BANGLADESH

The prime minister has lashed out at politicians opposing the proposed Tipaimukh dam in India, not sparing even her political ally.

"One is doing a long march and the other a revolution," Sheikh Hasina said, referring to Jatiya Party chief H M Ershad and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia.

"I must ask, why did he [Ershad] during his nine-year rule and she [Khaleda] during her two five-year terms did not say a word about Tipaimukh?"

"She remembers the nation's interests when she is in the opposition and forgets them when in power," she added.

The prime minister was briefing the media on Saturday evening at her official residence Ganabhaban on her achievements during the recent tour of Myanmar and Indonesia.

"We have warned India that they will not be allowed to do anything that will harm Bangladesh, and they have assured us…," Hasina said.

"They have told us they are making a hydroelectric power plant. Just as Kaptai does not impede the flow of water, they have assured us that there will be no obstruction to the flow in this project either," she added.

"But we are constantly watching the situation. We'll ask the Indian government for information continuously. If necessary, we'll send our people to surveys," the prime minister said.

Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh on Dec 4 announced that India would go ahead with the plan of setting up Tipaimukh hydroelectric project on Barak river along the Manipur-Mizoram border.

The Tipaimukh project has been a major political issue in Bangladesh. The opposition BNP has been raising it repeatedly to question the rationale of the efforts of the Awami League-led government in Dhaka to strengthen bilateral ties with New Delhi.

Many environmentalists fear the dam would adversely impact, and possibly even drown areas in Sylhet. On the other hand, if the dam stops water, Meghna, Surma and Kushiara and other branches of these rivers in Bangladesh will dry up in lean season, they argue.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has advised the tax authorities to furnish necessary documents to the court to expedite recovery of Tk 446 million government revenue from Unilever BD Ltd.

According to a report from the CAG office, the government lost Tk 446 million in revenue since the company did not pay its due supplementary and value added taxes (VAT).

The auditor, after analysing the company's financial statements for 2005-06 submitted to Large Taxpayers' Unit of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), found that Unilever paid VAT twice. It was found that the company paid VAT first as a manufacturer and subsequently as a trader, thus availing 15 per cent rebate.

Unilever owns 60.75 percent of the multinational company, with 39.25 per cent stake lying with government.

The audit office found that the company first sold its products manufactured in Chittagong to its Gazipur central warehouse and paid VAT. It again paid VAT against an account different from the manufacturer's, when distributors bought the goods from the central godown.

Unilever BD's Chittagong unit manufactures soap and personal care products.

"The company is a registered firm, and therefore has a single TIN account and one annual audit report," the report said. "Under the existing system, maximum retail price is fixed at the place of production, and all taxes are supposed to be paid at that level.

"They (Unilever BD) did not pay tax at the place of production, which deprived the government of its due supplementary duties…"

The CAG report says revenue thus lost in the form of supplementary duties and VAT works out to be Tk 446 million.

The company filed a writ petition in 2009 when NBR served a notice to recover the lost amount, the report said.

The auditor recommended that the company authorities supply all necessary documents to the court to get a proper verdict and dispose of the case to expedite the money recovery process.

The company manufactures fast-moving consumer goods, and over 90 per cent of Bangladeshi households use one or more of Unilever products.

Unilever's operations in Bangladesh provide employment to over 10,000 people directly and through its dedicated suppliers, distributors and service providers.

Ferry operations have resumed at Mawa-Kewrakandi crossing after a 10-hour halt due to heavy fog, which saw eight ferries anchored overnight in mid-river.

"Eight ferries were stranded in the middle of the Padma River and two near the docks from 11.45 pm on Friday. They resumed travelling after the fog is gone around 10am on Saturday," Shirajul Islam, manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transportation Corporation's Mawa terminal, told .

The heavy fog also hampered river travel at the Dhaleshwari, Meghna and Ichamoti Rivers with more than a hundred vessels including 21 launches stranded in the waters.

The halt in ferry operations saw large traffic gridlocks on both sides of the crossing. Since 10 ferries have resumed operations, the gridlock should be cleared soon, Islam said.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has questioned the World Bank's action of suspending funds for the Padma bridge project and said the government will approach other countries for securing funds.

Calling the global lender's action unreasonable, she told journalists on Saturday, "We will approach other countries (for funding and construction work) and hold government-level talks with whichever country comes forward to fund the project. No matter which country funds the project, they will get their money back."

The prime minister was briefing the media at her official residence Ganabhaban on her achievements during the recent tour of Myanmar and Indonesia.

In October this year, the World Bank suspended its promised $1.2billion funding for the much-hyped Padma bridge project following allegations of corruption in river dredging, appointment of consultants and selection of pre-qualified contractors.

The prime minister said, "Work was given to a Canadian firm. After they [World Bank] raised allegations, the former minister asked Anti-Corrpution Commission to investigate.

"But when the Commission asked the World Bank for information, they failed to provide any. They said, ask the Canadian firm, and the firm asked why would they supply the information?"

"How could this be a basis for freezing the funds?" she threw a poser.

Refuting allegations of corruption in no uncertain terms, Hasina said, "How can corruption happen when the money was not even disbursed?"

"The World Bank will have to prove the corruption allegations," she said at the hour-long briefing that started at 5:10pm.

"The bridge will be constructed even if it takes another 10, 20 or 50 years," the prime minister asserted.

ALTERNATIVE FUNDING

She also dropped hints of weighing some other options to meet the cost of the biggest infrastructure project of the country.

"Most of the big projects of this magnitude are being executed under Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement," she said.

"In fact, this government has given out most of the projects to the private sector," she added, to substantiate her contention.

NEW MINISTERS

On inclusion of new ministers and shuffle in portfolios, Hasina said, "Changing ministers is a routine work. They haven't been shuffled for corruption."

Pointing out that there is a new communications minister in the office, she added, "Appointment of the new minister will help the World Bank to carry out its investigation. Now, they (the World Bank) will have to prove where it found corruption and what is its worth."

Prime minister Hasina expanded her cabinet a third time on Nov 28 and appointed veteran Awami League leaders Obaidul Quader and Suranjit Sengupta as new ministers.

Suranjit was given the railway ministry carved out of the communications portfolio, which Quader got by replacing Syed Abul Hossain, who moved to the another new ministry for information and communication technology.

The shuffle was effected amid criticism of Abul Hossain over poor condition of roads and highways, and corruption allegations raised by the global lender.

Apart from this change, Jatiya Party presidium member G M Quader became the new commerce minister, while his civil aviation ministry went to Faruk Khan who was also criticised for advising countrymen to 'eat less' to offset rising commodity prices.

In addition to the from the new ministers, local government minister Syed Ashraful Islam, agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury, foreign minister Dipu Moni and information minister Abul Kalam Azad were also present at the media briefing.

The prime minister returned home on Friday afternoon from her five-day visit to Myanmar and Indonesia.

The government is trying to establish 'rule of law' by bringing the war criminals to trial, the law minister has said.

"The government has already started trying the perpetrators of crimes against humanity during the 1971 liberation war to free the nation from the 'stigma' it has been carrying for 40 years,'' Barrister Shafique Ahmed said addressing a function at TSC auditorium of the Dhaka University to mark the International Human Rights Day 2011 on Saturday.

"We are trying hard to ensure basics rights for all citizens to make the country an ideal democratic state where everyone is equal in the eyes of law," he added.

The programme, organised by the National Human Rights Commission, was based on theme "Working together to promote Human Rights: Giving young people a voice."

NHRC chairman Mizanur Rahman said," It has to be ensured that no one takes over the state power undemocratically."

He also urged young people to be aware of their own rights and respect others' rights.

"Those who violated human rights during the nine months of our liberation war must face trial," Mizanur added.

United Nations resident coordinator Neal Walker said, "Bangladesh is witnessing 'lack of good governance', early marriage and gender inequity. Strong commitment from the government is needed to solve these problems."

Swedish ambassador Anneli Lindahl Kenny and Appellate Division's justice M. Iman Ali were present, while NHRC chief presided over the programme.

The Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police has arrested four persons, suspected to be members of a credit card forgery gang, from different metropolitan cities across the country.

Among the arrested is a postal service employee.

The four were nabbed in separate operations conducted at different parts of Dhaka, Chittagong and Barisal cities on Friday night, according to a release issued by the DMP's media and community service.

The arrestees were identified as Kamal Ahmed (alias Khokon,alias Dada Bhai), 52, leader of the gang; Abdur Rob, 42; Mohammad Russell, 34; and Anwar Hossain, 32.

Abdur Rob is a postman with Gulshan post office in Dhaka, the police said.

The police found their involvement in forgery while investigating a complaint filed by Swedish citizen Brunhild Descamps, the country director of Hemtex, a foreign firm.

According to the complaint, Descamps was sent a Euro credit card from Sweden through postal service earlier this year, though he never received it. He complained that he checked in Sweden and was confirmed that the card was sent to Bangladesh, and that it was also used between May 26 and July 7.

The company official was also sent Euro cards twice, but it did not reach him on each occasion.

According to the DB police release, gang leader Kamal Ahmed has admitted that Abdur Rob helped him get the credit card, and that he has so far forged 1,500 credit cards.

Explaining his modus operandi, Rob told the police that before making a delivery, he scrutinised letters, parcels and documents with a needle to check whether there was any credit card inside. He sold the cards he thus found to the gang for anything between Tk 5,000 and Tk 10,000 per card.