The New Nation - Internet Edition

Khulna Varsity closed: Students, transport workers’ violent clash: 30 injured: Inmates asked to vacate dormitories

Students of Khulna University brought out a
procession on Khulna-Satkhira road yesterday protesting
violent attack on the students by the transport workers
(left). Fire set to tyre on the road disrupting vehicular
movement. Focus Bangla

Khulna Correspondent

At least 50 students of Khulna University were injured in series of clashes between students and transport workers in the city's Sonadanga Bus Terminal on Thursday and Friday morning.

The Khulna University (KU) authority, in an emergency meeting at noon declared the Institution closed sine die and asked the students to vacate the dormitories by 3:00pm on Friday.

The KU on Tuesday went on a month-long summer vacation.

Source said the clashes occurred when four students of the university went to board a Hanif Paribahan bus for Dhaka at Sonadanga Bus Terminal with their computers, luggage and books at 9:00pm on Thursday.

As the staff of the transport company demanded extra money for carrying the computers, the student refused to travel and demanded return of their ticket money.

At one stage of the altercation the staff with the help of musclemen beat up the four KU students and confined them till midnight. However, the transport workers returned their ticket money and set them free.

Later, protesting the incident when fellow students came to the

spot early Friday morning the transport workers attacked them, leaving six of them critically injured. They are Atique, Rakib, Asad, Maruf, Muktadir and Ali Quader. They are undergoing treatment at various city clinics.

The students and transport workers then locked in a fierce clash, which continued till 3:30am. Police later intervened and brought the situation under control.

Earlier, the agitated KU students, protesting the attack, put up barricade on Khulna-Satkhira Road at about 5:00am and continued the siege when the last report came in at 1:00pm disrupting road communications on 13 different routes.

Police said the students of the Institute took to the streets, damaged passing vehicles on Khulna-Satkhira Road and clashed with law enforcers to protest the assault on the students.

The students also burnt tyres on the road in front of the university and vandalised three eateries and damaged two buses during the blockade.

During the clash, the agitated students damaged 10 ticket counters of different transport companies at Gollamari in the city on the night.

The students demanded immediate punishment of transport worker Biplob, who allegedly led the attack on the students.

A tense situation was prevailing in the area following the clash.

Additional police forces have been deployed there to avert further clashes.

The transport companies have decided to stop bus service to different destinations from the city for an indefinite period and demanded punishment of the unruly students.

Jailbreak in Chuadanga: Massive manhunt, BDR on alert

Chuadanga district jail: Focus Bangla

BSS, Chuadanga

Authorities yesterday ordered a massive manhunt alerting Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) border guards after four "hardcore criminals" serving life imprisonments fled the district jail breaking their prison cells.

"A countrywide alert was issued as police, RAB and army-led joint forces launched a massive manhunt for the jail breakers," deputy commissioner of Chuadanga Mokhlesur Rahman told BSS.

Police super of the district Mofizuddin Ahmed said, coloured photographs of the four criminals, one of them having links with an outlawed ultra left outfit, were circulated in police stations across the country and BDR outposts in frontlines.

Jail officials said, the four, who were kept at a single cell, fled the prison at about 2 am last night by breaking a wall of a jail ward and crossed the boundary wall using blankets as ropes.

The deputy commissioner and police super, however, said they managed to flee the jail apparently without any external help but investigations were underway to find how the incident took place.

The prisoners who fled away are: Ashiqur Rahman of Swihat under Kushtia, Hamid Laskar of Jadabpur village under Chuadanga sadar upazila, Aktaruzzaman of Bhandardah village of Chuadanga sadar and Jorap Ali of Khash Korora village under Alamdanga upazila of the same district.

Jail officials said, one of them was jailed for 80 years, while others were serving 70 year, 50 year and 46 year jail terms for several charges including murders.

Inspector general of prisons Brigadier General Zakir Hassan and senior civil and military officials visited the jail while jail authorities promised stern actions against persons to be found responsible or have neglected duties allowing the jailbreak.

The police super, however, said the jail was housed in a dilapidated building, which had eased the criminals, who were staying at the same jail for past several years, to break the prison.

Chudanga's deputy commissioner constituted a two-member inquiry committee headed by the additional district magistrate of the district asking it to submit a report in next 24 hours while the IG prisons ordered another investigation constituting a separate two- member committee headed by the deputy inspector of prisons of Rajshahi.

No dialogue, no polls unless Hasina is released: AL leaders

Awami Jubo Mahila League activists are holding a
meeting at the party office at Bangabandhu Avenue yesterday.
Banglar Chokh

Staff Reporter

Senior leaders of the Awami League yesterday threatened to boycott the ensuing dialogue and general elections if the detained party President Sheikh Hasina was not released before the formal talks between the government and political parties.

"The Awami League will not participate in the formal dialogue between the Government and the political parties as well as in the parliamentary election if President Sheikh Hasina is not released without any condition to join them," influential Presidium member and the top leader of the so-called AL 'reformist' group Amir Hossain Amu told a meeting of the Dhaka Divisional Representatives' of Jubo Mohila (Youth Women) League.

Sounding same tone, reformist party Presidium members Abdur Razzak and Tofail Ahmed joined the vocal anti-reform leader Begum Matia Chowdhury to demand of the Government the immediate and unconditional release of Sheikh Hasina before the dialogue and said neither the dialogue nor the general election could be fruitful without participation of the former Prime Minister.

Although they were putting pre-conditions like that of the anti-reform faction of the BNP led by its Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain, who was constantly hammering the Government to release both the detained former Prime Ministers-Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina-and allow them to lead their respective parties, the Awami League (AL) leaders, however, never demanded the release of Begum Zia, who is the Chairperson of the BNP.

Held at the party's Bangabandhu Avenue central office with Jubo Mohila (Youth Women) League (JML), one of most active front organisation of the AL, Nazma Akter in the chair, the meeting was attended by JML central leaders and presidents and general secretaries of its 17 district units of Dhaka division.

AL leaders Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Abdul Mannan, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Adv Sahara Khatun, Adv Quamrul Islam and Dr Dipu Moni also spoke at the programme. JML General Secretary Apu Ukil conducted the representatives' meeting.

Terming the demand for Sheikh Hasina's unconditional release before the dialogue is the AL's only pre-condition at this moment, Amir Hossain Amu said, "Awami League can only participate in the dialogue along with its president Sheikh Hasina after her release. There is no alternative to it."

He claimed that their demand for the release of Sheikh Hasina has turned into "a national demand."

Amu, however, said they would decide whether to join the Government-sponsored dialogue after consulting with its allies in the 14-party combine and after getting Hasina's nod.

He alleged that conspiracy was being hatched to hold election keeping Sheikh Hasina behind the bar by filing "false and baseless cases" against her.

Presidium member Abdur Razzaq said they would free Sheikh Hasina through launching a tough movement and urged the party men to get united and take preparation for joining the movement.

AL presidium member Tofail Ahmed said they would not join the dialogue and also the election without Sheikh Hasina and there is no alternative to it. "Dialogue will never be fruitful and the parliamentary election will not be acceptable without Sheikh Hasina."

Calling for a vigorous movement for freeing the party Chief, he said there is no alternative to the party except launching street agitation, as their demands would not be implemented only through discussion.

Criticising the Chief Adviser's address to the nation on Monday, Tofail said, "The Chief Adviser has created doubts among the people about national elections by saying local body elections would be held prior to the parliamentary polls."

He demanded withdrawal of the state of emergency and said election under the emergency would not acceptable to the people of the country.

Presidium member Begum Matia Chowdhury demanded unconditional release of Sheikh Hasina before the dialogue process, saying, "Only her (Sheikh Hasina's) presence can make the dialogue successful. Otherwise, it is predestined to fail."

She urged the people to be prepared to join the movement with all 'their might' for freeing Sheikh Hasina.

No one should point finger at Bangladesh: Iftekhar: Group named in India attack now a non-entity in Bangladesh

Reuter, Dhaka

Bangladesh said on Friday that militant group Harakat-ul-Jihad al Islami (HuJI), which Indian police suspect could be involved in bombings this week in a tourist city, had been marginalized following a crackdown. If is now a non-entity in Bangladesh.

Top government officials in Dhaka also urged the Indian media not to jump to conclusions and point the finger at "foreign forces" for the multiple explosions in the western city of Jaipur that killed 61 people on Tuesday.

"Bangladesh banned the HuJI group years ago after it was banned in the United States and other countries as a top militant organization," said Hasan Mahmood Khandaker, director general of the Rapid Action Battalion.

"Dozens of HuJI activists in Bangladesh including their chief Mufti Abdul Hannan have been detained over the years. While we don't rule out the existence of HuJI in Bangladesh we can say their activity has been drastically controlled by the security agencies here," he told Reuters over telephone.

An email to media, from a group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen, declared open war on India and threatened more attacks on tourists.

India has suffered a wave of bombings in recent years and has blamed militant groups in Pakistan for most of the violence.

Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, foreign affairs adviser of Bangladesh said "no one should point finger at Bangladesh automatically for any suspected HuJI attack in other countries."

"These are terrorists who have done this heinous deeds, and terrorists have no boundaries," he said.

"Also, the media should not jump to conclusions before thorough investigation are concluded." The Bangladeshi group has been blamed for series of attacks in the past including the 2004 bombing of a political rally addressed by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and an attack on Bangladeshi born British High Commissioner Anwar Chowdhury the same year.

HuJI (Movement of Islamic Holy War) was set up to turn Bangladesh, a moderate Muslim country, into a theocratic state, police say.

The group was labeled a terrorist organization by the United States in the late 1990s.

In October 2005, it was officially banned by the government of Bangladesh and the head of the group, Mufti Hannan, was arrested.

The U.S. State Department said the group's leader had signed a 1998 fatwa sponsored by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden that "declared American civilians to be legitimate targets for attack."

Bangladesh said its security forces had curbed the activities of the organization after the arrest of more than 60 members.

30 lakh cellphone users face axe: Registration deadline expires May 31

Staff Reporter

A huge number of people are going to lose their mobile phone connections by the end of this month as the operators would be forced to disconnect their lines for their failure to register afresh.

The Government will not extend the deadline to re-register each active SIM card after May 31, though more than 30 lakh subscribers are yet to do it, due mainly to their lethargy, sources in the BTRC said.

Chairman of the Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission Manzurul Alam on Thursday said that the re-registration deadline wouldn't be extended anymore.

A BTRC official told The New Nation that preservation of mobile subscribers data is urgent, as it is a security concern both for the state and the individual. "The government wants people to avail of the modern technology of communication not to allow anybody to abuse it," he added.

In August last year BTRC issued a notice to the operators to tell all subscribers to register their mobile accounts and provide proof of ID to the operators. The regulator ordered the operators to re-register customers who bought connections before February 28, 2006. The BTRC had to extend the deadline four times.

Starting from August 2007, following the regulator's directive, the mobile operators were able to re-register 70 percent or 70 lakh customers within nine months. On an average, 7.8 lakh customers had been re-registered per month.

The mobile operators are hopeful that they would be able to register the bulk of the remaining 30 lakh SIM accounts by the deadline.

The operators have started to offer incentives to lure their subscribers to re-register to avoid losses in business by losing a large number of subscribers.

Grameenphone, that leads the market with 1.80 crore subscribers, has already offered Tk 100 free talk time to a subscriber for re-registering by the deadline.

The market leader would suffer the biggest loss as it has majority of unaccounted SIM accounts. Some 27 lakh of the 30 lakh unaccounted SIM accounts are connected to Grameenphone, according to sources in BTRC.

Loss of the five other operators including Banglalink, Aktel, Warid, CityCell and Tele Talk will be relatively less as their subscriber base extended rapidly in the last one year and many of their subscribers need not to re-register their connection.

To register their SIM card - customers must produce two copies of passport size photo, passport or any photo ID card and the forms and documents.

If a retailer sells a SIM card without proof of ID they will face a fine of US$10 per infraction.

A subscriber will only be allowed to reconnect unregistered SIM cards under exceptional circumstances if they miss the deadline.

Bangladesh's total number of mobile users rose by nearly 58 percent in 2007 to 3.44 crore, according to the BTRC.

The six mobile phone operators added 45.30 lakh new subscribers in January-March, lifting the user base to 3.89 crore in one of Asia's fastest growing cellular markets.

Several market surveys have forecast the number of mobile phone users will be around 7 crore by the end of 2011.

DCC ill-equipped to stem menace: Man-mosquito fight to continue

Sheikh Arif Bulbon

Mosquito continues to make life miserable in the city due to inadequate and irregular drives for what the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) blamed inadequate manpower and logistic support to monitor the field-level activities.

People are frequently falling victim to mosquito bites especially of Culex at homes, offices, business centres, bus stops, train stations and launch terminals. Security guards and floating people are the easy victims of the stinging insects.

Residents in different areas including Gendaria, Jatrabari, Mirhajirbagh, Jurain, Rampura Mohammadpur, Khilgaon, Moghbazar, Mirpur, Kazipara, Tejgaon, Badda, Shahjahanpur and Uttara complained that they were facing mosquito menace.

People of different areas alleged that proliferation of mosquitoes continued due to irregular control drives.

Some people even claimed that any activity of the DCC in their areas was absent for the past couple of weeks.

"Inadequate logistic support hampers proper supervision of the field-level work and it is one of the main reasons for the failure in controlling mosquito menace in the city," said a DCC official.

The officials responsible for supervision and monitoring of the activities of field-level employees cannot do their duties properly due to lack of transports or transport allowance to cover the huge areas, he said.

Nasim-us-Seraj, Chief Entomologist of the DCC, said, "The officials, who are responsible for monitoring the activities, are assistant health officers, sanitary inspectors of all the 10 zones of the DCC and deputy health officer, chief entomologist, assistant director of mosquito control department at the headquarters."

The number of mosquito-control workers is not sufficient to cover such a huge area of the city, he said.

The DCC has 593 mosquito-control workers, including 184 of the Mosquito Control Department, responsible for larviciding and adulticiding in 90 wards of the DCC, and it has 368 fogger machines, 659 hand-sprays and 42 wheel-borrow machines for this purpose.

Seraj also attributed hanging latrines in slum areas, hidden places like drains and migratory mosquitoes to the failure of the DCC in arresting the menace.

Drains, ponds and canals in the city that cover huge low-lying areas had become ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes, he said.

There are also a lot of breeding grounds in different houses, which remain out of the drive, as the mosquito-control crew cannot enter these houses to perform their job.

The DCC had already provide a fund to every zone of the DCC to conduct a drive to clean every water-body in the city, which had started at the end of last year, said Seraj.

Larviciding that continues every day from 8:00am to 11:00am in all the wards will be effective if the water-bodies in the city cleaned properly, said another DCC official.

B Chy urges govt to sit with senior politicians

UNB, Dhaka

President of Bikalpadhara Bangladesh Prof Dr AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury yesterday urged the government to sit with senior politicians for finding out effective solutions to the country' s major problems, including the severe power crisis and food shortage.

"The power crisis has now taken a serious turnt the Chief Adviser's address to the nation should have contained the indication how it would be solved," he told a press conference at his party office in the afternoon.

The press conference was arranged to express the party's view about the country's current political situation and give its formal reaction to the CA's address to the nation.

B Chowdhury said the government needs to understand the ground reality and take effective measures to ensure food security of the people in the wake of global price hike and tight supplies of foodgrains.

About politics, he said the government should promote honest politics with a positive attitude for rapid progress of the country. "The government must patronize honest politics as the country cannot be run without politics."

Hailing the CA's the speech, B Chowdhury said the Chief Adviser in his speech has given an indication of the election date and has been able to assure all that the polls would be held with the voter list prepared with photographs.

He, however, said the Chief Adviser's address to the nation should have included some other important points like the power crisis, ensuring of food security and agricultural incentives for the farmers.

B Chowdhury also said the present caretaker government has failed to make the administration fully free from partisanship, which he said, is very essential for holding a neutral election.

The Bikalpadhara president also criticized the country's previous governments for politicizing the administration.

About agriculture, he said it has to be made sure that the farmers are getting the fair prices of their produces and a rationing system should be introduced for the workers as they have been hit hard by the price hike.

He suggested the government to continue the ongoing OMS programme to help the low-income group people.

Replying to a query, Badruddoza said the government's dialogue with political parties might fail if all the political parties do not join it.

He hoped that all the political parties, including BNP and Awami League, would join the dialogue and participate in the elections.

Appreciating the Chief Adviser for his address to the nation, Bakalpadhara general secretary Major (retd) Mannan said his address reflected the people's expectations.

BNP unity declaration before May 30

Staff Reporter

Leaders of both the factions of BNP yesterday expressed their conviction that a joint declaration of party unity would come before May 30, the death anniversary of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman.

They said BNP wants to join the government-sponsored dialogue under the leadership of their chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia.

BNP chairperson’s adviser Brig Gen (Retd) ASM Hannan Shah told reporters that senior leaders of both the factions reached consensus on the issue over telephone.

Talking to reporters’ at his New DOHS residence he said, “through some formalities remain, unity is now a matter of time.”

Hannan Shah said some doubts might be there in the minds of a few leaders, which would be removed shortly.

“The unity is a must before Ziaur Rahman’s death anniversary on May 30,” he observed.

Replying to a question, the outspoken BNP leader said release of the two detained leaders is essential to make the dialogue meaningful.

He apprehended that the GATCO case might disrupt the political dialogue with the Government.

About warrant of arrest against some senior leaders of BNP, he hoped that the Government would not take such a step to spoil the atmosphere of the dialogue and the elections.

He said they want withdrawal of state of emergency to create a congenial atmosphere for the elections.

Hannan Shah was scheduled to leave for USA last evening and he would return to Dhaka by May 30.

Acting secretary general of reformist faction of BNP Maj (Retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed told reporters that they want to join the dialogue under the leadership of Begum Zia.

Talking to reporters’ at his Banani house he reiterated that he would sacrifice everything for the interest of party unity.

Otherwise, he said, BNP will land in a further disastrous situation, he added.

Hafiz, however, alleged that a certain quarter is trying to hamper the unity process time and again.

He hoped that the unity in BNP will be unconditional and meeting of the party’s senior leaders will be convened to finalise the unity process.

He urged the party's standing committee members to take steps for unity.

He said that his party would not give any party a walkover in the next elections. "A united BNP will contest the next elections," he said.

Meanwhile, pro-Khaleda faction of BNP yesterday observed mass-fasting programme across the country demanding the release of detained party chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia.

As part of the programme, the city unit of BNP observed mass-fasting at different places in the city including Motijheel and Lalbagh areas.

Addressing a gathering on the occasion in front of his NAM Flats residence, secretary general of BNP Khondoker Delwar Hossain yesterday called upon the partymen to get united to press home demand for the release of Begum Zia.

He said they want unity even though the unity is still in the party.

Khondoker Delwar Hossain said they are waiting for the direction of their party chairperson.

Among others, BNP leaders-Nazrul Islam Khan, Rizvi Ahmed and Selima Rahman were present.

Fugitive former ministers may seek bail tomorrow

Staff Reporter

Four of the six former senior ministers, including former LGRD Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and former Industries Minister Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami, against whom a Court in Dhaka on Thursday issued warrant of arrest in Gatco scam case, are expected to move the High Court tomorrow seeking ad-interim bail against lower Court’s order.

Two others are-former Information Minister M Shamsul Islam and former Agriculture Minister MK Anwar, sources close to these politicians said yesterday.

Former Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman and former Commerce Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury could not be able to move the higher Court as both of them are now staying abroad.

Meanwhile, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, who is the top reformist leader of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami yesterday passed a busy day having discussion with party leaders at their respective residences in the capital.

Mannan Bhuiyan and Maulana Nizami both remained ready with some belonging incase they were arrested at any moment, sources close to them said.

BNP Standing Committee members M Shamsul Islam and Vice-Chairman MK Anwar were also busy welcoming visitors, including party leaders and former MPs, at their respective residences in the capital yesterday.

Over 60 BNP leaders, including former MPs, were holding a meeting with Mannan Bhuiyan yesterday at 10:30 PM, when this report was filed.

In the meantime, BNP Advisory Council number Brig Gen (retd) ASM Hannan Shah, before leaving Dhaka for the USA yesterday evening urged the government to refrain from arresting those four former Ministers.

“The Government will foil the atmosphere of dialogue if it arrests the senior leaders of the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami,” he warned.