e_Paper, Wednesday, August 30, 2017

SECOND EDITION 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2017 | Bhadra 15, 1424, Zil-Hajj 7, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 5, No 114 | 24 pages | Price: Tk10 

Who took 

them? 

Those who return 

say nothing › 2 

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN 

REUTERS 

Assault on Rohingyas: Brutality 

‘breaks all previous records’ › 5 

Indian cattle imports dampen 

Bangladeshi farmers’ hopes › 8

2 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2017 

DT 

News 

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE DISAPPEARED 

Who took them? 

Missing ones return, but say nothing 

• Tarek Mahmud 

SPECIAL 

In the last eight years, almost 400 

people have disappeared across 

the country. Only a fraction of 

them have returned. The disappearances 

follow a similar pattern: 

a group of men claiming to be law 

enforcement personnel pick up the 

victim and vanish. When asked, 

the respective agencies deny any 

involvement. Sometimes the abductors 

call for a ransom, but mostly 

they remain silent. 

More disturbingly, the handful 

of people who return remain utterly 

silent about their ordeals. The few 

who talk can say nothing about the 

identity or motive of the abductors. 

Numbers from various rights 

groups show that such disappearances 

are on the rise, going from 

18 in 2010 to 91 in 2016 by one estimate. 

Families and rights groups usually 

blame law enforcement agencies 

for the abductions, but a police 

spokesperson says law enforcers 

have nothing to do with it. 

AIG Sahely Ferdous, the media 

spokesperson for Police Headquarters, 

instead blames the victims 

who have managed to return from 

their ordeals for their silence. 

“If they spoke up instead of 

staying quiet, it would be easier for 

police to investigate these issues,” 

she says. 

Living in fear 

This correspondent reached out to 

many such persons and only two 

were willing to talk. One, a doctor 

from Lakshmipur who was picked 

up from Dhaka, had been missing 

for six months. He described being 

tied up and locked in a dark room. 

But he claimed to have no idea who 

his abductors were or what they 

wanted from him. 

Pradip Kumar Saha from 

Chashara Narayanganj, was abducted 

from the capital’s Motijheel area 

on May 30. His kidnappers asked 

the family for Tk50,000 in ransom. 

But before the family had paid 

out, he was found from New Airport 

Road on June 2. He said some 

people picked him up and forced 

him into a vehicle but he could not 

identify the abductors. Pradip’s 

description of his experience was 

almost the same as Dr Iqbal. 

Sujon Ghorami, 27, from Barisal’s 

Babuganj, went missing from 

the capital’s Banani area on December 

1 last year with his three friends 

Mehedi, Pavel and Shafayat. 

Sujon discovered himself near 

Aminbazar on May 29. He later said 

Year 

No. of the 

disappeared 

persons 

Enforced Disappearances (2009-2016) 

Allegedly disappeared by 

RAB Police RAB-DB 

Police 

DB Police Industrial Police Ansar- Police Claiming to be 

members of 

Law Enforcement 

Agency 

2016 91 27 14 2 23 0 0 25 

2015 66 24 6 3 24 0 1 8 

2014 39 25 2 3 8 0 0 1 

2013 53 23 1 0 17 0 0 12 

2012 26 10 1 2 6 1 0 6 

2011 31 14 2 0 11 0 0 4 

2010 18 14 2 0 2 0 0 0 

2009 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Dr Iqbal Mahmood, from Lakshmipur 

district, was abducted by seven 

or eight people from the Science 

Laboratory intersection in Dhaka on 

October 15 last year. 

The physician had just got off an 

inter-district bus, Royal Coach, coming 

from Lakshmipur around 3:10am, 

when the abductors forcibly put him 

in a microbus. The abduction was 

captured on a nearby CCTV camera. 

Iqbal, who returned home on 

May 31, recently spoke to Dhaka 

Tribune about everything regarding 

his captivity, but he could say nothing 

about his kidnappers. 

“I was kept blindfolded almost all 

the time during my captivity. I was 

kept in a dark room and my hands 

and legs were tied up. They would 

untie me only for meals. I could not 

identify anyone. They just came into 

the room to give food. I never heard 

them speak. 

“When I was picked up I fell into 

deep sleep in the car. When I awoke 

up, the men walked me for two 

hours and brought me to a building. 

After many days, they left me near 

Lakshmipur Sadar area from where I 

managed to return home.” 

Asked whether he knew why he 

was abducted, Iqbal said he knew 

nothing. He came to know after 

his release that the abductors had 

claimed an amount as ransom from 

his family but he was freed before 

they could pay. Iqbal, son of freedom 

fighter AKM Nurul Alam, lives 

in Lakshmipur with his family. He frequently 

moves between Dhaka and 

Lakshmipur for work. 

Abduction 

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN 

SOURCE: ODHIKAR 

Dead Body 

recovered 

they were picked up by unidentified 

men in a microbus. The men had 

sprayed something on their faces 

and they all lost consciousness. 

Mehedi, a third year honours student 

of BM College, returned before 

Sujon on April 18. The other two, 

who are students of North South 

University, are still without trace. 

On May 22, Jagannath University 

physics student Sadekul Islam 

Milon was picked up from his 

home by several men who claimed 

to be policemen. 

The family asked for their ID 

cards but the men roughed them up 

and took away Milon. Later someone 

called the family from Milon’s phone 

and demanded Tk30,000 in ransom. 

At least 50-60 enforced disappearances 

are occurring every 

year, said human rights activist 

Nur Khan Liton, former executive 

director of the rights organisation 

Ain O Salish Kendra. 

“As enforced disappearances 

happen all the time everywhere, 

those who are lucky enough to return 

continue to live in fear. That is 

why they remain silent when asked 

about the abductors,” he said. 

Powerful people 

Nur said the victims believe that 

the abductors are powerful people 

in strong positions in the state apparatus. 

They are therefore afraid 

to take action against them. 

Human rights organisations reported 

at least 320 cases of disappearances 

since 2009. These include 

people suspected of criminal activities 

and militancy, as well as members 

of the political opposition. 

Local and international rights 

Released after 

In May 2016, the 

Supreme Court 

ruled that law 

enforcement 

agencies could 

no longer arrest 

suspects without a 

warrant. The apex 

court observed 

that the incident 

of citizens being 

arrested by law 

enforcers in plain 

clothes was a 

“serious” issue. 

Enforced Disappearance (January - June 2017) By Law Enforcement Agencies 

(as reported by family members/eyewitnesses/colleagues) 

RAB inform 

about arrest 

44 2 7 3 

Background: Awami League-1, Chattra League-1, Juba League-1, BNP-1, Jubo 

Dal-1, Chattra Dol-2, Businessman-4, Service Holder-4, Teacher-1, Principal-1, 

Student-3, Construction worker-1, Motor Mechanic-1, Bicycle mechanic-1, Easy 

bike driver-1 and Unknown profession-20. 

Source: Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK)

News 

WEDNESDAY, 

3 

AUGUST 30, 2017 

DT 

organisations such as Ain O Salish 

Kendra, Odhikar, Human Rights 

Watch and Amnesty International 

say many of the victims are from 

the political opposition. 

BNP central leader Ilias Ali and 

his driver were last seen at midnight 

on April 17, 2012 in Dhaka. 

His private car was found by police 

near his Dhaka home but the two 

are still missing. BNP Chairperson 

Begum Khaleda Zia alleges Illias 

was kidnapped by security forces 

on instructions of the Awami 

League government. 

Another top leader of BNP, Salauddin 

Ahmed, was allegedly 

picked up from his Uttara house in 

March 10, 2015. Local police found 

him in Shillong, the capital of the 

neighbouring Indian state of Meghalaya, 

after about two months. His 

wife Hasina Ahmed said Salauddin 

was picked up by the security forces 

while Salauddin said he was left in 

Shillong with his hands and legs tied. 

Nur said that justice in cases such 

as the Narayanganj seven-murder 

case, in which a court sentenced 

to death several members of the 

elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) 

and a ruling party leader, can help 

reduce the frequency of enforced 

disappearance incidents across the 

country. Punishment of the perpetrators 

will give confidence to the 

victims, he added. 

The victims, Narayanganj City 

Corporation Councilor Nazrul Islam 

and his aides, were picked up 

by RAB men from Dhaka-Narayanganj 

Highway, and their bodies 

were found after a couple of days. 

Ain O Salish Kendra, in its latest 

report, said 44 people went missing 

in the first six months of this 

year. All of them were picked up by 

people who identified themselves 

as law enforcement personnel. 

No Arrest without due process 

Human Rights Watch said 48 disappearances 

were reported in the first 

five months of 2017 while allegations 

of severe torture and ill-treatment 

were found in secret custody. 

AIG Sahely Ferdous denied allegations 

against law enforcement 

agencies regarding enforced disappearances. 

She said: “No unit of Bangladesh 

police is involved with such offence. 

Some criminal rackets use the badges 

of security agencies. We are taking 

action against such gangs.” 

Despite her claims, the reality is 

that very few such cases have been 

solved so far. 

In May 2016, the Supreme Court 

ruled that law enforcement agencies 

could no longer arrest suspects 

without a warrant, or without displaying 

official identification. 

The apex court said the incident 

of citizens being arrested by law 

enforcers without uniform was a 

“serious” issue. 

The judges cited an instance 

where the son of a freedom fighter, 

who was a bodyguard of Bangabandhu 

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was 

allegedly picked up by some people 

claiming to be law enforcers. But he 

has not been found. The court noted. 

Human rights activists say the 

court’s ruling is being widely flouted. 

AIG Sahely Ferdous pointed to 

one incident that she said showed 

law enforcement agencies were 

getting unnecessary blame for disappearances 

- the recent disappearance 

and return of Farhad Mazhar. 

Columnist and right-wing activist 

Farhad Mazhar, 70, claimed he was 

picked up by some unknown men 

on July 3 near his home. Police then 

found him on a bus headed from 

Jessore to Dhaka, 18 hours later. 

Police later presented some evidence 

and suggested that Mazhar 

was moving freely and did not appear 

to be acting under duress. 

Human Rights Watch, in its latest 

82-page report titling ‘We Don’t Have 

Him: Secret Detentions and Enforced 

Disappearances in Bangladesh’, said 

Bangladesh law enforcement authorities 

have illegally detained hundreds 

of people since 2013, including 

scores of opposition activists, and 

held them in secret detention. 

The report asked the government 

to “immediately stop this 

widespread practice, order prompt, 

impartial, and independent investigations 

into these allegations, provide 

answers to families, and prosecute 

security forces responsible for 

such egregious rights violations.” 

Under international law, a 

forced disappearance is the deprivation 

of liberty by agents of the 

state, followed by a refusal to acknowledge 

the deprivation of liberty 

or by concealment of the fate 

or whereabouts of the disappeared 

person, which place such a person 

outside the protection of the law. • 

Chittagong gold trader Mridul 

Chowdhury was picked up by some 

unknown people – who identified as 

members of Rapid Action Battalion 

and Detective Branch – from Telegraph 

Road area on February 11, 2014. 

After six days, Mridul was found 

unconscious beside Comilla-Brahmanbaria 

Highway in Comilla’s 

Burichong area. The man could not 

remember anything then due to trauma, 

and police said he might have 

been kidnapped by some gang over 

previous enmity. 

Mridul’s brother Shimul Chowdhury, 

however, pointed to the then 

RAB 2 official Maj Raqibul Amin, his 

source Fahad and driver Babul and 

said they had a feud with Mridul over 

the loss of gold ornaments. 

Mridul’s family lodged two cases 

at Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate 

court and Chittagong Kotwali police 

station. Mridul declined to say anything 

about his abduction, and said 

that he had withdrawn the cases 

after returning. “I am not physically 

and mentally fit to run the cases. So 

I withdrew them,” he told Dhaka Tribune 

on August 24 over the phone. 

Out of tears 

• Tarek Mahmud 

CURRENT AFFAIRS 

Two businessmen, a bank 

official kidnapped in August 

• Tribune Desk 


Unidentified miscreants released 

IFIC Bank official Shamim 

Ahmed on Monday night, 

five days after he was abducted 

from outside a restaurant in Paltan. 

The kidnappers left a blindfolded 

Shamim near Motijheel 

in Dhaka. 

He was picked up by relatives 

after the abductors gave 

his location to his wife, Shilpi 

Ahmed, in a phone call around 

9:30pm. 

“Shamim is in good health,” 

said Shilpi, who had filed a general 

diary with Paltan police 

station in the hours after her 

husband was abducted. 

At around 1:40pm on August 

23, Shamim was bundled into a 

white microbus in front of the 

Khana Basmati restaurant by 

kidnappers who had introduced 

themselves as police detectives. 

Although Shamim came 

back unharmed, two businessmen 

who were also picked up 

by unknown men in the same 

fashion in Dhaka this month are 

yet to be found. 

On August 22, Syed Sadat 

Ahmed, a BNP leader and managing 

director of ABN Group, 

was picked up in a microbus on 

Airport road under the Banani 

flyover. 

On August 27, Oniruddha 

Honourable PM, 

our sons can come 

back if you want 

them to. We know 

you have felt the 

pain of losing 

family members 

Family members of the disappeared 

plead with Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina to help find 

their loved ones before Eid-Ul- 

Azha. 

“Please bring my papa back 

to me. I want to celebrate Eid 

with papa,” implored Hridi in 

a heartbreaking plea to Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina. 

Hridi, the young daughter 

of Parvez Hossain, who went 

missing three years and eight 

months ago, added that she 

would wait for her father to go 

shopping for Eid. 

Another child named Ahad, 

whose father Khaled Hasan Sohel 

has also gone missing said: 

“I miss my father very much. 

I want him back. I want him 

home for Eid.” 

Apart from Hridi and Ahad, 

Lamia and Ariyan, aged from 

eight to 12 also yearn for their 

fathers who have been missing 

for a long period of time. 

August 30 marks the International 

Day of the Disappeared, 

which focuses on the people 

who have gone missing with 

their whereabouts completely 

unknown to their relatives. 

Family members of 29 alleged 

victims of enforced disappearance 

shared their grief at 

a discussion organised by ‘Mayer 

Dak’ at National Press Club’s 

VIP Lounge on Tuesday. 

Bearing the slogan “Give 

back disappeared sons to their 

mothers before Eid”, the victims’ 

family members demanded 

the formation of an independent 

probe commission 

saying they would take tougher 

measures from December if no 

action was taken immediately. 

Some cried. Others said even 

their tears had run dry after 

years of waiting for loved ones 

to return. 

Mother of Masum who was 

a third year student of Government 

Titumir College, said: 

“My son has been missing for 

three years and eight months. 

Miscreants picked him up. I had 

many dreams for my child. Only 

sorrow and anxiety fill my days. 

When will the waiting end?” 

Addressing the premier, she 

also said: “Honourable PM, our 

sons can come back if you want 

them to. We know you have felt 

the pain of losing family members.” 

Some mothers broke down 

and were unable to speak at all. 

Mahmudur Rahman Manna, 

convener of Nagarik Oikyo, presided 

over the discussion. 

Jharna Khanom, wife of KM 

Shamim Akhter said: “Shamim 

was forcibly disappeared in October 

2011. Forget about justice 

for the time being. I do not even 

know where my husband is. 

The government did not play its 

role properly.” 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur 

Rahman’s bodyguard 

Quazi Motin, whose son Quazi 

Rakibul Hasan Shaon disappeared 

in 2014, said: “My son 

was organising secretary of 

Bangladesh Chatra League’s 

Comilla Victoria College unit. 

I sought help from everyone. I 

even went to the prime minister. 

Now I am helpless.” 

Director ASM Nasir Uddin of 

Odhikar, a Bangladesh-based 

human rights organisation 

said: “The home minister said 

there is no such thing enforced 

disappearance. When the law 

enforcement agencies pick up 

common people on a regular 

basis, does the government act 

to stop this?” 

Dhaka University’s Law Department 

Professor Asif Nazrul 

said: “We assume that the premier 

does not hear the cries of 

these families.” 

Naripakkho Member Shirin 

Haq said: “We are all frustrated 

now. We have no place to turn.” 

Human rights activist Nur 

Khan Liton, also the former executive 

director of Ain O Salish 

Kendro, said it was the government’s 

job to safeguard the 

lives and liberty of citizens. • 

Roy was picked up in front of 

a private bank on Gulshan Avenue 

in a microbus in the afternoon 

by three men. 

“We still do not know who 

the kidnappers are. We are investigating 

the matter,” Paltan 

police station Sub-Inspector 

Saidul Islam said. 

Police have collected CCTV 

footage but have not been able 

to identify the culprits and are 

struggling to understand the 

motives for the abductions with 

no ransoms being demanded. 

According to human rights 

watchdog Ain o Salish Kendra, 

a total of 519 people have been 

abducted in Bangladesh since 

2010, with some found killed 

and many still missing. •

4 


DT 

News 

North Korea defends ‘tough counter-measures’ as missile alarms Japan 

• AFP, Seoul 

WORLD 

North Korea defended its right 

to take “tough counter-measures” 

in response to what it called 

US aggression, after firing a ballistic 

missile over Japan which 

sparked fear and fury in Tokyo 

Tuesday. 

The test launch by the nuclear-armed 

nation was seen as a major 

escalation that triggered global 

alarm and an angry response from 

the Japanese government. 

A visibly unsettled Prime Minister 

Shinzo Abe said it was an “unprecedented, 

serious and grave 

threat”, while the UN Security 

Council called an emergency meeting 

at Tokyo and Washington’s request. 

But North Korean ambassador 

Han Tae-Song, addressing the UN 

Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, 

said his country had the right 

to react to ongoing US-South Korean 

military exercises. 

Washington, he said, would be 

responsible for “the catastrophic 

consequences” that may result 

from heightened tensions on the 

Korean peninsula. 

The North always condemns the 

annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian 

exercise and other joint drills as a 

rehearsal for invasion, while Seoul 

and Washington say they are purely 

defensive. 

Sirens blared out and text messages 

were fired off across northern 

Japan Tuesday warning people 

in the missile’s flight path to take 

cover. •

News 5 


DT 

Assault on Rohingyas: Brutality 

‘breaks all previous records’ 

• Abdul Aziz from the 

Bangladesh-Myanmar border 


Rashid Ahmed thought he had seen 

it all during his seven decades as a 

persecuted Rohingya inhabitant of 

Rakhine state in Myanmar. 

But that was before last Friday, 

when at least 89 people including 

a dozen security force members 

were killed as Rohingya insurgents 

reportedly besieged border posts in 

the troubled state. 

The response of the Myanmar 

army was to launch a new crackdown 

on the Rohingyas, triggering 

a fresh exodus of refugees to Bangladesh. 

“I saw the brutalities of the then 

junta government against us in 

1980s (and) I witnessed many of 

our community being assaulted in 

90s,” said Rashid. “But the atrocities 

we are facing now have broken 

all the previous records.” 

Rashid, who is classified as a Rohingya 

IDP (internally displaced person), 

spoke to the Dhaka Tribune on 

Monday after fleeing Miarpara village 

in the Dekiboni union of Rakhine. 

“Rakhine state will soon wear 

a deserted look if the campaign of 

assault continues for a few more 

days,” the septuagenarian said. 

“Army men have taken away 

three of my six sons. They slit the 

throat of one of my grandsons 

named Abuiya before my eyes. 

Finding no other place to take shelter, 

I have come here.” 

Holding his grandson by one 

hand, the elderly man was walking 

with a cane in the other hand, tired 

UN: Systematic Myanmar abuses fuelling Rakhine violence 


WORLD 

The UN rights chief yesterday said decades 

of systematic abuses against Rohingya 

Muslims were largely to blame 

for spiralling violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine 

state, insisting authorities could 

have prevented the bloodshed. 

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein expressed 

alarm at the upsurge in fighting in Rakhine, 

an impoverished state neighbouring 

Bangladesh, which has been raging 

since Friday when Rohingya militants 

staged coordinated ambushes against 

Myanmar’s security forces. 

Rohingya children cross the Bangladesh-Myanmar border fence as they try to enter Bangladesh in Bandarban, an area under 

Cox's Bazar authority, Bangladesh, August 29, 2017 

REUTERS 

after a 20km trek to the Bangladesh-Myanmar 

border. 

He was seen stumbling and taking 

a rest after every few minutes 

on his way to the ‘no man’s land’ of 

Jalpaitali point in Bandarban’s Naikhongchhari 

upazila. 

“We have been undergoing oppression 

for decades. We have no 

freedom to move despite living in 

our own country,” he said. 

Rashid was accompanied by his 

eldest son, Abdul Zabbar. Fighting 

back tears, Zabbar said they were 

“bound for a destination unknown”. 

“Our journey is endless. We do 

not know whether we could ever 

More than 100 people, including 

around 80 militants, have been confirmed 

killed in the fightback, which has 

seen at least 8,700 Rohingya villagers 

fleeing for Bangladesh. 

“I utterly condemn the violent attacks 

on security personnel, which have 

led to the loss of many lives and the 

displacement of thousands of people,” 

Zeid said in a statement. 

But the rights chief stressed that the 

turn of events was not only “deplorable. 

It was predicted and could have been 

prevented.” 

“Decades of persistent and systematic 

human rights violations, including 

the very violent security responses to 

be able to return to our home. We 

do not even know what happens 

to us on our journey,” Zabbar said, 

with his newborn baby on his lap. 

Zabbar said his ancestors had 

been living in Rakhine for centuries. 

“They (the Myanmar government) 

will not give us our due rights: citizenship. 

But why this massacre? 

Why are they killing our youths after 

picking them up?” he said. 

Like Rashid and Zabbar, thousands 

of other Rohingyas including 

women and children are stranded 

in ‘no man’s land’ and pass their 

days without food and water while 

both the Border Guard Police (BGP) 

the attacks since October 2016, have 

almost certainly contributed to the nurturing 

of violent extremism, with everyone 

ultimately losing,” Zeid said. 

Myanmar’s military reacted with a violent 

clearance operation, which UN has 

warned could amount to ethnic cleansing. 

The militants struck again on Friday, 

attacking around 30 police posts in predawn 

raids, and killing at least a dozen 

security force members using knives, 

homemade explosives and guns. 

Zeid called for those who attacked 

security forces and civilians to be 

brought to justice, and urged all sides to 

stop fuelling the violence. 

Zeid voiced particular concern at 

in Myanmar and Border Guard 

Bangladesh keep a vigil on their respective 

sides. 

They join the more than 70,000 

Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh 

in the aftermath of the October 9, 

2016 attacks on security posts, and 

the estimated 500,000 refugees 

who have come to Bangladesh during 

decades of persecution in their 

motherland. 

The previous counterinsurgency 

operation ceased in mid-February 

this year, ending a fourmonth 

sweep that the UN said may 

amount to crimes against humanity 

and possibly ethnic cleansing. • 

“irresponsible” claims made by the 

government department run by Nobel 

Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi that international 

aid workers were complicit in or 

supporting the attacks. 

Meanwhile, Thailand is preparing to 

receive people fleeing fighting in Myanmar 

and send them back “when they are 

ready”, the prime minister said yesterday. 

Thailand was once a popular transit 

route for the Rohingya. But a 2015 Thai 

police crackdown on human trafficking 

syndicates led to ships with migrants 

aboard being abandoned at sea. It also 

disrupted the networks that brought 

migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh 

to Thailand and Malaysia. • 

UNHCR asks 

Bangladesh to 

accept Rohingya 

refugees, offers 

support 



In light of escalating tensions in 

Myanmar’s Rakhine state, the United 

Nations High Commissioner for 

Refugees (UNHCR) yesterday urged 

Bangladesh not to turn back Rohingyas, 

while also communicating 

its readiness to support Bangladesh 

in helping the Rohingya flee. 

UNHCR Chief Spokesperson 

Adrian Edwards made the call at a 

press conference held at the Palais 

des Nations in Geneva, according 

to a UNHCR press release. 

“UNHCR is aware of several reported 

instances of people being 

prevented from entering Bangladesh. 

This poses very grave risk 

to the individuals affected. Bangladesh 

has hosted refugees from 

Myanmar for decades, and UNHCR 

believes it is of the utmost importance 

that it continue to allow 

Rohingya fleeing violence to seek 

safety there. UNHCR also calls on 

the international community to 

support Bangladesh in doing so, 

with all necessary aid and other 

help,” Edwards said. • 

475 Rohingyas 

pushed back 

amid tension in 

Rakhine state 

• Abdul Aziz, Cox’s Bazar 


Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) 

members have pushed back some 

475 Rohingyas, , including women, 

children and elderly people, who fled 

Rakhine state in the face of Myanmar 

security forces massive crackdown. 

Teknaf BGB 2 Commander Lt Col 

SM Ariful Islam said: “They were 

sent back when they tried to trespass 

into Bangladesh by crossing 

the Naf River from last night to till 

Tuesday morning.” 

Last October, Rohingyas tried 

to intrude into Bangladesh in the 

same way after violent clashes 

broke out in Rakhine state. 

This year, thousands of Rohingyas 

have already started gathering at 

Bangladesh border as fresh fighting 

erupted in Rakhine state between 

militants and security forces. • 

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY 

Dhaka 34 28 Chittagong 33 27 Rajshahi 34 26 Rangpur 32 26 Khulna 33 26 Barisal 33 27 Sylhet 31 26 

Cox’s Bazar 31 26 

RAIN LIKELY 


DHAKA 

TODAY 

TOMORROW 

SUN SETS 6:19PM 

SUN RISES 5:40AM 

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW 

34.5ºC 

23.9ºC 

Rajshahi 

Rangamati 

Source: Accuweather/UNB 

PRAYER 

TIMES 

Fajr: 5:00am | Zohr: 1:15pm 

Asr: 5:00pm | Magrib: 6:41pm 

Esha: 8:30pm 

Source: Islamic Foundation

6 


DT 

News 

Hajj pilgrimage entangled 

in web of Saudi politics 


WORLD 

More than 1.7 million Muslims from 

around the world have arrived in 

Saudi Arabia for the start of the annual 

hajj pilgrimage this week. Once 

in Mecca, the site of Islam’s holiest 

place of worship, they will be reminded 

that the ruling Saud family 

is the only custodian of this place. 

Large portraits of the king and 

the country’s founder hang in hotel 

lobbies across the city. A massive 

clock tower bearing the name of 

King Salman’s predecessor flashes 

fluorescent green lights at worshippers 

below. A large new wing 

of the Grand Mosque in Mecca is 

named after a former Saudi king, 

and one of the mosque’s entrances 

is named after another. 

It’s just one of the many ways 

that Saudi Arabia uses its oversight 

of the hajj to bolster its standing in 

the Muslim world, and to spite its 

foes, from Iran and Syria to Qatar. 

Its archrival, the Shia power Iran, 

has in turn tried to utilise the hajj 

to undermine the kingdom. 

The hajj has long been a part of 

Saudi Arabia’s politics. 

Sole custodianship 

For nearly 100 years, the ruling Saud 

family has decided who gets in and 

out of Mecca, setting quotas for pilgrims 

from various countries, facilitating 

visas through Saudi embassies 

abroad and providing accommodation 

for hundreds of thousands of 

people in and around Mecca. 

The kingdom has received credit 

for its management of the massive 

crowds that descend upon Mecca 

each year, and blame when things 

go wrong at the hajj. All able-bodied 

Muslims are required to perform 

the pilgrimage once in a lifetime. 

Saudi kings, and the Ottoman 

rulers of the Hijaz region before 

them, all adopted the honorary 

title of Custodian of the Two Holy 

Mosques, a reference to sites in 

Mecca and Medina. 

Whoever controls Mecca and 

Medina has tremendous soft power 

said Ali Shibahi, executive director 

of the Arabia Foundation, a 

pro-Saudi centre in Washington. 

“Saudi Arabia has been extremely 

careful from day one not to restrict 

any Muslim’s access to hajj so they 

never get accused of using hajj for 

political purposes.” 

But the reality is different. 

Politicisation 

The Syrian government says Saudi 

authorities continue to place restrictions 

on Syrian citizens looking 

to take part in the hajj. Saudi 

Arabia has no diplomatic ties with 

President Bashar Assad’s government 

and since 2012, requires all 

Syrians seeking to make the hajj 

to obtain visas in third countries 

through the “Syrian High Hajj 

Committee,” which is controlled 

by the Syrian National Coalition, an 

opposition political group. 

The hajj became further entangled 

in politics following the 

fallout between Saudi Arabia and 

Qatar when the kingdom and three 

other Arab countries cut all diplomatic 

and transport links with 

the small Gulf state this year. In 

a surprise this month, Saudi Arabia 

announced it would open its 

border for Qatari pilgrims seeking 

to perform the hajj and that King 

Salman would provide flights and 

accommodation to Qataris during 

the hajj. 

AFP 

Saudi-Iran rivalry 

While the hajj is a main pillar of Islam, 

the custodianship of its holy 

sites is a pillar of the Saud family’s 

legitimacy and power. Iran has 

consistently tried to call that into 

question. 

Two years ago, a stampede and 

crush of pilgrims killed at least 

2,426 people, according to an Associated 

Press count. Iran, which lost 

464 pilgrims in the stampede, immediately 

used the disaster to call 

for an independent body to take 

over administering the hajj. Those 

calls were vehemently rejected by 

Saudi Arabia. 

The hajj took place last year under 

the shadow of the two countries’ 

rivalry. Saudi Arabia and Iran 

severed ties in 2016, and as a result, 

no Iranians were at the pilgrimage 

last year. 

It wasn’t the first time Iran and 

Saudi Arabia sparred over the hajj. 

In 1987, Saudi police opened fire on 

Iranian pilgrims protesting during 

the hajj, killing more than 400 people. 

For two years after that, Iran 

did not send pilgrims to the hajj. 

Ahead of this year’s hajj, Iran’s 

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali 

Khamenei essentially called on pilgrims 

to hold protests again, saying 

the pilgrimage offers “Muslims 

with a great opportunity to express 

their beliefs”. 

“Where else, better than Mecca, 

Medina ... can Muslims go to 

express their concerns regarding 

al-Aqsa and Palestine?” Khamenei 

said, referring to one of Islam’s holiest 

and most contentious sites in 

Jerusalem. • 

Chinese troops 

to patrol border 

area after India 

stand-off 

• AFP, Beijing 

WORLD 

China said Tuesday that its troops 

would continue to patrol a disputed 

Himalayan border area after 

resolving a months-long military 

stand-off there with India. 

Foreign ministry spokeswoman 

Hua Chunying refused to disclose 

future plans for the road project 

that had triggered the confrontation 

on the remote Doklam plateau. 

“I’ve said that Chinese border 

troops will continue to be stationed 

and patrol in Doklam and we will 

continue to exercise our sovereignty 

according to historical conventions,” 

Hua told a regular press briefing. 

The standoff began in mid-June 

after Chinese troops started building 

a road in the area, which is disputed 

between China and India’s 

ally, Bhutan. 

India itself does not claim the 

territory but has a military presence 

in Bhutan. 

The Indian government announced 

on Monday that Beijing 

and New Delhi had agreed to pull 

back back their border forces. 

When asked whether China 

would halt road-building, Hua 

told reporters: “We’ll take into 

consideration all relevant factors, 

including weather, to make any 

infrastructure plans, including 

road-building.” 

The border tensions eased days 

before India’s Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi is expected to travel to China 

for a summit of the BRICS group 

of countries, which also include Brazil, 

Russia and South Africa. •

News 

WEDNESDAY, 

7 

AUGUST 30, 2017 

DT 

‘Allegations of favouritism against me 

are unfortunate’ 

Professor Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique became the 27th vice-chancellor of Dhaka University in 

2009. He was the first person who completed a full tenure as an unelected VC in the 96-year 

history of the university. President Abdul Hamid appointed Prof Arefin for four years from a panel 

of three candidates elected by the DU Senate on August 24, 2013. His tenure just expired and is 

up for re-election in October. Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune’s Asif Showkat Kallol and Fahim 

Reza Shovon, he talks about the current controversies surrounding him and his tenure. 

INTERVIEW 

There have been allegations 

against you that you have 

appointed loyalists as lecturers 

and professors. What is your 

reaction to this? 

Dhaka University is the only public 

university in Bangladesh where the 

pro-VC (education) appoints lecturers, 

assistant professors and equivalent 

officials and the pro-VC (administration) 

appoints section officers 

and other equivalent officials. 

The office of the vice-chancellor 

is not responsible for the appointments. 

These allegations against 

the office of the vice-chancellor are 

unfortunate. 

According to rules and regulations 

stipulated by the Dhaka 

University Ordinance 1973, the 

recommendations are made by the 

statutory body for any recruitment 

of teachers during the syndicate 

meetings. 

I must approve these unanimous 

recommendations as the 

chair of the syndicate. 

Some reports published in a local 

newspaper have levied unfair 

allegations against me and that is 

a glaring example of yellow journalism. 

The reports said the quality 

of some of the appointed teachers 

were not up to par and were 

published during the time of the 

vice-chancellor panel election to 

affect the election results. Some 

teachers were definitely involved 

in spreading this misinformation. 

The media can publish whatever 

it wants but unfortunately a lack 

of professionalism and bias these 

days is responsible for how newspapers 

have lost their objectivity. 

The numbers given by the 

newspaper report were false as it 

claimed that 907 teachers were 

recruited. The authority did not 

recruit non-deserving teachers for 

the position. Their merit was the 

first priority. 

Another allegation that was levied 

against the authorities was that 

we recruited graduates as lecturers 

instead of postgraduates. We 

recruited the graduates in the engineering 

affiliated department as 

engineering universities of Bangladesh 

including Buet can recruit 

graduates. They can complete their 

post-graduation, PhD after being 

appointed. 

We wanted to hire lecturers with 

Master’s degrees in engineering for 

applied chemistry and chemical engineering 

as that is the rule of Dhaka 

University. But after repeated 

advertisements, nobody with that 

requirement applied for the job. So, 

we were bound to recruit meritorious 

students from Buet. This is a 

valid rule in the sub-continent. 

The paper also alleged that we 

If regular students 

come under the 

leadership of 

the students’ 

organisations 

then Ducsu can 

be activated again 

easily. We have to 

understand why 

Ducsu was closed in 

the first place 

recruited lecturers who did not 

meet the required score in their SSC 

and HSC exams of 4.25 GPA. This 

rule was decided by the syndicate. 

The selection committee recommended 

some meritorious students 

who secured 1st or 2nd position in 

their respective departments who 

had a 4.15 or 4.10 in SSC or HSC. 

Those who make criteria can 

also change those criteria. All aspects 

of any topic must be presented 

by a newspaper. It is then up to 

the reader to decide what is right 

and what is wrong. 

Were you able to ensure a levelplaying 

field for all the political 

student organisations during your 

tenure? 

There has always been a level-playing 

field for student organisations 

at Dhaka University. They have 

always been able to hold programmes, 

protests etc. 

Basically, for the last eight 

and a half years, we have tried to 

make sure violence does not erupt 

on campus because of the programmes 

organised by some organisations. 

See, when student organisations 

come under the stewardship of some 

irregular students, that is when the 

trouble begins. When regular students 

have control, they bring dynamism 

to the organisations. 

During my tenure, there was not 

a day lost in the academic calendar. 

What have you done to reinstate 

Dhaka University Central Students’ 

Union (Ducsu) that has been 

inactive for the past 27 years? 

If regular students come under the 

leadership of the students’ organisations 

then Ducsu can be activated 

again easily. 

We have to understand why 

Ducsu was closed in the first place. 

It was because of murders and sabotage 

on campus. We do not want 

that situation again. If the student 

organisations consolidate their leadership, 

then we can reinstate Ducsu. 

The university administration 

and politicians should reach 

a consensus on regular students 

joining politics. Our goal is to activate 

Ducsu again. We want regular 

students to take leadership roles 

and contribute to national politics 

through the Ducsu election. 

Can the university authorities 

free the men’s halls from political 

influence? 

The authorities at the girls’ halls 

strictly adhere to the rules and they 

are better managed. 

The boys, however, tend to be 

outside their dorms longer even 

after curfew and we are trying to 

get the authorities to manage them 

better. 

We have instructed the hall authorities 

to stick to the rules and regulations 

and run the halls properly. 

Teacher-student goodwill is 

a tradition at the university. If a 

provost behaves inappropriately 

with a student at the hall, we will 

take measures against them when 

a complaint is filed. 

RAJIB DHAR 

Why were the girls at Sufia Kamal 

Hall being morally policed by a 

dress code recently? 

The Sufia Kamal Hall provost told 

me that the dress code notice was 

distorted by people who made it 

go viral online. It may have been a 

case of trying to get the hall authority 

into trouble. 

During the Ducsu VC panel election 

on July 29, there was an altercation 

between DU students and a 

Jagannath University teacher 

outside the Senate building. Video 

footage showed the JnU teacher 

assaulting a DU student. Why was 

he even allowed to be there during 

the elections? 

Anyone can visit the campus. Perhaps 

the Jagannath University 

teacher was a former student. No 

one has yet been proven guilty of 

the incident. 

While the world moves away from 

print media, why are you setting 

up a printing and publication 

studies department? 

The publication industry is growing 

in Bangladesh and a department 

like this will help build essential 

skills for those joining the 

printing industry after graduation. 

Our country did not have the 

necessary skills for this industry. It 

was all learned on the job. This is 

why the Academic Council of Dhaka 

University has decided to open 

the department based on these 

concerns. One also has the opportunities 

to study online and read 

e-books for printing and publication 

studies. 

Can Dhaka University ever regain 

the reputation for academic 

excellence as the Oxford of the 

East? 

Our first vice-chancellor Sir Philip 

J Hartog modelled the university’s 

rules and regulations after Oxford 

in the UK. The university had a 

tutorial system which was replaced 

by the semester system. This 

I believe is the reason why we 

have lost some of the academic 

excellence. We are not satisfied 

by the quality of education as it 

stands today and hope to regain 

the reputation of being the Oxford 

of the East again. •

8 


DT 

News 

Indian cattle imports dampen Bangladeshi farmers’ hopes 

• Shariful Islam 


Bangladesh farmers fear the domestic 

cattle market will be flooded 

with cows from India ahead of 

Eid-ul-Azha, despite local farmers 

having reared a sufficient number 

of animals to meet the seasonal demand. 

That is because of the decision 

by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) 

to open the Bangladesh-India corridors 

for transnational cattle trade, 

which has dampened the hope of 

many farmers like Mohammad Imran 

Hossain, the owner of Sadeeq 

Agro in Dhaka. 

Sadeeq Agro sold 326 cows out 

of 351 during last year’s Eid-ul- 

Azha and it has raised 600 bulls for 

this year’s festival, shifting 300 by 

the start of August. 

“The BGB’s announcement has 

brought down the sale figure to 

zero now,” he said. 

“Customers are waiting for the 

relatively less expensive Indian 

cattle to arrive on the market.” 

Imran Hossain - who is also 

the president of Bangladesh Dairy 

Farmers’ Association - said the majority 

of the suppliers to the Eid-ul- 

Azha cattle market are the marginal 

farmers who are still reeling from 

the recent monsoon floods. 

“The decision to import Indian 

cattle had just added to their 

woes,” he said. 

During the last three years, local 

farmers have received fair prices 

due to the embargo on Indian 

Usually, Indian cows enter Bangladesh in small numbers throughout the year using legal and illegal channels. According to 

BGB sources, a total of around 450,000 cows arrived during the January-July period in 2017 

RAJIB DHAR 

cattle. 

When asked about the local 

farmers’ opposition to the decision 

to lift the embargo, BGB Director 

General Major General Abul Hossain 

appealed to the forces of supply 

and demand. 

“Let the market be free in this 

matter,” he said. “If local farmers 

properly manage to distribute 

cattle across the country, no one 

would buy the Indian ones.” 

The BGB chief said while announcing 

the decision at a press 

briefing on August 2 that traders 

from both Bangladesh and India 

could trade cattle legally through 

the corridors under the BGB’s conditions. 

“We have said that traders from 

the both sides will go to the zero 

line using the corridors. They [the 

Indians] will leave the cows at 

the zero line and traders from the 

Bangladesh side will collect them 

there,” said Major General Abul 

Hussain. 

Usually, Indian cows enter Bangladesh 

in small numbers throughout 

the year using legal and illegal 

channels. According to BGB sources, 

a total of around 450,000 cows 

arrived during the January-July period 

in 2017. 

However, the vast majority of 

cattle arrives ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. 

Our Correspondents from Rajshahi, 

Chapainawabganj, Jessore, Benapole 

and Satkhira report that a 

huge number of cows have already 

entered the country through the 

corridors. 

“In July alone, 68,501 cows 

entered through two corridors of 

Chapainawabganj while the number 

in August stands at 59,631 so 

far,” said Md Roisuddin, revenue officer 

of Chapainawabganj Customs. 

Every year over 5 million cows 

are sacrificed across the country 

during Eid-ul-Azha. Four in every 

five of these are supplied by local 

farmers, with the rest of the demand 

met by cattle from Myanmar 

and India, according to the Department 

of Livestock Services (DLS). 

DLS data shows that of the 54.6 

million animals reared on 525,000 

farms across the country, 11.6 million 

of them are reared for Eid-ul- 

Azha. In 2016, a total of 10.5 million 

animals were sacrificed and this 

year, the DLS estimates the number 

will rise to 11.5 million. 

“There is an adequate number 

of (locally-reared) animals to meet 

the demand,” DLS Director General 

Ainul Haque said. 

Bangladesh Meat Merchants’ 

Association Secretary General Robiul 

Alam said: “To control the 

meat market we have to reduce the 

dependency on foreign cattle.” • 

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9 


DT

10 


DT 

News 

Rana Plaza owner gets three years’ jail in ACC case 

• Md Sanaul Islam Tipu 

COURTS 

A Dhaka court has sentenced Rana 

plaza owner Sohel Rana to three 

years imprisonment in a case filed 

for not submitting wealth statement 

to Anti-Corruption Commission 

(ACC). 

Judge KM Imrul Kayes of Dhaka 

Special Judges Court gave the verdict 

Tuesday afternoon. 

The court also fined him 

Tk50,000, in default, he will have 

to serve extra three months in jail. 

The trial against Rana began on 

March 23 after the court framed 

charges against him in the case 

filed by ACC Deputy Director Mahbubul 

Alam. The deputy director 

had filed the case with Ramna police 

station on May 20, 2015. 

On April 1, 2015, the ACC sent a 

notice to a senior jail superintendent 

of Kashimpur Jail in Gazipur 

where Rana remained detained to 

convey the message to him (Rana) 

that the ACC asked him to submit 

his wealth statement to it within 

ACC-stipulated time. 

On April 26, 2015, Rana sent back 

the notice without giving any information 

of his wealth statement. On 

behalf of Rana, his wife made a plea 

before the ACC seeking more time 

for submitting the wealth statement. 

First power plant fully 

funded by India to be 

set up in Bhola 

• Aminur Rahman Rasel 

POWER 

Power Development Board 

(PDB) signed a power purchase 

agreement (PPA) with 

Nutan Bidyut Bangladesh 

Limited on Monday to set up a 

220MW power plant in Bhola. 

Nutan Bidyut is a subsidiary 

of the Indian corporate giant 

Shapoorji Pallonji Infrastructure 

Capital Company Ltd. 

The combined-cycle power 

plant will be an independent 

power producer which will 

sell electricity to PDB for 22 

years. Authorities estimate the 

plant will supply the national 

grid by December 2019. 

The plant will produce 

220MW using natural gas, and 

212MW with diesel in case 

there is a gas shortage. 

The agreement was signed 

by PDB Secretary Masuduz-Zaman 

and Nutan Bidyut 

Bangladesh Limited Director J 

Sinha Mahapatra on Monday. 

The deal with Shapoorji 

Pallonji was struck under the 

Speedy Supply of Power and 

Energy (Special Provisions) Act 

2010. 

According to the agreement, 

PDB would purchase 

per unit at US Cent 3.9830 or 

Tk3.24 from the gas production 

and US Cent 16.9621 cent 

or Tk13.8 from the diesel unit. 

Currently, PDB operates a 

194MW combined cycle gasbased 

power plant in Bhola 

while a private firm called 

Venture Energy Resources 

Company Limited supplies 

33MW power from its own 

plant on a rental basis. 

State Minister for Power, 

Energy and Mineral Resources 

Nasrul Hamid attended the 

ceremony with Power Division 

Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus, 

Petrobangla Chairman Abul 

Mansur Md Faizullah and PDB 

Chairman Khaled Mahmood. 

The state minister praised 

the conditions which is encouraging 

greater foreign investment 

in Bangladesh. He 

emphasised that Germany 

and Sweden and several other 

European countries are also 

interested in investing in the 

power sector in Bangladesh. 

The interest is not without its 

reasons, as the minister stated 

that power demand is rising by 

10-20% or 2,000MW per year. 

State Minister Nasrul 

Hamid also hailed the project 

as the first power plant to 

be fully funded by an Indian 

company. • 

HC questions gazette on 

MBBS, BDS admission fees 


COURTS 

The High Court has issued a 

ruling asking why the government 

gazette that sets Tk19.90 

lakh as admission fee for MBBS 

and BDS courses in private 

medical and dental colleges 

should not be declared illegal. 

A bench of Justice M 

Enayetur Rahim and Justice 

Md Jahangir Hossain passed 

the order on Tuesday, reports 

BSS. 

The ruling asked for an explanation 

within four weeks 

The commission rejected the appeal 

on May 18, 2015 and approved filing 

a non-submission case. 

On April 28, 2013, Rana was arrested 

from Benapole while he was 

trying to flee to India. 

At least 1,136 people were killed 

in the Rana Plaza collapse on April 

24, 2013. • 

from the health secretary, director 

general of Directorate 

General of Health Services of 

Bangladesh Medical and Dental 

Council, vice-chancellor 

of Dhaka University and the 

board of directors of Dhaka 

National Medical College. 

The court came up with 

the order following a writ filed 

by Supreme Court lawyer Md 

Eunus Ali Akand. He filed the 

writ on Monday saying the gazette 

issued by the Ministry of 

Health and Family Welfare on 

October 26, 2014, is contrary to 

Article 27 of the Constitution. •

News 11 


DT 

McGill student 

missing from 

Dhanmondi 



COLLECTED 

Ishrak Ahmed, 20, a student 

at McGill University, Canada 

allegedly went missing from 

Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area 

three days ago. 

Ishrak was last seen near 

Star Kabab at Dhanmondi road 

no 15 around 8:30pm on Saturday, 

according to police and 

family. 

His father Jamaluddin 

Ahmed on Sunday lodged a 

general diary (GD) over his 

disappearance with the Dhanmondi 

police station, confirmed 

its Officer-in-Charge 

(OC) Abdul Latif. 

“Ishrak came to Dhaka 

on vacation in June. On the 

evening of August 26, he was 

with his friends in front of 

Eden Multi-care Hospital next 

to Star Kabab. In the CCTV 

video footage we collected, we 

saw Ishrak and his friend leave 

Star Kabab around 8:30pm. He 

then came back and left again 

towards Eden and then returned 

again to Star Kabab and 

then disappeared into the camera’s 

blind spot. There was no 

sign of him after that,” he said. 

The OC said police were 

also looking into possible ties 

to any militant or extremist 

group. 

He also said they tried to locate 

Ishrak through his mobile 

phone signal but it is currently 

turned off: “We also questioned 

his friends but they 

were unable to shed any light 

on his disappearance either.” 

The family also has not received 

any calls for ransom, 

police said. 

According to the GD his father 

filed, Ishrak, the eldest 

child of his parents, was wearing 

a pair of blue jeans and a 

blue shirt when he was last 

seen in public. 

His father, Jamaluddin told 

the Bangla Tribune: “We don’t 

know what happened to him. 

Our house is only minutes 

away from the place where he 

was last seen. We’re confused 

and scared.” • 

This article was first published 

on Bangla Tribune 

Radisson Blu Dhaka 

offers attractive 

Eid package 


METRO 

Located in the scenic outskirts 

of town, Radisson Blu Dhaka 

Water Garden is the flagship 

5 star luxury hotel in Dhaka. 

This Eid, it offers an attractive 

package for guests to enjoy 

its lavish upscale rooms, 

sumptuous dining outlets, spa 

and picturesque landscape. 

The package includes 

accommodation of single 

night for couple with 

complimentary breakfast at 

the Water Garden Brasserie 

restaurant. Guests will also 

receive complimentary pick 

up and drop by the hotel car 

around five kilometres radius 

in the city. 

Guests check in time is 

2pm and check out time 

is 12pm on the following 

day. Advance reservation is 

required for this package. All 

Bangladeshi nationals and 

foreign nationals residing in 

this country are eligible for 

this package. 

It will continue from 

September 1 till September 

10, 2017 and will cost only 

Tk15,999 (inclusive VAT and 

Service Charge). 

For more information, visit 

https://www.radissonblu. 

com/hotel-dhaka. •

DT 

12 

Editorial 


TODAY 

Teacher, lead 

the way 

Teach 300 children under a project, you 

are a celebrity. Forget the teachers who 

have taught for a lifetime 

PAGE 13 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

Play fair with the cattle markets 

Make medicine 

accessible to all 

The region’s economic status is 

changing for the better, a positive sign 

that, however, will lead to reduced 

access to medicines and vaccines 

PAGE 14 

Cattle markets are a big business in the capital 

during the Eid-ul-Azha season. 

Makeshift markets pop up at specific places 

in Dhaka every year, which tells us that a lot of 

land is getting leased out for that purpose. 

While the leasing of land is supposed to be a free and 

open process through bidding, the reality of the situation 

is that only a handful of people get the leases every year. 

The haats are almost always leased out to people in 

positions of power, mostly ruling party affiliates and 

ward councilors, profiting off the backs of tax-payers. 

This is not fair play. 

There is a good amount of money to be made by 

our city corporations through these leases, money 

that can be spent on improving our city. Instead, most 

of it gets pocketed by a few enterprising party men 

and administrative heads, effectively making this an 

oligopoly. 

This unscrupulous practice should be ended. 

The haats are almost 

always leased out to 

people in positions of 

power 

The wrong kind 

of attention 

Students are the ones who can take a 

strong stand against sexual harassment 

Be heard 

Write to Dhaka Tribune 

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, 

Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 

Send us your Op-Ed articles: 

opinion.trib@gmail.com 

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The views expressed in opinion 

articles are those of the authors 

alone and they are not the 

official view of Dhaka Tribune 

or its publisher. 

PAGE 15 

Save St Martin’s before it is too late 

St Martin’s Island is one of the most 

popular tourist destinations in the 

country for its natural, scenic appeal, 

sunshine, and tranquil waters. 

Yet, unless we take good care of it, we will 

surely lose all of the qualities that we love about 

this beautiful island. 

In fact, the island is already showing 

distressing signs of degradation. Pollution, poor 

waste-management, and illegal construction are 

causing severe and possibly irreversible damage 

to the environment and biodiversity there. 

According to a recent report by the 

Department of Environment, all of this is a direct 

consequence of rampant and unplanned tourism. 

Bangladesh is a country blessed with 

abundant natural resources that we can derive 

much utility from, but it is foolish to destroy 

them in the process. 

We hope the government will enforce proper 

regulations to save St Martin’s before it’s too late 

-- before we lose another precious gift of nature. 

Pollution, poor wastemanagement, 

and 

illegal construction are 

causing severe and 

possibly irreversible 

damage

Teacher, lead the way 

What happened to the joy of learning for its own sake? 

Opinion 13 

DT 


The classroom is where the magic is meant to happen 

RAJIB DHAR 

• Arpeeta Shams Mizan 

A 

while ago, one of my 

friends shared on 

Facebook a list of 15 

young Bangladeshis 

celebrated in the field of 

leadership. Going through the 

list, I could not help feel strange, 

because the list was basically 

dominated by people undertaking 

business and entrepreneurship 

ventures. 

Today’s Bangladesh, for good 

reason, has become the country 

for young entrepreneurs and startups. 

No matter what discipline the 

youth are studying, it is as if the 

most vibrant of the lot go for startup 

initiatives. Or so it seems. 

The “smartest” people are the 

ones who are in the business or 

social business sector. There are 

lots of trainings on leadership, 

entrepreneurship, and capacity 

building. 

But what is leadership? What 

is capacity building? Is it only 

the ability to design and run a 

breakthrough project for solving a 

socio-economic problem? 

Every once in a while, I need 

to remind myself that the society 

and the world is not besotted 

with business only. True, without 

business and entrepreneurship, 

society and economy won’t 

go very far. But one might 

wonder: Since when did capacity 

building and leadership become 

synonymous with start-ups and 

project management? 

Social business is the talk of 

the town. Everyone is set on 

creating their own company, 

everyone focused on setting up 

own non-profit initiative. Go to the 

bookstore, most of the best-sellers 

are books on motivation, problem 

solving, and project designing. 

But amidst this positive vibe, 

I feel a terrible absence. And I 

feel like the odd one out. Because 

when I hear the word “smart,” I 

picture a person who can analyse 

Wordsworth and Rabindranath’s 

interpretation of human life. 

When I hear the word 

“capable,” I see someone who 

cannot only innovate but also 

use old traditional solutions 

for new age conflicts, one who 

understands what is necessary 

may not be what is needed. 

When I hear the word “leader,” 

I think of a person who enables 

others to use their own qualities, 

who shows others how to know 

themselves. 

And I sadly notice that 

teaching, learning, and academia 

are not in a leadership position in 

today’s Bangladesh. 

The first leaders 

The first leaders in human 

history were the teachers, unless 

one argues that Socrates and 

Plato were not leaders. Today in 

Bangladesh, the word leadership 

does not convey the image of a 

teacher (and by teacher, I refer to 

primary, secondary, and higher 

secondary teachers as well as 

university faculty members). 

Teachers are now perceived as 

passive, bookish, disconnected 

from reality, and are pushed to the 

background. The critical problem 

solving skills of leadership 

are frequently attributed to 

entrepreneurs, and seldom to 

academics. 

The new age 

Ironically, teaching does get 

appreciated when done under the 

garb of entrepreneurship, social 

business, and start-ups. 

No one dreams to be a school 

teacher anymore, unless that 

comes with the perks of a branding 

in the garb of “teach English to 

underprivileged communities” 

sort of attire. Then, teaching 

becomes smart. Teach 300 

children under a project, you are a 

celebrity. Forget the teachers who 

have taught for a lifetime. Marketcentric 

is the new smart. Classic is 

the new archaic. 

And along with teaching, 

learning for the sake of gaining 

knowledge has also met its end. 

Everything today, including 

learning and reading, has become 

more or less market-centric. 

Classic subjects like literature, 

language, philosophy are 

“outdated” -- never mind that 

Oxbridge or Ivy Leagues still have 

the classic subjects as the most 

prestigious departments. 

In Bangladesh, we study 

literature if we don’t get better 

subjects in the admission test. 

Then we sidetrack it to ensure 

enough time to prepare for BCS or 

a business degree. 

Reading Gora, Gilgamesh, or 

War and Peace is a waste of time 

unless we are intending to write 

for publication. 

Read Mahabharata to launch 

an exciting gaming app. Enjoying 

Gopal Bhar’s witty comments 

towards Raja Krishnachandra is 

useless if they don’t teach us how 

to manage our boss. 

It is unnecessary to learn to 

identify the coarse textures of 

various hand-loom saris unless 

we don it for next season’s fashion 

statement. We don’t study home 

economics anymore, we study 

fashion designing or interior 

decoration. 

Teach 300 children under a project, you are a celebrity. Forget the 

teachers who have taught for a lifetime. Market-centric is the new smart 

Something was lost 

Nothing flourishes unless 

appreciated. Academia stopped 

flourishing because it stopped 

being appreciated. We set up 

ideation labs but not reading 

centres. We have leadership 

training but not innovative teacher 

training, we have capacity building 

workshops but no interdisciplinary 

learning programs. 

The school and college teachers 

are celebrated till the board 

exams. University faculty are 

acknowledged so long they receive 

media coverage through talk 

shows or roundtables. 

But not as leaders. They are 

just people who give lectures, and 

sometimes publish books which 

few read. If a teacher becomes a 

popular writer, she or he remains 

“the writer” more than the 

academic. 

And thus, we prepare for the 

market. And survive. But survival 

is not living. While racing to the 

top, we have forgotten the joys of 

learning. 

Yet, once in a while, we shall 

come across someone who reads 

books not to pick up smart quotes 

for presentations, but to enjoy a 

good book, who reads voraciously 

not to provide numerous 

references, but to introduce the 

students to the diversities of the 

world, who solves crossword 

puzzles not to sharpen competitive 

cognitive skills, but because it’s 

just fun, who thinks listening to 

the nature is worthwhile as much 

as listening to Ted talks. 

And may be that person will be 

considered backdated, impractical. 

But then … 

The wizards were preparing 

for their big show. They had set 

up the high-tech gizmos, which 

through the sound vibrator would 

create the ethereal magic. The 

inventor who had designed the 

show was happy. But the vibrator 

malfunctioned. 

The only solution was to read 

the rune incantations and create 

the vibration manually. The 

inventor couldn’t, he always used 

apps. The illusionists had never 

bothered to learn the obsolete 

language either. Then came 

the young wizard, mocked for 

studying ancient runes. Taking 

a look at the ancient scripture, 

he tuned his voice to create the 

vibration. 

And the day was saved. • 

Arpeeta Shams Mizan teaches law at 

University of Dhaka, and is a socio-legal 

analyst.

14 


DT 

Opinion 

Make medicine accessible to all 

For a healthier, more equitable region 

• Poonam Khetrapal Singh 

Access to medication 

is a critical factor for 

ensuring healthy lives 

and promoting the wellbeing 

of all people across all ages. 

Thanks to modern medical 

science, treatment in the form 

of medication now exists for 

almost all ailments, but essential 

medicine is still inaccessible to 

many people for reasons beyond 

their control. 

Affordability can be a barrier; 

the medicine may be in short 

supply due to delivery issues in 

distribution channels, making 

continuity of treatment difficult; 

it may be of sub-standard quality, 

making it less effective and 

potentially dangerous. 

The sentinel role of countries 

in terms of access to medicine has 

become more challenging than 

ever before, given the nature of 

the pathogens and reduction in 

time and space on travel. 

The rising concern of noncommunicable 

diseases requiring 

life course management makes 

access to medicine key for good 

health and prosperity. 

Ensuring that all people 

everywhere can access essential 

medicines is one of WHO South- 

East Asia’s priority areas of work 

and a key tool for achieving the 

Sustainable Development Goals 

agenda 2030 of health and wellbeing 

for all. 

In recent years, many countries 

have made notable progress in this 

regard. Affordability of priority 

medicines has increased, and 

supply has become steadier. 

Flexibilities in global trade 

agreements have been leveraged 

to reduce prices in several 

countries; there are numerous 

regional examples of improved 

public sector purchasing. 

The countries in the region have 

updated their Essential Medicines 

lists; supply-chain management 

systems have improved to be more 

effective and reliable. 

And action by countries to 

improve quality of medicines has 

accelerated. Many countries have 

included health as the top priority 

in national goals. But we could do 

better. 

Certain persistant inadequacies 

are yet to be addressed: Out-ofpocket 

spending -- including on 

essential medicines -- remains 

high; further, supply chains in 

some areas remain weak and 

countries lacking manufacturing 

capacity often cannot leverage 

competitive prices from suppliers. 

Despite challenges, the region’s 

Everyone everywhere should have access to essential medicines 

The region’s economic status is changing for the better, a positive sign 

that, however, will lead to reduced access to external financing for 

medicines and vaccines 

economic status is changing for 

the better, a positive sign that, 

however, will lead to reduced 

access to external financing for 

medicines and vaccines. This calls 

for self-reliance and collaboration 

among the countries in the region. 

WHO takes initiative 

The Southeast Asia region 

member countries, supported by 

WHO, launched South-East Asia 

Regulatory Network (SEARN) to 

enhance information sharing, 

collaboration and convergence 

of medical product regulatory 

practices across the region to 

guarantee access to high-quality 

medical products to their people. 

There are three key areas of 

action: First, countries keep their 

Essential Medicines List (EML) 

and medicines policy current. By 

developing clear accountability 

systems for medicine selection and 

procurement, health authorities 

can harness opportunities for 

access to affordable medicines. 

In response to the rising antimicrobial 

resistance, WHO experts 

have made major revisions in the 

antibiotics section of the EML, so 

countries in the region can follow 

the directions for proper antibiotic 

use. 

Also, across the region, 

countries are yet to capitalise on 

the massive drop in prices for a 

range of game-changing medicines 

-- most notably for Hepatitis C. 

Second, guarantee quality and 

affordability of medicines. 

The role of the National 

Regulator should be redefined 

to that of a facilitator for quality 

production. 

This entails providing 

adequate technical assistance 

and handholding for achieving 

quality standards at the level of 

manufacturing as well. Countries 

should continue with targeted 

quality control and testing of 

medicines that are sub-standard 

or falsified. 

From manufacture to sale, 

locally produced medicines 

should always meet international 

standards. 

For affordability, the emphasis 

is on promoting competition, 

implementing a series of price 

control measures, encouraging 

doctors to prescribe generics, and 

regulating wholesale and retail 

mark-ups. 

Developing pricing strategies 

linked to health insurance 

programs, especially where 

national schemes are in place, 

is equally important. Further, 

countries can actively exploit 

flexibilities in global trade 

agreements and bargain 

collectively when negotiating with 

medicine manufacturers. 

The SEARN can help make 

regulation more efficient by 

BIGSTOCK 

developing the region’s diverse 

capacities and strengths, with 

significant gains. 

Third, generating high-quality 

information on access to essential 

medicines within the countries so 

that the problems may be better 

addressed.Knowing where and 

why people are facing shortages, 

where unsafe or ineffective 

medicines are being sold, is 

essential to developing lasting 

solutions. 

From smart-phone apps to 

household surveys, the array of 

tools at health authorities’ disposal 

is extensive.By using them 

effectively, authorities can gather 

the information needed to make 

smart, high-impact interventions 

that drive life-changing gains. 

Essential medicines should 

be accessible to all, to achieve 

universal health coverage. 

Supported by a clear vision, the 

dream of health equity and the 

Sustainable Development Goals 

of health and wellbeing for all are 

within reach. 

A healthier, more equitable and 

sustainable Southeast Asia Region 

can be ours. • 

Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh is the 

Regional Director of the World Health 

Organization South-East Asia Region.

Opinion 15 

The wrong kind of attention 

We need to talk more about sexual harassment 

DT 


But this isn’t always that 

easy, especially when the media 

is dragged in. Although there 

are some news media that are 

concerned about the victim and 

hide his/her identity, there are 

others that fail to conceal the 

victim’s identity for petty profits, 

which makes the life of the victim 

all the more difficult. 

This is mostly why many 

victims do not want to seek legal 

justice. 

Sadly, society is of no help. 

Most people try to blame the 

victim for the harasser’s offense, 

or say it is a plot to extort money. 

So unless we evolve into a good, 

supportive society, victims will 

think twice before taking the 

matter to the police. 

Considering the effects on the 

victim, the best way to deal with 

sexual harassment is to have an 

ironclad policy in the university 

and a safe, supportive, nonjudgmental 

environment for the 

victims so they can easily get 

the assistance and justice they 

deserve. 

Do we have a system in place to complain about harassment? 

BIGSTOCK 

The government can help 

The government can take many 

practical steps such as including 

the topic in textbooks, requiring 

every educational institute to have 

a strict policy about it, establishing 

a special hotline to report 

• Niaz Islam Arif 

What is “sexual 

harassment”? 

The answer is 

simple: Any kind 

of unwanted activity directed 

at a particular person, which is 

sexually offensive in nature, is 

sexual harassment. 

It could happen in different 

forms: Verbal, non-verbal, or 

physical -- such as spreading 

rumours, lewd jokes, comments 

on personal choices, and 

unwanted physical contact. 

As society advances, people are 

using new ways to harass others 

via things like fake photos, social 

media, text, email, etc. University 

students, especially female 

students, are some of the primary 

victims of sexual harassment. 

In Bangladesh, now and then, 

we hear about some harassment 

of university students by their 

own professors, but they are 

not the only victims. Moreover 

their professors are not the only 

offenders. 

A university student often gets 

harassed by classmates, seniors, 

lovers, and in some cases, even 

by the staff. It is also true that the 

harasser could be of the same sex 

as the victim. To stand against 

this social menace, we can take 

precautions, but even that fails to 

guarantee its prevention -- but the 

most effective measures can be 

taken by the victim. 

Speak up 

When facing any sort of 

harassment, the best way to deal 

with it is to speak up. One has to 

speak instantly when it occurs, 

and tell the harasser in a definitive 

manner to stop doing it, regardless 

of how trivial the offense may 

seem. Because, when someone 

does not protest small matters, it 

often paves the way for serious 

offenses. 

And sometimes, the offender 

is unaware of the fact that his/ 

her actions are hurting someone 

else or that for someone else, it is 

an invasion of personal space. In 

those cases, if the victim speaks 

up, then the harasser understands 

his own fault. 

And if the victim feels shy 

about talking to the offender, then 

this could be handled in several 

other ways too. 

Victims could write anonymous 

letters or send an email to the 

harasser explaining the incident 

that troubled her/him. And it is 

always a good idea to keep a copy 

of the letter or email as it can be 

used as evidence in the future, 

in case the offender does not 

cooperate. 

If things start to get out of 

hand, then students must speak 

up, loudly and clearly. In many 

cases, the offender gets scared 

when someone asks loudly to stop, 

because he/she fears that someone 

may hear and come to the rescue. 

Fortunately, we now live in an 

era of technology where victims 

can easily use that for his/her 

defense -- by voice recording, 

taking pictures, and making 

videos. 

And to be on the safe side, 

victims should write down the 

offensive act in a diary or in an 

electronic device with all the 

details. 

It is always a good idea to 

inform someone else about the 

harassment, like a close friend or 

a classmate, so that someone else 

can also look out for the victim 

and at times can speak on behalf of 

the victim. 

The next step is to involve the 

appropriate university authority in 

the matter. 

Educational institutions can 

do a lot to help victims. Every 

institute should have a definitive 

policy on how to handle such 

matters. 

Often, the victim gets blamed 

for the offender’s crime. University 

authorities have to be very 

cautious, and make sure that it 

does not happen. 

If the university doesn’t have 

such a policy, then students 

should talk to the faculty about it, 

and ask the policy-makers to make 

one. Even then, if they fail to do 

so, students should take further 

action. 

University students can also 

increase awareness by arranging 

seminars, workshops, street plays, 

etc around the campus. They can 

distribute informational leaflets 

and put up posters so that every 

student knows what they can do 

when they face sexual harassment. 

Break the taboo 

The more we talk about it and let 

people know about it, the better. 

Students are the 

ones who can take a 

strong stand against 

sexual harassment 

incidences of sexual harassment, 

providing shelter, and ensuring 

safe passage of the victims to 

normal life. 

Students themselves are the 

ones who can take a strong stand 

against the sexual harassment 

that goes on within their own 

institutions. They have to 

stick together to fight sexual 

harassment. They have to 

support each other and always 

be conscious of what is going on 

around them. 

If students set an example for 

society, other people will soon 

follow. Hopefully, one day, we 

will be able to live in a beautiful 

society free from such horrible 

sexual harassment. • 

Niaz Islam Arif is a freelance contributor.

16 


DT 

Downtime 

CROSSWORD 

ACROSS 

1 Apportion (5) 

4 Scourge (4) 

7 Roof of the mouth (6) 

8 Numeral (5) 

10 Period of time (4) 

11 Result from (5) 

12 Decay (3) 

14 Building cover (4) 

17 Easy pace (4) 

19 Wildebeest (3) 

20 Inconsiderate speed (5) 

23 Destiny (4) 

25 Ranks (5) 

26 Meddle (6) 

27 Festivity (4) 

28 Dissolves (5) 

DOWN 

1 State as true (6) 

2 Frank (4) 

3 Makes brown (4) 

4 Thickness (5) 

5 Consumed (3) 

6 Time of the year (6) 

9 Power of rejecting (4) 

13 Much ornamented (6) 

15 S-shaped moulding (4) 

16 Bothers (6) 

18 Motif (5) 

21 Slender support (4) 

22 Weary (4) 

24 Make lace (3) 

CODE-CRACKER 

How to solve: Each number in our 

CODE-CRACKER grid represents a 

different letter of the alphabet. For 

example, today 23 represents D so fill D 

every time the figure 23 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

Biz Info 

Conference for the heads of BGB-run 

educational institutions held 

Art competition held to 

commemorate World 

Ozone Day 2017 

17 


DT 

• Features Desk 

A four-day-long conference on 

‘What an ideal school should 

look like’ started on August 28 

at Pilkhana with all the heads of 

BGB-run educational institutions. 

The event was inaugurated by 

the Director General of Border 

Guards Bangladesh Maj Gen 

Abul Hossain at the Captain 

Shaheed Ashraf Hall. A total 

of 24 heads of educational 

institutions in different BGB 

units across the country are 

attending the conference. During 

the inauguration ceremony 

teachers from Birshreshtha Noor 

Mohammad Public College, 

Birshreshtha Munshi Abdur Rouf 

Public College and high ranking 

BGB officials were present, a 

press release from BGB said. 

The BGB Director General said 

that human resources are most 

valuable and that is why there is 

no alternative to education for 

turning the future generation into 

human resources. “The use of 

information and communications 

technology in the education 

sector of the country has reached 

international standards. We are 

doing our best to achieve the 

desirable improvements in the 

BGB-run institutions. To that 

end, the role of the heads of 

these institutions is vital,” said 

Director General Hossain. He 

said that the feedback from the 

attending institutional heads will 

be considered very seriously in 

achieving the goals. Maj Gen Abul 

Hossain also praised the efforts 

of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina 

saying that she has been working 

relentlessly to ensure hundred 

percent education in the country. 

BGB Guimara sector 

commander Colonel Abdullah 

Al Mamun presented a keynote 

speech at the beginning of the 

conference explicating the 

goals and other aspects of the 

four-day event. The summary 

and recommendations from 

the discussions during the 

conference will be presented to 

the Minister for Education Nurul 

Islam Nahid on the concluding 

day of the conference on August 

31. • 

An art competition for children 

was organised on August 26 at the 

Bangladesh Shishu Academy to 

observe World Ozone Day 2017. 

The winners of the competition 

will be awarded at a seminar to 

be held on September 16 marking 

the International Day for the 

Preservation of the Ozone Layer. 

Around 400 participants took part 

in the art competition organised by 

the Department of Environment, 

Government of Bangladesh, in 

three different categories. 

Abdullah Al Islam Jacob, 

honourable deputy minister, 

Ministry of Forest and Environment 

and Md Raisul Alam Mondol, 

director general, Department of 

Environment were present at the 

occasion to encourage the young 

participants. • 

Extravagant Eid Seafood Festival 

at Six Seasons Hotel 

NSTU and Agrani Bank sign agreement 

worth Tk50 crore 

Noakhali Science and Technology 

University (NSTU) and Agrani 

bank have signed a corporate 

wholesale loan agreement worth 

Tk50 crore on Sunday, August 27 

at the university’s auditorium. 

Prof M Wahiduzzaman, vicechancellor, 

Dr Md Abul Hossian, 

pro vice-chancellor and Prof Md 

Mominul Haque, registrar signed 

the agreement on behalf of the 

university while Md Manzurul 

Karim, manager, Agrani Bank 

NSTU branch signed on behalf of 

the bank. 

Dr Md Ashraful Alam, associate 

professor, ACCE department, Dr 

Md Hanif, associate professor, 

mathematics department, Abdul 

Jalil, director, accounts and 

Prof Md Yusuf Miah, president, 

Teachers’ association, NSTU were 

present at the ceremony among 

others. • 

During Eid-Ul-Adha, there is no 

getting away from the aroma of 

fresh and mouth-watering red meat. 

To complement the joys of our 

sacrifice, Six Seasons has arranged a 

predominantly seafood buffet. 

Hosted at Sky Pool, Six Seasons’ 

picturesque, poolside rooftop 

restaurant, it promises to be one 

unforgettable event. The festival 

will be composed of a plethora of 

options including a Live Kabab 

Station, Live Pasta Station, Live 

Sweet and Savoury Crepe Station, 

and the first outdoor live 

Pizza Station in Dhaka. 

Along with the live attractions, 

the buffet will also contain 

specialties such as grilled prawns, 

whole tandoori pomfret, tuna 

steak, sizzling calamari, whole 

steamed fish, spicy masala crab, 

and some white and red meat 

thrown in for good measure. 

The extravagant affair will 

be priced at Tk. 3499 net, with 

an offer of “buy one get one 

free” with selected banks and 

telecommunication partners. The 

festival will run from August 31 to 

September 9, 2017. 

For details, call 01987009810.•

DT 

18 

Sports 


1ST TEST, DAY 3 

BANGLADESH 1ST INN 260 IN 78.5 

OVERS (Shakib 84, Tamim 71) 

AUSTRALIA 1ST INN 217 IN 74.5 OVERS 

(Shakib 5/68, Miraz 3/62) 

BANGLADESH 2ND INN OVERNIGHT 

45/1 IN 22 OVERS R B 

Tamim c Wade b Cummins 78 155 

Taijul lbw b Lyon 4 22 

Imrul c Warner b Lyon 2 18 

Mushfiq run out (Lyon) 41 114 

Shakib c Cummins b Lyon 5 11 

Sabbir c Handscomb b Lyon 22 36 

Nasir c Wade b Agar 0 4 

Miraz c Khawaja b Lyon 26 35 

Shafiul c Handscomb b Lyon 9 28 

Mustafizur not out 0 1 

Extras (b 15, lb 3, w 1) 19 

Total all out (79.3 Overs) 221 

Bowling 

Hazlewood 4.1-2-3-0, Cummins 14-3-38-1, 

Lyon 34.3-10-82-6, Maxwell 5-0-24-0, 

Agar 20.5-2-55-2, Khawaja 1-0-1-0 

Fall Of Wickets 

2-61 (Taijul), 3-67 (Imrul), 4-135 (Tamim), 

5-143 (Shakib), 6-186 (Mushfiq), 7-186 

(Nasir), 8-186 (Sabbir), 9-214 (Shafiul), 

10-221 (Miraz) 

AUSTRALIA 2ND INNINGS R B 

Warner not out 75 96 

Renshaw lbw b Miraz 5 20 

Khawaja c Taijul b Shakib 1 6 

Smith not out 25 58 

Extras (b 3) 3 

Total (30 Overs) 109/2 

Yet to bat 

Lyon, Handscomb, Maxwell, Wade, Agar, 

Cummins and Hazlewood 

Bowling 

Miraz 14-2-51-1, Nasir 3-2-2-0, Shakib 8-2- 

28-1, Taijul 4-0-17-0, Mustafizur 1-0-8-0 

Fall Of Wickets 

1-27 (Renshaw), 2-28 (Khawaja) 

Australia need 158 more runs to win 

Australia’s Dave Warner drives the ball during day three of their first Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur yesterday 

Australia wrest initiative 

away from Bangladesh 

• Minhaz Uddin Khan 

Bangladesh need to pick up another 

eight wickets and defend 

156 runs following the conclusion 

of the third day’s play of their first 

Test match against Australia in Mirpur’s 

Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium 

yesterday. 

Batsmen David Warner and Steven 

Smith remained unbeaten on 

75 and 25 respectively to keep the 

visiting side at bay in the game 

which so far has swung like a pendulum. 

However, opener Tamim Iqbal’s 

78 in the second innings was the 

only highlight for the host on the 

day. 

Chasing 265, Australia were 

in early trouble owing to ace 

all-rounder Shakib al Hasan and 

off-spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz’s 

efforts. 

Miraz removed opener Matt 

Renshaw for five while Shakib just 

six deliveries later dismissed No 3 

Usman Khawaja for one to leave 

the Aussies reeling on 28 for two. 

Smith had given chances to 

Bangladesh but they were tough to 

say the least. 

The Australia captain was first 

involved in a close stumping call 

and then gifted a catch at short-leg, 

which practically was tough for the 

fielder to take. 

The next 20 remaining overs of 

the day saw Warner and Smith add 

81 unbroken runs to the chase for 

the third wicket stand and complicate 

a possible maiden Test win 

against the Aussies for Bangladesh. 

The situation for Bangladesh 

would have been better if not for 

yet another poor show with the 

bat. 

Tamim and nightwatchman 

Taijul Islam resumed the second 

innings on day three with the momentum 

of leading the game by 88 

runs with nine wickets in hand. 

Tamim, the Tigers’ Test vice 

captain, registered his second 

half-century of the game. 

The Chittagong lad was composed, 

just like the first innings, 

and had done almost everything 

according to the book to deserve a 

century to mark his 50th Test. 

Resuming on 30, Tamim lost two 

partners before captain Mushfiqur 

Rahim joined him in the middle. 

The Tigers lost Taijul (four) early 

but that should not have affected 

the plan of putting as many runs as 

possible on the board. 

Top-order batsman Imrul Kayes 

failed once again in the game, this 

time contributing only two. 

Mushfiq and his deputy Tamim 

took charge of the show and posted 

68 for the fourth wicket. 

Tamim was then removed as 

his gloves kissed a snorting short 

ball from fast bowler Pat Cummins 

which flew through to wicket-keeper 

Matthew Wade, who 

MD MANIK 

grabbed an overhead chance. 

Mushfiq added 41 before getting 

run out in unfortunate fashion. 

Mushfiq was standing just outside 

the crease when on-strike 

batsman Sabbir Rahman hit a 

straight drive. 

The ball clipped spinner Nathan 

Lyon’s fingers on way to hit the 

non-striker’s stumps. 

This was followed by a lower-order 

collapse as the last five wickets 

fell for just 35 to allow Australia to 

come back in the game. 

Lyon bagged most credit for the 

Aussie fightback with his six for 82. 

Lyon found turn and sharp 

bounce from the pitch to trouble 

the Bangladesh batsmen and record 

his best second-innings performance 

in an Asian Test. 

The home side had only Sabbir 

and Miraz who reached double figures 

as the others, including Shakib 

and all-rounder Nasir Hossain, fell 

cheaply. •

Cummins: We’re in 

a great position 

• Ali Shahriyar Bappa 

Australia are on course to chase 

down the 265-run target set by 

Bangladesh as two of their most 

experienced batsmen in the form 

of David Warner and Steve Smith 

are both well set, having finished 

day two’s play with a solid batting 

display. 

Visiting paceman Pat Cummins 

admitted that the Aussies are in 

a good position to win the Test 

match but said the first hour of day 

four would be extremely crucial. 

“I think it is a great position. I 

think the pitch seems to have mellowed 

out a little bit compared to 

day one. I mean, I think keeping our 

target to 260 really kept us in the 

game and to finish off [yesterday 

night] like we did, if we have a good 

first hour [today] it should really set 

the game up. So I think we’re in a 

great position,” Cummins told the 

media after the day’s proceedings 

in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National 

Cricket Stadium yesterday. 

Warner played a pivotal role in 

Australia’s surge during the difficult 

run chase and Cummins said 

the left-handed opener changed 

the mindset of chasing with his 

quickfire unbeaten half-century. 

“David Warner is such a big 

player for us and you could just see 

it in his eye when he was out there. 

He was so focused. We always say 

‘be the bull’ and he looked like he 

was ‘the bull’ out there; just focussed 

and taking the game on. He 

got his 50 rapidly and I think it just 

changes the whole momentum but 

also the mindset for the other batsmen 

who are to come in, just taking 

the game on. It is great,” explained 

the right-arm pacer. 

Cummins took the crucial wicket 

of opener Tamim Iqbal when the 

Bangladesh cricketer was heading 

towards his ninth hundred and 

give the Tigers a healthy lead. 

The brilliant delivery that get rid 

of Tamim was crucial in the context 

of the match and Cummins 

gave credit to wicket-keeper Matthew 

Wade and all-rounder Glenn 

Maxwell for reviewing the original 

decision. 

“I think it just kicked off a 

length. I think the pitch is doing a 

couple of little things every now 

and then but it was just one that 

happened to kick up a bit and fortunately 

hit the glove,”said the 24- 

year old. 

“I thought I heard something 

but I normally hear things when I 

bowl. It was actually Matty Wade, 

he definitely heard something. 

Glenn Maxwell at point (also heard 

it). They’re pretty good behind the 

stumps, Matty Wade doesn’t get 

too many wrong. He’s got a theory 

when point also hears something 

it’s normally a spot. It was a pretty 

good view, it was only a faint nick,” 

he concluded. • 

Nathan Lyon bowls as Tamim Iqbal looks on 

Tamim rues dismissal 

• Tribune Report 

Bangladesh’s need to have spin 

tracks in domestic cricket has 

been questioned and discussed 

abundantly over time. 

But there has hardly been any 

effort made to work on what has 

been said or claimed repeatedly 

as playing cricket on flat tracks, 

favouring the batsmen, remain 

the norm in domestic tournaments. 

It should not be complicated 

for one to understand that not 

having sporty wickets in domestic 

competition only makes the 

situation tough for a batsman 

when they are playing an international 

match at home. 

The wickets in international 

games played in Bangladesh 

are made to aid the home side’s 

spinners but make the operation 

tough for the batsmen. 

Scenarios are not rare for 

Bangladesh batsmen failing 

to counter the opponent spinners, 

much the first Test match 

against Australia in Mirpur’s 

Sports 

Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. 

The host were in total control 

of the game until day three, 

yesterday, when the majority of 

the Bangladesh batsmen failed 

to resist the Australia spinners 

in the shape of Nathan Lyon and 

Ashton Agar. 

Bangladesh in their second 

innings had only opener Tamim 

Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim who 

offered any kind of resistance as 

others crumbled around them, 

thus setting the visiting side a 

265-run target. 

“My question is how many 

times do we get to play in these 

wickets in domestic cricket? 

We only play in these wickets 

during international matches 

(at home), because it gives us 

an advantage over the foreign 

side. We are busy with grassy 

wickets in domestic cricket although 

we never play in those in 

international matches at home. 

This thinking has to change. 

We tour once or twice a year in 

places where we confront grassy 

The ball clips the non-striker’s stumps after deflecting off Lyon’s hands as 

Mushfiqur Rahim watches on helplessly 

COURTESY 

MD MANIK 

wickets. I feel that if we want 

to play international matches 

in these surfaces, we should do 

the same in domestic cricket. At 

least one or two grounds should 

have these wickets so that it creates 

a habit,” Bangladesh Test 

vice-captain Tamim told the 

media at the post-day press conference. 

Tamim topped Bangladesh’s 

innings with his 78 runs to mark 

his 50th Test. 

Tamim on the day was well 

on track to set a big score for the 

Tigers. 

But uneven bounce from 

pacer Pat Cummins saw the ball 

brush Tamim’s glove as it ended 

into the safe hands of wicket-keeper 

Matthew Wade. 

The dismissal broke a 68- 

run stand for the fourth wicket 

between Tamim and captain 

Mushfiqur Rahim and started 

a late order debacle as Bangladesh 

went from a relatively good 

score of 135 for four wickets to 

221 all out. 

“There shouldn’t be any 

questions about the way I got 

out [yesterday]. It was not in my 

control. I think in both innings I 

worked very hard and deserved 

at least one hundred, but you 

never know what’s coming next 

in this wicket,” said Tamim. 

Australia need another 156 

with eight wickets and two days 

in hand. 

A result is quite possible by 

today and Bangladesh’s first job 

will be to remove the dangerous 

David Warner and skipper Steven 

Smith in order to pull the 

rope towards them and go for 

their maiden Test win against 

Australia. • 

19 


PLAYS OF THE DAY 

Hazlewood goes off early 

Australia lost key paceman Josh Hazzlewood 

quite early on day two. Hazlewood bowled three 

overs on day one. On day two, the tall right-arm 

fast bowler bowled only one over before suddenly 

feeling uncomfortable in his second over. 

He eventually left the field. In his second over, he 

clutched his left side, before signaling to captain 

Steve Smith that he would need the problem to 

be assessed. He did not return in the entire second 

innings and thus, Australia had to bowl with 

one pacer as the right-armer Pat Cummins took 

the workload solely upon his shoulders. Later a 

Cricket Australia spokesperson confirmed that 

he’d pulled up with a “sore side”. 

Positive intent from Bangladesh batsmen 

Opener Tamim Iqbal hit a boundary in the very 

first ball of the day. That indicates the intention 

from Bangladesh. After top-order batsman 

Imrul Kayes and nightwatchman Taijul Islam 

got out, captain Mushfiqur Rahim came out to 

bat. As Tamim was calm and composed at the 

other end, Mushfiq was equally on song. Then 

came a flighted delivery from off-spinner Nathan 

Lyon. Mushfiq charged down the ground and 

smashed the delivery over the mid wicket fence 

for a six. There was fielder at long on and deep 

mid wicket. The ball was turning and sometimes 

even bounced awkwardly. But the Tigers captain 

showed aggression and gave the message that 

the Tigers are indeed in the driving seat. 

From 186/5 to 186/8! 

Bangladesh were batting well and piling runs 

against Australia. Muhfiq and middle-order batsman 

Sabbir Rahman was batting well and scoring 

valuable runs. Then Muhfiq got out in unlucky 

fashion, or should we say brilliance from Lyon 

in the last ball of the 68th over. It was a flight 

delivery in the trajectory of the middle- and offstump. 

Sabbir ran down and hammered his drive 

straight back to Lyon, who got a bit of a hand 

on that as the ball deflected onto the stumps. 

Mushfiq was late to realise and react. Australia 

clinched a vital breakthrough. Such moments of 

brilliance often bring good fortune. And that’s 

what exactly happened. That run out certainly 

ignited the Australians and they produced a fine 

bowling performance at the end as Bangladesh 

were reduced to 186/5 to 186/8 in between 

overs 67.5 overs to 69.1. After Mushfiq’s run out, 

Bangladesh lost both Sabbir and all-rounder Nasir 

Hossan’s wickets within just nine balls. And so 

the momentum swung in Australia’s favour. 

Soumya’s costly dropped catch 

Australia were under pressure while chasing 265 

on a difficult pitch. At the end of the day, the dangerous 

David Warner played a great knock to keep 

Australia in the chase. But the left-hander gave a 

chance in the eighth over towards first slip against 

left-arm spinner Shakib al Hasan’s bowling. But 

fielder Soumya Sarkar missed it. It was a bad miss 

from the first slip fielder as he was kind of frightened 

to catch the ball. And that dropped proved 

costly at the end as Warner was not on 75 and 

leading from the front with a superb counter-attacking 

batting display to edge Australia ahead of 

Bangladesh. One tough catch was also dropped of 

captain Steve Smith off youngster Mehedi Hasan 

Miraz’s bowling in the 13th over as Imrul failed to 

hold onto the ball at silly mid on. But it was hit hard 

and it was a really tough chance. Soumya’s miss at 

first slip was horrible and at the end of the day, that 

dropped opportunity remains a big regret. 

Ali Shahriyar Amin 

DT

20 


DT 

Sports 

Hazlewood 

ruled out of 

Chittagong Test 

• Ali Shahriyar Bappa 

Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood 

has been ruled out of the 

Chittagong Test match against 

Bangladesh, starting on Monday, 

due to injury. 

The tall right-arm pacer bowled 

only seven balls on day two and felt 

discomfort. 

He eventually left the field and 

did not return in the entire second 

innings of Bangladesh. 

Fellow Australian paceman Pat 

Cummins confirmed the news during 

the post-match press conference 

yesterday. 

“He’s going to be really hard to 

replace. He’s played all but one 

of the last 30 Tests. He said it is 

going to be pretty hard sitting at 

home watching, he hasn’t done 

that for three or four years. So 

he’s a big member around the 

group. I am going to miss having 

dinner with him every night,” 

Cummins told the media in 

Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National 

Cricket Stadium. 

“But we have got Jackson Bird 

waiting in the wings which is 

great. He’s been bowling beautifully. 

Again, someone who has 

been around the team a long time 

and been bowling really well. Had 

some great performances for Australia 

in the past as well. It’s not 

good to miss Joshy, but we’re lucky 

we have such a strong squad over 

here,” he said. 

However, Hazelwood will bat if 

needed during their chase of 265, 

set by Bangladesh. 

Australia have Bird as the third 

seamer and all-rounder Hilton Catteright 

in the squad. 

But Bird is likely to get the nod 

for the second and final Test. The 

second Test will be held at Zahur 

Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. • 

Maria Sharapova of Russia in action against Simona Halep of Romania during their US Open first round match at Flushing Meadows on Monday 

Sharapova wins Slam return, ousts Halep at US Open 

• AFP, New York 

Former world No 1 Maria Sharapova 

made a triumphant return to Grand 

Slam competition Monday after a 

15-month doping ban, outlasting 

second-ranked Simona Halep 6-4, 

4-6, 6-3 at the US Open. 

The 30-year-old Russian, who 

had only one hardcourt tuneup 

match due to a nagging forearm 

injury, swatted 60 winners with 64 

unforced errors, setting the tempo 

and baffling Halep at times in a 

tension-packed thriller. 

Sharapova, who tested positive 

for meldonium at last year’s Australian 

Open, improved to 7-0 in 

her all-time rivalry with Halep, 

extending her mastery over the 

25-year-old Romanian. 

An emotional Sharapova punctuated 

her shotmaking, at times erratic 

and other moments spectacular, 

with screams and fist pumps. 

She was energetic even at rest, 

closing her eyes and bouncing her 

legs as she sat between sets. 

After the final point, Sharapova 

dropped to her knees in tears as a replay 

appeal showed what she already 

knew. She later battled back tears as 

she blew kisses to spectators, sobbed 

at times and mouthed “Thank you” 

Monaco sign Jovetic from Inter 

• Reuters 

French champion AS Monaco have 

signed striker Stevan Jovetic from 

Italy’s Inter Milan on a four-year 

contract for an undisclosed fee, the 

Ligue 1 and Serie A clubs said yesterday. 

Montenegro international 

Jovetic joined Inter Milan from 

Manchester City on a permanent 

basis in January after an 

18-month loan spell at the Italian 

club. 

The 27-year-old spent the latter 

half of last season on loan at La 

Liga side Sevilla, where he scored 

seven goals and provided five assists 

in 24 appearances for the 

Spanish club. • 

Montenegro’s Stevan Jovetic poses with a Monaco jersey 

INTERNET 

REUTERS 

to fans that were devoted throughout 

the two hour and 45 minute drama. 

Sharapova, whose major titles 

include the 2006 US Open, advanced 

to a second-round matchup 

against Hungarian Timea Babos, 

whom she has never played. 

Sharapova won only 5 of 22 

break points in the match while 

Halep won 4 of 10 and produced 

only 15 winners against 14 unforced 

errors. 

It was Sharapova’s first Grand 

Slam match since a quarter-final 

loss to Serena Williams in last 

year’s Australian Open. 

Sharapova, ranked 146th, returned 

in April but the French Open 

snubbed Sharapova for a wildcard 

entry and she missed Wimbledon 

with a thigh injury. 

Sharapova walked onto the 

court at Arthur Ashe Stadium to 

rousing applause. She wore a black 

dress, visor, socks and shoes, the 

same style she sported in taking 

the trophy nine years ago on the 

New York hardcourts. 

Halep hit a backhand long to 

hand Sharapova a break and 2-0 

lead in the last set and the Russian 

held to the finish, escaping a break 

point in the final game when Halep 

netted a forehand. • 

Dortmund sign Yarmolenko 

• Reuters, Berlin 

Borussia Dortmund signed Ukraine 

winger Andriy Yarmolenko from 

Dynamo Kiev on Monday, quickly 

replenishing their squad after selling 

attacking midfielder Ousmane 

Dembele to Barcelona three days 

ago. 

The 27-year-old, who will wear 

the number nine shirt, has spent 

his entire professional career at 

Dynamo, making 339 appearances 

over the course of 11 seasons and 

scoring 137 goals. 

“I’m very grateful that Dynamo 

Kiev have allowed me to fulfil my 

dream by moving to a big European 

club,” he said in a statement on 

Dortmund’s website. 

“I will work hard in training to 

help BVB reach their highest goals.” 

France international Dembele, 

who scored 10 goals and provided 

20 assists in all competitions to 

help Dortmund finish third in the 

Bundesliga last season, was sold 

to Barca on Friday for 105m euros 

($125m). 

The deal’s add-ons will make it 

the second most expensive transfer 

of all time. 

Yarmolenko, who won three 

Ukrainian league titles with Dynamo, 

has made 69 appearances for 

Ukraine, scoring 29 goals. 

“Andriy is a player we’ve been 

following for some time,” said 

Dortmund’s sporting director Michael 

Zorc. •

Sports 

21 


DT 

Hope, Brathwaite 

shine again as WI 

scent win 

• Reuters, London 

Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope 

reprised their first innings heroics 

to give West Indies the scent of the 

most unlikely of victories on an 

engrossing final day of the second 

Test against England at Headingley 

yesterday. 

The pair, who had both scored 

hundreds while putting on 246 first 

time around, again combined superbly, 

compiling another century 

partnership to leave the visitors 

on 199 for three at tea in pursuit of 

their target of 322, with a minimum 

of 35 overs to come. 

The Windies, whose pitiful performance 

in the innings defeat 

at Edgbaston in the first Test had 

prompted much criticism, again responded 

with remarkable resilience 

as they reduced their target for levelling 

the three-match series to 123. 

Yet when Moeen Ali tempted 

Brathwaite into a drive just before 

tea to have him caught at first slip 

by Ben Stokes for 95, it left this 

most excellent of contests on an 

even sharper knife edge. • 

Chelsea set to sign Oxlade- 

Chamberlain, says report 

• BBC 

Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 

is on the brink of 

joining Premier League champion 

Chelsea, reports bbc.com. 

Oxlade-Chamberlain, 24, will be 

out of contract next summer and 

has refused to sign a new deal at 

Emirates Stadium. 

Chelsea have declined to comment 

but it is understood they 

have agreed a transfer fee with 

their London rivals for the England 

international. 

Liverpool have also shown an interest 

and could still make an offer 

for the former Southampton player. 

DAY’S WATCH 

CRICKET 

STAR SPORTS SELECT HD 1 

9:50AM 

Australia Tour Of Bangladesh 

1st Test, Day 4 

SONY SIX HD 

5:00AM (Thursday) 

Caribbean Premier League 2017 

Jamaica Tallawahs v St Kitts and Nevis 

Patriots 

TENNIS 

STAR SPORTS SELECT HD 1 

9:00PM 

US Open Tennis 2017 

West Indies' Kraigg Brathwaite bats during their second Test against England in Leeds 

Oxlade-Chamberlain has started 

every game for the Gunners so far 

this season, including Sunday’s 4-0 

defeat at Liverpool, when he was 

substituted. 

The midfielder would be Chelsea’s 

fifth major signing of the summer 

following the arrivals of striker 

Alvaro Morata, goalkeeper Willy 

Caballero, defender Antonio Rudiger 

and midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko. 

Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has 

made 198 appearances for Arsenal 

since joining them from Southampton 

in August 2011, would be the 

first arrival since the Italian said he 

wanted to sign four more players. 

The Blues have allowed a host 

of players - including defenders 

John Terry, Nathan Ake and 

Kurt Zouma, and midfielder 

Nemanja Matic - to leave this 

summer, while last season’s top 

scorer Diego Costa has been told 

he can leave. 

They have won two of their 

opening three Premier League 

matches. 

Arsenal, meanwhile, have lost 

their past two games, including 

Sunday’s defeat at Anfield. 

Like Oxlade-Chamberlain, forward 

Alexis Sanchez and midfielder 

Mesut Ozil are also out of contract 

next summer. • 

Sri Lanka selectors resign after India debacle 

• Reuters, Colombo 

Sri Lanka’s selection panel, led by 

former captain Sanath Jayasuriya, 

will step down after the current 

limited overs series against India 

following the team’s slump in form, 

according to reports yesterday. 

The pressure on the panel to resign 

had intensified after Sri Lanka 

were beaten 3-0 in the home test 

series against India, who have also 

taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in 

the ongoing five-match ODI series. 

Barcelona hopeful 

over Coutinho signing 

• Reuters, Barcelona 

The five-member panel will 

stay on only for the next two ODIs 

and the sole Twenty20 against India, 

ESPNcricinfo reported citing a 

sports ministry statement. 

“A combined letter bearing the 

names of the above committee has 

conveyed this decision to sports 

minister Dayasiri Jayasekara. According 

to the letter, their tenure 

will end on September 7,” the ministry 

was quoted as saying. 

Angelo Mathews stepped down 

as Sri Lanka captain from all formats 

last month after they succumbed 

to their first ever ODI series 

defeat against Zimbabwe. 

Dinesh Chandimal was put in 

charge of the test team who were 

whitewashed in the Test series by 

India and now face a similar humiliation 

in ODIs against the neighbours. 

Irate fans have staged protests 

over the team’s poor form and 

some of them hurled water bottles 

to hold up play in Sunday’s ODI 

against India at Pallekele. • 

REUTERS 

Barcelona sporting director Robert 

Fernandez hinted on Monday that 

he is negotiating with Liverpool 

over Philippe Coutinho and hoped 

to complete a deal before the transfer 

window closes. After signing 

Ousmane Dembele from Borussia 

Dortmund for a fee which could 

rise to 147m euros, Fernandez announced 

his intention to bring two 

more players to the Nou Camp. 

“It’s true we are in negotiations 

over a player to try and sign them. 

We hope to reach a deal and present 

a new player,” said Fernandez 

told a news conference when asked 

about Barca’s hopes of signing Brazilian 

playmaker Coutinho. 

Barca had also been linked to 

Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri. 

Seri is totally ruled out. After 

analysing (the situation) calmly, we 

decided that our priority was other 

positions,” Fernandez said. 

Coutinho plays in a more advanced 

role than Seri and is reported 

to be Barca’s top target, with 

Paris St Germain’s Angel di Maria 

also linked to the club. 

“My intention is to sign another 

player, if it’s possible, two,” added 

Fernandez. 

Barca have added Gerard Deulofeu, 

Nelson Semedo, Marlon, 

Paulinho and Dembele to their 

squad for the new season. •

22 


DT 

Showtime 

Director and producer sibling 

duo cooks for culinary show 

• Showtime Desk 

Aynabaji director Amitabh Reza 

Chowdhury is renowned for 

his film making and creative 

endeavours, while his younger 

sister Mahjabin Reza Mou works 

for his production house, Half 

Stop Down, as the executive 

producer. The sibling duo have 

always been busy with their 

hectic filming schedules. 

Now for the first time, they 

will be seen cooking together on 

TV during the upcoming Eid. A 

special culinary TV show is in the 

making based on the theme of 

“celebrities vs homemakers.” 

Amitabh Reza Chowdhury and 

Mahjabin Reza have participated 

as celebrity guests for the show, 

titled Aarong Dairy Ranna 

Khetro. 

In a quick chat, Mahjabin told 

Showtime, “We prepared sweet 

and sour eggs on the show. And 

please don’t think that I cooked 

it, it was my brother who made 

all the preparations.” 

Mahjabin also added that she 

does not have enough time to 

spend in the kitchen and that, it 

was a precious opportunity for 

her to spend some quality time 

with her brother while helping 

him cook. 

Aarong Dairy Ranna Khetro 

will be aired on GTV in seven 

episodes during Eid. Nawsheen 

Nahreen Mou is hosting the show 

while Alpana Habib and Nahid 

Osman are the judges. With 

different celebrity guests for 

each episode, the culinary show 

will also feature stars like Zakia 

Bari Momo, Schumann Patwary, 

Shafin Ahmed, Nabila, Mithila 

and Iresh Zaker. • 

Karan and Kajol 

declare truce? 


Social media is a wonderful thing when it is 

used right. It can bring together like-minded 

people, reunite lost friends, and maybe even 

help patch up previous differences. In the 

case of Karan Johar and Kajol, social media 

may well be helping them mend fences. 

Recently, Karan “liked” a post by Kajol, 

a seemingly mundane event that has 

Bollywood fans speculating about a possible 

icebreaker. 

A spat that arose from conflicting release 

dates of Karan’s film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and 

Ajay Devgan’s Shivaay, that created fullblown 

hostility up to the point that the two 

concerned parties refused to speak to one 

another even when they turned up at the 

same event. They even unfollowed each 

other on social media. 

Interestingly, Karan and Kajol have 

recently added each other back on 

Instagram. Does this mean the pair are 

moving towards becoming BFF’s again? Only 

time will tell. • 

Beyonce 

set to record next 

James Bond theme 


After Daniel Craig’s return was 

officially announced, it has been 

reported that Beyonce has had 

several meetings with Bond 

producers before agreeing to 

record the theme song for James 

Bond’s 25th big screen outing, to 

be released in 2019. 

The “Halo” singer who recently 

gave birth to twins – Rumi and Sir – 

might also rope in rapper husband 

Jay Z to help her write the song. 

Beyonce is set to follow the 

footsteps of Dame Shirley Bassey, 

Adele, and most recently Sam 

Smith by recording a coveted 

theme tune for the iconic spy 

franchise. A source told the Daily 

Star that “the two spoke before 

Bey’s first meeting with film 

bosses and Adele told her how 

co-writing and performing a Bond 

theme gave her an amazing career 

hike. Not many of the themes have 

been as successful – but there are 

tens of millions of Beyoncé fans 

out there.” 

“To tie-up a deal with Beyoncé 

for the theme song for Daniel’s 

fifth appearance as 007 would 

really be the icing on the cake,” an 

MGM studio executive added. 

Earlier this month, Daniel Craig 

confirmed that he will return as 

James Bond for one final film 

ending months of speculation.•

Shakib 

Khan to 

donate 

TV shows 

earning 

for flood 

victims 


In a special television show for 

Asian TV titled Eid With Movie 

Star, Shakib Khan is set to appear 

for an exclusive interview. Hosted 

by Nawsheen, the show will 

feature the super star talking 

about various issues revolving 

around his recent career, as well 

as his likes and dislikes. 

Talking about the show, Shakib 

Khan said, “I really enjoyed being 

in the show. I did not sit for too 

many TV interviews this Eid, so 

this is going to be an exceptional 

one.” Shakib Khan, who usually 

has a hectic schedule prior to Eid 

holidays because of numerous 

TV shows, either to promote his 

films or just to appear in celebrity 

shows, has decided to spend his 

earnings from this appearance for 

a good cause by giving donations 

to flood victims. 

“I will contribute my earnings 

from the TV show to the people 

who are severely affected by the 

floods. I feel this should be a 

moral obligation for every one of 

us during this time of calamity,” 

said Khan. 

Showtime 

“People from many parts of 

the country won’t be able to see 

my films in the theatres because 

of the natural disaster. They are 

in dire need. I think it’s my duty 

to stand beside those people,” he 

added. 

In the show, Shakib Khan will 

be seen singing a song from his 

upcoming film. 

Produced by Sudipto Sarkar, 

the show will be aired on Asian 

TV at 7:10pm, on the third day of 

Eid. • 

HBO’s new series on Game Of Thrones 

23 


Remembering the legacy 

of Tobe Hooper 


The recently deceased 

filmmaker Tobe Hooper began 

his filmmaking career with 

The Heisters, a 1964 comedy 

short that was the first film 

ever produced in Austin to be 

distributed all over USA. 

It took a decade for Hooper 

to get nationwide fame with 

1974’s The Texas Chain Saw 

Massacre. One of the most 

influential horror films of all 

time, the film was a low-budget 

masterpiece and it ranked 

as one of the most profitable 

independent films of the 

decade. 

Even though The Texas 

Chain Saw Massacre was 

an immediate sensation, 

critics received it with less 

compassion. A Los Angeles 

Times critic termed it as “a 

despicable film,” “ugly and 

obscene,” and “a degrading, 

senseless misuse of film and 

time.” 

However, the film helped 

give birth to the slasher genre, 

revolutionising the entire 

horror scene. Eventually, 

critics caught up with the 

public as the film was screened 

at Cannes as a part of the 

Directors’ Fortnight program in 

1975, and returned to Cannes in 

2014 for a special screening on 

its 40th anniversary. 

Tobe Hooper, who died 

at the age of 74 on Saturday, 

has made several films which 

horror fans will remember 

fondly such as Poltergeist, 

The Funhouse and Salem’s 

Lot, but he will forever be 

remembered for the genredefining 

The Texas Chain Saw 

Massacre. 

Hooper’s Stephen King 

adaptation, Salem’s Lot, was 

also a success in 1979, while 

the slasher film, The Funhouse, 

achieved cult status. 

In an earlier interview, 

Hooper revealed that his 

mother went into labour at 

the cinema, and that, his 

parents were hotel managers 

who owned a movie theatre 

in San Angelo. After studying 

filmmaking at the University 

of Texas, Hooper worked as a 

documentary cameraman and 

later, as a college professor.• 

DT 


With an appropriately epic season 

finale, Game of Thrones may have 

wrapped up its latest season on 

Sunday night, but HBO won’t 

leave fans completely in the dark 

until the next year’s final season. 

HBO had planned a seven-part 

behind-the-scenes series focusing 

on season 7 titled The Game 

Revealed and its first episode 

is available now on HBO Now, 

HBO Go, HBO On Demand and 

affiliated portals. 

The first episode of The Game 

Revealed opens with a look at the 

opening scene from Season 7 as 

Jeremy Podeswa, the episode’s 

director, explains why that scene 

was chosen to begin the season. 

He also explains how Maisie 

Williams was given a realistic 

mask of David Bradley’s face to 

help sell the illusion of Arya’s 

disguise. 

David Benioff, the coshowrunner, 

talked about why 

they approached Ed Sheeran for a 

cameo as a Lannister soldier. 

In addition, the episode 

also delves into the creation 

of Cersei’s map room at King’s 

Landing, and the prosthetics 

behind the army of the dead. 

Following episodes of the 

series feature interviews with the 

cast and crew that provide new 

info and insights on how some 

of the biggest moments from the 

latest season evolved. 

With subsequent episodes 

following every week, the next 

episode will be released on 

Monday, September 4.•

24 


DT 

McGILL STUDENT MISSING 

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Eid travellers facing road chaos 

• Shohel Mamun 


Eid-ul-Azha holidaymakers are enduring 

a torrid time at entry and 

exit points in Dhaka due to chronic 

gridlock caused by a traffic system 

under severe strain. 

Homebound people have to wait 

for hours at counters and on roads, 

with transport workers blocking 

roads by parking their vehicles indiscriminately 

in the middle of the 

carriageway and traffic police not 

working at night. 

Besides, the condition of major 

highways is also not satisfactory although 

repair work, costing Tk300 

crore, has been continuing in full 

swing at different spots. 

It takes passengers two to four 

hours to cross major intersections 

including Abdullahpur, Gabtoli 

and Saidabad as the spots remain 

choked with vehicles all the times. 

and Dhaka-Aricha highways. 

‘Roads in a better state’ 

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, 

Road Transport and Highways Division 

Secretary MAN Siddique 

said: “There has been no negligence 

in the repair work. Highways 

are in a better state now. 

“A number of teams are working 

to avoid possible chaos and mismanagement 

at terminals.” 

Striking the same note, Road 

Transport and Bridges Minister 

Obaidul Quader said: “The state 

of all highways is good. Vulnerable 

spots are passable.” 

Mentioning that the responsibility 

to mitigate traffic congestion in 

Dhaka lies with the mayors, he said 

he was not responsible for traffic 

management in Dhaka. 

The minister made the remarks 

yesterday when visiting Saidabad 

that connects Dhaka with the 

country’s southeastern districts. 

The government has formed 

and Jatrabari. 

Abdur Rajjak, joint commissioner 

(traffic, north) of Dhaka Metropolitan 

Police, said: “We have 

already deployed additional traffic 

controllers for round-the-clock service 

at entry and exit points. 

“We are keeping vigil on the 

points, but in some cases it is difficult 

for us to be strict because of 

the huge rush of holidaymakers.” 

RANGPUR 

Drivers should comply with 

rules to help ensure smooth vehicular 

movement, he stressed. 

Ferry services in trouble 

Ferry services on Kathalia-Shimulia 

and Paturia-Daulatdia routes 

have been disrupted due to strong 

currents in the Padma River. 

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport 

Corporation (BIWTC) operates 

around 36 ferries on the routes to 

carry thousands of vehicles across 

the Padma. 

BIWTC officials said they were 

facing immense difficulties in 

operating their services due to 

the strong currents in the Padma. 

Each ferry is barely making 

20 trips across the river every day 

whereas normally the ferries can 

make 30 trips. • 

Major highways 

Huge traffic jam 

Roads are in sorry state due to floods 

and poor repairs 

SYLHET 

Recent floods and heavy rainfall left most 

of the roads in a sorry state. The situation 

has gotten even worse due to the increased 

number of cattle-laden vehicles and homegoers. 

Roadside cattle markets in Dhaka and 

on some highways are also responsible for the 

discomfort of the travellers 

DHAKA 

MYMENSINGH 

Highway woes 

Recent floods and heavy rainfall 

left most of the roads in a sorry 

state. The situation has gotten 

even worse due to the increased 

number of cattle-laden vehicles 

and home-goers. Roadside cattle 

markets in Dhaka and on some 

highways are also responsible for 

the discomfort of the travellers. 

There is also a possibility of 

5-10mm rain in the next five days 

that might be compounding the 

travellers’ woes. 

Traffic situation has slightly improved 

on the Dhaka-Chittagong 

and Dhaka-Tangail highways after 

the repair work. But, weighing 

scales and the narrow two-lane 

Meghna-Gumti bridge are contributing 

to slow speed on the Dhaka-Chittagong 

Highway. The situation 

is similar on the Dhaka-Sylhet 

several vigilance teams to monitor 

and ensure uninterrupted vehicular 

movement on the roads during 

the Eid-ul-Azha holidays. 

Bus owners, however, alleged 

that negligence of the authorities 

concerned, traffic police, vigilance 

teams are causing gridlock at the 

entry and exit points. 

Exit points in Dhaka 

Alhough it takes only five minutes 

to cross Abdullahpur intersection, 

Wasim, a Gazipur-bound passenger 

from Dhaka, said he had been stuck 

in traffic for two hours at the intersection 

yesterday. 

The condition at Gabtoli- 

Aminbazar point is even worse. 

Hundreds of vehicles were seen 

stuck in the area, bringing traffic 

movement to a grinding a halt – a 

scenario prevalent also at Saidabad 

● 

● 

● 

KHULNA 

CHITTAGONG 

The connecting points of two-lane Meghna-Gumti bridge and four-lane 

Dhaka-Chittagong highway are seeing traffic jams. Slowed-down vehicles at 

the weight calculating counters of the highway are also causing long tailbacks 

Tongi, Tangail, Jamalpur, Rangpur, Kurigram, Jhenaidah and Khulna are facing 

traffic because of poorly repaired highways full of potholes 

The Daulatdia-Paturia ferry ghat is witnessing long tailbacks due to overflow of 

water from Padma River and negligence of authorities concerned 

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 

8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

e_Paper, Wednesday, August 30, 2017

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