30 March, 2015

PAGE 4Minister’s brother found dead in Dhanmondi Lake

PAGE 314 Hindu families � ee political musclemen

PAGE 32Jail terms to be introduced for river polluters

PAGE 6Wasa appoints Korean � rm to rehabilitate water supply network

KHULNA WATER SUPPLY UNDER THREAT PAGE 7

PROJECT TO IMPROVE HAOR LIVING SOON PAGE 32

BACHCHU RAZAKAR STILL TRACELESS PAGE 3

SECOND EDITION

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2015 | Chaitra 16, 1421, Jamadius Sani 9, 1436 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 2, No 354 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

Indian Srini steals Kamal’s moment at trophy ceremony n Minhaz Uddin Khan

International Cricket Council President AHM Mostafa Kamal says he will take legal action against the ICC for not letting him present the ICC 2015 Cricket World Cup trophy to champi-ons Australia in Melbourne yesterday.

According to the ICC constitution, the president will “present trophies at global competitions.”

Kamal’s moment was stolen by the organ-isation’s Chairman Narayanswami Srinivasan as the Indian, booed to the podium, gave the trophy to Australia captain Michael Clarke.

What irked the general public was that the ICC did not even extend the courtesy of

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Aussies seal 5th title as Clarke bids farewelln Mazhar Uddin from Melbourne

Skipper Michael Clarke bid the perfect fare-well as Australia clinched the ICC World Cup yesterday for a record � fth time following a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Aus-tralasia rivals New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Clarke made it an occasion to remember as his 72-ball 74 guided the Aussies to their target of 184 in 33.1 overs for the loss of three wickets. The Kiwis earlier posted just 183 runs before losing all of their wickets in 45 overs after opting to take � rst strike.

Chasing a relatively small target in their seventh � nal appearance, Australia received a minor jolt when opener Aaron Finch (nought) dished out an easy return catch to Trent Boult. Boult ended his maiden World Cup

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Rebels remain in the gameMost mayor aspirants apparently violate electoral code, staging showdowns with scores of supporters

n Rajib Bhowmick with Adil Sakhawat, Munir Momtaz and Tarek Mahmud

The last day of submitting nomination papers saw 60 mayoral aspirants, including 47 in Dhaka and 13 in Chittagong � le their nomina-tion papers for the April 28 city polls.

As is usual at local government elections in Bangladesh, “rebel” candidates are likely to play a key role in these city polls as well.

Both Awami League and BNP have already decided upon the candidates they will sup-port, but many other leaders – the so called rebels – from these parties � led their papers. Most of them are hopeful of getting their par-ties’ blessings eventually.

Interestingly, Old Dhaka-based in� uen-tial Awami League leader Haji Mohammad Selim did not � le his papers, even though he has been running a major publicity campaign over the last month or so.

Another Dhaka-based ruling party leader Eklash Uddin Molla, who had collected pa-pers for mayor of Dhaka north, did not submit the papers in the end.

Apparently, they have made way for the aspirants who got party nods – former Dhaka mayor late Mohammad Hanif’s son Sayeed Khokon in the south and business tycoon

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Aussie skipper Michael Clarke, in ODI jersey for the last time, along with his emphatic teammates holds the 2015 Cricket World Cup trophy high at MSC yesterday ESPNCRICINFO

Dhaka North City Corporation mayor aspirant Nayeem Hasan (signing some documents) came to the returning o� cer’s o� ce at Agargaon on a horse cart to submit nomination papers yesterday. A mobile court there � ned him Tk20,000 for violating the election code of conduct RAJIB DHAR

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2015

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Indian Srini shows ICC President Kamal upinviting Kamal to the presentation party.

“I am very disappointed to see this and I will consult the relevant authorities once I re-turn to Dhaka and make a strong decision on this,” Kamal, the former Bangladesh Cricket Board president and Bangladesh’s planning minister, told the media in Melbourne yester-day. “I will take legal action if needed.”

A Kolkata-based daily reported that the move had been planned. It said: “Srinivasan, the ICC chairman, had decided that he and not ICC president Kamal would give away the World Cup to the winning captain whereas the ICC’s constitution clearly states that the president will present trophies at global competitions.”

It was during Jagmohan Dalmiya’s tenure (1997-2000) that the ICC president started to give away the World Cup. The � rst presenta-tion was in the 1999 edition.

The report also said Srinivasan usurped Kamal’s role during an “informal” meeting of the ICC’s board members held in Melbourne on Saturday. Kamal protested, citing the con-stitution, but he was left isolated.

According to sources, Mostafa Kamal was insulted not once but twice and was asked to leave the meeting room when his conduct came up for discussion.

The informal ICC meeting also agreed on asking Kamal to explain his stinging com-ments on the umpiring after India halted Bangladesh in the quarter-� nal. Kamal of-fered a verbal explanation straight away, say-ing he had expressed his views in an “individ-ual capacity” and not as the ICC president.

However, Kamal’s explanation did not seem to impress Srinivasan and the others. The board asked Kamal to prepare a written explanation which would be discussed dur-ing the full-� edged ICC board meeting next month in Dubai.

Srinivasan has been barred by the Indian Supreme Court from seeking re-election as the head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Kamal, the � rst president after the ICC’s re-structuring, has three months of his one-year term left. l

Aussies seal 5th title as Clarke bids farewellcampaign with 22 wickets, joint-highest alongside Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc.

However, the Aussies never really pan-icked as they kept cruising to their destina-tion, courtesy of David Warner and Steve Smith. The second wicket duo punished any-thing wayward as Warner was slowly moving towards his � fty.

The pugnacious left-hander, though, fell just � ve runs short but Smith made no such mistake, reaching his � fty in what turned out to be an exceptional summer for Australia’s future captain.

Warner’s departure brought Clarke to the crease amid deafening cheers from a record MCG crowd of 93,013.

The Smith-Clarke third-wicket partnership toyed with the Kiwi bowlers with the for-mer remaining unbeaten on 56 from 71 balls. Clarke, however, was unable to stay undefeat-ed as he departed after scoring a well-made 74

in his � nal one day international. Man of the summer Smith hit the winning

runs to spark wild celebrations in the Austral-ian dugout as well as the huge galleries and stands at the MCG.

The Black Caps had only themselves to blame for the convincing defeat as they made the worst possible start. Marauding skipper Brendon McCullum, arguably his side’s most menacing player at the moment, became the � rst-ever captain to be dismissed for a duck in a World Cup � nal.

A scorching yorker from the brilliant Starc was good enough to undo the Kiwi captain as he totally misjudged the line of the delivery to be clean bowled in just the � fth ball of the � nal.

Opener Martin Guptill too perished soon af-ter but not before elevating himself to the sum-mit of the highest run-scorers list. Guptill, with 547 runs, surpassed Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara, who has six runs fewer.

The Kiwis were reeling at 39/3 inside 13

overs when Kane Williamson gifted a simple caught-and-bowled opportunity to Mitchell Johnson.

From there, the experienced Ross Taylor and semi-� nal hero Grant Eliott tried to res-cue the Black Caps and somewhat succeeded, putting on 111 runs for the � fth wicket.

Just when they appeared to be maximising the latter overs, the Kiwis threw away their initiative.

Veteran wicket-keeper Brad Haddin took a magni� cent catch to dismiss Taylor for 40 while the quick departures of big-hitters like Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi, both dis-missed for nought, hardly helped New Zea-land’s cause.

Eliott’s � ne knock of 83 from 82 balls went in vain as the Kiwis were unable to post a chal-lenging total.

Johnson and man of the � nal James Faulkner bagged three wickets each while Starc picked up two wickets. l

Rebels remain in the gameAnnisul Huq in the north.

However, � lmstar and former Awami League MP Sarah Begum Kabari is still in the race for mayor in the north. She is now the only female mayor aspirant in Dhaka as Hele-na Jahangir did not � le her papers yesterday.

She later told reporters: “I submitted the pa-pers as I have Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s blessings. I have been involved with the coun-try’s cultural arena for long. If I am elected, women will be empowered...If the prime minis-ter asks me to pull out, then I will think about it.”

On the other hand, all BNP-backed aspirants � led nomination papers – business tycoon and BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s adviser Abdul Awal Mintoo in Dhaka north, former Dhaka mayor Mirza Abbas for Dhaka south and incumbent mayor M Manjur Alam in Chittagong.

Abdus Salam, � nance secretary of BNP’s central committee, also � led forms yesterday to contest the mayoral race for Dhaka south. His wife Syeda Fatema Salam submitted the papers because her husband in on the run –like many other BNP leaders – to avoid arrest in the ongoing security crackdown.

“The party [BNP] has not yet made the � nal decision about my husband. But there is silent support from Khaleda Zia,” Fatema told reporters. Convenor of a civic platform, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, also a former organising secretary of the ruling party, how-ever did not � le nomination papers for the mayoral race of Dhaka north yesterday. He is currently in police custody.

Although BNP’s top ally Jamaat-e-Islami as not � oated any mayoral candidates, Awami League’s alliance partners Jatiya Party (JaPa) – also main opposition in parliament – and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) are backing aspirants.

JaPa is backing Bobby Hajjaj in the north and Haji Saifuddin Ahmed Milon in the south of Dhaka. JSD is backing actor Nader Chowd-hury in the north.

For the polls in Dhaka north, a total of 21 mayoral, 494 general ward councillor and 135 re-served female councillor aspirants submitted pa-pers yesterday. For the south, a total of 26 mayor-al aspirants submitted forms on the last day.

In Dhaka north, other mayor aspirants include Bikalpadhaka Bangladesh’s Mahi B Chowdhury and leftist Gonoshonghoti An-

dolan’s Zonayed Saki.In the south, BNP leaders Asaduzzaman

Ripon and Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu also � led their papers yesterday. Pintu is convict with life in prison in the BDR carnage case.

When asked whether he had got his par-ty’s blessings, Ripon, also international a� airs secretary of BNP, said: “I will extend my sup-port to the party-backed candidate.”

He also said: “We won in the last � ve city polls. If free and fair polls are held, we will win in Dhaka and Chittagong as well... It would not be appropriate to mix hartal and election. Har-tal is for restoring democracy. It will continue.”

Breach of codeDhaka Tribune correspondents yesterday visited the two election o� ces in Dhaka and found that most aspirants, especially the mayoral aspirants, violated the electoral code of conduct which bars them from bringing more than � ve persons when � ling nomina-tion papers. Some aspirants brought as many as 30 people with them.

Mihir Sarwar Morshed, returning o� cer of Dhaka city polls, said: “We will monitor elec-tronic and print media reports and then take action. We have already served show cause notices to 92 aspirants on the basis of media reports.”

However, no such notice has yet been served to any of the mayor aspirants.

Annisul Huq was accompanied by lawmak-er Col (retd) Faruk Khan, former food minister Abdur Razzak, Jahangir Kabir Nanok, BGMEA President M Atiqul Islam and former BGMEA president AK Azad.

“I am so happy because I got the chance to contest. The electoral environment is much better now and I hope it will improve fur-ther,” said Annisul after submitting his papers around 3:30pm.

South’s mayor aspirant Sayeed Khokon submitted his papers around 12:30pm. He was accompanied by Awami League lawmakers Fazle Nur Taposh and Mostafa Jalal Mohiud-din and MA Aziz.

Asked whether he had broken the code of conduct, Khokon told reporters: “Only � ve people accompanied me to the returning of-� cer’s o� ce. Others were councillor aspirants.”

Mintoo family dramaHours after BNP’s contender in the north Ad-bul Awal Mintoo’s papers were � led by his son Tafsir M Awal, his other son Tabith placed his own nomination papers, which were collect-ed on the same day.

Tabith’s papers were � led by his relative Shahidul Alam.

Asked if there was any con� ict between the father and the son, Shahidul told reporters: “They might be looking to run for the same post but there is no con� ict. Tabith is young and has studied abroad. He thinks that the young voters will give him their support.”

In ChittagongIn Chittagong, 13 out of the 18 mayor aspirants who collected nomination papers, � led their forms yesterday. BNP-backed Manjur submit-ted his nomination papers around 9:30am.

BNP Vice-Chairman Abdullah Al Noman and Chittagong city unit BNP’s President Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury accompanied Manjur along with some other local leaders of the 20-party alliance.

On the other hand, Awami League-backed AJM Nasir Uddin was accompanied by the par-ty’s port city unit chief AKM Mohiuddin Chowd-hury, a former three-time mayor, and other sen-ior leaders. Jatiya Party is backing its presidium member Solaiman Alam Seth Chittagong mayor.

A total of 71 aspirants for the reserved fe-male ward councillor posts and 288 aspirant ward councillors submitted forms yesterday in Chittagong.

Those who missedAround 24 ward councillor and reserved fe-male councillor aspirants yesterday failed to submit their forms within the stipulated deadline of 5pm. Of them, 10 were female councillor aspirants. Around two minutes past � ve in the afternoon yesterday, some 20-25 aspirants gathered in front of Mihir Sarwar Morshed, returning o� cer of Dhaka south, when he was brie� ng journalists.

They kept requesting him to accept their papers, blaming their delay on heavy tra� c.

Mihir told journalists that he had accept-ed an application from these aspirants and would make a decision later. l

Mayor candidate � ned for violating electoral coden Tribune Report

A mayoral aspirant was � ned Tk20,000 yesterday for violating electoral code of conduct in front of Dhaka North City Corporation returning o� ce.

Sarwar Alam, magistrate of the mobile court, said Nayeem Hasan came to the returning o� ce by riding a horse which is against the electoral code and conduct.

He has to pay the � ne of Tk20,000 and in default of which he has to serve one month in jail, said the magistrate. The mayoral aspirant, however, paid the � ne immediately.

Nayeem Hasan said some of his supporters bought the horse and put it behind a market but members of the mobile court found it and � ned him.

Shah Alam, returning o� cer of the Dhaka North City Corporation said: “We are seriously about the electoral code of conduct so that none can violate them. l

NEWS2DT

NEWS 3D

TMONDAY, MARCH 30, 2015

Convicted 3 years back, Bachchu Razakar still tracelessn Mohammad Jamil Khan

Bachchu Razakar used to preach Islam on pri-vate television channels. No one, apparently, was aware of his complicity in killing, rape, abduction, torture and arson attacks during the 1971 Liberation War in Faridpur until a war crimes tribunal issued arrest warrant against him upon a prosecution plea.

He � ed his house – amid surveillance of law enforcers – in between � ling of the plea and is-suance of the warrant that took a week. Unof-� cial sources say he went to Pakistan via India and Nepal – without a passport or visa.

He never came back, neither to prove him-self innocent during the trial period nor to challenge the death sentence he was awarded on January 15, 2013 by the International Crimes Tribunal.

He was the � rst war crimes accused to face judgement after a trial in absentia.

The law enforcers, however, have not been able to locate him until date let alone bringing him back. Even no agency or government o� -

cial agrees to con� rm that he � ed to Pakistan.Abul Kalam Azad, known as Bachchu

Razakar during the war, had been an associate of Zahid Hossain Khokon of Faridpur. Khokon and another convicted war criminal Moham-mad Abdul Jabbar managed to � ee the country.

Campaigners say the suspected war crimi-nals would not have � ed the country had the law enforcers been sincere.

Bachchu Razakar managed to � ee the coun-try sensing that he could be arrested. He got several days to chalk out an exit route, and with the help of family members and aides, he went to Dinajpur from his house at Dhaka’s Ut-tarkhan, then to India through Hili Land Port, and � nally reached Pakistan via Nepal.

The prosecution sought a warrant for his ar-rest on March 25, 2012 and the tribunal issued the warrant on April 2 after receiving a report from its investigation agency. But it was too late to catch him.

Bachchu Razakar was under watch, police and detectives said, since the prosecution had sought the arrest warrant. He left the capital on

March 30.The tribunal on October 7 the same year de-

cided to continue the trial in absentia. He was indicted on November 4 on the eight charges brought against him by the prosecution. After the trial, the tribunal handed down death pen-alty for the committing war crimes.

The law enforcers later detained sons, rel-atives and friends of Bachchu Razakar for as-sisting him to leave the country. Interrogating them, the law enforcers came to know about his escape route.

Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner (media) of the DMP, said the police were trying to locate and arrest Bachchu Razakar.

Similar statement came from Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan, media wing director of the force Rapid Action Battalion.

Alongside the law enforcers, a high-pow-ered task force comprising several ministers has also been working to bring back all the fugitive criminals inclining the war criminals staying abroad.

But there has been no breakthrough as yet. l

14 Hindu families � ee political musclemenn Our Correspondent, Barguna

At least 14 Hindu families, allegedly evicted from their homesteads by a local Jubo League leader, have been living like refugees for years.

There are allegations that Zakir Hossain, a leader of ruling Awami League’s youth wing Jubo League in Taltali upazila of Barguna dis-trict, has been looking to gobble up the lands owned by these Hindu families for a long time.

In the face of torture by goons hired by Zakir and his elder brother Salam, the � rst three of these 14 families left their homestead and took refuge in the Borguna district town in 2013. Two more families followed them next year.

On March 13, the last nine families left their homesteads together and came to Barguna town.

During a recent visit to the Chandantala

village – home of these 14 families – this corre-spondent saw deserted homesteads and ponds.

Locals, who did not want to be named for understandable security concerns, said grab-bers have for long been trying to persuade these Hindu families to sell their lands at low prices.

As they refused, politically in� uential grab-bers in� icted inhuman torture on these Hindu families, eventually forcing them out of their homes.

Jadav Sarker, a victim, said: “Abur Rashid, a local in� uential, have been pressuring me for a long time for extortion. His men teased my daughter on her way to and from school. I � led a case under the women and children repres-sion prevention act and he served jail terms in that case. Later I withdrew the case after local Awami League leaders told me to. But after get-ting released from jail, Rashid started torturing

us again. That was why we had no option but to leave.”

Locals said Rashid is known a close associate of Jubo League leader Zakir and his brother.

This correspondent tried to contact Zakir and Salam but found nobody at home. They were not available on their mobile phones ei-ther.

Local union parishad Chairman Nazrul Is-lam Kalu Patwari said: “Locals formed a human chain against Rashid. There have also been several arbitrations. But nothing worked. The way the Hindu families left their home, this is unacceptable.”

When contacted, Barguna police chief (SP) Md Saiful Islam and Deputy Commissioner Meer Zahurul Islam both assured doing what-ever needed to bring these Hindu families back to their homes and ensure their security. l

Five companies submit tenders for offshore survey n Aminur Rahman Rasel

Five international geophysics companies yesterday submitted tender documents to conduct a 2D seismic marine survey of Bang-ladesh’s o� shore areas.

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.

“Five interested companies submitted ten-der documents to conduct a 2D seismic ma-rine survey,” Chairman Istiaque Ahmad of the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, commonly known as Petrobangla, told the Dhaka Tribune.

“We have formed a tender evaluation com-mittee headed by a director to evaluate the doc-uments. After they are evaluated, Petrobangla will select a company and enter into a 10-year deal with it. Petrobangla will share in the prof-its from selling the data,” he said.

The � ve companies are Chinese company BGP, Norwegian-US joint venture TGS-NOPEC and Schlumberger, Norway-based Dolphin Geophysical Company, Russian Dalmorneft-egeophysica (DMNG) and UK-based Geotrace.

Petrobangla earlier invited tenders from international geophysics � rms to conduct the survey on a non-exclusive multi-client basis.

After a three-year pause, the government is planning to formulate a fresh production shar-ing contract (PSC) model to award o� shore hy-drocarbon blocks in the Bay of Bengal.

The survey, the � rst of its kind in the coun-try’s history, was deemed necessary after Bangladesh’s maritime boundaries with My-anmar and India were settled recently.

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

The survey coverage area is around 118,000 square kilometres with water depth ranging from 20 metres to greater than 2,500 metres. l

Tk432cr tax dodged by steel importers realisedn Tribune Report

A gang of fraud steel sheet importers had long been dodging taxes by placing fabricated bank documents and other ways.

“During the last eight months, the Direc-torate Of Customs Intelligence and Inves-tigation identi� ed 277 such consignments through which those importers dodged Tk432 crore in taxes,” its chief Moinul Khan said at a press brie� ng at its o� ce at the capital’s Moghbazar area yesterday.

The 277 consignments were stopped dur-ing this time. “Later the importers were forced to pay Tk432 crore in taxes to get their products released.”

He said: “A in� uential gang was evading crores of money in taxes by making false announcement of importing steel sheet ma-terials and steel products. After getting such allegation, we beefed up monitoring in Chit-tagong and Mongla ports in the last eight months.”

Moinul said their drives against fraud im-porters would continue. l

Marking the Corruption Prevention Week 2015, the Anti-Corruption Commission brings out a rally in the capital’s Purana Paltan area yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

NEWS4DTMONDAY, MARCH 30, 2015

Wife appeals for better medical care for Mannan Tribune Report

Failing to provide Manna with better medical care while he remains in custody could im-peril his life, his wife said yes-terday.

At a media brie� ng at the family’s Gulshan residence, Meher Nigar, wife of Nagorik Oikya Convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna, appealed for better medical care for her hus-band, a coronary artery disease patient.

“I pray humbly that Manna be sent to a hospital abroad for better treatment, rather than being kept in jail,” Meher said.

She said her husband, a heart disease patient, was found to have three blocked ar-teries before his arrest. He also su� ers from eye problems, she said.

If not provided with proper care, Manna’s condition will deteriorate, she said.

Meher claimed that heavy torture in remand caused Man-na to fall ill and be admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospi-tal (DMCH). She claimed the hospital doctor sent him back to jail without providing ade-quate treatment.

“I appeal to the government to continue with a fair trial,

based on proper evidence. But before that he needs bet-ter medical treatment,” Meher said.

Asked about taking part in the Dhaka City Corporation polls, Meher said the elec-tions were far less important than preserving her husband’s health.

Manna’s daughter, Nilom, and lawyer, Begh Masum Ja-han, were present at the brief-ing.

Manna was arrested on Feb-ruary 24, a day after the leak of a controversial telephone conversation between him and Sadeque Hossain Khoka, who has been residing in the United States for medical purposes.

After his arrest, Manna was placed on a 10-day remand in a case � led with Gulshan police station on charges of trying to instigate a revolt by the armed forces.

On March 7, a Dhaka court placed Manna on another 10-day remand in a sedition case � led at the same police station against him and BNP senior leader Sadeque Hossain Khoka.

Three days after the re-mand, he fell ill and was sent to DMCH for treatment.

Manna is now being held at Dhaka Central Jail. l

Rail minister’s brother found dead in Dhanmondi Laken Tribune Report

The elder brother of the rail-ways minister was found dead yesterday in the waters of the Dhanmondi Lake in the capital.

The body of 70-year-old ABM Abdul Latif, a retired ad-ditional secretary of the gov-ernment, was found � oating in the lake near the BGB gate in Dhanmondi 2 at around noon.

Dhanmondi police station O� cer-in-Charge Abu Bakar Siddiqui told the Dhaka Trib-une that they suspected that the death was an accident where no foul play was in-volved.

“He [Latif] went for a walk at around 9pm on Saturday and did not return home. No injury marks were found on his body, while a bunch of grass was

found clasped in his hands; this suggests that he may have grasped onto the grass while falling down [in the lake].

“Although his mobile phone could not be found, he still had some money in his pocket” the OC added.

The family of the deceased requested not to have an au-topsy performed on Latif as they also believed that the death was an accident, the po-lice o� cer told the Dhaka Trib-une.

Talking to reporters at the late additional secretary’s Dhanmondi residence, Railways Minister Mujibul Hoque said his brother’s namaz-e-janaza would be held later in their native village at Comilla’s Sripur union in Chauddagram upazila. l

SPOTLIGHT 5D


RACE TO MAYORAL ELECTIONS HEATS UP AS CANDIDATES SUBMIT NOMINATION PAPERS

Police struggle to contain the supporters of mayoral candidates crowding the main entrance to o� ce of the returning o� cer

RAJIB DHAR

Left: Awami League-backed candidate Annisul Haque waves at journalists after submitting his nomination form to contest the o� ce of mayor in Dhaka North City CorporationRight: Tafsir M Awal submits nomination papers on behalf of his father Abdul Awal Mintoo, the adviser to the BNP chairperson

RAJIB DHAR

Left: For Dhaka South City Corporation polls, Advocate Abdus Salam and Advocate

AKM Shahjahan � le the nomination form for their

BNP city unit Convener Mirza Abbas

Right: Awami League supported candidate

Sayeed Khokon submits his nomination paper to the

returning o� cer

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU


Wasa appoints Korean � rm to rehabilitate water supply networkn Tribune Report

Dhaka Water Supply and Sew-erage Authority has appointed a Korean � rm to rehabilitate and expand a 376 km of water supply pipe network of Fa-kirapool, Malibagh, Moghba-zar, Mouchak, Rampura and adjacent areas of Dhaka.

Dhaka Wasa and Kunhwa Engineering and Consulting Company, inked an agreement in this regard yesterday.

Wasa Managing Director Taqsem A Khan and the Ko-rean � rm’s Bangladesh repre-sentative Wui Jae Kim signed the deal on behalf of their re-spective organisations, while Charge de A� airs of the Korean Embassy, Kim Hyun Joo, was present as guest of honour.

Financed by the Asian De-velopment Bank (ADB), the 42-month project will start next month.

Once this project is com-pleted as part of the Wasa’s En-

vironment-Friendly Sustain-able Water Supply Project the quality of water is expected to improve.

After signing the deal, Kim Hyun Joo said Bangladesh would continue to receive support from Korea, especial-ly concerning water supply know-how.

He said the two countries would also share experience of this utility.

The WASA managing direc-tor said: “In the recent years, Wasa has brought many sub-stantial changes in the water supply system. We are gradual-ly moving towards an environ-ment-friendly, sustainable and people-oriented water supply system.”

“During the term of the in-cumbent government, Wasa’s capacity has grown. At present, Wasa has a capacity of produc-ing 242 crore litres of water every day against a demand of 230 crore litres.” l

Level-playing � eld for gentlemen only!n Tribune Report

On the demand by BNP to en-sure level-playing � eld during the upcoming city polls, Awa-mi League leader Quamrul Islam yesterday said such an atmosphere would be created only for the well-mannered aspirants, not for the persons backed by criminals.

“It will not be possible to create level-playing � eld for the criminals as you [BNP-Jamaat alliance] are supporting people having criminal backgrounds,”

Quamrul, also the food minis-ter, told a discussion marking the 96th birthday of Bangab-andhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the National Press Club.

“It is good that you have de-cided to participate in the elec-tion. But do not make any plot to foil the polls by creating an-archy in the name of election,” he warned.

Quamrul also said the BNP-Jamaat alliance should withdraw the nationwide non-stop transport strike to partici-pate in the polls. l

Indictment hearing against Fakhrul, 72 others deferred n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday de-ferred the indictment hear-ing against 73 BNP activists, including its acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, till June 16 in a case � led on charges of vandalism and obstructing law enforcers

from discharging their duties.Additional Chief Metropoli-

tan Magistrate Md Alamgir Ka-bir Raj passed the order follow-ing a time petition � led by the defence counsel.

Last year, the charge sheet of the case � led with Jatrabari police station in 2009 was sub-mitted. l

Plan demands legal action over o� ce attackn Tribune Report

Plan International Bangladesh Coun-try Director Senait Gebregziabher has demanded legal action against those who attacked his sta� members and

vandalised Plan’s Lalmonirhat o� ce on March 25.

The director made the call yesterday through a media release.

In the attack, four employees, in-cluding the o� ce’s Programme Unit

Manager Mahfuzar Rahman, were in-jured. They are still under treatment in hospital.

Later, Plan temporarily suspended activities at Lalmonirhat o� ce to en-sure security of its sta� and partners. l

NEWS 7D


WEATHER

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:13PM SUN RISES 5:33AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW34.0ºC 19.3ºC

Ishwardi Teknaf

MONDAY, MARCH 30

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 32 23Chittagong 32 23Rajshahi 32 22Rangpur 31 21Khulna 30 21Barisal 31 22Sylhet 31 21Cox’s Bazar 30 22

PRAYER TIMESFajr 4:37am

Sunrise 5:52am

Zohr 12:03am

Asr 4:30pm

Magrib 6:13pm

Esha 7:30pm

DRY WEATHER

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Groundwater depletion threatens water supply in Khulnan Our Correspondent, Khulna

An alarming drop in groundwater table in Khulna has put the city at risk of water crisis that is likely to get worse in summer, accord-ing to a recent survey by Khulna Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa).

Sources at Khulna Wasa said around 240 million litres of water is required to support the daily need of 1.6 million people living in the metropolitan city, which is entirely met by harvesting groundwater.

Of the 240 million litres, 110 million is pro-duced by 83 tube wells installed by Wasa, and the rest is harvested by both tube wells and motorised water pumps owned by the city dwellers.

The drop in groundwater table will make it increasingly di� cult to pump water up with the existing water pumps, said Md Kamal Ud-din, deputy managing director of Khulna Wasa.

“Hand-driven tube wells cannot pump groundwater up if the water table drops be-low 26 feet. And the motor pumps do not

work if the table drops below 30 feet,” he told the Dhaka Tribune recently.

The water table was between 28 feet and 30 feet in most places of the city last year due to insu� cient rainfall in the region. “This year we found more places where groundwater has decreased,” Kamal said.

The situation will worsen in summer as the groundwater level is likely to drop further in many places in April.

The e� ects of groundwater depletion is al-ready evident in many places around the city; several locals complained about not getting the usual amount of water from the water pumps.

“The water � ow started to decrease to-wards the end of winter. Before, we could pump up at least 100 big containers of water via our hand-driven tube wells in three hours, but nowadays it takes two extra hours,” Tajel, a resident of Sonadanga area, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Md Selim, resident of Farazipara, said: “Before, I could � ll up my water tank in two hours, but now, running the pump for even

four or � ve hours is not enough.”Dileep Kumar Datta, professor of environ-

ment science in Khulna University, said the crisis would get severe in a few months. “Peo-ple are already facing the e� ects of groundwa-ter depletion. Their su� erings will increase in summer.”

Khulna Wasa working on remedyAs the situation is likely to get worse, Khulna Wasa is already looking into other options to avert the water crisis. “We are considering al-ternative ways to maintain uninterrupted wa-ter supply throughout the city,” Kamal Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune.

“The water pumps will be run more than usual to keep up the water supply,” said Md Ab-dullah, managing director of Khulna Wasa, on Tuesday. “The hand-driven tube wells are be-ing repaired and modernised. We are planning to install more tube wells in the a� ected areas.”

The Wasa water trucks will also regularly supply water in the areas that are most a� ect-ed, he said. l

Malnutrition and density of population heightens TBn Our Correspondent, Sylhet

Number of children su� ering from Tuberculo-sis has increased by 22 within a year in the Syl-het City Corporation, according to Brac NGO.

Through research they found malnutrition and density of population to be the main rea-sons behind the increase in the number of TB patients.

Last year, a total of 1,255 patients were de-tected with TB while in 2013 the number was 1,207 in the zone.

Brac’s study suggests that in 2014, among the registered TB patients, 740 are male while 515 are female.

Of them, New Smear Positive (bacteriolog-ical con� rmed) are 479, New Smear Negative (clinically diagnosed) 330, extra pulmonary 367, 45 patients had a relapse, default (those who did not follow up) 4, treatment outcome unknown

in 25 and registered child TB patients 113. Six multi-drug resistance (MDR) TB pa-

tients exist in the area while a total of 36 pa-tients died in the year.

Md Gulam Noor, Brac’s technical assistant (lab) said: “Ten TB patients are undergoing treatment at Sylhet Central Jail. Recently, a prisoner died at Osmani Medical College Hos-pital who was su� ering from MDR-TB.”

Brac has opened � ve cough examination centres in Sylhet City Corporation – Osmani Medical College Hospital, Jalalabad Ragib Ra-beya Medical College and Hospital, North East Medical College and Hospital, Sylhet Central Jail and Uposhohor Brac Centre. Around 1000 peo-ple come to these centres every month, he said.

Su� a Begum, a TB patient residing in Masimpur area, said she started taking Direct-ly Observed Treatment (DOT) one and a half months ago. l

55 injured in 2 districts n Tribune Report

At least 55 people were injured in clashes in Gopalganj and Rangpur districts yesterday.

Our Gopalganj correspondent reports: 30 people were hurt in a clash between two groups at Gopinathpur-Maddyapara village under Majhikandi union in Sadar upazila yes-terday.

Police said there had been a longstanding con� ict between the supporters of present UP chairman Maksud Ali and former chairman Ha� zur Rahman over establishing supremacy in the area.

In the morning, the supporters of two groups attacked each other with local weap-ons leaving 30 injured.

On information, police went to the spot and � red 50 bullets to bring the situation un-der control.

The police also arrested 16 people from the spot.

Of the injured, six were sent to Sadar Hos-pital in critical condition.

Zakir Hossain Molla, o� cer-in-charge of Sadar police station con� rmed the incident.

In Rangapur, 25 people were injured as the supporters of both contesting group clashed with each other during Union Parishad poll in Sadar upazila.

Sadar police station SI Abu Taher said, the clash ensued between the supporters of both candidates at Harpalli Bahumukhi Fazil Ma-drasah centre around 2:15pm, leaving 25 in-jured. l

Teacher denigrates Islam, students boycott classesn Our Correspondent, Narail

Hundreds of students of Dighaliya Secondary School in Narail have boycotted classes fol-lowing derogatory remarks on Islam and bur-qa allegedly made by a teacher of the school.

They have demanded legal action be tak-en against the teacher, Kinkor Chandra Sa-majdar, who termed Islam as a “superstition based” religion while taking a private coach-ing class on English of the tenth graders of the school on March 25.

The students made the claim at a protest procession in front of the school in Lohagora upazila yesterday.

Kinkor Chandra Samajdar had said Islam was a superstitious one among all the reli-gions existing in Asia and that burqa, the gar-ment worn by women in Islamic traditions, is just a show on the outside while it is hollow on the inside, a number of students told this reporter requesting anonymity.

The students informed the matter to the headmaster on the same day and the head-master assured of taking legal action against the alleged.

Although four days had elapsed, no action was taken against Samajdar so far, said the ag-itating students.

Khalid Hasan, a class nine student of the school and organising secretary of Chha-tra League Dighaliya union unit, said: “We will not return to our classes until Kinkor is brought under trial. If needed, we will ap-proach the Upazila Nirbahi O� cer and the District Commissioner. General Secretary of Chhatra League Dighaliya union unit has ech-oed with our demand.”

Acting headmaster of the school Ratan Ku-mar Bagchi said: “We have come to know that Kinkor Chandra Samajdar have slandered Is-lam religion while giving private tution. l

Bangladesh Meat Traders Association protests the ongoing transport blockade enforced by BNP led 20- party alliance through forming a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday, claiming the violent movements have resulted in a hike in the price of meat SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN


Local people form a human chain in Magura town yesterday, demanding removal of the o� cer-in-charge of Mohammadpur police station DHAKA TRIBUNE

Two die in Satkhira primary school collapsen Our Correspondent, Satkhira

At least two people died and ten others got injured as walls of an abandoned primary school collapsed at the time of going on an In-dependence Day programme in Bhomra land port area in Sadar upazila on Saturday night.

The deceased are � sh enclosure worker Saddam Hossain, 25, son of Sha� qur Rahman, from Baliadanga village in Debhata upazila, and van puller Faridul Islam, 18, son of Karim Gazi, from Sekendara village of the upazila.

Of the injured, two were admitted to Satkh-ira Sadar Hospital in a critical condition while the rest were to di� erent clinics of the district.

Sources said there was a cultural programme on the premises of Bhomra Government Pri-mary School around 10pm marking the Inde-pendence Day, where many local senior public o� cials including Satkhira Superintendent of Police (SP) Chowdhury Manjurul Kabir also joined alongside a good number of locals.

At one stage, the walls of an abandoned es-tablishment of the school collapsed, leaving the duo died on the spot. l

Grameenphone sales executive shot deadn Our Correspondent, Jamalpur

A sales executive of Grameenphone was shot dead by unidenti� ed miscreants. Around 10:30am, the dead Arif Miya along with two other sales executives, Shahadat and Zakir, were on way to Shorishabari from Jamalpur on a motorbike.

Three muggers on two motorbikes blocked their way at Hasil Bot Tola and � red a bullet on Arif’s chest. They snatched away three bags carrying mobile phone sets, sim cards and scratch cards from them. Arif was taken to Jamalpur General Hospital where he died. l

Fire� ghters’ activities hampered due to shortage of equipmentn Nazim Mridha, Rajshahi

Rajshahi � re station often fails to provide quality services to townspeople for lack of su� cient equipment and � re� ghters much to cause annoyance of city dwellers.

According to the � re station, the station sometimes cannot response properly follow-ing arson attacks during the on going blockade sponsored by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.

Currently, the � re station is running with 56 o� cials which is insu� cient, said an o� -cial of the station, adding that the � re station has three ambulances, three rescue cars and three water-tender cars.

According to the � re service station, the � re station extinguished � re of nine incidents caused by petrol and crude bombs attack in the last two months while a total of 20 � re in-cidents took place in the city.

During rescue operation of these � re inci-dents, � re� ghters faced many di� culties.

So, the city dwellers think that the � re sta-

tion has completely failed to help them dur-ing their crisis periods.

Sometimes, when the � re � ghters are called over phone to come to a spot, they failed to come within times and even they do not reach at all, said several victims of � re incident.

Akbar Ali, a city dweller, told the Dhaka Tribune that recently he had made a phone call to � re service o� ce for dousing a � re that broke out near his shop at Shalbagan area.

“Then I was informed from � re station that they were not be able to send anyone as all of their sta� were involved in extinguishing � re at another place of the city.”

Anisuzzaman, another city dweller, told the Dhaka Tribune that when city dwellers fall into a danger, sta� of local � re station could not even pick up phone.

“Sometimes, they cut the phone connec-tion,” he said.

An o� cial of the � re station wishing ano-nymity said because of manpower shortage, they could not enjoy their due vacation many

times and if these problems are not solved soon, the station will not be able to cope up with the di� culties during summer time when incident of � re increases generally.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Shariful Is-lam, senior station o� cer of Rajshahi � re ser-vice station, refusing the claim of their non response to call of the victims said: “We are trying our best to face the present situation with limited facilities.

“Considering the present political situa-tion, it is quite tough for the � re station to re-sponse to each and every call of � re incident, said the o� cial.

Asked about why they did not go to each and every spot where � re broken out in the last two months, he said they provided servic-es considering the seriousness of � re incident at the same time with their existing � re� ght-ing teams and equipment.

He, however, said manpower and neces-sary equipments should be increased as soon as possible. l

Police prevent BNP activists from holding procession n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Police dispersed the activists and leaders of the BNP-led 20-party alliance when they started a procession in Jailkhana yesterday.

Barisal city unit BNP arranged the rally in protest against the killing, torture, arrest and harassment of leaders and activists of the BNP-led 20-party alliance.

The BNP men were also supposed to de-mand holding of a general election under a non-partial government in the procession.

The procession started from Nazir Mahal-la area. When participants of the procession reached Jailkhana Hospital area, police per-sonnel waylaid them and asked them to re-turn back. After altercation with the law en-forcers, BNP activists then held a short rally at Jailkhana and went away from there.

The rally was addressed by BNP leaders - Moniruzzaman Monir, Advocate Mohsin Mon-tu, Advocate Ali Haider Babul, and Anwarul Huq Tarin. At the rally the speakers demanded immediate stoppage of torture, arrest, killing and harassment of their party men. l

Five killed in road accidents in four districts n Tribune Report

At least � ve people were killed in road acci-dents in Gopalganj, Tangail,Joypurhat and Narail districts yesterday.

Our Gopalganj correspondent reports: A farmer was killed in an accident in Kalnaghat area under Kashiani upazila of the district.

Zakir Hossen, o� cer-in-charge of Sadar police station said Kallayni Mondol,49, of Bannabari village under Tungipara upazila were critically injured as a truck ran over him while he was coming from a local herbal prac-titioner in the afternoon.

Later, he was sent to Sadar Hospital where doctors declared him dead.

Tangail correspondent said an unidenti� ed

man was killed in an accident on the Dha-ka-Tangail-Bangabandhu Bridge road in the district.

Sergeant Md Asad said the accident took the place when passenger bus coming from opposition direction ran over the man, leav-ing him dead on the spot.

Following the incident, agitated people blocked the road for two hours.

Joypurhat correspondent said two people were killed and three others injured in a head-on collision between two human haulers in Barkan-di area under Panchbibi upazila of the district.

The deceased were identi� ed as Dony Hos-sain and Bipul Chandra, drivers of the vehicles.

Locals said the accident took place on the Panchbibi-Barkandi road.

Panchbibi police station o� cer-in-charge Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal said Dony died on the spot while Bipul died after taken to Joy-purhat District Hospital around 10pm.

The hospital emergency unit Doctor Mo-sta� zur Rahman said: “Of the injured, passen-gers Hamidul and Joybor Ali have been sent to Bogra Shaheed Ziaul Rahman Medical College Hospital in a critical condition.”

Our Narail correspondent said a boy was killed in Maitkumra area on the Narail-Lo-hagara-Kalna Highway in Lohagara upazila of the district as a covered van hit him.

The deceased was identi� ed as Billal Sheikh, 13, son of Dulu Sheikh of Kumarkanda village.

Lohagara police station o� cer-in-charge Sheikh Lutfer Rahman con� rmed the incident. l

NEWS 9D


A bird dies after getting stuck in a net locally known as current net. Local � sherman used the net in � sh netting in the Padma River in the last rainy season, but they have carelessly put the net on a tree which causes the death of the bird. The photo taken from Charmazardia area in Poba upazila, Rajshahi yesterday AZAHAR UDDIN

Gaibandha life normal but the road still hauntsn Our Correspondent,

Gaibandha

Life in Gaibandha became normal early this month after nearly two months of violence during BNP’s inde� nite block-ade and general strikes but lo-cals are still scared of making bus journeys.

The Gaibandha-Palashbari road connects Gaibandha with several districts, including Dha-ka, Comilla, Pabna, Chittagong, but this is the road where some of the vicious petrol bomb at-tacks left many injured as well as killed during the unrest.

On February 6, eight people were burned to death when a bus was � rebombed at Tul-shighat area. Vehicles were also vandalised in di� erent areas on the road during the blockade and people still do not consider it safe.

Buses setting o� from Gai-bandha central bus terminal would get police escort but the service was discontinued from March 14. The Dhaka-bound buses do not run at night either.

Gaibandha Additional Po-lice Super Mosharraf Hossain said escort for buses during the daytime is not provided any-more but the Gaibandha-Pa-lashbari road is still regularly patrolled.

“Resumption of long-haul night trips is at the discretion of the bus owners but a few ser-vices have returned,” he said.

Ha� zur Rahman, an o� cial at the district bus terminal, said yesterday some 50 to 60 buses now carry passengers in the day.

“The number is just half compared to the past,” he said.

Liton Sheikh, a driver of Pabna-bound Mitali Paribahan, said trips on the road do not entail any trouble now but it is the passengers who are still reeling from the past violence.

Gaibandha District Motor Owners Association General Secretary Nazibul Islam said bus services would fully re-sume soon.

Mahmudul Haque Gani, a resident of Masterpara, said his wife needs to be treated in Rangpur but he is unable to re-move the fear of a possible at-tack on the road from his mind.

“Even the trains are over-crowded,” he said.

Rustam Ali, president of Gaibandha District Truck Own-ers Association, said more than a hundred trucks now run both in the day and at night.

Gaibandha Chamber of Commerce and Industry Pres-ident Abul Khayer Morsalin Parvez said even he himself is scared of going on a journey on Gaibandha-Palashbari road.

“There is still a sense of panic about the road among people but life is normal. Peo-ple now go shopping but the losses traders had incurred in the last two months cannot be recouped,” he said.

“Trucks have returned on the road but transport costs have risen. Traders now have to spend more to hire trucks for transporting goods,” he added.

Debashish Roy, who runs a clothing store at Salimar su-permarket, said he, like other traders, faced di� culties in bringing goods from Dhaka in the last two months but the situation has improved now. l

Road blockade seeking withdrawal of tendern Our Correspondent,

Tangail

The businessmen of Tangail Samobai Super Market put a blockade on a road in Niralar area in the district town yester-day demanding cancellation of a tender � oated by a coopera-tive to build high-rise market there for them.

Besides, the businessmen also demanded return back of their money because of an-nouncing the tender without

any discussion with them as the cooperative earlier had col-lected the money on promise of giving shops to them in the new building.

Sources said the busi-nessmen blockaded the road around 9am disrupting vehicu-lar movement there and police from Sadar police station drove away them from the spot after two hours.

Later, they started a sit-in programme on local Shaheed Minar premises. l

WORLD10DT


Netanyahu: Dangerous accord worse than fearedn AFP, Jerusalem

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday denounced as “dangerous” a nucle-ar accord that world powers are negotiating with Iran, saying it goes beyond what his gov-ernment had feared.

“The dangerous accord which is being ne-gotiated in Lausanne (Switzerland) con� rms our concerns and even worse,” Netanyahu said in remarks at a meeting of his cabinet broadcast on public radio.

Netanyahu denounced the “Iran-Laus-anne-Yemen axis which is dangerous for all of humanity and which must be stopped,” mak-ing a reference to the Swiss city where the talks are taking place.

The premier warned that Iran could be in a position to “conquer” the Mid-dle East through what he called the “axis” of control it has over the capitals of Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.

The Israeli leader also said that his country had “strong, bipartisan support” from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the United States. l

GERMANWINGS CRASHCo-pilot may have had detached retinan Reuters

The co-pilot suspected of crashing a pas-senger jet in the Alps may have been su� er-ing from a detached retina but investigators are unsure whether his vision problems had physical or psychological causes, a German newspaper said yesterday.

Bild am Sonntag also reported how the captain of the Germanwings Airbus screamed “open the damn door!” to the co-pilot as he tried to get back into the locked cockpit before the jet crashed on Tuesday, killing all 150 aboard.

Another German newspaper, Welt am Sonntag, quoted a senior investigator as say-ing the 27-year-old co-pilot Andreas Lubitz “was treated by several neurologists and psy-chiatrists,” adding that a number of medica-tions had been found in his apartment in the German city of Duesseldorf.

Police also discovered personal notes that showed Lubitz su� ered from “severe subjec-tive overstress symptoms,” he added. l

ARAB SUMMIT

Yemen airstrikes to go on until rebels withdrawn AP, Egypt

Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen will contin-ue until Shiite rebels there “withdraw and surrender their weapons,” a summit of Arab leaders decided yesterday, as they also agreed in principle to forming a joint military force.

The decision by the Arab League puts it on a path to potentially more aggressively chal-lenge Shiite power Iran, which is backing the

Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis.A Saudi-led coalition began bombing

Yemen on Thursday, saying it was targeting the Houthis and their allies, which include forces loyal to Yemen’s former leader, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

At the summit, held in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby read a � nal communique out-lining the leaders’ views. l

Honour guards carry the co� n bearing Singapore’s former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew during his funeral in Singapore yesterday. Tens of thousands of mourners braved torrential rain, howitzers � red a 21-gun salute and jet � ghters screamed across the sky yesterday as Singapore staged a grand funeral for its founding leader Lee Kuan Yew AFP

WORLD 11D


Discontent, suicides puncture Modi’s popularity in rural Indian Reuters, Vaidi, India

Over a dozen debt-laden farmers have com-mitted suicide in recent weeks in India, and discontent in many rural areas against gov-ernment policies is turning into anger against Prime Minister Narendra Modi less than a year after he swept into o� ce.

Unseasonal storms have badly damaged the winter crop in large parts of the fertile northern plains, most likely contributing to the suicides, and villagers have blamed Modi for not stepping in to help the dis-tressed farmers or ensuring that crop prices remained stable.

The farmer suicides in India’s most politi-

cally sensitive region are the latest in several setbacks for Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bhara-tiya Janata Party (BJP), which is hoping to consolidate power by winning local elections in large, predominantly rural states over the next two years.

The government has delayed a compre-hensive health plan as it shifts focus from subsidies to investment, while religious ten-sions have made minorities uneasy. Never-theless, Modi has made progress with eco-nomic reform in his � rst year - although not as rapidly as some investors would like - and has reined in in� ation.

In a village in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, Dharmendra Singh mourned

his brother Babu Singh, who committed su-icide after rain destroyed wheat growing on the � ve-acre farm he leased from a landlord.

Babu Singh, who had run up debts amounting to $13,000, soaked himself in ker-osene and set himself on � re on March 19. He succumbed to burn injuries six days later.

“My brother was banking on the crop so the loss came as the last straw,” Dharmendra Singh said in his village, Vaidi, 185 km (115 miles) southeast of Delhi.

“For God’s sake why hasn’t the govern-ment reached out to us? We overwhelmingly voted for Modi as he promised to take care of us but he has stabbed us in the back.”

In more than a dozen villages visited

by Reuters this week across the state that sends the most lawmakers to parliament, farmers said there was a “crisis” in the coun-tryside, where 70% of India’s 1.2 billion people live.

Angered by low farmgate prices and the lack of state compensation for crop damage, some villagers said they have ostracised local members of Modi’s BJP and barred them from attending weddings.

Parties crushed by the BJP in last year’s general election have coupled the discontent with street protests against a land acqui-sition bill that will make it easier for busi-nesses to buy farmland, a potent issue in the countryside. l

Meltdown imminent in Aam Aadmi Party ranksn AP, New Delhi

Just a few weeks ago, the up-start Aam Aadmi Party, or Com-mon Man’s Party, was seen by many as a breath of fresh air in the chaotic, corruption-tainted world of Indian politics, prom-ising to root out graft and dis-play complete transparency.

Now, however, with its top leaders spending the week-end slugging it out in public, it seems the party that prom-ised to transform India’s polit-ical landscape is more likely to bring disappointment to mil-lions of Indians despairing of their politicians.

“To think that commentators were actually advising older political parties to be more like #AAP seems #AAP has decided to be more like us (smiley face),” Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister of Indian-controlled Kashmir, tweeted Saturday.

The Common Man’s Party, formed in late 2012, emerged out of hugely popular street protests against the deeply en-trenched culture of graft in this nation of 1.2 billion. The party chose former tax o� cial and longtime anti-corruption activ-ist Arvind Kejriwal as its leader.

After some initial hiccups, the AAP appeared to hit its stride last month when it was swept to power in local elec-tions in India’s capital, crush-ing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. It won all but three seats in Del-hi’s 70-member legislature.

In that moment of ecstatic victory, it seemed that the par-ty had the potential to one day parlay that success to being a se-rious player in national politics.

But the cracks in the party’s leadership appeared quickly.

Over the last few weeks, sharp di� erences began to emerge between Kejriwal, now

Delhi’s chief minister, and two top leaders of his party who had been his allies since the AAP’s inception.

This past week, a secret re-cording of Kejriwal accusing the two men, Prashant Bhu-shan and Yogendra Yadav, of working against the party made the rounds of several tel-evision stations. On the tape, Kejriwal threatens to walk out of the party with the lawmak-ers who support him if the two rival leaders aren’t thrown out.

The two men then came out in the open and denied Kejri-wal’s charge, and led a bitter attack against what they have described as his autocratic way of leading the party.

At an AAP meeting on Satur-day, both were booted out of the party’s national executive group for what a statement described as “anti-party activities.”

At a hastily called news con-ference, the men said the meet-ing was a sham in which they were booed and heckled and their supporters kept out by bouncers hired by the Kejriwal camp.

Yadav called the meeting the “murder of democracy,” and Bhushan said the party that promised to clean up Indi-an politics had “resorted to the kind of hooliganism that other political parties display.”

The party denied their al-legations and said 247 of 311 members who attended the meeting voted to remove the men for anti-party activities.

As the Common Man’s Party has unraveled under the con-stant media spotlight, it is now open season for India’s older po-litical parties to mock the party that once held the promise of being a serious threat to them.

Congress party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi took to Twit-ter to call the party “corrupt” and “immoral.” l

EDITORIAL12DT


As nominations close for the Chittagong and Dhaka city corporation elections scheduled to be held on April 28, it is welcome to see the participation of a broad range of candidates, including from the BNP

alliance.We hope the opening-up of political space created by these polls will

give fresh impetus to moves to end the series of blockades and political strikes that have created so much violence and harmed our economy.

The country needs constructive politics to end the cycle of destructive con� ict. The fresh start o� ered by these elections signals hope that a peaceful resolution, if not immediately around the corner, is possible and practical.

For residents of Dhaka in particular, the elections are an urgent imperative. The failure to hold any local government elections in Dhaka since 2002 has hugely harmed quality of life in the capital, by allowing corruption and mismanagement of city services to go on unimpeded because citizens have not had a chance to hold authorities to account.

Mayoral elections can not only help to improve essential city services, but bring forth the new leadership and vision needed to take our two major metropolises forward.

Giving residents the opportunity to choose fresh leaders is vital to help overcome the many challenges faced by our leading urban centres. As driv-ers of our economy, overcoming the blights of poor planning and infrastruc-ture are vital to future prosperity and helping the country as a whole.

City contests bring new hope

Local elections vital for constructive politics

We welcome the goals being advanced by the newly proposed Na-tional Urban policy to move towards greater decentralisation and ensure better protection for environmentally sensitive areas.

The policy which has been put out for consultation is a tangible sign that the government is at last listening to the many concerns citizens have expressed about the negative consequences of unplanned urban develop-ment.

It is encouraging that the proposed policy is starting to take a proper long-term nationwide view and is aimed at improving our systems for allocating and managing land use.

The policy, if passed, will incorporate community planning and participation to decide on setting-up and managing parks, playgrounds, rivers, canals, local wetland, and waste management systems. Its 23-point plan will set new targets to develop city slums, reduce urban poverty, and improve law and order.

We strongly support the new emphasis provided by the plan on ensuring proper protection for wetlands and river systems, and explicitly seeking to decentralise the most densely populated cities and steer more large investments across the nation.

To achieve this, the government also needs to ensure signi� cantly more investment in transport infrastructure. If we are to maximise the bene� ts of our small land area and large population, we need all parts of the country to be served by fast railways and modern highways.

Enabling people to commute longer distances would not only reduce pressure on our major cities, but create the conditions to spread investment and the bene� ts of development across the nation.

Back its welcome emphasis on decentralisation with faster connections to maximise bene� ts

Transport key to new urban policy

Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

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Kindle the common lightMarch 10

sundarI have some questions: First, are religion and light comparable? Second, is the essence of all religions really common? Third, is there any religion, the believers of which do not hate atheists? Fourth, is it not a reality that the believers of one religion strongly disbelieve the faiths and tenets of other religions? Fifth, does religion only emit light like all lamps or does it emit more darkness? And � nally, have the authors come across believers of any religion who is a better human being than an atheist?

Barely Legal Aliensundar: The Q/A session with the authors is THAT way -->

Evil People PoliticsBravo! This was one of the best articles I’ve read so far in any Bangladeshi newspaper.

Kmak“The true heretics are not those who do not believe in the existence of God, brahman, or nirvana.”Says who?

roseOne should be honest and humble, then one can learn a lot, be it religion or anything else.

RajeebSadly, the philosophical aspect of religion you talk about is far from the practical aspect of it. Being a follower of a particular religion, you are inherently misogynist, homophobic, bigoted, rigid, unfair, and all that. If you are not, you are not religious enough. Period.

KmakRajeeb: That was a highly bigoted comment. Now, if bigotry can only be expected from a follower of religion, and your comment exhibits bigotry, it logically follows that you too must belong to a religion. So which religion is it?

RajeebKmak: If you could kindly explain “bigotry” and specify how my comment exhibits that … and can you ever make a rational com-ment without being personal?

KmakRajeeb: If you don’t see the bigotry in char-acterising religious folk as basically evil, then you’ve got issues.

Obama mocks Congress letter to IranMarch 10

Chas HolmanThese GOTea Senators should have great shame and humility this evening.

Trying to warn Iran that their country’s “best interests” are to not negotiate with the executive branch of the US. Wow ... just wow! My heart is heavy and sick by the behaviour of these “allegedly” United States Represent-atives.

The hate that they harvest against this president, it must be one powerful thing. Man o man o man.

Concert to be held for DMCH burn patients

March 10

WennerIt’s good to raise money for the burned, but

more than Tk250 should be charged and it needs to be linked to a telethon to raise

some serious funds. As for comparing with George Harrison’s concert -- held in America

when It didn’t even recognise the name Bangladesh -- and millions were � eeing the land, the cirucmstances are more di� erent

but also refreshingly similar. Unless, that is, the organisers are going to surprise every-

one with an appearance by Bob Dylan.

DT

OPINION 13D


n Faruque Hasan

Singapore achieved independence from the British colonial rule in 1957. They joined the Federation of Malaya in 1962,

only to be kicked out in 1965. At that time, Singapore was a sleepy � shing village being pummeled by abject poverty.

In the 1960s, Lee Kuan Yew, who was the prime minister of the country from 1959 to 1990, hired experts from India to develop Singapore’s economy. Under his able lead-ership, Singapore -- devoid of any natural resources -- became an internationally recog-nised economic powerhouse.

At present, the per capita income in Sin-gapore is $55,182 (nominal), and in India, it is $1,626 (nominal). Singapore does not have a full democracy in the strictest sense, while India does. In the 2014 general elections, voters in India elected 186 members of parliament who have criminal cases against them. Democracy in Bangladesh is not even applicable in this regard.

For three decades, Lee ruled with an iron � st -- a country with an area of 718.3sq-km and a population of nearly 5.5 million. Given the reins of such a tiny country, he attained the stature of a world-class leader. More than a political leader, he was a true statesman.

What made Lee such a great � gure? He was a dictator. He suppressed his political opponents ruthlessly but he did not have an

anonymous o� shore bank account. Not even any of his “cronies” or members of his family have such accounts.

Lee did not have the heart to nurture nep-otism. He shunned sycophants. Nepotism on the part of the political leaders in power lynch-es the countries they are supposed to rule.

Joseph Tito was the president of the now defunct Yugoslavia: It was a country com-prising of many ethnicities -- Serbs, Croats, Macedonians, Bosnians, and such. He and his wife were Croats. Once his wife exerted her in� uence to get a fellow Croat promoted to the rank of general in the country’s army, Tito divorced her for her “crime.”

Konrad Adenauer, the � rst post-war Chancellor of West Germany (1949-63), led his country from the ashes of the World War 2 to a productive and prosperous nation. Under his leadership, Germany achieved democracy along with economic prosperity.

Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping changed China. Mao put the country � rmly on its feet while Deng laid the foundation for its eco-nomic development. Now, China is the second largest economy in the world.

In my view, Deng was inspired by Lee, speci� cally by his success in ruling the coun-try and following the free market economy.

General Park Chung-hee, the authoritarian president of South Korea (1961 to 1979), laid the economic foundation of that country. He transformed South korea from its destroyed

state after the Korean War to the wealthy and developed country it is now. Now prosperous South Koreans may criticise his rule as being unjusti� ed, while North Koreans still tighten their belts to feel less hungry.

An authoritarian rule does not guarantee economic development. The Soviet Union was ruled with an unyielding iron � st. Till its disintegration it had very little to show, except for the � rst few years, in terms of economic progress. North Korea is anoth-er glaring example, along with Zimbabwe, which is currently under the authoritarian rule of Robert Mugabe.

An upright leader with vision and intelli-gence can change the fate of a country in a short time. While a big-mouthed politician

who can make exciting speeches but lacks intelligence and patriotism, can often do very little for his country.

Lee’s dedication to his country was un-questionable and unwavering. Old generation Singaporeans saw in him a parent who deeply cared for them. Present-day prosperous Sin-gaporeans, who have never seen the sleepy � shing village that was Singapore, are not satis� ed with the extent of democratic rights they enjoy in the country.

Lee did his job perfectly, now it is the responsibility of Singapore's present-day political leaders to transform the country into a full-on democracy. l

Faruque Hasan is a freelance contritutor.

Eulogy for Lee Kuan Yew

n William B Milam

In 1648, the Treaty of Westphalia end-ed 30 years of religious con� ict that had exhausted and brutalised most of

Western Europe. The “Peace of Westphalia” that followed is often called the “Peace of Exhaustion,” although in fact, the treaty did not bring peace. For Western Europe, peace had to await the apocalyptic destruction of the 20th century.

With that came a new level of understand-ing among European states. But while the Westphalia Treaty did not succeed in ending war, it introduced principles of international law and comity that reduced the political space for war, and which now serve as bedrock principles of international relations -- however more honoured they are in theory than in practice.

The 1648 treaty produced “Westphalian Sovereignty,” a new system of political order based on sovereign states held in check by a balance of power. While the balance of power part didn’t keep the peace because of shifting interests, alliances, and ideologies, the sov-ereignty principles remained at the core of relations between European states.

The principle that nations should not in-terfere in the a� airs of others took hold and, over time, it became a principle of interna-tional law that each state has complete sover-eignty over its territory and domestic a� airs. The Westphalian principle of sovereignty spread with the expansion of Western in� u-ence throughout the world and has become

central to international law in the post-World War 2 system of world order.

After 1945, Europe, on its own, modi� ed the de� nition of Westphalian Sovereignty to something that might be termed “shared sov-ereignty” by creating the European Union. Each member country had given up strict Westphalian sovereignty for the political and economic bene� ts of union; of course, the original motivation for this was to meld the interests of the larger members and avoid war between them.

But now we see that the Westphalian sovereignty concept has come back to haunt Western Europe. The shadow of Westphalia hovers over the Eurozone crisis with Greece and is probably at the bottom of its currently roiled relations with Russia. Greece asserts, correctly I think if one were to follow the letter and spirit of Westphalian Sovereignty principles, that in insisting that Greece run its economy more conservatively (like Germany for example) the EU is infringing on Greek sovereignty.

On the other hand, the stronger countries of the Eurozone are realistically right to insist that Greece must begin to live within its means to be a viable member of an economic union and a single currency zone. This is not a zero-sum issue; the other members of the Eurozone will give up something too to keep the monetary union together.

The Eurozone crisis will probably be resolved after a lot more hand wringing and cli� hanging when all sides come to recognise that shared sovereignty means exactly that

-- countries in a union have a right to expect each member to live up to the code, but that they all have a certain duty of care if the un-ion is to hold together. I am not so optimistic about the roiled relations with Russia.

The Westphalian Sovereignty concepts are, after all, peculiar to Western Europe. Russia was not a participant and did not sign the treaty. But that is a minor point. The ma-jor point is that Russia, according to experts, has always had a di� erent view of sovereign-ty. For Russia, only a few powerful states in the world are truly sovereign.

The rest, situated around and near one of these powerful states, exist as suzerains (in other words vassals) of the powerful state. Russia, according to experts, refers to the states and territories in its vicinity as “the near abroad,” and considers that these states’ sovereignty is limited to policies and behav-iour that does not threaten Russia. Russian ability to enforce this concept has varied over the centuries, but the concept remains � rmly embedded in the Russian psyche.

This has been especially sensitive since about 2000, as the NATO alliance has incor-porated countries bordering Russia, and the EU has seemed to be recruiting these coun-tries into its system of shared sovereignty. In e� ect, the Western concept of sovereignty -- Westphalian shared sovereignty -- came to clash with the Russian concept of near abroad suzerainty.

The result we know: substantial death (around 5000) and damage in Eastern Ukraine, and a not insubstantial chance of

another European war.Readers are certain to point out that the

suzerainty mindset has not, historically, been limited to Russia. The few states that have been or are regional superpowers appear to have similar mindsets.

As far as I can tell, China and India see their immediate regions in the same way, but China, after several hundred years of passive behaviour, is beginning to get aggressive in the Far East, while the new government of India seems to be on a charm o� ensive in South Asia, except where Pakistan is con-cerned.

I would have hoped for more attention in India to the rising instability in its eastern neighbour and more openness with its west-ern neighbour.

And the Western Hemisphere? Well, the Monroe Doctrine, which was originally announced by the US in 1823, but enforced by the British navy for the next 40 or so years, was meant to be an anti-colonialist doctrine -- no European colonial ventures allowed in our patch.

It turned slowly and erratically into a suzerainty system after the Civil War and in mid-20th century narrowed its focus almost solely to an ideological anti-communist doctrine -- Westphalian Sovereignty is � ne, except where pernicious foreign ideologies are concerned. l

William B Milam is a Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington, DC, and former US Ambassador to Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The shadow of Westphalia

OPINION14DT


n Towheed Feroze

This is an attempt to remember a young man called Naseem Mohsin -- a romantic to his friends, an adren-aline junkie to his seniors and, to his

relatives, a rebellious star that shone brie� y and then vanished.

From what I have heard, he used to be one of the top students of St Joseph High School back in the early sixties. At that time, the ac-tual school was being shifted from Narinda to the current location in Mohammadpur. Many years later, sifting through the pages of the school graduation magazine of the sixties, I saw his photo.

A smiling face, a valedictorian, and a member of the school cricket, football, and basketball teams!

Curious, I asked one of the revered Broth-ers of the school who had seen him close up and he said that the guy was anything but a quiet, disciplined boy.

“He had millions of mischievous ide-as running through his mind; some were pranks, others were reckless adventures,” observed the late Brother Thomas.

But, despite the involvement in these escapades, the academic side was never neglected and hence, everyone became resigned to his rather wild demeanour.

After all, it was the 60’s; the west was undergoing a phenomenal societal change with conventional ideas thrown out to permit rambunctious rebels.

Revolution was in the air, counter culture was the fad, and ripples were also felt here in what was then East Pakistan.

All of this was topped by the espio-nage theme of the period that in� uenced

everything from literature to � lms to televi-sion.

Cold War was at its height and spy thrillers reigned.

Sometimes, I rummage through the collec-tion of books belonging to the young man who, later on, went on to enter Notre Dame College. Today, many of these books are frayed and the pages are yellow; yet, if one tries to think deep, the feelings of a restless soul of the sixties begins to emerge.

James Bond editions from the period, Nick Carter, James Hadley Chase, and Perry Mason books -- a re� ection of the thriller genre of a time long lost.

Then there are the manuals of com-munism, the profound books that take a critical (read pejorative) look at the overpow-ering force of capitalism-driven consumerist culture.

A typical collection for a young person standing at the mind-boggling cross roads of adulthood.

Sometimes, I sit and try to fathom the

vortex of con� icting emotions someone feels at such an impressionable age.

I try to � nd resonance to my own growing up -- on the one hand, the rhetoric of elder brothers of the locality about the importance of embracing anti-imperialist communist ideals and, on the other hand, the allure of Simon Templar, Hawaii Five-0, Duran Duran, and branded clothing.

Naseem Mohsin, from what I have heard from his friends and relatives, in the end, decided to live life � lled with the blended � amboyance of the period.

Trying to understand the beliefs of the young of that time, I have come to the conclusion that they went with the � ow, taking in what suited them both from capitalism and communism and chalked out what can now be termed a rather Utopian ideology.

So many years later, we can now say that philosophy was totally impractical, but look at it this way, romanticism is a notion which resurfaces from time to time to sway mil-lions, whether it succeeds to the end or not is never the point.

I am told, when he was in college, Naseem Mohsin spent more time having fun than concentrating on studies and in the end had to be given the incentive of an overseas trip before his HSC, called I.A exam, back then.

With a place in the merit list, he went and joined the English Department of Dhaka University -- a melting pot at that time for all kinds of enlightened people.

At university he was deeply engaged in an intellectual group, experimenting with new age poetry, ideals and so on …

And then, in 1971, the country was thrown into a maelstrom. He was barely 20, but when

his favourite teacher, Jyotirmoy Guhathakur-ta, was killed, Naseem, like many others, decided to join the war.

Don’t know how his escapades went but when he was caught by the collaborators in Comilla, the end came brutally -- shot and then dumped in a mass grave with other freedom � ghters.

Later on, witnesses observed, like other freedom � ghters, he was in a lungi and a round-collared cotton shirt … plastered to his chest by sweat.

In the early 90s, as a Dhaka University stu-dent, I used to drive a � re red Toyota RT40 1969 to the campus and, one day, found a few teachers, including Dr Fakhrul Alam of the English Department, all of Naseem Mohsin’s friends from his university days, gathered around the car.

Seeing me, they broke into a smile and pointed at the number plate: Chittagong Kha-100, and said, “Naseem used to drive this car in 1970 and most of us know that registration plate by heart.”

The English Department now runs the Na-seem Mohsin Scholarship, aimed at support-ing students facing � nancial constraints.

In 1995, Dhaka University decided to hand out crests to families of students who were martyred in the war, and when I walked to the podium to accept the crest, my teacher, Ratanlal Chakravarty of the History Depart-ment and the organiser of the event, looked a bit puzzled and asked, “you are related to him?”

“Yes sir,” I replied as I accepted the crest, he was my uncle. l

Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

A romantic and a freedom � ghter

He was barely 20, but when his favourite teacher, Jyotirmoy Guhathakurta, was killed, Naseem, like many others, decided to join the war

15D

TBusiness MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2015

German wages, consumer con� dence rising

China central bank governor calls for vigilance on de� ation

Stocks rally as political violence subdues

17 1916

visit our website @www.dhakatribune.com

NBR urged to launch ADR promotion campaign

20

Foreign aid pledges fall 14% n Tribune Report

Foreign aid commitment fell almost 14% in the � rst eight months of the current � scal year mainly due to continued political unrest, o� cials said.

According to the Economic Relations Divi-sion (ERD) data, the foreign assistance commit-ment during July-February period of the cur-rent � nancial year stood at around US$2.5bn in loan and grants compared to around $2.9bn in the same period a year earlier.

Of the total commitments during the peri-od, $2.2bn came in the form of loans while more than $336m as grants.

During the period, the foreign aid dis-bursement grew marginally $1.84bn from $1.82bn in the corresponding period a year ago. Of which, over $1.5bn came as loans and $346m as grants.

Among the development partners, the leading multilateral donor World Bank dis-bursed $576.5m, followed by the Asian Devel-opment Bank $527.8m, Japan $152.6m and Is-lamic Development Bank $101.4m aid during July-January period in FY2015, the ERD data

showed. An ERD o� cial said, “Continued political

turmoil slowed down the foreign aid commit-ment. However, increase in its disbursement is a positive sign.”

During the period, the government had paid over $793.7m, of which nearly $660m as principal amount and $134.4m interest, to the development partners against the outstand-ing loans.

In the corresponding period last � scal,

the government had paid $912.8m, of which $765.5m as principal amount and $147.4m.

In the � rst seven months of this � scal year, foreign aid commitment rose over 25% to $2bn largely supported by World Bank’s fund-ing promise in poverty alleviation.

On January 26, the World Bank signed with the government to provide $375m loan for constructing the multipurpose disaster shel-ter in the country’s natural disaster-prone areas. l

BTRC defers spectrum auction to May 20 n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

The telecom regulator has deferred the spec-trum auction date to May 20 following the major cellphone operators’ non-participatory approach to the April 30 bidding.

Yesterday was the deadline for � ling appli-cation to participate in the April 30 auction that has been rescheduled for May 20.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regula-tory Commission (BTRC) also rescheduled all other related activities of spectrum auctions and also extended the application � ling date to April 16 from March 29.

Through this auction the telecom watch-dog also plans to allocate 10.6MHz spectrum on 1,800 band and 15MHz on 2,100 band.

The government will be ableto earn at least $650 million if all spectrum blocks are sold.

BTRC has already made public its resched-uled noti� cation through its website.

The noti� cation says the commission has decided to change the timetable of the said auction to perform the overall proceedings of 1,800MHz and 2,100MHz band spectrum auctions e� ciently under the revealing cir-cumstances.

The mobile operators welcomed the re-scheduling of auction date, but said 20 days are a very short period of time to resolve the pending issues.

It seems that the postponement period for the auction submission date is too short to resolve the long pending industry issues at hand, said Mahmud Hossain, chief corporate a� airs o� cer, GP.

“We should request the relevant authori-ties including the regulator to utilise this time through expediting the resolution process.”

The Grameenphone o� cial was, howev-er, hopeful that the government will take the issue seriously to � nd the mobile operators being a vibrant partner for building digitised Bangladesh.

On the long standing unresolved SIM re-placement tax issue that attached around Tk2,464.88 crore, the tax regulator claimed that from four mobile operators.

According to the noti� cation, after � ling the application for spectrum auction, BTRC will publish the list of quali� ed applicants on April 21. l

Application submission deadline April 16

Publication of quali� ed applicants April 21

Consultation on auction procedure

April 26

Submission of bidding earnest money

May 12

Mock auction May 19

Auction May 20

SPECTRUM AUCTION SCHEDULE

The country’s ongoing political unrest causes donors to slow down aid commitments MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

BUSINESS16DT


German wages, consumer con� dence risingn AFP, Frankfurt

German salaries are rising faster than expect-ed, o� cial data showed on Thursday, which augurs well for a continuation of the con-sumer-driven recovery that Europe’s biggest economy is currently enjoying, analysts said.

When adjusted for in� ation, “real” salaries in Germany increased by 1.7% in 2014, the strongest increase in six years, the federal sta-tistics o� ce Destatis said in a statement.

In nominal terms - or not taking in� ation into account - wages increased by 2.6% in Germany last year, Destatis noted. Both � g-ures were revised upwards from a previous estimate in February. “Both the regular salary components as well as bonus payments con-tributed to this increase,” the statisticians said.

Rising wages look likely to help keep Ger-many’s economic recovery on track, especial-

ly with consumer con� dence currently higher than it has been in 13 years, analysts said.

Market research company GfK, which cal-culates a monthly consumer con� dence in-dex, said households were feeling increasing-ly optimistic about their income expectations and the outlook for the economy as a whole.

As a result, they were increasingly willing to open their purses and spend money.

“The tug of war in Europe over the future of Greece has left no impression whatsoever on German consumers,” GfK said.

“Consumers feel the economy is in a clear uptrend, buoyed by the weak euro, which boosts exports, and low energy costs,” it said.

“Income expectations and a willingness to spend are rising in tandem with the brighter economic prospects.”

Looking ahead to next month, GfK’s head-line household con� dence index was forecast

to rise to 10 points in April - the highest level since October 2001 - from 9.7 points in March.

Consumption boomAnalysts welcomed the data.

“German consumers have become real optimists and any worries about the current Greek crisis were clearly outweighed by low in� ation and the strong labour market,” said ING DiBa economist Carsten Brzeski.

“This is not a debt-driven shopping craze, but rather an indulgence-and-there-is-no-al-ternative consumption boom. On the back of the strong labour market, wage increases, low in� ation and low interest rates, private con-sumption has become an important growth driver,” Brzeski said.

BayernLB economist Stefan Kipar agreed. “There is hardly anything standing in the way of strong consumption growth in 2015,” he said. l

German retail sales, a closely watched measure of household con� dence AFP

EU unveils ambitious overhaul of digital economyn AFP, Brussels

The EU unveiled an ambitious plan to over-haul Europe’s fragmented digital landscape on Wednesday that would allow Europeans traveling in other bloc countries to get their Net� ix � lm � x or watch BBC iPlayer even when abroad.

Europe is the world’s biggest economy, but despite its 500 million potential consumers, in many ways it remains a divided continent of 28 distinct economies, especially when it comes to media and the Internet.

Across the EU, digital services like music streaming site Spotify or shopping behemoth

Amazon, often remain con� ned to nation-al borders, with separate accounts required from one country to another.

“Let us do away with all those fences and walls that block us online,” Andrus Ansip, the Commission’s vice president for the digital single market, said in a statement.

The push to make all online media - whether music, � lm or TV - available across the EU is just one of several proposals that the EU will o� cially unveil in a policy package on May 6.

But already Ansip said the road to imple-ment the plan will be arduous, despite being a top ambition of European Commission head

Jean-Claude Juncker who has promised to put all his energy into creating a single digital economy in Europe during his mandate.

“I am under no illusions: it will be an uphill struggle,” Ansip told journalists.

The biggest block to the plan is its sheer ambition, almost certain to draw a dizzying array of opponents from digital powerhous-es - such as Google or Apple - to � lmmakers and shopkeepers afraid for the livelihood and revenue streams.

Probably the thorniest issue to resolve are copyright and trademark laws that vary huge-ly across the EU and are the key barrier to blocking content mobility in Europe.

“Today the situation is lose-lose, People are ready to pay, but we are not accepting their money,” Ansip said.

“We would like to create win-win,” he said, adding that a more “modern” attitude to cop-yright could help ween users away from ille-gal downloads.

Ansip also unveiled measures to encour-age cross border online shopping. Today, only 15% of consumers shop online from another country, the EU said.

“According to entrepreneurs, the price of parcel delivery and lack of transparency is main obstacle for (cross border) e-commerce,” Ansip said. l

Low interest rates causing huge problems’ in Germanyn Reuters, Berlin

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeu-ble said on Thursday that record low interest rates were causing considerable problems in Germany but added that he was not criticiz-ing the European Central Bank which needed to defend its in� ation target.

“We have an interest rate environment that is causing huge problems for us in Germany,” he said at a banking event in Berlin.

“A low interest rate leads to a misallocation of resources with all the risks and side-e� ects that you see when bubbles are forming,” he said, adding that there was too much central bank money and debt in the world. l

German economic advisers hike 2015 growth forecast to 1.8%n Reuters, Berlin

Germany’s panel of economic advisers raised their annual growth forecast for the German economy on Thursday to 1.8% for this year from its previous estimate of 1%, citing cheap-er oil and a weaker euro.

“The oil price has fallen signi� cantly since October 2014, which lifted households real income and improved consumption expend-iture. At the same time German exports are stimulated by the devaluation of the euro,” the advisers said in a statement. l

Fed must take account of global economy in US outlookn Reuters, San Francisco

The Federal Reserve must take the global economy into account when judging the US domestic outlook, Federal Reserve Chair Ja-net Yellen said on Friday, noting that a strong-er dollar buoyed by weakness abroad may re-strain US exports

Still, she added, US consumer spending is “robust,” and if monetary policy easing by foreign central banks works to boost growth abroad, demand for US exports should rise. l

BUSINESS 17D


China central bank governor calls for vigilance on de� ationn Reuters, Boao

China’s central bank governor Zhou Xiao-chuan warned yesterday that the country needs to be vigilant for signs of de� ation and said policymakers were closely watching slowing global economic growth and declin-ing commodity prices.

Zhou’s comments are likely to add to con-cerns that China is in danger of slipping into de� ation and underline increasing nervous-ness among policymakers as the economy continues to lose momentum despite a raft of stimulus measures.

“In� ation in China is also declining. We need to have vigilance if this can go further to reach some sort of de� ation or not,” Zhou said at a high-level forum in Boao, on the southern Chinese island of Hainan.

Zhou added that the speed with which in-� ation was slowing was a “little too quick”, though this was part of China’s ongoing mar-ket readjustment and reforms.

Beijing is determined to keep the world’s second-largest economy from taking the same path of recession and de� ation that has blighted its neighbor Japan for the past 20 years.

The central bank’s newspaper warned last month that China is dangerously close to slip-ping into de� ation.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has cut interest rates twice since November and tak-en other steps to support growth, but econo-mists believe it will be forced to take more ag-

gressive measures in coming months if prices and the economy weaken further.

No timetable on liberalizationzhou also said China had a “clear direction” in terms of interest rate liberalization - a long-term goal - although he added it was di� -cult to put a clear timetable on the move. He pointed to comments made last year when he said the country’s deposit rates were likely to liberalized in one to two years.

Last week, Zhou said China could undermine structural reforms if it adopts an excessively loose monetary policy, while pledging to relax capital controls to help make the yuan curren-cy fully convertible.

Zhou also said on Sunday that China hoped to work on streamlining regulations around foreign exchange this year and that through the adoption of new rules China would even-

tually be able to achieve capital account con-vertibility.

Slowing commodity priceschina is also “cautious” about the wider glob-al slowdown, falling in� ation and tumbling commodity prices, Zhou said. The price of oil, for example, is down by over 50% since mid 2014, aggravating a broader commodity price rout which has pushed down in� ation in all the major industrial economies.

China is particularly susceptible as the world’s largest net importer of petroleum and iron ore.

Earlier this month, China announced an economic growth target of around 7% for this year, down from 7.4% in 2014, already the slowest in 24 years.

But weak data so far in 2015 suggest the new target may already be at risk, with slug-gish domestic demand, a cooling property market, industrial overcapacity and high debt levels dragging on activity.

China’s annual consumer in� ation quick-ened to 1.4% in February from a 5-year low of 0.8% the previous month.

However, Qian Yingyi, a member of the central bank’s monetary policy commit-tee, told Reuters earlier this month that the bounce could be a one-o� blip as a result of the Lunar New Year holiday.

Producer prices declined 4.8% in February, the sharpest drop since October 2009 and ex-tending a long-running factory de� ation cycle to nearly three years. l

China’s central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan delivers a speech about Sound Monetary Policy in the New Normal at China Development Forum, in Beijing REUTERS

In� ation in China is also declining. We need to have vigilance if this can go further to reach some sort of de� ation or not

President Xi says China should not focus on growth rate onlyn Reuters, Boao

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Saturday that the country should not focus on its eco-nomic growth rate only, reiterating China’s push for a more sustainable, higher-quality expansion.

Chinese leaders have announced an eco-nomic growth target of around 7% for this year, below the 7.5% goal in 2014 and the slowest rate in a quarter-century.

Xi, who was speaking at a forum in Boao on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, said 7 percent growth was still impressive and would be a big driver of momentum.

He said the Chinese economy was resilient and had much potential, allowing for a host of policy tools. Analysts anticipate further inter-est rate cuts in China this year.

The theme of the Boao forum is: “Asia’s New Future: Towards a Community of Com-mon Destiny”. l

India’s top three mobile phone operators spend $13.6bn in airwaves auctionn Reuters, Mumbai

India’s top three mobile phone network oper-ators have spent a combined $13.6bn in a gov-ernment auction of airwaves to secure almost 80% of the spectrum on o� er, reinforcing their positions in the world’s second-biggest mobile market.

The heavy bidding re� ects their con� -dence in the potential for data tra� c in the world’s fastest growing smartphone market, while also stoking concerns about debt lev-els in an industry which is already among the most leveraged in Asia.

“The outcome of this auction ... will even-tually lead to a signi� cant out� ow of funds and further burden the industry, which al-ready remains under a debt of 2.5tn rupees ($39.8bn),” Cellular Operators Association of India said in a statement.

Altogether India raised $17.6bn in the auc-tion after 19 days of � erce bidding, of which the government expects to receive about 288.72bn rupees ($4.6bn) in initial payments, telecoms minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday.

Idea Cellular, the country’s third-big-gest mobile operator by market share, spent 303.06bn rupees in the auction, the single biggest amount spent.

Market leader Bharti Airtel paid 293.10bn rupees, while Vodafone India spent 259.59bn rupees, according to � gures provided by the minister.

Auction revenues are much needed by the government to help it meet an ambitious budget target. The winners have until April 4 to make the upfront payment.

“I would very earnestly appeal to the companies that national revenue is equally important for growth and India’s image,” the minister said, appealing to winning bidders to submit initial payments before the current � scal year ends on March 31. l

BUSINESS18DT


SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

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

Bank 171.78 4.37 13.53 4.95 185.31 4.41NBFI 93.96 2.39 4.91 1.80 98.87 2.35Investment 26.88 0.68 0.97 0.35 27.85 0.66Engineering 367.06 9.34 25.55 9.35 392.61 9.34Food & Allied 85.18 2.17 4.30 1.57 89.48 2.13Fuel & Power 918.81 23.38 57.85 21.18 976.66 23.24Jute 4.86 0.12 0.00 4.86 0.12Textile 387.59 9.86 49.03 17.95 436.62 10.39Pharma & Chemical 906.90 23.08 43.96 16.09 950.86 22.62Paper & Packaging 12.34 0.31 0.68 0.25 13.02 0.31Service 65.41 1.66 3.32 1.21 68.73 1.64Leather 43.40 1.10 2.62 0.96 46.01 1.09Ceramic 13.23 0.34 1.80 0.66 15.03 0.36Cement 168.15 4.28 10.10 3.70 178.26 4.24Information Technology 99.94 2.54 4.45 1.63 104.39 2.48General Insurance 20.35 0.52 0.45 0.16 20.80 0.49Life Insurance 74.97 1.91 1.74 0.64 76.71 1.83Telecom 301.00 7.66 23.27 8.52 324.27 7.71Travel & Leisure 35.34 0.90 6.68 2.45 42.02 1.00Miscellaneous 132.90 3.38 17.93 6.56 150.82 3.59Debenture 0.01 0.00 0.02 0.01 0.03 0.00

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

News, analysis and recent disclosuresAPEXFOOT: The Board of Di-rectors has recommended 55% cash dividend for the year end-ed on December 31, 2014. Date of AGM: 30.04.2015, Time: 10:30 AM, Venue: Dhaka Ladies Club, 36 Eskaton Garden Road, Dhaka-1000. Record date: 09.04.2015. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 18.05, NAV per share of Tk. 234.43 and NOCFPS of Tk. 9.60 for the year ended on December 31, 2014.ISLAMICFIN: The Board of Directors has recommended 8% cash dividend and 4% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2014. Date of AGM: 14.05.2015, Time: 11:00 AM, Venue: Institution of Diploma Engineers Bangla-desh (IDEB), 160/A, Kakrail, Dhaka-1000. Record Date: 09.04.2015. The Company has also reported Net Pro� t of Tk. 193.16 million, EPS of Tk. 1.66, NAV per share of Tk. 12.98 and NOCFPS of Tk. 2.70 for the year ended on December 31, 2014 as against Tk. 86.03 million, Tk. 0.74 (restated), Tk. 11.90 (re-stated) and Tk. 0.95 (restated) respectively for the year ended on December 31, 2013.ECABLES: The Company has informed that they have signed a contract with Local Agent M/s. Polymax International, Baridhara Balee, Plot-17, Road No.-14, Suite-GB, Baridhara R/A, Dhaka-1212 for purchasing an Automatic Aluminium Wire Drawing Machine and a Copper Wire Drawing Machine with Annealer manufactured by Jun Rong Machinery Equipment Co. Ltd. China with a total value of

USD 434,820.00.PREMIERBAN: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors has decided to purchase 21 katha and 1 chatak Land at Plot 98/A, Road 7, Block F, Banani Model Town, Dhaka in the name of The Premier Bank Limited for its own use at a cost of Tk. 63.00 crore excluding Stamp duty, registration fees and other relevant expenses subject to approval by respec-tive regulatory authorities. It is to be noted here that the Com-pany has decided to purchase the land under compelling situation to recover its classi� ed loan.GREENDELT: The Company has informed that it has credited the bonus shares for the year ended on December 31, 2014 to the respective shareholders BO Accounts on March 25, 2015.IPO Subscription: Tosrifa Industries Limited Subscription March 24, 2015 to March 31, 2015; NRB UPTO April 09, 2015. O� er Price per share Tk. 26.00, Market Lot (Shares) 200.Dividend/AGMSHAHJABANK: 10% cash, AGM: 07.06.2015, Record date: 09.04.2015.IBBLPBOND: Annual pro� t rate of 11.18%, Record Date 16.04.2015. FLEASEINT: 5% stock, AGM: 16.04.2015, Record date: 01.04.2015. ISLAMIBANK: 15% cash, AGM: 13.06.2015, Record date: 16.04.2015.UTTARABANK: 20% cash, AGM: 23.04.2015, Record date: 01.04.2015.

CSE GAINER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Khulna Power-A 9.28 7.32 61.13 62.40 62.80 58.00 8.617 6.36 9.6Janata Insur -A 8.53 6.63 14.00 14.00 14.00 14.00 0.001 0.37 37.8S Purbanchol Power-N 8.44 7.82 48.12 48.80 49.10 46.00 1.755 4.60 10.5Fine Foods A 6.38 5.37 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 0.000 -0.36 -ve ICB -A 5.90 5.75 132.80 132.80 134.00 130.00 0.552 6.08 21.8Saiham Cotton-A 5.82 5.52 19.89 20.00 20.30 19.40 0.687 1.43 13.9Summit Power -A 5.67 6.00 35.49 35.40 36.00 33.50 1.294 3.16 11.2Sonargaon Tex -Z 5.26 5.26 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 0.001 -0.84 -veMeghna Petroleum -A 4.76 4.62 203.98 204.80 205.90 201.90 2.533 19.76 10.3Padma Islami Life*-N 4.65 4.68 36.00 36.00 36.00 36.00 0.018 1.10 32.7

DSE GAINER


Aver-age (%

Change)


in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

S Purbanchol Power-N 9.60 7.92 47.94 49.10 49.20 45.30 28.558 4.60 10.4Khulna Power-A 9.25 7.86 61.48 62.60 63.00 57.90 154.314 6.36 9.7Samata LeatheR -Z 6.67 6.67 16.00 16.00 16.00 16.00 0.032 -0.46 -veSonarBangla Insu. -A 6.62 3.59 15.85 16.10 16.20 15.20 0.461 1.77 9.0Progressive Life-A 6.53 6.05 77.85 78.30 79.00 74.30 0.239 2.30 33.8FAS Fin. & Inv. Ltd-B 5.88 5.50 14.39 14.40 14.50 14.20 0.116 1.27 11.3Aziz PipesZ 5.70 5.23 20.31 20.40 21.00 19.50 0.162 -0.37 -veAramit -A 5.18 5.03 300.51 302.40 308.90 288.70 7.678 14.12 21.3Khulna Printing-N 4.97 3.07 18.78 19.00 19.20 18.20 11.878 1.96 9.6Padma Oil Co. -A 4.91 4.57 247.56 249.90 251.90 238.00 34.425 18.00 13.8

CSE LOSER


Aver-age (%

Change)


in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

ICB AMCL 1st NRB -A -9.85 -9.85 18.30 18.30 18.30 18.30 0.018 2.86 6.4Ambee Pharma -A -7.81 -4.02 342.20 335.40 360.00 332.00 0.390 4.68 73.1Premier Cement-A -7.07 -7.07 63.10 63.10 63.10 63.10 0.000 1.78 35.4Peoples Insur -A -6.21 -6.75 16.57 16.60 16.90 16.50 0.004 2.25 7.4Shinepukur Cera-Z -5.51 -1.38 12.18 12.00 12.30 12.00 0.042 0.39 31.2ACI Formulations-A -4.99 -2.10 158.40 152.40 163.90 150.10 8.261 3.27 48.4Usmania Glass -A -3.97 -3.04 112.41 111.40 119.00 110.00 0.399 -0.88 -veZaheen Spinning -N -3.29 -6.81 23.26 23.50 25.00 22.20 6.956 1.32 17.6Sandhani Life -A -3.28 -3.28 59.00 59.00 59.00 59.00 0.001 2.12 27.8Apex Footwear-A -2.92 -2.89 382.10 382.00 382.20 382.00 0.192 18.05 21.2

DSE LOSER


Aver-age (%

Change)


in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

ICB AMCL 1st NRB -A -7.33 -7.33 17.70 17.70 18.90 17.20 0.177 2.86 6.2Ambee Pharma -A -6.07 -2.01 347.20 339.10 362.20 330.00 18.884 4.68 74.2United Insur -A -5.90 -5.83 25.53 25.50 26.10 25.20 0.550 2.91 8.8Shampur Sugar -Z -5.33 6.67 8.00 7.10 7.20 7.10 0.004 -52.72 -veReliance Insur -A -5.07 -5.26 39.28 39.30 43.00 38.00 0.089 4.34 9.1H.R. Textile -A -5.00 -3.13 21.34 20.90 22.10 20.00 0.800 1.36 15.7ACI Formulations-A -4.86 -2.35 158.27 152.60 163.00 150.00 146.589 3.27 48.4Standard Insurance-A -4.85 -4.11 21.70 21.60 21.90 21.60 0.092 3.07 7.1Apex Footwear-A -4.74 -1.25 393.72 382.00 403.90 381.40 28.672 18.05 21.8ICB Islamic Bank-Z -4.65 -2.58 4.16 4.10 4.40 4.00 2.051 -0.43 -ve

DSE key features March-29, 2015Turnover (Million Taka)

3,930.05

Turnover (Volume)

71,165,116

Number of Contract

108,272

Traded Issues 310

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

226

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

79

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

5

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,534.42

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.72

CSE key features March-29, 2015Turnover (Million Taka)

273.16

Turnover (Volume)

6,439,244

Number of Contract

15,157

Traded Issues 231

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

158

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

64

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

9

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,445.68

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

29.64

BUSINESS 19D


Stocks rally as political violence subduesn Tribune Report

Stocks rallied yesterday amid higher volume of trade, ending bearish spell over the several weeks, as continued political unrest subdued.

The market opened the week on a positive note, fol-lowing previous session’s uptrend and remained up-beat for the whole session, led by � nancial institutions.

The benchmark index DSEX rose 48 points or 1% to close at 4,558.

The Shariah Index DSES gained 14 points or 1.4% to 1,111. The comprising blue chips DS30 was up 24 points or 1% to 1,737.

Chittagong Stock Ex-change (CSE) Selective Cat-egories Index, CSCX, closed at 8,468, rising 130 points.

Buying binge has pushed up turnover at the Dhaka Stock Exchange that stood at Tk390 crore, an increase of 12% over the previous ses-sion and highest in 12 weeks.

Four out of top ten turn-over scrips came from fuel & power sector, which ac-counted for 23.4% of the to-tal turnover.

Non-banking � nancial institutions gained highest 3.3%, driven by IDLC that surged 4.6%. Telecommuni-cation soared 3%, followed by power 2.95%, pharma-ceuticals o.8% and banks 0.2%.

On the other hand, tan-nery sectors su� ered most tumbling 1.4%, dragged down by Apex Footwear that dropped 4.7% on its poor earnings. Cement lost 1.31% and food & allied 1%.

IDLC Investments said investors tried to reverse the market, exploiting apparent political calm. In addition, although � rst quarter was abysmal for the economy, earning expectations built up and played a comple-mentary role in stock pric-ing, it said.

Lanka Bangla Securities said market performed quite well during the � rst day of the week as investors are getting a little hopeful about the country’s political situa-tion.

ACI Limited topped the liquidity chart with turnover worth more than Tk31 crore, making up 8% of the total turnover. l

Market performed quite well during the � rst day of the week as investors are getting a little hopeful about the country’s political situation

ANALYST

Daily capital market highlightsDSE Broad Index : 4558.08122 (+) 1.08% ▲

DSE - 30 Index : 1737.88210 (+) 1.40% ▲

CSE All Share Index: 13945.99300 (+) 1.38% ▲

CSE - 30 Index : 11502.03670 (+) 1.78% ▲

CSE Selected Index : 8468.69490 (+) 1.53% ▲

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

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

Shasha Denims -N 738,205 28.96 10.60 39.80 4.46 38.10 40.10 37.90 39.23MJL BD Ltd.-A 155,366 19.88 7.28 128.00 3.48 123.70 129.10 125.00 127.97ACI Limited- A 34,759 18.23 6.68 511.80 -0.56 514.70 537.00 505.20 524.56Grameenphone-A 41,223 14.61 5.35 357.00 3.54 344.80 360.00 348.50 354.50BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 398,432 13.12 4.80 32.80 2.50 32.00 33.40 32.10 32.92BD Submarine Cable-A 69,920 8.66 3.17 122.70 -0.41 123.20 125.40 121.80 123.81Khulna Power-A 140,955 8.62 3.15 62.40 9.28 57.10 62.80 58.00 61.13ACI Formulations-A 52,152 8.26 3.02 152.40 -4.99 160.40 163.90 150.10 158.40Shahjibazar Power-N 41,418 8.10 2.97 191.20 2.25 187.00 202.00 189.00 195.59LafargeS Cement-Z 63,426 7.52 2.75 117.40 -1.34 119.00 121.00 116.90 118.61Zaheen Spinning -N 299,054 6.96 2.55 23.50 -3.29 24.30 25.00 22.20 23.26WesternMarine -N 132,019 5.55 2.03 41.90 2.20 41.00 42.40 41.70 42.06Square Pharma -A 20,965 5.49 2.01 262.40 1.94 257.40 263.00 259.00 262.03Jamuna Oil -A 24,225 5.15 1.89 213.10 2.90 207.10 215.90 209.00 212.63The Peninsula CTG.-N 208,203 4.12 1.51 19.80 2.06 19.40 20.00 19.40 19.78

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

% of Total-Turnover ClosingP Change

% ClosingY DHIGH DLOW Avg-Price

ACI Limited- A 383,943 182.68 6.81 482.50 5.01 459.50 483.50 463.80 475.80LafargeS Cement-Z 1,380,362 171.54 6.40 123.50 7.77 114.60 126.00 118.00 124.27Shahjibazar Power-N 852,120 168.54 6.28 202.80 9.27 185.60 203.10 187.00 197.79ACI Formulations-A 789,736 114.83 4.28 151.00 9.42 138.00 151.70 139.40 145.41Ifad Autos -N 1,721,914 110.80 4.13 63.40 -2.31 64.90 67.00 62.80 64.35BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 2,170,255 71.69 2.67 32.90 0.30 32.80 33.30 32.70 33.03Agni Systems -A 2,191,558 68.15 2.54 31.70 5.67 30.00 31.90 30.10 31.10Social Islami. B-A 4,907,782 67.09 2.50 13.30 0.76 13.20 13.80 13.00 13.67MJL BD Ltd.-A 532,904 65.32 2.44 123.40 1.90 121.10 124.00 121.20 122.58Grameenphone-A 191,974 64.66 2.41 336.30 0.57 334.40 338.80 335.10 336.82Shasha Denims -N 1,650,739 62.73 2.34 37.80 0.27 37.70 38.60 37.50 38.00SummitAlliancePort.-A 957,041 56.73 2.12 58.90 0.17 58.80 60.10 58.70 59.28Singer BD -A 287,675 52.06 1.94 182.40 3.46 176.30 182.80 176.00 180.96BSRM Steels-A 659,508 47.68 1.78 74.80 8.88 68.70 75.30 69.00 72.30WesternMarine -N 1,066,374 44.33 1.65 41.90 2.95 40.70 42.00 41.00 41.57

BUSINESS20DT


NBR urged to launch ADR promotion campaignn Tribune Report

Discussants have recommended the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to launch massive campaigns through organising workshops, seminars, and views exchange meetings to encourage taxpayers for quick disposal of cases through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

“It would bene� t both the taxpayers and taxmen if the tax related cases were resolved through ADR instead of pending them at courts for years,” they said.

To further boost up the revenue collection, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) held a meeting with the facilitators of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at its headquarters the capital yesterday for faster settlement of the pending cases. The NBR Chairman Md No-jibur Rahman chaired the meeting.

Currently, hundreds of cases are pending at di� erent courts involving about Tk28,000 crore from all the three wings of NBR- income

tax, customs duties, and value added tax (VAT).

The facilitators including former adviser to the caretaker government Tapan Chowdhury, former NBR member Ali Ahmed, ACI Group Managing Director Anis Ud Dowla, FBCCI Director Manzur Ahmed placed a number of recommendations to the NBR chairman for further facilitating the ADR process.

Addressing the meeting, the NBR chair-man instructed all � eld level commissioners to expedite the ADR process.

The NBR has taken up the move to discuss about the ADR issue with stakeholders in the wake of the ongoing political turmoil, that has put extra pressures on NBR in collecting the large amount of stuck up revenue.

The BNP-led alliance has been observing non-stop countrywide blockade since Janu-ary 6 that has hampered business, creating an unwanted situation for NBR to meet the reve-nue target set for the current � scal year.

The taxmen in 2012 introduced ADR, a

mechanism to resolve the tax-related dis-putes and ensure a win-win situation for both the taxmen and taxpayers. However, the mechanism is yet to get momentum as only a few taxpayers has adopted it to resolve cases, due to lack of awareness among taxpayers.

According to the system, a panel of facilita-tors will assist both taxpayers and revenue of-� cials to resolve disputes within two months of � ling applications.

During the last three years, only 743 cases were referred to NBR for settlement through ADR, according to NBR records.

The NBR has recently instructed all its � eld o� ces to motivate taxpayers, mainly busi-nesses to adopt the process. It also published a number of advertisements in the newspa-pers to aware the people on the new mecha-nism.

Top o� cials from NBR including its mem-bers Begum Jahan Ara Siddique, Kalipada Halder, and Khandker Aminur Rahman also attended the meeting, among others. l

PRASB forms new EC committee n Tribune Report

Public Relations Association of State-owned Banks (PRASB) has formed a new executive committee with Sonali Bank Deputy Gener-al Manager Mofazzal Hossain as president while Rupali Bank Assistant General Manager Khairul Hossen Razu General Secretary.

A 13-member working committee has been approved at a meeting held on Saturday, said a press release.

Other members of the committee include Kabir Ahmed Khan, Manager Sayda Khanom, Sazedur Rahman, Pervez Ahmed Chowdhury and er Jashim Uddin Khan. l

ADB becomes � rst accredited bank to receive UN green fund n Tribune Report

Asian Development Bank has become the � rst multilateral development bank accredited to receive � nancing from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for projects to enhance climate change mitigation and adaptation in its de-veloping member countries, the bank said in a statement yesterday.

The GCF was established in 2010 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to serve as the central global investment vehicle for climate � nancing.

It will help the developing countries re-duce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change. To date, a number of 32 coun-tries including seven developing countries have pledged an initial $10.2bn to the fund, with the largest contributions pledged by the US, Japan, the UK, France and Germany.

Bangladesh is a major fund recipient from the ADB for developing its infrastructure and reducing poverty.

“Combining the Green Climate Fund’s concessional � nances with ADB’s � nancing, knowledge, and regional experience will boost much-needed climate change invest-ments in Asia and the Paci� c,” said ADB Pres-ident Takehiko Nakao.

“Successful deployment of � nancing will help create momentum for the climate agree-ment expected in December at the UNFCCC climate summit in Paris, France.”

ADB hopes to make its � rst formal submis-sions to the fund before the end of this year, said Nakao.

Asia is highly vulnerable to climate change given its many low-lying countries, reliance on agriculture, and rapid urbanisation.

The region’s adaptation costs are estimated at $70bn-$100bn annually through 2050, and failure to act could undo the poverty reduc-tion and economic gains of recent decades.

Moreover, Asia’s share of global green-

house gas emissions could rise to 46% by 2035 from 37% in 2010 without aggressive e� orts to promote low-carbon growth.

The GCF will allocate its resources equal-ly to adaptation and mitigation e� orts. Half of the adaptation funds are to be allocated to small island developing countries, least developed countries and African states, with the rest going to other developing countries.

The GCF Board is expected to allocate re-sources for the � rst projects and programmes before the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC which will be held in Paris, France on 30 November-11 December.

Helping the region cope with climate change is a strategic priority for ADB. In 2014, ADB approved climate � nancing of just over $3bn — about 75% for climate change mitiga-

tion and 25% for adaptation. In addition, ADB manages $2.6bn through

bilateral and multi-donor funds, including Cli-mate Investment Funds, to support areas in-cluding clean energy, integrated disaster risk management and urban climate resilience.

Earlier this month, ADB raised $500m from its � rst Green Bond to � nance climate mitiga-tion and adaptation projects. l

Bangladesh has constructed cyclone shelters in the coastal areas with � nancial assitance from donors. The photo was taken from Nijhum Island in Noakhali recently RAJIB DHAR

Mofazzal Hossain Khairul Hossen

21D

TMONDAY, MARCH 30, 2015T

-JUN

CT

IONLong

luscious locks

22school survival

Sti� en up that upper lip

23prevention

Baby, don’t hurt me

24teen health

Ditch the diet (soda)

INSIDE

Photo: Bigstock

On your feetDown with the cold that’s been going around for a while? Follow these tips to bid that � u farewell for good before you go back to school.

From the hair bookRock that salt and pepper do like a pro. And you may as well take the natural route of cleansing your hair while you’re at it.

SchoologisticsT-JUNCTION22DT


Stop the � u from circulating any further

Diving into unfathomable layers of the mystery

n Pragya Rahman

‘Tis the season of snotty noses, rib-breaking coughs and a whole lot of chicken soup. Nothing is worse than the curse of the common cold also known as the “� u.” There is no known cure for it. Sure you can have your doctor prescribe you with plenty of antibiotics whose names you can’t pronounce, but there is no guarantee that those meds and their secret ninja warrior army will make the � u disappear for you. No siree! The � u is one of the most annoying and popular illnesses out there, it is the Paris Hilton of Kardashians! Here’s some tips to walk hand in hand with the � u.

GrogsWhen the vicious cold and � u virus attacks you and leaves you feeling weak and powerless, it may seem that the only thing you have left to do is wrap yourself up in a blanket with a warm cup of tea next to you. But here’s a way that might help with the sore throat, the runny nose, the cough, the blistering headache, and even taste buds that are bitterer than 100% dark chocolate cacaos. Ok folks ready? This one’s called a hot toddy and is the perfect thing you need to warm you up and ease your pain during a cold. All you need is hot water, freshly squeezed lemon and orange juice, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and a dollop of your favourite honey. Mix them all together and drink it hot, be careful not to burn your tongue.

The honey and the citrus will help restore your taste buds to their former glory and the

vitamin C will also help boost your immune system. When you’ve got a cold you tend to feel cold, you’ve got the chills and that’s where the cloves, cinnamon and cardamom come in. They keep your body temperature within normal limits and make sure you’re warm and no longer get the chills.

Aroma therapySo this is something very soothing and relaxing, believe it or not, it works like a charm. When you’ve got a nasty cold that just won’t let go and has vowed to be with you in sickness and in health till death brings

you apart - you’ve got to say NO! First dip your feet in some lukewarm water with some bath crystals or fragrant oils of your choice like lavender, green tea, mandarin and pomegranate. Now, take a large bowl of piping hot water and add fresh eucalyptus leaves followed by mint leaves, rose petals and a dash of lavender oil. Now cover your head with a towel and keep breathing in the aroma and vapour from the bowl. Do this for at least 30-45 minutes. By the time you’re done you will feel much di� erent; almost like a new person in no time, ready to go to school the next day.

Sti� en up that upper lip

Doctor Sleep

school survivalbook review

Photos: Bigstock

n Pragya Rahman

“Doctor Sleep” is a sequel to Stephen King’s spine chilling and earth shattering horror novel “The Shining.” Following the events of the shining, little Danny Torrance remains psychologically traumatised by the events from his past as his mother slowly begins to recover from her injuries. Danny is haunted in his dreams by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent an unforgettable year of his childhood. Danny soon realises that he has the power that is “shining” inside of him, in other words he is clairvoyant and knows things that others don’t. He is soon dragged into an adventurous battle between the good and evil by a little girl who also has the gift of the “shining” and the True Knots. What will happen now? Who will win? Is this some sort of a deranged and delusional dream of a 12-year-old boy who just saw his father being taken away from him? To � nd out more and to chill your bones read this book and don’t wait for another 20 years for the movie to come out.

Tempt T-JUNCTION 23D

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Your hairstyle routine may be hurting your hair

Just so you know

Our very own Abeer Hoque was sporting the grey do way before Kylie Jenner

n Sabrina Fatma Ahmad

Dust, pollution, bhejal products...you don’t have to look very hard to � nd external factors behind hair loss and damage. But they’re not the only culprits behind your receding hairline and bald patches. Your hair habits may actually be doing more harm than good. Here’s how:

Tight, tight!That high ponytail might look like it’s made of money. Those cornrows may look real gangsta. But when you’re repeatedly pulling your locks into tight con� gurations, you’re stressing your scalp out, and this leads to hair loss. Try not repeating the tight hairdos too often, and change your parting every now and then, and where you really need it to look tight, consider some maximum hold styling product instead of an extra hard yank.

The ties that bind usEver been in a bind (pun intended) where you needed to get your hair o� your face and there were no proper hairbands available, so you just grabbed the rubber band lying on your table?

We’ve all done that at least once, and it’s the worst thing you can do. Those little suckers can yank out your hair like a jealous ex. Save yourself the pain, and always keep some actual hair ties, or alligator clips in your bag.

A brush with disasterSo you’ve been smart about not brushing wet hair. But if you still � nd locks of it coming out in your brush, maybe it’s the brush itself that’s the problem. Invest in a good brush that glides smoothly through your hair and doesn’t have any broken bristles that could snag a few strands every time you groom yourself.

Towel headRemember being scolded to towel dry your hair before you catch your death in a cold? Yeah, that’s probably what led to your hair loss. Wet hair needs to be left alone; that vigorous rubbing will not help it. If air-drying it is not an option, use a gamcha to bundle up your hair. It’s twice as e� ective as a towel, and won’t hurt your precious mane.

Too little, too lateIt’s always wise to go easy on the product, but sometimes you run into the problem of too little product. That’s right. Use a heat-protection serum before you use a heating tool, and don’t scrimp on the conditioner and hair vitamins.

n Sabah Rahman

This week, we bring you a mixed bag of hot hair news. Don’t worry, we won’t repeat the boring old FAQs. You’ve got Google for that

The no ‘poo movementNo, this doesn’t have anything at all to do with poo. In this case, ‘poo is an abbreviation for shampoo and there has been an underground movement pioneered by folks who refuse to use the shower staple any longer. Say what? Well, it kind of makes sense, since most widely available, not to mention a� ordable shampoos in the market really aren’t that great for our hair. Full of � llers and detergents, some people will argue that we need to stop using these formulas, while others have been washing their hair with regular shampoos and still swear by them. Meanwhile, the followers of this journey have eschewed the suds for alternatives like eggs, vinegar, baking soda and much more and swear that their locks are thanking them for the big change. Like it or hate it, it’s a thing. Whether you want to take this route or the thought of having your

hair smell like eggs makes you want to gag, this one is totally up to you.

Granny hairWhile you were busy playing the “What breed of cat are you?” quiz on Facebook, there was something of a phenomenon you may have missed on good old Instagram. Grey hair is all the rage at the moment. You can thank or blame Kylie Jenner if you want, but Kelly Osbourne sported this do a while back. This one’s just not for the ladies as countless men have dyed their hair with salt and pepper highlights. Who wants to wait to graduate into a blue haired individual when we can speed up the process? Surprisingly, this trend suits more people than you’d be able to imagine.

BREAKING NEWS!Stop fighting that frizz. It’s a look that most designers sent their models strutting down the runway with. Who ever thought the day would come when the pesky mess on your head would actually be cool? Here’s your chance to go au natural in a fierce way.

Baby, don’t hurt me

A hair a� air

prevention

hairPhotos: Bigstock

T-JUNCTION Take Care24DT


Pohela Boishakh at ShwapnoShwapno Life welcomes Pohela Boishakh 1422 with their newly designed, clothing collection, launched under the theme of “Reflection of Life.” The new cuts and patterns reflect our tradition blended with contemporary styles.

With the scorching heat of summer around the corner, cotton and kota materials have been wisely chosen in the making of saris, kameez and panjabis which are available at Shwapno Life outlets around the country.

The colour white being synonymous

with peace and prosperity, alongside the colour red which resembles exuberance of youth have been the two primary colours selected for the theme.

The attractive, new Boishakhi collection of Shwapno Life is now available at their outlets. Prices of saris range from Tk1,150 to Tk2,995, salwar kameezes range from Tk1,215 to Tk3,990, kurtis from Tk1,150 to Tk1,550, panjabis for men range from Tk1,140.00 to Tk1,400.00 and kids’ clothing range from Tk600 to Tk950.

teen healthnews

Ditch the diet (soda)5 compelling reasons why you should

n Sabrina Fatma Ahmad

So you need to shave o� a few inches from your waistline, and since a comprehensive weight loss plan seems like too much work, you’re starting with making changes in the way you eat. All good, but if you think diet soda drinks are the way to go, you might need to pause and reconsider. Here’s why.

Up, not downThat’s right. It might say “diet,” but it leaves you feeling empty and peckish after you’ve downed a can, and that makes it harder to resist looking for a snack, and before you know it, you’re going up a dress size, instead of down.

Nokol chiniThe fake sugars in diet soda create stimuli in the brain, causing greater cravings for sweet food. Not only does this mess with the diet plan, increased sugar intake takes a toll on your teeth and skin.

Plumbing issuesConsumption of diet soda has also been linked to kidney disease. In a long-term study conducted by Julie Lin, M D, a kidney specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Dr Lin observed that the kidneys of diet soda drinkers declined at three times the rate typical of ageing.

System under attackIf diabetes runs in the family, it’s all the more reason to kick the diet soda habit. Lyn Ste� en, PhD, R D, a professor in the division of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota, studied the food habits of thousands of people over nine years. He found that consumers of diet soda were more likely to

have the “soda gut,” higher blood pressure, less of the “good” cholesterol, more fatty acids, and higher blood sugar. All of these things are linked to heart disease and pretty much put you on the one-way street towards Type-2 diabetes.

Stroke of misfortuneIf all of the above doesn’t scare you enough, this one should. A study published in the January 2012 issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that people with a daily diet soda habit have a 43 percent higher risk of stroke and heart attack than people who don’t drink diet soft drinks.

An experimental jazz ensemble by Imran Ahmed Quintet, organised by EMK Center, was held at the Midas Center on March 28. Imran Ahmed Quintet tries to combine harmony, improvisation with strong emphasis on rhythm and time signatures to make their music sound like what it

is. They don’t label their music under a speci� c kind of genre. They mostly played their originals. The Quintet was Imran Ahmed on guitars, Rahin Haider on the saxophone, Apurba Mustafa on the trombone, Mohaimin Karim on bass and Tow� q Ari� n Turjo on drums.

EMK jazz ensemble by Imran Ahmed Quintet

Toss a fresh lemon in a blender with a glass of water, honey to taste, a dash of salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper, and refrigerate the resulting drink for a cool, healthy, and low-cal refresher

Photos: Bigstock


HOSTS CRASH OUT OF AFC U23 QUALIFIERS

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A ground record crowd of 93,013 watched the WC � nal at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. It shattered MCG’s

previous record attendance for a cricket match of 91,112

93,013

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Emotional Clarke gets � tting farewelln Reuters, Melbourne

Australia captain Mi-chael Clarke had hoped his retirement from one-day internation-al cricket would be a foot-note to Australia’s successful bid for a � fth World Cup.

But having top-scored for Australia

with a 74 to push his team to victory over New Zealand, the 33-year-old bowed out with guns blazing in a fairytale farewell at a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.

James Faulkner won the man-of-the-

match award for his three-wicket haul that sent New Zealand crashing to 183, but the night belonged to Clarke who saved his best for last.

“I said yesterday that I thought it was the right time. Now I know it’s the right time,” Clarke told reporters after his 245th ODI match left him with a total of 7,981 runs at an impressive average of 44.58.

“There’s no such things as fairytales in sport but that’s as close as it gets.”

In front of a roaring crowd of 93,000, Clarke had the golden touch from the start, his � rst left-� eld bowling change bringing an immediate wicket.

Bringing in Glenn Maxwell in the 12th over, the part-time spinner bowled New Zealand

opener Martin Guptill for 15, leaving New Zealand rocking at 33-2.

Clarke would later position himself at slip, and took a sharp catch to dismiss Luke Ronchi for a duck o� the bowling of play-er-of-the-tournament Mitchell Starc.

Though Australia were set a modest chase of 184 for victory, Clarke came to the crease with his team wobbling at 63-2.

Watchful at � rst, he dominated his part-nership with captain-in-waiting Steven Smith, crunching 10 fours and a six in a 72-ball knock, his most � uent of a mostly scratchy World Cup campaign.

He seemed destined to push Australia to victory, so his dismissal, bowled by paceman Matt Henry, drew groans from the crowd then

a standing ovation as he left the MCG for the last time in a gold out� t.

At times a polarising � gure in cricket-mad Australia, Clarke � nishes his one-day career with a second World Cup win after the 2007 triumph, and with legacy intact after a tu-multuous few months in which he struggled with the death of his “little brother” Phillip Hughes.

Clarke’s role in leading the mourning for his team mate, who was killed by a short ball during a domestic match in November, en-deared him to the Australian public.

His stirring test century against India when battling injury in the tribute match to Hughes in Adelaide will remain a part of Australian sporting folklore for decades to come.l

Trophy dedicated to Phil Hughes n AFP, Melbourne

Australia captain Michael Clarke dedicated Sunday’s World Cup � nal triumph to Phillip Hughes, the team-mate who died after be-ing hit on the head by a bouncer last year.

Clarke, who made 74 in the seven-wick-et victory over New Zealand in what was his last one-day international, described Hughes as the squad’s 16th man at the six-week tournament.

“I’m sure everybody standing on this stage will say we played this World Cup with 16 players,” said Clarke.

“This victory is dedicated to our little brother Phillip Hughes. Hughesy used to party as good as any of them so I guarantee we’ll celebrate hard tonight.”

Clarke will continue to play Test cricket and vowed to keep wearing a black arm-band in honour of his close friend.

“The band has got PH on it. I will wear it every game I play for Australia. It’s been a really tough few months.”

Australia batsman Hughes died on No-vember 27 last year, two days after being hit on the head by a Sean Abbott bouncer in a � rst-class match in Sydney.l

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Australian opener David Warner poses with the 2015 ICC World Cup trophy alongside his wife and baby girl after their win against New Zealand yesterday

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Aussies continue to enjoy � nalsn Mazhar Uddin from Melbourne

Australia once again ruined the excitement of a World Cup � nal as they outclassed New Zea-land by seven wickets yesterday at the Mel-bourne Cricket Ground to lift their � fth world title. Australia, playing their seventh World Cup � nal, skittled out their Oceania rivals for just 183 in 45 overs and later romped to their target in 33.1 overs losing three wickets.

The mighty Aussies yesterday elevated themselves to the next level as Michael Clarke and his troop totally outplayed the Kiwis. However, it was anything but a surprise as this is not the � rst time the Aussies have clinched glory after crushing their � nal opponents.

With the exception of their seven-run win over Ashes rivals England in the 1987 ICC World Cup � nal at Eden Gardens, the Aussies have been dominant in all the � nals they have contested in.

Pakistan might be unpredictable and the enigma of world cricket but they were the � rst team to face the music as Australia thrashed them in the 1999 ICC World Cup � nal at Lord’s. Batting � rst, Pakistan were bundled out for just 132 in 39 overs and the Aussies, led by the inde-fatigable Steve Waugh, encountered little trou-ble overhauling the target, cantering to victory with eight wickets and 29.5 overs to spare.

The Aussies continued their demolition act in 2003 and this time, India were on the receiving end. Ricky Ponting’s side thumped Saurav Ganguly’s team by 125 runs to record their second successive triumph and third overall.

Although Australia’s 53-run success against Sri Lanka in 2007 might appear comparatively competitive, it was anything but thanks to the controversial Duckworth/Lewis method.

If the Aussies continue to make merry of the opposition in the ICC World Cup � nals, the other teams will � nd it extremely tough to challenge them for the title, let alone win-ning it. l

Australia’s Mitchell Starc (C) celebrates with captain Michael Clarke after dismissing New Zealand’s Luke Ronchi for a duck during their Cricket World Cup � nal at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday REUTERS

MOST RUNSPlayer In Runs 100 50

MJ Guptill (NZ) 9 547 2 1

KC Sangakkara (SL) 7 541 4 0

AB de Villiers (SA) 7 482 1 3

BRM Taylor (Zim) 6 433 2 1

S Dhawan (India) 8 412 2 1

HIGH SCORESPlayer Run Ball Opp

MJ Guptill (NZ) 237* 163 WI

CH Gayle (WI) 215 147 ZIM

DA Warner (AUS) 178 133 AFG

AB de Villiers (SA) 162* 66 WI

TM Dilshan (SL) 161* 146 BAN

MOST WICKETSPlayer In Wkt Ave Econ

MA Starc (Aus) 8 22 10.18 3.50

TA Boult (NZ) 9 22 16.86 4.36

UT Yadav (India) 8 18 17.83 4.98

M Shami (India) 7 17 17.29 4.81

M Morkel (SA) 8 17 17.58 4.38

BEST BOWLING FIGURESPlayer O-M-R-W Opp

TG Southee (NZ) 9-0-33-7 ENG

MA Starc (AUS) 9-0-28-6 NZ

TA Boult (NZ) 10-3-27-5 AUS

MR Marsh (AUS) 9-0-33-5 ENG

Imran Tahir (SA) 10-2-45-5 WI

AUSTRALIA’S WC WINS2015 beat New Zealand by 7 wickets

2007 beat Sri Lanka by 53 Runs (D/L)

2003 beat India by 125 runs

1999 beat Pakistan by 8 wickets

1987 beat England by 7 runs

Starc award de� es trend in bat-dominated tournamentn Reuters, Melbourne

At a World Cup dominated by batsmen and huge scores, it was an old-fashioned fast bowler who ultimately played the biggest role in Australia’s success.

Mitchell Starc, whose devastating pace and movement troubled almost every bats-men who faced him, was named player of the tournament after Australia wrapped up their � fth title with a seven-wicket over New Zea-land on Sunday.

Glenn McGrath (2007) is the only other specialist bowler to have won the award but Starc was a popular choice after terrorising his opponents for the past six weeks.

“It’s nice to see bat dominate ball every now and again,” Starc told reporters. “There’s been some fantastic performances with both. Obviously, it’s been a couple of big scores, a couple of double tons... but it’s just been fan-tastic the whole tournament.”

Although New Zealand opener Martin Gup-till and Chris Gayle scored double centuries during the World Cup, Starc was an obvious choice for the player of the tournament award.

He took 22 wickets, equal best with New Zealand seamer Trent Boult, but at a far better average of 10.18.

Perhaps the left-armer’s most telling con-tribution, however, came in the � rst over of Sunday’s � nal at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when he cleaned bowled New Zea-land’s captain and most destructive batsman

Brendon McCullum with a yorker.The Black Caps never recovered and were

bowled out for just 183 in the 45th over.“He’s been a key player for them right from

the beginning, and he’s been fantastic for the Kiwis to get them o� to great starts,” Starc said.

“We knew we had to sort of assess him as he went because he’s very unpredictable. I think personally it was a bit of a planning game with (bowling coach) Craig McDermott about just bowling in pace and yorker to him � rst up.

“I’m not sure how that � rst one missed, but lucky the third one hit. There’s a lot of luck involved, but just nice to see that plan come o� .” l

Year MoM PoT

1975 C Lloyd (WI) N/A

1979 V Richards (WI) N/A

1983 M Amarnath (Ind) N/A

1987 D Boon (Aus) N/A

1992 W Akram (PAK) M Crowe (NZ)

1996 De Silva (SL) S Jayasuriya (SL)

1999 S Warne (AUS) L Klusener (SA)

2003 R Ponting (AUS) S Tendulkar (IND)

2007 A Gilchrist (AUS) G McGrath (AUS)

2011 MS Dhoni (India) Y Singh (India)

2015 J Faulkner (AUS) M Starc (AUS)

*MoM= Man of the match *PoT= Player of the Tournament

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Yousuf Rahman (Babu), former national cricketer, vice captain and � rst centurion writes from New York for Bangladesh fans all across the globe.

TALKING POINTSAUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND, THE FINAL

NZ v AUSNEW ZEALAND R BM Guptill b Maxwell 15 34 B McCullum b Starc 0 3K Williamson c and b Johnson 12 33R Taylor c Haddin b Faulkner 40 72G Elliott c Haddin b Faulkner 83 82C Anderson b Faulkner 0 2L Ronchi c Clarke b Starc 0 4D Vettori b Johnson 9 21T Southee run out (Maxwell) 11 11M Henry c Starc b Johnson 0 7T Boult not out 0 1Extras (lb7, w6) 13Total (all out, 45 overs) 183

Fall of wickets1-1 (McCullum), 2-33 (Guptill), 3-39 (William-son), 4-150 (Taylor), 5-150 (Anderson), 6-151 (Ronchi), 7-167 (Vettori), 8-171 (Elliott), 9-182 (Henry), 10-183 (Southee) BowlingStarc 8-0-20-2 (1w); Hazlewood 8-2-30-0; Johnson 9-0-30-3 (2w); Maxwell 7-0-37-1 (1w); Faulkner 9-1-36-3; Watson 4-0-23-0 (2w);AUSTRALIA R BD Warner c Elliott b Henry 45 46A Finch c and b Boult 0 5S Smith not out 56 71M Clarke b Henry 74 72S Watson not out 2 5Extras (lb3, w6) 9Total (3 wkts, 33.1 overs) 186

Fall of wickets1-2 (Finch), 2-63 (Warner), 3-175 (Clarke) BowlingSouthee 8-3-65-0 (3w); Boult 10-0-40-1; Vettori 5-0-25-0; Henry 9.1-0-46-2 (2w); Anderson 1-0-7-0 (1w);Result: Australia won by 7 wicketsMan-of-the-match: James Faulkner (AUS)Man-of-the-tournament: Mitchell Starc (AUS)

Same two teams, same competition but a different ball game than the pool fixtureTwo best teams in the competition justi� ably played for � nal glory but one team proved to be years ahead of the other in its preparation and, more importantly, execution. Australia was methodical and tenacious as it turned a match that was to provide a cli� anger into a one-sided a� air. Perhaps, the fact that the Kiwis were in the � nal for the � rst time and that too at the MCG may have been a bit over-whelming. It curbed their natural instincts to come out with their best game.

Captain Courageous on both sides but only one is triumphantBoth Michael Clarke and Brendon McCul-lum are known to be the most aggressive leaders in world cricket. New Zealand crick-et has been re-energised with the McCullum approach and we see a new brand of cricket that has grown in popularity in a nation that has been a huge follower of rugby. Clarke is as aggressive but, in many ways a better tac-tician. His leadership on and o� the � eld has been remarkable and he has turned a young,

perhaps the youngest, Australian team into a fantastic winning combo. This victory has been a clinical display of the highest class.

Bowlers win matches and the Aussie quartet is superior to the Black CapsThe Australian foursome is the best fast bowling combination in world cricket today. Mitchell Starc has been phenomenal. Add Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood and James Faulkner and you have the most lethal group of fast bowlers that any captain would love to have. Clarke had the luxury to have this quartet and it allowed him to attack the op-position throughout the innings. Although the Kiwis recovered from an early collapse of 39 for 3 through a Ross Taylor-Grant Elli-ot partnership, which gave them the distinct possibility of reaching a defendable total, the Aussie seamers came back and ran through the lineup that literally placed the match for Australia to take.

Starc sets the tone by dismissing McCullumThe � fth ball of the � rst over from Starc set the tone for the match. The moment of the

match was when a fast swinging Starc deliv-ery hit the o� stump of McCullum followed by the roar of the MCG crowd in acknowl-edgement of the dismissal. Earlier, McCullum swung wildly and missed two in-swingers un-til the third one beat him by sheer pace. The return to the pavilion must have been the longest walk McCullum had taken for a long time and the roar of the crowd did not make it a pleasant one.

New Zealand cricket is on a new planeCricket in New Zealand is no longer a back bencher. The McCullum syndrome has changed all that. He has shown what it takes to win matches with his positive and attack-ing approach to the game. This syndrome is irreversible and the Black Caps can only get better in the years ahead. The result of the � nal is not a true re� ection of the quali-ty of this team. They have shown the world and their own nation what good cricket is all about and what it feels to be on the winning side. Unfortunately, the Kiwis top order did not come good and they were on the back foot through the match. This team has sever-

al young players that will serve New Zealand cricket well for a long time. New Zealand fans need to despair. They lost to a great team in superb form.

Clarke passes the torch and maybe his number 23Since he took over the leadership of the Austral-ian squad, he has been a 5-star General for his country on and o� the � eld. His aggressive and thoughtful strategies have kept Australia on top of world cricket. During his tenure, he has been instrumental in establishing the careers of many new stars of Australian cricket. He has played his last ODI and what a farewell for this icon of Aussie and world cricket. Winning the World Cup for this country and contributing signi� cantly with the bat in the match are ap-propriate honours for this great cricketer who will go down as one of the best that Australia has produced. Jersey No 23 was passed on to him by none other than the great Shane Warne, and it is time for Clarke to nominate a succes-sor. Something tells me that this torch will be handed over to S teve Smith who is the undeni-able future leader of this Aussie squad. l

New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori (C) hugs captain Brendon McCullum (L) as Kane Williamson looks on after their � nal defeat against Australia in Melbourne yesterday AFP

Kiwis hold back retirements to allow Australia to baskn Reuters, Melbourne

Some New Zealand players may have decid-ed to call time on their one-day or interna-tional careers but there will be no immediate announcements to allow Australia to bask in their World Cup triumph, skipper Brendon McCullum said on Sunday.

Australia skipper Michael Clarke an-nounced his retirement from one-day interna-tionals on the eve of the seven-wicket victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, which earned his country a � fth world title.

New Zealand spin bowling all-rounder Daniel Vettori, 36, is widely expected to call time on his international career after his fourth World Cup, while there have even been rumours McCullum might follow Clarke’s lead and quit the 50-over format.

“There may be some players in our group who have decided to retire,” McCullum told reporters.

“We’ll let the dust settle on this one and we certainly won’t try and grab any headlines over the next couple of days because they be-long to Australia and they’ve earned the right to them.

“We’ll be gracious in defeat and then we’ll work a plan for those who may want to retire but I think it’s the right thing to let Australia bask in the glory of their success.”

Whatever retirements might be on the cards, McCullum said he hoped the New Zealand team would maintain the aggressive style of play with which they lit up the World Cup.

“I think the team perhaps will change over the next sort of while,” he added.

“But hopefully the style of cricket and the things that we’ve been able to implement with this team and the brand that we’re trying to play will remain and develop over the next sort of while.l

Sport28DT


Kharbin, Almawas inspire Syrian Shishir Hoque

A brace each from Omar Kharbin and Mahmoud Almawas guided Syria to their second consecutive victory as they humbled India 3-0 in the AFC Under-23 Championship Group E Quali� ers at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

The combination of Kharbin and Almawas, who both netted a goal apiece against Bang-ladesh in the previous Quali� er last Friday, made the Indian defence look ordinary as the duo notched one goal each in either half. In addition to his two goals, Almawas also as-sisted one to put Syria in a comfortable posi-tion to qualify for the � nal round as the group

champions. Syria are now at the summit of Group E

with six points from two Quali� ers. In all like-lihood, the winner of the � nal Group E Quali-� er between Syria and Uzbekistan will decide which team progress to the � nal round. With 10 group winners and � ve best runners-up sides making it through to the � nal round, the loser of the tie between Syria and Uzbek-istan must wait to � nd out whether they will qualify.

Yesterday, it took Syria just 15 minutes to open the scoring. Almawas, who looked un-stoppable in the right � ank, slotted home past India goalkeeper Amrinder.

Kharbin doubled the lead at the stroke of

the � rst half. The forward headed the ball into the near post from a Amro Jeniat cross from the left wing.

Syria heaped more misery upon India in the second half as Kharbin hit the back of the net in the 61st minute to make it 3-0. Al-mawas was the architect of the goal as he set up Kharbin with a neat pass.

Amrinder further saved India’s blushes, producing three consecutive saves to thwart Kharbin and Almawas in the space of � ve second-half minutes but the custodian was powerless to deny the latter eight minutes from time. He headed home from an Omro al Midani cross to complete the rout. l

De Kruif at a loss of wordsn Raihan Mahmood

A dejected Lodewijk de Kruif, head coach of Bangladesh, revealed yesterday he does not have any clue as to why his charges perform di� erently in a match in comparison with their training sessions.

The Dutch coach was speaking to the me-dia after Bangladesh’s 5-0 loss against Uzbek-istan as the hosts conceded nine goals in two AFC Under-23 Championship Group E Quali� -ers. “We have conceded six of the [nine] goals from set-pieces and I cannot understand the players. I have showed the videos to them, told them how to act and also react. They re-sponded well in the analytical sessions but appear totally di� erent in the pitch. Actually, there were no problems before the match,” said De Kruif yesterday.

“I think it can happen due to a lack of con-centration, a lack of standard of playing in the top level and two mistakes in the initial 12 minutes and two goals conceded. The game is destroyed there. Two silly mistakes by Ray-han [Hasan], [Atiqur Rahman] Fahad and So-hel [Rana] and the team never got the rhythm back,” he added.

On the other hand, Uzbekistan coach Bakhtiyor Ashurmatov thought his team should have scored more goals. “We played well in the � rst half but the sending o� on a forward spilled the plans. I think we would have scored another three goals. I rested six players as I have di� erent players and we have to play three matches in � ve days,” said Bakhtiyor. l

Hosts crash out of AFC U23 Quali� ersn Shishir Hoque

Bangladesh crashed out of the AFC Under-23 Championship Group E Quali� ers after su� er-ing a humiliating 5-0 defeat against a strong Uzbekistan side at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Skipper Sardor Rakhmanov led his side from the front as the defender netted a brace in the opening half but mid� elder Masharipov Jaloliddin played the most in� uential role in the huge win by scoring one and assisting two for Rakhmanov.

The struggle against set-pieces remained a major problem for the home side. Among the four goals conceded in the � rst half yesterday, three were shipped in set-pieces. The height of the Bangladesh players made it di� cult to resist Uzbekistan, who are ranked sixth in the AFC rankings.

The scoreline could have been more em-barrassing for Bangladesh had Uzbekistan played their best eleven. The Uzbeks draft-ed six changes from the playing eleven that had defeated India in the previous Quali� -er. Three key Uzbekistan players – skipper Vladimir Kozak, Igor Sergeev and Jamshid Iskanderov – were rested.

Bangladesh on the contrary received a � l-lip before the Quali� er kicked o� as juvenile mid� elder Hemanta Vincent Biswas returned

to the best eleven after serving his suspen-sion. Omar Faruk Babu made way for Heman-ta while the other change saw Shakil Ahmed replacing Yousuf Sifat.

The opening goal came with just four min-utes into the clock from a brilliant Mashari-pov free-kick from 20 yards out. Masharipov then set up the next two goals.

Rakhmanov doubled the lead in the 13th minute, heading home another brilliant Masharipov free-kick. Rakhmanov added his second and his side’s third in the 29th min-ute and from here, there was no comeback possible for the hosts. Mid� elder Abbosbek Makhstaliev made it 4-0 � ve minutes before the end of the � rst half.

Uzbekistan were then reduced to 10 men in the 54th minute when Shagulyamov Alish-er received a straight red card for reacting furiously towards a foul on Tapu Barman but the hosts were unable to take advantage as they also played with a man less from the 70th minute onwards after skipper Rayhan Hasan received his marching orders. Rayhan also received a straight red card.

Uzbekistan will now face Syria in their third and � nal Group E Quali� er tomorrow. Both sides have six points each from two Quali� ers which means the winner of the tie will progress to the � nal round as the group champions. l

Masharipov Jaloliddin (19) celebrates scoring Uzbekistan’s opening goal against Bangladesh in the AFC Under-23 Championship Group E Quali� er at BNS yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Syrian and Indian players vie for the ball during their AFC U-23 Championship Group E Quali� er at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Sport 29D

T

Star Sports 212:45AM England U-21 International FriendliesEngland v Germany 12:45AM Sky Bet Championship Burton Albion v Stevenage Star Sports 49:00PM ATP 1000 Masters: Miami Open

DAY’S WATCH


STATS

547 Runs scored by Martin Guptill in the 2015 World Cup, the

most by any batsmen in the tournament. He is the only New Zealand batsmen to score 500-plus runs in a single World Cup. Scott Styris scored 499 runs in the 2007 edition.

0 Runs scored by Brendon McCullum in this match, the lowest by any captain

in a World Cup � nal. No other captain has scored a duck in a World Cup � nal.

1 New Zealand’s opening partnership, their lowest this World Cup. New

Zealand’s opening pair averaged 56.5 in the World Cup prior to the � nal.

400 The � nal was the 400th World Cup game. In all, there

have been 3646 ODIs, so World Cup matches account for 11% of all ODIs.

1 Number of individuals who have played in a World Cup � nal (1996) and also

umpired in one; Kumar Dharmasena is the only such man.

37 Brad Haddin’s age (37 years, 157 days), making him the oldest Aus-

tralia player to feature in a World Cup � nal. The previous oldest Australian was Glenn McGgrath (37 years, 78 days) when he played the 2007 � nal. The oldest man to play in a World Cup � nal is Rohan Kanhai (39 years, 177 days), in 1975.

7 Ducks scored by New Zealand against Australia in this World Cup. No New

Zealand batsman has a scored a single duck against any other opposition during this World Cup.

22 Wickets taken by Trent Boult and Mitchell Starc during this World Cup,

the joint-most in this tournament. Boult’s 22 wickets is also the most wickets by any New Zealand bowler in a single World Cup.

5 Number of World Cups that Australia have won, by far the most for any team.

“@cricketworldcup. @MCG. @ICC Forget the duck, Starc is now more popular than the Easter Bunny in AUS #AUSvNZ#CWC15pic.twitter.com/7D1y14KncR.”- Google Australia, NZ on Mitchell Starc’s trending popularity. “You beauty!!!!”- Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait on Mitchell Starc’s � rst over dismissal of Brendon McCullum for a duck. “Starc produces the best ..against the best ..on the best stage... BIG !!!!!!!”- Ex-Sri Lanka international Russel Arnold. “Boooooooommmmm !!!! Wow, what a start that is for Australia..... Well done Mr Starc, just awesome.....”- Aussie spin great Shane Warne. “Back to bed for me now McCullum is out!! Script is written for Clarke to win it now!! #CWC15.”- Yorkshire county cricketer Will Rhodes. “Elliott has achieved the highest score by a South African in a World Cup � nal. (By getting o� the mark.)”- Sydney journalist Richard Hinds. “What a catch by Haddin. Catches win matches.. and.. bang bang go the Aussies!! Game changer.”- Arnold again as Ross Taylor falls to a � ne one-handed catch by the Australian keeper. “What this World Cup has clearly shown is that a fast, full and straight Yorker is a very good delivery!”- Former Australian seamer Jason Gillespie. “@mstarc56 & @MitchJohnson398 showing the old fashion yorker is still very much in vogue. #CWC15Final.”- Ex-Australian all-rounder Tom Moody in full agreement. “A duck for the former Australian Luke Ronchi.”- Fox Sports revels in the Kiwi batsman’s misery. “Bugger.”- New Zealand team’s o� cial website. “Great toss to lose as always good to bowl � rst in big � nals... #justsaying ha ha #CWC15Final.”- Former Australia batsman Damien Martyn. “Have to say this @CricketAus bowling attack is outstanding...... The reason why they will be World Champions...”- Former England skipper Michael Vaughan. “Southee and Boult shared 10 wickets to bowl Malaysia out for 47 in the 2008 ICC U19 World Cup. They need a performance like that today.”- Malaysia Cricket Board. “Great 50 @MClarke23 you are a champion.”- Former Australia batsman Damien Martyn.

TWITTER REACTION

Members of the Australian side run on to the � eld after their World Cup � nal victory against New Zealand in Melbourne yesterday

Smith burnishes captaincy credentials with � nal � ourishn Reuters, Melbourne

Steve Smith’s pull to the Melbourne Cricket Ground fence to bring up the winning runs for Australia on Sunday was a � tting ending for a player who was instrumental in his team’s campaign for a � fth World Cup triumph.

Smith, heir apparent to captain Michael Clarke, shared a poignant 112-run stand with the retiring skipper, who bowed out with a team-high 74 after driving Australia to the brink of victory over New Zealand in his � nal one-day international.

While sentimentalists may have hoped for Clarke to push his team over the line, the 33-year-old’s exit to a standing ovation from

the 93,000-strong crowd was itself a moving image, with Smith left to carry the baton.

Smacking seamer Matt Henry for four to complete a seven-wicket rout, Smith tore o� his helmet and bounded in the air for joy, a suitable celebration for the baby-faced 25-year-old.

Unbeaten on 56, he was quick to credit his team mates in a captain-like debrie� ng.

“Unbelievable feeling, we said we wanted to play our best game towards the end of the tournament and to win this � nal three (wick-ets) down, I thought the boys were outstanding tonight,” Smith said in a pitchside interview.

“The bowlers really set it up for us. They’ve done it all tournament.”

Smith could also lay a big claim to sealing Australia’s triumph, with his 402 runs at an average of 67 the highest tally of their bats-men in the tournament.

Brushing o� a total of nine runs from his � rst two innings of the tournament, he � n-ished with � ve consecutive scores above 50, including a match-winning 105 in the semi-� -nal to send reigning champions India spin-ning out of the tournament.

Improbably, only months before the World Cup, the he was barely part of the World Cup conversation, still � ghting for his place in a team laden with batting talent.

He had long cemented his place in Austral-ia’s formidable test side, but had to punish South Africa’s world class attack in a lead-up series to truly put himself in the frame.

With Clarke injured in the � rst test against India in December, Smith stepped up to lead the team to a 2-0 series win, blasting four con-secutive centuries to con� rm his standing as one of the very best batsmen in the world.

With a successor yet to be named, Clarke was mindful of stepping on selectors’ toes, but endorsed Smith’s leadership from the front at the tournament.Having had an inval-uable apprenticeship, Smith is likely to play a big part in defending Australia’s title at the 2019 World Cup in England. “I thought it was a � tting farewell for Pup,” he said. “I wish he was there with me at the end.” l

Steven Smith (L) jumps on Shane Watson after hitting the winning runs yesterday REUTERS

DOWNTIME30DT


CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

DILBERT

How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

CODE-CRACKER

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 15 represents S so � ll S every time the � gure 15 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.As you get the letters, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CROSSWORD

ACROSS1 Sibilate (4)6 Bath (3)7 Silent (4)9 Fruit (4)10 Musical note (5)11 Singer (5)12 Flightless bird (3)14 Start (5)17 Unpleasant (5)20 Bustle (3)21 Bird (5)23 Worked into a fabric (5)25 Peruvian Indian (4)26 Golf club (4)27 Drink (3)28 Remain (4)

DOWN1 Occur (6)2 Social standing (6)3 Certain (4)4 Cricket score (3)5 Precious stone (3)7 Deep mud (4)8 Bashful (5)10 Unruly crowd (3)13 Army rank (5)15 Large pelagic bird (6)16 Certifying o� cial (6)18 That time (4)19 Japanese monetary unit (3)22 Lubricates (4)23 Hairpiece (3)24 solemn promise (3)

SUDOKU

SHOWTIME 31D


WHAT TO WATCHTELEVISION

BREAKFAST BEATS BMTV 7:30amStart your day o� in the best way possible by jamming to some upbeat tunes while getting ready for a long day at work.

CELEBRITY STYLE STORY BTLC 9:30amThis entertaining show takes you through the fashion evolution of our favourite stars. They have got Cameron Diaz on display this week. Check out her best and worst style moments.

STEP UP 2 CHBO 11:32 amTry out some of the professional, suave moves from this popular dance � ick. The cast is not exactly hard on the eyes either.

ADAM LEVINE @adamlevine LET THERE BE LIGHTS! https://instagram.com/p/0rNSSfqja6/

ELLIE GOULDING @elliegoulding Truth prevails and that’s all that matters.

SHANKAR MAHADEVAN @Shankar_Live Amazing interview by deepika padukone on @ndtv talking about depression!! Really an eye opener to lots of people! She is so genuine!

CELEBS ON SOCIAL

A rising star

Turn it up

Arnob’s new venture

n Showtime Desk

Based in Dhaka, local musician Obaidur Rahman debuted his double albums, Prahelika-1 and Prahelika-2. These albums have been self-produced and showcase 15 of the artist’s work. The interesting part about his work is the fact that the music is entirely acoustic guitar based and the � rst of its kind in Bangladesh. You could call it a one man show since Obaid played every instrument and sang each song pre-production. He also happens to have done all the artwork on the album itself.

Inspired mainly by hard rock from the 80s, as well as early 90s alternative to name a few genres, the artist’s goal was to make some good, soulful music.

Not only has Obaid’s music been welcomed with open arms in the local community, Joe Lynn Turner, ex-singer of Deep Purple and Rainbow / Yngwie Malmsteen wrote a review of the album on his Facebook page, Now that’s something to be proud of!

Find the CDs in outlets nationwide.l

n Showtime Desk

Shayan Chowdhury Arnob is getting ready to release renewed music since his 2012 Tagore cover “Adheko Ghume.” The new album titled “Khub Doob” is expected to launch just in time for the upcoming Pohela Boishakh.

In conversation with Dhaka Tribune, Arnob also announced that he is going to take a break from his solo music career to pursue a career in directing � lms, behind the camera.

In the album, Arnob focuses on experimental songs, mostly with his vocals. “I don’t know where I am heading, but

the whole album is an improvisational piece. Basically, I used my vocals as an instrument in order to reach my target music composition,” he said.

As the versatile singer-musician conveys a reputation of rejuvenating Tagore’s songs among the new generation with his mastery of fusion music, he made sure to include a Tagore number, “Esho Shyamolo Sundaro,” in the album. Other tracks include “Chader Shidi,” “Khub Doob,” “Takhon Jonak Dake,” “Policer Chire Tupi,” “Obhijan” and others. Apart from the singer himself, Tokon Thakur, Rajib Ashraf and Sahana Bajpaie, to name a few, have penned lyrics for the album.

Highly disappointed in the country’s intellectual property rights situation, Arnob complains, “The haphazard copyright situations are the grounds behind my decision to not make music my sole profession in the future.” Currently working on a script, he is ready to gear up his � lm directing operation through a short training course in the USA just after the album release.

Hopefully the album will see a digital release prior to the special edition’s limited release. l

n Showtime Desk

1. Take on me - A-ha. The catchy synth intro instantly takes me back to my childhood. I love the melody.

2. Tajmohol – Ark. I love the lyrics & the feel with which Hasan sang it. Even though he says it is not a love song, to me, it is an evergreen love song.

3. Wouldn't it be good - Nik Kershaw. I love 80s music. I guess this one needs no explanation.

4. Walk this way – Aerosmith. I love to sing this song at the top of my lungs every time it plays somewhere; this song has so much energy. Tyler's voice and the catchy guitar-drums combo make it my all time favorite song.

5. I go to sleep – Sia. The perfect song to listen to when I am relaxing.

6. Silent lucidity – Queensryche. "Visualize your dreams" - that's what the song is about. The guitar solo rips my heart apart.

7. Hey you - Pink Floyd. What a perfect song. I love how it ends with Mr. Waters singing a higher octave than Gilmour. This song is pure addiction.

8. Fix you – Coldplay. A song of hope,encouragement and positivity. Who needs a reason to love this song?

9. Shesh korona - Late Zafar Iqbal. The chord progressions, the lyrics, the singing style, everything put together made this song one of the best romantic songs of all time. I hold this song very close to my heart.

10. Kissing a fool - George Michael. His soulful voice makes me want to cry. The combination of beautiful jazz music with such intense lyrics - it couldn't get any better than this. l

This week, we cornered Alif Alauddin to share her playlist with us and for good reason. Alif knows a thing or two about her jams, being a singer and a musician herself. Here is what she’s got on repeat and the reason why she loves each number

Jail terms to be introduced for river pollutersn Shohel Mamun

A new law, which will introduce jail sentences against factory owners who pollute rivers, is being planned to protect the country’s rivers from industrial pollution.

Chaired by Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, a national task force on protecting rivers held a meeting yesterday, where it dis-cussed the option of adding jail sentence on top of the existing rule of � ning the polluters.

However, the length of jail term was not � xed at the meeting.

Under the existing law, factory owners are handed only � nes for polluting rivers.

After the meeting, the shipping minister said mobile courts previously did not take any initi-ative against polluters, while only the Depart-ment of Environment carried out some drives. “We will now include industrial pollution issues in the schedule of mobile courts,” he said.

Shajahan added that as � nancial penalties were not enough to prevent factory owners from pol-luting repeatedly, the government has decided to in-clude jail terms as punishment.

The task

force also formed a committee to recover the grabbed areas of the Buriganga. The chief of the National River Protection Commission, Ataharul Islam, has been made the chair of the committee, while the o� cers of the minis-tries concerned will be included as members.

The committee was tasked with providing its recommendations within 30 days after vis-iting the original Buriganga channel.

Sources said a survey would be carried out to identify and punish those who had en-croached on the river by moving previously erected boundary pillars.

The task force will also plan forestation and beauti� cation projects on riverbank are-as that had recently been recovered from land grabbers.

The task force also decided to allocate land on riverbanks for setting up o� ces for RAB and the police. l

BACK PAGE32DT


EULOGY FOR LEE KUAN YEW PAGE 13

EMOTIONAL CLARKE GETS FITTING FAREWELL PAGE 25

FOREIGN AID PLEDGES FALL 14% PAGE 15

New project starts in April to improve livelihood in haor regions

n Tribune Report

A � ood management project worth Tk993.37 crore is set to start from April to improve the livelihoods of the people living in the coun-try’s haor regions.

However, questions have been raised re-garding the high cost � xed for hiring a con-sultant � rm, which amounts to almost 10% of the entire project.

Sources said the Water Resources Ministry has decided to appoint a Japanese consultant � rm to run the eight-year-long project funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).

An o� cial at the ministry said a propos-al on appointing Nippon Koei Co Ltd will be placed before the Cabinet Committee on Pub-lic Purchase on Tuesday. The consultant fee is estimated to be around Tk88.32 crore.

According to the proposal, the tender eval-uation committee selected Nipon Koei after reviewing other consultants from Nether-lands, India, and Australia.

Water Resources Secretary Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan told Dhaka Tribune yesterday that the consultant fee was too high.

“We are helpless regarding foreign-funded projects, as the ministry is appointing a con-sultant with high cost,” he said.

Under the project, dams will be construct-

ed and repaired in � ve Haor basins – Netroko-na, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, Kishoreganj and Sunamganj – along with constructing � ood-gates and digging canals.

On March 7, an agreement was signed be-

tween the Economic Relations Division and the Japanese government to construct � ood management facilities and strengthen rural infrastructures in haor areas to boost vulnera-ble farmers’ livelihoods.

Under this project, Jica will also lend $97m in the form of agricultural loans and agricul-tural training services to be provided through micro� nance institutions to increase produc-tivity and diversity of marginal farmers. l

BNP calls fresh 48 hours’ shutdownn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

After a brief pause the BNP-led 20-party alli-ance has called a fresh 48-hour nationwide general strike from today.

The shutdown will end at 6am on Wednes-day. The opposition alliance, however, kept Dhaka and Chittagong city corporations out of the hartal’s purview due to the upcoming elections in the cities.

Barkatullah Bulu, BNP’s joint secretary gen-eral, in a press release called the shutdown on top of the ongoing countrywide transport blockade. The release demanded an early elec-tion under a non-partisan administration.

The BNP, which boycotted the January 5 national election, is making its preparations to contest in the city corporation elections scheduled for April 28. l

A � sherman can be seen dragging his net in the shallow waters of the Etna Haor in Kishoreganj, in this photo taken last October. The people living in the country’s haor basin rely mostly on � shing to make a living, while they su� er to make ends meet during the dry season each year RAJIB DHAR

Questions raised about the high fees set for hiring a Japanese consultant � rm

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial O� ce: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], Website: www.dhakatribune.com

Documents

30 March, 2015