BANGLADESH

The government has decided to review Detailed Area Plan (DAP) for Dhaka in order to safeguard around 200,000 small and medium enterprises grown in the capital city.

"The government will take firm steps to implement the corrected DAP after review," State Minister for Housing and Public Works Abdul Mannan Khan said in an interview with bdnews24.com and a TV station.

The committee to review DAP would sit within a month, he said and added that the next step would be taken following proposals by the panel led by Local Government and Rural Development Minister Syed Ashraful Islam.

"The government created DAP to make Dhaka metropolis fit to live. It has some inconsistencies. The government has moved to correct these considering the reality," he added.

The then government made Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) in 1995 following the master plan adopted in 1992. Later, the step to make DAP was taken in 1996. Eventually, the government gazetted DAP in July 2010.

Khan said DAP was made to protect and develop Dhaka, a city that gets water-logged and lives with the risk of disasters, following a proposal by a panel headed by Dr Jamilur Reza Chowdhury.

"DAP could not be implemented because of our tendency to violate laws. As a result, Dhaka gets water-logged even after a little bit of rain. We've taken steps to resolve the situation by removing inconsistencies in DAP," he said.

He dismissed the suggestion that the decision to review DAP meant that the government had budged on its firm stance. "The step has been taken in light of reality."

"Many people have raised important constructions by filling up water bodies to make quick money. Many industries have also been built. Many other structures have been raised centring the industries.

"We've taken the step to check how profitable it will be to bulldoze these structures," he said.

"Decisions will be made, if needed, after discussions on an alternative proposal to protect Dhaka City," he added.

"Those who have filled up water bodies are human beings. Aren't they?" the minister asked.

"They will help, too, to meet the need of their next generations," he said.

In the biggest-ever foreign direct investment in Bangladesh, Chevron Corp on Monday announced to invest about $ 500 million more in the over $ 1 billion project to raise output from Bibiyana gas field amid growing demand.

Chevron Bangladesh President Geoff Strong made the announcement on his company pumping in more money at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the afternoon.

Chevron-maintained gas field contributes half (1.1 billion CF) of the total daily gas production of Bangladesh. The contribution will raise by 300 million CF once the expansion project in implemented by 2014.

The American multinational said the fresh investment was to raise its natural gas production in Bangladesh by more than a quarter in 2014.

The investment means Chevron remains the largest natural gas producer in Bangladesh that faces gas shortages up to 500 million cubic feet a day (mmcfd).

"This project will provide more affordable energy that will not only increase Chevron's business in Bangladesh but also help drive economic growth and alleviate poverty for many millions of people," said Strong.

The expansion project will see drilling up of additional wells, building of an enhanced gas liquids recovery unit with a view to increase its capacity to process more natural gas, according to a statement issued by the multinational company.

The project will boost Chevron's total natural gas production capacity in Bangladesh by more than 300 mmcfd to 1.4 billion cubic feet per day while its condensate output will rise by 4,000 barrels per day, the company said.

"Production of this condensate will save the import of liquid fuels with a current market value of about $200 million per year," Strong added.

"It is a combined effort to make a significant difference to help solve the energy crisis in Bangladesh," said Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, the Prime Minister's Energy Adviser, at the briefing.

Bangladesh now produces up to 55 percent of its electricity using natural gas to generate about 6000 megawatts of power.

Chevron also urged the government to upgrade its national pipeline network to allow it to deliver more gas.

Remittance inflow continue to rise with Bangladeshi expatriates sending $1.02 billion in the first 27 days of the 2012-2013 fiscal.

Latest Bangladesh Bank data suggest remittances for the month of July will reach $1.17 billion if the inflow maintains its pace.

Officials of the central bank, however, expect July remittances may cross $1.2-billion mark as the expatriates are expected to send in more money with the Eid-ul-Fitr only weeks away.

In the last month of the 2011-2012 fiscal, the expatriates had remitted $1.07 billion.

With the increase in remittance inflow, the central bank's foreign exchange reserve is also going up. It stood at $10.45 billion on Monday.

The reserves had slipped below $10 billion in the first week of the new fiscal year after import dues were paid to the Asian Clearing Union.

Central bank Governor Atiur Rahman is satisfied with the increase in remittance inflow.

"The central bank took various steps to encourage remittances through banking channel, and now Bangladeshi expatriates can send money to their families through cell phone as well," Atiur told bdnews24.com.

"The remittances are increasing, thanks to the steps. The reserves are also increasing," he said.

A Bangladesh Bank official preferring not to be named said the month of July was seeing increased remittance inflow as expatriates were sending money for Eid shopping.

He hoped the remittance inflow in July would cross $1.2 billion.

Of the money remitted, $230 million came through government-owned banks, over $710 million through 30 private banks, about $6 million through nine foreign banks and over $10 million through specialised banks.

In the last financial year, expatriates had remitted $12.85 billion, which was 10.26 percent higher than in the previous year. In 2010-11, the remittances grew at the rate of 6 percent.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has underscored the need for stronger cooperation of all to contain terrorism and militancy.

The Prime Minister came up with the call when British Secretary of State William Hague called on her on Saturday at Hotel St. Pancras Renaissance where she is staying during her five-day official visit to London.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, her Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad said that during the meeting, the Prime Minister reiterated her government's tough stance against terrorism and militancy and vowed that government would never compromise on this issue.

Talking of the series of bomb blasts across the country in 2005, and grenade attack on then British High Commissioner to Dhaka Anwar Chowdhury in Sylhet city in 2004 during the rule (2001-2006) of BNP-Jamaat alliance, Hasina said that the situation has much changed now in Bangladesh.

She said the present government was handling terrorism and militancy in the country with an iron hand.

The Prime Minister also expressed her government's firm commitment to protect human rights, democracy, strengthen Election Commission, and establish good governance and rule of law, and sought stronger cooperation of the UK in counter-terrorism efforts.

She also apprised William Hague of her government's steps taken for strengthening parliamentary democracy, saying opposition members despite their constant boycott of the sessions of parliament, were taking part in the meetings of parliamentary standing committees.

Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia was present only on eight days in the ninth parliament in the last three-and-a-half years. But she spoke in the House on six days, and on the last day, she took floor for one hour and 57 minutes, she said.

During the meeting, William Hague praised the role of Sheikh Hasina in the global fora on climate change issue.

Hasina said the UK government's proposal for support to develop new port facilities and proposed redevelopment of Bangladesh's second-largest Mongla sea port under joint venture with the Mongla Port Authorities was under serious consideration of her government.

She invited British entrepreneurs to invest in pharmaceuticals, power generation, renewable energy and higher education sectors.

Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, Ambassador-at-Large M Ziauddin and Bangladesh High Commissioner in London Dr M Sayeedur Rahman Khan were also present at the meeting.

Later, All European Awami League and All Europe Bangabandhu Parishad members called on the Prime Minister at the hotel.

Trading remained incomplete in the country's capital markets due to problems in Central Depository Bangladesh Limited server.

Until the writing of this report at 11pm Sunday, the trading had not been cleared, several merchant bank and brokerage house officials told
Dhaka Stock Exchange Senior Vice President Ahmed Rashid Lali said CDBL was trying to fix the problem but it might take as long as Monday morning.

CDBL CEO M H Samad said the company's technical team was working to fix the issue, with help from Singapore and Mumbai.

The Securities and Exchange Commission had been informed of the problem, he said.

"Some problems may continue tomorrow [Monday]," he said, adding that in that case SEC would decide whether to continue trading.

Trading on Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges was halted for Tuesday due to persisting problems in the Central Depository Bangladesh Limited server.

The board of directors of Dhaka Stock Exchange decided to suspend trade as trading could not be settled on the bourses on Monday due to the server problem, DSE Public Relations Officer Shafikur Rahman told bdnews24.com.

Chittagong Stock Exchange President Al Maruf Khan told bdnews24.com its board also decided to halt trading for Tuesday.

Officials of several brokerage houses and merchant banks said trading had not been cleared until Monday midnight though CDBL was trying to fix the problem.

DSE Senior Vice President Ahmed Rashid Lali said Monday's trade could not be completed due to software issues at the CDBL and added that the company was trying to fix the problem.

He said trading would be settled once the problem is solved.

CDBL CEO M H Samad said on Monday night that the company's technical team was working to fix the issue with help from Singapore and Mumbai.

He added the Securities and Exchange Commission had been informed of the problem, he said.

The benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) went down in the early trading on Monday.

DSE general index dropped 29 points to 4205 points at 12pm.

Shares and mutual funds worth Tk 730 million changed hands until then.

Prices of 40 issues advanced, 168 declined and 17 retained their opening prices.

On Sunday, the DGEN lost 50 points with a turnover of Tk 2610 million.

The index advanced 118 points or 2.84 percent last week, 2 points in the week before last week but declined 125.85 points or 2.93 percent in the previous week.

If Apple Inc's weaker-than-expected quarterly result is anything to go by, the global smartphone industry is a lot more vulnerable to economic shocks these days than during the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

In developed markets, every other person already owns a smartphone. In emerging markets, penetration rates are much lower, but cheaper phones that cost under $100 are squeezing profit margins.

That was not the case during the last recession, when Apple's iPhone and Google Inc's Android were still in their infancy. Smartphone demand remained strong even as sales of other electronics declined because consumers felt it was worthwhile to upgrade to a device with so much to more to give - touchscreens, email and full Web browsers.

Without a technology breakthrough such as touchscreen - made popular by the first iPhone in 2007 - people are in far less of a hurry to upgrade their phones this time around, analysts said.

That was evident from Apple's June quarterly results, which showed a much bigger hit from the European debt crisis than Wall Street expected.

"The economy is having an impact on all electronic goods. Even Apple, which did defy gravity in the last recession, is not escaping now," said Hudson Square Research analyst Daniel Ernst.

Smartphone users, who typically upgrade their phones every 18 to 24 months, are now holding on for three months longer than usual, according to Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi.

"The reason to upgrade is less urgent" she said.

PRICE PRESSURE

Overall smartphone shipments rose 32 percent in the second quarter, their slowest pace since 2009's 16 percent increase, according to Strategy Analytics. The research firm forecast annual smartphone shipment growth would slow to 40 percent in 2012 from 68 percent in 2011 and ease further to 23 percent in 2013.

Analysts say demand from emerging markets will support smartphone shipments even if the global economy takes a turn for the worse, but a growing supply of lower price devices from vendors such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd HWT.UL and ZTE Corp 000063.SZ will pressure prices even if the economy improves.

"We're forecasting ASPs (average selling prices) to dip in 2013 and accelerate from there on," said Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston. "If the economy continues to flat line or dip that will accelerate the move to lower cost models."

The popularity of Apple's iPhone and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's (005930.KS) Galaxy S will give these companies some pricing insulation, analysts said.

But there could be much more pressure for price cuts at already struggling smartphone vendors, such as LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS), HTC Corp (2498.TW), Nokia Oyj (NOK1V.HE) and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd (RIM.TO).

"Apple and Samsung's ownership of the high-tier and intense price erosion means the fight among others will be cutthroat," said CCS Insight analyst Geoff Blaber.

The tough road ahead for smaller vendors became more apparent this week, when market leader Samsung reported its best quarterly smartphone sales in history as it outsold Apple and won customers from smaller rivals. Samsung's bigger size allowed it to drive down costs and still make a profit on phones that would generate a loss for smaller rivals.

Some of Apple's earnings miss was attributed to consumers postponing purchases in anticipation of a new iPhone model hitting store shelves this fall. LG did not have that excuse - its cellphone division, which accounts for around one-fifth of sales, posted a quarterly loss as competition forced LG to spend more on marketing for cheaper phones.

LESS PURCHASING POWER

According to Gartner, about 35 percent of an estimated 1.9 billion cellphones sold this year will be smartphones. Between 20 percent and 25 percent of people in the world already own smartphones, with the penetration rate rising to 50 percent to 55 percent in the United States.

"The first wave is selling expensive models to affluent buyers. The second wave is selling lower cost models to less affluent buyers," Strategy Analytic's Mawston said.

Gartner's Milanesi said Huawei and ZTE are in the best position among the lower-tier smartphone vendors.

"If price is the first driver I'm going to pick the Chinese," said Milanesi, who said LG and HTC are most vulnerable to price declines as they "need more to stand out."

Also putting pressure on handset makers are the wireless service providers on which they are heavily dependent in many regions such as Europe and the United States for promotions. Carriers often subsidize phones to encourage their customers to commit to long term contracts.

In Europe, some operators such as Telefonica have been dropping subsidies entirely [ID:nL6E8FB56H]. The top three U.S. operators, Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc (T.N) and Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N) have all been improving profit margins because they cut down on their subsidy costs by offering customers upgrades less frequently.

If consumers do have to cut spending because if the weak economy, IDC analyst Ramon Llamas said: "There's smartphone available for just about every single budget out there."

Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus on Sunday visited celebrated writer Humayun Ahmed's mother.

Yunus met Ayesha Foyez at Humayun's younger brother Ahsan Habib's Mirpur residence in the afternoon. Humayun's two sisters and brothers were there during the visit that lasted about an hour.

The writer-filmmaker's elder son Nuhash Humayun reached the residence some 40 minutes after Yunus arrived there.

"He (Humayun Ahmed) created a league of readers which Bangladesh never had. He brought the attitude to Bengali literature it did not have," Yunus told reporters after the visit.

"So far we have seen Humayun was a popular writer. But after his death it seemed he reached deep inside his readers. So people are failing to fill his absence," he added.

Humayun died on July 19 aged 64 after fighting with cancer for about nine months at a New York hospital.

The High Court was moved on Sunday for withdrawal within 24 hours the VC's order to shut down Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).

Dr Mohammad Yunus Ali Akanda, a father of a BUET admission-seeker, filed the motion seeking suspension on the activities of the Vice-Chancellor (VC) and Pro-Vice Chancellor (Pro-VC) and other teachers, students and staff's agitation until the ruling is disposed of.

Alongside BUET, the Education Secretary, Inspector General of Police, DMP Commissioner, the university's VC and Pro-VC, BUET Teachers Association President and General Secretary have been made respondents in the petition.

The BUET authorities had shut the institution for 44 days from July 11 in the wake of raging protest by teachers and students demanding removal of the VC and Pro-VC.

Akanda also sought court directives for the Education Secretary to form a judicial committee within seven days to investigate the recent incidents at BUET.

He asked for a directive for the respondents to publish the admission notice for the 2012-13 session within three days of the verdict.

The counsel told bdnews24.com the BUET authorities shut the institution citing summer vacation in the rainy season and it was creating terrible backlog. He said all universities had published their admission notice for the first year admission except BUET.

He said the court might hear the petition on Monday.

Foreign Secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes said on Sunday Dhaka was ready to engage with New Delhi to finalise extradition treaty to exchange convicts.

"India wants to sign the treaty and handed over the draft to its Bangladesh," he said at a press briefing on his recent visit to New Delhi.

The Secretary attended the Foreign Office Consultation with India on July 24 where entire range of bilateral issues was discussed.

Teesta agreement

Quayes said Bangladesh was ready to provide space to India to complete the internal consultation to resolve Teesta problem.

Dhaka asked New Delhi to complete the necessary formalities for an early conclusion of the agreement for water-sharing of Teesta, he said.

"I want to say categorically that Bangladesh gives utmost importance to signing of Teesta agreement and we raised it as a main issue in the Foreign Secretary-level meeting and sooner the issue is resolved the better impact it would have on the public domain and perception."

Bangladesh and India failed to strike an interim Teesta water-sharing deal during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in September last year over strong resistance from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Fast-track implementation

The Secretary said both the government agreed to fast track the implementation of the issues that had been stipulated in the two summit level meetings that were held between Bangladesh and India during the current Awami League-led government.

In those meetings, the head of governments agreed to implement land boundary agreement, Teesta agreement, trade facilitation and regional connectivity among other things, Quayes said.

"All these will be implemented through fast-track system."

Tipaimukh issue

Quayes said he had a meeting with Indian Water Secretary Dhruv Bijai Singh and the date of the first meeting of the Joint Expert Group on Tipaimukh multipurpose dam project was fixed on Aug 27-28.

The experts would study all aspects of the project with specific reference to its impact on Bangladesh.

"We also discussed the issue in the meeting with Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai," he added.

Tipaimukh dam project is a contentious issue between the two countries as Dhaka fears that if the project is implemented, water would be withdrawn and Surma and Kushiara and other rivers in the Sylhet region would be affected.

India has sought to dispel the apprehension saying that it would not take any unilateral decision that may affect Bangladesh.

Land Boundary agreement

Bangladesh sought an early completion of all the legal processes by India side for full implementation of the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement and its additional protocol.

Dhaka requested Delhi to complete its internal process soon as the sooner it would be done, the better the public perception would be about the Indo-Bangla relationship, Quayes said.

Bangladesh and India signed the land boundary agreement in 1974 to resolve the demarcation dispute and later during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Singh in Dhaka last year, they also signed a protocol for implementation of the agreement.

The LBA stipulates that it would not be in force until the countries ratifies it. Bangladesh ratified the agreement in 1974 but India is yet to ratify it.

The headcount of the enclaves have been done, adversely possessed land has been identified and the demarcation would be settled when India ratifies the agreement.

Sergeant Helal Uddin of Dhaka Metropolitan Police has testified in court in the 10-truck arms case, claiming torture by RAB officials.

Helal Uddin was posted at Chittagong Coal Depot Police Outpost when 10 truckloads of arms were captured in Chittagong in 2004. Helal and another sergeant, Alauddin, were the first to spot the unloading of the weapons on the night of Apr 1, 2004.

He was heard on Sunday afternoon by Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge and Senior Special Tribunal One Judge S M Mujibur Rahman. His statements were recorded for an hour before the session was dismissed. The remainder of the statement will be taken on Monday.

According to Helal, on Aug 19, 2005, he was called up by wireless to the Dhaka Detective Branch police headquarters, where he was detained by Rapid Action Battalion officials.

"When I was brought there, a Lt Col Gulzar asked me many questions about the 10-truck arms haul," Helal said in his statement. "Alauddin was also brought there."

"Then the two of us were sent to Chittagong RAB headquarters," he said.

"In Chittagong, I was called to RAB-7 director's room. When I went into the room and introduced myself, the director slapped me and threw me on the ground. He started beating me with a rod and broke my left leg," he said.

At one stage in his statement Helal broke into tears. The defence lawyers, however, were laughing at the moment.

"When I asked him what my fault was, he said, 'it is because of you that the country is in this state'. I replied that I was only following orders," Helal said.

The sergeant said he and sergeant Alauddin were sent to jail showing them arrested in an arms case in Noakhali. Later they both obtained bail and rejoined work.

During further investigation of this sensational case both sergeants told CID officers that the former National Security Intelligence Deputy Director Liakat Hossain was present during the unloading of weapons.

The High Court on Sunday asked the government to explain why the indemnity from prosecution for the military officers and other law-enforcing personnel in the 'Operation Clean Heart' during the BNP-led government would not be declared illegal.

The bench of justices Mirza Hussain Haider and Kazi Mohammad Ejarul Haque Akondo also demanded why the indemnity law over the joint operation conducted by the armed forces, police and paramilitary forces would not be declared to be in conflict with the Constitution.

Z I Khan Panna, chief of the outgoing Bangladesh Bar Council's Human Rights and Legal Assistance Affairs, filed the writ petition.

The High Court ruling came around a decade after the operation was initiated. Advocate Shahdin Malik argued for the petitioner while Deputy Attorney General Al Amin Sarkar represented the state at the hearing.

Top bureaucrats of the law, home and defence ministries, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Inspector General of Police have been directed to reply to the rule within six weeks.

The High Court also sought to know why a Tk 1 billion fund will not be raised to compensate those harmed during the operation.

Soon after the BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami coalition government took office, the military ran 'Operation Clean Heart' from Oct 16, 2002 to Jan 9, 2003 to 'restore' law and order.

Many people died during the operation slated by rights groups but the authorities claimed the deaths were due to 'heart attacks'.

Then the BNP-led coalition government claimed the operation was conducted to check terrorism, while chief opposition Awami League alleged it was to annihilate the opposition leaders and supporters.

According to New York-based Human Rights Watch, 60 people were killed during the operation. Then government admitted that 12 of the detained people died of 'heart attack'.

On Feb 24, 2003, the BNP-Jamaat government passed a law, providing indemnity to the military officials who took part in the special operation.

Lawyer Shahdin Malik told bdnews24.com Bangladesh had signed the international convention forbidding torture in 1998. Section 14 of the law talks about raising fund to compensate anyone harmed at the hand of the government forces.

He added the Supreme Court of India had also issued many orders on the issue.

Z I Khan told bdnews24.com: "This indemnity law is one of the darkest laws in the world. No other country has this type of laws... no civilised country can have such law. Having [this law] is a blatant disregard for the rule of law."

Bangladesh hope Sharmin Akhtar Ratna finished a disappointing 27th out of 56 participants on Saturday's opening medal event of the London Olympics at the Royal Artillery Barracks.
Her combined score of 393 included impressive scores of 99, 100 and 99 in the last three shots, but her first effort of 95 had left her too far behind to get anywhere in the running.
It was bitter disappointment for a cautiously hopeful Bangladeshi contingent who had hoped that Ratna's two-month training course in England prior to the Olympics would have helped her achieve something substantial. She had been excelling at practice scoring an average of 398, but it seemed like the pressure of the Olympics got the better of her and she crumbled at the big stage.
Gold went to China's ace rifle shooter Yi Siling, making her the first gold medallist of London 2012. Sylwia Bogacka took silver and Yi's compatriot Yu Dan won bronze.
The top two qualifiers Bogacka and Yi started a fierce battle for the gold, both scoring 10.8 out of possible 10.9 in the first shot.
Yi, the world No.1 in this event, cemented her top position and grabbed the title with her last two shots (10.3 and 10.5) finishing on a total of 502.9 points. This is the second gold for China in this event at the Games after Du Li won at Athens 2004.
Bogackla dropped her rank to third after the ninth shot, however her last shot (in which she scored 10.8) lifted her to the silver medal position. She finished on 502.2 points.
Yu clinched bronze with a total score of 501.5 points. She was second after the ninth shot but dropped her rank with her last shot (9.6).
Five shooters finished at 397 points after the 40-shot qualification rounds.
A five-way shoot-off (five shots) decided the last four qualifiers.

Dhaka city remains exposed to serious sound pollution due to lax enforcement of the law.
The pollution is caused by construction work using brick crushers and mixing machines, use of heavy equipment in factories and loudspeakers in and around the capital. Needless honking by motorists also largely contributes to the pollution.
The sound level in Dhaka city in April-May was beyond the permissible limit, more than double the limit in some cases, according to a survey by the Department of Environment (DoE).
The Noise Pollution (Control) Rules, 2006, prohibit honking in a 100-metre radius of hospitals, educational institutes and offices. The rules do not allow use of brick crushers within a 500-metre radius of a residential area. Taking prior permission is mandatory for using loudspeakers.
The law has provisions for punishing the first-time offender by a maximum of one month's jail or Tk 5,000 in fine or both. The punishment for a second-time rule breaker is six months in jail at most or Tk 10,000 in fine or both.
But thanks to a slack enforcement of the law, offenders are rarely brought to book.
According to the noise control guidelines, the permissible level in the silent zones (100 metres around hospitals, educational institutions, courts and offices) is 40 decibels at night and 50 decibels during daytime. It is 45 decibels at night and 55 decibels during the day in residential areas and 50 and 60 decibels respectively in mixed areas.
In commercial areas, the limit is 60 decibels at night and 70 decibels during the day and 70 and 75 for industrial areas.
The DoE survey -- done at 12 major points between 11:00am and 1:00pm -- found the maximum sound level at 90 decibels while the minimum was at 77 decibels.
The areas covered in the survey are Mirpur-10, Farmgate, Bijoy Sarani, the road in front of the Prime Minister's Office, Mohakhali, Kuril Biswa Road, Biman Bandar Rail Station, Banani, Kanchpur Bridge, Gulistan, Sayedabad and Jatrabari.
Medical experts say noise pollution causes headache and irritation that in turn make people suffer from depression and anxiety. Excessive sound also interferes with attention. Continuous exposure to sound pollution increases the pace of heartbeats and the risk of cardiac arrest.
Lelin Chowdhury, chairman of Health and Hope Hospital, says sound pollution in the long term reduces hearing ability and increases secretion of stress hormone, which leads to a rise in blood pressure.
In addition, it makes people intolerant, making them vulnerable to psychological disorders.
Children suffer the most from hearing losses due to noise pollution and their mental development gets hampered. Noise pollution can also cause miscarriages and premature births.
"There is no count of the affected people, but the number is rising day by day," said Lelin, a specialist in preventive medicine.
Work for Better Bangladesh (WBB) Trust, an environmental organisation, in a survey between March and April last year found the maximum sound level in the capital's silent zones to be 104 decibels.
According to the trust, the maximum sound level in front of Square Hospital at Panthapath was 104 decibels between 9:50am and 9:55am on April 21. It was 103 near New Model University College between 12:00noon and 12:05pm on the same day.
So far this year, the DoE has conducted about 60 drives against sound polluters and realised more than Tk 1 crore in fine, but could hardly bring about any change.
Improving the situation requires more drives but the department cannot do so owing to lack of manpower, says DoE (enforcement) Director Munir Chowdhury.
It is also the duty of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and the traffic police to check noise pollution by drivers, he adds.
In 2005, the WBB Trust conducted a survey among 1,000 Dhaka city students, only to find 60 to 70 percent of them had difficulties concentrating and suffered from headaches because of noise pollution.
Ninety percent of them said their studies were disrupted by a blaring of horns.
Seven years have passed since. The magnitude of the pollution must have increased manifold by now as both construction work and number of vehicles have increased, medical experts say.

A Bangladeshi non-government organisation has misappropriated an international grant of nearly $1.9 million, meant to fight AIDS and tuberculosis, through fabricated bank statements, cheques and accounting journals.
According to a probe report of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Padakhep Manabik Unnayan Kendra diverted the money in 2004-09 and tried to justify the withdrawals with fake and forged documents.
The report, released on July 11, said the withdrawals -- about 52 percent of the total $3.62 million fund disbursed to the NGO -- never took place. The organisation maintained false bank account numbers to conceal the fund diversion.
The Global Fund, which so far has provided $82 million to ministries and NGOs in Bangladesh to tackle the deadly diseases, said the misappropriated amount might be even more. The report recommended recovering the loss from Padakhep.
The Global Fund, an international financing institution, has so far committed $22.6 billion in 150 countries to support large-scale prevention, treatment and care programmes.
The report reads Padakhep made significant efforts to conceal the fund diversion by fraudulently maintaining manufactured records to justify the withdrawals that never actually happened.
The fabricated papers include false bank statements and cheques, accounting journals in fictitious programmes and activities and invoices for made-up purchases.
“Vendors who allegedly provided goods and services under the programme also confirmed in several instances that the bids, invoices, and cheques bearing their companies' names were not authentic and that the vendors never provided the goods or services and they never received the funds,” explains the report, prepared after a year-long investigation by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of The Global Fund.
Exposure of some financial irregularities of Padakhep in two AIDS prevention projects financed by The Global Fund in mid-2009 led the donor into conducting the investigation.
Save the Children, a globally active NGO and also the principal recipient of The Global Fund money, had appointed Padakhep as the sub-recipient. It found irregularities while monitoring the project implementations.
Save the Children ended its contracts with Padakhep on November 24 last year.
Padakhep challenged the contract termination and is now in a legal battle with Save the Children. It even claimed $14.23m in damages.
According to the report, Padakhep held its funds with NCC Bank between November 2004 and December 2009. Later, it moved its accounts to Dutch Bangla Bank.
The OIG investigation team found that Padakhep had concealed the genuine bank statements maintained at the NCC bank and instead created and produced its own versions of statements, which were in fact fictitious.
The NGO often reported different account numbers on its forged bank statements than the NCC Bank actually used. Padakhep produced falsified bank statements and provided those to Save the Children in order to back the expenditures, the report says.
The report used scanned copies of the genuine and fake banks account numbers. It drew a comparison that proved bank statements provided by Padakhep and those of NCC Bank were not the same. The amounts and dates of fund withdrawals were also different in the genuine and fake bank statements.
The OIG team showed the versions of bank documents provided by Padakhep to senior NCC Bank officials who confirmed that the statements were not issued by the bank. However, the probe body did not find evidence of the practice in DBB Bank accounts.
To maintain consistency between the false bank statements and supporting documentation, Padakhep created, produced and utilised extensive and elaborate false documentation to support fabricated bank statements, and conceal the actual nature of its expenditures.
The accounting journals reflected the transactions in the forged statements.
The OIG in its report placed an accounting journal page and the corresponding genuine and fraudulence bank statements. A transaction of Tk 61,700 for a workshop described in the accounting journal appeared in both genuine and false statements, but a withdrawal of Tk 35,000 was only in the false bank statement.
The OIG team said the amount of Tk 35,000 had never actually been withdrawn.
Padakhep has been working in the fields of micro-credit, education, health, agriculture and environment for 25 years with funds from various international donors. At present, it is running 32 projects all over Bangladesh.
VERSIONS OF PADAKHEP
Terming the report one-sided, Padakhep Executive Director Iqbal Ahammed said Save the Children, being the principal recipient of the fund, was equally responsible if anything happened since it supervised, monitored and audited the project activities.
“Padakhep can't do anything through bypassing Save the Children and its staff. If anything happened then that should have been come out at the time of the happening, but Save the Children had no objection to our activities then,” he said, accusing the OIG of not taking and including its comments in the report.
Asked how he could deny the proof of forgery and fraudulence to conceal a misappropriation of funds, Iqbal Ahammed said that while many points of the report were not correct, they needed to verify the images and the proof used in the report.
“Padakhep is going to challenge the report. We have serious comments on the report, but will not give that since the matter is now before a tribunal,” he told The Daily Star.
REACTION OF SAVE THE CHILDREN
The OIG report clearly establishes that Padakhep has misappropriated not less than $1.89 million of donor funds intended to fight the scourge of HIV and AIDS in Bangladesh, said its Country Director Michael McGrath through an email.
He said the report was the result of more than a year of intensive investigation, involving discussions not only with Padakhep and its bank, but also with health ministry officials and principal and sub-recipients of The Global Fund grants.
“The evidence is overwhelming. Padakhep has been provided with an opportunity to comment on the draft report. If the OIG did not incorporate the changes requested by Padakhep, I can only assume that it was because they were not convinced as to the accuracy or truthfulness of the information provided by Padakhep,” said McGrath.
He termed Padakhep's claim that the principal recipient shared equal culpability for the fraud as absolutely “outrageous”.
“If a criminal is caught by the police and charged with serious crimes, would we say that the police were equally responsible for the crimes committed, because it took them some time to identify the culprit and assemble the evidence?”
The only reason why Padakhep is seeking to prevent public discussion of the OIG report is that they do not want the people, the government and the donors to know the details of the donor fund misappropriation which they have been responsible for over an extended period of time.
Instead of taking action against the NGO, the health ministry has recommended that Padakhep undertake a Tk 24 crore project fighting HIV/AIDS.

Divers have located the oil tanker MT Meherjan that sank in Meghna on Wednesday.

The tanker's position was determined to be a place near Char Sultani, a place near Kaliganj, a Barisal River Port official said on Saturday.

Rescue vessel MV Hamza reached the spot in the morning and MV Rustam arrived in the afternoon. The vessels will work together for the rescue work.

Divers said the spot was about 100 feet deep and that the tanker was unreachable because of strong currents.

Hamza commander Rafiqul Islam told bdnews24.com the tanker even without its cargo would weigh 250-300 tonnes. "MV Hamza has a capacity of handling only up to 60 tonnes," he said.

BIWTA Chairman Samsuddoha Khandaker led a seven-member team to the spot and a three-member Environment Department team reached there to collect water samples.

Environment Department Director Sukumar Biswas told bdnews24.com their team was collecting dissolved oxygen and other samples.

The Jamuna Oil Company (JOCL) tanker, MT Meherjan, carrying 700,000 litres of petrol and diesel sank in mid-river after a collision with a cargo vessel, Fazlul Haq-3, on Wednesday night at Mehendiganj upazila in Barisal.

The cargo vessel's hands escaped soon after the accident. One of the tanker's staff, Nizam Uddin, has been missing.

The oil tanker was on its way to JOCL's Barisal depot.

Clashes between followers of two 'Pirs' (saints) left one person dead and 20 others injured on Saturday at the district's Raypura upazila.

Raypura OC Abdul Baten had told bdnews24.com in the afternoon that there had been three casualties, but in the afternoon he recanted to say police had found only one dead body.

The clashes begun around 11am and continued in sporadic outbursts at Kacharikandi village. Both parties, followers of Kashimpur and Char Monai Pirs, used firearms and sharp weapons, the police officer said.

The dead body of Khoka Mia, 35, who died in the clash, has been kept at the Narsingdi Sadar Hospital.

Police earlier said one Ejaj Mia, 25, had died. Later, Brahmanbaria Sadar Hospital's Dr Safin Ahmed told bdnews24.com he had been sent to Dhaka for treatment.

The injured have been admitted to the Raypura Hospital, various local clinics and sent to Brahmanbaria for treatment, police said.

OC Baten said the clash erupted as a result of a long-standing dispute between the followers of the two Pirs.

He added that 25 people were detained from the scene during the clashes.

Shooting took centre stage at the Olympics on Saturday when IOC President Jacques Rogge handed over the first gold medal of the London Games, but it was the pioneering and pregnant athletes who stole the show.

China's Yi Siling took the honour of being the first London gold medallist when she won the women's 10 metre air rifle at a packed Royal Artillery Barracks in southeast London as supporters clamoured to see the opening action.

"I felt like a movie star," the 23-year-old Yi told reporters after winning her first Olympic gold.

"Now I've got the gold medal I feel very happy and very excited. I almost cried."

The event was graced by International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge who watched the 40 minute final and then presented the first medal at his last Games before he steps down from the role next year.

However, Yi and Rogge shared the spotlight with eight-months pregnant shooter Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi of Malaysia who had the world's media hanging on her every word and movement.

Struggling to fit into her shooter's jacket, the 29-year-old could only finish 34th in the 56 woman qualifying heat but her performance was not the pressing issue.

"Baby is quite fine. She hasn't made an appearance during training or competition. I told her to behave herself," Suryani said after she felt "only three or four kicks" during the competition.

"When she kicked I tried to breathe in, breathe out and make myself calm."

Another markswoman was also causing quite a stir.

Bahia Al Hamad became Qatar's debut female Olympian when she was the first of the Gulf nation's three women athletes to see action in London.

"DREAM COME TRUE"

The 20-year-old carried the flag for her country the previous evening at the opening ceremony and finished a credible 17th in the rifle qualifying heat after receiving a wild card to take part.

"The competition was very hard, but I'm so happy and I enjoyed it," Al Hamad said.

"It is fun to be in the Olympics. It's a dream come true for me to be here," she added before fleeing the media scrum around her mid-question as the attention seemed all too much.

After the qualifying had finished, Yi took control of the eight-woman final when she fired a pinpoint 10.7 at the target, just shy of the maximum 10.9, to overtake rival Poland's Sylwia Bogacka who had led for most of the way but could only manage a 9.7.

Bogacka had to settle for silver and China also collected a bronze thanks to Yu Dan but there was no clean sweep on day one for the 2008 Games hosts.

Expected to claim the majority of the 15 shooting golds on offer in London, China suffered a disappointing start to the men's disciplines when defending champion Pang Wei finished fourth in the 10m air pistol.

The event was won by South Korean Jin Jong-oh, who held his nerve to hold on for victory after a slight mid-final meltdown.

Groans echoed around the indoor range from the 2,000 spectators who packed both shooting finals as Jin fired a disappointing nine with his seventh shot to give his opponents hope.

But the 32-year-old, firing his pistol with his right hand while his left was planted firmly in his pocket, roared back with a near perfect 10.8 to seal gold ahead of Italy's Luca Tesconi. Andrija Zlatic of Serbia took bronze.

"The Chinese guy won the gold last time. I promised myself that I would not let it happen this time," Jin said.

Jin's memorable finished wrapped up a successful day for shooting, which attracts big headlines in Asia but lacks the same popularity elsewhere.

The women are the sole focus on Sunday with two gold medals up for grabs in the 10m air pistol and the skeet.

Earthquake originated in Myanmar jolted south-eastern part of Bangladesh Sunday morning.

Dhaka met office said the tremor, measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale, was felt at 8:21am and lasted for 15 seconds.

The source of the quake was 397 km east from Dhaka's Earthquake Observation Centre.

People in Bandarban, Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Chittaogong felt the tremor, but there was no report of casualties or damage.

The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has suspended its planned press meet where they were scheduled to announce hiked power tariff.

The Commission member Selim Mahmud told journalists about the suspension. "We had convened the press conference at 5pm at the BERC office. But we have suspended it as the technical evaluation needed to hike the power price was not completed yet."

Selim said the Commission has received new proposal about the power tariff. "We will make an announcement later after considering all the aspects."

Earlier, the Commission Chairman Yousuf Hossain told bdnews24.com "You've (journalists) been invited in the afternoon. You'll know the detail then."

The last time power price was hiked on Mar 29. Bulk and retail power prices were increased by 28 paisa and 30 paisa per unit on an average. The prices were retroactively made effective from Mar 1.

The Health Ministry on Thursday formed a three-strong probe body to investigate Wednesday's assault on journalists by Dhaka Medical College Hospital internees.

A ministry order said the committee has been asked to submit a report within seven days.

The committee is headed by Joint Secretary of the ministry (administration), Mahmuda Akter. Other members are Health Ministry Director (education) Shah Alam Latif and Prof Billal Alam of medicine department of DMCH.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has praised the former Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain as he resigned from the cabinet in the wake of raging tension between the government and the World Bank over alleged corruption in the Padma bridge project.

She also mentioned that the World Bank could not provide any evidence regarding the corruption allegation they raised against Abul Hossain.

"They (WB) pointed finger at a minister," Hasina said while replying questions from local Bangladeshi community media in London. "He put up advertisements in the media making his points and then submitted resignation letter to me."

"He had not resigned (earlier) because he had the guts (to face it), because he is a patriot."

"He [Abul Hossain] also wants Padma bridge. You should appreciate, only (an) Awami League (minister) could do this," she said.

Hasina said that the World Bank had stopped financing in communications and power sector in 2005 when BNP was in power. "Did the ministers resign at that time?"

The World Bank on Jun 29 cancelled its pledged $ 1.2 billion credit for the Padma bridge project claiming that the Bangladesh government had failed to meet its four conditions, one of which was sending those linked to the alleged corruption on leave pending the investigation.

The government has all along refuted the Washington-based lender's allegations. On Monday, however, Syed Abul Hossain, who was the Communications Minister when the graft charges were made, resigned as Minister of Information and Communications Technology, clearing the way for possible negotiations with the World Bank again. Former Bridges Division Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiya had also been sent on leave.

However, the Prime Minister in London said that the government had not moved away from its decision to build the Padma bridge with own fund.

She said if the World Bank decides to finances the Padma bridge project, that they would do on their own judgment.

"Let them decide. We have not moved away [from the initiative to build the bridge with own fund]. We will not back off."

"Padma bridge will be built with our own funds. Our initiative is on," Sheikh Hasina said on Wednesday in London.

The Prime Minister was talking to the local journalists of Bangladeshi origin at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London.

She reiterated her government's 'firm stand' to build Padma bridge. "We are not going backwards. We don't beg. We take loans."

"Whether World Bank comes or not we will build Padma bridge. We have the preparation," Hasina added.

On a question of submitting wealth statement of her cabinet members, the Prime Minister said the ministers submit wealth statement to the Cabinet Division every year. She also said that the account of wealth of the ministers can be found in the website of the Election Commission.

Humayun Ahmed wanted to turn his favourite retreat Nuhash Palli into a trust, but he could not do it in his lifetime, second wife Meher Afroz Shaon said on Tuesday.

"He wanted to build a trust from Nuhash Palli. I'll make his dream come true if I get the opportunity," she told reporters after Humayun Ahmed's burial there.

The famous virtuoso writer was laid to rest on Tuesday noon at his favourite spot Lichu Tola in his self-nurtured sanctuary Nuhash Palli at Pirujali village in Gazipur.

Shaon told reporters that she would do her utmost to realise Humayun's dream to make a trust of Nuhash Palli, which he built personally only for his own.

The celebrated writer-playwright-filmmaker raised Nuhash Palli in 1997 over a sprawling 40-bigha piece of land. This isolated sanctuary had meant 'more than his life' to him which boasts of hundreds of fruit, medicinal and other plants.

On May 12, a day after returning from New York after undergoing treatment, Humayun had told bdnews24.com at Nuhash Palli that he would prefer to be buried elsewhere so that his sanctuary did not turn into a regular graveyard.

"I had wanted to be buried here. But then I thought, maybe not. Then this place would turn into a typical graveyard. People would crowd the place…on Feb 21, on Nov 13, they would come here to lay wreaths," said the writer in his interview. "Now, that can't be allowed to happen."

He had said, "If, after my death, someone wants to research on medicinal plants, they would be most welcome. There could be a laboratory here, too."

His wife Shaon on Tuesday said that Humayun also wanted to build an institute there. "He had so many dreams centering Nuhash Palli."

She also asked for everyone's support to fulfil Humayun's dream.

Humayun died on July 19 at a New York hospital after battling with Cancer for about 10 months.

His first janaza was held in the United States followed by another one at the National Eidgah Maidan in Dhaka on Monday as his remains reached his homeland.

There was a rift in his family over the selection of burial site.

Shaon claimed Humayun's last wish was to be buried at Nuhash Palli, while the writer's three elder children from his first wife wanted their father to be buried at a place in Dhaka which was easily accessible for all.

Humayun's younger brother Muhammad Zafar Iqbal informed the media about the decision to bury his brother at Nuhash Palli in the wee hours of Tuesday following insistence from Shaon.

The seed of last month's violent RMG protests in Ashulia was arguably sown in late May when a storekeeper was beaten up for using his cell-phone on factory premises.

Salman Shameem Khan, from the neighbouring That's It Packaging was severely beaten for being on the phone at sister company Architect Design Ltd after visiting the factory's medical centre.

Both factories, set close to each other about an hour outside Dhaka, are part of the Ha-Meem group, a large conglomerate owned by FBCCI President Abul Kalam Azad.

Workers say that usually Ha-Meem Group employees get treated at the medical centre on Architect Design premises. Salman had come for treating his tuberculosis.

Refusing to be quoted by their names, workers allege that cell-phone use is strictly prohibited for them while on the factory compound. The executives, however, are allowed the privilege.

At one point, Salman could not take it anymore and slapped the angry executive, who the workers say was a director of the factory.

Soon, police were called in and Salman was turned in to them. He ended up at Ashulia Police Station only to be implicated in a false case, workers also allege.

The incident enraged the workers who were apparently already aggrieved by their low pay and an increasingly hard life. They started to become organised demanding Salman's release, forcing factory authorities to bring the sick man back and produce him in front of them in a couple of days.

Salman had been severely injured, beyond recognition, according to eyewitnesses. This only added to the wild speculations that someone else had been produced instead of Salman, who had actually been killed and fallen victim to another 'forced disappearance'.

According to news reports, the unrest had first broken out at Architect Design. The agitation began spreading on Jun 11 and raged through 300 factories in the area like a wildfire with thousands of poorly-paid workers, many of whom are often manhandled by supervisors, spilling out onto the streets, demonstrating.

Apparently refusing to address and resolve the situation, owners decided to go on a strike of their own. They decided to shut down their factories as the demonstrations and police violence ran into the fifth consecutive day on Jun 16.

Insiders say grievance was already there over meagre payment and disgruntled workers let out their pent-up emotions in waves of protests.

"I can't explain how it turned into such a big agitation, but it all began centring the apparently trivial incident," said Azhar Ali, Production Manager at That's It Packaging.

"You cannot control a mob of 11,000 workers when you have a capacity to handle only 2000. The group (Ha-Meem) failed to control its workers," said Babul Akhter, President of Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation.

Workers say they were fed up with tough factory rules. The monthly 'attendance bonus' of Tk 250 is off even if they show up seconds late for a single day.

"Even if it was due to illness and you produce medical certificate to support the claim, you won't get the attendance bonus," said garment worker Hamidul Islam who finds Tk 250 quite a sum.

When a factory has a lot of orders, overtime is mandatory for all the workers. It does not matter whether someone is sick or not, workers told bdnews24.com.

"Otherwise, you miss the annual increment of Tk 300-400," said Asma Khatun, another RMG worker.

Sometimes the labourers lose their jobs for such trivial reasons as failing to meet their daily production requirements. That is what happened to Mahtab and his wife Rokeya Begum, who had come from Gaibandha.

Mahtab's daily production meant checking 1,200 items in eight hours, or 150 per hour or, to be more precise five items every two minutes.

"If you cannot meet the daily rate in eight hours, you won't be allowed to come out of the factory until you complete your work, no matter how long it takes," said Mahtab.

Even the time spent in the toilet is measured and if it takes longer than what the senior officials think reasonable, the worker will certainly be given a dressing down.

"I understand our late attendance may hamper production, but there are ways to deal with it," said Jahanara Begum, who had to quit out of fear after a fire broke out in her factory.

Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association President AKM Salim Osman admitted that mid-level factory management has not matured or developed as have workers and factory owners. "Our mid-level management is not good at all."

Strict factory rules for the sake of what they said maintaining standards do not quite match what the factories provide for workers.

Working conditions are said to fall far short of international standards that the owners are keen about as regards their products. The 9-storey Spectrum Sweater Industries collapsed to kill 61 workers in 2005. The following year a fire at KTS Textiles and Garments factory in Chittagong killed 54. These are just a couple of examples out of dozens.

Allegations have it despite clear neglect of owners, they have been acquitted each time.

"People would have taken to the streets in droves to support us if they knew what happens inside a factory," said Mahtab.

Babul Akhter admitted it was not at all unlikely that someday aggrieved garment workers would fall prey to the machinations of political parties out to secure their narrow self interest.

Amid rains and flower petals, writer Humayun Ahmed was laid to eternal rest at his favourite retreat at Nuhash Palli in Gazipur on Tuesday.

Thousands of people including his fans, relatives and friends thronged Nuhash Palli to say goodbye to the popular writer who captivated them for nearly four decades.

Rain, which had fascinated the writer most in his lifetime, poured down incessantly during the burial.

"Humayun Ahmed liked rain. His janaza and burial took place in the rain. In New York it also rained during his janaza," brother Muhammad Zafar Iqbal told reporters.

Humayun's elder son Nuhash led the pallbearers who gave shoulder and placed Humayun in the grave. Nuhash was wearing a Panjabi of blue colour, the colour his father related with rainy season in many of his fictions.

Humayun's daughters Sheela and Nova, second wife Meher Afroz Shaon and her sons Nishad and Ninit along with the writer's two brothers, Zafar Iqbal and Ahsan Habib, and two sisters attended the burial.

Following the family's decision in the early hours of Tuesday to bury Humayun at Nuhash Palli, the ambulance carrying his remains left BIRDEM mortuary and reached Nuhash Palli at 12:05pm. Police restricted traffic at various points of the Highway.

A sculptor at Nuhash Palli, Asaduzzaman Khan, told bdnews24.com they had been taking preparations for the burial since morning.

The local administration remained alert to avoid any unpleasant incidents at the burial. Police provided tight security to the ambulance once it entered Gazipur.

Thousands of fans lined the streets from Uttara to Gazipur to get a last glimpse of Humayun. They waved to him as the coffin passed and some threw flowers at the convoy.

People began gathering at Nuhash Palli from morning, ignoring the intermittent showers. At one point people filled the road up to one-kilometre outside Pirujali village. Gazipur's Deputy Commissioner, acting Superintendent of Police and local MPs were also present.

Thousands attended Humayun's third funeral, held at 1:30pm at Nuhash Palli. Immediately afterwards, he was laid to rest at Lichu Tola.

Zafar Iqbal thanked the local administration for their help with the burial.

On choosing the burial spot Ahsan Habib told bdnews24.com: "He often used to make fun of death. Once he went to the Litchi orchard [at Nuhash Palli] and said he would like the place to be his grave. Again he went near a tamarind tree and said 'please bury me here, I have liked it too."

In the last few days, family members were divided on the issue of Humayun's burial site. Shaon claimed Humayun's last wish was to be buried at Nuhash Palli while the writer's children with his first wife wanted their father to be buried at a place in Dhaka easily accessible to all.

At at 2:30 am Tuesday, after long negotiations, Zafar Iqbal told the media they had decided to bury his brother at Nuhash Palli, adding that they did not want to get the burial delayed anymore.

Ahsan Habib said Humayun's first wife Gultekin Ahmed and her younger daughter Bipasha Ahmed were supposed come to Bangladesh from the United States on Tuesday.

Humayun died on July 19 at a New York hospital after battling with cancer for about nine months. His first janaza was held there.

Thousands of people, fans, colleagues, political leaders, top government officials descended on the Central Shaheed Minar to pay their last respects to Humayun after a flight carrying the remains landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday morning.

Humayun's body was taken to the BIRDEM Hospital mortuary after the second namaz-e-janaza at the the National Eidgah ground.

Nuhash, Sheela and Nova reached Nuhash Palli before the ambulance came.

Fans started to converge there as soon as the first light of the day appeared and about a kilometre of road stretching from Nuhash Palli to Pirujali village was filled with people.

All of them took part in the writer's last funeral.

Humayun Ahmed almost knew where the killer disease called cancer was going to take him finally, or at least so it seems.

And being a writer, he picked up his pen-n-paper yet again to narrate how it would be like to be dead – his premonition of death.

Perhaps, he had sensed the disease even before the formal diagnosis of cancer in September last year, and authored his experiences in "Megher Upor Bari" (house over the clouds), which he published in the National Book Fair he attended in February this year.

Surprisingly, Humayun died exactly the way described in the book, which can be at best termed a mere coincidence or through the writer's preferred theory of Extrasensory Perception (ESP).

With a dateline of Jamacia, New York, where the writer had fought the fatal disease for close to 10 months, Humayun in a two-paragraph preface to the book writes, "I wrote this novel…when a complex disease named cancer has made my body its abode. I did not know about it until then… Is it true that my sub-conscious mind had the news for a strange reason?"

"I assume it is true. That's why I have written this novel in the words of a dead man… Why did I write all these? The universe is mysterious."

Then begins the novel: "I am dead, or am I going to die, I still cannot decide. It seems I am dead."

The agonist, who has just died, begins telling the story reminding repeatedly, "I am dead."

Humayun, a charismatic writer, who is often identified affectionately by his fans as 'a man moonstruck' for his romanticism for moonlit-night and rain, could not keep up with being dead for long.

His protagonist looked for a console and said, "I now understand, telepathy is a power that comes after death."

"Living people do not have any telepathic power, dead do have. Don't know if everyone of the dead has it ... at least I have."

Within a few pages the power, which made many of his fiction characters so influential like Himu, who has strong influence on the younger generation, soon appeared frail confronting another problem of being dead: "Maybe, dead cannot feel by touching. The matter is not clear to me. (Page 18)"

The dead protagonist then wonders why his dead relatives are not coming to give him a lift.

"I knew, relatives crowd around a man dying. They mainly try to make the man's journey into the unknown world easier. (Page 23)"

Humayun, who wrote over 322 books topping the list of bestsellers for over two decades in Bangladesh due to lucid narratives peppered with humour, takes an absurd break, "How will my hell look like? There will be some of my students .... they will ask me questions I will not be able to answer. (Page 25)"

Coincidentally, the dead protagonist has strange resemblance to the writer, a Ph.D in Polymer Chemistry who taught Chemistry at the Dhaka University. The protagonist is Dr Iftekharul Islam, an Associate Prof of Applied Physics.

"It will definitely make news for newspapers. Media person await such news. A follow-up is published every day. But it stops the 5th or 6th days. Everyone will forget everything" thinks the protagonist as the story develops.

But, how the protagonist is going to keep up the suspense when the writer is distracted by the thought of death?

Well, Humayun Ahmed had his ways.

"There are lot many things to enjoy for the people on earth. Drama-cinema-book-music-arts… Is there any such arrangement in afterlife?" the dead protagonist wonders.

Giving every possible detail centering death, Humayun writes: "We are parts of an entertainment game designed by a master programmer."

At certain stages, the dead feels the urge to read and sometimes to write, but finds neither pen nor paper. He decides to continue writing in his thoughts. He thinks about the God and finds himself in the ocean of paradox.

He imagines going through the roads in Shalban as his relatives take his remains for burial. He wonders about his wife and her child who cannot get through the stages of video games without his father.

"I have become an observer," the dead realises sometimes.

The strange thing about the novel is that the writer virtually describes his own death the way it actually came by. The agonist's aunty dies of colon cancer, which after setting off from colon affected her liver and lungs before rendering her unconscious.

On July 18, a day before the writer died, the Bangladesh's Permanent Representative at the UN in New York said an unknown virus had attacked the writer, affecting his lungs and liver and that the writer was unconscious.

At the end of Page 95 of the 96-page book, Humayun writes, "I understand, I have to leave. Where will I go? I don't know. Man does not know from where he comes. Then how is he expected to know where he will go!"

Suddenly the dead protagonist sees lights having abnormal magnetic power pulling him to its centre.

He begins to rush towards the light. He turns for a moment to say, "Men of the earth! Be good. Be happy. I am running towards the light. I know I have to travel an infinite distance. Infinite never finishes. Then how the journey will end? Who will tell me that?"

Bangladesh on Tuesday told India that if New Delhi failed to sign the 1974 land boundary agreement and its additional protocol that the two countries signed in September 2011, it would send out "a very wrong signal".

Foreign Secretary Mohamed Mirajul Quayes is understood to have conveyed to his Indian counterpart Ranjan Mathai Dhaka's concern over implementation of the agreement and the protocol signed during Indian Prime Minister's visit to Dhaka last year.

Quayes and Mathai on Tuesday led the Bangladesh and Indian delegations respectively in the annual bilateral Foreign Office Consultation.

Sources with knowledge of the matter said that Quayes stressed early implementation of the land boundary deal and the protocol during his talks with Mathai.

A spokesman for the India's Ministry of External Affairs said the two sides had "cordial, constructive and comprehensive" talks on the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including cooperation in political and security related matters, border management, counter-terrorism, trade and investment, water resources, power cooperation, including in renewable energy, connectivity, development cooperation and increasing people-to-people ties.

He said the issue of the stalled negotiation for the agreement on sharing of water of river Teesta was also raised during the Foreign Office Consultation.

The Indian Foreign Secretary is understood to have reiterated to his counterpart that New Delhi was committed to continuing negotiations for an agreement to share the water of Teesta, but at present it was engaged in internal discussions with the State Governments of West Bengal and Sikkim.

BNP thinks that the US is correct in being concerned over human rights situation in Bangladesh, especially on account of alleged extra judicial killings by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

BNP Acting Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir discussed the party's stance over the matter with journalists on Saturday.

He thanked the US for discussing Bangladesh's human rights situation in its Congress.

"Human rights are being violated to the hilt under this government. A number of BNP leaders and activists, including Organising Secretary M Ilias Ali, have been kidnapped and killed.

"We've spoken against these many times, but the government did not pay any heed. Even the US Congress heard that the human rights in Bangladesh are now in tatters. It's worrisome," he said.

Robert O Blake Jr, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs of the US, told the Congress on Thursday that the US has authentic information on extra-judicial killings and abductions by RAB in Bangladesh.

Blake said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had conveyed during her trip to Bangladesh in May the concern of her country over the murder of labour rights activist Aminul Islam and the disappearance of opposition leader Ilias Ali.

Aminul had been killed and Ilias disappeared in April.

Despite prayers and good wishes, Humayun Ahmed, losing his battle to cancer, started on his final trip to Bangladesh, in a coffin.

Relatives of the popular contemporary fiction writer boarded a flight from the John F Kenedy Airport around 9am (BDST) on Sunday.

Hundreds of expatriate Bangladeshis have gathered at the airport to bid final farewell to the writer. The Bangladeshi permanent envoy to the UN A K Abdul Momen was present too at the time of departure.

Momen said the Emirates flight carrying the writer's mortal remains was scheduled to land at the Hazrat Shahajalal International Airport, Dhaka at 8:40am on Monday via Dubai.

The writer will be laid to rest at Nuhash Palli on Tuesday.

Earlier, Shammilata Shangskritik Jote President Nasiruddin Yusuf Bacchu said the writer's remains will be kept at the Central Shaheed Minar on Monday from 11am to 2pm so that public can pay their last respect.

He said a janaza will be held at the National Eidgaah at 2:30pm and then Humayun's body will be kept at Birdem's mortuary.

The writer will be laid to rest at Nuhash Palli after Johr prayers On Tuesday, Bachchu added.

The prolific writer breathed his last at a New York hospital after suffering from cancer for nine months. When his condition deteriorated, his younger brother Muhammad Zafar Iqbal and his wife Yasmin Haq went to New York and were with Humayun when he died.

The writer's first wife, Gultekin, was in New York too but she was not seen at the hospital or anywhere. According to sources, she might be present at the burial at Nuhash Palli.

A family source said Gultekin was supposed to arrive in Bangladesh by 11am on Monday.

Humayun was diagnosed with cancer less than a year ago. The prolific writer, who has authored more than 300 bestsellers, was 64 at the time of his death.

Apparel factory workers have blockaded the Dhaka-Sylhet highway and demonstrated for over two and a half hours pressing for various demands including payment of due wages.

Quoting eyewitnesses Rupganj Police Station's Officer-in-Charge Atikur Rahman Khan said that workers of Harvest Rich Garments factory at Rupganj took to the streets at Bhulta Aukhab area around 9am on Suday.

At one point, they vandalised the windowpanes of the factory building and seven to eight vehicles on the street, he said.

They withdrew from the street around 11:45am after the factory authorities assured to pay their dues within Monday.

The nearly two and a half hour stop in traffic has led to a large backlog on the highway, the police official added.

Anwar Hossain, a worker of the factory, said that their wages for two months were pending. Every month they receive payment not before 22nd-23rd, he added.

The workers became agitated when they came to the factory on Sunday and found that their wages were not yet ready. At one point, around 6,500 workers started demonstrating in the factory premises.

They vandalised the windows of the factory building and the adjacent branch of Rupali Bank. They later took to the streets and vandalised a number of vehicles, police said.

Sporadic chases and counter-chases took place between the workers and police when they tried to force the demonstrating workers out of the highway.

Director of Industrial Police's Adamjee unit (Battallion 4) Mahbub Alam told : "The owners have assured to pay the due wages within Monday after talks with the workers. The workers withdrew demonstration around midday."

Myanmar is ready to take back its nationals living in Bangladesh after verification.

Newly-appointed Myanmar Ambassador U Myo Myint Than said this during his first meeting with Foreign Minister Dipu Moni at her office on Wednesday, according to a media statement of the Foreign Ministry.

"The Ambassador expressed his government's intention to take back the refugees and undocumented Myanmar nationals after verification," the statement said.

Dipu Moni at the meeting requested Myanmar to take back their nationals residing in Bangladesh immediately.

"Appreciating Myanmar government for its commitment for democracy and the recent political reconciliation, Dipu Moni hoped that the people who entered Bangladesh from Myanmar would be taken back by Myanmar," the statement said.

The minister appreciated the steps taken by the Myanmar government in containing violence in Rakhine state.

"The Myanmar Ambassador thanked Bangladesh government for the cooperation extended to Myanmar in dealing with the Rakhine state problem," it said.

Bangladesh and Myanmar at numerous meetings, including the recently-concluded Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) and during the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Myanmar in December 2011, had agreed for repatriation of Myanmar refugees and undocumented nationals to their country.

The foreign minister hoped that the forthcoming visit of the President of Myanmar to Bangladesh would take place after the holy month of Ramadan.

Myanmar President Thein Sein was expected to visit Dhaka on July 15 but it was deferred due to recent violence in Rakhine.

The Myanmar Ambassador also called on Foreign Secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes earlier in the day.

The number of educational institutions where no student passed the Higher Secondary Certificate examinations has remained the same as the last year. However more institutions have secured hundred percent pass rate this year.

This year hundred percent examinees have passed from 1,036 colleges out of a total of 7,465 institutions. The number was 892 last year.

The pass rate is zero in 24 colleges this year which was exactly the same last year.

Of the institutions having hundred percent pass rates, Dhaka Board has the highest 56 institutions while Rajshahi has 12, Comilla 6, Jessore 4, Chittagong 5, Barisal, 5, Sylhet 12 and Dinajpur 12.

In Madrasah board, 767 institutions have hundred percent pass rates while the number of institutions is 157 in vocational board.

From the opposite account of educational institutions having zero pass rates, Dhaka still stands first with no students of its six institutions failing to come out successful.

Dhaka has been followed by Dinajpur, Rajshahi, Barisal and Jessore.

In Sylhet, Chittagong and Comilla, there is no institution where all students have been unsuccessful.

Traders have promised not to raise prices of sugar and edible oils during the holy month of Ramadan as there is sufficient stock of the essentials.

Vice-President of Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners Association and City Group Chairman Fazlur Rahman also announced on Wednesday that on the contrary, the prices of edible oils would lower by minimum Tk 1 per litre since the prices had dropped in the global market.

"The final decision will be taken after talks with other members of the association," he added.

The announcement came from a meeting held at the conference room of the Commerce Ministry, with Commerce Secretary Golam Hossain in the chair.

All the 12 cadet colleges in the country have achieved 100 percent pass rate in the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and its equivalent examinations this year, while 539 students out of a total 558 students of those colleges have scored maximum grade point average of GPA-5.

Faujdarhat Cadet College has been the best performing institution of them with 38 out of its 41 examinees securing GPA-5.

Education Minister Nurul Islam submitted a copy of the HSC examination results to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Ganabhaban on Wednesday morning. Chairmen of different education boards were present on the occasion.

Jhenaidah Cadet College has secured the second position with 46 students out of its 47 getting GPA-5.

Forty-four students out of 45 have achieved the maximum GPA from Mirzapur Cadet College, while the number of GPA-5 scorers is 49 out of 50 from Pabna Cadet College, 40 out of 50 from Comilla Cadet College and 47 out of 48 from Feni Cadet College.

All of the 49 students of Joypurhat Cadet College, 50 of Mymensingh Girls' Cadet College, 44 of Rajshahi Cadet College, 46 of Sylhet Cadet College, 46 of Rangpur Cadet College and 45 of Barisal Cadet College have got GPA-5.

On average, 78.67 percent of examinees have passed the HSC and its equivalent examinations held under 10 education boards of the country this year.

The HSC or equivalent examinations began on April 1 and concluded on May 24 this year.

A total of 917,673 examinees -- 490,918 male and 426,755 female -- from 7,465 educational institutions appeared at the examinations, of whom 721,979 students have come out successful.

Of them, 61,162 candidates have scored maximum grade point average of GPA-5. The number is 21,393 more than that of the last year.

Sylhet Board has secured the top position among all the eight general education boards with a pass rate of 85.37 and Barisal Board has been the lowest with 66.98 percent success rate.

From Dhaka Board 81.89 percent candidates passed this year's HSC examinations.

The pass rate is 78.44 in Rajshahi, 67.87 in Jessore, 75.41 in Dinajpur, 72.29 in Chittagong and 74.56 in Comilla.

Under the Madrasa Education Board, 84,246 students took part in the examination and 91.77 came out successful.

Under the Technical Education Board 86,705 students sat for the examination. Of them, 73,103 came out successful. The pass percentage is 84.32.

Writer Humayun Ahmed is lying unconscious in a New York hospital after a deadly virus made his treatment difficult, a top official has said.

"He's been lying unconscious in the Intensive Care Unit," Bangladesh's Permanent Representative at the United Nations Dr Abdul Momen, who visited the writer Tuesday night (Wednesday morning Dhaka time), told bdnews24.com.

"There is accumulated water in his lungs, but the doctors said his brain is still functioning," he said.

Doctors at the Bellevue Hospital told Momen that they had failed to detect the virus rendering their efforts fruitless.

"An unknown virus, which could not be detected immediately, has spread through his body," Momen said quoting doctors.

The writer is currently under watch in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital and his lungs have swollen.

"The virus has infected him at the time he was expected to be recovering from illness," the ambassador said.

Humayun's friend and renowned actor Asaduzzaman Nur, MP, who is currently at the US, also visited the popular contemporary Bengali fiction writer at the hospital.

"His condition has slightly improved. But he is still in ICU. We are worried," Nur told bdnews24.com at 10:30pm on Wednesday.

The 63-year-old writer went to New York on Sept 14 last year with his wife and children for undergoing colon cancer treatment. The writer had been living at a rented flat in Queens with his family.

He underwent 12 chemotherapy cycles at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre.

After that, Humayun underwent a surgery on Jun 12. He was admitted to a Jamaican hospital after one day as he suffered from abdominal pain.

From there, he was transferred to the Bellevue Hospital for a second surgery.

His younger brother Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, also a renowned fiction writer, is currently at New York to stay by his side along with Humayun's wife Meher Afroz Shawon.

Born in Mymensingh in 1948, he did his graduation from the Dhaka University and later joined the university as a lecturer of Chemistry but later became a fulltime writer and filmmaker.

Winner of prestigious Bangla Academy Award in 1981, Ekushey Padak in 1994 and three National Film Awards (Best Story in 1993, Best Film 1994 and Best Dialogue in 1994), Humayun continued writing while he was undergoing treatment in New York.

On Jan 13, the government made the 63-year old writer Senior Special Adviser to the Bangladesh Mission at the United Nations in New York.

The Rajshahi University has asked Bangladesh Chhatra League activists to stop fund-raising for the Padma bridge project, a day after a student was killed in a clash over the campaign.

It was none other than the university's Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Abdus Sobhan who had opened the campaign on July 12 with the slogan, 'It is us who will build the Padma bridge'.

The VC was the first to contribute Tk 500 to the fund.

According to versions of some BCL leaders, the gunfight that broke out between two factions of the ruling Awami League's student front in the early hours of Monday had stemmed from an argument over collection of money for the planned bridge.

The university administration decided to ask the BCL to call off the campaign on Tuesday. BCL leaders said they would give the money already collected in the campaign to the VC.

"I did not have any idea that such an incident would have arisen from such a small matter. After learning from the Finance Minister that money cannot be collected in the name of Padma bridge, we asked Chhatra League to stop collecting money in the name of building the bridge," said the university's Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof Mohammad Nurullah.

Earlier on Tuesday the morning on, Muhith said, "The government has not made any official announcement yet to collect money for the Padma bridge. Nobody was given the responsibility to collect fund. Those who extorted money are toll collectors. They should be punished."

The Pro-VC was also present at the inaugural ceremony of the fundraising campaign.

"I had gone there at the inaugural ceremony along with the Vice-Chancellor to inspire fund-raising after (we came to learn that) different progressive student organisations including the Chhatra League will collect money from the university teachers, students, officers and employees," said Prof Nurullah.

"We will give VC the money along with the boxes used for the collection," said BCL university unit President Ahmed Ali.

He, however, refused to accept that the bloody gunfight that claimed the life of one of their activists was triggered by the fundraising campaign.

One of the eight BCL activists expelled following the killing, Touhid Al Tuhin, had said that they collected Tk 18,000 so far.

Repairs of a major undersea communications cable will snap Bangladesh's internet connectivity with the rest of the world for nearly three hours after Tuesday midnight, officials say.

Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd (BSCCL) Managing Director Monowar Hossain confirmed  that there would be 'no connectivity' due to the repairs on the submarine cable severed a month ago 60 kilometres away from Singapore.

The mending will start at around 1am and he expects will be completed before 4am.

He said the internet remained uninterrupted despite the cable cut as they 'quickly' managed bandwidth from Italy.

"But now the power has to be shut down for reconnection," he said explaining the reason of no connectivity during repairs.

Bangladesh connects with the rest of the world with a lone submarine cable SEA-ME-WE-4 that stretches from Singapore to Mumbai in India via Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India's Chennai and Sri Lanka.

Goto this link you can get your HSC RESULT.

The government on Monday said power cuts will last only half an hour in Ramadan to ease public woes.

Currently, the people have to remain without power one hour on average once the power supply goes off.

Prime Minister's Power and Energy Advisor Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury said after a meeting the government will try to ensure uninterrupted power supply during Sehri and Iftar and during Tarabi prayers.

The average daily power production will rise by 600 megawatts (MWs), he told the meeting, just a week to Ramadan.

"If necessary, we will produce around 6,500 megawatts of electricity against the demand of 6,000 during Ramadan," Chowdhury said.

He, however, said around 6,300 MWs of electricity would be sufficient to meet the demands if the consumers use it wisely.

According to government statistics, the daily demand has been limited to around 6,500 MWs through 'Demand Side Management' though the real demand is almost 7,500 MWs.

Power Development Board (PDB) says the daily power production was 6,055 MWs against the demand of 6,100 MWs on Sunday.

PDB on Mar 22 set a new record of electricity generation by feeding 6,066 MWs to the national grid.

The prime ministerial advisor said the Power Division faced a few problems in distributing electricity in some regions although the production was more than it was last year.

He said the authorities had been directed to ensure uninterrupted power supply especially during azan times in Ramadan.

Chowdhury urged the consumers to use power wisely and said, "I have requested the authorities of the industries to shut their operations during Sehri and Iftar and during Tarabi prayers."

"I have also requested the shop owners to use electricity more economically," he added.

He said the incumbent government inked several agreements to build 56 power plants under both private and public management and added that 29 of those plants had started operations.

According to PDB, the daily power production increased by 3,500 MWs due to installation of new plants during the tenure of the incumbent government.

bill payment through SMS

The consumers of three of the 64 Palli Bidyut Samity (rural electrification associations) will be able to pay their bills through SMS from Sunday.

These are Dhaka Palli Bidyut Samity-2, Gazipur Palli Bidyut Samity and Cox's Bazar Palli Bidyut Samity.