The New Nation - Internet Edition

$110 m needed to reconstruct SIDR-hit schools

BSS, Dhaka

The country would need 110 million US dollar equivalent to Taka 7,602 million to reconstruct 5,297 fully or partially Sidr damaged educational institutes.

While donation from major development partners are still sipping in total value of damage, while losses of Bangladeshi educational sector in the Sidr affected areas stood at Taka 4.7 billion.

According to an official assessment, the highest number of fully destroyed primary schools are located in Barguna where 230 are totally damaged. The number of damaged schools in Pirojpur is 149, Barisal 91 and Bagerhat 68.

The assessment report of the government claimed that the highest number of partially destroyed primary schools are in Barisal as the total number stood at 632.

In Patuakhali the number is 550, Pirojpur 401, Jhalakathi 340, and Baguna 335.

The worst affected, both fully and partially destroyed schools are in Barisal which stood at 723, it said.

As per the initial assessment, a total of 9,655 educational institutions have been fully or partially destroyed in 19 of the 30 cyclone affected districts.

The education ministry said it had decided to take a short- run programme to resume academic activities in the cyclone- ravaged institutions by constructing temporary structures, providing books and study materials, waiving examination fees and rescheduling public examinations.

The ministry said the government has already provided funding of Taka 745 million for repairs of 4,000 partially destroyed schools. It is reported that 95 percent of school repairs have been completed.

Sources said about 60 percent of the 784 makeshift schools would need to be constructed anew as they were fully damaged. By this time, the communities, however, have established some arrangements to resume classes.

BARD to train 5,110 people as part of human resources dev

BSS, Dhaka

Bangladesh Academy of Rural Development (BARD) has undertaken a plan for human resources development through imparting training on rural development to 5,110 people in 131 courses.

As part of the plan for 2008-09 fiscal year, the academy has also initiated a good number of researches on important issues like climate change, disaster management, communication pattern, food security and remittance flow.

BARD officials revealed this at the concluding session of its 42nd annual planning conference for 2008-09 at its auditorium here. Director General of the academy M Khairul Kabir chaired the session.

Some 125 experts including professionals, scholars, agri-scientists and high government officials from home and abroad attended the two-day conference and exchanged views on development and related issues.

According to the officials, the conference has decided to initiate three projects for poverty alleviation through providing supports, agriculture insurance for marginal farmers and researches on disaster issues as well as other matters.

One of the projects is: a four-year Rural Life Plan for Secured Old Age involving Taka 5.5 crore covering three districts for alleviating poverty and improving the living standard of elderly and young people in rural areas by providing them with necessary supports.

The other project is: a five-year Agriculture Insurance Scheme for Sustainable Family Farming at a cost of Taka over 1.5 crore by involving the disaster-affected marginal farmers under the existing insurance facilities.

The last project is: a number of studies by involving the Union Parishad on Disaster Management, Communication Pattern in Agriculture Extension and Impact of Remittance Flow on Investment and Rural Livelihood.

Addressing the function, M Khairul Kabir said the academy is looking forward to a prosperous future by reducing poverty through addressing the emerging challenges in rural areas.

The poverty has been reduced to 40 percent in 2005 from 56.6 percent in 2001, he said and called for further accelerating it to attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and implement the Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS) in the country.

German security expert due in city July 27

BSS, Dhaka

German professor Dr Markus Kaim will visit Bangladesh from July 27-31 to participate in workshops and seminars on consensus building and good governance as well as on the external relations of the European Union and on German foreign policy, said a Germany embassy press release on Thursday.

He is a research fellow of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin and an expert on security policy dealing with a wide range of security related topics like the European and transatlantic security relations and global issues of arms control and the armaments industry.

The programmes in Dhaka and Chittagong will be jointly organised by the Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, the German embassy, the delegation of the European Commission to Bangladesh and the Institute of Hazrat Mohammad, the release said.

Debasish for 'FSOs’ to resolve forest land disputes

BSS, Dhaka

Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for CHT and Environment and Forests Raja Debasish Roy on Thursday favoured appointment of 'forest settlement officers' (FSOs) in the forest-based districts to resolve disputes on land ownership with indigenous people.

"Forest settlement officers will work independently like a judge and decide which areas of the forests would be brought under 'reserve forest' and which areas would not be, after hearing local people and other indigenous rules," he said.

Raja Debasish was addressing a workshop on 'Protection of Modhupur Sal Forest and Rights of Forest People' in CIRDAP auditorium here as the chief guest.

Bangladesh Environment Layers Association (BELA) and Joyenshai Adivashi Unnayan Parishad, a forum of indigenous people of Modhupur area, jointly arranged the workshop to bring in force an effective way to protect Modhupur Sal Forest with the support of local indigenous community.

Former adviser of the caretaker government Advocate Sultana Kamal, former lawmaker Promode Mankin and noted environmentalist Dr Atiq A Rahman, among others, attended the workshop while Khushi Kabir, coordinator of non-government organization 'Nijera Kori', was in the chair.

Professor Sadeka Halim of Social Welfare Department of Dhaka University and Director (programme) of BELA Syeda Rezwana Hasan presented two keynote papers on 'Rights of Forest Dwellers: Local (Sal Forest, Modhupur) and International Context', and 'Legal Aspects of Modhupur Shalban' respectively.

Raja Debasish said the government had taken initiatives to settle the land disputes before bringing any forest land under Social Forestation (SF), but the move could not bring any benefits over the years as Department of Forest (DoF) itself has no idea about the actual land remained scattered in the vast tract of forests.

"DoF has no estate officer despite it owns huge areas of land in the forest and even concerned officials have no knowledge about the exact location of the land," he said.

As a result, DoF has to depend on deputy commissioners, who could not settle land disputes with indigenous and other local people even in two decades, Raja Debasish, hailed from indigenous community in Rangamati Hill District, said.

President of Joyenshai Adivashi Unnayan Parishad Ajoy A Mree, Secretary of Adivashi Forum Sanjib Drang, UNO of Modhupur Dr M Parvez Rahim, Divisional Forest Official Shah-e-Alam, documentary filmmaker on nature Ronald Haldar, Director of Aranyak Foundation Farid Uddin Ahmed, indigenous people leader Subash Jeng Cham and Chairman of Sholakuri Union Parishad Yakub Ali, among others, took part in the discussion.

Raja Debasish laid importance on changing the mentality of both forest officials and indigenous people on land ownership, saying united efforts are needed to protect the resources and biodiversity of the forests. However, he said, "We must recognize the rights of indigenous people on the forest lands, environment and biodiversity."

Dr Atiq Rahman said the rights of indigenous people should be given priority in plans of natural resources management, particularly in forest areas. He said the government must take the weak position of the indigenous people into consideration while taking development projects in forests to ensure their sustainability.

UNO of Modhupur Dr M Parvez Rahim said indiscriminate extraction of resources is ruining Modhupur Sal Forest despite the government over last two years ensured access of local community in decision making.

Precipitation in Modhupur forest decreased drastically over the last one decade due to destruction of forest, while many animals and birds are on the verge of extinction, he said.

Without awareness of indigenous people and their support, the forest enriched with enormous biodiversity could not be saved, he noted.

Professor Sadeka Halim in his keynote paper referred to laws relating to forest land ownership, forest management and rights of local people on forest land in different countries, particularly in neighbouring India, and laid importance on involving local people in regeneration and management of forests.

She said Modhupur Shalban on around 45,565 acres of land is a great biodiversified and resourceful property for Bangladesh which once was enriched with as many as 63 species of trees.

But, rubber plantation, continuous acquisition of land for reserve forest, firing range, ecopark and commercial cultivation of pineapple and banana were coupled with influx of people in the forest from surrounding areas to destroy the natural condition of Modhupur Sal Forest, she said.

Rural roads to change 11,640 women's fate in two years

BSS, Dhaka

Maintenance of earthen roads in many parts of the country is expected to make 11,640 rural women self reliant in next two years, hopes the local government ministry, after initiating a pilot project for empowering poor women in six districts.

The programme supported by the UN development fund (UNDP) aimed at creating sustainable development for at least 30 poor women from each of the 368 targeted union parishads (UPs), where the females are engaged in repairing and maintaining earthen rural roads, a senior official said here on Thursday.

Local Government Division (LGD) Secretary Shaikh Khurshid Alam said the Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) project has already ensured a temporary food security to many poor families employing them in the geographically disadvantaged areas.

"REOPA is contributing towards family level food security, saving children from malnutrition and limiting rural-urban migration," Khurshid said at a workshop for the stakeholders of the project, which started February last and will end in March 2011.

The project aims not only to employ the poor women, he said, but also groom up them as human resources for rapid rural development. He also said the project was an expanded form of rural road maintenance programme (RRMP), a pro-poor project run by the government for last 23 years.

Project Director of REOPA Akmal Hossain said identical progrmmes of REOPA were in the country for long, but those programmes did not look holistically into sustainable development of the poor women.

The REOPA, in contrast, targets to bring a sustainable development of the women through saving Taka 14,000 in two years. The savings have been made compulsory so that each poor woman can start a new venture based on their interest and expertise.

"This is unique in terms of the future plan of the project," added Dr. Kajal Chatterjee, capacity building adviser for REOPA, which focuses employment creation, training and generating seed money for women to develop micro entrepreneurship at local levels.

The chairman of Purnimagati UP said the project has started yielding positive results in six months as many families were saved from hunger this year.

He, however, said the per day payment to each poor woman worker should be readjusted to Taka 100 from 70, an amount that is further reduced by Taka 20 for a mandatory saving scheme.

"We have already decided to raise the daily allowance to Taka 100," assured a REOPA project official, adding the success of the project would lead the government to replicate it all over the country, where women make up half of total population, with their majority remained outside direct economic activities.

Goran Jonsson of REOPA, Dr Pter Herzig of European Commission, Jean Claude Rogivue of UNDP and Mohammad Abu Sayeed Sheikh of REOPA, among others, spoke on the occasion.

Trial of bribery case against Tarique adjourned

BSS, Dhaka

A Special Court here on Thursday adjourned the trial proceedings till August 5 against BNP senior joint secretary general Tarique Rahman, former state minister for home Lutfuzzaman Babar and six others in a bribery case.

Judge Shahed Nooruddin set the new date as the Defence counsels prayed for time, saying a petition seeking quashment of the charge is now pending before the High Court.

They said that for the ends of justice, further proceedings should be stayed till disposal of the petition.

The Court, considering their prayer, adjourned the proceedings and ordered the Defence counsels to submit the certified copy of the quashment petition on the next date.

Earlier, Babar and Abu Sufian, a director of Bashundhara Group, detained in jail were produced before the court.

Advocate Zakir Hossain Bhuiyan appeared on behalf of Tarique Rahman as the Court exempted him from appearing in person in the trial due to his illness.

They were accused of taking bribes amounting to Taka 21 crore from Bashundhara Group for clearing its chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan alias Shah Alam, his two sons and Abu Sufian, a director of IT department of the group, of the charges of killing Sabbir.

The other accused in the case are Ahmed Akbar Sobhan alias Shah Alam, Safayet Sobhan Tanvir and Sadat Sobhan, former BNP lawmaker Quazi Salimul Haque Kamal and Tarique Rahman's personal assistant Miah Noor Uddin Apu.

They were absconding since the case was lodged on October 6 last year.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) submitted the charge sheet on May 6 against eight persons, including Tarique and Babar.

Price of essentials to be monitored during Ramzan

BSS, Dhaka

The government is to intensify market following "specific methods" engaging army-led joint forces, elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) troops and the civil administration, an official statement said here on Thursday.

The decision was taken at an inter-ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting convened to review the import, supply, reserve and overall price situation of essential commodities at the Commerce Ministry with Additional Commerce Secretary Golam Mostakim in the chair, it said.

The meeting also asked the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), BDR and Food Department to put in their all-out efforts to smoothen the supply chain directing particularly the TCB to import 3,000 tonnes of pulses (musur), 3,000 tonnes of edible oil, 500 tonnes of onion and 500 tonnes of grams ahead of the Ramadan.

The meeting was told that the current rice reserve was more than 10 lakh tonnes, the highest in the past eight years, the statement said.

Representatives of the Ministries of Home, Food, Agriculture, Fisheries & Livestock, Local Government, Agriculture Marketing Department, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, TCB, Import-Export Controller's office, BDR, police, National Security Intelligence were present at the meeting.