e_Paper, Tuesday, November 22, 2016

SECOND EDITION 

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2016 | Agrahayan 8, 1423, Safar 21, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 205 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10 

Rajshahi do the double over Dhaka › 24 

When protectors turn 

predators › 2 

Suicide blast at Kabul Shia mosque kills 30 › 8 

Armed Force Day celebrated › 3 

SN Rasul’s column The World 

in Parentheses › 21

2 

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2016 

DT 

News 

When protectors turn predators 

• Syed Samiul Basher Anik and 

Mohammad Jamil Khan 

DEPARTMENTAL ACTION 

JANUARY 2011 TO OCTOBER 2016 

MAJOR PUNISHMENT FOR 4,033 OFFICIALS 

● Among them, 623 officials were suspended 

permanently. Of them, 72 were sent to forced 

retirement while 551 were suspended 

● Punishments include suspension, forced retirement, demotion, 

cancellation of increment and special badges 

● The number of suspension was 76 in 2015, while it was 

80 in 2014, 76 in 2013, 188 in 2012, 127 in 2011 

MILD PUNISHMENT FOR 71,770 OFFICIALS 

● Punishments include deduction of salary, warning 

against responsible officials 

Luck was not on their side on November 

18 when two on-duty police 

constables intercepted a rickshaw 

van and snatched Tk44,000 

from an egg dealer. One of the two 

policemen was caught red-handed 

on the spot. 

The Tejgaon Egg Traders Multipurpose 

Cooperative Society’s 

President Amanat Ullah said police 

snatch money from egg traders 

every month from city’s Karwan 

Bazar, Jahangir Gate and Mohakhali 

Flyover areas in the early morning. 

Asked why they do not file complaints, 

he said: “We know it very 

well that recovery of our money is 

impossible as the crimes are committed 

by those who are supposed 

to be our protectors.” 

On January 9 this year, Bangladesh 

Bank Assistant Director Golam 

Rabbi were brutally tortured 

by Mohammadpur police station’s 

Sub-Inspector Masud Sikder and 

was reportedly threatened with 

killing in crossfire when he refused 

to pay the police official 

Tk500,000. 

The same month, some patrol 

police members tortured Dhaka 

South City Corporation Inspector 

Bikash Chandra Dash in Dholairpar 

area. The only “fault” of Bikash 

was that he was ordered by the police 

officer to pull over but he was a 

little late to do so. 

On November 17, a lawyer named 

Shahjahan Molla filed a case with a 

Dhaka court, accusing a police sergeant 

of extorting money from him 

by seizing his motorbike documents. 

Involvement of a section of law 

enforcers in such criminal acts, including 

abduction for money, extortion 

and narcotics smuggling, has 

now become a matter of great concern 

for city dwellers, say sources at 

the Police Headquarters, criminologists 

and human rights experts. 

Usually most of the complaints 

are filed against officials ranked 

between constables and sub-inspectors; 

however, the number of 

complaints against inspectors and 

assistant superintendents of police 

is no less, data from the Police 

Headquarters suggest. 

According to experts, police officials’ 

tendency to consider themselves 

above the law has worsened 

the law and order in Bangladesh to 

some extent. 

Experts think suspension and 

other low-intensity departmental 

actions do not work in combating 

crimes by police. 

According to the police ordinance, 

the authorities can take 

different types of actions against 

an accused police official including 

reprimand and suspension. 

Major punishments for policemen 

include suspension, forced 

retirement, demotion, cancellation 

of increment and cancellation of 

rank badge while punishments for 

petty crimes include salary deduction 

and reprimand or warning. 

According to Police Headquarters, 

a total of 61 officials have been 

suspended from their job during 

January-August of the current year. 

Of them, five were sent on forced 

retirement while the rest have 

faced only suspension. 

During these eight months 

around 8,736 officials – from constables 

to sub-inspectors – have 

had to face light punishments 

while 363 have been handed out 

major punishments besides suspension. 

According to the security cell of 

the Police Headquarters, a total of 

623 police officials were suspended 

permanently in the past six years: 

72 were sent on forced retirement 

while 551 faced suspension. 

Of these 623 officials, 608 are 

constables and sub-inspectors, two 

inspectors and 13 are assistant superintendents 

of police. 

During this period, a total of 

71,770 police officials have been 

given light punishment while major 

punishment was ensured for 4,033. 

The number of suspension was 

76 in 2015 while it was 80 the previous 

year, 76 in 2013, 188 in 2012, 

and 127 in 2011, the data of the security 

cell shows. 

Police Headquarters sources said 

the number of allegations of criminal 

activities against police is much 

higher as the data does not provide 

how many complaints it has received; 

it rather only illustrates how 

many of the officials are punished 

Source: Police Sources 

Asmaul Hoque Mamun/DT Infographic 

Involvement of 

a section of law 

enforcers in such 

criminal acts, 

including abduction 

for money, extortion 

and narcotics 

smuggling, has now 

become a matter 

of great concern 

for city dwellers, 

say sources at the 

Police Headquarters, 

criminologists and 

human rights expert 

after probe found them guilty. 

The other reason as to why the 

data cannot display the correct figure 

of crimes committed by police 

is most of the victims do not want 

to take the risk of filing complaints 

against police fearing further harassment, 

the sources added. 

Asked why top officials are not 

being punished, the Police Headquarters 

sources said it is the Home 

Ministry that can punish ASPs and 

other upper level officials. 

“The Police Headquarters has 

only the authority to adopt recommendations 

to the Home Ministry 

to take action,” said a source. 

Criminologists and human 

rights experts told the Dhaka Tribune 

that the culture of impunity 

has led to this situation. 

Dhaka University criminology 

department Chairman Zia Rahman 

said such incidents of crime continue 

to go on as police officials are 

rarely tried for their crimes. 

Crimes committed by police also 

came up during a live Facebook 

discussion on November 2 with 

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) 

Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia 

answering questions. 

As people from different strata 

of society raised the allegations 

of involvement of police crimes, 

Asaduzzaman Mia said: “I am not 

saying police do not extort money. 

People from other professionals 

also do. But the police high-ups 

regularly monitor so that police 

do not extort money. Stern action 

would be taken if allegation against 

any official is found true.” 

When approached by the Dhaka 

Tribune former chairman of the National 

Human Rights Commission 

Mizanur Rahman said incidents of 

impunity inspire the police to be 

more careless, which ultimately 

leads to more crimes by them. 

“To ensure public safety, repetition 

of such incidents should be 

stopped immediately and all the 

criminals should be brought to justice,” 

he said. 

The former NHRC boss recommended 

continuous surveillance 

and bringing the offenders to justice 

to curb such crimes. 

Inspector General of Police AKM 

Shahidul Hoque said the number 

of such officials is very small and 

the authorities take strict measures 

against those found guilty of 

crimes. 

Home Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman 

Khan Kamal also said 

no one would be spared if found 

guilty. 

Actions will be taken against 

guilty people under the existing 

law of the country, he added. 

The Anti-Corruption Commission 

has recently asked the government 

to constitute a Criminal 

Justice Commission as a watchdog 

to monitor police actions to make 

sure that people get justice. 

In its annual report for 2015 

submitted to President Abdul 

Hamid on October 24, the 

commission says there is no 

effective mechanism in place to 

monitor the internal activities of 

the police force and take necessary 

actions accordingly on receiving 

complaints from people. • 

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

News 3 


DT 

President Abdul Hamid Khan offers his respect to the martyrs of the Liberation War by laying a wreath at Shikha Anirban (The Eternal Flame) on Armed Forces Day . (Right) Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina signs her 

name on the visitors book at the Dhaka Cantonment after paying respect to the martyrs of the Liberation War on the same occasion 

BSS 

Armed Forces Day 

celebrated 

• Tribune Desk 

The Armed Forces Day was observed 

yesterday throughout the 

country. 

Special prayers were said at 

dawn at military bases all over the 

country. 

President Abdul Hamid and 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited 

the Shikha Anirban (Eternal 

Flame) and placed floral wreaths in 

memory of the martyrs of the Liberation 

War. 

Chief of Army Staff General Abu 

Belal Muhammad Shafiul Haque, 

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral M 

Nizamuddin Ahmad, Chief of Air 

Staff Air Chief Marshal Abu Esrar 

and Principal Staff Officer of Armed 

Forces Division Lt Gen Md Mahfuzur 

Rahman, who accompanied 

the president and the prime minister, 

jointly presented floral wreath 

on behalf of their respective forces. 

The three armed forces separately 

presented guards of honour 

to the president and the prime minister 

as well. 

Later, the prime minister awarded 

freedom fighters and the families 

of the martyred freedom fighters 

at the Armed Forces Division, 

where she distributed identity 

cards to 20 living freedom fighters. 

The Bahini Padak (forces medals) 

and Osamanya Seba Padak 

(outstanding service medals) were 

bestowed upon five officers of the 

armed forces to honour their service 

and dedication. 

The prime minister later met 

with the families of the freedom 

fighters for tea. 

To mark the Armed Forces Day, 

the army and air force chiefs will 

honour decorated freedom fighters 

from their own branches at separate 

receptions on Tuesday. 

The navy chief celebrated decorated 

freedom fighters from the 

navy at a reception held on Monday. 

A total of 21 highest gallantry 

award-recipient freedom fighters 

from Bangladesh Navy and their 

successors yesterday were honoured. 

In order to mark the nations 46 

Armed Forces Day, the Bangladesh 

Navy arranged for some ships to be 

kept open to visitors from 2:00 pm 

to 4:30 pm in Sadarghat (Dhaka), 

Narayanganj, Chittagong, Khulna, 

Mongla and Barisal. 

“Bangladesh Navy often take 

such initiatives during different 

festivals or occasions including the 

Armed Forces Day. This time, ‘BNS 

Adomya’ has been kept open for 

the visitors with a view to providing 

basic concepts about naval life 

and activities to the country’s mass 

people,” said an executive official 

of the ship who was not authorised 

to speak before the media. • 

PM: AL never uses armed force to 

capture power 

• BSS 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday 

said her party never used the 

armed forces as a tool for capturing 

power, rather wanted to build it as 

a strong, disciplined and dignified 

force. 

“Awami League believes in democracy, 

so the party never used the 

armed forces as a tool for capturing 

power or did anything to instigate 

a coup and killing in the force,” she 

said, adding that the Bangladesh 

Armed Force originated from the War 

of Liberation is a pride of the nation. 

The prime minister said this at a 

reception organised at Senakunja, 

Dhaka Cantonment in the afternoon 

marking the Bangladesh Armed Forces 

Day 2016. 

Sheikh Hasina said whenever it 

came to power the Awami League 

worked for the development of the 

armed forces and welfare of its members. 

The party wanted to build a 

strong armed force to be reputed at 

home and abroad. 

Congratulating the members of 

the armed forces on the occasion, she 

urged them to be imbued with the 

ideals and spirit of the Armed Forces 

Day to work together for the nation. 

Highlighting special significance 

of the day in the history of War of Liberation 

of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina 

said the valiant fighters of the army, 

navy and air force launched joint attacks 

on the occupational force on 

this day in 1971. 

As a result, the devastating occupation 

force was compelled to 

surrender amid united assault of the 

Freedom Fighters and Allied Force, 

she said. 

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, 

cabinet members, leader of 

the Opposition Begum Rowshan Ershad, 

parliament members, chiefs of 

three the services, members of the 

Bangladesh Armed Forces and their 

spouses, leaders of different political 

parties, professionals and diplomats 

attended the reception. 

After addressing the audience, the 

prime minister moved round the venue 

of the reception and exchanged 

pleasantries with the army officials 

and their family members, diplomats 

and other guests. 

Lauding the role of Bangladesh 

Armed Forces at home and abroad in 

nation building activities and peace 

keeping, the prime minister said their 

professionalism and competence 

transcended across the globe. 

They have brightened the country’s 

image at the international level 

through their relentless services. •

4 


DT 

News 

‘ Disciplinary guidelines for 

electronic media soon’ 

• Kamrul Hasan 

The government is aiming to 

strictly implement the Broadcast 

Commission and Act from the beginning 

of 2017 in order to better 

regulate electronic media, Information 

Minister Hasanul Haque 

Inu has said. 

The minister made the statement 

in response to points discussed 

by the speakers at a round 

table on World Television Day organised 

by Media Museum of Bangladesh 

in Dhaka, yesterday. 

On August 7, 2014, the Ministry 

of Information published a gazette 

on the National Broadcast Policy, 

2014 for television and radio and 

BB monitoring 

Inqilab editor’s 

financial 

transaction 


Bangladesh Bank is monitoring the 

financial activities and bank transactions 

of Maulana AMM Bahauddin, 

the editor of the daily Inqilab. 

The central bank recently asked 

its respective departments to monitor 

foreign currency exchange 

activities of Bahauddin, son of Inqilab 

founder Maulana Abdul Mannan, 

in order to prevent him from 

laundering money abroad, as apprehended 

by the Prime Minister’s 

Office in a confidential report. 

In a recent letter, the central bank 

informed the Bank and Financial 

Institutions Division (BFID) of the 

Finance Ministry that Bangladesh 

Bank’s Foreign Exchange Investment 

Department, Foreign Exchange 

Policy Department, and Foreign Exchange 

Operation Department were 

instructed to thwart any attempt of 

money laundering by Bahauddin. 

On November 14 the BB Operational 

Head Debaprasad Debnath, 

sent the letter to BFID Deputy Secretary. 

The letter reads, “As per the 

suggestion of a confidential PMO 

report dated August 22, related 

departments of BB have been instructed 

accordingly.” 

Citing a BFID memorandum, the 

BB letter obtained by the Dhaka 

Tribune, also reads: “There is no 

legal way to send money – obtained 

by selling patrimonial properties or 

immovable assets – to abroad without 

prior permission of Bangladesh 

Bank. All the related departments of 

the central bank were instructed to 

take steps so that Bahauddin cannot 

launder money to abroad.” • 

on December 23, 2014, the government 

formed a 38-member committee 

to draft the Broadcast Act. 

Later five other members joined 

the committee where it was recommended 

that a law be formulated. 

The minister elaborated on the 

importance of the act: “We hope 

that by early 2017 this commission 

and act will be able to give security 

to journalist and bring discipline to 

the sector. Editors and journalists 

will get regular training to better 

their craft enabling them to present 

news of global standards and 

quality.” 

He also announced that the government’s 

decision to bring journalists 

and employees of electronic 

media and print media under the 

wage board by reinstating the 1974 

act which was enacted by Bangabandhu 

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 

Reporters ‘suppressed’ 

Speaking on the lack of rights journalists 

have in the country, Dhaka 

Reporters Unit General Secretary, 

Raju Ahmed said there is no standard 

wage scale maintained for journalists 

in the electronic media nor 

does any trade unions exist in any 

of the media houses. 

“The media is being controlled 

by the owners. If journalists voice 

their rights, they either get fired or 

get suppressed in other ways,” Raju 

said at the round table. 

Bangladesh Television Director 

General, Harun Ur Rashid said 

there had been a “failure” to find 

an agreeable measurement scale by 

which media employees are paid. 

While Media Museum of Bangladesh, 

MM Badshah, spoke of a lack 

of legal protection journalists get in 

the country: “In the history of Bangladesh, 

there has never been a verdict 

against the numerous attacks 

on journalists except for one in the 

lower court of Faridpur which is still 

pending in the High Court.” 

National Human Right Commission 

Chairman Kazi Reazul Haque 

said journalists were helping the 

commission establish human 

rights for all citizens. • 

Dhaka University students gather around Raju Bhaskarja to protest the mass killings of Rohingyas in Myanmar 

HC moves against misuse of 

CrPC 160 by police 

• Ashif Islam Shaon 

The High Court yesterday ruled 

why the government will not be 

directed to take action against the 

misuse of police officers’ authority 

to summon witnesses endowed in 

Section 160 of the Code of Criminal 

Procedure (CrPC). 

The bench of Justice Quazi Reza- 

Ul-Hoque and Justice Mohammad 

Ullah also asked the government 

why a letter issued to a businessman 

by a Gazipur sub-inspector for an 

arbitrary settlement over a business 

matter should not be declared illegal. 

The HC bench came up with the 

ruling after hearing a writ petition 

filed by Cactus Printing and Packaging’s 

Managing Director Ashish 

Kumar Sharma on November 16. 

The petitioner’s lawyer Md Uzzal 

Hossain said Step International’s 

Md Oliullah had filed a complaint 

with the police against his client for 

holding a payment of around Tk32 

lakh for the garment accessories Oliullah 

had supplied earlier. 

Based on that complaint, 

Sub-Inspector Mostafizur Rahman 

Chowdhury of Gazipur Detective 

Branch of Police sent a notice to 

petitioner Ashish on November 

6, asking him to report to Gazipur 

DB office within November 19 with 

some business documents. 

The step by the police was a violation 

of the power stated under 

MEHEDI HASAN 

Section 160 of the CrPC, as police 

are given the authority to summon 

someone only if a regular case is 

filed, the lawyer said. 

Besides, the section cannot be 

put in force for grievances related 

to business by commercial enterprises 

or for salvaging monetary 

claims, he added. 

The court gave the respondents, 

including the Home Ministry secretary, 

inspector general of police, 

Gazipur superintendent of police, 

officer-in-charge of Gazipur DB police, 

and SI Mustafizur, two weeks 

to respond to the ruling. 

Mustafizur has also been asked 

to appear before the court on December 

4 with the complaint. • 

Ivy to resign as 

N’ganj mayor 

tomorrow 

• Mohammad Abu Bakar 

Siddique in Dhaka and 

Tanveer Hossain from 

Narayanganj 

Narayanganj Mayor Dr Salina Hayat 

Ivy will submit her resignation from 

the office at the Ministry of Local 

Government, Rural Development 

and Cooperatives tomorrow so she 

can run in the upcoming Narayanganj 

City Corporation elections. 

“I received a letter from the 

Election Commission on November 

15 saying I must resign from my 

post as the mayor if I am willing to 

run for the office again,” Ivy told 

the Dhaka Tribune. “So following 

the Election Commission’s instruction, 

I will submit my resignation at 

the ministry.” 

She further said this was the 

first time she was required to do 

it as she did not have to resign the 

last time she ran for mayor. “But 

this time there is a writ filed with 

the High Court which prevents an 

incumbent mayor from running in 

a city corporation election.” 

She will submit her nomination 

papers for the election on Thursday. 

Ivy was elected as the mayor of 

Narayanganj City Corporation in 

2011; before then, she was elected 

as the chairman of the now defunct 

Narayanganj municipality in 2003. 

The deadline for nomination 

submission for the polls is Thursday, 

and the deadline to withdraw 

candidacy is on December 4. The 

polls will be held on December 22. 

Ivy, Shamim skip meeting at party 

office 

Both Ivy and Shamim Osman, 

Awami League lawmaker from 

Narayanganj-4 constituency, were 

absent from a meeting they were 

asked to attend at the party office 

in Dhanmondi, Dhaka yesterday 

evening. 

Insiders in the party office said 

the decision to hold the meeting 

was made by party leaders including 

General Secretary Obaidul 

Quader on Sunday. 

Chances of seeing the bitter rivals, 

who have often spoken publicly 

against each other, sparked 

interest among the Awami League 

officials, who expected that something 

new might happen. 

But neither Ivy nor Shamim 

showed up for the meeting. 

However, when contacted, Awami 

League Office Secretary Abdus 

Sobhan Golap said he was not 

aware of any such meeting. 

When contacted, Ivy refused to 

speak about the meeting. 

Shamim said the chances of him 

going to the meeting were thin. 

Sources said Obaidul Quader 

arrived at the party office in the 

evening and left around 8:30pm. •

Simeen Hossain accepts the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice 2016 honouring her son Faraaz 

Ayaaz Hossain, victim of Dhaka terror attack 

COURTESY 

News 5 


Gulshan attack victim 

Faraaz honoured with 

Mother Teresa Award 


DT 

Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain was honoured 

posthumously with Mother 

Teresa Memorial International 

Award for Social Justice 2016 by the 

Harmony Foundation at JW Marriott 

in Sahar, Mumbai, on Sunday. 

Faraaz was recognised by the 

foundation for his heroic end during 

the Holey Artisan attack on 

July 1 this year –when he refused 

to leave his friends behind and was 

slain along with them by militants. 

His friends were Abinta Kabir, a 

Bangladesh-born US citizen and a student 

at Emory University in the US; 

and Tarishi Jain, an Indian student at 

the University of California, Berkeley. 

Former Afghanistan president 

Hamid Karzai and Mother Teresa’s 

disciple Sister Priscilla handed over 

the award to Faraaz’s mother Simeen 

Hossain and elder brother Zaraif 

Ayaat Hossain at a ceremony in the 

hotel. 

This is the first time any foreign 

recipient has been honoured posthumously 

by the foundation. 

The foundation’s President Abraham 

Mathai, former chief minister 

of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah 

and film-maker Mahesh Bhatt 

were present during the occasion. 

He was the grandson of 

Transcom Group Chairman Latifur 

Rahman and Shahnaz Rahman. He 

was a student at Emory University’s 

Goizueta Business School in the US. 

Terrorists attacked the upscale 

Gulshan restaurant Holey Artisan 

Bakery and killed 22 people, mostly 

foreigners, on July 1. 

The terrorists were gunned 

down by commandos after a 12- 

hour stand-off. • 

Nasirnagar 

victims get 

humanitarian aid 


The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society 

(BDRCS) has distributed humanitarian 

assistance to 130 families 

affected in Nasirnagar attacks. 

BDRCS, with support of the 

International Committee of the 

Red Cross, distributed one-month 

worth of assistance to the affected 

families on Sunday. 

With the help of the assistance 

the victims will be able to cope 

with the situation and gradually restore 

their normal life, said a post 

on the Facebook page of BDRCS. 

All the families received essential 

food and non-food items, while 

79 of them were given Tk5,000 

each to purchase other items and 

repair their damaged properties. 

The distribution was made in 

collaboration with BDRCS Brahmanbaria 

Unit and in coordination 

with local administration. 

More than 100 people were injured 

after a mob attacked and vandalised 

17 temples and 58 houses 

belonging to Hindus over a Facebook 

post defaming Islam allegedly 

posted by a Hindu fisherman. 

Nasirnagar police officer-incharge 

and UNO were subsequently 

transferred. Awami League suspended 

three of its local leaders for 

their involvement in the attacks. • 

Transfer of Farooq- 

Rashid’s Jubilee 

Bank shares stopped 

• Asif Showkat Kallol 

The Ministry of Commerce 

has stopped transferring 

or withdrawing of Jubilee 

Bank shares of two selfproclaimed 

killers of 

Bangabandhu – Col (retd) 

Syed Farooq Rahman and 

Col (dismissed) Khandaker 

Abdur Rashid – in a bid 

to confiscate all their 

movable and immovable 

assets. 

The ministry has also 

suspended any further 

recording of the returns 

of the convicted killers’ 

shares in the Directorate of 

the Registrar of Joint Stock 

of Companies and Firms. 

In a letter to the Bank 

and Financial Institutions 

Division signed by its 

Deputy Secretary SM 

Masudur Rahman, the 

ministry on November 17 

sought opinion from the 

Law and Parliamentary 

Affairs Ministry regarding 

the confiscation of the 

shares. 

Earlier, the Directorate 

General of Forces Intelligence 

(DGFI), the military 

intelligence agency, had 

sent a letter to the division 

regarding the issue. 

According to the DGFI 

letter, Farooq and Rashid 

hold 85,000 shares of the 

bank, each share worth 

Tk25. 

Bangabandhu murder 

case convicts Farooq and 

Bazlul Huda were hanged 

on January 27, 2010; Col 

(dismissed) Rashid has 

been a fugitive for the past 

30 years. 

Recently, parliament 

unanimously adopted a 

resolution to confiscate all 

movable and immovable 

assets of the convicted killers 

of Bangabandhu and 

war criminals. 

Assets of Farooq and 

Bazlul would be confiscated 

through a law, said Law 

Minister Anisul Huq in parliament. 

But no law was required 

to confiscate assets of the 

absconding killers, he 

added. • 

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY 

DRY WEATHER 

LIKELY 

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22 

Dhaka 29 16 Chittagong 28 20 Rajshahi 30 16 Rangpur 29 15 Khulna 30 14 Barisal 28 16 Sylhet 28 14 

DHAKA 

TODAY 

TOMORROW 

SUN SETS 5:11PM 

SUN RISES 6:19AM 

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW 

30.3ºC 

12.5ºC 

Teknaf 

Tetulia 

Source: Accuweather/UNB 

PRAYER 

TIMES 

Cox’s Bazar 28 18 

Fajr: 5:40am | Zohr: 1:15pm 

Asr: 4:00pm | Magrib: 5:24pm 

Esha: 7:30pm 

Source: Islamic Foundation

6 


DT 

News 

Pabna villagers want get rid of 

Nizam bahini’s torture 

• Md Emroz Khandakar, Pabna 

Residents of Kathulia village demanded 

stern actions against local 

hoodlum Nizam Nistam and his 

accomplices who have allegedly 

been torturing people of the area 

for long. 

People of the locality came up 

with the appeal at a press conference 

held at Pabna Press club yesterday. 

Abbas Uddin, a resident of the 

village, in a written statement said 

Nizam kidnapped Kohil Hossain on 

September 25. He got furious when 

Army to 

construct 

border road 

• Mohiuddin Molla, Comilla 

Awami League General Secretary, 

also the Road Transport and Bridges 

Minister Obaidul Quader has 

said Bngladesh Army is going to 

construct an eight-kilometer long 

road in Comilla border area next 

year. 

The minister came up with 

the statement while addressing 

a meeting as chief guest at M R 

Chowdhury Ground in Comilla 

Cantonment yesterday celebrating 

the Armed Forces Day. 

Quader said the army had a 

great role to build up the country. 

They also kept the role in transport 

section several times. • 

Risking life, school children cross a rail track at Bolpur, Rajshahi, as there is no level crossing. The photo was taken yesterday 

AZAHAR UDDIN 

No healthcare for Debidwar residents 

• Mohiuddin Molla, Comilla 

Residents of Debidwar in Comilla 

are deprived of proper health care 

facilities, as the upazila health 

complex is struggling with manifold 

problems. 

Local sources said Debidwar 

Upazila Health Complex was failing 

to provide proper medical services 

to local patients due to doctors’ 

negligence in duties, middleman’s 

interference in medical services, 

acute crisis of electricity and lack 

of pure drinking water as well as 

logistic supports. 

Patients, who come to the hospital 

for treatment, alleged that the 

health complex had turned into a 

gathering place for local junkies. 

Local drug addicts everyday 

gather on the hospital premises after 

sunset and take different types 

of abusive drugs. 

Apart from this, the health complex 

is also suffering for doctor’s 

a kidnapping case was filed against 

him with Pabna Sadar police station. 

Later, a group of miscreants led 

by Nizam looted at least 25 houses 

of village and assaulted a good 

number of people, including women 

and children. 

Since then, people of the area 

have been living with anxiety. Abbas 

Uddin said: “We cannot stay at 

our houses fearing further attacks. 

They come at night and attack us. 

He along with his cohorts have 

killed many people in Pabna, Rajbari 

and Faridpur. 

negligence, as most of the doctors 

do not perform their duties properly. 

They prefer to spend time in 

clinics as well as residences. 

Moreover, a group of doctors 

allegedly assaulted a residential 

medical officer recently, as the 

officer issued notices for several 

doctors asking them show causes 

why they remain absent in duties 

often. 

Atiqur Rahman, a local journalist, 

said: “Only seven to eight 

doctors out of 20 are sincere in rendering 

their duties while rest keep 

them busy in private clinics. Sometimes 

only four to five doctors 

come to hospital and they leave 

office after lunch.” 

He also alleged that doctors with 

the help of staff sold government 

drugs meant for free disbursement 

among patients to neighbouring 

pharmacies. 

There is also an allegation that 

doctors prescribed sub-standard 

Kudu Sardar, another residents 

of the village, said: “They kill people 

when anyone tries to raise voice 

against them. We have already informed 

local administration about 

the matter, but they yet to take any 

measure against him.” 

Local sources said Nizam 

claimed that he was a leader of Jatiyo 

Samajtantrik Dal (JSD). 

Amirul Islam Ranga, president 

of district unit JSD, told the Dhaka 

Tribune that Nizam was a general 

secretary of upzila unit JSD. They 

would not take the responsibility 

of his misdeed. The party would 

take action against him after proper 

investigation. 

Commander Bina Rani Das of 

RAB 12, Pabna said they tried several 

times to arrest Nizam, but could 

not as Nizam was very dangerous 

terrorist. They were trying to arrest 

the group as soon as possible. 

Superintendent of police, Pabna 

Jahidul Kabir said Nizam was accused 

in killing, robbery, arms and 

extortion cases. 

“The law enforcement agencies 

are active to arrest Nizam and his 

cohorts.” • 

medicines to patients in exchange 

of gift which they get from medical 

representatives of several companies. 

Abdul Mobin, a resident of 

Chhoto Alam area in the upazila, 

said: “The environment of the 

health complex is very unhygienic 

and patients are compelled to take 

medical services in unhygienic environment 

which is very harmful 

for them. 

“Sometimes doctors cannot 

work in operation theatre for lack 

of electricity and water,” he said. 

Hospital sources said on 

Saturday Md Shahinur Alam 

Sumon, residential medical officer, 

issued show cause notice to 

doctors – Abdullah Al Maruf and 

Monjurul Islam – for their absence 

in duties. 

Later, Abdullah and Monjurul 

along with other doctors of the 

health complex allegedly assaulted 

the RMO and asked him to withdraw 

show cause notice. 

Shahinur said: “Abdullah Al 

Maruf and Monjurul Islam along 

with Mamunur Rashid and Nazmul 

Hasan Papon have assaulted 

me recently, as I issued show cause 

notices against them for their negligence 

in duties. 

“They also asked me not to interfere 

in their matter if I want to 

continue my duty.” 

Monjurul, however, denied the 

allegation of assaulting RMO. He 

said: “I was busy with my examination 

that’s why I could not present 

in my duty. We only engaged into 

an argument with RMO.” 

The correspondent tried to take 

comments of other doctors, but 

could not as they did not receive 

calls. 

Upazila Health and Family Planning 

Officer Sadek Mia said: “I have 

heard about the incident. Now, I 

am on leave and I will take action 

after returning to office.” • 

Brick kiln on 

farmland taking a 

toll on environs 

• Manoj Kumar Saha, 

Gopalganj 

The government has banned setting 

up of brick kilns near crop land, 

human habitation and forests, but 

a number of influential people violating 

the laws have set up brick 

fields near human habitations in 

Kashiani upazila, Gopalganj. 

Locals alleged that Habibur 

Rahman, a resident of Kashiani 

upazila, had set up a brick field on 

a farmland which is adjacent to 

a populated area under the nose 

of local administration, much to 

cause serious harm to arable land 

as well as environment. 

According to Burning of Bricks 

(control) Amendment Act 2010, setting 

up brick field within three kilometres 

of farmland, forest, township 

and human habitation area is illegal. 

But Habibur Rahman has set 

up a brick kiln named “Habib 

and Company” in Purbapara area 

where he uses wood to burn bricks, 

alleged locals. 

“Apart from this, Habibur is also 

trying to grab neighbouring land of 

the brick kiln,” said Md Fayekuzzaman, 

a resident of the area. 

He said: “Habibur and his gang are 

now pttuing pressure on me to sell 

my land to him. As I refused to do so, 

he filed a fake case against me.” 

He said locals did not dare to 

raise voices against him because he 

is very powerful. 

Rezaul Alam, a resident of the 

upazila, said: “Habibur Rahman 

has set up a brick field beside my 

farmland. His men have already 

cut earth from the land without 

taking my permission. When I tried 

to resist him, he threatened me. He 

also filed a case fake case against 

me with Gopalganj Court.” 

Several farmers of the area including, 

Enayet Hossain, Joynal 

Kholifa, Saifur Rahman, alleged that 

Habibur Rahman was trying to grab 

their land showing muscles power. 

Though this correspondent 

could not manage comments from 

Habibur Rahman, as he did not receive 

phone calls. 

Bidhan Tikadar, researcher of 

the Bangladesh Centre for Advance 

Studies (BCAS), said: “Establishing 

brick kilns in residential 

or agricultural land is illegal. 

We are fearing serious harm to 

the environment as “Habib and 

Company” has been established 

in farmland which is near human 

habitation.” 

Kashiani Upazila Agricultural 

Officer Roshmoy Mondal said: 

“Paddy production can be decreased 

if any one builds brick kiln 

on farmland.” 

UNO Md Kamrul Hasan said: 

“We will take necessary steps to 

shutdown the brick field built on 

agricultural land.” •

News 7 


Mystery shrouds BCL leader Diaz’s death 

DT 

• FM Mizanur Rahman, 

Chittagong 

Family and activists of Chittagong 

University (CU) unit Bangladesh 

Chhatra League (BCL), loyal to Diaz 

Irfan Chowdhury, assistant secretary 

of Chittagong central BCL 

and also joint secretary of BCL CU 

unit, are assuming that Diaz did 

not commit suicide. Rather, it was 

a planned murder. 

The primary investigation report 

has strengthened the suspicion, 

as the report mentioned that 

there were several bruises on the 

body, including on throat, both 

hands and left leg. 

Afsana Bilkis, upazila nirbahi 

officer (UNO) of Hat Hazari, went 

to the spot, from where the body 

of Diaz was recovered on Sunday 

night, and prepared the report in 

presence of Diaz’s family members 

and the BCL activists loyal to Diaz, 

said Afsana. 

She found his room untidy while 

preparing the report. 

Besides, Diaz’s mobile phone 

was missing, added Afsana. 

Nure Alam Mina, police super of 

Chittagong district, said he rushed 

to Diaz’s home on Sunday night 

and found the door of his room 

locked from inside. Later, the door 

was broken in presence of all and 

he saw the body hanging from a 

ceiling fan, said the SP. 

The forensic team of CID was 

called instantly and they collected 

evidences, added Alam. 

The SP said he saw bruises on 

throat and hands of the body. 

“After receiving the autopsy report, 

it will be clear whether it is 

a suicidal case or a murder case,” 

said Alam. 

Meanwhile, the family members 

of the deceased claimed that 

the photo of Diaz hanging from the 

fan, which went viral in Facebook, 

shows his bed tidy. 

So, It was not correct that Diaz’s 

room was untidy, they said. 

Rashed Amin Chowdhury, Diaz’s 

maternal uncle, and one of his 

sisters demanded proper investigation 

into the death claiming that it 

was a planned murder. 

According to the family members, 

a section of CU BCL launched 

ransacked Diaz’s residence after 

Vice President of the BCL unit Taiful 

Haque Tapu was attacked by 

miscreants recently. 

Since then Diaz’s parents and 

other family members have not 

been staying at home at night. 

Operation of Chittagong University 

(CU)-bound shuttle train service, 

which was suspended earlier 

following an alleged attack by BCL 

men, resumed after seven hours, 

said BR sources. 

Earlier, Bangladesh Railway (BR) 

East Zone authority suspended the 

train service between Chittagong 

city and university following a vandalism 

on a CU-bound demu train 

at Hathazari upazila’s Fateyabad 

Railway Station by a group of BCL 

men area around 10:30am. • 

Prosecution seeks 

death penalty for 

7-murder accused 

• Tanveer Hossain, 

Narayanganj 

The prosecution yesterday demanded 

death sentence for the accused 

of deadly seven murder case 

in Narayanganj. 

According to court sources, 

Narayanganj District and Sessions 

Judge Syed Enayet Hossain recorded 

the depositions of Moklesur 

Rahman, Abdul Aleem, Mohiuddin 

Munshi, Hira Mian, Ruhul Amin, 

Nuruzzaman, Abul Kalam Azad, 

Selim, Sanaullah Sana, Habibur 

Rahman, Kamal Hossein, Alamin, 

Tazul Islam, Belal Hossain and 

Enamul Haque. 

After the deposition Public 

Prosecutor Wazed Ali Khokan demanded 

the death sentence of the 

accused for abduction, murder and 

conspiracy. 

The court also fixed November 

22 for the next hearing. 

A total of 23 accused, including 

prime suspect Nur Hossain and 

three former RAB officials, were 

brought to the Narayanganj court 

from Kashimpur Prison with tight 

security. 

On April 27, 2014, Narayanganj 

City Corporation panel mayor Nazrul 

Islam, his three associates and 

driver were abducted from Fatullah 

area in the city. 

At the same time, senior 

lawyer of the Narayanganj District 

Judge’s Court Chandan 

Kumar Sarker and his driver 

were abducted on their way 

to Dhaka. 

Three days into their abduction, 

the bodies of six people, including 

that of Nazrul and Chandan, were 

recovered from the Shitalakkhya 

and Dhaleshwari rivers on April 30. 

The body of Nazrul’s driver Jahangir 

was recovered from the Shitalakkhya 

River on May 1. • 

Moniruzzaman Moni is greeted by his colleagues at Nagar Bhaban after he reinstated as mayor Khulna City Corporation 

yesterday 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

Suspended KCC mayor reinstated 

• Hedait Hossain, Khulna 

Moniruzzaman Moni has been reinstated 

as mayor of Khulna City 

Corporation following directives of 

High Court. 

The suspended mayor took over 

the charges of the city corporation 

yesterday after one year and 18 

days of his suspension. 

The government yesterday issued 

an order asking authorities 

concerned to reinstate Moniruzzaman 

Moni as per the directives of 

the court. 

Additional Secretary of Local 

Government Division, Jyotirmoy 

Datta said the government had issued 

a letter in this regard. 

The KCC mayor was suspended 

last year as charge-sheets were 

submitted against him in two criminal 

cases on November 2, 2015. 

On November 5, senior member 

of mayor panel of the KCC Anisur 

Rahman Biswas took over charge 

as its acting mayor. 

Following a plea against the 

government order, the High Court 

stayed that suspension order on 

June 7. 

On November 14, the Appellate 

Division of the Supreme Court 

upheld a High Court order that 

stayed the suspension of the 

mayor. 

Later, the mayor filed a writ 

challenging the government order. 

Moni was elected KCC mayor 

defeating ruling Awami Leaguebacked 

candidate Talukdar Abdul 

Khaleque in the city polls held in 

June, 2013. 

On June 11 this year, a local court 

accepted charge sheet against 56 

people, including Moni, in two 

criminal cases over arson and attacks 

on law enforcers. • 

Vehicles banned 

on Lawachhara 

road 

• Syful Islam, Moulavibazar 

Forest Department has banned 

plying of vehicles on the Srimangal-Bhanugach 

Road in Lawachhara 

National Park during night 

time. 

A letter from Sylhet Divisional 

Forest office was issued to Roads 

and Highways Department on November 

10, asking Lawachhara 

authorities not to ply vehicles the 

road at night. 

Sylhet Divisional Forest officer 

(DFO) Mihir Kumar Dey (in-charge 

of preservation of natural beauty 

and wild life) issued the letter. 

He said the decision was taken in 

a meeting of Prime Minister’s office 

held on Augaust 2, presided over by 

Kabir Bin Anwar, director general of 

the office to save animals. 

Every year, at least 100 forest 

animals lost their lives on the road 

due to reckless driving. 

A letter also was issued to the 

Local Government Engineering 

Department to build an alternative 

road outside the park so that the 

vehicles could ply at night, he also 

said. 

Palli Bidyut Samity officials had 

been asked for using coated cables 

instead of bare lines as many animals 

were electrocuted in last few 

years, he added. 

Utpal Samonta, executive engineer 

of the Roads and Highways 

said he had got the letter. 

“Plying vehicles cannot be 

stopped on the road before constructing 

the alternative road,” he 

also said. 

Kamrul Islam, executive engineer 

of LGED said he had sent a 

letter to the headquarters of his department 

about the matter. 

Shibu Lal Basu, manager of Palli 

Bidyut Samity, said he had got the 

letter from the DFO. •

DT 

8 

World 


SOUTH ASIA 

IS recruitment cell busted 

in Pakistan 

A nine-member IS cell that was 

recruiting and transporting people 

to Syria and Afghanistan has been 

busted in Lahore. After the arrest of 

these nine people, the total number 

of IS group members who have been 

arrested in different parts of Punjab 

in recent months reached 45. TOI 

INDIA 

Farmers can use old notes 

for buying seeds 

Indian government on Monday 

announced a number of measures 

to provide further relief to farmers 

and small traders to deal with cash 

crunch following the banning of 

Rs500 and Rs1,000 bank-notes. 

As per the new government order, 

farmers can now purchase seeds 

with the demonetised bank notes 

of Rs500 value. TOI 

CHINA 

China on high alert after 

fighting in Myanmar 

China has said its army is on high 

alert after armed groups in Myanmar 

attacked military and police posts 

close to their shared border at the 

weekend and that it would act to 

protect its citizens and their property 

in the area. The official Xinhua 

news agency said in a report late on 

Sunday three armed groups simultaneously 

attacked security posts in 

the border towns of Muse and Kutkai 

in Myanmar’s northeastern Shan 

state earlier in the day. REUTERS 

ASIA PACIFIC 

Philippines to ban fishing 

in disputed lagoon 

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte 

will issue an executive order declaring 

part of the disputed Scarborough 

Shoal a marine sanctuary off-limits 

to all fishermen, a move his office 

said was supported by Chinese 

counterpart Xi Jinping. The dispute 

over the Scarborough Shoal is one of 

several involving South East Asian 

countries seeking to counter China’s 

growing assertiveness in the South 

China Sea. REUTERS 

MIDDLE EAST 

Yemen ceasefire ends 

without extension 

The Saudi-led coalition supporting 

Yemen’s government against 

Iran-backed rebels said a 48-hour 

ceasefire ended at midday Monday 

due to repeated “violations”. 

The ceasefire began on Saturday 

following an intervention by US 

Secretary of State John Kerry who 

met rebel representatives in Oman 

and urged the government of Yemeni 

President Abedrabbo Mansour 

Hadi to sign up. 

ANALYSIS 

Myanmar faces new crisis as ethnic 

armies attack military 

• Reuters, Yangon/Shanghai 

Myanmar’s eight-month-old government 

faced a fresh crisis on 

Monday, after four ethnic armed 

groups attacked security forces in 

the north of the country, dealing a 

major blow to leader Aung San Suu 

Kyi’s top goal of reaching peace 

with ethnic minorities. 

Eight people were killed and 

29 wounded when a coalition of 

northern rebels attacked military 

and police outposts and a business 

centre near an important trading 

hub on Myanmar’s border with China 

on Sunday, the government said. 

The sudden escalation of fighting 

comes as the government 

grapples with a conflict in northwestern 

Rakhine that has sent 

hundreds of Rohingya Muslims 

fleeing to Bangladesh, posing a 

new challenge to Nobel peace 

prize winner Suu Kyi, who swept 

to power last year on promises of 

national reconciliation. 

In an important realignment of 

ethnic armed forces, one of Myanmar’s 

most powerful militias, the 

Kachin Independence Army (KIA), 

joined three smaller groups that 

have been in a stand-off with the 

Myanmar military since clashes on 

the border last year. 

The fighting last year pitted the 

army against the predominantly 

ethnic Chinese Myanmar National 

Democratic Alliance Army (MN- 

DAA) and its allies, the Ta’ang National 

Liberation Army (TNLA) and 

the Arakan Army (AA). 

The three groups said they had 

joined with the KIA to attack the 

military over the weekend. 

“The Burma armed forces have 

been assaulting to destroy all political 

and military struggles of the 

ethnic peoples because they have 

no will to solve Myanmar’s political 

problem by politically peaceful 

negotiation methods,” the four 

groups said in a statement. 

Stuttering peace process 

One of the government’s peace negotiators, 

Hla Maung Shwe, told Reuters 

the fresh violence may severely 

delay the stuttering peace process. 

“It was really regrettable that 

civilian areas have come under attack. 

This is likely to further complicate 

the peace process,” he said. 

The fighting threatened to derail 

whatever progress has been made 

by Suu Kyi since she organised a 

major peace conference with most 

ethnic armed groups in August. 

“We will increase the operations 

to secure these areas and 

protect the civilians,” said Ministry 

of Defence spokesman Major 

General Aung Ye Win. He did not 

comment on questions regarding 

the military’s next steps. 

Thousands of people have been 

displaced by decades of fighting 

between the military and ethnic 

armed groups in Shan state, which 

is home to several large groups operating 

close to the borders with 

China and Thailand. 

Chinese Foreign Ministry 

spokesman Geng Shuang said a 

stray bullet from the fighting had 

wounded a Chinese resident and 

China has lodged a protest. 

China was infuriated last year 

when five Chinese people were 

killed when the fighting spilled 

over into Chinese territory. 

“The Chinese army is on high 

alert and will take the necessary 

measures to safeguard the country’s 

sovereignty and safety, as well as 

protect the lives and property of Chinese 

citizens living along the border,” 

the ministry statement said. • 

Suicide blast at Kabul Shia mosque kills 30 

• Tribune International Desk 

A massive suicide blast at a Shia 

mosque in Kabul killed at least 

30 people Monday and wounded 

more than 65 as worshippers gathered 

for a religious ceremony, officials 

said. 

The attacker entered the Baqir-ul-Olum 

mosque shortly after 

midday as worshippers had gathered 

for a ceremony, the interior 

ministry said in a statement. 

The attacker was among worshippers 

inside the mosque when 

he detonated the bomb, senior 

police official Fridon Obaidi said, 

giving the toll. 

The attack took place on the 

first floor of the two-story building 

Ta’ang National Liberation Army soldiers march to mark the 51st anniversary of Ta’ang National Resistance Day in Homain, 

Nansan township, in northern Myanmar’s Shan state on January 12, 2014 

AFP 

Afghan Municipality workers sweep Baqir-ul Ulom mosque after a suicide attack, 

in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday 

AP 

where Shia worshippers had gathered 

to commemorate the death of 

Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad’s 

grandson and an iconic 

Shia martyr, in Karbala, Iraq in 680 

AD. 

No group has yet claimed responsibility 

but militant Sunni 

fundamentalists like the Taliban 

and the Islamic State group view 

Shias as apostates and frequently 

attack Shia mosques and public 

gatherings. Monday’s bombing 

struck a ceremony commemorating 

40 days since the anniversary 

of Hussein’s death. In early October, 

at a gathering commemorating 

the actual death anniversary, 

militants attacked another Shia 

shrine in Kabul, killing 14. •

World 

Germany’s Merkel faces biggest 

test in tilt at fourth term 

• Reuters, Berlin 

Announcing on Sunday she will 

seek a fourth term in office, Germany’s 

Angela Merkel faces 

perhaps the biggest test of her 

career: defending the European 

and transatlantic status quo amid 

huge uncertainty for both. 

Already chancellor for 11 years, 

she must now anchor a western alliance 

shaken by Donald Trump’s 

US election victory, and bind together 

a European Union in which 

Germany has forged its post-war 

identity but which now risks 

breaking apart. 

Polls put her Christian Democrats 

(CDU/CSU) on around 33%, 

down some 10 percentage points 

from summer last year. 

Named Time Magazine’s Person 

of the Year in 2015, Merkel 

oversaw Europe’s absorption 

last year of the biggest influx of 

migrants to the continent since 

World War Two, having only just 

steered the bloc through the euro 

zone crisis. 

Limited leverage 

Yet Merkel must do more than survive 

and muddle through if she is 

to master the challenges a fourth 

term would bring. 

If she retains power next year, 

as is widely expected, Merkel 

will need to galvanise the European 

project at a time when the 

Trump keeps any Cabinet decisions under wraps 

• Tribune International Desk 

By his own account, President-elect 

Donald Trump has 

worked out a few agreements after 

a parade of weekend visitors who 

could land major appointments 

in his administration, reports The 

Associated Press. 

There were hints but no decisions 

to announce. Mitt Romney, 

the Republican nominee in 2012, 

was “under active and serious 

consideration” for secretary of 

state, Vice President-elect Mike 

Pence said. Trump himself said retired 

Marine Corps General James 

Mattis was an “impressive” prospect 

for defence secretary. 

“We’ve made a couple of 

deals,” Trump told reporters at his 

Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club 

before returning to New York. He 

gave assurances that “incredible 

meetings” would be bringing “incredible 

people” into the government. 

“You’ll be hearing about 

them soon.” 

More meetings are on Trump’s 

Monday schedule. His transition 

3 

President 

of the CDU 

2 

1 

0 

-1 

ANGELA MERKEL 

Popularity rating during her period as German chancellor 

2.4 

1.3 

President 

of the CDU/CSU* 

group 

2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 

Polls - average on a scale of +5 (Very satisfied) to -5 (Not satisfied) 

*Christian Democratic/Social Union, conservative 

Sources: FGW, ZDF-Politbarometer Photos: John MacDougall 

EU executive has embarked on a 

bitter row with Berlin by pressing 

it to spend more to lift euro zone 

growth. 

The push from Brussels, where 

Germany has tried to foist its fiscal 

discipline on other EU members, 

signals the limits of Merkel’s 

capacity to lead in Europe, where 

her open-door migrant policy has 

proved especially unpopular with 

eastern neighbours. 

Britain’s June 23 vote to leave 

team said former Texas governor 

and GOP presidential rival Rick 

Perry was expected to meet with 

Trump on Monday. 

Among the visitors to the 

white-pillared clubhouse Sunday 

were Kansas Secretary of State Kris 

Kobach, billionaire investor Wilbur 

Ross and retired Marine General 

John Kelly, the former commander 

of US Southern Command. 

Between conversations, Trump 

revealed he was making transition 

plans for his family. He told 

reporters that his wife, Melania, 

and their 10-year-old son, Barron, 

would move to Washington when 

the school year ends. 

Romney, the former Massachusetts 

governor and 2012 GOP 

presidential contender, and Trump 

exchanged bitter insults during the 

campaign, and Mattis has not been 

considered a Trump confidante. 

The appointment of more establishment 

figures could offer some 

reassurance to lawmakers and others 

concerned about Trump’s hardline 

positions on immigration and 

national security and his lack of 

1.6 

Chancellor 

2.2 

Chancellor 

2nd term 

the EU opens the way for a country 

to leave the bloc for the first time. 

As Europe’s most powerful leader, 

Merkel must retain close ties with 

Britain without cutting a Brexit 

deal that tempts others facing 

a sluggish economy and worries 

about immigration to leave too. 

“Europe is in danger of falling 

apart,” French Prime Minister Manuel 

Valls said in Berlin on Thursday. 

“So Germany and France 

have a huge responsibility.” 

foreign policy experience. 

Trump told reporters Sunday 

that one of his most loyal and public 

allies, former New York Mayor 

Rudy Giuliani, was also a prospect 

for secretary of state “and other 

things.” Giuliani at one point had 

been considered for attorney general, 

but Trump gave that job to 

Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama. 

But even as Trump and his 

team discussed pressing issues 

Chancellor 

3rd term 

Nov 11 

2016 

1.6 

The rise of Marine Le Pen’s farright 

National Front will leave the 

next French president ruling over 

a deeply divided country that can 

no longer play an equal role in the 

Franco-German tandem that has 

traditionally driven Europe. 

More immediately, Italian 

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi risks 

losing a referendum on constitutional 

reform next month on 

which he has staked his political 

future. • 

President-elect Donald Trump waves to the media from the steps at the 

clubhouse of Trump National Golf Club November 20 in New Jersey 

AFP 

2.3 

facing the country and how to 

staff the incoming administration, 

the president-elect’s Twitter feed 

suggested other issues too were 

on his mind. 

His targets Sunday included 

Senator Reid. Trump tweeted 

that incoming Senate Democratic 

leader Chuck Schumer, another 

media-savvy New Yorker, was “far 

smarter” than Reid and “has the 

ability to get things done.” • 

9 


DT 

USA 

Protests turn violent near 

Dakota pipeline site 

Hundreds of people protesting a 

North Dakota oil pipeline project 

clashed early Monday with police 

who fired tear gas, rubber bullets 

and a water cannon, soaking the 

crowd in sub-freezing temperatures. 

Protest organisers said 167 

people were hurt, including three 

Native American tribal elders, 

and that seven people have been 

hospitalized for severe head 

injuries. AFP 

THE AMERICAS 

Venezuela hopes for 

improved US relations 

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro 

said on Sunday he hopes for 

an improvement in relations with 

nemesis the United States after 

Donald Trump’s White House win, 

despite last year calling the real 

estate tycoon a “bandit and thief.” 

Trump said in July that US would 

“end up being Venezuela” if his 

rival Hillary Clinton were to win 

the White House. REUTERS 

UK 

May seeks to soothe 

Brexit fears 

Prime Minister Theresa May 

promised Monday to boost research 

investment as she sought to 

reassure business leaders nervous 

about the cliff-edge scenario of 

UK leaving the EU. May told a 

Confederation of British Industry 

conference that her government 

would invest an extra $2.5bn a year 

in science research and development 

by 2020. REUTERS 

EUROPE 

French police foil terror 

attack, arrest seven 

France said on Monday it had 

foiled a terrorist plot and arrested 

seven people, a year after a state of 

emergency was imposed to counter 

a wave of Islamist attacks. Interior 

Minister Bernard Cazeneuve 

said the seven people of French, 

Moroccan and Afghan origin, aged 

29 to 37, were detained on Sunday. 

One of the detentions followed a 

tip-off from a foreign government, 

he said. REUTERS 

AFRICA 

Mozambique fuel tanker 

blast toll hits 80 

The death toll from a petrol tanker 

blast in Mozambique has risen 

to 80, with dozens of people still 

being treated in hospital for severe 

burns, an official said Sunday. The 

tanker exploded in Tete province, 

a remote western region near the 

border with Malawi, killing 43 people 

on the spot, with more than 

100 others badly burnt, including 

many children, which was loaded 

with 30,000 litres. AFP

10 


DT 

World 

INSIGHT 

Francois Fillon, surprise frontrunner in 

France’s presidential race 

• Reuters, Paris 

Former prime minister Francois 

Fillon is favourite to become the 

French centre-right’s presidential 

candidate after a voting upset 

that puts him in pole position for a 

showdown with far right leader Marine 

Le Pen in next year’s election. 

Fillon, who has said he will cut 

public sector jobs and rein in government 

spending, won 44% of 

votes in Sunday’s first-round of 

voting for the centre-right’s nomination. 

He faces a second-round 

vote against another former prime 

minister, Alain Juppe, who trailed 

him by 15 percentage points. 

Former President Nicolas 

Sarkozy came third and, after being 

eliminated, endorsed Fillon for the 

second-round vote next Sunday. 

The outcome adds to uncertainty 

about the result of next year’s 

presidential election, likely to be 

decided in a runoff in May. It could 

increase a still remote possibility 

that the anti-immigration, eurosceptic 

National Front leader Le 

Pen can win it, although there is 

no clear evidence Fillon would fare 

worse against her than Juppe. 

The surprisingly big lead hands 

Fillon, 62, a strong advantage in 

next Sunday’s runoff. An admirer of 

late British Prime Minister Margaret 

Thatcher, he is probably the closest 

thing France has to an economic 

liberal and social conservative. 

Although Fillon’s triumph on 

Sunday was a surprise, opinion 

FF 

pollsters had said he made a late 

surge in campaigning, and several 

stalwarts from the conservative 

Les Republicains party threw their 

weight behind him after his firstround 

success. 

“I will vote for Francois Fillon 

because it is he who will best defend 

the values of the right,” said 

party president Laurent Wauquiez, 

a close Sarkozy ally. 

A snap poll by Opinionway after 

Sunday’s results showed Fillon 

winning the head-to-head contest 

against Juppe with 56% of support. 

With the French left in turmoil 

under deeply unpopular Socialist 

President Francois Hollande, the 

opinion polls indicate that whoever 

becomes the centre-right challenger 

is likely to face Le Pen in May’s 

presidential election runoff. 

The polls have suggested Le Pen 

has only a remote chance of winning 

that runoff but the more centrist 

Juppe, 71, had been seen as the 

best placed candidate to defeat her 

in a two-horse race. 

Catholic roots 

Born in the Sarthe region some 

200km west of Paris, where secular 

France’s Roman Catholic roots 

remain strong, Fillon has also distinguished 

himself by opposing the 

adoption of children by gay couples. 

He is married to the Welsh-born 

Penelope and they have five children. 

He was the youngest member 

of France’s parliament when he was 

first elected 35 years ago. 

FRANCE’S RIGHT-WING PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY 

Two former prime ministers will contest next Sunday’s 2 nd round 

Political platform 

1 st -round score 

Radical economic 

liberalism 

Cut immigration 

quotas to strict 

minimum 

Renewed dialogue 

with Iran, Russia 

and Syria’s 

Assad 

Francois 

Parliamentary deputy for Paris, 

Former prime minister 

Eliminated candidates now backing Francois Fillon FF AJ Alain Juppe 

N Sarkozy 

Fillon 

Source: French Republican party 

20.6% of 1 st - round vote 

AJ 

Aged 

62 

Nearly complete results, 

as of 1200 GMT 

(in %) 

44.2 

28.6 

Aged 

71 

Fillon argues that his cost-cutting 

plan is doable if people on the 

public payroll work 39 hours a week 

instead of 35 or less currently. 

In a country where more than 

230 people have been killed in Islamist 

militant attacks over the past 

two years, adversaries of Fillon 

have balked at proposing such deep 

cuts for fear of accusations that police 

staffing could suffer. 

Former boss Sarkozy stands accused 

of cutting 10,000 police jobs 

while president - a policy that the 

ruling Socialists have mostly reversed 

through new recruitment 

since the attacks. 

Juppe, who bowed out after big 

strikes over planned welfare cuts 

and pension reform when prime 

minister in the mid-1990s, says 

Fillon simply cannot deliver on his 

cut-backs promise. 

Targets for national front 

A BVA poll in September showed 

Fillon, who drives racing cars for 

a hobby, would beat Le Pen by a 

margin of 61% of votes to 39% if 

they contest a presidential election 

runoff. 

But that consensus predates 

Donald Trump’s US election win, 

which exposed the same popular 

anger against political elites as in 

Western European countries such 

as France, Italy and Austria that Le 

Pen has tapped into. 

It also raised questions over the 

accuracy of opinion polls, which 

were under scrutiny again on 

Alain 

Juppe 

Mayor of Bordeaux, 

Former prime minister 

Vision of a ‘happy’ 

identity for France 

Labour market 

liberalisation 

Tougher line 

on prison 

policy 

2.6 2.4 1.5 0.3 

N Kosciusko- 

Morizet 

FF B Le Maire J-F Poisson 

J-F Cope 

Monday in France. 

With his socially conservative 

and pro-business policies, Fillon 

lacks the broad appeal of the more 

centrist Juppe, and so may increase 

Le Pen’s chances of taking power. 

Fillon stood down as social affairs 

minister after big street protests 

in 2003 when he championed 

reforms extending the age at which 

people are entitled to retirement 

pension payments. 

“To some extent, we believe 

Fillon’s lead introduces additional 

uncertainty when it comes to the 

presidential election,” said Raphael 

Brun-Aguerre of JP Morgan in a research 

note. 

But Juppe, who served as prime 

minister form May 1995 until June 

1997 under President Jacques Chirac, 

would also be vulnerable to National 

Front barbs. 

“Either of the candidates would 

probably be targeted by far-right 

National Front leader Marine Le 

Pen being for part of the old political 

guard, and Juppe, on this front 

appears relatively more vulnerable,” 

said Morgan Stanley in a research 

note. 

Juppe was not giving up. 

“I believe more than ever that 

the people of France need to come 

together to turn the page of a disastrous 

five-year term that has demeaned 

our country and to block 

from power the National Front 

which would lead us into the worst 

of adventures,” he told supporters 

on Sunday night. 

Opportunity for left? 

Fillon and Juppe have clashed most 

forcefully over Fillon’s proposals to 

slash the cost of government, notably 

by axing 500,000 public sector 

jobs over five years. 

Fillon’s proposals for market-oriented 

reforms - including scrapping 

the 35-hour working week and raising 

the retirement age - go beyond 

what his challenger advocates for 

a country where the state remains 

a powerful force in the economy, 

even for the centre-right. 

“My fellow Frenchmen have 

told me, everywhere, they want to 

break away from a bureaucratic system 

which saps their energy,” Fillon 

told his campaign faithful on Sunday 

night. 

Born in a western region of 

France where the secular nation’s 

catholic roots remain strong, Fillon 

has said France faces a problem 

“linked to Islam”. Juppe has sought 

a more conciliatory tone with 

France’s large Muslim minority. 

Any registered voter can take 

part in the conservative primaries, 

and polls showed many of those 

Francois Fillon 

62 years 

old 

Platform 

Radical economic liberalism 

Cut immigration to ‘strict 

minimum’ 

Renewed dialogue with Russia, 

Iran and Syria’s Assad 

Cut 600,000 civil service jobs 

Extend workweek from 35 to 

39 hours 

March 4, 1954 

Born in Mans, in the Sarthe 

region of western France 

1981 

Youngest member of National 

Assembly, elected aged just 27 

1993 

1 st ministerial post 

2003 

As labour minister guides 

controversial labour, pension 

reforms into law 

2007-2012 

Prime minister during Nicolas 

Sarkozy’s presidency 

Since 2012 

Deputy for Paris in National 

Assembly 


Comfortably wins 1 st round 

of primary to choose right-wing 

Republicans presidential 

candidate 

Has five children with his 

wife, who is from Wales 

that did on Sunday were from the 

left and extreme right. 

“The only chance for Juppe is a 

strong turnout in the second round, 

including from left-leaning voters. 

He will try to present himself 

as the man of the centre. His message 

will be: we need reforms, but 

nothing that is horribly painful,” 

said Claire Demesmay, an expert on 

Franco-German ties at the German 

Council on Foreign Relations. 

The ruling Socialists and their allies 

will hold their own primaries in 

January. Hollande, whose popularity 

ratings are abysmal, has yet to announce 

whether he will stand again. 

Some on the left hope that if Fillon 

wins the conservative ticket, its 

candidates could find new impetus 

as a space opens up for them in the 

centre. •

World 

11 


DT 

India rail crash raises concerns of underinvestment 

as toll hits 142 

WORST RAILWAY DISASTERS IN INDIA SINCE 1995 

Khanna 

Nov 26, 1998 

PAKISTAN 

Ferozabad 

Aug 20, 1995 

305 

209 

142 

+ 

Kanpur 

Nov 20, 2016 

NEW 

DELHI 

CHINA 

NEPAL 

119 Rafiganj 

Sept 9, 2002 

285 

Gaisal 

Aug 2, 1999 

146 

Kolkata 

May 28, 2010 

government blamed on sabotage 

by Maoist rebels. 

In 2005, a train was 

crushed by a rock and another 

plunged into a river, 

each disaster killing more 

than 100 people. In what 

was probably India’s worst 

rail disaster, a train fell into 

a river in the eastern state of 

Bihar of 1981, killing an estimated 

500 to 800 people. • 

110 

Hyderabad 

Oct 29, 2006 

Bay 

of Bengal 

• Reuters, Pukhrayan/New 

Delhi 

Indian rescuers on Monday 

called off a search of the mangled 

carriages of a derailed 

train after pulling more bodies 

from the wreckage, taking to 

at least 142 the number of passengers 

killed in the disaster. 

Sunday’s derailment in 

the northern state of Uttar 

Pradesh was India’s deadliest 

train tragedy since 2010 and 

has renewed concern about 

poor safety on the state-run 

network, a lifeline for millions 

that has suffered from 

chronic underinvestment. 

Rescue teams worked 

through the night with cranes 

and cutters to disentangle the 

train before police halted the 

search of the 14 carriages that 

derailed in the early hours, 

while most passengers slept. 

“The rescue operations are 

over. We don’t expect to find 

any more bodies,” said Zaki 

Ahmed, the police inspector 

general in the city of Kanpur, 

about 65km from Pukhrayan, 

the crash site. 

The crash came during India’s 

busy wedding season and 

media said blood-stained bags 

of saris and wedding cards carried 

by at least one wedding 

party on board were scattered 

beside the wreckage. 

The derailment injured 

more than 200 people, at least 

58 of them seriously, officials 

said, as relatives thronged hospitals 

in a search for survivors. 

A railways spokesman said 

the train carried 1,000 people 

travelling on reservations, but 

700 more were estimated to 

have squeezed into the unreserved 

carriages. 

Ageing badly 

The largely colonial-era railway 

system, the world’s fourth 

largest, carries about 23m people 

daily, but is saturated and 

ageing badly. Average speeds 

top just 50kph and train accidents 

are common. 

The crash is a stark reminder 

of the obstacles facing Prime 

Minister Narendra Modi in delivering 

on his promise to turn 

the railways into a more efficient, 

safer network befitting 

India’s economic power. 

Modi this year pledged record 

levels of investment and 

has announced a new highspeed 

line funded by Japan, 

but the main network has 

made little progress on upgrading 

tracks or signalling 

equipment. 

He has also shied away from 

raising highly subsidised fares 

that leave the railways with 

next to nothing for investment 

- by some analyst estimates, 

they need Rs20tn ($293.34bn) 

of investment by 2020. 

Modi on Sunday held a political 

rally about 210km from 

the crash site in Uttar Pradesh, 

which heads to the polls early 

next year in an election his 

Bharatiya Janata Party is vying 

to win. Politician Mayawati, 

who uses only one name, and 

is one of Modi’s biggest rivals 

in the state, said the government 

should have “invested 

in mending tracks instead of 

spending billions and trillions 

of rupees on bullet trains”, 

media reported. 

Authorities are looking 

into the possibility a fractured 

track caused the train to roll 

off the rails on its journey between 

the central Indian city 

of Indore and the eastern city 

of Patna. 

Sunday’s crash is India’s 

worst rail tragedy since the 

collision of a passenger and a 

goods train in 2010, which the

DT 

12 

Business 


CAPITAL MARKET SNAPSHOT: MONDAY 

DSE Broad Index 4,721.4 -0.0% ▼ Index 1,127.5 0.1% ▲ 30 Index 1,765.3 0.1% ▲ Turnover in Mn Tk 6,108.8 6.5% ▲ Turnover in Mn Vol 177.7 1.2% ▲ 

CSE All Share Index 14,536.6 0.0% ▲ 30 Index 13,045.7 -0.1% ▼ Selected Index 8,849.3 0.0% ▲ Turnover in Mn Tk 426.9 5.5% ▲ Turnover in Mn Vol 14.9 8.2% ▲ 

NBL, Tech One 

Global Ltd tie up 

with Microsoft 

Enterprise 

• Tribune Business Desk: 

National Bank Limited (NBL) and 

Tech One Global (Pvt) Ltd have tied 

up with the Microsoft Enterprise. 

To this effect, Lahiru Munindradasa, 

managing director of 

Tech One Global (Pvt) Ltd, along 

with Shah Syed Abdul Bari, deputy 

managing director of NBL, and Sonia 

Bashir Kabir, managing director 

at Microsoft Bangladesh, signed an 

agreement on behalf of their respective 

organisations in the city 

yesterday. 

As one of the advocates of digital 

transformation, Tech One Global is 

hopeful that the partnership will 

help push NBL to reach the pinnacle 

of efficiency and bring them one 

more step closer into reaching the 

goal of the digital transformation 

journey. Tech One Global is confident 

that the enterprise level solutions 

provided by them based on 

Microsoft Technology are topnotch 

when it comes into innovating business 

process and revamping corporate 

collaboration across industries. 

Choudhury Moshtaq Ahmed, 

managing director (Current Charge) 

of NBL said: “We plan to expand 

into digital services by partnering 

with Microsoft and using their 

top-of-the-line technology. This 

partnership not only enables us to 

grow our business, but also raises 

our brand value in the country due 

to our commitment to security and 

intellectual property rights.” 

Sonia Bashir Kabir, managing director, 

Microsoft Bangladesh Limited 

said: “Many factors have come into 

play due to the rising advancements 

of technology around the world 

thanks to digital transformation.” 

“With the government’s vision 

to take the IT sector to the next 

level of the digital transformation 

journey. We, at Microsoft Bangladesh 

Limited will continue being 

committed to building an interactive 

and booming local IT ecosystem 

by encouraging and supporting 

partners like Tech One Global and 

National Bank Limited,” she added. 

Managing Director of Tech One 

Global (Pvt.) Ltd Lahiru Munindradasa, 

said, “Our team at Tech One 

Global always strives to provide 

the best form of service solutions 

to our clients.” 

“We advocate digital transformation 

and its potential to change 

the game. Every day, every second, 

we always strive to reach Bangladesh’s 

aim for technological advancement.” 

he added. • 

Nine new banks warned against 

high rate of default loans 

• Jebun Nesa Alo 

Nine new banks have been warned 

against higher default loans that 

made the central bank concerned. 

The warning came at a meeting 

Bangladesh Bank held yesterday 

with the top managers of those 

banks at its headquarters. 

The managing directors of the 

banks were asked to bring down 

their default loans at a tolerable 

rate by December. 

The nine are Meghna, Midland, 

Modhumoti, NRB, NRBC, NRBG, 

SBAC, The Farmers and Union 

Banks. 

A senior executive of Bangladesh 

Bank said the new banks are 

taking low quality loans from other 

banks and lending aggressively 

without assessing their client’s 

need. 

He added that some new banks 

were found approving loans without 

complying with loan procedure 

fully. 

Bangladesh Bank asked top 

BGMEA to file review petition against Appellate 

Division’s decision to demolish its complex 

• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi 

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers 

and Exporters Association 

(BGMEA) will file a review petition 

against the decision of the 

appellate division that asked to 

immediately demolish its 15-storey 

“BGMEA Complex” constructed illegally 

on the Begunbari canal and 

Hatirjheel lake in the city. 

“As we are law abiding citizens 

and respectful to any decision of 

the court, I think that the court will 

consider our appeal for the sake 

managers to disburse loan after being 

fully compliant with loan procedure. 

The central bank data showed 

that classified loans of new banks 

have increased five to seven times 

in nine months which raised serious 

concern to the authority. 

The Farmers Bank which was 

already found involved with loan 

irregularities saw the most higher 

default loan rate among the new 

banks. 

The default loan rate of the bank 

jumped to 7.24% in September this 

year from 0.36% in December last 

year, according to the central bank 

data. 

The total default amount stood 

at Tk277 crore in September, of 

which Tk124 crore turned into bad 

and loss loan. The bad amount is 

presumed to not be recoverable. 

The bank was penalised Tk10 

lakh by Bangladesh Bank at the 

beginning of this year for violating 

rule in disbursing loans to some 

institutions. Later, the bank filed 

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a writ with the High Court against 

the penalty which drew a huge criticism 

from every corner. 

The advance-deposit ratio of 

The Farmers bank was 87.35% as of 

June this year beyond the authorised 

limit of 85%. 

The credit growth of the bank 

was 37% as of June this year, the 

highest among the private banks, 

according to the central bank. 

Among the other new banks, 

four were in zero default loans in 

December last year and incurred 

significant default loans in nine 

months. 

The four banks are Meghna, 

Modhumoti, SBAC and Union 

Bank. 

The default loan rate of Meghna 

bank climbed up to 3.01% in September 

this year from zero in December 

last year followed by Modhumoti 

0.45%, SBAC 0.08% and 

Union 0.04%, according to the central 

bank data. 

The three banks for nonresidents 

performed worst in nine 

of the RMG sector that employed 

thousands of workers,” BGMEA 

President Md Siddiqur Rahman 

told the Dhaka Tribune over phone. 

In this regard he categorically 

said: “Since, the full verdict has already 

been published, the BGMEA 

will file a review petition within 

the first week of December.” 

“Now, the ultimate decision on 

demolishing the BGMEA building 

depends on the court decision on 

our review petition,” said Rahman. 

He, however, hoped that BG- 

MEA would get a favourable direction 

from the court that would 

be better for the country's apparel 

industry. 

As per the full verdict, the BG- 

MEA will have to bear the whole 

cost of demolishing the building. 

On June 2, the Supreme Court 

upheld a High Court ruling that 

had ordered the demolition of the 

BGMEA building in Hatirjheel in 

Dhaka. 

A four-member bench of the Appellate 

Division led by Chief Justice 

Surenda Kumar Sinha rejected BG- 

MEA's plea against the HC ruling. 

months, gaining higher default 

loans. The default loan rate of NRB 

Bank rose to 2.27% in September 

this year from 0.20% in December 

last year followed by NRBC to 

4.19% from 0.26% and NRBG to 

1.14% from 0.64%, showed the central 

bank default loan statement. 

The new banks also have been 

asked to appoint required independent 

director to their board at 

the coming annual general meeting. 

Most of the new banks missed 

the deadline of appointing independent 

director by July 22 this 

year. 

“We have been asked to pursue 

the board to appoint required number 

of independent directors soon 

as per the amended bank company 

act 2013,” said Nurul Amin, managing 

director of Meghna Bank. 

He said only some two or three 

banks have appointed independent 

directors. The post remained vacant 

in most of the new banks still 

after the deadline over. • 

In 2011, the HC had found the 

building had been constructed violating 

laws protecting the wetlands. 

In 2013, after the full verdict was 

available, the HC ordered the demolition 

of the building within 90 

days upon receiving the court verdict. 

BGMEA then filled a leave-toappeal 

petition against the order. 

The Supreme Court judgment 

upholds a High Court verdict that 

had directed authorities concerned 

to demolish the fifteen storied 

commercial complex as it was constructed 

illegally. •

UK to raise 

deposit guarantee 

after pound's 

Brexit plunge 

• Reuters 

The Bank of England (BoE) has 

proposed raising the guarantee 

on bank account deposits back to 

85,000 pounds ($105,000) from 

Jan 30, 2017, to reflect the sharp fall 

in sterling following Britain's vote 

to leave the European Union. 

The level of deposit account 

protection is set under EU rules at 

100,000 euros or its equivalent in 

member states that do not use the 

single currency. 

It was cut to 75,000 pounds in 

Britain in 2015 following a regular 

five-year adjustment under the 

bloc's rules. A weaker euro against 

the pound was the reason for the 

cut. 

The BoE's Prudential Regulation 

Authority (PRA), which regulates 

banks in Britain and requires 

them to fund the guarantee, said 

a change in the pound's value 

against the euro after the Brexit 

vote in June, meant it could be adjusted. 

Sterling lost about a fifth of its 

value against the euro in the aftermath 

of the June referendum, and 

the EU rules allow for adjustments 

due to unforeseen events. 

"Restoring the limit to 85,000 

pounds – the level in effect for almost 

five years prior to 3 July 2015 – 

is intended to provide a measure of 

memorability and consistency," the 

PRA said in a statement, announcing 

a consultation on the matter. 

Lenders would have until the 

end of June 2017 to implement the 

changes to systems. 

"The PRA will continue to monitor 

fluctuations in the exchange 

rate but, barring unforeseen 

events, will seek to avoid making 

further adjustments to the deposit 

protection limit," the watchdog 

said. 

Andrew Tyrie, chairman of parliament's 

Treasury Select Committee, 

described the cut in 2015 as 

absurd. 

Tyrie said on Monday the PRA's 

consultation was a recipe for more 

uncertainty, but Brexit should allow 

Britain to write its own rules 

for protecting depositors. 

"The absurd situation, in which 

the UK is left vulnerable, at the discretion 

of the European Commission, 

to frequent changes in our deposit 

scheme, must be brought to 

an end," Tyrie said in a statement. 

"Brexit should give the UK the 

opportunity to set its own level of 

protection. We should take it." 

Paul Edmondson, head of financial 

services at law firm CMS, said: 

"There is little doubt that putting 

the level of financial protection 

back to its pre-2015 sterling level of 

85,000 pounds serves the UK's domestic 

agenda." • 

Business 13 

DT 


Tourism board eyes community-based 

tourism across Bangladesh 

• Ishtiaq Husain 

BEZA, Omera sign MoU for Mirsarai economic zone 

• SM Najmus Sakib 

Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority 

and Omera Petroleum Limited 

has signed a Memorandum of 

Understanding to develop Mirsarai 

Economic Zone near Chittagong. 

BEZA Executive Board Secretary 

Md Aiub and Omera CEO Tipu Sultan 

signed the MoU on behalf their 

respective organisations at the 

BEZA conference room in Dhaka 

yesterday. 

The deal was aimed at developing 

“a planned industrial zone and 

create more employment opportunities” 

in the country. 

According to the MoU, Omera 

Foreign tourists at a local community house. BTB is trying to promote community-based tourism in the country 

Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) 

is planning to develop community-based 

tourism across the country 

by preserving local tradition 

and culture. 

As part of its efforts, the authorities 

will help develop local community, 

promote their lifestyle and 

create employment opportunity. 

BTB will create an easy and flexible 

destination for tourists. 

Akhtaruz Zaman Khan Kabir, 

CEO of Bangladesh Tourism Board, 

said they are planning to initiate 

community-based tourism in wide 

scale, utilising limited tourism resources. 

“Tourists have huge attraction 

towards local people’s lifestyle, 

their language, tradition and culture, 

which will fetch economic 

benefit,” he said. 

Under this process, locals will 

become the protectors of their 

property and tradition in order for 

economic benefit. 

Stressing the need for community 

tourism, the board has made 

efforts to ensure intensive development, 

engaging the stakeholders 

in the system and creating business 

opportunities for a sustainable 

management in tourism. 

A guideline will be incorporated 

for a sustainable community tourism, 

discussing with entrepreneurs 

and inbound tour operators in order 

to specify localities and types 

of products foreign tourists like 

most. 

The Ministry of Environment 

and Forest and its departments will 

also be engaged. 

According to BTB CEO, the community 

tourism will boost family-based 

income opportunity creating 

employment opportunities 

for local dwellers. 

Though community tourism 

concept is new in Bangladesh, developed 

countries are familiar with 

the theme over the last few decades 

while India has started getting the 

fruitful result such tourism. 

An unfamiliar hilly village ‘Chuikhim’ 

in Shiliguri of the neighbouring 

country earned huge 

popularity because of community 

tourism which changed the fate of 

dwellers out there. 

The Maulinong village of Meghalaya 

bordering Sylhet’s Jaflong in 

Bangladesh has made another notable 

example and turned out to be 

a vibrant tourism destination. 

Over the last couple of years, 

community-based tourism is taking 

shape with the help of private 

initiatives in Moulvibazar, Satkhira, 

Tangail and the Sundarbans 

Petroleum Limited will invest 

Tk13,000 crore to implement the 

project and employ 5,000 people, 

said Tipu Sultan. 

coastal areas. 

The tourism board is planning to 

widen the extent of tourism areas 

in the regions. 

Even BTB is planning to use the 

potential of its archaeological sites 

and boutique industry. The lifestyle 

of ethnic people has also got 

tourism potential. 

Mutual understanding and communication 

among locals, eradicating 

gender inequity, boosting skills, 

education and social awareness are 

required to ensure tourist-friendly 

vicinity. 

Terming it positive sign for tourism, 

TOAB Director, also CEO of 

Journey Plus, Toufiq Rahman said 

ensuring proper management and 

security for foreign tourists are the 

BEZA, Omera sign MoU for Mirsarai economic zone in the city yesterday 

COURTESY 

Under the MoU, the Omera will 

lease 200 acres of land to set up a 

LPG Import Terminal and Reforming 

Process Unit. 

COURTESY 

key to promotion of such kind of 

tourism. 

According to Bengal Tours Limited 

Managing Director Masud Hossain, 

orientation of locals dealing 

with foreign tourists is not enough 

to enhance community tourism, 

language barrier is also a key problem 

that needs to be addressed. 

To find a tourist guide is a big 

concern as it is tough to find locals 

that can work as guide as they have 

little engagement with tourism. 

Mentioning the absence of 

proper guideline for community 

tourism, Akhtaruz Zaman said they 

would prepare a unified guideline 

discussing with the stakeholders 

and following example of other 

countries. • 

BEZA Executive Chairman 

Paban Chowdhury, who was present 

during the signing as the chief 

guest, said the total area of the zone 

would be 30,000 acres and the zone 

would have modern facilities. 

He said the deal had been signed 

as part of the government's initiative 

to build industries in Mirsarai 

in a planned way involving both local 

and foreign companies. 

Earlier in February, Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina inaugurated 10 

government and private economic 

zones including Mirsarai for the 

development and creation of jobs. 

The zones are expected to employ 

about 1m people. •

14 


DT 

Business 

Euro zone bailout fund head calls 

for more risk sharing in euro zone 

• Reuters 

The euro zone needs more 

risk sharing in the financial 

sector to accelerate economic 

growth, the head of 

the euro zone bailout fund 

Klaus Regling said yesterday 

in remarks that are likely 

to face strong opposition 

in his native Germany. 

Regling said financial integration, 

on the rise since 

the euro was created in 

1999, took a big step back 

during the two consecutive 

financial crises that hit the 

19 countries sharing the euro 

from 2008 onwards and that 

cut economic growth. 

He estimated that the 

drop in capital mobility between 

euro zone countries 

cost 4 percentage points of 

gross domestic product and 

0.5 percentage points in 

terms of potential growth. 

“The lack of risk sharing 

... is a key challenge in this 

respect. It is the one economic 

priority on top of my 

list, when I think about the 

gaps that should be filled 

to make EMU more robust, 

and the euro area economy 

more resilient,” he said. 

The Economic and Monetary 

Union (EMU) -- the 

single euro currency - is the 

biggest political and economic 

project of the European 

Union, but while the 

monetary part of it has been 

set up and works well, the 

economic union is yet to be 

completed. 

“Now if a lack of risk 

sharing – particularly 

through the capital markets 

channel – is the main challenge, 

a higher degree of 

financial integration is the 

obvious answer,” he said. 

Regling said that to boost 

financial integration banks 

had to aggressively reduce 

the number of non-performing 

loans, perhaps 

helped by fiscal incentives, 

and cut costs by closing 

branches, better use of 

technology and sector consolidation. 

• 

CORPORATE NEWS 

LankaBangla Finance Ltd (LBFL) has recently signed an agreement with Huawei Mobile, an enterprise of 

ADA Trading Bangladesh Co Ltd on providing its cardholders with EMI facility for purchasing at Huawei 

Mobile, said a press release. Head of retail finance at LBFL, Khurshed Alam and Wang Guo Juan, director 

(finance) of ADA Trading Bangladesh have signed the agreement 

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has recently opened its 310th branch at Bakerganj in Barisal, said a press 

release. Chairperson of the bank’s executive committee, Prof Syed Ahsanul Alam inaugurated the branch 

as chief guest 

BRAC Bank Limited has recently organised an event named Sales Convention 2016, said a press release. 

The bank’s managing director, Selim RF Hussain was present at the convention 

National Bank Ltd has recently signed a Microsoft Enterprise agreement with Tech One (Pvt) Ltd, said a 

press release. The bank’s DMD, Shah Syed Abdul Bari, MD of Tech One Global, Lahiru Munindradasa and 

Sonia Bashir Kabir, MD of Microsoft Bangladesh Ltd have signed the agreement

Business 15 

DT 


Bundesbank confident German economy will end year on high note 

• AFP, Berlin 

The German economy will pick up 

speed again in the final months of 

the year following a summer slowdown, 

the country’s central bank 

predicted yesterday. 

With domestic consumption 

set to remain strong, the improved 

outlook was driven by the manufacturing 

sector, which is banking on a 

rise in industrial orders, and higher 

export expectations, the Bundesbank 

said in its monthly report. 

“In the final quarter of 2016, 

German economic growth is likely 

to strengthen considerably following 

a summer slowdown,” it said. 

“Sentiment has brightened significantly 

lately.” 

Europe’s top economy expanded 

by just 0.2% in the third quarter 

of the year, official data showed 

last week, down from 0.7 and 0.4% 

in the first and second quarters, respectively. 

The eurozone as a whole grew 

by 0.3% in the third quarter. 

Like the Bundesbank, analysts 

were sanguine about Germany’s 

disappointing quarter, pointing out 

that business confidence reached a 

two-year high in November as fears 

receded over any immediate blow to 

trade after the Brexit vote in June. 

“The basic economic dynamics 

remain robust,” the Bundesbank 

said. For the whole of 2016, the 

central bank expects the German 

economy to expand by 1.7% . •

18 


DT 

Feature 

| panel review | 

Social Climbers 

Photo: Rajib Dhar 

The Bangladesh paradox 

• Tasfia Huda 

“I think, the interesting thing 

about Bangladesh is that, it has 

achieved a very good progress on 

human development indicators 

– infant mortality, child nutrition 

and so on, at a relatively low per 

capital income. And, the paradox 

is that, no single explanation 

allows us to make sense of 

it,” said Naila Kabeer, Indianborn 

British Bangladeshi social 

economist, while discussing the 

achievements, complexities and 

challenges of trying to reduce 

the equity gap, during the panel 

discussion titled ‘Social Climbers’. 

Held on the second day of 

Dhaka Lit Fest 2016, the panel was 

moderated by Naresh Fernandes, 

the editor of Scroll, a digital daily 

in India. 

The panel also consisted 

of Hossain Zillur Rahman, 

economist, social thinker and the 

founder-chairman of Power and 

Participation Research Centre 

(PPRC), a Dhaka-based think 

tank, Riti Ibrahim Ahsan, who 

administered the Population and 

Housing Census 2011 in which she 

addressed gender issues and Farisa 

Kabir, who is currently working 

for BRAC (Human rights and Legal 

services). 

Discussing the incomemediated 

and support-led 

pathways to human development, 

both Naila Kabeer and Hossain 

Zillur Rahman agreed that 

Bangladesh has been very clever 

at crafting ways forward, in 

terms of identifying intermediate 

stops, and really focusing on 

them. “Micro-credit, essentially 

facilitated women to do something 

for themselves, but it wasn’t 

replacing the men. So, pragmatic 

approaches and finding out entry 

points have been the greatest 

strengths of Bangladeshis so far,” 

said Zillur Rahman. Naila Kabeer 

also added to his opinion by 

saying, “We’ve had a very strong 

civil society and development 

NGOs, and they have to be given a 

lot of credit for what has changed, 

because they reach into the 

grassroots level, where behaviour 

changes. What has happened in 

Bangladesh is because of a very 

active role of these NGOs. The 

very fact that they are taking these 

messages to the grassroots, I think 

has been a very important factor in 

allowing this progress to be made.” 

The speakers think the biggest 

challenges in doing so, have 

been that, while women are 

aware of their legal rights and 

can differentiate well between 

right and wrong, they hesitate 

because of many inconsiderations, 

to come forward and seek help 

when they themselves become 

the victims of violence. While 

speaking about some of the 

key initiatives that have been 

taken, in order to overcome 

these problems, Riti Ahsan said, 

“All these developments have 

been possible because of the 

role women are playing in our 

society, at present. When women 

came into the workforce, they 

never stopped. There is still 80% 

of women in our society who 

have gone through, or are facing 

violence in their lives, whether 

they are married, unmarried, or 

even elderly ones. However, there 

are still some challenges that the 

state has to face. Healthcare and 

child nutrition has developed 

greatly, but, the public space is 

still unsafe for women. Overall, 

the programs that are working for 

women and children, show that 

the government has been putting 

quite an effort in this field.” 

Farisa Kabir, who has been 

working with BRAC, to raise 

legal awareness among women, 

believes that the destabilising 

of norms have led to these 

transformations. “Little by little, 

as the norms shifted, women 

realis ed that male bread-winning 

is no longer sufficient,” she said. 

She also added that, when people 

learnt to rely on themselves, rather 

than the patriarchy, it helped 

to unlock many personalities 

within them. These experiences, 

transformed the Bangladeshi 

“Women, as individuals 

have transformed 

greatly, maybe not so 

much in the institutional 

context, but these 

transformations have 

been massive in the 

social context,” 

people, especially the women, 

to become more aspirational. 

She also spoke about changes 

in family-planning methods, 

and how it has been made more 

accessible among the rural women 

in Bangladesh. Micro-finance, 

in her opinion, has also brought 

dramatic changes, while, the 

garment industry has also opened 

up avenues for women to migrate, 

from their villages, without their 

husbands. “Women, as individuals 

have transformed greatly, maybe 

not so much in the institutional 

context, but these transformations 

have been massive in the social 

context,” said Hossain Zillur 

Rahman, when asked about the 

achievements that Bangladesh has 

made in trying to reduce equity 

gap. •

Biz Info 

19 


DT 

| competition | | donation | 

Mathematics Olympiad at BRAC University Bipasha Hayat unveils 

BRAC university students have 

shown their remarkable talent 

in the regional Mathematics 

Olympiad competition, which 

was held on 12 November at the 

campus of BRAC University. 

This was a regional round for 

selecting the most talented 

and brightest undergraduate 

mathematicians, who will be 

taking part in the final round of 

the 8th National Undergraduate 

Mathematics Olympiad- 2016. 

The event was organised and 

hosted by the Mathematics 

and Natural Sciences (MNS) 

Department of BRAC University. 

The regional round at BRAC 

University was the first round 

named Dhaka North Regional 

Olympiad. From here, the 10 

best performers were selected 

as the regional champions. 

A total of 60 students will be 

selected for competing in the 

final round. Students from 29 

public and private universities 

in Dhaka north, took part in this 

round where BRAC University 

students, by their extraordinary 

performance, have secured most 

of the top-level positions. A total 

of 5 mathematicians, out of the 

10 best ones, were selected from 

BRAC University in this regional 

round. The first 3 positions have 

been secured by students of 

BRAC University. 

Students who got selected 

from BRAC University in this 

regional round are Sadat Husain 

(1st) from the MNS department, 

Sumaya Habib (2nd) from the 

Computer Science Engineering 

(CSE) department, and Waqqas 

Iqbal (3rd) from the CSE 

department. The remaining 

2 students who have jointly 

secured the 9th position are 

Ishtiaq Ahmad Zim from 

the Electrical and Electronic 

Engineering department, and 

Maesha Armeen from the 

Economics and Social Sciences 

department. 

BRAC University has always 

proved its excellence through 

their students, who have 

reached the peak at national 

and international events. BRAC 

University is dedicated towards 

providing quality education. 

Moreover, the distinguished and 

highly qualified faculty members 

have always motivated students, 

so that they take part in such 

competitions and give their best 

to enhance the goodwill of BRAC 

University, as well as the whole 

nation. 

Bangladesh Mathematical 

Society (BMS) has been holding 

Undergraduate Mathematics 

Olympiad every year since 2009. 

A F Mujibur Rahman Foundation 

(a charity devoted to knowledge 

and education) is supporting 

BMS monetarily, in leading the 

8th National Undergraduate 

Mathematics Olympiad 2016. 

The objective of the 

Mathematics Olympiad is to 

prepare a platform for the 

young talented undergraduate 

students in the nation, to 

demonstrate their mathematical 

and analytical capacity, and 

to create awareness across the 

nation for the improvement of 

mathematical skills. At the end 

of the final competition, the 

top 10 participants each will be 

rewarded with a prize money of 

Tk 10,000 along with a crest, and 

a certificate of excellence.• 

Vaseline do nation Kiosk for 

the Vaseline Healing Project 

Minor skin problems like chapped 

lips, small cuts and wounds and 

skin dryness are experienced by 

almost everyone, especially during 

winter. Unfortunately enough, in 

the case of people living in poverty 

these small skin problems can 

turn into major skin issues. From 

that thought Unilever Bangladesh 

Limited’s skincare brand Vaseline 

has initiated it’s “Vaseline 

Healing Project” to help heal the 

skin of underprivileged people. 

Renowned actress and painter, 

Bipasha Hayat who is also an avid 

Vaseline petroleum jelly user, 

has joined the “Vaseline Healing 

Project” as the brand ambassador 

since the cause is close to her 

heart. 

Unimart, one of the largest 

grocery outlets in the country, is 

the exclusive retail partner for the 

Vaseline healing project. On 19th 

November 2016, Bipasha Hayat 

unveiled the “Vaseline Healing 

Project” donation kiosks at the 

Gulshan 2 branch of Unimart. 

These kiosks are open for public 

to donate Vaseline Petroleum 

Jelly for underprivileged people. 

Representatives from Unilever as 

well as Unimart were present at 

the event. 

Vaseline Petroleum Jelly jars 

collected through “Vaseline 

Healing Project” will be handed 

over to the underprivileged 

people living in Bogra through the 

project’s NGO partner, TMSS. • 

| celebration | | festival | 

Children’s day celebrated at Independent 

School 

Independent School celebrated 

Universal Children’s Day in a 

unique and effective manner. 

Children and their parents, 

with great enthusiasm, donated 

toys, clothes, story books and 

biscuits for the underprivileged 

children. Some children from 

the neighbourhood slum 

were invited to the school, 

to spend some fun time and 

the clothes collected were 

distributed amongst them. 

Students also took out a rally 

shouting slogans, ‘Make 

our future bright, Make our 

future right’ focusing on the 

rights of children. The rally 

ended at a charitable school 

run by Sector 5, Kalyan 

Somity. Students sang songs 

with the school children, 

and spent time talking with 

each other. Toys, books, 

stationery, and biscuits were 

distributed amongst them. 

It was a great way to make 

the students empathize with 

children who do not experience 

the basic needs, as they 

themselves do. • 

BBQ Fest at Dhaka Regency 

BBQ lovers get ready to mingle 

at the BBQ fest being held at the 

City’s most happening hotel, 

Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort! 

It has began from the 17th of 

November, 2016 at “Grill On The 

Skyline”, a breath-taking milieu 

under an open sky where the 

aromas of the gourmet grilled 

delicacies reach the heavens. 

Guests can savor an array 

of exciting and lavish delights, 

flawlessly selected by the 

Executive Chef of the hotel. 

Don’t waste a minute and start 

your culinary adventure with the 

Chef’s special selection of Grilled 

King Prawns, Red Snapper, Baby 

Koral, King Fish, Lamp Chops, 

Lobster, Pomfret and tons of more 

exotic variety of seafood. All the 

ingredients perfectly harmonise 

to create a mouth watering 

flavour that you probably won’t 

get enough of. Guests will have 

the opportunity to choose and 

create their own chows and 

the chefs are always ready to 

assemble them at the live BBQ 

station and serve it to your table. 

In addition to the extraordinary 

arrangement, there will be live 

musical sessions on weekends to 

enthrall your evening. 

The BBQ fest at Dhaka Regency 

will last throughout the entire 

winter season, with sputtering 

freshly grilled dishes from 5:30 

PM to 11:00 PM everyday, which 

started from November 17, 2016 

and will continue till February 28, 

2017. A perfect way to warm up 

your cold evenings with friends? 

Book your table before it fills out! 

For booking, Call- 01713332661 

and bring the entire clan to a 

pleasant barbecue gathering while 

enjoying a cozy yet exotic grilled 

dining experience. •

DT 

20 

Editorial 


TODAY 

A minor issue 

In 30 years, there will be no more 

Hindus left in the country. But that is 

not part of our reality. After all, our 

friends and acquaintances, some of 

whom are Hindus, none of them has 

ever left the country because they were 

persecuted, were they? 

PAGE 21 

REUTERS 

A pinch of 

brown sugar 

The genetic code was just a little 

coincidence or magic of this universe as 

I would like to believe. It cannot be my 

sole or foremost identification 

PAGE 22 

The religious 

exceptions 

The citizenship debate is primarily a 

demographic dominance. The fear of 

being swamped in their own homeland 

in a demographic and economic sense is 

behind many of these debates 

PAGE 23 

Be heard 

Write to Dhaka Tribune 

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, 

Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 

Send us your Op-Ed articles: 

opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com 

www.dhakatribune.com 

Join our Facebook community: 

https://www.facebook.com/ 

DhakaTribune. 

The views expressed in opinion 

articles are those of the authors 

alone and they are not the 

official view of Dhaka Tribune 

or its publisher. 

We cannot close our borders to 

people fleeing ethnic cleansing 

The plight of the Rohingya people of Rakhine state is a full-blown 

humanitarian crisis, with untold numbers now heading towards the 

Bangladesh border to escape butchery. 

Make no mistake, the responsibility for their plight falls squarely and 

unequivocally on the Myanmar government, and no one else. 

However, be that as it may, now that the only safe haven for many is across the 

border in Bangladesh, simple humanity requires Bangladesh to do what it can to help 

them. 

We appreciate that this is easier said than done. 

The Rohingya issue has complex ramifications, and in a country that is 

overcrowded, underdeveloped, and has limited administrative and security 

resources, it is understandable that the government must tread carefully so as to not 

be overwhelmed by the scale of the catastrophe unfolding next door. 

The government has good reason to be wary about an unchecked influx of 

refugees, and we understand their caution. 

It is, nevertheless, time to take a stand: Bangladesh has long prided itself on being 

a good global citizen, and opening our borders with Myanmar to allow for Rohingya 

Muslims to flee the persecution of the Myanmar military is the right thing to do. 

Let us never forget that when it was we who ourselves were faced with genocide, 

India opened its borders to us, taking in some 10 million refugees. 

We therefore ought not to turn a blind eye to the sufferings of the Rohingya today. 

But the government has a point, too. 

First, Bangladesh cannot shoulder the burden of these refugees by ourselves. 

So while the borders should be opened, it is imperative that the international 

community step up and provide all the support necessary for their food, shelter, and 

medical care. 

More importantly, the UN and the international community must listen to the 

Bangladesh government, ensure that its concerns are addressed, and operate 

accordingly. 

But most importantly, the international community must put pressure on 

Myanmar to find a permanent solution to the problem that safeguards the rights of 

the Rohingya. 

In the absence of such a commitment, it is not fair to expect Bangladesh and not 

Myanmar to essentially bear the full weight of this crisis, for which we are not to 

blame. 

Bangladesh must do our bit. 

But the world must also. 

Bangladesh must do our 

bit. But the world must 

also

Opinion 21 

DT 


A minor issue 

We live inside a bubble that keeps us away from reality 

THE 

WORLD IN 

PARENTHESES 

• SN Rasul 

When your best 

friend tells you 

that you’re being a 

Hindu because you 

refuse to pay for the meal despite 

earning a hefty paycheck, it’s a 

minor issue. And, his response is 

the same as you walk to the place 

where you want to meet, sweating 

from the equatorial heat: “You 

stink like a Hindu, man.” Then, 

too, it’s a minor issue. 

When someone from my family 

addresses me, using my nickname 

(spelt Aninda, pronounced 

Onindo), outsiders say, “Oh, why 

do you have a Hindu name?” or, 

more simply, “Oh, a Hindu name.” 

I clarify and say, “No, it’s a Bangla 

name,” but my explanation falls 

on deaf ears. But I can ignore it for, 

you see, it is but a minor issue. 

In Brahmanbaria, when 

temples are burned to the ground 

because of a Facebook post, it’s 

nothing for us to worry about. 

You see, the kind of mentality 

that is required to incite a group 

of youths to hatred and violence 

and destruction is not something 

we are exposed to. Sure, it’s a lot 

of people, but they’re a nonrepresentative 

collective, and as 

such, this is small sample size and 

hence, a minor issue. 

The fact that this was 

presumably a systematic way of 

inciting hatred -- much in the 

same vein these so-called religious 

leaders have done before, by 

hacking into a Facebook account 

for the nefarious purpose of 

inciting hatred and division 

-- is scary, but expected of the 

rural and uneducated working 

class, whose minds are as of yet 

not developed enough to think 

for themselves. It would never 

happen to us and, for that, it’s a 

minor issue. 

As a result of which, hundreds 

of Hindus leave Bangladesh daily. 

According to a study by economist 

Dr Abdul Barkat, in 30 years, there 

will be no more Hindus left in the 

country. But that is not part of our 

reality. After all, our friends and 

acquaintances, some of whom are 

Hindus, none of them has ever 

left the country because they 

were persecuted, were they? Not 

because they felt that so notat-home? 

A mountain out of a 

Bangladeshi Hindus are under attack, but what are we doing about it? 

According to a study by economist Dr Abdul Barkat, in 30 years, there 

will be no more Hindus left in the country. But that is not part of our 

reality. After all, our friends and acquaintances, some of whom are 

Hindus, none of them has ever left the country because they were 

persecuted, were they? 

molehill must be a minor issue? 

And then you hear about 

Santals and Rohingyas. The 

cordoning off of their existence 

to a single paragraph speaks 

volumes, but little is heard. They 

are killed and brutalised. They 

remain on the fringes of society, 

thereby never really becoming 

people you know, or understand, 

or can see in the culture that you 

inhabit. 

They are a people and 

individuals amongst them are 

rare. Most of us have probably 

never heard of Santals before 

the murders? We’ve heard of 

ethnicities in the hill tracts, who 

sometimes are part of our culture, 

with their surnames of Barua and 

Chakma, but that’s about it. Surely, 

then, it’s a minor issue? 

And when we speak of 

Chakmas, we place the tips of 

our fingers against the edges of 

our eyes and pull ever so slightly, 

blinding ourselves to each of 

their individual characteristics, 

their historic fight against the 

stereotype, and go: “Oh, look, I’m 

Chinese!” We laugh because we 

can’t really help it; it’s not that 

difficult to admit that it is kind of 

funny. It’s not difficult so it must 

be a minor issue. 

And then we write editorials, 

ministers and heads of state make 

speeches of the inclusivity in the 

history of the Bangladeshi nation, 

how each and every race and 

religion is given equal treatment, 

while, simultaneously, the 

constitution changes to start off 

with an Islamic quote. 

There is that older narrative 

of how Bangladesh was united 

by language, and not by religion 

or ethnicity, and we have always 

boasted diversity in our culture, an 

intermingling of faiths. 

But in whispers, the narrative 

breaks down; wasn’t there always 

a division of religiosity and 

religion, of piety, of race? Where 

are they in the stories they tell us, 

in the faces of our leaders, in the 

perpetuity with which this kind 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

of separation has been allowed to 

fester? Another minor thing, part 

of another minor issue? 

Even in this bubble we have 

created for ourselves, for the 

reality is difficult to approach 

and willfully encroach, there is 

a sadness that wells up at the 

thought of the inability with which 

a human being can be treated as 

nothing more than the identity 

they had no choice in being born 

with. We do it, in small ways, 

when we are irrevocably attracted 

to another person, and when we 

are, contrastingly, repulsed. 

We do it in slightly bigger ways 

when we cringe our noses at the 

way certain people celebrate their 

culture: Pork and pre-marital sex, 

the smell of incense, the yellowed 

walls, the butchering of animals, 

the non-butchering of animals, 

the colours, the music, the 

infinite jest, the freedom, the lack 

thereof. This isn’t representative 

of us because this bubble is 

impenetrable. Minority issues? 

Sure, we have them, but that’s 

merely a minor issue. • 

SN Rasul is a Sub-Editor at the Dhaka 

Tribune. Follow him @snrasul.



DT 

Opinion 

A pinch of brown sugar 

We are not the colour of our skin 

What does it mean to be brown? 

The genetic code was just a little coincidence 

or magic of this universe as I would like to 

believe. It cannot be my sole or foremost 

identification 

• Farzana Hussain 

Last Sunday, I was invited 

by a friend to a housewarming 

party hosted 

by one of his friends. 

Normally, I don’t do much on 

Sundays, so I happily tagged along. 

It was a comparatively warm 

sunny November day in the 

outskirts of London. I was already 

enjoying the day, and was looking 

forward to meeting and greeting 

a bunch of people I’ve never met 

before. 

After a couple of hours by train, 

when we reached just before 

entering the house, I asked my 

friend if the host knew I was 

coming. He nodded: “Yeah, I 

texted her to ask if it is okay to 

bring along a little brown girl 

to her house.” In reply to my 

surprised look, he shrugged, 

saying: “C’mon, it’s just a joke!” 

Of course it’s a joke, it’s meant 

to be funny, it must be. I’ve heard 

such jokes before: “A bottle of 

milk” is a friendly slang phrase 

used to describe very lightskinned 

people. Red-haired people 

are commonly called “ginger.” 

Often I was fondly called 

“brown sugar,” many a time they 

called me “brownie,” but “brown 

girl” is the most common of all. I 

know it’s a joke, it’s all for fun. 

But hang on a minute -- what’s 

so funny about it? I don’t get the 

joke. Who is the joke here, me? Or 

my skin colour? No, I don’t get the 

joke at all. 

I mean, I have heard similar 

jokes before. I didn’t get it then, 

and I don’t get it now. We were just 

about to step inside the house, and 

I was suddenly surrounded by all 

new faces, and I somehow stopped 

myself from asking my friend to 

crack the joke. I thought I would 

rather crack it myself by the end of 

the party. 

So, among all those first-time 

hellos and soft hugs and courteous 

pecks and gentle handshakes, I 

kept thinking: What’s so special 

about this brown girl? 

The host, along with the other 

guests, was speaking in English. 

So was the brown girl. Me? Well, I 

thought it might be my Indian-ish 

accent, those strong Ts and even 

stronger Rs. There we had people 

from different countries like 

Brazil, New Zealand, Ireland, and 

England, while the host herself 

was from Germany. So I assumed 

different accents were equally 

welcomed and admired. 

Then I thought it must be 

REUTERS 

my food habit that makes me 

“different” from others. Pandas 

eat bamboo, cows live on grass, 

whereas goats eat absolutely 

everything. Likewise, I’m an 

omnivore, so I eat anything edible 

on this universe but not pork, may 

that be for religious or “never had 

them before” reasons. 

In today’s world, people have 

different issues with different 

food -- they develop different 

food habits for varied reasons, be 

it religion, personal belief, health 

issues, or just-don’t-like-it. 

Some people are vegetarian, 

while some are vegan, some 

lactose intolerant, others glutenfree, 

or non-GMO. 

I’ve a friend who is now on a 

mission to eat only organic food, 

which makes her buy a chicken 

with four times the normal price, 

but that is absolutely her own 

preference. 

Anyway, the host arranged 

some everyday nibbles and drinks 

for us all, like crisps, nuts, biscuits, 

alcoholic, and non-alcoholic 

beverages. So, this brown girl’s 

food habit was not under fire. 

Then what? What’s so special 

about this brown girl? A lightskinned 

person would just be “a 

friend,” not “a white girl,” then 

why would a South Asian girl be 

called “a little brown girl”? 

For the readers’ kind 

information, I must mention here 

that this friend is quite a good 

friend of mine regardless of his 

skin colour, northern accent, or 

nationality. He adores me the same 

way I adore him. 

I can say it undoubtedly, this 

kind soul didn’t consciously mean 

any discrimination, bullying, or 

racial segregation towards me or 

anyone else. 

But I felt “a little brown girl” 

somehow classified me, and this 

racial classification gave me a 

sense of separation from others for 

a moment. 

One may ask, am I ashamed to 

be born in Southeast Asia? Am I 

in complete denial of my brown 

skin in this city of “white” people? 

No, not at all. I’m not ashamed to 

have brown/caramel/honey skin or 

whatever they call me, but I’m not 

proud of it either. 

My skin colour, my race, my 

nationality, my sex, or my sexual 

orientation -- none of them was an 

achievement for me. 

I got them following the basic 

theory of evolution or, as they say, 

being at the right/wrong place at 

the right/wrong moment. 

The genetic code, 23 pairs of 

chromosomes that I’m made of, 

was just a little coincidence or 

magic of this universe as I would 

like to believe. It cannot be my 

sole or foremost identification. For 

the tag of “little brown girl,” my 

only concern is that my brown skin 

colour indicates my race, not the 

person I am. 

So my race and ethnicity were 

introduced to other people before 

I even got a chance to introduce 

myself. 

It felt like my whole identity 

was snatched away from me by 

giving me the tag. The colour 

brown overshadowed my name, 

my smile, my warmth, my 

personality, or the bright colours 

of my thoughts and dreams. 

Yes, I do agree that there are 

many more real concerns in our 

daily lives such as climate change, 

refugee issues, extremism, 

poverty, and so on. There are 

burning issues like ethnic 

cleansing, racism, aggressive 

discrimination, homophobia, etc. 

Maybe what I’m saying is just 

much ado about nothing to many 

of you. 

But all I want to remind you 

is: This brown girl has a name, a 

heart, and some grey matter. This 

brown girl only believes in one 

race -- the human race. If you must 

classify me next time, please rephrase 

your question to: “Is it OK 

to bring along a fellow human to 

your place?” • 

Farzana Hussain is a Barrister-at-Law 

and a human rights activist.

Opinion 

23 


DT 

The religious exceptions 

India’s new citizenship laws are nothing if not problematic 

• Garga Chatterjee 

The union government has 

proposed certain changes 

to the Indian Union’s 

citizenship laws in the 

Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 

2016. The present legal framework 

has no provision for religionbased 

citizenship. The proposed 

amendment plans to change that. 

At present, an illegal migrant 

who enters the territory is 

prohibited from becoming a 

citizen. The amendment proposes 

that illegal migrants belonging 

to six specific religious minority 

communities from Afghanistan, 

Bangladesh, and Pakistan will 

be not be prohibited from Indian 

Union citizenship even if they 

migrated to the territory illegally. 

In a series of orders in 

September 2015 and July 2016, 

the government exempted from 

deportation illegal migrants 

from Afghanistan, Pakistan, 

and Bangladesh, belonging 

to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, 

Jain, Parsi, or Christian religion. 

These previous moves laid 

the framework for the present 

proposed amendment. 

Illegal migrants from 

Afghanistan, Pakistan, and 

Bangladesh who enter the territory 

belong to all religions. However, 

the reasons of illegal migration 

are not similar across all religions. 

Having said that, the reasons 

for illegal migration are also not 

similar across all adherents of a 

particular religion. 

The elephant in the room in 

that set of six religions is the 

religion of Islam. Afghanistan, 

Pakistan, and Bangladesh are 

Muslim-majority sovereign 

territories. But that’s not all. 

These are also territories 

where, in the last many decades, 

the population proportion of 

non-Muslims have continually 

fallen, in contrast to the Hindu 

majority Indian Union where 

the population proportion of 

Christians and Muslims have 

sharply risen over the last few 

decades. 

‘Our constitution does not allow 

this’ 

By this basic factor, it can be 

surmised that the minority 

situation in the Indian Union is far 

from ideal, but the situation differs 

from its neighbours. Population 

proportion surely cannot be 

the only measure of welfare of 

a community but in so far as 

growing and thriving in numbers 

is concerned, the Indian Union’s 

situation is better compared 

to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and 

Bangladesh. 

It is probably not accidental 

that the sub-continent’s only postcolonial 

fragment that has seen a 

decrease in population proportion 

of those belonging to the majority 

religious community is also the 

only one where the constitution 

does not mention any specific 

state religion. 

Powerful political parties, 

all with Hindus constituting a 

majority of their voter base, have 

expressed their opposition to this 

proposed amendment precisely on 

that count. 

Veteran Trinamool MP Saugata 

Roy said: “We have decided that 

we will oppose the amendment on 

the floor of the Indian parliament. 

The citizenship debate is primarily a demographic dominance and 

anxiety debate. The fear of being swamped in their own homeland in a 

demographic and economic sense is behind many of these debates 

This amendment is an attack on 

the secular fabric of our country. 

How can there be discrimination 

on the basis of religion? Our 

constitution does not allow this. 

The West Bengal government will 

also oppose it.” 

Saugata Roy is correct. The 

proposed amendment does 

include and exclude on the 

basis of religion. It is not as if 

this is unprecedented. Various 

other legislations or proposed 

legislations have done that in all 

but name. 

In practical political terms, 

the Trinamool probably has 

calculated that it cannot appear to 

support a legislation that clearly 

excludes members of a religious 

community who form nearly 30% 

of the population in West Bengal 

and is represented even more 

disproportionately higher in its 

supporter base. 

The recent large-scale anti- 

Hindu attacks by Muslim radicals 

in Brahmanbaria in collusion with 

a section of the local branch of the 

ruling party inspire little hope. 

The non-acknowledgment of 

the special status of non-Muslim 

might be used to consolidate 

already existing communal 

divisions in West Bengal which 

have gotten much worse after the 

rise of the BJP in the state. 

For all practical purposes, the 

Indian Union denies citizenship 

to those who crossed over from 

Keep migrants in, or kick them out? 

East Bengal after March 25. The 

2003 Citizenship (Amendment) 

Act took away the possibility of 

birthright citizenship from the 

children of many of those who 

fled persecution in East Bengal. 

Due to the amendment, many 

Dalit Bengalis were identified as 

“infiltrators” and deportation 

proceedings were started. 

Ultimately, the persecuted 

Hindus of East Bengal are 

mere pawns. When Delhibased 

Subramaniam Swamy 

outrageously claims a third of 

the territory of the Bangladesh to 

settle illegal Bangladeshis, he does 

not care about the ramifications of 

such statements on the situation 

of Hindu Bengalis presently living 

in Dhaka and Chittagong, where 

they are often branded Indian 

fifth-columnists by dint of faith. 

The prime beneficiaries of 

Partition crafted the Nehru- 

Liaquat pact of 1950. Many did 

not move due to the false sense 

of assurance that came with this 

largely ceremonial gesture. By 

this, the Indian Union effectively 

washed off its hands from the 

“minority problem” in Pakistan. 

“Shutting the door” has been the 

Indian Union policy post-1971, 

something it cannot implement. 

For decades, the Indian Union 

has systematically discriminated 

against Eastern frontier refugees 

(mostly Bengalis) compared to the 

Western frontier. The Indian Union 

owes reparation to these people, 

for the Indian Union’s creation 

and its geographical contours are 

intimately tied to their migration 

and impoverishment. 

The Assam Accord 

In Assam, the fault-lines are 

different. All strands of Assamese 

nationalism, oppose the proposed 

amendment. However, here the 

fault-line is more along ethnic 

lines. As per the terms of the 

Assam Accord of 1985, all illegal 

migrants who have entered Assam 

after March 25, 1971 are to be 

identified and deported. 

Even with its Muslim exclusion, 

this proposed amendment will 

pave the path to citizenship for 

many Hindu Bengalis who are 

illegal migrants in Assam. The BJP 

hopes that its anti-Muslim plank 

(couched not so subtly under the 

anti-Bangladeshi slogan) will help 

“unite” non-Muslims across ethnic 

lines. 

While it is true that Delhicentric 

political forces never 

wanted the Assam accord to be 

implemented, no one has declared 

the accord to be null and void. As 

of now, the proposed amendment 

contains no Assam exception 

clause which it ideally should. 

The problem with accords is 

that they are done in good faith 

between entities who expect each 

other to keep their word. If there 

is no Assam exception in the final 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

bill, it will mean that the Assam 

Accord was a fraud executed by 

the government of India on the 

people of Assam. 

With regards to the illegal 

migrant issue, one has to 

distinguish between victims of 

human rights violations, that is, 

refugees, and those who migrate 

due to other reasons. A blanket 

inclusion for non-Muslims and a 

blanket exclusion of Muslims is 

clearly discriminatory. 

The citizenship debate 

is primarily a demographic 

dominance and anxiety debate. 

The fear of being swamped in their 

own homeland in a demographic 

and economic sense is behind 

many of these debates. 

The reality is that it is not 

within the feasible limits of ability 

of the Indian Union administration 

to deport all existing illegal 

migrants who are simply economic 

migrants. 

A possible solution in such 

a scenario can be in the form 

of amnesty for all Bangladesh, 

Pakistan, and Afghanistan 

origin illegal migrants with 

the possibility of dual or tiered 

citizenship and expanded work 

permits schemes. At the same 

time, other demographic anxieties 

that exist between different parts 

of the Indian Union can also be 

addressed. 

A model for this already exists 

in various states of the Indian 

Union in the form of residencybased 

property ownership laws 

and entry control mechanisms 

through permits. Such initiatives 

need to be expanded as part of a 

thorough reform of the citizenship 

question. • 

Garga Chatterjee is a political and 

cultural commentator. He can be 

followed on twitter @gargac.

DT 

24 

Sport 


TOP STORIES 

Chittagong 

overcome Comilla 

Chittagong Vikings registered 

the highest successful chase of 

the Bangladesh Premier League 

Twenty20’s fourth edition after 

beating defending champions 

Comilla Victorians by six wickets 

in the port city yesterday. PAGE 25 

Perisic earns draw in 

Milan derby 

Inter Milan’s Ivan Perisic scored 

with almost the last kick of the 

game to snatch a 2-2 draw against 

AC Milan in Serie A under new 

coach Stefano Pioli after their 

neighbours twice led through Suso 

in Sunday’s derby. PAGE 26 

India skittle England 

to grab series lead 

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin 

finished with a match haul of 

eight wickets as visitors England 

collapsed on the last day of the 

second Test to hand India a 

thumping 246-run win and a series 

lead yesterday. PAGE 27 

Murray No 1 after 

dominating Djokovic 

His season had already provided 

several unforgettable chapters but 

Andy Murray saved the best to last 

as he eclipsed Novak Djokovic 6-3 

6-4 to claim his first ATP World 

Tour Finals title and rubberstamp 

the year-end top ranking on 

Sunday. PAGE 28 

Rajshahi Kings’ third-wicket duo Samit Patel (L) and Mominul Haque congratulate each other after registering their 100- 

run partnership during their BPL 4 match against Dhaka Dynamites in Chittagong yesterday 

MD MANIK 

Rajshahi do the double 

over Dhaka 

• Mazhar Uddin from 

Chittagong 

Rajshahi Kings recorded the second 

highest successful chase of 

the Bangladesh Premier League 

Twenty20’s fourth edition against 

Dhaka Dynamites at Zahur 

Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in 

the port city yesterday. 

This was Rajshahi’s second win 

of the competition in six matches 

and in the process, they did the 

double over the capital city outfit, 

having won the corresponding 

fixture by six wickets. 

It was all-rounder Samit Patel 

who once again shone for Rajshahi 

as he scored a match-winning 

39-ball 75. Opening batsman Mominul 

Haque also chipped in with 

a quickfire half-century to help 

Rajshahi chase down their target 

of 183 with three wickets in hand 

after Dhaka posted 182/4. 

However, it was anything but 

a straightforward victory for Rajshahi 

as the game went right 

down to the wire. Needing nine 

runs in their final over, Rajshahi 

youngster Mehedi Hasan Miraz 

struck a boundary off paceman 

Matt Coles to snatch the win from 

Dhaka’s grasp with only one delivery 

to spare. 

As a result, Dhaka suffered 

their third defeat in seven attempts. 

Chasing the target, Mominul, 

who smashed his third fifty of 

BPL 4, continued his good run of 

form. However, they kept losing 

wickets at the other end to almost 

lose the momentum provided by 

Mominul. Junaid Siddique (four) 

and Sabbir Rahman (seven) departed 

cheaply and things started 

to look difficult for Rajshahi until 

Samit walked into the middle. 

Samit, alongside Mominul, 

added exactly 100 runs for the 

third wicket. The latter was dismissed 

after scoring 56 off 42 balls 

with eight fours and a six. 

But Samit continued to punish 

the Dhaka bowlers, striking 

some lusty blows to bring the 

asking rate down. The 31-year old 

smashed two consecutive sixes 

off Shakib al Hasan but was soon 

dismissed while attempting a 

third one after making a blistering 

75, featuring half a dozen sixes 

and five fours. Samit was instrumental 

in their first win of the 

tournament against Dhaka and he 

repeated the heroics yesterday to 

halt Dhaka’s charge. 

All-rounder Dwayne Bravo was 

the pick of the Dhaka bowlers 

bagging three wickets while pacer 

Mohammad Shahid took two. 

Earlier, Dhaka posted a challenging 

total, riding on Kumar 

Sangakkara’s first fifty this BPL 

season. The stylish left-hander 

top-scored with 66 off 46 balls, 

studded with five fours and three 

sixes. 

His opening partner Mehedi 

Maruf added 35 while Seekkuge 

Prasanna remained unbeaten on 

a breezy 16-ball 34, composed of 

three sixes and a couple of fours. • 

SCORECARD 

DHAKA DYNAMITES R B 

Maruf c Sabbir b Abul 35 25 

Sangakkara c Abul b Farhad 66 46 

Mosaddek c & b Farhad 13 17 

Prasanna not out 34 16 

Coles b Sami 8 5 

Shakib not out 18 12 

Extras (lb 4, w 3, nb 1) 8 

Total (4 wickets; 20 overs) 182 

Fall Of Wickets 

1-71 (Maruf), 2-119 (Mosaddek), 3-121 

(Sangakkara), 4-138 (Coles) 

Bowling 

Sami 4-0-20-1, Miraz 4-0-44-0, Patel 

2-0-17-0, Farhad 3-0-22-2, Abul 4-0-44-1, 

Sammy 3-0-31-0 

RAJSHAHI KINGS R B 

Mominul c Nasir b Shahid 56 42 

Siddique c Sangakkara b Bravo 4 2 

Sabbir c Nasir b Shahid 7 9 

Patel b Shakib 75 39 

Umar c & b Bravo 12 6 

Sammy b Bravo 9 8 

Abul c Bravo b Coles 5 8 

Miraz not out 6 3 

Farhad not out 5 2 

Extras (lb 1, w 4) 5 

Total (7 wickets; 19.5 overs) 184 


1-12 (Siddique), 2-31 (Sabbir), 3-131 (Mominul), 

4-154 (Patel), 5-160 (Umar), 6-172 

(Sammy), 7-174 (Abul) 

Bowling 

Bravo 4-0-35-3, Shahid 4-0-29-2, Shakib 

4-0-36-1, Nasir 1-0-10-0, Sanjamul 1-0- 

9-0, Prasanna 2-0-17-0, Shuvo 1-0-12-0, 

Coles 2.5-0-35-1 

The Kings won by three wickets 

MoM: Samit Patel (RK) 

WHAT THEY SAID 

Rajshahi’s Darren Sammy 

We have lost some crucial games 

from that position and for a moment 

I thought I messed it up for 

my team when I got out. Oh well, 

we have a thing after every victory. 

We give the match-ball to the best 

performer and we will give it to Mominul 

although Samit played really 

well. But I think Mominul showed 

the character after dropping two 

catches in the field. He would have 

been down. But the way he stood 

up, well, he is a short guy but he 

stood up really tall and he put us 

in a position where we could have 

won the game. And gladly we did it. 

Dhaka’s Shakib al Hasan 

Obviously we didn’t play well, 

which is the biggest reason for our 

defeat. We were not able to play 

according to our strengths. Actually 

Mominul also played really well 

but the way Samit Patel batted, he 

totally took the game away from us. 

It is difficult to say but they played 

good cricket in both the games 

against us. Patel played brilliantly 

in both the matches. We have lost 

to a single player in both the games 

and it’s disappointing that we, the 

11 players, lost to one person.

Sport 25 

DT 


Plays Of The Day 

Dhaka v Rajshahi 

Sanga makes presence felt 

At long last, Dhaka Dynamites’ Sri 

Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara 

returned to run-scoring ways in the 

ongoing fourth edition of the BPL 

T20. The charismatic left-hander 

has been going through a tough 

time with the willow but it all 

changed against Rajshahi Kings. Prior 

to yesterday’s game, he scored 

30, two, 29, 20, 17 and two in 

their first six games. But he finally 

did justice to his name, scoring a 

brilliant 46-ball 66 with the help of 

five fours and three sixes. Undoubtedly, 

it will be a huge relief for the 

Dhaka team management to see 

the 39-year old return to form. 

Samit outclasses Dhaka 

English all-rounder Samit Patel has 

been the main man for Rajshahi in 

both their wins so far. It was him 

who got the better of Dhaka in 

the corresponding fixture and he 

performed the same heroics yesterday 

to overcome the challenge of 

the capital city outfit once again. 

He scored an unbeaten 44 off just 

25 balls and took two wickets to 

clinch Rajshahi’s first win of BPL 4. 

And yesterday, he stood up tall yet 

again, blasting a 39-ball 75. 

Comilla v Chittagong 

Saifuddin’s 10-ball over 

Comilla Victorians’ young under-19 

seamer-allrounder Mohammad 

Saifuddin experienced a tough time 

against the home side. The youngster, 

who came on in the seventh 

over of Chittagong Vikings’ innings, 

went on to bowl 10 deliveries 

before eventually finishing his over. 

The right-arm pacer bowled three 

wides and two no-balls. He had 

a lucky escape from the free hits 

though, in spite of the presence of 

big-hitters like skipper Tamim Iqbal 

and Anamul Haque at the crease. 

As it were, he gave away only eight 

runs to complete the long over. 

Furious Mashrafe 

Holders Comilla have been going 

through a lean patch so far. And 

after posting their first win in their 

sixth game, it looked like Comilla 

were about to make a turnaround. 

It all looked good when they put 

up a huge total of 183/3 against 

Chittagong. But when the home 

side came out to chase 184, the 

Comilla fielders displayed some 

below-par fielding which irked the 

Tigers captain. Prior to the 18th 

over, when Chittagong required 30 

runs, Shoaib Malik’s square cut off 

Mohammad Sharif went straight to 

the point fielder, debutant Shahidul 

Islam. But he totally misjudged the 

ball as it went under his leg for a 

boundary. Mashrafe was furious 

after the miss as he lashed onto 

Shahidul and cursed him for the 

poor fielding effort. 

- Mazhar Uddin from Chittagong 

Chittagong overcome Comilla in 

high-scoring affair 

• Mazhar Uddin from 

Chittagong 

Chittagong Vikings registered the 

highest successful chase of the 

Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20’s 

fourth edition after beating 

defending champions Comilla 

Victorians by six wickets at Zahur 

Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in the 

port city yesterday. 

Once again, it was Afghanistan 

cricketer Mohammad Nabi who 

took his side to the finishing line 

with four deliveries to spare. The 

right-hander remained unbeaten 

on 46 off just 24 balls with five 

fours and two sixes. 

With that said, it was a collective 

effort from Chittagong as almost all 

the batsmen chipped in with vital 

contributions. Anamul Haque was 

the second highest scorer with 40 off 

30 balls while Pakistani Shoaib Malik 

added 38 off 25 deliveries. Skipper 

Tamim Iqbal scored 30 at the beginning 

of the innings, making things 

easy for the port city outfit. 

In what is turning out to be a 

stop-start campaign, Chittagong 

recorded their third win in seven 

matches while Comilla’s miseries 

continued as they suffered their 

sixth defeat in the same number of 

outings as the former. 

Earlier, Comilla made a blistering 

start after taking first guard with Pakistani 

Khalid Latif smashing a magnificent 

76 off 53 balls, featuring six 

fours and five sixes, thus laying the 

foundation for a big total. 

Fellow Pakistani Ahmed Shehzad 

struck a quick-fire 40 off just 

25 balls with five fours at the end to 

help his side post a challenging total. 

However, it was not enough for 

Comilla at the end. 

Following the defeat, it will be a 

tough ask for the holders to qualify 

for the playoffs. 

Chittagong on the other hand 

know that a few wins from here on 

in might just be enough for them to 

sneak through to the last four. • 

SCORECARD 

COMILLA VICTORIANS R B 

Shanto b Taskin 17 15 

Latif run out (Anamul) 76 53 

Kayes run out (Tamim) 36 26 

Shehzad not out 40 25 

Ten Doeschate not out 9 3 

Extras (lb 2, w 1, nb 2) 5 

Total (3 wickets; 20 overs) 183 


1-29 (Shanto), 2-97 (Kayes), 3-167 (Latif) 

Bowling 

Malik 2-0-16-0, Razzak 3-0-28-0, Nabi 

3-0-35-0, Taskin 4-0-44-1, Shahidul 4-0- 

37-0, Imran 4-0-21-0 

CHITTAGONG VIKINGS R B 

Tamim b Ten Doeschate 30 27 

Smith lbw b Mashrafe 21 12 

Anamul b Ten Doeschate 40 30 

Malik b Tanvir 38 25 

Nabi not out 46 24 

Jahurul not out 1 2 

Extras (lb 1, w 5, nb 4) 10 

Total (4 wickets; 19.2 overs) 186 


1-28 (Smith), 2-90 (Tamim), 3-103 (Anamul), 

4-167 (Malik) 

Bowling 

Habibur 1-0-18-0, Tanvir 4-0-33-1, 

Mashrafe 4-0-34-1, Sharif 4-0-32-0, Saifuddin 

3.2-0-40-0, Shanto 1-0-13-0, Ten 

Doeschate 2-0-15-2 

The Vikings won by six wickets 

MoM: Mohammad Nabi (CHV) 

POINTS TABLE 

TEAMS M W L PTS 

Khulna 6 5 1 10 

Dhaka 7 4 3 8 

Rangpur 5 4 1 8 

Chittagong 7 3 4 6 

Barisal 6 3 3 6 

Rajshahi 6 2 4 4 

Comilla 7 1 6 2 

Bangladesh keep winning in Asian Cup Hockey 

• Tribune Report 

Bangladesh registered their second 

straight victory in the Fifth Men’s 

Asian Hockey Federation Cup beating 

Chinese Taipei comfortably by 

4-2 at King’s Park Stadium in Hong 

Kong yesterday. 

The men in red and green are 

now just a step away from making 

it to the semifinals as Pool A 

champions. They will take on bottom-side 

Macau in their last group 

match tomorrow and a draw would 

be enough to secure top place from 

Pool A where Bangladesh currently 

sit at the summit with six points 

from two matches. 

Bangladesh, the reigning AHF 

Cup champions having won the 

last two editions in 2012 and 2008 

in Thailand and Singapore respectively, 

began the game brightly and 

dominated the opening half, scoring 

three goals without shipping any. 

Young forward Rumman Sarkar 

put the Bengal Tigers ahead in the 

17th minute from a field goal before 

under-18 youngster and drag-andflick 

specialist Ashraful Islam doubled 

the lead from a penalty corner 

in the 24th minute. 

Experienced forward Russel 

Mahmud Jimmy, who was recently 

handed the captain’s armband for 

the first time since 2012, extended 

the lead five minutes later. 

Chinese Taipei tried to script a 

comeback after resumption, duly 

Chittagong Vikings’ Mohammad Nabi 

smacks one over the point region 

during their BPL 4 match against 

Comilla Victorians at Zahur Ahmed 

Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong 

yesterday 

MD MANIK 

TODAY’S MATCHES 

Rangpur Riders v Khulna Titans, 1pm 

Barisal Bulls v Chittagong Vikings, 5:45pm 

Both games will be held at ZACS, Chittagong 

making it 3-2 following goals from 

Lu Sung-Ting and Tseng Hsien-Yi 

in the 41st and 48th minute respectively 

but Mamunur Rahman 

Chayan, who missed out from the 

last national squad due to poor 

form, scored again for Bangladesh 

in the 56th minute from a penalty 

corner to seal victory. 

Earlier, Bangladesh began their 

campaign with a facile 4-2 victory 

over hosts Hong Kong in the inaugural 

match of the tournament. •

26 


DT 

Sport 

Chelsea take over at the top by beating Boro 

EPL POINTS TABLE 

Team P W D L GD Pts 

Chelsea 12 9 1 2 18 28 

Liverpool 12 8 3 1 16 27 

Man City 12 8 3 1 16 27 

Arsenal 12 7 4 1 13 25 

Tottenham 12 6 6 0 10 24 

Man Utd 12 5 4 3 3 19 

Everton 12 5 4 3 2 19 

Watford 12 5 3 4 -3 18 

Bournemouth 12 4 3 5 -2 15 

Southampton 12 3 5 4 0 14 

Burnley 11 4 2 5 -4 14 

West Brom 11 3 4 4 -3 13 

Stoke 12 3 4 5 -6 13 

Leicester 12 3 3 6 -6 12 

Middlesbrough 12 2 5 5 -3 11 

Crystal Palace 12 3 2 7 -4 11 

West Ham 12 3 2 7 -10 11 

Hull 12 3 1 8 -17 10 

Sunderland 12 2 2 8 -9 8 

Swansea 12 1 3 8 -11 6 

Chelsea’s Diego Costa shoots to score the all-important goal against Middlesbrough during their Premier League match at Riverside Stadium on Sunday 

REUTERS 

Five things we learned from Premier League Gameweek 12 

Chelsea will take some stopping 

Few would have predicted Chelsea 

would be top of the table before 

the end of November after a 3-0 

defeat at Arsenal on September 24 

left them eight points off the pace 

in eighth place. But that is exactly 

where they are after Sunday’s 1-0 

win at Middlesbrough gave Antonio 

Conte’s increasingly impressive 

side a sixth consecutive victory. 

Chelsea have not conceded a goal 

since switching to a 3-4-3 formation 

during the Arsenal game and 

Diego Costa has rediscovered his 

shooting boots, netting for the 10th 

time to secure victory at the Riverside 

Stadium. 

Man United are getting there 

The Premier League table makes 

uncomfortable viewing for Manchester 

United fans, whose side 

are nine points below leaders Chelsea 

after winning just two of their 

last nine league games. Failure to 

beat Arsenal in Saturday’s 1-1 draw 

means United have drawn three 

successive home league games for 

the first time since 1992. But the 

bare facts do not tell the whole story. 

Just as they had in their previous 

two draws. United dominated 

the game, with Arsenal equalising 

in the 89th minute. United mustered 

74 shots to their opponents’ 

19 in those three games. 

Giroud knocking on the door 

Giroud’s goal at Old Trafford, an imperious 

back-post header from Alex 

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s cross, was 

the 10th goal he has scored after 

stepping off the bench for Arsenal, 

making the France international the 

club’s most prolific substitute in the 

Premier League era. Manager Arsene 

Wenger has been using Alexis 

Sanchez as a lone striker this season, 

but Arsenal struggling to create 

chances in their last two games. 

Coach conceded he was thinking of 

restoring Giroud to his starting XI. 

With four goals in four games, Giroud 

is staking a strong claim to a 

starting berth. 

Toure’s Man City exile over 

As Yaya Toure marched back towards 

the Manchester City changing 

room at the end of Saturday’s 

2-1 win at Crystal Palace, the Ivorian 

was greeted by a rapturous 

reception. He had just marked his 

first Premier League appearance of 

the season with two goals, including 

the late winner. After being frozen 

out by new manager Pep Guardiola, 

Toure looked set to move on. 

But he was finally given a chance 

against Palace and responded with 

goals in the 39th and 83rd minutes. 

Guardiola confirmed the 33-yearold 

would remain a part of his plans 

for the rest of the season. 

Saints found value in van Dijk 

Southampton have seen a host 

of players - including Nathaniel 

Clyne, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren 

and Sadio Mane - leave for Liverpool 

in recent seasons. But on Saturday 

the Saints managed to hold 

Liverpool, the Premier League’s 

top scorers, to a goalless draw at 

St Mary’s. Much of the credit was 

due to centre-back Virgil van Dijk, 

a 13-million-pound ($16 million, 15 

million euros) signing from Celtic 

last year. The towering Dutch international 

marshalled Southampton’s 

defence imperiously, producing 

a brilliant last-ditch block to 

thwart Mane in the first half. • 

Inter Milan’s Ivan Perisic celebrates 

after scoring during their Italian Serie 

A match against arch-rivals AC Milan at 

the San Siro on Sunday 

AFP 

Perisic earns last-gasp draw in Milan derby 

• Reuters, Milan 

SERIE A 

Team P W D L GD Pts 

Juventus 13 11 0 2 17 33 

Roma 13 8 2 3 16 26 

AC Milan 13 8 2 3 4 26 

Lazio 13 7 4 2 11 25 

Atalanta 13 8 1 4 7 25 

Inter Milan’s Ivan Perisic scored 

with almost the last kick of the 

game to snatch a 2-2 draw against 

AC Milan in Serie A under new 

coach Stefano Pioli after their 

neighbours twice led through Suso 

in Sunday’s derby. 

Perisic turned the ball in at the 

far post to spare the blushes of 

his captain Mauro Icardi who had 

missed two simple chances which 

could have changed the course of 

the game. 

Antonio Candreva also scored 

a spectacular goal for Inter who 

made an encouraging start after 

Pioli was appointed last week with 

Frank de Boer having been fired after 

85 days. 

Milan moved back into third 

spot level on 26 points with AS 

Roma, who lost 2-1 to a last-minute 

penalty at Atalanta but stay second 

by virtue of a better goal difference. 

Inter are ninth. 

Milan took advantage in the 

42nd minute when Giacomo 

Bonaventura broke out of his half 

and found Suso who cut inside his 

marker and scored with a low shot 

into the far corner. 

Inter levelled eight minutes after 

the restart when a quick throwin 

found Candreva who unleashed 

an unstoppable shot that flew past 

Gianluigi Donnarumma from 30 

metres. 

Suso put Milan back in front five 

minutes later with another superbly 

taken goal. 

The final half an hour was a 

stop-start affair as Milan sat on 

their lead but Inter grabbed another 

equaliser from a corner in the 

92nd minute. Jeisson Murillo rose 

to head the ball on to the far post 

and Perisic, who had missed several 

good chances, did the rest. • 

SERIE A 

Sampdoria 3-2 Sassuolo 

Quagliarella 84, Ricci 64, Ragusa 74 

Muriel 86, 90+1 

Atalanta 2-1 Roma 

Caldara 62, Perotti 40-P 

Kessie 90-P 

Bologna 3-1 Palermo 

Destro 20, Nestorovski 9 

Dzemaili 62, Viviani 72 

Crotone 0-2 Torino 

Belotti 80, 89 

Empoli 0-4 Fiorentina 

Bernardeschi 27, 61, Ilicic 47-P, 67 

Lazio 3-1 Genoa 

Anderson 11, Ocampos 52 

Biglia 58-P, Wallace 66 

AC Milan 2-2 Inter Milan 

Suso 43, 58 Candreva 53, Perisic 91

Sport 27 

DT 


QUICK BYTES 

NSC’s talent-hunt 

project in last stages 

The first phase of the National Sports 

Council’s 2015-16 project of providing 

training facilities to selected talented 

sportspersons from the grass-roots 

level is in its last stage, informed the 

authorities after a meeting held at the 

NSC auditorium yesterday. The NSC 

informed that around 51,323 athletes 

from across the country have take 

part in the training activities through 

31 sports federations in as many disciplines. 

The 64 districts were divided 

into eight regions where a monitoring 

team, comprising 18 trainers, were 

supposed to stay in different areas 

and inspect the activities in grassroot 

level. Meanwhile, the project, titled 

“Identify talented sportspersons 

from the grassroots level and impart 

long-term training” has been one of 

the key activities of the Ministry of 

Youth and Sports, as well as NSC. 

TRIBUNE REPORT 

Larsson and son 

attacked by fans 

Helsingborg manager Henrik Larsson 

and his striker son Jordan were 

attacked by fans after the Swedish 

club were relegated from the top 

flight on Sunday having conceded 

two late goals to lose a two-legged 

playoff against Halmstad. Jordan 

looked to have fired Helsingborg 

to safety when he scored in the 

83rd minute but a Marcus Mathisen 

double in the last three minutes gave 

the second-tier side a 3-2 aggregate 

victory. 

REUTERS 

India wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha takes a catch to dismiss England batsman Ben Duckett during their second Test match 

at Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam yesterday 

REUTERS 

India skittle England to grab series lead 

• AFP, Visakhapatnam 

Ravichandran Ashwin finished 

with a match haul of eight wickets 

as England collapsed on the last 

day of the second Test to hand India 

a thumping 246-run win and a 

series lead yesterday. 

Chasing an unlikely 405 for victory, 

England were bowled out 20 

minutes after lunch for 158 as India 

grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fivematch 

series, after the first Test 

was drawn. 

Skipper Virat Kohli led from the 

front to bring up the team’s second 

biggest win against England by 

runs, after they won by 279 runs at 

Leeds 30 years ago. 

Kohli’s sparkling 167 and his 

226-run third-wicket stand with 

Cheteshwar Pujara (119) in the first 

innings was instrumental in the 

hosts posting 455 after batting first. 

The star batsman also hit a gritty 

81 in the second innings to underline 

India’s dominance over the 

visitors. 

“We’ve been playing some really 

good cricket, we don’t want to 

be complacent but don’t want to be 

desperate, either. We respect England,” 

said Kohli. 

2ND TEST, DAY 5 

India 1st innings: 455 (V. Kohli 167, C. 

Pujara 119; J. Anderson 3-62, M. Ali 3-98) 

England 1st innings: 255 (B. Stokes 70, J. 

Bairstow 53, J. Root 53; R. Ashwin 5-67) 

India 2nd innings: 204 (V. Kohli 81; S. 

Broad 4-33, A. Rashid 4-82) 

England 2nd innings (overnight 87-2) 

ENGLAND 2ND INNINGS R B 

A. Cook lbw b Jadeja 54 188 

H. Hameed lbw b Ashwin 25 144 

J. Root lbw b Shami 25 107 

B. Duckett c Saha b Ashwin 0 16 

M. Ali c Kohli b Jadeja 2 31 

B. Stokes b J. Yadav 6 33 

J. Bairstow not out 34 40 

A. Rashid c Saha b Shami 4 6 

Z. Ansari b Ashwin 0 11 

S. Broad lbw b J. Yadav 5 7 

J. Anderson lbw b J. Yadav 0 1 

Extras (lb 3) 3 

Total (all out; 97.3 overs) 158 

Fall of wicket 

1-75 (Hameed), 2-87 (Cook), 3-92 

(Duckett), 4-101 (Ali), 5-115 (Stokes), 6-115 

(Root), 7-129 (Rashid), 8-143 (Ansari), 

9-158 (Broad), 10-158 (Anderson) 

Bowling 

Shami 14-3-30-2, U. Yadav 8-3-8-0, Ashwin 

30-11-52-3, Jadeja 34-14-35-2, J. Yadav 

11.3-4-30-3 

Result: India won by 246 runs 

Series: India lead the five-match series 1-0 

Ashwin, the leading Test wicket-taker 

this year, once again 

turned on the heat against the English 

batsmen who resumed their 

chase at 87 for two but lost their 

last eight wickets for just 71 runs. 

The off-spinner, who picked up 

his 22nd five-wicket haul in the first 

innings, captured the first scalp 

of the day by having Ben Duckett 

caught behind for nought. • 

DAY’S WATCH 

CRICKET 

SONY SIX, CHANNEL 9 

1:00 PM 

Khulna Titans v Rangpur Riders 

5:45 PM 

Barisal Bulls v Chittagong Vikings 

FOOTBALL 

STAR SPORTS 1 

7:20 PM 

Indian Super League 2016 

North East v Pune 

TEN 1 

1:00 AM 

UEFA Champions League 2016/17 

Sevilla v Juventus 

TEN 1 HD 

11:00 PM 


Cska Moskva v Leverkusen 

1:00 AM 

Sporting Lisbon v Real Madrid 

TEN 2 

1:00 AM 


Monaco v Tottenham 

TEN 3 

1:00 AM 


Dortmund v Legia 

Nice retain top spot in France with 1-0 win 

• Reuters 

Nice’s Valentin 

Esseyric (R) shoots 

to score against St. 

Etienne during their 

French Ligue 1 match 

at Geoffroy Guichard 

Stadium, Saint-Etienne, 

France on Sunday 

REUTERS 

Nice stayed three points clear at the 

top of Ligue 1 after Valentin Eysseric’s 

fine second-half goal gave them 

a 1-0 win away to St Etienne in an 

entertaining match on Sunday. 

The result put Nice on 32 points 

from 13 games, three ahead of second-placed 

Monaco, and champions 

Paris Saint Germain in third. 

Nice were missing suspended 

striker Mario Balotelli but still created 

plenty of chances either side 

of Eysserick’s clinical 63rd-minute 

strike. There were muted celebrations 

by the 24-year old midfielder, 

who spent last season on loan at St 

Etienne, scoring six league goals in 

29 games before returning to Nice. • 

LIGUE 1 

Guingamp 1-1 Bordeaux 

Briand 90+3 Lewczuk 22 

Marseille 1-0 Caen 

Rolando 81 

Saint-Etienne 0-1 Nice 

Eysseric 63 

Hoffenheim 

stay unbeaten 

• Reuters, Berlin 

Hoffenheim remained unbeaten 

and visitors Hamburg SV were still 

without a win after 11 games of the 

Bundesliga season following a pulsating 

2-2 draw on Sunday. 

In the late game, Eintracht Frankfurt 

substitute Aymen Barkok, 18, 

scored a last-minute winner on his 

league debut to clinch a 2-1 victory 

at Werder Bremen, who stayed in 

the relegation playoff spot. 

Bottom club Hamburg, the only 

ever-present team in the Bundesliga’s 

53-year history, picked up just 

their third point of the season. 

Hoffenheim climbed to fifth 

with 21 points, behind Borussia 

Dortmund and Cologne on goal difference 

and ahead of Hertha Berlin 

and Frankfurt. • 

BUNDESLIGA 

Hoffenheim 2-2 Hamburg 

Wagner 45+1, Zuber 49 Kostic 28, Müller 61 

Werder Bremen 1-2 Frankfurt 

Grillitsch 38 Meier 52, Barkok 90

DT 

28 


Sport 

Murray No 1 after dominating Djokovic 

• Reuters, London 

His season had already provided 

several unforgettable chapters but 

Andy Murray saved the best to last 

as he eclipsed Novak Djokovic 6-3 

6-4 to claim his first ATP World Tour 

Finals title and rubberstamp the 

year-end top ranking on Sunday. 

Against a man who has so often 

been his nemesis, Britain’s golden 

boy Murray produced a relentless 

display to claim a ninth title 

of a year which included a second 

Wimbledon crown and Olympic 

gold in Rio. 

Murray’s play in the winnertakes-all 

season climax was all the 

more remarkable as a day earlier he 

looked on the point of mental and 

physical exhaustion after taking 

almost four hours to subdue Milos 

Raonic in the semi-final. 

It would have been blow to Murray’s 

solar plexus if, two weeks after 

dislodging Djokovic from the 

top ranking, the Serb had ripped it 

back with a fifth consecutive Tour 

Finals title. 

But his powers of recovery appear 

limitless as he handed an error-prone 

Djokovic a bitter defeat 

that will leave a sour taste in the 

12-times major champion’s mouth 

as a new season swings into action 

in a few weeks. 

On this evidence the Scot may 

enjoy his new status for some time. 

Murray double-faulted twice 

in the first game and there was a 

wobble near the end as Djokovic 

mounted some late resistance, but 

with the majority of the 17,000 fans 

in the O2 Arena willing him on, 

Murray completed the job. 

“It’s very special playing against 

Novak in a match like this, we’ve 

played grand slam finals and at the 

Olympics before, but I am very happy 

to win and to be world number 

one is very special. It is something I 

never expected,” Murray said. 

Murray’s win came two days 

after older brother Jamie was 

crowned number one doubles pair 

with Brazil’s Bruno Soares and a 

year since Dunblane’s finest led 

Britain to the Davis Cup title. 

Djokovic had won 22 of his past 

23 matches at the Thames-side 

venue, but the cracks that have appeared 

in his game since completing 

a career slam by beating Murray 

in the French Open final returned 

after a trouble-free route to the final. 

He made 30 unforced errors 

and some of his mistakes would 

have embellished a video nasty. 

Despite his year tailing off, 

however, and losing a 9,000-point 

ranking lead over Murray, Djokovic 

still won seven titles and finally 

ruled at Roland Garros. He was gracious 

in defeat. 

“Definitely he is the number one 

in the world. He is the best player 

and deserved to win. He played 

the better tennis in the decisive 

moments. Credit to Andy for being 

mentally tough.” 

Sunday’s clash hardly needed 

hyping. The world’s two dominant 

forces colliding on a spectacular indoor 

court to contest the last match 

of the ATP season with the number 

one ranking to be decided. 

It had never happened before in 

the tournament’s history. 

The fear was that the 10 hours 

Murray had spent on court this 

week, compared to Djokovic’s six 

and a half, would catch up with 

him and snap a career-best winning 

run of 23 matches. 

Despite some early nerves Murray 

quickly put those fears to bed, 

dictating the rallies with unerring 

length and precision. • 

ATP STANDINGS 

Rank Player Points 

1 Andy Murray 12685 

2 Novak Djokovic 11780 

3 Milos Raonic 5450 

4 Stanislas Wawrinka 5315 

5 Kei Nishikori 4905 

6 Marin Cilic 3650 

7 Gael Monfils 3625 

8 Dominic Thiem 3415 

9 Rafa Nadal 3300 

10 Tomas Berdych 3060 

WTA STANDINGS 

Rank Player Points 

1 Angelique Kerber 9080 

2 Serena Williams 7050 

3 Agnieszka Radwanska 5600 

4 Simona Halep 5228 

5 Dominika Cibulkova 4875 

6 Karolina Pliskova 4600 

7 Garbine Muguruza 4236 

8 Madison Keys 4137 

9 Svetlana Kuznetsova 4115 

10 Johanna Konta 3640 

Britain’s Andy Murray poses with both the ATP World Number One trophy and the 

ATP World Tour Finals trophy after winning the men’s singles final against Serbia’s 

Novak Djokovic in London on Sunday 

AFP 

Eclipsed Djokovic 

gets bitter taste 

of failure 

• Reuters, London 

Handing out chocolates to the media 

has become a year-end tradition 

for Novak Djokovic at the ATP 

World Tour Finals but there was 

no doubting the latter half of the 

2016 season has been anything but 

sweet for the once all-conquering 

Serb. 

A winner at the London finale 

for four straight years from 2012, 

on Sunday the 29-year-old from 

Belgrade was facing up to the fact 

he will be heading for his winter 

break without the season-ending 

title or the world number one ranking. 

However, the emotional toll of 

fulfilling that lifelong dream at Roland 

Garros appeared to knock him 

sideways and Djokovic has not recovered 

since. 

“The last five, six months have 

not been ideal,” he said. 

“There were things I could have 

done better on the court. I know 

that. It was a tough season... I’d 

just been through so much emotion 

in the first six months with 

Roland Garros. 

“I needed some time to really 

take it all in, digest it. But I didn’t 

have that time. I had to... be on the 

court right away. I guess that all 

had its toll.” 

That toll meant Djokovic’s calendar 

Grand Slam hopes were 

dashed in the Wimbledon third 

round by American Sam Querrey. 

It left him a tearful wreck after 

he lost to Juan Martin del Potro in 

the first round of the Rio Olympics. 

And it allowed Murray to nibble 

away at his 9,000 point lead in the 

rankings before dethroning him as 

world number one. • 

Spotlight on Ronaldo for European homecoming 

Group E 

CSKA Moscowv Bayer Leverkusen 

Morale is on the floor in Moscow 

with CSKA bottom of Group E before 

Leverkusen’s visit. The defending 

Russian champions this 

week saw their midfielder Roman 

Eremenko hit with a two-year ban 

for cocaine use after a positive test 

following the reverse fixture between 

the teams in September. 

Monaco v Tottenham Hotspur 

Tottenham travel to the Mediterranean 

principality boosted by 

claiming a first win in eight matches 

at the weekend, when they beat 

West Ham United 3-2 after a dramatic 

late fightback in the Premier 

League. Mauricio Pochettino’s side 

are in real trouble in the Champions 

League having lost at home to 

Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen. 

Group F 

Dortmund v Legia 

Dortmund, the 1997 winners 

and 2013 runners-up, are already 

certain to progress to the last 16 

having amassed 10 points from 

their first four matches. Thomas 

Tuchel’s side are now looking to secure 

top spot and a win at home to 

already-eliminated Legia will guarantee 

them first place, as long as 

Real Madrid drop points at Sporting 

Lisbon. 

Sporting CP v Real Madrid 

Cristiano Ronaldo takes on his first 

professional club Sporting as a 

champion of Europe with Real and 

Portugal and is widely expected to 

pick up his fourth Ballon d’Or. He 

will doubtless receive a hero’s welcome 

on his return to the Estadio 

Jose Alvalade. Real are unbeaten 

in 29 games in all competitions. All 

Zinedine Zidane’s men need here 

is a point to secure passage to the 

next round, but with Dortmund 

top of the group by two points Real 

will want to hunt them down as a 

point of pride - and to earn an easier 

draw in the next round. Sporting 

are on an upturn and scoring regularly 

and are still in with a chance 

of the Europa League. 

Group G 

Leicester City v Club Brugge 

English champions Leicester top 

Group G with 10 points and have yet 

to concede a goal. Conversely, Brugge 

are yet to notch up a single point. 

A draw for the hosts would mean 

they progress to the next stage with 

a game to spare. Domestically, the 

unlikely Premier League champions 

have struggled to reproduce the 

form that delivered the title to the 

King Power Stadium. 

Copenhagen Porto 

Copenhagen bagged a 1-1 draw 

away to second-placed Porto in 

September and are fighting for 

Champions League survival in this 

game, in which a win for the Portuguese 

would see them qualify. 

But Porto are misfiring with only 

two wins in their past five outings 

in all competitions while Stale Solbakken’s 

charges are unbeaten in 

their five games at home in Europe 

this season. 

Group H 

Sevilla v Juventus 

This is arguably the match of the 

round with Sevilla top on 10 points 

and visitors Juve second on eight 

with a tight 0-0 draw in Italy in 

the reverse fixture. Sevilla are flying 

high in Spain after they produced 

a stunning fightback from 

2-0 down to win 3-2 at Deportivo 

la Coruna. Argentine coach Jorge 

Sampaoli’s version of Sevilla is 

thrilling fans after transforming 

the Europa League champions into 

a free-thinking outfit. Italian champions 

Juventus go into the showdown 

on the back of a 3-0 Serie A 

win over Pescara. 

Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) v Lyon (FRA) 

Dinamo cannot qualify for the next 

round after a miserable Champions 

League campaign that has seen 

them fail to earn a point or even 

score a goal in four matches. They 

still have the consolation of the Europa 

League just about alive, but 

must win this game for starters. 

Lyon, with four points from four 

games, are only slightly better off 

and need a victory in Zagreb and 

for Juventus to fail to win to live 

another day. Lyon are fourth in 

Ligue 1 in France. •

Downtime 

29 


DT 

CROSSWORD 

ACROSS 

1 Swift (5) 

4 Fly trap (3) 

6 Bellow (4) 

8 Sky coloured (5) 

9 Greek letter (4) 

11 Soon (4) 

12 Long lock (5) 

15 Started (5) 

18 Eating place (4) 

20 Dash (4) 

21 Gather for oneself (5) 

22 Agitate (4) 

23 Fate (3) 

24 Short, simple song (5) 

DOWN 

1 Respond (5) 

2 Showy feather (5) 

3 Useless remains (5) 

4 Bird (4) 

5 Refuse of grain (4) 

7 Lessen in intensity (5) 

10 Roman garment (4) 

13 Actual (4) 

14 Used up (5) 

15 Hirsute growth (5) 

16 Give permission (5) 

17 Unpleasant (5) 

18 Prison room (4) 

19 Abstain from eating (4) 

CODE-CRACKER 

How to solve: Each number in our 

CODE-CRACKER grid represents a 

different letter of the alphabet. For 

example, today 12 represents W so fill 

W every time the figure 12 appears. 

You have two letters in the control 

grid to start you off. Enter them in the 

appropriate squares in the main grid, 

then use your knowledge of words to 

work out which letters go in the missing 

squares. 

Some letters of the alphabet may not 

be used. 

As you get the letters, fill in the other 

squares with the same number in the 

main grid, and the control grid. Check 

off the list of alphabetical letters as you 

identify them. 

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 

CALVIN AND HOBBES 

SUDOKU 

How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the 

numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must 

contain all nine digits with no number repeating. 

PEANUTS 

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS 

CODE-CRACKER 

CROSSWORD 

DILBERT 

SUDOKU

30 


DT 

Showtime 

Kareena’s cravings 

Russell-Terri romance 

• Showtime Desk 

Kareena Kapoor Khan, the royal 

beauty seems to be enjoying her 

pregnancy. In her last trimester, 

the Begum was recently in 

conversation with Neha Dhupia on 

the actor’s podcast #NoFilterNeha 

where she said that both she and 

Saif Ali Khan are extremely excited 

about the baby, but are yet to 

decide the name. 

After walking the ramp 

flaunting her baby bump and 

doing umpteen photo shoots in 

the last few months, she is now 

the first Indian actress to pose 

when eight months pregnant. 

Again, she has set a new rage 

and we aren’t a bit surprised. In 

an interview with HT Brunch, 

Kareena talks about nearing 

motherhood, food cravings and 

Saif as a father. 

In the last eight months, she 

has let go and indulged herself 

like a true foodie – “Of course, 

I’ve over-indulged in eating,” 

she says. “But not on desserts. 

I’ve binged on biryani and other 

‘Kapoor foods’ like payas. It’s the 

one time you can allow yourself 

to let go, no?” • 


Russell Crowe, 

one of the biggest 

actors to came 

from Australia and 

Terri Irwin, the 

beloved Australian 

widow to Crocodile 

Hunter Steve 

Irwin, just might 

be a real item and 

may be getting 

married! This may 

be a lot for fans 

to handle but it 

seems, according 

to New Idea, a 

Australian news 

outlet, that Russell 

and Terri are 

planning a “small, 

intimate ceremony 

in late 2018.” 

It seems as 

though Terri and 

Russell have been 

an item for a while 

and have been 

keeping it a secret from their fans 

all over the world. “‘Terri is so 

nervous about going public with 

her romance with Russ, but she 

doesn’t want to hide it any longer,’ 

says a source to New Idea.” • 

Source: Hollywood Life 

Piggy Chops in Canada 


Priyanka Chopra, star of the 

ABC series Quantico, was 

in Mississauga on Sunday 

for the international launch 

of her Punjabi feature film, 

Sarvann. The film is the third 

to be produced by Chopra 

and tells the coming-of-age 

tale of a young man living in 

Canada who returns to India to 

reconnect with his roots. 

And Toronto, she says, was 

the ideal place to debut the 

trailer. 

The film, starring Punjabi 

star Amrinder Gill, shot in 

both Canada and the northern 

Indian city of Chandigarh, 

marks Chopra’s foray into 

Punjabi cinema. But she hopes 

the message will resonate 

with all audiences, especially 

at a time when she says so 

much emphasis is placed on 

what divides people. Carving 

out a life away from home an 

experience one that Chopra, 

who made the leap from 

Mumbai’s Bollywood scene — 

where she is already a megastar 

— to Hollywood, knows all too 

well. 

“Yes, I have got the 

opportunity to not play the 

exotic sidekick in a big movie 

or I’ve got the opportunity to 

headline a TV show as the lead 

of a show, but that doesn’t 

usually happen to South Asian 

actors,” she said. 

PC doesn’t star in Sarvann 

erself, however. With nearly 

50 Bollywood credits to her 

name, a busy schedule filming 

Quantico and a lead role in 

the upcoming production 

of Baywatch, the film puts 

Chopra on the other side of the 

camera. 

And she’s using the 

opportunity to reflect on the 

reality of life away from home.•

Showtime 

André Malraux’s 40th death anniversary 

• Hasan Dabir Uddin 

André Malraux was a man 

of versatile talents; a French 

novelist, art theorist, the author 

of The Human Condition, the 

commander of a squadron in the 

Spanish civil war, the French 

resistance fighter, General de 

Gaulle’s ,Minister for Culture and 

a winner of the prestigious Prix 

Goncourt. In addition to that, he 

is one of the dearest friends of 

Bangladesh. 

In 1971, he actively raised 

awareness about three million 

Bangali deaths by the end of the 

war. He declared that he was 

ready to go to fight on their side, 

but his plans did not come to 

fruition. His announcement, 

however, helped to grab the 

attention of many countries 

around the world. 

In order to honour him, the 

Ministry of Cultural Affairs, 

Government of Bangladesh 

and the Embassy of France 

in Dhaka, Alliance Française 

and Bangladesh Shilpakala 

Academy are coming together to 

organise a series of events titled, 

“Remembering André Malraux” 

on November 23 2016 at 10.30am 

at Jatiyo Chitrashala Auditorium, 

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. 

A press session was organised 

yesterday at Bangladesh 

Shilpakala Academy (Seminar 

Hall, Jatio Nattoshala) where 

Bruno Plasse, director of Alliance 

Française de Dhaka and Liaquat 

Ali Lucky, director general of 

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy 

shared their views about the 

event. 

Bruno Plasse said, “Malraux 

is one of the most prominent 

friends of Bangladesh. He is a 

freedom fighter. He created a new 

history of friendship between 

France and Bangladesh. As a 

culture - and freedom-loving 

people, we French people are 

proud that such a towering 

figure should also belong to 

the history of Bangladesh and 

be dear to the hearts of many 

Bangladeshis. All those who lived 

through the darkest hours of the 

Liberation War will remember 

how Malraux’s call to come 

to the help of the Bangladesh 

Bieber, Rihanna and Drake lead at American Music Awards 


The 2016 American Music 

Awards (AMA) has just ended a 

day ago, with another celebritypacked 

evening, at Los Angeles’ 

Microsoft Theater. 

The big winner of the evening 

was Justin Bieber, who collected 

four trophies, including Video Of 

The Year. Rihanna and Drake both 

collected three trophies, thanks 

in part to their collaborative 

single “Work.” Drake started out 

as the top nominee of the night, 

coming in with a record-breaking 

13 nods. 

The awards, which were 

co-hosted by Gigi Hadid and 

Jay Pharoah, were full of show 

stopping performances, including 

John Legend’s emotional 

performance of “Love Me Now,” 

and Ariana Grande and Nicki 

Minaj’s racy “Side To Side” duet. 

Here is the full list of winners 

from the 2016 American Music 

Awards: 

Award Of Merit: Sting 

Favorite Band, Duo or Group – 

Pop/Rock: Twenty One Pilots 

Favorite Album - Rap/Hip Hop: 

Drake “Views” 

Favorite Artist - Electronic Dance 

Music: The Chainsmokers 

Collaboration of the Year: Fifth 

Harmony Ft. Ty Dolla Sign, “Work 

From Home” 

Favorite Country Song: Tim 

McGraw “Humble and Kind” 

New Artist of the Year: Zayn 

Favorite Artist - Rap/Hip Hop: 

Drake 

Top Soundtrack: Purple Rain 

Favorite Band, Duo or Group – 

Country: Florida Georgia Line 

Favorite Artist - Alternative Rock: 

Twenty One Pilots 

Favorite Female Artist – Pop/ 

Rock: Selena Gomez 

Artist of the Year: Ariana Grande 

Favorite Song - Rap/Hip Hop: 

Drake “Hotline Bling” 

Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B: 

Chris Brown 

Favorite Female Artist – Soul/ 

R&B: Rihanna 

independence movement gave 

them reasons to hope. In the 

vigorous pronouncements of 

André Malraux, in his call to 

arms, in his letter to President 

Nixon, they knew they had found 

a spokesman who was forcefully 

defending their cause in the 

international arena.” 

Liaquat Ali Lucky mentioned, 

“We didn’t evoke Malraux for 

being a friend, he evoked us. 

Even after 40 years, we still and 

will continue to remember him.” 

The programme schedule 

features two exhibitions titled, 

“Drawing Freely” and “Novembre 

à Paris”, to be held at the lobby 

of Jatiyo Chitrashala Auditorium, 

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy 

from Wednesday, November 

23. A reading session by The 

Reading Circle CD on Man’s 

Fate (English translation of La 

condition humaine), winner 

of The Goncourt Prize in 1933, 

the screening of Espoir - Sierra 

de Teruel, film adaptation of 

L’Espoir, directed by André 

Malraux and Boris Peskine 

on Tuesday, November 22, 

a drama performance titled, 

Asha, directed by Ashim Das, 

Fame, “Chittagong Speech” 

by Md Shamsul Arefin, deputy 

commissioner of Chittagong on 

Saturday, November 26. 

Asaduzzaman Noor, 

minister of Cultural Affairs, 

Government of Bangladesh, 

Sophie Aubert, Ambassador of 

France to Bangladesh, Mario 

Palma, Ambassador of Italy to 

Bangladesh and Prof Dr A A M S 

Arefin Siddique, vice chancellor, 

University of Dhaka will present 

the main event.• 

Favorite Album – Soul/R&B: 

Rihanna “Anti” 

Favorite Song – Soul/R&B: 

Rihanna “Work” 

Favorite Artist Adult 

Contemporary: Adele 

Favorite Artist Latin: Enrique 

Iglesias 

Favorite Artist Contemporary 

Inspiration: Hillsong UNITED 

31 


WHAT TO WATCH 

X-Men Origins: Wolverine 

Star Movies 7:07pm 

A look at Wolverine’s early 

life, in particular his time with 

the government squad Team 

X and the impact it will have 

on his later years. 

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Liev 

Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds 

The Godfather: Part II 

HBO 11:23pm 

The early life and career of 

Vito Corleone in 1920s New 

York is portrayed while his 

son, Michael, expands and 

tightens his grip on his crime 

syndicate stretching from 

Lake Tahoe, Nevada to prerevolution 

1958 Cuba. 

Cast: Al Pacino, Robert De 

Niro, Robert Duvall 

Terminator Genisys 

WB 9:00pm 

When John Connor, leader 

of the human resistance, 

sends Sgt. Kyle Reese back to 

1984 to protect Sarah Connor 

and safeguard the future, an 

unexpected turn of events 

creates a fractured timeline. 

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, 

Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke 

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 

Zee Studio 9:30pm 

When New York is put under 

siege by Oscorp, it is up to 

Spider-Man to save the city he 

swore to protect as well as his 

loved ones. 

Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma 

Stone, Jamie Foxx 

Face/off 

Movies Now 9:30pm 

In order to foil an extortion 

plot, an FBI agent undergoes 

a face-transplant surgery 

and assumes the identity 

and physical appearance of 

a ruthless terrorist, but the 

plan turns from bad to worse 

when the same criminal 

impersonates the cop. 

Cast: John Travolta, Nicolas 

DT

32 


DT 

Back Page 

SANTAL EVICTION 

Writ petition filed for judicial commission 

• Ashif Islam Shaon 

A writ petition was filed with the 

High Court yesterday seeking its 

directive to form a judicial commission 

to investigate the attack on 

and eviction of Santals in Gabindaganj, 

Gaibandha. 

The petition was filed by 

Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy 

Barua on behalf of two Santal 

women, Olivia Hembrom and 

Rumila Kisku. 

The writ asks the court to ensure 

that the law and home secretaries 

submit reports before the court 

after the investigation by judicial 

commission is complete. 

The writ was filed due to a lack 

of response from a legal notice sent 

to authorities concerned on November 

15. 

100 more Rohingya 

houses razed in 

Myanmar 

• AFP, Yangon 

More than 1,000 homes have 

been razed in Rohingya villages 

in northwest Myanmar during 

a military lockdown, according 

to analysis of satellite images 

from Human Rights Watch released 

yesterday that fly in the 

face of government denials. 

Troops have poured into a 

strip of land along the Bangladesh 

border, an area which is 

largely home to the stateless 

Muslim Rohingya minority, 

since a series of coordinated 

and deadly attacks on police 

border posts last month. 

Troops have 

poured into a strip 

of land along the 

Bangladesh border, 

an area which is 

largely home to the 

stateless Muslim 

Rohingya minority 

Up to 30,000 people have 

been displaced by the ensuing 

violence, according to the UN, 

half of them over a two-day 

period when dozens died after 

the military brought in helicopter 

gunships. 

Security forces have killed 

almost 70 people and arrested 

some 400 since the lockdown 

began six weeks ago, according 

to state media reports, but 

activists say the number could 

be far higher. 

Witnesses and activists have 

reported troops killing Rohingya, 

raping women and looting 

and burning their houses. The 

government has refused to allow 

in international observers 

to carry out a full investigation. 

A Rohingya man named Salaman 

said he helped to bury the 

bodies of a man and a woman 

who were shot by soldiers in the 

village of Doetan on Saturday. 

“Soldiers came in to Doetan 

village in the evening of the 

19th about 5pm,” he said. 

“Most of the men from the 

village ran away because they 

are afraid of being arrested 

and tortured. Then they (the 

soldiers) started shooting and 

two were killed.” 

Rights activist Chris Lewa, 

whose Arakan Project works in 

northern Rakhine, confirmed 

the account and said two babies 

were also swept away as villagers 

tried to flee across a river. 

Rights abuse ‘prohibited’ 

Presidential spokesman Zaw 

Htay played down the latest 

satellite images. 

“What we have seen on 

the ground is not that widespread,” 

he said. 

He also denied reports of 

the deaths in Doetan village. 

“Both the government and 

the military have strongly 

prohibited any human rights 

violations, especially against 

women and children,” he said. 

Hundreds of Rohingya, 

who have long been persecuted 

by the state, have tried to 

flee the violence to neighbouring 

Bangladesh. 

Myanmar’s new civilian government, 

led by Nobel Peace 

Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, 

has rejected the allegations as 

part of a misinformation campaign 

planted by “terrorists.” 

Independently verifying 

facts on the ground has been 

hampered, but evidence of 

widespread destruction to villages 

is mounting. • 

The petition also prayed that 

the court issue a ruling asking for 

explanations from the government 

why the looting, arson attack, 

open fire and killing in the name 

of eviction should not be declared 

illegal. 

It also sought a ruling to ask 

why the authorities would not be 

directed to take legal actions under 

the Code of Criminal Procedure law 

against the persons involved in the 

attack. 

Twelve people including four 

secretaries and a local lawmaker 

have been made respondents to 

the petition. 

The writ petition will be placed 

before a High Court bench on Tuesday, 

Jyotirmoy said. 

On November 6 and 7, the upazila 

administration evicted around 

600 Santal households from their 

ancestral land in Sahebganj-Bagda 

sugarcane farm area. 

Three Santal men died and 

many more injured when they protested 

the eviction. The eviction 

was carried out by police, RAB and 

BGB members and assisted by local 

Bangalis allegedly loyal to the local 

lawmaker. A fourth Santal man’s 

body was found later. • 

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 

8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

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