The New Nation - Internet Edition

7 motorcycle lifters held in Satkhira

Our Correspondent, Satkhira

Police arrested seven members of an organised gang of inter-district motor cycle thieves on Monday night from different areas in Satkhira and Khulna districts on charge of stealing motor cycles. Police also recovered two stolen motor cycles from their possessions, sources said.

Police on Tuesday produced them before the chief judicial magistrate's court with a prayer for five day remand and the court after a hearing granted them a three day remand, court sources said. The arrested thieves are Joynal Ali, 37 son of Khalilur Rahman of Farajipara in Khulna, Abul Kashem, 22 son of Abdul Malek and Shahrul Islam, 23 son of Saheb Ali of Puratan Satkhira, Masum Billah Madhu, 20 son of Atiar Rahman of Rajarbagan and Shahnewaj Erana, 20 son of Ekramul Haque of Palashpole in Satkhira town, Saiful Islam, 22 son of Sunnat Ali of village Chingrikhali in Shyamnagar upazila and Suman Islam, 20 son of Anarul Islam of village Hijaldi in Kalaroa upazila.

Police sources said members of community policing at village Mathureshpur in Kaliganj upazila arrested Suman and Shahnewaj with a stolen motor cycle when they went there to sell the stolen motor cycle and they were handed over to police on Monday. After their confessional statements, police arrested the other members of the gang, sources said.

On contact Sadar thana officer in charge (OC) Abdul Kader Beg confirmed the incident and said they are trying to detect and nab the other members of the gang.

Construction works of ferryghat on both sides of Kirtonkhola river starts

Our Correspondent, Barisal

The project for the construction of a ferry ghat on either banks of the river Kirtonkhola has been taken. Khandoker Nurul Arefin. chief engineer of the Roads and the Highways Department in charge of Barisal region said the construction of ferry ghat is under process and it would be completed soon.

The Roads and the Highways Department sanctioned about Tk.20 lakhs for the construction of these two ferry ghats. The ferry ghat was the long cherished demand of lakhs of people of the eastern portion of the city. Shariful Islam, executive engineer of the Roads and the Highways Department and Abul Kalam Azad, executive engineer of Ferry Division recently visited the ferry ghat area for finally selecting the spots.

The roads and highway and ferry division officials said that works for invitation of tenders and selection of constructors has already been completed.

It would take at least two months to join pontoons, gangways and ferries after the construction of ghat as per the work order on either banks of the river. After that, all modes of vehicles including minibuses and microbuses from the city could use the ferry ghat more smoothly for river crossing and plying. In the meantime, Azizur Rahman Shahin, general secretary of Bus Owners' Association expressed his wish to connect Char Monai with town service. He said that he would apply to the authority of BRTC for road permit as soon as the ferry services start.

This service would be arranged for the passengers of the eastern region, including Bukhainagar, Char Munai and Biswaserhat and they could communicate with the city through the buses of the town service, he added. An initiative was undertaken a decade ago to introduce ferry service at Beltola ferry ghat in the river Kirtonkhola. Then the ferry service was included in the Barisal-Mehendiganj-Hijla road construction project.

The LGED completed the construction work of the road at Char Monai portion. They invited tenders to make a road pucca at Dinga Manik village at a cost of Tk 15 lakh.

However, as the Roads and the Highways Department could not introduce ferry service, the transports from the city cannot enter there.

Executive engineer of the Roads and the Highways Department said taking the suffering of the people into consideration; the department had undertaken initiatives to introduce ferry service soon.

He said that they would not face any problem to build ferry ghat in the rainy season, adding that the people of Barisal would get happy news soon. Once, people used to communicate with the city through launches and trawlers from Kalibabur ferry ghat, CharMonai and Biswaserhat. Nevertheless, trawlers did not ply from the ferry ghat during the time of eve tide as the Char Badna canal has been filled in.

Then people of the eastern bank of Kirtonkhola started to communicate with the city to go to their working places instead of launches after the development of road communication despite obstructions in crossing the rivers.

Then they were compelled to use Beltala ferry ghat, where only a trawler could not give service in ferrying the people the whole time.

Most of the time, the trawlers over loaded with additional passengers and goods on board had to ply from one bank to another. The small river vessels with motorcycles, vans, rickshaws, tempos and goods on board them became the victims of accidents. In the rainy season, the boats and trawlers, amid storms and rain, are reluctant to cross the river Kirtonkhola. Then the sufferings of the people know no bounds.

Sidr-hit fishermen appeal govt. to write off bank loans

BSS, Chittagong

Fishermen of Chittagong and Cox's Bazar districts affected by the cyclone Sidr in November 15 last year appealed the government to take immediate steps to write off their previous bank loans and provide them with adequate financial assistance for their rehabilitation. Greater Chittagong Fishermen Welfare Council (GCFWC) made this appeal on behalf of the Sidr affected fishermen of Chittagong and Cox's Bazar districts at a press conference held at the Chittagong Press Club on Thursday.

The GCFWC leaders said several thousands people engaged in fishing and poor workers involved in the sector who used to fishing in the Bay of Bengal staying temporarily at Dublarchar in Sundarbans were killed and suffered huge financial losses when the cyclone Sidr struck southern districts on November 15 last year.

Hundreds of survived fishermen and their families have been facing economic hardship and living a miserable life as they became jobless after damage of their fishing trawlers, boats and other assets in the disaster. Moreover, compound interest against the loans taken from the banks and 'mahajans' has made them financially crippled, they said.

The leaders claimed that the affected fishermen of Chittagong and Cox's Bazar regions did not get any cash or material assistance yet though they have handed over memorandums to different levels of the government and officials of Islamic Development Bank earlier describing the extent of their economic losses, names of dead and affected fishermen. They requested the Chief Adviser to take urgent steps including providing the fishermen with cash incentives so that the affected fishermen in Chittagong and Cox's Bazar districts could be able to get back their job.

The GCFWC leaders including president Rabi Chand Das, general secretary Samiran Das, Sattyaranjan Das and Babul Kanti Das, among others, spoke at the press conference.

Post of Chairman in Barisal Edn Board lying vacant for last 3 months

Our Correspondent, Barisal

Barisal Education Board (BEB) facing difficulties in conducting daily affairs and taking important decisions due to vacancy in the vital post of chairman since last three months.

BEB sources said the chairman post became vacant on March 2, 2008 since Prof Dr. Hasanuzzaman transferred and Prof. Dr. Abdus Salam, secretary of BEB made acting chairman.

At the end of April Dr. Ahmed Reza, vice principal of Rajshahi New Government College was named for chairman of BEB and accordingly his file was sent by the education ministry to the office of the chief advisor, which yet not executed. Prof. Abdus Salam, chairman in charge and secretary of BEB, said that he knew nothing about delay in posting of chairman of BEB.

One sources said that Prof. Dr. Ahmed Reza, himself not interested to accept the chairmanship of BEB and education directorate and ministry so now haunting for a new eligible person for the post.

Police nabs another country director of fake varsity

BSS, Rajshahi

Police arrested another country director of a fake university here on May 30 for his alleged involvement in cheating students in the name of higher education.

According to the police sources, the arrested person has been identified as country director of the unauthorized Newport University, California, USA Chowdhury Mrinal Ahmed. He was arrested in connection with a criminal case filed against him with Boalia Police station by two aggrieved persons named Zakirul Basir and Tanzul Haque.

Assistant commissioner of detective branch (DB) of RMP Mahfuzur Rahman told BSS that Mrinal Ahmed had rented a three- room house at Talaimary area in the city and enrolled a number of students in four-year honors (undergraduate) course on different subjects like BBA, English and Law, postgraduate course on MBA in exchange for huge money. He also offered them to provide M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees.

But, unfortunately, Mahfuz has no permission or any legal document in favor of operating the courses and running the outer campus.

Apart from this, Mrinal had been claiming that he obtained honors and masters course in English but during the police interrogation he admitted that the degrees are false. AC Mahfuz made a fervent appeal to the conscious people to extend their cooperation to the police for bringing the persons involved in unauthorized running of private universities and other higher educational institutions to book. He said a number of outer campuses of different private universities here have already been detected which are enrolling a large number of students in different disciplines and issuing certificates in exchange for huge money regularly without any legal authority.

Earlier, police arrested three persons including the country director of the unauthorized Oxford Trent University (OTU) Dr. Jaminur Rahman Dulal here on Tuesday for their alleged involvement in cheating students in the name of higher education. Doctorate degree of Jaminur Rahman Dulal has also been found as false and basically he obtained a passed certificate as diploma engineer from Rajshahi Polytechnic Institute.

One killed in Ctg road mishap

BSS, Chittagong

One person was killed and eight others were injured in a road mishap near Fajilkharhat on PAB Road under Patiya upazila in the district on Monday.

The dead was identified as Tapan Dash, 25, son of Nani Gopal Dash of Banshkhali upazila in the district.

The accident took place when a city bound passenger bus from Satterhat of Anowara upazila skidded off the road and fell into a ditch as the driver lost control over the steering at around 9.00 am today.

One of the passengers died on the spot while eight others were injured.

The injured were admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital. Condition of two passenger were stated to be critical, hospital sources said.

One gets death claim cheque in Rangpur

Our Correspondent, Rangpur

Sunflower Samajik Insurance Company handed over a cheque of death claim to a nominee of Insurance holder in a simple ceremony at a school premises on 23rd May.

Wife of Insurance holder shahida Begum also nominee received Tk 22,400/- as death claim from Sahorab Hossain, Asstt Director, Sunflower Samajik Insurance Company.

Among others, Azizuddin SADP Rajshahi Division Abdus Satter EDP Gajipur, Sajahan Mia, Rangpur Zonal Office, Mahabubur Rahman Manju Councillor Rangpur Pourashava Professor Mostafizur Rahman were present.

Birth anniversary of Nihar Ranjan Gupta today

Our Correspondent, Narail

The 97th birth anniversary of popular novelist Dr. Nihar Ranjan Gupta will be observed today. He was born on June 6. 1911 in Kolkata where his father Satya Ranjan Gupta worked. His ancestral home is at Itna village under Lohogora Upazila in Narail district. He was a medical practitioner and specialised in skin diseases.

His career as a novelist overtopped his physician image. His wrote more than two hundred novels. Among them Ulka, Bonhi Shikha, Komal Gandhar, Uttar Falguni, Kalo Bhramar, Lalu Vulu, Haspatal, Maya Mriga, Nishi Padma are notable.

About forty novels of Nihar Ranjan were screened by famous film makers in both the Bengals. He breathed his last on January 20, 1986.