Thursday April 16, 2015

PAGE 2 BNP: Interpol red alert a government drama

PAGE 4Chittagong hills to be evacuated to avoid landslide casualties

PAGE 10Iran: Nuclear deal depends on lifting of sanctions

PAGE 3HC gives split verdict on Abbas’ bail

KHALEDA CALLS FOR BALLOT REVOLUTION PAGE 3

MUJAHEED, SQ CHY CASES ON APRIL 28 PAGE 5

PAY GRADES TO STAY AT 20 PAGE 32

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015 | Baishakh 3, 1422, Jamadius Sani 26, 1436 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 5 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

Hunt on for Pohela Boishakh sexual o� endersn Arif Ahmed and Mohammad Jamil Khan

When thousands of people were celebrat-ing the Pohela Boishakh on Tuesday, gangs of unruly youths swooped on around � ve to seven women and sexually harassed them at Suhrawardy Udyan and some parts of Dhaka University campus.

The incidents took place between 5pm and 7:30pm in presence of law enforcers and many ordinary people who thronged Shah-bagh and DU area to take part in the annual festivity, witnesses say.

The DU authorities and student groups have blamed the on-duty law enforcers for failing to stop the attackers and bringing them to book immediately.

Condemnation on social networking plat-forms like Facebook and blogs � ooded since the news over the assaults spread quickly on Tuesday demanding exemplary punishment of the culprits. Human rights group Ain o Sal-ish Kendra also deplored the attacks.

Leaders of leftist students groups at DU yesterday gave the authorities seven days PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Interpol issues Red Notice against Tariquen Mohammad Jamil Khan and

Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

International criminal police organisation In-terpol has issued a Red Notice for BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman on charge of murder and explosion of grenades in an Awa-mi League rally in 2004.

Accompanied by a picture of Tarique, the Interpol notice mentions that he is wanted by Bangladesh’s judicial authorities for prosecu-tion or to serve a sentence.

Following the development, the govern-

ment is reportedly planning to request the British government to apprehend Tarique.

Mahbubur Rahman, chief of Interpol’s Bangladesh o� ce National Central Bureau, yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that they had received a request from the Criminal In-vestigation Department regarding measures for Tarique’s arrest in the grenade attack case.

“We informed Interpol of the charges against Tarique Rahman and the Red Notice has been issued,” said Mahbub, who is also the assistant inspector general of police headquarters.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Locals try to rescue the victims from a two-storey house that collapsed yesterday killing 11 people in Rampura in the capital MEHEDI HASAN

11 killed after house collapsesFour of a family among the deceased, fear of death toll climbingn Mohammad Jamil Khan

and Kamrul Hasan

At least eleven people including four of a fam-ily died yesterday when a two-storey house made of corrugated iron sheets collapsed into a water body in the capital’s Rampura.

Locals said the number of fatalities might climb as they feared that several residents might still be trapped underwater inside the collapsed structure.

Nearly 100 low-income people used to live in the poorly-built house that was erected us-ing only bamboo poles over the muddy bed of the water-hyacinth-� lled jheel or water body at Hajipara.

The casualties were higher in number as the incident took place around 2:45pm yester-day, a time when many of the residents were inside having their lunch, the locals claimed.

The deceased were Mizan, 35, and Nizam Khan, 45, Jakir, 40, Runa, 13, Josna, 45, and her daughter Farzana, 12, Mizan, 35, his wife Roksana, 22, and daughter Kalpana, 15. Among them, Mizan and Nizam Khan died after being taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Abdul Malek, who survived the incident by breaking the roof to climb out of the collapsed house, said he and his wife Rina Begum were planning to take an afternoon nap when suddenly the entire house began to move

PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

SECOND EDITION

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

BNP: Interpol red alert a government draman Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The BNP has alleged that the Interpol red alert against its Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rah-man is a drama and misleading propaganda.

“Interpol does not issue any red alert, rath-er it only publishes the information given to it

by the member countries. Interpol only pub-lished whatever information Bangladesh has provided,” said Asaduzzaman Ripon, interna-tional a� airs secretary of the party.

At a press brie� ng at the Nayapaltan of-� ce yesterday, the acting BNP spokesperson said: “Some ministers have said before that

Tarique Rahman will be brought back to the country through Interpol ... The red alert is a projection of that. This is another drama by the government. It will not be possible to keep BNP under pressure by doing so.”

Ripon claimed that Tarique is not a fugi-tive; he is in London for treatment.

Tarique has been living in London with his family since September 11, 2008 after secur-ing parole in various cases. He faces 14 charg-es, of which four, including the August 21 grenade attack case, are on trial and the rest are stayed. He is also facing a number of arrest warrants in defamations cases. l

11 killed after house collapsesand started going down. Rina was still trapped inside the collapsed structure, Malek claimed.

A teenager named Imran, who was � ying his kite nearby when the building started to go down, told the Dhaka Tribune that he initially heard a sound coming from the house, while some moments later he saw the structure get-ting sucked in by the mud underneath.

Maj AKM Shakil Newaz, acting director general of Fire Service and Civil Defence, told reporters six � re service units had joined the rescue e� orts. “We have failed to move the building as it was built using steel and tin [cor-rugated iron sheets]; for this, we are doing our work by cutting [the structure] down slowly.”

Saying it was not possible to estimate when the rescue operations would end, the � re ser-

vice chief admitted that if anyone was still trapped on the ground � oor of the collapsed structure, they were unlikely to be alive.

Around 9:30pm, rescuers started using heavy equipment to move the wreckage.

Anwar Hossain, acting deputy police com-missioner of Motijheel division, said the own-er of the house, Moniruzzaman, had gone into hiding soon after the incident.

Asked whether the building had been con-structed legally, he said city corporation o� -cials would have to look into this issue. How-ever, the police would take necessary actions after the rescue e� orts end, Anwar added.

The Dhaka Tribune has learnt that the land where the house stood belonged to Bangla-desh Railway, while Moniruzzaman – a Jubo

League leader – had used his muscle power to build the house illegally over the water body.

Contacted, Rajuk Chairman GM Jainal Abe-din Bhuiya said such buildings are often built illegally to house low-income people. Despite being aware of the existence of such structures, Rajuk was unable to take action as there was no resettlement system for the � oating people.

Following yesterday’s incident, the Ra-jdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) has formed a three-member probe committee.

Meanwhile, Dhaka’s deputy commission-er’s o� ce has declared Tk20,000 as compen-sation for each family of the deceased and Tk5,000 for those injured. A magistrate was also assigned at the site to collect information on the victims. l

InterpolMahbub said the information had been sent to Interpol some three or four months ago.

An Interpol Red Notice seeks “the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition or similar lawful action,” accord-ing to the Interpol website.

The Dhaka Tribune contacted the Interpol press o� ce through email, asking when Bang-ladesh authorities contacted them and when they issued the notice and if they would help arrest Tarique.

Interpol, however, refused to disclose any details, saying the information shared by any of its 190 member states in relation to investi-gation and fugitives remains under the own-ership of that country.

“Interpol does not therefore comment on speci� c cases or individuals except in special circumstances and with approval of the mem-ber country concerned,” reads the email reply from Interpol.

Interpol also said its General Secretariat does not send o� cers to arrest individuals who are the subject of a Red Notice.

“Many of Interpol’s member countries, however, consider a Red Notice a valid re-quest for provisional arrest, especially if they are linked to the requesting country via a bi-lateral extradition treaty. In cases where ar-rests are made based on a Red Notice, these are made by national police o� cials in IN-TERPOL member countries.

“Interpol cannot compel any member country to arrest the subject of a Red Notice,” reads the Interpol email.

There is no extradition treaty between Bangladesh and the United Kingdom.

AIG Mahbubur Rahman said if Tarique was arrested in the UK, it would depend on the dip-lomatic-level activities of the two countries. “Interpol has nothing to do about it,” he added.

If Bangladesh wishes, it can send the UK a request letter through the Bangladesh High Commission there regarding Tarique’s arrest or bringing him back.

The Home Ministry, meanwhile, is now working on requesting its British counterpart to apprehend Tarique and send him back to Bangladesh, said State Minister for Home Af-fairs Assaduzaman Kamal. “I took the initia-tive to issue the Red Notice in February and it has materialised,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

A senior government o� cial said the Brit-ish government is likely to act on the request.

“The Interpol Red Notice does not compel any country to arrest any person but in this case, a bilateral request may bear fruit,” he said.

Tarique has been in London since Septem-ber 11, 2008 on medical grounds after secur-ing parole in various cases.

He faces 14 charges, of which four, including the grenade attack case, are under trial and the rest have been stayed by the court. He also fac-es arrest warrants in several defamations cases.

The August 21 grenade attack left 24 dead and scores others injured in 2004.l

Hunt on for Pohela Boishakh sexual o� endersto arrest the attackers, many of who are be-lieved to be � rst-year students of the university.

The assaults took place within less than two months after three-four women were sexually harassed in public near the entrance of Suhrawardy Udyan at TSC intersection dur-ing the Amar Ekushey Book Fair.

The Dhaka Tribune published two photos of the youths harassing a girl on February 21 but they could not be identi� ed and brought to the book until now.

After series of protests and outrage in so-cial media since Tuesday, police now say fol-lowing CCTV footages, they have noticed one incident near the TSC roundabout.

“Four to � ve youths were trying to take o� clothes of a woman while one or two came forward to save her,” a high o� cial of police Ramna division told the Dhaka Tribune seek-ing anonymity.

SM Jahangir Alam Sarker, deputy commis-sioner of police (media), said it was an unex-pected bad experience committed by some miscreants. “We have got some clues from the CCTV footages. We are now analysing these to identify the criminals and arrest them.”

He said no victim � led any complaint with the police over Tuesday’s incidents.

Even though the police acknowledged one incident, witnesses and student leaders al-leged that at least seven women came under attacks near TSC and Matsya Bhaban areas on Tuesday afternoon.

The attackers were honking vuvuzelas during the assaults to suppress the victims’ screams, witnesses said adding that they also � lmed the incidents with inhuman enthusiasm.

Bangladesh Students’ Union DU unit Pres-ident Liton Nandi received severe injuries while trying to rescue a woman near the TSC.

Witnesses said a group of at least 30 youths swooped on a number of women and assault-ed them when a string of festivities was un-der way in and around the area since dawn to embrace the � rst day of the Bengali new year.

“I saw some miscreants assaulting a girl. She fell down on the ground but the youths were trying to take o� her clothes in public.

“They started beating me as I tried to res-cue her leaving my right arm broken.

“Later, I covered the girl with my panjabi,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Liton blamed the police for being reluc-tant during the incident. “The on-duty police members visited the spot after almost one and a half hours. By that time, the attackers left the place smoothly.”

While contacted, DU acting proctor Prof Amzad Ali also blamed police for the shame-ful attacks on women.

Chief of Shahbagh police Sirajul Islam termed it a stray incident.

“The on-duty police members charged ba-tons on the attackers but they failed to stop them from harassing the women sexually,” the OC said.

Nuzaira Tarannum, a student of DU mass com-munication and journalism department, said: “It is very embarrassing for the women to face such inhumane activity on a university campus.”

She said if the police and the university au-thorities cannot ensure security of the wom-en, they should not organise such massive programmes on the campus.

Several other students allege that inci-dents of sexual harassment take place on the campus very often by gangs of in� uential youths but those go unheeded by the author-ities and the police since many victims do not � le complaints.

The university’s committee to prevent sex-ual harassment of students, formed last year in line with a High Court directive, has also been inactive.

Expressing concern over the rising inci-dents of sexual assaults, women and gender studies department Chairman Prof Tania Haque said: “Women are tortured not only at home or workplace, they are now being har-assed frequently in public places.”

She blamed the mindset of the male-domi-nated society for such acts.

“Had the sexual harassment prevention committee worked properly, the number of such incidents would have dropped signi� -cantly,” she added.

Students’ Union, Progressive Students’ al-liance and other leftist student organisations brought out procession on the campus yes-terday demanding arrest of the culprits and a thorough investigation.

From a press conference at Madhur Can-teen, the student leaders also announced sev-eral protest programmes including an ultima-tum to arrest the culprits within seven days.

Assault on JnU busMeanwhile, general students of Jagannath University beat up a Bangladesh Chhatra League activist of the university unit for har-assing a girl on its bus on Tuesday.

The accused was identi� ed as Nazmul Islam, a student of political science depart-ment.

Eyewitness said Nazmul along with his as-sociates were harassing the girl on the univer-sity bus “Uttaran” which was going towards New Market after attending a day-long new year celebration programme. Noticing the in-cident, some ordinary students protested the harassment and threw him out after beating him up.

The university correspondent of Bangla Tribune, Rohan, who was on the next bus at that time, took snaps when Nazmul had been driven out.

But some Chhatra League activists caught Rohan, beat him up and took away his camera.

When contacted, acting proctor Nur Mo-hammad said action would be taken against those responsible for the incident once they get a written complaint in this regard.

Nazmul was later expelled from the party for violating discipline, Chhatra League cen-tral committee said in a statement. l

NEWS2DT

NEWS 3D

TTHURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

Khaleda calls for silent ballot revolutionn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has called for a si-lent revolution against what she termed the “re-pressive government” by casting votes for the candidates backed by her party in the upcoming Dhaka and Chittagong city corporation polls.

Attending a Bangla New Year programme in front of the party’s Nayapaltan headquar-ters in the capital on Tuesday afternoon, Khaleda sought votes for Tabith M Awal and Mirza Abbas for the mayoral posts in the polls scheduled for April 28.

Showing voters campaign lea� ets of the two candidates, she urged Dhaka residents to cast votes for Abbas in the mug symbol and Tabith in the bus.

Terming the incumbent government ille-gal, Khaleda said: “This is not an elected gov-ernment and it is doing everything in violation of laws. They are obstructing us at every step. So, a silent revolution should take place.”

The BNP chief also said: “The illegal gov-ernment thought that the BNP would not par-ticipate in the city elections, but our move-ment is for the national election.”

In Barisal, Gazipur and Comilla city cor-poration elections, people have already expressed their intention that they want a

change, she said.“People do not want to see the repressive

government anymore. They will also bring in a change in the Dhaka and Chittagong city cor-poration polls.”

Jatiyatabadi Samajik Sangskritik Sangstha

(Jasas), a pro-BNP organisation, organised the programme to observe the � rst day of Bangla New Year 1422.

It was Khaleda’s � rst visit to the Nayapal-tan o� ce in two years. She last visited her par-ty’s Nayapaltan headquarters in 2013. l

Pro-BNP platform unveils election manifeston Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

An electoral platform backed by pro-BNP pro-fessionals yesterday came up with a common manifesto for its two mayoral aspirants in the Dhaka city elections, promising a liveable, safe and clean city for all.

Leaders of the platform, Adarsha Dhaka Andolon (ideal Dhaka movement), said the 17-point manifesto was announced for Mirza Abbas and Tabith M Awal who are contesting the April 28 elections for the mayor positions of Dhaka south and north city corporations.

Several other mayoral aspirants have al-ready announced their manifestos.

Shawkat Mahmud, member secretary of the platform and an adviser to the BNP chief, read out the manifesto at a press conference at the National Press Club when other senior leaders were present.

“It is the manifesto of the Adarsha Dhaka Andolon. The candidates will unveil their manifestos in due time,” he said.

Tabith is set to formally declare his elec-tion pledges today.

The platform says if elected, their candi-dates would focus on city governance, city plan, city rods and transport management, education and health services, environment protection, accommodation, law and order, human rights, social safety, women’s rights and information technology to make the live-able, safe and clean.

Convener of the platform Prof Emajuddin Ahamed said the Election Commission’s ac-tivities were not satisfactory with regard to holding a free and fair election.

The former Dhaka University vice-chancel-lor said they had urged the EC to take steps so that all the candidates could reach their vot-ers during the campaigns. “But, they did not take any satisfactory step to this end.”

Asked whether the 20-party alliance’s transport blockade enforced since January 6 was still in force, Prof Emajuddin said he was not sure whether the programme had been withdrawn. “But there is no e� ect of the blockade in Dhaka and Chittagong due to the elections,” he added. l

More candidates announce manifestoesn Nure Alam Durjoy

More mayoral candidates in the upcoming city polls yesterday declared manifestoes to woo votes.

With the election slogan “Liveable Dhaka for every one,” Bazlur Rashid Firoz, the CPB and BSD-backed mayoral candidate for the capital’s south side announced his 14-point election manifesto.

He pledged to address and solve issues including corruption, illegal occupancy, water-logging and water shortage, tra� c jam, logical house rent, rehabilitation pro-grammes for the low- and middle-income people, a children- and women-friendly city, and safe environment.

He is running for the mayor’s o� ce in Dha-ka South City Corporation with the symbol of table.

CPB President Mujahidul Islam Selim and

BSD General Secretary Khalequzzaman were present at the press conference at Paltan’s Mukti Bhaban, where the manifesto was an-nounced.

Dhaka South City Corporation mayoral candidate Shahidul Islam unveiled his mani-festo, with an emphasis on turning the Burig-anga River into a tourist site.

Unveiled under the slogan “Green Dhaka, Clean Dhaka”, he said in the manifesto that the banks of the river would also be kept out of the clutches of grabbers.

Shahidul announced the manifesto at a press brie� ng at National Press Club in the morning.

Other manifesto commitments included installation of CCTV cameras to monitor the city’s waste and garbage management system, bringing workplaces under Wi-Fi services and increasing power production using waste.

The press brie� ng was attended by Jati-

ya Samajtantrik Dal Joint Secretary Nazmul Haque Prodhan and Standing Committee member Mir Hossain Akhtar among others.

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayoral candidate Bahauddin Ahmed fo-cused on a tra� c congestion-free capital city.

Bahauddin, backed by Jatiya Party, placed his 18-point manifesto yesterday in the afternoon in the capital’s Imanuel Convention Center.

He pledged to provide su� cient gas and wa-ter to households. He also promised to free the capital from the menace of mosquito and � ies.

The manifesto also includes massive tree plantation, solution to water logging and pro-tection of Turag river from degradation.

Jatiya Party Secretary General Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu, presidium member MA Man-nan, Sunil Shuvo Roy, MA Hannan MP attend-ed the programme, among others.

Bahauddin will contest in the election with the symbol Charka (spinning wheel). l

HC gives split verdict on Abbas’ bailn Ashif Islam Shaon

The High Court yesterday passed a split order on the bail petitions � led by Dhaka South City Corporation mayoral candidate Mirza Abbas in two cases.

Justice Quamrul Islam granted the BNP leader a three-week anticipatory bail while his colleague in the bench Justice Gobinda Chan-dra rejected both of Abbas’ pleas and ordered him to surrender to the trial court.

In the order, Justice Quamrul said the bail was granted under extraordinary circumstanc-es and if he was not given bail it would prevent him from conducting election campaign.

Justice Gobinda observed that Abbas should be considered a fugitive since he had been on the run for the past four months to avoid arrest.

The petitions and the two orders would now be sent to Chief Justice SK Sinha so that he forms a single bench to hear the pleas.

Abbas’ counsels claimed that police could not arrest him as the bail was not disposed of while the state counsels said there was no bar to his arrest as “his status is now fugitive.”

Meanwhile, Mirza Abbas told reporters in the room of Supreme Court Bar Association Presi-dent Khandoker Mahbub Hossain that he would go home and launch his election campaign.

When asked, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said police could arrest Mirza Abbas in the corruption case � led by the Anti-Corruption Commission as he is yet to obtain bail in the case.

“After the order I do not think he can partici-pate in the election and the campaign,” he said.

On April 13, the same High Court bench had

ordered Abbas not to campaign or speak to the media before the bail verdict. The authorities were also told to keep hands o� Abbas before the verdict.

According to his election a� davit, Abbas, a former mayor of Dhaka and a member of the BNP Standing Committee, is facing at least 37 cases and has secured bail in none of them.

There is a warrant for his arrest in a graft case � led by the ACC, which the HC bench re-fused to deal with.

Yesterday, the counsels of Abbas said they had lodged a petition with the Chief Justice to assign a bench to hear the case.

Dhaka police has issued stern warning against “fugitives” participating in the city polls of bifurcated Dhaka city corporation without securing bail in the cases they are accused of. l

At a cultural function in front of BNP’s Nayapaltan headquarters on Tuesday, BNP chief Khaleda Zia endorses her party-backed candidates for the Dhaka city polls DHAKA TRIBUNE

Aspirants grab the chance of Baishakhi celebrationn Tribune Report

Election campaign took a di� erent look on Tuesday with most of the candidates, espe-cially mayoral aspirants, joining the Pohela Baishakh celebration to woo voters.

Almost all the candidates in Dhaka and Chittagong carried out their campaigns at the celebration congregations rather than tradi-tional door-to-door canvas.

The aspirants visited di� erent spots where people gathered to welcome the new year. They launched their campaigns in colourful dress soon after the day broke.

The aspirants backed by Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party, CPB, BSD, JSD and others were seen distributing lea� ets and exchang-ing greetings with the city dwellers in Ramana Udyan (Austachal), Suhrawardi Udyan, Chan-drima Udyan, Gulshan Park, Dhaka University TSC and Shahbagh Intersection. l

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Ctg hills to be evacuated to avoid landslide casualtiesn Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

The Hill Management Committee of Chit-tagong Division has decided to immediately remove families living in three hilly areas to avoid casualties due to potential landslides during monsoon.

The decision came at the committee’s 14th meeting held at Chittagong divisional com-missioner’s o� ce yesterday from 2:30pm to 4:30pm.

The areas in question are Motijharna and Batali Hill and the adjoining hills, Probortok Hill and Ispahani Hill, Divisional Commis-sioner Mohammad Abdullah told reporters after the meeting.

The committee also decided to evacuate around 700 families that are living in 30 hills in the city and the surrounding areas on prior-ity basis before monsoon starts.

The gas, water and electricity connections to those areas will also be cut o� for the sea-son, and community and area based volun-teer teams will be formed to aid the evacua-tion drives.

“We will sit with the all stakeholders in-volved in this regard to drive home the seri-ousness of this issue,” Abdullah said.

The committee is working on the temporary accommodation of the families, and a medical team will be in standby if anyone is indeed a� ected by landslides, he added.

Around 1,000,000 people live in the vul-nerable hilly slopes in the city and elsewhere around the district, according to a survey done by the committee last year.

A series of landslides in Chittagong hills in recent years took a number of lives, the worst being in 2007 which killed 126. l

Ex-envoy KM Shehabuddin diesn Tribune Report

Former Bangladesh ambassador KM She-habuddin passed away at United Hospital yes-terday. He was 78.

S h e h a b u d d i n breathed his last at 5:50pm. He had been

su� ering from old-age complications. He left behind his wife, four daughters and a host of relatives and well-wishers.

Shehabuddin was the � rst diplomat to defect from the Pakistani Foreign Service on April 6, 1971 and join the Liberation War. At the time, he was posted in New Delhi.

He became a secretary in 1993 and retired from the public service in 2001 as ambassador to the US. Earlier, he was assigned to coun-tries including the UK, Mexico, Columbia, France and Spain. l

Dhaka Tribune photographer wins BPJA photo contest n Tribune Report

To celebrate the Bangla New Year 1422, Bang-ladesh Photojournalists’ Association organ-ised Ruposi Bangla National Photo Contest and Exhibition 2015, inaugurated at the Na-tional Press Club in the capital last Monday.

Syed Zakir Hossain, chief photographer of the Dhaka Tribune, won the � rst prize in the contest participated by 70 photographers from all over the country. Kamrul Hasnat Jashim of the daily Janakantha won the sec-ond prize. The third prize was jointly won by Sourav Laskar of the New Age and Kamrul Is-lam Ratan of the Daily Sun.

The o� cial prize-giving ceremony will be held at the association’s auditorium at Purana Paltan on April 19. Lawmaker Morshed Alam, chairman of Bengal Group and RTV, will be attending the ceremony as chief guest. The exhibition will be open for all until April 19. l

NEWS 5D


WEATHER

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:20PM SUN RISES 5:36AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW36.8ºC 20.6ºCKhulna Sayedpur

THURSDAY, APRIL 16

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 35 27Chittagong 33 26Rajshahi 35 25Rangpur 35 23Khulna 32 23Barisal 32 25Sylhet 34 22Cox’s Bazar 32 26

PRAYER TIMESFajr 4:19am

Sunrise 5:37am

Zohr 11:59am

Asr 4:27pm

Magrib 6:20pm

Esha 7:39pm

DRY WEATHER

MP Faruk threatens RU VC over a � nen Our Correspondent, Rajshahi

Omar Faruk Chowdhury, MP of Rajshahi 1 constituency, allegedly threatened to depose Rajshahi University VC Prof Muhammad Miz-anuddin at the VC’s o� ce yesterday over a � ne of Tk25 lakh to a medical college.

Sources at the VC’s o� ce told reporters that MP Faruk, the president of Rajshahi dis-trict unit AL, threatened the VC after being denied a meeting.

The VC was busy in a selection board meet-ing. At 1:15pm, after the meeting ended, MP Faruk along with his secretary entered the VC’s o� ce and started berating Mizanuddin using abusive language.

MP Faruk asked for a clari� cation from the VC for � ning Shah Makhdum Medical College (SMMC), which is under Rajshahi University authority.

MP Faruk is chairman of the governing body of SMMC, which was recently � ned by the RU authority for alleged irregularities.

When contacted, VC Mizanuddin told the Dhaka Tribune that such behaviour is totally unexpected from a public representative. “MP Faruk also threatened to remove me from my post,” the VC added.

When contacted, the MP’s Personal Secre-tary Faruk Dipayan Sarkar Dip con� rmed that there was an altercation with the VC over the matter of the � ne. l

Mujaheed, SQ Chy cases to start April 28n Ashif Islam Shaon

The Supreme Court has � xed April 28 for starting hearing on the appeals � led by con-victed war criminals Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury challenging their death sentences.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Di-vision headed by Chief Justice Surendra Ku-mar Sinha � xed the date after defence coun-sel Khandker Mahbub Hossain moved a time petition.

Mahbub prayed to the court to start hear-ing on the appeals at the end of May as they will remain busy with the city corporation elections on April 28 and the Bangladesh Bar Council on May 20.

Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mu-jaheed � led the appeal on August 12, 2013 seeking acquittal from all the charges. He and Salauddin was sentenced to death by ICT on July 17 and October 1 of 2013 respectively. l

HC defers order on Salahuddin’s disappearancen Ashif Islam Shaon

The High Court has � xed April 20 for deliver-ing its order on a writ petition � led over the disappearance of BNP Joint Secretary General Salahuddin Ahmed.

Responding to a time petition, the High Court bench of Justice Quamrul Islam Sid-diqui and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore

yesterday deferred the date for delivering its judgement. Earlier on April 9, the same bench had � xed April 15 for the hearing.

In the time petition, Khandoker Mahbub Hossain, the counsel for Salahuddin’s wife, said: “We have some interesting information and data and we believe that those will help the court in delivering a clear judgement. But, we need some more time to place the it.” l

Order on Jamaat men’s contempt next Mondayn Ashif Islam Shaon

A tribunal has � xed April 20 for passing an order on whether contempt of court proceed-ings will be initiated against Jamaat lawyer Tajul Islam and � ve Shibir leaders for their statements to the media following a verdict.

Justice M Enayetur Rahim, chairman of International Crimes Tribunal 1, passed the order yesterday after hearing arguments from the prosecution and the lawyer of � ve ac-cused Jamaat-Shibir leaders.

A defence counsel told the court that his clients have apologised unconditionally to the tribunal. l

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SPOTLIGHT 7D


Nation celebrated Pohela Boishakh on Tuesday in an elegant way with various spectacular events. People from all walks of life throng the di� erent popular and historic spots in the capital to hail Bangla year 1422. The most colourful celebration of the Bangla New Year began at the Ramna Batamul at dawn with elaborate programmes arranged by leading cultural troupe Chhayanaut. Both adults and children enjoyed up to their heart's content by riding the nagordola and merry-go-rounds set up on the premises of the Institute of Fine Arts and Suhrawardy Udyan. Second year in a row, the unique rally of Rangdhonu Jatra turns to be another set of attraction ensuring equal participation of the Hijras alongside people belonging to di� erent spheres of society SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN / MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU / DHAKA TRIBUNE

NEWS8DT


Tension at SUST over dept heads’ resignationn Our Correspondent, Sylhet

Trouble continued at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) yesterday as students of physics and geography and envi-ronment science departments observed an-other sit-in programme in front of Vice-Chan-cellor Prof Dr Aminul Haque Bhuyan’s o� ce.

Protesting the resignation of the two de-partments’ heads, the agitating students started their demonstration around 11am and continued until around 3:30pm, sources said.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, the universi-ty’s acting proctor Emdadul Haque said a meet-ing regarding this issue between the VC and the department teachers was scheduled at 1pm yesterday, but the teachers did not show up.

Around 3:30pm, Prof Aminul went to the demonstrating students and took them to

their respective departments to have the dis-cussion, but the teachers did not respond say-ing some of the teachers were not present.

Later, the university’s pro-liberation teach-ers, coordinated by Prof Shamsul Alam of the chemistry department, had a meeting of their own around 4:30pm to discuss the issue, where they issued an ultimatum to the VC, saying he must issue an apology to the two professors, or else the teachers would take up tougher movement.

The students observed the � rst sit-in on Monday when Prof Dr Syed Badiuzzaman Faruque, head of physics, and Prof Dr Sha-rif Md Sharafuddin, head of geography and environment science, resigned following a heated discussion with Prof Aminul over a dispute on space allocation between the de-partments. l

Jute workers continue protests n Our Correspondent, Khulna

Workers of state-owned jute mills in Khulna and Jessore formed human chains yesterday to continue protests as part of an 11-day pro-gramme announced to highlight their � ve-point demand.

Yesterday’s protests held in front of the factories demanded a 20% dearness allow-ance for the workers, adequate allocation in jute sector and payment of overdue wages.

Yesterday was the sixth day of the 11-day programme announced by CBA-Non CBA Oikya Parishad, and the workers also staged demon-strations and held rallies from 10am to 11am.

The rallies were addressed by labour lead-ers. Workers of Crescent Jute Mill, Platinum

Jute Mill, Star Jute Mill, Alim Jute Mill and Eastern Jute Mill in Khulna, and JJI Jute Mill and Carpeting Jute Mill in Jessore joined yes-terday’s protests.

The 11-day programme was announced in the wake of falling jute production and shrinking export.

The slowdown in export has been caused by global recession as unsold jute products began to heap up at the state-owned jute mills in Khulna more than two years back.

A rally will be held in Khalishpur tomorrow afternoon while there will be protest rallies on April 19. The 11-day programme, which began on April 5, will end on April 24 and the next programme will be announced at a rally on the day. l

12 killed in road accidentsn Tribune Report

At least 12 people were killed in road accidents in Gazipur, Sylhet, Bagerhat,Narsingdi, Gaib-andha and Narayanganj districts yesterday.

Our Gazipur correspondent reports: Four people including a woman were killed and 10 others injured in a collision between a bus and a truck at Kodda in the city.

Police said a Dhaka-bound bus of Ajmeri Paribahan collided head on with a truck com-ing from opposition direction around 6:45am, killing four on the spot.

Sylhet correspondent said three people were killed when a bus rammed into an au-to-rickshaw at Bolaura on the Sylhet-Sunam-ganj Road.

M Rahmatulla, deputy commissioner of Sylhet Metropolitan police, said the accident took place at noon.

Identities of the deceased could not be known immediately.

Bagerhat correspondent said a young crick-eter was killed and two other were injured as a bus hit their motorcycle at Khanka Sharif on Khulna-Bagerhat Highway in Sadar upazila.

The deceased was identi� ed as Mahrul Islam Richi, 16, son of Monir Hossain, coun-cilor of Ward No- 7 of Bagerhat municipality. Richi was a player of Bagerhat district under 16 cricket team and took part in the SSC exam-ination this year.

O� cer-in-Charge of Bagerhat Model po-lice station Tozammel Haque said the acci-dent occurred when Richi, along with his two

friends- Ziaur Rahman Prince, also a player of Bagerhat under-16 cricket team, and Shahriar Nazim was going to Bagerhat town riding a motorcycle.

A speeding bus knocked down their two-wheeler at Khanka Sharif area, leaving the trio injured on the spot.

Later, local people rescued them and whisked o� to Bagerhat Sadar Hospital.

Richi succumbed to his injuries on his way to Khulna Medical College Hospital.

Narsingdi correspondent said two includ-ing a college student were killed in an acci-dent on the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway.

The deceased were identi� ed as Ruena Ak-ter,18, student of Narsindi Technical and BM College and Monir Hossain,20, CNG driver.

SI Ataur Rahman of Hatkhola Highway po-lice outpost said the accident took place when a passenger bus of Tisha Paribahan rammed into the CNG run auto-rickshaw in the area, leaving two dead on the spot.

Gaibandha correspondent said a youth was killed as passenger bus hit him on the Gaib-andha-Sadullapur Road in Shimultala area.

The deceased was identi� ed as Mominul Islam, son of Abul Kashem in the area.

Zia Latiful Islam, o� cer-in-charge of Sadullapur police station said the accident had taken place when a the bus hit Mominul, leaving him dead on the spot while he was crossing the road.

In Naraynganj, a motorcyclist was killed in a road accident in Jalkuri area on the Dha-ka-Narayanganj link road. l

Jute mill workers form a human chain in Khulna city yesterday, demanding 20% dearness allowances and adequate allocation in jute sector DHAKA TRIBUNE

NEWS 9D


Girls of ethnic minority take part in the Sangria festival which is marked by singing and dancing to welcome new year. The photo was taken from Khagrachhari district town DHAKA TRIBUNE

Jubo League activists vandalise BNP o� cen Our Correspondent, Bogra

Activists of Jubo League on Tuesday allegedly vandalised Sonatola municipality BNP o� ce and ripped the party’s banners in di� erent areas.

The untoward situation after the attack persisted in the area yesterday till the � ling of this report.

According to witnesses, the activists van-dalised the BNP o� ce in madrasa intersection of the area around 12:30pm after Jahangir Alam Nannu, who has warrants against him, was seen with Selim Hossain, o� cer-in-charge of Sonatola police station, during the Pohela Boishakh procession organised by New Renesa Club.

Witnesses said the activists were enraged as they could not understand why a fugitive in the eyes of law was with police, walking free. At one point of the attack, police came to the spot and disbursed the attackers, they added,

Jahangir, who is himself a Jubo League ac-tivist, is an accused in a blast case � led by lo-cal Jubo League leader Masum. However, why the BNP o� ce was vandalised for the stated reason was unclear. Police con� rmed of the attack but also could not con� rm the reason.

When asked, Jahangir said he was disliked in Awami League because of his di� erent views and the attack on BNP o� ce was car-ried out because his brothers were supporters of BNP. l

Number of leprosy patients on the rise n Our Correspondent, Kurigram

The number of leprosy patients in Kurigram is in-creasing as the leprosy identi� cation and rehabil-itation programme is being going at a snail’s pace.

The leprosy eradication programme in the dis-trict is not being successful due to lack of skilled human resources and fund crisis.

As leprosy is contagious, no one including fam-ily members wants to get close to such patients for fear of getting infected; the patients are avoided even after getting cured of the disease.

After getting in touch with several leprosy pa-tients, it was found that many have become disa-bled and are living an inhuman life.

Momena Begum of Panchgachi union, Moham-mad Ali, Sirajul from Kurigram town, all of them

said their neighbours and family members all avoid them; they have not been called to work since they got the disease.

Lal Mia and Shahidul from Bhogdanga union said although they were cured no one wanted to get close to them, or even talk to them properly.

Dr M Shahin Sajjad Hossain, Medical O� cer of Tuberculosis and Leprosy project under RDRS Kurigram, said: “Because of the cold and the high number of poor people in this region, more people get infected with the disease.” He added that if pa-tients take the multi-drug therapy (MDT) regularly at the hospital soon after leprosy symptoms are identi� ed, they can be cured completely.

RDRS implemented the leprosy eradication programme (LEP) in Kurigram in 1982 under the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Pro-

gramme. So far 5,031 leprosy patients have been identi� ed and treated.

Project O� cer Shimon Marvi of the RDRS Com-munity Health Programme in Kurigram said: “In the past year, 102 [leprosy] patients have been iden-ti� ed and given treatment under the programme [LEP]. Of them 21 have been cured. At the moment, 81 patients are being given the treatment.”

All the hospitals in the district including the Sadar hospital are giving treatment to leprosy pa-tients. However, the � eld o� cers responsible for identifying such patients are not skilled enough.

Kurigram district Civil Surgeon Dr Joinal Abedin Zillur said: “Training for the � eld o� cers have be-come necessary as that would enable them to iden-tify leprosy patients quicker. It would be good for the patients.” l

Housewife strangled to death for dowryn Tribune Report

A housewife was strangled allegedly by her husband for dowry at Shreepur union of Boalkhali upazila in Chit-tagong on Tuesday night.

The victim Priyanka Dey, 24, wife of Riton Dey, 37, who is an expatiate and returned from abroad a few months back, said O� cer-in-Charge of Boalkhali police station Sham-sul Islam.

Police arrested Riton, his fa-ther Doyal Hari Dey and mother Jorna Rani Dey from a private hospital in Chittagong city in this connection, added the OC.

Quoting Priyanka’s family members, OC Shamsul said the couple had married o� four years ago. Since their mar-riage, in-laws of Priyanka used to torture her over dowry.

On Tuesday evening, Ri-ton rushed the housewife to Holy Health hospital located in Panchlaish area in critical state where on duty doctors declared her dead, said the OC, adding that later Riton informed Priyanka’s family that she committed suicide by hanging herself. The OC said Priyanka’s family caught three in-laws of her observing their suspicious attitude. l

WORLD10DT


German air controllers urge remote control of planesn Reuters

In response to the Germanwings crash last month, the German air tra� c control author-ity has called on the aviation industry to con-sider technology that would allow people on the ground to take remote command of a pas-senger plane and safely land it.

Voice recording and � ight data indicate

Germanwings pilot Andreas Lubitz locked his captain out of the cockpit and deliberately steered the Airbus A320 into a mountainside on March 24, killing all 150 passengers and crew on board.

“We have to think past today’s technology,” Klaus Dieter Scheurle, head of the Deutsche Flugsicherung air tra� c control authority, said at a press conference on Wednesday. l

Iran: Nuclear deal depends on lifting of sanctions

n Reuters

Iran said yesterday it would only accept a deal over its contested nuclear program if world powers simultaneously lifted all sanctions imposed on it.

The comments by President Hassan Rouhani came the day after US President Barack Obama was forced to give Congress a say in any future accord – including the right to veto the lifting of sanctions imposed by US lawmakers.

Bolstering the role of a highly assertive Congress injects an element of uncertainty into the crucial � nal stages of negotiations between major powers and Iran aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in ex-change for sanctions relief.

“If there is no end to sanctions, there will not be an agreement,” Rouhani said in a tel-

evised speech in the northern Iranian city of Rasht, echoing remarks made last week by Iran’s most powerful authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“The end of these negotiations and a signed deal must include a declaration of can-celling the oppressive sanctions on the great nation of Iran,” said Rouhani, who is widely viewed as a pragmatist.

A tentative deal between Iran and the six world powers was reached in Switzerland on April 2, and aimed at clearing the way for a � -nal settlement on June 30.

Discussions will resume on April 21. How-ever, di� erent interpretations have emerged over what was agreed in the framework, sug-gesting that nailing down a � nal agreement will be tough, even without the added com-plication of Congress. l

Libya’s Haftar ‘betting on military solution’n Agencies

The milit ary chief of Libya’s UN-recognised government has expressed doubt about UN-backed talks in Morocco aimed at ending the country’s political split and said that he is “betting on a military solution” if a deal re-mains elusive.

General Khalifa Haftar’s comments in a TV interview on Tuesday underscored the obsta-cles to any agreement between rival govern-ments in Libya.

Haftar, who commands forces loyal to the Tobruk government, separately told the As-sociated Press news agency that he does not

oppose negotiations outright.He said he would abide by decisions of his

government, but said it was not clear how the political rivals could reach a deal.

He would not agree to any cease� re with armed groups, he said.

“Then the military solution is a must be-cause it is decisive ... when we are forced to, when we see our homeland torn apart as it is happening now, between militias and terror-ists, we resort to a military solution. We are betting on the military solution,” Haftar said.

Haftar said he believes his forces could win such a battle even though they currently control only a small area of Libya and no major cities. l

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani AFP

EU charges Google in Internet search anti-trust caseThe EU has � led a complaint against Google over its alleged anti-competitive behaviour

WORLD 11D


n Reuters

The European Union accused Google Inc yesterday of cheat-ing competitors by distorting Internet search results to fa-vor its shopping service, and launched another antitrust investigation into its Android mobile operating system.

Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the US tech giant, which dominates Internet search engines world-wide, had been sent a State-ment of Objections - e� ectively a charge sheet - to which it can respond. She also said other probes into Google’s business practices would continue.

“I am concerned that the company has given an unfair advantage to its own com-parison shopping service, in breach of EU antitrust rules,” she said. “If the investiga-tion confirmed our concerns, Google would have to face the legal consequences and change the way it does busi-ness in Europe.”

The Commission, whose control of antitrust matters across the wealthy 28-nation bloc gives it a major say in the fate of global corporations, can fine firms up to 10 percent of their annual sales, in Goog-le’s case up to $6.6 billion.

If it finds that companies are abusing a dominant mar-ket position, the EU regula-tor can also demand sweep-ing changes to their business practices, as it did with US software giant Microsoft in 2004 and chip-maker Intel in 2009. Its record antitrust fine was 1.09 billion euros on Intel.

Asked whether she was ready to go as far as fining Google, Vestager told a news conference: “It is very impor-tant that every road is open - first when it comes to com-mitments but also when it

comes to the other road, at the end of which is a fine.”

Google now had an oppor-tunity to explain itself, she said, and the case might be settled by the company mak-ing further commitments to change its products.

Of the formal investiga-tion into Android, used on smart phones and tablets, Vestager said: “I want to make sure the markets in this area can flourish with-out anticompetitive con-straints imposed by any company.”

In its first reaction, the Mountain View, Califor-nia-based company said in a blog post that it strong-ly disagreed with the EU’s statement of objections and would make the case that its products have fostered com-petition and benefited con-sumers.

“Android has been a key player in spurring this com-petition and choice, low-ering prices and increasing choice for everyone (there are over 18,000 different devices available today),” it said of its free operating sys-tem for mobile devices.

Vestager, a Danish liberal who took over the political-ly charged EU competition policy dossier in November, announced the moves on the eve of a high-pro� le visit to the United States. Her � nd-ings following nearly � ve years of investigation and abortive e� orts by her Span-ish predecessor, Joaquin Al-munia, to strike a deal with Google.

The focus on the ranking of searches for shopping sites - Google has its own service called Google Shop-ping - did not address all complaints lodged with the Commission by competitors,

EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager addresses a news conference at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels yesterday REUTERS

EDITORIAL12DT


We welcome pledges made by several mayoral candidates to improve bus services in the capital.

It is overdue to see more attention being given to bus services. Buses are the only means of transport available for most people and it makes sense for them to be prioritised over the small minority of car owners.

E� orts by the government and BRTC to improve buses lack co-ordination and are failing to e� ectively cut the conges-tion which costs Dhaka’s economy over $2.5bn every year.

Improving the e� ciency and quality of bus services to tempt more commut-ers out of cars, is essential to help speed up overall journey times for everyone.

One properly functioning bus route can easily remove 30 cars o� the road. Increasing public transport use would not only speed up tra� c � ow, but also reduce the pollution generated by allowing private cars to dawdle in tra� c jams.

With space at a premium, the best way forward is for the entire capital and Dhaka district to have a uni� ed transport authority answerable to mayoral and local authorities, with a mandate to encourage and improve public transport.

This could set and regulate routes by both public and private operators and develop a more e� cient uni� ed ticketing system for fares. It could introduce and enforce public transport-only bus lanes on major thoroughfares.

Above all, it should take an integrated approach to improving the safety and reliability of buses to make them more comfortable and faster so that public transport becomes more attractive and improves quality of life in the city.

Take an integrated approach to making public transport more attractive

Dhaka needs a uni� ed transport authority

Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

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Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207Email [email protected]

Send us your Op-Ed articles:[email protected]

www.dhakatribune.comJoin our Facebook community:

https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

Oyasiqur’s murder was preventableMarch 31

HasanuzzamanThe government is supposed to protect freedom of expression by ensuring that bloggers, regardless of their educational background and professional exposure, can incite any religious sentiment? I � nd it hard to support bloggers or so-called free-think-ers whose main goal is ending up to “think in the name of freedom, and act without giving a damn.” They represent the “I” of intellectuals because of their sel� sh pursuit of happiness. So what is the di� erence between bloggers and terrorist groups? One attacks sitting at the computer (almost like a lazy but poisonous snake in the grass) and the other does it in broad daylight.

NazmulHasanuzzaman: Snakes use computers. Why isn’t this front page news? I guess its the Apple connection.

HasanuzzamanNazmul: :)

BanglabaulHasanuzzaman: Yes, that’s called freedom. I noted you saying bloggers attack sitting at a computer like poisonous snakes, but have no compunction doing the same yourself. If you are really asking what is the di� erence between bloggers and terrorists, I’ll give you a clue: The latter murder people in cold blood. If that is the company you wish to keep, best not pretend you subscribe to a superior morality when your heart is full of fear and hate, brother. I hail the transgeder person who helped catch Oyasiqur’s killers.

KmakBanglabaul: “Yes, that’s called freedom” --

actually, it is not freedom if there’s an oppor-tunity cost involved. Granted, that unlike ter-rorists bloggers don’t kill, how about we also consider the rationality of stoking religious tensions in a religious society such as ours? If the objective is to minimise killings, then it is best served by bloggers either shutting the hell up or tempering their critiques in a digni� ed way so as to not in� ame religious tensions. In a religious society, bloggers don’t have as much bargaining power which is why the initiative is theirs to take.

Babur HossainKmak: Opportunity cost is an economic term which you are using to explain why you think victims (bloggers writing something) bring murder on themselves. Don’t pretend to be rational when you are supporting nutters who kill, it’s ill-becoming and not particularly religious anyway -- doling out death penalties because you know best, is it? I would take your own advice if I was you and write when you have something new to say.

KmakBabur Hossain: Clearly you didn’t under-stand a single thing I said.

Shanmin Haque Wish it had been prevented. Just two prob-lems. AL brags about being secular while shunning nasteeks and atheists. Even if it didn’t, Islamist-inspired killers will always invent another excuse.

RashedShanmin Haque: At least the public were able to arrest Oyasiqur’s killers. More than the police have done in Avijit’s case.

DTBCB ends contract with

SaharaApril 3

Kaler BibortonGood decision.

Rescue our emergency servicesMarch 31RetiredBUETA hope and a prayer is all accident victims have when they’re stuck in tra� c with no guarantee a hospital will take them at the end. It’s shaming and must be � xed if we are to call ourselves civilised and developed.

Equality needs more women in politicsMarch 29Issat MahmoudAbsolutely. Without maximising the talent pool, the same few cliques of mainly men will keep power.

Dhaka Tribune is pleased to support the “I am Dhaka” campaign being run by Volunteer for Bangladesh and the Jaago Foundation.

We hope all mayoral and councillor candidates in the upcoming city elections will take up their invitation to view the exhibition of photographs from the campaign, which opens at the Drik Gallery in Dhanmondi this evening.

The images form part of the #IamDhaka social media campaign. This is an exciting initiative which asks ordinary city dwellers to document daily life in the capital city.

Everyone is aware that Dhaka faces numerous social and environmental problems.

What #IamDhaka achieves is to give citizens a voice by using the power of social media to disseminate photographs that point out and suggest common sense solutions to widespread problems.

The exhibition features the work of 28 photographers drawn from the campaign’s platforms on Facebook and Twitter, to provide a broad grassroots perspective on the city’s problems and people’s hopes for the future.

From polluted and encroached rivers and waterways to endemic tra� c congestion and the dysfunctional state of garbage collection and recycling services, the photos capture daily life from a wide range of viewpoints.

Positive images of cultural celebrations are also featured, helping to high-light the huge potential that exists for the city’s citizens to make life better.

We hope they will provide a platform to help candidates and voters alike exchange views and develop better policies to make Dhaka more liveable for everyone.

#IamDhaka

Images of city issues provide a platform to develop better policies

n Mamun Rashid

She is smart and pretty. She writes well. She is an architect from one of Bangla-desh’s most prestigious institutions. She

is always clad in nicely tailored burqas. She seemed to be well aware of my bias against certain religious values and activities. She started to send me short messages on my cellphone, trying to impose her Islam on me.

She obviously did not like the US attack on Iraq or even the Bangladesh government’s attack on any “Islamist” groups. She did not like how religious groups were being treated in Bangladesh, and she was not happy about the Bangladeshi education systems, and she certainly didn’t think Pohela Boishakh should to be observed by Bangladeshis.

Unfortunately, she is not alone. I come across many young men and women studying in various prominent government educational institutions or in leading private universities harbouring the same beliefs. It is the same case with a few young men and women working in large local corporations or even global multinationals. I almost fell from my chair when my reputed US university-educated cadet college buddy was arrested by RAB for his alleged involvement with Hizb-ut-Tahrir.

When a public university teacher was arrested for his alleged involvement with reli-gious extremists, I was, of course, saddened. But these days, I come across many quiet but brilliant business graduates working for glob-al banks, and leaving their jobs because they do not like the interest-charging banking sys-tem. They are very serious about praying � ve times a day and on-time. Some of them have investments in corporate advisory � rms, but do not want to do any work for banks for the same reason.

For the last two or three days, I have been receiving some mail castigating the obser-vance of Pohela Boishakh. This, apparently, is not Islam-approved or Islamic. Some of them even said that through the observance of Pohela Boishakh, the entire nation is subju-gated by Hinduism. The writers also seemed to be a little shaken with the gala observance of the Bengali New Year. They didn’t like the singing in the parks, the moving around freely in public, and young girls and boys holding each other’s hands and walking. Most of them saw these as the opposite to the preachings of Islam, and more importantly, directly con� icting with “Nobijir poth” -- the values and teachings of the prophet.

What does one do with them? They are not madrasa students being overdosed by their backdated teachers and deprived of the basic possible amenities of life. Bangladesh is seeing a rise in soft-speaking, IT aware, and articulate youths joining the bandwagon. Madrasa students may be joining similar forces in Afghanistan or in the Middle East, but what do we do with these new emerging youths? They don’t like the way this government is working.

Many of them think the ruling government is anti-Islam and they are ready to debate on this for hours. Many of them are computer engineers or doctors coming out of prestigious public medical colleges. Surprisingly, this group contains academically brilliant sons and daughters of armed forces seniors too. They want a more “Islamic culture” to be practiced and the nation not to be driven towards the “Hindu culture.” Many of them oppose democracy.

It seems we can’t do much about this either, unless they also go overboard, thus warranting punitive measures. Most of them are docile, but very well-networked.

They are spreading their beliefs and values faster than anyone else. Globalisation, growth of information and communication technology, limitations in monitoring capacities of di� erent government agencies, and weak political institutions have further accentuated the situation for both -- the “too conservative” forces as well as modern educated youths. Recently we are also seeing 9/11 type self-radicalisation in the youths.

Despite government crackdowns and almost pushing them to the wall, Hizb-ut-Tahrir continues to follow the strategy of propagating their ideologies and beliefs through the internet, social websites, blogs, CDs, � iers, and posters. There is such self-radicalisation happening among vulnerable groups and individuals too. They think the present system and political institutions

won’t do anything for them, but the rich and the powerful only. The “us and them” mentality is also working strong here.

What do we need to do in this case? I am sure Amartya Sen might have had an answer. Income inequality, the super domination of Indian media, and to some extent Indian culture, the Western lifestyle, or the growth of the new rich class under direct patronisa-tion of the political government have their causes rooted inside. An integrated education system, well organised cultural activities, faster poverty alleviation programs, practice of democratic values, and maybe more space for the opposite school of thought might bring us closer to an answer. l

Mamun Rashid is a business professor and � nancial sector entrepreneur.

OPINION 13D


Radicalisation of the youth

n Md Ashik Sarder

Over 1 million people live in The Chittagong Hill Tracts. Among them, many are deprived of basic rights and

even the bare minimum of modern facilities. Both unity and fragmentation among the people, large seasonal variations, and various geophysical occurrences are frequent in this area. Conducting development activities is di� cult in this region because of its existing political issues, the distinguishing lifestyle of its indigenous people, and the hard-to-reach nature of the hilly area. But, a comprehensive approach is prerequisite for the hill tracts in improving the lives and livelihoods of its peo-ple and bring balance to the pace of develop-ment throughout the country.

There is some socio-economic ration-ale for the CHT’s lagging behind in terms of advancement compared to other areas in Bangladesh. One of these reasons is the absence of energy, particularly the de� ciency of electricity in most parts of this region. But development, especially sustainable devel-opment, is not possible when you have such an enormous area deprived of energy. So, a very good understanding is indispensable, while measures need to be taken in over-

coming the energy crisis for domestic and commercial purposes to improve the people’s life and livelihoods.

As the CHT has vast natural resources, especially water resources such its rivers, canals, lakes, and small streams, they can be successfully used to generate hydro-electrici-ty to ful� ll the demand of the people. The hy-dro-electricity can contribute into domestic purposes, bettering livelihoods, and improv-ing agriculture for the state of the region’s under-privileged populace. The suitable hilly water-sources can also be alternately used for the production of renewable energy, as these days the emphasis is on producing renewable energy on the part of development practi-tioners. The Roman, Indian, and Chinese civ-ilisations were enriched by using extra canal water for producing energy -- the symbol of renewable energy. In today’s world, countries like Kenya, Nepal, Vietnam, Tanzania, and other developing and underdeveloped coun-tries are the biggest bene� ciaries of adopting renewable energy through the proper utilisa-tion of water.

It will be very supportive of the govern-ment and other service-providing organisa-tions to ensure civil facilities and jog devel-opment activities in the CHT; that is, if the

local populace can produce hydro-electricity and ensure its proper utilisation. The elec-tricity can be supplied to the deprived people of the CHT for domestic purposes. Alongside the establishment of small industries, irriga-tion and food preservation opportunities can be created. Subsequently, positive changes towards development will be seen at the do-mestic and commercial levels in this area.

If energy is provided to areas in the CHT, access to modern information technolo-gy-enabled facilities will be made easier to its denizens. Through this, the local farmers can be linked with service-providing organ-isations and can get introduced to modern agriculture technologies, receive proper training, and learn about e� cient produc-tion. Micro-irrigation can also contribute into extra crop production throughout the year. By using this energy, chilling centres, as well as cold storages, can also be set up in order to protect crops from getting destroyed.

The produced electricity can also be used in the education and health sectors, ena-bling local clinics to preserve various types of vaccines and medicine. The CHT has vast promise in being a part of our tourism sector, which can bring in a sizable revenue to the country but has not been made possible yet

because of its lack of su� cient energy. In this regard, energy supply is the demand of the time for further expanding CHT as a viable part of our tourism sector.

Therefore, now it is the time to produce renewable energy in the CHT and for the government and the private sector need to work together towards achieving it. Alongside a lot of research, bottom-up consultation with various people, organisations, and stakeholders, comparative analysis, and demand formation by the local people are obligatory.

Though there is no negative impact of renewable energy on the environment and the ecology, risk assessment must be con-ducted and management capacity has to be improved before initiating any type of energy production-related activities in the CHT, in order to avoid any possible disasters and � nancial losses. Finally, the measurement should be undertaken conferring considera-tions to the local tradition, culture, heritage, and the inherited livelihoods of the diverse ethnic groups living there. l

Md Ashik Sarder is a development worker and researcher currently working at NGO Forum for Public Health.

Bring energy for them

BIGSTOCK

OPINION14DT


n Raihan Hadi

There’s this policeman in our area who is kind of a hero to me. He’s not really a big shot kind of a guy, just the regular uncle-type, with hair and

beard like the Irish (henna, of course), well-built, and righteous from head to toe. Every day I see him while going to work, relentless-ly pacing up and down the road, making sure the vehicles keep moving.

Sometimes, the black sheep of drivers, you know, the one who thinks his uncle made the road exclusively for him to practice his freewill upon, gets caught by this uncle cop, and the scene that follows is what I enjoy the most (I’m giggling already): It’s like watch-ing Adam West’s Batman beating villains up with those special visual sound e� ects (like thud, thwack, poof and kaboom). And while uncle cop’s at it he tells the driver how he was asked to remain on track and not pick up passengers from the middle of the road. Sometimes he also explains the situation to pedestrians so that they don’t get him wrong.

What amazes me is that these cops and tra� c policemen are on duty for over 12 hours a day, and then what amazes me further is that most of them get to go back to their home in places like Rajarbagh Police Lines, where there is everything but a decent home for them to relax in after being roasted alive the whole day, with extra icing from � yover dust et al. Recently, I heard from a friend, who has a friend who lives in one of those police quarters, that their toilets are swarm-ing with cockroaches and centipedes 24/7 and their bedrooms have rods peeking out of the

layers of brick and cement, covered with old clothes to prevent dust from entering their eyes when they are trying to get some sleep.

No wonder cops are so pissed all the time; they might seem calm, but that’s just the good training showing up. If I was forced to live in such conditions I would have been pissed too. People who are guarding the nation are getting the worst of all treatments when they deserve the best, while those whom we don’t really need every day not only get to put all of their monthly salaries into their bank accounts, but also get treated like kings, are sent to foreign lands for more training that they’ll never use and a guaran-tee that at the end of the day they’ll also have their own businesses!

Don’t get me wrong -- I know that there are many rotten apples in the barrel who exploit simpletons and become landlords by the time they retire, but is this the way that they really want to do all of this? Or is the situation in need of proper attention, in need of nurturing the good ones as well? I have come to know very recently about how recruitment and transfer to Dhaka works for cops, and I was devastated to learn of the situation as it is.

I mean, I have met so many good po-licemen in my life till now that it’s hard to believe that their situation is nowhere near that of living a clean life as a normal human being. There is the thought of starting a family, having kids, sending them to a good school, raising them well and on top of that, sacri� cing their personal life to save that of others, and while doing that, if any body is subjected to live in the worst conditions

imaginable, then it is inevitable for them to lose some of their sanity.

I’ve watched a lot of movies from di� erent countries around the world and those related to policemen, keep showing how they mostly have a proper home to live in and raise their children. But hey, that’s all in � lm. In real life, according to laws in many countries, the police force is allowed to do anything and everything to stop crime from entering the common man’s doorstep. And it’s not that they don’t bene� t from that.

Not going into details, but there are some places in the world that allow cops to track criminals who have a lot of black money and stolen goods that no one is left to claim, and once they catch the bad guys the whole � nding is � rst divided into two parts -- the smaller portion goes to the treasury of the government, and the rest is equally shared among the heroes who smoked the criminals

out of their holes. Tell me now, is that not a great idea? If we could introduce something like that in this country, I think we would become a land of saints in no time! Of course then there would be no work for the cops to do, but that’s not right is it? Maybe I’m just giving into too much fantasy, aren’t I?

The police force of any country is sup-posed to be one of the most sacred institu-tions in that country, dedicated to guard and serve the nation and its people, and provide protection and justice as and when needed without one bit of hesitation.

To achieve this ideal situation, a lot of aspects have to be thought of and foolproof human resource management is needed so that policemen, after joining the force and completing their probationary period, do not have to be worried at all about their career or future or � nances. Apart from the twisted way that I have mentioned above (which would still be a great practice), there are sev-eral ways in which policemen can be given a wonderful life, and at the least be provided with a good place to live so that they have a decent home to come back to after a hard day’s work.

Our neighbours have laws and systems that protect and provide the best possible lives for their guardians. But we are still unable to give them the basics. This needs to change at the earliest because if we are not going to guard the lives of our guardians, then who else will? l

Raihan Hadi is Founder, Ideas for Bangladesh, and Deputy Secretary, Korea-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Who will guard our guardians?

I have met many good policemen -- it’s hard to believe that their situation is nowhere near that of living a clean life as a normal human being

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

15D

TBusiness THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

EIA: US crude oil output to soar till 2020 despite price rout

IMF: Currency shifts support global economic growth

Stocks rally breaks three-day losses 17 1916

visit our website @www.dhakatribune.com

Union Insurance � ned Tk5 lakh 20

Kamal rules out World Bank’s latest 5.6% growth forecast n Tribune Report

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has ruled out the World Bank’s latest economic growth projection for the � scal year 2014-15.

He said analysing the available data of � rst nine months of the � scal, the GDP already grew 6.5%.

On Sunday, the World Bank said the GDP growth of Bangladesh is expected to grow at 5.6% in this � scal year, cutting from its Octo-ber’s forecast of 6.2%.

At a press brie� ng held at the planning ministry o� ce yesterday, the minister said the country was able to recover the econom-ic losses faced during the political unrest, as people looked for alternative ways amidst the political turmoil.

“In the recent political turmoil, economic activities were not shut down. It might reduce

some pro� t margin but did not destroy the economy—this conception is not true. ”

According to the World Bank’s latest devel-opment update on Bangladesh, political tur-bulence causing substantial � nancial losses in three months valued $2.2bn, which is 1% of gross domestic product, dampened the eco-nomic growth project.

“If this happens for one year, GDP growth will reduce to 2%, which is not possible,” said the minister.

He � rmly stated Bangladesh would not see below 6% growth in any situation.

However, he said, what the damage done in the economy was just losses of some life and rising transport costs.

In the July-March period, industrial growth rose 9.38%, SME sector 10.66%, power 6.58%, construction 16.26%, iron and steel 14.12% and wholesale and retail sub-sector 8.54%.

About the growth forecast gap between World Bank and the government, the Bank’s lead economist Zahid Hussain earlier said: “The o� cial growth estimate is unlikely to capture the production losses in construc-tion, wholesale and retail trades, transport, storage and communication and, public ad-ministration, education, health, community and social services due to the political tur-moil.”

He said the proxies and methods used by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics to esti-mate production and expenditures work well in a normal year, but fail to capture the impact of disruptions in an abnormal year.

Private consumption and private invest-ments account for nearly 93% of GDP, but despite declining these two components, the growth was higher, the World Bank report said. l

Ministries to discuss sector-wise budget today n Asif Showkat Kallol

Planning Ministry has favoured the sec-tor-wise fund allocations in national budget instead of making it ministry-wise.

But the Finance Ministry said if the United Nations classi� cation of sectors is followed, the budget funds can be allocated sector-wise, said o� cial sources.

The issue will be discussed at a workshop on the sector-wise budget allocation today at the planning ministry’s auditorium.

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal will preside over the workshop to be also attend-ed by State Minister for Planning and Finance MA Mannan. The o� cials of two ministries will participate in the workshop.

Planning ministry thinks if sector-based al-locations are made, the utilisation of resourc-es can be accounted properly in performance evaluation. But a Finance Division o� cial said for proper utilisation of the budget funds, the UN-classi� ed 10 sectors need to be adopted.

The two ministries have mismatches in their own classi� cation of sectors, causing overlapping and resultant wastes in the use of budget funds.

“It is true that there is a lack of coordina-tion between � nance and planning ministries. Mismatch in de� ning sectors causes waste of funds. That’s why � nance ministry prefers the UN classi� cation,” the o� cial said.

According to the workshop working paper, the planning ministry will highlight 10 the-matic groups of sectors included in the Sixth Five-Year Plan.

The groups include raising farm produc-tivity and agricultural growth, diversifying exports and developing a dynamic manu-facturing sector, energy development plan to support higher growth and employment, transport services to reduce cost and improve welfare, managing the urban transition, boosting the knowledge economy for high-er productivity, education, training, sports, culture and religion, health, population and nutrition sector development programmes, reaching out the poor and the vulnerable population and environment, climatic change and disaster risk management.

Planning Commission said the di� erences in sectoral divisions by two ministries also create problems in evaluation and monitoring by the Implementation and Monitoring Eval-uation Department (IMED).

“The di� erences in sectoral divisions by the ministries make the monitoring and eval-uation by the IMED complicated,” said Plan-ning Commission member M Shamsul Alam.

“It also creates unnecessary burden for the ministries/divisions to come up with di� erent sets of reports for ADP monitoring and eval-uation and budget performance reports,” he alleged. l

NBR rearranges duties of 19 o� cialsn Tribune Report

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has re-cently rearranged the administrative duties of its 19 o� cials from di� erent wings, includ-ing � ve members from NBR headquarters, to bring dynamism in revenue administration for attaining the revenue target of Tk1,49,720 crore in the current � scal year.

The NBR brought the changes through is-suing separate o� cial orders on Monday.

According to an order, Customs and VAT administration member Hussain Ahmed was assigned to oversee Customs Export, Bond and IT, Taxes Audit Intelligence and Investi-gation member Sultan M Iqbal was assigned as the member of Customs and VAT admin, VAT implementation and IT member Firoz Shah Alam was made member of board ad-ministration.

President and member (technical) of Cus-toms Excise and VAT Appellate Tribunal, Dha-ka was transferred as member of VAT imple-mentation and IT while and Customs Export, Bond and IT member Khandker Aminur Rah-man was assigned as president and member (technical) of Customs Excise and VAT Ap-pellate Tribunal, Dhaka, according to another order.

Besides, the NBR has transferred a com-missioner while four additional commis-sioners, seven joint commissioners, and two deputy commissioners, who were promoted recently gets their postings.

NBR commissioner Md. Mahbubuzzaman, who was attached with the NBR headquarter was transferred to Custom, Excise and VAT (Appeal) commissionerate, Khulna.

Custom, Excise, and VAT comissionerate, Dhaka (East) additional commissioner

Md Shawkat Hossain was transferred to Custom, Excise, and VAT comissionerate, Dhaka (South), NBR � rst secretary (VAT) Mohammad Mubinul Kabir was transferred to Dhaka Custom House as additional commissioner, Chittagong Custom House additional commissioner Sheikh Abu Faisal Md Murad was transferred to Custom, Excise, and VAT comissionerate, Dhaka (West), and Custom, excise, and VAT comissionerate, Dhaka (South) additional commissioner was assigned to Custom, excise, and VAT comissionerate, Dhaka (East), according to an order signed by NBR second secretary Md Shamsuddin.

NBR � rst secretary Kazi Farid Uddin was posted at Customs Bond Commissionerate, Chittagong as joint commissioner while � rst secretary Begum Pramila Sarker was post-ed as joint commissioner of Custom, Excise, and VAT comissionerate, Dhaka (East), NBR � rst secretary Moshiur Rahman was post-ed as joint commissioner of Customs Bond Commissionerate, Dhaka, NBR � rst secretary Begum Shamima Akhter was posted as joint commissioner at Large Taxpayers Unit (VAT), Dhaka, NBR � rst secretary Khairul Kabir Mia was posted as joint commissioner of Cus-tom, Excise, and VAT comissionerate, Dhaka (North), NBR � rst secretary (customs) Rois Uddin Khan was posted at NBR headquarters as � rst secretary while joint commissioner of Custom House (ICD), Kamalapur, Dhaka Mo-hammad Tajul Islam was posted as joint com-missioner of Dhaka Custom House. l

BUSINESS16DT


EIA: US crude oil output to soar till 2020 despite price rout n Reuters, New York

The US government on Tuesday forecast do-mestic crude production will rise even more than expected a year ago, undeterred by the worst price rout since the � nancial crisis.

US crude oil production will peak at 10.6 million barrels per day in 2020, a million barrels more than the high forecast a year earlier, according to the annual energy outlook by the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the US Energy Department.

Crude production will then moderate to 9.4 million bpd in 2040, 26% more than ex-pected a year ago, the agency said.

The reference case in the report forecasts Brent prices LCOc1 of $56 a barrel in 2015, rising to about $91 a barrel in 2025, $10 a bar-rel less than levels expected a year ago. The report uses the 2013 value of the dollar as its measure.

Despite lower prices, higher production will result mainly from increased onshore oil output, predominantly from shale forma-tions, the agency said.

Onshore production in lower 48 states is expected to reach 5.6 million bpd in 2020 in the reference case, 34% more than expected a year ago. The agency expects a faster oil drill-ing pace this year than it saw last year.

“Producers continue to locate and target

the sweet spots of plays currently under de-velopment,” the report said.

As production continues to boom, net im-ports are expected to decline as a share of do-mestic consumption. Net imports are expect-ed to account for 14% of domestic liquid fuels consumption in 2020, compared with 26% seen a year ago.

Still, the outright level of crude oil imports into the Gulf Coast and West Coast is expected to remain high through 2040.

In the East Coast and Midwest, imports are expected to grow from 2013 to 2040 in all of the scenarios explored in the report except for one where oil and gas resources are forecast to be especially high, the report said. l

A general view shows an oil re� nery of Russian state-controlled oil giant Rosneft at night near the Siberian town of Strezhevoy in the Tomsk region REUTERS

Fitch: Oil price could recover to $70 per barrel by year end n Reuters

Crude oil prices LCOc1 could rise quickly in the second half of the year and may reach $70 per barrel by the end of 2015 as US shale production tapers and seasonal variations in-crease demand, a top analyst at ratings agen-cy Fitch said on Tuesday.

However, Alex Gri� ths, the head of oil and gas research at Fitch, said it might take sev-eral years for oil to reach $80 - the price level where supply and demand is seen as balanced based on current production costs.

“We see US shale oil as reacting most quickly to balancing the supply with de-mand,” Gri� ths told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Oslo.

“You essentially need shale to slow down, not drop, because demand for oil, like all commodities, is growing. Production got slightly ahead of where it needs to be, so it’s not a huge correction you need.”

Brent crude was trading at some $58 a bar-rel on Tuesday, o� lows registered earlier in the year, but still down by around a half from last June, making many new oil developments un-pro� table and forcing producers, particularly in the U.S. shale market, to slash capital spending.

“Whichever way the price goes, there will certainly be multiple bounces and overshoots in both directions,” Gri� ths said. “We think fundamentals justify $80, because that’s the marginal cost, but markets can move away from the marginal costs for a period.

“We’re talking about relatively rapid recov-ery later this year as shale production � attens out. There’s also a traditional seasonal de-mand pick up of about 1.5 million barrels per day from Q2 to Q3,” Gri� ths said.

The US Energy Information Administra-tion said on Monday that it expected US shale production to fall by 45,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 4.98 million bpd in May - the � rst such monthly decline in more than four years.

Oil prices have fallen sharply as both OPEC and US production has exceeded forecasts while consumption has failed to meet projections, particularly due to slower Chinese growth. l

Singapore surprises by standing pat on policy, Sing dollar climbs n Reuters, Singapore

Singapore’s central bank on Tuesday surprised markets by holding o� from further mone-tary easing, saying an improv-ing outlook for global growth would underpin the trade-reli-ant economy.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the city-state’s economy was on track to meet the o� cial forecast of 2-4% growth in 2015, and kept its projections for headline and core in� ation unchanged.

“The outlook for the global economy has improved slight-ly, anchored by a stronger re-

covery in the G3,” the MAS said in its half-yearly policy state-ment.

The central bank kept the slope, width and mid-point of the Singapore dollar’s policy band unchanged and said it would maintain its policy of a “modest and gradual” appreciation of the Singapore dollar.

In January, the MAS had un-expectedly reduced the slope of its policy band for the Sin-gapore dollar in an o� -cycle move, saying the in� ation out-look had “shifted signi� cantly” following a plunge in global oil prices. l

BUSINESS 17D


IMF: Currency shifts support global economic growth

n Reuters, Washington

Recent shifts in exchange rates should help the global economy, boosting Japan and Eu-rope in particular, amid increasing divergence in the growth paths of the world’s major econ-omies, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

The Washington-based institution kept its global growth forecasts unchanged, with faster economic expansion in the euro zone and India expected to be o� set by diminished prospects in other key emerging markets such as Russia and Brazil.

But it cautioned that the economic recov-ery remains “moderate and uneven,” beset by greater uncertainty and a host of risks, includ-ing geopolitical tensions and � nancial volatility.

In its � agship World Economic Outlook, the IMF kept its forecast for global growth this year at 3.5%. For 2016, the IMF expects global gross domestic product to expand 3.8%, up from the 3.7% it forecast in January.

The headline � gures mask a growing split

among major economies, in part due to the varying impacts of currency � uctuations and lower oil prices.

The sharp rise of the dollar against the euro and yen is expected to be a major theme at the meeting of the world’s top economic policy-makers in Washington later this week. The currency moves have exposed some emerg-ing economies as well.

The IMF said monetary policies are driving most of the currency movements, as the U.S. Federal Reserve prepares to raise rates while the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan maintain their monetary stimulus.

The currency e� ects should boost global GDP, supporting demand in the still-troubled economies of the euro zone and Japan, the IMF said, raising its forecasts for both regions.

The IMF also cut its outlook for the United States, as a 10% appreciation in the dollar over the last six months dragged down net exports. But it said both the United States and China, whose yuan is linked to the dollar, have some policy space to o� set the appreciation of their

currencies. The IMF said China, however, could still

face a greater economic slowdown as its re-balances away from investment toward con-sumption-led growth.

The Fund also reiterated that many of the risks it highlighted in October, including ge-opolitical tensions and disruptive shifts in � -nancial markets, could still derail the sluggish recovery.

“A world in which you have large move-ments in exchange rates ... is a more risky world, from a � nancial point of view,” the IMF’s chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, told reporters.

The Fund also highlighted the potential for shocks around the � rst U S interest rate hike in nearly nine years, which could prompt capital out� ows from emerging markets.

The IMF said lower oil prices should add more than 0.5 percentage point to global eco-nomic growth by next year, but warned they could rise more quickly than expected and hurt global demand. l

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde delivers a speech about “Sound Monetary Policy in the New Normal” at China Development Forum, in Beijing REUTERS

Japan PM adviser Hamada says dollar at Y120 acceptable n Reuters, Tokyo

The yen is fairly valued around current lev-els, a key economic adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday, a day after com-ments he made were taken to mean the yen was too weak.

Koichi Hamada, an emeritus professor of economics at Yale University, also told Reu-ters he was not suggesting the Bank of Japan ease policy at its next meeting this month, in contrast to the recent views of another Abe adviser.

“120 yen per dollar is acceptable,” Hamada said in an interview.

He was quoted on Monday as saying a 105 yen rate was acceptable, but sought on Tuesday to clarify that he had been referring to the purchasing power parity-implied rate, which is around 101 yen, not the spot market rate.

“If the PPP-implied rate is at 105 yen and the yen weakens to 125 yen or to 130 yen, then such a gap may invite speculators,” Hamada said.

The yen fell on the comments, giving up some of its gains on his previous remarks. The dollar rose to 120.10 yen from 119.70 yen on his comments to Reuters before slipping back below 120 yen.

On monetary policy, Hamada remained open to further easing, but did not see this as a pressing issue.

“I would not oppose further easing on April 30, because in� ation won’t be generated even if the central bank eases again,” he said. “But I would not on my own oppose the BOJ adopting monetary easing for now.”

He said there was still room for the BOJ to ease further but that this did not necessarily mean the central bank should ease anytime soon.

Kozo Yamamoto, an Abe adviser and expert on monetary policy in the premier’s party, told Reuters on April 1 that the BOJ must expand its asset purchases on April 30, given signs of slowdown in the economy and prices.

The central bank maintained its massive stimulus program last week and brushed aside speculation of near-term additional eas-ing, even as in� ation grinds to a halt far below the bank’s targeted 2% .

Hamada said “core-core” CPI, which ex-cludes energy and food prices, of around 1% would be reasonable. The latest data showed it was 0.3% in February, after stripping out the e� ect of last year’s sales-tax hike. l

IMF: Emerging markets still losing steam n Reuters, Paris

Growth in emerging markets will slow for a � fth consecutive year, the IMF said Tuesday, as exchange rate swings and oil prices plunge, and China’s economic growth slows.

The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday it expected the emerging markets to post growth of 4.3% in 2015, down from 4.6% in 2014 and 5% in 2013.

“In emerging markets, negative growth surprises for the past four years have led to

diminished expectations regarding medi-um-term growth prospects,” the IMF said.

The slowdown, if not outright contrac-tions, is evident in most of the major emerg-ing markets, known as the BRICS.

Only India and South Africa are expected to see growth increase this year. Brazil and Russia are to contract.

Meanwhile growth is to slow in China, which has been the driver of global growth in recent years.

The IMF expects the expansion of the Chi-

nese economy to slow from 7.4% last year to 6.8% this year and 6.3% next year.

“The gradual slowdown in China and the partly related decline in commodity prices (which also re� ected a sizable supply re-sponse) weakened the growth momentum to some extent in commodity-exporting coun-tries and others with close trade links to Chi-na,” the Fund said.

Oil, greenback big risks Although the IMF, which is holding its

twice-annual meeting this week in Wash-ington, expects emerging market growth to rebound to 4.7 percent next year, it remains concerned about the risks that sharp chang-es in currency exchange rates and oil prices could act as a drag.

While oil prices have fallen by around half since hitting a peak last June, that is not universally good news for emerging countries, particularly oil exporters facing other economic di� culties like Russia and Venezuela. l

BUSINESS18DT


SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

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

Bank 188.05 4.00 12.16 3.11 200.21 3.94NBFI 145.43 3.10 12.51 3.20 157.93 3.10Investment 22.45 0.48 1.62 0.41 24.07 0.47Engineering 787.49 16.77 65.10 16.66 852.59 16.76Food & Allied 159.81 3.40 6.89 1.76 166.70 3.28Fuel & Power 1272.78 27.10 104.19 26.67 1376.97 27.07Jute 2.72 0.06 0.00 2.72 0.05Textile 492.87 10.49 43.83 11.22 536.71 10.55Pharma & Chemical 618.49 13.17 34.52 8.84 653.01 12.84Paper & Packaging 11.10 0.24 1.47 0.38 12.56 0.25Service 243.81 5.19 13.13 3.36 256.94 5.05Leather 13.76 0.29 0.88 0.22 14.64 0.29Ceramic 22.88 0.49 2.83 0.72 25.71 0.51Cement 117.83 2.51 20.52 5.25 138.34 2.72Information Technology 87.16 1.86 3.92 1.00 91.08 1.79General Insurance 30.99 0.66 0.42 0.11 31.42 0.62Life Insurance 51.80 1.10 1.09 0.28 52.88 1.04Telecom 185.99 3.96 25.35 6.49 211.33 4.15Travel & Leisure 108.38 2.31 20.96 5.37 129.34 2.54Miscellaneous 132.93 2.83 19.30 4.94 152.22 2.99Debenture 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.00

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 disclosuresAGRANINS: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on April 18, 2015 at 11:30 AM to consider, among oth-ers, audited � nancial statements of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2014.BSC: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Direc-tors will be held on April 22, 2015 at 6:30 PM to consider, among others, audited � nancial state-ments of the Company for the year ended on June 30, 2014.PROVATIINS: As per Regulation 30 of DSE Listing Regulations, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on April 19, 2015 at 4:15 PM to consider, among others, audit-ed � nancial statements of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2014.MHSML: The Company has informed that the Board has decided to purchase 2 Rotor Machines by investing Tk. 1.25 crore that may increase the production capacity up to 30% e� ective from July 2015.DUTCHBANGL: The Company has informed that cash dividend for the year 2014 has already been credited to the respective shareholders through BEFTN in their respective bank accounts mentioned in the BO ID num-ber. The shareholders whose ac-counts could not credit in their bank accounts are requested to collect their dividend warrants from the Share Department of

the Company, Head O� ce at Sena Kalyan Bhaban (3rd � oor), 195, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000 during the O� ce hours within April 23, 2015.IPO Subscription: Olympic Ac-cessories Limited Subscription 19.04.2015 TO 23.04.2015, NRB UPTO 02.05.2015. O� er Price per share Tk. 10.00, Market Lot (Shares) 500.Dividend/AGMABBANK: 12.50% stock, EGM and AGM: 17.05.2015, Record date for EGM and AGM: 23.04.2015.IFIC: 15% Stock dividend, AGM: 17.06.2015, Record Date: 20.05.2015. MERCINS: 10% cash dividend, AGM: 09.06.2015, Record Date: 22.04.2015. NORTHRNINS: 10% stock divi-dend, AGM: 13.06.2015, Record Date: 22.04.2015. CITYGENINS: 10% stock divi-dend, AGM: 15.06.2015, Record Date: 22.04.2015. SHASHADNIM: 20% cash and 15% stock dividend, AGM: 21.05.2015, Record date: 23.04.2015. POPULARLIF: 40% Stock divi-dend, AGM: 11.06.2015, Record Date: 23.04.2015. BGIC: 12% cash dividend, AGM: 11.06.2015, Record date: 23.04.2015. DHAKABANK: 14% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 13.05.2015, Record date: 21.04.2015. NITOLINS: 15% stock, AGM: 09.06.2015, Record Date: 26.04.2015.SQUARETEXT: 20% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 16.06.2015, Record Date: 20.05.2015.

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EPSLatest

PE

BSRM Steels-A 10.00 8.91 70.02 70.40 70.40 65.90 5.762 3.63 19.3G Next Fashions-A 10.00 7.97 11.78 12.10 12.10 10.90 2.300 1.84 6.4Eastern Housing -A 9.92 10.13 40.32 41.00 41.00 38.20 0.265 1.80 22.4WesternMarine -N 9.84 10.19 47.14 48.00 48.00 44.20 24.206 1.76 26.8B I F C -A 9.80 10.02 11.20 11.20 11.20 11.20 0.008 1.41 7.9Rupali InsurA 9.74 7.03 16.89 16.90 16.90 16.30 0.127 1.79 9.4BD Finance-A 9.71 6.76 11.22 11.30 11.30 10.60 0.700 0.69 16.3Dacca Dyeing-A 9.65 8.75 12.31 12.50 12.50 11.10 0.332 1.04 11.8People`s Leasing-A 9.63 6.75 14.39 14.80 14.80 13.50 3.517 0.97 14.8Asia Insur. Ltd.-A 9.63 9.03 14.73 14.80 14.80 14.60 0.022 2.17 6.8

DSE GAINER


Aver-age (%

Change)


in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

WesternMarine -N 9.84 10.09 47.14 48.00 48.00 44.00 225.396 1.76 26.8Dacca Dyeing-A 9.82 6.23 11.93 12.30 12.30 11.00 3.640 1.04 11.5BSRM Steels-A 9.81 8.58 69.50 70.50 70.60 65.00 47.408 3.63 19.1Prime Finance-A 9.77 7.87 14.39 14.60 14.60 13.30 6.513 1.59 9.1BD Finance-A 9.71 6.03 11.07 11.30 11.30 10.20 7.017 0.69 16.0Jute SpinnersA 9.70 12.50 45.00 44.10 44.10 44.00 0.009 -43.64 -vePeople`s Leasing-A 9.70 7.08 14.37 14.70 14.70 13.30 31.380 0.97 14.8LankaBangla Fin. -A 9.69 4.97 27.65 28.30 28.30 26.10 18.715 1.84 15.0Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A 9.66 7.46 15.56 15.90 15.90 14.50 13.114 3.25 4.8Maksons Spinning-A 9.64 4.74 8.84 9.10 9.10 8.40 6.963 0.40 22.1

CSE LOSER


Aver-age (%

Change)


in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Samata LeatheR -Z -10.00 -10.00 17.10 17.10 17.10 17.10 0.009 -0.46 -veImam Button -Z -9.28 -11.86 8.84 8.80 8.90 8.80 0.020 -1.48 -vePhoenix Finance-A -8.64 -7.42 20.08 20.10 20.10 19.90 0.174 1.64 12.2Asia Pasi� c Insu. -A -8.57 -8.57 12.80 12.80 12.80 12.80 0.013 2.32 5.5Rahima Food -Z -6.43 -6.82 26.09 26.20 27.00 26.00 0.061 -0.42 -vePeoples Insur -A -5.56 -6.12 15.33 15.30 15.60 15.30 0.003 2.25 6.8Islami Ins.BD-A -4.61 -4.61 14.50 14.50 14.50 14.50 0.001 1.48 9.8National Life I -A -4.42 -4.44 210.00 210.00 210.00 210.00 0.048 12.46 16.9Monno Ceramic -B -4.30 -4.30 24.50 24.50 24.50 24.50 0.004 0.20 122.5Popular Life Insu. -A -3.97 -3.99 145.00 145.00 145.00 145.00 0.010 4.05 35.8

DSE LOSER


Aver-age (%

Change)


in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Phoenix Finance-A -9.55 -8.10 19.96 19.90 20.30 19.80 8.249 1.64 12.2Imam Button -Z -5.21 -5.41 9.09 9.10 9.50 9.00 0.120 -1.48 -veSinobangla Indu.-A -2.90 1.84 23.77 23.40 24.80 23.20 4.902 0.92 25.8MBL 1st M. F.-A -2.70 -0.55 3.64 3.60 3.80 3.60 0.376 0.12 30.3Aramit -A -2.59 -1.94 269.02 267.00 277.90 266.00 2.670 14.12 19.1Rupali Bank - A -2.58 -1.43 42.07 41.50 42.00 41.00 0.013 2.04 20.6PragatiLife Insu. -Z -2.34 -1.70 96.15 95.80 101.00 92.50 0.362 2.38 40.4BD. Autocars -Z -2.29 -2.97 16.98 17.10 17.50 17.00 0.045 0.14 121.3Trust Bank 1st MF-A -2.27 -0.23 4.34 4.30 4.50 4.30 1.024 0.74 5.9ICB Sonali Bank 1 MF-A -2.00 -0.20 4.94 4.90 5.30 4.80 0.173 0.98 5.0

DSE key features April 15, 2015Turnover (Million Taka)

4,697.42

Turnover (Volume)

103,718,962

Number of Contract

119,857

Traded Issues 308

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

248

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

52

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

3

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,493.83

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.23

CSE key features April 15, 2015Turnover (Million Taka)

390.69

Turnover (Volume)

10,560,504

Number of Contract

19,279

Traded Issues 232

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

171

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

56

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

5

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,407.01

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

29.18

BUSINESS 19D


Stocks rally breaks three-day losses n Tribune Report

Stocks gained with in-creased volume of trade yes-terday after remaining in red in the last three consecutive sessions, as some enthusias-tic investors took position at the bottom despite no im-provement in the political front.

Unlike previous several sessions, the market from the very beginning con-tinued to move up and the momentum continued till close of the session, driven by mainly � nancials that su� ered in the previous ses-sions.

The benchmark index DSEX surged almost 69 points or 1.6% to 4,360, re-covering from its previous session’s 15-month low.

The Shariah Index DSES was up 11 points or 1% to 1,065. The comprising blue chips DS30 saw fractional gained 17 points or 1% to 1,670.

Chittagong Stock Ex-change (CSE) Selective Cat-egories Index, CSCX, settled at 8,150, rising 121 points.

Like Shahjibazar Power Company Limited, United Power Generation and Dis-tribution Company Limited continued to show its mus-

cle from its debut, soaring 10% to Tk190.9 a share.

It also remained most traded stocks for the sev-enth straight session with shares worth Tk55.6 crore changing hands.

Trading at DSE remained vibrant on the day as the to-tal turnover stood at Tk470 crore, up 14% over the pre-vious session. Out of total 303 issues traded, prices of 251 scrips closed in positive, 37 negative and 15 remained unchanged.

IDLC Investments said al-though main concern of the market—political situation –saw no development, mar-ket shot up riding on bar-gain opportunities in many scrips.

“Investors cautiously started moving in the mar-ket from sideline lured by cheap prices, surging turn-over. However, con� dence remained weak and vulner-able to adverse moves.”

Among the major sec-tors, engineering galloped by 4.8%, followed by non-banking � nancial insti-tutions 4.4%, textile 3.3%, fuel & power 2.8%, bank 1.6% and pharmaceuticals 0.3% while telecommunica-tion, food & allied fell and cement declined. l

Although main concern of the market—political situation –saw no development, market shot up riding on bargain opportunities in many scrips

ANALYST

Daily capital market highlightsDSE Broad Index : 4360.49680 (+) 1.60% ▲

DSE - 30 Index : 1670.70163 (+) 1.03% ▲

CSE All Share Index: 13376.99310 (+) 1.05% ▲

CSE - 30 Index : 10991.25450 (+) 0.30% ▲

CSE Selected Index : 8146.08430 (+) 1.24% ▲

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

% of Total-Turnover ClosingP Change % ClosingY DHIGH DLOW AvgPrice

United Power-N 334,073 62.34 15.96 189.90 8.39 175.20 192.70 178.10 186.59WesternMarine -N 513,528 24.21 6.20 48.00 9.84 43.70 48.00 44.20 47.14MJL BD Ltd.-A 156,305 21.28 5.45 135.00 0.00 135.00 138.30 133.80 136.15LafargeS Cement-Z 165,963 18.37 4.70 110.10 -1.87 112.20 112.40 109.90 110.71Grameenphone-A 44,879 15.52 3.97 342.80 -1.01 346.30 349.00 342.50 345.86BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 402,467 12.40 3.17 31.30 5.39 29.70 31.40 30.00 30.82UNITED AIR-A 1,681,893 11.81 3.02 7.30 7.35 6.80 7.40 6.70 7.02Moza� ar H.Spinning-A 294,251 10.50 2.69 35.90 1.99 35.20 37.00 35.00 35.68Ifad Autos -N 135,357 10.24 2.62 76.60 3.10 74.30 78.80 72.10 75.65BD Submarine Cable-A 85,612 9.82 2.51 114.70 1.59 112.90 116.40 113.30 114.74Square Pharma -A 35,226 9.19 2.35 260.10 -0.61 261.70 262.20 260.00 260.97Unique Hotel RL - A 151,981 8.28 2.12 53.80 -1.10 54.40 56.00 53.30 54.48Shasha Denims -N 191,730 7.94 2.03 41.40 2.22 40.50 42.10 40.20 41.39SAIF Powertec-N 103,745 7.65 1.96 74.00 3.35 71.60 75.50 72.00 73.73ACI Formulations-A 50,603 7.52 1.93 147.10 -0.14 147.30 150.90 145.60 148.64

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

% of Total-Turnover ClosingP Change

% ClosingY DHIGH DLOW Avg-Price

United Power-N 2,977,326 555.94 11.84 190.90 8.65 175.70 193.20 178.00 186.72MJL BD Ltd.-A 2,114,146 288.11 6.13 134.90 -0.22 135.20 139.00 134.00 136.28WesternMarine -N 4,781,887 225.40 4.80 48.00 9.84 43.70 48.00 44.00 47.14ACI Limited- A 322,359 186.68 3.97 571.00 -0.21 572.20 586.00 567.00 579.11Ifad Autos -N 2,280,514 172.89 3.68 77.50 4.73 74.00 78.90 73.40 75.81Grameenphone-A 465,638 160.34 3.41 342.70 -1.18 346.80 348.50 342.10 344.35SAIF Powertec-N 1,783,088 131.09 2.79 73.90 3.21 71.60 74.90 72.00 73.52Square Pharma -A 474,581 123.68 2.63 259.80 -0.42 260.90 262.30 259.00 260.61Shasha Denims -N 2,882,686 119.29 2.54 41.40 1.97 40.60 42.30 40.40 41.38LafargeS Cement-Z 921,907 101.64 2.16 109.70 -1.97 111.90 112.80 109.50 110.25Khulna Power-A 1,616,438 99.87 2.13 61.90 1.31 61.10 62.80 60.80 61.79SummitAlliancePort.-A 1,818,164 98.44 2.10 54.00 5.26 51.30 55.90 51.90 54.14Unique Hotel RL - A 1,435,170 78.39 1.67 54.10 -0.18 54.20 56.00 53.20 54.62BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 2,251,302 69.68 1.48 31.30 5.39 29.70 31.60 30.00 30.95Moza� ar H.Spinning-A 1,892,807 68.04 1.45 36.10 1.12 35.70 36.30 35.10 35.95

BUSINESS20DT


Union Insurance � ned Tk5 lakh n Tribune Report

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) has imposed a � ne of Tk5 lakh on the Union Insurance for violating the Chief Executive O� cer’s appointment rules.

The decision came at a hear-ing IDRA held at its headquar-ters on April 1 with the board members of the company.

IDRA Chairman M She-faq Ahmed presided over the hearing while Union Insurance Chairman Muza� ar Hossain Paltu was present, among oth-ers, said a press release IDRA issued yesterday.

The Union Insurance CEO post remained vacant over the last two years which is a viola-tion of Insurance Act 2010, said the press release.

The company did not take any measure to appoint CEO despite IDRA’s instructions three times. Even the board of the insurance company did not respond to the authority’s let-

ter served. According to the insurance

companies act, the post of CEO cannot remain vacant for more than three months. However, IDRA has the authority to ex-tend the period by three more months.

The release said the appoint-ment of a CEO is a very vital is-sue for an insurance company to protect shareholders’ inter-est. The company, however, appeared to have shown neg-ligence and delayed in case of appointing CEO.

From this perspective, IDRA imposed � ne on the company, added the press release.

The country’s insurance sector is facing an acute short-age of Chief Executive O� cers as the industry seriously lacks e� cient manpower for the top positions, said sources in IDRA.

Currently, some 20 insur-ance companies are running without CEOs for the last eight months to one-year period that goes beyond the rules. l

Banks asked to clearly report LC description n Tribune Report

All the authorised dealer banks have been asked to mention accurate description of the im-ported commodities in the LC (letter of credit) and LCA (letter of credit authorisation) form.

Banks are also advised to insert H.S. Code, classi� cation of commodities while issuing the LCs and LCA forms as per the import policy order 2012-15, said a Bangladesh Bank circular issued yesterday.

The instruction came against

the backdrop of increasing ten-dency for not mentioning ac-curate description about the imported goods in the LC and LCA forms. As a result, di� er-ent complexities arise while making shipments and main-taining customs formalities at Benapole Custom House, said the press release.

As various complexities are hindering the revenue collec-tion, the central bank issued the instruction for following the existing import policy order properly. l

Global banking sector gets 700m new clients in 3 yrsn BSS

The global banking sector saw a phenomenal rise in the number of new account holders, with 700m people opening bank ac-counts from 2011 to 2014, ac-cording to a � ndings of a new study released yesterday.

The � ndings came in the lat-est edition of the Global Findex, the world’s most comprehen-sive gauge of progress on � nan-cial inclusion. It said that the

number of “unbanked” individ-uals dropped 20% to 2bn adults.

The study cited no � gure for new accounts in Bangladesh, but it said 78% of account hold-ers here are using ATM for cash out, which was well above the regional average of 56%.

The study also showed that 31% of adult in Bangladesh hold bank accounts when in India it was 53%, Sri Lanka 83%, Nepal 34%, Bhutan 34%, Myanmar 23% and Pakistan 16%. l

21D

TTHURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015T

-JUN

CT

ION

22 Step out to learn more

24

DIU celebrated Bangla New Year

INSIDE

Summer is coming

Learning outside the classroom Institutions teach creativity out of dreamers

Sean Gri� n, founder of Startup Cup Key � gures in society have learned much more away from class and textbooks. Not all of life’s teachings can be found in books, expierence comes from all over.

We had a little chat and a wonderful insight of how in� uential one can be through entrepreneurship.

23Hot Topic

24interview

Illustration: Syed Rashad Iman Tonmoy

Stepping out to explore and excel“Thakbo nako boddho ghore dekhbo ebar jogot taake” a poem by Kazi Nazrul Islam, is a real life example that tells us how to grow and build ourselves and society. However, what is the right time to begin. There is a saying that the earlier the better. The theory suggests that to be successful you can’t be a hermit - you can’t be limited to your surrounding, you must look beyond. Lift your eyes from that textbook and take a look around; there’s magic a round you, waiting to be discovered.

Hot TopicTHURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

T-JUNCTION22DT

n Saudia Afrin and Zubaida Rana Rahman

An expert analysis“Science states that people need self con� dence to grow, and absence of self con� dence in your personality does not allow you to fully meet your true potential. That’s the reason children everywhere in the western world including many countries in our neighbourhood such as Sri Lanka and India are enacting a new system of ECAs, alongside academics. They no longer just rely on academics - they emphasise on extra curriculum activities more than ever before. The scienti� c and physiological reason behind this is that children interact with their peer groups, and learn from them. For example, sports � eld, in particular, wholeheartedly interact with others, regardless of their age groups. Thereby, through interaction, students learn how to express themselves, they know how to behave in situations where they need to meet peer expectation, how to organise their thoughts so they are accessible to all types of people. Through this process, they � nd themselves in a position where they’re not only

broadening their horizons through ECAs, but also beginning to enjoy their academic side.

“I visited a number of Sri Lankan schools where at � rst, children are a bit di� erent and shy, particularly those hailing from village areas since their families are under a kind of hierarchy. They do not open up to their parents, or elder relatives. In these cases, the children’s parents, the fathers in particular, raise their kids with quite a strong hand. Moreover, when siblings have a large age di� erence, they usually don’t have an overall friendly interaction with their family. Students are forced to � nd recreation in their meagre, small books. However, when they take up extra curricular activities, they learn many things that they couldn’t have learned otherwise. A child of � ve years will obviously learn and pick up things faster than a 25 year-old man - this is a clinically proven fact. Children catch up and learn languages and life-cues faster than adults. Exposure to co-curricular activities helps

cultivate a “learning” culture. It helps nurture and bring out their best talents, allowing them to e� ciently conduct themselves in real life situations - be it an easy or a di� cult one. Moreover, when these kids take part in cultural activities, they quickly discover their hidden talents. Once those talents are discovered, children are more con� dent in themselves.

In today’s age, I would say that most successful people can attribute their success to their past experiences and interaction with others. Co-curricular activities give them the facilities to interact on di� erent levels. It is clear that ECAs give children the access to facilities which their families usually cannot provide. I believe that a child should be allowed to explore their interests and should be given incentives to develop themselves. If they have their parents’ backing, there’s no looking back from there.

In our country, our primary education system is one that is not very conductive

to an open culture of communication. From the way students are seated to the way they are taught - everything is done under a strict set of rules and regulations. There’s always a limit to what these children can learn. These kids are not given the space of the facilities to really explore their interests. If a child cannot explore his/her power then how can he excel. A child’s rationale cannot be solely developed by gaining knowledge alone, they must learn to foster cultural sensitivity.

Society creates the base depending on which children can develop and grow. Our education system straits of nation of high imagination. Co curricular activities a child doesn’t know it’s like he or sh doesn’t know how to carry his or her own body. ”

Syed Manzoorul Islam, a Bangladeshi academic, writer, novelist, translator, columnist, and critic. He is also currently a Professor of English at the University of Dhaka.

Hot Topic T-JUNCTION 23D

T


Learning outside the classroomn Aniqua Nusrat Zereen

After attending CERN in Summer 2013, Aniqua went on to become a respected lecturer at BRAC University. On digging deeper into her childhood and teenage years, it was revealed that extra curricular activities such as learning Nazrul Shangit at BAFWA and learning to dance and draw at the Children’s Club, was what propelled her to become who she is now. As the daughter of an army o� cer, it was necessary for her to take part in these ECAs and today she can’t be ever more thankful for that. During her time in university, she gained more knowledge and experience by participating in Computer Science events such as the National Women’s Programming Contest where she lead a team of three. Not only was she a leader, she also gave tough competition to the winning team. As a teacher today, she encourages her students to pursue ECA’s like she did. When asked about her take on “learning outside the classroom,” she states: “Students should practice pursuing other interests outside their coursework. Doing so helps encourage and inspire oneself as well as allows you to get to know your strengths and abilities. I believe that the academic situation in our country should provide a su� cient environment to help a lot time to practical approaches to learning.”

Maria Noor

Better known as RJ Maria, Maria Noor was never an introvert of any sort. During her adolescence she always actively took part in several kinds of sports. She used to play the drums whenever necessary for her PE band and was also the captain of her PE group. As a student of music at Chayanot, she learned Rabindra Shangit and then went on to learning recitation from her uncle. Her opinion is that besides school work, ECAs are very important as they help build creativity and create opportunities alongside increasing individual independence.

Riyadh HossainDeputy Managing Director of Apponometry Ltd, Riyadh Hossain is a vibrant and successful young entrepreneur. He was not only consistent with his academic coursework but was also very active in his school cricket team. Along with that, he used to sit with his father at his o� ce and went on to becoming part of the family business. He thinks having practical knowledge is very important as many young entrepreneurs today have very little practical knowledge. He said, “As soon as you get yourself involved in other things, you can develop skills to survive and gain that much needed experience that is so vital for success.”

Malala YousafzaiShe is a Pakistani women’s rights activist and also the youngest person to have ever won a Nobel Prize. She won it for Peace in 2014 alongside Indian activist Kailash Satyarthi. Malala is mainly known for her advocacy for female education in her native Pakistan. She began expressing her frustration over the restrictive practices of the Taliban through an anonymous blog at only 11 years of age, which led to an armed attack on her. Malala’s father, an educational activist himself, encouraged her to learn Pashto, English and Urdu. Coming from an educational background, it helped her grow and helped her blog gain more prominence, eventually creating an impact on the world today.

Jane GoodallShe is an Animal Rights activist, ethologist and anthropologist best known for her 45-year primate study of chimpanzees in Tanzania. Back in the day she received a toy which resembled a life-like chimpanzee, which kindled her curiosity and love for animals. She spent most of her early years wandering about nature and observing wildlife, which led her to leave school at the age of 18 to pursue her dream of watching and exploring animals in their natural habitat.

Barbara JordanA Civil Rights activist, Barbara was also the � rst African-American to be elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction, the � rst southern black female to be elected to the United States House of Representatives, and the � rst African-American woman to deliver the keynote address at a Democratic National Convention. In her early years, she took a special interest in debate and went on to becoming a national debating champion. She soon became interested in politics and carved a life for herself and went on to become a member of the United States House of Representatives.

Paul RobesonAlongside being a Civil Rights activist, he was a wildly celebrated singer and actor. He started his career as an athlete and then went on to performing arts, as well as playing a quintessential role in political activism. In high school, he was a sports enthusiast and excelled in various sports such as football, baseball, basketball and track. He also took part in plays like Julius Caesar and sang in the chorus. In college he excelled at extra curricular activities by taking part in the debate club, Glee club and the collegiate athletic team. On ending his football career, he completed his law degree at New York University and made his theatrical debut with the role of Simon in Ridgely Torrence’s ‘Simon of Cyrene.’ He was a true all-rounder, one might say! l

AptitudeT-JUNCTION24DT


DIU celebrated Bangla New Year

Institutions teach creativity out of dreamers:

Sean Gri� n, founder of Startup Cup n Syeda Samira Sadeque

Sean Gri� n, founder of Startup Cup, is a Silicon Valley born and raised serial entrepreneur. Always thinking out of the box, he dropped out of high school, and has come a long way since he started his � rst business at age 12.

“I have not looked back since,” he told the Dhaka Tribune in an exclusive interview, when he was in town last week as the chief guest of the � rst ever Bangladesh Startup Cup (BSC).

Gri� n, a visual thinker, uses visual thinking tools to help process ideas, and he uses those on a large scale to facilitate groups and teams. He considers it one of his great di� erentiators.

“I consider myself a serial entrepreneur who has turned into a community builder,” he says.

Last week, as BSC celebrated the end of its � rst ever Startup competition, the Dhaka Tribune caught up with Gri� n for a quick chat:

Tell us a bit about yourself and your work. Startup Cup has a collection of entrepreneurial programmes, of which our acceleration programme is being run here. The Startup Cup programme is designed to support anyone with any idea, any background, any educational background, in order to design, test and build a business. What’s important is that Startup Cup is a seven month process that focuses on tools and resources knowledge required to build a successful business.

Why do you believe this work is important today?We believe entrepreneurship is a key to self-empowerment, creating one’s own career path, job creation, and solving some of the greatest problems we have today. Entrepreneurs will be part of the journey of that process – ultimately resulting in a better quality of life and increased wealth.

As a high-school dropout who became so successful, what role would you say education pays in entrepreneurial success? I am a strong believer that a PhD and MBA means you’re lot less likely to be a successful entrepreneur – because your creativity has been taught out of you, and you’ve been taught judgment and fear and less risk-taking.

Universities, colleges and traditional education system do not work with people who see the world di� erently, and I believe those are teaching creativity out of people. Statistically, people are less creative when they come out of institutions than if they were to follow their own path.

My goal right now is to change the world through entrepreneurship, one startup at a time. In order to do that, we need to be sharing the technical know-how and knowledge with everyone. Not just a select few, but everyone.

And that’s where we put our energy in at Startup Cup – empowering anyone, from any background, any level of education.

How can BSC address needs in Bangladesh? When you’re comfortably uncomfortable, things don’t concern you so much and you’re more willing to take risks. At the award celebration, we encouraged family members to come to this celebration so that they can see what real entrepreneurs are. So they realize it is not as risky. That way we hope to change the culture from a family perspective and a community perspective where instead of being frowned upon, the entrepreneurs realise it is a viable option for a career.

Focus on women is critical here. Our research shows women are more successful entrepreneurs because they are more collaborative and team-oriented. And Bangladesh is ahead in this now. There’s clearly willingness to honour women who are being successful in starting and building businesses.

Entrepreneurship is the path to showcase what’s possible. It’s where dreamers will achieve their dreams, and it’s where we solve some of our biggest challenges. It’s where people are powered to create their own weight.l

Students of Da� odil International University celebrated Pahela Boishakh with great enthusiasm and gala events titled “Boishakh Parbone” to hail the New Year 1422 with new hopes and aspirations for a better, peaceful year. Sponsored by Roxy Paint Limited, the day long events included “Auspicious white paint on the street” (Alpona Utshob’), Mongal Shavajatra, � ying

paper- balloon, eating water rice with Hilsha and traditional cultural program like Puthi path, song, dance, poetry etc.

The whole night was celebrated with traditional cultural programme like Puthi path, song, dance, poetry recitation etc. Students of the Da� oadil International University wearing colourful masks brought out a ‘mangal shobhajatra’ (procession of good wishes) from campuses premises at 9.00am in the morning as part of the festival lead by Vice Chancellor Professor Dr. M. Lutfar Rahman, which surrounded the main streets of Dhanmondi Area.

Sponsored by Roxy Paint, the whole program was initiated by Creative Park with the help of Voluntary Service Club, Da� odil Pprothom-Alo Bandhusova, Social Business Student Forum (SBSF), All Star Da� odil & coordinated by O� ce of the Director of Students’ A� airs. l

Moodle Training Awards at ULABOn April 15, the faculty members who completed a Moodle Training Workshop the ongoing semester, The University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh awarded the faculty members who completed a Moodle Training Workshop this semester at ULAB’s main campus. April 15, 2015.

Moodle is an online learning system that supplements face-to-face classes. ULAB as a pioneer in the � eld of extended education in Bangladesh, has adopted Moodle, an open-source learning management system throughout the university. All faculty members are being trained to use the system in order to enhance student learning. Training workshops are held every semester, conducted by Department of English

faculty member and Moodle expert Arifa Ghani Rahman. So far, 75% of the full-time faculty have been trained and all incoming faculty are expected to complete the training before they begin teaching at ULAB.

The 56 faculty members who completed the Moodle Training Workshop this semester were awarded certi� cates by the ULAB Vice Chancellor, Professor Imran Rahman.

25D


NAZMUL STARS AS JUNIOR TIGERS TAKE 3-1 LEAD

MODEST SABBIR PLAYS DOWN HEROICS

BANGLADESH BRACE FOR SOCCEROOS TEST

26 2927

Sport

SCORECARDPAKISTANIS INNINGS R BHafeez c Muktar b Shuvagata 85 79Azhar Ali c Litton Das b Muktar 27 49Haris Sohail c Mominul b Shuvagata 23 29Mohammad Rizwan b Shuvagata Hom 18 22Fawad Alam not out 67 58Sarfraz Ahmed run out (Sabbir) 6 17Saad Nasim c Jubair b Shahid 1 5Wahab Riaz c Shuvagata b Jubair 7 11Asad Sha� q b Sohag 5 8Yasir Shah lbw b Taijul 9 10Saeed Ajmal not out 16 12Extras (b 1, w 3) 4Total (9 wickets; 50 overs) 268

Fall of wickets1-66, 2-130, 3-145, 4-158, 5-168, 6-173, 7-185, 8-203, 9-228 BowlingAl-Amin 9-1-42-0, Shahid 9-0-34-1, Muktar Ali 7-0-40-1, Jubair 8-0-56-1, Shuvagata 7-0-39-3, Taijul 7-1-40-1, Sohag 3-0-16-1BCB XI INNINGS R BTamim Iqbal lbw b Rahat 9 15Rony Talukdar c Yasir b Junaid 0 7Litton Das c Rizwan b Ajmal 22 27Sabbir Rahman c Haris b Junaid 123 99Mominul Haque lbw b Yasir 12 23Imrul Kayes b Wahab 36 56Shuvagata c & b Junaid 5 4Muktar Ali c Fawad b Rahat 1 6Sohag Gazi b Junaid 36 28Shahid not out 12 19Taijul not out 6 9Extras (w 8) 8 Total (9 wickets; 48.5 overs) 270

Fall of wickets1-9, 2-9, 3-45, 4-81, 5-205, 6-213, 7-213, 8-228, 9-259 BowlingJunaid 9.5-2-38-4, Rahat 9-1-54 -2, Ajmal 8-0-45-1, Wahab 9-1-40-1, Azhar 1-0-12-0, Haris 3-0-23-0, Yasir 6-0-37-1, Saad 3-0-21-0 BCB XI batsman Sabbir Rahman celebrates his centuary against the Pakistanis during their Tour match in Fatullah yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

SABBIR WELCOMES VISITORS IN STYLE

SABBIR RAHMAN123 RUNS OFF 99 BALLS (4x7, 6x8)

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WHAT THEY SAIDBangladesh head coach Lodewijk de Kruif

Very hard group with Australia and Jordan as top favourites! Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are a bit unknown to us, higher in Fifa ranking. We have to make a good plan. For Bangladesh, its players and coaches, a big challenge. I will analyse them and make a plan! We cannot hide from the fact that they (Australia) are strong!

Bangladesh captain Mamunul IslamAustralia and Jordan are very strong teams. Australia are the current Asian champions while Jordan performed very well in the quali� ers of the last World Cup

in Brazil. I do not remember if we have ever played against Australia and Jordan before but Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are familiar opponents to us. We know their strength. Our target will be to achieve positive results against these two sides. Our ultimate goal is to be among the top 24 teams and qualify for the next Asian Cup.

BFF president Kazi SalahuddinIt’s a great opportunity for Bangladesh team and for the players as well. We need to utilise the opportunity. I talked to De Kruif after the draw and told him to get back to Dhaka in a week with the goalkeeping coach (Christian Schweichler) and a new trainer. We

have to prepare very well. Even though it might be expensive, still, we are trying to arrange friendlies against North Korea or Syria.

2018 WC AND 2019 ASIAN CUP QUALIFICATION DRAW

Bangladesh brace for Socceroos testn Shishir Hoque

Bangladesh football is awaiting a new era after being pitted against Asian champions Australia in the second round of the 2018 Fifa World Cup quali� ers. In a draw ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last Tuesday, Bangladesh were drawn in Group B also con-taining Jordan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Bangladesh will begin their qualifying campaign at Bangabandhu National Stadium against Kyrgyzstan on June 11 before taking on Tajikistan at the same venue � ve days later. The men in red and green will play their � rst away game against Australia on September 3.

Bangladesh have never faced Australia and Jordan before. But, they have played against Kyrgyzstan twice with the last encounter tak-ing place in 2008.

Bangladesh’s most familiar opponent in Group B are Tajikistan. Although Tajikistan have won four of their six meetings with one game ending in a draw, Bangladesh won the last encounter 2-1 � ve years ago.

Bangladesh (167th) are the lowest ranked nation in Group B while Australia (63rd) and Jordan (103th) will be hot favourites for the

top two positions. The second round of quali� ers in the

Asian zone features 40 teams, who have been equally divided into eight groups comprising � ve teams each. Only the eight group champi-ons and four best runners-up sides will quali-fy for the third round of World Cup quali� ers.

The 12 teams – eight group champions and four best runners-up sides – will also quali-fy for the 2019 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

Bangladesh’s main intention or target, however, will be to qualify for the next round of Asian Cup quali� ers rather than the next round of World Cup quali� ers. And, Bangla-desh’s chances of qualifying for the Asian Cup has already received a boost as the 16-team tournament has been expanded to 24 teams by the Asian Football Confederation.

With 12 teams from the second round of World Cup quali� ers progressing to the Asian Cup, the remaining 12 berths will be decided in the third round of Asian Cup quali� ers. The best 24 teams among the remaining 28 will be divided into six groups containing four sides each. The six group champions and run-ners-up sides will qualify for the Asian Cup.l

BANGLADESH FIXTURESDate Venue OpponantJun 11, 2015 Home KyrgyzstanJun 16, 2015 Home TajikistanSep 3, 2015 Away AustraliaSep 8, 2015 Home JordanOct 13, 2015 Away Kyrgyzstan Nov 12, 2015 Away TajikistanNov 17, 2015 Home AustraliaMar 24, 2016 Away Jordan

KNOWN OPPONENTSTeam M W D LTajikistan 6 1 1 4Kyrgyzstan 2 0 0 2

GROUP B REVIEWAsian champions Australia face some lengthy journeys across Asia and will not enjoy re-turning to Jordan, where they were beaten 2-1 in the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Jordan went on to lose to Uruguay in the intercontinental playo� but failed to build on that with a dire run under former England captain Ray Wilkins, who left after the group stage at the Asian Cup.

They still have a core group of talented players but need to � nd the solid organisation and high intensity that troubled the Australi-ans before.

Long trips to central Asia to face Kyr-gyzstan and Tajikistan for the � rst time should not pose on � eld problems for the Socceroos.

Jordan lost to Kyrgyzstan in the 2010 qual-i� ers but should have too much for them this time around. Bangladesh will be grateful for the regular matches but are likely to make lit-tle impression. l

GROUP B RANKINGCountry AFC FifaAustralia 4 63Jordan 12 103Tajikistan 22 143Kyrgyzstan 26 153Bangladesh 35 167

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Sabbir ton � oors Pakistanisn Minhaz Uddin Khan

Sabbir Rahman’s sensational hundred ena-bled Bangladesh Cricket Board XI to a thrill-ing one-wicket win over the visiting Paki-stanis in Fatullah yesterday. Although it was a mere practice game, the intensity was high among both the teams ahead of the � rst ODI in Mirpur tomorrow.

In pursuit of the visitors’ 268/9, BCB XI were in early trouble at 81/4. Sabbir, however, alongside Imrul Kayes, added 124 runs for the � fth wicket to rescue the chase. Sabbir blast-ed 123 o� just 99 balls while Kayes chipped in with 36 from 56 deliveries. Sohag Gazi’s 28-ball 36 at the latter overs ensured BCB XI would reach their destination with one wick-et and seven deliveries remaining.

While Imrul played the role of an anchor, Sabbir frustrated the opposition bowlers and showed little mercy, hammering seven fours and eight sixes.

Imrul and Sabbir’s departure though made things interesting. The home side were soon reeling at 228/8 with victory still some distance away. That’s when tailender Gazi stepped up. Gazi scored a quick� re 36 but he was dismissed with BCB XI still requiring 10 runs for victory. The two batsmen in the middle – Mohammad Shahid and Taijul Is-

lam - had 3.1 overs in hand to chase down the target. The pair appeared shaky as left-arm paceman Wahab Riaz bowled a maiden in the 48th over. However, with two edges going for boundaries in the 49th and penultimate over, BCB XI reached their destination with Taijul unbeaten on six and Shahid undefeated on 12.

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal’s inclu-sion in the BCB XI squad in place of Nasir Hossain surprised many. It was learned that Tamim wanted to play the game in order to give himself a chance of ending his run drought on the eve of the Pakistan series. However, the southpaw was left frustrated as made his way to the dressing room after scoring only nine runs. The uncapped Rony Talukdar also disappointed, having been dis-missed for nought.

Earlier, the visitors posted 268/9 in 50 overs after batting � rst. Veteran Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Hafeez led the way with a � ne 79-ball 85 while middle order bats-man Fawad Alam provided valuable support, scoring 67 o� 58 balls.

Shuvagata Hom bagged three wickets while Shahid, Gazi, Muktar Ali, Taijul and Ju-bair Hossain all picked up a wicket apiece.

The � rst of three ODIs will take place at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur tomorrow. The match will begin at 2:30pm. l

Hafeez stresses on improvementn Minhaz Uddin Khan

Senior Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Hafeez informed that they need to improve drasti-cally after su� ering a one-wicket loss against BCB XI in the solitary practice match in Fatul-lah yesterday.

Despite the defeat, Hafeez was one of the brightest performers for the visitors as he smashed nine boundaries and four sixes in his 79-ball 85. And with the � rst of three ODIs taking place tomorrow, the opening batsman believes they have no time to waste.

“To be honest, both the teams played a good game. I think at the end of the day, Bangladesh A team did well. We have to � x a couple of areas, like our � elding. We have to really work hard on it. Our bowling unit has to � re. We were a little out of sorts. I think we have to plan well before the � rst ODI,” Hafeez told the media after the game yesterday.

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan earlier termed Bangladesh as the favourites for the upcoming bilateral series but Hafeez in-formed that it is Shakib’s personal opinion and added that the newcomers in the Pakistan side are desperate to prove their worth.

Pakistan will be missing the services of two of their most experienced campaigners in Mis-bah-ul Haq and Shahid Afridi. Hafeez, however, batted for the youngsters saying, “You need ex-perience in your side and it takes time to recover. These players you mentioned served the country with great � air. It will take time but it is a good time for the newcomers to get into the side and get ready for the international arena,” he added.l

Sk Jamal maintain winning streakn Shishir Hoque

Sheikh Jamal DC con-tinued their winning run in the Manyavar Bangladesh Premier League as the defend-ing champions defeat-ed Feni Soccer Club 2-0

at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday to pick up their third consecutive victory.

Haitian international Wedson Anselme and Nigerian striker Emeka Darlington netted one apiece while Gambian mid� elder Landing Darboe assisted both the goals.

Wedson put Sheikh Jamal ahead in the 24th minute and Emeka doubled the lead just four minutes later to continue their 100% winning record in the top-� ight.

Sheikh Jamal are top in the 11-team league table with nine points from three matches while Soccer Club are languishing at the bot-tom with zero points from the same number of matches. l

Modest Sabbir plays down heroicsn Minhaz Uddin Khan

One of the new kids on the block, Sabbir Rah-man, turned out to be the hero in the lone one-day practice match between Bangladesh Cricket Board XI and Pakistan in Fatullah yes-terday.

The match was merely a warm-up and the result hardly mattered to the visitors but the way the home side approached their chase, led by Sabbir, gave the whole a� air a di� erent look.

At a packed Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Sta-dium, BCB XI, in pursuit of a challenging 269, were in trouble losing their � rst four wickets for 81 runs. The failure of the top-order jeopardised the chase but Sabbir had other ideas as his cool 99-ball 123 guided the hosts to a one-wicket win with seven deliveries remaining.

Sabbir’s knock entertained the week-day Fatullah crowd a great deal as his seven boundaries and eight huge sixes took the game away from the opposition. Pakistan opener Mohammad Hafeez even went on term Sabbir’s knock as “one of the best” he has ever seen.

A modest Sabbir though barely reveled in his heroics and instead dedicated his brilliant hundred to his teammates.

“Firstly, I want to dedicate this hundred to my team. Even a single run is big for me if it helps my team. Although it is just a practice match, my hundred came against an interna-tional side. I enjoyed myself out there. I hope

I will be able do more of this in the coming days,” Sabbir told the media after the game yesterday.

The 23-year old believes the pressure will now be on Pakistan ahead of the � rst of three ODIs tomorrow.

“If you ask from my personal experience, I personally break down a little when we are in an away tour and we lose a practice game. I am sure they will also be concerned after the defeat. The loss should create a negative im-pact on the eve of the � rst game. We should make use of it,” Sabbir explained.

Sabbir, humble as ever, did not forget to praise the opposition bowlers.

“They are a very good bowling side. It just might have been that I batted well today (yes-terday). They dropped me behind the stumps and I made sure of utilising it. But, they bowled really well,” he said. l

An airborne Mohammad Shahid celebrates hitting the winning run for BCB XI against the Pakistanis during their warm-up match in Fatullah yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

RESULTSheikh Jamal 2-0 Feni Soccer ClubWedson Anselme 24Emeka Darlington 28

TODAY’S MATCHESAbahani Limited v Chittagong Abahani 4.15pmMuktijoddha SKC v Team BJMC 6.30PM

Sport28DT


Real Madrid mid� elder Luka Modric shoots at goal against Atletico Madrid during their Uefa Champions League quarter� nal � rst leg at Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid on Tuesday REUTERS

Atletico hold dominant Real, Juve edge Monacon Reuters, Madrid

Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak pro-duced a heroic performance to repel holders Real Madrid and help secure a 0-0 draw in their Champions League quarter-� nal, � rst leg at the Calderon on Tuesday.

Slovenian Oblak made a string of memo-rable saves against the team that beat Atlet-ico in last season’s � nal to keep the Spanish champions’ hopes of reaching the last four alive ahead of next week’s return game at the Bernabeu.

Atletico have had the upper hand over their wealthy neighbours in six derby meet-ings already this term but Real dominated for long periods in Tuesday’s clash and will be furious not to have come away with at least one away goal.

Gareth Bale had probably their best chance as early as the third minute when he ran clear through the centre after a mistake from Diego Godin but Oblak raced out and blocked the Welshman’s shot.

Real forced Atletico onto the back foot from the start in the 260th meeting between the city rivals and, after twice denying Bale, Oblak pulled o� further saves from Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez.

Atletico’s only real chance of the � rst half fell to Antoine Griezmann but the French-man’s weak shot was easy for Iker Casillas in the Real goal.

With their fans roaring them on, Atletico saw more of the ball in the second period but Real, chasing a record-extending 11th Europe-an crown, again had the clearer chances and the home side were forced into some desper-

ate defence.However, they managed to mount a couple

of dangerous attacks late on and Casillas had to be alert to keep out a Mario Suarez e� ort after a scramble in the goalmouth.

Atletico’s Croatia forward Mario Mandzu-kic was in the thick of the action and su� ered a head wound after he was caught by a � ailing Sergio Ramos arm shortly after halftime but was able to play on after treatment.

Atletico mid� elder Suarez and Real de-fender Marcelo were both booked and will be

suspended for the return leg on April 22. Meanwhile Juventus mid� elder Arturo

Vidal smashed home a second-half penalty to earn a 1-0 win at home to Monaco in an absorbing Champions League quarter-� nal � rst leg on Tuesday, leaving the tie on a knife-edge.

Vidal, who has missed two penalties this season, held his nerve and � red into the roof of the net in the 57th minute after Ricardo Carvalho bundled over Alvaro Morata, who had been sent clear by Andrea Pirlo’s lofted through ball.

There was controversy surrounding the decision as television replays suggested that the initial contact by the Portuguese defender may have been just outside the penalty box.

Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim also criti-cised the penalty. l

RESULTSAtletico Madrid 0-0 Real Madrid

Juventus 1-0 MonacoVidal 57-P

Abdul Hamid Sports Centre inauguratedn Shishir Hoque

Bangladesh Sports Press Association has in-augurated a sports centre at its premises yes-terday in the commemoration of the late leg-endary commentator, Abdul Hamid.

Gemcon Group provided the � nancial as-sistance and its vice chairman, Kazi Nabil Ahmed MP, who also happens to be the vice president of Bangladesh Football Federation, inaugurated the Abdul Hamid Sports Centre, located at the � rst � oor of Bangabandhu Na-tional Stadium.

Chairman of Marketing and Commercial Committee of Bangladesh Cricket Board, Kazi Inam Ahmed, BSPA president Rana Hasan and general secretary Sanat Babla were also pres-ent and spoke on the occasion. l

Gemcon Group vice chairman Kazi Nabil Ahmed (5L) and BCB’s chairman of marketing and commercial committee Kazi Inam Ahmed (C) cuts a cake to inaugurate the Abdul Hamid Sports Centre yesterday COURTESY

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Sony Six8:30PM Indian Premier League Hyderabad v Rajasthan Ten Cricket8:00PM England Tour of West Indies 1st Test, Day 4 Ten Action12:00PM UEFA Europa League QFs Leg 1: Wolfsburg v Napoli Ten Sports 12:00PM UEFA Europa League QFs: Sevilla v Zenit

DAY’S WATCH


Klopp to leave Dortmund at season endn Reuters, Dortmund

Coach Juergen Klopp will leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season despite a contract running to 2018 because he does not feel he is the right man for the job any more, the coach said on Wednesday.

“I’ve always said that I would say it if I’m not the perfect coach for this club,” Klopp told reporters, sitting next to club bosses Hans-Joachim Watzke and Michael Zorc.

“Dortmund need a change.”“I picked this time to make my announce-

ment so as not to create any time pressure as was the case in the last few years with some

player decisions. I de� nitely believe this is completely the right decision.”

Dortmund have had a dismal domestic cam-paign which saw the club Klopp led to titles in 2011 and 2012 battle with relegation until a recent improvement. Klopp took over at Dort-mund in 2008 and as well as the league titles he won the German Cup, challenged Bayern Mu-nich for dominance in the Bundesliga and also reached the Champions League � nal in 2013.

Enthusiastic, spontaneous and emotional, Klopp has long been a crowd favourite at the former European champions, helping them re-store their position as Bundesliga heavyweights with an exciting brand of attacking football.l

Chandika says won’t be involved in mud-slingingn Mazhar Uddin

Bangladesh cricket team coach Chandika Ha-thurusingha yesterday said he is not willing to divert the focus of the cricketers following some unfortunate o� -the-� eld distractions in recent times. With the upcoming bilateral home series against Pakistan just a day away, Hathurusingha refused to delve into the re-cent controversies and instead informed that they are concentrating on the challenge of facing their subcontinent rivals.

The former Sri Lankan cricketer was allud-ing to some of his recent comments on team selection which irked Bangladesh Cricket Board’s cricket operations committee chair-man Naimur Rahman, who criticised Ha-thurusingha in return.

“It is a very technical issue. I cannot talk much. It is unfortunate that the team are do-ing well but these issues are diverting what the team are doing. I think it is time for us to focus on the team rather than the attention and time spent on some other things,” Ha-thurusingha told the media at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

“I don’t want to play whatever happens in my o� ce in public. So, that’s not a cricketing question. We need to focus on the team do-ing well. By talking about these unnecessary things, I don’t think I am doing justice to the players,” he added.

The former coach of Sydney Thunder also touched on the issue of Bangladesh’s open-ing batting pair which has let the team down more often than not recently.

“I won’t say it is frustrating but I would like to have a settled opening pair. It is up to the players to grab the opportunities that they get. We are all looking forward to the perfect combination. Rony [Talukdar] is in the team on merit. He scored a lot of runs in both forms of the game. He deserves a place. Let’s see what we can do,” he said.

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal has not been among the runs recently but Hathurus-ingha defended the swashbuckling southpaw saying, “It is how you look at it. Tamim is probably as disappointed as anyone else. He would love to score more runs. In Australia, we saw it was tough for openers of any team. He scored a match-winning innings for us not so long ago.”l

West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul plays a shot as England wicketkeeperJos Buttler looks on during day two of their � rst Test at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Tuesday. England were 399 all out in � rst innings. Ian Bell scored 143. In reply, West Indies were 155 for 4 at the close of day’s play. Veteran Chanderpaul was unbeaten on 29 after Day 2 REUTERS

BRIEF SCOREBangladesh U-19 vs South Africa U-19

Bangladesh U-19206/10 in 50 oversNazmul Hossain Shanto 45, Pinak Ghosh 42Brandon Glover 3/47, Dean Foxcroft 2/29South Africa U-19180/9 in 50 oversWiaan Mulder 80, Mohammad Saifuddin 2/7, Nazmul Hossain Shanto 2/19

Bangladesh U-19 won by 26 runs

Nazmul stars as Junior Tigers take 3-1 leadn Mazhar Uddin

Skipper Nazmul Hossain’s all-round heroics inspired Bangladesh Under-19 to a 26-run win over their South African counterparts in the fourth youth ODI at Sheikh Kamal Interna-tional Cricket Stadium in Cox’s Bazar yester-day. The hosts lead 3-1 heading into the � fth match this Saturday in Chittagong.

Batting � rst, the junior Tigers posted a modest 206-all out from their 50 overs with top-order batsmen Nazmul (45), Pinak Ghosh (42) and Saif Hasan (41) leading the way.

In reply, the junior Proteas managed 180/9 in 50 overs with Wiaan Mulder scoring the highest 80. Mulder though eventually ran out of part-ners as the visitors fell 26 runs short of their tar-get. Mohammad Saifuddin, Mosabbek Hossain and Nazmul scalped two wickets each.l

Mamunul denies Mallorca rumourn Shishir Hoque

Bangladesh football team skipper Mamunul Islam dismissed the rumours linking him with Spanish second division side Real Mallorca.

Following a report on a private television channel, rumours of the Sheikh Jamal DC mid� elder joining the Spanish club went vi-ral in the social media. Yesterday though Ma-munul, who featured for Atletico de Kolkata in the Indian Super League, made it clear that Real Mallorca have not approached him.

“I do not know anything about this. And, I did not receive any o� er from them,” said the talismanic mid� elder yesterday. l

Dortmund’s coach Klopp addresses a news conference in Dortmund yesterday REUTERS

Donald steps down as Proteas bowling coachn Reuters, Cape Town

Allan Donald has stepped down as bowling coach of South Africa, con� rming his depar-ture on Tuesday after four years in the role.

Donald was appointed in June 2011 as part of Gary Kirsten’s management team and con-tinued in the role under current coach Russell Domingo from August 2013.

“I have had some time to re� ect after the World Cup and have come to the con-clusion that the time is right to move on,” the 48-year-old said in a statement from Cricket South Africa.

“It was always a big dream of mine to work in the South African cricket environment af-ter my playing days and I was incredibly hon-oured to be given the opportunity. The last four years have been the best of my life.”

The Proteas have not lined up a replace-ment as yet, but hope to have one in place by the time they tour Bangladesh for two tests and a series of limited overs matches in July.

Donald enjoyed a decade long test career as a feared fast bowler, collecting 330 wickets having made his debut as a 25-year-old when South Africa were readmitted to international cricket in 1992. l

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 21 represents T so � ll T every time the � gure 21 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 Mend (3)3 S-shaped moulding (4)6 Smart and fashionable (4)7 Fresh (3)9 Blue dye (4)10 Female deer (3)11 Parched (4)13 Rescued (5)16 Riverside embank-ment (5)18 Innermost part (4)19 Spirit (3)20 Hybrid (4)21 Convict (3)23 Harbour town (4)24 Pipe (4)25 Wager (3)

DOWN1 Money penalties (5)2 Frozen treat (3)4 Virtuous (4)5 Finish (3)6 Younger son (5)8 Falter (5)9 Extending far (4)12 Riotous feast (5)14 Drug-yeilding plant (4)15 Let in (5)17 Disease of rye (5)18 Association (4)20 Pithy saying (3)22 Copy (3)

SUDOKU

SHOWTIME 31D


Theatre lovers retreatn Tausif Sanzum

The theatre forms a very important part of our art and culture, be it over air Jatras in the remotest of villages to international theater festivals at the Shilpokala Academy. To celebrate the birth month of one of the most known playwrights in the world, William Shakespeare, we round-up some of the most spectacular theatres around the world.

The SeebühneAlso known as the � oating stage, this opera stage � oats on Lake Constance in Austria. It is one of the venues for the Bregenzer Festspiele arts festival. The most exquisite feature of the Seebühne is that the lake is always incorporated into the set design of the operas and musicals it hosts.

Sydney Opera HouseBy far, the most famous opera house, and has become a signature location

of Australia. Housing more than 1,500 productions, which theatre lovers and tourists from around the world flock to see, this unique structure comprises of several venues. It hosts productions from art companies around the world in addition to Australia’s famous four – Sydney Theater Company, Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet and Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Shakespeare’s GlobeThis was built in 1997 as a modern day reconstruction of the famous Globe theater. This well-known theatre in London is almost identical to the original but includes modern facilities, such as concrete theater pit, roof based sprinklers etc. It also hosts up to 857 guests.

The Odeon of Herodes AtticusOne of the oldest amphitheaters built in 161 AD, it was restored during the 1950s. It can host up to 5,000 guests and has been the main venue for the Athens Festival since its restoration. In addition to plays, it has also been the venue for concerts by notable musicians like Elton John.

Minack TheatreLocated in the picturesque village of Porthcurno in England, the open-air theater is often listed among the most spectacular theatres in the world. The specialty of this theatre is the seats and the stage are carved right into the stone to make it as close to nature as possible. l

n Showtime desk

“Champaknagarer Upokotha,” a new play inspired and illustrated by Padmapuran—a medieval Bangla play, will be staged today at the Natmondol in the Dhaka University premise. The play is set to hold its fourth staging in four consecutive days since its premiere on April 13. It is staged by sophomores from the Theatre and Performance Studies Department of Dhaka University. Kazi Tamanna Haque Sigma, a lecturer of the department, directed the play.Although in the original version the play depicts the story of the famous mythical

folktale conflict between Chand Sadagar of Champaknagar and Manasa, the goddess of snakes, the adapted version did not make this the focal point. Rather, it traces the woes and worries of a number of minor characters like Sanoka, Chand’s wife, and Chand’s six widowed daughter-in-laws, all of whom had to suffer in the midst of the conflict between Chand and Manasa.Combining the traditional, long existing Bangla play forms including pala, panchali and jatra with the western characterisation style, the play has presented itself in a unique manner where the East meets the West. l

Champaknagarer Upokotha to be staged today

Performers:Naveed Mahbub, Nawaf Naser

Venue:Caspian, 3rd floor, RM Centre, 101 Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan, Dhaka 1212

Date: April 16, 2015Time: 7:30pm

Info: 01755618541Organiser: Naveed’s Comedy Club

WHAT TO WATCHTELEVISION

Man of steel CHBO 8:30pmForced to confront his secret extrastellar origin, Superman learns to � ght for Earth when it gets invaded by members of his own race.Cast: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift C-Star Movies 7:26pmA teenager becomes a major competitor in the world of drift racing after moving in with his father in Tokyo to avoid a jail sentence in America.Cast: Lucas Black, Zachery Ty Bryan, Shad Moss

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Pohela Boishakh celebrated around country n Tribune Report

The nation celebrated Pohela Boishakh, � rst day of Bangla New Year 1422, on Tuesday amid much festivity and fanfare.

The day was celebrated in the capital as well as the rest of the country with tradition-al festivity and fervour. Fairs, colourful pro-cessions, cultural events, poetry recitation sessions, dramas and discussions took place marking the day.

Calling to prevent violent sectarianism, the faculty of � ne arts in Dhaka University brought out Mongol Shobhajatra, a colour-ful procession for the occasion, around 9am, which was attended by not only the students and teachers of the university, but also people from all walks of life.

However, this year the procession some-what carried a theme: there were banners that portrayed free speech being strangled, in memories of slain bloggers Abhijit Roy and Oyasiqur Rahman.

But the regular, colourful masks, festoons and decorative folk motifs were also seen in the parade.

Apart from the Shobhajatra, there were a number programmes that went on all day on the university campus.

Celebrations took place at Ramna Boto-mul, Rabinra Shorobor, and on other univer-sity campuses as well, and programmes were organised by di� erent socio-cultural organi-sations.

Bangla New Year welcomed around the countryPeople welcomed Bangla New Year 1422 with much enthusiasm and ardour around the country.

In Thakurgaon, the day began with a musi-

cal performance by Sangeet Niketan at dawn near the base of the banyan tree on District Judge Court premises.

Alpana Sahitya Sanskriti Sangsad inaugu-rated its week-long Boishakhi Mela on the Public Library premises.

In Mymensingh, Pohela Boishakh was cel-ebrated with great enthusiasm. Di� erent cul-tural groups such as Udichi Shilpi Goshthi, Rabindra Sangeet Sammilon Parishad, My-mensingh Shilpakala Academy and Sandipon Sanskritik Sangstha organised cultural shows.

A Boishakhi fair was held at Shaheeb Quar-ter Park area, while Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul

Islam University in Trishal brought out a col-ourful rally on its campus.

In Rajshahi, hundreds of men, women and children, donning traditional clothes, thronged Rajshahi College playground, Fud-kipara open stage and Shishu Academy and other places, especially the bank of Padma River on the occasion.

The Rajshahi district administration ar-ranged a colourful rally that started at Colle-giate School premises and ended at the Shishu Academy open ground, where a day-long Boishakhi, Children Amusement Fair and Cul-tural Function took place.

Various educational institutions also brought out Boishakhi processions in the city streets carrying colourful festoons, plac-ards and banners, wearing masks and singing Boishakhi songs, as well as folk songs.

In Chandpur, the district administration, municipality and several socio-cultural or-ganisations arranged various programmes to celebrate the day.

In Sherpur, several cultural organisations arranged various programmes such as pan-ta-ilish (fried hilsha and water-soaked rice) feasts, ra� e draws, rallies and theatre to en-tertain people.

In Chittagong, celebrations began after sunrise at the historic DC Hill and Shristala of CRB Hill, where artistes of Sammilito Po-hela Boishakh Udjapan Parishad performed the most popular Boishakhi song “Esho hey Boishakh.”

Besides, many socio-cultural and literary organisations and educational institutions had their own programmes chalked out for the occasion.

Besides the early morning musical perfor-mance, Sammilita Pohela Boishakh Udjapan Parishad’s two-day programme included a colourful procession, kabadi match, bull � ght, cock � ght and puppet shows.

In Bandarban, Marma people, one of the in-digenous communities living in the country, celebrated the day with various programmes including Sangrai.

Young Marma men and women played wa-ter games in Old Rajamath and Reicha areas, as part of the tradition.

With the population of around 43,000, Sangrai is the main festival in the Marma com-munity; it is celebrated by most of the other indigenous communities in Bangladesh as well, but under di� erent names. l

Number of pay grades to stay 20 n Asif Showkat Kallol

The proposal to reduce the number of public servants’ pay grades from 20 to 16 – will not be implemented as the process of amending the service rule would be too long, a member of the government review committee has told the Dhaka Tribune.

The secretary-level committee, tasked with reviewing the National Pay and Service Commission recommendations, has also re-portedly decided to disburse the recommend-ed basic salaries and a 5% yearly increment from the � rst day of the 2015-16 � scal year.

The committee member, on condition of anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that the decision on this regard has already been con-veyed to the prime minister and the � nance minister during a recent meeting.

“Reducing the number of pay grades would create discrimination within the grades as well as creating complexities of amending

service rules,” the member said. Also according to a latest decision, the

highest salary for government employees will be � xed at Tk90,000 instead of the proposed Tk100,000, while the lowest salary will be Tk8,500 instead of the proposed Tk8,200.

Sources in the secretary-level commit-tee, meanwhile, said it was yet to be decided whether the time scale and selection grade provisions would be dropped in accordance with the recommendations; however, a deci-sion has already been made to not increase the salaries of a � xed post.

Last week, Senior Finance Secretary Mah-bub Ahmed – who is a member of the commit-tee – told the Dhaka Tribune: “The govern-ment will de� nitely implement execution of national pay commission recommendations from July this year”

The government has enough funds to im-plement the pay scale recommendations, he also claimed.

On the other hand, a Finance Division of-� cial told the Dhaka Tribune that Tk13,000 crore had been allocated for implementing the pay commission’s recommendations for the next � scal year.

The source added that the six-member sec-retary-level committee, led by Cabinet Secre-tary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, would submit its review report by the end of this month.

In addition to reviewing the pay hike pro-posals for government employees, the com-mittee is also looking after the recommended pay hikes for the armed forces.

Earlier, the pay commission’s Chairman Mohammad Farashuddin had claimed that � -nancing the additional amount would not be a problem if only 1% revenue growth could be ensured.

Currently, there are over 832,000 govern-ment employees and around 500,000 pen-sioners in the country. l

Tiger bites o� visitor’s hand in Gazipur park n Our Correspondent, Gazipur

A tiger at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Sreepur bit o� a hand of a young visi-tor yesterday noon.

Mahmudul Hasan Onkon, 26, son of Daud Hossain of Kurmitola, was rushed to a local hospital after he lost his hand.

Shihab Ibn Jaman, a doctor at the hospital, said Onkon was sent to National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilita-tion in Dhaka as his condition deteriorated.

Onkon studies at Military Institute of Sci-ence and Technology in Mirpur.

The park’s Range O� cer Shibu Prashad Bhattacharya said Onkon climbed a wall in the tiger zone and waved at a tiger by insert-ing his hand into the net.

“Another tiger on the wall’s other side grabbed his hand. Other visitors tried to save him but the tiger bit o� his hand,” he added. l

Clad in colourful attires thousands of people take part in the traditional Mongol Shobha Jatra festooned with life-sized replicas of bird, � sh, animals, and other motifs, brought out on Pohela Boishakh in the capital on Tuesday

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

Thursday April 16, 2015

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