The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Five badly decomposed bodies were found by rescuers after the long-awaited rescue operation launched at collapsed Rangs Bhaban in the city's Bijoy Sarani yesterday morning.

Taking serious risks, the rescuers of Fire Service and Civil Defence launched the rescue operation was launched at about 9:30am to retrieve the bodies of trapped workers from underneath the huge debris of concretes and rods inside different floors of the Rangs Bhaban, six days after the building caved in on Saturday night. But the rescue operation was stopped for sometime when the 22-storeyed collapsed building suddenly started jerking immediately after rescuers entered the building. Being panicked, the rescuers hurriedly came out of the building. However, the rescue operation resumed later and it was going on very slowly.

Witnesses said the rescuers entered the Rangs Bhaban and went up to different floors. They found five bodies hanging with iron rods inside the building. One dead body was recovered by early in the afternoon.

Rescuers said they had witnessed five bodies trapped beneath the debris. They said that the rescue operation was going on slowly as the building turned very risky. During the rescue operation, different floors started jerking repeatedly, forcing the rescuers to suspend the rescue operation again and again.

The rescuers were carrying on their rescue operation on the 7th floor of the building till 1:00pm under the direct supervision of the chairman and chief engineer of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) and experts from

the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).

Selim Newaz, deputy director of Fire Service and Civil Defence said they recovered a body from inside the building. The body was later sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue for postmortem. However, the identity of the body could not be ascertained as it was badly decomposed being trapped inside the building for long six days.

He said his colleagues were carrying out the rescue operation taking maximum risks of life as the building was jerking frequently. "We're trying to bring out these bodies taking risks of our lives," he said.

Thousands of people thronged the road near the Rangs Bhaban premises when the rescue operation was being carried out. Besides, the movement of vehicles in front of the Rangs Bhaban was suspended by the traffic policemen when the rescue operation was going on.

Meanwhile, relatives of the workers died in the Rangs Bhaban collapse also assembled outside the building yesterday. They were found waiting for the bodies of their near and dear ones.

Staring from the 15th floor to the rooftop of the 3rd floor inside the Rangs Bhaban suddenly collapsed on Saturday night. Quite a large number of workers staying above the rooftop of the 7th floor were trapped under the debris in the accident. The workers used to stay on the rooftop of the 7th floor at night. Following the incident, bodies of four workers were found hanging inside the debris. After the accident, different government agencies, including Rajuk and Fire Service passed their days with planning about when and how to start the rescue operation.

Installation of iron-bars or props underneath the ceilings of the ground, first, second and third floors continued over the last three days. Finally, the Fire Service workers assembled in front of the Rangs Bhaban yesterday morning to take part in the rescue operation. Some 40 to 50 workers led by Director and Deputy Director of Fire Service entered the building with iron-rod cutting machines at about 9:30am. Along with them, Rajuk chairman KMA Harun, chief engineer and some other officials and employees entered the building. Besides, two members of the inquiry committee-Dr Ishtiaque and Dr Raquib Hasan of BUET went into the building along with them.

After observing the situation closely inside the building, they ordered starting the rescue operation at about 10:00am. Since the building became very risky, the rescuers started their operation very slowly. Giving highest priority to the recovery of the dead bodies, they started their rescue operation from the 7th floor of the building. They found the body of a ill-fated workers hanging with iron rods.

At about 11:15am it was found that some 15-20 workers of Fire Services were suddenly coming out of the building. When the journalists wanted to know about the reasons, Deputy Director (Operation) of Fire Services Mizanur Rahman said work was going on, but very slowly. "We're trying to retrieve the bodies so that any further accident does not take place," he said.

When asked how many bodies remained trapped inside the building, he said he would not be able to say anything else in this regard. "We're trying to recover three bodies as we noticed them," he said.

Bad news for 854m poor people worldwide : Global grain supplies still tight despite record harvest

Staff Reporter

Following several years of declining harvests, the world's farmers reaped a record 2.316 billion tons of grain in 2007. Despite this jump of 95 million tonness, or about 4 percent, over the previous year, voracious global demand will consume all of this increase and prevent governments from replenishing cereal stocks that are at their lowest level in 30 years, says a message received from the Worldwatch Institute based in Washington DC.

The global grain harvest has nearly tripled since 1961, during a time when world population doubled. As a result, the amount of grain produced per person grew from 285 kilograms in 1961 to a peak of 376 kilograms in 1986. In recent decades, as the growth in grain production has matched population growth, per capita production has hovered around 350 kilograms.

But output per person varies dramatically by region. For instance, it stands at roughly 1,230 kilograms per year in the United States, most of which is fed to livestock, compared with 325 kilograms in China and just 90 kilograms in Zimbabwe. On an average, humans get about 48 percent of their calories from grains, a share that has declined just slightly, from 50 percent, over the last four decades. Grains, particularly corn, in conjunction with soybeans, also form the primary feedstock for industrial livestock production.

People consume a little less than half (48 percent) of the world's grain directly-as steamed rice, bread, tortillas, or millet cakes, for instance. Roughly one third (35 percent) becomes livestock feed. And a growing share, 17 percent, is used to make ethanol and other fuels.

Corn, wheat, and rice account for about 85 percent of the global grain harvest (in terms of weight), with sorghum, millet, barley, oats, and other less common grains rounding out the total.

China, India, and the United States alone account for 46 percent of global grain production; Europe, including the former Soviet states, grows another 21 percent. Argentina, Australia, Canada, the European Union (EU), and the United States account for 80 percent of wheat exports, while just three nations- Argentina, the EU, and the United States- account for 80 percent of corn exports.

In 2007, a 200-million-ton jump in the global coarse grain harvest was responsible for nearly all of the increase in the total grain harvest. Wheat harvests increased modestly, by 2 percent, to 605 million tonnes, with near perfect weather nurturing strong harvests in India, the EU, and the United States. Australia, however, normally the source of one third of world exports, faced lower crop prospects and depleted exportable supplies. And unfavorable weather meant a reduced harvest in China, the world's second largest producer.

The global rice harvest was up slightly to 633 million tons, matching the record 2005 harvest, as conditions returned to normal in China, India, and across Asia, which accounts for 90 percent of world production.

The amount of grain stored by governments- a good measure of the global cushion against poor harvests and rising prices-continues to decline. Global cereal stocks were expected to stand at 318 million tonnes by the close of the 2007 season, equivalent to about 14 percent of annual consumption.

Despite the record harvest, the low stocks and strong demand combined to push prices of all cereals to new highs. At harvest time, the U.S. corn export price was up about 70 percent from the previous year, while the American hard wheat price averaged 65 percent more than a year earlier. Wheat prices in Argentina, another major exporter, doubled since 2006. Important wheat exporters like Ukraine and Russia have imposed export restrictions to ensure a sufficient domestic supply. Major importers, like Egypt, the European Union, Yemen, and Iraq, have reacted to high prices by purchasing grain early, which has further tightened supplies and boosted prices.

Developing countries are likely to spend a record $52 billion on imports of cereals in 2007, up 10 percent from 2006. Even international food aid programs, which also purchase their supplies on the world market, have been forced to scale back. The combination of rising food costs and declining aid can be fatal for the estimated 854 million people worldwide who experience hunger on a regular basis, the message says.