Why so many rebels?Dedicated local leaders, if not backed by party, nd it hard to give upn Mohammad Al-Masum MollaFor local political leaders, the upazila parishad elections come as stepping stones on multiple levels.

For some, the local elections are an opportunity to gain prominence for contesting national poll in future. For others, winning local body polls means crucial breakthrough for their busi-nesses. Even if they lose out, they can put impressive displays of strength, es-pecially among their supporters.

Although political parties are not al-lowed to directly nominate candidates for these local polls, their backings play key roles in the outcomes.

Then again, the absence of demo-cratic practice within the major parties means that high commands often force their choices on the local leaders, cre-

ating a sense of deprivation among the grassroots ranks.

Eventually, many local leaders, bet-ter known as rebels, end up disobey-ing discipline and running against the party-backed candidates.

The fact that the rebellions go un-punished in most cases, also encour-ages local gures to repeat their mis-takes of going against the party high commands decisions in virtually every election.

In the three recently concluded phases of the upazila elections, the presence of a good number of rebel candidates has been a major headache for both the ruling Awami League and the BNP.

In a signi cant number of upazilas, both parties have seen their vote banks get segregated and faced unexpected

results because of the presence of rebel candidates.

Out of the hundreds of rebel can-didates in the upazilas that went into polls recently, only about 10-12 might have managed to triumph, but their presence in many upazilas had its toll in the election outcomes.

Compared to the rst three phases of the upazila polls, the number of rebel candidates from both Awami League and BNP has come down signi cantly.

In the third phase, there were 79 and 60 rebel candidates from the Awami League and BNP respectively. In the second phase, the numbers were 57 and 51. In tomorrows fourth phase, the two tents have become neck-and-neck in terms of rebel candidates Awami League 43 and BNP 44.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

REBELS IN FOURTH PHASE

AL

43BNP

44REASONS FOR REBELLIONUnpunished disobedience

encourages further rebellions Upazila polls stepping stone for

contesting national poll Victory often means breakthrough

for candidates businesses

Rebel leaders blame central leaders for ignoring grassroots opinions

Hong Kong humiliate Tigers for historic winn Reazur Rahman Rohan from Chittagong

A six over extra cover was the best way Hong Kong could have landed their historic win against Bangladesh in the World Twenty20 yesterday.

Hong Kong scampered to 114 with two balls and two wickets to spare to humiliate the home side at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

However, despite the shameful de-feat, Bangladesh progressed to the second round because of better net run rate than Nepal.

It was probably the best moment of 40-year-old Munir Dars life when his 27 ball 36 helped Hong Kong stage the comeback after the Bangladesh bowl-ers had them reeling at 50 for 5.

Earlier, it was the spinning duo Na-deem Ahmed and Nizakat Khan who

shared seven wickets to set up the two-wicket win, their rst against a Test playing nation.

Bangladeshs embarrassing 108 not only enabled Hong Kong to win their rst major game ever, but in the half way mark had also Nepal glued to the game as the latter would have gone through to the second round if Hong Kong achieved the target in 13.1 over.

More than losing Bangladeshs fear was to not to let Hong Kong achieve the feat inside 13 over, and Mush qur PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

IMF wants to know the viability of major development projectsn Asif Showkat KallolGlobal lender IMF will release the fth tranche of the Extended Credit Facility in the rst week of June with an aim to maintain local exchange rate stability, State Minister for Finance MA Mannan has said.

The International Monetary Fund was also keen on knowing whether the big development projects such as the Padma bridge were viable for the coun-try, the minister told the Dhaka Tribune at his secretariat o ce yesterday after a meeting with the ECF review mission.

The proposed Padma bridge, the el-evated expressway and the metro rail were part of the governments six fast-track priority development projects es-timated to cost $15.5bn.

After the World Bank and some oth-er major lenders pulled out in April 2012 bringing corruption conspiracy charges, the government decided to implement the bridge project with lo-cal funds.

I told them [the IMF mission] that these major projects are our peoples dream, but are not economically feasi-ble for the country right now, the jun-ior minister said.

According to Mannan, the IMF mis-sion was astonished to see Bangla-deshs economic resilience despite the political unrest that took place from October to January.

He also said the IMF had been contemplating about introducing fresh debt limits for the low-income

PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

20 pages plus 32-page weekend supplement | Price: Tk10

Chaitra 7, 1420Jamadiul Awal 19, 1435Regd. No. DA 6238Vol 1 No 357 FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

BusinessB1 Bangladesh has been ranked 108th out of 160 countries in logistics performance index.

News5 Farmgate Park in the capital has almost become an undesirable place for visitors as encroachment, illegal

structures and antisocial activities now rule the place.

World8 European leaders yesterday debated economic sanctions against Russia for annexing Crimea as Ukraine tore up key ties with the Kremlin and planned evacuation of nationals from the peninsula.

INSIDE

Bangladesh batsman Rubel Hossain is bowled out by Hong Kong bowler Nadeem Ahmed (not seen) during their World Twenty20 match at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday AP

Murad sent to jail n Md Sanaul Islam TipuA Dhaka court yesterday sent detained Syed Nazmul Maksud alias Murad to jail in multiple cases including one led for attempting to murder Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 1989.

Fourth Additional Metropolitan Session Judge AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuyian passed the order after police produced Murad before the court.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Mah-fuzur Rahman Chowdhury said Murad was shown arrested in three cases one for an attempt to murder Sheikh Hasi-na, another under Explosive Substance Act while the other for killing Motijheel Sangho Club o cer Md Polash.

The case in connection with the murder of Polash was led with the Motijheel police station in 1995.

Earlier Murad was brought back to Bangladesh on Wednesday with the help of Interpol from the United States.

CID sources said in response to a notice issued through Interpol, the

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

TIB: Government o cials take bribe to approve adulterated foodn Tazlina Zamila KhanThe Transparency International Bangladesh has said the government o cials are heav-ily involved in taking bribes ranging from Tk500 to Tk10,000 from stakeholders in exchange for giving approval to adulterated foods.

The Bangladesh chapter of the Ber-lin-based NGO said this at a press confer-ence titled Ensuring Safe Food: Challenge of Good Governance and Solution in the citys Mohakhali yesterday.

According to the report, sanitary inspec-tors of the Health Department take Tk200-Tk400 as bribe from retailers during inspec-tion and Tk500-Tk 1000 every month from owners of bakeries and restaurants.

Also eld o cers of Bangladesh Stand-

ards and Testing Institution (BSTI) take Tk5000-Tk10000 as bribe while inspecting small and medium food factories.

O cials of customs houses take Tk500-Tk1500 for sample testing of imported foods and issue approval certi cates.

Executive Director of the TIB Iftekharuz-zaman said: We demand for formation of a safe food authority to reduce food adultera-tion. The culprits must be brought to book.

Food adulteration with poisonous chemicals has reached a dangerous pro-portion posing serious health hazards in the country. It is one of the major sectors of Bangladesh and 100% people are the vic-tims of food adulteration, he said.

We will create a policy document and will sent it to the government soon.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Employees types Organisations Source Bribe amount

Sanitary Inspectors Local government organisa-tion Health Department

retailers Tk200-Tk400

Sanitary Inspectors Local government organisa-tion Health Department

Owners of bakeries, restaurants

Tk500-Tk1000

Field O cers BSTI Small and medium factories

Tk5000- Tk10,000

Field O cers BSTI Big Factories Couldnt be found

Employees Customs houses related laboratories

Sample testing of imported goods

Tk1000- Tk1500

Employees Customs Houses Approval certi cate after sample testing

Tk500- Tk800

Murad sent to jail PAGE 1 COLUMN 1US police, FBI, and Homeland Security Services arrested Murad in Atlanta on February 2, 2012.

Personnel of Homeland Security Ser-vices rst took Murad to Washington DC by a plane of Malaysian Airlines and then handed him over to CID on Wednesday.

Murad escaped to the USA four months after the Awami League as-sumed power in June 1996.

According to the case statement, on August 11, 1989, a gang of seven to eight armed youths in two engine-run three-wheelers got to the house of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Dhanmondi around 12:30am.

It says they red bullets and hurled grenades at the house to kill Hasina who was there at the moment. None was injured in the attack.

In retaliation on-duty habilder Ja-hirul Haque and constable Zakir Hos-sain opened re which made the at-tackers ee towards the east chanting slogans Col Faruk Zindabad.

In this connection, two cases were led with Dhanmondi police station un-der the explosive acts and penal code.

The police initially submitted its -nal report in 1996 during the rst ten-ure of the Awami League government. After re-investigation, the CID submit-ted the charge sheet.

On February 20, 1997, then assistant superintendent of CID Khalek Uzzam-an submitted charge-sheet in the cases against 16 accused including Murad, ab-sconding Lt Col Khandaker Abdur Rashid, and executed Lt Col (retd) Syed Faruk Rahman and Maj (retd) Bazlul Huda.

The court framed the charges against the accused on July 16, 1997.

Of the accused, Sohel alias Freedom Sohel, Md Golam Sarwar alias Mamun and Joj Miah are now in jail, while Hu-mayun Kabir, Mizanur Rahman, Khon-doker Amirul Islam and Md Shajahan alias Balu are out on bail.

Five accused absconding from the beginning are Lt Col (retd) Khondoker Rashid, Jafor Ahmed alias Manik, Gazi Imam Hossain and Md Humayun Kabir.

The main accused of the case Lt Col Syed Farooq Rahman and Maj Bazlul Huda were hanged in Bangabandhu murder case on January 28, 2010. Two other accused Gazi Liakat Hossain and Rezaul Islam Khan have died.

Of the accused, Humayun, Rezaul and Liakat made confessional statement on September 23, 1996, before the court. l

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, March 21, 2014

IMF wants PAGE 1 COLUMN 6countries under the Debt Limits Fund Programme.

The IMF mission came to Dhaka on March 19 on an eight-day visit to exam-ine the release of the fth tranche of the credit facility.

The IMF Executive Board disbursed the fourth ECF tranche of $140.4m to Bangladesh last December. That brought the total disbursement under the arrangement to about $561.4m. l

Why so many rebels? PAGE 1 COLUMN 3In many upazilas with rebel candi-dates, voters got confused over who to vote for. Eventually, the contestants from the rival parties came out on top because of this confusion.

Rezaul Karim Uzzal, recently ex-pelled from the Awami League, went into the Ghior Upazila Parishad elec-tions in Manikganj district in the third phase. He was asked who would take the blame if a party-backed candidate lose out because of the presence of a rebel candidate.

The leaders, who select the candi-dates, should take the responsibility. If the leaders fail to select competent candidates, the outcomes will not be favourable even if there is no rebel. Acceptability among voters is the main thing.

"Those who do not have it will lose. The rebel candidates are not responsi-ble... A dedicated worker might tem-porarily decide to go against the party, but if he wins, he will eventually work in favour of the party. So, in the long run, it will bene t the party, Uzzal said.

In reply to the same question, re-bel BNP candidate Shahjahan Ali from Dhunat upazila of Bogra said: [I de-cided to go against party decision] to teach those leaders, who selected the wrong candidate, a lesson.

When asked why there were so many rebel candidates, Uzzal said: It is not possible for a dedicated worker to give up his own eld before the elec-tions all of a sudden. It jeopardises his

political existence altogether.Joynal Abedin Chan, general sec-

retary of Bogra district chapter BNP, said local leaders revolt when the party high command failed to evaluate them and select less popular candidates.

Rebel BNP candidate Abul Hashem Biswas Dudu from the Ghior upazila said he did not believe in the rebel status.

Rebel candidates do not pose any problem. People lose because of their incompetency. We do politics for the partys sake. Even if the rebel candi-date wins, it does not hurt the party.

BNP Joint Secretary General Barkat-ullah Bulu told the Dhaka Tribune that many rebel candidates realised only after losing in the polls that they were not as popular as they thought they were.

Sometimes we embrace the rebels, sometimes we expel them. That gives out a wrong signal that going against party decision may get unpunished. That is why there has been so many re-bel candidates, Bulu explained.

In the three concluded phases, the presence of rebels had clear unfa-vourable impacts on the election out-comes, he said.

Awami League Presidium member Kazi Zafarullah came down hard on the rebel candidates saying: Every-one wants to stay close to power. Many rebel candidates think that becoming [upazila parishad] chairman is an easy way to becoming a millionaire. That is why many desperately try to win the elections. l

Hong Kong humiliate Tigers PAGE 1 COLUMN 6Rahim did not hesitate at all to hand his best man Shakib al Hasan the ball upfront. Shakib had Waqas Barkat stumped in the second over, but Irfan Ahmeds 28 ball 34, that had three fours and equal sixes, gave Hong Kong just the start they needed.

The momentum of the game shifted like a see-saw as Shakib struck twice in the 8th over before Al Amin and Mahmudullah also chipped in to send the minnows to back foot.

The crowd pressure and the inex-perience was clear in Hong Kongs ap-proach which let Bangladesh come back in the game, but Munir and Nizakat added 33 runs for the sixth wicket to maintain the balance of the game.

With 26 required o 24, Munir struck two fours and a six o Farhad Reza to narrow the margin and e ec-tively take the game away from Bang-ladesh.

Earlier, it was a batting scorecard that the whole of Bangladesh wouldnt have ever imagined in their worst nightmare. Bangladesh, who romped to victories with 9 and 8 wickets in hand in the previous matches, had their middle-order tested for the rst time in the tournament and they failed miserably to stand up against the disci-plined Hong Kong bowlers.

The batsmen approached like 13-year old kids and looked clueless in the middle. Despite losing wickets contin-uously, the hosts seemed content on going for big shots without any plan or what-so-ever and only ended up with

gloomy faces back to the hut.After Tanwir Afzal handed Bang-

ladesh a double blow in the rst over, it was interesting to see how imma-ture the Tigers, who literally play spin in domestic leagues the whole year round, were in facing the left-arm spin-ner Nadeem and leg spinner Nizakat.

With no runs on the board Tamim Iqbal, who chopped on to his stumps, was gifted a two-ball duck on his birth-day before Sabbir Rahman was trapped lbw three balls later to silent the crowd. However, Shakib and Anamul Haque showed no sign of bogging down as they slapped the balls on all corners of the ground to add 48 in ve overs.

Mush q and Shakib continued the onslaught after Anamul (26) departed, but after putting on 34 runs, the part-nership was broken which saw the Ti-gers fall like a house of cards. Ridiculous shot selection saw Bangladesh throw their last six wickets for just 23 runs.

Shakibs short arm jab went straight to mid wicket and though Mush q showed extreme disappointment while his partner was walking back, but what he did six balls later was a crime itself. The skipper, who survived a dolly to the wicketkeeper, instead of taking up more responsibility got out trying to heave a wide ball and ended up top edging to extra cover.

Mahmudullah made two before Farhad, Razzak and Rubel Hossain re-turned with ducks and when No 11 Al Amin holed out to long-on Bangladesh still had 3.3 overs to spare, but without any wicket. l

TIB: Government o cials PAGE 1 COLUMN 2Creating awareness among people is not enough rather the authorities have to act honestly, he maintained.

The report reveals that there is lack of manpower in the departments re-sponsible for ensuring safe food. Only 78 sanitary inspectors among a total of 370 are working under 319 municipali-ties and 11 city corporations.

Also, 30 posts of the BSTI eld of- cers under districts and divisional levels have remained vacant for a long time.

Around 4,500,000 people got af-fected in various diseases for adul-terated food. The reason behind the problem is mentioned as limitation of current act and laws, lack of their im-

plementation, absence of proper mon-itoring and lack of accountability.

The report also blames lack of com-munication between department of- cials concerned. The TIB also points out that such a single organisation in not good enough to ensure safe food.

It says there is only one food court under Dhaka North City Corporation, which is not enough at all.

TIB Chairperson Sultana Kamal said: The government is playing re-luctant role in this case. We saw news of adulteration in di erent media against PRAN and BDFOOD. But the food produced by those companies is still being sold to markets.

The number of cases against the culprits is very low. People dont have

any idea who to put forward their complaints. Besides, people involved in food adulteration have money. So when anyone les a case it becomes di cult to ght against them, she added.

About the report on wastage of money in quorum crisis during the ninth parliament Iftekharuzzaman said: We cant do any work without the permission of the government. The report is not unconstitutional. If any-one challenges us in this regard then its against the rule.

We are registered organisation of the government. Not a single money comes without the approval of govern-ment. Our audit report is open and any government o cials can check it. l

President Abdul Hamid joins a Doa Mah l marking the rst death anniversary of late president Zillur Rahman at Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban in the capital yesterday PID

3 killed, 85 injured in separate incidentsn Tribune Report At least three people were killed and 85 injured in separate incidents across the country yesterday. Over a dozen were held in these connections.

Our Chapainawabganj correspon-dent reports that a youth was killed in Balidanga of Nachole over a land dis-pute. The victim was Jasim Uddin, 30, of the same village.

Locals said Jasim had locked in an altercation with Khairul Islam and his wife Layli Begum, residents of Polsha Mission Bazar area. Khairul and his wife allegedly beat him up leaving him critically injured. Later he died on the way to a local hospital.

When contacted, Jasim Uddin, OC of Chapainawabganj police station, said they had arrested the couple on charge of murder. A case was led.

Police recovered body of an old man from a corn eld in Doulatdiar area, 12 days after he went missing from home, reports our Chuadanga correspondent. The deceased was Omar Ali, 70.

Liyakat Hossain, OC of Chuadanga police station, said Omar might had died from a heart attack while going to the eld.

According to the report of our Gai-bandha correspondent, a woman was killed following altercation over wa-tering a eld in Malibari union. The deceased was Shilpi Begum, 25, wife of Ra qul Islam.

Balu Mia, caretaker of a water pump, attacked her as she tried to fetch water from his pump around 4pm without tak-

ing his permission, said Gopal Chandra, OC of Gaibandha sadar police station.

Police said at least 15 people were injured in a clash that broke out around 2pm between the trainers and the trainees of a vocational training centre in Unique area of Ashulia, reports our Ashulia correspondent.

Sources said the clash erupted as the trainees put up blockade on Bai-pail-Abdullahpur road over a bargain regarding sending the trainees abroad.

Upon information, police went to the spot and brought the situation un-der control around 2:30pm, said Sheikh Badrul Alam, OC of Asulia police station.

Our Brahmanbaria correspondent reports that at least 20 people were in-jured in a clash between two groups of villagers in Ashuganj area. Locals said the clash took place between support-ers of Hazi Gafur Mia and Mizan Mia over land-related issues that lasted for around half an hour.

Golam Faruk, OC of Ashuganj police station, said police took the situation under control and additional police force had been deployed in the area.

In separate incidents of clashes in the district, at least 50 people were injured in Bhushor village of Pakshimul union.

A clash broke out between Faizullah and Samuj Ali over taking control of a water pump to water crops. Ali Arshad, OC of Sorail police station, said they had charged 22 rounds of rubber bul-lets and ve rounds of teargas canisters to bring the situation under control.

Seven were held in this regard. l

Japanese FM arrives in Dhaka todayn Sheikh Shahariar ZamanJapanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida is scheduled to arrive in Dha-ka today on a two-day visit to discuss bilateral relations, including trade and climate change issues.

Kishida will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral ties, a for-eign ministry o cial said yesterday.

The foreign ministers of Bangladesh and Japan will have formal talks on Sat-urday to discuss bilateral economic and trade relations, and how to increase co-operation in the international arena, Ashud Ahmed, a director general of the ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Climate change issues would also be discussed at the talks, Ashud said.

Another ministry o cial said in a broader context, the two ministers would discuss Bangladesh-Japan secu-rity cooperation, trade promotion and reforms in the UN Security Council.

O cial development assistance would get prominence under economic and trade promotion, he said. In the security cooperation area, both sides were likely to discuss UN peacekeeping operations.

When contacted, Bangladesh en-voy in Tokyo Masud bin Momen said: "Japan always provides unconditional loans and Dhaka expects to get more assistance from it."

Since 1971, Dhaka has received $11bn in assistance from Japan.l

Boro procurement starts from May 1n Mohosinul KarimThe government has decided to pro-cure 10 lakh tonnes of rice and 1,50,000 tonnes paddy in the current boro season. The procurement will start from May 1.

Food Planning and Monitoring Committee, a cabinet-level committee, made the decision at a meeting held yesterday at the food ministry.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Agri-culture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Di-saster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, and other top o cials were present.

Food Minister Quamrul Islam who chaired the meeting said: The com-mittee has decided to set the price of rice at Tk31 per kg considering the pro-duction cost of rice which goes around Tk26.50 per kg this season. The produc-tion cost of per kg paddy was Tk17.50.

He said paddy and wheat would be procured from the farmers directly. l

Acting CEC suspends Rakibuddins PSn Mohammad ZakariaActing chief election commissioner Abdul Mobarak has suspended AKM Mazharul Islam, the personal secretary of the CEC, for ignoring his responsi-bilities.

EC sources said the acting CEC had suspended him over previous altercation.

CEC Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad is now in the USA.

Sources also said Mazhar went to Coxs Bazar with his family to attend a training programme on March 17-18 without informing Mobarak. After be-ing informed, Mobarak asked the secre-tariat to suspend him immediately.

Mazhar wanted to talk to Mobarak in this regard, but the acting CEC did not allow him.

Mazhar was present at the commis-sion yesterday but did not do any o -cial work, sources said.

Mazhar told the Dhaka Tribune: I have got the letter about suspension. The acting CEC suspended me for ig-noring him.

When asked, Election Commissioner Mohammad Abu Ha z told the Dhaka Tribune that the acting CEC had the authority to make any administrative decision in the commission.

I did not know the reason of sus-pending the o cial, he also said. l

UK visa application centre to relocaten UNBThe UK visa application centre in Dhaka will move to new premises on Sunday.

The new location is Delta Life Tow-er, Plot 37, Road 45 in Gulshan North.

It has been made ready to a high spec-i cation to re ect the high standards that the UK government is determined to provide to UK visa applicants, said a Brit-ish High Commission media release. The centre in Sylhet will also move to new premises by early May and VFS Global will continue to operate both centres. l

Rawshan abstains from Ershads birthday celebrationn Manik MiazeeJatiya Party chief HM Ershad, also special envoy to the prime minister, yesterday celebrated his 85th birthday surrounded by party activists when his wife and Leader of the Opposition Rawshan Ershad remained absent for unknown reasons.

Marking the day, two separate pro-grammes were organised in the capital where Ershad exchanges views with party leaders at Emanuells Convention

Centre, Gulshan and later at The Westin Dhaka in the evening, hosted by JaPa Sec-retary General Ruhul Amin Hawlader.

Rawshan and her followers were in-vited at the programmes.

Only Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud and Ziauddin Bablu attended the pro-gramme from Rawshans side.

While contacted, her Private Sec-retary Golam Moshi told the Dhaka Tribune that he was not sure wheth-er Rawshan would attend the pro-gramme. l

President, PM join prayers for Zillur n Tribune ReportPresident Abdul Hamid yesterday joined a special prayer at the Darbar Hall of his o ce marking the rst death anniversa-ry of late president Zillur Rahman.

Bangabhaban o cials and employ-ees attended the event held after the Asr prayer, reports UNB.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also joined a milad and doa mah l at the resi-dence of Zillur Rahman at citys Gulshan.

Deputy Leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Commerce Minis-ter Tofail Ahmed, PMs Security Adviser Maj Gen (retd) Tariq Ahmed Siddique, AL Presidium Member Shahara Khatun, former deputy speaker Shawkat Ali, AL Publicity Secretary Hasan Mahmud, PMs Special Assistant Mahbubul Hoque Shakil and people from all strata attend-ed the milad held after Asr prayers.

Zillur Rahman, also a close aide of Fa-ther of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and organiser of the Liberation War, died of old-age compli-cations at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore on March 20 last year. l

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, March 21, 2014Police: Ansar member might have been killed accidentally n Mohammad Jamil Khan Investigators yesterday hinted that the Ansar member, who was killed at Moghbazar BTCL Colony on Thursday night, might have been shot acciden-tally by armed criminals.

Police, quoting locals, said on Thursday night, a group of six crimi-nals wearing helmets entered the col-ony at around 1:00am, and called for one Ahad, a sta of the colony who also owns an IPS (Instant Power Supply) distribution business, and then red banks when they could not nd him.

Three bullets red by the criminals hit an Ansar member, Abdul Aleem, 28, who was on-duty at the colony, on the right side of his neck, chest and right hand.

Later, he was rush to Dhaka Med-ical College Hospital (DMCH), where the on duty doctors declared him dead at around 1.30am. The body was sent to the hospitals morgue for autopsy, Moshiur Rahman, o cer-in-charge of Ramna police station, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Aleem, son of late Mirja Fakir, hailed from Sagat of Gaibandha district. He was on duty at the T&T colony with another Ansar member Mostofa Kamal.

When asked, Moshiur said primari-ly they presume that the criminals had not entered the colony to kill the An-sar member as they were searching for Ahad.

We have interrogated the three oth-er Ansar o cials, who were on-duty at the colony on that night, and Ahad. In-vestigation is underway and we hope that we would nd a new lead after receiving the autopsy report, Moshiur added.

Sources of BTCL colony said Ahad had a quarrel with his partner, Ramiz, a week ago inside the colony. The shoot-ing incident took place soon after the incident. l

MPs relative illegally occupies minority homesteadn Our correspondent, FeniA minority Hindu farmer has alleged that the local lawmakers brother-in-law had evicted his family from their homestead and illegally tak-en possession of the place in Fenis Sonagazi upazila.

Chittoronjon Nath, the victim, also claimed that Abu Naser, broth-er-in-law of Feni 3 constituency lawmaker Haji Rahim Ullah, was

threatening to kill the members of his family.

The victim added that he had led a written complaint on Wednesday to the police superintendent, seek-ing remedy of the matter.

Earlier on February 24, I signed an agreement with Naser for selling ve-decimal land to him.

He agreed to buy the land for Tk2 lakh and he gave me Tk50,000 as ad-vanced payment. Later on Monday,

Naser came to my locality and ille-gally took possession of 93 decimal of my homestead and the nearby land by cutting trees in the area. He also erected a fence at the area, the victim told reporters.

Saying that his family has been forced to take shelter in another house out of fear for their own lives, Chittoronjon added that the administration has kept mumover the issue, as the accused

was a relative of an in uential lawmaker.

Feni Police Superintendent Po-ritosh Ghosh con rmed that he re-ceived the complaint, but said no action had been taken so far.

Meanwhile, Naser refuted the allegation and said he had taken possession of the land that he had bought.

Lawmaker Rahim Ullah also said he had no knowledge of the issue. l

BNP submits memoranda to DCsn Mohammad AL-Masum MollaThe BNP submitted memorandums to the deputy commissioners across the country yesterday in protest at what it said violence and vote rigging in the Upazila Parishad elections.

Even though the party announced programme to lay siege to the DC o ces across the country, they only submitted the memorandums to the deputy commissioners. BNP chairpersons adviser Abdul Mannan along with some senior leaders handed over a memorandum to the deputy commissioner of Dhaka at 12:00 noon.

Partys Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said their leaders and activists handed over memorandums to the DC o ces across the country. l

BNP: Charges framed against Khaleda, Tarique sans proper proceduren Mohammad Al-Masum MollaCharges have been framed against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and its senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman with-out following proper procedure, a top party leader says.

In the politically motivated cases, charges have been framed against Be-gum Zia to weaken her mentally and hu-miliate politically. It is a part of govern-ments conspiracy. Proper procedure has not been followed for framing charges, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, joint secretary general of BNP, told a press brie ng at the partys Nayapaltan headquarters yesterday.

He came up with the reaction a day af-ter Khaleda Zia along with her elder son Tarique Rahman and seven others was indicted in Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust corruption cases led by

the Anti-Corruption Commission. Rizvi said they will ght legal battle

and politically face the cases too. He, however, said they will announce pro-gramme later.

He claimed that the BNP chairper-son was present in the court, but no proposal was placed for framing charg-es. No hearing was held. Even she was not asked whether she was guilty.

The BNP leader alleged that cases led against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and ruling party leaders were withdrawn, but false cases were led against their leaders and activists.

The government has been imple-menting various plans to divert peo-ples attention from the chaotic situ-ation in the country and as part of it, cases were led against Zia family, in-cluding Khaleda Zia. l

Minister: Khaledas indictment not politically-motivatedn Mohosinul KarimLaw Minister Anisul Huq yesterday claimed that framing charge against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was not politically motivated.

Terming it sub-judice matter, the minister said: I should not talk about a sub-judice issue. But, it is true that the court has framed charge against the BNP chief after hearing.

He made the comment after Saudi Ambassador in Dhaka Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Basiri paid a courtesy call on him at the ministry.

The Anti-Corruption Commission led two cases against Khaleda Zia and her sons Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman on charges of illegal transac-tion of fund of Zia Charitable Trust and Zia Orphanage Trust.

Anisul Huq said, I do not see any political motive behind the cases as the investigation into the two cases started during the rule of the previous caretak-er government. The cases were led af-ter completion of investigation.

He added: The cases were not lodged on political consideration. As an independent body, the ACC led the cases and submitted the charge

sheet against Khaleda. The charge was framed against her on the basis of evi-dences and allegations. There is no re-lation with politics.

BNP claimed that it would be de-liberately done with political motives. They made the claims after the court had adjourned the cases 40 times. The charge was framed in presence of Khaleda, he added.

Regarding Khaleda Zias allegation of framing the charge without question-ing her about her o ence, the minister said, I should not make any comment on any sub-judice matter. The lawyers of ACC can explain their position.

About contempt of court act he said: A draft of the proposed act was prepared earlier. But, nally the act was not passed. After consulting the stakeholders, we will take decision as to whether it is necessary or not. We will also take the proposal for amendment to the previous act into account, if nec-essary.

He said though there is no contempt of court act right now in the country, some guidelines were given in the judg-ments on previous cases. Contempt of court issues can be settled according to the judgments. l

RANA PLAZA TRAGEDY

DNA tests could be decisive to identify bodiesn Moniruzzaman UzzalThe identities of over a hundred Rana Plaza collapse victims, who remain un-identi ed almost a year after the disas-ter, could be ascertained if necessary steps were taken by the government, speakers at a seminar said yesterday.

The identi cations could be made by doing DNA tests of the family mem-bers of over 800 victims, whose bodies were claimed by relatives without pro-viding any DNA sample, speakers add-ed. The process would require around Tk50 lakh, as every DNA test costs Tk5,000.

Addressing a seminar on identifying Rana Plaza victims, Professor Dr Sharif Akhteruzzaman, national

technical adviser for the national DNA laboratory, said the process of handing over the bodies of Rana Plaza victims had been totally wrong, as only visual identi cation marks were used to verify relatives claims on more than 800 bodies.

Realisation of standard identi ca-tion procedure would have ensured that no corpse was handed over with-out collecting DNA sample for archi-val purposes, Dr Akhteruzzaman said, adding that the administration failed to follow the ideal rules, as such a disas-ter was unprecedented in the country.

I am sure several bodies were handed over without properly identi-fying them. Some of those were done intentionally or unknowingly. Besides,

an unscrupulous quarter had claimed some bodies to be of their relatives in order to bag Tk20,000 for burying each body, he said.

Dr Akhteruzzaman added that a more elaborate and appropriate nation-al disaster management plan was need-ed for collecting DNA samples from any future accident site.

Sources at the national DNA lab said 541 families gave 561 DNA samples for cross matching with the 322 uniden-ti ed victims, whose bone and teeth were collected as DNA samples.

A high-tech combined DNA index system (codex) software, provided by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, was used to identify 200 Rana Plaza victims through DNA tests.

Among those identi ed, 149 were female and 51 were male, 10 DNA sam-ples of the victims were matched with several relatives, while 112 remained unidenti ed.

Yesterdays seminar, titled DNA Pro ling Technology in Mass Disaster Victim Identi cation: The Rana Plaza Experience, was organised by Dhaka Universitys biological science faculty at the botany department.

Chaired by biological science faculty Dean Professor Dr M Imdadul Hoque, the seminars chief guest was DU Pro-Vice Chancellor (administration) Pro-fessor Shahid Akhter Hossain. Among others, Moniruzzaman Khondokar, chairman of biological science depart-ment, was present.

Further identi cation could be pos-sible by collecting DNA samples from the buried bodies along with from those who claimed to be their rela-tives, and cross match it with the other people who had submitted samples in search of missing relatives earlier, Dr Akhteruzzaman said.

Asked whether the government would be formally asked to initiate fur-ther ndings, Dr Akhteruzzaman said the DNA tests for Rana Plaza victims has not yet been o cially nished, but added that a formal letter would be giv-en to the government in the future.

The collapse of Rana Plaza on April 24 last year caused the deaths of at least 1,134 people and injured 2,515 more. l

Defence of Nizami given one more dayn Udisa IslamOn the third day of closing arguments yesterday, the defence of top war crimes suspect Motiur Rahman Nizami denied the charge related to intellectu-al killings saying that it was not clear.

After the whole day session, they pleaded to the tribunal for another day to place their submission on the le-gal part. The tribunal allowed them to place arguments on Sunday and asked the prosecution to place their submis-sion, if there was any.

The defence began arguments on March 13, a day after the prosecution ended their submission on the third day. The defence was earlier asked to complete arguments by yesterday.

Defence counsel Mizanul Islam yes-terday said there was no description of any particular incident under charge 16 which is related to the killing of intel-lectuals in Dhaka just before the coun-trys independence. He also claimed that the charge framing process was incorrect.

He argued that the investigation

o cer in his report had not submitted any clue about the charge and also not the note of Rao Farman Ali, a former Pakistani army personnel blamed for masterminding the intellectuals killing.

Mizanul also said the journalist who had witnessed the reality of intellectu-al killings had not been included as a witness in the case. He mentioned that the charge was not clear enough.

He claimed that Nizami was inno-cent as the charges had not been relat-ed with him.

The defence counsel also claimed that the witness who the prosecution had placed to prove the charge was not reliable. Every part of the deposition of the witness is false, not real.

Nizami was indicted on May 28, 2012 on 16 counts of crimes against human-ity including murder, rape, arson and incitement he had committed in Pabna and Dhaka.

Now the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, Nizami had been the chief of Islami Chhatra Sangha, then students body of Jamaat. l

Witness identi es accused as Qaisar Bahini chief in 71n Udisa IslamA new prosecution witness in the case against Syed Mohammad Qa-isar in his deposition told the war crimes tribunal yesterday about the brutalities of Qaisar Bahini perpetrated in Habiganj during the 1971 Liberation War.

Mohammad Ali Tipu, 64, was convener of the districts unit of All-Party Resistance Council. On April 12, we came to know that peace committees were formed in Dhaka, and also in Habiganj at the house of Syed Saifuddin, father of

the accused. The same month, Qaisar formed

a group after his name. He de-scribed the atrocities that group had committed in Madpur and Katiara on April 27 and 28 when at least 15 unarmed civilians were killed. Local Awami League leaders Dr Salieh Ahmed and Hirendra Roy were killed on April 29 after torture by hanging them from a tree near the house of former chief justice Mahmud Hossain. After his depo-sition, the tribunal adjourned the session until Sunday for cross-ex-amination. l

Garment workers hold a demonstration, protesting the assault of two fellow factory workers, in front of the National Press Club yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, March 21, 2014

City High Low

PRAYER TIMESFajar 4:46am

Sunrise 6:01amJumma 12:06pm

Asr 4:28pmMagrib 6:10pm

Esha 7:26pmSource: IslamicFinder.org

WEATHER

Dry weather likely n UNBRain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to oc-cur at one or two places over Khulna, Barisal, Dhaka, Chittagong, Rangpur and Sylhet divisions until 6pm today.

Weather might remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky else-where over the country, Met O ce said. Day and night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.

The sun sets in the capital at 6:10pm today and rises at 6:01am tomorrow.

Countrys highest temperature 34.5 degree Celsius was recorded in Farid-pur and lowest 17.0 degrees in Dinajpur and Syedpur yesterday.

Highest and lowest temperatures re-corded in some major cities yesterday were:

Dhaka 33.3 22.5 Chittagong 30.0 20.4Rajshahi 33.0 18.4 Rangpur 30.7 17.2Khulna 33.5 22.3Barisal 33.6 22.7Sylhet 31.7 17.7 Coxs Bazar 32.5 23.2

Students of a private university gather on a road for a ashmob centring the ICC T20 World Cup at the capitals Shyamoi area yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

ACC to quiz six top Petrobangla o cials n Tribune ReportThe Anti-Corruption Commission is set to quiz six high o cials of state-run Petrobangla, including a managing di-rector and a deputy managing director, in connection with its inquiry against Petrobangla Chairman Md Hossain Monsur on charge of acquiring illegal wealth.

The anti-graft body yesterday served notices to Barapukuria Coal

Mine Company Ltd Managing Direc-tor Md Aminuzzaman, Petrobangla Deputy Managing Director Firoz Khan, Project Director of Bibiyana Dhanua Gas Transmission Pipeline Project Mahmud Khan, Karnaphuli Gas Distri-bution Company Ltd General Manager (Admin) and Secretary Chowdhury Ahsan Habib, Manager (Admin) Abdul-lah Al Mamun, and Gas Transmission Company Ltd General Manager (HR) M Osman Faruk, asking them to appear

before the commission at its Segun-bagicha headquarters on March 30.

On March 9, ACC Deputy Director Ahsan Ali was assigned to investigate into alleged involvement of the Petro-bangla chairman in accumulating il-legal wealth through recruiting em-ployees in 13 of its associate companies violating rules.

The allegation said the chairman in connivance with some of his associates appointed a good number of employ-

ees violating the company rules.An ACC o cial said the commission

has received documents from the com-pany on all recruitments, tenders and details of development work done by Petrobangla and its 13 associate com-panies in the last four years.

As soon as we nish analysing the documents, we will question the re-spective o cials, including many from its high level for a furnished inquiry, he added. l

FOURTH PHASE UPAZILA POLLS

128 chairman candidates accused in di erent casesn Mohammad ZakariaThe Election Commission has out and out failed to contain violencecentring the upazila polls, SHUJAN, a platform of civil society members, has alleged.

It also came up with the allegation that of the 379 chairman candidates vying for the fourth phase upazila elec-tions, 128 were accused in di erent cases including for murder.

The allegation came at a press con-ference held yesterday at the Dhaka Reporters Unity in the capital. The fourth phase of polls will be held on Sunday.

The EC has so far failed to hold the upazila polls in a free and fair manner. The law enforcers did not obey the commissions order. They have worked as per the government instruction, SHUJAN Secretary Badiul Alam Ma-jumder said.

He added that the EC was silent

on taking action against violence that marked the last three phases.

We are not any partys agent. Dur-ing the BNP tenure, it described us as agent of Awami League while the rul-ing party now compares us with Ja-maat-e-Islami.

In his address, former adviser to a caretaker government M Ha zuddin echoed Badiul.

He said the commission hardlyexercised its authority to enforce law to ensure a peaceful atmosphere of election.

In the fourth phase polls, a davits of 379 out of 388 candidates vying for the post of chairman have been upload-ed on the ECs website, SHUJAN says.

It adds that around 200 chairman candidates had their graduation while 62 did not pass school.

A total of 1,287 candidates are contesting the fourth phase upazila polls for the posts of chairman, vice-chairman and female vice-chairman. l

EC publishes gazette of 48 women lawmakersn Mohammad ZakariaThe Election Commission yesterday published the gazette of 48 reserved seats for women in the 10th parliament while two such seats for women were remaining vacant.

Sirazul Islam, acting secretary of EC, yesterday told reporters the remaining two were now open for all political par-ties representing the 10th parliament.

If the political parties recommend-ed their nominees for the two seats, the number of contestants would be much more, and then voting would be held to pick up two women lawmakers, he added.

Earlier, the commission cancelled the candidature of Awami League nominee Sabiha Nahar Begum and Jatiya Party nominated candidate Khorshed Ara Haque for defaulting on telephone bills.

Sirazul, however, said the commis-sion would announce reschedule for the two reserved seats by 21 working days after publishing the gazette as per the laws.

Political parties have reserved seats for women in the parliament as per the proportion of how many seats they won for the House. But this case is something else. If more nominations are submitted for the two seats, voting would be the only solution, he added.

The 10th parliament currently has 297 lawmakers from Awami League, Jatiya Party, Jatiya Party (JP-Manju), Jasad, Workers Party, Tarikat Fedaration, BNF and independent alliance.

According to the law, the new wom-en lawmakers must take oath within three days after publishing the gazette noti cation. l

CERN DG Rolf-Dieter Heuer due on April 7 n Tribune Report Dr Rolf-Dieter Heuer, director general of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research will arrive in Dhaka on April 7, an education ministry press release said yesterday.

The press release said a preparation meeting was held regarding his arrival at the education ministry yesterday.

It said the CERN DG had been invited as the convocation speaker at the 48th convocation of Dhaka University scheduled to be held on April 7.

It said Dhaka University would confer the Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) upon Dr Rolf-Dieter Heuer. He would meet with eminent scientists, researchers, engineers, teachers and students on April 8 at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban of the university.

Dr Rolf-Dieter Heuer would also pay a courtesy visit to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid and Foreign Minister A H Mahmud Ali, the press release added. l

Abandoned girl living in inhumane state n Maria SalamAnnu, a physically-challenged seven-year-old girl who was left abandoned at Dhaka Medical College Hospital seven months ago, has been living in inhumane conditions though the au-thorities are informed about her.

The helpless girl had developed infectious wounds on her thigh when the Dhaka Tribune reporter visited her at the childrens ward yesterday after-noon.

Such wounds have developed because her pampers have not been changed regularly, said Hosne Ara, a female Ansar member.

The attendants of other patients claimed that her pampers had not been changed even after two days. They also said Annu was given bath once a week.

Replying to a query why Annu was not getting treatment for her wounds, Hashi Rani Das, an on-duty nurse at the ward, told the Dhaka Tribune: We

asked special attendant Phoolbanu to take care of her and clean her time to time. But she cleans her whenever she gets the time.

Annus bed seemed extremely dirty. The bed sheet was not clean and lit-tered with leftovers.

It was learnt that Annu is not fed properly. She is unable to eat herself because of her disability and most of the food given to her often goes waste.

A patient, who has been in a bed next to Annu, said he had been at the hospital for 17 days and did not see the girl bathed since.

However, Ansar member Rojina and Ahasania Mission sta member Nurna-har have been trying to feed and clean her whenever they get time. They are engaged in taking care of another abandoned boy named Siam.

Regarding the condition of the ill-fated girl, Deputy Director Mush qur Rahim of the hospital told the Dhaka Tribune that the authorities were

aware of the condition of the girl.He said: We cannot let a child die

in front of our eyes. We try our best to maintain the fundamental needs of the girl. But we are unable to monitor the situation all through the day.

Annu was noticed by a Dhaka Tribune journalist when she went to the DMCH to visit Siam at the childrens ward. Doctors said she might have been abandoned for disability.

The Dhaka Tribune contacted high o cials of Centre for the Rehabilita-

tion of the Paralysed (CRP) and re-quested them to see if there was any possibility to assist the girl.

Sister Valerie Ann Taylor, founder and coordinator of the CRP, introduced Shariful Islam, country coordinator of Canada-funded IPODMCH project, with the Dhaka Tribune reporter and requested that the conversation be taken to him in this regard.

Shariful said: Firstly, someone has to write to the director of the CRP about the girl and then we will take necessary steps after understanding the situation.

Later on Wednesday, a Dhaka Tri-bune reporter sent an email to the CRP authorities requesting them to take re-quired steps.

Yesterday, Goutam Basak, publica-tion and communication o cer of the organisation, said: We have already forwarded the email to our top author-ities. It will take a couple of days to get a decision in this regard. l

Dhaka ags Teesta concern with Delhi n Sheikh Shahariar ZamanBangladesh has agged its concern over the drastic fall of Teesta water in recent months.

Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque in the meeting with his Indian counterpart Sujatha Singh raised the is-sue yesterday.

Shahidul also paid courtesy calls on Indian External A airs Minister Salman Khurshid and National Security Advis-er Shiv Sankar Menon.

The foreign secretary went to India, his rst visit as secretary, on March 19 on a four-day visit.

The water ow in Teesta dropped to one-third of its regular ow in the last couple of months putting partial irriga-tion system in the northern zone into great trouble.

Shahidul on Wednesday also raised the issue of drastic fall of ow of water of Teesta river to Bangladesh when he met Indian Water Resources Secretary.

The Indian foreign secretary on the issue of fall of Teesta water ow said that they were taking it very seriously and had already asked their technical people concerned to immediately look into it, said a press release.

She informed that they are in the process of building necessary domestic consensus for signing the Teesta agree-ment.

Bangladesh and India failed to sign Teesta agreement in 2011 over the strong resistance from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Both sides emphasized on taking enabling steps to enhance connectivity in the region and in this context, they expressed their commitment to expe-

dite the work of coastal shipping con-nectivity.

A delegation from India is expected to visit Bangladesh soon for this pur-pose.

About cooperation in power sector, the foreign secretaries underscored the need for putting in place the necessary infrastructure urgently for supplying additional 500MW of power to Bangla-desh through the Bheramara-Baharam-pur grid inter-link and 100MW of power from Palatana power plant in Tripura.

Bangladesh signed agreement to purchase 500 megawatt of electricity from India for the next 20 years and also wants to import additional 500 megawatt and 100 megawatt from Pal-atana power plant.

About border killing, the Indian foreign secretary said that sustained e orts had signi cantly reduced the number of killing but even a single kill-ing is regrettable.

She reiterated the commitment of the highest level of India to bring down the killings to zero.

The two secretaries vowed to work more closely for trade facilitation such as development of infrastructure, re-moval of non-tari and para-tari bar-riers and mutual recognition of stan-dards and certi cates.

Shahidul also met Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary of India and discussed issues of mutual interest and bene t and underscored the need for exploring new areas of cooperation for greater energy security between the two countries.

The foreign secretary went to India, his rst visit, as secretary, on March 19 on a four-day visit. l

75,000 pry, secondary teachers to get English language trainingn Mushfi que Wadud A total of 75,000 primary and second-ary school teachers will be given train-ing on English language teaching so that they can make their students com-petent in English.

The government will provide the training under a project titled English

in Action where high quality trainers will conduct the training programme.

A two and half day training will be given to each of those 75,000 teachers initially and there will also be a follow up training, Siddiqur Rahman, the proj-ect director, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said the government had initi-ated the project considering the poor

communication skills of the school children.

Many students cannot commu-nicate properly in English even after completing graduation. If the teaching is not good in the primary level, com-petency in any language is di cult. Without a proper teaching method it is impossible to make students compe-

tent in a language, he said.The teachers would be trained in

modern mythology to ensure that they would provide quality teaching, Sid-diqur said, and added that the UK gov-ernment was assisting in the project which will be completed by 2017.

Sources said some 8,500 teachers had already been given training and

the government was running the proj-ect worth Tk144 crore since 2009.

Siddiqur said they had visited some schools and already substantial chang-es were noticed in the schools where teachers were given the training. The students communication level would be improved to a great extent once the project was completed, he added. l

Members of Dhaka Auto Rickshaw Workers Union form a human chain in front of the National Press Club in the capital yesterday, demanding an end to police harassment MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

'We asked special attendant Phoolbanu to take care of her and clean her time to time. But she cleans her whenever she getsthe time'

5NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, March 21, 2014

The park becomes safe haven for anti-social activities n Abu Hayat MahmudThe Farmgate Park in the capital has almost become an undesirable place for visitors as encroachment, illegal structures and antisocial activities now rule the place. It has apparently been turned into a place to avoid as the authorities concerned have time and again failed to ensure that it remains a popular hangout for visitors.

A section of the oating population stay in illegal makeshift establishments built inside the park which becomes a safe haven for drug addicts, sex work-ers, muggers and petty criminals when it gets dark. Even during daytime, mis-creants dominate the park, making it impossible for city dwellers to visit it alone as they fear they might get into trouble.

A number of visitors told this cor-respondent the park would soon re-semble places like Suhrawardy Udyan, Chandrima Uddyan and Ramna Park, spots synonymous with antisocial and indecent acts.

For long, the park was free from illegal establishments and immodest activities for example, that cause a public nuisance. It is only lately that

sex workers, drug addicts, hookers and muggers throng the place, Sakib Hasan, a resident of Indira Road in Farmgate, told the Dhaka Tribune.

If the situation continues to be so, I fear it will become like other similar parks in the city where people will hard-ly be interested in going, he added.

A group of students studying at Te-jgaon College echoed the same view, saying the park was a real turn-o be-cause of the presence of sex workers and drug addicts.

Shamima Akhter, one of the many homeless people staying in makeshift habitations, said she was forced to live here as she had nowhere else to go. I came here with my husband from a slum of Tejgaon and we have no other place to live.

Another illegal inhabitant of the park named Saiful said: No one charges us for staying here.

Md Kabir Ahmed Bhuiyan, chief engineer at PWD (Public Works Depart-ment), said he was unaware of such il-legal occupation of the park by impov-erished people.

I just heard it from you, we will take necessary steps against this, he told this correspondent. l

Tazreen Fashions chairmansbail cancelled n Md Sanaul Islam TipuA Dhaka court yesterday rejected the bail earlier granted to Tazreen Fash-ions Chairman Mahmuda Akhter Mita and ordered her to surrender to lower court within 15 days.

Dhaka District and Session Judge Abdul Majid passed the order following a petition led by the prosecution in a case led for a re at their apparel factory on November 24, 2012, which claimed the lives of over 111 workers and 104 others were injured.

The court also issued a show cause notice to Dhaka Chief Judicial Mag-istrate Md Ismail Hossain and Senior Judicial Magistrate Tajul Islam for their procedural mistakes in dealing with the case before and directed them to respond to it within 15 days.

In line with the order, the court is-sued another show cause notice to Defense Counsel ATM Golam Gous of the case asking why Mahmudas bail should not be canceled.

On February 9, the court of Tazul

Islam send Mita and her husband Delwar Hossain, managing director of the garment factory, to jail rejecting their bail pleas when they surrendered before it.

On the following day, however, the court of Md Ismail Hossain granted a one-month conditional bail to Mita on Tk 20,000 bond and sent Delwar to jail upon bail petition anew.

On February 12, Public Prosecutor Khondoker Abdul Mannan led a pe-tition seeking cancellation of Mahmu-das bail.

In the petition, the PP alluded that the accused had remained absconding for long, which proves her disobedi-ent to the court and the accused could have threatened the victims families and the prosecution witnesses.

On December 31 last year, a year af-ter the tragic re, a court issued arrest warrants against both Mahmuda and Delwar following submitting charge sheet in the case on December 22 that year by the IO against them and 11 high-er-level employees of the factory. l

Scholastica stages Tagores Dakghor n Tribune Report Students of Scholastica staged Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagores play Dakghor (The Post O ce) on Monday and Tuesday at their senior section in capitals Uttara.

The story of Dakghor revolves around a dying child, Amal, who yearns for freedom. He is con ned indoor by his family physician. However, he makes a new world for himself through his imagination and curiosity. His only way of contact with the outside world is through his window.

The play is considered to be a poi-gnant tribute to human spirit that gath-ers hope, even where there seems to be none.

Students of class V-IX delivered an exuberant performance at the STM Hall of the school with

colourful set, costumes and props.In his welcom speech, Principal

of the school Brig Gen (Retd) Kaiser Ahmed, emphasised on the importance of extra-curricular activities for the sound development of students.

For each performer this play has been a unique opportunity to enhance their learning experience and develop con dence, public-speaking and social skills, he said.

Ekushey Padak winner and a re-nowned poet Asad Chowdhury marked the rst day of the event as the chief geust while Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed, founder of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro was present as the chief guest on the following day. l

BCL men trying to occupy college canteenn Our Correspondent, BarisalActivists of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the students front of the rul-ing party Awami League, are allegedly putting pressure on the authority of Barisal Government Brojo Mohan Col-lege to keep college canteens closed, causing su erings of teachers, stu-dents and employees.

Humayun Kabir, who leased the canteen seven years back, alleged that the BCL men wanted to re-take the lease and they are pressuring college authority into handing over the agree-ment to them.

College sources said tenure of the lease had expired on February this

year and since then the college author-ity had been trying to give lease of the canteen to a suitable person.

I duly applied for extending lease as I need at least six months to arrange alternative sources of income.

But the college authority, pres-sured by BCL activists, rejected my lease-extension prayer.

They did not even give me time to remove my furniture and utensils before putting the canteen under lock and key on March 16, he added.

Nurul Ambia Babu, who led the ac-tivists in locking the canteen, said it was not the BCL men, but the college authority which locked the canteen.

He said healthy foods were needed

for more than 2,500 students of the college and the previous leaser failed to provide the service properly.

I am not taking the lease of the canteen. I am helping some people of our organisation so that they could get a lease contract and operate the can-teen with new decorations and fresh menus, Babu added.

Prof Kazi Nazrul Islam, vice princi-pal of the college, acknowledged that college authourity locked the canteen for 15 days after rejecting lease renewal application of the previous leaser.

He said the canteen had yet not been leased out to anybody. Fresh leasing and opening of the canteen was now under process. l

British Council to organise book reading competition n Tribune Report British Council and Da odil Education Network (DEN) would organise a na-tionwide book reading competition in June, said a media statement yester-day.

The participants of the competition will read a book given by British Coun-cil and attend an assessment test.

The competition is designed to pro-mote the reading habit among children and adults.

The participants will be divided into four parts where students of VI to VIII will be in group A, students of IX to X will be in group B, students of XI to XII will be in C while the adults will be in group D.

The registration for the competition will start from April 1. Details infor-mation will be available in www.read-ingbd.org.

The registration will be closed on May 31 and the assessment test will be held on June 13.

The name of the winner will appear in the British Council website in June and prizes will be distributed through a ceremony.

The rst winner from each group will get a laptop and other winners will get attractive prizes. Registration can be done in British Council and DEN of- ces. l

Farmgate Park turning into a squatters den

A girl is seen involved in household chores at Farmgate Park in the city yesterday ABU HAYAT MAHMUD

Power and gas connections to be delivered within 40 days n Abu Hayat MahmudThe government is going to set up a rst-way centre to provide power con-nections within 40 days after applica-tions are submitted. Two compressor centres will also be set up to provide gas connections rapidly following sub-mission of applications.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid made the statement while addressing the inaugural function of REHAB Fair 2014 in the capital yesterday.

People should not be waiting for long now to get power connections as we will soon set up a rst-way centre comprised of the existing power-re-lated organisations. Anyone will get a power connection within 40 days after submitting an application, he said.

As for providing gas connections, we will follow the same approach. Two compressor centres are being set up in Ashuganj and Elenga and will be com-pleted by April. Once completed, gas

problem in the real estate sector will be resolved, he added.

The Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) is hosting the fair at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhakas Agargaon. REHAB acting president Mukarram Hossain Khan presided over yesterdays programme which was also attended by Rajuk o cials.

REHAB leaders at the programme urged the state minister to reconsider the government-imposed condition which made it mandatory to use solar panels in every apartment. 3% of the power of every apartment will come from the panels.

We have discussed about the issue of solar panels in the ministerial meet-ing to relax the condition, Nasrul Ha-mid said.

Mentioning that there are dozens of illegal establishments in his constit-uency Keraniganj, the state minister said: Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha

(Rajuk) o cials kept mum when those were being constructed but now they want to demolish those. This is not fair.

In such cases, I would urge Rajuk o cials to take steps before construc-tion begins. Steps shouldnt be taken after construction is completed.

Nasrul Hamid also urged the gov-ernment to extend the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) for 50 years.

At present, Rajuk is implementing a satellite city named Jhilmil Residential Area in Keraniganj. Big housing com-panies like Priyo Prangan Housing Ltd, Navana Real Estate Ltd, Bangladesh Development Company Ltd and Bis-millah Real Estate are implementing their residential projects without ap-proval from Rajuk in Keraniganj.

Although the initial plan was to build the project on a 22,000-acre land, it is now being implemented on 381.11 acres because of Rajuks failure to ac-quire land from local in uential land-owners. l

Students of Scholastica stage Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagores play Dakghor on Tuesday DHAKA TRIBUNE

MBA admission results of DU publishedn DU CorrespondentFinal Results of admission test into MBA (Evening) Programme under the Faculty of Business Studies of Dhaka University was published on Wednes-day, March 19, 2014.

A press release signed by Director of Public Relation of Dhaka University Md Asharaf Ali Khan informed this to the

Dhaka Tribune. The results of the test are available

in the Dhaka University website i.e. www.du.ac.bd.

The selected candidates were advised to contact their respective departments and complete the admission procedures by April 3, 2014. The admission test was held on March 7 this year. l

CU Shah Amanat Hall yet to open n FM Mizanur Rahaman Despite 60 days having passed after the erce clash between the BCL and Islami Chhatra Shibir, the authorities of Chittagong University have yet to reopen its Shah Amanat Hall, causing an accommodation crisis for students who used to reside there.

Sources at the university said the students have to stay out of the cam-pus, which is hampering their studies immensely.

The CU authorities closed Shah Amanat hall, one of the major student dormitories, on January 12 for an in-de nite time following a clash that left Mamun Hossain, a fourth year student of Soil Science Department, dead.

As the hall has capacity to accom-modate 632 students, nearly 1500 stu-dents used to stay at the dormitory.

Contacted, Professor Anwarul Azim Arif, the VC of the university, said there was pressure from higher level to give access the BCL activist to the dormito-ry. However, he assured of taking initia-tive to sit with both parties for reopen-ing the dormitory to avert clash further.

Professor Dr Mohammed Abul Mansur, provost of Shah Amanat Hall,

said they made many e orts to reopen the dormitory considering the suf-ferings of the students. However, the move was in vain due to di erent com-plexities.

Mosta zur Rahman, president of CU unit Shibir, alleged that the authorities paid no heed to their repeated demand of giving permission to the only allot-ted students to the hall.

Sabbir Ahmed Chowdhury, a vice president of CU unit BCL, said the var-sity authorities should open the hall anew taking into account the su er-ings of the students.

The CU has six dormitories. Of those, Shibir has been dominating ve dormitories, including the Shah Amanat Hall, for long while the BCL has only Shah Jalal Hall. l

As the hall has capacity to accommodate 632 students, nearly 1500 students used to stay at the dormitory

ASI arrested in Pirojpur for circulating o ensive pictures n Our Correspondent, PirojpurAn assistant sub-inspector of Baburhat police outpost in Pirojpur was arrested yesterday for capturing o ensive pictures of a couple and spreading those through mobile phones.

Some local Awami League leaders were also accused on the o ence.

Ramzan, a resident of Pirojpur Sadar upazila, as a complainant lodged the case with Nazipur police station against Assistant Sub-Inspector Abdur Rahman and some local Awami League leaders under the Pornography Control Act, 2012.

O cer-in-charge of the police station A Khaleque Hawlader said, Abdur Rahman was arrested on Wednesday night. Today (Thursday) he was sent to jail after producing before a court.

Police are trying to arrest the other

accused, Enamul Hossain, Saiful Islam, Yusuf Ali, Izabul Islam, Mamun Sheikh, Tuku, Dalim, Muzahidul Islam alias Zafar, he added.

According to a court statement, Ramzan with his girlfriend was heading to Paglabarir Mela area while the accused Awami League leaders stopped them near Noimtola bridge area on March 12.

Being informed by the Awami League leaders, the ASI came to the spot and took the couple to Rajlaksmi Foundation.

Reaching the foundation complex, Abdur took the two victims to a separate room and forcefully captured o ensive pictures of them. Later on, he spread the pictures to other mobile phones.

On information, Ramzans mother Zulekha along with a teacher of SM Daruchunnesat Dakhil Madrassah Muzahidul Islam went to the spot and

informed Nazipur police station about the matter.

Later, a team of police rushed to the spot and rescued the victims.

The O cer-in-charge said, All of the accused, except Abdur Rahman are involved with Awami League.

Pirojpur Court General Record O cer Komol Kanti said, The judge Sottobroto Shikder ordered to send him to jail. l

6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, March 21, 2014Rajshahi strike makes commuters su er n Our Correspondent, RajshahiThousands of commuters, especially who live in Rajshahi, su ered a lot yes-terday because of a transport strike en-forced by the Rajshahi Motor Workers Union.

The transport workers, however, withdrew the strike in the afternoon af-ter the district administration released four transport workers, who were sen-tence to one-year imprisonment, for carrying sand illegally lifted from the Padma River.

Kamal Hossain Robi, president of Ra-jshahi Motor Workers Union, told the Dhaka Tribune that the administration had freed the detained workers at about 4pm and later the transport workers withdrew the strike.

Transport workers went on a strike for an inde nite period yesterday morn-ing, protesting the imprisonment.

Local sources said over 100 transport

workers brought out a procession from Rajshahi bus terminal, demanding re-lease of their fellow workers.

During the demonstration, they also demanded ban on the movement of risky vehicles like CNG-run auto rick-shaw and battery-run auto-rickshaw on highways.

During the strike, no vehicles left ter-minals or entered into the city, causing immense su erings for the commuters.

Students of di erent educational institutions were the worst su erers of the strike.

A commuter, who was standing at Rajshahi Bus Terminal for a bus, said it was an urgent for him to go to Naogaon for family a airs, but he could not do so because of non-availability of transport.

Kanij Fatema, 20, a student of Ra-jshahi University, who was waiting for a bus for two hours in Rail Gate area, nally started walking toward railway

station to catch a train. She said nowadays transport workers

called strike over trivial issues for their own interest and it should be stopped.

Deputy Commissioner, Rajshahi Mezbah Uddin Ahmed said consider-ing su ering of commuters the district administration had decided to free the convicted workers.

A mobile court sent four truck driv-ers to jail on March 11 after awarding them one years imprisonment and n-ing them Tk30,000 each in Poba upazila of Rajshahi for carrying the sand.

After the verdict, transport workers of Rajshahi handed over a memoran-dum to deputy commissioners o ce, demanding release of the workers.

Later, they met the deputy commis-sioner on Wednesday and sought his intervention in the matter.

After not getting any positive result, the transport workers called the strike on Wednesday. l

Magura doctors give 72 hours ultimatum to arrest attackers n Our Correspondent, MaguraThe doctors and employees of Magura Sadar Hospital yesterday gave authorities a 72-hour ultimatum to arrest the youths who had attacked the hospitals doctor Rokokuzzaman.

The ultimatum came at a meeting of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) of Magura yesterday afternoon. A procession was also brought out by the hospital doctors, nurses and employees at Magura Civil Surgeon

O ce premises, demanding the arrest of the attackers.

According to Dr Tarifuzzaman, vice-president of Magura BMA, trader Shantash Kumar Datta sustained a cardiac arrest and was brought to the hospital emergency around 11pm Monday night. The trader was declared dead by the duty doctor but in the meantime cardiac consultant of the hospital Rokunuzzaman was informed and asked to come.

The cardiac consultant went

to the hospital as soon as possible but the youths who brought the trader attacked Rokunuzzaman, accusing him of coming late, Tarifuzzaman added.

However, the wife of the dead, Lipika Datta alleged that the doctor came around 2am and her husband had died because of negligence of the doctor. When contacted, Rokunuzzman denied the allegation and said he had gone to the hospital just after he was informed over the phone. l

Manikchhari Chhatra League seeks protectionn Our Correspondent, KhagrachhariFive Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders and activists of Manikchhari upazila unit in Khagrachhari yesterday sought protection, alleging that cadres of Ra kul Islam, a listed criminal, had been threatening them and their families to withdraw a case led against him.

The Chhatra League activists made the allegation at a press conference in Manikchhari Bazar yesterday. They were injured in an attack by a group of criminals led by Ra kul on March 16. A case was led and Ra kul was arrested in this connection.

The upazila unit Chhatra League

Organising Secretary Asadul Islam al-leged that Abul Kalam, father of Ra -kul, directly threatened him and his family to evict them from the village.

We urge that punitive actions be taken against Ra kul and his father, he said.

Hafez Ahmed, another injured, al-leged that police were not taking action against Ra quls cadres as they took bribes from the criminals.

Contacted, O cer-in-Charge of Manikchhari police station Keshob Chakraborty denied their negligence in handling the case.

Police are trying their best to arrest the other criminals involved in the at-tack, the OC said. l

Barisal citizens block roads demanding completion of repair worksn Our Correspondent, BarisalResidents of Barisal city yesterday blocked the road from Amanatganj Water Tank area to Mahabaj Sha Miar Pul, demanding completion of repair works of the city roads.

Ebaidul Huq, one of the residents of the area, said the roads remained under repair works since the city cor-poration election was held on June 15, 2013, causing immense su erings to

the commuters and many accidents in the area.

The agitators also held a sit-in programme and warned that if steps to complete the repair works were not taken within next four working days, they would go for tougher movement.

Mainul Huq and Yunus Mia, two ward councillors of Barisal city, said they would talk to the mayor regarding the public demands. l

A transport worker attempts to vandalise a battery-run auto-rickshaw at Amchattar of Rajshahi city yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Woman blames in-laws for acid attack n Our Correspondent, BarisalA woman yesterday led a case with the acid violence prevention tribunal in Ba-risal, accusing her husbands relatives of burning her with acid over a land dispute.

According to the case, Sabina Aktar of Umarer Par in Banaripara upazila, al-leged that on the night of February 27, her in-laws entered her bedroom and poured acid on her, burning parts of her face and hand.

Suddenly awoken from sleep, Sabina said she tried to save herself by crying out, forcing the culprits to ee the scene. Her husband, Bazlur Rahman, was in Dhaka at the time.

Sabina was rushed to nearby Ne-sarabad upazila health complex for pri-mary treatment and then moved to Ba-risal Medical College Hospital. She was later referred to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital for better treat-ment. In her complaint, Sabina said she lived with her three-year old daughter at her husbands family home.

Her father-in-law, Habibur Rahman, presented her with a ve katha (half an acre) land last year. After Habiburs death, her in-laws allegedly started tor-turing her mentally and physically, de-manding that she return the land.

After returning home from Dhaka, Sabina went to the tribunal with her medical reports, which show 15% of her body sustained burns from an in am-mable liquid. She named her in-laws, Majnu Mia, A al Hossain and Mannan Master, as suspects.

After checking the medical certi -cates, Matiar Rahman, acting judge of the tribunal, ordered the o cer in charge of Banaripara police station to investigate the case. l

25 Bangladeshis rescued while being tra cked to India n Our Correspondent, Satkhira Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) rescued 25 Bangladeshis yester-day while they were being tra cked through the Tolugashi border of Sat-khira.

Twelve of the rescued are male, nine female and four children all hail-ing from di erent villages of Bagerhat, Khulna, Borguna and Jessore.

The rescued were handed over to Satkhira police station.

BGB o cials said the human traf- ckers had realised huge sum of money from them by alluring them with assur-ance of better employment.

Contacted, Satkhira BGB-38 Bat-talion Company Commander Subedar Kabir Ahmed said upon receiving in-formation, a petrol team of BGB had rescued them from pillar no 12 of the Tolugashi border of Satkhira.

However, the tra ckers managed to escape the area sensing presence of BGB o cials, he said.

A case was led with Satkhira police station in this regard. l

7DHAKA TRIBUNE Long Form Friday, March 21, 2014

n Tim SteelSomewhere beneath the old city of Dhaka, presumably close to the Buriganga, if not beneath its murky waters, there is a large mass of de-caying iron.

The subcontinent of India, became, it seems, addicted to the making of massive guns between the 16th and 18th centuries. Almost as if they joined, very early, in what we now believe to be the American school of life that works on the premise of, biggest is best, a phi-losophy so widely practiced in their automotive industry that the rest of the world rapidly gave up competing on the size front.

The big gun of Dacca, receives a significant attention from the jour-nal of Robert Lindsay, the Collector of Sylhet in the late 18th century, which offers us some very revealing insights into contemporary life, and the internal politics of the East India Company.

India has a remarkable record of significant iron working from an early age, and after the devel-opment of cannon by the Chinese in the 11th century, which were known, by them, as fire lances, the manufacture of cannon became fairly widespread in the subcon-tinent. Of course, Bangladesh, in particular, was to become a major international source of the saltpe-tre essential in the manufacture of gunpowder...indeed, the con-tract that the east India Company received to supply to British Navy was, throughout the 18th and 19th centuries an important source of revenue.

But guns the size of that which we have every reason to believe lies, still beneath Dhaka, were rare.

So rare, that Lindsays description of life in Dhaka in the late 1770s, which could be said to be, besides descriptions of hunting wild boar with spears, and the occasional leop-ard and tiger, which, however, he, was not fond of attacking without firearms, to be dominated by the big gun.

Dacca, he observed in his jour-nal, has nothing curious to boast of, or to attract attention of a stranger, excepting a remarkable piece of ordnance.

It was thirty six foot long, made of hammered iron, being an im-mense tube comprising fourteen bars of metal hammered together, with rings of iron driven over, and hammered down to a smooth surface, so its appearance was very good, although its proportions were faulty.

By its side lay a stone ball, which fitted the calibre; the strongest man in the place could only with difficul-ty raise it to his knee. Had this ball been made of metal it would have weighed 400 pounds.

The gun itself he estimated to have weighed nearly 65,000 pounds, or around 30 tons.

No doubt, Lindsays low opinion of the skills of local people were shared by most of the British at the time, and prejudice was allowed to overcome the evidence of eyes, but it is clear that the gun which so much impressed him, was a chal-lenge to him.

The natives, he writes, are totally unacquainted with mechan-ics, and he reports himself, and his colleague and friend, John Cowe, a veteran of, the American War, be-wildered about, how they contrive to manufacture this unwieldy gun. A prejudice that, even today, seems not to be rare amongst westerners viewing Bangladeshis. Although it does have to be said that many Bangladeshis, too, seem to share this opinion!

In the late 1770s, the gun was located on an island opposite the town of Dacca in the waters of the Buriganga. But Lindsay and Cowe, so impressed by the weapon, observ-ing that the waters of the river were gradually encroaching upon the island, developed a scheme to rescue it, mount it on a boat, and send it to Calcutta.

Their work postings, however, including Lindsays to sylhet, ap-parently overcame their ambitions with the gun. In 1780, he reports, the island, and the gun, were finally engulfed by the waters, and sank. And there, it seems, it lies, still, somewhere deep in the allu-vium. With its weight, it will not have travelled far!

Such big guns were, it appears, something of a speciality of 17th century India, with Thanjavur, in modern India, identified as a major centre for such advanced manufac-turing skills.

These unusual, forge welded can-non, as distinct from the casting pro-cess more commonly used around the world, have also been found at Nurwar, Mushirabad, Bishnupur, Bi-japur, Gulbarga and Thanjavur itself.

The manufacturing process of these guns is believed to be identical to that of the forging of other ancient iron artefacts found in the subconti-nent, such as the famous Iron Pillar of Delhi. That artefact was original-ly believed to, possibly, date back to the early first millennium BCE, although more recently, that belief has been questioned. But, whatever

the truth, there is little doubt that such ironworking skills date back a considerable period.

The world has long been im-pressed by these early ironworks, reflecting the very apparent awe that Lindsay felt for the Dacca gun. And the fact that the origin of such craft skills was probably in what is believed to have been the worlds earliest industrialised civilisation, that of the Ganges basin, much of which, we need to remind ourselves, lies in the lands of Bangladesh, should continue to be a source of pride in the unquestionable achieve-ments of the ancestors of the peo-ples of Bangladesh.

It may be that, some day, the opportunity may arise to recover this monumental artefact, until then, it is only possible, taking pride in the fact that, at one time, Dhaka enjoyed a place amongst the Big Guns of an-cient military craftsmanship. l

Big gunsPhotograph of Dacca (Dhaka) taken in the 1880s, from an album Architectural Views of Dacca, containing 13 prints by Johnston and Hoffman. ... This photograph presents a general view looking across the market place in Dhaka. In the centre of the image is an old brass-cannon of native manufacture, found in the Buriganga riverbed. On the left is the chief mosque in the city WIKI

Cannon, Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India WIKI

The world has long been impressed by these early ironworks, re ecting the very apparent awe that Lindsay felt for the Dacca gun

Big guns were, it appears, something of a speciality of 17th century India, with Thanjavur, in modern India, identi ed as a major centre for such advanced manufacturing skills

Friday, March 21, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE World8EU takes aim at Russia economy as Kiev plans Crimea pulloutn AFP, Kiev European leaders were on