The New Nation - Internet Edition

Conditions that allow temporary exemption

"Allah desires ease for you, and desires not hardship for you, so that you should complete the number (of days decreed), and exalt Allah for His guiding you, so that you might be thankful." (2: 183-185)

Islam is based on reason. It has no hard and fast ritual for all age groups. It has exempted the minors (for prepuberty years), insane (period of insanity), unconscious, and non-Muslims (years before conversion) from fasting.

Fasting is obligatory and compulsory for all able adult Muslims provided that a person is/not suffering from illness/not unconscious/and a woman not in her monthly period or not at home i.e., on travels.

The holy verse is : "(Fasting) for a fixed number of days ; but if any of you is ill, or on a journey, the preserved number (should be made up) from days later t. " (2: 184)

A. Yusuf Ali comments : "Illness and journey must not be interpreted in an elastic sense. They must be such as to cause real pain or suffering if the fast were observed. For journeys, a minimum standard of three marches is prescribed by some commentators: others make it more precise by naming a distance of 16 farsakhs equivalent to 48 miles." He adds, "In my opinion the standard must depend on the means of locomotion and on the relative resources of the traveller. It is better to determine it in each case according to circumstances." The holy verse, mentioned before, adds in the last. "And it is better for you that ye fast, if ye only knew." (2: 184)

-Abdul Muqit Chowdhury

Banks asked to take precautionary measures against robbery

BSS, Dhaka

The commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has asked banks and financial institutions to take precautionary measures against possible bank rubberies and other crimes at their counters.

Commissioner of the DMP Naim Ahmed in a circular yesterday referred to BRAC Bank rubbery at Sobahanbagh and Shahjalal branch of Islami Bank at Gazipur Crossing and laid emphasis on such preventive measures.

He said each branch of banks and financial institutions should designate an officer to take care of the security issues, install CCTVs at suitable places and make sure that those can not be destroyed easily and video pictures remain functional at least 30 days.

Visitors should be allowed through metal detector checks. Security personnel and guards at the entrance should stay at strategically secured places and should not be used in other job away from their designated duty places.

Moreover as they remain on duty at night, their full information profile should be at the disposal of the management gathered through proper investigation and if anyone is not having it, banks should do it quickly.

Security personnel and guards should have proper training, they should not accept entertainment from unknown or little known persons. If the location of any bank branch stands at a risky place, it should be shifted to secured place.

Specially, if any bank or financial institution is located at a place where any hotel or restaurant operates in the upstairs, down stairs or around it, the management should have additional security arrangement in place.

They should also use police escort while moving significant amount of money to and from the bank, the circular said.

PDP demands referendum

BSS, Dhaka

Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday demanded holding of a referendum in October to seek opinion of the people for balance between the powers of the president and the prime minister.

PDP Chairman Dr Ferdous Ahmad Quareshi made the demand at a press conference at the party office in the city yesterday. PDP Secretary General Noor Mohammad Khan, Vice-Chairman Major General (retd) Rafiqul Hossain, Additional Secretary General Golam Sarwar Milon, Joint Secretary General Mosharraf Hossain Khan and Office Secretary Major (retd) Reazul Islam, were among others present.

The PDP chairman demanded referendum to seek people's opinion on nullifying article 70 of the constitution. He said it is possible to overcome the impasse in national politics by seeking the opinion of the people through a referendum.

He called for holding the referendum in October and the national polls later.

Dr Quareshi said the trial of a number of corrupt persons should be completed before the next parliament elections.

He said no meaningful change would come in politics without the creation of a third trend in national politics. It is fortunate that the PDP has been established in the country as the main force of the third trend in country's politics, he added.

Quareshi said the PDP has been supporting the one-eleven and hoped that the one-eleven would bring about a qualitative change in politics.

He said the people do not want the country to return to misrule and evil politics that preceded the one-eleven. The anti-corruption drive would end successfully, he hoped.

The PDP chairman said there is nothing to say if the corrupt suspects get bail through the legal procedure, but questions might arise, if they get release on a large-scale.

He opposed the new election law prohibiting participation of teachers in elections.

Formulation of pro-poor trade policy urged

Staff Reporter

Speakers at a seminar yesterday underscored the need for formulating a pro-poor trade policy and capacity building for negotiating trade agreement with different international trade bodies with a view to ensuring the greater welfare of the marginalised people and enhancing the national economic growth.

Development of the country mostly depends on the reduction of poverty and it is essential for Bangladesh to formulate a pro-poor trade strategy while striking trade deal with the regional and international trade bodies, they said.

They also underscored the need for close public- private partnership and involvement of experts in different fields and streamlining the old dated laws for formulating trade strategies.

They were speaking at the seminar on " Negotiating Trade Agreements: How to Make it Pro-Poor " organised by the Development Research Network (D.Net) at the BRAC Inn auditorium.

Prof Mustafizur Rahman, Vice- Chairperson, D. Net and Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) made welcome address while Dr Shah Md Ahsan Habib, Associate Professor of BIBM and Head, Research and Programme of D. Net presented the keynote paper.

It was also addressed among others by Sohel Ahmed Choudhury, former secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Chairman of Janata Bank Ltd, Muhammad Zamir, former Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Annisul Huq, President of FBCCI, Manzur Ahmed, Advisor of FBCCI, Dr Toufic Ahmad Choudhury, Chairperson, D. Net, Dr Mostafa Abid Khan, former Deputy Chief, Bangladesh Tariff Commission and fellow researcher of BFTI, Dr Wazedul Islam Khan, General Secretary of Bangladesh Trade Union Kendra, Meghna Guhathakurta, Executive Director of Research Initiative Bangladesh and Mohammad Fazlul Haque, Chairperson of Jatiya Tarun Sangha.

Prof Mustafizur Rahman suggested building up resource persons by giving training and courses in the universities.

"We could not avail the export opportunities in European markets on different items despite zero traffic facilities due to poor negotiation capacity," he said.

He emphasised on imparting proper training to the persons involved in this field for building negotiating capacity.

Annisul Huq said it was important for creating sufficient number of resourceful persons for successfully negotiation on international trade issues.

The seminar took a charter of demands that include strong coordination among different ministries, negotiators and domestic working groups for understanding the trade issues and Bangladesh, as a Least Developed Country (LDC), needs strong local and international civil society organisation supports to improve the livelihood of the poor by protecting food issues, agriculture market access and domestic support to the farmers.

Intra-agencies cooperation to reduce child mortality urged

Staff Reporter

Coordination among Government organisations, stakeholders and political parties' will reduce child mortality rate which in turn will help attain Millennium Development Goal-4, speakers said at a seminar in the city yesterday.

About 400 children of the country die every day for causes related to malnutrition, the seminar was told.

Only media can help bridging the parties on child mortality reduction issues throughout its awareness programme and campaign they said.

The national seminar on 'Get on Track to Save Children's Lives' was organised jointly by Save the Children UK, Eminence, a NGO and The Editor.net.

Among others, Prof MR Khan and Prof Dr MA Faiz, Director General of Directorate General of Health Services addressed the seminar.

In his keynote speech, Dr Abu Muhammad Jakir Hossain of Eminence said, "In the health communication system, media professionals collect information to suit a selected audience, offer a range of opinions and demonstrate knowledge to the health communicators. This in turn influences public and personal behaviour, government spokespersons. In this way media community plays important role to achieve the nation and international goals."

He said, despite a great deal of attention on the role of mass media as a potentially effective channel for transferring health research information to health professionals and the consumers at large, little efforts have been devoted to attain the MDG-4 in Bangladesh. Mass media campaigns could influence the use of health services in the general population either directly or indirectly.

MR Khan said, "It is well known to all that meeting at the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders agreed on a farsighted declaration to meet the needs of the world's poorest people. That declaration gave birth to eight goals including cutting child deaths by two thirds between 1990 and 2015."

However, the United Nations (UN) failed to cut child deaths by two thirds between 1990 and 2015 he said and added the meeting that is going to be held in this September is a key moment for the UN to get the world on track to meet this goal.

Mentioning exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months is the optimal way of feeding infants, he said that exclusive breastfeeding rate is only 37 per cent in Bangladesh.

Doctors' community, health service providers and policy makers should try to overcome the problems that act as barriers to achieve the MDG-4, Khan said and added media and civil society actors can play important role to create pressure on government, UN agencies, donors and whole policy community to take proper initiatives.

MA Faiz said, "To overcome the challenge we are badly in need of a big push that should be combined, effective pro-poor and target oriented."

He was of the view individual and institutional accountability could ensure the health services for all.

Professionals reject RPO Ordinance

UNB, Dhaka

Peshajibi Samannay Parishad, a platform of professionals, yesterday rejected the Representation of People's Order Ordinance 2008, describing it as "unrealistic and undemocratic".

The Parishad leaders said it is the people who will choose their representatives to Parliament and a caretaker government cannot force them to make their choices.

"So, we're rejecting the RPO Ordinance'08. The government with such a law has planned to keep the country's meritorious persons away from politics," Parishad convenor Principal Kazi Faruk Ahmed said at a roundtable at the National Press Club.

Co-convenor of the Parishad and former President of Dhaka University Teachers' Association (DUTA) Prof. Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique, Observer Editor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Awami League's Agriculture Affairs Secretary and former MP Dr Abdur Razzak and Parishad's Member

Secretary Dr Kamrul Hasan Khan, among others, addressed the roundtable.

Prof. Arefin said in democracy people have the full freedom to make their own choices, but the caretaker government is enacting such laws that will only limit their choices to elect their representatives to Parliament.

"According to UNESCO-ILO convention, teachers can take leave for contesting elections and after the tenure as an MP and other public representative one can rejoin his or her previous institutions," he said.

"But being a signatory to the convention, the caretaker government has promulgated the ordinance with a provision for professionals that one will be eligible to contest an election only three years after his or her resignation or retirement," he said.

Prof. Arefin said the University Ordinance 1973, which was passed by the then parliament, allows a university teacher to resign and contest elections right away. "But the RPO'08 has snatched this opportunity too."

In Bangladesh, Dr Arefin said, it is often said politics is losing its merit. "If the reality is that then the RPO Ordinance'08 will create more intellectual vacuum in the country."

Dr Abdur Razzak said instead of working to arrange the stalled parliamentary polls in time, the government is trying to complicate the political situation in the name of enacting some "peculiar and impractical" laws.

"Our Army Chief at a programme at Sheraton Hotel had said that they would bring a new brand of democracy in the country. If so is the RPO' 08 a step towards bringing the new brand of democracy?" he asked.

The government was scheduled to register political parties in line with the RPO by June 30, but till today there was no sign of it, Dr Razzak said.

"In fact, they are killing time and making the situation complicated to foil the parliamentary polls," he alleged.

Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury said the RPO Ordinance'08 will be used as a weapon to establish autocracy in the country.

Hannan Shah terms attack on Bulu motivated

Staff Reporter

Adviser to BNP Chairperson ASM Brig Gen (Retd) Hannan Shah yesterday said a vested quarter with ill motive attacked Jubo Dal President Barkat Ullah Bhulu.

Condemning the attack, Hannan Shah said, "It was a planned attack and it happened at the direction of high profile conspirators among the party."

He was addressing a protest meeting against the physical assault on Barkat Ullah Bhulu organised Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Trinamul Dal at the BNP city office in the capital. While BNP joint secretary general Goyeshor Chandra Roy and BNP leader Shahjahan also addressed it.

Hannan Shah expressed deep sympathy to Bhulu and other BNP leaders, who were physically assaulted at the premises of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital when they went to visit BNP Senior Secretary General Tarique Rahman immediately after his release.

He blasted BNP mainstream body led by its Secretary General Khondoker Delwar Hossian and Jubo Dal for remaining silent on the issue and not issuing any statement and not holding protest programmes against the attack.

He said the attackers of the party's dedicated leader Bhulu would be punished after the release of BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia.

Khaleda Zia expressed her dissatisfaction and regretted the attack on Bhulu, Milon and Bilkis, he mentioned.

Goyeshor said Bhulu is a dedicated and active BNP leader and contributed a lot to the party, but a vested quarter rewarded by assaulting him in such a way.

He said, "If the party does not punish the attackers, we will punish them after the release of Begum Zia."

Moreover, another protest meeting against the attack organised by greater Noakhali BNP unit will be held in the BNP city office this afternoon.

Retender for 450MW Sirajganj power plant likely

Staff Reporter

The government is likely to go for re-tendering for two large power plants at Bibiyana and Sirajganj, with the capacity producing 450 MW electricity each, due to poor response from the pre-qualified bidders.

Taking charge of the government, the present caretaker government first invited tender for the 450 MW Bibiyana Project. Only the Malaysia-based Powertek Berhad has interested to submit the final bid for the large power project among the three qualified bidders, according to sources.

Powertek has already purchased the request for proposal (RFP) document to submit the final technical and financial offer, a high official at the Power Cell said.

Besides, two other qualified bidders AES Corporation of USA and the KEPCO of South Korea have already verbally informed that they would not compete for the final competition to get the project.

Power Cell Director General Mohammad Abdul Jalil, said the government is yet to take any decision on the Bibiyana Power Plant project. "We will sit with the Power Ministry next week to discuss the matter," he told the New Nation.

At the meeting, we evaluate the bid. Then the evaluation report is sent to the purchase committee of the government for final decision, he added.

Similar is the case with the Sirajganj power plant project, as only a single bidder Powertek who has also responsive bidder in Bibiyana project is now interested to participate in the Sirajganj power project. Besides, the other pre-qualified bidders have not yet shown their interest in the Sirajganj power project.

The Power Development Board (PDB) will buy electricity for the next 22 years with foreign currencies from the two power plants.

TIB report: BSL staff realise Tk 396cr in bribe since its inception

UNB, Chittagong

Officials and employees of Bakhrabad Gas System Ltd (BGSL) have taken Tk 396 crore in bribe since its inception from its customers only for providing gas connections.

According to a report released by Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) here yesterday, underhand dealings involving over Tk 25.28 crore took place for giving gas connections in fiscal 2007-08 alone.

The report said corruption is also there in metre reading, raising gas pressure and bypassing gas in addition to providing illegal gas connections.

TIB also held a roundtable titled 'Corruption in natural gas supply and its marketing in Chittagong region: Role of BGSL" at a city hotel today, marking the release of the report.

Secretary of Oil-Gas Resources Protection Committee Dr Anu Mohammad and Prof. Shamsul Alam of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) were the key discussants of the roundtable, presided over by Sachetan Nagarik Committee convenor Begum Mushtari Shafi.

Moderated by TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman, the roundtable was addressed, among others, by BGSL Managing Director Quamrul Islam, Nagarik Committee member secretary Adv. Akhter Kabir Chowdhury and former principal of Chittagong College Dr Iftekharuddin Chowdhury.

Dr Anu Mohammad told the discussion that the government has deliberately not taken any initiative since the 1/11 changeover to bring any change in the policy on which corruption got its roots.

"As apprehended earlier, the government has made a compromise with the corrupt persons," he said.

Dr Anu Mohammad regretted that the country's gas resources have virtually gone into the hands of foreign companies because of indissoluble structure of corruption.

Prof. Shamsul Alam said although the BGSL is known as a public limited company, it is controlled by the government. "So, customers are being deprived of necessary services," he added.

He suggested that the BGSL authorities should be given decision-making power apart from strengthening its monitoring system to check the trend of providing illegal connections.

The meeting also put forward a number of recommendations for making the BGSL a profitable and service-oriented organisation. These include running the BGSL as per the Company Act'94 and enacting a Gas Act.

Salman Shah remembered

Speakers at the memorial meeting to mark the 12th
death anniversary of film star Salman Shah at BFDC
yesterday. NN photo

Staff Reporter

Film artistes, makers, producers and directors at a memorial meeting remembered the late superstar Salman Shah and his performances.

Speakers said though Salman Shah spent a very short time in the film industry, he dominated the filmdom by virtue of his performances.

The meeting was held at the Zahir Raihan Colour Lab Auditorium of Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) in the city yesterday.

Salman Shah Smriti Parishad organised the meeting in association with Asian Satellite Television Audience Rights Movement (ASTARM), Bangladesh Journalist Welfare Association, Only Entertainment and Media Vision to mark the 12th death anniversary of Salman Shah.

ANM Badrul Amin, Managing Director of BFDC, was present as chief guest, while M Hamid, CEO of Rtv, Mosharraf Hossain Chowdhury, DMD of Boishakhi TV, Redwan Khondaker, Managing Director of Abdul Jabbar Khan Film and Drama Institute, Salam Mahmud, President of Television Reporters Unity of Bangladesh (TRAB), Golam Morshed, film producer, Sonia Hossain, litterateur and lyricist, Roksana Bilkis, dramatist, SM Shafi, General Secretary and Suraiya Rahman Moni, President of the Salman Shah Smriti Parishad, among others, spoke at the meeting. Rafiquzzaman, Director of Abdul Jabbar Khan Film and Drama Institute, chaired the meeting.

After the discussion, a film acted by Salman was screened and Salman Shah memorial award was given.

Shahriar Chowdhury Imon, who used Salman Shah as a film name, was a superstar. The name, Salman Shah, evoked an era in the Bangladeshi filmdom. In the early 1990s when the country's film industry remained stagnant and when vulgarism and weak-script movies ruled the industry, Salman entered the film industry in a spirit vibrant with promise. The ailing film industry witnessed a real romantic hero and welcomed a new era in the romantic film genre with his appearance.

In 1993, when the film industry found Salman, a superstar of modern Bengali films, for the first time observed with the blockbuster 'Keyamat Thekey Keyamat.' Directed by Sohanur Rahman Sohan, the film was the remake of the Indian blockbuster 'Qayamat se qayamat tak.' In his debut movie, Salman earned a niche through his mesmerising performance and quality acting skills and soon he turned into a heartthrob of the young film connoisseurs. The pair Salman and Moushumi were treated as the most popular team after Razzak-Kabori, right after the release of the film.

Salman started his acting career in TV drama. However, he came to the limelight through his first film. Apart from 'Keyamat Thekey Keyamat,' in his short span of film career he also acted in 18 other hit movies. His on-screen chemistry with his first heroine Moushumi and then Shabnur were the most wanted silver screen couples of that time. But unfortunately he died on September 6, 1996.

BNP leader Nazrul Islam hospitalised

UNB, Dhaka

BNP joint secretary general Nazrul Islam Khan was admitted to the Heart Foundation hospital with heart ailment yesterday.

Anik Islam Khan told UNB that his father was admitted to the hospital early morning after he had felt pain in his heart during the "sehri" time.

Khan is undergoing treatment at the ICU of the Heart Foundation. Doctors said he is out of danger. A 7-member medical board headed by heart specialist Brig Gen (retd) MA Malek was formed for his treatment.