4 factories fined for Buriganga pollution

The Department of Environment (DoE) yesterday fined four textile and washing factories in Keraniganj Tk 31.60 lakh in total for releasing untreated liquid waste into the river Buriganga.

A DoE team led by Director (monitoring and enforcement) Munir Chowdhury, along with Rab-2 members raided Bilashi Textile Mill, Global Washing, Eden Trade and Minto Dyeing in Keraniganj on the west side of the Buriganga, said DoE officials.

The team found that all the four factories discharge toxic waste into the river.

Bilashi Textile Mill has an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) but that is not functioning properly. The three other factories have no ETPs.

Also, none of the factories obtained any environmental clearance certificate.

The team asked Bilashi Textile Mill to run the ETP effectively by July 15 and directed the three other factories to relocate within the next 30 days.

The washing factory on the bank of the Buriganga has no place to set up an ETP and the owners also do not have the financial ability or expertise to run them, said an official of the DoE.

The DoE in February 2010 filed a case against the factories for environment pollution under Bangladesh Environment Protection Act. But their production did not stop, nor did the pollution, he added.

Source: The Daily Star

Singh sings praises of Bangladesh: Phones Hasina

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last night called his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina over the telephone and told her that New Delhi attaches the "highest importance" to relations with Dhaka.

Singh, who will be undertaking a two-day visit to Bangladesh from September 6, conveyed his "warm personal greetings" to Hasina and told her "how much" he was looking forward to the trip to renew contacts with his "old friends" there, said a statement issued by the Indian Prime Minister's Office.

The phone call was made around 8:00pm Indian time.

Hasina said "she personally and the people of Bangladesh are waiting eagerly to receive" Singh and "there are high expectations from the visit which she hopes would be a historic one".

Singh said, "A strong and productive partnership between the two countries was in the interest of the two peoples and the people of South Asia as a whole. His forthcoming visit would provide an opportunity to give added momentum and high-level political direction to bilateral ties which have been intensifying steadily in recent years."

The Indian PM noted with satisfaction that there had been an increase in high-level exchanges and cited Indian Vice President Mohd Hamid Ansari's recent visit to Bangladesh, said the Indian statement.

Hasina and Singh decided to instruct their respective officials to work towards making the Indian Prime Minister's visit successful and substantive.

Singh underlined that "goodwill" exists among the political parties in both countries and encouraging people-to-people contacts was a priority in the relationship.

The telephone call from Singh comes amidst strong reaction in Bangladesh following his "off-the-record" remarks that 25 percent people of Bangladesh are anti-India.

 Source: The Daily Star

Rice export ban extended for a year

The government has extended ban on rice export for another year in an effort to curb the price hike of the staple food in the domestic market, said an official of the commerce ministry yesterday.

The commerce ministry has restricted the export till June 30, 2012.

"We have maintained the bar to prevent the price hike of rice in local market," said Commerce Minister Faruk Khan.

This is the first time since May 2008 that the government imposed a one-year ban on rice export, shifting away from its previous timeframe of six months.

The latest embargo on rice export comes at a time when the government expects 4.15 percent higher yield than that of the fiscal 2010-11. In the last fiscal year, around 3.46 crore tonnes of cereal, including wheat, were produced thanks to bumper boro harvest.

Even after the rise in production, Bangladesh imported 11 lakh tonnes of rice and 31 lakh tonnes of wheat in the first nine months of the last fiscal year, according to food department records.

"It means the consumption of rice has increased locally," observed the commerce minister.

According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, prices of rice spiralled up in city markets over the last one month. Prices of coarse rice edged up 3.17 percent higher to Tk 32-33 per kilogramme. Prices of medium and fine varieties of rice also increased.

Source: The Daily Star 

Black Money: Indian SC orders special probe, slates govt role

India's Supreme Court yesterday ordered a special investigation into undeclared money stashed in foreign bank accounts, while accusing the government of "serious lapses" in handling the issue.

Voicing concerns that such "black money" could be used for "unlawful and anti-national activities", the court said government efforts to locate and recover the funds had been half-hearted.

Estimates for the amount of illicit money deposited secretly in overseas bank accounts by wealthy Indians and corporations range from $500 billion to $1.4 trillion.

The government insists it is doing all it can to uncover the funds, but argues that it is hamstrung by legal restrictions and the lack of tax information exchange agreements with a number of renowned tax havens.

Supreme Court Justice Sudershan Reddy slammed the government's "lack of seriousness and effect" and highlighted what the bench called "serious lapses in the investigation".

The court appointed a special committee, headed by a former supreme court judge, to take the probe forward and ordered the government to disclose the names of those currently under investigation.

Back in February, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said legal notices had been served on 17 people in connection with foreign bank holdings.

But he added that international agreements and other legal hurdles prevented their identities from being revealed.

Opposition parties have been quick to pick up on public anger over the black money issue, accusing the government of seeking to cover up the scale of the problem.

Source: The Daily Star

Now Amini calls 48-hr hartal

Islami Ain Bastobayon Committee yesterday called a 48-hour countrywide hartal starting tomorrow to protest the removal of phrases "Absolute Faith and Trust in Allah" from the constitution.

Fazlul Haq Amini, ameer of the committee, announced the programme at a press conference at his Lalbagh office in the city.

He demanded scrapping of all secular and anti-Islamic provisions from the constitution.

Amini, chairman of an Islami Oikya Jote faction, also announced a rally in Dhaka for July 14. "The country is heading towards non-stop hartal due to the government's anti-Islamic activities," he said.

Earlier on Sunday, BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami announced a 48-hour countrywide hartal from tomorrow. Amini's IOJ is part of the BNP-led four-party alliance.

Source: The Daily Star

Legal revenge: Vows BNP for indicting Tarique; police foil its procession

Law enforcers charged truncheons and lobbed teargas to foil a BNP procession brought out in the capital yesterday to protest the indictment of party Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman in the August 21, 2004 grenade attack cases.

BNP leaders alleged that at least 50 leaders and workers were injured in the police attack. Four journalists were also hurt.

Police went into action the moment opposition BNP supporters began their procession to the Jatiya Press Club from the BNP central office in Naya Paltan. The law enforcers fired at least six teargas canisters into the protesters to disperse them.

A large number of policemen with riot-control trucks had been deployed in front of the BNP office where a protest rally was being held.

After foiling BNP supporters' attempt to bring out the procession from the rally, police started chasing them. The protesters took cover in the BNP office and nearby alleys.

Opposition supporters also hurled brickbats at police.

Earlier in the rally, BNP leaders said they will have "revenge through legal means" for harassing the Zia family. They also said the party will announce non-stop hartals if necessary to force the government quit power. They vowed to topple the government by forging a movement.

"Charge sheet was submitted against Tarique Rahman as the government wants to stay in power forever, but people won't allow it," said BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan addressing the rally.

Party's acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the next parliamentary elections must be held under a non-party caretaker government, as people do not accept the amended constitution. "The government will be forced to meet our demand..." he said.

During the rally, police closed off one side of the busy road in front of the BNP office causing traffic jam in the surrounding areas. Several thousand BNP leaders, workers and supporters attended the rally which was presided over by BNP city unit convener Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.

Source: The Daily Star

Ministers' Income, Wealth: PM to receive statements

The cabinet yesterday approved a proposal for annual submission of income and wealth statements of ministers, state ministers, deputy ministers, and other people with similar status to the prime minister from now on.

It, however, did not decide whether the wealth statements will be made public.

The decision was taken at a weekly cabinet meeting in Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Sources present at the meeting told The Daily Star that the prime minister will review the wealth statements and then send those to the cabinet division, which will preserve the statements, but it was not made clear whether the cabinet division will make those public.

The premier warned her cabinet colleagues that their files will be sent to the Anti-Corruption Commission for investigation if any anomaly is found in the statements. "And you will be dropped from the cabinet," she was quoted by a senior minister as saying.

Asked about making the wealth statements public, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said, "We will submit our wealth statements to the prime minister, and it is her prerogative to make those public."

Talking to The Daily Star after the meeting, Matia said the cabinet division will issue a circular in this regard soon, and after getting the circular they will submit their wealth statements. She however, did not make it clear what will be the timeframe.

The premier told the cabinet that anyone of the cabinet may voluntarily make his or her wealth statement public through putting it on the respective ministry's website.

Awami League in its manifesto, placed before the nation ahead of the last parliamentary election, said, "Wealth statements and sources of income of the prime minister, members of the cabinet, parliament members and of their family members will be made public every year."

On March 16 this year, only Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith made his wealth statement public.

The cabinet also approved the National Science and Technology Policy-2011 yesterday. Prime minister's press secretary Abul Kalam Azad briefed reporters after the meeting.

PM'S DIRECTIVES

At the meeting the prime minister asked all ministers to explain to the public the government's and the ruling party's positions regarding the 15th amendment to the constitution and the scrapping of caretaker government system, to counter the opposition's propaganda on the matters.

She also directed them to tackle the prevailing political situation of the country unitedly. She directed the home ministry to take tough steps to protect the lives of the people and their properties from vandalism in the name of hartals.

LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Syed Ashraful Islam told the meeting that ministers and state ministers are also political leaders, so they should speak as political leaders to counter the opposition's anti-government propaganda.

As his colleagues asked him why he had said that AL is not completely happy with the 15th constitutional amendment, Ashraf, also the AL general secretary, said reality has changed a lot since August 15, 1975. Though their ultimate goal was to reinstate the 1972 constitution, they could not do it due to some "realities", he said.

Source: The Daily Star 

Withdraw hartal: Leaders of 73 trade bodies urge opposition

Leaders of 73 business organisations yesterday urged the opposition parties to withdraw their hartal programme for smooth running of businesses.

Country's business community is worried about a hostile political situation emerging from some recent developments, they said in a joint statement led by AK Azad, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).

The country achieved 6.7 percent economic growth in the 2010-11 fiscal year, with 40 percent export growth and mild growths in industrial and agricultural sectors, according to the statement.

These figures symbolise the strength of the economy and capability of the business community, noted the release.

"Hartals will slow down our economic progress. Our markets will shift to other politically stable countries. We have to avoid such programme at any cost," it insisted.

The business bodies also urged the leaders of all political parties to shun destructive political activities and settle all the disputed issues through negotiation in the greater interest of the country.

The main opposition BNP and its allies including Jamaat-e-Islami called a 48 hour-long hartal for 6:00am Wednesday up to 6:00am Friday protesting the scrapping of caretaker government system with the passage of the 15th amendment bill by parliament.

Source: The Daily Star