magis-trate Md Masum Billah rejected theirpetitions and sent them to jail, as thecases led against them were lodgedunder the non-bailable sectionsof the Special Power Act and the SpeedyTrial Act. l

Members of Samajtantrik Chhatra Front bring out a procession on Dhaka University campus yesterday to mark three decades of their political movement SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Arms, explosives, seized; four arrestedn Tribune Report

A teenage Islami Chhatra Shibir activist,who sustained bullet wounds during aclash with law enforcers on Sunday inSundarganj upazila of Gaibandha, diedat a Bogra hospital early yesterday.

Sohanur Rahman Sohag, 14, was aclass 8 student and a resident of Ram-vodrorajbari village in Sundarganj, ac-cording to police. He was also report-edly a member of Shibir, the studentwing of Jamaat-e-Islami.

Conrming Sohags death, Mir Ray-han Siddik, a sub-inspector at Silimpurpolice outpost in Bogra town, said the boy was admitted on Sunday to theShahid Ziaur Rahman Medical Collegeand Hospital, where he succumbed tohis injuries around 3am yesterday.

On Sunday, activists of Jamaat-Shibir, armed with bamboo sticksand sharp weapons, conned a policeteam that had gone to Kadamtala and

Khanabari villages, known as Jamaat-Shibir strongholds, to arrest suspects incases led in connection with a violentattack on a police outpost at Bamon-danga that left four policemen deadon February 28, moments after Jamaatleader Delawar Hossain Sayedee wasgiven the death penalty for war crimes.

Later on Sunday, the armed activistsclashed with members of joint forcessent to rescue the police team, leaving50 people, including 22 cops, wounded.

Meanwhile, law enforcers in Chit-tagong in separate drives yesterdayseized explosives, guns and fake bombsand arrested four suspects, including aJubo Dal leader.

Imtiaz Bhuiyan, offi cer-in-charge ofMirsarai police station, said they recov-ered explosives from a Muslim grave-yard, and found three signal aresalong with a large number of Jamaat-Shibir leaets and books from a roomnext to a mosque at Mayani area.

Police also detained three men whowere residing in the room. They wereidentied as Ismail Hossain, Nurer SafaMaster and Faruq Hossain.

Bhuiyan said they suspect that Ja-maat-Shibir activists had stored the ex-plosives for sabotage in the area.

Meantime, Rab 7 personnel discov-ered two abandoned tin pots, wrappedin red duct tape, from the 9th oor of aprivate medical centre in the port citysPobartak intersection around 10 am.

The elite forces bomb disposal unitlater found the pots to be empty, saidMajor Mohammad Jahangir Alam,comman ding offi cer of Rab 7 Ch and-gaon Camp. He added that someonelikely left the pots _ wrapped to looklike crude bombs _ for creating panic inthe area.

Our Chittagong correspondent adds:Police arrested a Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dalleader with two light guns, a one-barrelgun and 10 rounds of cartridges from

Chittagong City Gate area last night.Acting on a tip-off, a team of

Sitakunda police conducted a drive inthe area around 7:30pm and nabbedShahadat Hossain Chhoton aliasChhottu, 35, who is allegedly thesecond-in-command of a notoriouslocal gang, known as Yiakub Bahini,said Iftekh ar Hasan, offi cer-in-chargeof Sitakunda police station.

Police seized the rearms andammunition from Chhottu and tookhim to the police station. A case waslodged with Sitakunda police in thisconnection.

The offi cer sai d Chhott u and hi sgang were involved in committing rob- bery in the area for a long time.

In a separate incident, police inBrahmanbaria nabbed three Jamaatactivists with a large number of booksand leaet s from an offi ce of IslamicLife Insurance at Banchharampurupazila. l

Contempt ruleagainst N'ganj DCn Nazmus Sakib

The High Court yesterday issued a ruleon the Narayanganj deputy commis-sioner and six others asking why itshould not take legal steps on charge ofcontempt of court relating to a land suit.

The bench of Justice Ashfaqul Islamand Justice Ashraful Kamal ordered therespondents to explain the matter intwo weeks. The order came in responseto a contempt petition led by IbrahimMolla, a local in Narayanganj.

The petitioner said in the plea thathe had bought 40 decimal land in 1975from one Satyaranjan Das Gupta. Butsince it was under possession of others,he could not enjoy the property whichprompted him to lodge a suit. l

16 injured in attackon wedding convoyn Our Correspondent, Coxs Bazar

At least 16 persons including police-man were injured as robbers attackeda bridal convoy on the Coxs Bazar-Teknaf Highway in Panerchhara areayesterday. The gang of robbers put up barricade on the way highway.

The robbers spared nobody. Babul, brother of the bridegroom Shyamol, alsoa policeman, was also injured. A total of16 bridal party men received injuries.

The robbers also beat up women.The attack continued for more than onehour. They robbed over 15 bhori goldornaments, mobile phones includingvaluables. After the incident, the rob- bers disappeared into the nearest hill.

When contacted, Appela Raju Naha,acting offi ce-in-ch arge of Ramu upazilaconrmed the incident. l

Day labourers work at Sirajganj town embankment on the west side of the Jamuna River yesterday. The project, nanced by the WorldBank, is going on slowly DHAKA TRIBUNE

8/13/2019 Print Edition: January 22, 2014

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News 5DHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, January 22, 2014IRREGULARITIES AT BANGLADESH ROAD TRANSPORT AUTHORITY

Licence without driving skillsavailable for some extra bucksBrokers, corrupt offi cers, and a bit of money make you a certied driver in no timen Tazlina Zamila KhanIllegal backdoor channels have becomea popular choice for people withoutdriving skills to skip the required testsand acquire driving licenses for addi-tional fees.

Brokers, usually posing as internaloffi cers of t he BRTA, co nstantly lurkaround the Bangladesh Road Trans-port Auth ority ( BRTA) offi ce in thecapitals Mirpur 13 area, looking for li-cence-seekers who might be willing topay some extra cash to skip the lengthyoffi cial processes.

It was around 10am yesterday whenSM Sumon, who was waiting in front ofthe information booth at the BRTAs Mir-pur offi ce, was approached by a broker.

Shahin, the broker, asked Sumon ifhe wanted to be issued a licence. WhenSumon replied that he did not knowhow to drive, Shahin said: It is okay.

You have to ll up the learners formand the rest of the work will be done by us. But you have to p ay extra mon-ey to get a license through backdoorchannels.

It will cost over Tk10,000 for an ille-gal licence but you will get it within twomonths. You also do not need to go forthe driving test, as we will manage it.

Around 15-20 brokers like Shahinoperate ou tside the BRTA offi ce, witheach individual securing the service ofpotential clients from respective terri-tories that include the car parking lot, both sides of the entrance and in frontof the information counter.

Monir, another broker, told theDhaka Tribune: We usually get twoor three clients every day. Every groupusually has a minimum of two mem- bers and takes minimum Tk1,000 fromeach client. So, we can earn Tk2,000-4,000 per day.

Firoz Alam, who needs to ride a mo-torcycle for his job as a medical repre-sentative, said: I went to the BRTA fordriving license and a broker did all thethings. I only lled up a learners formand provided attested medical certi-cate.

Another applicant, Hanif S arker, saidhe had learnt a little driving during hissix-month stint as a pickup van helper.Later, he made a deal fo r Tk10,500 witha broker and got the driving licencewithin two-and-half months.

Rajib Rahman, another licence-seek-er, however was determined to get hisdocumentation through the legal chan-nels.

Although brokers tried to lure me,they failed. I will wait whatever timeit takes to be issued a legal driving li-cense. I have passed ve months roam-ing around t he offi ce, he said.

The legal process of issuing license

takes around ve to seven months andcosts around Tk7,500.

Applicants require passing a drivingtest for their licences, but the test can be bypassed if brokers are hired to ac-quire the licence.

According to the BRTA, the countryhas 45 driving schools and the numberof authorized driving license is 982,475.

BRTA Director (engineering) SaifulHaque said: The BRTA established a board called Driving Competency TestBoard for issuing licences. The boardissues certicate for those who passthe driving test. So, it is not possible foranyone to get a licence without know-ing how to drive.

Saying he was not aware of any backdoor channels, Saiful added thatpunishment would be handed out ifthere was proof against anyone or ifanyone was caught red-handed for being involved in illegal business. l

RU students issueultimatum againstevening coursesn RU Correspondent

The students of Rajshahi Universityyesterday gave the authorities sevendays ultimatum demanding that theauthorities withdraw plans to intro-duce evening masters courses in sevendepartments.

They observed a half an hour sit-inprogramme in front of the administra-tive building.

Later, they submitted the memoran-dum to Vice-Chancellor Prof Mizanud-din and gave seven days to meet theirdemands.

They also vowed to launch toughermovement if the demands were notmet.

Around 11am, over 100 students andteachers under the banner of Teach-ers-Students against Evening Coursesinitiated by the Progressive StudentsAlliance brought out a protest proces-sion on the campus.

The authorities recently took themeasures for social sciences faculty,nearly three years after a similar mea-

sure had been shelved upon studentsopposition.

Currently, evening courses are ongo-ing in BBA and law faculties.

The students have been demon-strating over the demands since Satur-day. The two other demands are stop-ping further admission of students inthe evening programmes under BBAand law faculties, and to stop increas-ing fees.

University unit Kendriya SangskritikJote expressed solidarity with the de-mands.

Meanwhile, the admission test forrst year Honours courses at RajshahiUniversity (RU) for the 2013-14 aca-demic year will begin from 23rd Janu-ary and continue till 27th January.

The 2013-14 admission exam sched-ule for the university can be down-loaded from the universitys website athttp://admission.ru.ac.bd

This year, around 1, 68,224 studentsare competing for a total of 3,600 seatsfrom 49 departments under eightfaculties. l

Inmates squeezed into subhuman life in Barisal divisionOverpopulation, lack of medical facilities pose serious health hazardsn Anisur Rahman Swapan, Barisal

Prisons in six districts of Barisal divi-sion are overcrowded with more thantwice as many prisoners than the al-lowed capacity. Such overcrowdingmay be a potential health hazard for theprisoners, and the facility as a whole.

According to prison sources, 3,187prisoners are now living in six prisonsof Barisal region, against the capacitiesof 1,463 prisoners.

The 183-year old Barisal Central Jailhas been designed to accommodate633 prisoners, while currently it houses1,237 and often the numbers increaseto 1,600 during political turmoil, saidFakhruddin, deputy jailor of the jail.

A total of 204 prisoners are detainedat Jhalakathi district jail against thecapacity of 155, 417 prisoners at Piro- jpur district jail against the capacity of177, 419 prisoners at Bhola district jailagainst the capacity of 100, 440 pris-oners at Patuakhali district jail againstthe capacity of 278 and 470 prisoners atBarguna district jail against the capac-ity of 120.

Jail sources said at least 36 squarefeet space is required for eachnon-criminal prisoner; 24 square feetfor each convicted and under trial pris-oner, 54 square feet every death-sen-tenced prisoner as per jail code.

According to the normal procedure,death row inmates have to be conned

in solitary cells for psychological andsecurity causes, which could not bepossible in overcrowded prisons.

None of the six jails has any room fordivision held prisoners, BCJ sources told.

More than half of the prisoners are op-position political activists and they areunder-trial prisoners, jail and political

party sources said.Advocate Mojibor Rahman Sarwar,

central BNP organising secretary andconvener of divisional 18-party alli-ance, claimed that more than 35,000of their activists were accused in about600 political cases in six districts of thedivision and 1,280 of them detained inprisons.

Enayet Hossain Chowdhury, a humanrights activist, said the problem of over-crowding in prisons should be addressedproperly and speedy bail and trial couldlessen the accommodation crisis.

The prisoners have no bed to sleepon, and have to sleep on damp oors inthe cold weather, said Advocate ParvezAkon Biplob, city BNP education affairs

secretary, who recently was detainedin jail for political causes.

Aside from the accommodationproblem, the prisoners are bereft of anynutrition, health, sanitation, and sportsfacilities, said AG Mahmud, Pirojpurdistrict jailor, adding they were alsofacing corruption, inhuman behaviourand torture in absence of legal aid.

Condition of different jail hospital beggar description, as sick and ailingprisoners stay there without any per-manent medical and pathological facil-ities, causing contagious diseases.

Only the Barisal Central Jail hastwo six-bed prison cells at BarisalSher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital,the jail and prisoner sources said. l

Fake cigarettesworth Tk2 croreseized in Pabnan Our Correspondent, Pabna

Police sized fake cigarettes worth Tk2crore and unearthed a fake cigarettefactory at Ishwardi in Pabna on Mondynight.

Two persons were arrested in thisconnection. Police said the owner ofthe factory Md Gias Uddin was produc-ing fake cigarettes using British Tobac-co Companys brand since long on air-port road at the upazila.

Police seized cigarettes and ciga-rette manufacturing machines fromthe factory. Police said the arresteesHasanul Haque Uzzal and Al Aminwere the workers of the factory, but theowner ed. l

Youth jailed for stalkingn Our Correspondent, Natore

A mobile court yesterday sent a youthto jail for six months for harassing a fe-male college student at Agran village ofBaraigram upazila in Natore.

The offender, identied as SaddamHussein, 22, is a resident of the samevillage and reportedly just returnedfrom Malaysia. l

Purbachal HousingProject likelyto compensate

affected residentsn Mohosinul KarimRajdhani Unnayan Katripakkha (Rajuk)would compensate people who losttheir assets because of the ongoing con-struction work of its Purbachal NewTown Project, said Housing and PublicWorks Minister Mosharraf Hossain.

He made the remark while a visit tothe projects construction site in Boro-kau and Parabartha areas under Ka-liganj in Gazipur.

Rajuk would construct a number ofhigh-rise buildings inside the projectarea to accommodate around 62,000residents, he said.

The minister said none of the vic-tims would go unaddressed by the re-habilitation programme adding thatmost of them had already been allottedplots.

The construction work of the proj-ect would be nished within next veyears. The government has given em-phasis on protection of environmentduring construction. The rivers andwetlands would be protected inside the6,150 acres of project area, he said.

Quoting the minister, the ministrysSenior Inf ormatio n Offi cer SM GolamKibria said forests situated inside thearea would remain untouched. More-over new tree plantation programmeswould be launched. In April last year,the High Court directed Rajuk not tocut any tree in its Purbachal housingproject area till further notice.

The court passed the order afterhearing a petition which claimed thatRajuk has been chopping trees fromsome areas in Kaliganj for the housingproject without any clearance from theDepartment of Environment.

The minister visited the six-kilome-ter road under construction connectingMadani Avenue under Baridhara to theeastern part of the Balu River. l

Solar power on shing boatsn Our Correspondent, ChandpurFishermen in the Meghna River underthe district started use solar electricityas the price of Kerosene soared up.

The shermen said they had startedusing solar electricity as they had tospend a huge amount of money everynight for Kerosene.

They also said the only capable sh-ermen could use kerosene.

As the price of Kerosene soared up,shermen got into trouble to cope upwith their income and cost for hurri-cane lamp or lantern.

Solar electricity is very convenientfor them as a small solar tube light orenergy bulb provides more light thanthe general lamp or lantern.

Fisherman Zia Biswas of Majhercharvillage under Haimchar upazila said;At least 50 boats use the electricity inthe river under the upazila.

A sherman has to spend over Tk100 for kerosene per night. But theelectricity is cheaper than keroseneand it has many advantages.

They can recharge their mobilephones with it in boats and contactwith their families as they usually haveto stay in the river for two to three days.

A solar panel costs Tk 10,000 to Tk26, 000 and the shermen can pur-chase it in installment system.

The shermen said it had reducedtheir expenditures.

It was also found the solar electrici-ty is still unknown to some shermen.

Distric t shery offi cial Ra tan Duttwas not even aware of the use of solarelectricity in boats.

Haimchar upazila Awami Leaguegeneral secretary Nur Hossain saidmany shermen could not use the solarelectricity as it was not in their abilityalbeit some has started using it. l

Woman founddead in OldDhakan Tribune Report

A woman was found dead at her at inJurain area of Old Dhaka yesterday. Herhusband was found unconscious byher side.

The deceased was Samartha Begum,50, and her husband was Nurul Islam,65.

Monir Hossain, a relative of the cou-ple, said the couple lived on the secondoor of the house. They had a tenantnamed Abdur Razzak. Razzak foundthem unconscious in the morning andinformed Monir.

Razzak and Monir brought a localdoctor who declared her dead but theytook Samartha to Dhaka Medical Col-lege Hospital to reconrm. Razzak has been missing since the incident, saidMonir.

Some of the neighbors saw Razzaktalking to Nurul around 12:30am infront of the house, he claimed.

Mazharu l Isl am, offi cer-in-chargeof Kodomtoli police station, said Nurulwas under treatment at the DMCH.

The whole thing will be revealedafter Nurul gets back to sense. The body was sent to DMC morgue for postmortem examination, he said.

DMCH doctors suspected that thevictims were doped. lA mobile court demolishes makeshift shops during a drive at Karwan Bazar in the city yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Fishermen of Chandpur start using solar power as prices of kerosene have increased recently DHAKA TRIBUNE

Jail sources said at least 36square feet space is requiredfor each non-criminalprisoner; 24 square feet foreach convicted and under trialprisoner, 54 square feet everydeath-sentenced prisoner asper jail code

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6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Lack of elected body halts Khagrachhari growthn Jasim Majumder, Khagrachhari

Regular activities at Khagrachhari HillDistrict Council is being hamperedsince it is running without an elected body.

Frustration amongst the hilly peo-ple has deepened as they have not wit-nessed any major development in thedistrict over the last 15 years for lack ofan elected executive body.

According to section 4 of Khagrach-hari Parbattya Zilla Parishad Ain-1989,the district council should run with 34members led by a tribal chairman.

Other 33 members includes 21 tribalmembers, nine non-tribal (Bengali)members, two tribal women and onenon-tribal member.

According to section 16 (Ka) of thesame act, if election commission failsto hold an election during the stipulat-ed time, the government would forman interim council comprising four se-

lected members and one selected tribalchairman.

But defying the law, the districtcouncil is now running its activitieswith acting chairman Chai Tow AungMarma and two other members, BiroKishor Chakma Atal and MohammadShahabuddin.

General Secretary of Bangladesh Hu-man Right Foundation, Khagrachharidistrict unit Abu Bakar Siddique saidthe activities of the district council are being greatly hampered due to man-power shortage, preventing any sub-stantial development activities withinthe region.

President of Sushasoner Jonno Na-

gorik, Khagrachhari district unit Dr Su-din Kumar Chakma said for the overallsocio-economic development of thearea Khagrachari Local GovernmentCouncil was established by the thengovernment on March 6, 1989. Then, a34-member elected body started their job on July 10, 1989 and continued tillJuly 5, 1997.

Pointing to a different crisis, thethen government had formed rst in-terim council following section 16 (Ka)and appointed one chairman and fourmembers on July 7 that continued tillOctober 10, 1998. But the practice ofinterim council is still going on, depriv-ing hill peoples development aspira-tions, Dr Sudin added.

The government should hold elec-tions, aiming to form a full elected body for smooth activities of the coun-cil, he said.

Former KHDC Chairman MonindraLal Tripura said after signing the peace

accord, the government had taken vari-ous steps for strengthening the Hill Dis-trict Council and as a part of the devel-opment of disadvantaged hill people,the government had handed over some22 government departments to the dis-trict council.

A three-man KHDC body cannotmonitor 22 government departments.I am urging the government to go forelection and ensure elected representa-tives for KHDC that view developmentactivities of the locals as their main fo-cus.

Acting KHDC Chairman Chai TowAung Marma also acknowledged thatactivities of the organisation were go-ing at snails pace for lack of requiredmembers.

The newly elected government mustreform the KHDC, either by an elected body or by an interim body aiming toexpedite the development process, headded. l

Eight Jatra artists jailed for obsceneperformancen Our Correspondent, Lalmonirhat

Eight Jatra artists including four wom-en were held yesterday for perform-ing obscene dances on stage at Harin-chawra char on the bank of TeestaRiver in Khuniyagachh union underLalmonirhat.

During a raid, Sanaullah Haque, ex-ecutive magistrate of a mobile courtconvicted them on the spot in the pres-ence of police and locals and sent themto the district jail for a month, saidJamir Uddin , offi cer-in-charge of La l-monirhat sadar thana.

The convicted are Jhumur Begum,29, Ratna Rani,25, Sumi Khatun,23,Rani Begum, 25, Mofazzal Hossain, 40,Moksedur Rahman, 45, Tara Miah, 38,and Liton Miah, 36, all residents of Bal-ubari village in Dinajpur.

The OC said the convicted were hiredfor performing obscene dances in theillegal Jatra programme at the remotechar area where gambling was going on.

No permission was taken from theadministration to arrange the pro-gramme in the village. The Jatra com-mittee members and the gamblers edfrom the spot sensing the raid, he said.

The detained artistes said they werehired only for performing a Jatra palaand had been victimised. l

Plainclothes police harassCoxs Bazar localsn Our Correspondent, Coxs Bazar

Plainclothes personnel who form thecivil team of the police force in CoxsBazar have reportedly become a sourceof fear for the local residents, becauseof their alleged harassment of innocentcivilians.

According to reliable sources, theplainclothes team has been extortingthe locals, instead of trying to tame nar-cotics trade or maintain law and order.

The rise of Yaba trade in the district,coupled with beefed up drives to ar-rest Jamaat-Shibir activists, had causedplainclothes personnel to step up theiractivities in recent times.

However, doubts have been raisedabout their integrity, after miscreants identifying themselves as plainclothesDetective Branch offi cials stoppedpassenger vehicles on Ramu Bypassand Marine Drive Road areas andsnatched cash, mobile set and othervaluables on several occasions during

the last six months.A police offi cer however d efended

the civil teams importance as a strate-gic force, saying that the DB, CriminalInvestigative Division (CID), RAB Intel-ligence Wing and Department of Nar-cotics Control also used plainclothesforces to arrest criminals.

According to sources, the police or-ganogram or the operation structure ofPolice Regulation of Bengal (PRB) donot allow police stations to form civilteams or to make arrests with plain-clothes offi cials.

However, in practice , the offi cers-in-charge allegedly go outside the law toform several civil teams to assist in lawenforcement activities.

There are claims that plainclothespersonnel roam around on requisi-tioned vehicles, often outside the ju-risdiction of their own police stations,and detain innocent locals on chargesof suspicious activities. The civil teamsalso detain Malaysia-bound passen-

gers, only to hand them over to differ-ent brokers for a fee.

On January 11, Coxs Bazar Modelpolice station Sub-Inspector SunilChandra Sutradhar allegedly kid-napped an Australian tourist from thetowns Mishuk Hotel and grabbed cashand valuables worth Tk9 lakh from hispossession.

Police started investigating the in-cident after the victim, Sabir Moham-mad, led a complaint with the Aus-tralian embassy. Although Sabirs wifeled a written complaint against the SIand the stat ions source A bsar, offi -cials omitted the name of the SI whilerecording a case. The accused SI how-ever was later closed.

Coxs Bazar Assistant Police Super-intendent (Chief of Media Cell) of Mod-el Circle Chhatrador Tripura claimedthat civil teams of police are not usu-ally active on the eld, but were nowworking to thwart subversive activities by Jamaat-Shibir. l

Expired drugs seized fromBarisal storesThree drug stores have been ned in Bari-sal for stocking expired drugs. A mobilecourt led by administrative magistrates,Rubel Mahmud and Tahmina Parvin, con-ducted the drive at different drug storessituated in the Sadar Road areas near thecity centre. The court ned Tk5,000 toVishnupriya Pharmacy while Tk2,000 toMamata Medical Hall and New MedicalHall each and seized huge amount ofexpired drugs from the pharmacies. Suchdrives would continue in future for thesake of health security of hundreds ofpatients, court sources said. Our Cor-respondent

Cotton worth Tk15 lakhgutted in BarisalA re broke out at a cotton warehouseat Marich Patty of Hatkhola a denselypopulated commercial area in Barisalcity damaging properties worth Tk15lakhs yesterday. Witnesses said the rebroke out at Tajmahal Stores around 11am.Fire ghting units of Barisal Fire Service

Station extinguished the ame around1pm after a frantic effort. Hasib AkanDipu, station-in-charge of Barisal Fire Ser-vice Station, said they are suspecting thatthe re originated from an electric shortcircuit. Abul Hossain, owner of TajmahalStores, said the loss caused by the reworth at least Tk15 lakhs. Our Correspondent

Arrest of Fanus killersdemandedUnion Parishad chairmen of the districtformed a human chain at Kanaikhali inNatore yesterday demanding arrest of thekillers of Kalam union chairman Fazlar Rah-man Fanu. The UP chairmen of 52 unionparishads also demanded exemplary pun-ishment for the killers. The human chainwas formed under the banner of unionparishad chairmens forum. Among othersTebaria UP Chairman Golam Sarowar andBramhapur UP Chairman Sarder AfzalHossein spoke in the event. The speakersgave the government an ultimatum of 72hours and declared to start an indenitework off until the demand would be ful-lled. - Our Correspondent, Natore

Hindu home attackedover land disputen Our Correspondent, Lalmonirhat

Miscreants attacked the house of a bankemployee in Lalmonirhat on Mondaycausing damage worth Tk50,000. Thegang entered the house located in theNorthbengal area in the town around11pm breaking two fences, walls andtwo other structures. The attack wasalleged to be centred on a land dispute.

The affected family membersclaimed they did not dare protest as themiscreants had sharp weapons.

They lodged a complaint yesterdayaccusing three named and eight un-named persons with Lalmonirhat sadarthana.

The house belonged to ManindraNath Barmon, 55, an employee of Lal-monirhat branch of the Rajshahi KrishiUnnayan Bank who has been sufferingfrom cancer for last one year.

Manindras wife Maya Rani allegedthey had donated one decimal landfor a link road in the area but the localgoons demanded two more decimals.

As Manindra denied such claims,

the gang of miscreants led the attackand threatened them not to inform po-lice or the media.

As my husband is very sick, I, alongwith three of our unmarried youngdaughters, am feeling insecure, shesaid. She feared another attack any-time. She sought security, especiallyfor the daughters.

Lalmon irhat S adar th ana Offi cer-in-Charge Jamir Uddin said police wouldtake necessary actions after investiga-tion.

Police went to the spot immediately but the miscreants ed, the OC saidadding that proper measures had al-ready been taken to ensure security forthe affected Hindu family. l

Sixteen shopsgutted in 2 districtsn Tribune Report

At least 16 shops were gutted in sepa-rate res in Chittagong and Narayan-ganj yesterday. The reason behind there in Narayanganj could not be deter-mined yet, report our correspondents.

Fire Service and Civil Defence sourc-es said a re originated from an electricshort circuit at a grocery shop at Baker-ali area in the city at around 3:30pm.The ame engulfed to the adjoiningseven shops, leaving valuables worthTk1 lakh burnt to ashes.

Receiving information, two reghting units from Bandar and CEPZre stations rushed to the spot anddoused the blaze after a one and a halfhour attempt, said Md Jashim Uddin,deputy assistant director of Fire Ser-vice and Civil D efence Headquarters inChittagong.

Earlier, another electric short circuitoccurred at a medicine shop in CEPZarea around 2am and burn down theshop. Medicines worth Tk2 lakh weregutted in the incident. Fire ghtersfrom CEPZ re station extinguished there within an hour.

Meanwhile, in Narayanganj, goodsand properties worth about Tk10 lakhwere gutted when a re broke out inseven tin-shed shops at Panchabati onDhaka-Narayanganj-Pagla road underFatullah police station yesterday.

Narayanganj Fire Service and CivilDefence sources said the shops wereset up at Panchabati Gafur Market areaand the ame was extinguished withinhalf an hour of the incident which orig-inated at 2am.

The shops included confectionery,audio-video and mobile rechargingshops. The cause of re was stated to be electric short circuit, the sourcessaid. But the local people claimed thatthe shops have been set up over dis-puted land and the incident might have been a deliberate one. l

NEWS IN BRIEF

Dearth of leadership,manpower shortage meanimportant decisionsare swept aside

As my husband is very sick,I, along with three of ourunmarried young daughters,am feeling insecure, she said.She feared another attackanytime. She sought security,especially for the daughters

Local people try to extinguish the blaze that broke out at a cotton factory in Barisal city yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Labourers are engaged in sand lifting from the Padma River at Gahamabuna in Rajshahi city. Some local inuential people are indiscriminately lifting sand from the river, althoughdistrict administration often nes sand lifters, which seems not to be enough to stop such activities DHAKA TRIBUNE

Jubo League leadersnatches tendern Our Correspondent, Lakshimpur

A local Jubo League leader snatcheda tender box from the LGED offi ce inRaipur upazila in the district yesterday.

Local contractors brought the alle-gation against the upazila Jubo Leagueconvener Kamrul Hasan Rasel and hismen.

According to sources, Rasel and hismen broke the tender box at 11am andsnatched away the tender forms ofLGED offi ce.

According to T he LGED offi ce sourc-es, the tender, worth about Tk 2.15 crorewas asked in two packages under PDP-3project for the construction work of the buildings of Udamar Government Pri-mary School, Purbo Charpata Govern-ment Primary School and Char MohonaGovernment Primary School.

Upazila LGED offi ce assistant con-rmed the sale of 33 forms till January20. Ismail Hossain Khokon, owner ofAsia Enterprise, allegedly said Raseland his men had snatched away thetender forms.

Seeking anonymity, another con-tractor said, at rst Rasel and his menhad threatened to severe hands of thecontractors if they wished to submittender.

Some contractors submitted tendersdefying the threat.

Later, submitted tenders weresnatched away breaking the tender box.

Upazila engineer of LGED AkterHossain Bhuyian said police were notpresent in the place albeit they wereinformed earlier.

Offi cer in-Ch arge of R aipur p olicestation Rupak Kumar said, We willtake action after investigation.

Departmental action would be takenagainst ASI Mohsin and three consta- bles for the negligence of their respon-sibilities, he said.

According to sources, the districtunit of Jubo League suspended theupazila convener Rasel, its joint con-vener Arif Hossain and the municipal-ity convener Shamsul Islam.

The upazila and municipality JuboLeague committees were also post-poned. l

Re-polls in twocentres in Kurigram4 tomorrown Mohammad Zakaria

The Election Commission will holdre-poll tomorrow in two centres inKurigram 4 constituency as the pollswere suspended in those centres because of violence on Election Day onJanuary 5.

Chief Election Commissioner KaziRakibuddin Ahmad said the commis-sion had made adequate preparationsto avoid any untoward incidents duringthe re-poll.

The commission will not request thegovernment to deploy army in theseareas during re-poll, but a huge num- ber of police, RAB and BGB memberswould be positioned there.

By sending a letter yesterday, TheElection Commission instructed theKurigram returning offi cer to takepreparations to hold the re-elections.

Polling will be held from 8am to4pm at the centers.

Earlier, the commission wantedto hold the poll at the two centres onJanuary 16, but failed to do so as theHigh Court issued a stay order regard-ing holding the re-poll.

In Kurigram 4 seat, Awami Leaguecandidate Jakir Hossain pleaded theElection Commission to hold a re-pollin some centres.

Jatiya Party candidate Ruhul Amin bagged 30, 544 votes and AwamiLeague candidate Jakir Hossain bagged23, 946 in the last poll. l

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7DHAKA TRIBUNE Interview Wednesday, January 22, 2014

n Nofel Wahid

What is your outlook for economic growth this year given all thedifficulties we have faced?

Our current forecast is that economicgrowth is likely to range between5.8%-6.1%. Setting growth target isthe Ministry of Finances prerogativeduring the annual budget but it isgood to have a range of professionaleconomists engaged in growth

forecasting during the year, whetherthey are in different governmentagencies or in thinktanks.

That is why the Bangladesh Bank isnow investing in growth forecasting just like other central banks have theirown growth forecasts which are oftendifferent from other governmentagencies. It is then useful for policypurposes to have coordinationmeetings between Ministry ofFinance, BB, Planning etc, whichwe have quarterly to share theseforecasts and views on economictrends.

In general, as we look toBangladesh becoming a middleincome country, it will be importantto strengthen analytical capacitywithin key government institutions,as people in the information age willincreasingly want to see the rationale behind policy and sp ending decisionswhich are being nanced out of their

tax resources.

What does the current outlook for theeconomy mean for the performanceof the financial sector?

The nancial sector has faced anumber of issues over the pastyear. Firstly, the BB has tightenedloan provisioning and classicationstandards to make them consistent

with international standards andthereby improving the transparencyof the industry. This has led to a one-off jump in the gross non performingloans (NPL) ratio by 2-3 percentagepoints. Secondly, nancial scamswithin specic banks have led to a risein NPLs mainly in the state-owned banking sector. And thirdly, recent blockades have made it genuinelydiffi cult for businessmen to op erateand repay their loans.

Following the scams, BB hastightened performance agreementswith the state owned banks to setspecic targets for net loan growthand strengthen internal controls inorder to lower their NPLs and alsoto serve as the basis for fresh capitalinjections.

Turning to the impact of the recentdisruptions, we have asked banksto make concessions in the formof rescheduling and restructuring

of loans where otherwise-sound businesses are facing c ash-owdiffi cult ies. We are aware thatthere will be some who take unfairadvantage of this facility, but wefelt its important to give some breathing space to the many genuine businesspersons who were adverselyaffected.

Finally BB has also tried tostrengthen its supervisory capacity byinvesting in technology. We can nowget information from banks within a24-hour timeframe that previouslywould have taken 3-4 months tocollect. This has allowed us to followup with specic banks and problem branches. It has sent the signal thatwe are now on top of these issues,and the banks are somewhat morecareful as a result. Obviously, themain responsibility is with the banksthemselves.

We are regulators, not a fraud

detection agency. These IT systemsare a step in the right direction, but are not a soluti on to issues ofgovernance in bank boards, which area critical area of reform. Lets be clear,there is no magic bullet.

Turning to monetary policy do younot consider limiting inflation yourmost important priority?

We are always trying to juggle between limiting ination, avoi dingexcessive exchange rate volatility,and trying to support economicgrowth. They call this the impossibletrinity because you cannot achieveall three of these objectives at once something has to give, as there aretrade-offs.

That said, in general, reining inination is BBs most importantpriority. After all, ination hits thepoorest the most especially those on

xed incomes. We are aiming to keep

ination around 7% this scal year(2013 14).

However there are many factors beyond monetary policy whic haffects ination on which we havelittle inuence in fact, food pricesare typically determined by otherfactors. We have more of a role indetermining non-food ination,

which currently is at a reasonablelevel, averaging below 5%. At thesame time we have tried to do our bitto cushion the impact of the recentshutdowns on businesses througha range of measures as part of ourgrowth-supportive role.

Is the BBs focus on maintaining arelatively weaker Taka against theUS dollar leading to greater inflation,especially food price inflation, givenour reliance on food imports fromcountries such as India?

We have experienced some loss inexternal sector competitiveness overthe past year due to a 5% appreciationin the real exchange rate, especiallywith the slide of the rupee value.However, if we had not intervenedin the foreign exchange market, and bought close to $8b n in the last 18months, there would have been a

much greater appreciation of theTaka, and the exporters would haveencountered serious losses.

The trade-off is that a largerappreciation of the exchange ratewould have made imported goodscheaper. We have analysed thecomponents of the CPI (ConsumerPrice Index) basket to assess whichitems are affected by the exchangerate, and our conclusions were that thechanges in the exchange rate we haveseen over the past year did not greatlyaffect CPI. More importantly there arefew items in the typical consumption basket of the poor whose price wassignicantly affected by keeping theexchange rate where it is now.

The bottom line is that we thinkthe loss to exporters if for example theexchange rate were to appreciate fromits current level of Tk77 per US dollarto Tk70 per US dollar will be muchgreater than the loss to consumers

because of the incremental ination itwould generate.

The Governor of the Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) recently announced thatthe RBI was looking to setup currencyswap lines with other central bank