The New Nation - Internet Edition

No let up in price situation :6 families controlling MS rod market Staff Reporter

A cartel of only six families is manipulating the MS rod market and making windfall profit leaving the entire construction sector into doldrums, according to different sources.

The construction sector has faced a big setback following unusual price hike of MS rod. Implementation of various development projects both in the public and private sectors has almost come to a grinding halt due to sky rocketing prices of MS rod, sources said.

The Government formed a high-powered committee last month to find out the reasons behind the unusual price hike of MS rod.

The committee submitted its report on April 30 incorporating eight recommendations to bring down the price of this particular construction material to a reasonable level.

The committee suggested restructuring of revenue policy, reduction of duty on the import of rods and other measures to break the monopoly of the cartel and make the MS rod business competitive.

The committee came to know that only six families are controlling the ship breaking business and MS rod trade in the country, sources added.

However, the committee has not recommended any action against the unscrupulous businessmen fearing that it may further destabilise the market.

A member of the committee told the New Nation that during the months preceding January this year the ship breakers used to import 8 to10 ships each month weighing 60/70 thousand tonnes. But, between the November 2007 and February 2008 they imported only 10 ships weighing about 40 thousand tonnes, he noted.

The cartel bought more than 10 ships between November and February, but kept those abroad to create an artificial crisis of MS rod and push up its price for making huge profit," he said citing the findings of the committee.

However, after intervention of the government they imported 21 ships in March 2008 weighing 21 lakh tonnes, he added.

He further said price of MS rod cannot be more than Tk 52 thousand per tone if the businessmen follow the ethics. He said price of imported MS rod cannot be more than Tk 62 thousand per tone if even the importers make 10 per cent profit, he mentioned.

One tone of 40-grade rod was selling at Tk 65,000 and 60-grade rod at Tk 75,000 on Thursday.

Row over Gitmo chief’s Pakistan posting

Maj-Gen Jay Hood

BBC Online

Pakistan says it has asked the United States not to appoint the former head of the US prison at Guantanamo as military envoy in Islamabad.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said his government had "genuine reservations" over the appointment of Maj-Gen Jay Hood.

Washington has already cancelled the posting, The New York Times reports. No formal announcement has been made.

Correspondents say the appointment would have provoked uproar in Pakistan.

Hundreds of Muslim prisoners, many from Pakistan, have been held at Guantanamo without charge since the prison was set up following the 11 September, 2001 attacks on the US.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister said his government wanted Washington to respect its concerns over Gen Hood's proposed assignment.

We have genuine reservations and want these to be respected

Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistan foreign minister

"We are allies and partners and we understand, and we should understand, each other's needs," Mr Qureshi told the Senate, parliament's upper house, on Friday.

"Ift our request is not entertained then we have options not to allow Hood and people sharing his thinking inside Pakistani territory."

On Thursday a spokesman for Pakistan's foreign office said the US would take a decision on the posting bearing in mind Pakistani "sentiments and sensitivities".

Maj-Gen Hood would have become the most senior US officer in Pakistan, a key ally in the US-led "war on terror".

His appointment was announced in March.

"It reflected the military's aim to put a crisis-tested veteran in a critical job at a pivotal time in the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taleban in Pakistan's tribal areas," the New York Times reported.

The paper quoted a US Central Command spokesman as saying Gen Hood was now being considered for "a different, equally important job" at command headquarters.

During Gen Hood's command at Guantanamo between 2004 and 2006 detainees on hunger strike were force-fed with tubes.

Brig Gen Jay Hood admitted in in 2005 that there had been a number of incidents involving Guantanamo guards showing "mishandling" the Koran.

NU appoints 700 employees illegally

Staff Reporter

More than 700 employees were illegally appointed in the national university through a fake advertisement in 2004.

The university authority paid nothing for the advertisement, as no bill was found in the file of the university.

This was disclosed through a letter sent to the Officer in Charge (OC) of Joydebpur Police Station by Md Ruhul Amin, Deputy Resister (Admin) of the university.

In the letter he said that the advertisement, which was preserved in the archive of the university is completely fake.

Hafizur Rahman, lecturer of the university filed a case against seven officials, including Prof Wakil Ahmed, former Vice Chancellor, Prof Syed Abul Kalam Azad, and former Treasurer of the university for “Fraud Practicing” and submitting fake documents before the court in connection with the appointments.

Ruhul Amin informed that the name of the newspaper of Dainik Ajkal was not found in the advertising chart approved by the syndicate.

Golam Tahabur, the then Managing Editor of the daily Independent denied publication of that recruitment advertisement on that day in the daily Independent.

Source said the ill motivated group conspired for recruiting over 700 employees against 24 posts. These posts includes deputy resister, network administrator, senior programmer, maintenance engineer, programmer, senior section officer, law officer and audit officer.

The corrupt officials submitted fake documents before the court. They pocketed about Tk 20 crore through this illegal mass recruitment, source said.

Shamser uz Zaman and Advocate Khayer uz Zaman of the Supreme Court carried out the Fraud Practice before the court under the direction of Prof Wakil Ahmed, the source added.

It may be mentioned that Hafizur Rahman was harassed and threatened when he tried to file a case against these irregularities with Dhanmondi Police Station on March 19. Later, he filed the case with Joydebpur Police Station on April16.

How to make the food crisis worse

Philip Bowring

The crisis over the rising cost of food has sparked a flurry of contradictory, if not inane, responses in Asia - as elsewhere - that will do nothing to stabilise prices in the short term or lead to higher production in the long term. All they do is underline the argument that government-backed price distortions have much to do with the sudden rise of grain prices.

In the space of a few days, the Philippines declared that it would aim for self-sufficiency in rice production. Indonesia and Malaysia tried to ban exports; Thailand's prime minister, Samak Sundaravej, announced a goal of creating a rice cartel consisting of Thailand and Vietnam, the world's two largest exporters, and Myanmar and Cambodia.

Then, economic ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations, of which all the above countries are members, met in Indonesia and pledged to help stabilise prices and "continue fair trade practices and to achieve an orderly rice trade."

The Philippines has been self-sufficient in rice for only a few out of the past 100 years. Its current 10 percent shortfall comes despite having had higher farm gate prices - those at the farm - and higher productivity than most of its neighboors.

A fast-growing population, shortage of flat land and lack of major river basins to provide large-scale irrigation suggest that sustained self-sufficiency could only be achieved at high cost. As for the short term, belated panicky buying attempts by the government's importing and distribution agency must take some of the blame for the recent spike in prices.

Blame for the fear of shortages in both the Philippines and Indonesia must also go to a neighbour, Malaysia, whose high farm gate prices and massive subsidies to consumers encourage smuggling. The smugglers are the main beneficiaries of beggar-thy-neighbour grain policies.

Given that the Philippines and Indonesia are among the world's largest rice importers, the export cartel proposed by Samak could be seen as a distinctly unneighbourly act, contrary to the principles of the Asean Free Trade Area.

Fortunately, it will never happen. Although the countries in the suggested group currently account for about 40 percent of global rice exports they are a mere 15 percent of world production - at its height, OPEC had 50 percent.

The key for the future is not so much the policies within Asean as those of the two major rice producers, China and India, which are also major producers and consumers of wheat but are relatively small players in the world rice market.

India exports 3 to 4 percent of its rice production, China just 1 to 2 percent. Both countries have long maintained grain self-sufficiency goals and large stockpiles; as a result, their influence on world markets has been very small.

This may not continue if diversifying domestic demand for foodstuffs suggests that they could benefit from allowing global market forces to play a larger role while keeping large stocks to prevent panic buying if harvests are poor.

India is already a huge importer of vegetable oil - mostly palm oil from Southeast Asia - and China of soybeans. But with investment in irrigation, seeds and roads, India at least has the potential to become the leading player in the world rice trade. Productivity per hectare in India is half that of China and two thirds that of Indonesia. Meanwhile, China is becoming an increasingly important supplier of processed foods and higher value-added crops like apples.

It may make more sense to focus on these and import wheat from countries such as Russia and Ukraine, with their huge potential for increased productivity, than continue to drain northern China's fast-declining water table in pursuit of wheat and rice self-sufficiency.

History tends to suggest that food panics set off protectionist policies or wrong-headed attempts at self-sufficiency.

That may well be the result this time too. But the lessons to be learned are the opposite. Years of European and U.S. production and export subsidies undermined more efficient producers elsewhere. Biofuel subsidies for corn are making it worse.

In the developing world, consumption subsidies long helped urbanites at the expense of farmers. In a multitude of countries, from Myanmar to Zimbabwe, tyrannical politics devastated food production. And in others, pro-peasant romanticism and Europe-derived anti-GM food fetishes stood in the way of higher productivity.

The more food that is traded around the world, the less likelihood of price spikes and panics.

Eco-friendly dumping of solid waste on the anvil

Sarker Nazrul Islam

Dhaka city inhabited by more than ten million people accumulates hundreds of tonnes of solid waste every day. The management of this huge quantity of garbage has proved to be a challenging task. The Matuail Landfill Improvement Project on the outskirts of the city is an attempt to handle the matter in an altogether new manner instead of open dumping of waste.

Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) has been working to improve the solid waste management with the technical assistance of Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA). The total cost of the project has been estimated at the 466.3 million. A master plan on waste management was formulated in 2005 for a period of ten years. As part of this plan, DCC has constructed the first ever sanitary landfill at Matuail. The landfill covers an area of nearly 40 hectares. Out of this, 20 hectares are being developed for a future landfill and a leachate treatment plant.

In the past, open dumping had been a very common waste disposal practice. A large amount of leachate oozing out of fermenting waste made the site hygienically unsafe and environmentally unsound. Dumping of huge waste obstructed flow of leachate and venting of highly combustible gases led to explosion and fire hazards.

The Matuail landfill project has been designed to make garbage dumping into a properly designed and well-managed landfill. Now discipline has been established in different sectors of waste management. The crude dumping system has been converted into environment friendly and sound sanitary dumping system. The solid wastes are disposed of in layers, compacted and covered with a layer of matured wastes and soil to avoid adverse environmental impacts. Soil cover is also intended to facilitate decomposition of the solid waste. Perforated pipe network has been installed to allow leachate roll down to drains and finally to a series of aerobic treatment ponds. Another common by-product is gas. The network of perforated pipes and the vent pipes allow gases come out. All these arrangements have made the Matuail landfill project a safe and hygienic waste management system.

On a visit to the site, it was found that the main thrust of the work is still limited to management of waste. The ponds to hold and treat the leachate are still to be completed. No infrastuctural development for using the waste for generating power or producing fertiliser was noticed.

Earlier there was no data management system at the site. Now a computerised system provided with a weighbridge has been installed to keep records of waste. According to records, the annual dumping at the Matuail site is supposed to reach 3 lakh tonnes. The whole area has been brought under flood light coverage. But due to lack of sufficient voltage they cannot make optimum use of lighting facilities. The garbage trucks are unloaded with the help of excavators. This involves a risk of damaging the bodies of the carriers. Use of dumping trucks would facilitate the safer and faster unloading.

The security arrangement is not strong enough for such a project. Some men and women were found busy collecting recyclable items at close quarters of the moving bulldodgers. There is every chance of their getting crushed under the wheels of the vehicles. However, it is known that arrangements are being made to deploy 20 armed Ansars to guard the site.

Persons directly involved in handling garbage are exposed to serious health hazards. The workers claimed to be suffering from respiratory diseases. They need to be brought under health insurance coverage.

Inspite of some limitations, which are likely to be overcome in course of time, the Matuail landfill project has demonstrated how waste management can be accomplished in a more sanitary manner. The experiences of the Matuail project should also be applied to the other dumping sites of the country. However, efforts must be there to use wastes and garbage as resources for generating power and producing fertilisers.

DMCH employee stabbed to death

Staff Reporter

Habibur Rahman Liton, an employee of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), was stabbed to death over drug dealings at Karwan Bazar in the city yesterday.

The deceased was the son of Nurul Islam of Narsingdi. He was also a drug trader, police said. Liton was a fourth class employee of the DMCH and suspended one year ago for lifting medicine. He was wanted in some cases, including extortion and repression on women.

Police, however, arrested three youths on charge of the killing.

IO of the murder case Tejgaon thana SI Jahirul Islam said five youths called Liton out of his DMCH Staff Quarter at Elephant road Thursday midnight saying that they need some bottles of phensidyl.

The youths in two motorbikes took Liton to an unknown place and bought two bottles of banned Indian cough syrup at Tk 1,000.

After taking the syrups, they locked in an altercation with Liton over their previous dealings. At one stage of the brawl, the addicted people stabbed Liton to death and left the body on the footpath in front of Hotel Westin. They also informed police about the body.

Police found Liton's body at about 3:30am and sent it to DMCH morgue for autopsy.

A case was filed with Tejgaon police station.

SI Jahirul Islam also said police recovered one of the motorbikes used by the killers and picked up Suman, 20 Sohel, 19, Suma, 22. The arrested confessed their involvement in the murder, he added.

BAIRA election today

UNB, Dhaka

A total of 773 members of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) will elect their leaders today for next two years.

Some 54 candidates divided into two panels-Sammilito Samannaya Front and Sammilito Ganatantrik Front-are contesting in the election.

Mohammad Golam Mostafa, owner of Prantik Travels and Tourism Ltd., leads the Sammilito Ganatantrik Front, while former MP Muhammad Mosharraf Hossain, owner of Bay Eastern Limited, leads the Sammilito Samannaya Front. Talking to UNB, several candidates from the two panels expressed similar high hope of winning the election with full panel. Sammilito Samannaya Front panel: MA Sobhan Bhuiyan (Hassan), Riaz-Ul-Islam, Principal Shafiq Ahmed Bhuiyan, JH Gazi, Golam Mostafa (Babul), Abdul Alim, Mohammad Siraj Mia, Md. Sahab Uddin, Mohammad Habibullah, Mansur Ahmed Kalam, Mosleh Uddin Ahmed (Litu), Mohammad Obaidul Arif, Mohammad Anwar Hossain, Rusho Chowdhury, Md. Abul Barakat Bhuiyan, Nasir Uddin Majumder (Siraj), Mohammad Abul Bashar, AHM Moin Uddin, AHM Golam Kabir, Mohammad Ayub Ali Farayeji, Kazi MA Karim Belal, Md. Anwar Hossain Bhuiyan, Mohammad Nazrul Islam, Mohammad Enamul Haque, KH Mohammad Tajul Islam and AKM Nazrul Islam.

Sammilito Ganatantrik Front panel: M Shamsuzzaman, Kazi M Mafizur Rahman, Md. Nurul Amin, Morshed Sanaullah Kayani, Sheikh M Abdul Jalil, SM Alam, Md. Forkan Uddin, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Golam Sarwar, Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan, Syed M Saiful Huq (Mintu), Md. Shamsul Huq, Md. Abu Jafar, Shah Abdul Basir, Md. Mokhlesur Rahman, Tariqul Islam, Golam Mawla, Mozammel Huq Bhuiyan, Akbar Hossain Monju, Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, Golam Mainuddin (Munir), Tofael Ahmed, Md. Ruhul Amin, Mohammad Jalal Uddin, Md. Golam Nabi and Dr KM Sultanul Aziz.

The casting of votes will start at 9 am and continue up to 5 pm without break.

Deputy Secretary at the Commerce Ministry Amrit Baroi will conduct the election.

The government in January last year appointed an administrator in the BAIRA as there were widespread allegations against the association in sending workers to Malaysia.

Wages in keeping with price index demanded

Staff Reporter

Bangladesh Garment Sramik Trade Union Kendro yesterday demanded wages for industrial workers in keeping with the price index of essential commodities.

Leaders of the organisation voiced the demand at a discussion and cultural ceremony at Mukti Bhaban in the city's Paltan area.

The organisation arranged the discussion in observance of the May Day.

Its leaders Adv Mantu Ghosh, KM Rahul Amin, Hafizul Islam, Joly Talukder and Nasima Akter, among others, addressed the function, which was chaired by its president Idres Ali

They said development of the labour force is needed for growth of the country's industrial sector.

But, the workers have been facing hardship due to food crisis and price-hike of essentials.

They demanded distribution of rice, pulses, oil and other essentials at subsidised rate through rationing system.

They also urged the government to abandon the proposal to reform the Labour Act in the interest of the labourer, industry and country. The proposal would impede the growth of the industrial production, they noted.

Later, Udichi singers Siddique and Shilpi Akter rendered songs at the cultural function, a press released said.

Wrong response aggravates food crisis in Asia: ADB

AFP, Manila

Asia's response to tightening global grain supplies has aggravated food price inflation and uncertainty, according to an Asian Development Bank report released here Friday.

Export bans and price floors imposed by grain exporters including China, Pakistan, Vietnam and India "have increased price volatility and uncertainty in the international rice markets," reducing supplies.

These have been "contributing significantly to the surge in rice price, especially since the end of 2007," the Manila-based lender said.

Among the importers, "precautionary demand for food stocks in many countries is contributing to foodgrain price increases," said the report, which cited "sustained procurements" in international markets by Bangladesh and the Philippines.

The report, "Soaring Food Prices: Response to the Crisis," said "strong political and economic factors " were at play in the food policies of most developing Asian countries, "so that the effect of sharply higher international prices has not been fully transmitted to domestic prices."

The bank said crackdowns by Dhaka and Manila on private traders accused of hoarding foodgrains were "difficult to implement" and have, in fact, "increased prices in the domestic market of many countries."

The report also said the "lack of efficient logistics systems and infrastructure for food grain marketing and distribution" has "tightened the market further" in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines, and Tajikistan.

The bank announced at its annual meeting in Madrid earlier this week that it will provide 500 million dollars in immediate assistance to member nations hit hardest by soaring food prices.

Longer term, the report urged Asian countries to correct "distortions arising from interventionist price and trade policies," increased investments in irrigation, related farm infrastructure, and research, and upgrade of drying and storage facilities to cut post-harvest losses of up to 30 percent.

It also called for improved farmer and rural poor access to credit.

The ADB estimates that the soaring food prices could affect a billion people in Asia, home to two-thirds of the world's poor and where spending on food accounts for 60 percent of total average expenditure.

Bank president Haruhiko Kuroda has also warned that the food problem could cut into decades of economic gains in the Asia-Pacific region.

Poor-response to home loan scheme: BB considers revision of its conditions

UNB, Dhaka

The much-hyped home loan scheme of Bangladesh Bank has so far received a lukewarm response, prompting the central bank to think about revising its conditions for which the borrowers are shying away.

"The response is not good. Some of its conditions are not borrower-friendly," said a senior official at the central bank. He said the monthly repayment of around Tk 25,000 from one's monthly income of not more than Tk 30,000 is really difficult. An individual with monthly income of less than Tk 30,000 is eligible for the loan. According to Bangladesh Bank figures, partner banks and financial institutions disbursed only Tk 74,00,000 until January this year since the Tk 300 crore scheme was launched in July last year. "We'll have to streamline the scheme to make it simpler and more attractive," Bangladesh Bank deputy governor Nazrul Huda, who is in charge of the scheme, told UNB.

"We're now thinking how the scheme can be made more attractive to the borrowers," he said.

He was considering whether the interest rate could be reduced further from the existing 10 percent apart from expanding the areas eligible for the loan from the present six city corporations and four municipality areas (Tongi, Gazipur, Savar and Narayanganj). He said the newly developed areas surrounding the Dhaka City Corporation have potentials to come under the scheme. Huda said he would talk to the stakeholders, including the executives concerned of the partner banks and financial institutions, to identify the problems as well as invite suggestions from the people for making the loan programme more attractive. The central bank has introduced the home loan scheme to meet the rising demand for housing facilities of the lower-middle and middle-income groups of people with an initial refinancing fund of Tk 300 crore.

The partner banks and financial institutions have been assigned to operate the loan.

At the initial stage of operation, the maximum limit of loan was fixed at Tk 15,00,000 for a single borrower and it was later raised to Tk 20,00,000 for the convenience of the borrowers. The refinancing limit for the partner banks and financial institutions was also raised to 100 percent from previous 75 percent of the total loans to be sanctioned for a single borrower.

Agro producers for Annisul Huq's resignation

Staff Reporter

Bangladesh Agro-based Product Producers and Merchants Association demanded resignation of FBCCI president Annisul Huq for discussing the price of essentials with the BDR director general before resolving the growers' problem.

Secretary General of the association and member of FBCCI general body Mollah Saidur Rahman said Annisul Huq has violated the growers' rights.

In a statement he urged the government to discuss the price issue with the growers and retail agro product sellers instead of middleman and stockists.

"The government could not control the price hike of essentials due to dealing the matter with the people's from outside instead of proper person," he said.