SECOND EDITION

DHA K A S UNDAY F EBRUA RY 5, 2023

Regd. No. DA 781 Vol. XXXIII No. 23 Magh 22, 1429 BS Rajab 13, 1444 Hijri 16 Pages : Tk 15.00

Weak banking BNP goes

for fresh
sector, Achilles’ protests
heel of economy To bring out
processions in
Most IMF reforms aimed at fixing it all unions Feb 11
REJAUL KARIM BYRON STAFF CORRESPONDENT

The International Monetary Fund has identified the problems in the The BNP has announced
banking system, including the high volume of defaulted loans, as one protest marches in
of the three domestic risks that derail the economy in the short- to all unions across the
medium-term. country on February 11 to
There likelihood of the problems in the banking system spilling over press home its 10-point
into the wider economy range from medium demand, which includes
(10 to 30 percent chance) to high (30 percent election under a non-party
or more), said the IMF staff report. “We remain caretaker government.
The other domestic risks stem from the committed The marches will be held
slow progress in resolving the Rohingya to protest the price hikes
crisis and weakened donor support and the to combat
corruption by of essentials, including
higher frequency and severity of natural gas, electricity and water,
disasters related to climate change. safeguarding the said BNP Secretary General
Subsequently, the 42-month programme independence Mirza Fakhrul Islam
has focused mostly on fixing the banking
system, stipulating as many as 11 reform of the Anti- Alamgir at a rally in front
actions in this area. Corruption of the party’s Nayapaltan
As part of the oversight mechanism, the Commission,” office yesterday.
Washington-based multilateral lender has Activists of two BNP factions clash during the party’s divisional rally in Chattogram around 2:30pm yesterday. The situation The rally was organised
said Kamal and calmed down after a while due to the intervention of their senior leaders but flared up again in less than an hour. At least by the party’s Dhaka South
stipulated that the Bangladesh Bank sends
monthly to quarterly data on the health Talukder. three such clashes took place in a span of three hours. However, no casualties were reported. PHOTO: COLLECTED and North units. It also
of the banking system. This would inform organised simultaneous
whether the reform measures are having their desired impact. rallies in nine other
Chief among the reform agenda are classifying defaulted loans in line
with international best practices and formulating a resolution strategy ‘Not a smart deal’ FOREIGN-FUNDED MEGA PROJECTS divisional cities.
Fakhrul said they will
for the soured loans.
By June, BB will restart reporting banks’ rescheduled loans alongside
the non-performing loans (NPLs) in the annual financial stability report
Rehman Sobhan on power
purchase from Adani
Debt repayment may hold marches at district,
upazila and metropolitan
levels after the union-level
to better reflect the true state of distressed assets, said BB Governor
Abdur Rouf Talukder and Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in their
letter of intent to the IMF.
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
become a headache programme. “The Awami
League government will be
overthrown through these
“We plan to reduce the time needed before a bank could write off bad
Bangladesh
Development
Power
Prof Wahiduddin tells SANEM conference movements.
loans,” they said. STAFF CORRESPONDENT crisis and we need more fiscal space to “We are moving slowly.
Board’s agreement We have already got the
Fully adopting the Basel III standards for the measurement of banks’ with Adani Power be able to stimulate the economy and
financial statements and provision framework and the adoption of the Even though the debt-to-GDP ratio is strengthen social security measures at people’s attention through
to purchase 1,496 our marches. We are
International Financial Reporting Standard 9 (IFRS 9) was another megawatts from a still not extremely high, paying back difficult times,” he told a session of the
reform action demanded by the IMF. the debts will become uncertain unless 6th South Asian Network on Economic heading forward with their
coal-based power support. We want to form
The government is committed to developing a plan for this by 2023 the foreign-funded mega projects Modeling (SANEM) Annual Economists’
plant at Godda in Jharkhand needs a state for the people by
and fully adopting the IFRS9 by 2027 and will seek IMF technical boost exports, eminent economist Prof Conference at the capital’s Brac Centre
to be revised, said noted economist defeating them [AL].”
assistance for implementing the expected credit loss-based provisioning. Wahiduddin Mahmud warned yesterday. Inn yesterday.
Rehman Sobhan yesterday. He asked all BNP leaders
“We are committed to adopt a holistic and time-bound NPL resolution “We need more coping power in terms “We have seen that a build-up of
“This is certainly not a smart and activists to come
strategy.” of having sufficient foreign exchange reserves may lead to complacency.
SEE PAGE 2 COL 1 SEE PAGE 6 COL 2 reserves to avoid balance of payment SEE PAGE 2 COL 4 SEE PAGE 2 COL 4

Godfather of highwaymen
Rab arrests man who masterminded thefts from
2,000 RMG export shipments
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
In the 1990s, Md Shahed ran a local
business in Chattogram with two
trucks.
In 2004, the Sylhet native sold
the trucks and bought four lorries to
transport readymade garment (RMG)
products.
Soon afterwards, he roped
in drivers and helpers, as well as
warehouse owners, and formed an
organised gang to steal garment
products meant for export.
The racket involved taking the
shipment to a warehouse, stealing
the products and repackaging the
cartons before sending them to the
port to be exported.
Until 2018, he was
personally involved
in the thefts. Then
he started controlling
Shahed
the racket from behind
the scenes and received
the maximum share of the
sale of the stolen goods.
“Shahed, who goes by the
aliases Sayeed and Bodda, has
been masterminding the RMG
theft for over two decades and
now commands a racket of 40-50
members,” Khandaker Al Moin,
Rab’s legal and media wing
director, told a press briefing
in the capital yesterday.
The gang stole RMG
goods from around 2,000
shipments, he said.
Shahed owns two
houses in Moulvibazar
town worth Tk 15-20 crore.
His children live abroad and
he has two poultry and a fish
farm on 20 acres of land. Currently,
he and his associates own 19 lorries,
SEE PAGE 2 COL 1
 City

NEWS
DHAKA SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2023

2 MAGH 22, 1429 BS

‘Apologise for Child killed in road crash

1971 atrocities’
Momen tells Pakistan
FM in Colombo
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen
yesterday said Pakistan should
formally apologise to Bangladesh
for the atrocities it unleashed on the
unarmed Bangalees in 1971.
He said this at a meeting with
Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina
Rabbani Khar on the sidelines of
Sri Lanka’s 75th Independence Day
celebrations in Colombo, according
to a press release by Bangladesh
foreign ministry.
Indian State Minister for External
Affairs Shri V Muraleedharan also
called on Momen. They discussed
issues of bilateral interests, including
trade and commerce.
Sri Lankan President Ranil
Wickremesinghe conveyed his
gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina and her government for
its timely assistance in Sri Lanka’s
economic recovery.
RAMPAL POWER PLANT
It’s an example
OUR CORRESPONDENT, Dinajpur
A five-year-old boy was killed in a road accident in
Dinajpur’s Nawabganj yesterday.
The victim is Tahmid Islam, son of Touhidul
Islam, of the district’s Khansama upazila, said police.
The father was riding his motorcycle with his
wife and son on the pillion. He lost control over
the vehicle at one point and hit a roadside sand
pile, said Ferdous Wahid, officer-in-charge of
Nawabganj Police Station.
The child died on the spot and the duo received
serious injuries, the OC added.
Woman killed in attack
over land dispute
OUR CORRESPONDENT, Dinajpur
A woman was killed and her husband injured
as a group of criminals attacked them with
sharp weapons over a land dispute in Dinajpur’s
Ghoraghat yesterday.
The dead is Amena Begum, 45, wife of Sekendar
Ali, of Baropaikar village in the upazila, said police,
adding that Sekendar was admitted to Ghoraghat
Upazila Health Complex.
According to police, one Montu Mia hired
goons and attacked the duo after they started
working on the land yesterday morning.
Palestinians check the damage in a house which was destroyed by Israeli troops during a military raid in Jericho, in the Israeli- Locals then rescued the duo and took them
occupied West Bank, yesterday. PHOTO: REUTERS to the health complex where doctors declared
Sekendar dead, said Abu Hasan Kabir, officer-in-
charge of Ghoraghat Police Station.
Western allies pledge more The body was sent to M Abdur Rahim Medical
College Hospital for autopsy, he added.

of Dhaka-Delhi weapons to Kyiv At least 41 dead in

partnership France, Italy to send missile systems; EU agrees price Nigeria after gunmen,
Says Indian envoy cap on Russian petroleum products vigilantes clash
UNB, DHAKA AFP, Kyiv begin to de-occupy Donbas,” he said of the to contracting, production, and delivery REUTERS
eastern region of Ukraine. timelines”, said Pentagon spokesman Lt
Indian High Western allies pledged precision rockets The United States on Friday announced Col Garron Garn, declining to say how
At least 41 people were killed when gunmen clashed
Commissioner and missile systems to Ukraine on Friday, a new $2.2-billion package of arms and many would be delivered.
after President Volodymyr Zelensky called munitions, which the Pentagon said France and Italy will deliver mobile with a vigilante group in Nigeria’s northern Katsina
Pranay Verma state, the home state of President Muhammadu
yesterday said the for sophisticated weapons to help retain included a new rocket-propelled precision surface-to-air missile systems, the French
control of the embattled eastern city of bomb that could nearly double Kyiv’s defence ministry said, in response to an Buhari, a police spokesperson said on Friday, the
Rampal power latest violence ahead of a presidential vote.
Bakhmut. strike range against Russian forces. urgent request from Kyiv to help protect
plant is a concrete Meanwhile, the European Union The ground-launched small-diameter “civilian populations and infrastructure Insecurity has become widespread and a major
manifestation of the Pranay Verma agreed to introduce price caps on Russian bombs (GLSDB), which can fly up to 150 from Russian air attacks”. concern for voters ahead of a Feb. 25 election
deep-rooted friendship and cooperation petroleum products to try to further limit kilometres (93 miles), could threaten key The systems, called MAMBA or SAMP, to choose new members of parliament and a
between India and Bangladesh. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war Russian supply lines, arms depots and air are a vehicle-mounted battery of medium-
“Energy cooperation is an successor to Buhari, a former military ruler who
chest by targeting his key exports. bases far behind the front lines. range missiles designed to offer protection came to power eight years ago promising to end
important component of the India- The announcements came shortly after They potentially give Kyiv’s forces the from airborne threats such as missiles and
Bangladesh development partnership Zelensky told a summit with EU leaders in ability to strike anywhere in the Russian- manned or unmanned aircraft. insecurity.
and the power plant is a concrete Kyiv: “No one will surrender Bakhmut. We occupied Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Katsina state police spokesperson Gambo Isah
manifestation of the deep-rooted will fight as long as we can. Kherson regions, as well as the northern Reznikov, who had requested the weapons, said an armed gang, known locally as bandits,
friendship and cooperation between “If weapon (deliveries) are accelerated -- part of occupied Crimea. tweeted his gratitude, saying the systems attacked a village in Katsina’s Bakori local
India and Bangladesh,” he added. namely long-range weapons -- we will not However, “the delivery of the GLSDB would “help us save thousands of lives” government area, rustled cattle and sheep and
SEE PAGE 6 COL 5 only not withdraw from Bakhmut, we will likely won’t be for several months due from Russian attacks. fled into the bush.

Weak banking sector, the Achilles’ heel of economy BNP goes for fresh protests
FROM PAGE 1
To reduce bank balance sheet
weaknesses, particularly of the state-
owned commercial banks (SoCBs), the
government will pursue bank-specific
resolutions.
BB is developing an enforceable
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
to reduce the average NPL ratio to
below 10 percent for SoCBs and below
5 percent for private commercial banks
(PCBs) by 2026.
These MoUs will also aim to
increase capital adequacy ratios and
provisioning coverages of SoCBs to
10 percent and 100 percent and of
PCBs to 10 percent and 100 percent
by 2026.
To strengthen the corporate
governance of SoCBs, a committee
is examining the existing policy for
nomination and appointment of
directors of SoCBs to suggest policy
recommendations.
Further strengthening monitoring
and supervision of the banking sector
is needed to enhance financial sector
resilience, the IMF staff report said.
“Structural weaknesses in
supervision, regulation and
governance, coupled with high NPLs
and low capital in SoCBs, could be
Godfather of highwaymen
FROM PAGE 1
Moin said.
On Friday, Rab arrested four
members of the racket including
Shahed, in Moulvibazar, Gopalganj
and Dhaka.
Rab said a shipment to Brazil was
among those from which Shahed’s
gang stole RMG products.
Garment manufacturer A Plus
Sweater Ltd had sent a consignment
of sweaters worth over $125,000,
packed in 898 cartons to Chattogram
Port from its Gazipur factory in eight
lorries on October 29 last year, to be
shipped to one of Brazil’s leading
retail brands.
But A Plus Sweaters authorities
were dumbfounded after receiving
videos from the Brazilian buyer on
January 6, which showed that some
cartons were completely empty while
a substantial amount of goods were
missing from many others.
Law enforcers then started
conducting an investigation into the
theft.
Moin said Shahed is the
“godfather” in the RMG theft racket.
Most RMG thefts in Bangladesh take
place under Shahed’s umbrella and
with his consent. Shahed is accused
in 17-18 cases of RMG theft filed with
various police stations.
Trial proceedings of six of the
cases are going on, he added.
a drag on medium-term growth
prospects,” it said.
Steps will be taken to improve the
stability, soundness and reach of the
financial system, anchored by clear
oversight responsibilities, strong risk-
based supervision (RBS), and proper
managerial and operational controls.
RBS will be adopted by 2025, while
BB will complete the pilot RBS action
plan by finalising the assessment of
the three pilot banks, including one
Islamic bank, by June.
Developing a macroprudential
strategy and conducting scenario-
based macroprudential stress tests
would help manage systemic risk, the
IMF staff report said.
The government will also
strengthen credit infrastructure and
collateral valuation framework.
Furthermore, the government
plans to expand the mandate of the
credit information bureau (CIB),
allowing it to share data with private
borrowers.
The government plans to submit to
the parliament the Bank Companies
(Amendment) Act 2020 and the
Finance Companies Act 2020, drafted
in line with best practices by the end
of September and the Bankruptcy
The racket of 40-50 members
includes drivers, helpers, warehouse
owners, influential people in the areas
where the warehouses are located,
porters and a group of labourers, said
the Rab official.
The other arrestees are Imarat
Hossain Sajal, a stock lot trader of
RMG products in the capital’s Uttara
who bought the stolen goods, and
driver Shahjahan and helper Hridoy,
who were involved in about a hundred
thefts, Rab said.
Moin said the gang members
initially developed friendships with
drivers and helpers of other lorries
involved in transporting RMG
goods and encouraged them to steal
products.
Before each theft took place, the
drivers took samples of the products
to determine the potential sale price
of the stolen goods. They would carry
out the theft only if the value of the
loot was estimated to be Tk 12-15
lakh, the Rab official said.
From this amount, the driver got
Tk 30,000, the helper Tk 20,000,
the warehouse owner Tk 50,000,
local influentials Tk 60,000, carton
packaging expert Tk 10,000, and
other labourers Tk 2,000-3,000 each.
The rest of the money was distributed
among other groups according to
their position, Moin said.
After the driver and helper took
(Amendment) Act 2020 and the
Money Loan Court (Amendment)
Act 2003 by June 2024, and the
Negotiable Instrument (Amendment)
Act 2020 by June 2025.
These reforms will help modernise
the financial sector, improve the legal
environment of credit and business
activities, enhance the insolvency
regime and facilitate recovery of loans,
the IMF staff report said.
The government also committed
to strengthening governance and
combating corruption as part of the
$4.7 billion loan programme.
Moving toward international best
practices for risk-based supervision
would help further strengthen the
AML/CFT framework and mitigate
substantial money laundering (ML)
risks, including from cross-border
activity and trade-based ML.
The Companies Act will be
amended to facilitate the information
collection for fully identifying the
ultimate beneficial ownership in the
financial sector.
“We remain committed to combat
corruption by safeguarding the
independence of the Anti-Corruption
Commission,” said Kamal and
Talukder.
the lorries with the RMG products
to the designated warehouse, other
members of the gang would cut
the cartons and take the garment
products. They would steal 30-35
percent of the contents of each
carton, reseal the carton and quickly
load them into a lorries that left for
the port.
Later, other members of the
gang would store the stolen goods
in their own pickups or lorries in
another warehouse for a month or
one-and-a-half months. When the
consignment left the country from
the port, they sold the stolen goods to
various unscrupulous buying houses,
including the one in Uttara in the
capital.
Earlier, on December 23, a team of
Rab-4 raided a warehouse in Demra
and arrested seven members of the
gang.
On September 17, 2021, Shahed
was arrested for theft of RMG
products, which caused a stir among
RMG exporters and in media.
After his arrest, DMP Additional
Commissioner AKM Hafiz Akhter at
a press briefing said Shahed was the
godfather of highway theft gangs
who stole RMG goods from 5,000
consignments.
But, after a few days, Shahed was
released on bail and went back to
business as usual, Rab said.
FROM PAGE 1
forward to overthrow the government.
Meanwhile at a separate rally,
the new 12-party alliance, including
National Unity Front, National
Democratic Unity Front, Jatiyatabadi
Samamona Jote, ALDP, Gono Forum,
and People’s Party, announced its
own march on the same date.
Fakhrul said the election cannot
be fair under this government and it
was proven yet again in the latest by-
elections.
“We saw how helpless the
government was to a candidate like
Hero Alam. The government had to
employ the state machinery to defeat
him by 600-700 votes.”
He added that an opponent
candidate in the Brahmanbaria-2
polls was “forced to disappear” to
ensure the “government candidate”
Abdul Sattar’s win.
About the price hike of the
commodities, he said the people have
been struggling to cope.
“The government is destroying
the people’s future. They are taking
loans for development … That money
Debt repayment may become a headache
FROM PAGE 1
Bangladesh, for example, was tempted
to commit a significant portion of its
reserves to project funding, forgetting
that reserves should not be treated
as budgetary resources, but only as
a cushion for unforeseen external
shocks,” said the former adviser to the
caretaker government at the session.
Rehman Sobhan, chairman of
Centre for Policy Dialogue, also spoke
at the event.
“We should be aware of another
miscalculation. Even though the
current debt-to-GDP ratio may not
have crossed the red line, a debt
repayment crisis may be in the
offing, if there are too many mega-
infrastructure projects being taken
up through foreign funding without
an understanding of whether such
projects will attract enough private
investment especially in export-
oriented industries.”
He observed, however, that a mega
project, once started, needs to be
completed in time because delays in
implementation come at a cost to the
economy.
“Mega projects need very careful
scrutiny in terms of timing, financial
commitments, cost recovery and
prioritisation.”
Taking up projects just because
they look “prestigious” irrespective of
priorities and future debt financing
obligation is simply not the way to go,
he said.
is laundered to Canada, London and
Malaysia to build ‘second homes’.
Why do the people have to repay the
loan and bear the burden?”
About the underground metro
rail, he said that this project will
cost Tk 52,000 crore. In contrast,
the government has stopped paying
allowances to the poor.
“The government is trying to turn
the country into a failed state,” he
said.
During the rally yesterday,
vehicular movement came to a halt
and many commuters were seen
leaving their vehicles to move on foot.
Abdus Salam, convener of BNP
Dhaka South, presided over the
programme.
Meanwhile in Chattogram, a clash
broke out between two factions of
the BNP in front of senior leaders
during its divisional rally. However,
no casualties were reported.
The incident took place around
2:30pm in front of the party office
at Nasiman Bhaban in Kazir Dewri
area.
The two groups engaged into two
The International Monetary
Fund’s (IMF) prescriptions are often
not informed by country-specific
situations.
The IMF usually recommends
aligning domestic fuel prices with
the global price. But very sharp and
sudden hikes in domestic fuel prices
may lead to price hikes across the
board, he said, referring to the price
hike of fuel in Bangladesh amid
existing inflationary pressure on the
economy.
The problem is more serious in
Bangladesh as the government has
to rely heavily on taxes on fuel for
revenue purposes.
“A universal intermediate input
like fuel should not be a major source
of VAT revenue collection. If VAT on
fuel could be waived, there would have
been hardly any need for last year’s
sudden fuel price hike in Bangladesh.”
A weak financial system is always a
problem for economic management,
he said, but it is much more so at times
of economic shocks.
A serious problem is that a weakly
governed financial system is unable
to prevent illegal capital flight abroad
that is likely to take place at times of
economic uncertainty.
“The overall lesson here is that there
is a need for an active, capable and
pragmatic government with sufficient
institutional capabilities. To absorb
shocks, and ensure a soft landing, the
coping policies have to be clever and
more clashes later.
However, police intervened and
detained a person. He was later
released after senior leaders said
it was “all a mistake”, said Jahedul
Kabir, officer-in-charge of Kotwali
Police Station.
Thousands of leaders and
activists from different districts of
Chattogram thronged the venue
since morning.
The Chattogram divisional rally,
presided over by the division’s
BNP Convener Shahadat Hossain,
began around 2:00pm. Standing
Committee member Nazrul Islam
Khan was present as the chief guest,
while the party’s Vice President
Abdullah AL Noman was the key
speaker.
In Jhenidah, BNP leaders and
activists alleged they were beaten
up by AL men in Kaliganj upazila
while they were on their way to the
divisional rally venue in Khulna
yesterday. The AL men allegedly also
vandalised buses and microbuses
carrying opposition activists at Bara
Bazar around 10:30am.
nimble, and informed by adequate
analysis and information.”
Referring to IMF’s condition to
reduce default loans, he said bad loans
cannot be reduced unless there is
political will.
In his speech, CPD Chairman Prof
Rehman Sobhan said non-performing
loans are a major issue in the banking
sector and it eventually becomes a
way of transferring people’s funds to
influential businesses.
The banks are collecting deposits
from millions of people and then
lending the money to the section of
people with power and many of them
do not repay the loans, he said.
The central bank is also making
opportunities for them by allowing
rescheduling of loans by providing 2
percent down payment.
“This is a profoundly unjust
arrangement,” he said.
In Bangladesh, poverty is declining
but inequality is rising.
The government should emphasise
export services through raising skills
because it will reduce exploitation of
people’s migration, he said, adding
that the quality of education at Dhaka
University should improve.
Investment on education and
healthcare is no less important than
infrastructural investment, he said.
The noted economist then
recommended more emphasis on
regional trade relations with the
neighbouring countries.
DHAKA 3
DHAKA SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2023
MAGH 22, 1429 BS

AMAR EKUSHEY BOI MELA

They snatch 300
Something for phones a day
everyone Says DB after arresting 16
of a theft gang in Dhaka
DIPAN NANDY STAFF CORRESPONDENT

The fourth day of the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela was infused
with great smell and music. Added on top of that was the
sound of flipping the pages of the new books that came to
the fair, bringing their own music.
The Suhrawardy Udyan venue of the book fair saw the
gathering of creative publishers, who decorated their stalls
and pavilions according to their ideas and tastes. Readers
came from all over the country, not just the capital.
Munsi Rouf Miah came to the fair with his children
from Tangail. “I came to visit my aunt who is ill. We
are supposed to leave Dhaka on Sunday. Before that, I
brought the children to the book fair to get them books
of their preferences.”
Banker Sushmita Raihan, on the other hand, went solo
to yesterday’s fair. “Books are my best friends, so I thought
to pay them a visit,” she said with a smile.
Although the sales are yet to take off, the fourth day of
the fair showed some promise with the arrival of readers.
Amjad Hossain Kajal, manager of Oitihjya Prakashan, said
the number of visitors is gradually increasing. “The sales
are not great yet, but they are not bad either,” he said.
SEE PAGE 4 COL 6
Around a hundred roam the city streets in search
of their target -- mobile phones. On average, they
mug unsuspecting people and steal around 300
phones in Dhaka and adjoining areas every day.
The “mohajans (gang leaders)” set a target for
each of their members to snatch at least three
phones per day.
Mohammad Harun Or Rashid, chief of Dhaka
Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch, disclosed
this yesterday after law enforcers arrested 16
muggers including two gang leaders from different
areas.
“So every day, 300 mobile phones, on average,
are being mugged in the city,” he said.
The muggers snatch the phones whenever
anyone talks or browses the internet while sitting
on the window seat of a bus or car.
The gang leaders then buy the phones from
them at a low price.
Laughter of children greeted the premises of Suhrawardy Udyan on the fourth day of Ekushey Boi Mela The inexpensive phones are sold directly, while
yesterday. In the company of their favourite characters -- Tuktuki, Halum, Ikri and Shiku from Sisimpur -- they the expensive ones are dismantled and sold as
explored multiple educational topics and had a jolly time making new friends. PHOTO: STAR parts. In some cases, the gang leaders change the
International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI)
numbers of the phones and sell them, he said.

More minority 585 killed in 593 road

The DB officials requested the city dwellers to
SEE PAGE 4 COL 4

representation Man dies in bike

needed in JS crashes in January
Says Hindu Mohajote Says Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity
STAFF CORRESPONDENT STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Since there is no significant representation in the At least 585 people were killed and
parliament, the true picture of persecution of the Hindu 899 injured in 593 road accidents
community is never shown. Often, the cases of assaults on across the country last month,
the community are forgotten without any trial. according to Bangladesh Jatri
Speakers said this during the National Hindu Kalyan Samity.
Conference organised by Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu During this time, 214 road
Mohajote at Mahanagar Natya Mancha auditorium in the crashes involving motorcycles
capital’s Gulistan yesterday. (36.09 percent of total crashes)
They also demanded reserved seats for the Hindu claimed 205 lives (35.04 percent of
community and separate elections be arranged for that in the total death toll) last month.
Jatiya Sangsad. The Samity, which compiled
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal President Hasanul Haq Inu the data following media reports,
demanded that all cases related to the recent attacks on revealed it through a press release
the Hindu community be settled. yesterday.
Dilip Ghosh, lawmaker and national vice-president of The development came within
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India, said, “Although a month after the transport
SEE PAGE 4 COL 4 authorities and leaders came down
heavily on relevant organisations,
including the Samity, for
publishing “fabricated” reports on
road crashes.
Speaking at a workshop
The road crashes and
injuries have increased in
January this year by 5.3
percent and 10.04 percent
respectively, compared to
January last year.
on January 15, the transport
authorities and leaders claimed
both the numbers of road accidents
and deaths have come down
significantly last year, compared to
previous years, taking the number
of vehicles into account.
They also said organisations are
publishing “fabricated” reports on
road crashes, creating confusion
among the people and tarnishing
the country’s image abroad.
However, representatives of two
road safety organisations, who
were present at the workshop, said
the numbers were based on media
reports and prepared with due
diligence.
The Samity said the road crashes
and injuries have increased in
January this year by 5.3 percent
and 10.04 percent respectively,
compared to January last year.
SEE PAGE 4 COL 4
accident on
Hanif flyover
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
A man died after a vehicle hit his motorcycle
and ran him over on the Mayor Mohammad
Hanif Flyover in Dhaka’s Jatrabari area yesterday
afternoon.
The deceased was identified as Rakib Hasan, 31.
“Rakib died on the spot after an unknown
vehicle ran him over around 2:00pm. We are
trying to locate the vehicle,” said Nur Mohammad,
sub-inspector of Jatrabari Police Station.
The body was sent to Dhaka Medical College
morgue for autopsy, he added.
The deceased’s uncle Nur Uddin said Rakib
lived with his mother in Dhalpur area and offered
rideshare services on his motorcycle.
“We came to know that he died in an accident
on the flyover,” he said.

In an apparent bid to counter the BNP rallies at the divisional headquarters across the country, Jubo League, the
youth front of the ruling Awami League, held a rally at Farmgate in Dhaka yesterday. Meanwhile, the AL also held
rallies in Dhaka, Mymensingh, Chattogram, Sylhet, Khulna, and Rangpur. PHOTO: COLLECTED
 NEWS
DHAKA SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2023

4 MAGH 22, 1429 BS

Anwar Hossain
passes away
World’s longest river That gun-toting man No bridge even two First death
cruise Ganga Vilas FROM PAGE 5 president of Narayanganj FROM PAGE 5 a diversion road for anniversary of
journalists were injured in construction of pillars and
BSS, Dhaka Press Club, said, “Making
one slab have already been
facilitating movement of
Rabeya Khan
A n w a r anchors at Mongla the clash. Niazul himself
was assaulted on that day,
after he raised his firearm
the man... a president
of the ruling party is completed. “We hope to
finish the work soon.”
the people.”
Tofazzal Hossain Tofa, CITY DESK
Hossain, an alarming signal for one of the subcontractors,
f o r m e r in the mob. Later, a case common people.” Locals said three people, said the work could not Today is the
managing was filed accusing him for However, Anwar including Tofazzal Hossain be completed for a variety first death
director trying to kill Ivy. Hossain, metropolitan AL Tofa, former chairman of of reasons. He, however, anniversary
(MD) of After five years of president, said, “There was Hugra union parishad and promised to finish the work of Rabeya
K h u l n a investigation, Police no contesting candidate general secretary of Sadar as soon as possible without K h a n

Newsprint Mills and
father of Bangladesh
Sangbad Sangstha Special
Correspondent Tanzim
Anwar, passed away early
yesterday.
He breathed his last
at 1:30am at Dhanmondi
Popular Hospital, aged 78.
He left behind wife, two
sons and a daughter to
mourn his death. He also
served as managing director
of Khulna Hardboard Mills,
Karnaphuli Rayon and
Chemicals Limited and
Pakshi Paper Mills.
Anwar had been
suffering from various
old-age complications. He
will be buried at his family
graveyard at his ancestral
village Dorillah in Nandail
upazila, Mymensigh today.
Jatiya Press Club, Dhaka
Reporters’ Unity, Aviation
and Tourism Journalists’
Forum of Bangladesh and
Diplomatic Correspondent
PHOTO: COLLECTED
Bureau of Investigation
(PBI) submitted the charge
sheet in the court on
November 23 last year
against 12 people, making
Niazul the prime accused.
Superintendent of PBI
STAR REPORT district office Monirul
Islam said the district
Ganga Vilas, the longest river cruise in the world, administration cancelled
which will connect the Indian town of Varanasi with the licence of Niazul’s
Diburgarh town in Assam with nearly half of the pistol after the incident.
journey through Bangladesh territory, has reached Meanwhile, many have
Mongla Port in Bagerhat. criticised making the
On its arrival at the port yesterday, State Minister accused assaulter of Ivy,
for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury and
a leader of Awami League
India High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay
who has been mayor for
Verma welcomed the tourists, reports our Khulna
three consecutive terms,
correspondent.
a ward president of the
In his welcome remarks, High Commissioner
party.
Pranay Verma said the river cruise is a historic
Jahangir Alam, former
development that demonstrates the power of rivers
to connect the peoples of India and Bangladesh.
joint secretary of district
AL, said, “Not only the
He hoped that the cruise would unlock the new
potential for heritage and ecotourism in both India party people, but also the
general public are having
and Bangladesh, including the Sundarbans.
On Friday, Sarbananda Sonowal, the cabinet a hard time accepting the
minister of ports, shipping and waterways of India,
tweeted, “Rejoicement across Borders! World’s
development.”
“Niazul is an armed
for the post of president
in ward-12. So, despite
being ‘controversial’,
Niazul Islam became the
president unopposed.”
Local sources say Niazul
is a close follower of Awami
League MP AKM Shamim
Osman of Narayanganj-4
constituency.
Niazul got a lift in
1986 during the regime
of Hussain Muhammad
Ershad, which was backed
by Shamim Osman’s elder
brother, Jatiya Party’s late
lawmaker AKM Nasim
Osman.
He is one of the main
accused in the Kamal and
Kalam double murder
case, filed in 1988.
Niazul’s elder brother
Nazrul Islam Sweet was
killed in a “gunfight”
with Rab during the
BNP-Jamaat
government.
coalition
upazila unit of Awami
League, are involved in the
construction work.
Locals could not protest
the reported negligence
as the sub contractors are
very influential, he said.
Noor-e-Alam Tuhin,
chairman of Hugra union
parishad, said, “The union
parishad had constructed
a wooden bridge twice and
filled earth to construct
Something for everyone
elaborating further.
Rafiqul Islam, executive
engineer of LGED in
Tangail, said construction
work could not be
completed on time due to
lack of funds.
“However, the fund
has been provided with
an extended deadline. We
hope that the work will be
completed by the next two
months,” he added.
Feroza,
wife of late
Sultan uz Zaman Khan
(CSP 1955 batch).
She was the eldest
daughter of late Fazlul
Huq Mowla, a pioneer of
insurance in Bangladesh.
She lived in Bangkok,
Thailand for 15 years while
her husband was in ESCAP
from 1977-1992.
She left behind two
daughters, Anita and
Rebecca, along with a host
of family members.
Friends, relatives and
well-wishers are requested
to pray for the salvation of
her departed soul.
Monowera
Islam’s death
anniv today
STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Association, Bangladesh
expressed profound shock
at his death.
Haisya Bala
longest river cruise MV #GangaVilas enters criminal. The whole
Bangladesh to a warm welcome as it continues its world witnessed that he
majestic journey from Varanasi to Dibrugarh.” walked with his pistol to
shoot mayor Ivy. This is a
disgraceful incident for the
Niazul fled to India
during that government’s
tenure and returned to
the country when Awami
League came to power in
FROM PAGE 3
Masud Rana, manager of
Abosar, said, “This year’s
fair has been raising
our hope from the very
from Lalbagh, said she had Today is the
a fun time dancing with her 29th death
favourite characters, while anniversary
little Rabbi said he only o f
came to the fair to meet his M o n o we r a

Malakar’s Bangladesh, South party,” he said.

Advocate Mahbubur
Rahman Masum, a rights
2008, said local sources.
Niazul could not be
contacted for comments.
beginning.
increasing
Sales
slowly
the number of people is
are
but
favourites from Sisimpur.
Amid the fun and
merriment, they also
I s l a m
Chowdhury,
wife of former district and
death anniv FROM PAGE 5
Deputy Foreign Minister
He expressed hope
that with mutual efforts,
activist and former keeping our hopes alive.”
Children in particular
interacted
children on
with the
multiple
sessions judge Nurul Islam
Chowdhury.
STAR REPORT of South Africa Candith bilateral trade between had a jolly time on the On the occasion,
educational topics, much
Today is the
28th death
Mashego Dlamini
Pretoria on February 3
and discussed areas of
in Bangladesh and South
Africa may be enhanced to
one billion dollars.
585 killed in 593 road fourth day of the fair, in the
company of their favourite
to the joy of the children’s
parents as well.
Qurankhwani and a doa
mahfil will be held at
FROM PAGE 3 January. characters Tuktuki, Halum, According to Bangla her residence at Road-
anniversary cooperation. The state minister However, the number of However, for the first Ikri and Shiku from 4, House-6, Sector-5 in
Academy, 113 new books
of Haisya Referring to his meeting proposed formation of a deaths came down by 4.6 Sisimpur. One such child, Uttara, Dhaka after the
time, they have decided were published on the
B a l a with the Business Unity Bangladesh-South Africa percent in January this Raisa Jahan, who came Fazr and Maghrib prayers.
to publish monthly fourth day of the fair.
Malakar, South Africa which business council to assess year, compared to the reports, Samity’s Secretary
mother of took place on Thursday, potentials and discuss same period last year, it General Mozammel Hoque
former secretary Dhiraj Shahriar Alam said the business matters. claimed. Khan told The Daily Star
Malakar, said a press organisation has shown Deputy Foreign Minister Among the victims,
interest in working with yesterday.
release. She passed away of South Africa Dlamini 206 were drivers, 109
Bangladeshi chambers. Asked about the reason,
on this day in 1995. proposed that both sides were pedestrians, 35 were he said the severity of road
may exchange knowledge transport workers, 53 were crashes is intensifying with
in agriculture and students, 10 were teachers, the sharp rise of vehicles in
peacekeeping areas. 13 were law enforcers and the country.
She assured that the 14 were politicians. Besides, “We want the
South African government among the victims, 115 government’s involvement
would try to ease the visa were women and 62 were
procedure of Bangladeshi in reducing road crashes
children, it said. significantly. That’s why
applicants. The organisation also we decided to publish
said 51.60 percent of monthly reports on the
road accidents took place issue, to reveal the real
when vehicles ran over picture of road safety in
pedestrians, while 22.25 the country,” he said.
crashes were head-on When asked, he said
collisions and 12.47 percent they publish the reports
occurred after vehicles maintaining due diligence.
fell into ditches after the “We also provided the
drivers lost control over proof backing our data to
the wheels. the authorities as per their
At least 46 people demand.”
were killed and 78 were Mozammel said the
injured in 44 rail-related government has also
accidents and 11 killed decided to publish monthly
and one injured and six reports on road accidents.
went missing in 13 riverine “They can verify our report
accidents, it said. and we are ready to clarify
The Samity usually any misunderstanding and
publishes reports on road assist the authorities to
crashes after two Eids solve the crisis,” he added.
and an annual report in

More minority
FROM PAGE 3 Bangladesh.”
India and Bangladesh are Gobinda Chandra
two separate countries, Pramanik, secretary
our minds are the same. general of the Mohajote,
When there is a problem said, “Members of the
due to some miscreants on Hindu community will
the other side, the image think a hundred times
of Bangladesh also gets before going to vote in the
tarnished.” polls. Gone are the days
Addressing the political when they voted just by
leaders of Bangladesh, looking at a symbol.”
he said, “I hope that such Jatiya Party co-
incidents will not be chairman Syed Abu
repeated. We are bound Hossain Babla and Salma
together and we will Islam also spoke at the
always be, just like during programme.
the Liberation War of

BCL leader suspended

FROM PAGE 5 According to the notice,
The decision was taken on December 26, Rakibul
on February 1 as per the assaulted a senior student
recommendation of a probe inside the hall, and the
committee, reads an official investigation committee
notice signed by the hall found proof of the
Provost Prof Abdul Bashir. allegation.

They snatch 300

FROM PAGE 3
file general diaries after
such mugging incidents so
that law enforcers can at
least find out the hotspots.
The arrestees are Md
Mizan, Amirul Islam Babu,
Sharif Hossain, Ridoy, Raj,
Suman, Sohel Babu, Ridoy,
Moniruzzaman, Nazmul,
Monir, Imran, Faruk,
Ashraful Islam Sajib, Arif
and Hasan.
A case has been filed
with Uttarkhan Police
Station in this regard.
CITY 5
DHAKA SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2023
MAGH 22, 1429 BS

That gun-toting Stealing trees from Bangladesh

man now AL an important
ward president reserve forest partner to US
Says Senator Roger Marshall
Niazul prime accused in case Vested interest groups cutting trees to sell logs UNB, Dhaka

filed over murder attempt on US Senator Roger Marshall has expressed his
willingness to extend support to further advance
Ivy gets elected unopposed Dhaka-Washington relationship.
Roger Marshall, the republican senator from
Kansas, described Bangladesh as “an important
partner” of the United States and hoped that the
two countries would continue to forge bilateral
cooperation in all possible areas.
The US senator made the remarks during a
meeting with Bangladesh Ambassador to the
United States Muhammad Imran at his office in
Washington DC on Friday.
Senator Marshall appreciated Bangladesh’s
In 2018, Niazul was seen waving his gun during a clash. economic achievements and praised its
contributions towards global peace through
On Friday, he became president of ward-12 unit of the UN Peacekeeping Missions, according to the
Narayanganj Metropolitan Awami League. FILE PHOTO Bangladesh Mission in Washington yesterday.

PHOTO: STAR
SOURAV HOSSAIN SIAM, N’ganj Ambassador Imran briefed the senator on the
socio-economic development that has taken place
Remember Niazul Islam Khan? On January 16, 2018, in Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime
he was seen with a gun in the open during a clash in Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Narayanganj city.
That very same man, who has been accused of SOHRAB HOSSAIN, Patuakhali Rafiqul also mentioned that this issue seriously, he added.
attempting to murder Narayanganj City Corporation
Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy, Trees are being looted from reserve
the forest department gave him
custody of the tree logs for the time
Kalapara upazila forest officer
Abul Kalam said, “Action is being Bangladesh, South
has become president of a Niazul is an armed forest areas in Patuakhali, adjacent being. taken against those involved in
ward unit of Narayanganj criminal. The whole
Metropolitan Awami world witnessed
to the flood control embankment
of Kalapara upazila.
“A vested quarter often cuts
trees illegally and then sells logs.
cutting trees. But we have a lack of
human resources.”
Africa discuss ways
League.
Niazul, once known as that
his
he walked with
pistol to shoot
During a recent visit to
Pakhiapara village of Baliatali
Many dare not to speak against
them. This is how trees are regularly
Kalapara UNO Shankar Chandra
Baidya said, “I sent people to to boost trade
a cadre of Jubo League, union in the upazila, it was seen getting stolen,” he added. stop cutting trees after receiving UNB, Dhaka
was elected unopposed mayor Ivy. This is a that several trees have been cut and This correspondent could not information from locals in
as president of ward-12 at disgraceful incident left in small pieces for sale next to reach Sahabuddin over the phone Pakhiapara area. The tree logs have State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar
a conference held at Bar for the party. the dyke. despite repeated attempts. been kept in the custody of a local Alam has said Bangladesh and South Africa have
Academy school premises Rafiqul Islam, director of a Mahbub Mridha, another local, man. The forest department has common socio-economic development objectives
in the city’s Khanpur area JAHANGIR ALAM local madrasa, alleged that one said the forest department planted been instructed to take necessary and there are huge potentials to boost trade and
on Friday afternoon. Ex-joint secretary of district AL Shahabuddin Sikdar cut down at many trees near the flood control measures in this regard.” investment.
Metropolitan AL least 20 trees in Pakhiapara area dyke about 30 years ago to protect Contacted, Patuakhali Divisional He observed that visa waiver agreement for
president and former district council chairman Anwar a month ago. When the matter the area from natural calamities, Forest Officer Abdullah AL Mamun diplomatic and official passport holders and
Hossain inaugurated the conference as chief guest. was informed to the upazila including storms and floods. said the matter is being taken agreement on avoidance of double taxation
After the 2018 incident, which occurred following the administration, the logs of trees However, these trees are now seriously and necessary action is between Bangladesh and South Africa will
eviction of hawkers from the footpaths of Bangabandhu were seized. disappearing. So, the forest is being being taken, including the filing of facilitate contacts and increase trade and
Road, Niazul became the centre of discussion. However, no action has been destroyed every day making locals a case against those involved in tree investment between the two countries.
Many including Ivy, Awami League leaders, and taken against those involved as of vulnerable to natural disasters. The cutting. The state minister had bilateral talks with
SEE PAGE 4 COL 4 yet. administration should look into SEE PAGE 4 COL 2

BCL leader HUGRA IN TANGAIL SADAR Construction

suspended firm Koninoor

from hall No bridge even two Enterprise

for beating
student
DU CORRESPONDENT
Dhaka University’s Bijoy
Ekattor Hall authorities
on Wednesday suspended
a Bangladesh Chhatra
League leader for six
months from the dormitory
for beating a student
recently.
The suspended student is
Rakibul Hasan, deputy law
affairs secretary of BCL’s
Bijoy Ekattor Hall unit.
SEE PAGE 4 COL 4
PRAYER
TIMING
FEBRUARY 5
Fazr Zohr Asr Maghrib Esha
AZAN 5-30 12-45 4-15 5-52 7-15
JAMAAT 6-05 1-15 4-30 5-56 7-45
SOURCE: ISLAMIC FOUNDATION
got the tender
to construct
years after deadline a 50-metre
bridge over
a canal at
Beguntal
MIRZA SHAKIL, Tangail diversion road during a recent visit. Bazar on
Basakhanpur-
Meanwhile, heavy vehicular movement
Even two years after the deadline, the has completely stopped. Hugra road
construction of a bridge in Hugra of Saiful Islam, a rickshaw-van driver, at a cost of
Tangail Sadar upazila has not been said the diversion road gets submerged Tk 3.9 crore.
completed, causing immense suffering in the beginning of the rainy season, The project
to thousands of people. disrupting road communication. timeline was
Locals pointed to negligence by Many other drivers of three-wheelers
from July
the contractor as well as authorities echoed him.
concerned behind the delay. 5, 2020 to
Mohammad Ali, a trader of Hugra,
According to the Local Government said over 50,000 people move through April 4, 2021.
However, after
and Engineering Department (LGED), the road every day to go to their
21 months, only
construction firm Koninoor Enterprise destinations, which include several
got the tender to construct a 50-metre unions in the western region of Tangail one of the three
bridge over a canal at Beguntal Bazar as well as a part of adjacent Sirajganj slabs have been
on Basakhanpur-Hugra road at a cost
of Tk 3.9 crore.
district.
Meanwhile, one of the construction
constructed.
The project timeline was from July 5, workers of the bridge said they cannot
2020 to April 4, 2021. continue work due to a supply shortage
However, after 21 months, only one of of wood and iron rods.
the three slabs have been constructed. Torab Ali, a sub-assistant engineer
This correspondent witnessed of LGED in Tangail Sadar, said of the
people and light vehicles struggling main works of the bridge -- piling, and
to move on the adjacent earth-made SEE PAGE 4 COL 6
 City

6 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

DHAKA SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2023
MAGH 22, 1429 BS

The everlasting charm of

AISHWARYA RAIHAN
DHAKA ART SUMMIT
February is the month of spring, love, books, and flowers.
Along with Ekushey Boi Mela, this month also saw the
return of the biggest arena of art and culture—Dhaka
Art Summit (DAS) 2023.
Featuring over 160 artists from South Asia and other
parts of the world, the 6th DAS was inaugurated at the
National Art Gallery of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy
(BSA) on February 3.
After completing the inauguration programme, the
summit officially kicked-off with the Chant of Hope,
a wonderful performance at the building entrance by
Miet Warlop.
To the right of the main entry door, was Matt
Copson’s Age of Coming—a laser show where he
portrays his existential conflicts through an infant.
A large symmetric installation showing soldiers
circling indigenous figures, on the ground floor lobby
left me in awe.
Next, I ventured out to see Dwaidho in Gallery
6, a project including works of artists, architects,
photographers, researchers, and designers. This
initiative was created to aware people about how
environmental change is affecting our lives and
surroundings using sensory interactionism.
Veteran artist Farida Zaman’s mesmerising painting
remained in her signature black, white, and vibrant
orange palette. Nazlee Laila Mansur, Kanak Chanpa
Chakma, Hamiduzzaman, Shahabuddin and many
more renowned artists joined this movement.
The floors contained material such as leather, jute,
Installation and artworks displayed at DAS 2023.
straw, sand, and rice husk. The entire gallery was like
a tiny version of our motherland, co-produced by
Brihatta Art Foundation and Samdani Art Foundation.
The marginalised indigenous groups of Bangladesh,
Rohingya refugees, and the Transgender community
each had their own little stalls for displaying and
selling their craft items—the earnings of which would
contribute to their sustenance and development.
PHOTOS: SHEIKH MEHEDI MORSHED.
The Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre (RCMC) along
with IOM UN Migration supported three projects: Very
Small Feelings, To Enter the Sky, and Purposeful
Goods.
Afra Eisma, an artist from The Hague, created a
magical wonderland called Poke Press Squeeze Clasp
using yarn, ceramics, and textiles. The floor tapestry
with soft and squishy vertical elements represents a
space where one can spend time with fantasy creatures
and have intimate conversations with their loved ones.
Nobody Knows for Certain by Afrah Shafiq from
Goa, is an interactive fiction and archival game, that
creates a surreal experience. I played the game as a
Soviet Tsarina and also a tailless kitten, born in India.
The game draws inspiration from world history and
folklores.
There were several pieces from Ukrainian artists,
depicting the current Russian aggression on their
struggling homeland.
Ready-made Garments (RMG) workers are one of
Bangladesh’s greatest resources. So, they were granted a
spot to exhibit their painfully difficult lives—usually filled
with injustice—through sewed clothes, and fabrics.
Another installation was an orange balloon-shaped
space, dedicated to creating a reading space for the
visitors and children.
An entire gallery was gracefully enriched with the
twelve art pieces selected for the Samdani Art Award.
Among these, the humongous piece with bright
colours, called The Gardener’s Dream caught my eyes.
The artist, Rasel Rana from Dhaka took a metaphorical
and technically surrealistic approach on their dream of
living in an inclusive world where every human being is
treated equally, irrespective of gender.
There is so much to see and learn from every corner of
the Dhaka Art Summit. Overall, this event has definitely
exceeded all expectations and hopefully the remaining
days of the programme will continue to do so.
DAS 2023 is open for all and will run at BSA until
February 11.

NEWS
Tigers take reins
FROM PAGE 12
but this time it was different. They
even stayed around the premises
through the night, and were joined by
the third big cat.
Quoting Farooq Sheikh, in-charge
of Chandeshwar forest patrol post,
the ACF said the forest guards were
quite alarmed and did not venture
outside in this time.
Divisional Forest Officer (East
Sundarbans Forest Division)
Mohammad Belayet Hossain said
movement of tigers have increased
in the area but did not comment on
whether their numbers had increased.
MA Aziz, professor of Department
of Zoology at Jahangirnagar
University, who also works on
research on prey animals in the
Sundarbans, said tigers are very
secretive and territorial animals.
It is quite unusual for them to
roam around and stay for such a long
time in one place. This matter should
be looked into, he said.
“If there were three tigers together,
it is likely two of them are cubs and
one is the mother because [adult]
males are generally solitary beings
and only roam with a female during
mating season -- that too not for
long,” he added.
Professor Aziz further noted that
tigers sometimes venture into forest
offices to drink freshwater from the
pond but generally shy away from
humans. As such he urged that the
matter should be looked into to
determine whether there was any
disturbance within their habitat
inside the forest.
DU BCL men
FROM PAGE 12
month. When the businessmen
refused, Imdadul and the others
forced the owners to shut shop for at
least a week.
Contacted yesterday, Imdadul
denied the allegation. “The
businessman wronged some students
of our hall. I called him to know
about that matter and requested him
to meet me. This issue has already
been solved.”
Chhatra League General Secretary
Sheikh Wali Asif Enan said, “We
started an investigation into the
allegations. We will take necessary
actions against him if we find proof.”
‘Not a smart deal’
FROM PAGE 1
deal and it certainly needs to be
reworked,” Sobhan said at a session of
the sixth Sanem Annual Economists’
Conference held at the Brac Centre
Inn in Dhaka.
Since the electricity generated
by the Godda power plant would
be exported, it must run on coal
imported and not coal from Indian
mines.
And as per the power purchase
agreement signed in November 2017,
PDB, which would be buying all the
power generated by the plant, would
be paying for the coal as well as its
transport costs at the market rate,
reports The Washington Post.
The Post has obtained the
confidential 163-page document and
got three industry analysts to review
it.
The coal will most likely come
from Adani’s mines in Indonesia or
Australia on Adani ships to an Adani-
owned port in eastern India, then
arrive at the plant on a stretch of
Adani-built rail, The Post said.
The electricity generated will be
sent to the border over an Adani-built
high-voltage line. Under the contract,
shipping and transmission costs will
be passed on to Bangladesh, it said,
adding that the 25-year deal is “hardly
favourable for Bangladesh”.
“I remember the original
transaction with Adani. He was
going to construct a plant inside
Bangladesh and bring in coal from
We have no place
FROM PAGE 12
transport and bridges minister,
alleged that BNP backed Ashraful
Hossain Alam, popularly known as
Hero Alom, in the Bogura-4 by-polls
to undermine parliament.
He said the BNP has become weak,
and they have already been defeated
in the “game of movement”.
“We don’t want a weak opponent
in the election, rather a strong
competitor,” he added.
Meanshile, Jubo League Chairman
Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash said they
would remain on the streets during
the BNP’s all programmes.
“We will see how the BNP comes
to power,” he said while addressing
a rally organised by the Dhaka city
(North) Jubo League in the capital’s
his coal mines in India. This was
supposed to be growth-enhancing
for the Bangladesh economy because
the development would have been in
the country,” Sobhan said.
The deal signed ended up being “a
very peculiar contract” as Bangladesh
is paying for the coal he is bringing
from his mine in Australia and also
for its shipment.
So the cost of coal is turning out
to be disproportionately high, said
Sobhan, the chairman of the Centre
for Policy Dialogue.
Adani Power has recently sent a
request to PDB to issue a demand
note that it can present to Indian
authorities to open letters of credit
for the coal import. In the letter, the
coal price was quoted at $400 per
metric ton, reports UNB.
This prompted the government to
seek a review of the power purchase
agreement.
“In our view, the coal price they
have quoted is excessive -- it should
be less than $250 per metric ton,
which is what we are paying for the
imported coal at our other thermal
power plants,” a PDB official told
UNB.
The Adani power plant’s coal price
will be $346 per metric ton, which is
much higher than the amount paid
by the local coal-fired power plants,
according to a report prepared by the
Power Cell in January.
“We have already not negotiated a
very smart deal, and for a country that
Farmgate yesterday.
The BNP yesterday held rallies
in Dhaka and nine other divisional
headquarters to press home its
10-point demand, including holding
national election under a non-
partisan government.
The AL also organised “peace rallies”
in Chattogram, Khulna, Barishal,
Rangpur, Mymensingh, and Sylhet.
The ruling party had responded
with counter programmes to
the previous political activities
announced by the BNP and its
like-minded parties -- a Dhaka
divisional mass rally on December 10,
countrywide protests on December
30, sit-in protests on January 11
and 15 and four-day road march on
January 28, 30, 31 and February 1.
is aspiring to be Smart Bangladesh,
we can try to be a lot smarter when
we enter into a transaction,” Sobhan
said.
The groundwork for the power
purchase agreement was laid by
Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi during the 2015 state visit to
Bangladesh, reports The Post.
Modi asked Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina to “facilitate the
entry of Indian companies in the
power generation, transmission and
distribution sector of Bangladesh,”
according to an Indian foreign
ministry readout of their meeting.
“After Modi’s trip to Bangladesh,
that country’s power authority
contracted with Adani to build a $1.7
billion, 1,600-megawatt coal power
plant,” said the report published in
December last year.
For Modi, it was an opportunity
to bolster his “Neighbourhood First”
foreign policy and promote Indian
business, the report said.
“Mr Adani got more than just his
business acumen to support him
in the deals that he makes, so what
elements of the transaction are
driven by political variables and what
are driven by public interest, we do
not really know,” Sobhan added.
Investigate
FROM PAGE 12
since it was passed a decade ago, the
HRW said citing Bangladesh media
reports.
Bangladesh has ignored repeated
requests from the UN Committee
Against Torture to follow up its
recommendations, as required, the
rights organisation said, adding that
the committee’s recommendations
included independent monitoring of
all detention sites and investigation
of all allegations of torture or ill-
treatment by law enforcement
officials.
Bangladesh security forces are
under increased scrutiny following
the designation of human rights
sanctions by the US government and
in the lead-up to the general elections
slated for early 2024, the HRW said.
The Bangladesh authorities should
implement the recommendations
by the Committee Against Torture,
investigate allegations, and hold
perpetrators to account, it added.
The poor have their back
FROM PAGE 12
and personal hygiene items, and
transport costs.
The latest data of the state-run
Trading Corporation of Bangladesh
(TCB) shows that prices of almost all
essentials have increased by between
1 percent and 151 percent year-on-year
on average.
The price of potatoes usually remains
low in winter, but things are different this
winter as the price of the vegetable has
shot up by 83.33 percent year-on-year.
The price of both fine and medium-
quality rice has soared by 3.77 percent
and 5.47 percent during the same period.
The average prices of per kg wheat
and flour have soared by 66.2 and 40.63
percent in the last one year, reads the
TCB’s January 31 market price report.
Shamim Ahmed, a resident of
Hatirpool, said a medium-sized gourd
used to sell for Tk 50 in winter a couple
of years ago, but the same vegetable
now costs Tk 80-90. A bundle of
spinach was sold for less than Tk 10
back then against the current price of
over Tk 15.
“People had hoped the prices of
vegetables would drop in winter,
but the prices didn’t come down as
expected,” he said.
Nayeem Shahriar, an official of a
public bank, said he has changed his
breakfast menu.
“I used to have bread for breakfast
every day. To reduce the consumption of
flour, I now eat bread only on weekends.”
He said doctors advised him to take
bread at breakfast, but he couldn’t
afford to have it any more. Instead,
he is now eating rice at breakfast on
weekdays.
The inflation rate started rising in
February last year due to the Russia-
Ukraine war.
After coming down slightly in May,
It’s an example
FROM PAGE 2
The envoy yesterday visited the
Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant
in Bagerhat’s Rampal, being built with
funding from the Indian government’s
concessional financing scheme with
an outlay of around $2 billion.
The majority of the amount is
being provided by India’s EXIM Bank.
The plant uses ultra-supercritical
technology and is equipped with
state-of-the-art facilities.
Phase-I of the 1,320MW power
the inflation rate started rising again in
June. It surgedin August after the fresh
hike in fuel prices. The rate continued
increasing for two months before
coming down slightly in December,
said the CAB report.
The food inflation rate in the capital
showed a declining trend up to April
last year, but the rates for both food
and non-food items started rising from
May, it added.
The non-food inflation rate went all
the way up to 18.86 percent in July last
year.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Deputy
Director of Department of Agriculture
Marketing Mohammad Emdadul
Haque said the rise in transport and
production costs has contributed to
the increase in vegetable prices.
“The price of diesel has gone up,
leading to rise in both transport and
production costs,” he said.
He hoped the prices of some
vegetables, including potato, would
start to drop in the coming weeks.
Last month, CAB Chairman
Ghulam Rahman said once the price
of a product increases in the country,
it cannot be expected that the price
would come down quickly.
He urged the government to take
special measures to increase the
income of the general people to reduce
income disparity as the earnings of the
high-income people have been much
higher than those of the lower- and
middle-income people.
There was no relief for the general
people last year in terms of commodity
prices. The Russia-Ukraine War also
had an impact on the country’s
economy, the CAB chief said.
He expressed concern that non-food
inflation might go up further this year
due to the increase in house rent and
electricity and gas prices.
plant was inaugurated by the prime
ministers of India and Bangladesh
in September 2022 and has already
started supplying electricity to the
national grid.
Phase-II of the project is expected
to be completed shortly, officials said.
During his two-day visit (Friday-
Saturday) to the Khulna division,
Pranay visited some of the important
connectivity projects which are being
developed under the Bangladesh-
India development partnership.
INTERNATIONAL 7
DHAKA SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2023
MAGH 22, 1429 BS

CHINESE ‘ESPIONAGE’ ‘BLASPHEMOUS CONTENT’

Another ‘spy Pakistan blocks

Wikipedia
balloon’ over AFP, Islamabad

LatAm: US Wikipedia was blocked in Pakistan yesterday

AFP, Washington
A Chinese spy balloon has been spotted over Latin
America, the Pentagon said Friday, a day after a similar
craft was seen in US skies, prompting the scrapping of
a rare trip to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken.
The Pentagon said the first balloon was now heading
eastwards over the central United States, adding it was not
being shot down for safety reasons.
Later Friday, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said: “We
are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America.”
“We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance
balloon,” he added, without specifying its exact location.
Moments before Blinken’s decision to cancel his trip
-- aimed at easing tensions between the two countries
-- China issued a rare statement of
regret over the first balloon and
blamed winds for pushing what
it called a civilian airship into
US airspace.
But President Joe Biden’s
administration described it as
a maneuverable “surveillance
balloon”.
With the rival Republican
Party already on the offensive,
Blinken postponed a two-day visit
that was to have started today.
Blinken said, however, that he told Wang “the United
States is committed to diplomatic engagement with China
and that I plan to visit Beijing when conditions allow.”
Yesterday, the Chinese foreign ministry released a
statement addressing Blinken’s announcement that his
trip would not go ahead.
“Some politicians and media in the United States used
the (balloon) incident as a pretext to attack and smear
China,” it said.
Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, were quick to
pounce on the balloon incident, casting Biden -- who
has largely preserved, and at times expanded, Trump’s
hawkish policies on China -- as weak.
“Shoot down the balloon!” said Trump on his Truth
Social media platform.
A US defense official said earlier that Biden had asked
for military options but that the Pentagon believed
shooting the object down would put people on the
ground at risk from debris.
The United States is also widely believed to spy on China,
although generally with more advanced technology than
balloons.
The northwestern United States is home to sensitive
airbases and nuclear weapons in underground silos.
after authorities censored the website for hosting
“blasphemous content” in the latest blow to digital
rights in the deeply conservative nation.
Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Muslim-majority
Pakistan, and social media giants Facebook
and YouTube have previously been banned for
publishing content deemed sacrilegious.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority
had earlier in the week given Wikipedia a 48 hour
ultimatum to remove material, without publically
specifying its exact objections.
The Wikimedia Foundation -- the non-profit
fund managing Wikipedia -- said the block “denies
the fifth most populous nation in the world access
to the largest free knowledge repository”.
“If it continues, it will also deprive everyone
access to Pakistan’s knowledge, history, and
culture,” a statement said.
Anti-government demonstrators shout slogans as they take part in a protest demanding the release of Inter- Pakistan blocked YouTube from 2012 to
university Students’ Federation leaders in Colombo, yesterday. Sri Lanka marked 75 years since independence 2016 after it carried a film about the Prophet
with a sombre military parade yesterday, as its president urged reflection on past “errors and failures” at a Mohammad (pbuh) that led to violent protests
time of national crisis. PHOTO: AFP across the Muslim world.
ADVANCED WEAPONRY TO UKRAINE India, US discuss
All of Ukraine will burn’ Modi’s White
Medvedev again threatens to use nukes if war escalates House visit
REUTERS “The result will be just the Asked what would happen if REUTERS, Washington
opposite,” Medvedev replied, in the weapons that Washington has
Former Russian President Dmitry comments that Fridrikhson posted promised Ukraine were to strike The Biden administration is in talks with Indian
Medvedev has said the supply of on her Telegram channel. Crimea - which Russia seized from officials over a possible White House visit by Prime
more advanced US weaponry to “Only moral freaks, of which Ukraine in 2014 - or deep into Minister Narendra Modi later this year, according
Ukraine will only trigger more there are enough both in the White Russia, Medvedev said Putin had to a US official aware of the discussions and
retaliatory strikes from Russia, up House and in the Capitol, can argue addressed the matter clearly. another person briefed on the matter.
to the extent of Russia’s nuclear like that.” “We don’t set ourselves any limits US President Joe Biden is eager to deepen ties
doctrine. The Pentagon said on Friday that and, depending on the nature of with the world’s largest democracy as part of his
“All of Ukraine that remains a new rocket that would double the threats, we’re ready to use all bid to win what he has framed as a contest between
under Kyiv’s rule will burn,” Ukraine’s strike range was included types of weapons. In accordance free and autocratic societies, especially China.
journalist Nadana Fridrikhson in a $2.175 billion US military aid with our doctrinal documents, Dates are not finalized, the sources said.
quoted him as saying in a written package. including the Fundamentals of Discussions about a possible White House visit
interview with her. President Vladimir Putin casts Nuclear Deterrence,” he said. “I can intensified this week as Indian National Security
Fridrikhson asked Medvedev, Russia’s campaign in Ukraine assure you that the answer will be Adviser Ajit Doval met with his US counterpart,
who as deputy chairman of the as an existential defence against quick, tough and convincing.” Jake Sullivan, and Secretary of State Antony
Security Council has become one an aggressive West and has, like Russia’s nuclear doctrine allows Blinken in Washington. During the visit, the United
of Russia’s most hawkish pro-war Medvedev, several times brandished for a nuclear strike after “aggression States and India launched a partnership to deepen
figures since its invasion of Ukraine, the threat of a nuclear response, against the Russian Federation ties on military equipment, semiconductors
whether the use of longer-range saying Russia will use all available with conventional weapons when and artificial intelligence. Washington has been
weapons might force Russia to means to protect itself and its the very existence of the state is pushing New Delhi to do more to punish Russia
negotiate with Kyiv. people. threatened”. for the Ukraine invasion.

A man performs during a Lunar New Year parade, held for the first time following a three-year hiatus due to the
coronavirus pandemic, in the Chinatown area of Yokohama, Japan, yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

Northeast US, ‘HONOUR KILLINGS’

Canada gird for Iraqis outraged after

‘epic’ Arctic blast
AFP, New York
The northeastern United States and
Canada steeled themselves Friday for an
“epic” Arctic blast that could see some
areas record their lowest ever wind chill
temperatures.
America’s National Weather Service
(NWS) warned that parts of Maine might
see wind chills of minus 60 degrees
Fahrenheit (minus 51 degrees Celsius).
“This is an epic, generational arctic
outbreak,” the NWS office in Caribou, near
Maine’s border with Canada, wrote in an
advisory.
It said the chills are “something
northern and eastern Maine has not seen
since similar outbreaks in 1982 and 1988.”
It warned that frostbite to exposed skin
can occur within five minutes in such
conditions.
The most extreme conditions are
forecast to occur Friday night into
Saturday morning, with extreme weather
warnings in effect across Quebec and
much of eastern Canada. In Montreal, the
wind made the temperature feel like minus
41 C early Friday afternoon.
father kills YouTube
star daughter
AFP, Baghdad
The death of a young YouTube star at the hands of her father has
sparked outrage in Iraq, where so-called “honour killings” continue
to take place in the conservative country.
Tiba al-Ali, 22, was killed by her father on January 31 in the
southern province of Diwaniya, interior ministry spokesman Saad
Maan said on Twitter on Friday.
Police had attempted to mediate between Ali -- who resided
in Turkey and was visiting Iraq -- and her relatives to “resolve the
family dispute in a definitive manner”, Maan said.
Unverified recordings of conversations between Ali and her
father appeared to indicate that he was unhappy about her decision
to live alone in Turkey.
Maan said that after the police’s initial encounter with the family
“we were surprised the next day... with the news of her killing at the
hands of her father, as he admitted in his initial confessions”.
Ali had gained a following on YouTube, where she posted videos
of her daily life and in which her fiance often appeared.
She had travelled to Turkey with her family in 2017, but upon
their return, she refused to join them, choosing instead to stay in
Turkey where she resided since, the police source said.
Human rights defender Hanaa Edwar told AFP that, according
to voice recordings attributed to the young woman, “she left her
family... because she was sexually assaulted by her brother”.
8 EDITORIAL
DHAKA SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2023
MAGH 22, 1429 BS

What is holding Bangladesh’s

GDP growth rate down?
FOUNDER EDITOR: LATE S. M. ALI

Is this the best the

BRTA can do? AN OPEN
DIALOGUE
percentage points higher had income
disparities not widened, as well as in
Sweden, Finland and Norway, although
rate in such countries is about three
times higher and the literacy rate is 25
percent lower.
New guideline on motorcycle use Dr Abdullah Shibli is an economist and
works for Change Healthcare, Inc., an
from low levels. On the other hand, What accounts for this obsession
greater equality helped increase GDP with the GDP growth rate? I would
unlikely to be effective without information technology company. He
also serves as senior research fellow at per capita in Spain, France and Ireland. guess that the national election cycle
the US-based International Sustainable Bangladesh’s obsession with the may be to blame. The ruling party
wider reforms Development Institute (ISDI). GDP growth rate is simultaneously has depended on growth for political
The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has causing collateral damage. It is taking legitimacy. But even in terms of GDP
ABDULLAH SHIBLI our collective attention away from the growth, there are significant failures. I
prepared a draft Motorcycle Operation Control Guideline that,
if approved, will thenceforth govern the use and purchase of
motorcycles, the vehicle responsible for the highest number The other day, I was engaged in
of road crashes in recent years. The draft, according to a a conversation with some of my
report by this daily, has recommended a number of restrictive associates in the city of Cambridge.
measures, including disallowing purchase of motorcycles One of my friends, a professor of
without a driving licence, requiring a licence to get a economics at the University of
motorcycle registered with the BRTA, disallowing carrying a Massachusetts, Boston, quizzically
pillion passenger on highways, setting speed limits, etc. The looked at me and said, “I think the
purpose, we’re told, is to control operation of bikes and curb Bangladesh government is hurting
road accidents. the country’s GDP growth rate by
The guideline is perhaps the first policy response to the obsessing with the GDP growth rate.”
unique problem caused by the unregulated use of motorcycles. It gradually dawned on me that he was
It is, we must admit, an improvement on misguided calls for a referring to a well-known paradox:
blanket ban on motorcycles – particularly from quarters linked “GDP fetishism.” As Joseph Stiglitz,
with bus transport associations, allegedly to cut competition. the Nobel Prize-winning economist
Instead of clamping down on bikers in general, it recommends put it, “If we have poor measures, what
control measures in four stages – at the production or import we strive to do (say, increase GDP) may
level, at the point of sale, at the point of registration, and during actually contribute to a worsening of
use of motorcycles – thereby distributing responsibilities living standards.”
among all stakeholders. As far as intentions go, the draft seems In addition to poor measurement,
to be in the right direction. But whether it will be effective in we have repeatedly pointed out that
preventing crashes is a different matter. the country’s GDP growth is crimped
Even if we disregard the elephant in the room – the lack of by three well-known curses: rampant
ability of the government to implement such a guideline – we corruption, rising inequality, and
must say that the very idea that accidents happen because of the continuous financial mismanagement.
lack of a licence/registration, or driving skills, is a narrow view Econometric simulations have
of the problem. It ignores other contributing factors, such as shown that we could have achieved
speeding by other vehicles, the culture of violating traffic rules, a double-digit GDP growth rate if we
the chaos in the transport sector, etc. Where’s the initiative to had urgently addressed these three
fix these persistent problems? Why is nothing being done about perennial problems.
improving the capacity and services of the BRTA? Given how In the interest of showing that our
bad the situation is – with at least 7,713 people killed in 6,829 national income is growing very fast,
crashes in 2022 – a guideline can only be part of a central road government officials are promoting
safety policy which has been woefully missing. megaprojects at the cost of efficiency.
Even that guideline suffers from narrow thinking. For In addition, statistical offices are
example, it recommends that bike producers, assemblers and making up numbers that often conceal ILLUSTRATION: BIPLOB CHAKROBORTY
importers will provide at least two days’ safety training to the actual cost of the choices of projects
buyers before handing over bikes. This laughable approach or technologies. For example, for the aiming to come to power again through
to training – putting the burden on the supply side of bikes – Matarbari power plant project, the government’s obligation to our people recall that in 2018, the prime minister
the forthcoming 12th parliamentary
throws into sharp relief the BRTA’s own inadequate training cost per megawatt (MW) capacity basis to provide jobs, nourishment, and said if her party came to power
election, also put lowering corruption,
infrastructure. The fact is, the BRTA itself needs regulating is around USD 5 million compared to protection from the vagaries of nature. again, the country’s growth would
improving the healthcare system, and
before it can become a reliable regulator. It needs to start a range of USD 488,000-657,000 for Our obsession with GDP growth is not reach 10 percent within the next five
providing better nutrition on its list
implementing the Road Transport Act properly before it can four similar-sized plants in China, or 8 what will help us; rather, we ought years. Well, that did not happen. The
of priorities? Can’t our leaders initiate
be expected to properly implement any guideline. to 10 times more expensive. to strengthen our social safety net focus on GDP is coming back again
a crusade like Ukraine’s President
Bangladesh, as one of the most unsafe countries for In the long run, the pursuit of GDP and healthcare services. Around 30 this year now that another round
Zelensky, who fired some of his key
travellers, has reached a point where it must show results – growth at the expense of people’s well- percent of people in Bangladesh are of parliamentary election is on the
lieutenants tainted by corruption?
not cosmetic initiatives. While the draft guideline fills the being will bring down the growth rate, facing food insecurity, according to a horizon. In December, the prime
There is compelling evidence
vacuum in terms of regulating the operation of bikes, it cannot and hurt the people whom the elected World Bank survey. minister declared, “I believe and I can
that addressing high and growing
reduce road crashes unless we initiate wider reforms, including officials should serve. In the short Empirical evidence suggests that assure everyone that we will be able
inequality is critical to promote strong
ridding the BRTA of corruption and irregularities, eliminating term, the rush to finish megaprojects corruption reduces the ratio of to achieve our targeted growth rate.”
and sustained growth, and needs to
conflicts of interest in the policy circles, disciplining the before the 2024 elections has lowered be at the centre of the policy debate, investment to GDP, lowers investment I have also seen projections that our
unruly transport associations, and building a functional traffic the GDP by one percent. said OECD Secretary-General Angel and disrupts economic growth to country is “on track to be a trillion-
management system. We are not alone in this regard, Gurría. “Countries that promote equal a significant extent. Even our own dollar economy by 2040.”
though. A few years ago, a study opportunity for all from an early age Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) It is understandable that during
showed that China overreported its are those that will grow and prosper.” estimates that corruption reduces an election year, growth in income

Protect women economic growth between 2008 and

2016 by an average of 1.7 percentage
points. The discrepancy came from
Rising inequality is estimated to
have knocked more than 10 percentage
points off growth in Mexico and New
our GDP growth rate by three
percent.
According to the World Bank, the
or other catchy phrases like “middle-
income country” have a better appeal
in the news media. However, we must

migrant workers local governments who were rewarded

for meeting growth and investment
Zealand over the past two decades up
to the Great Recession. In Italy, the UK
average income in countries with a
high level of corruption is about a third
of that in countries with a low level of
also look at the other metrics that
have a rightful place in our national
dialogue as we try to attain sustainable
targets. and the US, the cumulative growth
from abuse Can’t the ruling party, which is rate would have been six to nine corruption. Also, the infant mortality development.

Govt must investigate the cause of

their deaths abroad
It is a painful and shameful revelation that some 709 women
migrant workers have died in different countries in the last five
years (from 2017 to 2022). According to a Bonik Barta report,
after analysing the death certificates of the 691 workers arriving
by October 2021, around 69 percent of the deaths were found
to be due to “natural” causes like illness, while 31 percent were
The Age of Verbiage
due to “unnatural” causes like suicides and accidents. In case
of Saudi Arabia, suicides accounted for 24 percent of deaths.
Arvind Subramanian, a senior fellow International Monetary Fund (IMF) or having to pivot on a dime is an
at Brown University, is a distinguished expects growth to pick up next year. occupational hazard. And, arguably,
No wonder then that around 48 percent of families of non-resident fellow at the Center for
these women do not believe the causes mentioned in death Global Development, and the author The Economist now speaks of a “poly- the warnings and instant analyses
certificates, because no autopsy was done after their bodies of ‘Of Counsel: The Challenges of the recovery.” Similarly, the doom-and- might be responsible for policy actions
arrived in Bangladesh. A study by the Refugee and Migratory
Modi-Jaitley Economy.’ gloom predictions that characterised that preempt worst-case scenarios.
Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), which interviewed the spring and summer of 2020, the Howling like a wolf can sometimes
these families, has revealed this heart-breaking picture. height of the Covid crisis, did not keep the real wolf at bay.
These women, who mostly worked as domestic workers, were materialise, and the world economy Still, one cannot deny the fact that
in contact with their families; they talked about the harsh turned out to be more resilient than there are too many overconfident
ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN many had believed. experts making too many predictions
conditions in which they worked, including inhuman working
hours, physical, mental or sexual abuse, etc. In 2019, the dead And remember the warnings of a about too many issues too quickly
bodies of 130 women migrant workers came to Bangladesh; 24 The annual meeting of the World considered to be performing relatively “winter of discontent” in Europe and these days. A basic economic principle
of them had apparently died by suicide. Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos well until the catastrophic death toll the looming threat of wartime energy is useful here: the 24-hour news cycle
These figures speak of unbelievable suffering that these used to be the premier destination for of the Delta variant revealed the scale rations? Instead, gas prices have been has created a huge need for expert
women faced before their untimely deaths. Many among the renowned academics and public figures of the government’s mismanagement declining steadily since the summer. opinion, and the market has simply
deceased had gone to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain, to comment on the state of the world. – and the latter, too, seems slightly And many of the same analysts who created the supply to meet the growing
Kuwait and Lebanon looking for a better future – their average But nowadays, the destination is just less severe in hindsight, following predicted a few months ago that demand.
age was 39. Is it believable that a majority of these women died a click away. Our social-media-driven the country’s successful vaccination the Chinese economy was about to But some correction is required.
of natural causes as mentioned in their death certificates? news ecosystem is virtually drowning drive. collapse were proclaiming that “China When he received the Nobel Prize
We demand that our government conducts a proper us in expert opinion, inundating us Then there is the great US inflation is back” just a few weeks later. in economics in 1974, Friedrich von
investigation of all these deaths – both “natural” and with so much verbiage that little room debate. Initially, it seemed like Team The current fickleness of expert Hayek famously suggested that his
“unnatural”. It is reprehensible that while we eulogise the is left for thoughtful analysis and Transitory – the inflation doves consensus is rooted in a media fellow laureates take an economist’s
remittances earned by migrant workers, many among them focused debate – the oxygen of healthy who predicted that prices would go environment that rewards instant Hippocratic oath: avoid commenting
are dying at young ages and under suspicious circumstances, public discourse. down quickly – had it right. But then theorising and glib generalisations publicly on matters beyond one’s
but we do not even bother to find out the reason. Greed for Consider, for example, how quickly the persistence of high inflation as long as they are delivered immediate expertise. Winning such a
foreign exchange has led to such moral depravity whereby we and how often the expert consensus vindicated the hawks who had called with absolute certainty. When prestigious prize, he said, should come
gleefully send our workers abroad without even finding out shifted throughout the Covid for the Federal Reserve to engineer reality exposes the flaws in these with a certain responsibility. The same
what kind of environment they are going into. Often, they are pandemic. China did a far better job a massive recession to restore price hypotheses, the expert caravan could be said of all current purveyors
trapped, their phones are taken away, and they have nowhere containing the spread of the virus stability. Nowadays, the doves are simply moves on to the next of elite opinion.
to go. Some resort to suicide while others die slowly because of than many liberal democracies, until flying high again, as inflation seems topic without self-reflection or While voluntarily reducing one’s
deprivation, lack of medical care when they are sick, or other its draconian zero-Covid strategy to be declining without the Fed having accountability, leaving viewers and profile may not seem appealing to
forms of abuse at the hands of their employers. demonstrated the failure of autocracy. to inflict excessive pain on US labour readers dumbfounded. many experts and intellectuals, it is
It is absolutely incumbent on our government to ensure And, despite the surge of infections in markets. To be sure, expert opinion is still the only way to avoid debasing the
the rights of these workers, especially women workers, who the weeks since policymakers abruptly Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, valuable, despite its increasingly public discourse. Without a modicum
are even more vulnerable to abuse. Remaining silent for fear abandoned the strategy, it is still soaring inflation, and the escalating ephemeral nature. But experts inhabit of self-restraint, the constant
of offending host countries is not acceptable. Our government possible that China will have fewer rivalry between the US and China the same world as everyone else, and stream of hot takes might end up
must take effective measures to stop this gross violation excess Covid-related deaths than the have given us the term “polycrisis” – thus are not immune to the cognitive undermining the informed debate
of human rights. The first step has to involve a thorough US. Others argued that polarised the Financial Times’ word of the year effects of its frantic pace. Given that that undergirds all open societies.
investigation to find out the real cause of death of each of societies like the US would fare worse – to describe today’s confluence of institutions like the IMF are tasked To paraphrase Ludwig Wittgenstein,
these women migrant workers. Engaging and holding the than countries with high levels of calamities. But the global economy with providing real-time analyses whereof one cannot say anything of
host countries accountable, as well as directing our embassies social trust, until Sweden became seems to have escaped the worst, and predictions in a rapidly changing substance after considered reflection,
abroad to provide support to these women, must follow. a cautionary tale. And India was at least for the moment, and the environment, getting things wrong thereof one must be silent.

The Daily Star thedailystar.net EDITOR & PUBLISHER: Mahfuz Anam Registered & Head Offices: The Daily Star Centre Newsroom: Fax- 58156306 Advertisement: 01711623910 Subscription:
Reg. No. DA 781 bangla.thedailystar.net/ Printed by him on behalf of Mediaworld Ltd at Transcraft Ltd, 229, 64-65 Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Dhaka-1215 reporting@thedailystar.net advertisement@thedailystar.net 01711623906
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OPINION 9
DHAKA SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2023
MAGH 22, 1429 BS

Why are we so opposed

to seeing Hero Alom
in politics?
Among the six parliamentary
constituencies where by-elections
were held on February 1, two drew
particular attention: Bogura-4
(sadar upazila) and Bogura-6
(Nandigram and Kahalu upazilas).
The reason? Ashraful Hossain Alom,
FILE PHOTO: RASHED SHUMON better known as Hero Alom, the
internet celebrity with a massive
What started as a procession quickly grew into a massive protest in Shahbagh, Dhaka in 2013. fan following, contested the by-
polls from these two seats as an
independent candidate.
10 YEARS OF SHAHBAGH MOVEMENT Journalists in Bogura received
numerous calls from all over the
Mostafa Shabuj
is the Bogura correspondent
of The Daily Star.
MOSTAFA SHABUJ
against elitism.
Hero Alom does not speak proper
Bangla. He does not have formal
education. He makes low-quality
music videos and sings Rabindra
Sangeet in a “distorted” way. These
are the reasons that make him the
subject of criticism and trolling on
before did not prioritise the people’s
interests or work for their well-being.
They promise big things before the
elections, but forget to deliver once
they win. One cannot approach
an MP easily with any problem.
In contrast, Hero Alom is simple,
honest and approachable, and a
better option than others, according
to many young voters.
During his campaign for the by-
polls, Hero Alom admitted that if he
won, he would only get seven to eight
months’ time in parliament, and so
he would not be able to do much for
the people. But he would make sure
to do what most urgently needed for
the people in the time he would get.
Voters liked this simple confession.
They can relate to him, seeing him

Revisiting
country, even from journalists who
work for international media outlets
and agencies since the morning of
election day. The only question they
asked was: is Hero Alom becoming a

Shahbagh’s spirit
For a second, cast your mind back
to the moment when a convicted
war criminal showed the “V” sign
in a country that was born from the
sacrifices of three million lives –
sacrifices that were orchestrated in
large part by war criminals like him.
He showed that sign because he had
escaped, temporarily, the highest
punishment for the atrocities he had
committed during the Liberation
War in 1971. Would it be right to stay
indifferent then? What could the
youth of Bangladesh have done, on
February 5 a decade ago, if not gather
at Shahbagh, if not chant slogans
against war criminals, if not exhibit
outrage?
My mind was flooded with words
and memories as I sat down to write
about the Shahbagh Movement after
such a long time. But along with my
thoughts, I think some retrospection
may also be useful for today’s
discussion.
Did anyone anticipate the
overwhelming upsurge following
The “deadliest” weapon
that Gonojagoron
Moncho introduced was
nothing but slogans.
But the responses to
that were death threats,
gender bullying,
misinformation,
propagation of doctored
images of female
activists, character
assassination of them
by a famous writer, and,
obviously, the machete
of killers.
the events of February 5, 2013? At
least I did not. But I feel blessed
that I, along with my comrades,
was able to communicate with that
massive crowd through slogans.
Before Shahbagh, I had never found
slogans to be such a powerful
medium of communication. There
was an exuberance of innovation
in producing slogans. Could the
crowd cry with utmost outrage had
“Ka te Quader Molla, Tui Rajakar,
Tui Rajakar” not been rhymed at
Shahbagh on the very first evening
of the protests? It could hardly be
delivered without the historical
momentum the crowd brought about
at Shahbagh Square.
Hasan Tarek, Hossain Ahmed Tafsir
(who passed away just a couple of weeks
ago), Tanvir Rusmat, Bappaditya Basu,
and Samsul Islam Sumon led a small
procession on the DU campus as an
immediate response to the verdict of
war crimes trial on February 5, 2013.
These student leaders belonged to
several left-leaning organisations,
including the ones affiliated with
Lucky Akter
is a member of the CPB central
committee and an organiser of the
Shahbagh Movement.
LUCKY AKTER
the parties allied with the Awami
League. In the afternoon, there was
a protest at Shahbagh Square by the
Blogger and Online Activist Network
(BOAN), an organisation by a group
of bloggers. But I wonder what
would have been the course of the
movement if the torch procession
had not halted at Shahbagh. It had
been en route to Paltan starting
from Raju Memorial (TSC, Dhaka
University), via Nilkhet, then Hotel
Sheraton roundabout, and finally the
Shahbagh intersection where people
were occupying the street by then.
This procession had been initiated
by Bangladesh Chhatra Union, but
was joined by hundreds of people
from all walks of life. Anticipating
a spectrum of participation, the
Chhatra Union leaders opted not to
put the organisation’s name on the
procession banner.
People were ready to walk shoulder
to shoulder with fellow protesters
from different political ideologies
to fight the one ideology that had
denied our liberation. Shahbagh was
able to host a colourful attendance. It
rejuvenated several symbolic slogans
from the time of our liberation
struggle. But the ones like “Tumi
ke, ami ke, Bangalee, Bangalee”
(Your identity, my identity, Bangalee,
Bangalee) was changed to “Tumi ke,
ami ke, Adivasi-Bangalee” (Your
identity, my identity, Indigenous
and Bangalee) for inclusiveness,
which was Shahbagh’s core value.
The presence of children and teens
was unprecedented. Women came
in huge numbers. And it was women
activists who took the most slots in
leading the slogans. Jahanara Imam,
commonly addressed as Amma
(mother) by the Shahbagh activists,
was the only name Shahbagh adopted
as its lighthouse.
The escape of convicted war
criminal Abul Kalam Azad, also
known as Bachchu Rajakar, triggered
a deep suspicion among the masses,
and with Quader Molla’s “V” sign,
that suspicion turned into an
outrage, calling into question the
government’s commitment to the
trial. What could make a war criminal
feel victorious even after being
sentenced to life imprisonment?
Wasn’t it the relief of escaping capital
punishment that he was supposed
to get? There has been a widespread
discussion in the intellectual sphere
since then: was the Shahbagh
Movement in favour of capital
punishment? As far as I know, capital
punishment has never been protested
by any political party in Bangladesh.
The Shahbagh movement demanded
this punishment for Quader Molla
because the highest punishment
in Bangladesh is death penalty. Did
Quader Molla, as a convicted war
criminal, not deserve the highest
degree of punishment inscribed in
our constitution for his proven crimes
in 1971?
The Shahbagh Movement can
hardly be attributed to a protest that
began in just 2013. Gonojagoron
Moncho was not merely all about
an online call. It bears the legacy
of Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul
Committee’s movement in 1992, led
by Jahanara Imam. But if we talk
about the youth upsurge of 2013, we
should acknowledge the role of blog
sphere activism against war criminals,
which had been on the rise for a couple
of years before Shahbagh. There were
instances of bloggers organising
events and running offline campaigns
to amass support in favour of the war
crimes trial. These initiatives paved,
at least to some extent, the way for
the readiness of urban youth for a
movement like Shahbagh.
However, if anybody tried to label
this movement as an apolitical one,
that would not be appropriate at
all. A deep-rooted political culture
of protest pushed the people to a
spontaneous protest throughout the
country, and the Bangalee diaspora
replicated that too. I think 2013 was
a transitional point that forced our
youth to give a serious thought to
politics again.
The Shahbagh Movement, which
took place in the last year of a
parliamentary tenure, created a range
of new equations and dynamics in
Bangladesh’s politics. What else has
influenced the BNP to visibly distance
itself from Jamaat-e-Islami in recent
years? What would have been the
scenario if BNP, the leading opposition
party at that time, had opted to stand
for the pro-liberation sentiment of
a huge segment of their supporters
over electoral mathematics associated
with Jamaat? How beneficial was
it for the opposition party to label
Shahbagh as Nastik Chattar (Atheist
Square)? Did it not leave the leading
opposition party’s activists with no
option but to normalise machetes
on people for mere opinions? Did the
government officials’ statements that
were made in response to the machete
killings not leave the next victims
vulnerable to be killed likewise? Did
the government not take the chance
to employ rigorous acts like the
Digital Security Act to suppress any
dissenting voice against the power
in return for crucifying the so-called
“blasphemous” bloggers and writers?
The “deadliest” weapon that
Gonojagoron Moncho introduced
was nothing but slogans. But the
responses to that were death threats,
gender bullying, misinformation,
propagation of doctored images
of female activists, character
assassination of them by a famous
writer, and, obviously, the machete of
killers.
How many Shahbaghs, whether
they praise or scold, do different
camps talk about? For haters, only
one Shahbagh is good. But I can
acknowledge and identify multiple
waves there. And the spectrum of
“Shahbaghis” (Shahbagh activists)
would admit that “all the Shahbaghs”
belong to one entity: the matriarchy
of Jahanara Imam. Do they still envy
her?
member of parliament? The results,
when announced, revealed that the
polls had ended with a low turnout,
and Hero Alom was defeated in both
seats.
In Bogura-4, he lost by 834
votes to the candidate from Jatiya
Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), an ally
of the ruling Awami League.
(Awami League supported the JSD
candidate and did not nominate
their candidate in Bogura-4).
On the election night, Hero
Alom held a press conference where
he rejected the election results
and alleged result manipulation.
“Educated people would be forced
to call illiterates like me ‘Sir.’ That’s
why they don’t want to accept me.
They could not accept my victory…
That is why the election officials
changed the results,” he claimed.
This entire saga raised many
questions: why are people so
interested in Hero Alom? Why
did they vote for him? It is evident
that people wanted to see him in
Why did less than Hero Alom
24 percent of voters as one of their own.
social media every day. But does he
cast their votes in the have any allegations of corruption, If democracy means the rule
Bogura-4 and Bogura-6 loan default, money laundering, of people, for the people and by
by-polls? Why are illegal land grabbing, stealing relief the people, and if the people want
major political parties items from the poor and needy to see Hero Alom in parliament,
against him? representing their interests, why are
going bankrupt? Why we, the educated class, so opposed
Alom himself said people from
do ordinary people not
the elite, upper classes could not to the idea?
want to participate
tolerate that someone like him was Come to think of it, why are
in political activities rising up from the working class, good people moving away from
nowadays? Before that is why they opposed him so politics? Why are people turning
trolling Hero Alom for much. away from big political parties? Why
A former police chief, during a talk did less than 24 percent of voters
trying to become an MP, show, did not want to speak about cast their votes in the Bogura-4 and
these questions need to Alom after the election results were Bogura-6 by-polls? Why are major
be answered. announced on February 1. When the political parties going bankrupt?
moderator asked him repeatedly, Why do ordinary people not want
parliament. Is he eligible enough to
he said he did not consider Alom a to participate in political activities
represent people in parliament? political figure. To him, Hero Alom nowadays? Before trolling Hero Alom
There is no legal bar for him to was just a Facebook celebrity.
for trying to become an MP, these
contest any election in Bangladesh. This brings me back to the
questions need to be answered.
According to Article 66 of the question of Hero Alom’s popularity.
In Bangladesh, after the 90s,
constitution, a Bangladeshi citizen I asked voters in Bogura why democracy has been under constant
who is at least 25 years old can be people voted for Hero Alom. In
stress, with questionable elections
a member of the parliament. The response, many said they voted for
and rampant irregularities
Election Commission accepted Hero him because of emotional reasons,
Alom’s candidature following the committed by elected public
while some others voted for him out
laws of the land. of frustration with the main political
representatives. In this situation, if
After the election results were people want to rely on candidates
parties.
announced, many said Hero Alom They said the MPs who had been like Hero Alom to uphold their
may have lost the polls, but he won elected from the mainstream parties interests, where is the problem?
CROSSWORD BY THOMAS JOSEPH
1 Talk incessantly squeaky 19 Pan, for one
about 40 Wander 20 Blood-hound’s
7 Depend 41 Jordan
clue
neighbor
11 Singer Grande 21 Debate side
12 Lake near 42 Fairy tale 22 Moving truck
Buffalo monster 23 Chow down
13 Place for 43 Fitting
25 Stingy one
ballpark figures
DOWN 28 Not out
15 Survives
29 One of the
16 Chilled 1 Holds
Borgias
18 First-rate 2 Curved path
3 Carnival city 31 Most writing
21 Rain heavily
22 Grand Canal 4 Sitting room 33 Sacred bird of YESTERDAY’S ANSWERS
setting 5 Basket-ball’s Egypt
Shaquille 34 To’s counter-
24 Tire track
6 Arrests part
25 Disfigure
7 Intellect 35 Piece of
26 Stew sphere
lumber
27 Decree 8 Screw up
36 Crew tool
29 Penny 9 Pot part
10 “You bet!” 37 Zodiac animal
30 Nursery group
38 Singer
31 Saucy 14 Mink’s cousin
32 Will names 16 tennis setting Shannon
34 They may be 17 Beat 39 Wily
WRITE FOR US. SEND US YOUR OPINION PIECES TO
dsopinion@gmail.com.
10 HEALTH
DHAKA SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2023
MAGH 22, 1429 BS
starhealth@thedailystar.net

Benefits of brisk walking

for diabetic patients HAVE A NICE DAY
DR NUR-A-SAFRINA RAHMAN Is gratitude
For people with diabetes, walking is a great way to get
some exercise that is both simple and effective. But
really powerful?
we all share the belief that regular, anytime walking DR RUBAIUL MURSHED
is beneficial for managing diabetes. However, recent
studies have suggested that brisk walking may have ‘Ingratitude dries up the fountain of all
more health benefits than walking at a normal pace. goodness,’ - said a French statesman. In
reality, sometimes ingratitude can be more
What is brisk walking? dreadful than revenge. That is why it is said
Physical activity that involves walking at a pace that that gratitude is the best attitude, because
is faster than a leisurely walk and raises the heart it helps us feel happier and more kind to
rate is called brisk walking. A good way to determine others. But is gratitude really powerful?
if you’re walking at a brisk pace is to count 100 steps Indeed, the importance of attitude is the
per minute and check if you can still talk, but not basis for everything in our lives.
sing, during the walk. There are well-known studies on
Following are some guidelines for a brisk walk: the neuroscience of gratitude and its
effects on the brain. They found that the
Warm up: Start with a 5–10-minute warm-up walk ventromedial prefrontal cortex of the
to gradually increase your heart rate and prepare brain controls gratitude, which is related
your body for exercise. to mental health. Gratitude increases
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines are cost-effective and highly efficient tools used to amplify small dopamine and serotonin, the two crucial
segments of DNA or RNA that are selected from the genome using a primer. neurotransmitters responsible for
our emotions in the brain, and
improves our mood immediately,
The DNA lab at Bangladesh giving us positive feelings of
pleasure and well-being from the
inside. It helps people feel more

Shishu Hospital & Institute happy and hopeful, deal nicely

with adversity, and build strong
relationships.

Swing your arms: Swing your arms naturally to help

increase your speed and use more energy.
Focus on posture: Keep your head up, relax
shoulders, and maintain a straight posture to help
you walk more efficiently.
Schedule your time: Identify a certain time each day
and stick to it consistently.
Track your progress: Aim to walk for 30 minutes
or more on most days of the week, gradually
increasing the duration and intensity as you get
more comfortable.
Brisk walking can treat diabetes better than
regular walking for numerous reasons:
• It increases heart rate and blood flow, which
improves insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control.
• Burns more calories than ordinary walking,
which helps manage diabetes by keeping a healthy
weight.
• Lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, lowering
the risk of heart disease.
It is crucial to note that everyone’s fitness level,
health state, and medical problems will determine
the appropriate type and intensity of exercise. Create
a customised fitness plan with a doctor to manage
your diabetes.
The writer is a public health specialist.
E-mail: safrinarahman16@gmail.com
needs to be operational soon
PROF WAQAR A KHAN
Thalassemia is the most common
congenital disorder in Bangladesh.
It is estimated that nearly 14,000
children with thalassemia are born
every year in our country. Ten percent
of our population are carriers of the
disease, while in the tribal population
more than 30% are carriers.
Children suffering from
thalassemia especially thalassemia
major and severe types of Hb E beta-
thalassemia patients, require regular
blood transfusions, some within
fifteen days and others every month.
Regular transfusion of blood leads to
an increase in the content of iron in
the blood, which is toxic and collects
in the major organs of the body like
liver, endocrine glands, etc., leading
to their failure to function. To remove
the iron, one has to be treated with
drugs.
These drugs are expensive and
not affordable by the majority of our
patients. Most of these patients die
early. The psychological and financial
strain are tremendous.
Prenatal diagnosis prevents the
birth of thalassemic children. It is
the best solution to eliminate the
disease. However, efforts to prevent
the birth of thalassemic children by
creating awareness, discouraging
marriage between carriers or identify
carrier couples before marriage, and
offering counselling to separate have
had limited success in Iran and other
countries.
Prenatal diagnosis and abortion
of affected foetuses have been most
effective in preventing the birth
of thalassemic children as seen in
many countries of the world, like
Cyprus, Greece, and Iran (after the
introduction of prenatal procedure).
Prenatal diagnosis is the only way
to know before birth whether the
foetus has thalassemia or not, and
abortion is advised if the foetus has
thalassemia, but the final decision is
with the parents to make a choice.
Bangladesh Shishu Hospital had
a DNA lab for prenatal diagnosis of
mothers where both the couples were
carriers and abortion was advised
if the foetus tested positive for
thalassemic.
Unfortunately, as the machines
are out of order, DNA analysis as a
prenatal diagnosis procedure has
stopped for the last one year (the lab
was established about five years ago).
Earlier, a total of three hundred
prenatal procedures were done.
Couples were getting aware of this
procedure and its use was increasing,
particularly among parents having
thalassemic children.
This has affected many poor
couples who cannot afford the cost
of a private lab. The service needs to
be reinstated at the tertiary institute
like Bangladesh Shishu Hospital &
Institute soon for the prevention of
thalassemia in Bangladesh.
The writer is the former President of Dhaka
Shishu Hospital Thalassaemia Centre.
Email: waqarkind@gmail.com
According to the Huntsman
Mental Health Institute, gratitude
has psychological (happier), physical
(fitter), and social (better) benefits. It’s
not happiness that brings gratitude;
it’s gratitude that brings happiness.
Gratitude is more than thanking others
or ourselves, mother nature, or the
Almighty; it acknowledges all living
beings in any form and eventually can
enlighten the mind and make us feel
more content.
Many of us do not try to realise the
advantages of a ‘Grateful Mindset’. Our
mixed (good and bad) technological
advancements and too many materialistic
senses of overwhelm frequently blind
us to life’s simple blisses and happiness.
Gratitude boosts happiness. It is the
spark that ignites a spirit of pleasure in
our mind, that spreads to the body.
Happiness cannot be owned naturally,
it needs to be developed and earned
through the experience of living every day
with ‘giving, forgiving, and gratitude,’-
all of which together can be termed as
‘Kindness’.
E-mail: rubaiulmurshed@shomman.org

Development of health sector after

independence of Bangladesh
PROF DR M U KABIR CHOWDHURY
Bangladesh is often cited globally for
its success stories in the health sector.
One example is family planning
through fertility regulation. The
first post-independence National
Population Census of 1974 found
that the total fertility rate (TFR) was
6.9 per women; after a decade, the
TFR dropped from 3.3 births per
woman in the 1990s to 2.3 in 2011. In
2019 the TFR in Bangladesh was said
to be 2.
Bangladesh has developed
an Expanded Programme on
Immunisation (EPI) under which
child population is vaccinated
mainly against tuberculosis,
diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus,
hepatitis, Haemophilus influenza
type B, poliomyelitis, pneumonia,
and measles. Bangladesh received a
UN award in 2010 for reducing the
child mortality rate.
Bangladesh also improved in child
nutrition during past few decades.
Bangladesh has 111 Medical colleges
which is praiseworthy development
in medical education.
After liberation, our child
mortality rate dropped from 221
deaths per 1,000 live-births in 1972
to 38 deaths per 1,000 live births in
recent years according to a report by
the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease
Control and Research (IEDCR) in
2019. It has also shown impressive
improvements in population health
status by achieving United Nation’s
Millennium Development Goal
(MDG) 4 by reducing child deaths
before the 2015 target.
In the COVID-19 era, with
the strong hand of the Govt. of
Bangladesh, it has controlled the
pandemic better than many other
countries in terms of both affected
sufferers with low death rates.
According to the World Health
Organisation of quality healthcare
ranking, Bangladesh ranked 88th,
which is better than any of the
SAARC countries.
But the healthcare system in
the country still lacks availability,
equality, and reliability, which
should be brought to light and taken
into accounts. The immediate need,
however, is to improve the quality
of healthcare in Bangladesh for all
classes of citizens.
Because of low income and social
stigma associated with visiting a
doctor, poor and rural people are
deprived of health care. Richer and
urban people can reach health care
services earlier and quicker because
of better socioeconomic conditions.
To overcome these discrepancies, we
are badly in need of health insurance
for all citizens of the country.
The Government of Bangladesh
has a plan to introduce a public
health card system along with a
coalition with NGOs working in rural
areas and vulnerable groups that
would be inclusive of marginalised
groups, enabling them to access
community healthcare services.
The author recently received Mahatma
Gandhi International Peace Award 2023
for special contribution to the Great War of
Liberation and medical services.

Five billion people unprotected from

trans-fat leading to heart disease
STAR HEALTH DESK

Five billion people globally remain unprotected from harmful trans-fat, a

new status report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has found,
increasing their risk of heart disease and death.
Since WHO first called for the global elimination of industrially
produced trans-fat in 2018 – with an elimination target set for 2023;
population coverage of best-practice policies has increased almost six-
fold. Forty-three countries have now implemented best-practice policies
for tackling trans-fat in food, with 2.8 billion people protected globally.
Despite substantial progress, however, this still leaves 5 billion worldwide
at risk from trans-fat’s devastating health impacts with the global goal for
its total elimination in 2023 remaining unattainable at this time.
Industrially produced trans-fat (also called industrially produced
trans-fatty acids) is commonly found in packaged foods, baked goods,
cooking oils and spreads. Trans-fat intake is responsible for up to
5,00,000 premature deaths from coronary heart disease each year
around the world. Best-practices in trans-fat elimination policies follow
specific criteria established by WHO and limit industrially produced
trans-fat in all settings.
There are two best-practice policy alternatives: 1) mandatory national
limit of 2 grams of industrially produced trans-fat per 100 grams of
total fat in all foods; and 2) mandatory national ban on the production
or use of partially hydrogenated oils (a major source of trans fat) as an
ingredient in all foods.
In 2023, WHO recommends that countries focus on these four areas:
adopting best-practice policy, monitoring and surveillance, healthy oil
replacements and advocacy. WHO guidance has been developed to help
countries make rapid advances in these areas.
 DHAKA SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2023, MAGH 22, 1429 BS
T Sports English Premier League Live from 10:30 pm
ILT20 Nottingham Forest vs Sony Sports 2
Dubai Capitals vs Leeds United Bundesliga
MI Emirates Live from 8:00 pm Wolfsburg vs Bayern
Live from 8:00 pm Tottenham Hotspurs vs Munich
Star Sports Select HD1 Manchester City Live from 10:30 pm

Taskin to be fit Abahani hand Sk Jamal

for England series season’s first defeat
SPORTS REPORTER SPORTS REPORTER

National selectors are unworried by
the fact that pacer Taskin Ahmed
has been sidelined by an injury in the
ongoing Bangladesh Premier League
and are hopeful the speedster will be
available before the upcoming home
series against England.
Taskin was sidelined after picking
up a side strain during his last game
for Dhaka Dominators, against
Rangpur Riders on January 30 at the
Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
“We are not worried about Taskin
Ahmed despite him not playing in the
BPL because we were informed that he
would be fit before the England series,”
chief selector Minhajul Abedin Nannu
told the media yesterday.
However according to Dhaka
Dominators team manager Mehrab
Hossain Opee, the pacer is expected
to recover ahead of their last group-
stage game against Chattogram
Challengers on February 7.
“We are hopeful that Taskin will be
available for the last group game of
the BPL on February 7. However, it all
depends on the fitness test ahead of
the game,” Mehrab said.
A white-ball home series against
England, including three ODIs and as
many T20Is, starts from March 1.
When it comes to the Dhaka Abahani closed the gap with runaway
local contingent coming league leaders Bashundhara Kings as they made
to the party in this Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club suffer their
first defeat of the Bangladesh Premier League’s
ongoing Bangladesh
Premier League, no ongoing season in Gopalganj on Saturday.
The 2-1 win takes still-undefeated Abahani to 18
player has managed to
create a greater impact points after eight games, six behind Kings, while
Sheikh Jamal dropped close to mid-table, with 12
on a consistent basis
points in seven outings.
than Sylhet Strikers’ Elsewhere yesterday, at the Bashundhara
Towhid Hridoy. On Friday Kings Arena in Dhaka, Sheikh Russel KC edged
against Rangpur Riders,
past bottom dwellers AFC Uttara 1-0 and moved
the 22-year-old starred into fifth spot of the 11-team table, courtesy of a
again, smashing 13 fours
spot-kick conversion by Didier Brossou, while two
and two sixes to notch goals by Almazbek Malikov and Mateo Palacios on
up his fifth half-century either side of interval against Rahmatganj MFS
of the tournament and in Mymensingh took Bangladesh Police level on
reaching the top of the points with Sheikh Jamal.
BPL run-getters charts At the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium, the
with 373 runs. He scored game was one-sided from the onset as Abahani
an unbeaten 85 off 57 created a flurry of chances, resulting in the first
deliveries at a strike rate goal once Yousef Mohammad had the ball near the
far-right touchline in the 10th minute. The Syrian
of 149.12.
midfielder easily left his marker on the ground
PHOTO: FIROZ AHMED with a feigned cross before whipping a left-footed
curler, headed in by Peter Nworah.
Abahani widened the margin in the 34th minute
with Nworah in the act again, assisting Daniel
Colindres. Sheikh Jamal expressed themselves in
the second half and were duly rewarded as their
No.9 Cornelius Stewart coolly converted a penalty.

Federer to ‘A majority just don’t use Milan in freefall

return at
Wimbledon?
AGENCIES, London
The last time Roger Federer visited
Wimbledon -- in late November -- he
was denied entry by an overzealous
security guard who wanted to see his
membership card.
The All England Club however,
now finds themselves courting
Federer for a commentary role at the
tournament he won eight times.
Talks to bring Federer into a
revamped BBC production are at
an advanced stage, English outlets
reported.
Federer hinted at his possible
availability in September, on the eve
of the Laver Cup event in London
that saw him retire from professional
tennis. “Commentating the odd
match or giving back in this way,
I guess I could imagine it,” he told
reporters. “Sometimes you watch
matches because of the commentary
and less about the match itself.”
“Two different employers would
help to cover Federer’s costs, which
– for a man who used to command
at least $1m per day for an exhibition
event – are likely to be substantial,”
one report mentioned.
This year, the coverage will be
missing Sue Barker – the evergreen
presenter who retired last summer
after 22 years in the anchor’s chair –
and Boris Becker, who is not expected
to be re-engaged after being released
from prison in December.
their brains’
SPORTS REPORTER
The main purpose of the Bangladesh
Premier League (BPL) was to create a
platform that local players could use
to showcase their talents while also
strengthening the national team’s pipeline,
but although a few young players have
emerged, Comilla Victorians head coach
Mohammad Salahuddin believes a lack of
common sense from local cricketers is the
biggest reason Bangladeshi players have
not taken the next step.
The prominent coach highlighted
the poor mindset of the local cricketers,
especially among those who have
experience and talent but have been unable
to utilise opportunities, opining that not
using their brains was the reason foreign
players still towered above.
“What I expect from local players is to
apply simple common sense. But I doubt
whether they have that common sense. If
you have been playing for over 15 years in
domestic cricket in Mirpur, I think you need
to know what to do in different situations. I
am very disappointed by the mindset of the
cricketers. At times, I wonder whether they
even think about the game. If you compare
our local players to Mohammad Rizwan,
some have less limitations than him or
maybe they can hit harder. But whenever
they go out, things are quite the opposite,”
Salahuddin lamented.
“I have said previously that some players
in our country play with their brain but a
majority just don’t. When the question is
common, they do well. But if anything is
from outside their syllabus, they can’t. That
is very disappointing. When you have been
playing for over 10-12 years you need to
have some common sense.”
When queried whether fears of losing
their place in the team added extra pressure
on the local players and perhaps held them
back, Bangladesh’s former fielding coach
put the spotlight back on their knowledge
of the game.
“I don’t think it’s the fear factor. They
have less knowledge about cricket. They
don’t know what to do in different pitches
and situations. When everything is in my
control, why would I do something that
could lead to trouble? Until you grow this
awareness… I don’t know when will they
learn the game, only the Almighty knows.”
In order to improve the quality of
cricketers, Salahuddin urged drastic
changes in coaching from the grassroot
levels, opining that the time had come for
a complete reboot of the coaching system.
“If you have poor grammar, you won’t
be able to comprehend an English essay.
A majority of players are dependent on
coaches and follow whatever the coach
says. But a coach won’t go out and play.
That is when their brains freeze. It’s a
failure of the system. I think the computer
is not set properly. This needs to be done
from childhood.
“If we are able to give them freedom,
then this problem won’t arise. I think the
problem is more from the coaches’ side.
There is no point blaming the players if,
at one point, the brain does not respond
properly. If we can change the coaching
methods from childhood, then things
might work,” he added.
ahead of Inter
clash
REUTERS
Defending champions AC Milan play local rivals
Inter on Sunday looking to emerge from a mid-
season slump that has left them without a win in
six games in all competitions and dropped them
out of the Serie A title race.
Milan have won their last two Serie A derbies
against Inter and are looking to make it three in
a row against their rivals for the first time since a
run of four straight league victories between 2002
and 2004.
After Milan prevailed 3-2 in the reverse fixture
back in September, they could also do a league
double over Inter for the first time since the 2010-
11 campaign.
Yet Stefano Pioli’s side are deep in crisis and
without a win in four Serie A games, culminating
in a 5-2 thrashing at home against 16th-placed
Sassuolo in their last league outing.
Sunday’s clash also comes a little over two
weeks after Inter humiliated Milan 3-0 in Italy’s
Supercup. Pioli’s side have conceded 12 goals in
their last three games and let in 18 in the whole of
January - the most they have ever conceded in a
single month in all competitions.
Inter have had their own recent hiccups, losing
1-0 to mid-table Empoli, and drawing with Monza
shortly after the season resumed in January. Yet
last weekend’s win over Cremonese moved them
up to second in the standings.
“Derbies are special matches,” Inter manager
Simone Inzaghi said. “Milan is in a moment that
is not positive, but we’re talking about the Italian
champions which made it to the Champions
League last-16 after a long time. ” Inzaghi also
mentioned that defender Milan Skriniar will
no longer wear the captain’s armband with the
Slovakia international set to leave the Serie A club
for free at the end of the season.

London braces for Haaland-

Kane showdown
AGENCIES
Manchester City manager Pep
Guardiola is relishing a battle of two
of the best strikers in the English
Premier League when his side travel
to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
City’s Norwegian star Erling
Haaland has been a hotshot in front
of goal in his first season in the
English top flight, leading the Golden
Boot race with 25 goals so far, while
Spurs’ English talisman Harry Kane
is second on 16.
Kane is also seeking to score one
more goal to become Tottenham’s
outright top scorer of all time
after he equalled Jimmy
Greaves on 266 goals late
in January.
The clash in north
London will likely be
one with plenty of
firepower from both
men, and Guardiola
was full of praise for the
duo, especially for Kane.
“We are extremely
happy with Erling Haaland and,
of course, I think Tottenham are
extremely happy with Harry Kane,”
he said.
“What an exceptional player. What
Harry Kane has done is amazing, the
goals, the quality he has. Harry Kane
remains one of the best strikers I have
seen in my life. Not even winning. It
doesn’t matter.
“I think Tottenham are happy to
have him. We are extremely happy to
have this young player like Erling that
I think is going to give
us many good years.”
City are hoping
for a win to keep the
pressure on Premier
League leaders Arsenal
but Guardiola has lost
all four of his visits to the
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in all
competitions.
When asked about his game
plan to counter this, he simply said:
“Because they were better than us.
We played decent games (but) missed
penalties.
“Now with Antonio Conte (in
charge), the quality they have up
front, the organisation – they’re a
tough opponent, always have been in
the last few years.
The CIty boss confirmed that Phil
Foden is back in contention for the
clash after recovering from a foot
injury, while John Stones could be
out for up to a month after suffering
a hamstring issue in the FA Cup win
over Arsenal on Jan 28.
“It’s three weeks, one month (out),”
said Guardiola. “Unfortunately, a lot
of games.”
Spurs boss Conte will be absent
from the touchline as he recovers
from a surgery to remove his
gallbladder.
The Italian is recovering well, said
his assistant Cristian Stellini, but
there is no timeline for his return.
Conte joins long-term absentee
Lucas Moura, who is still struggling
with a tendon problem, in the
treatment room while Richarlison is
available after recovering from injury.
On whether fullback Pedro Porro,
who signed for Spurs on loan from
Sporting Lisbon on deadline day, James Tarkowski celebrates after his header gave Everton the perfect start under new manager Sean Dyche,
could make his debut, Stellini said the beating Premier League leaders Arsenal 1-0 at Goodison Park yesterday. This was Arsenal’s second defeat of the
23-year-old could be in contention. season while Everton got out of the relegation zone with their first win in 11 games. PHOTO: AFP

12 DHAKA SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2023, MAGH 22, 1429 BS
‘We have
no place for
wrongdoers’
Quader warns
partymen
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Awami League General
Secretary Obaidul Quader
has said those who extort,
grab land or run drug
trades using the party’s
identity do not have a place
in the organisation.
Asking the party leaders
and activists to follow
discipline, he said, “If
you want to be in Awami
League, you must follow
the party discipline. Sheikh
Hasina works for the people
as did Bangabandhu before
her.”
Quader said this while
addressing a “peace rally”
yesterday, organised by
the Dhaka city (South)
AL on the premises of
Kamrangirchar Hospital,
protesting the BNP-
Jamaat’s “terrorism and
anarchy”.
“Form committees with
devoted activists. One bad
person can damage the
party’s image...,” he added.
Quader, also the road
SEE PAGE 6 COL 2
Investigate
allegations of
rights abuses
against cops
HRW urges govt
UNB, Dhaka
Human Rights Watch
has said the Bangladesh
authorities should
investigate recent
allegations of enforced
disappearances and
torture, including by
members of the Detective
Branch of police.
“Bangladesh’s Detective
Branch has previously been
implicated in allegations
of grave human rights
abuses by local human
rights groups, including
enforced disappearances
and torture,” Meenakshi
Ganguly, South Asia
director at Human Rights
Watch, said on Friday.
The New York-based
rights watchdog said
allegations of torture in
Bangladesh are rarely
investigated or prosecuted.
Following a review in July
2019, the UN Committee
against Torture described
the Bangladesh police as
a “state within a state,”
asserting that “in general,
one got the impression that
the police, as well as other
law enforcement agencies,
were able to operate
with impunity and zero
accountability”.
Only one case of torture
has ever been convicted
under Bangladesh’s
Torture and Custodial
Death (Prevention) Act
SEE PAGE 6 COL 4
City
Tigers take reins
of forest station
for 20 hours!
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Forest guards confined themselves to their station
in Sarankhola range of Sundarbans for 20 hours
as three tigers roamed the turf.
The big cats were first seen in the area under
Supati Station around 3:00pm on Friday and
stayed on the premises till 11:00am yesterday.
A wildlife expert said this was quite unusual
behaviour for tigers as they are typically secretive
and territorial.
Mohammad Shamsul Arefin, assistant
conservator of forests (ACF) of East Sundarbans
Sharankhola Range, told The Daily Star that two
tigers first came to the Chandeshwar Forest Office
area on Friday afternoon. They drank water from
the pond and then lazed around the premises.
Later another tiger joined them at night.
The once vast Bhairab river in Jashore’s Noapara has now been reduced almost to a narrow channel due to extensive encroachment. With Arefin said the tigers generally come to drink
water from the pond and do so inconspicuously,
the river losing its navigability alarmingly fast, the district’s commercial hub is on the verge of losing many businesses and employment.
The photo was taken at the Noapara Bhairab Bridge yesterday. PHOTO: HABIBUR RAHMAN SEE PAGE 6 COL 1
PRICE HIKE OF ESSENTIALS EXTORTION MONEY
Concrete traps
The poor have their ‘DU BCL men’ CO2 soaked from
vandalise shop air in climate-
back against the wall DU CORRESPONDENT
Supporters of a Dhaka University Chhatra friendly test
Rice, flour, soyabean oil prices soar by up League leader have allegedly vandalised
a shop at Bangabazar after its owner REUTERS, San Jose
to around 20 percent in a year refused to pay extortion money last week.
The owner of the shop said after failing A California startup using rocks to soak up
MAHBUBUR more cuts do we to extort him, Imdadul Hasan Shohagh, carbon dioxide from the air has teamed up with
RAHMAN KHAN Jan 31-2022 Jan 31-2023
need to make?” general secretary of Amar Ekushey Hall a Canadian company to mineralize the gas in
(in taka) (in taka) said Wahab. Chhatra League, called him on January concrete, a technological tie-up that is a first and
Abdul Wahab, a
Rice (1 kg) 68 75 He had to 30 and said he wanted to see him. they say could provide a model for fighting climate
security guard
sell his clothing The man, who owns a shop that sells change globally.
at an ATM booth
Flour (1 kg) 45 75 business in water jars, told The Daily Star, “Imdadul
of a private bank
Sadarghat 10 hurled abuse at me and asked me to meet
in the capital, Soyabean oil (5-litre bottle) 780 880 years back. him. When I said I wouldn’t, he threatened
works 16 hours
Finding no me with dire consequences. ‘Do not call
a day. Egg (per dozen) 114 135 other source me over the phone if my men vandalise
He and his
of income, he your shop’,” the businessman quoted
two sons earn a Potato (1 kg) 18 30 then had to start
total of about Tk Imdadul as saying.
Sugar (1kg) 78 120 working as a The shop owner also gave this
40,000 a month,
security guard. correspondent an audio clip of what he
but his nine-
member family
Chicken (broiler 1 kg) 150 160 Like Wahab’s, said was the conversation between him
most middle- and Imdadul.
is still struggling Beef (1 kg) 600 700 and low-income “‘Where are you? I have been looking for
to make ends
families in the you. I want to see how powerful you are’,”
meet as living
country are the shop owner said, quoting Imdadul.
costs have surged.
forced to compromise on their standard of When the owner told Imdadul that they UN scientists concluded that removing billions
“We cannot even think of saving money.
living due to high inflation. of tons of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere,
Rather, we sometimes need to borrow … it could meet over a cup of tea at Gulistan,
The government on Tuesday increased in addition to cutting current emissions, will be
becomes very difficult to meet daily expenses Imdadul got angry. When the owner
the electricity price for the second time in a necessary to limit climate change. To do that, two
when any of my family members falls sick,” asked Imdadul why they should meet, the
month. things are needed: first, capturing carbon dioxide
Wahab said while eating rice and fried egg for According to a report of the Consumers BCL leader said, “Do I need to explain the
breakfast at the resting room inside the ATM reason over the phone? I have sent some with nature or technology, and second, locking it
Association of Bangladesh (CAB), middle- up for centuries.
booth on Monday morning. income people have suffered the most boys… They will do whatever needs to be
Companies are springing up to do both.
The 60-year-old, who earns Tk 12,250 a throughout 2022 as the average annual done.”
Heirloom Carbon Technologies delivered
month, described how the situation worsened inflation rate was 11.08 percent in Dhaka city The next day, a group of men went to
about 30 kg (66 lb) of CO2 collected from the air
gradually in recent months. that year. the shop at Bangabazar and vandalised it,
around its San Francisco Bay Area headquarters
The family’s monthly expenses for house The study was prepared on the basis of the businessman said.
to neighboring Central Concrete, a Vulcan
rent in Gandaria have gone up by Tk 2,000 monthly price data of 141 food items, 49 non- “Before vandalising the shop, they Materials’ VMC.N subsidiary that on Wednesday
from Tk 13,000 last month. food products and 25 services. The data was demanded extortion money from me. incorporated the gas into new concrete. That’s
The expenses for food, school stationery, collected from 11 markets in the Dhaka north They said everybody gave money and I equivalent to tailpipe emissions of driving about
medicine and transport have also increased, and south city corporation areas. should too.” 75 miles (120 km) in a car.
said the security guard, adding that his family Among the major items considered for Allegations of extortion against The joint effort between Heirloom and Canada’s
already cut the food intake to cope with the the CAB report were rice, flour, pulse, bakery Imdadul also made headlines in March CarbonCure Technologies was the first time that
rising living costs. products, sugar, fish, eggs, domestic poultry, 2022 when he and several other BCL leaders carbon dioxide absorbed from the atmosphere
“I’ve heard that the power price has gone edible oil, imported fruits, vegetables, spices, reportedly asked several businessmen of using such Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology
up. I don’t know how much more I will have to tea, coffee, local and imported milk, washing Anandabazar to pay them Tk 10 lakh a had been secured in concrete, where the CO2 will
pay from next month for this increase. What SEE PAGE 6 COL 5 SEE PAGE 6 COL 1 stay put for centuries, several scientists said.