Tigers reach Nelson for Scotland tien Mazhar Uddin from Nelson

Bangladesh cricket team reached Nelson, New Zea-land yesterday evening ahead of their fourth Pool A game against Scotland this Thursday at Saxton Oval. The Tigers, coming to the

Scotland tie on the back of a 92-run defeat against Sri Lanka, will be looking to give a much better account of themselves in a new country and new surroundings.

Bangladesh have been unchanged in their � rst three games against Afghanistan, Australia and Sri Lanka. However, in the must-win game against the Scots, the Tigers might play one of the two specialist spinners

Manna mystery man tracked downn Mohammad Jamil Khan

The location of a previously unidenti� ed Bangladeshi expatriate who spoke on Vib-er with Nagorik Oikya Convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna has been tracked down, the Detective Branch (DB) of police said.

Identi� ed only as “Mamun” – believed to be a nickname – the mysterious caller lives in Australia, DB o� cials told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Further details of the identity of the caller, whose Viber conversation has given rise to a

sedition investigation, were not yet known. Detectives said they were trying collect infor-mation through diplomatic channels.

DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said there was no doubt that Manna was involved in a conspiracy against the government. He said everyone involved in the conspiracy would be tracked down and would face the law.

Yesterday was the third day of a 10-day remand for Manna, a former Awami League leader, who is being investigated in a case � led with Gulshan police station for alleged involvement in inciting the army to take over

n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Key militants have managed to � ee and avoid arrest by the Rapid Action Battalion’s recent drives. The elite crime busters have busted three militant dens, seized a huge cache of arms and sensitive documents over the last 10 days in Chittagong.

While they have arrested a number of mil-itants, the hybrid law enforcement unit is unsure about which groups ran the dens that doubled as training centres.

However, RAB sources say they suspect three banned Islamist organisations – JMB, Huji and Hizb ut-Tahrir, and another Ansarul-lah Bangla Team – are operating actively in the region.

RAB 7 discovered a stockpile of deadly explosives yesterday morning at a house in Bashundhara Residential Area in Chittagong’s Halishahar and detained three persons in-cluding a leader of Islami Chhatri Sangstha, Jamaat’s female student front.

They sized 76 handmade grenades, 150kg of explosives, 30 types of bomb-making equipment, 24 rounds of shotgun ammuni-tion, other equipment including 96 pairs of combat weight belts and 86 pairs of jungle boots besides many documents and Jihadi books of Jamaat’s student front Islami Chha-tra Shibir and other banned Islamist out� ts.

The trio arrested during the 36-hour drive are Rahima Akhter, 21, a leader of Chhatri Sang-stha’s Chittagong city (south) unit, her brother Faizul Haq, 30, and another Abdul Hye, 36.

RAB chief Benazir Ahmed visited the spot with Additional Director General Col Ziaul Ah-san and Director (legal and media) Command-

er Mufti Mahmud. Benazir said an entire bat-talion could be equipped with the explosives at a press conference.

Sources in RAB said, one Parvez, the leader of the group managed to � ee during the drive.

On February 19, the same unit nabbed 12 mil-itants from an Arabic literature and language coaching centre, Al Madrasatul Abu Bakar, in Alipur area of Hathazari. But the head of the coaching centre Mohammad Fattah escaped.

Based on information gleaned from the

arrestees, RAB busted a militant training cen-tre inside a reserve forest in Lotmoni of Ban-shkhali area on February 21 and nabbed � ve more militants.

They found a large cache of arms and am-munition along with combat training equip-ment but Mohammad Mobarak and his broth-er, who ran the place, � ed the scene sensing the presence of law enforcers.

Both police and RAB sources claim that the key militants have been evading arrest

because the elite force is conducting drives without any support from the local police.

Halishahar OC Syed Abu Mohammad Shah-jahan said he had not been informed about the drive. He learnt about the operation from the local ward councillor yesterday morning.

A high o� cial of RAB 7, seeking anonymi-ty, told the Dhaka Tribune that the key leaders usually go into hiding whenever they fail to get in touch with people who are designated at certain locations.

“When any of their men are busted, the key leaders get wind of our drives,” RAB 7 Commanding O� cer Lt Col Mifta Uddin said.

The � at in Bashundhara was rented by Faizul and his fake relatives early in February. Owner of the � ve-storey building is a US expa-triate and was looked after by a relative.

The neighbours and locals said they had no idea about the tenants. The windows of the � at remained shut most of the time.

“Another 2,000 grenades could be pro-duced with the seized explosives and raw materials,” Mifta said adding that the entire building would have been blown apart if there were an accident.

Benazir said an evil force was working to unleash anarchy in the country and turn it into an Afghanistan. He, however, refused to disclose the identity of the group “for the sake of investigation.”

Such underground activities are usually run in collaboration with international and local militant groups and their patrons, he observes. “The volume of explosives and am-munition suggests that the militants planned deadly sabotage in Chittagong and adjoining areas,” the RAB boss added. l

PAGE 6O� -shore energy hunt pre-bid meet today

PAGE 4Pro-BNP lawyers win Dhaka Bar poll

PAGE 6Hanif: Khaleda, get ready for life in jail

PAGE 9Cox’s Bazar in dire straits due to drinking water crisis

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015 | Falgun 17, 1421, Jamadiul Awal 9, 1436 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 2, No 325 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

FBI TO JOIN SEARCH FOR AVIJIT KILLERS PAGE 3

JUSTICE ELUDES TERROR VICTIMS PAGE 5

6 VEHICLES TORCHED IN CAPITAL PAGE 4

Key militants � ee as RAB drive continuesElite force recovers another cache of explosives enough to arm an entire battalion

A large amount of � rearms, ammunition, and bomb-making materials was seized from a house at Chittagong city’s Halishahar area yesterday by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). Four persons, including a woman, were also arrested from the spot DHAKA TRIBUNE

NEWS2DTSUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

Introducing the compact Dhaka Tribune

A newspaper is nothing without its readers. It is to you we owe our very existence and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you once again for your loyalty in sticking with us over the past two years. It remains our honour and our privilege, for which we are deeply appreciative.

In this time we have strived constantly to serve you better by covering the news of the day from angles no one else is, through exclusive special investigations, razor sharp comment and analysis, and fascinating feature and lifestyle content. Every day we strive to be worthy of your time.

Today, we enter a new era with the launch of the Dhaka Tribune as a compact newspaper. We believe that our new format will enhance your daily reading experience and that the new-look paper will be more readable and convenient than ever before.

The all compact Dhaka Tribune will be all the news you want. No more, no less. It is perfect for your busy on-the-go lifestyle and will ensure that you remain fully informed in as little time as possible.

Have no fear that there will be any compromise on quality. The newspaper will continue to be as hard-hitting and in-depth as before. Don’t let the new look fool you! We may be smaller, but we will still pack a wallop, and you will � nd no more serious paper anywhere on the market.

We won’t waste your time with unnecessary � llers. If it is in the DT it is worth your time. That is our promise to our readers. It will be everything you need to know and nothing you don’t. We are mindful of the time pressures of modern day life, and this is a newspaper that is designed fully for your convenience and ease of use.

Today, the Dhaka Tribune proudly joins the modern trend of compact papers, following in the august foot-steps of publications such as The Times, The (UK) Independent, The Guardian, The Christian Science Monitor, Le Monde, the Wall Street Journal, and many more.

We � rmly believe that once you get used to it, you will wonder how you ever had time for an unwieldy broadsheet, and that your daily reading experience will be ever more pleasant.

We hope and pray and trust that the new-look compact quickly � nds a place in your heart. Happy reading!

Zafar SobhanEditor, Dhaka Tribune

EDITOR’S NOTE

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A large amount of � rearms, ammunition, and bomb-making materials was seized from a house at Chittagong city’s Halishahar area yesterday by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). Four persons, including a woman, were also arrested from the spot DHAKA TRIBUNE

NEWS 3D

TSUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

Police yet to receive Khaleda Zia arrest warrantn Tribune Report

Police officials said they had not yet received copies of the warrant for Khaleda Zia’s arrest issued by a special court on Wednesday last.

The arrest warrant against the 69-year-old former prime minister was supposed to be sent to the Cantonment, Ramna and Gulshan

police stations.As of Saturday night, o� cials at the police

stations concerned said no arrest warrant had reached them.

“We are yet to receive any [arrest] warrant copy of Khaleda Zia,” Gulshan police station O� cer-in-Charge Ra� qul Islam told the Dha-ka Tribune.

On February 25, the Dhaka Special

Judge’s Court 3 issued a warrant for the arrest of Khaleda and two others accused in two graft cases for failing to appear before the court.

Khaleda has been holed up in her o� ce since January 6 demanding elections under a non-partisan interim government and did not turn up in court on the day of the graft case hearing. l

SSC examinations rescheduled once again to March 13, 14n Tribune Report

The government once again rescheduled two Secondary School Certi� cate examination papers and postponed another, following the enforcement of another spell of 72-hour na-tionwide hartal by BNP-led 20-party.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, ad-dressing a press conference at his residence yesterday, said the exam originally scheduled for March 1 will be held on March 14 from 10am to 1pm, and the postponed exam, which was originally scheduled for February 12, will be held on March 13 from 9am to 12pm.

The minister also said the SSC exams scheduled for March 3 has been postponed and the new date for the exams will be an-nounced later.

The BNP-led alliance called for inde� nite countrywide transport blockade on Janu-ary 6 and started enforcing hartals since the � rst day of February which continued for the whole month, except Fridays and Saturdays. They have been demanding an early election under a non-partisan interim government.

The government, examinees and guardi-ans requested the opposition party repeated-ly not to enforce any hartal on the exam days but the party did not pay any heed. l

UGC to press for classes during hartaln Asif Showkat Kallol

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to issue directives to the vice-chan-cellors of all public and private universities – to continue their classes and hold exams ignoring the 20-party alliance’s hartal and blockade programmes.

A recent UGC board meeting made the de-cision, which came in the backdrop of most universities suspending academic activities on weekdays since the BNP-led alliance start-ed calling its series of successive hartals from the start of February.

On February 16, a board meeting of the UGC decided to call an immediate meeting with more than 100 VCs from public and pri-vate universities and tell them to carry on

with their classes and exams in order to avoid session jam.

However, the minutes of the meeting – ob-tained by the Dhaka Tribune – did not include any detail on when such a meeting between the UGC and the VCs would be held.

According to the minutes, the commis-sion’s Chairman Dr AK Azad Chowdhury pointed out to the board that the High Court had recently issued an order telling the gov-ernment to stop criminal activities in the name of hartals and blockade.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has also been noti� ed of the UGC decision, sourc-es said.

Earlier in January, pro-BNP-Jamaat teach-ers at di� erent universities had announced they would not take any classes until the har-

tal and blockade programmes ended.According to sources from di� erent uni-

versities, most educational institutions have been taking classes during Fridays and Satur-days – the only days of the week when there have not been hartals during February – in or-der to make up for the missed classes. For the rest of the week, classes do not take place out of fear of possible violence surrounding the successive series of hartals.

However, some public universities have been holding classes on hartal days on a lim-ited basis, even though student attendance remains low.

But most of the private universities are reportedly choosing to hold classes on har-tal-free days in order to ensure safety for their students. l

FBI to join search for Avijit killersFamily alleges that police know who the killers are but are not arresting them

n Mohammad Jamil Khan

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation in-tends to get involved with the investigation into the murder of blogger-writer Avijit Roy, a Bangladesh-born US citizen.

On Friday, an FBI o� cial stationed in Dha-ka contacted the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).

“The o� cial wanted to know how FBI could assist us in completing the investiga-tion,” said Shibli Noman, an assistant com-missioner of DMP.

Avijit’s father Ajay Roy, a noted education-ist and former professor of physics at Dhaka University, yesterday said he had got a phone call from the US embassy in Dhaka.

“Embassy o� cials have talked to me over phone and expressed their interest to get the FBI involved with the investigation,” Ajay said.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the US embassy in Dhaka strongly condemned Avijit’s murder terming it “horri� c in brutality and cowardice.”

The statement said: “Avijit was a journal-ist, a humanist, a husband, and a friend, and we extend our condolences to his family and friends. He was taken from us in a shocking act of violence.

“This was not just an attack against a per-son, but a cowardly assault on the universal principles enshrined in Bangladesh’s consti-tution and the country’s proud tradition of free intellectual and religious discourse,” the statement read.

On Thursday night, miscreants still to be identi� ed hacked Avijit to death near the TSC roundabout on the DU campus and critically

injured his wife Ra� da Ahmed Bonna, also a Bangladesh-born US citizen and writer.

Family and friends said the blogger-writer had been receiving threats from Islamist ex-tremists for several years, especially from a militant named Farabi Sha� ur Rahman with whom Avijit had had debates over religion.

Prof Ajay yesterday � led a general diary with the Ramna police station saying he had also re-ceived threats. He said this was nothing new for him; he had received similar threats in the past as well. “Even on Thursday night, some-one called me up on my cell phone and said Avijit was attacked for his anti-Islamic prop-aganda. If I did not come to their path, they

said I would also have to bear the same fate.”More than two days into the brutal killing,

police have made no progress whatsoever in the investigation, much to the disappoint-ment of the family.

The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metro-politan Police that is investigating the murder, has not managed to trace any of the killers; nei-ther has anyone been arrested as of yesterday.

“We have not made any signi� cant progress and time has not come to say anything con-crete,” Krishnapada Roy, a deputy commission-er of DB, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

While talking to reporters at his residence yesterday, Prof Ajay said: “They [DB] have the

lists of criminals. They can arrest them any time but they are not doing it.”

Hinting militant involvement, police said the way Avijit was assaulted was similar to how progressive writer Humayun Azad was assaulted at the same location in 2004 and blogger Rajib Haider in Mirpur in 2013.

Questions were raised over polices’ role as witnesses say that there were several law en-forcers nearby when the attack took place.

DMP Assistant Commissioner Shibly No-man said around 40 CCTV cameras have been maintaining surveillance on and around the book fair premises. But the spot where Avijit was killed was a blank spot.

“We are now analysing footage from the CCTV cameras to � nd out if any of the assail-ants could be traced,” Shibly said.

Hours after the attack, a Twitter account titled “Ansar Bangla-7” cheered in the murder and termed it an “achievement.” A series of tweets described it as a punishment for Avi-jit’s “crime against Islam.” But the account was found deactivated yesterday.

In November last year, Ansarullah Bang-la Team, another online entity with a similar name, claimed the responsibility of killing Ra-jshahi University professor Sha� ul Islam.

Sha� ul, also known for his progressive think-ing and research, was killed in a similar fashion – hacked with machetes on the head and neck.

Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of DB, told the Dhaka Tribune that they suspected the same out� ts had murdered Rajib Haider and Avijit. “There is no di� erence between the two killings. It may be that another unit of the Ansarullah Bangla Team has done it.” l

An alliance of progressive students brings out a procession on the Dhaka University campus yesterday protesting the killing of blogger-writer Avijit Roy RAJIB DHAR

NEWS4DTSUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

Rupganj burn victim dies at DMCHn Tribune Report

Kabir Hossain, 30, a burn victim of BNP’s blockade around the country, died yesterday in the morning at Dhaka Medical College Hos-pital (DMCH). Kabir was a resident of Louho-ganj under Munshiganj district.

He died while under treatment at the DMCH, said Special Branch (SB) Additional Superintendent of Police Md Jakaria.

Kabir, along with his other six cowork-ers, was burnt in a petrol bomb attack on their truck near Jatramura area in Rupganj, Narayanganj on Friday at around 10pm.

The truck driver Rubel Mia � led a case with the Rupganj police station on Saturday evening accusing 28 identi� ed individuals along with some 10-12 unidenti� ed people.

Earlier, the police arrested four persons in this connection after conducting a drive at Tarab area in Rupganj, con� rmed the Rupganj thana O� cer-in-Charge Mahmudul Islam.

The arrested are Al Amin, 23, of Jatramura area; Habibur Rahman Mamun, 24, of Tarab South para; Najrul Islam, 35, of Mugrakul area; and Rakibul Hasan, 26, of Fatehpur area in nearby Sonargaon upazilla.

The other injured in that attack are Helal Uddin, 25, Sohel Mia, 28, Billal Hossain, 26, Sohrab, 32, and Rasel Mia, 30. All of them are being treated at the DMCH burnt unit. They

were labourers of Mahbub Spinning Mills in Rupganj.

After the incident, the truck driver Rubel Mia told reporters: “The truck was attacked with several petrol bombs while we were going to the capital’s Postogola from Jatramura with 10-12 people.”

Six people were burnt in the attack while the local came forward and brought the � re under control, he added.

ASP Jakaria also informed that Kabir was not burnt extensively but he got severely injured with injuries to his head when he jumped o� from the truck. l

6 vehicles torched in the capital n Tribune Report

Six vehicles were torched by unknown miscreants in the capital yesterday evening. No one was injured in the arson attacks, said police and � re service o� cials.

Witnesses and on-duty police said a vehicle of a private television station parked outside the television building was set alight around 6:45pm at Mouchak.

At the time, several vehicles were

vandalised and four to � ve crude bombs were blasted nearby.

Two covered vans and a bus were torched at Jatrabari, while a car at Khilgaon and a bus at Banani were also torched, con� rmed Fire Service and Civil Defence control room duty o� cer Bhajan Kumar Sarkar.

He said: “On hearing the news, our teams rushed to the scenes and brought the � re under control. No one was injured.” l

Pro-BNP lawyers win Dhaka Bar polln Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

The Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Oikya Panel, backed by the BNP-Jamaat coalition, has overwhelmingly won the election to the Dhaka Bar Association.

The BNP-Jamaat-backed blue panel won 20 of the 25 posts, while the rest went to the Awami League-backed white panel.

Among the 10 posts of o� ce bearers, the Awami League-backed white panel won only the posts of the senior vice-president and treasurer. Of the 15 posts of executive members, BNP-Jamaat-backed lawyers won 12; the Awami League-backed lawyers won the rest.

BNP central committee’s Religious A� airs Secretary advocate Masud Ahmed Talukder was elected the president, while Md Omar Faruq Faruqui of the blue panel was elected general secretary.

SM Altaf Hossain, chief election commis-sioner for the Dhaka Bar Association, an-nounced the results yesterday. The voting was held throughout Wednesday and Thurs-day. The total number of voters was 15,372; of them, 9,092 cast their ballots.

Blue panel’s Harun Rashid Khan has been elected the vice-president, Ha� zur Rahman Ha� z the senior assistant general secretary, Taherul Islam Tauhid the assistant general secretary, Majedur Rahman Mamun the li-brary secretary, Aklima Akter Alo the cultural secretary and Sheikh Alauddin was elected the o� ce secretary. l

Family meets Kamaruzzaman in central jailn Tribune Report

The family members of condemned war crim-inal Mohammad Kamaruzzaman met him at Dhaka Central Jail yesterday morning.

Eight of Kamaruzzaman’s relatives, includ-ing Kamaruzzaman’s wife Nurunnahar, en-tered the jail at 10:40am.

Talking to reporters after a 40-minute vis-it, Mohammad Shishir Manir, counsel for the death-row convict, said the family members went to see Kamaruzzaman as part of a reg-ular visit.

“We will appeal to the higher court, and hope to get justice,” the counsel added.

Earlier, the family had last met Kamaruz-zaman on January 29. On February 19, pris-on authorities read out the death warrant to Kamaruzzaman, soon after International Crimes Tribunal 2 issued it.

On February 18, the Supreme Court re-leased the full text of the verdict against the war criminal.

A review petition challenging his death pen-alty must be � led within 15 days from the day the death warrant was read out to the convict.

On November 3 last year, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld the tribunal verdict that had awarded death sentence to the Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.

Kamaruzzaman was shifted to Dhaka Central Jail from Gazipur’s Kashimpur Jail after the Appellate Division upheld his death penalty. l

Billal Sheikh, a day labourer, was injured in a separate petrol bomb attack while going home in the capital’s Demra area yesterday. His parents, anxious and exhausted, wait on him on the � oor beside the bed while he is treated at the DMCH burn unit MEHEDI HASAN

All trans-boundary rivers must be recognised, say expertsn Abu Bakar Siddique

Professionals working on rivers yesterday said all rivers that � ow through Bangladesh and India should be recognised for the sake of an extensive basin-wise management plan.

At present, there is a total of 54 rivers that are enlisted as trans-boundary rivers.

There are many other such rivers yet to be enlisted, said hydrology expert Ainun Nishat.

Citing the example of Mohadeo River in Netrakona district of Bangladesh, he said these unrecognised shared rivers should be documented immediately for enabling good planning.

He was addressing a book launching at the city’s Drik gallery yesterday.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Drik jointly launched the book titled “Rivers Beyond Borders: India-Bangladesh Trans-boundary River Atlas.”

“When we talk about cross-border rivers, people think only about the popular major rivers such as Padma, Brahmaputra and Teesta. But every small and medium-sized shared river has their own unique basin and the lives of people who live in the vicinities are directly dependent on them,” Ainun Nishat said.

Criticising the Indo-Bangla Joint River Commission (JRC), he said: “The JRC only works on some major rivers but never addresses the smaller ones. But these rivers are also important for the well-being of those living in these basins. These are particularly important because agriculture depends heavily on these rivers.” l

Tourism damaged by blockade n Munir Momtaj

The nonstop blockade and the accompanying violence have seriously damaged the tourism sector of Bangladesh in the last two months.

Many foreign travellers have cancelled their tours as they are afraid to visit Bangla-desh amid this political chaos, said speakers at a roundtable discussion arranged by the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) at the National Press Club yesterday.

Every year TOAB attends at least 5-6 lakh tourists, however, in the last two months they saw only 510 tourists.

President of TOAB Dr Akbar Uddin Ahmed said: “Tourism is a potential sector in Bang-ladesh. About 300 owners and thousands of people are directly or indirectly associated with this sector. Now they are in fear of losing their jobs.”

Above all, the image of the country is being tarnished and we are losing a great deal of re-mittance, said the speakers.

If nourished, the tourism sector can up-hold the image of the country to the world and bring glory for the country.

TOAB members urged the government to introduce on-arrival visa system which is present in our neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Nepal and Thailand.

Through the introduction of the system, any tourist can visit the country any time. It will attract more tourists, they said.

Shiblul Azam Koreshi, adviser to TOAB, said: “Lack of planing and publicity is a ma-jor problem in this sector. It is operating in an unplanned manner and we do not have any measure for promotion or publicity.”

“Years ago I constructed a three storey building in Saint Martins island for which both BNP and Awami League praised me, but, later on I came to know that it was done in an unplanned manner and was not suitable for the island,” he said.

It is the government’s responsibility to promote the tourism sector.

Speakers urged all private satellite chan-nels to air promotional videos and advertise-ments about the tourism sector of the coun-try.

They urged the political parties to resolve the political impasse as soon as possible. l

NEWS 5D

T

Justice eludes victims of militant attacksn Mohammad Jamil Khan

Islamist militants were found responsible for the killing of at least 15 people including pro-gressive teachers and bloggers committed in the last decade. But justice seems way too far.

None of the verdicts already given in three cases has been executed while the investigat-ing agencies are still working on 11 of the cases and a court is now holding indictment hearing in another case.

Nearly 48 hours into the murder of em-inent blogger and science writer Avijit Roy, who is a US citizen, and attack on his wife Ra� da Ahmed Bonna, the law enforcers are yet to arrest any suspect even though the cou-ple had long been threatened by some identi-� ed extremists.

A twitter account named “Ansar Bangla 7,” suspected to be run by militant out� t Ansarul-lah Bangla Team, also claimed responsibility for the killing within couple of hours.

Shibli Noman, assistant commissioner of police, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that they were investigating the incident as an act carried out by the militants.

The trial against � ve leaders of banned Isla-mist out� t Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) for the murder of noted writer Prof Dr Humayun Azad is under way. A Dhaka court has so far recorded testimonies of one-third of the prosecution witnesses.

Prof Azad was injured critically after uni-denti� ed assailants attacked him on Dhaka University campus on February 27, 2004. He succumbed to injures in Germany on August 12 the same year.

A Dhaka court has set March 9 for further hearing on the charge framing matter against Ansarullah Bangla Team chief Jasim Uddin

Rahmani and seven of his followers for the killing of architect and blogger Ahmed Ra-jeeb Haider. The Detective Branch of police pressed the charges on January 29 last year – nearly a year after the murder, on February 15, 2013.

The DB police are yet to submit probe re-port in the case of TV presenter and Islamist leader Sheikh Nurul Islam Faruqi, a present-er of religious programmes on TV, who was killed on August 27 last year.

Family members and detectives claimed that he had been killed for opposing extremist views and superstitions. A number of militant leaders have been arrested and taken on re-mand. Six television presenters, including a central Jamaat-e-Islami leader, were also sued

for giving death threat to Faruqi.Saiful Islam, additional deputy commis-

sioner of DB, said: “We suspect that members of fanatic religious groups conducted the kill-ing.”

So-called “Pir” Lutfar Rahman Faruk, his elder son and four others were slaughtered in the capital’s Wari on December 21, 2013. Four JMB members were shown arrested in the case, but none of them admitted their in-volvement.

Jahangir Hossain Matubbor, a DB deputy commissioner, claimed that they had identi-� ed some suspects and conducting drives to nab them.

Mystery behind the murder of Ashraful Alam, a student of Da� odil University, has still

remained unknown. He was killed in his rent-ed house in Ambagan area of Savar on Septem-ber 30 last year by “Ansar Al Islam Bangladesh” which claimed the responsibility.

Rasel Shaikh, assistant commissioner of Savar circle police, said they were investigat-ing the matter.

Arif Raihan Dwip, a third-year student of Buet and leader of Chhatra League, was stabbed in a dormitory of the university on April 9, 2013. He succumbed to his injuries on July 2 while undergoing treatment.

Lone arrestee Mezbah Uddin, 24, of the same university admitted to have stabbed Dwip because the latter had assaulted the Imam of MA Rashid Hall mosque for helping Hefazat-e-Islam’s long march supporters. Po-lice are yet to submit probe report in the case.

Killing of three RU teachersRajshahi University Prof Yunus Ali of eco-nomics department was killed on December 24, 2004. A court sentenced two JMB men to death on January 29, 2010 but the verdict is yet to be implemented.

On February 3, 2006, the body of Prof Sheikh Taher Ahmed of geology and mining depart-ment was recovered from a septic tank on the campus. Six people including a Jamaat-backed teacher were awarded death penalty on May 23, 2010. The Supreme Court on April 21, 2013 upheld the death sentence of two and com-muted the punishment of two others to life im-prisonment. The order is yet to be executed as the full verdict has not been released.

Prof AKM Sha� ul Islam of sociology was killed by some assailants on November 15 last year. Although police and RAB have arrested a number of accused and remanded, mystery behind the killing is yet to be unearthed. l

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

Blast at Gazipur test centre, none hurt n Our Correspondent, Gazipur

Unidenti� ed miscreants yesterday threw a crude bomb at a Secondary School Certi� cate exam centre in Gazipur when examinees were about to submit their answer scripts towards the end of the test.

Wrapped in red tape, the bomb was thrown at a window on the � rst � oor of the test cen-tre at Chandana High School and College around 11:45am, said Joydebpur police sta-tion Sub-Inspector Abdul Hamid.

The bomb did not smash through the win-dow and exploded outside the building after hitting the wall.

Although the blast caused panic among teachers, students and school sta� , nobody was injured in the explosion.

SI Hamid said additional police have since been deployed at the exam centre.

Meanwhile, a man had his left wrist blown o� in an explosion while making bombs in his house in Chandana.

Police described Abdul Alim, son of Jamir Uddin Munshi, as a Chhatra Shibir activist.

He was sent to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College Hospital after the blast.

The hospital’s resident doctor Abdus Salam Sarker said Alim was given � rst aid and was later sent to a Dhaka hospital for better treatment. l

Business to government: Keep energy prices low, explore optionsn Aminur Rahman Rasel

Quit hiking power prices, cut fuel oil prices and set-up coal-based power plants, partici-pants urged the government at a private sec-tor round table on energy policy.

At the seminar titled “Power System De-velopment: Reliable Supply to Customers’ Perspective” organised by the Dhaka Cham-ber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) in the city yesterday, DCCI former president Matiur Rahman called for reductions of fuel oil pric-es and decreases in electricity prices.

In order to facilitate private sector invest-ment in the power sector, incumbent DCCI President Hossain Khaled called for � nancing opportunities for investors at bank rates.

He said government should opt for e� -cient load-based power plants and said solar panels should be set up in rivers and lakes to support irrigation while freeing up land for cultivation.

Hossain said power generation from waste products could also be popularised.

Chief guest Taw� q-e-Elahi Chowdhury, the prime minister’s adviser on power, ener-gy and mineral resources, said government was coping by importing power but hoped to establish new power plants.

He said BCSIR researchers had been asked to explore solar cooking technology.

He suggested the private sector use coal-based back-up power plants at their factories and said government recently passed the National Energy Research Institute Act and called upon DCCI to work with the newly formed research body.

Prime Minister’s O� ce Principal Secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad, special guest at the seminar, called upon businessmen to move their operations to Export Processing Zones to get uninterrupted power supplies and oth-er bene� ts.

He called upon the business community to come forward to help set up economic zones in the private sector.

Former Power Development Board (PDB) chairman ASM Alamgir Kabir, PDB Chief En-gineer Md Mizanur Rahman and Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Chief Engineer Arun Kumar Saha presented keynote papers.

They said Bangladesh’s electricity demand would reach 18,445 megawatts by 2021.

They stressed the need to ease tari� s, establish coal-based power plants, perform regular maintenance on existing infrastructure and provide reliable power supply to customers. l

Government aims to reduce road accidents by 30% in 10 yearsn Shohel Mamun

The government wants to cut road accident fatalities by half and reduce accidents by 30% over the next 10 years.

Police said over the last � ve years, road acci-dents claimed 2,529 lives on average every year. The plan was to establish a system of ‘pre-hospital’ treatment besides primary trauma centres every 70km along major high-ways, o� er � rst aid and telephone facilities at � lling stations and include road safety educa-tion in school.

These plans, not yet in place, are expected to be implemented by end 2016. The National Road Safety Council (NRSC) has been looking to reduce accidents since 1997.

NRSC and Road Transport and Highway Di-vision secretary MAN Siddique told the Dhaka Tribune: “The plans are being implementing by di� erent ministries, which makes coordi-nation di� cult.”

The safety council said pedestrians, cycle and motorcycle riders and public transport passengers are most vulnerable. Of accident victims, 45% are pedestrians. Adult males ac-count for a third of deaths. About 65% acci-dents occur on highways and another 20% on city roads. l

Gonojagoron Moncho stages a protest against the killing of writer-blogger Avijit Roy in front of the National Museum in the capital’s Shahbagh area yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

NEWS6DTSUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

O� shore energy hunt pre-bid meet todayn Aminur Rahman Rasel

Companies interested in conducting a 2D seis-mic marine survey of Bangladesh’s o� shore areas are scheduled to meet with Petrobangla at its o� ces today for pre-bid exchange.

“We have already urged the interested companies to send their queries in writing ahead of the meeting to be held in the confer-ence room of Petrobangla,” Chairman Istiaque Ahmad of the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, commonly known as Petrobang-la, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

The state-owned oil and gas corporation,

on behalf of the government, earlier invited tenders from international geo-physics � rms to conduct the survey on a non-exclusive multi-client basis.

The objective of the survey is to provide the oil and gas industry with 2D seismic data of the o� shore areas of Bangladesh to aid ba-sin evaluation, prospect generation and ro-bust bid-round participation.

A Petrobangla o� cial said a total of 14 in-ternational companies had purchased tender documents ahead of the pre-bid meeting, including French-based geophysical services company CGG, Chinese company BGP, Nor-

way-based Dolphin Geophysical Company, Petroleum Geo-Services and TGS-NOPEC, UK-based Schlumberger and US-based Spectrum.

The coverage area in the Bay of Bengal is around 118,000 square kilometres with water depth ranging from 20 metres to greater than 2,500 metres.

The � rst survey of its kind in the country’s history, a survey of this kind was deemed necessary following the settlement of Bang-ladesh’s maritime boundaries with Myanmar and India.

After a three-year pause, the government plans to formulate a fresh production sharing

contract (PSC) model to award o� shore hy-drocarbon blocks in the Bay of Bengal.

The settlement of the maritime border awarded Bangladesh a territorial sea covering 118,000 square kilometres and an exclusive economic zone extending to 200 nautical miles.

After the tender documents are submitted, Petrobangla will select a company and sign a 10-year deal. Petrobangla will share in the pro� ts from selling the data.

The deadline to submit bids is March 29, 2015. The opening of bids before authorised representatives of the bidders will take place at Petrobangla the same day. l

Hanif: Khaleda, get ready for life in jailn Tribune Report

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia should prepare herself for jail because her politics is over, Awami League Joint Gener-al Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif said yesterday.

“You [Khaleda] should pre-pare to be in prison, where you have to stay for the rest of your life,” he said.

Speaking at a convention of the ruling party’s Meherpur district chapter at Shaheed Shamsuzzoha Park in the town, Hanif said the BNP chief is waging a war with people.

“Khaleda is ecstatic with people burning to death in pet-rol bomb attacks. She should be brought to book for this. She is also attempting to turn Bangladesh into a failed state by imposing blockade for 54 consecutive days for no rea-son,” Hanif said.

Hanif criticised Ja-

maat-e-Islami saying that no religion supports cutting peo-ple’s tendons or beheading them, reports our Meherpur correspondent.

Meanwhile, Prime Minis-ter’s Political Adviser HT Imam yesterday said if people do not eliminate BNP-Jamaat, the very existence of the country will be threatened.

As the BNP-Jamaat is run by Pakistan, they want to return to Pakistan, he said.

Imam was addressing a programme at the engineers’ institution in Chittagong yesterday afternoon, reports Tarek Mahmud from the port city.

“The government has no way to get back to the caretak-er government system as the constitution closed that door permanently,” he noted.

“This is a � nal battle and time for BNP is over. Either we or BNP will survive,” he said. l

15th Convocation at AIUBn Tribune Report

A total of 2,755 graduates of American International Uni-versity – Bangladesh (AIUB) received their degrees at the university’s 15th convocation, held yesterday at the Bangla-desh Military Museum Field on Bijoy Sarani in the capital.

Meritorious students were also presented with medals for academic excellence. The Chancellor’s Gold Medal was handed to three students. Eight others received the Dr Anwarul Abedin Leadership Award, and 14 were honoured with the Vice Chancellor’s Award.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid MP presided, and presented the degrees to the

graduating students, and Pan-kaj Saran, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, was the convocation speaker.

Chairman of the AIUB Trus-tee Board Ishtiaque Abedin and Vice Chancellor of AIUB Dr Carmen Z Lamagna also made speeches.

Nahid emphasised the im-portance of quality higher ed-ucation in his speech. “With-out this, Bangladesh won’t be able to face the competitive global market,” he said.

Pankaj Saran congratulated the new graduates for their achievement and said their degrees would act as a guiding leader by which they would be able to serve the nation as well as their families. l

NEWS 7D

T

BRTA o� cials’ anomaliesbring woe for clientsn Nazim Mridha, Rajshahi

The employees of the Rajshahi divisional of-� ce of Bangladesh Road Transport Authori-ty (BRTA) are allegedly involved in di� erent types of irregularities causing miseries for service holders.

While this correspondent talking to sever-al clients they alleged that they had to face barriers at every step to get services as most of the BRTA employees were corrupted.

They said a few number of o� cials har-assed as well as misbehaved with them if service holders refused to provide them addi-tional money.

A client seeking anonymity said: “When we do not provide them bribe, they say noth-ing, but our works are delayed.”

The o� cials who are mainly involved in the chores of rendering service regarding re-newing � tness certi� cate and issuing driving license are involved in corruption.

Saikat Mahmud, a truck driver, said he had been roaming around the BRTA o� ce for the last two weeks, but his works was yet to be done.”

“The o� cials concerned willingly delay the service to get bribery and if I give them some extra money, my job will be done quick-ly, Mahmud said.

Another driver of a motorbike who pre-ferred to be unnamed said: “I lost registration

card of my vehicle. I applied for duplicate cer-ti� ed copy of the registration 15 days ago, but yet to get it.

“Some people have already given hints to me that my work will be done within short time.”

Abdus Salam, a micro bus driver, said: “An o� cial unnecessarily wanted to check out my driving licence and said my

license is fake. Then, another o� cial came forward and asked me to give Tk100 to � x the matter.”

An o� cial wising anonymity told the Dha-ka Tribune that a few dishonest people used to harass service holders just for pocketing money as the matter was totally unknown to the higher authorities.

“Anomalies at the BRTA o� ce go unabated because the service holders avoid complain-ing to higher authorities in fear of delaying getting services.”

Md Sadekul Islam, assistant director (engi-neer) of Rajshahi BRTA o� ce, told the Dhaka Tribune that digital mechanism was available at BRTA o� ce for inspection of the authentic-ity of a digital license card with no fees and it will be done within a second adding no scope of manual scrutiny.

He, however, urged clients to submit com-plaint to him adding that he would oust them at once if any allegations of taking bribery was proved against any employee.

“We have directed o� cials to render ser-vices to the service holders within articulated time with no unexpected delay”, he said. l

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

WEATHER

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:00PM SUN RISES 6:22AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW34.6ºC 18.0ºC

Rajshahi Teknaf

SUNDAY, MARCH 1

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 32 21Chittagong 29 20Rajshahi 32 20Rangpur 31 18Khulna 33 19Barisal 32 19Sylhet 29 18Cox’s Bazar 29 19

DRY WEATHER

PRAYER TIMESFajr 5:05am

Sunrise 6:20amZohr 12:11am

Asr 4:23pmMagrib 6:01pm

Esha 7:17pm

Tourism sector damaged by blockade n Munir Momtaj

The non-stop blockade has seriously dam-aged the tourism sector of Bangladesh in the last two months.

Many foreign travellers have already can-celled their tours as they are afraid to visit Bangladesh, said speakers at a roundtable ar-ranged by the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) at the National Press Club yesterday.

Every year TOAB attends at least 5-6 lakh tourists, however, in the last two months they saw only 510 tourists.

President of TOAB Dr Akbar Uddin Ahmed said: “Tourism is a potential sector in Bangla-desh. About 300 owners and thousands of peo-ple are directly or indirectly associated with this sector. Now they are in fear of losing their jobs.”

TOAB members urged the government to introduce on-arrival visa system which is present in our neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Nepal and Thailand.

Through the introduction of the system, any tourist can visit the country any time. It will attract more tourists, they said.

Shiblul Azam Koreshi, adviser to TOAB, said: “Lack of planing and publicity is a ma-jor problem in this sector. It is operating in an unplanned manner and we do not have any measure for promotion or publicity.” l

No repair of Sylhet-Companyganj road in 8 yearsn Our Correspondent, Sylhet

The 37-kilometre long Sylhet-Company-ganj-Bholaganj road is in dire condition due to lack of maintenance and heavy usage.

The unpaved road dotted with large pot-holes has turned into a nightmare for thou-sands of passengers commuting every day. During the dry season, the road is covered in dust while the monsoon literally turns it into a mud bed.

The stretch from Khagail to Bholaganj lies in the worst situation. It causes vehicles to go slow taking hours to travel this small distance. Moreover, vehicles often fall into the ditch re-sulting in severe accidents.

The road which could take only 30-40 min-utes to Sylhet in a better condition, now takes 2-3 hours.

This dilapidated state has been prevailing for the last eight years and despite repeated assurances from local politicans, the road is yet to see any renovation.

Locals said the frequent plying of stone-laden trucks created large potholes in the road and made commuting in the area very di� cult and time consuming, with fre-quent occurrences of road accidents.

Syed Ali, a local businessman, said not only the passengers, but the establishments on two sides of the road were also facing suf-ferings. The road houses a number of schools, o� cers and bazaars.

The road, which was built by former speak-er Humayun Rashid Chowdhury was later developed into a regional highway by former � nance minister M Saifur Rahman. But since then there has been no renovation work.

During the army-backed government of 2007, the exclusion of Companyganj from Sylhet-1 constituency also made the road suf-

fer no renovation. When the Awami League came into power in 2008, the then MP Imran Ahmed assured to repair the road. However, there has been no visible e� orts in this regard.

Before the 10th parliamentary election in 2014, a small section was mended just for

gaining political edge. But since then the condi-tion of the road has con-tinuously deteriorated.

Locals alleged that the government earned a good revenue from the Bholganj stone quarry every month, but it was nonchalant about repair-ing the road.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader visited the area on May 17 last year and also assured his assis-tance. He said a Tk600 crore project would be taken to upgrade the road to a national highway.

Upazila Nirbahi O� cer of Companyganj Rokon Uddin said a revised pro-posal was recently sent to the planning minis-try. The proposal worth about Tk450 crore is ex-pected to be approved by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) soon.

Mir Nizam Uddin Ahmed, engineer of roads and highways de-partment in Sylhet, said

the repair work could begin as soon as the project is approved.

“The proposal is likely to be placed in the up coming ECNEC meeting. It is already in the green zone. We will call for a tender once the project is approved.” l

‘Some people have already given hints to me that my work will be done within short time’

The Sylhet-Bholaganj regional highway turns into a nightmare for a commuter whose CNG-run autorickshaw needed to be pushed to cross the muddy road. The road which has been lying in this sorry state for the last eight years is just worsening day by day DHAKA TRIBUNE

NEWS8DTSUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

Tanguar haor � shermen face hurdles n Our Correspondent, Sunamganj

Fishermen of Tanguar haor in Sunamganj are facing hurdles to earn their livelihoods as the authorities concerned has put a limit to � sh-ing in the haor’s core zones this year.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, many � sher men said illegal � shing in the haor will be in-creased due to the restriction.

Moreover, it will increase the rate employ-ment among the people who are dependent on the haor.

“We have fallen in a helpless situation and are facing di� culties to maintain our fami-lies,” said Ratikanta Barman, a � sherman at Indrapur village under Shreepur union.

Located in the foothills of Meghalaya, the Tanguar haor covers about 10,000 hectares of

water bodies in Sunamganj and parts of Ha-biganj, Netrokona and Kishoreganj districts and provides for livelihood of over 64,000 people in 85 villages around it.

Tanguar Haor, home to about 140 species of sweet water � shes, was declared an Ecolog-ically Critical Area (ECA) in 1999. Considering its potential and international importance, the haor was declared a Ramsar site in 2000.

Due to its status as an ECA and Ramsar site, the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) with technical assistance from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) initiat-ed a project titled ‘Community Based Sustaina-ble Management of Tanguar Haor’ in 2006.

The project is being implemented in Tahir-pur and Dharmapasha upazilas of Sunamganj district.

As a part of the management system, the � shermen catch � shes at hatirgata, Mahisher-gata, Baluar Doba, Roua, Rupabhui, Lechua-mara, Berberia, and Tekuinna beels by using various types of net from mid-January to mid-April under the supervision of the authorities concerned. The authorities select buyers of the � shes through an open bidding system to ensure fair prices.

Of total amount of money earned from selling the � shes, 40 per cent goes to the � sh-ermen, 24 per cent to government exchequer, and 36 percent to communities in the area.

“Althugh the government has put a restric-tion to catch � shes in the core zones, � shing in bu� er zones are rampant,” said Abu Hanif, a � sherman of Lamagaon.

Poor � shermen have mainly been a� ected

by the restriction as they can not catch � shes even in the bu� er zones, he said.

Joycharan Barman, a � sherman of Sanua village, said some 120 families of poor � sher-men community in Sanua, Hatpaton and Bat-ta are passing their days in hardship.

Mohammad Iqbal Hossain, upazila nirba-hi o� cer of Tahirpur, said they kept stopped � shing in core zones due to some problems in maintenance of the haor.

Moreover fair prices of the � shes could not be ensured for lack of transports due to recent hartals and blockade, he said.

Engineer Moazzem Hossain, a law maker of Sunamganj-1 constituency, said he was not aware of the decision of keeping shut � shing in haor.

“I will look into the matter,” he said. l

7 killed in road accidentsin three districts n Tribune Report

At least seven people were killed in road ac-cidents in Brahmanbaria, Jessore and Hbiganj districts yesterday.

Our Brahmanbaria correspondent said four people were killed and three others injured in an accident on the Comilla-Sylhet Highway in Bhadugarh area in Brahmanbaria district as a truck rammed into a CNG run auto-rickshaw.

The identities of the dead could not known.Brahmanbaria ASP Taposh Ranjan Ghosh

con� rmed the incident.Our Jessoere correspondent reports: A po-

lice o� cial was killed as a truck ran over him in Abhaynagar upazila.

The deceased was identi� ed as Mozammel Haque, assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of police.

Abhaynagar police station O� cer-in-Charge Nasiruddin said, the accident oc-curred on the Jessore-Khulna highway around 12:30pm, leaving him critically injured.

Later, he died on way to Upazila Health Complex. The body was sent to Jessore Medi-cal College Hospital, OC said.

Habiganj correspondent said two people were killed and 10 others injured as a bus rammed into a three wheeler on the Hab-iganj-Shayestaganj Road in the district.

The identities of the dead could not known.Habiganj Sadar police station SI Ibrahim

said a Dhaka-bound ‘Diganta Paribahan’ bus rammed into a CNG-run auto-rickshaw in Pai-kpara area around 12:30pm, leaving two pas-sengers of the three wheeler dead on the spot and 10 others injured. l

RMP authorities recommend suspension of RCC mayorn Our Correspondent, Rajshahi

The authority of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP) recommended to the Police Headquar-ters in Dhaka to suspend Mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) Mosaddaque Hossain Bulbul for smoothly investigating cases � led against the mayor.

RMP Commissioner Muhammad Sham-suddin told the Dhaka Tribune that he had sent a recommendation letter to police head-quarters on January 23. The matter, however, disclosed yesterday.

The RMP wants suspension of the mayor so that it could conduct the investigation of cas-es without being in� uenced, he said.

“The letter is at Ministry of Home and we

expect the decision of authorities concerned will come out soon,” he added.

The RMP sources said Bulbul, member of BNP’s central committee and also the vice-president of Rajshahi city unit BNP, is the accused in � ve cases under explosive sub-stance act.

The cases have been � led in the connection with subversive activities in the city during the ongoing nationwide blockade and hartals sponsored by BNP-led 20- party alliance, RMP sources said.

The mayor is also accused of police consta-ble Siddharta Sarker murder case. Shiddharta was killed in pre-election mayhem in Rajshahi city in 2014. On June 15, 2013, Bulbul won the mayoral race of Rajshahi City Corporation. l

Amu: BoycottBNP-led 20-party alliancen Our Correspondent, Jhalakati

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu yes-terday called upon the students of Udbodhon Secondary School in Jhalakathi to boycott those who are running unpolitical activities in the name of politics.

He also convened them to stand strong against the evil forces of BNP-led 20-party al-liance who have severely hampered the exam schedule of students by calling hartals repeat-edly.

All such acts are part of a conspiracy hatched from the international level in a bid to make the country void of talents, said the minister while inaugurating the school’s an-nual sports and cultural competition ceremo-ny yesterday.

Md Shamsul Ikram Piru, chairman of the school management committee, Barisal Educa-tion Board Chairman Md Ziaul Huq, Jhalakathi District Commissioner Md Shakhawat Hossain attended the ceremony among others.

More than 200 students of the 75 year old school participated in 11 events in six groups at the competition. l

Khulna district unit of the Sammilito Sangskritik Jote forms a human chain yesterday in the city protesting brutal killing of writer and blogger Avijit Roy. Unidenti� ed assailants hacked to death Avijit on Dhaka University campus on Thursday DHAKA TRIBUNE

NEWS 9D

TSUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

Husband slaughters wife’s alleged lovern Our Correspondent, Gazipur

A man was stabbed to death allegedlyover an extramarital a� air in Jorpukur area in the city.

Quoting family members, police said Masud Rana, 32, a resident of Bhauraid area had been living with his wife Yeasmin Akter Shirin at Jorpukur for the last few days.

Yeasmin had developed an extramarital relationship with one Saiful Islam Miltonand the couple often used to quarrel over the issue.

Masud picked up a quarrel with his wifeat night.

At one stage, Milton along with his asso-ciates swooped on the house of Masud and stabbed him indiscriminately, leaving him dead on the spot.

Later they threw the body from the roof of the building.

On information, police recovered the body and sent to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy.

Police arrested Shirin in connection with the incident. l

Tangail handloom business in deep troublen Our Correspondent, Tangail

The handloom business in Tangail, the most prominent base of the traditional craft in the country, is facing a loss of around Tk50 crore because of the current political state.

Sales have dropped alarmingly since the BNP-led 20-party alliance enforced hartal and blockade, which had directly a� ected the production of handloom saris, claimed many loom owners as well as weavers.

There are around 60,000 handlooms in Tangail handloom locality, according to a 2013 census. Sources said around 325,000 people – weavers and businessmen – are depend-ent on the handloom industry here for theirlivelihood.

Under normal circumstances, business is good all year round with a boost in sales during

major festivals such as Eid and puja. “We usu-ally sell around 1,000 pieces of sari per week,” said Raghunath Bashak, proprietor of hand-loom shop Jaggeshwar and Co and convener of Tangail Handloom Sari Traders’ Association.

“But due to the political unrest, we have been able to sell only 400 pieces in Febru-ary. Export of our saris to India has almost stopped, resulting in a decline in foreign cur-rency earnings as well,” he told the Dhaka Tribune on Sunday.

Sukumar Bashak, owner of Pathrail Sari House in Tangail’s Pathrail union, said: “The business is taking a bad hit due to this situation. Our wholesale clients from around the country cannot come to buy saris. A few clients have asked us to send the product to them via couri-er, but we do not want to take the risk given the petrol bomb ambushes on the highways.”

Production has naturally dropped since there has been no sales, which has put the weavers out of job and in a � nancial crisis.

Khokon Bashak, Raghunath’s son, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Unemployment has in-creased exponentially as many looms have shut down for now. This has never happened here before.”

Nimai Chandra Das, loom owner based in Pathrail, said : “I have not been able to sell my saris at the shops because they have not been able to sell their stock. I am facing a lot of trouble since business in such a bad shape.”

Another loom owner, Md Azahar Miah, from Bishnapur village, said he had to shut down half of his looms. “I had to take a loan in order to keep eight of my 16 looms running. If the situation does not change, I will have to shut down all of them.” l

Bangla month Falgun begins with sunburn heat in northern region. Day labourers have to work under the heat with great di� culties. The picture taken yesterday from a chatal, rice processing � eld, at Puthia in Rajshahi shows a female worker carrying rice from the � eld AZAHAR UDDIN

Woman held at border with � ve gold barsn Our Correspondent, Jessore

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) caught a woman along with � ve gold bars on the eve of smuggling those to India via Ghiba border in Sharsha upazila here yesterday.

The detainee is Rokeya, 40, wife of Mizan, a resident from Benapole area. When asked, BGB 26 Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Jahangir Hossain acknowledged the incident, saying they on a tip-o� searched Rokeya around 12pm and recovered the gold bars weighing 715gm from her possession.

During questioning, Rokey confessed she was playing role as transporter to smuggle those to India, the commander went on add-ing that she would be handed over to Benapole Port police station later.

Earlier, members of Border Guard Bang-ladesh detained a person with 12 gold bars worth around Tk1.20 crore in Benapole bus stand area on 16 September,2014. l

Cox’s Bazar in dire straits due to drinking water crisisn Our Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar

The crisis of drinking water is becoming in-tense day by day in the Cox’s Bazar district.

The underground water level is getting low-er gradually due to unplanned urbanisation, deforestation, � lling up of water bodies and continuous hill cutting. This has also led to increased salinisation of deep tube well water.

The Cox’s Bazar municipality and its adja-cent areas of Khurushkul, Chowfoldondi, Link Road and Kalatali are the worst a� ected areas.

Experts say if this situation continues the drinking water crisis in the whole district will take a severe turn in � ve years.

According to municipality sources, the Cox’s Bazar municipality, with an area of 32.90 square kilometre, was established on April 1 of 1869. More than 300,000 residents in the 12 wards of the municipality require about 20 lakh gallons of water each day.

However, only a meagre 324,000 gallons of water is supplied by 10 deep tube wells against the demand.

Residents of Anderson Road of the munic-ipality Jafar Alam, Masud and Khairul Alam said they were not getting drinking water for the last three years. Their tube well became unusable because of salinity.

When contacted, Mayor Sarwar Kamal said they had taken a project to supply drinking water from the Bakkhali River in the river dam area. “The project will be implemented soon and once completed, will curb the crisis,” he added.

However, experts opined that supplying such a huge amount of drinking water from Bakkhali River was not feasible.

President of Bangladesh Paribesh Ando-lon (BAPA) Cox’s Bazar branch Fazlul Qader Chowdhury said: “The Bakkhali project will not resolve the crisis since the river is not ca-

pable of supplying 20 lakh litre of water a day.” He suggested utilising the sea water

through desalinisation process. Professor Dr Ashraf Ali, who has been con-

ducting research on water crisis in Cox’s Ba-zar for the last three years, said water in Cox’s Bazar not only had high salinity but also had mixture of various radioactive elements such as uranium, thorium, monazite and zircon.

“So it is advised not to use the underground water. Instead, the desalinisation of sea water will not only ensure cheap pure drinking wa-ter but will also produce salt which could be sold for a pro� t,” he added.

Meanwhile, Cox’s Bazar Suraksha Parishad submitted a memorandum to the Prime Min-ister on February 25 to resolve the water crisis as soon as possible.

The newly appointed Deputy Commissioner of Cox’s Bazar Md Ali Hossain said an initiative would be taken after consulting everyone. l

Brother kills brother in Sherpur land disputen Our Correspondent, Sherpur

A man was killed by his younger brother at Sapmari village under Sadar upazila yester-day over land dispute.

Police sources said there had been long-standing dispute between Shahidul Is-lam and his brother Malek Suzan over owner-ship of a piece of land.

On the day, Shahidul got locked in an alter-cation with Suzan over the issue. At one stage, Shahidul hit at the head of Suzan with a brick, leaving him critically injured.

Suzan died while he was being taken to Sherpur Sadar Hospital.

Sherpur Model police station O� cer-in-Charge Mahfuzur Rahman con� rmed the in-cident. l

WORLD 11D

TSUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

Australia may join New Zealand’s Iraq training missionn AFP, Auckland

Australia is considering joining New Zealand in a training mission in Iraq to help counter the Islamic State (IS) militant group, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said yesterday.

New Zealand announced Tuesday it will send troops to Iraq on a “behind-the-wire” non-combat mission to boost the local mili-tary’s ability to � ght the jihadists.

Abbott said while Australia had been heavily involved in the campaign against the Islamic State group for some months, New Zealand’s new commitment would inform its future assistance. l

IS � ghters attack Samarra ahead of army o� ensiven Reuters, Baghdad

Islamic State suicide bombers and � ghters struck targets yesterday in the northern Iraqi city of Samarra, where security forces and their Shi’ite militia allies have been gathering for an o� ensive against the radical militants.

Security sources and residents said the attack on Samarra was launched at 5.30 am (9.30 p.m. ET Friday) when two Islamic State suicide bombers blew up their cars in the northern area of Sur Shnas.

At the same time a man drove a Humvee rigged with explosives into the south of the city and detonated it, while Islamic State � ghters attacked security forces to the west with sniper � re, mortars and rocket propelled grenades.

Thousands of troops and � ghters from Shi’ite militias known as Hashid Shaabi (Pop-ular Mobilisation) have gathered around Sa-marra for a campaign to drive Islamic State out of nearby strongholds on the Tigris River, including the city of Tikrit 50 km (30 miles) to the north.

Medical sources said Samarra hospi-tal had received the bodies of three Hashid Shaabi � ghters, and was treating six wounded people. l

North Korean leader tells army: Prepare for warn AFP, Seoul

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has urged his army to prepare for war with the United States and its allies, state media said yes-terday, as Pyongyang ramps up the rhetoric ahead of US-South Korea military drills.

Kim’s comments came after South Ko-rea and the United States Friday conducted a joint naval drill involving 10 South Korean warships and a US Aegis destroyer, ahead of the launch of large-scale military exercises that have enraged the North.

“The prevailing situation where a great war for national reuni� cation is at hand requires all the KPA (Korean People’s Army) units to be-come (elite) Guard Units fully prepared for war politically and ideologically, in military tech-nique and materially,” he was quoted by the o� cial Korean Central News Agency as saying.

North Korea regularly ratchets up hostile rhetoric at times of joint US-South Korea mil-itary exercises that spark a sharp surge in ten-sions on the divided peninsula.

Kim called on the military to train hard in order “to tear to pieces the Stars and Stripes,” in comments made while opening a new hall at the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum in Pyongyang, KCNA said.

The drill Friday was a prelude to an eight-week exercise, Foal Eagle, involving air, ground and naval � eld training, with around 200,000 Korean and 3,700 US troops that be-gins on Monday.

A week-long, largely computer-simulated joint drill, Key Resolve, will also get under way.

Seoul and Washington insist the exercis-es are defence-based in nature, but they are condemned by Pyongyang as provocative re-hearsals for invasion. l

Photographer arrested for Myanmar military Facebook satiren AFP, Yangon

A freelance photojournalist has been arrest-ed in Myanmar for uploading a satirical post on Facebook mocking the country’s powerful military, relatives said yesterday.

Aung Nay Myo, 37, was taken from his house in Monywa town, central Sagaing re-gion on Friday morning.

“First they came to search for drugs at his photo studio. When they couldn’t � nd any drugs, they took... his belongings including his diary, laptop, memory sticks and CCTV equipment,” a family member, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

After decades of brutal junta rule, Myan-mar’s military handed power to a quasi-civil-ian government in 2011, which has ushered in a new era of political openness in the emerg-ing Southeast Asian nation.

But the international community has also expressed rising alarm that the country is backsliding in key areas of its democratic transition, particularly press freedom and hu-man rights. l

First UK PEGIDA rally stagedn AFP, Newcastle

The German-based PEGIDA movement, which opposes what it calls the “Islamisa-tion” of Europe, was staging its � rst demon-stration on British soil yesterday.

On Facebook, more than 800 people indi-cated they would attend the rally in Newcas-tle, northeast England.

“It’s about integration. We are not anti-Is-lam. We are not here to split up any commu-nities,” PEGIDA’s spokeswoman in Britain Marion Rogers said, according to the BBC.

“We’ve invited Muslims to join us against extremism, extremism of any kind. I don’t think it’s wrong to stand up to terrorism. Is that hate?”

The Patriotic Europeans Against the Isla-misation of the West movement drew up to 25,000 people in German street rallies last month. PEGIDA-inspired protests have also taken place in Austria and Sweden, though

the small crowds were dwarfed by coun-ter-demonstrations.

A counter-rally is planned for the Newcas-tle march, with prominent left-wing � rebrand lawmaker George Galloway pledging to attend.

“It is absolutely extraordinary that a Ger-man organisation sets up in the UK – it’s not as if there is a lack of right-wing nutter organ-isations here,” he said.

“They have got to be opposed, wherever they are.”

The English Defence League, a home-grown British group that protested against the perceived threat from Islamic extremism, held a number of protests throughout 2013, which often ended in clashes with anti-fascist demonstrators.

But the group has lost momentum since its leader Tommy Robinson quit in October that year, saying he could no longer keep “extrem-ist elements” in the group at bay. l

Brotherhood chief handed fourth life sentencen AFP, Cairo

An Egyptian court yesterday sentenced to life imprisonment the head of the banned Mus-lim Brotherhood over the killing of protesters who stormed the group’s Cairo headquarters in 2013.

Three co-defendants of Mohamed Badie – the Islamist movement’s spiritual leader who already faces three other life terms from other cases – were sentenced to death in the same trial.

Fourteen others, including Badie’s dep-uties Khairat al-Shater and Saad al-Katatni, were handed life terms.

All were convicted on charges of “murder” and “incitement to murder” as well as pos-sessing arms, but can appeal the verdicts.

Badie and the other defendants present in court for the verdict denounced the sentence and shouted: “Down with military rule.”

On June 30, 2013, protesters stormed and torched the Cairo headquarters of the Muslim

Brotherhood as millions took to the streets of Egypt demanding the resignation of pres-ident Mohamed Morsi.

Morsi, who belongs to the Brotherhood, was ousted just days later by then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi after one year in o� ce.

Prosecutors said 12 protesters were killed when they clashed with Morsi supporters during the storming of the Brotherhood o� c-es, while more than 90 were wounded.

Badie has already been sentenced by three separate courts to three life terms, and he was also handed two death sentences that were later overturned on appeal. Since Mor-si’s overthrow in July 2013, the authorities have launched a brutal crackdown against his supporters leaving hundreds dead and thou-sands jailed after often speedy mass trials.

Morsi himself is facing several trials on charges that are punishable by death, while his Islamist movement has been designated a “terrorist group.” l

Egypt court declares Hamas terrorist groupn AFP, Cairo

An Egyptian court yesterday declared Hamas a “terrorist” organisation, a judicial source said, weeks after the Palestinian Islamist movement’s armed wing was given the same designation.

Since Egypt’s military ousted Islamist pres-ident Mohamed Morsi in 2013, the authorities have accused Hamas of aiding jihadists who have waged a string of deadly attacks on se-curity forces in the Sinai Peninsula.

An Egyptian court on January 31 banned the armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedi-ne al-Qassam Brigades, declaring it a “terrorist” group.

In March last year, Egypt banned Hamas from carrying out any activities on its soil and froze the assets of the Islamist movement, which controls the Gaza Strip.

The court of � rst instance issued its ver-dict yesterday after two complaints were � led against Hamas implicating it in deadly attacks against the police force and army in the Sinai, said the judicial source.

Jihadists on the peninsula have killed scores of policemen and soldiers since Morsi’s overthrow, vowing revenge for a crackdown on his supporters that has left more than 1,400 people dead.

yesterday’s ruling comes just days after Egypt adopted a new anti-terrorism law allow-ing the authorities to close the premises of any declared “terrorist” organisation, and to freeze its assets as well as those of its members. l

Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie stands behind bars during his trial at the non-commissioned police o� cers institute in the capital Cairo yesterday AFP

EDITORIAL12DT

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

We welcome news that the Election Commission is ready to organise polls for the two Dhaka City Corporations and plans to hold elections for the Chittagong City Corporation on the same day.

The lack of accountability to citizens caused by the failure to hold local gov-ernment elections in Dhaka since 2002 is a major factor exacerbating the corruption and mismanagement that undermines quality of life in the capital.

Mayoral elections are essential to help ensure much needed improve-ments to basic city services and to plan a better vision for future growth.

New leadership can beget the new ideas and approaches which are needed to overcome the blight and deterrent to investment caused by congestion and poor urban planning.

It is vital that candidates provide clear, sustainable solutions to overcome the multiple challenges faced by our two major metropolises.

They need to be able to deliver projects to build new housing and improved transport infrastructure. If planned properly, such initiatives can help improve the lives of all citizens in the country. Helping major centres � ourish better by improving transport links can also allow more businesses to relocate and help spread develop-ment opportunities across the country.

We hope that the door opened by city elections will help create the space need-ed to enable the dialogue which is desperately needed to end the damage caused by the national political deadlock.

A fresh start is exactly what is needed to revitalise the management and leader-ship of our two leading cities, and help build a more prosperous nation.

Mayoral elections are essential to overcome the challenges faced by our two major cities

A fresh start for us all

This week’s visit to Dhaka by Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales was an encour-aging milestone for ICT professionals in the country.

It came amid news that a San Francisco-based start-up plans to employ up to 7,000 Bangladeshis by 2018 in using Google Glass technology to process the tran-scribing of US medical records.

When taken with the announce-ment in November that Fenox, a Silicon Valley venture capital � rm, is raising a $200m fund to invest in Bangladeshi IT businesses, these are indications that the world is taking notice of the huge potential Bangladesh has to use technology as a catalyst for economic growth.

As Wikipedia itself demonstrates, the spread of technological advance does not only improve productivity and open up new opportunities for businesses, but can be applied to bring many social bene� ts in education and devel-opment.

The leveling impact of the Internet shows its power most in the changes it brings to the lives of ordinary people. From farmers receiving up to date information about market prices to the rapid take up of mobile � nancial services, bene� ts are being seen across the entire nation.

It is vital the government makes strategic use of its digital initiatives to focus on facilitating rather than prescribing ICT development. Developing better training to grow the country’s IT skills base, improving infrastructure and making electronic pay-ments easier are the areas where the government can accomplish most to give a lift to encouraging investment in the IT sector.

This is the best way to encourage entrepreneurs to develop new services and cre-ate new jobs.

Reach out by growing digital footprint

Develop IT skills base and infrastructure to encourage entrepreneurs

Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207Email letters.dt@dhakatribune.com

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

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Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207Email letters.dt@dhakatribune.com

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

www.dhakatribune.comJoin our Facebook community:

https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

Ananta Jalil to star in two action � icksFebruary 10

Ryan263Ananta for PM! Then we can have more “guud government.” PS: No pun intended at Lord Ananta’s English.

PeopleHe is the actor, he is the producer,

he is the director. Education without morality is dangerous, just as money without morality is also dangerous. Ananta Jalil talks a lot of nonsense, but bears no fruitful work.

Leaders should not fear compromiseFebruary 11MahmudRezAgree. But who within the parties is brave enough to tell our leaders they are wrong?

SohelPeople from all social groups vote overwhelmingly for AL or BNP, this is all their/our fault as well. We get the leaders we deserve.

He never looked the other wayFebruary 11Evil People PoliticsKabir Chowdhury was a pioneer and a true littérateur.

DreampieHe was Clint before Clint was Clint.

Tk21 crore approved for police snack allowance

February 11Nazmul Khair

What about the bribe they take?

Atif AdelWow! That’s some snack!

Nafees awarded Academy Sci-Tech award

February 11Sage Shujan

Respect to you Hajji Nafees.

Abdullah M. Ra� #Proud :)

Wahid Ibn Reza#Respect

Dhaka urges US to send back Bangabandhu killers

February 10Arch Bishop

Without an extradition treaty, that simply doesn’t happen. A foreign minister -- even

a junior one should know that. Pity, from having the likes of Kamal Hossain as FM … the Awami League has descended to such

utterly unlearned men in that o� ce.

Ruling alliance leaders reject citizens’ calls for dialogue

February 11Babul Sarwar

Don’t go for dialog, but � x the problem that is your job. If you cannot, then what happens? Are 38 days of your failure not

enough?

DT

10 children die in 24 hrs at Osmani hospitalFebruary 10

Dr Ahsan HabibIf three to four children die every day in one hospital, then the data of Bangladesh’s remarkable progress in various health indi-cators, particularly in infant mortality rate, sounds � shy to me.

MSirajullahThe Deputy Director must be � red imme-diately for uttering such nonsense. This statement was a crime more than the deaths of the children. Under no circumstances can this be acceptable. The ideal step will be to

close this hospital immediately and then form the committee to investigate and recommend how and when the hospital could be opened. This is a teaching institution, but is training the future killers! I am a physician and I used to teach in Dhaka Medical College a long time ago. I urge the health minister to please look into this matter seriously.

GutliTry telling the parents of the children who died “nothing to be panicked over the matter.” Or those who are about to give birth.

OPINION 13D

TSUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

n Garga Chatterjee

Non-resident Bangladeshis and Indians are a great source of pride and money for those back home and are often role

models around whom whole communities start dreaming. Sureshbhai Patel, a 57-year-old grandfather from rural Gujarat, had gone to visit his prematurely born grandson in the state of Alabama.

He was brutally assaulted by the local police as he was taking a stroll in the neighbourhood where his son lives. The man received severe spinal injuries and is now partially paralysed. While such gross injustice should attract condemnation as it has from various sectors of US civil society and elected representatives, the there is something about the reaction of powerful brown people resident in the subcontinent that requires introspection.

After the Sureshbhai Patel assault news broke, Delhi’s Ministry of External A� airs (MEA) sprang into action, putting on its “em-pathy” for brown man Sureshbhai and “out-rage” hats at the same time at the excessive use of force by the police. The MEA spokes-person Syed Akbaruddin said it’s important that the Indian community feels safe and secure in USA.

The Indian consulate in Washington DC has planned to contact the US State Depart-ment. A US embassy o� cial in Delhi was also summoned by the MEA and was told how India feels about this event. People surely de-serve a government that cares for them, even when they are abroad. Crimes by US police on an Indian citizen are unacceptable. But what about daily crimes by Indian police on Indian citizens? But before that let’s go back to USA.

In February 2011, Krittika Biswas, the daughter of an Indian Embassy o� cial in New York, was made to spend a night in jail on charges that were subsequently proved to be false. Krittika was outraged in the ways she had been dealt with by the New York police, including tight handcu� ng while interrogation by police and taking her out of school in handcu� s in full view of her fellow students.

At the jail, she was disallowed from using the restroom during detention, was kept with people who had allegedly committed serious crimes, was kept in a jail with unhygienic conditions. She was there for 28 hours. She publicly broke down while recounting her ordeal in front of the press. She gathered sup-port from people who stood with her resolve to ensure that the price of every tear of her’s needed to be paid.

Krittika’s family subsequently decided to pursue legal action to ask for � nancial compensation from New York because of its actions. Damages claimed were of the

order of $1.5m. At that point, the Indian MEA o� cially stated in a media brie� ng on June 10, 2011: “However, once Ms Biswas’s family sought ministry’s permission to initiate legal proceedings against the concerned author-ities in New York, it was granted promptly. Ministry’s thoughts and support remain with the family at this di� cult juncture and we will continue to provide them whatever assistance we can.”

This means that the MEA of India also considered it’s just that such treatment of a person by the police does call for compensa-tion of the grade. That’s good to know. The case was settled in September last year, with New York agreeing to pay her $225,000. Now let’s come back to India.

If the alert, honourable, and super-pa-triotic citizens of India were to direct their sensitivity a little inwards, they would actually bankrupt the country. Here’s how. If the above amount is a fair amount, what would be the probable amount of compen-sation owed to the parents of the Manipuri young woman Thangjam Manorama, widely believed to be have been abducted, tortured, raped, and murdered by members of the security forces, namely the Assam Ri� es.

Who will be held accountable for not releasing the government inquiry com-mission report, after serious discrepancies between Assam Ri� es version of events and some objective data that was incompatible with Assam Ri� es version? What would be a fair amount of � nancial compensation for the mass gang-rapes of Kashmiri women in Kunan Poshpora, allegedly by soldiers of the Indian Army? Add to this the innumerable illegal detentions, random beatings, rapes, and so much more against women by police

and security forces in India.The total amount of compensation

(calculated using standards that the Indian government endorses in the Krittika case) for these crimes would make the Indian State go bankrupt. By its attitude on Manorama and Kunan Poshpora, vis-à-vis its agile response to Sureshbhai Patel and Krittika case, the In-dian state has already proven itself bankrupt in other ways.

If all this makes Bangladeshis feel smug about their state of a� airs vis-à-vis the Indian Union, I have only two words to o� er for starters. Kalpana Chakma and she is just one of the many Jumma men and women who will never be seen again. Google that name and read about her. Those reparations might cost a few Padma bridges. Our collective crimes can’t be atoned in many lifetimes. We have no shame. Not you, my brothers and sis-ters, on the other side of the eastern Radcli� e border. Nor me, sitting here in Kolkata.

Should brown people escape their home-lands to foreign countries to be considered as human beings by their “own” state powers? Maybe they should wait it out for the unlike-liest scenario that these reparations owed to millions of our own victims for brutality by security forces are paid.

That will actually bring in a lot more money in the bank account of most people in the subcontinent than the mythical 15 lakhs Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to everyone living in the Indian Union after black money from foreign accounts would be brought back? Do we realise the gravity of these daily sins? l

Garga Chatterjee is a freelance contributor. He can be followed on twitter @gargac.

Unfriendly homelands

n Anjali Khan

Stop writing. Don’t let clichés about the joys of reading and writing, book fairs, and sound bites about people’s love for

books fool you. When the machetes come, no one will save you.

If you wrote well, statuses will pay tribute to you on Facebook. The news item about your death will go viral. People might even say they will continue the � ght for you.

But the real writing, the only writing that will remain after the shock wears o� , is on the wall for everyone to see and obey: Stop writing.

Writing upsets people. It may not upset everyone all the time, but if it upsets the wrong people just once, it could be fatal. Why take on the risk? Just stop writing.

What’s the point of writing editorials, peti-tions, blogs, op-eds, and shopping lists? What do they accomplish? Given the many lives already destroyed for writing, you probably censor yourself anyway. Yet, you can still get into trouble in ways you didn’t anticipate. If you’re not upsetting anyone, you might be accused of playing it safe and simply stating the obvious, so again, why bother?

If you have children, tell them to stop

writing too. There’s no point in teaching them a skill that could get them killed. Don’t ever mention freedom of speech to them. If you do mention it, be sure to tell them that freedom of speech is a myth.

Tell them they might hear people go on and on about freedom of speech, but it doesn’t take much for those very same peo-ple to sacri� ce it at the altar of self-interest.

It’s best to vaccinate children against desires and expectations of freedom while they’re young, so that they don’t grow up with ideals that will lead to crushing disap-pointment and disillusionment later when they struggle to choose between principles and self-preservation.

Now if everyone stops writing, don’t be surprised if those who once attacked you, eventually try to coax or provoke you into writing again.

Having an enemy cements bonds. It can turn a hapless group of bored youth into an organisation with a mission, with an implac-able sense of purpose that will ensure the survival of the group.

They are because you are. Ubuntu. I know you may � nd it hard to stop

writing. When the urge to express yourself becomes too strong, scribble your thoughts

on a piece of paper. And then burn it. Even then, I can’t guarantee you won’t have an audience.

If I were to continue writing, I would also write about the risks of thinking and speak-ing. But I should take my own advice and stop writing to set an example.

Let’s end the charade, stop beating about the bush, and kill freedom of speech in one swoop rather than watching it abruptly claim so many lives while dying a slow, painful, and certain death. l

Anjali Khan is an entrepreneur.

Stop writing

Should brown people escape their homelands to foreign countries to be considered as human beings by their ‘own’ state?

BIGSTOCK

OPINION14DT

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

n Tanvir Haider Chowdhury

Prothom Alo tells me the death toll has now passed a hundred.

Fifty-six of these people were victims of petrol bombs, which is to

say they were burned alive. 40 men, nine women, seven children. Murdered in the course of going about their everyday lives. Travelling to or from work, or school, or the marketplace. Just ordinary people in their humdrum existence.

There was that family of three returning from a vacation in Cox's Bazaar -- their bus was � rebombed and the father and the young daughter died on the spot; the mother, griev-ously injured, was hanging on for dear life the last I heard.

None of them were uprooting train tracks or setting � re to buses. We shall never know what their position was on constitutional continuity, interim elections, a possible care-taker government, or the independence of the election commission. Or indeed, if they had one to begin with.

The other 45 were killed in “cross� res” or “gun battles.” As if there was a war being fought on our streets. As if murder, arson, and destruction of public property are dem-ocratic rights of the citizenry, and shooting down its citizens are the state’s prerogative.

There are those among us who will say the state shares the blame for the mayhem in progress. They will claim those in power did the same when they were the opposition. These statements are gross exaggerations and they mask -- all too weakly -- dogmatic assertions of party allegiance; they will never take us any closer to a solution to the impasse.

Anyone looking at the situation with a semblance of objectivity will know the state did have a hand in the events that led us here. Amending the constitution to scrap the caretaker system was always going to lead us to grief. Reneging on promises made for talks on an interim election after January 5, 2014 was always a recipe for disaster. Persecuting and prosecuting opposition activists until they had no political space left was only going to result in them adopting ever more desperate measures.

But no one should ever place the blame for the murder and arson happening on our streets every day on the shoulders of anyone but the perpetrators themselves. They are hurling the bombs and their puppet masters are taking the call on where and when and whom to kill.

Saying anything else disrespects the lives lost and aids and abets the murderers. And

the sheer numbers tell us that the magnitude and scale of political violence being orches-trated currently is unprecedented in the short history of our democracy from the 90s onwards, so the “they did it too” argument doesn’t really take, either.

And in any case, would this mayhem be justi� ed if there was precedence for it? Should we proceed with gouging out an eye for eye until we lived in a country of the blind? I know many will be thinking we already do.

We have a singular habit in this country of taking a perfectly respectable word and making it dirty, speci� cally in the political context. A few years ago it was “aaposh” or “compromise,” that noble art that some would argue civilisations are founded on, which was twisted and stretched and turned until it emerged as a synonym for “sellout” or the pawning of one's integrity for material gain. These days, the word that has fallen out of favour is “shushil,” literally “civil.”

One would think this is a perfectly innocu-ous word, even quite useful at times. But no, here being a member of the “shushil shomaj” or “civil society” means that you belong to that hated class that, having achieved some sort of pre-eminence through their accom-plishments or erudition, presumes to suggest

solutions to crises, again of the political nature. We call into question their ethics, we ask whose interests they represent. How dare they attempt to disrupt this orgy of death and destruction?

The crime of this nebulous civil society this time is that they have had the audac-ity to suggest the initiation of a dialogue between the government and the opposition to arrive at a way forward. There can be no discussions with terrorists, outraged voices say, veering ever closer to the “if you're not for us, you’re against us” rhetoric of Gulf War two-era George W Bush. What does not emerge from all this sound and fury is what exactly is the alternative. If we refuse to talk, how then do we resolve?

The unspoken subtext seems to be, we do not want a resolution. Not really. What we really want to see is the complete annihila-tion of any opposition voices, for them to be silenced forever.

The argument that is trotted out most of-ten to support this school of thought involves the trial of war criminals that the incumbent government has undertaken. If they ever leave power, we are told, the entire process will be overturned; war criminals will once again be travelling around in expensive cars � ying the state � ag. What’s more, everyone who believes in the spirit of the liberation war will become a target; there will be a bloodbath in which the defeated forces of 1971 will be the victors.

Now I want the war criminals to be tried and sentenced to the full extent of the law as much as the next person; I want this probably even more intensely than most. The atrocities that took place during 1971, and the fact that the perpetrators have been allowed to get away with it for so long, is our original sin, and there can only be expiation once justice is served.

But surely the path to ensure justice, and then to achieve sustained peace afterwards,

is through some sort of a consensus? And how will we ever arrive there unless we talk to each other? Maybe even with some of those dreaded civil society members present?

Certain conditions, of course, would have to be met before the talks could happen. Anyone harbouring terrorists or militants of any kind, for instance, should not be allowed to be a party to them.

The senseless violence still taking place in the country, the work stoppages and block-ades, would have to be brought to a stop and all parties would need to approach the discussions in good faith.

Let’s be realistic about this. What other options do we really have? Do we really still want to be those squabbling schoolchildren who let their � ght spiral out of control until the class teacher and the headmaster step in? Do we want this to be another episode when Mr Obama and Mr Modi -- along with whoever else feels like getting their two cents in -- lock the door behind them, � ip a coin, and decide our fate for us?

As long as our means of protest takes the shape of the destruction of public property and the waste of human lives, and until we see the day when our leaders stop thinking that the only means of dealing with dissent is to be a boot to an ant, we shall continue to be a third-rate banana republic. That’s as terrible a thing to say as it is awful to hear. But it is true.

The enduring mystic and songwriter, Fakir Lalon Shah, wrote this about the scripture he had studied, his own soul and the antics of his countrymen way back in the 19th century: “Eshob dekhi kaanaar haatbajaar,” which translates loosely as “this looks like the mar-ketplace of the blind.”

We are nothing if not consistent. l

Tanvir Haider Chaudhury has spent most of his career as a banker and is now running a food and beverage company.

The marketplace of the blind

The unspoken subtext seems to be, we do not want a resolution. Not really. What we really want to see is the complete annihilation of any opposition voices, for them to be silenced forever

NASHIRUL ISLAM

15D

TBusiness SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

Indian economy forecast to top 8% growth in coming � scal PAGE 16

German in� ation back in positive territory PAGE 17

Political tension continues to weigh on stocks PAGE 10

WB suspends mission due to political unrest n Asif Showkat Kallol

World Bank has postponed Dhaka visit of its macro forecasting support mis-sion as the country gets struck in the political stando� .

The visit of Analytical and Adviso-ry Activities (AAA) mission was aimed at advising the government on revi-sion of current � scal year budget and also preparation of next � scal budget.

The mission was scheduled to ar-rive today and stay till March 5.

World Bank’s Dhaka o� ce has al-ready conveyed the development to the Economic Relations Division.

Quoting World Bank sources, an ERD o� cial said once stability was re-stored in Bangladesh politics, the WB mission would visit Bangladesh soon.

But State Minister for Finance MA Mannan denied the political unrest as reason behind the suspension of the visit though he refrained from citing “the real cause” behind.

“Political unrest is not the cause. There is a di� erent reason for suspen-sion of the WB team’s visit.”

The main objective of the mission was to assist the government in de-veloping a macro forecasting model to provide inputs in the preparation of medium-term macroeconomic frame-work underpinning the annual budget.

Sources in the Finance Division said the size of the revised budget for the current � scal year might � nally stand at Tk2,40,000 crore, down by nearly Tk10,000 crore from the original one.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith in-itially estimated the next � scal year budget outlay at Tk2,92,000 crore, over 16% bigger than the current out-lay. The size of the budget has been increasing every year.

In � scal 2005-06, the size of the budget was Tk61,000 crore which rose to Tk2,51,000 crore.

The WB mission was also to advise on ensuring more e� cient use of gov-ernment exchequers.

The proposed WB team would comprise the Bank’s lead economist Zahid Hussain, economists Faya Hayati, Cristina Savesco, training ex-pert Afroza Alam and Kamrun Nahar Chowdhury. The team was supposed to meet top o� cials of � nance minis-try and Bangladesh Bank.

In 2006, the then World Bank country director Christina Wallich left Dhaka fearing of bomb attack by Islamic out� t Jamatul Mujahideen Bangladesh during BNP-led four-party alliance regime.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said blockade had caused a loss of over Tk1,20,000 crore in the � rst 52 days. l

The � le photo shows garment workers making clothes at a Dhaka factory SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Duty-free building materials fail to woo RMG makers Duty exemption aims to make owners compliant n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Despite zero import duty, the country’s RMG manufacturers are unwilling to import prefabri-cated building materials for relocating factories and make them compliant as entrepreneurs think the structure still remains expensive.

In the current budget, the government on certain condition allowed the export-oriented RMG sector to import duty-free raw materials needed for the manufacture of the required prefabricated buildings.

This duty-free import was aimed to help create favorable and safer production envi-ronment in line with international standards.

The duty-free import of the materials was expected to help encourage the RMG factories housed in shared buildings and want to be re-located for making them compliant.

The safety issues came under spotlight fol-lowing the collapse of Rana Plaza. Relocation of factories outside Dhaka had emerged amid pressure from the global buyers.

But, the actual scenario is totally di� erent from the expectation as only two factories got approval from the BGMEA to import materials even eight months after the tax waiver decision.

According to Bangladesh Garment Man-

ufacturers and Exporters Association (BG-MEA), only two factories Simplex Apparel and Washing Limited and Mars Apparel have taken nod from the trade body to import pre-fabricated building materials in the last eight month of the current � scal year.

In the current budget, the government al-lowed RMG factory owners duty free import of prefabricated building materials to give a cush-ion to relocate factories but the owners did not show much eagerness to import due to 5% ad-vanced income Tax and 15% VAT, said a high o� cial of BGMEA on condition of anonymity.

He also noted that duty-free import of pre-fabricated building materials would help the RMG owners to relocate their factories easily, ful� lling the compliance issues.

“It costs Tk550 to Tk600 per square feet to ensure � re safety in the outside portion of the building by using � re coated color,” Syed Faizul Ahsan Shameem, chairman of Dotcom Sweater, told the Dhaka Tribune.

The cost of prefabricated buildings goes up due to higher import-duty on � re-coated color, which ultimately badly caused slow response to the government incentives, said Shameem.

Fire coated color is another thing, which is

needed in using prefabricated building mate-rials to make it � re proof.

The BGMEA is negotiating with the govern-ment for withdrawing the import duty on � re quoting color and if the government agreed, the import of the materials will be increased sharply, he said.

BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim said: “We’ve urged the National Board of Rev-enue (NBR) to withdraw the tax on color. But, we are yet to get any message from the NBR.”

Azim also said, “As it is not viable for the importers due to the imposed AIT, VAT and import tax on color, they are not showing any interest to import the materials.”

On the other hand, investors are still fol-lowing wait and see policy to observe the po-litical situation before investing any further.

“I’ve intended to build a prefabricated building to relocate factory but the current situation is not in favor of business,” said a factory owner, seeking anonymity.

According to BGMEA, over 35% factories need relocation to comply with safety stand-ards. To relocate those factories, the factory owners demanded duty-free import of pre-fabricated building materials for quicker relo-cation of their factories. l

BUSINESS16DT

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

Indian economy forecast to top 8% growth in coming year n AFP, New Delhi

India’s economy is in a “sweet spot” and ready to grow by more than eight percent in the next � nancial year, an o� cial report said Friday on the eve of the new right-wing gov-ernment’s � rst full-year budget.

The India Economic Survey, an annual re-port prepared by the � nance ministry, said growth would be between 8.1 and 8.5% in the 2015-16 � nancial year, reaching levels last seen � ve years earlier.

The ministry said the data showed the timing was right for the reforms to India’s economy promised by Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi and to meet his ambitious targets to eradicate poverty.

“India has reached a sweet spot ... in which it could � nally be launched on a double-digit medium-term growth trajectory,” the Eco-nomic Survey said, adding there was now scope for “Big Bang reforms”.

The upbeat forecast came weeks after the government put growth for the current � nan-cial year at 7.4%, outpacing China and making India the world’s fastest-growing economy, after changing the way it calculates its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The � gures surprised many economists as India had been thought to be in its worst eco-nomic slowdown since the 1980s.

The survey also forecast India’s consumer in� ation would moderate to between � ve and 5.5% in 2015/16, raising hopes for more easing in monetary policies.

The central bank has been under pressure from the government and businesses to un-

wind high interest rates to boost business borrowing and accelerate growth.

But the central bank has maintained it would further cut rates only after “high-qual-ity � scal consolidation” and continued lower in� ation after it reduced rates unexpectedly last month.

India’s once high prices have been steadily cooling, partly thanks to dipping global crude prices which have lowered the cost of fuel subsidies and allowed India, an oil importer, to hike excise duties.

But analysts were still sceptical, saying it was too early to celebrate the positive outlook in the report.

“The economic survey is making all the right noises... but there has always been a gap between the survey and the actual policy that will be set out Saturday and in months to come,” said Ashutosh Datar, an economist at the Mumbai-based IIFL Institutional Equities brokerage.

“So let’s pop the champagne when actions match the expectations in the survey. Until then let’s leave the bottle in the chiller.”

Poverty targets Modi’s landslide election victory last May was largely based on pledges to reform and revive the ailing economy and attract much-needed foreign investment.

The current path of growth would help the government meet the needs of the India’s growing middle class and a quarter of its 1.2 billion population who live in poverty.

“This trajectory would allow the country to attain the fundamental objectives of ‘wip-ing every tear from every eye’ of the still poor and vulnerable,” the report said.

The government added it would not over-shoot its � scal de� cit target of 4.1% of GDP in the current � scal year ending March 31 and that it would cut it to three percent by the end of the next � nancial year.

The ministry said it would be able to achieve such targets by shifting spending from huge subsidies to increasing invest-ments to restore the health of India’s public � nances.

Investors were left underwhelmed by an interim budget introduced shortly after Modi came to power, and are looking for concrete details from Saturday’s budget, including on plans to boost India’s manufacturing and im-prove shoddy infrastructure.

Modi has promised to slash red tape, re-form tax and overhaul land acquisition laws to try to attract foreign investment and create jobs for millions of young people. l

India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley (centre) leaves his o� ce to present the 2015-16 federal budget in New Delhi REUTERS

‘The economic survey is making all the right noises ... but there has always been a gap between the survey and the actual policy that will be set out Saturday and in months to come’

Cook: Apple Watch will replace car keys n Reuters

Apple Watch will replace your car keys and its battery will last the whole day, Apple Inc’s Chief Executive Tim Cook told the Telegraph in an interview.

The watch is designed to replace car keys and the clumsy, large fobs that are now used in many vehicles, Cook told the newspaper.

Its battery will last the whole day, and will not take as long to charge as an iPhone, the report quoted Cook as saying.

Apple Watch will also work as a credit card through Apple Pay, Cook told the paper, but did not mention how user veri� cation will work with the watch.

The rollout of the watch might pose a chal-lenge for Apple’s stores, which may involve “tweaking the experience in the store,” the Telegraph said, citing Cook’s conversation with the sta� at Apple’s Covent Garden store in London.

Last March, Apple unveiled CarPlay, which lets drivers access contacts on their iPhones, make calls or listen to voicemails without tak-ing their hands o� the steering wheel.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the iPhone maker is looking at making a self-driving electric car, and is talking to ex-perts at carmakers and automotive suppliers.

In the interview, Cook said that the Apple Watch will operate a special rewards system, track the user’s activity and “be correct to 50 milliseconds”.

Apple was not immediately available for comment.

The company has scheduled a special event on March 9, where it is expected to showcase Apple Watch, which will be launched in April. l

Economists: Microcredit oversold as anti-poverty tool n Reuters, Washington

Microcredit is no panacea for lifting millions of people from poverty, leading economists said on Friday in releasing research from sev-en countries that challenges a key develop-ment tool.

For over 15 years, extending microloans to very poor people has been hailed as a path out of poverty, especially for women.

Microcredit, pioneered by Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank in Bangla-desh and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, has been promoted by development agencies as a route to self improvement for very poor fam-ilies considered too risky by traditional banks.

Micro� nanciers make tiny loans to small-scale entrepreneurs, who usually belong to a borrowers’ club that guarantees repayment. The idea is a family will invest in its business, generate more income and break out of aid dependency.

The industry, which has expanded dramat-ically since 1997, had reached 137.5 million families by 2010, according to Microcredit Summit Campaign, a non-pro� t which brings together micro� nance practitioners.

But economic studies spanning four con-tinents and seven countries conducted be-tween 2003 and 2012 found that microcredit fell well short of its promise, and there was no clear evidence it reduces poverty. l

BUSINESS 17D

TSUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

German in� ation back in positive territory n AFP, Frankfurt

In� ation in Germany, Europe’s biggest econo-my, was back in positive territory in February with consumer prices rising by 0.1%, o� cial data showed on Friday.

The previous month, the consumer price index had fallen for the � rst time in � ve years, dropping by 0.4% as a result of lower energy prices.

According to the Harmonised Index of Con-sumer Prices (HICP) - the yardstick used by the European Central Bank - in� ation in Germa-ny remained in negative territory, slipping by 0.1% year-on-year in February, way under the ECB’s annual in� ation target of just below 2%.

In January, HICP had fallen by 0.5%. The February data are still only prelimi-

nary, since they are based on consumer price statistics from only six out of Germany’s 16 regional states.

Final data, based on all 16, will be published on March 12, the German federal statistics of-� ce Destatis said. The data will o� er some hope that the eurozone will be able to avoid a dangerous de� ationary spiral of falling prices.

Last month, the ECB unveiled a massive trillion-euro bond purchase programme to ward o� de� ation and end stagnation in the eurozone economy.

Analysts predicted that in� ation was set to trend gradually upwards during the course of the year.

“One reason for the uplift is the increase in energy prices in February. But even without energy prices the in� ation rate should have increased as the minimum wage, which has been in force since January, is driving up pric-es of certain services such as taxi journeys and restaurant meals,” said Commerzbank economist Marco Wagner.

“This trend will continue to boost in� ation

over the further course of the year.” Berenberg Bank economist Rob Wood was

more sceptical. “Eurozone in� ation is likely to stay very

weak in the � rst half of the year before the lower euro exchange rate return rates into modest positive territory. A return to the ECB’s 2% target remains a distant prospect,”

he said. ING DiBa economist Carsten Brzeski be-

lieved there was “clearly no risk of de� ation for the German economy. Instead, price de-velopments in the service sector could even be the � rst result of higher wages and the in-troduction of the minimum wage.”

He predicted that German headline in� a-

tion would remain close to zero for one or two more months, but move higher in the second half of the year.

“Against the background of a strong labour market and recent wage increases, these low in� ation rates should continue feeding private consumption,” which is the main driver of Ger-man economic growth at the moment. l

In� ation in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, is back in positive territory in February with consumer prices rising by 0.1% REUTERS

Bangladesh’s export to Germany amounted to USD 2.78bn during the � rst seven months of FY15, which was responsible for making up 15.6% of total exports during the same period. ~ EPB

Sri Lanka in� ation hits 11-year lowSri Lanka’s in� ation hit an 11-year low in February on the back of drastic price reductions ordered by the new government, o� cial � gures showed Friday. The Colombo Consumer Price Index, the main measure of in� ation in the island, increased by 0.6% in February, down from 3.2% in January and 4.2% a year ago. The previous low of 0.5% was recorded in January 2004. The new government of President Maithripala Sirisena, who came to power in January, reduced prices of essential food and sharply cut en-ergy prices in line with an electoral pledge. Deputy Economic Development Minister Harsha de Silva told reporters earlier this week that the government expects in� ation to remain low in Sri Lanka this year

in line with a global trend. – AFP, Colombo

India to increase investment in infrastructure in 2015/16India will increase investment in India’s infrastruc-ture by 700bn rupees ($11.35bn) in the � scal year 2015/16, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Sat-urday, when presenting the government’s full-year budget. – Reuters, New Delhi

Oil prices rebound in Asian tradeOil bounced back in Asia Friday on bargain-hunt-ing after tumbling in the previous session over a further surge in US crude reserves, adding to the global supply glut. US benchmark West Texas

Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery rose 84 cents to $49.01 a barrel while Brent crude for April rose 91 cents to $60.96 in afternoon trade. WTI sank $2.82 in New York while Brent closed $1.58 lower in London. Analysts attributed the plunge on Thursday to a delayed reaction by traders to a bigger-than-expected 9.4 million barrels increase in US crude stockpiles in the week to February 20. The US Department of Energy said Wednesday US crude reserves now stand at a record 434.1 million barrels. – AFP, Singapore

Japan industrial production up 4.0% on-month in JanuaryJapan’s factory production in January rose a fast-er-than-expected 4% on-month, growing for the

second straight month, according to o� cial data released Friday. The latest � gures from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry beat economists’ median forecast for a 2.8% rise, and followed a revised 0.8% rise seen in December. The ministry left unchanged its verdict on output, saying in a monthly report that “industrial production shows signs of increase at a moderate pace.” Marcel Thieliant, Japan economist at Capital Economics, suggested the upbeat � gure did not warrant much optimism. “While industrial production surged in January, � rms are predicting a renewed decline in coming months as consumer spending remains sluggish,” he said in a note. A survey by the ministry of manufacturing companies showed they predict production in February was up a slower 0.2% and fell 3.2% in March. – AFP, Tokyo

NEWS IN BRIEF

BUSINESS18DT

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

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

Bank 1590.44 10.55 100.61 8.20 1691.05 10.38NBFI 982.85 6.52 98.81 8.06 1081.65 6.64Investment 146.51 0.97 10.07 0.82 156.58 0.96Engineering 1674.61 11.11 154.99 12.64 1829.61 11.23Food & Allied 781.69 5.19 41.24 3.36 822.93 5.05Fuel & Power 2196.20 14.57 150.17 12.25 2346.38 14.40Jute 20.68 0.14 0.00 0.00 20.68 0.13Textile 1282.99 8.51 115.87 9.45 1398.86 8.58Pharma & Chemical 2529.56 16.78 149.49 12.19 2679.05 16.44Paper & Packaging 41.46 0.28 5.92 0.48 47.37 0.29Service 464.41 3.08 40.66 3.32 505.07 3.10Leather 120.61 0.80 1.99 0.16 122.59 0.75Ceramic 140.59 0.93 9.92 0.81 150.52 0.92Cement 777.98 5.16 55.15 4.50 833.12 5.11Information Technology 563.93 3.74 47.66 3.89 611.59 3.75General Insurance 140.34 0.93 3.04 0.25 143.38 0.88Life Insurance 217.53 1.44 9.40 0.77 226.93 1.39Telecom 697.29 4.63 103.57 8.45 800.85 4.91Travel & Leisure 145.98 0.97 27.36 2.23 173.34 1.06Miscellaneous 539.88 3.58 100.19 8.17 640.07 3.93Debenture 17.29 0.11 0.20 0.02 17.49 0.11

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

News, analysis and recent disclosuresAGM/DividendBATBC: The Board of Directors has recommended 450% � nal cash dividend (i.e. a total of 550% cash dividend for the year 2014 inclu-sive of 100% interim cash dividend which has already been paid) for the year ended on December 31, 2014. Date of AGM: 12.04.2015, Time: 10:30 AM, Venue: Ball Room of Pan Paci� c Sonargaon Hotel, Karwan Bazar, Dhaka. Record date: 05.03.2015. The Company has also reported net pro� t after tax of Tk. 6,281.92 million, EPS of Tk. 104.70, NAV per share of Tk. 191.06 and NOCFPS of Tk. 79.41 for the year ended on December 31, 2014.UCBL: The Board of Directors has recommended 10% cash dividend and 20% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2014. Date of AGM: 31.03.2015, Time and Venue: To be noti� ed later on. Record date: 04.03.2015. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 4.39, NAV per share of Tk. 26.88 and NOCFPS of Tk. (1.81) for the year ended on December 31, 2014.PRIMEINSUR: The Board of Directors has recommended 10% cash dividend and 5% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2014. Date of AGM: 30.03.2015, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: Bangla-desh Institute of Administration and Management (BIAM), 63, New Eskaton, Dhaka. Record date: 04.03.2015. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 2.53, NAV per share of Tk. 17.04 and NOCFPS of Tk. 2.15 for the year ended on December 31, 2014.MTB: The Board of Directors has recommended 20% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2014. The Board has also decid-ed to issue Non-Convertible Subordinated Bond for Tk. 3,000.00 million to raise the Tier II capital of the Bank. Date of EGM and AGM: 30.03.2015, Time of EGM and AGM: 10:00 AM and 10:15 AM respec-tively, Venue: Bashundhara Convention City (1 Gulnaksha), Joar Saha-ra Khilkhet, Dhaka (beside 300 ft. Purbachal link road). Record date for EGM and AGM: 08.03.2015. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 3.12, NAV per share of Tk. 22.00 and NOCFPS of Tk. (4.57) for the year ended on December 31, 2014 as against Tk. 1.86, Tk. 19.48 and Tk. 15.47 respectively for the year ended on December 31, 2013.GLAXOSMITH: The Board of Directors has recommended 420% cash dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2014. Date of AGM: 23.04.2015, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: Hotel Agrabad, Chit-tagong. Record date: 12.03.2015. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 68.63, NAV per share of Tk. 192.30 and NOCFPS of Tk. 111.14 for the year ended on December 31, 2014.SALAMCRST: 15% cash dividend, AGM: 28.03.2015, Record date: 09.03.2015. EPS of Tk. 0.98, consolidated NAV per share of Tk. 20.12.IPDC: 5% cash and 10% stock dividend, AGM: 29.04.2015, Record Date: 09.03.2015, EPS of Tk. 1.44, NAV per share of Tk. 19.97. PRIMEFIN: 12.50% cash dividend, Date of AGM: 30.03.2015, Record Date: 09.03.2015. EPS of Tk. 1.59, consolidated NAV per share of Tk. 16.47.

CSE GAINER

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

Shahjibazar Power-N 24.46 26.16 177.25 173.00 185.50 151.00 60.164 8.68 20.4BD Submarine Cable-A 16.23 14.44 135.81 136.80 137.70 118.50 76.231 0.76 178.7Ambee Pharma -A 13.79 13.52 303.84 306.10 309.50 261.00 2.854 4.68 64.9ACI Limited- A 13.44 12.09 431.26 436.50 439.00 385.00 25.795 9.65 44.7SummitAlliancePort.-A 13.18 11.80 62.06 62.70 64.00 54.50 25.267 0.78 79.6Tung Hai Knitting -N 12.87 11.78 19.08 19.30 19.50 17.00 9.541 1.19 16.0The Ibn SinaA 12.40 9.59 105.21 107.90 107.90 97.10 0.344 3.77 27.9Eastern Cables-A 11.82 11.49 122.64 123.00 124.00 110.00 0.176 1.52 80.7Bangas -A 11.69 10.23 351.10 357.40 362.40 329.00 12.271 5.54 63.4Usmania Glass -A 11.07 11.66 121.74 121.40 123.30 107.00 1.930 -0.88 -ve

DSE GAINER

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

Shahjibazar Power-N 29.16 31.13 183.30 188.70 189.50 149.00 504.382 8.68 21.1National Tubes -A 22.99 20.93 121.34 123.60 123.60 100.50 44.486 -1.36 -veRenwick Jajneswar-A 16.78 19.56 269.77 267.30 274.00 227.00 39.990 4.36 61.9BD Submarine Cable-A 15.74 14.26 135.83 136.80 137.90 118.50 396.044 0.76 178.7Sonali Ansh -A 15.35 14.37 112.87 114.20 114.20 97.50 19.154 0.64 176.4Ambee Pharma -A 14.83 12.83 305.14 311.30 313.00 272.50 66.378 4.68 65.2Tung Hai Knitting -N 14.71 12.71 19.24 19.50 19.70 16.90 107.741 1.19 16.2ACI Limited- A 13.19 12.76 432.87 436.00 436.50 386.80 528.628 9.65 44.9Eastern Cables-A 11.78 12.27 122.43 121.50 124.40 106.00 5.820 1.52 80.5SummitAlliancePort.-A 11.71 11.72 61.96 62.00 63.90 54.20 288.507 0.78 79.4

CSE LOSER

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

Imam Button -Z -12.68 -10.45 12.34 12.40 13.80 10.60 1.235 -1.48 -veIntl. Leasing-B -10.63 -10.71 14.43 14.30 15.80 13.90 4.491 -0.09 -veIfad Autos -N -9.89 -9.71 51.41 51.00 58.30 50.80 32.474 1.92 26.8Bangladesh Welding -Z -9.50 -9.09 16.20 16.20 17.70 16.20 0.264 0.44 36.8Monno Ceramic -B -9.33 -7.41 27.23 27.20 28.00 27.20 0.062 0.20 136.2Prime Finance-A -8.96 -9.13 18.41 18.30 20.40 18.20 1.662 1.59 11.6Aziz PipesZ -8.89 -8.40 20.61 20.50 22.40 20.10 0.135 -0.37 -veMidas Financing-Z -8.39 -8.39 13.10 13.10 13.10 13.10 0.005 -3.24 -veNCCBL Mutual Fund-1-A -8.16 -6.83 4.50 4.50 4.90 4.40 1.477 0.32 14.1BDCOM Online-A -7.53 -3.01 26.78 25.80 27.50 25.60 2.072 1.68 15.9

DSE LOSER

Company Closing (% change)

Aver-age (%

change)

Closing average

Weekly closing

Weekly high

Weekly low

Turnover in million

Latest EPS

Latest PE

Intl. Leasing-B -11.80 -11.24 14.45 14.20 16.20 14.00 25.945 -0.09 -veDulamia CottonZ -10.87 -10.09 8.20 8.20 9.00 8.10 0.215 -4.02 -veNCCBL Mutual Fund-1-A -10.20 -9.82 4.41 4.40 4.60 4.40 7.635 0.32 13.8Ifad Autos -N -10.04 -9.18 51.47 51.10 58.60 50.80 325.463 1.92 26.8United Insur -A -9.06 -6.45 29.59 29.10 32.00 28.80 10.175 2.91 10.2Prime Finance-A -9.00 -8.23 18.52 18.20 20.30 18.00 34.918 1.59 11.6Samata LeatheR -Z -8.85 -8.42 17.50 17.50 18.30 16.50 0.239 -0.46 -veShampur Sugar -Z -8.64 -8.64 7.40 7.40 8.20 7.40 0.058 -52.72 -veSaiham Cotton-A -8.22 -8.35 20.09 20.10 22.00 19.90 34.037 1.68 12.07th ICB M F-A -8.18 -8.18 80.86 80.80 90.00 80.00 0.748 12.76 6.3

DSE key features Feb 22-26, 2015Turnover (Million Taka)

15,072.81

Turnover (Volume)

324,660,634

Number of Contract

422,550

Traded Issues 319

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

92

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

225

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

2

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,574.99

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.21

CSE key features Feb 22-26, 2015Turnover (Million Taka)

1,226.30

Turnover (Volume)

1,226.301

Number of Contract

60,579

Traded Issues 271

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

71

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

191

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

9

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,487.31

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.15

BUSINESS 19D

TSUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

Political tension continues to weigh on stocks n Tribune Report

The bear-run continued to batter stock markets for the sec-ond straight week as even some good earning results failed to bring back the investors mood of buying.

The investors were nervous over the continued heighten-ing political tension.

The prolonged political unrest might wreck havoc on the company’s pro� tability and economic outlook, leading most investors to stay away from the market, dealers say.

In the past week that ended Thursday, the benchmark in-dex DSEX lost 25 points or 0.6% to settle at 4,763.

The comprising blue chips DS30 index was down over 5 points or 0.4% to 1,772. The DSE Shariah Index shed margin-ally over 2 points or 0.3% to 1,130.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Categories In-dex, CSCX, declined almost 44 points or 0.5% to close the week at 8,854. The investors went for panic-sell-o� , es-000pecially on the fourth day of the week, anticipating fur-ther fall following the news of arrest warrants against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.

A Dhaka court Wednesday issued arrest warrants against BNP chief and two others for skipping court hearing in the Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases.

Participation improved slightly due to increased selling pressure. Despite rise in turnover, it still remained sluggish as the daily average turnover at the Dhaka Stock Exchange stood at Tk300 crore, which was 14% higher over the pre-vious week.

The major sectors showed mixed performances in the week. Pharmaceuticals posted heavy gain of more than 3%. Food & allied also registered a decent gain of over 2%. Pow-er, energy and telecommunication went up over 1% each.

IT was the week’s worst su� erer tumbling3 .6%, fol-lowed by cement 2.4%, mutual fund 2.3%, bank 2.2% and non-banking � nancial institutions 1.4%.

LankaBangla Securities said intraweek volatility was high in the past week as investors remained cautious amid polit-ical uncertainty. l

Intraweek volatility was high in the past week as investors remained cautious amid political uncertainty

ANALYST

Weekly capital market highlightsDSE Broad Index : 4763.21716 (-) 0.52% ▼

DSE - 30 Index : 1772.41773 (-) 0.31% ▼

CSE All Share Index: 14552.9499 (-) 0.63% ▼

CSE - 30 Index : 12049.6862 (+) 0.22% ▲

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CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Weekly closing

Price change

Weekly opening

Weekly high

Weekly low

Weekly average

BD Submarine Cable-A 593,037 76.23 6.22 136.80 16.23 117.70 137.70 118.50 135.81BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 1,797,654 60.36 4.92 32.30 -5.00 34.00 34.60 32.20 32.64Shahjibazar Power-N 355,877 60.16 4.91 173.00 24.46 139.00 185.50 151.00 177.25LafargeS Cement-Z 354,287 42.13 3.44 116.20 -3.73 120.70 123.60 114.30 116.55Delta Brac HFCL-A 502,278 41.18 3.36 76.50 0.66 76.00 79.00 76.00 76.50Square Pharma -A 140,070 36.95 3.01 263.20 1.43 259.50 268.00 258.00 263.48MJL BD Ltd.-A 280,785 35.01 2.85 126.60 7.11 118.20 128.70 117.20 125.55Ifad Autos -N 596,618 32.47 2.65 51.00 -9.89 56.60 58.30 50.80 51.41Singer BD -A 142,940 32.47 2.65 227.00 1.29 224.10 233.00 222.50 226.00WesternMarine -N 705,001 32.03 2.61 44.30 -2.64 45.50 46.30 44.00 44.60aamra technologies-A 781,425 31.01 2.53 38.60 -3.98 40.20 41.50 38.10 39.08FAR Chemical-N 1,177,608 28.47 2.32 26.00 -2.26 26.60 27.00 23.90 26.08UCBL - A 916,023 28.20 2.30 30.50 -2.24 31.20 33.00 29.80 30.39Grameenphone-A 80,751 27.34 2.23 335.20 0.12 334.80 343.90 335.10 336.26ACI Limited- A 61,443 25.79 2.10 436.50 13.44 384.80 439.00 385.00 431.26

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume shares

Value in million

% of total turnover

Weekly closing

Price change

Weekly opening

Weekly high

Weekly low

Weekly average

Square Pharma -A 2,595,224 684.66 4.54 263.80 1.66 259.50 267.50 257.40 264.20MJL BD Ltd.-A 4,475,160 558.88 3.71 127.20 7.25 118.60 128.60 118.10 125.66ACI Limited- A 1,265,867 528.63 3.51 436.00 13.19 385.20 436.50 386.80 432.87LafargeS Cement-Z 4,376,563 521.29 3.46 116.40 -3.16 120.20 123.70 115.00 116.64Shahjibazar Power-N 2,984,662 504.38 3.35 188.70 29.16 146.10 189.50 149.00 183.30UCBL - A 13,396,564 412.69 2.74 30.50 -2.56 31.30 32.50 29.90 30.50BD Submarine Cable-A 3,063,200 396.04 2.63 136.80 15.74 118.20 137.90 118.50 135.83Ifad Autos -N 5,998,802 325.46 2.16 51.10 -10.04 56.80 58.60 50.80 51.47IDLC Finance -A 4,240,216 324.61 2.15 75.00 -5.30 79.20 80.00 73.40 75.52Grameenphone-A 889,064 301.24 2.00 335.30 0.66 333.10 343.60 333.00 335.95SummitAlliancePort.-A 4,871,886 288.51 1.91 62.00 11.71 55.50 63.90 54.20 61.96BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 8,415,775 281.88 1.87 32.20 -5.29 34.00 34.60 31.80 32.57ACI Formulations-A 2,048,759 281.00 1.86 140.50 9.77 128.00 142.00 129.20 139.95aamra technologies-A 6,835,648 272.11 1.81 38.80 -3.24 40.10 41.40 38.20 38.73Singer BD -A 1,095,549 248.41 1.65 226.70 1.57 223.20 232.00 222.10 225.57

BUSINESS20DT

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

Biman makes TK271cr pro� t in six monthsn Tribune Report

The national � ag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines, has returned to its pro� t track bagging Taka 271.44 crore during the last six months.

“If we can keep this momentum in next � ve months, I am sure we will be able to turn the air-lines into a pro� table one by the end of the cur-rent � scal year,” Biman Chairman Air Marshal (retd) Jamal Uddin Ahmed said, reports BSS.

The national � ag carrier counted a loss of Tk10.37 crore in last July but, after that, it came back to its track of making pro� t.

The airlines made pro� t of Tk20.50 crore in August, Tk123 crore in September, Tk87 crore in October, Tk23 in November, Tk2 crore in December and 26 in January in the current � scal, Biman sources said.

Biman Chairman said in every aspect, Bi-man returned to positive move. It is a result of last � ve year’s e� orts of sending old aircraft to retirement, procuring new aircraft, moderni-sation, austerity measure and stopping opera-tion on loss incurring routes, he observed.

Biman’s Chairman said after assuming of-� ce in 2009, he has been trying hard to taking out Biman of its loss making trend.

Ahmed said he sent o� 35 years old fu-el-guzzler aircraft DC-10-30 and F- 28 to re-tirement for reducing fuel as well as heavy maintenance and handling costs.

He said automation of Biman’s software and bringing modernisation to its trading sys-tem also helped the airlines in making pro� t.

Biman procured two new aircraft- Boeing 777-300 ERs in February and March as well as leased two Boeing 777-200 ER last year. l

EU con� rms €690m grants for FY2014-20n Tribune Report

European Union has con� rmed new grants up to €690 million through the Multiannual Indicative Programme (MIP) 2014-2020 for Bangladesh.

This was declared after a EU delegation had a series of meetings with Bangladeshi of-� cials in the city on February 26 and 27, said a EU press release yesterday.

However, the team had expressed its con-cerns over the current political situation and stressed the need to protect the fundamental democratic rights of the people.

The press release said the €690 million funds will focus on three sectors that are vi-tal for poverty reduction and inclusive and sustainable growth. These are democratic governance, food and nutrition security and education and skills development.

Cross-cutting issues will also be addressed through engagement in these sectors, includ-ing gender equality, human and labour rights, disaster risk reduction, environment and cli-mate change. The EU side highlighted the need to strengthen the policy dialogue, a critical fac-tor to achieve sector policy development and make the best use of the available resources.

To this e� ect, EU emphasised the role of budget support. The EU expressed the need to see tangible progress on public � nance management (PFM) in 2015, notably with the adoption/detailing by the government of a comprehensive reform strategy. l

MPs want next � scal budget to address extreme poverty n Tribune Report

Lawmakers have suggested the Finance Min-ister AMA Muhith to prepare the next budget in a manner that can help eradicate extreme poverty from the country.

United e� orts of all, strengthening and increasing e� ciency of local governments, keeping transparency at the distribution lev-el, identifying extreme poverty hit people, equal distribution of resources, creating em-ployment opportunities at the rural areas and putting importance on health and education were some of the recommendations made by the Members of Parliaments (MPs) to help al-leviate ultra poverty.

They were speaking at a pre-budget dia-logue on National Budget 2015-16: Expecta-tions of the Country’s Extreme Poor Groups and the Role of Members of Parliament, ar-ranged by the All Parliamentary Party Group (APPG) on extreme poverty held in a city ho-tel yesterday.

One of the major goal of the next budget should be to obtain higher economic growth for wiping out poverty from the country, said the Mps.

Over the last � ve years tremendous success were achieved in socio-economic develop-ment that had brought down poverty rate at 24% in 2013-14 from 40% in 2005 and hardcore poverty to over 12% from about 24% in 2006, according the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Food intake or direct calorie intake is used as the yardstick to measure poverty. If any per-son has a daily intake of less than 2,122 calories, he or she will be considered poor. Food intake less than 1,805 a day equates with ultra poor.

Alongside food intake, BBS is also used the Cost of Basic Needs (CBN) method. This assesses a person’s access to eleven needs in-cluding food, education and clothing.

Speaking as chief guest Speaker Shirin

Sharmin Chaudhury said there should be sep-arate budget for the extreme poverty-stricken women and children to get them out of woods.

She underscored the need for strong monitoring the fund allocation under the so-cial-safety net programmes.

“The lawmaker can play greater role for ensuring proper use of fund allocation.”

She also observed, “Poverty growth rate has fallen but inequality has also risen in the society.”

In a sharp contrast, Finance Minister AMA Muhith, however, claimed that in every coun-try across the world, poverty rate was declin-ing while inequality was also widening.

“But Bangladesh is the only exception in this regard,” he said adding poverty reduction rate in Bangladesh is remarkable since 2010.

The minister observed: “It cannot be said exactly why the inequality has been squeezed. But I think delivering services to the targeted people through social protection progarmmes is working better.”

He said there were some di� culties in identifying and quantifying people hit by the extreme poverty.

It is easy to identify physically impaired people but not mentally because many fami-lies have tendency to hide this, he added.

Putting emphasis on strengthening local government, he said, “It can play a pivotal role to eradicate extreme poverty and for this we need to decentralise the power, as nation-al government cannot do alone in poverty al-

leviation.” He reiterated that the country would be

free from poverty by 2018, as the government had been working hard to attain that goal.

Waresat Hussain Belal MP said identifying those people who were really su� ering from extreme poverty, the government needs to make a strategy to free the country from ex-treme poverty.

“Joint e� orts among the government and other social organisations are also important.”

Shirin Akter MP underlined the need for cor-rect statistics of ultra poverty in Bangladesh.

“We’ve heard the poverty growth rate is falling but it is not visible to me. Yet Sidr a� ected people are deprived of basic needs. They are yet to get access to clean water.”

Another MP said employment generation by setting up small and medium enterprises at the rural level needs to be focused as a way of poverty eradication.

“Fund allocation under social safety pro-gramme should be proportionate with the poverty rate in di� erent areas.”

He said many MPs could not work impar-tially in fear of losing of their votes, which is a disparity. “Ensuring quality education is also important in the rural areas for alleviating poverty.”

Economist and chairman of Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, in his key note paper, said, “MPs should do their best to deliver on the prom-ises they have or their parties have made to the people.”

“For lawmakers, it is also necessary to help mobilise ‘social capital’ towards promoting cohesiveness in communities, facilitate un-dertaking of projects to address local problems and promote local people’s aspirations, work cohesively with the local institutions and not displaying muscle power but extending friend-ship to all,’’ said the keynote paper. l

Finance Minister AMA Muhith (third from right) seen at a pre-budget dialogue at a hotel in Dhaka yesterday RAJIB DHAR

‘Fund allocation under social safety programme should be proportionate with the poverty rate in di� erent areas’

21D

TSUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015T

-JUNCTION

22 EVENTART BAZAAR

RIVERS BEYOND BANGLADESH

23ACCESSORIESA SHADY AFFAIR

24WARDROBE CHECKLAYERING 101

Season’sfreshestPhoto: Sabiha Akond Rupa

One of the biggest ready-to-wear trends seen on runways all over the world has been the explosion of dark � oral prints.If you have some vintage Victorian style rose prints lying around in your closet, dig them out and give them a spin.Local fashion houses such as Cat’s Eye have updated this old favourite with a modern twist.

A classic trend that never quite goes away is that for nautical stripes. With navy blue being back in a big way this season, this pattern is enjoying an extra boost in popularity.As the season gets warmer and the layers come o� , pair some navy nautical stripes with the It jeans of the season for a variety of looks that scream timeless and trendy all at the same time.

Now trending:

INSIDEKeeping it cool

n T-Junction desk

Akangkha’s Glamour’s World is o� ering a 12% discount on all their beauty services on the occasion of the International Women’s Day. They have also extended their discounted period for milk rebounding till March 26. This service can be availed at

n T-Junction desk

A photography exhibition of mobile phone held pictures arranged by Art Bazaar yesterday, February 28, at the University of Liberal Arts (ULAB) adjacent street at Dhanmondi 4/a.

Art Bazaar believes art is not to be con� ned in galleries or illustrated platforms, but used to pave the way to psyche development of the average person.

These days, photography is practiced using mobile phones and applications which provides a freedom to create arts more comfortably. The objective of the exhibition is to create an acceptance of “mobile phone photography” as an art medium.

Though the exhibited photographs were up for sale, the organisers insisted the amount received will be given to the respective photographers, deducting the production cost of photographs of course.

The remaining photographs will be reserved at Art Bazaar. No entry fee was set for the exibition.

The single-day exhibition session had run from 3pm to 9pm.

n T-Junction desk

Microsoft O� ce Specialist (MOS) World Championship is a very popular IT talent hunt, which takes place globally every year. Its provides a platform for tech lovers to exhibit their talent and skills internationally in Microsoft O� ce applications. This year school-college-university going students from Bangladesh have taken part in it. The students have participated in a 12-hour learning course with Microsoft certi� ed

professionals before they took the test, conducted by Certiport, a global certi� cation body.

The event took place at the Campus-2 of Cambrian School and College on February 28, from 11:00 am. Well known personalities such as Tareen Hossain, executive editor of Dhaily Ittefaq, Mehedi Hassan Mithu, managing director of Cool Exposure, Ln MK Bashar, chairman of BSB, Cambrian etc.

Akangkha’s discounted o� ers this Women’s Day

Microsoft O� ce Specialist (MOS) World Championship 2015

Dear Readers,It is my pleasure to introduce to you our newest section, T-junction. The elegance and style of our former lifestyle supplement Avenue T meets the edgy, youthful energy of TMAG, our highly popular teen magazine to create four pages bursting with life.

Whether you’re a trend-conscious teen or the style maven in your workplace, slot down Sundays for everything you need to know about what’s moving and shaking in the fashion industry in the country, as well as global trends.

Sundays have never been more stylish.

Sabrina Fatma AhmadFeatures Editor

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015T-JUNCTION News22D

T

Art bazaar

Rivers Beyond BangladeshIndia-Bangladesh Trans-boundary River Atlas” talks about the origins of the 54 rivers in the region and their importance to the people habituating at its bank. The book is a wonderful collaboration between IUCN and Drik.

EDITOR’S NOTEFree global SIM from WOWteln T-Junction desk

UGI Trade Co and United Commercial Bank Ltd (UCBL) recently introduced free WOWtel Global SIM card for all UCBL credit card users. It is said to be a cost e� ective Global SIM card, which can be used in more than 215 countries all around the world. The SIM card will allow access to roaming for free, access to internet when traveling absolutely anywhere in the world and even free incoming calls in many countries.

WOWtel is an international brand name that caters to the needs of valued customers of Bangladesh-UCBL.

Tk4,000 only.For more details contact 01937513006, 375 DIT Roads, East Rampura (opposite TV gate); 255, DIT Road, West Rampura (near Rampura Bazaar); and Block D, Road 9, House 8, Banashree, Rampura, Dhaka.

TrendingT-JUNCTION 23D

T

n Sabah Rahman

Big and beautifulAll things oversized are extremely trending at the moment so it’s no surprise that sunglasses would follow suit. Trends aside, these extra large beauties give the delicate skin around your eyes more coverage from harmful rays. The best part? Right before almost everyone started going gaga over wayfarers, oversized frames were all the rage. It’s time to go digging for the ones you bought back then.

Brighter stillThe big guns in the fashion world aren’t just stopping at colourful frames. What fun would that be? They took it a step further and designed pairs where the actual lenses are made from tinted glass. Then they went ahead and took it up yet

another notch by placing contrasting hues over each eye. Now that’s new! Be warned however that it will take a fearless fashionista to pull these o� . Pick the wrong ones and you’ll look like you’ve been holding onto those 3D glasses you got at the theatre years ago.

Oh the extravaganceIf you’re more into embellishments than

playing around with colours, this is the year

for you to celebrate. Designers seem to have

decided that playing around with painted glasses weren’t edgy enough and went all out

with exaggerated decorative details. You heard that right. Keep an eye out for

textured glitter, chain details and even mini skulls and hearts on the frames themselves.

Retro rageIf you’ve suddenly been seeing people sporting round, John Lennon inspired glasses, take note. These are on � re at the moment and almost everyone is looking for the perfect pair. What makes the newer version more interesting is the way the lenses are tinted in an ombre e� ect.

Feeling felineCat-eye frames, another member of the

new A team, are another style that has been recycled from the past. Whether you go for a loud pair of plastic ones or a more svelte, metal version completely depends on your sense of style and the shape of your face.

The classic caseIf none of the styles highlighted here get your motor running, relax. The classic aviators are here to stay. Timeless and traditional, there is a pair out there for every face shape.

Shopping 101If there’s one thing Dhaka has plenty of, it’s eye wear shops. They are literally everywhere and carry a surprising array of trendy shades. Pay a visit to Urban Truth and check out their covetable collection as well.

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

A shady a� airSo hot this spring

How to wear:

Dark floralsDark � orals are the reigning trend this year. Here’s how to take this hot little dress from daytime to night.

Pair with a pair of dark leggings, a blazer, scarf and smart, sensible shoes for a look that’s o� ce appropriate.

When the sun goes down, the extra layers come off. Swap the office kicks for some high heels, put on some statement earrings, grab a cute clutch, and you’re ready to party.

Colour me brightFrames that represent the di� erent colours of the rainbow are always fun and add a playful kick to your overall look. Don’t limit yourself to just one shade. Prints like stripes, hearts and polka dots are huge as well and can take any old out� t from from drab to fab.

fashion

accessories

T-JUNCTION Tailored24DT

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

n Mahmood Hossain

Traditionally in the States and Europe, spring actually feels like spring and summer feels like summer. Unfortunately, any hot day in Dhaka feels like Hades came to visit. We can safely say that every month until December is going to feel like summer, rain or no rain. While things heat up around us, it’s important to keep our attention on what’s hot and what’s not.

Earning those stripesStatement stripes are a huge plus this season. You’ll always have your nautical standard stripes but there will be plenty of this trend hitting up both the formal and casual wear for men. We’re talking about stripes all over. Ties, short sleeve shirts, dress shirts, trousers, shorts, you get the idea. Be careful gentlemen, not all stripes are equal. Remember the basic rule of staying away from horizontal stripes that might make you look wider than you actually are. If you’re in shape or simply not overweight, don’t worry about it. Stripe all you want.

Down with denimApart from jeans, the denim jacket can be a key character in your casual wear arsenal. Yes, it’s hot, we know. You can always roll up the sleeves and keep the bottom layer as light as possible. It’s as simple as a basic T-shirt. If anyone judges you unfavourably, consider them foolish. Well, unless you’re sweating like a pig. No one wants that. The

fact is you’ll see more dressy denim shirts, jackets and blazers. If one item doesn’t look good on you, most likely you’ll � nd something that � ts perfectly. However, we recommend you stay away from denim shorts, if you ever bump into any.

Start the bleedingRed, fellas. In all di� erent shades, red is going to be the standout colour for the � rst few months. We’re talking about tomato red to the more sophisticated Bordeaux. Again, be careful with particular shades of red, you’ll have to consider your skin tone. Red can also cause plenty of unwarranted style moves. The brighter reds are for the daring. The darker shades, on the other hand, can be dabbled with. Don’t forget, there are trial rooms at stores for a reason. And always have an extra pair of eyes to check you out before you head for the counter.

Man-up in � oralsNo, relax, no one’s putting you in a bridesmaid dress. This should be a given. Spring, and now summer, seem empty without � orals. Now that more men are getting in touch with their more fashionable side, � orals shouldn’t be a big deal to try on. The main item to grab will be long sleeve casual shirts. Nowadays, casual � orals come in slimmer cuts, which means these will look really � attering closer to your body. There is, however, the golden rule - never wear more than one � oral item. Most likely, it will disorientate the senior citizens.

Keep an eye out

Layering 101wardrobe check

in fashion

Mastering the art of layering

n Baizid Haque Joarder

Layering is as vital a tool during the transitional weather, as it is during winter. The concept can be related all-year-long but it is more relevant in a weather like the current one. It gives you the option to take on and o� a layer whenever you want to, depending on how the weather is.

Why layers?Layering is a great way to personalise your wardrobe. Here are two reasons why it should be your new best friend:

Layering is stylishLet’s face it, the majority of the people around you have succumbed to the generic shirt, trousers and the chilled out T-shirt. Which makes it, somewhat “pleasing” to the eyes when you see someone do something di� erent and interesting to their out� t. Proper layering is known to make one’s ordinary clothes look so much more. Who doesn’t like variety? The concept of layering tends to play with colour which gives you a variety of options when you’re dressing up, once you’ve gotten a grip on it.

Layering is practicalLike someone once said, fashion is anything you are comfortable in. In a country like ours, you have to think about the practicality and the function of your wardrobe. The weather, for obvious reasons, is an important point to be kept in mind when you’re layering. When you feel a tad too warm, simply take o� the top layer of your out� t or slip it back on, when the chilly breeze reminds you of the winter left behind.

The rulesThe hems on the outside should be longer than the ones inside

The weight of the materials to be used, the heaviest ones to be piled on the lightest. Never the other way around, please.

Each layer that you don should be something that you could wear on it’s own: The onlookers shouldn’t think that you are layering in order to hide a T-shirt that you aren’t proud of.

Choose your colours wisely: The colours should not counteract each other, colourblocking can be a good idea. But the contrast must be present, at all times.

The patterns, too: Di� erentiate between the strongest and lightest colours and pile on accordingly, keeping a contrast between the di� erent types. Mustn’t look like you are trying too hard.

All in all, the art of layering could be mastered by anyone and everyone. Once you do that, e� ortless fashion is what you’ll reek of. Nothing less.

Here’s to a smokin’ hot summer

25D

TSUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015SportLeft-arm seamers

took 12 wickets in the NZvAUS

match yesterday - Mitchell Starc took

six, Trent Boult � ve and Corey

Anderson one. It’s easily the most wickets they’ve taken in a single

game - the previ-ous best was 9

THUNDER-BOULT

AUS v NZAUSTRALIA R BA. Finch b Southee                       14 7D. Warner lbw b Southee                  34 42S. Watson c Southee b Vettori            23 30M. Clarke c Williamson b Boult           12 18S. Smith c Ronchi b Vettori               4 11G. Maxwell b Boult                        1 3M. Marsh b Boult                          0 2B. Haddin c Taylor b Anderson            43 41M. Johnson c Williamson b Boult           1 7M. Starc b Boult                          0 3P. Cummins not out                        7 30Extras: (b4, lb2, w6)                    12Total: (all out, 32.2 overs)            151

Fall of wickets1-30 (Finch), 2-80 (Watson), 3-80 (Warner), 4-95 (Smith), 5-96 (Maxwell), 6-97 (Marsh), 7-104 (Clarke), 8-106 (Johnson) 9-106 (Starc), 10-151 (Haddin)BowlingSouthee 9-0-65-2 (4w); Boult 10-3-27-5 (2w); Vettori 10-0-41-2; Milne 3-0-6-0, Anderson 0.2-0-6-1;NEW ZEALAND R BM. Guptill c Cummin s b Starc            11 14B. McCullum c Starcb Cummins             50 24K. Williamson not out                    45 42R. Taylor b Starc                         1 2G. Elliott b Starc                        0 1C. Anderson c Cummins b Maxwell          26 42L. Ronchi c Haddin b Starc                6 7D. Vettori c Warner b Cummins             2 3A. Milne b Starc                          0 2T. Southee b Starc                        0 1T. Boult not out                          0 2Extras: (w10, nb1)                        11 Total: (9 wkts, 23.1 overs)              152

Fall of wickets1-40 (Guptill), 2-78 (McCullum), 3-79 (Taylor), 4-79 (Elliott), 5-131 (Anderson), 6-139 (Ronchi), 7-145 (Vettori), 8-146 (Milne), 9-146 (Southee)BowlingJohnson 6-1-68-0 (1nb); Starc 9-0-28-6 (4w); Cummins 6.1-0-38-2 (6w); Marsh 1-0-11-0; Maxwell 1-0-7-0;

New Zealand won by one wicketMan of the match: Trent Boult

n Reuters, Auckland

Kane Williamson coolly struck a straight six to give New Zealand a one wicket vic-tory over Australia in a dramatic battle be-tween the cricket World Cup hosts at Eden Park on Saturday.

Williamson lofted Pat Cummins over the boundary with last man Trent Boult at the wicket to � nish on 45 not out in New Zealand’s 152 for nine o� 23.1 overs.

Mitchell Starc scythed through the New Zealand batting after Brendon McCullum had given the home side a � ying start with 50 from 24 balls, including seven bounda-ries and three sixes, to take six for 28 from nine overs.

New Zealand’s left-arm fast bowler Trent Boult recorded his best � gures in a one-day international, capturing � ve wickets for one run during his second spell, to � nish with � ve for 27 in Australia’s 151 all out from 32.2 overs.

There was no hint of what was to follow at the start of the day when Australia, who won the toss, set o� as if they were determined to post a total around the 400 mark.

Tim Southee conceded 15 runs o� the � rst over of the day, David Warner slashed a six o� his second over the short third man boundary and Aaron Finch struck the

pace bowler over mid-on into the stands o� the third.

With his next ball Southee knocked Finch’s o� stump out of the ground after he had scored 14.

Warner and Shane Watson took the score to 80 when McCullum introduced Daniel Vettori into the attack.

Bowling with his accustomed � ight and guile, the left-arm spinner put a brake on the scoring and the frustrat-ed Watson (23) perished when he pulled a short delivery straight to Southee at mid-wicket.

Southee switched ends and was re-warded with the wicket of Warner lbw 34 to a full delivery which thudded on to his pads.

Wickets then suddenly began to tum-ble. Steve Smith (4) was caught behind by Luke Ronchi o� Vettori from a thick inside edge and Glenn Maxwell (1) and Mitchell Marsh (0) both dragged deliveries from Boult on to their stumps.

Clarke (12) and Johnson (1) fell to simple catches by Wiliamson o� Boult who then bowled Starc for a duck.

Brad Haddin took a four and a six o� Vettori’s � nal over and showed the pitch was not a mine� eld by reaching the top score of 43 with four boundaries and two sixes. l

Boult-inspired Kiwis win thriller despite Starc heroics

Australia speedster Mitchell Starc (C) is mobbed by teammates after taking one of his six wickets against New Zealand yesterday AFP

Sir Richard Hadlee (CL) presents New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum (C) with the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy after their win over Australia during their 2015 Cricket World Cup Pool A match at Eden Park in Auckland yesterday AFP

India cruise to easy win over UAE in Perth

Fed Cup: Russel eye Jamal upset

‘I will try to be the highest scorer’292826

Sport26DT

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

UAE v INDIAUNITED ARAB EMIRATES R BAmjad Ali c Dhoni b Kumar           4 12A. Berenger c Dhoni b Yadav         4 9K. Chandran c Raina b Ashwin        4 27Khurram Khan c Raina b Ashwin      14 28S. Patil c Dhawan b Ashwin          7 19Shaiman Anwar b Yadav              35 49R. Mustafa lbw b Sharma             2 12Amjad Javed c Raina b Jadeja        2 5Mohammad Naveed b Ashwin            6 7Mohammad Tauqir b Jadeja            1 5M. Guruge not out                  10 16Extras: (lb4, w9)                  13Total: (all out, 31.3 overs)     102

Fall of wickets1-7 (Berenger), 2-13 (Ali), 3-28 (Chandran), 4-41 (Patil), 5-44 (Khan), 6-52 (Mustafa), 7-61 (Javed), 8-68 (Naveed), 9-71 (Tauqir), 10-102 (Anwar).BowlingKumar 5-0-19-1 (2w); Yadav 6.3-2-15-2 (3w); Ashwin 10-1-25-4 (1w); Sharma 5-1-16-1 (2w); Jadeja 5-0-23-2;INDIA R BR. Sharma not out   57 55S. Dhawan c Mustafa b Naveed       14 17V. Kohli not out                   33 41Extras:                              0Total: (1 wkt, 18.5 overs)         104

Fall of wicket1-29 (Dhawan)BowlingNaveed 5-0-35-1; Guruge 6-1-19-0; Javed 2-0-12-0; Chandran 3-0-17-0; Tauqir 2.5-0-21-0;

India won by nine wicketsMan of the match: Ravichandran Ashwin

De Villiers ‘best of century’, says Tahir n AFP, Sydney

South Africa leg-spinner Imran Tahir de-scribed captain AB de Villiers as “the best player of the century” after the skipper smashed a whirlwind, undefeated 162 against the West Indies at the World Cup.

De Villiers made his runs o� just 66 balls as South Africa raced to the second-highest World Cup total of 408 for � ve on Friday.

South Africa won by 257 runs with De Villi-ers making the second fastest World Cup cen-tury o� just 52 balls.

“I’m sure the whole world knows about him. He’s just an unbelievable player; for me

the best player in the century,” said Tahir of a man who also holds the record for the fastest one-day century o� 31 balls, against the West Indies in Johannesburg in January.

“I’m just really happy that I’m playing with AB de Villiers and not against him,” added Tahir, who admitted he’d struggle to know the best way to bowl to de Villiers if he was on the op-posing team. I’d probably bowl him a beamer or two, two beamers, and I’m out. It’s just a great honour to watch him every day in the nets.”

Tahir was overshadowed by de Villiers’ one-man demolition job at the Sydney Crick-et Ground on Friday.

But he played a major role with the ball,

bamboozling the West Indians with his leg-spin which gave him a career best 5-45.

It took his one-day haul to 64 wickets at a miserly average of just 19.40.

The performance also illustrated 35-year-old Tahir’s love of the big occasion.

The Lahore-born slow bowler only made his South Africa ODI debut in 2011 at the last World Cup where he � nished as the team’s second highest wicket taker.

.“I just like challenges. I have had a lot of in my life, and then when it comes to that, I think I can be ready for anything,” said Tahir.

“I’m just really honoured to play for South Africa.” l

England need to beat ‘big side’ n AFP, Wellington

England need to beat a “big side” such as Sri Lanka if they are to get their World Cup campaign up and running, paceman Chris Woakes said Saturday.

Eoin Morgan’s side face Sri Lanka, the 1996 champions, in Wellington on Sunday with the team still looking for their � rst Pool A win over a Test side this tournament.

England started the World Cup with a 111-run thrashing by arch-rivals Australia in Melbourne and things got even worse when they su� ered an eight-wicket defeat by New Zealand, the other tournament co-hosts, when

they last played in Wellington.They eventually kickstarted their

push for the quarter-� nals when they beat non-Test nation Scotland by 119 runs.

With group games against peren-nial strugglers Bangladesh and tour-nament newcomers Afghanistan to come, England could qualify for the quarter-� nals without defeating a major side given four teams out of the seven in Pool A will head into the knockout phase.

But Woakes believes a win over Sri Lanka at the Westpac will do wonders for England’s self-belief.

“It’s important that we do show up against the big teams,” said Woakes. 

“You know, obviously tomorrow is a big game having already lost two in the tournament already. Sri Lanka are a good side, so we know we’ve got to be on our game. 

“We want to get through to the quarter-� nals and you’re going to have to beat big teams on the way. Tomorrow is obviously a big opportu-nity for us.

Woakes is England’s leading bowl-er at the tournament so far, with � ve wickets in three matches at an aver-age of under 20.

“I think since arriving in Australia I felt like I’ve hit my straps pretty well, executed plans reasonably well,” said Woakes.l

India cruise to easy win over UAE in Perthn Reuters, Perth

O� -spinner Ravichandran Ashwin claimed four wickets to lead a strong Indian bowling performance as the defending champions eased to a nine-wicket victory over the United Arab Emirates in a World Cup Pool B encoun-ter in Perth on Saturday.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja and fast bowler Umesh Yadav chipped in with two wickets apiece as the Emiratis were bundled out for just 102 in 31.3 overs at the WACA to post the lowest score of this year’s tournament.

Opener Rohit Sharma had missed out in In-dia’s wins against Pakistan and South Africa but used the opportunity to get some runs un-der his belt as his team chased down the tar-get with 31.1 overs to spare for a third triumph in as many matches.

Rohit (57) and Virat Kohli (33) added 75 in an unbroken second wicket stand to carry In-dia home after in-form opening batsman Shi-khar Dhawan (14) fell to a sharp one-handed catch by Rohan Mustafa at point o� Moham-mad Naveed.

Rohit, the owner of the highest ODI score of 264, brought up his 24th � fty with a square-cut boundary o� UAE captain Mohammad Tauqir. He hit 10 fours and a six during his 55-ball knock. Tauqir would never have envi-sioned such a shambolic batting display from his team mates when he won the toss and opt-ed to bat � rst.

However, the extra bounce on a pitch widely considered as the fastest in the world put them on the back foot from the onset of their innings.

Yadav bowled short and fast and struck in his � rst over, the second of the innings, to remove opener Andri Berenger (four) with a bouncer.

Fellow opener Amjad Ali (four) did not last much longer, edging a bouncer from Bhuvne-shwar Kumar, a replacement for the injured Mohammed Shami, to wicketkeeper Mahen-dra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps.

Skipper Dhoni brought Ashwin (4-25) on as his � rst change immediately after the man-datory 10-over powerplay to start the innings and the tall spinner picked up a wicket with his second ball and then ran through the UAE middle order to bag his best � gures in ODIs.

Shaiman Anwarwas the only batsman to provide some resistance and � nished with 35 from 49 balls, his innings including six fours.l

India’s batsmen Rohit Sharma (L) and Virat Kohli are congratulated by UAE’s Andri Ra� aelo after their Cricket World Cup match in Perth yesterday REUTERS

English opener Moeen Ali catches a rugby ball during training yesterday ahead of their 2015 Cricket World Cup Group A match against Sri Lanka in Wellington today AFP

Sport 27D

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SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

Spurs plot Chelsea repeat in League Cup � nal Inspired by their stunning 5-3 demolition of Chelsea on New Year’s Day, Tottenham Hotspur will attempt to spoil Jose Mourinho’s love a� air with the League Cup in Sunday’s � nal. Chelsea have enjoyed the upper hand over their London rivals in recent years, but a run of 10 matches without defeat came to an abrupt halt at a giddy White Hart Lane on January 1 as a Tottenham side inspired by 21-year-old breakthrough star Harry Kane ran amok. Victory at Wembley on Sunday will bring Mourinho full circle, as the 2004-05 League Cup was the � rst trophy he won during his � rst stint as Chelsea manager, but his Tottenham counterpart Mauricio Pochet-tino says Spurs will approach the game with no sense of inferiority. “We got this victory against Chelsea on January 1 and it is import-ant for belief,” said the Argentine, who hopes to end a seven-year trophy drought stretching back to Spurs’ win over Chelsea in the 2008 League Cup � nal.

–AFP

De Gea dismisses talk of Van Gaal rift Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has slammed reports of a rift with Old Tra� ord boss Louis van Gaal. It was claimed this week that Spain international de Gea had not spoken to van Gaal for the last few months, adding to speculation that the reason for his failure to sign a new contract was his desire to join Real Madrid. But the former Atletico Ma-drid star was keen to make it clear there was no truth in the rumours. “Everything that has been written in the press about us not getting on is a lie,” de Gea told MUTV on Friday. “We both want the best for the club and the team, and the stories are complete lies.” De Gea’s contract expires at the end of next season and United are keen to tie him to a new deal after a series of � ne performances this term. Few would have thought he was capable of such performances when at the start of his United career, when he made a series of mistakes that led many to question then manager Alex Ferguson’s decision to sign him.

–AFP

Nadal cruises into Argentina semis Rafael Nadal, who is gunning for a record-ty-ing 46th clay-court title, surged into the semi-� nals of the Argentina Open on Friday with a 6-1, 6-1 rout of Federico Delbonis. The world number four Nadal will face Carlos Berlocq for a berth in the � nal of the ATP Tour tournament. Nadal, who is playing in this event for the � rst time in 10 years, has won all three previous matches with Berlocq. Nadal needed just 62 minutes to dispatch fellow left-hander Delbonis as the Spanish star capi-talized on � ve of his nine break-point chances in the quarter-� nal contest. Nadal last played in this event in 2005, when he lost in the quarters to Gaston Gaudio. Nadal is  seeking his 65th career singles crown. Earlier, Argen-tina’s Berlocq notched his second career win over Slovenia’s Blaz Rola, reaching the � nal four with a convincing 6-1, 6-3 victory.The 32-year-old Berlocq broke Rola on six of his 11 chances in the 79-minute match to reach his � rst semi-� nal since last July.

–AFP

QUICK BYTES

Pakistan summon spirit of Imran Khan, 1992 n AFP, Brisbane

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq summoned up the spirit of Imran Khan and his 1992 World Cup warriors on Saturday as the strife-hit Asian giants look to salvage their 2015 campaign.

Pakistan, engulfed by a series of on and o� -� eld controversies, have lost both of their opening two games -- by 76 runs to India and 150 runs against the West Indies.

They are bottom of Pool B and defeat by Zimbabwe at the Gabba on Sunday will virtu-ally condemn them to an early exit. But Paki-stan have been down this road before.

Twenty-three years ago, when the World Cup was last played in Australia and New Zea-land, Imran Khan’s team were also staring at early elimination.

They lost by 10 wickets to West Indies, beat Zimbabwe, had a no-result when about

to be defeated by England before two more losses to India and South Africa.

They then went on a roll, seeing o� Aus-tralia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand to make the semi-� nals.

New Zealand were defeated again in the last-four before the title was clinched in Mel-bourne courtesy of a 22-run win against Eng-land.

“The important lesson is never give up,” said Misbah.

“That’s what you need to do as a player and as a team. That’s what Imran Khan usu-ally says about 1992. Even when the team was in di� cult times, they never gave up. 

“They just kept trying, kept trying, and kept trying. At last they just managed to do what they really wanted to do in that World Cup. 

“So, that’s what we are trying to do. We just have to do the things and we have to work

hard, and that’s what we’re trying to do”.Misbah insists that his team are trying to

forget their two defeats as well as o� -� eld di-versions which have seen eight players � ned for breaking a curfew, reports of a bust-up in training and chief selector Moin Khan being sent home in disgrace for visiting a casino.

“It’s always like that,” said Misbah, when asked to re� ect on the deluge of criticism his team has endured for their woeful form.

“They always say that they are with the team all the time, but never do it. You could say it’s always like that in Pakistan. We are always with the winning team, but when our team is in di� cult times, we’re here (on their own.)”

Misbah added that Pakistan’s slow start could be partly attributed to the damage caused by the late withdrawals of three key men -- spinner Saeed Ajmal, veteran batsman Mohammad Hafeez and seamer Junaid Khan.l

Whatmore’s knowledge key for Zimbabwe, says captain n AFP, Brisbane

Zimbabwe are pinning their hopes on coach Dav Whatmore’s inside knowledge of Paki-stan’s talent and well-known frailties when the teams meet in the World Cup on Sunday.

Whatmore was at the helm of Pakistan for two years from 2012.

But the much-travelled coach was signed up by Zimbabwe for the 2015 World Cup and has so far overseen a win over the United Arab Emirates and two losses to South Africa and West Indies. Defeat for either side at Bris-bane’s Gabba ground on Sunday is likely to be fatal to their hopes of reaching the quarter-� -nals from Pool B.

Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura

believes the 60-year-old Whatmore, who coached Sri Lanka to the 1996 world title, knows where Pakistan are at their most vul-nerable. “He knows almost everyone on the team, so when it comes to strategies and stu� , it’s much better to have someone who has been working with Pakistan guys,” said Chigumbura.

“So we’ve got more information. We just have to go and execute our plans tomorrow.,” he added. “He’s brought a lot of positives into the team, and everyone is comfortable in the way he’s sharing his experience, it’s been good,” Chigumbura said of Whatmore.

“Everyone just wants to express them-selves and play the best cricket that they’re capable of.” l

(L-R) Pakistan cricketers Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali and Ehsan Adil get themselves photographed during their training session yesterday ahead of the 2015 Cricket World Cup Pool B match against Zimbabwe at the Gabba Cricket Stadium in Brisbane today AFP

PAKISTAN ZIMBABWE 42 Wins 3

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Shehzad made a good start in the World Cup with an entertaining 47 against arch-enemies India. Paki-stan, aiming to rescue their faltering campaign, will look towards the opener to

provide a blistering start

Born in Pakistan, Raza has not really shone for Zimba-bwe thus far. Only a solitary 46 against UAE hardly does justice to a talented player like him

SHEHZAD

RAZA

HEAD TO HEAD

Sport28DT

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

n Raihan Mahmood

Defending champions Sheikh Ja-mal Dhanmondi Club will enjoy the upper hand in the � rst derby of the season when they face an injury-hit Sheikh Russel KC in the � rst semi-� nal of the Federation Cup at the Bangabandhu National Stadium at 5:15pm today.

The services of in� uential mid-� elders Hemanta Vincent Biswas and Zahid Hossain will be heavily missed by Russel as the national duo are yet to regain competitive match after sustaining injury in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup earlier this month. The worry for the blues gets worse as their experienced defend-er Rezaul Haque and hardworking mid� elder Jamal Hossain are also sidelined with injury.

However, having majority of the national players in the side Jamal also need to be careful of their own scare, the “fatigue syndrome” as their booters showed signs of ex-haustion during the quarter� nal clash against Brothers Union.

“Yes, I cant deny the fact, � ve or

six of my � rst choice players have been playing continuously for the last one year, they have ful� lled the national and club commitments and they do feel tired.

However I am working on it and I have every hope that it will not a� ect the performance tomorrow (today),” said Jamal coach Maruful Haque.

On the other hand, Russel man-ager Jewel Rana re� ected on miss-ing out on his key players and said, “We will not be able to � eld the full strength team, but we are ready to � ght it out with what we have.”

“We are not afraid of Sheikh Ja-mal, we want to win the semi� nal,” added the former national captain.

Rana thinks the contribution of the foreign players will be vital. “I must say that the foreign play-ers of Jamal are little ahead of our foreigners in ranking, I think the foreigner’s contributions will make the di� erence.”

Till date, Russel faced Jamal four times in the Federation Cup and drew only once. Jamal won once compared to Russel’s two win.l

India slam door shut on minnows big match dreams n AFP, Perth

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni dealt a huge blow to cricket’s non-Test nations Sat-urday when he warned that his world cham-pions have no plans to play regular � xtures against them.

With controversy over the make-up of the 2019 World Cup -- where the number of teams is set to be slashed from 14 to 10 - threatening to overshadow the ongoing tournament, Dho-ni slammed the door on minnows’ aspirations.

The 10 teams who will feature in England in 2019 will be based on a rankings system with the top eight as of September 30, 2017, booking their places with the other two slots decided by a qualifying tournament.

As all the Test nations play regular � xtures

against each other in one-dayers, it will leave the likes of Afghanistan and Ireland strug-gling to make the tournament as the major teams are not obliged to play Associate sides.

After brushing aside the United Arab Emir-

ates by nine wickets on Saturday to record their third win in three games at this World Cup, Dhoni said demands on Indian cricket-ers were too high to add any more � xtures.

“I don’t see India playing any more games,” he said. “We can’t, unless we play two games in one day, which is just not possible.India can’t play any more games.”

Despite the magnitude of Saturday’s de-feat, UAE skipper Mohammad Tauqir said it was important for his side to get the opportu-nity to test themselves against the best.

“I think the more we play against these bigger nations, the more we learn and the more we perform,” said Tauqir, whose team have been beaten in all three games although they pushed Zimbabwe and Ireland before losing narrowly.l

‘Press Box er Dinguli’ hits the standsn Raihan Mahmood

For more than three decades, Khandaker Mon-jurul Islam, better known as Dilu Khandaker, has roamed through the sports arena of the country as a keen sports journalist. He has ob-served the ups and downs of the sports arena, the development and the growth, the making of football and cricket stars and their contri-butions. Moreover, the development of sports journalism, its struggle and appeal were also integral parts of Dilu Khandaker’s journalism career. He has tried to recall all the memories, the golden moments and the popularity of the stars in one book - “Press Box er Dinguli”. His love and passion towards sports and his ex-perience of covering countless sports events, both at home and abroad, presents the read-ers an unique feeling. There is no use of im-agination; all are factual events. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to know the history of the country’s sports. Long Live Dilu Khandaker. l

Fed Cup: Russel eye Jamal upset

Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club footballers, led by Mamunul Islam (L), train at their club ground yesterday

St Gregory’s lift mini rugby titlen Raihan Mahmood

St. Gregory’s School emerged champions in the Health First Mini Rugby (U-11) beat-ing Rahmatullah Model High School by 29-5 points at the Paltan Ground yesterday.

Earlier, St. Gregory’s beat Cambrian School by 29-3 points to con� rm their place in the � nal

Kazi Razibuddin Chapal, the treasurer of Bangladesh Olympic Association distributed the prizes as the chief guest. Rashiduzzaman Serniyabat, the chairman of the tournament committee, Mousum Ali, the general secre-tary of the Rugby Federation, joint secretary Saeed Ahmed and other o� cials were also present on the occasion. l

St. Gregory’s School players and o� cials pose with the Health First Mini Rugby Under-11 trophy at the Paltan ground yesterday COURTESY

MA

INO

OR

ISLA

M M

AN

IK

POOL BTeam P W L N/R Pts NRRIndia          3 3 0 0 6 +2.630South Africa   3 2 1 0 4 +1.260Ireland        2 2 0 0 4 +0.338West Indies    4 2 2 0 4 -0.313Zimbabwe       3 1 2 0 2 -0.827UAE            3 0 3 0 0 -1.326Pakistan       2 0 2 0 0 -2.260

Sport 29D

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SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

First Security Islami Bank Ltd beat Union Bank Ltd by 8 wickets in a friendly cricket match yesterday. Asif Imran of FSIBL scored 70 runs and took one wicket to become the player of the match. FSIBL Managing Director Syed Wasek inaugurated the match while dignitaries and high-ups from both the banks were present during the match COURTESY

Rangpur stumper-opener Liton Kumar Das is currently the highest scorer of the ongoing 16th National Cricket League with 738 runs from nine innings, at an astonishing average of 92.25. The 20-year old right-hander has smashed four centuries, including three 150+ run knocks. Having experienced a memorable campaign in the country’s premier � rst-class competition, the young and talented wicket-keeper was one of the nar-row misses of the Tigers’ World Cup squad.

Yesterday, Dhaka Tribune’s Minhaz Uddin Khan managed to talk with Liton, one of the country’s brightest prospects. Here are the excerpts.

‘I will try to be the highest scorer’

DT: Till the end of the fifth round, you are the top scorer. What does it mean to you?Liton: As a batsman, my only job is to score runs. So, I always try to score runs. It does not matter what format I am playing or for whom I am playing.

It is often said the Bangladesh batsmen lack patience in the longer formats but you have scored four hundreds, approximately one in every other inning...Four-day cricket is a di� erent mentality game. One of the key factors here is for a bats-man to play risk-free. So, I am following that theory. I am hitting the bad balls and leaving the good deliveries. So, I think this theory is serving me well. And at the same time, the coach and seniors of the team are also helping me in a big way. They are teaching me how to deal with longer-version cricket.

Allegations have been raised that several

cricketers do not take the NCL seriously. However, you and the other youngsters seem to be enjoying four-day cricket. Any observation on this allegation? I never thought of the NCL as an ordinary tournament. This is a � rst-class tournament and one has to respect that. I am a still a new-bie in the format. So, I always aim to contrib-ute for the team. Having said that, I do not think the seniors treat it negatively. I always see that my seniors are serious with their game. It has always been serious business or else you would not have seen the competi-tiveness between the teams.

So far, 49 centuries, including six double hundreds, have been scored in the tournament. This has raised doubts over the competitiveness of the wickets and the bowling. What are your thoughts on this?Usually, the NCL is played in a home-and-away basis. If you look into the past, you will

notice that the wickets in Bogra, Rajshahi, Khulna and a few other places had move-ment in it, making it di� cult for the batsmen. Those pitches had grass. But this time, the matches are being played around Dhaka city due to the ongoing political unrest. I will say the wickets at BKSP are making it easy for the batsmen. The wickets there (BKSP) are not at all helpful for the pacemen. The spinners are also having a tough time. Those wickets are too � at and a heaven for the batsmen. That is why you are seeing too many big scores.

Your target in the remainder of the tournament...My target is to achieve what I failed to do in the Dhaka Premier League (50-over tournament). I had started well in that tournament but a few bad innings saw me end as the second highest run-scorer. So, I will try to hold onto � rst position this time around.l

Star Sports 14:00AM ICC Cricket World Cup England v Sri Lanka Star Sports 2English Premier League 5:45PM Liverpool v Manchester City 8:00PM Arsenal v Everton 1:45AM Italian Serie A Torino v Napoli Star Sports 49:30AM ICC Cricket World Cup Pakistan v Zimbabwe 2:00AM Spanish La Liga Real Madrid v Villarreal Ten Action9:00AM ATP World Tour 500 Abierto Mexicano Telecel Final 12:00PM A-League 2014/15 Melbourne Victory v Phoenix 7:30PM I-League 2015 Dempo Sports Club v East Bengal 9:30PM Capital One Cup 2014/15 Final: Chelsea v Tottenham 2:00AM French Ligue 1 AS Monaco v Paris Saint-Germain Ten Sports 8:00PM Sky Bet Championship Norwich City v Ipswich Town

DAY’S WATCH Australia must play swing better: Clarke n AFP, Auckland

Australia captain Michael Clarke said his side had to bat better against swing bowling if they were to win the World Cup after a top-or-der collapse ultimately proved decisive in a dramatic one-wicket defeat by New Zealand.

Clarke’s men were bundled out for just 151 after he won the toss in a Pool A clash against fellow tournament co-hosts New Zealand at Auckland’s Eden Park on Saturday, with left-arm swing bowler Trent Boult taking a ca-reer-best � ve for 27.

“We were extremely poor, there is no doubt about that,” said Clarke. “I think cred-it needs to go to New Zealand bowlers. They bowled really well.

“They swung the ball nicely and bowled good areas, but our shot selection was very poor, and I thought our defence more than anything else was an area that was a lot poor-er than we would have liked.

“I think moving forward the balls are going to swing and we’ve got work to do with the bat. That’s for sure.”

Australia were well-placed at 80 for one,

with opener David Warner (34) and Shane Watson (23) adding 50 for the second wicket before a rapid collapse saw eight wickets lost for just 26 runs.

It was only because of a last-wicket stand of 45 between Brad Haddin (43) and Pat Cum-mins (seven not out) that Australia avoided their lowest World Cup total of 129, against India at Chelmsford in 1983.

That Australia almost pulled o� a stunning win was down to a brilliant bowling e� ort led by left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc’s ca-reer-best six for 28.

Starc took two wickets in as many balls before last man Boult blocked the � nal two deliveries of the 23rd over. 

The � rst ball of the next over saw Kane Williamson (45 not out) strike the winning six o� paceman Pat Cummins.

Clarke insisted Australia hadn’t given up hope of victory after they were dismissed in-side 33 overs.

“I made it clear to the boys that I thought we had enough runs, and I think you have to do that certainly as captain of the team,” he said. l

POOL ATeam P W L N/R Pts NRRNew Zealand 4 4 0 0 8 +3.589 Sri Lanka      3 2 1 0 4 -0.063Bangladesh     3 1 1 1 3 +0.287Australia      3 1 1 1 3 -0.305 Afghanistan    3 1 2 0 2 -0.760England        3 1 2 0 2 -1.415Scotland       3 0 3 0 0 -1.735

Police warn of terrorist attack ahead of Bundesliga match n AFP, Berlin

Security will be tightened around Werder Bremen’s home Bundesliga clash against sec-ond-placed VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday after police warned of a possible terrorist attack in the Hanseatic City. 

Local police have stepped up their pres-ence in Bremen’s central areas due to a warn-ing of possible Islamic terrorist activity in the city, from Federal police, on Friday night.

“The Bremen police department has in-creased its presence in the city and stepped up protective measures in public areas,” said a Bremen police spokesman.l

DOWNTIME30DT

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

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 3 represents W so � ll W every time the � gure 3 appears.You have one letter in the control grid to start you o� . Enter it 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 Freight-carrying vessel (5)4 Raised platform (4)7 Flightless bird (3)8 Female swan (3)9 Long, protruding teeth (5)12 Minute particle (4)13 Support for railway lines (7)15 Sweet potato (3)16 Greek letter (3)18 Eyelid a� iction (3)19 Blushing (3)21 Reads attentively (7)24 Church recess (4)26 Brewing substance (5)27 Kitchen utensil (3)28 Contend in rivalry (3)29 At hand (4)30 Strong box (5)

DOWN1 Wagers (4)2 Talisman (6)3 Trick (4)4 Expensive (4)5 Insect (3)6 Dance (5)10 Opener (3)11 Be merciful to (5)14 Very hard mineral (5)17 Essay on a theme (6)18 Country (5)20 Owing (3)21 Fruit (4)22 Rescue (4)23 To let stand! (4)25 Mineral spring (3)

SUDOKU

SHOWTIME 31D

TSUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

WHAT TO WATCH

SUPERSTAR SUNDAYS

TELEVISION

ZERO DEGREE I JUPITER ASCENDING 3D I HORN I SEVENTH SON 3D I JESSABELLE@ Star Cineplex

KINGSMEN I JUPITER ASCENDING 3D I TAKEN 3 I NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB I SEVENTH SON 3D I EXODUS 3D I THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES I ZERO DEGREE I INTERSTELLAR I ROMEO V/S JULIET

@ Blockbuster Cinemas

CINEMA

n Tausif Sanzum

Leonard Nimoy gained global recognition as the part human-part Vulcan � rst o� cer, Mr. Spock in Starship Enterprise in the tele-vision series and then movie adaption, Star Trek. His popularity can be gauged by the fact that when J. J. Abrams rebooted the se-ries in 2009, Leonard Nimoy was the only one from the original cast to be brought back. Born on March 26, 1931 in Boston, Nimoy started his career in 1950s starring in small time horror � icks followed by a slew of tele-vision series such as The Twilight Zone and Gunsmoke. It was only in 1966 when he got his most famous role to date as Mr. Spock.

He would go on to direct two Star Trek se-quels and Three Men and a Baby. A little less known fact is that Nimoy was also a singer and churned out � ve albums starting with Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock’s Music From Outer Space. Nimoy also wrote two au-tobiographies, I Am Not Spock in 1975 and I Am Spock in 1995.

His wife, Susan Bay Nimoy, con� rmed his death on Friday morning at the age of 83. The cause being end-stage chronic obstruc-tive pulmonary disease, which Nimoy earlier blamed to years of smoking.

His last tweet is both sweet and also is apt to celebrate the life of this movie legend, “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP.” l

Farewell and prosper

INCEPTIONHBO, 5:35pm

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page A thief who steals corporate secrets through use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a CEO.

ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY

HBO Hits, 10pmRon Burgundy is San Diego’s top rated newsman in the male-dominated broad-casting of the ‘70s, but that’s all about to change for Ron anchor.

LARRY KING @kingsthings“Time to set the record straight.” #dressgate

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS @ActuallyNPH So � rst I saw the dress as white and gold, and only that. Now, it’s absolutely blue and black. How?!? Does this make me bi-dress-ual?

PRIYANKA CHOPRA@priyankachopra I’m always promoted! Lol RT @wajidurgr8: From Interpol o� cer ROMA BHARTI to CBI Inspector NANDITA SENGUPTA and Now FBI ALEX WEAVER

LEONARD NIMOY @TheRealNimoyA life is like a garden. Perfect mo-ments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP

CELEBS ON SOCIAL

n Entertainment Desk

A rumour suggests that “Fifty Shades of Grey” stars Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson will not be joining this storied tradition of the histo-ry of cinema, which includes plenty of actors who hated each other o� -screen, but somehow managed to have amazing chemistry on � lm such as Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, and Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling and so on.

Whether or not Dornan and Johnson hate each other is debatable, but based on their constant posture while in each other's company, it really appears like they do. Their on-screen chemistry is equal to the chemistry of a couple of unboiled hot dogs. Without the unboiled hot dogs' inherent sexiness.

There were whispers that Dornan, 32, would not be returning for the “Fifty Shades” sequels because his musician wife Amelia Warner feels uncomfortable with the sadomasochistic and domination themes in the � lm. The movie has made almost $400 million dollars worldwide since its Valentine's Day opening.

The Irish star � nally responded to rumours with an o� cial statement to the contrary.

"Jamie is delighted that the � lm is breaking box o� ce records worldwide and whilst the studio has not made any formal announcements about se-quels, he is looking forward to making the next � lm," his rep told ABC News. l

Fifty shades of discontent

Dear Readers,In keeping with our sleek and shiny up-grade to the compact version, we’ve giv-en your favourite Entertainment page a facelift. This brand new section, Show-time, is the result of that makeover.Starting today, we will be featuring the latest in Hollywood news, reviews, gos-sip and teasers every Sunday.So sit back, and let us entertain you.

BACK PAGE32DT

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

THE MARKETPLACE OF THE BLIND PAGE 14

THE DEATH OF SPOCK PAGE 31

BOULT INSPIRES KIWI VICTORY PAGE 25

Ekushey Boi Mela ends with huge salesn Nure Alam Durjoy

Yesterday saw a throng of visitors and heavy book sales as the cur-tain dropped on the month-long Amar Ek-ushey Boi Mela 2015.

But the highlight of the day was the pub-

lishers getting together to protest the murder of secularist writer and blogger Avijit Roy, who was hacked to death on Thursday night.

The last day of the fair began an hour ear-lier as part of the protest, and the protesters demanded immediate arrest of Avijit’s killers.

“We urge the government to immediately arrest the attackers and call upon the publish-ers to stand together for the sake of the free-dom of expression,” said Robin Ahsan, owner of Srabon Prakashani.

Later, Srabon Prakashani, Jagriti Prakashani, Nandonik and online book shop Porua kept the shutter of their stalls down for 10 minutes – from 4:05pm to 4:15pm – in pro-test of Avijit’s murder.

The concluding ceremony took place in the evening at the main stage on the premises of Bangla Academy. Presided over by Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman, chairman of Bangla Academy, the programme was also addressed by Bangla Academy Director General Sham-suzzaman Khan and Cultural A� airs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor, who was chief guest at the event.

Blockade, hartal mar book sales this yearThe book sales were not impressive this year as attendance of visitors was quite low due to the ongoing nationwide blockade and hartal

imposed by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.Throughout the fair, publishers and stall

attendants expressed concern that they were going to su� er loss as the volume of sales was far less than expected.

However, the number of visitors and book sales increased in the last days of the fair. Also, there were several special occasions in February when the fair experienced a signi� -

cant rise in sales.Yet, frustrated by the overall poor sales,

the Academic and Creative Publishers’ Asso-ciation of Bangladesh held a press conference on Thursday where they demanded the fair be extended for a week to recover the loss.

But the fair authorities refused to extend the event, citing monetary and security issues.

On the other hand, this year the fair saw a

record number of new arrivals; around 3,700 new books were released throughout the fair – highest in 10 years, according to sources at Bangla Academy.

A few noteworthy events took place during the fair, such as the four-day International Literary Conference and the shut down of the stall of Rodela Prakashani for “hurting reli-gious sentiments.” l

As the curtain draws for the month-long Ekushey Boi Mela, a good number of book lovers thronged the fair on its last day yesterday. A family returns home with hands full of books and an anticipation of going back to the fair next year MEHEDI HASAN

AMAR EKUSHEYBOOK FAIR 2015

Classics top the popular listn Tribune Report

A record number of new books may have been published this year at Amar Ekushey Boi Mela – a few of them bestsellers, but it was the clas-sics that were the most sought out by readers at the fair – as usual.

Observing the sales trend throughout the month-long book fair, this reporter saw that the visitors, especially new readers, were keen on getting their hands on the works of writers such as Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Shawkat Osman, Rabindranath Tagore and Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay.

“They are very interesting, and have al-ways been so. The classics give us a glimpse at our past culture,” said Shams Swann, a former student of Dhaka University.

One of the favourites was “Hansuli Baank-er Upakatha,” a novel by Tarashankar Ban-dopadhay, � rst published in 1947. The novel depicts the ancient picture of a marginalised Bangali society, well-hidden beneath the

ocean of darkness. Oboshor Prakashana Sang-stha brought out its fourth edition this year.

Novel “Laughter of the Slave” and short-story collection “Shreshthogolpo” by Shawkat Osman were also popular among readers. So did “Rabindranath Shomogro,” brought to the fair by Pathak Shomabesh.

Among others were works by Manik Ban-dopadhyay, Syed Waliullah, Akhtaruzzaman Elias, Sukumar Ray and Jibanananda Das, sev-eral stall attendants told the Dhaka Tribune.

However, it was not just the Bangla classics that were popular choices; translation of for-eign literature enjoyed readers’ attention too.

“The Bangla version of Greek epic ‘Iliyad’ by Homer received good response,” said Pronoy Das, an attendant at the Pathak Shomabesh stall.

The University Press Limited brought the translation of early 19th-century play “Faust” by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe. Attendants at the UPL stall said the translation was not well-re-ceived at the beginning of the fair, but readers’ interest picked up as the fair progressed. l

Serina, the Boi Mela bestsellern Tribune Report

Alongside some other new works, Serina, a sci-� novel by Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, was considered the bestseller at Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2015, excluding the dictionaries of Bangla Academy.

Somoy Prokashan launched Serina, whose � fth edition is now being sold. Anisur Rahman, a stall attendant at Somoy, said the novel has drawn the most readers, especially youths. “Each edition contains around 5,000 copies.”

Obaidul Quader’s Gangchil has also attract-ed many readers, he said. Eleven editions of the novel have already been sold, with each edition containing 1,000 copies.

Besides Serina, a biography by Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Mujib Amar Pita, has drawn readers to the stall of Agamee Prakashani throughout the month.

Prothoma Prakashan launched Anisul Ho-que’s Bikkhobher Dingulite Prem, which drew many readers.

Debabrata Mukherjee’s biography on Shakib Al Hasan, called Apon Chokhe Bhinno Chokhe, was the highest sold book for Oitijjo, said its director Amjad Hossain Kajol.

Poetry collections Rokkha Koro Hey Bhoirob by Nirmalendu Goon and Toronger Osthir Noukay by Syed Shamsul Haque were introduced by Bibhas Prakashan and Shud-hashar, respectively. They sold well, said the respective stall attendants.

A translation of Iliad drew the most readers to Pathak Shamabesh, according to its attend-ants.

Humayun Ahmed’s Ghetuputra Kamala also drew readers to Anya Prakash, said its stall attendants. l

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial O� ce: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com