DT e-Paper 2 March 2017

SECOND EDITION
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017 | Falgun 18, 1423, Jamadi-us-Sani 2, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 304 | www.dhakatribune.com | 24 pages plus 8-page Arts & Letters supplement | Price: Tk10
Road
accidents
claim 15
lives a day in
February › 3
Little evidence
of Quader’s
Jamaat link › 3
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Blown out of proportion › 2
A 36-hour countrywide transport strike caused a worker’s death and two lost
workdays for a majority of the public, and for others, hours of suffering on
empty roads. A life term jail for one errant driver was the apparent cause
Beximco
eyeing to
install LPGbased
power
plant › 5
Gulshan attack
weapons
kingpin held › 5
Low-quality
education a
bar to SDGs › 10
Trump’s maiden State of
the Union › 8
Bullseye as Guptill’s 180
levels ODI series › 20
Mahmudullah,
Sabbir in the
line of fire? › 18

2
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
DT
News
Blown out of proportion
• Shohel Mamun
Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan
cautiously distanced himself last
night from the nationwide strike
that paralysed communications
across Bangladesh for over 30
hours.
“The situation went out of control
when workers heard of another
driver being sentenced to death,”
he told the press in the evening at
the Motijheel office of Bangladesh
Sarak Paribahan Malik Samity, the
road transport owners association.
Shajahan, the executive president
of Bangladesh Road Transport
Workers’ Federation, said his organisation
did not decide to strike,
rather it was a spontaneous outcome
of the workers’ frustration.
But the verdict that supposedly
sparked the transport workers’ resentment,
a life sentence for bus
driver Jamir Hossain for the death
of five people in a 2011 accident,
came in on February 22 and only
the Bus and Truck Workers Union
in Chuadanga, his home district,
went on strike in the beginning.
Three days later the Khulna division
went to strike but this was
still contained in a region.
The strike that brought the
nation to a halt was announced
much later, on Monday night from
a meeting in Motijheel where State
Minister for Rural Development
Mashiur Rahman Ranga was present.
Earlier that day, Shajahan
made a seemingly innocuous comment
that the workers had a right
to abstain from work.
One newspaper reported that
the minister met workers’ leaders
at his home on Monday afternoon
and decided that the strike should
go national, although the minister
said last night that he was only trying
to resolve the problems.
So Shajahan and his colleague
Ranga, who is the president of the
owners’ association, appear to
have backed the transport strike.
But to what end?
A new law, titled Road Transport
Act, is in the books and may
be raised in cabinet meeting as
early as next week. Among other
reforms, this bill proposes that
deaths and injuries in traffic accidents
fall under the Penal Code.
The Penal Code has harsh penalties
for negligent homicide and manslaughter.
On the other hand, the
existing Motor Vehicles Ordinance
1983 stipulates a maximum of six
months’ imprisonment for wrongdoings
related to reckless driving.
Transport workers are understandably
disturbed by the life sentence
of Jamir Hossain. No doubt,
the death sentence of truck driver
Mir Hossain Miru – which was a
murder committed in 2003, not a
traffic accident – was misused to
further aggravate them.
The strike was their attempt to
send the establishment the message
that they cannot operate with
the threat of life sentence or the
noose hanging over them.
Indeed, road accidents have
myriad reasons and virtually no
bus driver plies the roads plotting
to take lives. The Accident Research
Institute in Buet says that
while lack of skill in drivers is a
key reason, poor road design, badly
maintained vehicles and mixed
traffic with a variety of vehicles are
the principal contributory factors
to most traffic accidents.
Such complex issues require
complex investigations. The Dhaka
Tribune has previously reported
that the police have no training at
all on such methods.
At the beginning of the strike,
Abdur Rahim, senior vice-president
of the workers federation,
told the Dhaka Tribune: “Jamir
Hossain, the convicted driver, had
a driving career of around 33 years.
If he is not a skilled driver, who is?”
Vehicle owners, on the other
hand, have another issue in their
hands.
The family of filmmaker Tareque
Masud, one of the victims of
the 2011 accident, have filed a case
for Tk13 crore compensation for
his death. The case is now with
the High Court. The hearing will be
held on March 7. A similar case is
under trial in Sylhet.
Compensations for traffic accidents
are a common practice
around the world but have no precedent
in Bangladesh. If it comes
into practice, it could be a massive
burden for bus and truck owners.•
HC questions legality of agitations against court orders
• Ashif Islam Shaon
The High Court yesterday questioned
the legality of agitation
programmes like strike, shutdown
and blockade against a court verdict
or order.
In a rule, the court asked the
government to explain why programmes
called in protest of a
court’s verdict or order should
not be declared illegal and why
the government should not be directed
to take legal actions against
those involved with calling such
programmes.
Not being able to find transport due to the nationwide transport blockade, travellers are faced with little choice but to walk
the roads in Gabtoli in the capital
MEHEDI HASAN
The strike was their
attempt to send
the establishment a
message
The High Court bench of Justice
Syed Muhammad Dastagir
Husain and Justice Md Ataur Rahman
Khan came up with the ruling
following a writ petition filed
by Human Rights and Peace for
Bangladesh (HRPB).
The court in an interim order
had also asked the government
to ensure smooth flow of traffic
across the country within 24 hours.
Secretaries of Road Transport
and Bridges Ministry and Home
Ministry, Director General of Rapid
Action Battalion, chairmen of Bangladesh
Road Transport Authority
(BRTA) and Bangladesh Road
Transport Corporation (BRTC), and
police DIGs of eight divisions have
been asked to respond to the ruling
within three weeks.
The government will also have
to come up with a compliance report
within two weeks, confirmed
HRPB counsel Advocate Manzil
Murshid.
The Bangladesh Road Transport
Workers’ Federation’s called
the strike from a meeting held at
its Motijheel office on Monday
night, hours after Khulna Motor
Workers’ Union General Secretary
Md Zakir Hossain withdrew the
indefinite transport strike being
observed in ten districts of the
division since Sunday which had
been backed by Shajahan Khan,
who said the transport workers
had the right to protest.
The decision was an outcome
of meeting with the district administration,
which the central
leaders rejected later on, expanding
the strike nationwide.
However, the strike was called
off yesterday afternoon after several
meetings were held between
transport leaders and ministers.•
Transport
leaders call
off strike after
36 hours of
sufferings
• Shohel Mamun and Tarek
Mahmud
After 36 hours of commuter suffering,
the countrywide transport
strike was called off yesterday afternoon
following several meetings
between transport leaders and
ministers concerned.
Helpless commuters found relief
after buses and other public
transports started operating as per
directives of transport leaders.
“We had a meeting with the ministers.
The bus drivers and workers
will now return to work,” said the
pro-government Bangladesh Road
Transport Workers’ Federation’s
(BRTWF) Senior Vice-President Abdur
Rahim Baksh.
Earlier in the day, Road Transport
and Bridges Minister Obaidul
Quader told reporters that he
would try to find a solution to the
crisis within the day.
“We have taken a decision in
principle to convince the transport
workers to withdraw the strike,”
the minister said after a meeting at
his ministry around noon.
At the meeting, Obaidul Quader
requested top transport leaders including
Shipping Minister Shajahan
Khan, who is the executive president
of BRTWF, and State Minister for Rural
Development and Cooperative
Mashiur Rahman Ranga, president
of Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Malik
Samity, to withdraw the strike.
Following the meeting, in a quick
response, top transport leaders met
with their association leaders around
1pm at Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan
Malik Samity office in Motijheel.
Shipping Minister Shajahan
Khan, an initial supporter of the
industrial action, told reporters
after the meeting in Motijheel that
the transport workers had not even
been on strike.
“They were just on work abstention.
I have urged them to get back
to work,” he said.
When asked who will take responsibility
for the sufferings of
commuters, Shajahan Khan said:
“The country’s people will judge
the situation. The strike affected the
transport workers too as they did
not earn any money to feed their
families. Transport owners were
also unable to pay their daily loans.”
LGRD Minister Mashiur Rahman
Ranga sought to deflect blame for the
chaotic scenes during the two-day
strike – particularly at Gabtoli bus
terminal – away from the workers.
“The transport workers were not
involved in the clashes and vandalism
that occurred on Tuesday and
Wednesday. A wicked political party
is active behind the scene.” •

Road accidents claim 15
lives a day in February
• Tribune Desk
MP LITON MURDER
Little evidence of Quader’s
Jamaat link
• Kamrul Hasan
Investigators were inclined to believe
that the religious political party
Jamaat-e-Islami was involved in
the murder of Awami League MP
Manjurul Islam Liton in Gaibandha,
as were his political colleagues.
After the murder on New Year’s
Eve, at least 110 people, mostly Jamaat
activists, were detained. Of
them 23 were shown arrested for
alleged involvement in the murder.
Gaibandha’s Sundarganj has
for years been known as a Jamaat
stronghold.
Therefore it came as somewhat
of a surprise when Jatiya Party
(JaPa) leader and former MP Abdul
Quader Khan was linked to the
murder and later confessed to it.
District police said their findings
surprised them all and they crosschecked
each and every detail before
arresting Quader on February 23.
Several rumours spread in the
press and among the public about
Quader’s Jamaat connection. One
claim went that before the murder,
Quader had a meeting with former
Jamaat MP Abdul Aziz, known as
Ghoramara Aziz or Ghora Aziz in
the area.
Local Awami League leaders,
especially those close to MP Liton,
say they believe that Quader might
be linked to Jamaat.
Almost 15 people on average lost
their lives daily in February in road
accidents.
A total of 427 people, including
56 women and 58 children, died in
372 road accidents in February, according
to data prepared by the National
Committee to Protect Shipping,
Roads and Railways.
The data also shows 1,094 people
were injured, an average of 46
people a day, in these accidents.
The data, prepared on the basis
of news reports published in 20 national
daily newspapers, 10 regional
newspapers and eight online news
portals, was released yesterday.
In January, 416 people died and
1,012 people were injured in 350 road
accidents, their data further shows.
The committee’s General Secretary
Ashish Kumer Dey said the
committee has identified a number
of reasons behind the deaths and
injuries, including competitive attitudes
among bus drivers to reach
destinations early, inefficiency and
carelessness of drivers, lack of rest
while driving for a long time, lack
of training and awareness among
drivers and assistants, and not following
traffic rules while overtaking
vehicles, among other reasons.
He said a lack of seriousness
among regulatory and monitoring
agencies of the road transport sector
also plays a role.
The lack of strict punishment for
drivers, assistants, and the vehicle
owners involved is responsible as
well for the alarming state, he added.
In a landmark verdict on February
22, a Manikganj court sentenced
bus driver Jamir Hossain
to life imprisonment, the highest
punishment for any road accident
in Bangladesh so far.
Jamir’s sentence was for the
deaths of five people, including
filmmaker Tareque Masud and cinematographer
and journalist Mishuk
Munier, in a road crash in 2011. •
Awami League leader and Dhobadanga
union former chairman
Jahangir Alam Suja claimed that
Quader had Jamaat’s backing during
the election of 2008 and many Jamaat
activists had worked for him.
“Being an outsider, if he did not
have Jamaat’s support, he would
not have been able to win the election,”
he said.
Quader during his interrogation
and confession claimed that MP
Liton defeated him in 2013 by rigging
the election.
Sundarganj JaPa General Secretary
Abdul Mannan told the Dhaka
Tribune that he knew very little
about Quader.
“The man was an outsider and
our local activists did not accept
him. They became inactive and
Quader was mostly accompanied
by his relatives,” he said.
“However, Jamaat had a lot of
supporters that year. Quader might
have had some issues with Jamaat
but I did not hear about his involvement
with the party,” he said.
Quader’s relative, JaPa activist
and Dakkhin Rajibpur UP Member
Idris Ali told the Dhaka Tribune
that when he worked with the
man, he seemed to be antagonistic
towards Jamaat.
“After that, I do not know because
I became detached with
him since. But I can surely say that
News 3
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaks to reporters in a videoconference at Gonobhaban yesterday, having inaugurated
completed power plants and other power-related infrastructure projects
BSS
since he moved to Gaibandha he
has never been seen with a Jamaat
leader or member,” he said.
Quader’s personal secretary AJM
Shamsujjoha could not be reached
at his home in Kismat Haldia village
or his shop in Naldanga Bazaar
after several attempts.
His neighbour Amirul Haque
told the Dhaka Tribune that he had
not seen Joha with any Jamaat activists.
The shop’s manager Mizanur
Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune
that law enforcers had taken away
Joha’s mobile phones and therefore
he was out of reach.
Gaibandha police’s Additional SP
Rabiul Islam said they were yet to
find any information about a meeting
held between Quader and Aziz.
“The two did not have any
meeting in Gaibandha as far as our
investigation suggests,” he added.
“Quader in the interrogation
said he disliked Jamaat as their activities
were one of the reasons behind
his defeat to MP Liton in last
election,” he said.
Gaibandha PBI Additional SP
Anwar Hossain said they had heard
of a meeting between the two but
could not get any proof of it.
Bogra PBI and Bogra police told
the Dhaka Tribune they had no information
of the two having met
there. •
Quader might face
further interrogations
• Kamrul Hasan
Police are still in search of the missing
third firearm used in the killing
of Gaibandha 1 lawmaker Monjurul
Islam Liton. They are also in the
dark about the source of two of the
weapons.
To this end, police sources said
they would take the self-confessed
mastermind of the killing former MP
Dr Abdul Quader Khan under fresh
remand in a case filed with Sundarganj
police station last Saturday for
possessing illegal firearms.
After arresting former MP Quader,
police raided his home in Pashchim
Chhaprahati village on February 23.
There they found only one pistol, although
Quader informed the police
that he buried two pistols there.
His own licenced firearm, also
used by the assassins, was submitted
to the police before the arrest.
A police source said after taking
Quader under remand in the first two
days after his arrest, they had been
tiptoeing around him on account of
his status and old age. On the third
day when he suddenly declared that
he would confess in court, the interrogators
were surprised but relieved.
He was taken to court quickly.
But, this put police in another
problem. In his confessional statement,
Quader avoided providing
information about the source of
firearms and the question of who
had trained three inexperienced
local young men to use guns.
Police said they had information
DT
that Quader had trained the killers
himself. But they are still in the dark
about the source of the weapons.
A senior Gaibandha police officer
told the Dhaka Tribune that
they would press charges in the MP
Liton murder case soon.
“If we cannot find the source of
the guns, we will take Quader under
remand,” the official said.
The official adde that the guns
could have been obtained from the
border districts nearby where illegal
firearms are more easily available.
Police are trying to find out
the route Quader used to source his
firearms.
“Who knows, it could bring major
breakthrough in illegal firearm
trading,” the official added.
Chandan’s in-law arrested
A team of Sundarganj police arrested
Subal Kumar Roy, the cousin
of Quader’s close aide Chandan
Kumar Roy from Rangpur Medical
College Hospital last night.
Chandan, who has been missing
since the murder, is suspected to
have been Quader’s key informant on
Liton’s activities and whereabouts.
An investigator seeking anonymity
told the Dhaka Tribune
Subal was Quader’s original recruit
for the assassination.
“Almost a year ago, they planned
that Subal would shoot Quader at
his club near Gaibandha Railway
Station. But Subal fell ill and then
those three were recruited,” the investigator
said. •

4
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
DT
News
Drive against old buses on city
roads to start March 5
• Abu Hayat Mahmud
Dhaka South City Corporation
(DSCC) will conduct a drive against
buses whose licenses were revoked
and are no longer serviceable from
March 5, as per an announcement
made in February.
Though these buses have been
banned from plying on the capital’s
roads, a massive drive will be conducted
from Sunday, DSCC Chief
Estate Officer Mohammed Kamrul
Islam Chowdury told the Dhaka
Tribune yesterday.
On February 15, DSCC Mayor Mohammad
Sayeed Khokon announced
that public buses over 20 years old
would be banned from March 1.
He made the announcement after
a meeting with senior officials
of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority,
Dhaka Metropolitan Police,
Rajuk, Dhaka district deputy
commissioner’s office, and Dhaka
Transport Co-ordination Authority
at Nagar Bhaban.
Chemical industry eviction
postponed
Meanwhile, DSCC authorities
postponed a scheduled eviction
against unlicensed hazardous
chemical warehouses and factories
The DSCC has
already sent a notice
to the warehouses
and factory owners
concerned
in Old Dhaka from yesterday, being
unable to get police security from
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
The chief estate officer told Dhaka
Tribune yesterday: “We were
ready to conduct the scheduled
drive, but could not carry it out due
to the absence of police officers
who were busy with the strike and
transport blockade of vehicle drivers,”
he said.
Kamrul said after DMP gives the
green signal on when it can provide
officers, a new date will be fixed for
the drive.
The DSCC has already sent a notice
to the warehouses and factory
owners concerned.
Due to lack of proper oversight,
these warehouses and factories
have been set up in different areas
of Old Dhaka.
Most were set up on the ground
floors of old multi-storey buildings,
with no approval or licences,
sources said.
According to data by Bangladesh
Poribesh Andolon, nearly 25,000
hazardous chemical factories and
warehouses are located in Nimtoli,
Kayettuli, Mogoltuli, Sikkatuli,
Malitola, Suritola, Mitford, Alubazar,
Bongshal, among other areas.
Yet DSCC officials say only 2,500
chemical industries in Old Dhaka
have trade licenses. •
Police Memorial Day
observed
• Tarek Mahmud
Bangladesh Police yesterday
observed Police Memorial Day for
the first time across the country
remembering the police officials
and members who sacrificed their
lives in the line of duty.
Police honoured the families of
128 policemen who died last year.
Police announced to observe the
day on March 1 every year.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman
Khan Kamal said: “The militancy
and terrorism are being resisted
for the services of police. The
policemen who sacrificed their lives
were patriots and professionals.”
AKM Shahidul Hoque, inspector
general of police, said: “I request
the family members of the departed
policemen to keep contact with
police headquarters’ welfare
section and respective units across
the country in any necessity.”
Chittagong Range of police
also observed the day in the
city’s Dampara Police Line where
Deputy Inspector General Shafiqul
Islam, addressing as chief guest,
honoured 14 families of the
departed policemen in Chittagong
division.
The day was also observed
at Comilla, Jhalokati, Natore,
Chuadanga, Bagerhat, Magura,
Jamalpur and all police units across
the country where the units’ chiefs
carried the formalities of the day.
According to the police HQ a
total of 1,139 police officials died
in last 25 years. Most of them were
constables who sacrificed their
lives to save people, respective
units and senior officials at home
and abroad.
In 2015, authorities found
the departed policemen who
died on duty did not get proper
departmental honour. •

Beximco eyeing to install
LPG-based power plant
• Aminur Rahman Rasel
Local business conglomerate
Beximco Group is planning to
set up a Liquefied Petroleum Gas
(LPG) based power plant in the
country.
On February 26, a letter signed
by the business group’s Executive
Director (Corporate Affairs) Rafiqul
Islam was sent to the chairman of
Power Development Board (PDB),
requesting the latter to arrange a
meeting in this regard.
According to the letter, Beximco
Group was planning to introduce
LPG, as a new type of fuel, in power
generation with the support of
its US-based technical partner General
Electric (GE).
However, the latter did not mention
the proposed capacity of the
plant and its probable location.
Bangladesh, Russia to
form joint commission
on cooperation
• Syed Zainul Abedin
Bangladesh and Russia have
signed an agreement on the
establishment of an intergovernmental
commission on
trade, economic, scientific
and technical cooperation.
Deputy Minister for Economic
Development of the
Russian Federation Alexey
Gruzdev signed the agreement
from the Russian side.
State Minister for Foreign
Affairs Md Shahriar Alam MP
signed the agreement on behalf
of the Bangladesh government
yesterday morning
at the Foreign Ministry office.
Foreign Minister Abul Hassan
Mahmood Ali and the Russian
Ambassador to Bangladesh
Alexander I Ignatov and other
senior officials of the Ministry
were present, a foreign ministry
press release said.
The agreement aims to
promote the development of
broad-based cooperation in
a variety of areas, including
trade, economy, science and
technology.
The intergovernmental
commission will identify the
When contacted, a Power Development
Board official, requesting
anonymity, said: “The date of the
meeting is yet to be fixed, but it
may be held by March.
“The fate of the project will
bank on the meeting, deciding if
the LPG-based power plant will be
appropriate.”
In Bangladesh, this form of gas
is commonly known as a cooking
fuel, which has great usage in power
generation too, the letter said,
adding, LPG is considered a growing
competitor of liquefied natural
Gas and even coal due to its good
heating value, cleaner generation
and lower costs.
The letter attested to the potential
of GE, claiming that the company
is one of the pioneers in this
technology across the world and
that it was successfully operating
main directions for trade, economic,
scientific and technical
cooperation and its priority
areas of the two countries. It
will assist the organisations
and business communities of
the two countries in the development
and diversification
of mutual bilateral relations.
It will also analyse the status
of trade, economic, scientific
and technical cooperation,
defines its most prospective
directions, particularly in areas
of agriculture, energy and
power, education. The commission
may identify other directions
of cooperation, such
as information and communication
technologies, innovations,
knowledge sharing and
other areas.
Both parties will appoint
co-chairs, with deputies and
executive secretaries to carry
out the commission’s work.
Permanent or ad-hoc working
groups on specific areas of cooperation
may be established
within the framework of the
commission by a joint decision.
The commission will meet
at least once a year, alternately
in Dhaka and Moscow. •
News 5
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
several LPG-fired power plants in
several countries across America,
Africa and Asia.
State Minister for Power, Energy
and Mineral Resources Nasrul
Hamid on Tuesday said: “There is
shortage of primary fuel to help establish
a power plant.
“Hence, so we are planning to
use various kinds of fuel in power
plants and that is why we have taken
decision to use LPG in government
and private sectors.”
In October, 2016, Beximco
Group had inked a deal with two
Chinese companies each to generate
2,180MW electricity, of which,
1,980 MW will come from coal- ired
power plant and 200 MW from a solar
power plant.
For the joint ventures, Beximco
Groups and the Chinese firms will
invest a total of $3.2 billion. •
DT
Gulshan attack
weapons kingpin held
• Arifur Rahman Rabbi
The Counter-Terrorism and
Transnational Crime (CTTC) Unit
has detained the leader of a group
which supplied the arms and
explosives used in the terrorist
attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery
in Gulshan last July.
Boro Mizan heads the new
faction of banned militant outfit
Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh
(New JMB) in Chapainawabganj’s
Shibganj upazila area and is also
the frontman for an outfit which
supplied arms and explosives to
New JMB.
CTTC officials produced Mizan
before the court yesterday and
prayed for a 10-day remand. The
court set March 5 for the remand
hearing, until which Mizan will be
held in jail.
Additional
Deputy
Commissioner (ADC) Mohammad
Yousuf Ali told the Dhaka
Tribune that Mizan was the chief
commander of militant group
Purbo Jund Al Tawhid, and had
later joined New JMB with the
help of Gulshan attack mastermind
Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury.
“Mizan formed a group
which supplied arms, grenades,
detonators and explosives to
the new militant group from
Chapainawabganj,” the ADC said.
“The grenade and firearms used
in the Holey Artisan attack were
brought to Dhaka with the help of
Mizan’s group and handed over to
militant Tanvir Qadri alias Abdul
Karim before the attack.”
Tamim was killed in a drive at
a militants’ den in Paikpara area
of Narayanganj town on August
27, 2016, while Tanvir Qadri
died a fortnight later in another
anti-militant raid in Dhaka’s
Azimpur. •
TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY
THUNDERSHOWER
WITH RAIN
THURSDAY, MARCH 2
Dhaka 34 17 Chittagong 31 20 Rajshahi 34 18 Rangpur 31 18 Khulna 34 19 Barisal 33 19 Sylhet 31 14
DHAKA
TODAY
TOMORROW
SUN SETS 6:02PM
SUN RISES 6:19AM
YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW
33.5ºC
11.7ºC
Sitakunda
Srimangal
Source: Accuweather/UNB
PRAYER
TIMES
Cox’s Bazar 31 20
Fajr: 5:50am | Zohr: 1:15pm
Asr: 4:45pm | Magrib: 6:10pm
Esha: 8:00pm
Source: Islamic Foundation

6
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
DT
News
Infant rescued, three kidnappers held
• Tanveer Hossain,
Narayanganj
RAB members yesterday arrested
three criminals for stealing and selling
children, and rescued an eightmonth-old
child from their possessions
in Narayanganj.
They are Minara alias Tania, 40,
Masum, 30, and Mousumi, 21, Senior
ASP of RAB 11 Alep Uddin said.
The elite force is now looking for
two other members of the gang – Al
Amin, 28, and his wife Salma, 22.
The infant, Mariam, was kidnapped
from her house in Shah
Ali police station area of Mirpur in
Dhaka on February 22. Her mother
filed a complaint to RAB 11.
RAB located the miscreants yesterday.
“The trio were detained from
Fatulla and Bandar areas during an
operation,” the RAB official said.
The trio admitted that they had
been involved in stealing and selling
of children from different areas.
“Al Amin was a neighbour of
Shetu Begum, mother of Mariam.
He stole the baby and sold her to a
couple with the help of Tania.”
Tania alias Minara said that Al
Amin had sold his own child for
Tk30,000 eight months ago.
Shetu told RAB that she had earlier
lost three of her children. “My
first child went missing at the age
of five, the second one was just five
months’ old and the third was killed
at the age of 11 months,” Shetu said,
blaming her former husband Billal. •
Sholakia Khatib
supports Hefazat’s SC
‘idol’ removal demand
• Tribune Desk
Sholakia Khatib Allama Farid
Uddin Masuud supports Hefazat’s
demand of immediate
removal of a sculpture that
grounds on the highest court
of the country.
Masuud, also the chairman
of Bangladesh Jamiatul Ulama,
said: “Opposing the demand
of the majority people
of Bangladesh by not removing
the ‘idol’ from the highest
court of the country is not a
good sign.”
He said this in a press release
on Wednesday.
He also said: “Placing an
idol in front of the highest
court of the country does not
portray the secular faith of the
nation. Their intention is not
good. This decision will not be
good for peaceful people.”
“The presence of a Greek
goddess idol in front of the
court will destroy the secular
faith. A rightful mind cannot
take the decision of keeping
the idol. This is happening
just to make a certain group of
people happy or to represent
the chief justice’s ideology.”
he added.
Earlier, on February 11, the
radical Islamist platform Hefazat-e-Islam
demanded the
immediate removal of the
sculpture, claiming it to be a
Greek idol.
Leaders of the Qawmi madrasa-based
group that eyes
Shariah Law in the country
made the demand following
a press conference at the Chittagong
Press Club on February
11. •
Police arrest suspect over
Rajshahi boy’s torture
• Abdullah Al Dulal,
Rajshahi
The law enforcers have arrested
another suspect over the
torture of a 12-year-old boy in
Rajshahi’s Puthia Upazila.
Confirming the matter,
Puthia police OC Hafizur Rahman
said: “We arrested Julmot
from his Shibpur residence on
Tuesday night.
Julmot Ali, 60, is the fifth
accused in a case filed over the
adolescent boy’s torture.
The court later sent Julmot,
a supervisor of BP Paribahan,
to jail.
On February 21, the victim
was tied to a truck and then
beaten up for four hours allegedly
for damaging the CD
player on the bus at the Khan
Filling Station in the Puthia.
The workers finally released
the boy in the face of
protests by locals.
The boy used to work as a
helper of a BP Paribahan bus.
The victim’s father, Hafizur
Haq Rahman, filed a case
against five people regarding
the incident.
Later, BP Paribahan driver
Akel Ali and Khan Filling Station
employee Nurul Islam
were detained.
In another incident, two
people were arrested for abusing
a 12-year-old student from
Puthia, after they tied him to a
tree and beat him up allegedly
for stealing a SIM card on February
14. •

Road built over
canal for a brick kiln
News 7
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
Barisal SI suspended for harassing people
• Anisur Rahman Swapan, Barisal
The Barisal district police yesterday suspended
a sub-inspector for multiple instances
of harassment and entrapment,
including planting drugs in victims’
pockets and taking bribes from them.
Sub-Inspector Jasimuddin, incharge
of Harta police camp under Wazirpur
police station, was suspended
DT
after the authorities received several
allegations against him from different
corners, said SM Aktaruzzaman, the
superintendent of police.
Wazirpur OC Golam Sarwar said that
they were investigating the matter.
SI Jasimuddin has refuted the allegations,
claiming that it was a conspiracy
hatched by Harta Union Parishad Chairman
Haren Roy as he had refused to follow
the latter’s unlawful instructions.
On the other hand, Haren said that
many people had become victims of
SI Jasimuddin’s harassment and sent
written allegations to the SP.
Swapan Majumder, a grocery shop
owner, said that the SI had trapped him
by stocking a packet of yaba pills at his
shop and collecting Tk20,000 as bribe
for his release on February 8. •
• Saiful Islam Swapan,
Lakshmipur
A local Union Parishad member
in Lakshmipur is allegedly
having a road built over what
used to be a canal for the purpose
of moving raw materials
for constructing a brick kiln.
As a result, the adjacent
200 acres of land meant for
cultivation is now in danger
as the canal was essential for
irrigation.
It was fully dredged only
two years ago, after the local
farmers petitioned to the
government repeatedly for
a long time complaining
about waterlogging in the area
that adversely affected their
crops.
Locals allege that the member
of Someshpur Ward under
Bhadur UP of Ramganj,
Salauddin Sumon, and Mahbubur
Rahman Munshi of Dehala
village along with other
soil traders are behind the efforts
to fill up the canal with
a view to linking Someshpur
and Shahapara.
In response to the allegations,
Sumon claimed that the
road had been built over private
land. “The canal is not a
government property. We will
restore the canal after the soil
hauling for building the brick
kiln is over.”
Local sources say that several
other soil traders had
collected topsoil from the surrounding
crop land by force
from the farmers whose livelihoods
depend on cultivation,
and built four brick kilns.
When contacted, Ramganj
UNO Mohammad Abu Yusuf
said: “I have ordered the people
involved in construction
of the road to remove it. We
will take legal steps if the order
is not followed.” •
Ban on fishing in
Padma, Meghna begins
• UNB
A two-month ban on catching,
selling and transportation
of all types of fish from the
Padma and Meghna rivers began
yesterday to ensure safe
spawning and protect fish resources.
The ban will remain in
force till April 30.
When contacted, Chandpur
District Fisheries Officer
Shafiqur Rahman said that the
ban covers an area of 100km
from Shatnol under Matlab
North upazila up to Char Alexander
in Lakshmipur via sadar
and Haimchar upazilas of the
district.
Meanwhile, the Department
of Fisheries has already
conducted a massive campaign,
including pasting posters
and hanging banners, and
is holding discussions with
fishermen and the authorities
concerned to make the ban
fruitful.
The government has taken
an initiative to allocate rice
among the fishermen who
remain jobless during the period.
This year, there are 41,189
registered and cardholding
fishermen in Sadar, Haimchar
and Matlab North upazilas of
Chandpur.
Each fisherman will get
40kg rice per month per head
during this ban period for
their survival, Shafiqur said.
A requisition for allocating
6,590.24 tonnes of rice was
sent to the higher authorities,
he said.
Deputy Commissioner of
Chandpur Abdus Sabur Mandal
said that legal actions
would be taken for catching
fish defying the ban. •

DT
8
World
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
FACTBOX
Trump’s maiden State of the Union
US President Donald Trump opened
the door to an overhaul of the US immigration
system and vowed to pursue
massive tax relief for the middle class in
a speech to Congress on Tuesday as he
sought to rebound from a chaotic start
to his presidency. Following are some of
the main themes of Trump’s speech:
Immigration
Trump promised new steps shortly to
“keep out those who would do us harm”
and said his administration had been
working on improved vetting procedures.
He said the vast majority of people convicted
for terrorism-related offences
since the attacks on September 11, 2001,
had come from outside the United States
and vowed the country should not “become
a sanctuary for extremists”.
He said the United States should
switch away from lower-skilled immigration
and adopt a merit-based
system, adding that Republicans
and Democrats could work together
to achieve immigration reform
as long as it focused on improving
jobs and wages and strengthening
the country’s security.
Construction of a wall on the
US-Mexico border will begin soon,
Trump said. Throughout his election
campaign and in the first weeks of his
presidency, Trump said Mexico would
pay for the wall, but he made no mention
of that on Tuesday.
People attend a gathering to mark the anniversary of Mumtaz Qadri death next to
the shrine built over his grave outside Islamabad on March 1
REUTERS
Thousands defy rally ban
to celebrate Pakistani
blasphemy murderer
• Reuters, Islamabad
Thousands of religious hardliners in
Pakistan defied a ban on demonstrations
to rally on Wednesday in support
of a man executed for murdering
a popular governor over his call to reform
the country’s blasphemy laws.
Mumtaz Qadri was executed on
February 29 last year for killing Salman
Taseer, the governor of Punjab,
Pakistan’s most populous province.
After his arrest, Qadri became a
US President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of the US Congress on
February 28
AFP
hero to many in hardline factions for
his action, seen as defending Islam.
Despite the increased security on
Wednesday, with included police
shutting down entire roads, people
thronged to a shrine glorifying Qadri
on the outskirts of capital, Islamabad.
As space at the site became limited,
people climbed on top of fences
and ramparts to get a view of the
stage. Islamabad police confirmed
that the crowd was somewhere between
3,000 and 4,000 people. •
Healthcare reform
Trump called on Congress to repeal and
replace Obamacare. He said reforms
should lower the cost of healthcare and
ensure people with pre-existing conditions
have access to coverage.
He proposed tax credits and expanded
health savings accounts for people
to purchase health insurance. Legal reforms
should also protect patients and
doctors from unnecessary costs that
drive up the price of insurance, he said.
Tax
Trump vowed “historic” reform to reduce
the corporate tax rate to make US companies
more globally competitive and promised
“massive” tax relief for the middle
class. He gave no new details on the tax
reforms he would like to see and made no
mention of a border adjustment tax that
lies at the heart of a Republican proposal
in the House of Representatives.
Infrastructure
Trump said Congress will be asked to approve
legislation for a $1tn investment
in infrastructure, financed through both
public and private channels. “Buy American”
and “Hire American” will be the
guiding principles, he said.
Defence spending, foreign policy
Trump promised to send to Congress a
budget to rebuild the military, billing it
as one of the largest-ever increases in
defence spending. He vowed to work
with US allies, including in the Muslim
world, to destroy Islamic State, describing
the radical militant group as a “network
of lawless savages.”
He vowed support for Nato but said
US partners must meet their financial
obligations. He also reaffirmed “our unbreakable
alliance” with Israel. •
Source: REUTERS
Myanmar swats away
‘biased’ UN abuse claims
• AFP, Naypyidaw
A close aide to Myanmar’s Aung San
Suu Kyi on Wednesday dismissed
mounting international pressure over
alleged abuses of Rohingya Muslims
as “biased and unfair”, despite UN evidence
of murder, rape and torture by
security forces.
The United Nations has said Myanmar
troops and police may have committed
crimes against humanity during
a four-month crackdown on the stateless
minority.
Rights envoy Yanghee Lee is expected
to turn up the heat next week
by calling a formal ‘commission of inquiry’
into alleged abuses that have
seen more than 70,000 Rohingya flee
to Bangladesh.
Army clearance operations cut
through remote villages in northern
Rakhine State in retaliation for attacks
by militants on police border posts in
October.
Escapees have given the UN chilling
accounts of babies being stabbed to
death, people being burnt alive in and
widespread gang rape during those
operations.
The crisis has piled unprecedented
pressure on Myanmar’s elected
government, led by Nobel laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi, as it tries to emerge
from the shadow of oppressive military
rule.
If the UN backs a commission and
its investigators find evidence that Myanmar’s
military has committed crimes
against humanity, it could once again
see Myanmar branded an international
pariah.
“What Yanghee Lee is doing is not
fair. It’s biased,” Win Htein, a close aide
of Suu Kyi, said.
“We do not care about this kind of
unfair report. Because we do not care,
we do not worry.”
On Tuesday the army again defended
its actions in Rakhine, using a rare
press conference in Naypyidaw to insist
its troops acted in accordance with
the law.
Chief of the General Staff General
Mya Tun Oo rejected allegations of
abuse by rights groups and foreign media
as “lop-sided”.
The military and police have also set
up separate task forces to probe the
deaths of eight Rohingya in custody.
Five police were sentenced to two
months detention by an internal police
tribunal over a video showing them
abusing Rohingya civilians, and another
three senior officers have been demoted.
•
US seeks end to
UN rights council’s
obsession with Israel
• Reuters, Geneva
US President Donald Trump’s administration
is reviewing its participation
in the UN Human Rights
Council, seeking reform of its agenda
and an end to its “obsession
with Israel”, a senior US official
said on Wednesday.
Washington has long argued
that the Geneva forum unfairly focuses
on Israel’s alleged violations
of human rights, including war
crimes against Palestinian civilians
in the occupied West Bank and
Gaza Strip.
The United States “remains
deeply troubled by the Council’s
consistent unfair and unbalanced
focus on one democratic country,
Israel”, Erin Barclay, US deputy assistant
secretary of state, told the
UN Human Rights Council.
The United States is currently
an elected member of the 47-state
Geneva forum where its three-year
term ends in 2019.
UN human rights Council spokesman
Rolando Gomez told a briefing:
“The US been a very active and constructive
partner in the Council for
many years, spearheading a number
of important initiatives.” •
Russia, China veto
UN resolution on
Syria sanctions
• Reuters, United Nations
Russia on Tuesday cast its seventh
veto to protect the Syrian government
from United Nations Security
Council action, blocking a bid by
Western powers to impose sanctions
over accusations of chemical
weapons attacks during the sixyear
Syrian conflict.
China backed Russia and cast its
sixth veto on Syria. Russia had said
the vote on the resolution, drafted by
France, Britain and the United States,
would harm UN-led peace talks between
the warring Syrian parties in
Geneva, which began last week.
Nine council members voted in
favour, Bolivia voted against, while
Egypt, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan
abstained. A resolution needs nine
votes in favour and no vetoes by
the United States, France, Russia,
Britain or China to be adopted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
described the draft resolution on
Tuesday as “totally inappropriate.”
The vote was one of the first
confrontations at the United Nations
between Russia and the United
States since US President Donald
Trump took office in January,
pledging to build closer ties with
Moscow. •

World
9
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
DT
China, Russia to step
up opposition to
THAAD missile
• Reuters, Beijing
China and Russia have agreed
to intensify their coordinated
opposition to the deployment
of a US missile-defence system
in South Korea, the Chinese
foreign ministry said on
Wednesday.
South Korea decided last
year to deploy the US Terminal
High Altitude Area
Defence (THAAD) system in
response to the threat from
North Korean missiles.
But China and Russia worry
that the system’s powerful
radar can penetrate their territory
and undermine their
security, disrupting a balance
of power in the region
while doing nothing to lower
tension on the Korean peninsula.
“Both sides said they will
continue to strengthen their
coordinated opposition to
THAAD”, the two countries’
deputy foreign ministers
agreed on Tuesday, the Chinese
Foreign Ministry’s said
in a statement on its website.
China and Russia agreed
in January to take unspecified
“countermeasures” in response
to THAAD. •
FACTBOX
Juncker’s five pathways
for EU future
Instead of a single plan, European
Commission head Jean-Claude
Juncker on Wednesday unveiled
a White Paper of five options for
the EU’s post-Brexit future.
Ranging from doing much
more to sticking with the status
quo, here are the key points
from Juncker’s “pathways”
which the EU 27 leaders – minus
Britain – will discuss at a Rome
summit later this month marking
the 60th anniversary of the EU.
‘Carrying on’
The remaining 27 member
states stick to the status quo, focusing
on reforms, jobs, growth
and investment.
There is only “incremental
progress” on strengthening the
euro single currency while member
states agree a limited degree
of defence cooperation.
This should allow the EU 27
“to continue to deliver concrete
results, based on a shared sense
of purpose.”
‘Nothing but the single
market’
The single market becomes the
“raison d’etre” of the reduced
bloc for want of broader agreement
on political integration.
Britain long favoured this option,
believing the EU would be
much more effective if it operated
as a single economy without
the distraction of pursuing ever
closer political union.
‘Those who want to do
more’
A multi-speed EU 27 emerges,
with some member states
pushing ahead in “one or several
coalitions of the willing” on key
areas such as defence, internal
security, taxation and justice.
This option means “the unity
of the EU at 27 is preserved while
further cooperation is made possible
for those who want.”
‘Doing less, more
effectively’
The EU 27 focuses on a reduced
agenda where it can deliver clear
benefits – technological innovation,
trade, security, immigration,
borders and defence.
It pulls back from other areas
– regional development, health,
employment or social policy,
leaving them to member states.
‘Doing much more
together’
Dubbed the “Verhofstadt option”
after the European Parliament’s
federalist Brexit negotiator
Guy Verhofstadt, under this
option member states decide
that neither they nor the EU are
able to face current global challenges
and so agree “to share
more power, resources and decision-making
across the board.”
The single currency is made
central to the project. “The euro
area is strengthened with the
clear understanding that whatever
is beneficial for countries
sharing the common currency is
also beneficial for all.”
The White Paper cautions
however, “there is the risk of alienating
parts of society which feel
that the EU lacks legitimacy or has
taken too much power away from
national authorities.” •
Source: AFP

DT
10
Business
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
CAPITAL MARKET SNAPSHOT: WEDNESDAY
DSE Broad Index 5,597.2 -0.3% ▼ Index 1,305.8 0.0% ▲ 30 Index 2,021.3 -0.2% ▼ Turnover in Mn Tk 9,619.7 -16.5% ▼ Turnover in Mn Vol 267.5 -14.3% ▼
CSE All Share Index 17,354.8 -0.1% ▼ 30 Index 15,014.6 -0.3% ▼ Selected Index 10,525.5 -0.1% ▼ Turnover in Mn Tk 541.7 -41.9% ▼ Turnover in Mn Vol 18.3 -46.2% ▼
Low-quality education a bar to SDGs
• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi
Former adviser to caretaker government
Hossain Zillur Rahman
yesterday said low-quality education
poses a big challenge towards
attaining the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs).
The executive director of Power
and Participation Research Centre
(PPRC) came up with the remarks
at a seminar on “Strategies for business
benefits from SDGs for private
sector”.
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (DCCI) organised the
seminar to discuss the role of private
sector in attaining the SDGs by
2030.
“To come out of a low-quality
universal education is a big challenge
for attaining the SDGs,” said
Hossain Zillur Rahman in his speech.
He urged the government to establish
at least one High School in
every upazila to create skilled manpower,
thus addressing the issue.
“We have seen global inequality
and economic disorder over the
last couple of decades. Only one
percent people holds 99% wealth
globally. It is also witnessed in Dhaka
where only 6% people account
for 40% of total income.”
“Now we have to look into the
matter as to why inequality is on
Md Abul Kalam Azad, principal coordinator of Sustainable Development Goals Affairs, Prime Minister’s Office, addresses the
seminar on Strategies for business benefits from SDGs for private sector at DCCI yesterday.
COURTESY
the rise. Is it a political failure or the
social failure?” he posed a question.
Zillur suggested the government
ensure business friendly environment
while the private sector and
NGOs should play their parts with
innovations to help attain the SDGs.
In his address, Md Abul Kalam
Azad, Principal Coordinator (SDG
Affairs), Prime Minister’s Office said
in achieving the effective implementation
of SGDs, private and public
investment have to be increased.
The government has already
done the mapping of ministries,
gap analysis and set targets for
SDGs. It has also set the responsible
ministries to achieve the target.
Zillur called upon the private sector
people to set time-bound strategy
with goals as per the government
target, but the strategy should mach
with the governments.
“To alleviate poverty in real
sense, we have to change our development
models.”
MDG was basically project-centric
whereas SDG is related to creating
enabling environment for
growth, he mentioned.
“Ready-made Garment is surely
a growth driver for all of us in recent
days, but the private sector
has to create other growth driver
like Agriculture sector which is still
untapped.”
The most challenging part of
implementing SDGs is financing
that sees an annual financing gap
of $2.5 trillion, said former DCCI
president Asif Ibrahim in his keynote
presentation.
In reply to a question, Planning
Commission member Shamsul
Alam said SDGs would not be a
myth when it must ensure continuous
economic growth, care for
social integration and protect environment.
Person with disability should be
ensured a level-playing field and
measures should been taken to
integrate them into development
process, said a participant.
According to UNDP Bangladesh
Assistant Country Director Khurshid
Alam, “Private sector should
contribute to poverty alleviation
and making investment in employment
generation and environmental
protection.
Investment should also be for
protecting Eco system since Bangladesh
is in the early stage of industrialisation,
he added.
DCCI president Abul Kasem
Khan focused on how SDG would
reshape future business era accompanied
by diverse opportunities
and challenges.
It was estimated that private
investment and GDP ratio need to
be scaled up to 40% equivalent to
$400 billion by 2030 to meet the
SDGs, he added. •
Transport strike hits tourism
business in Cox’s Bazar, St Martin’s
• Ishtiaq Husain
Tourism business felt the pinch
due to the two-day transport strike
ended yesterday as hundreds of
them remained stranded in Cox’s
Bazar and St Martin’s island.
St Martin island remained cut
off from the mainland while tourists
at Cox’s Bazar and in Sylhet areas
suffered the same as there were
no vehicles available to reach the
capital.
As tourist season has set in, hundreds
of tourists are leaving Dhaka
every day for making holidays with
their friends and relatives.
On Tuesday, transport workers
called strike after two fellow drivers
were convicted.
“We came here (St Martins) to
spend a beautiful time, but the sudden
transport strike turned it into a
nightmare. We were supposed to
return to the capital Wednesday,
but failed, and later, we had to
manage money through bkash,”
said Mizanur Rahman, a banker.
“Our tickets are booked, but
we are not sure when to return to
Dhaka.”
SM Mujahid, a businessman in
Dhaka, said: “It was a nice time
while we reached Cox’s Bazar. After
reaching there we got to know
about the sudden strike all over the
country which destroyed all our
funs and merriments.”
According to the estimate of hoteliers,
some 2,500 to 3,000 tourists
were stranded in the island
while around 10,000 remain stuck
in Cox’s Bazar.
Tour operators also incurred
a huge loss as many tourists cancelled
their tours due to transport
strike.
Iqbal Hossain Sazzad, chief executive
officer, Eureka Tours Operator
at St Martin’s islandm, told
the Dhaka Tribune that on the first
day of strike there were around 60
tourists to handle while on the second
day, 50 tourists were supposed
to arrive in St Martins, but all cancelled
their tour.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune,
Tito Siddique, CEO, Excellence
Asia, said considering the current
situation, many tourists have cancelled
their tour. Once they cancel
it, their possibility to re-visit become
very slim.
Sources said every day five to six
ships go back and forth between St
Martin and Teknaf.
According to Tofail Ahmed,
managing director of MV Bangali,
the ship mainly carries tourists
from Teknaf to St Martin.
“Despite loss, We carried passengers
on Tuesday considering
people’s sufferings.”
Though transport leaders called
off strike at Wednesday noon,
many holidaymakers failed to
reach Dhaka due to mismanagement
of transport owners. •

Dhaka airport to see
radar at govt cost
• Asif Showkat Kallol and
Ishtiaq Husain
The government has agreed to
install a new radar at Hazrat
Shahjalal International Airport
in Dhaka using its own funds
instead of Public-Private Partnership
(PPP) as previously
considered.
Mustafizur Rahman, additional
secretary to the Cabinet
Division, made the disclosure
yesterday after a meeting of the
Cabinet Committee on Public
Purchase decided that the
self-financing option would
prove more cost effective.
The Civil Aviation Authority
Bangladesh (CAAB) has said
the current radar system at the
country’s main port of entry is
severely outdated compared to
global standards, and that part
of the reason for upgrading the
system is to comply with the
International Civil Aviation Organisation
(ICAO) guidelines.
Earlier, Karim Associates
fixed the bid price at Tk1,700cr
under the PPP, before CAAB finally
approved the project and
forwarded it to the Civil Aviation
and Tourism Ministry.
However, the Civil Aviation
and Tourism Ministry sent the
proposal back to CAAB for review
on November 3 last year
due to massive escalation of
the cost, which was originally
estimated to be around Tk-
330cr in 2013.
On January 11, the government
made the proposal
to install the radar at Hazrat
Shahjalal International Airport
using its own funds as the previous
PPP project would lead
to high expenditure, Secretary
of the Civil Aviation and
Tourism Ministry SM Ghulam
Farooque had explained.
The full name of the project
is Supply, Installation
and Commissioning of a Multi-Mode
Surveillance System
(Radar, ADS-B Wide area Multilateration-WAM)
along with
ATC and Communication system
at Hazrat Shahjalal International
Airport (HSIA) Dhaka.
The installation of the new
radar system has top priority
from CAAB, that wishes to implement
it by 2017 as part of its
upgradation of air traffic control
and management to come
in line with the International
Civil Aviation Organisation
(ICAO) guidelines. The existing
radar, set up in 1986, has
long been obsolete and cannot
manage air traffic properly, according
to CAAB. •
Business 11
DT
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
CORPORATE NEWS
Maslin Capital Limited signs a strategic partnership agreement with
Japanese firm DEFTA PARTNERS recently to serve local alternative
investment market
Huawei launches new HUAWEI P10 and P10+ mobile sets at a ceremony
held in Mobile World Congress in Barcelona yesterday. The new
smartphone brands feature a Leica front camera with features including
studio-like re-lighting and 3D facial detection technology

DT
12
Editorial
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
TODAY
Who is to blame?
And, if we are to make examples out
of those who commit crimes, what
about the ones who own such transit
lines, who own these buses unfit for the
roads, who are employing these drivers
without proper licenses?
PAGE 13
What’s on
your plate?
Because of the poor or no
implementation of laws, law-breakers
for food safety most of the times go
unpunished
PAGE 14
BIGSTOCK
Are we failing our workers abroad?
The road to hell
Trump doesn’t take a lot of free advice.
But the president should be counseled
on this point. He cannot go on the
warpath against the FBI, congress, and
the press corps over leaks
PAGE 15
Be heard
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In most of our discussions on labour rights, the horrifying treatment of
Bangladeshi domestic workers abroad often goes unaddressed.
In the overwhelming majority of cases, the victims of domestic
worker abuse are women.
Three female migrant workers in Saudi Arabia recently revealed to the
Dhaka Tribune sickening details of the treatment they received at the hands
of the employers, which included rape and beatings.
These women were also denied food, and were deceived in a variety of
ways.
The worst part is, they have no place to turn -- most of them sell off all
their possessions to be able to travel to Saudi Arabia, and become trapped
into bondage.
This current practice of sending domestic workers to Saudi Arabia without
any kind of protection, then, must be discontinued.
The Bangladesh government should not allow women to work as domestic
help in Saudi Arabia unless and until our embassy in there can establish a
system to make complaints to Saudi authorities whenever workers complain
of abuse at the hands of their bosses, sexual, physical, or otherwise.
As things currently stand, the MoU for manpower exports to Saudi Arabia
does not include any protective clause that would ensure the safety of female
migrant workers.
This must be changed; unskilled Bangladeshi women who go to Saudi
Arabia are vulnerable in many ways, and do not have the means to help
themselves -- these women usually have their passports confiscated and do
not even know how to get to the embassy.
Our migrant workers abroad are the backbone of our economy, and
we have a solemn responsibility to protect them from sexual abuse and
exploitation.
We cannot let them down.
Our migrant workers
abroad are the backbone
of our economy, and
we have a solemn
responsibility to protect
them from sexual abuse
and exploitation

Who is to blame?
Opinion 13
Every reckless driver should be held to account, not just the ones who kill prominent people
DT
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
Did the bus drivers have a good excuse to call a strike?
MEHEDI HASAN
• Luba Khalili
One of the more
prominent philosophers
of the 20th century,
Michel Foucault, noted
that the body, when publicly
visible, can become a focus of
admiration and sympathy.
The body, of course, has the
power of inducing many such
emotions, but Foucault was
arguing on the system of state
punishment.
His argument was that, in
the past, punishment was cruel,
and more importantly, public.
The hanged bodies in gallows
were a sight for all to see, to take
as examples, to fear the state’s
power.
But these sights and unkind
modes of punishment also
gave way to the possibilities of
mobilisation and rebellion.
Fast forward to today, bodies
are no longer in the gallows but on
the news. Perhaps not as public
and gory as they were before, but
they still possess a good amount of
exposure.
Rebellion, while sometimes
violent and chaotic, can be in
forms of strikes.
An example of such could
be the transport workers’ strike
that swooped Bangladesh in the
past week, in response to the life
sentence given to bus driver Jamir,
and a death sentence given to a
truck driver.
A strike that has kept the
citizens and business-owners
agitated, for good measure,
as travelling -- of people and
products -- has become arduous.
Jamir was driving a bus, sleepdeprived
and without a valid
license, and ended up crashing
the bus and killing five people,
including two individuals wellknown
in the media industry in
Bangladesh.
This scenario of unfit drivers
and vehicles, while impetuous and
dangerous, is not an uncommon
one in our country. A driver who
not only puts lives at risk but
also manages to kill five people,
absolutely deserves punishment.
After all, it is this sort of
discipline that makes enough of an
example to curb such incidents.
But that’s the thing: Every
such reckless driver deserves
punishment.
Not just the ones whose
recklessness has affected people of
prominent stature.
And, if we are to make
examples out of those who
commit crimes, what about the
ones who own such transit lines,
who own these buses unfit for the
roads, who are employing these
drivers without proper licenses?
Why do we only make examples
of the ones who can barely scrape
out a living, instead of the ones
who hire them?
While the bus drivers are to
blame for unkempt interiors
of the vehicles and even the
dented and broken exteriors,
the overall maintenance of all
buses, and especially the drivers’
paperwork and skills (or lack
thereof) themselves, could easily
be pointed to the owners of such
lines.
Why are they not behind bars,
when their interests clearly do
not overlap with the safety of
passengers? And what about the
accidents that take place due to
broken infrastructure; who can
we arrest and imprison for life in
those cases?
And, if we are to make examples out of those who commit crimes, what
about the ones who own such transit lines, who own these buses unfit
for the roads, who are employing these drivers without proper licenses?
With even the remotest of
dissection, all these questions will
lead to the matter of class and the
positions of power in our society.
Those with authority and traction
rarely -- if at all -- get sanctions for
the misconduct on their part.
And if they have others working
under them, others who have
no traction in society, making a
living on minimum wages, then
rest assured that their superiors’
failings will fall upon them.
Should Jamir be sentenced
for life in imprison? Absolutely.
Should he be the only one held
responsible for the deaths of the
individuals in that crash? That’s
the question that needs more
attention.
When transport workers,
agitated by the sentences
presented by the courts to their
fellow drivers, took to abstaining
from working, citizens and
business-owners were clearly
affected.
Their demand of releasing these
drivers, while clearly not the most
reasonable of demands, has riled
up many.
But isn’t protesting a citizen’s
right, regardless of how many
people oppose it or how irrational
the demand is? We as a country
have seen many such ridiculous
demands in the past, mostly
coming from some centric party
with some kind of political stance.
How come when poor transport
workers abstain from work, albeit
it being something that affects all
the citizens, we are this riled up?
That is a question that might be
hard to answer, but what’s harder
to answer for is the question of
intolerance we as a nation have
towards the lowest echelon of
our society, especially when they
make up for the majority of our
population. •
Luba Khalili is an Editorial Assistant at
the Dhaka Tribune.

14
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
DT
Opinion
What’s on your plate?
Our food safety regulations are compromised
• Md Monzurul Alam
Why is there poison in our food?
The main causes for
the endemic food
adulteration are various
and grievous in nature.
There have been a big number
of legislations in force to stop
the adulteration of food. Our
constitution itself outlines the
strict measures to deal with food
adulteration.
As per Article 18 of the
Constitution, it would be the
state’s prime responsibility to
ensure a satisfactory level of
nutrition and public health. The
parliament later enacted several
laws under its constitutional
responsibility to deal with food
adulteration. Despite there being
a large body of statutes in force,
food adulteration has proven to
be unstoppable and, as such, the
people have been suffering. But
what are the real reasons behind
this epidemic of food adulteration
problems and how can we solve it?
Are the existing laws
themselves defective, or
do the problems lie in the
implementation of them? The real
issues are manifold in nature. The
laws have many inherent defects
and the implementation of them is
being done poorly. The country’s
socio-economic standards and lack
of mass awareness also play vital
BIGSTOCK
roles in making food adulteration
prominent.
Despite the efforts of the
authorities, adulteration remains
simply unstoppable. Subsequently,
what I wanted to investigate
were the reasons behind this, and
find out whether there was any
possibility for relief.
The inherent defects of food
safety laws
Sections 272, 273, 274, 275, and 276
of Penal Code 1860 have provided
for the provisions of punishments
for the crimes of adulteration of
food or drink intended for sale,
the sale of noxious food or drink,
adulteration of drugs, the sale
of adulterated drugs, and the
sale of drugs as a different drug
or preparation. The common
punishments for the abovementioned
crimes are just six
months in prison or Tk1,000 as
fine, or both. This can hardly be
considered to be effective in terms
of the grievousness of the crime.
The convicted criminals are
seen happy to face the punishment
again and again, and the laws
are, at best, silly in comparison.
The Law Commission in 2006
submitted a report with a draft bill
recommending the enhancement
of punishments prescribed in
Sections 272, 273, 274, 275, and 276
of the Penal Code.
Section 6A of the Bangladesh
Pure Food Ordinance 1959
provides for the provisions
prohibiting different chemical
substances which include
melamine but not sodium
cyclamate. As the law does not
prohibit the using of sodium
cyclamate, the mobile courts
find it really difficult to frame the
culprits using sodium cyclamate
in the food products and thus
ordinance has been considered to
be defective.
It has been criticised widely as
a result. However, it appears to be
a good sign that, as a response to
the critique, parliament has taken
steps to amend the ordinance and
Because of
the poor or no
implementation of
laws, law-breakers
for food safety most
of the times go
unpunished
introduce the National Food Safety
Council, headed by the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare to look
after the violations of food safety
laws.
The Food (Special Courts)
Act 1956 has provided for
punishments for violating the
“notified order” issued under the
Control of Essential Commodities
Act 1956, which is three years’
imprisonment or a fine, or both.
No direction has been given
regarding the amount of the
fine, and thus the punishment
provision has been criticised for
being vague and lax. Because of
the poor or no implementation of
laws, law breakers for food safety
most of the time go unpunished or
uncaught.
The Food Safety Act also
has a provision for setting up
of a unified authority, namely
Bangladesh Food Safety Authority
(BFSA, in short) modelled on
the American Food and Drug
Administration, comprising of a
chairman and five members to
fight food adulteration and attend
to other food-related concerns.
The BFSA will draw resources
from all 15 government ministries
entrusted with combatting food
adulteration. But how BFSA will
coordinate activities with other
ministries and the Bangladesh
Standards and Testing Institution
(BSTI) has not been spelled out
precisely.
Under this Act, there is a
provision of maximum five years’
imprisonment or a fine of Tk10
lakh, or both, for persons guilty of
food adulteration and this amount
of the fine will be doubled in case
of repeating offences.
This punishment has also
been criticised as being not
harsh enough, and consequently
ineffective in preventing crimes
of food adulteration. Mohammad
Nasim, the minister of health,
has proposed increasing the
punishment to a death penalty.
Enforcement problems
It is now an open secret that
the personnel responsible for
implementing food safety laws
and regulations are corrupt
individuals. Moreover, the
administrative enforcement
mechanism is not organised.
It has not designed inspection
strategies, and there is no clear
method of detecting noncompliance
with the regulations.
There is no particular enforcement
authority or any authorised officer
who is exclusively responsible for
enforcing food safety regulations
in Bangladesh. A robust food
safety regulatory regime should
be observed to stop food
adulteration. Bangladesh is yet
to have such a regime, which has
resulted in country-wide food
adulteration problems.
In the context of the present
situations, the country needs
a well-drafted and up-todate
legislation which could
provide real resolutions. The
implementation agencies should
also have sufficient corruptionfree
manpower, logistics supports,
and should be run under an
efficient management system. •
Md Monzurul Alam is an Advocate,
Supreme Court of Bangladesh.

The road to hell
Starting a war with the press might prove unwise for Trump
Opinion 15
DT
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
• Tim Weiner
The Trump White House
has moved at warp
speed toward historic
achievements. Sadly,
these may include violations of the
spirit and letter of the constitution
and the laws of the United States.
Trump tweeted this on Friday:
“The FBI is totally unable to stop
the national security ‘leakers’ that
have permeated our government
for a long time. They can’t even
find the leakers within the FBI
itself … FIND NOW.”
When Trump hits Caps Lock,
take heed.
Informed citizens know well
that the FBI is conducting a
counter-intelligence investigation
into links between Russian
cyber-saboteurs and the 2016
Trump campaign. They’ve read
first-rate reporting by the nation’s
leading news organisations on the
case.
The president evidently
suspects that, somewhere in a
dark parking garage in the District
of Columbia, the feds are ratting
him out as reporters in fedoras
furtively scribble shorthand notes.
Maybe they’re using a state-ofthe-art
encrypted app instead, but
more on that in a minute.
Trump wants this case to
vanish -- and who can blame
him? The tweeter-in-chief calls
it “A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH
HUNT.” But if there’s a trail of
evidence connecting the gilded
chambers of Trump Tower and the
chandeliered suites of the Kremlin,
the FBI will follow it.
The president appears to be
seeking to strong-arm the Bureau,
scare White House staffers, silence
congress, stanch the leaks, and
stop the press. Trump keeps
attacking reporters as the “enemy
of the people” -- a pithy phrase last
in vogue when Vladimir Lenin ran
the Russian revolution a hundred
years ago.
Trump’s chief of staff, Reince
Priebus, talked to FBI director
James Comey the other day. They
weren’t reviewing security for
the next Easter Egg Roll on the
White House lawn. The subject
at hand was the reporting on
Vladimir Putin’s spies and Trump’s
campaign, and the president’s rage
against it.
Comey responded correctly,
with stony silence. He certainly
didn’t say Priebus had been
“extremely careless,” though come
to think of it, he could have.
The last time a White House
chief-of-staff set out to impede an
FBI investigation that threatened a
Another Nixon in the making?
president was a few days after the
Watergate break-in in June 1972.
HR Haldeman was acting on orders
of Richard Nixon, caught on a reelto-reel
recording. They called it
the smoking-gun tape. Haldeman
went to prison. Nixon went into
exile.
I’m not a special prosecutor,
and I can’t say it’s an obstruction
of justice to pressure Comey
and congress on the gravest
counter-intelligence case of
the 21st century (the federal
statute on obstruction of justice
covers “endeavours to influence,
obstruct, or impede” a federal
investigation).
When a president picks a fight
against the FBI and compares
the CIA to Nazis, it’s in a way
worse than a crime. It’s a blunder.
This White House can’t keep
making such mistakes. And as for
escalating his battle against the
press? Bad idea.
“I consider the media to be
indispensable to democracy,”
former President George W
Bush said Monday on NBC’s
Today show. “Power can be very
addictive and it can be corrosive,
and it’s important for the media to
call to account people who abuse
their power.” I know -- I had to
read it twice too.
The White House is attacking
the media -- and its sources inside
the government -- on many fronts.
Last week, the White House Press
Secretary Sean Spicer put his staff
on notice that their calls will be
monitored. He specifically warned
them against using encrypted
communications apps like Signal
and Confide. Now Trump is
eyeball-to-eyeball with his chief
lawmen.
The last thing this White House
wants to do is drive itself crazy
chasing down leaks -- especially
when they involve a scintilla of
evidence suggesting the abuse of
power by a president. That is the
road to hell in Washington. And we
have travelled that road before.
Fifty-five days into his
presidency, Nixon started sending
great waves of B-52 bombers over
Cambodia. The United States was
not at war with Cambodia and
the attacks were supposed to be
a secret. They did not stay secret.
Nixon summoned his national
security adviser, Henry Kissinger,
into the Oval Office on April 25,
1969, and he ordered Kissinger to
take responsibility for the leaks.
Kissinger followed orders. With
help from J Edgar Hoover, he
starting wiretapping members of
his own National Security Council
staff.
The targets of the taps grew to
include 13 US government officials
at the NSC, the Pentagon, and
the State Department, along with
four newspaper reporters. They
were not foreign spies. They were
American citizens.
The White House received
the wiretap transcripts -- and
Trump doesn’t take a lot of free advice. But the
president should be counseled on this point.
He cannot go on the warpath against the FBI,
congress, and the press corps over leaks
they were useless, Nixon later
said: nothing but “gossip and
bull****ting.”
The National Security Agency
had its own watch list in those
days, which grew to include
two US senators. One was Frank
Church, an Idaho Democrat who
sponsored the first bipartisan
legislation against the war in
Indochina. The other was Howard
Baker, a Tennessee Republican,
who famously asked at the 1973
Watergate hearings: “What did the
president know, and when did he
know it?”
All this -- and the Watergate
burglary team, known as the
Plumbers, because they were
created to stop leaks -- was, in
part, a presidential war against
the First Amendment, which
protects freedom of speech,
and of the press. Back then, the
pen proved mightier than the
presidential sword. Today? Well,
we’ll see, won’t we?
Trump doesn’t take a lot of free
advice. But the president should
REUTERS
be counseled on this point. He
should not interpose the power
of his office between reporters
and their sources in the executive
and legislative branches of the
government. He cannot go on the
warpath against the FBI, congress,
and the press corps over leaks.
Those three forces are in
constant opposition. But a free
press can work in concert with
federal investigators. If they align
against the White House, a critical
mass of shared information will
gather.
That information could
someday take the shape of a
subpoena seeking the traces of a
smoking gun. And an FBI agent
can serve that subpoena at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue. It happened
in 1973. It could happen again. •
Tim Weiner is a Pulitzer Prize-winning
reporter. His books include Legacy of
Ashes: The History of the CIA and One
Man Against the World: The Tragedy
of Richard Nixon. This article originally
appeared in Reuters.

16
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
DT
Downtime
CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1 Counterfeit (4)
3 Tiny (5)
8 Operatic air (4)
9 Gloomily sullen (4)
11 Verge (5)
12 Musical instrument (4)
14 Bishop's territory (3)
15 Time in grammar (5)
18 Strict vegetarian (5)
19 Anger (3)
21 Woe! (4)
24 Flaxen cloth (5)
26 Festive (4)
27 Gem (4)
28 Narrates (5)
29 Agitate (4)
DOWN
1 Long detailed story (4)
2 Be adjacent to (4)
4 Spoil (3)
5 Get up (5)
6 Row (4)
7 Bodies of water (5)
10 Silent (4)
11 Trite (5)
13 Commenced (5)
16 Hidden obstacle (4)
17 Flier (5)
18 Corruptly
mercenary (5)
20 Mature (4)
22 Preservative (4)
23 Couple (4)
25 Old cloth measure (3)
CODE-CRACKER
How to solve: Each number in our
CODE-CRACKER grid represents a
different letter of the alphabet. For
example, today 6 represents S so fill S
every time the figure 6 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
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS
CODE-CRACKER
CROSSWORD
DILBERT
SUDOKU

What's on
17
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
DT
EVENTS AROUND TOWN TODAY
TALK
FAIR
The Amazing Book Fair
When 11am
Where Busy Beans, Venture Tower, 03 Mohakhali C/A, Dhaka
What PaperTree brings a section of titles to inspire you, help you dream big and change your life.
Tourism Fest – 2017
When 11am
Where Bashundhara City Shopping mall, Panthapath, Dhaka
What Tourism companies, tour operators, hotels and resorts, airline companies etc are giving
special offers for clients.
Research and Career Seminar:
Frontiers in Cosmology
When 4pm
Where Pharmacy Lecture Theatre,
University of Dhaka
What Seminar on the mystery of
dark energy and Ia supernova by
astronomer Sayed A Uddin Shuvo.
Organised by Science Society of
University of Dhaka.
Talk on Film and Modernity
When 2pm
Where University of Liberal Arts
Bangladesh Screening Room,
Dhaka
What Talk on film and modernity
by Professor Salimullah Khan.
THEATRE
Shunagoriker Shondhaney
When 4pm
Where Studio Theatre Hall, Bangladesh
Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka
What A Lok Natyodol production. Written
by Moloy Bhoumik and directed by Khairul
Alam Tipu.
MUSIC
Jatra Biroti Live Performances
When 7pm
Where Jatra Biroti, 60 Kemal Ataturk Ave, Dhaka
What Pala gaan by outstanding performer Shah
Alam Boyati and his troupe.

DT
18
Sports
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
Mahmudullah,
Sabbir in the line
of fire?
• Mazhar Uddin
Bangladesh head coach Chandika
Hathuruisngha and manager
Khaled Mahmud asking Test skipper
Mushfiqur Rahim to skip keeping
and promote himself to bat at
No 4 has created a few concerns
regarding the team combination.
With Mushfiq letting go the
keeping duties, Liton Kumar Das,
the only other keeper in the squad,
will take up the gloves. And if
Mushfiq does bat at No 4, then
Mahmudullah is likely to come in
at No 6 while Sabbir Rahman will
lose his place in the side.
To add to that, Mahmudullah,
who is not in the best of form of
late, having scored just a fifty in his
last 10 innings, might also be axed.
Either way, Bangladesh will have to
take a tough decision whilst tinkering
with their settled batting order.
Visiting Bangladesh team are all
set to start their Lankan mission today
with the lone two-day warm up
match against Sri Lanka Board XI.
However, rain has been a big issue
as the visiting side were unable
to practice outdoors last Tuesday.
As a result, the Tigers had to spend
time in the gym.
Earlier Tuesday, there was a
joint press conference between
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh where
Mushfiq stated that this is perhaps
Bangladesh’s best chance to beat
the Lankans.
“This is our best opportunity to
beat Sri Lanka but we also have to
remember that they whitewashed
Australia here last year,” said
Mushfiq.
Hathurusingha informed that
Bangladesh are emerging as a
team, similar to Sri Lanka’s rise in
the 1990s. The former Sri Lankan
cricketer also said he will get the
chance to meet with his mother
during the tour.
“I am happy that we are touring
Sri Lanka. It gives me an opportunity
to see my mother. I have got a
lot of support over the years and a
lot of motivation as well,” said Hathurusingha.
“When I was playing for Sri Lanka,
we were in a similar scenario
like Bangladesh. We went through
a steep learning process and it all
changed for us in the mid 1990s. I
would say Bangladesh are in a similar
position at the moment,” he
added.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka
coach Graham Ford stated that he
is expecting a competitive series
against Bangladesh.
Lankan captain Rangana Herath
praised Hathurusingha and informed
that this Bangladesh team
is the best that have ever toured Sri
Lanka.
“I would say the way Hathurusingha
thinks about the game has
helped me too. With so many Sri
Lankans in their camp, they have
a good idea about our team and
our game. I would say this is the
best team from Bangladesh that
has come here. They beat England
as well a few months ago, but their
recent form is not that great with
defeats to New Zealand and India,”
Herath said. •
Mosaddek Hossain throws a ball during a recent training session as Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim and Rubel Hossain look on
in Colombo, Sri Lanka
AFP
Squad named for World Hockey League
• Tribune Report
Bangladesh Hockey Federation
yesterday announced the final
18-man squad for the 2017 Men's
Hockey World League Round 2,
scheduled to be held from March
4-12 in capital Dhaka.
The announcement came after
Bangladesh hockey team ended
their three-match friendly series
against Ghana with a solitary 1-0
win against the west African nation
at Maulana Bhasani National Hockey
Stadium in the afternoon.
After all their practice matches
abroad got canceled due to several
reasons, Bangladesh organised
three warm-up games against the
Ghanaians at home. The home side
started with a 2-1 defeat in the first
match before being held to a 2-2
draw in the second.
Yesterday's 1-0 win boosted the
confidence of Russel Mahmud Jimmy
and Co ahead of the big tournament.
Drag-and-flick specialist
Mamunur Rahman Chayan netted
the only goal of the game in the
11th minute from a penalty corner.
The 18-man squad was given out
hours after the final practice match.
A group of young players from the
U-18 national side were called up
to the squad for their vibrant presence
in the last 12 months.
Defender Ashraful Islam, star
of the Junior Asia Cup Hockey last
year, remained in the squad, along
with fellow youngsters Romman
Sarkar, Arshad Hossain and Sarwar
Hossain.
Star forward Jimmy will captain
the team, to be coached by German
Oliver Kurtz.
Bangladesh will face Malaysia in
their opening match this Saturday.
They will then play Fiji and Oman
this Sunday and Tuesday respectively.
SQUAD
Asim Gope, Zahid Hossain, Mamunur
Rahman Chayan, Khorshedur
Rahman, Ashraful Islam, Situl,
Babu, Pintu, Sarwar, Rana, Naim,
Krishna, Mahbub, Russel Mahmud
Jimmy, Arshad Hossain, Milon,
Mainul Islam Kaushik and Romman
Sarkar
Sri Lanka promotes two
cricketing soldiers
• AFP, Colombo
Two cricketing soldiers who helped
Sri Lanka to victory in recent T20
clashes abroad have been promoted
for their exploits on the pitch,
the military said yesterday.
All-rounder Sekkuge Prasanna
rose a rank for his strong showing in
South Africa while batsman Asela Gunaratne
was recognised for his performance
against Australia in January.
Prasanna was promoted to Warrant
Officer Grade One while Gunaratne,
previously a sergeant, was
promoted to Warrant Officer Grade
Two.
The pair, both aged 31, began
their cricketing careers in the army,
where they are still enrolled despite
their professional sporting
commitments.
Gunaratne slammed 84 to power
Sri Lanka to a last-ball victory against
Australia, clinching the three-match
T20 series for the visitors.
He was named player of the
series, and has been included in
Sri Lanka's 15-member squad for
the two-match Test series against
Bangladesh from next week.
Prasanna scored 37 not out and
took one wicket in the third T20
match against South Africa in January,
with Sri Lanka claiming the
series. •

North Zone thrash
Central, remain top
• Tribune Report
North Zone registered a comprehensive
innings and 85-run victory
over the struggling Central Zone
to remain at the top of the points
table with 19 points in the Bangladesh
Cricket League yesterday.
The other fifth round match between
South Zone and East Zone
ended in a draw.
North v Central, Sylhet
At Sylhet International Cricket Stadium,
Central, who were on the
verge of defeat when they resumed
the fourth and final day on 229 runs
for eight wickets, were bundled out
for 271 in their second innings.
Overnight batsman Tanbir Hayder
scored 51 as Central lost their
third game in the fifth edition to
find themselves at the bottom of
the points table with nine points.
Pace bowler Alauddin Babu
picked up four wickets while leftarm
spinner Sanjamul Islam took
three for the bowling side.
Earlier, Central were all out for 181
in their first innings. In reply, North
took the first-innings lead when they
posted a huge total of 537/10, riding
on hundreds from Naeem Islam
(142), Nazmul Hossain Shanto (123)
and Dhiman Ghosh (113).
East v South, Chittagong
At Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium,
South resumed the fourth day
trailing by 198 runs in their second
innings. They eventually ended the
day's play on 198/5.
5TH BCL, RD 5, DAY 4
SOUTH ZONE 296 & 198/5 in 96 overs
(Shahriar 36, Nayeem 2/48) drew with
EAST ZONE 523/7
CENTRAL ZONE 181 & 271 in 76 overs
(Saif 70, Alauddin 4/67) lost to NORTH
ZONE 537 by an innings and 85 runs
Anamul Haque (35), Fazle
Mahmud (36), Tushar Imran (31)
and Shahriar Nafees (36) all made
starts while wicketkeeper-batsman
Mohammad Mithun remained unbeaten
on 29.
Nayeem Hasan took two while
Mohammad Saifuddin, Rahatul
Ferdous and Alok Kapali all took a
wicket apiece East.
Earlier, South posted 296/10 in
their first innings with Imrul Kayes
smashing a hundred.
In pursuit, East took the first-innings
lead before declaring their
first innings on 523/7. Youngster
Afif Hossain smashed his second
century in the ongoing edition. •
Sports 19
Indian captain Virat Kohli jumps to take a catch during a practice session at M
Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore yesterday
AFP
DT
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
Pune wicket
wasn’t poor,
says Vijay
• AFP, New Delhi
Batsman Murali Vijay yesterday rejected
the idea that the Pune pitch
was to blame for India’s drubbing
in the first Test against Australia
despite it being classified as “poor”
by the match referee.
Virat Kohli’s team crumbled
twice for totals of 105 and 107 in the
two innings at Pune’s Maharashtra
Cricket Association Stadium, going
down to less fancied Australia by
333 runs.
The nature of the Pune track,
which turned sharply from day
one, prompted the International
Cricket Council match referee Chris
Broad to express concern over the
quality of the pitch.
But speaking ahead of the second
Test which begins in Bangalore
on Saturday, Vijay resisted
the temptation to blame the pitch
for India’s meek showing in Pune
which brought an end to a 19-match
unbeaten run.
“I don’t say the Pune wicket was
a poor wicket. It was a challenging
wicket from ball one,” the Indian
opening batsman told reporters.
“As cricketers we need to play on
such wickets to test your ability rather
than playing on flat tracks,” said
Vijay, who registered scores of 10
and two in his two Pune outings. •
2ND BTI OPEN GOLF, THIRD ROUND
Udayan holds two-shot advantage
• Tribune Report
Udayan Mane of Bengaluru, India
stretched his lead to two shots
in the second BTI Open Golf after
posting a third-round score of
three-under-par 69 yesterday.
Udayan's total stood at 10-under-par
206 at the end of round
three at Kurmitola Golf Club in
Dhaka.
Chandigarh-based teenager
Feroz Singh Garewal also shot a 69
to move up one spot to second at
eight-under-par 208. Bengaluru’s
Khalin Joshi (one-under-par 71)
was a further stroke back in third.
The BTI Open, won by local favourite
Siddikur Rahman during
the inaugural edition last year,
might be heading to India for the
first time as the top nine players
on the leaderboard after day three
were all Indians.
Udayan (70-67-69), the overnight
leader by one shot, looked in
total control on the front-nine having
carded two birdies and seven
pars. He landed his wedges close
enough on the seventh and ninth
to register birdies.
Udayan, 26, then suffered a few
hiccups on the back-nine, falling to
bogeys on the 10th, 12th and 15th in
exchange for just two birdies on the
11th and 14th.
Udayan, who finished a creditable
fifth in the money list in his
SL# Name Country R1 R2 R3 AGG PAR
1 Udayan Mane India 70 67 69 206 -10
2 Feroz Singh India 73 66 69 208 -8
3 Khalin Joshi India 69 69 71 209 -7
4 Harendra Gupta India 70 69 71 210 -6
5 Aman Raj India 71 73 67 211 -5
6 Gaurav Pratap Singh India 71 71 69 211 -5
7 Shamim Khan India 72 69 70 211 -5
8 Wasim Khan India 71 71 70 212 -4
9 Rashid Khan India 69 71 72 212 -4
10 Mohammad Nazim Bangladesh 73 73 67 213 -3
rookie season in the PGTI in 2015,
however, managed to pull it back
with birdies on the last two holes
to continue as the favourite.
Feroz Singh Garewal (73-66-69)
continued his upward graph, moving
up from tied third to second position
thanks to a 69 that featured
six birdies and three bogeys.
The 19-year old Garewal, still
looking for his maiden title, said, “I
didn’t have a great start to the week
but I’ve done well to hang in there
and get myself into contention.
It’s now all about converting my
chances in the final round.”
Khalin Joshi (69-69-71) slipped
one spot to third at seven-under-par
209 as a result of his 71 in
round three. The three-time winner
in the PGTI is expected to be
another strong contender in the
final round.
Harendra Gupta of Chandigarh
occupy fourth place at six-underpar
210.
The day’s best score of five-under-67
was shot by Patna’s Aman
Raj, Bangladesh’s Mohammad Nazim
and Bengaluru’s Syed Saqib
Ahmed.
While Aman took a share of fifth
place at five-under-par 211, Nazim
was the best placed Bangladeshi
golfer at tied 10th at three-underpar
213.
Saqib was tied 23rd at evenpar-216.
•
Mohammad Nazim of Bangladesh plays a shot during day three
COURTESY
Bangabandhu,
Bangamata Cup
finals today
• Tribune Report
The finals of the Bangabandhu
Gold Cup Primary School Football
Tournament 2016 and Bangamata
Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Gold
Cup Primary School Football Tournament
2016 will be held at Bangabandhu
National Stadium today.
Borobaria Government Primary
School from Charghat upazila
in Rajshahi district will take on
Tepurgari BK Government Primary
School from Patgram upazila in
Lalmonirhat district in the Bangamata
Gold Cup (girls') final. In the
Bangabanhdu Gold Cup (boys') final,
Toitong Government Primary
School from Pekua upazila in Cox's
Bazar district will play against
Kamrangi Government Primary
School from Jaintapur upazila in
Sylhet district.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
is expected to watch the final and
distribute the prizes among the
winners as the chief guest. This
is the biggest ever tournament in
Bangladesh in terms of the number
of participating teams and players
as 60,000 schools across the country
took part in the tournament. •

DT
20
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
Sports
Bullseye as Guptill's 180 levels ODI series
• AFP, Hamilton
SCORECARD
SOUTH AFRICA INNINGS R B
Amla b Patel 40 38
De Kock c Ronchi b Patel 0 1
Du Plessis c Santner b Neesham 67 97
Duminy b Southee 25 41
De Villiers not out 72 59
Miller c Brownlie b Santner 1 4
Pretorius run out (Taylor/Patel) 10 21
Morris b Boult 28 27
Parnell run out (Neesham/Ronchi) 29 12
Extras (w 7) 7
Total (8 wickets; 50 overs) 279
Fall Of Wickets
1-1 (De Kock), 2-66 (Amla), 3-128 (Duminy),
4-140 (Du Plessis), 5-143 (Miller), 6-158
(Pretorius), 7-216 (Morris), 8-279 (Parnell)
Bowling
Patel 10-0-57-2, Santner 10-0-40-1, Boult
10-0-70-1, Southee 10-0-70-1, De Grandhomme
2-0-10-0, Williamson 3-0-17-0,
Neesham 5-0-15-1
NEW ZEALAND INNINGS R B
Guptill not out 180 138
Brownlie c De Kock b Rabada 4 10
Williamson lbw b Tahir 21 24
Taylor c Amla b Tahir 66 97
Ronchi not out 1 1
Extras (lb 4, w 4) 8
Total (3 wickets; 45 overs) 280
Fall Of Wickets
1-5 (Brownlie), 2-77 (Williamson), 3-257
(Taylor)
Bowling
Rabada 8-0-41-1, Parnell 7-1 44-0, Morris
9-0-54-0, Duminy 3-0-26-0, Pretorius
8-0-55-0, Tahir 10-2-56-2
New Zealand won by seven wickets
MoM: Martin Guptill
Martin Guptill roared back from
injury with a 180 as New Zealand
thrashed South Africa by seven
wickets to level the ODI series in
Hamilton yesterday.
Guptill's score was the highest
by a New Zealander in an ODI chase
and allowed the Black Caps to overhaul
the 280 target set by South Africa
with five overs to spare.
The result avenges the New
Zealanders' 159-run loss in the
previous match and levels the fivematch
series 2-2, setting up a decider
in Auckland on Saturday.
It was a stunning return for Guptill,
who showed no ill effects from
being sidelined for five weeks with
hamstring problems. He posted the
highest-ever ODI score by a Kiwi
McCullum rejoins
Middlesex for T20 Blast
• AFP, London
Former New Zealand captain Brendon
McCullum will link up with
Middlesex again for this year's T20
Blast, the English county said in a
statement yesterday.
McCullum, 35, played six games
for Middlesex in last season's competition
and will be available for
nine matches of this year's tournament
between July 7 and August 3.
"I am delighted to be re-joining
Middlesex for the coming season
and am looking forward to helping
the club challenge in the NatWest
T20 Blast," McCullum said in a
against the Proteas and his 180-run
partnership with Ross Taylor (66)
was also a new benchmark against
South Africa.
Hitting the ball crisply from the
outset, Guptill debunked expectations
that the Seddon Park pitch
would become a spinners' paradise
as the match wore on. The opposite
proved true, with Black Cap
spinner Jeetan Patel enjoying early
success before batsmen from both
sides showed runs were there for
the taking on an increasingly docile
deck. It meant South Africa's
total of 279 for eight - made after
winning the toss and opting to bat -
was not as challenging as it initially
appeared.
Captain AB de Villiers topscored
for the Proteas with an
unbeaten 72, while Faf du Plessis
Martin Guptill of New Zealand bats as Quinton de Kock of South Africa looks on during their fourth and penultimate ODI at
Seddon Park in Hamilton yesterday
AFP
statement.
"I thoroughly enjoyed my time
at Middlesex last season and it was
an easy decision for me to make
when the opportunity arose to return
to the Home of Cricket."
McCullum made 132 runs at an
average of 33 in last season's Blast,
with a best score of 87 not out
against Kent.
Angus Fraser, Middlesex's managing
director of cricket, said:
"With Brendon on board and the
other exciting players we have,
watching Middlesex play T20 cricket
in 2017 should be an exciting and
enjoyable experience." •
made 67, Hashim Amla 40 and
Wayne Parnell 29 off 12 balls.
With South Africa looking shaky
at 158 for six, De Villiers worked
with Chris Morris (28) and Parnell
to give them a defendable total.
De Villiers said it should have been
enough. He refused to use Guptill's
outstanding form as an excuse for
his side, blaming their failure to
take wickets. •
1
This match produced the first
ever instance of two spinners
opening the bowling to kick off an
ODI - Jeetan Patel and Mitchell Satner
shared the honour. Previously
there have been eight occasions
when spinners opened the bowling
in the second innings, but never in
the first. This was the 3843rd ODI.
4
Martin Guptill's 180 not out
is the fourth-highest score
when chasing in ODIs. The highest
in chases is Shane Watson's 185 not
out against Bangladesh in 2011, followed
by MS Dhoni's unbeaten 183
against Sri Lanka in 2005 and Virat
Kohli's 183 against Pakistan in 2012
3
Scores of 180 or more by
Guptill in ODIs - the most by
any batsman. Viv Richards, Sachin
Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma have
two such scores.
3
The top-three scores by a New
Zealand batsman in ODIs are
all by Guptill: 237*, 189* and 180*.
No other Full Member team has its
top-three ODI scores all going to the
same batsman. The batsmen who
have two of the top-three scores
for their team: Richards, Rohit and
Tamim Iqbal.
11
IN NUMBERS
Sixes hit by Guptill - the
second-highest by a New
Zealand player. Corey Anderson had
hit 14 sixes in his record-breaking
century against West Indies in 2014.
Murray dominant on return but
Wawrinka dumped out
• AFP, Dubai
World number one Andy Murray
eased into the second round of the
Dubai Tennis Championships on
Tuesday on his return five weeks
after suffering a shock Australian
Open exit.
The top seed, now fully fit after
a bout of shingles, beat Malek Jaziri
6-4, 6-1, avoiding the fate of second
seed and title holder Stan Wawrinka,
dumped out as his form collapsed
following an early 4-1 lead.
Murray, who was knocked out in
the fourth round in Melbourne, had
to work for 45 minutes to win the
opening set but the Scot ran away
with the second against the outclassed
Jaziri. Murray will now face
Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
In contrast, the Swiss threetime
Grand Slam winner Wawrinka
was beaten 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 in the first
round by outsider Damir Dzumhur.
Wawrinka was playing for the
first time since suffering a right
knee injury in Melbourne, where he
reached his eighth major semi-final
before falling to compatriot Roger
Federer.
Following defeat by the 77thranked
journeyman from Bosnia-Herzegovina,
he admitted that
his fitness was lacking after only a
week of practice.
Dzumhur will now face Marcel
Granollers of Spain.
After taking an early lead, Wawrinka
found his game slipping. By
the time he got the first-set tiebreak,
he was playing catch-up.
The Swiss was broken twice for
5-1 in the second set before a brief
rally in which he broke back once.
Despite his exit Wawrinka said
that his knee was giving him no
pain, a positive sign heading into
back-to-back Masters 1000 events
starting next week in Indian Wells
and Miami. •

Sports
21
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
DT
Dybala puts
Juve in control
in Italian Cup
• AFP, Turin
Paolo Dybala's second-half penalty
double put holders Juventus in
control with a 3-1 win over Napoli
in the first leg of their Italian Cup
semi-final on Tuesday.
Spaniard Jose Callejon had given
the visitors the lead after 36
minutes as the hosts looked out of
sorts at home in Turin.
But Dybala's double on 47 and
69 minutes, either side of fellow
Argentine Gonzalo Higuain's goal
on 64 minutes gave Juve their 10th
straight win in all competitions.
Juventus travel to the Stadio
San Paolo in Naples on Wednesday,
April 5.
Napoli had controlled much of
the first half with Callejon slotting
in after good work by Lorenzo Insigne
and the Arkadius Milik in
breaking down the Juventus wall.
But the holders equalised two
minutes after the break when Dybala
was fouled by Kalidou Koulibaly
in the box.
Higuain pulled Juve ahead as
he scored from a narrow angle off
a corner, with Dybala again called
on for penalty duties after Napoli
goalkeeper Pepe Reina brought
down Juan Cuadrado. •
Putin pledges
'independent'
doping system
• AFP, Moscow
Russian president Vladimir Putin
yesterday pledged to establish an
"independent" system to tackle
doping in the country, but insisted
again that the state had never run a
drug cheating programme.
"We are creating a new system
of fighting against doping," Putin
was quoted as saying by TASS news
agency in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.
"We will transfer this system
from the sports ministry to an independent
organisation, as has
been done in many countries in
the world," he said, adding a new
laboratory would be built in the
grounds of the famed Moscow
State University. •
DAY’S WATCH
FOOTBALL
SONY SIX
1:40AM
Spanish La Liga
Deportivo La Coruna v Atletico Madrid
SONY ESPN
2:30AM
Spanish La Liga
Sevilla v Athletic Bilbao
Juventus’ Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain and Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly vie for the ball during their Italian Cup first leg semi-final match at the Juventus Stadium in
Turin, Italy on Tuesday
AP
Dortmund cup match called off
• AFP, Berlin
Borussia Dortmund's German Cup
quarter-final at giant-killers Sportfreunde
Lotte was called off on
Tuesday because of heavy snowfall
before kick-off.
Referee Felix Brych took the
decision shortly before kick-off at
8:45pm (1945 GMT) after deciding
the playing surface was unsafe.
A replacement date will be discussed
yesterday, the German
Football Association said.
"I could not guarantee the
health of the players, the surface
was soaked," Brych told broadcaster
ARD.
"The snow showers, an hour before
the game, were fierce. The surface
would have been ploughed up
after 10 to 15 minutes."
Third-division Lotte have beaten
Bundesliga sides Werder Bremen
and Bayer Leverkusen in previous
rounds.
Earlier on Tuesday, Eintracht
Frankfurt booked their place in the
semi-finals with a 1-0 win at home
to Arminia Bielefeld.
Danny Blum scored what proved
to be Frankfurt's winner after six
minutes.
There were emotional scenes in
added time as defender Marco Russ
came on for the final minutes for
his first appearance since chemotherapy
while suffering from cancer
last year. The 31-year-old came
on to loud applause on his return.
Cup holders Bayern Munich
hosted Schalke 04 yesterday and
Hamburg were at home to Borussia
Moenchengladbach in the other
quarter-final. •
Infantino
promises Africa
World Cup dream
• AFP, Nouakchott
Fifa president Gianni Infantino
promised to come good on a promise
to hike Africa's World Cup finals
berths to nine or ten during a visit
to the impoverished West African
state of Mauritania this week.
"We want everyone to have the
right to dream and how better to
do that taking part in a major event
such as a World Cup," Infantino
told a press conference.
During last year's hotly contested
Fifa elections Infantino promised
African federation chiefs that
if elected he would increase the
continent's meagre five World Cup
berths in a new look competition
featuring 48 nations rather that the
current format of 32.
"Of the 48 teams scheduled for
the 2026 World Cup nine or ten will
be African. We'll be working on
that," the Swiss head of world football
promised.
The expansion of the World
Cup, passed by the Fifa Council in
January, comes into effect for the
2026 tournament.
The Infantino proposal will feature
16 first-round groups from
which winners and runners-up
qualify for the knockout phase. •

22
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
DT
Showtime
Casey speaks about
being accused of sexual
harassment
• Showtime Desk
Casey Affleck has started to feel
the chill of his big win at the Oscar
on Sunday night. Some lauded the
actor’s effort in Manchester by the
Sea, while some viewers couldn’t
help but troll the Best Actor win.
Besides, the allegation of sexual
harassment against Casey from
a 2010 lawsuit which was filed
by two women who worked with
Casey on the film I’m Still Here,
was stemming in several articles
lately which also contributed to
the cause.
For instance, actor B J Novak
expressed his disappointment by
writing “Can we check Best Actor
again,” in a tweet during the show.
Constance Wu added, “Boys! Buy
your way out of trouble by settling
it out of court! Just do a good
acting job, that’s all that matters!
Because art isn’t about humanity,
right?”
“I believe that any kind of
mistreatment of anyone for
any reason is unacceptable and
abhorrent, and everyone deserves
to be treated with respect in the
workplace and anywhere else,” he
stated in an interview with Boston
Globe Tuesday.
“There’s really nothing I can
do about it. Other than living my
life the way I know I live it and to
speak to what my own values are
and how I try to live by them all
the time,” Casey added.
Casey has deliberately denied
the accusations against him and
called the lawsuit “preposterous
and without merit.” The suit didn’t
sustain long as it was ultimately
settled out of court but the essence
of the lawsuit is still haunting the
actor.
According to Casey, both sides
in the case are prohibited from
commenting on the matter and
he believes that the people who
are condemning him on social
media barely know what really
happened. At the end of the day,
the Oscar winning actor looked at
the bright side of his victory and
stayed out of all the negativity
during his speech at the Oscar
podium.
“I wish I had something bigger
and more meaningful to say, but
I’m just really proud to be a part
of this community and I look out
at all of you and I have this whole
year. I’m just dumb founded that
I’m included. And it means a lot to
me,” he said in the Dolby Theatre.
PHOTO: AP
After all, despite all the allegations
and acrimony against him, Casey
didn’t forget to appreciate his
companions throughout the journey.
In order to thank them, he said, “Of
course, my mother and my father
for mostly, usually believing in me
in doing this. And Ben Affleck, I love
you. You ain’t heavy. Thank you all
very much.” •
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Katy Perry and
Orlando Bloom
confirm split
• Showtime Desk
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom
have gone their separate ways
after spending nearly a year
together.
On Tuesday, representatives
for the celebrity pair confirmed
their split in a statement to
People, “Before rumours or
falsifications get out of hand,
we want to confirm that
Orlando and Katy are taking a
respectful, loving space at this
time.”
The surprise announcement
came after the duo posed
together inside the Vanity Fair
Oscars party on Sunday night.
However, they walked the red
carpet separately.
The pair’s romance became
obvious last winter when Katy
and Orlando were spotted on
vacation together in Hawaii.
Perhaps both the stars’
demanding schedules are
to blame for the surprise
split as Katy is in the midst
of promoting her upcoming
fourth studio album, with
multiple award show
performances and press
appearances. Bloom, on the
other hand, has dedicated
much of his recent time to
ongoing charity efforts with
UNICEF. •
Dev
Patel
brings
his
mother
to the
Oscars
• Showtime Desk
Slumdog Millionaire star and
Indian-origin British actor Dev
Patel brought his mother, Anita to
attend the 89th Academy Awards
ceremony. He was in contention
for the Best Actor in a Supporting
Role trophy for Lion, at the Oscars.
Lion, based on Saroo Brierley’s
best-selling autobiography A Long
Way Home, is a true story about an
Indian boy who falls asleep on a
train only to wake up, and realise
that he is miles away from home in
a strange land, where he does not
speak the language.
Talking about his experience at
the Oscars, Dev said, “It is mind
blowing. It is amazing. I am here
with my mom. It is a beautiful
and special moment and I am
absorbing it now.”
In the movie, he experiences
many challenges before getting
adopted by a couple in Australia.
Years later, he sets out to find his
lost family.
He also said that with the role,
he had to kind of battle his own
resume, and convince people that
he could disappear, change skin
and be accepted as Saroo.
Dev also had his eight-year-old
Lion co-star, Sunny Pawar at the
red carpet with him.
Talking about Sunny, Dev said,
“He was the icing on the top, and
it was amazing to work with him.”
Dev also won a BAFTA Award
for the Best Supporting Actor for
his performance in Lion earlier this
month.
The award gala was held at
Dolby Theatre, on Sunday. •

Showtime
Directors’ guild plays dubious role over ‘Doob’
Abul Hayat directs new
TV serial
• Showtime Desk
The director’s guild of Bangladesh,
which is considered one of the
most vital organisations of local TV
media has finally shared their view
on the Doob controversy. Although
the dispute regarding the Farooki
movie has been going on for a
while now, it’s the first time the
guild released an official comment.
Some of the kingpins from the
organisation have even warded off
from the matter before by tagging
it as dismaying to talk about and
saying that an official statement
will be released soon.
Belatedly, the official statement
has come Tuesday through
a Facebook post from the official
page of the guild where renowned
theatre artist Gazi Rakayet, who
also helms the guild, clearly stated
their stance on the matter.
“We don’t want any of our director’s
cinema to be barred at the
censor board. But taking advantage
of personal and family life of
an author like Humayun Ahmed is
not also expected from anybody,”
Rakayet stated in his post.
On the other hand, general
secretary of the same organisation,
SA Haque Alik backed Rakayet’s
dubious stance.
When asked about the contradictory
comment from their
president, Alik replied, “Actually
we own both of the parties. None
of them is our enemy. We want
equality. We don’t want any film to
be banned without a valid reason.
If the director says that there’s
nothing about Humayun Ahmed in
this movie, we’ll have to believe it
as we haven’t seen the movie yet.
As a result, I don’t think there’s
any chance to make any official
comment on the matter which
could be puzzling.”
However, before the directors’
guild, “Bangladesh Gyan and
Srizanshil Prokashak Samiti” has
released a written protestation on
February 23 against the movie,
regarding the fact that it used parts
of Humayun Ahmed’s personal life
to prepare the storyline.•
US State Department
deletes congratulatory
tweet to Asghar Farhadi
23
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
WHAT TO WATCH
The Hangover
9:30 pm, Movies Now
Three friends wake up from
a bachelor party in Las
Vegas, with no memory of
the previous night and the
bachelor missing. They make
their way around the city
in order to find their friend
before his wedding.
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed
Helms, Zach Galifianakis,
Heather Graham, Justin
Bartha, Jeffrey Tambor
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire
Hunter
5:00 pm, Star Movies
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th
President of the United
States, discovers vampires
are planning to take over the
United States. He makes it his
mission to eliminate them.
Cast: Benjamin Walker,
Dominic Cooper, Anthony
Mackie, Mary Elizabeth
Winstead, Rufus Sewell
DT
• Showtime Desk
• Showtime Desk
With a story that revolves
around three bohemian
youngsters, a new mega serial
titled Teen Paagoley Holo Mela
will premier on March 3 on
Channel i.
The serial portrays the story
of three young people, Sadhu,
Madhu and Bablu. Madhu
sings well and has the ability to
sing in every situation. Sadhu
can draw very nicely, and can
sketch anyone’s portrait in a
moment. Bablu, who is quite
adept at storytelling, is seeking
an exceptional story which
could be told in his film. With
their calibre, they can impress
anybody they meet within
moments. One day, they run into
each other serendipitously, and
moments later, they decide to
live together, helping each other
out.
Singer Agun, Shatabdi Wadud
and Sazu Khadem portray the
characters, Sadhu, Madhu and
Bablu, respectively. Abul Hayat
is directing the TV serial as well
as writing it with Kamrul Ahsan
and is also playing a role himself.
Others includes Nadia, Abdullah
Rana, Shelly Ahsan and Ziaul
Islam Kislu.
The mega serial which
comprises of a total of 208
episodes, will be aired every
Friday, Saturday, Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday at
11:30pm on Channel i. •
US State Department tweeted
a congratulatory message to
Iranian film-maker Asghar
Farhadi after he won his second
Oscar, only to delete the kind
sentiment later on.
Reuters reported, the
deleted post, which lives on
in screen shots, came from
an official Persian-language
State Department account @
USAdarFarsi, and congratulated
both Farhadi and the people of
Iran for The Salesman’s award in
the Best Foreign-Language Film
category.
Later, a statement given to
Reuters by the US Department
explains that the decision to
nix the tweet came from within
the department “to avoid
any misconception that the
US government endorsed the
comments made in Farhadi’s
acceptance speech.”
Earlier, Farhadi denied to
attend the 89th Academy Awards
in person, following President
Trump’s travel ban on visitors,
immigrants, and refugees from
seven predominately Muslim
nations. Instead, he sent Iranian-
American astronaut, Anousheh
Ansari to deliver his pre-written
speech.
Though Farhadi was not
affected by the executive order,
he skipped the 89th Academy
Awards to protest the executive
action. In the speech Farhadi
wrote, Ansari read:
“My absence is out of respect
for the people of my country and
those of other six nations whom
have been disrespected by the
inhumane law that bans entry of
immigrants to the US. Dividing
the world into the “us” and “our
enemies” categories creates
fear, a deceitful justification for
aggression and war.”•
Indiana Jones and the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
9:30 pm, Zee Studio
Famed archaeologist/
adventurer Dr. Henry
“Indiana” Jones is called back
into action when he becomes
entangled in a Soviet plot to
uncover the secret behind
mysterious artifacts known as
the Crystal Skulls.
Cast: Harrison Ford, Cate
Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia
LaBeouf, Ray Winstone
Rango
2:45 pm, HBO
Rango is an ordinary
chameleon who accidentally
winds up in the town of Dirt,
a lawless outpost in the Wild
West in desperate need of a
new sheriff.
Voices: Johnny Depp, Isla
Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned
Beatty, Alfred Molina •

24
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
DT
LOW-QUALITY EDUCATION
A BAR TO SDGS PAGE 10
Back Page
UDAYAN HOLDS TWO-SHOT
ADVANTAGE PAGE 19
ABUL HAYAT DIRECTS
NEW TV SERIAL PAGE 23
IS now asking
Bangladeshi
jihadists to fight
for Rohingyas
• Anando Mostofa
Members of a pro-Islamic State Telegram
channel have urged jihadists in
Bangladesh to spearhead a military support
campaign for Rohingya Muslims.
They have advised local IS supporters
to smuggle weapons, train Rohingyas
and form a jihadist group to pledge
allegiance to the IS chief and fight in
Myanmar until establishing Wilayah
Arakan, according to US-based watchdog
SITE Intelligence Group.
During this time, the Muslims in
Malaysia have been asked to manage
some land and build houses for the
Rohingyas “everywhere in Malaysia,”
and bring in Rohingyas from Rakhine
State and those living in registered
camps in Cox’s Bazar of Bangladesh.
They made the suggestion considering
that Malaysia has “accepted
Rohingya refugees for now.”
The discussion on “LM” channel,
acronym for “Lone Mujahid,” was
launched on February 28 with a series
of English posts from a pro-IS Malaysian
Telegram channel. They were discussing
the Malaysian government’s sending
an aid flotilla with food and other
relief for the Rohingyas in Myanmar.
The ship, barred allegedly by Myanmar
hardliner Buddhists, reached
Chittagong last month with nearly
2,000 tonnes of aid materials.
The Malaysian government came
down heavily on the Myanmar government
for the atrocities against the
minority Rohingya people launched
in the name of clearance operations
after the October 9 attacks on its
border outposts.
Since then, some 75,000 Rohingya
Muslims have taken shelter in Bangladesh,
and many of them have shared
horrifying stories of mass killings,
rape, torture, abduction and arson attacks
by the Myanmar security forces.
There are over 30,000 registered
Rohingya refugees living in two camps
of Cox’s Bazar while the number of
undocumented Rohingyas would be
more than 300,000.
Saudi-backed Rohingya militant
group, Harakah al-Yakin, claimed responsibility
for the attacks while talking to the
Dhaka Tribune. The outfit, formed after
the 2012 sectarian violence, carried out
more attacks in the next two months on
the Myanmar security forces.
After the attacks, international
militant groups including IS and al-Qaeda
extended support to HaY, and
urged the Rohingyas in Bangladesh
and Myanmar to launch armed jihad
and avenge the atrocities. Moreover,
local banned outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir
asked Bangladesh Army to take stand
against Myanmar to avenge the persecution
of the Rohingyas.
The supporters of IS and al-Qaeda
in Bangladesh have killed more than 60
people and injured scores of others in
the last couple of years, with a view to
establishing a Shariah state in the country
with parts of Myanmar and India.
The latest IS call urges Bangladeshi
jihadists to gather weapons and
deploy to Myanmar, and employ guerrilla
warfare and defence techniques
against the Buddhists in Rakhine State
and the Myanmar government, and
training the Rohingyas to fight, as well.
One of the members of the channel
added: “Take heed from the ones
who slapped amerika [sic] in her face
(Vietnamese) they created a system
of smuggling from the north to the
south and vice versa by a network of
underground tunnels transporting
weapons/food and SOLDIERS.”
The IS jihadists have asked the Malaysian
Muslims to pledge to Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi, the IS leader, and then
posted its own idea on the channel.
Earlier in November, a pro-IS Telegram
channel suggested that Muslims
in the United Kingdom who cannot
go to Myanmar help their brethren
can attack the country’s embassy and
ambassador at home.
On November 30, jihadist activity
monitoring website SITE Intelligence
Group said that the Afghan Taliban
had reiterated its call to Muslims as
well as Islamic charitable organisations
to take action in support of their
brethren in Myanmar, and condemned
what it sees as global silence
to the ongoing “genocide.”•
Crowds cram into a train at Kamalapur Railway Station to travel out of Dhaka as buses were off the road due to the nationwide
transport blockade
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
US among eight embassies asked
to free footpaths
• Abu Hayat Mahmud
Dhaka North City Corporation
(DNCC) authorities asked eight
foreign missions, including the US
embassy in Dhaka, to relocate their
security establishments from the
footpaths in the diplomatic zone to
ease public movement.
Copies of a letter signed by
DNCC Chief Executive Officer Md
Mesbahul Islam were sent to the
embassies and high commissions
of the US, Italy, Canada, Germany,
France, the UK, Australia and
Turkey on Tuesday to shift their
establishments from the footpaths
to within the grounds of their missions.
Based on a writ petition filed by
barrister Omar Sadat in February
11, 2001, the High Court ordered
the then Dhaka City Corporation
(DCC) mayor Sadeque Hossain
Khoka to free all footpaths of the
city, according to a press release
sent by the DNCC yesterday.
Referring to the HC order of
2001, Gulshan Society President
ATM Shamsul Huda on December
15, 2016 submitted an application
to DNCC Mayor Annisul Huq to implement
the court order.
Based on the Gulshan Society
president’s application and the
government’s overall plan to free
the city’s footpaths and roads, the
DNCC has requested the missions
to shift their security establishments
inside the mission areas,
DNCC officials said.
The government plans to free
all occupied footpaths and roads
across Dhaka.
As part of this plan, Executive
Committee of the National Economic
Council (Ecnec) approved
a development project to rehabilitate
hawkers from the footpaths
from different areas of the city,
sources said.
Several clashes have taken place
between city corporation officials
and the hawkers in this regard.•
Schoolboy hacked to death in Dhaka
• Arifur Rahman Rabbi
A ninth grader was hacked to death
by his friend in Dhaka’s Mirpur area.
The deceased is Md Sajib, 16, a
student of Holy Crescent School
and College.
“Sajib was hacked by his friend
near his home in Mirpur’s Shewrapara
area on Tuesday night,”
Mirpur police station’s officer incharge
(OC) Nazrul Islam said.
The young man was rushed to
DMCH where he died yesterday
morning.
Sajib’s brother-in-law Al
Mahmud Babu said: “On Tuesday
night he got into an alteration
with his friend Showrobh whom he
slapped.”
Later, Showrobh turned up at
the school lane with two to three
other youths and hacked Sajib with
machetes, he said.
Sajib’s brother Mohammad Raju
said: “We do not know the motive behind
the attack. We received his dead
body after an autopsy was completed.
He will be buried at the Kishorganj
district town area graveyard.”
OC Nazrul Islam said: “We have
detained Rubel, who was with
Showrobh at the time of the attack.
Rubel told police that Showrobh
had carried it out. We are now trying
to arrest Showrobh.”
“This was not a gang rivalry.
This incident took place over a previous
enmity,” he added.•
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