BANGLADESH

Police have reopened traffic at Dhaka's key Shahbagh intersection after a nearly 6-hour halt following protests and vandalism by the Dhaka University students after the death of a fellow student in a road accident on Tuesday evening.

Traffic resumed around 1pm on Wednesday.

Touhid Uz Zaman, a second-year undergraduate student of the International Relations Department and a resident of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall, came under the wheels of a Rajdhani Express bus around 4:30pm on Tuesday as he was crossing the street near BIRDEM Hospital.

He succumbed to his injuries around 7:30pm. His remains were later sent to his ancestral home in Kishoreganj.

Infuriated by his death, fellow DU students had descended on the streets and smashed around 40 vehicles and also set on fire several of them in Shahbagh and New Market areas.

Their demonstrations led the traffic to a complete halt in these areas from 8pm until 11:45pm.

The demonstrations continued on Wednesday morning, too. The students were seen taking out a procession with a coffin.

Police had closed the roads linking the Shahbagh intersection in the morning even though traffic had resumed past-midnight on Tuesday. All vehicles were seen taking the road in front of the Rupasi Bangla Hotel.

The traffic halt caused long tailbacks at key points of the city, including Banglamotor, Karwan Bazar, Kakrail and Paltan.

Around 11:15am, nearly 200 students brought out a procession at the Shahbagh intersection from Modhur Canteen and organised a rally there.

They also spelt out several demands to ensure safety of teachers and students, including building an underpass at the Shahbagh intersection, punishing the bus driver responsible for the accident and the on-duty traffic police, compensating the deceased's family and the students who got injured during the Tuesday night's clash with the police, tightening of security at all the university entry points and barring outside vehicles from the campus.

Shammi Akter Happy, another student of the university's Psychology department, was also run over and killed by a bus at the same intersection on May 28, 2005. The university authorities facing tough protest had assured the students of building an underpass then, but the assurance never become a reality.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Ramna Zone Deputy Commissioner Nurul Islam had earlier told bdnews24.com that the traffic through the intersection was closed to avoid any more demonstrations and vandalism.

"The decision has been taken to ensure safety of the general people," he said.

Extra police personnel have also been deployed at all the different university entry points. Vehicles only with the university authorisation were allowed to enter the campus.

Police were also controlling the traffic at the other streets adjacent to the university in Kataban, Nilkhet, Polashi, Chankharpool and the High Court areas.

Meanwhile, ruling Awami League's student front Chhatra League's DU unit brought out a mourning procession around 11:30am over the death of Touhid Uz Zaman. DU Proctor Amzad Ali was seen in the procession.

The students of the International Relations Department also observed a human-chain programme around 12pm in front of the Arts Building protesting the death of their fellow student. Teachers of the department also joined hands with their students.

A Dhaka court on Wednesday allowed police to remand in their custody for three days for questioning the driver of the bus that allegedly killed a Dhaka University student in an accident on Tuesday.

Judge Rezaul Karim of the Metropolitan Magistrate's Court passed the order after a hearing after Officer-in-charge of Shahbagh Police Station Rupesh Chandra Baidya, who is Investigating the homicide case, produced bus driver Anwar Hossain, 40, before the court with a seven-day remand petition, General Recording Officer of the court Sub-Inspector Arshad Ali told bdnews24.com.

The court also rejected the bail petition of Anwar Hossain.

Towhid Uz Zaman, 23, a second-year undergraduate student of international relations, was critically injured when the speeding bus of Rajdhani Express hit him at Shahbagh intersection on Tuesday afternoon.

Towhid, a resident student of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall, was first taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Later, he was shifted to Green Life Hospital at Green Road where he succumbed to his injuries in the evening.

As the news of his death spread, the university students rushed to the scene and blocked the intersection in protest at the incident.

The rowdy students also vandalised and torched over 50 vehicles in Shahbagh, Kataban and New Market areas during the violent demonstrations. They also set fire to a police box at Shahbagh crossing.

Towhid was laid to rest at his village home in Kishoreganj district on Wednesday noon.

Two hours into trading on the week's last working day, the Dhaka Stock Exchange has maintained its initial high in the benchmark index.

The DGEN stood at 4503.98 points around 1:40pm on Thursday, a 50.55-point or 1.14 percent hike from the opening.

It reached the peak around 11:25am, only about an hour into the trade, to stand at 4578.41 points.

Shares and mutual funds worth around Tk 6.22 billion had changed hands in the two-hour trade, with prices of 146 issues gaining, 115 declining and 10 sticking to their opening prices.

On Wednesday, the DSE turnover had hit a four-month high standing at Tk 7.04 billion. The benchmark index had posted a 161.56-point or 3.76-percent rise to close at 4453.43 points.

On Tuesday, the DSE had ended its trade with the DGEN down 49.39 points. Monday had also seen a high turnover, Tk 6.3 billion, but the DGEN had fallen by 0.96 percent.

Both the General Index and the turnover had seen a rise on Sunday, the first working day after an 11-day closure on account of the Eid-ul-Fitr and other national holidays.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday in Tehran of signing the Teesta water-sharing deal and settling other thorny issues as soon as possible.

The heads of the two governments met at the Grand Azadi Hotel before the 16th NAM summit starting on Thursday, Foreign Secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes told bdnews24.com.

The Foreign Secretary termed the meeting positive and said, "The meeting went very well. The Indian Prime Minister assured Sheikh Hasina of signing the deal to share the waters of common river Teesta.

"The Indian Prime Minister told our Prime Minister that he will fulfil the commitments he made in the past few years."

"Manmohan Singh emphasised signing the deal with everyone's participation," he added.

Quoting the Indian Prime Minister, Secretary Quayes also said, "India wants to be a good development partner of Bangladesh."

He told Hasina that Bangladesh will not be subjected to any harm by the proposed Tipaimukh dam, Quayes said and added Hasina emphasised joint survey on the dam.

They also discussed import of power from India.

Hasina thanked the Indian government for reducing the interest of the $1 billion line of credit and turning $200 million of the loan into grant. She thanked India for granting the duty-free access of Bangladeshi products into its market.

Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, Ambassador-at-Large M Ziauddin and Bangladesh's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dr A K Abdul Momen, among others, were present.

At least one person was killed and 11 others injured when two trucks collided head-on in the capital's Uttara area on Thursday.

Officer-in-charge of Turag Police Station, Ziaul Karim, told bdnews24.com a Mymensingh-bound truck ran straight into a sand-laden truck at Kamarpara area around 5am, killing its driver on the spot.

Police identified the deceased as Mohammad Salauddin, 35, who was on his way to Mymensingh to buy fishes.

The injured have been identified as – Milon, 16, Islam, 15, Ohab, 30, Nazmul, 18, Swapan, 35, Mangal, 25, Tariful, 13, Chunnu, 14, Samad, 20, Nuru, 20 and Shahidul, 16.

The deceased and all the injured were on board the first truck, police said.

The injured have been sent to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital for treatment, Karim said.

The OC said they had confiscated the sand-laden truck but its driver fled the scene immediately after the accident.

Karim said the dead body had been sent to DMCH for autopsy.

Director General of South Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Juan Miranda has reasserted the bank's stance as a co-financer in the Padma bridge project and assured of continued support.

"Let me repeat that words that I want in your headline – this bridge will be built," he told journalists following a meeting with Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith at the Secretariat on Thursday.

When asked whether the Manila-based bank would remain on-board for the project, Miranda reassured: "ADB is as of today and as of tomorrow, ADB is a co-financier in this project."

To another query whether the ADB would extend the loan effectuation date, he again said, "This bridge will be built."

The Director General came to Dhaka on Tuesday night on a two-day official trip.

The genesis and further

The Padma bridge project has been in the throes of uncertainty ever since the lead financier, World Bank, cancelled its loan agreement of $1.2 billion for the mega project on June 29 saying it had "credible evidence" of a high-level corruption conspiracy among Bangladeshi government officials.

On July 31, the ADB and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), who were to provide major chunks of the remaining funds needed for the $2.9 billion project, extended their loan effectuation deadline to Aug 31.

The Asian lender has pledged to provide $610 million, while the JICA would contribute $400 million to the project, and the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank is committed to another $140 million.

Ever since the World bank pulled itself out of the project, the government has been stating that the bridge would be built with own fund, if need be, but the Finance Minister has been trying to persuade the World Bank to return.

On Aug 28, Muhith reiterated his hopes about the global lender getting on board again to finance the ambitious project. "Still, I have time until Aug 31. Don't get frustrated. So far nothing has happened to get frustrated."

Muhith made the observation as newspapers in the last two days had reported that the lending agency would not release the promised fund since all the conditions it had laid down were not fulfilled. It was rumoured that Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Advisor Mashiur Rahman is going to resign as per the bank's demand, but no such evidence is available to date.

After the Washington-based agency raised allegations of corruption last year, it gave the government some conditions for checking corruption in the project. As those remained unmet, it pulled out of Bangladesh's largest infrastructure project.

In the wake of controversy over the allegation of corruption, former Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain resigned in July last year and former Bridges Division Secretary Mosharraf Hossain was sent on leave.

Loan deadline extension to be urged

When journalists approached to the finance minister on Thursday and asked for his comment, he said, "You got the message."

The minister said he would not talk with the press on holidays. Friday and Saturday are holiday in Bangladesh.

"I am busy preparing my tax return. I will not talk during the holidays," he said.

However, on Wednesday, the minister, responding to queries by journalists about whether the government would appeal the project's co-financers to extend their Aug 31 deadline, said that they 'might'.

Officials of the ministry's Economic Relations Department said that the government was indeed drafting a letter for the ADB urging an extension.