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14 | REAL EASE PAST OSASUNA7 | SOVALDI, A HOPE FOR HE PATITIS C 9 | INDIA, US TO END FEUD6 | MOZUMDER: KING OF DHAKA

News5 Dense fogs continued

to disrupt road and water

transportation yesterday.

International8 Nearly 500 people, among

them 85 civilians, have been

killed in a week of fighting

pitting Syrian rebels against

the jihadist Islamic State

of Iraq and the Levant,

a monitoring group said

yesterday.

Op-Ed11 The 10th parliamentary

election was held amidst a

lot of confusion, obstructions,

and violence. During the

period preceding the

election, many substantive

issues were discussed widely

in the media.

INSIDE

Two Hindu women raped in JessoreCases filed as masked men swooped on the community in a Monirampur village late Tuesday

JAMAAT SUPREMACY IN SHIBGANJ

A by-product of AL’sunethical politicsnMohammad Jamil Khan,

back from Shibganj

It may sound unbelievable but it is true

that Jamaat-e-Islami and its student

wing Islami Chhatra Shibir established

their political muscle in Shibganj upazila

of Chapainawabganj with support fromAwami League leaders and lawmakers.

A Dhaka Tribune investigation

found Jamaat-Shibir had been able to

establish their supremacy in Shibganj

as a section of Awami League leaders,

particularly district unit kingpins and

its lawmakers had maintained a closedliaison with them.

District unit Awami League Presi-

dent retired Brigadier Enamul Haque,

Vice-President Abdul Wadud, Secre-

tary Mynuddin Mandal, Chapainawab-

ganj 2 lawmaker Abdul Wadud and

Chapainawabganj-3 lawmaker Golam

Rabbani are alleged to be involved in

pampering Jamaat-Shibir.

During the Awami League tenure

over the last five years Awami League

President Enamul Haque certified

Chhatra Shibir men in Shibganj as

Chhatra League activists. Islami Chha-

tra Shibir President Faruk of RajshahiUniversity was certified as Chhatra

League activist.

His Brother-in-Law Fazlur Rahman

who is mainly a Jamaat leader dealt in

legal affairs in the upazila.

Besides, Enamul’s Private Secretary

Mahbubur Rahman Babu who com-

pleted his education from Rasulpur

Madrassa is also involved in Jamaat

politics.

On request of anonymity, an Awami

League leader said the district unit lead-

ers rehabilitated Jamaat-Shibir men in

Shibganj thus giving them a platform to

establish supremacy in the area.

The Dhaka Tribune tried to con-

tact Enamul but his cell phone was

switched off.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Jamaat toned up by AL in SatkhiranEmran Hossain, back from

Satkhira

Conflicts within the ruling Awami

League coupled with links between

its lawmakers and the Jamaat-e-

Islami has made it easy for the latter

to re-establish political supremacy in

Satkhira and unleash a reign of terror

persistent for months.

Now fear is all-pervasive among

the Awami League grassroots, send-

ing many of leaders and activists out

of home – even the country – althoughthe ruling party lawmakers hold all

the four constituencies in the district.

Jamaat candidates had won in every

election since 1986 until 2008 when it

lost in all Satkhira seats.

In the past 10 months, as many as 16

Awami League activists were killed in

Jamaat attacks apparently for support-

ing the war crimes trials without being

able to put up the least resistance.

Hindus had to leave the district’s

Jamaat-dominated areas in thousands,

seeking refuge at relatives’ houses inIndia.

The casualties could have been re-

duced, if not completely prevented,

had the lawmakers played their role,say Satkhira politicians. Most families

affected in Jamaat attacks complained

that the MPs took months to v isit them.

The lawmakers, who mostly stay in

Dhaka, get updates from the district-lev-

el leaders while staying at the CircuitHouse or in their houses in the town. It

is apparent from their comments made

to this reporter – despite their claim to

have visited their constituencies fre-

quently, with one of them even giving a

specific number of his visits.

“I visited the town 166 times and

you can find it in the guest book at the

Circuit House. I kept the record for this

day,” said Shaikh Muzibur Rahman,

former MP from Satkhira 1.Former health minister AFM Ru-

hal Haque, who has been elected for a

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

History repeatsfor Jatiya PartynKamran Reza Chowdhury and

Manik Miazee

The Jatiya Party that first put into prac-

tice the culture of placing a “subservient

opposition” in parliament more than 25

years ago is itself now going to play the

role of an opposition of similar nature.

Before that the Jatiya Party, in the

first instance, held a one-sided poll in

the country.

Now apprehending a public image

of a “domestic’ opposition” former mil-

itary dictator HM Ershad’s Jatiya Party

wants to be both in the opposition and

the treasury benches for power sharing.In absence of the BNP and its allies,

the Jatiya Party has emerged as the

largest party with 33 seats after theAwami League that has won 232 seats.

According to the parliamentary rules,

the Jatiya Party is supposed to be in the

opposition bench.

Soon after taking oath on January 9,

the parliamentary group of the Jatiya

Party picked Ershad’s wife, Raushan

Ershad, as the leader of the opposition

in the 10th Jatiya Sangsad. At the same

time, the party MPs concluded that

they would be in the cabinet too.

HM Ershad, elected from the Rang-

pur-3 seat despite his previous poll boy-

cott decision, is now in the combined

military hospital for his “purported

sickness”, has snubbed the post of the

opposition leader as he was the presi-

dent of the republic, party leaders say.

“We instituted a domestic opposition

in 1988. Even if we now try to play the

role of a real opposition, we will be brand-ed as domestic opposition of the Awami

League,” Mujibul Haque, a presidium

member and state minister for youth and

sports, told the Dhaka Tribune.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

nTribune Report

Two rape victims from Jamaat-dominat-

ed Hazrail area in Jessore’s Monirampur

filed cases with local police yesterday,

two days after they had been tortured

in front of family members by some

masked men, allegedly activists of Ja-

maat-Shibir, at their Hrishipara houses.

Jessore ASP Reshma Sharmin told

the Dhaka Tribune that they had re-

ceived two complaints lodged by thevictims themselves, who are also rela-

tives, against unnamed people.

The incident remained beyond any-

one’s knowledge until the victims filedthe cases with Monirampur police sta-

tion yesterday, reports our correspond-

ent in Jessore. It took place at a time

when attacks on Hindus and Awami

League supporters in the area contin-

ued since the 10th parliamentary elec-

tion on January 5.

On the election day, an entire Hindu

locality of Malopara village in Obhoy-

nagar upazila of the same district was

driven away from their homes by the

activists of Jamaat-Shibir.

Panicked as well as enraged, locals

are now guarding the village at night

together to resist any further attack.

Police suspect that the Jamaat-Shibir

men had been behind the rapes.

Hazrail is known as one of the

strongholds of opposition ally Ja-

maat-e-Islami in the district. Duringan election campaign last month, the

activists of Jamaat and its student wing

Islami Chhatra Shibir torched the pri-

vate car of former MP from the area

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

AL leadersoppose JaPa’scabinet dream

nEmran Hossain Shaikh

Several Awami League leaders have re-

acted strongly to the proposition that

the HM Ershad-led Jatiya Party (JaPa)

be a part of government by joining the

cabinet.

Awami League sources said most of

the party’s policymakers are discour-

aging party President Sheikh Hasina

from including JaPa in the cabinet.According to the sources, they have

told Hasina it would be controversial

and many people including BNP and

Jamaat would get a weapon to criticise

the government.They also told her that such a form of

government would be rare in the democ-

racy and it might lead to bad practices.

On Thursday a delegation of JaPa, led

by Rawshan Ershad, met Sheikh Hasina

and according to sources discussed the

formation of a government under mu-

tual agreement. Sources said JaPa had

requested Hasina to include seven MPs

of their party in the government.

A senior Awami League Leader who

attended the meeting tried to dissuade

Hasina from including JaPa in the

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

PM: Khaleda must pay for mistakes

nEmran Hossain Shaikh

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yester-

day said BNP Chairperson and former

premier Khaleda Zia would have to pay

the price for boycotting the 10th parlia-

mentary election.

“You made a mistake by not con-

testing the poll. So, why will the peo-

ple pay the price? Rather you will have

to...” Hasina, also the Awami League

president, said while addressing a rally

at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital.

The AL organised the programme

marking the homecoming day of Father

of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mu-

jibur Rahman on January 10, 1972.

“Khaleda Zia has unleashed her

party’s criminals and militants of the

Jamaat-Shibir on the minorities and

innocent people of the country as

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

People of all ages in Hrishipara unite, demanding life of dignity, in front of the media on Thursday, two days after two housewives were violated DHAKA TRIBUNE

Party supporters gather at Suhrawardy Udyan to join Awami League’s first post-election rally yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

19 killed in nine months;nobody dares file cases infear of reprisal

SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com SECOND EDITION



News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, January 11, 2014

A by-product of AL's unethical politics PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

Contacted, Enamul’s Private Secretary

Mahbubur Rahman Babu refused to

make any comment and at one stage

disconnected his cell phone call.

District unit Vice-President Abdul

Wadud is an incumbent lawmaker from

Chapainawabganj-2.

It was alleged that the lawmaker

picked Jamaat district Amir Latifur

Rahman and nominated him as an aca-

demic committee president of the City

College and executive committee pres-ident of Fulkuri Islamic Foundation in

the district town.

Asked about Awami League organisa-

tional activities, Abdul Wadud, who was

earlier a BNP leader, told the Dhaka Tri-

bune that the responsibility of the entire

party activities did not rest with him.

The lawmaker’s nephew Harun-or-

Rashid is an organising secretary of Ra-

jshahi unit BNP.

Wadud blamed district unit Presi-

dent brigadier Enamul Haque and itsSecretary Mynuddin Mandal for the

weakness of the party.

Asked about their forging links with

Jamaat-Shibir, he said the country was

going through a political stalemate and

it required cooperation of all to contin-

ue political activities.

He, however, refused to have estab-

lished any link with Jamaat-e-Islami

and claimed he always tried to work for

the party welfare.

Why not any protest even after Ja-

maat-Shibir attack on AL leaders, he said

it was Shibganj where the incident took

place and he was not entrusted with

looking after the party issues in that area.

“Our district unit president is tasked

to do the job in Shibganj and moreover

it is the area of Golam Rabbani who is

an MP-elect,” he said.

Contacted, Chapainawabganj-3 law-

maker said the party activities were

somewhat laid-back there because of

poor organisational structure.

“We are working hard and hope that

we would be able to rein in the situa-

tion very shortly,” he added.

District unit Awami League Secre-

tary Mynuddin Mandal also dodged the

question that their leaders were pam-

pering Jamaat-Shibir.

He said: “I have heard something

like that, but I do not know the details

about it.”

As many as 19 political killings have

been recorded in Shibganj over the past

nine months. It is irony of fate that five

of them were Awami League men who

were killed in Jamaat-Shibir attacks,

police said.

All the cases and complaints were

recorded by the police as the victims’

families dared not file any complaints

against the attackers.

Mizanur Ra hman, offi cer-in-c harge

of Shibganj police station, said: “We

wait for the victims’ families to ap-

proach us and file cases, but they do

not respond.”Most Awami League leaders in Shib-

ganj and its surrounding areas spend

nights away from home in fear of Ja-

maat-Shibir attack.

This correspondent met Awami

League activist Mostafizur Rahman in

front of the district super market who said

he went home once a week fearing attack.

Recently, the Jamaat men attacked

Mohammad Selim, 28, in Ranihata area

on his way home, he said.

In the latest killing a group of Ja-maat-Shibir activists allegedly set fire

to the shop of upazila Awami League

Adviser Enamul Haque who was

burned to death inside his shop.

When asked why no case was filed

and no action taken Awami League

district unit Health Secretary Shahja-

lal Shahin attributed the failure to the

organisational flaw while its Join S ecre-

tary Faruk Masum laid blame on their

leaders.

Faruk said the district unit leaders

were unconcerned about the problems

of leaders and activists in the upazila.l

History repeats for Jatiya Party PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

“So, we want to be in the cabinet and

in the opposition bench. It is better

to share power with the government

when the blame of domestic opposition

is a must,” he said, justifying the Jatiya

Party’s decision to be in the cabinet.

Raushan Ershad Thursday night saw

the prime minister Sheikh Hasina and

conveyed her party’s desire to join the

cabinet besides holding the post of op-

position leader.

Awami League General Secretary

Syed Ashraful Islam on Thursday just

smiled in reply to the Dhaka Tribune

question whether it was possible for

a party to be in the opposition having

representation in the cabinet.

In the face of boycott by the Awami

League and the BNP, HM Ershad’s Jati-

ya Party formed the fourth parliament

in 1988. A faction of the Jatiya Sama-

jtantrik Dal (Rob) joined the polls and

its leader ASM Abdur Rob became the

opposition leader.

The political parties then called Rob

a “domestic” opposition leader.

Kazi Feroz Rashid, another presid-

ium member, told reporters that the

Jatiya Party did not want to only fight

with the government.

“This is possible to be in the cabinet

and the opposition simultaneously,” he

said.

Academicians and experts vehe-

mently oppose the Jatiya Party’s “op-

portunistic” attitude.

“There is no instance of such ec-centric nature that a party can be in

the cabinet and the opposition simul-

taneously. They consider people to be

foolish,” Prof Nizam Uddin Ahmed, a

Chittagong University teacher who has

several books on parliamentary politics

in Bangladesh to his credit, told the

Dhaka Tribune.

According to the parliamentary

lexicon, he said, a party having single

cabinet member cannot be in the oppo-

sition.“The Jatiya Party basically shows an

unprecedented sign of opportunistic

politics for their gains,” he said.

However, a section of the Jatiya Par-

ty MPs, who have no possibility of be-

ing selected in the cabinet the Awami

League is set to form on Sunday, op-

posed the party decision to select seven

leaders for induction in government.

Raushan Ershad, who was unan-

imously selected as the opposition

leader at the parliamentary party meet-

ing on Thursday, saw the prime minis-

ter Sheikh Hasina and handed over the

names of the seven JaPa MPs for induc-

tion in the cabinet.

They are: Anisul Islam Mahmud,

Ziauddin Ahmed, Kazi Firoz Rashid,

Mujibul Haque (Chunnu), Salma Is-

lam, Moshur Rahman Ranga and ABM

Ruhul Amin Howlader.

Moshiur Rahman Ranga, who ac-

companied Raushan Ershad for meet-

ing with Sheikh Hasina, told the Dhaka

Tribune that the seven lawmakers are

likely to become ministers in the “gov-

ernment of consensus”.

Fakhrul Imam MP, also a presidium

member, told the Dhaka Tribune: “If

the government is thinking of forming

a government of consensus, at best

one can be minister from our party.

But if we have seven ministers, we

will actually lose our status as the

opposition party”.

Out of the total 33 MPs, three JaPa

MPs talked to the Dhaka Tribune and

opposed the idea of joining the c abinet

besides playing the role of opposition

in parliament.

At the Thursday’s parliamentary

party meeting, a JaPa MP said joining

the cabinet would demonstrate our

party as a “domestic opposition”. So,

the JaPa should not join the cabinet.

But the other members opposed

him. He finally agreed with the other

members who were in favour of joining

the cabinet.The Dhaka Tribune asked four JaPa

members – Ruhul Amin Howlader, Kazi

Firoz Rashid, Salma Islam and Moshi-

ur Rahman Ranga – whether they got

any call from the cabinet division for

induction in the cabinet. l

Jamaat toned up by AL in Satkhira PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

second time from Satkhira 3 uncontest-

ed in the 10th parliamentary election,

claimed that he had visited the constit-

uency at least twice a month.

“People can build resistance against

any atrocities, but they cannot do it

when the leadership fails,” said Musto-

fa Lutfullah, who has been elected MP

from Satkhira 3 in the January 5 poll

from the Workers’ Party.

He believes Satkhira situation will

remain the same until a strong political

intervention is made against Jamaat.

“Our leadership has failed us. I

do not see any hope at the end of the

tunnel and I believe this is high time

I quit,” said an AL union-level leader.

He does not even dare talk on record

and requested that his identity be con-

cealed by all means.

Rivalry between Ruhal and Muzibur,

president of the district unit, is evident

from the statement they made to this

reporter.

Ruhal categorically blamed the par-

ty’s district leadership for its currentdeplorable condition.

Better known as Engineer Muzibur

Rahman, the district unit chief, how-

ever, accused the administration of

patronising Jamaat violence, when it is

believed that the former minister had

a hand behind designing the adminis-

tration.

Muzibur is also facing allegations of

corruption and misappropriation. He

allegedly took over three years to build

the Satkhira-Khulna road, raising its

cost from Tk7 crore to Tk16 crore. Con-

tractors alleged that Muzibur even pre-

vented them from dropping tenders to

ensure that he gets the contract himself.

On the other hand, masterminds be-

hind the atrocious 10 months since Ja-

maat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee

was sentenced to death on February

28 for war crimes have remained out ofthe law enforcers’ dragnet.

Habibur Rahman, Jamaat’s Satkhira

upazila Nayeb-e-Ameer, who led the

February 28 attack on Satkhira Circuit

House that resulted in the deaths of

seven Jamaat-Shibir activists, is the

brother of Satkhira Awami League Gen-

eral Secretary Nazrul Islam and is still

at large.

Abdul Khaleque, the husband of

Nazrul’s cousin, is Jamaat’s district

nayeb-e-ameer and the principal of

Agardari Aminia Kamil Madrasa, which

is widely said as a Jamaat-Shibir “can-

tonment” for giving shelter to cadres.

Khaleque is still out of the law enforc-

ers’ reach.

Jamaat was so successful in winning

public faith through constant politi-

cal campaigns that it had been able to

manipulate general people to believe

that Sayedee and Abdul Quader Molla

were innocent and victims of the “Awa-

mi League’s politics against Islam.”

Thousands of villagers joined Jamaat

demonstrations, proving their impres-sion of the government.

The Awami League leadership has

failed to counter Jamaat’s propagan-

da politically and save general people

from abuse in the name of Islam.

Even Ruhal is not hopeful of “end-

ing the party’s pitiable” condition. He

blamed the party’s district-level lead-

ers for non-cooperation as they did not

even respond to his calls to meet him to

find a solution. “I have tried to reform

Satkhira politics in the past three years,

but failed,” Ruhal said.

Regarding party leaders having fa-

milial relations with Jamaat, Ruhal’s

opinion is: “Jamaat men can be rela-

tives, but the relation should not over-

shadow political ideology.”

At the same time, he mentioned that

there were numerous occasions in the

past when influential district AL leaders

pressured police for releasing arrestedJamaat leaders. But the story takes an

interesting turn if the volley of alle-

gations made by local leaders against

Ruhul is taken into consideration.

AL’s Kaliganj upazila unit President

Sheikh Waheduzzaman alleged that

80% appointment made in the dis-

trict during the last five years were Ja-

maat-Shibir activists.

Kaliganj falls in Ruhal’s own constit-

uency and Waheduzaman alleged that

the appointments had been made in

exchange of money.

Newspaper reports quoting the

minister’s declaration disclosed to the

Election Commission ahead of the polls

reveal that his wife’s property grew at

a stunning rate of 782% when her hus-

band was a minister. His son turned into

a businessman from a service holder.

Ruhal claimed that there must be

a typo in registering his wife’s wealth

information. On the appointments,

he said there were only three to four

Jamaat-Shibir activists who had been

recommended by the AL leaders.

Local leaders alleged that said Ruhal

had prioritised the Jamaat and the BNP

men because of his APS Moshayet Ali

Khokon, who was general secretary of

Kaliganj College unit Jatiyatabadi Ch-

hatra Dal, the BNP’s student wing. The

former health minister dismissed the

allegation.

“The [former] minister always over-

looked our recommendations and de-

mands. He rather worked for the Jamaat

for money,” claimed district AL unit Or-

ganising Secretary Sarder Firoz Ahmed.

Rivalry between Ruhal and Muzibur

over supremacy in the party’s leader-

ship is a common topic of discussion in

the district. People said they rarely saw

these two political figures on the same

stage in the last five years.

Party insiders allege that the two

leaders lacked moral strength to stand by the side of the people affected by

the recent attacks perpetrated by the

Jamaat-Shibir.

Muzibur visited Deyara union unit

Swechchhasebak League President

Rabiul Islam’s family first time on De-

cember 26, a month after the leader

was hacked to death in broad daylight.

And then, he, guarded by 10-12 youths

looked like his body guard, stayed there

less than 10 minutes and hurriedly left

the area apparently in fear since the v il-

lage is known as a Jamaat den.

Muzibur said it was not “politically”

safe for him to visit the victims for a

number of reasons, including his safety

concern centring intra-party feud.

“The election has created division

among the party men. And I had a con-

cern for my safety too.”

Ruhal said the blockades put by Ja-maat supporters had prevented him

from visiting the victims’ families. He

wondered how he could visit the places

when even the law enforcers could not

take him.

On the other hand, Jamaat leaders,

even the ones wanted by police, attend-

ed janaza of their activists killed in the

firing of law enforcers. They arranged

the funerals and reportedly gave every

family of a deceased Tk5 lakh.

Satkhira did not see violence only

in 2013. Former Jatiya Party lawmaker

HM Golam Reza’s Satkhira 4 constitu-

ency saw one of the most significant

Hindu repressions in 2012, allegedly

fuelled further by the lawmaker.

Another former JaPa lawmaker MA

Jabbar from Satkhira 2 seat is said to

have spent most of the government aid

– distributed under Test Relief and Ka-

bikha (food for work) programmes – to

Agardari Aminia Kamil Madrasa.

“The present crisis in the area is not

all about Jamaat. The Awami League

is also equally responsible for all of

these,” aggrieved, said a district AL

leader preferring anonymity.

“Jamaat found a golden opportunity

to do what it has done in absence

of a competent leadership in Satkhira.

And the grand alliance leaders werenever seen talking anything about

secular politics,” said Abul Kalam Azad,

acting editor of local newspaper the

daily Patradut. l

PM: Khaleda must PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

they cast votes in favour of the Awami

League ignoring their call to boycott the

poll,” Hasina said.

Threatening the opposition BNPJa-

maat for “criminal activities,” the pre-

mier said: “You wanted to resist the poll,

but failed. Now stop killing innocent

people in the name of hartal and block-ade. Otherwise...the Awami League

knows how to prevent it.”

She said the BNP chief and some war

criminals and terrorists would not be

able to stop the progress of Bangladesh.

“So, I request you to stop violent activi-

ties and come to a negotiation table... Let

us resolve the crisis through talks,” the

premier said.

She also asked the people to assist the

government in preventing the criminal

activities of BNPJamaat.

The AL chief again thanked the peo-

ple for not responding to the call of the

BNP chairperson who had urged them

to foil the 10th parliamentary poll. She

thanked the 40% voters for casting their

rights in favour of the AL braving all sorts

of obstacles.

The premier said a vested quarter had

been hatching conspiracy to foil the poll

to take benefit from an unconstitutional

government. “But the people cast votes

to establish democracy in the country,”

she said adding that the countrymen

would not want to see any “terrorist”party in power anymore.

Informing the people about her meet-

ing with the president on Thursday, the

premier said: “I met with the President

as leader of majority party. We will form

the next government and take oath on

January 12 [tomorrow].”

AL leaders including Amir Hossain

Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta,

Matia Chowdhury and Syed Ashraful Is-

lam also addressed the rally with Syeda

Sajeda Chowdhury in the chair.

There was a huge crowd during the

rally at Suhrawardy Udyan where Bang-

abandhu had given his historic speech

on March 7, 1971. Controversial lawmak-

er Shamim Osman and former state min-

isters Quamrul Islam and Jahangir Kabir

Nanak joined the programme along with

a large number of activists. l

AL leaders oppose PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

government. Another leader told the

prime minister not to sacrifice more than

two ministries for them, sources said.

AL Presidium member and new-

ly-elected MP Mohammad Nasim told

the Dhaka Tribune that the premier

would like to form a government based

on mutual agreement with the partici-

pation of all parties represented in par-

liament. “This is why, JaPa may have a

token participation in the government.

“Their representation might be in

one or two posts, but how is it possible

if they demand more than five?” he said

suggesting that the JaPa should not join

the government. It should play the role

of a “real opposition” which would help

increase its popularity.

“And they will also get the anti-Awa-

mi League votes that were supposed to

go to BNP who rejected them for being

allies with Jamaat,” he explained.

Party Adviser Suranjit Sengupta saidat an event yesterday: “The opposition

desires to be a part of the cabinet as well.

It means they want all the benefits for

themselves. We hope it will not be some-

thing absurd in the name of a consensus

government,” he said.

AL leader Amir Hossain Amu said

there was no scope for any party to be a

part of the government and the opposi-

tion at the same time. l

Two Hindu women PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

Khan Tipu Sultan’s son. They even pre-

vented Tipu Sultan from putting up

posters in the area ahead of the election.Electi on o ffi cials had t o p ost-

pone voting in 60 polling centres in

Monirampur upazila alone as the Ja-

maat-Shibir activists wreaked havoc in

the area to foil the poll. The number is

highest in a single upazila where poll-

ing was postponed across the country.

Family members of the rape victims

said 10-12 masked men equipped with

firearms had gone to one of the houses

at Rishipara around 10pm on Tuesday

and asked for drinking water. See-

ing firearms with them, the dwellers

thought they might be law enforcers.

Then the criminals entered the house,

tied the family members and raped a

woman at gunpoint until midnight.

The family members said the rapists

then went to an adjacent house – both

situated at a corner of the Hrishipara

village – and raped another woman

until 3am on Wednesday, holding the

family members hostages at gunpoint.

The victims were taken to Jessore

General Hospital yesterday morning formedical tests, said police.

UNB quotes Offi cer-in-Ch arge of

Monirampur police station Mir Rezaul

Hossain: “Those who are on the run

following the ongoing drives of the

joint forces are behind the incident.” l

RAB 'locks up'Narayanganj BNP offi cenOur Correspondent,

Narayanganj

District BNP leaders alleged that mem-

bers of RAB 11 Narayanganj camp had

locked up th e district BN P offi ce yes-

terday morning.

They alleged that RAB members

came into the offi ce and locked it down

while a maulana and some madrasa

students were reciting the Qur’an

for those who were killed during

the 18-party Alliance’s hartals and

blockades.

Lt Col Tareq Sayeed Mohammad, the

command ing offi cer of Rap id Action

Battalion (RAB 11), rejected the alle-

gation outright and told the Dhaka

Tribune: “RAB personnel neither con-ducted any operation in Narayanganj

yesterday nor shut down any of the

offi ces of BN P.”

He further said if anybody had

raised such an allegation, they were

not right.

City BNP General Secretary ATM

Kamal ope ned the BNP offi ce on Thurs-

day morning after two months, return-

ing with some other BNP leaders after

imprisonment.

Kamal said a RAB vehicle came in

front of th e offi ce yesterday morn ing.

Later two more vehicles also came

there and RAB members from the vehi-

cles entered the offi ce, he alleged.

“Seeing the RAB members coming

towards the offi ce, city BNP Joint Gen-eral Secretary Nurul Haq Chowdhury

Dipu and Offi ce Secret ary Akter Ho s-

sain Khokon Shah fled by scaling the

boundary wall at the back,” he said.

A RAB member who was present in

one of the vehicles said they did not

enter the BNP offi ce though they were

in front of the offi ce.

Kamal alleged that RAB members

locked up t he offi ce and wa lked the

maulana and the students out. The

peon was warned not to reopen the

offi ce.

“Whoever opens the o ffi ce will be

arrested, they said,” Kamal said.

Condemning the government,

Naraynaganj district unit BNP Presi-

dent Advocate Taimur Alam Khandak-

er said, “BY lock ing up the BNP offi ce,

the government has locked up democ-

racy. The government has also proved

that it is anti-religious by stopping the

recitation of the Qur’an.”l

Vehicles, mostly goods-laden trucks, stuck in a 15km-long jam from Paturia towards Dhaka after they started operating yesterday when

there was no blockade of the opposition. The photo was taken at Rajbari DHAKA TRIBUNE

Kamal alleged that RABmembers locked up theoffi ce and walked themaulana and the studentsout. The peon was warnednot to reo pen the offi ce



Potiya madrasa headmasterkilled, two injurednTarek Mahmud, Chittagong

A dead body was recovered from a sep-

tic tank of a madrasa in Khorna union

of Chittagong’s Potiya upazila yester-

day morning.

The dead was identified as Ab-

dul Aziz, 50, hailing from Satkania of

the district. He was the headmaster

of Shahjahan Awlia Etimkhana and

Hekhana and member of Ahle Sunnat

Wal Jamaa t, Offi cer-in-Ch arge Mafi z

Uddin of Potiya police station said.

Police said a teacher and a student

of the madrasa had been detained for

interrogation but their names were not

disclosed for the sake of the investiga-

tion.

OC Mafiz Uddin said they had recov-

ered the body from the tank around

8am after they received information

from the madrasa authorities. The body had some bruises on the hands,

head and the face, he added.

Assistant Superintendent of Police

Shamim Hossain of Potiya circle in

Chittagong said in initial investigation,

it was found that a number of unknown

miscreants had called the headmaster

out of the madrasa around 11pm on

Thursday and hacked him indiscrim-

inately. The miscreants later dumped

the body in the tank, he added.

He said the miscreants had also

slashed at the madrasa’s domestic

help, Rowshan Ara Begum, 55, and a

student, Abdu Rahman Tipu, 15, when

they came out of their rooms hearing

the headmaster shout. Rowshan re-

ceived injuries on her head and Tipuon his leg, he added.

The ASP said the domestic help was

currently undergoing treatment in

Chittagong Medical College Hospital

and the body of Abdul Aziz was sent to

the morgue for autopsy.

OC Mafiz said they were investigat-

ing the matter and a case was lodgedwith Potiya police station in this re-

gard.

SUM Abdus Samad, presidium

member of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat,

alleged that Jamaat-Shibir men had

killed the headmaster. However, Mo-

hammad Ullah, publicity secretary of

the city unit of Jamaat-e-Islami, denied

the allegation.

The ASP said they were looking into

the matter to see whether the killing

was political or it was related to any

previous local dispute. l

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, January 11, 2014

BNP: AL men attackminority and blameopposition for itn

Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The BNP yesterday alleged Awami

League activists of attacking the mi-

norities and trying to put the blame on

the opposition party, and added that it

was a “usual part of Awami League’s

falsehood.”

“People of Bangladesh are very

much conscious. Also, people from the

Hindu community blamed the Awami

League for attacking the Hindus and

demanded punishment of the culprits

after identifying them,” Mirza Fakhrul

Islam Alamgir, BNP acting secretary

general, alleged in a press release.

Fakhrul, on behalf of party Chair-

person Khaleda Zia, also called upon

the party leaders and activists of alltiers to stand beside the Hindu com-

munity and to extend support as per

their capacity.

Condemning the attacks, the

spokesperson of the party demanded

exemplary punishment for the “real”

criminals.

Minority communities came under

attack in different places across the

country following the January 5 elec-

tion, forcing many to flee their houses

and seek shelter elsewhere.

In most of the incidents, Ja-

maat-e-Islami and its student wingIslami Chhatra Shibir were blamed for

attacking the Hindus with the help of

local BNP men.

Fakhrul alleged that the incumbent

“illegal government” has pushed the

country into extreme chaos and uncer-

tainty as it was implementing a plan

to eradicate the opposition from the

country using law enforcers.

Fakhrul claimed that the govern-

ment’s conspiracy, propaganda and

ill-strategy would not be able to stop

the ongoing movement.

“If Awami League does not stop

misusing power and repressing the op-

position leaders and activists, it has to

face the same consequences faced by

previous autocratic governments,” he

said.l

Attacks on minorities trigger protest, immediatetrial of perpetrators demandednTribune Report

Various human rights, cultural and civil

society organisations yesterday raised

their voices against the attacks on mi-

nority people across the country and

demanded an immediate trial of the

perpetrators.

Ganajagaran Mancha observed a ral-

ly yesterday protesting the attacks on

minorities and urged people to resist

such attacks.

“For the last 43 years, it had only

been limited to protest programmes,

but it is high time we actually took steps

to resist such heinous acts, not just be-

ing content with mere protests,” Imran

H Sarker, spokesperson of Ganajagaran

Mancha, said while reacting to the at-

tacks on minorities.

Imran was addressing a rally in front

of the main gate of Jahangirnagar Uni-

versity as part of their two-day “Road

March” to Jessore.

Human Right’s Forum Bangladesh

also condemned the attacks on the Hin-

dus in a statement yesterday.

Meanwhile, civil society platform

Nagarik Sanghati yesterday urged the

government to constitute a tribunal for

bringing perpetrators involved in com-

munal attack on minorities to justice.

The victims of such attacks always

seek justice, but a vested quarter is

carrying out attacks on minorities be-

cause of impunity, and the situation is

worsening gradually, the speakers said,

addressing the rally in front of the Na-

tional Museum in the capital.

They also urged the government to

bring the attackers under trial immedi-ately apart from providing compensa-

tion to the victims living a miserable life

after the attacks.

Meanwhile, 10 civil society organ-

isations observed a human chain and

silent procession in Habiganj city, pro-

testing the violence against minority

people. They called upon the govern-

ment for immediate arrest of perpetra-

tors and take measures to secure every

people of the country.

Civil society leaders of Khagrachari

organised a discussion that criticisedthe role of law enforcement agencies

during the attack and urged the govern-

ment to enact a tougher law to ensure

rights of minority community in the

country.

They also demanded proper com-

pensation and rehabilitation for the vic-

tims, apart from taking steps to secure

their life and properties.

Communist Party Bangladesh ob-

served a human chain and demonstra-

tion at Narayanganj.

It said BNP and Awami League were

blaming one another for the attack on

minorities. Such blame game helped

the perpetrators to hide out, added the

party.

The speakers of the party laid blame

on Police, RAB and local Awami League

leaders, saying these people were at the

places where such attacks took place,

but they did not take any action against

the attackers.

Human chain and rally were ob-

served at Feni, Kurigram Madaripur,

Gopalganj, and Sirajganj districts pro-

testing the attacks.

Meanwhile, a team of police arrested

Akkas Ali, a local leader of Jamaat-e-Is-

lami from Kochubunia village in Mo-

relganj upazila, suspecting his involve-

ment in arson attack on two temples on

Wednesday night.

Earlier, law enforcers arrested three

BNP activists – Mintu, Isahaq and Halim

on the same charges.

Just after the 10th parliamentary poll,

attacks on the minority people have tak-

en place in the villages of Thakurgaon,

Dinajpur, Rangpur, Bogra, Lalmonirhat,Gaibandha, Rajshahi, Chittagong and

Jessore districts.l

1,200 guests to attend newcabinet’s swearing-innRabiul Islam

The cabinet division started inviting

guests for attending the oath talking

ceremony of new cabinet of 10th parlia-

ment at Bangabhaban on Sunday.

Offi cials at the cabinet division a t

Bangladesh Secretariat said around

1,200 guests including the newly elect-

ed law makers would be invited.

The newly elected law makers took

oaths on Thursday.

Despite weekly holiday (Friday), the

cabinet division remained open and

was busy sending invitations to the des-

ignated persons that include president,

prime minister, speaker, chief justice,

former presidents, prime ministers,

speakers, and chief justices, leaders of

different political parties, cultural per-

sonalities and diplomats.

“We have yet to decide whether to

invite the BNP high-ups, and the deci-

sion in this regard will be finalised on

Saturday,” a senior offi cial of the ca binet

division told the Dhaka Tribune on con-

dition of anonymity.

“We are getting the list of guests and

sending them invitation accordingly,”

the offi cial added.

About inviting BNP Chairperson

Khaleda Zia, cabinet Secretary Moshar-

raf Hossain Bhuiyan told the Dhaka Trib-

une, “I will not disclose the decision as it

is a confidential matter. The list of guests

is approved by the prime minister.”

With reference to the Indian bureau-

cracy, he said the invitation of guests is

not also disclosed there. “I can only tell

you the oath taking ceremony will be

held at 3:30pm on Sunday,” he added.Talking to this correspondent, an of-

ficial at the cabinet division said there

was no question of inviting Jamaat.

The Jamaat-e-Islami, an ally of the

BNP-led alliance, faces the fury of gov-

ernment which is bringing the war

criminals to justice while the islamist

organisation is opposing the govern-

ment move. l

Activists of Ganajagaran Mancha bring out a procession at Shahbagh yesterday before starting for the road march to Malopara of Jessore. The Mancha called out for the march to

protest communal violence by the oppositions DHAKA TRIBUNE

50 metres of Jamunaembankment collapsednOur Correspondent, Sirajganj

About 50 metres of an embankment of

the Jamuna River in Sirajganj got caved

in yesterday morning despite a steady

flow in the river.

The Tk350cr embankment called Sir-

ajganaj Town Protection Embankment

was constructed by the Bangladesh Wa-

ter Development Board in 2000.Though eroded several times in last

four years, this is the first time an ero-

sion occurred during winter.

Md Rafiqul Islam, the executive en-

gineer of the local Water Development

Board, told the Dhaka Tribune that the

lower part adjacent to the slope of the

embankment got eroded suddenly.

He added that it got eroded because

of scouring during the last flood.Deputy Commissioner Md Billal Hos-

sain and the sadar Upazila Nirbahi Of-

ficer Mohammad Salauddin went to visit

the spot after the erosion had occured.

Locals complained to them that irre-

sponsible attitude and corruption of the

local WDB engineers and their contrac-

tors were responsible for the situation.

The deputy commissioner

assured the locals that necessary

measures would be taken after proper

investigation. l

14-month-old baby rescued after 7 days of abductionnKailash Sarkar

A 14-month-old baby girl was rescued

from a house in capital’s Mirpur area

after seven days of abduction.

Rapid Action Battalion-2 arrested

the alleged abductor Nasir Uddin alias

Nesar, 32, from his village Atakora

under Chouddagram in Comilla on

Thursday night.

Following his statement, the childnamed Anika, was rescued from the

house yesterday afternoon.

Nesar had been demanding

Tk1.5lakh as ransom from the child’s

parents Rumana Akhter, an employee

at a restaurant in Adabar, and

rickshaw-puller Abul Hossain, said Lt

Col SM Azad, c ommandi ng offi cer of

Rab 2 while addressing a press briefingat Rab-2 o ffi ce in c apital’s Ag argaon

yesterday.

“Nesar was one of my co-workers at

the restaurant. He took my child from

my lap on January 3 in the eveningand went out for a walk outside the

restaurant. He did not get back until it

was 11:30pm and then he made a phone

call demanding Tk1.5lakh as ransom,”

said Rumana.

“Nesar threatened that if we did

not pay the money, we would see dead

body of our child lying in front of our

house,” added Rumana.

A day after the incident, Abul

Hossain filed a general diary with

Adabar police station and informed the

matter to Rab-2 personnel.

“Being informed by the parents, we

started searching. With technological

support, we were able to detect the

location of the abductor and detained

him from his village. He confessed

that he had left the child at a house

in the capital’s Dakkhin Peererbagh

area in Mirpur. The Rab men returned

Dhaka with him and rescued the child

around 3:00pm,” said the commanding

offi cer.

He said Nesar had left the child to

one of his friends who fled away from

the house sensing danger.

“The friend of the abductor left the

house leaving the infant inside it on

January 6. Hearing crying of the baby

the locals rescued it and since then

they had been taking care of it,” said

the Rab offi cial. l

Being informed by theparents, we started searching.With technological support,we were able to detect thelocation of the abductor anddetained him from his village

Highways, city roads witness long queuenTribune Report

Major highways and city roads yester-

day witnessed long tailbacks as people

came out in large numbers after getting

a reprieve from the back-to-back hartal

and communication blockade of the

BNP-led 18-party alliance.

The streets were affected by a tri-

ple whammy of dense fogs, swarming

vehicles and haphazard parking in the

morning, but there were little signs of

easing up even after the fogs lifted later

in the day.

There were long queues of vehicles

packed with passengers around almost

every intersections in the capital, while

its entry points were clogged by in-

bound and out-bound long-route bus-

ses and trucks.

Comilla witnessed a 36-kilometre

tailback on both sides of the highway

between Chandina and Daudkandi toll

plaza, caused by heavy fogs and high

concentration of vehicles, especiallygoods-laden trucks, reports our Comilla

correspondent.

The passengers of a Dhaka-bound

bus from Chandina said they had

started for the capital around 6am but

couldn’t get past the upazila periphery

even after four hours.

Mohammad Sohel, driver of a cov-

ered van, said it had taken him over five

hours to drive the 27 kilometres from

Chandina to Gouripur. “It was not to-

tally unexpected. People got a two-day

break before another spell of blockade

begins on Sunday; naturally, they will

try to make the most of it.”

A 60-kilometre tailback was wit-

nessed on the road between Comil-

la’s Iliotganj to Narayanganj’s Meghna

Bridge.

“The jam ensued after some vehicles

got stuck in the foggy weather early in

the morning, and by 10am it stretched

over 60 kilometres,” said Sargent Md

Saiful Islam of Bhoberchar Highway po-

lice camp.

Meanwhile, a slow traffi c movement

was reported at the Hatikumrul High-

way of Sirajganj, on both sides of Bang-

abandhu Bridge, early in the day. “It got

worse as the day wore on,” said Ali Farid

Ahmed, offi cer in charge of H itikumrul

Highway police station.

The situation was no better on the

waterways. Ferry operations on the

Mawa-Keurakandi route were suspend-

ed because of dense fog on Thursday

night, leading to long queues of vehicles

waiting to cross the Padma.

Ferry crossing at the integral point

to South from Dhaka resumed after 11

hours around 10am, but there was al-

ready a long jam with buses and trucks

from 21 districts stuck on both sides of

the river.

Passengers on launches, speed boats

and trawlers had to suffer similar delays

because of the fog and resultant tail-

backs.

City’s Situation

Traffi c pressure in t he capital was

higher compared with the past few

days. Commuters had to wait for long

hours to get into their desired vehicles

and reach their destinations.

“I have been waiting for more than

20 minutes for a bus from Sukrabad to

Azimpur. I tried several times to get into

one but failed each time,” said Nahid Ja-

han, a Master’s student of Eden Mahila

College.

A similar situation was seen aroundimportant intersections like the Sonar-

gaon, Farmgate, Bijoynagar, Shahbagh,

and Gulistan.

A traffi c sergeant posted at the Pan-

thapath intersection, seeking anonymi-

ty, said jams in these points were in part

contributed to by the Awami League ral-

ly at the Suhrawardy Udyan, which was

organised to observe the homecoming

day of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman.l

The situation was no betteron the waterways as ferryoperations on the Mawa-Keurakandi route weresuspended because of densefog on Thursday night





News 5DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, January 11, 2014

Fog continues to disrupt communication There may be drizzles across the country except for Chittagong region today

nAbu Bakar Siddique

Dense fogs continued to disrupt road

and water transportation yesterday.

Water transports were particularly

hampered, with several hours of delays

in reaching destinations.

There may be drizzles across the

country except for Chittagong region

today, the Bangladesh Meteorological

Department said in a regular forecast.

The Met O ffi ce also said th e tem-

perature tonight will rise slightly due

to the drizzle.

“The temperature may fall by 2 to

3 degrees from Sunday, thus turning

the ongoing mild to moderate cold

wave into a severe cold wave across the

country,” said Forecasti ng Offi cer Abul

Kalam Mollik yesterday adding that it

was normal as January was the coldestmonth in the country.

The ongoing moderate cold wave

with chill wind and dense fog that is

sweeping over the country is causing

diffi cultie s in everyday life, especi ally

for low-income people in the northern

districts.

The cold spell has triggered cold-re-

lated diseases including pneumonia,

asthma and respiratory complications

in northern districts like Kurigram, Go-

palganj and Chuadanga.

Seven children were reported tohave died of cold-related diseases over

the last 10 days, Chuadanga Sadar Hos-

pital authorities said.

On an average, 150-200 patients

with cold-related diseases were receiv-

ing treatment at the outdoor section of

the hospital every day, they said.

The ferry service at the Ma-

wa-Keurakandi and Paturia-Dawlatdia

landing stations has been suspended

for 12 hours at night for the last two

weeks due to heavy fog, causing a few

kilometres of tailback on both the sidesof the river leading.

Sirajul Islam, a manager of Bangladesh

Inland Water Transport Corporation at

Mawa, said water transports and ferry

services remained suspended to avoid

accidents, resuming at 9.30am every

day after the fog disappears.

Communication problems

have been prevailing on all routes

including the Dhaka-Chandpur and

Dhaka-Barisal water route due to

dense fogs.

Ali Asgar Sarker, a launch owner,

told the Dhaka Tribune that the plying

of water vessels on almost all routes of

the Southern region had stopped be-

cause of poor visibility.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport

Corporation authorities said all vessels

on these routes were asked to be care-

ful while moving in mid-river.

On Wednesday, the country experi-

enced a record temperature drop of 6

degrees Celsius in Ishawrdi, according

to the Met Offi ce.

The lowest temperature yesterday,

at 7.6 degrees Celsius, was recorded in

Dinajpur while the highest tempera-

ture was recorded in Teknaf at 27.6 de-

grees Celsius. l

‘10th parliamentary

poll not free and fair’nMushfique Wadud

Election observer group Brotee yester-

day said the 10th parliamentary elec-tion held on January 5 was not free and

100% fair, but it recognised the poll in a

bid to overcome the political crisis cen-

tring election.

The organisation also said the Elec-

tion Commission failed to ensure se-

curity and create an environment for a

free, fair and credible election.

Based on its monitoring of 234 poll-

ing centres under 16 constituencies by

mobile observers and analysis of media

reports, Brotee found 37% votes were

cast in their observing centres.

It estimated that vote casting was

26% in Dhaka.

The organisation, however, did not

give any estimate on the percentage of

vote casting in all constituencies.

“The 10th parliamentary election

was not f ree and 100% f air,” Sharmeen

Murshid, chief executive offi cer

of Brotee, said at a press briefing

yesterday.

“We want to overcome the political

crisis centring election, and so we have

accepted the election,” she added.“Though the parliamentary election

was legally correct, it was not as fair as

the previous one,” she further said.

The observation report said 30 peo-

ple were killed and 671 injured on the

poll’s day and in post-poll violence.

Of the victims, 21 were killed and

587 injured on January 5 and nine

killed and 84 injured in post-election

violence.

It also estimated that 180 people

were killed in violence since the an-

nouncement of election schedule on

November 25.

According to the report, violence

took place in 445 polling centres under

32 districts and polls in 539 centres un-

der 36 constituencies were postponed.It said 152 schools were burnt by the

18-party alliance activists.

In 29 constituencies, the rival can-

didates boycotted the election alleging

vote rigging.

The report said participation of

women and non-muslim voters were at

its lowest.

In the post-election violence, 422

houses, temples and shops of Hindu

community were vandalised, torched

and looted, added the report.

About the reasons of low turnout,

the report mentioned lack of prepara-

tion and campaign of c andidates.

The observation report said it found

anti-election activists threatened vot-

ers not to cast votes, and crude bombs

were blasted surrounding the polling

centres.l

CLASH AT KOREAN EPZ IN CHITTAGONG

Victims to get compensation,6,000 workers suednTarek Mahmudd, Chittagong

The authorities of Korean Export Pro-

cessing Zone will give compensation

to family members of the workers of

Karnaphuli Sportswear Industries who,

was killed and were injured during

Thursday’s clash.

The EPZ authorities announced clo-

sure of the factory for indefinite period.

The police filed a case with Karna-

phuli police station accusing about

5,000-6,000 unknown workers in con-

nection with the clash.

Saifee Anwarul Azim, public relation

offi cer of Korea n EPZ, to ld the Dhak a

Tribune that the EPZ authorities would

provide Tk six lakh to family members

of each deceased worker while the in-

jured offi cials, employees and workers

would get Tk one lakh.Mohammed Mohiuddin , offi -

cer-in-charge of Karnaphuli police

station, said Sub-Inspector Md Saifuz-

zaman had lodged a case with the po-

lice station accusing about 5000-6000

unidentified workers in connection

with the incident.

The workers of Karnaphuli Sports-

wear Industries of Youngone Group,

which own the Korean EPZ, locked in

a clash with the law enforcers during

demonstration demanding proper im-

plementation of newly announcedwage board for garment workers.

A female worker Parvin Akhter was

killed and 20 others, including five po-

lice offi cers, were inj ured in the clash

between law enforcers and the workers

in the afternoon.

The agitated workers of the factory

also set a warehouse of the factory on

fire and vandalised machines during

the clash. l

Most footbridges remain unused in ChittagongTownsfolk avoid the bridges to avoid any untoward incidentsnFM Mizanur Rahaman

Most of the footbridges in the port city

have been lying unused as they are un-

der the grips of snatchers, sex workers,

beggars and vendors, thanks to indif-

ference of authorities concerned fornot properly monitoring and maintain-

ing the infrastructures.

Pedestrians rarely choose the foot-

bridge which have been constructed

for saving life of pedestrians and keep-

ing the tra ffi c movement s mooth o n

the roads, to sidestep unwanted inci-

dences, especially snatching.

Local sources said a section of ad-

vertisement companies had set up

billboards on the both sides of the foot-

bridges that keeps bridges invisible

from pedestrians as well as encourages

anti-socials activities such as snatch-

ing, prostitution and drug abuse, on

them.

Consequently, people avoid over

bridges and cross roads amid life risk,

local sources said, adding that it had

also bee n causing t raffi c jam on the

roads during the pick hours, making

life of city peop le more diffi cult.

According to Chittagong City Cor-

poration sources, there are a total of 10

footbridges in the city and those are lo-

cated in New Market, Chittagong Rail-

way Station, BAWA School and College,

CPA Girls’ High School and College,

Free Port, Chittagong Export Process-

ing Zone, Fakirhat, Customs intersec-

tion, Port Offi cers Colo ny and Na vy

Gate areas.

During a recent visit to the over

bridges, this correspondent witnessed

that pedestrians were using only three

bridges in which two are located in EPZ

area and one in BAWA School and Col-

lege area while rest of the bridges were

seen in abandoned condition.

People are not interest to use the

footbridges as they have been lying in

dilapidated conditions.

The foot over bridges in front of

Municipal High School of New Mar-

ket, Railway Station and Fakirhat areas

were found almost wrapping with bill-

boards while human wastes and dirt

were littering on the bridges. The street

people were also found dwelling on

several bridges.

“The miscreants snatch valuable if

they found any pedestrian on the foot-over bridge taking the opportunity of

invisibility caused by the billboards,”

said Sanjoy Nath, a shopkeeper at

Shah Amanat Market, adding that he

never used foot over bridges for the

cause.

Alamgir Hossain, another pedestri-

an in Fakirhat area, said he faced risk

while crossing road, however, had no

alternative as the foot over bridges re-

mained unusable and unsafe.

Sources at the Chittagong Devel-

opment Authority said they had con-structed nine bridges while rest one

had been constructed by CCC, adding

that they had handed over the bridges

to the city corporation after construc-

tion.

The city corporation is entrusted

with the task of looking after the foot

over bridges.

Ahmadul Haque, chief revenue

offi cer of CCC, told the Dhaka Tribune

that he was not sure about the setting

up of billboards on the foot over

bridges adding that there was no

scope to rent the foot over bridges for

advertisement.

“We have recently started drive to

evict illegal billboards, however, the

drive came to a halt due to political tur-

moil in the recent period,” added the

offi cial. l

Army to remaindeployed in eightconstituencies tillJanuary 17nTribune Desk

Members of the Army will remain de-

ployed in eight constituencies till Janu-

ary 17 as there will be re-polling in 392

centres on January 16.

”Armed forces w ill remain deployedas a striking force in the eight constit-

uencies along with the law enforcers,”

said an ISPR media release.

The eight constituencies are Dina-

jpur-4, Kurigram-4, Gaibandha-1, 3 and

4, Bogra-7, Jessore-5 and Laxmipur-1.

The Election Commission has tak-

en the decision of keeping the army

personnel deployed for free and fair

re-polling in the centres, reports UNB.

On Sunday (Jan 5), elections were

held in 147 constituencies. The voting

in the 392 polling stations was sus-

pended due to widespread violence

during the elections. l

Truck-train collisionkills two in TangailnTribune Report

Two people were killed and 12 oth-

ers injured as a Dhaka-bound train hit

a sand-laden truck in Tenguria Para

rail-crossing under Basail upazila in the

morning.

The deceased were truck driver Sujat

Ali, 32, of Ulla Para upazila and Helper

Nijamuddin, 30, of Raigonj upazila in

Sirajganj.

Police said a sand laden truck fell

into a roadside water-filled ditch after

being hit by a Dhaka-bound train of

the Rangpur Express at Tenguriapara

around 9am, leaving two dead on thespot and injuring 12 others.

Four people were killed in two sep-

arate road accidents in Chittagong.

Highway Police found dead bodies of

three youths with a smashed motor-

bike from the Dhaka-Chittagong high-

way at Boro Darogarhat area of Mirsarai

upazila.

The deceased were Arafatullah, 35,

Kafil Uddin, 36, and Forkan, 22, of Ban-

shkhali upazila.

Police suspect that their motorbikemight have been hit by any heavy ve-

hicles leaving them dead on the spot,

he added.

In another incident, a housewife,

Popi Begum, 18, was killed as a truck

rammed her at the port city’s Ma-

jhirga ht ar ea un der S adargh at p olice

station around 8am.

Popy was rushed to Chittagong

Medical College Hospital where she

was pronounced dead by the on-du-

ty doctors, said police. l

City High Low

Dhaka 23.1 11.0

Chittagong 24.2 11.8

Rajshahi 23.5 09.0

Rangpur 23.2 09.0

Khulna 23.2 10.0

Barisal 24.3 10.5

Sylhet 25.0 12.1

Cox’s Bazar 28.0 13.2

PRAYER TIMES

Fajar 5:23am

Sunrise 6:42am

Zohr 12:06am

Asr 3:53pm

Magrib 5 :29 pm

Esha 6:49pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

WEATHER

Light drizzle likelynUNB

Light rain or drizzle is likely to occur

at one or two places over Rajshahi,

Rangpur, Khulna, Dhaka and Sylhet di-

visions and the region of Comilla until

6pm today.

Weather may remain dry with tem-porary partly cloudy sky elsewhere

over the country.

Moderate to thick fog may occur

over the country during midnight till

morning , Met Offi ce sources sai d.

A moderate cold wave that is sweep-

ing over the regions of Srimangal and

Dinajpur and a mild cold wave sweep-

ing over Rajshahi and the rest parts of

Rangpur division and the regions of

Sitakunda, Rangamati, Khulna, Madar-

ipur, Khepupara, Jessore and Kushtia

may continue as mild cold wave.

Night temperature may rise slightly

and day temperature may remain near-

ly unchanged over the country.

The sun sets in the capital at 5:30pm

today and rises at 6:44am tomorrow.

Country’s highest temperature 28.0

degree Celsius was recorded yesterday

in Cox’s Bazar and lowest 7.6 degrees in

Dinajpur.

Highest and lowest temperature in

some major c ities yesterday were:

Bloomberg Philanthropies organises a street show in the city’s Shahbagh yesterday to raise awareness against tobacco usage DHAKA TRIBUNE

Members of Amra Obhoynagar Bashi form a human chain in front of the National Museum yesterday, protesting communal violence in

Jessore SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

The ongoing moderate coldwave with chill wind and densefog that is sweeping over thecountr y is causing diffi cultiesin everyday life, especiallyfor low-income people in thenorthern districts



Shahzaman Mozumder: King of DhakaA dapper blogger reigns in cyberspace

nJames Saville

Ihad not been in Dhaka long be-fore I heard rumours of a won-

derful local eccentric, a man who

goes by the nickname “The King

of Dhaka.”

Who could this pretender be? Some

long-lost heir to the sultanate of Ben-

gal? Or a scion of an old Nawab perhaps?

Eventually I was told that His Majes-

ty’s kingdom is, alas, in cyberspace. But

anyone who heads to kingofdhaka.com

will find all the regal splendour they

could ever want.

The man behind the site is Shahza-

man Mozumder, and it is the most

unique fashion blog I have ever seen.

The site’s homepage consists of a

series of daily photo-posts bearing the

title “What I am wearing today,” with

pictures of Zaman in his immaculate,

and often flamboyant, ensembles.

Smart English-style tailoring is very

much the order of the day. There is a

menu with clickable links for sarto-

rial advice, all organised under helpfulheadings such as “Suit jacket buttoning

rules” and “Pocket square folds.”

The website is aimed at young pro-

fessionals who find themselves wear-

ing suits and ties for the first time, and

seeks to provide guidance to those

navigating the minefield that is men’s

tailoring.

This need comes from personal ex-

perience.

Zaman tells me: “In 1980-83 I ac-

tually didn’t know what to do. I wish

there had been a resource that I could

have consulted, just to learn a little

bit about what colours go with what,”

he says.

“For example, what should be the

colour of my first suit? ... I purchased a

suit in a very funny colour.”

“What colour did you buy?” I ask.

“It was blue, but not the blue I

would buy these days.”

“Was it a light blue?”

“Not exactly light. It was… funny.”Zaman tells me that kingofdhaka.com

has had more than 110,000 hits since itsinception a year ago, proving that he may

be onto something.

He fervently believes that the pur-

pose of style is to present oneself, al-

most as if for sale, something youngpeople need to be able to do when in

search of their first job.He asks me: “Do you know: What’s

the point of a necktie?”

“Erm…”

“It is like a ribbon – you wrap your-

self up in a ribbon to present yourself

like a gift.

Zaman is hugely enjoyable com-

pany, self-effacing and witty. He’s not

remotely bothered that some people

might think he looks like a stuffy an-

glophile. In fact he is totally self-aware,

and seems to acknowledge the pros-

pect that formal clothes can be a source

of comedy.

When I mischievously suggest his

already dandy-like appearance could

be improved further with the addi-

tion of a trilby, he doesn’t take the bait.

Giggling, he says: “I think wandering

around Dhaka in a hat would be totally

ridiculous!”

In spite of his congeniality, the re-

ality of Zaman’s life has been much

tougher than one would expect fromsomeone so fond of fine clothes.

Born in Dinjapur as the young-

est of six siblings, his family strug-

gled to make ends meet after the

early death of his father left them in

semi-poverty.

As a student at Dhaka University

in 1971 when the war broke out,

he joined the Mukhtibahini at a

very early stage, seeing exten-

sive combat and later being

awarded the Bir Protik for his

efforts.

These days he works in

IT, and pursues his interests

in men’s style – he hates the

word “fashion” – whenever

he can.

The next phase is his

quest to re-educate people’s

dress-sense is to set up his

own tailor shop here in Dha-

ka. “The problem is when the

British left, the flow of tech-nology stopped.”

Not one to be put off, Za-

man has been training a set

of local tailors over the last

4 years, and is soon to open

a tailoring service that will

operate from inside Sonargaon Hotel.Products will include made-to-

measure suits for $100 plus mate-rial costs, and also fully bespoke

suits, the cost of which will de-

pend on how extravagant the

customer wants them to be.

After more than an hour of

enthusiastic discussion on the

benefits of different styles –

double-breasted would be a good

look for me, he confirms – we

part ways.

I leave slightly ashamed

of my ill-fitting

t-shirt and

slightly torn

trousers. l

nTasnuva Amin Nova

Inspired after a disappointing trip

to Cox’s Bazar, cousins Ishnad

Chowdhury and Tadib Muqtada

decided to introduce an adven-

turous new water sport to Bang-

ladesh’s growing tourist destination:

parasailing.

“As beautiful as the place was, we

found that there was absolutely noth-

ing to do,” Tadib said in an interview

with the Dhaka Tribune.

Cox’s Bazar, despite its natural ad-

vantages as the world’s longest natural

sand beach and its surrounding lush

greenery, is still developing as a beach

resort area.

It did not take long for these two

enterprising young men to figure out

a solution. They took a second trip to

Panowa (the local name for the seaside

town) and scoped out the possibility

of offering parasailing and other beach

activities.

In September 2012, they decided to

launch Fun Fest.

Within a month, they convinced the

Cox’s Bazar Beach Management Com-

mittee that this would be beneficial for

tourism,and by November that year,

they bought the necessary equipment

and started training the workforce.They offi cially w ent into opera tion a

month later.

“We faced many constraints from

people, but my only concerns were the

wind, water and waves. Thisis what

makes parasailing either possible or

impossible.”

Fun Fest is located in Himchari

Beach, not far from the main beach.

They offer regular parasailing, where

the adventurer wears a parachute to

catch the wind and fly up like a kite

while being towed by a boat. There is

also“super fun” parasailing, a longer,

more thrilling ride that makes one drop

into the middle of the sea until the feet

touch water. Additionally, visitors to

Fun Fest have the opportunity to do

other activities such as land sailing,

zorbing and banana boating.

“Safety is our #1 priority,” the Fun

Fest website reads. “Parasailing is safe because we make it safe.”

“There are only a few things that

could go wrong. Worst cases: either

you fall into the sea [while] wearing

lifejackets; or you fall on the ground,

which is soft sand.”

Ishnad said: “We acquired all our

equipment from different parts of the

world which specialise in their manu-

facture. For example, our boats and en-

gines are from Japan because they are

the best suppliers of these.

“We train our staff according to in-

ternational standards. One of our train-

ers is the only person in town who has

had eight years of experience in para-

sailing in different countries, including

Malaysia. “

The dynamic duo behind Fun Fest is

just getting started.

“The entertainment sector here is in

its infancy.” Tadib said. “It needs a big

push to start off. The government has

been very cooperative with us so far.”

Tadib left his job in Switzerland in

search of interesting ventures in Bang-

ladesh. Ishnad, who was educated

abroad and has a degree in finance,

also has big dreams for the local enter-

tainment industry.

He and his business partner have

opened Fun Fest Urban Activities, a

recreation zone in the capital’s Jamu-

na Future Park. They share a common

vision, which is to introduce new sorts

of entertainment to Bangladeshis,

more than just eating out.

“However, entertainment and tour-

ism are particularly vulnerable to the re-

cent political unrest.” Tadib remarked.

“When the roads are not safe enough

for people to go to work, you cannot ex-pect people to go out for leisure. Sadly

this [situation] is worse in Cox’s Bazar,

the main tourist hub, where violence

reaches its peak during hartals and

blockades.”

Ishnad said:

“The perks of be-ing in this industry

are not just mon-

etary. The ability to

bring smiles to the

faces of other peo-

ple is priceless. And

that’s one of the

things that keeps us

going.”l

6 FeatureDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, January 11, 2014

‘A necktie is like aribbon – you wrap

yourself up with a

ribbon to present

yourself like a gift’

Flying high in Cox’s BazarFun Fest brings parasailingto our local paradise

November 7, 2013: If you look closely you

will notice that a button is missing from the

front of the jacket (I am trying to hide the

missing button by folding my hands where

the first button should be)

December 17, 2013: With a pink and blue

striped silk bow-tie

December 2, 2013: White linen double-

breasted suit with patch pockets

COURTESY

‘What I am wearing today’

Landsailing: Cruising the beach with wind

power COURTESY

‘Safety is our #1 priority’ COURTESY



Keeping asthma symptoms at bayAsthma symptoms, which include coughing, wheezing, and chest tightness, are common inan asthma attack. Sometimes reffered to as bronchial asthma or reactive airway disease,asthma can be controlled with proper treatment. In severe cases, an untreated asthma

attack can be life-threateningnDr Kazi Saifuddin Benoor

Asthma is a disease

of the airways in the

lungs. Its symptoms

are caused by inflam-

mation, which makes

the airways red, swol-

len, narrower and

extra-sensitive to ir-

ritants. Asthma symptoms range from

minor to severe and vary from person

to person.

Symptoms of an asthma attack

include:

Wheezing, a whistling sound

when exhaling

Coughing that won’t stop are

worsened by a respiratory virus,

such as a cold or the flu

Shortness of breath and tightness

in the chest

Who gets asthma?

It isn’t clear why some people get

asthma and others don’t, but it’s prob-

ably due to a combination of environ-

mental and genetic (inherited) factors.

Asthma can appear at any age, but it

typically develops during childhood.

Those most at risk include people with

allergies or a family history of asthma.

Having a parent with asthma makes

children three to six times more likelyto develop the condition.

Asthma trigger

For some people, asthma symptoms

flare up in certain situations:

Exercise-induced asthma, which

may be worse when the air is coldand dry

Occupational asthma, triggered byworkplace irritants such as chemi-

cal fumes, gases or dust

Allergy-induced asthma triggered

by particular allergens, such as

mold, dust mites, pet dander,

cockroaches or pollen.

If pollen is one of your triggers,

you’ll probably notice your asthmasymptoms are worse at certain times of

the year.

Diagnosing asthma

If you have symptoms of asthma, yourdoctor will want to check how well

your lungs are working. A lung func-

tion test, also called spirometry, mea-

sures how much air you can breathe in

and out.

The results will help determine

whether you have asthma and how se-

vere the condition is. Your doctor mayalso recommend allergy testing to pin-

point some of your asthma triggers.

Managing asthma

While there is no cure, there are highlyeffective strategies for keeping asthma

symptoms at bay.

Sometimes children with asthma

can grow out of their symptoms, or

many years of regular treatment with

anti-inflammatory asthma medication

may make the disease disappear. It is

tempting to think that your asthma has

been cured if you have not had symp-toms for a long time, but you will usu-

ally still have a tendency to develop

asthma if you are exposed to the ap-

propriate triggers in the future. Most

people with asthma are able to keep the

conditions under control.

Allergy treatment using hyposensi-

tisation (often called allergy vaccina-

tion) is unhelpful for most people.

Avoiding triggers

The first step in controlling asthma is

to identify and avoid your triggers. The

most effective way to fight allergens

in the home is to remove the source,

which may include pets, carpets, and

upholstered furniture. Dust regularly

and use a vacuum cleaner.

Long-term medication

It is virtually impossible for people with

asthma to avoid all their triggers all the

time. For this reason, many people need

to take daily medication to prevent

asthma attacks. Inhaled corticosteroids

are the most common medication for

the long-term control of asthma.

Quick relief for asthma attacks

Even with the use of long-term medi-cation, asthma symptoms sometimes

flare up. When this happens, you’ll

need another type of inhaler to pro-

vide quick relief. Short-acting beta2-

agonists are the most common choice.

These rescue inhalers quickly relax the

tightened muscles around the airways,

restoring the flow of air to the lungs. It

is better to take asthma medications

through an inhaler or nebuliser, which

assures effi cacy, promp t relief and few-er side effects.

Children and older people are ad-

vised to use the inhaler with a device

called spacer, which helps them take

the medicine properly. Some asthma

attacks require emergency treatment

in the hospital. l

Dr Kazi Saifuddin Benoor is Assistant

Professor of Chest Medicine in National

Institute of Chest Diseases and Hospital.

How to donate bloodnDr Sajol Ashfaq

The blood you donategives someone an-

other chance at life.

Giving blood is one of

the most worthwhilethings you can do. Pa-

tients require blood for

a range of reasons from

cancer to surgery and many more; with

some patients needing blood regularly.

Who can donate?To give blood you need neither extra

strength nor extra food, and you will

save a life. Most people between the

ages of 17 and 65, who weigh over

50kg (7st 12lb) and have a good level

of general health will be able to do-

nate blood. If you’ve had a cold or

other illness within a week of donat-

ing, you need to wait for 7 days before

you can donate. You must also be

over 45 kilograms to ensure the blood

loss won’t affect you.

Where to donate?

Various organisations such as Shand-

hani, Red Crescent, and Quantum are

operating blood banks that help in

voluntary blood donation. Most hos-

pitals have a blood bank that can ar-

range the donation.

What happens on the day you

donate?

The actual process only takes about

5-10 minutes. Before donation, you

have to fill out a confidential ques-

tionnaire and have an interview

with a staff member to make sure

you’re healthy and fit for a donation.

If you’re in good shape to make a

donation, they’ll then start the pro-

cess. After donating blood you’ll be

given something to eat and drink and

shown somewhere you can rest for

the recommended 15 minutes before

leaving. Altogether, it will take about

an hour.

How long do I have to wait before my

next donation?For a whole blood donation, you need

to wait 12 weeks before your next do-nation.

Does giving blood affect your

energy?You should avoid exerting yourself

for 12 hours after donating as a pre-

caution, but your energy levels won’t

be affected. It only takes 1 to 2 days

for your blood volume to be back to

normal, but make sure you drink lots

of water to help the recovery process.

Will it hurt?

There’s nothing to worry about, you

won’t feel more than a tiny pinprick.

Does the Blood Service pay for

donations?

No. All blood donations are volun-

tary, following World Health Orga-

nization and Red Cross and Crescent

policies. l

Prescription 7DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, January 11, 2014

HEALTH NEWS

| Compiled by: Shirsho Saaeadat

| Dr Mohammad Sayem

A first-aid kitat your homeand offi ce

A first-aid kit is a collection of supplies

and equipment for use in giving first

aid. A well-stocked first-aid kit can help

you respond effectively to common

injuries and emergencies. Keep at least

one first-aid kit in your home, your of-

fice and one in your car.

Store your kits in easy-to-retrieve

locations that are out of the reach of

young children. You can purchase first-

aid kits at many drugstores or assem-

ble your own. Contents of a first-aid kit

should include:

Basic supplies

Adhesive tape

Antibiotic ointment

Antiseptic solution

Bandages, including a roll of elas-

tic wrap and bandage strip

Instant cold packs

Cotton balls and cotton-tipped

swabs

Disposable latex or synthetic

gloves, at least two pairs

Duct tape

Gauze pads and roller gauze

First-aid manual

Petroleum jelly or other lubricant

Plastic bags for the disposal of

contaminated materials

Safety pins

Scissors and tweezers

Soap or instant hand sanitiser

Sterile eyewash, such as a saline

solution

Thermometer

Triangular bandage

Blood pressure measuring ma-

chine and stethoscope

Medications

Anti-diarrheal medication

Over-the-counter oral antihista-

mine

Aspirin and nonaspirin pain re-

lievers (never give aspirin to chil-

dren)

Calamine lotion

Over-the-counter hydrocortisone

cream

Syringe, medicine cup or spoon

Oral saline

Give your kit a checkup. Check your

first-aid kits regularly, at least every

three months, to be sure the flashlight

batteries work and to replace supplies

that have expired.

QUICK TIPS

HEALTH

NEWS

Microchip helps in dietingDieters who are struggling in los-

ing weight could be implanted with a

computer chip that alerts them when

they’ve eaten enough and then releas-

es a hormone to make them feel full.

Scientists in Switzerland are develop-

ing the pioneering technology and be-

lieve it could be available worldwide

within five to 10 years. The coin-sized

chip would be inserted under the skin

of a slimmer’s arm where it would con-

stantly check for fat in the blood and

release a hunger-sating compound

when enough was consumed. Subject

to funding, the first human tests could

take place in around three years. The

device’s inventor, Professor Martin

Fussenegger, said: “The chip could

provide an alternative to expensive

and invasive weight loss surgery with

no major side-effects.” l

Sovaldi, a hope for chronichepatitis C

The US Food and Drug Administration

recently approved Sovaldi (sofosbuvir)to treat chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV)

infection. Sovaldi is the first drug that

has demonst rated safety a nd effi cacy

to treat certain types of HCV infection

without the need for co -administration

of interferon. Sovaldi is to be used as a

component of a combination antiviral

treatment regimen for chronic HCV in-fection.

Hepatitis C is a viral disease that

causes inflammation of the liver that

can lead to diminished liver function or

liver failure. Like hepatitis B, hepatitis

C has got no vaccine. l

Fat dads make fat kidsFathers-to-be need to get in shape be-

fore their children are conceived to

avoid passing on fat genes, new research

suggests. Recently a study showed thatif fathers and grandfathers have a high

fat diet and were obese, their grandsons

are more likely to be overweight. While

the effects of a mother’s diet during and

even before pregnancy are known, the

new research is a wake-up call for pro-spective dads.

It is thought that a father could

contribute his genes and that’s about

it, but this research suggests both par-

ents’ lifestyles may contribute to their

babies’ genes.

The findings have also sparked de-

mand for further studies on the im-

pacts of both parents’ behaviours onchildren during pregnancy. l

Children and olderpeople are advisedto use the inhalerwith a device calleda spacer, whichhelps them take themedicine properly

Difference between freshmilk and UHT milk

Fresh milk, often referred to as homogenised and

pasteurised milk, is sold in the chilled foods section

of the supermarket. It has a short shelf life and must

be kept below 4°C to maintain freshness. Ultra heat

treated (UHT) milk, which is sometimes called long-

life milk, is slightly different. It has had extra treat-

ment which enables it to be stored at room tempera-

ture (as long as it is unopened) for extended periods.

Both fresh milk and UHT milk have undergone pasteuri-

sation and homogenisation before packaging and sale to

consumers. Pasteuri-

sation involves heating

the milk to 72°C for 15

seconds to kill harm-

ful bacteria that may

be present. The milk is

rapidly chilled, before

homogenisation com-mences. This involves

passing the milk

through a fine nozzleto create a smooth,

creamy taste and tex-

ture.

Fresh milk is then packaged and refrigerated, while UHT

milk is exposed to a more powerful heat treatment to inac-

tivate harmful bacteria. This allows the milk to be stored

out of the fridge while it is unopened. It is important to chill

UHT milk once it has been opened. l

Brown eggs vswhite eggs

Brown eggs are often thought as a healthier alterna-

tive to white eggs. You might be surprised to learn

that nutritionally, both brown and white eggs are

almost identical in content. The only measurable

differences come from the color and breed of the

chickens producing the eggs.

The colour of an eggshell is determined by the co-

lour of the hen laying the egg. T his is very similar to

how your eye color and hair colo ur are determined by genet-

ics. Brown eggs come from brown hens and white eggs come

from white hens. The

color of the yolk inside

the shell and the egg

white is the same for

both brown and white

eggs. The nutritional

value of brown and

white eggs are almostidentical.

On average, brown

eggs are more expen-sive than white eggs.

The higher price tag

on brown eggs does not necessarily reflect better quality,

rather it is a result of specific breeds of brown hens being

higher maintenance than white hens. This occurs be-

cause brown hens are larger than white hens and therefore

require more food, which translates into a higher cost for

consumers.l | Prescription Desk

HEALTH

FLASH

B I G S T O C K

BIGSTOCK

B I G S T O C K

DID YOU

KNOW?



Saturday, January 11, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE InternationalDHAKA TRIBUNE8

Two drunk Russians cut offown ears for a betTwo inebriated Russians in a Siberian min-

ing region both cut off their own left ears

after betting on the result of an arm-wres-

tling contest, police said yesterday. The

men were drinking to celebrate Orthodox

Christmas and held an arm-wrestling

contest, agreeing that the loser had to cut

off his ear, police reported in the southern

Siberian Kemerovo region. One of the men

won the first bout, but his opponent insist-

ed on a second round, which he won. The

two men then decided that according to

their rules, both must cut off their ears, po-

lice said. “The men voluntarily cut off their

left ears. One completely, and the other

half off. They were hospitalised with these

injuries,” police said. The men’s drunken

escapade echoed Dutch artist Vincent Van

Gogh, who also cut off part of his left ear.

Three severed heads foundin Mexico in drug violenceThe decapitated heads of three suspected

members of the Zetas drug cartel were found

on the trunk of a car in eastern Mexican

state of Veracruz, authorities said Thursday.

With them authorities found a note in which

another cartel, Jalisco Nueva Generacion,

apparently claimed responsibility. The grisly

discovery came in the state capital, the port

city also called Veracruz, said a police offi cial.

The note said: “This is going to happen to

any filthy Z that goes around kidnapping

and robbing innocent people,” according

to the police offi cial. The heads, with signs

of torture, were found Wednesday night

after police were advised by local people.

In late December five people were found

decapitated in the western state of Micho-

acan, also along with a note from the Jalisco

Nueva Generacion cartel, which is fighting

for control of the state with rival drug gangs

called the Knights Templar and La Familia

Michoacana. Veracruz is one of the Mexican

states hardest hit by drug-related violence

by cartels such as the Zetas, which resorts to

abductions and extortion, as well as robbery

and traffi cking of undocumented migrants

trying to reach the United States. Also in

December the remains of three women and

four men were found in several clandestine

graves on a beach in Veracruz. The state lies

on the Gulf of Mexico and boasts Mexico’s

biggest commercial port.

Man’s cockroach-in-the-earagony Down Under A man in Australia endured a painful

hospital visit after a large cockroach bur-

rowed into his ear and his efforts to suck

it out with a vacuum cleaner failed. Dar-

win-based Hendrik Helmer’s ordeal began

in the early hours of Wednesday morning

when he was woken by a sharp pain in

his right ear, the Australian Broadcasting

Corporation said. “I was hoping it was not

a poisonous spider... I was hoping it didn’t

bite me,” he said, adding that as the pain

got worse he tried to suck the insect out

with a vacuum cleaner before squirting

water in his ear. “Whatever was in my ear

didn’t like it at all,” he told the broadcaster

yesterday. With the pain becoming excru-

ciating, his flatmate rushed him to hospital

where a doctor put oil down the ear canal.

This only forced the two centimetre (0.8

inch) roach to crawl in deeper, before it

eventually began to die. “Near the 10 min-

ute mark ... somewhere about there, he

started to stop burrowing but he was still in

the throes of death twitching,” said Helmer.

At that point the doctor put forceps into his

ear and pulled out the cockroach.

OTHER NEWS

80% of Israelis saypeace talks will fail

nAFP, Jerusalem

The vast majority of Israelis believe

US-brokered negotiations with the Pal-

estinians will fail to bring any peace

agreement, an opinion poll published

on yesterday showed.

About 80% of 507 Jewish and Arab

Israeli respondents told Maariv news-

paper that they believed the talks

would not succeed.

The poll came a week after a visit

by US Secretary of State John Kerry,

who kick-started the talks in July after

a three-year hiatus and is pushing the

two sides to accept a framework agree-

ment for final status negotiations.The Maariv survey showed that 73%

rejected a total withdrawal of Israeli

troops from the West Bank under any

peace accord. Israeli and Palestinian

leaders appear increasingly at odds

over irreconcilable demands, including

over the borders of a future Palestinian

state and an Israeli military presence in

the Jordan Valley, where the West Bank

borders Jordan.

Israelis insist the army must remain

there in the long term to guarantee the

Jewish state’s security, but the Pales-

tinians insist they must leave and make

way for an international military force.

A separate opinion poll by pro-gov-

ernment Israel Hayom said 70% of 500

Jewish respondents rejected a with-

drawal from the Jordan Valley.l

Nearly 500 killed in Syriarebel-jihadist fightingnAFP, Beirut

Nearly 500 people, among them 85 ci-

vilians, have been killed in a week of

fighting pitting Syrian rebels against

the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and

the Levant, a monitoring group said

yesterday.

“We have documented the killing of

482 people in the fighting – 85 civilians,

240 members of the rebel brigades and

157 members of ISIL,” said Syrian Ob-

servatory for Human Rights director

Rami Abdel Rahman.

Among the civilians and rebels

killed were 42 hostages who were exe-

cuted in Aleppo by ISIL.

Rebels also executed 47 ISIL members,

mainly in Idlib province in north-western

Syria, Abdel Rahman said.

“The rest of the deaths came during

the fighting. It is likely dozens more

people have lost their lives, but it is im-

possible to accurately document all the

killings,” he added.

He called for “crimes being commit-

ted in Syria to be brought before an in-

ternational court.”

Jihadist-rebel fighting has raged for

a week, mainly in Aleppo, Idlib and

Raqa provinces. On yesterday, rebels

continued to advance in much of Alep-

po and Idlib, where ISIL’s presence was

relatively weak, while the jihadists had

the upper hand in Raqa, which has been

under their control for several months.

Several rebel groups fighting Presi-

dent Bashar al-Assad’s regime openeda new front against ISIL last week, ac-

cusing the jihadists of seeking control

and committing horrific abuses in op-

position-held areas. l

Snowden leaks may be‘lethal’ for troopsnAFP, Washington

Fugitive intelligence contractor Edward

Snowden’s theft of 1.7m secret docu-

ments could potentially put US military

forces in “lethal” danger worldwide,

American lawmakers warned Thursday,

citing a confidential Pentagon report.

The Defence Department prepared

and sent on Monday to prominent

members of Congress a classified paper

analysing the potential impact of reve-

lations by the former National Security

Agency (NSA) contractor.

Defence Intelligence Agency chiefLieutenant General Michael Flynn

formed a Pentagon task force dubbed

the “Information Review Task Force-2”

shortly after Snowden’s theft of classi-

fied files was discovered, a DIA spokes-

man told AFP.

The DIA-led taskforce worked in co-

ordination with other members of the

intelligence community, the military

services and the combatant commands.

“The goal was to assess the potential

impact to the Department of Defence

from the compromise of this informa-

tion,” the spokesman added, speaking

on condition of anonymity.

Only an initial assessment was provid-

ed to lawmakers and the task force “con-

tinues its work as additional information

is reviewed,” according to the spokesman.Snowden has disclosed details of US

intelligence-gathering operations, but

lawmakers warned that the leaker’s

illegal haul includes a large amount of

classified military data.

“This report confirms my greatest

fears – Snowden’s real acts of betrayal

place America’s military men and wom-

en at greater risk,” House Intelligence

Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said

in a joint statement with the panel’s top

Democrat Dutch Ruppersberger.

The actions by Snowden, who is

currently in Moscow under temporary

asylum, “are likely to have lethal con-

sequences for our troops in the field,”

Rogers added.

Snowden and his supporters argue

that his revelation of details of secret US

programs that hoover up vast amounts

of telephone and Internet data on virtu-

ally every American was merely a mis-

sion to defend civil liberties.

The disclosures have triggered a

monumental debate in the UnitedStates over the balance between per-

sonal freedoms and fighting terrorism,

but have also sparked uproar against

Washington amid revelations the NSA

had tapped mobile phones of world

leaders including that of German Chan-

cellor Angela Merkel. l

US objects tofreeing of Talibansuspects

nAgencies

The United States has strongly objected

to a plan by the government of Afghan-

istan to release 72 prisoners that the US

considers dangerous criminals linked

to “terror-related crimes.”

Relations between the two nations

plunged on Thursday when Afghan

President Hamid Karzai said there was

insuffi cient eviden ce to continue hold-

ing the men at Bagram prison, a former

US site now controlled by the Afghan

government.

“We cannot allow innocent Afghan

citizens to be kept in detention for

months and years without a trial for

no reason at all,” Karzai’s spokesman,

Aimal Faizi, told the Reuters news

agency. “We know that unfortunately

this has been happening at Bagram, but

it is illegal and a violation of Afghansovereignty.”

The United States objected to the

decision, with State Department Jen

Psaki saying: “These 72 detainees are

dangerous criminals against whom

there is strong evidence linking them

to terror-related crimes, including the

use of improvised explosive devices,

the largest killer of Afghan civilians.”

She said “time will tell” if the release

of the men would affect the signing of a

pact that will ensure a US presence in the

country after it pulls its main forces out

later this year. Joseph Dunford, the US

General in command of NATO forces in

Afghanistan, made an offi cial objection to

the plan. He said it was against an agree-

ment signed when Bagram was handed

over in March last year. It included assur-

ances that inmates who posed a danger to

Afghans and international forces would

continue to be held under Afghan law.

Following a meeting on Thursday

between Karzai and the head of the

Afghan spy agency, it was decided that

there was on ly suffi cient ev idence tohold 16 of 88 men the US considered to

be dangerous criminals.l

United State warns both sidesin South Sudan over conflictnAgencies

Government forces pressed with an of-

fensive to wrestle back South Sudan’s

main oil hub from rebel forces as the

White House urged both sides in the

deadly conflict to sign an agreement to

cease hostilities immediately.

The worst fighting on yesterday cen-

tred around Bentiu, where forces loyal

to former Vice President Riek Mach-

ar have been holding off the army of

President Salva Kiir, leaving the town

ransacked and emptied of its civilian

population.South Sudanese rebels rejected a

government plan on Wednesday to end

a dispute over detainees and unblock

peace talks aimed at halting the conflict

that has killed at least 1,000 people.

Susan Rice, President Barack

Obama’s national security adviser,

said in a statement it was the respon-

sibility of both leaders to make sure

their country was not marred by more

violence.

“Mr. Machar, in particular, must

commit to a cessation of hostilities

without precondition,” Rice said add-

ing that the US was “disappointed”

senior politician detainees in gov-

ernment custody have not yet been

released.

“The United States reiterates its call

upon President Salva Kiir to release the

detainees immediately to the custody

of IGAD so that they can participate in

the political negotiations.”

On Wednesday, the government

proposed to shift the peace talks to

the United Nations compound in Juba,

enabling the 11 detainees to attend the

negotiations during the day and return

to custody in the evening.

South Sudan’s presidential spokes-

man said the rebels appeared to

reject that.

The UN, which shelters more than

8,000 people at its Bentiu compound,

said its mission in South Sudan had

cut off military links with the gov-

ernment and was ready to fend off

any attack.

Farhan Haq, UN deputy spokesman,said the outcome of the battle for Ben-

tiu, capital of Unity state, was “unclear

and fluid.”l

French upholds ban on ‘anti-Jew’ comediannAgencies

A top French court has upheld the ban

of a show by a comedian whom the

government accuses of anti-Jew sen-

timents and insulting the memory of

Holocaust victims.

The Council of State, France’s highest

administrative court, issued its last-min-

ute decision just an hour before the

show by Dieudonne M’bala M’bala was

to begin in the western city of Nantes.

The top court’s ruling came after In-

terior Minister Manuel Valls, who has

been leading the effort to stop Dieud-

onne’s national tour, appealed against

a decision by a lower administrative

court that rejected local authorities’

efforts to ban the show. In its ruling,

the Council of State - which has previ-

ously ruled against bans on Dieudonne

performances - cited the risk to public

order were the show to proceed.

There were angry scenes on Thurs-

day as crowds of supporters protested

against the decision. One of Dieud-

onne’s lawyers, Jacques Verdier, has

argued that a ban on his client would

breach his freedom of speech. Dieu-donne, 46, has been repeatedly fined

for hate speech and local authorities in

Nantes had barred the show following

the lead of other cities that did the same

on the grounds of risk to public order.

The comedian’s supporters say he

is anti-establishment and anti-Zionist,

not anti-Jew. The appeals court’s deci-

sion validated the efforts of Valls and

President Francois Hollande, who had

argued for regional prefects to remain

“on alert and inflexible” in determining

whether or not to ban the shows. l

C African president resigns

after deadly unrestnAFP, N’djamena

Central African Republic President

Michel Djotodia has resigned under

intense pressure over his failure to

stem the sectarian unrest ripping his

country apart, a regional grouping an-

nounced yesterday.

African leaders meeting in neigh-

bouring Chad to seek a solution to the

crisis said they had “noted the resig-

nation” of Djotodia and Prime Minister

Nicolas Tiengaye, whose notoriously

fractious relationship with the presi-

dent had led to political paralysis.

Djotodia was under intense pressure

from his peers, who gathered in Chad

Thursday in a bid to end the violence

that has seen more than 1,000 people

killed in the last month alone.

All 135 lawmakers from the land-

locked Central African Republic (CAR)had flown to Chad on Thursday at the

behest of Chadian President Idriss

Deby Itno to try to resolve the crisis as

it threatened to spill over into neigh-

bouring countries.

Djotodia has come under fire for

failing to stem the spiralling violence

between the mainly Muslim former

rebels who brought him to power last

year and militias formed by the Chris-

tian majority.

Earlier Friday, thousands of resi-

dents in the Central African capital

Bangui took to the streets demanding

Djotodia’s departure.

“We want Djotodia to stand down.

We need someone new to lead the

country,” said one protester, while

another said Djotodia should “stay in

N’Djamena,” accusing him of responsi-

bility for a “massacre.”

Although he was already due to step

down when a transition period expires

in a year’s time, his inability to rein in

chaos across the country prompted

calls for a swifter change in leadership.Deby, Central Africa’s perennial king-

maker, had opened the Economic Com-

munity of Central African States (EC-

CAS) summit Thursday with stark words

seen as a push to remove Djotodia.

“The CAR is suffering deeply from

the actions of its own sons, who are

dragging their country down into a war

that jeopardises its future,” he said.

Deby called for “concrete and deci-

sive action” to halt the vio lence pitting

Muslims against Christian self-defence

militias that has killed more than 1,000

people in the past month.

Looming humanitarian crisis

Regional leaders are anxious to stem

the crisis as there are fears that the un-

rest is extending beyond the miner-

al-rich Central African Republic.

The United Nations has warned that

both ex-Seleka rebels and CAR former

soldiers have crossed into the volatile

Democratic Republic of Congo, causing

local residents to flee.

Many troops fled their home coun-

try when the Seleka rebels launched

their coup. The rebels in turn werepushed out when French and African

peacekeepers arrived in the country in

December.

Although mass slaughters have most-

ly ceased in Bangui itself amid frequent

patrols by the peacekeepers, sporadic

killings carry on almost every night.

A humanitarian disaster is also

looming with almost a million people

having fled their homes in a nation of

about 4.6 million people.

Some 100,000 of them have set up

camp in one tent city alone near Bangui

airport, close to the peacekeepers’ bases.

UNICEF has warned of a potential

disaster in overcrowded camps in and

around the capital, where there have

been several c ases of measles, which

could be deadly. Relief agencies have

joined in a vaccination campaign.

EU nations are considering whether

to join in the French and African peace-

keeping operations in the country,

with a meeting on the issue scheduled

for yesterday.lRebel fighters carry the body of a dead man at the Aleppo headquarters of the Islamic State of Iraq AFP

US National Security Advisor Susan Rice AFP

French controversial humorist Dieudonne Míbala Míbala arrives for a trial at the Paris

courthouse AFP



9Saturday, January 11, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE International

Tibetan Buddhist instituteengulfed in flamesnAFP, Beijing

A remote Tibetan Buddhist institute

thought to be among the largest in

the world has been seriously damaged

in a huge fire, reports said yesterday,

while the cause of the inferno remains

a mystery.

The fire at the Serthar, or Larung

Gar, Institute in Sichuan province in

southwest China started on Thursday

evening, according to a China News

Network report.

The blaze destroyed at least 10

structures but no casualties had been

reported, the report said.

More than 450 rescuers, police and

fire-fighters carried out relief efforts at

the scene and an investigation was un-

derway, it added.

Pictures posted on Weibo, a Chinese

version of Twitter, showed throngs of

onlookers standing in a street, gazing up-

ward as bright yellow flames consumed

a huge portion of the sprawling institute

and smoke wafted into the night sky.

In one of the images rescue workers ap-

peared to be moving debris and aiding

several shaven-headed monks in long

scarlet robes.

Serthar, known as Seda in Chinese,

is in a Tibetan area more than 4,000

metres above sea level and hundreds

of kilometres from the nearest c ity.

The institute was founded in 1980

in an uninhabited valley and has since

grown to become one of the world’s

most important centres of Tibetan

Buddhism, with an estimated popu-

lation of 10,000 monks, nuns and stu-

dents living in small wooden homes on

the hillsides surrounding the complex.

Its founder, Khenpo Jigme Phunt-

sok, who died in 2004, was known for

keeping a strict focus on Buddhismrather than politics at the institute.

He maintained a close relationship

with both Chinese authorities and the

Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader

and Nobel peace laureate who Beijing

condemns as a separatist.

But the Buddhist academy’s sur-

vival was threatened in 2001 when

armed police forced hundreds of nuns

and monks to leave the site, destroy-

ing more than 1,000 homes to prevent

them returning.

Police demanded that nuns sign

documents denouncing the Dalai Lama

and pledging not to return, accord-

ing to overseas campaign groups, and

Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok was detained

for a year after the incident.

In early 2012, Serthar was rocked by

violence when police fired tear gas and

began shooting into a crowd of hun-

dreds of peaceful Tibetan protesters,

exile groups said.

China’s offi cial Xi nhua news a gen-

cy said that the incident, in which one

person was killed, was triggered when“rioters” attacked police with knives,

bottles of petrol and guns.l

Karachi blast killsPakistani Taliban foe

nAgencies

A senior Pakistani police offi cer famous

for taking on the Pakistani Taliban has

been killed by a car bomb in Karachi.

Chaudhry Aslam, who had survived

previous assassination attempts, died on

Thursday when the convoy he was trav-

elling in was attacked. Tehreek-i-Taliban

Pakistan (TTP) said it carried out the ex-

plosion and warned other security offi -

cials that they were also targets.

“Yes, we have killed Chaudhry Aslam

and claim the responsibility of his killing,”

Ehsanullah Ehsan, TTP’s spokesman, told

AFP news agency over the phone.

“We attacked him earlier also but he

survived. He has killed, tortured and

wounded our mujahideen friends ... fi-

nally, we have sent him towards his end.

“We warn other police and securityoffi cials wh o are brutal to and to rture

the mujahideen that their fate will be

no different.” The Pakistani Taliban

had previously tried to kill Aslam in

September 2011, with a huge explosion

tearing off the front of his home in Ka-

rachi and killing eight people. l

Australian PM likens people-smugglingcrackdown to warnAFP, Sydney

Australian Prime Minister Tony Ab-

bott on yesterday likened the fight

against people-smugglers to war, while

defending the detention centres asy-

lum-seekers are held in as effective and

humanely run.

Indonesi an offi cials say the Aust ra-

lian navy has turned back at least one

boat carrying asylum-seekers to its

shores, although The Australian news-

paper said as many as five have been

secretly returned.

Abbott’s conservative government

has refused to reveal details of the in-

cidents or other “operational matters,”

sparking claims from the Labour op-

position that it is overseeing a “Stalin-

ist”-style media blackout.

“In the end, we are in a ierce

contest with these people-smug-

glers,” he told a breakfast television

programme.

“And if we were at war, we wouldn’t

be giving out information that is of use to

the enemy just because we might have

an idle curiosity about it ourselves.”

Abbott said he would not release in-

formation which would be exploited by

people-smugglers to the peril of their

customers “and to the tremendous dis-

advantage of our country.”

The conservative Liberal Party

leader, who won power in Septem-

ber polls after campaigni ng to “stop

the boats,” has introduced the mili-

tary-led Operation Sovereign Borders

to crack down on asylum-seekers

coming by boat.

Under the policy, Australia will turn

back boats to Indonesia when it is safe

to do so, while those who reach Austra-

lian territory will be processed within

48 hours and quickly sent to Pacific

island camps on Nauru or Papua NewGuinea.

Australia’s tough po licies have irked

Jakarta, which has warned that turning

boats back could breach Indonesian

territorial sovereignty. l

Malaysia courtthrows out chargeagainst opposition’sAnwarnAFP, Kuala Lumpur

A Malaysian court on yesterday threw

out illegal-assembly charges against

opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim over

his part in a 2012 rally that could have

barred him from standing for election,

his lawyer said.

Anwar, 66, and two other members

of his party were charged in 2012 with

violating newly enacted restrictions on

public gatherings as well as a court or-

der banning the rally from the centre of

the capital Kuala Lumpur.

But the charges were dismissed after

a separate court ruled on Monday that

the ban on the gathering was invalid,

Anwar’s lawyer Ram Karpal said. Tens

of thousands had gathered April 28,

2012 to demand reform of an electoral

system that critics say is biased toward

the ruling coalition that has controlled

Malaysia since independence in 1957.

Azmin Ali, the deputy president of

Anwar’s People’s Justice Party and a

co-defendant, called the latest devel-

opments a “moral victory” for the op-position.

“The rulings show that the authori-

ties have to respect the right of citizens

enshrined in the constitution to assem-

ble peacefully,” he told AFP.

A former deputy prime minister

and rising ruling-party star, Anwar was

sacked in a 1998 falling-out with his

boss, then-premier Mahathir Moha-

mad, and jailed on sodomy and corrup-

tion charges in an episode that rocked

Malaysian politics. l

Pakistan teen diesstopping suicidebomber

nReuters

A Pakistani schoolboy who died stop-

ping a suicide bomber from attacking

his school has been recommended for

the country’s highest civilian award, a

provincial police chief said.

On yesterday, Nasir Khan Durrani

recommended Aitezaz for Pakistan’s

top civilian award - Sitara-e-Imtiaz.

Aitezaz Hassan, 15, tackled the

bomber as he tried to enter a govern-

ment school in the north-western

province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Hassan and the bomber died, but

no other students or staff were hurt,

police said.

“Though I lost my sweet son I have

no regret for what he has done. He

has done a heroic job and I am proud

of his bravery,” Mujahid Ali, Aitezaz’s

father, told Reuters news agency. The bomber approached the school with

explosives hidden under a school uni-

form on Monday, but students noticed

and started shouting out warnings

to stop him.

Aitezaz tackled him head on, but the

bomb detonated and Aitezaz died of his

injuries, said head teacher Azmat Ali.

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni Muslim

sectarian group, claimed responsibility

for the attack. The school is in Hangu, a

predominantly Shia Muslim area.

The boy’s parents said no govern-

ment offi cial or politician had contact-

ed them. Aitezaz’s father said authori-

ties could rename the school after him

and offi ciall y declare hi m a martyr, a

designation that would bring some fi-

nancial relief to his family.

His mother, brother, and two sisters

were mourning Aitezaz, but took some

comfort in knowing that he had saved

many others, the father said. l

Karzai unlikely to meet US security deadlinenAFP, Washington

The top US negotiator in talks to secure

a long-term security deal with Afghan-

istan has warned that President Hamid

Karzai is unlikely to sign the agreement

on time, The Washington Post reported

Thursday.

The assessment was made in re-

cent days by US Ambassador James

Cunningham in a classified cable, after

President Barack Obama’s administra-

tion repeatedly extended the deadline

for the agreement, originally due to be

signed early last fall.White House spokesman Jay Carney

said this week that the deal must be

signed within “weeks and not months.”

“The clock is ticking,” he said.

But Cunningham said he did not ex-

pect Karzai to agree to sign the docu-

ment before presidential elections set

to be held in April.

USAfghan ties hit a new low in re-

cent months after Karzai made a sur-

prise decision not to sign the BilateralSecurity Agreement promptly, despite

having vowed to do so.

The BSA would see several thousand

US troops remain in Afghanistan to pro-

vide training and assistance after the

NATO combat mission ends in December.

Signing the BSA is a precondition for

the delivery ons of dollars in Western

aid for Afghanistan.

“We continue to urge President Kar-

zai to sign the BSA promptly,” a seniorState Departm ent offi cial told t he Post

when asked about Cunningham’s cable.

President Barack Obama’s deputies

have warned that unless Karzai relents

on the security deal soon, there will be

no option but to prepare for a full US

troop exit – the so-called “zero option.”

“If we cannot conclude a bilateral

security agreement promptly, then we

will be forced to initiate planning for a

post-2014 future in which there would

be no US, nor NATO troop presence in

Afghanistan,” Carney warned Monday.

“That’s not the future we’re seek-

ing,” he added. “But the further this

slips into 2014, the more likely that

outcome will come to pass.”l

Cambodia opposition warnof ‘final’ push against PMnAFP, Phnom Penh

Cambodia’s opposition warned strong-

man premier Hun Sen of a “final cam-

paign” against him unless fresh elec-

tions are held, as it rallied yesterday in

the country’s northwest despite recent

bloody crackdowns on protesters.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy and

his deputy Kem Sokha met hundreds of

supporters in Siem Reap province after

authorities banned anti-government

rallies in the capital and renewed calls

for Hun Sen to resign over alleged vote

fraud in July 2013 polls.

“If he does not agree to a new election,

we will start the final campaign. That will

be to make him step down,” Kem Sokha

told a cheering crowd, according to a live

stream from the rally on his Cambodia

National Rescue Party website.

Authorities chased opposition pro-testers from their rally site in the capital

Phnom Penh on Saturday and banned

all anti-government demonstrations

indefinitely after bloody clashes be-

tween striking garment workers and

security forces that saw police shoot

several people dead.

In the face of growing international

alarm, the government has defended

the crackdown, denouncing the rallies

against Hun Sen as violent and illegal.

Rainsy and Kem Sokha, who have

been summoned to Phnom Penh Mu-

nicipal Court on January 14 for ques-

tioning in connection with the recent

unrest, are planning similar rallies in

two more provinces over the weekend.

“We are not scared, brothers. We

did not commit any wrongdoing,” Sam

Rainsy told supporters as they chanted

“Step down, Hun Sen.”

The rally was peaceful, local wit-

nesses told AFP, although a few securi-ty offi cers were depl oyed nearby.

Rainsy’s CNRP has boycotted parlia-

ment since last year’s election, alleging

that Hun Sen was returned to power

because of widespread vote-rigging.

The Cambodian premier, who has

ruled for 28 years, has faced mount-

ing criticism over his rights record as

well as accusations of excessive force

against demonstrators.

Last Friday police opened fire on

striking garment factory employees

demanding a minimum wage of $160

per month for their work in an industry

which supplies brands including Gap,

Nike and H&M.

Rights activists said at least four

civilians were shot dead in what they

described as the country’s worst state

violence against its citizens in 15 years.

The strike has since been called off

and most of the garment workers havereturned to work.

In the clearance of the long-stand-

ing opposition rally site in a Phnom

Penh park on Saturday, activists said

dozens of security personnel armed

with shields and batons chased away

hundreds of protesters – including

monks, women and children.

Hun Sen, 61, has vowed to stay in

power until he is 74.l

India, US reach deal to end feud,count cost of damagenAFP, New Delhi

The United States and India ended

a month-long feud over a diplomat

who was arrested, strip-searched and

charged in New York for visa fraud with

a deal yesterday allowing the envoy to

fly home.

The row began on December 12

when consulate offi cial Devyani Kho-

bragade w as arrested on suspicion of

filing false documents to obtain a visa

for her domestic servant and then un-

derpaying her.

Her arrest outside her children’s

school and treatment in custody, when

the mother-of-two said she was sub-

jected to a cavity search, outraged In-

dia which claimed she benefited from

diplomatic immunity.

US prosecutors disputed this be-cause she was a consu lar offi cial, lea d-

ing New Delhi to request Washington

to grant her a G1 visa given to diplo-

mats at India’s UN mission which is

also in New York.

“Devyani given G1 visa by USA ac-

cording her full diplomatic immunity.

India transfers her back. She is now

flying home,” Indian foreign ministry

spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said in

a tweet that confirmed the deal. Just

hours earlier, prosecutors had filed

charges against her in a New York court.

The deal ends the dispute, but the

two countries which had embraced

each other as strategic partners must

now count the cost of weeks of feisty

exchanges which have left resentment

on both sides.

India has removed extra security

barriers at the US embassy in New Del-

hi, has demanded contract details for

domestic staff employed by American

diplomats and even stopped the mis-

sion importing duty-free alcohol.

On Wednesday, it ordered an embas-

sy leisure centre popular with Amer-

ican expatriates in the capital to stop

admitting non-diplomatic members,

while schedu led visits by US offi cials to

India have been cancelled.

The United States through pres-

idents George W. Bush and Barack

Obama has invested heavily in im-

proving ties with India which it has

embraced as part of its “pivot” to Asia,

designed to check Chinese influence.

The row exposed a gulf in perceptionsand values between the two countries.

Khobragade, a wealthy 39-year-

old, was seen at home as the victim of

heavy-handed policing and her treat-

ment was viewed as a humiliation of

India by the world’s superpower.

Domestic servants are routine for

the middle classes in India where few

employees have contracts, many are

abused, and none make even a f raction

of the US minimum wage.

In the United States, there was littlepublic sympathy for a woman allegedly

exploiting a vulnerable employee who

had lied to bring her to the country.

“We are proud Indians. We may be a

poor country but we don’t compromise

the sovereignty of the country,” Kho-

bragade’s father, Uttam, told a press

conference on yesterday.

“We as a family would not like to touch

the soil of a country that treats a human

being in such a way,” he added, saying

that Khobragade’s children and American

husband would follow her to India. l

Sri Lanka protests USwar crimes remarks

nAFP, Colombo

Sri Lanka said yesterday it would pro-

test to the United States over its alle-

gations that army shelling killed hun-

dreds of families during the final days

of the island’s ethnic civil war.

A senior foreign ministry offi cial

said the allegation, made in a US em-

bassy tweet Thursday, would be dis-

cussed with visiting Ambassador for

Global Criminal Justice Stephen Rapp.

“Our minister (G. L. Peiris) will take

it up face-to-face with ambassador

Rapp,” the offi cial to ld AFP, asking not

to be named.

Rapp arrived in Sri Lanka Monday

on a five-day vis it to meet offi cials an d

politicians to discuss Sri Lanka’s rightsrecord and attempts at reconciliation

five years after the end of war.

The US embassy posted on Twitter

a photo of Rapp and its ambassador

Michele Sison from the island’s former

battle zone with the caption: “St Antha-

ny’s Ground - site of Jan 2009 killing of

hundreds of families by army shelling.”

US diplomats in Colombo told AFP

the tweet reflected Washington’s

toughening human rights policy to-

wards Sri Lanka.

“This twee t reflects offi cial govern -

ment stance,” an embassy offi cial said,speaking on condition of anonymity.

Sri Lanka has denied charges that

up to 40,000 ethnic Tamil civilians

were killed by the army during the final

push that crushed Tamil rebels fight-

ing for a separate homeland. Sri Lanka

maintains that not a single civilian was

killed by troops and in November or-

dered a census of war casualties.

The country’s main Tamil political

party has rejected the count as a sham

and says it will collate its own figures.

The UN estimates that the conflict

for a separate homeland for ethnic

Tamils in the Sinhalese-majority na-

tion cost at least 100,000 lives between

1972 and 2009. l

Devyani Khobragade AFP

In the face of growinginternational alarm, the

government has defendedthe crackdown, denouncingthe rallies against Hun Sen asviolent and illegal

Lightning streaks across the sky of Montevideo, over the Legislative Palace – seat of the Uruguayan Government – during a thund erstorm

early on January 10 AFP

The blaze destroyed atleast 10 structures but nocasualties had been reported,the report said



Rich got richer, poorpoorer in 2013January 5

P Bidhan

This is very normal for a country with a large

number of corrupt politicians and civil servants,

and a dishonest, educated society.

Shakerul Tazu

Oh, really? Somebody finally speaks out about

it. Thanks!

Ban on 11 types of vehiclesJanuary 5

Arafat Rahman

What type of vehicles are allowed then??

P Ahmed

This is worse than a hartal or blockade. And

imposed by the government, supposedly

defending democracy!

Hasina: We tried best for BNPJanuary 3

Aleef Khan

RIP democracy in Bangladesh! My voting right

is denied.

If she has any grace left, she would stop this

staged and one-sided election to prevent the

country from going into a deep crisis.

Dear PM, when the people rise up, you

will not only endanger yourself, your party

and fellow supporters, but will also face the

threat of extinction. To save yourself and the

country, reach a consensus with the opposition

for a poll-time govt. There is nothing to lose

in compromise, rather you may gain for your

magnanimity.

Akhtar Shah

AL is completely faultless I presume!

Time for the BNP

to cut Jamaat loose

In a recent interview with the New York Times, Khaleda Zia gavehints that the BNP might consider cutting its long-standing ties withJamaat-e-Islami.That she is giving this move any thought at all is a good sign, and

might work to the advantage of her party. But it might be time for BNPnot to think of this only in terms of strategy or tactics, but in terms ofthe party’s long-term platform.

Between the elections of 2008 and the more recent Shahbagh move-ment, and most crucially with the abiding support for war crimes, it has become clear as day that there islittle tolerance in this country forthe kind of politics represented byJamaat.

While Jamaat has served as agood tactical ally in electoral seatsharing in the past, the war crimes baggage and now the horrors ofmore recent violence make themtoo toxic an association for any-one seeking broad-based support.

Jamaat-Shibir activists werealready infamous for their brutalviolence against other activistsand law enforcement, but theyhave gone so far as to target thegeneral public in the past year.The sickening violence on andafter election day serve as further reminders of the costs to the BNP ofmaintaining such an alliance.

From the time Jamaat joined the 18-party alliance, there have beeninternal disagreements with some party policymakers showing discom-fort with having Jamaat in the fold.

Khaleda Zia has rightly said that her party’s internal decisions aretheirs. We understand this, and it is to her and her party’s best intereststhat we appeal.

There was always notable support for BNP’s demands for a free andfair election. Free of Jamaat, BNP might have succeeded in building amore successful movement for that demand through peaceful means.The murky coupling with Jamaat and its agenda of foiling war crimestrials through violence has hurt BNP’s legitimate demands badly.

Cutting Jamaat loose would also put the government on the spotas Sheikh Hasina has said on more than one occasion that she wouldwelcome dialogue with BNP if it put an end to violence and dropped itsalliance with Jamaat.

It is clearer than ever before that BNP stands to gain by cutting Jamaatloose, sooner rather than later.

Storm in a teacup

The swearing in of 289 MPs has taken place, albeit amid somecontroversy. Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury conducted theoath-taking ceremony a few days ago, though the 10th parliament

does not go into effect until January 24.Many people, including some of our legal and constitutional experts,

have raised a hue and cry about this legal debate, with BNP’s actingsecretary general going so faras dubbing it a violation of theconstitution.

Under our reading, the proce-dure being followed is both con-stitutional and logical. But, moreto the point, we do not thinkspecious arguments on this issueare either helpful or enlightening.

Arguing about whether theswearing-in is unconstitutional ornot is a non-issue, in our opinion.

This is hardly where the focusshould be. We have much biggerproblems that need to be dealtwith.

Over the past months, Bangla-desh has been combating a crisisof democracy, with numerous arson attacks, crude bomb attacks, as wellas atrocities on minority communities across the nation. On top of that,the blockades have dealt a crippling blow to our economy.

This is where the focus should be, on finding a workable solution tothe crisis, on holding those behind the attacks accountable, on repairingthe damage that’s done to the economy, and making the nation safe forthe public.

While we congratulate the MPs on taking their oaths, we hope thatthey understand their constitutional obligations, and act accordingly forthe public good.

Legal nit-picki ng about when they take offi ce and what happens untilthen is neither here nor there. There is far more serious business toattend to.

Editorial10

www.dhakatribune.com

DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, January 11, 2014

LETTER OF THE DAY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

Letters to the Editor

Low voter turnout logical,

says CECJanuary 5

There should be re-elections in the 154 seats,

where about 50 million voters were deprived of

exercising their voting right, especially in constitu-

encies where candidates were forced to withdraw

by their own parties.

Parveen

Shibir man dead

in Chittagong clashJanuary 5

Are police permitted to open fire?

Zahirul Islam Shawon

Children are used to carry out

political agendaJanuary 7

The other day during hartal, I was going to

GPO from the Motijheel Commercial Area for

work. When crossing the road in front of BDBL

Bhaban, all of a sudden I saw a minor boy being

escorted by the police force, and some people

making a hue and cry. I approached the mob and

wanted to know what was going on. I was flab-

bergasted. The minor boy, aged 12, was caught

red-handed by the police, about to set a CNG

ablaze, then taken in to police custody.

At this age, he should be in school, instead of

being engaged in a political party’s agenda. But

this is not new in our country, where many chil-

dren remain below the poverty line, and beyond

the light of education.

Children are used implement political agen-

da by being offered money. They never dare to

carry out any order since they have nothing to

lose. Political parties have to commit to not us-

ing children in their political programmes, and

strictly follow through. Here, civil society and

NGOs can play a significant role to create pres-

sure on political parties.

Md Zonaed Emran

Our focus should beon finding a workablesolution to the crisis, onrepairing the damage

that’s done to theeconomy, and makingthe nation safe for thepublic

The war crimesbaggage and nowthe horrors of morerecent violence makeJamaat too toxic anassociation for anyone

seeking broad-basedsupport

LETTER OF

THE WEEK

Democracy at a crossroadsJanuary 5

Ifty Islam’s full page essay on the above subject

succinctly portrays the total decline and

downfall of democracy in Bangladesh today. All

political, civic and moral principles have been

battered by our self-centred politicians.

This writer feels that for us democracy has

reached a dead end. Maybe we should forget

it, and the alternative of “autocracy” or even

“dictatorship” may be a better option. At least

it will ensure peace and law and order for the

common man, which is their prime need,

instead of this “bent and broken” governance

by democracy.

When all is said and done, democracy is

dead, and our future smeared in uncertainty

of lawlessness and destruction, fights and end-

less rowdiness.

The way we are going, it is an invitation for

total destruction of the country due to the un-

manageable infighting between the political

parties. That is the irony of our fate!

SA Mansoor

A cruel joke from the ECJanuary 6

On January 3, I received a message in my mobile phone. It was a government information text issued by

the election commission.

It said: “Apnar vote apnar gonotantrik odhikar, apnar vote, apnar pochondo. Dayittoshil vabe po-

chonder prarthike, dekhe shuney, bujhe apnar vote din – election commission.”

I just cannot believe my eyes. How could the Election Commission send such a message? It is auda-

cious, and reflects a total disregard for people’s feelings and their rights.

153 candidates have already been elected uncontested, and 47 candidates are going to be elected in

a rigging process. In the one-sided January 5 election, the government is depriving people of their basic

rights. For its autocratic decision, the country is falling to pieces.

Nur Jahan

Be Heard

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How to solve

Sudoku:

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 num-

ber repeating.

CROSSWORD YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

ACROSS

1 Effective power (5)

4 Inflamed swelling (4)

7 Land measure (3)

8 Make brown (3)

9 Practical intelligence (5)

12 Incline (4)

13 Showed contempt (7)

15 Pale (3)

16 Secret agent (3)

18 Top card (3)

19 Used a chair (3)

21 Regain health (7)

24 Faithful (4)

26 On two occasions (5)

27 Tool (3)

28 Transgression (3)

29 Judge (4)

30 Explosion (5)

DOWN

1 Church service (4)

2 Peaceful (6)

3 Inherited character unit (4)

4 Hairless (4)

5 Numeral (3)

6 Rangy (5)

10 Ply the needle (3)

11 Efface (5)

14 Make into a statute (5)

17 Abstract (6)

18 Performed (5)

20 Pull along (3)

21 Quantity of paper (4)

22 Passport

endorsement (4)

23 Payment for

property use (4)

25 Employ (3)

Crossword

Code-Cracker

SUDOKU



What kind of a nation do we want?

11Op-Ed Saturday, January 11, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

nShazia Omar

Every day, we as a nation, openthe papers and look with horror

and sadness at the meaningless

violence taking place in our country.

While our politicians play games for

power, it is our poorest people that

suffer most. Day labourers are unable

to work or earn without risking their

lives, and as a result, their families

go without meals, sometimes go into

debt, and are thrown into such depths

of poverty, that they may never be ableto climb out of their nightmare.

Little boys taking lunch to their

fathers and mothers who cannot afford

to stay home are hit by bullets and lie

bloody on our roads, as we wonder

how our “leaders” will get over their

differences and let democracy play

itself out. We want our leaders to stop

nurturing personal bank accounts and

instead, do what we are voting them

into power for – and that is – serve the

people.

In our beloved country, 17.6% of

the population lives below the lower

poverty line. That is approximately25 million extremely poor people or 6

million extremely poor families.

Jui is an extremely poor girl I met in

Rajshahi. She is chronically underfed,

malnourished and frequently ill. She

faces social, economic and gender

exclusion. Her father left her mother,

as is common among extremely poor

families. Her mother owns no assets,

savings or land. She has no skills or

education. They will remain in abject

poverty throughout their lives and

from one generation to the next.

Is this the sort of country we want?What is your vision of our country in

ten years? What sort of country do

we dream of? Let us dare to dream

big. Let us dare to dream of a nation

where young single mothers are not

left without support to raise beautiful

daughters like Jui, where children can

eat, learn to read and write, find safe

jobs, and live with dignity.

National successes

Bangladesh, despite its huge

population, political instability

and climatic vulnerability, has

had remarkable achievements in

development. We invented Micro

Finance and ORS. We have had great

results against MDG indicators. We

have reduced maternal mortality,

improved family planning and scored

well on several social indicators. We

have achieved significant reductions

in poverty, including, extreme poverty,

over the past 10 years. Women’s

participation in economic activity has

increased from 8% to 57% between

1983 and 2011, putting Bangladesh

ahead of neighbours such as India

(29%), Pakistan (22%), and Sri Lanka

(35%). Our success is considered a

paradox and has made us the global

poster child of development. The

world looks to us to lead the way in

poverty-reducing innovations.

National challenges

Economic growth is high but the

benefits don’t trickle down to the

poorest. We are still a nation with high

inequality, governance challenges,

lack of justice, especially for the

poorest, rights and entitlements are

not always upheld, political instability,

poor infrastructure, not enough jobs,

vulnerability to climate change.

What can we do?

We will be judged as a nation by the

way we treat our poorest. How can

we answer to our own conscience and

to our children if we do not move to

eliminate this poverty?

Transforming extreme poverty into

economic capacity

These conditions need not continue.

Evidence shows that with adequate

support, families can climb out

of extreme poverty. Bangladeshhas several successful programs

(CLP, BRACCFPR, shiree, REOPA,

FSUP, Nobo Jibon, UPPR) that have

transformed the lives of the extreme

poor through asset transfers or

vocational skills training. Let’s scale

up our efforts.

Benefits of eradicating extreme

povertySome of the benefits are obvious – the

elimination of severe hardship and

suffering of 25 million fellow citizens,national solidarity and pride. Also,

this will mean enhanced economic

benefit for all of us. As the extreme

poor join the economy, they will

consume, produce and buy more.

Our labour force will be stronger (well

nourished, skilled, capable) and there

will be a multiplier effect, increasing

economic growth. Internationally we

will also b e better respected.

Manifesto for the Extreme Poor

The Manifesto for the Extreme Poor

is a civil society document that has

received great national support from

private sector companies, civil society

organizations, donors, NGOs, think

tanks and academics.

One demand

The Manifesto has one demand: the

complete eradication of extreme

poverty from Bangladesh by 2022. All

the pieces of the jigsaw already exist

for rapid eradication of poverty, now

it’s a matter of setting a target andworking towards this clear objective.

Yes, 2022 is an ambitious target, but

why not be ambitious? 2021/2022

is a significant year for Bangladesh

symbolically – our 50th anniversary. If

we eradicate extreme poverty by 2022,

the nation will truly have come of age.

Once we establish a healthy,

democratically elected government,

let us start to tackle issues of real

relevance. L et only those who love

to serve their people come into

power and then, let us work together,

those of us who can, to mobilise the

resources and actions necessary to

relieve 25 million people of their pain

and suffering. We can be a country

where girls like Jui will have a fair

chance at a good life. Let us honour

our nation and our independence and build the beautiful Bangladesh we are

meant to be. l

Shazia Omar is Head of Advocacy at Shiree.

The death penaltydilemmanMH Bari

Does society need the death

penalty? It is the million dollarquestion now, as voices in fa-

vour of certain universal human rights

are getting stronger day by day.

The EU countries, Australia, Cana-

da, and some US states have abolished

capital punishment. The UN opposes

the imposition of the death penalty

under any circumstance, even for the

most serious crimes. However, Bangla-

desh has retained the practice of death

penalty as punishment.

Proponents of the death penalty say

it is an important tool for preserving

law and order, that it deters crime,

and costs less than life imprisonment.

They argue that retribution, or “an eye

for an eye,” honours the victim, helps

console grieving families, and ensures

that the perpetrators of heinous crimes

never have the opportunity to causefuture tragedy.

Those who support capital punish-

ment argue that all guilty people de-

serve to be punished in proportion tothe severity of their crime. It is argued

that death penalty provides closure for

victims’ families. Some proponents of

capital punishment argue it is benefi-

cial for society overall. It is undeniable

that those who have been executed

cannot commit further crimes.

On the other hand, opponents

of capital punishment say it has no

deterrent effect on crime, that it

wrongly gives governments the power

to take human life, and it perpetuates

social injustices by being racist and

classist, disproportionately handing

out punishment to minorities or the

underprivileged. They say lifetime jail

sentences are a more severe and less

expensive punishment than death.

Everyone thinks human life is

valuable. Opponents say everyone,

even those who commit murder, havean inalienable right to their own life.

Sentencing a person to death and exe-

cuting them violates that right. Thoseagainst capital punishment believe

that human life is so valuable that

even the worst murderers should not

be deprived of their right to live.

Those who are against capital pun-

ishment also argue that death penalty

is wrong because it lowers the dignity

of people, that it is a surrender to the

worst that is in human beings, that it

uses a sort of power – the offi cial pow-

er to kill by execution – that has never

elevated a society, never brought back

a life, and never inspired anything but

hate.

The most common and most cogent

argument against capital punishment

is that innocent people may also get

killed because of mistakes or flaws in

the justice system. Witnesses, (when

they are part of the process), prosecu-

tors, and jurors can all make mistakes.

When this is coupled with flaws in the

system, it is inevitable that sometimes

innocent people will be convicted ofcrimes.

Where capital punishment is used,

such mistakes cannot be set right. An-

other important and crucial argument

against retribution is that it is immoral.In addition to all these issues sur-

rounding capital punishment, some

argue that all ways of executing people

cause so much suffering to the con-

demned person that they amount to

torture, and are therefore wrong. Many

methods of execution are quite likely

to cause enormous suffering, such as

beheading, execution by lethal gas,

electrocution and so on.

A number of points can be made

to logically argue against the death

penalty. There is a better alternative:

life without parole. The death penalty

puts innocent lives at risk. Race and

place determine who lives and who

dies. Poor legal defence leaves many

sentenced to death. Capital punish-

ment does not deter crimes. Thereis a better way to help the families

of murder victims. No civilian’s job

description should include killing

another person.

It may be noted that people are not

born criminals. Rather, it is society

that makes them criminals. Two of the

main causes for crimes are fear and

want. We know that human rights are

freedom from fear and want. If we can

enforce human rights effectively, then

society will be automatically peaceful.

Why should we go f or punishments

that cannot deter or stop crime? It

would be good if the state could usethem in better ways, keeping criminals

in custody for life.

We are a developing steadily, ourrate of education is increasing and our

illiteracy rate is decreasing. The pov-

erty level is going down and our per

capita income has crossed $1000. More

importantly, we are practicing the

most sophisticated system of govern-

ance, democracy, which is supposed to

protect human rights.

Bangladesh is a signatory of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

(UDHR) and the International Bill of

Rights. So, Bangladesh might want to

consider scrapping the death penalty

from its penal code.

The death penalty might someday

become unlawful in Bangladesh. It

will, at that point, be a reflection of

the larger social consensus that capital

punishment is inhumane. l

MH Bari works in the global marketing ofseafood from Bangladesh.

nM Shamsul Haque

The 10th parliamentaryelection was held amidst a

lot of confusion, obstruc-

tions, and violence. During

the period preceding the

election, many substantive issues

were raised and discussed widely in

the media. Issues such as there being

too much of a concentration of power

in the hands of the prime minister,

restrictions on floor-crossing by the

elected members from one party to

another, and frequent boycotting of

parliament sessions by the opposition

were raised.

All these made the government of

the country seem unaccountable and

authoritarian. In this regard, Afsan

Chowdhury said the 15th amendment

was passed to make electio ns diffi cult

for everyone except the ruling party.The enormous phase of violence was

a joint product of the AL and the BNP.

There was no need to pass this when

no compulsion existed. The reaction ofthe BNP supported by Jamaat showed

how deeply callous our politicians

can be. But together, it showed, after

42 years we hadn’t yet found out aconstitutional way to rule and transfer

power through elections.”

Too much authority given to

parliament members made the local

government institutions virtually

ineffective. The powerful position of

MPs allowed them to accumulate vastamounts of wealth at the cost of good

local governance, as it is revealed in

their submission to the election com-

mission.

Dr Kamal Hossain, in this

connection, expressed that parliament

and its members could be more

effective if the functioning of parties

could be brought into conformity with

the mandates of the constitution.

He said Article 70 of the constitution

appeared to have made members

apprehensive of speaking out on

issues for fear of incurring their party’s

displeasure.

Reforms needed to be carefully

considered to strengthenparliamentary democracy. If the

strategic goals set for 2021 were to

succeed, meaningful change had to

be made in our institutions and ourpolitical behavior.

Too much centralisation of power at

the headquarters of the government in

Dhaka has hindered expected growth

some of the regions, especially the

northwestern parts of the country

such as North Bengal, as well as some

southern districts.

As a result of this deprivation,

people in these areas clearly showed

their disliking of the Awami League

government at the centre. These re-

vealed preferences of the people needto be recognised through changes in

the constitution of the country before

another election is held under the

existing constitution.

It may be mentioned that w hen

Bangladesh became independentin 1971, it had a population of

only 75 million. The current

population is about 160 million.

To deliver public services to this

vast growing population requires

effective legislative and executive

decentralisation.

There are many countries such as

Sri Lanka and Malaysia with less than

one third of our population that have

provincial legislature and govern-

ments under federal systems. Profes-

sor Rehman Sobhan opined that 2013

had brought into full public view the

weaknesses of our democratic system.

Can Bangladesh adopt a federal

system similar to Malaysia or Sri

Lanka, with Dhaka city being like NewDelhi?

It may be mentioned that fo rmer

president HM Ershad, during his

regime in the 1980s, proposed

the creation of 4-5 provinces, and

devolved government. But hismove was stopped by the High

Court as it was against the unitary

form of governance laid out in our

constitution.

Perhaps it is time that we take

his idea seriously, and establish a

high-powered constitutional commis-

sion to study and propose necessary

legislation in the 10th parliament.

This has become essential now, given

the dysfunctional state of governance

under the existing unitary system.

While these legislative and adminis-

trative changes are being deliberated,

it would be appropriate of the current

AL government to make the upazilla

system more active and effective.

There is going to be a new round

of elections in the upazilas soon.

Before these elections are held, thegovernment must curtail all the

powers and positions given to the

MPs as they have been, by and large,

misused and caused quite somedissatisfaction among the people.

They should, especially, be withdrawn

from their chairmanships of schools

and colleges.

Headmasters and principals should

be made ex offi cio chairs of manag-

ing committees with all powers. In

addition, administrative and financial

control of educational institutions

should be placed under district educa-

tion offi ces. l

M Shamsul Haque is Vice-Chancellor,Northern University Bangladesh.

To deliver public services to this vast growingpopulation requires effective legislative andexecutive decentralisation

Our success isconsidered a paradoxand has made us theglobal poster child of

development

Why should we gofor punishments thatcannot deter or stopcrime?

We will be judged as a nation by the way we treat ourpoorest. How can we answer to our own conscienceif we do not move to eliminate this poverty?

Decentralise to move forward

Time to move the power around?



EntertainmentDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, January 11, 201412

ExhibitionShilpacharya and his Outer

World of Art

Time: 12pm-8pm

Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts

House 42, Road 16 (New) / 27

(old), Dhanmondi

City of Rhythm

Second phase of Kazi

Salahuddin Ahmed

Time: 128pm

Shilpangan

House 7, Road 13 (New)

Dhanmondi

Zainul Quamrul Exhibition

Time: 10am – 8pm

Nalini Kanta Bhattasali Gallery

National Museum

Shahbagh

FilmPacific Rim in 3D

Escape Plan

The Conjuring

The Hunger Games: Catching

Fire

Star Cineplex

Bashundhara City

Gravity

Blockbuster Cinemas

Jamuna Future Park

Ka-244, Kuril

Pragati Avenue, Dhaka

TODAY IN DHAKA

A scene form Mahfuz Ahmed’s new mega serial Amader Chhoto Nodi Chole Bake Bake

Mahfuz Ahmed bringsyet another mega seriesnPunny Kabir

After bringing out one after another successful

mega serials, eminent TV actor and director Mah-

fuz Ahmed is all set to entertain the audience of

small screen with a remarkable record in main-

taining quality. Directed and scripted by Mahfuz

Ahmed, new mega serial Amader Chhoto Nodi

Chole Bake Bake will begin airing today on Chan-

nel i at 7:50pm.

The drama features a rural storyline and the

cast includes Misha Saudagar, Raunak Hasan, P u-

nam Hasan Jui, Nader Chowdhury and others.

Dhaka Tribune managed to have a conversa-

tion with Mahfuz Ahmed who, besides being a

popular actor, has gained huge acclaims as a di-

rector for the serials such as Tomar Doyay Bhalo

Achhi Ma, Buno Chaltar Gaye, Choita Pagol and

more.

Tell us the concept and story of the newproduction.

The title Amader Chhoto Nodi Chole Bake Bake is

taken from Tagore’s poem which is a loved poem

to everyone who loves the beauty and serenity of

the villages of our country. But, ironically our ru-

ral community is no more a sweet place. Corrup-

tion has engulfed the villages. From educational

institutes to government organisations to NGOs—

corruption is everywhere. The series p ortrays the

sad reality of the villages.

What are the other features of the serial?

I grew up in a village and know what a real village

looks like. So I am shooting the serial in different

locations of greater Noakhali belt which depict

the diverse landscape of our rural life. Most of

other TV plays featuring rural storyline are shot

in Gazipur and Pubail which do not represent the

wide variety of our rural landscape.

Why do you prefer rural stories for your serials?

I have a deep connection with village since I grew

up there. As the new generation directors are less

interested in narrating stories of village people I

feel that I should keep o n presenting such tales.

The serial presents the mighty villain of

Dhallywood film, Misha Saudagar, for the first

time in TV. What made you cast him?

In this serial I have chosen such actors who are

not very regular faces in TV. I feel that the TV

audience is tired of seeing some common faces

in repetitive manner. Misha Saudagar has never

worked in TV before and this time he is enacting

a role fully opposite what he is used to doing infilms. It was a great challenge for me and a direc-

tor always looks for challenges.

Are you playing any character in the serial?No. Though I have acted in Choita Pagol, I prefer

not to appear in productions I direct. It hampers

my concentration.

Are you acting in any other projects right now?I have signed for Animesh Aich’s upcoming film

Zero Degree, and this is the only project I have in

my hands right now.

Why are you not regular on TV screen?These days the industry has a sheer lack of new

stories and experimental directors. The repetitive

stories and common narrations made me very

tired. So I’m taking a break. l

Tanjina Tomaperforms todayat IGCCnEntertainment Desk

Tagore singer Tanjina Toma will per-

form today at Indira Gandhi Cultural

Centre in Gulshan today at 6:30pm at

the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre.

Tanjina Toma has trained in Rabin-

dra Sangeet at the prestigious Ch-

hayanaut and has also trained under

renowned gurus such as late Wahidul

Haque and Dr Sanjida Khatun. She is

serving as a teacher of Rabindra San-

geet in Chhayanaut for the last 10 years.

A gifted artist, Toma rendered her

voice in Balmiki Prathibha, a joint

Bangladesh-India production in 2010,

and also in a documentary titled Ban- gladeshey Rabindranath, produced on

the occasion of Tagore’s 150th birth

anniversary celebrations and screenedin Bangladesh, India, UK and Australia.

Toma is a senior grade artist and reg-

ular performer for Bangladesh TV and

Bangladesh Betar. She has so far released

has released two solo albums: Modhu Ja-mini from Bangladesh in 2011 and Jibon

Kotha from Kolkata in May, 2013. l

Thor comes to DhakanEntertainment Desk

Star Cineplex brings the 2011 Amer-

ican superhero film Thor based on

the comic book character of the same

name published by Marvel Comics.

The film is directed by Kenneth

Branagh, written by Ashley Edward

Miller, Zack Stentz and Don Payne,

and stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie

Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Antho-

ny Hopkins and many more.

The powerful but arrogant god

Thor is cast out of the fantastic

realm of Asgard by his father Odin

(Hopkins) for his arrogance and is

ordered to live amongst humans in

Midgard (Earth). He soon becomes

one of the finest defenders of earth.

While there, he forms a relation-

ship with Jane Foster (Portman)

who teaches him much-needed les-

sons, and his new-found strength

comes into play as a villain from his

homeland sends dark forces toward

Earth. However, Thor must stop his

adopted brother Loki, who intends

to become the new king of Asgard.l

‘Item girl’ tag derogatory and silly:Malaika Arora KhannEntertainment Desk

An “item song,” in Indian cinema, is a musical performance

that has little to do with the film in which it appears, butis presented to showcase beautiful dancing women in re-

vealing clothes, to lend support to the marketability of the

film. The dancer who appears in an item number is known

as an item girl.

Bollywood actor Malaika Arora Khan, whose popular

item numbers like Chaiyya Chaiyya and Munni Badnam Hui have raised the bar for her contemporaries to match

her style, finds the “item girl” tag “derogatory and silly.”

“I don’t like the term ‘item girl’. Why not look at it (item

song) as a special song? I find it derogatory and silly,” Ma-

laika told in an interview.

Unlike in the past, currently mainstream actresses

like Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka

Chopra, Katrina Kaif and others are appearing such songs

in different films.

Though Malaika has proved herself as a dancer on

screen, but one format she wants to learn is belly dancing.

“I would love to learn popping, locking and robotics,

gymnastics and acrobatics, it is amazing to learn these

things. I know basic thing about belly dancing but not the

technicalities, I want to learn it. I want to learn belly danc-

ing. I wish to learn more of dancing. I have been associated

with dance since long time b ut yet there is so much more to

learn about it,” she said.

Malaika says the space of belly dancing is largely unex-plored in Bollywood movies.

“We have done a few steps here and there in films,

whether Deepika Padukone or Katrina Kaif they all have

done it but not the real part. There is no one who has actu-

ally done belly dancing on screen.Besides belly dancing, the 40-year-old actress would

like to do some bike stunts and acrobatics, which she says

fascinate her. l

26 films to be screened at DhakaInternational Film Festival todaynEntertainment Desk

Twenty-six films including six Bangla-

deshi films will be screened on the second

day of the 13th Dhaka International Film

Festival (DIFF) at different venues across

the capital today.

The films cover six categories- “Retro-

spective,” “Cinema of the World,” “Chil-

dren’s Film, “Women Filmmakers,” “Short

and Independent Films Section,” and

“Spiritual Films Section.”

The festival features a competition in

three categories- Asian and Australian and

those of the six segments.

Five films will be screened today at the

National Museum auditorium from 10am

to 9pm in the “Cinema of the World” cat-

egory. Antaral, directed by Nepali film

maker Dipa Basnet will be screened at

10:30am, Beauty by Argentinian director

Daniela Seggiaro at 1pm, Polvo by Julio

Hemandez Cordon at 3pm, Ghetu Putra Komola directed by Humayun Ahmed at

5:30pm and Chorabalidirected by Redoan

Rony at 7:30.

Sixteen films will b e screened including

four Bangladeshi films short films will be

screened at the Sufia Kamal Auditorium.

In the Independent and Spiritual Sec-

tion, Folk Faith by Shahiduzzaman Badal,

36-24-36 by Bratto Amin, Bish Kabya (The Poison Teller) and Shohor Kabya (TheCity Song) by Shabnam Ferdousi will be

screened from 1pm to 3pm.

Foreign films- Irrompibles by Luis Gra-

jera f rom Spain, Solo by Mina Yonezawa

from Japan, Long Days by Simin Fallahza-

deh Tehrani from Iran, The Red Soil by

Arash Yazdani from Iran will be screened

from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. T’ Adhib by Ra-

quel from Spain and Okul Nodi (Endless River) by Tuni Chatterji, Clay Dean fromUSA will be screened from 7:30pm to 9p m.

For competing in the three sections, five

films will be screened at the Public Library

auditorium-- Bardou by Seyed Hadi Mo-

haghegh at 10am, The Blindfold by Garin

Nugroho at 1pm, Eve Donus Sarikamiş 1915(The Long Way Home) by Alphan Eseli at

3pm, Udhao (Escape is not an Opinion) by

Amit Ashraf at 5:30pm and Steppe Man(Colcu Cholchu) by Shamil Aliyev at 7:30pm.

Finance Minister AMA Muhit graced

the first day of the festival as the chief

guest while Information and Cultural Af-

fairs Minister Hasanul Haq Inu was pres-

ent as the special guest.

Director of the festival Ahmed Mustafa

Jamal delivered a speech. l

13TH DHAKA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Chorabali The Blindfold

Int’l Conference on Women in Cinema nHasan Mansoor Chatak

Graceful presence of a number of seasoned film makers, ac-

ademicians, and development activists marked the inaugu-

ration of the two-day international conference on “Women

in Cinema”–part of the 13th Dhaka International Film Festi-

val yesterday.

Organised by the Rainbow Film Society, the pro-

gramme took place at the Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury

Senate Bhaban at the University of Dhaka.

Renowned human rights activist Khushi Kabir presided

over the session and presented a keynote paper on “Film-

makers who are civil rights activists.

A number of foreign film makers attended the confer-

ence including Afghanistani filmmaker and lecturer Sah-

raa Karimi, Clementine Ederveen, a Dutch film producer,

writer and director.

While addressing, Ederveen focused on the roles

played by women in the world of cinema.

Robyn Hugan, an Australian filmmaker exhibited her

two short films. The films highlighted Malaysian and In-

donesian refugees seeking refuge in Australia because of

their vulnerable social and economic state.In the following session Prof Kaberi Gayen of depart-

ment of Journalism and Mass Communication, DU, pre-

sented a key note paper on “War, Women and Cinema.”

The session was inaugurated by Professor AAMS Arefin

Siddique, vice-chancellor of DU while country director of

Action aid Farah Kabir was the convener. Mofidul Haque,

trustee of Bangladesh Liberation War Museum was also

present at the session. Women and Gender Studies depart-

ment organised a cultural programme.

The conference was held in cooperation with Depart-

ment of Women and Gender Studies, Department of Jour-

nalism and Mass Communication and Department of Tele-

vision and Film Studies of University f Dhaka, supported by Actionaid and Manusher Jonno Foundation.

Today’s discussion will be held on “Bangladeshi Women

Filmmakers: Challenges and Realities” by Shamim Akhtar.

A keynote papers will be presented on “Women and

New Trends in Cinema” by Nurkurniati Aisyah Dewi-Nia

Dinata, an Indonesian Filmmaker and activist while Giti

Ara Nasreen, Prof of Department of Journalism and Mass

Communication, DU will discuss on “Gender Representa-

tion in Bangladeshi Cinema.”

Around 40 films directed by national and international

women filmmakers will be screened at the American Centre

in Dhanmondi in the capital as a part of the 13th DIFF. l

ONTVMOVIE

7:20pmHBO

Miss Congeniality

8:30pmStar Movies Action

Death Race

COMEDY

2:30pm Comedy Central

Up All Night

10:30pm Star World

2 And A Half Men

DRAMA

8:30pm Star Plus

Meri Bhabi

11:30pm Colors

Balika Vadhu

MISC

10:30am TLC

Rude Boy Food

7:30pm AXN

The Millionaire Matchmaker



13DHAKA TRIBUNESaturday, January 11, 2014

SportDid you know?

Man United legendEric Cantona

averaged a goalassist every 2.78

matches, the bestrate in PremierLeague history

14 Yaya Tourenamed AfricanFootballer of Year

15 Younis, Misbahfight for Pakistanin second TestDAYS TO GO

0 6 4

(LR) Muktijoddha’s Nigerian defender Eleta Benjamin controls the ball and executes a perfect right-footed propeller kick to score against BJMC during their Bangladesh Premier League match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MUMIT M

Mahmudullah

eyes comebacknMazhar Uddin

The second edition of the Bangladesh

Cricket League (BCL) will hit the

field tomorrow in BKSP as defending

champions Walton Central Zone face

East Zone.

“We have a very good side but we

have to perform as we have a very

strong top order - some handy all-

rounders with the spin and fast bowl-

ing department very strong. We have

Shahdat Hossain, along with two

young fast bowlers Sohid and Dewan

Sabbir and I think it’s a balanced side

but we have to perform well,” said Cen-

tral Zone captain Mahmudullah yester-

day at the Sher-e-Bangla National Sta-dium yesterday.

He added, “We are the defending

champions but we are planning to take

it match by match. We will now play

two matches and if we can play well,

we can get the same result as last sea-

son,” he said.

The 27-year old added that the BCL

will help the cricketers prepare for the

home series against Sri Lanka later

this month, “We have been waiting

for Sri Lanka to come and we have

been preparing ourselves according

to that.”

The right hander has had a poor run

recently in the Test arena, scoring only

36 runs in his last six matches and was

excluded from the recent New Zealand

series. Nonetheless, he remained

optimistic.

“My place in the Test side is still un-

der some doubt but I am working hard

to make a comeback,” he said. l

Sensational bicyclehighlights Muktis winnShishir Hoque

Nigerian de-

fender Eleta

Benjamin scored

one of the finest

goals in Bangladesh football history as

Muktijoddha SKC registered their first

victory in the Bangladesh Premier

League with a 2-1 win over Team BJMC

at the Bangabandhu National Stadium

yesterday.

With great control and technique,

Eleta Benjamin doubled Muktijoddha’s

lead with an outstanding bicycle kickon the stroke of half-time after, mid-

fielder Shafiqul Islam Bipul put the

All Reds ahead at the beginning of the

game. Nigerian midfielder Samson Ilia-

su scored a screamer at the hour mark

to give BJMC the consolation.

The game was a delight to watch,

with both sides unleashing a number

of attacking plays from the very

beginning.

It was Muktijoddha who took the

lead just four minutes into the cgame

when midfielder Shafikul Islam Bipul

netted his first goal in the league with

a fierce angular shot from the right

edge of the box, that slipped out of

the gloves of diving BJMC goalkeeper

Ariful Islam and rolled into the far post.

BJMC had a chance to equalize in

the 19th minute when Abdullah al

Parvez’s cross from the right flank

was powerfully headed by Nigerian

midfielder Samsom Iliasu just wide

of the goal. Five minutes before

half-time, Aminur Rahman Shojib hit

the woodwork with a header inside

the box from a free kick from Abdullah

Al Parvez.

Eleta Benjamin scored one of the

best goals in recent years in the 45th

minute – his first in Bangladesh.

Following a corner taken by Maruf

Ahmed from the left flag, Benjamin

showed great skill and technique to

control o the ball, pop it into the air

and execute a perfect right-footed pro-

peller kick from the box t past BJMC

keeper Ariful Islam.

Muktijoddha could have extended

the lead to 3-0 10 minutes into the

second half when Nkwocha Kingsley

broke into the penalty area but his shot

went over the bar.

Six minutes later, Samson Iliasu

pulled one back for BJMC with a stun-ning goal from 20 yards out. Receiving

a lobbed pass from Omar Faruk Babu,

the Nigerian midfielder’s powerful vol-

ley hit the back of the net.

Eleta Benjamin had another brilliant

effort in the 86th minute. Moving for-

ward from his natural position, the de-

fender took a powerful strike from the

edge of the box that was brilliantly fist-

ed away by the keeper for a corner.l

Glory goal delights EletanRaihan Mahmood

Nigerian defender Eleta Benjamin

scored one of finest goals in Bangladesh

Premier League history when his bicy-

cled effort fooled the Team BJMC de-

fence and the goalkeeper at the Bang-

abandhu National Stadium yesterday.

In the 60th minute of the match with

Muktijoddha leading 1-0 skipper, Maruf

Ahmed whipped a low corner from the

left hand flag that landed on the edge of

the box to Eleta on the left edge, who

toe-pocked the ball in the air, turned

his body and fired a back volley into the

near post. Team BJMC defence and the

goalkeeper was left stunned.

Muktijoddha coach Shafikul IslamManik said he had seen Sheikh Md.

Aslam score such a goal about twenty

years ago. Such was the beauty of Eleta

Benajmin’s goal that it will surely re-

main in the minds of all those who

were fortunate enough to see it.

Eleta himself was ecstatic. “I am a

defender but I know where to put the

ball. I saw the goal post, took the sud-

den decision of trying it and I am lucky

that I scored a goal with the effort. I am

very happy to score a goal in this style,”

he said.Eleta said coach Manik’s instruc-

tion was to for him to attack the op-

position defence zone only when there

was a corner, free kicks or throw-in. It

is worth mentioning that Eleta Ben-

jamin also takes power packed long

throw-ins that create trouble for the

opposition defence.

Eleta Benajmin said he has practiced

hard to use his attacking instincts. “I

practice scoring goals in the practice

and my coach encourages it. It is ex-

tremely satisfying to see the hard work

providing the rewards, I look forward

to scoring more goals,” said Eleta.

The defender said in the Nige-

rian second division he has scored a

goal from the midfield just after the

kick-off. “I like scoring goals though

I am a defender, and this goal is

the best among the few goals that I

have scored, I see Wayne Rooney score

in similar fashion in the English Pre-

mier League.”

Meanwhile coach Shafikul Islam

Manik said his team was the worthy

winner. “We dominated the scenario

and scored two goals. We would have

scored more but could not finish, Team

BJMC played well and we had to work

hard to finish as the winner.”

Team BJMC coach Ali Asgar Nasir

did not want to disclose the causes his

off the field problems. Two of his reli-

able players - Cameroonian Jean Jules

Ikanga and Guinean attacking mainstay

Ismael Bangoura – have been absent

from practice in the last few days. l

BCB promises extra

security for PakistannMazhar Uddin

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) presi-

dent Nazmul Hasan returned from a

successful International Cricket Coun-

cil meeting in Dubai yesterday, where

it was confirmed that Bangladesh will

host the Asia Cup and the previously

announced home series against Sri Lan-

ka will go on as planned. The BCB boss

added that Pakistan were interested in

coming to Bangladesh and that they

would have additional security during

the Asia Cup tournament if needed.

“Pakistan has now said they want to

come. But they are worried about their

security. They asked me if we can givethem additional security. I told them

that we will give all the teams the top-

most security. If your security personnel

ask us to increase the security, we will

provide that. Till yesterday, their ap-

pearance in Bangladesh was uncertain.

After talking to them in Dubai, it seems

they will try to come,” said Nazmul.

The PCB has also confirmed send-

ing their representative for the security

briefing in Dhaka on January 2014 and

the BCB president is confident after the

ICC meeting that Pakistan are likely to

come. “I basically think that we have

done what we needed to do till now. We

needed to make them understand that

they should come here to play. This was

our major challenge. To be honest, the

situation was such that there was a pos-

sibility of them not coming,” he said.

However Nazmul Hasan warned

about such incidents like the bomb

blast near the team hotel of the West

Indies U-19 side and urged the politi-

cal parties, government, media and the

general public to see that such inci-

dents should not occur again.

“We have done our part but now it is

the political parties. The government,

media and the general public have to

take the responsibility. We have dis-

cussed yesterday how this is the big-

gest World Cup, with 26 teams. There

are so many tournaments lined up.

This is a very important time in Bangla-

desh. If a small incident occurs, caus-

ing teams to avoid playing here, our

cricket will be set back by 15-20 years

and destroy our c ricket,” said Nazmul.

“SLC have asked whether it is pos-

sible to skip Sylhet, because it is a lot of

travel for one ODI. You must have read

it in Cricinfo, but it has not been final-

ized,” he said.

Nazmul Hasan also confessed that

the Sri Lanka series was a vital one for

the BCB and if the Sri Lanka side de-clined to participate in the Asia Cup, the

World T20 might be moved to another

country. “If the Asia Cup isn’t held here,

the World Twenty20 wouldn’t take

place. If Sri Lanka didn’t come here,

there was a big chance for the Asia Cup

to be moved. All of these tournaments

are connected. The biggest challenge

was Asia Cup because Pakistan had an

objection,” he explained.

However, Nazmul informed that Ban-

gladesh hosting the Asia Cup has been

confirmed and as a result, there was no

possibility of shifting the World T20.l

Usha confirm

Indian recruitmentsnRaihan Mahmood

Usha Krira Chakra confirmed the ar-

rival of their four Indian recruits for

the upcoming premier division hockey

league yesterday.

The players are forwards Ajitesh Rai

and Roshan Minz, defender Shivakar

Ram and goalkeeper Sukhjit Singh. All

the players have represented the Indian

national team at some time in their ca-

reer. Rafikul Islam Kamal, the coach of

Usha, said as per their latest communi-

cation, the players are scheduled to ar-

rive on January 14. “We hope to receive

them on January 14th. I don’t think they

will be able to take the field in the semi-

final of the ongoing club cup hockey, but they will be ready for the final billed

to take place on January 15,” he said.

Meanwhile Abahani, the other title

contender, will not bring in any foreign

players for their club cup commitments.l

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Muktijoddha 21 BJMCShafikul 3, Samson 60Eleta 45

3” GOAL! Shafikul Islam Bipul

put Muktijoddha ahead after

his fierce angular shot from the right

edge of the box slipped from the

gloves of diving BJMC goalkeeper Ari-

ful Islam and rolled into the far post.

21” Abdullah al Parvez’s cross from

the right flank found BJMC’s Ni-

gerian midfielder Samsom Iliasu inside

the box who headed the ball wide.

40” Aminur Rahman Shojib’s

header inside the box hit thewoodwork, following a free kick from

Abdullah Al Parvez.

45+” GOAL! Nigerian defender

Eleta Benjamin took Maruf

Ahmed’s corner and showed great

control and technique to back-volley

past BJMC keeper Ariful Islam from

right of the box.

60” GOAL! Nigerian midfielder

Samson Iliasu scored an

absolute screamer from 20 yards out,

after a lobbed pass from Omar Faruk

Babu.

86” Eleta Benjamin’s powerful

strike from the edge of the

box saved brilliantly by the keeper.

Current Australian Open tennis champions Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (R) and Victoria

Azarenka from Belarus pose with the championship trophies t o the offi cial draw ceremony

at Melbourne yesterday. The Australian Open begins on M onday REUTERS

INCREDIBLE



SportDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, January 11, 201414

FIXTURES Card iff City v West Ham

Everton v Norwich City

Fulham v Sunderland

Hull City v Chelsea

Man United v Swansea City

Southampton v West Brom

Tottenham v Crystal Palace

RESULTSRoma 10 SampdoriaTorosidis 6

Udinese 10 InterMilanMaicosuel 32

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after a missed scoring opportunity against Osasuna during their Spanish King's Cup match at Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid on Thursday REUTERS

Can’t get Messi? Sign

his cousins insteadnAFP, Rio De Janeiro

World footballer of the year Lionel

Messi may be out of reach for Bahia,

but the Brazilian top-flight side have

signed two of his cousins instead.

On Thursday, the club from Salvador

de Bahia paraded new recruits, Argen-

tine brothers Maxi and Emanuel Bian-

cucchi, their website carrying a picture

of the duo standing alongside Messi.

Midfielder Emanuel, 25, spent last

season with Paraguayan club Olimpia,

with whom he reached the final of the

Libertadores Cup, losing to Brazilian

side Atletico Mineiro.

Formerly with German outfit 1860

Munich, he is described by Bahia as

“outstanding at dead balls” and has

agreed a one-year deal.

His elder brother Maxi, 29, has signed

a three-year contract and should havefew problems adapting to his new sur-

roundings having previously played for

Bahia’s local rivals Vitoria, with whom

he netted a total of 17 goals last year.

He has also played for Rio de Janeiro

giants Flamengo, as well as enjoying

spells in Paraguay and Mexico. l

Chelsea eye top spot in EPLnAFP, London

Jose Mourinho’s Chel-

sea will attempt to in-

crease the pressure on

their Premier League

title rivals by moving

to the head of the table with victory at

Hull City today.

Three points at the KC Stadium will

take the Blues ahead of second-placed

Manchester City who travel to Newcas-

tle 24 hours later, while current leaders

Arsenal visit struggling Aston Villa on

Monday.

So Chelsea’s time, if any, at the sum-

mit may be brief but victory on Hum-

berside would maintain a pleasing run.

Last weekend’s FA Cup win at D erby

County marked a fourth successive

success for a side who’ve conceded just

one goal in their last five outings.

And while Mourinho continues to

have concerns about the lack of goals

from his forwards, the contribution

from midfield has masked the deficien-

cies up front.

The Portuguese manager has claimed

the club will not bring in a new striker

during the January transfer window to

supplement his current trio of Samuel

Eto’o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba.

But with Ba’s Chelsea future look-

ing increasingly uncertain -- his last

appearance came in the League Cup

quarter-final defeat by Sunderland --

the Senegal forward’s departure would

almost certainly trigger a move for a

replacement.

Wayne Rooney has called on Man-

chester United’s fans to remain behindthe team as they look to end a three-

game losing streak against Swansea on

Saturday.

United now lie 11 points behind Pre-

mier League leaders Arsenal heading

into this weekend’s fixtures, with their

hopes of finishing in the top four and

so qualifying for next season’s Champi-

ons League under severe threat.

But Rooney, battling to be fit to

face Swansea after missing the last

two games with an abductor problem,

urged fans to remain loyal to both the

team and Moyes.

West Ham have conceded 11 goals in

two games, having previously lost 5-0

at Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup,

and find themselves second from bot-

tom in the league table ahead of Satur-

day’s trip to Cardiff City.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be takingcharge of his first home game as Car-

diff manager, after masterminding a

2-1 win at Newcastle in the FA Cup last

weekend in his first match at the helm.

Buoyed by the mid-week suc-

cess over Manchester United in their

League Cup semi-final first leg, bottom

club Sunderland will hope to bridge

the four-point gap that separates them

from safety when they visit fifth-bot-

tom Fulham on Saturday.

Third-bottom Crystal Palace, mean-

while, face Tottenham, who have

climbed to sixth on the back of a four-

game unbeaten run under rookie man-

ager Tim Sherwood.

Another club with a new boss are

West Bromwich Albion, who have ap-

pointed Spaniard Pepe Mel as head

coach, although caretaker Keith Down-

ing will remain in charge for Saturday’s

trip to Southampton. l

Real ease past OsasunanAFP, Madrid

Real Madrid took a

huge step towards the

quarter-finals of the

Copa del Rey with a 2-0

win over Osasuna in the

first leg of their last 16 tie on Thursday.

Karim Benzema got the hosts off

to the perfect start when he headed

in Luka Modric’s cross after 19 min-

utes. Jese Rodriguez then gave Madrid

breathing space in the tie when he

chipped home Cristiano Ronaldo’s pass

after half-time.

And Madrid were only denied a

third in comic circumstances moments

later as Ronaldo deflected Gareth Bale’s

goalbound effort behind.

Ancelotti named a strong side with

Bale returning to the starting line-up

for the first time in four games follow-

ing a calf injury. Despite failing to findthe net, the Welshman showed flashes

of his best form in the second-half and

Ancelotti is confident he will go from

strength to strength having completed

the 90 minutes.

However, after originally pointing

to the spot, referee Jesus Perez Mon-

tero reversed his decision and harshly

booked Jese for diving.

Minutes later Madrid were in front

as Benzema flicked home Modric’s free-

kick to register his 99th goal for the club.

Ronaldo passed up a great chance

to double the advantage when he fired

straight at Riesgo after a lovely scooped

pass from Bale as Madrid began the

second-half with more purpose than

they ended the first.

And the hosts took advantage ofsome woeful Osasuna defending to

make it 2-0 just before the hour mark

as Benzema and Ronaldo combined to

tee up Jese to loft the ball over Riesgo.

That was to be the Spanish interna-

tional’s last major involvement as he

pulled up injured shortly afterwards

and was replaced by Isco.

Bale should then have had his first

goal since November as his goalbound

shot from Benzema’s cut-back was de-

flected behind by Ronaldo.

But despite failing to add to their

tally Madrid will be strong favourites

to set up a quarter-final meeting with

Alcorcon or Espanyol when they travel

to Pamplona for the second leg next

Wednesday. l

Ronaldinhoextends deal with

Atletico MineironAFP, Rio De Janeiro

Former World Player of the Year Ron-

aldinho has signed an extension to his

contract with Atletico Mineiro, the Bra-

zilian side’s president announced on

Thursday.

The 33-year-old Ronaldinho, a

World Cup winner with Brazil in 2002

and a winner of the Copa Libertado-

res with Atletico last year, was due to

be a free agent at the end of this year

and had been a target for Turkish side

Besiktas.

Brazilian press reports claimed that

the Istanbul outfit had offered the for-

mer Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and

AC Milan player an annual salary of 6million euros ($8.2m) to sign for them.

Ronaldinho moved to Atletico, from

the city of Belo Horizonte, from Fla-

mengo in June 2012, and has scored 35

goals in 70 games for them. l

Walcott injury forces

Wenger’s handnAFP, London

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger ad-

mitted on Thursday that he has had

to reassess his plans for the January

transfer window after Theo Walcott

succumbed to injury.

England winger Walcott has been

ruled out for six months, forcing him

out of the World Cup in Brazil, after

rupturing the anterior cruciate liga-

ment in his left knee.

Wenger is a notoriously cautious op-

erator in the transfer market, but with

his side seeking to defend their posi-

tion at the top of the Premier League

table, he could now move for attacking

reinforcements.“(Walcott’s injury) has accelerated

speculation first and of course my de-

sire as well, but let’s not forget about

Serge Gnabry, who can play in the first

team,” Wenger told the Arsenal website.

“We have (Alex) Oxlade-Cham-

berlain back and we have many other

players who can play on the flanks, so

to find better solutions than what we

have internally will not be easy.

“Up front we lose Theo as a poten-

tial central forward and that’s maybe

where we have to look outside. Butwe hopefully have (Nicklas) Bendtner

back (from injury) in three weeks.

“We are there for the opportunities

but it’s very diffi cult at the moment.”

Wenger said that Walcott, 24, had

the requisite mental strength to make a

full recovery from his injury, which he

sustained during Arsenal’s 2-0 victory

at home to Tottenham Hotspur in the

FA Cup last weekend.

“Theo is handling it as well as you

can when you have had such a shock be-

cause he’s mentally strong, he’s very bal-

anced as a person and he can put it into

perspective,” the Frenchman said.l

West Bromname Pepe Mel

as new coachnAFP, London

West Bromwich Albion appointed

former Real Betis boss Pepe Mel as

their new head coach on Thursday,

the English Premier League club

announced.

The 50-year-old Spaniard replaced

Steve Clarke, sacked last month after

a 1-0 defeat by Cardiff City left Albion

two points off the relegation places.

But, under caretaker manager Keith

Downing, the Baggies are currently

four points above the bottom three.

Mel himself was sacked by Betis last

month, with a 4-0 defeat by local rivals

Sevilla helping seal his fate as the club

failed to make good on last season’sseventh-placed La Liga finish which

took them into the Europa League.

Previously in charge of Rayo Valle-

cano, Mel was appointed by Albion on

a relatively short 18-month contract. l

Udinese shock Inter in ItalianCup as Roma also advancenReuters, Rome

A goal from Brazilian Maicosuel gave

Udinese a surprise 1-0 Italian Cup win

over Inter Milan on Thursday while AS

Roma also reached the quarter-finals

with a 1-0 victory over Sampdoria.

Maicosuel finished off an incisive

passing move with a first-time shot

from close range just after the half-hour

mark to deny visiting Inter a likely der-

by tie with AC Milan in the last eight.

Massimiliano Allegri’s Milan take on

Serie B side Spezia at the San Siro on

Wednesday.

Udinese’s win is a boost for Frances-

co Guidolin’s side who are 13th in Serie

A having lost 10 of their 18 matches.

Inter, sixth in the league, dominated

the tie but struggled to create chances.

Coach Rudi Garcia’s Roma, chas-

ing a 10th Italian Cup trophy, will face

Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico later

in the month after Vasileios Torosi-

dis tapped the ball into the net for the

hosts in the sixth minute.

It was an impressive team perfor-

mance by Roma on new signing Radja

Nainggolan’s debut.

They would have managed a more

comfortable margin of victory but for

a sterling display from visiting goal-

keeper Vincenzo Fiorillo who among a

series of saves pulled off an incredible

double stop to deny Alessandro Flo-

renzi.The tie with Juve will be a chance for

revenge for Roma after their 3-0 defeat

by the Serie A champions on Sunday. l

Yaya Toure named AfricanFootballer of Year againnAFP, Lagos

Manchester City star Yaya Toure on

Thursday won a third straight African

Footballer of the year award.

The 31-year-old Ivory Coast interna-

tional also won in 2011 and 2012. Nige-

ria’s John Obi Mikel was second and Di-

dier Drogba of Ivory Coast finished third.“I thank my family for their support

and also congratulate John Obi Mikel,

who also deserved this award,” said

Toure, who was a key player for both

club and country last year.

Egyptian legend Mohamed Aboutri-

ka beat compatriot Ahmed Fathy and

Sunday Mba from Nigeria to win the

best Player based in Africa.

It was a fitting send-off gift for the

35-year-old Al Ahly star, who has an-

nounced his retirement from the game.

Ahly were also rewarded as the Club

of the Year ahead of CS Sfaxien of Tuni-

sia and South Africa’s Orlando Pirates

after they won an eighth CAF Champi-

ons League trophy.

Nigeria scooped several awards to

underline a very successful year with

coach Stephen Keshi voted Africa’s best

coach, while the Super Eagles were the

best national team after they won a

third Africa cup of Nations in February

and qualified for a fifth World Cup.

The country’s Under-17 team were

picked as the National Youth Team and

Kelechi Iheanacho, who was voted the

MVP of the 2013 Under-17 FIFA World

Cup, received the Most Promising Tal-

ent award.l

RESULTSReal Sociedad 00 Villarreal

Real Madrid 20 OsasunaBenzema 19, Jese 59

RayoVallecano 00 Levante

Bayern Munich's Claudio Pizarro (L) shoots to score next to Al-Merrikh's Ali Jaffar during their friendly match in Doha on Thursday REUTERS

Argentine forward Lionel Messi (C) posing

with cousins Maximiliano (L) and Emanuel

Biancucchi AFP

LIST OF WINNERSAfrican Footballer of the YearYaya Toure

Best African-based PlayerMohamed Aboutrika

Coach of the YearStephen Keshi

Most promising TalentKelechi Iheanacho

National team of the YearNigeria

National Youth Team of the YearNigeria Under-17

Club of the YearAl Ahly of EgyptReferee of the YearHaimoudi DjamelLegends of the YearBruno Metsu, Jose FariaAfrica XIVincent Enyeama - Ahmed Fathi, MehdiBenatia, Kevin Constant - John Obi

Mikel, Yaya Toure, Mohamed Aboutrika,Jonathan Pitroipa - Emmanuel Emnike,Asamoah Gyan, Pierre-Emerick Au-bameyangCoachStephen Keshi



SportDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, January 11, 2014 15

Pakistan 1st innings 165

Khurram Manzoor 73; N. Pradeep 362,R. Herath 326

Sri Lanka 1st innings

(overnight 3184)D. Karunaratne lbw b Junaid 32K. Silva lbw b Hafeez 95K. Sangakkara lbw b Ali 26D. Chandimal c Ali b Junaid 12M. Jayawardene b Ajmal 129A. Mathews c Ahmed b Ali 42P. Jayawardene b Junaid 9R. Herath run out 6S. Eranga b Bhatti 14S. Lakmal not out 10N. Pradeep lbw b Ajmal 3Extras: (b1, lb7, nb1, w1) 10

Total: (all out; 134 overs) 388

Bowling

Junaid 3671023, Ali 3661312, Ajmal3411562, Bhatti 223801 (1nb, 1w),Hafeez 61111

Pakistan 2nd innings

Khurram c Prasanna b Pradeep 6Ahmed Shehzad c Prasanna b Herath 9Hafeez c Prasanna b Pradeep 1Younis Khan not out 62Misbah-ul Haq not out 53Extras: (lb1) 1

Total: (for three wkts; 49 overs) 132

Bowling

Lakmal 61190, Pradeep 102282,

Herath 213581, Eranga 123260

SCORECARD, DAY 3

Training campset to startThe long-awaited preparation camp for

the Bangladesh athletes in prepara-

tion for the Commonwealth Games

and Asian Games in 2014 along with

the Asian Youth Games, began at the

residential camp of the Dhaka Canton-

ment yesterday. A total of 26 athletes

from four disciplines are attending the

camp. The disciplines are shooting,

archery, taekwondo and boxing. Along

with 12 shooters, there are seven

archers, three boxers and three from

taekwondo in the training program.

Ukrainian boxing coach Oleksandre

Ghurenko was scheduled to arrive in

Dhaka yesterday night to take over the

boxing discipline. The other foreign

coaches for the other three disciplines

are expected to arrive soon.

–SH

Roma agree $10mBradley dealRoma agreed to sell US international

midfielder Michael Bradley to Major

League Soccer club Toronto for $10mil-

lion on Thursday. A club statement

said that a deal for the 26-year-old had

been completed. Bradley has played

in the MLS before with a spell at New

York Red Bulls in 2006. He has also

played for Heerenveen in Holland,

Germany’s Borussia Monchengladbach,

Aston Villa in England and both Chievo

and Roma in Serie A.

–AFP

Ferrer flops, Taiwan’sLu sets up Isner finalDefending champion David Ferrer

crashed out of the Auckland Open

semi-finals Friday when Taiwan’s Lu

Yen-Hsun staged a stunning upset to

set up a tournament decider against

American John Isner. Lu defeated the

world number three and top seed 64,

76 (7/4), shattering the Spaniard’s

dream of winning a record-breaking

fifth Auckland title and denting his con-

fidence ahead of next week’s Australian

Open Grand Slam. –AFP

QUICK BYTES

Sony Six

NBA 201314

7:00AM

Brooklyn v Miami

9:30AM

La Clippers v LA Lakers

12:00PM

Pakistan v Sri Lanka

2nd Test, Day 4

Star Sports HD1

Big Bash T20

8:40AM

Hobart Hurricanes v Sydney Thunder

2:15PM

Brisbane Heat v Melbourne Stars

La Liga

9:00Pm

Athletic Bilbao v Almeria

11:00PM

Celta Vigo v Valencia

Star Sports HD2

Italian Serie A

1:45AM

Bologna v Lazio

Ten Action

Hero Hockey World League Final

2:30PM

Belgium v Argentina

4:30PM

Netherlands v Australia

6:30PM

England v Germany

8:30PM

New Zealand v India

French Ligue 1

10:00PM

AC Ajaccio v PSG

1:00AM

Bordeaux v Toulouse FC

Ten Golf

4:30PM

Volvo Golf ChampionsDurban, SA - Day 3

Star Sports 4

English Premier League

6:45PM

Hull City v Chelsea

9:00PM

Tottenham v Crystal Palace

11:30PM

Man United v Swansea

La Liga

1:00AM

At Madrid v Barcelona

3:00AM

Elche v Sevilla

Ten HD

6:10PM

Sky Bet Championship

Sheffi eld Wednesda y v Leeds United

10:00PM

Ram Slam T20 Challenge

Warriors v Cobras

DAY’S WATCH

Chennai Super Kings

Ravichandran Ashwin (Ind), DwayneBravo (WI), MS Dhoni (Ind), Ravindra

Jadeja (Ind), Suresh Raina (Ind)

Kings XI Punjab

David Miller (SA), Manan Vohra (Ind)

Kolkata Knight Riders

Gautam Gambhir (Ind), Sunil Narine (WI)

Mumbai Indians

Lasith Malinga (SL), Kieron Pollard (WI),Ambati Rayudu (Ind), Rohit Sharma (Ind),

Harbhajan Singh (Ind)

Rajasthan Royals

Stuart Binny (Ind), James Faulkner (Aus),

Ajinkya Rahane (Ind), Sanju Samson (Ind),

Shane Watson (Aus)

Royal Challengers Bangalore

AB De Villiers (SA), Chris Gayle (WI), Virat

Kohli (Ind)

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Shikhar Dhawan (Ind), Dale Steyn (SA)

RETENTION QUOTA

Del Potro toplay Tomic inSydney finalnAFP, Sydney

World number five Juan Martin del

Potro powered his way into his first

Sydney International final with a

straight sets demolition of Dmitry Tur-

sunov on Friday.Del Potro had his big serve firing as

he rolled to a 6-4, 6-2 win over the Rus-

sian fourth seed in 64 minutes.

Del Potro, the top seed, will face Aus-

tralian defending champion Bernard

Tomic, who wore down Ukraine’s Sergiy

Stakhovsky in the other semi, 6/7 (4/7),

7-5, 6-3 in 2 hours and 13 minutes.

The first Argentine to reach the Syd-

ney final since David Nalbandian in

2009, del Potro broke Tursunov’s serve

three times and was formidable on his

own service.

He thundered down nine aces, mak-

ing it 38 aces in his three wins so far in

Sydney.

It will be his 25th career final and he

is looking to step up for his second ma-

jor title since downing Roger Federer to

win the 2009 US Open in New York.

“It is one of my biggest challenges

for this season,” he said. l

Devil in detail forEngland’s PriornAFP, London

England wicketkeeper Matt Prior has

laid the blame for a 5-0 Ashes thump-

ing in Australia on the team letting

their standards slip.

In his column for Britain’s Daily

Telegraph newspaper Prior -- dropped

following the third Test in Perth after

poor displays with both gloves and

bat – said players had shown a lack of

respect for both captain Alastair Cook

and coach Andy Flower.

The 31-year-old Sussex wicketkeep-

er-batsman said seemingly minor is-

sues such as being late for team meet-

ings and not wearing the correct kit

were symptomatic of deeper problems,

even allowing for the fact Australia

played by far the better cricket during

the series.

“There are obvious straightforward

cricketing reasons why we lost the Ash-

es in Australia but when assessing this

defeat you have to look deeper,” Prior

wrote.

“It all goes back to the dressing

room and making sure that environ-

ment is right and on this tour I think we

let it slip a bit. We let a few things slide.

They appear trivial issues to those on

the outside but they are important

when building a team environment.

“Little things like wearing the right

kit, turning up to meetings on time, notfive minutes late. It is about the respect

you have for your team-mates, coach

and captain.”

Meanwhile Prior, for so long one of

the pillars of the England Test side, was

severely self-critical of his own perfor-

mance in Australia. l

Pironkova beats Kerber for Sydney titlenAFP, Sydney

Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova

crowned a stunning week of top ten

scalps with a straight sets victory over

fifth seed Angelique Kerber in the final

of the Sydney International Friday.

Pironkova, the world number 107, de-

feated her third top-ten ranked opponent

of the week with a 6-4, 6-4 win in 96 min-

utes. Pironkova became the first wom-

en’s qualifier to win the Sydney Interna-

tional, one of the oldest tournaments in

the world, for her maiden WTA title.

She reached her debut WTA final

with a last four win over second seed

Petra Kvitova after beating Italian third

seed Sara Errani in the quarter-finals.

“Where do I start? Mum, dad, I have

a trophy,” the 27-year-old said in anemotional victory speech.

“When I know what I’ve been

through, not only last season but

throughout my career, it hasn’t been

easy for me,” Pironkova said at her

post-match media conference.

“This is something that I’ve been

waiting for for so long and something

that I’ve missed so much. Now that I

finally have it, it’s all surreal. I still can-

not believe it, honestly. My mum and

dad are the people that have always been with me. My dad is also my coach,

so obviously he’s very excited too.”

The Bulgarian’s powerful backhand

constantly had the German left-hander

under pressure and she finished the

stronger despite playing her eighth match

in eight days. Pironkova broke Kerber’s

service six times and lost her serve four

times in a physical contest between two

big hitters on the women’s circuit.

It was a draining week for the

Bulgarian, who had her right thigh

strapped and showing the effects of her

heavy schedule as she heads to next

week’s Australian Open. l

Roma, Comathrive in Dakar’sArgentine heat

nAFP, San Miguel De Tucuman

Spanish driver Nani Roma reclaimed

the Dakar Rally lead Thursday as com-

patriot Marc Coma soared to the top of

the motorcycling standings after a bru-

tal fifth stage which saw temperatures

nudge the 40-degree mark.

Roma, behind the wheel of a Mini,

had led after three stages and he reas-

serted his authority on the gruelling

912km run from Chilecito to San Miguel

de Tucuman. Roma clocked 4hr 27min

01sec on the 527km timed section of

the stage with South Africa’s Giniel DeVilliers, in a Toyota, in second spot,

and America’s Robby Gordon, driving a

Hummer, in third place. l

Younis, Misbah fight forPakistan in second TestnAFP, Dubai

Seasoned batsmen Younis Khan and

Misbah-ul Haq hit resolute half-centu-

ries to take the fight to Sri Lanka in the

second Test in Dubai on Friday.

Younis was unbeaten on 62 and Mis-

bah scored 52 not out to help Pakistan

reach 132-2 at close on the third day at

the Dubai stadium pitch which is likely

to help spinners on the last two days.

Pakistan still need another 93 runs

to avoid an innings defeat and go 1-0

down in the three Test series after the

first Test ended in a draw in Abu Dhabi.

Younis and Misbah -- who both hit

hundreds in Abu Dhabi last week, came

together with Pakistan in dire straits at

19-3. They held the batting together

during their unfinished 113-run fourth

wicket stand.

Sri Lanka earlier gained a big 223-

run lead by scoring 388 in their first

knock. Pakistan had made 165 in the

first innings.

It was paceman Nuwan Pradeep (2-

28) who gave Pakistan early wobbles.

Pradeep, who took a c areer best 3-62

in the first innings, had Mohammad

Hafeez (one) caught behind in his sec-

ond over and in his fourth swung one

across Manzoor (six) for wicketkeeper

Prasanna Jayawardene to take his sev-enth catch of the match.

Pakistan had lost opener Ahmed

Shehzad in the last over before lunch,

caught behind for nine off spinner Ran-

gana Herath.

It was left to Younis and Misbah to

fight one more time for Pakistan.

Younis was more cautious, reach-

ing his 28th half-century with a single

off Herath and continued to bat solidlyduring his 142-ball stay, hitting four

boundaries.

Misbah completed his 3,000 Test

runs when on 10, becoming Pakistan’s

15th batsmen to achieve the milestone.

The Pakistan captain survived one leg-

before referral on one and twice on

close catches behind the wicket, once

off a miscued hook which went to the

boundary.

But in another responsible bat-

ting display he reached his fifty with a

double off Herath. He has so far hit five

fours and a six during his 119-ball stay. l

MI, CSK and RCB use full retention quotaKKR retain Gambhir, Narine as DDR make bold move

nAgencies

Defending champi-

ons Mumbai Indi-

ans, the formidable

Chennai Super

Kings and Rajasthan Royals are threeteams who have exhausted all their

five retentions available for the sev-

enth edition of the cash-rich IPL as the

franchises on Friday submitted their

list to the Governing Council.

Almost all the established India

players have been retained by their re-

spective franchises. CSK predictably re-

tained skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni,

Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja,

Suresh Raina and West Indies` Dwayne

Bravo.

Mumbai Indians went with their

champion skipper Rohit Sharma, se-

nior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, West

Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard, Sri

Lankan slinger Lasith Malinga and tal-

ented batsman Ambati Rayudu.

Aussie pace spearhead Mitchell John-

son will in all likelihood be picked up

with `Right to Match` card while Dinesh

Karthik has also got the boot.

Royal Challengers Bangalore had

retained their captain Virat Kohli, Ja-

maican Game-Changer Chris Gayle and

explosive South African ODI and T20

skipper AB de Villiers.

Rajasthan Royals retained Australian

Shane Watson, who will lead the side

in IPLVII along with left-arm seamer

James Faulkner along with India inter-

nationals Ajinkya Rahane and Stuart

Binny. The franchise also retained tal-

ented India colts wicketkeeper-batsman

Sanju Samson, who did well for the fran-

chise in the Champions League T20.

Kings XI Punjab retained hard-hitting

South African left-hander David Miller

and talented Ranji team opener MananVohra. Vohra is another uncapped play-

er to be retained.

Kolkata Knight Riders retained their

skipper Gautam Gambhir along with

mystery spinner Sunil Narine for the

next edition of the cash-rich league.

Delhi Daredevils unanimously de-

cided against retention of their existing

player going into the Indian Premier

League (IPL7) auction.

The team management explaining

the decision said “it was the unanimous

decision of the management with the

focus of building a fresh team that thefans would be proud of”.

Mumbai Indians expectedly retained

five players including skipper Rohit Shar-

ma. Australian speedster Mitchell John-

son will now be favourite to be obtained

through `Right to Match` cards that the

franchise can exercise during the two-

day auction on February 12 and 13.

The Shah Rukh Khan co-owned Kol-

kata Knight Riders have retained their

captain Gautam Gambhir and mystery

spinner Sunil Narine.l

Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria holds the

women's singles trophy at the Sydney

International yesterday REUTERS

Pakistan cricketers Younis Khan (R) andMisbah-ul-Haq (L) look on at the drinks breakduring the third day of the second Test againstSri Lanka at the Dubai International Cricket

Stadium in Dubai yesterday AFP

Del Potro celebrates his win yesterday



16 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, January 11, 2014

One lakh Wi-Fihotspots for rural areasnMuhammad Zahidul Islam

The government has planned to es-

tablish one lakh Wi-Fi hotspots in dif-

ferent rural areas to provide people

internet connectivity free of cost with

an aim to diminish the information and

communication gap between city and

rural areas.

The establishment of the service would

be focused especially at market places and

other developing areas, according to a

high offi cial of Information and Commu-

nication Technology ministry.

Md Nazrul Islam Khan, secretary of

ICT ministry, yesterday told the Dhaka

Tribune: “We are planning to expand

our ICT development work to the re-

motest areas in the country and pro-

vide free internet to people who cannot

afford the service.”He said they would establish the

infrastructure gradually and try to pro-

vide all kinds of technical support f rom

the rural areas.

About the initiative, Nazrul Islam

said: “Through this process we can re-

duce the ‘digital divide’ between the

city and rural areas.”

According to sources, the ICT minis-

try is currently planning the project and

would establish it within the next fiscal.

Nazrul also said the cost of the proj-

ect could not be estimated yet but es-

timations would be completed before

pre-budget meetings.

He said he was optimistic about the proj-

ect and hoped that the facilities would

create employment in the rural areas as

well reduce unnecessary hazards.

The ICT offi cial said the gover nment

has already established more than five

thousands Union Information Centres,

adding that “We will create new cen-

tres at haats and bazars.”

The ICT ministry is currently work-

ing on a project of apps development

which it expects will enable people to

use modern services more easily.l

Bones and skulls still being found inRana Plaza debrisCalls raised for renewed search, police claim remains are ‘cow bones’

nSyed Samiul Basher Anik and

Muktasree Chakma Sathi

Some form of closure has finally ar-

rived for the family of Obaidul Haque,

who had been missing since the deadly

Rana Plaza disaster, after the garment

worker’s skeletal remains were recent-

ly recovered from under the debris of

the building.

Obaidul, who worked at the New

Wave Bottoms factory and hailed from

Mymensingh, was the first among the

missing workers whose full skeleton

had been found since the rescue opera-

tion was called off.

Although eight and a half months

had passed since the tragedy occurred,

human bones and skulls are still being

found at the Rana Plaza site, as rela-

tives of many missing people continue

their wait to be able to bury their loved

ones.

The long wait for Obaidul’s family

ended when his skeleton was foundalong with an identity card and a mo-

bile phone, during a series of search

drives.

Locals said the first human skull

was recovered on December 13 last year

by street children, who were trying to

collect iron rods and pieces from the

debris.

Following the incident, garment

workers, street children and voluntary

organisations conducted more drives

and found at least 310 pieces of human

skeletal remains, including four skulls

from the debris, said Emdadul Islam,

president of Rana Plaza Garments

Workers Union.

He added that street children car-

ried out searches on four occasions at

the site, while other organisations car-ried out five drives.

The highest number of bones re-

covered during a single drive was 110

different skeletal pieces from eight

separate places at the Rana Plaza site,

Emdadul said.

“On our last drive on January 3, we

recovered 28 pieces of human bones

including a skull from the debris. We

wanted to continue the drives, but po-

lice barred us, saying the bones were

cow bones and threatened us with ar-

rest,” said Emdadul, who worked at

Rana Plaza’s Phantom Garments as

an iron man and was rescued after 24

hours of the deadly collapse.

The locals who were involved in

the searches said they had seen many

bone parts lying neglected in three wa-

ter-reservoirs at the site.

“We just want to conduct a drive at

the three places, and we are sure that

we could recover some bodies of the

unlucky workers from there,” said Em-

dadul.

Labour rights leaders also urged au-thorities concerned to launch renewed

search efforts, saying it was now clear

that not all bodies had been found

during the initial rescue drive.

Rafiqul Islam Sujan, president of

Bangladesh Garment and Industrial

Workers Federation, told the Dhaka

Tribune that another search in the de-

bris was very much needed.

Labour leader Syed Sultan Uddin

Ahmed, also the assistant executive

director at Bangladesh Institute of La-

bour Studies, said: “A search is immedi-

ately needed and the government can-

not neglect the issue now, just because

it is no longer a burning issue.”

While visiting the site on Thursday

afternoon, many relatives of the miss-

ing workers were found to be waiting

there for updates about searches fortheir loved ones.

Shapla, who was injured in the Rana

Plaza collapse, said her brother Solai-

men Hossain Sentu – who also worked

with her on the third floor of the build-

ing – remains missing since the inci-

dent.

“I provided DNA in Dhaka, but so

far, none of the found bodies are my

brother’s. So I come here often hoping

one day, my brother’s body parts would

be found,” she said.

When contacted, Savar model po-

lice stati on Offi cer-in-Ch arge Mostaf a

Kamal claimed that some people were

staging a drama to embarrass the gov-

ernment, adding that the bones were

not “human,” rather they were “cow

bones” or had been collected from out-side.

The bones have been sent to the

National Forensic DNA Profiling Lab in

Dhaka to verify the true identity of the

bones, he added.

Savar Upazi la Nirbahi Offi cer Kamrul

Hasan Molla, who was now in charge of

the debris site, admitted that he had

received pieces of recovered human

bodies and had already sent them to

the DNA lab at Dhaka Medical Collage

and Hospital.

“After getting results from the lab,

we would have an indication that

whether these bones belong to Rana

Plaza workers or not; and then, we will

decide whether it is necessary to run a

fresh search,” he said.

Kamrul a lso said his offi ce had al -

ready sent a report to the higher au-

thority in this regard, but did not clar-

ify who the higher authority was.

At least 1,134 people were killed

and thousands more injured when the

nine-storied Rana Plaza collapsed on

April 24 last year.The Ninth Infantry Division of army,

which led the rescue, abandoned the

search for survivors on May 13.

According to a statement issued

by the Inter Services Public Relations

Directorate, 261 people remained un-

traced at the site. The army identified

those 261 out of 329 people who were

reportedly missing after the collapse. l

DITF begins today

nTribune Report

The 19th Dhaka International Trade Fairis all set to begin today despite little im-

provement in security situation that

pushed back its usual starting time.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will

inaugurate the month-long fair at 11am

at the Bangabandhu International Con-

ference Centre of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar,

said Commerce Secretary Mahbub

Ahmed at a press briefing yesterday.

The DITF was originally scheduled

for January 1 but was rescheduled fol-

lowing a request from participating en-

terprises on security grounds.

The fair will remain open from 10am

to 10pm until February 11. The entry fee

for adults is Tk30 and Tk20 for children.

“The ministry has completed all

necessary preparations despite the ex-

isting political deadlock,” Mahbub told

reporters. “We are expecting a huge

turnout of visitors.”

Despite organisers’ claim to have

completed preparations, however, most

of the 471 stalls and pavilions at the fair

venue were found under construction

yesterday. The arched gateway leadingto the venue was also incomplete.

A total of 12 countries are taking part

in the fair.

Last year, Bangladesh bagged spot

orders worth Tk157cr; we are expecting

more this year,” Mahbub said.

On security arrangement, he said

the venue would be kept under surveil-

lance by the members of BGB as well as

regular secu rity offi cers. l

Another arson victim diesnTribune Report

The driver of a human hauler who was

burnt in a petrol bomb attack during

the BNP-led 18-party alliance’s latest

two-day hartal lost the battle for his life

yesterday in Chittagong city.

Md Mitul, 22, suffered 80% burn

injuries when miscreants hurled the

bomb on his vehicle, locally known as a

Laguna, at Technical intersection in the

port city on Monday. He was undergo-

ing treatment at the ICU of Chittagong

Medical College Hospital (CMCH) and

died around 4am, our Chittagong cor-

respondent reported.

The BNP-led 18-party alliance was

observing the hartal demanding can-

cellation of the results of the 10th par-

liamentary election held on January 5.

In another development, police in

separate drives nabbed 16 Jamaat-Shibir

men from Fatikchhari upazila yesterday

for their alleged connection with sabo-

tage during the recent political unrest.

Md Shahj ahan B huiyan, the offi -

cer-in-charge (OC) of Fatikchhari po-

lice station, said they had conductedan overnight drive at different areas to

make the arrest.

Meanwhile in Pirojpur, ruling Awa-

mi League activists set fire to a BNP

offi ce six hours af ter an Awami Leag ue

offi ce was torc hed yesterday.

Fire service sources said a fire erupt-

ed at the Awami Le ague offi ce at abou t

3:40 am and soon engulfed the entire

offi ce an d the adjoini ng Gra meen-

phone customer care centre. Firefight-

ing units rushed in and doused the

flame after three hours of frantic ef-

forts, reported UNB.

Local Awami League President

Alauddin Khan blamed BNP and Ja-

maat-Shibir men for the attack.

Afterwards, a group of Awami

League activists took to the streets,

brought out a procession and vandal-

ised the distri ct unit BNP offi ce on Post

Offi ce Road aroun d 9:30 am.

Later they al so set fire to the o ffi ce.

A fire service unit rushed in and butthe activists obstructed and vandal-

ised it as well. L ater the fire service unit

managed to reach the spot under police

protection and doused the fire after an

hour of frantic effort.

Additional police, Rab and army per-

sonnel were patrolling the area to avert

further trouble. A tense situation was pre-

vailing in the town follow ing the incident.

Our Dinajpur correspondent report-

ed that yeste rday four p residing o ffi -

cers who discharged duties in different

polling centres in Birganj upazila filed

separate cases accusing 1,950 uniden-

tified men of the 18-party alliance for

their involvement with incidents like

clashes, attacks on polling centres and

hijacking and torching polling materi-

als on the election day.

In Sherpur, two Jamaat activists were

arrested from Poragarh area of Sribardi

upazila on Thursday and yesterday af-

ternoon under the charges of attacking

local Awami League leader Billal.

In Bagerhat, police arrested a local

leader of Jamaat from Kachubunia vil-lage in Morelganj upazila early yesterday

for his suspected involvement in torching

two Hindu temples on Wednesday night.

In Sylhet, police arrested An-

har Ahmed, 40, the secretary of Os-

maninagar thana unit of Jamaat from

Goalabazar area yesterday afternoon,

UNB reported. l

The establishment of theservice would be focusedespecially at market placesand other developing areas,according to a high ICTministry o ffi cial

Labourers covered in dust work in a brick kiln at Kharkhari in Rajshahi yesterday. Most brick kilns in Kharkhari and Godagari in the district are illegally established. A lack of protective

measures for the labourers working in such hazardous environment puts them at serious risk of respiratory ailments DHAKA TRIBUNE

Black hole to have its ‘big meal’nBBC Online

Astronomers are getting ready for their

best ever glimpse of the mysterious

black hole at the heart of our galaxy.

“Fireworks” will flare if it gobbles

up a giant gas cloud which is drifting

perilously close.

A collision is now likely in spring,

according to scientists at the American

Astronomical Society meeting. Stargaz-

ers will be able to see the climax on a

new public monitoring website.

“This could be our black hole’s

biggest meal in hundreds of years,”

said Leo Meyer, of the University of

California, Los Angeles. “It might bring

spectacular fireworks - and we want

everybody to watch.”

The collision could give astrono-

mers a unique window on one of the

universe’s great enigmas.

Black holes are so dense that not

even light can escape them, once it

passes their event horizon (point of no

return). They can only be observed in-

directly – from brief flashes of radiation

released by matter falling in.

The giant gas cloud G2 is three

times the mass of Earth. It was first

spotted in 2011 hurtling towards

Sagittarius A* – the black hole in our

galactic core.

Impact is now just a few months

away. If the gas drifts close enough it

will heat up, releasing great flares of

X-rays, which shed light on the black

hole’s properties.

Astronomers have already secured

front row seats. Dr Meyer’s team is

tracking the cloud’s approach using the

Keck Observatory in Hawaii. They can

see it “stretching like spaghetti” as the

black hole tugs at its head, now moving

much faster than its tail.

And while Keck watches the cloud,

Swift is watching the black hole. Nasa’s

XRay space telescope is poised and

primed to catch the first glimmers of an

encounter.

“Everyone wants to see the event

happening because it’s so rare,” said

Nathalie Degenaar, Swift’s principal

investigator.

Sagittarius A* lurks 26,000 light

years away in the Milky Way’s inner-

most region.

Viewed from Earth, it is in the

southern summer sky near the constel-

lations Sagittarius and Scorpius.

Even for a black hole it is dim -

about a billion times fainter than others

of its “supermassive” type. And this

makes it something of a mystery.

“Currently it’s not easy to see at all.

But if the gas cloud suddenly feeds it

with much more mass, you might get

fireworks. And with that, you can test

all sorts of theories,” said Dr Meyer.

Black holes are thought to play a

crucial role in the life cycles of galaxies.

They eat matter from their sur-

roundings and blow matter back. This

influences how stars are formed, how

the galaxy grows, and how it interacts

with other galaxies.

To get a sense of the typical feeding

habits of Sagittarius A*, the Swift team

has been making regular observations

since 2006.l

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Print edition :January 11, 2014