The New Nation - Internet Edition

Vow to materialise Bangabandhu's dream

Our, Correspondent, Chittagong

National Mourning Day has been observed here in the port city with series of daylong programmes after six-year hiatus to recall the 33rd death anniversary of undisputed and independence leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The national flag was hoisted at half-mast atop the public, autonomous and private buildings.

Chittagong city, north and southern unit offices of the Awami League including different ward offices across the city hoisted national flag, party flag and black flag to mourn the massacre of the father of the nation and his family on August 15, 1975.

The day began with placing of floral wreaths on the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The AL leaders while addressing discussion meetings renewed their vow for trial of killers and prayed for the salvation of his departed soul.

General Secretary of city unit Awami League Kazi Enamul Haque Danu told the correspondent that they organised ward-based programme to observe the day.

He said that they tried to bring out a mourning procession in the city at about 9:00 a.m. but policemen stopped them near Darul Fazal market under police station.

Joint Secretary of the city unit Advocate Ibrahim Hossain Babul, Joint General Secretary Dr. Mohammad Afsarul Amin and General Secretary of southern unit AL Alhaj Moslem Uddin Ahmed among others addressed the discussion meetings.

Meanwhile, Chittagong Press Club (CPC), Chittagong Union of Journalists (CUJ), Chittagong Journalists Cooperative Society (CJCS) and Chittagong Photojournalists Association (CPA) observed the day with discussion meeting and milad mahfil.

67 councilor candidates lose security deposit in BCC election

Our Correspondent, Barisal

Sixty seven including seven female councilor candidates out of 184 candidates of Barisal City Corporation election will lose their security deposits.

Twenty five councilor candidates received only 03 to 49 votes in the election and two former female councilors also included in the lists of security deposit losers.

Election office sources revealing this facts said that formers councilors Kamrunnanahar Sweaty and Khadiza Nasrin Shefali will loss their security deposits for receiving less than one eight number of casting votes for general ward commissioner and reserved female seat candidates of BCC election held on August 4, 2008.

Among 39 female councilor candidates of reserved seats for females , besides Sefali more six female councilor candidates including Sultana Begum, Parsia Begum,Parul Begum,Nasima Hannan,Jahanara Hossain and Minu Nasir will lose their security deposit for the same cause.

Besides the 25 candidates received less than 50 votes including Mofazzal Ali Khan Montu (3 votes), Naresh Chandra Roy Dulal, Alam Sharif and Harunur Rashid Howladar (7 votes) and Rustam Ali Mallik (6 votes).

Farmers expect bumper Aus output in Barisal region

BSS, Barisal

The farmers of 11 southern districts under Barisal Agriculture Extension Zone (BAEZ) have been harvesting Aus paddy with smiles in their faces as the yield of the paddy is expected to be higher this season.

A total of 3,39,856 hectares of land have been brought under the crop cultivation in the districts this season while more than 20,172 hectares of land brought under paddy production, officials said. Of the total, 6,299 hectares were brought under hybrid variety of Aus, 1,53,299 hectares under Upashi variety and 1,80,258 hectares under local variety, the officials said. The production target was fixed at 14,17,233 metric tonnes of clean paddy. Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) distributed as much as 1.35 crore kgs of high yielding variety of seeds among the farmers of the region for boosting production. The farmers were more enthusiastic for increased aus cultivation this year as they had been getting fertilisers, seeds and other inputs at retail prices due to monitoring by the joint forces.

Meanwhile, DAE has taken a programme to set up demonstration plots in the zone areas for teaching farmers the scientific method of Aus cultivation.

Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) along with other commercial banks disbursed necessary loans among the small and marginal farmers.

T-Aman farming continues smoothly in N-region

BSS, Rangpur

Plantation of T-Aman seedlings has been still continuing smoothly though the farmers have already brought over 98 percent of the targeted land under farming of the crop everywhere in the 16 northern districts of the country.

Despite some less rainfall during the current season, there are possibilities of exceeding the fixed T-Aman farming target by at least five percent this year in the region, officials in the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said here today.

A target of producing 43.30 lakh tonnes T-Aman rice from 17.38 lakh hectares has been fixed for the sixteen northern districts this season and the farmers have already brought over 17.10 lakh hectares by Thursday and the plantation will continue till this month.

Deputy Director (DD) of DAE, Rangpur Kamal Shariful Alam told BSS that the farmers already planted T-Aman seedlings in 10.13- lakh hectares land by Thursday against the fixed target of 10.22 lakh hectares to produce 27.39-lakh tonnes rice in eight districts under Rangpur Agriculture Zone (RAZ) this season. A similar progress has been achieved in the other eight districts under the Rajshahi Agriculture Zone in the region, DAE sources said.

Chief of Rangpur Regional Research Station of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and its Chief Scientific Officer Dr Abdul Mazid told BSS that the concerned departments should have preparations to provide supplementary irrigation to the T- Aman fields, if necessary, due to the comparatively les rainfalls this year.

The climatic conditions are still favourable for smooth T- Aman farming as moderate to heavy rainfalls have been showering in recent days in the region and presently there are adequate waters in the growing paddy fields everywhere, the DAE and BRRI experts said.

The senior agri-experts said the T-Aman production target would be exceeded as the farmers have been cultivating the High Yielding Variety (HYV) and Hybrid Variety (HV) T-Aman paddies in over 96 percent land being brought under T-Aman farming.

Though the average yield rate of T-Aman rice has been fixed at 2.68 tonnes per hectare land this year in the RAZ, the overall yield rate may be around 2.80 tonnes per hectare due to farming of HYV and HV on more and more lands, they said.

"We are now more educated to adapt ourselves with any kind of situation like droughts and fertiliser prices etc to produce all varieties of crops in all seasons every year and this time, the production cost of T-Aman may be higher than the normal because of the double fertiliser prices," some farmers told here today.

"Prices of urea, TSP and MoP fertilisers are double this year than that of the last year, but less fertilisers are needed while farming T-Aman paddy than that of the Boro crop and there is no crisis of fertilisers and pesticides anywhere," DD Kamal Shariful Alam added.

One arrested, TSP fertilisers seized in Pirganj

BSS, Rangpur

Police arrested a fertiliser trafficker red-handed and seized 28 sacks TSP fertiliser from Hajipur area under Pirganj Upazila in the district on Wednesday night.

Police sources said the arrested person was identified as Kamrul Islam, 35 of Boalmari village in Nababganj Upazila of Dinajpur district and he was arrested while trafficking the fertilisers using his engine- driven 'Votvoti'.

Police also seized the Votvoti and filed a case in this connection with Pirganj police station and sent him to jail hajat after producing before the court, the sources said.

Workshop on gender, human rights held at Narsingdi

BSS, Narsingdi

A local NGO Chinishpur Dishikha Mohila Samity (CDMS) organised a day-long workshop on 'Gender and human rights' at Deputy Commissioner's conference room here yesterday.

The workshop was organised with a view to reduce violence against women working in jute mills. Zillar Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of Narsingdi, attended the workshop as the chief guest, while Sofura Begum, Executive Director of CDMS, chaired it. About 50 persons including CBA leaders of the local jute mills, different NGO representatives and journalist took part in the workshop.

Participants in the workshop said more than 90 percent working women in jute mills and factories face gender violence at their work places. They said a large number of adolescent girls and adult women are being sexually abused at their workplaces but most of the cases remained hidden. Most of the girls and women do not talk about their harassment in order to protect themselves from the shame. They also proposed for formulating a plan of action to prevent gender violence and protect the rights of the women working in mills and factories.

Heroin worth Tk 60 lakh seized in Hatibandha

BSS, Hatibandha

Members of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) seized huge quantity of smuggled heroin worth Taka 60 lakh from Hatibandha upazila town in Lalmonirhat district Friday night, BDR sources said.

Acting on a tip-off, a special BDR patrol party from 31 Lalmonirhat Rifles Battalion Headquarters conducted a sudden raid and seized 600-gram heroin packed in a polythene packet and put inside a shop in the upazila town. The BDR team also arrested heroin smuggler Shafikul Islam, 32, son of Soleman Goni of the same upazila town from the shop in this connection and he wanted to send the smuggled heroin to Dhaka by a night coach last night.

Inspector of the District Narcotics Control Department of Lalmonirhat Mofizur Hossain Shah after examining the heroin told BSS that the seized heroin is the best quality. BDR handed over the arrested smuggler to Hatibandha police station after filing a case against him in this connection Friday night and he was sent to jail hajat after producing before a Lalmonirhat court today, the sources said.

Obituary

Our Correspondent, Chittagong

Hazi Mohammad Yakub Ali Bhuiyan, father-in-law of Hakim Ali, Managing Director of The Hotel Agrabad, died of old age complications on August 14 last.

Founder of Azad Chemical Industry, Bhuiyan died at Metropolitan Hospital at 2:30 pm at the age of around 90, family and hospital sources said.

Bhuiyan left behind six sons, four daughters, large number relatives and a host of admirers to mourn his death.

The namaj-e-janaza of late Bhuiyan a founder member of Chittagong Central Eid Jamaat committee and Jamiutul Falah Complex was held at Jamiutul Falah Complex premises after Asr prayers. Later, the body was buried at his native village Muradnagar.

Discussion on poultry held in Mymensingh

BSS, Mymensingh

A discussion on necessity of rearing cattle and poultry was held at District Livestock Office here on Thursday.

District Livestock Officer Dr Abdul Quddus presided over the meeting. Deputy Secretary of the Fishery and Livestock ministry Dr Anwar Hossain and Assistant director of livestock directorate Swapan Kumar Mudak were present on the occasion as the chief and special guests respectively.

It was addressed, among others, by additional district livestock officer Abdul Hye, livestock officer Nakibulla Siddique, veterinary surgeon Ruhul Amin, senior market promotion officer of Al Medina Ph Ltd. Abul Kalam Azad, Zahedul, Islam and journalist Imamuddin Mukta.

Dr Anwar Hossin stressed the need for rearing more cattle and poultry and seting up more farms to meet the demand of protein.

He said the government has taken various steps to develop the lives tock in view of development of our socio-economic condition as well as establishing a poverty-free society. He urged the concerned officials to work sincerely for further development of the country. All the upazila livestock officers, veterinary surgeons, and concerned officials were present.

5 criminals with arms held in Rajshahi

BSS, Rajshahi

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), in different anti-crime drives, rounded up five suspected criminals including two drug-peddlers and also seized a firearm, counterfeit revenue stamps and ganja from different areas in four northern districts during the last 24 hours till this afternoon, RAB sources here said this afternoon.

Based on secret information, a team of the elite force arrested Shaheen Alam alias Sujauddin, 20, son of Shamsul Islam, with a country-made pipe-gun loaded with bullet during a raid at his Jhikra village under Charghat upazila of Rajshahi district. They also arrested two other persons identified as Mojnu Mian, 25, son of Abdul Gafur and Anwarul Alam, 35, son of Saiful Islam and seized huge counterfeit revenue stamps from their possessions during two separate raids at Banpara in Natore and at Ishwardi in Pabna districts.

In another raid conducted at Hilli area under Hakimpur upazila of Dinajpur district, they arrested two suspected drug-peddlers with five kilograms of ganja and 35 yards of smuggled long cloth. The arrested persons are: Chandan Adhikary, 38, son of Nilamony Adhikary and Dulhas Mian, 39, son of late Hakim Mian. The arrested persons and the seized goods were handed over to the concerned police stations after recording separate cases in these connections.

National Mourning Day observed in Kishoreganj

Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj

The nation mourned the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on Friday with state-level arrangements.

The national flag was hoisted half-mast at all government, semi-government and private establishments and business house, to pay homage to the great leader.

In observance of the 33rd death anniversary of Bangabandhu, different political parties and socio-cultural organisations, professional bodies including Awami League, JSD, NAP, Gano-Forum, CPB, Ganatantri-Party Workers Party and Kishoreganj Press Club chalked out elaborate programmes.

District Awami League organised a discussion meeting at its office hallroom with Senior Vice-President Syed Owahiduzzaman Miah in the chair. It was addressed, among others, by Advocate M.A. Afzal, Advocate Jinnatul Islam, Prof Sharif Sadi, Advocate Zillur Rahman, Anowar Kamal and Aminul Islam Bakul.