The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Millions were rendered homeless and hungry in the twelve coastal districts, ravaged by super cyclone Sidr on Thursday and Friday, while thousands of rescuers, including military personnel, are struggling to reach relief materials for the second consecutive day, yesterday.

Innumurable bodies of the storm victims and cattleheads were still floating on the shore of the Bay of Bengal and in the rivers of coastal districts. The severe cyclone had badly hit 20 districts, including 12 on the coast and 34 of the 64 districts of the country were affected.

Total number of affected families are 17 million.

The death toll has been jumping by hundreds at a time as rescuers fight their way to remote areas where entire villages were flattened by the fury of Cyclone SIDR, which tore through southern part of the country and at least three districts in the mainland.

The Red Crescent officials said in the morning that the death figure would be much higher than 10,000 already reported. The number of injured and missing persons are thrice the death figure.

Our Bagerhat Correspondent Shaikh Abdul Jalil reported from the affected area last evening that over 1,300 persons died alone in different parts of Sharankhola upazila of the district.

Members of the Armed Forces are trying to reach the victims by Navy ships and boats, Air Force and Army helicopters, are supplying dry food, drinking water and medicines.

Our Barisal Correspondent reported that aid workers' supply was minimal to meet the high demand of drinking water, dry food, fuel and medicine in the affcted areas.

Meanwhile, mobile phone network was restored in most of the areas reached by rescuers yesterday. But land phone connections and electricity supply could not yet be restored in most areas.

Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management Mohammad Aiyub Mia told journalists that 12 districts were severely battered and 20 others hit hard.

Victims in the worst-hit areas told AFP they were helpless and in desperate need of food and water.

"I lost six of my family members in the cyclone. I am afraid that the rest three of us will die of hunger. We are without food and water for the last few days," said 55-year-old farmer Abdus Sattar of the village of Nishanbari.

"For the corpses we don't even have cloths to wrap them in for burialt we are wrapping the bodies with leaves," he said in the village, situated on the Bay of Bengal coast and smashed by a six-metre (20 foot) high tidal wave.

Abdul Jabbar, a 50-year-old teacher, said the situation in the area-already one of the poorest places on earth -- was now unbearable.

"There is no food and drinking water. The whole village is unlivable. Bodies are still floating in the rivers and paddy fields," he said, adding the rice harvest -or four months of food-had also been washed away.

"And still no relief officials and rescue officials have come to our area" AFP reported.

Officials described the humanitarian situation in coastal districts like Barguna, 200 kilometres (130 miles) south of the capital Dhaka, as the worst in decades.

"I have never seen such a catastrophe in my 20 years as a government administrator," said district official Hariprasad Pal, adding that millions were living in the open and aid was reaching only one per cent of the victims.

Aid efforts were being hampered by roads blocked by fallen trees bearing the sign of sheer scale of devastation. In some places elephants were used to remove the trees.

"In the remote areas it is slow-going, they are almost chopping trees as they go along," said Douglas Casson Coutts of the World Food Programme, adding that the aid officials were working with the military to organise air drops to the most inaccessible districts.

Red Cross and Red Crescent workers said they were using their network of volunteers to immediately distribute dried food and plastic sheetings for temporary shelters, but that many helpers were themselves victims of the cyclone.

Teams of local doctors were already on the ground and supplies of medicine were on their way from the capital. Assessment teams, however, were still trying to piece together a picture of the appalling devastation to coordinate a major relief effort.

"Our estimate is that 900,000 families are affected," said Red Cross official Shafiquzzaman Rabbani. That figure is equivalent to roughly seven million people.

In many places, villagers said, the dead were quickly being buried in mass graves.

Along the Bay of Bengal coastline, officials were expecting to find thousands of bodies.

Most of the deaths were caused by the tidal wave which engulfed coastal villages, as well as by flying debris and falling trees that twisted and crushed flimsy bamboo-and-tin homes -- all that most people in Bangladesh can afford.

A 25-year-old woman, Jahanara, recounted how she managed to cling to a tree as the storm ripped away everything around her, including her husband, two sons and mother, and even the clothes on her back.

"The wind and the tidal surge were so strong that it churned up four kilometres of a tarmac road," said another villager, Anowar Hossen Khan.

Army helicopters were also dropping supplies from the air while five navy ships were distributing food, medicine and relief materials, the government said.

Mostafa Kamal Majumder

Cyclone SIDR that hit Bangladesh with a hurricane core of winds could not be the worse to come right at the time of harvest of Aman paddy and the production of winter vegetables that had started becoming plentiful in supply and gradually cheaper. The cyclone followed two waves of big floods that hit the country in succession in August and September.

The three extreme climatic events coming within a gap of just three months and a half once again proved the vulnerability of Bangladesh to climate change induced by global warming that has beyond any iota of doubt been increasing the frequency and destructiveness of such natural disasters. But Bangladesh hardly has any contribution to the process of which it has been at the receiving end. In fact, for the hard work done at its instance to prove this climate change phenomenon, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations got the Nobel Peace Prize this year.

The cyclone ripped through the central part of the Bangladesh coastline with maximum wind speed of 220 kilometres an hour and all its onslaughts remained confined to Bangladesh as it moved from Barguna towards north before finally going northeast over Sylhet.

It was because of the Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP) that out of an estimated 3.2 million people who were considered at risk for falling on the track on cyclone SIDR, about 1.5 million could be evacuated to safety from surge prone areas. And the loss of human life and property is expected to be relatively less than what similar disasters caused in 1970, 1985 and 1991. Through 36 years of trial and error CPP has developed as one of the best disaster preparedness programmes in the world.

It was estimated in the nineties that about five million people live in high risk areas along the western, central and south-eastern coasts of Bangladesh. Of these, 4 million live in very high-risk areas. However, only 10 per cent of the actual population in the high-risk areas could be accommodated in existing safe places (excluding Sub-district headquarters buildings and cyclone shelters built outside these areas). Under the studies carried out during the period the construction of 2,500 cyclone shelters was suggested.

The actual need for shelters has increased as some shelters built in the seventies and the eighties are now located far inland away from the surge prone areas because the coastline has moved south due to land accretion. Field surveys conducted earlier indicated that the majority of the population living in the high risk areas are low-income agricultural workers of whom 70 per cent are landless deriving their livelihood from fishing, sharecropping or day labourers or as workers in shrimp or salt farms.

Past experiences show that safe drinking water is most urgently needed after such a cataclysm because water bodies that are used to harvest rainwater for use throughout the year in the coastal areas have all been filled with saline water while hand tubewells have either gone under surge water or rendered useless. The worst affected people need dry food for now, as they have neither utensils nor fuel to cook food. The injured ones suffering mostly cuts and fractures at different parts of their bodies need immediate treatment including surgery. The supply of antibiotics, water purification tablets and oral rehydration saline should be adequate to respond to the sudden high demand for those.

People who are still to locate family members separated by the fury of the cyclone and the associated storm surge need help to know the whereabouts of their kith and kin. The worst affected people now need building materials to rebuild their flattened homes, and piece together things to restart family life. The armed forces are doing the difficult immediate rescue, relief and rehabilitation activities in far-flung areas which have become inaccessible because roads in the affected areas have either been damaged or blocked by debris. The government machinery has been mobilised for relief and rehabilitation. It now needs to coordinate the response and participation of the whole nation to help recover from the colossal loss that SIDR has caused.

The Sunderbans, badly battered as it was by SIDR, absorbed part of fury of the cyclone helping reduce its destructiveness. Forest Department officials are yet to assess the damages caused to the forest and to the wildlife that thrives there. This natural barrier to sea storms reminds one of the need to strengthen the coastal green-belt programme taken up after the 1991 cyclone.

bdnews24.com/Reuters, Dhaka

US Chargé d' Affaires in Dhaka Geeta Pasi Sunday said the two US Navy ships would be in Bangladesh to facilitate rescue work in the cyclone-ravaged south.

"The ships are coming as part of a series of military exercises with Bangladesh," she told reporters after a meeting with Foreign Affairs Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury in his office.

"But we're going to deploy the ships for immediate post-cyclone recovery work," the US embassy chief said.

"The ships will provide logistics support to facilitate the work."

The USS Essex and USS Kearsarge, each carrying helicopters, hovercraft and equipped with hospital facilities, have been dispatched, pending a formal request for help from the Bangladesh authorities, Bloomberg news agency quoted Major David Griesmer, spokesman for the US Pacific Command in Hawaii, as saying.

"More ships may be made available once Bangladeshi officials know what they need," he said. But Foreign Ministry officials here said they ere not aware of the development.

Super cyclone SIDR packing winds of 250 kph slammed into the Khulna-Barisal coast Thursday evening, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Thousands of lives are feared to be lost. Pasi said the White House offered condolences Saturday evening to victims of the deadly cyclone in Bangladesh. She added that the US government had provided an initial $2.1 million in emergency relief aid.

"President and Mrs Bush have offered condolences to the victims of cyclone SIDR, especially those who have lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods in this tragedy," the White House said in a statement. Pasi said the US was committed to helping the victims of Bangladesh and their government as they face the many challenges of rebuilding and recovering.

"We've identified that food items, including rice and edible oil and non-food items such as blanket, plastic sheeting, hygiene kits and other supplies are needed for Bangladesh urgently," the US embassy official said.

Staff Reporter

World leaders have expressed deep sympathy to the loss of lives and property in the cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh and have pledged assistance to reduce sufferings of the destitute.

US President George W Bush and First Lady Laura Bush offered condolences for the victims of Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh, especially those who have lost their loved ones, homes, and livelihoods in this tragedy.

The government of the United States expressed "its deepest sympathy" for the victims of the cyclone that struck Bangladesh, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, reading a statement.

Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh have sent separate messages to President Prof. Dr Iajuddin Ahmed and Chief Adviser Dr Fakruddin Ahmed to convey condolences.

Expressing grief at the loss of life and property caused by cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh, Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh conveyed India's readiness to assist the neighbouring country in relief process.

He expressed "great sadness at the loss of lives and damage to property in Bangladesh caused by the hurricane."

Pakistani Prime Minister Mohammad Mian Soomro in a letter to Chief Adviser Dr Fakruddin Ahmed expressed deep shock at the precious loss of lives and property.

"The Government and the people of Pakistan share the grief of the people of Bangladesh," the Pakistani PM wrote to the Chief Adviser of the interim administration in Bangladesh.

French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs M. Bernard Kouchner, expressed his heartfelt condolences to the Government and the people of Bangladesh.

In a message Kouchner salutes the outstanding mobilization of the Bangladeshi authorities that allowed the evacuation of a majority of persons at risk, thus mitigation of a human cost that could have been much heavier.

Spanish government and people are shocked and concerned at the tragic loss of lives and wanton damage caused. Juan Pablo de Laiglesa, Secretary General, Spanish Agency for International Development (AECI) said it to Dr. Saiful Amin Khan, Bangladesh Ambassador to Spain.

Staff Reporter

Adviser for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Land and Information Barrister Mainul Hosein yesterday said the present government is determined to establish a corruption free, transparent and efficient administration at all levels to protect the interests of the country and its people.

The present government does not expect anything for its own, rather it is committed to create transparent, accountable and efficient administration," he said while inaugurating the 'Land Record Management and Survey (Special) Course' for field-level assistant commissioners (land) as the chief guest.

The Adviser emphasised the need for modernisation of land management to make it time befitting, dynamic and acceptable to mass people and said, "A country is as much rich and developed economically as the land management of that country is modern and scientific."

He said peoples' welfare in a country largely depends on ensuring an accurate land management and proper utilisation of land as all development-oriented activities revolve round the land.

Barrister Mainul Hosein referred to all sorts of cases being filed, killings and criminal activities perpetrated are mostly centering land disputes.

Hope of a bright future can be materialised through land development and land management in the country, he said.

The Adviser said assistant commissioners (land) and officials and employees involved in land management should have appropriate knowledge about and survey management and land related laws and regulations.

Referring to the government measure for imparting training to the officials and employees who deal with land management and to modernise the land survey management, he said this would reduce complexity in dealing with lands.

He said utilisation of modern technology and gaining efficiency on their application is also essential. Measures will also be taken to provide training on information technology in phases, he said.

He said despite having knowledge, skill and experiences, the Government officials could not render their services properly in the past, as there was no favourable atmosphere for them to work.

Organised by Land Administration Training Centre at its office in the city, the function, presided over by Ananta Kumar Chowdhury, Director of the centre, was addressed by Secretary of Land Md Mosleh Uddin as special guest, while Assistant Director of the centre Shamima Begum also spoke on the occasion.

The Land Adviser said the most important task of those who remain in leadership is to inspire people about the principles, values and laws and regulations for building up a society.

He regretted that the country could not achieve development and progress both individually and at the state-level even after 36 years of independence.

As a result, he said, we cannot take any measure in an organised-way to resolve the crisis being faced by the nation.

Barrister Mainul Hosein emphasised the need for establishing the rule of law and said peace and discipline appear in a society where laws and regulations are applied properly. Bringing the country towards peace and progress becomes easier.

Rule of law does not mean to apply laws through court and judiciary. Rather the rule of law is an objective test of discipline. The basic of rule of law is to learn law and apply law properly, he said.

Regarding separation of judiciary, he said the Government wanted to separate the judiciary together with strengthening the administration.

Those who will remain in administrative branch would get a chance to busy themselves with the administration and those who will remain in the judiciary would provide justice to the people through court, he said.

He appreciated the government officials and employees to sincerely perform their duties despite difficulties. It proves that they have efficiency, knowledge and mentality to do work if a congenial atmosphere could be ensured, good example could be set, he said.

The Land Adviser underlined the need for bringing a revolutionary change in the responsibilities of the Government and said the Government is not just to exercise power rather to serve the people.

We have all that is necessary to establish ourselves as a good and new nation. If we (the government) can re-organise the administration we will be able to say that we can serve the people with honesty, he said.

The Adviser observed that the government would be as much successful as government employees come nearer to the people and earn their confidence.

He called upon the trainees at the course to create positive approach among the people's mind by properly utilising their acquired knowledge about land laws and land management.

Mosleh Uddin said the government would take measure to bring efficiency, transparency and accountability among the field-level officials involved with the land management.

The assistant commissioners (land) are participating in the course especially designed for them.

Staff Reporter

Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) has already appealed for Tk 400 million in international assistance for the SIDR victims through the Geneva-based International Federation and it would make the final appeal by Friday after assessment of the losses.

While addressing a press conference Prof M Abdur Rob, Chairman of the Red Crescent Society, said this at the Training Room of the society in the city yesterday.

He said, "Hopefully, proper response will be received about our appeal within two or three days."

"According to our past experiences and reports, there is a possibility that death toll, from the cyclone SIDR, will rise to over 10,000," he also said.

Selvaratnam Sinnadurai (Selva), Head of Delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Finn Ruda, Head of Mission of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Prof Dr Gazi Abdul Hoque, Vice Chairman of Red Crescent Society, M Shafiul Alam, Secretary General and SM Munir Lavlu, Treasurer of the society, spoke at the conference.

The Chairman of Red Crescent Society informed that five teams, comprising Bangladesh Red Crescent Society and International Federation officials, have been sent to the affected areas for quick assessment of losses caused by the powerful cyclone SIDR, which hit the country Thursday night.

Prof Abdur Rob said, "We will make a final appeal for international assistance after receiving the reports from the teams."

He said in support with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, BDRCS has been allocated cash Tk 52,50,000 and relief items for 15 districts. These items are being sent to those areas.

He appreciated the government's efforts to face the disaster that mainly hit the country's coastal districts.

The Red Crescent Society has already started work to dispatch relief items to the affected areas. Around 42,000 volunteers of the society worked continuously in the coastal regions during the storm and the efforts saved the lives of many people, he said.

Selvaratnam Sinnadurai said, "We will make an emergency appeal by Friday."

Finn Ruda, Head of Mission of ICRC, said their teams are going to the field to make assessment about the losses and damages caused by catastrophic cyclone.

Staff Reporter

The development partners of Bangladesh have assured of providing grants in aid of the people affected by the catastrophic cyclone `Sidr' that ripped through south and southwestern region of the country on Thursday midnight.

Food and Disaster Management acting secretary Dr M Ayub Miah informed this after a meeting at the ministry yesterday with the representatives of 42 development agencies and UN organizations.

While narrating the havoc left by the tropical cyclone on Thursday midnight, he said some 27.44 lakh people in 20 districts of the country have more or less been affected by the devastating cyclone. Of them, 12 districts have been identified worst affected. All these worst affected districts located on the southern coast. Besides, the severe storm destroyed 500,000 dwellings in the affected districts, except Jhalakati, Barguna and Madaripur.

"We have been making close contact with the administration of the affected districts to know about the extent of damage," he said.

Dr Ayub Miah said rescue operations in the affected districts needed to be continued. Besides, burial of dead bodies and distribution of relief materials are essential.

Among the donor agencies, he said, UNDP would provide US$7 million while World Food Programme (WFP) allocated 10,000 metric tons of rice and 200 tons of high protein biscuits. WFP has food for 400,000 people for three days only.

Other assurances include US$ 5.3 million by UNICEF, US$ 5 million by the UK government, US$ 2.1 million and 35 tons of rice by USAID, 4 million pound sterling by Islamic Relief-UK and 5,000 Euro by Spain.

WFP has already started distributing 78 metric tons of high protein biscuits while the UNDP is providing water purification tablets.

Some other organisations, including the Canadian government, would provide assistance after assessing the extent of damage caused by the cyclone, said the Disaster Management secretary.

According to the government statistics, the death toll the cyclone rose to 1,814 till 8am yesterday.

The hurricane "Sidr" affected 20 districts, including 12 worst affected, and some 27.44 lakh people.

Meanwhile, thousands of cyclone-affected men, women and children are waiting to get relief in southern districts.

The rescue workers say that as waters recede, they expect to find scores more bodies when remote villages are finally reached and the counting is done.

They face debris-blocked roads, no electricity and almost nonexistent communications.

Vince Edwards, national director of the relief agency World Vision in Bangladesh, said the high wind speeds of Cyclone Sidr have laid waste to the all-important rice crop and caused a huge loss of livestock.

He said 280,000 families have been rendered homeless by the cyclone, but many have been able to get shelter from family members.

World Vision is deploying 135 staffers and 7,000 volunteers to provide food, shelter and other relief. The group is appealing for $1.5 million in further funds to assist some 9.300 families rebuild their homes.

"From an infrastructure perspective, the country absolutely has been brought to its knees," he said.

Red Crescent spokeswoman Nabiha Chowdhury said that communication with her agency's teams who have arrived in the stricken area is spotty, but they have resources with them to immediately help people with water purification, which she said was a top priority.

Those teams have cash with them to buy relief supplies from local wholesalers, said Chowdhury, who said the latest number of people injured was 15,000 with 1,000 missing. Chowdhury said about 600,000 people had fled, adding that about 2 million people lived along the coast.

The UN World Food Programme said it has enough high-energy biscuits to feed 400,000 people for several days.

Another humanitarian group, Save The Children, appealed for aid from the public.

"Many families have lost everything, including their homes and their crops, and they are struggling to survive," said Kelly Stevenson, Save the Children's Bangladesh director.

"We are appealing to the US public to support our efforts to assist children and families affected by this disaster. We remain very concerned about possible outbreaks of cholera and severe diarrhea due to the lack of access to clean water," he said in a written statement.

US President George Bush pledged Saturday $2.1 million for emergency relief as an "initial contribution," and said in a statement that two U.S. Navy carriers, the USS Essex and the USS Kearsarge, were en route to Bangladesh to assist in operations there.

"The United States is committed to helping the people of Bangladesh and their government as they face the many challenges of rebuilding and recovering," Bush said.

Furthermore, Bush said, USAID will airlift 35 tons plastic sheeting, jerricans, hygiene kits and other non-food supplies to the country. And an 18-person Department of Defense medical team in Bangladesh prior to the storm is helping with current medical needs, Bush said in the statement

Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI has joined calls yesterday for relief and aid to victims of a deadly cyclone that hit Bangladesh, saying "every possible effort" must be made during his traditional Sunday blessing.

The Pope said, "I encourage every possible effort to help our brothers who have been so sorely tested."

The Philippines will send a medical team to Bangladesh to help relief efforts after a powerful cyclone, a presidential aide said yesterday.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo extended her "deepest sympathy and compassion to the people of Bangladesh" and ordered Health Secretary Francisco Duque to form the medical team, said Cerge Remonde, chief of the Presidential Management Staff.

Duque said the group - which would probably include five doctors, four nurses and a psychiatrist - could leave as early as Wednesday.

Staff Reporter

The Election Commission letter inviting the BNP standing committee nominated acting secretary general Maj (Retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed at electoral reform dialogue on November 22 was stayed by the High Court for four weeks after detained party chairperson Khaleda Zia filed a writ challenging the EC decision.

Issuing the stay order, the HC issued a rule upon the EC and other respondents to explain why the impugned letter to Maj (Retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed "should not be declared unlawful." The division bench, comprising Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana and Justice Mohammad Abu Tarique passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed by the detained BNP chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia challenging the validity of the EC's invitation letter to her party dissidents.

"The rule is made returnable in three weeks," says the court order.

The other respondents are CEC Dr ATM Shamsul Huda, Election Commissioners Brig Gen (Retd) M Sakhawat Hossain and Sohul Hossain, Secretary to the Election Commission, Principal Secretary to the Chief Adviser and Maj (Retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed and the BNP

standing-committee members who changed the party leadership.

On November 5, the EC sent a letter to Maj (Retd) Hafiz, the BNP standing committee-nominated acting secretary general, to participate in the dialogue on electoral reforms instead of Khaleda-appointed BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain.

However, BNP standing committee nominated acting secretary general Maj (Retd) Hafiz told newsmen yesterday that they would file an appeal against the HC stay order to the Supreme Court soon.

The EC took the decision on the plea of 'doctrine of necessity' in the wake of a tug-of-war between the two squabbling groups.

On October 29, an impromptu meeting of the BNP standing committee declared M Saifur Rahman and Maj (Retd) Hafizudin Ahmed acting chairperson and acting secretary general of the party.

The High Court orders came as the counsel for Khaleda Zia during hearing agreed to incorporate Maj Hafiz and BNP standing-committee members as respondents in the writ petition, which apparently made divisions in the party visible as Hafiz will have to defend in court their move against party chair's challenge.

Moving the petition, TH Khan, counsel for Khaleda Zia, termed the EC decision as "mala fide" and "without jurisdiction" recognising

Saifur-Hafiz faction as mainstream BNP for its proposed dialogue on electoral reforms.

He also pleaded to the High Court bench to stay the EC's letter sent to Maj (Retd) Hafiz on November 5.

Interpreting the BNP constitution, Khan, who is a BNP vice-chairman, submitted that the BNP chairperson, the only elected person in the party portfolio, has the "exclusive authority and power to hire and fire anybody of the party."

TH Khan said minimum six members of the standing committee were ought to be present at the meeting according to the party constitution. "But, only six members were present at the standing committee meeting," he said. "Moreover, they mentioned that Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan was present as a standing committee member. But, he was expelled from the party by the elected party chief."

He said if there is a permanent secretary general present, there is no scope of appointing an acting secretary general.

On the other hand, the attorney on behalf of the state argued that inviting one faction of BNP to the reforms dialogue did not mean that other faction would not be invited.

On September 2, Khaleda Zia, in exercising her authority, expelled secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan from the party and appointed Khandaker Delwar Hossain secretary general, the senior lawyer said.

Terming "illegal" the elevation of Maj Hafiz to acting BNP secretary general, Khan submitted that "none other than party chairperson can convene the meeting of the standing committee, the highest policymaking body".

Staff Reporter

Despite adequate production capacity, latest machineries and increased demand of products in the market, state-owned Eastern Cables Ltd is losing its market to the private sector due to lack of adequate manpower to market the goods, sources said.

The state-owned concern was exporting its products to Middle East and European states some years back but now fails to meet the demand of the local market.

However, this year the government has decided to increase production of Eastern Cables Ltd with a view to make the concern more profitable.

Informed sources said goods of Eastern Cables Ltd is of a high standard but some unscrupulous businessmen are marketing their substandard goods with the same name and logo. Buyers are being cheated by the dishonest businessmen in the name of goods of Eastern Cables Ltd.

General Manager of the Eastern Cables Ltd Munir Ahmed told newsmen that only 394 people are now working in the company. The company fails to recruit manpower due to complexity in the recruitment process.

He said the Company fails to market it products due to lack of manpower.

The production target of the company for the fiscal year 2007-08 has been set at 3,450 tones despite it has capacity of producing 7,300 tones. The company incurred net profit of Tk 4 crore in 2006-07, which was Tk 1.76 crore in FY 2005-06. Informed sources hoped that the net profit might reach over Tk five crore this year.

Sources said a move was taken to privatise the Eastern Cables Ltd, which is now hanging in the balance for unknown reason. Experts opined that the company might earn more profit if it was handed over to the private sector.

According to the statistics of the Eastern Cables Ltd, at present the company has property worth Tk 318 crore. The company owns 29.98 acres of land at Patenga in Chittagong.

The government owns 51 per cent share of the company, while the rest are owned by company employees and the general people.

A high official of the Eastern Cables Ltd, preferring anonymity, said the company has the prospect of earning a profit of Tk two crore every month, if officials and resource management were competent.

Staff Reporter

The Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday served notices to Awami League Presidium Members Sajeda Chowdhury and Tofail Ahmed, Dhaka City Mayor Sadeq Hossain Khoka, former adviser of the Caretaker Government Justice Fazlul Huq and eight others asking them to submit their wealth statements.

The notices were sent at noon on Sunday asking to submit their wealth statements within a week, ACC sources said.

The other eight persons who were also served notices are former state minister BNP leader Maj (rtd) Kamrul Islam, acting BNP chairperson Saifur Rahman's son Safiur Rahman Babu, former AL lawmaker AKM Rahmat Ullah, former BRTC Chairman and Narayanganj BNP district general secretary Taimur Alam Khandokar, former secretary Rezaul Hayat, RAJUK's Building Inspector and CBA leader Amir Khasru, former deputy secretary Shamsul Anam and Dhaka Session Judge's court employee Ali Akbar.

Excepting MLSS Ali Akbar, 11 others are included in the list of at least 35 names of suspected corrupts. ACC disclosed the list on October 4.

According to the ACC, it serves notices to any suspected person asking him to submit wealth statement after a preliminary enquiry.

ACC sources said its enquiry officers have submitted their reports against the 11 persons to ACC authorities on 4 November. They stated the enquiries from October 18.

Meanwhile, the ACC has decided not to investigate the wealth and properties against suspected corrupt late Ali Ashraf Shahidullah, former CCC Executive Engineer who died recently, source said.