D H A K A M O N D AY S E P T E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 1

SECOND EDITION

REGD. NO. DA 781 VOL. XXXI NO. 225 BHADRA 22, 1428 BS MUHARRAM 27, 1443 HIJRI 16 PAGES PRICE : TK12.00

Regular classes
not for all now
Only PECE, SSC, HSC examinees to have daily
in-person classes from Sept 12; others to attend
classes once a week
MOHIUDDIN ALAMGIR
Examinees of PECE, SSC and HSC will
have to attend in-person classes every week
day while the rest of the students will go
to school once a week after schools and
colleges reopen on September 12.
However, students of pre-primary
sections like play group and nursery will
not have to return to classrooms right now,
officials of primary and mass education
ministry said.
The government yesterday unveiled
the details of the reopening, which would
bring to an end a near 18-month closure
of educational institutions due to the
pandemic.
An inter-ministerial meeting at the
Secretariat decided that examinees of
Higher Secondary Certificate, Secondary
School Certificate of 2021 and 2022 and
candidates of this year’s Primary Education
Completion Exam (PECE), would attend
classes every day after schools and colleges
reopen.
Students of classes 1 to 4 and 6 to 9
will have in-person classes once a week.
The frequency of classes for these students
would be increased depending on the
Covid situation in the country.
“We have decided to resume classroom
teaching at all primary, secondary and
higher secondary educational institutions
on September 12,” Education Minister
Dipu Moni said after the inter-ministerial
meeting.
She said they took the decision as the
Covid-19 infection rate has come down
significantly and taking into considering
the fact that the infection rate in November-
December last year was significantly low.
Besides, substantial numbers are being
vaccinated against the highly transmissible
disease, she said.
“We have already taken preparations
for resuming teaching in classrooms. But
if there is anything [else] that needs to be
completed, it will be done by September
9,” she added.
She said all would need to wear masks,
students’ body temperatures would be
screened before they are allowed to enter A hill cut down in half to make room for the construction of a building in Khulshi VIP area of Chattogram city. Locals
PHOTO:
classrooms and that physical distancing said the real estate owners “managed” the Department of Environment, which has an office nearby, before they RAJIB RAIHAN
SEE PAGE 2 COL 3 proceeded with such blatant violation of the law.

No in-person classes for pre-

primary students now
Classes per week to be increased
Pull down defamatory E-ORANGE SCAM
Bringing back
depending on Covid situation
Parents asked not to send their
materials from online Banani cop
children if they are sick HC asks BTRC, blasts it for failure from India
Wearing mask, maintaining
social distance mandatory
won’t be easy
“BTRC can Says DMP commissioner
At primary, secondary schools, instantly stop
two students to sit on one bench STAFF CORRESPONDENT
defamatory
Bringing back
materials from Inspector Sheikh
spreading Sohel Rana of Banani
Police Station from
Poor batting INOCULATING CHILDREN online. But it India, where he has
doesn’t — as if been arrested for
approach
costs Tigers
No plan drawn it enjoys them.” trespassing, won’t
be easy as there is
a case filed against him there, said DMP

third T20I up yet HC observes Commissioner Shafiqul Islam yesterday.

STAFF CORRESPONDENT
More than the slowness
of the pitch, it was the
unorganised batting
approach that led to
Bangladesh being bundled
out for their lowest-ever
T20I total at home and
losing the third T20I
against New Zealand by 52
runs at the Sher-e-Bangla
National Stadium in
Mirpur yesterday.
Chasing a total of 128
for five, a competitive
score on a slow Mirpur
pitch, Bangladesh were
bundled out for 76 in 19.4
overs, their lowest T20I
total at home and joint
second-lowest overall.
The result also meant the
visitors bounced back after
losing the first two T20Is,
SEE PAGE 2 COL 1
Says DGHS a day after health
minister says govt was planning it
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The health directorate yesterday said there is no plan to
inoculate children under 18 against Covid-19.
The statement came a day after Health Minister Zahid
Maleque said the government was planning to inoculate
children as young as 12.
“We have no knowledge of the plan to vaccinate students
below 18 years right now. Since the government is thinking
about it, we will be able to inform you once any plan is
finalised,” said Md Shamsul Haque, secretary general of
Covid-19 Vaccine Management Taskforce Committee of
the health directorate, at an online briefing yesterday.
However, the National Immunization Advisory Group
(NITAG) in a meeting last week recommended the health
ministry not to offer Covid-19 vaccines to children, a
member of the group told The Daily Star.
The NITAG makes recommendations to the government
on issues involving vaccination.
“We clearly conveyed the message that the government
should not vaccinate children right now,” the NITAG
SEE PAGE 2 COL 3
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The High Court yesterday blasted the Bangladesh
Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission
(BTRC) for its failure to stop the spread of
defamatory media reports, videos and pictures
from online platforms.
“Do we need to continuously give directions
to the BTRC to stop such viral videos? It seems
that the BTRC feels pleasant about seeing such
character-assassinating materials. Why do such
videos go viral?” said the HC bench.
The observation was made by the bench of
Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice
Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah while hearing a writ
petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Tasmiah
Nuhiya Ahmed on August 25.
The writ petition, which was submitted as
public interest litigation, sought an HC directive
to get the BTRC to take all necessary steps to
remove and stop the further spread of materials
assassinating individuals’ characters from all
platforms.
Such materials assassinate individuals’
characters by breaching their right to privacy and
exposing their private life in public, the petition
said, citing incidents of actor Sahmsunnahar
Smriti alias Pori Moni, college Student Mosarat
Jahan Muniya, JKG Healthcare Chairman Sabria
Arif Chowdhury.
For instance, earlier in August, the Rapid Action
Battalion has filed a case with Banani Police
Station against Pori Moni under the Narcotics
Control Act 2018.
Since then, several media reports have come up
humiliating Pori Moni’s character and exposing
her private life in public.
Where Pori Moni is accused in a narcotics
case, the media reports are focusing on her
relationships in an attempt to assassinate her
character, the petition said.
That law enforcement agencies are also not
taking into account the honour of a woman in
a sufficient manner while briefing media as
prescribed under the constitution.
“This has happened with other women of our
society as well, when they were made accused of
committing any offence in any case,” Ahmed said
in the writ petition.
In response, the HC bench said: “The BTRC
can instantly stop defamatory materials from
SEE PAGE 2 COL 6
Speaking to The Daily Star, Shafiqul
said police are trying to bring Rana back
as he is an accused in a case here. He left
work on Thursday without permission after
e-commerce platform e-orange customers
filed a case accusing Rana and nine others.
If it is not possible to bring him back
right now, police will have to wait until the
completion of his trial there, he added.
Asked about possible actions against
Rana, the city police chief said the court
would try him in the case filed against him.
Besides, police will take departmental
action based on an investigation being
done by Gulshan Division Police, as he was
absent at work without permission.
Rana, who was detained by India’s
Border Security Force on Friday, had paid
a broker Tk 10,000 to illegally cross the
Lalmonirhat’s Patgram border, said officials
here. He was held at the Changrabandha
border in Cooch Behar in the Indian state
of West Bengal, when he was on his way to
Nepal.
On Saturday, a Cooch Behar judicial
magistrate’s court placed him on three-day
remand in the trespassing case.
SEE PAGE 2 COL 3

New Zealand players celebrate the dismissal of

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, centre,
who departs with his head bowed as Mahmudullah
Riyad looks on during the third T20I at the Sher-e-
Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
PHOTO: FIROZ AHMED

2 NEWS
2,430
New cases in 24hrs
Flood situation
improves in north
It worsens in districts around Dhaka
STAR REPORT
The flood situation has improved in
the northern region of the country
as the water level in the rivers
started receding there, but districts
surrounding Dhaka reported the
opposite.
Thirteen districts were flooded
yesterday as water of eight rivers -- the
Dharla, the Brahmaputra, the Jamuna,
the Turag, the Kaliganga, the Padma,
the Atrai and the Dhaleshwari -- was
flowing above the danger level.
At Chilmari point in Kurigram, the
water lever of the Jumuna has receded
to 17cm above the danger level at
9:00am yesterday, from 44cm on
Saturday. At the same time, water was
flowing 44cm above the danger level
in the Dharla River Bridge point in
Kurigram Sadar upazila.
At Teesta Barrage point in
Lalmonirhat’s Hatibandha, the water
was flowing 23cm below the danger
level yesterday morning and it was
2cm above on Saturday morning.
Around 120,000 people in
Kurigram are still affected by the
flood and the majority of them are
struggling for food and fresh drinking
water.
Sabiha Bewa, 58, a flood victim at
Hatiya village of Ulipur upazila, said
she along with her eight-member
family have been living with the
floodwaters for the last ten days. “We
got only 10kg rice as government
relief.”
According to the Water
Development Board (WDB), Bogura
and Gaibandha, the water of the
Jamuna has started receding since last
Saturday.
According to the district relief and
rehabilitation office in Bogura, around
66,000 people remained marooned
but the district administration only
distributed 170 tonnes of rice, and
MAJOR DREAMLINER MAINTENANCE WORK
Biman does it at home,
saves Tk 5 crore Regular classes not for all now
STAR REPORT
For the first time in the country’s
history, Biman Bangladesh Airlines
has earned the capabilities to carry out
C-check, a major maintenance work
of the state-of-the-art Boeing 787-8
Dreamliner aircraft, in the country
with its management.
“It will save around $6 lakh [over
Tk 5 crore] for Biman for each of
the aircraft,” State Minister for Civil
Aviation M Mahbub Ali said while
speaking at a function held at Biman
Bangladesh Airlines headquarter
Balaka in the capital.
The programme was organised to
mark the successful completion of the
C-check of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
and the awarding the pilots and
cabin crews of Biman who has
operated flights to repatriate stranded
Bangladeshis from Wuhan, China
at the beginning of the Covid-19
pandemic.
C-Check is a long-term, complex
and high-tech check to make the
aircraft airworthy after detailed
inspection by unveiling the aircraft’s
various infrastructure.
This maintenance check is much
extensive, requiring a majority of the
aircraft’s components to be inspected.
C-check is usually carried out in a
hangar at a maintenance base.
Mahbub Ali said in the past Biman
Poor batting approach costs
FROM PAGE 1
although Bangladesh still hold a slender
2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Interestingly, all four of
Bangladesh’s lowest T20I totals have
been recorded against New Zealand.
The Tigers lowest-ever total of 70
all out came against New Zealand
in a T20 World Cup encounter in
Kolkata in 2016. Bangladesh were also
bundled out for 76 in a T20I earlier
this year in Auckland and recorded 78
in 2010 in Hamilton against the Kiwis.
The outcome stood in stark contrast
to the way the Tigers had started their
chase, with openers Mohammad Naim
and Liton Das striking pacer Jacob
Duffy and spinners Ajaz Patel and
Cole McConchie for five boundaries
as Bangladesh moved to 23 for no loss
in just 2.3 overs, seemingly set to seal
the series with a third win.
That did not happen and instead
it took only eight deliveries for the
Tigers to go from 23 for no loss to
25 for three. While Liton got carried
away and was trapped in front while
in search for his fourth boundary,
Mahedi Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan
threw their wickets away by trying to
force unnecessary shots.
Both Mahedi and Shakib were
removed by Patel in the same over
but Shakib’s dismissal was the more
disappointing one.
City
15,14,456
Total cases
Tk 200,000 and 1,000 packets of dry
foods.
Sufia Khatun, 40, of the Manik
Diar Char, said, “Now we are almost
starving but did not receive any relief
materials from anyone.”
Kamrul Hasan, 45, of the same
char under the Chaluabari union,
said they were facing double blow as
their houses were flooded while river
erosion was devouring their land.
In Gaibandha, there are 85,975
people marooned by the flood in four
upazila but the district administration
distributed only 100 tonnes of rice,
Tk 200,000 and 1,500 packets of dry
foods.
The water level of the Jamuna is
stable in the last 24 hours while the
Padma and all the internal rivers of
Manikganj district are increasing.
Manikganj Water Development
Board’s gauge reader Faruk Hossain
said, “The water of the Jamuna was
flowing 40cm above the danger mark
at Aricha in Manikganj at 3:00pm
today [yesterday] as it is stable in last
24 hours from 3:00pm on Friday.
“The Kaliganga was flowing 24cm
above the danger mark at Tora point
as 14cm increased in the last 24 hours
while the Dhaleshwari was flowing
13cm below the danger mark at Jagir
point though it has increased by 10cm
in the last 24 hours.”
The water of other rivers including
the Padma is also increasing by 7cm
to 8cm in a day, he added.
At Bhagyakul point in Munshiganj,
the water level of the Padma was 22cm
above the danger line yesterday.
Ranendra Shankar Chakraborty,
executive engineer of District Water
Development Board, said waterlogging
was created in several low-lying areas
of Louhajanj and Tongibari due to
rising water level of the tributary river.
“The district has already been
marked as a flood-affected area.”
had to spend lots of foreign currency
to complete a C-check in different
countries.
From now on, the successful
completion of C-check in the country
will save an estimated $6 lakh per
aircraft.
The C-check of Boeing-787-8
Dreamliner has to be completed every
three years.
Following this, Biman started
the first C-check of a Dreamliner
“Akashveena” on August 17 which was
successfully completed within 10 days.
The C-check of another Dreamliner
will be completed this year and four
more Dreamliner in the next year
which will save $ 3-4 million.
Mahbub Ali said very few airlines
in the world have the capability to
C-check modern aircraft like the
Dreamliner.
Earlier, Biman carried out a C-check
of its aircraft through foreign MRO
(Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul
Organisation) in Germany, Italy or
Singapore.
“Completing of Dreamliner’s
C-check with its own manpower and
management is a shining example of
increasing Biman’s capacity,” he said.
Chairman of the Board of Directors,
Biman, Sajjadul Hasan; Secretary,
Civil Aviation Ministry, Mokammel
Hossain, among others also addressed
the programme.
The experienced all-rounder, facing
just his third delivery after Bangladesh
had lost two quick wickets, made
a horrible error in judgment as he
danced down the track to hit Patel
over long-on but could only give an
easy catch to McConchie.
Patel once again inflicted a
double-blow when he had skipper
Mahmudullah Riyad and Afif Hossain
removed in successive deliveries in the
10th over, leaving Bangladesh reeling
at 43 for six. The left-arm spinner
ended with career-best T20 figures of
four for 16 in his four overs.
Bangladesh never looked
comfortable in the chase and even
though Mushfiqur Rahim stuck
around till the end, his unbeaten 37-
ball 20, without any boundaries, was
every bit as unflattering as the other
batsmen who displayed no sense of
responsibility.
Bangladesh eventually fell short
and the game made its way into the
history books for being the first-ever
T20I between two Test-playing nations
that did not feature a single six.
Earlier, New Zealand were also
reduced to a precarious 62 for five
in 10.5 overs, but an unbeaten 66-
run sixth-wicket stand between Tom
Blundell and Henry Nicholls pulled
the Kiwis out of from the slump and
helped them post a fighting total.
26,563
Deaths
Villagers dismantling their homes and moving from Baghutia area in Chauhali, Sirajganj, before the Jamuna washes them away. The photo was taken
yesterday.
Bringing back Banani cop from India
FROM PAGE 1
According to officials at Bangladesh
Police Headquarters, Rana described to
Indian law enforcers how he made his
way from Dhaka to India. He boarded
a bus from Dhaka to Lalmonirhat’s
Patgram on Thursday and crossed the
border around 12:30am, by paying a
Bangladeshi broker.
He said he entered India without
a passport with the help of an Indian
border guard. He had planned to go to
Europe from Nepal.
At the time of his detention,
BSF seized a foreign passport, four
credit and debit cards of Thailand, a
credit card of England, two mobile
phones, and foreign currency from his
possession.
FROM PAGE 1
should be maintained properly.
Dipu Moni urged all guardians to
send their children to schools, but at
the same time make sure that their
children do not attend if they are sick.
Her announcement comes at a time
when life in the country has gradually
been returning to normal following
a Covid-19 surge earlier in the year,
and as calls for reopening educational
institutions from guardians and
educationists have been getting louder.
The UN Children’s Fund had also
called upon the government to end
the school closures and resume in-
person learning as soon as possible
for children’s well-being and future
prospects.
In the face of mounting pressure, the
government had made several attempts
to reopen schools, but were thwarted
due to fresh waves of infections.
Dipu Moni said universities,
which are scheduled to reopen in
mid-October, can bring forward the
resumption of academic activities if
they want and that the final decision in
this regard would rest with respective
universities.
She said there would be another
meeting in this regard within a week.
The government on August 26
decided that all students of public
and private universities would be
vaccinated by the end of September
and in-person classes at the universities
would begin on October 15.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque on
September 2 said in-person academic
activities of first-, second-, and fifth-
year students of medical colleges
would start from September 13.
Educational institutions were closed
across the country on March 17 last
year to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The closure led to cancellation of
classes and examinations, throwing
the academic lives of more than four
crore students of around 1.5 lakh
educational institutions in disarray.
To recoup the academic loss, the
government launched TV educational
programmes on the state-run Sangsad
channel for secondary and primary
students.
No plan drawn up yet
FROM PAGE 1
member said, referring to issues like
vaccine shortage and lack of scientific
evidence in favour of such a move.
The Directorate General of Health
Services (DGHS) on August 20
announced that students as young as
18 could register for the vaccine. The
minimum age requirement is 25 for
others.
At yesterday’s briefing, Shamsul
said 1.93 lakh people were waiting
for their shots after registering for
vaccination.
“We believe that vaccinating these
people is our number one priority.
We are trying to increase the number
DHAKA MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2021, BHADRA 22, 1428 BS
14,51,063
Recoveries
E-orange recently made headlines
for reportedly embezzling crores
of taka by not delivering products
bought by its customers.
Since the filing of the case, Rana
had been denying allegations of
his involvement with e-orange.
There are allegations against him of
withdrawing Tk 2.5 crore from the
company at different times.
His sister and brother-in-law used
to run the company. Both are in jail
now.
Meanwhile, Inspector General
of Police Benazir Ahmed yesterday
said they would investigate how the
inspector fled the country and whether
there was negligence of any quarter in
this regard.
Later, it asked all schools, colleges,
and universities to introduce online
classes. Assignments were also handed
out to secondary-level students.
While many schools in cities and
urban areas quickly adapted to online
education, it was a much tougher
ask for students in rural areas as they
lacked the necessary devices and access
to the internet.
Dipu Moni yesterday said the
government will monitor the Covid-19
situation closely after reopening and
if it finds that reopening has caused a
spike in Covid infections in any area,
they would take the decision to close
down the school or schools in that
locality.
The minister said teachers should
be vigilant about whether any student,
especially those of classes 1-4, are
facing difficulties wearing masks. “All
kinds of physical activities and games
would take place under the supervision
of teachers and there will be no
assembly at schools until the situation
improves,” she said
Classes of each grade will take place
in two or three rooms.
As in-person classes are resuming
after so long, authorities will deduct
daily class hours to three or four hours
from the usual eight hours, she added.
The education minister said SSC and
its equivalent examinations will take
place in the second week of November
and the HSC and its equivalent tests in
the first week of December. She said
the government would vaccinate all
students aged 12 and above in phases,
based on availability of vaccines, and
the health ministry is taking necessary
measures in this regard.
Agriculture Minister Muhammad
Abdur Razzaque, Local Government,
Rural Development and Cooperatives
(LGRD) Minister Md Tajul Islam,
Primary and Mass Education State
Minister Zakir Hossen, Youth and
Sports State Minister Zahid Ahsan
Russel, Deputy Education Minister
Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury,
Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul
Islam and the top brass of several
ministries attended the meeting at the
Secretariat.
of vaccination centers and prepare
human resources accordingly,” he said.
SPECIAL CAMPAIGN FOR SECOND
DOSE FROM TOMORROW
Shamsul said the mass vaccination
campaign will be held from September
7-12.
“Those who got the first shot
between August 7 and 12, will
receive the second one from the same
centres,” Shamsul Alam said.
From August 7-12, around 34
lakh people got the first dose of
the Sinopharm vaccine in a special
campaign run through around 14,000
vaccination centres across the country.
The campaign didn’t continue
4,579,667
Deaths
PHOTO: COLLECTED
Benazir was responding
questions from reporters at the Police
to
Headquarters yesterday afternoon
after the inauguration of a training
programme for all members of the
Bangladesh Police.
The IGP said, “It is clear that he has
left the country illegally. I spoke to the
DMP commissioner this [yesterday]
morning about how inspector Sohel
Rana left the country and whether
anyone has been negligent [in their
duty]. We will look into these issues.”
“We have a prisoner transfer
agreement with India. So, bringing
back Sohel Rana will not be a
problem. Since he is accused in a case
in India, he must be brought back to
Bangladesh once the process is over.”
Meanwhile, Directorate of Secondary
and Higher Education (DSHE)
instructed all secondary schools and
colleges to complete preparations for
resuming classes by September 9.
It also sent revised guidelines
yesterday on reopening educational
institutions maintaining health
guidelines and public health safety
measures to all schools and colleges.
The guideline recommended
the maintenance of three feet of
physical distance between everyone
at institutions and classrooms. It
also stressed upon discouraging large
numbers attending at a time.
If a classroom can accommodate
10 benches of less than five feet in
length, then only six students could be
accommodated in that classroom, with
just one student per bench or desk, the
guidelines mentioned.
In the above example, the second
and fourth benches have to be
removed to ensure the requisite
physical distance. If it is not possible
to remove the benches then those have
to be cross-marked so that students do
not sit there.
On the other hand, if the length of a
bench is five feet or more, two students
can sit on it.
In the last week of August, DSHE
and Directorate of Primary Education
(DPE) asked secondary and primary
schools to ensure that their campuses
are clean and ready for reopening.
Last week, DPE forwarded guidelines
and public health safety measures --
which had been finalised in September
2020 -- for reopening schools.
The guideline recommended that a
maximum of two students can sit on
each bench and that everyone in those
institutions -- students, teachers and
other staffers -- will have to wear masks.
All schools will also have to ensure
arrangements for hand washing and
measuring body temperature.
All schools will be cleaned and
classrooms and office rooms will be
disinfected regularly. Cleaning and
disinfection will take place after every
shift and following every day of classes.
No indoor assembly will be allowed,
according to the plan.
mostly because of shortage of vaccine
doses.
The government currently has
around 1.75 crore jabs in stock and
is expecting another 12 crore doses to
arrive by December.
70 DEAD, 2,430 NEW CASES
Officials yesterday reported 2,430 new
cases of Covid-19 and 70 deaths from
the disease, taking the total number of
confirmed cases to 15,14,456 and the
deaths to 25,563.
The new cases were detected
after testing 25,163 individuals. The
positivity rate was 9.66 percent.
Of the deceased, 40 were male and
30 female.
221,411,171
Total cases
VIOLENCE IN BARISHAL
Court gives
bail to two
more accused
OUR CORRESPONDENT, Barishal
A Barishal court yesterday granted bail
to two Awami League leaders, who
had been undergoing treatment in
Dhaka after suffering eye injuries in a
shootout during a clash at the UNO
office premises in Barishal city.
They are Moniruzzaman Monir,
ward-23 president of Barishal city unit
AL, and Mohammad Tanvir, former
president of ward-16 unit BCL.
Additional Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate Md Masum Billah passed
the order, said Khokon Chandra Das,
general recording officer of the court.
Monir and Tanvir, who lost their
eyesight, appeared before the court
and prayed for bail. The court granted
them bail, said Inspector Farid Uddin,
investigation officer of the case lodged
by the UNO.
Several people, including the two,
were first admitted to Sher-e-Bangla
Medical College Hospital and the
two were later moved to National
Ophthalmology Institute and
Hospital in Dhaka.
On August 18, at least 50 people
were injured when employees of
Barishal City Corporation (BCC) and
local AL men clashed with police
and Ansar members over removal of
banners from Barishal Sadar UNO’s
office premises.
Later, UNO Munibur Rahman
and police filed two cases over
the incident, naming BCC Mayor
Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah as the prime
accused for instigating the violence.
Several hundred people were accused
in the cases.
Twenty-three people, including
Monir and Tanvir, were arrested.
With yesterday’s two, all the arrestees
obtained bail.
On August 23, city AL leader Rafikul
Islam Khokon and BCC revenue officer
Babul Haldar filed a case against the
UNO, two policemen and five Ansar
members with the court.
The BCC and local AL leaders at
a meeting later decided to settle the
dispute.
Pull down
FROM PAGE 1
spreading online. But it doesn’t -- as
if it enjoys them. don’t do it as if they
enjoy such videos. They want that we
give directives on the BTRC on any
issue. Why should we do so?”
The bench went on to cite the
controversial Al Jazeera documentary
titled ‘All the Prime Minister’s Men’ to
further its point.
The BTRC has the authority to
stop such content from spreading on
the online platforms, said Miah, the
presiding judge of the HC bench.
Subsequently, the HC bench
rejected the writ petition as it was not
presented properly.
Besides, the petitioner has not
served any legal notice to the BTRC
to this effect before filing the petition.
The HC asked the petitioner to move
a fresh writ petition before it after
serving a legal notice to the telecom
regulator in this regard.
Ahmed told The Daily Star that she
had sent a letter to the BTRC requesting
it to take steps to remove and stop the
further spread of defamatory content.
But the BTRC replied that it will do
so only if the HC delivers a directive
to this effect, she said, adding that the
HC made the observation in response
to the BTRC’s reply.
DHAKA MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2021, BHADRA 22, 1428 BS CITY 3

Always be prepared
to defend country
Hasina tells armed forces
UNB, Dhaka
Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina yesterday said
Bangladesh Armed Forces
must have necessary
preparedness to protect the
country’s independence and
sovereignty keeping pace with
technological development.
The premier said this while
addressing the Selection
Board Meeting of Bangladesh
Navy and Air Force at Dhaka Cantonment.
She joined the meeting at the
headquarters of the navy and air force
through a video conference from her
official residence Gono Bhaban.
Hasina said Bangladesh never wants war
with any country, rather it wants peace as no
country can achieve desired development
without peace.
“We don’t want to go down the path of
destruction. But if anyone attacks us, we
have to take all kinds of preparations to
protect our country,” she said.
Hasina said the government is building
Even after a long wait, many vaccine-seekers had to go back from Chattogram City
the armed forces in such a way so that it
Corporation General Hospital without their jabs on Saturday. Fearing the same, they can protect the country’s independence and
started coming in from 3:30 in the morning yesterday, with the gates scheduled to open sovereignty.
at 9am. But by 5:30am, the hospital’s gate was already crowded with vaccine-seekers She also put emphasis on attaining new
who would rather arrive early than leave without their dose. PHOTO: RAJIB RAIHAN technology-based knowledge.
Referring to the
foreign policy framed by
Bangabandhu, the prime
minister said Bangladesh
follows the principle of
“Friendship to all and
Malice to none”.
She mentioned that the
country has been advancing
by maintaining friendly
relations efficiently with all
countries in the region.
Hasina, however, made it clear that
Bangladesh must have all necessary
preparations to safeguard the country from
any external attacks.
For that, she emphasised on ensuring
training for the members of the armed forces
and having modern equipment for them to
keep pace with the developed world.
The premier highlighted that the
National Defence Policy-2018 has been
formulated in continuation of the
defence policy of Bangabandhu, while the
government is implementing the forces
goal-2030 to modernise the armed forces.
About the promotion in the navy and
air force, Hasina asked the authorities
concerned to select qualified leaders for
promotion who will be able to lead
SEE PAGE 4 COL 5

Another dies
of dengue
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
One more dengue patient
has died while 315 were
hospitalised with dengue
infection in the last 24
hours till 8am yesterday.
According to the
Directorate General of
Health Services (DGHS),
among the 315 new cases
of dengue infection, 53 are
from outside the capital.
With the new cases, a
total of 1,460 have been
diagnosed during the
current month, out of the
total 11,816 infected this
year. Of the total infected,
1,036 are from outside
Dhaka.
At least 7,698 were
diagnosed in August, 2,286
patients were hospitalised
in July, 272 in June,
while 43 were infected
in May, according to the
Directorate General of
Health Services.
Meanwhile, 52 people
have died of dengue
infection in the country
this year, all whom died
in July, August, and
September, according to
DGHS data.
Twelve people died
in July, 34 have died in
August, while six have
passed away from the
mosquito-borne disease in
September so far.
Among the deaths,
48 have died in Dhaka
division, two in
Chattogram, and one each
in Rajshahi and Khulna
divisions.
Though most
hospitalised patients
have so far been released,
1,280 are still undergoing
treatment at hospitals in
Dhaka.
Meanwhile, 149 are
undergoing treatment
outside the capital, the
Directorate General of
SEE PAGE 4 COL 1
‘We are nobody’s priority’
AKLAKUR RAHMAN AKASH, Savar
In absence of any systematic plan from
the government or the BGMEA, an
overwhelming majority of workers in
Ashulia and Savar industrial belt are yet
to be registered for Covid-19 vaccines.
Only factories under the Dhaka
Export Processing Zone (DEPZ) have
thus far been directed to ensure Covid
vaccine registration for all workers.
RMG workers demanded that
an independent vaccination centre
dedicated for them be set up to ease
and fast track the vaccination process.
At the very least, their factories should
take initiatives to register them for the
vaccines, they added.
The government, however, does
not have a separate plan for garment
workers.
Dr Shamsul Haque, member
secretary of Vaccine Deployment
Committee at the health directorate,
told The Daily Star, “We had a plan to
vaccinate RMG workers on a priority
basis. But now all they have to do is
AT A GLANCE
Around 10 lakh RMG workers in Savar,
Ashuila and Dhamrai
Only three vaccination centres
Majority yet to get registered or
vaccinated
Only DEPZ asked its factories to ensure
workers’ registration
ISSUES PUTTING BURDEN
ON WORKERS
No separate vaccine centres
Many unaware, uneducated
Many do not have NIDs
No specific plan from authorities
RECOMMENDATIONS
Special initiatives from govt, factory
authorities
Guidance for completing registration
Independent vaccination centres for
workers
RMG workers wait in line to get vaccinated at a centre of Savar upazila health
complex.
register. Those who are aged 25 and
above can register and get vaccine.”
Without registration no one will get
vaccine, no matter which group they
belong to, he added.
Faruque Hassan, president of
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers
and Exporters Association, said so
far some four lakh -- out of 40 lakh
-- workers have been vaccinated in
different factories all over the country.
However, some factories are getting
priority and some are still lagging
behind, Hassan said.
Khairul Mamun Mintu, organising
secretary of Garments Worker Trade
Union Centre, pointed out that the
government is yet to bring the workers
under a priority list, although they
need to be vaccinated on an urgent
basis.
“It is not possible to vaccinate over
15 lakh RMG workers of Savar, Ashuila
and Dhamrai in three centres along
with the rest of the population of this
area, if an independent vaccine centre
for workers is not set up.”
It is better to vaccinate workers
inside the factory, said Mintu, adding
that factory authorities have to ensure
vaccine registration of workers.
PHOTO: STAR
Workers who have no national ID
need to be brought under vaccination,
he added.
THE LONG ROAD TO VACCINATION
The Daily Star spoke to over 50 workers
from at least 25 factories in Savar and
Ashulia outside of DEPZ; workers
from only three factories said that
their authorities have completed their
vaccine registrations.
Emran Hossen, a worker of Al-
Muslim Group, a manufacturing factory
housing over 18,000 workers, said, “If
we are the ones keeping the wheels of
the economy going, then why weren’t
we vaccinated on an urgent basis?”
“When it comes to opening factories
in the middle of lockdown, it is a matter
of priority. But when it comes to our
vaccination, we are nobody’s priority.
We feel hopeless.”
Many workers are unaware and
uneducated, and cannot complete
the registration process without some
guidance, he added.
Meanwhile, many workers are
unable to register because they do not
have national IDs.
“If the factory authorities do not
register for us, or if there is no special
initiative from the government, there is
no way we can do so on our own,” said
Moyna, a worker of Sharmin group.
This newspaper also spoke to some
workers of AR Jeans Producers Ltd
at Khatgora recently who said they
completed vaccine registration weeks
ago on their own initiative, but are yet
to receive a date for the first dose.
Some of them said they did not
register as many of their co-workers
who did are yet to get a response.
Contacted, Dr Sayemul Huda,
upazila health and family planning
officer of Savar, said people will get dates
based on first come first serve basis.
Around 1.40 lakh people including
RMG workers were vaccinated at the
upazila health centre.
When asked if there are sufficient
vaccines at his centre, Dr Huda said,
“We have the capability to preserve
some 2,000 to 3,000 vaccines at our
centre. If needed, we can bring vaccines
from Dhaka.”
“Some factory authorities wrote to us
demanding that we set up independent
vaccine centres and we forwarded
the application to the DG of health
through the office of the civil surgeon,”
he informed.
RAK Liton, general manager (HR,
Admin and Compliance) of AR Jeans
Producers Ltd, housing around 2,700
workers, admitted that it is not possible
to maintain social distance, even if
all other restrictions or protocols are
observed in the facilities.
“The only way to protect against
this epidemic is to get all workers
vaccinated. Our HR department helped
a few workers to get registered but they
did not get a date yet.”
But vaccination of workers in this
process poses a challenge for the
factories, he added.
“If two or four people are absent in
a production line of a garment factory,
then it is not possible to complete
the production of that line, so if every
day garment workers are excused for
vaccination, then the production of
that factory will be hampered.”
All workers should be vaccinated in
booths inside the factories, he opined.
SEE PAGE 4 COL 2
COURT CORNER
Protect 3 families ostracised
over land dispute: HC
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The HC yesterday ordered the
government to ensure security of
three families of Kulaura upazila of
Moulvibazar, who were ostracised
over a land issue in December last
year, and to protect them from
exploitation. The court also issued a
rule asking the authorities to explain
in four weeks why their inaction
to ensure security of the families
of brothers Kajal Ahmed, Akmal
Hossain, and Shafiqul Islam should
not be declared illegal.
SC stays trafficker’s bail order
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The SC yesterday extended its
chamber judge’s order that stayed
the HC bail for Md Azam Khan,
alleged ringleader of a human
trafficking gang, in a case filed over
trafficking people abroad. Azam was
involved in forcing 60 to 70 girls into
prostitution in Dubai. Following
a bail petition, the HC on July 19
granted him ad-interim bail. The
state then filed a petition with the
SC. The chamber judge then stayed
the order for six weeks on July 27.
Azam cannot get released from jail as
the stay order will remain in force till
disposal of the rule.
HC questions legality of
demoting DU teacher
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
The HC yesterday questioned
the legality of Dhaka University
authorities’ decision to demote its
teacher Samia Rahman on charge
of plagiarism in a research paper,
following a writ petition by her.
On January 28, Samia, associate
professor of DU’s Mass
Communication and Journalism, was
demoted to assistant professor by a
decision by DU syndicate. Samia’s
lawyer Hassan MS Azim said the
research paper in question was not
prepared by her and did not have her
signature on it.

Global citizens condemn 3 killed, 5 hurt

as train hits
‘unconstitutional, illegal’ microbus in
Moulvibazar
takeover by Taliban
DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT
STAR REPORT
Seven people were killed and
theocratic ideology and their disrespect for nine injured in accidents
democratic values, equal rights of women in three districts yesterday,
At least 107 rights activists and civil society
and minorities, rule of law, and basic according to reports from
members from 36 countries yesterday
human rights guaranteed by the UN and our correspondents.
adopted a resolution at an international
international law. In Moulvibazar, three
conference, calling for global civic
The UN and all its member states people were killed and at
resistance against Taliban and all militant
must support a broad-based, all-inclusive least five others injured
groups and states.
negotiated peace, followed by a legally, when a Sylhet-bound
They demanded that the UN General
democratically elected political dispensation “Parabat Express” train
Assembly urgently table and endorse a
as the true and legitimate representation of rammed into a microbus in
resolution to unequivocally condemn the
the Afghan people, it added. Bhatera area under Kulaura
“unconstitutional, illegal takeover of state
The elected government must declare, upazila.
power by the terrorist extremist militant
and commit before the UN General Two of the deceased were
Taliban in Afghanistan”.
Assembly, that henceforth its territory will identified as Farid Uddin
At the online conference titled “Taliban
not be used for sheltering any national or (52) and Afif Uddin (8). The
takeover in Afghanistan: Call for Global
international terrorist organisations, and identity of another could
Resistance against Terrorism” organised
will also not be used for promoting cross- not be known immediately,
by the Forum for Secular Bangladesh
border terrorism. said police.
(FSB), they pressed that no UN member
The resolution said Afghanistan’s Kulaura Police Station
state is permitted to recognise any future
neighbouring countries should open Officer-in-Charge Binoy
Taliban self-proclaimed “Islamic Emirate
their borders for refugees and asylum Bhushan Roy said the
of Afghanistan”.
seekers fleeing Afghanistan, while the injured were taken to Sylhet
Writer, filmmaker and human rights
developed countries, particularly USA, UK, MAG Osmani Medical
defender Shahriar Kabir chaired the
NATO alliance involved militarily in the College Hospital.
conference that was attended by over 300 A group of papad makers from Munshiganj live in the capital’s Bashabo area. Everyday, they step out in groups,
occupation of Afghanistan in the last 20 Quoting locals and
participants. carrying the thin, crispy, savoury snacks typically made from peeled black gram flour on their heads, and sell
years, must be mandated by the UNGA to eyewitnesses, Kulaura
The resolution said that the Taliban,
provide a direct response to the current them around town for Tk 5 each. They said they sell around Tk 300-500 worth of papads everyday. This photo Railway Station Master
in spite of their new “moderate posture”,
have not forsaken their extremist SEE PAGE 4 COL 2 was taken yesterday. PHOTO: ANISUR RAHMAN SEE PAGE 4 COL 6
4 CITY DHAKA MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2021, BHADRA 22, 1428 BS

Tree felling spells doom for birds CUMILLA MEDICAL COLLEGE HOSPITAL

STAFF CORRESPONDENT, Rajshahi
When Rajshahi Medical College Hospital
authorities felled a tree on Saturday
afternoon, it still housed a couple of nests
for Asian open-bill storks.
The tree felling was part of an RMCH
project, which has plans to chop down
around 50 trees to clear space for
constructing a garage and a drain to solve
waterlogging in the area.
But the development work comes at
the cost of avian lives, as nearly a hundred
of the Asian open-bill storks and their
offspring died in the aftermath.
On Saturday afternoon, some 30 storks
and their chicks died after falling off the felled
tree, witnesses and hospital officials said.
Later, labourers and locals picked
up around 30 more storks and took
them home, while some 20 storks were
slaughtered on the spot. More than 20
others were seen lying dead around the
tree, locals said.
Ornithologists -- zoologists who
specialise in birds -- said this indiscriminate
felling of trees is severely damaging for the
bird species of the area, especially during
the ongoing breeding season.
In addition, bird nests on neighbouring
trees also become vulnerable to the wind,
experts and bird lovers said.
They added that the hospital authorities
had cut down trees last year, and were
moving to do it yet again this year.
“Felling trees when birds are raising eggs
and chicks in their nests is cruel and illegal,”
said Prof Aminuzzaman Md Saleh Reza of
Rajshahi University’s Zoology department.
“Rather than destroying lives this way,
the authorities could have taken measured
steps in co-ordination with experts and
environmentalists,” he said.
He said bird species including Asian
open-bill stork, cormorants, black crown
night heron, and crows have been nesting
on RMCH’s trees for many years.
Storks breed between June and November,
while herons and cormorants breed between
March and October, he explained.
Visiting the spot on Sunday morning,
this correspondent saw an Asian open-bill
stork chick fall from a neighbouring tree
after its nest collapsed due to strong winds.
It was then taken away by a labourer
working on the drain construction project.
Merely hours after the Arjun tree at RMCH was felled on Saturday, nests from neighbouring trees also started getting damaged by
the wind, while chicks that still cannot fly kept falling off them.
This correspondent also witnessed
storks, herons, and cormorants flying from
tree to tree, trying to build new nests, as the
tree felling continued.
Meanwhile, RMCH director Brig Gen
Shamim Yazdani acknowledged and
apologised for the incident.
“We’re extremely sorry and ashamed of
what happened. We will not let this happen
again,” the director told The Daily Star.
But he said the works were not carried
out according to plan. “We only had plans
to cut down a part of the tree’s root, but
some labourers just chopped the whole
thing down.”
Asked why they are continuing to cut
down more trees, Brig Gen Shamim said
they’re only cutting down the trees that do
not house any birds, following local forest
officials’ instructions.
Prof Aminuzzaman said the authorities
need to remember that storks do not
establish their colonies according to human
convenience, they settle down wherever
they find food and security.
“We are not saying development
activities should be stopped, we just want
them to be carried out in a sustainable way,
on the months when the breeding season is
over,” he said.
PHOTO: STAR
Acute scarcity of
nitrous oxide
hampers surgery
KHALID BIN NAZRUL, Cumilla
A lack of nitrous oxide supply -- needed for anesthesia
during surgeries -- is putting patients at Cumilla Medical
College Hospital in difficulty.
The issue has been persisting since June this year.
On the 24th of that month, Spectra Oxygen Ltd -- the
enlisted supplier of oxygen and nitrous oxide to the
hospital -- issued a letter explaining their inability to
keep up regular production and supply due to a shortage
of raw materials.
Confirming the matter, Abdul Awal Sohel, junior
consultant of the hospital’s surgery department, said
“The suppliers have informed us of the crisis. Since
surgeries require anaesthetic procedures, we’re facing
problem right now.”
A surgeon of the hospital, wishing anonymity, said,
“Regular surgery schedules are being hampered due to
the lack of nitrous oxide.”
Another specialist doctor said, “There were times
in July and August when we couldn’t proceed with
surgeries due to the issue. Patients suffered immensely.”
As Spectra Oxygen failed to fulfil demand, the
hospital authorities even tried contacting industrial gas
company Linde Bangladesh Ltd for it, but still could not
secure supplies, sources said.
According to hospital sources, Spectra has been
supplying oxygen and nitrous oxide as an enlisted
supplier for a number of years. Recently, Linde has started
supplying liquid oxygen, but not nitrous oxide.
However, some doctors, wishing anonymity, have
pointed fingers at the suppliers, citing their negligence
as the cause of the shortage, as the hospital’s surgery
waiting list keeps growing.

Global citizens condemn Dr Ibrahim’s

Halima Rahman
passes away
CITY DESK
Halima Rahman, wife of
late Sk Wahidur Rahman,
former chairman and
director of Pubali Bank
Limited’s Board of
Directors, and mother of
Azizur Rahman, director of
the bank, passed away at a
hospital in New York, USA
on Saturday.
The board of directors
of the bank and all levels
of executives, officers and
employees have expressed
deep shock at the death,
said a press release.
Pubali family prayed
for the salvation of the
departed soul and extended
deepest condolence to the
bereaved family.
Another dies
FROM PAGE 3
Health Services data shows.
DGHS on August 23
dedicated six hospitals to
treating dengue patients.
FROM PAGE 3
humanitarian
economic crisis unfolding
and
in Afghanistan.
Presenting the resolution,
Afghan-Australian human
rights attorney Kobra
Moradi said, “We must do
everything to ensure that an
inclusive political system is
negotiated where the rights
and safety of everyone
regardless of their gender,
age, ethnicity, and religion
is guaranteed.”
Pakistani human rights
defender Sheema Kermani
said, “We the women of
Pakistan stand with the
women and all vulnerable
groups of Afghanistan
against militarism,
‘We are nobody’s priority’
FROM PAGE 3
50PC DEPZ WORKERS
REGISTERED
The Daily Star spoke to five
workers of DEPZ’s factories
who confirmed that their
factory authorities had done
their vaccine registration.
Talking to this
correspondent over phone,
Abdus Sobhan, general
manager of DEPZ, said they
directed all factories under
the DEPZ to confirm Covid
fundamentalism, and
fascism. None of us are
free until the women of
Afghanistan are free.”
Expressing solidarity
with all vulnerable groups
including artists, LGBT and
religious minorities, who
are under threat, she said,
“We uphold the principles
of equality and secularism
as the backbone of the
protection of these rights.”
Turkish writer and
human rights defender
Zeynep Oral said the NATO
occupation led by the USA,
which lasted for 20 years,
did not bring peace or
democracy to the people of
Afghanistan.
On the other hand, the
vaccine registration for
workers immediately.
Registration of fifty
percent workers under
DEPZ has already been
completed, he said.
However, he could not
confirm how many workers
have been vaccinated so far.
“It is hard to get vaccine
for workers at the centre
so we spoke to the Dhaka
civil surgeon and higher
authorities for setting up
an independent vaccination
centre for RMG workers,”
he added.
Contacted, Civil Surgeon
Taliban administration
poses a huge
primarily for women and
threat
children as well as for all
people of Afghanistan.
Eminent Pashtun scholar
and human rights defender
Fazal ur Rehman said the
Taliban takeover will further
increase enmities between
the north and south of
Afghanistan. Tajiks, Uzbeks
and even Hazaras will feel
threatened, isolated and
betrayed.
Nepal’s rights activist
Yubanath Lamasal, Uyghur
rights activist of Uzbekistan
Sobo Kosimova and British
security and political
analyst Chris Blackburn
also spoke, among others.
Dr Abu Hussain Moinul
Ahsan said setting up an
independent vaccination
centre for workers is
a matter of the health
directorate. He said he has
already informed officials
in this regard.
He further said, “RMG
workers are getting
inoculated and I think
majority of the workers have
already got vaccinated.”
When asked about the
actual figure of vaccinated
workers he said the factory
authorities will be able to
say that.
death anniv
3 killed
FROM PAGE 3
The Daily Star has also obtained an audio clip of
a phone call between a surgeon of the hospital and a
distribution officer of Spectra Oxygen.
Muhibur Rahman said the In the clip, the surgeon asks the distribution officer
today train hit the microbus when why there’s a lack of nitrous oxide in the hospital when
it attempted to cross the rail private hospitals in Cumilla are facing no such crisis.
STAFF CORRESPONDENT line in a hurry.
The distribution officer said private hospitals have
In Kurigram, two
Today is the supplies as they source the gas from Linde Bangladesh Ltd.
persons were killed and
32nd death Contacted, Spectra Oxygen Ltd Cumilla depo’s
four injured as a tractor
anniversary distribution officer Tauhidur Rahman Sajal said,
of National hit an easy bike in Dharla “Cumilla Medical College Hospital requires an average of
Bridge area on Kurigram-
Professor Dr
Mohammad Nageshwari-Bhurungamari
25 cylinders of nitrous oxide, each weighing 30kg.”
“There was a crisis in the last few months as we could
road in Sadar upazila.
Ibrahim, only supply 16 cylinders in June, two in July, and six
The deceased are Rabeya
also founder in August. Hopefully, we can avert such a crisis in the
Bewa (63) and Habibur
of the Diabetic Association coming days.”
Rahman Habib (25).
of Bangladesh. Meanwhile, this correspondent found no such crisis
In Tangail, two people
Different associate in private hospitals in Cumilla. He also found no such
were killed as a truck hit
organisations will place crisis in the capital, as Kazi Aminur Rahman, distribution
another from behind on
wreaths at his grave in the officer of Spectra Oxygen Ltd’s Dhaka depo, told The
Dhaka-Tangail highway at
capital’s Banani Graveyard Daily Star, “There is no crisis of the gas in Dhaka city at
Dubail in Delduar upazila.
at 8am, said a press release. the moment.”
Momotaz Ali (35), a
A discussion titled Contacted, hospital director Dr Mohiuddin said,
trucker, and his helper --
“Ibrahim Memorial “The crisis will be solved very soon. Though there was a
whose identity could not
Oration” will also be held crisis of nitrous oxide, but we are continuing emergency,
virtually at 2pm. be known immediately --
died instantly. casualties, and gynaecological surgery.”
Special Adviser of World
Federation for Medical
Education Janet Grant
will give a lecture at the
programme, presided over
by Diabetic Association of
Bangladesh president Prof
AK Azad Khan. Each year,
the association observed
the day as “Diabetics
Service Day”. But this year,
due to the Covid-19, the
programme is curtailed.
On this day in 1989,
Dr Ibrahim died from
a cardiac arrest at his
residence.
Prof Noman’s
death anniv
CITY DESK
The 25th
death
anniversary
of Prof
Mohammed
Noman, an
educationist
and
former vice chancellor of
Jahangirnagar University,
will be observed today, said
a press release.
On the occasion, a
Qurankhwani and milad
mahfil, organised by his
family members, will be
held. Besides, food will
be distributed among the
destitute at orphanages
and special prayers will be
offered at mosque.
Professor Noman Smriti
Foundation will organise
elaborate programmes
to observe the death
anniversary of Prof Noman.
Prof Noman was a
recipient of “Ekushey
Padak” and President Gold
Medal.

Always
FROM PAGE 3
efficiently in the future.
She said efficient, qualified
and IT knowledge-based
future leadership would be
able to make the navy and
air force more modern and
time befitting.
In this regard, the
premier asked the members
of the selection board to
make sure that efficient and
qualified officers are not
deprived of promotion.
Describing the success
stories of the navy and air
force, Hasina also said, they
are now recognised as very
disciplined and efficient
forces at home and abroad.
DHAKA MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2021, BHADRA 22 , 1428 BS COUNTRY 5
CENTURY-OLD PAYMENT STRUCTURE IN SANSKRIT COLLEGES

A principal gets only Tk 149.50 per month

S DILIP ROY
Principals, pandits and employees
associated with Sanskrit Colleges are
living inhumane lives because of a
meagre salary.
Although it may sound
astonishing, a Sanskrit college
principal gets a monthly salary of
Tk 149.50 whereas the pandit of the
institution gets the same salary and
the office assistant gets only Tk 65.
This salary structure in Bangladesh
Sanskrit College has not been
revised for ages.
Each Sanskrit College has a
principal, two pandits and an
office assistant. According to the
government rule, the principal,
scholar and office assistant of
Sanskrit Colleges must withdraw
their salary from Sonali Bank.
There are two Sanskrit colleges in
Lalmonirhat and three in Kurigram.
A total of 110 Sanskrit colleges
across the country in Bangladesh
teach Kabya Byakaran Teertha, Veda,
Purana, Astrology and Ayurveda.
Each subject is taught for three
years--Adya (Beginning), Madhya
(Middle) and Upadhi (Degree). The
minimum educational qualification
for studying in a Sanskrit College is
SSC. Around 400-1200 students are
studying in each Sanskrit college.
Bipin Chandra Roy, principal
of Baidderbazar Sanskrit College
in Rajarhat upazila of Kurigram,
said that it is hard to believe that a
principal and a pandit get a monthly
salary of Tk 149.50 which has to be
withdrawn from Sonali Bank.
“It costs me Tk 80 to travel to the
bank to raise a salary of Tk 149.50,”
he said.
Prior to joining as a Principal
in 1990, he had been working as
a pandit in this Sanskrit college.
Besides running the college, he has
to work in his farm to run the family.
Bipin Chandra Roy demanded
that the Ministry of Education think
anew about the people associated
with Sanskrit Colleges and take
effective steps.
Bivatsu Roy, the pandit of the
college, said that the government
pays him Tk 149.50 a month, which
is barely enough to buy a day’s food.
‘Even then, I have been teaching
in the college for the sake of honour.
I run my family by farming. I have
been teaching in the college for a
decade,’ he said adding, ’We demand
a new payment structure from the
education ministry to eliminate the
inequality in the payment.’
Manik Chandra Roy, an office
assistant of the college, said that he
gets a monthly salary of Tk 65. To
withdraw a monthly salary of Tk
65, he has to spend Tk 80 to travel
to the bank “I have working here
hoping that if our payment structure
is changed ever, I will be able to run
my family well,” he said.
Paramananda Roy, the principal
of Debirpat Sanskrit College in
Aditmari upazila of Lalmonirhat,
said that they have to live an inhuman
life and it is officially recognised.
They have been demanding for a
change in their salary structure for
a long time but to no avail. ‘The
salaries of the principals, scholars
and staffs of Sanskrit colleges were
fixed about 100 years ago and that
structure is still in place,’ he said.
Lalmonirhat District Education
Officer Abul Kalam Azad said that
he was aware of the matter. It is a
matter for the Ministry of Education.
It is necessary to revise the salary
structure of those associated with The entrance of Baidderbazar Sanskrit College in Rajarhat PHOTO:
STAR
Sanskrit colleges, he said. upazila of Kurigram.

FOLLOW-UP
Five brokers
held from
hospital
premises
OUR CORRESPONDENT,
Patuakhali

Rapid Action Battalion

(Rab-8) in cooperation with
the authority of Patuakhali
Medical College Hospital
arrested 5 brokers from the
hospital premises yesterday.
The arrestees were later
produced before a mobile
court that fined four of
them Tk 1,000 each, and
sentenced another to seven
days imprisonment, Lt
Shahidul islam, company
commander of Rab-8, said.
Selim Tuhin displays some of the seedless lemon produced at his orchard in Jola Mentionable, the drive
Amedabad village of Jashore Sadar upazila. PHOTO: COLLECTED
took place within couple
of days after The Daily Star
published a story news

Sweet success of a titled ‘Patuakhali Medical

College Hospital: Brokers,
medical representatives,
pvt ambulance staffers

jobless youth disrupting services’ on

Monday.

OUR CORRESPONDENT, Benapole

While the coronavirus pandemic
continues to cause havoc on different
sectors including agriculture globally,
an increased awareness of consuming
vitamin C -- to fight the virus -- has helped
a lemon farmer in Jashore become self-
reliant.
In 2019, Right before the pandemic
broke out in the country, unemployed
youth Selim Tuhin -- son of late Rakib
Uddin Biswas from Jola Amedabad
village in Sadar upazila -- collected one
thousand saplings of seedless lemon from
Mymensingh and planted those on his
four bighas of land.
He initially spent Tk 60 thousand on
the saplings at the advice of one Abdul
Barek Lal Dadu of Mymensingh, but
Selim’s monthly earnings now have
reached between Tk 6 to 7 lakh.
Roughly ten thousand pieces of the
lemon are now being plucked every day
from his orchard and shipped out to
different markets in Jashore as well as in
Dhaka.
Before his seedless lemon cultivation
took flight, the SSC graduate Selim had
suffered losses in his previous business
ventures and had been looking after
ancestral property.
He recently extended his lemon
orchard on to twelve bighas of land and
prepared six more bighas to add to the
orchard. He said he was planning to
extend the orchard further on a total of
one hundred bighas of land eventually.
The variety of the seedless lemon Selim
Two boys
The fruit is juicier and its drown
fragrance is more attractive OUR CORRESPONDENT,
Lalmonirhat
than most other lemon
Two teenagers drowned
varieties available in the while taking bath in a local
market. waterbody in Kaliganj
upazila.
The deceased are Siam
Hossain, 13, son of Mithun
Rahman, and Mahim Islam,
has been growing is called ‘BINAlebu-1’,
which was released in 2016 by Bangladesh 14, son of Majibur Rahman,
of Sundrahbi village.
Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA).
The incident took place
Rafiqul Islam, chief scientist of
in Tusbhandar union.
Horticulture Division at BINA, said some Police and fire service
of the best features of BINAlebu-1 are that officials said four teenage
the fruit is full of vitamin C and the plant boys s were taking a bath
produces fruit all year round. in Sundrahabi Beel on
The fruit is juicier and its fragrance is Saturday.
more attractive than most other lemon At one stage, they all got
varieties available in the market. trapped in the sand under
The plant starts producing fruit ten to underneath the water.
eleven months after planting and it bears Although two of them
fruit several times a year, the scientist said, somehow managed to get
adding that a plant bears around 250 to to swam ashore, Siam and
300 fruits in each harvest season until it Mahim went missing.
reaches 15 to 18 years of age. Being informed, divers
from local fire station
Selim said he was also earning Tk 80 to
rushed to the spot and
Tk 100 from each sapling of BINAlebu-1,
rescued the missing boys
which he has been producing at his after an hour of frantic
orchard using grafting method. search.
Making a lemon orchard with 120 The two boys were
saplings on one bigha land would need immediately taken to
organic fertiliser only and the total cost Kaliganj Upazila Health
would be around Tk 15 to 20 thousand, Complex, where the doctors
he also said. declared them dead.

A boat race was held in a local waterbody, known as Chapra Beel, at Basulia village in Tangail’s Basail upazila
on Saturday. Over 50,000 people from different areas enjoyed the traditional event, organised by Freedom Fighter
Abdul Malek Smrity Foundation. PHOTO: STAR
6 INTERNATIONAL
MORE NEWS
India to probe late J&K leader’s
family under anti-terror law
TThe family of a separatist icon from Indian-
administered Kashmir has been booked
for police investigation under a sweeping
anti-terrorism law for chanting anti-New Delhi
slogans and wrapping his body with Pakistan’s
flag after he died, officials said. Tensions in
the Himalayan territory, which is disputed
between India and Pakistan, have been
heightened since Syed Ali Geelani died on
Wednesday at the age of 92 in the main city of
Srinagar. Police in Kashmir said a case under
the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA)
-- which effectively allows people to be held
without trial indefinitely -- was registered on
Saturday against Geelani’s family. They have
not yet been detained by police.
IS attack kills 13 Iraqi cops
Thirteen Iraqi policemen were killed in
an Islamic State group attack against a
checkpoint in the country’s north early
yesterday, security and medical sources said.
mThe attack, in the region of Al-Rashad
around 65 kilometres south of Kirkuk city, took
place just after midnight, a senior Iraqi police
officer told AFP. There was no immediate
claim of responsibility. IS seized swathes of
Iraq in a lightning offensive in 2014, before
being beaten back by a counter-insurgency
campaign supported by a US-led military
coalition. The Iraqi government declared the
Sunni extremists defeated in late 2017, but
they retain sleeper cells which continue to hit
security forces with asymmetric attacks.
Japan’s Covid vaccine
minister favoured for PM
Japan’s minister in charge of Covid-19
vaccinations is seen as the most suitable
candidate to become the next prime minister,
media reported yesterday. Prime Minister
Yoshihide Suga announced on Friday that
he was stepping down, throwing a spotlight
on a ruling party leadership election due on
Sept. 29, with the winner of that taking over
as prime minister. The minister in charge of
vaccinations, Taro Kono, was named by 31.9%
of respondents in the Kyodo poll as the most
suitable person to succeed Suga, trailed by
former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba with
26.6%, and former foreign minister Fumio
Kishida with 18.8%.
Hurricane Ida death toll in
Louisiana rises to 12
Hurricane Ida’s toll rose to 12 storm deaths
in Louisiana on Saturday, still far outpaced
by the dozens killed in flooded Northeast US
states where President Biden is heading next
week to assess damage. New York and New
Jersey were among the four northern states
that started the Labor Day holiday weekend
digging through debris left by the deadly
deluge that killed more than 44 people and
caused public transportation in New York City
to grind to a halt. Transportation operators
promised to restore some lines before the start
of the workweek on Tuesday.
TTP kills four Pakistani troops
Four Pakistani paramilitary guards were
killed yesterday when a suicide bomber
on a motorbike blew himself up in the
southwestern city of Quetta, police said.
The bomber targeted Frontier Constabulary
guards in the Mian Ghundi neighbourhood
of the city -- around 140 kilometers from the
frontier with Afghanistan -- where Hazara
Shia merchants were trading vegetables.
The militant Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
claimed responsibility for the attack. The
group, which is separate from the Afghan
Taliban, renewed its allegiance to that group
after the fall of Kabul last month and has
recently stepped up its campaign against
the Pakistani army. Islamabad fears a rise in
militant attacks along the Afghan-Pakistan
border as the Afghan Taliban tries to fill a
vacuum left by the collapse of the Western-
backed administration in that country.
SOURCE: AFP, REUTERS
An Afghan woman sells pen to the commuters at a traffic intersection in Kabul, yesterday. The new rulers of
Afghanistan, the Taliban, have promised more rights for women this time, but experts say only time will tell if they
can keep their promisews to international community.
MELTING
GLACIERS IN
GREENLAND
‘Yemen rebels’
fire missiles
into Saudi
oil region
Two children hurt;
buildings damaged
REUTERS, Dubai
Two children were injured
and buildings were
damaged when a ballistic
missile was intercepted
over Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich
eastern region on Saturday,
the ministry of defence said.
The missile was
intercepted over a suburb
of the city of Dammam,
with scattered shrapnel
injuring two Saudi children
and causing light damage
to 14 houses, the statement
carried by state news
agency SPA said.
Photos on state media
showed broken glass and
damaged entrances of a few
residential buildings.
The coalition blamed
the attack on the Iran-
aligned Houthi forces.
There was no immediate
claim of responsibility in
Houthi-run media.
The coalition also said it
intercepted and destroyed
ballistic missiles heading
towards Jazan and Najran
in the southern part of
the country. It earlier
reported the interception
of three explosive-laden
drones headed towards the
kingdom.
Eastern Saudi Arabia
is home to significant oil
infrastructure that has
previously been targeted
by aerial attacks. An attack
in September 2019 on
two Aramco plants in the
east temporarily knocked
out half the country’s oil
production.
Melting glacier ice is pictured at the west coast close to Nuuk, Greenland, on Saturday. Greenland’s ice is melting faster than any time in the past 12,000
years, scientists have calculated, with the ice loss running at a rate of around one million tons a minute in 2019. Greenland and the earth’s other polar region
of Antarctica have together lost 6.3tn tons of ice since 1994. If all the ice in Greenland melted, the global sea level would jump by about 6 meters (20ft), and
although this is unlikely to happen on any sort of foreseeable timescale, scientists have warned that the world’s largest island is reaching a tipping point due
to the pressures exerted upon it by global heating.
CHAOS IN AFGHANISTAN
Europe can no longer
rely on US for protection
Says France, urges the EU to be more ambitious
on defence and on global leadership
REUTERS
The challenges to security emerging from
the upheaval in Afghanistan should be
a wake-up call for the European Union,
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire
said, urging the EU to be more ambitious
on defence and on global leadership.
“Europe has to become No. 3 super-
power besides China and the United
States. Let’s open our eyes, we are facing
threats and we cannot rely anymore on the
protection of the United States,” Le Maire
told reporters during an annual business
conference in Cernobbio on Lake Como
on Saturday.
“Afghanistan is a wake-up call,” he said,
adding Europe also faced security threats in
the Middle East and in Africa.
Europe has to
become No. 3 super-
power besides China
and the United
States. Let’s open our
eyes, we are facing
threats and we
FRENCH cannot rely anymore
FINANCE on the protection
MINISTER of the United States.
BRUNO LE Afghanistan is a
MAIRE wake-up call.
The French minister said Paris had
decided to invest 1.7 billion euros ($2.02
billion) more in defence this year and
would like to see other European countries
to do the same.
The minister also called other EU
member states to invest and to deepen
their single market to achieve technological
independence from big overseas companies
and third countries.
PHOTO: AFP
DHAKA MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2021, BHADRA 22, 1428 BS
PHOTO: REUTERS
FARM LAW PROTESTS
Indian farmers
stage ‘biggest’
demonstration
REUTERS, Muzaffarnagar
More than 500,000 farmers
gathered in India’s most
populous state Uttar
Pradesh yesterday, police
said, the biggest rally yet
Iran ready for
“EU member states have to build the
single market for finance and also they
need to reach a political agreement on
in a months-long series of
demonstrations to press
government to repeal three
talks but not
the banking union, in order to have more
funds for new technologies,” Le Maire said.
He added that France will work toward
new agricultural laws.
The laws, introduced under ‘pressure’
last September, allow
these goals when it takes the rotating farmers to directly sell Says Iran President Raisi
presidency of the EU Council, in the first their produce, outside REUTERS, Dubai
half of 2022. government-regulated
“You cannot be sovereign on the political
wholesale markets, to big Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Iran
point of view if you depend from foreigners buyers. The government was ready to hold talks with world powers
for semiconductors, electric batteries,
says this will help farmers to revive its 2015 nuclear accord but not
satellites...” he said, echoing similar get better prices. Farmers, under Western “pressure”, adding Tehran
comments from Italy’s Innovation Minister
however, say the legislation was seeking negotiations leading to a
Vittorio Colao, who was also in Cernobbio.
will hurt their livelihood lifting of US sanctions.
Europe should invest to win the
and leave them with scant France and Germany have urged Iran to
leadership in sectors including hydrogen,
bargaining power against return to negotiations after a break in talks
the digital cloud, artificial intelligence,
big private retailers. following Iranian elections in June, with
semiconductors, space exploration, satellites
Paris demanding an immediate restart
and bio-technologies, Le Maire said. amid Western concerns over Tehran’s
Meanwhile, European Commissioner expanding atomic work.
Margaritis Schinas said in a newspaper
interview that events in Afghanistan could
THIS DAY IN Last month, France, Germany and
be a catalyst for the European Union to HISTORY Britain voiced concern about reports from
the UN nuclear watchdog confirming Iran
forge a common migration policy. has produced uranium metal enriched up
EU is concerned that the Taliban takeover
to 20 percent fissile purity for the first time
could trigger a replay of the crisis of 2015/16, and lifted production capacity of uranium
when the arrival of more than a million
SEPTEMBER 06
enriched to 60 percent.
migrants, predominantly from the Middle 1901 – US president Iran says its nuclear programme
East, stretched security and welfare systems William McKinley was is peaceful, that it has informed the
and fuelled support for far-right groups. shot by an anarchist in watchdog about its activities, and that its
“It is true that we are now in a major New York. moves away from the 2015 deal would be
crisis, but the EU did not cause the situation, 1970 - Palestinian reversed if the United States returned to
yet we are once again called upon to be part guerrillas hijacked four the accord and lifted sanctions.
of a solution,” the Greek commissioner, planes heading for New “The Westerners and the Americans
whose brief includes migration policy, told are after talks together with pressure ...
York from Europe. One
Austrian daily Wiener Zeitung. What kind of talks is that? I have already
jumbo jet was blown up
The UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) has announced that we will have talks on
the next day in Cairo and
said up to 500,000 Afghans could flee their our government’s agenda but not with ...
two Boeing 707s that
homeland by year-end. pressure,” Raisi told state television.
landed in Jordan were
Migration has undermined the unity “Talks are on the agenda ... We are
blown up on Sept. 12.
of the 27-member EU, with proposals to seeking goal-oriented negotiations ... so
The fourth plane landed
legally oblige all states to host their share in London, hijacker was unjust sanctions on the Iranian people
of refugees rejected by several former arrested. are lifted ... and their lives can flourish,”
Communist Bloc states as well as Austria. he added.
SOURCE: WEBSITES

Dispute settlement mechanism
under the UNCLOS 1982
The Law of the Sea dispute settlement
mechanism is an area of great academic,
economic, and political interest where the
relationship between public and private law
is in full evolution and constantly shows
new challenges. Historically, the law of the
sea was split between public and private
domains. We speak of it mostly in the
context of interstate relations, and private
issues are often relegated to admiralty or
maritime law (addressing liens, injury to
seamen, etc.) However, the Law of the Sea
travels, the public and private domains,
and public international law gradually
fused into the national legal system in ways
that affect individuals on several issues
concerning, for example, safety, navigation,
environmental protection, conservation
and exploitation of resources, scientific
research, and civil and criminal jurisdiction.
Also, oil companies are very concerned with
the delimitations of maritime zones, and
fishing fleets are concerned with rights and
obligations in the Exclusive Economic Zone
(EEZ). Private activity is often the catalyst
for conflicts between States as to rights
and obligations on the sea. These conflicts
demand methods for dispute settlements,
and many were borrowed from national
legal systems.
States mostly remain the featured
players in these forms of dispute settlement
methods. Still, there are some avenues for
private actors to engage in as their interests
almost always lie behind the interests
of State actors. The following means of
dispute settlement under the Law of the
Sea have flourished since 1994, and key
developments and cases will be highlighted:
Negotiation, Conciliation, Arbitration,
Judicial Settlement, and Commission on the
Continental Shelf.
The Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC)
seeks to comprehensively regulate virtually
all aspects of the law of the seas, set
rules on the formation of Baselines and
internal waters, and on the seven maritime
zones (Internal waters, Territorial Sea, the
Contiguous Zone, the EEZ, the Continental
Shelf, the High Seas and the Area).
Islands can generate some or all of the
maritime zones. Article 121 of the LOSC
provides that an “island” is a naturally
created form of land above the water at
high tide which can generate all maritime
zones if it can sustain human habitation
and economic life. However, an island
that cannot sustain human habitation and
economic life on its own is a “rock,” which
only generates Territorial Seas.
Part XI of the Convention attracted much
attention during the negotiations as it
provides rules pertaining to the exploitation
of the Deep Seabed Area and institutional
structures (including a Counsel and an
Assembly). Part XII of the Convention sets
forth rules for environmental protection
of maritime areas. Some of these rules are
regarded as a sophisticated environmental
law treaty embedded within the LOSC. Since
1994, we have acquired a very detailed set
of rules relating to the conduct of State and
non-State actors in relation to the seas.
These rules offer a template to evaluate
whether conduct is permissible or not.
Some of these rules are not very clear, such
as the rules on the delimitation of the
zones between States. When we refer to the
appropriate rules in case of a dispute on
the zones, the Convention provides that the
process to delimit the EEZ and Continental
Shelf “shall be effected by agreement on
the basis of international law in order to
achieve an equitable solution”, which is a
fairly indeterminate way of saying that States
should get together to reach agreements
and be guided by equitable ideas, but does
not provide how the delimitation process
should go forward. If States cannot reach an
agreement through negotiation without a
reasonable amount of time, they would then
be expected to resort to dispute settlement
procedures under the LOSC provided in
Part XV of the Convention. Part XV of the
Convention establishes a very innovative
system for the settlement of disputes. Section
One includes non-compulsory dispute
procedures and calls upon States to pursue
negotiations or conciliation. If these avenues
do not solve the dispute, Section Two sets
forth the compulsory dispute procedures,
which include the International Tribunal for
the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) under Annex VI,
the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the
creation of an Arbitral Tribunal under Annex
VII, and the creation of a Special Arbitral
Tribunal formed as a panel of experts, not
necessarily lawyers, to deal with a dispute
arising out of a particular area (e.g. fisheries,
infocus@thedailystar.net
REAR ADMIRAL MD. KHURSHED ALAM M.PHIL, NDC, PSC BN (RETD)
marine environment, scientific research,
navigation, etc.)
When joining the Convention, new
members select one of the four mechanisms
set out above. When a dispute arises,
and both parties have selected the same
mechanism upon joining, they are obligated
to use it. When a member has failed to
make a selection, it is deemed to have
chosen an Arbitral Tribunal under Annex
VII by default. When both parties have
selected different options upon joining,
they are both deemed to have selected an
Arbitral Tribunal under Annex VII. In short,
arbitration is the default process.
It was considered essential to establish
certain automatic and optional carve-outs
to the compulsory dispute settlement
methods. These are provided for in Part
XV and include, inter alia, an automatic
exception to compulsory dispute settlement,
which prevents one from challenging the
determination of the allowable catch before
the ICJ, ITLOS or an Arbitral Tribunal. There
are also optional methods that a State can
invoke upon joining the Convention (e.g.
one member might choose not to accept
compulsory dispute resolution with respect
to a dispute on delimitations, disputes
concerning historic bays, or disputes
concerning military activities). For example,
when China ratified the LOSC, it invoked all
three optional exclusions and then claimed
that there was no basis to go after China for
any claim relating to these matters.
There are now 168 State members to the
LOSC and 147 State parties to the 1994
Agreement relating to the Deep Seabed
(“Agreement relating to the implementation
of Part XI of the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea of 10 December
1982”). The detailed rules under the
contemporary law of the sea, the increasing
interest in exploiting resources and the
threat of compulsory dispute settlement
mechanisms encourage States to enter
into negotiations. Identifying the fact that
negotiations are going forward is difficult as
States often keep them quiet. Negotiations
sometimes lead to the resolution of the
dispute in the form of a treaty or other
forms of dispute resolution mechanisms.
Negotiation is by far the method of
dispute settlement preferred by States, and
other avenues are only considered when
negotiations stall.
In the context of boundary delimitation,
there are some real disadvantages in
pursuing compulsory dispute mechanisms
and considerable advantages in negotiating.
During negotiations, the parties retain
control over a series of fundamental
issues, including the precise result of the
boundaries delimited, the way the line is
being defined, the terms and the timing of
the agreement and the way the agreement is
presented publicly. It is generally believed
that litigation always carries risks for the
parties. The range of legal findings available
to the tribunal is more restricted than the
range of options open to the negotiators.
When appearing before a tribunal applying
international law, the parties operate within
a specific frame that lacks flexibility and
leaves little room for creativity and tends
to favour always one side while failing to
consider the interests of all actors. However,
during negotiations, the parties pursue
a process of joint development in the
maritime space and can set aside the legal
dispute to focus on practical measures to
secure each party’s underlying objective,
SEPTEMBER 6, 2021, BHADRA 22, 1428 BS
Although States
mostly prefer going
before the ICJ, more
and more cases are
being registered
before ITLOS (such as
ITLOS Case No. 16
“Dispute concerning
the delimitation of the
maritime boundary
between Bangladesh
and Myanmar in the
Bay of Bengal”
particularly when each party wishes to
pursue different types of exploitation.
Conciliation is provided for in Part XV of
the LOSC but is rarely used by States. The
1981 Iceland/Norway Continental Shelf
Dispute Regarding Jay Mayen Island is one
of the few conciliations ever recorded. States
are not inclined to use conciliation because
once they decide to give up control over the
dispute and allow for a formal decision by
a third-party body, States prefer to go all the
way to an ultimately binding decision.
Sometimes, the parties will reach an
impasse during the negotiations but need
to resolve the dispute as they might not
otherwise be able to exploit resources.
They will then turn to compulsory dispute
resolution. The more familiar States become
with the process, the more likely they
are to prefer compulsory Law of the Sea
dispute resolution in the future. Since 1994,
arbitration has become the most popular
means to solve maritime disputes. Under
Annex VII of The LOSC, the tribunals are
composed of five arbitrators, each party
to the dispute appoints an arbitrator, and
they jointly appoint the remaining three. If
it is needed, the President of ITLOS serves
as the appointing authority. The arbitral
tribunal decides on its own procedures,
which provides for a lot of flexibility. Some
examples of the LOSC Annex VII Arbitrations
include Bangladesh vs India (“Bay of Bengal
Maritime Boundary Arbitration”) and
Bangladesh vs Myanmar in the ITLOS (Map
enclosed), Mauritius vs the UK (“Chagos
Archipelago Arbitration”), Argentina vs
Ghana (“ARA Libertad Arbitration”), Malta
vs Sao Tome and Principe (“Duzgit Integrity
Arbitration”), and Denmark in respect of the
Faroe Islands vs European Union.
The LOSC does not, by itself, seek to
address issues of sovereignty over territory.
It is therefore essential to keep in mind, in
the analysis of the Annex VII arbitrations,
that jurisdictional problems arise whenever
the tribunals are asked to rule on what State
has sovereignty over a specific territory. In
the Philippines vs China arbitration, the
Philippines are challenging China’s activity
in the South China Sea and Seabed Area
and argues that China’s claims over the area
delimited by the “Nine-Dash Line” are not
lawful under the LOSC. The Philippines
are therefore seeking a finding that China’s
claims over this area are unlawful. The
Philippines are also asking the tribunal to
determine whether some features claimed
by both the Philippines and China qualify
as islands and a finding regarding the
Philippines’ rights beyond its EEZ. China
rejected the tribunal’s jurisdiction inter
alia on the ground that the essence of the
subject matter of the dispute is sovereignty.
States are using arbitration increasingly
because tribunals are quick at issuing
decisions and give the parties a lot of
control over the procedure. A downside
of arbitration is the fact that it is more
expensive than court proceedings.
One significant feature of the LOSC is the
creation of a new institution, the ITLOS in
Hamburg, which may hear both contentious
and non-contentious cases for Law of the
Sea dispute resolution. 21 judges elected
for nine years by the State parties serve on
ITLOS. Each State party can nominate up to
two candidates. There is a process to ensure
equitable distribution among the judges,
and the term of one-third of them expires
every three years. ITLOS operates somewhat
similarly to the ICJ in terms of having
some permanence to the institution and a
rotation system. ITLOS has the particularity
of being able to hear “prompt release” cases
DHAKA MONDAY
7
taking place on an expedited basis when a
coastal State has seized a foreign vessel and
its crew (usually in its EEZ) and brought
it into its ports. Standing is not limited to
State actors, and natural or juridical persons
may appear before ITLOS (although they
have to obtain the permission of their flag
State).
Despite the availability of this very
robust court in Hamburg capable of
hearing contentious and non-contentious
cases, litigation before ITLOS has been
very modest. The 22 cases registered are
almost all related to “prompt release”
matters, and ITLOS rarely decides cases on
the merits. Although States mostly prefer
going before the ICJ, more and more cases
are being registered before ITLOS (such as
ITLOS Case No. 16 “Dispute concerning
the delimitation of the maritime boundary
between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the
Bay of Bengal” and ITLOS Case No. 23
“Dispute Concerning Delimitation of the
Maritime Boundary between Ghana and
Côte d’Ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean”).
Undoubtedly, the number one forum for
States seeking judicial settlement concerning
the Law of the Sea is the ICJ which is not
limited to the Law of the Sea issues and
may then decide sovereignty and maritime
matters. The ICJ jurisprudence is fairly
robust and contributes significantly to our
understanding of how the Law of the Sea
disputes should be decided. For example,
for many years, the methodology used
for delimiting was quite uncertain. But
in the past decades, the jurisprudence, in
particular concerning Black Sea disputes,
has established a three-part approach to
delimitation (first, the tribunal draws a
provisional equidistant line from base
points on the coasts of both States parties
to the delimitation dispute; second, the
tribunal considers factors calling for
adjustments such as a small bump on the
coast of one State which drastically impacts
the provisional equidistant line; third,
the tribunal conducts a proportionality
analysis whereby it looks at the two parts
of water delimited, looks at the ratio and
the coastlines and decides whether there is
a significant disproportion in the maritime
spaces awarded to each State). There is a
lot of flexibility in the tribunal’s approach,
and the contemporary jurisprudence shows
that context, particularly in the presence
of islands or other features, matter a lot.
Depending on their size, islands will
sometimes matter a great deal and will be
determinative of where the provisional
equidistant line is drawn, or will sometimes
be pushed aside by the tribunal and will not
be used in deciding the case. Geographic
considerations are the dominant force
driving these cases. Issues about which State
entity should be entitled to which area,
economic resources and which actor is more
environmentally sound are not considered.
The ICJ or ITLOS may render Advisory
Opinions. ITLOS recently issued its first
Advisory Opinion for the West African
Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission.
There is also a possibility to obtain an
Advisory Opinion from the Seabed Dispute
Chamber, a subunit of ITLOS, which can
both hear disputes between State and non-
State actors and issue Advisory Opinions.
The LOSC created a Commission to hear
the numerous Extended Continental Shelf
Claims and their underlying scientific
arguments. The Commission consists
of 21 members, experts in the field of
geology and physics, who will rule on the
claims and issue a Recommendation as to
where the limit of the Continental Shelf
should be drawn and which, if followed,
is considered a binding delimitation vis-
à-vis all the parties to the LOSC. About
eighty States have filed submissions
before the Commission to obtain such
Recommendations, and twenty-two
Recommendations have been issued so far.
In conclusion, it can be said that there
is indeed a rising tide in dispute settlement
under the law of the sea driven by the
number of detailed rules now available, the
increasing interest in the resources at sea
and in conserving these resources, and the
prospect of compulsory dispute settlement
hanging over State actors. New forms of the
dispute are now starting to emerge. Global
climate change is generating a significant
amount of disputes as seas are rising from
the melting of glaciers, arctic ice and the
expansion of water generally.
Khurshed Alam is the Secretary (Maritime
Affairs Unit), Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Bangladesh
8 EDITORIAL
DHAKA MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2021, BHADRA 22, 1428 BS
Justice eludes 21
victims of human
trafficking
Authorities need to address the
fundamental problems to stem
the scourge
I
T is unfortunate that the families of 21 victims of
illegal trafficking, as reported in The Daily Star on
Sunday, have not yet found redress of their complaints
even after a year and a half since cases were filed in 2019.
And that is because the investigating agencies have not
been able to collect enough evidence to proceed with the
cases.
Bangladesh is one of the top 10 countries from where
people migrate to seek better fortunes abroad. In doing
so, they sacrifice everything with only one hope—to
improve their condition and that of their dependents.
But when does one give one’s last penny to go abroad
looking for a job? What should one make of our
economic and social conditions when, according to the
chief of the International Organization for Migration
(IOM) in Bangladesh, nearly three quarters of a million
Bangladeshis choose to migrate abroad every year?
Unfortunately, the more vulnerable among the
migrants fall prey to local and foreign traffickers, getting
themselves into all kinds of horrid situations. Of relatively
recent innovation is migrants being taken hostage by the
foreign traffickers, into whose clutches these unfortunate
fortune seekers land ultimately. The international
syndicates with whom the local syndicates have a deep
link demand money from their relatives in Bangladesh
in return for their freedom. Unfortunately, many of the
trafficked victims go missing altogether.
Illegal migration and human trafficking—one of the
most serious socio-economic problems—has sullied
our image abroad as a developing country and brought
into question our development priorities. Unfortunately,
employment at home has become quite scarce and more
expensive than getting a job outside the country, for which
people are willing to risk their lives even. But there is a
lack of due diligence on the part of various agencies of the
government to stop this phenomenon.
There are certain realities that must be acknowledged
if this scourge is to be efficiently addressed. Firstly, we
must purge from our minds that it is only the indigent
and the illiterate who seek employment abroad. The
fact is, many well-educated individuals with university
degrees are among the 700,000 or so illegal migrants
who leave the county every year. It’s economics that acts
as the driving factor. Paying bribes for a job at home is
much costlier than what the syndicates ask for to get them
to their chosen destinations. Secondly, there is both the
demand and supply side of the phenomenon. It is a myth
that there is no demand for blue collar jobs outside. The
reality is, according to experts, there is as much demand
for menial and lowly paid jobs as there are for white collar
jobs in many countries. Thirdly, the administration should
not disown those Bangladeshis who are languishing in
various countries, having gone there illegally. They are
our citizens and must be brought back—at least for the
sake of investigation and identifying the syndicates for the
purpose of prosecuting and punishing them.
Without improving our socio-economic conditions
and employment opportunities at home, and without
identifying the syndicates and their external links, and
without meting out severe punishments to the traffickers,
the fertile ground provided by those seeking greener
pastures abroad will continue to be harvested by the
syndicates.
Make accountability
a core part of RHD
projects
Project heads must answer for
delays, cost escalations
I
T is disappointing to know of yet another government
project undergoing frequent deadline extensions,
leading to cost escalations as a result. The project,
taken up in January 2017 by the Roads and Highways
Department (RHD), was to reconstruct a 38km stretch
of the Jashore-Khulna national highway, with an initial
budget of Tk 321.56 crore and a deadline till December
2019, as approved by the Ecnec. So far, the project
deadline has been extended three times, but even that does
not seem enough. Now, the Planning Commission has set
a new deadline of June 2022, but the newest revisions—if
approved—would mean an overall cost of Tk 371.52 crore.
We, alongside the Planning Commission, are left to
wonder about the causes of such delays and revisions
leading to so much of public money being spent,
especially for a mere 38km segment of a national highway.
The reconstruction work was taken up by citing the
insufficient thickness of the road. But more than four
years later, it is now rutted (due to overloaded trucks
plying on the road) and changes need to be made in the
project design. The plan to build three new truck bays has
been added to the project, and more money is required
to “raise the height of the shoulder of the road to widen
it.” According to the executive engineer of Jashore RHD,
it was only in March and May 2018 that the contractors
could be awarded the work after the tendering process
was completed, more than a year after the project was first
approved.
There are countless government projects like this
one that face awfully lengthy delays. Meanwhile, public
resources are squandered away for years with no visible, let
alone useful, results. There are reportedly at least 80 RHD
projects for which time extensions were sought in the
last fiscal year, so how many other projects from different
arms of the state are in a similar state is anyone’s guess.
This cannot go on if resources are to be allocated for these
plans, but the public is not getting what they are owed in
terms of improved infrastructure and services.
We urge the Planning Commission to look deeper
into the plans of such projects and ask project leaders for
justifications for the delays, before requests for extended
deadlines and increased budgets are granted. If such
delays are allowed to take place unchecked, we believe
it will do more harm than good for the country’s overall
development.
Schools are finally reopening,
but what’s next?
The government needs to plan for some damage control
T
HE
BLACK, WHITE
AND GREY
government’s
decision to open
educational
institutions
is a welcome
development.
All educational
ALI RIAZ
institutions have
remained closed
since the beginning of the Covid-19
pandemic, and the promise of online
education has failed miserably to deliver.
The failure was not unexpected in a
country where mobile internet speed is
very poor. Bangladesh is one of the five
countries on the bottom of the global list
when it comes to mobile internet speed.
We are all aware of the steps taken by
the government to tackle the pandemic. A
few rounds of the so-called “lockdown,”
announcements of several stimulus
packages and the occasional vaccination
“festival” marked the last 18 months.
What remained constant during this
period was the closure of educational
institutions. Everything else has
continued as if the pandemic does not
exist, or normalcy has returned after brief
disruptions. But the doors of educational
institutions have remained stubbornly
locked, although we heard repeated
announcements that they will be opened
soon.
Bangladesh is among the few countries
in the world where the educational
institutions are still closed due to
the coronavirus. In fact, considering
the length of the closure, Bangladesh
ranks second in the world. Educational
institutions have been closed since
March 17 last year, and now it has been
said that primary, secondary and higher
secondary-level educational institutions
can be opened from September 12. As
for universities, they may soon follow,
with the Dhaka University vice-chancellor
stating that the university is likely to open
in phases in October.
Three of the long-term effects of
the coronavirus around the world are
particularly significant. First is its impact
on the educational sector. A generation
will lag behind others because schools
and colleges have been closed for so
long or the students have not been
taught in usual ways. Even in countries
where educational institutions have been
closed for a short period of time, this has
remained a major concern. The closure
has caused high rates of dropout; bringing
these children back to school remains
Using our climate funds right
W
HEN
I talk
about
Bangladesh’s
climate change
response, I get
excited by the
thought of three
milestones.
HASEEB MD
IRFANULLAH Regarding
climate planning,
I love to talk
about Bangladesh Climate Change
Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP). It
was exclusively prepared by Bangladeshi
climate change experts in 2008 (revised
in 2009)—not to comply with any global
agency, such as the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC), but to meet the
country’s own needs. Over the last decade,
this has been the sole guiding document
to spend money from the Bangladesh
Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF)
and other funding sources, including the
development partners.
I also get excited when thinking of the
money we have been spending to face
climate crisis. Eleven years ago, the BCCTF
was established with the country’s own
money. Gradually, it became a pot of
about USD 450 million, which until May
2021 supported 789 projects. According to
the Climate Budget Report (2021-2022),
Bangladesh’s climate-related budget
involving 25 ministries and agencies is
USD 2.96 billion, which is 0.73 percent
of the country’s GDP. Between 2015-16
and 2021−2022, we doubled our climate
budget. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic,
the government continued allocating
climate budget, which were 4.23 percent
(2020-2021) and 4.16 percent (2021-
2022) of the total national budget of two
consecutive years.
Regarding our climate leadership
in recent years, I love to highlight
Bangladesh’s current presidency at the
Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) (2020-
2022) and the opening of South Asia
regional office of the Global Center on
Adaptation (GCA) in Dhaka in September
2020. We are currently formulating
Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan aiming
at becoming a resilient upper-middle-
income country by 2030. Many local,
national and international NGOs,
UN agencies, research organisations,
networks, and individuals are working
alone or in collaboration with national
and international entities to improve the
country’s climate resilience. Bangladesh’s
a challenge. Secondly, there has been a
decline in nutritional intake among low-
income people. Due to reduced income,
poor people have suffered from food
scarcity, and as such, malnutrition will
increase among a significant segment of
the society. It is not only the poor that
will bear the brunt of it—the middle class
will also be equally affected. The third
effect is the increase in income inequality.
Even during the epidemic, the rich have
Online learning is not equally accessible for all students in
Bangladesh.
become richer all around the world.
Bangladesh is not immune to these three
adverse impacts.
It is against this backdrop that the
educational institutions remain closed.
Public health theories cannot explain why
the government thought that infection
would be higher from the crowd of
schoolgoers than from the crowd of
people thronging shopping malls or ferry
ghats, but recent comments by ministers,
made either willingly or inadvertently,
provide the clue—it is sheer politics. As
some university teachers started taking
symbolic classes, and Unicef insisted on
July 12 that schools should be opened,
the government seemed to have felt the
need to make a move. Over the past
several months, the government claimed
to be preparing for the opening of the
educational institutions, but what those
“preparations” have been is yet to be
known. I hope the government and
school-college authorities understand
the difference between opening the
proud legacy of community-based
adaptation and nature-based solutions,
like ecosystem-based adaptation, has
made the country the “adaptation
capital of the world,” the “best teacher”
in climate change adaptation, and an
“adaptation leader.”
But I don’t feel easy talking about three
aspects of our climate action.
First, the BCCSAP (2009) was meant
for 10 years, but its updating began long
before December 2018. Three years on,
the government has yet to finalise and
approve the revised BCCSAP. We have
seen so many significant developments
since the formulation of the BCCSAP in
2009—the ending of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) era (2001-
2015), the beginning of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) period
(2016-2030), amazing success in poverty
alleviation, and improvement in other
development indicators (e.g. food security,
Throughout the 2000s and the 2010s,
Bangladesh prepared many environmental
and climate planning documents with foreign
money—the BCCSAP was an exception. Should
we still follow that old path because the money
is there to use?
child health, and primary education),
leading to Bangladesh’s graduation to the
lower-middle-income status. Fulfilling
“Vision 2021” encouraged the country
to envision becoming a high-income
country by 2041. The Bangladesh Delta
Plan 2100 (2018) aims at transforming
Bangladesh into a resilient delta.
Although Bangladesh emits less than
0.35 percent of global greenhouse gas
(GHG), according to the Nationally
Determined Contributions (NDC, 2021),
it proposed to reduce its GHG emissions
by 6.73 percent (on its own) to 21.85
percent (with international support)
by 2030. This commendable intention
is in line with the Paris Agreement of
2015, where about 190 UNFCCC parties
agreed to reduce GHG emissions to
keep the global temperature rise below
2 degrees Celsius. Alarmingly, in August
2021, the Sixth Assessment Report of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
institutions after any other holiday and
opening now.
The government did not say whether
school and college teachers are included
as a priority on the vaccination list. It is
also not known who will be responsible
for ensuring that teachers and students
wear masks, and conducting testing on
a regular basis for the foreseeable future.
Students and parents need to know what
measures will be taken if the number of
FILE PHOTO:
TDS
infections increases. What is the threshold
of keeping an institution open? Will there
be contact tracing?
It is important to ensure that
government schools and colleges receive
additional funding in order to adhere
to the health guidelines; monitoring
will be necessary to see whether they are
being properly spent. If the government
thinks that its only responsibility is
the announcement of a date, then
they are misjudging the scale of this
task. According to Education Minister
Dipu Moni, “We have already made
preparations for the opening of schools
and colleges.” Have these measures been
communicated to citizens and parents?
The government should draw on the
experience of other countries, especially
those sharing socio-economic similarities
with Bangladesh, not of countries in
Europe or North America.
The severe loss in the education sector
caused by the pandemic, especially due
to the long closure, will not be recouped
Change (IPCC) drew an increasingly
grim climate future for the vulnerable
countries. Our inertia to consider all these
domestic and international developments
and update the BCCSAP to expedite
climate action momentum is rather
disappointing.
Secondly, the climate change trust
fund (BCCTF) has funded hundreds
of climate change projects, including
formulation of strategies and action plans,
like updating the National Conservation
Strategy. However, the revision of the
2009 BCCSAP was not funded by the USD
450 million trust fund, but was supported
by the GIZ, our German development
partner. There must have been a fantastic
reason behind such a decision made
by the Ministry of Environment, Forest
and Climate Change. Such dependency
on foreign money continues, as the
Environment Ministry is currently
preparing the National Adaptation Plan
(NAP) with the Green Climate Fund’s
(GCF) support. Throughout the 2000s
and the 2010s, Bangladesh prepared many
environmental and climate planning
documents with foreign money—the
BCCSAP was an exception. Should we
still follow that old path because the
money is there to use? Or, since we are
meeting some international obligations
by preparing those environmental plans,
should international financiers pay us for
these? Where did our sense of ownership
and leadership go, which we had shown
when we prepared the BCCSAP?
Thirdly, an analysis of the BCCTF
allocations, as in Climate Budget Report
(2021-2022), showed that the Ministry of
Water Resources (132 projects), the Local
Government Division (441 projects), and
the Environment Ministry (68 projects)
together implemented 88 percent of
government agency-led projects. The
average allocation per project ranged from
only by opening the schools and colleges.
There was always discrimination in the
sector due to the unjust social system;
it has increased manifold over the last
year and a half. Children of the rich and
upper-middle class families have been
able to continue their studies, many
with the help of private tutors, whereas
children of the poorer families were left
with no support. This has pushed them
one step backward.
Merely unlocking the doors of schools
and colleges will not be sufficient to bring
back those who have dropped out of the
system. A study by Brac and Manusher
Jonno Foundation showed that child
marriage has increased by 13 percent due
to the closure of educational institutions
during Covid-19—the highest in 25 years
(Deutsche Welle, August 24, 2021). The
government must take the initiative to
reach out to the families who won’t be
able to send their children to schools
as their primary breadwinners have lost
their jobs or their income has dropped
remarkably. School authorities as well
as NGOs can join hands to identify
these families. In short, this requires a
coordinated plan. Does the government
have that plan?
The university authorities will decide
when universities will be opened.
Authorities of Dhaka University have
given the impression that they have
prepared a road map. It is said that all
students at the university will be brought
under the immunisation programme
by September 15. The residential halls
are gradually being opened. But the
question is whether the government has
enough vaccine in stock to inoculate
all universities students. It is also not
clear what measures are being taken
by other public universities. Public
health considerations must prevail in
making the decision to reopen, but other
considerations should not be ignored. For
example, the university administrations
now have the opportunity to address
the so-called “gonoroom” culture in
various dormitories. This practice handed
over the fate of many students to the
Chhatra League leaders who control
those rooms. Indeed, considering the past
behaviour of university administrations
and their political proclivities, a change
is unlikely. But if they could do away
with this culture, at least one good thing
would come out of the long closure of
universities.
Ali Riaz is a distinguished professor of political science
at Illinois State University, a non-resident senior
fellow of the Atlantic Council, and the president of the
American Institute of Bangladesh Studies (AIBS).
USD 350,000 (LGD) to USD 900,000
(Ministry of Water Resources). On the
other hand, the Palli Karma-Sahayak
Foundation (PKSF) channelled USD
2.74 million of the BCCTF to 57 NGOs.
It means, on average, each community-
based climate change project received
USD 48,000 as a grant. While we are
proud of our country leading community-
based climate actions, lots of small
climate projects with small budgets
indicate we are stuck with the notion of
“pilot projects,” while tens of millions of
vulnerable people need large impactful
climate programmes on a wider scale.
Speaking of large projects, back in
2018, the government listed 48 potential
climate projects worth USD 3.17 billion
in anticipation that 72 percent of this
amount would come from the GCF. One
project from that list received GCF’s
approval in November 2020, which
will receive a USD 250 million loan to
encourage private sector investments
in the textile and ready-made garment
industries for adoption of energy-saving
technologies. For adaptation, the GCF has
so far given Bangladesh about USD 60
million as grants, potentially reaching out
to about 1.14 crore vulnerable people, i.e.
investing nearly USD 5.3 in each person’s
resilience.
Significant funding deficit can also be
seen in implementing a number of big
climate-related plans. Out of 80 projects,
for example, Bangladesh Delta Plan
2100 identified 34 projects as climate-
relevant. According to Climate Budget
Report (2021-2022), over the next couple
of decades, USD 37 billion is needed to
implement the first phase of this plan.
Bangladesh hopes to receive a huge sum
from the GCF (USD 2 billion annually),
development partners, and private sector.
Large investment gaps are also seen in
achieving the adaptation and mitigation
targets outlined in the NDCs. The current
speed of channelling such large amount
of fund is slow.
So, we know where we want to go in
terms of climate resilience, how to go
there, and how much money we need to
make that journey. But, given the complex
global climate funding mechanisms and
the uncertainties owing to the Covid-19
pandemic, Bangladesh desperately needs
to design and establish innovative and
robust funding mechanisms. Can we have
a national dialogue on this?
Dr Haseeb Md Irfanullah is an independent consultant
working on environment, climate change, and
research systems. His Twitter handle: @hmirfanullah
DHAKA MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2021, BHADRA 22, 1428 BS OPINION 9

White Man’s Media: A Short History

T
O be fair,
modern
media
is white men’s
invention.
Even though
the Chinese
invented paper
and printing,
ANDREW SHENG Gutenberg’s
type-set printing
of papal indulgences and the Bible
launched media into the religious,
commercial and cultural space, which
initiated the Industrial Revolution and
imperialism. Western science, driven by
religious fervour for capitalism, paved
the way for the information revolution
that became global.
Nothing succeeds like success.
White Man’s Media became successful
through both new technology and its
business model. The medieval Catholic
Church got substantial funding by
issuing indulgences (forgiving sins
The power of media cuts both
ways. Just as markets need true,
fair and timely information to
perform effectively, society needs a
courageous media to speak truth
to power. Sound political decisions
cannot be made with bad or
corrupted information.
from divorces, abortions and crimes)
and granting letters patent, franchises
and charters to go out and conquer
colonies. As the commercial class
rose in power, so did its demand for
information. Venetian merchants
created political and war news sheets
in 1566. By 1609, Germany printed the
first newspapers. Such printed media
spread information and knowledge
from the hands of the royalty, clergy
and elites to the masses. This paved the
way for the first French and American
revolutions with populist cries for
equality, freedom and democracy.
American media invented advertising,
pushing the right of everyone to
consume, enter into debt and freely
erode our natural resources.
But the power of media cuts both
ways. Just as markets need true, fair
and timely information to perform
effectively, society needs a courageous
media to speak truth to power. Sound
political decisions cannot be made with
bad or corrupted information. Thus,
as early as 1695, Britain abolished the
licensing of the press, and by 1791, the
newly independent United States of
America institutionalised the freedoms
of speech, press and assembly into the
First Amendment to its constitution.
Armed with these freedoms, White
Man’s Media played a crucial role in the
advancement of science, technology,
and colonisation. Media, power and
technology formed a formidable
toolbox that gave the West the decisive
edge of knowledge to dominate the rest
of the world. As the Arab Orientalist
scholar Edward Said lamented, mental
colonisation through religion and
ideology was more powerful than
physical colonisation, and this was
achieved largely through education
in Western languages, taught through
Christian schools.
Ergo, media is a power that can be
used to dominate others, inseparable
from war and beliefs. As Kenyan
independence fighter Jomo Kenyatta
quipped: “When the missionaries
arrived, the Africans had the land, and
the missionaries had the Bible. They
taught us how to pray with our eyes
The first newspapers in recorded history were published in the early 1600s.
CREDIT: DANIEL R BLUME/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
closed. When we opened them, they
had the land and we had the Bible.”
The Nazi propaganda chief Joseph
Goebbels understood the power of
media in politics when he realised
that a lie repeated enough becomes
the truth. This prompted Winston
Churchill to proclaim that “in wartime,
truth is so precious that she should
always be attended by a bodyguard of
lies.”
Fast forward to today, the drums of
war are again being beaten by White
Man’s Media, again attended by a
bodyguard of lies. Internet guru Yochai
Benkler, in his 2018 book “Network
Propaganda”, summed up the dangers:
“First, having a segment of society
that is systematically disengaged from
objective journalism and the ability
to tell truth from partisan fiction is
dangerous to any country. It creates
fertile ground for propaganda. Second,
it makes actual governance difficult…
Third, the divorce of a party base from
the institutions and norms that provide
a reality check on our leaders is a
political disaster waiting to happen.”
These disasters are unfolding by the
day.
Former CIA media analyst Martin
Gurri stated succinctly in “Revolt
of the Public”: “We live in an age of
misinformation—an age of spin,
marketing and downright lies. Of
course, lying is hardly new, but the
deliberate propagation of false or
misleading information has exploded
in the past century, driven by new
technologies for disseminating
information—radio, television,
the internet—and by the increased
sophistication of those who would
mislead us.”
In short, White Man’s Media is today
being challenged by the rise of new
media channels such as Al Jazeera,
CGTN, RT and a myriad small social
media channels (eg johnmenadue.
com) that provide a whole range of
information that portray different
perspectives and views in different
languages. And that is what should be
the case, because truth comes not from
“my way or no way,” but from a myriad
different colours of opinions and
perceptions. Global media cannot be
controlled by a small minority who has
only their interests at heart.
The debacles of the Iraq and
Afghanistan wars showed that wars
fought on the basis of outright lies
end up badly for everyone. What role
did the White Man’s Media play in
such disasters by not speaking truth to
power?
In 1962, American writer James
Baldwin wrote about racism in his
country: “Whatever white people
do not know about Negroes reveal,
precisely and inexorably, what they do
not know about themselves.” Events
have shown that White Man’s Media
knows far less about the rest of the
world than they admit, and that they
know themselves even less.
We have a situation where the
white man is still dominant in
global economics, finance, military,
technology and media, but may lose
that dominance with rapidly changing
circumstances. We have a majority
that feels insecure because it realises
that soon it may be a global minority,
in both population and power. No
minorities can feel secure when the
majority is insecure.
That is not a good foundation for
global peace and stability.
Andrew Sheng from Malaysia is adjunct professor
at Tsinghua University, Beijing and University of
Malaya. He was formerly the chairman of the Se-
curities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong. He is
a columnist for the Asia News Network.
Courtesy: Asia News Network

How to support the renewable energy

drive in Bangladesh
R
ECENTLY
RMG I wrote
NOTES about how
Bangladesh’s RMG
industry needs
to move towards
renewable energy
in order to gain a
global competitive
MOSTAFIZ UDDIN advantage in garment
production. Here I
want to look at some
of the challenges our industry faces in its shift
to renewable and cleaner energy, and how to
overcome these challenges.
While we, as garment manufacturers, are
keen to see a move towards renewable energy,
we are—to a large extent—dependent on
wider infrastructure issues in Bangladesh
around the energy mix and the transition
from traditional and renewable energy. That
is what this piece will focus on.
At present, for Bangladesh as a whole, the
main source of energy is natural gas. But this
source is getting depleted quickly, while other
fossil fuel resources such as oil and coal have
a finite supply.
According to the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID),
there are around 10.63 trillion cubic feet
of natural gas reserves in Bangladesh, with
annual production of 0.961 trillion cubic feet
in 2019. Indigenous gas reserves will go dry
soon, given the yearly production and growth
rate. In short, the clock is ticking.
At present, our government is importing
liquefied natural gas as an alternative.
Bangladesh set out targets for renewable
energy generation capacity in its 2016 Power
Sector Master Plan: 2,470 MW by 2021 and
3,864 MW by 2041.
Given that only 369.81 MW—including
230 MW of large hydropower—of renewables
have been connected to the grid to date, it
From an apparel exporter’s perspective
is clear that the target for 2021 will not be also less.
achieved. Renewable energy is the obvious long-
What is holding us back in our shift to term option for a developing country like
renewable energy, and what solutions can we Bangladesh, which will soon graduate from
look to moving forward? the LDC status. It is a huge investment in our
Most experts agree that Bangladesh has future as an economic player on the global
excellent potential for harnessing renewable stage.
energy sources, such as solar, biomass, wind, So what are the key challenges in our
and mini hydropower—these are all areas shift to renewable energy? In my research, a
where we as a country are blessed with an number of issues became apparent. Firstly,
excellent supply. the land availability for renewable projects is
File photo of a rooftop solar power project in Ghatail, Tangail. PHOTO: COLLECTED
The investment costs of renewable energy limited in Bangladesh at present as most land
technologies are generally higher compared here is designated as agricultural, and cannot
to fossil fuel alternatives, with high start-up be used for renewable energy projects—at
costs. However, it is widely acknowledged present in any case.
that the return on this investment is large Secondly, the existing policy tools and
once externalities such as health and incentives may not always be applicable to
environmental hazards are factored in. Long- renewable energy in the same way as they are
term operating costs for renewable energy are to natural gas projects.
The third issue is a lack of synchronisation,
in the sense that the targets that are being set
for renewable energy plants are not in tandem
with future plans for power transmission
infrastructure, in the same way as they are for
conventional power plants.
The fourth issue is a reluctance on the
part of banking, finance and investment
institutions around renewable energy due to a
lack of experience and understanding relating
to large-scale renewable energy projects.
Added to that is the fact that there is a limited
amount of knowledge of renewable energy
technologies—in Bangladesh, we lack experts
with the know-how and understanding of
large-scale renewable energy projects. Such
expertise may need to be brought in from
other countries leading in this area.
These points are particularly important.
It is widely recognised that private sector
investment will be needed to plug the
investment gap caused by a shortfall of public
sector financing capabilities. The government
cannot do this alone.
So what needs to happen? The first issue is
finance. We all now recognise that investment
into the renewable energy sector investment
is required—and this money will have to
be shifted away from the development of
conventional power plants, and to solar, wind
and other renewables projects. There needs
to be a clear direction shift around national
policy.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) could play
an important role here, as domestic capital
will likely not cover the infrastructure costs
associated with the shift to renewable energy.
Secondly, I believe we need to learn from
other countries where agricultural land is now
simultaneously being used for solar power
generation. If we could make use of more
agricultural land, this would take the pressure
off roof-top space for solar panels, which is a
challenge in our cramped cities. To facilitate
this transition, new laws and policies will be
needed.
Thirdly, we need to adjust planning
regulations so that developers can build
projects which have less infrastructure and
land risks. This will attract more investment
and reduce barriers to entry into the sector.
Fourthly, Bangladesh needs to develop and
present a clear and detailed renewable energy
plan, which offers a medium and long-term
direction for private energy stakeholders.
This could be shared widely and also act as a
signal to the investment community.
Following on from this, our government
now needs to map out the current renewable
energy potential of Bangladesh, addressing
technical issues and identifying suitable
project locations. This could also see the
creation, where possible, of special renewable
energy development zones. We need a plan
and to identify potential blockages.
Which actors need to be involved in
this process? There are organisations
such as the Sustainable and Renewable
Energy Development Authority (SREDA)
or Bangladesh Power Development Board
(BPDB). which will be responsible for
identifying land to site renewable energy
projects.
Other relevant organisations include
relevant private sector stakeholders—the
RMG sector should certainly be consulted—
NGOs, academic and research institutions,
and energy experts.
Bangladesh’s shift to renewable energy is
no small undertaking and will require heavy
investment. But for our RMG industry, which
aims to lead the world in sustainability and
use of renewable energy, the rewards will be
plentiful and long-lasting.
Mostafiz Uddin is the managing director of Denim Expert
Limited. He is also the founder and CEO of Bangladesh
Denim Expo and Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE).

CROSSWORD BY THOMAS JOSEPH BEETLE BAILEY BY MORT WALKER

ACROSS a way 6 Petty fight
1 Will names 29 Track act 7 Kind of pool
6 Recipe 32 In shape 8 Really
instruction 33 Retina setting impressed
10 Follow 34 Otherworldly 9 Take it easy
11 Speculate 36 Singer k.d. 11 Precisely
12 Stood up 37 Ford’s 15 Granola bit
13 Tennis star predecessor 17 Press event
Rafael 38 Comic’s forte 20 Outmoded
14 Past due 39 Static problem 21 German article
15 Canada’s 40 Keen 24 Fill with mist YESTERDAY’S ANSWERS
RAGHURAM RAJAN capital 41 Coop group 25 Convention
BABY BLUES BY KIRKMAN & SCOTT
(born February 3, 1963) 16 Sense of self 42 Melville book highlight
Indian economist 17 Scrooge cry 27 Snap
18 Superman foe DOWN 28 College award
Strong government Luthor 1 Physician 29 Judge’s place
doesn’t mean simply 19 Delivered the 2 Furios 30 Send away
military power or an news 3 Uranium-235, 31 Poison
efficient intelligence 22 Sub shop for one 35 Great weights
apparatus. Instead, it 23 Editor’s spot 4 Trick 36 Sister of Linus
should mean effective, fair 26 Sent home, in 5 Spot 38 Pillbox, e.g.
administration—in other
words, ‘good governance.’ WRITE FOR US. SEND US YOUR OPINION PIECES TO
dsopinion@gmail.com.
10 City NEWS DHAKA MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2021, BHADRA 22, 1428 BS

New private
FROM PAGE 12
that astra means star in Greek.
The airline is planning to initially
run flights with ATR 72-600 aircraft.
As per the rules, the airlines will
get permission to operate flights on
international routes after operating
flights on domestic routes for at least
one year.
Air Astra’s entry comes at a time
when the existing private players are
struggling to stay afloat despite a
steady increase in people’s purchasing
power and the spread of economic
activities all over the country for
regulatory handicaps and the global
coronavirus pandemic.
In the last 25 years, at least eight
private airlines were forced to cease
their operation for cash crunch.
And Regent Airways, one of
the three private players, remains
grounded since March last year.
Yahya’s
FROM PAGE 12
district today and damaged the
Pakistan military police camp.
In Sylhet district, Mukti Bahini
raided Pakistan troops in Dilkhush
area and killed 12 of them.
In Kushtia-Jashore-Khulna Sector,
Mukti Bahini today engaged Pakistani
troops with mortars in Bhomra,
killing four. In Kakdanda they
inflicted six casualties on Pakistani
troops.
In Rangpur-Dinajpur Sector, Mukti
Bahini demolished two power pylons
between Thakurgaon and Pirganj.
On the Ranishankoil-Haripur road,
one Pakistani vehicle was blown up
with a mine laid by Mukti Bahini,
killing five of its occupants and
causing severe damage to the vehicle.
They also ambushed enemy troops
approaching the area, killing six and
injuring four.
Shamsuddoza Sajen is a journalist
and researcher. He can be contacted at
sajen1986@gmail.com
US warns
FROM PAGE 12
they can consolidate power as they
seek to shift from a guerrilla force to
government.
“I think there’s at least a very good
probability of a broader civil war,”
said Milley, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, in a bleak assessment.
“That will then in turn lead to
conditions that could, in fact, lead
to a reconstitution of Al-Qaeda or a
growth of ISIS (Islamic State group),”
he told Fox News Saturday.
Britain’s most senior military
officer, General Sir Nick Carter, told
the BBC yesterday that “everybody got
it wrong” on how quickly the Taliban
would take over Afghanistan.
Asked whether military
intelligence was wrong, he said the
government received intelligence
from a variety of sources.
“It’s not purely about military
intelligence… I don’t think what
anybody predicted was how fragile
that Afghan government was and
how fragile it was in relation to the
command of its armed forces,” he
added.
Afghanistan’s new rulers have
pledged to be more accommodating
than during their first stint in power,
which also came after years of conflict
-- first the Soviet invasion of 1979,
and then a bloody civil war.
They have promised a more
“inclusive” government that
represents Afghanistan’s complex
ethnic makeup -- though women are
unlikely to be included at the top
levels.
But few in Panjshir, a rugged valley
north of Kabul which held out for
nearly a decade against the Soviet
Union’s occupation and also the
Taliban’s first rule from 1996-2001,
seem to trust their promises.
‘HUMANITARIAN CRISIS’
Taliban official Bilal Karimi
yesterday reported heavy clashes in
Panjshir, and while resistance fighters
insist they captured hundreds of
Taliban troops, analysts warned they
are struggling.
Demonstrators take part in a protest over the Thai government’s handling of the coronavirus disease pandemic
and to demand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s resignation, in Bangkok, Thailand yesterday. PHOTO: REUTERS
Eyewitness describes how Liaqat shot
FROM PAGE 12
mosque are located near the murder
spot.
A few moments later, another
police team rushed to spot. The officer
leading the team kicked the man lying
on ground.
Ali later came to know that the
team leader was Pradeep Kumar Das,
former officer-in-charge of Teknaf
Police Station.
Around an hour later, a policeman
loaded Sinha’s body on a pick-up and
there was a discussion about whether
he should be taken to hospital. Sinha
was bleeding profusely.
All the people gathered there
assumed that the man had died by
this time, the court source quoted Ali
as saying.
Judge Ismail Hossain recorded Ali’s
deposition, which began at 10:30am
Now set to open in 2022 partially
FROM PAGE 12
signed a deal with Italian-Thai
Development Public Company to
build the expressway at a cost of Tk
8,703 crore.
The deal was revised and inked again
in December 2013, with the cost revised
at Tk 8,940 crore after bringing several
changes to the design. The government
will give Tk 2,413 crore (27 percent) as
viability gap funding while the private
partner will bear the rest.
Besides, the government is to spend
Tk 4,885 crore on land acquisition,
resettlement and relocation of utility
service lines, meaning the total cost of
the project is Tk 13,825 crore.
But the scheme faltered time and
again over the years, mainly due to the
failure of the private investor -- Italian-
Thai-- to manage funds for the project,
the government’s delay in handing
over the project, and problems related
to land acquisition, said officials
involved in the project.
However, the fund-related crisis
was resolved after Italian-Thai
handed over 49 percent of its share
to two Chinese companies -- China
Shandong International Economic
and Technical Corporation Group (34
percent) and Sino Hydro Corporation
Ltd (15 percent) last year.
THREE DEADLINES
The much-talked about project is
being implemented in three phases.
Indigenous leaders push new target to
protect Amazon from deforestation
REUTERS, Marseille
Indigenous groups urged world
leaders yesterday to back a new target
to protect 80% of the Amazon basin
by 2025, saying bold action was
and continued for around an hour and
half. The defence then cross-examined
his statement, said the court’s Public
Prosecutor Faridul Alam.
However, after that, defence lawyer
Rana Dasgupta told journalists that
the witness’s statement before court
did not match the statement he earlier
gave to the investigation officer.
All 15 accused in the case were
present at the court yesterday, said
Faridul Alam.
In the first phase, the court recorded
statements of two witnesses -- Sinha’s
sister and the complainant Sharmin
Shahriar Ferdous and one of Sinha’s
associates Shahedul Islam Sifat --
between August 23 and 25.
In second phase, the court began
recording statements of other
witnesses yesterday and will continue
till September 8. The court has
The first phase is from Kawla to
Banani, while the next one is from
Banani to Moghbazar and the last one
from Moghbazar to Kutubkhali.
Quader yesterday said the first
phase witnessed 66.25 percent
progress until August this year, while
the second one saw 21.5 percent and
the third one 2.33 percent progress.
The overall progress of the project
is 30.50 percent, he added.
While visiting the project site at
Kawla on Jun 18, 2019, Quader said
a part of the expressway -- stretching
from airport to Moghbazar -- will
be opened by December 2020 after
the second phase of the project is
completed.
The first phase was supposed to be
completed by January 2020, as per his
announcement that day.
Joining a contract-signing
ceremony at Setu Bhaban on February
25 last year, Quader said, “As the
funding-related issue is over, we hope
the work will get momentum and will
move quickly towards its completion.”
As per the document the project
authorities shared with journalists on
that day, construction work of the first
phase was supposed to be completed
by October 2020 and the second
one by October this year. The third
one was supposed to be finished in
October next year.
Talking to reporters yesterday, Project
needed to stop deforestation pushing
the Earth’s largest rainforest beyond a
point of no return.
Amazonian delegates launched
their campaign at a nine-day
conference in Marseille, where
UAE loosens residency
requirements with
‘green visa’
summoned 15 witnesses to place their
depositions during this period.
According to the charge sheet, 83
people were witnesses to the incident.
12
On June 27, the court framed
charges against the 15. Of them,
are policemen, including
OC Pradeep Kumar Das, police
inspector Liaqat Ali, sub-inspector
Md Shahjahan and assistant sub-
inspector Liton Mia – all suspended
from their posts.
On December 13, the investigators
submitted the charge sheet.
Sinha was killed in a police firing
at a check post in Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf
upazila on July 31 last year.
His elder sister filed the murder
case with Teknaf Senior Judicial
Magistrate’s Court against Pradeep,
Nandadulal and several others on
August 5 last year.
Director AHMS Aktar said they had a
plan to open the first phase first, but
later changed the decision as vehicle
owners may not be interested in using
the short portion (Kawla to Banani).
So, they have decided to inaugurate
around 11km portion from Kawla to
Tejgaon as there are several ramps in
this part, he added.
Asked about the extensions of
deadlines, Quader said, “There was
a funding-related problem, which
is now over. I have already said this.
How many times I have to tell you?”
But when he was reminded about
setting the new deadline in February
last year and overcoming the fund crisis
and asked what was the reason behind
the delay, the minister said, “What I am
now saying is ground reality.”
The project director said they faced
problems in bringing construction
materials from abroad due to the
pandemic. Besides, many experts
could not arrive in Dhaka on time due
to this situation, he added.
In reply to a query about the
design-related tussle over some pillars
with Bangladesh Railway, Quader said
the problem would be solved through
discussion.
About the allegation of some
project workers not getting paid for
two months, the minister said this
was unlikely to happen as there was
no fund crisis.
several thousand officials,
scientists and campaigners are
laying the groundwork for United
Nations talks on biodiversity in
the Chinese city of Kunming next
year.
How to protect
FROM PAGE 12
Occasionally, it develops into severe
dengue -- more common in the
ages 6-12, said Dr Rukhsana Parvin,
assistant professor of the Department
of Paediatrics at Shaheed Suhrawardy
Medical College.
Dengue shock syndrome is a
dangerous complication of the
infection, which is associated with
high mortality especially in children,
she added.
According to the paediatrician,
early detection and access to proper
medical care can lower the fatality
rates of severe dengue.
Lack of awareness about the
disease and its prevention are the
main reasons behind the surge in
dengue cases. Dengue prevention and
control depend on effective mosquito
population control measures, she
said.
As mentioned earlier, children
are vulnerable to the disease and
it is important to take necessary
precautions to protect them.
Since schools have been closed
due to the pandemic, children are
mostly staying at home. Parents have
to ensure that there is no breeding
ground for Aedes mosquitoes in their
home and that their children are
No decision yet on Covid
vaccines for healthy
children: UK minister
REUTERS, London
British vaccines minister Nadhim
Zahawi yesterday said a decision
had not yet been taken on whether
healthy children aged 12- to 15-years-
old should be vaccinated against
COVID-19, following reports that a
rollout could begin in the coming days.
Britain’s Joint Committee on
Vaccination and Immunisation
(JCVI) on Friday declined to
recommend vaccinations for children
in that group, taking a precautionary
approach due to a rare risk of heart
inflammation, but adding the issue
was finely balanced.
The government is consulting
medical advisers to seek advice on
wider considerations, such as the
impact on schools, and may still give
the go-ahead to broad vaccination of
the age group.
Some newspapers reported
confidence among ministers that the
chief medical officers would swiftly
back shots for healthy 12- to 15-year-
olds, but Zahawi said the government
would not prejudge the decision.
“No decision will be made until
we hear back from the chief medical
officers,” Zahawi told the BBC.
Children are being widely
vaccinated already in the United
States, Israel and many European
countries.
British officials have emphasised
Court defers date for 2 cases
FROM PAGE 12
Asaduzzaman Nur passed the order
after Khasleda’s lawyer Masud Ahmed
Talukder submitted two separate
petitions seeking adjournment of the
hearings in the cases.
In the petitions, the lawyer said
Khaleda Zia could not appear before
the court due to her illness. Moreover,
she had tested Covid-19 positive in
April and that has contributed to
her not yet recovering from the other
health complications. So, the hearing
should be adjourned, Masud added.
Khaleda tested negative for
Covid-19 on May 8, after testing
positive twice -- on April 11 and April
25.
Complainants of the cases were
not present at the makeshift court
set up inside Dhaka Central Jail in
Keraniganj.
One of the cases was filed by AB
Siddique, president of Bangladesh
Jananetri Parishad, a pro-Awami
League organisation, with a Dhaka
court on November 3, 2016 accusing
Khaleda and her late husband,
former president Ziaur Rahman, of
“undermining” the country’s map and
national flag.
The court dropped Ziaur Rahman’s
inside mosquito nets when they are
sleeping, Dr Rukhsana said.
Mosquito repellents can also be
used to save children from mosquito
bites.
If they go out, they should wear
long-sleeved shirts, full pants, shoes
and socks, she further said, adding
that careful fluid management and
supportive therapy are the mainstays
for the recovery of children infected
with dengue.
Dr Jesmin Akter, assistant professor
(Neonatology) of Sir Salimullah
Medical College, said infants are
highly vulnerable to the impacts of
dengue.
The warning signs include
abdominal pain, persistent vomiting,
lethargy, irritability or sudden
behavioral changes, bleeding from the
gum or nose, passage of black stool,
blood in vomit, increased hematocrit
and concurrent decrease in platelet
count.
If one or more of these symptoms
are noticed in a child, they should be
admitted to hospital immediately, she
suggested.
Since management of severe
dengue in children is challenging,
it’s better to protect your child from
mosquitoes.
that 12- to 15-year-olds who are
vulnerable to Covid-19 are already
eligible for vaccination, as well as all
people over 16.
The four nations of the United
Kingdom, which have recorded
133,000 Covid deaths, control their
own health policy, although all have
followed JCVI advice on vaccine
rollout thus far.
Crew of 5 in
Pacific copter
crash presumed
dead: US Navy
AFP, Los Angeles
The US Navy said Saturday that five
crew members from a helicopter that
crashed off the California coast are
now presumed dead.
A sixth crew member was rescued
and is recovering.
The Navy has released few details
concerning the Tuesday crash,
which occurred some 60 miles (96
kilometers) off the coast of San Diego.
However the San Diego Union-
Tribune said the MH-60S helicopter
crashed on the flight deck of the
aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln
before falling into the sea.
name from the charges as he is dead.
The second case accusing Khaleda
of celebrating her “fake birthday” on
August 15, the National Mourning
Day, was filed by Gazi Zahirul Islam,
former joint general secretary of
Dhaka Union of Journalists, with
another Dhaka court on August 30,
2016.
Ten other cases were filed in the
first three months of 2015 over arson
attacks. Another case was lodged with
a Dhaka court on charge of making
seditious comments on freedom
fighters and the martyrs of the
Liberation War.
Besides these, Gatco, Niko and
Boropukuria coal mine graft cases are
now pending with three other courts
in Dhaka.
Several other cases, including
three arson cases filed with Cumilla’s
Chauddagram Police Station, are also
pending with Cumilla courts.
Khaleda, who is now out of jail
following an executive order from the
government, is staying at her Gulshan
residence.
She was released from the capital’s
Evercare Hospital on June 19 after 54
days of treatment for Covid-19 and
other complications.

AFP, Dubai

The UAE yesterday announced a new visa allowing

foreigners to work in the country without being sponsored
by an employer, loosening residency requirements in an
attempt to boost economic growth.
Foreigners in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates
are generally only given limited visas tied to their
employment, and long-term residency is difficult to
obtain.
But those holding the new “green visa” will be able
to work without company sponsorship, and can sponsor
their parents and children up to 25 years old, officials said.
“It targets highly skilled individuals, investors,
businesspeople, entrepreneurs, as well exceptional students
and postgraduates,” said Minister of State for Foreign Trade
Thani al-Zeyoudi.
Resource-rich Gulf countries such as the UAE are
increasingly seeking to diversify their economies and
reduce reliance on oil.
The coronavirus pandemic has also impacted tourism
and businesses in the UAE, whose economy was already
slumping in recent years due to low oil prices.
In 2019, the UAE launched the 10-year “Golden visa” to
attract wealthy individuals and highly skilled workers, the
first such scheme in the Gulf.
Similar programmes have since been launched in other
resource-rich Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia and
Qatar.
 CITY EDITION

e-mail: sports@thedailystar.net
DHAKA MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2021, BHADRA 22, 1428 BS
SONY SIX SELECT 1 & 2
England vs India US Open
Fourth Test (Day 5) Live from 9:00 pm &
Live from 4:00 pm 3:30 am
STAR SPORTS (Tuesday)

Mahmudullah’s trials ‘It was a good day’

SPORTS REPORTER

far from complete New Zealand managed to

SPORTS REPORTER
Mahmudullah Riyad played his 100th T20I
for the Tigers yesterday and, in the time since
his debut against Kenya in Nairobi in 2007,
Bangladesh’s T20I captain has come leap and
bounds and established himself as a vital
member in the game’s shortest format. The
third T20I against New Zealand was Riyad’s
350th match overall and although he could
not mark the occasion with a victory,
his task of leading the Tigers through
challenges remains the same despite their
recent spate of T20 successes.
Only Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur
Rahim and Tamim Iqbal have more
matches under their belt across all
formats for Bangladesh, but no one
has been as prevalent in the shortest
format as Riyad, who featured in 100
of the Tigers’ last 109 T20Is.
Despite being one of the team’s
stalwarts in all formats with the
bat, his contribution has often
remained inconspicuous due to the
role he has had to play. Usually coming
in to bat at number six, his position in the
batting order does not match his calibre. It has
often been a sacrificial role or one that is geared
towards disaster management but it is also while
playing such roles that Riyad was able to shine,
chiefly due to his ability to take on pressure.
Being in the Tigers’ T20 lineup for so long and
being under the constant duress of managing
batting collapses and accelerating late in the
innings also honed his ability to think of the
team’s approach and the greater good. Riyad’s
journey to becoming Bangladesh’s most
successful T20I captain – which he secured by
winning 12 out of 25 matches as captain at a
48 per cent success rate -- is not a small one and
becomes more significant given the Tigers’ record
in T20 cricket.
His T20 calibre was on full show in the
Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka back in 2018. It
all went haywire in the final group match at
Colombo that evening as the Tigers ousted hosts
Sri Lanka and made it into the final thanks to
Riyad’s unbeaten 18-ball 43. Having captained
the Tigers in the tournament till that game, Riyad
relinquished the role to Shakib for that match.
But on the field, when chaos took over and
Shakib started calling his players back because he
felt wronged by an umpiring decision, Riyad held
firm and calmed others. He made them believe
that something could be done and his flicked six
off Isuru Udana off the penultimate delivery to
win the game went down as one of Bangladesh
cricket’s great moments.
MOST MATCHES IN T20I CAREER
However, his task of making the Tigers more
resilient is not at an end as he leads them to the
upcoming T20 World Cup. The third T20I at
Mirpur yesterday saw the Kiwis come back into
the series with a thumping 52-run victory that
reminded the Tigers of old wounds.
A below-strength New Zealand showed
continuous improvement since arriving here but
Bangladesh’s reply with the bat was calamitous
yesterday. When New Zealand showed more
application, the Tigers did not come up with
the answers even on friendly conditions. If the
team is to continue in the same vein of success it
found only recently, for Riyad, the task remains
the same: show the Tigers how not to break
down when faced with even slightly challenging
scenarios.
bounce back to keep their
hopes alive in the five-match
T20I series as they handed
Bangladesh a thumping 52-run defeat in
the third T20I at the Sher-e-Bangla National
Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
Attempting to chase 129, Bangladesh
were bundled out for 76 — their joint
second-lowest T20I total, and the lowest
at home as well -- while the Black Caps on
the other hand, successfully defended their
third-lowest total in the shortest format.
Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel has been
the chief destroyer for the Black Caps as he
ended up picking four wickets conceding
16 from his four overs. “Quite happy,
tried to control out there and the surface
was something for the spinners. Obviously,
I tried to read the batsmen and knew that
they’d look to come hard against me. It was
a good day overall and every one of us did
their job well,” said Patel.
Bangladesh’s approach remained
questionable right from the start despite the
fact that the Tigers were flying on 23 inside
three overs where Liton Das, after striking
two boundaries, went for one too many in
the same over from Cole McConchie and
departed after scoring 15.
Since then it all spiralled downhill for
Bangladesh as they kept losing wickets in
as the innings progressed but things didn’t
SCORES IN BRIEF go Bangladesh’s way. “The boys have been
fantastic, playing a lot of cricket in recent
NEW ZEALAND
times, and I can’t falter after the way things
128 for 5 in 20 overs (Allen 15, Ravindra 20,Young 20,
went over the last one-two months. We
Nicholls 36 not out, Blundell 30 not out, extras 2; Mahedi
know we had a bad day today but we can’t
1-27, Mustafizur 1-29, Saifuddin 2-28, Mahmudullah 1-10)
think about it too much and can only focus
BANGLADESH on our next game,” he added.
76 all out in 19.4 overs (Naim 13, Liton 15, Before the series started, Domingo
Mushfiqur 20 not out, extras 3; Patel 4-16, McConchie 3-15) informed that Mushfiqur Rahim and Nurul
Hasan will split the wicket-keeping duties
RESULT: New Zealand won by 52 runs
for the first four games. However, it was
PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH: Ajaz Patel
Nurul who was seen behind the stumps
in yesterday’s game too and according to
clusters and were never able to get back Domingo, Mushfiqur informed that he
in contention. Mahedi Hasan, promoted does not want to keep wickets anymore in
to number three, departed on one while T20Is.
Shakib Al Hasan, while going for a big “There has been a change. Initially, after
heave in the same over, became Ajaz Patel’s speaking to Mushy (Mushfiqur Rahim) he
second victim and headed back to pavilion was going to keep after the second game
without troubling the score. but he told me that he doesn’t want to keep
According to Bangladesh coach Russell wickets in T20 anymore. So we’ve got to
Domingo, the approach from the Tigers’ move on and I don’t think Mushfiq’s desire
batsmen was to stay ahead of the asking to keep is great in this format anymore.
run-rate and the target of 129 was within So we have to focus on Sohan, and
their reach where he also added that they possibly Liton, while going forward in this
expected the Mirpur surface to get better competition,” added Domingo.

BOOTERS LOSE 2-0 Golfing action

against Palestine
SPORTS REPORTER
Bangladesh made a losing
start to the Three Nations
Cup, suffering a 2-0 defeat
to Palestine at the Dolen
Omurzakov Stadium in
Kyrgyzstan yesterday.
Forward Layth Kharoub gave Palestine
a 33rd-minute lead before defender
Yaser Hamd wrapped up the win in the
second half, repeating the 2-0 scoreline
that Bangladesh were on the end of in the
last two meetings between the sides in
Bangladesh as well.
Jamie Day’s team improved in terms of
holding the ball and interchanging passes
compared to their efforts in World Cup
qualifying matches, but they could hardly
penetrate and were forced to play long balls
to forwards Matin Mia and Saad Uddin, who
failed make inroads against the physically
imposing Palestinians.
Palestine, ranked 102nd in the world,
dominated as expected, but Day’s five-man
backline -- marshalled by centre-backs Tapu
Barman, Tariq Raihan Kazi and Rezaul Karim
flanked by left-wing-back Yeasin Arafat and
right-wing-back Bishwanath Ghosh -- dealt
well until a long ball behind the backline
and a well-judged cross caused havoc twice.
back at KGC
Professional golf in Bangladesh
back by a team that enjoyed the tactical and is set to make a return
technical superiority throughout. today following a second
Forward Mahmoud Eid came close to Covid-induced break through
breaking the deadlock within the first 20 the Mujib Borsho Trust Bank
minutes but his powerful drives went inches Open Golf Tournament at the
wide, much to the relief of goalkeeper Kurmitola Golf Club.
Shahidul Alam Sohel, who later made some The Trust Bank Open Golf
brilliant saves between after one error of Tournament will offer a prize
judgement.
purse of 12 lakh taka and will
In the 33rd minute, Mahmoud received
feature top 80 professional
a long ball on the edge of the box and
shrugged off Rezaul before chipping the
golfers alongside 10 amateur
ball over a hesitant Sohel to Layth Kharoub, golfers of the country.
who simply tapped home for the lead. Sohel This will be the first event
then made amends, standing tall to thwart of the season and the first
two close-range efforts from Mahmoud and professional event since the
Fady Zeidan in the 39th and 42nd minutes 5th Paragon Open, which was
respectively. held in February this year at
In the 44th minute, Rakib ran down the the same venue. While the
left flank and whipped in a cross in front Paragon Open champion
of the Palestine goal, but lone striker Matin Siddikur Rahman is currently
arrived too late to connect. in USA and runner-up Zamal
Palestine exerted tremendous pressure at Hossain Mollah is in India, the
the start of the second half and doubled the four-day event will feature
lead two minutes in when Hamd nodded all the other top golfers from
home a well-judged cross from Mahmoud across the country.
at near post. This event is expected to be
Day made six substitutions, including the
introduction of Canada-based midfielder
Rahbar Wahed Khan, who showed good
control when he came on for the last 10
Nobody beats Shelby Rogers the first in line in a host of
professional and amateur
golfing events to be held over

six times in a row

Although Day tried to adopt a new minutes. Coupled with his timely long balls
playing system ahead of October’s SAFF to the left flank, Rahbar may have given Day
Championship, his wing-backs were pinned some food for thought.
REUTERS, New York
American Shelby Rogers was possibly
searching for some inspiration when
she watched a 41-year-old video of
compatriot Vitas Gerulaitis before
her third round match against world
number one Ash Barty on Saturday.
“And let that be a lesson to you
all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis
17 times in a row,” the former world
number three famously told reporters
after beating Jimmy Connors in
the semi-finals of the January 1980
Masters.
That was Gerulaitis’ first win
against Connors after losing 16
India’s number eight batsman Shardul Thakur smashes one during his 60-run knock matches in a row against his fellow
American. Rogers was to play
on the penultimate day of the fourth Test against England yesterday. Shardul’s effort
Australian Barty on Saturday for the
helped India post 466 in their second innings, setting a target of 368 for the home sixth time in her career having lost
side. England ended the day on 77 for no loss, with Haseeb Hameed batting on 43 all five previous meetings, including
and Rory Burns on 31. PHOTO: REUTERS four in the 2021 season.
HIGHLIGHT
After tackling two U.S. Open debutants, Novak
Djokovic faced an old foe on Saturday, reaching
the fourth round with a 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3, 6-2
win over Kei Nishikori to stay on course for a
record 21st major title that would complete
the calendar Grand Slam.“So far the toughest
match of the tournament for me,” said
Djokovic.“The opening two rounds obviously
felt well, played good. But the pace of the
ball and the speed of Nishikori’s tennis today
was just higher than the opening two rounds’
opponents that I had.”
Things seemed to be following
a similar pattern when the 28-year-
old trailed 5-2 in the deciding third
set but she then scripted one of the
sport’s most incredible comebacks
to force a tie-break and beat the two-
time major winner from Australia.
“This morning I was watching a
video of Vitas Gerulaitis when he
said, ‘Nobody beats me 17 times in a
row’. I was only at six, so,” Rogers said
in her post-match interview on court
before breaking into laughter.
Rogers is currently ranked 43rd
in the world and many a time this
season has seen her progress stalled
at the hands of the gritty Australian,
who has won five singles titles in
2021. But the American decided to do
things a bit differently. “I guess I have
to thank her for teaching me a lot of
lessons,” Rogers, the only American
left in the U.S. Open women’s draw,
told reporters before another round
of laughter.
the season as the scourge of
the third wave of Covid nears
an end.
France’s winless
run continues
France’s winless streak
stretched to five games as
Les Bleus were held to a 1-1
draw away to Ukraine in their
World Cup qualifier in Group
D on Saturday. The world
champions fell behind when
Mykola Shaparenko found
the back of the net after 44
minutes before Anthony
Martial restored parity early
in the second half. France
still top the group on nine
points from five games after
a 1-1 draw against Bosnia on
Wednesday and three days
before hosting second-
placed Finland, who beat
Kazakhstan 1-0.
12
City

DHAKA MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2021, BHADRA 22, 1428 BS

DELAYED DHAKA ELEVATED EXPRESSWAY Eyewitness

describes how
Now set to Liaqat shot
open in 2022 Maj Sinha
OUR CORRESPONDENT,
Cox’s Bazar

partially Major (retd) Sinha Rashed

Khan was shot dead by
now suspended police
STAFF CORRESPONDENT inspector Liaqat Ali, said
Mohammad Ali, an eye-
After extending the deadline several times, the authorities witness, yesterday.
are now saying that they will open a portion of Dhaka He said this while placing
Elevated Expressway to public in December next year. his deposition before the
“I hope that we will be able to open [the expressway] Cox’s Bazar District and
up to Tejgaon Rail Station [from Kawla near airport] Sessions Judge’s Court
next year,” Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul yesterday.
Quader said yesterday. “Mohammad Ali told
The whole project would be completed by June 2023, the court that he saw a man
the minister said while visiting its construction site in the come out of a car with his
capital’s Banani. hands up. A few moments
“Italian-Thai [the private partner] faced acute fund crisis later, a policeman shot him
in the beginning, which halted progress. There is no fund- twice. The man instantly fell
related problem now,” he added. to the ground,” said a court
In the last 27 months, at least three deadlines were source.
announced for inaugurating a portion of the long-delayed Ali, however, knew none
project taken under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) of them when the incident
initiative, aiming to ease congestion in the city. took place.
Once completed fully, the 19.73km expressway stretching Later, he came to know
from Shahjalal International Airport to Kutubkhali on the that the shooter was
Dhaka-Chattogram highway, with 27 ramps of around inspector Liaqat Ali and
27km, is expected to help people cross the Dhaka without the victim was Major (retd)
facing the huge traffic congestion within the city. Sinha.
The expressway construction was inaugurated twice, A resident of Mina Bazar
first by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in April 2011 for area of Teknaf upazila, Ali
completion by mid-2014 and once again by Road Transport Construction work of Dhaka Elevated Expressway in Tejgaon area. is a fish trader at a local
and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader in August 2015. Visiting the site in the capital’s Banani, Road Transport and Bridges kitchen market.
However, the formal construction commencement date The night of the incident,
is January 1, 2020, the date which mark the beginning of Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said the whole project would be
he went to use the toilet
25 years concession era, including three and a half years completed by June 2023. in a nearby mosque and
construction period. witnessed the killing. Both
In January 2011, Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) the kitchen market and the
PHOTO:
SEE PAGE 10 COL 2 PRABIR DAS SEE PAGE 10 COL 2

‘We want to ROAD TO FREEDOM

THIS DAY IN BANGLADESH LIBERATION WAR HISTORY
US warns of New private
Afghanistan airline to
clean the force’ Yahya’s ‘amnesty’ trap civil war join the fray
Says IGP after various
SEPTEMBER 6, 1971 Taliban fighters HOW TO PROTECT RASHIDUL HASAN
allegations against cops SHAMSUDDOZA SAJEN break up women’s
YOUR CHILD FROM A new airline, Air Astra, is
STAFF CORRESPONDENT protest in Kabul set to take off in January
Police authorities are taking actions
against errant members of the force, said
BANGLADESH MISSION
BECOMES HIGH
COMMISSION
AGENCIES DENGUE next year, becoming the
eleventh private operator
Taliban fighters advanced FARHANA AHMED to enter the industry in the
Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed The Bangladesh mission in deep into the last holdout past 25 years.
yesterday. Calcutta would henceforth be province of Panjshir Air Astra, which is being
Dengue has taken
The force is strictly dealing with designated as high commission yesterday, as the top US funded by a non-resident
an alarming turn
every incident, he said at the Police for the Bangladesh government, a Bangladesh government general warned Afghanistan Bangladeshi from Japan,
spokesperson announced today. This was the first high commission in Bangladesh
Headquarters yesterday while inaugurating faces a wider civil war this year amid the plans to operate flights on
a training programme. of Bangladesh in a foreign country. The Bangladesh mission came that would offer fertile all seven domestic routes,
into existence in Calcutta on April 18, 1971 following the transfer Covid-19 pandemic.
About the recent allegations of ground for a resurgence of Anyone from any its Chief Executive Officer
extortion, abduction, and other crimes of allegiance by some of the Pakistan high commission staff to terrorism. Imran Asif told The Daily
the Bangladesh government. M Hossain Ali, the current chief age group can be
against some police personnel, he said, Following their lightning Star yesterday.
of the Bangladesh mission, would be re-designated as the high infected by dengue,
“If we wanted, we could have taken fast rout of Afghanistan’s “If we can collect at least
commissioner for Bangladesh. He would present his credentials to but children are
departmental actions and bandaged the army last month -- and four aircraft by January,
the Indian government as soon as India recognises the Bangladesh most vulnerable
wounds. But … we want to clean [the celebrations when the we will be able to operate
government. to this mosquito-
force] completely … Criminal cases are last US troops flew out flights to all the domestic
‘AMNESTY’ FAILS TO DECEIVE borne viral infection
being filed against them.” after 20 years of war last destinations,” he said, adding
Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra today deplored Pakistan President because of their
When a reporter made a reference to Monday -- the Taliban are
Yahya Khan’s “amnesty” offer and said, “Yahya must be in a comparatively SEE PAGE 10 COL 1
BNP lawmaker Harunur Rashid’s recent seeking to crush resistance
desperate plight to resort to such silly trickery. weaker immune
question in parliament about whether forces defending the
“The trick looks a great deal more stupid than that ‘refuge systems.
the IGP had government approval to be mountainous Panjshir
-reception centre’ gimmick where foreign correspondents found Primarily,
Dhaka Boat Club’s president, Benazir Valley.
said he would not respond to the only dogs responding to Pakistani hospitality,” added the Radio. dengue causes mild
The Taliban, who rolled symptoms like
question. “Now either Yahya must be a fool,” continued Swadhin Bangla into Kabul three weeks ago
“The IGP will not react to what he Betar, “or totally mad to expect such a victorious army [Mukti fever, body rashes,
at a speed that analysts headache, nausea,
[Harunur] said as a member of parliament Bahini] to fall for an ‘amnesty’ trap by a colonial force that not only say likely surprised even
... It is not fair, logical nor legal.” massacred their loved ones by the thousand but has looted their pain behind the
the hardline Islamists eyes and in the
The IGP said over 2.18 lakh police property and brutally raped their mothers, wives and sisters.” themselves, are yet to
personnel, from constable to additional ON THE WAR FRONT bones, muscles or
finalise their new regime.
joints.
PRAYER TIMING SEPTEMBER 6
inspector general, will participate in the Mukti Bahini raided Nalitabari police station in Mymensingh But US General Mark Fazr Zohr Asr Maghrib Esha
week-long training mandatory for every SEE PAGE 10 COL 1 Milley questioned whether SEE PAGE 10 COL 5 AZAN 4-35 12-45 4-306-20 7-45
police personnel once a year, he added. SEE PAGE 10 COL 1 JAMAAT 5-10 1-15 4-45 6-25 8-15
SOURCE: ISLAMIC FOUNDATION

Court defers
date for 2
cases against
Khaleda
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
A Dhaka court yesterday
deferred to September 30
the hearing on framing
of charges against BNP
Chairperson Khaleda Zia in
connection with two cases
filed over undermining the
national flag and observing
a “fake birthday” on August
15.
A train drags a microbus for several hundred metres after hitting it at a level crossing Dhaka’s Additional
PHOTO: Chief Metropolitan
in Bhatera of Moulvibazar’s Kulaura yesterday. Three people were killed. Locals claimed MINTU DESHWARA Magistrate Muhammad
that the microbus was trying to cross the level crossing in a hurry. Story on page-3. SEE PAGE 10 COL 5

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