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Call for action against those
betraying natural resources
Staff Correspondent
The Government should take
immediate action against people involved in dealing with
international treaties signed by earlier Governments
relating to natural resources which went against national
interests.
This was stated by Professor Anu Muhammad while addressing
a press conference on "Investment Treaty on Oil, Gas:
Transparency and People’s Rights" organized by Campaign on
Citizen Right to Information at the National Press Club
yesterday.
Anu Mohammad said the Government the should take people’s
opinion in dealing any treaty with international companies
relating to the gas and coal mining, otherwise the people
will launch tough movement to save national interests.
He also strongly protested the government’s decision to
offer tender to international companies for exploration of
gas and coal in 20 blocks in the deep sea and seven in
offshore areas in the Bay of Bengal for 25 years saying
"the Ministry of Power and Energy is serving foreign
companies and it seems that the Ministry is working as the
Public Relations Office to those companies."
Presenting his keynote paper at the conference, Professor
Shamsul Alam of Chittagong University of Engineering and
Technology made some suggestions to include a provision in
the ‘Model Production Sharing Contract (PSC)’ so that gas
and oil resource of the Country are not exported unless
the domestic demands for energy are met in next 25 years.
Shamsul Alam said the unelected caretaker Government has
no rights to take any policy decision and it can only
prepare a guideline for developing the power and energy
sector for the next Government.
He said, "the main task of the caretaker Government is to
handover power to the elected government through holding a
free, fair and credible election as early as possible. But
surprisingly it approved the model PSC formulated in a
quick time for exploring oil and gas and decided to lease
out 27 blocks to foreign companies before the next
election."
While talking to the press, DU professor Hossain Munsur
urged the Government to enact the Information Rights
Act-2008 immediately to implement the proposed ‘PSC model’
on the basis of the people’s opinion.
It may be mentioned that the country will face acute
crisis of energy and power from the year 2011 next if the
Government fails to explore new gas and coal sources by
that time.
Gas demand has increased by 250-300 million cubic feet per
day (MMCFD) in the last few years. The present average gas
demand is over 1700, million cubic feet per day
occasionally picking up to about 1750. On the other hand,
the present production capacity from 60 to 65 wells of 12
producing gas field is 1700 million cubic feet per day.
According to the Gas Sector Master Plan (GSMP) financed by
the World Bank, the gas reserves discovered and proved
till 2006, would be able to fulfil medium scale demand by
2011-12. But the Government will have to take various
initiatives including investigation for exploring new gas
fields to ensure smooth supply of gas by 2015. Some 24 TCF
gas will have to be discovered for meeting the growing
demand by the year 2015. Some 7.7 billion US dollars will
need be invested to explore gas field, the sources added.
Niko corruption cases
Hasina, Khaleda not produced in court
UNB, Dhaka
The detained two former Prime Ministers, Sheikh Hasina and
Begum Khaleda Zia, were not produced in the CMM court on
Tuesday in two Niko corruption cases involving deals with
the foreign oil company.
Another petition was filed on behalf of Khaleda Zia for
bringing her before the court, as the previous plea of her
counsel went in vain.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Golam Rabbani
fixed March 12 for IO report but didn’t pass any order.
There was no prayer before the court on behalf of Sheikh
Hasina, who has already been on a stalled trial in a
different graft case.
It was stated before the court that for the last 158 days,
Begum Zia has been passing her days in a sub-jail. "There
has been no inquiry in any cases and no charge sheet filed
either so far."
"It is against the law to confine anybody in continuous
process without showing any specific allegation. Moreover,
she has been suffering from various illnesses, without
proper treatment," her counsel further submitted.
The two former prime ministers were arrested under the
ongoing purge in the interim period against corruption,
particularly in high places, during their times in power.
Newspaper industry facing serious set-back
Staff Correspondent
Country’s newspaper industries have been facing a serious
set back due to un- equal distribution of government and
non-government advertisement and increased price hike of
news print. The observation was made by the editors of
different national and local dailies at a discussion
meeting held at CIRDAP auditorium in the city on Tuesday.
Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) organised the
discussion meeting. Amanullah Kabir, editors of Amar Desh,
Matiur Rahman Chowdhury of Manabjamin, Shymol Datta of
Bhorer Kagoj, Farida Rahman of Bangla Bazar and around 100
editors of local dailies from different part of the
country took part in the discussion meeting. "If this
trend continues, the publishers of the newspapers would
not be able to publish their dailies. The newspapers had
played a vital role during the January 11, 2007, popularly
known as 1/11. We had great expectations of the Fakhruddin
led present caretaker government since its journey on
January 12 last year. But the caretaker government
presented us frustrations," they said.
They said the main precondition for publishing of
newspaper is a democratic government. "Like political
parties, we did not fight for capturing the state power.
But why is the government considering us its opponent. We
are becoming victim of tortures by the ongoing countrywide
crackdown," they said demanding of the government to
reopen the Khulna Newsprint mills. "If the Khulna
Newsprint mill is reopened, our newspaper industries would
not face newsprint crisis," they said.
The speakers also said a section of dishonest journalists
are directly or indirectly engaging with some sort of
crimes. For the greater interest of the newspaper
industries, we should keep close watch on them and throw
out them. Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, editor of Manabjamin,
presented a keynote paper while Ferdous Ahmed Qureshi, the
convener of the PDP was in the chair.
Soaring rice prices cause suffering, discontent
Proposal for importing 5 lac tons of rice from India
approved
Staff Correspondent
Again the
unchecked price of rice has triggered widespread
hardship, worry and discontent among the people across
the country. People from all walks of life yesterday
expressed their grave resentment and anger over the sky
rocketing price of rice. They demanded immediate
solution to the price hike of rice. Following Indian ban
on rice export recently, the price at different city
markets has gone up abnormally and coarse rice is being
sold at Tk 32 to 33 although it was being sold at Tk 28
to 29 three days back. Against this backdrop, the
Government on Tuesday approved a proposal for importing
five lakh tons of rice from India directly under an
agreement between the two countries.
Advisers Committee on Public Purchase gave the approval
at its meeting at the Secretariat yesterday. According
the proposal, the import of rice would not require any
tendering process as there is an agreement signed
between the two governments.
Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukharjee during his
visit to Bangladesh promised that India would allow
Bangladesh the import of 5 lakh tons of rice to cope
with the post-Sidr period. Accordingly, the government
is continuing negotiation to import the rice to keep the
domestic rice market stable and the government claimed
that it had progressed to import the rice soon, sources
said. Average purchase price of the rice from India has
been fixed at US$ 399 per metric ton and it is expected
that the rice will reach the country within 75 days in
phases.
Within a 25-day on Tuesday fine variety of rice was sold
at Tk 42-45 per kg at different markets in the city and
its suburbs. The price of coarse varieties also shot up
and was selling at between Tk 32 and Tk 35 per kg.
Yesterday Elachi Lal was selling at Tk 32 per kg,
Mompalish at 33, Mala, Tk 35, Pariza at Tk 35, Minicate
at Tk 38 and Parija new at Tk 35.
As the procurement of boro rice will take minimum two
months to come to markets, the unscrupulous rice
traders, wholesalers and retailers are active to extort
excess money from the commoners. According to sources
country’s six crore families consume some 60 thousand
metric tonnes of rice everyday. Importers, wholesalers
and retailers have started hoarding rice along the
bordering areas. All efforts made by the Government to
stabilise the rice market went in vain as it totally
failed to bring the situation under control. As a result
people are worried over serious food crisis. In the
capital, common people were seen thronging the BDR-run
markets for buying rice. People specially middle class
and low income groups in large number are now gathering
at BDR operated 40 markets for buying rice at different
places in the city. According to sources the retailers
are blaming the wholesalers and the wholesalers are
blaming the importers for the abnormal rise of rice
price. On the other hand some 16 big business houses,
the main importers of rice from India are blaming the
government and the government is saying it does not have
any control on rice price.
Country’s economist apprehends that if the caretaker
government fails to offset the latest spurt in rice
price, the objective of the government will be
frustrated. Talking to the Bangladesh Today on Tuesday
Muzaffar Ahmed said as the government has failed to take
proper action against the rice traders engaged in hike
of rice price through syndication, these unscrupulous
businessmen remain active. As result, sufferings of the
poor and low income group will be intensified further,
he said adding the Government will also have to ensure
proper distribution of rice. "Our businessmen don’t have
moral obligation. They only know how to extort money
from the people by increasing price of rice," the
Transparency International Bangladesh Chairman said. He
reiterated his call and said rationing system should be
introduced soon, otherwise the country might face a
famine like situation which may hamper the government
plan to go forward with its mission and vision.
"Following the World Bank prescription, we have
destroyed our system by ourselves. Had the rationing
system continued, we would not have to face such
disastrous situation," he added.
Electoral rolls rules soon
Taib Ahmed
At long last
the task of preparing electoral rolls with photographs is
going to get the legal cover as the much-awaited Electoral
Rolls Rules is likely to be promulgated through gazette
notification in a day or two.
"The Electoral Rolls Rules has been finalized and it will
be promulgated through the government gazette notification
in a day or two," Election Commissioner Muhammad Sohul
Hussain told newsmen at the Election Commission
secretariat after meeting the Law Adviser, AF Hassan Ariff,
at his Secretariat office on Tuesday. Two election
commissioners –Sohul Hussain and Brig (retd) M Sakhawat
Hossain –met Hassain Ariff breaking the protocol in view
of urgency of the matter relating to the Electoral Rolls
Rules. Sohul said, "today the tasks of preparing voter
lists has got the legal basis and with the promulgation of
the Electoral Rolls Rules now, we have no legal barrier to
publishing the draft voter list."
Although the Electoral Rolls Ordinance-2007 was
promulgated on August 9, 2007, the task of voter listing
with photographs, which for the first time started towards
the end of August, was carrying on without any rules and
regulations. The Electoral Rolls Rules normally says how
the voter list form would be, what kinds of information it
will contain and how the voter list will be corrected
through edition or deletion, but the EC has already
completed almost half the tasks of electoral rolls without
the Electoral Rolls Rules.
Talking to newsmen, Sakhawat said, "we met the Law Adviser
to know about the progress of Electoral Rolls Rules; it
has become essential to go ahead with the task of voter
list as the EC has decided to hold local government
elections in April and that’s why we need to publish the
voter list before that time." "We have also talked about
the progress of enacting a law relating to the National ID
card," he disclosed. In reply to a question, he said, "we
went there willingly considering the importance of the
task."
About leapfrogging the protocol, the commissioner said, "I
cannot sit idly in order to follow the protocol as we are
now passing through a significant period and we will have
to complete our tasks speedily."
Pahela
Falgun today
BSS, Dhaka
‘Let there be flowers or not, today is Basanta’, so
wrote a Bengali poet on the first day of Falgun or spring,
signifying its traditional arrival in the minds and hearts
of Bangladeshis.
Pahela Falgun begins today, bringing colour and
festivities in the minds of people, lighting up the hearts
of all, irrespective of age and life and living.
Young women, dressed in red-bordered yellow saris, flowers
in hairs, welcoming the day signals the colour of spring
with cuckoos singing songs of the season. It draws the
picture of the colourful season’s transition from dry,
dull and drab winter.
But cuckoos have not yet heralded the arrival of spring as
the lingering cool of winter with a late rally by a mild
coldwave, preceded by some rains, kept birds away so far.
Met office sources said it may remain cool on Tuesday
night and today as the mild coldwave sweeping Rajshahi
division would spread to the regions of Jessore, Kushtia,
Tangail and Mymensingh.
Under its effect, the capital would also wake up with a
cool morning, the sun shrouded by a veil of mists, the met
sources said. But the weather will remain dry. Otherwise
the cuckoos would have been in their mood a little early
in parks and on branches of thin lines of trees in the
city.
DF-QF market access to US
Govt to examine the benefit : Zillur
Staff Correspondent
The Commerce Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman on Monday
said the government, business bodies, trade unions and the
stock holders should do their best to get the Duty-Free
and Quota-Free access to the US market.
The government is examining whether the country will be
benefited from the Duty-Free Quota-Free (DF-QF) market
access for all export items to the United States, the
Adviser said. He was talking to reporters after
participating in a dialogue on " The New Market Access
Initiative of US Congress: Concerns and Interests of
Bangladesh" organized by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)
at the city’s CIRDAP auditorium yesterday.
He said, "Particularly a section is very much interested
in getting the DF-QF access to the US market, but a united
effort is needed for continuing negotiation with the US
Congress to get the opportunity."
Zillur Rahman said, " Bangladesh is trying to make
economic progress but LDC share report is not encouraging
for the country as world trade shares of LDC is decreasing
every year, besides discrimination between the Asian and
African countries is an alarming sign for us."
Asked about the terms and conditions for being eligible
for getting market access, the Adviser said, "the US bill
has set up some conditions including enforcement of law
concerning child labour and political pluralism. But we
must take the interests of our future exporters into the
consideration."
Stressing about the need for speaking in one voice, the
Adviser said, " It will not be wise if we think that it is
only the interests of the present exporters, but we also
have to consider the benefits of the future exporters."
Executive Director of CPD, Prof Mustafizur Rahman,
presented the keynote paper on " The New Market Access
Initiative of the US Congress : Concerns and Interests of
Bangladesh, and Possible Strategies", with Prof Rehman
Sobhan in the chair.
In his keynote paper, Mustafzur Rahman said Bangladesh
should convince Sub Sahara African (SSA) countries that
most of the concerns with regards to the context of the
Bill are shared by all the beneficiary countries and
therefore, they should attempt to have a mutually
acceptable stand on those. He said, "Bangladesh needs to
follow-up on her concerns and interests in the context of
the NPDA 2007 through continuing engagements with US
authorities. He said Bangladesh will be able to earn more
US $ 500-1000 million every year by exporting only RMG
products if it gets the DF-QF access to the US market.
Speaking on the occasion, Former Secretary Faruq Sobhan
said, " this is the last opportunity for Bangladesh to get
the DF-QF access to the US market and that’s why all the
economic sector along with the government will have to
take immediate steps to convince the congressmen through
Bangladesh Embassy in Washington."
He also urged the government and the RMG entrepreneurs to
come forward for ensuring labour rights immediately for
getting the opportunity.
Back Page
Present
minimum wage for RMG workers needs revision: Zillur
Staff Correspondent
Commerce Adviser Hossain
Zillur Rahman on Tuesday said the current minimum wage for
workers in RMG sector should be reviewed in present
context. It is not fair that the minimum wage for RMG
workers would remain same as it was 10 years ago, the
Adviser said while answering queries from newsmen after a
routine meeting with RMG owners on social compliance at
the Commerce Ministry yesterday. Asked whether he is in
favour of raising the minimum wage, Zillur Rahman said,
"We have to take the global competitiveness into account
on the one hand and rationalise the wages of the RMG
workers who are the section of the urban poor".
The representatives from BGMEA, BKMEA and government
officials, among others, were present at the meeting.
The Commerce Secretary-led committee on social compliance
in RMG factories was asked to submit a report within two
weeks as to why the social compliance is not followed in
garment factories, the Commerce Adviser told newsmen. He
mentioned 51 percent garment factories have complied on
January, 2008 while the percentage was 56 on December,
2008. Asked about the timeframe of the compliance, the
Adviser could not give the timeframe.
About frequent unrest in garment sector, the highest
foreign currency earner, he opined the unrest in garment
factories takes place because of behavioural problems of
the mid- level management in garment factories. The
Government has already taken steps to train up the
officials of the mid level management to improve the
situation of the garment factories, he informed. To stop
the unrest in the garment factories, the relationship
between the factory owners and workers have to be
improved, he suggested.
The Commerce Adviser also asked the authorities concerned
to keep updated information so that the government can
take steps to prevent unrest in the garment factories.
Following recent unrest in the garment sector, the
government has taken various steps to improve the
situation in the garment factories, sources said.
No govt control on baby food prices
Firoz Mamun
Helpless parents specially the poor, low income and the
middleclass who depend on monthly or daily earning are now
faced with severe financial hardships, struggling to
bridge the gap between their income and expenditure, are
failing to get milk to their kids due to skyrocketing
price of baby food.
"It is very bitter feeling to me when I fail to feed milk
to my five-year daughter. Instead of feeding milk, my baby
girl is being fed powered rice or suji. As a father with a
very little earning how I can give milk to my daughter? On
the other hand, price hike of essentials and increase in
water, electricity, gas rates and house rent are making a
burden quite unbearable for me. I want to give milk to my
daughter," Mohammad Anisur Rahman, an employee of a non-
government organisation told The Bangladesh Today on
Tuesday.
Worsening the situation, prices of most brands of baby
milk have increased by double in the last one year as
importers and whole sellers increased the price where the
retail sellers have nothing to do.
The prices of known baby milks are Cerelac of 400 gram
being sold at Tk 242, Babycare of 400 gram at Tk 345,
Nestle of 400 gram at Tk 430, three kinds of Lactogen of
400 gram at Tk 350, Tk 335 and Tk 330, Yashi of 400 gram
at Tk 350, Mami of 400 gram at Tk 360, Febimilk of 400
gram at Tk 370, Primavita of 400 gram at Tk 370 and Nido
of one kg, 700 gram and 350 gram at Tk 750, Tk 440 and Tk
228 respectively.
Apart from the baby milk, the prices of other condensed
milk are also up as Dano of 400 gram is being sold at Tk
200, Diploma of 500 gram at Tk 248, Fresh of 500 gram at
Tk 234, Marks of 500 gram at Tk 235, Danish of 500 gram at
Tk 235 and Red Cow of 400 gram at Tk 205.
Talking to this correspondent, shop owners in the city's
grocery market, cautioned that baby food might experience
a further price rise in future as the government does not
have any control over the market. As all baby milks are
imported from Australia, Denmark, Korea, India and other
countries and the government imposes a significant amount
of tax and duty on these items, the prices go up, they
said adding, " If government does not impose tax on baby
foods and takes action against the syndicate , the price
will fall."
Conflicting contractors hamper civil aviation activities
for long
Sheikh Didarul Islam
Conflict between two groups of contractors over dominance
at the civil aviation office and the Zia International
Airport continues for long by creating an uneasy situation
through hampering official activities there.
The two conflicting groups at the ZIA have been serving
their ill motives causing serious financial loss to the
government by holding the civil aviation administration
hostage, sources said.
The groups at the country's main airport are not only
working against each other but also obstructing the
activities of the Civil Aviation Authorities, Bangladesh (CAAB)
in order to achieve respective dominance over the
administration to ensure their own monopolies.
Friction between the two groups will result in unpleasant
situation at the civil aviation administration and the
airport any moment if no preventive measures are taken
immediately in this regard, sources said.
The present abnormal circumstances are the result of
adopting unfair means by the bidders to ensure dominant
position in the civil aviation administration to get their
all tenders accepted irrespective of lowest and highest
bids.
Over the last several years, the corrupt contractors were
engaged in tender-centered bad practices such as
negotiation and extortion by taking the civil aviation
administration hostage. Of the two conflicting groups, the
contractors of the stronger group are getting their bids
accepted surreptitiously in connivance with a section of
dishonest civil aviation officials and employees, it is
alleged. They are earning huge amount of money every year
in the name of contract work. The relevant civil aviation
engineers and other officials even the high authorities
have been held hostage by the unscrupulous contractors for
long, sources said. They allegedly threaten the
authorities if their tenders are rejected and get the bids
accepted in the long run.
First batch sent
Bangladeshis find jobs in eastern Europe
AFP, Dhaka
Bangladesh's authorities said Tuesday they had sent a
first batch of workers to Rumania to fill acute labour
shortages created by an exodus of workers to lucrative
jobs in eastern Europe.
"Some 100 workers have already flown to Rumania," said
Salim Reza, a director of the government's Bureau of
Manpower Employment and Training.
"This is the first time our people have gone to an
eastern European nation to do jobs in factories," he
said.
Hundreds of construction workers were going to be sent
to Poland too, where there were also thought to be
labour shortages, he said, adding the wheels were in
motion to send workers to Canada and other developed
nations as well.
Recruiting agency Al Abbas International, which found
the jobs for the workers in Rumania, said thousands more
would go to Rumania to work in the construction sector
in the next few months.
The shortage has been created by the number of Rumanians
and Poles seeking work in other European countries such
as Britain, Spain and Italy.
Pakistan mobilises
troops for election
AFP, Islamabad
Tens of thousands of Pakistani troops deployed across
the nuclear-armed nation Tuesday to provide security for
next week's elections after a series of attacks, the
interior ministry said.
Soldiers stood guard at government buildings and
potentially sensitive areas of several major Pakistani
cities, witnesses said, in a show of force before the
crucial parliamentary polls on Monday.
"Army has started mobilising and moving to their
respective areas of deployment today and would complete
its deployment by February 15," interior ministry
spokesman Javed Cheema told reporters. Paramilitary
troops from the Rangers and Frontier Corps, which are
run by the interior ministry, were also being deployed
to protect the elections, the first in Pakistan for
nearly six years.
"All these arrangements have been made to ensure that
people cast their vote without any fear in an
environment of peace and order. Nobody would be allowed
to disrupt the polling process or create any law and
order situation," he said.
Crime Watch
Top terrors of Barisal still at large
A Correspondent, Barisal
At least seventeen top terrors and godfathers wanted for
more than fifty cases and convicted in many others
remained at large since one-eleven. Most of them took
shelter in India or in other parts of the country.
Barisal Metropolitan Police and Kotwali model police
station sources said Abul Hasnat Abdull wanted for three
cases under arms and anti corruption acts fled to India.
Mizanur Rahman Wahid, godfather of terrorist and younger
brother of Mayor Sarwar, sentenced for 2 years rigorous
imprisonment in a two core taka T and T bill defalcation
case also went hiding.
Ataharul Islam Chaudhury Babul, central Jubodal leader and
leader of tender scam gang, convicted for 2 years RI with
15 lakh taka fine in case of fraud and forgery, fled from
the court compound on the day of judgment.
Panama Faruk, Jubo League leader and leader of top
terrorist gang, Chhakku, his younger brother, Qutub Rana,
Nazir Alal and Babul, top terrorist BCL leaders sentenced
for 7 years RI with fine in a case and took shelter in
India.
Panama Faruk and Chhakku also wanted in other six cases.
BCL leaders Harun and Matiur Rahman Tarzan absconding
wanted in six criminal cases.
Jasimuddin, top terror city BCL president and former VP of
B M College students union wanted in 7 criminal
cases.Chunnu, terrorist BCL leader wanted for 4 cases and
Mama Khokon, terrorist gang and BCL leader wanted for two
cases.
Notorious terrorist BCL leader Qutub Rana wanted in three
cases while his younger brother Manna wanted in another
case.
Mainuddin Parvez, notorious terrorist BCL leader wanted
for two cases. Police sources confirmed that Jasim, Chunnu,
Mama Khokon, Panama Faruk, Qutub Rana and Manna took
shelter in West Bengal of India.
Harun, Matiur, Chhakku, Wahid hiding in different parts of
the country.
BMP and Kotwali police station sources further said that
numbers of wanted absconding criminals are 1,117 and out
of them 231 were sentenced for 6 months to 64 years
imprisonment.
These warrants remained unexecuted after repeated raids
and publication of notices in newspapers. Work force
crisis in detective branches of BMP also creating obstacle
on way of arresting fugitives. Police headquarter recently
wanted lists of absconding top terrors including the
wanted criminals sheltered in India to intensify operation
against absconding criminals, said Hayatul Islam,
assistant commissioner of BMP.
RAB unearths fake fan factory
Staff Correspondent
A fake fan factory was unearthed at Shympur in the capital
and two persons were arrested by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)
in this connection on Tuesday afternoon.
The arrestees were identified as Sujit Biswas and Jahangir
Hossain, managers of the factory. Besides Mainuddin, owner
of the factory, flee from the spot sensing the presence of
law enforcers.
Acting on a tip-off, a patrol team of RAB-10 led by
lieutenant Mostafa Humayon Kabir went to Dhania Road area
at a about 5 pm and unearthed a fake fan factory. After
raiding the factory, RAB personnel recovered a huge number
of fake fans worth about Tk one crore. They also arrested
two managers of the factory in this connection.
A case was lodged with Shympur police station.
News from Comilla
A Correspondent,Comilla
Two women held,
drug seized
Two women were arrested for their involvement in several
criminal offences including drug peddling on Monday night.
Police sources said, acting on a tip-off, a team raided
Rupnagar Residential area in Chandina upazila and seized
36 bottles of Indian phensidyl and 10 bottles of Whisky.
and arrested two women ,Dly Begum,32 wife of Md Shahajan
and Farida Begum,50 wife of Bazlul Rahman of Rupnagar area
of the upazila. in this connection. A case was lodged with
Chandina thana.
Two men found dead
Bodies of two people were found from Nangolkot and Chidina
upazil on Tuesday morning.
Nangolkot police found the slaughtered body of an
unidentified man aged around 40 from Banghor village area
near Railway bridge in Nangolkot upazila at 6.00am.
The victim was clad in black pant and white shirt. Being
informed by local people who smelt a bad smell,police
rushed to the spot and found the body.Police suspectd that
some unidentified criminals hid the body after
slaughtering.
Meanwhile Chandina police recovered the body of Md.
Farooque,26 of Narayangong from filed in Hossainpur
village of the upazila at about 5.30 am.
Police said the vicitims hands and legs were strongly tied
with rope and he was strangled to death.Two UD case was
filed with the police.
Valuables looted
Wearing masks armed robbers looted 30 tolas of gold
ornaments and valuables worth Tk 10 lakh from the house of
a businessman at Mohona Racideincial Area under Debidwer
upazila on Monday night.
Police said that nearly a dozen of dacoits who looted
cash,gold ornaments US dollars and a mobiles set after
tying up the house owner Zahirul Islam and his family
members at gun point ,could not be tracked down yet. A
case was filed with the Debidwer police station.
1 nabbed with heroin
A Correspondent, Chapainawabganj
One drug addicted, Abdul Bari (24), son of Saidur Rahman
was arrested with 6 kg heroin at Sadhur Ghat under
Chapainawabganj municipality here on Monday night.
A mobile teem of Narcotics Department caught him and
recovered the drug.
Meeting on law, order in Rajbari
BSS, Rajbari
A meeting of district law and order was held in the
conference room of the Deputy commissioner office here
today.
Deputy Commissioner of Rajbari Md. Mahfuzur Rahman chaired
the meeting in presence of Additional Deputy Magistrate
Mohammad Nurul Alam, Deputy Director (DD) of Social
Welfare Ferdousara Begum, District Women Affairs Officer
Begum Rawsan Afraz Zahan, ASP (Circle) Md. Mahfuzur Rahman,
four upazila Nirbahi Officer's, four upazila's officer
in-charge of police and journalists, among others. The
meeting reviewed the over all law and order situation in
the district.
Editorial
Efficient Administration
Eminent
speakers at a function in Savar on 09 February 2008 spoke
about the need for establishing an efficient administration
peopled with qualified and efficient individuals. The
Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) is the chief arm of the
government for implementing its policies, strategies &
decisions. In theory, the idea of the civil service was & is
to provide a body of educated, trained, dedicated &
professional administrators.
Starting with the decade of 1980s, Bangladesh embarked on its
road to industrialization. Rapidly new urban, sub-urban areas
emerged centered around major industries, the populations
increased substantially and new districts & upazillas were
created. Keeping pace with all this, the administrative
network of the government & the BCS expanded too. Today, the
BCS is composed of 28 separate services with 20 different
grades of personnel. Also, today, membership in the BCS is one
of the most desirable careers in the Country, providing such
perquisites as housing or house rents, transportation, medical
care & pensions - all from the State exchequer, besides the
coveted intangibles of Power, Influence & Prestige.
The BCS has moved far away from "theory" & has evolved into a
moribund behemoth - unmoved & unmoving. Habituated for long to
operate within the paradigm of "Govern, Control & Administer",
it is scarcely civil, nor does it provide any services. Much
has been written about reforms in & reorganization of the BCS
by experts in Public Administration, government committees &
"donors". We do not intend to add to this plethora of
suggestions & recommendations. We know full well that little
if anything can be achieved by writing columns in Newspapers
except to increase public awareness and add to the clamor to
make changes & make them now - with this in view we would like
to draw the attention of the readers to the problems with the
BCS and with our public administration.
Some of the more acute problems with the BCS, which affect
their efficient functioning and has a "snowballing" effect on
the entire Nation are : (a) The backlog of prejudices and
"bureaucratic elitism", which the BCS has inherited from the
British & the Pakistani models, has prevented our Civil
Service from moving away from the paradigm of "Govern, Control
& Administer" to one of "Service, Cooperate & Build", which
our Nations expects & needs, (b) The long subservience of the
public to government officials has made the administrators of
Civil Service into brokers of power, influence & privileges
between the politicians on the one side & the citizenry on the
other thus creating a vicious network of "rent-seeking
clientele" among social, political & economic groups. This and
this alone has permitted the rapacious looting of both public
& private wealth - examples of which we are daily confronted
with since the Emergency was declared. The BCS must
immediately be removed, by whatever means is necessary, from
this "brokerage & rent-seeking" role, (c) Human resource
planning & development is virtually absent in the BCS.
Training & placement is neither linked to an individual's
career nor yet to dimensions of personnel management or to
public administration. The system & process of performance
appraisal is highly subjective, thus overwhelmingly favouring
the incompetent. The system & process of promotions is not
based on any rational objective principles, thus permitting
"politicization" of the entire structure - all of these must
be put right if "Civility & Service" is to be expected from
the BCS. (d) Inherited traditions is at the root of public
administration's obsession with Process rather than Outcomes.
The cadres of BCS spend all their time in "pushing papers from
one table to another" while the public awaits with anxious
anticipation of outcomes, at the doors year in & year out.
This emphasis on Process must be removed and focus placed on
Outcomes if dedicated public service is to be obtained from
the BCS.
The Bangladesh Civil Service has more than 250 years of
traditions to lean on, but the people of this Nation are
unable & therefore, cannot and will not bear the burden of
this tradition. The BCS is at the core of the many ills this
nation faces today & must be reorganized in its structures,
processes, functions and corporate behavior patterns if it has
to survive & flourish as a Core Institution of the State and
provide the people of Bangladesh with the services it needs &
demands.
Analysis
Global Warming Objections
There are other greenhouse gases, such as
methane from 'cow burps' and other sources, but the amount of
these gases that are currently in the atmosphere pale in
significance to the amount of carbon dioxide.
Chuck Hall
Big
Oil has launched a propaganda war against the science of
climate change. In all this propaganda, they've attempted to
find alternate explanations for global warming. Last week I
addressed the myth that sunspots cause climate change. This
week we'll be looking at the myth that water vapor is
responsible.
No proponent of the water vapor theory has yet been able to
explain why no sudden increase in water vapor has been
observed, nor why the amount water vapor in the air doesn't
correlate with average global temperature. The water vapor
myth has also not been able to explain what supposedly started
this increase in water vapor in the first place. Nor has this
myth been able to explain the correlation between increased
carbon dioxide and increased global temperatures. The water
vapor theory says nothing at all about carbon dioxide.
So is it true that water vapor is a greenhouse gas? If it is,
what does this have to do with global climate change? While
water vapor could contribute to the greenhouse effect, it
simply does not persist in the atmosphere long enough to do
that much damage. Water vapor remains in the atmosphere for
just a few days, while carbon dioxide lingers for hundreds of
years. Not only that, but the accumulation of carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere creates a synergistic effect. That is, the
more it accumulates the more damage it does.
In addition to the fact that water vapor only stays in the
atmosphere for a few days (remember rain?), in order for water
vapor to be a significant factor in climate change, scientists
would first have to demonstrate that humans had caused a
significant increase in the amount of water vapor in the
atmosphere. There is no evidence that this is true. If water
vapor were indeed responsible for global warming, there would
be an observable slow buildup of water vapor in the
atmosphere. No such buildup is occurring with water vapor, but
it is occurring with carbon dioxide. This buildup of carbon
dioxide is an observed, measurable fact. Not so with water
vapor.
If you've had a basic secondary school science education, you
know that water vapor is highly dependent on temperature. Any
excess water vapor in the atmosphere is rapidly lost in the
form of rain, snow, fog, or other precipitation. There is no
buildup of water vapor over time. On the other hand, carbon
dioxide continues to accumulate in the atmosphere. Even if all
carbon dioxide emissions stopped all over the world today, it
would still take hundreds of years for the atmosphere to
return to pre-industrial levels of carbon dioxide.
To think of it in another way, there is no limit on the amount
of rain that can fall, but there is a limit to the amount of
carbon dioxide the Earth's plants, animals and oceans can
absorb. The surplus carbon dioxide that doesn't get absorbed
goes into the atmosphere to accumulate.
There are other greenhouse gases, such as methane from 'cow
burps' and other sources, but the amount of these gases that
are currently in the atmosphere pale in significance to the
amount of carbon dioxide. When analyzing for relative effects
of all the current greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,
scientists have determined that carbon dioxide caused by human
activities is responsible for over two-thirds of observed
climate change.
So the short answer is that water vapor could be considered a
greenhouse gas, but when compared to carbon dioxide, water
vapor's capacity for warming is the equivalent of a lit match
to carbon dioxide's atomic bomb.
(Chuck Hall is an international columnist & writer on
environmental issues. You may contact Chuck by email at:
chuck@cultureartist.org.)
Concern
over Aircrafts' Carbon Footprint
Aviation currently puts in about 3 percent of global carbon
emissions, but air travel is mounting at some 5 percent a
year, meaning numbers of air passenger kilometers will triple
by 2030.
Mohammad Shahidul Islam
Recently,
the tourism industry has drawn the attention of world
environment leaders regarding tourism and climate change. This
has been echoed in aviation, a part of the tourism industry.
Aviation experts around the world believe there is just one
way to reduce aircraft's carbon footprint: stop flying. It has
been logical that, people cannot live without luxurious
aviation and at the same time the industry is booming,
swelling greenhouse gases just as the climate-change urgency
starts to crunch. Time is due, it has to be balanced right
back.
Climate experts, aircraft engineers and scientists around the
world are straight away judging that technology, taxation, and
rationing -- or a combination of all three -- is obligatory to
discontinue aircraft from overbalancing the climate-change
equation. The statistics look threatening. Aviation currently
puts in about 3 percent of global carbon emissions, but air
travel is mounting at some 5 percent a year, meaning numbers
of air passenger kilometers will triple by 2030. Boeing
guesstimates that aircraft numbers will double to more than
30,000 in little more than a decade. Added to this is the
complication that aircraft does not just give off carbon
dioxide but nitrous oxide, considered to have at least doubled
the impact of CO2, and condensation trails, which also may
contribute to global warming. Aircraft manufacturers are all
the time improving design of bodywork and engines, deriving
greater fuel efficiency that reduces carbon emissions.
A British study group has recently started to look at a range
of technological and other factors -- including aircraft
design, sustainable fuels, and open rotor-propelled aircraft
-- that reduce fuel burn, to assess how they could alleviate
aircraft pollution. Boeing last month unveiled the 787
Dreamliner, which it says will use 20 percent less fuel than
similar-sized aircraft. The UN International Panel on Climate
Change also states that constant improvements have made planes
70 percent more efficient than they were 40 years ago. Another
40-50 percent improvement can be expected over the next 30
years. The problem, climate experts think, is that current
projections indicate that air travel is set to grow 400
percent in the same time period.
Scientists are unconvinced, though, of the potential for
running jets on biofuels. Then there is the area of land
required to produce fuel in sufficient volume. Already,
environmentalists are concerned at the way rainforest is being
destroyed to make way for palm oil, a biofuel crop. Given
inadequate prospects for a technological solution, a growing
body of opinion is arguing for efforts to manage demand for
air travel. What matters is the next 10 to 15 years, and
technology can do very little in that time frame. The
principal issue becomes how to reduce the rate of growth of
air travel.
Experts have pointed to several options. Europe is graphing to
include aviation in its emissions-trading plan starting in
2011. The hope is to place an instance to the rest of the
world, chiefly China and India, where aviation growth is
rolling on, that concerted efforts can make a difference.
Airlines will get a limited number of CO2 permits that can be
traded; top polluters will have to buy additional permits,
hurting their bottom line. The idea is to give airlines
motivation to operate cleaner aircraft; higher ticket prices
may take place as well, reining in demand. But experts have
noted that caps will be set fairly high, weakening the
imperative; ticket prices are anticipated to rise by only a
couple of euros, if that. Consumer behavior may thus be little
affected.
It can be said that without a radical price change, it will be
impossible to change the mind-set of a generation that thinks
little of hopping $20 flights for weekend pursuits. Some have
lobbied for cigarette-style health warnings on ads for air
travel and long-distance holidays, but it has been argued that
the only way to transform behavior is to hit the wallet.
But it is not just about leisure travel. Business travel makes
up, by some estimates, about 40-50 percent of all air travel.
One element of the British Omega project is a study that looks
at how business can reduce its aviation carbon footprint. It
involves persuading businesses to gauge the carbon they
consume, choose flights that are not just the lowest cost but
are least environmentally damaging, all should use rail where
possible, and make greater use of videoconferencing and web
cast solutions.
All should aim at coming up with a range of practical tools
that will help companies start managing their carbon
consumption. One company in UK, Price Waterhouse Coopers has
introduced recently an internal 'carbon budget' whereby its
1,000 top travelers must reduce their CO2 footprint by 20
percent.
To be sure, some aviation specialists believe that personal
carbon budgets -- rationing -- may be the only way out. It is
too late for voluntary mechanisms in the aviation industry.
Carbon allowances are the only fair way to deal with this.
Technology, taxation, and rationing are all being justified as
feasible solutions.
(Mohammad Shahidul Islam is a Freelance Travel Writer. Email:
mohd-s-islam@myway.com)
To
change the course of events in Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, the situation is getting more and more complex
and no one seems to have any answers. NATO countries are
getting restless because of the dangers their troops are
facing in the country.
Musa Keilani
The US military is
worried over Afghanistan, where the Taliban are staging a sort
of comeback and US allies are, at best, reluctant to increase
their troop strength to fight off the challenge.
Washington has been getting increasingly isolated over the
conflict and that is behind the rift in the North Atlantic
Treaty Organisation, but the issue goes beyond Afghanistan.
The international community is no longer ready to be led by
the nose by the US whose self-serving policies have been
disguised as matters of international security and stability.
The international community has lost the sympathy that it felt
for the US in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks. It
has seen the way the US went ahead with its faulty approaches
both to Afghanistan and Iraq.
In Afghanistan, the situation is getting more and more complex
and no one seems to have any answers. NATO countries are
getting restless because of the dangers their troops are
facing in the country.
The Taliban are avoiding direct confrontations with the NATO
soldiers and are following a strategy based on suicide and
roadside bombings designed to inflict casualties. That tactic
is aimed at sapping the will of European governments to keep
troops in the country in the face of popular disquiet over the
mission. And the strategy is working.
The US and its close ally, Britain, are the only countries
which insist that the war in Afghanistan is still winnable
despite clear signs that a majority of Afghans see the foreign
military presence in the country as the problem and not as the
solution.
At the same time, the world realises that an end to the
international military presence in Afghanistan would not solve
the problem. Afghan tribal warlords are itching to regain the
control and influence they once enjoyed in the country, which
would be split into fiefdoms in the absence of a central force
to hold it together. The security forces of the government of
President Hamid Karzai are in no position to assert control in
the country without foreign military support. The political
system that the US-led coalition installed in Kabul will
unravel itself it is not propped up by the coalition.
Worse still is the certainty that the Taliban and other
extremist elements would regain the strength and influence
they lost and return the country to a haven for extremism and
militancy. That would be the biggest blow to the US-led war on
terror that was launched after the September 11 attacks.
One of the key elements in the Afghan crisis is that the US
failed to consider the Taliban as part and parcel of
Afghanistan and that the group should have a role in the
future of the country even after its ouster from power.
Indeed, no one wants the return of the Taliban in power in
Afghanistan, but to treat them as foreigners in their own
country was one of the US follies.
Beyond that, however, is the one-track military mind that the
US continues to follow in Afghanistan. It failed to address
the day-to-day problems of the people of Afghanistan. The tens
of billions of dollars that the international community spent
in Afghanistan have made little change to daily life in
Afghanistan.
The loud pledges that the Afghans heard from the international
community in terms of an end to their decades-old suffering
and rebuilding the country failed to materialise. They have
little faith in whatever the US and its allies are doing in
their country. That is the key reason for the reemergence of
the Taliban in southern parts of Afghanistan. They are slowly
but steadily - despite heavy losses in their ranks - widening
their spheres of influence in the country. They are exploiting
the rising frustration of the ordinary people. More and more
Afghans are turning more sympathetic to the Taliban, whose
recruiters are finding their task made easier.
The crisis is exacerbated by foreign elements which have a
vested interest in making things increasingly difficult for
the US and its allies to drive them out of the country. And
surely the countries with military presence in Afghanistan
have their own considerations. They have realised that the war
is not winnable and hence their refusal to commit more
frontline forces.
The US and Britain are steadfastly refusing to acknowledge
that there is a crisis in Afghanistan despite the reality on
the ground that has made a military success all but
impossible. Even last week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice insisted that there is no crisis in Afghanistan and that
makes it all the more difficult for US allies to persuade
Washington to have a realistic review of the actual situation.
Karzai finds himself in perhaps what is the toughest period of
his life. While being perfectly aware that the life of his
people is not much better than what it was before the 2001
invasion of his country, Karzai has no option but to declare
that the economy and education systems have improved under his
reign and there are more democratic freedoms under a new
constitution.
Of course, Karzai is also defending himself against the
assessment of international experts who say that Afghanistan
is in danger of becoming a failed state. However, all is not
lost in Afghanistan. What the US and its allies need is a
switch in their military track and the adoption of a new
direction that takes into consideration the suffering of the
people of Afghanistan that drives them into the camp of
extremists and foreign interests. A totally new strategy has
to be found to ensure that the people of Afghanistan feel real
change in their daily life. Without that, there is no way the
US and its allies could hope to win the war in Afghanistan.
Source:www.jordantimes.com.
Viewpoints
Women in the Police
Service
With a considerable number of women, the Bangladesh Police
have been approaching towards gender equity.
Razzak Raza
Women
have a history of deprivation. They were always a blameworthy
class. Not only mythologically, but also historically and
practically women are a suppressed entity. However, where
there are suppressions, there crystallizes revolutions. Women
are not given their freedom freely. They had to fight for
voting right, right for equal employment and profession.
Policing, as a profession or employment, is always viewed as a
masculine occupation. The think-tanks of every nation used to
think that fighting against crime, gathering intelligence,
arresting law breakers or guarding properties against
miscreants were jobs impossible to perform by women. So,
nobody thought of a woman working in the police service.
History says that men dominated uniformed and regimented
occupations always dreamt of a Florence Nightingale only to
heel the wounded comrades, but no women were thought to be a
co-fighter. The history of civilization has seen Queen
Victoria in the West and Sultana Razia in the East, but the
existence of a woman police was not even in one's imagination.
Not only the common man of prejudice but also the police
bosses found unnecessary to include women officers in their
police departments. A retired police chief of a British county
police in 1924 commented that: "I have very carefully
considered the question of the employment of police women in
the County of Glamorgan from every possible standpoint
affecting the administration of a large County Police Force,
and I unhesitatingly declare that I am unable to subscribe to
the opinion expressed that their employment would be any
advantage to the County."(1)
Sometimes the attempt of recruiting women in the police
service was resisted by the male police officers who used to
comment, "Put a woman in a station house under salary and
she'll be trying to run the precinct inside of three months."
Some news papers were also against female police officers.
They rebuked the police departments attempting to recruit
woman police and warned that the woman police will be absent
from duties whenever a mouse will be seen on the beat.
Women were first employed on police duties during the First
World War. These women working in the police were called
police matrons, and they did not work out side like a regular
police constable. Women organizations in Britain such as
"National Council of Women of Great Britain", "London Council
for the Promotion of Public Morality" put pressure to the
police authorities to recruit women in the police departments.
But the pressure of these women organizations was not
sufficient. The Metropolitan Police of London wanted to
recruit women of submissive character. They were very much
worried that women in the police would get involved in sexual
scandals.
But the necessity of the Second World War forced the world to
change the attitudes towards women. Serving police officers
were being sent to the battle fields. The able males departed
for the military, millions of persons, obviously the males,
lost their lives making the world a female dominion. So, women
had to fill the gaps of men in every sector, and, so in the
world of policing. It is, in fact, the war which established
women in the police force. Police women were not promoted to
the supervisory posts in the New York Police Department up to
1964. They were confined to work only in the women police
department and were not assigned to go on patrol duties. Women
could only be promoted within their own bureaus because they
were told by their police superiors that they had not had the
full police experience of being on general street patrol. It
was, of course the same male police administration that had
refused over the years to assign women to general patrol and
thus had blocked police women's access to the required
experience (2).
In 1973 the terms 'Police Men' and 'Police Women' were dropped
adopting the common term 'Police Officers'. Now police
officers include the officers of both sexes and no
discrimination, on principle and by law, is acceptable with
respect to posting, promotion and day-to-day duties.
Gender inequality shows the worst manifestation in the police
service. Women were treated differently and cynically for many
years in the police service. The prejudice about women police
is still prevailing universally in the police departments. At
an international conference on women and policing held in
Amsterdam and sponsored by the European Network of Policewomen
a workshop was convened on the role of femininity on police
work. Women police from over twenty countries around the world
shared information on the discriminatory treatment that they
suffered at the hands of their male colleagues. Women receive,
at best, a cool reception from male officers and, at worst, a
hostile reception (3).
Women officers always encounter resistance not only out side
but also within the police department. A study in Atlanta
Police (USA) concluded flatly that male officers did not
accept women as police officers. The biggest challenge that
women police officers face is the resistance displayed by male
officers in their attitudes toward women in policing. Women
police were harassed and resisted by the male officers because
they feared that women would violate departmental (actually
their own) secrets about police corruption and violence (4).
Women in the western countries are always ahead of time
comparing to the women of eastern countries like Bangladesh.
The first police matrons appeared in the nineteenth century
and in 1905, the first documented appointment of woman with
police powers took place. In 1910 the Los Angeles Police
Department in the USA appointed the first women with full
police power. Since then, the women community has gone a long
way towards equality with their male counterparts. In 1972,
the USA amended Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
prohibiting state and local government from discriminating on
the basis of race, ethnicity, or gender. Police department,
like other employment agencies, had to comply with this law
abandoning their reservation about women police. In 1970, only
02% of all police officers in the USA were women, but by 1991,
9% members of the police were women. Now the USA has 9.5%
percent of all police personnel women. But the percentage is
not satisfactory to the women leaders. They are making
relentless effort to make it 50%.
A woman in uniform performing the police duty, though common
today, was a dismay for most of the people. The history of
Bangladesh Police has long roots in the British colonial
India. The Pakistan Army recruited women in their Medial
Corps, but they (women) were viewed still then unfit for
policing. The British found no logic to recruit women for
Indian police; the Pakistani regime viewed it as a deviation
from the 'Shariah law', and, even independent Bangladesh felt
little for the women. It was only in 1974 that twelve women
police were recruited in the Special Branch of Bangladesh
Police. Four years later the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP)
recruited women in 1978. However, no women were recruited in
the supervising posts in those days. The first women in the
post of the ASP were recruited in 1986 (6th BCS).Ms. Fatima
Begum was the pioneer woman joining at supervisory post in the
history of Bangladesh Police. This path finder woman has made
her way up to the rank of DIG. In 1988 four women joined the
Bangladesh Police through the 7th BCS examination.
However, the subsequent few years, though saw women police in
the subordinate ranks, women were barred from joining
supervisory posts. The experiment of the Ershad Regime stopped
the women becoming police supervisors. His Minister of Home
Affairs, Major General (Retd) Mahmudul Hasan stole the brain
of the conservative English think-tanks of nineteenth century.
He found women incapable of doing police jobs. In his
presentation titled, " Law and Order Evaluation and Reform ,
Reconstruction and Modernization of the Police Force" on 10
December and 24 December,1989 to President Ershad, Mahmudul
Hasan severely criticized the idea of recruiting women in the
senior posts and suggested that only Bangladeshi Male Citizens
would apply for the post of an ASP (5).
President Ershad approved the presentation keeping the commas
and semicolons untouched depriving women from joining police
supervisory posts. Though the Ershadian era came to an end
soon after the presentation, the unholy ghost existed in the
mindset of the bureaucracy for few years. From 8th to 17th BCS
no female officers were recruited. In 1999 (18th BCS) another
eight women joined the police service as ASP making the
headway. Since then women are joining the Bangladesh Police
through every general BCS exams. Today there are more than 90
women holding supervisory posts in Bangladesh Police. Ten
percent quota reserved for the female candidates is also
contributing much to augment the number of women in Bangladesh
Police.
Today, although women consist of only one percent of the total
police force of Bangladesh, the number of women is on the
rise. There is a proposal to raise a battalion populated only
with women officers for the Dhaka Metropolitan area. Women are
doing all sorts of police work in the country. In Bangladesh
police, women are not meant to do auxiliary duties only. On
the contrary, they are posted to the traffic duties, detective
duties and pacifying and dispersing unlawful assemblies. Women
in Bangladesh Police secured the position of the parade
commander in the Passing-out Parade of the Bangladesh police
Academy (in 2007) and deputy parade commander in the
ceremonial Police Week parade (in 2008).
Women in Bangladesh Police put their marks of success not only
in the country, but also in the UN Peace Keeping Missions.
They are working in the civil police (UNPOL) as well as Formed
Police Unit (FPU). Women are working smoothly as deputy
battalion commander, liaison officer, monitor and staff
officer in the United Nations Peace Keeping Missions in East
Timor, Sudan, Congo, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Kosovo.
Policing is a regimented public agency rendering community
services. It demands human characters with firm mental
determination. As like women of the modern countries, women of
Bangladesh have proved their worth as uniformed service
providers. The international trend of modern policing has just
made its way to Bangladesh. With a considerable number of
women, the Bangladesh Police have been approaching towards
gender equity.
(The author is a freelance columnist specializing in
law-enforcement issues)
Combating bird flu in Asia
As long as poultry remains an
intrinsic part of Asian households, bird flu will be a threat.
It is important to study the lessons learnt and adopt the best
practices.
Jai P.
Narain
As
long as poultry remains an intrinsic part of Asian households,
bird flu will be a threat. It is important to study the lessons
learnt and adopt the best practices.
The current situation of avian influenza or bird flu is quite
unprecedented and alarming. It raises particular concern
regarding the potential threat of an influenza pandemic which
many medical historians believe is imminent. The devastating
effects of the 1919 pandemic and the 40 million lives it claimed
are stark reminders of what could be looming on our doorsteps.
The last century saw three pandemics, the last one occurring in
1968.
Looking back, we find that an outbreak caused by the highly
pathogenic H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus was reported
in Scotland in the 1950s; human cases occurred for the first
time in Hong Kong in 1996.
The current outbreak which began in China in late 2003 is
unparalleled in terms of the number of countries affected. More
than 65 countries across Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle
East have reported infection in poultry or wild birds. The
spread across continents can be partly attributed to migratory
birds, but recent events have pointed to the movement of live
bird and poultry products. Human cases have been reported from
14 countries, seven of which are in Asia.
The situation remains highly dynamic with recent outbreaks in
poultry in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar,
Thailand, and Vietnam. The concern is not focussed on bird flu
per se, but on the potential risk of it igniting an influenza
pandemic. This H5N1 virus has the tendency and the capacity to
change through re-assortment through mixing with other
circulating seasonal influenza virus strains.
In fact, influenza can be categorised into three broad types
from the public health risk perspective: seasonal influenza or
common flu; avian influenza, in particular H5N1 among birds or
poultry; and finally, pandemic influenza. We have no idea if,
and when, the pandemic will occur and whether it will be caused
by the currently circulating H5N1 virus or another virus.
Bird flu now appears to be firmly entrenched in much of Asia.
Moreover, there is a close interface between animals and humans
as well as humans who share a common dwelling with animals
including poultry, putting them at risk.
Bird flu primarily lurks in the animal sector in most countries,
especially among backyard poultry. Transmission from poultry to
humans is uncommon but it has occurred among adults and children
exposed to sick or dying chicken. Relatively few deaths of human
infection have occurred to date but mortality at 61 per cent
worldwide is very high.
There are a few examples of human cases occurring in clusters.
In 2004, Thailand reported a case when a mother fell ill after
providing care to her sick daughter in hospital; she had
otherwise no exposure to sick or dying chicken. Then, in 2006,
several members of one family developed avian influenza in Karo,
Indonesia after being exposed to a sick family member at home.
There have been a few clusters reported in Vietnam too.
Although transmission of avian influenza from human to human is
rare, preparedness is pivotal in view of the dynamic nature of
the situation. At least two of the three pandemics that occurred
in the last century originated from Asia and this is a sobering
thought. Will the next pandemic virus also emerge from Asia? It
is anybody's guess.
Control measures and precautions
A prerequisite for preventing the pandemic is containing the
virus at the source itself - in this case, in the animal sector.
The most important control measures include practising
bio-security, culling of poultry combined with quick and
adequate compensation to farmers, and vaccination of poultry as
an adjunct measure.
The control measures in the human sector include prevention of
exposure to infected poultry and reducing case fatality rates.
The precautions that people must take in an outbreak area are
fairly straightforward: knowing how to steer clear of getting
infected by avoiding exposure to and contact with sick and dying
chicken, and not de-feathering poultry at home. In the event
that one develops an influenza-like illness, prompt consultation
at a health facility is recommended with suitable anti-virals
taken within 48 hours. Consuming chicken is safe as long as it
is cooked thoroughly at a high temperature since the virus
cannot survive at boiling temperature.
The avian influenza outbreaks have brought to light several
dimensions. The cultural and economic spin-offs from a
traditional way of life, especially in Asia, have been brought
under the spotlight.
The political commitment to inter-sectoral collaboration,
particularly between the agriculture and health sectors, has led
to rapid and successful containment of the outbreaks in many
countries including India. The high case fatality rates
documented in the outbreaks, especially in Indonesia (nearly 85
per cent recently), is of immense concern. In order to
understand why, and what can be done to reduce this, research is
a priority. The communication messages needed to alter risk
behaviour and improve case management to reduce death from avian
influenza pose key challenges.
To prevent avian influenza and to rapidly contain its spread,
the World Health Organisation is urging all countries to get
their national preparedness plans ready and tested in the event
of an emergency. Table-top exercises and mock simulation drills
are being suggested to help fine-tune the response mechanism.
The rapid containment strategies include early and strategic use
of anti-virals and public health measures such as social
distancing, school closure, restricting gatherings and cough
etiquette. Planning in advance remains critical and "failing to
plan is to plan to fail."
Source:www.hindu.com
International
Tigers shell Sri
Lanka military base as fighting kills dozens
AFP, Colombo
Tamil Tiger rebels shelled a key
military base in northern Sri Lanka on Tuesday, officials
said, as the defence ministry said dozens of rebels were
killed in new fighting.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attacked the
Thallady military camp in the district of Mannar early
Tuesday, drawing retaliatory fire from security forces, a
military official said.
He said a dozen soldiers were injured. There was no
immediate word from the Tigers about the clash.
The shelling came as the defence ministry said 42 Tamil
Tiger rebels and 11 soldiers were killed in new clashes
across the island's embattled north on Monday.
The fighting in the Weli Oya area also left 35 security
personnel and 21 rebels wounded, a defence official said.
According to the defence ministry, 1,168 rebels and 62
government soldiers and police have been killed so far
this year.
Casualty figures given by the government cannot be
independently verified as journalists and human rights
workers are not allowed to enter the battle zone.
The Sri Lankan government last month officially pulled out
of a defunct truce with the rebels, who have fought for
more than three decades for an independent ethnic homeland
in the Sinhalese-majority island.
The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
Meanwhile, Heavy fighting in northern Sri Lanka has left
at least 11 government soldiers and 42 Tamil Tiger rebels
dead, defence officials said Tuesday.
The clashes between government forces and the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the Weli Oya area on
Monday also left 35 security personnel and 21 rebels
wounded, a defence official said.
According to the defence ministry's latest tally, 1,168
rebels and 62 government soldiers and police have been
killed so far this year.
Casualty figures given by the government or the Tamil
Tigers cannot be independently verified as journalists and
human rights workers are not allowed to enter the battle
zone.
The Sri Lankan government last month officially pulled out
of a defunct truce with the rebels, who have fought for
more than three decades for an independent ethnic homeland
in the Sinhalese-majority island.
Russia forgives $12b Iraq debt
AFP, Baghdad
Russia on Monday forgave nearly all the
12.9-billion-dollar debt owed it by Iraq and voiced hopes
of increased Russian investment in the war-torn country,
news agencies quoted Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin as
saying.
The amount forgiven -- 12 billion dollars (8.2 billion
euros) -- came to 93 percent of the mainly Soviet-era debt
owed by Baghdad to Moscow, Interfax news agency reported.
The debt is being written off in stages, with the process
probably completed next year, Kudrin was quoted as saying
by Interfax.
The remaining 900 million dollars (618 million euros) will
be restructured over a 17 year period, Kudrin said. The
deal was signed during a visit by Iraqi Foreign Minister
Hoshyar Zebari. The Iraqi foreign minister and his Russian
counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, earlier signed an accord on
economic cooperation.
Lavrov said he hoped for "an energetic impulse to trade
relations between the two countries" and said "Russia is
counting on launching promising joint projects, above all
in the oil-gas sphere and in the area of energy
generation," ITAR-TASS reported.
Kudrin was quoted as saying that Moscow was ready to
invest some four billion dollars in Iraq. "We are
interested in the complete restoration of Iraq's economy
... many Russian businesses are ready to work on the Iraqi
market."
An example, Kudrin said, was Lukoil which in 1997 signed a
multi-billion dollar contract to develop the huge West
Qurna 2 field but had to leave Iraq after falling out with
the government of Saddam Hussein.
Myanmar must end repression before referendum: HRW
AFP, Bangkok
Myanmar
must end its repression of pro-democracy forces and allow
public debate on a proposed constitution before holding a
referendum in May, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.
The referendum on a new charter "should be conducted in an
atmosphere of freedom and respect for basic rights, and
not as a hollow exercise in the military's sham political
reform process," it said in a statement.
Myanmar's military announced Saturday it would hold a
referendum in May to set the stage for elections in 2010.
If held, the polls would be the first since 1990, when
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party, the
National League for Democracy (NLD), swept to victory-only
for the military to refuse to accept the result.
The announcement came amid mounting global pressure on the
regime following its bloody crackdown on peaceful protests
in September 2007, which left at least 31 people dead and
74 missing, according to the United Nations.
The US-based rights group said the May referendum lacks
credibility due to the abs |