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hury, Ruhin Hossain Prince and Ahasan Habib Lablu, acting president, secretary, central committee and general secretary respectively of CPB gathered at the Muktangon accompanied ab

Our Correspondent, Gaibandha

The river erosion threatened people of the Teesta and the Brahmaputra river basin areas of the district are going to change their livelihoods and socio-economic condition through pumpkin cultivation in the char land with the overall assistance of River Erosion Project (REP), Practical Action Bangladesh.

Practical Action Bangladesh, a UK based International NGO, started its function here in 2004 aimed at changing the lots of river eroded and threatened people living at river basin areas of Sundargonj, Sadar, Fulchari and Shaghata Upazilas in the district by involving them in various income generation activities, sources said.

In order to address the Monga (poverty like situation) of river erosion affected people, Practical Action Bangladesh took a plan of pumpkin cultivation in the vast tracts of Char land through sandbar cropping, a new technology for crop production in unfertile and unused sandy char land with the help of 5 locals partner NGOs-SKS, GUK, Akota, PBKS and SSUS. This technology is suitable for crop production in newly emerged sandy char and silted river bed, said agriculturist Nirmal Chandra Bepari, Coordinator of REP.

To produce pumpkin in char land, at first a medium hole is dug until getting the silty layer and fertilizer is used in the hole to boost production. The 4 seed of pumpkin are sown and after 4 months the pumpkins grow there, he also said.

In 20Q5-2006 year some 177 farmers of the areas applied this technology in the char land for the first time and, produced 67,000 pumpkins at nine locations in four upazilas of the district. Based on its success the technology expanded further at 25 location by 460 farmers and 4,38,000 pumpkins were successfully produced in the year of 2006-07.

In 2007-08 the technology has widely expanded in 4 upazilas in the district with the production target of 17,74,800 pumpkins.

The harvesting of the pumpkins is nearly completed said M. Mizanur Rahman, area Manager of Practical Action Bangladesh.

With the cultivation of pumpkin in char land the people of river basin and char dwellers are so much happy as they are earning a lot amount by selling those.

If this technology is expanded in the char land of northern district the monga at the time of October and November will be removed, beyond about, said AZM Nazmul Islam, programme manager of practical Action-Bangladesh.

Workshop on child periodical held

Our Correspondent, Barisal

A daylong divisional workshop organized by Community Development Center (CODEC) on development of periodical published for children financed by USAID with the help of Save The Children USA held at Barisal BDS auditorium recently.

Alpona Barua coordinator of KODEC Succeed Programme, presided over, while S M FaruK, deputy Director of divisional primary education directorate, as chief guest and Pankaj Roy Chowdhury, district child affairs officer, Rashida Begum, district women affairs officer, as special guests attended the programme.

Sixty-five participants including 16 children from writers, painters, educationist, journalist, child organizers related with creation and publication of child and juvenile literature, painting attended the program.

S M Zafaruzaman, Dipok Roy, M A Shakur, officials of CODEC conducted the workshop.

Organizers said under this programme they are working for creating and bringing up child readership, child writer and painter and publishing periodical with the matters created by the children arranging field and grass root level workshop.

In Barisal division registered government and non-government primary schools of Bakerganj of Barisal, Kalapara of Patuakhali, and Amtali of Barguna were among the 600 institutions covering by this project.

The participant in this interactive workshop sharing their experiences, reviewing published 20 issues of 'Ai Amader Potrika', observing live-works of writing and painting of the children, giving suggestions for development, emphasized on mental nourishment of the children, rearing of the early childhood creativeness and early primary education for future development and wellbeing of the nation.

2 get 20 years RI for trafficking girl in Thakurgaon

BSS, Chapainawabganj

Two persons including an Indian citizen were sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment each and were fined of Tk. 50,000, six months more in default for women trafficking on Tuesday.

The convicted persons are Abdul Hakim alias Ainal 80 of Paranpur under Kathihara district of Bihar in India and Maharina Begum 55 of Singahati under Baliadangi upazila of Thakurgaon district.

Judge of Chapainawabganj Special Tribunal-2 Hrishikes Saha gave this verdict.

According to the prosecution story, the trafficker Ainul was arrested by BDR on September 9, 2003 from Hudamapara frontier under Shibganj upzila with 100 Indian rupees while he was trafficking a girl Parveen 14, daughter of Saharuddin of Moglapara village under Thakurgaon district.

Ainul was trying to traffick Parveen in collaboration with her step mother Maharina.

BDR filed a case accusing six persons. Maharina remains absconding. The other four persons were acquitted.

News briefs

Teenage girl found dead in Lalmonirhat

LALMONIRHAT, Apr 17: A teenaged girl was found dead at a cropland at Baraipara village in Hatibandha upazila Saturday afternoon. Police said local people found the body of the unidentified girl, aged around 18, lying on a remote maize field in the morning and informed them. Later, police recovered the body that bore telltale marks of strangulation and sent it to Sadar hospital morgue for autopsy. Police suspected that miscreants strangulated the ill-fated girl to death after gang rape. A case was filed, reports UNB.

Two die in separate incidents in Sylhet

SYLHET, Apr 13: Two people died in separate incidents in the district on Thursday. Police said Nurul Islam, 35, of Kalairag village in Companiganj upazila, was beaten to death allegedly by his in-laws in his house. Local people said Nurul's wife Jarina following a family feud went to her father's house at Amtoil village on Wednesday. Later, Jarina's two brothers - Anwar and Babul and sister Parvin - came to the house of Nurul Islam and at one stage of brawl they beat him to death. Police, on information, recovered the body and sent it to hospital morgue for autopsy, reports UNB.

Terrorist held with arms

BENAPOLE (JESSORE), Apr 13: Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested a terrorist along with a pistol and 90 bottles of phensidyl syrup at Mahishadanga village in Sharsha upazila Friday night. Being tipped off, a team of RAB-6 raided the village at about 9:30pm and arrested local terrorist Monayem, 32, along with a pistol, one bullet and the contraband drug. Later, Monayem was handed to the Benapole police station. Police said he was wanted in a number criminal cases, reports UNB.

Two terrors killed in encounter with RAB in Keraniganj

KERANIGANJ, Apr 17: Two suspected terrors were killed in an encounter between RAB troops and their accomplices in Haji Abdul Barek Road area of south Keraniganj on Saturday night. The deceased were identified as Tiger Anwar, 30, and cadre Babu, 27. Acting on secret information that a group of terrorists were holding a clandestine meeting behind a dyeing factory, a team of RAB-10 raided the area and encircled them at about 8:30pm. Sensing presence of the law-enforcers, the gang fired on them, forcing them to fire back, triggering a two-and-half-an-hour-long gunfight, RAB sources said. "Both Tiger Anwar and Babu received fatal bullet injuries in the gunfight and died on the spot," said an official of the Rapid Action Battalion from the spot. The RAB personnel also arrested three others of the group while they were fleeing the scene, reports UNB.

Minor boy drowns

CHITTAGONG, April 17: A minor boy drowned in the pond polytechnic Institute in the city on Thursday. The dead child was identified as Sajjad, 7, son of an employee of the polytechnic institute, named Shahjahan, of pirganj in Rangpur district. Locals said the boy drowned as he slipped in the pond while playing beside the pond, reports BSS.

One held with phensidyl

COMILLA, April 17: A woman was arrested with 62 bottles phensidyl from Tomsum bridge area of the town on Wednesday. The arrested was identified as Roshani, 30, wife of Amir Mia under Gargankhola area of the town, reports BSS.