The New Nation - Internet Edition

Biotechnology can play vital role to alleviate poverty

BAU Correspondent, Mymensingh

Eminent agri-scientist National Professor and former Vice Chancellor of Bangladesh Agriculture University Professor Dr. A.K.M. Aminul Haque said that Biotechnology has a potential to alleviate poverty and hunger in developing countries including Bangladesh and deserves an extra focus from concerned scientists and functionaries.

Speaking as chief guest at the inaugural function of a two-day International Congress on 'Biotechnology in Animal Reproduction (lCBAR) 'held at the Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin auditorium of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) in collaboration with ICBAR, Japan on Wednesday Dr. Aminul Haque added that use of biotechnology in animal production has been making rapid advances. Worldwide, more than one-half of all biotechnology research and development expenditures are in the field of human health.

Presided over by Japanese Scientist of international repute Professor Dr. Gentaro Oguri, President, Association of ICBAR, the inaugural session was attended by BAU ViceChancellor Professor Dr. Md. Akhtar Hossain as chief patron. Professor Dr. Tatsuki Suzuki, Vice-President, Association of ICBAR delivered address of welcome. Organising Secretary of 15th CBAR Professor Dr. Md. Golam Shahi Alam gave vote of thanks.

Beside, host Bangladesh, representatives from Japan, South Korea, China, India, Egypt, New Zealand ,Canada, U.K., Italy, Bulgaria, Sweden and other countries of the world took part in the conference on 'Reproductive Biotechnology' where 50 research papers and articles were presented by the eminent scientists.

Vice-Chancellor Dr. Hossain said that the objective of the conference is to bring scientists and academicians from all over the world to promote greater understanding of the biotechnological issues, sharing new scientific knowledge and raise awareness of their potential benefits and risks and the implications in terms of needed regulatory framework, institutional capacity building and human resource development.

In his presidential speech, Dr. Gentaro Oguri said food security and nutritional status of the peoples are under threat. To improve their nutritional conditions, effective and more sustainable technologies are required for better production of food of animal origin.

One killed in Barisal road mishap

Our Correspondent, Barisal

An old man killed at Laxmipasa on Barisal-Patuakhali highway under Bakerganj upazila of Barisal district after crushed under wheels of passenger bus on Tuesday morning.

The victim was identified as Abul Howlader, 70, son of late Khalek Howlader of Atakati village under Bharpasha union of Bakerganj upazila.

Shahjahan Sheikh, officer-in-Charge of Bakerganj police station and witnesses said Abul Howlader was going to Hospital to visit a doctor for his treatment accompanied by his son Russell.

While he was crossing the road near Laxmipasa Bazaar at about 10.30 am a speedy bus of Mian Paribahon plying on Barisal-Barguna route hit him from behind and crushed under wheels.

He was rushed to Bakerganj Upazila Health Complex where the attending physician declared the victim as dead at 11.00 AM.

BMS Barisal Command greets mayor elect Hiron

BSS, Barisal

The leaders of Barisal District Command of Bangladesh Muktijoddah Sangsad (BMS) on Tuesday congratulated the mayor elect of Barisal City Corporation (BCC) and veteran freedom fighter Advocate Shawkat Hossain Hiron.

Convenor of Barisal district command Khaliquzzaman Farooq, Member Secretary Abdul Moid Khan Khokan, executive body member Anisur Rahman Chowdhury, former lawmaker Abdul Wadud Sardar, former Poura chairman Alhaj Kamal Uddin Khan, Kazi Kamal, Serajul Islam Jahangir, Nurul Alam Gias, Azizul Haque Akkas have greeted the newly elect mayor, a press release said.

Opinion shairing meet held in Kawkhali

Our Correspondent, Pirojpur

An opinion sharing meeting on various activities of Kawkhali Upazila NGO Samonnoya Parishad and Samabaya Samity was held at the auditorium of Primary Teachers Association in Kawkhali on August 10 last.

Kawkhali Thana Police Administration organised the opinion sharing meeting with Md Mozammel Haque, OC of the thana in the Chair. Pirojpur Police Super Md. Nazrul Hossain was present as the chief guest. The opinion sharing meeting was addressed, among others, by Journalist ABM Shahjahan, Proshikha Manager Delwar, Hossain Md. Shah Alam Nasu, Tanvir Ahmed and Md. Abdul Jalil.

In his address Police Super told the representatives of NGO Samonnoya Parishad to behave polilely with villagers or if law and order situation would be deteriorated.

3 killed, 50 injured in Jhenidah road accident

UNB, Jhenidah

Three people were killed and 50 others injured as a bus plunged into a ditch at Halidhani in Sadar Upazila on Jhenidah-Chuadanga road Saturday morning.

The dead were indentified as Ziaur Rhaman, 29, Jahiruddin, 30 of Nathkundu of Sadar Upaizla and Shahjahan, 35 of Chuadanga district.

Witnesses said a Dhaka bound bus of JR Paribahan fell into a roadside ditch when its driver tried to give side to a truck, killing three passengers on the spot.

The injured passengers were rushed to Sadar hospital and various clinics.

Among the injured, condition of four passengers were stated to be critical.

Assault on Agri official: Action programme withdrawn at Barisal Regional Agri office

Our Correspondent, Barisal

Agriculture officials and staffs of Barisal Regional Agriculture Extension Department joined in their works on Monday after higher authority assured them to transfer additional director from Barisal following physically assaulting Nikhil Pandey, a sub-assistant agriculture officer by him on Saturday last.

Bazlur Rahman, Habibur Rahman and Syed Zahid Hossain, president, vice president and secretary of agriculture diploma officers association Barisal branch said that we postponed our programmes after higher authority assured us to transfer and punish Safiar Molla, Additional Director of the office for his offence.

Leaders of the association said we postponed our programmes including abstain from work, agitation gathering, hunger strike after Sudhir Ranjan Shil and Ahmed Hasib Molla, two deputy directors of the department negotiated with us and contacting higher officials assured us to transfer Safiar Molla from Barisal immediately.

Safiar Molla, the Additional Director of Barisal regional agriculture extension department denying all allegations against him said it was mispropaganda of the vested quarter.

Not I, but they assaulted me on Saturday demanding posting places according to their choices and after this nascent I am not also interested to stay in Barisal and requested Shamsul Alam, director general of agriculture extension directorate to transfer me from here, Molla added.

If may be mentioned that officials and staffs of Barisal agriculture extension department alleged that that additional director called interview for fixing posting places of newly recruited 63 sub assistant agriculture officials on Saturday morning.

Nikhil Pandey, a sub assistant agriculture officer waiting in queue while entered in the office room of the additional director Molla Safiar to attend the interview before another one coming out from inside, Molla ousted Pandey from his room by kicking and boxing and mercilessly beat and uttered filthy languages to his..

The office staffs rescued Nikhil from the hands of Molla and immediately holding agitation meeting demanded punishment and removal of Molla within 48 hours.

Then the agitated agriculture officials and staffs hold menstruations meeting and gave ultimatum demanding removal and punishment of Molla Safiar within next 48 hours or to go on hard action.

Local agriculture officials said Molla was intoxicated during the incident and the interview was nothing but giving bribe to Molla for better posting places.

He often openly drink alcohol and engaged in immoral and anti-social activities in the office and illegally occupied rest house of the department, they further alleged.

They also handed over a memorandum in this connection to Divisional Commissioner of Barisal on Saturday evening and started abstain from works programme from Sunday.

Call to raise voice against foreign debt

Our Correspondent, Rajshahi

Speakers at an sensitisation workshop on " Cancellation of Foreign debts and Essential Service Sectors", have called upon the government to stop repayment of foreign debts because the common people have no relation with those debt.

" People do not know from where, for whom and how those debt were drawn. Those money taken as foreign loan were plundered by the politicians and the bureaucrats and that is why the people can not bear the brunt of those debt. We can not repay those debt", mentioned the speakers in the workshop organised by Camapign for Good Governance( CGG), Rajshahi, on Sunday at the auditorium of Barendra Unnayan Forum. Presided over by Prof Fazlul Haque, President of CGG, Rajshahi the function was addressed, among others, by Mustafizur Rahman Khan, Vice-President CGG Central committee, Mohammad Shahidullah, officer of CGG secretariate, journalist Hasan Millat, Mosharraf Hossain Akhunjee, President of Rajshahi Babosayee Oikkya Parishad, Entajul Haque Babu, Engineer Tajul Islam, Jamat Khan, Convener of Rajshahi Raskha Sangram Parishad, Advocate Nasrin Akhter Mita, Monira Rahman Mithi, Harun ur Rashid, President of Drug Traders Association, Advocate Abdus Samad, Coordinator of BLAST, Teacher Shanaz Begum, Reporter of the daily Financial Express Monjuara Khatun, Debashish Pramanik Debu, Tayebur Rahman, Advocate Abu Raihan Masud, Professor Abdul Bari, Saidul Islam, Ashfaqul Ashekin, Farid Mamun Hasan and Pintu.

The speakers said, it was high time to organise people to raise voice against foreign debt and a demand to cancell the foreign debt. A mass consciousness of the people should be raised against the debt the responsibility of which can not be imposed on the common pepole. They also demanded to trial of those who have plundered the people's money.

Two bodies exhumed in Rangpur

BSS, Rangpur

Two bodies were exhumed from separate spots in Badarganj and Kawnia upazilas in the district as per court orders recently, police sources said. Body of Mohammad Rubel, 18, son of Jahangir Alam of village Hajipur Dangipara, was exhumed as per the court order in presence of first class magistrate Mazharul Islam on Thursday afternoon after four days of his burial.

Rubel died on August 3 last and was buried at their family Graveyard. His maternal uncle Monwar Hossain filed a case in this connection on August 6 and the Chief Judicial Magistrate court of Rangpur ordered exhuming the body for autopsy.

According to the court order body of Nur Islam Babu, 28, son of Mohammad Ali of village Nazirdaho in Kawnia upazila, was also exhumed in presence of first class magistrate Feroz Ahmed on Tuesday, after eight days of his death.

Nur Islam died on July 29 and buried at his family graveyard in absence of his wife Arzina Begum, who was living at her father's house bad relations with husband. As Arzina filed case with Kawnia police station, the same court also ordered to exhume the body of Nur for autopsy, police said.

Three cow-lifters held in Nababganj

BSS, Nababganj

Local people recovered three stolen cows and held three cow-lifters at village Ambari under Nababganj upazila in Dinajpur on Wednesday, police sources said. Two bullocks and a cow were stolen from the house of one Asaduzzaman in village Heyatpur in the upazila on the night of Wednesday last and local people recovered the stolen cows from the house of Solaiman Ali in the nearby Ambari village.

The people also held cow lifters Solaiman Ali, 30, of Ambari village, Mortuza, 35, of Heyatpur village and Shomsher Ali, 45, of village Harirampur in the upazila on the same day and handed them over to Nababganj police station.

Fisherman killed by tiger in Bagerhat

UNB, Bagerhat

A fisherman was killed by a tiger at Dudhmukhi in Sundarban East zone on Thursday.

The dead was identified as Faruq Hawlader, 25, hailed from Chal Rayenda village in Sharankhola upazila of the district

Local fishermen said a Royal Bengal Tiger attacked and took Faruq away when he along with others got down from a trawler in the Sundarban area in the evening. Later, the fellow fishermen recovered the body of Faruq, bruised all over, from deep forest, on Friday evening.

10 held, Phensidyl seized in Joypurhat

BSS, Joypurhat

Police in separate drives arrested 10 people, including two drug peddlers, on various charges from different areas in five upazilas of the district on Wednesday night. A team of police raided Parulia village under Sadar Upazila and arrested Shabuj Hossain, 22, and Raton Shek, 20, and seized 95 bottles Phensidyl from them.

RAKUB to disburse Tk 46.63 cr loan in Kurigram

BSS, Kurigram

Rajshahi Krishi Unnyan Bank (RAKUB) has decided to distribute Taka 46.63 crore as loan for boosting rural economy and as well as generating employment in the current fiscal year (2008-09).

The RAKUB regional office at Kurigram will disburse the loan through its 20 branches for crop production, fish cultivation, rearing livestock, purchasing agriculture and irrigation equipment, setting up medium scale industrial units and poverty alleviation.

Of the total allocation, Taka 31.55 crore has been earmarked for crop production, Taka 16 lakh for fish cultivation, Taka 1.78 core for rearing livestock, Taka 39 lakh for agriculture and irrigation equipment, Taka 11 for small industrial units, Taka 9.48 crore for ongoing credit activities, Taka 45 lakh for agro- industrial units and Taka 2.81 crore for different sub sectors of poverty alleviation.

The RAKUB, as part of the programme, distributed more than Taka 1.42 crore among 547 borrowers in July.

Five get life-term for killing in Jamalpur

BSS, Jamalpur

A special court here sentenced five persons to life term rigorous imprisonment (RI) for killing a man in 2002 at Dikpyet village under Sadar upazila. The court also fined them Taka 5,000 to each, in default, to suffer another one year RI.

Special Judge Abdus Sobahan after examining seven prosecution witnesses and relevant documents handed down the verdict on Thursday.

Court sources said Sadek Ali's second wife Daulata Begum killed him (Sadek Ali) with the assistance of Nazrul Islam Titas, Abdul Barek Fakir, Umar Ali and Rafiqul Islam alias Alam on the right of September 25, 2002.

After killing, they left the body in an abandoned house in the same village.

Later, deceased's brother Abdur Rashid filed a case with Jamalpur thana police.

One held in MKCS govt pilot high school robbery incident

BSS, Netrakona

Durgapur thana police arrested one suspected dacoit in connection with MKCS government pilot high school office robbery incident at Durgapur upazila in the district on Tuesday night.

The arrested is Alamgir Hussain, night guard, of the school, police said.

A gang of robbers entered the school's office room and looted away cash and valuables worth about Taka one lakh by breaking open lockers.

Headmaster of the school Parimal Chandra Pandith field a case with Durgapur police station in this connection.

Fugitive convict held in Kishoreganj

BSS, Kishoreganj

Police arrested an absconding life-term convict from his house at village Chhit Rajib in Kishoreganj upazila of Nilphamari district on Friday, police said.

The arrested convict was identified as Badsha Hossain, 34, son of Abul Hossain of the village and he was sentenced to life term rigorous imprisonment in a rape case by a Nilphamari court in 2001 in his absentia.

On a tip off, a police team conducted a sudden raid at his house and arrested the convict, who had been absconding for the past seven years.

The arrested convict was sent to jail hajat when Kishoreganj police produced him before the Judicial Magistrate court of Nilphamari on Saturday, police added.