The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), one of Bangladesh's major development partners, yesterday wanted to know about the caretaker government's position regarding Tk 4,000 crore investments of Tata and Asia Energy.

Visiting ADB's South Asia Department Director General Kunio Senga wanted to know this during a meeting with Finance and Planning Adviser Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam at the later's Planning Commission office in the city yesterday morning.

After the meeting, the Finance Adviser told reporters that the government's indecision regarding the investment proposals of Asia Energy and Indian giant Tata was giving a wrong signal to foreign investors about investment in Bangladesh.

"We're sending a wrong signal to foreign investors by making delay in giving decisions regarding the investment proposals of Asia Energy and Tata," he said. "We're neither saying 'yes,' nor 'no' about the investment proposals of Tata and Asia Energy."

About Asia Energy, the Finance Adviser said the government is now formulating a coal policy and the issue with the Asia Energy would be discussed after the approval of the coal policy.

Dr Islam said the Asia Energy in a leter to the government recently has expressed its willingness to start renegotiations of the terms of the contract on Phulbari Coal Mine Project in Dinajpur.

"We'll go for renegotiation of the contract with Asia Energy after the finalisation of the National Coal Policy," he said.

About the much-talked-about Tata's US$3 billion investment proposal, Dr Islam said it is a complicated mater and the gas reserve issue is intimately related with the proposal. "As the terms and conditions have a clause to provide uninterrupted gas supply for several years, we'll have to assess our actual gas reserve as there are several findings in this regard, and we're not sure which one is correct," he said.

Tata's investment proposals include a 1,000 megawat gas-fired power plant and a 500 megawat coal-fired power plant Also on the cards is a fertiliser plant with a one million ton a year capacity and a 2.4 million ton steel mill at Ishwardi. The Indian business conglomerate's proposal remains unresolved for over two years.

Regarding the flood damages, the Finance Adviser also told reporters that according to a rough estimate the flood damages would be within US$ 200 to US$ 250 million.

"We hope that Bangladesh will receive a large portion of the flood rehabilitation assistance from the ADB, while the remaining part to be managed from domestic resources," he said.

However, Kunio Senga said the ADB is yet to start its needs assessment to help Bangladesh in its flood rehabilitation works although the Wold Bank is going to disburse US$ 75 million soon in this regard.

"After Bangladesh's Finance Adviser's visit to Manila, we realised that the flood in Bangladesh was severe and we formed a team for needs assessment," Senga told newsmen after his meeting with the Finance Adviser.

Senga admited that they did not give enough atention to the recent flood in Bangladesh and its devastation. "Hopefully, we'll be able to provide assistance for flood rehabilitation," he said without mentioning the amount of their assistance.

The Finance Adviser told the reporters that the government has also formed a commitee with the Planning Secretary as its head to assess the damages caused by the devastating flood.

At the meeting, the ADB team also discussed maters relating to the country's ICT, energy and power sectors. "The investment issue of

Tata and Asia Energy also came up at the meeting for discussion," the Adviser said.

ADB Country Director Hua Du was also present at the meeting.

Chitagong Correspondent

The Election Commission (EC) is learnt to have taken adequate precautions for keeping the Rohinga intruders and Pakistani refugees out of the under process voter roll.

The intruders, refugees and expatriates earlier became voters out of political influences during the regimes of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Awami League would also be dropped from the list

According to sources at Election Commission here in Chitagong, more than 50 thousand Myanmar-intruders and Pakistani-refugees have become voters over the previous decade of political ruling.

Of the illegal voters, 19 thousands are Myanmar-intruders and the others are Pakistani-refugee. The then political governments included them in the voter list illegally for their ulterior motive. The port city alone hosts about 200 thousand Myanmar-intruders and another 300 thousand Pakistani-refugee. Second generation of the outsiders are willing to be naturalized while some of them like geting back to their homeland.

The EC sources said that the second generation of the refugees who born on this soil after 1971 had acquired the right to become voters.

Voter registration at Halishahar, Tigerpass, Agrabad and Hamjarbag - the concentrations of refugees and intruders - will require special measure for authentic identification of the naturalized population.

Mohammad Dulal Talukder District Election Commissioner in Chitagong told this correspondent that EC was pledge bound to make a flawless voter roll.

Staff Reporter

Expressing solidarity with the country's garment workers INCIDIN Bangladesh, an Internet solidarity network, yesterday started web publication to stop the cancellation of Generalised System of Preference (GSP). The website is www.bgw-info.net/protest1/pro.html.

The decision in this regard is expected to be taken today in the USA.

It may be mentioned that AFL-CIO an US based workers organisation alliance has submited a petition to USTR with four main complaints, which included recent violation of domestic and internationally recognised workers' rights in export processing zones (EPZs), violation of the same in readymade garment industries, similar violations in shrimp and fish processing industries and harassment and violence by government security forces on the workers.

The US based organisation is seeking cancellation of GSP in USA, which has so far been favouring Bangladeshi garment export to the largest market

To make the USTR feel that the decision would be detrimental to the workers INCIDIN Bangladesh has started the web publication programme in which national and international people will be able to express solidarity with the Bangladeshi labours. Executive Director of INCIDIN Bangladesh Masud Ali told this to The New Nation at its office at Mohammadpur.

Masud said the initiative that the AFL-CLO has taken could take away the only source of income of the workers if the GSP was cancelled for the Bangladeshi garments.

They could have come to Bangladesh and expressed solidarity with the workers, he added.

"Along with the workers' right the GSP is also a vital issue of national interest as the garment sector has been the number one foreign exchange earner of the country," Masud said.

Chitagong Correspondent

A murder case was filed against former Jamaat lawmaker Shahajahan Chowdhury, who went into hiding after murder and graft charges were slapped on him, and 48 other Jamaat leaders and workers of Satkaniya Upazila.

Ayesha Begum, spouse of businessman Faridur Alom, who was killed on January 1, 2005 near Satkaniya Bazaar, filed the case at the first Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court-4 of Chitagong on Tuesday last

Of the suspects Shahajahan Chowdhury has been made number three accused while Jamaat Amir of Satkaniya Upazila Dr. Nurul Haque and local leader of Jamaat-e-Islami Shamsul Islam were made number two and one accused of the murder cased.

The plaintiff of the case claimed that Shahajahan Chowdhury and his followers gave threats to the family members of Faridur Alom not to file any murder case with the respective police station in that time. She also claimed that they could not file any case due to their threats during the tenure of immediate past BNP-led alliance government and urged the caretaker government to ensure justice in the case of her husband's killing.

UNB, NewYork

Bangladesh calls for greater unity and cooperation among the Islamic Ummah, "particularly at a time when it confronts manifold challenges". Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury said this at a Conference of Islamic Foreign Ministers held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York Tuesday.

"We must strengthen cooperation among member states to prevent conflicts, achieve an independent Palestine, safeguard the rights of the Muslims where they are a minority, and prevent unilateral actions against Muslim states," he told the conference.

Dr Iftekhar underlined the importance of the OIC to focus on development and said in the economic and scientific fields, the Islamic world must achieve higher levels of development and prosperity as it have abundant resources and capacities. "It's important that we make the best use of our comparative advantages to promote our socioeconomic development," he added. He also urged the OIC to pay a special atention to the Least Developed Countries within the Ummah and assist them through special measures. Dr Iftekhar regreted that Islam is often equated with terrorism in Western mind and said, "Islam is a faith of peace, and that the Islamic world is united against terrorism."

He, however, said it was important to address the "root causes of terrorism" and eliminate them. He said Bangladesh will always stand shoulder to shoulder with Islamic brethren in the rest of the Ummah to meet the challenges it faces today and join the endeavours to overcome them through common strategies.

Staff Reporter

The slum dwellers of the country will double by the next thirty years if the objective of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is not fulfilled, said speakers at a discussion meeting yesterday.

According to MDG, at least one crore slum dwellers are to be brought under viewable development by the end of 2015. Expressing their concern over the existing deteriorating situation in the slum areas in different cities of the country, they urged the government to take initiatives for readdressing the situation.

They urged the government to formulate a national policy and take proper steps to ensure shelters of the slum dwellers in the major cities of the country. They were speaking at a discussion meeting marking the International Habitat Day organised by the Coalition for the Urban Poor (CUP) in the city yesterday.

Dr Prof Nurul Islam Nazem, General Secretary, Center For Urban Studies (CRU) said, though the slum people are contributing a lot to the economy of the country, they are still living in inhuman condition.

''Until and unless the discrimination between the poor and the rich are not removed, development is not possible,'' Prof Islam observed.

CUP Executive Director Mostafa Kaium Khan said the fundamental rights of the slum dwellers for geting shelters are not yet met

If their shelters are not ensured, a safe city will not be possible. Presided over by CUP Executive Director Mostafa Kaium Khan, Rafiqul Islam, Fatema Akter, Momtaz Akter, Abdur Rashid, Abdul Mannan, and Kazi Baby, among others, participated in the discussion.

Fatema Akter in her speech said, though each year we celebrate the International Habitat Day, no outcome actually come and we do not get benefits.

Abdur Rashid alleged that all give us promises but nobody keep that promises.

Rafiqul Islam said with the prevailing discrimination in the society, we cannot expect development

The progamme followed by children arts competition.

BSS, Rajshahi

A Taka 20.41 crore project is being implemented to enhance fish production in Chalan Beel.

Officials said the Department of Fisheries (DoF) is implementing the project to ensure livelihood security of the wetland people and support the government's poverty reduction efforts through sustainable aquaculture and management

There was a time when the Beel was widely known for its immense resources for fish harvesting across the northern region. The resources are now on the verge of extinction. According to the officials, the three-year 'Chalan Beel Fisheries Development Project' is being implemented in 12 upazilas of Rajshahi, Natore, Naogaon, Bogra, Pabna and Sirajganj districts. The project began in July last year.

Among the objectives of the projects are to increase fish production to meet up nutritional requirement and to preserve fish biodiversity and restore fish habitat

Besides improving employment and socio-economic conditions of fishing communities, landless and fish farmers, the project seeks to involve the target groups with water body management and aquaculture activities and establish their rights in the developed water bodies. Project Director Sawkat Ali told BSS that on its successful implementation the project would help atain the target of annual fish production to 400 kilograms per hectare from 200 kilograms at present

To atain the goal, 160 hectares of ponds, canals, dried rivers and beels will be re-excavated in addition to development of fish sanctuaries on 40 hectares and floodplain on another 20 hectares of water bodies.

Apart from this, some other need-based infrastructures like 298 pipe-culverts, 80 fish sanctuaries, 23-kilometer embankments and three fish landing stations will be constructed.

BSS, Dhaka

President Professor Dr Iajuddin Ahmed hosted an Iftar for the country's distinguished persons at Bangabhaban on Wednesday evening.

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed, Speaker Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar, Chief Justice Mohammad Ruhul Amin, former president Hussein Mohammad Ershad and former president Abdur Rahman Biswas were among the dignitaries, who joined President Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed at the main Iftar table.

Members of the advisory council, former chief advisers and advisers, chief election commissioner and election commissioners, Supreme Court judges, politicians, diplomats, senior civil and military officials including chiefs of army, navy and air force, editors and senior journalists and religious leaders atended the iftar.

A munajat was offered ahead of the iftar seeking divine blessings for the peace and progress of the country. The President and the Chief Adviser also exchanged greetings with the guests.

BSS, Dhaka

The Bangladeshi contestant Mohammad Fazle Rabbi Adel, 11, a class VIII student of the Tanzimul Ummah Madrasa, Utara, has been awarded the first prize at the 11th Dubai International Holy Quran Award Competition.

According to message received here yesterday, Shaikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, himself handed over the prize to the winner Master Rabbi on Tuesday night Shaikh Maktoum was present at the ceremony for two hours. The senior members of the ruling family, eminent Islamic scholars from the region, and senior high officials, and a group of Bangladeshi expatriates were also present The winning of the award by Master Rabbi has received wide media coverage in the UAE.

Jalil under another spell of detention

Kailash Sarkar

At the end of the second phase of detention, Awami League General Secretary Abdul Jalil was taken under another three-month detention yesterday, sources said.

Deputy Inspector General of Prison (DIG-Prison) Major Shamsul Haider Siddique told The New Nation, "We have received the leter from the Home Ministry yesterday."

AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil, who is also the Chairman of Mercantile Bank Ltd, had been undergoing treatment at LABAID private hospital since July 15. According to the Special Branch (SB) sources, they had submited an application to the Home Ministry for the approval of extending the detention of the AL General Secretary for more three months and the Ministry approved it

Abdul Muqit Chowdhury

Mercy of Allah is unlimited. He has given us the chance to repent and return to His grace. But as we are irresponsible to the call of repentance, we fail to avail Allah's mercy and forgiveness.

The holy Quran says : "Say O my servants, who have transgressed against their souls ! Despair not of the mercy of Allah ; for Allah forgives all sins ; for He is oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (39:53)

Human beings are likely to commit error and sin. They need opportunity to repent and reform. The month of Ramzan brings to them chance to rectify and purify themselves. Self-criticism, sincere repentance and complete surrender to the Will of Allah would surely change their position in the Supreme Judgement of Allah.

So, they should realise their mistakes commited before and seek Allah's mercy and forgiveness.

Rasulullah (SM) described the fate of people, who don't pay heed to the Divine call and don't change their way of life :

"Indeed, miserable is the one who is deprived of Allah's forgiveness during this great month." (Sermon of Rasulullah SM).

BSS, Rajshahi

Tanore police yesterday submited chargesheet against former post and telecommunications minister Barrister Aminul Haque and two others in connection with an extortion case filed against them with the police station earlier.

Two other accused in the case are district BNP Secretary and Mundumala Pourasabha Chairman Shish Muhammad and Chanduria UP Chairman Mofizuddin.

One Golam Mostofa of Belghoria village under Tanore upazila lodged the case against them on May 20.

In his case, Golam Mostofa mentioned that the accused, in collaboration with each other, took Taka 1.5 lakh from him as extortion in the name of giving job. But they did not keep their commitment

After completing investigation into the case, OC of the police station Nurul Amin submited the charge sheet to the court under sections 420/406/109 of BPC.

Earlier, Barrister Aminul, Shish Muhammad and some other BNP leaders and workers were sentenced to 31 years rigorous imprisonment in another extortion case. Both of them are now absconding.