02-02-2019

UNITING PEOPLE EVERYDAY
SATURDAy, DhAkA, FEBRUARy 2, 2019, MAgh 20, 1425 BS, JAMADiUl AWAl 26, 1440 hiJRi
A joyful rally was brought out from National Press Club on Friday marking World Read Aloud Day in
the capital .
Photo: Star Mail
SSC examinee
found murdered
in Munshiganj,
2 held
MUNSHIGANJ : The
body of a Secondary School
Certificate (SSC) examinee
was recovered from
Kumarbhog area of Padma
Bridge Rehabilitation
Centre in Lohajang upazila
on Friday, reports UNB.
The deceased, 16-yearold
Nirab, was a student of
Anwar Ali High School and
the son of Nayeem Khan of
the area. He had been missing
since going out of his
with his friends Rabbi and
Alal.
Locals spotted the body
in the morning and
informed police. It was sent
to Munshiganj General
Hospital for autopsy, said
Monir Hossain, officer-incharge
of Lohajang Police
Station.
A police complaint was
filed on Thursday night
soon after Nirab had gone
missing. Police detained
Rabbi and Alal the same
night.
OC Monir said they suspected
the murder could be
related to love affairs
INTERESTING NEWS
The United Kingdom Post Office introduced
the first public telephone kiosk, designated
K1, in 1921. These were constructed
out of pre-cast concrete sections, had a
four-sided rectangular form with a pyramidal
roof, and was topped by a wrought iron
spear. It was not a particularly bad design,
but somehow, it didn’t appeal to the British
public. The London Metropolitan
Boroughs as well as the Birmingham Civic
Society voiced their dislike and even resisted
the Post Office’s effort to erect K1 kiosks
on the streets. To ease the tension, the
Royal Fine Art Commission intervened and
offered to organize a competition to design
a new kiosk.
The organizers invited entries from three
respected architects—Robert Lorimer,
John Burnet and Giles Gilbert Scott, along
Bagerhat special people
out of work; no training
for seven years
BAGERHAT : Physicallychallenged
people in
Bagerhat have been passing
days in hardship with their
fundamental needs remaining
unmet as the Bagerhat
Rural Rehabilitation Centre
remained closed for seven
years, reports UNB.
Admission to the centre has
been suspended due to the
dilapidated condition of its
building. Without jobs available,
the physically-challenged
people in the region
have been facing difficulties to
earn for and manage their
families.
According to officials, the
government set up the centre
with three buildings and three
tin-shed houses on 3.59 acres
of land at Mulghar village in
Fakirhat upazila in the 1981-
82 fiscal year with a view to
turning disabled people into
skilled manpower.
But, the admission of disabled
persons to the centre
remained suspended since
September 2012 due to the
shabby conditions of the
buildings and accommodation
crisis.
The training activities at the
centre started in 1987. All
male disabled people, aged
14-24, could avail of the
chance to get admitted here
except the blind ones. There
were three trades-mechanical
workshop, tailoring, and cattle
and poultry farming - for
which training was provided.
Required qualification for
training in the first two trades
was class five but no specific
educational requirement was
needed for training on cattle
and poultry farming.
Officials at the Department
of Social Services of Bagerhat
said 30 people in three trades
- 10 in each trade-were
trained a year at government
expenses. The government
bore all their expenditures,
including accommodation,
dress, treatment facilities,
sports and others. After their
The Tomb That Inspired Britain's
Iconic Telephone Box
with the designs from the Post Office and
from The Birmingham Civic Society.
Robert Lorimer was a Scottish architect
who designed the Scottish National War
Memorial at Edinburgh Castle. John
Burnet—another Scott—designed many
prestigious buildings across Britain. Giles
Gilbert Scott was a well-known English
architect who gave Britain many of its popular
landmarks such as Cambridge
University Library, Lady Margaret Hall,
and the Battersea Power Station. His most
popular creation was the ubiquitous red
telephone box.
Scott designed a four-sided rectangular
box with a domed roof. Each side had
fluted architrave moldings at the outer
edge, and at the base there was a blank
rectangular panel with trim molding-surround.
training, they were supposed
to receive Tk 4,000 each as
rehabilitation allowance.
Sources said 37 people
trained by the centre still did
not get their rehabilitation
allowance.
Abdus Sattar, a trainer of
Mechanical Trade
Department of the centre,
said the building condition of
the centre is not good enough
to live in there. Its training
programme will resume if the
residential building can be
rebuilt or a tin-shed building
can be constructed. Four staff,
out of 11, are now working at
this centre, while two are
working elsewhere, Sattar
said.
Sheikh Khalil Al Rashid, an
assistant director of
Department of Social Services
of Bagerhat who is now in
charge of the rural rehabilitation
centre, said the authorities
have decided to abandon
the residential building as it
has become risky for living.
Bangladesh sues
Philippines'
bank RCBC over
BB cyber heist
DHAKA : Bangladesh filed a
case against Rizal Commercial
Banking Corporation (RCBC)
of the Philippines' over the
heist of $81 million from
Bangladesh Bank's account
with the Federal Reserve Bank
of New York, reports UNB.
The case was filed with a
New York bank accusing
RCBC, casinos and others
involved in the heist, Abu
Hena Mohammed Raji Hasan,
head of Bangladesh Finance
Intelligence Unit (BIFU) of the
Bangladesh Bank told UNB.
He said there will be a press
briefing here on Sunday over
the filing of the case.
International robbers stole
$101 million from the
Bangladesh Bank account
with the Federal Reserve Bank
through fraudulent instructions
against their target of
about $1 billion in February
2016.
Although, some $20 million
was recovered from a Sri
Lankan bank, $81 million,
which landed in Manila-based
RCBC, could not be recovered.
Most of the money transferred
to the Philippines went
to four personal accounts, held
by individuals.
The Federal Reserve Bank
blocked the remaining 30
transactions, amounting to
$850 million, due to suspicions
raised by a misspelled
instruction.
Cosmos Foundation
Dialogue on
Bangladesh-EU
relations
DHAKA : A distinguished
panel of experts is set to
come together at a symposium
in the city on Saturday
to assess the 'Bangladesh-
European Union relations in
the present context and identify
the challenges and
opportunities for the future,
reports UNB.
Cosmos Foundation, the
philanthropic arm of
Cosmos Group, will organise
the symposium titled
'Bangladesh-European
Union Relations: Prognosis
for the Future' at Six Seasons
Hotel.
Rensje Teerink,
Ambassador of the
European Union to
Bangladesh, will present the
keynote paper at the dialogue.
Md Shahidul Haque,
Senior Secretary, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of
Bangladesh, will attend the
event as the chief guest while
Chairman of Cosmos
Foundation Enayetullah
Khan will deliver the welcome
speech.
The session will be chaired
by Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed
Chowdhury, the Principal
Research Fellow at the
Institute of South Asian
Studies, National University
of Singapore, and former
Foreign Affairs Adviser to
Bangladesh's previous caretaker
government.
Manpower shortage
hits railway services,
expansion plan
DHAKA : The long-drawn
manpower crisis in
Bangladesh Railway, the
largest public transport sector,
is not only hampering
its services but also the government
plan to split it into
four zones as part of its
move to bring the whole
country under the railway
network, reports UNB.
Bangladesh Railway is facing
many difficulties in providing
expected services to
its passengers with its existing
manpower of 40,275.
A number of railways stations
across the country are
facing closure due to manpower
shortage, said officials
at Bangladesh Railway,
sources at Bangladesh
Railway said.
They said even the government
plan to split
Bangladesh Railway into
four zones to bring the
whole country under railway
network saw little
progress for the same reason
since the Prime
Minister's directive in this
regard in 2014.
According to the
Bangladesh Railway, there
are 2,877 kilometers of railway
network across the
country and it will be
expanded to 4,700 kilometers
under a master plan of
the government. "But, it's
impossible for the
Bangladesh Railway to deal
with the increased routes
with the existing manpower,"
said an official wishing
anonymity.
On October 23,2014,
Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina asked the Railways
Ministry to reform the railway.
Following the PM's directive,
the Railways Ministry
constituted a committee
with its Additional Secretary
Kamal Krinsha as its convener
to split the railway
into four zones.
The committee recommended
forming the East
Zone with Chittagong and
Sylhet divisions while the
West Zone with Pakshi and
Lalmonirhat, North with
Dhaka and Mymensingh
divisions and the South
Zone with Rajbari district
and Khulna division. Each
zone will be divided into
two divisions under the
plan.
But the move remained
stuck for the last four years
as no decision has been
taken yet over the additional
manpower to run the new
zones and divisions.
Currently, Bangladesh
Railway has been operating
its services under two zones-
East (Chattogram, Dhaka,
Pakshi, Lalmonirhat) and
West (Sylhet, Mymensing,
Rajbari and Khulna) zones.
In December last year, the
consultation firm concerned
submitted a report to the
Bangladesh Railway with
the demand of 57,000 manpower
for the proposed new
zones against the actual
demand of 68,000 people.
The final proposal over
splitting Bangladesh
Railway into four zones
could not yet be sent to the
Public Administration
Ministry due to the faulty
proposal over the manpower
structure,
Besides, the operation of
Chapainawabganj-Amnua
bypass Railways Station has
been suspended due to
manpower crisis.
Contacted, Railways
Minister Nurul Islam Sujon
said the process for splitting
Bangladesh Railway into
four zones is underway and
effective measures will be
taken soon to this end.
He also stresses the need
for ending manpower crisis
to ensure better services to
the passengers.
On Thursday RAB-1 arrested 4 members of Ansarullah Bangla Team through a drive at Uttara.
Photo: Star Mail
JOF hails PM for invitation, explains
why it can't join
tea party
DHAKA : Hailing Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina for inviting its leaders to her tea party,
Jatiya Oikyafront on Friday sent a letter to
Ganobhaban explaining the reason behind its
decision not to join it on Saturday, reports UNB.
A three-member delegation of the alliance went
to Ganobhaban carrying the letter in the morning,
Oikyafront's office chief Jahangir Alam
Mintu told UNB.
He said the Prime Minister's protocol officer-2
Khorshed Alam received the letter which was
signed by Oikyafront steering committee member
Subrata Chowdhury.
"We thank you for inviting us to exchange
greetings over tea at Ganobhaban on February 2.
The issue of the honourable Prime Minister's tea
party was discussed as one of the agenda at
Thursday meeting of the Jatiya Oikyafront steering
committee," the letter reads.
It also says the steering committee unanimously
decided not to take part in the tea party.
"The government formed through a farce in the
name of an election on December 30 is in no way
a moral one. People's minimum democratic
rights and their authority to elect representatives
through exercising their voting rights were
snatched on that day," the letter says.
Besides, it says, Oikyafront's several thousand
leaders and activists have been in jail while many
leaders and activists of the alliance are still being
arrested in new cases. "Under the circumstances,
it's not possible in any way to join the Prime
Minister's tea party," the letter adds.
On January 26, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
invited Jatiya Oikyafront senior leaders to
exchange greetings at Ganobhaban over tea on
February 2.
Jatiya Oikyafront top leaders, led by Dr Kamal
Hossain, sat twice with the Prime Minister on
November 1 and November 7 last at Ganobhaban
before the 11th parliamentary elections.
Oikyafront was formed on November 13 comprising
BNP, Gono Forum, JSD (ROB) and
Nagorik Oikya. Later, Abdul Kader Siddique-led
Krishak Sramik Janata League also joined the
alliance. Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina,
formed the government for the third consecutive
term following its landslide victory in the
December-30 election.
Turning down the election results bringing the
allegation of 'massive vote robbery', Oikyafront
demanded reelection.
4 'ABT
members'
held in
city
DHAKA :
Members of
Rapid Action
Battalion (Rab)
arrested four
members of
banned militant
outfit Ansarullah
Bangla Team
(ABT) from different
parts of the
city early Friday,
reports UNB.
Tipped off, a
team of Rab-1
conducted drive
in different parts
of the city and
arrested them,
said Assistant
director of Rab-1
senior ASP
M i z a n u r
Rahman.
The arrestees
were involved in a
plot to kill some
renowned personalities
and
online activists.
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