The New Nation - Internet Edition

Dilapidated Ruplal House: A historic past

Sheikh Arif Bulbon

It is a big shaded enclosure where traders are squabbling with buyers in rows of grocery shops, godowns of onions, dried chillies, turmeric, garlic, ginger, betel leaves and other spices. This is the present day portrait of what was once an imposing edifice, Ruplal House in Farashganj-one of the few prominent colonial structures left in Dhaka city.

Ruplal House, overlooking a riverfront promenade, is a grand 19th century building in old Dhaka. It was built by two Hindu merchant brothers, Ruplal Das and Raghunath Das, on the northern bank of River Buriganga. They purchased an old building from Aratun, an Armenian tycoon, in 1840 and had it pulled down.

Ruplal House was built on the site at a huge cost according to the design of an architect of the Martin Company in Kolkata. Divided into two unequal blocks in slightly different styles, it is a two-storied structure.

At present, the Ruplal House is occupied by local spice and vegetable traders and a colony of unauthorised squatters. It has recently been included in the 'protected' list of buildings by the Department of Archaeology.

When this correspondent visited the compound of the 150-year old palatial residence of the well-known merchants, the Das Babus, the whole area was buzzing with wholesalers and retailers turning the entire complex into a grimy and chaotic trading hub. People, pushcart, wheelbarrows, pickup vans and coolies rushing in and out of the place with loads of supplies apparently unaware of the historical value of the house.

There are around 50 rooms in the house including a central hall in the upper floor of the west-wing of the building. The ceiling of the hall contains elegantly floral motif and the dance floor laid with teak wood, which was pilfered over the years, said a local resident.

The architecture of the two-storey Ruplal House is unique. It is divided into two unequal blocks built in slightly different styles. The building contains over 50 rooms of various sizes, including a number of spacious halls. In 1888, when Lord Duffrin, the Viceroy of India visited Dhaka, a ball was arranged in his honour in the dance hall of this mansion.

The central hall, an elegantly decorated dance hall with a wooden floor, is situated on the upper floor of the more impressive west-wing. On the north and south two broad verandas run the entire length of the block and are supported on either round or semi-Corinthian columns or rectangular brick pillars with segmented or trefoil arches above.

Ruplal House first came into limelight in 1886 when one of the brothers, Ruplal Das, threw a ball in the honour of Lord Duffrin when Ahsan Manzil was the dominating contemporary edifice. A massive cross-migration of Hindus and Muslims took place after the partition of the Sub-Continent in 1947. At that time the families of Das brothers left for Kolkata. Through a formal deed of exchange in 1962, one Siddiq Jamal became the owner of the place.

Tawhid Amanullah, a conservation expert, said, "The floral motif on the columns is the characteristics of classical Corinthian fluted column. On the northern and southern sides there are elongated verandas with grills made of cast iron. The motif on the grill is called art-deco, which is found in the contemporary buildings like the ones in Panam Nagar, Tajhat Rajbari in Rangpur and Puthia Rajbari in Rajshahi."

To turn the place into a tourist spot, Amanullah suggested setting up of a museum, library and a cultural centre in the house to attract local and foreign tourists.

Six nabbed for killing army civil staff on Airport Road

Staff Reporter

Six violent criminals have been arrested in connection with the murder of a civil staff of the Bangladesh Army on the Airport Road of the city on July 7 last.

The arrested persons were identified as Sabuj, 20, Kabir Hossain, 20, Rony, 20, Aminul Islam, 20, Shahin, 21 and Billal Gazi, 20.

Police said Md Abdul Latif, 42, son of Md Shafiuddin of village Dhanbari of Tangail district got into the room of his elder brother Mohiuddin at MEM Mess of Dhaka Cantonment. His son Alamgir was scheduled to arrive at Zia International Airport from Oman at about 5:00am on July 7. In order to receive his son from the airport, Latif took Billal Hossain, 40, a roommate of his elder brother and left for the airport at about 3:00am from the Dhaka Cantonment. Both of them boarded on a passenger minibus from the Railgate at Staff Road. At that time, there were four muggers, along with the driver in guise of passengers. Immediately after getting into the minibus, the muggers injured Billal critically penetrating a knife into his throat. They also attacked Latif and injured him critically by hitting on different parts of his body including his belly, chest, throat, nose and face.

Later, the muggers took away two mobile phones from them and pushed them out of the minibus near Moonmoon Kabab Ghar at Airport Road.

At about 3:40am patrol police rescued the critically injured Latif and Billal and took them to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors on duty declared Billal dead and seriously injured Latif was admitted.

The horrific murder of a civil staff of the Bangladesh Army created a widespread hue and cry in the police department.

Under the supervision of Mainul Hasan, DC (DB) and led by ADC, DB (North) Md Asaduzzaman, a team of the detective branch of police was employed to find out the killers. Conducting operations over the last couple of days, the police were succeeded to arrest the culprits from different parts of the city.

DC (DB) Mainul Hasan told journalists that the muggers in guise of passengers had long been committing crimes on the Airport Road. They used to commit the crimes boarding minibuses. The muggers used to target their victims usually after midnight taking advantage of darkness and silence on the Airport Road, he said.

Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud says: Govt should take step to stem tide of food-price hike

UNB, Dhaka

Noted economist Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud suggested the government to take steps to stem the tide of food-price rises beyond reach, including timely release of grains from the stock and making adequate import.

"Government has to take steps as the food price will cross the line of a price. This step will ensure there will be no panic and this will establish stable price of food-grains," he said at a seminar on 'Global Food Crisis: Causes, Consequences and Policy Choices' at the PKSF auditorium.

Prof Mahmud, chairman the Institute of Microfinance, opined that the government should take a 'brave decision' to buy food-grains from the world market at higher prices as the balance-of-payments situation of the country is not that much 'vulnerable'.

He refused to go for the option of import of food only through the private sector. "This option is not acceptable, neither from the political aspects also," he told the meet, organized by the Institute of Microfinance.

He asked the caretaker government to take knowledge from the stocking process that was done in the 70s and 80s, so that food does not rot in silos while people go hungry.

"At that time food-grains were not kept in stock for longer than six months as the food value of the foodstuff decreases. Do the bureaucrats know this fact…? If they knew, they must take steps to sell out the cereals kept in the godowns for over six months," said the eminent economist of the country.

He noted that the country annually imports 2.5-3 million tons of food-grains, mostly wheat. "Now the burning question is who will import those-private sector or public sector."

The former Finance Adviser of caretaker government informed that potato is not a good substitute for rice; rather flour is the best substitute for rice.

He stressed the need for keeping the food prices in a stable position. "If the situation became unstable, then it would be very much hard for anyone to make any future comment," he said.

World Bank lead economist Dr Hassan Zaman presented the keynote paper at the seminar. In the keynote he said almost all of the increase in global maize production from 2004-2007 went for bio-fuels production in the USA while existing stocks depleted for an increase in global consumption for other uses.

"Land use changes due to increased use of maize and oilseeds for bio-fuels led to reduced plantings of wheat, record subsequent depletion of world wheat stocks to record lows, and a surge in wheat prices," he said.

He mentioned that estimated increase in global US$1/day poverty headcount is 4.5 percentage points (or 105 million additional poor worldwide).

He stressed higher levels of public and private investment in agricultural support services for boosting food production.

RMG exports to India pick up quickly

BSS, Dhaka

The duty free export of readymade garments (RMG) to India is picking up quickly with the volume reaching 0.3 million pieces from early June to the middle of this month.

The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has so far issued allocation letters to local exporters for more than 2.0 million pieces as of July 15, out of a total of 8.0 million pieces for the current calendar year. Sources with Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) also confirmed the figure saying they are hopeful of achieving the targets within December next. Although the 8.0 million pieces are for the whole year, the delivery of the goods started only in early June.

But given the pace of booking of the export orders, one source said, exporters might even outpace the targets within the stipulated time. "The Indian market has accepted Bangladesh made apparels very positively," he said pointing to its continued stride in the global market as well.

Explaining the process of garment export, one EPB source said, exporters are given allocation letters on the basis of first come first serve basis. He said they are working on the export shipment of the already permitted apparels while the EPB is working on new allocation letters.

He said Indian importers place L/Cs to exporters following clearance by textile committees located in Delhi and Kolkata. They also put on record the import once it cross the Indian customs.

Here in Bangladesh on receipt of the L/Cs, exporters place them to EPB for issuance of the allocation letter. The agency also issue tariff rated quota certificate and the SAFTA certificate to exporters to facilitate the export which is permissible duty free under a special offer of the Indian government.

About half a dozen big Indian business houses are so far taking the bulk of the exports while more buying houses are in the process of placing order with the local manufacturers, the sources informed.

A source in the ministry of commerce said, the RMG export is so far picking up smoothly without any impediment . He said both sides have set up mechanism to implement the scheme and address the problems if any comes up ever on the way.

So far, the delivery is taking place to the satisfaction of both sides, he observed.

Rehabilitation of Sidr-damaged Sundarbans must be a priority

BSS, Dhaka

The world's largest mangrove forest, Sundarbans, which was damaged extensively by Cyclone Sidr on November 15 last year must be a priority of rehabilitation and conservation with a programme carefully designed not to disrupt the unique ecosystem.

According to a report of damage loss and needs assessment by the government with financial support from the European Commission the immediate strategy for the forest is not to allow any additional stress in the name of restoration to occur, which can exacerbate the damage.

The report observed that although the Sundarbans are naturally restoring and rejuvenating, the restoration of freshwater ponds inside and outside the Sundarbans should be carried out immediately to complement this process which will likely to cost Taka 10 million.

The forest department needs support of the order of Taka 69 million immediately to restore strategically important field offices and monitoring stations, which were extensively damaged in the cyclone.

The rehabilitation work for the forest department's infrastructure in Sundarbans should also include alternative arrangements for transportation and communication.

Immediate plantation programme are needed in coastal areas other than the Sundarbans, the report said and suggested that the rehabilitation programme must be supported in part by public awareness activities and will provide needed immediate employment opportunities to affected community while also helping promotion of future coastal afforestation.

Nurseries also require immediate support for plant seedlings of indigenous and sustainable species. Experience from past social forestry efforts will be needed here.

The experts suggested for medium and long term Priorities.

Among the medium term priority activities, systematic studies should be carried out on the natural restoration process underway in the Sundarbans and long-term environmental impacts of Sidr on Sunderbans ecosystem.

The effects of climate change must be integrated into the long- term plans of the forestry sector, the report said adding, the estimated cost of the medium priority strategies would be Taka 690 million.

The long term strategies should include a carefully designed and targeted public involvement and education campaigns and opportunties for carbon sequestration should explored for additional resources. The forest department will require support implement the programme.

The Sundarbans restoration programme, the report said, would be undertaken based on the studies carried out in the medium term. The integrated development of the Sundarbans will ensure a favourable environment for flora and fauna, as well as watershed protection and nature conservation management. An indicative cost of such a programme is Taka 1.7 billion.

Simplified overseas labour recruitment process urged

BSS, Dhaka

Regional and local migration and labour experts on Wednesday recommended simplified recruitment process of the overseas workers by reducing layers between employers and workers to check ill practice of the recruiting agencies.

They also suggested developing a code of conduct for recruiting agencies in the SAARC countries as well as reviewing policies, laws and regulation in the light of evolving developments in the global labour market to protect the rights of migrant workers abroad.

The recommendations came at the end of the two-day symposium organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment and supported by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation at a city hotel.

The symposium was participated by representatives from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and host Bangladesh.

After holding three plenary sessions and three parallel technical sessions, the experts presented a set of recommendations and directions for actions at the concluding session of the symposium.

Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Abdul Matin Chowdhury gave the closing remarks while chief technical advisor of ILO/EU Asian programme on the governance of labour migration Manolo Abella presented the summary and recommendations.

The symposium was organised to address various constraints and hindrances that impede the safety, security and dignity of migrant people worldwide, especially in Asian region.

The experts recommended promoting dialogue between origin and destination countries to identify weakness and gaps in governance, build confidence and goodwill and strengthen cooperation.

With a view to minimizing the cost of migration to the migrants, current approaches to licensing should be reviewed and assessment of financial and market capability of recruitment agencies need to carry out, they said.

They also suggested developing gender sensitive labour migration policies as well as removing discriminatory barriers to labour migration of women to check women trafficking. The migration experts suggested inclusion of the labour migration issue in the agenda of the forthcoming SAARC summit as remittance to South Asia totaled US$ 43 billion in 2007, of these, US$ 27 billion went to India, US $ 6.4 billion to Bangladesh, US$ 6.1 billion to Pakistan, US$ 2.7 billion to Sri Lanka and US$ 1.6 billion to Nepal.

The 'direction for action', formulated during the symposium, proposed strengthening capacity of diplomatic missions in terms of personnel, funds and logistics to look after the well-being of migrant workers.

It also suggested committed professionalism for recruitment service providers through training and certification as well as promoting standardisation and certification of skills across borders.

The 'direction for action' included setting up migrant resource centers in countries of origin, ensuring private sector participation in the global forum on migration to promote equal and fair treatment of migrant workers.

Abdul Matin Chowdhury said the government took various steps including strengthening the embassies abroad, providing skill development training to the prospective workers and carrying out mass awareness campaign to ensure the rights of the Bangladeshi migrant workers.

He underlined the need for close and effective cooperation between the sending and receiving countries to resolve constraints in the migration process. The country sent 8.32 lakh workers to various countries for jobs and earned US$ 6.57 billion in 2007. The government has set a target to send a record one million workers abroad this year.

Nearly 60 experts, including 29 from foreign countries, participated in the workshop.

Surma, Kangsha river spill over their banks

BSS, Dhaka

After heavy rains upstream, swelling Surma and Kangsha spilled over their banks, triggering moderate flash floods in Sunamganj and Jariajanjail in Netrakona on Wednesday, flooding low-lying areas alongside the rivers, Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) sources told BSS.

Heavy rainfall upstream of the two rivers caused the moderate flash floods in the areas when the two flashy rivers spilled over their banks.

The rivers were flowing above their danger levels (DL) by 27cm and 26cm respectively when the river water levels were counted at 6 am Wednesday morning. The rivers are projected to rise further.

The FFWC sources said more rains are likely in the upstream and in Sunamganj and Jariajanjail areas.

Met office sources said the second spell of an active monsoon is likely to trigger more rains during the next 24 hours beginning at 6 pm yesterday.

Meanwhile, the FFWC reported all the country's major rivers were flowing their DL yesterday.

The Teesta at Dalia was flowing just 10cm below DL, the Ganges-Padma at downstream at Bhagyakul was 25cm below its DL. The Surma at Kanaighat was below 31 cm.

The Ganges-Padma fell yesterday but may rise during the next two days due to heavy rains upstream, where reports from India said it was rising slowly, the FFWC sources said.

The met office sources here said they are expecting more rains as the monsoon axis has moved to the Himalayan foothills, something suggests the rivers flowing down the great mountain ranges through the plains of north India and onto the Bangladesh plains before emptying into the Bay of Bengal, would be on the rise slowly.

The FFWC sources said the Brahmaputra-Jamuna though remaining below its DL was rising slowly.

With the Brahmaputra-Jamuna on the rise slowly, it has pushed the rivers around Dhaka city also going up slowly. The Turag, Balu, Lakkhya, Dhaleshwari and the Buriganga---all were on upward march but slowly, the FFWC sources said.

Govt warns transport owners against taking excess fare

BSS, Dhaka

Secretary of the Ministry of Communication Dr Mahbubur Rahman on Wednesday warned the owners and workers of all modes of transports that the government would take severe legal actions if any excess fare is taken from passengers.

"The actions may include cancellation of the route permit of the transport," he cautioned at a meeting with the transport owners associations in the ministry.

Chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) Sunil Kanti Bose, Executive Director of Dhaka Urban Transport Coordination Board Abu Bakar M Shajahan and Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) Chairman Safiz Uddin Ahmed were present.

From the transport side, Secretary General of Bangladesh Road Transport Association M Ashraf Khan, President of Association of Bus Companies Khandakar Rafiqul Hossain Kajal,

Chairman of Bangladesh Bus Truck Owners Association GM Siraj and other concerned leaders attended the meeting.

Representatives from home, energy and mineral resources, establishment ministries and police department and Dhaka City Corporation were also present in the meeting.

The meeting discussed on the reports published in different newspapers and other media about taking excess fare from the passengers. Senior officials of the concerned ministries informed the meeting that the press reports were found true in their firsthand inspection.

Representatives of the transport owners claimed in the meeting that they are taking fare as per the government's instruction.

However, they admitted that excess fare might be charged in some routes.

They assured the government of extending their full cooperation to ensure the matter of taking precise fare from the passengers. They also agreed to take part in the drives of BRTA officials against excess fare.

The communications secretary sought support from owners, workers as well as passengers to implement the government decision on transport fare.

He asked the owners of bus and minibuses to maintain the rules of keeping preserve seats for women, children and disable persons in their transports.

3 to die, 7 get life term for murder in Chuadanga

BSS, Chuadanga

A court here yesterday sentenced three persons to death and seven others to rigorous imprisonment (RI) for life on charges of murder.

Court sources said the Additional District and Sessions Judge Motahar Hossain fined the convicts receiving life term Taka 10 thousand each, in default, to suffer one year more RI.

The convicts to die are Abdul Mannan Biswas, Pintu Biswas and Nasiruddin while the life term recipients are Abul Kalam Azad Biswas, Gias Uddin, Piashuddin, Maula Box, Faruk Hossain, Mohiruddin and Abdul Bari. All are the resident of village Kamarpara under Damurhuda upazila of the district.

According to the prosecution, the convict Abdul Mannan Biswas had been involved in illicit activities with a widow of the village. Fellow villager Aktarul Islam came to know the matter. As the issue became public Mannan got furious at Aktarul.

Subsequently Mannan Biswas along with his three brothers and close relatives killed Aktarul on February 6, 2001.

A case was started in this connection with Damurhuda police station. Later, the convicts were arrested. The IO submitted chargesheet against all the convicts. The judge after examining the witnesses and relevant document passed the judgment.