The New Nation - Internet Edition

Our Correspondent, Barisal

Condition of health and sanitation in Barisal City Corporation (BCC) area is now the worst. Piles of garbage and wastes on city roads especially the Sadar Road, Fazlul Huq Avenue, Bazar Road, Chawk Bazar, Katpotty, Kawnia Road have created health and sanitation hazards for the half million city dwellers.

BCC sources said, in an average 150 tons of garbage and wastes in a day pile up at different points of the 45 square kilometer areas of the city. At least 20 garbage carrier trucks are needed for removing this huge quantity of wastes. But BCC has only seven garbage carrier trucks out of which only three are in operation while the rest four are lying out of order for long time.

BCC has only fifty personnel equipped with only 25 vans and 30 trolleys. Out of them thirty persons are sweepers, ten jamaddars and the rest ten are drivers, helpers and others. So it is impossible to keep the city clean.

Besides, most of the employees working in this sector of BCC are employed on daily wage basis with per head wage of Tk. 65 a day. Moreover, they are not getting wages for last two months.

The sweepers are instructed to clean the city before dawn. But citizens alleged that the sweepers and garbage carriers do not start working before eight in the morning.

Sewerage and drainage system of the city is often blocked with wastes and so the roads are often flooded with dirty filths. The drains cannot drain out liquid wastes.

In the busy hours, thousands of city dwellers including students, office goers and pedestrians have to pass piles of dirty wastes by covering their nose with handkerchiefs.

Ward commissioner and Mayor in charge Awlad Hussein Dilu, chief administrative officer Mehdi Hasan and health and sanitation officer of BCC Dr. Matiur Rahman said, the existing manpower and carrier capacity are not sufficient for cleaning a city of 45 square kilometers with half million inhabitants. Moreover, the citizens are not habituated to throw garbage in dustbins or selected places within midnight for cleaning before dawn. They often throw those at different places and even after late morning, they added.

The authority has taken steps to repair the garbage carriers, collect more 75 garbage collecting box-van trolleys, construct 50 new dustbins and develop the garbage dumping ground at Marokkhola area of the city.

For this work a tender worth Tk. 10 lakhs would be called on November 13, 2007. Besides, BCC will deploy more manpower in this sector and purchase two garbage carriers at a cost of Tk. 35 lakhs from its own fund, the sources informed.

Advocate Enayet Pir Khan and Dr. Mizanur Rahman, president and member secretary of Nagorik Parishad and Nagorik Samaj, two alliances of the citizens, said a garbage free and clean healthy city is a primary need for the citizen and it became worst in BCC area after up gradation as a city corporation.

BSS, Rajshahi

Police arrested 69 alleged criminals including three listed ones from different areas in city and nine Upazilas of the district on Saturday and Sunday, police sources said.

Of the arrested, 27 were rounded up from different areas in the metropolis while 42 others including the listed ones from nine Upazilas of the district.

Traffic police lodged 60 cases under motor vehicles ordinance and seized six motorbikes without registration during drives against the non-registered motor vehicles and other malpractices in different parts of the city during the time.

BSS, Rangpur adds: Rangpur police arrested 26 persons from different places in the district during the last 24 hours ending at noon on Monday.

Police sources said the arrested persons include absconding warrantees and accused persons in different cases, terrorists, dacoits, smugglers, drug-peddlers, muggers, thieves, extortionists and others.

Police also recovered huge quantities of fermented wine, stolen goods, ganja, phensidyl and other illegal goods during the drives.

Of the arrested, Kotwali police arrested 10 persons, Gangachara five, Taraganj one, Badarganj one, Mithapukur three, Pirganj two, Pirgachha one and Kawnia police arrested three suspected criminals during the period, the sources said.

The arrested persons were sent to jail hajat when police produced them before different Rangpur courts today, the sources added.

BSS, Narail

A view-exchange meeting was held here today on the occasion of projecting the newly formed community police coordination committee in the district.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Khulna range, Mohammad Ahiduzzaman Mia was the chief guest at the meeting organised by district police administration.

With Police Super Mohammad Mahfuzul Islam in the chair, the meeting was addressed, among others, by Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Quiyum Sardar, commander of the district joint forces Lieutenant Colonel Abul Fazal and Principal of Narail Government Victoria College Professor Ashok Kumar Shil.

BSS, Natore

Sugar production in two mills in the district began today with a target of producing 32,625 tonnes of sugar during the current crushing season.

The mills authority said the North Bengal Sugar Mills has fixed up a target of producing 19,125 tonnes of sugar through crushing 2.50 lakh tonnes of sugar-canes, while the Natore Sugar Mills will produce 13,500 tonnes by crushing 1.80 lakh tonnes of sugarcanes.

They said sugarcane was cultivated on 48,600 acres of land in the areas of the two mills. They also expected a good harvest this year following the measures undertaken to control insects. The cane farmers are now getting extra-benefits as the mills authority had increased prices of sugarcane by Taka 2.0 to Taka 2.50 per mond this year.

Our Correspondent, Naogaon

A discussion meeting was held at DC conference room recently about preparation of voter list and national identity card of Naogaon district Sadar upazila, under auspices of District Election Office, presided over by Deputy Commissioner Shefaul Karim.

District joint forces commander in charge Major Mobasher, Major Safowat Ahmed Sumon, police superintendent Sardar Nurul Ameen, sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Abu Zubair Hossian Bablu, district election officer Md. Yunus Ali, pourashava chairman Shafiqul Islam, OC Ekramul Haq and others spoke on the occasion.

It may be mentioned that the historic campaign of the voter list and identity cards would be functioned up to 25th December throughout sadar district upazila only.

Our Correspondent, Chittagong

Speakers at a colloquium titled "Say No To Drug" on Sunday urged all to save the society from the clutch of the deadly drugs.

They urged the education managers to give more time and scopes for participating the extracurricular activities so that the juveniles could remain away from addicts and the deadly drugs.

Chittagong University Debating Society (CUDS) and Star Campus, a weekly magazine of The Daily Star, jointly organised the discussion at Chittagong Shilpakala Academy. Resident Editor of the daily Prothom Alo poet Abul Momen joined the discussion as chief discussant while CUDS Moderator Dr. Mahbubul Hoque presided over it.

Dr Abdul Muttalib, head of the Psychiatry Department of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH), presented the keynote paper at the discussion while Bureau-in-Charge of The Daily Star in Chittagong Shahidul Islam Bachchu delivered the speech of welcome.

Abul Momen said that socio political unrest had been taking the youths and juveniles away from cultural activities and throwing them into the darkness of addiction.

Dr Abdul Muttalib, however, pinpointed drastic degradation of social values and kind of frustration caused from the ongoing socio economic rescission as the reasons of ever increasing drug addiction in the country.

Shahnoor Wahid, editor of Star Campus, urged the young students to raise their voice against practice of taking drugs. Prof Imam Ali of CU Sociology Department, Md Moniruzzaman Bhuiyan, Assistant Professor at CU Statistics Department, Principal of Sunshine Grammar School Safiya Gazi Rahman and Fuad Hasan, lecturer at CU Marketing Department, also spoke on the occasion.

RU Correspondent

The invigilator committee of admission test of Rajshahi University (RU) on Monday caught a fake examinee at Islamic History Department Test.

The name of the fake examinee's is Jahangir Alam,who passed his M.A. degree in 2005 from Sociology Deptt. of Rajshahi University and halls from Faridpur

The fake examinee sat for the admission test hall instead of Md.Sharifuddin bearing admission Roll No.17213,deptt. of Islamic Studies.Sharifuddin's home is at Dugrapur of Rajshahi . The fake examinee told the invigilator committee that ,he joined the admission test as a fake examinee for 20,000 taka contact with Sharifuddin.

BSS, Rajshahi

A student was killed and 18 others were injured in a road accident at Belpukur area on Rajshahi- Natore Highway under Motihar Police Station in the city this recently.

The dead was identified as Suman, 20, a student of Rajshahi Polytechnic Institute, of Milki Bagha Upazila in the district.

Quoting witnesses police said, the accident took place when a Rajshahi bound passengers' bus from Bagha skidded off and fell into a roadside ditch at around 12.45 PM as the driver lost control over the steering.

Suman, who was a passenger of the bus died on the spot and 18 others sustained injuries.

The injured were admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.

A case was filed with Motihar Police Station in this connection.

Our Correspondent, Chittagong

The two-day UK Education Fair 2007 concluded at the Hotel Peninsula in the port city with huge response from ambitious students.

Fifteen overseas education-consulting firms and four UK Boards joined the fair. British Council organised the fair to facilitate the prospective students may pursue overseas education.

Premier University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Anupam Sen was the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony while Chittagong Press Club General Secretary Ezaz Yusufi was present as special guest.

The institutions are offering distant learning method for the Bangladeshi students. British Council Exam Services Director Peter Ashton also spoke on the occasion.

The fair was open for all. Radio Foorti was the media partner of the fair.