14 June, 2015

n Mohammad Jamil Khan

If someone takes a stroll on the footpath op-posite the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical Col-lege Hospital in Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, he will notice the phrase “blood bank” in al-most every other signboard.

There are scores of places in the area who “provide” blood transfusion and preservation services in the locality that is dominated by hospitals and clinics.

Hundreds of people come to these hospi-tals everyday and blood-related services is one of the commonest things they need.

But for a layman, who does not have med-ical education, there is nothing that can tell whether these blood banks have the appro-priate instruments and facilities to screen out lethal germs such as HIV and Hepatitis B from a blood sample.

On government’s papers, there are only 290 licensed blood transfusion centres (BTCs) in the country. But uno� cial data shows that the number of unlicensed BTCs is not less than 1,500.

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) is the licensing authority but it has no monitoring responsibilities. In fact, there is no designated authority for making sure that nobody provides blood-related services with-out proper licenses.

Taking advantage of this loophole, thou-sands of blood transfusion centres are provid-ing unsolicited services to millions of patients.

Experts say that in most cases, the emer-

gency patients become victims as most often blood have to be managed for them in the shortest of notices.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

SECOND EDITION

PAGE 32Kamal outlines revenue collection plans

PAGE 9S Korea MERS ourbreak large and comples

PAGE 5China proposes waste-based power plants

PAGE 3Police constable gang-raped by ex-husband

PAGE 4Salahuddin’s wife returns from India

NOW CHINA WANTS BLUE ECONOMY DEAL PAGE 3

EVICTION DRIVE FAILS IN CITY PAGE 32

NO PROGRESS IN BIHARI CAMP ARSON ATTACK PROBE PAGE 4

SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015 | Ashar 1, 1422, Sha’ban 26, 1436 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 62 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

Nobody monitors illegal blood centresWorld Blood Donor Day todayn Tribune Report

Bangladesh is set to observe “World Blood Donor Day” today, like the other countries across the globe with the theme “Thank you for saving my life”.

The day is organised to create awareness for voluntary blood donation, ensure safe blood transfusion a� orable and assessible to all, and to reduce the burden of diseases through ensuring quality health service.

The country can ful� l its annual demands if only 2% of the eligible population donate blood once a year, however, the rate is only 0.04% in Bangladesh, according to estima-tions.

Along with the government ones, a num-ber of organisation including Dhaka Universi-ty based student organisation Badhan, med-ical students based organsiatiuon Sandhani, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, and Quan-tum Blood Center have their blood donation related services and campaigns for motiva-tion and awareness among general people for voluntary blood donation in the city and across the country. l

MP’s shooter son sent tojail as remand endsn Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday sent to jail Bakhtiar Alam Rony, son of a ruling party lawmaker accused of killing two people under the in� u-ence of alcohol, after his remand in DB custo-dy ended.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Muham-mad Asaduzzaman Nur passed the order after DB Sub-Inspector Dipak Kumar Das, also in-vestigation o� cer of the case, produced Rony before the court in the afternoon.

The court also granted a defence petition for admitting Rony to hospital. It � xed Tues-day for hearing the bail petition � led by Ro-ny’s lawyer.

Rony was covering his head with a towel when photojournalists wanted to take his pic-ture on the court premises.

In a report submitted to the court yester-day, the IO mentioned that they had found

Rony’s direct involvement in the killing of two innocent people on April 13. He also requested to the court to send Rony to jail for proper in-vestigation of the case.

On June 1, a Dhaka court granted the DB police four days to interrogate Rony. As he pretended to be sick, the law enforcers took him to three hospitals and the interrogation began on June 9.

Yakub Sikder, driver of a CNG-run au-to-rickshaw of the daily Janakantha, and Ab-dul Halim, a rickshaw-puller, received bullet injuries when Rony � red at people indiscrim-inately at Dilu Road on that night. Halim died on the spot while Yakub succumbed to his in-juries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Imran Fakir, driver of the Prado jeep, has already made confessional statement before a magistrate con� rming that the MP’s son had been drunk when he shot at the people. Rony PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Heavy rain invites � oodsn Abu Bakar Siddique

Heavy rainfall in the country as well as in India’s Assam and Meghalaya states have caused � oods in several districts, which is un-usual at this time of the year.

Tomorrow is the � rst day of Bangla month Ashar.

The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre yesterday said all the major rivers in the coun-try are in a rising trend and are likely to be so for the next 48 hours.

It also said � ood situations in some areas of Sunamganj, Bogra, Sylhet and Gaibandha might deteriorate further in the next 48 hours.

But Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan, sub-divisional engineer of the centre, said the situation would not last longer as the Met O� ce projected that rainfall would stop within the next two days.

As of yesterday morning, four rivers in-cluding, the Jamuna, � owed above the danger levels.

In the northern part of the country, the Ja-

muna River in Sarikandi area of Bogra � owed 4cm above the danger level while the Ghag-ot River in Gaibanhda had water � owing 1cm above the danger level.

In the northeastern part, � ood situation is the worst as the Surma River in Sunamganj and the Sarigowain River in Sylhet � owed 35cm and 24cm above the danger level yesterday.

According to Bangladesh Meteorological De-partment, the north central and northeastern parts are experiencing medium to heavy rain-fall which may continue for the next 48 hours.

It also said light to moderate rain or thun-dershowers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur in a few places in Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions, with moder-ately heavy rainfalls in some places across the country.

Abul Kalam Mollik, a meteorologist at Bangladesh Meteorological Department, said the country experienced the highest rainfall PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

This � le photo shows bags containing unscreened blood siezed by a mobile court at an illegal blood bank in Dhaka DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nobody monitors illegal blood centresAt present, out of the 800,000 bags of blood required in the country every year, only half comes from licensed blood banks, sources said.

The Society for Safe Blood Transfusion estimates that over 80% of the blood transfu-sions are unsafe as they remain unscreened.

According to the Safe Blood Transfusion Act 2002, all blood and blood products must be tested for � ve transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) -- Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, syphilis, malaria and HIV. The act also says that a blood bank must have to recruit doc-tors, nurses and technicians to conduct the tests.

However, the Dhaka Tribune has learned that at most of these unlicensed blood banks, the tests are conducted by people without any relevant formal training.

Some secret blood banks in Old Dhaka, Mohammadpur and Shyamoli areas are run by gangs comprising two or three nurses and assistants who work at di� erent hospitals.

They collect blood from drug addicts and homeless people who sell blood on regular basis, and store carelessly in unhygienic con-ditions. When any poor patient needs blood, they o� er those secretly. Such banks do not

have any government approval to operate.An employee of one such blood centre

in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur told this correspondent: “Patients comes to us when there is an emergency. They do not bother about screening.”

He however claimed that all the blood transfusion centres in that area have proper equipment for running the blood tests.

In Dhaka’s Mohakhali area, this corre-spondent found a pathology centre that is set up in just two rooms – one is the reception and the other has the laboratory. This centre also provides blood transfusion services as well.

Seeking anonymity, an employee of a li-censed blood centre from the same locality told the Dhaka Tribune that blood screening equipment are big machines and would need several rooms.

The license fee for setting up a pathology centre is only Tk5,000 compared to the Tk1 lakh fee for a full-� edged blood transfusion centre and bank.

“That is why, many people acquire the pathology license and run blood transfusion services,” said Murad Sultan, national profes-sional o� cer of the World Health Organisa-

tion (WHO).“It is very alarming that a large number of

unregulated blood banks, including many in private hospitals and clinics, are delivering blood to patients without proper screening, posing serious health risks to patients,” said Prof Dr Ashadul Islam from the Transfusion Department of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mu-jib Medical University (BSMMU).

“Most of the unregulated blood banks hire a house close to public hospitals and start operating the business from there. The government does not care about monitoring the blood banks, who are involved with pur-chasing blood from professionals and deliv-ering the unscreened blood to patients,” Prof Ashadul told the Dhaka Tribune.

The government is planning to set up a National Blood Centre in Mohakhali, but its construction work is yet to begin.

“The government has allocated Tk8 crore re-cently for the building. It will also form a central blood centre with a central database. The centre will monitor the blood banks and impart neces-sary training on related o� cials,” said Ashadul, who is also the secretary of the National Expert Council for Safe Blood Transfusion.

When contacted, State Minister for Health Zahid Malik told the Dhaka Tribune yes-terday: “There is a law in this regard. There are government directives as well. We are also very serious. We are continuing action against those who do not have proper blood storing facilities or instruments. Still, despite all our e� orts, one or two miss our radar. But we will most de� nitely take action against them as well.” l

SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Heavy rain invites � oodsyesterday in the current season, which is 663 millimeters as of 6pm yesterday, while the normal rainfall on the 13th day of June is 480 millimeters.

“We had more rainfall today than yester-day and the trend will continue for the next two days as it is high monsoon now,” he said.

Citing the Met O� ce forecast and heavy rainfalls in India’s upper catchment areas, the � ood forecasting centre said � ood situations in those river basins would deteriorate but the problem would be solved by the next few days when the amount of rainfall would reduce. l

MP’s shooter son sent to jail as remand endsand three of his friends were on the vehicle at the time of the incident.

Son of lawmaker Pinu Khan, also general secretary of Mahila Awami League, Rony was going towards Banglamotor from Moghbazar around 1:45am when the incident took place.

Seeing tra� c gridlock, Rony expressed outrage at the people, � red four to � ve rounds of bullets and left the place immedi-ately.

During remand, Rony claimed that he had no idea about the deaths of the two persons.

Police arrested Rony on May 29 upon in-formation given by his driver Imran Fakir, the IO said.

Halim’s mother Monowara Begum � led the case with Ramna police. It was later shift-ed to the Detective Branch of police.

Tracking the jeepA high o� cial of the DB police said after

the shooting incident, they had launched an investigation voluntarily and primarily got information about a white microbus.

Soon they met a watermelon trader who had claimed that it was a black microbus-like vehicle. It was going towards Banglamotor from Moghbazar.

The detectives then collected footages from the daily Janakantha o� ce on Eskaton Road, and found that six vehicles – an ambu-

lance, four cars and a Prado jeep – used that road at the time of shooting, the DB o� cial said seeking anonymity.

After analysing the footage that showed the jeep, the DB team recognised its num-berplate and later came to know that it was owned by a ruling party leader. This revela-tion apparently slowed down the pace of the probe the DB police were carrying out, the o� cial said. l

Housewife gang-raped in capitaln Mohammad Jamil Khan

An 18-year-old housewife was gang-raped in the capital yesterday.

The victim came to visit her aunt along with her husband in the capital’s West Ram-pura area yesterday morning.

Four local youths, Sujan, Moyeen, Arif and Forhad, along with their associates entered the house and raped the girl while keeping her husband and aunt con� ned in another room, alleged the victim’s aunt who works as a part-time domestic help.

The miscreants also stole Tk7,000 from the house and snatched away a gold chain and a gold ring from the victim, she added.

She said her niece’s husband worked as a construction worker in Chittagong and the couple lived in Chowdhurynagar area in the port city. They came to visit her yesterday morning.

“After I went out for work keeping my niece and her husband at home, four local crimi-nals, Sujan, Moyeen, Arif and Forhad, entered my house with � ve to seven more men. Hear-ing the news I came back, but they con� ned

me and my niece’s husband in a separate room and raped my niece,” she described to the Dhaka Tribune.

The teenage girl is currently undergoing treatment at the One Stop Crisis Centre of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

“Hearing the incident, Rampura police station Sub-Inspectors Mamun and Kai Al Mahmud visited my house and collected ev-idences. But mysteriously they did not want to � le any case at � rst. Keeping us awaiting whole day, � nally they took the complaint in the evening. We took my niece to DMCH for

treatment,” she said. However, Mahbubur Rahman Tarafdar, of-

� cer-in-charge of Rampura police station, de-nied the allegation.

He said: “Case was � led and we are now trying to arrest the miscreants.”

This correspondent informed Anwar Hos-sain, deputy commissioner of Motijheel po-lice circle, about the claim of the delay caused over � ling the case.

The DC said: “We will de� nitely take action and if any police o� cial was found aiding the perpetrators, they would be penalised too.” l

BBIN motor vehicle deal signing tomorrown Tribune Report

Four South Asian nations – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal – who are also known as BBIN, are going to ink a motor vehicle agreement to-morrow aiming to establish free inter-connec-tivity for making a radical change in the region.

The transport ministers from the BBIN countries in a high-level meeting were sup-posed to sign the pact in Thimphu, capital of Bhutan.

Respective secretaries from the nations

yesterday � nalised the draft of the agreement. When contacted, Road Transport and

Highways Division Secretary MAN Siddique con� rmed it.

As part of the move, a � ve-member del-egation led by Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has already reached Thimphu, says the division’s Public Relation O� cer Abu Naser. The agreement will allow cross-border movement for personal, passen-ger and cargo vehicles for the signatory coun-tries without any trans-shipment hassle.

Besides businessmen will have right to car-ry goods across borders without trans-ship-ment arrangements.

Earlier, Obaidul Quader told the Dhaka Tribune: “The agreement will pave the way for a EU-like road communication system among the countries.”

After signing the agreement, a committee would be formed to work out its implemen-tation method, after which � nally a protocol will be signed to enjoy the new connectivity, sources said. l

Train crushes womann UNB

An unidenti� ed woman was killed after being hit by a train in the city's Nakhalpara Railway Station area.

Sources at the Dhaka Medical College Hos-pital (DMCH) said a 40-year-old woman was hit by a train on the rail tracks near Nakhal-para Kitchen Market yesterday morning. She died on the spot. Being informed, ASI Sirajul Islam of Kamalapur Railway Police Station re-covered the body around 11:25am and sent it to the DMCH for postmortem. l

NEWS2DT

NEWS 3D

TSUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

Now China wants a blue economy deal with Bangladeshn Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

After India, Bangladesh is now planning to form an alliance with China to tap the marine resources in the Bay of Bengal.

“We received a Chinese proposal on Wednesday to forge an alliance on blue econ-omy,” a senior Foreign Ministry o� cial said, seeking anonymity.

Bangladesh and India signed a memoran-dum of understanding on blue economy and maritime cooperation in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean on June 6 in the pres-ence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

“We are now scrutinising the proposal and hope to come to a conclusion as soon as pos-sible,” the o� cial said.

Bangladesh also wants to form a bloc com-prising regional littoral states to cooperate in the � eld of blue economy. These states are Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The MoU is mainly on skill development,

capacity building, pollution response, tsuna-mi and cyclone warning and � shing among other things.

“We incorporated the harmless issues and dropped the thorny or sensitive issue such as security,” said another Foreign Ministry o� -cial.

Bangladesh does not have much knowledge about marine bio-technology unlike India who has advanced knowledge in this � eld, and Dhaka can bene� t from sharing, he said.

Medicines such as cod liver oil, cosmetics and toiletries can be produced with marine resources but Bangladesh lacks investment in the sector. Fishing is another area where both Bangladesh and India can cooperate as the former lacks deep sea � shing capacities, the o� cial said.

“Bangladesh has sovereign right to � sh in up to 200 nautical miles but the vessels can go up to only 40 nautical miles,” he said.

The deep sea has massive untapped � shing resources but Bangladesh has been unable to

tap it, he said.The joint statement issued during Naren-

dra Modi’s visit to Dhaka said that the two prime ministers had expressed satisfaction at the amicable settlement of the maritime boundary issue.

“To harness the vast economic opportuni-ties this has opened up, they agreed to work closely on the development of ocean-based Blue Economy and maritime cooperation in the Bay of Bengal and chart out the ways for future cooperation,” the statement said.

About the deal with China on marine coop-eration, the o� cial said it would be like what Bangladesh has with India.

“We will cooperation in the harmless areas like what we have with India while security and other thorny issues will not be included in the deal with China,” he added.

Bangladesh settled maritime boundary disputes with India in 2014 and with Myan-mar in 2012.

Bangladesh now has sovereign authority over a 118,000 sq-km area in the Bay. l

Police constable gang-raped by ex-husband, cohorts n Mohammad Jamil Khan

A female constable of Turag police was ad-mitted to the one-stop crisis centre at Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday, three days after she had been gang raped by her ex-husband, who is a sub-inspector, and his associates in the city’s Khilgaon.

Bilkis Akther, coordinator of the OCC, said the victim had been traumatised after the in-cident. “We have started her treatment and will conduct some medical tests. Once we get the reports, we will be able say clearly about the incident,” she said.

The couple got divorced a year ago follow-ing family feud as SI Kalimur Rahman of the Special Security and Protection Battalion was demanding Tk10 lakh as dowry.

Kalimur has been on the run since the in-cident. His mobile phone is found switched o� , Anowar Hossain, deputy commissioner of police (Motijheel division), told the Dhaka Tribune.

“Several police teams are working to arrest him,” he added.

Victim’s elder sister, who requested not to be named, told the Dhaka Tribune that her younger sister got married to Kalimur four and a half years back when she had been working at the Rajarbagh Police Lines. After three years of their marriage, a girl was born while Kalimur got promotion as SI.

“At that time, he demanded Tk10 lakh as dowry from us and also started threatening my sister to quit job. Following the feud, they got divorced a year ago.

“After the divorce, my sister started stay-ing with my mother in Chakuliar of Joydebpur along with her daughter and got transferred to Turag police station.

“On November 28 last year, Kalimur, went to the house and took the baby away.

“On June 10, when my sister went to Rajar-bagh Police Lines, Kalimur took her to a house in Khilgaon area saying that her daughter want-ed to see her. But con� ning her there, Kalimur along with his associates gang raped her.”

She said her sister had been sedated before they raped her.

“After gaining consciousness the next day, she went to a relative’s house and informed the family members about the incident.”

She was � rst taken to Rajarbagh Police Lines Hospital.

Khilgaon OC Mosta� zur Rahman said the couple had met the assistant police com-missioner of Khilgaon division recently and wished to get married again. “We have started investigation to verify the claim,” he added. l

Review committee report on new pay scale goes to cabinet in July n Asif Showkat Kallol

The review committee report on the National Pay Commission’s recommendations is likely to be placed at a cabinet meeting to be held in the � rst week of July.

Finance Division will take directives from � nance minister before placing the new pay scale proposals to the cabinet, said o� cials.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith will give his written advice to prepare the proposals for the cabinet meeting expected to be chaired

by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said sourc-es in the implementation wing under � nance ministry.

Finance minister will advise the author-ities concerned about pending issues like much-talked-about timescale and selection grade for the government sta� s. The propos-als will be placed before the cabinet to get its consent, especially that of prime minister.

Earlier, the National Pay Commission dropped two important issues – timescale and selection grade used for enhancing sta� sal-

aries- because of involvement of corruption and legal complexities with them.

Under the timescale and selection grade process, the government sta� salaries are in-creased despite their promotion.

AMA Muhith has promised to give bigger salary cheques to public servants from July 1 this year.

But o� cials said it is likely to be delayed by one or two months as � nance minister didn’t go into details about the new pay scale imple-mentation in his budget speech.

Expressing frustration over the issue, they said the National Pay Commission’s recom-mendations might not be implemented on time. “We will place the review committee proposals to cabinet meeting after prime min-ister returns home. But I can not make it sure when it will be placed,” said senior � nance secretary Mahbub Ahmed.

In the budget announcement for the next � scal year, the government has allocated an ad-ditional sum of Tk26,643 crore for payment of the � rst phase of the new pay scale salaries. l

With polythene sheet and umbrellas, three passengers on a rickshaw enjoy the ride amid downpour that brought a sigh of relief to Dhaka city dwellers yesterday after a long scorching heat wave SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

NEWS4DTSUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

Inequality-free allocation demanded in WASH sectorn Tribune Report

Equal allocation in water, sanitation and hy-giene (WASH) sector has been demanded by non-government development organisations as the di� erence in the sector have increased.

“Inequality between rural and urban areas has increased by 8 percent in water, sanita-tion and hygiene sector compared to that of the previous � scal,” Shamim Ahmed, head of policy and advocacy of WaterAid, said.

Highlighting comparative � gures between the last nine years of WASH allocation in the national budget and 2015-16 � scal’s alloca-

tion, Shamim Ahmed presented a key note paper at a press conference held yesterday morning in capital’s Reporters’ Unity.

Demanding proper allocation for speci� c projects, Shamim Ahmed said: “Remote and disadvantaged wetlands, coast, tea gardens in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and speci� c pro-jects for the disadvantaged population are not being taken into consideration.”

“The total budget allocated to this sector is near to zero” he added. Speakers at the press conference noted that the national budget al-location for WASH the sector is only Tk293 per capita in 2015-16 � scal year.

They said in order to see the country become a middle income nation with a vision 2021, allo-cations in this sector will have to be increased.

The press conference was attended by Ab-hijit Paddar, economist and consultant of the Human Development Research Center, Dr Md Khairul Islam, country representative of Wat-erAid, and Monirul Alam, Unicef representa-tive, among others.

Khairul Islam said: “Bangladesh is advanc-ing in every sector but disparity between rich and poor is not decreasing. We want inequal-ity-free allocations to meet the speci� c de-mands of this sector.” l

Rabindra Sangeet Shilpi Sangstha gets executive body n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Rabindra Sangeet Shilpi Sangstha has formed a 31-member executive commit-tee for 1422-1423 Bangla year to run the organ-isation, says a press release.

The decision came at its annual meeting held in the song and dance rehearsal room of Bangladesh Shipakala Academy on Friday. l

Salahuddin’s wife returns from Indian UNB

Hasina Ahmed, wife of BNP Joint Secretary General Salahuddin Ahmed who is facing a criminal case in India for trespassing, has re-turned home from Shillong.

Salahuddin’s bother Giasuddin Ahmed said Hasina reached home on Friday night to accomplish some important family a� airs.

He said his sister-in-law will again go to India to accompany her husband there a few days later.

BNP sources said Hasina actually arrived to collect necessary documents and papers relating to her husband’s disappearance to produce those before Meghalaya court.

After getting bail from the court, Salahud-din has been staying in a rented house in Shil-long and his condition is gradually improving, according to the sources,

In Hasina’s absence, Salahuddin’s nephew Safwan is taking care of him.

On June 5, a lower court in India’s Megha-laya state granted Salahuddin bail in the tres-passing case.

The court gave Salahuddin bail on condi-tion that he would have to stay in Shillong and be present before the court once a week. l

No progress in Bihari camp arson attack proben Mohammad Jamil Khan

Sixteen-year-old Farzana Akther lost nine members of her family in an arson attack on the Bihari camp in Dhaka’s Kalshi last year.

“I want to forget everything, neither do I want the pain. But I cannot do it. Almost every night, nightmares wake me up. And I spend the rest of the night crying,” she told this reporter yesterday.

Nine members of her family were killed in that arson, but her father Yasin, who survived the blaze, died in a road accident two months after the attack.

The girl, who should have been spending one of the sweetest times of her life at the age of 16, now lives with her mother’s sister, having lost everyone in her immediate family. One of her hands is still not fully functional because of the injury she had su� ered in that blaze.

“I cannot stand to have a look at the Bihari camp now. I went there a few times and the dreadful memory keeps chasing me. So, I do not go there anymore,” she said.

Farzana has not gone back to school after that incident. Because of security concerns as none of the perpetrators of that attack have

been arrested, her aunt has arranged home schooling for her with a private tutor.

On June 14, 2014, a series of clashes among the Biharis of the Old Kurmitola camp in Kalshi of Mirpur, police and outsiders, cen-tering explosion of � recrackers, left 10 people dead.

Farzana lost her mother Baby Akther, 40, brother Ashik, 27, Ashik’s wife Shikha, 19, sis-ters Shahana, 26, Afsana, 19, and Roksana, 16, twin brothers Lalu and Bhulu, 14, and nephew Maruf, 2. Apart from them, a worker named Azad also died after getting shot in a gun� re exchange during the skirmishes on that day.

Six cases were � led in connection with the incidents with the Pallabi police station of which four were � led by police and the re-maining two by locals. A total of 3,714 people were accused in these six cases, which are now being investigated by police’s Detective Branch (DB).

However, in this one year, investigators have not even managed to trace any of the perpetrators, let alone arrest them. Neither has there been any update about the investi-gation.

Locals and relatives of the deceased said that what is behind the scene is an open se-cret. They said the supporters of local ruling party lawmaker Ilias Mollah with help from police carried out the arson attack.

They also alleged that because the support-ers of a ruling party lawmaker are involved, police have been trying to cover it up.

When contacted, police’s Additional Dep-uty Commissioner Saiful Islam, who is coor-dinating the investigation, refused the allega-tion.

“We have recorded statements from nearly a hundred people, but none of the perpetra-tors have yet been traced,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

This correspondent has recently visited the area and saw that a new house had been built at the place of the burnt-down house where Farzana and her family used to live. Even new tenants are already living in the new house.

Some local residents, seeking anonymity, said the road accident that Yasin died in might have been orchestrated because he might have learned about the identities of some of the perpetrators.

“Before he died, Yasin told me that he had learned the names of some people who car-ried out the attack. He said he was planning to � le a case mentioning those names. But he could never do it because he was killed in the accident,” said Sadat Khan Sakku, a leader of the Bihari camp.

Shawkat Hossain Pachu, secretary of the Kurmitola camp unit of the Stranded Pakistani General Repatriation Committee (SPGRC), said that it was hard to believe when police say none of the attackers could traced because on that day police helped the attackers.

“The investigators have not made any pro-gress in investigation. Instead, they are har-assing the Biharis. This is illogical,” Shawkat said, adding that they had lost faith on the investigation. l

Although monsoon is not here yet, heavy rainfall have already worsened the existing horrendous condition of tra� c congestions on the streets of Dhaka. The photo was taken from Mirpur Road yesterday RAJIB DHAR

The girl, who should have been spending one of the sweetest times of her life at the age of 16, now lives with her mother’s sister, having lost everyone in her immediate family. One of her hands is still not fully functional

NEWS 5D


Ailing Fakhrul shifted to BSMMUn Tribune Report

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was admitted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) yesterday in line with a High Court order.

The BNP leader was taken to the BSMMU from Kashimpur Central Jail 2 around 2pm and admitted to its prison ward, BNP chairperson’s media wing member Sayrul Kabir Khan told UNB.

Earlier on June 9, the High Court directed the jail authorities to immediately admit Fakhrul to the BSMMU for better treatment.

Nasir Uddin, a guard of prison-2 of Kashimpur Jail, said Fakhrul was sent to the BSMMU in an ambulance around 10:30am in compliance with the HC order.

On May 5, the jail authorities sent the BNP leader to the BSMMU following doctors’ advice as he has been su� ering from various serious diseases, including (carotid arteries)

blockage in the nerve of his neck, high blood pressure, diabetes and heart complications.

The BSMMU authorities subsequently formed a six -member medical board to treat him.

But he was sent to Kashimpur Jail in Gazipur the same day as the medical team found the BNP acting secretary general in a ‘stable’ condition.

Later, Fakhrul’s wife Rahat Ara Begum � led a writ petition with the HC seeking its direction upon the prison authorities for admitting her husband to BSMMU or Birdem Hospital for proper treatment.

On January 6, plainclothes police picked Fakhrul up as he came out of the Jatiya Press Club after nearly 25 hours of stay there following BNP’s announcement to observe January-5 as ‘Democracy Killing Day’, protesting the 10th parliamentary polls held on the day.

The BNP leader is now facing 79 cases. l

Land pact rollout in next 11 monthsn UNB

Bangladesh and India will implement the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) of 1974 and Protocol of 2011 in phases over the next 11 months.

Between July 31, 2015 and June 30, 2016, the entire process, including physical ex-change of enclaves and land parcels in ad-verse possession along with boundary demar-cation, will be completed, according to the letters exchanged between the two Foreign Secretaries during the Indian Prime Minister’s visit here last week.

Perhaps the most signi� cant date is July 31, 2015 - the ‘Appointed Day’. The enclaves on both sides of the border “shall stand trans-ferred to the other” by the midnight of the day, reports The Hindu.

The countries will exchange strip maps showing the narrow stretch of territory, com-pleting the transfer of territorial jurisdiction, while the ground demarcation of the bounda-ry will be completed by the respective Survey Departments by June 30, 2016.

Meanwhile, “India and Bangladesh will print, sign at plenipotentiary level and ex-change” the strip maps of the un-demarcated sectors “by the Appointed Day.”

Both governments will facilitate “orderly, safe and secure passage” to the enclave dwell-ers along with their “personal belongings and moveable property” to Bangladesh or India through proper “travel documents.” The pas-sage “will be arranged by the respective govern-ments…[and] take place by November 30, 2015.”

“Entry/exit points will be Haldibari [on Indi-an side] Burimari and Banglabandha” on the in-ternational border, the exchanged letters said.

The Bangladesh-India Joint Boundary working group will address any dispute that “may arise after the transfer for the next � ve years till June 2020.”

With India and Bangladesh planning to com-plete, between July 31, 2015 and June 30, 2016, the entire process of the Land Boundary Agree-ment and the 2011 Protocol, one of the terms of the joint team of representatives visiting the en-claves would be to identify the “residents who wish to continue to retain the nationality they hold prior to the actual transfer of territory.” l

BD to repatriate boatpeople from Malaysia soonn UNB

Bangladesh is trying to repatriate its boatpeo-ple held at Belantik detention centre in Kedah of Malaysia as soon as possible, says Bang-ladeshi High Commissioner to Malaysia Md Shahidul Islam.

He said the � rst batch would be sent back, possibly next week, and was hopeful of repat-riating 716 people reportedly held at the cen-tre in phases.

“I found all of them interested to return to Bangladesh, if possible before Ramadhan. So, my government is very much aware of this and has taken all necessary steps to send them to Bangladesh as early as possible,” Sha-hidul Islam told Malaysian news agency Ber-nama on Friday.

It was reported that 1,158 Rohingya and

Bangladeshi refugees, including women and children, arrived in a boat at Langkawi, Kedah on May 10. The Belantik detention centre has become a temporary home for the stranded refugees.

The Bangladesh envoy said he visited the centre on June 2, and found that 90 percent of the ‘716 Bangladeshi’ illegal immigrants had unwittingly become victims to human traf-� cking syndicates.

“Most of them told me they were taken to Bangladesh’s tourist spots Cox’s Bazar and St Martin’s Island …they went there to visit the places. Later, someone asked them if they want to see a ‘big ship’ and when they head-ed to it, it turned out to be just a big boat,” he said, adding that it then dawned on them they had become victims to human tra� ck-ing,” he added. l

China proposes waste-based power plants in Bangladeshn Shadma Malik

China has approached the government with a proposal to build waste -based power plants in order to utilise what was described as the potentials of the renewable energy sector in Bangladesh.

The proposal came at a conference on sus-tainable energy jointly organised by CMEC Renewable Energy and Solarland Bangladesh Co Ltd in association with KIPOR and Guolian Huaguang Power Engineering Co Ltd at Gul-shan club yesterday.

“The concept is still in its primary stage and will take 15 months to � nalise the initi-ative, given that Bangladesh agrees with the proposal,” said Benny Weidong Xue, manag-ing director of Solarand Bangladesh Co Ltd, at the conference styled the “Second Inter-

national Conference on Future of Sustainable Energy”.

Huaguang, which focused on garbage management, biomass and waste-based pow-er plants at the conference, has already pro-duced 30MW power plants that generate coal and fuel from garbage.

Annisul Huq, mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation, told the conference he wants to build “mid-stations” by January next year so that wastes collected from homes can be managed there before reaching the � nal land-� ll site.

At present, small vans carry household wastes and pile up at an open space before big vehicles collect them to dump at the land� ll site on the capital’s suburbs.

This process pollutes environment and creates foul smell. Dhaka city produces

around 5,000 tonnes of garbage a day.Annisul said he would build 72 mid-sta-

tions where the waste would be managed be-fore dumping it to � nal land� lls.

He said he had a target to build those by Janu-ary 1, 2016. “But it is not easy because we do not have adequate lands to implement the plan.”

The mayor said his city corporation has 36 wards and he would try to get a small piece of land in each of those.

“I am prioritising waste management and also the use of waste,” the businessman turned politician said. “With waste produced in Dhaka alone, at least 100MW power can be generated.”

Annisul said Chinese and Korean � rms had approached both him and Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sayeed Khokon with pro-posals to build garbage-based power plants. l

Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Annisul Huq addresses the 2nd International Conference on Future of Sustainable Energy at the Gulshan Club in the capital yesterday RAJIB DHAR

NEWS6DTSUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

17th anniversary of Magurchhara tragedy todayn Our Correspondent, Moulvibazar

Today marks the 17th anniversary of Magurch-hara tragedy. On this day in 1997, Magurchhara gas � eld in Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar exploded and caught � re while exploration was going on, causing extensive damage to a big portion of adjacent Lawachhara forest and Magurchhara Paan Punji, a betel plantation.

Biodiversity of Lawachhara forest, Dha-ka-Sylhet rail links, roads, electricity and gas lines in adjacent areas also su� ered massive damage. Production in nearby tea gardens was a� ected.

Di� erent political, social and environmen-tal groups have chalked out programmes to observe the day.

The National Committee to protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources Power and Ports along with several other organisations will submit a memorendum to the prime minister through the Srimangal upazila nirbahi o� cer to press home the 10-point demands, including real-ising compansation from US oil exploration company Occidental, which was exploring the � eld.

A human chain will also be formed in Srimangal town.

After 17 years, Lawachhera forest’s biodi-versity is yet to be fully restored. The forest has lost many species of wild animals. Accord-ing to experts, it will take at least 50 years for the forest to recoup its environmental losses.

Operators of Magurchhara gas � eld has been changed three times since the accident. American company Chevron operates the � eld at present.

Petrobangla had estimated that losses in-curred due to the burning of gas during the explosion would be worth Tk3,900 crore but Occidental had paid a mere Tk38 crore in damages so far. l

Suspected robber ringleader killedin ‘shootout’n Our Correspondent, Faridpur

An alleged ‘ringleader’ of a robber gang was killed during a ‘gun� ght’ with law enforcers at Lakshmipur village in Sadar upazila early yesterday.

The deceased was identi� ed as Salim Sheikh, 38.

Sources said on a tip-o� , a team of police conducted a drive in the area around 3:30am when a gang of robbers was taking prepara-tion to commit robbery.

As the team reached the spot, the robber group opened � re on police forcing the law enforcers to � re back that triggered a gun-� ght.

At one stage, Selim was caught in the line of � re and died on the spot. But his associates managed to � ee the scene.

Police recovered one shutter gun, one for-eign made pistol and one round of bullet from the spot. l

Dhaka-Chittagong Highway blocked over students’ deathn CU Correspondent

The students of Uttar Kattali Mostafa Hakim Degree College and locals put up a barricade on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway in City Gate area of the district following the death of their two fellow students in a road accident yesterday.

Road communications on the highway came to a halt in the area following the violent protest of the agitated students.

The blockaders also vandalised a total 10 vehicles including goods-laden trucks, buses and minibuses in the area while the blockade stared around 11am and ended 1am, police and local sources said.

Two BBA students of the college-Md Wahi-dul Islam Sujon, 21, and Md Delwar Hossain Shamim, 21, hailing from Sitakunda upazila in

Chittagong were run over by a truck near the college around 10:15am, police said.

Eyewitness said a wheat-laden truck of Chit-tagong City Corporation’s former Mayor M Man-jur Alam rammed down four students while they were going to college after getting down from a double-decker, leaving Sujon dead on the spot and three others injured critically.

Later, the injured were rushed to Chit-tagong Medical College Hospital where on-duty doctor declared Shamim dead, said Nayek Jahangir Alam of CMCH police outpost.

The truck driver and his helper � ed away leaving the truck while the agitated blockad-ers vandalised it and some locals robbed the sacks of wheat during the vandalism, eyewit-nesses said.

On information, police rushed to the spot and took the truck into their custody, said

Chittagong Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner (west) Are� n Jewel.

He said the agitated students of the college and the locals removed the blockade as the concerned authorities assured them to take necessary steps over the incident.

Due to the blockade, several kilometres long tailbacks were seen on the both sides of the highway and the commuters su� ered immensely while di� erent patients carrying ambulances and vehicles were the worst suf-ferers.

The college authorities, expressing mourn over the accident, announced the college for three-day closure while the each family of the deceased would get Tk1,00,000 and the med-ical treatment costs of the injured would also be provided by the college authorities, said the ADC. l

Three hurt over Jubo League council clashn Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj

At least three people were injured, including a local UP chairman, in a clash between two rival Jubo League groups over the organisa-tion’s council in Nikli upazila on Friday.

The injured are Fazlur Rahman, 60, chair-man of Gurui union, Jubo League leader Ani-sul Haque Nikul and his brother Titu.

Of them, Fazlur was sent to Dhaka’s Labaid hospital in a critical condition. Police also ar-rested Anisul and Titu yesterday after Fazlur’s son Zakir Hossain � led a case against them.

Sources said the council of Jubo League’s Gurui union was supposed to be held on Sat-urday but two rival groups got embroiled in a clash over it around 9pm on Friday. Jubo League leader Anisul and his supporters swooped on Fazlur, also a local Awami League leader, and hacked him indiscriminately.

Later, Fazlur’s supporters attacked Anisul and his brother Titu, and con� ned them to a house after beating them up.

“Police later arrived on the scene and res-cued Anisul and Titu from the house. They were arrested today in connection with the case � led by the chairman’s son,” said Mah-bub Alam, o� cer-in-charge of Nikli police station, yesterday. l

2 arms traders heldn Our Correspondent, Chapainawabganj

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) ar-rested two alleged arms traders with 45 bul-lets of 7.65 mm pistol from Chakghorapakhia Biswaspara under Shibganj upazila of the dis-trict yesterday.

The arrested were identi� ed Md Rajit Billah, 32, and Md Abdul Quayum, 30. Both of them are Kalupur Dakkinpara under Shibganj upazila.

RAB sources said on a tip-o� , a team of RAB raided the area and detained a mango laden “bhutbhuti” around 1.30 am. Later, RAB members searched their baskets of man-goes and found the bullets. l

Bribing the driver and the travelling ticket inspectors, a number of people regularly get on the crowded Madhumati train as it stops at the Kushtia Court Station departing from Rajshahi. By illegally hanging and sitting outside the ride, not only these people risk their lives but also block the view of the train driver inviting threats of deadly accidents. The photo was taken from Kushtia Court Station yesterday AZAHAR UDDIN

NEWS 7D


Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:47PM SUN RISES 5:11AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

36.0ºC 23.0ºC

Mongla Mymensingh

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 32 27Chittagong 31 26Rajshahi 32 26Rangpur 29 25Khulna 32 25Barisal 31 26Sylhet 28 24Cox’s Bazar 30 26

PRAYER TIMESFajr 3:40am

Sunrise 5:09amZohr 11:59am

Asr 4:39pmMagrib 6:47pm

Esha 8:17pm

WEATHER

SUNDAY, JUNE 14

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

Immediate arrest of Tapos’s killers demandedn CU Correspondent

A faction of Chittagong University unit Chha-tra League formed a human chain at the uni-versity yesterday, demanding immediate ar-rest and trial of all assailants of Tapos Sarker.

Tapos Sarkar, an activist of Chhatra League and also a � rst year student of Sangskrit de-partment at CU, was shot dead during a turf war between CU shuttle train based Chhatra League factions – Varsity Express (VX) and Choose Friend with Care (CFC) – at CU’s Shah Amanat Hall on December 14 last year.

Campus sources said both the groups are backed by Awami League Chittagong city unit President ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury.

Around 50 to 60 activists of the CFC fac-tion formed the human chain holding posters and banners at Shaheed Minar premises at CU around 2pm, campus sources said.

The CFC men alleged that despite months have passed since the murder, police were yet to arrest the prime accused including VX lead-er Asrafuzzaman Asha and former CU Chhatra League organising secretary SM Arifur Islam.

The CFC leaders also demanded exemplary punishment for the killers.

Earlier, CFC and VX activists held sever-al human chains and counter programmes claiming Tapos was their activist.

Following the murder, Tapos’s classmate Ha� zul Islam had � led a murder case accus-ing 55 persons. l

Ogyan party active in Chittagong port cityn Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Ahead of Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr, di� erent gangs of miscreants including Ogyan party, Molom party, muggers and fake note brokers have recently appeared vibrant across the port city and its adjoining areas.

As part of the new move, police noticed that many thugs from other districts started also entering the city to commit crimes.

Police sources said they observe the trend usually at the start of Ramadan every year, but this year the rouges have been trying to be ac-tive about a week before the season aiming to shun the action from law enforcing agencies.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police spotted the trick through busting two gangs of molom party that apply balm on eyes to snatch peo-ple’s belongings, as well as frauds yesterday.

Bandar and Double Mooring police in an overnight drive arrested a total of seven mem-bers of a 30-member molom party a 10-mem-ber fraud gang, police said.

They entered the city few days back ahead of the biggest festival of the Muslims, said Ban-dar police station OC AKM Moiuddin Selim.

“Acting on a tip-o� , we nabbed Abu Bakar Siddique alias Imran Ahmed, Amir Hossain Amir, Mosarraf Hossain, and Md Hashem along with a lighter gun, three cartridges, two machetes, a chopper, a CNG-run auto-rick-shaw and some materials being used in rob-bery,” the OC continued.

Several cases were booked with di� er-ent police stations there against them on the same o� ence prior of Eid last year, he went on adding that there are 30 members in the racket although its ring leader named Abul Hashem was on the run.

Earlier in last couple of weeks, the gangs occurred about 10 incidents across the city,

con� rms the OC.Besides, another team from Bandar police

nabbed Abdus Sattar, Jafor and Babul from the area in a private car. They are members of a gang that snatch money deceiving bank cus-tomers in di� erent ways.

In last year, the gang was consisted of 11 members and its some key members were also arrested that time, they have become ac-tive anew after coming out on bail.

Though most of the 475 listed members of dupe gang, Molom party, frauds, muggers, coun-terfeit note brokers and robbers were arrested earlier, they have started coming out of jail on bail recently, said sources at Chittagong Central Jail.

When asked, Bakalia police station OC Mo-hammad Mohsin echoed the voice of Bandar OC, telling the possible crimes could be checked if the criminals got arrested during entering to the city while its execution is very easy at the entrance points than the other areas of the city.

The CMP’s Detective Branch Additional Deputy Commissioner Tanvir Arafat, also the spokesman of CMP, said they have remained alert of the move of miscreants and frauds during Ramadan and Eid.

“We have regular check-posts on the en-trance points – City Gate, Natun Bridge, Ox-ygen, Patenga and Kalurghat, in line with which we have also increased our vigilance across the city,” Tanvir said.

In this regard, CMP Additional Commis-sioner (Crime and Operation) Devdas Bhat-tacharya told the Dhaka Tribune they would take enhance security measures particularly at the shopping malls, bus stations, railway stations and the jetties on the occasion of Ramadan and Eid.

“Our strong surveillance has been proved by busting the two fraud gangs yesterday,” the new-ly-joined additional commissioner went on. l

Two die from electrocutionn FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong

Two people were electrocuted in separate in-cidents in Chittagong city’s Jhawtala and Ox-ygen area yesterday morning.

The dead were Mohammed Alauddin, 27 and Luna Akhtar, 24, said Chittagong Medi-cal College Hospital (CMCH) police outpost’s Nayek Jahangir Alam.

Nayek Jahangir said Alauddin worked as the caretaker of Nahar Agro building at Paharika residential area. He was electrocuted when he came in contact with a live wire while working at the building around 10am, he added.

Alamgir brought to CMCH where duty doc-tors declared him dead, he said.

Meanwhile, a housewife was electrocuted when she turned on a switch at her residence in Baluchara of Oxygen area around 10:20am, leaving her critically injured.

She was taken to CMCH where duty doc-tors declared her dead, Nayek Jahangir said. l

Inu:Khaleda’s behavior with Indian PM disgracefuln BSS

Information Minister and president of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JASHOD), Hasanul Haq Inu, MP, said yesterday accords with India which were signed during the recent visit of the In-dian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were pub-lic documents and that the Indian premier had talked to everybody.

On the contrary, Khaleda is said to have pleaded and complained to Mr. Modi. This kind of behavior with the prime minister of a friend-ly country is unbecoming of a former prime minister of Bangladesh, said Inu while talking to local journalists at the Circuit House here. l

Families who used to live by the Jamuna River, now move with their little belongings to some other part in Gudakhali village of Bagura’s Sariyakandi upazila after the recent river bank erosion washed away their homesteads FOCUS BANGLA

WORLD8DTSUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

New deaths and diplomatic warfare shake Ukraine trucen AFP, Kiev

Ukraine’s faltering peace agreement suf-fered fresh setbacks yesterday when Kiev re-ported the death of six soldiers and accused Moscow of abetting an attack on one of its Russian consulates.

The latest fatalities in the twisting and hot-ly disputed zone separating Ukrainian forces from their pro-Russian foes in the separatist east add to the strains of a February truce deal designed to end one of Europe’s deadliest con� icts in decades.

The 14-month war has claimed nearly 6,500 lives and turned Russian President Vladimir Putin into an increasingly isolated � gure blamed for pulling a Cold War-era pall

over Moscow’s relations with the West.The February accords that the leaders of

Germany and France e� ectively forced upon Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poro-shenko had initially helped limit the � ghting to hotspots whose status had been under dis-pute from the start.

But last week saw intense mortar and artil-lery � re return to previously quiet regions and more than 35 people die.

Western monitors said the clashes came after both sides pulled their heaviest guns up to the truce line in apparent preparation for a hot summer campaign.

Yesterday’s casualties bring to about 50 the number of people reported killed this month – a � gure that fails to include all the deaths suf-

fered by the secretive and partially splintered rebel command.

Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said overnight � ghting had been particularly heavy around the fragment-ed remains of the once-gleaming airport on the outskirts of the separatists’ de facto capital Donetsk.

Eastern Ukraine’s busiest air hub turned into a symbolic war prize that Kiev lost hun-dreds of soldiers defending until January. Neighbourhoods around the airport su� er continual shelling to this day.

Donetsk insurgents blamed Kiev for shelling the very regions mentioned by Lysenko. They also accused Poroshenko’s forces of commit-ting “99 cease� re violations” since Friday. l

Migrants in hunger strike at France-Italy bordern AFP, Ventimiglia

Dozens of migrants refused entry into France went on hunger strike yesterday at the bor-der crossing in Ventimiglia in Italy, where they organised a sit-in and threatened to block tra� c.

French border police told AFP they had been ordered not to let through the migrants, many of whom came from Somalia, Eritrea, the Ivory Coast and Sudan, and hoped to trav-el onwards to Germany, Britain or Sweden to request asylum.

“We are not going back, we need to pass,” read a large banner held aloft by one group of protesters, while another read: “We need freedom.”

Curled up on pieces of cardboard, shelter-ing where possible under trees and bushes, men, women and children who had made the journey from Libya by boat to Italy said they would block tra� c if they were not allowed to pass.

While the women and children ate food provided by the Red Cross, the men refused.

“We won’t eat,” said 20 year-old Mustapha Ali. “We spent all of yesterday in the heat, and last night in the rain and cold. If we must die here, no need to eat.”

A record number of 1,439 migrants were intercepted this week by French police in the Alpes-Maritimes area of southeast France, with 1,097 returned to Italy.

Mohamed from Sudan told AFP he had ar-rived in Sicily with his brother and travelled by car and train as far as Menton in France – just across the border – where he had been arrested at the train station and escorted back to Italy.

“In Darfur there is a lot of war and vio-lence, they massacre people, we want peace,” he said.

The Schengen open borders accord means migrants landing in Italy can usually easily travel through neighbouring France, Aus-tria, Switzerland and Slovenia as they seek to

make it to Britain, Germany and Scandinavia.But border controls have been temporari-

ly reintroduced due to a recent summit of G7 leaders in Germany.

The mayor of Ventimiglia, Enrico Iocu-lano, told Sky TG 24 television that some of the migrants appeared to be getting through to France anyway by train.

“There are currently around 50 migrants at Ventimiglia’s train station, the same number as there were a few days ago, though the faces have changed,” he said.

“At least 200 have come and gone, I would guess they got into France by train,” he said.

The suspension of Schengen has in-creasing the pressure on Italy, where re-ception centres are at breaking point with about 76,000 people accommodated nationwide.

The build-up has seen hundreds of mi-grants including three-month-old infants bedding down in Milan Central and Rome’s Tiburtina train stations. l

Spying fears prompt smartphone ban for Iran o� cialsn AFP, Tehran

Iranian o� cials with access to classi� ed infor-mation will be forbidden from using smart-phones in connection with their work be-cause of fears of espionage, a security o� cial said yesterday.

Such phones are not secure as “data en-tered on to them is backed up, cannot be re-moved and can be accessed,” Brigadier Gen-eral Gholamreza Jalali, head of Iran’s Civil Defence Organisation, told ISNA news agen-cy, alluding to smartphone applications and manufacturers.

The restrictions, however, come af-ter reports that nuclear talks between Iran and world powers which face a June 30 deadline were compromised by cyber hacking. l

Rouhani: Iran won’t allow nuclear inspectionsn Reuters, Dubai

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said yester-day he would not put state secrets at risk in the country’s nuclear negotiations, becoming the latest senior o� cial to express reserva-tions about intrusive inspections sought by world powers.

The question of inspectors’ access to Iran’s nuclear sites and military bases is a major sticking point in the nuclear negotiations be-tween Iran and world powers, which are aim-ing to strike a deal by June 30.

“Iran will absolutely not allow its nation-al secrets to fall into the hands of foreigners through the Additional Protocol or any oth-er means,” Rouhani said in a televised news conference, referring to a mechanism that would allow for more intrusive inspections of Iranian sites.

US and French diplomats have called for Iran to accept stringent measures, including access to its military sites and inspections on as little as two hours notice. l

Syria rebels push IS further back from supply routen AFP, Beirut

A Syrian rebel alliance has pushed Islamic State group jihadists further away from one of its key supply routes from neighbouring Tur-key, a monitoring group said yesterday.

The Islamist rebels ousted IS from the village of Al-Bal, which it captured on Tues-day, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The village’s recapture late Friday came af-ter heavy � ghting, which killed 14 rebels and 15 IS jihadists, Observatory director Rami Ab-del Rahman said.

Further south, the rebels were � ghting to defend the town of Marea, on the road be-tween the crossing and the rebel-held eastern sector of the main northern city of Aleppo. l

Migrants with children wait at the border between Italy and France in the city of Ventimiglia, Italy yesterday AFP

WORLD 9D


Indonesia demands answers from Australia on asylum boat ‘payment’n AFP, Jakarta

Indonesia yesterday demanded answers from Australia over allegations an o� cial paid thousands of dollars to turn back a boat of asylum-seekers, saying such a development would mark a “new low.”

The call came after Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Friday refused to deny allegations that the captain and � ve crew of a boat carry-ing asylum-seekers were each paid US$5,000 by an Australian immigration o� cial to re-turn to the Southeast Asian nation.

The claims were made to local police on Rote island in eastern Indonesia, where the boat carrying 65 asylum-seekers came ashore late May after being intercepted by the Aus-tralian navy.

Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said Jakarta was seeking clari� cation from Australia on the issue.

“We have consistently said that the Austral-ian government’s push-back policy is on a slip-pery slope,” he told AFP, referring to the Abbott administration’s hard-line policy of turning back asylum boats when it is safe to do so.

“If this latest incident is con� rmed, this will be a new low for the way that the Austral-ian government is handling this issue.”

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi also raised the issue yesterday on the sidelines of a conference in Jakarta with Australia’s am-bassador to Indonesia, Paul Grigson, adding Jakarta would be “really concerned” if the claims were true.

“I just asked him ‘What is it about, tell me,

what is it?’,” she told reporters at the event.“He promised to take my question, my

inquiry, to Canberra and he promised to get back to me again.”

Indonesian authorities have launched an investigation into the alleged payments to the crew of the boat carrying asylum-seekers from Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, which was intercepted en route to New Zealand.

Abbott on Friday said Australia would do “whatever we need” to combat people-smug-gling – but repeatedly refused to deny that a payment was made.

“By hook or by crook, we are going to stop the trade,” he said. “We have stopped the trade and we will do what we have to do to ensure that it stays stopped.”

Canberra has embarked on a tough immi-

gration policy since Abbott’s conservative coalition came into power in September 2013 and refuses to accept asylum-seekers arriv-ing by boats. The policy includes military-led e� orts to turn back such boats, which most-ly come from Indonesia, and sending asy-lum-seekers to camps on the Paci� c island outpost of Nauru and Papua New Guinea for resettlement despite strong criticism from human rights groups.

Australia has also signed a deal with im-poverished Cambodia to accept unwanted refugees in return for millions of dollars in aid over the next four years. Abbott and his min-isters insist the hardline policy has saved the lives of asylum-seekers. Only one boat with asylum-seekers has reached the Australian mainland since December 2013. l

S Korea MERS virus outbreak ‘large and complex’n AFP, Seoul

South Korea’s outbreak of the deadly MERS virus is “large and complex” and more cases should be expected, a team of World Health Organisation (WHO) experts said yesterday.

WHO and South Korean health authorities have conducted a joint mission to review the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the largest outside Saudi Arabia.

The outbreak in South Korea has been spreading at an unusually fast pace, with 138 con� rmed infections as of yesterday, with the country’s � rst case diagnosed on May 20.

South Korea yesterday reported the 14th death from the disease and 12 new cases, in-cluding that of an ambulance driver who trans-ported a patient infected with the deadly virus.

“Now the outbreak has been large and is complex, more cases should be anticipated,” WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Security Keiji Fukuda told journalists. l

Taliban kill 17 police in Afghanistann AFP, Kandahar

At least 17 Afghan policemen were killed yesterday when dozens of Taliban militants stormed their outpost in the country’s vola-tile south.

“Dozens of armed Taliban attacked a police checkpoint in Musa Qala district of Helmand,” provincial police chief Nabi Jan Mullahkhil told AFP.

“In the attack, 17 police forces were killed, and three others were wounded.”

Omar Zwak, the spokesman for the Hel-mand provincial governor, con� rmed the death toll from the raid that occurred just af-ter midnight and lasted several hours.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. “Our mujahedeen, armed with heavy and light weapons, attacked police check-point in Musa Qala district,” Taliban spokes-man Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP. l

Aid-dependent Nepal says needs $6.6 billion for post-quake rebuildingn Reuters, Kathmandu

Earthquake-battered Nepal will ask inter-national donors to support a reconstruction plans that is expected to cost $6.6 billion (4.2 billion pounds) over � ve years, the govern-ment said yesterday.

Two quakes on April 25 and May 12 killed 8,787 people and destroyed more than 500,000 homes, a� ecting 2.8 million of the Himalayan nation’s 28 million people.

Losses to the economy from Nepal’s worst disaster on record stand at $7 billion, including from tourism, the government said in a Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) report.

Suman Prasad Sharma, a senior � nance ministry o� cial, said 36 countries and 24 donor agencies had been invited to a con-ference on June 25 to pledge support for reconstruction.

“We have expectations of a very hand-some and good support from our donors dur-ing the conference,” Sharma said at a function in Kathmandu.

Currently, Nepal gets two-thirds of the cost of its economic development in international aid.

Government o� cials said some donors who cannot pledge more aid could still help Nepal by writing o� debt the country owes or

delaying repayment schedules. Nepal does not have commercial borrowings from inter-national lending agencies.

Concessional loans mainly from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank ac-count for 18 percent of Nepal’s gross domes-tic product, according to the o� cials. The government spends $300 million in debt re-payment every year.

Local donors say post-disaster reconstruc-tion must be more accountable in a country that ranked 126 of 176 nations surveyed in Transparency International’s corruption per-ception index in 2014, compared with 116 a year earlier. l

Dust blows as a woman sweeps the premises of Hanumandhoka Durbar Square, a Unesco world heritage site, as debris from temples that collapsed following the April 25 earthquake is cleared in Kathmandu, Nepal on June 8 REUTERS

WORLD10DT


‘Outraged’ mayors take power in Madrid and Barcelonan AFP, Madrid

Activists from the Indignados (Outraged) pro-test movement that grew out of Spain’s eco-nomic crisis took power in the country’s two biggerst cities yesterday after thrashing the ruling conservatives in local elections.

Former judge Manuela Carmena, a com-munist in her youth, was sworn in as mayor of Madrid yesterday morning, while 41-year-old activist Ada Colau was set to become Barcelo-na’s � rst female mayor.

Carmena ended 24 years of conservative Popular Party rule in the Spanish capital.

“I promise to loyally respect the duties in-volved in being mayor of Madrid,” Carmena said as she was sworn in, minutes after the city council o� cially voted her in as leader of the city of three million.

Carmena became mayor after her leftist platform, Ahora Madrid, forged an alliance with the main opposition Socialists, some two weeks after thrashing the ruling Popular Party in local and regional elections in May.

Madrid su� ers a 16 percent unemployment rate, while many who have jobs do not earn enough to get through the month.

Carmena has promised to stamp out cor-ruption, develop public transport, increase subsidies for poor families and slash the may-or’s salary by more than half to 45,000 euros ($51,000).

Many of the new mayor’s supporters come from the Indignados protest movement that occupied Spanish squares four years ago, de-manding an end to government spending cuts to healthcare and education, and to corrup-tion. l

Suspect shot in Dallas police headquarters attackn AFP, Dallas

Snipers shot and presumably killed a man yesterday after he attacked the police head-quarters in Dallas and planted bombs in a dra-matic rampage in the Texas city, though there were no known links to terrorism.

O� cers from the Dallas Police Depart-ment’s specialized SWAT unit shot the sus-pect through the front windshield of the ar-mored van he used in his attack, then shortly afterward opened � re on the man, Police Chief David Brown said.

Police sent in a bomb disposal robot to ex-amine the vehicle and determine whether the suspect was dead.

“After the robot clears the van and we’re able to identify the deceased, what we believe is the deceased, inside the van,” technicians will collect evidence, Brown said.

The apparent culmination of a stunning night of violence began just after midnight when a van, described by witnesses as an armored vehicle, rammed into police squad cars at the headquarters and someone inside opened � re.

Police had earlier suggested there may

have been up to four suspects, but Brown said police now believed that only one suspect shot from di� erent angles and positions.

Brown said there was no connection to ter-rorism and that the incident stemmed from an issue surrounding custody of the suspect’s child. “He doesn’t show to be in our databas-es on any terrorism watch list or anything like that,” Brown said. The suspect identi� ed him-self as James Boulware, but police were not immediately able to con� rm his identity.

The Dallas Police Association, which rep-resents Dallas o� cers, tweeted that the sus-pect “had three family violence cases against him. (He) was very disgruntled against law enforcement and the criminal justice system.”

The suspect also planted at least one pipe bomb, which detonated as a bomb robot tried to move it. No one was injured, but photo-graphs published by police showed several vehicles were damaged in the blast.

Brown earlier said other pipe bombs had been found in one of four du� e bags that were “dispersed throughout the front and side of police headquarters.”

“I believe we’re blessed that our o� cers survived this ordeal,” Brown said. l

Greece’s PM warns of ‘di� cult compromise’ after default threatn AFP, Brussels

Greek premier Alexis Tsipras warned that Greece must be ready for a “di� cult compro-mise” in its talks with creditors as his clos-est advisers arrived in Brussels yesterday to thrash out a last-minute deal.

Cash-starved Greece is under huge pres-sure to strike an agreement to unlock vital bailout funds in the coming days, if not hours, after top eurozone o� cials turned the screws Friday and said they were preparing the ground for an Athens default.

Tsipras’ closest advisors bring with them Greece’s latest bid to end � ve months of stando� with the EU and IMF, who are de-manding tough reforms in exchange for giv-ing Athens 7.2 billion euros ($8.1 billion) still remaining in its international rescue package.

“If we arrive at a viable accord, even if it is a di� cult compromise, we will take up the chal-lenge because our only criteria is to get out of the crisis,” Tsipras was quoted as telling Greek o� cials Friday in a government statement. “The decisions and how we handle them be-long to us completely, despite their di� culty,” Tsipras said, in the clearest sign yet that major concessions by Athens may be on their way.

Whatever needs to be done “needs to be done quickly,” deputy � nance minister Dim-itris Mardas told Skai TV in Athens, who pre-dicted that there would be a deal.

European sources said the delegation would sit down with top o� cials from the EU commission, the ECB as well as the IMF, the three institutions formerly known as the troi-ka, which became an object of hate for many Greeks hardest hit by the crisis. l

The new mayor of Madrid Manuela Carmena waves at the Cibeles Palace, City-Hall of Madrid, after being sworn in during the investiture session yesterday AFP

11D

TEDITORIALSUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

INSIDE

Its recent statement that allowing India to use Chittagong and Mongla ports goes against the country’s interest, is more of the same from the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Port.

This organisation and others like it perform an important public-interest service by advocating environmental risks and objections on important issues, such as the Rampal power plant.

However, such work is harmed by the making of arbitrary, unsubstantiated statements that defy common-sense and logic.

It is self-evident that the purpose and goal of ports is to facilitate and grow trade and help the national economy. The success of the world’s leading ports in Rotterdam and Singapore directly depends on encouraging as many di� erent countries as possible to use their facilities.

Encouraging Indian companies and ships to use Bangladesh’s ports is a policy to be welcomed, not resisted.

It is in the national economic interest of Bangladesh to encourage and expand our nation’s ports. As India is our largest neighbour and a key partner, it makes sense to encourage it to be a major customer.

It will be better for our future economic growth and national interest that Bangladesh invests in and encourages the growth of our own ports. Failing to do so will only lead to such trade and activity going to ports in competitor nations.

The government should not only push ahead with plans to expand Chittagong and Mongla ports, but actively pursue the interest shown by companies from China, Netherlands and UAE in building a major new deep sea port in Bangladesh.

Expanding our ports is in Bangladesh’s national economic interest

Protectionism will not help our nation’s ports

America: Declining or reclining?

Killing climate change After decades of tedious negotiations, the powerful industrialised countries, where the Big Money of fossil fuel has a stranglehold on democracy, have actual-ly gone out on a limb and said that there is no future for fossil fuels

Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207

Email [email protected]

Send us your Op-Ed articles:opinion.dt@dhakatribune.

com www.dhakatribune.com

Join our Facebook community:

https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

PAGE 12

PAGE 13

PAGE 14

Et tu, Bangladesh?With problems like these, why is pat-riotism still a thing? Why must we, in all your un-endearing � awfulness, love you, Bangladesh? I guess we could be better o� . We are not Sudan

Not only are immigrants an increas-ing proportion of America, they are increasingly among the more skilled and educated segments of American society

BIGSTOCK

OPINION12DT


n SN Rasul

Bangladesh, if you look closely, tells a story of everything. Our short, 44-year-old history holds all that could ever have happened, and all

that will. If you try hard enough, if you are really willing to see it, Bangladesh, in all its minuteness, encompasses the entire world.

What does that mean though? We are a country of contrasts, con� icts, and contradictions. Regal chariots bearing German emblems whizz past the bulbous kwashiorkor of infants. Masterful orators speak three million untruths, while thousands of little truths are martyred for the betterment of singular lives. Denizens bleed the past dry to spill blood on the remnants of the present. And our mouths cater to a history of war and freedom that has long forgotten us.

But that is not all. There is the ever-increasing bracket of problems which include what Bangladeshis have grown tired of reiterating: Tra� c, heat, corruption, pollution, electricity, poverty, et cetera, et cetera. These we can talk about again and again, and we do.

The talk around the water cooler is � lled with these; so are living rooms, and the litter-boxes we call streets. Talk show hosts and panelists discuss these again and again with fervour, as if a solution not only exists, but one that is likely. If only the entire country would take this one single ex-something-or-the-other’s opinion seriously, then all our problems would dissolve into the air, much like the mistakes of the powerful in public spaces.

With problems like these, why is patriotism still a thing? Why must we, in all

your un-endearing � awfulness, love you, Bangladesh? I guess we could be better o� . We are not Sudan, where the war in Darfur has resulted in extensive ethnic cleansing. Nor are we experiencing some severe level of oppression which would necessitate something in the vein of a “Bengali Spring.”

We aren’t even facing any kind of serious ostracisation, where our friends are being taken away and put into internment camps, much like the Americans did to the Japanese during WWII, and have done to a lesser extent with Muslims during the War on Terror.

Not anything we, as children of privilege, are aware of, at least.

There is, it seems, always something to appreciate about Bangladesh. After all, does beauty not lie in the eye of the beholder? And if you hate this country so much, get the hell out. Love is unconditional. You love it; that’s that. There’s no logic to it. Who are you to criticise and complain and moan? At least, if you want change, do something about it. Right?

But there’s a nagging tap at the back of my head, an annoying plethora of voices which don’t let such thoughts lie. Headline after headline speaks of the country’s stupidity (nay, idiocy -- stupidity is too kind), and the myopic vision with which it looks to the future. The recent subsidence at Karwan Bazar is the epitome of this. Fill the khaals, get the money, make people happy for now; what happens down the line, we’ll think about it then.

Since our inception, all we have had is a blurry history we don’t want to taint with too much truth. It almost reads like a fairy tale:

“Once upon a time, there was the greatest of leaders. There was a war for freedom. People martyred themselves for us. We won the war. With a little bit of help from India (as a very small footnote).”

After that, it all really turns to mush, to riding on the coattails of a past askew. But we’re basically all slum kids, jumping from one rubbish pile to another.

Just because my mouth utters words of criticism, does not mean that I do not love

you. Actually, I don’t need to; what does it matter if I love you or not? I have that right. And you must earn it.

And I see my fellow citizens as worthy of kindness and empathy not because they are my brothers, Muslim, Bengalis, or Bangladeshis, but because there must exist some concrete de� nition of humanity amongst us. If not permanently -- because morality is � uid, ever-changing -- but for the moment, for this jagged instance in time.

But your sons and daughters continue to disappoint. Walking on the street with a female friend is still, still, something I think of with foreboding, wary of the eyes which scrutinise, the minds which I automatically presume to be thinking of raiments left on the � oor; going from Bashundhara to Dhanmondi after a day’s work or a day’s class, there is dirt inside the grooves of my � ngerprints, and sweat sticking to my skin like tattoo; and before I say anything, I think twice, thrice, multiple times, making sure no one takes it the wrong way, for no one seems to realise that the right to be o� ended goes hand in hand with the right to o� end.

And, hunched back, shoulder down, one cannot help but feel betrayed.

But despite that, most adore you, despite the microcosm of constant con� ict that you are. Some may hate you, but they’re a minority, suppressed under the necessity of patriotism, as if criticism and nationalism were somehow mutually exclusive. But Bangladesh, with each passing day, and each passing tragedy that you commit or allow, each time you don’t protect us or even try to, even though we may love you, it becomes harder and harder to like you.

SN Rasul is a Sub-Editor at the Dhaka Tribune.

With problems like these, why is patriotism still a thing? Why must we, in all your un-endearing � awfulness, love you, Bangladesh? I guess we could be better o� . We are not Sudan

Et tu, Bangladesh?The sorry state of our roads is just one item on a long list of problems ABU HAYAT MAHMUD

OPINION 13D


n Risalat Khan

“I think it's important that we give a con� rmation of this $100bn [climate] fund.”

“We are talking about the environment now, why? Because foreigners give us money. They don’t give it to you, they give it to me.”

Both of the above are quotes from prominent public representatives, made in the last few days. Can you guess who said what?

Let’s start with the easier one. As you must have noted, it has to have been one of the entertaining ministers who have the privilege of sitting in our country’s parliament today, making critical decisions on our behalf.

I’m speaking, of course, of our honourable Minister of Environment and Forests Anwar Hossain Manju, who also said, in the same discussion event where he presented us with the above gem: “There may be some 400 tigers in the Sundarbans. But who cares? They gave money so I wrote down 440 tigers.”

No further comments, your honour.The � rst quote at the beginning of this

article came from the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who recently achieved something truly remarkable.

Through bold leadership, she held the fence against climate-villains like Japan and Canada, and announced at the Germany G7 Summit -- made up of the seven richest nations -- that we as a world are getting o� carbon pollution.

There is no overstating how signi� cant this moment is. After well over two decades of tedious climate negotiations, the powerful industrialised countries, where the Big Money of the fossil fuel industry has a stranglehold on democracy, have actually gone out on a limb and said that there is no future for fossil fuels.

My Germany-based colleagues at the

global campaigning group Avaaz followed the chancellor around for the last three weeks in green superhero costumes, urging her to be a climate hero. She smiled and waved when she passed the colourful demonstrations, and ultimately listened.

The G7 victory is a testament to the passion, persistence, and power of the people who have prevailed through the thankless job of pushing the politics year in and year out, for a very long time.

Make no mistake, we’re still far from the ultimate goal of preventing catastrophic climate change. Regardless, today is a day we can, and indeed should, celebrate. It is only through appreciating these milestones along the way that we can persist in the long run and create the future we deserve.

Another landmark moment occurred last September, when the People’s Climate March brought 700,000 people to the streets worldwide, including Dhaka, for the largest such mobilisation on climate change. It injected much-needed adrenaline to the climate talks in Lima, Peru the following December.

At Lima, I was excited to engage with the Bangladeshi delegation of ministers on matters relating to the fast-evolving

negotiations, including said minister above, only to realise that most of them were more interested in checking out what shopping or sight-seeing opportunities Lima had to o� er.

In the months since then, much more has happened in the world. 2015 is incredibly crucial, with two vital, long-reaching agreements to be decided upon based on the Sustainable Development Goals later in the year, and work towards preparing them is moving fast.

The � ne-print of those unassuming texts will essentially determine the life trajectories of millions, indeed hundreds of millions of mostly poor people, across the globe, for generations. Many of those millions will be in Bangladesh -- in coastlines, chars, and urban slums. It is our great misfortune and pain that we are subjected to such farce from high levels of political leadership at this critical juncture. And it goes as high as they come.

This weekend, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi jointly “expressed satisfaction at the pace of work” on the Rampal coal-� red power plant next to the Sundarbans, and marked mutual interest in further pushing coal energy -- threatening to lock in decades of more pollution and harm the health of

millions more still.And just to remind you, the Rampal

project is the one ecologists, experts, and environmentalists have been losing their voice over for years, imploring the PM to not shoot the country in its southern foot and cripple the nation by destroying the majestic Sundarbans.

But dedicated study, passionate articulation of carefully-considered arguments, and marching hundreds of kilometres to protect the Sundarbans have failed to secure from the government a responsible exchange based on facts and data, instead garnering accusations of treason.

But wielding political power as a stick never stops people driven by conscience. Collaborative work between national and international activist groups around this issue is yielding real results.

In the last month alone, three giant French international banks -- Société Générale, Crédit Agricole and BNP Paribas -- have ruled out � nancing the Rampal project.

As happened with the proposed Great Barrier Reef coal mega-complex last year, many more banks can be expected to follow. The two honourable PMs’ optimism “that the plant will be operational by the target date” may, fortunately, be misguided.

So, today, let us strive hard to divert our attention away from the a� ictions we are stuck in with respect to our current democracy against the people, and enjoy this gift of people-powered victories.

And let us hold on for dear life to the belief that the only way to win is to act -- even if those wins are few and far between. It is the only chance we have. l

Risalat Khan is a social activist and entrepreneur specialising in sustainable paradigms. He works as a Campaigner for Avaaz -- a global campaigning movement bringing people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere.

Killing climate change

After decades of tedious negotiations, the powerful industrialised countries, where the Big Money of fossil fuel has a stranglehold on democracy, have actually gone out on a limb and said that there is no future for fossil fuels

The 2015 G7 Summit was a turning point in the � ght against climate change REUTERS

OPINION14DT


n William Milam

This piece is prompted by the recent news that this year’s annual Ameri-can Spelling Bee was won by Vanya Shivashankar and Gorkul Venks-

tachalam in a tie. After a number of playo� rounds in which both contestants were per-fect, the judges decided that both deserved to win. I suspect that the judges wore out before the contestants.

The Spelling Bee has now been won eight straight years by Indian-American contestants. The press has been replete with articles which point out that Indian-Americans practice for the Spelling Bee and run a South Asian Spelling Bee as a warm-up. Well, so what? The run of South Asian victories in the American Spelling Bee gives me something to think about, but South Asian dominance is not one of them. That is nonsense!

It very well may be a symbol of what the future of America will look like as this century progresses, and it may imply that the dreaded prophesies of American decline to a second rate power are somewhat overblown. The news of Vanya’s and Gorkul’s tie victory spurred me to re� ect on that subject and do some super� cial research. But � rst, a thumb-nail history of the Spelling Bee.

It seems the Spelling Bee is as American as apple pie -- or so the saying goes. Spelling contests in the US grew popular after Noah Webster’s spelling books were published in the late 18th and early 19th centuries; these were used in almost all American elementary schools for at least � ve generations. The � rst organised and sponsored National Spelling Bee took place in 1925 in Washington (the winner was not South Asian).

The idea of the Spelling Bee has found its way to many other countries, and appears to me to be among those few US inventions that have survived the many technological and social changes which have totally changed life in the 21st century. According to Wiki-pedia, there is a Spelling Bee in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India among many other countries, so readers of this article will be familiar with the concept. I hope revelation of its American origins will not dilute their interest.

What does this news imply for America in the mid-21st century? I don’t want to make too much of this and what follows is a bit of inductive reasoning -- building on small facts to a grand conclusion. Readers will know that such reasoning implies or entails the truth of a grand conclusion, but does not guarantee it.

I start with the contestants themselves, and not just the two winners. In addition to Vanya and Gorkul, � ve of the other eight � nalists were of South Asian origin. Even more interesting, in my view, is that all of the � nalists come from the heartland of America, none from Silicon Valley or the great academ-ic centres.

Vanya and her family live in Olanthe, Kansas; Gorkal and his family are from Chester� eld, Missouri. These are not rural areas: Olanthe is in the metropolitan area surrounding Kansas City; Chester� eld is a suburb of St Louis. But this shows the vast

geographic dispersion of not only the South Asian immigrants in the US, but in fact that the dispersion of most immigrants around the country is increasing rapidly.

The point is simple. Not only are im-migrants an increasing proportion of our population, but they are increasingly among the more skilled and educated segments of our society. This has to make a di� erence in the ability of our workforce, writ large, to compete with those of the other countries who want to challenge US leadership, in par-ticular the rising Asian power, China, which many forecasters, including many Chinese forecasters, predict will be the predominant economic and political power of the last half of this century. It seems to me that the inclusivity of our society and its ability to assimilate immigrant populations has to be counted as an American advantage.

Immigration statistics help in this induc-tive analysis. The US Homeland Security De-partment is not good at publishing up-to-date numbers on immigrants attaining legal resi-dent status, so I have to work from � gures for 2012. But they are instructive. If I asked the average American which country and region most of our legal immigrants come from, the answer would likely be Latin America.

But in 2012, slightly more legal immi-grants came from Asia, than from the whole of North and South America combined. The

largest number of legal immigrants in 2012 came from Mexico, as could be expected. But the second largest number, surprisingly, came from China, and the third largest from India. Both Pakistan and Bangladesh are toward the bottom of the charts, with about 15,000 each.

Now the big controversy here over immigration is about illegal immigrants, of which the overwhelming proportion are from Latin America. I do not share the prejudices of many Americans about illegal immigra-tion, but I think that it is safe to assume that almost all of it is in unskilled workers and/or their families, so illegal immigration does not weaken my argument. In fact, it proba-bly strengthens it, but that is the subject of another article.

Another relevant factor in the discussion of US’ relative economic strength is invest-ment in productive enterprise, and in this case, foreign direct investment which supple-ments it. In this area, the focus turns to China rather than South Asia. Chinese investment in US industry has risen since 2000 from al-most zero to about $16bn in 2014. The total is now around $46.5bn, most of that in the last � ve years. There are Cassandras abound who warn against allowing Chinese investment arguing that the Chinese will engage in asset stripping and export the jobs in whatever industry they are investing in back to China.

A recent study by Rhodium Group, howev-er, found that the employment impact of Chinese investment in the US to be positive. It has created jobs.

On re� ection, this makes sense. China built a growth model that, for 30 years, has been based on moving the surplus agricultur-al labour from the rural areas into the cities to work in the industries based there. As we know, this model has worked well, but it is now out of steam, as China has run out of surplus labour. While US unemployment is now verging on the Federal Reserve Board’s target rate, in reality, there remains un-der-employment and many who are still not being counted in the labour force. So the US probably has more surplus labour these days than China.

I note that China has again liberalised its outward investment rules, its target being to free up its currency to the point that the IMF would declare it a reserve currency. There will be Cassandras who decry this as another move to accelerate American decline. But wouldn’t it be nice if Chinese investment were freed up to the point that the Chinese would invest in rebuilding crumbling US infrastructure? At present, Americans seem unwilling to invest in their own future.

And this is where Vanya and Gorkal and all the rest of our immigrant population come back in. If the American present seems to imply decline, the American future will be what they make of it. “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves….” And what will that future be if the “ourselves” are named Shrivashankar, Venkatachalam, Dev Jaiswal, Siddarth Krishakumar, Tejas Muthusamy, Sinyona Mishra, and Snehaa Ganesh Kumar? l

William B Milam is a Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC and a former US diplomat who was Ambassador to Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Chief of Mission in Liberia. This article previously appeared in The Friday Times.

America: Declining or reclining?

Not only are immigrants an increasing proportion of America, they are increasingly among the more skilled and educated segments of American society

What explains the dominance of Indian-Americans in the Spelling Bee? REUTERS

15D

TBusiness SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

India seeks to use its oil thirst to drive bargains17 Pro� t booking ends

5-week bull-run19US: No � scal transparency in FY15 budget of Bangladesh

16 NPL in ACU countries rising 20

Tax holiday may reduce tyre import n Tribune Report

Bangladesh’s tyre m a n u f a c t u r i n g industry is likely to see a boom in

production soon as the proposed budgetary measures for upcoming � scal will encourage investors to set up more production plants.

The plants will help decline dependency on import, reduce cost of products, create employments and help the country save for-eign exchanges, according to market insiders.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, with his budget speech on June 4, proposed tax hol-iday for tyre manufacturing industry as the country has to spend a huge volume of for-eign exchanges every year to import tyre.

“Considering increasing demand, industri-alisation and import expenditure along with creating employment opportunities for our skilled work force, I propose tax holiday for tyre manufacturing industry,” the minister said.

Tax holiday refers to a government incen-tive programme that o� ers a tax reduction or elimination to businesses to help stimulate foreign investments.

Despite growing demand and huge poten-tiality, the sector is still highly dependent on import.

The local large companies were yet to make heavy investments in tyre manufactur-ing due to lack of large capital investment and consistent power supply, said the insiders.

They added that some companies can now come up to make tyres using the tax bene� ts.

The country now has to spend Tk1,000 crore annually to import around 15 lakh piec-es of tyres, mainly from China, India, Indo-nesia, Thailand and Japan to meet local de-

mand, the market sources said. Currently, Apex Husain, Gazi Group,

Meghna Group of Industries and Rupsha Tyre are manufacturing di� erent types of tyre for light truck, minibus, microbus, motorcycle etc.

Global tyre giant CEAT Limited has already formed a joint venture with Bangladeshi AK Khan and Company with a ratio of 70:30.

Welcoming the government move, Apex Husain Group general manager (commercial) Mamunur Rahman told Dhaka Tribune that the new entrepreneurs will invest more in the sec-

tor that will ultimately boost the production. “The decision will encourage investors so

new factories will be established and more employments will be generated,” he said.

He said earlier Bangladesh was completely dependent on the imported tyres and 30% of the demand is now met locally.

Mamunur Rahman said local production would increase further if the government continues giving support to the sector.

According to a recent report, the tyre sales in Bangladesh will see a sharp rise in next � ve

years due to the increase of automobile sales, improvement in public infrastructure, and growth in purchasing power.

The report titled “Bangladesh Tyre Mar-ket Forecast and Opportunities 2020” said the tyre market will grow by over 9% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) until 2020 due to growth in automobile sales, ongoing improvements in public infrastructure, and growth-oriented government policies.

It said automobile and tyre sales in Bang-ladesh are expected to grow with the rise of purchasing power of people as well as grow-ing investments and joint ventures of foreign market players.

The trend is likely to make the market as an exporting destination for global tyre man-ufacturers.

The country can save huge amount of for-eign exchange led by the support to import sub-stitute industry due to the tax holiday, accord-ing to a top o� cial from CEAT AK Khan Limited.

“If the tax holiday is provided, more com-panies will feel encouraged to invest in Bangla-deshi sector that will create employments, sup-port backward linkage natural rubber industry, reduce poverty and reduce cost of the products,” the o� cial said preferring not to be named.

The CEAT AK Khan Limited is working on the manufacturing plant in Bhalluka, Mymensingh which will produce around 65 tonnes of tyres for all types of vehicles,.

It will alone meet about 40% demand of tyres in Bangladesh. In addition, the compa-ny will also export 30% of its products to its mother organisation in India.

“With this measures, the country can earn huge foreign currencies, and it will also work for improving trade de� cit with India and other countries,” ,” the o� cial said. l

FBCCI urged to be pro-active for more investmentn Tribune Business Desk

The country’s business leaders yesterday said an active role of the new leadership of the country’s apex trade body will draw more in-vestment to the country.

They said this at a reception accorded to the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President Abdul Matlub Ahmad.

Bangladesh Malaysia Chamber of Com-merce (BMCCI) organised the programme at a city hotel yesterday.

“Whatever decision you take in the FBCCI, you must serve the country’s interest,” said Salahuddin Kasem Khan,” Managing Director of AK Khan and Company.

He said Bangladesh needs additional 10% investment to reach 7% growth and there

should be e� orts to attract foreign direct in-vestment.

“Bangladesh must have more success sto-ries to attract new investors in Bangladesh and hoped that Matlub will bring about a suc-cess in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI),” said Lee Yun-young, Korean Ambassa-dor to Dhaka.

The envoy said Matlub has been trying for the last nine months to bring more Korean investors to Bangladesh and through joint ef-forts, Bangladesh will have more FDI.

Matlub will be the man who can make a di� erence and will be able to properly serve the business community, said BMCCI President Syed Nurul Islam.

“He will prove that he is the right person to lead us.”

in his address, Matlub Ah-mad assured all of working in line with the business commu-nity’s desire.

He said he is working pri-marily on two agenda – bring down bank interest and estab-

lish industries in all districts.The FBCCI chief said he would work for

promotion of more investment in Bangla-desh. l

‘Bangladesh must have more success stories to attract new investors and Matlub will bring about a success in drawing Foreign Direct Investment’

BUSINESS16DT


Zimbabwe to phase out worthless local dollar n AFP, Harare

The Zimbabwean dollar will o� cially be tak-en out of circulation, o� cials said Thursday, six years after hyper-in� ation rendered it worthless and US dollars became the most widely-used currency.

The government e� ectively abandoned the local currency in 2009 and adopted a mul-tiple currency system that includes the US dollar and the South African rand.

“Zimbabwe adopted the multiple currency system or dollarization in 2009 and it is there-fore necessary to demonetise the Zimbabwe dollar unit,” Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe gover-nor John Mangudya said at a news conference.

“We are decommissioning this currency.” The southern African country once re-

moved 12 zeros from its battered currency at the height of hyper-in� ation in 2009 when the largest note was the $100tn denomina-tion. O� cial � gures put in� ation at 230 mil-lion percent but put it much higher.

Mangudya said $20m has been set aside to o� set Zimbabwe dollar bank balances and to pay people still holding to the local unit. The process will run until September, he said.

“People went through a di� cult process in terms of in� ation. Yes, we know that there was hyper-in� ation. We need to ensure that as a country we move forward,” Mangudya said.

Zimbabwe has been saddled with a � nan-cial crisis for over a decade following Pres-ident Robert Mugabe’s land reforms which decimated farming, the backbone of the econ-omy.

Growth is expected to weaken further this

year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In most corners of the world, de� ation is currently a far bigger concern than in� ation, let alone hyperin� ation. The typical central banker has to worry about having too little power to in� uence wages and prices, not too much. Governments do have the capac-ity to create Zimbabwe-style hyperin� ation

through de� cit spending, but that requires far more excess than any halfway decent political system will allow.

Economist Milton Friedman once said that in� ation is “always and everywhere a mone-tary phenomenon”. That may be technically accurate, but it misses the point about hyper-in� ation, which is always and everywhere political. l

New Zealand, S.Korea cut rates to counter slowing China n Reuters, Sydney

New Zealand and South Korea cut interest rates on Thursday to counter the e� ects of sluggish global demand, and in particular subdued exports to China, their largest export market.

An outbreak of a deadly respiratory virus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, was an-other factor that prodded the Bank of Korea into its fourth easing in less than a year as anxiety over a spate of deaths has hit demand in the South Korean economy.

Worries aired on Thursday by central bank-ers in both New Zealand and South Korea over China’s slowdown, however, re� ected con-cerns held in all 120 countries worldwide that count China as their largest trading partner.

Fixed asset investment in China grew at its slowest rate in over 14 years last month, ac-cording to data that suggested the slowdown had longer to run in the world’s second largest economy.

“Investment is vital for stabilising growth in the short term and the poor performance of investment is putting pressure on the econ-omy,” said Li Huiyong, an economist at She-nyin & Wanguo in Shanghai.

In other data released on Thursday, indus-trial output and retail sales growth at least showed signs of steadying, and were largely as expected. l

Mercedes opens Indian factory to cut costs and boost sales n Reuters, Pune

German automaker Mercedes-Benz plans to increase the number of cars it makes in India, hoping to trim retail prices to help grab a bigger share of a luxury car market where competi-tion is intensifying from rivals Audi and BMW.

Owned by Daimler AG, Mercedes was the � rst of Germany’s leading luxury car makers to enter India two decades ago, but has been overtaken by rivals in terms of sales with Audi currently leading the pack.

By doubling capacity to 20,000 vehicles a year, with more locally assembled models and a higher proportion of locally produced parts, Mercedes hopes to improve pro� ts and increase sales in the world’s sixth-largest car market.

“It is a full-� edged strategy of how to de-velop the brand of Mercedes-Benz in India, and it’s far from done,” said India unit Man-aging Director Eberhard Kern, speaking at the launch of a new production facility in Pune, near Mumbai, on Thursday.

“With local production we have more availability, are closer to the market, and it gives us the chance to make it even more at-tractive for our customers with prices coming down,” Kern said.

Analysts say making more in India with more local parts will also enable Mercedes to save on steep import duties. Mercedes has begun local assembly of its GLA entry-level sports utility vehicle (SUV) and will start mak-ing the CLA saloon within a few months. l

US: No � scal transparency in FY15 budget of Bangladesh n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Bangladesh has failed to meet the minimum requirements of � scal transparency for the � scal year 2015 as information on allocation to state-owned enterprises was not available though the budget was publicly available, said the US Fiscal Transparency Report.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s neighboring country India, Nepal and Sri Lanka had been able to meet the transparency requirement.

The US State Department on Friday un-veiled the Fiscal Transparency Report 2015 that provides opportunities to hold dialogue with the governments on the importance of � scal transparency.

The State Department evaluated public availability, substantial completeness and reliability of budget documents as well as transparency of processes for awarding the government contracts and licences for natu-ral resource extraction.

“Bangladesh’s budget is publicly available and breaks down expenditures and revenues. Financial allocations to and earnings from state-owned enterprises are included only in the aggregate. While information on earnings from state-owned enterprises is included in supplementary budget documents; however, information on allocations to state-owned en-terprises is not available,” the report stated.

The budget does not include expenditures to support executive o� ces; it is unclear whether these represent a signi� cant outlay, said the report.

Further, the supreme audit institution has not produced and made publicly available veri� cations of the government’s annual � -nancial statements within a reasonable peri-od of time, the state department said.

Bangladesh’s � scal transparency would be improved by including in the budget more detail on allocations to and earnings from state-owned enterprises and expenditures to support executive o� ces and publishing an audit of the government’s � nancial state-ments by the supreme audit institution with-in a reasonable period of time, it added.

The minimum requirements of � scal transparency are the budget documents should be broadly available online, at govern-ment o� ces or libraries and the criteria and procedures for the contracting and licensing of natural resource extraction should be pub-licly available.

Fiscal transparency is a critical element of e� ective public � nancial management, helps in building market con� dence, and underpins economic sustainability.

It fosters greater government accountabil-ity by providing a window into government budgets for citizens, helping citizens to hold

their leadership accountable, and facilitating better-informed public debates.

The department concluded, of the 140 governments evaluated pursuant to the Act, 60 did not meet the minimum requirements of � scal transparency.

However, of these, nine governments made signi� cant progress toward meeting the mini-mum requirements of � scal transparency.

The Department assessed the following governments as meeting the minimum re-quirements of � scal transparency for FY 2015: Albania, Armenia, Argentina, The Bahamas, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Guate-mala, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, India, In-donesia, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Koso-vo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leo-ne, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Af-rica, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, Vietnam and Zambia. l

A man holds up d 200 million and 500 million Zimbabwe dollar notes in the capital REUTERS

BUSINESS 17D


India seeks to use its oil thirst to drive bargains n Reuters, New Delhi

India is trying to use its position as one of the world’s biggest energy consumers to strike better bargains for its companies with oil exporting nations, in a marked change of ap-proach under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The oil ministry is moving beyond seek-ing additional barrels for import in talks with exporters. Now, the energy-de� cient country wants to use its thirst for oil as a weapon to broker deals to help strengthen its economy and create jobs, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told Reuters in an interview.

“We are a market. The quantum that we buy is our weapon,” 45-year-old Pradhan said.

India, the world’s fourth biggest oil consum-er and third biggest importer, ships in about 80% of the crude oil it consumes and fuel de-mand is rising with rapid economic growth.

After clocking faster growth than China in the December quarter, India’s economy grew 7.5% in the quarter through March, outstrip-ping its larger neighbour’s 7% in the same pe-riod. Last year, India’s economy grew at 7.3%.

Consumption of petroleum products is es-timated to be 166.9 million tonnes this � scal year, and local oil output has remained al-most stagnant for years.

Since taking o� ce in May last year, Modi and his ministers have actively tried to show-case India’s growing role in international trade. The prime minister has visited 18 coun-tries including Japan, the United States and China, over the past year, promoting India as an ideal destination for investments.

Pradhan said India’s new oil diplomacy aims to further its interests on four fronts: to buy oil and gas acreage; source imports on better terms; increase investment in sectors such as pipelines and re� ning; and get busi-ness for engineering and construction compa-nies with jobs for skilled Indian labour.

“South Korea lifts slightly more oil that we buy from the Middle East but its participa-tion in engineering and construction business there is double than ours,” said Pradhan, who

spoke in Hindi during the interview. The Middle East is India’s biggest oil sup-

plier, although the emergence of new trade routes following a decline in global crude

prices and supply glut has led to an increase in supplies from central Asia to Latin America.

Limited window India’s push comes at a time when it has be-come a rare bright spot for demand in the global oil market.

A senior Saudi Aramco o� cial said on Thursday Indian oil demand is set to rise, while Chinese oil demand is likely to stabilise in the second half of this year.

India has a “limited window” of opportu-nity to get deals for its companies as a glut of oil is allowing buyers to call the shots, said Ehsan Ul Haq, senior consultant at UK-based consultant KBC Energy Economics.

“It is probably the best time,” Haq said. Pradhan sees India’s fuel demand rising

due to a push by the government to create a manufacturing hub and jobs.

He recently visited Colombia and Mexico, and met OPEC members in Vienna to help In-dian companies grow their footprint.

ONGC Videsh Managing Director N K Ver-ma, who travelled with Pradhan, said the vis-it helped the state-owned oil company forge new relationships and increase its visibility.

“We are getting a boost in our e� ort to cap-ture equity oil and gas for the nations,” Verma said.

Pradhan said easing global oil prices have provided an opportunity to India to raise spot purchases and diversify its crude basket. But he added that New Delhi is also mindful of its long-term relationship with oil-rich nations.

“We cannot make knee-jerk decision fol-lowing short-term volatility,” he said.

When asked whether India will boost im-ports from Iran if sanctions are lifted against the Persian Gulf nation at the end of the month, he said: “There is su� cient indication to Iran that if anything positive comes out on June 30, India is ready to go ahead.” l

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan speaks during an interview with Reuters in New Delhi REUTERS

Economists: China’s economy to pick up in H2 n Reuters, Beijing

Economists at China’s central bank have sharply lowered their in� ation forecast for 2015, while predicting a pick up the world’s second-biggest economy during the next six months thanks to more stable home prices and � rmer foreign demand.

In a report posted on website of the Peo-ple’s Bank of China (PBOC), the economists forecast annual in� ation of just 1.4% this year, lowering their estimate from 2.2% earlier.

The report speci� ed that the estimates represented the view of the economists and not that of the PBOC. The economists were cautiously optimistic, despite downward re-visions to other forecasts that re� ected the headwinds faced by the stuttering economy.

China’s sagging property market is “starting to stabilise” and the world economy should show further signs of recovery in coming months, said the economists who were led by Ma Jun, the cental bank’s chief economist.

Looser monetary policy conditions as a re-sult of China cutting interest rates three times since November were also expected to help shore up growth in coming months, the econ-omists said.

“We have reasons to expect some mod-

est recovery in sequential growth in the sec-ond-half of this year,” they said.

The economists noted that it takes six to nine months for China’s economy to feel the bene� ts of monetary policy easing.

The report showed the economists had shaved their forecast for China’s economic growth to 7% for 2015, from 7.1% previously.

Dragged by a cooling housing market, anaemic domestic and foreign demand and stuttering local investment, China’s economy grew at its weakest pace in six years in the � rst quarter, expanding 7%.

There are few signs that the downturn is abating. China’s imports shrank more sharp-ly than expected in May, data showed earlier this week, strengthening investor bets that Beijing must further relax policy.

Worries over de� ationary pressures were re� ected in a sharp downward revision to the economists’ forecasts for producer pric-es, with the index now expected to fall 4.2%, marking a far sharper drop than the 0.4% de-cline foreseen earlier.

Kevin Lai, an economist at Daiwa in Hong Kong, reckoned the central bank econmists were being too optimistic with their forecast for a recovery in growth during the next six months.

“We are not sure why the PBOC economists

think it will get better,” Lai said. “We think the second-half (of the year) will be more di� -cult. De� ationary pressure will be stronger.”

Falling producer prices and slowing con-sumer in� ation will lift borrowing costs in real terms, further squeezing companies al-ready bu� eted by weak orders, Lai said.

He also doubted whether any turnaround in the housing market would be strong enough to o� set weakness elsewhere.

The PBOC economists acknowledged Chi-na’s sluggish domestic demand, saying the housing slump and falling global commodity prices had limited spending.

But they predicted that China’s housing market could soon turn the corner, spur-ring new investment in the next six to nine months.

The report said housing investment has cooled twice as fast as previously forecast, and was down 10 percentage points in the � rst four months of 2015 compared with a year earlier.

“The recent measures introduced to stabi-lise (economic) growth will show their e� ects in the next few months,” they said.

Below is a table of the revised forecasts by the PBOC economists. All forecasts are for 2015 and are measured in percent change from the year earlier period. l

Saudi Arabia ready to raise oil output further to meet demand n Reuters, New Delhi

Saudi Arabia is ready to increase its oil output in the coming months to a new record to meet a rise in global demand, despite increased do-mestic use, a senior state oil company o� cial said on Thursday.

Ahmed Al-Subaey, Saudi Aramco’s execu-tive director for marketing, told Reuters the world’s top oil exporter was already talking to prospective Indian buyers for additional oil.

Saudi Arabia increased production in May to around 10.3 million barrels per day (bpd) - its highest rate on record - as a result of in-creased global demand. Any increase in pro-duction in a market which already faces a glut would signal that OPEC is unrelenting in its decision to maintain global market share.

The strategy is seen as a major factor in the sharp decline in oil prices over the past year.

“We have plenty of crude... You are not going to see any cuts from Saudi Arabia,” Al-Subaey said after meeting Indian oil o� -cials in New Delhi.

Saudi Arabia has historically lowered its oil exports during the summer months when do-mestic demand peaks due to scorching temper-atures and the need to power air conditioning. l

BUSINESS18DT


SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

Sector DSE CSE TotalMillion Taka % change Million Taka % change Million Taka % change

Bank 1806.85 6.76 202.25 6.40 2009.11 6.72NBFI 592.06 2.21 71.33 2.26 663.39 2.22Investment 214.23 0.80 12.09 0.38 226.32 0.76Engineering 2673.56 10.00 275.87 8.73 2949.43 9.86Food & Allied 740.56 2.77 28.87 0.91 769.43 2.57Fuel & Power 5677.77 21.23 498.76 15.78 6176.52 20.65Jute 6.26 0.02 0.00 0.00 6.26 0.02Textile 2020.89 7.56 222.63 7.04 2243.52 7.50Pharma & Chemical 4667.57 17.45 689.46 21.81 5357.03 17.91Paper & Packaging 48.93 0.18 4.71 0.15 53.64 0.18Service 895.58 3.35 56.59 1.79 952.17 3.18Leather 84.08 0.31 1.78 0.06 85.86 0.29Ceramic 360.41 1.35 25.52 0.81 385.93 1.29Cement 1182.94 4.42 367.86 11.64 1550.80 5.19Information Technology 473.74 1.77 45.18 1.43 518.92 1.74General Insurance 153.16 0.57 3.12 0.10 156.28 0.52Life Insurance 231.77 0.87 18.40 0.58 250.17 0.84Telecom 1567.36 5.86 163.16 5.16 1730.52 5.79Travel & Leisure 1777.72 6.65 292.25 9.25 2069.97 6.92Miscellaneous 1568.51 5.86 180.68 5.72 1749.19 5.85Debenture 2.36 0.01 0.09 0.00 2.45 0.01

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to [email protected] or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

News, analysis and recent disclosuresLAFSURCEML: The Board of Directors has declared 5% interim cash dividend for the year ending on 31 December 2015, out of the provisional net pro� ts of the Company for the period ended on 31 May 2015. Record date for entitlement of interim dividend: 02.07.2015. The Company has also reported consolidated income for the period after tax of Tk. 984.03 million, consolidated EPS of Tk. 0.85, consolidated NAV per share of Tk. 12.26 and consoli-dated NOCFPS of Tk. 0.65 for the period ended on May 31, 2015.Audited/unaudited Financial Reports:KPCL: (Q1 Un-audited): Net Prof-it after tax from Jan15 to March15 was Tk. 831.89 million with EPS of Tk. 2.30 as against Tk. 140.38 million (KPCL-I only) and Tk. 0.39 respectively for the same period of the previous year.Fixed Assets/Right/Invest-ment:SAIFPOWER: The Company has informed that it has signed an agreement with Chittagong Port Authority regarding Refurbish-ment of six number of Straddle Carrier which includes supply, � tting, � xing and reconditioning of di� erent components of which contract price amounting of Tk. 219.66 million only.FARCHEM: The Company has further informed that it has purchased 27 decimal of land at 1st phase at a cost of Tk. 46,91,100.00 including Registration and other cost at Rupganj, Narayanganj out of 200 decimal as per earlier decision of the Board of Directors for expansion of its 2nd Unit for

Dyes and Chemical Factory of the Company.Credit RatingUTTARABANK: Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Limited (CRAB) has announced the rating of the Company as AA3 in the long term and ST-2 in the short term along with a stable outlook based on audited � nancial statements of the Company up to December 31, 2014 and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.MiscellaneousUTTARAFIN: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on June 17, 2015 at 4:00 PM to consider, among oth-ers, audited � nancial statements of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2014.NHFIL: The Company has in-formed that the cash dividend for the year 2014 has been sent to the respective shareholders Bank Account (as per CDBL record) through BEFTN on May 31, 2015. The undistributed dividend will be sent to the shareholders registered address (as per CDBL record) through Courier Service.ACTIVEFINE: The Company has informed that it has credited the bonus shares for the year ended on December 31, 2014 to the respective shareholders BO Accounts on June 04, 2015.AFCAGRO: The Company has informed that it has credited the bonus shares for the year ended on December 31, 2014 to the respective shareholders BO Accounts on June 04, 2015.

CSE GAINER

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

UNITED AIR-A 29.21 26.91 11.32 11.50 11.70 9.00 284.242 0.86 13.2ICB Emp. PMF-A 27.27 25.91 5.54 5.60 5.60 4.40 0.583 0.61 9.1Aziz PipesZ 26.67 23.20 18.48 19.00 19.00 15.20 0.018 -2.64 -veAMCL 2nd MF-A 15.91 12.50 4.95 5.10 5.10 4.40 0.047 0.71 7.0Reckitt Benckiser -A 14.43 14.43 1680.00 1680.00 1680.00 1500.00 0.858 68.56 24.5Linde (BD) Ltd. -A 14.22 14.98 955.48 948.00 965.00 836.00 0.274 39.04 24.5Asia Insur. Ltd.-A 9.94 15.03 20.82 19.90 22.10 18.10 0.444 2.17 9.6HeidelbergCement -A 9.83 8.07 557.94 563.00 565.00 503.00 10.272 34.84 16.0Marico BD Ltd-A 8.92 8.92 1430.62 1430.60 1437.90 1315.00 0.486 42.69 33.5Apex Footwear-A 7.62 7.62 339.00 339.00 339.00 315.00 0.010 -37.80 -ve

DSE GAINER


Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

ICB Emp. PMF-A 31.82 28.80 5.68 5.80 5.80 4.40 17.331 0.61 9.3UNITED AIR-A 29.21 27.24 11.35 11.50 11.70 9.10 1576.946 0.86 13.2Al-Haj Textile -A 19.56 20.58 87.60 86.20 89.80 72.80 162.751 1.07 81.9Reckitt Benckiser -A 12.97 14.57 1,701.78 1,701.40 1,720.00 1,519.00 31.707 68.56 24.8Berger Paints-A 11.89 11.59 1,663.21 1,660.40 1,698.00 1,513.10 11.888 49.64 33.5Standard Ceramic -A 11.11 21.22 38.10 35.00 35.60 32.00 0.009 0.49 77.8AMCL 2nd MF-A 11.11 11.09 5.01 5.00 5.20 4.50 2.106 0.71 7.1Fine Foods A 10.00 9.00 9.93 9.90 10.00 8.40 1.252 -0.27 -veLinde (BD) Ltd. -A 9.74 11.63 969.30 953.20 985.00 865.00 155.791 39.04 24.8HeidelbergCement -A 9.47 9.07 563.36 563.20 569.00 509.00 376.752 34.84 16.2

CSE LOSER


Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

Libra Infusions-A -24.81 -24.81 291.00 291.00 291.00 291.00 0.004 3.38 86.1Samata LeatheR -Z -18.56 -18.56 15.80 15.80 17.50 15.80 0.032 -0.05 -veS Purbanchol Power-N -17.36 -14.57 52.82 51.90 64.90 51.90 21.843 5.92 8.9Summit Power -A -16.98 -13.75 40.45 39.60 49.20 39.20 126.639 3.92 10.3AFC AgroBiotech-A -16.41 -9.82 58.99 54.50 68.90 54.00 60.820 3.20 18.4BD Submarine Cable-A -15.82 -13.84 138.99 136.20 172.00 135.80 112.375 0.64 217.2BDCOM Online-A -14.29 -13.60 25.98 25.80 31.00 25.50 2.769 1.67 15.6SummitAlliancePort.-A -13.95 -12.50 56.22 55.50 67.00 54.80 27.914 1.00 56.2Power Grid Co. -A -13.71 -13.28 36.71 36.50 44.50 36.50 3.331 -0.15 -veKhulna Power-A -13.70 -12.55 71.03 69.90 85.50 69.20 99.331 9.20 7.7

DSE LOSER


Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

Purabi G Insu.A -22.10 -22.28 14.13 14.10 15.70 14.00 6.373 0.92 15.4S Purbanchol Power-N -16.67 -14.39 52.88 52.00 65.40 51.70 366.378 5.92 8.9Summit Power -A -16.39 -13.54 40.60 39.80 49.80 39.30 1195.074 3.92 10.4AFC AgroBiotech-A -16.26 -14.85 55.11 54.60 68.00 54.00 435.247 3.20 17.2BD Submarine Cable-A -15.75 -13.96 139.18 136.40 172.00 136.00 607.858 0.64 217.5BDCOM Online-A -15.74 -13.92 25.79 25.70 31.50 25.50 83.454 1.67 15.4SummitAlliancePort.-A -13.24 -12.12 56.19 55.70 68.50 55.40 454.129 1.00 56.2Khulna Power-A -13.24 -12.85 70.97 70.10 85.40 69.30 1551.520 9.20 7.7FAR Chemical-N -12.45 -9.94 43.49 42.90 52.50 42.50 427.024 3.23 13.5BSRM Ltd. -N -12.32 -10.49 67.75 66.20 80.00 66.00 361.140 0.73 92.8

DSE key features June 7-11, 2015Turnover (Million Taka)

26,746.32

Turnover (Volume)

747,941,079

Number of Contract

614,655

Traded Issues 321

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

123

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

198

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

-

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,534.73

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.72

CSE key features June 7-11, 2015Turnover (Million Taka)

3,160.60

Turnover (Volume)

99,401,454

Number of Contract

103,365

Traded Issues 271

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

91

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

176

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

4

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,461.66

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

29.84

BUSINESS 19D


Pro� t booking ends 5-week bull-runn Tribune Report

Stock markets declined in the past week, snapping up � ve consecutive weeks of rally due to pro� t-booking after post-budget state.

During the week that end-ed Thursday, the benchmark index DSEX was down 76 points or 1.7% to end at 4,515.

The blue-chip compris-ing index DS30 fell 21 points or almost 1.9% to 1,744. The shariah index DSES shed 18 points or 1.7% to 1,099.

The Chittagong Stock Ex-change Selective Categories Index, CSCX moved down125 points or 1.8% to close 8,455.

The market saw correc-tion in the � rst week just after unveiling the proposed on budget on June 4, as it witnessed a signi� cant rally ahead of budget, dealers say.

The budget proposed various sops, including list-ed companies corporate tax rate cut and increasing the threshold of tax-free divi-dend income for the � scal year 2015-16, for the stock market.

The week’s daily average turnover was Tk535 crore, down 29% over the previ-ous week. Power, pharma-ceuticals and engineering accounted for 22%, 18% and 10% respectively of the week’s total turnover.

After a capital mar-ket-friendly national budget proposal of FY’16, market failed to react positively as investors kept themselves in the sideline to observe the direction, said Lanka Bangla Securities.

“The low turnover indi-cates poor participation by investors.”

IDLC Investments said as previously anticipated by the investment communi-ty, the budget o� ered array of incentives for the capital market through several � s-cal measures.

However, stock market acted as usual as a leading indicator incorporating the measures in price before budget declaration, it said.

“Later on, as the incen-tives materialised, investors started realising pro� t from their bets, forcing the mar-ket to contract. Investors partially re-allocated their portfolio in large caps, said the merchant bank.”

Fuel and power was the worst loser slumping 6.4%, followed by non-banking � nancial 3% cement 2.7%, and banks 1.6%.

Among the large-cap sec-tors, pharmaceuticals regis-tered the highest gain of 3%, followed by telecommunica-tion 1.2% and food and allied 0.8%. l

As previously anticipated by the investment community, the budget o� ered array of incentives for the capital market through several � scal measures

ANALYST

Weekly capital market highlightsDSE Broad Index : 4515.13551 (-) 1.66% ▼

DSE - 30 Index : 1744.30629 (-) 1.18% ▼

CSE All Share Index: 13903.1434 (-) 2.03% ▼

CSE - 30 Index : 11170.9867 (+) 0.22% ▲

CSE Selected Index : 8458.1270 (-) 1.89% ▼

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Weekly closing

Price change

Weekly opening

Weekly high

Weekly low

Weekly average

FAR Chemical-N 8,900,372 385.00 12.18 42.80 -11.93 48.60 52.00 41.50 43.35LafargeS Cement-Z 2,679,442 350.28 11.08 119.90 -4.16 125.10 133.90 119.00 123.46UNITED AIR-A 26,742,203 284.24 8.99 11.50 29.21 8.90 11.70 9.00 11.32BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 4,470,179 160.19 5.07 33.90 -1.74 34.50 37.70 33.60 34.42Summit Power -A 2,871,716 126.64 4.01 39.60 -16.98 47.70 49.20 39.20 40.45BD Submarine Cable-A 748,246 112.37 3.56 136.20 -15.82 161.80 172.00 135.80 138.99Brac Bank -A 3,064,053 107.31 3.40 36.60 2.52 35.70 37.50 34.60 36.78Khulna Power-A 1,286,083 99.33 3.14 69.90 -13.70 81.00 85.50 69.20 71.03United Power-N 576,524 94.79 3.00 158.20 -9.08 174.00 182.00 154.00 161.76Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A 5,241,178 75.64 2.39 15.00 4.90 14.30 15.70 13.40 15.27BSRM Ltd. -N 974,433 69.40 2.20 66.10 -12.33 75.40 79.60 65.90 67.58AFC AgroBiotech-A 954,408 60.82 1.92 54.50 -16.41 65.20 68.90 54.00 58.99MJL BD Ltd.-A 531,752 58.70 1.86 106.30 -5.00 111.90 115.30 106.00 106.59Keya Cosmetics -A 2,761,943 58.34 1.85 20.00 -8.26 21.80 22.60 19.90 20.26WesternMarine -N 1,268,289 58.32 1.85 44.60 -4.70 46.80 49.50 44.40 44.89

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Weekly closing

Price change

Weekly opening

Weekly high

Weekly low

Weekly average

UNITED AIR-A 146,407,543 1576.95 5.90 11.50 29.21 8.90 11.70 9.10 11.35Khulna Power-A 19,757,856 1551.52 5.80 70.10 -13.24 80.80 85.40 69.30 70.97BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 38,999,993 1399.69 5.23 33.90 -1.74 34.50 37.70 33.70 34.37Summit Power -A 26,813,045 1195.07 4.47 39.80 -16.39 47.60 49.80 39.30 40.60Grameenphone-A 2,934,183 959.50 3.59 333.50 2.05 326.80 334.70 321.60 332.09Beximco Pharma -A 12,735,022 758.95 2.84 56.60 -1.22 57.30 62.80 56.00 57.54LafargeS Cement-Z 5,633,970 718.13 2.69 118.30 -5.28 124.90 132.80 117.00 123.16United Power-N 4,244,835 701.52 2.62 158.20 -9.03 173.90 183.00 152.50 161.36Square Pharma -A 2,579,408 640.98 2.40 255.20 4.08 245.20 257.00 242.50 254.05BD Submarine Cable-A 4,020,750 607.86 2.27 136.40 -15.75 161.90 172.00 136.00 139.18ACI Formulations-A 2,373,521 547.31 2.05 227.10 0.98 224.90 245.00 213.00 232.84SummitAlliancePort.-A 7,450,014 454.13 1.70 55.70 -13.24 64.20 68.50 55.40 56.19Baraka Power-A 12,741,451 444.78 1.66 32.60 -11.41 36.80 38.30 32.30 32.81AFC AgroBiotech-A 7,012,754 435.25 1.63 54.60 -16.26 65.20 68.00 54.00 55.11FAR Chemical-N 9,002,560 427.02 1.60 42.90 -12.45 49.00 52.50 42.50 43.49Ifad Autos -N 5,696,805 669.83 1.79 114.30 1.06 113.10 124.50 110.10 116.84

BUSINESS20DT


BB governor becomes ACU chairman n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman took over the charge as the chairman of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) yesterday for the year 2015-216.

He replaced ValiollahSeif, governor of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the 44th ACU board meeting held at a city hotel yesterday.

BB governor will hold the key position at the Asian Clearing Union for one-year term. The Asian Clearing Union, established in 1974 under the auspices of UNESCAP, began its op-eration in November 1975.

Than Swe, governor Central Bank of Myan-mar has also been elected for the year 2016-2017 at the meeting and the next governors’ symposium will be held at the Myanmar as per board meeting decision.

ACU is the simplest form of payment ar-

rangements whereby the participants set-tle payments for intra-regional transactions among the participating central banks on a multilateral basis.

The main objectives of a clearing union are to facilitate payments among member countries for eligible transactions, thereby economising on the use of foreign exchange reserves and transfer costs, as well as promot-ing trade among the participating countries.

Currently, nine central banks – Bangla-desh, Bhutan, Iran, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar – are the members of the ACU. Afganistan Bank, which attended the meeting as an observer, will for-mally join the union as a member in next year.

Governors of Central Bank of Iran, Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan, Nepal Rastra Bank, State Bank of Pakistan, Deputy Gover-nors of Reserve Bank of India, Central Bank of Myanmar, and Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh Bank Governor AtiurRahman presided over the meeting.

Economic performance of the ACU mem-ber countries rose signi� cantly to US$20.35bn in the year 2014 from $51.44m in the 1976.

“The Board discussed the recommenda-tions of the Standing Technical Committee meeting like re-opening the issue of use of domestic currency in ACU mechanism, im-plementation of web-based application for ACU messaging, setting up taskforce for dis-pute resolution, unauthorized transactions through ACU mechanism,” SK Sur Chowd-hury, deputy governor of BB told the report-ers after the meeting. l

Microsoft to tie with Walton n Tribune Report

Microsoft Corporation wants to tie with Wal-ton for business expansion as it has witnessed great success in it 3G-enabled tab ‘Walpad Pro’, which used Windows Operating System (OS).

“The successful introduction of Walpad Pro in the Bangladesh tab market has paved the way for building a strong business tie between the country’s leading brand Walton and the world’s renowned software developer Micro-soft Corporation,” said a statement yesterday.

Walton recently launched its latest and most stylish multifunctional expert tab ‘Wal-pad Pro,’ featured with latest Windows 8.1 op-erating system. Microsoft is deeply interested in working with the local electronics giant, aiming to expand the market of its Windows Operating System in Bangladesh, it added.

“In terms of marketing the Windows OS through mobile and tab devices in Bang-ladesh, Walton is the only local partner of Microsoft and we are eager to build a strong business tie with Walton for expanding the market share of Windows OS in Bangladesh,” said Ruzwana Chowdhury, channel manager (MNA) of Microsoft Bangladesh. l

NPL OF ACU MEMBER COUNTRIESCountry Period NPL rate

Bangladesh March ‘15 10.47%

Nepal January ‘15 3.73%

Iran March ‘15 12.7%

Myanmar March ‘15 1.2%

Pakistan 2014 12.3%

Sri Lankan 2014 4.2%

Bhutan 2014 12%

India March ‘15 4.46%

Bankers from ACU member countries attend the 44th board meeting held in a city hotel yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

NPL in ACU countries rising n Jebun Nesa Alo

Non-Performing Loans in the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) countries are growing and all the countries addressed almost similar causes be-hind this.

The observation came at a special discus-sion on non-performing loan management of the ACU member countries during the board meeting held yesterday in the capital.

Representatives from the central banks of seven countries including Bangladesh, India, Iran, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka took part in the discussion with presenting data over the NPL of the respective countries.

Lack of corporate governance and politi-cal in� uence are mostly the factors for rising NPL, the bankers addressed the meeting.

“NPL problem is the common phenom-enon in the Asian region,” said Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman while chairing the discussion meeting.

He said corporate governance must need to manage NPL.

Foreign banks hardly have NPL due to hav-ing corporate governance. Private banks have NPL, but not much more than public banks.

“Political in� uence is one of the most disturbances for controlling the NPL in the emerging countries,” he observed.

He suggested bankers to create ground for good borrowers to come out from NPL during the political crisis and to take stance of no mercy for bad borrowers.

He also advised to give the loan to the best ones and get back the loan.

Banks’ poor management is responsible for the excessive NPLs in Bangladesh, said Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor SK Sur

Chowdhury while giving a presentation on the country’s banking sector.

In� uence by external forces to provide risky and marginal loans, inadequate inter-nal monitoring system, high interest rates are also the factors behind the rise of NPL.

He said corporate governance in the banks is still to be improved to stop extending risky and marginal loans.

Policy liberalisation in di� erent times due to political crisis and unavailable circum-stances has been criticised because it is ar-gued that the facilities are exploited by the habitual defaulters, he said.

Daw Tenzin, governor of Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan, addressed the political in� uence as the major cause behind the NPL rising in his country. He said housing sector in Bhutan is over supplied by loans and most defaulters are the government contractors.

The representative from Nepal central bank addressed the poor risk management practices, weak credit risk assessment pro-cess, poor credit administration, inadequate management information system, insider lending as the factors for rising the NPL in Nepal. l

Campaign against intellectual property infringement stressed n Tribune Report

It is high time e� orts needed to be made to � ght against intellectual property (IP) in-fringement to achieve the middle-income country status by 2021, experts said at a pro-gramme yesterday.

They came up with the observation at the launching ceremony of campaign against in-tellectual property infringement organised by the Intellectual Property Association of Bang-ladesh (IPAB) at a city hotel.

The country’s 27 business sectors will work together under this campaign.

The campaign aims at enhancing public awareness, facilitating legal enforcement and supporting the government to formulate e� ective regulations to ensure Intellectual Property Rights in the country.

“Our Jamdani saree is world famous, Baul songs touch our heart. We shall hold in-ter-ministerial meetings to � nd out scope to help the IPAB’s e� orts to protect intellectual property rights of our own products like Jam-dani,” said Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed

while addressing the programme as the chief guest.

State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and FBCCI President Abdul Mat-lub Ahmad were present as special guests.

As a part of the campaign, an independ-ent research will be conducted to identify sector-wise prospects and challenges and to count the government’s revenue losses so that it could be measured how much the economy is being a� ected by IPR violation, said the IPAB.

The � ndings of the research will be pub-lished and handed over to concerned govern-ment authorities for the greater interest of the stakeholders, it added.

IPAB believes the successful execution of campaign would help Bangladesh become a middle-income country by 2021.

Parliamentary a� airs secretary M Shahidul Haque, industries secretary Mosharraf Hos-sain Bhuiyan, Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Annisul Haque, IPAB President Sala-huddin Abdullah and Director General M Azi-zur Rahman were present at the function. l

21D

TSUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015T

-JUNCTION

22newsAcademic conference on Graphic Novels

23style sessionsQ&AtrendHot Trend: Florals

24his styleTwo-step combo

INSIDE

Collar-ologyPHOTO: BIGSTOCK

news Monte Carlo in DhakaWorld famous brand Monte Carlo recently opened its authorised showroom at Banani. Yashpal Sharma, South Asian representative of Monte Carlo and Kamruzzaman Dipu, Managing Director of Monte Carlo Bangladesh inaugurated the new show room. At the event were popular local celebrities, including Joya Ahsan, Ferdaous, Nirob, Badhon, Emon Mehjabin and other respected guests and media personalities. The event was managed by Mirror. l

SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015T-JUNCTION News22D

T

Engineering and Computer Science Career Fair held at Brac University

Shwapno’s clothing collection, Shwapno Life, hosted a glittering fashion show. Shwapno Life 2015 Eid Fashion Fiesta to place on June 12 at the Bengal Multimedia Studio in Tejgaon, showcasing their new Eid collection.

Celebrity models, Ruma, Risilia, Mithila, Anusha, Ratul, Imran and Shanto walked the ramp to display this year’s exclusive clothing collection for the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr and was choreographed by Quazi Qumrul Islam. Imminent fashion designers also graced the extravagant show hosted by the upcoming fashion and apparel label Shwapno Life.

Sabbir Hasan Nasir, Executive Director of ACI Logistics, along with other o� cials, and renowned faces of the media world were also in attendance. l

Shwapno Life unveils their Eid collection

n Imran Raja

A two-day long career fair for Engineering students was held at BRAC University on the 10th and 11th of June. It was organised by the O� ce of Career Services & Alumni Relations (OCSAR) and School of Engineering and Computer Science (SECS) of BRAC University.

27 companies, including Accenture, Augmedix, Banglalion, Daraz, Therap Services, BRAC IT Services and Rahimafrooz participated in the event, to the delight of the students who were spotted dropping their CVs at di� erent stalls.

The inauguration ceremony at the indoor auditorium kicked o� the event, which included a programming contest on the � rst day. This was followed by a session on the importance of self-branding.

The second day was much more eventful. BRAC IT Services Ltd and Therap Ltd both organised discussion sessions on career opportunities in software and technology. The departments of CSE and EEE from BRAC University organised seminars where their achievements, missions, activities and future prospects were discussed.

In addition, a round table discussion on “The Need for Industry-University Collaboration in the � eld of Engineering and Computer Science” was held at the

GDLN Center of the university. Among others, Prof Dr Syed Saad Andaleeb, vice chancellor, BRAC University, Khan A.N. Murshid, director of OSCAR, BRAC, Prof Dr Md Haider Ali, chairperson, dept. of computer science and engineering at BRAC University spoke at the seminar. The speakers stressed that the university students should familiarise themselves with the corporate culture in order to face the challenges of the job market. Multiple speakers agreed that engineering students in particular, should remain associated with companies and organisations from the very beginning of their university lives in the form of internships, corporate attachments and part-time jobs.

Wakil Ahmed, a 4th year student from the Department of CSE said, “It’s very thoughtful of OSCAR to organize this career fair. It’s letting us interact with companies directly. I’ve submitted my CV at multiple companies, so have my classmates. Hoping for the best now!”

The event ended with a small closing ceremony at the indoor auditorium where the director of OSCAR thanked all participating organisations for their presence and o� cially drew down the curtains on the event.

BRAC IT Services Limited and Therap Bangladesh Limited were the sponsors while Dhaka Tribune, Banik Barta and Radio Foorti were media partners of the event. l

On June 12, the Center for Language Studies (CLS) ULAB, hosted an academic conference on graphic novels and comics and their role in academia. The chief guest and keynote speaker for this event was Ahsan Habib, Editor of UNMAD magazine. He, along with

other in� uential � gures in the comic book and academic community discussed the possibilities and prospects of introducing comic books into the classrooms in Bangladesh. l

SINGER Furniture and Family Fair at KhulnaSinger Furniture Family Fiesta - Furniture and Family Festival began at Khulna yesterday. The fair at the Community Hall of Hotel Tiger Garden was formally inaugurated by Mostofa Kamal, District Commissioner of Khulna. The exhibition will continue till June

14, 2015 (Sunday) from 9:30am till 8pm every day. Singer Lifestyle dining room, living room and bedroom furniture will be available at the fair at attractive discounts up to 30%, warranty up to 5 years, 12-month easy installments, and 0% interest for 90 days. l

A con� uence of minds, interplay of coloursThe Bangladesh Embassy, Yangon in collaboration with National University of Arts and Culture, Myanmar will organise an art exhibition named “A Con� uence of Minds and Interplay Of Colours” from 19-24 June at Yangoon Gallery. This exhibition will continue at the National Museum from June 26 to July 2, 2015.

Eight participating artists from Bangladesh include Hashem Khan, Nasreen Begum, Mahmudul Huque, Mohammad Eunus, Rokeya Sultana, Fraida Zaman, Bipasha Hayat, Bishwajit Goswami. l

Academic conference on Graphic Novels

Photo: Tamanna Tasmeem

TrendingT-JUNCTION 23D

T


trend style sessions

Hot Trend:

FloralsQ&AThree ways to

wear them

I have narrow shoulders, and have lost some weight recently, which makes them more glaringly obvious. Any advice on what to buy in the upcoming shopping season that would look nice?

n Sabrina Fatma Ahmad

NecklinesBateau, square and wide V-necks are your friends. You want the line of sight to run horizontally, creating the illusion of width. So whether you’re having blouses, kurtis or kameezes made, opt for these necklines.

SleevesPu� sleeves, ruched sleeves, petal sleeves are some great choices for tops and dresses, particularly in this weather, as they extend your line of sight. For your fancy festival kameezes, consider going old-school with some leg-of-mutton sleeves, which are pu� er at the shoulder and taper near the elbows. For jackets and shirts, make sure your tailor installs set-in sleeves where the shoulder seam � t right on your shoulders.

Fabric and textureShiny fabrics will re� ect the light and also create more width for your shoulders, so opt for slinky, metallic tops that will widen your shoulders. To physically add more width, go for tops with shoulder detailing, like studs or epaulettes.

LayersIf your natural dressing style is to the conservative side, there’s good news for you. Tight tops will only shrink your frame; looser tops are preferable for spreading those wings. Layering with scarves will add dimension to those shoulders and make them look bigger.

Outerwear:Choose wide collars lapels, as they make your wingspan look larger. Since � tted shoulders are preferable, the trending kimono jackets, are unfortunately not for you. Opt for an always-fashionable blazer cut instead. It’s probably too warm for shoulder pads, but consider jackets with shoulder padding for the cooler, rainy days. l

Dishy dawatWant a break from your shalwar kameez combo? Throw on a chic linen blazer over a � oral romper, add a sparkly brooch, and you’re good to go.

Date nightWhether it’s a late night cuppa with friends or a lazy afternoon movie marathon, team a � irty, girly � oral top with a comfy pair of boyfriend jeans, rolled at the ankles, naturally. Wear with slip-on espadrilles during the day, and opt for a pair of strappy heels and statement earrings for the evening.

Drama in the boardroomFloral jeans with a graphic tee, under a comfy kimono? Yes please! This look is edgy, creative, and oh so comfortable.

n Sabrina Fatma Ahmad

Rain or shine, this year, � orals are THE print everyone is turning to. Here are three on-point combos that help you harness the � ower power.

T-JUNCTION Tailored24DT


n Mahmood Hossain

Whether you’re a sneaker-head or coming o� the Savile Row train, there’s an ideal combo for your trousers or jeans and your favour-ite pair of shoes. This pertains to your of-� ce-wear, tapering and tailoring your trousers or jeans to suit the shoes you choose to wear.

• If you’ve found yourself a brand or store that provides trousers, like khakis, where the hems fall perfectly at the point of your ankles, consider yourself lucky. No tailor-ing needed. And a pair of Doc Martens Der-bies, or a di� erent brand in a similar style, works perfectly with � tted khakis.

• Classic Chuck Taylors are suited for slim-� t jeans that fall a little higher, as the hem is cut to a certain length in order to show a bit

more of the high-top sneakers. Chucks do come in low-tops, but the signature high-tops are the more attractive match.

• The loose roll jeans are quite common for a relaxed look, especially when paired with some comfortable loafers. Simply rolling your jeans a couple of times shows the right amount of ankle when there aren’t any socks at play. It also shows that you aren’t trying too hard to show o� those ankles.

• If you’re planning on wearing dressy jeans with dress shoes or boots, it’s wise to get it tapered, and make sure the hems fall right above your ankles. Just because these aren’t your suit trousers doesn’t mean they don’t have to look the part.

• A more uncommon style is hand-fraying the hems on your jeans. It’s sort of a shred-

ded look to your denim, complimenting your suede boots or even derbies.

• On the topic of suede, it goes best with livelier textures in trousers. Think light grey, linen trousers that are � tted, and can be easily rolled up to suit the look.

• A casual suit with sneakers combo real-ly hasn’t caught on with our crowd. Too much of the older generation dictate the classic way of wearing suits. And that’s perfectly � ne, but in a warmer climate like ours, this look is more than appropriate. Just as long as your hems are cut to the ideal length, this look is the one to have.

• Pulling the hems up a little aren’t just about exposing skin. Those colourful socks will never go out of style. Whether it’s a simple design or a very � amboyant one, showing o� those vibrant socks can’t happen unless you’ve cropped those hems.This summer follow the right steps, pun

not intended, in going sockless without stinking up the place. Being lazy and reaching for your � ip-� ops or your faux-leather sandals will never earn you points in the style department. Ever. While many will go out of their way to get regular pedicures, not all of us have the luxury to do so. However, there are a style of socks called peds that are actually invisible to the eye. Peds are basically designed to make it seem you aren’t wearing any socks at all. The lines are cut just under your ankles and almost go as far as exposing everything but your toes. l

Shorts 2.0

n Baizid Haque Joarder

Previously, we talked about the appro-priate times (any time you get the rea-son to, except formal outings) and the perfect length (on the knee, which shall be exposed every time you bend it like Beckham; even though some celebrities are wearing extra short ones recently).

On the second part, we’ll talk about the cut and sought after prints of the season. Here we go.

The ideal shortAn ideal pair would be � tted on the waist, structured through the thighs (something between cargo shorts and skinny ones), the hem would rest on the knee. Most importantly, it should be made from breathable and sum-mer-friendly fabrics like cotton and linen.

Summer vibes The season allows us to experiment bright colours but make sure you choose a light, solid colour for your top to contrast the a� air. Printed shorts are the highlights this season. Nauti-cal prints, thin stripes, deck prints and chino shorts are all in vogue and can be found at most fashion and lifestyle stores around the town but if you want to save up, Doja market (opposite Dha-ka College) is the place to be; just be pa-tient enough to look around.

Shorts are comfy and no one can deny that, and looking good in them doesn’t take much thinking because your shorts game is set to be strong this summer.

Two-step comboSo many combinations for your shoes and bottoms, the fun won’t stop

25D


FIFA AFTER BLATTER: CAN ZICO PLAY AT THE TOP?

26 2827

Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic dismissed rumours on Friday

linking him with a move from Paris Saint-Germain to AC Milan and

insisted he was happy to stay in the French capital

HAPPY

SportI WANTED MOMINUL TO GET THE 50, SAYS TAMIM

LITON, MUSTAFIZUR NAMED IN TIGERS ODI SQUAD

MOST TEST RUNS FOR BANGLADESH Player Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 0 4s 6sTamim Iqbal 40 77 0 3039 206 39.46 7 17 6 381 27Habibul Bashar 50 99 1 3026 113 30.87 3 24 7 401 4Mohammad Ashraful 61 119 5 2737 190 24.00 6 8 16 335 22Shakib Al Hasan 40 76 8 2732 144 40.17 3 19 2 338 17Mush� qur Rahim 46 86 6 2557 200 31.96 3 14 8 323 21

Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal tucks on the leg-side during his short innings against India on the fourth day of the rain-hit Test at Fatullah yesterday

Bashar backs record-setting Tamim for 10,000 Test runsn Minhaz Uddin Khan

Former Bangladesh skipper Habibul Bashar saw his long lasting record of most runs for Bangladesh in Tests broken by Tamim Iqbal yesterday at Fatullah. Tamim, who started the match against India with just six runs be-hind Bashar’s 3026 runs from 50 Tests, made 19 in Bangladesh’s � rst innings and he is now the leading run scorer in the format with 3039 runs from 40 Tests.

Bashar, who played his last Test match in 2008, was very happy to see Tamim reach the milestone and at the same time expressed his desire to see the left-handed opener reach 10,000 Test runs.

“This day had to come and someone had to break this record. I am happy that a proven and capable batsman like Tamim

broke the record. I think the record has gone into the deserving hands. But I would have liked it more if he had played a bigger innings today (yesterday),” said Bashar to Dhaka

Tribune yesterday.Bashar, currently a member of the three-

man national selection panel, usually doesn’t go and take photographs, but yesterday, “I went to the dressing room right after Tamim returned. I hugged him and congratulated him. I usually don’t take photos but today (yesterday) I had to take one (with Tamim), today (yesterday) was a memorable day.”

“I don’t want him to get satis� ed right away; he has the ability to achieve bigger things. He has the ability to take the re-cord out of reach of other players. I believe he can score at least 10,000 Test runs given the time he has in hand. I will be disappoint-ed if he fails to do that. I think few other play-ers in the current Bangladesh team have the ability to score 10,000 runs, not only Tamim,” said Bashar. l

BAN v IND, DAY 4INDIA 1ST INNINGS462-6 declared (M. Vijay 150, S. Dhawan 173, A. Rahane 98, Shakib Al Hasan 4-105).BANGLADESH 1ST INNINGS R BTamim Iqbal st Saha b Ashwin 19 21Imrul Kayes not out 59 98Mominul Haque c Yadav b Harbhajan 30 54Mush� qur Rahim c R. Sharma b Ashwin 2 5Shakib Al Hasan not out 0 4Extras (nb1) 1Total (for three wickets; 30.1 overs) 111

Fall of wickets1-27 (Tamim), 2-108 (Mominul), 3-110 (Rahim).BowlingSharma 4-0-13-0, Ashwin 11.1-2-30-2, Yadav 4-0-34-0, Aaron 4-0-11-0 (nb1), Harbhajan 7-0-23-1.

MA

INO

OR

ISLA

M M

AN

IK

Sport26DT


The three disappointmentsAs expected, the visiting Indian side de-clared their � rst innings on their overnight score of 462/6 heading into the fourth and penultimate day’s play of the solitary Test against Bangladesh yesterday at Khan Sha-heb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah.

However, just like the � rst three days of the Test match, rain played foul yesterday as only 30.1 overs were possible with the Ti-gers losing three wickets on their way to 111. Tamim Iqbal, Mominul Haque and Mush-� qur Rahim all departed cheaply before rain interrupted the � ve-dayer yet again. Imrul Kayes turned out to be the only positive for the Tigers yesterday as the left-handed opener blasted his third Test � fty and re-mained unbeaten on 59.

Tamim at the zenithOpening batsman Tamim arrived to the In-dia series on the back of a brilliant run of form in the previous series against Pakistan.

His con� dence was clearly visible as the southpaw made a resolute start yesterday in pursuit of Habibul Bashar’s record as the highest Bangladesh run-scorer in Tests.

The 26-year old started o� proceedings by smashing paceman Ishant Sharma for one of his trademark � icks to the bounda-ry fence. He went on to hammer two more majestic fours.

Requiring just seven runs to surpass Bashar, Tamim made the record his own and eventually scored 19 o� 21 balls before being outfoxed by o� -spinner Ravichan-dran Ashwin.

Unlucky Mominul left one short of ABBesides Tamim, diminutive batsman Mom-inul also had the opportunity to make this Test a memorable one but the left-hander was dismissed in a rather disappointing fashion, throwing his wicket away after scoring 30.

Facing a tossed-up delivery from Harb-

hajan Singh, the Cox’s Bazar lad came danc-ing down the track only to o� er a simple catch to Umesh Yadav stationed at the mid-o� region. As fate would have it, “Mini” was stranded just 20 runs shy of equalling a unique record.

South Africa’s AB de Villiers holds the record for the most consecutive Test � fties with 12 while Mominul had 11 successive half-centuries to his name. With Bangladesh unlikely to bat in the second innings due to the inclement weather, Mominul might just have to settle for second place in the list.

Mush� q’s lean patch continuesMush� q, a consistent run-machine by his own right, continued his discouraging run with the bat as the Tigers’ Test captain was dismissed for just two runs yesterday. The right-hander faced only � ve deliveries and made his way to the dressing room after edging Ashwin to the leg-slip � elder. –MAZHAR UDDIN

TALKING POINTSBANvIND, DAY 4

Mominul Haque (L) and Imrul Kayes run back to the dressing room as heavens open up at Fatullah once again yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

I wanted Mominul to get the 50, says Tamimn Minhaz Uddin Khan

Visiting India declared their � rst innings of the rain haunted Test in Fatullah at their over-night score of 462 for six and all eyes were on Tamim Iqbal as Bangladesh began their � rst innings on the fourth day.

Tamim needed just six runs to equal his former skipper Habibul Bashar’s 3026 runs, highest for Bangladesh. Though he made just 19 on the day, it was enough to see him wear the crown of Bangladesh’s highest Test run getter.

After yesterday the 26-year old has 3039 runs from 76 innings at an average of 39.73. One can argue that Tamim took a long time reaching the feat, but the batsman thinks oth-erwise.

“It is true that it took around eight years for me to reach the record but in these sev-en or eight years I have played just 40 Tests and I achieved the feat 10 Tests before him (Bashar). If I could have reached the mark a few Tests earlier, it de� nitely would have been better. And those who are close to this record, had they achieved this before I did it would have been a good thing for all of us,” said Tamim during the post-day press confer-ence at KSOAS yesterday.

Apart from Tamim, Mominul Haque was also among the contenders of reaching a land-mark of his own. The No 3 batsman needed to do what he had been doing in his last 11 Tests – score at least one half century.

With only a day left (today) in the match, it is highly unlikely that Bangladesh will bat again (their second innings) and thus Mominul, who made 30 and disappeared to a foolish charge to Harbhajan Singh, remains away from the record of becoming the second cricketer in the history after South Africa’s AB de Villiers of scoring 12 consecutive Test � fties.

“I don’t know if he (Mominul) is (dis-appointed) because from what I know he doesn’t care about records. But person-ally I was really disappointed because I wanted him to get the � fty and complete the record. But unfortunately, this was the Test that he had to face for the record where around 120 overs were bowled in four days. So it would have been good if someone from Bangladesh could have entered the record books,” said Tamim.

Tamim believes Mominul has the ability to bag the most runs for Bangladesh in Tests. “I don’t think the record will stay for a long time. If you see Mominul’s average he should overtake this score 5-6 matches before me. And the way he is playing I think he and other young players can do this. Maybe I have overcome Bashar bhai’s record 10 matches before him, others may do it 5-6 or 7 matches before me.” l

Sport 27D

T


Interpol ditches FIFA dealInterpol suspended a 20-million-euro ($22 million) sports “integrity” agreement with FIFA on Friday, at the end of testing week for soccer’s scandal-hit ruling body that saw its chief spokesman quit, bidding for the 2026 World Cup shelved and records seized from its Zurich headquarters. FIFA also faced growing calls -- this time from the European parliament -- for its outgoing president, Sepp Blatter, to step aside at once, while plans by Germany to reform the way the organisation is run were roundly rejected by soccer chiefs in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

–Reuters

Bolt focused on Beijing, not GatlinWorld and Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt isn’t worried about the fast times being run by American rival Justin Gatlin, preferring to keep his focus on the August World Championships. The six-time Olympic gold medallist and double world record-holder said Friday he knows he’ll be ready to run fast and defend his 100m and 200m titles in Beijing. Until then, he won’t be sidetracked into any kind of showdown with an in-form Gatlin.

–AFP

Cavani apologises for Jamaica ‘Africa’ ga� eUruguay star Edinson Cavani has apologized to Copa America opponents Jamaica after describing the Reggae Boyz as an African team. Cavani caused a stir in the build-up to Saturday’s match after stating that like “any other African team, Jamaica are going to be strong.”Cavani swiftly apologised for the ga� e on Twitter. “First of all, I want to apologise to Jamaica and its people,” he wrote.

–AFP

Depay wants to follow United legendsManchester United winger Memphis Depay has set his sights on becoming an Old Tra� ord icon after completing his transfer from PSV Eind-hoven on Friday. Depay’s impending £31 million ($48 million) move was announced last month and the Netherlands international has � nally been o� cially con� rmed as a United player.

–AFP

Holders Japan advance, USA held in Women’s WCDefending champions Japan became the � rst team to advance to the last 16 of the Women’s World Cup on Friday as the United States’ prog-ress was stalled by a goalless draw with Sweden. Aya Sameshima and Yuika Sugasawa sealed Japan’s 2-1 win over Group C rivals Cameroon in Vancouver, seeing the Nadeshiko through to the knockout stage with a game to spare.

–AFP

Windies collapse as Smith just misses double tonWest Indies slumped to 143 for eight in reply to Australia’s � rst innings total of 399 following an eventful second day of the second and � nal Test, highlighted by Steve Smith missing out on a double-century by just one run.

–AFP

QUICK BYTES Rain continues to haunt Fatullah Testn Mazhar Uddin

Rain played spoilsport for the fourth consec-utive day of the solitary Test between Bangla-desh and India

at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah yesterday as a draw seems to be the most likely result ahead of the � fth and � nal day’s play today.

The Fatullah Test, coinciding with the tropical monsoon, saw more than half of its allotted overs lost to rain. Near-perfect weather at the start of yesterday’s play proved to be nothing other than a false dawn with only 30.1 overs played in the penultimate day.

Bangladesh, in reply to India’s � rst innings tally of 462/6 declared, ended the day on 111/3 with opener Imrul Kayes remaining unbeaten on 59 while Shakib al Hasan was undefeated on nought.

Imrul, alongside Tamim Iqbal, made a promising start to the Tigers’ � rst innings. All the spotlight however, was on Tamim who began the day just six runs shy of Habibul Bashar’s record as the highest Bangladesh run-scorer in Tests. The Chittagong cricket-er duly reached the milestone, surpassing Bashar’s tally in 10 fewer Tests, before depart-ing for a 21-ball 19.

Imrul on the other end appeared steady and reached his third Test � fty with the help of 10 boundaries.

Mominul Haque, bidding to equal South African AB de Villiers’ record for the most number of consecutive Test � fties, struck successive fours o� fast bowler Umesh Ya-dav but paid for playing one shot too many as he was dismissed for 30 having presented an easy caught-and-bowled opportunity to o� -spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Tigers skipper Mush� qur Rahim continued his poor run of form with the bat in the longer-version, scoring only two runs before becoming Ravichandran Ashwin’s second victim. l

Kohli is a very good captain: Dhawann Minhaz Uddin Khan

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan, who blasted a � ne 195-ball 173 in the � rst innings, talked with the media in the post-day press confer-ence following the fourth and penultimate day’s play of the solitary Test against Bangla-desh yesterday. Here are the excerpts:

Satisfied to have played such a fluent innings?Shikhar Dhawan: Yes, I am very satis� ed with the way I have played in this match. I haven’t been performing that well in Test matches earlier, so it felt really good scoring big runs. And I felt it came at the right time.

Disappointed with the lack of playing time due to rain?It is very disappointing. Of course we get up very early to come to the ground and we always look forward to playing cricket. And when it doesn’t happen, we feel sad. But it’s not in our hands so we have to accept it and move on.

How do you and Murali Vijay enjoy each other’s company?I’m always having fun and I enjoy myself in

the middle. I talk a lot and make jokes and laugh, which is how I am outside [the � eld]. Vijay stays a lot more calm. I guess it’s very important when you are di� erent characters that you enjoy your time in the middle. It felt really good to have a long partnership with Vijay after a long time. We weren’t getting those in our opening stands so to have a big partnership now felt very nice.

Your observation on Virat Kohli’s captaincy?He’s a very good captain. He always has that � re that we should win and always plays to win a match. It doesn’t matter what the result is, but our e� orts should come from positive intent. That’s his philosophy, and the good thing is he leads from the front. And all of us always give our all too.l

Uncapped Liton, Musta� zur named in Tigers ODI squadn Reazur Rahman Rohan

Uncapped left-arm fast bowler Musta� zur Rahman and wicketkeeper-batsman Liton Kumar were the new names drafted in the 14-man Bangladesh one-day international squad for the three-match series against India start-ing on June 18.

19-year old Musta� zur was impressive with his left-arm swing on his Twenty20 debut against Pakistan as he returned with � gures of 2-20 o� four overs. Abul Hasan Raju can call himself unlucky once again as Musta� zur replaced the pace bowling all-rounder who hardly made any impact after his recall in the Pakistan series last month. Hasan played just one ODI in the Pakistan series that too be-cause Mashrafe bin Mortaza was suspended. He gave away 42 runs in � ve overs. Since then Hasan, also a part of the current Test squad,

has not been considered for the playing XI. Liton, on the other hand, became lucky as

he replaced the injured Mahmudullah in the line-up. An aggressive top-order batsman, Liton made his Test debut in the ongoing match against India.

Rony Talukder, who is yet to make his in-ternational debut, retained his place in the squad as Anamul Haque, who claims to be fully � t from the shoulder injury he su� ered during Bangladesh’s World Cup campaign, was overlooked once again. l

SQUADMashrafe bin Mortaza (capt), Shakib al Hasan (vice-capt), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Mush� qur Rahim, Sabbir Rahaman, Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain, Rony Talukdar, Musta� zur Rahman, Liton Kumar

The Indian team celebrate one of the three Bangladesh wickets on the fourth day of their Test at Fatullah yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Sport28DT


Zico with Argentine legend MaradonaFull name Arthur Antunes CoimbraDate of birth 3 March 1953 (age 62)Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, BrazilHeight 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)[1]Position Attacking mid� elderCurrent team FC Goa (manager)Senior careerYears Team Apps (Gls)1971–1983 Flamengo 212 (123)1983–1985 Udinese 39 (22)1985–1989 Flamengo 37 (12)1991–1994 Kashima Antlers 46 (35)Total 334 (192)National team1976–1986 Brazil 71 (48)Teams managedKashima Antlers, CFZ, Japan, Fenerbahçe, Bunyodkor, CSKA Moscow, Olympiacos, Iraq, Al-Gharafa, FC Goa

RESULTSKazakhstan 0-1 Turkey Arda Turan 83

Iceland 2-1 Czech RepublicA Gunnarsson 60, Dockal 55Sigthorsson 76

Latvia 0-2 Netherlands Wijnaldum 67, Narsingh 71

Andorra 1-3 CyprusDossa Junior 2-og Mytidis 13, 45, 53

Bosnia 3-1 IsraelVisca 42, 75, Ben Haim 41Dzeko 45+2-P

Wales 1-0 BelgiumBale 25

Croatia 1-1 ItalyMandzukic 11 Candreva 36-P

Malta 0-1 Bulgaria Popov 56

Norway 0-0 Azerbaijan

Fifa after Blatter: Can Zico play at the top? n Agencies

The race to succeed Sepp Blatter is being led, at this point, by Michel Platini but the dark horse might well be Platini’s playing contem-porary, Zico. Two of the most stylish players of their era, their face-o� in the Mexico World Cup in 1986 was a classic game that eventually went France’s way after a penalty shoot-out. They chose opposite paths after their careers � nished. Platini has been at the top levels of football administration for more than 20 years and currently heads UEFA, the nodal European football association. Zico went into coaching and travelled the world plying his

trade. And while Platini has blotted his copy-book by his proximity to the Qatar mess—he voted for that country to stage the 2022 World Cup and has consistently backed his decision since, in the face of public outrage—Zico has steered clear of the controversy.

Arthur Antunes Coimbra, to give him his full name, is unarguably the greatest Brazil-ian footballer never to have won the World Cup. Known as the “white Pele”, he was part of the 1980s Brazil team that thrilled the world with its exciting, attacking style of play but fell short of the ultimate prize. His coach-ing career took him to half a dozen countries in Asia and eastern Europe (including India,

where he coached FC Goa in the ISL) and he is still revered in Japan, where he was both successful player and coach. In fact, he was he � rst global star to commit to the � edgling J-League when it launched in the early 1990s, a sign of his ability to spot and back trends early on.

For all the honours he won as a player, he has little administrative experience. In 1990, he accepted an invitation to become Brazil’s � rst minister for sport but it ended with his resigning in frustration over opposition to his e� orts to clean up football administra-tion. He is a product of highly political times, though; Brazil in the 1980s was in a state of

huge � ux, making the transition from brutal dictatorship to democracy. Footballers, as the icons of civil society, were part of that change; Socrates, the Brazil captain, formed an o� cial pro-democracy group in his club Corinthians and when they won the league they wore jerseys with “Democracia” printed on them.

That political and social awareness has stayed with Zico and has possibly prompted him to jump into the FIFA fray. He refused to be part of Brazil’s 2014 World Cup organizing committee, after personal ethics-based issues with those heading it, but supported it from the sidelines.l

‘Brazil would have conceded 14 goals’Zico, you have just returned from the Champions League final in Berlin. In Germany, the respect for Brazil is still great.I saw that in the World Cup. If Germany had no respect, the result would have been 1:14 (Laughs.) No, seriously, I had to work there.

Is your experience as a player, coach and sports minister an advantage in the FIFA candidacy or is it perhaps a disadvantage because you without this experience you could take a clean approach?I’m clean with or without experience. Michel Platini had only a post as an o� cial, the or-ganising committee of the 1998 World Cup in France, before he became UEFA president. Experience is very valuable for such an o� ce and always helps.

How can FIFA be clean again?That depends on who is in charge. The condi-tion of a house always depends on the person who has the � nal say. So if the person at the top has an attitude, a philosophy, a structure in place, I believe that the majority follow. And anyone who is on the wrong path, the at-tempt must be made to remove them.

You also call for changes in the selection of candidates for the FIFA presidential election.I am against the current rule that a candidate

must be supported by at least � ve national associations. This is because I think this is where the corruption and the exchange of fa-vours can start. Not only in the FIFA, but also in the Brazilian Football Association.

The Brazilian federation has a former president in jail and many accusations against the current leadership of the organisations that is most affected by the investigations into FIFA. Is it possible that you will run for president of the CBF?Many people ask me that - why not do the CBF and FIFA at the same time? But today it is easier to get the support of � ve organisations in the world than to stand for the CBF. Logi-cally, the ideal thing would be to start here in Brazil. But unfortunately the current rules of the game are not in favour of the people from football. I am 62 years old and only remem-ber Joao Havelange and Sepp Blatter as FIFA president. Are they the only two people in the world who can control football?

Diego Maradona is a friend of yours. Do you really think that it would be suitable as a FIFA vice-president?Maradona was until today only a player and a coach. But he is a big name in football. He has every right to be a candidate. But he is not a candidate as president, but as a vice pres-

ident. I would like to see a name like Mara-dona in this organisation. In all that he has experienced and all the problems that he had he has the quali� cations to continue to bring his voice to football. l

The interview was posted on SPORT1 on Thursday.

Wales superstar Gareth Bale (C) celebrates scoring the opening goal against Belgium during the Euro 2016 quali� ers in Cardi� on Friday AFP

Sport 29D

T

Gazi TV, Star Sports 19:30AM India Tour of Bangladesh 1st Test, Day 5 Ten Cricket9:00PM Australia Tour of West Indies 2nd Test, Day 5 Ten Sports 2:30PM Moto GP 2015: RaceGran Premi Monster Energy De Catalunya Star Sports 17:30PM Men’s FIH Hockey World League Star Sports 23:30PM New Zealand Tour of England 3rd ODI Sony SixEuropean Quali� ers 201610:00PM Slovenia v England 12:30AM Belarus v Spain Sony Six HDEuropean Quali� ers 201610:00PM Ukraine v Luxembourg 12:30AM Lithuania v Switzerland 3:30AM Copa America 2015Brazil v Peru

DAY’S WATCH


Mexico’s Vicente Vuoso (19) jumps to kick the ball as Bolivia’s Ronald Raldes defends during their � rst round Copa America 2015 match at Estadio Sausalito in Vina del Mar, Chile on Friday REUTERS

Croatia apologise for Nazi pitch symboln Agencies

The Croatian Football Federation has apolo-gised after a swastika symbol was marked on to the pitch ahead of their Euro 2016 home quali� er against Italy.

“This is sabotage and a felony,” said Tomislav Pacak, a Croatian Football Federa-tion (HNS) spokesman. “We expect police to identify the perpetrators.

“This is a disgrace not just for the HNS but for the whole of Croatia.”

The game was played behind closed doors after Croatia were punished for racist chants by fans against Norway in March.

Pacak added that Uefa had been told about the incident, which overshadowed the 1-1 draw between the two sides who are vying for top spot in Group H.

The swastika - widely recognised as the symbol of Nazi Germany - was seen during the � rst half and although ground sta� at the stadium in Split tried to cover it up at half-time they were not successful. l

Mexico, Bolivia booed after dull drawn Reuters, Santiago

Mexico and Bolivia were booed o� the pitch after playing out a drab goalless draw in their opening match of the Copa America on Fri-day, leaving hosts Chile top of Group A after the � rst round of matches.

Bolivia hit the post through Ricardo Pe-driel with their � rst real attack, and Mexican stiker Raul Jimenez should have scored after the break with a close range header, but oth-erwise neither side created much in the way of clear-cut chances.

The Mexicans also had a penalty appeal turned down late on after Javier Aquino went down under pressure from Alejandro Pinedo.

While on balance a draw looked to be a fair result, it was greeted by whistles and boos at the Sausalito stadium in Vina del Mar at the � nal whistle.

Mexico have never defeated Bolivia at the Copa America in three attempts, though they have beaten them in each of their nine en-counters in other competitions and friendlies.

The Mexicans now face Chile in Santiago on Monday while Bolivia meet Ecuador in Valparaiso on the same day.

Chile beat Ecuador 2-0 in the tournament opener on Thursday.

“We know that Chile are coming o� the back of a victory that will give them a bit of con� -dence, and they have some quality players, but so do we, and we’re going to work hard to beat them,” Mexico striker Jesus Corona said.l

Morgan praises team spirit but curses run-chase calculation n BBC

Asked if he understood how that number was reached, he replied: “Do I understand Duck-worth-Lewis? No, I don’t think anybody does. But it’s a part of the game you can’t change.”

Morgan hailed the rejuvenation of Eng-land since their dismal World Cup campaign, having followed up their 408 for nine at Edg-baston with 365 for nine at The Oval – their highest total batting second.

“We are enjoying playing this brand of cricket and having the guys in the changing room to play in that way naturally and not making it such a big deal,” he said.

“They are a young group – I think Liam Plunkett is the oldest at 30 – and that means there is a huge amount of potential and talent to work with.

“That’s great for any captain and the back-room sta� . We would like to think that we are never out of the game and that, if we are, we’re going down swinging.”

Morgan said Chris Jordan, who pulled up with a side strain after nine overs, is now a doubt for Sunday’s third one-dayer in South-ampton but was quick to defend his bowling attack after they endured their costliest one-day innings in the � eld.

The England captain maintains their ef-forts against the World Cup � nalists on a run-soaked pitch in south London showed good aggression until well-documented issues at the end surfaced once more and led to the side shipping 109 runs in the � nal 10 overs.

“We’re playing against a strong New Zea-

land side – Corey Anderson and Dan Vettori are the only ones missing from their World Cup side,” Morgan said. “We are a side that needs to take wickets as we do not have someone who is gifted at the death.

“We will continue with that attitude until guys can up their skill level or � nd more ways of getting batsmen out.”

The man of the match, Ross Taylor, whose unbeaten 119 from 96 deliveries powered New Zealand’s highest total against a Test-playing nation, admitted that without the late rain England could well have pulled o� their chase.

“When we came o� for rain I thought it was just in our favour, they’d still have had to bat well,” said Taylor.

“The rain helped us out. Needing 34 o� 2.1 overs was a tough ask and, if rain didn’t come, it could have been a di� erent story,” he added.

Taylor went on to say that while the match aggregate of 763 runs was “awesome”, he be-lieves the balance of power has swung too far in the favour of batsmen in one-day cricket.l

BRIEF SCORENew Zealand398 for 5 (Taylor 119*, Williamson 93, Guptill 50) England365 for 9 (Morgan 88, Hales 54, McCullum 3-86)New Zealand won by 13 runs - D/L method

Ross Taylor celebrates his century on Friday AFP

The symbol is identi� ed by o� cials

DOWNTIME30DT


CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

DILBERT

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

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

CODE-CRACKER

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 6 represents T so � ll T every time the � gure 6 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.As you get the letters, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CROSSWORD

ACROSS1 Spurious imitation (4)5 Mechanical man (5)8 Time of holding (6)9 Dry (4)10 Wrath (3)12 Wise counsellor (6)13 Vibration (6)15 Alcove (6)18 Much ornamented (6)20 Gol� ng aid (3)21 Fashion (4)23 Sanity (6)24 Quotes (5)25 Camping item (4)

DOWN1 Commence (5)2 Pronoun (3)3 Like a weak old woman (5)4 Wet, soft earth (3)5 Arbitrator (7)6 Lure (4)7 Layer (4)11 Slender sticks (4)12 Artillery pieces (7)14 Uncommon (4)16 Uneven as if gnawed away (5)17 Used up (5)18 Of the ear (4)19 Tidy (4)21 Floor covering (3)22 Spanish nobleman (3)

SUDOKU

SHOWTIME 31D


WHAT TO WATCH

Non-StopStar Movies 9:30pmAn air marshal springs into action during a transatlantic � ight after receiving a series of text messages that put his fellow passengers at risk unless the airline transfers $150 million into an o� -shore account.Cast: Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Scoot NcNairy

Blade: TrinityWB 7:20pmBlade, now a wanted man by the FBI, must join forces with the Nightstalkers to face his most challenging enemy yet: Dracula.Cast: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristo� erson, Parker Posey

G.I. Joe: RetaliationZee Studio 9:30pmThe G.I. Joes are not only � ghting their mortal enemy Cobra; they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence.Cast: Dwanye Johnson, Channing Tatum, Adrianne Palicki

CELEBS ON SOCIALMad to miss

Trevor Noah@TrevornoahI was already having a great time performing in Johannesburg and then @Lupita_Nyongo dropped in and made my night.

ShraddhaVINNIEK apoor@ShraddhaKapoorThank you India Today Woman for this! @tanya1ghavri @shraddhastyles #JuneIssue #IndiaTodayWoman

David Gandy@DGandyO� cialAttending @one4theboys Fashion Ball uniting men against cancer at #LCM wearing @HenryPooleCo

n Naveed Choudhury

The current Hollywood trend of re-imagin-ing old classics before their racist actors have kicked the bucket continues with Mad Max: Fury Road. If you’ve ever been a fan of old Western � lms or Borderlands, you will be

placed in the familiar setting of a post apoca-lyptic earth, where everybody is trying to kill you and your family.

And that is where the story ends. From beginning to end, Mad Max is an amazingly fun thrill ride full of some of the best action I’ve seen in a Hollywood � lm in a long time.

The camera shots, scenery, post apocalyptic cars and guns, and the general tone of hope-lessness have been done so amazingly well that you will forget to notice that the � lm barely has any plot. Action scenes are long, but not drawn out. There is none of the usual shaky-cam � ght scene garbage that Holly-wood loves to use so much to hide their hor-rendous � ght choreography. Wide sweeping chase shots, close up bullet wounds, and excellent set pieces make this a � lm that I would highly recommend.

Because at its heart, that is what Fury Road is all about: it is an homage to action � lms of ye olde, and it has just enough story so that the � lm doesn’t feel like it’s going on needlessly. The two-hour runtime does not feel extrapolated beyond what is necessary, and the conclusion seemed to have satis� ed the audience, myself included.

There is little to write about the charac-ters. They’re entertaining, gritty and the performances are also decent. Despite the trailer, the story is not focused on Tom Har-dy, but rather on Furiosa, the female pro-tagonist. It is a thrill ride start to � nish, and director George Miller has successfully done what he set out to do: create a decent action � ick, with superb practical e� ects and cin-ematography that sets itself apart from the usual action � lms of this age. l

n Sadia Khalid

After Eric (Sam Rockwell) loses his job, the Bowen family moves to a new house that was built on a burial ground. Eric and Amy (Rose-marie DeWitt) have three children together. The oldest daughter, Kendra, is a rebel with-out a cause whose life revolves around her cell phone. Son, Gri� n, is terri� ed of the dark while the youngest, Madison, isn’t afraid of befriending a ghost or two. When a poltergeist in the house abducts Madison into a di� erent dimension, the family calls on paranormal experts to rescue their youngest from the clutches of angry spirits.

A concert in protest of the sexual assaults on Pohela Boishakh, has been organised for tomorrow, June 14. Starting at 4pm, the concert will be staged at Dhaka University’s Raju Bhashkor Prangon.

The line-up for the event includes The Armeen Musa Band, Baul Express, Krishnokoli and band, Gayen, Gaanpoka, Joler Gaan, Jagoron, Madol, Minerva, Mobassher Choudhury (of Old School fame), Shohojiya, Shironamhin, Shayan, and several others.

The slogan for this event is “Stand up against sexual violence wherever it happens; protesters, raise your voice for justice”

Concert against sexual violence

The ‘Scareless’ WhisperSam Rockwell gave a convincing perfor-

mance as a father struggling to make ends meet for his family. The younger actors, how-ever, failed to pull their weight. The excess of CGI and 3D e� ects worked to the movie’s detriment. When the movie was � rst made in 1982, the story had some originality in it, which had been copied time and time again over the past three decades. Now the remake just feels like a lot of PG-13 horror � lm clichés put together rather unmindfully where Madi-son’s famous whisper, “They’re here,” missed the mark from bloodcurdling to, “Isn’t she adorable.”

Let’s not write another review elaborating why the 1982 version of the � lm was way bet-ter and that this movie should not have been remade, at least not in this fashion. Let’s just stick to why this movie by itself, even without the added pressure of matching the heights of a popular Spielberg production, does not stand any chance of being in the good books of any � lm critic. Like so many other ‘horror’ movies of recent times, Poltergeist’s high-tech attempts to scare the audience fell � at on its face so much that calling it a ‘horror’ movie feels like a blatant misnomer.

Succumbing to the nagging of my 12 year old nephew, I went to see Poltergeist at AMC Theatre in Aventura Mall, Miami. To my surprise, all the adult audience there also seemed to have been dragged in by little kids that they were accompanying. We heard giggles, instead of screams, at the jump scare shots. The kids came out of the theatre with an accomplished look on their faces, proud of surviving a horror movie without getting scared. For those of us who had the taste of a few Japanese horror � lms like The Grudge,

Dark Water or The Ring, we just looked at the back of the ticket stubs where it read, “No refunds after showtime,” and went home with mixed feelings - disappointed at the ‘scarelessness’ of the movie and delighted at the prospect of a good night’s sleep. l

BACK PAGE32DT


BASHAR BACKS RECORD-SETTING TAMIM FOR 10,000 TEST RUNS PAGE 25

THE ‘SCARELESS’ WHISPER PAGE 31

TAX HOLIDAY MAY REDUCE TYRE IMPORT PAGE 15

Dhaka city mayors stumble over hawker eviction driven Abu Hayat Mahmud

After taking o� ce, the ruling party-backed mayors of the two city corporations strongly announced to free the capital’s footpaths and streets from illegal occupiers, a task that had never brought any result in the past.

And they have failed too, to materialise what they said on May 28 after holding a meet-ing with Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, also a Presidium member of the Awami League.

The hawkers selling di� erent fancy prod-ucts, clothes, shoes and daily necessities at makeshift shops on the city’s footpaths say they will not quit as they pay money to the lo-cal ruling party men and the police regularly. So they return to the same spot and resume business after a drive is conducted.

Demanding to be rehabilitated � rst, they refute getting any notice from the city corpo-ration authorities about leaving the footpaths voluntarily.

Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Say-eed Khokon and Annisul Huq of Dhaka North had announced that they would launch drives against the illegal occupants in Gulistan area on June 1 and in Farmgate on June 12 to ease

su� erings of the pedestrians and ensure free tra� c movement.

On June 1, the DSCC o� cials accompanied by an executive magistrate dismantled small shops and removed hawkers from areas near Baitul Mukarram mosque, Bangabandhu National

Stadium, Maulana Bhashani Hockey Stadium, Kaptan Bazar, Awami League’s o� ce on Bang-abandhu Avenue and Gulistan intersection.

But after the end of the drive, the hawkers returned to their designated spots.

Executive Magistrate Mamunur Rashid that day told the Dhaka Tribune that they would continuously monitor the footpaths so that the hawkers could not resume businesses.

Apparently, the eviction drive yielded no result. The Dhaka Tribune correspondent yes-terday found businesses running in full swing in those spots near Gulistan.

When contacted, the magistrate yesterday said he was not aware of the current situation and that he would talk to the DSCC o� cials about it today.

Motiar Rahman, who sells jerseys near Bangabandhu National Stadium, was con� -dent that they would not be removed. “Many drives were conducted against the hawkers in the past. These are merely eye wash.

“We are always informed by the city corpo-ration o� cials prior to an operation. We just keep our shops shut during the drives.”

He alleged that the DSCC o� cials maintain contact with the ruling party men, who col-lect money from the hawkers. “So they will not drive us away,” Motiar added.

When contacted, central leaders of Chhatra League, Jubo League and Sramik League re-futed the allegation of patronising the hawk-ers in exchange for money.

Mayor Khokon could not be reached over phone for comments despite repeated attempts.

Annisul backtracksAs per the mayor’s announcement, the DNCC was supposed to start the eviction drive from Farmgate area on Friday.

But during a visit in the area yesterday, all the

hawkers on the footpaths and central reservoirs were found operating businesses like before.

Saiful sells vegetables in front of Tejgaon College. He said they were not aware of any possible eviction drive. “Why will we leave? We pay the local leaders of Chhatra League and Jubo League every week to run our businesses.”

He observed that launching drives without re-habilitating the small businessmen is inhuman.

Chief Estate O� cer of the DNCC Md Aminul Islam said the mayor had not yet instructed them to launch the drive.

“It is a complicated issue...involves many stakeholders. We are trying to � nd out a sus-tainable solution,” Annisul said in a text mes-sage in response to a query.

Meanwhile, Zonayed Saki, a DNCC mayoral candidate who rejected the April 28 election re-sults, has taken stance in favour of the hawkers.

At an event in front of the National Press Club on Friday, the Gonoshonghoti Andolon convener called upon the mayors and the government not to evict the hawkers without ensuring alternative places for them.

“Let the hawkers operate their businesses in line with the laws. Select speci� c places for them. Do not torture or intimidate them...the people may react harshly,” he said. l

Kamal outlines revenue collection plansCPD chairman says revenue generation is poor compared to any global measuresn Tribune Report

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has outlined the revenue collection strategy to meet the budget de� cit amid widespread con-cern over higher revenue target in the upcom-ing � scal year.

“We need to raise revenue collection growth to 30% from 17-18% on an average now in the next � scal year. It means an addi-tional amount of more than Tk40,000 crore has to be collected,” he said.

Mostafa Kamal was addressing a dialogue on the proposed budget, organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) yesterday.

“Out of additional target, about Tk11,000 crore will be earned from widening tax net, mak-ing reforms to auditing, transfer pricing and Vat system, complete digitisation of revenue collec-tion system and making ADR realistic,” he said.

Some Tk26,000 crore will come from out-standing revenue which was hit by litigation. All the cases related to revenue will be settled by this year, the minister said.

Besides, Tk4,500 crore will come from cigarette � rms, Tk1,000 crore from mobile phone operators, Tk1,600 crore from garment sector and Tk400 crore from service sector.

In a post-budget press conference, Finance Minister AMA Muhith admitted that the rev-enue collection target is high and ambitious.

CPD Chairman Prof Rehman Sobhan pre-sided over the dialogue.

He said over the years the country has done reasonably well in enhancing revenue collection.

“However, if we put ourselves into any in-ternational comparative measure on revenue generation, we are still doing very poorly.”

Rehman Sobhan said in terms of revenue to GDP ratio growth compared to most of the countries in the region, certainly way behind countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh is in fact very poor.

“So, whether you miss your target or not

is less important. The problem is that overall, there is mountainous declining in terms of revenue generation activity.”

State Minister for Finance and Planning Abdul Mannan thinks the budget is a compro-mising document for any country as the gov-ernment has to make budget under intense pressure from various sectors.

He said prioritisation is completely missing in the budgetary system of Bangladesh.

About economic statistical credibility, Ab-

dul Mannan said no statistics in the world is credible. “We are not doctoring with the sta-tistics. This is not a problem existing only in our country, but around the world.”

Ex-commerce minister and BNP leader Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury blamed the sluggish private investment for not im-proving the GDP growth rate.

“For last eight years, the growth rate is sticking to around 6%. It is not increasing since the private investment is poor,” he said.

Amir Khosru said a group of people are looting public money from the state-owned banks under political patronisation and get-ting impunity.

He said: “Banking division is a big source of corruption. Board of Investment has become an ine� ective institution.”

CPD executive director Prof Musta� zur Ra-man presented the keynote paper on the pro-posed budget.

He said the new budget has set a target of an additional Tk45,072 crore revenue collec-tion with a 27.6% growth over the outgoing � scal year.

Under the present circumstances, howev-er, the required growth rate for revenue in the upcoming � scal year may shoot up to around 36.3%, while for NBR the actual target may stand at around 37%, he said.

“The ambitious target will create a lot of pressure on the government to implement the budget,” the economist said. l

Centre for Policy Dialogue Chairman Rehman Sobhan speaks at the budget analysis event at Lakeshore Hotel in the capital yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

DNCC Mayor Annisul: It is a complicated issue...involves many stakeholders. We are trying to � nd out a sustainable solution

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial O� ce: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], Website: www.dhakatribune.com

14 June, 2015

Documents