The New Nation - Internet Edition

Gulistan-Jatrabari 'flyover’ grounded: Bank guarantee found fake, sub-contractor cries foul

The abandoned Gulistan-Jatrabari flyover project.
Banglar Chokh

Staff Reporter

The construction of the seven-kilometre Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover was cancelled as the Dhaka City Corporation detected fake bank guarantee submitted by the contractors- the Orion Group and Belhasa-Acom.

A local sub-contractor at a press briefing in the city yesterday claimed that his company had been swindled of Tk five crore due to the cancellation of the project.

The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) at a meeting on Sunday decided to cancel the project, as they found the bank guarantee submitted by the contractors to be fake.

The Orion Group was building the flyover in partnership with Belhasa-Acom that constructed the 7-star hotel Burj Al Arab in Dubai city.

The company was implementing the project connecting Jatrabari with Gulistan in 30 to 36 months at a cost of Tk 700 crore on 'build, operate and transfer' (BOT) basis. However, the company could not make any headway in the construction of the flyover well after the stipulated period.

Haji Mohammad Shahjahan, the proprietor of M/S Bangladesh Unayan Sangsta, a local sub contractor, said that he took sub contract from China World Trade Group Company, another sub contractor of the flyover project.

He claimed that his company had spent Tk five crore on the site since June 2005. "We have spent a hefty sum of money for its maintenance, as well. But we have not received a single penny from China World Trade Group Company till date," he claimed.

He also alleged that despite assurance of payment by the officials of the company they have not yet been paid any of their bills.

He also expressed his apprehension that in the backdrop of the cancellation of the project the China World Trade Group Company would not make any payment to his company without the intervention of the Government.

Rice market still unstable

Rice price showing increasing trend once again
following upward fixation of export price by India. The
picture was taken from Babu Bazar yesterday.
FocusBangla

Staff Reporter

Prices of almost all kinds of rice have increased by Tk 2 to Tk 3 per kilogram as both the wholesale and retail markets have now become dependent on rumour and speculation instead of facts.

Depending on the speculation that rice prices may go up soon, producers, wholesalers and retailers have been raising the prices of both coarse and fine varieties of rice everyday.

As the rice prices have been showing upward trend, a sense of panic has now gripped the country's people though the government has ruled out any possibility of rice price spiraling in the context of bumper boro harvest.

After India re-fixed the export prices of rice at $1,000 (Tk 70,000) per metric tonne (1metric tonne= 1000 kilograms) last week, a sort of unusual trend in rice prices has been prevailing in both wholesale and retail markets. In the city's retail markets all kinds of coarse and fine rice were increased by Tk 2 to Tk 3 a kg yesterday. As the fair price shops operated by the Bangladesh Rifles remained closed yesterday because of their weekly holiday, customers thronged the retail markets yesterday to buy rice.

On the other hand, the government has planned to build up a food stock of 10 lakh metric tones by July next. The plan has been taken to cope with any kind of abnormal situation over the price of rice in the country. The government expects that it will be able to build up this stock of rice by importing five lakh tones of rice from India and procuring paddy and rice from farmers after the harvest of boro paddy in the next month.

Informing about the government's plan to build up a stock of 10 lakh metric tonens of rice, Molla Wahiduzzaman, acting food and disaster management secretary, said the boro harvest would begin with the import of four lakh tones of Indian rice which was endorsed by the Advisory Committee on Public Purchase on Sunday. In spite of it, rice from India is mainly being imported to build up a stock taking the country's food security into account.

Besides, procuring rice from the local sources the government wants to build up a stock of 10-12 lakh tones of rice.

He said the government floated tenders for 36 times to procure food last year, but could not be able to build up a stock of more than 4.5 lakh tonnes of rice. "In order to avert such a situation in the next fiscal year, the government has decided to build up a stock of 10-12 lakh tonnes of rice as a precautionary measure,' he said.

According to the statistics available with the Directorate of Food, the boro cultivation in the country has crossed the target this year. Breaking all the previous records, boro crops have been cultivated in 49.35 lakh hectares of agricultural land this year. Unless there is no natural calamities, the country may witness a bumper production of boro crop this year.

During the current fiscal year the government has fixed the target of 1.75 crore (17.5 million) metric tonnes of boro rice production this year. Initiatlly the target was 1.64 crore (16.4 million) metric tonnes.

This include hybrid rice 57.50 lakh metric tones, high-yielding variety (HYV) 1.16 lakh metric tones and local varieties 2.20 lakh metric tones. If there is a bumper production of boro crops the government will be able to procure rice from there to build its food stock. Moreover the government will have the scope to build up stock procuring Irri rice from some parts of the country. But the situation may change at any moment if any major natural disaster hits the country once again. That is why the government has planned to build up a stock a food from earlier.

$300m hard-term loan for BPC

Staff Reporter

The government yesterday approved a hard-term borrowing of US$ 300 million from Standard Chartered Bank to meet the increased financing for oil imports by the cash-strapped Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC).

The loan would be taken for nine months at Libor (London Inter-bank Offer Rate) plus $1.79. This is the second such loan BPC is going to take from a foreign bank at hard-term after 2005-06 when the then BNP government approved a loan of $250 million from the same bank.

"BPC's cash flow has been seriously affected (by the increased price of fuel oil on the international market)," Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam told reporters after approving the borrowing at a high-level Hard-Term Loan Committee at the finance ministry.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed and senior officials concerned were present at the meting with the finance adviser in the chair.

Aziz said international price of petroleum oil was $62 to $63 per barrel in April last year when the domestic price was last increased, but the price on the international market now reached $100 to $110 a barrel.

He said another foreign bank BNP Paribas also offered the loan, but it was rejected due to tougher terms than that of SCB.

Replying to a question, the finance adviser said different ministries have estimated an overall subsidy requirement of Tk 15,600 crore during the current fiscal year as against the budgetary provision of Tk 6,000 crore.

"The subsidy demands from the ministries need to be examined," he said.

In response to another question, he said the government was planning to borrow $220 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as balance of payment (BoP) support.

Tarique chargesheeted

Tarique Rahman

Staff Reporter

The Anticorruption Commission yesterday submitted a charge-sheet against detained BNP Senior Joint Secretary-General Tarique Rahman on charges of illegally amassing wealth and suppressing wealth information.

The Commission also approved charge-sheets against Tarique's wife Dr Zobaida Rahman and mother-in-law Syeda Iqbalmand Banu for assisting him in accumulating the wealth violating the law of the land. The ACC also requested a Court in the capital to issue warrant of arrest against all of them, while submitting the charge-sheet.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Assistant Director Md Toufiqul Islam submitted the charge-sheet to Magistrate Md Golam Rabbani at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka.

The ACC approved the charge-sheet on March 27 against Tarique Rahman, who is the eldest son and political heir of detained former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, for illegally amassing property worth about Tk 2.75 crore and concealing wealth to the tune of Tk 2.16 crore.

His wife and mother-in-law claimed that Tk 35 lakh of the alleged illegal earning were in-fact legal since the money was given to her daughter as a gift, although this was disputed by the ACC.

ACC Deputy Director Zahurul Huda filed the case with Kafrul Police Station on September 26 last year.

According to the case details, the accused obtained property worth about Tk 4.82 crore beyond his known sources of income. He also allegedly concealed information on wealth worth around Tk 4.23 crore in his wealth statement to the ACC.

Tarique Rahman submitted a wealth statement of Tk 1.37 crore to the ACC through the authorities of Dhaka Central Jail on June 10 last year.

Talking to journalists after the sitting of the Court, his counsel Advocate Sanaullah Miah said,"The projection of Tk 35 lakh, which was given to her daughter by Tarique Rahman's mother-in-law, in the ACC charge-sheet as his income without known sources of income is not only shocking and it has no legal basis."

Naser, Paban jailed: Corruption, arms cases

Naser Rahman and Paban

Staff Reporter

Two sons of two top-ranking leaders of BNP were sentenced to imprisonment in separate cases yesterday.

Former BNP lawmaker M Naser Rahman, son of pro-reformist BNP leader and former finance minister M Saifur Rahman, was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for concealing wealth information submitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), while Khondaker Akhter Hamid Paban, son of Khaleda-appointed BNP Secretary General Khondaker Delwar Hossain, was sentenced to 17 years' rigorous imprisonment for possessing illegal arms and bullets.

A special anti-graft court sentenced detained Naser Rahman to 13 years jail term for concealing wealth information submitted to the ACC.

Khondker Kamaluzzaman, judge of Special Court-9, set-up on the Sangsad Bhaban premises, also fined him Tk five lakh. If Naser failed to pay the amount, he will have to serve another year more behind bars, the court ruling said.

The punishment will be effective from the date of his arrest.

The court also ordered the official concerned to confiscate his wealth worth over Tk 1 crore 79 lakh.

On May 27, 2007, ACC Deputy Director Moniruzzaman Khan filed the case against Naser and his wife Rezina Rahman with Gulshan Police Station.

In the case statement, the complainant said that Naser and his wife did not mention properties worth Tk 4.90 crore in their wealth statements that they had submitted to the ACC.

The case was filed under section 26(2) and 27 (1) of the ACC Act 2004, section 15 of the Emergency Power Rules 2007 and section 109 of the Penal Code.

Rezina's judgment was not delivered as her case was pending in the High Court.

On February 4 last year, the joint forces arrested Naser at his Banani residence in the capital.

On the other hand, a Dhaka court yesterday sentenced Khondaker Akhter Hamid Paban and four others to 17 years' rigorous imprisonment each for possessing illegal arms and bullets.

Judge Mohammad Shafiul Azam of the Metropolitan Special Tribunal-12 delivered the judgment.

Other convicts are Anwar Hossain, Masud Ali Apu, Delwar Hossain Ratan and Paban's cousin Nahid alias Mota Nahid. Of them, Nahid is on the run after receiving bail from the court.

On October 29 last year, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested Paban after raiding a Japan Garden City apartment in city's Mohammadpur area following information gathered from three of his associates arrested earlier.

Later, RAB seized two illegal foreign made firearms -- a pistol and a revolver -- along with nine bullets and a motorbike from Dhaka Flood Protection Embankment at Panchabati near Pallabi.

Later, a case was filed with Pallabi Police Station in this connection.

Suu Kyi barred from holding public office

Aung San Suu Kyi

AP, Yangon

Myanmar's draft constitution ensures that the country's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi cannot make a political comeback and guarantees a strong military presence in parliament, according to a copy of the proposed charter obtained Monday. The draft constitution was completed in February but has not been made public, but a copy of the document was obtained by The Associated Press.

The draft charter allots 25 percent of seats in both houses of parliament to the military. It also effectively bars Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president or a member of parliament because she was married to a foreigner, maintaining a controversial clause from guidelines used to draft the charter. Myanmar's ruling junta has come under global criticism for its detention of pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi, who has been in prison or under house arrest for more than 12 of the past 18 years.

In September, a deadly government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters and monks drew worldwide attention to the repressive regime, which has been under international pressure to make democratic reforms. The junta subsequently announced it would hold a referendum in May on the new constitution, followed by long-awaited general elections in 2010. The junta calls the process its "roadmap to democracy."

But critics have denounced the process as a sham designed to perpetuate military rule, noting that the drafting process did not include Suu Kyi or members of her opposition National League for Democracy.

ACC for in-service mechanism to deal with wealth statements

Staff Reporter

The Anti-Corruption Commission in a letter has suggested the Cabinet Division to take an immediate initiative so that every department should have a permanent mechanism to deal with the wealth statements submitted by government officers and employees.

The government officers and employees have submitted their statements to their respective departments as per the Commission's proposal which will be scrutinised soon, an official of the ACC told newsmen yesterday.

ACC Director General (Admin) Col Hanif Iqbal told Commission's regular briefing yesterday that the Commission thinks if the wealth statements are scrutinised by respective departments, there would be a clear idea about corrupt officers and employees.

"Punishment and disciplinary actions afterwards will help reduce the area of corruption," he added.

Hanif said, "In this context, the Commission Monday wrote a letter to the Cabinet Division Secretary suggesting introduction of a permanent process, that means management, to scrutinise the wealth statements submitted by the government officers and employees."

The Commission asked the Cabinet Division to do this effectively as soon as possible, he added.

Replying to a question, the Director General said the Commission does not get involved with this. Every department would have its own management to scrutinise the statements, he added.

Asked if the ACC would see how the departments are scrutinising the statements, he said the Commission is yet to think about it.

Hanif said the Commission has approved the submission of charge sheet in the case against former Awami League MP Haji Selim and his wife Gulshan Ara Begum for acquiring wealth worth about Tk 27 crore, including concealment of wealth worth about Tk 10 crore.

He said the Commission has approved the filing of a case against Nazim Uddin, chairman of Suvaddya union parishad, Keraniganj, Dhaka for amassing wealth worth about Tk 13 crore beyond known sources of income, including concealment of information of assets worth 4.54 crore.

Hanif said the anti-graft body has approved the issuance of notice to Israfil Ali, a former supervisor (CBA leader) of Titas Gas Company Limited, directing him to submit his wealth statement.

24-member Pak cabinet sworn-in

Reuters , Islamabad

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf swore in 24 members of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's cabinet on Monday, six weeks after opposition parties won a general election.

Eleven of the new ministers were from assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's party, which won the most seats in the election and nine were from its main coalition ally, the party of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif.

Of the other four, one was an independent member of parliament and three were from two smaller parties joining the coalition.

Some members of Sharif's party being sworn in wore black armbands, in a show of protest against Musharraf, who they consider an unconstitutional president.

As expected, Ishaq Dar, a member of Sharif's party, is finance minister and Shah Mehmood Qureshi, a member of Bhutto's party, is foreign minister, according to a government statement.

Minister of defence is Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, a member of Bhutto's party.

More ministers will be appointed later, party officials have said.

A top student from Punjab University, Dar was an accountant before he was appointed commerce minister in a pro-business Sharif government in 1997. He identified export-led growth as a cornerstone of economic strategy.

He became finance minister in November 1998 and concluded negotiating an IMF rescue package to tackle an economic crisis triggered by sanctions over nuclear tests in May that year.

While generally well regarded, Dar, 60, was criticised for what some saw as a naive approach to markets, blaming speculators for every rapid movement of the currency and stocks.

Dar was detained for nearly two years after Musharraf overthrew Sharif in a 1999 coup.

Qureshi is president of the PPP in Punjab, Pakistan's richest province and home to half its 160 million people and the seat of power of the political and military establishment.

Qureshi, 52, comes from a land-owning family from the eastern city of Multan and is a graduate of Britain's Cambridge University.

He served as finance minister in Punjab's provincial government, headed by Sharif's party, in the early 1990s, before joining the PPP. He was a junior minister for parliamentary affairs in Bhutto's second government in the mid-1990s.

Among other appointments announced on Monday, Sherry Rehman, a top Bhutto party spokeswoman, has been made minister of information.

The four-party coalition is made up of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), the ethnic Pashtun-based Awami National Party and the Jamiat Ulema-e- Islam religious party.

AL chief not forced to appear before court:IG (Prisons)

Staff Reporter

Inspector General (Prisons) Brig Gen Zakir Hasan yesterday said detained former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was not forced to appear before the Special Court, trying her in a graft case, by the jail authority.

''We cannot use force against a personality like Sheikh Hasina, who was a Prime Minister of the country and everyone should realise it,'' he told a press conference protesting some media reports quoting her as telling that she was forced to attend the Court and released from the hospital without completing her treatment.

Sheikh Hasina, also the Awami League (AL) President, was taken to the dock under the Court's order, as she was released by the Square Hospital, he added.

The hospital authority issued a letter, which stated that her current health condition was fine enough to be able to appear in court, he told at a press conference at the Directorate of Prisons yesterday.

He told that all their previous attempts to persuade her to appear in court had failed. He said they informed her about the court order, but she refused to go. "We also brought three of her lawyers and her husband scientist Dr Wazed Miah to persuade her to go on March 29, and I also personally requested her to go there. But all of our attempts failed," the IG disclosed.

EC to hold talks with BNP as soon as HC verdict delivered

UNB, Dhaka

The Election Commission will hold its pending dialogue on electoral reforms with BNP as soon as possible when High Court verdict on the disputed matter comes, as work under the declared electoral roadmap is already decelerating.

"We're hopeful that the verdict will come by April 10 and then we'll sit with BNP for the dialogue as early as possible. We'll not delay," Election Commissioner M Sohul Hussain told journalists yesterday afternoon.

A decision regarding dialogue with BNP is expected to come on April 10 following the hearing on a writ filed with the High Court. The detained party chairperson, Begum Khaleda Zia, challenged the EC decision inviting the Saifur-Hafiz BNP faction to the electoral dialogue.

"Wait and see… We're not thinking of any alternative," Sohul said as asked if the EC is considering any alternative in case the defeated faction of BNP made an appeal against the verdict.

"The Commission won't appeal against whatever the court verdict would be," he added.

However, talking to the journalists on the same issue Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain on Sunday said the EC's patience would get exhausted if the legal process lingered due to defeated BNP faction's appeal against HC verdict.

"We've our own alternative thought in that case of delay," he said hinting that the draft electoral laws might be finalised by April without holding dialogue with BNP to maintain the EC-announced election roadmap.

The election roadmap, which envisages that the electoral reforms would be completed by March 2008, has already been held back due to the pending dialogue with BNP.

Meanwhile, Dr Kamal Hossain, who is appointed by the EC to handle the legal process, met with the EC in the afternoon to apprise them of the current state of the legal battle over the dialogue with BNP.

"I'm confident that the verdict will come on April 10," he said talking to the journalists after the meeting with the EC.

The BNP-leadership dispute arose when on November 5 last year the EC, ignoring Khaleda-appointed BNP secretary general Khandker Delwar Hossain, sent a letter to Maj (Retd) Hafiz to participate in the dialogue with political parties preparatory to holding the stalled elections.

On November 18 the same year, the High Court, responding to Khaleda's writ, had stayed operation of the EC letter to the BNP standing committee-nominated acting secretary general, Major Hafiz, causing the Election Commission to inconclusively conclude its reform dialogue with political parties.

The Election Commission held its two rounds of dialogues with the parties from September 12 to December 11, 2007 and February 24 to 28, 2008 respectively.

Varsity, Engg college: Site selection body visits Barisal

Barisal Correspondent

A five -member team led by AZM Shafiqul Alam, Joint Secretary, Planning Ministry, visited different spots for selecting sites for the construction of a general public university and an engineering college in Barisal .

Md. Mezbahuddin, planning chief, AKM Shahjahan Patwari, chief engineer, Education Ministry, Harun Chowdhury, Divisional Commissioner and Manjur-e-Ilahi, Deputy Commissioner of Barisal are the other members of the site selection committee.

The team members visited the proposed sites on Sunday and Monday and later exchanged views with the elites of the city and different professional groups at Barisal circuit house conference room on Monday afternoon.

More than fifty persons representing different socio, political, economic and professional groups and organizations participated in the view exchange meeting.

Awlad Hossain Dilu, Mayor in- charge of BCC, Prof.Md. Shahjahan, Prof.Md. Muezzin Hossain and Prof. Md. Saiful Islam were among those who participated in the discussion.

Most of the participants favoured the construction of the proposed public university at Defulia and Engineering College at Boserhut of Kashipur areas of the city because of easy communication facilities, socio-economic advantages, and availability of lands.

Members of the site election committee said they would send report containing their suggestions to higher authority for final decision.

Earlier, Begum Khaleda Zia, former prime minister, laid foundation of Barisal public university at Defulia during her tenure.

Worksite accident: Bangladeshi dies in Manama

Staff Reporter

The Bangladesh Embassy in Bahrain is seeking to secure a compensation for the family of its national, who died at the Manama worksite accident recently, Gulf Daily News reported from Manama yesterday.

"It is unfortunate that Abul Kalam Malek Miah has died in the worksite accident," said Mohammed Ibrahim, First Secretary (Labour) of the Bangladesh Embassy, told journalists on Sunday in Manama the capital city of Bahrain.

"Out of the four injured, one was a Bangladeshi, Elias M Malek Miah, and we have learnt that he is Adul Kalam's brother," he said, adding, "Elias Miah has been discharged as his injuries were only minor."

Welfare Officer of the Embassy Abul Kashem visited the injured at the hospital on Sunday, Mohammadr Ibrahim added.

"We are in discussions with Abul Kalam's sponsor, who is the owner of the contracting company, about the repatriation of the body and compensation for the injured," he said.

"But the terms of the compensation depend on the type of contract the employees have with their sponsor."

Ibrahim accused the contracting company of not following safety measures.

"We have heard that the company was not following safety measures as required by the local law," he said.

"We hope that the Interior Ministry and Labour Ministry take up the matter seriously and ensure that such incidents don't happen in future."

Meanwhile, Indian Ambassador Balkrishna Shetty in Manama said he was saddened at the loss of a life, though no Indians had died but three were injured.

"I am sad about the loss of a life from an accident that was definitely avoidable," he said.

"We think there should be supervision and have come to understand that the contracting company was not meeting safety norms," the Indian Ambassador said.

"There is so much construction going on in Bahrain now, which calls for stricter implementation and supervision of safety norms," he observed.

Shetty visited the injured at the hospital with Second Secretary R Raghunath.

3 killed in N'ganj boiler blast

Staff Reporter

At least three workers were killed and 15 others injured in a re-rolling mill boiler explosion at Kachpur in Narayanganj early yesterday.

Two of the deceased were identified as Mojakker alias Mujahid and Rabiul.

Demra firefighters said the boiler of South-East Steal and Re-Rolling Mills exploded at about 12:30am, leaving two workers dead on the spot and injuring 16 others. Mujahid succumbed to his injuries on way to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Of the injured, conditions of four were stated to be critical.

UP chairmen demand local body elections before national polls

UNB, Faridpur

Union parishad chairmen of five districts of greater Faridpur demanded holding of local body elections before the national election.

They made the demand at their rally at Jasim Uddin Hall in the town Sunday. Over 700 chairmen of 312 unions in 27 upazilas attended the rally organized by Bangladesh Union Parishad Oikya Jote.

Former FBCCI president Mir Nasir Hossain attended the rally as chief guest. Co-chairman of Bangladesh Union Parishad Oikya Jote Abul Hossain Khan presided.

The UP chairmen accused the MPs and ministers of previous governments for interfering into the activities of union parishad that hampered the development activities.

They demanded of the government to restore the image of Union Parishad and increase the salaries and allowances of UP chairmen.

In his speech Mir Nasir Hossain extended his support to the demands raised by chairmen.