1,500MW power supply deficit in summer

The country is experiencing a deficit of up to 1,500 megawatts of power supply during current summer and there is a daily deficit of 500 million cubic feet of gas, state minister for energy and power Enamul Haq told parliament on Sunday.

The demand for power in summer is around 6,000 megawatts while power plants can generate four to five thousand megawatts, he said in response to a question from Shahriyar Alam.

The minister told Moshtaq Ahmed Ruhi that the daily demand for gas was more than 2,500 million cubic feet while the highest 2,020 million cubic feet of gas could be supplied.

He said the reserve of recoverable gas in 23 gas fields was 10.8 trillion cubic feet, adding that the government was working on plans to explore new fields and also to increase production from the existing fields with a target of 2,800 million cubic feet a day by 2015.

Besides, Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company was working on 2D and 3D seismic survey for exploration of new fields. In this context, he referred to the deals signed recently with ConocoPhillips for deep sea exploration.

To a question from Apu Ukil, the state minister said at present gas was being supplied to 29 districts through pipeline.

He said the government has taken 10 projects to increase the capacity of petroleum storage. After implementation of the projects, the storage capacity would increase by more than three lakh tonnes.

Enamul Huq also said the amount of power bill arrears with different government and private organisations stood at Taka 126 crore.

The minister said 39 deals had been signed by government agencies and private companies to construct 41 power plants to produce 4,505 megawatts of power.

Source : New Age

Khaleda threatens to bring down govt

The BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, has threatened to bring down the government through movement and hold midterm election under a caretaker government.

The threat of the opposition leader came at a closed door meeting with a group of senior engineers and agriculturists at her Gulshan office at about 8:45pm Sunday as part of her ongoing exchange views with various professional groups.

Sources close to the meeting said Khaleda reiterated her party's stand that existing provision of the caretaker government in the constitution has to be sustained. The unilateral government move for constitution amendment is not acceptable to her party.

She indicated that a tough movement would be launched shortly. She said the ruling Awami League had chosen the course of repression on its political opponents as well as professionals to cling to power.

BNP standing committee member RA Gani and acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Sammalitya Peshajibi Parishad convenor Mahmudur Rahman were present at the meeting.

Source : New Age

JS body to further examine ACC amendment bill

The parliamentary standing committee on law ministry on Sunday decided to further scrutinise some sections of the Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Bill 2011 before finalising it.

At a meeting of the committee, most of its members and the finance minister opposed a proposed provision of the bill that stipulates that permission should be obtained from the government for filing corruption charges against a judge, magistrate or public servant, meeting sources said.

The minister in-charge of cabinet division in parliamentary business, Matia Chowdhury, who was present at the meeting, suggested that the committee should finalise a balanced law, prompting the committee to further examine the bill, meeting sources said.

The bill proposes insertion of a new Section 32A that says the provisions in Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure must be followed in filing a graft case against a judge, magistrate or public servant.

'I advised the committee to finalise it considering our reality,' Matia told New Age, adding that she had suggested a balanced law. The finance minister, AMA Muhith, told the meeting that the new provision should be dropped.

'We want to examine the bill closely and a team will be sent abroad to gather experience, if necessary,' committee chairman Suranjit Sengupta told reporters after the meeting.

He also said that most of the committee members and the finance minister had opposed the new provision and the agriculture minister called for finalising the bill considering the reality to make it effective and acceptable.

On May 19, the committee raised questions about some sections and called for bringing changes to the Anti-Corruption Commission (amendment) Bill 2011 which was placed in the house on February 28 and sent to the committee for scrutiny.

The committee members observed that although the proposed law would enable the bureaucracy to act independently for the state, individual corruption by government officials could increase.

They suggested that in case of personal corruption, the commission should have power to file cases without government permission, committee sources said.

Earlier, Muhith wrote to the committee proposing that the provision that makes it mandatory to take government's permission for filing corruption cases against government officials should be dropped.

He also opposed the proposal for stripping the ACC of the authority to appoint its own secretary.

Section 197 of the CrPC says, 'When a person who is a judge within the meaning of section 19 of the Penal Code, or when a magistrate, or when any public servant who is not removable from his office save by or with the sanction of the government, is accused of an offence alleged to have been committed by him while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty, no court shall take cognisance of such offence except with the previous sanction of the government.'

The act, however, does not have any definition of 'public servant'.

Article 152 of the constitution defines 'public officer' as 'a person holding or acting in any office of emolument in the service of the republic'. The Bengali version of the article makes the same definition for 'public servant' (sarkari karmachari).

The term 'public servant' is, however, defined in the Penal Code.

The bill proposes empowerment of the government to appoint a secretary to the commission.

If the bill is enacted, the commission will have no power to summon witnesses or to record their depositions on oath.

Source : New Age

Businessman’s house robbed in city

Armed robbers looted gold ornaments and cash from the house of a businessman at 135, West Malibagh in the capital in the early hours on Sunday.

They robbed businessman Jaman Ahmed's home of at least 40 tolas of gold ornaments and Tk 80,000 in cash at around 2:30am holding the residents at gunpoint.

Police and Jaman's family said at least seven robbers carrying firearms and sharp weapons stormed the house. Two of them stood guard in front of the house, while the rest of the gang took position at its entrances.

According to witnesses, it took the robbers merely 10 minutes to decamp with the ornaments and money.

Jaman filed a case with Malibagh police station in this connection in the morning but the police had been unable to make any headway in the case till Sunday evening.

Source : New Age

FBCCI urges PM to re-fix tax at source

FBCCI leaders met with the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, Sunday evening in Sangsad Bhaban and requested her to review some of the budget proposals including re-fix tax at source at 0.40 per cent on exportable goods instead of proposed 1.5 per cent.

They also asked for 15 per cent incentive for the textile sector to help grow the potential sector which contributes substantially to the national economy as well as reducing import duty on raw materials.

'The prime minister listened to us and assured us of considering our proposals,' FBCCI senior vice- president M Jasim Uddin told the news agency over phone.

He said the prime minister informed that the rate of tax at source would have to be increased to a certain level. 'She didn't, however, tell about the revised rate.'

Replying to a question Jasim said they did not discuss allowing untaxed money to channel into the capital market as they have already placed the proposal through the post-budget press conference.

REHAB president and Awami League lawmaker Nasrul Hamid Bipu, however, raised the demand during the meeting.

Jasim said the prime minister would sit with the finance minister, AMA Muhith, today to discuss their proposals.

FBCCI president AK Azad and vice-president Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu were also present.

Source : New Age

BNP asks govt not to play risky game

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Sunday staged demonstrations, amid police obstructions, across the country in protest at 'repression' and 'vendetta' against the Zia family that include conviction of Khaleda's youngest son Arafat Rahman.

The party also observed the day as 'day against repression' coinciding the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

The party announced to hold the protests soon after Dhaka's third special judge's court had sentenced Arafat Rahman to six years in jail and fined him Tk 190.41 million in a money laundering case.

'Rallies and processions were held in divisional and district headquarters as part of the observance of the day and in protest at the government move to ruin the Zia Family,' the BNP's joint secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told New Age.

He said that the police had foiled rallies and processions at different places in the country.

The Dhaka city BNP as part of the nationwide programme held a rally in front of the party's central office at Naya Paltan.

The mayor of Dhaka, Sadeque Hossain, presided over the rally and the party's standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Rafiqul Islam Mia, acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, vice-chairman Abdullah Al Noman and the party's chairperson's advisers Shamsuzzaman Dudu, Ahmed Azam Khan and Fazlur Rahman Patal, among others, spoke.

Mosharraf Hossain, who spoke as chief guest at the rally, asked the government to stop playing the 'dangerous game centring on the caretaker government provision.'

'Stop playing any dangerous game centring on the caretaker government provision so that the country does not fall in any disaster,' Mosharraf told the government.

'Otherwise,' he said, 'you [the Awami League-led government] will be held responsible.'

Mrza Fakhrul earlier at a discussion at the National Press Club accused the government of creating smokescreen in the name of holding talks on the caretaker government provision.

Terming 'airy fairy' the call the Awami League's general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam put out for talks on the caretaker government issue, Fakhrul said that the government was trying to create smokescreen by holding talks on the issue.

'Syed Ashraf is saying that the talks will be held for certain. But nobody knows with whom the talks will be held and when. Neither the main opposition nor any other party knows anything about the talks,' Fakhrul said.

He criticised the government for placing the bill on amendment to the constitution in the parliament even before it received the court verdict.

New Age correspondents in districts such as Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal, Bogra, Munshiganj, Feni and Narsingdi said that the local BNP units had brought out processions and held rallies.

The correspondents in Chuadanga and Bhola said that the police had obstructed BNP processions in the districts.

Source : New Age

DCC employees charge extra for birth certificates

Residents of Dhaka city are being overcharged by the staff at Dhaka City Corporation when they seek copies of birth certificates from its different zonal offices.

The city corporation's zonal executive directors told New Age they were unaware that this was the case while the local government division's birth and death registration programme director said it was 'nothing unusual' in Bangladesh.  

Rahat, a resident of Mirpur section 11, told New Age that he was overcharged when he had visited the corporation zone 7 office to get birth certificates for him and his brother.

'Some employees took Tk 150 per certificate from me,' he said, admitting that he had no idea about the actual fee for a birth certificate.

A New Age investigation found that an employee of the zonal office demanded Tk 300 from a resident when she went to the office for birth registration.

'You can take your birth certificate by paying a fee of Tk 50 but it will take you six months to get it. If you want it in 10-15 days, give me Taka 300,' he said.

Wahida Rahman, a housewife from Mirpur 14, said that when she had visited the DCC's zone 8 office to get birth certificates for herself and her cousin, a female employee demanded Tk 200 for each.  

'That woman did not let me go to the officer and instead told me that if I gave her necessary papers and the money, I would get the certificates the next day,' she said.

Karwan Bazar's resident Mahmudul Hasan alleged that an employee at the corporation's zone 6 office demanded extra money for birth certificate.

He said the employee had told him that if he submitted the birth registration form and pay Tk 50 the next day, he would get the certificate after one month but if he wanted it the next day had to pay him Tk 300.

'I do not know if anyone in my office has asked for extra money for birth certificates,' said DCC zone 7 executive officer Mohammad Rafiqul Islam on Tuesday.

'Now that I have received a complaint, I will take action,' he said. 

Amar Chand Banik, regional executive officer of DCC zone 8, also told New Age that he had no knowledge of such practice.

'We often carry out activities to stop counterfeiting of certificates,' he said.

He claimed that birth certificates were given within one hour from his office.

The local government division's birth and death certificate programme director Saiful Islam Chowdhury admitted that the city corporation employees had become 'extremely corrupt'.

'In different zone offices, employees are charging extra even for birth certificates of children who are under 18,' he said.

He said that since July 3, 2008, the corporation has been charging Tk 50 for birth certificates of persons aged over 18 years and no fee for those who are below the age limit.

'If there is corruption in your mind how can you work transparently,' he asked.

Source : New Age

2 more killed in UP polls violence

At least two persons were killed and 150 others injured in violence on Saturday night and during Sunday's polling for electing new councils in 83 unions amid snatching of ballots.

Earlier, 27 people were killed in violence in the second phase of union parishad elections, which began on May 31, amid stray clashes, intimidation and snatching of ballot boxes.

Elections would be held in 25 unions today. The elections are set to end on July 5

According to bdnews24.com, 50-year old Sobhan Mian was killed in post-poll violence at Gabindaganj upazila in Gaibandha.

He was admitted to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital in Bogra with serious injuries where he died Saturday night, said Abu Akkas, officer-in-charge of Gabindaganj police station.

Sobhan, a supporter of chairman elect Abdul Latif Prodhan, was injured attacked by the supporters of a defeated candidate at Kurastair Government Primary School centre Saturday night.

New Age correspondent in Jessore reports that 45-year old Hasan Mandal of the village Silumpur in Raipur union under Bhagarpara upazila died in post election violence Sunday evening.

The police said that they recovered his body but would not say how or who killed him. 

The chairman elect of Raipur union and the defeated candidate made conflicting claims about his death.

New Age correspondent in Noakhali reports that supporters of the ruling party backed chairman candidate Ahmed Ullah vandalised Kazi Nagar Government Primary School centre in Amanullahpur union in Begumganj and snatched ballot papers. A clash ensued when the police present tried in vain to foil their bid.

In another incident in Begumganj upazila the police stopped over 100 people who tried to force their way into the Jaminderhat BM High School centre in Rasulpur union to snatch ballot papers.

At least six people including a magistrate were injured in the ensuing clash.

The police took to baton charge and fired blank shots to disperse the mob.

According to United News of Bangladesh in Narail, at least 12 people were injured in pre-poll violence Saturday morning between the supporters of two candidates contesting for the position of chairman in the village Padmobila in Kashipur union in Lohagara upazila.

The police said that the supporters of Motiar Rahman were going  to Erenda Bazaar after electioneering at around 1.30 AM when they came under attack, on reaching Padmobila from the supporters of rival  candidate Azizur Rahman Arzu, prompting a clash which 

left at least 12 people injured on both sides.

At least seven motorbikes were damaged in the clash.

In Narayanganj, 20 people including an assistant sub-inspector of police were injured in a clash between police and supporters of a chairman candidate, who stormed Mongoler Gaon Govt Primary School polling centre in Pirojpur union and snatched two ballot boxes after the end of voting at 3:00pm on Sunday. The miscreants fired four rounds of bullets in the sky to scare the voters away.

Later, the police recovered the ballot boxes and arrested 12 people including four siblings of the vanquished chairman candidate.

In Comilla, supporters of a chairman candidate raided Kamal Smrity Girls' High School polling centre in Chandirchar union under Homna upazila during voting at 1:00pm on Saturday and snatched three ballot boxes triggering a series of clashes with the police that left 10 people injured on both sides.

The police fired 10 warning shots to drive the attackers out of the centre.

Seriously injured assistant sub-inspector Abdur Rahman, constables Jafar and Moniruzzaman, and journalist Ataur Rahman received treatment at local hospitals. The police later recovered the ballot boxes and arrested one person in this connecdtion.

In Kurigram, at least five people, including a schoolteacher, were injured on Saturday in a clash between supporters of the winner and the defeated chairman candidate in the village Milerpar in Chakirposhar union under Rajarhat upazila.

Accoding to the police and witnesses the supporters of the defeated candidate Abul Kalam Azad attacked schoolteacher Golzar Hossain, a supporter of the chairman elect Jahid Suhrawardy Bappi, when he was going to school in the morning.

On hearing the news, Bappi's supporters retaliated on Azad's supporters,

leaving at least five persons injured on both side.

New Age correspondent in Pabna reports that at least 10 people were injured as the two rival groups clashed over union parishad election in the village Arkandi in Faridpur upazila in Pabna on Sunday.

The clash occurred between the supporters of the winning member candidate Bablu Mollah and the defeated candidate Thandu Mollah near Arkandi Bazaar at about 12 noon on Sunday.

The police and local people said that tension gripped the village since the election was held in the union on June, 5.

It was in this backdrop that Thandu and Bablu came face to face near the  Arkandi Bazaar.

Our Correspondent in Jamalpur reported that at least 13 persons were injured in separate post election violence in Sarishabari upazila of the district.

Quoting local sources he reported that the supporters of the defeated chairman candidate Enamul Haque attacked the supporters of the wining candidate Md Billal Hossain near Jagannathganj Ghat in Awna union in the morning leaving six people injured.

Of the injured Abubakar ,Sohel , Mukul and Milon were admitted Sarishabari hospital.

In another incident, supporters of defeated member candidate Ataur Rahman ransacked the house of Abul Kalam Azad in the morning for not casting his vote in favour of their candidate in the village Gabindapur in Pogaldigha union.

Unruly supporters of another defeated member candidate Sabuj Miah attacked the house of elected member Abdur Razzak at Kamrabad Saturday night.

Our Correspondent in Lalmonirhat reports a human chain was formed on both sides of Lalmonirhat-Rangpur Highway at Mohendra Nagar in  Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila demanding a recount of ballots at Nizpara Govt Primary School polling centre Sunday morning.

About one thousand people from five villages of Ward No 2 of Mohendra Nagar union in Lalmonirhat sadar upazila took part in the demonstration to back the demand of nine defeated member candidates.

The protesters said that Khazir Uddin was elected a member of Ward No 2 of Mohendra Nagar Union Parishad by rigging the polls and ballot forgery with support from the presiding officer of Nizpara Govt Primary School polling centre.

They said that it was impossible for Khazir the weakest candidate to defeat his nine contestants in the ward.

Source : New Age

Div admin chiefs asked to curb corruption in land offices

The land ministry has directed all the divisional commissioners to take stern measures to check corruption and public suffering in land offices.

In a fresh move, it has asked the senior-most field administrators to take 'due action' against land administration officials and employees allegedly involved in corruption and irregularities as the ministry's similar directives to all the 64 deputy commissioners issued about two months and a half ago have fallen flat, officials said.

The land secretary, Md Mokhlesur Rahman, in a demi-official letter sent to all the seven divisional commissioners on July 23 said that the people going to field-level land offices, especially union land offices and offices of assistant commissioner (land), for different purposes were being denied the expected service and harassed in many ways.

'This has raised questions about the transparency of the government's revenue administration in many cases,' the letter says.

The secretary said that the land minister's repeated directives at coordination meetings for making the field offices hassle-free and service-oriented were not reflected in activities of land offices on the ground.

On April 13, 2011, the land ministry directed all the deputy commissioners to launch a crackdown on 'dishonest land officials/employees' at grass roots to check public sufferings.

The directive came in the wake of widespread allegations of corruption and irregularities against officials and employees in land offices and also officers of assistant commissioners (land) in upazilas.

In the latest letter, the secretary said that the scenario in many districts had remained unchanged even after his directives that had been issued in April to the deputy commissioners to take action against 'dishonest land officials/employees.'

It was expected of deputy commissioners, who also work as district collectors, that they should take action against 'dishonest officials/employees' to streamline the land administration and to ensure smooth services to the public, according to the secretary.

It has been alleged that land officials were realising money beyond the fees set by the government for services such as land registration and mutation, causing immense sufferings to clients.

'The negative pictures of land offices as presented in electronic and print media are damaging the image of the land administration,' says the letter addressed to the divisional commissioners.

Mokhlesur reminded the commissioners that they were the senior-most officials at the divisional level and were responsible for establishing an efficient, transparent and accountable land administration.

He asked them to ensure regular inspections at the land offices by additional deputy commissioners (revenue) and assistant commissioners (land) under their respective jurisdiction.

Source : New Age

Charges pressed against Nizami, Babar, 9 others

Charges were pressed on Sunday against 11 more people, including former industries minister Motiur Rahman Nizami and former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, in two cases of the sensational 10-truck arms haul in Chittagong.

Senior assistant superintendent of the Criminal Investigation Department Mohammed Moniruzzaman, also the investigation officer of the cases, submitted supplementary charge sheets in the two cases to the Chittagong chief metropolitan magistrate's court.

The investigation officer pressed charges against Nizami, also the Bangladesh  Jamaat-e-Islami amir who is now detained, Babar, former National Security Intelligence directors general retired major general Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury and retired brigadier general Abdur Rahim, former additional secretary of the industries ministry Nurul Amin, former NSI directors retired wing commander Shahabuddin Ahmed and retired major Liakat Hossain, former NSI field officer Akbar Hossain, former Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited managing director Mohshin Talukder, its former general manager AKM Enamul Haque and United Liberation Front of Assom leader Paresh Barua.

Nurul Amin and Paresh Barua are still on the run and nine others are detained in prisons, the charge sheets said.

The charges were pressed against the 11 in both the cases in addition to the people against whom charges were pressed earlier.

In 2004, the investigators pressed charges against 45 in a case filed for smuggling the firearms and ammunition and 43 in the other case filed under the arms act.

The arms and ammunitions were transported from China for ULFA with the connivance of the accused, Moniruzzaman told reporters after the submission of two supplementary charge sheets.

He, however, said that the investigation had failed to identify the ship that carried the arms and ammunitions to Chittagong.

The charge sheets were the third in the arms case and the second in the smuggling case.

On April 2, 2004, the police seized 4,930 types of sophisticated firearms, 27,020 grenades, 840 rocket launchers, 300 rockets, 2,000 grenade launching tubes, 6,392 magazines and 11,40,520 bullets when they were being loaded on to 10 trucks from two engine boats at the jetty of the Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited.

This is the biggest-ever arms haul in the country.

Ahadur Rahman, the then Karnaphuli police officer-in-charge, filed the two cases on April 3, 2004. He was also the first investigation officer in the cases.

The cases were transferred to the CID 22 days after the filing of the cases and the CID's Chittagong zone assistant superintendent Kabir Uddin was then appointed the second investigation officer, who submitted the first charge sheet on June 11, 2004 in the case filed under the arms act.

The court, however, directed further investigation in the case and the CID's assistant superintendent Nawshad Ali submitted a supplementary charge sheet, the second in the arms case, pressing charges against 43 people on August 24, 2004.

Nawshad also submitted the first charge sheet in the case filed under smuggling act pressing charges against 45 people in November 2004.

Chittagong metropolitan sessions judge ANM Bashirullan, however, on February 12, 2008, during the immediate-past military-controlled interim regime, ordered further investigation in the two cases on an appeal preferred by the then public prosecutor Ahsanul Haque Hena.

The CID's assistant superintendent Ismail Hossain carried out the further investigation as the fourth investigation officer of the cases but failed to submit the reports even after deadline extension for six times.

On January 18, 2009, a Chittagong court ordered to replace Ismail Hossain on an appeal by the state lawyer and ASP Moniruzzaman was appointed the fifth investigation officer.

After the Awami League had assumed office on January 6, 2009, the course of investigation in the cases took a fresh turn with the arrest of former NSI chiefs.

The court, in its February 12, 2008 order, directed investigation of seven specific points in the further investigation.

Moniruzzaman told reporters that the weapons had been bought from Noriho Company of China for ULFA.

He said that the investigation could resolve all the issues, ordered by the court, but the identification of the ship that carried the arms and ammunition.

He, however, said that the investigation could not reveal the route that the smugglers intended to use to take the arms to Assam.

With the new 11, the number of accused people stood at 50 in the case filed under the arms act and 52 in the case filed under the smuggling act, court sources said, adding that four people, named earlier in the charge sheets in both the cases, had died by this time.

In both the cases, 256 people were named as prosecution witnesses, the sources said.

A section of lawyers, after the submission of the charge sheets, said that the implication of Nizami, Babar and former army officers posted to the National Security Intelligence was motivated.

Source : New Age