Helper killed, truck hijacked

Helper of fertiliser-laden truck was killed, driver badly wounded and the truck hijacked by highwaymen at Majheera in Bogra early Sunday showing alarming rise in highway robbery.

A rice-laden truck from Naogaon was hijacked from Tongi on Friday night raising the number rice-laden trucks hijacked to 15 and killing of truckers to 5 during the last one month.

The police said the truck with 350 sacks of urea from Bhairab Fertiliser Factory was destined to a Bogra warehouse on Saturday night. On way, four to five armed robbers intercepted the truck at Majheera about 2:30am Sunday.

They held driver Sabuj and helper Masud at gunpoint, tied their hands and legs, gagged voice with cross tape in the mouth and left them in the cabin of the truck.

The robbers drove the truck to Natore where the fertiliser was unloaded at a private warehouse. They drove back the empty truck through Nagarbari-Bogra Highway and left it near Brammakopalia Bridge in Ullahpara upazila.

In the morning the Ullahpara police recovered the body of Masud and rescued driver Sabuj in semiconscious state along with the truck. Both Masud and Sabuj hailed from Birkedara village of Kahalu upazila in Bogra.

Source : New Age

Divisional tree fair begins in Sylhet

Sylhet divisional tree fair began on Sunday on the Government Alia Madrasa premises in the city.

The divisional forest department and district administration jointly organised the campaign and fair.

The Sylhet City Corporation mayor Badaruddin Ahmed Kamran inaugurated the fair.

Speakers at the programme said that more forestation was needed to keep the country's ecological balance and reduce the adverse impact of the global climate change.

The divisional tree plantation campaign and tree fair would remain open for all from 10:00am to 8:00om till July 22.

Source : New Age

Road blockade by students halts traffic movement

Traffic movement on Chapainawabganj-Sonamasjid land port highway in Chapainawabganj Sadar upazila remained suspended for two hours on Sunday due to road blockade by students.

The police said that Palli Bidyut authorities on Wednesday disconnected power supply to Chapainawabganj Polytechnic Institute on charge of not paying arrear power bill.

Being deprived of power supply in last five days, the residential students of the institute came out on nearby road at Baroghoria crossing at 9:30am and blocked the road by burning tires.

Being informed, the police went to the spot and brought the situation under control.

Source : New Age

Woman killed in Srimongal road accident

A woman was killed in a road accident at Uttarsur on Dhaka-Moulvibazar Highway at Srimongal in Moulvibazar on Saturday night.

The deceased was identified as Joyanti Rani Debnath, 40, wife of Ranjit Debnath of Sandhani residential area in Srimongal town.

The Srimongal thana police said that a speedy bus ran over Joyanti Rani when she was crossing road on the highway at about 10:00pm of Saturday night, leaving her dead on the spot.

Source : New Age

Businessman kidnapped

A businessman was kidnapped by miscreants at Sorojganj Bazar in Chuadanga Sadar upazila on Saturday night.

The victim, Faruk Hossain, 27, a grocery shop owner and resident of Shambhunagar village in same upazila, could not be rescued till filing of this report at 5:00pm on Sunday.

The police detained two people—Sona Mia and Siddik—for interrogation.

The police said Faruk and other businessmen were returning their homes after closing their shops at 10:00pm when armed miscreants intercepted them near Lokaigari maidan.

Later, the miscreants set free others, but they kidnapped Faruk.

Receiving information, the police launched drive for rescuing the victim.

Source : New Age

Khagrachari demands gas from Semutang on priority

People from all walks of life staged a demonstration at Khagrachari on Sunday demanding gas from the Semutang field before its feeds the national grid.

They said that Khagrachari should get gas from the Semutang field on priority.

They also called for scrapping the production sharing contract the government recently signed with Conoco Philips for offshore gas blocks.

 They protesters called for strengthening Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company so that the state owned enterprise could explore new domestic reserves to produce oil and gas.

Bikashita Nari Network vice-president Basanti Chakma, woman leader Namita Chakma, district bar association president Taib Ali, Khagrachari upazila chairman Shan-e-Alam, Nasiruddin Ahmed and JSD leader Zahidur Alam, lent support to programmes of the oil, gas committee at Khagrachari as well as in the capital.

United People Democratic Front president Prasit Bikash Khisha and general secretary Rabi Shankar Chakma in a statement said that Chittagong Hill Tracts must get gas from Semutang before it feeds the national grid.

They said that though ruined by Kaptai Hydel Project, CHT got no power generated by it.

They said that the hill people were being evicted from their homes again for the production gas from Semutang.

They said that they would go for tougher programmes to realise the hill people's share in Semutang gas.  

Source : New Age

12 hurt as BCL, JCD clash

Twelve students were injured in a clash between Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Chhatra League at Janab Ali College at Baniachong in Habiganj on Sunday.

The clash took place over establishing their supremacy.

Upazila JCD office was also vandalised during the clash at noon.

The police later brought the situation under control. The injured were admitted to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital.

Source : New Age

Ethnic leaders critical of draft forest law

National minorities of Sylhet on Sunday alleged that most of the social and cultural activities practised by them as a part of their livelihood have been defined as crime in the draft Forest Act (Amendment) 2010. 

Addressing a press briefing at the National Press Club, leaders of Greater Sylhet Indigenous Peoples Forum said that such definition could be misused by the concerned authorities as the act does not respect century-old distinct social custom, culture and livelihood of the minorities.  

GSIPF president Pidison Pradhan alleged that the government did not consult with the national minorities before drafting the act.

He also pointed out that as Bangladesh is one of the signatories to Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention-1957, the government should have arranged a meeting with the national minorities before making the draft.

Answering a question, Pidision said, 'We voluntarily asked the government to sit in a meeting. But the government did not pay heed to our demand. Without necessary amendment in particular sections, the act will hamper our total social and cultural system.'

Stressing the need for 'clear explanation' on the Act, the minority leaders placed several demands including immediate arrangement of a meeting with the national minorities and curtail the authority of the forest officers as envisaged the draft act.

Khasi Social Council president GP Suchiyang, secretary Phila Patmi and Bangladesh Monipuri Somaj Kallyan Samity vice-president Ananda Mohan Sinha, among others, also spoke at the briefing.   

Source : New Age

Islami Andolan announces fresh protest programme

The Islami Andolan Bangladesh has announced to hold demonstrations on July 6 and 9 at Muktangan in the capital against arrest of its activists during the half-day general strike imposed by it in the city on Sunday.

The party called the general strike to protest removal of the phrase 'absolute faith and trust in Allah' and insertion of secularism in the 15th amendment to the constitution. However, no activity of the organisation in support of the strike was seen in the capital.

Party secretary general Yunus Ahmad announced the protest programme at a news briefing in its office in the afternoon. The programme also includes holding demonstrations at upazilas on July 4 and 5 and at district headquarters on July 6 and 7.

Earlier, the party called another general strike across the country for July 10. The party's presidium member Mosaddek Billah Al Madani said, if the government did not reinsert the phrase 'absolute faith and trust in Allah' in the constitution, reinstate the caretaker government system, and release its arrested leaders, the party would go for a one-point movement of ousting the government.

The party secretary said their central office in the capital had been cordoned by the police throughout the six-hour general strike. He also alleged that the police arrested 70 activists of the party on Sunday at different parts of the city.

The party's Dhaka city unit president ATM Hemayet Uddin and Islami Chhatra Andolan secretary Mainuddin Jahangir were also present at the briefing.

Source : New Age

Probe committee finds poor construction of guide wall

The committee to probe into the landslide at Batali Hill, which killed 17 people on Friday, primarily found that the mishap was a result of poor construction of the guide wall.

Ahsan A Elahi, chief of the committee who is also an additional deputy commissioner, told reporters during a visitto the site on Sunday that the guide wall was not constructed properly, adding that the experts would be able to ascertain the real cause of the disaster.

'There was no hole at the wall to pass water from the hill, which might have caused the accident creating extra pressure on the wall,' he said, adding that they would recommend formation of a technical committee to ascertain the real cause.

The committee, which was formed on the day of the accident, was asked to submit its report by seven days.

Seventeen members of five families, including five of a family and four of another, were killed on Friday morning in a landslide and wall collapse at the southern portion of Batali Hill at Ambagan in the city.

Source : New Age