DT e-Paper, Saturday, October 15, 2016

SECOND EDITION
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016 | Ashwin 30, 1423, Muharram 13, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 167 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10
A new beginning
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Dhaka for a
two-day visit yesterday to a rousing welcome, and
the two nations have announced that their ties have
been elevated to the level of Strategic Partnership,
promising to open up new avenues of cooperation.
PAGE 4 COLUMN 1
RELATED STORIES ON
PAGES 2 AND 3
[ ]
Sir Vidia in
the house
PAGE 32

2
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
News
Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid in conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the state banquet in Bangabhaban yesterday
PID
Kachchi was the chow at Bangabhaban
• Tribune Desk
President Abdul Hamid on Friday
entertained visiting Chinese
President Xi Jinping with Dhakai
Kachchi Biriyani, Shami Kabab and
Aloo-Bukhara chutney as he hosted
dinner in honour of his Chinese
counterpart at Bangabhaban.
The Bangladesh President laid
out 10 items on the menu for the
dinner held at the Darbar Hall of
Bangbabhaban, reports UNB.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,
Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury,
Chief Justice Surendra Kumar
Sinha, former President and Prime
Minister’s special envoy HM Ershad
and entourage of the Chinese
President, among others, attended
the dinner.
Poached giant king prawn and
cream of mushroom soup were
served to the guests as starters
while smoked Eel fish on crispy salad
bed with a drizzle of light oyster
sauce was there as Entrée.
Chicken Tikka, Kachchi Biriyani
with Shami Kabab served with
minted house sauce and poppadum;
Szechuan style shredded beef
with onions, capsicum and mixed
vegetables and plain rice were
Chinese President Xi Jinping joins Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and President Abdul Hamid for a state banquet and a cultural
programme at Bangabhaban yesterday
PID
served to the guests as main dishes.
The high-profile guests got traditional
malai chop, seasonal fresh
fruits and petit fours as dessert.
Prior to the dinner, a cultural
programme was organised in honor
of Xi Jinping at the Drabar Hall
with artistes from Shilpakala Academy
performing there.
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood
Ali, State Minister for Foreign
Affairs M Shahriar Alam, Foreign
Secretary M Shahidul Haque,
President’s Military Secretary
Major General Abul Hossain and
the Press Secretary Joinal Abedin
were present.
Earlier, Xi Jinping had a meeting
with Abdul Hamid at the Cabinet
Hall of the presidential palace. The
Chinese President also signed Visitor’s
Book at the Bangabhaban. •
China, BD firms sign
$13.6bn deals
• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi
A total of 13 agreements of $13.6 billion
were signed between Bangladesh
and Chinese companies in the
areas of infrastructure, construction,
energy and transportation.
Business people from the two
countries signed the agreements at
Bangladesh-China Business Forum
in Dhaka yesterday. The Forum was
organised on the occasion of Chinese
President Xi Jinping’s official
visit to Bangladesh.
Of the 13 Chinese companies,
two-thirds are state-owned while
the rest are from the private sector.
On the other hand, 11 companies of
the Bangladesh side are from the
private sector.
The Federation of Bangladesh
Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(FBCCI) and China Council
for the Promotion of International
Trade (CCPIT) jointly organised the
forum.
During the signing ceremony,
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed,
FBCCI President Abdul Matlub
Ahmed and CCPIT Vice-Chairman
Chen Zhou were present among
others.
“I do believe that the Chinese
president will offer $1 billion investment,”
FBCCI President Matlub said.
Chen Zhou said: “China and
Bangladesh are close neighbours
and major trade partner in South
Asia. We will continue the cooperation
in future.” He said that the Chinese
investors were interested to invest
in manufacturing sector such as
textile, spare parts and accessories.
“If the Bangladesh, China, India
and Myanmar (BCIM) Economic
Corridor is established, the trade
and commerce of the two nations
will see better future,” Tofail Ahsaid.
In July-August period, Bangladesh
export to China has seen a 25%
rise compared to the same period a
year ago. “Total export to China will
increase to $2 billion by the next
two to three years,” Tofail said.
“I have already signed an agreement
with the Chinese government
on feasibility study of Free Trade
Agreement (FTA), which will help
materialise the home of $2 billion
export,” the minister added.
In the last fiscal, Bangladesh
earned $808m from exporting
goods to China, of which $341m
came from the RMG sector. Bangladesh
imported products worth
$9.64bn during the same period. •

News 3
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
Dhaka receives
Xi with warmth
• Agencies
Bangladesh yesterday rolled out
the red carpet as Chinese President
Xi Jinping reached Dhaka on a historic
two-day state visit, the first by
a Chinese head of state in 30 years.
Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid
received his Chinese counterpart
at the VVIP terminal of Dhaka
airport at 11:36am, amid a booming
21-gun salute. A young girl accompanying
President Hamid presented
him with a bouquet.
Xi Jinping moved to the saluting
dais accompanied by his Bangladesh
counterpart, and received guard of
honor and inspected the guard.
Senior cabinet members, PM’s
advisers and senior officials were
present on the presentation line.
A 13-member high-profile delegation,
including Chinese Foreign
Minister Wang Yi, Finance Minister
Lou Jiwei, Commerce Minister Gao
Hucheng, Governor of the People’s
Bank of China Zhou Xiaochuan, accompanied
the Chinese president.
A ceremonial motorcade then escorted
the Chinese leader to the Le
Meridian Hotel amid tight security.
The Chinese president will visit
the National Martyrs Memorial this
morning. He will also sign the visitors’
book and plant a sapling.
President Xi will reach the airport
straight from Savar and leave for
Goa, India at 10am by a special VVIP
flight. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
will see him off at the airport.
Dhaka and Beijing signed nearly
three dozen agreements of cooperation
yesterday. The visit has taken
place three decades after then Chinese
president Li Xiannian visited
Bangladesh in March, 1986. •
$24bn loan will build power plants, seaport, railways
• Reuters
China is set to sign off on loans
worth over $24 billion to Bangladesh
during President Xi Jinping’s
visit on Friday, Dhaka’s biggest
foreign credit line to date that will
help it build power plants, a seaport
and railways.
Xi’s trip, the first by a Chinese
president in 30 years, is aimed at
boosting China’s involvement in
infrastructure projects at a time
when India is pushing investments
of its own in Bangladesh, a country
New Delhi considers its area of influence.
China plans to finance around
25 projects, including a 1,320 megawatt
(MW) power plant, and is also
keen to build a deep sea port.
“Xi’s visit will set a new milestone.
Record amount of loan
agreements will be signed during
the visit, roughly $24bn,” he said.
Among the proposed projects
are highways and information
technology development, he said.
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Hotel Le
Meridien in Dhaka yesterday evening
PID
Chinese President Xi Jinping, accompanied by Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid, receives a guard of honour from the
armed forces personnel at Dhaka airport upon his arrival yesterday
PID
“Our infrastructure needs are big,
so we need huge loans.”
China’s TBEA signed a power
grid deal worth $1.6bn with Dhaka
Power, following a pact that
Jiangsu Etern’s consortium signed
on Thursday to strengthen Bangladesh’s
power grid network valued
at $1.1bn.
Beijing is especially keen to revive
a plan to build a deep sea port
in Sonadia which has been on hold
for years, officials said.
Zhao Gancheng, director of
Khaleda urges Xi to
continue assistance
• Tribune Desk
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has
urged Chinese President Xi Jinping
to continue their assistance
for Bangladesh’s various activities,
especially the development ones,
and always stand by it.
The BNP chief made the call
during a meeting with the visiting
Chinese President at a city hotel
yesterday evening, reports UNB.
During the 30 minute-meeting
which kicked off at 5pm, Khaleda
and Xi Jinping discussed various
bilateral issues, said BNP Secretary
General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir
while briefing reporters after
the meeting.
Quoting Khaleda, Fakhrul said
the BNP chief mentioned her late
husband and former president
Ziaur Rahman, who had established
Bangladesh’s diplomatic ties
with China.
South Asia Studies at Shanghai Institute
for International Studies,
said both India and China supported
development in Bangladesh,
and that it did not have to be one
or the other.
China is currently Bangladesh’s
biggest trade partner with annual
turnover of around $10bn which is
heavily in favour of Beijing.
Bangladesh has backed Xi’s
“One Belt, One Road” initiative
to boost trade and transport links
across Asia and into Europe, seeing
“Later, an overwhelming relation
developed between the two
countries that still continues,”
Khaleda was quoted by Fakhrul as
saying.
The BNP chairperson also described
China as Bangladesh’s
important and genuine friend,
Fakhrul said.
During the meeting, he said,
the Chinese president expressed
the hope that Bangladesh would
support the role China is playing in
the geological field and the development
activities it is carrying out.
BNP Standing Committee
members Khandaker Mosharraf
Hossain, Mahbubur Rahman and
Nazrul Islam Khan, chairperson’s
advisers Reaz Rahman and Sabihuddin
Ahmed were present at the
meeting.
The Chinese president arrived
Dhaka yesterday morning on a historic
state visit. •
it as an opportunity to lift growth.
India has reservations about the
plan, amid worries that it is an attempt
to build a vast zone of Chinese
influence.
Beijing had proposed an economic
corridor linking Bangladesh,
Myanmar, China and northern India,
but New Delhi did not seem
keen on the idea, Zhao said.
Xi visited Dhaka en route to a
BRICS summit of the world’s leading
emerging economies in Goa,
India. •
Bangladeshi-born
Rupa Huq UK
shadow minister
• Tribune Desk
Dr Rupa Huq, a British Labour Party
member of House of Commons,
was picked as the shadow minister
for Home Affairs by her party leader
Jeremy Corbyn yesterday.
The move made the Bangladeshi-born
MP, elected from Ealing
Central and Acton constituency, a
Labour Party frontbencher in the
British parliament. She bagged
22,002 votes in the May 7, 2015 UK
General Elections.
Rupa is also senior lecturer at
the sociology department of Kingston
University. Her ancestral
home is in Pabna.
“Honoured to take up a shadow
ministerial position in Home Affairs
on Labour frontbench,” Rupa
tweeted after the news of her induction
came out. She will be joining
Shadow minister of education
Angela Rayner’s team. •

4
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
A new beginning
Xi met with Bangladesh Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office,
launching new vistas of cooperation
that were hailed as a
turning point in Bangladesh-China
relationship.
During the meeting, the heads
of the two governments signed 26
agreements and Memoranda of
Understanding (MoUs) on different
projects, including boosting cooperation
in counter-terrorism and
infrastructure development and
energy cooperation.
Starting at 3:15pm yesterday, the
meeting ended around 4:15pm.
President Xi held a press briefing
after meeting.
He said China was ready to work
with Bangladesh and extend more
cooperation in big projects here.
Afterward, Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina also took the podium
and briefed journalists. She hoped
that with cooperation from China,
Bangladesh would be able to reach
its goal to become a middle-income
country by 2021. She expressed the
hope that the friendship between
the two countries would grow
stronger in the coming days.
Chinese President Xi Jinping in
his briefing said Bangladesh-China
relations were now at a new historical
turning point and heading
towards a promising future.
“China-Bangladesh cooperation
will deliver more fruits for the people
of the two countries, and will
contribute to peace and stability and
development in the region,” he said.
Xi said they had agreed to elevate
China-Bangladesh relationship
from a ‘Closer Comprehensive Partnership
of Cooperation’ to a ‘Strategic
Partnership of Cooperation.’
Both sides also agreed to increase
high-level exchanges and
strategic communication so that
bilateral relations move ahead at
even a higher level, he said.
Terming his meeting with Prime
Minister Hasina ‘warm and productive,’
the Chinese president
said they reached agreements on a
number of important issues.
“We have agreed to jointly advance
the road and belt initiative,”
Xi said, adding that they had also
agreed to launch a joint feasibility
study on China-Bangladesh Free
Trade Agreement to strengthen
trade and investment cooperation.
The Chinese president laid emphasis
on enhancing practical cooperation
in key areas such as infrastructure,
production capacity,
energy and power, transportation,
ICT and agriculture.
He said China would continue
to do its best in providing capital,
technical and human resources
to carry out close cooperation on
projects to support economic and
social development of Bangladesh.
The two countries also agreed to
designate the year 2017 as the year
of ‘exchange and friendship’ between
Bangladesh and China during
which colorful events will be held to
carry forward the friendship.
They also laid emphasis on institutionalising
cooperation on maritime
affairs, counter-terrorism, advance
the BCIM Economic Corridor
and increase communication and
coordination on international and
regional issues.
“China is ready to work with
Bangladesh as friends and partners
with trust and support to each other,”
said the Chinese president.
Prime Minister Hasina said: “Today,
we have elevated our ‘Closer
Comprehensive Partnership of Cooperation’
to a ‘Strategic Partnership
for Cooperation’ and under
this strategic partnership, we have
agreed to work towards socio-economic
advancement of the peoples
of our two countries.”
She said they reached a consensus
on cooperation in key areas
such as trade and investment,
infrastructure, industry,
power, and energy, information
and communication
technology and
agriculture.
They witnessed the
signing of 27 agreements
and MoUs of cooperation
that cover, among others,
trade, investment,
blue economy, BCIM-EC,
roads, and bridges, railways,
power, maritime,
ICT, Industrial production,
capacity building
and skill development.
News
Both leaders also unveiled the
plaques of six projects adding that
the signing of these instruments
and the unveiling of these plaques
created a platform for the two countries
to cooperate at a higher plane.
The prime minister said her government’s
efforts today were aimed
at attaining the goals of becoming a
knowledge-based middle-income
country by 2021 and eventually a
developed country by 2041.
She also said that they had very
fruitful discussions on bilateral, regional
and international issues of
common interest.
“We have reiterated our commitment
to support the ‘One China
Policy.’ We have agreed to work
closely and support each other on
regional and international issues of
mutual interest.”
Elaborating on the enhanced
security cooperation agreed by the
two leaders, Foreign Secretary Md
Shahidul Haque said the two countries
would now work together to
fight terrorism and militancy, particularly
by capacity building and
exchange of information and good
practices.
“A MoU on the issue has been
signed after the talks,” he said.mDuring
the talks, Shahidul said, the Chinese
side hinted at making special
investment in RMG and jute sectors.
As part of a consensus on enhanced
economic cooperation, the
two countries inked a framework
agreement on production capacity
building after the talks, the foreign
secretary said, adding that under
the deal, the Chinese government
would assist Bangladesh in technology
transfer, capacity building,
training and establishment of new
entities.
He said China would make an investment
involving a huge amount
in the ICT sector in Bangladesh to
help materialise its vision of building
Digital Bangladesh.
Haque said during the talks the
Chinese president highly appreciated
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s
leadership and Bangladesh’s
stunning achievement in different
sectors under her able stewardship.
The foreign secretary said the
two leaders pledged to work together
to implement the sustainable
development goals.
Maritime was a new area where
the two countries agreed for collaboration
and the two countries
signed a MoU for cooperation on
blue economy.
Shahidul said the foreign ministers
of the two countries signed another
MoU to support the ‘One Belt
One Road’, a connectivity initiative
of the Chinese president.
The foreign secretary said several
other MoUs were signed in the
private sector and that these would
strengthen ties between the two nation’s
private sectors particularly in
the areas of trade and investment.
Asked about the estimated financial
value of the agreements
and MoUs, he said: “You will have
to wait a few days to know about
the total financial involvement of
the projects.”
But he said the two leaders
agreed that the development of the
people of the two countries was
most crucial for bilateral ties.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Without any elaboration, the
foreign secretary said an agreement
was signed on economic and technical
cooperation and a framework
agreement on road and tunnel.
President Xi led a 13-member
high powered Chinese delegation
at the talks.
They included two senior members
of Politburo of the Central
Committee of Communist Party of
China Wang Huning and Li Zhanshu,
State Councilor Yang Jiechi,
Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Minister
of National Development and
Reform Commission Xu Shaoshi,
Finance Minister Lou Jiwei, Commerce
Minister Gao Hucheng and
Governor of the People’s Bank of
China Zhou Xiaochuan.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
led the Bangladesh side that comprised
of Finance Minister AMA
Muhith, Industries Minister Amir
Hossain Amu, Commerce Minister
Tofail Ahmed, Public Administration
Minister Syed Ashraful Islam,
Minister for Road Transport and
Bridges Obaidul Quader, Foreign
Minister AH Mahmood Ali and Planning
Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
Upon his arrival at the Prime
Minister’s Office around 3pm,
Sheikh Hasina received Xi at the
Tiger Gate of the PMO and then the
two leaders held a tête-à-tête for
about ten minutes.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
arrived in Dhaka this morning on a
historic state visit amid high hopes
in Bangladesh that it will be the beginning
of a historic new journey
towards opening up a new horizon
in bilateral relations. •
Students, teachers, artists and cultural activists gather in a rally
near National Museum in Shahbagh, Dhaka yesterday to demand
arrest and punishment of the individuals who sent two death threats
to environmental activist Prof Anu Muhammad, who is running a
campaign against Rampal coal-fired power plant
RAJIB DHAR

News 5
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
Hasina talks straight with The Hindu
DT
• Tribune Desk
In an exclusive interview with Indian
daily The Hindu, Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina clarified
her administration’s position
on several domestic and regional
matters. Some of the highlights of
the interview are below:
Pullout from Saarc Summit
When asked this year’s postponement
of the Saarc summit mark the
end of the eight-country alliance,
she said:
“No, as we said in our official
statement on pulling out, we consider
that the environment prevailing
in the Saarc region at this
particular time is not conducive to
hold the Saarc summit. Bangladesh
has certain sensitivities over the
International Crimes Tribunal [ICT
of Bangladesh], where Pakistan
showed its dissatisfaction with our
processes and even raised the issue
in their parliament. They started
interfering in our internal affairs
by making unacceptable remarks.
We felt hurt by this, as this is an internal
matter for us, we are trying
war criminals in our country, and
it isn’t their concern. There is a lot
of pressure on me to cut off all diplomatic
ties with Pakistan for their
behaviour. But I have said the relations
will remain, and we will have
to resolve our problems.”
With an attempt to further clarifying
the issue, PM Hasina was
asked whether the attack in Jammu
and Kashmir’s Uri military base
had influenced in making the decision
to pull out; she replied:
“It was over the situation in Pakistan
that we decided to pull out.
The common people are the biggest
sufferers of terrorism there.
And that terror has gone everywhere,
which is why many of us
felt frustrated by Pakistan. India
and Pakistan also have their bilateral
problems, and I don’t want to
comment about that. India pulled
out because of the [Uri attack], but
for Bangladesh the reason is totally
different.”
Countering terrorism
When asked about how the country
was countering terrorism post-
Holey Artisan attack, Hasina said:
“Terror is now a global problem,
I’m trying to take some different
steps to fight it. I am reaching out
to teachers in schools and colleges
to spread awareness about it. Next
I’m telling parents to watch where
their children go, whom they meet.
We are asking clerics in mosques
and madrassas to teach that Islam
is a religion of peace, and ensure
that none speak of violence. With
awareness and a social movement
against extremism, we can prevent
our children from becoming terrorists.”
Border management and killings
When asked about whether she
would discuss border management
during her visit, she acknowledged
it as a “big problem” and pointed
out that it was solved after 45
years. She added:
“As far as border killings are
concerned, our border forces on
both sides, the BSF [India’s Border
Security Force] and the BGB [Border
Guard Bangladesh] have agreed
to jointly investigate the incidents
where BSF personnel have shot
and killed innocent Bangladeshi
villagers, and the home ministers
are discussing this.”
BRICS- Bimstec summit
The PM also remarked on her future
India visit for BRICS- Bimstec
summit this week and what she
would like to achieve from it. She
said:
“The problem in our region for
all of us is almost the same; we
have one common enemy and that
is poverty, which we must fight
to eradicate. With neighbouring
countries we may have many problems,
but I believe it can always be
solved. India and Bangladesh have
done it, like we agreed to a Ganges
water treaty. As far as Brics is concerned,
we have expectations that
Brics leaders will extend a supporting
hand to Bimstec with its New
Development Bank at affordable
terms.”
This interview took place at
Hasina’s residence, Gonobhaban,
prior to her visit to India where she
is going to attend BRICS- Bimstec
outreach, ‘involving nations surrounding
the Bay of Bengal,’ on October
15 and 16. •
Home boss: No beef
between RAB, police
• Tribune Desk
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan
Kamal reassured that there was no
conflict between police and RAB.
“RAB is a part of the police department,”
he told journalists while
visiting an art competition at Shilpakala
Academy in Dhaka yesterday.
He said, “There was no misunderstanding
between the two
forces. It is almost like two siblings
having minor problems.”
In recent reports in the media,
allegations emerged that some members
of the police force had hindered
the elite force personnel in discharging
their duties. Later, Director General
of RAB Benzir Ahmed wrote to to
the Home Ministry about the matter.
On Thursday IGP Shahidul Hoque
echoed the same. “If RAB wants to
make a complaint against the police,
it will have to complain to me (IGP)
not directly to the home minister.”
According to reports, the RAB
DG wrote in the letter that if no action
was taken in this regard immediately,
major untoward incident
may take place between the two
forces. This might also taint the image
of the police department. •
A nurse tends to one of the workers of a steel mill in Narayanganj, who were injured in a blast at the mill, at Dhaka Medical
College Hospital yesterday
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
N’ganj steel mill blast burns four
• Tanveer Hossain, Narayanganj
Four workers were burnt in a
blast at a steel mill in Fatulla upazila
Narayanganj district yesterday.
The injured were Fazlul Haque,
55, Abdul Khalek, 65, Nayan, 25,
and Monir Hossain, 45.
Factory Supervisor Mehedi
Hasan said the blast took place
while they were melting iron
around 7:30am.
Later, the injured were taken
to Dhaka Medical College Hospital
(DMCH) around 8:15am.
DMCH police outpost In-Charge
Sub-Inspector Bachchu Mia confirmed
the matter to Dhaka Tribune.
Quoting the doctor, he said:
“The injured sustained 10% to 30%
burn in the blast.
One of the injured named Fazlul
is in critical condition.” •
TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY
THUNDERSHOWER
WITH RAIN
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15
Dhaka 32 22 Chittagong 32 25 Rajshahi 32 20 Rangpur 30 20 Khulna 31 22 Barisal 30 22 Sylhet 32 20
DHAKA
TODAY
TOMORROW
SUN SETS 5:32PM
SUN RISES 5:57AM
YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW
33.7ºC
21.8ºC
Chuadanga
Tetulia
Source: Accuweather/UNB
PRAYER
TIMES
Cox’s Bazar 31 25
Fajr: 5:20am | Zohr: 1:15pm
Asr: 4:30pm | Magrib: 5:50pm
Esha: 7:45pm
Source: Islamic Foundation

6
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
Robber leader
killed in
gunfight
• UNB
A suspected leader of an inter-district
robber gang was killed in a
‘gunfight’ between his cohorts and
police at Brahmangaon village in
Sarail upazila early yesterday
The deceased was Manik Mia.
Rupak Kumar Saha, officer-incharge
of Sarail police station, said
a team of police arrested Manik
Mia, leader of an inter-district robber
gang, from Sarail upazila on
Wednesday night.
Later, police along with Manik
Mia conducted a drive in the village
to recover arms on Thursday night.
Sensing the presence of the law
enforcers, the associates of Manik
opened fire on police, prompting
them to retaliate, triggering a gunfight
early in the morning.
At one stage, Manik was caught in
the line of fire and sustained bullet injuries.
He was rushed to Sadar Hospital
where doctors declared him dead.
Five policemen, including
sub-inspectors Alim and Amzad,
were injured in the gunfight. Police
also recovered two pipe guns, two
rounds of bullets and some sharp
weapons from the spot. •
News
Stalker stops girl from
going to school
• Md Ibrahim, Chandpur
A minor schoolgirl of Koralia Road
in the district town has been away
from her school for the last six
months for fear of harassment by a
local youth.
Talking to local journalists recently,
the girl’s mother said her
daughter, a Class-VII student of
Lady Protima Mitra Girl’s School in
Koralia Road of the town, stopped
going to school six months ago as
Hanif, 22, son of Abdur Rahim Charu
Gazi of the same area, used to
harass her on her way to and from
school.
The youth also tried to violate
the girl several times as she refused
his love proposal, the mother alleged.
Finally, the girl stopped going to
school for fear of harassment, she said.
The girl’s mother also alleged
that Hanif threatened the family
with dire consequences if the girl is
married off to other.
“Hanif along with his associates
have also been throwing brick
chips on our tin-shed house for the
last several days,” she said.
Meanwhile, additional deputy
commissioner of the district M
Abdul Hai met the victim’s family
members and asked Chandpur
Model police station to arrest the
alleged stalker.
On October 12, Hanif and his
father gave an undertaking at the
police station not to harass the girl
in future.
But yesterday some youths
threatened the family members to
evict from the area, said the mother
of the girl. •
Syedpur railway gets 10 new coaches
• Md Taieyb Ali Sarker,
Nilphamari
Ten new passenger coaches have
been imported from Indonesia and
sent to Syedpur Railway Workshop.
The modern coaches reached
the workshop on Tuesday and
the railway workers are now conducting
inspection to prepare the
coaches for trial run, sources said.
Shawkat Jamil, divisional traffic
officer of Bangladesh Railway (BR)
West Zone (Rajshahi), said: “BR imported
the coaches under a bilateral
agreement between Bangladesh
and Indonesia. Among the coaches
one is AC berth, three are AC chair
and rest six are Shovon chair.”
BR sources said, the coaches were
made for Bangladesh by PT Inka
(Persero). PT Inka is a state-owned
train manufacturer, the first fully
integrated rolling stock and automotive
manufacturer in Southeast Asia.
Workers at the workshop told
the Dhaka Tribune that these
coaches are better and more qualitative
than the Indian coaches.
Divisional Caretaker of Saidpur
Wild elephants
kill 3 in Sherpur
• SA Shahriar Milton, Sherpur
Three people were killed in an attack
by wild elephants in Jhenaigati border
area in Sherpur district yesterday.
The deceased were Ahetonnesa,
40, wife of Sunnat Ali, Kala Johur,
55, son of Samiul Haque of Panbor
village and Abdul Hye, 42, son
of Shah Mahmud of Gurucharan
Dhudnoi village of the upazila.
Jhenaigati Upazila Nirbahi Officer
(UNO) Selim Reza confirmed
the matter to Dhaka Tribune.
“The elephants attacked the
people when they tried to stop
the elephants from destroying the
crops, leaving three people dead
on the spot,” he said. •
Railway Workshop, Nur Ahmed
Hossain, said: “After completing
the inspection works, we will hand
over the coaches to Railway traffic
department for test runs.”
The ADB is funding the railway
to purchase these coaches from
Indonesia. BR will buy total 100
meter gauge and 50 broad gauge
coaches within February 2017. •

News 7
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
Karnaphuli River in dire straits
• Anwar Hussain, Chittagong
The Karnaphuli River, known as
the lifeline of Chittagong, is now
under threat from unabated dumping
of toxic industrial and household
waste.
Untreated toxic effluent is discharged
from 300-400 mills and
factories as well as many households
on both banks of the river.
According to the report, the
main causes behind the river pollution
are dumping of untreated human
and household waste, absence
of sewerage treatment plants,
untreated toxic effluent released
from mills and factories, untreated
liquid waste from dyeing, washing,
tannery and paper mills, crude oil
sludge and bilge water from vessels,
oil leakage from oil tanker
collisions, accidents, absence of
oil-water separator in the power
plants, and absence or inactivity of
ETP.
The deplorable scenario was revealed
through a report prepared
by the Department of Environment,
Chittagong (DoEC).
DoEC Assistant Director Md
Bodrul Huda told the Dhaka Tribune
the report was submitted to
the director general of the DoE on
July 7 of this year.
“The report pinpointed the
sources and extent of pollution.
We also placed eight recommendations
to improve the conditions,”
said Huda.
“So far, we have fined different
industries with Tk3.45 corer for polluting
Karnaphuli River and realised
Tk57.42 lakh in total,” he said.
Aman planting in full swing in Northern region
• Tribune Desk
Farmers of northern region have
engaged their full efforts in transplanted
Aman farming everywhere
amid favourable weather conditions.
“The prevailing weather remains
favourable and helps the
farmers complete transplantation
of T-Aman seedlings this season
timely,” said Additional Director of
the Department of Agriculture Extension
(DAE) Fazlur Rahman.
He said the farmers had cultivated
aman paddy on around 3.95 lakh
hectares of land out of target 3.72
lakh hectares in Rajshahi, Naogaon,
Natore and Chapainawabganj districts
during the current season.
Fazlur Rahman said most of
the farming fields now wore an
eye-catching look. In some areas,
harvesting of the short-duration
varieties especially Brridhan-48
and zinc-enriched Brridhan-62
was started creating job opportunities
for many unemployed
people.
Unabated dumping of toxic industrial and household waste is posing a serious threat to the aquatic ecosystem of Karnaphuli
River, the life line of Chittagong. The photo was taken yesterday at Karnaphuli Chaktai area
RABIN CHOWDHURY
The report discovered that thousands
of cubic metres of untreated
waste find its way into the river
every day as the ETPs (Effluent
Treatment Plant) on most occasions
remain non-functional ETPs
in most of the industrial units.
The report identifies Karnaphuli
Paper Mill (KPM) as the largest polluter
since the state-owned enterprise
has been discharging untreated
toxic waste without setting up
ETP since 1953.
The frequent moderates to
heavy rainfalls have made the
farmers busy in transplanting the
seedlings everywhere and the concerned
government departments
including the DAE provided all necessary
assistances to the farmers.
Though there is
adequate rainwater, the
Barind Multipurpose
Development
Authorities is ready to
provide supplementary
irrigation if required
“Though there is adequate rainwater,
the Barind Multipurpose
Development Authorities (BMDA)
is ready to provide supplementary
irrigation if required,” DAE officials
said.
In addition, the farmers are
keeping thousands of their shallow
tube wells ready for supplementary
irrigation if any drought situation
begins during the transplantation
and farming period of the
major cereal crop in the region,
they said.
The farmers cultivate more than
29 high yielding, two hybrid and
nine local and indigenous varieties
during the Aman season and more
or less 15 of those are very much
popular among the farmers, said
ATM Rafiqul Islam, Deputy Manager
(Agriculture) of Barind Multipurpose
Development Authorities
(BMDA).
He said the farmers always hope
for a better yield from Aman cultivation,
as the cultivation of Aman
paddy requires less cost compared
to other crops because rain water
comes as the bounty of nature, reports
BSS.
Farmers Shafiqul Islam, Rashed
Alamgir and many others today
told BSS that they are not facing any
problem in plantation of T-Aman
In 2015, KPM was fined Tk1.8
corer for discharging untreated
chemical wastes and posing a serious
threat to the aquatic ecology.
The next largest polluters are
Chittagong Water Supply and Sewerage
Authority (CWasa) and Chittagong
City Corporation (CCC).
The other polluters of the river
are Asian Paper Mill, MEB Paper &
Board Mill, Riff Leather, Madina
Tannery, TK Chemical, FMC Paints
& Chemical, Ambia Pulp and Paper
Mills, Mostafa Paper Products,
heavy industries at Kalurghat, dyeing
factories including Desh Denim
and Four H Dyeing & Printing.
The river has lost 20-25 freshwater
species and 10 brackish water
species from its 140 fish species.
Gangetic dolphins (locally
known as Shushuk) have become
a rare sight as they are already an
endangered species.
Around 15-20 corer litres of
polluted water released from
seedlings as the frequent seasonal
rainfall are helping them a lot.
They expected 0-that farmers
would get bumper production this
time.”Though there is adequate
rainwater, the BMDA is ready to provide
supplementary irrigation if required,”
Agriculturist Rafique said.
Dev Dulal Dhali, Deputy Director
of DAE, informed that the
cultivation of paddy at the Barind
region is costly. Still many of farmers
were cultivating paddy as the
government was purchasing paddy
at a higher rate from the farmers to
recoup their loss.
He said prospect of T-Aman is
now very bright thanks to rain for
the last fewmonths. He also said
the department has supplied high
quality seeds, fertilizers, pesticidesand
other agriculture inputs at
free of cost among the farmers.
Besides, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan
Bank, Janata bank and other
commercial banks, local NGOs
inthe region are distributing shortterm
loan to farmers of the district
for cultivation of Aman paddy. •
households and untreated human
waste of 60 lakh city dwellers
find its way into Karnaphuli every
day. Chittagong WASA has yet to
set up an ETP after 53 years of
establishment.
The CCC and the Chittagong
Port Authority (CPA) are reported
to have inadequate waste management
systems.
The oil pollution in the river increases
from tanker collisions. The
report cited an accident from July
which spilled 1,500-2,000 litres of
diesel oil when two oil tankers collided.
About 76,000 litres of furnace
oil spilled into the river when a
freight train derailed at Boalkhali
upazila in Chittagong last June.
The accidents take a heavy toll
on the Karnaphuli as power plants
still lack oil-water separating
equipments.
Huda further added: “We collect
water samples twice a month from
two points of Karnaphuli River.
We analyse the samples based on
the parameters stipulated by Environment
Conservation Rules-1997.
The sample analysis shows that the
water quality remains comparatively
up to the mark during monsoon
but the level of salinity rises
alarmingly during winter.”
The recommendations placed
by the DoEC for checking pollution
include finalising Oil Spill Management
Plan, forming a Karnaphuli
River Study Cell under the DoEC
and bringing all polluter industries
under one umbrella through
Central effluent treatment Plant
(CETP). •
Female RMG
worker killed
• Nadim Hossain, Savar
A female garment worker was found
slaughtered yesterday in Bypail area
of Ashulia outskirts of Dhaka.
The deceased was Fatema
Akhter, 18, wife of Majnu Miah,
hailing from Madarganj upazila in
Jamalpur district.
Mohasinul Kadir, officer-incharge
of Ashulia police station,
said Fatema along with her husband
had been living in a rented
house owned by Monir Hossain in
Paschimpara of the area for the last
one month.
As Fatema was not coming out
of her room even it was 10 am,
neighbours went to the room and
found its door open.
Later, they entered the room
only to see her lying slaughtered
on the floor.
On information, police recovered
the body and sent it to Dhaka Medical
College Hospital for autopsy.
Fatema’s husband went into
hiding after the incident. •

DT
8
World
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
SOUTH ASIA
Pakistani student and
teacher accused of
blasphemy
A Pakistani teenager and his religious
teacher have been accused
of blasphemy, after the student
was allegedly caught burning pages
of the holy Quran. When asked
what he was doing, he said his
teacher had told him that burning
was the correct way to dispose of
old Qurans. -AFP
INDIA
1 killed, 4 soldiers injured
as militants attack convoy
in Srinagar
One personnel of Indian paramilitary
force was killed and four
others injured on Friday evening
when militants attacked their convoy
in Zakura area on the outskirts
of Srinagar. “They were returning
to their camp after performing their
law and order duties when they
were fired upon injuring eight personnel.
One has succumbed to his
injuries,” said SJM Gilani, Inspector
general of police in Kashmir. -HT
CHINA
China supports
Philippines’ drug war
Beijing on Friday expressed support
for a bloody crackdown on illegal
drugs in the Philippines overseen
by President Rodrigo Duterte. The
crackdown has left more than 3,700
people dead since July, according
to official data, prompting condemnation
from western nations, the
UN and the International Criminal
Court, among others. -AFP
ASIA PACIFIC
Japan in new row with
Unesco over Nanjing issue
Unesco found itself in a collision
course with Japan on Friday. Japan
is holding back more than $40m
in funding, following a protest
against listing documents related
to the Nanjing massacre. Foreign
minister Fumio Kishida said Japan
has suspended this year’s contribution
totalling $42m, but denied
any direct link to the Nanjing
incident that still hangs over frosty
diplomatic relations between
Tokyo and Beijing. -HT
MIDDLE EAST
Yemen funeral bombing
kills 4
At least 4 people were killed Friday
when a bomb exploded during the
funeral of an army officer in Yemen’s
Marib province. The explosion
struck a tent during the memorial
ceremony for Gen Abdelrab Sheddadi,
who himself died this week
during clashes with Iran-backed
rebels. -AFP
INSIGHT
South Asian tensions to dominate
BRICS summit
• Reuters, New Delhi
India will take its drive to isolate
Pakistan and rally the international
community against cross-border
militancy to a summit of
emerging market powers this
weekend, when it hosts BRICS nations
in the western state of Goa.
For Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, the gathering of leaders
from Brazil, Russia, India, China
and South Africa offers an opportunity
to highlight the threat he
sees to Indian security from recent
frontier clashes with Pakistan.
But across the summit table
at a resort hotel, Chinese President
Xi Jinping is unlikely to have
much interest in casting Beijing’s
alliance with Pakistan into doubt.
The final summit declaration
is expected to repeat earlier condemnations
of “terrorism in all
its forms”, say diplomats and analysts,
but avoid levelling blame
over tensions between the nuclear-armed
South Asian rivals.
Such discussions will make
security a dominant issue at the
eighth annual summit of the
group, even as leaders also address
core themes such as the
global economy, financial cooperation
and mutual trade.
“We will be looking at the global
economic and political situation,
and obviously terrorism is a
very important part of that,” Amar
Sinha, the Indian foreign ministry
official responsible for the BRICS
file, told a pre-summit briefing.
Not just a ‘jolly partner’
Where Modi and Xi may see eye
to eye, at least privately, is in a
shared desire for Islamabad to
restrain Islamist militants who,
in Beijing’s view, pose a threat
to China’s plans to build a $46bn
trade corridor that runs through
Pakistan to the Arabian Sea.
“Contrary to the public messaging
in Islamabad, China is not
the perpetual jolly partner when
it comes to its relations with Pakistan,”
said Michael Kugelman,
a senior programme associate at
the Wilson Centre in Washington
which focuses on South Asia.
“With China’s investments and
economic assets growing in Pakistan,
it’s only natural that it would
worry. All militants, whether ‘good’
or ‘bad’ as characterised by Pakistan,
threaten stability and by extension
China’s economic interests.”
In addition to launching what it
described as cross-border “surgical
A security personnel stands guard outside one of the venues of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa)
Summit, in Benaulim in the western state of Goa, India on October 14
REUTERS
strikes” against suspected militants
in Pakistan, in response to a September
18 attack on an army base
that killed 19 Indian soldiers, New
Delhi has mounted a diplomatic offensive
to isolate Islamabad.
Pakistan has denied any part in
the attack on the Uri army base,
near the de facto border that runs
through the disputed territory of
Kashmir. It also denies any “surgical
strikes” took place, saying there
was only border firing that is relatively
common along the frontier.
Islamabad says India has exploited
the incident to divert
attention from its own security
crackdown on protests sparked by
the killing of a popular separatist
militant leader.
More than 80 civilians have
been killed and thousands
wounded in India’s part of Kashmir,
and a widespread curfew has
been imposed.
Expressions of support
After the Uri attack, India quickly
won expressions of support from
the West and from Russia, whose
President Vladimir Putin will also
hold a bilateral summit with Modi
in Goa.
China, for its part, has shown
public restraint.
Zhao Gancheng, director of
South Asia studies at the Shanghai
Institute for International Studies,
said that China and Pakistan were
paying close attention to security
threats to the trade corridor.
“If Pakistan’s security situation
does not improve, it will obstruct
some of these projects - especially
infrastructure ones,” said Zhao.
“In this sense, cooperation on
counter-terrorism is very close.”
India has already engineered
the collapse of a South Asian regional
summit to have been hosted
by Pakistan, and the Goa gathering
will also feature an outreach
session to countries from the
Bay of Bengal region that could
emerge as an alternative focus of
regional cooperation.
Working groups
BRICS leaders will support plans
agreed by their national security
advisers to create three working
groups to cooperate on cyber security,
counter-terrorism and energy
security, said Sinha, the Indian
foreign ministry official.
But diplomats and analysts say
that India’s long-held ambition
of joining the Nuclear Suppliers
Group, a club of nuclear-trading
nations, is unlikely to progress at
Goa with China yet to soften its
blocking stance.
And, despite concerns about
militancy within Pakistan, China
has rebuffed India’s calls for
the United Nations to designate
Maulana Masood Azhar, leader
of the Jaish-e-Mohammed group
that India blames for recent
cross-border attacks, as a terrorist.
China recently extended a socalled
“hold” on the designation
by a further three months.
That reflects an evolving rivalry
between the world’s two most
populous nations in which, under
Modi, India is seeking to close
huge economic and military gaps
and is shifting away from traditional
non-alignment and seeking
a closer partnership with the US.
At the same time, China is expanding
its economic and strategic
reach into the Indian Ocean region,
with Xi visiting Bangladesh on Friday
en route to Goa where he is expected
to sign loans worth $24bn.
“Overall, it will be an awkward
summit,” said Shashank Joshi,
a senior research fellow at the
Royal United Services Institute in
London. •

World
Terrified residents flee Rakhine state
as Myanmar crackdown widens
• Tribune International Desk
Towns and villages across northern
Rakhine state were deserted
on Friday, as terrified residents
fled a deadly military crackdown
on foot and by air, fearing Myanmar’s
restive western state could
once again be ripped apart by violence,
reports AFP.
Local officials believe hundreds
of people from the area,
home to many from the persecuted
Muslim Rohingya minority,
spent months planning attacks on
police posts along the Bangladesh
border that sparked the crisis this
week.
Twenty-six civilians have died
in the ensuing military lockdown,
state media reported -- rights
groups say the army is gunning
down unarmed Muslims on the
streets but the army say troops
are defending themselves against
attack.
Law enforcement said 50 “violent
attackers” tried several times
to overrun a security office on
Thursday but were repelled by police
and soldiers.
Families have been streaming
out of Maungdaw on foot, their
worldly possessions stuffed into
carrier bags and plastic buckets
or strapped to the front of bicycle
rickshaws.
Around 180 teachers, workers
and residents were also airlifted
out of the region at the epicentre
of the crisis, while hundreds
of government staff have poured
into the state capital Sittwe.
Journalists said Maungdaw
town and nearby villages were
like ghost towns, with shops shuttered
and armed police on patrol.
Many of those fleeing are local
Buddhists, who make up the majority
of the country but account
for less than 10 percent of the
population in northern Rakhine,
where most people are Muslim
Rohingya.
Long-simmering animosity
between the two groups erupted
into communal violence in
2012 that ripped the impoverished
state apart, leaving more than 100
dead and driving tens of thousands
of Rohingya into squalid
displacement camps.
“Many Rakhines are going back
to Sittwe,” said a resident of Buthidaung,
a town close to Maungdaw,
too scared to give his name.
“We are also afraid here because
the attackers ran away with
guns.”
A journalist reported seeing
clouds of smoke billowing from a
village Thursday near charred remains
of two dozen bamboo houses
that the military said had been
torched by “terrorists”.
Armed military troops and police force travel in trucks through Maungdaw, located in Rakhine State, on
October 14, 2016 as the government announced that terror groups were behind the series of attacks
Towns and villages across northern Rakhine state were deserted on October 14, as terrified residents fled a deadly military
crackdown on foot and by air, fearing Myanmar’s restive western state could once again be ripped apart by violence AFP
Myanmar
Maungdaw
NAYPYIDAW
RAKHINE
CHINA
150 km
The Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation issued a statement
calling for calm, after receiving
“disturbing reports of extra-judicial
killings of Rohingya Muslims,
burning of houses, and arbitrary
arrests by security forces”.
Jihadist videos
Rakhine state government spokesman
Min Aung said a group of 200-
300 border-post assailants had
spent months plotting the raids,
which were originally intended to
hit as many as seven targets.
It is not clear who carried out
Sunday’s border-post assaults,
though local officials have publically
pointed the finger at Rohingya
insurgents and others have privately
blamed Bangladeshi groups
across the border.
The military said late Thursday
troops had captured a fifth suspect,
along with a gun, ammunition
and flags featuring the logo
of the RSO, a Rohingya militant
group long considered defunct.
A journalist in the village
where they were said to be found
was prevented from investigating
by soldiers, who said they were
concerned attackers had laid landmines
after a blast on the first day.
The RSO vigorously denied involvement
in a statement.
But videos showing armed men
speaking the Rohingya language
calling for jihad that have been
circulating on social media have
raised concerns some others from
the persecuted minority may be
turning toward militancy.
“The videos appear to be entirely
authentic,” Anthony Davis,
a security analyst with IHS-Jane’s,
told said.
He noted the speaker in the
first video uses the Chittagong
dialect of Bengali spoken by the
Rohingya, while the old guns and
swords they carry match the kind
authorities claim were used in the
border post raids.
“The footage shows what appear
to be a rabble of typical Rohingya
youths -- poorly dressed,
ill-equipped and apparently untrained.”
Matthew Smith, chief executive
of activist group Fortify
Rights, said the videos appear to
show Rohingya located in the Myanmar-Bangladesh
border areas
-- though where exactly is unclear.
An aide of Myanmar’s de facto
leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, refused
to confirm whether the video was
real, but said the government
“doesn’t feel worried” about it.
The Nobel laureate has faced international
criticism for not doing
more to help the Rohingya, and on
Wednesday she vowed to follow
the rule of law when investigating
the border guard attacks. •
9
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
USA
US eases Cuba trade and
travel restrictions
DT
The US on Friday announced new
measures to further ease trade, travel
and financial restrictions on Cuba.
The changes, will allow export to
Cuba of some US consumer goods
sold online and let US firms improve
Cuban infrastructure for humanitarian
purposes. They also lift limits
on the amount of Cuban rum and
cigars US travellers can bring home
for personal use. -REUTERS
THE AMERICAS
UN chief to visit hurricanehit
Haiti
UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon will travel to Haiti on
Saturday to visit areas devastated
by Hurricane Matthew as a UN
funding appeal for the Caribbean
nation drew few donors. UN has
launched a flash appeal for $120m
to help Haiti cope with its worst
humanitarian crisis since the 2010
earthquake. Only $6.1m has been
raised so far, equal to 5% of the
total appeal, said UN spokesman
Dujarric. - AFP
UK
British FM eyes ‘military
options’ in Syria
Britain should consider military
options in Syria but they are still
a distant prospect and could only
happen in a coalition with the United
States, foreign minister Boris
Johnson said Thursday. “It is right
now we should be looking again at
the more kinetic, military options,”
said Johnson, who is due to host
talks on the conflict with other
Western powers on Sunday. -AFP
EUROPE
Italy to send troops to
Nato mission in Latvia
Italy will send about 140 troops
to join a Nato mission in Latvia
set up to boost defences against a
possible Russian attack, Foreign
Minister Paolo Gentiloni said
on Friday. The Western defence
alliance agreed in July to deploy
military forces in the Baltic states
and eastern Poland for the first
time and increase air and sea
patrols. -REUTERS
AFRICA
30 killed in Central African
Republic fighting
30 people were killed and 57 others
wounded during an attack on refugees
by Seleka militia in the north
of Central African Republic on
Wednesday. Avenging what they
said was the recent murder of four
young Muslims in the remote town
of dirt roads and thatched mud
huts, armed Seleka stabbed and
hacked to death refugees who had
fled previous violence in the region
and set fire to buildings. -REUTERS

10
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
World
ANALYSIS
Bhumibol’s death brings uncertainty in Obama’s Asia pivot
• Reuters, Washington, DC
ancing the US diplomatic and security
focus to the Asia-Pacific region
in the face of China’s rapid rise.
The main economic pillar of the
rebalance, the 12-nation Trans-Pacific
Partnership trade deal, is languishing
in the US Congress with
no guarantee that Obama will be
able to push it through before
leaving the presidency to Hillary
Clinton or Donald Trump, both of
whom say they oppose the deal.
Obama’s efforts to boost security
ties with Southeast Asia have come
in response to China’s pursuit of
territorial claims in the South China
Sea, a vital strategic waterway.
However, a torrent of anti-American
rhetoric from new Philippines
President Rodrigo Duterte has cast
doubt on the US military relationship
with Manila just months after Washington
reached an agreement on rotating
access to bases in the country.
Other Southeast Asian countries,
such as Indonesia and Malaysia,
are focused on internal political
issues and are avoiding playing
any leadership role in Asean, while
even traditionally reliable regional
ally Australia is treading carefully
to avoid jeopardising its economic
ties with Beijing.
Thailand was already occupying
a back seat in regional affairs following
a 2014 military coup seen as
a means to maintain stability during
the king’s long illness. Thailand
is expected to turn further inward
during a prolonged mourning period
and potentially politically fragile
royal succession.
King Bhumibol’s son,
Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn,
who is expected
to become Thailand’s
new king, lacks the strong
connection to the US of
his father, who was born
in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Obama’s former top
Asia adviser, Evan Medeiros,
now at the Eurasia
Group, said the mourning
process would likely slow
a return to democratic
now ... Thailand is very internally
focused, and Malaysia has a rolling
political crisis,” he continued.
“I don’t know exactly what direction
the Philippines is headed;
Singapore has a lot of strategic
thinkers but it’s a city state; I don’t
think you can really count on Laos,
Cambodia and Myanmar to provide
the strategic engine for Asean.”
There appears little prospect for
now, however, that Vietnam would
be willing to open its doors further
to the US military should the deal
with the Philippines run into problems,
given past animosities and
concerns about China.
“The Vietnamese have been
very measured in the pace at which
they have expanded the security
relationship.” •
The Thai national flag flutters at half mast at the Ministry of Defence
following the passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in Bangkok, Thailand
on October 14
REUTERS
The death of Thailand’s King Bhumibol
Adulyadej on Thursday adds
a new layer of uncertainty to US
President Barack Obama’s faltering
“pivot” to Asia less than a month
before the November 8 US presidential
elections.
The king was important in cementing
the long-standing alliance
between the United States and
Thailand after World War II, in a
reign that spanned the Vietnam
War and development of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations
(Asean), which Washington still
considers vital to maintaining its
influence in the region.
King Bhumibol’s death coincides
with faltering momentum in
Obama’s signature policy of rebal-
government and Prince
Vajiralongkorn was a
source of “profound uncertainty.”
Much has changed
Murray Hiebert of
Washington’s Center for
Strategic and International
Studies think tank, said
much had changed since
Obama announced his
pivot policy in 2011.
“The king’s death adds
to uncertainty in Southeast
Asia, a region in considerable
flux already.
This makes the US rebalance
to Asia more difficult
because the situation in
so many countries is that
of ‘wait and see.’
King Bhumibol’s death
means Washington finds
itself having to rely even
more on former foe Vietnam
for any kind of strategic
ballast in the region.
“The Vietnamese are
providing the dynamism
when it comes to strategic
thinking,” US Ambassador
to Vietnam Ted Osius said
in Washington on Tuesday.
“Indonesia is very internally
focused right

Why it matters:
Homegrown
extremism
• Tribune International Desk
Radical Islamic
militancy that
has sustained
itself for decades
overseas
has inspired a
series of attacks on US soil in
the last year and a half.
The culprits typically have
no ties to foreign terrorist
organizations, no explicit directions
from overseas and
no formal training, unlike
the operatives of 9/11. Instead,
they’ve blended into
American society and skated
beneath the radar of federal
investigators grappling with a
frenetic threat landscape and
hundreds of investigations
across the country.
The bombing in Manhattan
in September that injured
more than two-dozen people
crystallised the concerns- A
handwritten journal found
with Ahmad Khan Rahami,
the Afghan-born US citizen accused
in the explosion, praised
terrorists like Osama bin Laden
and warned the sounds of
bombs would be heard in the
streets, prosecutors allege.
Before that was the Pulse
nightclub massacre in Orlando,
the deadliest mass shooting
in modern US history, with
49 killed. In December 2015,
a husband-wife duo killed 14
people in San Bernardino, California.
A July 2015 shooting at
military sites in Chattanooga,
Tennessee, killed four Marines
and one Navy sailor.
Death counts mount. While
more people die in traffic accidents,
the fear of seemingly
random attacks has shaken the
American psyche. Some Americans
have turned inward. They
think twice about attending
large events. They view others
suspiciously on public transit.
Where they stand
Hillary Clinton says Muslim-Americans
may be the
best defence against extremism
in their communities. She
says they can prevent young
people from joining jihadis
and notify law enforcement
when they hear of planned
attacks or suspected radicalisation.
Clinton would prohibit
people on terrorist watch lists
from being able to purchase
weapons. She also wants
wider use of programmes to
identify signs of radicalisation
and counter jihadi ideology,
though the success of such initiatives
isn’t established.
Donald Trump had proposed
a freeze on foreign Muslims
entering the US, though
that would have done little to
stop radicalised American citizens.
Now, instead, he’s proposed
a hold on immigration
from areas of the world with
a history of extremist violence
against the US and allies.
Why it matters
The threat is real. The FBI has
said counter-terrorism agents
have open investigations
across the country. Director
James Comey said in May
there are north of 1,000 cases
in which agents are trying to
evaluate a subject’s level of
radicalisation and potential
for violence. Since late 2013,
more than 110 people in about
35 judicial districts have been
charged with trying to join foreign
militants overseas, plotting
violence domestically or
otherwise supporting the IS,
according to John Carlin, head
of the Justice Department’s
National Security Division.
The number of Americans
seeking to travel to Syria to
fight alongside IS has slowed
to a near trickle, through that’s
not necessarily comforting.
The IS has been using social
media to exhort supporters already
in the US to commit violence
locally with guns, bombs
or any easily accessible arms.
Tracking would-be jihadis
is especially challenging. Even
as investigators express confidence
in their ability to detect
and thwart a spectacular
9/11-style plot, there’s simply no
way to identify the untold number
of Americans inspired by IS.
Its supporters need not receive
training or vetting to be
adopted by IS. A simple public
pledge of support, as attackers
in San Bernardino and Orlando
did, is often sufficient.
Law enforcement has a difficult
job tracking would-be militants
and stopping them before
they attack. But it also is tasked
with taking down the network of
people promoting radical Islam.
The debate over how to
respond is framed by those
calling for more investigative
powers for law enforcement
and the intelligence community,
on the one hand, and
those trying to protect citizens’
right to privacy. •
World
11
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT

12
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
Heritage
Bountiful Barisal
To see the foundations of the British Empire, see Barisal
• Tim Steel
The prosaic, online
references today to
this ancient city add
something of an air of
mystery to the city, once known,
even in Europe, as Bacola.
Perhaps no other significant
metropolis in Bangladesh
receives such a cursory online
coverage, and a rich history and
heritage largely ignored. And this
despite an extraordinarily rich
architectural heritage, not unlike
that of that other ancient city of
Bangladesh, Rajshahi.
The wealth of such visible
heritage around the bustling
centre of the city pays mute
testimony to that heritage. Well
has it been written: “He that has
eyes to see, let him see,” when
applied to any visit to Barisal.
Perhaps more interesting still, is sufficient evidence, today, in those early
period mosques and temples, and of both Buddhist and Christian places
of worship, too, that social cohesion was also strong
The streets have been narrowed
as more modern developments
burgeon before one of the richest
collections of merchant mansions
and public buildings to be found
anywhere in the country; there are
few streets, or lanes, that do not
reveal to seeking sight municipal
and residential magnificence.
And the ruins of palaces around
the city district, such as Ulania,
Lakutia, and Madhubpasha,
together with a magnificent
diversity of ancient temples and
mosques, even the early 20th
century Oxford Mission Church,
the largest such in Bangladesh,
bear their own testimony to
the immense bounty at the
foundations of such visible local
affluence.
Even the colonial splendour
of schools, colleges, legal and
administrative buildings represent
a significant past.
Once the centre of the famous
British colonial territory of
Bakerganj, it seems very likely,
in the days of the East India
Company, and particularly the Raj,
that a crossing to Chandpur from
the extensive quays and moorings
that denote an ancient place of
trade, of Barisal, almost certainly
contributed to it as a continuing,
flourishing mercantile centre.
Which would of course provide
some explanation of those lavish,
if, in many cases, semi-ruinous
mansions, in and around the city.
It is, anyway, interesting to
note that the Bakerganj District
was founded by the East India
Company some four years before
the Battle of Buxar finally created
the environment in which the
Mughal regime felt the need to
concede control of Bengal, Bihar,
and Orissa to the Company.
1760, as it happens, was also
the year that the Company was
conceded Chittagong, and the
lands south, to the Naf River. That
this city and its location were
of significant importance to the
Company seems unquestionable.
Sad that with evidently
distinguished places of education
thereabouts, it seems that none
have attempted to thoroughly

Heritage
13
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
The ruins of palaces
around the city
district, even the
early 20th century
Oxford Mission
Church, the largest
such in Bangladesh,
bear their own
testimony to the
immense bounty
at the foundations
of such visible local
affluence
research and record such a rich and
colourful history.
Located effectively on one of
the main distributary waterways
of the great Ganges, it is probably
safe to assume that its history
dates back for millennia; indeed, a
location close to nearby Gopalganj
is postulated as the ancient
recorded capital of the Kingdom of
Gangaridai. That kingdom, we have
every reason to believe, existed in
these deltaic lands from at least
the 4th century BCE, the time of
Alexander the Great, to the 2nd
century CE/AD, when the Kingdom
is marked on Ptolemy’s famous
map.
It may very well prove, if the day
ever comes for serious exploration
of this heritage, that deep beneath
the alluvium of the area lies
evidence of a past that reaches back
thousands of years.
The apparently endless, flat,
swampy lands of these deltaic
plains have, for centuries, been
significant rice-producing areas,
certainly from the earliest times
when exports of rice to other parts
of the Indian sub-continent and
elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
Without much doubt, those
cargoes shipped from the ancient
port of Barisal. No doubt, also,
perhaps, together with cargoes
of the jute that is also extensively
cropped in the region as that,
too, became a major cash export
crop from the 18th century. This
agricultural bounty accounts for at
least some of the wealth reflected
in the merchant mansions of the
city, and the zaminder palaces of
the district.
It is that wealth of architectural
heritage, in mosques, temples,
churches, public and private
buildings that provides the most
tangible clue to, not only that
commercial wealth of the area, but
also the significance of public and
religious activity.
Certainly, Barisal was amongst
the points of departure across the
waters of the delta for travellers
and traders on the Grand Trunk
Road, the millennia old route that,
eventually, reached from Kabul in
Afghanistan to Chittagong. That
Chandpur represented a hub for,
especially, such as rail travel to the
spread of Raj controlled territories
into what is now north east India,
there is no doubt, but whether
reached by water from the Hoogly,
or by land, there is little doubt
that Barisal played its own part in
such transit; as indeed it continues
to do so today, as a major station
on the water route, still plied by
the famous “ferry” craft to the
Sundarbans.
Such points of transit, of
course, also derive wealth from
such travellers. Even beyond the
tangible evidence of wealth, we
have environmental, historic, and
documentary evidence.
The famous Durga Sagar, the
largest artificial lake in southern
Bangladesh, of course, represents
late 18th century wealth and power
of the local zamindari, as do the
numerous zaminder palaces in
the area. But, one of the earliest
documentary descriptions of life
in Barisal, in the late 16th century,
firmly established both the
significance of the location, and the
evident affluence of its inhabitants.
It is clear that even lower social
classes displayed some of that
affluence.
Ralph Fitch, the English
merchant, a leatherworker of
London, who, in the mid 1580s, in
the course of extensive travels in
the region, visited “Bacola,” paints
a vivid word picture of the city.
He had, according to his
published journal, already been in
Cooch Bihar, and his description of
the “citie Bottia,” in today’s Bhutan,
stands as one of the clearest pieces
of evidence of the Southern Silk
Road trade route, with his mentions
of “merchants which come out of
China, and say out of Muscouia
and Tartarie ... Come to buy musk,
agates, silk, pepper, and saffron like
the saffron of Persia.”
Indeed, it has even been
suggested that he himself may
possibly even have penetrated
to Lhasa in Tibet. He was not,
therefore, liable to be easily
impressed by Barisal, which he so
evidently was.
“From Chatigan in Bengal, I
came to Bacola; the king whereof
(almost certainly the famous
Pratapaditya) is a Gentile (Hindu),
a man very well disposed and
delighted much to shoot in a gun.
His country is very great and
fruitful, and hath store of rice,
much cotton cloth, and cloth of
silk. The houses are very fair and
high built, the streets large, and
people naked, except a little cloth
about their waist. The women wear
a great store of silver hoops about
their necks and arms, and their legs
are ringed with silver and copper,
and rings made from elephants’
teeth.”
In Fitch’s commentary we may
accept that, quite apart from his
description of the tall buildings,
broad streets, and lavishly
decorated residents, which must
denote the wealth of a flourishing
centre of trade, his references also
support the view of a flourishing
agricultural and manufacturing
economy. Indeed, Pratpaditya’s
wealth was almost legendary!
Perhaps more interesting still, is
sufficient evidence, today, in those
early period mosques and temples,
and of both Buddhist and Christian
places of worship, too, that social
cohesion was also strong. As the
18th century French philosopher
observed: “Peace is the natural
consequence of trade!”
From Barisal, Fitch travelled
on, giving us a much more
comprehensive glimpse of
the wealth and trade of the
environment within which the
port city lay. Passing through
“Serrepore,” probably close to
Dhaka, he arrived in “Sinnergan”
(Sonargaon), and, even there, it
seems, he found little more than
had already so impressed him at
Barisal.
His travels, of course, resulted
in a report on his return to London
that was significantly responsible
for consolidating the chartering of
the East India Company; we can
have no doubt that his report must
have reflected the potential for
trading wealth in the region.
And there can, also, be little
doubt that the evident affluence of
Barisal was amongst the evidence
he provided to Queen Elizabeth
to justify the development of
the trade that was to prove, in
the ensuing two centuries, the
foundation of, still, the greatest
empire the world has seen: The
British Empire. •
Tim Steel is a communications, marketing
and tourism consultant.

14
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
Climate Change
The river that eats up land and homes
• Rafiqul Islam
Piyara Begum once had a
happy life in Garuhara
village by the Brahmaputra
River in northern
Bangladesh, but worsening erosion
of the river banks has displaced
her family seven times.
Now Piyara, 30, has taken
shelter in Panchgachi village, 8
kilometres away in the same subdistrict
of Kurigram Sadar.
“I am always concerned about
where Piyara and her three
children are living, and how she
manages her family expenses,
as she has lost everything due to
erosion,” said her uncle, Abdul
Majid, who still lives in Garuhara
village.
The loss of Piyara’s home is
taking a toll on her mental and
physical health, he added.
Riverbank erosion is a common
problem along the mighty
Brahmaputra during the monsoon,
but scientists say climate change
is making the phenomenon worse
by contributing to higher levels of
flooding and siltation.
According to villagers in
Garuhara, about 200 families have
been displaced by erosion there in
the last two years.
Majid fears that if the trend
continues, the whole of the village
will go underwater, rendering
about 1,000 families homeless.
But some of those who want
to escape that prospect cannot -
because they are unable to turn
their assets into the cash they
need to pay for their move.
Abdul Malek, 45, a farmer
in Garuhara, had 0.4 acres of
agricultural land on the bank of
the Brahmaputra, but the river
washed away half his plot during
the monsoon last year.
“My family had no problem in
the past as we cultivated crops on
the land to meet our food demand.
But now we are facing trouble,”
he said.
Malek and his family are
planning to migrate to another
part of the country after selling
their homestead, but they cannot
find a buyer because the property
is at high risk of erosion.
Other families in Garuhara
village who also want to sell up
and leave are trapped there for the
same reason.
Erosion rates rising
The Brahmaputra is a
transboundary river, originating
in southwestern Tibet, flowing
through the Himalayas, India’s
Assam State and Bangladesh, and
out into the Bay of Bengal.
Climate change has contributed
to rapid siltation of the river in
recent years, which is intensifying
bank erosion during the monsoon,
Locals look at the erosion left by the river Jamuna, in Sariakandi, near Bogra town, 250km northwest of the capital
Riverbank erosion works like a silent cancer and can be more
devastating than storms or floods because it takes everything
people own, including their land
Bangladesh Water Resources
Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud
told the Thomson Reuters
Foundation.
A 2014 study from the
International Union for
Conservation of Nature showed
that the flow of the Brahmaputra
is influenced strongly by the
melting of snow and ice upstream,
mainly in the eastern Himalaya
mountains.
This century, as temperatures
rise, the river is likely to see
an overall increase in flows
throughout the year, driven by
more rainfall, higher snow melt
rates, and expanded run-off areas,
the study said.
Every year, the river carries silt
from the Himalayas and deposits
it downstream in Bangladesh,
creating myriad islands known as
chars.
When floods occur upstream
on the Brahmaputra, amid more
intense bursts of heavy rainfall
linked to climate change, the
silted-up river has less capacity to
carry the huge volume of water,
accelerating bank erosion.
Maminul Haque Sarker of the
Center for Environmental and
Geographic Information Services
(CEGIS), a Dhaka-based think tank,
said the erosion rate has increased
at some points of the river in
Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur,
and Sirajganj districts.
A 2015 CEGIS study put the
annual rate of erosion along the
Brahmaputra at around 2,000
hectares (4,942 acres) in recent
years.
Bangladesh’s major rivers
combined consume several
thousand hectares of floodplain
annually, destroying homes and
infrastructure and leaving people
landless and homeless.
Silent cancer
A 2013 study by the Refugee and
Migratory Movements Research
Unit at the University of Dhaka and
the UK-based Sussex Centre for
Migration Research estimated that
riverbank erosion displaces 50,000
to 200,000 people in Bangladesh
every year.
Those displaced by erosion
become isolated from their
families and wider social
networks, and most have no scope
to return to their roots.
Majid from Garuhara village
said many of his neighbours and
relatives have already left for other
parts of the country and do not see
each other even once a year.
Minister Mahmud said
riverbank erosion works like a
silent cancer and can be more
devastating than storms or floods
because it takes everything people
own, including their land.
“People have the chance to
return to a normal life if they are
hit by a cyclone or flood,” he told
the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“If people once become displaced
due to bank erosion, it is quite
impossible to return to normal
life.”
CEGIS deputy executive
director Fida A Khan said people
often have family cemeteries or
other religious monuments on
the riverbanks that are claimed by
erosion. Those structures may not
be worth much economically, but
have high social value, he added.
Jahera Begum, 45, another
REUTERS
victim of riverbank erosion, had
a homestead in Balchipara village
in Kurigram Sadar sub-district,
but the river washed away all
the village land during last year’s
monsoon, uprooting about 100
families.
“My husband has already gone
to Feni district seeking work. I am
temporarily taking shelter in my
relatives’ house at Garuhara,” said
Jahera, who is planning to head to
Feni or even Dhaka soon.
Bank erosion has not
only claimed all her family’s
belongings, but has left them
facing an uncertain future, she
said grimly. •
Rafiqul Islam is a freelance contributor
to the Thomson Reuters Foundation,
writing on climate change issues
from Dhaka, contributing stories on
climate change issues. This piece was
originally published by Thomas Reuters
Foundation, the charitable arm of
Thomson Reuters, which can be found
here: http://news.trust.org/climate.
This page has been developed in
collaboration with the International
Centre for Climate Change and Development
(ICCCAD) at Independent
University, Bangladesh (IUB) and
its partners, Bangladesh Centre for
Advanced Studies (BCAS) and International
Institute for Environment
and Development (IIED). This page
represents the views and experiences
of the authors and does not necessarily
reflect the views of Dhaka Tribune
or ICCCAD or its partners.

Learn English
15
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
FILL THE GAPS
I’m ill
Do you know how to talk about being ill? Try to fill in the
gaps in the sentences, using the words at the top.
earache
headache
Ouch
temperature
sore
tummyache
1. If something hurts you say “ __________ !”
2. If your head hurts you have a __________ .
3. If your stomach hurts you have a stomachache or __________ .
4. If your ear hurts you have __________ .
5. If your throat hurts you have a __________ throat.
6. If you are very hot you have a high __________ .
or tummyache.
4.
If your
ear hurts you have earache.
5. If your throat hurts you have a sore throat.
6. If you are very hot you have a high temperature.
Answers
1. If something hurts you say “Ouch!”
2. If your head hurts you have a headache.
3. If your stomach hurts you have a stomachache
Find lots more fun things to do at
www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishkids
© British Council 2016

16
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
Dhaka Lit Fest
Note from the directors
We are delighted to welcome 60 international writers
and poets, representing more than 18 countries,
to join Bangladeshi writers and artists, for the 6th
edition of the Dhaka Lit Fest. At a time when many
understandably shy away from a city like Dhaka, we
are thrilled to have the support of all those who are
planning to come out this November. At the same
time, we are also very grateful to Bangladeshi writers,
publishers, activists who fight daily, at times with
grave risk, to keep open the space for free thought and
discourse. We also thank the authorities who provide
the high degree of security that has now become de
rigueur for events of its kind. DLF is the upshot of many
souls from home and abroad, who come together only
for three days, but thanks to months of preparation.
From left, Kazi Anis Ahmed, Sada Saaz and Ahsan Akbar
As always, we embrace diversity and pluralism,
actively engaging in other cultures and literatures,
as well as celebrating our own. This is the first time
we will have the pleasure of hosting winners of the
Nobel, the Man International and the Pulitzer prizes
in a single event in Dhaka. As a tribute to the recently
deceased writer Syed Shamsul Haq, we will be staging
a play, Neel Dangshan, adapted from his classic novel
of the same name. Dialogues will range from literature
to politics, science to culture, and we will welcome
alternative perspectives and counter-narratives. We
strive always to showcase upcoming voices alongside
established ones, and certainly to hold up the best of
our culture and literature for the world to know in a
spirit of mutuality and collaboration.
We welcome all lovers of literature and art, free
and respectful debate and discourse to join us in
the charming lawns and halls of the haloed Bangla
Academy. Along with the artists, it is the attendants
who make the festival vibrant, alive and worth
everyone’s effort!
So, please join us on Nov 17-19 and bring your
friends too!
– Kazi Anis Ahmed, Sadaf Saaz, Ahsan Akbar
Directors, Dhaka Lit Fest
Nayanika Mookherjee
is the research
director and reader
in the Anthropology
department at Durham
University, UK. In Oct
2014 she was awarded the
Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi
Samman (for overseas Indians)
award at the House of Lords for her
social anthropological work on gendered violence
during wars. She has published extensively on
anthropology of violence, ethics and aesthetics.
Her book: The Spectral Wound: Sexual Violence,
Public Memories and the Bangladesh War (2015,
Duke University Press) was shortlisted for the BBC’s
Thinking Allowed and Best Ethnography Award. •
V.S. Naipaul with a lion cub
Photo: Khadija Bradlow
V.S. Naipaul was born in Trinidad in 1932. He went to England on a scholarship in 1950. After four years at University
College, Oxford, he began to write, and since then has followed no other profession. He was knighted in 1989, was awarded
the David Cohen British Literature Prize in 1993, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001. He holds honorary
doctorates from Cambridge University and Columbia University in New York, and honorary degrees from the universities of
Cambridge, London, and Oxford. He lives in Wiltshire, England. •
Vijay Seshadri was born in Bangalore in 1954
and moved to America at the age of five. He is
the author of the poetry books Wild Kingdom,
The Long Meadow, The Disappearances, and 3
Sections, as well as many essays, reviews, and
memoir fragments. His work has been widely
published, anthologized and recognized
with many honours, most recently the 2014
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and, in 2015, the
Award of the American Academy of Arts and
Letters. He studied at Oberlin College and
Columbia University, and currently teaches
at Sarah Lawrence College, where he held the
Michele Tolela Myers Chair. •
Amy Sackville’s first novel, The
Still Point (Portobello, 2010) was
awarded the John Llewellyn Rhys
Prize for a work of literature by
a writer under 35, and was also
long-listed for the Orange Prize
for Fiction and the Dylan Thomas
Prize. Her second novel, Orkney,
was published by Granta Books in
2013, and won a Somerset Maugham
Award in 2014. She lives in London
and teaches Creative Writing at the
University of Kent. •
Barkha Dutt is consulting editor
with NDTV, India’s premier news
network. She is one of India’s
best-known journalists and the
youngest to receive the Padma Shri
award. In her 23-year career, she
has covered several conflict zones,
including Kashmir, Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Iraq, Egypt and Libya, and
interviewed a range of personalities
around the world including Hillary
Clinton, Bill Clinton, Nawaz Sharif,
Bill and Melinda Gates, Tony Blair,
Aung San Suu Kyi, Hamid Karzai,
Malala Yousafzai, Kailash Satyarthi,
the Dalai. •
Alex Preston is an awardwinning
novelist and journalist
who appears regularly on BBC
television and radio. He writes
for GQ, Harper’s Bazaar and
Town & Country Magazine as
well as for the Observer’s New
Review. He teaches Creative
Writing at the University of
Kent. His next book, about
birds in literature, will be
published by Little, Brown in
May 2017. •

Dhaka Lit Fest
17
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
The DLF this year will have 60 fiction writers, poets, journalists and publishers from around the world converge with local artists and authors
in many panels. Here we present readers with a few of them. Stay tuned to Dhaka Tribune and the November issue of Arts & Letters to get more
updates. For the full list of authors, visit dhakalitfest.com.
Deborah Smith’s
translations from
the Korean include
two novels by Han
Kang, The Vegetarian
(winner of the 2016
International Man
Booker Prize) and
Human Acts; and
two by Bae Suah, A
Greater Music and
Recitation. In 2015
Deborah completed
a PhD at the School of
Oriental and African
Studies, University
of London, on
contemporary
Korean literature and
founded Tilted Axis, a non-profit press focusing on contemporary
and cutting-edge Asian fiction in translation. Their debut title was
Panty by Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay, translated from the Bengali by
Arunava Sinha. In 2016 Deborah won the Arts Foundation Award
for Literary Translation. Twitter: @londonkoreanist. •
Evie Wyld is an Anglo-Australian
author. She has published three
books, Everything is Teeth (2015),
All the Birds, Singing (2013), and
After the Fire a Still Small Voice
(2009). She has won several awards
including Australia’s Miles Franklin
Award in 2014. In 2013 she was
listed as one of Granta’s Best of
Young British Novelists. She works
and lives in South London where
she helps run Review bookshop. •
Photo: Poeloft Bakker
Sangeeta Bandyopadhay went to
Carmel Convent School in Durgapur
and later to Bagbazar Multipurpose
Girls’ School, where she was first
exposed to the immense joys of
Bengali literature, and Ghokale
Memorial College. To learn Bengali
language she began reading Bengali
literature. This can be considered
the turning point of her life; as she
read she also thought of writing. Her
first novel, Sankhini, was published
in Desh Patrika 13 years ago and
is still high up on the best seller
charts. Bandyopadhay has written
nine novels and 60 short stories,
and is currently trying to become a
full time writer. Her Bengali novel
Ruh, was translated into English as
Abandon, while two more Bengali
novels, Panty and Sanmohan, were
published as Panty and Hypnosis.
Panty was published in June 2016
by UK publisher Tilted Axis, and has
fascinated UK readers. •
Anthony McGowan has written
two literary thrillers, Stag Hunt and
Mortal Coil, and seven young-adult
novels, Hellbent, Henry Tumour,
The Knife That Killed Me (made into
a highly acclaimed film in 2014),
The Fall, Brock, Hello Darkness and
Pike. He has also written widely for
younger children. He will have three
new books out in 2017: Everybody
Hurts—a young adult novel cowritten
with Jo Nadin; a picture
book, I Killed Santa, illustrated by
the UK children’s laureate, Chris
Riddell; and The Art of Failing,
described by Nick Hornby as “It’s
eccentric, charming, maddening,
and very, very funny. It also comes
much closer to describing the reality
of the writing life than anything
you’ll find in the Paris Review.” •
Chador Wangmo is a celebrated
Bhutanese author of nine children’s
books and two novels. She started
her writing career with illustrated
folktales for children. A teacher
turned writer, she dedicates her
entire time to writing. She is
currently working on her first-ever
superhero book, which is scheduled
to be released in 2017. Wangmo
also volunteers for social causes.
She has successfully conducted a
Summer Exposure Tour for twenty
children from a very remote village
in the summer of 2016. Since this
project was a huge success, the
Rotary Club of Thimphu, which
was the major sponsor for the
project, has decided to conduct
such projects every year. •
Bee Rowlatt is a writer
and journalist. Her current
book In Search of Mary was
inspired by the life of Mary
Wollstonecraft. It was on
the Independent’s Best
Biographies list . It was
featured on BBC Meet the
Author and Public Radio
International’s The World,
and described by Nobel
Laureate Amartya Sen
as “terrific—quite unlike
anything I’ve read before.”
Bee writes a feminism blog for
the BBC. She co-wrote Talking
about Jane Austen in Baghdad
and is one of the writers in Virago’s Fifty Shades of Feminism. Her
public speaking appearances include 5x15, the Southbank Women
of the World festival, Hay Festival, and British Council literary
events in Iraq, Norway, India, Mexico, Russia and Palestine. She
is a regular guest on BBC Woman’s Hour and has reported for
BBC World Service, Newsnight, and BBC2. www.beerowlatt.com
Twitter: @BeeRowlatt •
Photo: Pat Phetthong
Prabda Yoon is a writer, translator,
graphic designer, publisher and
filmmaker based in Bangkok,
Thailand. His story collection,
Kwam Na Ja Pen (“Probability”),
won the S.E.A. Write Award in
2002. He runs the publishing house
Typhoon Studio, co-founded the
independent bookshop Bookmoby
Readers’ Cafe, and serves the
Thai publishing industry as Vice
President of International Affairs
in the Publishers and Booksellers
Association of Thailand (PUBAT).
Prabda is also the current President
of the Asia Pacific Publishers
Association (APPA). •
Tim Cope is an
adventurer, author
and film-maker with a
special interest in the
traditional cultures
of Central Asia and
Russia. Tim’s most
renowned journey
was a three-year,
6,000-mile journey by
horse from Mongolia
to Hungary on the trail
of Genghis Khan—a
quest to understand
the horseback nomads
of the great Eurasian
steppe. Tim is the
author of Off the Rails:
Moscow to Beijing
on Recumbent Bikes (Penguin Books 2003), and On the Trail of
Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Lands of the Nomads
(Bloomsbury Worldwide Sep 2013). He is also the creator of several
documentary films, including the award-winning series, The Trail
of Genghis Khan, commissioned by ABC Australia and ZDF/Arte in
Europe. www.timcopejourneys.com twitter: @timcopejourneys •

18
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
Kids
fiction
The Instability
Part 6 of The Magical Christmas Ring
• Nusaiba Zyen
I wasn’t feeling good at all that
they were stealing other people’s
presents. I did not want it to be
like this, that only my family and
I would be happy because we
only had received our presents.
No. I wanted everyone to be
happy. So I tried thinking of a
quick plan that would compel
those thieves to quit stealing
other people’s presents. And a
few seconds later, I had just the
right idea. I could control about
six robots with all six remotes
and then take the presents back.
I grabbed the remotes and tested
to see if I could handle controlling
all of them. And with a bit of
finger-tapping practice, I had
nailed it.
I opened the wooden door
carefully and slowly as it was
creaking. I then tied the sack on
the third robot’s metal wrist. I
had seen the girls heading to the
shed, hunting for me. “There
she is!” said one girl with short,
blonde hair. I started tapping
the remote controllers. The
robots started to move forward,
marching heavily. Then their eyes
started to glow a fierce red. I had
pressed all the record buttons of
all six remotes and started to say
something that would drive those
thieves away.
“Behold! We are the Christmas
Guardians! We have been
watching every step of yours.
You have been stealing other
people’s presents. Now hand it
over or else, we shall destroy
you with our Fire-Ball Bazooka!
Hand it over NOW! And beware
of us if you dare to try and
rob other people’s presents!
Muahahahahahahahaha!”
The girls shrieked in fear.
They handed the robots the sack
they had and sprinted away like
wolves. “Good jobs robots!” I
said. “You’re next!” they shouted.
A cold shudder went up my spine.
I realised then that those robots
were actually unstable! I got very
angry. I mean, who would buy or
invent unstable robots? I thought
of making a run for it, but then
it was too late. All six of them
were surrounding me. I was fully
trapped. The robots’ eyes turned
a blazing red, as did their faces. I
was trapped. I did not know what
to do.
Suddenly, a huge snowstorm
started. The robots shrieked. I
thought they’d freeze or die, but
they suddenly melted into a pool.
I thought that I was dreaming,
and pinched my arm to be sure,
but it turned out to be true. I was
overwhelmingly happy. But it
wasn’t over yet. The robots had
the power to re-form, and they
had grown larger in size. They
started shooting fireballs at me.
I flipped back and they missed.
I noticed that they weren’t fading
away anymore. I stopped thinking
about all of that and started to
sprint. I gave a front-roll under
one of the robots’ legs when it
stood in front of me. Luckily, the
robots had lost their visual on me
because of the snowstorm. So
they started to shoot laser-beams
everywhere possible. The laser
beams were tarnishing, wrecking
and destroying everything. I saw
another tool-shed beside a big
mansion. The shed was pretty
huge. I ran towards it and prayed
for nothing unstable to be in
there. I opened the door and
locked it. Inside, I saw many guns
to destroy powerful things. I had
heard of those before so I did not
have to read the manual.•
Illustration: Bigstock
colour it
Illustration: Bigstock

Biz Info
19
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
| event |
Seedstars World to find the best startup in Bangladesh
Seedstars World, the global
seed-stage startup competition
for emerging markets and
fast-growing startup scenes, is
returning to Dhaka on October
19, 2016. In line with its mission
to place the spotlight on
entrepreneurs from emerging
markets, Seedstars World is
travelling to more than 65
countries this year to identify the
best seed-stage entrepreneurs and
provide them with an opportunity
to win up to USD 1 million and
network with investors and
mentors from around the world.
Seedstars Dhaka is being organized
in conjunction to the Digital
World 2016 by BetterStories and
ICT Division. Further support is
provided by Digital Bangladesh
Initiative, Digital World 2016, ICT
Division, Bangladesh Computer
Council, International Trade
Centre, Bangladesh Hi-Tech
Park Authority, White-board, BD
Venture, LICT, CBI Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, EMK Center etc.
In addition Seedstars World has
partnered with TRECC to bring the
“Transforming Education Prize”
which will award the best startup
in the education space from
around the world with a prize of
over USD 50,000.
A lively ‘Meet the Press’ session
was held to inform the press and
media about this year’s Seedstars
World 2016 competition at the
Janata Tower Software Technology
Park. Zunaid Ahmed Palak, State
Minister of ICT Division presided
over the event as the Chief Guest
of the press conference. Shyam
Sunder Sikder, Secretary of ICT
division attended the event as a
Special Guest. Also present were:
Hosne Ara Begum, Managing
Director, Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park
Authority, Faisal Kabir, Manager
(Innovation & Ecosystem),
White-board; Nick Feneck, Asian
Representative of Seedstars
World; Minhaz Anwar, Managing
Director BetterStories and Shahriar
Rahman, Program Lead, Seedstars
World.
Up to 8 of the best seed
stage startups in Bangladesh
will be invited to pitch for the
opportunity to compete at the
Seedstars Summit, that annually
takes place in Switzerland. The
winning startup from Seedstars
Dhaka will also participate and
gain from the Regional Summit,
due to take place in Bangkok in
early December.
The companies selected to
pitch at the Seedstars Dhaka
event need to be less than 2 years
old, have raised less than USD
500,000 in funding and have
built a minimum viable product,
ideally with existing traction. The
Seedstars World team is searching
for one additional criterion - the
startup’s regional and global
scalability. With a strong network
of international partners such as
Inmarsat, INADEM, Standard Bank
and Deloitte, Seedstars World is
looking for smart startups that
solve regional issues and develop
profitable products for the global
market, to support their regional
businesses and growth.
Participants can register for
the competition here: http://bit.
do/sswdhaka and find details
about the main event here: http://
www.seedstarsworld.com/event/
seedstars-dhaka-2016/ •
| meals | | appointment |
World food at Lake Terrace
Shahid Uddin Akbar selected as
new APTN Chair
Because food, like a loving
touch or a soothing voice, has
the ability to comfort and heal,
Lake Terrace brings you flavours
from all around the world.
This October, let your World
Tour begin at Lake Terrace by
indulging in their eclectic meals.
The all-inclusive Eclectic Carte
(BDT 1,300) includes:
Entrée: Grilled Squid (6 pcs)
Main: Lebanese Chicken with
sides of capsicum fried rice and
zesty baby garlic potatoes
Dessert: Sizzling Brownie
Refreshment: Lemon Shock
For reservations, call
+8801618377223
For further details, Visit
https:www.facebook.com/
laketerrace •
The executive committee of
Asia Pacific Telecentre Network
(APTN) voted Shahid Uddin
Akbar as the new chairman
for the next three years, and
Bangladesh Institute of ICT in
Development (BIID) will be the
host organisation for this regional
network. APTN is a regional
network of ICT4D practitioners
and organisations comprising
membership of eight countries,
namely Bangladesh, Cambodia,
Fiji, India, Pakistan, Philippines,
Srilanka and Thailand. APTN
was initiated by UNESCAP and
Telecentre.org Foundation to
promote ICT4D, focusing on
telecentres in Asia Pacific region.
Shahid Uddin Akbar is the chief
executive officer of BIID and
past national president, JCI
Bangladesh, and is also serving
many different organisations in
various capacities. APTN will
foster collaborative initiatives
among member countries and
beyond for knowledge sharing,
expert support and expanding
networks as priority activities. •

DT
20
Editorial
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
INSIDE
The times they are
a-changin’
Dylan and Nobel? Initially I thought
my sleep deprived-brain was playing
tricks and some person named Bob has
won the Nobel, and my mind probably
erased the surname after it with that of
Dylan, a sort of a wish fulfillment
PAGE 21
The mess in the
attic
Are we content with producing
sophisticated calculators and
managers, or do we want our
calculators and managers to be
sophisticated human beings too?
PAGE 22
BIGSTOCK
It’s a TV channel
jungle out there
The Bangladeshi audience is having
quite a lot of trouble to remember the
names of TV channels for a particular
reason. Are any of the channels offering
anything to remember? Both in terms
of news and program, most broadcast
almost similar content
PAGE 23
Be heard
Write to Dhaka Tribune
FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath,
Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207
Send us your Op-Ed articles:
opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com
www.dhakatribune.com
Join our Facebook community:
https://www.facebook.com/
DhakaTribune.
The views expressed in Opinion
articles are those of the authors
alone. They do not purport to
be the official view of Dhaka
Tribune or its publisher.
The right to peaceful protest
The right to assemble peacefully in protest is truly one of the cornerstones
of liberty.
It is, then, disheartening to hear an influential ruling party leader and
a former minister’s threat to protesters about having their legs broken for
taking a stand against the controversial 3,200MW project.
This is not the first time Rampal protesters have had to fear for their physical
safety. A consistent pattern can be observed of party goons engaging in
hooliganism and injuring protesters.
What’s worse, the student wing of our ruling party tends to be backed up by
the police in these crackdowns.
It is a sad commentary on our society that citizens cannot take to the streets
for a legitimate cause without fear of bodily harm. No less than 50 people were
hurt at the recent protest at the Shaheed Minar, and they were attacked as soon
as the rally had started.
Can there be any justification for using excessive force against ordinary
citizens who voice some legitimate concerns about the construction of a
power plant which, according to experts, could indeed be detrimental to the
environment?
Can setting indisciplined goons loose on protesters ever result in a
constructive outcome?
It is a matter of great regret that we have been unable to solve the problem
even after so many undesirable events of people getting hurt.
Citizens deserve to have their voices heard, and the government should be at
the service of the very citizens that are getting hurt on the streets.
Violence is not the way to deal with disagreement. This culture of heavyhandedness
must end.
We need to be more civilised.
Violence is not the
way to deal with
disagreement. This
culture of heavyhandedness
must end

Opinion 21
The times they are a-changin’
Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize win surprised many, but it’s a sign of the changing times
DT
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
The great lyricist broadened the frontiers of literature
• SM Shahrukh
It was late Thursday afternoon,
and I was in dire need of some
shut-eye. I drew the curtains
and turned off my reading
lamp and, as I often do, I switched
on the TV with CNN on very low
volume with the sleep timer set to
30 minutes.
As my eyelids grew heavy and
I was drifting off to slumberland,
the pictures on the screen showed
news of world financial markets
and the inevitable presence of
“Orange” with sleazy stories of
sexual misconduct, sickening by
now, that my tired eyes noticed
the words “Nobel” and “Bob” and
maybe, “Dylan.”
Bob Dylan and Nobel? Initially
I thought my sleep deprivedbrain
was playing tricks and some
person named Bob has won the
Nobel, and my mind probably
erased the surname after it with
that of Dylan, a sort of a wish
fulfillment; always loved Bob
Dylan’s songs.
I sat up, still, to check and
realised that it indeed was him
who has just won the Nobel Prize
for Literature.
Pretty soon I started seeing
a few posts on Facebook about
grumblings at the choice, and now,
as I write this, late at night, many
have voiced their discontents
about the decision of the Nobel
committee. I wonder why. He is
Dylan and Nobel? Initially I thought my sleep deprived-brain was playing
tricks and some person named Bob has won the Nobel, and my mind
probably erased the surname after it with that of Dylan, a sort of a wish
fulfillment
not a writer of novels? He is just a
folk-rock singer? Well, I have a few
lines for the naysayers from the
man himself. Dylan admonishes
conformism, directed at regressive
thinking:
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticise
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin’
Please get out of the new one
If you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin
The permanent secretary of
Swedish Academy, Sara Danius,
said that it had “not been a
difficult decision” but she feared
that some would not like the
choice. Still she hoped that the
news would be received with great
joy and compared Dylan’s work
with those of Homer and Sappho.
Dylan is a singer-songwriter, a
poet, a man who spoke of change.
Wasn’t Rabindranth Tagore a
singer-songwriter too, besides his
contribution to other branches
of literature? I am not comparing
their respective greatness, but
greats they are, and will remain.
Change was in the air
Bob Dylan hit the scene during the
early sixties when he came to New
York with his acoustic guitar and
harmonica and words that proved
quite divisive from the very
beginning.
During the time of rising
tension of the Cold War, the Bay of
Pigs, the Vietnam War not far from
becoming America’s first defeat in
an armed conflict, with huge loss
of life, with young people being
drafted into armed service and
landing in a totally alien land from
the soda pop and ice-cream shops
of small town USA.
The time was ripe for Dylan to
sing of existence and against the
chains of conformism. It was time
REUTERS
to sing for change from the age-old
institutions run by “old fogeys”
and death in a battle was glorified
with “the anthem and the flag.”
He could feel the change in the air
especially for the disgruntled and
disillusioned young people and he
wrote songs and sang for them to
goad them to clamour for change.
Dylan did not stay restricted
to the acoustic, but embraced the
electric sound of the guitar from
the mid-sixties onwards. Something
that made him popular with
the blooming counter-culture of
the times. But his lyrics remained
scathing always and his songs
were on the lips of many iconic figures
of the “drug-addled” yet still
change-seeking young minds.
Dylan was not immune from
the drug culture, and some
of his albums, most notably,
“Another Side of Bob Dylan,”
was eventually deemed by Dylan
himself as a deviation from
his regular. Still, that album
contained songs likes “Chimes of
Freedom,” “My Back Pages,” and
“MotorpsychoNitemare.”
Dylan went into a hiatus from
touring and performing after 1966.
Two events triggered it mainly:
His marriage to Sara Lownds in
November 1965, and a motorcycle
accident in July1966 after the tour.
He was also being criticised
for going electric. He cancelled
tours and engagements and sort of
withdrew within himself and his
young family.
However, he started performing
one-offs from 1969 but it took
George Harrison to bring him out
in The Concert for Bangladesh in
1971. It took a lot of coaxing from
Harrison for Dylan to perform --
Harrison needed Dylan on the bill
to draw crowds.
I regularly listen to his rendition
that night of “A Hard Rain’s
A-Gonna Fall,” which revives
my memories as a young boy of
almost seven of that harrowing
year for all Bengalis. He sang with
tremendous passion and empathy
for people “under the foot of olive
drab.”
Dylan always wrote and
sang for the downtrodden, the
homeless, the oppressed, and the
people who needed to be brought
to the limelight where a select few
were stealing it all.
Manash “Firaq” Bhattacharjee
wrote in The Wire after Dylan’s
winning of the Nobel: “The
exciting aspect of granting the
Nobel to Dylan is not only the
way it elevates the literary merit
of popular culture, but also the
political significance it holds for
our times. National economies are
grappling with a deep crisis.
Wars are being threatened and
fought in the name of national
interest and paranoia, trying to
sinisterly drive away attention
from the limits of neo-liberal
promises.
If a nation’s unfulfilled greed
can be replaced by the language
of war, it calls for introspection
regarding where the world is
heading with its ecological and
human disasters.”
Salman Rushdie expressed
his feelings: “The frontiers of
literature keep widening, and
it’s exciting that the Nobel Prize
recognises that.
I intend to spend the day
playing Mr Tambourine Man,
Love Minus Zero/No Limit, Like
a Rolling Stone, Idiot Wind,
Jokerman, Tangled Up in Blue and
It’s a Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall.”
Maybe, I’ll do the same, not for
a day but for the rest of my life. •
SM Shahrukh is a freelance contributor.

22
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
Long-Form
The mess in the attic
We cannot afford to ignore the humanities. This is the concluding part of yesterday’s long-form
• Shehzad M Arifeen
The problem starts early.
In school, children who
do well in math or science
are called “bright,” while
those who are good at geography
or history have good “general
knowledge” (note the adjective).
And while “general knowledge”
is useful and fun when it comes
to quiz contests and debate
tournaments, and is important to
be “well-rounded,” it is certainly
not to be taken too seriously.
A child who spends her time
studying chemistry is “studious,”
one who spends her time studying
philosophy or poetry “reads a lot”
(which after a certain age turns
inevitably into “bookish”), and
should eventually grow out of
it (she can keep it as a “hobby”
though).
All of this creates an
environment where the vast
majority of those children who
one lone case, anthropology.
You can study a thousand
different kinds of engineering,
major in anything that can be
labelled as a department in a
corporation, but if you want to
study humanity and society, if
you are interested in our species’
history or the wonders of human
culture -- these are your only
options.
And sure, most universities
require all students to take a few
social science and humanities
courses as “general education”
requirements, but these are
woefully inadequate -- partly
because they are normally treated
as just a few more boxes to tick.
Without any meaningful
structure to help piece together
what can only be called an
avalanche of information that
attacks us every day, these
students are left with an
understanding of society with
all the nuance of a Transformers
Our education system fails to provide a structure of critique
BIGSTOCK
We have to take a long, hard, and collective look at what exactly we
mean by education, what it is that we hope our schools and universities
will achieve, and ask ourselves: Are we content with producing
sophisticated calculators and managers, or do we want our calculators
and managers to be sophisticated human beings too?
might have made wonderful
contributions to some field end
up studying something they don’t
even remotely enjoy.
What is worse, because this
is so pervasive, most of us never
even know it -- we don’t even
realise that we might actually be
able to enjoy what we study.
Things don’t really get better --
definitely not for those who decide
to study in one of the local private
universities (and yes, there are
people who choose this, and don’t
just end up there because they
didn’t get into a public institution
or weren’t allowed/couldn’t afford/
didn’t want to go abroad).
Higher learning
What is there to study in these
places anyway? Until very recently,
anyone who wanted to study the
humanities or the social sciences
(except law) would basically have
to choose between English or
economics (and the problems with
the latter deserves an entire article
-- another day).
Today, we can see some
journalism, media studies, and in
movie.
They are assaulted by war,
poverty, hunger, disease, murder,
rape, abuse, slavery, financial
crises, corporations more powerful
than nation-states, ecological
destruction, the threat of nuclear
annihilation or irreversible climate
change.
With even the most simplistic
and general of introductions to
centuries of progressive, radical
and emancipatory philosophy,
literature, social, economic,
political, historical, and cultural
theory from all over the world,
these students might have ended
up as activists, writers, or aspiring
academics.
What are the options?
Without even an awareness of
such possibilities, however, what
are young people disillusioned by
modernity supposed to do? How
does one frame their critique of
modern civilisation without such
rich and powerful systems of
critique available to them? Isn’t
moralising the only other option?
Isn’t it easiest to chalk it all up
to human greed and sinfulness?
And if someone comes along who
can integrate this latent emotive
discontent into a broader cosmic
narrative of human fallibility and
sin, based on a belief system that
already dominates in one form
or another, why shouldn’t young
people gravitate towards this false
prophet? Having failed to provide
them the means to understand,
how dare we despair and rage at
what they have had to resort to?
An uncle who lives in New York
commented, in the context of the
systematic killing spree leading
up to the attack on Holey Artisan,
that Bangladeshis should stop
“making such a fuss” and focus
on “building things,” because
our country is not “open-minded
enough” (how on earth does a
country become open-minded? By
building better trains?).
Like the comment I started this
article with, this is a regrettably
common sentiment under
different disguises. This is why
STEM subjects are treated the way
they are. This is why someone who
doesn’t enjoy math is expected
to just “suck it up,” at least until
their first year in university (if
not longer), but it is perfectly
acceptable to not enjoy history,
not study it at all after school, and
complain loudly if made to.
We have deluded ourselves into
thinking that we can build and
calculate our way out of anything.
But if there is anything we can
learn from the convergence of
catastrophes we have seen this
year (and there is a lot), it is that
this is simply not true.
There comes a time when a
better way to distribute electricity
isn’t what we need. There are
problems that linear algebra
cannot solve. How many must
suffer and die before we recognise
that whatever we can make, we
can easily unmake?
That a single idea can mobilise
people into destroying the work
of a thousand engineers? That the
only way to fight a bad idea is with
a better idea?
Ironically, I am writing this at
a time when writing about the
importance of education has
become thoroughly passé -- the
post-Gulshan attack narrative has
become distinctly a-educational (if
not anti-educational); something
to the effect of “we used to
think that they brainwashed the
uneducated -- now we know that
education doesn’t matter.”
On the contrary, it seems to me
that education matters even more
now.
Most importantly, we have to
take a long, hard, and collective
look at what exactly we mean
by education, what it is that we
hope our schools and universities
will achieve, and ask ourselves:
Are we content with producing
sophisticated calculators and
managers, or do we want our
calculators and managers to be
sophisticated human beings too?
Understanding human beings
None of this implies, of course,
that the knowledge of science,
technology, and mathematics is
any less important.
What I am merely trying to
suggest is that perhaps, if we had
devoted a bit more of our time and
resources to understanding how
human beings work, we would be
a little less intent on hurting each
other.
We are often told that we
need to study so much math
and science because they are
so “important” for the modern
world. And I will freely admit that
knowing arithmetic might be more
useful, given the choice, than the
history of Imperial Japan or the
subtleties of post-structuralism.
But we don’t stop there.
We seem to think that understanding
calculus really is more
important than understanding
humanity. If this is how highly we
think of ourselves, our history,
politics, and culture, why are we
surprised at how easily we are led
to the slaughterhouse? •
Shehzad M Arifeen is a lecturer of
economics at a leading private university
in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This article
was fitsr published on ergodotorg.
wordpress.com.

Opinion 23
It’s a TV channel jungle out there
Let’s go for quality over quantity
DT
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
LARGER
THAN
LIFE
• Ekram Kabir
Recently, I became a part
of a television report and
it was broadcast during
their afternoon bulletin.
In the evening, one of my friends
told me that he watched my clip
on TV. I intentionally asked him:
“Which TV?”
He replied: “I don’t know;
don’t remember; in one of the TV
channels. How can I remember the
name of the channel when there’s
a jungle out there?”
I wasn’t surprised by his
statement, which I’ve heard
several times from many other
people. So, here’s the question:
“Are the audience failing to
remember the names of the TV
channels they’re watching?” The
answer, however, should be given
by the experts.
I can only highlight a few
factors that are commonly
discussed by the people around
me.
If the audience, such as my
friend, is taken into consideration,
there’s certainly a concern for the
TV channels, and its work and
existence. If we run a survey, the
true picture of the TV channels is
likely to be unearthed as to how
they exist at the top of people’s
minds.
The number of TV channels
now stands at, perhaps, more than
23. As a homogenous audience,
do we need that many channels to
watch?
The Bangladeshi audience
is having quite a lot of trouble
to remember the names of TV
channels for a particular reason.
Are any of the channels offering
anything to remember?
Both in terms of news and
program, most broadcast almost
similar content. One cannot say
that a news channel is offering
its content in such a way that the
people would remember it.
Yes, some are known for their
political inclination and some are
known for their talk-shows, but
still one cannot say that a program
on a TV channel is quite unique,
and the audience remembers it
and looks forward to watch it.
Let’s think about quality over quantity
Some are, of course, trying
understand the audience’s mind
and how to make a difference.
For example, a program channel
is usually known for its morning
musical sessions.
Then again, the music programs
don’t have much of a variety; after
a while, watching the same faces
becomes monotonous.
Some channels have news
analysis shows on which the
journalists come and talk about
the news. Is there anything new in
those programs?
The journalists would always,
unsurprisingly, be able to talk
about news and events. So why
don’t the channels invite people
from other professions to analyse
the news? That would be more
interesting to watch.
People say that there are very
few good watchable programs on
Bangladeshi channels. One of the
exceptions have done very well
with a show on agriculture, but
then again this particular program
is a legacy of what the anchor used
to do on the state-owned channel,
BTV.
There’s very little research done
for creating interesting programs.
A news TV channel wanted to
produce good programs, but
The Bangladeshi audience is having quite a lot of trouble to remember
the names of TV channels for a particular reason. Are any of the channels
offering anything to remember? Both in terms of news and program,
most broadcast almost similar content
instead has become famous for a
foreign historical drama serial.
I’ve watched a channel in
India named “Care World TV”
specialised on healthcare. It
provides 24/7 news and programs
on health.
They have quite a number of
talk-shows, which are also on
health issues. I thought it was
a fantastic idea for focusing on
people’s health and beauty.
Why don’t we do something like
that? We could focus on sports,
we could make a children’s TV
channel, we could create a channel
only for education, and we could
have an entertainment channel.
Why do we have to remain
confined to news and talk shows?
There’s of course one channel that
has been making a difference in
the field of music, kudos to them.
Finally, we need to have a business
model in terms of initiating a
TV station. I have my doubts on
whether our entrepreneurs have
any business model in mind, as to
hop onto the television business.
Business-wise, it’s a small
market and the only source
of revenue is TV commercials
and, sometimes, SMS service.
The amount of TVC budget of
the business houses would not
increase with the increase of the
number of TV channels.
And that budget would also
come down due to the digital
revolution.
We need to consider the market
before we launch a product. The
time has come to think about
quality over quantity. •
Ekram Kabir is a fiction writer.
BIGSTOCK

DT
24
Sport
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
TOP STORIES
‘Bangladesh Tests
will be challenging’
Gareth Batty, the 39-year old
England spinner is pleased with
the security arrangement provided
to the visitors and believes the two
Test matches will be a challenge
for them against the Tigers in their
home conditions. PAGE 25
Siddikur continues
to shine in Macau
Premier Bangladesh golfer
Siddikur Rahman continued to
shine in the Venetian Macao Open
as he carded four-under-par 67
in the second round yesterday to
rise to joint seventh position, tied
alongside three others. PAGE 26
Azhar lights
up D/N Test
Azhar Ali became the first batsman
to score a century in a day-night
Test off a pink ball as he helped
Pakistan dominate West Indies in
Dubai. Ali’s unbeaten 194 guided
his side to 279-1 after the opening
day of the first Test. PAGE 27
Messi returns as
Barca battle ‘virus’
Argentina’s pain is Barcelona’s
gain as Lionel Messi returns for
the Spanish champions when
Deportivo la Coruna visit the Camp
Nou today after being sidelined for
three weeks with a groin injury.
Messi recently returned to the
side. PAGE 28
Bangladesh batsman Mominul Haque bats during training while Test captain and wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim looks
on in Chittagong yesterday
MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK
Taskin in line for Test call-up
• Ali Shahriyar Bappa
from Chittagong
Bangladesh fast bowling sensation
Taskin Ahmed has been
included in the second and final
two-day practice match against
England which begins at MA Aziz
Stadium in Chittagong tomorrow.
Taskin was recently cleared by
the International Cricket Council
and displayed impressive performances
against Afghanistan and
England in the ODIs.
The time has now come for
Taskin to prove himself in the
longer format of the game.
Taskin played his last
longer-version game in 2013 for
Walton Central Zone. Since then,
he has been struggling with his
fitness and as a result, was not
considered for four-day matches
in the next three years.
Now he is fit and bowling with
real pace and the Tigers thinktank
is considering giving him a
chance to cement his place in the
Test squad.
“Taskin was unfit in the last
few years for the longer version of
the game. That’s why he was not
considered. But now he is fit and
after consulting with the team
physio (Baizidul Islam), we have
decided to give Taskin a chance
in the two-day match,” national
team selector Habibul Bashar
said.
The Test squad for the twomatch
England series will be
announced tomorrow. Pacer Mohammad
Shahid, who was a regular
fixture in the last few matches,
has been injured for the last few
months and is still recovering
from a side-strain injury. The other
available options from the recent
ODI squads are Al Amin Hossian,
Rubel Hossain and Shafiul
Islam.
Al-Amin and Rubel are not
in their best rhythm and Shafiul
played the last of his eight Tests
three years ago. Pace sensation
Mustafizur Rahman is still recovering
from his lengthy lay off and
expected to be fit in late December.
So there is a high chance of
giving Taskin his much awaited
Test cap.
While in the spin department,
Taijul Islam is the obvious choice.
Ace all-rounder Shakib al Hasan
will lead the attack.
In the batting line-up, Tamim
Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mominul
Haque, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur
Rahim and Shakib are likely to get
the nod. The No 7 spot will be up
for grabs. Shuvagata Hom can be
an option as he has been playing
as an all rounder in that position
in the last few matches. Youngster
Mosaddek Hossain is also vying
for the same spot.
The team management is
also considering wicketkeeper-batsman
Nurul Hasan as an
alternative. If Bangladesh play a
specialist stumper then skipper
Mushfiq’s burden will lessen as
he is one of the main batsman of
the side. •
Soumya ready
for captaincy
challenge
• Ali Shahriyar Bappa
from Chittagong
Left-handed opening batsman
Soumya Sarkar has been elected
captain for the second and final twoday
practice match against England,
scheduled to start tomorrow.
And on the eve of the warm-up
game, Soumya vowed to come back
to scoring touch soon. The southpaw
also expressed confidence that
the role of captaincy will not hamper
his focus on batting.
“I am working hard on my batting.
Every player faces some bad
patch during his career. It came
early in my career. But I think if I
can overcome this situation soon,
then it could be beneficial for me.
I could learn a lot of things during
this period of hardship and I
believe it will help me in the long
run,” Soumya told the media at MA
Aziz Stadium in Chittagong after
practice yesterday.
“Obviously, it’s a great feeling to
captain the side. I think I will enjoy
the new role. I have to lead from
the front and also guide my team
mates. There was always a dream
of becoming captain in my mind.
Now I got the chance and I want to
prove myself. I believe I will enjoy
my time as captain,” said Soumya.
Soumya was dropped from the
playing XI in the just-concluded
England ODI series and in his place,
opener Imrul Kayes played brilliantly.
Soumya admitted it will be
a challenging task to get back in the
squad but said he is ready to take
up the challenge.
“Actually, the total national team
is a challenge in itself. You have to
play really well to hold onto your
spot in the team. I think every match
is a challenge for me when I play for
my country. Because there are many
talented openers out there who are
playing well. Generally I challenge
myself to do better than the previous
match. That’s how I prepared
myself for the game,” he said.
“I will try to start from the beginning.
I will play my natural
game in the practice match and
hope I will be able to bat just like I
did when I started my international
career,” he added.
Soumya played the last of his
three Tests against India last year.
Squad for second practice match
Soumya Sarkar (C), Abdul Majid,
Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Tanbir
Haydar Khan, Mosaddek Hossain,
Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Nurul Hasan,
Al Amin Hossain, Abu Haider Rony,
Shubashish Roy, Ebadat Hossain
and Shadman Islam. •

BCB XI, England
two-dayer called
off in Chittagong
• Ali Shahriyar Bappa
from Chittagong
The opening day’s play of the first
two-day practice match between
Bangladesh Cricket Board XI and
England was called off due to wet
outfield at MA Aziz Stadium yesterday.
It has been raining in the last
few days here in the port city. The
match was scheduled to start at
10am local time. England team officials
and head coach Trevor Bayliss
arrived at the venue at around
9:45am and inspected the outfield.
Later, play was called off due to
wet outfield.
National manager, grounds and
facilities, Sayed Abdul Baten said
a 45-overs per side match will be
played today, provided rain do not
intervene again.
“The first day’s play has been
called off. England decided to
practise at ZACS in the afternoon
session. BCB XI will practice
in the afternoon session at MA
Aziz Stadium. We will arrange a
45-overs per side match [today]
provided it do not rain again,” Baten
said.
BCB XI team
Abu Jayed, Ebadat Hossain, Kamrul
Islam, Mosaddek Hossain, Nazmul
Hossain, Nurul Hasan (WK), Rubel
Hossain, Sabbir Rahman (C),
Shadman Islam, Shahriar Nafees,
Shuvagata Hom and Soumya Sarkar
England XI team
Moeen Ali, Zafar Ansari, Jonny
Bairstow (WK), Jake Ball, Gary Ballance,
Gareth Batty, Stuart Broad,
Jos Buttler, Ben Duckett, Steven
Finn, Haseeb Hameed, Adil Rashid,
Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Chris
Woakes. •
Eva lifts national
chess title
• Tribune Report
Women’s Fide Master Nazrana
Khan Eva clinched the National
Women’s Chess Championship title
after 16 years despite being held
to a draw in the final round at the
Bangladesh Chess Federation hallroom
yesterday.
Eva needed a draw in the 11th
and last round of the tournament’s
36th edition and the woman from
Manikganj drew with Aahelee
Sarkar of Mohila Daba Samity to
become the champion for the second
time.
Eva, who has been taking part
in the competition since 1996 and
England off-spinner Gareth Batty warms up during training at Zahur Ahmed
Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday
MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK
won the national women’s chess title
back in 2000, earned 9.5 points
after the end of 11 rounds. Last
year’s runners-up WFM Sharmin
Sultana Shirin of Narayanganj finished
second again this year with
nine points.
Eighteen-time national women’s
champion Women’s International
Master Rani Hamid of Golden
Sporting Club became third with
8.5 points.
Aahelee placed fourth with
seven points to achieve his best
position in her career. WFMs
Zakia Sultana and Samiha Sharmin
Shimmi finished fifth and sixth
respectively. •
Sport 25
DT
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
‘Bangladesh Tests
will be challenging’
• Ali Shahriyar Bappa
from Chittagong
Gareth Batty, the 39-year old England
off-spinner is pleased with
the security arrangement provided
to the visiting side and believes
the two-match Test series will be a
challenge for them against the Tigers
in their home conditions.
“The security arrangement has
been fantastic. It’s amazing. It’s
kind of regal. We have been very
fortunate what Bangladesh have
put on for us regarding security,”
Batty told the media at Zahur
Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in
Chittagong yesterday.
“Bangladesh are a very good
team in their own country. The
conditions are quite challenging
at times. It’s a great challenge for
us. But I believe, considering the
skill we have in our squad, we can
achieve a favourable result for England,”
he added.
Batty has been recalled to the
Test team after almost 11 years. The
veteran spinner thinks England
have improved significantly in the
recent past and said he has to work
hard to justify his Test recall.
“It’s brilliant for me to become a
part of the England team again. It’s
a different group of players compared
to the last Test I have played
for England. Some part of the management
has remained same, while
some part of it changed. But there
are lot of improvements in the
squad and our cricket,” said the
Surrey cricketer.
“There is a wonderful vibe present
in the team at the moment,
which is one thing I have noticed
first. England players have been
magnificent in the last two years.
It’s a privilege to become involved
with this team. But I have to do a
lot of hard work to push myself to
be back in the playing 11,” he added.
Spin could be crucial in the
Bangladeshi conditions and Batty
is of the opinion that the upcoming
two Test matches will be good opportunity
for the English spinners
to learn from and handle the challenge
positively.
“It is positive that spin could play
an important part for the team. In
England, pacers always get favourable
conditions. It is nice to see that
spin could be crucial for the team.
It’s a real challenge for the spinners
to prove that they can win the game
for England as well,” he said.
England will face a selection dilemma
ahead of their first Test as
both Haseeb Hameed and Ben Duckett
are favourites to open the innings
alongside skipper Alastair Cook.
But England assistant coach
Paul Farbrace hinted that both of
them could play in the first Test.
“It’s a bit of a shootout but they
(Hameed and Duckett) could end up
both playing,” Farbrace said. “There’s
no reason why Duckett couldn’t bat
in the middle order, there are places
going. He has come in, and settled
so well - better than any of us could
have expected. His calmness around
the game has shown he has the temperament.
He has shown it straight
away,” he added.
The opening day of the first
two-day practice match between
the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI
and the visitors was called off due
to wet outfield at MA Aziz Stadium
yesterday.
Later, the tourists went to ZACS,
the venue for the first Test, in the
afternoon for training. The full
squad took part in an intense practice
session there for a few hours.•
Ctg Abahani bring in Chencho
• Tribune Report
Chittagong Abahani are all set to
sign Chencho Gyeltshen for the
second half of the ongoing premier
league season following the
Bhutanese striker’s recent displays
Chencho scored
two goals against
Bangladesh in the
AFC Qualifiers
against Bangladesh in the Asian
Cup Qualifiers Play-off matches.
The 20-year-old centre-forward
is reported to have agreed personal
terms with the Chittagong outfit
and scheduled to land in Dhaka today.
The second players’ transfer
window ahead of the second phase
of the premier league will open this
Friday and close on October 31 and
between this time, Chencho will officially
sign the contract.
It was learnt that newly-promoted
premier league club Uttar
Baridhara first approached the
Bhutan all-time top-scorer with an
offer believed to be around $2,000
per month. Chittagong Abahani
tabled a better offer and got their
player. The deal could run till the
end of season which means for
around two months.
Chencho represented Bhutan in
different age-level teams from Under-12
to U-19 and has now become
one of the key players in the senior
side. He scored two goals against
Bangladesh in the Asian Cup Qualifiers
Play-off second leg on Monday. •

DT
26
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
Sport
Siddikur
continues to
shine in Macau
• Tribune Report
Premier Bangladesh golfer Siddikur
Rahman continued to shine
in the Venetian Macao Open as he
carded four-under-par 67 in the
second round yesterday to rise to
joint seventh position, tied alongside
three others.
The 31-year old golfer from Madaripur
traded six birdies against
two bogeys in the $1,100,000 tournament
and now trails early leaders
Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe, Kalem
Richardson of Australia, Indians
Chikkarangappa S and Anirban Lahiri
and Sutijet Kooratanapisan of
Thailand by only two shots.
Siddikur maintained his good
run at Macau Golf and Country Club
as he had struck two-under-par 69
in the opening round, hitting four
birdies and half as many bogeys. • Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays against Mischa Zverev of Germany during the Shanghai Masters yesterday REUTERS
Hughes family walk out
• AFP, Sydney
The family of Australian cricketer
Phillip Hughes walked out of the inquest
into his death yesterday, with
his father calling the Sydney Cricket
Ground an “unsafe workplace”.
Hughes, who played 26 Tests,
was 25 years old when he died from
bleeding on the brain in November
2014 after being hit on the base of
the skull by a ball during a domestic
Sheffield Shield match in Sydney.
The five-day inquest, which
wrapped yesterday, has looked into
whether he was targeted with short
balls or “sledged” with unsettling
comments from opponents, but
has also exposed tensions between
Hughes’ family and the cricket
community. Hughes’ father Greg
wrote that he was concerned about
the amount of short-pitch bowling
to his son. •
MSC finally open account
Djoker hoping
Kyrgios can stop
spoiling his gifts
• Reuters, Shanghai
World number one Novak Djokovic
hopes Nick Kyrgios can learn
some “life lessons” after the Australian
was fined by the ATP Tour
for breaching its code of conduct
during a contentious defeat at the
Shanghai Masters.
The Australian was beaten 6-3 6-1
by Mischa Zverev in a second-round
match on Wednesday in which he
put in a series of half-hearted serves
and appeared to be walking off
court before the unseeded German
had completed his shot.
The 21-year-old, who has had a
number of scrapes with tennis authorities
over his behaviour in the
past, also clashed with spectators
before being booed off the court and
was subsequently fined $16,500 by
the ATP for his behaviour.•
Farbrace backs Morgan return
• AFP, Chittagong
Eoin Morgan will return as captain
of England’s limited overs side in
India next year despite skipping
the ongoing tour of Bangladesh
over safety fears, according to assistant
coach Paul Farbrace.
Some commentators have queried
whether Morgan should resume
the captaincy after he and
opener Alex Hales decided not to
travel to Bangladesh in the wake of
an attack on a cafe in Dhaka in July
that killed 18 foreigners.
In Morgan’s absence, Jos Buttler
led the ODI side to an impressive
2-1 victory in a contest which
ended on Wednesday - making
England the first side to win a 50-
over series in Bangladesh in seven
attempts.
Despite winning plaudits for
his captaincy, Buttler has insisted
he is only keeping the seat warm
for Morgan who has presided over
a sharp improvement in England’s
limited overs cricket in the last 18
months.
Farbrace said Morgan is “100
percent” sure to return to the role
next January when England are
due to play a series of ODI and T20
matches against India.
“He will definitely be captain in
India,” Farbrace told reporters.•
• Tribune Report
Mohammedan Sporting Club
finally registered their first
victory in the Bangladesh
Premier League this season
after beating reigning champions
Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi
Club 1-0 in their 10th
match at Bangabandhu National
Stadium yesterday.
Tawhidul Alam Sabuj put
Mohammedan ahead three
minutes into the second half,
smashing home after Nzekou
Patrice’s corner was headed
down by Shahadat Hossain
Shahed inside the box.
Sheikh Jamal goalkeeper
Mazharul Islam Hemel produced
an outstanding save
to deny a powerful free-kick
of Senegalese defender Yaya
Sy in the 19th minute. A fullstretched
Hemel dived to his
right to rescue Sheikh Jamal
on that occasion.
Mohammedan are ninth
with nine points from 10
matches while Sheikh Jamal
are joint top with Rahmatganj
with 19 points each. Rahmatganj
though are ahead on
goal difference.
In the day’s other match
at the same venue, struggling
RESULTS
Mohammedan 1-0 Sk Jamal
Sabuj 48
Arambagh 1-0 SkRussel
Tyson 37
Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra
continued their poor form as
they conceded yet another
defeat, this time against Arambagh
Krira Sangha, who
edged past them 1-0.
Brazilian midfielder Thiago
Tyson netted the all-important
goal in the first half
to help Arambagh post their
third victory in the league
this season while it was
Sheikh Russel’s seventh defeat
in 10 matches.
Sheikh Russel had earned
their first win in their previous
match against Mohammedan.
Sheikh Russel remained
second from bottom in the
table with only five points
while Arambagh, who had
to start without their firstchoice
custodian Mitul Hasan
due to suspension, moved to
sixth place with 14 points.
Pappu Hossain replaced
Mitul between the bars.
Thiago Tyson gave Arambagh
the breakthrough with
a brilliant strike in the 37th
minute. Following a lovely
flick from Mohammad Abdullah,
the Brazilian took
little time outside the penalty
area before unleashing
an amazing left-footer that
deflected off Monaem Khan
Raju to sneak past Sheikh
Russel netminder Zia. •

Sport 27
DT
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali plays a shot on the opening day of their first
day-night Test against the West Indies at the Dubai International Cricket
Stadium on Thursday
AFP
Azhar lights up D/N Test
• AFP, Dubai
Pakistan continued to accumulate
runs on the second day of
the first day-night Test against
West Indies as opener Azhar
Ali approached his double
hundred in Dubai yesterday.
Ali was unbeaten on 194 at
the break and with him debutant
Babar Azam was 23 not
out as West Indian bowlers
once again were left to chase
DAY 2, AT TEA
PAKISTAN 391/2 in 120 overs
(Azhar 194*, Sami 90, Shafiq 67) v
WEST INDIES
FOOTBALL
TEN 1
11:00PM
Sky Bet EFL 2016/17
Aston Villa v Wolverhampton
TEN 2
8:00PM
Sky Bet EFL 2016/17
Derby County v Leeds United
12:00AM
French Ligue 1 2016/17
De Guingamp v Losc Lille Sa
STAR SPOTS 1
7:30PM
Indian Super
Delhi v North East United
SONY SIX
Spanish La Liga
7:40PM
Barcelona v Deportivo La Coruna
10:30PM
Atletico Madrid v Granada
12:40AM
DAY’S WATCH
the pink ball on a flat Dubai
stadium pitch.
Ali had another lifeline
when Jermaine Blackwood
dropped a regulation catch off
spinner Roston Chase in the
slip when the Pakistani opener
was batting on 190.
Ali, also dropped on 38 by
Leon Johsnon off paceman
Miguel Cummins on Thursday,
is six short of the double hundred
after batting a marathon
487 minutes, hitting 17 boundaries
and a six.
The lapse further hit the
hapless West Indian bowling
hard as they found no life out
of the pitch and struggled. •
Real Betis v Real Madrid
SONY ESPN
Italian Serie A
10:00PM
Pescara v Sampdoria
12:30AM
Juventus v Udinese
CRICKET
TEN 3
5:30PM
West Indies Tour of Pakistan
1st Test, Day 3
KABADDI
STAR SPORTS 2
Kabaddi World Cup
7:10PM
South Korea v Australia
8:30PM
Iran v Japan
9:40PM
India v Argentina

DT
28
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
Sport
Lionel Messi gestures during a training session at Sports Centre FC Barcelona Joan Gamper in Sant Joan Despi, Spain yesterday
AP
Barca begin
Cup defence
• AFP, Madrid
Barcelona begin their defence of
the Copa del Rey against Hercules
next month, whilst Real Madrid
face a trip north to Leon to take on
Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa.
Hercules have suffered two relegations
in the past six seasons to
fall to Spanish football’s third tier,
but caused a major shock in beating
Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering
Barca side 2-0 at the Camp Nou in
their last season in the top flight in
September 2010.
Madrid, meanwhile, are looking
to restore their pride in the competition
after being thrown out for
fielding an ineligible player in their
first game of last season’s competition
at Cadiz. Russian international
Denis Cheryshev scored the
opening goal of the game, but was
suspended due to an accumulation
of yellow cards when on loan at Villarreal
the previous season.•
Messi returns as Barca, Madrid battle ‘FIFA virus’
• AFP, Madrid
Argentina’s pain is Barcelona’s
gain as Lionel Messi returns for the
Spanish champions when Deportivo
la Coruna visit the Camp Nou today
after being sidelined for three
weeks with a groin injury.
Messi missed Argentina’s World
Cup qualifiers against Peru and
Paraguay as La Albiceleste’s struggles
without the five-time World
Player of the Year continued, putting
at risk their place at the 2018
World Cup.
However, international breaks
have traditionally caused Barca
trouble too with lethargic performances
on their return to La Liga
action coming to be known as the
“FIFA virus.”
Barca boss Luis Enrique paid
a heavy price for leaving Messi
and Luis Suarez on the bench for
a shock 2-1 home defeat to Alaves
after September’s international
break.
However, with a blockbuster
Champions League clash against
former Barca coach Pep Guardiola’s
Manchester City to come on
Wednesday, Enrique could roll the
dice with his selection once more.
Messi is expected to be eased
back into action as a second-half
substitute. Meanwhile, Suarez
could make way for Paco Alcacer
having played twice for Uruguay in
the past week.
Neymar will definitely start as
he returned to the Catalan capital
early due to his suspension for Brazil’s
2-0 win at Venezuela on Tuesday.
A 4-3 defeat to Celta Vigo two
weeks ago leaves Barca only fourth
Friends reunited as Guardiola
and Koeman face off
• AFP, Manchester
FIXTURES
Leganes v Sevilla
Barcelona v Deportivo
Atletico Madrid v Granada
Real Betis v Real Madrid
Former Barcelona team-mates Pep
Guardiola and Ronald Koeman
are reunited at Eastlands today
as Manchester City and Everton
square up for the first time in the
Premier League this season.
And Everton manager Koeman
is relishing the chance to pit his
wits against his City counterpart,
who was just setting off on his glorious
playing career with the Catalan
club when Koeman signed for
Barca in 1989.
“I have all good memories of
Pep,” said Koeman. “We have a
really strong friendship. Now it’s
a bit easier because he’s living in
Manchester and I live close to Manchester.
“Sometimes we have time for
dinner and to talk about football
and life. We have spent many hours
together talking football.
“He was really interested in
how we play in Holland. I see a lot
of that in teams managed by Pep,
about Barca and Dutch football and
FIXTURES
Arsenal v Swansea
Bournemouth v Hull
Chelsea v Leicester
Crystal Palace v West Ham
Man City v Everton
Stoke v Sunderland
West Brom v Tottenham
I like that because it’s the most difficult
way to win – play offensive
football.
“Sometimes it’s a risky way to
win titles. Most other managers
win titles but not with that football.
“The surprising thing with Pep
was when he was manager of Barca
I saw the best Barca team in every
aspect of football.
“The standard there was, and is,
always high but he made it 200 per
cent better in every aspect.
“I know the people of Holland
really enjoyed watching Barca and
then Bayern Munich because it’s a
different way of football.
“We like to see a team play attractive
football, to dominate.” •
in the table.
However, they trail leaders Atletico
Madrid and Real Madrid by
just two points and can go temporarily
at least to the top of the table
with victory before the sides from
the capital kick-off later today.
Real face the toughest task on
paper of the title contenders as
they travel to Real Betis aiming to
snap a streak of four draws in a row.
Zinedine Zidane’s men also having
a mounting injury crisis as captain
Sergio Ramos is set to be sidelined
for up to six weeks by a knee
sprain suffered in Spain’s 2-0 win at
Albania in midweek.
Luka Modric is also out for the
rest of the month due to knee surgery,
whilst influential holding
midfielder Casemiro is missing due
to a fractured fibia.
Atletico were the form team before
the international break with
six wins and a draw at the Camp
Nou in their last seven games taking
Diego Simeone’s men to the top
of the table on goal difference.
By contrast, winless Granada
travel to the capital with just two
points so far this season and having
already sacked coach Paco Jemez.
The Andalusians have turned
to Lucas Alcaraz for his third spell
in charge of the club to lead them
to safety. •
New Derby County manager Steve McClaren poses with the club shirt after being
unveiled at iPro Stadium yesterday
REUTERS

Downtime
29
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
CROSSWORD
CODE-CRACKER
ACROSS
1 Wander (4)
3 Male deer (4)
7 Greek letter (3)
8 Long-piled fabric (5)
11 Rodents (4)
12 Depart (5)
13 Watchful (5)
15 Climbing (4)
18 Old stringed instrument
(4)
19 Tears (5)
20 Approaches (5)
21 Conceal (4)
23 Paris subway (5)
24 United (3)
25 Look after (4)
26 Petty quarrel (4)
DOWN
1 Annul (6)
2 Talisman (6)
4 Beverage (3)
5 Wait on (6)
6 Fuel (3)
9 Calm (6)
10 Headwear (3)
11 Venerate (6)
14 Relating to the wolf
(6)
16 Part of the foot (6)
17 Protection on a
journey (6)
19 Male sheep (3)
21 Pungent (3)
22 Lair (3)
How to solve: Each number in our
CODE-CRACKER grid represents a
different letter of the alphabet. For
example, today 1 represents S so fill S
every time the figure 1 appears.
You have two letters in the control
grid to start you off. Enter them in the
appropriate squares in the main grid, then
use your knowledge of words to work out
which letters go in the missing squares.
Some letters of the alphabet may not be
used.
As you get the letters, fill in the other
squares with the same number in the
main grid, and the control grid. Check
off the list of alphabetical letters as you
identify them.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
CALVIN AND HOBBES
SUDOKU
How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the
numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must
contain all nine digits with no number repeating.
PEANUTS
SATURDAY’S SOLUTIONS
CODE-CRACKER
CROSSWORD
DILBERT
SUDOKU

30
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
Showtime
Abeer Y Hoque breathes
life into The Lovers and the
Leavers
Oyshee to release new song
for New Years Eve
• Showtime Desk
Oyshee is better known as a
talented folk-rock fusion artist.
However, she is all set to release
a soft rock track which celebrates
the ushering of a new year. The
track stands as proof of
Oyshee’s versatility as
a singer. The song
“Nilimaya” is
written by Faisal
Rabbikin and
composed by
JK Majlis. It will
be released on
December 31.
“The
song sounds
completely
different from my
regular ones. I liked
it the moment I
heard the demo music and fell in
love with it after I gave my voice
to it. It’s a New Year’s gift for all
of my fans and followers,” said
Oyshee.
She has recently released her
solo album Haowa under the
label CMV. •
• Showtime Desk
“I push and I pull, I watch and I
wait, I tire of being the one who
wants, I don’t have the courage
to speak up and take it, I don’t
have the wisdom to know it’s
not mine, but I know this much
that what’s over isn’t a failure.”
-“Love Letter,” an excerpt
from The Lovers and the
Leavers
Abeer Y Hoque is a multifaceted
talent with the essence of a
renaissance artist. Her portfolio
includes numerous mediums
like poems, photos and books.
She was born in Nigeria with
Bangladeshi ancestry, and
currently resides in the United
States. In 2007, she received the
Fulbright Scholarship and has
previously published a book of
travel photographs and poems,
The Long Way Home.
Her fiction from 2015, The
Lovers and the Leavers, was
well received by readers. From
then on, she collaborated with
film-maker Josh Steinbauer
and drone artists Dragon Turtle
to visualise her books. The
collaboration resulted in a
series of stunning short films
accompanied by excerpts from
the book.
The narrator’s words are
mesmerising to say the least.
And the beautiful visuals which
accompany the narration seem
to breath life into each of the
words. These tales of loss and
sorrow are a treat to the ears
and eyes and present intriguing
thoughts. You can check them
out on Vimeo. •
WHAT TO WATCH
Shaolin Soccer
HBO,06:36PM
Sing is a Shaolin monk who is
a master of martial arts. But
there being no need for his
skills in modern times, Sing
along with other monks, earns
his living by doing menial jobs.
A soccer coach comes up with
a new idea – to train Sing to
play soccer. The coach believes
that it would be too easy and
successful as Sing is already
trained in martial arts. Will it
work?
Cast: Stephen Chow, Man Tat
Ng, Wei Zhao, Yin Tse, Hui Li
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Star Movies, 6:10 PM
Kingsman: The Secret Service
is based on an acclaimed comic
book The Secret Service by Mark
Millar and Dave Gibbons. This
films tells a story of a man named
Gary Unwin, a street kid living in
South London. When an agent
from a spy organisation recognises
potential in the youth and hires
him as a trainee for a secret service
mission, they have to stop a global
threat to change the climate
problem.
Cast: Colin Firth, Samuel L
Jackson, Mark Strong, Taron
Egerton, Michael Caine, Sophie
Cookson
Austin Powers: The Spy Who
Shagged Me
WB, 5:25 PM
Austin Powers is a British spy
who’s on his honeymoon when he
finds out that his wife is actually
a fembot who’s controlled by Dr
Evil. Dr Evil is back from space and
has used a time machine to go to
the late 60s to steal Austin’s libido.
Austin finds himself impotent.
Now he has the task of going back
in time and getting his libido back
and also to foil Dr Evil’s latest plan
of shattering the earth with a laser
gun placed on the moon
Cast: Mike Myers, Michael
McCullers
Casino Royale
Sony PIX, 7:56 PM
After making his first governmentsanctioned
kill, James Bond is
given double-0 status. Now armed
with a license to kill, Bond’s
first mission is to bring down Le
Chiffre, a shady financier who
funds terrorist organisations. In
order to bankrupt him, Bond must
beat Le Chiffre in a high-stakes
poker game at the Casino Royale.
Accompanying him is Vesper
Lynd, a British Treasury official
whose job is to watch over the
government’s money. Although
adversaries at first, the two
survive a series of attacks by Le
Chiffre and his henchmen and
eventually a romance develops.
Cast: Daniel Craig, Eva Green,
Mads Mikkelsen, Giancarlo
Giannini, Jeffrey Wright, Judi
Dench. •

Showtime
31
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
Rooted in soil –
a solo art exhibition
Rowling:
Fantastic Beasts’ sequel
written, three more plotted
• Showtime Desk
• Showtime Desk
A solo art exhibition
titled, "Rooted in Soil” by
Kamruzzaman Shadhin has
begun at La Galerie and Galerie
Zoom, Alliance Française de
Dhaka. The inaugural ceremony
of this exhibition was held on
Friday, October 14, 2016.
Asaduzzaman Noor, minister
of Cultural Affairs, Sophie
Aubert, ambassador of France
to Bangladesh, Faruque Hassan,
managing director, Giant Group,
and Mustafa Zaman, artist, critic
and editor of Depart, were among
the distinguished guests present
during the opening ceremony.
Kamruzzaman Shadhin is
a visual artist born and based
in Bangladesh, working in
the mediums of installation,
video and performance art.
His work mostly focuses on
environmental and social
issues. His art projects are
often created through public
participation and are exhibited
in public spaces where the main
audiences are the general public
and surrounding communities.
He is the founder of Gidree
Bawlee Foundation of Arts – a
non-profit organisation working
for creating scopes for cultural
and artistic exchange between
artists and communities through
collaborative approaches.
Shadhin is also a founder
member of ‘Chhobir Haat’.
The exhibition will be open
to all till Saturday, October 29,
2016.
Visiting Hours: Monday
to Thursday from 3:00pm to
9:00pm, Friday and Saturday
(9:00am to12:00pm and
5:00pm to 8:00pm). Closed on
Sunday. •
The magic of
Harry Potter is
showing no signs
of slowing down
as J K Rowling
announced plans
on Thursday for
five films in the
spinoff franchise
Fantastic Beasts
And Where To Find
Them.
The first film—a
prequel to the
Harry Potter
books and movies
starring Daniel
Radcliffe—is due
to be released in November. It
stars Oscar-winning actor Eddie
Redmayne as magical explorer
Newt Scamander, who travels to
New York to uncover a world of
witchcraft and wizardry in the US.
Rowling, who makes her debut
as a screenwriter with the movie,
made the announcement at a
special event held in London on
Thursday.
“We always knew it was going
to be more than one movie, and
we said a trilogy as a place-holder.
But I’ve done the plotting properly
and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be
five movies,” she said.
Redmayne teased that Rowling
“has the most extraordinary
imagination of our generation and
she has created something entirely
different. That world is spilling out
of her head in a unique way.”
Fantastic Beasts is directed by
David Yates, who helmed the final
four Harry Potter movies. He is
expected to return for the sequel.
On Twitter last Thursday night,
Rowling defended stretching the
spinoff series to five instalments.
She tweeted to one fan: “I think,
when you realise what story we’re
*really* telling, you’ll understand
that it can’t possibly fit in one
movie!”
Rowling is also behind the
recently launched Harry Potter
stage play, Cursed Child, which is
set some 19 years after the final
Potter story, The Deathly Hallows.
Rowling co-wrote the West End
production with screenwriter Jack
Thorne and theatre director John
Tiffany. •
Source: Newsweek
Tommy Ford dies at 52
• Showtime Desk
Actor Tommy Ford, best known
for his role as Tommy in the
1990s hit sitcom Martin, has
died in Atlanta at the age of 52, a
spokeswoman for his family said.
No cause of death was
announced, and the family
released a statement on
Wednesday asking for privacy.
“It is with great sadness that
we announce the untimely
passing of our beloved son,
father, brother, husband, and
friend Tommy Mykhal Ford,”
the statement read. “On behalf
of the family, we would like
to thank everyone for their
love, support and prayers.
Funeral arrangements will be
forthcoming. Please respect the
privacy of the Ford family during
our time of grief.”
The actor had been
documenting his recovery from
knee replacement surgery on
social media, shortly before his
death.
The Los Angeles native was
a graduate of the University of
Southern California’s Fine Arts
Acting Program, according to
the actor’s site. His first role on
television was as Lamar Collins
on A Different World. He would
go on to have other parts in
television and films, including
the 1989 Eddie Murphy movie
Harlem Nights.
But his role as Tommy
Strawn, straight man to Martin
Lawrence’s jokester character
on Martin, made Ford a star.
Lawrence mourned the loss of
his friend, joining the flood of
fans who paid tribute to him on
Twitter.
“We were friends way b4
the Martin show & showed tru
friendship on-screen,” Lawrence
tweeted. “You brought a lot
of love 2 the world & you’ll be
greatly missed.”
After Martin ended in
1997, Ford continued working
in television, appearing on
popular series such as New
York Undercover, The Parkers
and House. He was the Pope of
Comedy on TV One’s show Who’s
Got Jokes!
Ford also produced and
starred in a film short titled The
Club and did some directing.
In addition to his career in
Hollywood, Ford wrote children’s
books and founded Be Still
and Know Inc., a nonprofit
organisation dedicated to
building better communities for
disadvantaged youth. •
Source: CNN

32
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016
DT
BOUNTIFUL
BARISAL PAGE 12
TASKIN IN LINE FOR
TEST CALL-UP PAGE 25
Back Page
ABEER Y HOQUE BREATHES LIFE INTO
THE LOVERS AND THE LEAVERS PAGE 30
Sir Vidia in
the house
• Tribune Desk
Dhaka Lit Fest directors have
announced that Nobel Laureate VS
Naipaul will attend this year’s festival.
DLF, the country’s biggest
international literary congregation, will
be held in November at the grounds of
Bangla Academy.
“We are absolutely delighted to announce
Sir Vidia’s visit to Dhaka next
month, which he has more than once
told me he keenly desires. At a time
when many writers are shying away
from coming to Bangladesh, Sir Vidia will
be opening this year’s edition of Dhaka
Lit Fest, and we are extremely honoured
and grateful for his support,” said Ahsan
Akbar, one of the DLF directors.
This year the international line-up
will also boast Man Booker International
winner Deborah Smith and Pulitzer winner
Vijay Seshadri.
Other international guests include
Alex Preston, Anjum Hasan, Evie Wyld,
Amy Sackville and Tim Cope, among
many others. Authors from over a dozen
countries, including Hyeonseo Lee
of N. Korea and Ali Bader of Iraq, will be
featured.
Every genre will be strongly represented,
including journalists Barkha
Dutt, Justin Rowlatt and Bee Rowlatt.
According to the directors, this year
the DLF will pay a special tribute to Syed
Shamsul Haq, the versatile Bangladeshi
author, by staging his novel, Neel Dangshan
(Blue Venom).
Like the previous years, promoting
Bangla literature through quality translations
will be a focus.
A landmark translation of Bishad
Shindhu by Fakrul Alam and
The Book of Dhaka published by UK’s
Comma Press, featuring ten Bangladeshi
authors, will be launched while
the Dhaka Translation Center will present
new translations of Rizia Rahman,
Imdadul Haq Milon and Moinul Ahsan
Saber.
Bangali authors from within and
outside the country, iconic as well as upcoming
voices, will as always take pride
of place throughout the three days. •
For more news on DLF 2016,
see pages 16-17.
Hazaribagh still waiting to be free
• Abu Hayat Mahmud
With its miserable state of streets
and outdated waste management
along with poor drainage and sewerage
systems, the tannery industry
at Hazaribagh area in the capital
has made the environment hazardous
and unlivable for the people of
the entire locality.
The Hazaribagh thana, situated
at the south-west part of Dhaka
South City Corporation (DSCC), is
one of the top ten mostly polluted
localities in the world, according to
an international study.
At least 160,000 people have become
victims of air pollution here
due to the use of toxic chemicals,
mainly chromium, at the factories,
says a report published in November,
2013, jointly by Green Cross Switzerland
and Blacksmith Institute.
Residents of Hazaribagh and
Jigatola, suffering from the severe
environmental hazards created by
the tannery factories for several
decades, alleged that even after repeated
attempts, they had failed to
get the attention of the concerned
government agencies and ministry
– namely DSCC, Dhaka Water Supply
and Sewerage Authority (DWA-
SA) and Ministry of Industries – to
the miserable environmental condition
of the area.
Mohammad Alamgir, a resident
of Kalunagar area in Hazaribag,
said: “No initiative has been taken
Kalunagar road in Hazaribagh very recently
by the city corporation (DSCC) to
repair the dilapidated roads and
upgrade the poor drainage and
waste management since years.”
“The roads have decayed almost
totally as a consequence of random
movements of heavily loaded
trucks of the tannery industries.
During construction of most of the
roads, the issue of regular movements
of heavy vehicles was not at
all considered,” he assumed.
“For year after year, we are hearing
that the government has ordered
the shifting of all the tannery
factories of Hazaribagh outside
Dhaka. But when will it be done and
when will we get a fresh environment?”
Alamgir asked frustratingly.
Aleya Begum, a resident of
Bhagalpur area, also called Companyghat
by locals, of the same locality,
said: “We hoped that the new
mayor and local councilors will
take immediate step for development
of existing outdated drainage
and waste management and reconstruction
of the local streets, but
since the election, during the last
one and a half years, Mayor Sayeed
Khokon has nothing in this regard.”
Complaining that during monsoon
time, they annually face various
agonising skin diseases due to
the effect of toxic tannery water,
she said, “The drains of the area
are always brimming with tannery
wastes, at times it overflow
ABU HAYAT MAHMUD
to streets and our houses, causing
health hazards as well as engulfing
the area with an unbearable
stench,” she added.
During a recent visit to Hazaribagh
and Jigatola, this correspondent
found the local streets
totally dilapidated while the narrow-mouthed
drains were full of
overflowing toxic wastes; the expected
outcome of an unplanned
tannery industry set up at the heart
of a densely populated megacity.
Almost all the streets and alleys
of Hazaribagh and Jigatola are
completely dilapidated. The main
road at Kalunagar area stretching
from the Hazaribagh culvert to the
flood protection dam looks like a
muddy earthen village path.
The DSCC’s waste management
department has put a waste container
just beside the main gate of
the Institute of Leather Engineering
and Technology (ILET).
ILET students alleged that
they perpetually face tremendous
health risks due to the tannery industry.
Expressing anger over the inactivity
of the DSCC mayor and local
councilors, dwellers of the area said
although Mayor Sayeed Khokon
had visited Hazaribagh and Jigatola
after being elected, he took no step
to solve our endless problems.
Contacted, a former DSCC official,
informing that the drains of the area
were constructed about 100 years
ago, said, “We once tried to widen
the drains of the area, but it created
difficulties as the roads became
cracked because of the digging.”
Contacted, DSCC Mayor Sayeed
Khokon yesterday told the Dhaka
Tribune: “The industry minister
has already directed the tannery
owners to immediately shift all factories
to Hemayetpur, the government
allocated zone for tannery
industry. Once the industry is fully
shifted, we will take elaborate project
for Hazaribagh.”
Khokon, however, said he will
talk to the city corporation’s engineering
department to repair, for
the time being, the dilapidated
roads immediately.•
Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower,
8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com