Dhaka sends rejoinder to the Economist

The government on Thursday issued a rejoinder in protest against a write-up titled 'India and Bangladesh: Embraceable You', published in the Economist in its July 30-August 5 issue.

'We are disappointed as the report is less the well researched and contains elements of misinformation and misrepresentation of facts. What is more unfortunate is that the writer uses some words and sometimes draws analogies which lack decency and professional ethics,' said the foreign affairs ministry in a rejoinder signed by M Shameem Ahsan, director general of the External Publicity Wing of the ministry, and sent to the editor of the Economist on Thursday.

'Ever since 2008, when the Awami League, helped by bags of Indian cash and advice, triumphed in general elections in Bangladesh, relations with India have blossomed,' said the write-up.

The writer is of the view that the ruling Awami League came to power by using 'bags of Indian cash and advice', said the ministry. 'This is a blatant lie.'

'The new transit project may be about more than just development. Some in Dhaka, including military types, suspect it is intended to create an Indian security corridor,' said the Economist.

The writer's observation that the transit agreement between the two countries is to meet Indian security needs at the expense of the interest of Bangladesh is also misplaced, as both the countries are expected to benefit immensely from it, said the DG.

Referring to Indian National Congress president Sonia Gandhi's visit to Dhaka on July 25, the Economist said, 'Now the dynasts who rule each country are cementing political ties.'

'The head of India's ruling Congress Party heaped praise on her host, notably for helping the poor. A beaming Sheikh Hasina reciprocated with a golden gong, a posthumous award conferred on former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for sending India's army to help Bangladeshis throw off the brutal Pakistani rule,' said the Economist.

The writer has undermined both the 'Bangalees' struggle' to attain statehood through the glorious War of Liberation as well as the hand of friendship and support extended by India to Bangladesh when he refers to the Freedom Honour as 'a (golden) gong' in a negative manner, said Ahsan.

'For India, however, the risk is that it is betting too heavily on Sheikh Hasina, who is becoming increasingly autocratic. Opposition boycotts of Parliament and general strikes are run-of-the-mill,' said the Economist. This proves the writer's poor knowledge of the numerous initiatives taken by the government to institutionalize democracy in the country, said the DG.

Without giving any research-based statistics, the writer mentions that 'corruption flourishes at levels astonishing even by South Asian standards'. Neither any member of the present prime minister's family nor any Cabinet member bears the stigma of being corrupt though corruption remains a major challenge for the country, said Ahsan.

The allegation of building a 'personality cult around Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman', father of the prime minister, is 'just another example of poor judgment about the role of the great leader in the epic struggle of the country', said the foreign ministry.

As regards the 'vindictive' treatment meted out to Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Laureate, the write should have known that it was the prime minister herself who played a distinct role in patronizing and thus making micro-credit, Grameen Bank and Professor Yunus familiar globally, said the DG.

A closer look at the write-up will indicate that the writer is carrying out the agendum of a quarter which is out to wage a smear campaign against Bangladesh and its present government led by Sheikh Hasina, said the ministry.

Source : New Age

GTCL to procure materials for 3 gas pipelines without tender

The Gas Transmission Company Limited, without floating any tender, asked four foreign companies Thursday to offer prices by August 16 for supplying pipes and other necessary materials for a project under which three major gas pipelines would be installed.

Petrobangla chairman Hossain Monsur said the lowest bidder among the four companies would be awarded the contract and it would have to supply the materials within eight months from receiving the job. The decision of implementing the project in this way was taken in a meeting on Thursday between the Energy Division high officials and representatives the four foreign companies.

The GTCL, a subsidiary of the state-run Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources Corporation or Petrobangla, has decided to implement the project under the Bangladesh Power and Energy Quick Supply (Special Provision) Act, 2010, said a Petrobangla official.

The three gas transmission lines to be installed are 138-kilometre Bibiyana-Dhanua pipeline of 36-inch diameter, 91-km Moheshkhali-Anowara pipeline of 30-inch diameter, and 61-km Ashuganj-Bakhrabad pipeline of 30-inch diameter.

The GTCL, out of 10 short-listed companies, has asked the four companies – the Jindal Saw Ltd and the Man Industries Ltd of India and the Panyuchu Steel Pipe Co Ltd and Liaoyang Steel Tube Co Ltd of China – to submit their financial offers for supplying the materials required to lay the pipelines.

Last week, the GTCL invited 10 companies to submit their expressions of interest for the contract.

The GTCL plans to implement the project by December 2012.

The government along with the GTCL will provide the entire project funds.

Source : New Age

ConocoPhillips to conduct seismic surveys by year’s end

Petrobangla, the state-run oil, gas and mineral corporation, on Thursday approved the one-year work-plan of US oil company ConocoPhillips for conducting seismic surveys in the country's deep-sea hydrocarbon Blocks 10 and 11, said an official.

He said that ConocoPhillips would conduct 2,200 line kilometre two-dimensional seismic surveys in the Bay of Bengal, which will start by the end of this year. The US oil

company will invest above $2.5 million for conducting the first phase of the surveys.

Before the seismic surveys, ConocoPhillips

will carry out an environment impact assessment. It has awarded the job to a local consultancy firm, SMEC Bangladesh, out of four firms who were short-listed.

According to the work-plan, the SMEC is scheduled to submit the report on environmental impact by November.

The official also said that ConocoPhillips would submit its work-plan for the next year at another meeting of the joint review committee in November this year to get its approval.

According to the mandatory work programme in the model production sharing contract, the company will have to conduct a two-dimensional seismic survey in an area measuring 10 km x 10 km over the whole of the two blocks.

As per the work programme in the PSC, the contractor will have to conduct a 973 line kilometre seismic survey, and drill one exploration well, which is optional.

The government on June 16 this year signed the PSC with ConocoPhillips for oil and gas exploration and extraction in deep sea hydrocarbon Blocks 10 and 11 in spite of widespread protests by experts, civic forums and political organisations.

Source : New Age

5 Bangladeshis released by Taliban to reach Dhaka Tuesday

Five Bangladeshi nationals released Tuesday by Afghan Taliban kidnappers will return to Dhaka Sunday morning, according to foreign ministry.

All of them are safe and in good health in the Mazar-i-Sharif compound of Samwon, the South Korean company that employed them.

The five Bangladeshis are Md Aminul Islam and Md Shafiqul Alam from Kalihati and Md Lovelu Rahman from Chowdhury Malancho in Tangail district, Mahabub Ali from Charghat in Rajshahi, and Md Imam Uddin from Rangunia in Chittagong.

Foreign ministry external publicity wing director general Shamim Ahsan said Thursday that Bangladesh ambassador to Uzbekistan Muhammad Imran would see them off in Kabul.

They are expected to reach Dhaka by an Emirates flight at about 8:40am on Tuesday, he said.

In December 17 last, an armed group of the Taliban stormed a remote road construction camp of Samwon in Mazar-i-Sharif, shot dead a Bangladeshi engineer, and kidnapped seven of the 17 Bangladeshi workers employed there.

The kidnappers released two of the workers after two days.

Source : New Age

Judges’ remarks against Khaleda echo PM, says Fakhrul

BNP said Thursday the two judges only echoed the prime minister in making their remarks about the patriotism of the leader of the opposition.

'We are astonished and aggrieved by the behaviour of the two judges,' he said.

Khaleda Zia's patriotism is beyond doubt, he said.

Speaking at a news briefing at the central office of BNP, its acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir demanded withdrawal of a case filed against 14 lawyers and the order debarring them from practising in any court in Bangladesh.

Fakhrul said that the Awami League led government has politicised the judiciary.

He said that following a scuffle that took place between two groups of lawyers no action was taken against the pro ruling party lawyers.

'Biased action taken unilaterally only against the opposition leaning lawyers indicates the extent of politicisation,' he said.

He said that he wondered whether the two judges took oath of impartiality and failed to conduct themselves accordingly.

He said that the system places a particular burden on the judges – an impartial judicial referee is essential to produce an appropriately just result.

Moreover, he said, the society expects not only that judges conduct themselves without actual bias toward the parties, but also that judges are viewed, both by the critical participants and third-party observers, as unbiased - in other words, they must avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

He said that every judge is duty bound by the oath of office.

Fakhrul said, 'Truth cannot be changed by a judge's ruling and one's patriotism cannot be questioned by a partisan judge's order.'

He said that the people of the country, not only the lawyers, felt aggrieved over the way the BNP chairperson's name was unduly dragged in a case she had nothing to do.

He said the government has put the people and the judiciary face to face by taking political issues to court.

Fakhrul said the entire country was shocked and astonished over the way the judges unduly dragged the name of Khaleda Zia in a writ petition filed against Mufti Amini.

The judges' remarks against Khaleda Zia were uncalled for and clearly against the scope of the writ petition, he said.

'It makes one thing clear that some judges having blind loyalty to the ruling party are implementing the prime minister's vengeance by issuing court ruling,' he said.

He said, 'Political statements should be dealt with politically.'

He said that by taking the issue to the court an unnecessary controversy has been created.

BNP vice-chairman Abdullah Al Noman, joint secretaries general Amanullah Aman and Rizvi Ahmed and lawyer Masud Ahmed Taluker were also present at the news briefing.

Source : New Age

Health services in Sunamganj limp for want of docs, staffs

Medical services for 26 lakh people in the district is limping due to acute shortage of doctors and staff at hospitals and health complexes.

There are 193 posts of doctors for the people of the district, of which, 129 posts have been lying vacant and only 64 doctors are working.

At present, there are 15 doctors in 250-bed Sadar hospital against 26 posts there. Besides, there are only two consultants at the Hospital against 13 posts.

There are no consultant doctors at gynecology, medicine, surgery and ENT and anesthesia departments for long, hampering treatment of the patients.

Sources said, there are only 32 nurses against 120 posts, one assistant nurse against 19 posts and three nursing supervisors against 11 posts.

Many posts of laboratory technicians are also lying vacant for long.

Sometimes, critical patients have to go to Sylhet amid risk as electro-cardiogram (ECG) cannot be done on time for absence of technicians.

The chief laboratory technician of civil surgeon office is now working at Sadar Hospital.

But many patients from remote areas, especially the poor ones, can hardly afford to go to Sylhet for treatment.

Source : The Daily Star

Clinic vandalised, doc assaulted in Natore

Agitated relatives and locals assaulted an on-duty doctor and ransacked a private clinic in the town, following the death of a woman in post-natal complication at the clinic in the early hours of yesterday.

Shahida Banu, wife of Abul Hossain of the district town, died nearly 12 hours after giving birth to twins at Shefa Clinic.

Relatives of the deceased claimed that the doctor was responsible for the death. They said that the doctor injected Shahida a date expired medicine leading to her death.

The victim was admitted to hospital around 5:00pm Wednesday with labour pains. She gave birth to twins and her condition was fine until about 1:00am. However Shahida began convulsing allegedly after the doctor pushed the medicine from the date-expired ampule. She died around 5:00am, the relatives added.

The agitating relatives and locals later ransacked the clinic and assaulted Khalilur Rahman, the on-duty doctor of the hospital.

Contacted, Khalilur however denied the allegation of pushing date expired medicine.

Additional police have been deployed in the area to avert further untoward incidents.

Source : The Daily Star

Collection of Toll from Gambling: 20 hurt as BCL, Jubo League clash

Activists of Jubo league and Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) Palashbari upazila units clashed over toll collection from gambling sheds in a union under the upazila on Wednesday night, leaving at least 20 people from both sides injured.

Police and locals said a group of BCL activists went to Tekani area in Kishoregari Union on Tuesday night to collect toll from gambling sheds erected there. But Jubo League men prevented them from collecting toll and scuffled with BCL activists.

As a sequel to the incident, the Jubo League and BCL activists equipped with lethal weapons locked in a fierce clash at cross-road point on the Rangpur-Bogra highway at around 10:00pm on Wednesday.

Three buses and several shops were vandalised and vehicular movement on the highway remained suspended for two hours. Several hundred vehicles, including night coaches and goods-laden trucks, were stranded on both sides of the road until 12:30am.

Being informed, police rushed to the spot, dispersed the clashing groups and brought the situation under control. Police had to open 10 blank shots as they also came under attack during the clash, said Matiur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Palashbari Police Station.

Police filed a case yesterday morning against 22 Jubo League and BCL men for attack on them during Wednesday night's clash. Soon after filing of the case, they raided the area and arrested two of the accused.

The arrestees are BCL activist Lebu Mia Jubo League man Jenarul Haque. Police said they are looking for the rest of the accused.

Contacted, Mokshed Chowdhury Bidyut, Palashbari Upazila Parishad Chairman and also the organising secretary of Awami League upazila unit, said the upazila law and order committee will soon take necessary steps to stop gambling at different points in Kishorgari Union.

Source : The Daily Star

Just for Want of a School: 400 kids on char growing up sans education

About 400 children at a char of Jamuna River in Shibalaya upazila are being deprived of education due to absence of any educational institution in the area.

As there is no opportunity for studies, the children are now growing up playing and grazing cattle head.

Local sources said human settlement began at Char Kanaidia, 3 km north-west off the upazila headquarters, about 15 year back. Most the residents are fishermen by profession.

At least 250 families have school going kids now at the char. But lack of educational institution in the area has deprived them of education.

There are schools more than three km away for the char. The children have to wade through water and cross the Jamuna River for which they feel reluctant to go to school.

While talking to UNB, Sohel, Masud, Priya, Tania and a few other children expressed their desire to take education, but lack of school stands as an obstacle to that desire.

They demanded setting up of a school in their area so that they can have easy access to education.

Guardians said that they built a tin-shed school with the assistance of char people and local lawmaker and upazila Jubo League president.

But the activities of the school could not start due to lack of teachers and necessary furniture, they said.

Contacted, Shibalaya upazila assistant education officer Selima Akhter said her office recently sent a proposal to the higher authorities for setting up a government primary school in the area.

Source : The Daily Star

Rain-fed Betrabati River Overflows in Satkhira: 20 riverside villages remain waterlogged for two weeks

Over 25, 000 people at 20 villages along the silted Betrabati River in Satkhira Sadar upazila have remained marooned since July 24 as water that entered the villages overflowing the banks of the rain-fed river has not yet receded.

Due to heavy downpour in the last couple of days, suffering of the affected villagers has increased manifolds.

The affected villages are Damarpota, Bagdangi, Ziala, Bardal, Shalley, Machchkhola, Dahakula, Baldepara, Rajbari, Hajipur, Tujalpur, Hasimpur, Devnagar, Akhrakhola, Amtala, Gharchala, Rajnagar, Duttabag, Shibnagar and Devnagar in Sadar upazila.

Satkhira-Akhrakhola road, Jhhowdanga-Rajbari road, and Damarpota-Satkhira road are still under water, causing immense trouble to the commuters.

Farmers in the areas said they will suffer a big loss as standing second block boro on about 2000 acres of land in the villages has gone under water.

Under heavy pressure of water during rainy season, the silted river Betrabati overflows its banks and inundates the areas. Water logging in most parts of the area persists for over a month. Stagnant water pollutes environment, causes health hazards and damage to crops.

While visiting the affected areas yesterday, Samsur Rahman of Damarpota village told this correspondent that he cultivated second block boro on eight bighas of land that is still under water. "I have to incur huge loss as I took lease of the land from other villagers," he said.

Balli union Parishad (UP) Chairman Habibur Rahman and some other villagers said there is no scope to cultivate aman and other crops as water will remain stagnant in the affected villages for over a month.

They said local administration is yet to take necessary measures to mitigate their sufferings.

Meanwhile, incessant rain caused the silted Kobadak River to overflow its banks on Monday and flood Tala upazila headquarters.

Around 20,000 townspeople face immense trouble as most of the roads have gone under three to four feet water.

Smooth functioning at the government offices, banks and educational institutions is being hampered as those have been inundated. Tala upazila Bhaban has gone under three to four feet water.

People living in the low lying areas of the town also face immense trouble as water entered their houses.

Source : The Daily Star