The New Nation - Internet Edition

Roof gardening gets a boost

Former Adviser to the Caretaker government and
Editor of the Daily Independent distributing improved
varieties of fruit plants at the Dhaka Journalist
residential area yesterday. NN photo

Staff Reporter

Developing the gardens at the rooftops of houses can help city dwellers to have not only fresh fruit and vegetable but also fresh air to breath sign of relief.

Former Adviser to the Caretaker government and Editor of the Daily Independent Mahabubul Alam said while distributing improved variety fruit plant among the members of the Dhaka Journalists Housing Cooperative Society in Mirpur housing area.

The society organised the function at its community center with its president Mostafa Kamal Majumder and Editor of the New Nation in the chair.

Chief Editor and Managing director of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury addressed the function as the special guest.

Among others Adviser of Grameen Shakti Agriculturist Dr Shahidul Islam, General Secretary of Bangladesh Green Roof Movement Golam Hayder, Deputy Managing Director of Idcol Manirul Islam, Abdul Gofran of Grameen Shakti, and President of Women and Child Welfare Council Nurul Wara also spoke at the function.

Appriciating the initiative of planting fruit plants and vegetable in the rooftops Mahbubul Alam said growing fruits and vegetables in their own houses would give additional pleasure to the citizens.

Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury said this initiative would be an example for the dwellers of the other part of the city and would inspire them to take such move and benefit themselves.

"Gardens at the rooftops of the houses will create a nice surroundings in the area that would give them much pleasure", he added.

Dr Shahidul Islam assured all technical support to make the roof garden movement at the journalist residential area a success.

Manirul Islam of Idcol said the initiative taken by the Journalist Housing Cooperative Society would help popularise roof gardening movement. He said that more cooperation between his organisation and the society might be explored.

Idcol and Bangladesh Green Roof Movement jointly cooperated the gardening project at the rooftops of 111 houses in the area, while Grameen supplied bio fertiliser.

Tagore’s first love at Dakkhin Dihi

A partial view of the pond at Dakshin Dihi in
Jessore, where Poet Tagore happened to meet Mrinalini, his
wife. Photo BSS

BSS, Dhaka

Many of the Tagore scholars opines that Rabindrnath never had warm relations with his wife Mrinalini, but the past stories at Dakkhin Dihi of Jessore, house of his in- laws have other views to offer.

The story goes like this that the great poet fell in platonic love with Mrinalini Devi when he was visiting his maternal uncle's home.

The story revolves round Titur pond, where he saw Mirnalini for the first time and felt a kind of attraction towards her. Locals said Rabindranath waited everyday for Mrinalini Devi after he saw her first as she came to fetch water from the pond.

Zamindar Rai Chowdhury, the maternal uncle of poet Rabindrnath was the neighbour of Beni Madhab Chowdhury, father-in-law of Rabindrnath Tagore. Rai Chowdhury's family was from Pirali Brahma family which was under the influence of Saint Khan Jahan Ali.

The grand father of the poet Prince Darwakanath Tagore, his father Debendranath Tagore and Rabindranath himself got married to the same family.

The house of Beni Madhab Chwodhury is now being converted to Rabindra Complex and there is a saying that Rabindranath was married there. However there is no written evidence of such marriage took place in that house.

In 1994, the house was vacated and the administration of Khulna placed two statues of Rabindrnath and Mrinalini Devi in the house and erected a stage in front of the house under a big tree and named it Mrinalini Mancha. The establishment of Rabindra Complex had encouraged the local people to organise a fair on 25th Boishakh every year to celebrate the birth anniversary of the great poet.

Witnessing the enthusiasm of the local people, Tagore scholars and fans, the administration is planning to expand the area of the Rabindra Complex on the entire land which was recorded earlier in the name of Beni Madhab Chowdhury.

However, historically it is mentioned that Tagore was in London when his father called him back and arranged the marriage with Mrinalini Devi. The great poet got married on December 9 in 1883 when Mirnalini was only 11 years old.

Tagore's family had chosen his bride whom he married with little ceremony. They had four children, the eldest was born when Mrinalini was 13. Mrinalini died at the age of 30.

Critics pointed out that Tagore never referred to his wife in 'My Reminiscences'. "I got married" that was all he wrote. Such reticence was not due to flimsiness about her feelings, since she died some ten years before Tagore wrote his reminiscence.

Nor, on the other hand, was it least unusual among men of his time in India: even today, distinguished Indians remain silent in their writings about their wives.

US support for holding free, fair polls assured

BSS, Dhaka

The Untied States will continue its support to the steps undertaken by the government and looking forward for a free, fair and credible poll in Bangladesh following the election roadmap.

Newly appointed US ambassador to Bangladesh James F Moriarty said yesterday while he paid a courtesy call on Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed at his office here.

Welcoming warmly the US ambassador at his office, the Chief Adviser said the bilateral relations between Dhaka and Washington are excellent at this moment and it will foster to a new dimension during the tenure of the new ambassador.

The Bangladesh-US relations are based on solid foundation, he said and added both the countries share common values and common approach to various international issues.

Dr Fakhruddin said the US is a large investor in Bangladesh and a major destination of Bangladesh's export trade. Many Bangladeshis are working in the US and contributing in her economy and a good number of students are studying there.

Contd on page-2 Col-

Non resident Bangladeshis are also contributing in national economy, he added.

The Chief Adviser said the government is committed to hold a free and fair election and the government has implemented various reform measures to create a level playing field.

Dr Fakhruddin said the reform steps are visible and transparent with an aim of establishing a system of holding high standard elections free from the influence of money, muscle and misuse of power.

About holding dialogue with the political parties, the Chief Adviser said the advisers held pre- dialogue with the parties and he has got the feedback.

He said the government is providing necessary assistance to the Election Commission (EC) in line with the election roadmap.

The EC is preparing voter list with photograph across the country and held dialogue with political parties.

Pointing to food production and supply, Dr Fakhruddin said despite repeated floods and cyclone Sidr the farmers of the country have worked hard for bumper productions of boro paddy, wheat, potato, maize and other crops.

He said the government has taken a number of steps including food import as well as procurement from the local market to raise the food stock for ensuring food security.

The government has also distributing rice through open market sale (OMS) and vulnerable group feeding (VGF) to protect the marginal income group, he added.

Referring to the recent call made by US President George W Bush for food aid, the Chief Adviser hoped that the US government will consider Bangladesh while providing food assistance to the international community in the wake of recent global food deficit.

James F Moriarty said the US government will provide 10 million US dollar for rehabilitation of the Sidr victims in the southern region of Bangladesh.

Referring to global food uncertainty, the ambassador said food stock should be raised for ensuring domestic food security.

Bangladesh is successfully facing the challenges one after another, Moriarty said and added that the country is now marching forward to election roadmap.

Secretary to the Chief Adviser's Office Kazi M Aminul Islam and Press Secretary Syed Fahim Munaim were present during the meeting.

Abuse of students Probe body soon, says JU VC

JU Correspondent

Vice- Chancellor of the Jahangirnagar University Prof.Muniruzzaman said yesterday that it would take some more days for constituting a fact finding committee to probe the allegation of sexual harassment of four female students of the university by a JU teacher.

The formation of the fact finding has hit committee a snag as the students have demanded outright expulsion of the teacher accused of sexually and mentally harassing four female students of the university.

Earlier on Saturday, four female students of the Department of Drama and Dramatics submitted a written statement against Sanoar Hossain

(Ahmed Sani), an associate professor and chairman of the same department, for harassing them sexually and mentally.

The students of the drama department have been demonstrating on the campus to press home their demand for the expulsion of Sanoar.

4 US Marines among 14 killed in Iraq: First Lady escapes attack

AFP, Baghdad

A bomb hit a motorcade carrying the Iraqi first lady in Baghdad on Sunday, while the U.S. military said a roadside explosion killed four marines in the deadliest attack in western Anbar Province in months.

The motorcade bombing in Baghdad's Karrada district wounded four of Hiro Ibrahim Ahmed's bodyguards but left her unharmed, according to the office of her husband, President Jalal Talabani.

She was headed to the city's central National Theater to attend a cultural festival when the attack occurred just before noon, said the presidential office. It was unclear if she was the target or if the bombing was random.

The four marines were killed in Anbar on Friday, but no other details of the incident were released.

Anbar was once a stronghold for insurgents battling against U.S. Related Articles Iraqi hospital and children hit by U.S. airstrikes Faulty wiring electrocutes troops on U.S. bases Today in Africa & Middle East Israeli tactics collide with peace process Zimbabwe announces need for runoff Motorcycle bomb hits Yemeni mosque forces. But in the past year the vast desert province has largely been calmed with the rise of the Awakening Council movement - Sunni fighters who now turn their guns on Al Qaeda instead of U.S. forces.

The attack Friday was the most lethal in the province since Sept. 6, when four marines were killed in combat. The military did not release details of those deaths either.

On April 22, two marines were killed in Anbar when a bomb-rigged truck exploded at a checkpoint in the city of Ramadi.

Patrick Driscoll, said that attacks carried out by Al Qaeda declined last month after increasing earlier this year.

He said there was "no place for Al Qaeda" to hide in Iraq and U.S. troops were continuing to hunt them down in Diyala Province and the city of Mosul, where many are believed to have fled north from Baghdad. Meanwhile, Iraqi health officials said at least 10 people-including two children - were killed in the past 24 hours in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, a slum of 2.5 million people and a stronghold for the Mahdi Army militia led by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Officials at two hospitals in Sadr City spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

U.S. and Iraqi forces have been battling militia members there for weeks as part of an Iraqi government crackdown on the fighters.

An Iraqi government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, said the battles against the militia fighters in Sadr City would continue.

"It is the full responsibility of the Iraqi government to implement the rule of law," Dabbagh said. The clashes with Mahdi army have caused deep rifts among Iraq's Shiite majority and have pulled U.S. troops into difficult urban combat.

Militia members have been blamed for firing hundreds of rockets or mortars from Sadr City into the Green Zone, the U.S.-protected area housing the American embassy and much of the Iraqi government.

In the past month, more than a dozen people - including two American civilians and soldiers - have been killed inside the zone during the attacks.

Show cause on newly elected SCBA Secretary

Court Correspondent

A court of Dhaka yesterday issued show cause notice against newly elected general secretary of Supreme Court Bar Association Md Nurul Islam Sujan and 8 others as to why temporary injunction will not be issued against them in connection with the election of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA). They will have to show cause within 3 days.

Iftekhar Ahmed, Senior Assistan Judge, 9th Court of Dhaka issued the show cause notice against defendant Nos 1-9 in the case filed by Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun, the defeated candidate for the post of General Secretary in the SCBA election for the session 2008-2009.

The main defendants are : (1) Nizamul Haque Nasim, (2) A K M Abdul Hakim (3) Purabi Rani Sharma (4) Ziad-Al-Malum, (5) Md Motahar Hossain (Saju) (6) Md Ashraful Kamal, (7) Shaikh Akhtarul Islam (8) Abu Md Amin Uddin, (9) Md Nurul Islam Sujan (10) Fahmida Nasrin and (11) Zahid Sarwar Kajal.

The plaintiff accused the defendant of rigging in the election of SCBA. It was mentioned that the plaintiff won the election winningthe pst of General Secretary. But Convener of election sub-committee Nizamul Haque Nasim, former Secretary General Amin Uddin and others managed to recount the votes violating the Constitution of the association. Earlier, the plaintiff was declared elected as General Secretary of SCBA. It was also noted that as per the Constitution of SCBA vote cannot be recounted. It was also alleged that ballot box was kept in the room of General Secretary in lieu of Sonali Bank's Supreme Court Bar Association branch violating the Constitution.

Pak judges to be reinstated on May 12

Internet

Former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif says all the senior judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf last year will be reinstated on 12 May.

He led his PML-N party in two days of talks with the biggest party in the new coalition government, the PPP, to resolve differences over the judges. The issue has threatened to split the coalition, with the PPP wanting the power of the judiciary to be reduced.

There was no immediate reaction from Musharraf to the announcement.

Nor did PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari comment on the news.

The judges were dismissed when President Musharraf declared a state of emergency in November.

Labour-friendly atmosphere at work places urged

Staff Reporter

Speakers at roundtable yesterday only friendly environment, rational wage structure and good sanitation facilities at workplace could ensure health security to the workers.

Right to trade union is a another pre-requisite for preserving the rights of the workers, they noted.

The roundtable was jointly organised by the Jatiya Shaista Odhikar Andolon, Bangladesh Paribash Andolon (BAPA) and Physician for Social Reception ( PSR ) at the National Press Club.

Prof Muzaffer Ahmed, TIB Chairman, Anwarul Alam Chowdhury Parvez, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Prof Dr Iqbal Arsenal, Dean of the Bangabandu Medical University, Mili Rahman, wife of Birshreshta Matiur Rahman, Prof Rahid-E-Mahbub, Dr Wazadul Islam Khan, Shirin Aktar, chief of Karmajibi Nari, Dr Mostak Hossain and worker Farzana, among other, addressed the roundtable. It was chaired by Kamrul Hasan, President of PSR.

Nasreen Bina Shikdar presented the keynote paper.

The Participants also called for introducing rationing system, establishment of standard hospitals in the industrial areas, cooperative society, separate toilet and washroom for the female labourers at work places.

Adequate space, water and air and light are also needed to make the workplace worker friendly, they said.

BGMEA president Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez said BGMEA has been providing free health service to the garment workers through its 10 health centres in Dhaka and Chittagong.

About 8 lakh and 48 thousands workers have so far taken healthcare services from these health centres he added.

He further said that the garment factory is now being established out of the Dhaka city in view of congestion in the capital. He called upon the government to provide gas and electricity to the garment factories outside the capital.

Obama wins Guam, looks to Indiana, North Carolina

AFP, Hagatna

Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama on Saturday defeated rival Hillary Clinton in caucuses on the tiny US Pacific island of Guam, a small but welcome victory after several rough weeks on the campaign trail.

Obama won the island's caucuses by seven votes, winning 14 of the island's 21 districts and finishing with 2,264 votes against 2,257 for Clinton, local party officials said.

It was not immediately clear whether the four pledged delegates from Guam's caucuses would be split evenly between Obama and Clinton-Guam, like most Democratic Party nominating contests, uses a complicated formula of proportionally doling out the spoils based on a variety of factors.

Clinton issued a statement congratulating Obama for "running a vigorous campaign" and said she looks "forward to our next contests in Indiana and North Carolina."

Voter turnout on the island more than 8,000 miles (12,900 kilometres) from Washington was 25 percent higher than the 4,000 party officials expected on Saturday. The island's residents, while US citizens, cannot vote in November's presidential election.

Neither candidate traveled to Guam, but both gave interviews to local media.

Clinton and Obama meanwhile lashed out at each other over rising gas prices ahead of the latest milestone in their marathon battle for the Democratic White House nomination. In Indiana, front-runner Obama made another attempt to connect with working-class voters who have mainly backed Clinton and frustrated his attempts to knock her out of the race. In a speech in Indianapolis, the Illinois senator, hoping to become the first black US president, said the faltering US economy, high gas and food prices were threatening the American dream.

"This economy doesn't just jeopardize our financial wellbeing, it offends the most basic values that have made this country what it is: the idea that America is the place where you can make it if you try," he said.

Obama also reiterated his opposition to a plan by Republican presumptive nominee John McCain, which Clinton has endorsed, for a short-term cut in the federal gasoline tax in response to rising pump prices. "There's not an expert out there that believes that this is going to work," he said, citing estimates that it would save little but could raise gas prices.

"Now, Senator Clinton and Senator McCain have been using this issue to make the argument that I'm somehow 'out of touch,'" he said.

"Only in Washington can you get away with calling someone out of touch when you're the one who thinks that 30 cents a day is enough to help people who are struggling in this economy."

But Clinton styled herself as the best person to make "those changes real in our daily lives," as she campaigned in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

"I know the difference between making speeches and implementing solutions," the New York senator said, seeking to slam Obama as inexperienced.

"Those prices that are going up, gas prices and grocery prices, are really taking a big chunk out of people's disposable income."

She challenged Obama's claim that the tax cut would not help people, and insisted there was "no contradiction" between trying to provide short-term relief and having a long-term plan to address the problem.

"I believe completely that there isn't a problem we can't solve in America if we start acting like Americans, and that requires us to have a president who is going to summon us to action again," she said.

Polls favour Obama in North Carolina, though the race has tightened in recent days, after he suffered a miserable April. Indiana was too close to call.

The rivals are in the last stretch of a 16-month battle for the right to take on John McCain in November's presidential election.

Despite the fierce battle between them, which looks set to continue through the final run of nominating contests into June, both Clinton and Obama vowed to heal party divisions whichever one becomes the nominee.

Polls meanwhile showed softening support for Obama.

A Howey-Gauge poll in Indiana had him barely ahead, 47 percent to 45. Clinton had trailed by 15 points in the same poll in February.

A Rasmussen poll in North Carolina on Friday had Obama leading by nine points, but with Clinton closing, while a Zogby tracking poll published the same day had him up 16 points in the state.